silver pen to
Londonderry, and the latter's name was followed in order by the
signatures of the Moderator of the General Assembly, the Lord Bishop of
Down, Connor, and Dromore (afterwards Primate of All Ireland), the Dean
of Belfast (afterwards Bishop of Down), the General Secretary of the
Presbyterian Church, the President of the Methodist Conference, the
ex-Chairman of the Congregational Union, Viscount Castlereagh, and Mr.
James Chambers, M.P. for South Belfast; and the rest of the company,
including the Right Hon. Thomas Sinclair and the veteran Sir William
Ewart, as well as the members of the Corporation and other public
authorities and boards, having attached their signatures to other
sheets, the general public waiting outside were then admitted.

The arrangements for signature by the general public had fully taxed the
organising ability of the specially appointed Ulster Day Committee, and
their three hon. secretaries, Mr. Dawson Bates, Mr. McCammon, and Mr.
Frank Hall. They made provision for signatures to be received in many
hundreds of localities throughout Ulster, but it was impossible to
estimate closely the numbers that would require accommodation at the
City Hall. Lines of desks, giving a total desk-space of more than a
third of a mile, were placed along both sides of the corridors on the
upper and lower floors of the building, which enabled 540 persons to
sign the Covenant simultaneously. It all worked wonderfully smoothly,
largely because every individual in the multitude outside was anxious to
help in maintaining orderly procedure, and behaved with the greatest
patience and willingness to follow directions. The people were admitted
to the Hall in batches of 400 or 500 at a time, and as there was no
confusion there was no waste of time. All through the afternoon and up
to 11 p.m., when the Hall was closed, there was an unceasing flow of men
eager to become Covenanters. Immense numbers who belonged to the Orange
Lodges, Unionist clubs, or other organised bodies, marched to the Hall
in procession, and those whose route lay through Royal Avenue had an
opportunity, of which they took the fullest advantage, of cheering
Carson, who watched the memorable scene from the balcony of the Reform
Club, the quondam headquarters of Ulster Liberalism.

Prominent and influential men in the country districts refrained from
coming to Belfast, preferring to sign the Covenant with their neighbours
in their own localities. T