Part 18

That as a means to this end we shall cause still further steps to be taken to facilitate and encourage voluntary enlistment in Ireland in his Majesty's forces, in the hope that, without resort to compulsion, the contribution of Ireland to those forces may be brought up to its proper strength and made to correspond to the contributions of other parts of the empire.

EFFECT OF ARRESTS

News of the arrests created a profound sensation in Ireland, but no breaches of the peace followed anywhere; in fact, the excitement over conscription subsided appreciably after the episode, likewise the activities of the Sinn Feiners. The leader of the Nationalists repudiated the treasonable work of the Sinn Feiners, and, in consequence of the disclosures, the alliance against conscription that had been formed between the Nationalists and Sinn Feiners was ruptured.

On May 25 the British Government issued a statement reviewing the causes of the arrests. In this document it was that definite proof was at hand that after the abortive rebellion of Easter week, 1916, plans were made for a revolt in 1917, but that this miscarried because of America's entry into the war and Germany's inability to send troops to Ireland. An uprising in Ireland was planned for 1918 after the German offensive in the west had been successful and when Great Britain presumably would be stripped of troops.

The discovery of a German-Sinn Fein plot for landing arms in Ireland was made about April of this year, and even after the capture, on April 12, of the German agent who reached Ireland by submarine, munitions were shipped from Cuxhaven in the early part of this month.

Concerning the arrests in Ireland, the statement said that facts and documents, for obvious reasons, could not be disclosed at this time, nor could the means of communication between Germany and Ireland.

DETAILS OF INTRIGUE

With reference to the activities in 1918 the text of the statement was as follows:

Professor de Valera, addressing the convention of the Irish Volunteers on Oct. 27, 1917, said:

"By proper organization and recruiting we could have 500,000 fighting volunteers in Ireland. That would be a big army, but without the opportunity and means for fighting it could only be used as a menace. There already has been too much bloodshed without success, and I would never advocate another rebellion without hopeful chances of success. We can see no hope of that in the near future, except through a German invasion of England and the landing of troops and munitions in Ireland. We should be prepared to leave nothing undone toward that end."

On another occasion in January of this year de Valera said: "As long as Germany is the enemy of England, and England is the enemy of Ireland, so long will Ireland be a friend of Germany."

For some considerable time it was difficult to obtain accurate information as to German-Sinn Fein plans, but about April, 1918, it was ascertained definitely that a plan for landing arms in Ireland was ripe for execution, and that the Germans only awaited definite information from Ireland as to the time, place, and date.

The British authorities were able to warn the Irish command regarding the probable landing of an agent from Germany from a submarine. The agent actually landed on April 12 and was arrested.

The new rising depended largely upon the landing of munitions from submarines, and there is evidence to show that it was planned to follow a successful German offensive in the west and was to take place at a time when Great Britain presumably would be stripped of troops.

According to documents found on his person, de Valera had worked out in great detail the constitution of his rebel army. He hoped to be able to muster 500,000 trained men. There is evidence that German munitions actually had been shipped on submarines from Cuxhaven in the beginning of May, and that for some time German submarines have been busy off the west coast of Ireland on other errands than the destruction of allied shipping.

It will thus be seen that the negotiations between the executive of the Sinn Fein organization and Germany have been virtually continuous for three and a half years. At first a section of Irish-Americans was the intermediary for most of the discussions, but since America's entrance into the war the communication with the enemy has tended to be more direct. A second rising in Ireland was planned for last year, and the scheme broke down only because Germany was unable to send troops.

This year plans for another rising in connection with the German offensive on the western front were maturing, and a new shipment of arms from Germany was imminent.

An important feature of every plan was the establishment of submarine bases in Ireland to menace the shipping of all nations.

In the circumstances no other course was open to the Government if useless bloodshed was to be avoided and its duty to its allies fulfilled but to intern the authors and abettors of this criminal intrigue.

LANDING FROM SUBMARINE

On June 10 it was announced that the man who was put ashore on the west coast of Ireland from a German submarine on April 12, 1918, and who is now a prisoner in the Tower of London, was Lance Corporal J. Dowling of the Connaught Rangers. The collapsible boat in which Dowling was landed was made of canvas with a bottom of twenty-three wooden slats, each four inches wide, making the boat about eight feet long and two feet wide. The canvas sides, about twenty inches high, had an inner lining rubber fabric, to be blown up from a valve at the rear to give the boat buoyancy. There were loops along the sides in which short wooden braces or struts kept the boat from collapsing. The whole craft when rolled up weighed less than forty pounds. When the buoyancy chambers were pumped full of air the boat would easily support three men.

No effort had been made up to June 20 to put into execution the conscription law in Ireland, notwithstanding there had been a very meagre response to the call for volunteer enlistments.

Ireland's Food Shipments to England

A Limerick correspondent of The London Telegraph, on May 15, 1918, sent that newspaper the following table of Irish food exports to England, with other information not before made public:

_Values of Foodstuffs Imported Into and Retained for Consumption in Great Britain from Undermentioned Countries. (Figures for 1917 are not available.)_

1912. 1913. 1914. 1915. 1916. Millions Millions Millions Millions Millions

£ £ £ £ £ Ireland 30 36 37 46 59 United States 30 30 42 82 116 Argentina 31 31 27 46 36 Canada 18 19 23 27 41 British India 22 17 13 22 20 Denmark 20 22 23 20 20 New Zealand 9 9 11 16 18 Netherlands 14 16 17 14 13 Australia 13 15 16 12 10 Russia 17 15 13 8 1

This shows that for years Ireland's food supply to Great Britain was only exceeded by that of the United States of America, whose people, now fighting with us, probably will want more in future for themselves.

As regards the quantities of foodstuffs exported to Great Britain from Ireland, the following table speaks:

P.C. Average, Average, Inc. 1912-13. 1916-17. or Dec.

Live cattle, number 832,000 889,000 +6.9 Live sheep, number 639,000 700,000 +9.5 Live pigs, number 233,000 239,000 +2.6 Butter, tons 37,000 36,000 -4.0 Eggs, tons 56,000 69,000 +23.2 Poultry, tons 15,000 14,500 -3.3 Bacon and hams, tons 61,000 54,000 -11.5 Oats, tons 67,000 85,000 +26.9 Potatoes, tons 150,000 173,000 +15.3 Biscuits, tons 17,000 21,000 +23.5 Yeast, tons 7,000 11,000 +57.1 Cond. milk, tons 13,000 12,000 -7.7

The following shows the quantities of foodstuffs, as nearly as possible, imported from foreign countries and British possessions, and is the latest we could obtain:

Average.------- P.C. 1912-13. 1916. Inc. Tons. Tons. or Dec.

Beef, fresh 423,000 353,000 -16.5 Mutton 256,000 182,000 -28.9 Pork 20,000 15,000 -25.0 Meat, preserved (mostly tinned beef) 44,000 94,000 +113.6 Butter 201,000 107,000 -46.8 Eggs 180,000 51,000 -71.7 Bacon and hams 252,000 407,000 +61.5 Potatoes 373,000 85,000 -77.2 Condensed milk 57,000 65,000 +14.0 Margarine 68,000 130,000 +91.2 Wheat 5,003,000 4,620,000 -7.6 Barley 310,000 256,000 -17.4 Oats 890,000 617,000 -30.7 Rice 204,000 425,000 +108.3 Maize 1,614,000 1,198,000 -25.8

It must be remembered that Ireland has now no foreign imports, and has to feed herself as well as help Great Britain. She consumes only one-fourth of her own cattle, and with only 10 per cent. of the population supplies 40 per cent. of the cattle and 30 per cent. of the pigs of the United Kingdom, despite shortage of imported cattle cakes, &c., formerly obtainable. Ireland also, by her position with regard to Great Britain, minimizes loss by U-boats, and by her proximity also makes more trips possible, and consequently more cargoes landed in a short time than is possible by any foreign nation or British possession.

As regards increased tillage, under the 1918 orders it is required that in holdings of over ten acres the area under cultivation this year must be 15 per cent. of the total arable land of the holding, in addition to that under cultivation in 1916, and in the case of holdings of over 200 acres 20 per cent. of the arable area. The result is that at the present time there are well over 1,000,000 more acres under cultivation than in 1916, a large proportion of such cultivation being voluntary. In County Limerick alone the area under corn crops shows an increase of 148 per cent., and that of all green crops, potatoes, mangolds, and turnips, of 33 per cent.

New Austro-German Alliance

Official Declarations Regarding It by the Chief Ministers of Both Empires

The official text of the new treaty of alliance between Germany and Austria-Hungary--as a result of the meeting of the Emperors, May 12, 1918--was not made public. Baron Burian, Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister, made the following declaration regarding it on May 16:

The extension of the alliance, which in long years of peace had deeply penetrated the minds of the peoples and has stood the test of hard times, not only corresponds with what has now become a historic necessity, and is not only an imperative necessity, owing to the fact that Austria-Hungary and Germany, who are surrounded by a ring of common enemies, must firmly hold together in the centre in order to be able to resist the terrible embrace, but it also corresponds with the requirement of all patriotic Austrians, Hungarians, and Germans who think clearly about our future.

Austria-Hungary and Germany do not desire to renew or extend the alliance in order to attack or oppress any one in the world, but to stand by each other when their vital interests are assailed. The new alliance will again be a defensive alliance, which today serves to bring about peace and will in future serve for its preservation. It will show the world that Austria-Hungary and Germany united are not to be beaten, and will convert our opponents to peace by the strength of our will for peace.

Dr. Wekerle, the Premier of Hungary, announced in the Hungarian lower house that the new alliance was a strengthening of the existing alliance and was for a considerable period. He added:

I think that it will be a matter for general approval by Hungarians that our interests are so well looked after, and that they will be maintained by such a proved alliance. This alliance is therefore being renewed, and very naturally it will also extend to those questions which are directly connected with it. Naturally certain military agreements will also be concluded, but these cannot be called a military convention.

Count Michael Karolyi here interjected inquiry, "During the war?" Dr. Wekerle proceeded:

Agreements may be concluded during the war relating to common action and common equipment, but having no connection with army organization as such. We shall in no respect give up our right of decision as regards economic rapprochement. Count Karolyi continually talks about "Central Europe," but "Central Europe" is a very vague idea. No one doubts that closer economic ties are desirable and also possible. I repeat that we shall not give up in a single respect our independent right of decision. The validity of the economic agreement will depend on the approval of the House. War aims were not discussed, for there can be no question of war aims.

The entire alliance aims only at the maintenance of peace in all directions. The alliance can but improve the mutual relations between us allies, but it is not to be regarded in any way as a hindrance to any eventual relations which may be established in the economic domain with other nations; neither is it a hindrance to an eventual entrance into the so-called League of Nations. The guarantee lies in the fact that we have arranged a purely defensive alliance.

ANDRASSY'S VIEWS

Count Julius Andrassy, one of the most influential statesmen of Austria-Hungary, in a public statement discussed the new alliance in detail. He asserted that when Bismarck and the elder Andrassy were negotiating the treaty of alliance in 1879 the Iron Chancellor expressed a wish that the two great powers should conclude a defensive and offensive alliance against every eventuality. Andrassy, however, was absolutely opposed to this, and, being convinced that the German statesman would give way, was determined to break off the negotiations altogether rather than conclude an alliance of such a general character. His view prevailed, Count Julius added, and the treaty was directed exclusively against Russia.

The treaty which was discussed by the two leading statesmen at Gastein nearly forty years ago, and which has since then directed the events of the world, has served its purpose so well, the Count continued, that it has become superfluous in its old form. "It has smashed the adversary against whom it provided protection." The treaty in its new form, he asserted, is merely an adaptation of the original one to altered conditions. In 1879, he stated, Russian Imperialism was the only common danger for Austria-Hungary and Germany, and it was appropriate therefore that the alliance should be directed against Russia. Now, however, the situation is completely changed, and "the danger against which we must protect ourselves is no longer Russian imperialism but the permanent animosity of, and possible new attacks by, those countries which have endeavored during the last four years, while straining all their forces to the utmost capacity, to annihilate the Central Powers and split them up into their component parts."

PARTITION OF AUSTRIA

The chief aim of those powers, according to Andrassy, is the partition of Austria-Hungary, on the ground that a lasting peace can be assured only by giving autonomy on a democratic basis to the various nationalities composing the Dual Monarchy. "Our present need is thus," he added, "an alliance that will protect us against these dangers of the future as it has protected us in the past." The Hungarian statesman considers it possible also that in course of time the old danger may revive in a new form, for the idea of a union of all Slavs in a Socialist Republican Confederation is the old program of most Russian revolutionaries and agitators. For this reason, too, he contends, the alliance in its new form is imperatively necessary, though the immediate danger has to be met first.

"It is only by holding together those forces which have saved our two empires now," he asserted, "that we can protect ourselves against the future danger that menaces us in the form of a fresh attempt on the part of our adversaries to attain what they are this time unable to attain." The world is today divided into two parts, Count Julius observes, and he declares that it would be illusion and fanaticism to believe that things will be otherwise in the near future. He wishes to make it clear that the Central Powers are not responsible for this, and maintains that the new Dual Alliance is formed to insure that another already existing alliance shall not imperil "our existence and our future." He wishes also to point out most emphatically that the new Dual Alliance, like the old one, is purely defensive.

He believes that when this war is over no nation will be inclined to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, but he, nevertheless, maintains that guarantees must be given that neither of the contracting parties shall be involved in any plans of conquest and hegemony cherished by the other. He insists, furthermore, that the peace concluded with their defeated enemies by the victorious allied Central Powers must manifest clearly that it is no obstacle to the development of an international law which would prevent the waging of war as much as possible, and would settle the armament question on an international basis, and also that this alliance does not wish to continue to fight after peace has been concluded, but will pursue a peaceable policy in every respect; that it does not wish to be exclusive, but is desirous of effecting a friendly rapprochement with the countries today opposed to it.

Finally, he expressed the opinion that the interest of the Dual Alliance requires that "our relationship also with Bulgaria and with Turkey shall be made stable and shall be strengthened."

THE TWO EMPERORS

The following exchange of telegrams between Emperor Karl and the Kaiser was made public on May 15:

At the moment of leaving the favored soil of the German Empire on my way home I feel impelled again warmly to greet you and to express my heartiest thanks not only for the very gracious but also for the truly friendly reception which you gave me yesterday. I am highly satisfied with our harmonious conference. From my heart and in true friendship I say may we soon meet again. KARL.

The Kaiser telegraphed in reply:

Many thanks for your friendly telegram. I am exceedingly glad that you are so satisfied with your visit here. It is a great joy to me also to have seen you and to have again established in our detailed discussions our entire accord regarding aims which guide us. Their realization will bring great blessings on our empires. I hope soon to be in a position to take advantage of your kind invitation. Hearty greetings to Zita and yourself. In true friendship. WILHELM.

CHANCELLOR'S STATEMENT

Count Hertling, the German Chancellor, in a statement regarding the new understanding between the two empires, said that the agreement had not been signed, but the basic ideas had been agreed upon. He added:

The deepening and further development of the work created by the great statesman Bismarck and by Count Andrassy will assuredly have beneficial consequences for Germany and Hungary. I need not specially emphasize the fact that all efforts aiming at the improvement of German and Hungarian relations and at bringing the peoples closer together have my warmest sympathy. M Clemenceau, who indulged in the illusion that he would be able to sever our firm alliance, will now be able to see from the results of the negotiations the fruits of his intrigues. The new Dual Alliance will, in particular, comprise two important sections, namely, the economic and military agreements.

The economic union of Germany and Austria-Hungary is not aimed at any State whatever. I am quite prepared for aggressive intentions and tendencies to be ascribed to us by our opponents, and the watchword given out by the Entente of an economic war after the war against the Central Powers can now go ahead. This assertion, however, is entirely false. We want nothing but our place in the sun. We are quite entitled to harmonize our common interests and to act together. As regards the military side of the discussions, I must emphasize the fact that our agreements for the future have no aggressive character. We only desire the consolidation of our present relations. We also desire to remain just as closely bound together after the war as during the war, which has drawn us together.

If the world should one day unite in an International Peace League Germany would unhesitatingly and joyfully join in. Unfortunately the present conditions give very little hope of that. Our desire is to win and to preserve peace. Our policy has ever been a policy of peace, just as our alliance with the monarchy is a peace alliance; that is, an alliance for the preservation of peace. We are now fighting for our existence and for peace, which we also long for.

I am still optimistic enough to believe that we shall have peace this year. I say "optimistic," as the speeches which we hear from Entente statesmen still talk of crushing the Central Powers. It might have been thought that the attacks on Mr. Lloyd George, which, after all, indicate a strengthening of the peace idea, would have created a better basis for possibilities of peace. That, however, has not been the case. At the moment I cannot say more than that I cherish firm confidence that further events in the west will bring us nearer to a speedy end of the war, and that the alliance of Germany and Austria-Hungary, which has been tested and extended during the war, will then bring renewed prosperity and rich blessings.

The Imprisoned ex-Czar in the Crimea

Djuber Castle, in the Crimea, became the compulsory residence of the Romanoff family in April, 1918, after their removal from Tobolsk, Siberia. A correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung who visited the ex-Czar in May gives this account of his new prison home: