A CHANGING IRELAND
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Six,—I am unwilling to prolong this correspondence unduly, but I feel that Mr. Wilson's statements merit a reply. The Six Counties area was originally constituted in order to safe- guard the interests of the Protestant loyalist community of Ulster. To make this an economically workable unit it was necessary to include within its boundaries some 400,000 Catholics. This disloyal element has been given every facility for departure southwards, of which it has not availed itself.
It would seem, therefore, as if the Nationalists preferred their " exclusion from all participation in their Dominion's affairs " to political freedom in the more hygienic air of the Free State. This being so, I see no reason why the Nationalist Party should not forget old grievances and justify its legal position as " His Majesty's Opposition." I am sure that any constructive proposals will be greeted with applause by all to whom the welfare of Ulster is dear. On this point, however, there is a world of difference between my view and that of Mr. Wilson. And there, I fear, the matter must rest. —Yours, &c., [This correspondence is now dosed.—En. The Spectator.]
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