There was one part of the country, however, where Lloyd George's appeal
did not succeed in evoking British patriotism; it left the greater part
of the people of Ireland not only apathetic but even more actively
hostile than before. Yet their country formed an intrinsic part of these
islands; their economic interests had much more to gain by the success
of Britain than of Germany. History throws light on only part of this
thorny problem; the real difficulty thus encountered dates back to
prehistoric days--to the origin of the inherent, inherited, and
deeply-rooted tribal instincts of the Irish people. The Irish spirit
leapt up, as it had often done before, into a naming tribal antagonism
directed against everything British. What then is a British statesman to
do? We too have our tribal instincts, and their first impulse on being
awakened is--as it was in ancient days--to meet force with force, even
to extermination. That is the ancient tribal practice; but in these
days we have entered another era in the world's history when intelligent
effort must master and direct our inherited instincts. Statesmen know
that forcible means, when applied to extinguish a national flame, only
serve to feed it. Statecraft has never discovered, and I think it never
will discover, a method of forcing or grafting a new national or tribal
spirit on an old people. We have seen that a nation can colonize only
when the force which drives its members to migrate arises spontaneously
within the communities; a colonization initiated and conducted by a
government always fails to hold. Nationalization is a similar process;
the forces which control and guide it must arise within the hearts of
the people; it cannot be imposed on them from above. All that a
statesman can do is to provide conditions in which a favourable spirit
is most likely to develop and mature. He must sow judiciously for years
and wait patiently for his harvest--even if it be for generations.
Ireland's friendship is a prize which is worth working for and waiting
for, even if it costs Britain a weary century of patient courtship.