The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1919-01-04

pOTtunltV OF making speeches from
the dock" 1t will be noticed that he
voted against Dominion Home Rule"
in the defunct Convention. While Ire
land has been passing through the
greatest crisis in her history he was
engaged OH writing Life of Sir
Charles Dixie Which was published
last winter. Yet he represented the
Irish Party in the convention" Since
then he broke with the whole nation
on Conscription. 1t is doubtful if the
conversion of these men to Home Rule
has done the movement any real good
But the Ulster Protestants who en-
brace, Nationalism are of an entirely
different stamp.
1t has been said frequently of late
years that Ulster is in the majority
/ in favor of Home Rule. This is not
exactly true; and we should face the
truth and make the best of it. If we
follow again the religious line Of de-
marcatioll-how it can be corrected
for political purposes will be explained
later-we find that the Professionals in
all Ulster have a considerable major
ity over the Catholics.
If you cut out the city of Belfast
Catholics and Protestants are almost
! exactly equal in numbers in the rest
| Of the Province. In the city of Bel
{ fast, however, the Catholics number
barely one-fourth of the whole popu-
| lation; so that by taking all Ulster,
Belfast included, you will have Pro-
F! testant majority for the Province of
about 100000. 1t is really this pre-
| ponderance of Belfast, both in num-
bers and in influence, that constitutes
the crux of the Ulster question.
The Belfast magnates are we'll
aware of it; and it is this conviction
that has made them always so much
opposed to any such arrangement as
country option Belfast could not
$50 it alone;" and it could not depend
on the counties sticking to it indef-
initely. They wanted, tn refore, the
whole Province, or at least six coun-
F, ties; and they wanted, moreover, the
whole territory thus excluded to be
treated as unit. In this way no
country and no part of it, could come
! in under the National government un
til Belfast gave it's consent and chose
| to come in itself.
| In the passage Of the Home Rule
Bill through the Commons in 1918 the
| Liberals finally, with the acquiescence
of the Irish Party-which, however,
refused to be responsible for the ar
ngement-proposed as compromise
| County option" at first, with the pro-
vision that the counties choosing to
exclude themselves would automatic
ally come in, without further option
! to stay out, after a period of six
years. This provision became known
as "the time limit" and in an unwary
moment Carson addressing the House
declared that if the time limit were
removed he "would go to Ulster and
consult his friends But he never
renewed the offer; and it was said
that at the time the Belfast leaders
were not satisfied that they could, in
case Of option, count with certainty
or even four counties. The reasons
for this fear will be explained later.
| While Catholics and Professionals are
about equal in number in the Prov
ince, if we exclude Belfast, they are
unevenly dividedy if we compare one
county with another. and it is of i'm
portance to keep this in view in or
der to understand the objections that
have been made to exclusion, as also
the reasons why the Unionists wanted
exclusion by what they called "a clean
cut" It will also explain-what 1 wish
to show later-that the conversion of
Ulster to Home Rule, or the "Win-
ming of Ulster" as it has been called,
would not, if properly undertaken, be
so formidable task as it might at
first sight appear.
There are nine counties in Ulster;
and to make clear their political CON-
plexion they may be divided into four
categories:
1. In three of these counties-Don,
egal, Cavan and Monaghan-the Cath
olics have an overwhelming majority
amounting to about IS per cent of the
entire population. These are the three
counties that Carson consented to let
go in the partition" arrangement OF
1915. The Ulster leaders consented
to it only as "a war MEASURE" for
the covenant" to which they had
pledged themselves in 1913, included
resistance to Home Rule in all Ulster
/ L, hat -, NJ,