active and sympathetic part' in the building up of happier conditions in Ireland.' These indications of good will, on the one side and on the other, are of hopeful augury for the future; but they do not exonerate the British Government from endeavouring, in every way that is still in their power, to secure, in advance, their friends in Ireland from any partial or unfair treatment. Good will is not the less to be trusted when it is fortified by legislation. Many persons are dissatisfied with the British concessions-and they have been large-to violence, which are granted in this Irish treaty.' And such persons may fairly ask, What is thought of the treaty' by the loyalist minority who will be the first to suffer, if any one suffers because of it? The answer has been made plain during the last month. Irish loyalists have no responsibility for the Articles of Settlement. They do not like them; they would prefer to be citizens of the United Kingdom, if that were still possible. But they know that it is not possible. Things have gone too far for that. The alternative to agreement by reconciliation and compromise is war, of so devastating and dreadful a kind, that their country-for Ireland is their country, just as truly as it is the country of the Sinn Fein party -would be ruined, their homes destroyed, and many more lives sacrificed. Loyalists have acquiesced, because nothing could be worse for them than a continuance of the conditions of the past twelve months, and because they are certain that Britain can no longer protect them, unless she undertakes to reconquer Ireland completely and ruthlessly. Were the Irish majority so mad and foolish as to reject the extraordinarily generous offer which England has now made, and to persist in their endeavour to establish an independent Republic by force of arms, then indeed England would have to put out her strength and pitilessly to crush her turbulent neighbours, as she could do if she pleased. But, it would be wrong to contemplate so dreadful a contingency. No loyalist would wish to go back to the misery of last winter; and many among them are not without hope that, in the Ireland of the future, they may yet find an honourable and useful place. The verdict of the Houses of Parliament given on Dec. 16 is a demonstration on the grand scale that Englishmen and Scotchmen believe that the Southern loyalists are taking a wise as well as a patriotic course, although they have many perils to face in the days to come. For the truth is, that the only alternative to the Government proposals was war, naked and unashamed; and this no one ventured to deny. Those who voted with Lord Carson in the House of Lords, and with the Die-Hards' in the House of Commons, were able to suggest no other constructive policy; and this was, perhaps, the most significant feature in the debates, if we except Mr Bonar Law's plain statement that he, personally, in the circumstances, approved of the Agreement. At the time of writing, Dail Eireann has not accepted the Articles of Settlement. Mr de Valera has done his best to set them aside; and he has been assisted in his campaign against his own 'plenipotentiaries' by a gang of wild women, who are the most dangerous people in Ireland at present. Hysterical and vengeful, these Mænads (of whom not all are of Irish birth) cry out for blood, rather than for peace; and, whatever may be the future government of Ireland, unless they are suppressed, violence and disorder will be encouraged. But, so soon as Dail Eireann agrees to honour the signatures of its own chosen representatives, there is no doubt that the members of the Southern Irish Parliament will ratify the treaty formally. All Ireland longs for peace; and there has been a remarkable rapprochement between men of various schools of political thought at this fateful moment of Irish history. It would be idle to prophesy. The unexpected generally happens in Ireland; and no one on this side of the Channel really understands the motives which sway the wayward Irish people. But one thing is certain. Peace is only given to those who seek peace. The benediction of peace on earth was addressed to men of good will; and such men may yet be found of every political complexion and of every race. CORRIGENDUM. On p. 404 of the last (October) number, line 7, for the Agadir incident' read 'the Kaiser's visit to Tangier.' |