The Irish standard., 1911-07-15
WHAT THE ULSTER
THREATS AMOUNT TO
VIM. Redmond Gives Pointed Rea-
sons to Show Absurdity of
Ulster Warning.
The Province Now Has 16 Home Rul-
ers as Against II Anti-Home
Rulers in Parliament.
Under Irish Government There
Would be Full Fair Play for
North and South.

Mr.. William Redmond, NJ. p, has
an article under the head
ing "Will Ulster Make Civil War;" to
the Chronicle Nondom in which he
shows that danger of an Ulster upris-
ing is SO remote as to be all absurdity.
In the view of the facts adduceu by
Mr.. Redmond it is hard to understand
how so much Importance can be at
boo. Among other things Mr.. Rcd
mond says:
OF all the questions surrounding the
Home Rule problem there is not one
which is more constantly referred to
than the question of 'Ulster.' What
will Ulster do, and what will Ulster
say?
We hear these queries uttered upon
every side, and it is not too much to
say that. in all the debates as to Home
Rule, both within and without Parlia-
ment the Ulster argument is the one
most frequently used. Indeed. there
are many people, to my own knowl-
edge, who base their objection to Home
Rule entirely upon the fact that they
fear what the result of granting self
government to Ireland might be in the
Northern province. Even those who
have come to see that it is sheer abb
surdity to expect that an Irish Parla-
ment would use it's powers to injure
England or to promote a scheme of
separation between the two countries.
even those who have come to recog-
nize the hollowness of nearly all the
common objections to Home Rule, even
these people cling very often with the
most surprising tenacity to the notion
that Ulster will not have" Home Rule,
and that. therefore. it cannot, and
should not, be granted.
Divided Ulster.
The fact is that in England there is
there is about the rest of Ireland in
the other three provinces. Some peo-
pie hug the delusion that all Ulster is
to "a man" against Home Rule. Those
who take this for granted never trou-
BILE to study election returns. If they
did, they would discover. Of course,
that Ulster returns just seventeen an
ti-Home Rulers and just sixteen Home
Rulers as strong in their opinions as
portions of the country. Over Al per
cent of Ulster is Catholic in religion
but this does not, Of course, indicate
the percentage of Home Rulers, for it
is very well-known and fortunate
thing that religious belief does not al
ways indicate political opinion in Ul-
ster 1t is beyond all doubt, and was
abundantly proved in the West Belfast
election, that many Protestants are
sound Home Rulers. At the very least
then, half Ulster, judged by any test, is
in favor of government for Ire
land, and hence it is really absurd fol
men to talk of Ulster as though the
whole province were united against the
national demand for free form Of
government
Could Ulster Arm?
AS to the talk we hear of Ulster
"arming," it is sheer nonsense. 1t is nc
more easy for Ulster to arm than fol
any other part of the country to arm
and everybody knows that such &
thing could not be done without the
full knowledge of the Government, ant
no Government would permit it, There
will be no Civil war" in Ulster, be.
cause there will be no need for it.
1 grant fully that the Ulster people
no matter what party they belong to
are courageous and determined set o.
men. No men would fight more read.
| lily, if there were occasion, and no mer
are less likely to fight without reason
than the men Of Ulster. If an 1risf
Parliament committed any injustice
civil or religious, against Ulster, Ul'
ster would resent it to the last man.
But such thing could never be. I'm.
der an Irish Government there would
be full fair play for North and South
for Protestant and Catholic. This II
the desire and intention of everyone