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to place the Irish farmer in a much better economic position than is possessed by his brother in England.
Home Rule, too, is on the statute books, awaiting only the end of the war to be put in force. A very liberal form of Home Rule it is to be.
It should further be observed that Irishmen have never, in the whole course of their history, been united among themselves with regard to just what they expected of England. That, upon many occasions, England should have chosen her own course, regardless, is, therefore, not strange.
Today we have Ulster standing out against Home Rule, preferring to be governed from London rather than from Dublin. New Ulstermen are Irish--they lay claim to no other nationality. They are a minority of the Irish population, to be sure; but a very large minority, certainly too large to be ignored. To England comes the difficult matter of adjusting the differences between the two factions of the Irish nation. It is a problem which revolts do not even begin to solve. It is a problem which people separated from the scene by three thousand miles of sea would be wise to let alone.
The Irish in this country are, for the most part, descendants of those who lived under the old order of things. Their prejudice runs away with them. Their ignorance obscures to them the truth. They glory in an attempt to stab England in the back because their patriotism is a blind insanity. But the worst feature of their existence is the fact that they instil into many gullible American minds a feeling of rancor against England which is not justified by the realities. They are enemies of the United States as well us of England. For, much depends upon good feeling between this country and the British Empire.
Good feeling is based upon knowledge.
In short, we Americans should strive to learn more of England, what she is, what she stands for. Certainly three thousand miles of undefended Canadian boundary should prove to us that there is no menace in her empire. Her correct behavior during the Civil War and when we fought Spain should be remembered in her favor. It would be unwise to forget that financially and industrially she leads the world; that politically she is the most advanced of any state known to history--an inexhaustible source for study, reflection and admiration.
Nor does it take deep delving to convince one that Lord Curzon was nearer right than wrong when he declared that "The British Empire is, under Providence, the greatest force for good that the world has ever seen."
England made the Empire.
The Conservative
Published in the interest of the United Amateur Press Association, and sent free to all Lovers of Literature, and others who desire it, at 598 Angell St., Providence, R.I. by Howard P. Lovecraft.
