On Tuesday Mr. Austen Chamberlain moved hie resolution demanding an
impartial inquiry into all the circumstances connected with the Government's plan of operations in Ulster which led to the incident at the Curragh. The Government, be declared, were not thinking of a few evilly disposed persons. Their measures were prepared on the basis that conciliation was hopeless till they showed overwhelming force. The pro- tection of stores was the pretext, not the object, of the move- ments. He further declared that the Government insisted on movements which Sir Arthur Paget held to be dangerous after he had done all he thought necessary for the protection of stores. The movements of the warships simultaneously with those of the troops were part of the plan which the Govern- ment bad never avowed, but which their party applauded. Finally, Mr. Austen Chamberlain declared that Sir Arthur Paget's announcement to his officers that the Government were going to reinforce him was not compatible with the minor movements which they alone acknowledged. Mr. Chamberlain's speech was an extremely able performanbe. We shall, however, withhold comment Upon it for the same reason that we withhold comment on the gun-running incident in Ulster. In fine, in summarizing the debates of Tuesday and Wednesday we shall confine ourselves to the peace proposals.
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