1914] National Volunteer Movement 425 



of Home Rule. There are two difficulties in their way, the first is a 

 lack of money ; they have no rich men to help, and secondly, a lack of 

 officers. Of men there are plenty, ex-soldiers of the British Army, 

 but they are unarmed, and the question is how to get the arms. He 

 believes if they could obtain only 5,000 rifles they would be in a posi- 

 tion to coerce the Government. He is working in conjunction with 

 Professor McNeill and has to be back in Dublin on Saturday. He told 

 us also a good deal about his Congo experiences and in South America, 

 and described a talk he had had with King Leopold of Belgium, who 

 had tried to get hold of him when he was first appointed Consul on the 

 Congo, and of how old Leopold had managed even to shock Rhodes by 

 the crudity of his ideas of native exploitation. In describing his in- 

 terview with Leopold he told how the old king in tempting him had 

 watched him the the whole time through his fingers, shading his face 

 with his hand. On the whole, Casement's statement of the Irish case 

 does not sound to me very encouraging. The want of funds will pre- 

 vent any great effect being given to the Volunteer movement in the 

 South, where they have nobody like Lord Londonderry in the north 

 to subscribe the thousands needed, nor will the American-Irish help. 

 These take their view of Irish affairs entirely from Redmond and the 

 Parliamentary party, and until these last declare themselves in favour 

 of it, money will not be subscribed. Also, and this seems to me the 

 most serious side of it, the movement is more one of the towns than of 

 the country. All the same I wish it well, and if anyone can manage 

 it. Casement seems to be the man. He is well bred, well educated, 

 altogether vigorous, and a good talker." 



It is worth noting that in this entry of my conversation with Case- 

 ment there is no mention of anything connected with Berlin or Euro- 

 pean politics, nor I am sure, was there anvthing- suggesting- that his 

 mind was in that direction. During the following few weeks I re- 

 ceived three letters from him (see Appendix VI) which treat entirely 

 of Irish affairs. The only thing omitted in the diary that I can recol- 

 lect was that we discussed Mrs. O'Shea's revelations just then being 

 printed in one of the London papers. Casement's remark about it was 

 that if the revelations had been made two years ago there would have 

 been no statue of Parnell to-day in the streets of Dublin. 



" 16th May. — Patrick Butler came for the day, being on leave from 

 Clonmel. We talked about the National Volunteer movement, with 

 which he is entirely in sympathy. Butler, however, is alone in his 

 opinion at the Curragh among the officers there, and says that the army 

 will not act against the Ulstermen, while it will certainly act against the 

 National Volunteers. He also says that the three Protestant counties 

 of Ulster would accept the Emperor William as their king rather than 

 obey the Dublin Parliament. He is for giving them a separate status, 



