In valley green and towering crag Sons of the Gael, Men of the Pale, The long-watched day is breaking, PEADAR O'CEARNAIGH. CHAPTER IV. HE resignation of Mr. Lloyd George from the Asquith Cabinet in October, 1916, and his subsequent elevation to the premiership caused a political sensation of the first magnitude. The policy of the Government now became sporadic and uncertain. In December the untried Sinn Fein prisoners were released, but in February, shortly after Count Plunkett's victory in Roscommon, a fresh swoop was made on men prominent in the Sinn Fein and Gaelic League movements, Terence MacSwiney and Thomas MacCurtin of Cork being among those arrested. The idea of an Irish Convention now occurred to Mr. Lloyd George. In making his proposals the British Premier said that the Government had decided on asking Irishmen to frame a constitution for the government of their own country. All the leading interests, all creeds, classes and sections, were to take part in the Convention. The Sinn Feiners were to be represented as well as the followers of Mr. Redmond and Mr. O'Brien, and if substantial agreement were reached for Irish selfgovernment within the Empire, he promised to recommend the proposal to the British Parliament. Mr. Redmond declared that the proposed assembly was one that no Irishman could with any show of reason refuse, and he felt sure every section of his countrymen would agree to come into it. The Ulster Unionist Council decided with four dissentients out of 350 delegates to send representatives. Sinn Fein, however, saw through the veil and absolutely declined to take any part in the proceedings, regarding the Convention as a trap for the unwary. 66 With Mr. Lloyd George himself as judge of what was substantial agreement, and with the Unionist representatives present to prevent such agreement from being attained, it was unlikely that anything would result from the Convention. The aim of the Government appeared to be, as stated by Sir F. E. Smith, " to keep the Irish talking while the road was being made easy for America to enter the war. A man must be afflicted with blindness,' said Lord Curzon, "if he does not appreciate that the co-operation of America will be more hearty, more fruitful, if she could feel that Ireland, with whom she has so many associations, was pulling its full weight in the comity of free and allied nations. America realises, as we realise, that to win the kind of victory which we are out to win in this war, the full strength of the British Empire must be turned to that purpose. A united Ireland, a reconciled Ireland, would be an important addition to that strength. A divided Ireland, a sulky Ireland, a rebellious Ireland, is a source of weakness." But to Irishmen whose battle for freedom was centuries old, England's difficulties were only of secondary consideration; and although the war raged fiercely close to the Hindenburg line and England was menaced by air-craft, the progress of the war was followed only in so far as it was likely to affect the advance of the republican cause; and bearing in mind the tortures which Ireland had suffered and endured while other nations were at peace, she could not now be accused of selfishness if she placed her own interests first. The Convention was held in camera, and the public press was not allowed to discuss the proceedings. With an occasional official report it dragged out its weary existence from month to month, but with Sinn Fein standing aloof, Mr. Lloyd George's great scheme failed to produce all the results he anticipated. On the 7th June the death of Mr. William Redmond, M.P., took place in France, and the resultant vacancy in East Clare gave rise to one of the most exciting contests since the days of O'Connell. De Valera, though still in 66 prison, was chosen to carry the Republican banner. After much hesitation on the part of the Government he and other prisoners were released, this action being prompted by a desire to create an atmosphere" for the Convention. When they arrived in Dublin, on the 18th of June, they were greeted by thousands of people, amongst those present being many friends from Clare, who had come up specially to tell de Valera of the progress that was being made. After a short delay in Dublin he left for the scene of the conflict, where he found the election machinery in full swing. He had many willing helpers, the late Thomas Ashe being one of those who rendered invaluable assistance. The battle was one on which the future of Ireland depended and the men of Clare fully realised their responsibility. The result of the contest was awaited with intense anxiety, and in the counties bordering on Clare the one subject of conversation was de Valera's chance of success. The fact that the seat had been held for the Irish Party by John Redmond's brother, who had had a great following, and that the opposing candidate was a well-known and highly respected Clare man made the issue somewhat doubtful. Yet with Roscommon and Longford in their mind, the general public as well as Sinn Fein hoped for a small majority, and the honest, straightforward speeches of de Valera, backed up by the thoroughness with which the Volunteers carried out the arrangements, caused this hope to grow stronger as the day of the polling approached. But when the result* showing that de Valera had won by 2,975 votes was announced, the joy of the people was indescribable, for under the circumstances nobody expected such a sweeping victory. De Valera had on the one hand arraigned against him the full strength of the party supporters, and on the other the full force of the Government. No event since the rising gave such an impetus to the Sinn Fein movement as the Clare election. Not many weeks were allowed to elapse ere the authori *De Valera, 5,010; Lynch, 2,035. ties began to show their resentment at the people's choice. De Valera's supporters were arrested and imprisoned on the slightest pretext, and instead of being treated as political prisoners were branded as criminals, a stigma which they bitterly resented. Consequently about the middle of September the Mountjoy hunger-strike, which had such a tragic ending for Thomas Ashe, commenced. De Valera had the support of the whole country in his protest against this treatment of brave men. At a meeting held at Smithfield he proposed a resolution calling the attention of the European Powers and the United States to the fact that Irishmen were being arrested, tried by courts-martial and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment for declaring in the terms of President Wilson's message "that no people shall be forced under a sovereignty under which it does not desire to live." De Valera's movements were now closely watched. Detectives followed him to all public meetings, and whenever his destination was known or anticipated, the police of that locality were informed by code message. In the beginning, when the code system had not yet been fully developed as regards rural stations, de Valera's movements were often thus innocently referred to in the police telegrams: "To the Sergeant, R.I.C., at "Parcel left by 4.45 p.m. train to-day. for it." Please look out But the nature of the "parcel" did not long remain a secret. The Government and the Irish Party were now very much perturbed at Sinn Fein's success, and nothing was left undone that would be likely to bring discredit on de Valera and the movement he represented. The Government did not wish to loose its grip on the main arteries of the country, and the Irish Party was chiefly concerned with retaining unity in its ranks and a certain voting strength at Westminster. On the 23rd October Mr. Redmond brought forward a motion in the British House of Commons ostensibly for the purpose of drawing attention |