We have been greatly tempted this week to deal at
length with
the Irish situation, but have felt ourselves still bound by Mr. Asquith's appeal for silence during Mr. Lloyd George's negotia- tions. We must, however, record here our sense of the statesman- ship and self-sacrifice shown by the Ulster Conference, which met on Monday and wisely gave a free hand to Sir Edward Carson. The attitude of the Ulstermen cannot be better expressed than in the words of the leading article in the Northern Whig of Tuesday:— "When those who are responsible for the conduct of the war insist that it [i.e., the proposed settlement] is absolutely necessary, we as loyal citizens, proud of the Empire and anxious for its welfare, dare not play the Nationalist-German game by placing any serious barriers in the way. We have always contended that the Home Rule question should remain in abeyance until the end of the war, but as the Government insist on a final settlement, we must sacrifice our personal feelings in deference to the wishes of the authorities ; and so Sir Edward Carson, who never stood higher in the estimation of the Ulster people than he does to-day, has been authorized to continue negotiations on the basis of the definite exclusion of the six Ulster counties from the Home Rule Act which is now on the statute-book."
