The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1921-09-09
ENGLISH RALLY To
WAR THREAT
Lloyd George Wins Public
BY Move In Irish
Crisis.
Louisville Herald.

London, Sept 3.-Disagreeable as
it may be for any Englishman with
Irish sympathies to admit, nobody in
this country could avoid recognizing
the fact that English opinion has raj
lied to Mr. Lloyd Georges threat of
an Irish war of secession contained
in his second letter to Mr.. De Valera.
With the political luck and adroitness
of which he is a supreme exponent,
his own failure is being turned to
Lloyd Georges advantage. In APP
pearance he had gone the whole way,
had offered ireland everything that
could reasonably be given to her (;
therefore, if Ireland's refusal stands
he will have the support of English
opinion behind him in whatever mea-
suTes he may see fit to take.
in the words of the cynical, Mr..
Lloyd Gorge has now got the Irish
where he wanted them. In appear
ance he has offered them full domin-
ion stains, or. as General SHUTS calls
St, The freedom which is working
with complete success in all parts Of
the British league" The six condi-
tions. or reservations, attached to the
offer did not include any fundamen-
tai constitutional reservation. In
spite of the reservation of the control
OF tho seas around Ireland and Great
Britain. and the stipulation regard
ing facilities for the British air force,
the conditions left the offer of domin-
ion status constitutionally intact;
they were all conditions which might
have been written in a treaty such as
that governing the relations between
the United States and Cuba.
England Astoundad
For ireland to refuse such an Of
fer. therefore, to the casual British
mind and the national mind of
Britain like that of my mother coun-
try is casual--seems unreasonable,
fanatical, fully warranting employ
ment of force as the only possible al
teTngtive in dealing with such infleXi-
BILE extremists. Very few in England
realized that, unspecified and scarce
ly even implied in the terms of the
offer, there had been behind it all
the time a reservation which a people
so deeply concerned with their consti-
tutiOnal status as the Irish must have
considered fundamental.
De Valera and his followers had
entered upon these negotiations thru
Eht @ise and trusted intervention of
Gensral Smuts. who, for his part, had
taken up practically intact the terms
OF the settlement advocated by Sir
Horace Plunkett and the Irish Do
miniOn League. Being, as always,
most closely in touch with all the
swaying factors of the Irish situation,
Sir Horace Plunkett hadasome months
ago declared that Ireland would ac-
cept an offer of the full Dominion
status But Plunkett and SHUTS both
recognized. and publicly stated that
fnB Dominion status today implies
the constitutional right of secession.
The admission of this right, indeed,
by such authorities as Mr.. Bonar
Law and Lord Miner was the very
factor which made possible positive
declaration that the Dominion status
Would be acceptable to Republican ,
Ireland. Long and important discus
sions on this very point had taken
place With Sim Fem leaders; and
there is no reason to suppose that Mr.. !
Lloyd GeOr62 and the British gov
YnmrnI were ignorant of them. DO
mrnion status" might mean anything,
bni henceforth full Dominion status
could mean nothing less than the
stains claimed by and admitted for
Canada, South Africa, Australia and
New Zealand, including the constitu-
tioual right of secession.
Fortunately letter SHUTS wrote to
de Valera ON August has now been
pu b!ished. so we know with certain
~ ann accuracy what kind of Do
minion status had been in question
between the South African and the
Irish leaders when the former per-
suadec the latter to enter into ne
gotiatiOns with Lloyd George. SHUTS
was concerned to persuade de Valera
that ireland could obtain the realities
Of q republic under tn name of Do
miuion Smuts had seen he terms
al L1oyl Georges offer, aud, in urg-
ins its acceptance on de Valera, he
described It as offering Ireland po-
sItlul identical with that of the free
nations of the British League. 1t
MAS specifically the fun Dominion
stutue ina, Smuts was talking and
wrl,.as about; ho even added TO make
IL g.rar beyond question that he defi-
nncly understood the right of seces-