The utmost they could get, however, notwithstanding their clear party majority, was a statement of 'the complete readiness of the Irish Volunteers to take joint action with the Ulster Volunteer Force for the defence of Ireland.' Further than that the older members of the Committee declined to go.

This statement in reality committed, and was meant to commit, the Volunteers to nothing, though it was interpreted by the Press as a complete endorsement of Mr.Redmond's policy." At the beginning of the war, there were two strong currents of desire in the Volunteer body and its backers.

One sought that the Volunteers should retain complete freedom of action and in no way be brought under the War Office.

The other craved to see them trained and armed with the least possible delay.

Colonel Moore,[5] who was the chief of their military staff at this time, says Mr.Hobson, saw no way of accomplishing the latter object without the assistance of the military authorities.