Northern government unchanged and unchangeable on Boundary Commission States Craig
Attendance at the re-opening of the Northern Parliament includes Lord Carson
Belfast, 17 October 1923 - The Northern Ireland Parliament re-opened yesterday for its autumn session with a clear message from the North’s Prime Minister, Sir James Craig, that his Government was ‘unchanged and unchangeable’ in its determination not to co-operate with Boundary Commission provided for in the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921.
The Premier had spent the days prior to the Parliament’s re-opening visiting border communities in Fermanagh and Tyrone where he said he encountered an undaunted spirit and deep loyalty to King and Constitution and where had stated unambiguously that not one loyalist in the Six Counties would be transferred to the Free State against his will, unless the loyalists so desired it.
According to Craig, his visit confirmed the improvement in conditions in the six counties, which he attributed entirely to the ‘magnificent organisation of their new Royal Ulster Constabulary and their Special Constabulary.’ Indeed, the Premier was able to use yesterday’s set-piece event - held in the presence of Lord Edward Carson - to announce that a further £1m had been promised by the Imperial Government towards the maintenance of the Special Constabulary.
Yesterday’s session was a short one as the Prime Minister asked that the debate be adjourned as a mark of courtesy to Lord Carson, their distinguished former leader.
Prof. Alvin Jackson, in conversation with RTÉ's Bryan Dobson, explains why Sir James Craig, rather than Sir Edward Carson, became the first Prime Minister of Northern Ireland
Lord and Lady Carson arrived in Northern Ireland last week and spent some time as guests of the North’s Governor General and his wife - the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn - at Baronscourt. Travelling from Kilkeel in Co. Down to the Barons Court residence of the Governor General, their route took them through Counties Down, Armagh and Tyrone with large crowds turning out at Portadown, Dungannon, Sixmilecross and Omagh. In Sixmilecross, Lord Carson was hailed as ‘Ulster’s Chieftan’ and here and in Omagh units of the Ulster Volunteer Force, established in 1913, remained in existence, vowing to hold onto every inch of the territory of Northern Ireland.
After spending a weekend at Barons Court, Lord and Lady Carson travelled to Belfast by train and from there by motor to Stormont Castle, where they were afforded a reception by Sir James and Lady Craig and then last night, following the opening of parliament, a reception was organised in their honour at the Ulster Hall by the Standing Committee of the Ulster Unionist Council. With almost 2,000 guests in attendance, the gathering was, Prime Minister James Craig remarked, really like old times.
After the Prime Minister paid lavish tribute to Lord Carson and the audience had concluded a rendition of ‘He’s a jolly good fellow’ a clearly emotional Carson reflected on his journey with James Craig since they had inaugurated the Ulster Unionist Council at Craigavon in 1911. Lord Carson remarked that in all his long career at the bar and in politics, he could not think of a moment in which he had such difficulty in controlling his emotions.
[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]
