The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-08-28
SiMN FEN WILL ACCEPT BRITISH
 OFFER, IS BELIEF
(Continued from Page one

their normal lives which the truce has given them.
 If the Irish republican, cabinet eventually refuses the British terms a referendum of the British people probably will follow in the form of British government resorting to a general election to give the coun- try chance to reject or confirm the governments policy.
 Judging from the newspapers again, there is distinct hardening of Brit ish sentiment in the direction of CO., ercing the Irish with more force than hitherto has been usel. British sen timent, they declare, would approve this, based on the feeling that the government has offered very gener- ous concessions and that the seces- sion of Ireland could not possibly be permitted. Ulster apparently is giv- ing no help to a compromise and MT. DeValera, it is believed Mere. must drop any hope of making an arrange ment with the northern provinces whereby they will present united front with southern Ireland to Great Britain. Ulster publicists are stand ing pat on the platform of refusing to waive any of the rights their new government, acquired under the re- cent home rule act. The general pol icy tof the Belfast newspapers and the Grange societies is not to give a soft answer to any of the republican pretensions as the Ulster men term them.
 Rejection Foolish Prime Minister Lloyd SGeorge sell dom goes anywhere without mount ing the platform and making q speech. Today he and his wife att tended the wedding in Barnsley of Sir William Sutherland member of parliament and recently one of the premiers private secretaries, to Miss Fountain, who Is the owner of the coal mines and one of the richest women in England. After making d congratulatory speech at the we'd ding breakfast MT. Lloyd George was conferred with the freedom of the borough of Barnsley.
 In the speech that followed he dwelt largely on the Irish question, emphasizing that the Irish would be foolish to reject scheme of self government going beyond the ambi- tions of historic home rulers.
 In the course of his speech Mir, Lloyd George made several striking utterances.
 "We have all got prejudices," he declared. T have seen antiIrish prejudices lashed into unwisdom and have seen anti i-British prejudlces on the other side lashed into unwis- dom. For Gods sake let us clear aside prejudices. A nation that lives on prejudices is doomed, just like a man who lives on hatred.
 "Whether it is in public or in pri- vate trust, no man can endure who has a vendetta in business or pol itics,-and a nations vendettas are ! just the same. It is a sour pasteur- age Of hatred. There is no nourish- meIlt, nothing but disappointment in Lit. Let us sweep 1t on one side, l,whatever it costs, even when there is reason in 1t. I am proud to think that Great Britain has risen above all it's prejudices and has give it's prime minister a fair chance to speak in the name of the people of Great Britain.
 Would Mean Civil War
 If you had severance it would lead in Ireland itself to the most cruel and most terrible civil war Ire- land has ever seen, and help would be rushed from all sides and every rart of the world to assist the par ties who were fighting out the battle. We could not witness civil war of titdL hlHu GU Odi OWA aVOio WHiOI would involve our own people throughout the empire and other peoples as we'll
 T trust common sense will prevail and good counsel be needed Cohr- age IS of two qualities-the higher part is the courage that knows when to settle and face settlement. There is the courage of a man who faces his country's foes to the death: there is the greater courage of man who, when he sees the time has come for making honorable peace, faces his friends to obloQuy. That is the more difficut; that is courage which the country demands and l trust it will be forthcoming.
 Are we to split up this United Kingdom at moment when it's unity of aim, it's unity of action has saved the world when nothing else could have saved it? Are we to choose this moment to begin in Ireland tear inf off a bit here, a second bit here and third there, leaving the em- pire shattered into fragments with no vitality, no power, no prestige, no glory and of no use to the world?
 q have been presiding at the inn perial conference where we had rep resented not only the old nations, but young nations-Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa---young nations, proud nations and fearless nations.
 "An Australian is as proud of being an Australian as an Englishman is of being an Englishman. They have the same sense of being separate and distinct people. But at the same time they have a great sense of pride in belonging to this greatest family of nations in the world. known as the British empire.''
 Tomorrow MT. Lloyd George is go- ing for a vacation in the Scotch country, 40 miles from a railroad. There is much curiosity here as to who will act as negotiators in behalf of Great Britain in case the Aego- tiations begin, since the prime min ister in his letter to MT. aDeValera emphasized there should be no delay in negotiating.
 Two labor leaders who are friendly to the Irish aspirations gave their views today. Arthur Henderson. speaking at Carlisle. said the situa- tion was critical but not hopeless.
 "Ar almost insurmounab1e obsta- cle is the fact that the Ulster par liament already has been created he declared.
 J. H. Thomas. leader of the rail- way men. who is visiting Dublin. said: ''The atmosphere I see in lre- land is conducive to peace. The outstanding fact in the posi- ton of the Irish negotiations is that