human
I never saw so much church-going anywhere, he said.
gpt
It's most remarkable. I don't think the Government quite appreciates--
human
Parade Service
gpt
Rack-renting landlords, I said.
human
Sweating capitalists, and clergymen whose churches are empty because their congregations are tired of hearing them curse the Pope!
gpt
Eh? said Clithering,
human
Only a quotation, I said.
gpt
I forget if it was a Cabinet Minister--
human
Not at all, said Clithering.
gpt
I recollect the words now. It was one of the Irish Members. No Cabinet Minister would dream of saying such things. We have a high sense of the importance of the Ulster problem. Nothing, I assure you, is further from our minds than the desire to minimize or treat with undue flippancy the conscientious objections, even the somewhat unreasonable fears of men whom we recognize as--
human
I understand, he said,
gpt
Yes, I said.
human
I'm going to it. I'm not really a member of the committee, at least I wasn't until yesterday; but--
gpt
I quite understand, quite understand. In fact--speaking now in the strictest confidence--I may say that the suggestion to add your name to the committee was made--well it was made to Lady Moyne by a very important person. It was generally recognized that a man of your well-known moderation--
human
What do you want me to do?
gpt
The situation--the very difficult and distressing situation is this, said Clithering,
human
That, I said,
gpt
And the town is full of troops and police. Any attempt to hold the meeting can only result in bloodshed, deplorable bloodshed, the lives of men and women, innocent women sacrificed.
human
The strength of Babberly's position, I said,
gpt
But he does. He told me so in London. He repeated the same thing this morning.
human
I don't mean Babberly personally, I said,
gpt
I mean his party; Malcolmson, you know, and our Dean. If you'd only gone to hear the Dean preach this morning you'd know what he thinks about blood. I've often heard him say that the last drop of it--mind that now, Sir Samuel--the last drop ought to be shed. That's going as far as any one very well could, isn't it?
human
But he must, said Clithering,
gpt
No, he doesn't, I said.
human
You mustn't think everybody is like your Government. It's humanitarian. We're not. We're business men.
gpt
That's just it, he said.
human
We want to appeal to you as business men. We want to suggest a reasonable compromise.
gpt
I'm afraid, I said,
human
No. What hymn? But leaving the question of hymns aside for the moment--
gpt
You can't do that, I said,
human
What I am empowered to suggest, he said,
gpt
If, I said,
human
But we can't, said Clithering.
gpt
We can't do that. We'll insert any reasonable safeguards. We'll concede anything that Ulster likes to ask, but we're pledged, absolutely pledged, to the Bill.
human
Well, I said,
gpt
What we deprecate, said Sir Samuel,