The Irish Question as a Problem in British Foreign Policy, 1914–18

253 Pages·1987·25.376 MB·English

by  Stephen Hartley (auth.)

THE IRISH QUESTION AS A PROBLEM IN
BRITISH FOREIGN POLICY, 1914-18
THE IRISH
QUESTION AS A
PROBLEM IN
BRITISH FOREIGN
POLICY, 1914-18
Stephen Hartley
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN 978-1-349-18548-1 ISBN 978-1-349-18546-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-18546-7
©Stephen Hartley 1987
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1987
All rights reserved. For information, write:
Scholarly & Reference Division,
St. Martin's Press, Inc., 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010
First published in the United States of America in 1987
ISBN 978-0-312-43618-6
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hartley, Stephen.
The Irish question as a problem in British foreign policy, 1914-18.
Includes index.
1. Great Britain - Foreign relations - Ireland. 2. Ireland - Foreign relations -
Great Britain. 3. Irish question. 4. Ireland - Politics and government -
1910-21. 5. World War, 1914-18-Diplomatic history. 6. Great Britain-
Foreign relations-1910-36. I. Title.
DA47.9.173H37 1987 327.410415 85-27828
ISBN 978-0-312-43618-6
For My Father
Contents
Preface ix
Abbreviations and References xi
1 Ireland and Pre-War British Foreign Policy 1
2 'The One Bright Spot' (August 1914-May 1915) 18
3 The Asquith Coalition; the Worsening Irish-
American Situation (May 1915-April1916) 33
4 The Easter Rising and its Aftermath (April-
November 1916) 50
5 Sir Roger Casement's Trial and Execution (April-
September 1916) 79
6 The Home Rule Negotiations; the American
Presidential Election (May-November 1916) 96
7 Lloyd George Takes the Helm (December 1916-
April1917) 117
8 America Enters the War; the Balfour Mission
(April-June 1917) 133
9 The Northcliffe Mission; the Irish Convention
and British Propaganda in the United States ijune
1917-April1918) 151
10 The Conscription Crisis; the Last Months of the
War (April-December 1918) 174
11 Conclusion 193
vii
viii Contents
Appendix: Organisation and Personnel of Relevant
Sections of the Foreign Office, Department of
Information and Ministry of Information 200
Notes 203
Bibliography and Sources 228
Index 237
Preface
This work arose from a long-standing interest in the repercussions
of the Irish Question on British foreign policy and in the influence of
foreign pressure on British handling of Irish affairs. Before August
1914, the Irish Question may have affected the diplomatic
calculations of certain European powers, but, once war had broken
out, the most serious reverberations were felt in Anglo-American
relations. There are many studies of the Irish-American community
and its role in American politics, while several works purport to
analyse the effect of the Irish Question on Anglo-American
diplomacy. However, the great majority of these focus attention on
the aspirations of Irish Nationalists and their American supporters,
with the result that insufficient attention has been paid to the
problems of opposing British diplomats and politicians. This study
attempts to remedy the general deficiency by focusing primarily on
British reactions to American pressure and particularly on the
opinions of Foreign Office officials, Cabinet ministers and Unionist
opponents of Irish Home Rule. Evaluation of American opinion is,
of course, essential, but is included only where it provoked British
comment or inspired British action.
Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following for
permission to quote from archive material (see Bibliography for
details): Her Majesty the Queen, for her gracious permission to
quote from papers in the Royal Archives at Windsor; the Controller
of Her Majesty's Stationery Office, for papers in the Public Record
Office; the Deputy Keeper of the Records, Northern Ireland Public
Record Office; the British Library Board; the Clerk of the Records,
House of Lords Record Office; the Beaverbrook Foundation and
A. J.P. Taylor, for the Lloyd George, Bonar Law and Beaverbrook
Papers; Times Newspapers Ltd; the Spectator forSt Loe Strachey
material; the Bodleian Library, Oxford; the Co-operative Library of
the Plunkett Foundation for Co-operative Studies, Oxford; the
Master, Fellows and Scholars of Churchill College, Cambridge; the
Cambridge University Library; the Warden and Fellows of New
ix
Preface
X
College, Oxford, for the Milner Papers; the University of
Birmingham Library; the Wiltshire County Record Office; the Kent
County Archives Office; the Ulster Unionist Council.
I must also thank the following private individuals for their kind
permission to quote from collections in their ownership: Mark
Bonham-Carter; Captain Peter Montgomery; Miss Sylvia M. Duffin;
Lord Monteagle; the Marquess of Reading; Lady Elizabeth Arthur;
Mrs Joan Longden.
The following were generous enough to supply private
information to the author: the Mount Stuart Archives, Rothesay; Sir
Cecil Dormer; Sir Colville Herbert Barclay; Major Graham Curtis
Lampson; Lady Hilda Salisbury-Jones; Mrs C. E. Emery.
In those cases where it has not been possible to trace the holder of
copyright, or where it may have been overlooked, the author offers
his apologies.
Finally, I must thank Dr M. L. Dockrill of King's College, London,
for his advice and assistance, and my father for his patient help in
manuscript adjustments and proof-reading.
S. HARTLEY
Abbreviations
and References
APR American Press Resume
Cab Cabinet
DMI Director of Military Intelligence
D of I Department of Information
FO Foreign Office
Mofi Ministry of Information
PRO Public Record Office
wo
War Office
WRO Wiltshire Record Office
Hansard references:
HC represents House of Commons Debates; HL represents House
of Lords Debates.
The notes do not show the locations of papers cited, since these can
be found in the Bibliography and Sources.
xi