[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
Srg,—If we agree with the words of the Unionist leader, and regard the people of Northern Ireland as quite distinct from
the Celtic South, surely it is our duty to act up to these words, and by a solemn covenant, such as Ulster is making, show clearly to those in power the impasse towards which they are drifting. The people of Britain are essentially law-abiding, and, as in the case of the Insurance Act, are willing to put aside their private opinions and to accept what has become law ; but they are not prepared to sacrifice an unwilling people and force them out of an Empire in which they are content into the arms of their hereditary foes. Even the political morality of the eighteenth century, which used the smaller peoples as pawns in the political game, handing them from one great nation to another as the balance of power seemed to require, had at least the excuse that there was no audible public opinion to protest against the change. Ulster has wisely taken away in advance this excuse from the Government, and if the word freedom is not to stink in the nostrils of every Briton then surely towns and villages alike should organize a form of resistance, passive or active, which shall take effect as soon as the troops of this Empire are called upon to force a loyal people to become the subjects of an alien Government.—I am, Sir, &c., 63 St. Vincent Street, Glasgow. A. DOUGLAS HART.
Previous page
