Before we leave the subject we should like to express
a hope that the Opposition leaders will state in set terms exactly what they could agree to in the matter of the ex- clusion of Ulster. But even if they do not see their way to do so at once, that will not absolve the Government from responsibility. After all, it is they, not the Opposition, who are responsible for the government of the country, and for any possible bloodshed that may take place if things go wrong. We can assure the Government that if later on they say, " The bloodshed is not our fault, but is due to the fact that the Opposition would not meet us half-way," the country will not admit the plea. No Government can say, " We knew we were doing a wrong and stupid thing, but that horrid Opposition were so supercilious and so irritating and sly that they drove us into spilling the blood of the Ulstermen." If the Opposition leaders were ten times as "impossible" as the Liberals pretend them to be, the Government could find in their malfeasance no excuse for their own misdeeds.
