communication for some six or
seven years, and whom he had found perfectly honest, and not at all
grasping], and consult him as to what he had to offer. I would
purchase 25,000 to 30,000 rifles, modern weapons if possible, and
not the Italian Vetteli rifles we had been getting, all to take the
same ammunition and fitted with bayonets. I would purchase a
suitable steamer of 600 tons in some foreign port and load her up
with the arms, and either bring her in direct or transfer the cargo
to a local steamer in some estuary or bay on the Scottish coast. I
felt confident, though I knew the difficulties in front of me,
that I could carry it through all right."[86]

The sub-committee accepted Crawford's proposal, and, when it had been
confirmed by Headquarters Council, he was commissioned to go to Hamburg
to see how the land lay. On arriving there he found that B.S. had still
in store ten thousand Vetteli rifles and a million rounds of ammunition
for them, which he had been holding for Crawford for two years. After a
day or two the dealer laid three alternative proposals before his Ulster
customer: (a) Twenty thousand Vetteli rifles, with bayonets (ammunition
would have to be specially manufactured).(6) Thirty thousand Russian
rifles with bayonets (lacking scabbards) and ammunition, (c) Fifteen
thousand new Austrian, and five thousand German army rifles with
bayonets, both to take standard Mannlicher cartridges.

The last mentioned of these alternatives was much the most costly, being
double the price of the first and nearly treble that of the second; but
it had great advantages over the other two. Ammunition for the Italian
weapons was only manufactured in Italy, and, if further supplies should
be required, could only be got from that country. The Russian rifles
were perfectly new and unused, but were of an obsolete pattern; they
were single-loaders, and fresh supplies of cartridges would be nearly as
difficult to procure for them as for the Italian. The Austrian and
German patterns were both first-rate; the rifles were up-to-date
clip-loaders, and, what was the most important consideration, ammunition
for them would be easily procurable in the United Kingdom or from
America or Canada.

But the difference in cost was so great that Crawford returned to
Belfast to explain matters to his Committee, calling in London on his
way to inform Carson and Craig. He strongly urged the ac