[When Mr. Lloyd George referred to Ireland, Alfred Byrne, Nationalist
member from Dublin, shouted: "We won't have conscription in Ireland!" An
uproar followed. The Premier said the report of the Irish Convention was
adopted by a majority only, and therefore the Government would take the
responsibility for such proposals for self-government as were just and
could be carried out without violent controversy. It would be some weeks
before enrollment in Ireland began, the Premier continued. One
Nationalist cried out: "It will never begin." Michael Flavin,
Nationalist member from Kerry, said: "You come across and try to take
us." Another Nationalist exclaimed: "It is a declaration of war against
Ireland."]
When the Premier was referring to Ireland, John Dillon, the successor of
the late John Redmond as leader of the Irish Nationalists in Parliament,
said: "If Irish liberty were at stake I would not hesitate to support
that policy. I never challenged the justice of war. I don't challenge it
now."