Letter from Travers R. Blackley to Edward Carson, 11 July 1916 Letters 1916-1923 Travers R. Blackley

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Letter from Travers R. Buckley 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.

 Public Record Office of Northern Ireland Carson Papers, D1507/A/18/1/13 https://letters1916.ie/item/4352 English Travers R. Blackley 1916-07-11 Drumbar, Co. Cavan, Ireland Edward Carson Male Politics Politics World War I (1914-1918)

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 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 SomersetSaunderson, resolution, and authority to publish. But for Assizes coming on and my meeting hereto—morrow at 12 o'clock to pass resolution. I would have goneover to see you at Monaghan, but time is of vital importanceand I rang up Mr Knight this morning and he advised me to sendall on to you, and to write and ask you to summon yourDelegated by wire and pass the resolution and send it directto Major Saunderson,5 Wilton Place,LONDON. S.W, The reasons for passing it are:— (I) A large number of English Unionist Party are opposed tothe introduction of Home Rule during the war. Five UnionistMembers of the Government are also opposed to it but remain inoffice because they think it very ill advised to break up theGovernment during the present offensive in France. If we donothing Ulster stands for Home Rule now and as such will be agrave source of weakness to our friends in England.(2) We declare our opinion and leave it to the six Countiesto 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 thingsslide, when by acting we can influence the course of events inthe right direction, and possibly help largely to prevent thebreaking up of the Unionist Party in England. It is essentialfor our own future after the War that the Unionist Partyshould 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 vitalimportance that that resolution should be in his hands onFriday D1507/A/18/13 30 PAGE 2 OF 4 Friday. May I ask you to leave no stone unturned to obtainthis for him, and I would be grateful for a line or 'phone fromyou to say you have done so. My number is II Cavan, but Ishall 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 UnionistCouncil in Belfast on June 12th., we left with feelings ofdismay and a sense that we had been sold and betrayed by ourleaders in the Coalition Government which we were told hadunanimously approved of Mr Lloyd George's proposals; one ofthose proposals being that a Home Rule Parliament shouldforthwith be set up in Dublin. The delegates of the counties of Cavan, Donegal andMonaghan looked on this proposal as a gross breach of thepledge under which the men of the Ulster Division had gone tothe Front, and we would not have considered its acceptance butthat we were assured that the Government were unanimously ofthe opinion that the proposals should be accepted for gravereasons of Imperial necessity in connection with the successfulconduct of the war arising out of our relations with America. Being utterly at a loss to understand the view of ourLeaders in the Coalition, on my return to London I madeenquiries, and found to my surprise that Mr Lloyd George'sproposals had never been before the Cabinet nor had ourrelations with America in this connection,and furthermore thatsome members of the Government could see no reason connectedwith the conduct of the War for experimenting with a Home RuleParliament in the present condition of Ireland and as a sequelto a dangerous rebellion. D1507/A/18/13 31 PAGE 3 OF 4 I forthwith informed Sir Edward Carson by letter, of whatI had learnt, being convinced that he would immediatelydiscontinue negotiations on the basis of a setting up of aHome Rule Parliament during the War, but he was unwilling toaccept my information as accurate. I then took the earliest opportunity of seeing Sir Edwardand told him that I was assured of the truth of the inform—ation I had received and must take complete freedom to do allin my power to upset the proposal. That I felt in honourbound to do so as a duty to the men serving at the Front. I may say that I hve left no stone unturned toaccomplish this object. Time was too short to ask for yourauthority but I am convinced that I have acted in strictaccordance with your views and with those of Lord Farnham whois with the Ulster Division at the Front. The Irish Unionist Alliance were kind enough to invite meto join their Deputation in London and I gave them a completeaccount of our proceedings in Belfast and they are now awareof the reasons and pressure which made us take the course wedid. But that course has had the unfortunate result of makingit appear that the Ulster Unionists have accepted the principleof Home Rule; and the Prime Minister himself in our interviewwith them and Mr Lloyd George used that as an argument toinduce the Unionists of the S. & W. of Ireland to do the same. But what I have since learned, as above stated (and whichhas been borne out by the statements of Lord Selbourne andLord Landsdowne in the House of Lords) proves conclusively thatthe grounds on which the Ulster Unionist Council came to itsdecision of June 12th., were based on misconception and that thatdecision cannot stand and I am strongly of the opinion thatthe Unionist Committees of the three Counties Cavan, Donegaland Monaghan should meet at the earliest possible moment andpass a resolution to that effect and forward it to Sir EddwardCarson for communication to Ulster Unionist Council. For the rest of the Ulster Unionist Council naturally Icannot D1507/A/18/13 PAGE 4 OF 4 32 cannot speak, but having been associated with them for someyears until it is proved to me I will not believe that theywill allow their names to be handed down to futuregenerations as men who just so as to make a bargain in theirown favour were willing to throw all their pledges to thewinds and give assent to the betrayal of a sacred trust, theduty they own to the memory of those who have died for themand those who are still left to fight for the Empire. RESOLVED :— That we, the Delegates of the County ofto the Ulster Unionist Council, now knowing that it was uponan entire misconception of fact that we agreed to abide bythe decision of the remaining six Counties (which authorisedSir Edward Carson to continue negotiations with Mr LloudGeorge upon a basis involving the setting up of a Home RuleParliament in Dublin during the War) hereby declare that ourconsent is cancelled and we ask Sir Edward Carson to placethis declaration before the Ulster Unionist Council.1916. Dear Sir, We have received and considered your letter datedJune 10th, 1916, and have to—day passed a resolution of whichwe enclose a copy herewith. We have no objection to this correspondence beinggiven to the press. Yours faithfully, Capt. Somerset Saunderson,5 Wilton Place, S.W. D1507/A/18/13 33 Copy Resolutionpassed by Co Monaghan delegates 13th July 1916 That having ready Major Somerset Saunderson'sletter of 10th July 1916 and Mr. Blackley's letter of 11th Julywe are unanimously of opinion that we see no cause tochange the decision we (along with the representatives ofCavan and Donegal) have already arrived at and thatour confidence in Sir Edward Carson remains unabated SignedM.E. KnightE. J. Richardson MajorWilliam Black.Thos. W. HannaThompson BrownRobert Doogan Martin. Drumbar, Co. Cavan, Ireland Letter from Travers R. Blackley to Edward Carson, 11 July 1916 Edward Carson Letter from David Lloyd George to Edward Carson, 29 May 1916Letter from Sir Dawson Bates to Edward Carson, 2 December 1915Letter from William Robert Young to Edward Carson, 9 July 1916Letter from Alexander McDowell to Edward Carson, 20 July 1916Letter from Hugh de Fellenerg Montgomery to Edward Carson, 31 May 1916Letter from Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery to Edward Carson, 9 June 1916Letter from Hugh de Fellenberg Montgomery to Edward Carson, 9 June 1916Letter from Frederick Hugh Crawford to Edward Carson, 8 March 1916Letter from Edward Carson to Thomas McGregor Greer, 12 July 1916Letter from Sir Edward Carson to Sir Robert Ponsonby Staples, 10 December 1915Letter to Edward Carson, 19 November 1915Letter from William R. Young to Edward Carson, 2 November 1915Letter from J.M. Wilson to Edward Carson, 3 November 1915Letter from Turner Oliver Read to Edward Carson, 12 November 1915Letter from William R. Young to Edward Carson, 12 November 1915Letter from Harold Tennant to Edward Carson, 17 November 1915Letter from Henry Mulholland to Pembroke Wicks, circa November 1915Letter from Wilfrid Spender to Edward Carson, 25 November 1915Letter Wilfrid Spender to Edward Carson, 3 December 1915Letter to Edward Carson, 4 December 1915Letter from Robert Thompson to Edward Carson, 18 December 1915Letter from W.T. Bailey to Edward Carson, 22 December 1915Letter from General Nevil Macready to Edward Carson, 1 May 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 2 May 1916Letter from Horace Plunkett to Edward Carson, 4 May 1916Postcard to Edward Carson, 4 May 1916Letter from D.P. Barton to Edward Carson, 5 May 1916Letter from Edward Carson to Herbert Asquith, 9 May 1916Letter from Herbert Asquith to Edward Carson, 10 May 1916Copy of a letter from John Crozier to Edward Carson, 9 May 1916Letter from J.M. Wilson to Edward Carson, 11 May 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 15 May 1916Letter from David Lloyd George to Edward Carson, 3 June 1916Letter from G.L. Moore to Edward Carson, 6 June 1916Letter from sir William Robert Robertson to Edward Carson, 7 June 1916Letter from Nevil Macready to Edward Carson, 8 June 1916Letter from Arthur Warren Samuels to Edward Carson, 14 June 1916Letter from Frederick Stringer Wrench to Edward Carson, 15 June 1916Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 15 June 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 17 June 1916Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 17 June 1916Letter from Charles Clements to Edward Carson, 21 June 1916Letter from Ronald McNeill to Edward Carson, 22 June 1916Letter from John Crozier to Edward Carson, 26 June 1916Letter from Charles F. Down to Edward Carson, 28 June 1916Letter from Charles Clements to Edward Carson, 29 June 1916Letter from Archibald Salvidge to Edward Carson, 30 June 1916Letter from Charles Clements to Edward Carson, 1 July 1916Letter from Charles Clements to Edward Carson, 3 July 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 5 July 1916Letter from Horace Plunkett to Edward Carson, 5 July 1916Letter from Charles F Down to Edward Carson, 8 June 1916Letter from Herbert Samuel to Edward Carson, 13 July 1916Letter from William Martin to Edward Carson, 13 July 1916Letter from Travers R. Blackley to Edward Carson, 11 July 1916Letter from Travers R. Blackley to Edward Carson, 13 July 1916Letter from Pembroke Wicks to Edward Carson, 14 July 1916Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 15 July 1916Letter from Edward Carson to William Martin, 17 July 1916Letter from Herbert Samuel to Edward Carson, 21 July 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 21 July 1916Letter from John Strachey to Edward Carson, 27 July 1916Letter from Alexander McDowell to Edward Carson, 5 October 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 7 October 1916Letter from Sharman D Neill to Edward Carson, 7 October 1916Letter from John Strachey to Edward Carson, 7 October 1916Letter from Rosalind Hamilton to Edward Carson, 10 October 1916Letter to Edward Carson, 14 October 1916Letter from David Lloyd George to Edward Carson, 14 October 1916Letter from J. Beatty to Edward Carson, 16 October 1916Letter from Edward Carson to Richard Dawson Bates, 21 April 1919 Travers R. Blackley Letter from Travers R. Blackley to Edward Carson, 11 July 1916Letter from Travers R. Blackley to Edward Carson, 13 July 1916Telegram from Travers R. Blackley to Somerset Francis Saunderson, 14 July 1916