The Washington times., 1922-09-23
BY HAYDEN TALBOT.
Copyright. 1892. New York Arnerican.I
Chapter II, Section 3.

from Lloyd George to negotiats a
treaty with England. Michael Col
Inns said to me:
ENGLAND wanted peace with Ire.
land. true; but II ireland made i'm.
possible dema nds we could be shown
to be irreconcilab bies-and then Eng.
land would again have a free hand
for whatever further measures Of
force might be necessary to restore
law and order in a country that
would not accept the responsibility
Of doing 80 for itself.
II was under no deiusion that the
offer indicated any real change Of
heart on the part OF England to-
ward Ireland.
In this respect was entirely at
one with the uncompromising Re
publicans. But held that then, as
always, Engiand's difficulty was Ire.
lands opportunity-Hnd we should
be fools TO fail to seize II merely be-
cause behind the offer was no sin
cerity OF good will.
Worlds Conscience.
at seemed to me to make no diff
science was felt by q minority OF
Englishmer-the minority that had
opposed England's Intervention In
the European war.
They were the peaceful group.
ayerse to bloodshed on principle.
They were opposed to the killing we
had TO do In self-defense quite as
much as they were opposed to the
aggressive killing Of our people by
the British agents sent to Ireland
for that purpose.
81 urged that we waste no time In
considering this phase OF the situa'
tIon. Pacifists the world over are
almost without any political power
and have very little popular support.
The point was that peace had become
necessary to England.
eft was not because she had re-
pented In the very middle OF her
Black and Tan Terror. IL was not
because she could not subjueate US!
II was because she had not succeed
ed in subjug eating US before the
worlds conscience awakened and
made itself felt.
Birkenhead Frank.
I'VE had ample evidence Of this.
There was, for instance, the frank
admission Of Lord Birksnhead In the
british House Of Lords early In All
gust:
tempts made by the government has
proyed in a high degI GO disappoint'
ing
world sympathy was with us-pas.
siVe sympathy for the most part, II
we had done no more-and we mao
done much more-this winning OF
world sympathy was itself great
asset in the proposed negotiations
with England.
what IL was never possible to
make the more extreme of our con-
ferees appreciate was that we had
No, beaten and never could hope 20
beat the British military forces. We
had thus far prevented them from
conau, s'ag us-but that was the
ann OF our achievement. And in
July, 1921. we had reached the hish
water mark OF what we could do in
the way Of economic and military
resistance.
~ suppose there are Irishmen who
will no TO their graves still cherish
ln4 Ine UONhOu tttah ~
the struggle would have ended IN an
overwhelming victory for Irish arms.
II IL a pity, but Il Ia a fact. To such
men figures mean nothing. They
will not see.
Under Duress.
But even some Of these uncom-
promising Republicans had their
moments OF sanity. Some Of them
at least are on record as recogniz.
ing our inability to beat the British
out of Ireland. See what Mr., Bnr.
ton had to say In The Republic Of
ireland in it's issue Of February
"s II had become plain
that Il was physically impossible to
secure Ireland's ideal Of a complete.
lv isolated republic otherwise than
hv driving the overwhelmingly
sIperior British forces out of the
country
And yet Mr.. Barton-after he
had nut his signature to the treaty
toIked at a session Of Dali Eireann
about having signed under dur ss5'
Refore we went to London to neso-
tiate, Mr.. Barton knew, as did we
ali that the element OF duress ex-
isted and would continue TO exist
so long as British power lasts.
n. dAx-u ..sIl