(_In answer to the above._)
SIR,--Dr. Hornblower is at his old games. His plan for settling the
Irish question is no plan at all, as I have frequently shown.
Whenever it has been submitted to the fire of criticism it has been
found that it will not wash. It is quite useless to try to mix oil
and vinegar in a jug that will not hold water.
I do not wish to be misunderstood. I am a convinced supporter of a
Federal Solution and have for many years endeavoured to remove the
public apathy which I have found to exist in regard to this
profoundly interesting question. My suggestion is that, in order to
sift the matter thoroughly and, if possible, to strike out a new
path, we should put our existing constitution into the melting pot
and thus clear away the weeds which threaten to choke its fair
growth. Let Parliament be a movable institution, sitting for one
week in Australia, for one week in Canada, for one week in Ireland,
and so on. In the course of a year it will have sat in all the
component parts of the Empire, which will then, indeed, be an
Empire on which the sun never sets, and in which Parliament always
sits. It need not, of course, be the same Parliament in every case,
but can be varied, to suit local customs and prejudices. As a
symbol of unity His Majesty the King might be conveyed by a special
service of air-ships from one country to another, so that he might
always open every Parliament in person. England, Scotland, Ireland
and Wales would thus take their proper places in the Empire by the
side of Barbados, Canada and British Guiana, and there would be no
jealousy because all would be treated equally. Only in this way can
civil war be avoided and Ulster be satisfied.
Yours, etc.,
BENJAMIN WOOLLET,
Chairman of the Amalgamated League
for the Federation of the Empire.