All of this was agreed to at our last meeting, and nothing could have been more pleasant than the atmosphere of good will which prevailed.

But this was after a critical division--the most critical in which I have ever voted--in which those of us Nationalists who were for accepting the Government proposals voted with the Southern Unionists and those who were against with the Ulster group.

The combination of Ulstermen and extreme Nationalists was thirty-four strong; those who adopted Redmond's policy and Lord Midleton's were thirty-eight.

We had in our lobby sixteen of the Nationalist County and Urban Councillors; they had eleven.
If that vote had gone otherwise, we were told plainly that the Southern Unionists would be no parties to the rest of the compromise.

They were willing to recommend self-government only if the Convention recommended the reservation of customs to the Imperial Parliament.