his
company of the Irish Guards. At a happier time this news would have been
received with enthusiasm all over Ireland; now, the most one could say
was that it delighted the Convention.

It would be quite wrong, however, to regard Redmond's attitude in these
days as unhopeful. The first meetings of the Nine were fruitful of much
agreement--conditional at all points on general ratification. But the
true spirit of compromise was there. So far as concerned the provision
to give minorities more than their numerical weight, it was agreed that
there should be two Houses, with powers of joint session, and with
control over money bills conceded to the Upper House. In the Lower House
Unionists should (somehow) get forty per cent, of the representation: so
that in the joint session the influences would be equally balanced.

The hitch came over finance. Nationalists wanted complete powers of
taxation, but would agree to a treaty establishing Free Trade between
the two countries for a long period. Ulster wanted a common fiscal
control for Great Britain and Ireland. By November 1st a complete
deadlock had been reached.

On that date the Grand Committee met to take stock informally of the
position, especially in regard to the procedure of the more detailed
sub-committees, and to face the fact that a grave misfortune had
befallen us. Sir Alexander McDowell had been prevented by illness from
attending any of the meetings. He had no further part in the
Convention's work, and died before it ended.

Redmond in a confidential talk spoke of his absence as lamentable. The
two had arranged--on the Belfast man's proposal--to meet for private
interviews before the Nine came together. Neither had control of the
forces for which he spoke; but both stood out, by everyone's consent,
from the rest of the assembly. It is impossible to say how much they
might have achieved had they come to an understanding; but assuredly no
other representative of the North spoke with the same self-confidence or
the same weight of personality as Sir Alexander McDowell. My own
feeling about him--if it be worth while to record a personal
impression--was that he was a man with the instinct for carrying big
things through--that the problem tempted him, as a task which called for
the exertion of powers which he was conscious of possessing. In losing
him we lost certainly the strongest will in his group, perhaps the
strongest in the Convention; and it was a will for se