THE SOUTHERN IRISH LOYALISTS. [To THE EDITOR OF THE "
SPECTATOR.") Sin,—As
one who has greatly suffered in Ireland and whose house has been burnt by Sinn Fein, may I give you what I honestly believe to be the Southern loyalist point of view at the moment in Ireland? The conference is taking place, and not for a moment would I wish to prejudice its success, believing as I do the majority of Irishmen, be they Sinn Feinera or otherwise, are all for a settlement now on just and fair lines. But let us get to the point at once. Who are the real rulers in Ireland to-day, the people that count? Not, emphatically, the majority, but the men with the pistols—the I.R.A. The whole country has been, and is still, held in a grip of terror by these men. Let us be fair to them, too. They think they are in the right, and conceive their methods to be fair warfare; but who are they? A very mixed crowd, all young men, and mostly men with very little stake in the country. They are the fruit of the 'teaching of a generation, who have been nurtured on Ireland's past wrongs, and of a highly attractive and fanciful idea of righting them. They consist of students, clerks, shop- boys, and younger sons of farmers, with a stiffening of Ameri- can and Mexican gunmen, and ex-soldiers. And it has been said, and is probably true, that there is no real Sinn Feiner in Ireland over the age of twenty-five. These are the men who count. Let us again be just. They have made very real sacrifices for their country, and consider that it is they, through their methods of warfare, who have brought matters to their present issue, and that, since they have " pulled the chestnuts out of the fire," they, first of all, have the right to eat them—in the event of a settlement. It is here that the Southern loyalist comes in. Ho has been the silent enemy all along, and when complete power is in the hands of Sinn Fein, of course he will have to be dealt with. Besides this, the loyalists are the descendants of various English settlers. They are mostly Protestants, and, in proportion, their financial stake in the country is far the largest of anyone.
Now, as above stated, the groundwork of Sinn Fein has been well prepared by the teaching of past wrongs (real wrongs, nb doubt). And there is every reason to believe that the future policy of Sinn Fein will be to get rid of those who are supposed to have profited by past events. Even now evidence is not lack- ing that the burning of Unionists' houses is the forerunner of much more that is to come. The outlook for the Southern and Western loyalist is not pleasant. (1) He believes the country is about to be handed over to young men of inexperience and out for all they can get. (2) He sees himself as the logical victim of the teaching of Sinn Fein. (3) Without arms or protection of any sort, he is absolutely helpless. To him is left the choice of leaving the country, at great financial loss, and with all the sad- ness of one whose home is gone; or of remaining there as suspect and outcast in a ruined land, or finally of sacrificing his con- science and subscribing liberally to his oppressors, calling that good which in his heart he believes to be evil. There are many refugees now in England whose homes were burned, or their nerves shattered, and some of them in abject poverty. But alas! there, are many more to come.
The writer would appeal to good Englishmen to be not only just but generous to these men. Firstly, in the draft of the proposed settlement; and, secondly, through the admirable committee of the Southern Irish Loyalists' Defence Fund, secretary, Richard Dawson, Esq., 25 Victoria Street, London, S.W. 1. Let them remember they are their own flesh and blood, and that their sufferings are through no fault of their own. There is no stopping the tide of events. Democracy demands that the will of the majority shall rule in Ireland (shall we say the supposed majority?). An Irish settlement from the point of view of high politics is no doubt at the moment an urgent necessity. The writer casts no blame anywhere—on Sinn Fein, their gunmen, or on the British Government and public—but appeals to that great, true British instinct of common sense and the righteousness of justice and pity not to forsake its own flesh and blood in Ireland at their hour of greatest need. Apologizing for trespassing so far on your space,
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