1 PAGE 1 OF 3 NEWLANDS CORNER,
MERROW DOWNS,
GUILFORD.
Private & Confidental. Saturday, October 7th, 1916. My dear Sir Edward, I want, if you will kindly give it to me, your
direction and advice on a matter which I think is if some moment.
Last week when dealing in 2The Spectator" with the proposed appli-
cation of compulsory service of
making the following suggestion. " Why should not the six county
area, which has again and again proved its Imperial spirit, in-
struct you Sir Edward Carson as its spokeman in Parliament, to tell the House of
Commons that it desires to be placed under the Compulsory Service
Act, and that is would rrgard it, not as a burden, but as a privilege
to be allowed to di its full share in the work of guarding the
Empire and the mother country? The fact that they have urged
and victoriously maintained the claim to remain a part of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, even if the rest of
Ireland secedes from the Union , and occupies a position of politi-
cal isolation, makes it imperative upon them to demand that the
homogeneous area of the six counties, recodnised in the negotaitions 2 PAGE 2 OF 3
with Mr. Lloyd George, shall stand side by side with the rest of the
United Kingdom. Whether it would be practical to carry out the
applications of complsion to the six county area, I don;t know;
but I feel quite sure that the demand would not merely greatly em-
barrass the Nationalist politicans, who are now making so miserable
a show, but would also immensly strengthe the position of the men
of North East Ulster. Such an offer as I have sketched would, it seems to me,
make it impossible for all time forany statemen to dare to go
back upon the exclusion of the sic county area. It would in fact
do what for the last five years I have been seeking to do, that is,
to build up the idea of an invioate able area -an area with an inde-
feasible right to remain in the Union, and incorporate under the
Parliament of Westminister with the rest of the United Kingdom, un-
less and until that area voluntarily expresses its wish to leave
the Union. Your negotiations with Lloyd George practically
achieved this; but an offer of the king i we suggest your making on
the floor of the House of Commons would put it beyond all possible
shadow of a doubt. But though I cannot myslef are any objection to my saying
this is "The Spectator", I feel that there may be objections which
are hidden from me, and that in some way or other which I don't 3 Page 3 of 3
perceive the proposal in "The Spectator" might prove embarrassasing to
you. In that case of course I should not dream of making it. You
have, I feel, a complete right of vote in a matter of this kind, and
I should not presume to question that veto. At the same time I can
see, even if you did not think it advisable for you to raise the
matter in Parliament, there might be no harm in having the sugges-
tion ventilated in the press. In view of these circumstances, would you be so very kind
as to let me have a line to say whether or not you forbid the banns?
If you do, I will not write. If on the other hand you say you have
no objection, I shall probably write on the subject next week.
I should like to know not later than by the first post on Wednesday,
at the Spencer Office, 1 Wellington Street, Strand, W.C. If I
hear nothing, I shall assume that you have at any rate no objection
to my writing what I like on the matter. Yours very sincerely, John Strachey The Rt. Hon.
Sir Edward Carson, K.C., M.P.,
5 Eaton Place, S.W. PS. Of course I write I shall meet the point that it would
not be safe to disman the six county area while
faithless & Disloyal Ireland retained all her men.
If the compulsory service was "by request" applied to N.E. Ulster
the Government must give a special pledge to afford the amplest
military protection to that part of Ireland which was willing to
fight for the Union of the Empire.