Nothing could be better than the spirit of the messages
from lbading American statesmen contributed to the New York World at the request of Lord Northelfffe. It is, however, obvious that the statesmen in question do not fully realize the nature of the Irish problem. Every one here is perfectly willing to treat Ireland like Texas, but if that is done Ireland must be willing to treat North- East Ulster like West Virginia. There is the problem in a nutshell. If our American friends and allies want to understand the crux of the Irish question, the very best way of doing so is to turn to Mr.
Lincoln's address to the Legislature at Indianapolis delivered on February 12th, 1801. You cannot get beyond Lincoln's question :— " On what rightful principle may a State, being not more than ene.fiftieth part of the nation in soil and population, break up the nation, and then coerce a proportionally larger subdivision of itself in the most arbitrary way ? What mysterious right to play tyrant is conferred on a district of country, with its people, by merely calling it a State ? "
Once more the final word on a British problem is with Lincoln.
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