Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 15 July 1916

Foo, Bar; Bar, Foo

Letter from Somerset Francis Saunderson to Edward Carson, 15 July 1916

1 TEL.1808 VICTORIA. July 15th16 5 WILTON PLACE,
S.W. My dear Carson, Enclosed is a letter which
I have been asked to forward to
you. I also enclose a telegram
from Blackley. I personally have no objection to
you seeing my letters referred to,
They simply contain the views
which you know I hold over the
whole transaction. You will remember that you told
us in Belfast & me in our last interview
that your personality was not
to be considered in the matter.
That is our difficulty &
the difficulty which must prejudice 2
those who wish to oppose the
Bill on this side of the water. Your name, & with it the voice of
Ulster, is the lever which those
who want to set up a H.R.
parliament in Ireland during the
war are using & will use, & all
that some of us desire is that
the voice of Ulster in this matter
should be heard in the light of
our present knowledge of the true
State of affairs. That is good news of Charles Craig
What a relief for his wife from
her terrible anxiety Yours ever SomersetSaunderson.

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__4358.html)