Magheramorne manifesto

Magheramorne manifesto (July 1905), written by Robert Lindsay Crawford for the Independent Orange Order. The manifesto indicted all forms of clericalism, appealing to Catholics and Protestants to unite on the basis of shared nationality. It condemned the newly created Ulster Unionist Council, dismissed unionism as a ‘discredited creed’, and endorsed compulsory land purchase. The manifesto embodied a reaction against the social exclusivity and intellectual narrowness of early Edwardian unionism: it was a protest document, rather than a successful appeal to nationality. Although endorsed by the Independent Orange Order, it later proved an embarrassment.

Alvin Jackson