ning Street
breakfast-table, where Ireland's fate was sealed, and which they
joyously supported in the House of Commons against such opposition as
the All-for-Ireland minority was allowed to give it by the ruthless
application of the guillotine.

The Independent Nationalist members were willing to make the best of a
very "bad bargain," if only they could succeed in getting adopted
three amendments which they regarded as vital to the success of the
measure: (1) A new financial plan; (2) the completion of land
purchase, and (3) such concessions as would win the consent of Ulster.
But our reward for thus endeavouring to make the Bill adaptable to
Irish requirements and acceptable to the whole of Ireland was to be
dubbed "factionists" and "traitors" by the official Irish Party, who
never once during three years' debates in Parliament made the
slightest attempt to amend or improve the Bill, but who remained
silent and impotent as graven images on the Irish benches whilst the
way was being paved for all the ruin and desolation and accumulated
horrors that have since come to Ireland through their compliant and
criminal imbecility.

They had a perfect Parliamentary unity; they certainly seemed to have
the most perfect understanding with their Liberal friends, but they
had no more claim to represent an independent, vigilant,
self-respecting nation than they had to represent, say, "Morocco"!

CHAPTER XX

THE RISE OF SIR EDWARD CARSON

"The question I put to myself is this: In the years of failure, where
have we gone wrong? What are the mistakes we have made? What has been
the root cause of our failure? The Lord Chancellor was perfectly frank
so far as the Unionists were concerned. He said, indeed, that he was
still a Unionist, but he had come to the conclusion that the
maintenance of the Union was impossible. What lesson have we who have
been Home Rulers to draw from the past? I think the mistake we made in
the beginning was that we did not sufficiently realise the absolute
necessity of taking into consideration the feeling of Ulster."

These notable words were spoken by Viscount Grey of Falloden in the
debate in the House of Lords on the Partition Bill on 24th November
1920. A more remarkable vindication of All-for-Ireland principles and
a more utter condemnation of the egregious folly of our opponents it
is not possible to imagine, coming especially from so clea