24. The acceptance of the proposals here made would mean sacrifices for
the two extremes in Ireland, and neither party has as yet made any real
sacrifice to meet the other, but each has gone on its own way. I urge
upon them that if the suggestions made here were accepted both would
obtain substantially what they desire, the Ulster Unionists that
safety for their interests and provision for Ireland's unity with the
commonwealth of dominions inside the empire; the Nationalists that
power they desire to create an Irish civilization by self-devised and
self-checked efforts. The brotherhood of domimons of which they would
form one would be inspired as much by the fresh life and wide democratic
outlook of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, as by the
hoarier political wisdom of Great Britain; and military, naval, foreign
and colonial policy must in the future be devised by the representatives
of those dominions sitting in council together with the representatives
of Great Britain. Does not that indicate a different form of imperialism
from that they hold in no friendly memory? It would not be imperialism
in the ancient sense but a federal union of independent nations to
protect national liberties, which might draw into its union other
peoples hitherto unconnected with it, and so beget a league of nations
to make a common international law prevail. The allegiance would be
to common principles which mankind desire and would not permit the
domination of any one race. We have not only to be good Irishmen but
good citizens of the world, and one is as important as the other, for
earth is more and more forcing on its children a recognition of their
fundamental unity, and that all rise and fall and suffer together, and
that none can escape the infection from their common humanity. If these
ideas emerge from the world conflict and are accepted as world morality
it will be some compensation for the anguish of learning the lesson. We
in Ireland like the rest of the world must rise above ourselves and our
differences if we are to manifest the genius which is in us, and play a
noble part in world history.
THE NEW NATION
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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