HOME RULE PROBLEM

Waikato Argus, Volume XXXVI, Issue 5668, 23 July 1914, Page 3

HOME RULE PROBLEM

HONOURABLE SETTLEMENT PRAYED FOR.

Received 9 p.m., 22nd. London, July 22. The King received the delegates, and briefly addressed them. His Majesty said: "It is with a feeling of satisfaction and hopefulness that 1 receive you, and thank you for responding to my summons. It is also a matter for congratulation that the Speaker presides. "My intervention at this moment may be regarded as a new departure, but the exceptional circumstances justify the action. For months we have watched with deep misgivings I the course of events in Ireland. The I trend has been surely and steadily I towards an appeal to force, and toj day the cry of civil war is on the I lips of the most responsible and

j soberminded of my people. "We in the past have endeavoured to act as a civilised example to the world, and to me it is unthinkable, as it must be to you, that we should be brought to the brink of fratricidal strife upon issues apparently so eapeblo of adjustment as those you are now asked to consider, if handled in a spirit of generous compromise. "My apprehension in contemplating such a dire calamity is intensified by my feelings of attachment ]to Ireland and sympathy with her ! people, who have always welcomed me with warm-hearted affection. "Gentlemen, you represent in one i form and another the vast majority of my subjects at home. You have | also a interest for my Do- \ minions oversea, who are scarcely less concerned in the prompt and ; friendly settlement of this question. "I regard you in this matter as j trustees for the honour and peace of all. Your responsibilities indeed are great,' and the time is short. You I will, I know, employ it to the fullest advantage, and be patient, earnest and conciliatory in view of the ! magnitude of the interests at stake. "I pray God in His infinite wisdom to guide your deliberations so that the result may be joy, peace, and an honourable settlement." The proceedings, which were private, lasted for half an hour, and were then adjourned until today. THE KING'S INTERVENTION. VARIOUS COMMENTS. LITTLE GOOD EXPECTED. Received 9 p.m., 22nd. London, July 22. The small progress made by the conference was due apparently to the necessity for private consultation between the members of the separate groups. When the conference resumes today it is expected to discuss the area of exclusion, which is the crux of the situation. Those who are in close touch with the negotiations are not hopeful ofthe conference's success. Opinion in Ireland regards its failure as a foregone conclusion.lt ia reported that Mr Redmond has informed his followers that he will resolutely decline to yield one inch of the counties where there is a Home Rule majority. On the Unionist side there is an equally firm resolve to claim the whole of Tyrone and Fermanagh. Mr Devlin, in an interview, said he did not expect any result from the j conference. He did not care what j the conference did or failed to do. The ultimate result of the conference would be the complete independence j of Ireland.

Mr Ramsay Macdonald, in an interview, said: "The King's extraordinary speech makes one rub one's eyes and wonder whether one is dreaming. The remark about civil war might grace the speech of a Unionist candidate for Parliament." Mr J. 11. Thomas, Labour member for Derby, commenting on what he termed two lebels being invited, and no Labour leaders, to the conference, said that had he used language similar to that employed by Sir Edward Carson and Captain Craig, he would have been in the Old Bailey instead of at liuckingham Palace. If it were permissible for the wealthy classes to maintain such an attitude, he would not hesitate to take a similar stand among his own people when placed in a similar position of trial. The Radical and Independent Liberals who promoted the Liberal meeting desired that the meeting should express anxiety about the sovereignty of Parliament and suspicion of the Palace conference, but a large attendance of moderates carried a resolution in favour of the Government completing its programme under the Parliament Act before a general election. Renewed lobby rumours state that a general election is imminent. Both th» Liberals and Unionists share the belief in an early dissolution.

IRISH LEADERS CHEERED BY SULDIERS. Received 8.30 a.m., 23rd. London, July 22. The conference was adjourned till tomorrow. When Mr Redmond and Mr Dillon were passing Wellington Barracks, a number of the Irish Guardß enthusiastically cheered them. KING AND PREMIER. MINISTERS' RESPONSIBILITY. Received 9.50 a.m,. 2.'! rd. London, July 22. In the House of Commons Mr A. Ponsonby asked whether the King's Speech had been drawn up and published on the advice of Ministers in accordance with custom and precedent. Mr Asquith replied that the speech was sent to him in the ordinary way a day before. He took the whole responsibility. The King left the conference to determine whether the text would be published, and the conference unanimously favoured publication. Lord Robert Cecil asked if the conference had been summoned upon the Cabinet's advice. Mr Asqjith replied that the King throughout had followed the strictest constitutional procedure and had taken no step except in consultation with, and upon the advice of his ministers. A meeting of Nationalists at Enniskillen carried a resolution that Fermanogh would never agree to any sort of exclusion.