IRELAND 192 IRELAND scheme for the buying out of Irish land- lords, were rejected by Parliament and the majority of the constituencies, thus bringing a Conservative government un- der Lord Salisbury into power. A per- manent act for the repression of crime in Ireland was passed in 1887, and an act (Lord Ashbourne's) for the benefit of Irish tenants, under which money is ad- vanced to them to aid them in buying their farms. The agitation by the Home Rule party continued through 1892 and 1893, Gladstone advocating eloquently the cause of the Irish people. In 1900 the Irish Parliamentary party reconsti- tuted itself with John Redmond as chair- man. In 1903 the Wyndham Act was passed enabling tenants and occupiers to purchase the land and hold it. In 1906 James Bryce (now Viscount Bryce) be- gan the work of creating the National University of Ireland making it possible for the Catholics to secure a higher edu- cation. Riots, and agrarian outrages, particularly "cattle driving," were fre- quent during 1907-09. The Home Rule Bill of 1912 (See Home Rule) was op- posed in Ulster and a volunteer army was enlisted by Sir Edward Carson to resist its enforcement. The Nationalists also formed a volunteer army and the country was divided into two hostile camps. A crisis arose in 1914 when the British Government moved to send troops to Ulster and a warship to Belfast. The Sinn Fein, founded about 1905, had now become a revolutionary body, and seized the opportunity to unite with the Nationalists' Volunteer Army, drill- ing openly and secretly planning an up- rising. ()n Easter Monday, April 24, 1916, the Rebels seized the Post Office ' and other public buildings in Dublin. The Irish Republic was proclaimed with Padraic Pearse, president, and James Connolly commandant of Dublin and Messrs. Clarke, MacDonough, Ceannt, Plunkett, MacDiarmid members of the provisional government. Sir John Max- well commanded the British troops en- gaged in suppressing the rebellion which came to an end April 29 when Pearse surrendered. In the fighting the British lost 521 men. In May Pearse, Clarke, MacDonough, Plunkett and 11 others were executed. Over 3000 were impris- oned for taking part in the rebellion. Sir Roger Casement (q. v.) was hanged in England June 29, 1916. In the general election held in Decem- ber, 1918, the Sinn Fein overthrew the Nationalists but declined to take their seats in the English Parliament, agitat- ing meanwhile for a separate govern- ment. _ At a conference held Jan. 21, 1919, independence was declared and the provisional government of the Republic of Ireland proclaimed. Eamon de Va- lera, Count Plunkett, and Arthur Grif- fith were appointed delegates to the Paris Peace Conference but were denied passports by the British Government. De Valera then sailed for the United States where he was received with en- thusiasm by the Irish and hailed as the "President of the Irish Republic." An attempt was made by De Valera to get a strong plank inserted in the Republican and Democratic platforms during the presidential conventions of 1920 but only succeeded in securing an expression of sympathy for Irish national aspirations in these declarations. Municipal elections held on Jan. 15, 1920, indicated the growth of the Sinn Fein movement, and indicated that a large element of the Irish people would be satisfied with nothing less than inde- pendence. Out of 1,240 vacancies, the Sinn Fein won 422, the Labor Party 325, the Nationalists 213, and the Unionists only 297. The Nationalists who favored Home Rule were ousted by the Sinn Feiners from almost every seat in Par- liament, and as a result Ireland was al- most without representation in the House of Commons during 1920. In the meantime, violence continued to flourish. On March 10, Lord Mayor Mc- Curtin, of Cork, was assassinated by masked men in his own house. His suc- cessor, Terence MacSwiney, was ar- rested on August 12, on charges of sedi- tion, and following his conviction, imme- diately began a hunger strike which ended in his death on Oct. 25, 1920, after a fast of 74 days. Other Irish leaders who were arrested on similar charges, re- fused to eat and several of them died. The Sinn Fein established their own court and police, erecting an entire sys- tem of self-government under the eyes of British officials, while police, con- stabulary, and soldiers were assassinated or shot from ambush. On April 2, Sir Hamar Greenwood was appointed chief secretary to succeed Ian MacPherson. In May, civil war continued fiercer and many police barracks were burned. The government sent large forces to Ireland in command of Sir Neville McCi-eady. The situation was further complicated by a strike of English railway dock and ship laborers who refused to move troops or munitions. The terror culminated in the partial burning of the city of Cork on the night of December 11, when 311 houses were burned and damage was done to the amount of $20,000,000. In the same month Parliament passed the Home Rule Bill in both houses, and it was signed by King George. It was left
