Letter from Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery to Maurice Headlam, 19 June 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery to Maurice Headlam, 19 June 1916

1 Copy 19th June, 1916. My dear Headlam, There is a good demand for houses in Fivemiletown,
but I do not think George Armstrong could find a good
tenant for the present police barracks who would pay him
more than £31 a year. It is not a favourite part of the
town. On the face of it the present Government Policy about
this country seems absolute lunacy; but statements were
made in private to the Ulster Unionist Council which per-
suaded us that it was expedient to accept Lloyd George's
proposals under protest. I do not like what we did a
bit, but is still seems to me the only thing we could do
under the very exdraodinary circumstances. Bonar Law,
Walter Long, etc. seem to be 'Asquixiated.' Carson seems to
have kept his head better than any other of our leaders,
so all we can do is to take his advice and hope for the best. I am going to Dublin to-day for a couple of nights,
and may perhaps see you. Yours very truly ,

This letter was written by Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery (1844-1924) to civil servant and Treasury Remembrancer Maurice Headlam (1873-1956). Montgomery was a lawyer and politician. Originally a Liberal and a strong supporter of Gladstone, Montgomery was also a firm Unionist, but by 1916 he believed that Ulster Unionists had no choice but to accept Lloyd George's proposal for a six-county Northern Ireland. In this letter Montgomery discuss present government policy in relation to Ireland. He believes it is lunacy but that statements made in private to the Ulster Unionist Council persuaded him that it was expedient to accept Lloyd George's proposals under protest. Montgomery also endorses Carson as leader seeing as he has managed to avoid "Asquixiation", a term derived from the 'Morning Post' to describe the influence of the Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith (1852-1928).

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How to cite

Letters 1916, published by the Austrian Centre for Digital Humanities, Vienna, 2026 (https://letters1916static.github.io/letters1916-static/item__2251.html)