Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star FRIDAY, OCT. 19th. 1917. THE IRISH CONVENTION.

Hokitika Guardian, 19 October 1917, Page 2

Hokitika Guardian & Evening Star FRIDAY, OCT. 19th. 1917. THE IRISH CONVENTION.

J’he great convention which has been sitting in Dublin for some time past, has been lr.rt almost to view curtained off as the sitting has been by more transcendent world events happening on the battle fronts. Yet, the conclave might have a great effect on British National life, so that news bearing on the subject is of peculiar interest. A well-known London correspondent- writing at the time the convention assembled remarked that through the centuries what is. known as the Irish question flourished on j the fact that-, whether in- its relations with Ireland the British Government strokes or strikes, it i R an alien hand. With characteristic insight and courage Lloyd George grappled with fhis fundamental difficulty by placing the matter directly and, with obvious limits absolutely in the hands of Irishmen, If they cannot- devise, means for the salvation of their distraught, and therefore distressful country the problem must bo abandoned as insoluble. At least England will be relieved from imputation of muddling the matter by interposition of an unsympathetic and misunderstanding hand. The membership of the Convention was decided , upon by the Government with a view | to as completely representative a gal In i ering as eoukl he had. Tt includes i n ' its 95 seats some -10 members elected by the County Councils and District I Councils all over Ireland, mayo is of | the cities, leading clergy of all de- { nominations, nominees of the Nationalist, Ulster, and Southern Unionist parties, Trislt Peers, and elected representatives of Labour organisations, Chambers of Commerce etc. T n nddi- . ta'jan, the Government nominated 15 - members representing various Irish inJ t-erests, among whom are several of the i highest eminence in Irish affairs. Both I the O’Brienites and the Sinn Feinens I united to send representatives ■and both declined to do so. To that | extent the Convention undoubtedly ; lacks fully representative stains, for ! thoaigh O’Tlrionfte-s arc not strong numerically. thev possess in their ranks men of admitted importance and ability, while ns to Sinn Fein, it cannot be denied that the absence of n party, which at least for the moment, holds n leading place in Irish affairs, materially affects the authority of the , Convention in the eyes of a large pub- 1 &

lie. These pro regrettablo gaps in the I ranks, but apparently they arc unavoidable . Mr. O’Brien from the first •was opposed to a convention preferring to its larger ideas a small round-fable conference and he was not to be Shifted from his position, though his acceptance of the Government's scheme would have pleased everybody concerned, and not least some of the ablest men of his own party. The Sinn Fein attitude is one of open hostility to any settlement of the Irish problem other than its own idea: of settlement. Inasmuch as bitter hatred of England and of everythng English, and Ireland’s independence and self-governing republic frankly open to offers from the enemies of England, are cardinal features of the Sinn Eein programme, absence of its representatives from a convention which can only succeed by agreement, and will only agree by grace of moderation, will be all to the good —save in so far ns Sinn Eein, though it he no more than a passing phase of extremism commands at the moment an unpleasantly large body of public opinion. The view most- widely held is that the Convention will try to evolve some scheme of self-Govcrnment for Ireland on Dominion lines, with provincials councils or Parliaments as its leading feature. The hope of its wellwishers is that it will not break down before it evolves at least some practicable compromise in place of the existing antagonisms. If it could offer Ireland an agreed and reasonable Constitution, as created by the Unionists and Nationalists within its councils that programme might conceivably be adopted by both Unionists and Na tionalists throughout Ireland, with result of defeat of Sinn Fein and its intractable a'nd hopeless extremism. On the other hand, if Nationalists and' Unionists with the Convention themselves . retain the existing antagonisms, compromise i s obviously impossible and the Convention fails. And remembering this and though the problem is complex and many sided, as I was being shown the room in which the delegates met, I looked with more than common interest upon one bench at which sit io-gether in these days Catholic and Protestant Archbishop* and bishops and Ulster Presbyterian clergy. If only they would act together as well as sit logethcr— what might not be accomplished!