THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1922.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18171, 17 August 1922, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. THURSDAY, AUGUST 17, 1922.

EVENTS IN IRELAND. — —«. j Ireland has ceased temporarily to j occupy the centre of the stage where j world events engage the attention of J those impressed with the significI ance of contemporary histoiy. The I dramatic struggle between those on whom rests the responsibility of establishing a Government and their bitter foes has been momentarily obscured by great events elsewhere. Yet the fight is still being waged. It is reaching a stage where the attention of the national rulers must turn from fighting to the equally onerous task of endeavouring to build a peaceful and prosperous State on the foundations at which the forces of disruption have been sapping. In the present state of affairs there can be no alternative to those who sincerely love Ireland, no course other than to live for the day when the last spark of revolt has been stamped out. when the j Irish people can begin to show whether, as they have so often claimed, they are the best fitted to shape their own destinies. The steady advance of the Free State troops, the gradual freeing of town after town from the dominance of the Irregulars, gives grounds for hoping that the disorders are ncaring their end. The sudden blows struck by the Republicans north of Dublin do not necessarily mean an accession of strength. They point rather to a scattering of the forces previously concentrated in a section of the South. As the ordered resistance grows less, as the activities of the rebels come more to take the shape of isolated acts of violence, j there will be less reason to style the struggle a civil war, more cause j to classify the fighters as offenders .against the civil Jaw than to consider them the valiant adherents to a losing cause. They have defied the will of the country, as expressed at the (ballot; according to circumstantial accounts, they have not scrupled to oppress and harry their own countrymen. The name patriot was never very clearly theirs. It is becoming less applicable, that of common criminal more appropriate daily. An ofiicia! analysis of the forces declaring lor Republicanism was recently given to the House of Commons in these words:—" The Republican minority consists mainly of a, comparatively small (number of armed men, violent in method, fanatical in temper, but in many cases disinterested or impersqnal in motive. But behind these, strengthening these, multiplying these, disgracing these, are a larger number of common, sordid ruffians aud brigands', robbing, murdering, pillaging for their personal gain or for private revenge, or creating disorder and confusion out of pure love for disorder and confusion." The diagnosis was made before the commencement of the present factional strife in Ireland. Yet the course of events tallies closely with what might have been expected when one of the parties to the struggle was made up of just these elements. In the material destruction of historical buildings, of valuable property, and of means of communication may be found the ruthlessneas of the visionary prepared to subordinate all considerations to the purpose of imposing his ideas on others. In the element of pillage and wanton murder staining the fighting record of the Irregulars can be traced the hand of those without loftiness of motive or singleness of purpose to illuminate their dark deeds. The two elements make a dangerous combination. As hopes of success I diminish, the right of the honest 'man to be on the side of violence dwindles. The Republicans cannot win Irelandj they can only wound her. So far there has been no policy of punishing those who have defied the legitimate rulers. Such leniency has been wise, avoiding the creation of martyrs to the cause. But surely the time is coming when a period should be placed to it. A declaration might well be made that those remaining under arms after a given time will be considered outlaws, to be dealt with like any other criminals!. Such an act would be a manoeuvre of wise leadership. The critical period of the struggle, the time when a false sitep might be fraught with the most serious consequences, comes when there are serious gaps in the ranks of the leaders. Arthur Griffith, the man who, from being the driving force of the Sinn Fein movement, proved one of the strongest advocates of the treaty, is dead. His life is the record of as singlq-minded a deI votion as that which can be shown by any of those who oppose the Free State idea. But he also displayed a power of adaptation, and an ability to reconcile his ideals with political realities in which they are conspicuously lacking. To have both founded the Sinn Fein movei ment and secured the acceptance of l the treaty proves all that and more. j But he is gone, and for the moment the man to fill his place has not appeared. Michael Collins, as he himself has stated, is occupied with his duties as leader of the Free State forces. In any event, however great his ability and his inborn fstculty of j leadership, he has not the age and I the experience of the dead man. J/De Valera has eliminated himself serious consideration. Cathal Brugha is dead, Gavan Duffy has a resigned from the Free State Government. There has been a scattering of the men who were once proclaimed the leaders of a united Ireland. Death has claimed some, disunion has driven others away. At '■• : -S 1

a time when wise leadership is needed as never before there has been a break of solidarity among those who led Ireland to the signing of the treaty and the realisation of the Free State. It .is usually accepted that the times produce the -man. Of almost any other land it could be said that the great need of the moment was a .dominating personality, with the power to lead men, who could achieve reunion, and bend the energies of the whole nation to the tasks of peace and reconstruction. Being Ireland, it is not safe to say this is the only remedy* to meet the present situation, or indeed any remedy at all. The most that can be done is to hope that when the struggle runs itself to a standstill the men will be found to guide the nation into the paths of peace and prosperity in a manner such that Ireland will cease to be the stormy petrel of the Empire. 'gag ..." 1 —5S