LONDONDERRY CITY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 10683, 1 February 1913, Page 6

LONDONDERRY CITY.

: The capture of Londonderry City by ■fclie Nationalist candidate, Mr Hogg, 'announced in to-day's cablegrams, is an event of far more than ordinary importance, since it marks the conversion of Ulster's parliamentary representation from an anti-Home Rule majority of one to a Nationalist majority of one. Conservative orators have dwelt so much, on /Ulster's implacable hatred of the idea of a separate Parliament that <nany of those who have not taken tho trouble to investigate the matter for themselves 'were led to believe that the northern county of Ireland is unanimously against the idea of re-establish-ing a Parliament on College Green, but it requires only an analysis of tho figures to convince even the most sceptical that euch is not the case. Indeed, the figures prove very conclusively that pinco the inception of the Home Rub .'Movement forty odd years ago, the socalled Protestant, province has sent to Westminster nearly one-half of its representatives pledged to give the country a lull measure of Home Rule, in feet, to concede all the demands of the Rationalist Party. At tho last general ©lection Ulster, which returns thirty.three members, sent to tho House of Commons seventeen Conservatives and sixteen Home Rulers. This docs not indicate any great preponderance of public opinion in either direction, and an analysis of the figures cast shows that the representation ivn? in almost exact proportion to the votes; in other words, under a system of proportional representation the members would have bean in almost the same numbers. Tho death of the Duke of Abercorn, awl the succession to the House of Lords of his

Unionist member for Londonderry, gave an admirable opportunity to test public fooling in the north of Ireland, and the election which was hold yesterday, and which was fought very strenuously, provides the answer. It was only yesterday that the third Homo 15 ;ilr> Bill was rejected by the hereditary Chamber, a Chnmbcr not elected by the people, but where the people were afforded an opportunity to speak, us they were in Londonderry, they gavo their .voice in the opposite direction, showing plainly that the Peers do not reflect the opinion even of Ulster, The rejection of the Koine Rule .Bill by the Lords, however, does not in any sense mark a reverse, rather can it be taken nw a step nearer the goal of Irish ambition, for the time is not far distant when the liill will reach the Statute Bool: without the assistance of the Peers, since the Parliament Act effectually deprived the House of Lords of the power of perpetually standing in the way of reform.