What the Government will decide no man can tell. The
point before them, however, is clear enough. It is whether they should yield to the demand of the Ulstermen, or refuse that demand, with the necessary consequence of crushing, if they can, the resistance of Protestant Ulster. If the Govern- ment pass the Home Rule Bill without amendment, they will In effect say to the Ulstermen : " You shall go under a Dublin Parliament." The Ulstermen will reply : " We shall not." The next step would naturally be for the Government to say: " We shall make you." But from this step, even if the Government had the power to take it, which they have not, a very great number of Liberals shrink. They are willing to vote for the Bill, but they are not prepared to enforce it. On the other hand, no doubt there is a considerable section of Liberals who declare themselves quite ready to coerce Ulster, and are not willing to make any further concessions- beyond those made in Mr. Asquith's version of the Amending Bill. Which section of the Liberal Party will prove stronger—the coercionists or the anti-coercionista—remains to be seen.
