On 28 September 1912 Protestant Unionists met in the Ulster Hall in Belfast to inaugurate the celebration of "Ulster Day" and protest the Third Home Rule Bill. Presbyterian minister Dr. William McKeen gave a sermon where he stated that "The Irish question is, at bottom, a war against Protestantism. It is an attempt to establish a Roman Catholic ascendancy in Ireland. To begin the disintegration of the Empire by securing a second Parliament in Dublin." He went on to remark that the Ulster Covenant was a measure that would protect the Protestant people from any incursion by those who would seek their undoing. From there and many other meeting places across the city, Irish Unionists converged on Belfast City Hall at noon lead by Edward Carson and other city officials. Carson proceeded to a round table draped in the Union Flag where he was the first to sign the Ulster Covenant (using a silver pen). The signing was then opened to the general public to the relief of the stewards who struggled to control the eager crowd.