4 MAY 1912, Page 3

Before we leave Thursday's debate we must draw attention to

the remarkable speech of a young Liberal member, Mr. Agar-Robartes. "The House," he declared, "could not treat the convictions of the Protestants of Ulster with contempt, any more than they could turn a deaf ear to the demands of the vast majority in Ireland." He believed that there was only one way out of the difficulty, and that was to leave North- East Ulster out of the scheme. If the Government believed they could settle this question finally with North-East Ulster included in the scheme, their expectations and their hopes were as vain as the expectations of an ambitious mule hoping for posterity. We sincerely hope that Mr. Agar-Robartes will have the courage of his convictions and give his support to an instruction to the Committee or an additional clause exempting North-East Ulster which we have reason to believe will be moved by a Unionist Member.