In the course of the debate Mr. Thomas, who said
that he was opposed to an Irish Republic because it would break up the Empire and would not be tolerated by the English people, pleaded for " Dominion Home Rule." He asserted that, in the private interview which he hld just had with the Prime Minister, Mr. Lloyd George had said that " he was prepared to negotiate with -any representative section in Ireland on twc conditions—first, that there was to be no Republic, and, secondly, that there should be protection for Ulster." The Chief Secre- tary, when challenged on the point by Lord Hugh Cecil, professed ignorance of any change of policy on the part of the Prime Minister. It appears from the official report, which has since been published, that Mr. Lloyd George made the statement quoted by Mr. Thomas, with the all-important addition that it was useless to talk of " Dominion Home Rule " unless the Sinn Fein leaders were prepared to accept it. The Prime Minister complained on Monday of Mr. Thomas's conduct in quoting a fragment of a long conversation, torn from its context, in defiance of the understanding that proceedings at deputations should be treated as confidential until a full report was issued. We are bound to say that Mr. Lloyd George is not wholly blameless in the matter, for he has carried to excess the practice of settling important questions at private conclaves in Downing Street rather than on the floor of the House of Commons.
