British Covenant
Encyclopedia
The British Covenant was a protest organised in 1914 against the Third Home Rule Bill for Ireland. It largely mirrored the Ulster Covenant
of 1912.
The failure of Asquith
and Bonar Law to reach a compromise on the delayed bill, Law accepted that a compromise was unlikely, and from January 1914 onwards returned to the position that the Unionists were "opposed utterly to Home Rule". The campaign was sufficient to bring the noted organiser Lord Milner
back into politics to support the Unionists, and he immediately asked L. S. Amery to write a British Covenant saying that the signers would, if the Home Rule Bill passed,
The Covenant was announced at a massive rally in Hyde Park
on 4 April 1914, with hundreds of thousands assembling to hear Milner, Long and Carson speak.
The signature campaign was largely organised through the Primrose League
and Walter Long
's Union Defence League. By the middle of the summer, two million signatures were obtained, together with £12,000 and a pledge to house 5-6,000 women and children.
Signatures included Field-Marshal Lord Roberts
, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Seymour
, Rudyard Kipling
, and Sir William Ramsay FRS
.
The Daily Herald condemned the campaign
The British Covenant coincided with the Larne Gun Running
. During the Curragh Incident
, Engineer Lieutenant Ranken of HMS Firedrake
, as a signatory of the British Covenant, declined to be a party to propelling the ship.
Ulster Covenant
The Ulster Covenant was signed by just under half a million of men and women from Ulster, on and before September 28, 1912, in protest against the Third Home Rule Bill, introduced by the Government in that same year...
of 1912.
The failure of Asquith
Asquith
Asquith refers to:Persons of the Asquith family, descended from or related to H.H. Asquith, a British prime minister, later a peer:*Herbert Henry Asquith , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
and Bonar Law to reach a compromise on the delayed bill, Law accepted that a compromise was unlikely, and from January 1914 onwards returned to the position that the Unionists were "opposed utterly to Home Rule". The campaign was sufficient to bring the noted organiser Lord Milner
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner KG, GCB, GCMG, PC was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played an influential leadership role in the formulation of foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s...
back into politics to support the Unionists, and he immediately asked L. S. Amery to write a British Covenant saying that the signers would, if the Home Rule Bill passed,
"feel justified in taking or supporting any action that may be effective to prevent it being put into operation, and more particularly to prevent the armed forces of the Crown being used to deprive the people of Ulster of their rights as citizens of the United Kingdom".
The Covenant was announced at a massive rally in Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
on 4 April 1914, with hundreds of thousands assembling to hear Milner, Long and Carson speak.
The signature campaign was largely organised through the Primrose League
Primrose League
The Primrose League was an organisation for spreading Conservative principles in Great Britain. It was founded in 1883 and active until the mid 1990s...
and Walter Long
Walter Long
Walter Long may refer to:*Walter Long , English knight of South Wraxall and Draycot, Wiltshire, friend of Sir Walter Raleigh*Walter Long , his son, English knight of Wiltshire*Sir Walter Long, 1st Baronet Walter Long may refer to:*Walter Long (1565–1610), English knight of South Wraxall and...
's Union Defence League. By the middle of the summer, two million signatures were obtained, together with £12,000 and a pledge to house 5-6,000 women and children.
Signatures included Field-Marshal Lord Roberts
Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts
Field Marshal Frederick Sleigh Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts, Bt, VC, KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, KStJ, PC was a distinguished Indian born British soldier who regarded himself as Anglo-Irish and one of the most successful British commanders of the 19th century.-Early life:Born at Cawnpore, India, on...
, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Seymour
Edward Hobart Seymour
Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Hobart Seymour, GCB, OM, GCVO , was a Royal Navy officer who became Commander-in-Chief, China Station.- Early life :...
, Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
, and Sir William Ramsay FRS
William Ramsay
Sir William Ramsay was a Scottish chemist who discovered the noble gases and received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1904 "in recognition of his services in the discovery of the inert gaseous elements in air" .-Early years:Ramsay was born in Glasgow on 2...
.
The Daily Herald condemned the campaign
... the fact that Lords Selbourne and Curzon, to say nothing of Lord Milner, are all members of that treasonous and seditious conspiracy known as the 'British Covenant' in support of armed revolution in Ulster.
The British Covenant coincided with the Larne Gun Running
Larne Gun Running
The Larne gun-running was a major gun smuggling operation organised in Ireland by Major Frederick H. Crawford and Captain Wilfrid Spender for the Ulster Unionist Council to equip the Ulster Volunteer Force...
. During the Curragh Incident
Curragh Incident
The Curragh Incident of 20 March 1914, also known as the Curragh Mutiny, occurred in the Curragh, County Kildare, Ireland. The Curragh Camp was then the main base for the British Army in Ireland, which at the time formed part of the United Kingdom....
, Engineer Lieutenant Ranken of HMS Firedrake
HMS Firedrake (1912)
HMS Firedrake was a modified Acheron-class destroyer, named after the firedrake of Teutonic mythology, and the sixth ship of the Royal Navy to bear the name.-Pennant Numbers:-Construction:...
, as a signatory of the British Covenant, declined to be a party to propelling the ship.