Ulster Day was celebrated in Belfast on Monday with a great meeting at which Sir Edward Carson and the Unionist leader in the House of Commons were the principal speakers; and Mr. Bonar Law made a pronouncement which in other times would have rung through the country. To-day, however, it has passed almost unnoticed. It had been discounted, it is true, by a similar announcement which Mr. Bonar Law made in the House of Commons on the eve of the prorogation of Parliament; but it created little if any more attention then. In effect it pledges the Unionist Party to support Ulster in rebellion if Home Rule is forosd upon it. He said:
"You remember that at Blenheim I undertaking that we would help you in your just cause. yo that undertaking on no authority except the anthony derived from the belief that T spoke what our, party thought, had the knowledge that if I were which I bring you tonight comes not from any party leader—it comes from every member of the Unionist Party in the House of Commons (cheers), they mean it. If the occasion arises we all support to the last any steps which Edward Carson and your leaders think it necessary for you to take to defend your rights. The pledge, which tly oF wrongly—T think till rightly—we at Blenheim had & con
that as the leader whatever your duty mi and T never: judged so fo that ili would
against But now, thas not have been right for me to the people of thie country be Meclared Mppened after the avia which elvantage has been taken of your patriotism. Tsay to you, and I say it with the fall Authority of our party, we give the pledge without any condition:
Of course the pledge was received by the Ulster Unioniste with a storm of enthusiasm. It was, however, a pretty safe pledge to give, since Mz. Bonar Law himself expressed not merely the hope but the belief that he would never be called upon to redeem it. Indeed Mr. Asquith had declared once more at the great recruiting meeting in Dublin a few days before, that the idea of putting Ulster under Home Rule by force of arms was "unthinkable."
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.