Letter to Edward Carson, 21 July 1916 Letters 1916-1923

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Letter 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/18/1/28 https://letters1916.ie/item/4363 English 1916-07-21 37 Royal Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim, Ireland Edward Carson Politics Politics

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 37, Royal Avenue, Belfast. 21st July 1916. Dear Sir Edward Carson, Permit me to say that everyone in Ulster appreciates the great skill you have exercised in the recent Home Rule negotiations, and whilst we would all have desired the maintenance of the spirit of the Covenant, yet, as regards practical politics, the exclusion of six Counties is a better proposition than nine. The success or non-success of your venture — as far as it will affect the excluded area — will largely depend upon the pro—visions made for economic and simple administration of our local affairs. You are of course aware that besides local adminis—trations e.g., City, Urban and District Councils, there are at pre— sent the following administrative Boards: — Agriculture and Techni—cal Instruction, National Education, Secondary Education, Local Government Board, Lunacy Board, National Health Insurance Commiss—ion, Prison Board, (Irish Land Commission, Ulster instalments should be paid through Banks in our province,) Board of Trade, Val—uation Department, Board of Public Works, which control in their several ways the spending of the grants which we receive from the Imperial Exchequer, and in particular, exercise a check on the popularly controlled Local Boards. It would appear to be physically impossible for an Eng—lish Home Secretary to carry on these duties without setting up a large establishment with highly paid Officials at Whitehall and Belfast, and be the cause of a serious overlapping in the adminis—tration. It is the opinion of many that this work should be carried out under the control of one individual, as Secretary for Ulster, alone responsible to Parliament for the control of these Boards, and having his permanent offices in the Capital of Ulster. If the procedure for Private Bill Legislation for the ex—cluded area could be modelled on the Scotch system, with their local Enquiry and Provisional Orders confirmed by the Imperial Par—liament, it would certainly mitigate the grievances which the smaller Urban Councils in Ulster consider they suffer from. Once the new system of administration in Ulster has been set up, we will have many fractious critics in our own party community, and it is felt that now is the time to simplify the Local Government Administration, and give inducements to our best local men to offer their services to public boards, the per—sonnel of which has unfortunately been latterly deteriorating. We will, no doubt, also require our own High Courts of Justice in Ulster, our own Land Registry and Deeds Registry, and in this respect it is suggested that it would be advantageous to the commercial Community if the County Court were given a wider Jurisdiction, and the time of the County Court Judge not taken up with small debt cases, which could easily be transferred to the Petty Sessions which might be given more stringent powers as to enforcing Decrees for debt. It is to be presumed that the six excluded Counties will have their proportionate share of the grants under the Financial Provisions in the Home Rule Bill, and that the position of the Lord Lieutenant, as affecting the six excluded Counties, will be abolished, and possibly the individual appointed to have control of the Ulster affirs will take this position as the Head of the Magistracy. My excuse for writing this lengthy letter must be my fervent wish that the administration of the six excluded Counties may be a pattern to the other parts of the United Kingdom Yours sincerely, R.I. McConnell Sir Edward Carson, K.C., M.P., 5, Eaton Place, London, S.W. 37 Royal Avenue, Belfast, Co. Antrim, Ireland Letter to Edward Carson, 21 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