The New York herald., 1921-07-24


President Harding has the same re-
sponsibility. at least for his term Of
office, though he is more open to at
tack. What is amusing and instruc-
tive to the detached onlooler in Eng
land is the way her politicians are
now claiming almost divine inspiration
in the policy of peace. For two and a
half years all Liberal opinion urged
them to do the very things they are
now claiming to be their own special
revelation. More than two and half
years ago they were told that the offer
of dominion home rule to Ireland was
the only .neaEs Of averting civil war
| and a campaign of terror which would
be more hurtful to England than to
Ireland in reputation. Those who said
so were called visionaries and traitors,
though they included the greatest
writer's, preachers and intellectual lead
ers in England and all the people who
had in their hearts even then the
Kings words. forget and forgive" as
the best message for the world, as well
as Ireland.
A Belated Convention.
| If that advice had been taken more
than two years of miserable strife
would have been averted and human
ity would be two lrs ahead on the
way to progress. ; Wv the politicians
say. How good and wise we are, how
noble and great" forgetting their OBJ
stinacy in error and i'll will.
Their conversion. however belated. is
very welcome. and we may look for
ward to this policy of peace with some
assurance, provided popular opinion
continues its pressure and lives up to
it's own best instincts.
The Irish settlement is not going to
be easy anyhow, and what he's hap
pened SO far does not go much beyond
preliminary talk on general prin-
ciples. The greatest trouble of all Is
not between England and Ireland but
between Catholic Ireland and Prot
estant Ireland. There must be sacri-
fees in pride and prejudice from each
side in this triangular argument, and
there are many who want sacrifices
from the other two parties without
budging from their, own position.
English pride is willing to abase it.
|
open confession of the failure of its
policy in Ireland, of age long errors
and Understandings and Of things
done by officials and forces which do
not belong to our code of honor JUS
tice and liberty. 1t is a pretty con-
siderable sacrifice for a powerful and
proud people to admit all that, and
doubt whether many other peoples in
the world would have been quite so
magnanimous for the sake of fair play.
From De Valera and his people must
come also a spirit of sacrifice and con-
cession. Their biggest remuneration is
that of an Independent republic and
do not underestimate the tug it gives
their souls. Knowing the Celtic peo-
pie, know they are not compromisers
ideal which they can never attain than
live upon an instalment system.
Half n Loaf or Hunger Strike.
Half a loaf is better than no bread"
says the old proverb, but that is no.
the Irish way of thinking in political
affairs. They say "a whole loaf or
hunger strike" De Valera is going
to have a hard time to convince many
of his followers that they are getting
the whole loaf with dominion home
rule and that there is nothing more in
republic than shorter name. Ills
own principles are stubborn on one
point only, from what / hear among
those who Lnow him. 1t is that Ire
land by whatever name, by whatever
name her Government is called and
whatever link may be maintained with
the people Of the British Empire un-
der one King, must be recognized as
free and complete nation with
right to her own Legislature and ex-
ecutive and with absolute power over
her economic conditions. Nevertheless
with that power once granted the Irish
Government would agree by free con-
sent to financial arrangements with
Great Britain involving payments OF
moneys raised by taxation in return
for loans already provided and to be
arranged later.
1t is Of course impossible for Ireland
to exist without English trade and
financial aid. though Irish sentiment
hates to--acknowledge the fact. For
lTlSn lanu nuTCndSe the bTltlsN 1ONeTn-
ment advanced well over f100.000,0 900,
and during the war when we were
borrowing at per cent we were lend
ing to Ireland at per cent.
Taxation In Ireland will have to be
steeply raised whenever her own Gov
ernment Is established. and as Eng
land is her greatest market, 1t is in
evitable that the economic relations
between the~two countries will con-
tinue to be closely interviewer. Ire
land cannot do without England and
De Valera has sense enough to know IT,
A sister Nation Now.
Now. as far as her claim to inde-
pendence goes IL Is certain that Eng
lish public opinion. and to large ex-
tent the British Government itself. is
now prepared to acknowledge Ireland
as one of her sister nations. equal with
herself In liberty though bound like
herself in a confederation with the do
minions by common interest and al
legiance.
That Is as far as we will go and II
ought to be far enough. Therefore II
De Valera and his followers. or his
masters for he is no more free than