A reminder that it could be unhelpful and counterproductive for outsiders to tell unionists in Northern Ireland how to vote in tomorrow's referendum has come from the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Dr Samuel Hutchinson.
Addressing the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh yesterday, he described tomorrow as "a momentous date in Irish history". Dr Hutchinson explained that the Presbyterian Church was not telling its members how to vote. That was a matter of political judgement and must be the privilege and responsibility of each individual.
"Ulster Presbyterians don't like being told how to vote by anybody in church or state," he said.
Outlining the detailed response to the Belfast Agreement issued by his church last month, Dr Hutchinson said: "There are Christian individuals and groups who have adopted a clear Yes or No stance, but the churches generally, and the Presbyterian Church in particular, have stopped short of doing that. We do not argue, as some are trying to do, that it is sinful to vote one way or the other."
Highlighting "a few salient points" in the Belfast agreement, he noted that it left the constitutional future of Northern Ireland in the hands of the people of Northern Ireland.
"Everybody gets something but nobody gets everything," he said.
But there were problems. There was the accelerated release of convicted paramilitary prisoners, treated as heroes in their communities "to the further grief of victims and their families and to the consternation of many responsible people".
Paramilitary organisations owed it to the rest of the community to be "serious and quick" about decommissioning the "vast arsenals" of terrorist weapons. "Despite ceasefires, there is still an underlying current of terrorist activity, including vicious punishment attacks," said Dr Hutchinson. "There have been at least 150 casualties as a result of paramilitary activity during the last year."