IRELAND AND THE SINN FEIN

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3195, 20 September 1917, Page 7

IRELAND AND THE SINN FEIN

MEANING OF THE RECENT ELECTION / VICTORIES ':-... ; THE IRISH CONVENTION ■ \. .How '.are we to understand, the -recent ...'Victories'of Sinn'Fein at tlie polls? asks . M 5. George: A'. Birmingham (Rev.. Canon . 'Hawiay, the famous Irish novelist). Has ... •• Ireland -"gone Republican," and miist .. ' we r'eqkon in the future'.with a., demand . for complete independence? Or has the . \ IrishiVoterVslniply got;tired,of,the .party : which has represented him so long and made uphis wind to get rid. of it? Most 'critics'\pf our .affairs, inoline : alternative. There- are prob- ':•' ably .even'now out-and-out sep- ■'■ " in (Ireland. ''There is a large and \:: s niinl)>er of men who .■ ara* profoundly: dissatisfied/with the policy ' and methbdsTpfrthe' Parliamentary Partv. ... Biit the>ii6cess of.'Sinii Feihtts something .•'■■' morV.ihah: air'ordinivry swing of, the po!i- ---' ticaripehdiiltirnV-The defeat of tlio official y ' party.-, fe'-;Bot-the same sort of thing us the'deoacle. of .the Unionists in 19060'fher a' different? party' came .'into power. >. '".Che eleotors.'ei'choJigedvbne'set of parliamentarians for another;- Ireland is gettin; .■-• of parliamentarians altogether, and "giving their plates to men Avho.will have nothing to do with-Parliament, who will .not go to Westminster, who --tefuse "-to _ play the political game according to the : " •■; recognised rules.-. The Irish'electors aw . not merely putting the other side in—the ", recognised procedure in the; political ■•cricket .match—they are' smashing the wickets, digging Holes' in the .pitch, raid declaring ' that they no longer want r< '■'"'< ' watch either batting or bowling. ■'- :..■'-. Nationalist Party out of Favour; ;.V .., Ireland i 6 not only'dissatisfied witt the Party, which, after'all,'has ', done" pretty well' for Ireland; ,Tk; is dissatisfied, with, the conditions Hinder, whioh ;the party, works. And what' we-have felt V&S rest of "the United l Kjngdbm'"is! feeling too.. The English, the\Sco'ts,' and ' the Welsh ard beginrJng/to'g^isp,the.fact •that .parliamentary politics have sunk to '\ alow level; that the .whole ; business ,is • ■ • " fundamentally dishonest j that", moreover, "-'• -it is utterly inefficient.'. Ireland has'act- '■" ed 'while the rest of the United Kingdom " ■ •. has been.-content to growl. We have set -to: work, not to turn out politicians of / ;'': this'party -or- that, but to create a new 'way of conducting politics,, outside of ■.'.' Parliament;. which we -recognise • as de- ," "graded and hopeless. .How,long will it be „'•-. .'before .the .'rest of the -United;, Kingdom ••.' followsour example? ..'.'" This is. the true significance of,!Ea6t -.-'■ Clare-arid the victories-which, preceded it.'- That a few thousand West of, Ireland - fanners voted for a Republican candidate \"' : is nothing. That »• constituency, any '. .'"constituency, has shown itself..determin- ■'-■■'■ ed to get rid of (the. whole, gang- of'party- ' ' ■ '■ politicians is a portent. "It is,just because "Sinn Fein is doing this.that-it.wins sympathy in ail sorts of unexpected quar- '." iters.- Rigid Unionists,:stern:Tories, men with no political opinions of : any-kind, "~ soldiers, enthusiastic Imperialists, "will confess privately their hopes-'tha£- Sinn Fein will win, here, there, or elsewhere. .'"'"" They are not Republicans; they, diead separatism; they dislike almost every doctrine that any Sinn.,. Feiner. has ■ ever preached; but'they,'.recognise in Sinn Fein a. force which may; knock -out the party, politician, that common enemy of '.''■ all honest men; ■ ■ ". : With the Irish' Convention we are go- -' oirig to try to'settle our-own affairs m- ' stead" of abusing Englishmen ,for not settling them for us. That is-a, clear gain.; ,It is- quite possible that the Convention will hammer onrt some kind of Cpnstitiir lion. If it: does,". that will ;, step in advance. But the;greatest diffi-; •■■■ culty. will still be before' jus.;': ■'-'}. ; Vih->\'& ' Can Ireland, all Ireland, : be inducedlx> accept the Constitution which the; Coh- ' "• vention devises? ,That Constitution will be like the old Ypres salient. Its de£end- ' ers, entrenching themselves against the 'enemy in front, the natural difficulties of the-thing itself, will be liable to bombardment from: Ulster on.rheir right,and machine-gun fire from Siun Fein on their left, their position doubly enfiladed. Such ■~ "positions .can be held, no doubt;_ but would be muoh pleasanter if the - 'flanking-forces "would consider whether it is. really to their interest ,to destroy what the Convention tries to build.'. the Ulster Dilemma. . Ulster has hitherto demanded to v bo ■■' left out of a self-governing Ireland whatever the form of government may be. Unless Ulster changes, her mind the lab- ■ .' ours of the Convention will be vain. Will Ulster consider what her demand Teally. means for;herself? If she is left ■ out, of Ireland she becomes part of Eng- ■ •'• land for all purposes' of government. .There is jio alternative. But this just at present is not a veiy_ attractive pros- - pect- The Belfast working nien and the ' sons of the farmers, of Antrim and Down. '••• will at once become liable for military service as Englishmen are. Do they want this? ,The Ulster clergy will resign, their pleasant, positions' as autocratic managers .of primary education "and hand their schools- over to popularly elected boards. The householders of Ulster will pay a 6chobl'rate, a form of taxation which exists in England but not in Ireland. Will .the clergy and people like.this? Do the .•"■'" northern Irish farmers really wish to do

as English farmers are? State-aided, purchase of land and judicially fixed rents are for Irishmen, not for Englishmen. Will the public rejoice to find railway fares increased by 50 per cent, for the duration of the war? Irishmen travel at the old rates. If they become English they must accept the burdens which Englishmen boar! If Ulster appeals to the Union, to the Union she ought to go; but it must be a union complete, logical,, just, with all un-English privileges swept away. .., The Sinn !Fein Dilemma. Sinn Fein, on the other hand,'refuses , ,to take part in the -Convention, and asks lt that Ireland's future shall be decided by :s the. European Peace Congress when it a meets. This is- an' odd demand from a f party whoso watchword, isi" "Ourselves, ! J ourselves alone." It is an appeal from a the decision of a body of Inslunsn to e that of a mixed assembly of Englishmen, ? Frenchmen, Italians, Russians, Ameri(t cans, Japanese, Serbians, Montenegrins, ;t Portuguese, Rumanians, Germans, Aus--16 trians, Turks, Bulgarians, and perhapa >■; others. Is this what Sinn Fern really ': wants? It is-diftjcmlt to think so. There d is no certainty that tho Peace Congress 0 will take Ireland into consideration at >' all. It will have" several other things T - to do. Suppose we hang the whole tiuesg tion up till the Peace, Congress meet? '- and then find that it makes no attempt il to''deal"with' Ireland. I can imagine a w very, crafty-Unionist, anxious tor the n preservation' of the' existing state» of is nffaits.- advocating tliis wait-until-after- "- the-war policy. But are our ardent Sinn '? Feincfs really. Content with it? Or sup. d pose tlie; Congress does find time and in■B clination to deal with Ireland. Will the 11 Sinn Feihers, be content to accept the o decision, '.whatever it, is? The Irish ie people will have little, if any, .part in <e making it.V'Tt will be,the result oj givee and-tako bargaining ainiong plenipotenil tiaries, most, of whom will -.care l>t«e o for nothing about ; Ireland.- Sinn J!era d ought' surely \to consider whether it is ta wise to let Ireland's!- future' depend_on ... a.game played by astute foreigners. Our Convention-, even if its constitution is ;-'; not the-best will at: least con- '}■ sist' of Irishmen.\ ' . - '