Monday's papers publish the Report of a deputation, consisting of
four Unionists and four Liberals, which left Manchester for Cork on the 2nd inst. and returned on the 10th. The deputation, who visited Cork, Youghal, Queens- town, Bandon, Kinsale, Dublin, Sligo, Enniskillen, and Belfast, were impressed in the South by the evidences of the splendid benefits derived from the Wyndham Act. They note the continued existence of boycotting in Cork and Sligo, and contrast the incredible squalor of the slums and the exorbitant rates of Dublin with low rates and good housing in Enniskillen. They found "at all times the Nationalists difficult to converse with, reluctant to discuss the question, and unable to suggest any definite practical and business advantages that would be derived from Home Rule." Finally, in Belfast they were struck by the many evidences of prosperity and efficient government, but most of all by the "absolute sincerity and resolute determination of the men—Liberals, Noncon- formists, and Trade Unionists—who have dropped all party, denominational, or trade differences in order to present a solid and unbroken resistance to Home Rule." The Report concludes with an appeal to all parties for a settlement by consent, and expresses the conviction that an honourable peace cannot be arrived at by the passing of the Home Rule Bill. The Manchester Liberals, we may add, disown the four Liberals— on the principle, we may suppose, that they could not be Liberals, or they would not have been so open to conviction.
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