ERIN S OPPORTUNITY

Waipawa Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 8360, 23 July 1920, Page 2 (Supplement)

ERIN S OPPORTUNITY

LAST CHANCE OF OBTAINING UNITY AND PEACE. 7 KORATIO BOTTOMLEY. is article from the “Sunday Pic- " Mr. Bottomley pleads for a rial for the new Home Rule Bill, mints out the terrible consequenhich would follow its failure — asising the fact that there is :>ne half-way house between the posed settlement and anarchy. hough, after much consideraI decided to take no part in the e on the latest Home Rule Bill hough I might have had the opnity of preceding the Prime ter —I voted for its second reads I have voted for every Home Bill which has been introduced t I have been in Parliament, iad I spoken I should have said as in the case of the previous ires, I see little hope for the fulreland is the insoluble probf the British Empire. At least, s my sorry opinion after a study er thirty years. But still I votr the Bill, although I think this last time I shall ever have the tunity of supporting a Constituttheme “for the better Governof Ireland.” In other words, it w or Never. God grant it be • * * 9 possible effect of the failure of atest Bill staggers the imaginaBritain might become the ing-stock of the world. But. is far more serious, an eruption occur in the very centre of her re which would mean the begiuof the break-up of that Empire ghout the world. Just as the war taught us how thin is the which separates Civilisation Barbarism, so may the failure itish rule in Ireland emphasise lenderness of the thread which the People of the United Kingand her Dominions beyond the

ke no mistake about it. This lome Rule Bill —for there can be another—means something ely bigger than the future Gov»nt of Ireland. That is w’hat so of us felt when we went into 'ivision Lobby in support of it. is what Sir Edward Carson felt he declined to take the responvof opposing it. And—though a totally different and more sinpoint of view—that is what of those who did oppose it felt, care they for the future of the re? Whenever have they sat quietly and contemplated the to Progress, to Civilisation, to mity, which the dist integration itain would mean, May they be en!

. I have already said, these peoill remind me, that I see little of success for the new Bill. Yes. »w that—but I am all for givt a fair trial; and, not being y a critic, but also an amateur man of sorts, I am prepared my remedy if the Bill should to which I will come in a mo-

st of all, why am I, for once, a nist? The answer is as simple the history of Home Rule deit is hackneyed. There is no country, in the political sense, *land. There are two Irelands

i in race, in religion, in tradiFirst, there is the question of aphical groupings, which is one ; puzzles of the situation. As I said elsewhere, “You cannot sate the whole of each of the nationalities in two distinct and consequently any scheme evise for either the whole or a »n of the Ulster counties must cessity leave a large portion of opulation at the mercy of its and religious enemies.” You however, two distinct Peoples in the same country, the one : and the other Saxon—the one, ally speakina. fanatirallv Caththe other, intolerably Protesthe one, emotional, passionate, ian, unruly—the other, calcu- , commercial, conventional and 1 oiding. How are you ever go- ) blend the two?

. if we can’t blend them, let us • reconcile them to each other, he new Bill. Each of the two ns shall have its own Parliaand subject to strict Imperial lards, shall govern itself. And ps some day, say the sponsors le measure, they may come to stand each other better—may grow to love one another —and 11 be well!

aren’t we living in a Fool’s ise when we talk like that? shut our eyes to the fact that ajority of the people of Ireland ' are out and out against any very form of British rule? Inthey have already formally timed a Republic, and its “Pres- ” with his official title, is being ired and acclaimed throughout ica—having conferred upon him reedom of New' York and other What, then, will happen unhe new Bill? If a Southern iment be elected, it will be overaingly Sinn Fein. il the members take the Oath of ance, or, having been elected, hey treat the Southern Parliav.ith the same contemptuous inence as they extend to the Britouse of Commons? If so. there >e for all practical purposes on- ? Ulster Parliament, every one lose Acts will be repudiated by outh—which, though Sinn Fein, eclare its allegiance only to the Republic. In such circumstanvhat will a handful of Xation- . who may be elected and take seats, be able to do? Every >f its decrees would be set at it; and the Northern Parliawith such an object lesson of opelessness of Home Rule belts eyes, will decline to meet, will demand an immediate re-

to unqualified British rule, 'course, I may be unduly approve—and happy, indeed, shall I see the new' Act, when it comes operation, justify the hopes of Jthors. Certainly we must all r best to bring that abou'. And

1-organised system of Propaganroughout Ireland might do wonAs Sir Edward Carson pointed luring the recent debate, our jf such propaganda enabled “illtioned men” to come over from ica to stir up crime in Ireland, i are w r c to have a Minister of < iganda? i t suppose the Act should break : ? Even then all need not be J Erin may still have her op-

portunity. We shall have to face the facts. We shall have to realise that as regards British rule for the whole of Ireland, Britain is beaten. And we hall have to prove the sincerity of our loud protestations, during the war, of our belief in the doctrine of “self-determination ”

And that brings me to the only alternatice, as it appears to my mind, to the scheme of the new Bill. Recognising that there are two Irelands, as there are, or were, several Africas, we must partition the country into two—British and Independent Ireland. That is the only half-way house between the proposed settlement, on the one hand, and anarchy and revolution on the other. As I have said, I hope most sincerely that no necessity for my alternative will ever arise. I hope the professional politicians will agree to bury the hatchet. I confess that I was disgusted with the attempt to revive old Party animosities during the recent debate. Party has been Ireland’s greatest enemy in the past. And the political Press, too, must help. In other words, whilst there is the faintest hope of unity, let no man do aught to spread discord. And only when this last honest effort to solve the Irish enigma has failed must we look around for a more drastic remedy.

The nature of that remedy I have indicated, and this is how I have put it in my own paper: “There are two

ways, and two ways only, in which the problem can be settled. Either v.e must let Northern and Southern Ireland fight it out between themselves—‘leaving the fire to burn itself out,' as the Prime Minister said of Russia - or we must face the situation. And how can we deal with it? I see but one way. We must have British Ireland and Independent Ireland—giving every Southern loyalist the opportunity, and ample facilities, for transferring to the North British Ireland would, of course, have the potection, in every respect, of the Mother Country—whilst Independent Ireland would be left to shift for itself. There might bo, and probably would be, occasional friction between (he two Irelands—but there would be no Imperial danger.

I wish I ccukl write more hopefully—but there it is. Unity, in my opinion, will never come from outside no Act of Parliament will accomplish it; it must come from the soul of Erin herself. The new Act is Britain’s Easter gift to her. Do not let her lightly reject it. I have endeavoured to point the only other way, and although 1 doubt not that in the end there would come across the Irish Sea an almost unanimous cry to old England to take the Southern county once more into the British Empire, I know that many tea*:3 — aye. and perhaps much blood—wr.uld be shed before that day arrived.

Wherefore, again I say it is Erin’s opportunity. It is also Britain's acid test. We are both on our trial. The issue is in the lay of the Gods.