The Irish Crisis

Press, Volume L, Issue 15017, 11 July 1914, Page 10

The Irish Crisis

The Opposition in the House of Lords is dealing drastically with tho n Amending Bill, Avhich is designed to ]_ effect a compromise on the Homo Rulo j c crisis. Yesterday neAvs came that, they. P had abolished tho timo limit for exclu- •"' sion; to-day we are informed that they have removed Unionists in Ulster and tho South and West of Ireland from tho j, jurisdiction of tho Home Rulo judiciary, „ ar.d permanently excluded land pur- I chase, and tho Royal Irish Constabu- s lary from tho control of tho Irish Go- S verument. Tho removal of Unionist-s ' from tho jurisdiction of Irish Courts is a . gravo step. It means apparently that Unionists, whether in a county that j has voted exclusion, or in another v part of Ireland, will be beyond 1 tho jurisdiction of Irish Courts, * though they may be subject to Irish law. Hoav this is going to bo j worked out in practice it is not very j easy to sec. The amendment raises 1 again the case of tho Unionists outsido - Ulster, who have been rather over- • looked in tho storm and stress of the last few months. Under the Home , Rulo Bill, land purchase and the Con- E stabulary aro both reserved temporarily for Imperial control, and Nationalists , will object as strongly to their per- _ manent reserA-ation as to tho jurisdiction amendment. The Go\*ernmont is 1 apparently holding out until the very ' last moment; not until tho Amending Bill comes beforo tho Houso of Commons will it bo seen how far it pro- ■ poses to go in the path of concession.It is significant that a number of Liberals opposed to coercion are pressing the Government.to make further concessions. What was formerly considered bluff on Ulster's part is now seen to be grim determination. In this connexion, it is worth mentioning that "Truth," which has ahvays supported Home Rule, and in the early days of the Ulster movement ridiculed Ulster's preparations, now plainly says that civil war will follow if tho parties do not compromise. "This is tho pros- " poet new AvitlTin reasonablo distance — "civil war in Ireland, the Army in a " state of mutiny, the Government "more or less paralysed, tho whole " kingdom on the brink of anarchy, "a situation created the outcome of " which no one can foretell." Within tho next week or two this situation must bo dealt with for good or evil. The tension is too great to last. Judging by the information we publish this morning, it is oven questionable whether peace can bo kept in Ireland until the Amending Bill is considered by the Commons and, conferences take place between tho tAvo Houses on theLords' amendments. Those processes of Parliament are slow," and a people in arms is impatient. In 6, musical comedy played in New Zealand some fifteen years ago, a well-known comedian in a burlesqued military role, Averted audiences with a nonse___-_ong about "Th© Battersea Butler-shooters." The absurdity of shooting butterflies gave the title its point, but to-day wo learn that a collector has returned from Papua with a butterfly which measures a fooacross, and flies so high that it has to be brought down with a gun. The story reminds one of Mr Wells's romance, "The Foed of the Gods," in which wasps, grown to the size of rabbits from feeding on the new food, boomed through tbe air with terrifying menace. But such a butterfly might bo j expected/to come out of New Guinea, so j much of which is still a land of mystery. Probably no other part of the world affords tho same hope of novelty to tho entomologist, the zoologist, and tho ornithologist. It- may be added that noAvhere will the collector run greater risk of losing his life in pursuit of new species. The collector who has captured the largest butterfly could tell a fascinating story of hardships and perils undergone to increase knowledge of tho j most beautiful of insects. A few days ago, it will be remembered, Mr Isitt brought before the Houso a Native land trausaction, which he, thought, in tho interests of tho [ Natives, required explanation. Tho [ same transaction, it appears, had also j been even more urgently brought forward in the columns of a paper called j "Truth." 'Yesterday Mr Massey read a ■ perfectly clear, straightfonvard, aud ! satisfactory statement from the solictor j concerned in the matter. What action j the newspaper referred to may take is | a matter of no particular importance. We trust-, however, that Mr Isitt will do the right thing. The visit of Australian Cadets to England should do something to correct the false ideas of national training so assiduously oultirvatcd by the anti-mili-tarists. Probably there are people at h Home who really believe that the Cadet is a miserable, unwilling conscript, dragooned into the ranks and ill-treated when he gets there. Such people Avill expect Cadets to look like down-trodden victims of a cruel system, and in>private conversation to be bitter opponents of compulsory training. If they meet any of these lads from oversea they will get ! a surprise. It is to bo hoped that before long it will bo possible to send a body of New Zealand Cadets to England to show the benefits of our system and the cheerfulness with which duty is done. . Many years ago du-Maurier drew a picture of a French visitor to London I confronted by an exceedingly dilapii dated sandwich-man, Avhoso board adj vertised in large letters, Mr J. L. I Toolo in "Ici on Parle Francais." "A j walking interpreter," said tho Frenchj man; "what a fine idea! Mr Toole, I would you pleas© tell mo tho way to Piccadilly Circus?" One is reminded of this by a cable message to-day, stating ! that tho London Omnibus Company is I stationing interpreters at busy spots in

the city. The Entente Cordiale has-pro-bably most to do Arith this interesting development. Moro French people visit*. England every year, whilo German-, also oonio over in increasing numbers. After the season, Avhen "everybody" is out of town, thousands of foreigners pour into London, and one of the commonest eights, is a tourist consulting his Baedeker. No ono in London Aviil welcome the interpreter moro than the policeman. Avho in '-lie height of the tourist season mus- get- rather tired of being asked for directions.

Apparently it is possible to do too much for the immigrant. "Much publicity and praise has been given to tho enterprise of the Canadian-Pacific Railway in providing ready-mado farms for immigrants. The arrangement looks delightfully convenient for the newcomer, avlio steps into a. farm, fenced, and provided with a homestead. Similar methods have been tried in Tasmania. West Australia, and Victoria. But, ;iccording to tho London correspondent of tho Sydney "Daily Telegraph,"' these scheme*, broadly speaking, havo been failures. Thero has been some success on a very .small scale in Tasmania. But tho Victorian Government no longer offers ready-made farms to tho British public: if a man wishes to purchaso land in the irrigated blocks, he is advised to go to tho spot and choose land for himself, before the Government begins to improve it for him. Tho Midland Raihvay Company in West Australia has spent large sums in advertising its farms in Britain, but with very disappointing results. Tho correspondent has seen Canadian ready-made properties, and he says the experiment so far has had only indifferent results, and has had nothing whatoA*er to do Avith tho inflow of settlers Avith capital. I The failure of these schemes, which look so weli on paper, is duo to tho natural dislike of peoplo to buy properties they havo not seen. Proprietors of ready-mado farms have endeavoured to get over this by arranging for the purchaso to be left over dutil the immigrant arrives on tho ground, promising that if ho buys their lands, the whole, or part, of his steamer fare will bo refunded. But this has had littlo effect, for one thing, because immigrants know that the faro will bo added to the price of the land. Experience shoAvs that the man who has purchased a ready-made block without seeing it, raises numbers of objections when he arrives there, and the moro that is dono for him tho moro room thero'is for fault-finding. "If he goes out upon his own initiative paying his full fere. Avith no guarantee of work or land awaiting him, he will probably at once buckle to, and take what comes with tho best of grace. . But immediately you begin to pay part of his faro, and guarantee him work, or a readymade farm, he thinks he is badly needed; his valuation of himself shoots up; he becomes not a grateful fortuneseeker, but a captious critic. Ho gets it into his head that you aro running after him." Tho correspondent's conclusion is that it is not ready-made . farms that are necessary to promote immigration in Australia, but a desire on the part of the people for immigrants.