The Dominion. WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 1914. THE ELEVENTH HOUR

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2135, 29 April 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. WEDNESDAY APRIL 29, 1914. THE ELEVENTH HOUR

.•■yi'itE.proat struggk for and aga/niiU. "the: !irll,ish G'owimwiiUV Hunm Ruin tjivnpuKiilH'. has 'now reached fi crucial ■■poinksuul a situation of the must .'■■xtri.-nio■ giiivily Ijks iiriwin, Hciikulionnl tfcvfilopinents may bo expected "sit ■ ■'any moment. The pf.mii.ion has Iwcoiim so ckiigoroiiH that a blunder on either side may act like a. spark in a powdci;. magazine, ami bring about a tljga.Btro«H # conflagration. The guu-n.stinifig incident could not possibly bo ignored: its audacity was bund 10 compel llio Government to take action, and some such announcement as that, which has been made by %n. Asqumi was only to be oxiMcted. He stales that in. view of "the grare, unprecedented outrage" _ the Government will take Appropriate steps to vindicate the law; and Cabinet is row deciding what the -"appropriate steps" arc- to be. As a beginning the constabulary has ■ received instructions to search motorcars for arms, and to arrest any occupant, who may resist. It remains to bo seea what .further steps will be taken, and whether those wW took a leading part in the gun-running will be arrested. These men evident' ly acted deliberately, and with a full knowledge that their action would probably bring matters' to a crisis; and they arc no doubt-pre-pared to take the- consequences.' It may be taken for granted that thewhole procedure has been carefully thought out, and that the Ulster leaders have already decided what course they will pursue if the Government takes legal proceedings against them. Some of the cirewmstances connected with the gnn-rutt-aing_ incident cannot be condoned o? justified by anyone who has a propel' respect for law, and'the Ulstermen probably recognise the seriousness of what has been done; but one can hardly believe- that a man ol such outstanding' ability and astuteness as Sin Edwarb Carson will make the tremendous mis toko of permitting the. men under his control to. fii'o the first shot, and thereby lay themselves open to the charge of stnrtiftg a civil war, tho end of which fto fli&n can foresee. Though tho mine- certainly seems about to explode, it is still possible thst something may be done, even at this eleventh hour, to avert the impending catastrophe. The rumour that three of the Cumgh regiments have been ordered to Ulster is now denied, though there is said to be much activity at tho Curragli Camp. It is not quite clear what was in tho mind of the Marquis of CreWE when he stated in the House of Lords that it is not the Government's intention', to move troops to Ireland—that would depend 011 circumstances. The mcto thought of sending British soldiers to make war on the Ulstermcn ! must be repugnant to all British j people, and the -glimpse- which the public was recently given of the state of feeling in the Army intensifies ] the feeling of uncertainty as to what would happen if the koops were | called upon to put down the. volunteer movement hi tho North of Ire-1 land. Lord Robe&ts has placed on: record the opinion that-such a com-i mand would shake tho Army to its.! foundations, raid it mustbo the earnest hope of every well-wisher of the United Kingdom and the Empire | that tho' order for invasion will j never be given. The persistent- re- j f nsal of the Government to submit j their Home link scheme to the judgment of the people either by means ] of a referendum or a general election ] has led on step by step to the pro- j seat desperate state of affaii's. It is j an undoubted fact that Ministers 1 have never received a definite and express mandate from tho electors ia favour of their proposals for the government of Ireland, which involve fai'-reachittg alterations in the British Constitution, and they, prefer to drift to disaster rather than give the country an opportunity of es» pressing its mind on tho momentous issues involved , .' Tho whoto kingdom is in a state of almost unexampled ferment, and the by-electioiis have shown that the Government is losing the owifidcnco of tho people: but Me. Asquint and his,-colleagues refuse to take'these facts into eonsidoratiotj. The Wczlminster Gazette I bow declares that if there is any diiaffection or disobedience in tho Army or Navy, s»ch as would cause serious embarrassment, "let the Government dissolve Parliament raid appeal to tho electors against anarchy." But surely tho propel' course is to pet rid of the provocation to anarchy and the responsibility of suppressinpr it by at once ascertaining the wiJl of tho people regarding: the present Home Kufc scheme. The Government must choose between the exclusion of Ulster until Ulster consents to coroo in, or a general election, otherwise dvil war. with all its tragic consequences, is a. probability which must be fared.