To go to Westminster is not only unpractical and futile, it is a betrayal
of the sacred cause of Irish Nationality and =it has been advertised as
such by the English Government=. The great argument for deceiving the
world with regard to Ireland is the presence of Irishmen in the English
Parliament--why we are "over-represented" there! There is, therefore, only
one way of making Ireland cease to be a "domestic" problem and of bringing
it out into the full light of international affairs; and that is by making
a full and final repudiation of the English Parliament. That would be an
unmistakeable manifesto to the whole world, a proclamation that Ireland
demands her full rights from a world which has definitely recognised the
autonomy of small nationalities.
=THE PEACE CONFERENCE.=
That is how we can appeal to the Peace Conference, by fearlessly
proclaiming our refusal to be swallowed up in England's Empire. There is
no need, thank God, of arguing that we should strive to make the most of
the Peace Conference. Even Mr. Dillon has come to admit the idea, though
he is unfortunately so intent on scoring off opponents that he has tried
to degrade the Conference into a contemptible set of unscrupulous Powers.
Sinn Fein is in no way built exclusively on the hopes of the Peace
Conference; the movement was founded by Arthur Griffith years before the
war, if indeed it is not coeval with the Irish age-long struggle for
freedom. Nor are we such sentimental fools as to rely merely on gush. We
do indeed hope for the triumph of moral principles in international
affairs, and especially we hope that democracy is coming into its rightful
inheritance. But meantime we rely primarily on ourselves and our own
determination. Still, we will see that no high-sounding principles shall
be paraded before the world unless the voice of Ireland is heard. We will
see to it that pharisaism shall be confronted by an Ireland clamouring for
independence. And we shall not be friendless. Our race has power in
America, in Australia. Ireland's freedom, too, is essential for the
American conception of the freedom of the seas.
The issue is now before us. We are in the birth-time of big changes. Let
us not lose the great chance of freedom. Let the Irish Democracy once and
for all declare that Ireland is a Nation entitled to sovereign
independence.
Mr. Dillon's attempt to degrade the Peace Conference to the level of the
Westminster Assembly, where everything is settled by party pressure,
bribes and private arrangements, is most astonishing testimony to the
corrupting and demoralising influence of London on Irish members. His mind
is still moving in the old rut of political trickery, huckstering and
chicanery; instinctively and as the result of long experience, he reduces
Ireland's claims to the condition of a man looking for a job or a vote. He
regards our case not as a question of right and justice, but as one to be
compromised and pared down in the good old Westminster fashion.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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