Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-06-15
THE BRITISH CRISIS
Xxx.-What Will Ulster
Do?
By Frederic J. Haskin.

BELFAST, June Snow that the home
rule bill has passed its third reading for
the third time in the house of commons
nothing but an unforeseen political cata-
clysm can prevent it becoming law.
Ulster has said she would not be SUBJ
ject to a Dublin government. and yet
within very few weeks the Dublin gov
eminent will be the legal and constitu-
tional government of Ulster Under these
circumstances one question demands an
answer:
What will Ulster do?''
When the home rule bill passed. Mr..
Redmond, the leader of the nationalists.
gave out a statement in which he plead
ed with the men of Ulster to take coun-
ell for peace.
On the same day Sir Edward Carson,
the leader of the Ulster unionists gave
out a statement in which he said that
Ulster never would submit to home rule
a clear understanding of this extreme
" critical situation requires a brlef re
view of the legislative situation Inc
home rule bill is being carried INTO law
under the provisions of the parliament
act without the consent of the house OF
lords To do this it required that the
bill should be passed through the mouse
of commons three times in three success
sive sessions of parliament. and that TINS
hill sbollld be the same bill. Therefore, II
would have been impossible to nave
amended it in any way tunless the io!us
consented to pass it, without requiring
the whole bill to go through announcer long
two wears of discussion.
March o in order to avoid civil war,
the premier on behalf of the BRUSH gov
eminent promised that before tne ON ~
should go into effect each county ~
I-lster would be permitted to DECIDE ae
an election whether or not 1t would come
under the Irish government for space
of six years of,s.5
These concessions were fatty refused
by the unionists, and at the same nm
the nationalists asserted that they were
the utmost that could be offered.
T, the third week in May when 1t be-
came certain that the bill would pass the
commons @ r
Amending Bill Offers the third time.
Utmost Concession. promised later
to bring in an amending bill which wouio
take care Of the Ulster protest Inc
prime minister made it plain that TINS
amending bill, which is to be introduced
n Che house of lords by FIscount Nor
ley, will contain the utmost limit OF con-
cession to Ulster that can be agreed upon
by the two Irish parties If no agreement
Ia reached then the amending bill Will
contain only those provisions announced
in Mr.. Asauith's speech of March D.
Under the parliament act when the
house of commons has passed its bill for
the third time it goes to the mouse OF
lords which has one month IN "nicn ~
take action If the lords pass the Dill IT,
Of course, becomes law: if they re1ectNt,
or II they take no action Wltnln o. on.
month. the commons then Will present
the bill to the king for the royal assent.
ThAre have been extreme tories VINO
have held fondly to the hope that tne
king would refuse to sign the Dill. ms rms
is unthinkable. No English monarch
since Anne has exercised the rosai veto
and since the king assented to the par
lament act he would stultify himself not
IN carry it into effect the first time ne
was called upon. To do so would be TO
precipitate a revolution that could nave
hut one end-the dethronement OF the
king.
What. then. will Ulster do?
Tho nlans of the provisional govern
Ynent of lister as a matter of course are
kept secret but from all OF the oiscus-
sion that has taken place there are Two
theories of probable action:
The one that finds most FAVOR among
Ulster unionists is that as soon as the
lords the provisional government OF VI
eter will issue declaration declaring
that the home rule act has been passed
in violation of the constitution and VIII
out being submitted to the judgment OF
tha neonIe The statement will then af-
Arm in the strongest terms the loyalty OF
ITster to the king and to the British
empire. and will announce that unui
loyal government at Westminster repeais
home rule the provisional government
will take steps to assure law and order
in Ulster and to prevent the province
going under the dominion of the Irish
government This will mean the seizure
of the public offices and the SUBSTITUTION.
If tho Ulster volunteers for the royal
Irish constabulary now forming the po-
lice force throughout Ireland.
At this time an alteration in the
streets of the slightest character might