COMPULSION BILL

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2672, 19 January 1916, Page 5

COMPULSION BILL

DISCUSSED IN COMIITTEE EXCLUSION OP IRELAND QUESTION OF EXPEDIENCY By Telegraph—Pres6 Association—Copyright (Rec. January 18, 9.35 p.m.) London, January 17. In the House of Commons, in Committee, on the Compulsion Bill, Mr. J. Chambers (Unionist member for Belfast) moved to "include Ireland in tho Bill. He said he was anxious to remove a stigma. The call came to every class in the Empire, and the exclusion of Ireland -would be a reproach and a disgrace. I Colonel Craig (Unionist member for East Down) urged the Nationalists to reconsider their position. Ireland could provide half a million soldiers. Mr. Bonar Law said that if there was a principle involved there would be no justification for the exclusion of Ireland, but the only purpose of the Bill was to get the necessary men for the j armies with the least friction, or division of opinion in the nation. He did not believe that it would be possible to apply tlie Bill to Ireland without a, considerable amount of force, and he loathed the possibility of party strife in connection with the war. We have perhaps mgre than enough to do to fight the enemy. It will be time enough to fight each other later on. 1 Sir Edward Carson said that he desired the inclusion of Ireland, but lie would not delay the Bill or weaken the country's position by pressing an amendment if the Nationalists did not comply. 1 Mr. Redmond (the Nationalist .Leader) deplored tho situation, but conscription in Ireland would 1)e impracticable, unworkable, and impossible. Instead oi increasing the army it would have the opposite effect and strengthen that contemptible minority amongst the Nationalists who wore consistently _ discouraging recruiting and undermining the Irish party. The War Office had asked Ireland for one thousand recruits per week, and the recruiting of these was proceeding satisfactorily. That was the basis of Ireland's attitude. It was almost miraculous that 95,000 had been recruited in Ireland since the war began, making a total of 151,143 Irishmen in tho Army. "Ireland," ho declared, "stands to-day with the Empire, and the good effect of this will be felt in every corner of the globe. A large proportion of Australian, New Zeaknd, Canadian, and South African soldiers are Irishmen, and the wave of enthusiasm amongst the Irish everywhere is of incalculable value to the Empire, especially in America." He urged that they should not drive Ireland and so lose the strength arising, from .the transformation of Irish opinion. Mr. Chambers's amendment was negatived without division. On an amendment not to apply compulsion to men under 21 yeare of age, Mr. Bonar Law said that the most terrible tragedy of the war was the sacrifice of eighteen-year-old officers. Tho necessity for gotting adequate numbers of men prevented the Government from accepting tho amendment not to apply compulsion to men under twenty-one, but none would be called up under nineteen. ' The amendment was thereupon negatived. The Government accepted an amendment for the exemption of those-who were married before November 2.