A letter is from journalist and unionist Robert John Lynn (1873-1945) to Sir John Maxwell (1859-1929). Lynn writes to Maxwell about a rumour that the arms of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), established to defend Ulster from the imposition of Home Rule, would be seized. In April 1914 the UVF had landed about twenty-five thousand rifles and between three and five million rounds of ammunition at Larne and Lynn argues that to seize these arms would be 'frought with grave danger to the public peace'. He notes that unionists had behaved 'splendidly' during the period of the Rising and as the 'flower' of the UVF had signed up to fight in World War I any seizure of arms would be 'looked upon as an act of treachery'. In July 1916 the 36th Ulster Division, made up of UVF recruits, suffered massive casualties and gained a reputation for bravery during the opening days of the Battle of the Somme.A staunch unionist and later MP for Belfast West and Antrim North, Lynn served as editor and assistant editor of the 'Northern Whig' newspaper. Sir John Henry Grenfell Maxwell was appointed commander in chief of the British forces in Ireland after the outbreak of the Easter Rising. Before 1916, Maxwell briefly held command of British troops in Egypt, where he successfully organised defences against a Turkish attack in February 1915 and presided over the huge expansion of his command as Egypt became a major British imperial military base. In March 1916, having been superseded as general officer commanding in Egypt, he was recalled home when the Easter Rising broke out.