6 APRIL 1912, Page 3

Mr. Redmond was the chief speaker at a great Home

Rule demonstration in Dublin on Sunday. The chief points in Mr. Redmond's speech were his appeal to Ulster and his guarded forecast of the Home Rule Bill. Though the Ulstermen had stood aloof from the great body of their fellow-countrymen for over a hundred years, and opposed in turn every measure for national reform and national emancipation, Mr. Redmond declared that in this hour of triumph for Ireland as a nation " we have not one word of reproach or one trace of bitter feeling; we have one feeling only in our hearts—that is, an earnest longing for the arrival of the day of reconciliation." The Ulstermen might repudiate Ireland, but Ireland would never repudiate them. As for the Home Rule Bill, "your elected representatives will scrutinize its provisions with jealous care ; they will take counsel in a great national con- vention of leaders of public, opinion in Ireland. But for myself—and I speak only for myself in this—I desire to say that I entertain a confident belief that the Home Rule Bill will be a great measure, and will be adequate for the purposes of those who promote it." Mr. Redmond concluded by declaring his belief that Home Rule was winning. " We will have a Parliament sitting in College Green sooner than the most sanguine and enthusiastic man in this gathering believes." It is noted that the audience, variously estimated at from 80,000 to 250,000, welcomed Mr. Devlin more enthusiastically than the titular leader of the Parliamentary Party.