H THE " PRIME MINISTER'S PLEDGE. ERE is Mr. Lloyd George's
pledge to the people of North-East Ulster, made on March 7th, 1917 " In the north-eastern portion of Ireland you have a population as hostile to Irish rule as the rest of Ireland is to British rule, and as ready to rebel against this as the rest of Ireland is against British rule ; as alien in blood, in religious faith, in traditions, in outlook— as alien from the rest of Ireland in this respect as the inhabitants of Fife or Aberdeen. It is no use mincing words. Let us have a clear understanding. To place them under national rule against their will would be as glaring an outrage on the principles of liberty and self-government as the denial of self-government would be for the rest of Ireland.'
The Prime Minister then asked if the House thought the people of this country were prepared to sanction this glaring outrage,' and replied : In my judgment, and here I speak on behalf of the Government, there is but one answer to that. They are not.' And finally he added that, in complete agreement with Mr. Asquith, 'he certainly never contemplated the prospect of coercing Ulster into acceptance of Home Rule.' " In the face of this pledge, who will dare to say that North- East Ulster has not the right to demand Exclusion She has not the right, and is not claiming the right, to veto Home Rule for the rest of Ireland.
She has the right to veto it for herself—i.e., for the Six-County Area.
The complete validity of this claim the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, speaking ex officio, has publicly acknowledged in open Parliament in the words just given.
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