Sir James Craig, like .Lord Carson, has never for a
moment attempted to dictate to the rest of Ireland. He has never denied the right of the South to obtain whatever terms it can extract from the British Government and to live in the way it thinks best. All he says is that North-East Ireland has a corre- sponding right to live in the way that seems to it best, and that it will never allow Sinn Fein to deprive it of that right by violence. He knows perfectly well after watching the proceedings of the Government for the past few years that the " accomplished fact " is nearly always regarded as an irresistible argument. When he sees that Sinn Feiners cherish the hope of being able to point to an " accomplished fact " in Ulster, he most rightly holds up a warning hand and says : " We will not allow this." He ended by telling his audience that if he went to the Conference, loyalists might hear at one time that Ulster was " up " and at another time that Sinn Fein was " up." " Steady yourselves through very critical times," he added. " Trust me. I will see that your rights are not interfered with." The papers of Wednesday recorded the natural and proper corollary to this speech— that the Ulster Volunteers are to be reorganized. This is not defiance ; it is precaution. The admission of Mr. O'Duffy that the Sinn Fein gunmen in Ulster were organized, and that " the lead " would be used against North-East Ulster if she did not yield, was bound to have this result.
Previous page
