have to give in to the Government. He
did not like doing it. On the other hand he did not like to take the
responsibility of urging the people of Belfast to commit a breach of
the peace. Lives, he said, would certainly be lost if we attempted to
hold our meeting in the face of the force of armed men which the
Government had collected in our streets. He would feel himself guilty
of something little short of murder if he did not advise the
acceptance of the compromise offered by Clithering. It was, after all,
a fair, more than a fair compromise. Nothing would be lost by
postponing the meeting for a week.

It was rather a feeble speech. Nobody offered any interruption, but
nobody expressed any approval of what he said. When he sat down
Babberly rose at once.

Now Babberly is no fool. He knows that florid orations are out of
place at committee meetings. He did not treat us to any oratory. He
gave us tersely and forcibly several excellent reasons for postponing
our demonstration.

"The Government," he said, "is weakening. Its offer of a compromise
shows that it is beginning at last to feel the full force of the
Ulster objection to Home Rule."

Here McNeice interrupted him.

"If that's so," he said, "we must make our objection more unmistakably
obvious than before."

"Quite so," said Babberly; "but how? Is it--"

"By fighting them," said McNeice.

"If by fighting them," said Babberly, "you mean asking the unarmed
citizens of Belfast to stand up against rifles--"

"Unarmed?" The word came from Conroy in his corner. Every one was
startled. We had not expected Conroy to take any part in the
discussion.

"Undrilled, undisciplined," said Babberly. "What can be the result of
such a conflict as you suggest? Our people, the men who have trusted
us, will be mowed down. We shall place ourselves hopelessly in the
wrong. We shall alienate the sympathies of our friends in England."

A large crowd had gathered in the street outside the windows of the
room in which we were sitting. I suppose that the men found waiting a
tiresome business. By way of passing the time they began to sing "O
God, our help in ages past."

"It is of the utmost importance to us," said Babberly, "to retain the
sympathies of the English constituencies. Any illegal violence on our
part--"

"You should have thought of that before you told the English people
that we meant to fight," said McNeice.

"If you follow my advice to-day," said Babberly, "the