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Private 9th June, 1916. My dear Carson, The contents of this day's Nationalists papers look
as if we might have a repudiation of Redmond's provisional consent
to the six Counties plan before Monday, which would save us from
a considerable difficulty. If this does not occur it will be obviously right
tactics for us to authorise you to enter upon negotiations on
the six counties basis. I hope, however, that you will arrange to have a
resolution proposed which will make it clear that we only do this
under great stress on account of the war, & that we are not
bound by what we do on Monday under any other circumstance that
may arise. The resolution should contain some plausible excuse
(1) for breaking or stretching the terms of the Covenant (2)
(which I think quite as important) for giving even a n co i mplied assent
to the setting up of Home Rule for any part of Ireland at present,
involving as it does most serious danger to the Realm and with which
even implicit consent appears to me to amount to an act of treason
which requires a very valid excuse. I feel that it is as big
a breach of my oath of allegiance as the abtaining abandoning of the three
counties is of the covenant! I attended the Unionists Alliance meeting yesterday
Some of them had been seeing Lloyd George and had received certain
offers from him, after considering which they passed the 2 resolution in to-day's papers. I got them to tone one part of
it which I think thought very unwise down a little, but did not try to
prevent them issuing it. Not knowing, however what sort of
resolution I might find myself obliged to vote for on Monday
I left the room before the resolution was put and they have consider-
ately omitted my name from the list of those present. Yours very truly, Hugh Montgomery. Monday's resolution shd also contain a strong instruction
to you to get the best safequards you can for unionists
outside the 6 counties — not to ginger you up -
but to show Southern Unionists that we are not
forgetting them.