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Show COMPULSORY BILL WILL PASS HOUSE Irish Nationalists Withdraw All Opposition to British Military Service Measure. STAND BY GOVERNMENT Large Majority of People of United Kingdom in Favor of Proposed. Action. London, Jan. 1 1 . 1:40 p m John E. Redmond, parliamentary leader of Irish party, announced in the house of commons this afternoon that the nationalists would not further oppose the military service bill. Mr Redmond went direct to parliament parlia-ment from a meeting of the Irish party. Ho quickly ranged himself and his followers once more on the side of the government. Mr, Redmond said the Irish nationalists, nation-alists, having their protest against the military service bill and recognizing that the measure had the support of an overwhelming majority of British representatives in the house would cast on further vote In any form against It. Even the opponents of the bill, he said, admitted it was receiving the support of a large majority of the people of the United Kingdom. Mr. Redmond added that the majority major-ity in favor of the bill in the vote of first reading, excluding the Irish members was 0 to 1. He said the bill would become, law and ho hopes It would be passed quickly Opponents Scathingly Denounced. Sir Edward Carson scathingly denounced de-nounced the opponents of the bill. Tie declared that the obligations which Great Britain had assumed could not be fulfilled until the bill became law. The Dardanelles had been abandoned abandon-ed he said, because the country had not had enough men to carry through the enterprise which Sir Edward characterized char-acterized as "an admirably conceived, undertaking" With regard to Serbia Sir Edward said that the country had expected much and received but little until U was too late and the reason was not unwillingness on the part of the government, gov-ernment, but the fact that it could not get men. If these men were not obtained, ob-tained, he asked how was the war to be carried on "What matters injury to industry or Industrial compulsion as long as we win7" said Sir Edward. "What will anything matter if we lose?" Conscription of Property. Referring to suggestions regarding; tho conscription of property. Sir Edward Ed-ward declared he would not shrink from It if necessary in this way to raise funds to win the war. "What good is property to me." he said, "If I have to hang my head in shame?" lie expressed profound disappointment disappoint-ment at the exclusion of Ireland from the bill as Irishmen are not less concerned con-cerned in the gaining of victory than is the democracy of England. "l oeitcvc in my neart, no saiu, "that when the hour of victory comes, as certainly il will come, we who are Irishmen will feel ashamed when we remember that we expected others to make sacrifices from which we provided provid-ed tor our own exclusion." Commoners Not Exempt. Even before the debate opened questions brought the topic of compulsory com-pulsory service into prominence The commoners themselves, if sufficiently youthful and agile, according to a reply given by Premier Asquith, cannot can-not claim exemption from service. They will therefore be compulsorlly enrolled in tho military service unless they voluntarily attest. Augustine Bierrcl, chief secretary for Ireland, revealed the fact that there were 400,000 unmarried men of military age in Ireland who had not attested. Deductions for various reasons, rea-sons, he estimated, would leave 80,000 available men. 00 |
