IRELAND'S BUSINESS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLI, Issue 13352, 9 April 1914, Page 9

IRELAND'S BUSINESS.

THE ARMY'S POSITION

THE UNEASY PRIESTHOOD?

LONDON, February 27, <■ While the Nationalist party and some Liberals m this country constantly -dt;a.w attention to jthe fact, that the m&jotity of British people Overseas a_'e itt faVor of Home Rule for Ireland > the Opinion is strongly held tliat the Irish question has ..very little -to do with , vthe*'* selfgoverning Dominions.' The 'struggle between the interests of Ulster .'and the South » belongs almost entirely to r the Irish.' people m Ireland. To' all the 'rest df the British race outside, includiug those of Irish descent, the significance of the fight is i slight as compared with what it is to the Irish family at home. No Irish Australian of Southern 1 origin however devoted to tlie country of his forefathers, or no "Australian Orangemen, can fully ; appreciate * this Home Rule issue. Only after- you have^ spent time m the south of Ireland do you begin to Tealise.- how deep-rooted and unchangeable is the feeling/ of 'the Roman ■ Catholic Irish agaiiist the rule of Dublin Castle ; only by every-day contact with the people of Ulster can you give credit to their active animosity to the people of the south. ' OUTSIDERS DON'T UNDERSTAND. "Those of us who live outside Ireland and are interested m Home Rule are in-; terested olny m au academic way. Our feeling ia "not, and never can be, that of the Irish" .people themselves. The voice of the. -frii-h leaders by no means expresses the attitude of the Irish people. If compromise comes m Ireland, it will be forced 'upon a reluctant " multitude. Tlie Roman Catholics of the south may possibly get some slight satisfaction out of a modified measure of Home Rule. But Home Hide even for the south will be bitterly felt by .19 Irish Protestants out of 20. It is no use appealing to the reason of Ulster. Intelligent northerners frankly agree that after five years of Home Rule- in Dublin, religion would not be the issue i dividing the Irish Parliament. They agree that at Dublin,, as, everywhere else m the world, the party lines would be between class and class. Progressive and Conservative, wage earner and employer, and not between Roman Catholic and Pfotestant. They agree to this. "Rut," they ask, "what _s to happen during the first five years?" The Orangeman does liot reason on Horrfe Rule ; he feels. His feeling towards the southern Irishmen, towards the Roman Catholic 'religion, and towards the priesthood are part of his very being. He' took them from his mother before he was bom, and he will have them until he dies. That is what makes the Ulster problem so difficult. . If one frankly dismisses party politics ior a moment, it must be admitted that although to some extent the Ulster revolt has been organised m the Unionistinterest, it is a sincere revolt springing from the depths of religious fe.eh.ng. And this being so, it is fraught with danger, full .of fight, and, if necessary, ready for any personal. sacrifice. . WILL THE ARMY FIGHT? While the, feeling iii England continues calm m anticipation of Mr Asquith's capacity to arrange a peaceful solution, no one overlooks the possibility of civil war. Everywhere , there is speculation as to how the regular troops would behave if called upon to shoot down Ulster rebels. The general view is that neither officers nor men woula shrink from commands issued by his Majesty's Government. British troops, it is pointed out, have never hesitated to, fire on militant strikers or other rioters of their own flesh and blood. The parallel is not altogether a satisfactory one, for the religious factor m Ulster is quite new. One could understand a deeply-religious Protestant soldier who refused to fire upon. fellowProtestants who were m revolt only because they believed their religion to be m danger. I lately talked to an' officer about Home Rule. He argued for -an hour m /favor of the Ulster attitude. As -'we. parted he said, "I shan't see you again for a while. I have been ordered over to Belfast." "A wretched job," I said. "Very," he agreed. "Let us hope they will settle it quietly." No one^could. have spoken more strongly than he did against Home Rule and m favor and m •defence of Ulster's resistance. l_-ut there was-, no sign of . association between his politics and his duty as a soldier. I have no dbnbt that if trouble come*, he will carry out to the full his orders from, his superior officers. THE IRON SHUTTERS. "They are putting up the iron shutters again at my home at night. We have not had to use them since the bad days." The speaker was a Protestant lady, whose home previous to her marriage was m one of the southern coun-. ties of Ireland. There was something very sinister and unpromising m the thought of the rusted old shutters coming again into use as the result of Home Rule. Similar action is taking place , m all parts of Ireland. And there is no bluff about it, as there may have been about some of the theatrical demonstrations m Ulster. The Protestants of the southern counties sincerely believe that the passing of the Bill will be followed by trouble first m Ulster, and then by outbreaks of violence throughout, the country. The feeling which prompts tlie putting up of iron shutters scarcely comes within the understanding of the colonial. Australians and Canadians may be interested m /tlie Home Rule issue, but it is not their business. It is not the business of the people of England and Scotland and Wales. It is the business ouly of tlie Irish m Ire-, land, who are moved by racial and religious animosities so deep and so strong that they are past the, comprehension of those who live outride. : THE UNEASY CHURCH. I With Home Rule so nearly aceomi pliislied, it is interesting to notice that J. the Roman Catholic Church is showing }, some uneasiness about its future, m the | south of Ireland. One thing becomes I clearer as tlie Dublin Parliament apf proaches. Home R-pie will not mean 1 Rome rule either for Ulster or for the ■. south. The Roman Catholic clergy m I Ireland would appear to have over. f reached themselves m their enthusiasm. I Tlie truth of the famous declaration atI tributed to. the Vatican, that the roubles of the Pope are greatest iv thoso coun- ' tries which are almost entirely Roman Catholic, and least m Protestant countries, such as England and Germany, is now manifest. Immediately a Government, comprised m the main of Roman Catholics, is set up m Dublin, there will be the beginning of .the old issue of Church versus State. It' requires no gift of prophecy to foresee Mr Redmond and his colleagues jealously resenting too/ much interference from Rome m the conduct of Irish affairs. .Given Home Rule, the itomAh Catholic community m Ireland will at once be divided against itself. -The politicians and the priests will begin ,a long, and bitter .fight for supremacy." In these days such a fight can end only m one way. The Church will certainly get the worst of it. If this were more fully realised there would perhaps be less enthusiasm for Home Rule on the uart of ardent Irish ' Roman Catholics w.fw' dweH overseas. — Sydney Telegraph correspondent.