We are glad to see that the British Weekly stands
firmly to its previous declaration on the subject of the time-limit. That declaration has been ignored by most of the Liberal Press, but the Star sought to discount it as "platitudinous," on the ground that the time-limit does not mean that Ulster will be coerced into Home Rule at the end of six yeas, and that " the Ulster counties may be as free to choose in 1921 as they are in 19142' To this the British Weekly replies in a passage which we quote in its entirety
"They will be, but that is not the meaning of the six years' limit as construed by Nationalists. What they mean is that at the end of six years Protestant Ulster, willing or unwilling, shall come under the Dublin Parliament What we say is that, after their great concession of the six years' interval, there is no stopping short of an option when the six years are ended. Such an option would be in the very best interests of Nationalism. It will give them a fair chance of wooing and winning Protestant Ulster, whereas, as long es the shadow of possible coercion lingers in the air, there will be no approximation, but rather a fiercer hostility."
This comment shows both honesty and common-sense, and we believe it expresses the inner convictions of all moderate
Liberals.
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