The Sinn Fein tide (original) (raw)

There was no slacking of the Sinn Fein tide on polling day, and all the signs point to a sweeping victory for that party. An exceedingly heavy vote was cast in most of the contested constituencies, and where a Unionist candidate was in the field the poll reached 80 per cent of the register, notwithstanding the large number of absentee voters. In the absence of a candidate of their own, Unionists generally absented themselves and left the contest between the advocates of the independent republic and a settlement within the Empire.

The constituencies which the Nationalists hope to have held include East Mayo and West Belfast, where Mr. Dillon and Mr. Derlin have been facing the massed attacks of their opponents. An exhaustive vote in East Mayo encourages the Nationalists' expectation, for what was most to be feared by them was the apathy or nervousness of their supporter in face of the organised parades of Sinn Fein. Waterford, South Wexford, East Tipparary, South Roscommon, North Sligo and North Louth are also expected to prove their staunchness to the old ideas, while there is a sporting chance of North Meath, South Kildare, North Dublin, South and North Monaghan, South Tipperary, West Galway, and South Donegal reinforcing the shrunken Nationalist lines.

An expert's estimate of the result of the election generally is 63 Sinn Fein, 27 Unionist, and 15 Irish Party seats. The Unionist party will gain three or four seats in Dublin owing to the divisions among its opponents.

Having explored one of the rural constituencies, I am in a position to give a fairly accurate description of the causes of this overwhelming defeat of constitutionalism. The constituency on question was held by Southern Unionism until the advent of Parnell. The rural vote is two to one on the register of over 16,000. There are over 2000 Unionists on the register and over a thousand absentee voters and invalided soldiers. Farmers, traders and their wives form a majority of the remainder and they are preponderantly opposed to Sinn Fein. Yet it was found impossible to marshall these element of moderation for the contest.

There was not even a skeleton organisation to rally or canvass the voters. By a succession of incidents during the past five years the United Irish League has been undermined. The Volunteer movement, the rally of the active spirits of the National Volunteers at Mr. Redmond's call for recruits, the very success of Mr. Redmond in placing the Home Rule Act on the Statute-book, which was taken as a signal for the demobilisation of the old party organisation, had resulted in the complete disappearance of the United Irish League. On the other side, Sinn Fein and the Transport Workers' Union were organised and equipped to the last button, and had complete possession of the field. Practically without any leaders representative of the substantial interest of the country, they dominated the situation, and the Nationalist electors could not in the time available be stirred up to challenge the position.

Hopes for Constitutionalism

Thought there are a great many other elements of the population assisting Sinn Fein - bishops who believe that by putting up the price of a national settlement there is a better chance of winning a satisfactory agreement with Great Britain, dissatisfied Nationalists who think that the Irish party needed new men, and men to whom Mr. Lloyd George's Budgets, Insurance Act, and minimum wage were all distasteful - the dominant forces of Sinn Fein are frankly and honestly revolutionary. The moment that the anti-revolutionary elements of the party attempt to swing it back to constitutional courses the party will be broken. That is why in such constituencies as I have described the Nationalists remain confident that they have not lost the future. "Next time" is the watchword, for they believe that by "next time" the Sin Fein experiment will have been tried and found wanting. Besides, "next time" they hope that, whoever is Prime Minister, he will not handicap constitutionalism in Ireland by an election held in the dark against candidates fighting from the vantage ground of the prison cell.