Lord Derby made an excellent speech on Thursday to the
Women's Liberal Unionist Association at the Town Hall, Westminster. He remarked that it was now admitted that whatever was to be done towards the relaxation of the Union with Ireland, is also to be done towards the relaxation of the Union with Scotland and Wales,—a great change as compared with the policy of 1886. The effect of that would be that in the Federal Assembly, one State, England, would outweigh all the others put together; so that the result would be that at the very time at which the sense of separate nationality is to be stimulated, the three countries confederated with England would be made to feel a most exasperating sense of their inferiority and relative insignificance. As for the plan of redressing the balance by bringing the Colonies and other Dependencies into the Federation, Lord Derby remarked that on condition Ireland waited till that had been practically accomplished, he was quite willing to waive his objections to Home-rule in Ireland. In reality, it would not be accom- plished before the Greek Kalends.
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