PRICE OF PEACE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2004, 11 March 1914, Page 7

PRICE OF PEACE.

HOME RULE BILL.

MR. ASQOITfI'S Lβ OF concession.

EXCLUSION OF ULSTEB PROPOSED.

POPULAR TOTE TO DECIDE.

By Telesrapli-Pr?.ss Assaeiaitou-Oeiiyrißlrt i London, March 9. j The House was crowded when the , Homo Kul© Bill was introduced. Many members who wt-ra unable to b<?- accommodated on.the floor of the Chamber were seated in tte galleries. There was great tension throughout question t-iffio. The Primo Minister (Mr. Asquith), Sir. Bonar Law (Unionist Leader), and Sir Edward Carson (Leader of the Ulster j movement) received'ovations .is they en- j tered the Chamber, When >Ir. Asqiiith j rose to speak there was groat cheering. ] The Prime Minister said, that the of- | fering of suggestions-4id that \ tho Government was miming away f»m ! tho original Bill. They desired to give ! the Bill a start with the greatest measure, of success. There- was ft prospect of acute dissatisfaction and civil strife, yet if tho Bill was shipwrecked, mutilated, or postponed, tile outlook : would bo equally formidable, | Principles of Settlement. •Any settlement, therefore, ho pro- i cccded, must involve- the acceptance o.f tho principle of ah Irish Parliament, with special treatment, for Ulster beyond tho safeguards ill the Bill. Tho Government had considered three roads. Firstly there- was tl» s-uggestion of Homo Rulo within Bgmo Rule., which ; had not commended itself to any of. the . parties. '

Secondly, tlio inclusion of tlio whole of Ireland, with the option that tlio Ulster counties cMld secede after a period, was suggested, but this also had possessed fatal drawbacks.

Exclusion for Ulster. Exclusion was th& third. Tiic Gov eminent had decitkd that Ulster slwral( be allowed to say whether it desired ex elusion. Therefore a pot -of jiip. elector would ho taken before fclie BiJl bocato' operative. If exclusion was adopted tin six years -would date from the firs meeting of Parliament;, . That term, suggested Mr. Asqitith, would afford ample time t<s teat the new Parliament, and thfe ekctoTii of the United Kingdom vwuld tktia bo able to say whether exclusion sliou'd continue. Meanwhile, Ulster would coistmti© t« hiivo representation in tlto Imperiaf Parliament.

The Very Limit of Concession. Mr. John. ReflniOhd (Nationalist Leader), said tlio Prime Minister, had gone to the very limit af conccssioii. Long before tho expiry of tho sis years they would bo able* -ti' Mate sn tishitetion of tolornnt goyej;iin}e ; iit which would disarm suspicion.' !,; ' Sir Edward Carson said that if tleo Government abolished tho time limit he would summon an Ulster convention; to consider .tho, proposalsj but not. otherwise. •! ■■•!',•' rr, / ;■ W ■■

jjr. Asquith doo£ fiot expect the p.ro])osals to bo. accepted with enthusiasm, in<any quarter... ' ;i - .;■ .'■'...'' The. Ulster" courttiei wou'M Bo a&wdl to takca poll as to Whether tliey shotrfil ho excluded for. six awl before the six rears expired the electors of the United Kipgdom would have an opportunity to say whether 'thek .exclusion, sliould continue.

Mr. Bonar Laiv demafldocl that tlie electors should bo. c.onsu)ted, otlie,rfris« the Unionists would be iinahle to accept the proposals. PRELIMINARY SKIRMiSH, UNIONISTS STAND- THEIR GROUND. (Rec. March W, 11.30 p.m.) '■ ' Lonßon, Jlsj-eii It). In explaining his praposa , * for tie settlement of the Ulster trttestion, Mr, Asquith said:—''Personally, : % lujve spent a great deal of fobmii; mtryiiig to doviso a. settlement oft ihe Hues of Home Rule within ELette Ru'io, but iliat pleased no one. Eschision is ottty. p-ro-posed as the price, of peace, a-snn cspodient to pave the way to ji final settlemenß. The Irish Executive will have iw right of entry to Ulster. The Imperial Minister who aiiMveied For tlio. Irisil Parliament would alsrt lm responsible for Ulster. Thero shoiikl bo iio difficttlty with.regard to factory arid -workshop administration, while .fithreat-ion .and local government, could be- dealt with by tte' creation of local -Nor Would thero be any difficulty with regard to the police and land purchase administration, as these aro included in the ■ services reserved to tho IrobCtfial Parliament.

Mr. Bonar Law "said that the Eriiiio Minister's. proposals svefo- equivalent to saying to TJlstor: "By yoJW" organisation work, extending, ever tkree'years , , you havo placed, yourselves in an ifltprogunblo position. Therefore wo don't ask you to submit bow to a National Parliament, hut ask you to destroy youf organisation, to lo&ve your fortress, so that when you aro weak you will bs «oi.npolled to do what we cSHUot conipd you to do to-day." ■ "Does tlioi Premier," askcij Mi'. Bonnf Law, "coiisidor thai to be n reasonabl.o pioppsal? I think that ilio projjo:sass aro utterly futile. If the. Goveninieiit is univilling to havo- a. general, election, it can put tho proposals which tlife Premier has. outlined to-night iiite tlio Bill, and attach a, ■clause? ueoeseitsting tho Bill beiug submitted to tho- errantry for a plain 'Yes' or 'No' decisiau. If tbo verdict bo 'Yes,' the' Bill, shall bo presented .forthwith for tiro Beyal assent. I cannot speak tor the House of Lords, but if tho Govftrnfficnt will do this, I.will do everything to- enable them I to carrv tho referendum into effect."

Mr. John Ecdmond said:—"lf_ Ulster frankly accepts the Governaient's. proposals as a basis of peace, wo will aeoopt them in the sanio spirit. It would be a tragedy if Sir Edward Carsw awl his friends refused to assist in creating a pood Government in Ireland. If the Opposition in a moment of unwisdom and passion rejects this far-reacliing and generous suggestion, thou tho Government owes it to Iretond and to tho Empire-to put tho Bilj in tiro Statute Book without delay, atul face with firmness any movement to overa-ffo Parliament, and subvert the Saw by iiieiiace dr arms."

Sir Edward Carson said that Ulster was not going to desert tfi© loyalists in the west and south of Ireland. But, liedeclared, if the Governin.eM wanted., itcould prevent Ulster iwmi resisting- by force, as opposed' to eonsftttitwilal methods. . Mr. Asquitli has made some progress by.'acknowledging'thft nrincipie of exclusion. The details eoiild be work* ed out by negotiation, b«t Ulster (foes not want' sonlenco of death with a stay of execution for sis years.. It"will bo impossible for business in Ulster to procoed, with people knowing tjjnt the future Government niiclit he olwugeil by a general election. Why not agree, after tho referendum, that Ulster should remain part of the Imperial Parliament, until Parliament, having regard to the feeliiia; of Ulster, itself orders otherwise?"

Sir Edward Carson added: Mr. Retlmond has as!«od the House io employ the resources' of tb» OovcrumW'fc against -''liter, but is the country' prepared io

allott' tho forces of the Crown—which are not the forces of any political caucus —to bo used to cocknj 'ken who ask for nothing but that they shall remain Under this Parliament?

Mr. Win. O'JJttou said that tho Planner's suggestions would be hateful and intolerable U> Ulster. Mr. Asqitiib was indulging a> a gigantic ganio of bluff. Mr. Tim Heuly snid that be would rather have no Hilt than these proposed modifications. Ho felt certain that Mr. Hodmond was going to swallow pel 1 . putiinl exclusion. The four excluded comities would ton boycotted by ,-iSI the Irish outside, and tiiwe would' probably 1:« a movement by tho American Congress to put o, tariff on Belfast- linen and other products to prevent them being imported into tho United States. llin debate was then adjourned till March Iβ.

Mr. Asqnith indicated that Belfast and Londonderry City, which were comity boroughs, would vote as separate counties. The Unionists point put that probably the result will be that Londonderry City will bo tilled froia Dublin, though, its county, which has a Unionist majority, would bo governed from Westminster.

PRESS COMMENT ON THE PROPOSALS. (Roe. March 11, 0.1-3 a.m.) ' . Lfindon, Jforeb V). rlia "Raity 'Xlnil" abserves that the frovernment's decision to increase the injtetviil to sis years was only intimated I ts the Nationalists fit their meeting yt>s- | torday, and it is attributed to Royal ini fliionee. j The "fiwily Cltfonicfe"' (Liberal) says jtiwt the time limit is not very material. j "Why/ , it asks, "slvotiM 'net Wster have refcfewLi every ilii-oo years? Mr. Asquith's pMiJosnl moots tlujso critics who say that Parfemcirt Is .not entitled to transfw a po()ulatioii to new nib , without the people's can.sejvt." The "J)a3ly News" jfißadieaU Tcmarlcs that the threat of civil «'ar is hem?, Used to Tostwe tho supremacy of the Wits. "Ulster farmers, are being drilled in order to do-privp the democracy of the fruits' of- t-3so victory which was won .. 'in 1910. If the Premier's ovrtr-geiiprmis terms arc rejected, the country will sisfc , for a repression of the rebel 1 J movement." ■ .