Had they been set to duties of coast patrol, under officers who were available on the spot, and given clear recognition as part of the defensive forces, their body would have been alive and active; as it was, it atrophied and grew inert.

Broadly speaking, the same was true all over the country.

Redmond was willing to make bricks for the War Office to build with; they insisted that he should make them without straw.
Facts directly connected with recruiting ultimately convinced the British public that the War Office had spoilt a great opportunity in Ireland.

But the fundamental blunder, the deep-seated cause which undermined the force of Redmond's appeal, was the refusal of recognition to the National Volunteers and the failure to fulfil the promise held out in Mr.Asquith's Dublin speech.
II The other respects in which the War Office crippled the Nationalist efforts after recruiting were matters of detail, not of principle.

The first and best help which Redmond might expect would have come from his colleagues in the party; and all the recruiting authorities in Ireland should have been directed to secure that help locally.