1 IRISH LAND COMMISSION
DUBLIN 15 June 1916. My dear Carson, I congratulate you
on the result of the Ulster
Convention - it was
admirably managed from
Start to finish. puts
the Ulstermen in an
excellent position before
the Empire, & puts
the Nationalists in
a hole. Asquith as
usual is confusing the 2 issue, as when I saw
him the word "provisional"
was not in Lloyd George's
mind, & he said more
than once that there
was to be no time limit
whatever to the exclusion
of the Ulster Counties. No one can say now
what will happen, but
in case it is found impossible
to bring off a permanent
Settlement, I enclose
a copy of a short memo:
that I wrote before it was
announced that Lloyd George
(in whom I have great
faith) was to be the
mediator. To say that the machinery
of Govt in Ireland has
broken down is nonsense,
it was the absolute incapacity
of the individuals who
filled the Govt posts that
caused all the trouble,
& I am still of 3
opinion that there wd
be no more than the ordinary
difficulty of governing the
Country, if a good Chief
Sectyor Secretary of State
was appointed, with a Council
of sensible men to advise
him. However there is
nothing to be done now
until the Nationalists
reveal their intention. Very sincerely Fredk Wrench.