Evening star., 1924-08-07

The pacihcation of Ulster or North
ern Ireland" and its reconciliation
with Great Britain and the Irish Free
State are problems which continue to
puzzle both London and Dublin. and
are not without their worries in Prot
estant Belfast and Catholic London
derry. The world had hoped that the
Irish struggle of the centuries had
ended.
"our feud is dead" the Irish said.
And this shall he our sign
Then straightway began the fray
On where to draw the line!
John Bull Gondon).
Northern ireland insists not SO
much on remaining loyal to Great
Britain twhose authority to carry out
the Irish treaty of 1921 it resists), as
it does in refusing adhesion to the
the Saorstat.
X X X
The treaty OF 1921 gave Ulster the
option of becoming part of the Irish
Free State or of remaining a part of
Great Britain. That option became
effective under certain conditions
that Ulster decide within 80 days and
indicate it's decision to remain in
Great Britain as of the status prior
to the Irish rebellion. part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland. or otherwise it would be in
cluded automatically as part of the
Irish Free State. upon the assump
ton that the treaty covered all Ire
land. That months option expired
two years ago. On December %, 1922,
the parliament of Northern Ireland.
ignoring the specific treaty, voted for
it's exclusion from the Irish Free
state. BY the terms of the treaty
that decision involved the question of
Northern Ireland complicated
question, as to what part of Ulster
wants to adhere to England and what
part prefers the Irish Free State.
Only six of the nine counties of the
province of Ulster had any doubt as
to preferring the Irish Free State. 1t
is claimed that of these six counties
the population OF two of them gives
a majority in favor of an All-Ireland
Free State, with "a per cent of the
ring the Irish Free State. Some 450,-
600 Irish Catholics are said to be
domiciled in Protestant Ulster among
900. 900 Protestants.
/ These Protestants are divided-they
are not all adherents of the Church of
England. Being of Scotch descent, most
Of them are Presbyterians, whose an
cestors were exifed from the 1owlands
of Scotland by Cromwell at the time he
sent other prisoners of battle to the
farther exile of New England and the
Barbados.
Ever since the treaty Of 1921 be-
tween the Irish Free State and Great
Britain the English government, under
Lloyd George and later under Mac
Donald, has sought to carry out the pro-
visions Of that treaty, including the ap-
pointment of commission to define the
boundary between Ulster or Northern
Ireland" with it's separate Parliament,
and the Irish Free State.
The Irish Free State has appointed its
member of the commission; the British
government has recently appointed its
member--the chsirman-but- Ulster stub
bornly refuses to appoint its representa-
tive. The chairman, representing the
empire, is Mr.. Justice Feetham, mem
Der Of the South African Supreme Court,
and therefore eminently qualified and
The ground for listers refusal is that
the treaty was forced on Ireland by
Great Britain, while the Irish British
war. was on, and was never recognized
by Ulster. The Irish Free State con-
tends that in making the war-ending
treaty 1t represented, all of Ireland
Ulster especially refuses to recognize
any act Of q boundary commission so
long as the commission proposes to take
under consideration not merely the ad-
justment of minor details of boundary
but the slicing of from Ulster of whole
counties and parts Of other counties. on
the basis Of a pfebevutte Of a preference
LOT the tnhabitautss 1feUce shE WIN not