The proclamation is a most able and well-drawn documen't, and
we congratulate the Ulstermen on the wisdom as well as the completeness and clearness with which their position is set forth. It must not be supposed, however, that it is an indication that the Ulstermen are going to do anything rash or premature. They are getting ready in case of need, but they are not going to fire their rides at shadows, or before the Bill is passed and the problem of the Amending Act is settled one way or the other. It should be noted that the proclama- tion does not use the expression " province of Ulster," but always " the Ulster area." We may be too subtle in this matter, but we draw from this fact the inference that the Ulstermen are prepared in the last resort to assent to leaving out of the excluded area those parts of Donegal in which the Roman Catholics are in a very large majority, and also to leaving out Cavan and Monaghan. We trust we are right here. Though we have no doubt that the exclusion of the whole of Ulster would work, we would very much rather see the excluded area somewhat more concen- trated and more homogeneous than the present province. The "Ulster area" should be one in which it would be useless ever to call in question the decision for Exclusion. In a word, we want the majority for the Union in the excluded area to he larger than it will be in the province.
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