One of the arguments in favour of the treaty had been that it allowed for the setting-up of a boundary commission. This, it was hoped by the Nationalists, would redraw the boundary in accordance with the wishes of the inhabitants. Had this been done, the most the Unionists could have hoped to control of their six counties would have been an unworkable three and a half. The city of Derry, most of the country around it, and the bulk of Counties Tyrone and Fermanagh would probably have gone to the Nationalists and been ceded to the Free State.
