Turning to the position of Ulster, he said :-
" I should have thought that we have too often mado it clear what our view is about the position of Ulster and our commitments and obligations to Ulster to allow our friends to have doubted what our purposes and intentions were in relation to that part of his Majesty's Dominions. But a certain number of men, utterly uninformed as to our purpose and in the dark as to what we wore saying and contemplating, have chosen to make unkindly, intemperate, and unnecessary attacks upon the Government for their supposed intentions in relation to Ulster. Tho country has been told over and over again that neither directly nor indirectly has it ever been the policy of this Government in any contingency to apply coercion to Ulster. But we believe, and we say plainly, that there are circumstances in the actual situation in Ireland that are entirely out of the control of the Government, which we could not control if we conceived it to be our duty to attempt to control them, and which must depend upon there being some central body in Ireland which will have authority and power in matters which concern Ireland as a whole. At the same time we have stated that there could be no question of withdrawing from Ulster any of those special privileges or those powers which were given to her by the Act of Parliament carried a year ago."
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