400 



The Review of Reviews. 



point, but that no more proves that 

 the feeling is not there than the use of 

 the cinematograph proves that a demon- 

 stration is theatrical. Had there been 

 cinemas in those days, they, faithful 

 to their mission of illustrating history 

 day by day, would have given us 

 films of Hampden refusing to pay 

 taxes, Cromwell supervising the re- 

 moval of " that bauble," and Charles I. 

 being beheaded. The elements of thea- 

 trical display exist in every decided 

 action, but it is the fault rather of 

 those who witness than of those who 

 take part. For goodness' sake, there- 

 fore, let us get down to facts. And 

 there is one of sufficient prominence to 

 begin with. The Government are 

 convinced now that it will be practic- 

 ally impossible to get farther without 

 some decided concessions to the spirit 

 of Ulster. And this is as it should be ; 

 every body of citizens united by a 

 common ideal have the right to have 

 their ideal taken into serious con- 

 sideration. They have even the right 

 which America exercised of fighting 

 for it and leaving their fellow citizens ; 

 but for the nation to which such a 

 body of men belong to wish to cast 

 them out is incomprehensible. It is 

 more than that : it is a very dangerous 

 object lesson to the Empire. To us, 

 with tens of millions of inhabitants, 

 the possible million of insurgent 

 Protestant opinion in Ireland does not 

 loom so large. To the Dominions, 

 however, without enormous populations, 

 the idea of the wishes of so large a 

 body of citizens not only being 

 ignored but ridiculed is one to disrupt 

 and not to unite the Empire. If the 

 population of Ulster inhabited French 



What will 

 Result P 



Canada and were to sign a covenant 

 such as they have done, it would be 

 taken as the most convincing sign of 

 the solidarity of the Empire. We must 

 remember that nowadays we cannot 

 afford to ignore the views and opinions 

 of the British overseas, or allow them 

 to think with William Watson that 

 Ulster is being cast out, when he 

 writes : 



When in the world was such payment tendered 



For service rendered? 



Her faith had been tested, her love had been tried, 



And all that she begged was with us to abide. 



She proffered devotion in boundless store, 



But that is a thing men prize no more, 



And tossing it back in her face they cried — 



" Let us open the door, 



And fling her outside." 



We believe that the 

 solution is to be found 

 rather in the speech of 

 Mr. Winston Churchill 

 than in the more florid and tub- 

 thumping invective of some other 

 speakers. Whilst his solution may 

 seem rather a reductio ad absurdtwi at 

 first blush, it is really not illogical at 

 all. Different parts of the Empire have 

 different interests predominating ; what 

 more natural than that they should 

 specially deal themselves with their 

 special questions, always co-ordinated 

 to the Imperial control and the Imperial 

 ideal ? It should be no more strange 

 to our minds for Ulster or Lancashire 

 to have separate governing institutions 

 than for the American or the Australian 

 States to do so. In fact, the divergence 

 of interests between Lancashiie and 

 Kent is far more marked. Such a 

 solution would meet all the desires of 

 Ulster, if it is determined that she shall 

 not be allowed to remain an unchanged 

 part of this country. Cromwell put the 

 population there^for that purpose. Can 



