TROUBLES OF IRELAND

Wanganui Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15130, 26 January 1917, Page 7

TROUBLES OF IRELAND

MR DILLON AND MR HEALY. TWO VIEWS. LONDON, November 17. Mr John Dillon, speaking in London the other day, gave his view of the cause of (he present impasse in Ireland. When war broke out the Nationalist leaders knew that in order to strike the heart of the L’ish people and secure the full strength of Ireland for the it was absolutely necessary to approach them from the point of view of trust. Mr Redmond, himself, and others decided that the best mfethod would be to see Lord Kitchener and lay before him a plan by which they werfe confident Ireland would respond splendidly to any call made upon her. One part of the programme was that they should be entrusted with the peace of Ireland. They had at that moment 140.00 drilled men throughout the whole of Ireland loyal to the NationisT leadership. They said to Lord Kitchener, “Give us arms and uniforms for 20,000 of these volunteers, and we will keep Ireland fpr you. These 20,000 volunteers will be the best possible means of getting Irishmen into the army, because you will arouse enthusiasm, {and strike the imagination and generous feeling of the Irish people.” Every single proposal they made was “turned down,” and for the first six months of the war Ireland was put in the hands of the ascendancy party, the'worst enemies of the Irish people. In spite of that the Nationalist leaders did their best, and if recruiting had been properly conducted a .very much larger number of recruits would haW been obtained. What was really wanted in Ireland, and unhappily was not fortncoming, was an appeal to the heart of Ireland. Generous in spite of grievances against this country, she was willing to rush into the battle with the traditional fervour of her sons, and she was repelled, insulted, .snubbed, and treated as if she were, a nation hostile to this country. For the first six months of the war Ireland did extremely well. Lord Kitchener said, “Give me 5000 men and I shall say ‘Thank you’; give me 12.000 and I shall; say T am very much obliged.’ ” “We have given 100,000 men, and some people do not seem to be much obliged yet.” (Laughter and cheers.) The source of all this trouble in Ireland, Mr Dillon continued, was the formation of the Coalition Government. Up to the eve of the insurrection twenty to one of the Irish people were with this country. There was a small, well organised minority of men who were willing to die to prevent the two peoples being reconciled. They were the remnants' of the old revolutinary party, bred by long generations of oppression and misgovernment. But there was also the old ascendancy party—the Die 'lards. By an extreme paradox, the ascendancy party co-operated with the revolutionary party because they too were just as much afraid of an understanding between the democracies of England and Ireland as the revolutionaries. They were dilghted when the rebellion broke out, because they said, “Now r we have Redmond at last. We will show the Engsh people that the only way is to hold Ireland down as in the past, and treat her as a nation of rebels.” When Sir Edward Carson was brought into the Government tens of thousands of young Irishmen who. were willing to support this country turned round and said, “We are sold again! This means the death of Home Rule.” (A voice: “So it does.”) His own feeling ;was that the British people ' meant to stand by their word. (Cheers.) ' THE REVERSE. Mr T. M. Healy, sp’eaMng at Skibr bereen, slashes into the Nationalists without mercy;. “Over ten years ago,” he said, “the Irish people entrusted their fortunes to a body called the Irish Parliamentary Party. . That party has sold them. We are as much bought and sold by the party as the beast in the market, and I am here openly to say to you that they are either traitors or a gang of miserable incompetents. The Irish Parliamentary Party can neither make peace nor war. I read that they were engaged in Downing Street yesterday with Mr Asquith, while the 4,ay before they were voting with Sir Edward Carson in the House of Commons on some question about Nigeria—some place in East Africa Inhabited by blacks. What is to be said of the last ten years to these men? How have they done? They have put the corpse of Ireland on the dissecting table in order to cut off six of the leading business counties, six of tlfe richest counties that will enable us to help to finance the country, and they agreed to cut them off with as litle compunction as you would cut a potato in halves. What is the excuse for that? (A voice; Money hunting.) The Irish Party are now like a shipwrecked vessel, the mast of which is'being cut off and flopping by the side of the vessel, and helping to shipwreck it. ' Redmond is the mast, and I tell the Irish people front this platform that until Redmond and his gang are banished and exorcised out of Ireland and out of power there will be no <-ood done for this country.”