On Tuesday the Northern Parliament in Ireland began a new
session, and Sir James Craig made an important statement about the condition of Belfast. The chronic state of violence in certain quarters of Belfast has ca-used the deepest anxiety, and Sir James Craig showed his customary strong sense of duty and his power of exactly appreciating a situation when be spoke on this subject. The gravity of events never throws him into a panic, and however much eause he has for alarm, however much he is beset on all sides by open enemies and faithless friends, he is always cool and temperate. If it is any help to Sir James Craig at such times as these to know of the growing admiration with which his combined moderation and firmness are regarded in this country, he may rest assured that we are not exaggerating the feeling here. He said on Tuesday that he could not find in the world a parallel to what was happening in Belfast. He then announced that he had invited Sir Henry Wilson to draw up a scheme to deal with what had become an incessant state of murder and personal violence. " I pledged my word that it should be carried out to the full regardless of the cost or conse- quence." £2,000,000 .has been allotted for this purpose.
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