services. The intention had been to focus attention on the larger
aspects of Imperial instead of local patriotism; but what had just
occurred in Parliament could not be ignored, and it necessitated a
reaffirmation of Ulster's unchanged attitude in the domestic quarrel.
Mr. Bonar Law now determined to accompany Sir Edward Carson to Belfast
to renew and to amplify under these circumstances the pledges of British
Unionists to Ulster.

The occasion was a memorable one in several respects. On the 17th of
September Sir Edward Carson had been quietly married in the country to
Miss Frewen, and he was accompanied to Belfast a few days later by the
new Lady Carson, who then made acquaintance with Ulster and her
husband's followers for the first time. The scenes that invariably
marked the leader's arrival from England have been already described;
but the presence of his wife led to a more exuberant welcome than ever
on this occasion; and the recent Parliamentary storm, with its sequel in
the visit of the leader of the Unionist Party, contributed further to
the unbounded enthusiasm of the populace.

There was a meeting of the Council on the morning of the 28th, Ulster
Day, at which Carson told the whole story of the conferences,
negotiations, conversations, and what not, that had been going on up to,
and even since, the outbreak of war, in the course of which he observed
that, if he had committed any fault, "it was that he believed the Prime
Minister." He paid a just tribute to Mr. Bonar Law, whose constancy,
patience, and "resolution to be no party even under these difficult
circumstances to anything that would be throwing over Ulster, were
matters which would be photographed upon his mind to the very end of his
life."

But while, naturally, resentment at the conduct of the Government found
forcible expression, and the policy that would be pursued "after the
war" was outlined, the keynote of the speeches at this Council Meeting,
and also at the overwhelming demonstration addressed by Mr. Bonar Law in
the Ulster Hall in the evening, was "country before party." As the
Unionist leader truly said: "This is not an anti-Home Rule meeting. That
can wait, and you are strong enough to let it wait with quiet
confidence." But before passing to the great issues raised by the war,
introduced by a telling allusion to the idea that Germany had calculated
on Ulster being a thorn in England's side, Mr. Bonar Law gave the
message to Ulster which