out of proportion to her
numbers, not only, I admit, in the Senate, but in the lower chamber.
Safeguards of the most stringent character would be accepted, at any
rate by me, in the machinery of the Constitution to prevent the
possibility of Ulster's interest, Ulster's prosperity and Ulster's
sentiments being injured or over-ridden.

"For Southern Unionists, the case is unanswerable. They _must_ get
proper representation in both Houses.

"Some suggestions have been made: proportional representation; Mr.
Murphy's proposal of a special representation for property; special
representation for creeds, and finally a nominated element in the House
of Commons. I have an open mind on them all. It may be none of these
will be found wholly satisfactory. But where there is a will there is a
way. We are all agreed it must be done, and therefore it can and will be
done.

"In none of these objections, and they are the chief ones that have
emerged on Imperial security, fiscal security, and security of
minorities, is there in my mind any difficulty in coming to an
agreement, if we are really animated by the desire every speaker has
professed to answer the appeal of the Empire in this hour of her dire
extremity by removing one of her greatest weaknesses and dangers.

"We were told by Lord Midleton to play for safety. What is safety for
us? What is safety for the Empire? I strongly say the only safety is a
settlement of this question.

"What will be the certain effect of a breakdown? No one could fail to
have been impressed by the serious and solemn note upon which the
Archbishop of Dublin concluded his speech. He reminded you this was not
a question of Ulster and the rest of Ireland, not of Catholic and
Protestant, or Unionist and Nationalist: it was a question of the
necessity for all men of good will, all men of responsibility, all men
who know that the foundation of freedom is the maintenance of order, to
join hands to protect their common country from anarchy and chaos.

"The Archbishop spoke of Mr. Lysaght's speech as a threat. No one here
will be moved by threats, but let us not be mad enough to shut our eyes
to the facts. Is there a man in this room who can contemplate without
horror the immediate future of Ireland if this Convention fails? For my
part, I see clearly a future following on our failure in which on one
side there will be an angered, if you like, a maddened people, with no
responsible control, and on the other