The Henson Journals

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Tuesday, June 16th, 1914.

There can be no reasonable doubt as to the unity of feeling in Protestant Ulster. Practically the whole male population available is enrolled in the Volunteer Force. In Belfast alone, with a Protestant population of some 300,000 souls, there are said to be 38,000 volunteers. If the boys under 16 and the men over 60 be excluded – these are the age limits within which recruiting is permitted – there can hardly be many more males in the city. I studied pretty closely the men who were drilling last night, and they certainly belonged to a great variety of types. Clerks, shopkeepers, & artisans formed the majority. There was an Episcopal clergyman in the ranks, & several employers & solicitors. The democratic character of the force cannot be disputed. At one time Mr Clarke himself was under the command of his own butler. The chauffeurs & gardeners are enrolled to a man. And the motive which predominates is religious. The loathing & dread of the Roman Church are astonishing, & both have been deepened & rationalized by the McCann case & others of a similar kind. The attacks by Papists on Sunday School processions have provoked extreme exasperation. The possession of rifles has increased enormously the purpose & confidence of the men.

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The morning paper reports the death of Bishop Tucker at the Deanery of Westminster.

I spent the day in a motor expedition to the Giant's Causeway, about sixty miles through charming country. The 'peat–harvest' was everywhere in progress, & the road lay through some considerable bogs. Under the cloudless sky everything looked brilliant. We lunched at the Hotel, & then walked out to see the Causeway. It is a truly astonishing spectacle, & has the aspect of careful construction. Yet it is Nature's unassisted work. I enquired whether seals were to be found on this coast, & an old man informed me that his son had seen a seal devouring an eel that very morning. We returned along the coast, enjoying the views, & reached Larne in good time for me to catch the steamer. The sea was smooth as glass, & glowed in the setting sun like burnished gold. Ailsa Craig stood up boldly out of the water. Lord Londonderry was on board: we dined together. He is a very bad sailor, &, even on so calm a passage, seemed to be apprehensive. On arriving at Stranraer, I went at once to the train. At Carlisle (which was reached about 1 a.m.) I broke my journey. The Station Hotel is comfortable & clean.

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Issues and controversies: irish home rule