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The
Organisation The signing of a covenant, a solemn and binding declaration of individuals acting as a people, was no light matter. The impressive Covenant Campaign, the prelude to the all- important Covenant Day, was intended to stir the people into action, to explain to them the nature of the commitment they would be asked to make, and to give them the opportunity to hear the leaders whom they were to follow. From the beginning all the organisational ability of a talented people was exploited to the full. As far as possible, nothing would be left to chance; there would be no possibility of misunderstanding the Campaign. All over the Province and beyond, the clear message of Ulster's defiance of a great injustice would be heard. The words uttered by Unionists were no idle words, but a considered response to the danger which threatened them. Aware of the seriousness of the step they were taking and of the potential sacrifice they were asking the people to make, the Ulster Unionist Council -- the representative body of Unionism since 1905 -- met to pledge itself by resolution to a Covenant. An Ulster Day Committee had previously been appointed to oversee the whole of the necessary organisation throughout the Province and beyond. The Committee's joint secretaries -- Dawson Bates, T V. P. McCammon and Frank Hall -- represented the three powerful and dedicated bodies underpinning the whole effort, the Ulster Unionist Council, the Orange Order and the Unionist Clubs. The Committee's task of ensuring that all Unionists had the opportunity of signing the Covenant in their own districts was eased by the setting up of local committees responsible for the availability of premises -- over 500 of them throughout Ulster -- and for all the practical matters which would ensure success. In Belfast, where the largest numbers would turn out, careful planning and direction was vital. Some 2,500 marshals ensured order as the mass of people streamed through the City Hall, each an individual proud to have participated in making a solemn pledge to defend their collective rights.
No one was left in any doubt of the Unionist leaders' eagerness to make themselves available to the people, to carry throughout Ulster their clear message to stand firm for simple justice and for equal rights. This photograph shows the cover of the published programme which allowed anyone to know when and where the Unionist leaders might be heard during the Campaign and which also set out the events on Ulster Day.
The Ulster Unionist Council, meeting in the Old Town Hall, Belfast, proclaimed the supreme right of a people to oppose any law or any government which would deny that people their rights. The Council recognised that, in the time of supreme crisis, "it is needful that we be knit together as one man, each strengthening the other, and not holding back or counting the cost." There spoke that same spirit of independence and self-reliance which had moved Ulster-Scots settlers to join the forces of the American Revolution: for both liberty was worth any sacrifice.
On 23 September 1912, the Ulster Unionist Council, the elected representative body of Unionism, met to pass a resolution not only pledging itself to a Covenant but also setting out the case for the action it supported. The photograph shows that the solemnity of the occasion was made visually memorable by the display of one of the largest Union Flags ever woven, measuring 48 feet by 25 feet. It was an appropriate gesture, being a reminder to all present that their struggle was a fight to keep the cross of St. Patrick in the national flag. The role of local committees in the districts was vital if the signing of the Covenant was to prove a resounding success; but their invaluable efforts required direction and assistance from the central Ulster Day Committee. This circular (below) shows the attention to detail necessary to achieve success: it covers everything from the early dispatch of sample forms to the return to Belfast of the signed sheets.
Go to Part 2 of the Organisation
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