Business review; Ireland

From the national educational radio network here is a Business Review ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR ROSS Wilhelm of the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business Administration presents his views in the commons of business and economic activity. Recently in one of the financial newspapers there was an obscure item indicating that a rusty old ship recently retired from Canadian coastal trading and declared unseaworthy was preparing to sail to Northern Ireland across the North Atlantic. I don't know if the ship sailed or if it did if it arrived safely however the preparations to return this particular vessel to Northern Ireland were filled with historical significance and of even greater significance politically today. The particular vessel was one of the two ships the fanny and the Clyde Valley that ran guns into Northern Ireland prior to World War One as a teak used. Stuart has said in his excellent book on this period the Ulster crisis the gunrunning expedition was an adventure straight from the pages of the thirty nine steps and today in Northern Ireland we're seeing a rerun of the events that led up to the gun running in

Northern Ireland today is on the verge of rebellion just as she was prior to World War 1 when the guns were smuggled in a large secret citizen's army was trained and equipped to fight for the right to remain allied to Britain. The gun runners brought to this Army sufficient arms and ammunition to make the British back down from their plan to join Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland into one independent nation. The issue in the world war one series of events was the unwillingness of the Northern Irish Protestants to join with the Catholics Southern Irish from the fear of religious persecution by the Southern Irish Parliament in Dublin. The Protestant Irish were an armed minority on the island and they were determined not to be a part of the Republic of Ireland. The leader of the Northern Irish was the brilliant lawyer and member of parliament Baron Edward Henry Carson. For YEARS of course the Irish question had been a thorn in the side of Britain in the British politicians. The Southern Irish were an outright rebellion against British rule by 1912 the ruling Liberal Party in Britain and clear the way politically for the passage of legislation to

give the Irish their freedom. In 1013 arm resistance to the move was begun but in Northern Ireland and the army was formed in the spring of 1014 and in April the guns were landed at Larne. In addition. A provisional government was formed by the Northern Irish with Carson at its head and these preparations convince the liberal politicians that the Irishman meant business as a consequence the liberals backed off and ultimately modified the Home Rule Bill to completely exclude the six counties of Ulster from Home Rule. The maneuvers of Carson and the Ulster men were a beautiful example of the multiplication of the effectiveness and bargaining from strength. Today Northern Ireland is again on the verge of rebellion. The problem is that the province of Northern Ireland has a population of one and a half million of whom one third are Catholic. The Protestant majority wants to continue to remain a part of the United Kingdom. But in the city of Londonderry which has a population of about fifty six thousand of whom two thirds are Catholic the Catholics want to break away from Britain and to join the Republic of Ireland. On October

5th there are a series of riots in Londonderry and while they were mild by American standards no one was killed or even badly injured. They reflect the temper of the people. Over the past years there also have been a series of political murders carried out by extremists on both sides. The situation is still boiling and there have been a number of subsequent demonstrations by both Catholics and Protestants. The problem in Northern Ireland is not simply religion and a struggle between Catholics and Protestants. There is considerable economic cause for the unrest and also the Catholics are rightly protesting that they are deprived of voting and civil rights by the Protestants Ulster has been in a serious depression in recent years and many of the poor particularly in Londonderry are Catholic and are ill housed. The basic economic problem is that the two major industries the problem province shipbuilding and textiles are depressed and unemployment is quite high. The Ulster government has succeeded in attracting some new industrial development to the area however the underlying problems are far from being solved. As a consequence Northern Ireland moves closer and closer to rebellion.

That's the obscure notice that our rusty old gun runner is being returned to the scene of her place in history has far more significance than the usual sailing notice. The real question however is for whom we will have the most significance. The Catholic minority or the Protestant majority. That was Associate Professor Ross Wilhelm of the University of Michigan Graduate School of Business Administration. With his views and comments on business and economic activity Business Review is recorded by the University of Michigan Broadcasting Service. This is the national educational radio network.