e Council,
and from the wealthier classes in and about Belfast. The form of
"Indemnity Guarantee" provided for the payment to those entitled to
benefit under it of sums not less than they would have been entitled to
under the Fatal Accidents Act, the Employers' Liability Act, and the
Workman's Compensation Act, as the circumstances of the case might be.
The list was headed by Sir Edward Carson, Lord Londonderry, Captain
Craig, Sir John Lonsdale, Sir George Clark, and Lord Dunleath, with a
subscription of L10,000 each, and their example was followed by Mr. Kerr
Smiley, M.P., Mr. R.M. Liddell, Mr. George Preston, Mr. Henry Musgrave,
Mr. C.E. Allen, and Mr. Frank Workman, who entered their names
severally for the same amount. A quarter of a million sterling was
guaranteed in the room before the Council separated; by the end of a
week it had grown to L387,000; and before the 1st of January, 1914, the
total amount of the Indemnity Guarantee Fund was L1,043,816.

It gave Carson and the other leaders the greatest possible satisfaction
that the response to this appeal was so prompt and adequate. Not only
was their anxiety relieved in regard to their responsibility to loyal
followers of the rank and file who might become "casualties" in the
movement, but they had been given a striking proof that the business
community of Belfast did not consider its pocket more sacred than its
principles. Moreover, if there had been doubt on that score in anyone's
mind, it was set at rest by a memorable meeting for business men only
held in Belfast on the 3rd of November. Between three and four thousand
leaders of industry and commerce, the majority of whom had never
hitherto taken any active share in political affairs, presided over by
Mr. G.H. Ewart, President of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, gave an
enthusiastic reception to Carson, who told them that he had come more to
consult them as to the commercial aspects of the great political
controversy than to impress his own views on the gathering. It was said
that the men in the hall represented a capital of not less than
L145,000,000 sterling,[54] and there can be no doubt that, even if that
were an exaggerated estimate, they were not of a class to whom
revolution, rebellion, or political upheaval could offer an attractive
prospect. Nevertheless, the meeting passed with complete unanimity a
resolution expressing confidence in Carson and approval of everything he
had done, including the format