"THE TIMES" AND IRISH SETTLEMENT
No volume, professing to deal however cursorily with the events of the
period, can ignore the profound influence of _The Times_ as a
factor in promoting an Irish settlement. That this powerful organ of
opinion--so long arrayed in deadly hostility to Ireland--should have
in recent years given sympathetic ear to her sufferings and
disabilities is an event of the most tremendous significance, and it
is not improbable that the Irish administration in these troubled
years would have been even more deplorably vicious than it has been
were it not that _The Times_ showed the way to other independent
journals in England in vigilant criticism and fearless exposure of
official wrongdoing.
When, on St Patrick's Day, 1917, Lord Northcliffe spoke at the Irish
Club in London on the urgency of an Irish settlement and on the need
for the economic and industrial development of the country, and when
he proclaimed himself an Irish-born man with "a strong strain of Irish
blood" in him, he did a sounder day's work for Ireland than he
imagined, for he shattered a tradition of evil association which for
generations had linked the name of a great English newspaper with
unrelenting opposition to Ireland's historic claim for independence.
If Ireland had been then approached in the generous spirit of Lord
Northcliffe's speech, if the investigation into Irish self-government
for which he pleaded had then taken place, if British statesmen had
made "a supreme effort," as he begged them to do, "to find good
government for Ireland," I am convinced that all the horrors and
manifold disasters of the past four years would have been avoided, and
the Irish people would be at this moment in happiness and contentment
administering their own affairs. But the voice of sweet reasonableness
and statesmanlike admonition was not hearkened unto. The neglect of
Ireland and of her industrial concerns, of which Lord Northcliffe so
justly made complaint, continued, and instead of the counsels of peace
prevailing all the follies of wrong methods and repressive courses
were committed which will leave enduring memories of bitterness and
broken faith long after a settlement is reached. Meanwhile _The
Times_ devoted itself earnestly and assiduously to the cause of
peace and justice. It opened its columns to the expression of reasoned
opinion on the Irish case. The problem of settlement was admittedly
one of extreme difficulty--it welcomed discussion and consideration of
every feasible plan in the hope that some _via media_ might be
found which would constitute a basis of comparative agreement between
the various warring factors. It even instituted independent inquiries
of its own and gave an exhaustive and splendidly impartial survey of
the whole Irish situation and of the various influences,
psychological, religious and material, that made the question one of
such complexity and so implacably unyielding in many of its features.
Its pressure upon the Government was continuous and consistent, but
the Government was deaf to wisdom and dumb to a generous importunity.
Not content with appeal, remonstrance and exhortation, _The
Times_, in the summer of 1919, boldly, and with a courage that was
greatly daring in the circumstances of the moment, set forth in all
detail, and with a vigorous clearness that was most praiseworthy, its
own plan of settlement. As it was upon this model that the Ministry
later built its Government of Ireland Act, I think it well to quote
_The Times_, own summary of its scheme, though it is but proper
to say that whilst the Government adapted the model it discarded
everything else that was useful and workmanlike in the structure:
_Legislatures_
Creation by an Act of Settlement of two State Legislatures for
(a) The whole of Ulster,
(b) The rest of Ireland,
with full powers of legislation in all matters affecting the internal
affairs of their respective States. In each State there will be a
State Executive responsible to the State Legislature.
By the same Act of Settlement, the creation of an All-Ireland
Parliament on the basis of equal representation of the two
States--_i.e.,_ Ulster is to have as many representatives as the
rest of Ireland.
The All-Ireland Parliament to be a Single Chamber which may sit
alternately at Dublin and Belfast.
_Powers_
Governing powers not conferred on the State Legislatures will be
divided between the All-Ireland and the Imperial Parliament.
The Imperial Parliament will retain such powers as those involving the
Crown and the Succession; peace and war; the armed forces.
To the All-Ireland Parliament may be delegated, _inter alia_, the
powers involving direct taxation, Customs and Excise, commercial
treaties (with possible exceptions), land purchase, and education. The
delegation may take place by stages.
_Executive_
Upon the assumption of the Irish Parliament of any or all of the
powers transferred from the Imperial Parliament, an All-Ireland
Executive, responsible to the All-Ireland Parliament, will come into
being. The Office of Lord Lieutenant, shorn of its political
character, will continue. The Lord Lieutenant will have the right of
veto on Irish and State legislation, and may be assisted by the Irish
Privy Council.
_Safeguards_
To safeguard the liberties of both States, each State Legislature is
to have a permanent veto upon the application of its own State of any
legislation passed by an All-Ireland Parliament.
_Representation at Westminster_
Ireland will be still represented at Westminster by direct election.
The number of representatives to the Commons is to be determined on
the basis of population relative to that of Great Britain. Irish
representative peers will retain their seats in the House of Lords.
_Constitutional Disputes_
Constitutional disputes between the Imperial and Irish Parliament will
be decided by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council; those
between the Irish Parliament and State Legislatures by an Irish
Supreme Court.
_Finance_
In the financial section of the scheme, the case for the over-taxation
of Ireland is considered, but it is urged that, while due account
should be taken of this circumstance in any plan for financial
reconstruction, Ireland ought not to be relieved of her proper share
of the cost of the war or of liability for her share of the National
Debt.
Ireland is to contribute an annual sum to the Imperial Exchequer,
calculated on the relative taxable capacity of Ireland. This will
cover interest on the Irish share of the National Debt and a
contribution to the Sinking Fund, as well as to defence and other
Imperial expenditure.
I do not intend to subject the foregoing scheme to any detailed
criticism. The method of constituting the All-Ireland Parliament was
open to grave objection. It was to be a single chamber legislature and
was to be selected or nominated rather than elected. This damned it
right away from the democratic standpoint, and the defence of _The
Times_ that "the system of delegations would probably have the
advantage of being the simplest inasmuch as it would avoid
complicating the electoral machinery" was not very forceful. The
supreme test to be applied to any plan of Irish Government is whether
it provides, beyond yea or nay, for the absolute unity of Ireland as
one distinct nation. Unless this essential unity is recognised all
proposals for settlement, no matter how generous in intent otherwise,
must fail. Mr Lloyd George grossly offended Irish sentiment when he
flippantly declared that Ireland was not one nation but two nations.
This is the kind of foolishness that makes one despair at times of
British good sense, not to speak of British statesmanship. Mr Asquith,
whatever his political blunderings--and they were many and grievous in
the case of Ireland--declared in 1912:--"I have always maintained and
I maintain as strongly to-day that Ireland is a nation--not two
nations but one nation." And those Prime Ministers of another day--Mr
Gladstone and Mr Disraeli--were equally emphatic in recognising that
Ireland was one distinct nation.
_The Times_ itself saw the folly of partition, for it wrote
(24th July 1919):
"The burden of finding a solution rests squarely upon the shoulders of
the British Government, and they must bear it until at least the
beginnings have been found. Some expedients have found favour among
those who realise the urgency of an Irish settlement, but have neither
opportunity nor inclination closely to study the intricacies of the
question. One such expedient is partition in the form of the total
exclusion from the operations of any Irish settlement of the whole or
a part of Ulster. Far more cogent reasons than any yet adduced, and
far more certainty that every other path had been explored to the end,
would be needed to render this expedient other than superficially
plausible. Politically there are acute differences between Ulster and
the rest of Ireland; economically they are closely interwoven.
Economic bonds are stronger than constitutional devices. The partition
of Ireland would limit the powers of a Southern parliament so
severely, and would leave so little room for development, that it
would preclude any adequate realisation of Nationalist hopes. For
instance, fiscal autonomy for the Southern provinces could be enjoyed
at the price of a Customs barrier round the excluded Ulster Counties.
Yet to Irish Nationalists fiscal autonomy is the symbol of freedom.
However speciously it may be attired, partition offers no hope of a
permanent settlement."
Although _The Times_ specifically denounced partition its
proposals undoubtedly perpetuated the partition idea and were thus
repugnant to national opinion. Its plan also suggested a settlement by
process of gradual evolution, but Ireland had progressed far beyond
the point when any step-by-step scheme stood the slightest chance of
success. Credit must, however, be given to it for its generous
intentions, for the magnificent spirit of fair play it has shown ever
since towards a sadly stricken land and for what it has done and is
still doing to find peace and healing for the wrongs and sufferings of
an afflicted race. For all these things Ireland is deeply grateful,
with the gratitude that does not readily forget, and it may be that
when all this storm and stress, and the turbulent passions of an evil
epoch have passed away, it will be remembered then for Englishmen that
their greatest organ in the Press maintained a fine tradition of
independence, and thus did much to redeem the good name of Britain
when "the Black and Tans" were dragging it woefully in the mire.