Mr. Asquith's decision to move the rejection of the Home
Rule Bill in the House of Commons is as striking an example as one could quote of applying a threadbare formula. Not that we should object to the failure of the present Home Rule Bill, for we know well enough that it has practically no friends in Ireland, and we believe, moreover, that the Union, though not an ideal solution, is by far the least unsatisfactory solution of Irish troubles. But Mr. Asquith does not believe this. He believes in Home Rule. He talks continually about Irish " nationality " and the right to " self-determination," and with a lavish hand he labels any ordinary act of keeping order in Ireland as " re- pression" or "coercion." One would think, therefore, that if ho were able to free himself from formulas and judge a new situation without hindering preconceptions he would hail as a thing of
immeasurable significance the fact that for the first time in history Ulster Unionists have announced that they will not oppose a Home Rule Bill.
