After Mr. William O'Brien had declared that, though he did
not oppose the resolution, the time allotted to the discussion of finance and land purchase was quite inadequate, and Mr. Lloyd George admitted that the Ulster question was not one for jesting, and asked whether, supposing there was an election and the electors should approve Home Rule, Mr. Bonar Law would say that it was the duty of Ulster to obey ? Upon that Mr. Bonar Law asked whether this was a definite offer from the Government. If it were he would at once answer the question. It is most significant that this challenge was not taken up by Mr. Lloyd George, who merely attempted to get out of it by a clever piece of dialectic. Any person who studies the incident impartially will realize that Mr. Bonar Law was perfectly right in refusing to answer a hypothetical question, though he was, of course, ready and willing to answer "a firm offer." The Government dare not announce that they will take the opinion of the country before the Bill is passed, because this would mean an immediate dissolution, and they have, in the words of Gray,
. . . "Formed the pious resolution To smuggle a few years and strive to mend A broken character and Constitution."
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