i9 143 Freedom versus Conservatism 



Directly south of Deny lies Tyrone, one of the 

 largest counties of Ireland, geographically the heart in Ulster 

 of old Ulster but mainly Catholic like the rest of the 

 country. In the recent splitting, Tyrone and Fer- 

 managh were left with the Belfast schism not- 

 withstanding the obvious will of the people in order 

 to give an appearance of substance to "New Ulster," 

 which otherwise would have been only a narrow rim 

 of the northern seaboard. 



From Omagh, the capital of Tyrone, we drove in a 

 jaunting car, least comfortable of vehicles, to see one 

 of the many peat bogs of the region. These are 

 glacial ponds filled with the debris of centuries of 

 decaying moss Sphagnum and other vegetation. 



The political freedom (not necessarily independ- "Best 

 ence) of Ireland is long overdue, and the right policy i!J2 to 

 has been evident since the days of Gladstone. But home rule 

 no British statesman has ever had a chance to carry 

 it out, each attempt having been thwarted by the 

 ultraconservative element; that is, British Tories 

 have systematically played on the prejudices of 

 Ulster to further their own interests in England, the 

 maintenance of privilege being their real purpose. 1 

 This was, however, masked by the assertion that in 

 Ireland the "best elements" should govern, the 

 people as a whole being manifestly unfit. The ideals 

 of British conservatism have always involved some 

 form of aristocracy. The social function of the 

 "upper classes" is not creation but domination; in 

 themselves they see the natural rulers of the masses. 

 The "better elements" of England as self-defined 

 have little care for Irish necessities. They are bent 



1 See Chapter XLII, page 483. 



627 3 



