LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
EXCLUSION.
rTo ran Eons. or ran ..SPISCT■121,..] Sin,—The Exclusion of Ulster from the Home Rule Bill ought to put an end to all danger of civil war. The Covenanters are Ulstermen. The Provisional Government is proposed for Ulster only. The justification of the contem- plated resistance is that a new form of government ought not to be imposed on an extensive district where the majority of the people are opposed to it and are satisfied to remain as they are. Exclusion is, in these circumstances, rather a matter of right than a concession. It ought to be granted without any bargain-making, and it ought to result in disarmatuent. It will not be a settlement, nor will there be any settlement. If a Home Rule Bill is carried, there in certain to be an agitation, on the one hand, for granting increased powers to the Irish Parliament, and, on the other, for contracting these powers or withdrawing them altogether. An agitation for increased or diminiahed Exclusion is also probable, and I may add that Irish grievances are certain to be frequently beard of at Westminster. And, of course, if the Home Rule Bill should fall through, there will be a renewed agitation for Home Rule. We cannot prevent agitation. All that can be done is to preserve the peace. The Government seems to have strange notions as to bow this is to be effected.
But there are questions that lie behind Exclusion. What are we to exclude ? If the Government had proposed in the first instance to exclude the counties in which there was a clear majority of Unionists and no others, the plan might have succeeded. The Home Rulers claimed to rule Ulster bet-Anse. though a minority in the province of Ulster, they were a majority in Ireland as a whole, and they objected to sub- division. They might, if they withdrew this contention, fairly say: " Well, let on subdivide a little farther. Let us divide Ulster into counties, and only exclude the counties that are opposed to Home Rule." This was the principle of Mr. Robartes's amendment, but the Government would not accept it, and refused to make the slenderest concession to the local majority in Ulster. There is not a line in the Bill as it now stands that would not be equally applicable if the Ulstermen favoured Home Rule by a majority of ten to one. This determination to concede nothing led to a combination for the purpose of opposing Home Rule, which naturally extended to the whole of Ulster, and now that there is a single organization extending over the whole province—a brotherhood bound to act together—the sub- division of Ulster has been rendered almost impossible. The Ulster Unionists are not hound in any way to fight for the Leinster Unionists, but are not the Covenanters of Antrim and Down bound to stand by their brothers of Tyrone and Fermanagh P An Ulster of six connate, would certainly bare strong claims. The population would be 1,250,000, consiating of 820,000 Protestants and 430,000 Roman Catholics. Every county in it returns at least one Unionist Member, and though the Homo Rulers have nine seats against sixteen held by the Unionists, the latter represent a population of 909,000 persons, while the former represent a population of 311,000 only. There would still remain Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan.
I do not know the strength of the Covenanters in therm counties, but there would be considerable dissatisfaction among the Unionists of Ulster if nothing were done for them. And in the province, as a whole, there is a majority of at least 200.000 against Home Rule out of a population of less than 1,600,000.—I am, Sir, Ac., ONLoossa.
[We can only repeat our view that if the six counties are excluded there will be no civil war. The Covenant, if care- fully read, will be seen not to exclude the exclusion of homo- geneous Ulster.—ED. Spectator.]
Previous page
