Evening star., 1921-08-28
ENGLAND TO BLOCK
REND|NG0F EMPIRE,
SAYSLLOYD GEORGE
Separation Would Plunge Ire
land Into Civil War,
Premier Asserts.
VOICES HOPE COMMON
SENSE WILL PREVAIL
Dublin Reply Held Up Until To-
morrow-A. F. of L. Urges
Long Truce.
BY the Associa ted Press.

Great Britain cannot countenance the
tearing up Of the United Kingdom
said Premier Lloyd George in refer
ring to the Irish question in a speech
here today. 1t would mean civil war
in Ireland itself. he declared. He
hoped. however. he said. that COM
mon sense would prevail.
II am proud that Great Britain has
risen above all prejudices and pro-
posed terms such as have never been
proposed BEFORE" said the prime min
lister. '"They are terms which COM
mend themselves. not only to Great
Britain, but to the whole civilized
world. I trust common sense will
prevail.
Whatever our views are, we can
not countenance separation. We can
= no more countenance the tearing ul
of the United Kingdom than America
could countenance the tearing up OF
the United States. Severance would
lead in Ireland itself to civil war
IF southern Ireland is not salts
fled with freedom, then I fear all
hopes of accommodation must be
abandoned. We only want to do what
is fair. right and just. If Ireland
has a right to separation. so has
Scotland and SO has Wales, but no
Welsh or Scotch patriot would ever
dream of demanding separation.
Real Freedom Offered.
Il believe that when the irish
people realize the sense of the free
dom which is theirs, that real free
dom is offered them, and that all
they are asked to do is to come into
the proudest community of nations
in the world as free men. I believe
You will find that that gifted people
will realize that their destiny is
Ereater-a free people inside a free
federation Of peoples
In the course of his speech Mr..
Lloyd George made several striking
utterances.
I'VE have all got prejudices." he
declared. 'I have seen anti-Irish
projudices lashed into unwisdom, and
] have seen anti-English prejudices
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-
vatc trust. no man can endure who
has vendetta in business or politics
and nations vendettas are just the
same. 1t is a sour pasturage OF
hatred. There is no nourishment
us sweep it on one side, whatever ii
costs. even when there is reason in
it. I am proud to think that Great
Britain has risen above all it's preju-
dices and has given it's prime min
lister a fair chance to speak in the
name of the people of Great Britain
III you had severance it would lead
in Ireland itself to the the most cruel
and most terrible civil war Ireland
has ever seen, and help would be
rushed from all sides and every par1
of the world to assist the parties
who were fighting out the battle. We
could not witness civil war of that
kind at our own doors. which would
involve our own people throughout
the empire and other peoples as we'll
II trust common sense will prevail
and good counsel be needed. Courage
is of two qualities-the higher par
is the courage that knows when te
settle and face settlement. There il
the courage of a man who faces his
country's foes to the death; there il
the greater courage of man who
when sees the time has come fol
making honorable peace faces hi:
friends to obloquy. That is the more
difficult; that is courage which the
country demands, and 1 trust it will
he forthcoming.
United Kingdom Saved World.
Are we to split up this united
kin dom at a moment when its unity
of aim, Its unity of action has saved
the world, when nothing else coult
hayS saved it? Are we to choose thi
moment to begin in ireland tearing
off a bit here. a second bit here ant
a third there. leaving the empire shat
tered into fragments with no vitality
no power, no prestige. no glory. and o
no use to the world?
It have been presiding at the i'm
perial conference where we had rep
resented not only the old nations. bu
young nations-Canada. Australia
New Zealand, South Africa-younf
nations. proud nations and fearless
nations.
AN Australian is as proud Of beini
an Australian as an Eng1fshman Il
of being an Englishman. They hav
the same sense of being separat
and distinct people. But at the sam
time they have q great sense of prid
in belonging to this great family o
nations in the world. known as tn