1 D1507/A/18/13 29 PAGE 1 OF 4 Drumbar,
C A V A N. 11th July, 1916. Dear Sir, Enclose I send you letter from Major Somerset
Saunderson, resolution, and authority to publish. But for Assizes coming on and my meeting here
to—morrow at 12 o'clock to pass resolution. I would have gone
over to see you at Monaghan, but time is of vital importance
and I rang up Mr Knight this morning and he advised me to send
all on to you, and to write and ask you to summon your
Delegated by wire and pass the resolution and send it direct
to Major Saunderson,
5 Wilton Place,
LONDON. S.W, The reasons for passing it are:—
(I) A large number of English Unionist Party are opposed to
the introduction of Home Rule during the war. Five Unionist
Members of the Government are also opposed to it but remain in
office because they think it very ill advised to break up the
Government during the present offensive in France. If we do
nothing Ulster stands for Home Rule now and as such will be a
grave source of weakness to our friends in England.
(2) We declare our opinion and leave it to the six Counties
to take what course they like. We commit them to nothing;
they must judge what course of action their honour demands.
We know our plain duty and act accordingly.
(3) If we do nothing it would be a policy of letting things
slide, when by acting we can influence the course of events in
the right direction, and possibly help largely to prevent the
breaking up of the Unionist Party in England. It is essential
for our own future after the War that the Unionist Party
should remain a living powerful force. The above are reasons put forward for passing resolution,
and Major Saunderson is acting under advice and it is of vital
importance that that resolution should be in his hands on
Friday 2 D1507/A/18/13 30 PAGE 2 OF 4
Friday. May I ask you to leave no stone unturned to obtain
this for him, and I would be grateful for a line or 'phone from
you to say you have done so. My number is II Cavan, but I
shall be at Court House all Thursday and Friday as Sub—Sheriff.
Yours faithfully
TRAVERS R. BLACKLEY. To Unionist Delegates of County Monaghan.
Letter by Captain Somerset Saunderson. You will remember that after the meeting of the Unionist
Council in Belfast on June 12th., we left with feelings of
dismay and a sense that we had been sold and betrayed by our
leaders in the Coalition Government which we were told had
unanimously approved of Mr Lloyd George's proposals; one of
those proposals being that a Home Rule Parliament should
forthwith be set up in Dublin. The delegates of the counties of Cavan, Donegal and
Monaghan looked on this proposal as a gross breach of the
pledge under which the men of the Ulster Division had gone to
the Front, and we would not have considered its acceptance but
that we were assured that the Government were unanimously of
the opinion that the proposals should be accepted for grave
reasons of Imperial necessity in connection with the successful
conduct of the war arising out of our relations with America. Being utterly at a loss to understand the view of our
Leaders in the Coalition, on my return to London I made
enquiries, and found to my surprise that Mr Lloyd George's
proposals had never been before the Cabinet nor had our
relations with America in this connection,and furthermore that
some members of the Government could see no reason connected
with the conduct of the War for experimenting with a Home Rule
Parliament in the present condition of Ireland and as a sequel
to a dangerous rebellion. 3 D1507/A/18/13 31 PAGE 3 OF 4 I forthwith informed Sir Edward Carson by letter, of what
I had learnt, being convinced that he would immediately
discontinue negotiations on the basis of a setting up of a
Home Rule Parliament during the War, but he was unwilling to
accept my information as accurate. I then took the earliest opportunity of seeing Sir Edward
and told him that I was assured of the truth of the inform—
ation I had received and must take complete freedom to do all
in my power to upset the proposal. That I felt in honour
bound to do so as a duty to the men serving at the Front. I may say that I hve left no stone unturned to
accomplish this object. Time was too short to ask for your
authority but I am convinced that I have acted in strict
accordance with your views and with those of Lord Farnham who
is with the Ulster Division at the Front. The Irish Unionist Alliance were kind enough to invite me
to join their Deputation in London and I gave them a complete
account of our proceedings in Belfast and they are now aware
of the reasons and pressure which made us take the course we
did. But that course has had the unfortunate result of making
it appear that the Ulster Unionists have accepted the principle
of Home Rule; and the Prime Minister himself in our interview
with them and Mr Lloyd George used that as an argument to
induce the Unionists of the S. & W. of Ireland to do the same. But what I have since learned, as above stated (and which
has been borne out by the statements of Lord Selbourne and
Lord Landsdowne in the House of Lords) proves conclusively that
the grounds on which the Ulster Unionist Council came to its
decision of June 12th., were based on misconception and that that
decision cannot stand and I am strongly of the opinion that
the Unionist Committees of the three Counties Cavan, Donegal
and Monaghan should meet at the earliest possible moment and
pass a resolution to that effect and forward it to Sir Eddward
Carson for communication to Ulster Unionist Council. For the rest of the Ulster Unionist Council naturally I
cannot 4 D1507/A/18/13 PAGE 4 OF 4 32 cannot speak, but having been associated with them for some
years until it is proved to me I will not believe that they
will allow their names to be handed down to future
generations as men who just so as to make a bargain in their
own favour were willing to throw all their pledges to the
winds and give assent to the betrayal of a sacred trust, the
duty they own to the memory of those who have died for them
and those who are still left to fight for the Empire. RESOLVED :— That we, the Delegates of the County of
to the Ulster Unionist Council, now knowing that it was upon
an entire misconception of fact that we agreed to abide by
the decision of the remaining six Counties (which authorised
Sir Edward Carson to continue negotiations with Mr Lloud
George upon a basis involving the setting up of a Home Rule
Parliament in Dublin during the War) hereby declare that our
consent is cancelled and we ask Sir Edward Carson to place
this declaration before the Ulster Unionist Council.

1916. Dear Sir, We have received and considered your letter dated
June 10th, 1916, and have to—day passed a resolution of which
we enclose a copy herewith. We have no objection to this correspondence being
given to the press. Yours faithfully,
Capt. Somerset Saunderson,
5 Wilton Place, S.W. 5 D1507/A/18/13 33 Copy Resolution
passed by Co Monaghan delegates 13th July 1916 That having ready Major Somerset Saunderson's
letter of 10th July 1916 and Mr. Blackley's letter of 11th July
we are unanimously of opinion that we see no cause to
change the decision we (along with the representatives of
Cavan and Donegal) have already arrived at and that
our confidence in Sir Edward Carson remains unabated
Signed
M.E. Knight
E. J. Richardson Major
William Black.
Thos. W. Hanna
Thompson Brown
Robert Doogan
Martin.