The Lord Chancellor, in the House of Lords on Tuesday,
moved the second reading of the Government of Ireland Bill in an able and temperate speech. He pointed out that Ulster must either be left within the Union or given a separate Parlia- ment. The Ulster Protestants had changed their minds about remaining in the Union. The Lord Chancellor read a letter from Sir Edward Carson stating, on behalf of the Ulster members, that though Ulster would have preferred to uphold the Act of
1800, she felt it wise, under present circumstances, to "accept the present Bill and to endeavour to work it loyally." The Bill would enable Irishmen, if they could bridge their contro- versies, to secure full self-government. The real enemies of the Bill were the Sinn Fein murder gangs, who wanted a Republic. If Southern Ireland, in deference to Sinn Fein, would not work the Bill, it would be treated as a Crown Colony. The Lord Chancellor repudiated Mr. Asquith's proposal to let Ireland have a separate Navy and Army, and Lord Grey of Fallodon's pro- posal to withdraw our troops from Ireland after two years— thus promoting civil strife between North and South.
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