GOOD NEWS FROM IRELAND

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2794, 12 June 1916, Page 4

GOOD NEWS FROM IRELAND

A settlement of the Irish Home -tuile question now appears to be in sight. A cablegram which we pub--1.1 j ln , column announces that the Nationalist Party has agreed to the exclusion of the six Ulster Counties from the jurisdiction of the proposed Irish Parliament. This is a great step forward, and may lead on to a united and contented Ireland, .living in peace and prosperity as one of the most loyal of the self-governing States ot which the British Empire is composed. The recent rebellion made it clear that the pi-esent system of government could not be allowed to continue, and Mil. Lloyd George, who has been a tower of strength to the Empire ever since tho war began, undertook the task of inducing the Nationalists and the Ulstermen to reconcile their' differences in-order, that the Home Rule scheme, with some mutually acceptable modifications might be put into operation at qnce. Ho seems to have had the powerful assistance of Mr. Devlin, one of the Nationalist members, and Sir Edward Cahson, tho Ulster leader, showed himself ready to make concessions in view of.the fact that the Home Rule Act was on the Statute Book and not likely to be removed. At one stago it looked as though the negotiations would fail, but it now seems that a way out of the deadlock has been discovered. The Home Rule Bill received the Royal Assent on September 18, 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the war. But there was a general feeling that it would be unwise_ to attempt to put it into operation while the war was going on, and a Suspensory Act was passed, which provided that the existing Government of Ireland should continue for twelve months in any event, and if the war was not then terminated, until such further date, iwt "later than the date of the termination of the -war, as may be fixed by Ordor-in-Oouncil. Then came the rebellion, and with it the-demand for reconstruction of-the Government of Ireland. The madness of the Sinn Fein .irreconcilables and their misguided .associates gave rise to a desire for more friendly relations between the Ulstermen and tho followers of Ma. Redmond. Irish Catholics and Protestants had fought and died side by side for the same King and Empire and against the common foe, and it was quite impossible that the old barriers should be re-erected. The sting had been taken out of tho Home Rulo question, and hopes of a friendly settlement have been spreading among both parties. The spirit of goodwill and the recognition of the dangers of internal strife have now borne fruit, The proposed settlement may only bo a temporary arrangement, but it shows that the gulf between the. two great Irish parties is not unbridgeable, and with the return of peace a final and satisfactory solution of the Irish problem may be worked out. It is not unreasonable to expect that this will be one of the healing and unifying influences of the great war.