Mr. Austen Chamberlain said that a General Election would make
all the difference to the attitude and state of mind of Ulster. Ulstermen thought that they were being deprived of their rights by the fraud of the Government, who now proposed to add force to fraud. Judgment against them at a General Election would prove to Ulstermen that they were the victims of public opinion, and not solely of the Government. That would be quite a different matter. Their resistance, if they did resist, could not be pro- longed in such circumstances. What would the Prime Minister's new proposal be P Was he prepared to exclude Ulster ? Would be secure to Ulster the same rights and privileges as were enjoyed in Great Britain? If the Govern- ment said " Yes," civil war would be averted. If the Govern- ment said "No," civil war would be certain. Exclusion was not a settlement of the Irish question—it would not make a bad Bill a good one—but it was the only possible compromise which would be a basis of peace.
