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Show ; LIGHTING THE FUSE. ' i ' While sonic of the leading Unionists j ' in the house of lords have made the concession of supporting the govern- ! ment home rule amendment and thus ! ! - accepting a compromise rather than i promote civil war; the Nationalists and j the l'lstcritcs continue to arm and : drill. Daily the danger of conflict is i becoming more deadly. Both sides have lighted fuses and arc quietly assuming assum-ing that they can prevent, an explosion j until such time as they desire it to take place. ! I'p to date the government has con- ' din ted itself with rare discretion in j placing the onus of any outbreak upon I the covenanters of fitter. It adopted ! the home rule bill without taking any i ' aggressive steps to suppress rebellion in ! f Jstcr. This compelled the L'lstcritcs ; to decide between instant warfare and i a policy of watchful waiting. The gov j eminent then offered an amendment as j '; . a compromise and proceeded to pass it I through the bouse of commons and seud it to the lords. Tt is unsatisfactory .- . to the L'lfiterites and they have no i , thought of discontinuing their oppo- i , sition, but they are placed in a most i !; difficult position. They do not know i 1 when to use armed resistance. If they I choose the inopportune moment or the : ' wrong method they are apt to place i: themselves in an untenable position ' I j which will alienate their friends in , y , .Engl? ud. nmn a mnn g them are urg- . 1 ;, , iug immediate action. The commercial interests in Belfast, on the other hand, arc using their influence to postpone a radical step until a home rule parliament has been established in Dublin. The leaders of the Ulster Unionists have been hoping that the Nationalists would precipitate the conflict and thus relieve the covenanters of blame for what would follow. Sir Edward Carson is preaching delay, probably with the idea that by a little more patience the Unionists will be able to pose as supporters sup-porters of the English government as against rebellious Nationalists. The arming of the Nationalists in the very heart of Unionism is ominous. Almost side by side both factions are drilling and the military spirit should soon be glowing at white heat. This is ono situation that the government is afraid to deal with. Interference probably would start the war with a rush. Therefore, There-fore, the government confines its action to the legislative programme and permits per-mits the fartionists in Ireland to drill and arm and cry defiance. The Unionists of Ulster have been fertile, in threats. At every new move on the part of the government Sir Edward Ed-ward Carson and his aides have takeu some steps to indicate the willingness and preparedness of the Ulster volunteers volun-teers for war. Now they have issued orders permitting their men to wear uniforms aud carry rifles in the streets of Belfast. Their purpose is cither to intimidate the government or to precipitate pre-cipitate bloodshed. As a consequence of this wanton action it is likely that civil war will break out while the leaders lead-ers on both sides in parliament are making sincere aud patriotic efforts to preserve peace and arrive at a satisfactory satis-factory compromise. |