sary steps to give practical effect to
their views outside the ranks of their immediate associates and
followers. Had the industrial section made its voice heard in the
councils of the Irish Unionist party, the Government which that party
supports might have had less advice and assistance in the maintenance of
law and order, but it would have had invaluable aid in its constructive
policy. For the lack of the wise guidance which our captains of industry
should have provided, Irish Unionism has, by too close adherence to the
traditions of the landlord section, been the creed of a social caste
rather than a policy in Ireland. The result has been injurious alike for
the landlords, the leaders of industry, and the people. The policy of
the Unionist party in Ireland has been to uphold the Union by force
rather than by a reconciliation of the people to it. It has held aloof
from the masses, who, bereft of the guidance of their natural leaders,
have clung the more closely to the chiefs of the Nationalist party; and
these in their turn have not, as I shall show presently, risen to their
responsibility, but have retarded rather than advanced the march of
democracy in Ireland. If there is to be any future for Unionism in
Ireland, there must be a combination of the best thought of the country
aristocracy and that of the captains of industry. Then, and not till
then, shall we Unionists as a party exercise a healthful and stimulating
influence on the thought and action of the people.

I cannot, therefore, escape from the conclusion that whilst the Irish
section of the party to which I belong is, in my opinion, right on the
main political question, its influence is now for the most part
negative. Hence I direct attention mainly to the Home Rule party, as the
more forceful element in Irish political life; and if it receives the
more criticism it is because it is more closely in touch with the
people, and because any reform in its principles or methods would more
generally and more rapidly prove beneficial to the country than would
any change in Unionist policy.

In examining the policy of the Nationalist party my chief concern will
be to arrive at a correct estimate of the effect which is produced upon
the thought and action of the Irish people by the methods employed for
the attainment of Home Rule. I propose to show that these methods have
been in the past, and must, so long as they are employed, continue to be
injurious to the poli