ttlement. It was,
too, a will less hampered by regard for public opinion than that of any
popularly elected representative man can be. He had, I think, also
eminently the persuasive gift which is not only inclined to give and
take but can impart that disposition to others.

Mr. Pollock, who replaced him, was an able man, but singularly lacking
in this quality. He held his own views clearly and strongly, but his
method of exposition accentuated differences: it had always a note of
asperity, though this was certainly not deliberate. One of the pleasant
memories which remains with me is of a day when debate grew acrimonious
and hot words were used. Mr. Pollock refused to reply to some phrases
which might have been regarded as taunts, because, he said, "I have made
friendships here which I never expected to make, and I value them too
much to risk the loss of them." That friendly temper, combined with his
ability, made him a valuable member of this Convention: but for the
critical work of bringing men's minds together, of sifting the essential
from the unessential, he was a bad exchange for Sir Alexander McDowell.

Redmond said to me that he had found Mr. Barrie much more conciliatory
than in the earlier and public stages. He was delighted with Lord
Midleton, who was, he said, "showing an Irish spirit which I never
expected";--standing up for the claims of an Irish Parliament if there
was to be one. In the discussion, however, one man, Bishop O'Donnell,
had been "head and shoulders above everyone else."

Argument had ranged about the question of customs and excise. This was
the dividing line. But when at last a deadlock was definitely reached,
the Ulster position was stated in a letter which refused to concede to
an Irish Parliament the control of either direct or indirect taxation.
It was to be a Parliament with no taxing power at all.

On the other hand, in the corresponding document from the Nationalist
side, the importance of immediate and full fiscal control had been put
very high.

"Self-government does not exist," it said, "where those nominally
entrusted with affairs of government have not control of fiscal and
economic policy. No nation with self-respect could accept the idea that
while its citizens were regarded as capable of creating wealth they were
regarded as incompetent to regulate the manner in which taxation of that
wealth should be arranged, and that another country should have the
power of levying and