UNKNOWN

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVI, Issue 253, 24 March 1914, Page 5

UNKNOWN

* : No Attack on *ater Planned cgllljise Premier Give,- an Assurance Stock Exchange Easier m& tar/- -i

By Cable—Press Assocui lion-Copyright

~-*». PERFERVID ■'«.■■!■# .".>. -ORATORY. S#£ BP?ESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT AT STAKE. STAR OFFICE ULTIMATUM DENIED. IJj Cable—Press Association—Copyright £ -London, March 22. Mr, Lloyd George this afternoon, at Huddersfield, said a grave issue had arisen in the history of democratic government. The country was confronted the greatest issue since the Stularis, and representative government Was at stake. . v : */lfi answer to a question wnether the -jjtfogrcssive Bills which the Tories op posed were to be honored or thrown waste-paper basket, Mr. Lloyd ■jfigorge said: fli "If Liberalism flinches an inch beI vfQ£6- these insolent and arrogant |! l?f*f ues it is unfit any longer to be I \: : an 'instrument for the control of a I', .empire, and it is time it made f * way for a sterner and more highly ■I 3^^ ed °* British progression. | The Government means to confront I' this defiance of popular liberties with *q resolution and unwavering determination, whatever be the hazard. We '■, are not fighting about Ulster; we are ; ' fighting for all that is essential to j ■ civil liberty. Orangemen profess to • 'be shocked that force should be used j ' for setting up a great free self- | governing Parliament in Ireland. ! ' .When did Ulster acquire its detesta- I ( tion of coercion? Coercion presented no horrors when Orangemen evicted Catholic peasants for non-payment of j extortionate rents. Ulster is a spoilt child. One has heard so much 1 about her volunteers that one thinks , x J them something terrific. The Government's proposal is to give her 1 time for the swelling to subside. The 1 -Opposition rejected the Government's offer with contempt and indigna- I "■tion. As regards the referendum, the ■/Opposition proposed one in 1910. He 1 : . 'doubted whether the majority of the 1 ■Opposition were anxious for a settle- ! * ment. If the Ulster question were \ settled they would have no policy | left. Scurrility and tittle-tattle 1 ■never carried a party anywhere ex- ; <eept to the gutter." ] Special magistrates for Ulster are , ieing sworn in at Dublin Castle. ' j ; ■One hundred and l'f f v Royal Engineers from Dublin, y'.'.h trenching and pontoon apparatus, have entrained for . Belfast. I

.."■*r-.|iicnces for refusing to obey orders. Liriyadier-General Gough and Major .\.t-:irliey replied that they would stand <<;• their brother officers. On the assur- ;!■■■"■ that the movement of the troops merely for the protection of Government property and for assisting in the i.aintenance of order, the officers who resigned agreed to go to Ulster, but declared they would not participate in hostilities. Brigadier-General Gough, Colonels McKewan and Parker, in response to a summons, visited the War Office. There are many provisional resignations in the infantry and artillery, intended to be effective in the event of hostilities. Mr. Bonar Law will raise a debate on the situation to'-ffioxrow. Exciting epi; sodes are expected. The King has cancelled his visit Id the Earl and Countess of Derby, in order to remain in close communication with Ministers. •>..

I GENERAL ELECTION OFFERED. I London, March 22. The Chronicle (Liberal) states that Mr. Asquith will announce at an early date in the House of Commons his willingness to hold a general election in July, provided the Opposition will co-operate in passing into law this session the Plural Voting Abolition, Home Rule and Welsh Disestablishment Bills.

; . THE ULSTER LEADERS. THEIR ARREST NOT CONTEMPLATED. OFFICERS' RESIGNATIONS EXPLAINED. I Received 23, 11 p.m. I Londoa, March 23. | Mr. Asquith denies that a warrant was ever intended to be issued against the Ulster leaders, nor was a general inquisition of officers' intentions contemplated, inasmuch as the Government, hope that the contingency of employment of troops against Ulster will never arise. He hinted at the Ministers' belief that the resignations were due to an honest misunderstanding. BrigadierGeneral Gough and others had erroneously been given the impression that il was intended to move the troops against Ulster, but they immediately accepted General Sir A. H, Pagct's assurance that their duties \voul ( d be confined strictly to police duty in the event of the regiments moving north.

Examination of the Curragh maga- | aine revealed a deficiency of ammuni- ' 'tion to a large amount, including hun- '■ •dreds of thousands of rounds for small j ..Anns. An order lias been issued to ' ■search the ordnance storemen in Ul- , ste'r as they leave work. j The removal of the mounted troops ■from the Curragh has been cancelled, owing to the resignation of officers. Earl Galloway proposes a national subscription to con ponsate officers for sacrificing their commissions because j they refused to <b the Government's ' • dirty work. Sir Edward Carson conferred with the leaders of the volunteers. Arrangements have been completed for mobilising the force. | • Sir John Simon. Attorney-General I Speaking at Manchester, denied that j sb.e moving of the troops was provocative. The days of vague negation of | Home Rule were over. I ' 'A sentry shot a soldier who was late ] for 1011-eall while he was scaling the I Barrack wall at Newbridge. The man i Is in a critical condition. I ' A demonstration in Hyde Park j against the use of the Army in Ulster | lias been arrange;! for April 4. The ; Speakers include the majority of the ■ Unionist front-rank men. '. |, ' OFFICERS RKFUSE TO SERVE. ■JSiife: . -=— ! London, March 22. : The War Office denies that it has issued an ultimatum to officers in Ireland that they must serve or resign. It has no information as to wholesale j resignations. j Messrs Asquitli, Churchill, Birrell and Colonel Seely bad a long consulta- I tlon in Downing Street to-day. ' The Observer stales that Lieutenant- j General Sir A. If. Paget on Friday | asked Brigadier ; Oenernl Gough, commanding the third cavalry brigade at the Curragh, whether he was prepared to march against Ulster, and gave him two hours to decide. Brigadier-General Gough resigned on the spot. The resignations of the officers of the third Cavalry brigade ami horse artillery, with five exceptions, followed. The Observer Xgcalls John Churchill's action in 1688 and that of British officers in 1777, during the American Revolution. , . Later. Brigadier-General Gough and seventy officers have rc-igned. Lieutenant-Gen-eral Paget, after communicating with (Whitehall, informed him that the War •iOffice accepted the resignations of Bri-BStdTer-G|eneral Gough and Major Kears- : ley, but the others were liable to the

Tile authorities bave renived largo quantities of arins and ammunition from Omagh to Enniskillen. General Paget lias moved twelve hundred troops to various points as a precaution against possible raids on stores. Mr. Asquitli states that the movement of the troops lias now been completed. The Premier had an hour's interview with the King yesterday. Field-Mar-shal French was present. THE DORSETSHIRE ARE LOYAL.

THE INCIDENT DENIED. VOLUNTEERS AND REGULARS FRATERNISE. Deceived 23, 11.10 p.m. London, March 23. The alleged mutinous conduct of lb" Dorsetshircs is officially denied. General Friend, the commander, declares that he is certain that every ollicer and soldier in the regiment will do his duty to the Crown and the Government if calied upon to maintain order. General Fergusson, addressing the Manchester Regiment at the Curragh, said that though bis and the men's sympathies were with Ulster, they would loyally obey the King's commands if ordered thither. Detachments of the Enniskillen Fusilier and Bedfordshire Regiment and Tyrone and Ulster volunteers attended the [Omagh parish church and sat in adjoining pews, in some cases sharing prayer-books. When leaving, the regulars and volunteers mutually saluted. A LIBERAL CONCESSION. Received 23, 11.10 p.m. London, March 22. ■ The War Office lias informed officers I domiciled in Ulster, or whose parents j reside in Ulster, that they may temporj arily resign their commissions until the ! trouble is over.

MORE HOPEFUL OUTLOOK. INDICTMENT OF THE ARISTOCRATS. Received 24, 12,10 a.m. London, March 23. Despite the. movement of the troops in Ireland, the Stock Exchange took a more hopeful view to-day, anticipating a peaceful settlement. The tone of the market has improved. Ulster continues calm. Government newspapers denounce the

resignations as an attempt of the aristocratic military cast to destroy the Parliament Act. They declare that the time is opportune to revise the system of recruiting officers. The Daily Mail states that the 4th Inniskillings, of whom a large number signed the covenant, have been ordered to England,. and adds that BrigadierGeneral Gough's brother, Chief of Staff at Aldershot, has resigned. Seventy-five thousand marched in procession at Liverpool yesterday in celebration of St.' Patrick's Day. Mr. T. O'Connor tied a red that Home Eule had won Liverpool. The Daily Post states that three thousand Irish Nationalists at Liverpool have been secretly trained, and are prepared to join their comrades in Ulster in the event of trouble.

THE SINN FEIN CONVENTION. A CAVAN COUNTY OUTRAGE. ATTEMPT TO BURN A CHURCH. Received 24, 12.40 a.m. London, March 23. Mr Wason, M.P., in a letter to a newspaper, suggests that if sufficient Commoners of all parties will support the self-exclusion of the counties until +'- federal system is established, *" . '., the Ministerial and Unio- - , i™"* l ? would accept it. . " 11St lmlcvi

wa!d r stteT? mUe,offe '^^to. :TJ ' m tQ rellev * «» lilies I ymn resigning from conscientious pnobws. The offer is conditional upon the Unionist leaders announcing their intention to restore the commissions'.

The Sinn Feinri Convention at Dublin resolved to resist any temporary or permanent partition of Ireland.

Alderman Kelly remarked that the [Home Rule Bill was not worth shedding a drop of blood for. It would be no satisfaction to them to have their northern countrymen shot down by British guns.

An attempt was made to burn the Ballyjamosduff Protestant Church in Cavan county. The pulpit was burnt and books and sr.rplices thrown into the street.