Second Reading of the
Government of Ireland Bill in British House of Commons
More Detail
Bonar Law is asked if the Northern Ireland parliament would be put in
operation if the Bill is rejected by the rest of Ireland. He replies “Most certainly”.
Charles Craig MP (brother of James Craig) said in the House of Commons
that “We quite frankly admit that we cannot hold nine counties” and went on to
say “The Bill practically gives us everything that we fought for, everything we
armed ourselves for, and to attain which we raised our Volunteers in 1913 and
1914”. Comment: One way of interpreting
this speech is that Craig was thanking the British government for rewarding the
raising of a private army which threatened rebellion against the British government.
James Craig says “There has been a great deal said in this Debate about
the time there is union between us [Northern and Southern Ireland]. … I would
not be fair to the House if I lent the slightest hope of that union arising
within the lifetime of any man in this House.
I do not believe it for a moment.”
Asquith replies “that the hon. and gallant Member [James Craig] gloats
over, namely, that they will always have a majority to be able to defeat
permanently a union between the two Parliaments”. Labour MP, J. R. Clynes
said he opposed the bill because it gave to the Belfast parliament “the right
to veto on the assumption of powers by the central Irish Council”. Even Conservatives dismissed the Council of
Ireland. Robert Cecil described it as a
“national debating society”.
Asquith does propose the option of exclusion by county. Llyod George points out that that, while this
may mean the exclusion of four counties instead of six, it would still mean
partition.
Asquith, Clynes and Cecil all point out that
the Bill had no support from any significant body of Irish opinion and that it
was unpopular even with northern unionists.
(Comment: This last point is debateable.)
Second reading is passed by 348 votes to 94.
Comment
It is
interesting to note that a number of opposition MPs (and others outside
parliament) pointed out that the Government of Ireland Bill gave unionists a
veto on the Council of Ireland getting any real powers and, therefore, it was
highly unlikely (given what James Craig said) to ever become a vehicle to unify
north and south.
What is
perhaps more surprising is that more commentators did not support Asquith’s
proposal of exclusion by county (or by some other means). Whereas, northern unionists had a valid
argument that, if nationalists had a right to self-determination, they too had
a similar right. However, they did not
have a right to force large areas with nationalist majorities (not only large
parts Fermanagh and Tyrone but also the west bank of Derry City and parts of
south Armagh and a smaller part of south Down) under their jurisdiction.
It is
also strange that no British MPs seem to believe that nationalists would suffer
on-going discrimination within Northern Ireland despite this point being made
forcefully by Joe Devlin. The essential
problem was that having six counties under the jurisdiction of the Belfast
parliament meant that there would be a substantial nationalist minority in NI (approximately
33% in 1921). A more equitable redrawing of the boundary would have greatly
reduced the size of the nationalist minority in NI and they would therefore
have been less of a threat to the new NI State. It would also have increased
the unionist/Protestant minority in, what was to become, the Irish Free State
which could have worked to lessen Catholic hegemony in the new southern state.