[net.nlang.celts] U.S. Congress Voted for Complete Irish Independence

jmm@bonnie.UUCP (Joe Mcghee) (12/13/84)

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

	Upon America's entry into World War I, the war that was supposedly
fought to secure the rights and freedoms of small nations, the U.S. Congress
took the trouble to state clearly and openly what it thought the goals of that
war should be. One of the intended goals of the United States is expressed
eloquently, yet in practical terms in the following bill passed by Congress:

	***	***	***	***	***	***	***	***

	65th Congress		House Joint Resolution 88
	1st Session
	----------------------------------------------------------

		IN  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES
			May 14, 1917

	Mr. Mason introduced the following joint resolution; which was referred
	to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed.
	-----------------------------------------------------------

			JOINT  RESOLUTION

To declare the liberation of Ireland one of the purposes of the present war.

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of
America in Congress assembled, that Ireland, a distinct and historic nation,
anciently possessed of freedom, in the opinion of Congress and of the American
people, of right ought to be free and independent; and be it further

Resolved, that as the Irish nation has contributed a very numerous and valuable
element to the American Nation, and as the United States is committed by
American traditions and by recent utterances of the President to the principle
of freedom for small nations, the LIBERATION OF IRELAND FROM ALL FOREIGN
DOMINATION is hereby declared one of the objects for which the United States
fights in this present war; and all money hereafter voted by Congress for the
prosecution of this war, and ALL LOANS HEREAFTER AUTHORIZED TO BE MADE TO ANY
NATION NOW AT WAR SHALL BE VOTED AND AUTHORIZED WITH THE CONDITION THAT THE
LIBERATION OF IRELAND IS ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF THIS WAR; and be it further

Resolved, that THE LIBERATION OF IRELAND MEANS THE COMPLETE SEPARATION OF THE
ISLAND OF THAT NAME, TOGETHER WITH SUCH SMALL ISLANDS AS ARE NOW ADMINISTERED
AS PART OF IT, FROM ALL INVOLUNTARY AND SUBORDINATE POLITICAL CONNECTION WITH
ANY OTHER NATION AND THE COMPLETE FREEDOM OF THE ADULT INHABITANTS TO DECIDE
BY FULL AND FAIR VOTE UPON THEIR FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE COMPLETE FREEDOM
OF SUCH GOVERNMENT, AS THEY MAY ERECT TO DETERMINE ITS RELATIONS WITH OTHER
NATIONS AND TO EXERCISE ALL THE FUNCTIONS OF AN INDEPENDENT NATION, IN
ACCORDANCE WITH THIS DEFINITION, SHALL BE A PART OF THE PEACE TERMS SECURED
BY THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH ANY AND ALL
OF THE BELLIGERENT NATIONS, and be it further

Resolved, That if the people of Ireland shall request the assistance and advice
of the United States in the establishment of their future government, the
President, the Vice-President, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives
shall appoint a commission of five American citizens to proceed to Ireland and
render such assistance and advice up to, but not beyond, the time when the
people of Ireland shall adopt a constitution but the United States shall not
attempt to mold the course of the Irish nation and shall assume no
responsibility for the new government to be erected in Ireland, and be it
further

Resolved, That upon the adoption of a constitution by the people of Ireland,
if said constitution shall erect a republican government, the Secretary of the
Treasury is hereby authorized to purchase bonds of the Irish Government so
established, provided such bonds bear interest at not less than three per
centum, to the amount of $100,000,000. and to reimburse the Treasury by sale
of United States bonds to an equal amount and bearing an even interest.


					clyde!bonnie!jmm
					J. M. McGhee

haapanen@watdcsu.UUCP (Tom Haapanen [DCS]) (12/13/84)

> From: jmm@bonnie.UUCP (Joe Mcghee)
> Newsgroups: net.flame,net.politics,net.legal,net.nlang.celts

Joe, I just love the way you see the world.  The Usenet is your
playground, and...  Some of the more civilized of us (the kind who
don't firebomb innocent women and children) don't post the same article
to fifteen bezillion (ok, fine, make it four) newsgroups.  What the hell
does this have to do with the Celtic languages?  Please!  I suppose
next you'll be putting a copy in net.abortion and net.rec.coins too.

> 	Upon America's entry into World War I, the war that was supposedly
> fought to secure the rights and freedoms of small nations, ...

And then WWII was fought to secure the rights and freedoms of big
nations (seriously!  Take a look at what happened).

> To declare the liberation of Ireland one of the purposes of the present war.

This does seem sort of silly, since Ireland was under British rule
(unless my history is REALLY screwed up), and the U.S. was on the side
of the BRITISH in the war.  But has anybody ever said governments have
to make sense?

> Resolved, that THE LIBERATION OF IRELAND MEANS THE COMPLETE SEPARATION OF THE
> ISLAND OF THAT NAME, TOGETHER WITH SUCH SMALL ISLANDS AS ARE NOW ADMINISTERED
> AS PART OF IT, FROM ALL INVOLUNTARY AND SUBORDINATE POLITICAL CONNECTION WITH
> ANY OTHER NATION AND THE COMPLETE FREEDOM OF THE ADULT INHABITANTS TO DECIDE
> BY FULL AND FAIR VOTE UPON THEIR FORM OF GOVERNMENT, AND THE COMPLETE FREEDOM
> OF SUCH GOVERNMENT, AS THEY MAY ERECT TO DETERMINE ITS RELATIONS WITH OTHER
> NATIONS AND TO EXERCISE ALL THE FUNCTIONS OF AN INDEPENDENT NATION ...

Well, it's getting a bit legalesish here (not to mention uppercase (!))
but I guess what they mean is self-determination.  Well, Ireland
definitely has it, and a majority of the Northern Irish also want to
stay with the Brits.

> ... but the United States shall not
> attempt to mold the course of the Irish nation and shall assume no
> responsibility for the new government to be erected in Ireland ...

Whew!  Off that hook, anyway!

> ... upon the adoption of a constitution by the people of Ireland,
> if said constitution shall erect a republican government, the Secretary of the
> Treasury is hereby authorized to purchase bonds of the Irish Government

But no Democrats, God forbid!

> 					J. M. McGhee

By gads, Joe, three articles in two days is getting a bit much.  Even
if you are into sadism (just like the boys in the IRA) most of us on
the net are not into masochism.  Even my 'n' finger (which happens to
be the same one used for the entire right-hand side of the keyboard)
is getting tired of your articles.  Not to mention those of us who
have limited disk space on their machines and really dont't need 4x3=12
copies of your articles decomposing on our disks and infesting the disk
heads and the like.  Unfortunately, I believe you don't even read news
so you won't even read this, you slime, since I have NEVER seen you
dare print a rebuttal to a flame on the net, **NEVER**.

We all know that a pen is mightier than a sword, but Joe, is a firebomb 
really mightier than a keyboard?  BE A MAN AND REPLY!  I'm getting
sick and tired of you whining about the horrid conditions in Northern
Ireland, when your chums are just making things worse by killing off
anybody non-Catholic who they can get in their gun sights.  Terrorism
is goddamn terrorism (and I mean GOD DAMN terrorism) no matter how you
dress it.  And the thing that REALLY makes me puke is not those idiots
over there, but the wimps here in  Horth America who think the IRA and
Sinn Fein are the greatest thing since sliced potatoes, and keep
sending them more money for Molotov cocktails and sniper rifles.  The
next thing you know, they'll be joining the nuclear club (oh, we'll
bomb Brighton first --- hell, they're all Protestants there anyway)
and the Irish Americans will applaud until their hands get sore.  Just
the thing we need to complement Monsieur Reagan...

So flame me, Joe, or get off the net!


\tom haapanen		university of waterloo		(519) 744-2468

allegra \
clyde \  \
decvax ---- watmath --- watdcsu --- haapanen
ihnp4 /  /
linus  /		The opinions herein are not those of my employers,
utzoo			of the University of Waterloo, and probably not of
			anybody else either (except possibly me).

wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (12/13/84)

If McGhee doesn't know the difference between a resolution and
a law, then he certainly has a problem.  Resolutions carry no
weight of law, laws do, by definition.  Besides, what does he
expect the US to do, send troops?  One of the biggest problems
in this sad conflict is the Americans of Irish decent who keep
funding the terrorists in the mistaken idea that they are helping
solve the standoff.  Does it make you feel good, McGhee, that
some goon squad set off a bomb at Harrod's during the Christmas
rush and wiped out several innocent families?  They even may have
been Irish.  There are enough confused priorities in this world
without perpetuating the innocence of the IRA.
T. C. Wheeler

geb@cadre.UUCP (12/17/84)

A lot of Americans of Irish descent to not support the
terrorists of the IRA.  (Neither does the Republic of Ireland,
for that matter).