The Chattanooga news. [volume] (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 1891-1939, 1920-12-11
MARTIAL LAW IN IRELAND.

az each succeeding election the Sim
Feln vote grew, un,ll II overwhelmed
tho Nationalist aud nll others; even In
Ulster It gained many seats; at the
last election all but three OF the Irish
members were Sim Fein. and they
have never gone TO Westminster yet,
holding their choice a verdict OF the
irish people for independence, ms
against union with Great Britain.
As a colonizing nation England has
been the worlds greatest success; her
one failure Ia Ireland; II Is on her blind
side. and the usual British fairness
seems to fail when her western Isle
comes into view; the soldering OF that
unhappy land, the Royal Irish constab-
ulary and then the black and tans have
been instituted to keep ireland quiet.
They have provoked outrages, and have
outraged in their turn. the riotinR.
looting. burning and killing are on both
sides, and II Ia equally reprehensble.
But on the Brltons' part II Ia the clos
Ing OF an eye TO acts OF skullduggery
on the part OF their own agents, which
conforms badly with the general British
For evidences as to conditions in Ire
land, there Ia no better source than
English papers; Lord Northcliffe's
newspapers chronicle column after col
umn OF stories OF outrages on innocent
civilians; raids; cutting girls hair on
burning creameries; looting stores. The
death Of Lord Mayor MacCurtaln, Ter
ence MacSwiney's predecessor in the
chair In Cork, was a sngularly brutal
and uncalled for thing. Our own Sem
ator Norris. at the Irish commission
hearing in Washington Friday. re-
marked that had he been MacCurtain.
he would have died weapon in hand
defending his life.
II IL not all the fault OF the Irish that
martial law came; the II. l. c. and the
black and tans have their hands ter
ribly bloodled with innocent victims;
the Irish. too. have killed hundreds OF
policemen. needlessly and savagely.
On either side II seems to be an EYE
for an eye" but Ireland's cause Ii In
jured by the methods rosorted to, Such
reprisals, however. are certain where n
civil war and q guerrilla war 10 being
waged. But the English policy OF
blood has brought no good; II has
turned thousand. OF the Irish Protest.
ants to the Sim Fem! 1t has alienated
n powerful section In England itself.
Tho Manchester Guardian. that splen-
did protector OF weak nations and the
under dog, has naught but contempt
for what II calls Lloyd Georges mis-
guided ferocity"
Now martial law Ia ordered: Terence
| MacSWineys death by starvation 10
bearing another fruit; the little Welsh
man seems to have made another mis-
take about Ireland. The Emerald Isle
Is the grave OF regulations for English
| statesmen. Lord John Russell Sir Rob-
ert Peel, Disraeli. Gladstone, Asquith,
all smashed their barks OF statesman
ship upon the rocks II the Irish coast
1t seems that Lloyd George Is follow
ing fast in their course.
| What can como out OF II but civil
war; when America was first at odds
with Great Britain In 1772. Edmund
Burke delivered his immortal address
| TO the house OF commons on "concilia :
tion," In which he said that "you can
| not indict a natiouv That Ia exactly
what Lloyd George Ia attempting TO do
Burke is right now, as he was then
It Is to be hoped that the little welsh.
man will not be another stubborn Butte
and force n civil war which mediation
Cancellation and conference could avert