hat all such sectarian organizations should be disbanded in so far as
their objects are political, and remain solely as friendly societies. It
is useless assuring a minority already suspicious, of the tolerance it
may expect from the majority, if the party machine of the majority is
sectarian and semi-secret, if no one of the religion of the minority can
join it. I believe in spite of the recent growth of sectarian societies
that it has affected but little the general tolerant spirit in Ireland,
and where the evils have appeared they have speedily resulted in the
break up of the organization in the locality. Irishmen individually as
a rule are much nobler in spirit than the political organizations they
belong to.

11. It is necessary to speak with the utmost frankness and not to slur
over any real difficulty in the way of a settlement. Irish parties must
rise above themselves if they are to bring about an Irish unity. They
appear on the surface irreconcilable, but that, in my opinion, is
because the spokesmen of parties are under the illusion that they should
never indicate in public that they might possibly abate one jot of the
claims of their party. A crowd or organization is often more extreme
than its individual members. I have spoken to Unionists and Sinn Feiners
and find them as reasonable in private as they are unreasonable in
public. I am convinced that an immense relief would be felt by all
Irishmen if a real settlement of the Irish question could be arrived at,
a compromise which would reconcile them to living under one government,
and would at the same time enable us to live at peace with our
neighbors. The suggestions which follow were the result of discussions
between a group of Unionists, Nationalists and Sinn Feiners, and as they
found it possible to agree upon a compromise it is hoped that the policy
which harmonized their diversities may help to bring about a similar
result in Ireland.

12. I may now turn to consider the Anglo-Irish problem and to make
specific suggestions for its solution and the character of the
government to be established in Ireland. The factors are triple.
There is first the desire many centuries old of Irish nationalists for
self-government and the political unity of the people: secondly, there
is the problem of the Unionists who require that the self-governing
Ireland they enter shall be friendly to the imperial connection, and
that their religious and economic interests shall b