The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1918. THE CRISIS IN IRELAND

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 173, 11 April 1918, Page 4

The Dominion. THURSDAY, APRIL 11, 1918. THE CRISIS IN IRELAND

It is not clear how far the Irish Convention fell short of anything approaching unanimity of agreement on the proposals finally adopted as the basis for Home Enlo for Ireland,' The messages referring to t'jo matter state that the G'onven- , tioa report "was adopter! only by a majority," which appears to suggest that there was a marked division of opinion. The statement that the Government is believed to hold the view that the circumstances justify the onactment of the .scheme might be read to mean either that the majority in favour of it was an influential one or that the scheme itself'finds favour with Ministers. Whatever the reason which influenced the Government may be it is to be feared that there are further serious difficulties ahead in Ireland, for even if the scheme meets the wishes of the Home Rulers the decision to introduce, conscription f<jx Ireland will certainly give rise to grave trouble, while on tho other hand a Homo Rule scheme which docs not fairly meet the requirements of Ulster will be bitterly resented in the North. Wo are not aware at the'time of writing whether the majority on the Convention in favour of the proposals submitted to the Government included Ulster delegates or 'Nationalist delegates, but it may bo taken for granted, in view of the division of opinion recordod, that it did not include both of these hitherto irreconcilable elements in Irish affairs. To appreciate the position that has now arisen it is necessary to go back to the seeing up of the Irish i Convention last year. This Convention was instituted in the hopo of bringing together the different political parties and organisations in Ireland and affording them the opportunity of framing for themselves a scheme of government which would meet the wishes and tho needs of Ireland. It, in effect, throw on Irishmen the onus of deciding for themselves. the. form of Home Rule most acceptable to them. The Sinn Femers refused to participate in the conference, but otherwise all classes of opinion in Ireland were fully represented. Mn. ILloyd Geokge repeated this pledge in the House of Commons on October 23: The undertaking given by the Government when they set up the Convention (ho said) was that if substantial ajrree. ment wns arrived at the Govornin&nt would use the whole'of their power and initiative to carry tho agreement through, ill tho form of nil Act of Parliament. . . . Tho interest and intention of tho Government was the moment ax. inont of that kind was reached to put it through immediately. . . . Thero was no doubt that if an agreement was arrived at in this cose tho sooner it was put into" legislative form the bettor, Mr. Dillon: Do I understand tho Primo. Minister to pledge the Government that immediately the Convention comes to nn agreement tho Government will embody that agreement in a Bill and pass ii through this Parliament? Mr. Lloyd George: Ccrlainly. In so far as the Government were concerned they would use all their power to press the House of Commons to put into Icgislalive form any agreement substantially arrived at bv (he Convention, and that had always been their intention. Tho Convention has not arrived at that "substantial agreement" required for tho fulfilment of this pledge, but the Government; has decided that there is sufficient] reason to give effect to a scheme of Home Rule founded broadly on tho Convention's proposals. Tho powers to bo given the proposed Irish Parliament, as outlined to-day by tho Daily Express, exclude control of the Army and Navy and foreign policy, but otherwise would seem to extend to Ireland full powers of self-govern-ment. There is to be some arrangement regarding the imposition of Customs duties, a safeguard which has been recognised throughout as being necessary. The fly in the ointment, so far as the Homo Rulers aro concerned, is the intention of the Government to extend conscription to Ireland. Though this step is bound to provoke discord and may conceivably lead to graver troubles, the Government would have been guilty of a shameful injustice to tho. other parts of the 'United Kingdom had it permitted the existing state of things to continue. Ireland has been pampered to an amazing extent in connection with the war. In an endeavour to promote a, better feeling and to minimise internal friction it was exempted from the conscription law when tho manhood of England, Scotland, and Wales was called on to join the great citizen army which is fighting not merely for our na-

tional liberty but for world liberty. Ireland has reaped a rich harvest from the needs of Great Britain in connection with the war, and while many gallant Irishmen have fought nobly side bv side with their British comrades,' the great hulk of Viic young and eligible men m Ireland have refused to enlist voluntarily and have escaped compulsion. But, further than this, a large element under Sinn Fein guidance have done their utmost to embarrass Great Britain and her Allies in the desperate struggle in which they are engaged. It should bo clearly understood that Sinn Fein does not want Homo Rule. Sinn Feinism aims at cutting adrift from the British Empire and _tho creation of an Irish ReFor some time in 1917 the Sjnn. Fein .movement swamped the Nationalist Home Rule Party. It won Nationalist seats in the House of Commons and generally dominated the situation in what is known as Home Rule Ireland. Sinn Fein naturally sought to make the efforts of tho Convention futile. In recent months the Nationalists appear to have regained some of their lost prestige—they won the South Armagh seat in February in spite of a tremendous effort on the part of the Sinn Feiners, and they triumphed again more recently' when Mr. Redmond's son . contested his father's scat. But Sinn Feinism still remains a powerful and hopelessly antagonistic influence in Ireland.

' Tho situation to-day is a complex and_ troubled one. Neither tho binn Feiners nor the Ulstermcn want Home Rule. The former are irreconcilable, the latter are reluctantly prepared to accept a form of Home Rule which will safeguard the interests of the Protestant minority. The Home Rulers want Home Rule, but, with, the Sinn Feiners, object to conscription—they object to fight to defend the privileges they have sought for so long and which they now are on the eve of attaining. The different elements in Ireland are almost, if not quite, hopelessly at variance as to what they want and as to what is best for Ireland; they cannot arrive at any common agreement, on these points, but they all unite to blame the British Government either for not giving them what they themselves cannot agree about or for wanting to givq it to them. In tho meantime the people of Great Britain arc carrying the great burden of the war, fighting, suffering, dying, so thai Ireland as well as tho rest of the world might look forward to a happier future. It is not surprising if, in the circumstances, there should be a growing resentment in Britain that tho young men of Ireland should be permitted to escape their duty. Thero are few to-day who object to Ireland being granted Homo Rule on lines which will secure the safety'and preserve the unity of tho Empire, but Ireland must also realise her responsibilities, and this apparently a great part of her people are not yet prepared to do.