Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 17 June 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 17 June 1916

1 TEL. 1808 VICTORIA June 17. 16. 5, WILTON PLACE,
S.W. My dear Carson, Thanks for your letter. The whole
situation is very distressing, with the
one bright side that you can discontinue
the negotiations & refuse to have
a Home Rule parliament put into
operation during the war, & it cannot
be done as we have the support
of the Unionist members of the
Coalition. The knowledge that this
nightmare is past will have a
great effect in France among
our men at the front. There is one thing I very earnestly 2 implore you to do & that is
to fix up a meeting with Walter.
He will be in London on Monday. I humbly suggest that, in the
interests of Ulster & the loyalists all over
Ireland when the war comes to a end,
it is of the first importance to clear
up the mis-understandings which have
arisen, before the question is raised in
the H. of C. I have been deeply into the matter
since I saw you last & am convinced
that if there has been any betrayal or
trickery it has not been on the part
of the Unionist members of the govt
or at any rate of the majority of them.

Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson (1868-1927) to Edward Carson (1854-1935). Carson was a prominent Unionist Politician. Originally a practicing solicitor from Dublin, Carson's opposition to the proposed third Home Rule bill made him the figure head of Unionism throughout the island. He was the centerpiece of the speaking tour that culminated in Ulster Day (28 September 1912), when just under half a million signed Ulster's solemn league and covenant pledging to use ‘all means which may be found necessary to defeat the present conspiracy to set up a home rule parliament in Dublin’. Carson inaugurated the Larne gunrunning in 1914 which armed the UVF, many of whom Carson would encourage to join the British Army throughout the First World War. Saunderson was the first born son of Edward James Saunderson, leader of the Irish Unionist Party for much of its existence.

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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__4327.html)