The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-12-12


 spoke on the recent Irish peace set | clement, and Walter Camp of New l Haven, whose subject was "AthletlcS at Yale and for Everybody" com | bined at the Forum at the United l church last night to give the audience what Dr. William Horace Day de scribed as a two-ring intellectual cir GUS. The aptness of the description was particularly marked during the | question period which followed the I regular addresses, when the queries | from the audience swung from one subject to the other and back again. The meeting last night took the form of a. thank service for the progress made towards the settlement of the Britain and Ireland and the musical I prelude was largely made up or Irish | selections.
 Defends De Valera.
 | Spice was added to the question | period when in response to a query | from William T. Hincks as to whether I Ean1onn De Valera could keep the presidency of the Irish republic and | yet objec1 to the pact entered into by the peace delegates of Ireland who had plenipotentiary powers to sign an agreement with the British empire, | Joseph w. Northrop made a spirit ed | defence of the Irish leader, saying: tT cauont help saying a word for De | Valera here tonight, and hope he will stand where he does and will oppose | the pact. Yet I hope the Irish people v=ill accept it. l thing De Valera is one of the heroes of the age, who has stood for one great thing, and could not be swerwed from it. absolute self II government for Ireland, just as every nation eventually is entitled, without any allegiance to any King which | they must sign. I hope he will stand right there, but I hope he will be beaten, because I believe there must be some compromise. England has yielded much that I hope the Irish people will accept it. Under the pres It, r 1,S h TNI-I6 believes it is the thing, but I believe iG was the heroism, the strength of purpose and onesidedness of this one man, De Valera, that more than any ether thing has brought this to pass. ''
 Second Step to Peace.
 Mir. Cu11fnan's address was a
 thoughtful review of the cfrcum- stances leading up to the Irish peace settlement and its effects. After re-
 ferrfng to the universal yearning for II peace now sweeping through the
 world as being materially forwarded by the disarmament conference 'in a
 most practical way by first undertak-
 ing to scrap the engtneery of war,
 he cited the Irish peace settlement as an example of the second step towards world peace. the removal of the most likely causes of war, he said in part: II The dark cloud on the horizon
 which threatened storm was the claim of Ireland to self-government
 and the best equipped among the English leaders realized that this was
 the main question of the hour. Ii they failed to do justice to Ireland they realized that they would incur
 the i11-wf1l of great mass of people
 in the nations which composed the British Empire, Canada. Australia New Zealand and the Union of South Africa. Not only there. but among $ the mass of the English people there was a feeling that this was a ques-
 tton that should be treated by states l nd mt
 larly was this true among the labor
 ing people of England, and the pres.
 ence of a large representation of Irisf
 who had come from Ireland to Eng
 land and whose presence in that par.
 ticular group tended to establish the
 opinion and thought along many lines
 of that group had a tremendous effec- l in this particular instance.
 Ignored Irish Question.
 When Gilbert K. Chesterton wa! | here, he said in response to a Ques = tion from a member of the audience
 he was addressing that the mass O English people knew very little abou , England and nothing about Ireland However, in securing social better r ment and the solution of economi
 questions which confront them il
 England, the mass of the EngIisl
 people have learned to follow thei q | intelligent leaders and the leaders o . 1 English thought at this time realize' f that England was suffering in it's in
 
 : way in which she was ignoring tn o 1 Irish question.
 . we had come to a time whe h democracy was the boast of Gres r Britain and the claim had been mad h that the late war was fought for tn # 1 maintenance of democracy through d out the world. It was particular
 hard to reconcile the subjugation ( :. nefghbortng country created by il U geographical situation and by the dis II functions of the character of its pec e people distinct nation.
 IS Irish Determination
 The English statesmen realize e that the determination of the Iris l. people was such that the milita1 's force they would have to oppose ,f them would practically mean the e, termination of the Irish people. |, After many months of discourat SI ing discussion they have apparent 'rr r arrived at an accord. It isn't the al 'e solute independence that the Iris people have asked for, but it Is sue
 an independence as I believe u Tn American colonies would have a Iy cepted in the revolutionary war if d had been offered to them in the ear st stages of our war.
 n, 'As far as Ireland is concerned is would seem that she is radically .il 1r dependent if they carry out the st st pulat!ons of this preliminary pea er agreement Jan Shuts, the Premi IS of the Union of South Africa, says u SC conception of dominion evolved du IL IIS lIIS eNOiullOn OI the " pire has again proven 1t is most poJ in erful, and that by recognizing the il S. dependence and entire freedom of to state in close association with Is group of states, they recognize at u
 same time the sentiment of nationa at ity, and that tendency towards inte ne national cooperation, which are u of two greatest forces in existence toda Id Ireland, Shuts says. though a mer as Der of a, group of nations, has h n- own destiny in her hands and she le now free to realize the fruits of Fri so genius to the spiritual enrichment n III only of Ireland but of mankind. n- think there could hardly be a bett is deSCrintinn of the result f