They had their own chairman, Mr.Barrie, and their secretary; they secured a committee-room for their own purposes; they voted solidly as one man.

All this, though we did not know it at first, was dictated by the conditions of their attendance.
They were pledged to act simply as delegates, who must submit every question of importance to an Advisory Committee in Belfast--behind which again was the Ulster Unionist Council.

They had therefore no freedom of action and were of necessity extremely guarded in speech.
The Southern Unionists, including the representatives of the Irish peers, were also organized as a group; but they came to the Convention with much fuller powers.

They felt themselves bound to consider, and in certain conditions to consult, those whom they represented; but they were free to originate suggestions, and individually each man expressed his own view.

But they too had their meeting-place and their frequent consultations.
The handful of Labour men also met and discussed action, though they were not organized as a group and did not feel pledged to a joint course.