Lloyd George warns of sterner things to come for Ireland
London, 26 July 1920 - The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, has indicated that things in Ireland could be about to become ‘very much worse and very much sterner.’
Mr Lloyd George was speaking following a meeting, in recent days, with a Labour deputation headed by James Henry Thomas who put before the Prime Minister a British Trades Congress resolution calling for a scheme of Dominion Home Rule with safeguards for North-East Ulster and protection of minority rights.
The Prime Minister, in rejecting the idea, pointed out that the government’s policy was to safeguard Ulster by giving them a parliament of their own. He did, however, say that he was prepared to discuss plans for the settlement of Ireland with ‘responsible leaders of Irish opinion’ but stated that they would not agree to complete independence and insisted that ‘we must have self-determination for the North-East.’
Ominously, Lloyd George added that he was certain that things in Ireland are going to ‘become very much worse and very much sterner. They must. We cannot allow this to go on. Therefore, whatever, anybody who is anxious for peace does, let him do it quickly. That is all I have to say.’
The Prime Minister’s warning will cause alarm throughout nationalist Ireland, particularly in light of the already heavy-handed military and police operations in the country.
The late Prof. Ronan Fanning discusses British policy in Ireland in the aftermath of the First World War with RTÉ's David MuCullagh.
Last week, the Irish Independent, pointed out that the number of troops currently in Ireland was the highest it has been since 1798, and that they were being used not for the preservation of law and order but for the purpose of ‘naked and unashamed’ repression. ‘The names of towns like Cork, Dublin, Fermoy, Thurles, Lismore, Limerick, Bantry, Arklow, Milltown-Malbay and Tuam – these and many other places have been subjected to frightfulness, innocent civilians have been killed and property has been destroyed.’
The unionist-leaning Irish Times is also critical of the British government approach to Ireland, although for different reasons. The newspaper has challenged Andrew Bonar Law’s claim in the House of Commons a week ago that the government was ‘getting the trouble better in hand’ in Ireland. The Irish Times pointed out the absence of evidence to support such a claim.
‘We could believe that the government’s measures of defence in Ireland were beginning to be effective if there were any decrease in the number of murders and other crimes, if a single murderer had been brought to justice, if the sanctions and dignity of the king’s courts of law were being vindicated in the slightest degree. None of these things is happening.’
The editorial expressed exasperation at the government's policy and suggested that the vast majority didn't trust in its ability to restore law and order. ‘For the first time in history the British Government offers to its loyal supporters in Ireland, and indeed to all Irishmen, an outlook that is absolutely without hope ’
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
