In the House of Lords, on Thursday, December 15th, the
Ulster case was presented by Lord Londonderry. Ho denied that Lord Curzon was justified in saying that the Irish problem had been " solved with honour." Lord Birkenhead, he said, had embarked upon a gamble the consequences of which, if it failed, no one could possibly predict. Lord Midleton, speaking from the point of view of the Southern Unionists, took no responsibility for the Settlement, but he had accepted the assurances given by Mr. Griffith on behalf of Sinn Fein that the position of the Southern Unionists would be safeguarded. He therefore advised the Southern Unionists to co-operate with the Government of the Free State. The Die-Hard amendment was moved by the Duke of Northumberland. Lord Bryce approved, in general, of the Settlement, but remarked that the less -advice that was given to. Ulster the better, as she was not at present in the mood to appreciate it. He could not disguise from himself that there was a risk that in various parts of the world the conviction that the British Government had given in to murder would lead to very dangerous movements.
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