The Days of a Man [^1914 



activity. It is a great manufacturing town, building 

 huge ships and weaving endless miles of linen. As 

 a whole it is steadfastly opposed to home rule. It 

 "will not submit to be taxed by the thriftless people 

 of the South." Belfast scorns her southern neighbors 

 although geographically she is almost surrounded by 

 them, a colony of *'the faithful" long ago successfully 

 planted from Scotland on a heathen shore. 

 Ulster But Ulster as a whole makes no imperative 



'""^'. demand. It is after all part and parcel of Ireland, 



remain i • • i • i • • • 



Irish and It IS by no means a unit politically, having its 

 own minority problem. Tyrone in the center, a great 

 farming district Irish to the core, stands unqualifiedly 

 for home rule; so do Fermanagh, Cavan, Monaghan, 

 and storm-swept Donegal on the west. Armagh and 

 Derry are about half and half. This leaves only 

 Down and Antrim wholly opposed — Down with the 

 city of Belfast, and Antrim (the northeast corner of 

 Ireland) with her group of Scottish farmers. The 

 trade interests of Ulster coincide with those of the 

 rest of Ireland and all the Irish are proud of Belfast, 

 however aggravated by her obstinacy. "This pride 

 rises up when the segregation of Ulster is urged." 

 The In Belfast generally we found the two parties 



^JndtL sharply defined,^ the Scotch-Irish austere, thrifty. 

 Green grimly rcHgious, worshiping (after the manner of 

 men) a God of their own kind, and contrasting in 

 every way with the easy-going, witty, facile Irish- 

 men of the South. Yet in the city's greatest industry, 

 the shipyard of Harlan and Wolfi^, we were assured 



> The young people took matters less seriously. The Sunday we were in 

 Belfast a company of Ulster Volunteers met on the parade ground a similar 

 group of Irish Volunteers. Each party was provided with eight gamecocks, 

 and one after another these birds enthusiastically fought out the battles between 

 the "Orange" and the "Green." 



n 622 :] 



