While the Unionist newspapers are convinced that such a preposterous measure as the Home Rule Bill can never pass, Ulster is being worked up to fever heat, and roused to prepare for resistance, if it should pass, the leader of Her Majesty's Opposition ' unhesitatingly inciting" the Orangemen to rebellion, if the Home Rule Bill ever becomes law." The Times un excellent summary of the elements of the great procession before Mr. Balfour Under the ordinary conditions of political
was held in Belfast yesterday, in the presence life, the great Jopalar demonstration which of Me. Balfour, would have been sufficient to make a: summary ending of that monument of perversity, the Home Rule Bill. It is idle for the Gladstonians to pretend that a procession of over 80,000 Ulstermen of all ranks, assembled, without distinction of creed or party, to protest against a measure which thrusts them away, tu quote one of Mr. Bright's telling phrases, from the justice and the protection of the Imperial Parliament, is something to be ignored or contenmed. The Ulstermen who during several hours yesterday marched past Mr. Balfour were not exclusively or even mainly Orangemen. There was, indeed, an important contingent, which it would be a gray for Englishmen to disparage or desp there were others wh with Orangeism a Gladstone's defection to the publi compelled the loyal to clove up their ranks, were the resolute opponents of the Orange lodges, There were the sturdy Presbyterian farmers of Scotch descent and character, who returned so many Liberal members to Parl ment at the beginning of Mr. Gladstone's career as Prime Minister; the shrewd and successful men of business who filled the Ulster Reform Club down to 1885 with zealous supporters of the Liberal party, but among whom barely a dozen Gladstonians are now to be found; the intelligent and sagacious artiscus who have made Belfast. and the surrounding district an industrial centre at_can challenge comparison for energy, terprise, and accumulated capital with community of equal numbers in the United Kin; The professional classes the Universities and colleges, friendly societies. temperance societies, workmen's guilds, and organisations connected with the great Pro-had their proper places in the Lord Mayor, the Corporation, and the ie bodies took part in a ling which was fully entitled to ik with the authoritative voice of Ulst he representatives of the nobility and gentry of the province accompanied Mr. Balfour, including the Marquis Londouderry, formerly Lord Lieutenant, whose guest thie leader of the Opposition was, the Duke of Abercorn, the Earl of Erne, and many more. The classes and the masses were cordially at one in confronting what they felt to be the common danger.
White the Daily News explains away the demonstration as follows Mr. Balfour had his great reception in Belfast. yesterday. He leaded an immense procession. He looked on at an imposing sure to have a great reception, and to look on march past. Wesail yesterday that be was at a great march past. Nobody who knows anything of Belfast could have expected an thing else, or could have believed that anything else would happen. In Belfast lies the whole strength of the Orange faction, and the whole strength of the company was naturally arrayed to welcome Mr. Balfour. But to anybody acquainted with Ireland the very names of those who accompanied Mr. Balfour to the evening meeting would be enough to show what sort of demonstration it was. Not one single name was reported in that gathering which is not associated with bitter hostility to every national sentiment in Ireland. The list of names is simply a roll of the advocates of religious and class ascendancy. The list of names is in itself the best justification of the demand for Home Rule in Ireland. The business seems in that way to have been badly managed: ie skill; it wanted delicacy crowd of Austrian noblemen might easily have been gathered in Venice, or Verona, or Milan in the old days, to testify against the popular demand for Italiaa self-government. But to whose mind outside that of the ruling class, the Austrian ruling class, would such a demonstration have carried conviction? What should we in England have said of it? We should have merely read the list of names avd put it down and want nothing more Mr. Balfour's speech, said the list of names is enough for us; we
from first to last, was in accordance with the list of his supporters' names. It was a speech in favour of religious and class ascendancy in Ulster. He demanded eagerly whether the Ulster Tories were to be put under the heel of a majority. We have no hesitation in answering that neither the Ulster Tories nor any other class of persons ought to be put under the heel of any majority. No matter how respectable the majority may be—Mr. Balfour of course insisted that the Irish majority are not respectable, but very much the reverse—we would not have any minority, however small, put under its heel. But' in what respect does. the Irish Government Bill pat any minority under the heel of any majority? Which is the clause of the Bill that sanction or suggests, or hints at, or allows of any suc! proceeding? Did not' Mr. Balfour, for his own purposes, make a mistake when he admitted the fact that the majority—the great majority in Ireland—are against him? Of course, he is too candid, too rational, and too the is not quite up w part be has to play. If he n who could boldly say that nid Home Rulers were in a small majority what a tumult of cheers he would have received from his Ulster Orangemen How high feeling rans in the House, and how the time of the House is wasted in trivialities is shown by the Duily The paper had called Mer Mr. Russell complained of it in the House aya breach of privilege, and the Surgeantat-arms wrote A warning to the editor of the paper; and only the week before Mr, Russell himself said: "If Mr. Gladstone were likely to be defeated he would only have to appeal for a vote of confidence, and his eighty Irish mercenaries would come to his support," Fortunately, Mr. Gladstone smoothed Mr, Russell down and, as the Echo says After all, the journalist who stigmatised Russell as *u tireless mercenary of jis" has really done that gentleman a Jallery man has been said' a hundred times What was said in print by the
over in the House and out of it, and by peo-hugh they had no ground for the fidently believed the report. Once for all, Mr, Russell has now given the stutewent a full and fiat denial, which his political foes cannot but accept. It would have been no disgrace Mr, Russell if he received nioney for his services, but his denial is 40 swooping that no man can discover any loophole for evasion, Reverting to Belfast, it may not be out of place to give a couple of extracts feom Irish papers, showing the two sides of the controversy. The Belfust Northern Whig says 'The Nationalists, with their characteristic indifference, to facts, which has taken hold of Mr. Gladstone himself, delight in asserting that the Unionist meetings' in the Ulster counties have been and are being organised by the landlords, Some very indignant con-traditions to such assertions have appeared in our columns from the organisers of those meetings themselves, It cannot justly be denied that the most decided opposition to the Home Rule Bill is felt by all the Protestant population of Ulster and by a very considerable portion of the more respectable Catholics, of all who indeed, as we have so often said, have anything to lose. Take Belfast itself, and what do we now ste? This large town is certainly not under landlord influences, 'The notion is preposterous. But it is in Belfast that the opposition to Home, Rolo is, perhaps more strongly felt than in any other part of Ireland.' "Now, whatever this town may or may not be, it is thoroughly democratic. The artisans are u very independent body of men. Nothing could induce them to wake a great display in favour of the Union unless they had deep convictions on this great question.
While the Freeman's Journal declares:
Mr. Chamberlain in the old days denounced the "so-called loyalists of Ulster" as the declared they defied and broke the law while scaly persons dangerous to the peace." He professing to respect it, ani that their loyalty was disloyalty thinly disguised. He accused them of being "stimulated to a condition of unreasoning ferocity" even by the mild eloquence of Sir Stafford Northcote. It can searcely be doubted that the harangues of Mr. Balfour will have a similar stimulating effect. There will be no rebellion in Ulster, but very possibly there may be some riots, There will be no lining of ditches, but there may be, as there was before, looting
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.