Tuesday's Times contains an admirable letter from Lord Salisbury entitled
" Ireland As It Is : a Unionist View." Lord Salisbury sketches under three heads the chief difficulties of the Irish situation. First, there is the question of Ulster. " Ulster very properly will
not submit to be governed by the rest of Ireland. On the other hand, the rest of Ireland will accept nothing which does not include Ulster. This is not the only difficulty in the way of Home Rule, but so long as it continues it is evidently conclusive." Lord Salis- bury, that is, recognizes, as we have said before, that Ulster is the " uncreative " word—the word which when it is pronounced dis- solves the vision of Home Rule. Next, Lord Salisbury points out
that " Irish opinion is not really ready that their sell-government should be subordinate," and he might have added that subordinate government is all that the British people are willing to set up. He proves his point by a reference to the question of armed forces- " a subordinate Irish Parliament should have no use for armed forces "—and adds :— " But who can doubt after recent history, whatever the Homo Rule Act says or any other Home Rule Act says, that the new Irish Govern- ment could and would have armed forces fully equipped ? I need not dwell upon the Imperial significance of this consequence."
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