sufficed, to strengthen a conviction which was already so deeply
rooted as to be beyond the reach of hostile argument. What is now
required to be done may be stated in a nutshell. Let the Government
withdraw the present Home Rule Bill. They will thus dispose at once
of the opposition of Mr. BONAR LAW, Sir EDWARD CARSON, Mr. J. L.
GARVIN and Mr. WILLIAM O'BRIEN, and will provide themselves with a
clean slate, which will be a peg on which any subsequent plan may
be hung. Then let them bring in a Bill (or four or more Bills, if
deemed necessary) for conferring autonomous governments on all the
counties of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, every county to
have the option of excluding itself for a period of not less than
fifty or more than a hundred years by a majority of two-thirds of
its electorate, women to count as two on a division. At the same
time let the House of Lords be so reconstituted as to become in
truth an Imperial Legislature, subject, however, to the veto of a
new and impartial body to be composed of Field-Marshals,
Archbishops, Judges and retired Lieutenant-Governors. Our Oversea
Dominions could come into this scheme at any moment, if so desired.
To this plan I can see no objections whatever except, perhaps, that
its execution will take time and will stand in the way of other
legislation--but anything that is worth doing takes time, and, for
my own part, I want no other legislation.

Yours, etc.,

JAMES B. HORNBLOWER,
Organising Secretary,
Society of Federationists.

II.

(_In answer to the above._)

SIR,--Dr. Hornblower is at his old games. His plan for settling the
Irish question is no plan at all, as I have frequently shown.
Whenever it has been submitted to the fire of criticism it has been
found that it will not wash. It is quite useless to try to mix oil
and vinegar in a jug that will not hold water.

I do not wish to be misunderstood. I am a convinced supporter of a
Federal Solution and have for many years endeavoured to remove the
public apathy which I have found to exist in regard to this
profoundly interesting question. My suggestion is that, in orde