Appeal to a common feeling for France did not elicit a general response; but here and there in every quarter there were those who leapt to their feet and cheered, waving the papers that were in their hands; and the two figures that stand out most vividly in my recollection were Willie Redmond, our leader's brother, and Arthur Lynch.

We were in a very different atmosphere already from the days of the Boer War.
It was not until the speaker reached in his statement the outrage committed on Belgian neutrality that feeling manifested itself universally.

Appeal was made to the sense of honour, of fair play, of respect for pledges, by a man as well fitted to make such an appeal as ever addressed any audience; and it was the case of Belgium that made the House of Commons unanimous.
Later in the evening speeches from the Radical group made it clear that unanimity was not yet definitive.

Labour was hesitant; Germany had still to complete Sir Edward Grey's work.

With this disposition in England itself, what was likely to be the feeling in Ireland?
Nobody, I think, expected that anything would be said from our benches.