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Historical revision XX: H. E. Duke and the Irish administration, 1916-18

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 July 2016

Eunan O’Halpin
Eunan O’Halpin*
Affiliation:
Churchill College, Cambridge
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Type
Historical revision
Information
Irish Historical Studies , Volume 22 , Issue 88 , September 1981 , pp. 362 - 376
Copyright
Copyright © Irish Historical Studies Publications Ltd 1981

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References

1 Boyce, D.G. and Hazlehurst, Cameron, ‘The unknown chief secretary H. E. Duke and Ireland, 1916–18’ in I.H.S., no. 79 (Mar. 1977), p.310.Google Scholar This article will be cited hereafter as Boyce & Hazlehurst, ‘H. E. Duke’

2 Roskill, S.W, Hankey: man of secrets (3 vols, London, 1970–74), 1, 269 Google Scholar; Boyce, & Hazlehurst, , ‘H. E. Duke’, p. 288.Google Scholar

3 Addison, Christopher, Four and a half years (2 vols, London, 1934), 1, 208.Google Scholar

4 Long to Bonar Law, 11 May 1916 (Wiltshire Record Office, hereafter cited as W.R.O., Long papers, 947/272). Chalmers was a joint permanent secretary to the treasury from 1912 to 1913, and from 1916 to 1919.

5 Duke to Wimborne, and Wimborne to Duke, 7 Aug. 1916 (Bodleian Library, Asquith MSS 44).

6 Boyce, & Hazlehurst, , ‘H. E. Duke’, p. 292.Google Scholar

7 Wimborne to Long, 6 Oct. 1916 (W.R.O., Long papers, 947/394); Wimborne to Lloyd George, 2 Feb. 1917 and 23 Feb. 1918 (House of Lords Record Office, hereafter cited as H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/48/1/3 and 6).

8 Memorandum by Long for unionist members of cabinet, 14 June 1916 (Birmingham University Library, hereafter cited as B.U.L., Austen Chamberlain papers, AC 13/5/18). R.I.C. were the initials by which the Royal Irish Constabulary was generally known.

9 Long to Chamberlain, 2 Nov 1921 (B.U.L., Austen Chamberlain papers, AC 23/2/1). Byrne was given a last ‘chance’ to improve the performance of the R.I.C. by the clique which came to dominate Dublin Castle in 1919 (Saunderson to Long, 1 and 12 June 1919, W.R.O., Long papers, 947/347). He was eventually pushed out in December 1919, with the prime minister’s approval ( Townshend, Charles, The British campaign in Ireland, 1919–1921 (London, 1975), pp 44–5).Google Scholar Byrne found a vigorous champion in the head of the civil service, Sir Warren Fisher, who in 1921 tried to have him appointed head of the special branch in London in succession to Sir Basil Thompson, who had been a party to his removal in 1919. See O’Halpin, Eunan, ‘Sir Warren Fisher and the coalition, 1919–1922’ in Historical Journal, 24 (1981), pp 917–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

10 Long to Wimborne, 10 Aug. and 7 Sept. 1916 (W.R.O., Long papers, 947/394). Taylor had been Long’s private secretary when he was chief secretary in 1905–06. Duke was being pressed by nationalist politicians to appoint T P Gill as under-secretary (Duke to Long, 1 Sept. 1916, W.R.O., Long papers, 947/208).

11 Long to Duke, 31 Aug. 1916 (ibid); Taylor to Long, 6 Sept. 1916 (W.R.O., Long papers, 947/394).

12 Note of a meeting between Duke and a southern unionist delegation led by Midleton, 17 Nov. 1916 (P.R.O., Midleton papers, P.R.O. 30/67/31).

13 One such official was the treasury remembrancer, Headlam, Maurice. In his Irish reminiscences (London, 1947), p. 196,Google Scholar he makes no secret of his many warnings to sympathetic M.P.s about ‘the dangers of coquetting with home rule’ On 29 June 1916 he told Chamberlain that ‘after four years here, my belief is that the Birrell refusal to govern the country was a deliberate attempt to make the union form of government impossible’ (B.U.L., Austen Chamberlain papers, AC 14/5/8).

14 Minute by General Byrne, 5 Sept. 1916 (S.P.O., Crime Branch Special box no. 23, 12183/S). The other members of the committee were Stanley Baldwin and Jonathan Pim, a former attorney-general for Ireland. There is nothing concerning it in Baldwin’s papers in the Cambridge University Library, while Sankey’s diary for 16 Jan. 1932 mentions his destruction of his papers on the ‘Sinn Féin revolt’ (Bodl., MS Eng. hist. e. 286).

15 W.C. 14, 21 Dec. 1916 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/1).

16 Boyce and Hazlehurst, ‘H.E. Duke’, pp296, 297

17 As in n. 12 above; memorandum by Maxwell for cabinet, 24 June 1916 (B.U.L., Austen Chamberlain papers, AC 14/5/29).

18 Maxwell to Long, 17 July 1916 (ibid., AC 14/5/35).

19 Memorandum by Maxwell as in n. 17 above; see also his circular to all competent military authorities, 3 Aug. 1916(P.R.O., W.O. 35/62, Irish command order no. 1249). See also Maxwell to Duke, 21 Sept. 1916, proposing the transfer of censorship to the civil authorities (P.R.O., W.O. 35/69/9). For Long on the general’s position, see his memorandum to unionist members of cabinet, 15 June 1916 (B.U.L., Austen Chamberlain papers, AC 14/5/14B).

20 Maxwell to Asquith, 17 June and 12 May 1916, in General SirArthur, George, General Sir John Maxwell (London, 1932), pp 272, 259.Google Scholar

21 H.A.L. Fisher diary, 14 Mar. 1918, giving Long’s account of Kitchener’s reaction to news of the rebellion (Bodl., Fisher papers, box 8a); Ash, Bernard, The lost dictator Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson (London, 1968), p. 204.Google Scholar

22 Arthur, , Maxwell, p. 291.Google Scholar

23 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1918, 4667 and 5975.

24 W.C. 73 (11) and (12), 19 Feb. 1917 (P.R.O. Cab. 23/1).

25 For an account of Hall’s career see Admiral SirJames, William, The eyes of the navy: a biographical study of Admiral Sir Reginald Hall (London, 1955).Google Scholar

26 H.L.R.O., St Loe Strachey papers, S/21/2/5–6. Strachey, editor of the Spectator, passed on material received from Robert Lynn, editor of the Northern Whig.

27 See n. 13 above.

28 Strachey to Lynn, 9 July 1918 (H.L.R.O., St Loe Strachey papers, S/21/2/5).

29 Healy to Bonar Law, 9 Mar. 1917 (H.L.R.O., Bonar Law papers, 81/4/9).

30 Long to Bonar Law, 17 Mar. 1917 (ibid, 81/4/19).

31 W.C. 120 (2), 17 Apr 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/2).

32 Addison, Four and a half years, ii, 380.

33 W.C. 163(19), 14 June 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/3).

34 Addison, , Four and a half years, 2, 400.Google Scholar

35 Midleton to Bonar Law, 19 June 1917 (H.L.R.O., Bonar Law papers, 82/1/17); note of a meeting between Curzon and Midleton, Desart and Oranmore, 28 June 1917 (P.R.O., Midleton papers, 30/67/33).

36 G.T 1242, 29 June 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 24/18); W.C. 173, appendix, G.T 1261, 4 July 1917 (ibid., Cab. 23/3).

37 Addison, , Four and a half years, 2, 404.Google Scholar

38 Roskill, , Hankey, 1, 406–7.Google Scholar

39 W.C. 186, 14 July 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/3).

40 Duke to Lloyd George, 16 July 1917 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/3 7/4/30).

41 Maxwell had warned Long on 18 July 1916 that the country needed more resident magistrates (W.R.O., Long papers, 947/307). The unsatisfactory nature of the system of unpaid local magistrates was emphasised in 1918, when the chairman of Kerry county council became a justice of the peace ex officio while in jail for possession of explosives (S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1918, 18957).

42 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1916, 14156.

43 Ibid.

44 G.T 2401, circulated by Duke to the cabinet on 27 Oct. 1917, includes the text of Mahon to Duke, 5 Oct. 1917, complaining of the use made by the civil authorities of military courts (P.R.O., Cab. 24/32).

45 W.C. 249 (13), 15 Oct. 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/4).

46 W.C. 245 (14), 5 Oct. 1917 (ibid).

47 Wimborne to Churchill, 17 Oct. 1917, in Boyce, & Hazlehurst, , ‘H. E. Duke’ p. 305.Google Scholar

48 Salisbury to Chamberlain, 17 Oct. 1917 (B.U.L., Austen Chamberlain papers, AC 11/1/76).

49 W.C. 255A, 23 Oct. 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/13).

50 W.C. 256A, 24 Oct. 1917 (ibid); General Byrne to Sir William Byrne, 15 June 1918 (P.R.O., CO. 904/169/2).

51 W.C. 242 (4), 1 Nov 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/4).

52 G.T 2854, 3 Dec. 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 24/34). When a military intelligence officer criticised the civil authorities in a report to his superiors that Duke happened to see, the chief secretary complained of the man’s attempt ‘to read lectures on high politics to the civil executive’ (Duke to Byrne, 1 Mar 1918, P.R.O., CO. 904/157/1).

53 Minutes by O’Connor and Byrne, 11 Dec. 1917 (ibid., CO. 904/122/2).

54 General Byrne to Sir William Byrne, 15 June 1918 (ibid., CO. 904/169/2).

55 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1918, 7262.

56 Midleton to Lloyd George, 22 Feb. 1918 (P R.O., Midleton papers, P.R.O. 30/67/33).

57 Sir William Byrne to Duke, 21 Feb. 1918 (S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1918, 4667).

58 Minute by Duke, 12 Feb. 1918 (S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1918, 4533).

59 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1918, 5975.

60 H.A.L. Fisher diary, 28 Feb. 1918 (Bodl., Fisher papers, box 8a).

61 French to Lloyd George, 2 and 5 Mar. 1918 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/48/6/4 and 5).

62 Campbell to Bonar Law, 18 Feb. 1918 (H.L.R.O., Bonar Law papers, 82/9/10); Robinson to Long, 14 Mar. 1918 (W.R.O., Long papers, 947/352).

63 Long to Lloyd George, 1 and 4 Mar. 1918 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/32/5/9 and 10).

64 Turner, John, Lloyd George’s secretariat (Cambridge, 1980), p. 117 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; W.C. 372(13), 25 Mar. 1918 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/5).

65 Montagu to Heath, 7 Feb. 1916 (Trinity College, Cambridge, Montagu papers, AS-1-8, 220 (6)).

66 G.C. Duggan, ‘The life of a civil servant’, ch. viii (a copy of a draft of this unpublished memoir was kindly provided by Dr John McColgan).

67 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1916, 21693.

68 Ibid, C.S.O. R.P 1917, 11663; C.S.O. R.P 1918, 7994.

69 G.T 2137, memorandum by Duke for cabinet, 27 Sept. 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 24/27).

70 G.T 2177, memorandum by Long for cabinet, 29 Sept. 1917 (ibid).

71 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1916, 14810.

72 Neligan, David, The spy in the castle (London, 1968),Google Scholar lays stress on the poor morale of the Dublin Metropolitan Police. For an example of the improvements sought by the R.I.C, see S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1917, 30676.

73 Townshend, , British campaign in Ireland, p. 27 Google Scholar

74 S.P.O., C.S.O. R.P 1917, 15588.

75 W.C. 266 (9), 6 Nov 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/4); Duke to Lloyd George, 26 Dec. 1916 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/37/4/3).

76 W.C. 266 (9), 6 Nov 1917 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/4).

77 Addison, , Four and a half years, 2, 433.Google Scholar A similar proposal by his successor was shot down a year later (W.C. 505 (10), 21 Nov 1918, P.R.O., Cab. 23/8).

78 Chalmers to the financial secretary to the treasury and to the chancellor, 2 Oct. 1917 (H.L.R.O., Davidson papers, ‘Ireland’ file, C.3). These papers have not yet been properly catalogued.

79 Micks, W L., An account of the Congested Districts Board for Ireland from 1891 to 1923 (Dublin, 1925), pp 166–7,Google Scholar tells how he and Anderson ‘in a conference of a few hours’ settled a dispute about pensions for the board’s staff which had been running for over a decade. On p. 162 he describes how the board took the treasury to court and won on the question of how money voted by parliament should be paid to the board.

80 W.C. 373 (11), 26 Mar. 1918 (P.R.O., Cab. 23/5); W.G.S. Adams to Lloyd George, 29 Mar. 1918, in Turner, , Lloyd George’s secretariat, p. 114.Google Scholar

81 Long to Lloyd George, 10 Apr 1918 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/3 2/5/20).

82 Duke to Lloyd George, 16 Apr. 1918 (ibid, F/37/4/51).

83 Addison, , Four and a half years, 2, 512 Google Scholar; H.A.L. Fisher diary, 16 Apr 1918 (Bodl., Fisher papers, box 8a).

84 H.A.L. Fisher diary, 29 Apr. 1918 (ibid); Wimborne to Lloyd George, 10May 1918 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/48/1/11).

85 Campbell to Bonar Law, 3 May and 28 Apr 1918 (H.L.R.O., Bonar Law papers, 83/5/2 and 83/2/34); Chamberlain to Lloyd George, 3 May 1918 (H.L.R.O., Lloyd George papers, F/7/2/11).

86 Boyce, & Hazlehurst, , ‘H. E. Duke’ p. 311.Google Scholar

87 This period began inauspiciously with the ‘German plot’ fiasco, but thereafter there were few incidents.

88 Of the last five chief secretaries for Ireland — Birrell, Duke, Shortt, Macpherson and Greenwood — only Shortt, who became home secretary in January 1919, went on to a higher political post.