A military statement which was issued for publication mentioncd that
the rioting.on Monday had been begun by Unionists. Liberal newspapers in England which make it a habit to excuse and defend Sinn Feiners, and to accuse and cOndemn Unionists have hastened to say in effect, " What did we tell you ? It is always the Unionists who are to blame. Even the military have to admit that this is so." This is a very sorry kind of argument, and an extraordinarily unfair one. We can only hope that the Liberal writers really believe what they say, otherwise their offence would be greater than it is. No doubt in any particular day's rioting, to which there are two parties, you can with a formal truthfulness say that a particular side began it. But the real point is : What is the original cause of such rioting as has frequently occurred in Belfast ? Quite apart from the fact that Unionists were the first victims of the rioting which began last Sunday, the answer is, of course, that the Unionists of the North refuse to have their part of the country turned into a criminal paradise for Sinn Feiners.
