Conscription-latest anti-Irish Stunt

W E R E Irish organisations in-vited to state their views

when Finchley Local Employ-ment Committee started a ful l -scale smear campaign against Irish youth in Britain ?

Ii so, t h e Connolly Associat ion was left out.

A councillor, Mrs. Wilson, said Ir ishmen seemed to be ge t t ing the be. i of both worlds, for they c a m s fn Britain to eniov the a d v a n t a g e s Britain had to offer, while re ta in-ing tiie advantages of being separ-ate and independent .

Were the Bri t ish doing this irr Kenya, Ma laya , Cyprus, M a l t a , Nigeria, the Six Counties? . . . not a word on the subject. This Commit tee of an t i - I r i sh

bigots declared t h a t a f t e r being here two years, i ree f rom mi l i ta ry .-ervice the Irish boys "skip off home" and come back under false names as "new en t ran t s . "

But the manager of the Bar-net Labour Exchange, M r . E. L. Corliss who should know, threw cold water on the idea. What would be in teres t ing would

be to know how m a n y Engl ish people 111 Finchley a re send ing their sons to Trini ty College, Dub-lin to "dodge the call-up." Also how is it explained tha t while Bri-tain was at war the Gove rnmen t gave a pledge tha t I r i shmen who came here to fill the labour shor t -age would NOT be liable to mili-tary service

Why h a s n ' t Mr. Costello's Gov-e rnment the guts to insist on Bri-tain honour ing the pledge Mr. De Valrra ob tafned?

PARTITION MUST GO I NEW CAMPAIGN BEGINS AT EASTER

"Drop differences and unite in action" A NNOUNCING details of the most-intensive-yet campaign against parti-

^ * t i o n to be launched on Easter Sunday by the Connolly Association, Mr. Eamonn Lyons said the organisation was stronger than ever be fore and its members were "'itching to be out."

C.A. Member at Rail Congress

r \ O N E G A L - B O R N T o m Leonard, of West London Connolly As-

sociation, who writes in this issue on the duties of trade union stew-ards, has been elected to a t tend the Annua l General Mee t ing as the Annua l Congress of the Nat ional Union of R a i l w a y m e n is callcd, when it meets for a fort-night at Y a r m o u t h in July.

Mr. Leonard, whose wri t ings on J a m e s Connolly were publ ished in the "Ir ish Democrat" some years ago, was the nominee of the West Ealing No. 2 Branch, which has dist inguished itself for its brave .stand aga ins t part i t ion, a n d the sentences on the I.R A prisoners.

Ches te r No. 1 b ranch of the A S W. resolved t h a t "all Br i t i sh troops be wi thdrawn f rom North-ern I re land and t h a t the r igh t of self-determinat ion be given to the people themselves, because it is costing the British t axpayer a great deal to m a i n t a i n these iruops and withdrawal would lead io bel ter relat ions b ' t w e e n Bri ta in a:.d I re land."

I N T H I N G S E S S E N T I A L I N T H I N G S D O U B T F U L

C A P T A I N M O N T E I T H I N 1916 (Page 5).

CATHOLIC BISHOP HITS CREDIT BAN

Dr. Heenan on Schools D E A D in all the churches of his diocese, Dr. Heenan's Lenten

Pastoral dealt wi th the disastrous results of the Tory credit squeeze on the provision of Catholic schools.

"We are running into grave difficulties in financing new schools,' said Dr. Heenan. "I shall publish short ly-the balance sheet which will shock you.'' "We are going to have a great

struggle. Banks will no longer lend us money."

G E N E R O S I T Y A group of Leeds business men

were donat ing £20,000, but th is was insufficient. Par ishes were

THIS IS IT?

GRAND ALL-LONDON ST. PATRICK'S NIGHT BALL

5 / -Dancing 7.30 - Midnight

ANDY WILSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA JOHN ENNIS CEILI MUSIC

Bar G R A N D C A B A R E T — Refreshments

Holborn Assembly Rooms Saturday, 17 March

Northington Street, via John Street, Theobald's Road, W.C.1

lending the dioeese all the spare money they had available. But even then there would have to be a retiring collection for schools every Sunday in Len t .

The Bishop appea led for gener-osity:

"I ask those w i t h no family to give one-tenth of their wages each week. I ask fathers of families to be generous and to give up some of t h e i r luxuries." On the spiritual side, Dr. Heenan

urged all who can to give up an hour of sleep and come each morn-ing to Mass.

P R O B L E M The appeal of t h e Bishop em-

phasises the problem se t the Cath-olic Church in B r i t a i n by the Tory credit cuts which :.im to make im-provements m educa t i on impos-sible. At the s a m e t ime Catholic workers are ha rd ly likely to be able to finance school building without subs tan t i a l wage in-creases.

" W e think tha t just at present more can be done against P a r t i t i o n in Br i ta in , even than in I r e l a n d itself ," he told a members' meet -ing, "though of course f u n d a m e n -ta l ly the issue must be decided a t home."

T h e Association would concen-t ra te on urging the wi thdrawal of all forms of in ter ference with t h e I r i sh people's r igh t to take t h e i r own democratic decision, he con-t inued.

"We will be mak ing an appea l to al l those, in whatever o r g a n i -sation they may be, who rea l ly feel and th ink seriously t h a t t h e border must go, to break f ree f r o m the variously-imposed bar -riers that stand in the way of al l t h e Ir ish co-operating." " W e do not care," said Mr . Lyons,

"whether we stand on somebody else's p lat form or somebody else stands on ours, though f rom a purely physical point of view, we have most of the platforms fo r outdoor work—and we're not go-ing to grudge them this year."

Part i t ion was going to be t a k e n to every town and city in B r i t a i n . London meetings were be ing doubled.

Special efforts were being m a d e to arrange for speakers to address T r a d e Unions. I re land would be in U.N.O. this year and British pub-lic opinion must be formed in ad-vance.

BRITISH TAX SNOOPERS IN

IRELAND 4 N ant i - I r ish London paper has

* * issued a statement to the effect that m a n y Ir ishmen pre tend they have wives and famil ies in I r e land in order to cut down on the income tax they have to pay.

I t is stated that the Br i t ish author i t ies are paying spies to go over to I re land and check up men's relatives in their home towns.

• a n g e r is tha t after income-tax men pose as innocent tourists, poli-t ical espionage will follow, f r o m men posing as innocent income-tax gum-shoe operators.

UNIONIST TRAP SPRINGS IN MID-ULSTER A F T E R al lowing plenty of

" t ime for the Ant i -Part i t ion League to get thoroughly com-mitted to opposing T o m Mi t -chell for whom they stood down twice before, the Union-ists have decided that it is t ime to close the jaws of ttie Ira p.

And they have closed with a ' sounding spring

A lour th candida te is to enter

the i i r l , I-orrest. tioneer SlalHillU1

1: !

His n a m e is Mr George I l 'irtv-t hree-veai-old auc

and publican, and h<' i as Independent

>11 "tup 111'' pod y ;:s the Nation-si) 111 anionf the

mdidal es Whenever Itisli Nationalists

themselves to be split they can expect the i r enemies to gain Irom It,

He claims he u In a rood mniorit air t vote will be three other

Wh allow

But the situation could be saved, a n d the Unionists forced to laugh on the o ther sides of their faces, i t the An t i -Par t i t ion League were to realise that their justif ication (or standing against Mitchel l ( that there was no Unionist in-the field) has now disappeared, and Mr . O Neill can now wi thdraw without loss of face, indeed if he were to wi thdraw now it would save the Ant i -Part i t ion League f rom the danger of being permanent ly dis-credited.

Where's the Pamphlet? Unionists are coy

^ k / H A T has happened to the much - trumpeted Unionist * * pamphlet cal led "Partition Must Be." It was going to

wipe the floor w i t h the Connolly Association's anti - part i t ion propaganda in Br i ta in .

But nobody knows how to get hold of a copy

When Eanic.nn Lyons called down t<> the Union is t Office in Lon-don. the No i the rn I re land Gov-ernment ' s official representat ive had never hear:; ol it

"I t hasn't a r r i v e d here yet," she said. Since then l e t t e r s have been

sent to Belfast tc t ry and secure a copy—nothing do ing .

Ye-, according to t h e press it was the latest tiling in pamphle t s and was going to f in i sh the case against p a r , u i o n lor good and ever.

Curious sidelight 011 general con-fidence tha t this could be done was dispkned in tiie ' I r i sh Tunes."

This new paper, which of recent \ ea r s has 1 hanged over troiri a Unionist to an independent Nationalist p ro -Fuu ina Fail stand-point, r a n i e d t h e headl ine t h a t the Ulster Unionis ts h a d issued a pamphlet enti t led "Par t i t ion must go!" and indeed m o s t of the ar-guments for pa r t i t i on convince you of j u s t that.

Meanwhile the wor ld breath-lessly awaits the masterpiece.

DON'T FORGET OUR FUND

M O T quite so many donors to our fund this month, I 'm

afraid, but we deeply appre-ciate the generosity of those who gave. And now the Spr ing is coming, we hope many more readers w i l l take the step of sending us in a donation.

Don't forget, the "Irish Dem-ocrat" is the only paper cam-paigning both for an end to Part i t ion A N D in defence of Irish workers in Britain.

Heartiest t h a n k s to: S O B 10 -, D.L £1 10 -, Fa i l s Court N.U.R. 5 -. "Irish Democrat" Conlerenee collection £1 10 3. MMacS. If, -, G L 7 1 (one dol lar ' , J.D £2. J .M. £2 . G.J.H.C. 12 6, East Acton A.E.U. £1. J .McG. £1. U.C. 1/6, P .J .K. W6, M.O'M. 5/-, Anon, Southwark 1 6 A.B. £5, J.M. £1, L A. FA. A.G.M. £2 2 -, D.D. £5 .

Total. £29/2 4.

2 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT March 1956

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I A S T month the Labour Party celebrated fifty years of exis-

tence. On February 12th, 1906 came to an end the period when trade unions were content to leave their political affairs to the Lib-eral Party, confining their own activities to the industrial field.

They had been forced to see that there is no sharp dividing line be-tween trade unionism and politics.

'I lie Taff Vale case more than any-thing else helped tlieni to make up the i r minds. The House of Lords de-cided m 1'avow ot the Taff Vale Rail-way Company when its management .sued the Railwaymen's Union for dam-ages of £23.000 caused by a strike, and got t h a t plus costs. When the final appeal was lost any employer could sue a union lor damages, and it was held accountable for the actions ot any of i ts members.

Already in 1900 there had been a conference sponsored by the T.U.C. when 129 delegates came to London represent ing 368,000 organised work-ers. and founded the Labour Represen-tat ion Committee; a f t e r many resolu-tions i.nd amendments the great old pioneer. Kcir Hardie, persuaded t hem to agree to a resolution in favour of a dist inct Labour group of M.P.s, with their cwn policy and whips. They would be willing to co-operate with any pa r ty in the interes ts of Labour, especially with a view to the repeal ol an t i -Trade Union legislation.

When the 1906 election swept the Tories out of office t h e L.R.C. found it had 30 members in the Hou 'e . The 429 committees responsible for then-r e tu rn fel t tha t this magnificent, vote just if ied their calling themselves the "Labour Far ty"—"The sleeping giant is awaken ing" said Keir Hardie.

Bal four , licking his wounds a f t e r the landslide, commented: "We always ca tch continental diseases" (meaning-social ism).

F r o m 1906 until t he outbreak of the 1914 war, tne Labour Pa r ty did not show any marked signs of becoming a Socialist, force in the country ; it re-ma ined very much a T rade Union body; i ts M.P.s were in all cases f rom affi l iated unions. I t was not till 1918 t h a t t h e Labour Pa r ty se t itself defi-

LABOUR JUBILEE By

PATRICK CLANCY nite Socialist aims, when m its pro-gramme. "Labour ar.d the New Social Order," object No.4 was "to secure for the workers by hand and brain the full frui ts of their industry and the most equitable distr ibution thereof t h a t may be possible, upon the basis ol the common ownership of the means oi production distr ibution a n d exchange, and the best obtainable system ol popular adminis t ra t ion and control."

Tha t s; me year the Pa r ty wn. thrown open to individual member-ship which resulted in t h e develop-ment of local Labour Part ies , consist-ing of individual members and affili-ated t rade union b ranches and co-operative societies.

T h e local consti tuency Labour Pa r ty nominated the prospective candidate for the Par l i amenta ry election. But the Nat ional Executive if they felt so dis-posed could, as they can still, refuse to accept the nomina t ion and submit the i r own. The const i tuency par ty have no contiol over the actions of their M.P. in the House of Commons tor he then comes under the discij>-line of the P a r l i a m e n i a i y Labour Pa r ty which includes all Labour M.P.s who subscribe to the s tand ing orders which become binding on the mem-bers.

T h e Pa i l i amen ta ry Labour Par ty is governed by an Executive which con-sists of a leader, deputy leader, whip-, and twelve other members . Although in theory the Nat ional Executive is the policy-making body between na t ional conferences, H has no con-s t i tu t ional control over the Par l iamen-tary Par ty , which is supreme as i a r as Pa r l i amen ta ry policy is concerned

Once the Executive of the Parlia-men ta ry Par ty have decided what a t t i t ude they will adopt to a particu-lar issue, the Pa r l i amen ta ry Par ty have to submit to the will of the lead-ers, especially a l te r a three-line whip has been sent round, as disciplinary action can be taken aga ins t any dis-sidents.

Disciplinary action migh t be with-drawal of the whip, which means tha t

the member is no longer in the Parlia-men ta ry Pai ty , a l though he may still be a member of his Consti tuency Par ty . Alternatively the leader in the House may approach t h e National Executive with a view to secur ing the member 's expulsion f rom the Party a l together and iiis inf luence is such tha t he may well get his way.

f t will thus be seen t h a t the con-st i tuency part ies and Nat iona l Execu-tive have f a r less influence on the Par-l iamentary Pa r ty t h a n t h e Par l iamen-ta ry Party ha s upon t h e m . Also a small group of leaders can exercise very considerable influence owing to the i r special position, a n d some have t h o u g h t t h a t th is inf luence might be excessive.

Mr. R. J. MacKayne in h i s interest-ing "Bri t ish Political Par t ies , " says t h a t despite the a p p e a r a n c e of the Labour Par ty it is in f ac t dominated by an "oligarchy" where loyalty to leaders is subst i tu ted fo r loyalty to policy. But i t may be t h a t Mr. R. J . MacKayne over-stresses th i s aspect a n d underes t imates the possibilities which exist for the r ank a n d file to make their wishes known, exer t pres-sure and influence par ty policy.

Few however will deny the pre-sence of these opposing factors in the Labour Party structure. T h e present Jubilee h a s not been

marked with grea t en thus i a sm as m i g h t have been expected. For a f te r all t he achievement is solid and re-markable . Pe rhaps there is abroad the feeling tha t the Pa r ty h a s increasingly confined itself, by lowering i t s sights, to wha t was pract icable a n d a t ta in-able, and thus lost some of the ideal-ism of old. And there is a widespread feeling of "where do we go f rom here "

The Fabian "New S t a t e s m a n and Nat ion" puts its finger on the issue confront ing Labour suppor te r s when it sa id :

" I t (the Labour Par ty ) redistri-buted income, but it did not touch the ownership of property. I t did not destroy capitalism but renovated it."

Emmanue l Shinwell s t ruck a similar

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note in ins au tob iography "Conf l ic t Without Malice" when he r emarks t h a t there is a danger t ha t t h e ideals ot the pioneers mav be lorgot ten . He goes on to ask do the r ich members of t h e Par ty really want t h e Socialist S t a t e thev a re supposed to be working for.

He presumably had in - mind what, is called the t rend ot "new th ink ing" which is represented as ge t t ing away f r o m "doctr inaire Social ism" as de-scribed in the 1917 p r o g r a m m e . Mr. Gai tskel l is pe ihaps the mos t vocal expi ession of the "new th ink ing" which ra the r t h a n public ownership f avours s ta te par t ic ipa t ion in pr ivate industry.

Hut the new th inking has not met with very wide acceptance so t h a t t he London "Times" is cons t ra ined to c o m m e n t :

"Everything now depends on the re-stil ts of the Par ty ' s re - th inking ."

For there is on the other hand an-other trend of thought which repre-sents the overwhelming major i ty of the rank and file of the constituency parties. T h e supporters of th i s t r end hold

t h a t the Par ty should push forward on a bold socialist p r o g r a m m e which would include t h e tak ing over of all t h e basic industries.

These claim that the victory of the Tories at the last Election was due to the people being unable to dis-t inguish sufficient difference be- O tween the programmes of the two principal contestants. One remarkable difference between

the Labour Pa r ty a t i ts jubilee and the P a r t y before 1914 is t h a t t h e n its lead-e r sh ip was a lmost w i thou t exception f r o m the indust r ia l working class, while to-day there is a preponderence of well-to-do middle-class people a t t h e top.

I n the 1945 Labour Gove rnmen t a m o n g the ministers , P a r l i a m e n t a r y Secretaries , P.P.S.'s and o ther offices, t he re were no less t h a n 40 public school products. E igh t were f rom Eton, and the r emainder f r o m Rugby, Winchester , Dulwich a n d Marl-borough. Many of the r ank and file m a y be aware t h a t t he Bat t le of Water loo was won on t h e playing fields of Eton, but thev t rus t t h a t working-class policy will no t meet its

Water loo in the same place.

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YOU could do it! % 1 / H A T is a trade union steward * * and what are his duties ? He is

the elected representative of trade unionists at the place of work. His principal duty is to represent his members in local negotiations with the management, mainly on matters of w o r k i n g conditions and the carry-ing out of agreements.

His g rea t e s t s t rength, however, lies in the suppor t he gets f rom those who elect him. And th i s depends on t h e a m o u n t ol t r ade union organisation on t h e job and on keeping his members ful ly informed of h is negot ia t ions with t h e manage-ment , r epor t ing back to t h e m as of ten and as fully a s possible, get t ing the i r views and wholehear ted support .

What are the things a steward should do when he is elected ?

Simply these—he should first ol all make su re that the m a n a g e m e n t , in-cluding t h e foreman and supervisor of his own section or shop, is in formed t h a t he is now the t rade union representat ive . He should acqua in t himself with the proce-dure of negotiat ion. When he t akes a case up. especially beyond the fo reman ' s or local supervisor 's level, he should make sure he has nil the re levant facts and has discussed the case thoroughly with his members .

He should attend his trade unlod branch meeting. Here he can get informa-tion on agreements about conditions and wages, ou government regulations, and advice and help from older hands on how to tackle all sorts of problems. He should make a regular check on trade union

says TOM LEONARD

writing on T.U. STEWARDS

Above all, keep a cool head; never lose your temper, no matter how much you may be provoked in discussion and negotiation. And keep your workmates in your confidence. If you do, they will not fail to support you, and your job will be all the easier.

PROPHETIC WORDS FOR BRITISH AND IRISH WORKERS

' ""po be forewarned is to be fore-* armed, and I now forewarn

you that a most desperate attempt will once more be made to create dissension, division and disunion, between English and I r ish working classes. Nay, more, an a t tempt will be made to give a religious colour to the new agitat ion; and you who love the English working classes, who love your Irish Catholic coun-trymen equally well as your protest-ant neighbours, and you who con-tend for the principle of free reli-gion will, ere long, be denounced as the enemies of Catholic Ireland.

I t matters not to those who will thus try to enlist new prejudices for the attainment of new patronage that they know the charge to be false. The end will just i fy the means. And I now tell you that all means, and every means, wil l be re-sorted to, to effect the desired ob-ject."

— F E A R G U S O 'CONNOR (112 years ago).

- f rom the pamphlet , " Feargus O'Connor," Connolly Associa-tion. 9d.

Tenants can fight that greedy

landlord I ^ E W S that attempts are bei<sg

made to form a landladies' asso-ciation, which may t ry to keep up rents and spread news of 'undesirable' lodgers who object to paying tnrough tne nose, put us in mind of the fact that a tenant is not ent irely without redress.

In the case where a room or set ol rooms is let to a man, a g r o u p of men or a family, who provide the i r own food, the re is a simple recourse if they feel they a re being overcharged.

In every city there is a " r en t t r ibunal" to which they can go wi th a request that t he rent be reduced. I t is no use the land-lord. who will be notif ied of the request, s l amming in a notice to quit . He will not be allowed to enforce i t—you could bring a policeman to let you In, if anybody tr ied to keep you out. Th is secur i ty goes on un -til the case is heard, and for three m o n t h s a f t e rwards .

Or course, many a landlord will try to t ake revenge by tu rn ing a t enan t out a f t e r the tune is up. W h a t h e should do is to be sure the in-coining t enan t knows the c i rcumstances because the reduced rent is binding on subsequent t enan t s And this means t ha t if t e n a n t s were only bolder, then they could get a great n u m -ber ol rents reduced and they would .stay reduced.

Unfortunately, after a bout with the landlord, many tenants are too glad to forget all about It and do not ade-quately think of the need to let others know what they have won, or consider the need to get all rents down. In the case of the lodger the mat te r is

complicated bv the sunulv of lood. I t is a good idea to try to get the cost of t h e room and the meals enumera t ed separ-ately. Many people th ink this should be compelled by law At p resen t it is not.

For a lodger can go to the ren t t r ibunal his t as well as a tenant of fu rn i shed rooms but usually the landlady pu t s on a fancy price for meals and o re tends she charges a song for the room. It would be neces-sa ry to list t h e meals for a week or two before g i i n g to the t r ibunal .

The reil weakness Is the lack of a lodgers' association!

CAN A CATHOUC BE A SOCIALIST ?

T H I S is a vexed question which many have tried to answer. For if thq answer is " No " then the Catholic community in

Britain and Ireland must wear out its energies in a fruitless effort to head off the most dynamic forces of our time.

J a m e s Connolly wrote his f amous "Labour, Nationality & Rel igion" (available f rom the Connolly Association, price 1/-) to answer Just th is question.

But tho course of political life is complicated bv fresh events which bring each day the i r challenge to conscience. Can a Catholic be a thoroughgoing Republican?

That he can, and the malorlty will stand no for progress without becoming one whit less Catholic is clear from the teachings of Father Michael O'Flanagan of whom Cathal Brugha said he was the "staunchest priest who ever lived In Ireland."

You can get a copy of the " Life of Father O'Flanagan" f rom the Connollv Association, price 9d. and read his Republican teachings for yourself.

Connolly Association, 53 Rosoman Street, London, E.C.1.

I n engineer ing the local commit tees of s t ewards correspond to the Confedera t ion of Shipbui ld ing and Engineer ing Unions r ep resen t ing all unions in engineer ing .

On bui lding sites the organisa t ion fits in to the pa t t e rn of the Nat iona l Federa-tion of Building Trade Operat ives. Thus the s t eward has behind h im no t only the men he represents on the job but a vast and powerfu l amalgamat ion of t rade unions. If unable to reach ag reemen t with the local management he can take the case f u r t h e r .

cards; and approach new employees to see t h a t they are members . If they are not, he should do everyth ing possible to explain the value of organisa t ion and to enrol them as soon as possible.

There are other duties which vary in different industries, and in different t rade unions, but in the main these are the du-ties of a steward. They are simple and s t ra igh t forward enough, especially for the working man who wants to protect and improve working conditions.

March 1956 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT 3

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A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A ^ * 4 A A A 1 >

IRISH DEMOCRAT ! 53 Rosoman Street, London, E.C.I J

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THE IRISH ARE WINNING C O R the ending of par t i t ion and the

f inal f reeing of I re land, conditions are more favourable than ever before in his-tory.

Ilr, th is just pep talk? S?me may point to the Twenty-six

Cowmy Government and accuse it of drag-ging its feet in the fight against imperial-ist"., Others may be over-impressed by the undignif ied spectacle of Mr . O'Neill in mitf -ulster turning all his f ire and invec-tivt) not against the Unionists, but against t ho young man his party twice stood down lor a n d supported. Yet again there is the ignominious collapse of the anti-parti-t ion League in Britain.

X * t these negative aspects simply e,m-phjiisise one central fact, namely that though the middle-class can take part in progressive movements, their weak, vacil-l a t i n g . indisciplined and individualistic c h a - ac te r makes their leadership disas-trous. T h e great prospects in front of the irtiifi nat ional movement have not even bc+n glimpsed by them; they have failed to w-easure up to the real i t ies of life in th< world as it is to -day .

~?ne the foreign field. Alongside the giant Empires of Britain,

France and the U.S.A., alongside the de-fir.i 'eiy socialistic powers like U.S.S.R. a n r i i ;n ina, there are countries like India, B u r m a , shortly to be jo ined no doubt by M a l a y a , w h i c h have A L R E A D Y stepped O U T of the circle of imper ia l ism. They have already done what I re land wants to do and are playing an independent part in the world.

"""•iiey are not imperia l ist , they are not Communist , though Communists may hawf; taken a part in securing their libera-tion,

T h e presence of I re land at the U.N.O. gives a golden opportuni ty for manipu-la t ing the operations of diplomacy so as to lever Imperial ism out of still more of its strongholds and f inal ly secure Ire-land's freedom.

T h e Empires themselves are tottering. Not only is Brit ish mi l i ta ry strength stretched beyond its l imi t by colonial re-sistance; mutual jealousies keep the J[m-pertallst countries apar t ; mutual interests dr ive non-Imperial ist countries together.

And add to that, the colonial adven-tures of Britain and France necessitate an armaments expenditure which is plac-ing an intolerable burden on the economy, a n d tha t burden it is the intention of Mr. M a c M i l l a n to pass on to the working class. T h i s is the meaning of credit squeeze, rent Increases, price rises, and taxation.

Can any sane man believe that it colonialism means this the British people wi l l not sometime realise it? It was all very well when the Empire seemed a pay-ing game. What about now when the major i ty pay the Empire in cash and blood, to compel the Empire to pay the privi leged few, the investors, planters and slave-drivers in rake-offs and dividends?

But ask a question now. Why is this favourable situation not being availed of?

There is no need to th ink twice. Read the Imperial ist propaganda and all those who oppose its will are described as either terrorist bandits or athefstic Communists.

Wen of the highest integri ty have given over their lives to break ing the power ot imper ia l ism and m a k i n g their countries nat ions once again. Imper ia l ism through its mass-produced and secretly-controlled press, its radio, television and screen, screeches N O T "these men are against imperia l ism!" Tha t would arouse no hor-ror. They screech "These men are against A L L Government. These men arc against Religion." By that means they hope to ralfv lo their side the ordinary law-abiding c i tnen who believes Government protects hun. and the devout believer to whom rel ieion Is the most real th ing in life.

T h e effect ol these l ies has been to pre-ven t t h e B r i t i s h people h e l p i n g the people of K e n v a , Cyprus a n d M a l a y a as it was lhe<r hnunr ien du ty to he lp t h n m . The mis-rep resen ta t i on ol I r i s h na t iona l i s ts as l o v i i s o l force or enemies of re l ig ion has beon g iven l is due cu r rency and has he lped both lo a l i ena te B r i t i s h support , a n d cause spl i ts and d i v i s ions in I re land.

I t is particularly u n f o r t u n a t e t h a i mem-ber * of the H ie ra r chy itself, who not un-natural ly mix m a i n l y in of f ic ia l circles, a n d draw the i r I n f o r m a t i o n f r o m off icial newspapers, have to some extent al lowed th«ir thoughts to be coloured by th is con-stant propaganda ngamst the f r iends of freedom. Imperialist tactics arc so subtle tha t a man can absorb imperialist argu-ments almost without noticing it

f lew can the p la in m a n sec his way

At the CROSSROADS

by PAT DEVINE

\S the l ime for I re land to take her place

in the United Nat ions Assembly approaches there are some very impor-t a n t quest ions to be faced by her repre-sentat ives , a,s discussed in last month ' s Commenta ry .

I t would be correct to say tha t Ireland and indeed the United Nat ions itself are a t the crossroads.

So f a r as U.N.O. is concerned, the ent ry ot the new member Nat ions including I re land can mean a g rea t revitalisation. and the possibility of a new lease of life t h a t will make her a really powerful, honest , defender of the peace

T h e ma jo r nations ol the world are a rmed to the teeth.

America and Russia have gone far beyond conventional weapons and have in their command Atomic and Hydrogen bombs, rockets, and guided missiles t h a t could in fact wipe out civilisation as we know it to-day.

Pres iden t Eisenhower at t he first press conference following his exchange of le t ters with the Soviet Premier Marshal Bulganin said tha t " the new guided atomic missiles mean t h a t Amer ica and o ther countr ies now have power to devastate

through this difficulty? By judging people by what they do, and

never believing evil till there is evidence of it.

How do we know that Sinn Fein wants to start civil war? How do we know that the Connolly Association as some assert is secretly cherishing a plan to propa-gandise communism? There is no s ign ol these things.

Organ isa t ions are ca l l i ng for a resolute s t rugg le against Impe r i a l i sm . Why not j o i n in whichever aspect of tha t s t ruggle a t t r a c t s you and get I m p e r i a l i s m defeated. T h e r e will be p lenty of t ime a f te r I re land has her own independent Government lo deal w i t h anybody who wan ts to use force aga ins t tha t Government or b r ing about a n a r c h y w i t h pr iva te armies. There w i l l be p len ty ot t ime a l te r the proper ty w h i c h i m p e r i a l i s m has stolen olf the I r ish people is r e tu rned for us to w o r r y about whe ther some people want to do away w i t h p r i va te p roper t y a l together . You have got to have someth ing , I r i sh law, I r i s h proper ty , be-fore you can lose i t .

The need now is t h a i more people shou ld join in the struggle. Attacks be-token not weaknoss but growing strength, and growing strength at a favourable t ime All may not see eye to eye on the methods needed to free Ireland, but let us try to breathe into our people the spirit of confidence that the job can in fact be done, and the time is not so far off.

each other completely." They were n o longer talking of w a r he said, they were talking' "finaily abou t committing m a s s suicide and no th ing eise." Premier N e h r u of India says "The world is at the last edge

of the age of violence. The choice was to end violence or topple into the pit."

At the same time Pres ident Eisenhower s ta ted tha t the development and pro-duction of guided missi les was being given priority over eve ry th ing else in the Defence Depar tment .

The Tory Minis ter of State for Foreign Affairs in Britain 1ms said that Br i t a in was extending her long range tes t ing ground for guided missiles.

Where does I re land s t and regarding th is question?

What s tand will h e r representat ives take in the United Nat ions on the ques-tion of the Atomic a n d Hydrogen bombs and guided missiles?

Will Eire support the world demand for the ending of A-Bomb tests and the banning of the bomb? Let there be no doubt, our representatives will have to take a stand on this question before the end of 1956.

We know the people want the ban. Let ' s hope our representa t ives follow the people.

MALAYA ' T ' H E Malayan delegates to the Consti-

tutional Conference recently concluded in London won some new powers plus a promise of nominal independence this year.

This is the e igh th year of Brit ish Im-perialist war to sub juga t e the peoples of Malaya.

That a Conference in London between Tunku Rahman Chief Minister and t h e Imperialist G o v e r n m e n t took place is symptomatic of the jx>wer of the Libera-tion Movement.

T h a t even a formal offer ol Independence in the near fu ture was made is even more ignilicant It is a sign of the t imes.

Imperialism is on t h e defensive However, whilst the Malayans a re

•;iven power to c rea te three new Ministr ies Internal Defence a n d Security, F inance .

Commerce and Indus t ry the Br i t i sh Government has Insisted that the a r m e d forces in the Malayan war shall r ema in under i tie operat ional command ol t h e British Director of Operation:

The mleiTtion is clear, Britain is manoui vounng to t ry and give the im-pression of g rea t concessions whilst a t the same time ho ld ing military power

for the period of t h e emergency. ' Even as they talk ]>eaco the war agains t

the Malayan peoples ha s started all over again. T h e t ruce for the peace t a lks has been violated.

Nevertheless there has been progress towards a solution. Tho Liberation Movement has been sharply crit ical of

Tunku Rahman for his refusal to with-draw the repressive measures instituted by Britain; they demand the legalisation of all parties so that all the people can participate in a free and democratic manner in building up a prosperous and independent Malaya. That is the wish of the overwhelming

major i ty of the people. British troops should be withdrawn and

even- support given to the Malayan people in this job.

CYPRUS ( <YPRIOT pat r io ts a re facing an all-out * drive to suppress their independent aspirations. Imper ia l i sm has ordered Brit ish troops to show no mercy.

Children's demons t ra t ions are ru th -lessly at tacked with tear gas and guns. One young Cypriot pa t r io t 18 years of age was shot dead by troops on the eve of his depar ture to his p a r e n t s in London.

The s t rength of t h e People's Movement is such however t h a t some small progress has been made away f rom the initial Im-perialist refusal to consider any move for independence of Enosis.

Talks between Archbishop Makarios and General Harding t h e Governor have taken place and some suggestion of indepen-dence in the dim and dis tant f u t u r e Is now being discussed together with pro-posals for an Amnesty for all arres ted during the "trouble."

Britain does not w a n t an Amnesty as t h a t would mean the re-entry into politi-cal activity of h u n d r e d s of fearless cham-pions of the na t ional independence and Enosis movement.

Cyprus is one of the issues upon whtoh Eire may have to adjudicate in the United Nations. We know how the people would vote. What will the Government representative do?

GREECE

IREFLECTING t h e f ight for the r e tu rn ^ of Cyprus to the Motherland, Greece,

the people there have shown in the recent election just ended t h a t it's a democrat ic Greece they want r a t h e r than the Fascis t type o| Government which is in power.

Overcoming oppression, terror a n d gerrymandering, worse than any th ing seen even in Nor thern Ireland I he Demo-cratic Union composed of a united f ron t of progressive and le f t wing movements :.reined 1,041.861 voles as against 1.415.959 voles lor the G o v e r n m e n t Party

In spite ol I his clear majority of over a quarter of a million votes the Greek type of gerrymander ing gives the Minority Government Par ty 155 seats in Pa r l i amen t as against 145 lor I he Majori ty Democrat ic Union M.P.s.

Fortified by their electoral victory the Democratic Movement is demanding new elections on a more democratic liasis, elections that will enable Pa r l i ament U) truly reflect t he declared desires of tho people.

THE IRISH DEMOCRAT March 1956

O'Connell Street, May 1st, 7 9 7 6 - Should we forget about Partition ?

Tory Credit—Squeeze -WHAT IT REALLY MEANS

T H E "credit squeeze" is to be tight-ened and the Bank Rate raised

by the Brit ish Chancellor of the Ex-chequer. What is meant by these examples of financial jargon ? How wil l Tory Government policy affect the lives of ordinary people in Br i ta in and Ireland ? The answers to these important questions are given below.

W H A T IS T H E BANK R A T E ? T h e Bank Ra te is a device used bv the

Bank ol England to compel commerc ia l banks to reduce the volume ol the i r l o a n s These loans, in If.ct. c< mprise over th 've -quar te r s ol the total amount o! money in circulat ion, and arc much more im-por tan t t h a n the medium ol exchange which mosi working-class people u e namelv notes and coins.

The Bank ol England contro ls the issue ol (he lat tei ; but bank credit which plays so vital a part 111 nat ional f inancia l policy—is still only indirectly inl lueneed bv (lie cen t ra l monetary a l i thoi i ty . Thus , the total amoun t ol money :n c i rcula t ion is, withm broad limits, lelt ' o t he whims Ol private enterprise.

The Bank R a l e is the rate ;it winch the Bank ol E n g l a n d will discount fir.-t-ela bills, bill it: chiel economic s igni f icance is t ha t it is ,sii')i)o.' "d to act .is a warn ing signal to the linaiieier. ol the City ol London, W h e n lowered il encourages the commercial banks to lend money more Jreely and a t lower interest ra te ; when ra.sed as it now is to a level not reached : nice the d i s s s ol 1<I8I n signilie that the Governmen t operating t h r o u g h the Bank ol Eng land wants credit res t r ic ted. In other words, the volume ol bank loan ; should f luc tua te a e o n a n g to the level of the Bank Rate .

Tf the commercial banks, .suck a Bar-clay's. Lloyd's, Westminster and Midland, which domina t e the British money mar-ket, re fuse to heed these warning s ignal . then the Bank ol England may t ry to compel them to do so by what a re known as "open-market opera t ions"

This involves the increasing or de-creasing of the commercial banks ' cash leserves b.v the shrewd manipu la t ion of Government securities on the Stock Ex-change.

by Feargus (XBrien

W H A T IS T H E C H A N C E L L O R ' S P U R P O S E IN T A K I N G T H E S E

D R A S T I C S T E P S ? Ostensibly, the Government ' s aim 1-. to

check inf la t ion b.v limiting the amount ol money ill circulation. T h e Tories claim tha t by cu t t ing prices m t ins wav the cost ol living will be reduced, and the ex-port drive helped.

B\ discouraging loans to businessmen and fa rmers , as well as by drastically de-c n a - i n g the volume of goods which can be bought on hire nurcha^-e. 1! i a rg i l 'd that the inflat ionary p ressure will dimi-nish, Moreover, as business tempo slack-ens so there v ill be a smal ler demand t"r expensive imported raw mater ia ls .

W H A T W I L L BE T H E R E A L E C O N O M I C E F F E C T S O F T H I S

T O R Y P O L I C Y ? Undoubtedly, 111 the first, m ^ ' a t c e to

raise the number in unemploved. Ah ead' , if act lunar. ' City ( pinions have ••'• pre ed t hem elves in the " Ee.illolinst " wnh ' he : ugue tion that there would not be much harm m havine 750.mill oiii 01 work

Eurt her. both Butler and Maem in ha lei olisi' I her piec,

n I he ( i a l i e e i o l

emphe men! wi I:

lit i l l "

oliene:

and

sooi'.en o! hi mil ul

as ' he t.m 1111 will be a rcdiiethi . in oy••:

work and bonus earnniL's. Si.-ondly. it ;s secret I',- honed Mia

pool ol unemployed thus ereated u ili ci s. lull'.' drown the 11 inu waue f'eu of the 01 gam iv| uni ke: I he empl reckon that the trade unions ' ^urica power will be graveh weakened it are hundred ol thousands more me:: women anxiously seeking work.

Thirdly, there will be a s h a r n fall in house building of all kinds a mope, lie comes more difficult to borrow ' P u s pin-cers has alreadv begun, an l manv Coun-cil- are being forced to a b a n d o n their housing schemes as the banks re fuse them credit.

A four th effect (and one which is onlv just beginning |o dawn upon the simpler "little m e n " who support t he Tor ies ' will be the serious financial difficulties of countless small businessmen nnd farmers who are accustomed to .cek he lp from the

banks to tide them over t empora ry short-ages ol capital . Many shopkeepers will also feel the impact of cuts in hire-pur-chase facilities, and would-be buyers ol new houses will find the i r mor tgage bur-dens, heavier than ever.

In the long run. there is a cu l " danger ol def la t ion turning into s lump, bringing all the poverty and misery associated with the depressions between tiie two World Wars. Ireland, and Irish people, whether at home or in Britain, would be especially ha rd hit by the worsening of economic condit ions.

Alreadv m Dublin the Corporat ion's housing programme is being crippled b.v the Ir ish banks le tu-al to lend money at i casonab le rates ol interest . These banks, ol course, are onlv carrying out the policy of tiii'sr mas te rs in t i c City of London.

W H A T CAN BE D O N E ? The menace of ri :ng prices can be

overcome nut b\ f u n n e l squeezing n| the small mail ar.d v.'; k is who have little enough sin plus a i: i: . hut |>;. app, ' mi; the pre., ui " where bankers and empio , -or.-, v..I; lee: il uii -: b\ c III t aiy me : bloy. a pnilit 11id i < during the emu 11ai ;• arm . bill i'I i. i.700 1III!:1I ill a ' ea; i equiy.i i f l i ' to over .VI - a w I.«i e\"i". 1 a ss s i i lour in Bi ;' am

II the In :; in Br: ' a :i w , h to miss ! s n Ma r h\ ;:.j, : a'.i! i: d .. a n d pn v m : t he e T"|". ' o! I; I ) 01:' " I. !he ei-iiMim i • i : , i I I'l .11! he;! m p it i ; , I! a,| 1, ' I ." must pies 11:1 oue.li I his ' OA n I ire.'"i. a 11| I, . and thiini,;';: the I ah'- 'ir l o o v m e y l a tin - a l t e rna t ive oi y ; :•'. s: \ e i x i! :i"

SOCIALISM IS IRISH

| N a lecture of the History of Socialism in I re land, in which

he traced the influence of socialist ideas on the T r a d e Un ion Agrar ian and Republic movement , Mr . Des-mond Greaves, speaking to West London Connolly Association, said it was a fal lacy to th ink that socialist ideas arose automatical ly wherever men were struggl ing for the i r rights.

T h e supreme example was Belfast where mi l i tancy unr ivai led in Western Europe was combined wi th extraordinary parochia l ism in poli-t ical affairs, at least as far as the major i ty of the workers were con-cerned.

At the same t ime it was essential for the working class to have prin-ciples to guide its polit ical action, and that that poli t ical action should operate in all fields of policy. The struggles which were going on pro-vided an opportuni ty for socialists to spread their ideas, and they should do so wi thout hesitation, as the struggles of republicans and trade unionists c o u l d be made more ef fec t i ve the more s c i c n t i f i c ideas were brought to bear on them.

He t raced the h i s t o r y of social st m o v e m e n t s a n d c o m m e n t e d on the c u r r e n t p re tence t h a t Soc ia l i sm is no t a na t i ve I r i s h g r o w t h . James C o n n o l l y had r e f u t e d t h i s v iew in 1 L a b o u r in I r i sh H i s t o r y " s h o r t l y to be repub l i shed , but t h o u g h th i s book was a t reasure house it was f i rs t w r i l t e n over f i f t y years ago a m i i ts s t u d y shou ld s t i m u l a t e the younger g e n e r a t i o n to be bo ld a n d go out a n d t h i n k t h i s a f r e s h lo r t h e m -selves. M u c h h a d h a p p e n e d since 1916 a n d we h a d no t e n t i r e l y got the measure o l i t .

CO-OPERATIVE I , HE C i- opera! IV • : <>1 the three

ma .1 S"I tion I ! t he l in t isii I .about movement In little more t h a n a bundled years it has grown from a h a n d f u l of men and women with a lew pounds to an <•: ga insa l ion with over 11,000.000 member . a woi k ing capital ol over £300.000 000 and an a n n u a l trade turnover exceed n:; £720 000.000 II • a- t iv i t ies cove: no' onlv the re ta i l ing oi .: >nds on which ' divi-dends" a re p a d t members on amount of the i r pure!""- . out also production and wholesale in orance. building and agr icu l tura l co-operation It has entered

' h e l a id of polities (hi ect :\ v ;t h the C >-1 p s a I ive I ' . i r t v a n d . in a h ;a: ice a n d a g r e e u."i't with the Labour Pari v. put - forward 'Co-operative and I.about;' candidate There were 23 Co-ope. at.Vf; M P s m t h " liMa .it) Parl iament

T h e Secretary of the (to operative Par t ' . . Mr Jack Bailey, in ' ' I he British Co-opet a 11\ e Movement published by Hut-ch.:' -on at I) (i. gives a cnnci.'ic mlormal ive tic 'osl i t ol the history ol the movement . Its p: e . e u t position and the problems fac-ing it Irish readers who wisii to tinder-

(Cont inued on Page Six)

March 1956 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT

BUILDING CRISIS IN | ^ O U S E construction in Dublin has practically come to a compiete stand-

still, and who's to blame

First the credit squeeze being applied by the mammoth financiers of London throughout the British-dominated world. Second the coalition Govesnment's policy of keeping a financial, political and economic set-up which puts Ireland at the mercy of cross-channel finance.

T h i s is what h a p p e n e d ; (1) Brit ish Tory circles decided they

wented more unemployment and they didn't care how they got it. They raised the bank rate, which meant tha t anybody who borrowed f rom a sank would have to pay more inter-till on the loan.

(2) At first I re land did not follow suit, but then a group of financiers and bankers persuaded Leinster House to raise the I r ish bank rate, which they did.

(3) immediate ly it was obvious that if hcuses were to be built they must be let at higher rents to pay the in-creased interest charges. If the Gov-ernment loaned money or gave grants, then IT would have to pay the higher charges. So the Government said "nothing doing" (no more grants) and t h e private investors decided the Dub-lin workers would not be able to pay higher rents and invested their capi-tal in Br i ta in l ike good patriotic busi-nessmen.

T A I L P I E C E — U n e m p l o y m e n t is now well above last year's f igure, and household economy, expressed in bread not bis-cuits, has laid off hundreds in the bis-cuit industry.

B u t one consolation the unemployed have—there are more clerks at the labour exchange so your case is dealt with quicker, unless of course a much higher unemployment ra te is ant icipated.

Kingston.—Pumping Sta t ion . Delaney & Bieman .

» Camberwell. — 52 dwellings, Camberwell Grove. Henry Boot.

Southward—39 houses and 87 flats. Doc-tor Street. Wilson Lovatt .

Wandsworth. 185 dwellings a t Putney. J. Jarvis .

S.W.7.— 21 flats (conversion i, Onslow Square. S to \ < Cont rac to r s i.

West Ham.—25 dwellings, S t ra t ford Road, Plaistow. S. New lyn.

Albert Embankment.- Office Block. Myton I id., Hull.

Wociwich. 2.000 dwellings. Abbey Estate, Unit Construction.

Islington. 102 dwellings, Chil lmgworth Road. Tersons.

Clapham. Park Kstate. 94 dwelling.-,. J . M. Hill.

Lambeth. -Deve lopmen t of Cobbett St. K n k iV Kirk.

Bern.cndsey. M a t s and shops. D.ckens E.-:ate. Thomas and Edge.

Poplar. Flats, etc. ( iai lowav E 'ate. How-ley Bro .

St. Marylcbone. Mat at Lit tone Estate . VV. J. Mansion.

I s l ing ton. -F la t s at. Newben II- use. T h o m a s and Edge.

S t a m f o r d H i l l . W a n n o u : a :d o f f ice s Catehpale and Co.

W a n d s w o r t h Road. - F u e Sh i t i o i , VV. J C r a r n e s .

Bloomsbury. Shop e 'e Lamb C ndu.t St v e t . A Robert

Harrpstead. 8" Hat: l-vllow R ad. Wil-son Luvalt.

Stoke Newingfon. 121 dwelling Queen'. 1)1 ive. M J < ileeson

Stokc-on-Tront. 72 liou e.s at Nor'. ::i : •>«• Moigan Building Co.

D u d l e y - 90 house . W i n d m i l l Lane Wa les Nottingham. 112 liou es. Chiton Estate.

Wimpe> Nottingham. 150 dwellings, Chi ton !'•

fate. Thomas Bow Nottingham. 2!>0 d w e l l i n g . Chiton E -

late, Hutchinson and Rostaia.c Bristol. -Composite building at Wine St

Cubit ts West B r o m w i c h . 95 d w e l l i n g s . Y e w I r e e

Estate . S .1 Smi th . Gi l l ingham. - 100 dwel l ing ' . Tw.dal l E -

ta te . K A Hawkes.

Leicester.—400 dwellings. T h u m b y Lodge, Mowmacre Hill. Stocking F a r m . J. Laing.

Luton.—Technical School, Seaward Bros. Swindon.—Factory. T. Wilson and Son. Daventry.—School. Bosworth and Wake-

lord. Liverpool—444 dwellings. Lee Park, Child-

well, Netherton Building. Liverpool—444 dwellings, Lee Park , Child-

well. Unit Construction. Liverpool. - 120 flats, Anthony Street .

Wimpey Liverpool. Dwellings at Anthony Street .

Direct labour. Alperton.—School. Prest ige and Co. Scunthorpe.— 90 houses, R iddmgs Esta te .

F. B. and J. E. Smi th . Belfast.—Homes at Muckamore Abbey. —

Stewart and Par tners . Newport (Mon.).—9(i flats, R m g l o r d Top.

J. Lamg. Crawley. — Stage II B ol Town Centre .

Peak Construct ion. Aldermaston (Berks. ) .—198 h o u s e s . VV. E.

O l i v e r s . Barry (Glam.). 100 dwelling. Direct la-

bour. Carlisle. 150 dwellings. Morton. J Lamg. Plymouth. 42 flats, 154 shop . P a n n i e r

M a r k e t J. Laing. W e l w y n G a r d e n C i ty . !a< ;••;,'. H u m -

p h r e y s Ltd. Swindon. 288 houses. VValeot ,J Laing. Bolton 142 duel l ings . Red Lane. Breight-

met Direct labour. Manchester. 148 dwel l ing . Lane.!'- E

ta le Direct labour Hertford. School a Ila.l Pa ik . Crook

Bros Southampton. 129 hoii e T i i o r n h i l l . —

Rei'llia Southampton. Ill) h o u r , I Imi nliill. —

Reema. Waltham Cross. — School at Park Lane.

Allen Fan head. Chapelcross (Dumfries). Atomic Power

Stat ion. Mitchell Construct ion. Kilmarnock. 100 house . Belllield. J a m e s

Miller. Edinburgh. -Two flat blocks at VV. Pit Ion

Willipev Edinburgh. 130 house' at ( i racemont -

Winipev. Gourock (Renfrew). Housing at Shore

Street. Dougall and Co.

Our Special Correspondent T^7"HAT conceivable just if icat ion is there

" * for Dublin and Tipperary Councils refus ing to allow scholarships to be held a t Tr ini ty College. Dublin, even if the win-ners are protestant?

This would mean tha t the local author i -ties have decided to usurp the func t ions of the Church as fa r as relates to the question of Catholic Education. Av, and go f u r t h e r too.

In his Lenten pastoral, the Bishop ol Down and Connor said " intolerance is treason. ' '

Treason it certainly is. and makes non-sense ol Mr. Cosgrave's latest s t a t ement on parti t ion.

He said that occasionally tears were ex-pressed concerning the f a t e of the minor-ity in a united Ireland.

"I believe," he went on, " tha t these fears a re groundless . . . the major i ty have erred on the sid? of generosity. No minor-ity group can have any cause for com-plaint or fear t ha t the i r beliefs or suscep-tibilities would be endangered."

"Intolerance is t reason." The two Coun-cils would be bet ter to remember the teaching of Wolfe Tone who wanted to replace the separa te titles of Catholic, P ro t e s t an t and Dissenter with the Com-mon title of I r i shman .

I t is no accident tha t those who are c rea t ing sec tar ian divisions among the people of the twenty-six counties a re al-ways the most fur ious opponents of S inn

Fein, unhappi ly t h e only nat ional is t pa r ty which is condemning sectarianism. * * * 11TERE is w h a t the "New York Times' '

has to say about Mr . Norton's invest-ment-seeking tour in the United States:

" I re land," M r . Norton said, "is pre-pared to offer new industrial investors concessions, incentives and assistance to an extent tha t we believe to be the most generous offered by any country."

Ireland's p r o g r a m m e to a t t r ac t indus-trial capital, Mr. Norton noted, had been in course of organisat ion until recently. Now, he said, it is being put into opera-tion and will be carried out in this coun-try by an inves tment promotion delega-tion that is scheduled to arrive here at the end of this month .

Minister Norton said that his meet ings with numerous industrialists, and bankers made him feel reasonably certain t ha t there would soon be firm results f rom the programme here.

Fie listed the most probable fields in which some of the first new American-backed plants would operate in I re land as rayons and textiles, chemicals and phar -maceuticals and f a r m tractors,

"There are also plans," he said, "in which American oil companies would join in establishing a refinery in I re land t h a t would save a good par t of the forty mil-lion dollars now expended for imports of petroleum products ."

A Ford factory in Cork, it was noted, is now about the only industrial enterpr ise in Ireland t h a t can be described as repre-senting American interests.

Among features of the Ir ish pro-gramme as out l ined by Mr. Norton, are the fol lowing: Complete freedom to the investor to repatr iate all profits an-nually in dol lars and to repatriate his entire investment promptly and in one piece, abundance of cheap electric power, adequate transportation and an intell igent and adaptable supply of wor-kers.

In addition to the Irish market , new enterprises m a n u f a c t u r i n g m I re land

would gam an impor tan t a d v a n t a g e in ready access to the entire European mar-ket. They could also import machinery into Ireland lree of duty and bring in key personnel f rom this country.

There are also extra inducements lor establishing indust r ia l olants in the Wes-tern par t of I re land, where there now are practically none.

"The Ir ish Government," Minister Norton said, "wi l l pay for the construc-tion of a new p lant in this area, and if an existing structure is used it wi l l then hand over to the investor as a g i f t the sum that would have been needed to build a new one."

In tha t area also, local taxat ion would amount to only one-third the regu la r ra te for the first seven years, and local govern-ments would build new roads in to new plants free of charge .

* * *

U O the American industrial ists seem to have quite a good prosoect before

them. If the development of I R I S H indus-try received one-half the solicitude . . . . well, Mr. Lemass has already r emarked upon tha t !

Fears are being expressed about the possibility of I re land entering atomic en-ergy for peaceful purposes in a hole-and-corner way. instead of doing the job pro-perly.

There is for tunate ly evidence of com-petition between various insti tutions which may lead to atomic research bein?; divided among a number of centres all anxious for the prestige a t tached to it.

It is being pointed out tha t if ever there was a case lor an all-Ireland inst i tut ion it is in this field, where size is essential. I t is simply not wor th while going in for it below a certain magnitude. A central nu-clear Physics inst i tute place in a suitable position to serve the whole country and train exDerts for t h e future would be of the greatest value.

It would also expose the absurdi ty of parti t ion.

An Appreciation by THE EDITOR

Captain Robert monteitb t w i T H the death of Captain Monte i th ™ in Detroit one more of the last l inks

with 1C16 is severed, and Ireland has lost one of her bravest and most incorruptible sons, one of those moreover who went "down in the world" for his beliefs, and not "up" like some others.

Born at Kilquade. Co. Wicklow, in 1878. he early became interested in social ques-tions. and first became lriendly to social-ism during the g rea t transport s t r ike in 1 il 13 in Dublin. At first interested m the experiment ol the Citizen Army, he was delighted when the Volunteers were started, lor though a sympathiser ol Lai-Ian and Connolly (like Pearse. MaeDer-mott and Tom Clarke i he was not then a working man himsell - till he lost his good job in the O r d n a n c e survey on account of his activities.

Soon a f te r the ou tb reak of w a r in 1914 he managed to m a k e his way to G e r m a n y where he was one of the very few m e n Casement cou ld t r u s t in the m i d s t of h is h c a r b r c a k i n g a d v e n t u r e of t r y i n g to in-terest i m p e r i a l G e r m a n y in R e p u b l i c a n I re land.

He accompanied Casement in the famcus submarine that landed the m at Banna Strand just before the Easter Rising. Casement was not successful in eluding the Br i t ish authorities but Mon-tcith was for tunate not only then but after the r ising when he escaped to America.

* * *

IT must not be imagined that America was the land of the free for Ir ish

Revo lu t ionar ies . T h e administ ra t ion securcd quite a good bag when they ja i led Larkin and L i a m Mellows—and Monte i th . Ho was on the r u n for a year in I re land, but England's a l ly , America, refused to tolerate him. T h i s was the time when Irish nationalist material was banned from the mails in the U.S.A.

But they let h i m stay, until he returned to Ireland, quietly in May, 1947. T h e citi-zens of Dublin had just lost J im Lark in and they joyful ly contributed to present Captain Monte i th , Larkin's supporter, with a house on the North Side. T h e n a veil seemed to be drawn over Monte i th and his doings.

The present wr i ter well remembers one afternoon in that house when Mcnte i th declared his political faith. W h e n he spoke of his disappointment that I re land had not secured either the unity, the in-dependence, nor the social system he and his colleagues had their vision of, his voice grew vibrant as he declared: "They may forget all of us—they must never forget James Connolly. He summarises it all."

\ ND this was why much was not heard of Montc i th dur ing those last Dubl in

years of illness and disappointment. In a letter sent af ter his return to America he gave trie an account of his impressions.

Partition had reinforccd sectar ianism; a narrow-minded puri tanism had come into the country. T h e Coalition Govern-ment was sell ing the country up to the U.S.A. and he added that his i l l -health was brought on by his disappointment, the recollection of the gay animated hopeful O Connell Street of 1913-16, and its pre-sent combination of wealthy tourists and sad emigrants.

But he never despaired. Two tiny splin-ter groups (as they then seemed) aroused his interest the youth of the Sinn Fein, and the youth in the Workers' League. He was also very interested in the Unem-ployed Movement. To the end of his days he looked to the youth to accomplish what he himself had hoped to sec and would only imagine.

It is to be hoped that some public spirited person wil l write the life of Cap-tain Robert Monte i th ; if anybody deserves honourable ment ion in archives of history it is he.

r» '

THE IRISH DEMOCRAT March 1956

5! i

jh S ' u

L C T I E The Anti-Partition

League DEAR E D I T O R , — I was extremely in-

terested in J. P. McGil l 's letter as I so well remember the Anti -Part i t ion League in Manchester at the period of wh ich he writes. I had always possessed a deep interest in I re land and its history a l though 'no t myself directly Irish and, at the t ime I was elected as a Labour mem-ber of the Manchester Council. As long ago as 1944, I was much criticised by the Protestants among whom I was then work ing for wri t ing in the Manchester Guard ian ' against the Stormont Govern-m e n t and thereby achieving the honour of be ing denounced by Mr . J. M. Andrews himsel f . These people were mostly the type of Unitarians who pay an outward lip-service to freedom but show all of the venom of the Orange reactionaries when scratched! My interest spread and I was d r a w n into the Ant i -Par t i t ion League and recal l the Manchester Martyrs Commemo-ra t ion Committee together with many other Irish activities. But gradually a change came although a highlight was reached in 1947 by Mr. de Valera's meeting at Belle Vue when I had the honour of seconding the vote of thanks. The real problem, as I was coming to see it, was t h a t the League sought to get together al l sorts of people against the part i t ion of I re land without saying exactly what kind of undivicied Ireland it desired economi-cal ly and socially. Prominent Liberals decked its platforms and there was a ten-dency to draw away f rom the English Labour Party. Vague and meaningless ta lk of anti -parl i t ion candidates in certain English constituencies only complicated the political scene.

In 1949, personal matters came to a head w i th myself, I had come to a fully religious orthodox belief and was already taking steps towards re turn ing to the Church of England as seeming the nearest to the catholicism which I was seeking. At the same time, I was made the object of the most bitter attacks and victimisation by some of the people among whom I had been working in Manchester. They showed their Orange zeal by prompt ing an un-pleasant individual, whose sanctimonious Protestantism was oflset by his unsavoury record, to make my life intolerable. I gave up in disgust and returned to the Church of England. It was a valuable experience as it taught me what Orange fanatics are real ly like when their pet prejudices are chal lenged just as it taught me tha\ a great deal of talk in certain quarters about ra t ional religious freedom is merely cant a n d humbug, a cloak for economic and poli t ical reaction. But it led to my leaving Manchester, going for two years to a York-shire parish, and coming to London as an Angl ican Vicar in 1952.

I t was then that I had an opportunity once again to take up Irish affairs and I have been prompted to do so all the more by the fact t h a t I have been engaged in historical research on the Bishop of Der ry and the Volunteer Movement. I t r ied to contact anew the Anti -Part i t ion League, remembering the old days. In London, I found it to be all but dead, h a v i n g nothing to contact. The lesson was there for me to learn. A mere opposition to part i t ion is not enough for it can lead to a n abortive nat ional ism which is detached from social and economic reali-ties. This was dangerous in the days of John Mitchel but it is a thousandfold more dangerous to-day when it can lead s t ra ight on to Fascism. I recall the occasions when, in the old days, I took the eha i r for Cahir Healey and admired his f ight ing spirit but wondered what were his economics.

I see that he is now wr i t ing in Mosley's • European"! Faced w i th these questions, it seemed to me tha t the Connolly Asso-ciat ion was the only body which was really get t ing down to the realities of the Irish si tuat ion by re lat ing the part i t ion question to the working-class economic and social issues which underlie it.

Loose talk about Communism is beside the point and merely befogs the issue at hand. If a London vicar can belong to the Association, I th ink that should be a sufficient answer to the people who are f ry ing to make out that it is a materialis-t ic and anti-religious body. On the con-t ra ry , its att i tude shows it to be one which is in touch wi th the realities of a living situation and not merely talking in the a i r .

My historical research has shown mc t h a t the Volunteer Movement failed s imply because it lacked clear objectives a n d could therefore be betrayed by its leadership.

A mild reformism applied to parl iamen-ta ry institutions was as irrelevant to Irish problems in 1782 as it is in 195B. In the present situation, a realisation of commu-ni ty of interest among wage-earners is an obvious need and, in this search, nationa-l i ty plays an obvious part.

I joined the Connolly Association simply because it was at once nationalist and in-ternationalist in a manner firmly baswl upon a social and economic realism. For t t i n reason, I want to sec it working in England with the better elements in the English Labour movement.

(Continued orl Page Eight)

PERSONALITY PARADE *

P R O F . J. D. B E R N A L , F .R.S. r i p p e i a i v i n a n — at a scientific

conference.

Above MRS. M A I R E KII .ROY relaxes on a rock in her nat ive Dublin B E F O R E the frost and

blizzard s t a r t ed .

High:: Belfast p r i n t e r TOMMY W A I T E R S , A.G.N.E., member of Manches ter Connolly Association.

EYE ON THE BALL . . . i^HE An T o s t a l r o u n d I r e l a n d I n t e r -

n a t i o n a l cycl ing r ace h a s been f ixed tor M a y 13th. T h e cour se is 980 m i l e s long a n d will t a k e e i g h t days to cover . T h e s t a r t a n d f i n i s h will be in D u b l i n .

* &

I r e l a n d ' s h o p e f o r t h e one mile f l a t in t h e O l y m p i c g a m e s , R o n n i e D e l a n c y has: b e c o m e t h e t h i r d E u r o p e a n to win t h e B a x t e r mi le s i n c e i t s incept ion 45 y e a r s a g o in t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . D e l a n e y w a s c a r r y i n g the co lou r s of t h e P e n n s i l v a n i a n U n i v e r s i t y of V i l l anova . G. K i n g , New York , w a s second, a n d L T i u e x , U.S.A.F. t h i r d .

* * * Although the composition of the Ir ish

Olympic team has not yet been decided, a provisional booking of 12 passages has been made. Cost is approximately £465 per head. The Par ty will leave for Mel-bourne via U.S.A. in November.

* * *

Billy Kelly ( D e r r y i ex -European , a n d B r i t i s h E m p i r e C h a m p i o n h a s been o f f e r e d s eve ra l c o n t e s t s in t h e U.S.A. I n c l u d i n g

g a l e a n d te levis ion f e e s he will receive abou t £1.400 pe r f i gh t .

The League of Ireland's surprise win over the League of T h e State of Hesse has resulted in the request for a return match by the German club. This match to be played in Hesse.

A cou r t in R o m e h a s jus t s e n t e n c e d Michael C h r i s t i e of D u b l i n to t h r e e m o n t h s i m p r i s o n m e n t , in absen t i a , on a c h a r g e of a s s a u l t i n g a n I t a l i a n Pol ice Officer.

C h a r g e r e l a t e s to a n inc iden t w h i c h occur red last A u g u s t , w h e n Chr i s t i e l ined u p to r e p r e s e n t I r e l a n d a t t h e W o r l d A m a t e u r R o a d Cyc l ing C h a m p i o n s h i p a t F r a s c a t i . M i c h a e l w h o is a m e m b e r of t h e N.C.A. w h i c h is i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y sus-pended because it d o e s n o t recognise p a r -t i t ion , was o r d e r e d off t h e t r ack to g ive way to t h e p a r t i t i o n i s t C .R.E. cycl is ts . H e re fused , a scuff le t ook place , C h r i s t i e w a s a r r e s t e d a n d t h e n c h a r g e d , b u t r e leased a f t e r two days . T h e s e n t e n c e is n o t t o f ake effect if h e does n o t c o m m i t an o f f ence

in I t a ly w i t h i n f ive y e a r s .

3IK Storp of Partition

T e n a n t s were maesaensd - • P r o t e s t m e e t i n g s b r o k e n u p m a t M i f c h e l s t o w n L o n d o n /

( T o be continued)

Unionists admit Republican unity

^J P E A K I N G to t h e B a n n s i d e U n i o n i s t i J Associa t ion , C a p t a i n T e r e n c e O'Nei l l s a id t h a t a l t e r r e a d i n g C a r d i n a l D ' A l t o n ' s p a s t o r a l he w o n d e r e d why C o m m u n i s m h a s such an a t t r a c t i o n f o r C a t h o l i c c o u n -t r ies .

This piece of impudent sectarian sensa-tion-mongering was followed by a veiled at tack on the Connolly Association which was referred to as " Ir ish clubs in Eng-land."

T h e " B e l f a s t T e l e g r a p h " m a d e g r e a t p lay wi th a n a l l e g a t i o n t h a t t h e A r c h -b i shop of C a s h e l a n d Emly h a d desc r ibed t h e R e p u b l i c a n P r i s o n e r s ' Aid f u n d as "g rave ly sml 'u l " a n d f o r b i d d e n C a t h o l i c s c o n t r i b u t e .

I t a lso r e p o r t e d Mr. Michae l F l a n n e r y . c h a i r m a n of t h e I.R.A. B e n e v o l e n t Asso-c i a t i o n in New York , a s s a y i n g t o t h e big-g e s t I r i s h F r e e d o m d e m o n s t r a t i o n s ince 1920 t h a t " W h e n i t comes to po l i t i c s t h e b i s h o p s a r e b a b e s in t h e wood."

Present at the meeting was Michael Quill of the American Transport Union, and the meeting took place in spite of threats from hoodlums to blow up the Yorkvi l le Casino. As well as President Quill , Paul O'Dwyer ( I r ish Inst i tu te ) and Sean Keat ing (League for undiv ided Ire-land) spoke.

A m e r i c a n - I r i s h o r g a n i s a t i o n s a r e u n i t -ing t he i r forces . M e e t i n g w a s ca l l ed i n s u p p o r t of Mi t che l l for Mid -Ul s t e r .

CO-OPERATIVE (Cont inued f r o m Page F o u r )

s t a n d t h i s a r m of t h e B r i t i s h l a b o u r move-m e n t will f i nd it a v a l u a b l e i n t r o d u c t i o n to t h e s u b j e c t , a n d will h a v e a d d e d i n t e r e s t in t h e f r e q u e n t r e f e r e n c e s to I r i s h co-opera t ive p ionee r s a n d t h e deve-l o p m e n t a n d p r e s e n t pos i t ion of co-opcra -t ion in I r e l a n d .

O n e of t h e e a r l y p ioneers , a n d spokes-m a n f o r t h e co -ope ra to r s , w a s Wi l l i am T h o m p s o n of Cork , whose l a b o u r t heo ry of v a l u e showed how worke r s w e r e be ing robbed of t h e f r u i t s of t h e i r l a b o u r . He saw t h e so lu t ion in co -ope ra t ion . O n e ol t h e ea r l i es t a t t e m p t s to f o r m s e l f - g o v e r n -ing co-opera t ive c o m m u n i t i e s w a s a t R a l a -l i ine in 1831. W h e n t in ' m e c h a n i c a l c h u r n a n d t h e m e c h a n i c a l s e p e r a t o r ca r r i ed but t e r -makin i i i n t o t h e f a c t o r y , joint a c t i on by a n u m b e r o! l u s h f a r m e r s was t h e only way in which they could provide t h e e q u i p m e n t a n d t e chn i ca l s taf f t o run s u c h a l a c t o r y . a n d the C o - o p e r a t i v e C i e a m e n e . ' w e i e s t a r t e d in I r e l a n d a n d t h e I r i sh A g r i c u l t u r a l O r g a n i s a t i o n Socie ty f o u n d e d in 1894 i 1 ;<• 1 A O.K. ac t s a s an ai'.encv lor tin- bulk p u r c h a s e of f a r m requis i te .. 'I hero a i r 325 agr icu l -t u r a l co-opera t ive societ ies in I r e l a n d to-day . Willi over lOtt.OOO m e m b e r s a n d ove; £1.150.000 in s h a r e cap i ta l . Most ol the r a r e in the 2fi c o u n t i e s 'I in r e t a i l socicl \ movemen t m I i ' l a n d i: m a i n l y con f ined to Bella: 1 ' .Ouch ha y lint i p robab l \ t h e larr.es! r - t a i l soc i r ly not a f f i l i a t ed to 111'' Co-opernt ive P a r t y

T h e va lue ol t in . book to I r i s h r ead ' ; s is no t conf ined to u lvmu an u n d e r s t a n d n i" of t he i m p o r t a n c e o | t he c o o p e r a t i v e m o v e m e n t in B r i t a i n to all w o r k e r s a n d c o n s u m e r s here , inc lud ing t h e I r ish , m b r e a k i n g t h e monopoly ol p r i v a t e entei p r i s e in sel l ing goods, but a l so g ives food lor t h o u g h t about t h e par t t h a t co-opera t ion in all i ts f o r m s can p lay in a un i t ed i n d e p e n d e n t I r e l a n d to f u r t h e r t i le p ro -pe r i t y of I r i sh worke r s a n d f a r m e r s .

E. MacL.

I

March 1956 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT

Edited by Cathal MacLiam

24 FOR PEACE P O E M S by T O M M A L C O L M (1 - )

I T is a g r e a t relief to f i n d a m a n who ' w r i t e s p o e t r y a n d r e t a i n s h i s sober

s e n s e s — e v e n in t h e poe t ry . Peop le l augh a t p o e t r y to -day , no t b e c a u s e i t is ines-s e n t i a l o r va lue less . It is b o t h essent ia l a n d v a l u a b l e . T h e y t r e a t i t w i t h t he con-t e m p t i t s f a s h i o n a b l e p r a c t i c i a n s h a v e b r o u g h t u p o n it. E i t h e r you m u s t h a v e a n ou ts ize soul , or a n outs ize pocke t , to un-d e r s t a n d it.

So first let u s p ra i se T o m Malco lm be-cause eve ry word lie h a s w r i t t e n can be u n d e r s t o o d by a n y b o d y a n d h e would pro-bably a g r e e t h a t a poet is t o be judged by h i s i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c t a n t r u m s a n d a f fec ted sens ib i l i t i e s n o m o r e t h a n a c a r p e n t e r , en-g inee r or g a s f i t t e r .

S o m e b o d y o n c e sa id of t h e f a m o u s m u s i c i a n J o h a n n S e b a s t i a n B a c h , t h a t all h i s p ieces s e e m e d to h a v e b e e n " m a d e in a w o r k s h o p . " M o r e s i g n i f i c a n t is t he f a c t t h a t t h e y h a v e m a n a g e d t o p a s s m u s t e r over a c o u p l e ol c e n t u r i e s .

T o m M a l c o l m h a s w r i t t e n t w e n t y - f o u r p o e m s to a d v o c a t e peace . T h e y dea l wi th no i n t r i c a c i e s of t h e sp i r i t . T h e sensible s t a n d p o i n t is a d o p t e d t h a t t h e p u r p o s e of t w e n t y - f o u r p o e m s fo r p e a c e is to ad-voca te peace , a n d t h a t a p u b l i c s u b j e c t shou ld be publ ic ly u n d e r s t o o d . W i t h o u t t h e a c c e p t a n c e of t he p r i n c i p l e t h a t con-t e n t is p r i m a r y , f o r m de r iva t i ve , t h e dis-c r ed i t i n t o w h i c h poet ry h a s f a l l en will n e v e r be r e p a i r e d .

S u c h l i t t l e books a r e t h e r e f o r e more im-p o r t a n t t h a n t h e y a r e u sua l ly g iven c red i t f o r be ing , a n d dese rve m o r e t h a n t h e g o o d - n a t u r e d t o l e r a n c e w h i c h is all t hey usua l ly rece ive .

All t h i s sa id , c r i t i c i sm m u s t be offered as well. C o n t e n t is p r i m a r y , bu t it is not all. T h e r e is n o t h i n g m o r e holy a n d m y s t e r i o u s a b o u t a poem t h a n a n y t h i n g else m a d e bv m a n . B u t t h e r e a r c vas t de-grees of ski l l possible in eve ry workshop. P e r h a p s t h e bes t w o r k m a n is n o t only h e w h o h a s t h e comple t e fee! of h i s tools, bu t t h e o n e w h o h a s t h e c l e a r e s t percep-t ion of w h a t h e is a i m i n g a t .

Now o n e r e a d e r ge t s t h e impress ion t l i a t h e r e t h e r e is j u s t a l i t t l e too m u c h s t r i d e n t c a l l i n g to " C o m r a d e s ! " a n d (for-give us i soc ia l i s t s logan i s ing . Soc ia l i sm is of c o u r s e a s l e g i t i m a t e a s u b j e c t for poe t ry a s t h e f r e e e n t e r p r i s e of the in-d iv idua l soul , o r t h e e m p t y b a n a l i t i e s of a s o p h i s t i c a t e d s choo lmas t e r . B u t If t he s u b j e c t is peace—i t c a n be p r e s e n t e d in broader , m o r e un ive r sa l t e r m s . O the rwi se t he p o e m s a r e a b o u t t h e i d e a of peace, no t a b o u t p e a c e i tself .

T h e d i s t a n c e wh ich the w r i t e r h a s t h u s p laced b e t w e e n himself a n d t h e h u m a n expres s ion of h i s s u b j e c t a p p e a r s to have m a d e h i m a l i t t le less c r i t i ca l of technica l c rud i t i e s t h a n h e o t h e r w i s e would have been. H i s l>est is " M a n h u n t " w h i c h Is a ba l lad t e l l i n g a s tory , w h e r e t h e s t rugg l e for peace a n d f r e e d o m is e x p r e s s e d r a t h e r t h a n t a l k e d abou t .

ARRESTED IN GALWAY I R E L A N D at the end of the 19th

Century , was passing through one of the most unhappy, and oppressive periods of her turb id history. Her peasants decimated by famine , and ground down under the burden of un-just rents and taxes, sti l l dreamed of f reedom, and revolt smouldered in the land. It was at this period of Ire-land's misery that a w o r t h y champion of her downtrodden people began campaigning on their behalf in Eng-land. This was the poet W i l f r e d Scawen Blunt .

B o r n of L a n d l o r d s tock, a t P e t w o r t h , Sussex in t he year 1840, h e e n t e r e d t h e D ip loma t i c Service a t t h e a g e ol 19, a n d se rved in d i f f e r en t p a r t s of t he world.

A f t e r h i s m a r r i a g e in 18G9, he r e t i r e d f r o m the Service. T h e n b e g a n h i s y e a r s of t ravel in t h e n e a r E a s t a n d the Ba l -k a n s , which were to involve h i m in t h e E g y p t i a n N a t i o n a l i s t m o v e m e n t a n d t u r n h i m in to a conf i rmed An t i - Impe r i a l i s t .

I n h i s book, " T h e W i n d a n d t h e Whi r l -wind ," h e exposed t h e evi ls of Imper i a l -ism, a n d h e n c e f o r t h h i s s t a n d was w i t h t h e weak a g a i n s t t h e s t rong , t h e oppres sed a g a i n s t t h e i r oppressors .

A f t e r f u r t h e r t r ave l s in I n d i a a n d t h e S u d a n , a n d work on beha l f of t h e I n d i a n Na t iona l i s t s , B l u n t t u r n e d h is a t t e n t i o n t o I r e l and . H e me t m a n y of t he I r i s h M.P.s, a n d sa id of t h e m : " T h e s e I r i s h m e m b e r s h a v e more s t a t e s m a n s h i p in t h e i r l i t t le fingers t h a n o u r C a b i n e t M i n -i s t e r s h a v e in all t he i r du l l heads . "

He was p e r s u a d e d to s t a n d fo r Pa r l i a -m e n t , a s c a n d i d a t e fo r t h e Camberwe l l d iv is ion of London , a s a T o r y D e m o c r a t . H e dec la red h i s s u p p o r t f o r H o m e R u l e f o r I r e l and , a n d voiced h i s i n t en t ion of s u p p o r t i n g P a r n e l l , d u r i n g h is e lect ion c a m p a i g n . W h e n t h e v o t i n g resul t s w e r e k n o w n , h e h a d lost t h e con te s t by 162 votes .

I T b ecame c lear to h i m t h a t t he To ry * P a r t y was n o p lace f o r a suppor t e r o l

I r i s h H o m e Rule , so h e r e s igned f r o m it

Wilfred Scawen Blunt

by THOMAS LEONARD

a n d jo ined t h e Libera ls . H e t h e n began ex tens ive work for H o m e Rule , a n d m a d e two j o u r n e y s to I r e l a n d to g a t h e r f i rs t -h a n d i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e sub jec t .

A f t e r t h e de fea t of G l a d s t o n e ' s Home Rule Bill in 1886, G e n e r a l E lec t ions were dec la red for Br i ta in , a n d B l u n t a g r e e d to s t a n d fo r t he B i r m i n g h a m Division, a g a i n s t t h e Rt . Hon. J o s e p h C h a m b e r l a i n . Again h e lost, this t i m e by 288 votes. He t h e n b e c a m e a m e m b e r of t h e I r i sh N a t i o n a l League a n d vis i ted I r e l a n d a g a i n , to s tudy the l a n d ques t ion : " to b r ing t h e in jus t i ce of t h e l and laws h o m e to t h e Eng l i sh Public ."

On a r r i v a l in I r e l and , B l u n t visited R o s c o m m o n , where m a s s evict ions were in p rogress . Here he w a s to l ea rn t h a t , in t h e I r i s h question, t h e l and was t h e key to t h e whole problem. T h r o u g h Home R u l e t h e p e a s a n t s hoped t o ga in f a i r a n d j u s t r e n t s for the l a n d t h e y t i l led.

He g a t h e r e d w h a t i n f o r m a t i o n h e could a b o u t t h e behaviour of t h e local land-lords, especially abou t t h e wors t of t h e m , a c e r t a in Col. K i n g - H a r m a n , a n d s e n t a ser ies of le t te rs on I r e l a n d to t h e "Pal l Mal l Gaze t t e . "

He con tac t ed Michael Dav i t t , who sen t h i m to Ar igna w h e r e evict ions were t a k i n g p lace on an e s t a t e be longing to Lord Kings tone . Of w h a t h e saw there , B l u n t wro te in his diary, " T h e s igh t m a d e m e ill. No-one can u n d e r s t a n d w h a t t he I r i sh ques t ion is, till h e h a s seen an evic-t ion."

He l a t e r wrote: "All t h i s m a r c h i n g a n d c o u n t e r - m a r c h i n g , th i s p a r a d e of a r m e d men , r e su l t ed in n o t h i n g more sa t i s fac-tory f o r t h e landlord, t h a n t h e collection of £20, a t t h e expense to t h e g o v e r n m e n t of a b o u t £1,000."

Back a g a i n in E n g l a n d , B l u n t reduced

tiie r e n t s of hi own e s t a t e s m Sussex , > e n a b l e h i m to be t r ee a n t h e r to a t t a c k the I r i s h landlords .

He b e c a m e involved in a h e a t e d d iscus-sion w i t h Ba l fou r , t h e Chief S e c r e t a r y foi I r e l a n d , on the ques t i on of H o m e Rule , a n d t h e gene ra l s i t u a t i o n in I r e l a n d .

A fu l l r e f e r ence to t h i s was m a d e !)<. B l u n t m his " L a n d W a r in I r e l a n d wh ich w a s composed m a i n l y of extract . -It0111 h i s D ia ry a n d was pub l i shed in 191.' R e f e r r i n g to the I r i s h p e a s a n t s , h e wrote . " If I n i t i ed them, it was no t for t h e p o v e r t y of the i r dwell ings, for t he broke:; t h a t c h , a n d the g a p s m the i r walls, l e t t i n . m t h e r a in , but for t he E n g l i s h law.-, w h i c h a r e driving t h e m f r o m t h e i r homes , a n d f o r t h e g r im l a t e t h a t a w a i t e d t h e m as o u t c a s t s in our E n g l i s h a n d A m e r i c a n cities. O n all t hese m a t t e r s B a l f o u r a n d I s tood a whole world a p a r t . "

/ h i s r e t u r n 1 W o o d f o r d ,

rt rt rt rt rt rt rt ft ft ft ft rt ft t ft ft ft ft ft rt ft rt ft rt rt rt rt rt ft rt ft ft ft ft ft rt rt rt rt ft ft ft £

c C « C c e c «

I t is c e r t a i n l y to be h o p e d t h a t Mr . Ma lco lm ' s w o r k s h o p will c o n t i n u e to pro-duce, a n d we need not. doub t t h a t in due t ime h i s t e c h n i c a l skill will s u r p a s s t h a t of t hose w h o h a v e no t h i s a d v a n t a g e ot h a v i n g s o m e t h i n g to say.

H.M.

CDc three-leafed Shamrock from

Glenore! | T was on a bright and clear St. Patrick's morning, • When wi th thoughts of home my heart was sad and sore, Still th ink ing of my dear old mother's warning

As she plucked the three-leafed shamrock from Glenore. C H O R U S :

It's the king of all the flowers from Killarney, Sure, the likes of it I never saw before,

I t grows among the rocks of Ir ish grandeur, It's the pretty three-leafed shamrock from Glenore.

Now, my mother she is gett ing old and feeble, As she sits outside her lonely cabin door,

But as she sits, a vigil watch she's keeping On the pretty three-leafed shamrock from Glenore.

I have sailed across the broad at lant ic ocean, I have travelled o er the sunny southern shore,

But nothing fills my heart wi th such devotion As the l i tt le three-leafed shamrock from Glenore.

I treasure still this precious l itt le token, It's the sweetest gem that comes from Erin's shore,

It's as fresh to-day, as when it's stem was broken, It's the pretty three-leafed shamrock from Glenore.

—Published by request oj Danny Kilcommins

2» 3>

S s> » s> 2» s> 3> 3

to I r e l a n d , h e w e n t to Co. Ga lway , w h e r e he-

h e a r d t r o u b l e was b r e w i n g on T o r d Clan-r i c k a r d ' s e s t a t e . B l u n t a r r a n g e d f o r publ ic m e e t i n g to be he ld wi th h imse l f a -chief speake r , but i t w a s p roc la imed , a n c t he v i l l age was occupied bv 150 pol ice a n o a c o m p a n y of t he Sco t s G u a r d s .

I n s p i t e of th i s show of force , t h e m e e t -ing w a s held as p l a n n e d a n d B l u n t spoke to t h e assembled crowd. He was i n t e r -r u p t e d by a Police I n s p e c t o r B y r n e . T h e police c h a r g e d the p l a t f o r m , a n d b e g a n also t o ba ton the crowd.

B l u n t was d ragged off t he p l a t f o r m , a r r e s t e d by a police s e r g e a n t a n d f rog -m a r c h e d off. T h e ba t t l e be tween t h e c rowd a n d the police con t inued , m e a n -t ime.

B l u n t was b rough t before a Ju s t i ce o: the Peace , charged wi th o b s t r u c t i n g the police, a n d lodged in jai l fo r t h e n i g h t . T r i ed be fo re two m a g i s t r a t e s he w a s sen-tenced to two m o n t h s ' i m p r i s o n m e n t . H appea l ed , was released on bail, a n d sai led for L o n d o n .

Ea r ly in the New Year , 1888. lie re-l u m e d t o I re land to s t a n d tr ial . A f t e r a l ive-day hea r ing , d u r i n g which it was ob-vious t h e J u d g e was de t e rmined on. a convic t ion, B lun t was s e n t to Ga lway jai . for two m o n t h s , u n d e r heavy escort , as the c o u n t r y s i d e was in a f e r m e n t and n e a r revol t as a r e su l t of the t r ia l .

A civil ac t ion was filed by t h e I r ish N a t i o n a l League, on B lun t ' s behalf , a g a i n s t Inspec to r Byrne , for a s s a u l t at W o o d f o r d . I t was t r ied in t h e Dubl in F o u r Cour t s , a n d lie was t r a n s f e r r e d to t h " K i l m a i n h a m jail.

At t h e t r ia l , B l u n t was r ep resen ted b. T i m H e a l y a n d T h e McDermot t . T h e im-p o r t a n c e of t he t r ia l lay in t he f a c t t ha t , h a d t h e case been won by Blunt , thus es-t a b l i s h i n g the legal i ty of h i s Woodford act ion , Ba l fou r ' s Cr imes Act would have been s m a s h e d , and B a l f o u r himself would not h a v e r ema ined a s Secre ta ry fo r I re -land. a n d in ali p robabi l i ty Home R u l e would h a v e been assured. But it w a s not to be. E leven of the ju ro r s were for Blunt but t h e twe l f th was a g a i n s t him, and as a u n a n i m o u s verdict was necessa ry t he case w a s lost. (Non su i t ed ) .

B l u n t was re leased f r o m pr i son in M a r c h , a n d so ended h is e n d e a v o u r s on behalf ot I re land . B u t h e r e m a i n e d in touch w i t h the I r i s h leaders , and revisited the c o u n t y in May. He died on September 12th. 1922, and on S e p t e m b e r 15th, was laid to res t at Newbui ld ings Place, in the Sussex e a r t h he loved so well. He hated t h e I m p e r i a l i s m wh ich m a d e liis c o u n t r y de tes ted , a n d f ea r ed in all c o r n e r s of her E m p i r e . His e n d e a v o u r e r s on behalf of I r e l a n d should r a n k h i m a m o n g the dea r -est of our coun t ry ' s f r i e n d s .

HAVE YOU READ The Life of

Father O'Flanagan The

Republican Priest of Ireland

9° from 53 KoMMnan St., I/Oiidon K.C.I

INNIU ogus INNE U C E A L m a i t h is ea e go b h l u i l l e a r c l iun 1 ' a i r e a c h t spe i s ia l t a i gcoir na Gao l -t a c h t a a c h u r a r bun i n E i r m n . Nil sc n e o m a t r o - d h c a n n a c h , a g u s ni l im ag n i ach oiread go bh fu i l se l n a m anois. D a r n d o b r a i t h e a n n s6 sin a r a n .sli na d t u g a n n s iad 1(5. F a d o r l a m h ba chear t dbibh t a b h a i i t f<-n oba i r seo, a c h is f ea r r l ea th -bhul log nil bhe i t h g a n a r a n .

ie T. M A C I U R A C H T A

oi leain Arann , cu i r eam i gcas . Is m a i t h is eol d u i n n go bh lu i l m u i n t i r na Gaol t a c h t a l g C o n a m a r a a t r d i g i n t go t iugh . Bin ar an Eagla is m i s i u n f e le i th a chui a r siiil i nGae i lge i H u d d e r s f i e l d n i f a d o 6 sho in toisc an o i read s in de m h u i n t i r C o n a m a r a a bhe i th s a n a i t . B h f u i l aon chial l leis an sc to l s i n ?

Legend of

Scian t i e ch ro i a n G h a e i g e o r a is ea e bheith ag f<5achaint ar an nGaoltacht ag t r a dtaidh ar ndiaidh. Ag deire 1954 d'fliag an duine deireannach an Blascaod Mor , loin-lar na Gaol tachta I g C i a n a i ; on toile&inin iargculta a thug duinn na scribhneoiri ud, Tomu^ O Crlomhthain, Peig Savers agus Muiris O SullleabhAin. ThAlnlgh sruth de c h a l n t lontach 6n mBlascaod tamall den la ach nil le clos ann inniu ach screachach n a bhfaoile4n.

Si an cheist anois i an dtuitf ldh an rud c<5anna aniach in a i teannaibh eile, in

R u d a m h a i n is fe id i r a b h e i t h c inte de - ill r a i b h rialtas i n E i r i n n fos a bid i n d a i r i r i b h i dtaobh na Gaeilge. Da m b e a d h ni bheadh an Ghao l tach t ban-ai the lc mar atA si. Ceist eacnamaiochta i t h a r aon rud eile. Go dtl go dtugann lucht poilitiochta f i n a d h b san a l^iteach nil a n n ach sn&mh i gco lnnibh an tsrutha. M a sheasann an aireacht n u a ar an mbun-chloch san, saol eacnamaiochta muintir na Gaoltachta , b'fh<5idir g o sabhalfar f6s i; go mbeidh an Ghae l lge le clos i ngach aird den dtfr. Bheadh stf ana-dheacalr an la s a n a sh'atnhlu m& bhfaghann an Ghaol tacht bAs.

County Louth IN a little town in County Louth

A strange th ing you will see, Though the green, green grass grows alt

around Here none will ever be;

For the Black and Tans here killed a man

Of the Irish Volunteers, And where he was laid not a single

blade Has grown for thirty years.

And in many a colony, I guess, Whore the British Army goes

And out upon the green, green grass A patriot's life-blood flows;

Could children and martyred men Leave such a print Indeed,

The earth would soon lose all her bloom A hi—and crimes no more be hftf.

HELEN FULLERTON.

y) l|

8 THE IRISH DEMOCRAT March 1956

WHAT THE WORLD HAS TO SAY Partition first ?

IN "Wor ld Commentary" last month the wri ter seems to suggest that the first

pre-occupation of the Irish delegation to the United Nations Organisation should be the raising of the partit ion issue.

At the s a m e tunc lie r ightly s t r ikes a note of scepticism about the not-tou-savourv record of the U.N.O. in its hand-ling ol t he smaller subject na t ion ' s de-mand for sel f -determinat ion. In the pre-sent s t a t e ol internat ional relat ions, he would be a super-optimist indeed who would say tha t the admission of the twenty-six counties into U.N.O. will speed the end ing of part i t ion.

Undoubtedly the greatest task that faces the Ir ish people at home is the ending of the border. But when discus-sing the need for an independent foreign policy and the expression of that policy in the Council of the United Nations let us put first things first. W h a t would it profit I re land to "play

hell over pa r t i t ion" at U.N.O. il a t the same t ime her delegate should support some policy which would lead to world war? W h a t would it profit I r e l and even 10 have par t i t ion ended if due to the fai lure of U.N.O. a third world war should break out with its un imaginable horrors of H-bomb explosions, etc.?

The first and foremost considerat ion of I re land ' s policv_at U.N.O. m u s t be to do everything t h a t ' i s humanly possible to in-fluence t h e course of world politics so that the holocaus t of war between t h e great powers sha l l not come about . Without fear or favour she must suppor t a t all times a n y genuine proposals to th is end, e.g., t h e bann ing of the hvdrogen bomb, i nuclear weapons, d isarmament , etc.

God protect us from the spectacle of the I r ish delegation rushing into U.N.O. with brief cases bulging wi th facts and figures about gerrymandering of Derry City, to the exclusion of the wider issues. T h e voice of Ireland in U.N.O. must be raised courageously and in-dependently on behalf of A L L petSles struggl ing for their national freedom. With a n independent fore ign policy-

based on the necessity for world peace and the r i gh t s of nations to self-determi-nat ion, I re land can s t r eng then those forces a t the U.N.O. which make lor world peace, win the respect of m a n y nations, and p r e o a r e the ground in a construct ive fashion lor her own case ol ending the in jus t ice of part i t ion.

JOSEPH D E I G H A N , Manchester 5.

Connolly Association Calendar

West London Indoor meet ing for March (held at 17

Bishops Bridge Road, behind Paddington S ta t ion , W.2> include: March 1st, Emigra-tion a n d t h e Irish in Br i ta in (P. O'Sulli-v a n ) ; 8th, Some Experiences of an Irish Republ ican (Joseph O 'Connor ) ; 15th, Ire-land 's Economic Crisis <E. MacLaughl in •; 22nd, " I re land in the Olympic G a m e s " <E. Lyons) ; 29th, "Lessons of Eas te r Week" (P. Clancy i.

Outdoor meet ings will not be held in Hyde Pa rk in March until w e a t h e r takes up. B u t April meetings a re p lanned as lollcnvs: Eas ter Sunday (see alxivei ; April 81 h. E. Lyons; April 13th, E. Lyons; April 22nd, T. Gallogley.

North London Indoor meet ings earh Monday a t the

Co-operat ive Rooms, Seven Sis ters Road. Outdoor meet ings will be commenced in F insbury Park as soon as wea the r permits, def in i te ly beginning on Eas te r Sunday isec above) and thereaf te r April 8th, G. C u r r a n . Desmond Greaves; April 13th, P. O 'Su l l ivan ; April 22nd, P O'Sul l ivan.

Provinces B i r m i n g h a m Bull Ring, A p r i l 13 th ;

Coventry (near Fire Stat ion 3 p .m. i ; Sun-days. April 8th I1. O'Sullivan, J Massey. April 1.31 h Patr ick Clancy Northampton, 7 p.m.; Sundays April 8th and 1.3th same speake r s as Coventry. Luton 7 p.m.: April 8th. E. MacLaughl in Bristol: April 13th. C l i f ton Downs. 3 p.m., E MacLaughl in . Southampton, 3 p.m.: April 22nd Desmond Greaves, Gerrard Cur ran . Reading: 7 30 p.m.. Sundays April 1.3th and 22nd, speak-ers as for Bristol and Southampton.

ON THIS PAGE S P R I N G

CAMPAIGN

ALL ON SUNDAY, 1st APRIL

L O N D O N (West) 3 p.m., Hyde Park

P A T D E V I N E . N O R T H

3 p.m., Finsbury Park P. C L A N C Y , G. C U R R A N .

* *

B I R M I N G H A M Bull Ring, 6.30 p.m.

E. M A C L A U G H L I N

C. K E R R . * *

C O V E N T R Y Fire Station, 3 p.m. E. M A C L A U G H L I N A. M O R R I S O N .

N O T T I N G H A M

City Square, 3 p.m.

E A M O N N L Y O N S T. G A L L O G L E Y .

City Square, 7 p.m.

E A M O N N L Y O N S C H R I S . M A G U I R E ( p r o v i s i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t s )

M A N C H E S T E R

L I V E R P O O L

See local announcements.

ANTI-PARTITION LEAGUE WAS QUIETLY MURDERED

Printed by Ripley Printers Ltd. (T.U.), Nott ingham Road, Ripley, Dcrbys., and published by the Editor a t 53 Rosoman Street, London, E.C.I.

ACHARA,—As an ex-branch secretary and area organiser I feel qualified to

express an opmion on the failure of the Ant i -Part i t ion League in this area.

All those interested in the movement will doubtless remember t h a t up to about five years ago, the Liverpool Branch of the Anti-Part i t ion League was one of the most active in the count ry . This was ol course mainly due to t h e predominance of the young and progressive element wi thin its ranks.

Liverpool was the only branch at t h a t t ime with an action commit tee and a dra-matic society, a t t ached to the branch.

Bu t progressive minds soon grow weary of s tagnat ion and a re no t content to re-main continually in the s ame old rut. T h e lack of policy and absence of adequate leadership f rom the Nat iona l Executive Council was one of the first signs of in-ternal decay m the League, and eventu-ally led to other t roubles which soon caused general d is rupt ion.

One major blunder which caused widespread disunity and subsequent loss of membership was the N.E.C. de-cision to oppose the Labour Party as a reprisal for the passing of the Ireland Act in 1949. Then the expulsion by the Area Council and C.E.C. of the mem-bers of the Liverpool Action Committee, I myself being one of the expelled mem-bers. The Action Commi t t ee ol course con-

t inued to meet and func t ioned as an in-dependent body with t h e continued sup-port ol all the worthwhi le members ol the branch. It did not t ake the Area Coun-cil and C.E.C. very long to discover t h a t as all the Branch Officers and active members had ei ther been expelled or lol-lowed those who were expelled, Liverpool Branch became j u t ano the r b ranch whose existence was onlv "on naper." So a l te r a short period in the "clog house' ' the "rebels" were re ins ta ted and ordered to be good little girls and bows in the

Wrong about De Valera

4 C H A R A , De Valera has always been ^ *• a great fr iend of the fascist dictators. During the time he was Taoiseach from 1932 to 1951 he was responsible lor the recognition by Eire of the I tal ian Empire. Eire was one of the first countries to do this.

The "Irish Democrat" made a mistake in a recent number by saying that .De Valera had supported Ethiopia.

Is mise le mcas, (Mrs. ) T E R E N C E M A C S W I N E Y

Geneva, Switzerland.

fu tu re . As all the members involved in this

mass expulsion were h e a r t and soul wrapped up in the cause of Ir ish Free-dom, they decided to make an a t t emp t to put the League back on its feet again in this area .

After twelve months of f ru i t less effort, and hampe red by the too respectable " shoneens" on the Area Council and the C.E.C. who banned as uncons t i tu t iona l any a t t e m p t a t public ac t ion on the par t of the too active Action Commit tee , I de-cided to h a n d in my res igna t ion f rom the League.

In spite of several a t tempts to infuse new life into It, the Liverpool Branch just faded out completely as the fight-ing heart of the movement was broken. T h e Dramat ic Society, C u m a n n Dra-

maoich t n a sciod na tr i b l a i t heanna ( the Three Flowers National D r a m a t i c Society) cont inued for a f u r t h e r twelve months a f t e r t he collapse of t h e Branch and then owing to the lac t t h a t as the mem-bers were all Irish, economic circum-s tances caused f requent changes ol jobs and depar tu res Iroin t h e Liverpool Dis-trict. I t was therefore decided to disband the society and the ba lance ol the funds left a l t e r all bills were met was donated to the National Graves Association.

So f a r as I can see the Anti-Part i t ion of I re land League is dead and can never be revived and I cannot see tha t any use-ful purpose can be served by holding con-t inual inquests on the corpse. The active members ol this area at least have lound other work to do in the cause ol Irish Unity and the "too respectable" element has sunk into oblivion.

In conclusion, Liverpool Branch will go down in history as the only branch wi th at least one member whose work for Ireland has been rewarded with a five-year sojourn as a guest of Her Majesty, at Wakefield prison. I refer, of course, to Seamus McCal lum, the most active member that the A.P.L. ever knew. E I R E G O R M L E Y .

! . _ ' — 5 Continued f rom Page Six

These, as J. P. McGi l l well reminds us, have never been unsympathetic to Irish claims. In my opinion the ashes of the Ant i -Par t i t ion League wil l grow colder and colder till they finally die out simply be-cause the League has not faced the whole of the issues but created an amalgam of people, some of whom are politically and economically reactionary members of the mercanti le classes, it is out of touch with reality. This is the I r ish lesson which I have learned out of personal experiences over the last ten years.

(REV. ) F. H. A M P H L E T T -M I C K L E W R I G H T .

I )

More about British Railways

EAR SIR.—I wish to add n v tvUv to the growing denunc ia t ion ll.e in-

tolerable condit ions experienced in t ravel-ling to I re land, specially during holiday periods.

T h e journey on any route is <: • of ex-haus t ion and misery, the Bri t ish S a u w a y s London to Dublin route via Hoi; head be-ing one of the worst.

"All shipowners should be in i aT ' is a well-known saying a m o n g sailonnr 'n. a n d when one has to e n d u r e an l a s h Sea crossing on a closely-packed stea.iier, the saloons filled to overflowing cold, miserable, sick people many wil l no-where but the decks and stairs s i t on, when one has had to he on the door ot" a companionway leading to the b.ir and drenched in beer a n d vomited mion by passengers s t ruggl ing th rough '.'.v.s mass ot bodies heaped toge the r confu -'div one realises how t rue this saying is.

Not even on e m i g r a n t ships : 'red under the Hags of P a n a m a and L'.be;;a to avoid hav ing to comply with inte na t iona l s t a n d a r d s have I seen comparable con-ditions. Sea journeys a r e not p leasan t lor many people, but how different is t h e sea-sickness suffered in comfort b>' P. & O. passengers to t h a t experienced bv I r i sh workers travell ing h o m e in terr ible con-di t ions?

In this era ol Comet airliners, a tomic powered ships and proposed spa"? t ravel these condit ions a re not good enough for us. We demand more comfortab' .e and speedier travel on less crowded .-hips and t ra ins .

D. L L O Y D , Manchester.

GLASGOW

Easter Sunday MacLellan Galleries

Sauchiehall Street 7.30 p.m.

PAGEANT OF IRISH HISTORY IN MUSIC

AND POETRY

Wil l be the most colourful commemoration ever he!d

in Glasgow

REPUBLICAN CLUB MEETINGS

Meetings and Concert every Sunday, 8 p.m., Furni ture Operatives Hal l , 4 Nelson St., Glasgow.

Ai l interested welcome.

Pamphlet- Needed I \ E A K AIR EDI TOR, W uul '.oil * please let me know it y u : have a

pamphle t on the Part i t ion ol I re land avai lable or where I could find o r e ? I wrote to the Ant l-Part l t loll Leagirv Man-sion House. Dublin, some time a : i in this connect ion but I have not ever, received a rep!;,.

Please remember it : a pamp .:•: I re-quire and not a book contain.: . , ' detai ls ol t h a t phase ol Anglo-Irish hi ' -

Yours laithlull.v. T O N Y B O U R K E ,

London , N.5.

will be available shortly

I Just now, "How to End Part iti .'' is out of pi mt. but we are Irving to s'-r.uie to-ge ther the l unds to publish a new pam-phlet which we hone to have c it Ijelore Eas te r : it is wr i t ten and onl f inance holds us up.—EDITOR ]