The Washington times., 1922-06-11

history know how disinclined towprd
forceful measures such truly. great
men. as. for instance. Thomas JEFF
ferson were.
'sThe Irish peoplee have had
ensaEir Of hsoodshea and tyrannicai
handful of the total popula.
tion was behind the uprising OF
Easter Week, 1915. And we have
just now emerged from six years Of
bloody Wharf.-The more terrible fof
people to live under. in that II vas
less generally recognized as war.
People Wanted Peace.
.It was this fact that occupied the
minds Of those OF us who went to
London last fall to negotiate tie
treaty.
I'VE knew that first and foremost
our people wanted peace-wante, ID q
cessation of the Black and Tan
terror-wanted q settlement thar
would enable US to get on with the
orderly conduct Of our day-to-day
lives.
"The opposition we who sponsor.
cd the treaty have met with has
been founded In tho republican doc
trines Of a handful of bitter men
and women whose outlook has been
aitogether political and as such Inn
practicable.
"The Slave Mind"
eff IL had been merely this tiny
minority we had had to consider.
there would have been no question
rs to our procedure. But. unhap-
ply. they were a relatively unim-
portant factor. Rory O'Connor and
his followers, who have chosen even
more militant methods to show their
discomfort with the treaty. were
and are-equally negligible.
"The point Ii that here In Ireland
.-thanks chiefly to the vicious e.
feet Of English misrule for centuries
there has developed . slave mind
among the people at large which per.
mifs thugs TO gain the upper hand
the moment military domination
such rs England exercises Is WITH
drawn.
"The followers Of our political OPP
ponents were few in number-in
sfriet truth, few Of the boldest Of the
Republicans In Dali Eheann know
which end Of gun Is the business
end. And as for the so-called irregu-
lars, they can be numbered in fewer
hundreds than there are thousands
Of loyal men in the I. r. A.
'At any time and In short order
we could drive them out OF their
quarters and effect their uncondi-
tional surrender.
But we have had other and more
important things to consider. To
establish the supremacy Of an, Irish
government by the very same means
which Irishmen have come to asso-
eiate with the English government
would be subversive Of the very
though Of a united Ireland.
Stability Is First Need"
I'VE have the pernicious effects OF
$50 years Of hatred Of government Of
any kind to overcome in the inherit
ed Instincts Of our people. ] hope
that q people more fortunately placed
may understand this thought
IF, NJ Is being said, the agreement
we have made with the Republicans
imperils the treaty. at least 1t is the
one thing that will bring stable con-
dttions to the country-and that Is
1reland's first need today.
"If, as Is yet to be proved, this
agreement results I'm renewed often
sive against Ireland by England
the agreement will give US q united
ireland I'm front OF which to meet
such an offensive.
IT. for one, doubt that England will
90 interpret our having come to an
agreement with those openly opposed
to the treaty. However. much to
their disliking. our agreement may
be, I am confident that they win rec
ognize the individuality OF renewing
their war Of subjugation against u
people who - divided - compelled
them to seek . truce.
but whatever the actual conse-
Quences. IL must be apparent to any
impartial observer that stable condi-
tions IN Ireland can. IN no conceiv-
able circumstances. be an injury to
anybody.
'Period Justifies Move.
Mr.. Churchill and the other
nsmbers of the English government
with whom we have been comforting
appreciate that we have come out
OF a revolutionary period, and that
IN the transitional period We are still
psrhaps face to face with conditions
more revolutionary than constitu.
ttonal.
eat least we have done our best
DO show them that the existing agree
HlRny - n BSIJtF way "a oh0oAhe NV
Irish people to express their free
win than any keenly or violently
contested elections could secure.
'"what we have done 10 actually an
attempt to carry us over what Is
really still O revolutionary period,
and our Qualifications Is that other
governments have put forward spe.
einl measures I'm times OF stress and
emergency that did not shape four
suuare with democracy.
But most important Of all the
considerations that led US TO form
a coalition with our opponents Is
the fact that at every period In
Irish history internal differences
have been fought out too soon.
Feared National Split.
eff we had gone on as we were
Roine and come into actual con-
fiict with our opponents--an even
tuality many Of US are certain Eng
land desired above all else--we
shouid have been repeatig history.
1--WE should have done what
happened In the days Of ParnelI
and Butt. They divided too soon.
eplit the nation and made II i'm.