At the beginning of the 20th century, 75% of Belfast's population was Protestant and opposed the notion of Home Rule. However, the same percentage of Ireland as a whole were Catholic and for the re-establishment of a parliament in Dublin. Irish Unionists chose Edward Carson, a lawyer and former Conservative MP for Trinity College Dublin, as their leader in 1910. Carson had previously gained notoriety in 1895 for intensely cross-examining Oscar Wilde during his trial which led to Wilde's conviction. In September 1911, Carson addressed unionist men and members of the Orange Order in Strandtown, east Belfast. He derided the Home Rule movement as a "conspiracy against free people" and called on all men to be ready to establish a government for Protestant Ulster. From 1910, Unionists, led by Edward Carson raised a militia, the Ulster Volunteers, to resist Home Rule by force if necessary. The Ulster Unionist Council secretly requested a quotation from a German arms manufacturer for 20,000 rifles and a million rounds of ammunition. In 1911, Carson and the UCC voted for the first disbursement of funds to be used in the acquisition of arms.