The Dominion. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1913. WILL THE KING INTERVENE?

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1856, 16 September 1913, Page 6

The Dominion. TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1913. WILL THE KING INTERVENE?

Lord Loreb{jrn's letter to The Times, suggesting that a conference should be held in the hope that some agreement may be arrived at on the Home Rule question, has given a new and very important turn to this, prolonged and_ bitter controversy. It has become increasingly evident that Ulstermen will absolutely refuse to be governed by a Dublin Parliament, and that any attempt to enforce obedience would be resisted to the uttermost. Now that those facts are fully recognised no one can any longer pretend to shut his eyes to the extreme gravity of the situation, and thoughtful men of all political parties are anxiously looking round for some way of escape. Coming at such a moment and from such a quarter it is not surprising that Lord Loiieburn's proposal has created a profound impression, and that the confcrence idea is receiving strong support. No one has yet been able to indicate any basis for • a settlement by consent that would be acceptable to all parties, but there seems to be a vague hope that _ something may result from bringing the together to discuss the whole position. The latest suggestion is that tho King himself should now intervene, and take the responsibility of inviting representatives of tho various political sections concerncd to come together and endeavour to draw uj) a scheme which would meet with general agreoment. It is, of course, a very serious matter for His Majesty to take any part in a controversy of this Sort; but it is a question of such vital importance to his kingdom that he may feel it his duty to take action if ho has good reason to believe that by so doing ho could reliove a most difficult and dangerous situation. , It has been more than once suggested during the last few months that before the Home Rulo Bill received the King's assent His Majesty would be justified, in view of the tremendous importance of the measure, in demanding unassailable evidence that its proposals had the approval of the majority of his people. This could only be ascertained either by a referendum or a general election. The Government has not yet received a straight-out mandate from the people in favour o£ its Home Rule Bill, and there is a gi'owing feeling in England that it would De a grave wrong to the nation to dismember the United Kingdom without giving the electors an opportunity of declaring their wishes in the matter. It is.a significant fact that at tho present juncture Mr. Bonar Law (Leader of the Opposition), after a visit to Lord Lansdowne, should have gone to Balmoral at the King's invitation, and that Ijiu. Wiluam O'Brien (Leader of tho Independent Nationalists) should declare that none of tho parties concerned can or will refuse a rcquost from His Majesty to take part in a conference- ' , ~ • . , So far neither the Prime Minister (Mr. Asquith) nor the Leader of the Irish Nationalists (Mr. Redmond) has made any announcement in connection with Lord Loreburn's appeal. - Their silence mav'possibly be regarded as an indication that they arc giving tho matter anxious thought. It may be taken for granted that Mr. Asquith would be only too glad to conciliatc Ulster if his compact with the Nationalists did not'bar the way. Indeed he may be compelled by the course of events to modify his policy in any case, and a confcrence might give him a chance of stating how far he could go to meet the demands of Ulster. Sir Edward Oarson, speaking on behalf of the Ulstermen, is not absolutely uncompromising, for he states that though Ulster will never abandon the principlo of government by tho Imperial Parliament, it will, outside that, make many sacrifices in order to come to an agreement. He has most emphatically asserted that Ulster will not be ruled from Dublin. To use his own words: "We are not going to submit to a Parliament of tho Ancient Order of Hibernians in Dublin—not if the Imperial Parliament were to put the Bill 40 times upon the Statute-book." This means that Ulstermen will only a"ree to Home Rule on condition that they are loft out. Mr. Redmond/ on the other hand, is equally emphatic in declaring that the Nationalists Would sooner not have Home Rule at all if Ulster were not to be included. There appears, therefore, to be no hope of settlement by consent unless the Nationalists can be induced to agree to a modification of the present scheme and conEent to the exclusion of Ulster from the jurisdiction of the Irish Parliament, so that it may be governed from Westminster or placed under some form of self-gov- ' eminent. A conference would not be entirely fruitless if it were only the means of ascertaining exactly • what each party is prepared to con- ' cede in order to avert disaster; but " at present the alternatives seem to be Home Rule without Ulster or civil war.