IRISH SETTLEMENT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2839, 2 August 1916, Page 5

IRISH SETTLEMENT

STATEMENT BY MR. ASQUITH < NEW CHIEF SECRETARY LORD LIEUTENANCY TO BE MAINTAINED Australian-Now Zealand Cable Association". (Bcuter's Telegram.) . r , (Rec. 1,.5.5'p.m:). .':. .'..'■* London, July 31. Mr. J. Dillon (Nationalist), spoakinjf in the House Commons, urged the Government to immediately discloss its' plans for the future government of Ire- ' < land. He had entered into tho negotia- . tions with Mr. Lloyd George unwilling-"-, ly. knowing at the. time the opportunity, such action would give the various fac-,,, tions which were assailing the power of tho Nationalist leaders. Mr. Asquith, - on July 10, after Mr. Lloyd George had. completcd his negotiations, had acceptedwritten terms of settlement, and an-;', nounced that Cabinet would submitthera.-: - for Parliament's acceptance. ' A week, ' later the Unionists of the Cabinet went',' to the Premier and announced that they , resolutely and finally declined, to accept; a condition which would retain tho full-; number of Irish members at Westmins-• ter. The present government of Ireland.'' was an unlimited military tyranny. Mr. Asquith, who followed, announced.'' that the Right Hon. H. E. Duke, M.P.,,; VffluM be the now Chief Secretary for'' ■Ireland. Ho would have a seat in th*-' Cabinet, but would spend tho bulk of;: his time in Ireland. Ulster couldff - not. bo brought under Home Bule without her consent. Tho Home Rulo A6fc' : could not be removed from. the Statute.' Book. The recent negotiations, although!', they had broken down, had revealed au i: approximation of attitude and had ere-.'-atcd a new situation. Tho House wasv dealing with the period of transition, and;,in a short time—shorter than some peo-' pie imagined--they would be ableHo arrive at a permanent arrangement. It 1 , was necessary, however, to nave a civil,' executive. His opinion was that tho* — schemo for a Provisional Council, with; an advising chief secretary, was imprac-' ticable. It was important to have am effc.ctive head of tho civil administration.Mr. Duke had .administrative capacity,. >. the sympathy of the Irish people, and a desire for a settlement. •' Mr. Asquith did; not think it fight, under existing con-,, • ditions, to reduce the military forces in Ireland. He paid a tribute to SirJohn Maxwell (the Commander-in-Chief in Ireland), who, he said, had always! leaned towards mercy. The Lord Lieu-' tenancy would be'maintained, but as a" matter of urgency he - would nominatethe present occupant (?). Sir Mackenzie Chalmers would remain on as Under-Sec-retary. " Mr. Asquith added that tho cases of • 18-41 Irish prisoners had been investigated, 1272 had been released, and 569 had Wen interned. It must not bo sup-'j posed that there was not a prima facie case ■ against those who had been released. He hoped to arrange for a. substantial Treasury. Loan to -rebuild the" places which' had been destroyed in. Dublin. Although there was a remarkable absence of ordinary agrarian crimo iu Ireland, thero had been a recrudes- / cence of Sinn Fein: activity in some dis-. tricts, in a most aggressive form. There had ahioHjeen deplorable manifestations of sympathy for tho enemy. Ho believ-, ed that the vast t majority of the people . j were loyal to the core, but thero were .. anarchical forces requiring vigilance. Mr. Redmond said that any revival of tho Dublin Castle regime would ,be serious, but tho establishment of a'Union--ist Executive would bq an outrage to Irish feolings. He protested against any such proposal. It would be the duty of his Party to watch, criticise if• necessary, and oppose the new Administration as they pleased. Thero would never now bo civil war in Ireland, and when the time was ripe all differences would be peacefully settled. The goal of a united Irelaud, to -which Sir Edward Carson, like himself, was turned, would be reached, pleaso God, through methods of pcaco and amity. "Nothing has happened—no- • ' thing could happen—to alter my views about the war. This is not only the Empire's war, but a war on behalf of small nationalities. In a very special sense- it; is Ireland's war." The highest intcr-> ' ' ; ests of Ireland required her to do her duty to .win the war. The Government; nui6t not allow that mad outbreak of a thousand men to make them forget tho 150.000 Irishmen who were fighting on the battlefields of France, and ■ the tens of thousands of Irishmen from tho oversea Dominions who were performing the same gallant tasks. ".'....'. Lord Hugh Cecil insisted that the Gov- • } eminent must enforce law and order.' Mr. Bonar Law said that the Unipnist Cabinet Ministers were prepared to adopt ! a settlement, but if the Unionists were i 'able to prevent it, Homo.. Rule would never come into operation without the Amending Bill, which carried out the ! agreement with Ulster fairly. ; \ "': Mr. Joseph Devlin (Nationalist) said that the Government seemed to think i that Irishmen wero good for nothing except for a division in the lobbies. If ever they marched ont again, he hoped - ! that it would be for the purpose of clearing tho present Coalition out of office. Ho had never agreed to the-permanent \ exclusion of Ulster. He'had agreed to.llr. Lloyd George's proposals because it was a temporary war measure. The send- '' ,; ing of a Unionist Chief Secretary to } prop up Dublin Castle would '. make ' things more hideous than ever. It would bo a travesty of statesmanship.. Mr. Dillon's motion "was carried. [Sit- Mackenzie Chalmers was detached ; from his duties as Permanent Under- ; Secretary for Home Affairs to carry on those relinquished by Sir Matthew ; Nathan.' Under-Secretary for Ireland. ■ when the latter resigned as a sequel to . the Sinn Fein outbreak. The preceding sentence has'evidently been mangled.in. transmission. The Viceroy, Viscount i Wimborne, resiguod."] THE SHOOTING'OF SKEFFINGTON ' AN OFFICIAL INQUIRY. ' • (Router's Telegram.) '■■ j London, July 31. j In the House of Commons Mr; AsquitK " announced that Sir J. A. Simon, M.P., will hold an inquiry into thc'.death'of Mr. Sheehy Skoffington. . » ■