Successes in Bannside and South Antrim for the Rev. Dr. Ian Paisley's rapidly developing brand of fascism focuses attention on the leaders of Westminster's client government at Stormont. Determined to maintain a semblance of parliamentary demo the British Government is ent gaged in buttressing a clique individuals who, tested against any criteria, even Wilson's own, must be regarded as distinctly seedy.
Major James Chichester Clark, head Unionist Government. holds a parliamentary seat by grace of the voters of the South Londerry constituency. This seat has been regarded as a hereditary fief, and has been in the possession of immediate members of his landlord, mill-owning family since the inauguration of the Northern Ireland state. Brother Robin, parliamentary member at Westminster of the Londonderry Constituency likeWIse follows a tradition of family representation of holding the county area in direct succession to other members of the clan.
Over the last 50 years that brand of sectarianism now execrated in public declaration of Unionist leaders "Paisleyism" and "extremism" has been carefully fostered by the ruling families of the BLOV ICC. by the Brookeboroughs, Hamiltons, Stronges and the Chichester-Clarks. Year after year Major James, as he is locally known in true landlord style, has marched in Orange procession to meeting places within his constituency and on each July 12th has delivered speeches which wed well into the sectarian these from always-supplied, carefully worded speech, was regarded as an open incitement to sectarian subjugation of Catholic protestors. That was made at a time after he became Prime Minister, but before his texts were prepared in Whitehall. The tactic of formenting traditional religious bitterness to perpetuate an artificial division of the working has been well if imaginatively utilised by the man who is now styled as an ally of Harold Wilson; and even described in the slobbering editorials of the Observer in terms that indicate him as the epitome of liberalism and progressive solicies.
A few facts should be borne In mind. Clark resigned from the O'Neill overnment which received the same grounds that he did not think it was "opportune" to introduce universal franchise in the North of Ireland Representing, as he does, a rural area with sectarian tradition, sought election on each occasion by openly formenting religious hatred South Londonderry is a constituency which all who know Northern Irelanc would regard as even more likely than Bannside to return a man of extremist views. But in the February 1969 General Election, when unofficial (extremist) Unionists stood in most contentious areas, Major James was regarded as an acceptable candidate by the vigorous band of extremists in Maghera, by the Ulster Volunteer Force and by the Ulster Protestant Volunteers.
This is not surprising, for Wilson's brightest hope for Ulster had been closely associated and well informed of the activities of these organisations. The Clarks are traditional war-lords of the Derry area. The family founded the special constabulary in the county, led it on its murderous forays, and retained its armed members as personal bodyguards and protectors of their factories. It is also an accepted fact, conveniently forgotten by the Labour Administration, that James and Robin Chichester Clark were rivy to plans for an assault on the „Democraci march in Maghera January 2nd, 1969. Perhaps Wilson should be reminded that a scheme to carry out wholesale beatings of marchers was formulated at a meeting of Major James's con1 stituency party in Maghera Orange Hall. A meeting which took place only nights before the disturbances that led to a virtual sacking of areas of the town by mobs of Chichester-Clarks supporters. The man who later became Prime Minister of Northern Ireland was present as these discussions progressed, knew well th identity of the leading assailants, an cannot be ignorant of the fact that it was, that night, agreed that the same building would be used as a meeting place for the distribution of weapons.
Robin Clark, with a conventional Tory landowner younger son's background in public relations and jour nalism, endeavours to present the face of "reasonable" unionism Westminster, appearing in television discussions to babble about "destructive and constructive criticisms." He also, was closely involved in the events round Maghera and, out of the view of the television camera, can rant off a sectarian speech in the manner now styled Paisleyite. The photograph above which shows the Prime Minister talking with police at Annaharish cross-roads prior to an attack on a tele vision cameraman and the obstruction of the Peoples' Democracy march, also pictures the slicker scion, Robin, advising on tactics. The man who assaulted the television film-maker was later charged and convicted Following some loose-mouthed disclosures he was later obliged to run around denying the shocking canard that Major James had personally paid his fine.
For these decayed county folk, the Bannside election present: insoluble conundrum. The protestan working people, brought up in feudal tradition, have been encouraged to hate their catholic fellow workers Their teachers have been the Clarks and Chichesters and now, when the a desperate attempt is being made to present a respectable image in order to encourage capital investment in an economy which had entered terminal stage, the bewildered pro testant workers turn to the man who tells them the same old story, and sings with them the same old songs that Unionist leaders have canted out for over half a century.
And such are Wilson's allies. Major James is a man of ability and intelligence so limited that he is known as "Woodentop" by his Civil Servants. Bewildered now by the shattering of the protestant monolith, and losing the automatic support which he has always regarded as his hereditary right, Chichester Clark's incredible government can only stagger from crisis to crisis, kept in power b nassive British military aid. It can" work. But Wilson still dreams of creating some soggy alliance of bourgeois non-political people, of the John Humes, Basil Mcivors and other prototypes to construct some reflection of his own wretched government.
Declaiming that the petrol bomb is be yond doubt the most nauseating weapon devised during the twentiet century, Robin Chichester Clark is introducing, at Westminster, a Bill which would impose a sentence of twenty years imprisonment on anyone found in possession of this device whose shadow of terror he finds greater than that of napalm or nuclear weapons. Here is a photograph show ing the first petrol bomb tossed during the current Northern Ireland troubles The date, January 4th, 1969, the slace, Burntollet Bridge, the con stituency, Robin Chichester Clark's.
the throwers, members of his con stituency organisation and of the special constabulary. Targets were student marchers, press and sassing cars. Robin arrived at Burntollet Bridge just about the time of this particular explosion and the horanh i takon from a nosition
very limited context. The The Black Dwarf 10th May 1970 Page 5 exaggerated-think of the mammoth civic
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lords and masters have decided that diplomacy is the order of the day, and