As to the area to be excluded, Lord Lansdowne pointed
out that there must be formidable difficulties. It was no use putting forward proposals which the Unionist Party in Ulster would not accept. The whole object of the Bill was to save the country from civil strife, and that could only be done by offering to the Unionists of Ulster some Exclusion arrange- ment adequate to meet their views. As to the demand : " If we give you the whole of the province of Ulster, will you guarantee us that there will be no civil strife ? " he answered : " We will not give any guarantee of the kind." Unionists, however, were inclined to believe that on the whole the arrangement was more likely than any other to relieve us from present anxieties. Taken as a whole, Lord Lanadowne's speech showed not only a mastery of the details of the subject, but a wisdom and humanity in the widest sense which are of the best augury. He has risen to a great occasion.
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