The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1920-12-01 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

WHDNERDAY A SATURDA Y  WEDNESDAY, DEC. 1, 1920.  STOP!  vitt &Stairs have Tea ch ed such RR APPalling state in crime and terrorism  -..that the whole sense of tlhs country kingdom should rise in protest against a continuance of what is one of the worst blots that ever rested upon Britain's fair name. It is impossible that violence, outrage and &ors reprisals can be allowed to continue as part of an effort to settle a political difficulty. The whole commonsense of the country—the common-sense of Ireland ee well pa of the En/Led Esingdom —should cry aloud for a halt in the present insane and hopeless conflict. It is almost useless to discuss the merits of the Iris'h question politically while events .such as have marked the past week-end are taking place. On Saturday night fifteen big cotton end other warehouses in Liverpool and Bootle were ,--et ablaze, presumably by Sinn Fa'ners. and one fmnocent youth was killed by a bullet apparently intended for a policeman. For twenty-four hours fire brigades drawn from a wide radius—including Birkenbead—were 'fighting raging fires, which have destroyed property worth probably a million. of money, and thrown hundreds of men out 0f,,. employment. and have achieved absolutely nothing that avails for Ireland's happines. These outrages have been supplemented by one of the blackest crimes yet committed in Ireland—the ambushing on Sunday in County Cork of a patrol of seventeen auxiliary police cadeti ("black-and-tans "), fifteen of whom were murdered on. the spot in cold blood, and the jives of the other two men sre despaired of. This infamone act wee of course followed by wild reprisals,. a number of ghops being set on fire in the district implicated, and scarcely a dwelling-house left undamaged. It is impossible, we repeat. that this shameful state of...eivil wax ran go on. With passions inflamed on both sides, and daily watching for opportunities for acts ef vengeance, it is no time to discuss the merits of tbe Irish question in its fundamentalw gEhe first essential is to bring to an end the present war of force, bloodshed and destruction of property, and every section of the community that can bring influence to bear upon the rebellious Trigh on the one hand and the ImpetSal authorities on the other hand, should do so And we venture to suggest with all earnestness that the Boman Catholic Church, in this country and in Ireland, should lead the way. It wields enormous influence in Ireland—everyone is perfectly aware of this—and we refuse to believe I that if it raised it. hand firmly and determinedly, the rebellious section of the people of Ireland would not heed and respond.. Throughout England there is a growing conviction that the present wicked and wasteful conflict should cease, and that every possible ounce of effort should be concentrated on an amicable settlement of a trouble which refleots only shame and disgrace on English civilisation and statesmanship. While we recognise that no Government can possibly *it still in face of deliberate revolt and criminal enmity, we are wholeheartedly in favour of Ireland being given a most generous measure of Home Rule, short only of separation from England and of powers which would enable her to become an enemy. There is, we are convinced-, a vast body of law-abiding, sensible, intelligent people in Ireland from whom could be drawn administrators capable of ruling and guiding the country well. These mfist come to the front, and Ireland must be delivered once and for all from her extremists— must be delivered from that sense of wrong and oppression which has led her, for a hundred years, to suffer the extremists to lead her.