We had a rational and basically well considered thread running here most of the way, but it seems to have degraded a bit in its later stages with Bev's emotive post and then with Dave's diatribes. But even with that, I believe that the thread, though it quickly crept beyond the original question, has a productive and worthwhile endeavor. I would even call it the best that I've been privileged to engage in.

It might be worth reflecting on the make-up of the present NI statelet at the time of its excission from what became the republic. It consists of only six of the nine counties in the traditional province of Ulster. Of those six, only two (Down and Antrim) had majority protestant populations. The majorities in those two were sufficient to outweigh the catholic and republican majorities in the other four ultimately included, but not the other seven of the traditional province. I don't recall there having been a vote by the people of the six, the nine, the 26, the 32, or any other subset of counties in advance of the decision to partition the island by the "Welsh Wizard", but if there were, could we fairly place credence in it in the face of such gerrymandering?. There was, however, a bitter civil war caused by the arbitrary partition. Yes, I fully recognize that gerrymandering voting districts is a wide-spread practice and probably occurs wherever voting occurs, but it always taints the result of any vote taken.

My humble suggestion is this thread now be allowed to find its place in Mudcat history before it degrades further.