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Prelude To the Unionists of Ulster the Solemn League and Covenant of 1912 is an Article of Faith. Signatories and their descendants alike hold it with a reverence akin to that of Englishmen for Magna Carta and Americans for the Declaration of Independence. It achieved such exalted status simply because it bespoke the highest values cherished by a freedom-loving people. Theirs was no declaration of independence, however -- indeed, it was actually a statement of unswerving loyalty to the State -- but it foreshadowed an earnest intent: Ulstermen would mould'their own destiny rather than permit a Government to filch away their birthright by its unscrupulous activities. The Covenant and the resolutions accompanying it were a testimony to the indomitable spirit of Ulster's Loyalists: their feelings echoed the sentiments of Gustavus Hamilton (Governor of Enniskillen in 1688): "We stand upon our guard and do resolve, by the blessing of God, rather to meet our danger than to await it." For the leaders of Ulster Unionism, the Covenant betokened a step in their drive to prevent the establishment of rule from Dublin. This document, and the oath enshrined within it, captured all the essential elements in their campaign, and those who framed it aimed to persuade the people of the United Kingdom to act to prevent the unjust destruction of the Union between Great Britain and Ireland. Both islands had prospered under this Union, and Ulstermen unreservedly believed that when Mainland opinion was awakened to the deceit contemplated by the current Administration, the desire for fair play would so manifest itself as to make that regime think again. Both islands had prospered under this Union, and Ulstermen unreservedly believed that when Mainland opinion was awakened to the deceit contemplated by the current Administration, the desire for fair play would so manifest itself as to make that regime think again. However, the Covenant also sounded a note of warning of an inevitable, violent outcome should the Government not stop its scheming. The Covenant was a call to Ulstermen and women to demonstrate their resolve; a call which found a ready response. Thereafter the fate of a people and its leaders were inextricably bound together. The Covenant, mobilising the people, strengthened the bonds of solidarity and instilled the necessary discipline to resist an obvious injustice. It was also a challenge to the Liberal Government to desist from its unprincipled intentions. It was a loud and clear commitment by Unionists never to surrender their heritage: they did not desire conflict, but if it was forced upon them they would meet the threat. Their solemn oath marked the pinnacle of reasoned resistance, if the Government persisted in altering the law of the land, attacking basic freedoms, the Ulstermen would stand firm in their own defence. The citizens of Ulster knew well that they were entering upon a great crisis which would determine their destruction or survival as a free people within the United Kingdom. The Covenant was an expression of their will to survive. However it went further -- in effect, the Covenant was a three-fold challenge: a challenge to cynical politicians to desist from their folly; a challenge to the British public to concede the justice of Ulster's cause; a challenge to the people of Ulster to realise their destiny. Between 1295 and 1800, Ireland had its own Parliament. Although subject to considerable control from London, it asserted a greater degree of independence in the last decades of the eighteenth century during the reign of George III. However, the savage anarchy of the 1798 rebellion so alarmed the British ruling classes that they decided to abolish the Irish Parliament. The British Government favoured the idea of Union as a means of uniting the Protestants and Roman Catholics of Ireland. By transferring their representation to Westminster it was believed these two traditions would be brought closer together. The Act of Union was duly passed on Ist August, 1800, becoming effective on the first day of the following year. As the new century progressed the beneficial effects of the Union became manifest. Politicians from Ireland found that their views and decisions had a much wider influence - they occupied a place on the world stage, not merely in some provincial sideshow. Moreover, the economics of both countries were closely interwoven and industry benefitted, especially in Ulster, from access to Britain's expanding markets. In effect, the citizens of Ireland reaped all the rewards of living under the British Constitution.
The postcard depicted here, much in vogue in 1912 because of the Home Rule crisis, shows a medallion struck in 1801 to commemorate the Act of Union. This medallion has a portrait of George III on one side, whilst the reverse depicts Britannia and Hibernia joining hands under the text, "Jungunter Opes Firmatur Imperium," Wealth confirms power. The postcard was one of many issued for publicity purposes by the Ulster Unionist leaders of 1912, exhorting people to help maintain the Union which has been a blessing to both countries. Not everyone in Ireland, however, was satisfied with the blessings bestowed by the Union. Irish Nationalists wanted to set up a new Parliament in Dublin with increased powers. The movement in favour of independent government gained momentum as the century progressed and became increasingly aligned with the Roman Catholic Church, especially following the granting of Catholic Emancipation in 1829 and the expanding power of the Church from 1850. The movement for "Home Rule': as it became known, also took the form of agitation over various real and imaginary grievances which affected Irish life. Where in Britain such problems were seen to be economic and social, in Ireland, the Nationalists saw them as political, especially in the vexed area of land ownership. Thus it was that questions of religious persuasion and economic standing came to be superimposed on the whole constitutional issue and increased the divide between the largely Roman Catholic and agrarian South and the predominantly Protestant and industrial North. In the 1870s and 1880s the extravagant language of the Home Rule movement gave rise to increased violence, thus Ulster had a glimpse of the reality of a future Dublin Parliament. This illustration depicts the Unionist view of the inhumanity of the Home Rule movement. "Boycott" became the chosen weapon of pursuing the aims of this movement and the Land League; thus Unionists saw the threat for what it was -- economic as well as political. Incidents of this nature convinced them that Irish Home Rule meant injustice, economic ruin and anarchy. Their view was that irresponsible Irish Nationalists thus forfeited the chance of self-government. For the good of all, the Union must be preserved. Unionists believed that any new Dublin Parliament would be predominantly Roman Catholic, and unduly influenced by that Church -- hence the popular slogan "nome Rule is Rome Rule" -- and that freedom of religious practice for Protestants would soon be drastically curtailed. To the Loyalists of Ulster it was not bigotry to try to prevent the setting-up of a parliament of bigots.
In an age when religious affiliation frequently determined political allegiance in Britain, the Unionist campaign against Dublin rule had the familiar ring of a religious crusade -- one for the defence of Protestantism. Many of these politico-religious themes had earlier come together in the person of the outstanding Presbyterian cleric, Henry Cooke (the famous "Black Man" whose statue stands outside Belfast Inst.).At a great meeting in Hillsborough in October 1834, Cooke had stood out to preserve Protestantism from Nationalist onslaughts by declaring a new era of Protestant co-operation. The emphasis on
a common Protestantism rather than denominationalism proved an enduring bond which assumed, then and later, an immense political, as well as religious significance. In this role, pursued throughout his life, Cooke carved out for himself a place as one of the Founding Fathers of Unionism. Go to Part 2 of the Prelude to Home Rule
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