Who Was More Satisfied With The Home Rule Bill Of September 1914.

I agree with this statement but to an extent. Not everyone was fully satisfied with the outcome of events as both the IPP and the Ulster Unionists had to compromise and change their original aims. The opponents of the third Home Rule Bill do seem to have gained the most from the course of events; however it is more complex than just saying that they were satisfied as it was a mixed success for the opponents. The Ulster Unionists seem to have gained the most from the course of events; however their original aim was to use the Ulster issue to block Home Rule for all of Ireland and the terms of Ulster's exclusion were not yet clear so the Ulster Unionists were not were not completely satisfied with the outcome of events . The Conservatives were also satisfied with the outcome of events, they weakened the Liberal Party, they united their party and gained Ulster's exclusion which was Bonar Law's main aim, he commented that "I care for only two things in politics, tariff reform and Ulster". However, the Conservatives weren't completely satisfied, some leaders in the party who had links to Southern Unionists like Long were angry at the abandonment of Southern Unionists and the Conservatives originally did not want Home Rule for any of Ireland. The Southern Unionists were completely dissatisfied with the course of events as they were totally abandoned by the Ulster Unionists. The supporters of Home Rule also had some reasons to be satisfied with the course of events. Although the Liberals originally supported Home Rule on an all-Ireland basis, Asquith realised the need for compromise early on the in crisis and wasn't totally committed to Home Rule, so the Liberals had some reason to be satisfied as the crisis seemed to be 'over'. The IPP also had some reason to be satisfied as Home Rule was now on the statute book and Redmond had achieved more far than any other leader before them, however they were dissatisfied as Redmond compromised a great deal as his original aim was Home Rule for all of Ireland. Therefore I agree with this statement to an extent as the opponents weren't fully satisfied and the supporters had some reasons to be satisfied with the course of events by September 1914. The Ulster Unionists and Carson bitterly opposed the introduction of the Third Home Rule Bill and they seem to be the clear 'winners' by September 1914. However, they weren't fully satisfied with the course of events so this statement is too general. The historian Rees comments that at the beginning of the Home Rule Crisis Carson hoped to use the Ulster issue as a "wrecking device which would destroy the entire bill". They hoped to use the Ulster issue to destroy the entire bill as they believed that the Nationalists would not accept any form of exclusion for Ulster and so this issue would wreck the bill entirely. Carson commented in 1910 that "If Ulster succeeds Home Rule is dead". Carson led the Ulster Unionist opposition campaign in order to destroy the Bill entirely and events such as the Curragh Mutiny, the Larne gun-running, the Solemn League and Covenant and the formation of the UVF strengthened their campaign and weakened the government and the supporters of the third Home Rule Bill. The historian Jackson highlights how successful this campaign was saying that 6 million booklets were distributed, 9,000 public meetings were organised and 1.5 million votes were canvassed to support the unionist cause. However, by 1913 the Ulster Unionists changed their aim. The historian Jeffries commented that "On the 1st January 1913 Carson proposed an amendment to the Home Rule Bill to exclude the province of Ulster". By 1913 Carson realised that his aim of blocking Home Rule for all of Ireland was unrealistic so he decided to change his aim to gaining exclusion for the counties of Ulster. Therefore it seems that Carson was the real winner by September 1914 as the Bill included an amendment that stated that special provision would be made for Ulster. However Carson had mixed feelings about the passing of the Bill as it wasn't made clear how many counties were going to be excluded and for how long they would be excluded. On the 21st-24th of July 1914 leaders of the Liberals, IPP, Conservatives, Ulster Unionists and Southern Unionists met at Buckingham Palace to discuss the crisis. Carson made it very clear that by this stage he wanted permanent exclusion for six counties of Ulster and the historian O'Day commented that Carson "was not in a compromising mood". Carson rejected Lloyd George's county option scheme which suggested that each county should vote for exclusion and that it would last for six years. Carson commented "We do not want a sentence of death with a stay of execution for six years". Carson was not completely satisfied by September 1914 as he had to compromise on his original aim of blocking Home Rule completely and he didn't really meet his second aim of permanent exclusion for six counties and the Bill didn't outline what counties were to be excluded and how long they would be excluded for. The historian Jeffries comments that "Carson was angry that the Government of Ireland Act was passed without explicitly excluding six counties". However leaders such as Craig were very satisfied with this outcome as Craig's priority was the welfare of Protestants in Ulster and he met this aim. Therefore I disagree with this statement as although the Ulster Unionists gained the most from the course of events, they weren't completely satisfied and didn't meet their aims. I also disagree with this statement as Southern Unionists were not satisfied with the course of events by September 1914. At the beginning of the crisis the Southern Unionists supported the Ulster case. In 1913 when Carson introduced the amendment to exclude Ulster Southern Unionists didn't support him however he gained their support by convincing them that it was merely tactical and that they still aimed to block Home Rule for all of Ireland, Southern Unionists believed that Home Rule without Ulster would be unacceptable for the Nationalists. However, by September 1914 they were abandoned by the Ulster Unionists and the Conservatives and were left under a 26 county Home Rule Parliament. The historian Jeffries commented that "Compromise was a major defeat for Southern Unionists and it worried Unionists in Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan". The Southern Unionists were very disappointed when the Government of Ireland Act was passed as they believed that a united Ireland which contained a substantial Unionist majority was in Ireland's best interest. Therefore I disagree with this statement as the Southern Unionists felt nothing but disappointment by the course of events up until September 1914. They were effectively abandoned in a 26 county Home Rule Parliament and they failed in their first aim to block Home Rule completely and in their second aim that a substantial Unionist majority in a united Ireland would serve Ireland's best interests. This statement is to naïve as not all opponents were satisfied with the course of events. The Conservative Party also had reason to be satisfied with the course of events by September 1914. The Conservatives opposed Home Rule because they feared it would lead to the eventual break-up of the British Empire, because they believed a 'corrupt parliamentary bargain' had taken place between the Liberals and the IPP and that normal parliamentary rules had been suspended because Home Rule was not in the Liberal Party's Manifesto in 1910. They also opposed Home Rule because Bonar Law saw it as an opportunity to unite the party and to come back into power as they had lost three consecutive elections since 1905. They also opposed it because many leaders had links to Unionists in Ireland; Bonar Law himself was from an Ulster-Scots background. The historians Adelmann and Pearce commented that "Ulster Unionist resistance would help Conservatives to destroy Home Rule and preserve the integrity of the Empire. At the same time the destruction of Home Rule might well bring down in its wake the Liberal government". Bonar Law was very important to the Ulster Unionist campaign and if the Conservatives had had a different leader the events may have been different. The historian Mansreagh commented that "No other Conservative would have entered into an open-ended commitment to Carson and the Ulster Unionists let alone assail the government in such strong tones". Bonar Law was very committed to the Ulster Unionist cause, he commented that "I only care for two things in politics, Ulster and tariff reform". The Conservative Party helped with the very successful Ulster Unionist campaign. Bonar Law used violent rhetoric to win support in Britain for their cause, he said in a speech at Bleinheim Palace in 1912 "I can imagine no length of resistance to which Ulster can go in which I should not be prepared to support them". The Conservatives helped arm the UVF in the Larne gun-running incident. On the 24th-25th of April the UVF imported 2,500 rifles and 3 million rounds of ammunition and according the historian Rees Bonar Law openly admitted his involvement in the issue. The Conservatives also weakened the government at the Curragh Mutiny incident. In 1914 Bonar Law and Carson were considering the crucial role the army could play in ulster and they formed the opinion that the Conservatives should use their majority in the House of Lords to amend the Army Bill so that it would exclude the use of the British Army in Ulster until after a general election. On the 20th March 1914 army officers stationed at Curragh threatened mutiny if they were asked to enforce Home Rule on ulster. Asquith responded by ensuring that they would not be used and this took away any advantage the government had. This weakened the government and meant they couldn't force compromise on the Ulster Unionists. However this damaged the Conservatives as they aligned themselves to tactics which brought Britain on the brink of civil war. At the beginning of the crisis Bonar Law aimed to block Home Rule for all of Ireland. However in 1913 Bonar Law began to see the need for compromise. Bonar Law and Asquith also attempted compromise when they had three secret meetings which were held in Cherkely Court. The first meeting was held on the 14th October and at this meeting nothing was agreed but Asquith learned that Bonar Law would accept Home Rule with Ulster's exclusion, but Bonar Law did not define Ulster. At the second meeting on the 6th November Bonar Law stated that they would not accept anything less than six counties and Asquith argued that Fermanagh and Tyrone had nationalist majorities. The Conservatives were satisfied by the outcome in September 1914 as they weakened the Liberal government, they gained politically and they got Ulster excluded from Home Rule. The historian Rees commented that "The Conservatives had gained politically by supporting Ulster Unionist resistance" However, they were not completely satisfied by the course of events. The historian Rees points out that not all of the Conservative leaders were satisfied by the outcome of events and that the party wasn't united in their aims, he says that "While Bonar Law wanted to save six Ulster counties from Home Rule, many senior Conservatives were reluctant to abandon the Southern Unionists". They also weren't satisfied as they Government of Ireland Act did not specify what counties were being excluded and how long they were to be excluded for. The historian Jeffries commented on the dissatisfaction saying that "After the final reading of the Home Rule Bill.the Conservatives and Unionists left the Commons in protest". Therefore I disagree with this statement as the Conservatives also weren't fully satisfied with the course of events and didn't meet all of their aims. The Liberal Party wasn't completely dissatisfied with the third Home Rule Bill. At the beginning of the crisis Asquith wanted to introduce Home Rule on an all-Ireland basis, he commented that "I will adhere to the Gladstonian principle of Home Rule on an all-Ireland basis". In all his speeches Asquith made it clear that the minority against Home Rule would not stop the will of the majority. However, the government supported Home Rule with reservations and were not as committed to Home Rule as Bonar Law was to the Ulster Unionists. The historian Foster commented that "the opposition was convinced that the Liberal Government were not deeply committed to Home Rule". Asquith made it clear from the beginning that if it was necessary, that special treatment would be given to Ulster, in 1912 he told Redmond "if fresh evidence or facts or the pressure of British opinion dictates, this may take the form of special treatment for Ulster". The lack of commitment by the government is shown by their policies and mistakes they made. Asquith adopted a lazy "wait and see" policy which meant that compromise was attempted when it was too late, they had no policy on Ulster the historian Jenkins commented that "there was no arrangement for Ulster exclusion in 1912", Asquith ignored advice from people such as Churchill and failed to seize opportunities such as the Agar-Roberates amendment. The government was also distracted by other events such as the looming First World War, the Curragh Mutiny which weakened their position greatly and the Larne and Howth gun-running incidents. These incidents were handled without conviction and the government was weak and hesitant. Therefore in September 1914, the government had reason to be satisfied. Asquith was prepared from 1912 to give special treatment to Ulster and he wasn't deeply committed to Home Rule. Therefore the Ulster amendment in the Bill was of no deep loss to the government and other Liberal leaders like Churchill and Lloyd George were willing to accept Ulster's exclusion. The government was also satisfied as they had seemingly 'ended' the crisis and were able to focus on the looming First World War. Therefore, I disagree with this statement as the Liberals did not lose as much as the Conservatives, Ulster Unionists or Southern Unionists as they were not as deeply committed to Home Rules as the Unionists and Conservatives were to opposing Home Rule. The course of events by September 1914 was also a mixed bag for John Redmond and the IPP. The IPP wanted Home Rule on an all-Ireland basis. However, the IPP were very weak and unorganised throughout the crisis. The IPP was complacent and they placed too much trust in the Liberal Government, the historian Jefferies commented that Redmond "simply trusted Asquith to deliver Home Rule". The historian Kee criticised Redmond for "allowing himself to be completely dependent on the Liberals without recognising the dangers of such dependency". The IPP failed to take Unionist opposition seriously and dangerously underestimated them; Redmond described their opposition as a "mere bluff". They had no policy on Ulster and were completely thrown by the Ulster issue. Redmond also failed to utilise the IVF and build them into a strong military organisation like Carson had done with the UVF and Redmond reluctantly got involved with the leadership of the IVF as they posed a threat to the IPP. However on the 2nd February 1914 Asquith met with Redmond and told him that exclusion for Ulster was unavoidable, Asquith wrote that Redmond "shivered visibly and was a good deal perturbed", this shows how weak Redmond's policies were as he had no policy for Ulster at all and didn't even consider it a real issue. Following this meeting Redmond, Dillon and Devlin accepted the exclusion of four counties for a six year period, Redmond referred to this as the "price of peace". The historians O'Leary and Maume commented that Redmond believed he had Home Rule "in the bag" after it had been introduced in April 1912 and this shows us that Redmond was dissatisfied by the outcome in September 1914 as he had further to fall than anyone else. In September 1914 it appeared that Redmond was the clear 'winner' in the Home Rule crisis, the historian Jackson commented that Redmond won "a form of triumph" when the Government of Ireland Act was introduced. Redmond had achieved what leaders like Parnell failed to achieve, Home Rule was on the statute book. However he failed in his aims because the Act was followed by a Suspensory Act and special treatment was to be given to Ulster. Redmond was forced to agree to the exclusion of four counties and the historian Jackson commented that this "damaged his credibility in Ireland, not only with hardliners". The historian Fitzpatrick also commented that Royal Irish Constalbury reports showed that there were no celebrations in Ireland on the passing of the Act; they did not feel like winners. I disagree with this statement as the outcome of events was a mixed bag for Nationalists as they achieved Home Rule but it was suspended and Ulster was given special treatment in the form of exclusion. In conclusion I agree with this statement but to an extent. The Ulster Unionists seem to have gained the most from the course of events; however their original aim was to use the Ulster issue to block Home Rule for all of Ireland and the terms of Ulster's exclusion were not yet clear so the Ulster Unionists were not were not completely satisfied with the outcome of events . The Conservatives were also satisfied with the outcome of events, they weakened the Liberal Party, they united their party and gained Ulster's exclusion which was Bonar Law's main aim. However, the Conservatives weren't completely satisfied, some leaders in the party who had links to Southern Unionists like Long were angry at the abandonment of Southern Unionists and the Conservatives originally did not want Home Rule for any of Ireland. The Southern Unionists were completely dissatisfied with the course of events as they were totally abandoned by the Ulster Unionists. Although the Liberals originally supported Home Rule on an all-Ireland basis, Asquith realised the need for compromise early on the in crisis and wasn't totally committed to Home Rule, so the Liberals had some reason to be satisfied as the crisis seemed to be 'over'. The IPP also had some reason to be satisfied as Home Rule was now on the statute book and Redmond had achieved more far than any other leader before them, however they were dissatisfied as Redmond compromised a great deal as his original aim was Home Rule for all of Ireland. Therefore I agree with this statement to an extent as the opponents weren't fully satisfied and the supporters had some reasons to be satisfied with the course of events by September 1914.