that the terms of reference of the Convention provided that Ireland must be "within the Empire", which entailed maintaining the supremacy of the British Parliament; therefore it declined until: the terms of reference left it free to decree the complete independence of Ireland; the British Government publicly pledged itself to the United States and the Powers of Europe to ratify the decisions of the majority of the Convention and the Convention consisted of none but persons freely elected by adult suffrage in Ireland. Sinn Féin absence was disastrous in the long term for the Irish Party, allowing it in the meantime, to consolidate its hold on the Irish electorate. The government tried to remedy the serious deficiency by including nominees, who might represent the Sinn Féin viewpoint if not the organisation, the intellectuals – George W. Russell ("Æ") the writer and Edward Lysaght. They were included at the suggestion of Thomas Spring Rice, 2nd Baron Monteagle of Brandon and his son, who had useful contacts in Sinn Féin. William O'Brien of the All-for-Ireland Party, who earlier championed the principle of "conference plus business" during the successful Land Conference refused to take up the two AFIL seats. He rightly predicted that such an attendance size would end in disagreement. He outlined essential conditions for success, calling for a compact panel of a dozen genuinely representative Irishmen from North and South, on the lines of the Land Conference. His proposals were not accepted. Lloyd George, Asquith, Bonar Law, T. M. Healy and others appealed to O'Brien to attend, but he declined 'to have any responsible connection with a convention so constituted'. He believed the assembly would make a 'hateful bargain for the partition of the country under a plausible disguise'. Others who refused to attend were: The Dublin Trades Council, The Cork Trade and Labour Council, the Gaelic and National League. The opening of the Convention was preceded by two by-elections, one on 6 July when the Irish party candidate was returned unopposed for the Dublin South constituency, and four days later Éamon de Valera took the Clare East seat by 5,010 to 2,035 votes, resulting from the death of Major Willie Redmond in June. First phase Convention assembles The first conference meeting was held on 25 July at Regent House, Trinity College Dublin, the chairmanship sought and won by Sir Horace Plunkett, attended by ninety-five delegates. Elected general secretary was Lord