“Mr. Knight raised the question of land purchase.  I agree with every word he said, but what is the difficulty?  The difficulty is in providing the additional money needed at a low rate of interest.  As part of a settlement I feel quite sure we could obtain the completion of land purchase on satisfactory terms.  Indeed, I have the highest authority for the statement that this question would be regarded as an essential portion of a settlement, and that a most generous arrangement would be made.  But if there is no settlement, do you imagine the Treasury will do anything to help us?  No.  I fear the British Government will be more occupied in endeavouring to deal with the state of open anarchy in Ireland than in making great financial concessions on land purchase.  Mr. Knight, if he wants purchase completed, had better help us to an agreement.

“The third group of objections mentioned by the Archbishop of Dublin deals with Security for Minorities.

“On this, it is impossible for the Convention to break down, because we are all in favour of the object in view.  It is a mere question of the best machinery to carry out our unanimous desire and intention.

“Ulster may clearly claim a representation out of proportion to her numbers, not only, I admit, in the Senate, but in the lower chamber.  Safeguards of the most stringent character would be accepted, at any rate by me, in the machinery of the Constitution to prevent the possibility of Ulster’s interest, Ulster’s prosperity and Ulster’s sentiments being injured or over-ridden.

“For Southern Unionists, the case is unanswerable.  They must get proper representation in both Houses.

“Some suggestions have been made:  proportional representation; Mr. Murphy’s proposal of a special representation for property; special representation for creeds, and finally a nominated element in the House of Commons.  I have an open mind on them all.  It may be none of these will be found wholly satisfactory.  But where there is a will there is a way.  We are all agreed it must be done, and therefore it can and will be done.

“In none of these objections, and they are the chief ones that have emerged on Imperial security, fiscal security, and security of minorities, is there in my mind any difficulty in coming to an agreement, if we are really animated by the desire every speaker has professed to answer the appeal of the Empire in this hour of her dire extremity by removing one of her greatest weaknesses and dangers.

“We were told by Lord Midleton to play for safety.  What is safety for us?  What is safety for the Empire?  I strongly say the only safety is a settlement of this question.

“What will be the certain effect of a breakdown?  No one could fail to have been impressed by the serious and solemn note upon which the Archbishop of Dublin concluded his speech.  He reminded you this was not a question of Ulster and the rest of Ireland, not of Catholic and Protestant, or Unionist and Nationalist:  it was a question of the necessity for all men of good will, all men of responsibility, all men who know that the foundation of freedom is the maintenance of order, to join hands to protect their common country from anarchy and chaos.