HOME RULE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1341, 19 January 1912, Page 5

HOME RULE.

ULSTER'S OPPOSITION. PACKING ULSTER HALL. STALWARTS IN THE STREETS. By Teltsraph-Press Association—Oopn.'eo. London, January 17. The shipyard workers at Belfast have determined to take a half-holiday on l.'cbniary 8, and propose to lake possession of the streets in the neighbourhood of Ulster Hall and prevent Mr. Winston Churchill's speech. Tho Unionists are arranging for 5000 stalwarts to occupy Ulster Hall days beforehand, and for 75,000 men to puck the streets. ARMS EOR ULSTER. .. A Protestant Hqme Ruler recently sent Uio following paragraph from the '"Northern Constitution" of Colcraine to the London "Daily Kews":— The "Cannon" Fund— The committee of management of this fund, which was opened some time ago bv the Orangemen of Garragh, met in the Clinton Memorial Hall on the evening of the 20th ult. A suitable weapon of the "big gun" stylo .not being procurable, it was decided at a previous meeting to invest the money )n small arras, and after considerable discussion the meeting agreed to purchase 24 Martini-Henry military rifles of -150 calibre, with a supplv of suitable ammunition. They have also purchased a number of Lee-Enfield magazine guns from the Garvagh Rifle Club, the latter body having changed to a lighter weapon. Airguns have also been provided for the purpose of practice during the winter' nights amongst the members of tho lodges in hall. Wiring on December 3 the "Daily News," Coleraine correspondent says:— Most careful inquiries elicit no corroboration of the rumoured large importation of rifles or amnranition. into Garvagh. Prominent Orangemen are averse to giving exact details. They admit that the contemplated purchase of a cannon was abandoned in favour of rifles, but these have not yet boon obtained on an extensive scale, nor is general arming intended at present. Two dozen military rifles and a similar quantity used by local rifle clubs will lie used in practice by lodsremen during the winter. Undoubtedly many Orangemen seriously contemplate active resistance to Home Rule, and drill books have been circulated in . the locality, but anything like organised drilling parties cannot be at work unless indoors, because the constabularly would immediately report public proceedings m such lines.