Surely in these circumstances it is useless to pretend that
the men who are responsible for this kind of republicanism and this kind of freedom are in any practical or useful sense members of the British Empire. We cannot understand the argu- ment that the security of these islands is somehow guaranteed by the pretence that these men are not really republicans but decent citizens, quite glad to belong to the British Empire. It would be safer, we think, to rule them out altogether, and let them call themselves what they please. A false friend is always more dangerous than an open enemy. The British Navy would always control the situation. The farmers of Southern Ireland cannot afford to dispense with our markets, yet it would be very easy to cut them off entirely. If they were sent to Coventry for a_ time they would very likely soon be in the mood to ask to be taken back again. And by a ban we might exert pressure which would secure terms for the unhappy loyalists.
