"There was no reluctance. They could have rejected it."
Tactically they couldn't - they did not "fully back the bill" you have Craig's statement and their continuing behaviour right up to the present day has confirmed that fact.
Where is your evidence for any of this Keith - you appear to have abandoned even your "real historians" - oh fickle, fickle man!!!
Can we just sort out this temporary/permanent nonsense once and for all.
In his Limerick speech Redmond described the idea of partition as "an unthinkable abomination"
He was only brought around to the idea by the promise that it should be only for a temporary period - six years.
Lloyd George was fully aware of this - that is why he separately and secretly negotiated with both sides, promising one side a temporary partitioning, the other, a permanent one.
Not only did that dishonesty kill The Home Rule movement stone dead and lead to a demand for full independence for Ireland, but it has been responsible for every bomb exploded and every bullet fired in here and on mainland Britain ever since.
It was described as a "betrayal" by Redmond, who as a supporter of The British Empire, and that is exactly what it was.
Now, unless anybody has any fresh information on the matter I suggest we stop peddling lines that have long been discredited and move on.
NEXT
Jim Carroll