IRELAND AT THE CONFERENCE

New Zealand Tablet, 17 April 1919, Page 11

IRELAND AT THE CONFERENCE

But let us suppose (said his Grace Archbishop Mannix on St. Patrick’s Night, in Melbourne) that Mr. de Valera—according to the cables, he is the President of the Irish Republic—does present himself in Paris to plead Ireland’s cause, what would be the verdict of the Peace Conference? There is only one verdict possibleand that is just why England will not, if she can prevent it, allow him a hearing. Let me put a question which I have often put before. If Mr. de Valera were to present himself at the door of the Peace Conference, and plead for a hearing, and if he were asked against whom his country had a grievance, and that he could say that Germany was Ireland’s enemy and oppressor, he would be at once admitted and get a place near the head of the table. (Cheers.) If he were able to say that Germany held his country in bondage by force; that, under German rule, the Irish population had fallen by half in 50 years; that, of the millions lost to Ireland, some were in exile, and others in paupers’ graves; that Germany had strangled Ireland’s trade, and ruined her industries; that the Irish people were normally under coercion law, and that now the country was under martial law; that her elected representatives were in German prisons that he himself had but just escaped from prison ; that each new generation within the last 100 years had its own rebellion; if he were able to urge these charges against Germany at the Peace Conference, what, think you, would happen? Why, he would not be allowed to go half-way through with the litany of his country’s woes. He would be asked to point out on the map the boundaries of the new Irish State. He would reply that God had marked out its confines, and the Conference would proceed to draw up the charter of Ireland’s freedom under international sanction. Then, as we are told, the members of the Conference would sign their names in alphabetical order. And when if a came to Mr. Lloyd George’s alphabetical turn, he would drop a big, hot, salt tear upon his signature as he thought of the German atrocities in Ireland —from Drogheda and Wexford to Bachelor’s Walk and, O’Connell Street; and his Welsh frame would be swept and shaken with emotion to think that he, a humble Welsh attorney, was privileged to emancipate from German slavery the gallant Irish nation, which had so long

struggled to be free. Oh, the hollowness arid insincerity of it all! Unfortunately for de Faiera's; pleading, the enemy is not Germany, but England. That make's all the difference. That is why England thinks that his place is not-at the head of the table, but outside the door. "' A Domestic Question. ■"'■#- Of course, they urge that the Irish question is a domestic question, with which the Conference has nothing to do. Even if it were a domestic question, .surely it ought to be settled; and if they have failed to settle it elsewhere, then it should be settled at the Conference. "For it is truly ridiculous for England to settle the domestic questions of other nations and to refuse to settle her own or submit them to the Conference. It reminds me of the —we all know him —who is sour, ill-tempered, morose, ungenerous with his wife and the other ladies of his own household, but is always gay and pleasant and devoted and openhanded with those ladies and others who are not of his own home. If one were to demonstrate with him, he would say, it would be his only answer, that that was a domestic question with which outsiders had nothing to do. That answer may satisfy him, but it would not satisfy his wife, nor anybody else. The truth is that the Irish question is not a domestic question.. It touches every corner of the Empire. And it was Mr. Lloyd George himself who said in his recent election manifesto that there could be no peace in the Empire until Ireland was appeased. He was quite right in that statement. The Irish trouble is even of wider import, for it has its ramifications outside the Empire, in America, and wherever the Irish race is scattered. No one knows that better than Mr. Lloyd George, unless, perhaps, President Wilson. It is little use to tell Mr. Wilson that the Irish trouble is a mere local domestic issue. Even in a larger and deeper sense still the Irish question is not domestic, but world-wide. For behind Ireland, approving her claims, stand all the nations of the world. They may not be in a position to render much aid to Ireland. But not one of them has ever approved or condoned England's shameful treatment of Ireland. Cardinal Mercier and Ireland. However, I must not detain you. I will just give you two striking testimonies to the justice of Ireland's claims. Outside military circles, at all events, there is no man more honored than Cardinal Mercier. (Loud cheers.) His heroic figure is head and shoulders above all others. He is not a hot-headed Irish extremist. (Laughter.) He has no inborn hatred of England. He knows and he has generously acknowledged what Belgium owes to England. He has, no doubt, heard it asserted that Ireland has been false to Belgium and to civilisation. He certainly knows what Ireland has done, and what Ireland has left undone in the war. He should, therefore, be an unprejudiced and impartial judge of the question that divides Ireland and England. Now, just hear what the great Belgian Cardinal says in a message to Ireland recently:—"It is inconceivable that Ireland's right to selfdetermination and nationhood be not recognised by the free nations of the world at the Peace Conference. Your country, the most faithful and venerable daughter of the Church, deserves justice from all mankind, and must surely receive it. "The Irish people are the oldest and purest nationality in Europe, and their noble adherence to faith and nationality, the most glorious record in history." I thank Cardinal Mercier for those noble words. Candid friends of mine have from time to time held his Eminence up to me as a model that I might copy with profit. They have sometimes been to the trouble of sending me his speechesthey did not send me this latest message. I have more veneration for Cardinal Mercier than they have. I know the depth and the sincerity of their new-found love for Cardinal Mercier and for Catholic Belgium. I know how long it is likely to last. I have long known and venerated Cardinal Mercier, and I should be proud indeed to imitate him

even at a great distance. But I never ..honored him more than I do to-night, with those noble words of his in my ears and. in my heart. (Applause.) I'make candid friends and foes a present of them. Queen Victoria Speaks From the Grave. Just one other witness from a different quarter. Queen Victoria was not an Irish patriot. Young Australians, perhaps, are not very familiar with her name —such is the vanity of human greatness. But she was the grandmother of George V., she was Queen of England and Empress of India. She was a sensible woman, capable of forming a sensible judgment and then of keeping it to herself. The statement which lam about to read from her Majesty was not made publicly. It was made in a private letter, which, with other letters, is now published for all the world to read. The two volumes will no doubt be found in the private collection of her admirers in Melbourne. But I assume that all can find them in the Public Library. The extract which I am about to read will be found in Vol. 11., at page 237. Her Majesty's statement was made long ago, when there was trouble brewing in Austria-Hungary and in Ireland. Ireland was in a state of rebellion against England, and it looked as if the disruption which has overtaken Austria-Hungary in our day might have been* then precipitated. The English Government of the day was ready to stamp out revolution in Ireland with ruthless ferocity, and at the same time to sympathise with revolution in Central Europe. How history goes on repeating itself ! Queen Victoria was no friend of Ireland. Needless to say, she had no sympathy with Irish claims. I remember a great part of her reign, but .1 cannot recall one kind or sympathetic act towards Ireland. However, she was a wise woman in many ways, and she was more honest than her Ministers. It was in a wise and honest frame of mind that she wrote the following remarkable and forcible words, an indictment of the dishonesty and hypocrisy of her own country in her own day. ' Here are her Majesty's words: "It is quite immoral" (a strong word for a woman and a queen) '•quite immoral, with Ireland quivering in our grasp and ready to throw off allegiance at any moment, for us to force Austria to give up her lawful possessions." That is strong language from the Queen of England. She is dead, but her words remain, and 1 am glad to do her Majesty the service of recalling them. (Cheers.) Her indictment of the hypocrisy of her nation is even more telling and biting to-day than when it was written. English representatives are helping to give freedom to the nations into which the Central Empires are broken. Ireland is still quivering in the grasp of England. Yetthere are those who would not give Ireland even a hearing. Queen Victoria has pronounced on their conduct in advance. Their discrimination against Ireland is not merely inconsistent, she says, but quite immoral. Now, Mr. cle Valera has stronger claims to get a hearing at the Peace Conference, but the words of their wise sovereign should make a strong appeal to loyal Englishmen. If the Peace Conference Fails Ireland ? But if all appeals to reason fail, if President Wilson be unwilling or unable to get a hearing for Ireland, what then? Ireland can still depend on God and on the stout hearts and hands of her own sons. (Great cheering.) The Irish are the oldest and the purest nation in Europe, and God who has watched and guided them so long can strengthen their weakness, and give them justice and victory, though He be their only helper. May His blessing rest upon" all those who are making Ireland's claim and upon all those who give it a hearing. May God bless you and all who love Ireland and hope for her future.