The Council reaffirmed their belief that the best thing for
Ireland and the whole Empire was the maintenance of the Union, but they added that in view of the fact that a substitute admittedly had to bo found for the Home Rule Act of 1914, they could not advise the Parliamentary representatives of Ulster to oppose the new Bill, though they ought not to accept any responsibility for it. The right course would be for Ulster Unionists to try to improve the Bill in Committee if the second reading should be carried. Although we have written fully on the subject elsewhere, we must offer our congratulations here to Sir Edward Carson on the wise and temperate course which ho has followed throughout. He did not attempt to force opinion in Ulster. So far, however, as he guided opinion—and if he had not guided it ho would not of course be the trusted leader he is—he allowed it to be clearly seen that he for his part wanted to stand on the unshakable basis of logic.
