It was only in exceptional emergencies, continued Mr. Asquith, and
in the last resort, that any such call could be properly addressed to the military and naval forma of the Crown. On such occasions it was the duty of the soldier, as of the civilian, to comply with the lawful demands of the civil power. The recent Tory doctrine, recognizing the existence of a dispensing and discriminating power, struck at the roots, not only of Army discipline, but of democratic government. Turning to the problem of Ireland, Mr. Asquith said that be had still hopes of an agreed solution on the basis of the proposals he put forward three weeks before, and he attached special importance to the back-bench demonstration as an evidence of a desire for settlement. For the moment he bad no desire to add anything to what had been so well said by Sir Edward Grey and Kr. Samuel, beyond asserting that he was anxious for peace, but it must be peace with honour. "In any settlement that is come to we must secure the placing of the Home Rule Bill upon the statute-book." Mr. Asquith did not mention the word "Federalism," but stated that both he and his bearers wished to see the same process [as the involved in the Home Rule Bill] applied, with the necebsary variations and without undue delay, to the Other parts of the United Kingdom. In fine, the speech, though disappointingly vague on the question of Ulster, was moderate, cautions, un- provocative, and, in regard to the Army, decidedly reassuring.
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