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Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre fiim^s d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est fiimd d partir de I'angle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 c ^ /-T*).. > !(. ,■(>.< ^{^i ^^■ Sepoeniben 1896. M|cSM<i;R*I«C DEI. X: io^i \\v P^^SiH^ %i- } .r\ I ., / ' ^ 1 HISTORY AND ALBUM OF THF, IRISH RACE CONVENTION. ii ■r- \_>r- •- 1 -^. _ f HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIIL XV. I ' \\ ',\TIU\ 4 ! '1. ' I :i>i' ' I |.; \|'|i. 1 I ' < ■ I I ', ..1 • Ml,' '■. ,. .;. ,/ .i/,.i li S^ u i' U n : II.. '. ■'. \ h w \ I K (■ (■. ;l,.i I.. Mil, . Hi.l , , 'J < I iiP^ His HOLINESS I'Orii 1.1, () xni. i ins Tom' AM) ALHTM IRISH RACH CONVHNTION w I lie 1 1 Mi:r /x nviti.iN riir. riRsr riiNiin DAYS Oh SHI'TllMlillN, iS^/,, Most Ki:\. Dr. O'Donnkm., Bisiior of KAnioi{ IN TIIK CIIAIK: Mi.NKtiKs, i.isr t)i' |)|;i,|';(;ati;s, I'Ktx kiidincs iiiai' i.i-.d I'r To IIIK c:nN\KNII()N, AN'I) TlIK DKCl.AKAllo.N i)| DI.I.KliAlKS KKdM AlIKdAI) ON CONCLUSION Ol' SAMl!; ALSO, Till-; ANNL'Al. CONSKNTION OK I'MK IKISII NAIIONAI, l.l.AOUK OF GK1:A1' liKIlAlN; ANU HON. EDWAKD lil.AKK'S Sl'KliClI ON Tllli OVER-TAXATION OK IRKl-AND. 3llustratc5. By I'crmissiou from the Freeman's Joiinhil, &ii(ti(i and AnaiigiJ. S)ublin: SEALY, URYERS AND W A L K. K k, MIUULE AUUEY blREliT. V j|P si,<r».fe?»'oT ' ..-- .-15!I^: ^ ^, i J iJ-W -^.> O" V 'i n Ci (: 1 (! t V: >!«*' »4 t. DUBI-IN : rniNTEI) IIT SF.Al.y, IIUIKllS AND WALKEH. _:^x; -^ IRtSH RACE CONVENTION, LEINSTER ^ -< .>«Ht^ ^ ri^li^ -p M: -» "^ , 'i *%". LEINSTER HALL, DUBLIN, September, 1896. J -'v. m I \ I I ;-i;ii V !■! \ / .^ /" c r^^ (f i ' / r-_ V a IRation ®nce Hoain! When boyhoo<\« fire wa« in my blood, I read of ancient freemen, For Greece an.l Rome who bravely stood, Three hundred men and three men. And then I prayed I yet ; might see Our fetters rent m twaui, And Ireland, long a province, be A nation (jnce again. And, from that time, through wildest woe, That hope has «hone a far light, Nor could love's brightened summer glow Outshine that solemn starlight: It seemed to watch above my head In forum, '^.eld, and fane ; Its angel voice sang round my bea, "A nation once again." It whispered, too, that "freedom's ark And service high and holy. Would be profaned by feelings dark. And passions vain or lowly : For freedom comes from God's right hand, And needs a godly train; And righteous men must make our land A nation once again." So, as 1 grew from boy to man, I bent me to that bidding- My spirit of each selfish plan And cruel passion ridding ; For, thus I hoped some day to aid- Oh! can such hope bo vain? When my dear country shall be made A nation once again. r V^' '•/ \ \ / \ -y ^c. -7/ J,C^.r <i f;-, i; Jntvobuction. My connection with the Irish Race Convention is purely literary Personally, I believe in the political ability and sincerity of Mr. John Dillon, but am willing to respect the opinions of others who may choose to take a different view. Hut. apart from politics, the Convention was a great historic event, which some one should necessarily chronicle. The task fell to Mr. Alfred Webb, who was in every way well adapted for it ; but, as he states, the work was prepared hurriedly, in order to meet a pressing requirement, and thus can hardly be regarded as a worthy souvenir of so memorable an occasion. I was honoured with the task of endeavouring, at least, to improve it. So many difficulties, however, arose, which had not at first been antici- pated, that the work falls far short of what I had hoped to produce. A severe illness rendered me unfitted for literary work for several months, and hence it was impossible for me to have the book issued on the anniversary of the Convention, as I had expected and promised. Moreover, an appointment in Rome, and the duties consequent, engaged the time and attention which should have been given to the work. I had calculated, too, m assistance which, when needed, was not forth- coming, and from this cause much of the delay has arisen. The Memoirs of the various speakers which are submitted in the book were secured usually through some friend of the subject, or through some public record. Possibly there are some inaccuracies ; nor would this be strange, considering their number, and owing to the fact that most of those of whom there is mention are not public men, and hence no tangible records could be secured except through their friends, who often had some reluctance in interfering, lest they might not be equal to the task, and perhaps at best were not perfectly accurate. Some of the sketches were supplied, and appear very nj^ich in the form in which they came Most of them ihave been ■/,■'; n -n V /^' J viii /A'/,S7/ HACK COSVKSTION. corrected, sometimes ciilar<,'c(I, ami sometimes abridged ; wliercas some have been written entirely by myself. 1 claim that they are generally accurate, and whatever has been said, for or against, in the individual cases is but an expression of the estimate in which they arc commonly held. It has hardly been deemed necessary to make any changes in the speeches. This ilepartmcnt has already been attended to by Mr. Webb, and he has kindly permitted me to avail myself of his labours. The speech of the Hon. Edward Blake, delivered in the House of Commons 29th March, 1897, on the I'inancial Relations between Great Britain and Ireland, has been added, as havint,' a yreat interest for Irishmen, not to speak of the ability which it diq)Iays. It may be mentioned that a Royal Commission was appointed in May, 1894, to investigate the financial relations between the two countries, inasmuch as com- plaints have been made that the financial arrangements were not (juite satisfactory. The result of the investigation proved that, all things considered, Ireland was overtaxed to the extent of some two and a-half millions. Mr. Blake was selected to bring the matter before the House, and his speech on the occasion, which is herewith given, speaks abundantly for itself. The illustrations, it is hoped, will render the work very much more interesting. There is no rule observed as to the extent of the Memoirs, and their length does not necessarily signify their importance. Some of them have been supplied by too-admiring friends, and the great difficulty consisted in reducing them to practical bounds ; or, perhaps, it might be safer to say, by those who had little experience in such work, and misunderstood what was in reality required. But in some cases information was refused other than what was already supplied ; and some refused to have anything added, and, as far as they could, to have anything eliminated. Generally speaking, great interest was centred in the work, and those who could consistently render assistance were well disposed to do so. The order corresponds mostly with that in which the names occur in the proceedings. I have to express my indebtedness to Mr. Dillon and the other members of the Irish Party, who entrusted to me a work of such importance, and one so intimately associated with the 'aV V-- v\^ ^iJ* -7 3 1 INTRODUCTION. IX ? Irish cause. I must saj', however, I have not imdertaken tlie work because of any concession already obtained, or any likely to be obtained. Nor am I known personally to more than two members of the Irish Party, and from that Party I have secured no benefits, and hope for none. I have also to cxfircss my deep sense of gratitude to Mr. IMakc, wlio permitted me to insert in the work his speech on the Financial Relations, which must lend to it considerable interest and importance. To Mr. Webb I am also indebted for his great kindness in handing over to me practically the fruits of his labour, having so carefully arranged the proceedings of the Convention from the reports of the Free- mans Journal, and edited the work with such ability. He has also seen through the press the .speech of Mr. Hlake, which I have been permitted to use, and for his kindness I feel exceed- ingly grateful. Having prefaced so much, I venture to offer to the public this work, in the hope that it will meet a cordial reception, and be in some respects a suitable memento and record of what must remain a memorable event in Irish history. I I 1 I ' '< DANIEL F. McCRKA. P r --> 1'' ]i ;/. :;i r-1 1 ' i:: ' L. - e.^ r -^ Contents. A Nation On(i; Acain ! lNIRf)l)UCHON Convention Succestkh iiv Akliiiiisikip oi' Tukoni.) ACXEI'TANCK OK Sl'CCiKS HON IIY IRISH rAKTV CoNsrriUTiON or tiik Co.nvkniion ... Ai.i. iKisii Naiionalisi- Memukrs Invited ... Resolutions and Motions ... Lkttek from United States and Canadian Dki.koates Leinster IIali. BiOGRAniicAi. Sketches oi hie Speakfrs ... First Day's Proceedings ... Second Day's Proceedings... Third Day's Proceedings ... Resolutions of hie Convention ... Dropi'ed Resoi.uitons List ok Delegates: Irish Race Aiiroad AfE.MiiERs of Parliament Clergy.. County and Civic Great Britain... Central Body, Irish National Federation ... Ireland Stewards ... Irish National League of Great Britain, Annual Convention ... Justin M'Carthy, M.P., on the Convention Impressions of the Convention, iiy a "Spectator" Address of Delegates from Aiiroad to the Irish People at Home AND Aiiroad Very Rev. Dr. Ryan, of Toronto, at Clonmel Personal Reminiscences of the Irish Uace Convention, uy tub Rev. U. F. McCrea Hon. Edward Llake, M.P., on the Ovfr-Taxation of Ireland ... V vii I 4 5 7 7 8 9 II '53 20I 20 1 3!8 32a 327 328 328 332 332 335 336 352 354 373 376 37S 3«i 385 397 ^1 ''^- ('■ \'' 3^^l^^ to fiDcmoii-0 n^^ Spcccbc^, I'AdK II 14 .50 Most Kkv. John WALbii, IJ.U., Arcliliislmii of Toronto.,. Chairman, Mom Kkv. 1)k. O'DoSNiai., Ilisliop of Kaplioc— Memoir ... Opciiint; Aililrcss... Closint; Address ... [Also on proceilurc, p|>. 15J, 154. '61. 18G, 190, joi, 206, 210, 220, 227, 231, 2J2, 243, 261, 262, 26S, 271, 272, 277, 278, 280, 285, 290, 297, 2yS, 310, 311.] Amiikosk, I)k., M.r. 32. "53 Di.AKK, IIo.N. KnwAUii, .M.I'. 20, 232, 2')o, 317 IlKO.MiiY, Hon. CiiakiI's II., Tasni.inis Cl.ANCV, Ukv. .M. a., Nowfininill.ind ... Ci.ancv, Rkv. J., Tippcrury ... CoRNWAl.l., Mr. .Mosks, Kimlicrley CosniJAN, Hon. John, Ou.iwa Davitt, Mk. .Miciiaei., M.I'. Ukvi.in, Mr. J. H., \Vilkf.larrc, roiinsylvaiiia ... Drviin, Mr. Josbi'II, DcKiist ... Dii.i.oN, Mr. John, .M.I'. Uoran, Mr. Davih, Kcnmnrc DUFKY, Mr. Thuma.s, I'.L.G., Longford UUM.EAVY, Mr. Patkick, I'hiladelpliia Kkrouson, Mr. John, (Jla.sgow KnzGERAl.D, Mr., Ucrmondscy l''LANNERY, VuRY KeV. Dr., St. Thomas', Canada Flvnn, Rev. 1'. !•"., I'.l'., Walcrlord ... roi.KY, Rev. Dr., Nova .Scolia (lALl.Ac.liER, Mr. I'ArKicK, Ncw York llARKiNnroN, Mr. Timothy, M.T. Harris, Very Key. Uean, Ottawa Healy, Mr. Timothy Michael, M.I'. Heney, John Chevalier, Ottawa Herron, Mr. Charles, South Derry ... Hunt, Mr. Thomas, Melbourne Kelly, Richt Rev. Monskinor, Irisli College, Rome Kennedy, Key. M. 15., IMarncy Kennedy, Mk. Martin, Wellington, Ncw Zealand • n: 54. '77 71, 188 120, 280 5'. '76 116, 173 26, 293 140. 306 113. 272 17, 245. 3". 3>3 ... 302 ... 302 O2, 182 73. '91 277 138. 30s 76, 202, 206, 230 05. '83 ... 126 ... lOI 57, 178, 262, 313 96 105, 265 142, 306 46, 170 37. '54 92. 227 60, 186 ISDEX Tit MA'MOIJIS AM> Sl'JJKCIlKS. XIII Kii.iiKiiii',, Mk. Di'.nis, M.l'. ... LoDiiid.iN, Mk. Thomas, Unidfnr'l LuNiKi.N, .\Ik. U'li.iuM, I.imcrlcU I.VM II, KliV. 1',, Mnndu'slir ... LvNSKEY, Vkkv Ki-.v, Canon, CliWcn ... Lynskey, Mk. Geo. J., LivcriKwl LvilLU, Kkv. Mk., Moncyrcu M'I.'aktan, Vkkv Kkv. Canon, Dunnulimcrc ... M'Cariiiv, Mr. Justin, M.l'. M'I'AUDKN, Kkv. James, IM'. ... M'Kkown, Hon. John, Q.C, Si. Culhcrinc'H, Cimula Marsiiai.i,, Kkv. Ci-xiRdK K., New Ilampjliirc ... Mkac.iihk, Kkv. Wii.i.iam, C.C, Clonmcl Ml RNANK, Kkv. E., Berinomlscy MuRi'iiv, Mk. Hugh, Ulasgow O'IJkikn, Mr. William O'Cai.i.aoiian, Kkv. Dknis, Uosion ... O'CoN.NoR, Mr. T. v., M.l'. ... O'Donnkll, Kkv. P. J., Monlrenl O'IIaka, Kkv. I)., IM'., Kiltimnul, O'lIiDciNs, Mr. John H., liosion, U.S.A. O'Lkarv, Kkv. Tkier, IM'., Castlclyons O'Lkarv, Very Kev. MoNsir..NOR, IM'., (Jlonakiliy O'Meaka, Mr. M., Dundnlk O'.Meara, Dr. W. 1'., Smitlminplon riiiLi,ir.s, Rev. K. .S., rennsylvmiia Ql'l.N, Mr. ALniONsus, Arl>oc Kkumonu, Mr. John K., M.P. Rvan, Rev. Dr., Toronto, reads Lctler Rvan, Mr. JosEi'ii 1'., New Vork Scanlan, Rkv. J., I'.I'., Cloiighjordaii ... Sexton, Mk. Thomas Shkeiiv, Mr. David, M.P. Shinkwin, Very Rev. Canon, Bandon Smyth, Alderman W. J., M.iyor of Walerford Si-LLIVAN, Mr. William, Hiadford TiMMiNs, Dr., Boston Weiiu, Mk. Alfred, Dublin ... I'ti.K 131. ioo l(x;, 370 137. 395 59, 181 2>), I Si 1.1'''. .103 Ml. joi ... loO, J65, 271 ... 33. "53. '('9 3^• 153 •43. 307 OK, 186 86, 215 3IO, 326 108, 368 131, 383 49. 173 ... 80, 204 JI3 III, 371 138, 2lj0 94, 341 9J. no 83, 3IJ 93. 230 89, 218 ... 72, 188, 397 «37. 30s '50 ■ • 39. '55. '66 134, 285 '47. 3'3 44 42, iss 'S3 78, 303 87, 216 '45. 308 148, 162 XL> 3n^t^t to ipbotoornpho. Mri'.T \ny. I'liiN WAi -11, I Md^t IIi:V. I'ATllll K (I'Dll.N I'll »fl 170 i''l »;'! »a'l MM \nil.n»T, Iir, M.T. Illnki'. lion. K . M.I'. Ilrniiil.y. II I'. II. cliiiHy, llrv. M. A, riimi'V. llrv. J. - CiiniwiiU. Mr. M. I'iMlltritn. Hon J. - Hiivllt. Mr. M., M.l>. DihIiii, Mr. .1. h. - lii'vliii, Mr. 111". - Dillon. Mr..!.. M.I'. Unnli'iiv ), Mr. I'. l-'rrt/nHoi), Mr. .1. - liiiniiiry, Vitv lli'v, Dr. H'l llvnii, ll.'x. 1'. K. I.ilrv, llrv. Iir. - liiillMtflirr. Mr. I'. Iliirrmi^icin .Mr. 'I'. M.!'. Iliirri". Vcrv lliv. Ilran llciily. Mr. T. M.. M.I'.. Ili'my, I'liiMillir •oil III i.D., .\n lilI'Mmii 111 'rcirunlii NKl.l, Il.l'.i llii'lKir <>l lliil'liiic lAl.ll Hunt, Mr. T. - - i;'i Ki'llv. ill. Ili'v. Miinalir. i;i Ki'nniilv, llrv. M. II. - "l| Krnnrilv. .Mr. M. - i'i| Kliliniliv y\r. I).. M.l'. »oo Ixiiifliiln. Sir. 'r. - - it't l.iincliin. Mr. W. - • au I.vn.li. lli'v. 1'. - - i«'i Lvnukry. V. llrv. Ciitlim KM I.ynxkry, Mr. (I. .1. - >('» I.yllU'. llrv. Mr. - - if" M'Curtan, V. llrv. Cnnunaio Mi'firlliv. .Mr. .1.. M.l'. ii.i M( Crcii. llrv. I). I'. - lUli M Klldilrn, llr\..l. - i;| M ilriinr. Ml»n - - tifi M Ki'iiwii. Iliin. .1.. i;.C'. a7g Mnr«liHll. llrv. (I. K. - io| Mi'iuMrr. llrv. W. - SOI) Miirpliv. Mr. II. - - jio ii'lirlrn, Mr, \V. - - i;| /■*.'«//i/t|Mr xvl LI" ()'Ciilliii;liiin. Ilr\. P. - 17.) O'CipiiMdr. Mr. T. I'.. M.I'. »i«i o'llonnrll, llrv. 1'. J. - ai'i D'lliirii. llrv. I). - - »<«! O'lliKUlnK. Mr. .1. It. - >i| O'l.i'iiry, llrv. 1'. - - m") O'Mnirii. Mr. M. - - aH O'.Mriirii. Iir. \V. I'. - lui l'lillll|,H, lli'v. K. H. - i'>4 iJiiln, Mr. A. - - »7'i llrdnionil. Mr. .1.. M.l'. ><<'i llVMti, llrv. Dr. - - il-l llyiin, Mr. .1. I'. - • m H^'iinliui. Ilr\ . .1. - - ao*) Hi'xiiin, Mr. T. - - 17 1 Kln'rliy, Mr. P., M.I'. - ii<il Hniylli. Aldrntiun \V. - ai"i Hiilflvnn, Mr. W. - - »."i 'riinnilnH, Dr. - - I'l'i Wrljli, Mr. A. - - lOj 3nt)cy to SUuf^trntlono. (Imltiin Sliilui'. IiiiMIn - - - Suifiir-iiiiii .Mmiiilnlii. I'll. Krrrv - [/iHti Ijikr. I'll. Kirrv - - - - DirrMiiinr llim-rniMl Alilprv. Co. Krrry (I'Cminrll SIrrrf, Dill.lln . - - (I'Ccinnrll llrl(li;r. Diililln - - - Di'thviil I 'iinllr - - - - - CiillrKiMil SnrKriMi", Dul'lln - VmUmiI OVCK'll . . . . - llliinirv Cm^Mc _ . - - - .XrviMl ( llllri'lll'". (Ilrmlllliill|/ll lliilllniililni'li, ('{I. ilnlwiiy - - - ('u..|iini lliiiiKi., Dublin - - - - Krrltml. I '<>. DimrKUl - - - - l.lMninrr i 'nKtlr. - ■ - - - lliHltdf Ca^hrl - . - . - TtpirtT I.iikr. Klllarnry - - - - indnnrirriivscr. (lliiKnovln- l.dUirli (1111, Cd. Hll>ro - - - _ llliirkwiilrr, Krntnnrr - - .. - O'Cunnrlt Monunirnt. Dul'lm lldpr HrlilKr, Ciirrlfk-ii-Ilrdr l''dur CdUrlM, Dulilln - - - - old I'arlliinirnt lldUM'. Dulilln - iJurrnHtdwn Iliirlidur - - - - MurkruhH AMh'v, Kllliinirv - (frnrriil I'lml Olll.c, Dublin - - . <ilrn<^thinil>klllr, Co. Duiuval Olant' Causrway - - - - - Old Wrir lirldi/r. Kiilarncy - - - Dnuii' mil Cd. Krrry - - - - Aiii|rhitliralrr. Kllki'v - - - - Dunlurr Cii»llr - . - _ _ Vali'nria ----._ lUvinald'H'I'dwrr, Wrilrrlord Nalidnal Library, Dublin - - - Kat'li'V .NrKl. Klllarnry - ■■ - - Crdniwrir» llrldui', (lli'nrarriir - Tninu-l on Krninarr Ildad - - - Mulri>dnili'>^ Cid-.<. Mdna^lrrlloU■r Ilrav Ib'ud. Cd. Wl.klow - - - IldWill CllBllr - - . . _ lli'i'dnl 'I'dwiT. Dublin Caulk' Di'vll-Kdlrn. C,i. \Vi,-klow - _ - Hnnduran ---___ lldslrrvdr -----„ Thr (vunvB, Dublin - _ . (llrnHlirwk. Cd. Anirlni - - - - .\a!.lraKli. C'onnrnuirii - - - ^ I'dwrrM'ourt Walrrfnll. Co. Wirkldw - Donrirall I'larr. Ilrlla»l - - _ MInnaun CIIIIk Arlilll - - - . lllvrr Mllry. D\d.lln - - - - ."Iriibrn'Kllrrrn. Dublin - - _ raKHofKylcmori" - - - - - ,\i.p. vl X X X 8 in M 17 ti »,1 »7 J" ,H a .VI i> •1,1 ■II 4(. 48 I" fi i" ,17 (.0 lu ^l (<> 08 71 71 70 7a 811 '17 Uio 11') 120 'I'lidnunid llrldt'i', I.lnirrIck - - - Drlplil, Cdnnriiiani . . - - 'I'lir rulllnM, Co. Donri/al - - - riiM nix Turk, Dublin - - - - Kylrnidn' Ca"llr. Cd. (liilwnv Nrwrantlr, Co. Dt»\vn - - - - ll(.und 'I'dwrr Sword.* - . _ . DrvrnlBli Inland. Ijiuidi Kmu Halinon Livip. Ilrllri.k - - - - llaiildx dl Cahllri'dunrll - _ - - Irrltind'H Kyr - _ _ _ - Tlu' Darirlr, Co. Wirklow HI. Krvln'" Kllrlirn, (llrndalouiili CIlllKor Mdhrr, Cd. Clarr - Cdllrni' (Irrrri, Dublin - - - . I'arllamrnt ScjUarr, T.C.. Dublin - Knnl»klllrn ------ lllrniiarrlll' ------ Dni|/Iii'(la ------ Cahin'lvrrn ------ ClilTH al Valrni'lii - - - - - Hi'rnrKal (llrnrar - - - - . (larlnlnli Inland. Cd. Krrry - - . Drrryi|uin Ca«tlr, Co. Krrry llrrnaliTrra. Co. Krrry - - - - (ll.'uU'iKli --.-.. Holy Well, Co. Donr(.'al ()lrndiildU(.di ------ (Jlrnrar, Cd. Krrry. - - - - ()a|i of I'unloi'. luilaniry - - - Carratdi Lake. Cd. Krrry Walrrvlllr and Uiuvdi Di irlana, Kcrrj- 'I'lir Mliii'kwMlrr. Cd. Krrry - - - Malln llav, Cd. Ddnr^ral - . . HI. Jllrbiui'nCliuiili. Dublin " I'liKT ,1 Ca\ r." Co. Ddni'iral Il»K'k nriM'li. Huudoran - - - . I.<iukdi Curranr. (.'o. Krrry - I,akr CiHinrnwiliani. Cd. Krrry I'aMs of Italla^dibrainii. I'd. Krrry I.(»wrr l.duyli I'lrnr - - ' - 'llir lld-Mw. Cd. Ddiural rpprr I.akr. Killjiinry - - - - Malalildr Knliiarv. Cih Dublin I'alrirk HIrrrl. Dublin - ~ _ . Kxlrridrof 'ruiuuhiH, Co. I.0UII1 - Mullvlarnliani - - _ _ . Ili'llrrk - Coatdi Itoad at Drrrvnrinr lloval UnivrrHilv. Dublin HI. I'alrirk'KCallirdral. Dublin - Trinity CoUcrr. Dublin - ClirlHl Clum-li Callirdral, Dublin Mrlllfoul Abliry. Co. U)Ulli - Intrrior oCJ'umuluK, Co. I.dUlIi - lUl.K. lib 111 11.) i.H 1 17 l|S l|o 141 ■ 11 l|d I 17 14H ty< 181 ■"IS 'H »ll ■'.V) iVt a.VI 364 2(i\ aO») »74 J84 jB.) 904 J" I J<X) 14 21 ,120 llu .11" J,17 .11'' .l.'v.l VVi ,l«' ,l7ii .18" 402 ,(.8 \'S 4-.'J 421) 430 44] 41' 4, S3 4^8 4<'J 3^^c.r to letters, fii>ciH^n(icvj nn^ ^clcornnui. His IIomnkss, I'.il'K I.i.n Mil. ArCIIIIIsIIOI' i)|- I'llll.ADI-.I.I'MIA AKIMIIIiIIOI' 111- ToROMO IlVRNK, II(i\. TiiDMAs J., Allorncy.(icncral (.hicomlmiil 0)\ATV, Ukv. T. J., I'lallsliiir^'li. Now V.irk ... CRDNIN, I<K\. rAIRICK, lliiir.iln, New Yiilk I)Kl.K(iATKs (ROM Amroah ... II ,. Umif.i) .Siaif.s ami Casaha I'.MMEl, Thomas Aliius, M.I)., New Vurk I'RKKiiit.i., Mr. I'kank II,, Sydney ... lloui.KV, Most Kkv. S\. I'., Ilisli(>|. of .St. J.ilm's, Nowf.mmlliiml lll'.NKV, CliKVAl.lKK, Tcli(;rniiis ri^Mnlint; falsf inslmmlions IIknrv, Ukv. Miciiaki. J., New York luiMi National Kkhkraiidn, Am-kbn.l, N./. 11 II .. Durweii I!r:uuli .. <irriil lliii.iln ... II II 1. rsllnglon Smith Aiislrnlia IKISII I'KOIKSSORS AND .SkMIN ARIs 1 s, CIlur, I'r.lllCc IRISIIMKN ill Ilrisluiii', (JuuenNlniiil „ I'liinwdrlli » llunslcl, Leeds ... „ Leilh ... „ Newfonmll.ind, pir Ilislidp ,,f .St. J(ilin\ „ West Consi nf New /laliiiid „ Pri'ldri.i, Soiilli .Vfrica ... ... . II tjiicliec II tjiicensland n North Qucenslanil I, Kockliamptoii, (Jiu'cnsland II I'aii-Ccllic ConvciUioii, Syihicy n South Tasmania jAME.snN, Major J. Kusiack, M.T. ... ... _" O'Connor, Mr. Jamks, M.i'. ... O'l-ociiMN, Mr. J. v., Adcl.iidc, South Australia ... *" Si. Patrick's Societv, Cornwall, Ontario ■■All! •• '54 I9J '. i.« .. 3(1 1 ,. 196 • 197 • 378 8 • '.55 • 257 ■ 2SS • 3f>^ 196 , 199 . 186 , 199 KIS 197 261 3"7 261 198 '5S 2$f> 250 186 '95 357 258 '97 258 198 199 '97 258 "^ . MOST REV. JOHN WALSH. D.D., Archbishop oi Toronto. (fee pp. 1, 11, 155.) o -i ! .' N K-' •%/' 3v(8b IRace Convention, 1806. / -\^-H a Convention Snooc0tet> b^ Ibfa (Brace tbe Hicb&isbop of C;oronto. St. Michael's Palace, Toronto, 8th October, 1895. To Hon. Edward Bi.ake, Q.C, M.P, HumewoocI, Toronto. My Dear Mr. Blake — I regret exceedingly to learn that you are very much run down in health, and that, in consequence of nervous prostraticii, brought on by excessive work, you have felt obliged to decline the ]jublic reception with which the citizens of Toronto intended to greet your return and to give you a hearty welcome home. I regret that this reception haci to be abandoned for this reasn also, that the leading citizens of Toronto wished to give public enoorsement to the course you have pursued in advocatini; the cause of Home Rule for Ireland, and because they wished to repel with righteous indignation the malignant attacks made upon you, not so much by political antago- nists as by false brethren and treacherous co-labourers. The sacrifices you have made in the cause of Home Rule ought to have been more than sufficient to shield you from mean insinuations and vindictivs calumnies, and should also have proved to tbe most suspicious and incredulous your absolute devotion to the Irish cause. If I mention, in passing, the enormous sacrifices you have made, it is not on your account, but for the sake of good and true men at home who might be led astray m your regard by false statements and misre- presentations. Here in Canada, where you were bred, born and reared, and where you are well known both as to your private and public life, you need no certificate of character from any individual or from any body of citizens, for you possess in an eminent degree the esteem, ad- miration, and confidence of your countrymen. In saying this much I am sure that I voice the public opinion of Canada. I think, too, sir, that we in this country have a right and a duty to raise our voice in protest against the destructive dissensions that rend the ranks of the Irish Parliamentary representatives, that do so much to discredit their cause and ruin their effectiveness. Canada has contri- buted generously towards the Home Ride Parliamentary Fund. Not much more than a year ago we here in Toronto, in the midst of great financial depression, subscribed the handsome sum of something more than seven thousand dollars. In other cities and districts of the Dominion sums proportionately as large were freely given for the pur- pose. In view of these large monetary contributions, in view of the < t :: \ \ \ -^> ^'^ u 1 / -NO i! Ml e- l!)<?! » IRISTf HACK CONVEXTIOy. material ami moral aid which by words and acts, and even by resolu tions unanimously passed in the Dominion Parliament, we have given towards the Irish cause, we Canadians have a ri-ht to deplore and deprecate the fatal dissensions that have weakened and paralysed the Irish Parliamentary representation, and that have thwarted and baffled the Home Rule cause. Tliis is not the place to discuss the cause of these dissensions, it must suflice here to raise our voice in protest against them, and to declare that those responsible for them have brought shame and dishonour on their country, and are guilty of high treason against the Irish race at home and abro.xl. For those fatal dissensions it is our solemn conviction that neither yon nor those with whom you are working are in anywise responsible. Vou have but been their victims. In order to try to keep peace and harmony in your ranks you have borne quietly with misrepresentations and calumnies until patience ceased to be a virtue, and your silence was construed by some into an admission of guilt. VVill Irishmen never give heed to the warning of our national poet, which is also the teach- ing of our sad history ? — " Krin, thy silent (ear never sliiiU cease, Krin, thy languid smile ne'er shall increase, Till like the rainbow's li^jlit 'I'liy varit'Ms linls unite And fnrni in Heaven's sight One arch uf peace." How is this necessary union to be effected? How are the Irish National forces to be focussed into a great centre of strength and power? It seems to me that to the solution of this problem Irish patriotism and Irish .statesmansiiip should now devote themselves. Surely Ireland must still have the power and vitality to shake off from her the fatal dissensions that iiave of late preyed upon her and threatened the ex- tinction of her national life; surely she must not allow herself, like a derelict ship at sea, to drift about aimlessly and hopelessly, a prey to the waves and storms of angry passions and internecine feuds. This is not a time for despondency or despair, it is rather a time for courageous resolve and earnest action. The Home Rule cause has cost the Irish race too many sacrifices, it has been pushed too far towards realisation to be now abandoned because of the difficulties that beset it. These difficulties are for the most part the direct result of personal jealousies, animosities and ambitions indulged in by certain of the Irish lejjresentatives, and doubtless they can be pushed out of the way by the united and determined action of the Irish people. As an Irishman interested in the destinies of my native land, 1 trust I may, without presumption, venture to make a suggestion, which if acted on, would, in my opinion, be instrumental in securing that unity of counsel and of action amongst the Nationalists of Ireland so necessary for the success of the cause they have at heart. My suggestion is this : Let a great National Convention be held in Dublin, composed of chosen representatives of the clergy and people of Ireland and of an advisory representation of the Irish race abroad. In that Conven- tion let Ireland speak out her mind, let not her voice be like a broken musical instrument emitting discordant notes and jarring sounds, but "VpK-^ y^ ■'I ■; I LETTER OF ARCIIJilSHOP OF TOliONTO. 3 let it on the contrary be dear, loud, and emphatic, insisting on unity and condemning faction. Let her point out and iiphoki the i'.irlia- mcntary representatives whose methods and conduct she approves, and let her m.irk out and condemn those whose intolerance of control, personal jealousies and animosities have done so much to break the unity and waste the strength of the National Party. Dissensions and feuds have, in the past, been the ruin and curse of Ireland. Let her stamp them out and cast them from her as things more noxious than the serpents St. Patrick banished from her shores. In that Convention let the voice of Ireland's sons abroad be heard and advice considered. They live under free institutions and are accustomed to the workings o( deliberative assemblies and representative governments, anil hence the advice and experience of their chosen delegates in the present condition of Irish affairs wouhi be of the utmost value and importance. Surely representative Irishmen in convention assembled, free from prejudices and passions, having at henrt not the trmmph of jiarty or faction, but the welfare and honour of their race and the triumph of their country's cause, will be able to concert and adopt such measures as will enforce proper discipline and diie subordination in the ranks of the nation's representatives, and, in this way, will be able to secure amongst them tl^at unity of purpose and action so absolutely vital to their success. A great National Convention, such as I venture to suggest, speaking with the authority of the nation, and voicing its fixed and unalterable purpose to labour for and to win the right of self-government, would give new hope and heart and energy to Irishmen at home and abroad, and it would be ablo to restore unity amongst the ranks of the Irish Nationalist representatives, to make of them once more a compact body and an irresistible power in the Imperial Parliament. Whvin Ireland speaks to Englishmen through such a body her just demands cannot be long refused her. Wishing you a safe and prosperous voyage to the sunny lands of the Southern Cross, and with sentiments of sincere esteem, Believe me to be, my dear Mr. Blake, Yours very faithfully, (jiJOHN Walsh, Archbishop of Toronto. A > — — X/v 1 ?. -^ - . (JK--:*^) fl#^ //" f'.^-^ L: ( [ 4 ] acceptance ot Suflocstlon bv? 3rlsb ipartB. In iMir^uance of notice, a nieoting of the Irish Parlianiemary Party was liuld in IJublin, I4tli November, 1895. Tiie following present ;— W \hraham, North-Kast Cork D. MacAlccse, North Monaghan P. McDermott, North Kilkenny Dr. M. A. MacUonnell, Leix J. G. S. MacNeill, South Donegal F. Mandeville, South Tipperary M. J. Minch, South Kildarc 15, C. MoUoy, Birr, King's Co. S. Morris, South Kilkenny M. M'Cartan, South Down Justin M'Carthy, North Longford E. L. M'Hugh, South Armagh P. A. M'Hugh, North Leitrini J. F. X. O'Brien, Cork City P. J. O'Brien, North Tippsrary A. O'Connor, East Donegal James O'Connor, West \Vicklow T. P. O'Connor, Scotland Ward, Liverpool F. E. O'Keeffe, Limerick City W. O'Malley, Conneraara P. J. Power, East Waterford John Roche, East Galway J. J. Shee, West Waterford D. Sheehy, South Galway Donald Sullivan, Sth. Westmeath T. D. Sullivan, West Donegal Dr. C. K. D. Tanner, Mid-Cork James Tuite, North Westmeath S. Young, East Cavan Mr. John Dillon moved, and Mr. J. C. Flynn seconded : — "That this party approves of the suggestion made by the Archbishop of Toronto in favour of a National Convention representative of the Irish race throughout the world, and that with the view of carrying this decision into effect the Chairman and Committee of the Irish Party are hereby authorised to communicate with the Executive of the National Federation and jointly with them to make arrangements for the holding of such a Convention." Mr. T. M. Healv moved, and Dr. Fox seconded, the following amendment : — " That a Convention of the people of Ireland be called forthwith, and that the Council of the Federation be asked to appoint a committee to arrange the bisis of representation and invitations of the delegates and clergy according to established precedents in times past ; that invitations to prominent and representative Irishmen or organisa- tions should be issued by the Chairman of the Irish Party." The amendment was negatived without a division, and Mr. Dillon's motion was carried without a division. Dr. K. Ambrose, West Mayo M. Austin, W est Limerick E. Barry, Saulh Cork P. G. Garvill, Newry Bernard Collery, North Sligo ']', J. Condon, I'^ast Tipperary T. (]urran, South Sligo T. B, Curran, North Donegal E. Crean, Ossory, Queen's Co. Daniel Crilly, North Mayo John Dillon, East Mayo C, J. Engledow, North Kildare James P. Farrell, West Cavan Thomas J. Farrell, South Kerry P, Ffrench, South Wexford J, Finucane, East Limerick J. C. Flynn, North Cork Dr, J. F. Fox, Tullamore James Gibney, North Meath James Gilhooly, West Cork John Hammond, Carlow T. M. Healy, North Louth M. Healy, Cork T. J. Healy, North Wexford J. F. Hogan, Mid-Tipperary J. Jordan, South Fermanagh D, Kilbride, North Galway E, F. V. Knox, Derry City ^^ c >',\J '=^\r\^-— - -^^Vl ^: /""^ =^- 4. - \ } a "- " V^-ov I 5 ] Constttutfon of tbc 3ri0b TRacc Convention. i 1 f ■i-^- '■ \ r' (( At a meeting of tlie Irish Parliamentary Party, held on 20th May, 1896, Mr. John Dillon in the chair, the Chairman reported that in pursuance of tlie following resolution passed at the meeting of the Irish Parliamentary Parly, held in Dublin on Thursday, November 14th, 1895 — "That this Party approves of the suggestion made by the Arch- bishop of Toronto in favour of a National Convention representative of the Irish race throughout tiie world, and that with a view of carrying this decision into effect the Chairman and Committee of the Irish Party art hereby authorised to communicate with the Executive of the National Federation and jointly with them to make arrangements for the holding of such a Convention " — the Executive of the National Federation and the Chairman had prepared the following scheme : — A National Convention of representatives of the Irish race throughout the worid, supporters of the Irish Home Rule movement, is summoned to meet in Dublin, on 1st September. 1890. The delegates shall be as follows : — I.-IRELAND. (i) Three delegates from each branch of the Irish National Federation, and if there are mor<s than 300 members in the branch, one additional delegate for each 100 members in excess of 300. The delegates are to be elected at a meeting of the branch to be held after not less than one week's notice on some day, not later than 1 6th August, and a certificate of election, signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the meetings, is to be forwarded to the Secretary of the Irish National Federation, 24 Rutland Square, Dublin, so as to be received no^ later than i8th August ^2) One delegate from each parish in which there is no branch of the Federation. The delegate is to be elected at parish meeting to be called by local Nationalists, and the foregoing provisions are to apply. (3) Clergymen of all denominations. (4) Nationalist members of local public bodies. (5) All members of the Central Body of the Irish National Federation. (This included all members of the Irish Parliamentary Party.) (6) Three delegates from each Gaelic Athletic Club, Young Ireland Society, National Literary Society, Labour Organisation, and Irish National Foresters, having not less than 50 members, and if there are more than 300 members in' the branch, one additional delegate for each 100 members in excess of 300. The delegates from the above- mentioned organisations snail be elected at meetings to be called by the officers of the organisation, and all the foregoing provisions are to apply. ..> I M ? CY \^^-' IRISH RACE CONVESTION. V I ti : . II—GRKAT BRITAIN. One delegate from each branch of the Irish National I-eague of Great Britain, having not less than 50 members, and one additional delegate for each 100 members in excess of 50. The foregoing provisions are to applv, subject, however, to such further provision as may be made by the Executive of the Irish National U-agiie of (keat Britain, which is now charged with the administration of the matter. Gknkrai, Provision for Delegates from Aiiroad.— As dis- tance and expense preclude the possibility of the attendance of any large number of de' gates from abroad, and local knowledge is recjuired intelligently to adjust the distribution of representation, no express limitation of numbers is i)roposed. Certificates of election are in all cases to be forwarded, so as to re.^ch the Secretary of the Irish National Federation, Dublin, no later than 15th August. III.— NORTH AMERICA, (a) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. Delegates to be chosen.— (i) By the Irish National Federation of America ; (2) by the Ancient Order of Hibernians ; (3) by the Ancient Order of Hibernians (Board of Erin). The delegates are to be chosen by each organisation according to the rules to be made by the Executive of the organisation concerned. (l>) CANADA. Delegates to be chosen for their own cities and the country at large by the Irish National organisations in each of the following cities : — Ottawa ; Montreal ; Toronto ; Quebec ; St. John ; Halifax. The delegates are to be elected at a meeting of the organisation, or if there be more than one organisation at a joint meeting of the organisations of the city, to be called by concerted action of the executive in the city. 1V.-AUSTR.\LASIA. Delegates for the city and district and the country at large to be chosen by the local branch of the Irish National Federation, or where there is no such branch by the concerted action of the local Nationalists — Australia : — Sydney ; Melbourne ; Adelaide ; Brisbane ; Perth. New Zealand : — Auckland ; Wellington ; Dunedin ; Westland District. Tasmania ; — Hobart ; Launcestown. General Provisions. — Further provisions as to the supply to and delivery by delegates of credentials, and other necessary pre- liminaries for the organisation of the Convention will be prepared and issued in due time. On the motion of Mr. Denis Kilbride, seconded by Mr. P. C. DooGAN, the following resolution was unanimously adopted : — " That having considered the scheme drawn up by the Executive of the Irish National Federation and the Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party for holding a National Convention in Dublin in September next, which has been submitted to us, we approve of the constitution and mode ol election proposed herein." .-/V-.. I '■ N HI! 3il0b •MationaUst nDcmbcrs of ipnvUantcnt 3nvitc&. At the foregoing meeting of the Irish Parh'amentary Party held in Dublin on the 20th May, 1896, it was moved by Mr. John Dillon, seconded by Dr. M. A. MAcDoNNELL,and ado[)ted with one dissentient: — Resolved—" That we, the members of the Irish Parliamentary Party, in meeting assembled, feel it our duty to record our conviction of the supreme importance to the National cause of a restoration of unity amongst the supporters of the Home Rule movement, and in our earnest desire to accomplish that result we are prepared to meet on fair and equal terms those from whom we are unhappily now divided, and to join in the reconstitution of a united Home Rule party, in which every supporter of the movement shall be corilially received and justly con- sidered, regardless of all past differences, and having regard only to his capacity to render service to the common cause. U'e cordially invite Mr. John Redmond and his friends to co-operate with us in a common earnest endeavour to make the coming Convention an effective means of .satisfying the widespread yearning of the Irish race for a thorough re-union. While it is obviously impossible for us without the concur- rence of those concerned to inclnde them in the arrangements fur the National Convention, we ask them to join us in making such arrange- ments as will secure to them a full representation in the Convention on the basis hereinbefore indicated." IRceolutions an^ flDotions. Upon 20th August, 1896, the Organising Committee of the Convention gave public notice that resolutions and notices of motion received up to the 29th would be placed upon the Agenda Vaper '.J I <^-L ^ Ky [ « ] C: .V Xcttcr from TIlnitc^ States an^ danaMaii 3)clcoatc3. Dublin, 31st August, 1896. To THE Editor or the Freeman's Jouknal. Dear Sir — Will you permit us through your columns to remove the impression which a portion of the Dublin Press has endeavoured to create— that the delegates from abroad who arc now here are com- mitlcd to any section of the Irish Parliamentary representation. As secretaries of the American and Canadian delegations respectively, we are empowered to state that they come here thoroughly unpledged and uncommitted to any expression of opinion touching the relative merits of any section of the Irish representation in Parliament. From con- versation with individual members of the American, Australian, Canadian, and African delegations, we can assure you that they arc wholly unbiassed. May we add that they have a right to expect courteous treatment, if not a cordial welcome, from every Irish news- paper that professes to advocate Home Rule lor this country. Tiie members of the delegations from abroad have come to Ireland at their own expense, and at a considerable sacrifice of time and jiersonal con- venience, and are entitled to fair treatment from the Irish Press, Yours respectfully, Jos. P. Ryan, Secretary Irish National Federation of Amcric.i. P. F. Cronin, Secretary Canadian Delegation, M*'-! ■pffw 0'C0NNEI,I,:STBBET, LOOKINQ SOUTa (»^<.oyT *) Vbe Xelnster fenll. ?) ■J '■1 :.*!.: This Hall, in which meetings of the Convention were held, is laid to hold from z.joo to 3,000. Both at opening and conclusion of each day's sitting it appeared full with numbers standing at back of scats and in the passages. The Convention sat, without break, on the first day, four hours ; on the second, five hours; on the third, five hours and a lialf. The Hall was decorated with (lowers, and a'.nongst the mottoes set out on large scrolls were the following : — Owen Roe O'Neill — " Redouble your blows, and the battle is won." Swift — " By the laws of God, of nature, of nations, and of your country, you u» ■nd ought to be as free a people as your brethren in England." Gka'ITAN — "I have entreated an attendance on this day, thnt you, in the most public manner, may deny the claim of the liritish Parliament to make laws for Ireland, aud with one voice lift up your hands against it." Wolfe Tone— "I have laboured to abolish the infernal spirit of religious per- secution by uniting the Catholic and Dissenter." Emmet— "Brothers, march, march to glory; in your country's cause unite." O'CoNNELL — " There is no statute of limitation against the liberties of a people. Ages may roll o"er, yet their rights remain." MirciiEL — "When Irishmen consent to let the past become indeed history, not party politics, and begin to learn from it the lessons of mutual respect and tolerance, instead of endless bitterness and enmity, then, at last, this distracted laud bhall seu the dawD of Hope and Peace." Davis — "Let your purpose bide. We'll have our own again j Let the game be fairly tried, We'll Kave our own again." Allen, Larkin and O'Brien— "God Save Ireland." Butt- -"The destinies, the mighty destinies, of our country's children are in our hands, and curse, oh ! curse the man who sows dissension amongst us." Galbraith— "Be united, to that by uniting they would get rid of what we would call the accursed Union." Parnell — " Let us cast raide all feelings of self-interest. Let us act only with a desire to benefit our countiy— to regain fur hei a place amongst the nations of the world." ( .Vl' <',] ) \ -^.^ 1 II. q ( : i.i ] I Tl I ^ ;-i'-r y i 2 is V' Biooi'apbical Slictcbco of tbc Spcahci'jj. a t e MOST Ui;V. JOHN WAI.Sll, \).\i., AUClllllSllOl' Ol'' TURONTO. Mosi Ri:v. John Walsh, who origiiiatod tlic Irish Kai;c Coiivciilioii, sou of Jaiiirs W.iInIi, and J^IIlii Macduiialil, was liijrn in the parish ol Mooiicoin, ill Ihe Coimly of Kilkenny, Ireland, May 2jrd, iSjo. This parish is adjacent to tiie "gentle Siiir," and is situated in one ol the P'lst charming sections of l.einster's clwrniing province. 'I'hu Walsh family (written also Wallis) is a \ery old and iinnoured one. 'I'hi; lirst members in Ireland were two Karons of Cornwall, David and Philip, who acconipaniud Earl Slronghow in 1171. The former was created liarnn of Carriekniaine by Ilinry IF., the latter, who had settled in Kilkenny, Itaron of I'ililon. Here, in the conrse of tinu', lliey acquired large possessions, which to the [>resent day hear the name of the "Walsh iM(nmlains." This property wxs afterwards confiscated during the <li(Terent persecutions. Nor was properly the only sacrifice they were called upon to make; the family could [iride them- selves in ha\ing distinguished martyrs amongst their numlier, one William Walsh, Bishop of Meath, suffering under Elizabeth, another, who was Ar(libisho[) of Cashei, suffering under Cromwell. During the time of the Commonwealth, and in the reign of William HI., the elder branch engaged in the military ser\ice of l'"ran('e and .Austria. The branch which remained at htjme, .ind to which the subject of our sketch belongs, lived for generations in a condition of comfort and independence. Evincing at an early .ige a desire to study fur tin- priesthood, he was sent in due time to St. John's College, W.aterford, where he m.ade his preparatory .studies with great success, standing first in his class of philosophy. He remained at St. John's for one year's theology, when he decided that his vocation lay in the wast field of foreign missions. Accordingly, breaking all the endearing lies of home, friends and native land, he left for Canada in April, 1852. The following autumn, young Walsh entered the Ciiand Seminary of Montreal .as a student of the Diocese f)f Toronto. His industry- and talent, his exemplary conduct, his strict observance of rule won the approbation ^ k '/ u HUSH RACK CONVENTION. (.f hiH siiiHTiorK, ami jimtilii-il hoiwn concerning hii future, which have hiiKC U-fU ri'alia'<l. On Ortolicr Jjn.l, 1854, Hi«hop de CharlKMine! (mlainud him mib- (Ifacdii in till' Hislinp's iirivalc <ha|ifl, ami lU-ai'on on Octoher iiM\. On NdvinilKT iNl folldwing, liie J'Va.sl of All Saints, the sanii; iirchue raim-'ii him to the holy priesthooil in St. Michael's Cathedral. On Ka.st.T S lay, .\|)ril 20th, i86j, I'allier Walsh was niailo Vicar (leneral of the dio<ese. In September of the same year, resign- ing his recliirship of .he catiiedral, he returned as p.-istor to St. Mary's CInireh. In May, i«6j, he attended the third I'rovincial Council t.f tiuehec, ns theologian to the Hishop of Toronto. The following .spring \'icar(;eiieral Walsh after twelvi! years' absence, determined on visiting Ireland. His friends availed themselves of the opportunity to testify their regard, by presentinj; nim with a gold watch, k-aring the inscrip- tion, "A token of iiffectionale esteem to the Very Rev. J. Walsh, V.G., from his friends in St. Mich.-iel's Tarish, Toronto." They also, with great thoughtfulness, sent to Father Walsh's mother a present of a gold cross, very massivi,' and beautifully wrought with wreaths of sham- rocks, bearing the iu.scrii)tion, " A souvenir sent from Ton)nto, Canada, to the mother of the Very Rev. J. Wals'i, V.O., from his admiring friends.'' Upon this occiusion the Vicar-Oeneral piiid his first visit to the Kternal (.lily. He wxs received most graciously by the Venerable I'ius IX., who manifested the deepest interest in the Canadian Church. He was shortly afterwards ajipointed Hishop of the See of London, Canada, and his consecration took place in St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, November loth, 1867. Hut not only was Uishoi) Walsh honoured by his charge ; he received also a signal mark of the confidence reposed in him by his superiors in Rome. The late Dr. I,ynch, Archbishop of Toronto, either signified t<i the Propaganda his wish to resign, or had actually sent in his resignation. What ci'-cumstances led up to this important step are irrelevant to this biographical sketch. Suffice it to say that Dr. Coiiroy, delegate of the Holy See, wrote Bishop Walsh from Montreal, i6th September, 1877, as follows: "Vou will probably have already received Cardinal Franchi's letter announcing that the Sacred Congregation of the Propaganda, with the approval of His Holiness, has designated you as Coadjutor for Toronto." On November 2 7tli, 1889, Archbishop Walsh preached his last sermon in London Cathedral, and took farewell of his priests and the congregation. The clergy presented him with an address, congratulating him upon his exaltation, calling to mind all that had been accomplished during his administration in the diocese. He now returns to the scene of his earlier life. The form was erect, >-J V HKKHLM'niCM. SKh'/rCIIEH OF SrKAKi:nS. ij i the vuicu full and rich, ax vnl it raiiK tlumiKh thoKc vuiiiti-il wailM. The HJIviT hair showing iH'iicuth the initrf uloiic tuld the Ktury that years had |>a.<<s('c| ami i\^^^' waM coiniiig mi. 'I'ln' inlliifiHf ami charactfr of Arihl)isi»i)|) Walsh were sixm fell, ('(iiiihiniiiK, as he iloes ti> a wonderful deforce, suavity of manner and lirmnesK of luirpoxe. Kcupect for iiuthority wax shown with ii cordiality which proved that authority had won confidence and love, whilst fimdy rei|uirin({ ohedieiice. The erection of Sunnyside Chapel, the renova- tion of St. Michael's t'athedral, the visitation of the Archdiocese, the encouraneiiiciit f)f students for the priesth(xid, the foui\dation of .St. John's splendiil Industrial Homes for hoys, arc some uf the niarks uf progress made hy religion since His (Irace's arriv.-d in 'I'oronto. The Archliishop of Toronto is as distinguished for his learned ami brilliant writings, as for his most successful administration and his manifold material works of zeal. I)rsi(h>s many eloipienl and luminous piLstorals, he h.us contrilxited several profoundly learned and incisive articles to our leading ('atholic Reviews. In 1869, he issued an erudite pastoral, " Ujion the magisterial authority of the Church in matters of l'"aith,'' ius also " U|)on the nature of (leneral Councils, and their import- luicc anil l)earing in Catholic theolog)' on articlt-s of Faith." Hut perhaps His Crrace's masterpiece, is his famous i)astoral on I'apal iii- falliliility, issued in 1875. He has also published a very instnictive anil touching little work u|)on the Sai'n-il Heart of Jesus. We regret that we cannot dwell longer uixin his writings, which, by their number and ([uality, would desen'e more extended and careful notice. The one example we pve — His Grace's splendid letter to the Hon. Edward HIake — may be taken as a specimen of the illustrious writer's thought and style, as well as of his thorough statesmanship and sterling Irish patriotism. TAUA DBOOCU. "<.-«;:^^ KzJ ^ I, I-;: V '. I 14 _^ lUISII RACE CONVENTION. MOST REV. DR. O'DONNELL. I" ELAND h.is always been most fortunate in her prelates, and to their ability and zeal, the Celt is indebted for the faith, and largely for whatever concessions have been wrested from an alien, and generally hostile, government. The present members of the Irish Episcopacy, nre worthy successors of those who have preceded them, ard for zeal, ability, and patriotism, are not surpassed by any Episcopal body in the Catholic world. Among the most distinguished, and best known of Irish prelates, must be mentioned the Most Rev. Dr. Patrick From photo by] DONBOAL OASTLB. [W. Lawrence, Dub'.in O'Donnell, the young and promising Bishop of Raphoe. From his accession to the episcopal bench, though struggling qjiietly and uiiostentatiously on beha'f of his people, his name was forced promi- nendy before the Irish public. Many causes contributed to this result. He was the youngest of the Irish prelates, perhaps then the joungest bishop in the Catholic world, and the historical association of his name, his splendid presence, his marked ability, and the land war then raging in his diocese, turned upon him not only the eyes of the Irish people, but of the Irish race. At no time, however, was his name brought into such remarkable prominence, as on the occasion -O :.^ t JilOGUAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 15 of the Irish Race Convention, where he presided, and whose dehbera- tions he guided with such firmness and wisdom. Dr. O'Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe, was born at Kilbraine, near Glenties, in County Donegal, on 28th NoNemljer, 1855. lie made his classical studies first in the Diocesan Seminary, Letterkenny, and subsequently was two years in Dublin, attending the classes of the Faculty of Arts in the Catholic University. He entered Maynooth in 1875, where he matriculated for the second year's pliilosophy class. His course was very distinguished, and on the re-establishment of the Dunboyne in 1879, was among its first students. In 1880, after keen ami able competition, he succeeded in securing a vacant chair of theology, when only in his twenty-fifth year. A chair of theology in Maynooth is the most coveted distinction among young Irish ecclesiastics, and the very ablest only think of competing for the honour. Referring to the thesis of Dr. O'Donnell on that occasion, Dr. McCarthy, then Bishop of Kerry, in writing to Dr. O'Brien, of Limavady, stated, " I have just returned from Maynooth, where I have been present for some days at a thesis for the vacant chair of theology. Father O'Donnell was entirely the best candidate." Four years after- wards, he was promoted to the Prefectorship of the Dunboyne, in succession to Dr. Healy, who was apix)inted coadjutor Bishop of Clonfert. He was then but in his twenty-ninth year, an unprecedentedly early age for a position so distinguished. Four years later, when thirty-three years of age, he was raised by the Holy See to the Bishopric of Raphoe, in succession to Dr. Logue, who was transferred to Armagh, and is now Cardinal Archbishop of the Primatial See. Dr. O'Donnell has, therefore, been promoted through the various oflSces at Maynooth, to the episcopal bench, more rapidly than any one who has ever been connected with that institution. Since his elevation to the See of Raphoe, he has been interested not only in the spiritual concerns of his people, but in and out of season has .matched over their material welfare. By his counsel, which is ever at the disposal of the poorest, and his great influenca on the Congested Districts Board, he has been the means of effecting very beneficial advantages for the poor peasantry and fishermen on the various sea-boards of his diocese. But though interested in their worldly prosperity, the cause of religion is his chief concern, ani schools, presbyteries and churches spring up as by magic throughout his populous diocese. He is engaged, as we write, in building a magnificent cathedral in Letterkenny, which, when completed, will he one of the most costly and beautiful edifices in Ireland. It must not be omitted that the Diocese of Raphoe has given to the church some of her most illustrious sons. Among others, the diocese claims with pride, the great Apostle of lona, St. Columba, whose 13th anniver- •\ > r ^^V',^ i6 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. ^ ^,tJ j^ary was celebrated throughout the world, but nowhere with such flevotion and earnestness, as in the d' cese of his birth. The festivities of the 9th June, 1897, should long be remembered by the good people of Donegal, who listened with rapt attention to the sweet cadences of the old Celtic tongue, while the panegyric was being preached on the saint who lu-.J gone to his eternal reward thirteen hundred years ago, and wiiom they proudly claim as their own. The success of the festivities is largely due to the young and energetic bishop, whose efforts were fully recognised by his devoted people, and he had the further gratification of receiving telegrams of congratulation and en- couragement, not alone from the various parts of Ireland, but from the most distant parts of the world. His distinguished namesake, of Spanish nobility, joined in the stream of congratulation, claiming kindred here. The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Logue, attended, and delivering a very feeling address, was evidently touched by the splendid celebration. Dr. O'Donnell presided at the gres* Irish Convention, and his action on that occasion will mark him out through all time for an honoured place, come weal, come woe, in Irish history. His magnifi- cent presence, his articulate and pleasing voice, his splendid gesture, his forcible character, and the ability which he displayed in guiding the counsels of the vast assembly, were the theme of every tongue, and even the most hostile Press had hardly a fault to find, except that he was young. On the closing day of the Convention, he referred to the financial support due to the Irish Party, and he was first himself among Irish prelates to respond, giving a munificent donation. His example was soon followed by the late Bishop of Ross, Dr. Fitzgerald, Dr. Lyster, Bishop of Achonry, Dr. M'Cormack, Bishop of Galway, and Dr. Owens, Bishop of Clogher. We could write at length on the illustrious Bishop of Raphoe, but we can only here give the leading facts in his life, nude and unadorned, leaving much to be said in future, of a career which will in all human probability l)e long and doubtless most distinguished. A f ■A -r' /? r- BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 17 m JOHN DILLON, M.P. There is no living Irishman in whom, to-day, so much interest is centred as in Mr. John Dillon, the present Chairman of tho Irish Parliamentary Party. It may be assumed that a life of this famous statesman will be soon produced by some one equal to the task, very different indeed in colouring from the weekly sketch which has been for some time appearing in the Nation, newspaper. Such a production should have a great interest for the Irish race. In this ( " -■' ill ItOYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS, DVBLIN. V brief sketch it is only our purpose to give the leading facts in the life of this great statesman, who, as every politician, is the subject of admiration by some, but the victim of misrepresentation by others. Mr. John Dillon is second son of the late Mr. John Blake Dillon, formerly M.P. for Tipperary, and one of the rebels of 1848. He was born in 185 1, and was educated at the Catiiolic University, Dublin. His course, especially in mathematics, was very distinguished. He subsequently studied medicine, and became a licentiate of the r.oyal College of Surgeons of Ireland. But true to the trad'tions of his family, his bent was politics, and he was accordingly returned as member for Tipperary in 1880. In the month of March, 1883, he was obliged to resign his seat, owing to ill health. During this period D t. ^ , -'■^ Vw^ ..V-.-VV? - l?,vji If 111' "i i i i8 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. of his Parliamentary career he was a most ardent supporter of the policy of Mr. Tarnell. On regaining his health, he took to politics once mure, and was returned unopposed for East Mayo in 1885, and was re-elected to the same constituency in 1886. He was liberated on bail, pending a [wlitical trial in November, 1890, but in company with Mr. William O'Brien he forfeited the bail, and escaped to the United States, in order to fulfil a lecturing engagement there. He returned to Ireland in 1891, and giving himself up to the authorities, was imjjrisoned from February of that year until the 30th July in the same. In a speech delivered at Mallow on August 9th, a few days after his release, he ojjenly took sides against Mr. Parnell, in order to effect his retirement from the leadership of the Irish Parliarnentary Party, while advocating in the main his policy. On the retirement of Mr. Justin McCarthy, Mr. Dillon was elected Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party for 1896. He was also re-elected for 1897, securing 33 votes, to 18 for Sir Thomas Esmonde. It is slated that Sir Thomas had no knowledge of his being pitted against Mr. Dillon, and if elected, would refuse to accept the honour. Since becoming Chairman of the Party, Mr. Dillon has been the subject of most virulent attacks. He has usually the honour of a daily leader in the Irish Independent, as also in the Nation, both of which papers, although holding very different views, are at one in heaping upon him abuse and often misrepresentation. In order to give effect to the resolutions of the Irish Race Convention he held a series of meetings throughout the country. He was generally well received, but on one or two occasions was subjected to a storm of abuse, that must have been most trying to him. However, he displayed no impatience, and we cannot recall that he uttered one stinging word, notwithstanding his treatment. His demeanour on these trying occasions made for him many friends and admirers, and won for the cause a host of sympathisers. In such circumstances the politician finds himself very awkwardly placed. If he is buoyant in spite of all opposition, he is called foolhardy; if he becomes depressed, giving up his project as hopeless, he is the subject of ridicule, and the real material is said to be wanting. Mr. Dillon was in turn the subject of both attacks, but he outlived the ordeal, and his general conduct on these occasions has marked him out as a politician and statesman of the highest order. At the Irish Race Convention, the greatest interest was centred in the Irish leader, especially among the foreign delegates, who had been familiar, through the Press, with his career for some seventeen years, but had not the privilege of seeing him in the flesh. As he rose to speak the strain became intense, and every word that fell from his lips was listened to with ready ears and heartily treasured. '7^ ■■J:.J^r^^:::^ fe;« -X ¥ 1 niOGRAPUICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 19 111 aj)i)L'araiice, Mr. Dillon is the essence of sincerity, and is, we think, the last person in the world, the candid could think of accusing of dishonesty. He is an accomplished speaker, lluent and pleasing, but at times the delivery is so rapid, that there is dilliculty in keeping jiace with the flow. This characteristic was most pronounced in his earlier public life. \Vit''al, Mr. Dillon is a remarkably gifted orator and in this regard is eminently fitted for the position which he now holds. The charges of dishonesty have long since been disposed of; the charges of inability may be easily set aside by saying there is no better available, and the charges of ambition can hardly stand in lace of the fact that Mr. Dillon over and over again solicited Mr. Sexton to assume the leadership, and on his own acceptance offered to vacate it at any time that Mr. Sexton might choose to act m that capacity. But all was not sufficient to meet the requirements of some Irish politicians, v/ho appear tj have no very definite idea themselves of what would satisfy them. The leaders of the Irish Party at all times, but especially since the inception of the Land League, have at one time or other received their due proportion of abuse. Mr. Dillon forms no excep- tion to the general rule, but yet he keeps to his post in Parliament, with a perseverance and a patience that is astonishing, endeavouring to effect reforms in the interests of his countrymen, who sometimes are ill-disposed to appreciate his services. In private life he is gentlemanly and entertaining, while he is much given to reading. Although an able orator and debater, and reaJs extensively for his subject, he is not literary in the proper sense of the word, and has written little beyond an occasional letter to the Press. His home is in Dublin, where he lives happily- in the enjoy ment of considerable private means. In 1895 he married Elizabeth, the accomiilished daughter of Mr. Justice James Charles Mathew, a union which has been a source of great joy to him. Mr. Dillon is now M.P. for East Mayo, and at the same time Sessiona' Chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party. That he may long remain as leader, to guide the destinies of the Irish nation, is the wish of the vast majority of the Irish race, who believe in his ability and sincerity; and have truly the interests of Ireland at heart. ^^A:i-')l 'V-> fl I \J ■A-i\ '■<^^^\ A '■ K _ •■;'ji ao //.JWyy ;;.1CA' CONVENTION. HON. KDWiUiD liLAKE, M.P. The distinguished Canadian statt-sman, who forms the subject of thU memoir, occupies a very prominent position in current Irish politics. His career in Canada was most remarkable, ;uid the same (jualities that made him leader of public opinion and most universally admired of his countrymen, are fast making for him a correspondingly honoured place ill Ireland, and with the sympathisers of the Irish cause in Great liritain. Mr. lilake possesses in an eminent degree the qualities that go to make a great statesman. He is physically a splendid figure, tall anil muscular, a skilled lawyer, an accomplished orator, and has moreover an ht-noureil family tradition in politics. The Irish Party ha\o been singularly fortmiate in securing the services of so dis- tinguished a member, and his acce.ssion to their lanks has contributed largely to their status. The Hon. Edward Blake wa.s born in Adeliiide, Middlesex, Ontario, 13th October, 1833, eldest son of the late Hon. William Hume Blake, who was a distinguished jurist of Upper Canada, and sat in the Canadian Assembly from 1847 to 1849, and was, moreover, .Solicitor-General for a short time for Upper Canada in the Lafontaine- Baldwin administration, and subsequently Chancellor of the Province. His mother's unmarried name was Catherine Hume, grand-daughter of William Hume, Esq., of Humewood, formerly M.P. for Wicklow, in the British House of Commons. He was educated at Upper Canada College, and the University of Toronto, where he received first-class honors in classics, and obtained the degree of M.A. In 1858 he married Margaret, daughter of the late Right Rev. B. Cronyn, Lord Bishop of Huron. He was called to the bar of Upper Canada in Mich.aelmas term, 1856, and appointed Q.C. in 1864. In 187 J he was elected a Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and became a Bencher ex-officio in 1875. He was appointed treasurer of the Law Society of Upper Canada in 1879, but in time resigned, in consequence of his absence in England. For some time he was one of the examiners in, and lecturers on. Equity Law, for the Upper Canada Law Society. During the space of fourteen years, Mr. Blake acted as President of the Toronto General Trusts Co., but he re- signed in 1896. He has been Ch.ancellor of Toronto University since 1873, and in 1889 the hon. degree of LL.D. was conferred upon him by that famed institution. In 1869 he was offered the Chancellor- ship of Ontario, which he declined, and in 1875 he also declined the Chief Justiceship of the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as the marked honour of Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George in 1876. From 1867 to 1872 he sat for South Bruce, r\ .'0\^ V r ^^^.--^ ^J) -~ ,<:>■, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 21 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. During that time he was leader of the Opposition, and afterwards I'remier, and President of (he Executive Council of Ontario. On the 7th November, 1873, he was sworn of the I'rivy Council of Canada, and was a member of Hon. Mex. McKenzie's administration, without portfolio from tlmt date until February, 1874, when he resigned. From 19th May, 1875 to 7th June, 1877, he was Minister of Justice of Canada, and I'resident of the Council from the latter date to 17th January, 1878. From 1879 until 1887, Mr. Blake was the recofrniseil leader of the Liberal Parly in Canada. He tiien resigned his leadership, but retained his seat in the Dominion Parliament until 1891. In that year From photo bi ] VALB Of OVOCA, CO. WU SLOW. [W. Liiwrenoo, Dublin J he announced his retirement from Canadian politics, owing to the political attitude of his party. Afterwards he became connected with Irish politics, and at the request of the Irish Party, he contested South Longford as a Home Ruler in 1892, and was successful. He has, since becoming member for that constituency, represented it ably and faithfully, and was accordingly re-elected in 1895. It will at once appear, that Mr. Blake's career in Canada was most remarkable, and that he was not necessitated to enter Irish po'itics to establish his reputation. The various offices of distinction which he filled during the comparatively brief space of a quarter of a century in the public life of Canada, will, we think, go to show that honours and dignities have come to him in such quick succession, that there kC"'" 7^./^^^ fl"' ■\l \': iV':i >- J ^^ LT" kI 32 IRIHU RACE CONVENTION. is hardly i)arallul in tliu liistor)- of any .stalcsinaii in any couiUiy. Since joining liic Irisli I'arly he lias shown many of ihu characlcristics wiiicii have mailu liiin uniincnt at home, Inil it is almost impossible to induce him to take a jiroininent jjait. He spoke at the Irish Race Convention, and delivered very reniarkalde si)eeches. The audience was perfectly delighted, and carried away with his beautiful diction, his accomijlished manner, and forciiile reasoning. His resolution its to the allocation of tho Tarty funds last January displayed his great statesmanship, while his letter addressed to the Freeman's Journal, bearing the date 2Sth January, 1897, and written from the House of ConiMions, in vindication of his cause, is about the most charmingly, but at the same time, forcibly worded i)roduction we have seen in the English language. But he will be best known in Irish history by his recent .speech on the Financial Relations between Great Dritain and Ireland, delivered in the British House of Commons. If was, we believe, his masterpiece, and the formidable array of facts and figures, goes to show his financial ability, while the beautiful diction, clear and forcible, delivered with animation and power, hai estahlished his name as an orator for all time in the House. We think, no better proof could be given of the sincerity of Mr. Blake in Irish politics, than the many sacrifices he has made in associat- ing himself with the cause. As late as 1896, he was offered a Judge- ship on the Judicial Committee of the English Privy Council, which carries a salary of ;£,'6,ooo yearly, but he at once declined the position, by rea.son of his ple<lge to the Irish Party. It is true he practises law, since resident in London, but the honour and emoluments are trifling as compared to what he would have attained had he remained n Canada, for he w.is generally regarded as the coming Premier. The great majority of the Irish people and race fidly appreciate his services and his liberal pecuniary contributions, and earnestly hope he may long remain a leading member of the Irish Party, to guide by his great experience and counsel, as well as aid by his marked ability, the cause which thev hold so sacred. ---fc: ^T-^^', /-- I mOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS, n JUSTIN McCarthy, m.p. The qualities that go to muIc'.- a great slatfsmaii and a general litterateur, are seldom found united in the Hanie individual. Vet, both (jualilies are combined in Mr. Justin McCarthy, the present M.l*. for North Longford. A career so successful must necessarily be of interest to Irishmen, who are proud of their distinguished coui.'ryman. 'I'hough no longer leader of the Irish I'arlianieiUary I'arly, Mi, McCarthy stil! continues one of the members, and ably assislH by hii> couiwel an J ex|)erience to further the cause of Ireland. It is in his connection with the Irish Race Convention mainly, that wo have to deal with him, and while treating of him in this relation, we give at the same time a few of the leading facts of a very interesting and eventful career. c 'I Fron) photo by] BLARNEY CASTLE, CO. CORE. [W. Ijiwrcnoe, Diilillii Mr. Justin McCarthy was born at Cork, 22nd November, 1830. He is spoken of as a very clever and precocious hoy, with a decided tendency to literature. This faculty seems to have been inherited, his father being a distinguished Latin and Greek scholar, and a man of great intellectual and literary tastes. He started the Cork Magazine, and to this periodical the young litterateur contributed M ' .-T ^"^ Vn *4 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. the first article of his that appeared in print. Mr. McCartliy, however, dill not intend to pursue litunilure i\& a |)rofussion, his great ambition lifinj; to liccDine a barrister, but owing to the disabilities under which Catholics laboured an to University education in Ireland, his desire could not be gratified. He then turned his utlcntioti to I'ress work, and became a rc|iiirter on the Cork Examiner, under the editorshiji of John l''raneiM Maguire. In 185.', he left Ireland, and became a reporter on a Liverpool paiier, where he shortly married Miss Charlotte Allman. The union was an iileidly happy une, and was through the early struggles of life, a source of the greatest joy and consolation to him. Of the union were born a son and daugiiter, in their modest horn,' at l.iveqwol, and these were the only children of tho marriage. The son is known to the world as Mr. Justin Iluntly McCarthy, the novelist, and the daughter is Miss Charlotte McCarthy. her father's companion and hous('kee|>er. Miss McCarthy became an art student at the .'^lade .School. The death of Mrs. McCarthy has been a severe blow to him. In i860, he entered the Reporters' Gallery of the House of Com- mons in the •nterest of the 3f(>riiiiif/ Slur, of which pajier he became <liief editor in 1864. Four year.s later he resigned the jjosition, ami started for the United .States, travelling there for nearly three years, and visiting thirty-five .States. He has since, several times re-visited America as a lecturer, and speaks in tho highest terms of American institutionH, nnd of tho kindness and welcome that greeted him on his tour. Though Nfr. McCarthy attained the highest position that it is possible to attain in Irish politics, that of Sessional Chairman of the Party, we believe he will be best known to generations to come as the litterateur, rather than the politician. He has contributed to most of the leading reviews of the Ur'^ed States, as well as of the United Kingdom, and is the author of die novels, "The Waterdale Neighbours," which appeared in 1867; "My Enemy's Daughter," in 1869; "I.ady Judith," 187 1; " A Fair .Saxon."' 1873; "I.inley Rochford," 1874: "DearT.ady Disdain," 1875; "Miss Mis.anthrnpe," 1877; "Donna Quixote," 1879; "The Comet of a Season," 1881; "Maid of Athens," 1883, and "Camiola," 1885. In collaboration with Mrs. Camplxdl-Praed, he has written three remark.able novels, " The Right Honourable," 1886; "The Red Rose," 1887; and "The Ladies' Gallery," in 1888. As late as 1893, he published two ex- cellent novels, entitled. "The Dictator," and "Red Diamonds." But among his best and most enduring works must lo mentioned "A History of Our Own Times," in several volumes, covering the period from the .accession of Queen Victoria to the present time. The com- pletion of the last volume nearly cost tho distinguished author his life, but it is gratifying to learn that he is now fully recovered, anJ n W^v -\ /^ ' ?' ^ •TO '? I ; 1 UIOGltAPinCAL HKKTCIIES OF SPEAKERS. 15 L'liubled tu pursue hU litt-niry iiiid I'arliamciUary avDcatiuiM as usual. Hut wc have omiltoci his "Con Aniore," liis " Prohibitory Legislation in tiio United StatoH," his " HiHtory of the I'our (ieorges," liin " MiHicli of Ki'forni,'' his " Prime Ministers of (Jueen Victoria, ' and his " Pojie I.oo Xlll,' all very exicllent works, and sullicient to establish his name in literature. Notwithstanding hi8 great labourH in literature, Mr. JOC'arthy has boen able to devote himself to the service of his country. His family liad been always connected with the Nationalist cause, and he considered it his duty, as an Irishman, to use whatever influence he had ac<iuired through hiH long residencu in England, and hiri literary Htandiug, in the interests of hin native country, which has always been so dear to him. He wa-s accordingly elected t(» Parliament for County Longford, in March, 1879, becoming a member of the Irish I'arliamentary Party, of which he was afterwards Vice-Chairman, and on the rejection of Mr. Parnell, Chairman. He resigned the Chairmanshii) ui 1896, and was succeeded by .Mr. John iJillon, the jtrenent (!hairman. He was re-elected for Longford in 1880. In 1885 1)0 contented Derry, but was defeated, and wa.s at once electeil foj Longforil. Ho again contested Derry in 1886, but \\m defeate<l by a majority of three. .At the same time ho was returned for Longford, unojiposed. The narrow majority gave rise to grave Huspicion, and (Ml |)etiti(ui he regained the seat, for which he eler'ted to sit. Mr. Mct'arthy attended at the Irish Race Convention, and delivered a speech mild but convin(;ing. .'\s every true Irishman, he longed for the union of jjartien, so that all should work together harmoniously for the welfare of Ireland. By reason of bin distinguished {xisition, a great deal of interest was centred in his s|)eech and personality. Though not an orator, in the Irish sense, his style and reasoning are irresistible, and ever command .attention and respect in the House of Commons. He had also on th.it memorable occasion the privilege of moving the Bishop of Raphoe to the chair. A (V>rres|)on(liug distinction was acconled him on the reelection of Mr. John Dillon, 19th January, 1897, as Sessional Chairman of the Irisli I'arliamentary Party. Mr, McCarthy is now nearly half a century resident in England more than thirty yoars of which have been spent in the capital. His charming home is at E.it()n Terrace, in the busy West Vav\, where he lives and thrives on literature, quite forgetful of the ceaseless hurry and bustle around him. It is stated he is now engaged on a life of Mr. Cladstone. He is an affectionate father, an amiable friend, and a cultured gentleman. Though so many years absent from his native country, he never ceases to t.ike an. interest, in its welfare, and Irish- men have reason to bo grateful and proud of his distinguished sen-ices. ■-O 1 \ -J V ( I c -'r*" a6 riffS/f UACF. rO.WKXTTOu. MICIIAKI, HAVn r, M.l'. Vkhv few liavi' hail hu ruiiiurk.ibic a career us Mr. Miclufl Davitt, llii' l)r^•^L•llt M.r. for South Ma)o. He was liorii in llic village o( Straidf, County Majo, i5th March, 1846, his iiarciits hciiig of the funning class, and when the (nilijcct of our .sketch was but the year* old, his father was e\i>'ted from the farm on which they lived, and heiiij^ iil)lif;i.'d to seek sulisistcnce elsewhere, » " to Loiicnshirei Kiiglaml. Here he was employed in a cotton , and at the age of ele\en, lost his right arm through u machir dent, tie then went til sihoiil at Ilasliiigdcn, and when fifteen o.M.iined work in a lirinling ofliic, where he rcitiained for seven years. In 1866 he joined the Fenian Hri'liierhoiMJ, and was arrested, tried in London in 1870, and sentenced to fifteen years' penal ser\itiide. He iniderwent seven and a half years' imprisonment, mostly in Dartmoor Convict Prison, and was tlu;n reliastsliin licket'ifleave. On this (Kc.xsion, in company with the other I'enian prisoners, who had Ix^'en lilnraled, he was tendered a public recei)tion by the people of Dublin. Karly in 1879 he started the land agitation in his iiati\e county Mayo, and in (Ictober of the same year, in conjunction with Mr. Parnell mainly, he started the I-and League. Next montii he was arrested and tried for a seditious speech, but the priiseculiiiM w.is alLT-idoned. In 18H0 he \isited America, and made a tour of the Northern States from the Atlantic to the Pacific, with the object ft estabhshing branches of the Land League in America. Returning to Ireland he was arrested in 188 1, and in- carcerated ill I'ortiiiicl Convict Prison, from which, having undergone 15 months' imprisonment, he was released on ticket-of-leave. The date of his release was the 6th May, 1882, and on that day occurred the notorious Phfenix Park murdcTs, when Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke were assassinated. It may be mentioned that in con- junction with Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon he immediately issued a manifesto condemning the murder. He visited America snbseciuently, and on his return persuaded Mr. Parnell to summon a National Con- vention in Dublin in order to revive the Land League movement. This w.xs the origin of the National League. Tn Fcbruan'. 1S83, he was ag.ain itrosecuted for a speech against landlordism, and on refusing t.0 give bail to keep thd peace, w.is confined for four months in Richmond Bridewell, Dublin. Fven while in P( rtland Prison, he was returned as ^f. P. for Meath, but was disqualified by a vote of the House of Commons. His tirket-of-Iev.c ?vi>irc,I in 1885, and he was, therefore, eligible for a seat in the Iiouse. Ho was invited by several constituencies to become a candidate, but refused owing to his ribjection to take the oath (] \' i ^ UIOailM'JllCM. SKHTC/IKS OF .s/'A.M A'/v7/.V. -7 of nlli'gianre. In i886 lit- niarricd Mary, the atconiplishi'il daughter of John Yore, St. Ju»»'|ih, Michigan, U.S,.\. Ho iinmncfNofully (■ontesti'cl Wati-rfunl city in iScji, but wan elctti'il for Nurtli Mratli, i8yi. Ucinn imsiMted nn (x'tition, hi- wan rftiiriifd uiin|>|Ni!toii for Nnrth-F.a«t ( ork, the name year. He resigned hin »eat in i8yj, owing to liankrtiptcy proreedings ariting out of North Meath election petition. While travelling in .\ustrali,i. he was returned iinnp|ioiie(l for Kast Kerrv and South Mavo, but elected to sit for the latter. From photo by] SKVEN CUrBCIIKS, OI.SNDALOroll. t\V. Lftwr<>nr.', Dublin Mr. Davitt altogether underwent a period of over nine years' im- prisonment tor his connertion with Irish politics. Usually he is thought to lie rather l.i\ in his views on the land question, and is charged with Socialistic icndencies. He is, however, a <lear, astute anrl determined statesni.in, and is, we believe, greatly dreaded by the British Government. ]iut his ability must be recognised, and hi* able defence of the Land League in 1889 Ix-'fore the Tiwrs Paniell Commission for five clays, elicited unlxiunded praise from all sides, even from the presidinj; judge. Mr. Davitt is not only a politicia/i, hut he is a litterateur. Tii 1884 he published "Leaves from a Prison Diary,'' and 'Defence "f the Land League," in 189:. He started i II i -y^' -^ .-.r \ / • <-^' -■^ 2f IRJUll RACE CONVENTION. the Labour World in iSyo, a paper which was not successful. Moreover he contributes articles to the leading leviews and news- liapers of the United Kingdom. We give a si)ecinien of Mr. Davitt's style. Writing to the Freeman's Journal on the funds of the Iriia Party, a burning <inestion, towards the close of lasi year and thi; l)eginning of the i)re.sent, he st.ited, "So far back as April, 1896, a full stjitement of the financial position of the Irish Party was read out at a meeting of the Party in Committee Room 15 esiiccially summoned for tliat puri)ose. Several of Mr. Healy's friends were present. The only moneys in the hands of the treasurers at that date amounted to about jQ^oo, a sum which remained over from the General Election Fund of the previous year. Out of this sum jQi^'J wa.s \oted to Mr. Thom.is Curran, M.P., as final payment of the princi;)al and interest f a loan made by him to the Irish Party during the General Election of 1892. The balance of this ;£40o was dealt with on T '-sday week at the monthly meeting of the Party. One wonl more about this jQ^oo. It was in main part a balance remaining from the moneys subscribed by the friends of the Irish Party with which to fight the (Jenerai Election of 1895. Not a single one of Mr. Healy's friends, lay or clerical, sub.scribed a cent of the.se moneys. I contributed upwards of jQi,ooo out of the slender proceeds of a not very successful lecture tour in Australia to that General Election Fund, and succeeiled in raising _^i,ooo more by an appeal to the friends of Ireland at the Antipodes. The first man to apply for and receive his election expenses from this money so contributed was Mr. T. M. Ilealy. Another sum of jQioo was given out of it to the Nationalists of Derry, who returned Mr. Vesey Knox for that city." This quotation will give an idea of Mr. Davitt's style in writing, and in speaking he is quite as clear and relevant. He speaks with great effect in the House of Commons, and is utterly a stranger to fear. At the Irish Race Convention tiiere was the greatest anxiety to hear Mr. Davitt. He spoke but briefly, and appeared to have learned of this general anxiety or curiosity as he might be inclined to term it. Mr. Davitt means work, and has no sympathy with the curious. He h.ites humbug, and goes heart and soul into the course upon which he has decided. It is true he has made mistakes, and his ide.as in some things arc perhaps too advanced, but it may he fairiy taken that Ireland has no more earnest and determined friend than Michael Davitt. His homo in there, and so is his heart. \o. ^ > l> y v.. '\ \ \ 1 niOaUAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKEHS. 39 VERY REV. PATRICK CANON LVNSKKV. Caniin Lvnskkv is soil of tlie late Tliaddeus Lynskey, of Ashgrovu, Tiiam, and was born in 1^45. At the early age of twelve lie was sent to tlie Diocesan College of St. Jarlath's, 'I'uam, where he lomnienreil jiis ecclesiastical training. Even at that tender age, he gave abiimiant evidence of the ability and capacity for work, which, blended togetliLT, have become DO distinguishing a characteristic of him in his maturer years; and in Sei)tembcr, iSfiz, after a successful preliminary examin- ation at Castleknock, he joined the rhetoric class in the Irish College. Paris. Here his course was a distinguished one — in rhetoric and philosophy in particular. In the early years of his theological studies, his talents and application were rew.irded by securing him a high place in his different clasFjs at the end of each .academic ye.ir. In 1866 he left Paris to ci^iViplete liis theological training at the great National College of Maynooth. Here, too, he passed through his course with distinc- tion and success ; and iiis own aspirations, and the fond dream of liis parents, were reaii/.ed, when, in 1S68, he was raised to the priesthood by the late Johti of Tuam. In the several parishes where he has ministered, even as curate, he has left behind him enduring memorials, not only of his zeal and untiring energy in the interests of religion and education, but also of his success- ful efforts to improve the social condition of the people. While he had been yet scarcely a \ ear on the mission in the important town of Bally- haunis, he undertook to enlarge and renovate the parish church, which at that time served tlie purpose of a place of worship to the congre- gations of two parishes, and which fell very far short, indeed, of affording them sufficient accommodation. He quickly found means that enabled him to considerably enlarge the church and make it worthy of the people's faith and devotion. After a few years we find Father Lynskey transferred to Westport, the most important mission, perhaps, in the Archdiocese. Here, indeed, he found an ample field for the exercise of his marked energy and ability, and his work was most successful. No more truthful picture can, perhaps, be given of his personality than that conveyed in the words of the distinguished American, James Redpath, who was a well-known friend of Ireland some fifteen years ago. In a speech at a banquet given in his honour in .\merica, after his return from Ireland, he pays the following tribu' to Father Lynskey : — "I saw a scene in Ireland, he =«:V in the course of his speech, "that lingers lovingly in my memory. It was :-i Westport. in the West of Ireland, at a meeting of a local committee of tt. : Duchess of Marl- 'Oi >l s.. "s..-- ^>-^ "v •Y-. < i. ^-u >_/ 30 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. l)orouf;li's funrl for the relief of distress in 1880. An Irish Lord was the chairman, and not a had man uiilicr — for a Lord : but every Lord lias the spirit of an upstart, and this Lord at times was insolent to his betters anil arrogant to his e(iuals. Without consulting his associates on the committee, he administered an unfeeling rebuke to a number of the starving peasants wiio were impatiently clamouring for food, and told tlieni in a dictatorial tone ' That although Her Grace might relieve them, they liad no right to expect it ; that the funds were hers, not theirs ; that the noble lady was under no obligation to serve them.' " And he goes on to say — " I sat, a heretic beside a priest, a Republi- can beside a Lord ; and I thought, with no little inward indignation, From pboto by] BALUNAraNCU, CO. UALWAY. [W. Ijiwrence, Dublin that I was the only person in the room — and I, a stranger — whose heart throbbed with pity for the poor stricken people. But, as I looked around the room, I saw a sudden flash in the priest's eye, that told of a power before which the pride of ancestral rank is but as grass before a prairie fire. 'I [ '"I beg your Lordship's pardon I' said Father Lynskey, with a sublime haughtiness ; ' I do not agree with you. The money does not belong to Her (Irace. She holds the money in trust only. We have a right to it, It belongs to the poor ! ' " The Lord was cowed. No man but Father Lynskey, at that table, would have dared to talk in that style to a Lord. More than eighteen centuries have passed since a Roman Judge said to a t ■ "i BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 31 Missionnry of the Cross ; — ' Almost thou persuadest me to become a Christian.' I do not believe there has lived a man since then, who felt more profoundly than I did at that moment, the spirit that prompted that immortal declaration. As lonj; as Father Lynskey was in that room, I think I was a loyal son of the Catholic Church." Father Lynskey was yet quite young when he was promoted by His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. MacEvilly, from Westport to the responsibility of Parish Priest of Clifden and Vicar Forane of that important Dcinery ; and the Archbishop, ever anxious to mark his appreciation of distin- guished services in the past of any of his priests, has since raised him to the dignity of Canon. It is now some thirteen years since his ailvent to Clifden, and to-day are to be found, thickly strewn throughout the ex- tensive parish, monuments of his unremitting toil for and fatherly care of his people, Tn every political movement during his time for the regeneration of the country, he has filled a prominent place. Level-headed and capable, his counsel and guidance were ever at the disposal of his people, and he has rendered incalculable benefit to them during all the stormy years, since the ince|)tion of the agrarian and Home Rule agitations; and it was unquestionably owing to his prudence, not less than to his masterful hold of the people, that faction was unable to find a foothold in Connemarr- after the lamentable fall of Parnell. The name of such an ecclesiastic should necessarily find a prominent place on the bead-roll of those who helped to make the great Con- vention of the Irish Race so marked a success. Misguided men, carried away by the spirit of faction and prejudice, may still sneer at that great assembly and strive to underrate its importance, but every day its good effects are becoming more apparent ; the country is fast beginning to realize the wisdom of its counsels, and is waking up to the necessity of adopting the constitutional programme it mapped out. rt d [ ' a 1.' a 1 k ne \' to ,■■, ' it, 'I'r I lat i )re a -v -? i f (^ cv V\ ' u.- 3» 7/?7.S// /e.4C7=; CONVEXTlOy. 1 \ L Dk. ROBERT AMBROSE. Dr. Ambrose, who suconded the resolution at the great Convention, that honorary secretaries lie apiiointed, was born in Newcastle West, County Limerick, 1855, son of Dr. D. Ambrose. He was educated THE CrSTOM HOl'SE, DUBLIN. at the Christian Brothers' School in his native town, and later at a classical school in Limerick, whence he passed to Galway, and secured a scholarship. He is a B.A. of the Queen's University, Ireland, and I..R.C.P., as well as L.R.C.S. Edinburgh. Having graduated in arts, his studies in medicine were mostly made in Dublin and Cork, and on becoming qualified, purchased a practice, as is customary, from the ■'■■) JbS^^ /./■- x:l! *■> — ^ > UIOGRAPHICAL HKErCllES UF Sl'lCAKERH. 33 kite Dr. Bleiineihassf t Godfrey, anil Ikus since iiractiscd as physician in Lontlon, where he hiis become most distinguislieil in his profession. His great success may lie inferred from the fact that he is Fellow of the Obstetrical .Society of London, and member of the British Medical Association. Dr. .Viiibrose, although pressed with the work of his profession, nevertheless interests himself on behalf of the Catholics and Radicals of the East End, London. He was elected by the Catholics (who are Irish) and Radicals a member of the Whitechapel Board of (luardians, and also a member of the \Vhitechai)el Vestrj-, as well as member of the \Vhitechai)el District Board of Works. The doctor, by cnieful management, always finds ani[ile time for his many engagements. But it must not be omitted, that notwith- standing his manifold i)ressing duties, a goodly imrtion of his time is devoted to the welfare of Ireland. He has been for some years, and is still M.P. for West Mayo, a constituency in which he takes the liveliest interest. Perhaps, he is best known by the concern which he ever manifests in the inhabitants of the congested districts in Ireland, and his desire to have their holdings enlarged. His introduction of a Bill for conferring compulsory purchase power on the Congested Districts Board, gave him considerable prominenece. Among his col- leagues he is revered and esteemed for his gentlemanliness, his lack of pretension, and his genuine Irish patriotism. ■ <i':. ST. ACDOEN'S ARCH, DIBUX. ( ~ n..T (J \ 34 Ih'/S// RACE c(>.\v]<:.\"rwN. Ri;\'. JAMES McI'ADDEX, GAVTiEDOKE. WiiiiKN llic last fuw years, tliu Rl-\-. James McFadelfn, GwceJore, lias iKil buuii \Lry aclivu in iiolilks. Hut liis ideas have by no means changed on llie Jiish Hume Rule question and the cause of the Irish tenantry, which cost him so many weary years of anxiety, and on ac- count of wiiich he suffered a term of imprisomnent. Neitlier labour, anxiety, nor imiirisonment could make him sw'erve from the path of duty and iiis devotion to liis ])eoi)le, and if, for the time, his name is so little heard of, his symi)athies in the good old cause are as keen as in days gone by. IJis jiart at the Irish Race Convention was rather a sinecure, but i>is sweet articulation of the prayers at the opening in the grand old Gaelic tongue, was uni\ersaily admired, r'ather McFad<len was born in the i)arish of Me\agh, County Donegal, Ireland, in the year 1844. >Ie was jiupil at the only school then in that district, and after a i)re- liminary English education, ])assed to the High School at Letterkenn/, whence he went to Maynooth, and having completed an extensive course, was ordained priest in 1869. His first cnracy was Lettermacaward and Ujjper Tempk'crone. Here is the neat little town of Dungloe, an! here Father McFadden spent the best, and perhaps the happiest years of his life. On the translation of Monsignor McFadden to Donegal, the Rev. James McFadden was appointed parish priest of Gweedore, where he still remains, and whence his name was brought jirominently before the jiublic. He was particularly noted for the part taken by Imn in the Olphert and Hill Estate. He gives a very graphic and interesting account of this land war, and his own con'iection therewith, in a book written by himself, and which has had a very extensive sale. His object in producing the work was certainly not co vindicr.ie his own character, lint that the ]niblic, and especially the British public, might be maile familiar with the facts, as also the disabilities ol the Irish tenantry. But perhaps the most jirominent occasion in his life, was that on which — to the shame of English law — he was arraigned in connection with the death of Inspector Martin. This officer of constabulary, it will be remembered, endeavoured to effect Ws arrest immediately after Sunday devotions, and when the rev. gentleman was passing from the church to the parochial residence. A proceeding so foolhardy incensed the peasantry, who immediately fell upon him, and he was killed in the mcJcc. How Father McFadden could have been indicted in the matter seems unaccountable. It is hardly necessary to add that after a series of law comedies, in the shape of trials, he was liberated without spot or blemish. There -s T-r. t \ \ 1 ? • ' "i L- \A ) i 'I 3 "r 1/, ' , II lUOanAPIIICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 35 rroni pliuto tiy) KliliKiAI., ( O. DOXlCilAl.. (\V. I-awn'n.'i'.iniil.lln a very iiiterL'stiiig accuuiit of the proct'cdiiigs 111 a work cnlillcil, "Scenery and Antiiniities of North-West Donegal," a local pulilication. I''alher ^[cl•'a(llle^ s[)oke at the Annual ("inncnlion of the Irisli National League of (Ireat Britain, held in the I.einster Hall, after the Irish Race Convention. He is a forcible and eloquent speaker, and his loud ringing voice was heard to great advantage throughout the entire hall. On the occasion of the receptions given to the foreign delegates in Ulster, nf)tal)ly at I.etterkenny, he spoke at con- siderable length, and his speech was greatly admired. 'J'he following is a short (piotation, nut gives some idea of its (luality; " I am pleased and del'ghted to find that here in I.etterkenny the delegates received a reception equally great in intensity to that which they ha\e alread> received in Belfast. I congratulate I.etterkenny and Donegal on youc conduct on this occasion. Why shouldn't you give a warm reception to the delegates from .America? The Bishop has anticii)ated me in his opening words, Init they are worth repeating, ' Who built on' schools, who built our churches, and who built our cathedrals? .Are they not the American-Irish ? Who sent money to defend those who were marked down to be the victims of English misgovernment in Ireland? .Are they not the Irish-American? Who assisted us in all our difficulties, when famine stalked the land, when starvation threatened the lives of our people, and when they were thrown on the / \ m \. f 36 7/^/^7/ KACE COiWLWTlON. roadside? 'I'hu American I ri.sli. As delegates and representatives of tiie Irisii ( .'J tiiey eaiiic tu liie monster Convention which has so lately assembled in Dublin. It is on account of this circumstance we owe them a sjiecia! welconie, and hill and valley and mountain side resound the notes of cdn/ mile failfc." He is ncnv in America, collect- ing for the Letterkenny cathedral, where his mission is very successful. Many of those who had been familiar for years with his name, were glad of the opportunity of seeing face to face, and occasionally hearing the well-known parish priest of Gweedore. C ' I VIOGRAVJIWAL SKETCHES OF SVEAKKliS. 37 RIGHT REV. MONSIGNOR MICHAEL KELLY, IRISH COLLEGE, ROME. It may be mentioned tliat Monsignor Kelly has not at any time taken a very j)rominent part in Irish iiolilics. But it is well known he is heartily interested in any movement, haviny for its object the welfare of the Irish peo[)le. It was his sinj,'iilar privilege, however, to convey to the Irish Race Convention, tiie most gracious message of the Holy Father, in which he exi)ressed his deepest concern for the spiritual and tcmprral welfare of the Irish, and prayed for the end of dissensions. fegfet 1 1 1 m ■'■■■' ■ BiyBf .1 1 idt^/jim ■■■■■'* .r. TrS wd if^Si ""^^^tttk |t.;"| % ^n ™-... ''r W" ^'' .• ''^apt -.^^ ^ BRE5 m S From photo liy] LlSilUlili.l ASTLH, CO. UATtlil'uliU. LW. iiiwroiitUi Dublin The distinguished Rector of the Irish College, Rome, was born at Waterford, on 14th February, 1850. He studied classics in his native place, and came to Rome at an early age, where he was student of the Irish College, attending at the world-famed Propaganda College, for lectures. Here he read a very distinguished course. On attaining the canonical age, he was ordained priest, and returned to his native diocese. He very soon joined a society of priests at Enniscorthy, whose special object is the giving of retreats to the clergy, and to religious communities. During his connection with this Order, he attained great eminence as a '< 4 \r I ■ xy --^" -- r \ 1' \ r — -' ( V-, ','i V 38 I/ilSff /{ACE CONVESTION. I preacher, and was noted for his piety ami zeal. In 1891 he was chost-n j to succeed the Most Rev. Dr. Kiii)y, Archbishop of Kphesus, as Rector • of the Irish CoMcgc, Rome, .m oIVh c which lie still fills, ;ind discharges J with reniarkahie ellicieiicy. Tiie veneralilc initiiution, of wiiich he is now he.id, was erected A.D. ifijfi, Ihroiinh the efforts of the venerated Luke Wadding, O.S.F., and also the aid of C'ardinjl I.iidovisi, Protector of the Kinf;doni of Ireland. Its object w.is the education of Irish ecclesiastical students. How well it has fulfilled its end, may be gathered from the fact that it has ^iven to the Church some of the most eminent names in her history. Among those who have been connectcil with the College, either ?s students or superiors, are the historic names of tlic Most Rev. and Venerable Oliver I'lunkctt, .\rclil)isho[) of Armagh, whose blooil was shed for his faith and convictions ; the celebrated I'athcr Prout, Cardinal C'ullcn, Archbishop Croke, Cardinal Moran, and Archbishop Kirliy. This is a selection of which any college might well feel proud. W'c omit to mention the hundreds of young levites who have been educated within its walls, some of whom have become bishops, and all with rare exceptions, zealous and efficient priests. The College structurally is not very imposing, being but capable of accommodating about seventy students. They attend the lectures of the Propaganda College, so that there is little educational work in the Irish College. At the close of the academic year, about the 1st August, they leave for their country residence on the hills overlooking classic Tivoli, some eighteen miles from Rome, where they remain about two months. The students of the Irish College are seldom ])ermitted to return to their respective homes during their collegiate course, except necessitated by illness. This is generally the case with all the Roman colleges. Over this venerable institution, Monsignor Kelly presides, and is a worthy successor of the distinguished line of Rectors that have (weeded him. The College continues to prosper, and is yearly sending forth young levites, who do honour to their Alma Mater, as well as the country of their birth. Monsignor Kelly's name h.is been more than once mentioned in connection with Irish Sees; and in the midst of his many and responsible duties, (hough far removed, he never ceases to take a deep interest in the well-being and prosperity of his native land. i J ItlOtiKM'lIK'Ar. SKKTCUKS OF SPHAKUffS. ^,, > J 1; ■^...Ijr'^Tll.V ..■ ^ ■ »^ r ••^;.1l.:<' :. 1 -." '1 I'rum iiliuto by] £C('LK:«lAHTlcAl. iiKMAl.S'i), Itoc'K UK i'AallKL. LW. LawraDco, Dublin ,\'l ' f . ■ I ; REV. FRANK RVAN, TORONlO. CANADA. The Rov. Frank Ryan lixik a leadinj; part in ilit- Irish Race C\)n\en- tioii as rei)rL'.sfntati\c of His (Jrace the Archhisluti) of Toronto. Hi; read a letter from Areiibislioi) Walsh at tiie oi)ening se.ssion of the C,'on\entiiin, and in a brief, elocinent, and incisive speech, seconded the niotiim <jf Mr. Alfred Webb on the intro(hiction of the resohitions of the Convention. At the conchision, Father Ryan .seized tlie oiiportunity of studying truly and thoroughly the Irish situation. He began with [jcrsonal and lengthened interxiews with tiie leading men of tiie various |)arties in Dublin, and he continued tiiese Intenicws from Dublin to Galway, and from Belfast to Cork. He delivered public addresses in the leading cities of the North, West and .South of Ireland, and notably in Clonniel and Cork, s|>eeches th.it have become historic, going on a luission of peace and unity throughout the length and breadth of the land. I'"ather Ryan, like the other delegates from abroad, insisted on the following points: (i) That he came not to nny man, or any jiarty, but to the Irish people, and that he came as a duly accredited re]iresentative of the Irish i)eo|ile of Canada; (2) that he found the Irish i)eople at home fully represented at the Convention ; (3) that the Convention could effect its purpose only through the Oh V 40 iiasii /,'.[</■: co.wESTiOiW |iriiiii'il) ilirtiil ,ili<l iliil) ( (Jll.stitdlrd iiiniMMll.llivis of llw liuiililo i)f Jfflaiiilj uiid (4) llial tlii'Sf Rpri-'iiuiit.itiu'.s woic (ml) tin; i>iirty wliuso duly clfcluil iiiiil ar(n;iiisL'il Cluinium Wiw Mr. Jniui Uillim, or wIuj« H(x;vcr uliuiiiil be (.•kited liy the iii.ij(jrity of lliu IrisU i'arliaiiieiitary Tarty. His (i|>iiii(jiis and argiiiiieiilH are entitled to weighty eoiisideratioii, iiul only U'ciiise he was the trusted and accreihted reiireseiitativc of the Archhislioii and peoplu o( Turunto, but alito bucausu of his IKTsiiiial histiiry, marked aliility, wido exiwri'' •., and present dls- tiiij4iii.slied jMi^ition. I''atlu'r Frank Kyan was Ixirn in 1844 in Newfoinidland, of Insii L'atliulli; parents, descendants of two well-known and distinguished families, the Ryans and the (Juiiilnns, (jf the Golden Vale, Coinity 'riplicrary. liaviiif; reieivcd liu? rndinients of a classiciU education in his nali\e land, fnjni an cMiiiient graduate of Trinity College, Dulilin, Mr. Alexander O'Uonovan, young Ryan came to Ireland, wlier(! he ciintiiuicd his studies in literature, ])hiloso[)hy, and theology at All Hallows' College, Dublin, under the illustrious Dr. Conroy, afterwards A|>ost(ili(: Delegate to Canada. S'Vom Ireland he went to liance and England to complete his studies, and after a lengthened and distinguished career, Wiis ordained priest in 1874. Soon after his ordination, l'"atlier Ryan went to America, lui'd was professing philosophy at I'ordham College, New York, when Dr. Co-« ,y ^as appointed delegate to Canada and Newfoundland. M ving always had a high and an affectionate esteem fo' >• fori; T>' ("onroy asked Father Ryan to accom[)any hin as his secretary and confiilential almost tragic death of the Apos' esteemed friend of Dr. Con*o» of St. John's, N.F., Father R\.i after His Fxcellency's liusiness affau report to Rome. For .some years Father Rya; remained at Montreal .->s missionary and English ]>reacher at the i.imous church of th' (iesti. From Montreal he went to the United .States, where •;• was successively jiastor of the celebrated Church of the Holy Familv Chicago, the largest jiarish in the world, it is said, and of the beautifi (^hurch of ,St. Ignatius, Baltimore. During these years li preached in the leading churches, and gave missions in the principal cities of the United .States and Canada, and has the honour of intimate jiersonal friendship with the clergy and hicarchy of both these countries. For the past six years Father Ryar has been stationed in Toronto, as rector of St. Michael's Cathedral. He is the trusted friend of Archbishop Walsh, and is esteemed and loved by all classes of the people. What Toronto thinks of him, and of the part .0 Mo.SL remained L anaii. Hand • and of the Tower, to look wind c ■ the delegation, and ,^- \ niOGHAPinCM. SKKTCIIF.S OF Sl'FAKFUS. m he took in the IriHh Kme Cottvcntinii \vm cloqiifntly tolil in tltt- graixt piihlii' rficiitiipti j<iv(.'ii ill 'ruriinlo afti-r \m ri'tiirii ; iumI ••'<|if<'i.illy in ilic nfiuTiMis trilinii- III iiraisf U'luliTfil liiin liy IiIh llliiHtriniii Ahh- liiHlinp, w'hiiiii III- hail NO alily and i'l(ii|iii'iilly ami wisely ri'|>ri'si'nti>il. He iccfi\t'il iiioMt ciiniial nn-i-liiins frntii all liis olil frii'iids in Irt'laii.l, t'(i|M'cially from tht- Jcciiit KalluTs, for whom In- i-ontiiiiics tn clii-rish the vfiu-ration, cstfcm, ami love, fnrniiNl in tlu' years nf his early training;. He hojies that when he next \isits the nM jaiicl h* will have less concern with iiolitics ami |ioliticians, ami more time to pl\i' tn his friemN, whose kimliiess he hears in grateful rcmemhrnncc. li: I r l-^ 11 (1. r. (1.. mUl.lX. FlIOM NKI,s(>N's I ll.I.Ali. ^-^ r^ >_.• ^ iiiisii 'ACF. <t>yvicxrioy n From'pliotoiliyJ rrriin lake, killaunky. DAVID SHEEHY, M.l'. [\V. Linvn-nci'. DiiMln To the efforts of Mr. David Sheehy, M.P., the success of the Irish Rare Convention is due in no small degree. Speaking of liis labours in this (-(inneclii'n, a ]}ell..'5t Nationalist j)aper said: "His patience and industry during the past couple of trying weeks have been mar.c'llous. Every one who has come in contact with him during the period mentioned is most warm in prr.ise of the manner in which he has discharged very dilliciilt duties. He has been, however, assisted bv Mr. Muldonn, of the Federation Office." The labour f)f that trying period is only known to Mr. Sheehy himself, and those who were more or less closely associated with him. Throughout the sessions of the three days, he was never absent, but watched the progress of th= Convention with earnestness, and later with an amcmt of evident satisfaction. Like most of the members of the Irisn Party, he pre- ferred to leave the sjieaking on that occasion to others, and therefoi" acting as Iionorary secretary, he contente<l himself with reading the letter of Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, New York, addressed to the Con- vention. But as one who has laboured so earnestly in the Irish cause, and to whom the happy outcome of the Irish l<ace Convention is in a good measure due. Mr. Sheehy desen-es an honoured place in its historv. i ., ;. V. :1 »»< muaHM'lllCAL SKETCHES OF Sl'E AKEKS. 43 Mr. David Shuuhy, Sucrutary of the Irish Natiuiial i'eiifraliuii, was bom in 1844, son of Richard Sheuhy, UroadfortI, County I.iniericic. lie was uthicatud at liie Irish Colluj^e, Paris, but bccoiiiing ungrossud in the political (juestions of the hour, he, in course of time, took to jjohtics, and became member for Soutii Galway, an lionour wliicii lie has held since 1885. He became involved considerably in the Irish agrarian question, and has been the victim of coercion. His lecture to the Belfast Young Ireland Society, during the session 1896-97, with the title " Combating Coerci(jn," wa.s most interesting and was greatly appreciated. Thou ^'i carrjing on an extensive busine.ss in Mallow, County Cork, he farms as well, and is thus capable from personal expericnc. of dealing with the land i[uestion. For a public man he is somewhat retiring, and very much prefers that others should take the place, of prominence. He is thoroughly educated, gentlemanly and accom[)lished, and when the necessity arises is ca[>able of (lis|ilaying an energy and pluck that are astonish- ing. As a s[ieaker he is always appreciated, and his duties as Secretary of the Irish National Federation have been well and faith- fully performed. Among his collea'gues he is most po[)ular, and is beloved f<ir his genial manner and his heartfelt interest in Iiis coimtry's cause. In this brief sketch we have merely touched upon the leading features of his career, and in no wise regard it as a biograiihy. We could much like to tieat of Mr. Shcchy at great length, if circuinstances jiermitted, and record the sacrifices for Ireland that ha\e maile him prematurely old. But we are cfmfident that he shuns publicity, and prefers very much to do good by stealth when his country is concerne<l. We wish him many years to labour as earnestly and as assiduously in the cause of Ireland as he has 'one in the past. II I'AliNKLL's CiltAVE AXU O'CONNELL TOWEU, (iLASNliVIN, DC13UN. ( .1 ■- ■ . ( / 44 IRISH UACE COXVEXTIOX. THOMAS SKXroX, KX-.M.l'. One (if tliL' most ilistiiigiiislicd of living liislmicn, is Mr. Thomas Sfxlon, lately M.I". for North Kerry, and now Chairman of the Frcemtiii's Joiiniul Co. In tiie present sketch, it is not intended to give a full account of the gifted statesman anil accomplished orator, of whom Ireland is, and may well feel proud. Mr. Sexton did not attend the Irish Kacf Coiiventiiin. He had then ceased to he a inenilx.'r of du- Irish I'arllaniuntary I'arty, and for this reason, among others, he refused to accept any representative capicity on the oc From jjlioto liy] i.oriiii (iii.L. CO. sLKio. [\V. Ijiwrcnoo, Dublin casion. But even if he did not t.ake part in the Convention, he was in great request, particularly with the foreign delegates, who had heard and read so much of him, and whenever his name was men- tioned the great hall rang with applause. Mr. Thomas Sexton was bom in Waterford, 1848, and is a son of the late Mr. J. Sexton. He was M.P. for County Sligo, 1880-85; for South Sligo, 1885-86; for West Belfast, 1886-92. He was elected M.P. for North Kerry in 1892. He has also been High Sheriff of Dublin in 1887, and Lord Mayor of Dublin, 1888-89. Mr. Sexton is an accomplished speaker, and when he rises in the House / -; w^"'"*^'. ( 1 /' -.. / i—^^-' i - V r\ BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 45 of Commons, he is always sure of a patient hearing. He has physi- cally a fine appearance, with a voice pleasing and articulate, ami well adajjleil for speaking. His gesture is very moderate, and his speech, which is always logical and well reasoned, appeals more to the con- victions than to the feelings. In dealing with figures, Mr. Sexton dis[)lays an aptitude that is remarkable, and, therefore, it is claimed, his .ser\'ires would have been invaluable in treating of the Financial Relations between Great Britain and Ireland. There is, however, no likelihood of Mr. Sexton's return to the Irish Party for some consider- able time to come. On the retirement of Mr. Justin McCarthy from t^'e Chairmanshii), he was unanimously selected for the honcjur, but he felt constrained t(3 decline, in view of the dissensions in the Party, which were not likely to have a speedy termination. We believe we are justified in stating that that dignity awaits him any time he retunu to Parliament, and submits to its acceptance. Various bodies in Ireland have called upon him to resume his Parliamentary duties, but he has, up to the present, persistently refused. In consequence, he has come in for the usual share of misrepresentation ; however, it may be presumed, that with such great intelligence and experience as he admittedly possesses, he fully understands what he is -'oing. We give this brief and inade<juate sketch of one of Ireland's most gifted sons, in the hope that it may interpst those who know Mr. .Sexton only as a great orator in the House of Commons, and a brilliant member of the Irish Party; and that some one better suited for the ta.sk, will treat at much greater length, not only of him as a jiublic man, but of his charming manners in private life, and his in- teresti.ig and agreeable companionship. 'A, as Ir. ise EAST WEII, KINOSTOWX, DUDUN. r ! "'^^I .' . ' ; '^-\.:y^ ^^-ij- 7P^ -X. ~^J J I 46 IRIiSII ILWJ'J CUiWEXTlUX. \' I .' I w TllUiMAS HUNT, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA. Mr. Tiio.MAs Hunt, when a boy of 15 years of age, left his native place, CajJiiawhite, Tii^perary, and Ixaile farewell to the shores of Ireland, in .May, 1858. He reached his destination, \'ictoria, Aus- tralia, with his relati\'.'S in June, 1858. His parents settled at Kilmore, u township some 37 miles north of the metropolis, and Mr. Hunt was offered the o|)portunity of going into a banking firm, in which liie i)ros])ucts of speedy advancement were, at that time, considera!)lc. Hut he elected instead to join the printing trade, and so began his carter, by becoming apprenticed in the office of the Kilmore U ['■■-. From photo by] SLACKWATKR, KENMAllE. [W. Lawrence, Dublin W J K.tamincr, of which paper his brother-in-law was part proprietor. In 1865, he started the Kilmore Free Press newspaper, and some tlneo years later he acquired the goodwill and copyright cf the E.ramiiier, the journal upon which he had ser\'ed his ap- prenticeship, and which is now incorporated with the Free Press. In 1874, Mr. Hunt commenced his political career, being elected a member of the Legislative Assembly to represent Kilmore, to which district was ad.ded, in 1877, the large electorate of the County of Anglesey, and he continued to represent Kilmore rnd Anglesey un- i > , i r' BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 47 hilerruptedly fiom that ijcriod until i8y2, still continuing his news- liajiur iJi'dpiietorship. He proved himself a thorougli politician, and during his period of representation was ever earnest in in<iucing settlement upon the soil, and in assisting to develop tlie niir.ing industry, ni vliich he took a strong practical interest. 'I'lie wants of his con- stituents were promptly and faithfully attended to, and he secured tho construction of railways throughout his electorate. It is noteworthy that the poorest in his electorate could api)roach him on all matters in which he could benelii thcni with as much confidence as if they were the wealthiest in the Colony; and even to the present time a great many of his old friends avail themselves of his services in securing the attention of the Victorian Department to their requirements. 'J'horoughly energetic even whilst busy with his parliamentary duties, he established many provincial journals, being managing proprietor of no less than four at one time. Another pleasing trait of his character is his hospitality to visitors at his residence, "Melrose Hall,'' which is i>ictures(jiicly situated on a beautiful eminence a mile south of Kilmore township. Though a Liberal in politics, Mr. Hunt always adopted the role of an independent member, and on this account, on more than one occasion, declined Cabinet honours. A meeting was held in Melbourne to apjioint a delegate to attend the Irish Race Convention at Dublin, in .Septemlwr, 1896. Being a member of the Hibernian Society from its inception, Mr. Hunt was chosen by the Kilmore Branch of that body to represent them. Over 200 Victorian delegates assembled at tlie Hilterni.Tn Hall, in the metropolis, to decide who should represent tho Colony at thii Convention in Dublin, and the result of their deliberations was that hs who had proved himself one of the truest Irishmen in the Colony was practically unanimously chosen. He regarded his ap- pointment as one of the greatest honours that could be conf rred uixin him, and felt, that as the time liad oome when he might l>e able to p.ssist in any way to strike a blow for Home Rule and the amelioration of the condition of his native country, he would not, no matter at what personal inconvenience, shirk the responsibility. The con- fidence thus .shown in Mr. Hunt by the Irishmen of Victoria, is sufficient evidence of the true heart that beats in him for the land of his birth ; anil he has on many occasions given practical illustration of that deep interest which he feels for the wel- fare of Ireland. When the Messrs. Redmond visited Australia, a number of years ago, so intense was public feeling against their policy, that he was the onlv Catholic member of Parlinment, who wont on the platform to espouse the cause of Erin, nntwithstanding the warn- : I r —'^ \ ( ' \ ^-/ 4« mmi KACF. coATf-'.vr/o.v. Mr Hunt, through tne n'c i)efore the ^'T";e never wearied ..f putting the ">;-? ^^ S' Convenf.or. otherwise, ne\tr «<- attemleJ the Insn k."*^ people in its proper hgl t He a ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^f ''if o i, iublin, nn.l .-o.-veye.! ^° 'j^^ f ^ ^.^nte.!, npeaking -^ }^^^'^^ ^^ vmpnthy of the people whom ho e, ^^ ^^^ ^ ,,j,, Vi..oria an.l South A"«''^''^' ^"^/"^ . an.l the one strong .les.re o 'of'that Colony also ^^^^J^\l^., with the right o oca 1,;. heut is to see a ^J"'^'^'^/ „ ,„ „ .he <;th November, 1896. a f.; rnment. On T;--^y/X,ian hIu, Melbourne, to hear " i meeting was hel. u. th ^^^'^^^.^^ p„„.ention, from the a renort of the work .lone at ho 1 an ^^ ^^.^ ,^_,^p^,„„, V-Sa.. .lelegate, an,| ^f^^l^;ZL^ League in Victoria Parliament. O-CONNELL MONl-MEST, DUW-W. ^5 %'i f"- ,1 -. -•' ■ ■ \ , , A niOGRArUICAL SKKTCI/KS OF SPEAK KKS. 19 REV. DENIS O'LWLLAGHAN, BOSTON. Rev. Denis O'Callaghan, pastor of St. Augustine's Church, South Hoston, Mass., is one of the most ai)le and eiofiuent |)riests in New i',ii(;laucl, while he lias as well that cordiality of niaiuier which wins tin* love of his own peiiple and the res])ect of all. Father O'Callayhan was horn in Ireland ahout tifty-four years aj;o, but when he was very yoinig his parents emigrated to Ainerica and settled in Salem, Mass., where tlu; subject of this sketch recei\ed his early I'ducation. Later, he entered St. Charles' College, ni'nr Hahiin(irc, Maryliind, and from From jihoto \>y] iioPK imii'iii:, cAKiiirK-A-iiKiii:. [\V. I.uwriMi.T, Dublin thence went to St. Mary's Seminary, Mount St. .Mary's, Maryland, where he completed his theological studies, being f)rdained priest by the late Archbishop Bayley, of Baltimore, June 29th, 1865. Coming immediately to Boston, Father O'Callaghan was for two years assis- tan* priest of SS. Peter and Paul's Church, South Boston, at the end of which time the Catholic population had grown to such proportions as to demand the formation of another parish in that district. There- fore to Father O'Callaghan was deputed the task of organising anj caring for the new parish, and he entered upon the work .Vugust 22nd, 1868. The only place of worshij) available for the new congrega- tion was the little mortuary chapel of St. Augustine, which, for the n I ' i . ,\ ^- ^_/ /- iv':<---:'.. ''.^ II so IIUSIl If ACE CONVESTION. second time in its history, had to serve the purposes of a parish, until more suitalde aciimimoilatiipii was provided. Father O'Caiiagiian has that ha])]))' faculty of wiiininfj the iicarty co-operatioii of his peoiiie, because he believes ui dicm and they in him, and it was not long before pastor and people set to work unitedly and enthusiasti<'ally to provide thenisehes with a parish church ami pro|)erty in e\ery way creditable to them. 'I'his tniited effort cr\slallized in the purchase of the land on Dorchester .Street, an<l the erection thereon of the magnificent church, costing over two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and which is one of the most attractive and U'autiful in the State, constructed of brick, with gr.uiite trimmings, and in the (lothic style of architecture. This beautiful church was dedicated August 30th, 1874, and two years later being entirely out of debt, it entered the list of the very few consecrated churches in the city of Bostf)n. In aililition to this church, through the labours of Father ()'( 'allaghan, the |iarish enjoys a beauti- ful parochiid residence, and a s(ilenilid i)arish hall, the later built in 1888, at a cost of thirty-five thousand dollars. The untiring pastor, to crown his many other labours, lias recently completed the erection of a magnificent parochial school, at a cost of one hundred and thirty- five thousand dollars. This great work forms the glory of his priestly life. Within its walls are taught 850 children, under the kindly and watchful guidance of the Sisters of Notre Dan)e. As a preacher, Father O'Callaghan's fame extends far beyond the Boston Archdiocese, and as such, he is in great demand whene\er he can be spared from the duties of his parish. A zealous priest, a broad- miniled cultured gentleman, and a jiublic spirited citizen, he is respected by all classes in South Boston, where he has lived and lalioured with such distinguished success for more than a <iuarter of a. century. ( ~^, ^ inOGRAl'llICAL SKKTCIIES OF SPEAKKliS. 51 MOSKS COUWVAI.I,. KlMItlCRI.KV, SOUIII AIKICA. Among those in wIkhu the greatest interest w;ls centrfd at the great Convention in Dublin was Mr. Moses I'ornwall, Kiniheriey, South Africa. Coming as he did, from lliat distant land, whose name is not very familiar in Irish homes, and which sounds to Irish ears more distant than in ri'ality it is, his every word was listened to with rajit .ntlcntion. Judging from Mr. CornwaH's manner, he lays no very ambitious claims to oratory, but he is clearly an artlent Irishman, and is proud of his birthright. WMITWUimi liliUHIE AND POlli COCllTS, llllll.lX. The subject of this sketch was bom in Dublin city, 6th July, 184 1. The Cornwalls came from England about the middle of the last century, and settled in County Meath, Ireland ; his mother's unmarried name was D'Arcy, of the famed D'Arcys, of Wicklow and Wexford. Mr. Cornwall came to ('a|)e Colony in 1859, and set *n work in g(jod earnest to make for himself an honoured name and place in the land of his adoption. How well he succeeded may be gathered from the fact that he is, and has been for many years, the most respected citi/en of Kimlx;rley. For some time he toiled on the diamond fields as a digger, and in due course entered into business. Twice \ r I 5* 1IUSII HACK CONVENT lOy. / hi- wa« oli'cted Mayor of Kitnlxrli-y, and linn Injcn its representative in til? House of AsM'nilily for full live .sessior.s. Hut with his surress ill far AfriiM. lie li.is not lieeume uiiiiiiiKlfiil of the land of his hirth. Althnii(,'h, he li;is hut \isileil Irel.iiid twice in thirty-eight years, in- chidiii;; liis n-eeiit \isit to Diihlin, he has never forgollen his native eoiintn-, and a helter type of Irishman it would be diflirnlt to fmJ. Twenty )ears ago he originated annual festivals in honniir of St. I'alriek, and presided o\cr the festive gatherings fur lifteen yi-ars. TI<! has eolleeted and sent home for National piir|)oses, not loss than j[,2,ooo. He is Sheriff to the High Court of Griqualand West, Agent for the Union Royal Mail Steamship Navigation Company, and one of the most im|)ortanl Insurance ("ompanies doing husiness in South Africa, and is a prominent memlirr of the Hornngh Council. He is a member of the Kimbcrley Hospital Board, and also of the Piililic Library of Kimlerley. The ofllce of Sheriff has been dis- charged by him faithfully for fifteen years, and he has iK'en a Jiistire of the I'eace for about the saiiu- sjiace of time. Perhaps there is no better jiroof of the estimation in which Mr. Cornwall is held as a |)iiblin man and spirited citizen than the address and jiresentation of which lie was recipient on Mondny, July fith, i8qi, the fiflietn .inuiversary of his birthday. The address was signed by more than fifty prominent citizens. Commenting on the proceedings, the Dinnuiiid FIchh AiJvrrliitrr, of Tuesday 7th, 1891, .says: "The honoured name of Cornwall wa.s on everyboily's lips at last night'-' gathering, and we join in the congratulations by ho|)ing that Coin in jilenty will e\er be his store, ami that troops of friends, a.s well as the affection of a loving wife, and a splendid family of sons and daughters will prove the cope-stone to the Wall of his future career." The terms of the address were as subjoined: — t "To Moses Cornwall, Esq., J.P. "Dear Sir, — Wc, the Irishmen and others resident on these Diamond I'ields, beg to offer you our sincere anil heartfelt congratula- tions on the occa.sion of the fiftieth anniversary of your birthday. It gives us particular plea.sure to do this, when we recollect that for twenty years past, ever since you have l)een in Kimberley, you have lalxiured zealously and conscientiously, and without consideration of your own personal benefit and advantage, for the weal of this com- munity. As a representative of the Division in the Legislative As- sembly, as a Member of the Municipal Council, Divisional Council, Hospital Hoard, Library Committee of Kimberley, and as Mayor, your integrity and honesty of purpose and solicitude for the well-being of these Fields, have been constant anil enduring, and if, unlike some, you have not built up great wealth from doubtful sources, you lave HIO(ll{M'lll('AL SKETCH KS OF S/'KAh'EKS. s,< thj proud connciotisncss tliat you liave never iitooped to mcanneM. that no Rtaiii or Hiis|ii<-iiin tarniKlu-s your fair fanu- ami r('|)iitatii)ii, nnJ that you liavt- I'arnt'cl tlu- ncnuiiu' cstoum and ri'nard of this com- munity. In I'diiiliision, Wf a^aiu tcnilcr you our lioarty congratul.i- tiotis, ami hiijx' that your cnrccr may Imip hr rontinncd in the same honournlili' way as in ilu- past; ami that you may in future Ix" hlcsscd with every happiness, prosperity and contentment." I it; WATEUFALI., ST. STKPIIKN'S (lUKKN, 1)1 III.IN. Xv ■> f , 54 IIUSII HACh: CONVKSTION. HON. CllARLJiS HAMII/K)N BROMUV, NOUTllliKN lASMAMA. ■•'^ / CiiAKLE^ Mamm.ion liKOMiiV liitrii al I.aiial Loilgf, Chelten- li.iiii, iH-K?. (k'li'g.'ito for NorllicTii 'I'a.smiiiiiu, <if which Ciilimy lie was furmcrly AtlorncyCJuiicral, is a gradiialu of lliu Uiiivfrsity uf Uxford, unil, wu bulluvc, the only (lulugatu whu i» nut uf Irish L-xtracliDii. lie was called to the Kii)^iisii Jiar in 1K67, and went til Tasinunia in 1S74. lie was elected to represent Launceston, the capital of N(jrthern 'I'lusmaniu in the Tasmaiiian I'arliament in 1876, anil was made Attorney-Cleneral in the same year. I'or many years he had tiie principal i)racticu in his profession at the Har there, and was the first President of the Australian lliherniiin Society in Tasmania. He was particularly active in advocating the formation of an Intercolonial Court of Appeal amongst the \ariou8 Australasian Colonies, as a stepping stone to a confederation and complete autonomy of Australia. It was while taking part in the go\eriimenl of Tasmania, where Home Rule has lieen long enjoyed, that he first realised the advantage of Home Rule to the Kinjiire, as well us to the individual and indepen- dent coiinlry. Tiiis led him to a deeper study of the (piestion, and especially with regaril to Ireland, and so to the whole history of the relationship of Ireland to England. He has stated himself, that tliough his slu<iy was at first confined to Kiiglish authorities, the result of his reading w;us to stir up within him, a sense of profound indignation and shame — indignation, that one country should have been so treated hy another, and shame, that the country which had lx;haved in such a way to Ireland in the past was the land in which he had been born. He w.Ts not satisfied with sitting ('own and lamenting over the facts wliicli he deplored. He determined to endeavour to do something to reilress them. Believing that the attitude of most Englishmen towards Ireland at that time— (we are writing of fifteen years ago, and long before Home Rule had become a cry of the English Lilx,'ral Party) — w.^s due to their ignorance of the history of Ireland, he entered upon a sort of lecturing crusade. His first lecture called "The English in Ireland," was delivered ill Tasmania, and met with such success that he determined to carry his crusade into the other Colonies. He proceeded first to New Zealand. Throughout the length and breadth of that country the people were aroused. Bishop Moran, of Duncdin, descrihpfl the lecturer as " a man among men." The result was a ferment in the Colonial Press. The Irish papers were enthusiastic, some of the ItliXUiAl'lllCAL SKHTCIIKS OF S/'KAKHRS. 55 iiiuru liberal ('nloniiil p.iiicrH wore fair anil eiilogittic, bill most were luud in their anuthunmH uf uiiu who cuuld thiii expuio the cunduct (if his own country. Ily tin; tinii; Mr. Itroinliy rtMcluMl Mcllioiirni-, the I'lU'iiiy Wiis ii|i in amis. The Town llall, a vtry spaiimiH huililinf;, hail liocn taki-n for \m lir.st nii'oting. l''ri);hti'nfil by tht* clauioiir of tin; Vtvhh, a piiTting of the Tiiwn I'uuncil was held, and it was rcsohed that a breach of contrait, witli its ('onNc<|ueMt ihinagi's, was iicttcr than lh.it the i;oo(l citizens should hear the cry for justice) which was being guunded throughout the Culunies. The effect of this conduct of ilie Municipal authorities iiikiii the Irisliincn of MelUnirne, can be imagined. .Some iimiiuxed taking possession of the T(jwn Hall by force; but peaceful counsels pre- vailed, and the lecture was held in St. Patrick's Hall, a room cajiablu of holding a thuiisanij peo]ile. 'i'he scene was described by one who was iireseiit as the most remarkable he had e\cr witnessed. Nor was the enthiisiasin conliiied to St. I'airiik's llall, which was so crowded — thw lecturer had to Ik; passed on to the front of the plat- form o\er the people's heads -that it overflowed into the streets outside, which were thronged by crowds who, unable to obtain admission, showed their sympathy, not only for one who was speaking for Ireland, but lor one whose voice tho.se in brief authority were endeavouring to silence. On Mr. Bromby's arrival in Melbourne, he had been roiirteously received, and on the projiosal of Sir I). Clark, known as the richest .Australian, he had been made an honorary member of the Melbourne Club. After the first lecture he was reipiested to withdraw from that social institution. Such was the attituile of "Society" in Victoria then to Home Rule. They have now, in the person of Lord Brassey, a Home Rule Governor. Many other towns to which Mr. Uromby went followed the ex- ample of Melbourne. He found himself "boycotted." This naturally increased the enthusiasm of the Irish Australians but it often pre- vented an njipeal being made to those for whor.' the lectures were principally intended — Englishmen who had neither op[)ortunity noi inclination to find out for themselves tlie fiicts of their own history. In New South Wales the same difficulty was often experienced, and though the Irish Colonists supported the learned lecturer wher- ever he went, every obstacle was thrown in the way of his obtaining a fair hearing by the Colonial authorities, and this, although the whole proceeds of the lectures were devoted to charitable purposes, the relief of evicted tenants in Ireland, and the restoration of the Catholic cathedral in Tasmania, which had fallen into ruin. |l ? •--.> "s S« iniSn TiACE CONVESTION. t' In 1884 Mr. Bromliy returned to England, anil in 1886 he rontested tlie Wiilton Division of Liverpool as a Liberal Home Ruler, but was defeated by a combination of Liberal Unionists and Tories. With an unbomuled admiration for the late Charles Stewart Partiell, ami all he did for Ireland in keeping unity anil concord among the ranks of tlu' Irish Parliamentary Party, he has called upon all who really care for Ireland's welfare, and revere the memory of that great leader, to carry on his work, by sinking individual difTerences of opinion on minor points, and combining under (jne head elected by the majority of the nation, until their cause is won. 'I'his was the message the delegate of North Tasmania endeavoured to convey to the Irish ])eo[)le at the Convention of tlic Irish Race, together with the expression of undying love which the Irish emigr:'nts in that island, their children, and their children's children ever feel towards the sacreil land of their forefathers. L. <. OLD PABUAMKXT IIOCSK (NOW HANK OF niKLAND), DCIILIX. 4, mOGRAnilCAL SK ETC I IKS oh' SfllAK KIIS. 57 VERY REV. DEAN HARRIS, ONTARIO, CANADA. Vkry Rev. W. K. Harris, J!.D., Dean uf .St. rathi-rint-'s, Oiuaric, CaiKul.i, was liorii on tlie lolh of Marcli, 1S47, in llif city uf Cork. He accompanied his parents to Canada wh'Mi mere cliilil, and in tliu course of time entered .St. Michael's College, Toroiilo, where he finished a brilliant classical course. He studied his metaphysics and l)hilosophy at St. Anne's Seminary, Quebec, and in 1869 , ccompanied Archbishop I,ynch, of Toronto, to Rome, to a.ssist at the greit (Ecumenical Council. I'here he entered the College ol the I'rop.i I'rom I hi»to l)y] UrKKNSTOWX IIAIiDori!. CO. COIIK. [W. I.tiwri'ivr. riiil.lin ganda, where he finished his theological course, took his degrees, and in 1870 was ordained priest. Before sailing for home he \isited the i)rinci[)al cities of luirope, and familiarised himself with the great libraries 'S (he continentpl capitals. On his return to Canada, he was appcii 'eJ jjarish priest oC Adjala, one o; the largest and most important rural parishe."; in the territorially large diocese of Toronto. 1 he young priest threw himself heart and soui into the missionary work that lay before him, and during the five years of his pastorship he added materially to the ecclesiastical buildings of the j)arish. In recognition of his unflngging zeal and executive ability, he was appointed at the early age of twenty -eight I I I v'lv 58 IRISH HACK COXVESTWN. to tlic fuctorshii) of St. Mi(ii;ul'.s (."allieilral, 'rttroiUo, Imt owing to ill health and pressure of hard work he was romiielleil to resign that very iiM|)ort,iiit position and remove to the rural parish of Newmarket, where he remained ei(,'lil years. J<y his active identifiration with the <i\il .and soci.d interests of the town, .'iiiil th(; surrounding country, he hroke down the intense intolerance and bigotry for whi<h the County of North Yoik was notori(jus. In 1884, the De.in was ap- l)ointed [ja.stor of the city of St. Catherine's, and Dean of the Niagara I'eninsula, and when leaving Newmarkel a public meeting was convened, |)resicle(' over by the Mayor, who, in the name of th:; I'roteslants of Newmarket anil surrounding country, pre.seiUed him with an address and .1 valuable testimonial. The work which he has accomplished in Si. Catherine's will lie a lasting tribute to his energy, enterjirise and .ability. J)iiring the twelve ytNirs of his pastorate, he ex])ended over t'70,000 in the construction of ccclesixstiral and educa- tional buildings, so thr't to-day the parish of St. Catherine's is materially ]iirli;i|is tin; most comjilete in the wholt; province. Apart from his spiritii.il .mil pariichlal work, the Dean has been prominently identifie 1 with the progress and ilevelnpmeiit of secular and religious education, and in recognition of his acli\e interest in the educational institutions of the province, he was seli.'cted in 1885 |iresiilenl of the Mechanics' Institute Association of Ontario, comjirising a meml)ership of 25,000. This was the first time in the history of the Association that a Catholic Wits chosen fur this exalted oflice, and it was a public tribute to the Dean'.s success in spreading jirincipals of liberality .and kindly feeling among Catholics and I'roteslants in the most |iopulous and inlluenti.il province of the Dominion. As a .scholar he ranks high among the literary men of Canada, being a freipient contributor to the leading; magazini and newspa|>ers. His "History of the Early Missions in Western (Canada," and his work on the " Catholic Church in the Niagara Peninsula," live fixed his position in the (!alholic li!',rature of his ci)untry for all time'. Referring ti> his work on the early Indian Missions, the DulTalo E.r.prcsx characterised it, as among the ablest productinns of Canadian aiithfirs, itnohing an amount of research and patient investigation, that was siinjilj maiTellous in one who is occii|)ied with the work and interests of a large parish. IJefore enter- ing the jiriesthood. Dean Harris was distinguished .as an athlete, and ill i86g took the "Cold Medal and Chani|iIonship of the Doniinitm" in general alhlitics. I lis s|)ceches at the Irish Race Convention, and in the North ,ind West of Ireland, are yet fresh in the memories of our people, and mark'_-d him as a jiriest of great ability and clotiuence. As a Catholic author, historian and litterateur, he is recognised all over the Dominion, and is rated among the foremost of his day. His style is singularly his own, and he aims at making ;i clear ,<,t,atement, which can lie comprehended bv all. A I I niOdHAl'llICAL SKETCH KS OF SI'KAKKliS. y, rilK KKV. I'AlklCK. lANClI, MANCHESTER. 'I'liic ('liiircli of St. Wilfriil, M.'uiclicster. ranks amongst the oldfst ■liiirches ifi the city, St. Mary's, Mulberry Strci'l, lifing tho ■>lik'st. St. Wilfrid's was oi)lmk'i1 oil August 28tli, 1842. 'I'lic arcliitfci was the cldiT I'ligiii, and it was one of tlic first cluinlK'S linill liy him. Land was hoiight l>y Fatlier VVIutlakLT, who was the rector of this |)()rtion of Manchester at tlie time. A large plot was secured sullicienf for (liiirch, schools, and presliytery, and a iarge-si/ed Catholic cemetery as well. 'The chnrch was hnilt in what was then the open conntry, and on the opening day friends from Manchester had to walk through the corn-fields which entirely surruunded the ciiiirch. 'I'here wen; strong complaints expresse(l that the rhurch was hnilt entirely too far out in the country, and tiiat 'lie congregation w<aild e\|)enence great dilliculty in ha\Mig to walk so far. The .scene around St. Wilfrid'^ has (hanged sin<e then. The fields of waving rorn are gone, giving place to the hard stone pavement of the streets, and instead of thft twitter of the birds in the hedges is now heard both night and day the nimble of a traflic. with the ends of tiie earth. The present Ijoys' school wiis built four or five years after the opening of the ciuirch. It was divided by a |)arlition into two portions, one for boys, the other for girls. Later on the present girls' school was built, tlie memorial stone of which was laid by the late Itisiioi) Turner. In 1894-5 the i)resent extension to the scIxhpIs was built, the foundation stone being laid by his lonishii), ])r. Uiisborrow. It aflurds aceoiii- m idalioii for about 250 chiMren. I'aliier VV'hittaker did not long remain rector of .St. Wilfriii's. IL' was -emoved to Li\erpool, and died a martyr to priestly tluty in tlie great Liverpool fever plague. lie was sii''ceede(l m 1844 by Canon Toole. Though Canon Toole did not build the church he Wiis in the truest .sense of the term the "founder" of St. VVi'frid's. There were few ( "atholic clergymen so well known in Lancashire 40 years ago as Canon Toole. He was a man of great learning an<l powerful intellect. In letters, sermons, and s|)oeches the mighty strength of the man showed itself. He never played a coward's part, or e\er lowered the old flag. In the great educational battle of 1870, and since, ("anon Toole's vigorous common sense, lucidity of utter- ance and adherence to princijile have l.iid the Catholics under obliga- tion to cherish his niemory. He filed on March loth, 1892. He was succeeded by Father Lynch, the |)resent rector, on April 4tli, 189 ^ The Rev. Patrick Lynch was born in Killariiey on March 17th, 181^2. He receiveil his early education in St. Hreinlan's Diocesan Seminary there, and at the age of eighteen entered Maynooth. He }rp % ~-\ ^Vi (-/ do IIUSII HACK CONVKATlUX \- re.nl the UMi.il Miijiiootli couisu iil |)liili)si)])liy and lliccilDgy, and at the complutioii of his collegu career, vohinltcrcd to sunc in liu- Diocese of Salford. 'J"ho Bishoj) of Salford (llie ])iesenl Cardinal) ordaii'.cl him prifst in the Salford (Jathedral in ICS76. I'litlicr I.vnch had dislin;,'ui,shcd himself so signally in Maynooth that his liisiiop ap- jioinli'd him I'rofcssor of Mathematics in the college of St. ]}ede's, which was just ihcn founded. .St. Itcde's College was transferred from the centre of Manchester to the suhnrhs, and the district which had lieeii assi^ued to (he college in the town was I'rected into a sejiaralc niissiuu. uinlcr the titit' of " 'I'Ir' llnly l''amily." The young i'roiii [ihulu l.yj -Ml 1 i;i:ii.-)^. Aia;i:v, Ku.i.Ai;.Ni:v. l\V. I.iiwrcnc-f, Duliliu professor was ajjpoinled rector of the mission, as the work was one of peculiar dilliculty and importance. The sugar industry was then v.i a ilourisliing condition in Manchester, and the large factories in the district emi)loye<l over 3,000 hands, many of whom were Catholics. The closing of thcjse factories was a serious blow to the new parish, and Father ],ynch had to struggle for years with a crushing burden of ilebl on the mission. 'J'hough the church was very small and unattractive, large congregations were the rule at all the ser\ices. I'^very winter he commenced what he calleil his " winter campaign," and IccIiuimI on tiie \arious jrreal truths which IVoteslaiiis regard as the great dil'ticulty in Cath<)licisni. I'rotestants ahva}s attended in n nioanM'iiicAL sketch K.'i uf speakers, oi large niiml)ers. On some occasions there were as many as three or four liimdreil I'totestanls present at the sermon. I'liis led to many coii\('rsi(iMs, Not oi ly in the iniljiit <li(l Father I.yncli defend tlio church, but for the last twenty years the Manchcsier public are well aware of his trenchant and powerful style in the ))ublic Press. But, it is in the great b.ittle of Catholic rights on the iMlucation question that I'atluT Lynch has done yeoman service. On (he platform an,' in the Press for the past few years he is well known throughout I.iUn'ashire. (h\ the Manchester School Hoard, of which he is a meniber, lie was so fortunate as to carry liie famous Manchester Resolution, whirh was tlic first great ('atholic victory in the present ])hase of thi^ educational struggle'. Let us liope that the victory is a happy omen of the final triumph. l''ather Lynch is Ihoronghly Irish, and has tlie welfare of the counliy of lis birtii \ery much at heart. He raised his voice on behalf of unity, and was heard to great advantage in Dublin at the great Irish Convention held in that city. His figure is well ivuown in every movement f(jr the benefit of the Irish, race. OKNKKAl. I'OST tiFKIi.i:, 1)1 l;i.lN. ^V'. *xm\ 1 'O — (u IRISH RACK COSVEyTWX. \ e '/, i I'ATkICK DLNLKVV, PHILADELPHIA. Patrick Dunlevv, wIki R'i)rf.sciitfil tlie riiil;ulel|)hiii Council of the Irislj National I'l.'duiation of America in tiiu Cunvuntion of the Irish Race held in the city of Dublin, Seiitember ist, 2nd, and 3rd, 1896, was horn in the jjarisli of Clondavaddog, Fanad, County Donegal, March jrd, 1848. His father w;us Ralph Dinilevy, and his mother's unmarried name was Rose O'Doherty, of the parish of Clonmany, in Inishowen. She was a sister of the late Rev. R. P. O'Doherty, P.P., of Culdiiff, and of the late Rev. Daniel O'Doherty, P.P. of Cap- pagh, Tyrone, who died in 1865. From iilioto by] ULKMOLl MUKlLI.li, CO. DOXKOAL. [\V. Uiwrenoe, Dulilin It vas in the autumn of 185 1 that our delegate's parents left Ireland for Philadelphia with their family, and although their house in Ireland has long been occupied as a police station, and the farm is worked for the landlord, yet the place is still known to the people as Ralph Dunlevy's, and they continue to be remembered with warm alTectiou by the old peoi)le of Fanad and Inishowen. Mr. Dunlevy attended St. Patrick's parochial school in Philadelphia, and also took a course in a business college of that city. Although quite young, during the Civil War in the United States he held a jjosition of :•> . N J .__i> /.. h'' liIOGIL\rniCAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 63 responsibility in the transiwrtatiou service and in tlu- meiiical and engini.'ring departments of the armies, and has vivid recollections of the stirring events of that great war. He was an earnest supjxjrter of the Fenian movement, but greatly deplored the dissensions tiiat split the organisation in Anicrica. He was also an active member of a Catholic Literary Society and chairman of its Debating Club for three years. Mr. Dunlevy joined the Catholic 'J'otal Abstinence movement in Philadeli)hia twenty-four years ago, and devoted his time and attention to that great cause, until the Land I-eague movement was startc<), when he transferred his labours and a<'tlvities entirely to the Irish cause, although he is still a strong advocate of total abstinence. He organised one of the first Land League branches of Philadeljjhia, and also organised the Philadelphia Central Union of the Land League and acted as its president until it was re|)laced by the Municipal Council of the Irish National League. He was president of the latter organisation when the Irish Ambassado s came to the United States just before the unfortunate split. Mr. T. P. Gill, who came in advance to make arrangements for the American tour of the Ambassadors, was visited on his arrival in New York by Mr. Dunlevy, on behalf of the Philadelphia organisation, which authorized him to pledge five thousand dollars. After a conference with Mr. Gill as to the prospects of thehnancial success of the contem- I)lated tour, Mr. Dunlevy on returning home immediately wrote Mr. Gill that the first meeting of the Ambassadors should take place in Philadelphia, as they could get a better send off there than in any other city of the country, especially with good financial results. Mr. Gill complied with the suggestion, and the events that followed proved its value. Mr. Dunlevy attended the conference that organised the Irish National Federation of America in New York with Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet, M.D., as president, and the late Eugene Kelly, .ts treasurer, after which he with Mr. Hugh Mc-Caffrey and Mr. Michael J. Kyan, and others reorganised the Irish National League into the Federation, Mr. McCaffrey being unanimously elected president and Mr. Dunlevy vice-president of the Philadephia Council of the Irish National Federation of America. They have continued with the organisation to support the cause, under great difficulty, however, owing to the dissensions in Ireland. Mr. Dunlevy was a delegate to the Irish Race Convention held in Chicago in the year 1881 ; and he was also a delegate to the great Convention that formed the Irish National League of America in Philadelphia in the year i88_^ ; and further he was a delegate to the League Convention in Chicago in the year 1886. For over sixteen years he has not missed a meeting of the Commo<lore Rarr>' Branch, which he organised, and has hecn its president during that time. He has attended every meeting of I n «4 iKisii HACK roNVEyriox. the Land League CeiUriil Uni<in, the National League and I'hiladeliihia ^'ouiuil of the Irish Natiimal Federation of America, tluring their entire existence. He lias, therefore, worked in the Irish cause to tlie best of his ability, and it was on that account that he was selected to rc|iri'Sfiit riiiladdpliia in the late Dublin (Convention, his associates knowing full well that lie would do his utmost to bring idiout a reunion in the Irish Party and represent their sentiments on that \ital (luestion. Mr. Dunlevy has never sought ])referment in the Irish-American organisation, but he has been repeatedly honoured therein, and has the good will of e\ery jiractical worker in the cause in his adopted city. While on his way to the Conventiim from I'hiladelphia to Dublin Mr. Diuilevy accompanied the aged Mrs. I'arnell, mother of the late Charles .Stewart I'arnell. They were by accident on the steamship, Mrs. I'arnell feoing un a visit to her daughter, Mrs. Dickenson, at Mray. Mr. Dunlevy and Mrs. I'arnell have been friends in the States for many years, and he attended the old lady to Dublin. Mr. Dunlevy is at present employed by the McCaffrey File Company of I'hiladelphia, of whiih company, Mr. Hugh McCaffrey, with whom Mr. Dunlevy has been associated during all the present Irisli nio\enient, is the ])resident. The Irishmen and their tiescendants in Philadelphia have given practical evidence of their desire to see Ireland a self-governing nation ; ami it was owing to business and jirofessional engagements that Mr. Dunlevy had not a nimiber of colleagues from the Quaker City to l>artici|)ate in the (leIilx;rations of the Convention. .Self-sacrificing friends of the cause like Hugh McCaffrey, the elo(iuent young Trish- .\merican Michael J. Ryan, Edward Logue, and the Kev. Thomas Barry, would have attended the Convention, but tlicv were un- avoidably detained from joining in the appeal for unity. 1 r> \ .— V. . moGUAViiicAi, sKi'.TciiKs Or sri:AKi-:i{s. (>$ VERY REV. DK. I'Or.RY, IIAIJKAX, CANADA. Among the many delegates from abroad at tlie Irish Race Convention, there was, jHTliaps, noni; liiat madi- a nuin- distinct and favourahle impression tium the Rev. Dr. \Vm. Foli'y, Halifax, Nova Scotia. I'hysically, a splendid fiRiire, a pleasing presence, and delightful nianiier, still in the jirinie of VDUthfiil \i(;iiiir, a \()ice musical yet articu- late, his speech, which was clDiiiicnt and lo llu- puint, was listcncil to with rapt attention liy the vast asfifmhly. He was horn at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1866. His preliminary studies were made at St. M.ary's College, Halifax, and his studies in .-^^UiSaifip^^u OIANT S CAC.--liVVAV. theology were made at Laval University, (Quebec, I'rovince of (,)uebeL\ Here he took the degree of D.l)., with marked distinct; .1. Since then he has been l(x?ated in St. Patrick's parish, and also in St. Mary's. Halifax. In both he had charge of the religious societies, for which these parishes ore remarkable, and siiared no pains to conduct thenr elliciently. Eloquent in s|)eech, and intensely interested in the wel- fare and prosperity of Ireland, he never loses an oj)j)ortunity to further the Irish cause. That the national movement is \ery dear to him, was aliundanlly e\ident to those whose pri\ilcge it was to listen to his soul-stirring speech in the I.einster Hall. That S|)eech, it may be taken, was a sufficient proof of his powers in oratory, and his zeal in the Irish cause. The Irishmen of Halifax, and their friendf, n)it;ht well feel proud of their re|iresentative. \i ^ 4 -') } \ I 7.! \i. ' c7 / / :• 1, v^ u ■t> >*i 66 nasi I II Ml-: co.wESTios. i IH MARTIN KENNKDV, WFJ,I,IN{;TON, NEW /KALAND. \\\<. Makiin Ki'.nnk.dv, one of the ilircrtors of the Hank of New /caland, lias \m^ l)ccn a i.roiiiinciU colonisl. Allradcil by the Aii.stt.ilian Kokl rush, Mr. Kennedy left the Old I,an<l, and in January, isr.o, nirivcd in Vidnri.i, where for some twelve months he took an active part at the diggings. The news of ti>e riili discoveries in Ulago, which was carried by every vessel across the Tasman Sea, inihued the Md)ject of this notice to cross over to New Zealand in company with manv others criiially enterprising and snnt;nine. Ot.igo gcnenllv, nntl (11,11 U l.Ill imniUIC AND .Ml.iaiKll <)!■■ WATHIIM, Kll.I,/> UNKV. the city of I )inicdin ])articularly, arc indebted for the progress since made, to the i)Ush, ability and determination of the new colonists, who took their share in the i.vents of the stirring times that followed their advent. L'ntil 1865 Mr. Kennedy and his brother carried on business as merchaiits at Qucenstown, on Lake Wakatipu. .^t the beginning of the West Coast rush Mr. Kennedy removed to ("ireymouth, where for over twenty years he held a leading position as a nierchar.t. While resident on the Coast he was always foremost to assist any 'cgitimate enterprise that had for its object the dcvelopiDcnt of the resources of the country. He was largely interested in gold mining in all [)arts of the West Coast, giving his lime and experience cheerfully to further the interests of the vrntures with which he was connected. Mr. Kennedy acquired, in 1874, a considerable share in the coal mines at Brunnerton, ^. \^ nii>(;i{.\i'iii(M. sKi'/niiHs or si'i:.\Ki:ns. '•1 I I ' I to wliicli he licgiin to <lfv<)tu ii lar^c sliarc of Ins liino. Ills diiliis in '. coniKTiioii Willi llii' nunc hi'cainc so onerous lliat in iSSo lie disi-on- 1,^;., I ] liiiiud the iiier(aiitilc biisincfs and devoted himself entirely to lliem. It w,is nf)t Imin liefore Mr. Kennedy liecanie sole pro| rietor of tlio Urunner Colliery anil the steam colliers em|ilo>ed in the trade. For ^ yeais he conducted a larj;u business as a coal-mine |ir()|irietor, l>ut in ^ iHSS he amain.iinated his colliery with the Wist|)oil Compaiiy's iiiierest at llrunnerton. 'llic amalgamated company is well known as the (irey I Valley (.'oul Company; Mr. Kciuiedy h.iving al the same time sold half his coal interest, as well as all his steamboat interest to the ' ' Union Steamship (Joinpany, became niaiiagiiij,' director of the C>rey ' , \'alley Coal Company, and took up his abode in the Kmpire City in the following year. At this lime he also took the manaying director- ship of tiic company which [lurchascd .Messrs. Staples ami Co.'s I brewery .it 'riioriulon. Mr. Kennedy is the propiietor of a sheep-run in tile \Vairarapa, besides wliicli he is interested in otiier local under- takings, and acts as a director of i-everal companies. In 1.S7O he was returned as a member of tlic House of Representatives for the Cirey Electorate District. I'inding, after serving for two sessions, that he could not give the time re(|uired he resigned his seat, and has ' not since entered tlie political aieiui. .Mr. Kennedy, who is a native of County 'rip[)erary, Ireland, where lie was born in iS.ji, is at present resident in Wellington, New Zealand, and had a real genuine Irisli welcoinu from liis friends in lielind, on the occasion of attending the Irish Race Convention in 1 )ul)liii, where he was deputed to re[)resent the Irishmen of New Zealand. Tlie reeeption accorded him was, if (lossible, even more hearty on his return home to Weliington. A mass meeting was iield in St. I'atiick's Hall, in tlie name of the Wellington liianch of tiie Irish National Federation, but the hall was entirely inade([iiate to accommodate those seeking admission. .Mr. Driscoll o((U|)ied the ciiair, and a very interesting address was delivered by Mr. Kennedy, who sealed his convictions by there and then iiromising ^'50 to the Irish I'arty. On the motion of tlie Rev. Father Devoy, seconded by Mr. Twoniey, a vote of tiianks to Mr. Kennedy was carried amidst loud and prolonged applause. f V-^.- V „ 'V ^, ^"^ "^^J \.^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^^A^< 1.0 l^|28 1 lis y^ i2.2 1.1 lli^ III '-6 1.25 V y Hiotographic Sciences Corporation ?3 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^ V L h Hill 1 r-? t-"^ *»-^ :^ ■>- -vr 68 IRiail RACE COX VENT ION. KI'V. GEORGE V. MARSHALL, NEW HAMPSHIRE, U.S.A. Rev. Geo. F. Marshall, rector St. Paul's Church, Milford, New Hampshire, U.S.A., delegate of the Manchester Federation, and delegate at large from tlie ]''ederation of America was born at Mount Nicliolas, Jiallymacrlligott, Kerry, on January I'^rd, 1S59. Having attended ihe National Schools of his native parish, on the commence- ment of his seventeenth year, he entered the Seminary of Holy CrosSi Tralee, and had the good fortinie of ha\ing Mr. T. Harrington, now M.l'., for one of his professors. Moreover, through the great kindness of From photo by] DBUNO HILL, ROSS BAY, CO. KERRY. [W. Lawrence, Dublin the Very Rev. Louis J. Hickey, O.P., now Prodncial of his order, and also the Very Rev. John Ryan, O.P., for some time Prior of Holy Cross, every opportunity was afforded him to advance in his studies. After a three years' course of classics, he reluctantly gave up his studies, and during the few years intervening, between his leaving Ireland and emigration to Canada, in search of health and strength, his time was occupied in doing a little work for the branch of the Land League established in his parish, and in the enjoyment of the prison life provided for hundreds of his fellow country- men under the various Coercion Acts. The Land League / n4 ( -'\ c\ ( A: f'i ,/ ^<~^ / l-.„^ ^^ ,v.- -: - -' V_.^ BIOGRAI'IIICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS, bij 'iiovemeiit gave courage tu young and old, but soon the strong hands of the Government were laid on those who helped the good work among the people. Efforts were made to induce young Land Leaguers to emigrate ; threats of eviction against their parents had not the desired effect, and so the jails were prepared. The " peelers' ' eyes were on them, and it was not long until the subject of this sketch found himself arrested for a moonlight laid made in his neighbourhoofl. The usual investigation was held, but a pair of magistrates and a police sub-inspector were baffled in their efforts. On the evening of the release of the prisoner and his companions, the people for miles around gave evidence of their satisfaction, as the many bonfires blazing on the hills around testified, but tliis liberty was of short duration, and the Coercion Act of 1881 in a few days had thi erstwhile prisoner within its all embracing net, for at midnight, on April 3rd, an arrest was made, and by the next twilight Geo. F. Marshall was witliin the gates of Kilmainham prison, Dublin, to remain there as long as the Coercion Act was in force, or until such time as a promise would be given by him of no further interference in the Land League agitation. This promise never given left to the prisoner a prospect of eighteen months' close confinement, but his ill health forced the authorities to liberate him after eight months. Land League work, and distributing to the evicted tenants and to the families of the suspects the funds given to him for that purpose, made him again an inmate of the prison, and by the time of his release on August 31st, 1882, he had been confined in the prisons of Clonmel, Naas, Enniskillen, and Kilmainham, journeying from one place to another. Finally, he was again free, and the Coercion Act being about to expire, he found himself in a position to leave the country. The scene changes. An October morning finds the exile, friendless and alone on the wharf at Quebec, and where to turn to is the question he naturally puts himself. Prison life had left him but very little strength. Nights without sleep, by reason of the watch-cry of ths guards, made him a victim of insomnia, and it was hard to realise he should again find health ir. the woods of Canada. The winter setting in, however, he turns his eyes southward, and enters after a two days' and nights' weary ride the great city of New York, where he makes up his mind to return to Ireland. But he is dissuaded, and goes to the New England States, where he finds employment. He afterwards entered a Maryland college. A year having passed, he entered Manhattan College, New York, and was received into the Senior class, and he found himself soon qualified to enter on the study of theology, becoming affiliated with the newly erected Diocese of Man- chester. He subsequently entered the Grand Seminary under the care of the Suipitian Fathers, Montreal, Canada. ; 1 1 Ji Ai '■■■y — -^ ■v. ^-v>- "-"SJ- ^y-- —S 70 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. During three years and three months the subject of our sketch l)ur.sueil his studies, and notwithstanding the insomnia contracted in prison, a])piied himself with diligence, and in due course was raised to the priesthood by the Right Rev. the Bishop of Sherbrooke, Canada. .Since then Father Marshall has been engaged in the work of the ministry as assistant priest in the populous city of Manchester, as I)ast()r on many missions on the borders of Canada, and .as rector of the church over which he now presides. He was a few months only in charge of this church, when two of Manchester's leading Irish citizens visited him, and requested him to become delegate of their branch of the Federation to the Convention of the Irish Race. Father Marshall went joyfully on his mission, and had the great and never to he forgotten pleasure of being present at the memorable Convention. I ; J ^-^ n _ V^ ^ r >t y ^: i. •». ^ • , r, • '-.1 I I ■I'l ' 'I I ' I !( .'i -7 ■^ lUOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 71 REV. M. A. CLANCY, PLACENTIA, NEWFOUNDLAND. The Rev. M. A. Clani.y was bom in Ennis, County Clare, on September 14th, 1843. Educated at the Christian Brothers' .^chools, and sub- sequently at St. Finnian's College in his native town, he entered May- nooth in September, 1863. Having there read a distinguished rhetoric ami philosophy course, and begun his theological studies, he became a student of the English College in Bruges, Belgium, in 1867, and in November, 1871, was ordained prie-.t for the diocese of St. John's, Newfoundland. In that diocese he filled for a year the position of professor in St. Bonaventure's College, and chaplain to the Sisters of ^^ercy, Belvedere, St. John's, and was then for two years curate in AMPllrrilEATRE, KILKEE, CO. CLARE. Salmonier, and for three years administrator of Ferryland. In 1877 he was appointed pastor of Ferryland, and was transferred in 1884 to the more important parish of Placentia. During all his life, as a boy, a student, and a priest. Father Clancy has been distinguished for assiduous attention to duty, and intense love of Ireland. Well-read, eloquent, honest, and fearless, he has every- where been a stout struggler in the cause of Faith and Fatherland. When the Irishmen of Newfoundland, in public meeting in St. John's, in August, 1896, proceeded to select delegates for the Irish Race Con- vention, Father Clancy was unanimously chosen along with J. D. Ryan, Esq., of St. John's, to represent at home the men and women whose hearts beat tiue to Ireland among the ice and snows of Terra Nova, ■^y- ■Jr' • i ■A\' ^< / ,M y.<\ ') 7» ■ I : '7 IRTSn If ACE rnXVEXTWX. REV. EDWARD S. PHILLIPS, WILKESHARRE, PENNSYLVANIA. TiiL Rev. Edward S. Philli[)S, delegate to the Irish Race Convention, and member of the Municipal Cnuiicil of the I.N. Federation of Wilkesbarre, was born near Ilawley, Wayne County, Penn.sylvania, October 4th, 1857, and is son of Edward Phillips and Mary O'Hara, formerly of County Mayo, Ireland, being youngest of the family. As a boy he attended the public schools at Pittson, and he received porticn of his cla.ssical education from Father Finnen, then Vicar General of the Diocese of Scranton, and pasto*- of St. John's Church, Pittson. His studies were afterwards made at St. Charles College, EUicot City, Maryland. He studied philosophy and theology at St. Charles Seminary, Philadeljjhia, and was ordained priest 27th Sc|>teniber, 1881, in the cathedral at Scranton, by the Right Rev. Dr. O'Hara. He was engaged in missionary work for two years at the cathedral, after which he was located in various parts of the diocese, principally Ha2elton, and came to Plains, Juno 30th, 1888, as pastor of the Sacred Heart Church, which has a congregation of more than two thousand .souls. Here, there are parochial schools, conducted by the Sisters of Mercy, of the adjacent Convent, where Mrs. Mary Carolan McQuade, a native of Carrickmacross, Ireland, is Rev. Mother. There are about three hundred and fifty pupils in attendance. The Convent of Mercy is beautifully situated, and the grounds are spacious and attractive. As a priest, Father Phillips' career has been most successful, and while ever securing the confidence of his own charge, commands the esteem and admiration of all classes. On the occasion of the notable visit of Messrs. Parnell and Dillon to America, he was so struck with their description of the poverty and persecutions of the Irish peo[)le by an alien government, that he heartily resolved to do everything within the limit of his power to redress their grievances. He has been faithful to his resolutions, and while liberal in his contributions, his voice and pen are ever at the .service of the Irish cause. ■) iVT^' I '-. -^ ; J BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 73 V JOHN FERGUSON', GLASGOW. Of good j)hysi(iiie, and endowed witli vigorous attributes of mii'd and body, John .Ferguson, ui tiie firm of Cameron, Ferguson and Co., lias made iiimself known as a writer and speaker on Home Rule, social and politico-economic subjects throughout the three kingdoms. He has been often requested to stand for Irish and Scotch constituencies, but has always refused the honour of sitting at Westminster. His municipal career has been a great success. He sHf Ftom photo by] DUNLUCB CASTLE, CO. ANTBIM. [W, Lawrence, Dublin C'l L has created a spirit amongst the working men that has sent him a strong band of supporters, and he has told the Council he will change its convictions, or change its members. He represents the Fourth Ward, which is the only one in the city that returns three members who are ardent single-taxers, all three being disciples of Henry George, and members of the Executive of the Scottish Land Restora tion Union. Mr. Ferguson was born in County Antrim in 1836, an! is, therefore, sixty-one years of age. He received his early education chiefly at Belfast. While young he did not enter very much into political life, his attention being devoted to religious movements. He ■<) O"^' \i ^mmmm f '^-v —: "^ (!l'V/ il c ll^^'fl ("i';\\!i 74 f/{rsn If ACE CONVENTION. was closely identified with Church of England affairs, and Young Mens Christian Associations. He came to Glasgow in 1859 with the usual prejudices acquired in high-class schools, and liy association with the ascendancy classes in Ireland amongst whom his early life was cast. He had, however, learned from Professor Cliffe Leslie, of the Queen's University, and other distinguished men, in classes and in society, princijjles which were calculated to destroy the conservative notions o. his family surroundings, and these speedily made themselves manifest in the more liberal atmosphere of Scotland. While passing down Nelson Street, in Glasgow, one evening his attention was arresteil by a loud and animated discussion, the sound of which was proceeding from a hall in the vicinity. He entered. A fierce discussion was raging. The I'ope was being denounced in all the moods and tenses, and two or three Irish Catholics were fighting their political battles against great odds. Although the religious princi]>les as personified in the person of the Pope were doubtless objectionable to one reared as Mr. Ferguson had been, his broad humanitarian sympathies took him to the Irish side, and he found himself hotly discussing the Irish land question with men who seemed to think that tenant-right was robbery of landlords, and a principle that only Papists or immoral men could think of admitting. As years rolled on he became more closely associated, no' only in Glasgow, but all over the Empire, with his countrymen — that is to say, in the main with Catholics — though not altogether, as there were always some Protestant Irish Nationalists, until he fleemed the time had come to lift the standard of revolt on that side of the water, and the first Home Rule Association in Great Britain was established in Glasgow. He entered heart and soul into the movement, with the result that several branches were formed throughout Great Britajn. He was the moving spirit in the Glasgow body, which for years was visited by such leading Irishmen as Isaac Butt, John Martin, A. M. Sullivan, Father O'Malley, Rev. Isaac Nelson, Professor Galbraith, Charles Stewart Parnell, and a host of others who addressed crowded meetings of Irish Nationalists in the City Hall. Ugly language was used about this time by the Press as to driving all Irishmen out of Scotland. Mr. Ferguson thought it necessary to organise vast processions of Irishmen in Glasgow, number- ing from ,^0,000 to 50,000, in order to show that if such were attempted Anti-Irishmen would have more work on their hands than they were aware of. His business .suffered greatly at this time, it being no uncommon thing for his firm to receive on the morning following a demonstration in which he had taken part half a dozen letters enclosing cheques and closing accounts, as the senders could have nothing to do with Home Rulers, for it must be remembered that Home Rule at that time occupied such a position that The ^^ .1) ^~ ■■'] h '^ I '- 1 ^ > 1' >X'^ \ij niOGRAPIUCAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 75 Glasijow Ilcni/tl in an editorial imce aaked Mr. Ferguson: "Come now, Ix' frank; do yon rually bi'lie\e tlial ever a i.me will come wh;'ii you will lui\e a .Scotchman believing in Homo Rule?" Mr. I'erguson answered ; " Ve.s, because the Scotch nation is eminently clear-headed and logical. Home Rule is as necessary a conclusion in politics as that 3 and 3 are 6 in arithmetic. Jt is bound to come." 'I'o show how the liatreil to Jlome Rule displayed itself prior to the conversion (jf the Liberal Party in 1885, it may be mentioned that while at Spring- burn holding a meeting with 20,000 Irish Nationalists around him, rifle bullets were fired at those on the |)latform and took efTect upon two persons. A man was arrested, proof wiis given, and the authorities thought six weeks sulVicient for shooting two Home Rulers. About the same time a rifle bullet wius fired at Mr. Ferguson's house at Lenzie, and the perforation in the plate pane is there still as a testi- mony to the evil spirit created by the I'ress of Scotland at that time. It would be a lesson to many Scottish Home Rulers who now cheer Mr. Ferguson when he apjKjars at public meetings were they to turn back to '76 or '79 and read the misrepresentations of Home Rule and Mr. Ferguson that then ajjpeared in the daily ])ress. Mr. Ferguson was one of the originators of the Irish Land League, which was started by half a dozen men, the first meeting being held at Irishtown, in the County Mayo. At the meeting he expounded the land-for-the-people doctrine. His colleague at the time was Mr. Thomas Drennan, who advocated the principles of advanced Nationalism. Mr. Michael Davitt was another of his colleagues, and would have been at the Irishtown meeting but for missing a train. Had he been present he would have addressed the meeting within view of the spot from which his parents were evicted in his youthful days. The subject of our sketch was the first to proclaim Charles Stewart Parnell leader of the Irish nation, and expressions of surprise from his friends was the result. Mr. Parnell was first publicly de- clared leader at a meeting in Glasgow, and also subsequently at Liverpool, Mr. Ferguson accompanying him there. He has delivered over 1,200 platform addresses in England and Scotland, and written over 1,400 articles and letters upon economic and political questions. He was in thorough accord with Henry (Jeorge when he published " Progress and Poverty," Mr. George sent him a copy from America, saying he would shortly visit Europe, and would like to talk its contents over with him, and discuss their points of difference on " capital as a factor in production, and the population question, with Michael Davitt, say, as umpire." Mr. Ferguson attended the Irish Race Convention, and delivered a speech of great power. X iiii V i. [' {• r 7« Nf/S/l UACK COXVKSTION. IH IT' . . .-' !.♦» r^ n^ taa BaMifl HP ■""^ ——.I ^^ '^^•^^■B ■■ BH^H |^^|H| ^HB^Wfciirtt..'''" ; ■«■, <■• '■ ^g 8 HH HH ^Bfep ^^^^ li^H ^^^ ^ % ^J gH VALKNCIA, 10. KKIlllY. REV. PATRICK V. FLVNN. There were few speakers at the Iri.sh Race Convention, who attracted so miirh general attention in the Press and otherwise, as (lid the Rev. I'atriik !•'. J'iynn, P.P., ]iallyi)rii-ken, Waterford. Father Fiynn clearly did not seek notoriety, hiil was most sincere in his efforts to bring al)out unity, and was eviilently anxious to do his very best in the interest of Ireland. The amendment which stood in his name, and which he pro- posed would, if carried, at once end the sessions and the speeches, as well as all the deliberations of the Convention. This, he afterwards realised himself, and withdrew his amendment, but not withou'. con- siderable discussion. Every'thing can be \iewed from two stand- points, and thus the newspapers on the one hand prai.sed him for his sincerity and honesty of puqiose, and his willingness to make sacrifice in the interests of ])eace and unity, whereas on the other, this action was attributed to the great pressure that was brought to bear upon him, and was, therefore, adduced as a proof of the utter lack of freedom, throughout the proceedings. Some again took a humorous view of the situation, and the parodies were not a little amusing. The humble parish priest of Hallybricken, accordingly arose one morning to find himself famous. ;\-- -o-TL v.. lundnM'incAT. sketches of speakers. ^^ llii' K.'v, I'.itrick !■'. i'lviin. IM'., Triiitty Wiili.nit, HullybrickiMi, Wnti'ilonl, is A prit'st ii| iIil- Dioccsf (if Watcifonl, wIuto Iu- was liorn in 1842. I'Kiiii his earlifst years he manifostcd a dfsiri' for tiu- prit-st- h(X)(I, and sd shurlly after having; atlaiiu'd die raiicpnical ;\ff\ was raised to i\w prieslh I, which had heen tiie ainliiliiin nf his hfe. He laiioured a.s ciiriitL* in Clonniel, ami SMlisei|nendy in Dim^arvan, two of the most imjiortant parisiies of the Diocese of Waterford. In Ixitii, iiis rnission was most successful, and he vrtia excee(iin(;ly l)o|)nhir, especially witi> tlie jioor. He was always an aMe and zealous ad\<icate in the interests of eiliication, and watched over the schools in the various parishes where he has been located witii the greatest solicitude. He lias, too, taken an interest in the farming class, and endeavoured to assist them liy his experience, always ur^'ing them to ado|it newer aiid more systematic methods. l''or some time he w.as Administrator of Uallylirickm, and was in due cour.se appointeil parish priest. Here ho still remains, and devotes his whole energies to the spiritual and temjioial welfare of his people. Father I'lynn ha-s heen for many years connected with Irish politics, and is known throughout the length and I)re.a<lth of the land, as a most earnest and uncomjiromising Nationalist. He has suffered severely in the Irish cause, and home patiently the misrepresentation to which he was siilijected at the time of the notorious split in the Irish Party. Waterford was then, as it is now, with some modifications, a strong- hold of Parnellism, and hence he was obliged in support of his convic- tions, to .adc.jit a very determine<l course, and part company with his best friends. His greatest opponent.'!, however, admired his sincerity and honesty of purpose, and most of them have since sought his friend- ship. In every movement, since the earliest days of the Land League, that he considered might benefit the Irish jieople he has taken part, and hy his advice and counsel, as well as by his purse, endeavoured to render every assistance in his ])ower. Father Flynn is jieculiarly well gifted as a speaker. His voice is distinct and pleasing, and there is in his manner a tone of earnestness that must command attention. He is greatly esteemed among his fellow priests, who admire his gentle- manliness, his i)iety, and candour. We wish him many years to rule over his jiopulous and important parish, and continue to contribute l)y his ability and disinterested patriotism, to the cause of Ireland. m\\ \jy- 78 //.7.S7/ A'.lrV'; COSVKSTION. AI.DKRMAN \V. J. SMYTH. Ai.Di.KMAN \\ . J. Smviii, Mnvor of Wnturford for 1895 9(1, lias Ijcen iili'iitifii'cl witli till' piililic lift- of that city for the last quartfr of a ifiitiiry. Ill" is |priii(i|ial of llic firm of Mi's.srs. W. J. Smyth and ('()., and ha.H always taken a |ironiinuiil part in tlio Municipal and political matters affecting Watcrford. In 1879, on the return of Mr. i'arncll from America, he seconded the vote of thanks and freedom of the city i)assed hy the Corporation to him, tiien cotnparatively unknown, and just entering on that remarkable career, which eventually ctil- / L •• From pholo hy\ KEOINALD'S TOWER, WATERFORD. [W. Ijiwrcnoc, Dublin minated in his general recognition as leader of the Irish people. He was an ardent sujiporter of Mr. Parnell until the unfortimate division of 1890, when he felt constrained to take the side of the majority of the Irish Party. For many years he was t'hairman of the Waterford Uranch of the Irish National League, and was one of those deputed hy the Corporation to wait on Mr. Gladstone at Hawarden, in October, i886, presenting him with an addre.ss and casket. Alderman Smyth attended the Convention of the Irish Race held in Dublin, and seconded an amendment proposed by Father Flynn, ** ', 'N C>' '} -— ^ ■:,,<ft^ -'5- \ niOGlfAPIlICAL SKETCH KS OF A'/'AMA'AVW. 79 Walfrforcl, its [)iirix)rt Loing that a committee uf those assembled he appointed to confer togetiier, and investigate the differences among the sections of Nationahsts, with a view to effect unity. The amend- ment after consideraiiie discussion, was witinirawn. He has U'cn twice elected by liis fellow citizens Mayo- of Waterford, lie is Justice of the Peace for the County and City of Waterford, Ilarlioiir Cmn- missioner, ^[aster of the Holy (ihost Hospital, an endoweil puliiie institution for tiie accommodation of some seventy eiileriy respectable n.itives of Waterford, and (lovernor of the County and City Infirmary. m i I i I 3 ; •»( liBl 1:i •; / V X HUSH RACE CONVENTION. O'CONNOR, M.P. Our subject is among the most prominent Irishmen in Great liritain, ajid a leading member of the Irish Parliamentary Party. We only purpose to give the leading facts in a career, which has been already so brilliant, and which affords even brighter promise for the fiitiirt'. Mr. O'Connor delivered a speech at the Irish Race Con- vention, which for diction, force and eloquence, was the themo of every tongue, and it is on account of his part in the great event, that we take the liberty of penning what is necessarily an inadequate sketch. Thomas Power O'Connor, M.P. for Scotland Division of Liverp<iol, eldest son of Thomas O'Connor and Teresa Power, was bom at Athlone, NATIONAL LIBRAnV, DUBLIN. County Roscommon, 5th October, 1848. He was first educated at the College of the Immaculate Conception, Athlone, and afterwards at the Queen's College, Galway, where he obtained the degrees of B.A. and M.A. Coming subsequently to Dublin, he adopted journalisiii, and remained for three years in connection with the Dublin Press. He always sjieaks in the liighest terms of his treatment while connected with Saunders' Newsletter, a Dublin Conservative journal. In 1870 he went to London, and obtained the sub-editorship of the Daily Telcf/raph, and was afterwards employed in the I.nndon office of the New York Herald. He puLlished in 1876, the first \olunie of a biography- of the late Lord Beaconsfield, under the title "Ben- jamin Disraeli, Earl of Beaconsfield,'' but changing his original inten- tion, brought out a complete life of the then Premier, in a single volume, under the title, "Lord Beaconsfield, a Biography." From a r, ■J v '-I ,^^^\ .^.■.<^ r-.r BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 8i )j^ litemry point of view it was universally admiroil, but a£ he was rather severe on the Conservative leader, from his own political stan Ipoint, his critics on that side were many and hostile. In 1880 he entered Parliament as M.P. for Galway, and was soon one of the most ardent and prominent supporters of Mr. Parnell. He was returned for hotli Galway and Liverpool in 1885, but elected to sit for the latter, for which he was re-elected in 1886, 1892, and 1895. Mr. O'Connor visited the United States in 1881, and lectured in the principal cities on the Irish cause. The tour lasted for seven months, beginning in October and ending in May. His mission was very successful, and his lectures were attended by crowds of Irish and sympathisers with the Irish cause. In 1883 he was elected President of the National League of Great Britain, and has been re-elected for several years in succession. He was also re-elected at the Irish National League of Great Britain meeting held in the Leinster Hall, Dublin, September 4th, 1896. This is sufficient proof of the esteem in which Mr. O'Connor i.s held by the Nationalists of Great Britain. Not only is he a politician, but he is literary as well, and has written several works in addition to his life of Lord Beaconsfield. He was in part editor of the " Cabinet of Irish Literature," and has written " The Parnell Movement,'' which appeared in 1885, and is regarded as one of his best works. He is the author of " Gladsto'ie's House of Commons," an i mo.e recently, " Napoleon." Beside;, he has written a large collection of tales, essays, and magazine articles. Mr. O'Connor is a self-made man, and is not ashamed to own it. He was first aiming for the Ci\il Service, but some obstacle having been thrown in the way, he took to journalism, and afterwards politics, and in his own word'' drifted into his present position. In speaking of his career, Mr. O'Connor says his whole success in life is the result of chance. But in the supposi- tion, we are afraid, he sets too little value on his own ability. He is still connected with journalism, and is editor and proprietor of the Weekly San, having disposed of his interest in the Star and Sun newspapers, both of which he founded. Being connected with the Press, Mr. O'Connor was in a position to do good service to the Irish cause, an opportunity of which he fully availed himself. His motives have been impugned, and ho has been time and again the subject of abuse, from those he sought to seive. We do not here intend to offer a vindication of his character ; he needs no such vindica- tion. The position which he holds in the Irish Party is strong confir- mation of the confidence of nis colleagues, while his retention of the Presidency of the Irish National League of Great Britain in such unbroken succession, and his continuous re-election by the constituents he now represents, are ample proof of the appreciation of the people. He has simply held the position of President, because no other corld M ^.f?^^ ' •V''. i ^ ^ :^ H i 'M ' ■' .1 ll^^'^ h. ^! IRISH RACE CONVENTION. he found to discharge its duties so ably. Though resident in London, Mr. O'Connor is Irish to the core, and still retains enough of the brogue to mark his nationality, and he is not ashamed of it. He tflls us, that notwithstanding his long residence in England, his thoughts ever turn to the home of his childhood, and land of his hirtli. Physically he is a sjjlendid s])ecimen of his race, tall and muscular, and iiroportionately built. When he speaks he becomes twice magnifi"d. Mr. O'Connor is an orator in the proper sense of the term. His voice is adai)ted for speaking, loud and articulate, while his magnificent presence, his delightful diction, and appropriate gesture lend 'in exceptional charm to his oratory. According to our jiromise, we have but given a brief sketch of one of the ablest and best known of Irish jioliticians, but we have .said enough to prove his great ■■diilily and his many services to Ireland. We trust he will long contiuiie to take a leading ])art in Irish politics, for which he is so well adapted by his many yeans' experience and distinguished ability. Ireland needs his services. ) ;!^;,ii r^. JQei JiaY. :j^' h UIOGIiAPITICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. V,^ VERY REV. MONSIGNOR JOHN O'LEM^V. MoNSiGNOR O'Leary, who dealt at somu length with an amendment of Father Flynn's, Waterford, at the Irish Race Convention, is well known in Ireland and elsewhere for his marked ability, anil for the interest which he has taken through many varying years in Irish politics. Though yet very young for a prelate, his career has been remarkable and eventful. Bom in the year 1850, at Timoleague, some six miles south of Bandon, in a place commanding a view of one of the numerous inlets, C 1) From photo by] EAOLE'S NEST, KILIAUN-Er. [W. Lawrence, Dublin w 3 O O^ which from Kinsale Head to Bantry Bay, give such a charm to West Cork scenery. He was first a pupil at the local school. Later he attended classical schools in Clonakilty and Bandon, and then went to Castleknock, where he greatly distinguished himself, gaining first prizes in all his classes. Here he had the charge! of the library, and had ample opportunity of developing that taste for reading, which had so early manifested itself, and which has been so characteristic of him ever since. From Castleknock he entered Maynooth. In [/ ". .'/ '•i Vh:^X :./- -v/\ IlilSlI RACE CONVENTION. the great National College, there axe some six hundred students, with often a hundred in one class. There is always a good deal of generous and healthful comixtition, and it is recorded of our subject that he pursued liis studies with great success, and camo out high in the honors list each year. But on commencing his studies in theokgy, his health gave way, and he was obliged in consequence, to remain absent from collej;e for nearly two years. However, contrary to the expectation of his fellow-students and his relatives, as well as his pliysician, he rallied, and was strong enough to return to Maynooth, where he was ordained jjriest in 1874. Despite his comparatively feeble health, he secured honors in moral and dogmatic theology, 8crii)ture and Hebrew. His first appointment was the curacy of Cape Clear. To most people it would have been a veritable exile, but the bracing healthful- ness and purity of the atmosphere, enabled him to regain his former strength, and its very isolation forced him to seek consolation in reading and literature. But all his time was not given to study. He is practical as well as literary. Through him was built the pier at the Cape, which had long been the hope and dream of the sturdy inhabitants, but the work remained for the young curate to accomplish. After endless trouble and voluminous correspondence with the Board of Works, he eventually got the pier built at a cost of jQi,ooo, con- sidered a great sum to be spent on a public work in Ireland at that time. Ho also considerably aided the poor fishermen of Cape Clear and Baltimore by encouragement and advice, as well as supplying some of them with the necessary fishing gear. The results have since been most gratifying. His next mission was Union Hall, a district picturesquely situated between Castletownshend and Glandore, one of the most charming districts in Ireland. In his second appoint- ment he became equally endeared to his people for his piety and zeal, and his general interest on their behalf. He was afterwards appointed curate of Clonakilty, where he became associated with the Land League, being horror stricken at the dreaded ravages made by landlordism in Ireland. His name was prominently brought before the public on the occasion of his celebrated disputation with Bence Jones, on the relations of the Irish landlord and tenant. Bence Jones was then in the height of his j-ower and glory in Clonakilty, and be'ng something of a litterateur, wielded a facile and caustic pen. He practised in early life as a barrister in London, and with such qualifica- tions, it was difficult to expect a practically inexperienced and obscure Catholic curate, to successfully combat so doughty a foeman. Father O'L^ary, however, was equal to the occasion, and exposed landlord tactics so ably in the Cotifcmporary Review, that many of the literary journals pronounced one of his articles the best in the Con- ) c 1 :." V ( o \ > ' :i^; BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 85 ^' 1 1 ! .' I ' 1' •! ; ( 11 ■^)- temporary for the inoiiih. Congratulations were forthwith showered upon him, from every part of the United Kingdom. Though he took a leading part in the land agitation, and hardly missed an opportunity of attending a Land League meeting, when he considered his presence might be reciuired, it was liis invariable rule never to be absent from any duty of the parish, a resolve which he fixedly and rigidly observed. Thus he was known to make a speech at a I'arnell baiKjuet at Cork at midnight and return to Clonakilty, and resume his duties without any rest ; to attend a meeting in Dublin, returning by the night mail to Bandon, whence he took an outside car for home, lest he might disappoint his people of the morning ^L1SS. Overwork, in due time, told \i\)on his constitution, at no time very robust. He was obliged to take a somewhat lengthened holiday, but he soon recovered sufficiently to undertake the administratorship of the Bishop's parish of Skibbereen. This important charge he undertook in the year 1884. He was appointed parish priest of Clonakilty, and Vicar Forane in 1889. Lately he has been raised to the dignity of domestic prelate, by His Holiness Leo XHL, and at the time this dignity was conferred upon him, was prob- ably the youngest prelate in the Catholic world outside Rome. In private life he is a sterling friend, gentlemanly and accomplished. He is a close student of contemporary history, while his literary produc- tions are marked by great clearness and force. At one time it was intended he should prepare for the bar. Had this intention been carried out, the Church would have lost a model, zealous and patriotic priest, and there is little doubt the law would have acquired a brilliant and accomplished member. [r^ '. ,ii 1 1 r ii L ..J cs- — ^o' •- \_y'^-^ ^?^ ^Vy' -Mil (f||!^ ^ ;|ll t '.'• i »f< Jh'l^/I liACl'J CUi\ VENT ION. REV. WlLl-LUl MEAGHER. 'J'HE Rl'V. William MtiiglitT, the worthy and patriotic curate of St. Mary's (,'loiiiiiel, comes of an old and resjiected family in County 'l'i|il)eiary, whence he drew his insiiiralions of piety and patriotism, lie was ordained in the Kilkenny Cathedral, on Rosary Sunday, 1872, at the coniparati\ely eiirly age of twenty-four, by Cardinal Moran, Sydney, Init then Ui.shop of Ossory. Three brothers of the family joined the sacred ministry; of these two are still in the Diocese of Waterford, including the subject of this sketch, and the third. Rev. Jeremiaii Meagher, is lately deceased. Soon after his ordination, he was appointed curate of St. Mary's, Clonmel, and it has been the scene of his labours for ijuarter of a century, except during the brief period of his transfer, by the Most Rev. Dr. Egan, to Cahir. But he was shortly re-apix)inted to Clonmel, to the great joy of his former parishioners. Father Meagher, though a sterling and unswer\'ing patriot, has endeared himself to ill classes in Clonmel, and he is known over most of the Southern Irish Counties for his patriotism, his piety, and his genuine kindliness of heart. On the occasion of the memorable sheriff's sales, 31st May, 1880, when the soldiers charged the people, he with Dean Kinane, of Cashel, and other priests, and some influen- tial laymen, stood by the crowd and averted what might have been a terrible scene of bloodshed. In every iiolitical agitation since be- coming a priest, he nobly espoused the cause of the people, and was vice-president of the National League of Clonmel at a very early stage. He also held the same position when the National League was re- placed by the Irish National Federation. At the Parnell split, he boldly stood by the majority of the Irish Party, and although the Parnellites mustered strong at Clonmel, more than once they gave proof of their esteem and respect for him, albeit his political views were very different from theirs. But, perhaps, he is most esteemed for his sympathy with the poor and his interest on behalf of the struggling tenantry. He has been instrumental in effecting settlements between landlords and tenants in cases where all such hope had been long abandoned. No wonder that Father Meagher's name is enshrined in the hearts of his people. L'A , \ ^ ,1 niOGRAPIIICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 87 \n]\ y .,vi WILLIAM SULLIVAN, BRADFORD. The subject of this sketcli, Mr. William Sullivan, was a delegate to the great Irish Rare Convention, from the Bradford (Vorks.) Central Branch, I.N.L.Cl.B., of which branch he has l)een president for some years. He was born in the city of London on 15th of August, 1855. His father and mother were natives of County Cork, whence they migrated to London about the year 1850. Like most of our people who left Ireland about that time to find homes in Knglish centres, they found it hard to make headway, and consetiuently, at an early i ,1 % From photo byj CIIOMWKLI.'S nillDOE, OLENOAlUiU-F. [W. Liiwrcnce, Dutilln age, young Sullivan had to take to work. At the age of 18 he was offered a situation in Bradford, and left London for that town in the early part of 1874. After filling various positions, he received the appointment in 1885 of Canadian representative of one of the largest houses in the Bradford tr.ade, and continued in that position uniil 1893, when the loss of his sight compelled him to relinquish his post. During his many trips across the Atlantic he made the acquaintance of several Irishmen, who, leaving home without means or friends, have made positions for themselves in the New World. Like most Atlantic travellers, Mr. Sullivan has many stories to tell of things that ) z'" y- y ■^ Ky ■pi-fl '\'.\^ M 0- 1 88 IRISH RACE CONVEyriON. happened on ship-board, but the most exciting, and no doubt, must interesting to Irishmen, was his trip with Mr. (J'Hrien on board the Umbria in 1887, when Mr. O'Brien went to Canada to denounce ti.o evictor of Luggacurran. The excitement began at Queenstown, wherj thousands were gathered on the (piay waiting the arrival of the mail train. When the train steamed in, Mr. O'Brien was quickly observed at the door of a carriage, and was imme>..ately surrounded by a cheering throng. After sjjeaking to the crowd for some time, he came on board the tender, amid the cheers of the people. When the Umbria was reached, about an hour behintl time, the growling was loud and deep at him who had caused the delay. Mr. O'Brien it was soon seen had few friends among the saloon passengers. Many angry scenes took jilace between Mr. O'Brien's friends and the Tory saloon passengers, which reached a climax on Monday evening, when shortly after dinner, those who were on deck heard a voice shouting through the darkness, "Is that the Umliria?" Being told that it was a further (juestion was asked, " Have you William O'Brien on board?" Then the Tory mob howled, and from a score of throats wont forth the answer, " No ; we threw him overboard at Queenstown." In the midst of the tumult Mr. O'Brien came on deck with the few friends he had gathered round him, and on all sides were heard "Cheers for Lansdowne," and "Goil save the Queen." Mr. O'Brien himself in describing this scene tells us that in the midst of their singing of " CjoA save the Queen," was heard the loud baritone voice of Mr. Sullivan, of Bradford, singing, " God save Ireland." When at last the tender, chartered by Mr. O'Brien's friends, was permitted to come alongside, and Mr. O'Brien expressed his intention of going on board, it was Mr. Sullivan who accompanied him to the lower deck, whence he was transferred. They met again a week after in Toronto, the scene of such dastardly attacks by the Orangemen. Mr. Sullivan began his active political work in Irish politics in 1880, when he joined the Bradford Branch of the Land League, and was shortly afterwards elected a member of the committee, and since 1881 has at various times held every official position of the local branch. As a public speaker, he has often been called upon to advocate the cause of Ireland, and at election times has been able to render valuable assist- ance to both local and Parliamentary candidates, who were friends of the Irish movement. In 1893 he suffered the loss of his sight. The affliction fell upon him in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, at which place he was just starting a season's trip. For six weeks he lay in the hospital there, under the care of Dr. Osborne, and the good Sisters of St. Joseph, of whose kindness and attention he speaks in terms of the highest praise. He left the hospital, his sight being but partially restored, and has never fully recovered. To most men, so terrible an ^J^ 9 J (»'; ''Fiv- ^ C>^' f ^ r:^ .■-^ '0>"' i. ,. '.\ lr/\ mOGRArillCAL SKETCH ES OF srEAKERS. 89 alllirtioii with all tho lirif^ht liopcs for tlie future I )lu.sto(l, nil notions of political work would have come to iin end. Hut it wns not so witii Mr. Sullivan. In January, 1894, lie w;is elected President of his branch of the I.N.I.., and since that time h;us hceii as eiicrgrtic in the cause of Ireland as before. The sympathy of his friends in Canada was .shown by a very handsome testimonial contributed by a very large circle of friends, and the ajjpreciation of his fellow countrymen in Br.idford was ex[)ressed at the l)eginninn of 1896, when they presented him with a sum of 100 guineas as a mark of their sympathy in his aflliction, and their apprjciation of his work for Ireland. -->*»-Ts-Hr3r-<5s^»r-i5^^-=^ie«.et^jaE. ' -^ S J :J < 4 .♦r;| c: DR. VV. P. O'MEARA, SOUTHAMPTON, Dr. W. p. O'Meara was born at BruflT, Co. Limerick, in 1862. Ho was educated at the Christian Brothers' Schools and St. Patrick's Seminary, of that town. His studies in medicine were made at Dublin London and Edinburgh. At Edinburgh, after a brilliant examination] he obtained his diplomas, and began shortly afterwards to practise in London. In 1890 he removed to Southampton, where he has acquired an extensive practice. At an early age Dr. O'Meara identified himself with the Irish national cause, and, when a student in Dublin, was one of the founders of the D'Alton Williams Students' Society, and also of the O'Connell Branch of the Irish National League. His earlier instincts did not forsake him, for on coming to Southampton, he founded, and was first president of the Grattan Branch of the Irish National League of Great Britain. This is one of the most effective and vigorous branches in the South of England. He has been its president for six years. Besides, he has been active in municipal affairs, and is a prominent member of the Board of Guardians, and in all elections has rendered valuable service to the Liberal Party. In turn, they showed their appreciation of his aid, by electing him to the important position of Surgeon to the Borough Police Force, an excep- tional honour, considering his brief residence there — in all, three years. Dr. O'Meara is physically a splendid specimen of an Irishman, and his success in life is a further proof of the capability of his countrymen, when untrammeled by prejudice, to attain the highest positions. N i 4 V^ ^^ -\ 1' m IRISH UACE rnyVKSTWX. KKV. I'lVI'KR O'l.KARV. The Ki'V. IVtcr O'l.fary, I'.l*., Castli-lynns, roimty Cork, was born at I.iscarrai^ani, half way l)clwiLn Millslrcut and Macroom. lie was ordainid pric-t in 1S67, ami liardly had he entered on his inissiim wiii'n he was lirouglil into (Hrcct {•unnict with the Feni.'ui movement, and tiie vile calumny of I'enianism against the Irish ("atliolic (iries'hdod. The priests of Ireland loidii n.it It-iid their ajijiroval to a ]iiiysical for(c scheme against the Hritish fio\crnment, an<l for this reason, I'Vnianism proclaimed that their object in thus wilhholdinj; their assent was the m<ire to enslave their people, while From photo by] Tt'NXKL ON KENMAHF. IIOAI). [W. IjvwTPni'O, Dulilln gaining for themselves some personal advantage, and thereby forfeit- ing every claim to patriotism. This calumny had to l^e borne with and many well meaning people accepted it as indisputable. When, however, Mr. Davitt started the Land League, a platform was constructed on which priests and ])enple could stand together, and openly and firmly express their views. Father O'Leary was on the mission in Chai e\ille at that time, and was among the first to a.scend the new platform. It was a great relief to the priesthood tif Irelan<J that they had now an opportunity ) •J 'A. i ''I y^ * i ) lilUdliM'HICAL SKETCH KS OF SI' i: A K Hits. 91 j,'ivcn llu;in of clearly proving tliat their aversion to physical foreo nioMMiieiit.s arose neither from an afleetion for Urilish power as exer- ciMod in Irelaii'l, nor fiom fear of any personal trouhlu or danger. The period wliiih elapsed l>elween the founding of the Land League, aivJ (he I'ainell er'sis was a time of nndinitiieil glory lioth for people \\.\ jiriests in Irelmd, and I'ather O'I.eary, during all that period, madj e\ery effort to 1)C in the front rank among the workers in the caii-.c. The I'arnell :ri»iis, however, proved a terrilile blow to its onward mareh, and with it camo disorder and disorganisati<in in all their varied forms. At length the great Convention was summoned with a view to unity an<l the restoration t)f order. 'J'he good priest attended and acted well his i)art in endeavouring to restalilish national unity, and heal the cliffereni-es which had (!estr(jyed the uflicieni'y of the Irish I'arlia- mei.lary I'arty. i : I ■\'' d '■\ 1 -., y-i Hi mil HACK CUSVKSTloy. KKV. M. H. KKNNKDY. TiiK Kov. M. H. KciiiK'iIy, uiuler a mild exturior aiwl grunt geiitloness of manner, in one of tlio mont daring and fearle.sH of Irish patrioU. JJorii in Mitcliclstciwn, in 1852, and rcccivinK his early education at the C'lirisli.in Drothirs' Schools, lie fell himself at an early age called yw.'.n \ii\ VI'IIIEDACU'B CROSS, UOMAiirERBOICE, CO. LOl'TU. to the ecclesiastical state. His studies were made in the Irish College, Paris, and he was ordained priest in 1878. His health was somewhat infirm during his entire course. After some time on the Liverpool Mission, he was transferred to his native <liocese, Cloyne, and ap- pointed to the curacy of Youghal. The Ntruggle on the Ponsonby Estate roused him to action, and he continued to espouse the part A ^ rs^ i^' ) _ J) UU)UUM>UIC\L tiKKTCllKti Oh' St'EAKKliS. 93 of the tciiiintry until lii.s (lepartiirf fi)r Mfi'liii 'n 1HS7. At Mi-vlin, the Plan of ('aiii|iiUKii wax jiiHt estatilishi'il, and lie felt iiinstraiiiL'il tu tak(! tlio |h'()I)1(,''h part. Afti-r the ("oercion Act came into operation, lit- was tlirico prosecuted, and in all netitenced to eiglit months' im- prisonment, Ner\in|j; hIx months of the eight, lliil thi* |>rosecutioni anil im|>riNonmcnt did not in the loatit degree ahate his ardour, and he continued to help and cncniirago tlie iieople, denouncing land- Ion lism whenever he felt it hiii <Iuty to do so. The fight in bot'.i instances en led in victory for the pi-ople. The struggle wiin a iievero strain n|)on Father Kennedy's health, hut it is gratifying to have to record that he haw Hince l)ocome Htrong and vigorous. IliH curacy, as wo write, is HIarney, within easy reach of famed Hlarney CaMtle, and its magic stone. Happily he iloes not require the aids to elfxiuence which the latter is supposed to impart. Ail are agreed that his speech at the Irish Race Convention was a clear and eloquent statement of the pomtion of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and their claims tu the support uf the people. M. O'MKAKA. •; Mr. M. O'Meara, was born near Dundalk, in County Louth, nth July, 1S35. He formed liis connection with tho Irish National Board of £)ducation in WarreniKjint, a« early aB 1852. In 1854 he became [irincipal in Omeath National School, being sub' secpiently traineil in Dublin, and called to special class, a privilege which he was forced to decline owing to deli<-ate health. .Some years later he studied navigation and nautical astronomy, obtaining first- class certificates. An ardent lover of his country, he entvred the field of jiolitics on retiring from teaching in 1895. His merits were soon recognised, and in 1896 he was elected Poor Law Guardian for the Dundalk Union. He attended the Irish Race Convention, and suggested the necessity for limiting the speeches in length, which had become, i?i some cases, a little tiresome. On his return ho established a branch of the Irish National Keileration, despite much persistent and influen- tial opposition. This action of his at Omeath, as well aa the great demonstration organised there, over which he presided, attracted a great deal of attention in the Press of the United Kingdom, inas- much as this was regarded as one of Mr. Healy's strongholds; Mr. John Dillon attended, and the meeting was successful, notwithstanding a great deal of open and determined hostility. ^' \ V>^ « V y ' h ).m ■— v; "—*"■" — i^ ' ' ' ' 94 IN/SJf RACE CONVEXTION. JOHN U. O'HIGGINS, BOSTON. Mr. John H. O'Higgins, wlio just nrrived from Boston, displaying some of tiie fatigue and worry, incident to au Atlantic voyage, succeeded as si)eaker to the Hon. Edwanl Blake at the Irish Race Comention. 'J"he jiosition was not one to l)e envied, under the most favourable of circumstances. But Mr. O'Higgins accjuitted himself very satis- factorily, considering the great odds against which he had to contend, anrl ringing cheers gteeted his efforts. He was horn in Mogeela, Coiuity Cork, Ireland, in the year i860, receiving the ordinary education of the National School of his native * ;; i. "ill '1"'. ''"■'1 ^ > _ - Hg^V'' ^."■/'''r*^rJ''l:i "^ \^ BlIAV UEAI), CO. WICKLOW. parish. But he endeavoured to acijuire a more extended course, and applied himself privately to the study of English literature, Irish history, Irish topography, and the Irish language. On coming to Boston, he attended the Boston Evening High School, and also the School of the Young Men's Christian Association, so that he was in time, enabled to secure a distinguished position on the Press. In 1881, in his twenty-first year, he was elected secretary to the Castlemartyr Land League, a position which he held until leaving for America in 1887. He was interested in the Gaelic Athletic Club of his native parish, and organised the Wolfe Tone Hurling Club. V^" a i'\ 1/ \in. \> I W%( ^.->1 N W .H V ;» ■, V ?;? ,!!KM1 niOGRAPIIICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 95 Like mi st of his countrymen he was obliged ;it first to engage in whatever employment came his way, and thus was at various times, in the railway department, in the office of the Boston Pilot, in that of Ddiitihor's Magazine, and in the extensive stores of Messrs. Ikown, Durrell and Co. He was the founder of that department in the Boston Pilot devoted to the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The idea was successful, and soon all the Catholic papers of the country, which are Irish in tone, followed the example. Afterwards he became labour editor of the Post, a position which he held until establishing the Hibernian Printing and I'ublishing Company. While on the staff of the Post he represented that paper at A.O.H. Conventions in Omaha and Detroit being delegate at the former, and had the honour of seconding the resolution to grant $50,000 to establish a Gaelic Chair at the Catholic University, Washington. Mr. O'Higgins was most energetic in founding the Irish National Alliance, in Chicago, 1895, and has also taken part in founding branches of that society, even in the Queen's dominions. On many occasions he has publicly helped the Irish cause in Boston, having held the presidency of the Wolfe Tone Branch of the Irish National Federa- tion in that city. He has been also interested in Irish athletics, and acteu as referee in many hotly contested matches. Founder and president of Division 15, A.O.H. , Jamaica Plain, he ha-s been more- over, vice-])resident of Division 25, Boston, and commander of the Hibernian Knights of Division -5. On leaving Boston, to attend the Irish Race Convention, the Knights j)rer>ented him with a gold watch and chain, and on his return, he received a hearty welcome from that body. In .Aijril, 1897, he was elected president of Division 43, Ancient Order of Hibernians, Boston, and this is the best answer that can be made to those who asserted he would be severely dealt with by that body, for the part he bad taken while in Ireland on the Irish question. ^) \ ' il i^^ s ? 3 ( i i M. >r? ^^ ;.', \M rv- -J ) \ ».> i '^^ 96 77?/*S// 7/.16'/!; CONVENTION. m :ii;!. ^^.,- c: r- -i U. i>i \ ;• ■• ./-' TIMOTHY MICHAEL HEALY, M.P. Mr. T. M. Healy did not attend the Irish Race Convention, but in its connection a great deal of interest was centred in him, and his name was frequently referred to throughout the proceedings. It may not be out of place, therefore, to give here a short account of him, who, whatever may be his shortcor'-ngs, is an able and gifted states- man. Mr. Healy, who is the present M.P. for North Louth, is son of Mr. M. Healy, Bantry, County Cork, and was born May 17th, 1855. He married the daughter of Mr. T. D. Sullivan in 1882, and became barrister in 1885. He was M.P. for Wexford, 1880-83 > ^"i" Monaghan, 1883-85; for South Deny, 1885-86; and North Longford, 1887-92. He is brother of Mr. Maurice Healy, M.P., Cork City and of Mr. Thomas Joseph Healy, M.P., North Wexford. The following interest- ing interview took place between Mr. Healy and the special correspon- dent of the Daih/ Chronicle, September 3rd, 1896, in reference to the great Convention : Interest in the National Convention ended last night so far as the outside world is concerned. So I have spent to-day in trying to find out something as to the outside opinion of the Convention. I found Mr. Healy at his villa at Howth, sunning himself by the blue waters of Dublin Bay, apparently indifferent to conventions, votes of censure, or anything else — beyond fresh air and rest. " How is it," I asked, " that you are not at the Convention ? " " The reason is this," was the reply. " It was decided by the vote of the Party to have the invitations to the Convention issued by the Committee of the Party, and by the Executive of the National Federation. Now they expelled me from the Committee of the Party, and from the Executive of the Federation. After this they abolished the Committee of the Party, but there were still a number of my friends on the Executive of the Federation. They summoned that body to meet in London at the House of Commons ; so that none but members of Parliament could attend, for it was impossibI<: to expect men to come from Cork or Connemara to an executive meeting at Westminster. Such a course of procedure meant the packing of the Convention with a clique of Mr. Dillon's own personal followers. " herefore, I declined to have anything to do with it. "Then again," continued Mr. Healy, "the affairs of the Irish Party are the affairs of the Irish Party alone. There are men from Canada and the United States at this Convention. They are very estimable men, no doubt, and men who wish well to Ireland — although I confess to learning the names of most of them this week for the ~\ tk mV ^./^ ,. L- <iV "^^ I -D lilOGRAPIIICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS, n^ first time — but I decline to ailmit their right to interfere with the representatives (if the Irish constituencies. The constituencies and the constituencies alone have the right to say what policy their electee", representatives should follow. I am myself electetl liy an Irish ron- .stituency, and by my constituents alone will I be judged." " Then you refuse to go before any Convention ? " " Not at all," Mr. Healy replied. " If a National Con\ ention were railed fairly by parish meetings duly convened in the usual manner, I would abide by the findings of the gathering, but of no other. 'i"he troubles in the Irish Party are purely internal matters ; they could not l)e the concern of any Convention of the Iris'.i Race. It wa.s on account of the Kern election that I was turned out of HOWTH CASTLE, CO. DUBLIN. the Committee of the Irish Party. There Mr. Dillon went down anJ held a Convention to get his candidate nominated outside the con- stituency itself. I insisted upon a proper county convention beins; held, the choice of which should be unfettered.' "Then you don't think that there is any chance of a rapproc/te- mcnt between the different sections of the Irish Party as the out come of the present Convention ? " " I certainly do not. I should say that the result will just be the reverse. Mr. Dillon's speech yesterday was an absurd speech. You must remember that he said six months ago that anybody who attempted to discuss the rival claims of Dillon or Healy to the Irish leadership would be coughed down or run out of the room. Yet in o ■^'' '^A' wA k\ A b M M •MMM mkk. 1 Q 1/ A u' la n « la r I i^,"l' J>^ M ^ !fr (vj M A. >v-> ../TV 98 IKISH RACE CONVENTION. the fare of that statement he got up and founil fault with me because I (lid not attend the Convention." "Then what should be done in order to get together a united Irish Party under one leader such as we had in 1891?" "The first thing to be done," said Mr. Healy, "is to get rid of ail those who iia\e any pretensions to leadership. My name and Mr. Dillon's name an- mere shibboleths of faction. We are both on that ground disqualified for leadership. It is hopeless to expect anything like union undei such circumstances. We are the leaders of sides in what almost amounts to a civil war. How can there be union ? " " I hear you offered to sene under Mr. Sexton ? " " Yes, I did ; but Mr. Sexton treated my overtures as hypocritical. Mr. Sexton has gone away just now and remains, as it were, under water." "But what are the prospects of a Parnellite union?'' " There are none. The Parnellites are ready for union, but at a Parnellite ])rice, wliich is the acceptance of Mr. John Redmond as (■hairmau. T'he Anti-Parnellites are for union, but at an Anti- Parnellite price, which is that the reunited party should elect the chairman. As Mr. Dillon's followers would be in a majority this would, of course, mean that he would be chairman ; and even if Mr. Dillon did accept Mr. Redmond's leadership how long would the arrangement last ? Until the next annual election of chairman." " Vou have been charged at the Convention with breaking the party pledge of the Irish party." " I know," said Mr. Healy ; " and considering that I am the author of the pledge itself, this is rather absurd. The jjledge is to sit, act, and ^■ote with the Party. I have challenged my opponents over and over again to point out a single instance in which I failed to do this. If the Irish Party duly assembled declare by a majority that I have broken my pledges I will resign my seat, and go to my constituents the very next day. But I am not breaking my pledge when I protest against the Tsardom of Mr. Dillon." " Pardon me, though," I said, " but you had something like a Tsardom under Mr. Parnell." "Mr. Parnell," was the reply, "never took action, except on two occasions, without consulting his colleagues. One of these occasions was in 188 1, on the second reading of the Land Act; and then, you must remember, there was no pledge in existence, for I did not invent it until 1885. Parnell wished to abstain from voting against our wishes and opinions. We obeyed his orders with the exception of Mr. O'Connor Power. The other occasion was during the Galway election in 1886. Then Mr. T. P. O'Connor, who had been talking Op) \ \'' V'.-i\ irtiii "^ /oitj aiJ ^ Cp) l( a 13I0GUAP1IICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAK EliS. 99 so loudly about unity, wrote offering to resign his seat if I would do the same, as a protest against Captiin O'Shea's candidature." ";\11 these squalid details are very painful. How will they afTect the cause of Irish Nationalism ? " " Oh, my ilear sir," said Mr. Healy, " these are mere common- places of Irish politics. They don't afTect our cause one bit. But consider our iiosition. The Liberals were three years in office, and we got nothing out of them. Of course, as a party, they made enormous sacrifices on our behalf ; but first of all Lord Roscbery went back on Home Rule. His speech on the second reading of the Bill in the House of Lords showed that he was not at heart a Home Ruler, and when he became Prime Minister he made his 'predominant partner' speech. What happened during the existence of the Liberal Government from 1892 to 1895 is a standing warning to Ireland on the Home Rule question." " A warning against what ? " "A warning," was the reply, "to be cautious and wary. Home Rule for Ireland has been shown to be unobtainable under the.se circumstances, especially as the Liberals have shown that they are unable to get over the opposition of the House of I,ords. Now, as ha\ing the care of a very poor and a very backward country', we are justified in obtaining — in fact, it is our bounden duty to get — all we can out of the Tories whilst they are in office. That will admittedly be for some five years. During that time we shall be at the mercy of the Tories, and the cause of Ireland will be barred legislatively by a Tory administration. I look to these five or six years as a training, a seed-time so to speak." "What will the Liberals think about this? They won't consider you are very grateful." " I know," said Mr. Healy, " I have been charged with ingratitude to the Liberal party. I deny that the charge is well founded. I cannot feel anything else but gratitude to the Liberal party, and I believe that their action was limited by their powers. But I cannot help seeing, on the other hand, that among the Tories there is no longer that acerbity that we formerly experienced. Even in Ireland, where the manifestations of high Toryism are always the most bitter, I can detect a changed feeling. I believe we could proceed, if our party were properly led, to induce the Tory party into making con- considerable concessions in the direction of local reforms." " Local government ? " I asked. " Well," said Mr. Healy, " I prefer to leave it vaguely expressed, lest I might frighten the Tories. But all this is so much gain. And the use that we make of these reforms will show the Tory party that they can safely go forward with further progress." i-yi "'=t;t> : ) c a) i! ^:l 100 IlUSn RACE CONVENTION. I'lie meeting of the Convention to-day was marked by the same enthusiasm as on the previous day, but the proceedings call for no partindiir remark. I had a ch.it with Dean Harris, who attends to ri|iri'Sfnl the Archliisho]) of 'I'oionto. I gather from the Dean that the foreign delegates arc very much imjiressed by the Convention, and that their evident feeling is to go hack and recommend to all that financial support from abroad should go to ^fr. Dillon. They came over entirely niil)iassed, l>ut they remain converts to the Iri.-h Parliamentary Party under Mr. Dillon's leadership. V ^aZSwK^iaSiKii'ir^j < '^ ^ -- -i!,!" ■■'•, 1 jJ. » t.<u4*-*-*-»-^ f-'-^'* — -#-*-*■*■*-» rfl ' '■ '■■■ ' i j ^J^^^m |j ^'■■' ' . ,> TjilBHlBiHl !lS ; f- ' IIAIKL IIOVAL AND IIWOIU) TOWKIl, Dl 11I.1X CASTI E. ^l^\ \ ft ..^/\.f ^■^ ^ =^ (i ^'•'- jS-^J ^m Jl \: V mOURAPllICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. loi < r V: • T. HARRINGTON, M.P. Among those on whom the Irish Race Convention has had most beneficial results may be prominently mentioned the name of Mr. T. Harrington, M.P. He was for inany years the leading light m the I'arnellite Party, and admittedly one of the ablest ailvocates of the Paniell policy, and his defection is a dreadful blow to the Parnellites. At the time we write, he is not a strict adherent of any political party, but he is busily engaged in effecting unity among all sections of Irish Nationalists, and his efforts have been wonderfully successful. Mr. Harrington is a barrister; has sat in Parliament for the Harbour Divi- i. V ^ a ^^ •'' k) DKVIL'S fll.KN, CO. HIUKLOW. sion, Dublin, since 1885, in the Parnellite interest; is hon. secretary Irish National League; born at Castletownbere, County Cork, 1851 ; son of Denis Harrington and Eileen O'SuUivan. Educated at Trinity College, Dublin. Established the Kerrrj Sentinel in 1877 ; took a prominent part in the Land League and National League movements ; was M.P. for County Westmeath, 1883 ; called to the Irish Bar 1887 ; and was one of the counsel for Mr. Parnell at the Special Commission, 1888-89. The following appeal which appeared in United Ireland of /■i ! 7;^ ir ■^ » ■ -^ », i .■^•■ ' 102 //{/S/t HACK COSVKSriON. May I si, 1897, wius issued by Mr. Harrington, to liie nu-mljers of liu.' Irish National League: — 1''ellow-C!ountrvmen, It is now closi' iii)on lil'tei'ii years since the Irisii National League was estai)lisheil by Ciiarles Stewart I'arneil at a public (Convention in the Anlieiit Concert Rooms. Surrouniled by the men who had borne the briMit of the Land League struggle, who had faced eviction, dragooning, and im|)risonnient in tiie assertion of popular rights, he gave to the country a new inilicy and a new programme to replace that which the (iovernment had siip|>ressed. 'Id iiie new organisation thus established by the free voice of the people he and his colleagues again devoted tiial energy, fearlessness, and enthusiasm which in a few brief years had crijjpled landlord tyranny in Ireland, and extorted the Land Act of '81 from a hostile Hritish I'arliament. 'i'he Irish National League was met at the very threshold of its existence with proclamations, coercion, prosecutions, and the other machinery with which we are made familiar in the .sujjpression of jiopular liberty in this country. .Since then five successive Ciovern- menls, backed by the resources of Dublin ("astle, have tried their strength against it in vain. It grew and flourished in the midst of coercion and proclamations, until, by the exercise of both courage and caution, it became the most powerful ]Kililical organisation which any country in the world could boa.st of. For the Irish farmer it ol)tained the Land Acts of '87 and '91, as well as generous reductions in rent every year upon thousands of estates even where the rents had been fixed by legal tribunals. The tenants who had Ijeen evicted in the struggle received from it generous support, the encouraging sympathy of their fellow-country- men, and the assurance that none of their neighbours would consent to take the farm from which they had been driven forth. The General Election of 1885, following immediately on the extension of the Franchire, found the country so well organised that every constituency in three of the Provinces and a clear majority of the fourth returned a Nationalist representative to Parliament. The spirit which the org.anisation called forth in I'-eland was imitated in every land where our people had found a home, until the Iri.sh race all the world over were united as one man in pushing forward the claim of their country to National Self-Gevernment. To break down the organisation of the National League seemed to be the only hope which the Unionist Party had of .stemming the progress Home Rtde was making in the constituencies of Great Britain, and every device that malice and hatred could invent was employed to weaken or discredit the organisation. 4 V'-'V -^.^ — J»»^ <; <7-3 '><'^\ u'/\ ^1 IflOaiiA I'lllCAL SKETCH KS OF SPEA KEliS. 10.5 But out of every such onlcal it came unscathed, and you wlio remember the jirolonged inciuiry of tlie Timet S|)C('ial ("oinmission will not judge liglitly of the services which it rendered to the National cause. When the fatal division of November, 1890, came and the Irish ranks were severeil and broken, one of the first duties of the Irish leader was to safeguard the organisation whit'h luid so proudly borne the banner to the very threshold of victory. In July, '91, at one of the most representative conventions held during the whole National struggle, the amended constitution of the Irish National League was put forward by him clause after clause for discussion, and amendment, and formally approved of. In conuneiiding it to the Irish people on the occasion, he used these memorable words: " We shall have in that organisation all the earnestness and courage of the country — of men who believe in the future of the Irish nation — of all those who believe in the right of Ireland's representatives and the Irish people to independence and to independent judgment. That organisation, as '.hk convention siiows, will cunstitute an o\erwhelming and con(iuering body which, tiiough it may not win to-day, will live until it does win.'' That is the organisation which a small assemblage of gentlemen, gathered in the Oak Room of the Mansion House a few days ago, took upon themselves to sujjpress without consultation with the coiuitry, and without any refeience to the men on whose shouldtTS fell tlie chief burden of maintaining it dining the long period of the struggle. Not only are the burning wonts with which I'arnell commended it to his fellow-coiuitrymen forgotten, but his policy is openly discredited and his organisati(jn cast aside. Dee|)ly as it pains me to raise mv \oice in protest against a course so foolishly and so hastily entered u[K)n by the majority of my colleagues, I deem it my duty, neverthe- less, to warn you against the invasion of all ])opular and constitutional rights involved in the course that has been taken. I'opidar political organisations are not made that leaders may put them on and take them off like gloves. One of their chief uses is to keep leaders up to the duties they have undertaken to discharge ; and the Irish people would prove themselves utterly unfit for the exercise of those great rights they are struggling for if they tamely allowed any {xjlitical leaders, however worthy or however tried, to sup])ress or change the popular organisation without first consulting the voice of the nation. The right of any man or body of men to start a new political organisa- tion I do not for a momsiit call in question — much as I deplore the fre<iuency with which such experiments have been tried upon the Irish people. But when gentlemen who have been delegated with no authority, and who have had no opportunities of consulting the ? ; . ! j 1 ii : I t ;i \ ! ' I 11 ^> viy "LL C^ 104 IKISTI RACE CONVESTION. !'l! ill ( C ) people, take iipoii tiiciniielvL-H to siippresH the Nution;il orKaiiisatiuii, tliuii, ill my jtidgiiiLMit, such a (IcL'i.sioii, to use a inrtnurablu i)lirn.se, " gous forth without autiiority aiul roriics l)afk vvith<iut ruspcct.' 'I'o the odicurs .iiiil nicniliers of the National I.iMguc biamiics throughout the country 1 iipiieal to stain I lirni Ijy I'ariieH'.s principles and I'ariieirs organisation. UfTer no factious opposition tu anyone who may be (lis|iosecl to try the new organisation, but work up and let'ogiiise your own. Now is tin; time lo limit or narrow ihe boundary lines of the popular organisation in Ireland. .Slowly, perhaps, but surely, the mind of the country is realising the frightful mistakes that have been committed in the recent past. Men are learning to concern themsehes more deeply with the future of their country and its cause than with the incidents which led tu disrui)tion and severance in the National for<'es. 'J'he noble policy of union and combination upon lines of independence and self-respect i.s gaining in jjopularity every day. Hy encouiaging and fostering that spirit, you may rely upon one who knew I'arnell well that you are pursuing the (Kjlicy which he would i)ursue if he were amongst us to-day. \'engeance or reprisals on any .section of his fellow-countrymen he would never commit himself to. The strength of his great movement was gathered from the solid couibination which he effected of the Irish race, not alone in Ireland but all over the world. Be it your duty at this sujjreme crisis in your country's history to profit by the lesson he taught and to imitate his example of patriotism. Instead of aban- doning the organisation which he established, and which with his leadership brought the Irish cause almost to the very pinnacle of success, take immediate steps to strengthen and .solidify it. Open your doors to all the old colleagues and comrades who fought side by side with you in the heroic struggle of ttu; recent past. The same issues are still before the country, and the same combinatit)n of forces in Irish politics can carry them to final triumph. The position of the evicted tenants, amnesty to our imprisoned fellow-countrj-men, justice and fruits of his labour to the Irish farmer, the encouragement and development of industry in our country, and, abtwe all, the futi;re of our National cause, speak eloijuently to us of the vital necessity for hearty co-operation ii])on the old lines. Avoid recriminations and fruitless discussions of the p.xst. Turn your talents and your energies to combine the people as Parnell combined them, to push to the front not the cau.se of this party or that party, this leader or that leader, but the cause of Ireland a Nation. With such a jxilicy you will win for yourself and your cau.se the resi)ect of your opponents, the heaily support of the masses of Irishmen at home, and the jiroud admiration of the men of your race in every land and in every clime. "U?l . J ) V — — o^-j^:^ i). J ) / mounAl'lllCAL SKKTCII/.S OF Sl'KAKKHS. 105 CHEVALIKK JUIIN IIKNKV, OTTAWA, CANADA. Jdiin IIknkv was Ixirii in I'oiialifTi', l.'oiinty Cavaii, Ireland, April if)ll), 1821, liis parents, I'clir llcni'y ami ll.irriijtt, his wifi", wliose niaideti name was L'onarty, liotii bt'iiiK nali\fs of tin- same place. John, the subject of thLs Nketch, emigrated to Canada, in the summer o( 1843. lie was enjjaged in the leather iMisiiiess in Ireland, and con- tinued it for some time in Ottawa with success. In 1868 he began contracting for (Joverument works, which he still follows, lie h.is taken great interest in Miuiii'ipal afl'airs, and in a creditabli? manner served at the Council Hoard for a period of tiiirty-.se\en years, lie has been slyieil the " I'atlicr of TeniptM^uK'e," and iic has been regarded with great distinction by the Protestant ami Catholic Temiier- iince Societies, and in recognition of his services. His Holiness i'ope 111 MHUIA.N, 10. IKiNl: Leo XIII. has conferred on him the title of Chevalier of the Holy Sepulchre. In religion he is a Roman Catholic, ami most tolerant: to all sects. It is with great pride he has to say that he was present at the laying of the corner stone of all the churches of the city of Ottawa. Personally, Mr. Heney is a self-made man, and in every respect is iniiversally esteemed for his honour, integrity, an<l straight- forwardness, <|ualities which have distinguislied him throiii^h life. During his attendance as delegate at the Irish Race Convention, Mr. Heney was the victim ot a very bitter attack by the Trish Daihf Tiiilrprndcnf. Dean Harris espoused his cause ; and the substance of attack and defence is given elsewhere in this volume. The Tiidrjiir (lent refused to make apology, but it is stated that Mr. John Redmond, whose connections with that paper are well known, received on this account, rough handling from the Irishmen of Ottawa, which he visited during a recent lecturing tour in Canada. i;;> •♦ ll'T/A^ I! •^•^^'. /^-^ ^) -* >■ .,^^**— «-"i ^\:- ■MiiiMliHM iof> IIUSII HACK COSVKSTIoy. \ VKRY KI'V. JOHN J. CANON McCARTAN. \Vk miicK n'urft that tiino iiiid spaic |iiip|)il>it our Kivinn lit Niifllcient li'iigth an atcdunt wi.rtliy of tlu- I'sti'i'im-il ami /calt'iis parish prifst (pf Doiianhmori". AmoiiK thtwis whose connection with the Irixh Race ('(Mivciition attractcl givat attention in the Press, may In- prominently mentioned Canon McCartan. He made no wild effort at oratory, but very composedly said his say. explainiiin his views in a manner that rommanded attention. Towards the close of his speech, however, the Canon pnrsned a methcxi of interrogation, which was unumial and which, hy reason of the answering crowd, created much confusion. I'mill Jilloto IpyJ UOHTUhVOII, CO. DOWN. IW. IjiwrfiK'i', Dublin The chairman was (pMiged to interfere, i)rohiliiting this method of jirocedure, and wherefore went forth the wild cry of the hostile Press, and the enemies of the Convention, that all liberty and freedom of speech were crushed, the very moment the least spark of independence manifested itself. It was clear in the |)resent instance, to the nn- 1*^ j biassed, that no effort was made to crush free<lom, or independence, ' but to preserve order, and afford, on the contrary, the speaker a hearing, which owing to the responses of the vast assembly, was be- coming impossible. The ]iith of the Canon's entire speech was inde()en(lence of all English political parties, and by preaching this Gospel he hoped to establish a platform wide enough for all Irish Nationalists. Tt is staled that Canon McCartan had lieen for some- zy \ \ •/./ liKKlltM'inCAL SKKTl'IIES Ot' Sl'KAKEKS. 107 time previotiH tu \.\w. Coiivi'iition tin invalid, uiul well niglt nmi- from u lic'il (if illticHs to lUtLMid the threat iutiiunil>ly, ami, an Ih'hI Iu- cuuiil, nil! in (tening thi; Irinii cauNc. \'fr)' Rrv. J'llm J. t.'uni)n Mci'Mtun, who iit a prii'st of iIk- An'h- iliiiirHL' of Ariiiauli, wa.s ixirn in lli. ' ••h of lUtilymacnali, ('minty Armagh, iu 1^4^, llu Wius orduinc . lu-itt in lii« twi'iity lift!) year, hid Htudii'M having been made Muynooth, and wa« up- l)ointcd (iliortly aflcrwanls to llu . uracy of the parish of Kildri'ss. Here in: lalioiiri'd for many years, moving nmongHt iho l)eople, encouraging tl.em in their dilViciihii's, and solacing them in their tronl)les. lie was deeply interested in the education of the young, viNiting constantly the schooln, and not infre(|nently, pcrsoiially, Rupcrintending the secular and religious education. Through his /e.il nnil energy in no small degree, the parish owns the lieautiful parochial rhurch, which is eiptal, if not Huperior to any church in the r><ral districts of the Archdiocese. The people in the ])arish of Kililress, still reinemlier his many laliours with gratitude, and love to repeat his name with the greatest veneration. A career so energetic and self sacrilicing is destined, sooner or later, to receive its recognition from the pro|)er tpiarter, and thus, Father M<'('artan was appointed at a comparati\ely early age (larish jiriesl of Donaghmore, County Tyrone, an appointment which proved the esteem in wiiich he was held hy the Archl)ishii|i of Armagh. lie was shortly afterwards raised to the dignity of Canon. Over this important parish Canon Nf-.* 'artan still presides, and while occupied with the care of a large Catholii' po|)ulation, and as earnest and as har<lworking ils in his early curate days, he endeavours to lind a s[iaro hour to devote to the cause of his country. He is not only a sympathiser, but he is a worker, and hius more than once sealed his convictions with his purse. He has Ix^en known to jiay a subscription of ;^5o to the National I'"und, a gixjdly sum at one payment for an Irish priest, who is nevei blessed with an overflow of this world's goods. The Canon, it may be mentioned, is endo\ved with considerable strength of mind, and ius soon as he discovers the path of duty, he is deterred by no obstacle, but pursues that course, even though it should cost him the loss of esteemed friends. His recent part in Irish politics attests to this trait in his character, for the policy to which he is devoted, is not universal nor is it admired in clerical circles in his vicinity. Vet he adheres firmly to his own views. But it is pleasing to learn owing to his warmth and sincerity of heart, which are universally recognised, he has lost no friends in consequence. Canon McCartan is an excellent type of the Irish .soggarth, pious, zealous, and patriotic. May he be long spared to his people, who admire him for his ability and sincerity. ^ X '\^ ^ r rt: ;^ V . .mI /. L 7 108 jjiL'^j/ racp: convention. HUGH MUUrHV, GLASGOW. Mr. Hugh iMuRriiv was Ijoiii ;it Nuwtowiibutler, County Fermanagh, forty-diiL' yi'ars ag'j, and lufl Ireland when eight years of age. He joined tiie Jlonie Government Association in 1872, and in 1874 the Association (leterniined to form branches in the different parts of the city of Glasgow, with a Central Council, formed of four delegates from earli uf these various branches. Of one of the branches Mr. Minpiiy IjLcaine secretary at the exceiJtionaily early age of nineteen. He acted for four years as secretary, and afterwards joined the '98 Club. On the formation of the "Michael Davitt" Branch of the Land League, he became a member, and afterwards secretary. At this time the " No Rent Manifesto " was issued by the Irish leaders, and tiie branches received instructions from the executive to pass no resolutions endorsing tiie "' Manifesto." The " Michael Davitt ' branch. THE QtrATP, m-BUN. however, disregarded the mandate, and resolutions were proposed endorsing the " iNLanifesto," and carried by a majority of 500 to i. For this reason the branch was cut off, but after a ft,v months was again acknowledged. Shortly afterwards, the "Home Government" and the "Michael Davitt" Branches were merged into one, and since then, no branch in Great Britain has done more for the old cause. Mr. Murphy was elected president twehe years ago, and retained that I)()sition ever since, except for a few months' intenal. At the Irish Race Convention it supplied fourteen delegates. He also takes a lively interest in Trade Union matters, and was accordingly com- I)limented by being appointed president of the society, the first instance, in which a Catholic and an Irishman was elected to that position. This honour he retained until some two years ago. Mr. Murphy delivered a \ery effective speech at the Irish Race Convention. V-.^' ■ — >» y" 1 (t n \ / •■>) — \ niOURAPlllCAL iSKETCllES OF SPEAKERS. 109 MR. THOMAS LOUGHLIN, BRADFORD. The subject of our sketch was born in Bradfortl, on the 6th November, 1866, of Irish parents. When a boy he attended St. Mary's Roman CathoHc Schools in tliat town, ami when nine years of age gained a Free Scholarship. Owing to the death of his father, Mr. Loughlin was compelled to make his own way at an early age, but attended night schodi at the Mechanics' Institute, where he earned another Free Scholarship. In 1883 he became connected with the Central Branch S": ). . ■ '1 ' '.;:. }'' ~- '\ f From photo by] (iLKNSUESK, CO. ANTBIM. [W. Livwrcnce, Dublin of the Irish National League in Bradford (now there are five), and has been connected with one or other of the branches ever since. Secretarial work was at once found for him in connection with the numerous meetings held to protest against Coercion. On the introduc- tion of the Home Rule Measure in 1886, Mr. Loughlin was called upon to defend that policy in various debating societies in the town. Shortly after the formation of the Wolfe Tone Branch I.N. I,eague in 1885, he was appointed financial secretary, and has remained in con- nection with that branch ever since, while it has grov/n to have a membership of several hundred and greatly enlarged its i)remises. He has represented the Wolfe one Branch at the following Irish > / J :'/ (• r-^^^ ^Cr 110 IRISH RACK COXVEXTION. National League of Great Britain Conventions: Birmingham, 1887; Bradford, 1892; Leeds, 1895; Dublin Irish l<ace Convention, 1896. He was one of the secretaries for the Convention, l)anquet and meeting, held in Bradfonl in 1892. Along with Mr. W. S. Burke, journalist, now of Liver]iool, then of Bradford, Mr. Loughlin organised in August, 1893, the Bradford Irish Literary Society, and got up for three seasons an excellent programme of lectures, debates and conversaziones. Mr. Loughlin ha^s lectured on " Biillad Poetry of Ireland," " Thomas Davis,'' " The Volunteer Movement," " Daniel O'Connell, Orator and Statesman,' " The Life of Wolfe Tone," " Who fears to speak of '98,'' and taken part in debates with Mr. W. S. Burke on " I'oetr)- I'. Prose," " Physical v. Moral Force." The subject of our sketch knows nearly all the poetry of the Young Ireland movement. Mr. Loughlin has at the invitation of his fellow Nationalists in York- shire and Lancashire addressed meetings in Leeds, Manchester, Halifax, WJ^efield, Dewsbury, Keighley, Oldham, Shipley, and all the branches in Bradford, and a place on the programme is always found for him at Irish Nationalist meetings in Bradford. Mr. Loughlin felt very strongly the pointed articles in the Irish Catholic on the Irish \oters of Bradford at the last General Election, and acted a ' secretary to the large indignation meeting of Bradford Irishmen held to u -nounce those articles as "scurrilous and rabid." The Executive oi the I.N.L. of Great Britain offered hirr. a few months ago the posi 'on of organiser in the Midland Counties of England, a position whi- he had to reluctantly decline. At present Mr. Loughlin is secreta^;, for the united branches of the I.N.L. of Great Britain in Bradford, and treasurer of the Wolfe Tone branch in that town. His motto is " Nil Desperandum '' ; his j)oet, " Davis " ; his country, " Ireland " ; his religion, " Catholic.'' 1! , \'-i-'V 1*^ ;r::A ■A -:>i>'^ :> ) I « ! I ; niOGNAPIIJCAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS, m REV. P. J. O'DONNELL, MONTREAL. The distinguished young Irish-Canadian priest, who attended the Irish Race Convention, is a native of Chateauguay County, Province of Quebec, where he was born in the year 1856. His parents who came from County Donegal, Ireland, emigrated to Canada many years ago, where, by untiring iiuhistry, they made for themselves a comfortable heme. P'ather O'Donnell, it is stated, is a relation of Dr. O'Donnell, Bishop of Raphoe, and maile his studies at St. Teresa's College, a branch of the Laval University, which is but a short distance from Montreal. Subsequently he made his theological n From photo by] AASLEAOH, CONNEMAUA. LW. Lawrence, Dublin Studies at the famed seminary of St. Sulpice, and was ordained priest bv the late lamented Archbishop Fabre, of Montreal, with whom he was always held in iue highest estimation. He was for some time a.ssistant priest at St. Ann's and St Anthony's, but was rapidly promoted, and is now pastor of St. Mary's, one of the most important and extensive parishes in the city of Montreal. He is an accomplished scholar, but the pressing duties of his populous parish, preclude the possibility of his devoting much time to literature. Though scholarly and literary, he -^ \ m. \ I ii 112 TIUSH RACE COXVEXTIOX. ia at the Hame time jjosHes.sed of great business capacity, managing with much tact and ability the jicoplo entrusted to his care, am' •> teresting himself not only in their siiiritiial, but also in their wo.idlv concerns. He also takes a deep interest in the prosperity of the city generally, and is always ready to take part in any scheme for its j)rogresn and advancement. Charity and mihlness arc his distinguish- ing characteristics, but he is unflinching when jirinciple is at stake.. He abhors dissimulation, and ia noted for his unassuming piety, and all the qualities that adorn the ])riesthood. In consequence, he is held in high estimation by his people, and especially by the poor, whose friend and helper he has ever been. Father O'Donnell is truly devoted to the land of his birth, but bears !n affectionate venera- tion that land wherein rest the ashes of his forefathers, and in him the Irish cause shall ever find a staunch friend. r rif ' / JeK)j L' tM V^BT ^UKoBBkttttl^^t POWERSCOUHT WATERFALL, CO. WICKLOW. 1 !J m ; ! It ,^ ^ •• '': > • ■:''7 I ? BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS, n.? JOSEPH DEVLIN. Born in February, 1872, in the West Division of Belfast, the con- stituency represented by Mr. Thomas Sexton, from 1886 until 1892, Joseph Devlin received his education at the Christian Brothi.Ts' Schools, Divis Street. Deeply imbued in his earliest youth, v/ith patriotic sentiment, and an ardent admirer of the lives and writings of the great Irishmen of the past, he soon became a sympaUiiscr with the sufferings of his countrymen. Familiar with the history of his native land and its struggles for liberty, he was fired with enthusiasm From photo by] DONEOALL PLACE, BELFAST [W. Lawrence, Duliliii by the contest which was beiiig carried on, with such triumphant success by Mr. Parneil, then in the zenith of his power. When the edict went out, after the passing of the Franchise Bill of 1884, that the Whig and Tory strongholds of Ulster were to be attacked, the Nationalists of Belfast rallied to the support of Mr. Sexton, who was selected to carry their banner in the West Division. This epoch marks the commencement of Mr. Devlin's connection with politics, as in company with other boys of his own years, he busied himself, after school hours, in lending such assistance as circumstances required to the advancement of the interests of the Nationalist I!' ; ( ( \ . I ' ) (. A ■^>r- -0/ >0 ^ -^ 114 IRIUll RACK COyVEXTION. I ' l( t 1 caiuliilate. The same year saw the foundation of the Sexton Debat- ing Society, whicii was establisheil by youths ranging from fifteen to twenty years of age ; in this organisation, on account of his readiness of speech, extensive knowledge, and jjrecocious poHtical instinct, young De\iin was recognised as the moving spirit and guiding force. Tlie numiier of memiiers wlio joined its roil, increased daily, until in the year 1886, it had become to be an acknowledged and influential factor in the National life of the city. Mr. Sexton attended a meeting of the Society held under the presidency of the subject of our sketch in this year, and in the course of his reply, observed, " 1 ha\e listened to many speeches in my time, from many different people, but I have never listened to one which gave me more genuine pleasure or surjjrise, than that in which )-our C'hainnan addressed me. I regret tlie rule which obliges all members of the House of Commons to be at lea^t twenty-one years of age. For, were it otherwise, I think the Chairman of this meeting woulil be amongst us." Although defeated in 1885, Mr. Sexton again fought West Belfast in the Nationalist interest at the General Election of 1886, and into this contest, which was crowned with success, young Devlin plungeJ witii all the enthusiastic energy of his nature. Having been successively secretary and president of the Sexton Debating Society, he became connected with the Belfast Commercial Elocution Cla.ss ; it was here that he found a congenial sjihere for the exercise of his histrionic faculties, and so rapid was his jirogress that he succeeded in securing in a single year both the gold and silver medals, prizes awarded for proficiency, and much coveted by youthful asj)irants to distinction. He ;iext became secretary of this class, and continued to hold this position for two years until elected in 1889 to a similar office in the Belfast Young Ireland Society. The year 1888 saw his formal election, although only sixteen, to the Committee of the National League, and of this body he remained an active member, and an energetic worker until the Parnell crisis compelled the Nationalists of Belfast to consider their jiosition. Of the National Committee which succeeded the National League, he acted as secretary, a jjost which he also continued to fill when the National Federation was called into existence to -oice the sentiments of the Nationalists of Belfast. During these changing times he worked might and main to spread the light and show to Ulster the path of duty. After the establishment of the Federation, he was unanimously elected in 1892 as Civic Delegate, a position to which he was again called in 1894, by the united voices of his fellow members of the Federation and of the Nationalists of the Northern Capital. During the existence of the National organisation, the best proof that can be (■. if. -i ■ ■ ■ I Nv V >^ lilOGHAPUWAL SKETCH KS OF Sl'EAKKRS. \\ I i ; '. I iuldiiCL'd of its representative I'iiaracler and eflieiency, of the energy and resolute patriotism of its members, is to be found in tiie fact that, in addition to bearing the expense of a Parliamentary and se\eral local Municipal contests, it has also collected and forwarded to the central executive in Dublin a sum amounting to over ^3,000. 'J'he confidence reposed in Mr. Devlin by the leaders of the Irish Party has been illustrated on several occasions by the onerous duties which he has been called njion to fullil. T'oremost amongst them may be munlioiiu,! his management and su[)ervision of the election in North Meatli, which was held as a result of the petition of 1892. Here he set to work with characteristic courage and determination, and succeeded in <'om])letely frustrating the efforts of his ojjponents, by his elo<iuence, combined with his energy and sound judgment. When the General Election of 1892 was in full swing, the Unionists of Ulster conceived the somewhat far-reaching project of bringing to Belfast, several hundreds of English working-men delegates, to absorb in the atmosphere of the stronghold of Irish Unionists the opinions which they were anxious to have spread throughout Great Britain. At the shortest notice Mr. Devlin organised a monster demonstration at which the visitors were i)resent and heard the Irish claim presented with such clearness and force, that the vast majority of them returned to England fully convinced of the justice and feasibility of the Nationalist demand. On two different occasions, within the last few years, Mr. Devlin has been in\ited to enter the House of Commons as an Irish member, and each time, despite the advice of his friends to the contrary, he has declined to avail himself of the honour. Steadfast in the belief that the su])port of a united Party at West- minster is essential, to that aim he directs his efforts, and devotes his great talents to the .sen-ice of his country, and claims no reward, but the satisfaction of feeling that he is contributing to the advancement of her cause. I;: 1 ■ t : i 1 ■\ /, 1 1(> IRISH RACE COyVENTJON. HON. JOHN COSTIGAN, OTTAWA, CANADA. 1 1 used to be said of the Gcraldines, the De la Poers, ami otiiur uruat Anglo-Norman families who settled in Ireland many centuries ago, that they, in the persons of their descendants, iiltinialely became llihernids ijisis Hil'tniiores," more Irish than the Irish themselves." This is a saying founded on a great historic fact, but in later times, and especially in our own days, the saying may be applied to many descendants of Irish- men in the Colonial possessions of the Hritish crown. Though born in the Dominion of Canada, no man who boasts of having first seen the light in L I I'rom photo tiy] MINNAIN CLIFFS, ACHILL. [\V. lirtwrenee, Dublin the Emerald Isle, is a truer-hearted Irishman, or one who has given more proofs of devotion to Erin than the subject of this brief sketch, the Honourable John Costigan, a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada, and a foremost member of the Dominion House of Commons. Mr. Costigan was born of a good stock at St. Nicholas, in the province of Quebec, on the ist of February, 1835, and through his boyhood, and while a pupil at St. Anne's College, where he received his education, he gave many proofs of the firm and masterful strength of character, and integrity of resolution, which have since distinguished him in public as :> J) ( • "A lilOGRAPJIICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 117 well as in private life, gaining for him from political opponents, as well as from friends, tiie name of '' Honest John Costigan." In early man- hood Mr, Costigan was engaged in the lunii)cring business, and in this way acquired a very extensive knowledge of parts of the British North Amcri(-an possessions tiieii little known, a knowledge which has since often served him. He evidently l)elieved in an early marriage, for when only twenty he married Miss Harriet Ryan, daughter of Mr. J. R, Ryan, a v'orthy and respected resident of CIrand Falls, in the province of New Urui swick. Mr. Costigan early turned his thoughts to politics, and, prior to confec'eratioii, was elected to sit in the Legislative Assembly of New Uruns.vmk, (or the good old constituency of Victoria, which he rejire- sents fct ti'is day in the Parliament of Canada. He was then a young man of only iwenty-six, and no better proof can be given of the excel- lence of his character, both as a man and a representative statesman, than the fact that since Confederation, at every general election, he lias been returned for the same seat by overwhelming m.ajorities, largely composed, in later years, of the sons of the men who first sent him to represent them in the popular chamber. Mr. Costigan's public career in his native country, will always be remembered for his intimate con- nection with two leading issues, commonly spoken of as the " New Brunswick School Question" and the "Costigan Irish Resolutions." It is not uninteresting to remember, now, at a time when the eyes of the English-speaking world are turned upon the people of Canada, wrestling with the " Manitoba School Question," that in the 'sixties, and 'seventies there was much trouble over the same (luestion of education in the maritime provinces, especially in New Brunswick. John Costigan ardently championed the cause of the oppressed Catholic minority, and from his place in the House of Commons, on the 20th of May, 1872, moved an Address praying His Excellency, the Governor-General, to disallow the New Brunswick School Act, on the ground " that said law is unjust, and causes much uneasiness among the Roman Catholic population." This occasioned a great deal of discussion not only in the House, but throughout the country, in public, and in private, through the Press and on the platform, but no tangible result foUoued in the direction indicated by the mover of the address. Nothing daunted, however, tlie gallant Irishman, for so we love to call him, returned to the charge again and again, and kept up an agitition which influenced public opinion not only in the province of New Brunswick, but throughout the whole of the Canadian Confederation, to such an extent, that it may safely be asserted, to no man more than to the Honourable John Costigan, do the Catholics of New Brunswick owe such concessions in c- / - ■ ).--'--,' '^^-sr' ::-y V. /" "^-'" s| (^ \--/ ii8 //(•/.s// HACK ('OSVKSTWN. llie praclical workint; out of the School Act, as have since, from time to time, hceii obtained by them. It was, however, in the Session of iSSj tliat Nfr. fosti^an achieved iiis crowninj; distinction as an Irisii |ialriot by moving in eiocpient terms, .iiul triumphantly carrying through the House of (,'ommons by an unanimous vote, an address to Her Majesty the Queen, passed by the House tin what are known to fame as tiie " ("ostigan Irish Resolu- tions," praying for Home Ru'e for tlic Kingdom of Ireland, for the release of the " suspects," and for other ameliorations of the condition of the people of tlie land of iiis fathers. 'The same address was carried through the Senate of Canada by an overwhelu.ing majority, only six Senators recording their dissent, This achievement so ende.ired Mr. Costi^^an to the Irish people in Canada, and, indeed, to all friends of Home Rule the world over, that the great statesman, Sir John .Mexandcr MacDonald, then I'rime Minister of the Dominion, sum- moned the Now Brunswick Irish jiatriot to the Councils of the Nation, and on ih'j 2,5r(l of May, 18S2, Mr. Costigan was sworn of the Privy Council, and made Minister of Inland Revenue. This portfolio Mr. Costigan held for by far the greater part of the fourteen years, in which he was a Minister of the Crown. Too much cannot be said in his praise as a Departmental Administrator and a man of affairs. Mr. Costigan became Secretary of State in the Thompson Covernment, holding that Ministry until the formation of the Covernmcnt of Sir Mackenzie Bowell, immediately after the tragic death at Windsor Castle of the great statesman and jurist, Sir John Thompson, who has left a permanent impress upon the laws of the Dominion. Mr. Costigan then became Minister of Marine and "sherics, and so remained until the defeat of Sir Charles Tapper's short-lived .\dniinistration in the (Jeneral Election of June, 1896. The attendance of this distinguished Colonial Minister at the great Irish Race Convention held in Dublin is but one out of many proofs which he has afforded all his life of unllinching devotion to the cause of Ireland. From advocating that cause no inconvenience has ever deterred him ; he has been instant in proclaiming " in season and out of season " the rights of Ireland ; as a Minister of the Crown, over- whelmed with the cares of State, he never failed to find — one might almost say sometimes to make — time to attend every meeting to which he has been invited, to further the cause so dear to his heart. Nor was it by word or by pen alone, that he laboured ; it is part of his claims to honour, that althougli so many years in the highest ranks of public life, Mr. Costigan is now, as he always was, a poor man ; yet out of his means, such as they were, he has never failed to contribute — sb. \ --, nJOGUArillCAL SKETClfKS OF SPEAK!': US. ng too generously, in fact— to funds raised for Itisii i)atrioti( purposes. But it is the muititudu of his private benefactions which endears him most to llie peoi)le nmon^ wliom he lives, and who know him best. No charitable cause ever a|ii)calc(l to him in vain. Heart and liand have ever been open to the claims of the widow and the orphan ; and the Irish people of Canada know full well that no m;ui of their race has done, in a si.ictly honourable way, more j^nod than he in safe- guarding; the interests of that portion of the [xipiilation, whose reprc- sentative he was in the (!abinet. The people of Ireland will unite with the people of Canada in holding this tndy good, self-sacrificing and distinguished man in grateful and in loving remembrance, aud will wish him and his amiable life-pariner many long years to come of useluhiess and honour. y •! r:, ^1^ hjjk \ ■ |y| ■i '"^4lnKli HH dl gpT' um r ^r < m \iK\v (IN" Tin: iiivi:ii likkkv at m'lii.ix. "} '"■-..^' IF' m dKX< n 120 IRISH RACK CONVKSTION. RKV. JAMF.S CLANCY. TiiK Rev. Jamks Ci.ANtv was l)Ofn in ijinis, on llie .jrd Sciitcnihcr, 1859. ICdutattd at the Cliristian Itfothcrs' Schools in that town, ami afterwards at tlie Dioiesan College, lie entered the Irish College, I'aris, in .September, 1877, and after a dihtiiigiiished course of studies, was ordained prie 'i October, i88j. Api)ointed immediately after to the curacy of I 'eakle, Co. Clare, he has since filled curacies in Lower Feaklo, (,'c and in Clouglijordaii and Lorrlia, Co. Tipperary. \n all these parishes he has endeared himscir to the people by his zealous and sympathetic discharge of duty. He is a close student of Theology an<l a gifted preacher, and adds to the usual .Tccomplishnients of u Catholic priest, that ut an exceptionally deep and extensive knowledge .AM pti ' '^ jj^HM^^i.'^^ b.^ s """*"' P'_ „ 8T. UTEPIIEN'S QBEKN, Dt'DI.IN. of English literature. In public life, Father Clancy has been distin- guished by an ardent nationalism, consistent and uncompromising. We may mention, in passing, that in his case such a spirit is hereditary. Since 188a he has taken part in the National movement in all the districts in which his ministry was cast, conducting a working branch of the National organization, in the days of its legal suppression as well as in the time of its tolerated existence. He has often spoken at public meetings, both in Clare and Tipperary. He has also lectured occa- sionally; generally on some phase of Irish history, or Irish letters, and in the political polemics of recent years has contributed letters, both to the metropolitan and provincial Press, remarkable for lucid argument and conclusive force. 4 r, I r^_ i I >.^) r^ 1 1 nioauAPriicM sKKTcrncs of spkakkks. I .'I / WILLIAM O'HRIKN, LX M.l'. In thin Kketcli il is imt our iiilcnticm tci trr:it \fiy cxliniistivfly of the ilistiiiniiislicd siilijcct, wild lia.s .simi' iHS^ I'llliil so |irnMiiiii'iit ,\ |)la('e in iri.sli jxilitics, und wlio is known not only in Irulaml, Imt thronfrlioiit the Knglii(lMt|ii'iikin); worhl ami clsuwht're. Mr. William O'Hricn attcinlfil tlu' Irish Kai'i- Convention, tlionnh not then a im-inU'r of I'arliaiin'nt, and ilfliM'n-d a M'ry i'(TiMii\c ami tilling speech. One would think at tiincs his ({cstiire is extravagant, Imt In- nt'\ur fails in carrying with iiim t'lc andicncc ni mii.inr, n prelty fair test 'f PANS OK KYLEMOnE. oratory. He is not what the wiseacres call prudent, and is charged with making [lolitical blunders. In our days of carping criticism on Irish politi<'s, it would l>e very dillicult, indeed, to find any one, however prudent and far-seeing, to satisfy the [jupular standard. Whatever may be his political shortcomings, they are more than compensated by his many excellent (piallties in i)rivate life, and his intentions which are always well meant. Mr. William O'Brien, son of the late Mr. James O'Brien, Mallow, was born in 1852, and was educated at the Dio<-e:ian College, Cloyne, R J i ^.,-\ -'*- — r^ 122 IRISH RACK CONVENTION. and at the (jiiuen's > 'ollcge, Cork. He represented the borough of Mallow from 1883, until, as a borough, it became extinct in 1885. He then became member for South Tyrone, defeating by a majority of 55, ('a|)tain .Si.merset Maxwell, f'(in.ser\ative. In 1886, on the occa- sion iif the f'leneral Klcction, he was defeaied by Mr. T. W. Russell, Unionist Liberal, who had a majority of 99. But he was forthwith returned unopjiofed for North-East Cork. He was elected for Cork city in 1892. Mr. O'Brien was one of the best known of the Irish Pairliamenlar)- Party. He w;ts connecteil with Tliilird Ireland for some years, where his stirring articles kept alive the Irish political movement, but made him, in time, a suspect of the Government. In i\ugust, 1 836, he attended the Chicago Convention as a delegate from the National League, ho also visited Canada to arouse sympathy with the National cause but his mission was not generally successful. In addressing the House, Mr. O'Brien was always fluent, and usually forcible, while at times he was bitter, and political opponents were careful to eluda his reach. He has been once suspended for violating its rules, and has been imprisoned four times under the Coercion Act. It will be rememlx;red he refused to don the prison garb, point- ing out to the authorities the essential difference to be made between political anil ordinary criminals. This drama, in which he was successful, is one of the most stirring events in his life. In 1890, along with Air. Dillon, ALP., he was liberated on bail, to .stand his trial, but he forfeited the bail, and escaped to America. In January, 1891, we find him as well as Mr. Dillon, in conference with Mr. Parnell in Paris, wishing to effect the retirement of the latter from the leadership of the Irish Parliamentary Party, riut no expostulation or remonstrance could change the mind of that determined states- man. He immediately took sides against him, and was returned as an Anli-ParneHi'e for Cork city, and for the North-East Division of Cork. He is now disconnected with Parliament, and lives quietly — except for an occasional stirring speech on behalf of unity, and in tiie interests of the tenant farmers. Let us hope that he is mustering iiis forces at his charming Irish Cottage for prolonged Parliamentary work at no very distant date. Mr. O'Brien has also ventured into the domain of literature, ami wrote while in prison "When we were Boys," which had for some time a remarkable vogue. It would not be advis- able here to enter into the merits or demerits of the work ; it is sufficient to say that while it made for its author many friends, it also created ?ome enemies. From a literary point of view it undoubtedly possesses consideral)le merit. He has also ventured into the domain of poetry, but it is questionable if he will ever ])ursue literature as a ]irofession. We give the following samjile of his muse, which was written very shortly after liu" Irish Race Convention, and speaks strongly for unity. i^ BWGRAPUICAL SKETCH KS OF Sl'EAKENS. 12.^ UNITE ! Shame, brothers, shame ! Here's the day of Iwltle breaking, See a nation straining wildly for the music of your guns! Think, sf)ldiers, think ! Freedom waits but for your waking — And your cmii) but wakes to discord and your blows smite your own sons. Your country's cheek Your faction shriek Dyes scarlet with your shame I Hear the foemen laugh their loudest in th'.ir rod ranks grim and steady While your jarring war of curses mad their thirsty ears imbibe : " But yesterday for panic-flight our beaten hosts were ready — Our mirth's to-day the fools who'd lose a countr)- for a jibe " — A jibe, a flout. Some faction shout. While Ireland's red with shame ! Hark! the warning from the green graves where the deathless dead lie watching : " Not luigland's sword, but brother's feud, for ever struck us down." Hark! the exile's prayer the Heavens from a hundred lands are catching : "Touch their heart?, O angel's wing of peace, ere our golden hopes are gone ! '' But no — ever no! Still the curse and blow, While Freeilom's golden moments go. Think, O comrades, of the camp fires where we laugh'd and quaff'd together, When our souls flashed fire divine at touch of Ireland's holy hand, In days when, welcome thunderclap or triumph's blazing weather, We sought the shock with England's hosts, our peerless soldier band I Have all perish'il — Dreams so cherish'd — When we thrill'd at touch of Ir- land's holy hand ? Hark! a murmur from the martyr graves and o'er the ocean swelling! Tho air grows <lark with menace of a race in wrath uprisen : " I'etty breed of brawlers, cease your babble! — of your swords of foul stains telhng Purer hands wilt use to scourge you to graves curs'd for your treason. And legions ten (")f truer men Will spring to Ireland's sun bright flag new risen!" ^::( h ' ~-y •li-l iili mil til I III ' iiii ii if ( 124 Jh'L^J/ HACK (JOSVENTION. JOSKl'H I'ATRICK KVAN, NEW YORK. JosEi'ii Patrick Kva> was Ihjiii in the city of Limerick, and received his early education at tlie sciidols of the Christian Brotiiers, in Sexton Street and 'Jhoinond Gate, afterwards attending the private schools of Rohan and O'Xeil. He was apprenticed to the firm of Bernard McXiilty and Son, in (leorge Street, to learn the trade of pa[)er staining and painting. L'jion reaching his eighteenth year he left his native land for the United States, where he continued to work at the nianufacttne of ])a|)urhangings for seven years after his arrival, in the city of New Brunswick, New Jersey, during which time he was the TllU.VONl) muiKlIC AND KINO JOUN'S CASTLE, LIMEHICK. imentor and patentee of many useful appliances, now universally employed in the manufacture of wallpapers. Ahout this time he married the daughter of the late Captain AVilliam Boy Ian, and soon after\vards gave up his connection with the manufacturing branch of his trade, and removed to the city of New \'ork, where he engaged in the painting and decorative business, soon achieving distinction in that department. As a hoy he was wont to play around the historic Treaty Stone, when, like Ireland's hopes, it was half buried in the earth, ere it was 1 -'^ .'J .r-^y^ \ BWGRAI'UIVAL HKETCllEii OF SPEAKERS. 125 accordeil tht- dignity of a pedestal on which to rest, aiid lind b.ituty from vandal hands. In later years the inemoiies it represented, and the lesson it taught were treasured and studied, and to make Ireland a free and seif-goNeniing nation became the aspiration of his life. To assist in i.ciiieving this object he became a member of every organisation in America, that, for the time, gave hope of doing good for Ireland. When the Land League was organised in America, lie was among the first 'o join it, and soon became one of its most trust'id leaders. In tlie National League, wiiicli su'ceeded it, he gave hij services as freely. A few days before the rupture took place in thi' party, acting ;is Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Municipal Council of New York, he organised the most successful jjubjic meeting ever held in America, in support (jf the Irish cause, which responded to the aijpeals of the Parliamentary Delegation by contributions amounting to $28,000. When the Executive of the National League in America, declared tliemselves inactive, or neutral as between the divisions of the party in Ireland, he was one of the founders of the Irish National Federa- tion of America, organised to support majority rule. He was elected its secretary, which office he has filled continuously with marked abilitv, and at great ])ersonal sacrifice. During the long contest with faction, ^[r. Ryan's wise counsel has guided the course of affairs in the United States. He has always stood an irremovable obstruction in the path of the factionist. He attended the Convention as ^ delegate from the City ("ouncil of the Irish National Federation of New York with which he had been connected since its conception. In the presence of this great Conven- tion, he demanded — in the name of the exiled Irish Race — that division in the Parliamentary Party should cease, or the discipline necessary to compel unity be enforced. In Belfast, his reception by the Nationalists was extremely enthusiastic. In his speech in St. Mary's Hall, there, he said, " England must count on the fact that she has to contend not only with the Irish in Ireland, but that she must fight the Irish Race all over the world, and so long as England denied justice to Ireland, they would stand a barrier in the path of her commercial l)rogress, or her territorial aggrandisement." In view of what ha.s since occurred in Venezuela, and tiie recent rejection of i\\i Arbitration Treaty, this is very significant, if no' ])rophetic. Mr. Ryan is still the ])ossessor of vigorous health, and hopes to live to see the day* when the doors of an Irish Pariiament House shall be oiwned to admit the representatives of a self-governing nation. <. / ^':--5v r\ L 1^6 llilSlI h'ACJ'J COXY KXT ION, PATKiciv (;aij.a(;hkk, new york. Mr. I'aikick CiAi.i.agiikr was Ixini in Coiiiity Mayo, Ireland, forty- six years ago, ami Irit for the UnitcJ States in 1880. Ilavinff luanied the liiiiliiing trade in Ireland, and mastered the details of the New World requirements in America, he engaged as contractor and builder in New York city, about twelve years ago, and ranks to-day among the leading builders of the great city of New York. He built the magnificent armoury of the Seventy-first New York Regiment, and nianv of the great |iul)li(; and jjiivate buildings, for which New \'ork is remarkable. \n earnest Irish Nationalist, he became con- ( J DELPni, connemaha. nected with the Land League at its formation in America, and has l)een one of the most earnest and active workers in the Irish National movement since. Always a generous contributor, he was elected i)resident of the City Council Irish National Federation of New York, and has always devoted his valuable time to the work of the Federa- tion of America. Elected a delegate to the Irish Race Convention, he visitetl his native place while in Ireland, where his sound advice did much to convert many supporters of the minority party. He has brought to the service of the Federation the same genuine ability and enterprise that he has manifested in all his business engagements. Courteous and affable to those who differ with him, he has won over to the national cause many valued and influential supporters. Though a silent delegate at the great Convention, he is, and has been a most determined and plodding worker in the Irish cause. y \ ■ x\ V / / BIOGUAVUICAL SKETCHES OF SPEAKERS. 127 WILLIAM LUNDON. Mr. William Lundon was born 31st August, 1839, in liallinlough, Kiltecly, Cminiy Litnerick. (Originally of tiie farming class, his present position is that of classical teacher. Since 1861 lie has ((in- ducted an academy for classics and mathematics in Killeely. His j)upils mostly aim for the priesthood, jiassing on to the Diocesan College of Thurles, and many (jf tiiem ailo[it the foreign missions, studying in the various missionary colleges of Ireland. Early in the Fenian movement, Mr. Ltuidon cast in his lot with the hrave young From iilioto tiy] THE pntLINs, bkowniiai,!,, CO. DOXEOAT,. [\V. Lawri'mo. DiiliUii men around him, endeavouring tf) the best of his lights to right the wrongs of his country. On the suspension of the Habeas ('orpus A(;t in February, 1866, two informers turned up against him, but !w succeeded in escaping to America. He, howe\i;r, returned with many others on the eve of the rising in 1867. After the ill-fated rising lie was arrested, tried, and confined in Limerick and Dublin prisons until Julv, 1868. Twenty-one years later he was again imprisoned by Mr. Halfour. He is at present Secretary to the Kilteely Branch of the Irish National Federation, and has been County Delegate foi Limerick for the third time. He never shrinks from expressing his views clearly and firmly when the interests of his country re(|uire him. 1-^ m iS.4 -'^^ IJS iniSn HACK COXVEXTIOX. REV. DENIS O'lIARA. TiiF. iinnic of "Ollara" is well known in Ireland. For more tiian a thoMsanil years tin- (Vllaras have Ix^en the lords of I.eyny. Their ruined rastles are in every corner of the liarony, ami from Uelclare Castle, on the confines nf Mayo, to Menlough Castle, near the sea in Sli}{o the descendants of this Milesian race are still in evidence. The Rev. Denis O'Hara mav fairlv claim kimlred here, hut it is perhaps IIKKXIX PAUK, DlllI.IX. better to deal with him personally, than treat at great length of his ancestry. Father O'Hara, almost from his birth in Cloonacool, in the Diocese of Achonry, on the 24th June, 1849, gave evidence of future distinc- tion, and of a strong predilection for the ecclesiastical state. Hence, he was sent at an unusually early age to the Diix-esan College, liallaghaderren, where, in a short time, he Iiecame the idol of his young conijianions, and acquired sufficient information to enaWe him to matriculate for the National College at Maynooth. Here, too, he was regarded by all — superiors and students — as a youth of great promise, • \ ■I f ^ z^- ^..- ^ V) ' \ ■ \ '■-^ mOGRAPUlCAL SKETCH KS OF SPEAKERS. 129 and having been called to ordination during his twenty-second year, he enjoyed the proud distinction of being " the youngest levite of them all." His missionary career, whe'her as curate in Kiltimagh, or as administrator in Hallaghadurreun, or as I'.P. in his present parish, has been one of unparalleled success. As priest he has caused religion to flourish, as patriot he has commuiiicMted the ardour of his love to his [)eoplc, iis a l)ene\olent and practical man he has gone amongst them, and taught them how to imiirove their lands and homes ; and many there are whom he has raised from the slough of despair, and who, happy tn-da/ in the realisation of the ho|)es he brought them, teach their little ones to bless his name, and the piteous cry of povertv has in many homes been supplanted by " God bless Father O'llara." Father O'Hara is a firm believer in organisation. If he wishes the salvation of souls he straightway enrols his peojile in the .Sodality of the .Sa(."red Heart — men, women, and children, he enrols them. It is needless to say that under his care, these societies are in a high state of efficiency, and it is particularly pleasant to be able 'o state that notwithstanding his great and unceasing labours in other fields of labour, "the vineyard of the Lord" shows that it is still his chief concern, and the state of religion in his parish reflects more credit on this indefatigable priest than do all his other remarkable achievements. The marvel is how, amidst a thousand works, he ha^ time for all, and besides, seems entirely given up to the people's spiritual advancement. It would be impossible in a short sketch to do justice to his labours. The church of Monastenedan was once regarded as the crowning effort of a singularly successful career, but this little gem of architectural beauty, built on the bleak and barren mountain side, is now eclipsed by many works of this master-hand. His works in Kiltimagh alone would fill a volume — the four schools, the four residences for teachers, the parochial house, the curate's house, the fourteen artisans' dwellings, tb" technical school, the convent, and the church in all its stately grandeur; each a work sufficient to be regarded as the labour of a life time, so perfect in every detail, and yet, all these have grown up in the space of nine years, whilst during the same time the face of the country has been changed, new roads ha\e been made, bridges have been built, plantations here, drainage schemes there, and better houses for the parishioners have been built under his personal supervision. Merits of such a high order could not but be heard of outside the confines of his parish, and hence the great and universal rejoicing when his appointment as a member of the Congested Districts Board S I ' i.« no lUISTI UACE COyVKNTION. was made known. Since then his sphere of usefulness has been extended, and many parishes are now beginning to feel the influence of their L'ntfr|)ri.sinf; neighbour. As a politician he has always been regarded as a man of great sincerity and singleness of ])ur[)ose. Hence he has been unanimously elected three vears in succession as County Delegate for Mayo to the Council of the National Federation. His parishioners are all sterling Nationalists, and his parish is a model of organisation and unity, so mii<-h so, indeed, that in the recently contested elections the ojipdnents of Mr. Jnliii Dillon reco'uised that it would be labour in vain for them to solicit votes within 'he boundary of Kiltimagh. On the advent of father O'Hara, the parish of Kiltimagh was one of the M-ry |)oorest in Ireland. But tilings have changed, and changed wnndiifiilly, and all honour to the man, who, single-handed has brought about the change, and effected so much good. There were here no rich to contribute bountifully to his assistance, no well-informed persons to ronfer with, yet the good work has been done; and it would seem that the energy of a whole-souled leader reiinires ])ractic- ally no co-operalion ; it surmounts all difficulties, and ne\er waits to think of failure. Thus it is with Father Denis O'Hara, the pious jiric.t of Kiltimagh. the worthy and ujiright citizen, the truest and most faithful of friends, and the [latriot with(jut fear and without reproach. (■■ iJ l'^ ■-■■:j UIOGIiM'lllCAL SKKTVUKS OF Sl'KAKFNS. 131 DENIS Kll.l KIDK, M.l'. Among the speakers at the Irisli Race Convention was Mr. Denis Kilbride, M.P. for North Galway. Mr. Kilbride's speech was brief but relevant. lie i)ointe(l out some of the relations existing between landlord and tenant, stating tiiat the only sohition of the Irish land <|iicstion was the system under whicii the tenant should |iiirchase the interest of the landlord, and be wholK independent of him. As a farmer himself, and one who had studied the question in all its From plioto by] KYLBMOIIE CASTLE, UO. OALWAY. [W. Lawrence, Dutilin /'-; l-.earings, Mr. Kilbride was in a position to speak with a great deal of authority on the subject. l'"or many years he had been intimatelv connected with the land agitation, and by reason of this connection, he came into great prominence in Ireland. Therefore, much interest was centred in him personally, and his speech was listened to with great attention. Mr. Kilbride, son of Thomas Kilbride, is a native of Queen's County, and was born at Luggacurran, in 1847. Early in the I.and League days, he became associated with Irish politics, and has ever since, at great personal sacrifice, done e\erything in his power to improve the condition of the Irish tenant farmer. He became M.P. akil «3» lUISn It AVE CONVENTJON. w\ I ", f(ir South Kerry, ii roiistitiienry which he repre.sentfi<l from 1887 lo 1895. Sinre the latter date he represents North ("laKvay. and con tiiiiies liis deep interest in the fanning class. Last January, at n tneetiiij; of tlie Iris!) Party iield in Coinmittee Koom 15, of tiie House of Commons, he moved that Afr. Dillon he entrusted with the moving of an aniendtiieiit lo the Aildress, with reference to the agricultural distress in Ireland, thus showing his continued concern for the well being of the Irish farmer, and that the land (|iiestion may he taken ns his department in the Irish Party. He feels, iix every thinking man wiio h.xs li\ed in Ireland, and has liecome ac(|uainli'd witli the condition of tiio people, that ,at the hottom of most of the Irish cliniculty and discontent is the land question, and nnti'. this is settled on a Imsis that will afford the Irish farmer the means of living in comparative comfort, it is useless to hope he will ever, or ran ever, rest satisfied. 'I'lu' Urilish House of Commons has been so far unwilling or unable to deal with this ipiestion, and hence arises the cry for Home Rule for Ireland. Some conces- sions have lieen made, but even with these concessions, the Irish farmer is still very jKior, and utterly unable to keep ])ace with the foreign competition in farm i)ro(luce, wiierewith the Uritisii market is closed to him. This is well enough for Kngland, whicii is a manufactur- ing country, but utterly ruinous to Ireland, which, it may be said, IS purely agricultural. Xo matter what may be the depression in the price of farm i)rniluce, the landlord's account must be satisfied, and although the Land Courts periodically fix the rent between landlurJ and tenant, they usually fail to give satisfaction, being largely com- posed of those who could not be sujiiwsed to act generously to the farmer. Tlie l.ind question, therefore, is one of great moment in Ireland, and upon it hinges most of the discontent that has been for many years distracti'ig the country. To this matter, Mr. Kilbride gives himself heartily, and never loses an opportunity of aiding the cause of the Irish farmer. He is exceedingly ]iopular with his col- leagues, who admire his frankne.ss and disinterested patriotism. Wc express the hope that he may remain for many years to come, a member of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and continue to take the same interest in the Irish tenantry which he has done for so many years in the jiast, and that in the fare of so much dogged opposition and at such great personal sacrifice. L ZJ\ r*l lllOdHAPIlWAL SKETVllKS OF SPEAKFAiS. lu RF,V. RiCMARD I.YI TI.K. Rev. Riciiahi) I.vtti.e, of Moneyrca, County Down, is a young Unitarian minister, who l)cranie noted — political o])- |iiiii('iits woiilil say, iKittirioiis — during the past five or six years. as the staiinchest and most outspoken ailvouite of Home RmIi; amongst the Protestant clergymen. Mr. I.yttle was born at Uarmhili, near Dromore, (!ounty Down, on 6th March, i8()6. lie is the son nl Mr. Richard I.ytlle, a merchant in Dromore, who lias sprung from a From pbuto by) NEWCASTLE, CO. DOWN. [\V. Linvn'iiic, Dulilin I -..1 good old stock of gentlemen farmers in the Donacloney district. His mother was Miss Mary M'VVilliam, of Banhridge, whose family were connected for several generations with the Irish linen trade. As years went on, however, the naturally intelligent and broad- minded youth, in search of truth and political enlightenment, began to read the Freeman's Journal, and other National newspapers, as well its the Anti-Irish organs to which alone he had been accustomed. He studie 1 Irish history privately, for the schools and colleges afforded him no instruction in that subject, and with the melody of his mother's Irish songs still echoing in his heart, young Richard L)-tt]c became a ._ > M4 IIUSII li. [(■!■: ('O.WHM'IOS. < itiorniinh Nationalist :iiiil llnnn' Uiilcr, imt diily from patriotic senti- ment, lint frimi the most jiroronnil conviction and fixed |)rinci|>li'. His father, Mr. I.vltle, lieli! .1 I'.irni, williin a mile nf liis place of l)Msiiie»«, on which his family rcsiilud. Owin;; to a defective title, he was dix- poMcssed of the fami, prior to the pansnge of the Art of 1881, and IiIn claim for ^2,000 f<ir tenant ri^ht wax disalloweil. On this farm the younj; Kichard w.is liorn, and the hoy passionately loved the jilace of his liirth, the Kfcen fields, ihe fragrant lawn, the dear old home, where the Hrst happy years of his life were spent, and where, following a iiatnral bent, he had U'coine an expert and daring rider. At the age of fonrleen. Master kichard F.yttle U'came a jjiipil in I.nrgaii College, where he not only made satisfactory jirogress in his studies, liut became an enthusiastic athlete. He was intended for the law, but relini|iiished that profession in f.avour of the ministry, and entered the L'nitarian College al Manchester, at the age of eighteen. 'I'here lie remained three years, completing the course in classics, history, ]>hilosophy, theology, and literature, earning his diploma. Having before the end of his course, gained the valuable Tate .Scholarsiiip, he entered Owens College, Manchest(;r, and became a hisloryhonoiirs student, 111 connection with X'icloria University. Tiiere he remained two years, when he -esigned his scholarship, owing to a temporary aihri^nt of the right eye, brought on by over-work, which cut short a scheme r»f r' rouged studies, and rendered necessary a change of rt-sideiv I of work. M' I.vttl< '<ly rc'i viverf.'d, and subsetiuently accepteil I mis "call" from the historic, and non- •^i oneyrea, aiii ! was installed as minister in 1. line of able ministers, of whom the best wen. ,. .tcher DIakely, the eloque"* .advocate of ,.)lic Emai' jialion, and the Rev. Harold Rylett, who became a i-rominent leader in the Irish Lanci I-eague in 1880-84. Since hi^ ettlemenl in Monevre:; in 1889, Mr. I.yttle has (K'voled himself j.ssiduously to his p' -ochial ai jw-storal duties, and therein has won thi .affection and re.,.ined the tion of two hun(hi'(l families. TiiO- in iiolilics, nave, with an enlighteni worthy of imitation in all Christian sehlom met with in the North of liei, piustor in the exercise of his right of | the doctrines if their religious belief. Soon after :iis return to Ulster Mr. Lyttle organised a band of Ulster Protestant Home Rulers to aid at British elections in counter- acting the unpatriotic action of Ulster and other Irish Unionists; and was himself a frequent speaker at English and Scottish elections, cross- a th sn' •glance of his entire congrega- is flock who differ from him rality and broad-mindedness, iiunities, though unfortimately , most loyally supported their vate judgment, which is one of n _v--^- - 1 I ( lilOaiiAPniCAL SKETCH KS OF SPKAKK/fS. 135 ing the chuniii'l fi)r 11 cotiplu of days, uiid speaking, wIumi he could not Sparc a loiigiT .ilisi'iicc from his pastoral charn'.'. Ill iS(;3, hi- proiiiotffj thf incinorial to Mr. (Jladstonc in fa\(iur of his Irish policy, which was sinned by over 700 Unitariaim in Ht-lfast and district, incliidin(; thirteen ministers. In iH(;4, Mr. I.Ulle icinc'ived llic ide.i of an organisation of patriotic Irishmen, for advancing the cause of National Self-(iovern- mt'iit, and consonant with this idea, the "Irish Women's Association ' Wiw formed in the Octoln-r of that year. This association '.uw floii- rishud exceedingly. It h.is a large iiinl eiitliiisiaslic mcmliership of Catholic and IVotestanl ladies, and has added to its original programme the cultivation and preservation of Irish National sentiment in Ulster, <(y ;'\N.ikeniiig a lo\t' for, and diffusing a knowledge of Irish history, Irish literature, nuisic and art. .V pleasing fiMlnre of this association i> the perfect harmony witii wliicii Catholic ami I'lotcstant ladies work together in the pnimotion of liiusc worthy ohjects. Well versed in all the burning ([tiestions of the hour with a liread'h of sympathy that takes in all who suffer wrong (,r o|)[iression, without distinction of rai'e, creed, class, or |)olilics; a lluent speaker, a i-onu'iy |)resence, .ui enthiisiiustii; Nationalist, and an earnest l)elie\cr in, and worker for. National Self-Cio\ eminent, the Kev. Mr. I.yttie is an ex- cellent si)ecimen of a brave ami iieli)ful young Ulster I'rotestant patriot. Ireland needs more like him. If 'I KOI NU TllUiai, SWOnas CO. DtUI.IN. .1 / i*^ n 136 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. \ I GEORGE J. LYNSKEY. I Mr. George J. Lynskey, who at present fills so distinguished a part \ ill tho jjuhlic life of Liverpool, is Irish, and is proud of tho fact. '\ Some years ago, the name of Irishman was not a passport to success ' ' in England, but happily that harrier has been, in a great measure, urokon down, and this pleasing change is largely due to the ability, the uprightness, and '.m general adaptability of such Irish, as the subject uf our sketch. Mr. I.ynskey is brother of Canon Lynskey, Clifden, Galway, whose career is given elsewhere, and was born at i\shgrove, Tuani, in 1862, ; After a remarkable course aa a student, he secured his law diploma, and soon came to practise in Liverpool, where ho found scope enough I for his ability, but where ability only could succeed. He possesses many of the qualities of the elder brother, especially his energy an,. ^ perseverance, and only by such means, combined with his great talent, coiJd he have attained the distinguished jxisition which he now holds. Mr. Lynskey was present at the IrisL Race Convention, as represent- ' ;■ ing the Irishmen of the important city of Liverpool, which is generally regarded as the Irish capital of England. His speech was brief and rele\'ant. Coming forward as he did towards tho close of the third day, he was evidently anxious to get to the point, and state his case in good earnest. He is a strong advocate of the rule of the majority, for, to his mind, it is impossible to preserve order and enforce dis- cipline otherwise ; and as every Irishman, who has the welfare of his country at heart, he laments the unhappy divisions that have paralysed the power and influence of the Irish Parliamentary Part" ' the British House of Commons, and afforded the hosi'le Eng, . .1 public an opportunity of sneering at the mention of Home Rule, and the very name of Irishman. It was easy to see that Mr. Lynskey felt the force of his own remarks, and he was in a position to speak, living as he did in a country where the Irish politician is often socially ostracised, and regarded with no small amount of suspicion. He is evidently a ptactised rijjeaker, clear and forcible, and aims at making his statements intelligible and incisive, in tht, fewest possible word< Since coming to Liverpool, no matter what might be the personal sacrifice, or pecuniary disadvantage, Mr. Lynskey has never ceased to take part in current Irish politics, and aid, to the best of his power, the cause of his country. It would not, indeed, be surprising if, at no distant date, pflitical honours await the young and promising Irish lawyer of Liverpool. .'S /• { i ) K' niOGUArnicAL sketctiks of si'kakers. i.n ALPnONSUS QUTN. Mk. Ai.piionsu.s Quin, who di'livcri'd a sliDrt Imt effective speerh nt the Rare Convention, is a native nf County Tyrone, lioni in the jjarish nf Arjjoe, 15th July, 186 1. He is, as was his father, a farmer, anil is therefore deeply interested in any movement that roncenis that depart- ment. He joined the T.and League in 1880, and remained secretary of the local branch luilil that organisation liccanic illegal. .\t the DnMin Convention of i88r, laider the presidency of Mr. I'arnell, he 7 ^-^^^^^m^m^^ -^" IIUINS ox DEVENMSIl ISLAND, LOtKlH ERNE. was present cs delegate. Mr. Quin has Ijeen conducting agent at various parliamentary elections, especially during the time of Mr. Parnell, of whom he was a great admirer, and who.se policy he strictly followed, until the great Convention of 1896. Since then he has been an adherent of Mr. Dillon. Though laying no special claims to oratorical powers, he delights in oratory, and recalls with pleasure his visits to thd House of Commons during some very notable debates. He is now connected with the Irish National Federation locally, and hopes the Irish Race Convention, so representative of Irish blooti, throughout the world, may effect unity and [leace among Irish Nationalists. .^ — , I 138 lUlHlI UACE COXVEXTION. iiliii I Vl'RY REV. DR. FLANNEKV, ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO. Very Kev. William Flannery, D.D., was Ijorn in Nenagh, County Tipiierary, Ireland, January, 1829. After a preliminary classical course in his native town, he went at an early age to a college in the South of l''r,nice. When his philosophical and theological studies were completed, with the consent of the then Bishop of Killaloe, he \()luMteered with others to go to Canada, and being ordained at St. Michael's Cathedral, Toronto, 22nd May, 1853, became Professor (if English literature, and after^\•ards of rhetoric, in the (^atholic College (if that cilv. I'rom Iiliotoby) SALMON LEAP, IIKLLKIJK, CO. KKliMAXAdK. I\V. Lawrein'C, Dublin Here he remained for some years, until his health gave way, when it was considered necessary that he should return to his native hills to recuperate. He was received cordially by the bishop of the diocese, and recovering from a malignant fever, by which he was for weeks prostrated in his nati\e town, he was appointed to the curacy of Toomevara, Diocese of Killaloe. In his new cure he was very successful, and achieved a reputation for zeal and piety. After some time, the Most Rev. Dr. Flannery conceived the idea of a Diocesan Cathedral, and selected the curate W!k ") I" y\ BIOGIfAPIIICAL SKKTCIIKS OF Sl'KA K Fh'S. M9 of Tu(jmL'var;i for what iirovcd a rather (lilTicult atid trying mission, that of colli'cliiig fiinils in the United States for the undertalciiig. A pulilic l)ani|iiet was tendered him (in his deiKirture, and high hdpes were entertain'id of his forlhcoiiiing success, but the American ('i\il War Itroke out abput this time, and extending over some years, rendere<l it imiiossihle for iiim to succeed. All tiie spare moneys were re(inirfd for war puri)oses, and so the collecting had to he abandoned Dr. Flamiery, in the meantime, engaged in missionary work. The [iroject of erecting the cathedral wa.s for the time abandoned, but it is gratifying to have to record, that a beautiful cathedral church has since been completed, during the administration of Most Rev. Dr. McRedmond, and through the energy of Dean White, Nenagh. Dr. Flannery has been the life long friend of Right Rev. Dr. Walsh, Archbishoi) of Toronto, and the Archbishop has ever ailmired him for his excellent (pialities of head and heart. He is an accomi)lished scholar, contributing now and then articles of rare merit to the periodicals and Press on Catholic subjects. In lerognition of his scholarly attainments, the Georgetown University at Washington, 22nd June, 1892, conferred upon him the degree of D.D. He is pastor of the Church of the Holy Angels, in St. 'I'homa.: and his charge 'S a very important one. In October, 1895, he celebrated the silver jubilee of his residence there, recei\ing the liearty congratulations of his parishioners, as well as of his many admiring friends among the liriests of Ontario. Dr. Flannery spoke in the Leinster Hail at the Irish Race Con vention, afterwards at Belfast, Clonmel, and at a ban<iuet given to the foreign delegates by the members of I.N. Federation in the City of Cork. He is now in his sixty-eighth year, forty-four of which have been spent in the sacred ministry. But his upright form, his cheery voice, and elastic step give promise that he will not only live to celebrate the golden jubilee of his priesthood, but that he will be spared many more years in the interests of the church and his com- I)atriots in Canada. -.:J H_' ,^\^ I40 IRISH HACh: ((IXVKXTIOX. JOHN li. DKVJ.IN, WII.KKSHAkKK, PENNSYLVANIA. Mr. John Ji. Devlin, win > iiIIi'ikIlmI tliu Irish Rare Convention, is resi- (Ifiit ill Scott Street, \Vilivesl);irre, I'a. He was born at Carrickma- cross, ('(iimlv M<>ii;ii;haii, in lliu year 1H40, s(;n of James Devlin and Alice Uyrne. Mr. J)evliii delights tu sjieak of his mother, and tells \vilii infinite relish a story of her patriotism, which casts some light on tlie treatment to wiiich the Irish were subjected in their own conntry at ihe hands of aliens and usinpers. Alice Byrne, then x From photo liyj hapids of castleconnell, CO. limekick. [W. Lawreneo, Dublin young woman, as was the custom at that time, attended the May fair of CarrickmHcross, her hair decked in green ribbons. The wearing' of the green was a mortal offence, and soon she was brought to task by Captain Steele, of the Orange Yeomen. Her answer was not quite satisfactory, and the gallant captain at once set about cropping her hair and ribbons with his sword. The result was a free fight, in which the Y'eomen were worsted by the peasantry, but the girl de[)ri\ed of her hair and ribbons. Her son is ever proud of his l)atriotic mother. Mr. De\lin attended the parochial schools of his native town until his seventeenth year, when he went to Dublin, where he was engaged ^•J> vv: lUOaiiAl'lIICAL SKETCIfhS OF S/'KAKKlfS. 141 ill ihf leather l)imiiics.s, winch is still hia department. In Dublin he joined the United Irishmen, but the society was short-lived for the spies of the Jlrilish Government were soon on their track, and all the leaders were arrested. Voiing Devlin ami a few other active workeis made their escape first to Glasgow, then Edinburgh, and finally Liverpool, coming to the United States in 1S59. He has been an active member of every organisation ha\ing for its object the well- being of Irelnni) since coming to Amerii'a. Ho was a member of the Land League, the Glan-na-Gael, is now President of the Council of the Irish N. Feileration, AVilkesbarre, and wa.s instrumental in raising a compiny in Mauch ('hunk in 1866, to assist the Fenian uprising in raiuuhi. Ikit Le ("arnmism and the assassination of Dr. Cronin, showed him that revolutionary societies were injurious to the cause of Ireland, and he now confines 'limself to strictly constitutional measures. Shortly after his advent to Amciica, Mr. Devlin marrieil Mary Anne Tree, of Mauch Chunk, by wl om he has a very ])romising family of sons and daughters. He live.-, happily, and has been only once in Ireland in the s|)ace of 37 years. Nearly all his relatives, in tlie interim, have jjassed away. An ardent Catholic, Republican in ]K)litics, a ty|)ical American citizen, a total abstainer, an ui)right and faithful friend, Mr. Devlin yields to none in his love for the mother- land, and it is his proud boast that he lived long enough to return to the land of his birth, and strike a constitutional blow on its behalf lieneath the shadow of Dublin Castle. t, IRELAND'S EYK. ( insii iiAci-: co.whWT/fi.y. CHARLES HERRON. The siiliji'ct iif tliis skL'tcli was hoiii in tlio [laiisli of liallinnscreen. near iJiiipuistuwii, Cdiiiity Derry, in the year 1864. Alllioiigli of the farming class, at an early age he Wius remarkable for his studious habits, ami (hi- groat proficiency lie; exhibited at the local National Schools. The family is noted for talent, and among the most gifted students of Maynooth was a brother of our sui)ject, who died a few months l)eforu comi)leting his theological course. Mr. Charles Herrou was for some years connected with the Irish National Hoard of Ivliication, but is now retired, having through a relative ac(iuired considerable i)ri\ate means, whereby he is enabled to live in absolute independence. He is still resident in his native jiarish, and in that purely Celtic 'luarter, known as Sixtowiis. His time is mostly devoted to study, especially the study of general Knglis*i literature. However, he loses no opportunity of interesting himse'f in any mo\euient for the Ixinefit of his country, and is always con- nected with the local branches of the Irish National Federation. His speech at the Irish Race Convention was brief and to the point. He de|)lored the divisions among the Irish Parliamentary Party, but was glad as an accredited representative of South Derry to be able to state there was no disunion in the ranks there. Mr. Herron appeared on the occasion to think himself somewhat out of place, but there is little doubt he coukl become an accomplished speaker. Rumour lias it that there are honours in store for him ; he is already a Pcxir Law Guardian of the Magherafelt Union, and some hint that he is ii coming Justice of the Peace, at no very remote date, while others go so far as to hold him up for Parliamentary honours. It is doubtful if Mr. Herron is not entirely too wanting in confidence, and too retiring for such distinctions. But we are convinced he has th? welfare of his coinitry at heart, and will rejoice to effect in his own quiet way, any possible good for Ireland. «^'^. I I ' <t; I' ,v ' JilOGUAVlllCM SKKTCUKS OF Sl'KAKKHK. 143 HON. JOHN M.KKOWN, ONTARIO, CANADA. The Hon. John McKeown, Q.C., was born in the County of Tyrone, in 183,^. Hi.s family eniigrati'd to Canada, when he was but a mere lioy, and .settled witliin twel\e miles of Niagara Vails. His father, IN Till: DAItdl.i:, CO. WICKLOW, who was a land sur\ey(^ir, was actively identified with the formation of what was practically the first Catholic parish in the Niagara Peninsula. After a time tlie family renuned to St. Catherine's, where young John entered the Grantham Academy, and completed his pre- paratory course for the university. I II \ ■ ; 144 IlilSIl ItACH ('(KWKSTIOX. » ITi! fiiteroil till' University of Toronto in 185 1, where he made a iirilliant conrse f)f classics and mathematics, and was one of the first Catiiolic graduates of that now famous institution of learning. He passed the various examinations at Osgood Hall, and lit'camc barrister- at-law in 1852. 'Ihc following year he hcgiui the iiraclice of his profession in the city of Hamilton, where he established a large and lucrative business. He ran in the Reform interest for the House of Commons in 1873, but was defeated l)y the Hon. Thomas Merrit. In recognition of his loyalty to Liberal principals, and of his success in his profession, he was appointed C^rowii Attorney for the County of Lincoln, and the following year received his commission as (Queen's Coiuicillor. When it was a question of selecting delegates for the great Irish Race Convention, Mr. McKeown was chosen in association with Dean Harris to represent the Irishmen of .St. Catherine's, Ontario, His speech at the Dublin Convention wa.s characteristic of the man, and marked by much common sense and considerable force. Mr. McKeown lived but a short time after his return to Canada. He died at the "Hotel Dieu '' Hospital, Kingston, and w.os attended in his last moments by Archbishop Cleary, an Irishman also, a great prelate and a distinguished scholar, who, with his characteristic tenderness repeatedly visited him. Mr. McKeown was an accompli- shed classical scholar, an able lawyer, and a consistent upholder and defender of the rights of the Catholic minority in Ontario. He was a inan of large impulse, and generous attributes, and by his death the legal profession in Canada suffered a severe loss. He was a consistent Catholic, a generous supporter of his church, and a man whose exam|ile fur good, was far reaching and effective. f c • .,' ■ ■ I niOGRAFlIICAL dKKTCHEH OF SPEAKKUH. 145 UR. I'AlklCK J. ri.MMlNS, BOSTON. 1)K, Patrick Joseph Timmins is a native of the County Fermampli, Ireland. He was born on llie 28tl» of Februar)-, 185 1, in De'ry- kurrib, one uf the many i)ictiires(iue islands of Ui)i)er Lougli lirn.', close to the historic Croni ("aslle, famed for its siej^es in the time of the Williamite and Jacobite Wars. Dr. Timmins' birtiijilace was three miles from N'ewtownbutler, anil his chili ihood years were associated with endless journeys in llat-bottomed cots, among the numerous islands, and to the main land for chapel, school, and market. He is the second of a family which consistetl of eight children, having four brothers and three sisters. His father, Mr. Francis Timmins, was the first Catholic I'oor Law Guardian elected for that district. 'J'he earliest school Dr. Timmins attended was conducted by a school- master who gathered a fitful class wherever he could among the children of the islands. When able to read he was sent to the nearest National School, three miles away by water ami road. That distance was shortened into two miles, through the kindness of Colonel Saunder- son, the present member of Parliament of North Armagh, who i)er- mitted the children of the vicinity to take a short cut through his demesne. From the National Schoijl young Patrick Timmins was placed in an academy, conducted by a Presbyterian clergyman at Clinooney, near Clones. Here he commenced the rudiments of classics, and at the age of fifteen was transferred to St. Macartan's Catholic Seminary at \Ionaghan. Among his professors at that institution were the Most Rev. Dr. Owens, the present Bishop of Clogher, and Canon O'Connor, who is now parish priest of N'ewtownbutler. He spent three and a half years at Monaghan, and then proceeded to Maynooth. In this last college, he went through the regular course of languages, English literature, logic and metaphysics, but not thinking that he was called to an ecclesiastical state, he did not commence theology and the sacred studies proper. He left Maynooth in 187 1, and shortly afterwards came to the United States, where some of his relatives had preceded him. Not having as yet decided on a profession, he accepted a [losition as teacher of classics in the well-known College of Holy Cross, Wor- cester, Massachusetts, and later transferred his ser\ices to St. Francis Xavier's College, New York. While here he decided to adojjt the medical i)rofession, and proceeded to the celebrated Georgetown University, at Washington, D.C., where he relinquished teaching and took up the full course of the medical faculty. For clinical instruction he attended the Providence Hospital, Washington. He received his M.D. degree with honours in 1878, being voted by the college to U ( ■ ,-^ --. - -• I '. IN C A K^ '-■^o M I 146 lltlSll RACK CONVENTION. deliver (he valecJictory aJdrcits at the graduatiuii cert-moiiy. He nlio cil)t:iiiif(l llie fiK'iilly i)ri/c of liis year, consisting of a gold inu<l:d, annually granted lu th'i student wliu ^lassed the best written exaniinu- tions. ik'ing now a doctor in medicine, l)ut desiring to obtain a better grjsj) of liis profession, lie spent a year acting as resident physician to the Children's Hospital, and to the ("ity Hospital, Washington. While there he contributed papers on " Scarlatina by Inoculation,' and other kindred subjects to local medical journals. From Washing- ton he went to Troy, N.Y., where he |)r.ictisecl as a jihysician for a year and a half. In 1H80 he married Miss Mary Anni- Uoyle, of Rnxliiiry, MassacliMsctts, and removed to Maiden in the same State, where he remained for two years. Desiring the greater scope of a large city, he finally, in 1883, came to South Hoston. Here he rapidly gained an extensive practice, and is now one of the best known ])ra(titioners in that district of the New England Metropolis. Ur. Patrick Timmins is a citizen of the United States, and an enthusiastic aihnirer of American institutions. He is devoted to his profession, but continues to feel a lively interest in all things concerning the welfare of his native land. "f!^^^^^^:. ST. KEVIN'S KITCHEN, (II.KNUALOUUII, CO. WieKLOW, HKKlliM'lllCM. SKKTClll'.S OF S/'NAK Fh'S. 147 REV. JOHN SCANI,AN. TiiK Rev, John Slani.an, who seconded llie vote of thanks lo the Ilishop of Raplioc for prcsichng so patiently and eflicicntly over tlic great Irish Convention, was horn at l-'ortane, 'I'lilla, Co. Clare, in 1844. lulucattd in the local schools, and in the Jesuit College, Limerick, he entered Maytiooth College in i860. Here, after a distinguished course, extend- ing over seven years, he was ordained priest. He was appointed rrom ]iliiito l)y]| cLU'l's OF Moniin, co. clahe. tW. Ijiwronop. Dutilln successively to the curacies of Castletown- Ara, 1867 ; Toomevara, 1868 ; Dunkerrin, 1873 ; and Ennis, Co. Clare, in 1877. In Ennis he laboured till 1888, when he was appointed Parish Priest of the united parishes of Cloughjordan, Ardcroney and Kilruane, in the County of Tipperary. Father Scanlan is one of the most genial and unassuming priests of the Diocese of Killaloe, yet he is always ready to take part in any movement on behalf of his people and country. 1 I4» IKISII HACK ('()yVKi\TION. AI-KRF-I) U'F.mi. Mr. Ar.rRKi) Wkiiii was born in Dublin in 1834. His fnth.-r, Richard I), Wcljh, took a i)rominent part in the toctotnl and anti-slavery agitations, for many years ciliting tlic .-/////■ .S'/iifv/r .iilroitU. Alfred Webb learned printing when a cliild, and served as apprentice, man, ininagcr, putner, and owner, from 1850 to 1893, excei)ting two years, when he dug for gold, worked in the liiish, and served as sailor in Australia. ■^ ■ « ( 1i 1 ill ■ I 1 1 <i < !i 1 ■ I I I ■ VT-l 1 1 1 1 TJIll: '^ I„ 7 Till i ■" 1 f I Fnini pliotij liyj t()l.l,l;ilK (lllKKN, 1)1 IlLIN. tw. Ijiwrcncp. Dulilin His first essay in literature was a Life of John Mitclul, in 1850. He lias written a Co'iipi-ndiiim of Irish Biography, now out of print ; numerous tracts, polished and otherwise ; and varied contributions to the Press. Interested in Irish affairs from his earliest years, he threw himself into politics as a Nationalist and Home Ruler thirty years ago. He served in Parliament as Member for West Waterford (being thrice elected without opposition), from 1890 to 1895. He parted company with Mr. Parnell after the divorce proceedings. He was elected President of the Indian National Congress at Madras in 1894. He has always, whilst devoted to his native land, felt himself in his interests UV_ ' m HI nan A r/iicA l skktci/es of fir fa kfhs. 149 ami oliligations to have for his country th'-* world, and his countrymen all mankind. Absorption in |)olitics led him to neglect, and ultimately l^ive up business ill 189^, He has travclli-d much, coinmeiicin^^ with the (bounty Wicklow, liciii;,' twice round the world ami in Amcricai bcsiiles India, ( ireeco, and many visits to Switzerland and Italy, not to speak of haviiiir bci;n in every county in Ireland. He now Icids a quiet life in his library, his garden, and on his lucvci.E, desiring nothing more than that he should yet have a renewed opi)ortunity for service in the National cause, through the Irish people sh:tkinf,' off their present lethargy- laying aside their feuds, foolbills, cvci.KS, horse-racing, and horsey demonstrations, and giving themselves to an earnest effort for Home Rule, Fi / :, t; It 'A • ??^ ISO IRISH RACE CONVENTION. 11 JOHN EDWARD REDMOND, M.P. Mr. John E. Redmond, member for Waterford ("ity, is the son of the lati- \V. A. Redmond, M.P., BallytrLMit, and was born in 1851. He was educated at Clongowes Wood College and Trinity College, Dublin; Barrister, Gray's Inn, 1886 ; Irish Bar, 1887. Married 1883, Johanna, 1;!!^ r.VKLIAUKNT sglAKi;, TUINITV COLLEGE, Dl ULIN. youngest daughter of the late Mr. James Dalton, of New .South H'ales. Was M.P. for borough of New Poss, 1881-1885 ; North Wexford, 1885- 1891 ; Waterford City, 1891 ; re-elected, 1892 and 1895. Though Mr. Rcdmciiu was not prv f nt the Convention, yet, as leader of the Parnellite Party, great in' .t was taken in him by those who attend'dd, and for that reason it nas ueen thought desirable tr give him a pl?ce. THE CONVENTION *"('. l."*! $^ lii -MOST RliW I'AIRILK ODUXNEIJ,, \).\)., Bishop of Ra[)lioe. (Sue |>i». 11. l.Vi, 'Mft. > r-^- f 'S3 ] 5tisb IRace Convention. FIRST DAY— 1ST SEPTEMBER, 1S96. i m The Convention assembled at noon. Mr. Justin M'Carthy, M.P. — Fellow-countrymen, I have the honour and pleasure to move that the chair he taken at this great Convention by the Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell, Lord TJishop of Ra|)hoe. Very Rev. Canon Shinkwin, P.P., Handon, seconded die resolution. Mr. Uavitt, M.P., put the resoluti'^n, which was adopted amid cheers, renewed again as his Lordship took the chair. The Chairman — Gentlemen, my first duty as chairman is to ask you to appoint honorary secretaries to this Convention. Very Rev. Canon Lvnskkv, P.P., Clitden — I have <cry much pleasure in doing a very perfunctory duty heic to-dav. It is that ot proposing that Rev. Fatiier .MGuire, C.C, Enniskillen ; Captain Donelan, M.P. ; Rev. Father O'Callaghan, C.C, Mallow ; David Sheehy, M.P., and Michael Davitt, M.l'., be appointed honorary secretaries to the Convention. Dr. Amiirose, M.P., seconded the resolution, which was carried unanimously. The Secretaries laid on the table the Agenda of Resolutions sent in pursuance of notice of 20th August.* The Chairman — I shall ask Father M'Fadden of Gweedorj to begin the ])roceedings with an Irish prayer. CCbjvacutt) an ya5U)icpu)u'ii)re'5uuc DiMn U)uiui5 01s v'oiW'^'^ "" V«'r^ 11101)16 )'(i.t Rev. J. M'Fadden, P.P., advanced to the foot of the pl.itform ind read as follows, the entire Convention remaining standing duiin;^; the reading : 1ti OCnim ail Cita^, a^uy a mine, a^uy an Spioviain Maonii. fCmen. Tuii^luif;, a 8pio]\aiT) Naoitii, T)'uiiii-iomij^uii)e, aicUoii ciioi-ocoTio tiveiTiiiieui;, a^uy avam loiiiica reiiie -oo i^]mTxi vein. Tlainnin. Cuiyi cusainn do 8p oiiat), aguy c]\ufucayi uco. Viwasiiax). CCguj- acnuativai'D ru ai,a\T> an culiiiun. ■SuiTmiip CC "Dhia, -DO ceac;aifi; cporoce na t;-C|veiT)iiieac le loniifiar) an Spiotiaif •These resolutions will be found set out at end of Thursday's iiroceedings. f'Tlie Parish Priest of Gweedore will say a prayer at the opeuing of this great *:^.. '> Convention- '54 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. )i.i!t; r- Maoirii ; cnlmiri T)uinii itif an Spiona-o coasnn, s" m-bUippainooiy'^aii cer'j\c, aKujf in a Y^'jluyyan so tn-beiT)eat) |<ioix-srti,iT)eai(ij> oi\nainii : Xl\\A lofo Cjiioj^; liji Tj-TiSMquiu. tCiiieii.* The Chairman — Before any other business is done I have a joyful message for Ihc Convention that ougiit to be delivered at once. Centuries ago, when the two Hughs fought bravely for Irish freedom anil freedom of conscience, as well as Irter on in the d;>.ys of the Con- fedcraticn of Kilkenny and of Owen Roe, luland hid no more helpful friends than Paul V„ Urban VIII., and Innoce.it X. Well, once more " There's wine frt'in the Koyal J'ope Upor the ocean green." This great Convention was summoned to end Irish dissension, and I hold in niy hand a gracious message from tne illustrious Pontiff Leo XII I., just received through the distinguished Rector of the Irish College, Rome, in which his Hohness prays that dissensions may be ended. When you have heard the message in L;.tiii and English, I shall leave it to the si)ontaneous act of the assembly to manifest its gratitude for such an exalted favour. ROMA. BISHOP OF RAPHOE, DUBLIN. SANCTISSIMU.S, BONU.M SPIKITUALE ET TEMPORALE HIBER- NOKU.M EXOPTANS, FINEM DI.SSIi.VSIONUM PKEC.\TUR. KELLY. In English : — The Iloi.v Father, vearnino for the simritoal and temporal wel- KARE OF TilE IRISH I'KOPLE, I'RAYS FOR THE ENU OF DISSE.NSIO.NS. The favour of such a Prince should not long remain without ac- knowledgment, and I wish to be empowered, if it be the will of this Convention, to send back the following; message in thu name of the Convention : — MONSIGNORE KEI.I.Y, CoLI.EGlO IrIANDESE, POMA. Conventus Rcntis Ilibernicie Sanctissinio gratias a^it amplissimas de verbis lienignissiniis, quie uti favorem cxiinium, pacisijue aiiguri'im felicissinum, una vtce oniiics nccipiunt deleg.ati. Eriscoi'us Rai'otensis Praeskj In English : — The Ir].-.h K.nce Convention begs to express its profound gratitude to the Holy Fatlicr fur his most kind and siluiary message, whicli all the delegates receive as s signal favour, and .as the happiest augury of peace. Now, g^■ntlenle^, tliere is a letter from his Grace the Archbishop of Toronto, which the Rev. Father Ryan, St. .Michael's, Toronto, his dele- gate, is here to read to you. Tne letter is one which I am sure you will all hear with pleasure. • " In the n.nme of the Father, and of the .Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. "Come. O Holy Glicst, teplen'-h the hearts of Thy faiihlul, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love. " Versic'e. Send forll Thy Spirit and they shnll be created. " Response. And Thou hhalt renew the lace of the earth. " 1 ET us PRAY. " O God, Who, by tht light of the Holy Ghost, didst in^'ruct the hearts of the faith • ful, gram that by the s.ime Spiiit ve may know what is rij^ht, and ever enjoy His consolation: ihiough Jesus Cliri.t, our Lord. Amen." tI v^ FIRST UA Y-CORRESPONDESCE. '55 Rev. Dr. Rvan — His Grace not being able to come to this Con- vention, wished nie to read this letter to the Convention to-day : — Toronto, AiiRHst 13th, 1896. Rev. Fathep, Ryan, Rector of St. Michael's CATiiEnRAi. My Dear Father Ryan — As it is quite out of my power to assist at Iho qrcnt Ir.sh Convention to be lield in Dublin in tlie bepiniiiiif; jf ,Se(iieml)cr, I hc.uliy clo|niie you to attcnj tlieruat as my representative. You know my views on this Convention — its necessity and its purpose. Tho>e views were su'^st-inlially evprcssed in my letter on the sulyect addressed to the lion. Ed.v.inl lilake in Oclolier last. It was lelt then, as it IS now, in order to obtain Home Kule or any other measure of justice from the Imperial P.irliamcnt, that the Irish National representatives sli.>idd clipso their limkcn ranks, .and re-establish ainonijst them unity of alin and action. The Ccmventlon was suKijesled as a means of elTectinf; this desirable and necessary union. The eauie^inesi and alacrity with which this iileawas taken up liy the Irish people at home and abroad proved that some such Convention was felt to be a necessary means of restorinj; unity to the Irish rarllamentary representntives, and that it was expected to be also an efficacious method of perpeluatinu that unity. The Convention is now a great and memorable fact. May the kiml Providence of God direct and cotilrol its delilierations, and m.ay this assemblage of Irishmen be the siartinL;-p >int of a great patriotic move- ment that will find its issue in complete success (or the c.uise of lloiiie Rule, and in a glorious victory for the just libeities and rights of a so ely-tricd and long-sullering people. Believe me to be, my dear Father Ryan, Yours very truly, ■ • "frJoiLN Walsh, Archbishop of Toro.ito. Mr. David Sheehv, M.P., then read the following : — Irish National Federation of .\merica. Secretary's Office, Room 26, Cooper Union, New York, August igih, 1S96. To THE Chairman of the Joint CoMMirTPr, ok the Irish Natkjnal Feuera- TioN AND Irish Pari.iamentarv Party, Duiii.i.n. Dear Sir— But for circumstances over which I have no control, resulting from a recent injary which has confined me to bed, I certainly would be with you as a dele- gate 'n the Race Convention soon to be held in Dublin. As a sincere friend of the movement to secure Home Rule for Ireland by constitutional means, I would like to offer a brief plea for unity, and to present a view of the present situation of affairs in Ireland as it appears to one pl.iced, as I am, beyond the inlluence of the dllTerences which now e.xist there, and which threaten tc Wieck the cause. It is but charitable to suppose that those who arc directly responsible for the situation have been unable to realise the ' onsequence, or to see beyond the exigencies of the petty and personal strief in wlii'"h they are engaged. Those at a distance, who are free from every inlluence beyond 'he one wisii— to accomplish the g.catest good for those of the Irish race who have remained in Ireland — can certainly grasp the situation fully, and are the better able to suggist the remedy. The Irish who have been sent into exile for various causes, and are now scattered over the face of the earth, have kept green, under every vicis- situde, their love of the old lanJ, and have throughout evinced no less interest in the vtelfare of those left behind. Eveiy appeal from famine aid other distress h.as ever been generously responded to, and the contributions in the past by funds to improve the political and national condition cf Ireland have been unprecedented as to tht amount given and the extent of time through which the 'nterest was maintained. It may be truly claimed that, but for 'his aid from abroad, Ireland to-d.ay would be little better than a desert waste, and .all trace of the Irish race would have disappeaied long eincf, as the country became settled up by a foreign people. With the growing dissensions of past years in Ireland a large majorit> of the Irish people abroad have pasiied from a state of despair to one of apalliy and of indifference. But while those who have given deeper thought to the situation have time and again been discouraged they have not lost faith in the future. The Race Convention now tc be held is the outcome of this coiifidcnce, and the delegates ivho mm r 'S'"' IK/Sn PACE COSVENTION. I ':>! attend from abroail have been selected as tlic fit repiesentalives of those wlin cnn^tilute tlic most thoughtful elemtnt amongst the Irisli race outside of Ireland, These men, therefore, have a right to a respectful hearing and to expect the honest co-operation of all «ho claim to be advocates of 'lome Rule. One great object of the Convention is to enable everyone to throw asiile past dilTerences, all ol which have had, to a great extent, no belter foundation than misunderstanding. If it be true, as is held, that all. re;;ardlc5s of other differences, hold in common a desire to advance the interest of Irel.ind, then all can meet in this Convention without the slightest loss of self-respect. Support comes (lom the Irish people, and not in the interest of a single individual. It is therefore eipially incumbent iliat he should honestly co-operate and contribute his best etforts to formluate some plan of org.inisation and policy for the future which will remove the condition from which he has sulTered, and to which all mny in common subscribe. But rest assured that the man who will not acce|)t such an invitation is no friend to Ireland, and looks only to his own personal ends; his occupation would be gone if the Irish people were again united. Let him bear in mind that by his ncijlect of duly at this crisis he will place himself beyond the pale of sympathy when called upon on some future day to receive the verdict which will be jiassed inevitably upon him by the Irish people at large — an unenviable distinction will rest upon him. The time has p.assed for all sentimentality, as it has seldom happened in the history of Ireland that a more important crisis than the present has presented itself. Home Rule cannot be gained at present without a united people to make the demand, and without it Ireland can have no future. While it is perfectly natural, and even essential, that individual difTerences of opinion should exist as to the proper mode of accomplish- ing any public movement, yet, as soon as a course has been determined upon by a fair vote of the majority, the limit of individual oi)position has been reached. Unless this principle be fully acknowledged and a loyal co-operation be rendered afterwards to the will of majority, political success must fail in any movement. If an organisation cannot divest itself of such a stumbling block it should cease to exist. In truth il must be slated that the impression exists with us that the present condition of affairs in Ireland is to be traced directly to repudiation, or want of appreciation by a limited number, as to the vital importance of political success in acceptmg without question the will of the majority. Unless the people of Ireland are blind from partis.an zeal, and the leaders arc indifferent as to the future welfare of the country, all must now realise that the only remedy rests in throwing aside all past differences of opinion when faults have existed on all sides, and the nearest approach to unity of the people must be brought about at whatever individual cost. If this end be not accomplished at the coming Con- vention as the result of general co-operation by compromise and by individual sacrifice for the common good, then may God help Ireland. The end of all aid and sympathy from abro.ad will have been reached, and the univers,al verdict will be that the Irish people are no longer worthy of name or country. The Irish race will pass away to other lands, to be absorbed by every nation of the globe, and in a limited time the traditions, history, and language of the dear old land will have disappeared, and lie as much something of the p.ast as those of the ancient Greeks and Romans. I will be with you in spirit, and will look forward with profound interest to the result of your deliberations. Yours very truly, Thomas Addis Emmet, M,D. Mr. SiiEEHV, M.P. — There are other letters, but they are so numerous that it is impossible to read them all. Therefore, they will be handed to the Press.* The Chairman — Men of the Irish race, there is only one way in wliich I m;iy hope to return thanks for the unique honour which this chair confers upon me. It is to launch at once on this magnificent Convention the business that has brought you here from the four shores of Ireland an<i from many lands beyond the seas. To you, gentlemen, our kith and kin, come home from abroad, we who live in the Green * These will be found at ead of this day's proceeding*. I FIRST DAY-TIIE CHAIRMAN. »57 Isle say from our hearts in the sweet language of your fathers, "Ccad iiiille failte." In your love for Ireland you are here from the great Rci)ublic of the West, where so many millions of our peoi)lo have Iniilt up for themselves a position and a name, and whence in times of trial has come to us the most generous support for every National demand. You are here from self-governing Canada, one of whose great Prelates first sui^gestcd this Convention to end our dissensions. You are ronie from friendly Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. You are come even from Australia, which has always vied with America in support of the National cause. You are here from Africa, where, in our days, to the South it promises to rival the Northern splendour of fifteen centuries ago. Then the never-failing Irishmen of Enghnd and Scotland are here ; and lastly the tried men, priests and people, who live in the old land, in long array, from every county and every shore. You have come from near and far, at great inconvenience and expense, to work for the old cause, and to banish from our midst the bitterness of strife, filled with the idea that love of our motherland implies co-operation, and love, and friendship, and forbearances among ourselves in her cause. In my time I have seen the young family outcast on the roadside from the home the strong man had built ; I have seen the priest dragged to prison for trying to shield the victims of such wrong; I have seen thousands of little boys and girls of from nine to twelve years hired into agricultural service far away from the homes where they ought to be at school ; I have seen throngs of young people leaving the old and weakly behind, and hurrying to the emigrant ship ; and I have often asked myself: Will tlie emigrants ever come back ? Will they ever send us back the power to change these things and to undo these wrongs? Well-picked men of our race are nere today from every land of the Irish dispersion, and with God's blessing before they go back the foundations will be laid broad and deep of that victory-compelling unity which this great Convention was called to promote. The unseemly dissensions which led up to the adoptron by the Irish P.arty of a resolution to take counsel of the Irish race are only too familiar to need any reference from me. But in the last days of June this year an event occurred that of itself should demand the summoning of this Convention. That event was the publication of the report of the Financial Relations Commis- sion. I do not refer to the separate reports, however important, signed by d fferent groups of Commissioners ; not even to the mar- vellously reasoned conclusions of one who above all others sustained the cause of Irelaml on that Commission. What does the Report of the Commission itself say, with an approach to unanimity that is unparal- leled in such things ? What have the experts and custodians of the Britisli Treasury endorsed ? They find that this poor country at the very least is over-taxed between two and tiiree millions a "ear. That is the rule, that is the administration for you of the stranger, and to im- prove my argument, let me say, if you will, the well-meaning stranger. When we talked of a geni.il climate, a fair soil, teeming seas, an intelli- gent people, and said there was something radically wrong with the system under which our population fled the country, and our cities and industries decayed, we were answered back that this might be tolerable as Irish sentiment, but that the Parliament of Westminster knew how to .M,M v I lli 'S8 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. make even justice prevail in its dealings with our country not less than in its treatment of any Knglish county. At Inst the trutli is out. This poor l.iiid, that shares so little in imperial expenditure, is dc.;, foiled by over-taxation. Her financial life-blood has been drained aw.iy until, from the industrial standiroint, she has .,^'en redu(-ed to the condition of a jicrpetual invalid, while the neighbouring countries grow and jfrosper. Did the system against which we contend ever receive .such a blow before? Let it go to the (kinocr.iry of these countries and to the friendly peoples of the world that the existing system stands ( oiivicted of a monstrous wrong. It L the kind of wrong that all can appreciate, and for that very reason the report of the Financial Relations Commis- sion, I venture to say, is an epoch-making event. It is a Nasmyth hammer with whioh to crush argumentative opposition to Home Rule. But at a time when the National strength ought to be conscien- tiously applied to wield that hammer let us see that some of ourselves do not waste the needed energy or put the machinery out of gear. If le had now the united party of 1880-1890, speaking with one voice in the Imperial Parliament on behalf of Ireland, ere this the leading iiv.'n of both English parties would have been forward to acknowledge that the finding of the Commission is a huge outstanding fact that compels im- mediate attention from any statesman who will not deny the plain axiom that justice to the governed is an obligation of Government. I'lierefore, it is my opinion that if we do not now unite to press the unanswerable claims of our country, history ought to deal with the dissentients more severely than it does with the wars of clan on clan some centuries ago, or the divisions in the National ranks within living memory, when our people in '47 and '48 were slain in hecatombs by famine, and by pagan jiolitical economy, while two or three Irish ])arties contended for the National allegiance. There was far more to dividegood Irishmen then than there is now. And an event has occurred that ought to remake the whole Irish situation in the eyes even of Knglish parties. Every pledge given against Home Rule is greatly in need of reconsideration in the light of the astounding financial wrong to Ireland that has been revealed, or rather proved conclusively this very year. The existing system is one of spoliation, and it is beyond the wit of man to devise any adequate remedy for stopping our current loss — not to speak of dealing with accumulated restitution — that will not comprise the establishment of self-government in Ireland. We care not from which English party the Irish party extracts that right. We shall ever be grateful to the men who first emblazoned our cause on their banners and carried it successfully through the Hous*^ of Commons. But Home Rule is now in money alone valued for us at a minimum English estimate of 2^ millions a year, and I say we owe independent opposition to every party that refuses that refund and the political machinery for its profitable public use. That is one suggestion for uniting again the ranks of Irish Nationalists ; and I believe that if the Convention will issue some such declaration on the subject as submitted in more than one of the resolutions on the piper, much will be done towards promoting the unity we desire, even though we have not in this hall, I deeply regret to say, the advantage of the co-operation of all the Home Rule members. I go further, and say that by stating I ill JOHN DILLON, M.P. (See pp. 17, :'45, 311, ,113.) ix '' (fli 11 ^H f' ifio H{lS/f HACK CONVt:STl()N. anew what the Nationalist policy really is we can, through this Conven- tion, make it so well iiii(lursto(jd tiiat the i)ul)li(' opinion of our race will, after a little, he everywhere at its bark, and, des|jitc delusive tries, fei|uire unity in the pursuit of it. Our |)olitical creed is an old one by which we mean toi^lin^ so lonj; as (lod gives us strength to work for Irelan<l ; and we have the men who have observed the constitution ol the Irish I'arty, and who by their record in days of stress have shown that they possess the ability, the courage, and disinterestedness to give effect to Nationalist principles at any cost to themselves. Depctid ujjon it anything that can be said against the independence of the Nationalist I'atty under Mr. M'Carthy or Mr. Dillon, might as well be said against it in the years that follo.ved tiie cementing of tiie I,ii)eral alliance under Mr. I'arnell. Tiie truth is the practical working out of independent opposition or independent sujiport has its ditliciilties at every stage, and nothing apjiears easier than for any Nationalist member to make out some kind of case against his neighbour over any understanding with an English (larty. As an outsider I may be i)ermitted to express a few thoughts further on the subject. It is the sense of the Coiivention that no man or set of rnen .should be at all put in competition with the interests of Ireland. If that be so, the cause of Ireland must, a fortiori, be our itaudard in dealing with Knglish parties. 'I'lierefore, tiie princi[)le of independent op( osition in our time is opposition to every parly that won't grant the demands of Ireland — above all, the demand for national self-government, which we look upon as comprehensive of all others. Then, when any one parly adopts your prugramnie, the op|)osiiion as such ceases, and co-ojieration begins and contuuies, unless there is some failure in making good the coni[iact. IJut, before (■ither |)arly adopts your programme on Home Rule, how far will you hel[) tiiem to l)ass other useful reforms ? When one adopts it, how far will you help the other to pass useful legislation, or impede them as a means of forcing your National views i* Again, in regard to the party that stakes its fortunes on your cause and shares your victories and reverses, if they fail to carry Home Rule through both Houses of I'arlia.nent, will you allow them to go on with English legislation either on the principle of mutual help or on the hope of improving the chances of Home Rule at an election? Again, what grievances in legislation or adininislra'icm Inllicted by a party favourable to Home Rule would amount to a suffi- cient reason, on National grounds, for defeating them in i'arliament or at the polls ? These are some of the questions that must inevitably claim solution at the hands of our I'arliamentary representatives ; and, in the nature of things, it seems to me there is only one rational \.'ay of solving them. Our members go to Westminster with a distinct mandate to wrest Home Rule by just means from Whig or Tory indifferently, and in the councils of the party, after mature deliberation, to determine how Ireland and the Irish cause requires the decision to be cast in the circumstances of each emergency. They make mistakes like other men. But do we expect in our time to have abler or more devoted representatives ? I think not. Only, besi<les consulting their constituents often and fulfil- ling their covenants with them faithfully, they must work together in ..ill., FIRST DAY— Til H <'ll A I lt.)f.\ .V. iflt Parliament in the spirit of their pledge, standing as one man, aixt spcaltinn with one voice, and making our country rcs|)cctcd before tliosc who, BO far, love not our cause. Without this iliscipiine Mr. I'ariieli's splcMidid poHtical genius could have done little; with it, under (iod's l)lessiiig, a just, wise, active, and bold policy is sure to succeed. No F.nglishiiian or set of Knulishnien can keep Home Kule in the front of iiolilics, What can ami ou^ht and will win the Iii^h c.nuse i» the unitcil I'ffort of the Irish race at home and abroad. Minor relorms arc imi)orlant. Some of our grievances clamour for redress. Hut they must not take our attention from the National remedy whiih a Parlia- ment representative C(iiially of every class and creed anil interest in Ireland can supjily. It will be seen hereafter that the Knulishmen who are most frieniliy to Ireland in this respect are also the wisest friends of ICn^lind. I!ut we may be forgiven if, in her straits, our sympathy and interest lie concentrated on our own i)oi;r country. In the sinjjle depart- ment of education, simply because the views of Ireland's representatives h.ive been ignored, the primary education of the people was cast on lines that left our emigrants, as a body, without the least maiuial or technical tr.uning to compete in America or Australia with other nation.dities drilled from childhood in the aptest ways to cam a livelihood, and after lialf-acentury of protest, we are still without a university for the Catholics of Ireland. They say these grievances are now to be redressed, I hope they are; much better late than never. Hut if the redress comes, m.irk the time. It C(jmes far too late ; and until you have native goverimient every other grievance will have to be agitated for periiap;; half a century before a halting remedy is applied, and we will be always kept behind in the march of human progress. Now, we tliink this is a fate to which we ought not tamely submit. The mixed race that has sprung from this soil, with the blood of Celt and Saxon, Dane and Nor'uan intermingled, has a mission of its own, a genius and ideal of its own, virtues and endowments of its own, faults and follies of its own, which give it a distinctive character in evt;ry land uiuler the sun ; and we want Ireland, the cradle-land and nursery of our race, to be guarded with loving care and tended with filial devotion, and develoi)ed by native genius. It is next to useless to argue our cause unless we stand united behind our arguments. Despair of winning anything by argument has driven poor Irishmen to deplorable deeds, for which an inhuman punishment has been exacted. Perhaps the report of the Financial Relations Commis- sion will make the case of the poor political [irisoners better understood. In any evt it, if this Convention proclaims the National policy on a basis broad and strong, and demands fidelity and discipline in carrying it out, the Irish jjeojjle will be once more united, and. Cod giving it, no power shall be able to resist the justice of the Irish cause. The Chairman, rising again — As regards the procedure, I have to announce to you that there are several resolutions and groups of resolu- tions on the agenda paper, and some resolutiotis have been handed up that are not on the agenila jiaper, and what I intend doircr !=■ '" take the agenda paper in order, and, in the first place, I inv' Webb to propose the series of resolutions that stand in his n, W hen these resolutions are seconded in Qlobo, they shall be put siiiaratcly one by -.^... 4^ ^ry^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A i/j (/. 1.0 I.I 1^ Ui 12.2 us lAO 1.25 il.4 6" i 2.0 1.8 1.6 .% VQ t: '/ w Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 972-4503 1 f 162 inisn RACE CONVENTION. C one, beginning with the first for discussion, or amendment, or approval, or rejection ; and as the debate goes on I shall try to find what other resolutions submitted to the Convention are germane to those that come first, so as to allow the whole discussion to go on together. One word more, which I know is unnecessary. In the Convention on Tara in ancient Erin, the representative Irishmen there assembled enjoyed privileges which members attending a modern Parliament might well envy. But any violence or insulting language was severely banned as being unworthy of an Irish deliberative assembly. I am sure that, while the delegates here will freely use their right to speak their own views, and the convictions of those who sent them, on unity or dissen- sion, or policy, or public organisation, or party, or leaders, or finances, the manly, self-respecting, high-toned spirit of the past will be perpetuated in this great Democratic Convention of Irish representatives. Mr. Alfred Webb— My lord and fellow-delegates, ladies and gentlemen, it is impossible not to feel deeply moved in laying these resolutions before this great assembly, the most widely representative of Irish feeling at home and abroad that I have had the honour to attend. Men come and go ; the personnel alters from generation to generation ; yet the National movement ever renews itself, and urges forward deep and strong in our day as in that of our fathers. I bring these resolutions forward as a basis for discussion, trusting that movers and seconders will be found to introduce them separately and seriatim. They so fully express my sentiments, my longings, at this important crisis, that there is little need I should with many words stand between you and them, and really important and representative speakers. let me, however, express the spirit with which they have been prepared, and in which I trust they will be discussed. We assert the nationality of our country — dearer to us than life, essential to her progress, essential to her well-being, essential for union within her shores, essential to a real union with Great Britain. We in this land are not necessarily two nations. There is not a righteous interest that every man, woman and child within the four seas of Ireland does not share in common. The ttrife between us and England, which has prevailed through the ages, and which will prevail so long as the attempted stifling of our aspira- tions cries out to heaven, is unnecessary. We all desire its termination. Ireland is qualified to be the best friend England ever had. We can never forget, and shall never forget, the thousands of England's sons and daughters, who, especially of late years, have proved themselves our most sincere and devoted friends. We desire, forgetting past differences, to extend ihe hand of fellowship to all willing to aid in the regeneration of our country. A united party — a party in which the views of all will be considered, but which can be relied upon to act as one, will be the best means to that end. For the maintenance and efficiency of such a party effective discipline will be necessary ; neither constituencies nor the country at large will rest satisfied with pledges, professed in the letter, broken in the spirit. We feel for all who have been led into evil ways by a state of things in which justice is " sold, denied, or delayed," and every other feeling is obliterated in commisera- tion for brutal treatment — for treatment meted out by no other western nation to political offenders — for treatment which in the light tt- / . .^"^ ALFRED \VEI3B. ,Sce pp. U8, 1G2.) JUSTIN McCarthy, ji.p. (Seo pji. 23, ISS, icy.) \ ll m ■i MICHAEL DAVITT, M,P. iSee pp. 26, 293.) VERY HEV. PATRICK CANON LYNSKEY, (See pp. 29, 1S3.) ■-!n.^'j«v,.-__V y M 1^4 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. (I V: 1: t (: of recent events staitingly brings into relief the fact that there is one law (or the Englishman and another for the Irishman ; one law for the rich and titled, another for the ordinary citizen. We desire to press forward in the work of making the lives of the masses of our people— whether in town or country— better, happier, and brighter. We desire thf.t education should be brought fully into accord with the religious feelings of our people. We desire that Irishmen should have the same rights in the matter of county and municipal government as the people of Great Britain. We are determined that the inequalities and wrongs of the present system of taxation shall be altered. We believe that the preservation of the ancient language of the country tends to raise the thoughts of our people, to open for them an inspiring field of mental culture, and to make them better citizens. The .e are the sentiments that I feel sure will animate our discussions, and that will be voiced in the resolutions that will be passed. Tliis Convention is a supreme effort for reconciliation and unity. We trust it will prevail. But if, unhappily, it should not, none, either at home or abroad, will be absolved from the duty of carrying on the work as best they may, of throwing in their lot with and aiding to the best of their ability that body of men which show themselves most ready to forget the past, to bury differences, to join heart and hand for Ireland, and who thus prove themselves likely to be most powerful in forwarding the sacred cause of their country's re Jemption. I beg to introduce the following resolutions: — (1) Reunion. — ■' Seeing that divisions amongst Irish Nationalist representatives paralyse to a great extent iheir power of serving Ireland, cast discredit on Ihe country, and tend to alienate the support of the Irish Race and to destroy their confidence in the efficacy of Parliamentary action, we record our firm conviction that it is of the first importance to Ireland that the Nationalist representatives in Parliament should be reunited into one Party ; and, in the spirit of the recent resolution of the Irish Party, we declare that, ' In our earnest desire to accomplish that result, we are prepared to meet on fair and equal terms all Nationalists who will join in the attempt to reconsti- tute a united Home Rule Party, in which every supporter of the movement shall be cordially received and justly considered, regardless of all past differences, and having regarc" only to his capacity to render service to the common cause.' We are glad to observe in the composition of this Convention and in the spirit shown throughout the country, marked evidence of a growing tendency to reunion, and we invite the Irish Nationalist Party to take such further steps as may to them seem calculated to promote the cause of reunion ." (2) Unity. — "That we recognise as the essential element of the existence of an elTective Irish Party the hearty co-operation and cheerful subordination of each individual in carrying out the Party policy, as settled (after free discussion) by the judgment of the greater number. That while we are glad to observe that on grave questions there have been but few intelligible differences of opinion in the Irish Party, and none difficult of reconciliation by reasonable men willing to agree, we most strongly condemn those public disputes regarding minor questions of persons and tactics which have so gravely impaired the power of the Party. We solemnly call upon every man belonging to the Irish Party, in answer to the prayers of our people all the world over, to forget old differences, to sink personal feelings, and to act for the future as good comrades and fellow-soldiers in the spirit of this resolution and in the support of that party unity on which the fate of Ireland so largely depends. We ask the Irish Party to take such steps as may in their judgment be found necessary to the establishment of unity and discipline in their own ranks, in accordance with the resolutions of this Con- vention ; and we assure them of our unfailing support in the execution of this essential task." (3) HoMB RuLK.— " That this Irish Race Convention reasserts the immemorial claim of Irel.\nd a Nation. We declare that England is governing Ireland wrong- ■■"\:: J) y^-- y >v_ /'/i?.«?r DAY— MR. ALFRED WEBIi. i6<; It :> lully, by coercion, nnd against the people's will ; that each year proves afresh the futility of tlie altcmpt j that Irish evils mainly flow from alien, irresponsible, uniformed, and unsympathetic rule ; and that no policy, whether of severe repression or of partial concession, can allay her rightful discontent, or will Blacken her efiorts to obtain a Legislature and an Executive making and administering laws for Ireland by Irishmen on Irish soil. We declare it the prime duty of the Irish Parliamentary Party to continue to maintain its absolute independence of English Political Parties, and thus to preserve its (rcedom to give an independent opposition or an independent support to any Party, as may seem l)cst in the interests of the National cause. (4) Amnesty. — " That, while hailing with satisfaction the release of some of the Irish Political Prisoners, we are indignant th.it relief has come so late, after their health had been broken by long years of suffering. We condemn the brutal treatment which Enylaiid, while boasting herself to be the advanced gu.ard of fre<!dom amongst the nations, inllicts on political prisoners sentenced for offences arising out of Irish grievances. We mark the contrast in feeling and in action exhibited by England towards the Irish prisoners and towards other political oflenders, as for instance, the Johannesburg Committee and the Jameson Raiders. We call (or the immediate liberation of all the remaining Irish political prisoners still enduring the horrors of penal servitude, and we request the Irish Parliamentary representatives to press with insistent urgency for their release." (5) Land. — "That the Irish landlord system and methods have tended to im- poverish, exterminate, and expel the Irish race, and have thus been the fruitful source of misery, discontent, violence and disturbance in Ireland. That the last Land Act, while bettering the condition of certain classes, fails to give the vast majority of the Irish tenantry that security against excessive rents and confiscation of improvement! which isessentiallo their well-being and to the success of any scheme of land purchase; fails to give necessary powers (or the enlargement of too small holdings by the compulsory jnirchase of grass lands from which the people have been driven, and fails to make adequate provision for the restoration to their homes of the evicted tenants, to whose courage and endurance such benefits as the farmers of Ireland have obtained are largely due, and whose case must ever appeal to the sense of honour and gratitude of their fellow-countrymen. We condemn the lateness of the period and the shortness of the time allowed for discussion, and the indecent threats of with- <lrawal, by which legitimate debate was curtailed ; and we declare that the Act cannot be accepted even as a temporary settlement, and that the only hope of the tenantry rests in a united .md determined Parliamentary Party, backed by a great agrarian combination, watching the operation of the Land Laws, exposing cases of injustice, and demanding a full measure of reform." (6) Taxation.—" That we rejoice that the evidence taken before the Financial Commission has at length made too clear for argument the injustice under which Ire- land has been so long and is still labouring in the matter of Imperial taxation, and we record our grateful thanks to Mr. Sexton for his arduous and most successful labours in this regard. We call upon the Irish Party, at the earliest moment, to press upon Parliament our demand for the redress of past -vrongs, and for the relief from present unequal burdens imposed by the representatives of rich and powerful Britain upon weakened and impoverished Ireland." (7) Labour. — "That, while we hail with satisfaction the improved condition of those labourers for whom homes have been provided under the Labourers' Act, we regret that the great body are still without decent habitations and plots of land. Not- withstanding recent improvements, we claim that, whilst maintaining due supervision, the procedure should be further shortened, simplified, and cheapened, the appeal to the Privy Council abolished, and the Act made more widely uselul ; and that the Irish labourers shall be given the same franchise for the elections of Guardians as is possessed by the English labourers ; that we recognise the just claim of urban labour to an improvement in the laws as applicable to the housing of the working classes of the towns, and we sympathise with every effort for a reasonable reduction in the hours of daily toil." (8) Local Govbrnment.— "That we condemn the non-representative and irresponsible system of Local Government in Irish counties by Grand Juries, and the narrowness of the franchise in Irish boroughs ; we demand the immediate application in Ireland to Local Government, in all its branches, of those principles of democratic control which have been so fully carried out in Great Britain.' i:'| •v-^^ r- ^--%' "^^ ir- X f i66 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. (9) EUUCATION.— "That for Catholics wc demand iicrfect equality In the law and adminlslralion in the matter of education— primary, intermediate, and university —and the recognition therein not only of the "alional spirit, but also of the highest educational right — namely, the religiouj training of youth in accordance with the priceless principles of religious liberty and freedom of conscience ; we demand the establishment of a University which shall afford to the Catholic people of Ireland »-ducationaI opportunities equal to those enjoyed by the favoured minority of her popu- lation in the University of Dublin ; we ask for a practical extension of technical education in agriculture and other industrial arts on a system adapted to the special needs of Ireland, so that her children may be better fitted to develop the resources of their country." (to) Gaelic Languaob.— " We hail with satisfaction the successful efforts that are being made at home and abroad to revive and extend interest in the preservation of the Gaelic tongue, and we urge upon all those who can further the ihterests of this movement to give every help and encouragement to the preservation and study of our ancient Irish tongue by the children of the Gael " Rev. Dr. Ryan, of Toronto, rose to second the introduction of the resolutions i to lo — My lord, chairman and gentlemen of the Irish Race Convention, I deem it a great honour to be invited to address this magnificent gathering of the men of the Irish race, and I consider it an especial privilege to be asked to second these resolutions. Now, gentle- men, before i speak to these resolutions I would like briefly to define clearly and distinctly my position and the position of my fellow delegates before this Convention and b'fore this country. I am here essentially in a representative capacity. In the first place I represent the Archbishop of Toronto. I think, gentlemen, you will admit that that has been abundantly proved by the letter of his Grace which I have read to this Convention. I am here secondly as the representative of the Irish people of Toronto, and it will suffice to tell you our methods, our demo- cratic methods, in electing delegates to show you that I and my fellow- delegates are truly and honestly the accredited and authorised represen- tatives of our country. Bear with me while I briefly tell you how the thing was done. The parishioners were asked to assemble and discuss the consideration of choosing delegates, and so they did. Then, electors were chosen from different parishes of the city of Toronto, came to- gether, and in the same free and untrammelled assembly discussed and considered those elected representatives. These are our ways of elect- ing delegates in Canada, and, therefore, we, perhaps unworthy— that is not for us to say — we are the duly elected, authorised, and accredited representatives of the City of Toronto. The same method was observed in all other Canadian cities, and, I believe, in the cities of the United States, and, therefore, I wish to emphasise the fact that we come here as duly authorised and accredited representatives of the Irish race in America. But now, gentlemen, a word on these resolutions. Perhaps it may seem a little hazardous to begin so early in the day in this discus- sion—for I wish to tell you, gentlemen of the Convention, that wc come here perfectly free and independent. I take these resolutions as they have been read, and I wish the Convention to clearly understand that. They have been read in globo, they will be taken up afterwards in par- ticular, and proposed and seconded, and put to you for discussion, amendment, or rejection, as you may think fit. Therefore, I take them in general. The three first resolutions, perhaps, more nearly concern the foreign delegates than the domestic considerations in the others, of =9- Hi::: ^\ I . ■ K. I \\ \l )\ ( ^ (, V^r::«jJ FIRST DAY— REV. DR. RYAN. ir,7 which the people at home are the best judges. The first resolution seems to me to embody what were the ideas of the mar\ 1 represent, the Archbishop of Toronto. He said : " You understand my mind thoroughly on this question." He has written it, and I have read it for you — " Tell them, in brief, that I agree with all my heart in Home Rule for Ireland; that I believe Ireland has a right to make laws for Ireland; that I believe Ireland will not only be more prosperous at home, but will be a greater strength to the Empire if she has the Home Rule to which she is entitled. We say here, as our Premier in Canada lately said : ' We in Canada', he said, 'are a loyal people because we are a free people.' "And tell them further," said the Archbishop of Toronto, "that as Ireland has the right to Home Rule in a native Legislature, so has she the power to obtain Home Rule. And that power, say it," he con- tinues, " that power to obtain Home Rule is a united Irish people and a uniteu Parliamentary Party." Therefore, coming here I find these resolutions that seem to me almost in the very wording to express the ideas and thoughts of his Grace of Toronto. Now, my dear friends, we come not to any party, to any man. We come to Ireland, to the Irish people. We come to the Irish nation, and we spealc to the heart of the Irish nation. We care not for party, and we care not for persons. That is perhaps your affair, and you have the intelligence and the power to settle your own affairs. But we say this, as coming from abroad, that in every representative political action there must be a party, and in every party, to have it truly representative, there must be freedom of private discussion, but there must be, too, strong insistence on the practical principle of majority rule, and following sharp and fast on the insistence on majority rule, a loyal obedience to the authorised expression of the people's will. These are, in general, the elements of any successful and united party. Now, friends of the Irish Race Convention, I say we come here not to dictate, we come here to suggest, we come here to advise, we come here inde- pendent, and that independence we shall preserve. We are not com- mitted to any man or to any party, much less are we controlled by any man. We come in the cause of Ireland, and we stand by the Irish people, and what to the Irish people in their united strength may seem best to do, that the Irish abroad will stand by, and that they are determined to maintain. Now, in conclusion, I would say this as a Canadian representative, that we, perhaps, have some special right to be here, for you know that Ireland has appealed to Canada. Ireland appealed to Canada for sympathy and moral support, and the answer was two historic resolutions in our free Dominion Parliament of Canada. One of these resolutions was proposed by a representative and leading man of one party, the Conservative Party. It was proposed by the Hon. John Costigan, or as we call him familiarly in Canada — though he has been for a long time a politician — we call him the "honest John Costigan." He proposed the first resolution of sympathy for Ireland in the Canadian Parliament, and again Canada answered. Then another resolution was proposed by the Hon. Edward Blake, the then leader of the Liberal Party in the Canadian House of Commons. And again Ireland spoke to Canada — this time for financial aid — and we gladly, and immediately, and generously responded according to our ) t! .\ \ V^ / J d I. s ) Dlt. llOliKUT AMIinoSE, M.P, tSfC l>li. 3:', 153.) HON. EDWAIID BLAKE, M.r. (See pp. 20, 232, 290, 317.) r^. UKV. FHANK UYAN, D.D. (.'<C0 pp. 39, 155, IWi.) DAVID SlIEEUY, M.P. (See pp. 12, 155.) '-'-y ■T-1 r^ m ;-) V "u ! "S- v| FIRST /).! r— .1//?. JUSTIX M-CARTffV, .V. T. ir,o means. And the third time Ireland appealed to Canada— tliis time not for moral support, not for liiiancial aid — slie asked for moic. Ireland asked Canada fur a man, and we looke<l round about and we selected one of our ablest, bravest, and best — a knight without reproach, and we know him — the Hon, Edwaril Ulake ; and we answered your appeal and sent you a man to help you in your Tarlianicntary work and warfare, lint now it is Canada's turn lo appeal to Ireland. We do not seem to ask for much, my dear friends, yet indeed it is much. We appeal to you to be united. I know very well that reunion will cost some sacrifice — some personal sacrifice — but if I read the story of Ireland right I fmd that Ireland has been a sacrificial country and the Irish a sacrificial people, and I know that that spirit of sacrifice would cause them to sacrifice themselves for their country's sake. Now, it may be necessary to have personal sacrifices, and great personal sacrifices. Hut oh ! the cause is mightier, the cause is greater than any individual in the country, and therefore we appeal for this unity, and men of the Irish race, let not our appeal go unheard. It is a reasonable appeal, it is a righteous appeal, it is a holy appeal, and let us go back to gladden the hearts of our people and be able to tell them that the Convention has indeed attained its end. Not comi)letely — we are not fools enough to tliiiik that, but as our distinguished and able and elo(|uent chairman — and I am glad he is chairman — says, all we can hope to do now is lo lay the foundations broad and deep and strong, and therefore to give hope to our people— hope and aspiration for the future — that we may de|iend upon it now — that we shall have what the Archbishop of Toronto wants — the unity of the Irish people at home and abroad, ami in that cause as our able chairman has said, a united Irish people at home and abroad must compel unity at home. And that is the power, and the only power, that can lead us on to victory for the cause we love so well — Home Rule for Ireland. The Ch.\irman. — The introduction of the resolutions has been pro- posed and seconded, and now Mr. Justin M'Carthy is going to sjjcak to the first resolution. Mr. Justin M'Carthy, M.P.— My lord and fellow-countrymen— I am anxious to say a few words, and they shall be only a few, in support of this first resolution which you all have before you. There is no need of my taking up your time with any lengthened address, because the m.agnificent and convincing speeches you have heard can have left no doubt on the mind of any man here as to the course he is bound to pursue for the sake and in the cause of his country. No Convention ever held in Ireland, or that could be held, could have opened more auspiciously than this Convention to-day. We began with that most gracious and benignant message from his Holiness Pope Leo XIII. We had the wise and powerful letter of his Grace the Archbishop of Toronto, and we had the letter of my personal friend, and the frieml of many here, the Irishman who bears the illustrious Irish name of Thomas Addis Emmet. I do not know how any Irish Convention could be opened more auspiciously than by messages such as these. Now, we have two powerful motives in calling this Convention. The first is to bury the past, and to take counsel together and make resolve for the future. These two results are to be brought about by the common ' I ^ ■■> -':) )i ■"V?v -^ZJ - 1..-.-.^ V 1^ tjc INI S 11 RACE COyVEM'WN. consent of such representative Irishmen as arc gatliered so siicrcssfuUy in tills hall today. Now it may be asked why did wc — why, that is to say, did that section of the Irish Parliamentary Party to which I belong — why did we put ourselves forward to bring together this Convention ? Well, for one reason. Hecause wc are numerically by far the strongest Irish Party, and therefore, we felt that it became us to liold out the hand of brotherhood and friendsliip to other Irishmen. I am bound to say, and I am sure I si)eak for all my friends, that if any such aiipeal had been made to us by any body, however small, of Irish Nationalists, we should have welcomed that appeal and made the most practical response to its application. But we thought we were bound to come forward as no such appeal was made to us, and say to all Irishmen who believe in Home Rule, and work and hope for its success, we thought our duty was to say to them, " Come in and work with us on the old lines and on the old principle, that the majority shall decide the course of political action. Come in and join with us. We ask for no open act or act of penitence ; we are willing to believe you were actuated with the best motive, but only let the dead past bury its dead, and now come in and work with us once again in harmony for the cause of Ireland." Surely that appeal ought have been prompdy and generously res- ponded to by other Irish Nationalists. It may be even yet. I am not going to anticipate any evil result or failure. Now let me remind this meeting what was the course in the old days when we turned out (lovernmeiit after Government, and made it plain to every English (lovernmcnt that without the consent of Irish National members nothing could be done in the House of Commons. What was our policy then ? It was this. At any crisis we held a meeting of the Party. There were many divisions of opinion in these consultations. Every man, even the youngest raw recruit, gave free expression of his opinion. Wc debated every question out, and then we took a vote, and the decision of the majority ruled the whole Party ; and many a time, and not before the division in the House of Commons was taken, the Irish Party after a debate for hours in the Parliament in which all manners of opinion were expressed, the Irish Party went into the division lobby as one man. Now, we want to restore that condition of things. We want to get all Irish Nationalists to work on that same principle. But let me tell you, that human wit can discover no other way for conducting a Parliamentary movement to s access but on the principle that the party shall be bound by the decision of its majority. Debate as we will amongst ourselves, when a vote is taken we must become as one instrument and one man again. It is my belief, and the belief, I hope, of all of us here, that a Convention such as this will be able to enforce that principle again. If you enforce that principle we shall be only too glad to welcome back any fellow-Nationalist who may have differed from us for any reason — we shall welcome him back, and be prepared and glad to work with him until the end is gained. But when the principle of the command of control by the majority is not recognised, then he indeed must be a sanguine man who could say he saw a chance of the near success of the Iiish Nationalist cause. Mr. Thomas Hunt, of Melbourne, Australia — My lord, ladies, and gentlemen, I come before you to-day with a message of jieace and with "> ( '11 iH!lvf ^'■h\\\ I ::. V ^ » iV^^I VIRsr DAY— Mil. THOMAS HUNT. 171 a request for national nniiy. 1 have heard of people going through fire and water to serve tlieir country. I may claim to have gone through a portion of the latter element, for I may tell you (hat to pass througii the Red Sea will give you more notion of what a reward there may he in (uture for those who are alive in Ireland. I came here from a tree country, blessed with one of the freest constitutions in the world — I have come here representing the people of Victoria, and the only reward 1 shall look forward to — I sup[)osc 1 shall not myself see thcday when I lome Rule is granted — is that some descendant or friend of mine may he ahle to point to this, one of the noblest historic gatherings tlint ever asseml)lt,'(l, and point to me as one who took a small part, indeed, in the deliberations of one of the finest assemblies that ever I had the honour to address. One or two things suggest themselves to me princi|)ally as auguries, and good auguries indeed, for tlie future. One is the circumstance that tliis gathering is presided over by the eminent gentkmin who left nothing for men like myself to say, because he has sounded faithfully and fearlessly, and with great ability, wiiich all of us admire, the true key of national unity, and coming from a democratic community myself, and caring very little for individuals, and who were in tlie front or in the rerc in the great battle for Ireland, coming to you with this message I say, that it augurs well for this great gathering that you should be addressed in the tone and spirit that you were in the beginning; and it is a further augury for your success that we have had bestowed on us the blessing of the Head of the Church to which, I presume, most of us belong. Another thing I may be allowed to allude to, and that is the pleasure it affords me to see so many of my fair countrywomen adorning this hall. I am proud of that circumstance, and I hope to be able to carry back to my friends in Victoria the proud message that they, by their presence, have con- tributed largely to unity in the Irish ranks. I disclaim possession of the gift of eloquence of some of your great countrymen who have kissed the Blarney Stone. But I hope to be able to see that stone before I leave Ireland, and after I get back to my people in Victoria I shall then for the first time in my life be able to claim some of that eloquence that people who have kissed the Blarney Stone are supposed to actiuire. But 1 have been connected with politics in America. As a little boy, in '58, with my father and mother, I had to become practically an alien to my country nen, for the reason that there were no opportunites for a growing up fam.ly. I was born in the historic county of Tipperary, and left there thirty-eight years ago with very poor prospects indeed. We, Irish- men and descendants of Irishmen in Australia, may be said to number one-fourth of the population. In that respect we were necessarily handi- capped in the race for prosperity, and also by the fact that the other three-fourths had had better opportunities of technical and other instruc- tion than we had. But, notwithstanding all the difficulties, I am a very poor specimen indeed of the many Irishmen who have forced their w.iy to the front in Australia, But I am proud to say that in my small way I performed my duty as a man, and never forgot where I was born and the land that I love. Whilst I say that, it is only natural, coming from a free country, that I should love the soil of that country as I do. In that country indeed it is very rarely that disloyalty to the silken con- nection with the British Crown is heard of, But if this disloyalty to tiie H 'i ^:i^. .j::S!J) "1 I?-! I HIS 1 1 It ACE CUNY KNT ION. K. Crown is spoken of in any way it is not by Irislimen, but by nomoboHy else, thereby showini; liiat, given the snine conditions of life and the same opporlunitits in Ireland to govern ourselves by and for the people, I say there would be no more loyal or true rare, a rare that would tend to build up, cousolidiite, and solidify the empire you now depise. I don't w.int to trench too much on your time, as I am, as you may iinagine, naturally of a modest disposition, coming from the country I do, and scarcely knowing your habits in this, as appears to me, almost a foreign country, but I wish to say that since I came here I am ex- ceedingly jilcased with this beautiful historic city of Dublin, and, as comi)ared with many of the cities on the Continent and elsewhere that I have had an ojipoitimity of visiting, there is not a sounder jjolitical atmosphere — certainly a jiurer moral atmosphere — in the world, but it is for us here assembled to try and make the political atmosphere purer. I believe it is quite within your power ; but coming from a country where we are small in proportion to the population, I think it right to tell you there is not a man in this assembly has a stronger feeling as to the riglUs of minorities. I would coerce no man to fall into our ranks even for the cause of Home Rule. I would not coerce him in that direction, but if our National Party is to be a factor in bringing about Home Rule, and if there is to be a National Govern- ment in Ireland at any time, we can get it not by internecine struggles. We can't get it, as has been said to day, by bringing up the dead ashes of the past. We must consider those who are opposed to us, and while not desiring to force our own opinions, we should be generous to those who are in a minority, because by that means — those ore the only means — we can conciliate them and bring them into line in the direction we desire. I have belonged to a political party, and confi- dentially I may refer to one issue on which I took the right on a public platform to say in opposition to the party — that I would do my own small best in the direction of securing the right for the people to whom I belonged, to cduc^ale their children in a Christian fashion. I held that right individually, but if the conditions in Victoria were the same as they are here, I would advocate in my own party the necessity of enforcing e<lucation in the direction I reciuired ; but if my own party determined that the lines I was advocating were lines that they could not accept, I honestly say I woulil keej) my mind on that point, or retire from the party altogether. Except with that spirit there can be no party government— and let me say, that party government here is some- what different to that of our country, because we fight party against party for local political issues, while in this country you have only to fight the foreign enemy to restore your freedom. I fear again I am presuming too much upon your indulgence, but I prepared no speech and I prefer the imjiromptu to the carefully prepared speech. I think I may be excused if I refer to one or two other topics which touch this resolution — in fact series of resolutions. At least 200 delegates met in an Hibernian Hall in Melbourne, representatives from every town and hamlet in the country, and I was chosen to attend on their behalf as their delegate at this great Conven- tion. I came here as free as the atmosphere, so far as I am concerned, not bound in any way to any individual, no matter what might be said .:ii- f if FlliaTDAY—HNV. IK U'l'ALLAGIIAi\'. <7J c "\ outside — and, jjciliaps, there are some outside who arc willing to traduce instead of praise men who canii; hero for tlic unsfilish, devoted, and, I nii>;lit f.iiy, noMe i)iiri)0sc of even tryitiH to assist the people of Ireland to secure the restoration of that inilepeiidcnrc of whieh she was robbed. I was also asked, comin),' throuj;li South Australia, to represent the people of that colony, nearly as large ns the whole of Europe. We have in the six colonies six legislatures independent of one another, while in all, there is not a po])ulation equal to the decimated Iran population. There are something like three or four millions of people in the group of colonics having separate and independent legislatures. Each works out its political destinies. They arc progressive, and in the matter of reform they conduct themselves as respectable citizens. Surely this spirit of democracy would be brought about if we had a United Ireland. On behalf of the people I represent, I ask for unity, and then Home Rule must necessarily follow. lx;t me, then, have a small recompense for coming through fire and water to reach here, and I say that no other mission in the world would have brought me to undertake such a journey. My wife, who is an Australian native — I do not mean to tell you she is a bl.ack, because that would be creating a false impression — she said to me when she learned of the object of my intended mission : " You must assuredly go." I felt proud of that encouragement, and nothing more fully fortified me than, as a small recompense for the journey I have undertaken, coming from the remotest part of the earth, to see that unity will take place amongst the peo])le. Home Rule for Ireland, which was unfashionable some time ago in Victoria, is quite fashionable now. Not only had Irish- men esjjoused the cause of their brethren at home, but by their action they had won many friends from the English amongst whom they lived. They all agreed and admired the liberal spirit in which some Englishmen had turned to the just cause of Ireland wh-.-n once the prejudice was removed from their eyes, and when they became just in their better feelings. Rev. Denis O'Cali-ahitan, Boston — Most rev. chairman and fellow-countrymen, the city of Uoston, in the old colony of Massachu- setts, merits, I think, a word before this presence and before this illustrious assembly of Irishmen, gathered from far and from near to consult together on Irish affairs. No one, 1 think, at all acquainted with National affairs abroad during the past two decades of years, to go back no further, will deny that Boston — and when I speak of Boston, I think I can well include all the New England States (New York is able to reply for itself) — has ever failed in its duty of granting support to the National cause and upholding the hands of Ireland's children on their native heath. I feel justified in saying, from a thorough knowledge of what the Irish people in the New England States, and in Boston in a special manner, have done, that among all the States of our fair Republic, Boston has ever held, and holds to-day, a good second place. Where in my city has not the beat of the National pulse ever been felt, and the hearts of the people not depressed or joyful, whenever news came from across the waters of the success or failure of the Irish cause ? There are some fellow-countrymen, I feel, on this platform to-day, and perchance among you, who may well recall the time, in the crisis of Irish National alTairs, when the afTairs of Ireland were more or less in the balance, how ^ ■ -i FIRST DAY— REV. D. O'CALLAGUAX. «7S the clergy of the Archdiocese of Boston, under the leadership of their illustrious and distinguished Metropolitan, assembled in council together, and sent across the waters words of cheer, and also substantial aid, to help the cause of Ireland. And, fellow-countrymen, the thought occurred to me to pay a visit to iny native land on the occasion of this Conven- tion, and I want to say here, in allusion to our distant friend who crossed the waters of the Red Sea, who proclaimed himself a Tippcrary man, I proclaim myself a child of Rebel Cork. But, as in duty bound, I called upon our illustrious Most Rev. Archbishop John J. Williams, and said to him : " Your Grace, I have been requested by some of the patriotic Irishmen of Boston to come and attend this Convention." The illustrious prelate — and here, in this distinguished presence, I will say no truer Irishman walks the American soil — said to me, raising aloft his venerable hands* "Go, in God's name, and if you can say a word for unity amongst Irishmen, you will have done more than a ything else, as a man, for Irish afifairs." And in this connection, whilst speaking of his venerable name, allow me to join in connection with it the name of another Irishman — an Irishman, in one sense, more true, because born on Irish soil, venerated wherever an exile Gael has gone — I allude to him whom all Irishinen mourn, the late distinguished and patriotic John lioyle O'Reilly. Three days before lie died I walked with him in the streets of Boston — Washington .Street, I think — and our conversation was on Irish affairs. It was some time l)cfore his sad death, before disunion c.mie amongst Irishmen, and the fair flag of unity was held still alo^t, and turning to me, he said : " Ivilhir, it is an honour and a glory to-day to be an Irishman in the clubs of Moston." "And why is this? "said I. "Simply because the charge seems to be cast aside that Irishmen cannot be united once again, and they are proud, those who had previously kept their Irish origin con- cealed, they are now proud of their countrymen in Ireland." But from the time, and from that sad time, when Ireland's flag went down by disunion, apathy and deep-seated discouragement had taken possession of the people of Boston and of New England. But they have com- missioned me, gentlemen, to come here and tell the reason why they feel so. Their hearts are still warm for Ireland and Irishmen, but they are discouraged and they are saddened by the dissension which prevails at home. It is patent to them that a hopeless disunion prevails amongst Irishmen, and it is patent to the enemies of Ireland as v.'ell, and they cry out: "Oh! my God, will this continue?" And they say: "May the watchful spirits and guardians that watch over the towns and ham- lets of Ireland prevent it from taking place ;" and they say : " May the martyred spirits, the martyred souls for Ireland's faith and Irish freedom, prevent the dire accomplishmen;." And hence they said to me : " In our name, say to the men of Ireland that if Ireland wants prosperity — if it desires peace — if, in the days of the near future or the remote, they desire Boston's aid and Boston's co-operation — then must they believe in and live up to that ancient maxim, a.s old as the hills : ' United we stand, divided we fall.' " Such are the convictions of the people of Boston, and I can only say, in their name, that when union prevails amongst you once again, they will stand forth and rally round the Irish flag, just as they have ever done in the days of the nast. S. \XiS,\ / I f/Ji^^\ lyfi IRISH RACE CONVENTION. Mr. MosKS CoBNWAi.i, K'inberley, South Africa — My lord bishop and genlleaien, I assure you that I rise with a feeling of pride, mingled with fear, to address this glorious gathering of Irishmen, many of iliem from distant parts of the world, assembkd here for the noble object of trying to restore peace and harmony in the distracted ranks of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Pride, I say, because for the first time in my life I have the opportunity and privilege of addressing mv countrymen in my native land, and fear lest I might fail to place before you the sorrow and shame which the unhappy divisions existing amongst men that ought to be united have brought to the hearts of thoie I represent in distant Africa, and other parts of the world. A shorl, time ago I was honoured by my fellow-countrymen to represent them .'it this Convention. I told them I would attend, not as a Dillonit'^, Healyite, or Parnellite, but as an Irishman, and that statement met with the unanimous approval of those present on that occasion. It is, my lord, incomprehensible to Irishmen abroad why men professing to have the same object at heart should be divided into different sections and factions — quarrelling amongst themselves about non-essentials, and disgracing their country's cause. These quarrels and factions alienate the support of thousands of Englishmen and Irishmen. I do not know what is the experience of those gentlemen representing Irishmen in other British Colonies, but my own has been a sad and bitter one. Many colonists holding high and honourable positions whom I have the honour of knowing, and who up to recent times were ardent Home Rulers, have changed and modified their opinions, not because they think it would not be right and proper to give Irishmen the right to make their own laws in their own land, but because they feel that if ever the right were conceded these wretched quarrels would be increased and even intensified. I appeal to all who come here, not as partisans but as Irishmen, to say if these gentlemen are justified in thinking so ? It is a mistake to consider that this feeling is confined to Englishmen alone. Thousands of Irishmen like myself, who have spent their lives abroad, and others who equally love Ireland though they never set foot on its green shores, but who have heard from their parents' lips the story of her wrongs, have grown lukewarm in their support of Home Rule. I may t';ll you, that the overwhelming majority of the Irishmen of South Africa are in favour of Home Rule. Living in a land where every man has equal rights, and fair play, they are loyal to the Queen and Constitution. Irishmen in past times have filled some of the most important positions in the colony, and at the present time I need only name Sir Thomas Uppington and Lord Rosmead, the Governor and High Commissioner, who is an Irishman and a Home Ruler. The people there believe that the people of Ireland should be granted the right to make their own laws in their own land — a right which every free people should enjoy, and which has been conceded to nearly all colonies, and that all matters appertaining to the Empire should be discussed in the Imperial Parliament, where Irishmen should have a proper proportion of representatives. The Irish people in the Colonies would never consent if they had a voice in the matter to be deprived of a share in that mighty Empire, in building up which our countrymen took such a part, and which has afforded a home to numbers of our race. The Colonies and India do not belong to England alone. •t) s^o' /^JT ^J^ "m r>^ FIRST DAY-MR. CORNWALL: MR. DROMDY. '77 ';^ f k .VJ .V >. They belong to Great Britain and Ireland, and he would be a poor Irishman who would willingly forego a right to his share in such an Empire. We also believe that the granting of Home Rule would enable a local parliament to develop the resources of the country and encourage industries, and do many other things which are now utterly neglected by the Imperial Parliament through want of time to attend to them, as well as from a want of knowledge to understand them. We also believe that the granting of Home Rule to Ireland would bring together men of different views and religions who now keep aloof from the movement. We believe, above all things, that Home Rule would bring back to our country the peace and happiness for which Grattan, O'Connell, and Parnell, and innumerable Irishmen fought and struggled, and for which men of our race will continue to struggle, until this boon is granted, but which will never be achieved until we put an end to dissension. Let us only be united, and let us prove to the world that we are fit and deter- mined to achieve our independence, and no power on earth will in time prevent us from achieving our object. I will not detain you any longer. There are a number of other gentlemen here who, by their experience, are better qualified to speak to you. I thank you very kindly for your patient hearing, and I have much pleasure in supporting the resolutions before you. Mr. Charles H. Bromby, North Tasmania — My lord and brother delegates, I have been sent from an island so far away that it is not even marked upon that large map of the world which decorates the card of admission here to-day ; but though far away, I can tell you that the hearts of Irishmen there beat strongly with love of their native land ; and their children, who have never seen Ireland, and will, perhaps, never see it, are brought up with the same love of country as they themselves who have been exiled from this soil. In some ways it seems to me that the island in the seas so far away further resembles our own island at home in many respects. They resemble each other certainly both in physical appearance and also in the beauty of their women. The people there also resemble the Irish people in this, that they are as fond of a little friction when they come to deal with political questions. We fight and go for one another on such small questions as a railway for north or south, or east or west, but if we have this friction there, we did not commence differences until we got our own Parliament, and we had our friction afterwards. In that country, where Smith O'Brien and John Mitchel spent many days and years, owing to their love for Ireland, the people joined together to obtain a free Constitution. Now, I must tell you flat and plain that we in that country are astonished, and feel hopeless of your cause, when we see the way in which Irishmen at home are going on. The children of the race abroad see that the principal men are Irishmen, that the Governors of the Colonies are Irish- men, that the judges are mostly Irishmen, that the two first Speakers in the House of Commons in Victoria were Irishmen, and they are aston- ished that the people at home do not join together to gain the freedom of their country. Having said this, I may be allowed to make one or two practical suggestions as to how we out there think it ought to be done. In the first place, of course, it is the majority which ought to rule. I need not insist further upon that. But, as there are those who \ . ■>■■ ■ • ! > . . • ! ' I 'i. \ .-. r-O iV.'i' I' '< I! :li ,hM\ 178 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. have followers in the Irish Parliamentary Party, and as it is of the greatest importance to gain them over to act like one man, I would suggest that in treating with them, in speaking of them, or in writing of them, you should do so with a kindly spirit — tre£.t them as though they were one day to be your leaders and frici Is. We in Tasmania — and 1 think in this I can speak of Australia — do not care whether it is Dillon, or Redmond, or anybody else, so long as he is appointed by the majority. It, however, you cannot persuade these men to come back, then there must be an appeal to the constituencies. The people of this country are the best judges of the last resort. So go amongst the voters who vote for those men who will not have majority rule, and endeavour to persuade them not to vote for those men in future. I say that the man who will not abide by the decision of majority rule is as great an enemy of Ireland as if he were an English Unionist. All the shouting in the Leinster Hall will not do if you are not prepared to agitate, agitate, agitate. Go, then, amongst those constituencies who have returned members who will not have majority rule, and tell them of the words of wisdom you heard here to-day from my lord the chairman and other speakers, and, if you do but work hard, I feel confident that at the next General Election a different result will be attained. Looking through your resolutions, every one of which, of course, must have your full support, I have only seen one single word there with which I couldn't agree, and it is where one of the resolutions makes reference to " the Conquest of Ireland." My lord, Ireland has never been conquered. If the resolution said " The origin of English rule," I could understand it. And how did that rule begin ? It was through dissension. It was not a conquest which brought in the Normans. It was one of your own princes who sold his country because he did not agree with the majority. I need not tell you the history of your country. You know that when any misfortune was brought upon her it was brought upon her by dissension. I shall only say in conclusion that if Ireland is only united once more she can make England tremble, as she made her tremble befo:e, and it will not be long before she will have won back her long-lost rights. Very Rev. Dean Harris, Toronto — My lord chairman, ladies, and gentlemen, there is a possibility of inflicting too much of a good thing upon an exceedingly patient audience, and if we bring no further con- solation home with us across the sea we will carry the assurance that Ireland had presented to us the most forbearing audience that ever we addressed. As Father Ryan has said, we are not representative of any particular seciion or any particular party. We are not purchasable com- modities. We come here sons of the soil free and independent, and when any section of the Press or any body of men say that we are nobodies, in the na.ne of God where will you find an honest man ? If the Hon. John Costi^an is a nobody where will you find a great man ? We come twenty-three stron? from Canada. I make no boast of this to you, but I mention it as an indication of the strong feeling of Irish patriotism that animates us — each and every one of us is paying his own expenses. We come at considerable sacrifice of time and convenience ; and we are here to do what we possibly can to patch up the difierences that exist amongst the Irish people. For six months in the year, in the / ( X :::i. ^ ^n c THOMAS HUNT. (See pp. 48, 170.) UEV. DENIS O'CALLAGUAN. (See pp. 4U, 173.) U/(' /i^l M'l MOSKS COKNWALL. (See pp. 61, 176.) V^ -^ >rs >. ■-^"'V;. HON. CHARLES HAMILTON BROMBY. (See pp. M, 177.) ^ ^ Hi n kSS^. r8o IIUSII RACE CONVENTION. country I come from, the northern lakes are so linund by one solid mass of ice that sometimes they put their railroads across the ice and rush their heaviest trains across it. But there is a certain season in which this ice begins to break up ; it forms into fragments, and t'len a child of two years old could not stand upon it. Where you have a solid, com- pact body of united men you can bear any load that is put upon you ; but when you are broken into fragments you are as the melting ice. I come from the banks of the Welland Canal, where, fifty-four years ago, there were three thousand of our fellow-countrymen engaged in digging that extraordinary canal that extends from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. That canal is not inferior in its construction to any canal in the world. The banks of that canal were honeycomed, and are to-day, with the graves of our buried countrymen, and we, their sons, have come to appeal to you in the name of God to close up your ranks. We come with kindly feel- ing towards Mr. Redmond. We come with kindly feeling towards Mr. Healy. We come with kindly feeling towards Mr. Dillon. We are not bere, gentlemen, to question their motives ; we have not come to dictate any policy to you ; we have not come to intrude upon your private affairs. We have come as respectable beggars to ask you, in the name of God, to form yourselves into a solid body, and be as you were five or six years ago. Whatever may be the acrimonious feelings and divisions amongst yourselves we know them not. We believe in our hearts that the three divisions that exist amongst you are composed of honest, intelligent, and brave men. We all recognise that this meeting has to do what it possibly can to draw these three together and make them into one, so that as the husband and wife are two in one, the Dillonites, and the Healyites, and the Redmonites may form three in one. More than tnis I have no right to say to you. The Canadian delegation includes our chairman, the Hon. John Costigan, and our secretary, Mr. Cronin. We have with us Hugh Ryan, perhaps, the largest contractor in the Dominion of Canada, a man who has come here at great sacrifice ; and when, therefore, any section of the Dublin Press shall say that we are nobodies we throw the lie back in their faces. Have we not the right to expect from all parties courteous treatment ? Are we not entitled to fair play when we come from thousands of miles away? What right, therefore, has any body of men to stigmatise us before the people of Dublin and the people of Ireland as nobodies representing nobody ? I, for one, am in a position to say that myself and my colleague from the banks of Niagara were elected by the Irishmen of Niagara to bear to you Irishmen a message of peace and brotherly love, and the petition that you will do what in you lies to stand together man to man until in the end we have accomplished the great end for which we have been working — Home Rule for Ireland. On this platform to- day you have a distinguished example of the power of burying differ- ences. You have here one of the most distinguished Protestant gentlemen from Canada, the Hon. Mr. Blake, the leader, the head, and the chief for many years of the great Liberal Party of the Dominion of Canada. You have here an equally distinguished Catholic gentleman, the Hon. John Costigan, a member of the Queen's Privy Council in the Dominion of Canada, and of tl e Executive body that governs that country. These gentlemen have fought face to face against each other J) Ck^ y ^ ( ■■■• 1 ■ 1 1 1 1 S) • V FIRST DAY— REV. PATRICK LYNCH. i8i for thirty years — for thirty years they have never laid the shield or buried the hatchet, but when it was a question of doing anything for Ireland they stood together shoulder to shoulder and hand to hand. If, therefore, this distinguished Prostestant gentleman and this distinguished Irish gentleman have given this example to the parties that are divided, and if they have proved the possibility of union on a common platform, what is the reason that Parnellites, Dillonites, and Healyites cannot come together on this platform also ? My lord bishop, I thank you very much indeed for your courteous reception, and the ladies and gentlemen for the hospitable, kindly and generous brotherhood they have extended to us. We want to go back to our own people — we never may put our foot here again ; forty-nine years ago I was born in Cork — the city that John Mitchel, in Steinway Hall, described as the home of rebels, of fair women, and of handsome men — so we want to go back, perhaps, never again to see you, and we want to tell our people, from platform and from pulpit, and on the public streets, that the delegates from Canada met with a kindly, hospitable reception from the people of Ireland, and that we are grateful for it. One word more. A gentleman said to me, in my own city, " If they don't now settle we may despair of Ireland." " Despair," said I, "Never." " Despair of the people that have fought for centuries. So help me God, so long as there are three Irishmen living I will never despair of them." Rev. Patrick Lynch, Manchester — My lord and gentlemen of the Convention of the Irish Race, the words I shall address to you will be brief indeed. Other gentlemen are anxious to speak, and I shall take up but very few minutes of your time. Now, it seems to me that the main reason for the assembling of this Convention is to promote union amongst the people of Ireland themselves. If the people of Ireland were united they would stamp out dissension amongst the Parliamentary leaders in twenty-four hours. Gentlemen, this is the message which those who sent me here charge me to deliver. I speak as a Lancashire delegate, and the Lancashire delegates are here to-day to speak for a half a million of the Irish race in England. In the town of Manchester we have a much larger population of Irish either by birth or by blood than there are in the cities of Cork and Limerick combined ; and if in this magnificent gathering the cities of Cork and Limerick possess weight, as unquestionably they do possess weight, then I say Manchester, with a larger Irish population, ought to possess an influence as great. My lord and gentlemen, for the last twenty years we in Lancashire made ourselves political pariahs before the people of Ireland. In the elections for Poor Law Guardians, of members of the City Council, in the election for members of the County Councils, in every public gathering where the Irish vote could tell, the great principle that moved us to record our votes is the question; " Is the man an Irishman ? Is the man friendly to Home Rule and the cause of Home Rule ?" If he was, he got power and place by the votes of the Irishmen of Manchester. Last November I saw the blank walls of one of the wards of the city of Manchester placarded, calling upon the Irish voters to vote for a certain candidate tor the City Council because he was a friend of Ireland and a Home Ruler. Now, you all know that the Manchester City Council cannot grant Home Rule to Ireland ; but I think you will agree with me when (• il <: ^..^^ ?P^' "V r- J "—o — .^' . / C^ i8a IRISU RACE CONVENTION. I \ f 1 say tliat lliis mode of action — the t.ictics of the Irish in England — are exirenicly wise, It is by keeping Home Rule so prominently forward, and by making it the polestar of every other public question, that wo have driven home to the minds of the people of England the justice and honesty of Home Rule. I ask you to agree that the voice of Man- ciiester ought to have weight in an assembly of this kind. What I say of Manchester is equally true of all the great towns of Yorkshire, of England, and Scotland. In the ordinary state of political things in England, both parties are nearly equal, and it is the Irish vote that comes in the determiner of the political scale in England. You in Ireland may give your vote for Home Rule, but in Ireland you are simply the wooden shaft of the spear. It is the vote of the Irish people in England that makes the steel end of the spear. [A Voice — " What about Scotland ? "] I include Scotland with all my heart. Now, gentle- men, we are happy and proud to see representatives here from every country in the world almost where the Irish race are found. We have gentlemen here from America, from Canada, and from Australia, and we have a large number from the dear old land at home. Now, gentle- men, I think that if ever there was a truth it is this. America may send gold in abundance to help the cause, Canada may do the same and give wealth in like manner. You here at home may be as united as you will. England, if England pleases, can keep you down as she has kept you down for the last seven centuries. I say distinctly, America may give gold, and you at home may give help for unity, but if Home Rule is ever to be won it will be won more by the force of the Irish in England than by any other factor which assists in its winning. Having said this, I would not discharge my duty if I did not deliver in full the message which those who sent me here to speak for them commissioned me to deliver. It is this. They are becoming restive at the continuance of the dissensions in Ireland. If dissension merely existed amongst a half-dozen or dozen of the Parliamentary leaders they would give it but little thouGiht, but when dissension exists amongst the people it is this that dismays them in the cause of Ireland. Their message, therefore, to you, representatives of the Irish race at home, is this — " Close your ranks, stand together like men, shoulder to shoulder, and we, the Irish in England, will vote our last man, and spend our last shilling, and fight your battle to the last ditch on your behalf." Mr. Patrick Dunlevv, Philadelphia — I have come here from the "City of Brotherly Love," bearing no malice to anyone, but peace and goodwill. I need not tell you that it is the Quaker City of the United States, and in that relation I have great pleasure in supporting the reso- lutions of the Quaker gentleman of Dublin. I would remark, by the way, that I have been delegated to come here from an organisation through which all the money that has been raised in our city for the last sixteen years for the Irish cause has come, and, to all whom it may con- cern, " I can read my title clear." I have been much impressed with this land of my birth since I first set my foot upon it a few days ago. It appears that, after forty-five years' absence, I have not forgotten the faculty of perpertating Irish bulls. I have been much impressed, and particularly so here to-day, as it reminds me of the series of gatherings and public demonstrations and meetings that we have held in our city I Vr> % V FTRST DAY— REV. DR. FOLEY. It) " 1 since the d.iys of the Land League movement up to a few months ago, in favour of the Irish cause. The character and importance of this meeting can be testified to by the eminent and prominent gentlemen who are here on the stage to-day. Without boasting, I can say that our city has marched in the forefront of Ireland's freedom from the beginning until now. We have never failed in responding to your appeals ; and your very last appeal from the distinguished gentleman who has addressed you, Mr. M'Carthy, we generously answered it. But the unfortunate dissensions that sprung up among you here were carried across the water to our fair land, and permeated some of our best workers in the cause. But time has worked wonderful changes ; and I say to you to-day that in leaving the shores of America for this Convention, I was clasp;d heartily by the hand and bid God-speed and success by the men who differ with me. I can, without presumption, say to you that I represent Parnellites, Healyites, and Nationalists to-day. I can say to you that their wish and their prayer is for unity, and I trust in God that here in this collective representative Convention there is wit and wisdom, statesmanship, disinterested love of our land and of her cause, sufficient to rise superior to all difficulties, and find a way out of this miserable condition. Do this, and I can go home, and with renewed energy and renewed effort, turn to the work of restoring confidence, and with that confidence will come again our suppurt ; and with a united front, and pressing home the essential question of Home Rule, it is but a few years, I firmly believe, until you will enjoy it. Rev. Dr. Foley, Nova Scotia. — My lord and gentlemen, I think that this Convention has commenced with very hai)py auguries. We have received a letter from the workingman's Pope — the democratic Pope Leo XIII. — and the most rev. chairman of this meeting is an Irish Bishop who talks tersely, directly, like a man, and with a courage that has placed the men of his race always in the forefront of the battle. I see around me gentlemen who are famed the world over, and I am convinced that their political sagacity will crown with success the cause of Home Rule, imperilled though it may be. That this Convention, gentlemen, meets at the instance of a Canadian Archbishop is for us Canadians an object of legitimate praise, but that it meets for the pur- pose of proclaiming to all Irishmen of goodwill the joyous tidings of unity and peace, is a matter of higher import and of more heartfelt congratulation. I am not too sanguine when I say, though I be an Irishman, that round the world ring the confident congratulations of the Irish race. They are confident that to-day is the starting-point with a revivified Irish nationality. We have heard in our country reports of disaffection and disunion, but remember that they emanated from the Press that has ever striven to extort a verdict against Irishmen, and we did not believe them in their entirety. Yet we knew that the embers of discontent were smouldering ; that sooner or later they might develop into a consuming blaze, and leave only ruins where once stood the fair fabric of the Irish National Party. This we knew, but our only hope is that this Convention— the wise counsels of this Convention — may pre- vail in effecting a complete reunion. Wt: are not here to-day, ladies and gentlemen, either to speak of or to criticise the past. We are here simply to look to the future, and it seems to me that no man, no matter ■^ i! V v^ ^c d >? 1 y^ ( ^•A _ o-. ,>'<1 <i FIRST DAY-REV. DR. FOLEY, Its in what light he may regard this Convention, can reasonably duny our right and privilege to say a word at the present juncture. 1 have been sent here by the Irishmen of Ilahfax, and instructed by them in the most solemn manner not to say one word of a denunciatory character against any gentleman who has upheld the fame and loyalty of the old land, against any members of the Irisii I'arty who have, to ciuote the words of Mr. Gladstone, made the cell a national shrine and the prison garb a dress of the highest honour. And we, the delegates from Nova Scotia, ask you, " Will you not send us back with a message that may re-awaken the old-time enthusiasm, and convince us that the principles for which Irishmen are battling are greater than any man or section ?" An Irishman of Halifax said to me the morning before I started: "When you go to Ireland, tell them, for God's sake, not to spend their days sjieechifying, but get down to some practical business. Tell them to lay down some commonsense platforn) on which all Nationalists can stand." And we are sent here not to identify ourselves with any party. We come from a democratic country, where the rule of the majority prevails, and we wish that the will of the majority of the elected repre- sentatives of the Irish people should prevail in the administration of Home Rule affairs. We stand by the principle of majority rule, and any man who obtains a majority of one vote, be he any member of the Irish Party, no matter how he may be called, will have our support in the National movement. The Irishmen of Halifax behind me beseech you to bury the carrion of dissension that stinks in the nostrils of decent men. Give us a guarantee before we leave this Convention that we may on public plat- forms and in the Press plead your cause without indignity and without subjecting ourselves to the taunts of men who would say that Home Rule is a mere fanciful speculation. What joy was ours when the hereditary English statesman made a speech in which he said : — " The flowing tide is with us." What joy was ours when unity brought us to the verge of triumph. But the old drama was once again enacted, and Irishmen were divided. Halifax and Nova Scotia are one with you and your struggle for right, for the promotion of your industries, and for the shapmg of your own destiny. They beg me to tell you that if they are prosperous, if they share in the blessings of a Christian civilisation, if they stand together irrespective of politics in the determination to shape their own destinies — it is as the result of union. Our Archbishop— to show what a democratic city it is — our present Archbishop, the Most Rev. Dr. O'Brien, enjoys the distinction of being President of the Royal Society of Canada, a society that contains some of the most prominent scientific and literary men in the country. Our Lieutenant-Governor rejoices in the good name of Daly j the Mayor who preceded the present man had the Irish name of Keeffe ; and I mention these matters to show the true democratic character of the country where the majority must prevail. I am convinced that you will send us back to Halifax with a message to gladden the hearts of Irishmen who are confident that this Convention will shield our country from the destroying rays of internecine dissension. Close up your ranks. Do not, I beg of you, cause us to hang our heads for shame. Do this, and I tell you on their behalf that you will have the material and moral support of all Irishmen ot good a u -nn r -^, «, i < i86 iniSn RACE CONVENTION. ! will. Yon will have the admir.ition of your cncmici, nnd of o'l who ran appreciutu the work of a united nnd duteruiincd race. I hope this ('on- vcntion may l)i; ahli; to place m\ the N.ilional Registry this entry ; — " In the month of .September, 1896, in Dublin, the Irish I'arty was regener- ated in the xaviiig waters of unity by the ('anadian Arc hbishoj), with the greater Ireland as its sponsor, and was given for its legitimalo parents the majority of the representatives of the Irish people." The Chairman — There is a telegram from Bolton, England, which I will ask Mr. Davitt to read. Mr. Daviit, M.P. — The following telegram has just been received :— The memhcm of the Nalinnnl I.ca(;i'e "f Orcal Britain send Rrfelinpto Irelnnd'n lon> lUAemlilcd in council, ami |>i»Y tliai (!<kI may liless llivit ileiiln'ratlon^, nnd lirini; Scace and unity to Ireland. May llie lirtt tliuu^lit of all be Ireland over all. liuU ave Ireland. Mr. Kennedy, Wellington, New Zeal.ind — My lord and gentlemen, you are aware that I come from probably the most remote country represented here today, a country that is as large as Great Britain and half of Ireland combined. Our population is small, only three-quarters of a million, and the Irish population in the colony is only one seventh of the whole. We therefore know what it is to be in a minority. Now, the question upon which we are sent here is the question of unity. If there is any other mode of ruling a country than the rule of majority we would like to know it. New Zealand was the land of ex|)erimental legislation. We tried many lines of action, but we never discovered any other means of ruling except the rule of the majority. A celebrated politician had said, " The privilege of the minority is to become a majority." We have a representative Parliament on the widest possible scale, and there is no particular love between the two parties — the "ins" and the "outs" — and the minority tries to become the majority. We ajipeal to the Irish people to sink their differences, and if they find in the course of time that any of their members go wrong, then let them go down to the people and oust them. The majority must bind the minority. We Iiishmen in New Zealand are ardent Home Rulers, and there are other men who are not Irishmen who sympathise with the Irish cause; but they now point to the divisions amongst Irishmen, and Irishmen are not only discouraged, but they are made a laughing- stock by those dissensions. I was, therefore, sent to Ireland to point out the absolute necessity of unity and majority rule. The Chairman — There is a telegram from Quebec, which Mr. Davitt will read. Mr. DAVirr, M.P., read the following telegram — Hon. John Costigan, care Chairman, Irish National Convention. — Represent ui. Meeting Irishmen tonight unanimously resolved send Convention brotherly greetings, heartiest sympathy. Pray God bless your labours with much success in interest of union of Irishmen at home and abroad in the grand cause of Home Kule and fair play to Ireland. — Felix Carbrav, Chairman. Rev. George F. Marshall, Manchester, New Hampshire — My lord, ladies and gentlemen, I do not appear here for the purpose of making a speech. Enough has been already said to convince every honest man in this gathering that our Durpose here, and our purpose in FinST DAY-REV. GEOROE F. MARSHALL 187 (. I coming arross the ocean, w;is to try and induce divided Nationalists in Ireland to throw aside their dissension and disunion and to work all together once more for our dear old country. VVe have come here to urge upon you to cast aside your differences and endeavour to form once again a grand uniti'd party, such as we had a few years ago^a party that would suffer dictation from nobody, and that would compel that despot, KngLtnd, to give Ireland relief from the oppression under which she is suffcrmg. I do not come here to speak on behalf of the one party or the second party or the third party. I appreciate the men who hciong to those parties. I give them credit each of thinking that they are on the right road. When I was leaving the United States and now, I may say, 1 had and have an open mind as to which of the three parties was the best to obtain Home Rule for Ireland. It is for you to decide, and to decide by giving a majority. And when you have given that m.ijority you should stand by that majority, giving towards the minority all defer- ence, but, at the same time, seeing that that majority shall rule, and also insisting that the gentlemen who shall be elected by that majority shall have perfect control of the party, as the potter has control of the clay in which he works. I say that party should be in his hands in that way, and that he should insist they should all work together to advance the interests of Ireland, and endeavour to take away the shame attached to our dear old land — that shame which discord, dissension, and dis- union have brought upon her. Say to your leader when you have elected him ; " You were elected for a certain end ; for that you must fight, sinking all minor differences for the common good." Let us see such a state of things, and then we can demand our rights from one of the greatest powers on earth. Years gone by it was a hard thing to build up an Irish party, but as years rolled by the party, once started, grew and grew until it became one grand united party, and even until it was courted by English parties. VVe want a party now on the same lines. We want a parly now that will work firmly and steadily on the same lines. It is of no importance to us, delegates who have come across the ocean, whether it is the tried and true John Dillon who will lead the party ; it is of nc importance to us whether it is William O'Brien or Mr. O'Connor who will lead the party ; it is of no importance to us whether it is Mr. Healy who will lead the party. No ; but it is of the utmost importance to us that one man shall rule, that his rule shall be strong, and that it shall be obeyed ; in fact that he shall rule, as we say in Irish, with l«'li laimiv. We were told before we left the United States that our efforts would be of no use, and that it would be useless for us to inter- fere. Yes; but I did not believe those statements, and. I do not believe them now, when I see in the chair of this historic gathering a descen- dant of the O'Donnells. I have confidence in a Convention composed of such men. Here we have a man who comes to the front as the friend of Ireland presiding at this meeting, and brings new confidence and new strength to our country ; and with this new confidence and new strength, I hope we shall be able to go back to our friends across the ocean and tell them that there is a fair prospect of union, and that after all what was going on was only a little row and a little skirmish, and that the shame which dissension and disunion brought upon Ireland will shortly be wiped out / r ■ "'^\%. 1 88 HUSH RACE CONVENTION. k:":: i.> ]itii\ v.] /']f .^ Very Rev. M. A. Clan.jy — I, too, have been sent with a message of pc.ice and goodwill and reconciliation from the iron-bound coasts of Newfoundhnd to the fair Green Isle of Old Erin. Though I cannot boast of represp- Jng any very large number of Irishmen, or any very large country, as far as population is concerned, nevertheless, though we are only a small section of people, we are animated with the same im- pulsive love of Ireland, the same great desire for Ireland's freedom that the most boid-hearted in Ireland can possibly feel. You do not know, and you cannot feel the burning shame that comes into our faces when we are told over and over again : " What good are you Irishmen doing at all ? What is the reason that for even one sacred moment, when in that moment you might possibly touch the goal of liberty, you cannot be united amongst yourselves?" My colleague and I from Newfoundland come here to implore you to grasp our hands in brotherly love, that we may be united as one man in the demand for Home Rule. But as the most necessary thing you must be united amongst your- selves, ard I fancy that from this great Convention must go forth a manda'e, strong and powerful, and irresistible, that will com- mand unity amongst the Irish Parliamentary Party. A great deal is said about majority rule. All of us who live in self-governing coun- tries, such as Newfoundland, must admit majority rule, and although we are a very small number of people we can manage our own affairs. No doubt we have occasionally a little friction, but it is oi.'y now after Home Rule has been obtained. Before this Convention assembled I believe an effort had been made to unite the various sections into which un- fortunately our party is divided. These approaches were made by men who had been previously in a kind of way political enemies. They were not very cordially received, however, but there should go out from this Convention a mandate insisting that those now separated should come together and be of one fold. There is very little use, after all, in harping all the time on this unfortunate want of unity. No doubt, within p, very short time since, we who followed the debates in the English House of Commons often lamented and often groaned for one brief hour of blind old Dandalo. We wanted the master hand and powerful mind of Charles Stewart Parnell. Not many more words do I intend to address to you for th,» present ; but I am reminded here to-day of a story I read a great many years ago when the Nation was the people's voice. It is the story of the revolution in Spain in the year '42, and the hero of this story said — " Neither Christina, nor yet Don Carlos, and let our rallying cry be ' Liberty for Spain.'" And I will say likewise — " Neither Healy, nor Redmond, nor even John Dillon, but let our rallying cry be 'Liberty for Ireland.' " Rev, Edward S. PnitLiPS, Pennsylvania — Most rev. chairman, fellow-delegates, ladies and gentlemen, I did not intend when leaving my home in America to make an address at this Convention, for I believed, as most Americans believe, and what most Irishmen know, that there is if anything too much orating in Ireland. I came here not to make a speech but to do something. I was not born in Ireland. I would like to have been born in Cork or Tipperary after the reputation these two worthy children have given of these two places. I may say, as we are all giving something of our pedigree, that my parents were married at the foot of ) ' -''-^ \w:. \ I \i .V vEnr HEV. dean iiarhis. (See pp. 57, '178, 21)2, 313.) liEV. PATHICK LYNCU. (Sce'pp. 69, 181.) C ) PATRICK DUNLEVY. (See pp. 62, 182.) .<:— r-N VERY REV. WILLIAM FOLEY, D.D. (See pp. «5, 183.) '...^:^ 7f^^ Acy i! / .'J 190 IRJSH If ACE CONVENTION. Nephin Beg, and if they remained there a short time I would not have been born in America, and as our young friend, Dr. Foley, said, it is no fault of mine if I am not an Irishman. I came here to represent the most intensely patriotic organisation in America — the Ancient Ordei of Hibernians, representing directly about ten thousand anthracite coal- miners in Pennsylvania, and the particular district from which I have come as a delegate is Lucerne. Therefore, I have a right to speak on behalf of Irish unity. I have been told by my fellow members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians to counsel unity if necessary, and it is not necessary to speak of unity, but for God's sake to do something for unity and for Ireland. Gentlemen, we have heard a great deal al out unity. That word " unity " is magnificent all the world over — in America, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Great Britain, and Ireland, when it is on paper, but I ha*-e not yet heard one suggestion as to the means of promoting unity in Ireland. I have heard, with which I must disagree, one delegate say tyranny is necessary among the bosses — among the leaders. Gentlemen, I think that there is a great deal of trouble in the ambitions of leadership, and I hope tl at out of this Convention there will arise one whom Ireland can trust (A Voice— Sexton). I can't dis- countenance the magnificent work of the present chairman. I admire him for the work that he has done, and as all the speakers have said, and the magnificent orator from the North of Ireland, O'Donnell, has said, Ireland is greater than any man, Ireland is greater than leaders, and if the leaders be at fault then the people should know how to right the wrong. The people should be the law, and should rule. I live in a country in which there is government of the people, for the people, and by the people, and every time I'll swear by the people, because with the people all united it makes no difference about leaders — the country cannot go wrong. If, gentlemen, out of this Convention will come something good for the people of Ireland, for the proper representation of the people of Ireland, I care not who is leader, I'll go back to the patriotic Order of Hibernians (Board of Erin) and tell them I did not come in vain to the land of my fathers. The Chairman — The proceedings of to-day will close with another speech. We have had a great advantage of hearing at considerable length the splendid messages that hav ; come to us from our friends abroad, and the delegates of the Convention have had an opportunity of digesting a good deal of the proposals that are put forward upon the agenda paper ; hence, it is my purpose on to-morrow, please God, while allowing to the utmost of my power all the latitude of discussion, to make a good way through the agenda paper. I hope to-night ycu will be able to consider the resolutions, and, therefore, while taking occasion to-morrow to explain thoroughly your views with regard to them, I think it would be possible for you to come to a conclusion, and, if necessary, to p. division on them, without very long debate. I may mention that in connection with resolution (i), of the group "A," on looking over the paper I find resolutions " L " and " M " germane to it, and they shall be taken early to-morrow in conjunction with it, and likewise the resolution of which notice has been handed in by Father Flynn, Waterford, which very probably he will move as an amendment to the resolution that appears first on Mr. Webb's list. AS V -^ II FIRST DAT— MR. JOHN FERGUSOX. 191 ■•',/ J Mr. John Ferguson, Glasgow — My lord and fellow countrymen, after the magnificent addresses which you have been listening to, and particularly after the address delivered by the distinguished ecclesiastic who occupies the chair, and under whose presidency I am proud to-day to speak, I feel that it is, indeed, too much at this late hour to ask you to listen for more than a very few minutes to the words I would like to say to you. I come from a land once hostile but now united in friend- ship for Ireland. I come from a country where we had to fight for our political rights and political existence as Irishmen — a fiercer fight than any you have had perhaps in this or any country in the world. We have had Irishmen shot on the platform while maintaining our green flag above. We have had bullets through our windows to tell us of the hostile feeling of the Scottish people. That day has passe 1 away, and we roused the spirit of Celtic kinship amongst the Scottish people, and to-day Scotland stands solid for Home Rule. My lord, my eye fell at once upon the words upon the scroll at the back of the hall, and I went back in thought twenty-three years to the great Convention. I looked at the crowded gallery here and I thought of the gallery in the historic Rotunda, when, under the great Isaac Butt, we met there, 1,200 delegates, the best Parliament Ireland had seen for seventy-three years. We were then defying the law, for let our American and Australian friends take this back with them, that in those days such a meeting as this subjected every delegate to imprisonment and fine ; it was contrary to law to hold a delegate assembly in Ireland. But our grand old Irish- man showed us how to break the law, and by-and-by they had to repeal it because we were too many for them. T3ut in those days " God Save Ireland " would not have been placed upon the gallery of our Convention. We have advanced since then. The names of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien — another name should be there, you know it — it is in Giasnevin. There should be many other names, but there should be another martyr added to the three ; he came from Glasgow. The Convention reminds me of something that then interfered with unity in our ranks — one the broken remnant of the gallant Fenian movement, which had not yet quite made up its mind that the unconstitutional battle should be no longer fought. Let no man fear to name the Fenian Brotherhood. Has not William Ewart Gladstone, that distinguished Englishman, said — the words are not Ferguson's words, but Mr, Gladstone's words — " The depth and intensity of the Fenian movement has taught me the necessity of legislating to avert a danger from the Empire? " And sai({ that greatest of all English statesmen, that highest-minded and purest man of all English statesmen, although he has often gone wrong, said he, " It has been said that they are the scum of the Irish race ; but my friend Mr. Maguire's book shows to me that the Fenians are the very cream of the Irish race." That, my lord, was provoked by those who put up " God Save Ireland " at the meeting. I apologise for the digression, and I go on with my subject. There was another element of dissension at the meeting ; that element inherited the glorious traditions of O'Connell, the glorious traditions of the Young Ireland Party, and it was not prepared to turn aside from the simple Repeal of which we heard a good deal, and which gave us a good deal of trouble, even for Isaac Butt's grand scheme. But ultimately we I I *'., ■K (Nr,;| r-. ^ Ll. ''"\f 193 772/^/7 TZ.IC^; CONVENTION. conquered, ultimately we had a unity in Ireland for years; and oh, fellow-countrymen I what was the result of that unity ? Look at its result. The Established Church — the Church in which I was born and to which I belong — the Established Church was disestablished and put into an honest and honourable position, in which it is now. And the landlords, the foreign garrison in Ireland, that plundered it of twelve millions per annum, that have wrought such havoc in the land of the O'Donnells — ah, we clipped their wings ! Two or three millions out of their income are to-day in the pockets of the Irish people. Not much, I admit, but still it is something. But better than all, we have established the do:trine that they had no right to any of it whatever. We sent a Commission up to the Highlands of Scotland which wiped out all the arrears — you have not quite got that far yet — wiped out all the arrears and took forty-five per cent, off the rent. But we established by our united action Land Courts in Ireland which asserted the principle that no man should pay rent for any improvements of his own or those of his prede- cessors in title. I admit that, because of your disunion and because of your want of loyalty to your principles and your party, that has not been carried out as well as it would, but now is the time for a forward march. We have taught these men that they must no longer gather where they have not scattered, or reap where they have not sown, and now is the time for a united forward march. Oh, brothers dear, we must not again by our dissensions lose the vantage ground we have won. I am told all round no good will come of your Convention ; it will be just a large crowd of enthusiastic people ; they will cheer unity, but anoiher crowd could be got up on the other side to-morrow. Not a bit of it. God Almighty has made mankind thus — that although some men upon any given subject may be so prejudiced, may be so full of hate, or of love, that they are unable to see the broad principle of truth, yet the great majority of men upon any one question can be taught that Magna est Veritas et prevalebit — we will make the truth prevail. I have been excited by the magnificent speeches, and have got into an enthusiastic spirit by the gathering of the nation and the sea-divided Gael on the platform. I want now to deal shortly with one question raised lately in England, and by the Times newspaper in particular. It says there are now only four and a half millions of people in Ireland, and that we are so weak that we cannot get what we want. The Celt is gone with a vengeance, and the Times boasted that the Celt would soon be as scarce as a Red Indian on the shores of the Manhattan. But in relation to the foreigner the Celt is just as numerous in Ireland as ever he was, and he is armed with a power he never had before, and Ireland can now be properly represented in the House of Commons. But, then, what if Irishmen have gone with a vengeance ? They are armed with a hundred tim^s more power in foreign lands, and wherever the English flag flies there, too, are found members of the Irish race. The Alabama claim would never have been pressed home but for the Irish population in America, and the Venezuelan question, which is giving England so much trouble — I venture to think that some of our fellow-countrymen have something to say to that. The Celt has gone away with a vengeance, but he is coming back in many ways. He is not coming back with the green flag flying over shotted guns, but he is sending the produce of his \r r\ '3 w r v>^;:*) .1 / »■■ J r^. y<^ FIRST DA Y—CORRESrOXDEXCE. •93 '< I .^\ ^ ^ vb v^ 7 adopted country into England and is breaking down her monopoly. Now, too, we can return eighty-six members of Parliament to the House of Commons. We are not loyal umler the present circumslancts, and we cannot be loyal under the i)resent circumstances, but we offer Kngland a chance of making us loyal, if we get a National assembly in Dublin to manage our National affairs, wc are satisfied to have an Imperial House for the Emi)ire, in which Ireland should be properly represented. Supposing Englpnd exposes itself to the world by muzzling our members, by putting them out — and I admit they have the physical power to do that — then where is the constitutional assembly ? Under these circumstances, is not the Government in Ireland manifestly a coercion Government ? England in these days cannot afford to rule Ireland with the sword ; England must appreciate Ireland, and here we offer her the hand of friendship, but wc must have national selfgovern- ment. " Oh ! brothers, Rather close to keip The land we'll win once more ; Division were the direst curse That darkens now our door. The God of Nations musters us, And leads us forth once more ; Now who can break what He has bound. While aach to each is true i " And when the nations onward march In belter days to be, Our Irish (lag shall lloat Amongst the banners of the free. Its colour then will speak of hope Like sunshine's glistening sheen, And all the world be better For our wearini; of the green." I have much pleasure in supporting the resolutionj. Mr. D.wiTT, M.P. — The Convention will now adjourn until ii o'clock to-morrow. The doors will be open for delegates at 10.30. The following telegram has just been received by Mr. John Dillon : — A meeting of advanced Ulstermen, held in Wolverhampton yesterday, wish you, for Ireliind's good, to be firm and just in pressing for release of political prisoners. Please read to meeting. —James IIarvev. The Convention then adjourned at 4 o'clock. [Of the many letters handed to the Press at the conclusion of first day's proceedings by the Secretaries, the following were printed. They are arranged in order of dates.] Archbishop's House, Logan Square, Philadelphia, July 10, 1896. To Messrs. Thomas Addis Emmet, M.D. ; John D. Grimmins, Joseph F. Daly, and Others. Gentlemen, — I am greatly honoured by ;our invitation to act as a delegate-at- large from the United Stales to the Irish Race Convention, to be held in Dublin on September 1st, 1S96. Nothing but a sense of duty woulil prevent my acceptance of thia honour. I have made appointments for Confirmation and other functions for 2 C n ^^r^-^r-"-^ z?:^ > I 1 -. ,- \ ^ M l^yu it: ' i I > •. } i !,/,,." JIAIITIN KKNNKDY. (Si'C pp. Wi, l«i.) HEV, GKOUGK V. MAnSIIALU (Sec-pp. 0?, 180.) ;) '/ ;■';. UEV M. .\. CLANCY. (Seo pp. 71, 188.) UEV. EDWARD .S. PHILLIPS. CSco pp. 72, 188, m.) ^ ' ^ FIRST DA Y— CORRESPONDENCE. 195 September, whicli render it iinpossiliL' fi)r me \'< be absent for tlie time le.niin-d to attend the Convention. I wish it from my heart entire sutceaa, unU bhail uul (urj;ct to pray (or thb object in the Holy Sacrifice. Yours very faithrully, •* r. J. KVAN, Archbishop of I'hiladelphin. 'I Mackay, Queensland, July Ijth, lSy6. To THE I'RESIDENT ANt) REPRESKN lATIVRS OK THE IklSIl NATIONAL CONVENIION, UUU.IN. (jentlcmen, — We, the undersigned, on behalf of the members of tlie II.A.C.U. Society, No, 233, St. I'atrick's Uranch, Mackay, Queensland, conpratulate the pro- moters of this Convention, and we hope that by its means the antag<inism to Ireland's best interests will be entirely obliteiated, leaviny; a united party, for without unity representation becomes a farce, and you cannot expect the support liom Australians which otherwise we would gladly contribute to the cause of Home Kule for Ireland, lielieve us that in Australia there are thousiinds of Irishmen, and others who have watched with painful anxiety the constant bickeiinys ot Ireland's supposed reiiresenta- tives. What concessions can you expect if by yonr own comluct you merit the oppro- brium and laughter of your enemies ? We know that the represenlalives cf Ireland ate as capnble and intellectual as any other representation of like importance, but whdc this division in the ranks exists, so long shall Ireland- suffer. It is with pleasure we notice the elVorts of Mr. Davitt and others advocating the liberation ol the Irish |)oli- lical prisoners, ;ind hope their eflorls will be rewarded. W ilh our best wishes lor the success of your Convention, we remain, youis, etc., CllAS. I'KAZER, President. John 1'. Down, Vice- President. MiLllAEl. Bakkon, Treasurer. CiiAKi.iis Mezuek, Secretary. D. Maricey. Adelaide, S.A., July I4lh, lSj6 John Dit.l.ON, Esq.. M. P., Chairman. Irish National Federation, 24 Rutland Sipiare, Dublin, Ireland. l.iear Sir, — The members of the South Australian Branch of the Irish National Federation deeply regret that they are unable to appoint a delegate whose business engagements permit of his leaving for Dublin in time to take part in the Pan-Celtic Convention. At the same time they are unwilling to allow the occasion of a gathering, so important from its constitution and objects, to pass without expressing a hope that the cause of Ireland may be furthered by the deliberations of the Convention. Nothing is more desired by the sympathisers in South Australia with the cause of Irish autonomy than the reunion of its supporters at home. They feel that the greatest strength of their opponents lies in the division of the forces that tight for Home Rule, and that a consuinmation so devoutly to be wished for as reunion ought to be possible in the case of those of one blood and aim. From the visit of Mr. J. K. Re<lniond and his brother twelve years ago to South Australia, to the split in the Irish Party, the move- ment for Home Rule gained ground here. The Press of South Australia, reflecting local opinion, met the demands of the Nationalists with sympathy or fair criticism. But the division in your ranks at home checked the growth in our colony of sympathy with Home Rule. It has, to a great extent, diminished the power of your country- men to help you by discounting, through the so-called object lesson afforded by internal dissensions, the effect of their advocacy of your cause. 'ihe Irish, and the descendants of Irish in South Australia, still fervently long for the success of your efforts to establish an Irish Parliament to ileal with purely Irish affairs. They believe that in local autonomy lies the solution of the Irish question, and the strenj;th of the empire. With that obtained, the abilities and energies now spent in the fight for a change in the political relations of Great Britain and Ireland would be directed to the i;ood government and development of the country, wifi promise of excellent results. But they feel that they can do little to increase thv . \ / i-:.":t. 1^ ^ (t r i ill 4 ■v*-^" 196 7/^/5// /dJt'JS; CONVENTION. mcnsurc of sympalliy cxlemled to you here wliile the division exists In your ranks at home. They, Ihercfnre, wish ymi (loH-specil in vour elTorts, throiijjh the I'.inCohic Convention, to tiring nliout reunion. May your delilieintions meet with liuccess worthy of the f;rcat issue at slake, and ul the self-sacrificing zeal und patriotic aspirations uf those who take part in them. r.iithfully yours, P. M M. r.l.VN.v, I'lcsidcnt Irish Naticmal Fcdera'ion, .South Australia. Irish National Federation, Auckland, N.Z., 18th July, 1896. John Dti.r.oN, Esq., MP. Dear Sir, — I have the honour by direction of this branch of the Irish National Federation to forward you the following resolution unanimously and with acclamation passfil at last night's meeting : — "That we, the Auckland Uran h of the Irish National Federation in meeting assembled, in common with all loyal supporters of, and sympathisers with, the cause of Ireland at home and abroad, records Us conviction of the paramount necessity for unity amongst the supporters of Home Kule, and <lesires in the most earnest manner to convey to the National Convention to be held in Dublin the unanimously expressed wish and hope of this branch that, ignoring all diflerences and prejudices, and disre- garding all considerations, the result of the deliberations of the Convention may he a resolve to cordially join together in and maintain a laslini; course of united action, upon which depends the success of the Irish Home Kule movement.'' I have only to add my own prayer that our earnest wishes and desires may, as the outcome of the Convention, under Divine Providence, bs consummatid I am, dear sir, yours laithfuliy, Jos. A. Toi.F, President. M. J. .SllEAHAN, Hon. Sec. Catholic Summer School of America, Plattsburgh, N.Y., July 20th, 1896. My De.ir Mr. Ryiin, — Many duties devolving upon me at the opening of the Summer School session have hindered me from answering your letter of invitation to act as delegate to the great Convention at Dublin, Septeml)cr 1st. I am .orry to say that it will be impossible for me to accept it, much as I may wish to do my liest towards the realisation of our hopes for general unity of action in the great cause in which a people's interests are centered. I have been the prime promoter in bringing to Worcester, Massachusetts, for the 7th of September, a great demonstration of the temperance forces of Massachusetts, and it would be unbecoming of me to be absent. It would be like " Hamlet " without the Dane. As the success of the movement depends upon my personal endeavours, I have turned the matter over in many ways, and have come to the conclusion that it is absolutely necessary for me to remain at home for this event. I hope that the distinguished delegates who will attend the Convention from all parts of the world will be successful in teaching Irish representatives the necessity of unity. In particular I hope they will impress upon them the lesson which we have learned so well in America — that majorities rule, and that all men should turn their interests to the common cause of mother country. I appreciate very gratefully the confidence of the Federation in selecting me as one of its delegates at large, and I would certainly strain many points to act in that capacity to the best of my ability. You can realize, then, that it is a sacrifice for me to remain at home, but I feel that uiy remaining is demanded by duty to the interests I have gathered about me at that particular time. Please accept my grateful thanks and honour, and believe me, in the hoiies of unity, your friend, [Rev.] Thomas f. Conaty, ^/t-. I 'I /'V/W/' 1K\Y COURESI'OMU'.XCh:. "H Bunhti), N.Y., July J8lh. 1896. JUSEI'II I'. KVAN, I'.M]. My Dear Sir, -I bi-j; In nturn my licnrlfcll lli.inks, Ihrmiuh yoi', to ilio gciulc- men wliosu nimis arc signed 1(1 lIuMiivilatiun si> kindly sriit me. I'ltaso to tniivcy to tlii'm the hit;li iipprccialion in which I hold Ihc honour ihoy have ronferred iiiKin nie, ami n'.Mirc them that nothinu less than the inability to leave home at the staled time could prevent me from enioyinp the proud priviic(;e o( repr^senlin^J the Irish National I'ederntion of America at the Dublin Ctonventinn. I have lately added pastoral lalniura to my editorial duties, and the dual rcs|Hinsibilite» will claim my close personal attention lor some time to come. Again thanking the gentlemen named and yourself most heartily. I am, very sincerely yours, [Kev.J Tatkick Cronin. i , I llj King William Street, Adelaide, 2S1I1 July, iSyO. John Dit.i.ov, Ksq., M.P., nublin. Afy IJear Sir, — I enclose cutting which will appear in the S,<iillicin Cross 011 Friday next. It was wire<l to me from .Sydney, with reipiest to po-l it on to you, so ns to catch nn earlier mail than if sent from Sydney. Our branch of the I.N. Federation in Adelaide sent on a letter of congratulation and euconraKcincnt last mail, iind I have also written to Mr. IJavitt. I sincerely trust the Convention may lie the me.ins of uniting our people in an invulnerable phalanx to meet the common enemy, and I congratulate you on the high and responsible position to which you have l)cen elevated. We regret very much that South Australia wdl not be directly represented .at the Convention. Were my Ministerial I'arliamcntary dutiei not 80 imperative nothing would please me lietter than to attend. Very truly yours, J. V. O'LoGlll.lN, v.r., r.N.F. Extract from Sonlhcni Cross, Adelaide, re meeting in Sydney, 27lh July, 1896 :— ''TiiR rAN-CB!,ric CONVF.NTION. — We have received the following telegram from Sydney :— An enthusiastic meeting re ran-Ccllic Convention was held Monday night at Ihe Guild Hall, Sydney. Mr. F. B. Freehill occupied the chair. The sjHjakers were the Hon. R. E. O'Connor, lion. John Toohey, .Messrs. J. P Garvan, William EUard, Jos. Carlos. The following resolution carried — 'That this meeting records its unabated interest in the Home Rule movement, and urges upon the delegates to the forthcoming Pan-Celtic Convention that in order to secure the restoration to Ireland of her Parliament, it is essential that every legitimate means should be adopted to re-unite the National representatives under one leader.' " I 1> •' ;.^ '-I .'■■•■\) ■■< 5) \ ( i ---V College de Chezal-Benoit, Cher, France, A'linist 28th. To John Dillon, M.P. Dear Sir,— I am honoured with being the moi.!hpiece of my Irish ecclesiaslical friends here, who regret not to be able to sanction by their presence, but who at least assist by their prayers and wishes, the great and glorious Convention in which much of Ireland's weal is involved. Though estranged from the dear old land, like so many others who have tasted the bread of exile, our love of country remains ever woven round our hearts, as the love of our mother, and it is with our hearts and minds fondly straying over to green Erin that we watch and glory in our country's gallant struggles. Distance, however great, precludes us not from l)eing keenly interested in her faith, in her language, and her future. We, too, can feel the misery of Ireland far away, and it is with hearts grieved even to sadness at the spectacle of her seemingly never- ending calamities that wc pray God for her speedy happiness. Greatly we lament to ^w>" '- & l.^S Iinstl RACE CON VEST ION. Iwliolil tlic splril life irscil revull wliicli Mcm« lo tinimstf K fuw of our lioiicsl lountry iiifii, mill which issii hurlful to our Nntional inlcrcats, «hiKt i;riitifyiim lo evi-ry foe i)( Irclamrs riKhls nnd Irelanil'a welfare. Hut we rejoice at leiijjth to near Iriihincn alt the world over souniling the tium|ict of |>eace, and with one voice lilnmin^ disiicn- hion and calling fur unity. To elFcct thin unity at such a nioinunlouH crisin, your Imnicnse re-union is unilouhledly the lient ami surest nii in' In consequence, it rftlcclj no lilllo credit and hmiour on its talented promoters, as well as on the numerous dele){atcs who enhance it by their altcndancc, Itcsidvs, it lays the ground of a great and fervent hope -all a nation's rancour and bitterness crowding lo a burying point, and that |)eo[)le— the most heroic and virtuous on the face o7 the earth— Idendeil ti>(;ether both in views and aspiration^, will then get rundy for that other gicnt day of which the Convention is the harbinger, and on which all the wounds of Erin will Ix: healed and her tears wiiied away. Divided as they arc by their insane dissensions, all Irishmen concur in this one exalted sentiment- this one sublime sensation— their thirst after the hour and the inetVable desire of Ireland's freedom. Now it is that this hour is beaming with a cheering warmth and a seductive brilliancy, and any Irishman who refuses to sacrifice his parricidal passion and his bitter resentment on the altar of the Convention which is the altar of his country, obscures the fair prospect, and must no' only bo "unnational," but unnatural. The great and resiK-clable gathering will, we hope, be crowned with success, and thus, please Cod, Irishmen will henceforth stand shoulder to shoulder, and once again make Ireland a reunited National Ireland, and show the world " what Irishmen can do." I remain, dear sir, in the name of my Irish I'rofessors and Seminarists, yours failhlully in C. J. tUev.] Uanikl UucKl-Ky. Ashley House, .Staveley Road, Eastbourne, 38th August, 1896. Sbcrbtarv, Irish National Fbiiekaiiun, 34 Ruti.and Squarr, Dublin. Dear Sir, — I deeply regret that owing to ill-health, nnd having been for the last ten days laid up with inlluenia, I shall be unable to attend the Irish Race Convention on the 1st Keptcnd>cr, as I am nut yet well enough to travel, and my doctor will not allow me to do so for another week. I am, dear sir, faithfully yours, J. EUiiTACB JAMBSON [M.I'.] 12 Stories Alley, Leith, August jotli, 1896. To David Siieeiiy, Esq. Dear Sir.' -I'lease submit the enclosed resolution on liohalf of the Irishmen in Leith in the interest 01 unity and the Irish Parliamentary Party. Wishing you every success, I remain, dear sir, yours truly, Francis Donaghv. Leith, 30tli August, 1896. At a meeting of the T. D. Sullivan Rranch held to-day the following resolution was unanimously passed in view of the forthcoming gathering of representatives of the Irish Race in Dublin :— " Irish residents in Leith, Scotland, are desirous of impressing upon the people of Ireland the urgency of once and for all putting their foot on the neck of faction from any quarter whatever ; and we believe that the Irish people, after duly considering all phases of what has been the cause of disunion, should ask the promoters of faction through their constituencies to retire at once from public life and allow their places to be taken by those who are willing to pursue such a p<«licy a» will best serve the interests of the Irish people." .^.. ■J FIRST DA Y-^CnnRKSPnyDENCE. •99 T. Iliirkr, 9 Albert Strei-I, Ccmcliy Roai) Darnell. Au^unt joih, 1890. To David Shekiiv, M.P., Dulilin. Dear Mr. Sheeliy, — (!irciiinMnnccs prevent uii from liiinR pemonnlly reprfucntcil at the grent Convcnlion of our hcittlcrcil r.icc. cnn-c<|iiciitly wu aili>|it llii« method ol exprcHsing our feclhigii, SpcAkiiif; nn lieh.ilf of eifjhly iiu'nilx'rs >>( mir hrnnch, nml nn hehalf of the Nnlionnlisl ixipulaliim of Dai wen, wo arc solid for unity. Disunvioii now, at in llie past, is, and Ims l>een, the cmsu of our cmiiilry, her people, and her cause. Uur uiie desire then is to aee unity restoreil once mon- in the Natioiinlist ranks. Irish freeiloni must not he nacriliced for perioiial spleen : Ireland first, personal l-<iidutiun and andiitioii aflcr. No man shonld he allowed to lull ihu progress ofunily and freedom. The eyes of nil nations are locussed on your delilieralions to- day. Aye, the very spirits of departed heroes who loved lieland more than personal ambition, will he hovering over anil aliout you. SnrsKeM. (irattnn, I'hiod, Curian, Charlemont, Filzgeiahl, Tone, and Kniiiiet, O'Connell, Milehel. Matlin, Meagher, Hult, and Tarnell, they were nil for Ireland. Therefore, in (lod's name, close your ranks, show a bold front to the common enemy, and show the nations that Ihu Celtic race are both worthy ol and capalde of inana(;ing their own affairs. (iod bless your proceeding, and God save Ireland is the wi-.h of the Datwen Uranch. Signed on behalf of ihe Darwcn llranch, \Vir.Li.\M M'Cartiiv, Tresldcnt. Tllo.M.vs LuRKt, Secretory. Mouse of Commons Library. August 31st, 1896. D. Sun liv, Esf].. M.P., Diiblin. My Dear .Sheehy, — Your card of admission to the Convention received on Satur> day last. I regret that on account of pressing private nfTuirs I cannot at present leave London. I ho|ie sincerely that the issue of Ihe Convention's deliberations will be satisfac* lory to the people of Ireland.- -Yours sincerely, James O'Connor [M.P.] The following telegram was also read : — " To Chairman Irish Race Convention, Dublin. .South Islington Branch, Ixindon, hcaitily widi success to Convention, and sincerely hoi)e that lasting benefit to Irish cause may result from its deliberations, (iod save Iieiand. Caink, Presi- dent ; Slynk, Vice-President ; Miss LVNCll, Trctsurer." Letters regretting inab lity to attend and of sympathy with the Con- vention were received from Very Rev. Dean Beechinor, Launcestown, Tasmania ; Messrs. Thomas O'liiicn, Gormanstown ; and C M'Carthy, Ne.ith, Glamorganshiie. '■■. < I ' •v. -*v I ( ) JOHN FKllUlXiN. (^k•e pp. 73, m.) ALDEUMAN W. J. 8MYTU. (See pp. 78, '£U.) IIKV. I'VlllK'K I'. I'l.VN.v, (Heopii ,TU.-J(U,VUU '^X).) THOMAS I'OWKIl O'CJONNOIl, Bl.l'. (SCO 80, 201, 3U>.) "> f 101 ] SECOND OAY-JNi. Sfi rTI- MDER, 1S96. (' A The flmir was taken at ti o'clock by the chairman, 'liu Most Ry/. Dr. O'DoNNi.i.i., Bishop of Raplioc. Mr. Davitt, M.l'.— I have to announce that two ilcloKatcs from Anurica havo arrived — (loncral Martin T. MacMahon, of New Vcnk, ami Mr. Michael .Mur|)hy, of New York. I have also to annoimro tint I liave received from llohart, Tasmania, tlic ciodentiaK of another dekgatf from that isl.ind. The Rev. Kiljier 0'C;:ilia'.;han, of Mallow, one of the hon. sees, ot this Convention, is a[)pointed to represent South Tasmaiii.i. The CnAiHMAN — In the course of the procec lings yesterday n notice was handed in of a motion to limit the time of the speeches. Now, it may bo well to see liist what |)i()^res3 can be niade without any such limit. Resolutions I. and M' k" pr.ictically on the lines of the (list resolution proposed by Mr. Wiibb, and the convenient course, I think, will be to allord the j;enllen)en entrusted with those resolutions an op[)orlunily to speak, if they are so dis[)osed, on this I'irst resolution of Mr. Webb's, 'there is another resolution wliich does not a;ipi.ar on the agenda paper, to which I referred last ni({lil, and which, in a somewhat different form, will be p.oiiosed by Father I'lymi, of Waterford. I am not sure, but it may be an amendment to these resolutions, and if it bc(|uite convenient for Father Flynn now, I think it will help the progress of our deliberations if he addresses the assembly in the first place. The following resolution was under discussion when the Convention adjourned the previous day : — (1) Reunion. — ".Seeing th.it divibiom nmonqnt Irish N.itionalist repreicniativcj paralyse, to a great extern, llicir power ol servinc Itcl.iml, cast discrcilit on the country, and tend to alienate the support of tlie Irish Race, and to destroy their con- fidence in the clTicacy of I'arliainent.iry action, we record our (itm conviction that it is of the first importance to Inland that the Nationalist rupiesenlalives in I'arlianicnt should be reunited into one I'arty ; and, in the spirit of the recent resolution of the Irish I'arly, we declare that : 'In our earnest desire to accomplish that result, we are prepared to meet, on fair and equal terms, all Nationalists who will join in the attempt to re-constilule a united Home Rule I'arty, in which every su|>i)orter of the movement shall lie cordially received and justly considered, rejjardless of all (wst dilferencos, and havini; regard only to his capacity to render service to the ciminon cause.' We arc ylad to observe in the composition of this Convention and in the spirit shown through- out the country, marked eviilence of a growing tendency to reunion, and we invite the Irish Nationalist I'arty to take such luither steps us may to them seem calculated to yiomote the cause of reunion." * All the resulutiuns on the agenda paper will be found at the conclusion of Third Day's proceedings. 9D II J '. /' ■'^l / r -^. ' I ! ^h-'l aoa /7?7,9/7 BACE CONVENTION. \l ml -. > Kev. P. F. Flynn, P.P. — The amendment that I have to propose is worded as follows : — "That this Convention select from the delegates here assembled a committee of arbitration consisting of liome and foreign delegates, which committee shall be empowered to provide for the consideration and acceptance, if approved of by the Convention, a set of rules forming a common platform, upon which all Irish Nationalists may stand again united, and woik loyally together as a whole for the good of our common country." My lord, ladies and gentlemen — I rise before this magnificent assembly to propose this, what I consider to be the practical work for which this Convention has been summoned. Yesterday we had the advantage of hearing delegates from all the world over, I may say, and they all came empowered to act in this magnificent assembly, and I re- niirked that they scored a point when they said they came untrammelled, unijledged, unbiassed, and with only one idea, and that was a prayer and a request that the people of Ireland should be again united. We have heard, therefore, the prayer for unity, and each and eveiyone in this hall, his eye is hot to see a united Ireland again. Eloquence will not unite the people. Eloquence may please them and electrify them, ijui in order that the Convention may be able to say "zw//, vidi, vki" a common platform must be established, on which the people of Ireland shall be called upon to stand, as you have the power and the right to demand. If such a resolution as I am proposing be not adopted, the delegates will go home, and they will be able to say, " I have come and I have seen," but they will not be able to add the magic words, " I have conquered, I have put down strife, and I have put down faction." The business of this Convention is to form a platform upon which all Irish Nationalists may stand together, as of old, shoulder to shoulder, acting in concert, honestly, manfully, and practically, for the good of the country. It is not necessary, my lord and delegates, to enter at length into the necessity of a resolution or amendment of this kind. I think it will have the approbation of everyone who is honestly inclined to see a united Ireland again. The factionists will not respond to your call. It was not supposed that they would respond to it, and we have evidence to-day that they ignore it with contumely. But you, the Irish people — you have the power and authority to say "go," and they must go; " come," and they must come. You are the masters of the situation. In you rests the power — on you lies the heavy obligation of making the members and the people a united and compact body again. Are you prepared to do your duty ? If you are I say unhesitatingly that you will adopt the resolution that I have proposed to you ; and if you adopt that I think you will cut the ground from under dissension — you will have saddled the right horse, and all Ireland will know who are riglit and who are wrong. AVith these few remarks, I beg to propose formally the resolution or amendment that stands in my name. Alderman W. J. Smyth, Mayor of Waterford — My lord and fellow- countrymen, it is with a great deal of diffidence 1 presume to come before an assembly of this kind to-day to second any amendment or resolution. But, impressed with the importance of such a gathering as this is, I, as a consistent Nationalist all my lifetime, considered, on looking over the agenda paper yesterday with Father Flynn and some ' I' V71 ^ ^^ ) 7\ - J 1 1 A / n iil) "v. SECOND DAY— MAYOR OF WATER FORD. .-03 friends, that there was nothing practical on it to make the Convention end in any practical purpose being accomplished. I was more impressed by that on yesterday evening when the delegate from Pennsylvania re- marked that he had been listening all the evening and day to different speeches, but that he never heard a single suggestion as to the practical result of the Convention. As Father Flynn has properly said, eloijuence is very good, but eloquence will not unite us. And as we have met here to-day for the purpose of unity, I unhesitatingly appear before you to ask you to accept the resolution proposed by Father Flynn, or any amended resolution that may spring from it. I appear iiere to second that motion, as I said before, as an Irish Nationalist ; I am no man's man. I never was any man's man. I was always, in my humble sphere, my country's man, and it is for that purpose I ask you here to-day to consider, calmly and quietly, the resolution that has been proposed to you, because, unless some such resolution or kindred one is accepted, we will go as we came and end as we came. Gentlemen, it has been stated in canvassing this resolution that the different parties, amongst whom there is more or less friction, have been asked already to this Convention. They have been asked to this Convention, but they may naturally say that those who asked them had no power to ask them. (Cries of " They had.") I am only talking, gentlemen, on what is said. I am not expressing my own opinions ; but I say, when the mandate of this Convention goes out to them, I would then say that the man or the patriot — the man who professes to be a patriot, and refuses to respond to this Conven- tion here to-day, will take on himself a responsibility more fearful than has yet rested on any of our members, and a resjionsibility which, if I know my own countrymen, those wiioni he is obligated to will make him answer truly for. Gentleman, I am more impressed by this, because I come from a city which has taken no undecided part. The citizens of Waterford, for reasons satisfactory to themselves, and in which they are perfectly justified, have tak;n a certain course in this quarrel. I, as a citizen of Waterford, along with a great many others, have differed in that way, and we have a right to differ ; but unless some mandate of the kind that we propose is sent forward to them, how can I or any other man ask a man who differs from me in politics, and v ho has a right to differ with me — and honestly differs with me — how can I ask that man to surrender and say, " You are right and I am wrong ? " If you want to have unity we must go and meet them, and ask them to meet us. We must hold out the hand of fellowship to them, and say we have been differing, we have been dis- united ; now at last let these disgraceful differences end, and let us shake hands once more, and work together for our country's cause. We want no renunciation of principle, we want no recantation of errors. We may be wrong and they may be wrong. Let us come forward and say we are all working for the one end. The people are united. Unity is the one nolicy for attaining our right ; it is the miserable dissensions and quarrels of those that ought to be ashamed of the quarrels that have led to disunion. I have taken a life-long interest in tlie fortunes of my country, and I say it is time now for the people to take up the power which they possess — take it into their own hands ; and I reiterate the sentiments of Father Flynn when I say that the men who arc our leaders ^ (i ■ . 204 IRUII HACK COXVEXTION. ri^: {". It are tlie servants and not the masters of the people. I arr not actuated by any party or ]icrson;il consideration. There is no man in tliis assembly rcsjiccts the gentleman behind me more than I do ; but no m.itter who they are or what they are if they stand in the way of their country's union, let them go. I won't detain you any longer ; it is for you to say will you accept it or not. 1 ask you to accept it or some modified form of it. I understand this amendment will be opposed, and I ask you therefore, as a confederated body to-day, whoever proposes or criticises this amendment let him put forward some alternative. Let us have no carping criticism with no result. The proposer will acce|)t any modifi- cation of the amcndnient. Let any other resolution be put forward, and there will ije no warmer supporter of it to-day than me. Let us have some resolution of the kind, and not go away with nothing in our hands. Let us not make the Convention a farce and a fiasco. If we do fail in our efforts to-day it will not be my fault, and I'll go back home again regretting that the men wlio ought to be patriots and leaders of the people have not found themselves able to sacrifice petty jealousies for the common interest and honour of our poor country. Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P. — My lord bishop and gentlemen of the Convention, this body has shown itself an extremely responsive and faithful echo to the sentiments which brought it into existence. It was brought into existence for the purpose of putting down dissension and re-establishing unity in the Irish movement. It arose originally from a letter of the Archbishop of Toronto, followed up by a resol ition, to which I shall have to refer by and by, passed unanimously by the Irish Party calling this Convention together. And every gentleman who has ad- dressed this meeting has made himself also the faithful and responsive echo of the feeling which the Convention represents, that feeling being a desire for putting down dissension and for the re-estabhshment of unity. Yesterday we had, I think, one of the most remarkable and striking manifestations that an Irish or any other political body ever saw. We had a number of delegates from almost every part of the world, every single one of them, if not Irish by birth, Irish by extraction or Irish by sympathy, bringing before, not only us, but the larger world outside, the great fact which we ought always to remember, and especially in moments of depression and discouragement, that the cause of Ireland no longer rests upon the comparatively small number of Irish people within the Irish shores, but rests on the wider and stronger basis of a world- wide Nation. But as that array of speakers from all parts of the world brought home to us our strength, it also brought home to us the means by which that strength can be properly utilised, and our weakness there- fore removed, and the joint and unanimous appeal of all these gentlemen was that discussion should be put down and that unity should be restored. And, therefore, my lord bishop, if I were to approach the consideration of any proposal made from any quarter whatever in any other spirit than a spirit of trying to help to put down dissension and the restoration of unity, I would put myself at once in direct conflict with the dominant and overwhelming and passionate opinion, not only of this gathering, but of Irishmen wherever they are. And, therefore, my lord, I think I need scarcely assure this audience that I approach the con- sideration of Father Flynn's amendment in e.xactly the same bpirit as he V. ^. /r- ^) o w o o D 1 -1 3 f: I 1 I If-: -V:^ I i! s:r 'Cr— 306 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. („)■ f ^ his spoken, and as everybody else lias si)oken — namely, a spirit of try- ing to find some means of putting down dissension and restoring unity, and I am bound to say this, that, apart from the object with which this amendment was proposed, it recommends itself to my jud!,'ment and yours, I am sure, from the character of the man who proposed it. There is not even in this large gathering a more honest, a braver, or a more sincere priest or Nationalist in Ireland than Father Flynn, who proposed tiiis resolution, and I am perfectly sure that in the remotest recesses of his mind and of his conscience you could not find any trace or any desire, whatever, in proposing this resolution but the desire to put down dissension and restore unity, and, therefore, I approach this amendment as an honest amendment intention, proposed by an honest mind for an honest end, and the one test which I shall apply to it is, will this amendment carry out the purpose which it intends or will it not ? If It carry out the purpose then in heaven's name let us all support it. If it be destined to fail, to defeat the purpose of unity, equally is it our duty unanimously, or if not unanimously, by an overwhelming majority, to reject it. Well, now, I shall test it. A Voice — Give us the alternative. Mr. O'Connor — If my friend will allow me to proceed with my argument I am sure [ shall give it in a way to which no sane or suscep- tible man can object, and every opportunity will be given to accept or refute this argument. My lord bishop — I first must call attention to a single fact. I don't do it by way of complaint, but by way of elucidating the situation. In the first place an opportunity was given to every man in Ireland— to every Nationalist in Ireland — to present to this Conven- tion for consideration any proposal or any amendment which he desired. And, of course, the object was to give to this body, which has most important if not supreme functions to discharge and fulfd, adequate opportunity of reading in print and camly considering any proposal that was made. Well, the proposal of Father Flynn does not appear in the agenda paper. That to a certain extent takes the Convention at a disadvantage, but that is not the complete history of this amendment. I am glad that calm and better counsels have prevailed. Better counsels will always uUimately prevail in such cases. But I feel bound to give this Convention the original form in which this amendment was handed up to the chair. And here is what it was— Rev. P. F, Flynn — If I thought it well to change my amendment and to put it in the form in which I changed it before this assembly, I do it for a certain reason. I did it that it might commend itself to every individual in the assembly. I found on consideration that it might be ''ontcntious in the way in which it was worded, and I want to avoid contention if possible. I want to have no friction, and, therefore, upon advice I changed the resolution, because I was informed it would obtain a more general support if I did so. Therefore, I say it is unfair — and I submit the matter to the chairman — I say it is unfair to animadvert to a resolution that I never proposed. The Chairman — As Father Flynn's resolution reached me in its unamended form, and was seen here by a number of persons yesterday in its unamended form, including Mr. O'Connor, I don't think, on a strict point of order, 1 can rule against Mr. O'Connor reading the text. ■"^ r \ SECOND DAY— MR. T. P. O'CONNOR, M.P. 207 But for the harmony of the Convention I suggest a middle course to Mr, OTonnor, and that is without reading the resolution as amended in its ordinal form to give the Convention his memory of what it was. Mr. O'Connor — Of course, my lord bishop, I shall immediately comply with your suggestion, 'nd I will give, without even looking at the original amendment, my recollection of what it was, and Failicr Flynn will have an opportunity of correcting me if I mistake its terms by my recollection of it. The original amendment was that a committee of arbitration should be appointed from this Convention, consisting of seven members of what were called the three contending sections of Irish Nationalists — and I think the foreign delegates were to have a representation of ten — and that this committee should submit to this Convention a plan of action upon which all the three contending sections could ultimately unite and work together. I am very glad, I am delighted, no words can express my joy, at the withdrawal of the original form of the amendment, because it is a withdrawal from a position which I would have felt it my duty to condemn and reprobate in the strongest manner. It is true that there are two contending sections of Irish Nationalists. There is the Parnellite Party, and there is the Irish Parliamentary Party. When you deal with the Parnellites they are entitled to demand, and you are compelled to admit, that they are a separate and independent party. They are wrong for being so. Don't misunderstand my position. They are entitled to call themselves a separate and independent party, and we are bound to acknowledge them. They have very good reasons as they may think, very bad reasons as you and I may think, but they broke the Party pledge, and a certain number of constituencies elected them after breaking that pledge. Therefore, they are entitled to be regarded as a separate and independent party. But we come to the Irish Parliamentary Party. What right has any man to describe it as consisting of two sections or two parties ? Gentlemen, I am going down to the very root of this whole difficulty, and if this Convention is not going to end in emptiness, in laughter, and in contempt, it will have to go down to the roots of this whole difficulty. What right has any man to speak of two sections in the Irish Party ? Let us see what is the constitution of that Party. Every single member of that Party, without exception, has signed the pledge to sit, act, and vote wilh the Irish Parliamentary Party, to be bound by the decisions of its majority, and either to loyally obey its decisions or to honestly withdraw from the Party. I put this point to the Convention. I say that every single member of the Irish Party signed that pledge ; but I go further, and I say he was elected because he signed that pledge, and I say further, that if he had refused to sign that pledge he would have been ignominiously rejected. Therefore, the pledge of party unity and party loyalty is the whole foundation or right by which any member of the Party sits as an Irish representative. What follows from that ? That to speak of two parties in our Party is to tear down and destroy, not merely — T will do nothing now to destroy the future — but I say that to admit or acknowledge or recognise, to treat as one of the high contracting parties, one section of our Party, instead of with the Party as a whole, it is to tear down the foundations of National unity now and for ever. (Prolonged cheering, the whole assembly rising / ■:y „../^' ~s } ■-^ Kt^ 208 IRISn If ACE COiWEXTIOX. d ■m^ to their feet and waving their hats. The demonstration was repented a second time.) Does anybody in the possession of the ordinary amount of human sense not devoured by some demon of prejudice and folly, does anybotly suppose that we who have to bear the burden and responsibility of this movement approach any proposition from the point of view of personal rancour or personal interest ? We would be not merely inhuman monsters, who were betraying their country, but such a phenomenon of insane folly as no political movement ever produced. If this movement succeed, and by your help, and in spite of foes withm and without, it is going to succeed, if it succeed I don't know what personal glory its success would bring to us. But if it fail you may be sure that upon our heads the guilt and the responsibility will be laid. Therefore, any pi()))osition for conciliation, concesbion, and union that has the appearance of safety and a stable future, demands our cordial assent. Does that mean, however, that we are to lead you into a fool's paradise and ask you in the name of conciliation and concession to accept a proposition which would lead to the destruction, not merely now but for all time, of the principle upon which unity must ever be founded ? I am very glad to see that Father Flynn has abandoned the proposition that there are two sections in the Irish Party. I am very glad of the reason he gave for it. I am sure the premier desire of Father Flynn was to do an honest day's work for Ireland. I do not impute any other motive to Father Flynn, and I am sure he will give me full right to discuss freely, and even, if necessary, to condemn some of the opinions he propounded, without meaning any disrespect, for he enjoys my personal respect. I am very glad at the second reason given by Father Flynn for abandoning his proposition. The second reason was that he had consulted his friends, and his friends advised the withdrawal of the proposition in the interests of the Convention. Aye, the reason was that he knew that the sovereign assembly, the power and magnificence of which he has publicly testified to, would, if the proposi- tion of two sections in the Party was put before them, scout and trample upon such a proposition. Well, now, I come to the consideration of what are the methods and means by which dissension is to be put down, and now I will answer my friend who, in a somewhat premature — though naturally with the ardour of an ardent Irishman — in a somewhat premature spirit asked me for my alternative. Is this Convention sovereign or not? (Cries of "Yes," and cheers.) I3 it a success or a failure? (Cries of "Success," and renewed cheers.) Is it a hole and corner, squalid, and petty little gathering? ("No.") Is it a miserable little affair, or is it, as Father Flynn must acknowledge, and gladly acknowledge, the largest, the most representative, and the most noble gathering of Irishmen that ever assembled together? I will throw some light upon the situation that I think will help to guide you in your decision. This Convention was initiated by a letter of the Archbishop of Toronto, and was called by a unanimous vote of the Irish Party. Every member of the Irish Party was one of those by whom this Convention was brought into being. Why is not every member of the Irish Party here? Gentlemen, I don't intend to lower my speech to the point of personal controversy, and I hope you won't do it for me. I am discussing no man, but principles. Why isn't every member of the Irish ^J^ 1 /^^ L™ — ' 'r^ ■\ J^f^f^*"^" \ \ ) KEY. WILLIAM MKAQUEH, (See pp ;,8a, 2I5.> WILLIAM SULLIVAN'. iSoo pp. 87, '.'18.) r^ DR. W. P. O'MEAKA. (Seepp.!i8,21&) -x'— . r*-- llEV. PETEU O'LEAKY. (See pp. BO, 220.) V» 2 £ V. sw' t^--' NJ u '.Willi 'A I** (''"'H l: no I,ns/f HACK COSVKSTION. I'ariy here ? If lie had cliargus to make why is not he here to make thuiii ? If he had complaints to alle^'c why is not he here to make them ? If we be the dishonest and ur.Pcnipuloiis tricksters we have been declared to be a hundred limes over, why are not these charges, taken from i)rivate and whispered conversations, from private letters, from newspapers that can be avowed or disavowed — why aren't they torn from these dark and narrow recesses and brought here into the light of day where we stand now before our fellowcountryuien ? Furthermore, this Convention — I must recur to the point again and again, because it is the essence of the situation — this Convention was called by the unanimous vote of the Irish Tarty. Did every member of the Irish Party do his best to make it a success ? Why, my Lord Bishop, is not it notorious that every device and every means, fair and foul, have been exhausted for the [lurpose of making this Convention not the great success it has been, but an abject and miserable failure. I will not scandalise the enemy by telling all I know of the attempts that were made to destroy this Conven- tion, esjjecially in the full and satisfactory knowledge that these attempts have failed. They have been made ami they have failed. Well, what WIS the first line of attack ? The first line of attack was to withdraw from the Convention, and not come before it with any charge. The second line of attack was to try and prevent the Convention from being a success or a numerous body. But now we come to the third line of attack, the most insiduous of all. Father F'lynn is no party to it. FVom the bottom of my heart and conscience I accjuit him of any share or any responsibility, or even any knowledge of the third line of attack. Rev. E. MuRNANE, Bermondsey, London — 1 rise to a point of order. Mr. O'Connor — My lord bishop will keep order. The third line of attack is this — the Convention is here assembled ; its power and authority are acknowledged by everyone. Rev. E. MuRNANE still continued to call out "Point of order," and was brought by one of the stewards up to the front of the platform. Mr. O'Connor sitting down in the meantime. Chairman — May I ask your point of order? Rev. E. MuRNANE— My lord, I was unwilling to interrupt Mr. O'Connor, but I wish to ask your lordship (I have brought delegates here on the plea that every party was welcome to this meeting). I ask, therefore, my lord, whether you think that the speech that Mr. O'Connor is making is likely to bring about that unity that we have all corne here for? Chairman — It is not the province of a chairman of a Convention like this to say whether any speech delivered to the Convention is effective for its jjurpose or not. Mr. O'Connor — My reverend friend was quite within his rights to try and interrupt me on a point of order, and he has been ruled riut of order by the lord bishop who is in the chair ; but our reverend friend was really making an argument, and what I suppose appeared to his better judgment a reply to my argument, in place of a point of order. And what was his argument ? That I was controverting the principle that everybody was welcome to this Convention. Why, I am reasserting th.1t principle, and my complaint is that though the doors have been rr-cj c:.. ^-'<w<y S/CrnXD DAY— MR. T. 1\ O'CONNOR, M.V. 211 ;^ opt-ned as widely and generously as tliey can, men have not ronii' here iind accepted our invitation. Now, gentlemen, I go to the thir<l lipe o( attack on the Convention. My reverend friend is ([uito at liberty to (liHer from mc as to the eflcct of my words. It will be for you to decide. Hut 1 come to the third line of attack, and what does that mean? The Convention, in spite of every effort to make it a failure, has been a success. In spite of every effort to make it small it has luen un|)recedentedly large. In spite of every attempt to make it disunited it has been unprecedontedly harmonious. You are here, T believe, of one mind. I believe I may go further and say that that one r. ind is the determination that party unity must be preserved by [jarty loyalr/and by majority ride, which is the only method by which any party, or any society, or any government ran be kept together. I believe further that besides being of one mind you are of one ]>urpose, and that besides beinj; of one purpose you are also inspired by the resolve, the inflexible determination to make that purpose effective for the future of I.eland Well, what does that mean ? It means that you are determined, as I understand your convictions and your tem[)er, not merely to assert yojr faith in the principle of party unity and party loyalty, l)ut also to pro- claim to all the world your stern determination to put down every man and every set of men who would stand in the way. Vou see, gentlemen, that that determination of yours, while it is full of hope for the Irish movement and for loyal men, is full of teiror and danger for the disru[)- tionists and wreckers, and, therefore, a removal of the greatest danger that ever threatened them would be the removal of your determination to put down all wreckers, and, therefore, the wreckers want to stand between you and your determination. Well, if a committee were appointed--a conmiiltee of arbitration — for the purpose of settling our differences on one platform, what would become of the Convention ? Assume the committee was in the next room, I want to know how long the committee is to last — I want to know ho.v long it is to sit, and when it is to report? When is the committee to be expected to re[)ort ? It would be a pretty quick committee if it reported to-diy within a few hours. We are not going to sit beyond four, and I don't think it could report before that. Therefore, it could not report to-day, and wotdd it report to-morrow ? I do not think it could. Aye, but if it were a com- mittee consisting of the right kind of men who were determined not to make this Convention effective, but to make it impotent, it would be quite ready to report on Friday, when the Convention would have disappeared as completely as the snow in summer. And so you sec this great body, which was brought here for a great work, and is determined to do that work, would be in such a case dispersed without doing any- thing, and I say, therefore, that the carrying or acceptance of such a proposal would mean the death of the Convention. And, speaking in no language of exaggeration — speaking in no heat — but speaking from the depths of my conviction and consideration of this rpiestiori, I declare it my opinion that the death of this Convention would be the death of the Irish Constitutional movement. And now, gentlemen, I think I have dealt with the tactics and purposes, not of Father Flynn, but ot those who are the enemies of this Convention. Gentlemen, it may be a hard thing to say, but it must be 311 IKISII /{ACE COW EXT ION, bs I <i Slid, tlu' oneway torestorf unity is to put down disunion, and the one way to put down disunion is not to treat it as an independent and equal power gaining authority by its treason, but to do wiiat Fatlier Flynn asks you to do and what the Mayor of VVnterford asks you to do— to do your duty and show your determination that any man who violates his pledge or breaks up party unity will no longer have to deal merely with the majority of his colleagues but with a united and determined and a manly Irish people. And now I may be asked if we have any plan for dealing with party dissension. My answer to that is this : Read your agenda paper ; read the first sentence of the first resolution. The first resolution, as you will observe, begins by expressing the great concern of this Convention at the existence of dissension. It goes on to hold out again, as we have done many times before, the hand of friendshij) and fellowship to every Nationalist who is now arrayed against us ; and then, as our invitation is not accepted, it goes on to say that we are glad to observe in the composition of this Convention, and in the spirit shown throughout the country, a marked evidence of a growing tendency tore-union, and "we invite the Irish Nationalist Party to take such further steps as may seem to them calculated to promote the cause of re-union." Or, in other words, you command your Irish Party, and you give them full powers to take any and every step that may bring about the re-union of the Nationalists of Ireland. What more do you want? Do you trust your Irish Party? If you trust your Irish Party, trust them all in all or not at all ; and if they are good enough to be entrusted with the liberties and the cause of Ireland they are good enough to choose the time, the season, and the means by which the Parnellites can be approached. Look at the second resolution for a moment, though I am a little out of order in alluding to it, but the amendment to a certain extent deals with the second as well as with the first resolution. What does the second resolution say? Tiiere again you call upon the Irish Party to be united ; you call upon them to observe their pledge, to preserve their unity, and you call upon them, voicing your opinion, to take such steps, if the pledge be broken, as to make the pledge respected by every member of the Party. Now, there is my alternative proposal. My proposal is to stand by ,'ie reso- lution on the agenda paper, which has not only expressed a wish for union, but it points out the body and means of restoring union. Now, my friends, one word finally. We are to-day at the partmg of the ways in Irish politics. As this Convention decides the movement will live and grow, or fail and die. I make the distinction between our present movement and tlie Irish cause. Movements have failed before, but the cause of Ireland is green and immortal, and if our means and our methods fail we know very well what the spirit of our countrymen is, And what I put most solemnly and earnestly to Father Flynn and to every good and sincere man — can there be a more serious and a more terrible responsibility on any man or any set of men than to make our people think that the Constitutional movement has failed and driven them back into dangerous and terrible measures, and have former times repeated, and men again like those who walked out of English jails a few weeks ago — men decrepit and prematurely old. Is that to go on ? Is it to be repeated? Are you going to send other Aliens, I^rkins, and O'Briens to the scaffold ? Are you going to send other Davitts to Vv. V- 1^ HKCOND DAY—HKV. JUUX LEAHY. 2 1,1 Dartmoor, or have yon made uj) your minds tliat this Constitutional movement shall get a united supjiort, and in that way, in spite of treason anil of malice, shall make the world once more resound to the tread ol the united Irish millions marching on to peace and victory. The Very Rev. John O'Learv, IM'., V.l'., Clonakilty— My lord, rev. gentlemen and delegates of this magnificent Convention, I wish to add a few observations of mine to what has been said by the tlo(iuent member who has just addressed you. In regard to the resolution, or amend- ment rather, proposed by my friend. Father Flynn, of Watcrfonl, I can fairly say that I have the honour of knowing l-'aiher Flynn for many long years, and enjoyed, I may say, |)erhaps, his friendship, I have to endorse everything said by Mr. CJ'Connor relative to tlie splendid ability and marked patriotic services and that well-known interest which he has always taken in the cause of Ireland. Having said so much regarding the proposer of this amendment I now come to deal with it on its merits, and will begin by saying that I fully agree with every observation made by Mr. O'Connor as to the insiduous nature of the attempts made to interfere with tlie harmony and success of our Convention. I trust I'll not be found to re))cat in my weak way any of the arguments that have been so .splendidly elucidated by him. There are yet a few remarks that occur to me on points in this amendment that Mr. O'Connor has not dwelt upon. Now, gentlemen, we are asked to appoint a committee of arbitration. I unhesitatingly say here to-day before you and before the whole world that this Convention is the committee of arbitration. We know the men who are here, their names have been in the papers ; we know their credentials ; we know their representative position ; we know many of us who have never missed a Convention in Dublin or Cork for the last sixteen years — we know who welcomed their honest faces at this assemblage as we did in the old days of the Land League and the National Federation. If there is anything to be arbitrated u|)on it is by this Convention it should be arbitrated upon in the open light of day. Gentlemen, I will not trash out mere technical or constitutional questions as to how far we may constitutionally and legally sub-delegate any powers to any committee whatever. I will not trash out technical things of that kind, but I will say to you that you could not possibly form any subcommittee what- ever that would have a thousandth part of the influence and of the moral effect produced by those here assembled. In the second place, my dear friends, I take it for granted that at this period of our lives we are not mere tyros in politics. We know something about how committees are formed, and is not it a curious thing that when we have now the second edition of this amendment — the first edition has been dealt with — I saw it, and I would have dealt with it were it not taken from before me — but when we have now the second edition we do not find on that paper the name of a single man to whom we are to delegate this power. We all heard of the amendment of the Prime Minister who thought of his pnrty making a leap in the dark, but there never was such a leap into nebulous tenebrosity as there would be if we were to form a committee — I hope my friend. Dean Harris, is listening lo me— of veritable nobodies. They are the nobodies in reality, because there is no man or anbody put before us. '] m ^».,l /.'"-v V is . I y. . .1 IIKV. II. II. KKN.NKDY. JI. O'.MKAIIA. («fO pp. IH, U30.) ' mm f ^ll r Li f A^ JOHN U. O'lIKIOlNS. tSeo pp. 91, 211.) TiyCTUV .tllClIAKL UKALY. (See p. Oft) :c SKCOSD l)AV-lii:V. WtLI.IAM MlLUi II KR. ais Now, Kciitlcincn, it \vc wcro to find on tliat paper the names of a sub- committee ul representative public men, and it we were to lie a'Miretl, in tlu' secoml place, by une hIio had aiitlioriiy to sjieak, tliat each and every one of these men would i;o into the s.inu- room, or into some other pi, ice in this city, and };ive tiieir best efforts to the drawinj; up of this platfuriii, and bring it here before us, and if we were to be assured that at some date belore this (.'onventicjn was dissolved, and the delegates sjiit away to their homes to the fiirlheiinost (jiids of tiie earth, that this report would be presented to ns, and it we were to consider it, I, gentle- nun, make bold to say that there is no man here present today who Would be more anxious to stretch a point, it I ccnikl stretch it, in order to briiv^ about unity and harmony in our ranks. I defy anyone to say I have not been as well in polities after the split as I was before the split, and I defy anyoi. • to point to a bitter or rankling word I ever nave expression to, whr ■.her to rarnellites or to the new section, and there- fore all luy senli nts and the feelings of my heart would rise uj) to second and endo the resolution proposed by Father Mynn. llut, gentlemen, be givi none of I se paiticulars that you would rt(iuiru m the small st little . > iiit if you lirou^ht a person into (ouit. No bill of p.irlicul.UH, no n.inn;.s nHiilionetl, no lime nientioneci. ('icntlen)en, we know what the result would be. It is not easy for the most rabid malignity of party to scoff at this magnificent gathering; but there is not a scoffer in tiie land that might not point tlie arrows of scorn at the deliberations of thfs bogus and holeandcorner niteting. We are the representatives of Ireland and of the Irish race, and we are not i)rivilegcd to speak. Yes, let there bo a committee of arbitration as there is here to-day, and whether it be a man belonging to the party that left us unfor- tunately in i.Sqo, or to that section that seems now as if they were about to leave us — it there be such a section — or whether it be any other man in this assembly, he will be heard here with any proposition that he makes; he will be heard with the greatest patience and the greatest considera- tion. And, gentlemen, are we to s',ii)pose that after the Irish nation and its best minds have been giving their best thoughts to this weighty matter for so many months and tor so many years— are we to be toM that there will be wisilom to be found in hidden and dark recesses, and that no practical suggestion <an be made by an Irishman before his fellow- countrymen ? 'I'herelore, 1 say that no matter even if this amendment were proposed by an angel from heaven, the trail of the serpent is over every word. What, then, my lord and gentlemen, is it for us to do ? It is for us, in my opinion, to vote down, if it be put to the vote, strenu- ously and manfully this amendment, which can possibly do no good, which will inevitably do harm, which will make us the laiinhing stoc k of ►ur friends as well as of our enemies, and which will send this Conven- tion away, if it should be adopted, sine die et sine fnntii, send us away for ever without having tlone one particle of good. Gentlemen, I thank you very heartily for the very patient hearing you have given me. Rev. Wii.i.iA.M Mkauiikr, C.C, Clonmel — Ladies and gentlemen, as yesterday was for oratory, and today for work, I will be as brief as possible. I appear before you lo supp.<rt the amendment of Father Flynn, of Waterford, and I will tell you that this is the lourth Convention I have attended in Dublin. This is not self- .*i'' ... .; K ■f < 7~.ii..<>^ -~ ■ I ;! ! (.■,'• f< ^'- ai6 iniSH RACE CONVENTION. laudatory, but for the purpose of making known that I am an old soldier in the cause, and that I have Irom the beginning main- tained the principle of majority rule. I am for no person. 1 am lor the cause. I have suffered for Ireland, and so has Father Flynn. And I can truthfully say that Father Flynn has suffered more in the cause of Ireland than any speaker who has appeared be- for-? you to-day. Father Flynn's amendment was inspired by the purest and best motives. I was present at an assembly of honest Irisiimen who, having read the programme of this Convention, came to the conclusion that it would be desirable, in the interest of unity, in order to have our work complete, that a committee of the Convention should be freely elected yc jterday. Father Flynn has not been honestly represented here. It was early on yesterday that Father Flynn drew up this resolution, and it was handed in to the Chair very soon after the Convention had opened. Father Flynn wished to submit that it should be received at yesterday's proceedings, that the committee should have last evening to deliberate, and that they shou'd have a platform this •^orning to submit to the Convention, That was merely in accordance with the licence of the agenda paper. The agenda paper stated that any member of the Convention could submi' t the assemblage a resolution. Father Flynn, knowing how deep-rooted strife and dissension are in the land, and knowing that after passing quietly the resolutions on the agenda paper, and returning to our homes, we would hear next week that disunion had not been wiped out of the ranks, wished that a programme should be freely submitted for your approval, and it was for you to accept it or reject it. Father Flynn was then not dictating to the Convention. The resolution of the sub-committee would be submitted for your approval or disapproval, and it was in that spirit that Father Flynn proposed this resolution, and I believe I am within the bounds of truth in saying that there is not a purer or a more patriotic Irishman than Father Flynn, of Ballybricken, Waterford. We must be brief. I hope, as we are here for unity, we will set the example ourselves to day. Yesterday was a day that confused our enemies and rejoiced our friends. Yesterday was, in the words of the immortal O'Connell, "a great day for Ireland." I hope, as yesterday was, so will to-day be. I believe that when Father Flynn will appear before you again, the error that has gone abroad will be removed, and that you will consider more favourably the amendment that he has submitted for your approval. I have very great pleasure in supporting Father Flynn's amendment. Mr. William Sullivan, Bradford — My lord, ladies and gentlemen, we have come, myself and my colleagues, from England — Irishmen living in the heart of the enemy's country — to try and do our part over here to settle Irish differences, as we have worked like men in England for this holy cause of ours. When we heard the amendment proposed by tlie R.ev. Father Flynn, we were astonished that anyone should think that we were so blind as to accept any retrogressive motion of that kind. I do not know Father Flynn myseK, but I fully accept all that has been said of him by his friends as to his good intentions. But we do not want good intentions — we want good judgment. Here we are split in atoms. When we go on public platforms in England, and endeavour to heal up the differences of others, what are we told ? " Go and heal your J s SECOND DAY— MR. WILLIAM SULLIVAN. a,j own difilerences before you come to us." 1 come from a town where we bad been described as miserable miscreants by some of those who had been members of your party. We had been called ignorant caitifTs also. Why ? Because at the last general election, we thought of Ireland before we thought of anything else. We put our foot down at the last election. We parted with warm friends because we thought Ireland required our help first and foremost, and we were prepared to make any sacrifice to that end. Well, Bradford elected Tories at the last election, including Byron Reid, who called Father M'Fadden a murderer. From that you will see it would have been a disgrace to us had we acted in any other way than the way in which we have acted. We have come here to get strength for the cause of Ireland, and also something that will give us strength to fight our own battles in Great Britain. We are not going to be burked or put aside. I have been sent here with my colleagues to take counsel as to the best means of putting an end to the dissensions »hat unhappily exist. I do not believe in describing the diflferent sections as " ites." I am no " ite," but I am an item in the National movement, and T say there is no man outside of the Red- mondites — no Irish member of Parliament who has a mandate to fight against majority rule. What ir it we have to consider ? I say to you, Irishmen living in Ireland, what are your differences? What are you quarrelling about ? We are all supposed to be agreed upon one prin- ciple. We are all Nationalists. It has often been said there must be differences of opinion. V/e know that the rivulets flow down the moun- tain side, join the stream, and flow on to the ocean in one compact mass. Well, what I want to say to this great gathering is that the groundwork of all unity is obedience to majority rule. We know these men may differ, but you men should know what we have to suffer in England when we find one Irish leader on a public platform at home blackguard- ing his colleagues and their enemies. As I have told them before, it matters net to us what your differences are. We don't want to hear them. Keep them to yourself, but fight the cause of Ireland before the world. You may have your differences, but do you imagine for one moment that the men who could noi. agree at the Round Table Con- ferences that had taken place to heal our splits — does anyone imagine that we are going to get it from a committee of this audience ? There are twenty or thirty men in the audience that each of us may know. Who are the men we are to take for the committee ? Are we to put on the committee the men who have been fighting each other ? Who else are you to put on it ? They are the only men that we know, and they are the only men we would trust. Now, I say that the amendment spells delay, and delay spells danger, failure and damnation. If we cannot have wisdom in a multi- tude of counsellors at any rate we will try. When I think of the cause we are fighting for, when I think of the mighty issues that are at stake, it breaks one's heart to think that thvi men whom the Irish people have trusted are the very men who knoci'ed the olive branch .ut of our hands. What we want is to keep the I.i:h ppople. We talk of the glories of the country, and we have heard our frieml: from America and Canada, all of them prosperous men, giving incentives ic fight for the liberty of Ireland, to fight to keep the people at home, for if you 2 1' -I rl I '.^ ;7 I .'-'■^-■^ ■o .1 I ! If I ( r fttS IRISH RACE CONVENTION. want to see the condition of the people who have left our land go into the bye-ways and tlie slums of Liverpool, Boston, Chicago, New York, and I'hiladelphia, and see where our Irish girls have gone to. I say, if there are curses that cry to heaven for vengeance, it is the curse that has fallen upon our pure-minded girls, who have gone from their pure homes, driven from the old land. Why were they driven out? Because of faction. I have seen the people leaving Queenstown harbour, the bone and sinew of the land. What becomes of them often I want to know? We want these people to stay at home. We were told yesterday by the most rev. chairman of the extent of the overtaxation of Ireland. The only way to put an end to »hat overtaxation is by getting Home Rule for Ireland, and the only way to get Home Rule is to have one determined and united voice from Ireland demanding Home Rule; and to men who will not agree with the majority then I say, in the Yankee phrase, " Let them git," and they will have to get. We have men here from all parts of the world. We have men from England whose nationality burned bright, and we all appeal to you to be united, for we are all united in England. We don't know what you are fighting for. We have come here for a mandate, a mandate of peace or war. We appeal to every section of the Convention to act like the mighty streams that flow through your land. You have differing opinions, but like the rivulets that flow into the main stream, let each differing section flow into the main stream that travels on until our great cause flows in the broad ocean of Irish prosperity and liberty. Dr. W. P. O'Meara, Southampton — I, like the speaker who has preceded me, come to you from England, and I do not think that I would have said anything if it was not from a desire to draw out from the body of the hall the opinion of the delegates who remain there. I rise to support the amendment that has been moved by Father Flynn, and I do so for this reason. When I go back to Southampton, the branch of the National League called after the renowned Henry Grattan will demand of me what I carry home to them, what is the result of our Convention. And if I tell them that we passed such a resolution as the firsl resolution that is on the agenda paper, they will say to me, " What good is that?" We leave the matter in the hands of the Irish Parlia- mentary Party to deal with the sections that have sprung up in their own ranks. If the Irish Parliamentary Party had done their duty you and I would not have been here to-day. If the Irish Party, when they found men in their own ranks did not obey the pledge which they had signed to sit, act, and vote with the majority ; if, when they found that they did not, they did not drive them from their ranks, then, I say, it is lime that some other means should have been chosen. It is very hard for humble men from the ranks like myself to follow and try and contro- vert the arguments used so ably by Mr. O'Connor. But, nevertheless, I have got as much interest in the country as Mr. O'Connor, and I am sure every delegate in the hall has the very same right to express his ideas. Mr. O'Connor tells us that this Convention itself is a committee of arbitration. How can it be a committee of arbitration, when, upon his own admission, he tells you that members of Parliament who ought to be here, and who are members of the section who have created the discontent, he tells you that they have remained away ? ■!*g g '-I!. ' '". ' -JMJUiJiAui I I v.' \,V TIMOTUy UAlllUNOTON, il.l'. (Soo p. 101.) VERY UEV. JOHN J. CANON McCAKTAN. (See pp. m, 265, 271.) C'lIKVALIKIt JOHN IIEN'EY. (3oo pii 105, 205.) ■ 1 1 4 H B^^ ^m .. .:... i^^i m! ^M P-- . ^^1 B^* JHV r 1 K^'^^^^ ^V^^^K^^ 1 uuoii MunruY. iSoe pp. 108, 208.) I I m IRISH RACE CONVENTION. I i i i ; A Voice — 'I'liL'y ought to be hcru. Dr. 0'Mkar.\ — It is no answer to tell me they ought to lie here. 1 aiii perfectly well aware they ought. Hut the fact remains, and facts are what we have got to deal with, that a hirgc portion of the Irish representatives have remained away from this Convention. If they have remained away, and they are men of influence and position and liave followers throughout the country. If these men remain away, how can you get them to arbitrate ; how can you say we are arbitrating with them now when the deliberately abstain from coming amongst us ? In the same way the members of the Parnellite Party — I look around for any well-known representatives of the Parnellite Party, and I don't see any of them here. A Voice — It was their own fault ; they were invite^, to come. Another Voice — Did you see the Independent ? Dr. O'Meara — Yes, my friends, I saw the Independent to-day, and I thought it a disgraceful production, and it is a poor day for Ireland when a paper which describes such a Convention as this as an "assembly of asses" can be publicly sold in Dublin. I support the amendment on these grounds, that if these men will not come to us we, like Mahomet, must go to the mountain. We must go to these men if they will not come to us. If these men do not come to us we must go to them (loud cries of " No, no"). Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean to say that we are to sacrifice a single principle that we have stood by and fought for ; but I mean to say that we must go to them, to meet them and try and get them to come into our ranks (applause and interruptions). I don't want anyone to misunderstand me in this hall. I am an ardent- supporter of majority ru)p and thoroughly convinced that any man wh'.> does not obey it ought to be kicked out of the party. But I think tliis is a time and epoch for conciliation, and the best course we can adopt for the good of the country and the good of the cause we all hold so dear is to support and carry the amendment moved by Father Flynn (applause, dissent, and cries of " Vote "). The Chairman — There are some cries of " Vote," but I think we might hear one or two more speakers. Rev. P. O'Learv, P.P., Castlelyons — My lord and fellow-delegates, you have lieard a great deal of eloquence to-uay. You have heard a great many very solid maxims put before you to-day, but we delegates as a body are not whai you can call Ciceros — we are not all born to be like Demosthenes — but I think as a body the great majority of us have been born with a fair share of common-sense. Consequently, as we cannot pretend to a very exalted standard of eloquence, and also being iiQssessed of only the ordinary amount of common-sense, and claiming no more, we do not come here to enter into dark and mysterious details of the subject. There is an amount of mystery about this business of unity that I confess I cannot fathom. An amendment has been proposed asking that we who have come here from the ends of the earth and every part of Ireland should now hand over to somebody else the very purpose for which we came here. Now, suppose you appoint a committee of arbitrati n of course the committee appointed will come before you and say : "Please gentlemen, tell us what we are to do." Gracious me, wis there ever a committee of arbitration that MM l^ : 1 i SECOND DAY— REV. 1\ O'LEARY. 321 had not to come before the pcoiile who appointed them, and get in black and white the lesson they were to carry out? Your committee will come and ask you to give them a programme and an agenda paper, and, of course, you will say : "Of course, we do not exactly know what we are to give you." Suppose we are anxious to show respect to those who have come from distant parts — from the ends of the earth — and we wish to appoint some of tliem on the committee of arbitration, they will ask us something like these questions : " Tell us," they will say, "is this dispute about Home Rule, because if it is we will settle the matter at once." But you will say : " Oh, no, we are all agreed as to Home Kule. Every one of us, even those most opposed to each other on other matters, are as one in support of Home Rule. In fact, even those most prepared to destroy each other, are in proportion most desperate advocates of Home Rule." The committee will say : " Gentlemen, what are we to do ? You are all united on the question of Home Rule, and so there is no disunion at all." Their next question is: "Come to the point, does the difficulty consist of some jioint of detail; are you disunited as to whether it should be Home Rule or some other kind of local autonomy or self-government?" And you will say : " Oh, no. Home Rule is all right, and we are all united on the point." The answer is, " What is the row about then ? " But then sombody will say, " Oh, that is a very deep (luestion." It is an exceedingly deep and mysterious question. There is some awful dynamite business at the root of it, and if you touch it you will be blown up. So take care you don't touch it. I confess myself that that im- pression has been made upon my mind. I came into this Convention feeling that the business was the plainest and most simple and open that could be, but when I have listened to the speeches on both sides I have asked myself is there not some terrible thing under this that I can't understand? So really and truly, as a delegate speaking to delegates, our duty here is to face this matter. What is the row about let us ask, as nobody else can give us an inkling of what it is about. Is it about majority rule ? Not at all. They are all most terrible sticklers for majority rule. But I must confess that on that point of majority rule I am afraid there is a screw loose. What is the meaning of majority rule ? That is the question. You remember the story about the animal in thj wilderness. One man swore it was blue, another that it was black, and another that it was red, but they all swore what was true, because one saw it blue, another man saw it black, and another man saw it red. Now, I ask again, what is the meaning ot majority rule ? I have seen sometimes in the Press very strange ex- pressions from men whom I consider excellent judges upon what majority rule means. I remember a man in the public Press protesting that he never would enter the Party because why should he for ever re- main in a miserable minority. And now suppose I myself was a layman, and were elected a member of the Party that represents this country in the English House of Commons, and that this majority rule is proposed to me as the fundamental principle of the existence of that Party, and the source of its power — supposing somebody asked me : " What do you mean by voting, sitting, and acting with the majority ? " These are three nice words, but, oh, how easy it is to slip between them. I am, of 11? i ii "f \\ m. I* ^^ '> / -^J K^- \:j\ 323 im^n RACE CONVENTION. course, bound to obey the majority. Very well. I come to you and say : " I will obey the majority as long as the majority goes right. But is there any man on the face of the earth so stupid as to expect that I would obey a majority that is going to the mischief.'' Is that majority rule? What is a man in the minority to do? A Voice — To obey. Father O'Leary— That is the point, and let the delegates pronounce their opinion out. If you examine the language you will find that there is a terrible mistake when a persons says, " I will obey the majority as long as the majority is right." Imagine a man in the minority believing the majority is right! There is no such thing. Every man in the minority is fully convinced the majority is wrong. Therefore I say, and I think there are no delegates here but will agree with me, that the men in the minority are bound to obey the majority, even when the majority is politically wrong. Every man in t'le minority is bound, I say, to sup- port the majority, even when the majority is wrong. There is no second word about it. If you minimise the principle, if you give the men in the minority head-room to slip away, then you whip the ground from under the whole business. Every man is bound to obey the majority, even if flatly politically wrong, and every man who won't do his duty is not wanted, except to make himself scarce. Now, I'll ask another question bearing upon this idea of delegation. I ask another question — Who are we ? A Delegate— The people. . Another Delegate — The majority. Father O'Leary — Hear, hear. We are the assembled representa- tives, duly elected and sent here from all parts of Ireland, and from the ends of the earth. As we ..'and here to-day, or sit here, we are the supreme court of the Irish jation. Now, the result of that fact is that we are now to lay down the law for majorities and minorities, and that we are bound to do it ourselves, and not to go delegating it to anybody. There is no question of delegation. What are you going to delegate ? You are going to send three or four people from the different parties to approach certain people, and say, " Will you obey the majority?" and they will be delighted to say, " We will obey the majority when it is right," and so the delegates will come away with no other answer. Very well. Therefore there is no use delegating your power ; keep it in your own hands ; keep the bridle in your own hands. You are here assembled as the representatives of the Irish race. Do not let any man put his hand outside yours on the bridle. If you do you lose control of the seat, and leave the whole guidance with others. That is no Demosthenes eloquence. This is business. Do not mind eloquence; decide for yourselves, and keep the power in your own hands. A Delegate — We are the power. Father O'Leary — There could be only one reason for delegating a question to a committee, and that was where details and mysterious calculations, which would take up too much time from a body of men, arise. In this question there was no such thing. It is the simplest question that ever was put before a body of men — viz., "Do your duty." The only real question to be deliberated upon by the delegates come together is not a question that regards personal feelings, animosities, and ---/>„- Oi ' ) ('..V':) -C^ -. i. \ J SECOND DAY— REV. P. 0' LEAHY. »M IC •^ pique. The whole Irish race is to be represented here in this hall ; delegates have to come from the ends of the earth at great trouble and expense in order to rub against the grain. Another question for us, as practical, tommonsense men, who have come here, is this : I said (hat we are the supreme court of the Irish nation ; are we to enforce our decrees? Tlie proposer of iht; amendment certainly made his proposal in a most honest spirit. I differ with Mr. O'Connor on one point in regard to that proposal. He said that the amendment was changed because that, unless it was changed, it would be trampled upon and rejected unanimously. Now, I don't believe that Father Flynn changed his resolution witii that motive. I disagree with Mr. O'Connor on that point. I believe he changed his resolution merely for the purpose of promoting unanimity, and, secondly, that he had no motive whatever in proposing the resolution first or in altering it afterwards, or in insisting u|)on it now, except the motive of shaping some resolution out of these deliberations — the very thing we are anxious for ; the very thing the l)eople in the country are asking: Will the Convention do anything? Will it do any good? Very well. We have not, of course, a military force to carry out our decrees, but there are things that are stronger than a military force. We have at our disposal, at all events, the public opinion of the great majority of the country. Unfortunately, there is an element of dissjnsion. There is a certain element it is not easy at first to grasp or realise. If I am a member of the minority, and happen to be a clever fellow, 1 can know how to manipulate a majority rule, and how to manipulate my friends and my intluence in the country, to appeal to the crowd from the authority of the Convention. Very well. Tne practical question is, then : How is that to be opposed and remedied? I want to answer that question. Eloquence is a very fine thing, but one practical action is worth all the eloquence ;in the world. If you lay down the law that every man in the minority is bound to obey the majority, even if the majority is wrong, lay down that law. There is no person in this assembly that will have any objection to that. I think there is no person in this assembly who will allow a member of the minority in the Irish Party to question whether the majority are right or wrong. Of course, during the deliberations, when the party are met in their Committee Room, then every man is bound to stand up and give an account of the faith tnat is in him. Every man is bound then to stand up and debate the point to the utmost extremity of his t.ilent. But the moment the decision is given, and the majority goes against him, he is just as solemnly bound to bow his head and follow the majority, and do so in such a manner as that the country abroad will not get a single hint of anything that occurred within. He is bound to that solid obedience to the majority that he has to follow them when he thinks that they are wrong, and to do so without offering complaint before the country in such a manner as that he would injure the cause of his country by his complaint. What is the support the majority is to get ? In other countries that have their own Government, when the majority decides, the Executive Government of the country go forward armed to the teeth to support the majority. All the resources of the country are placed at the dis- 'V _i W-- — ri>tr-_7 V \ ;! M <" im 1 m^H ^^^^ ' x^^^H ■', ~^' !i PHH ■':iTa mh WV^\FMr *- i^^^^B ^v'^m HH^ 'Hhi ' "v^V ** Ifl^^^^H ;^kM wk m^lnm^n ^.*r' ■ V 1^^ 'ial^T^ !» AEfflwfvlift af ' S^I^^^I^H * ■' - - '*' iwflB MfiW^^ ■ '- M H Imii^iH Ik ^HBuHH o w a i4 H I) U U V. M « is 12 C- L r- a M n o o a a H n ■A >:> ^y ^r>.T. ^ ) ■3 i aF.COND l)AY-l{KV. I'. O'LKAIiV «»S posal of the majoriiy. 'I'hey liavu all the wcaltli of the country. The very moment ihu Tories g'X into powt-r in Hnnland all liio millions of English taxation arc at their disposal. They have the army and the navy, and better than the army and the navy, they have the nicjney. Conseiiucntly, if you wish — I am n'ving my own opinion on this point; it is a mere personal expression, and one that I give out from myself alone — if you wish the Convention of the Irish race to have a result; if we wish to see that our majority will have its way, that the minority will have to submit; if we want to see that done, what is our duty ? Our duty is to come out and support the majority, and the back of my hand to the nunorily. Let us ignore them altogether, and let lliem alone. \Vc don't want theiu. We want our majority, and our majority are our rcprcseiuatives. And let me tell you, and 1 dare say you under- stand it as well as 1 do — we delegates have no masters here. The leader of our majority is our servant — the members of our majority are our servants. Those who refused to come here, and even insulted some of our worthy deleg.ites — those men are our servants, and they refused to do the duty that we appointed for them. They are all our servants. If a servant refuses to do the duty we have appointed for him we dismiss him, and we get another man in his place. If he does his duty, and does it well, we pay him. I assine you, I believe tlie whole cpiesiion of unity is in that question of the paying. Our friends from foreign countries came here, and over and over again I listened yesterday to the most affecting, and the most heait-rending, and the most piteous ap|)eals to the peop'e of this country to imite. I would, with all respect, suggest to our friends from across the seas one idea. Tiiere was a certain man at one time who said he would give a certain portion of llie people what weather they liked. They came together, and said that they came to him for the weather. He said, " W hat sort of weather do you wish ? " Some said wet, some said dry, some said cold, and some said hot, " Oh, gentlemen," said he, " agree, and then I will give you whatever you want." That one word that I have heard throughout the country and across the sea for the last two years has caused me the most bitter vexation. I have heard it said by our friends in foreign climes, " Unite, and we will send you everything." How in the world can we be expected to do that unless our friends from foreign climes will change the principle a little bit ? You come here from the ends of the earth to try and establish union in this country. We came here on account of the respect we owe you. Therefore, I think theie is not a delegate that will not agree with me when I ask you to go back to your own country and say that, " The majority are united, and it is our duty to sujiport the majori y," and when asked about the minority to say, that they ate nowhere. You come iiere in this glorious assembly, ti;e most extraordinary gathering of Irishmen since the days of Cormac Mac Art. It is the most extra- ordinary assembly, as our most rev. chairman said, since Irishmen came together from all quarters of the country in the days of the great " Feis Teamhra." We tell our friends who come here that our duty is to support the majority, to give them the standing, and to give them the money. I will give them this guarantee, that it, as they once did, the hundreds and the thousands and the hundreds of thousands in cash come from Australia and America to the majority, you will find how \M \ f ni li L:i i 1:1 aaC) IIIISIJ RACE CONVENTION. soon the minority will fall into line. "Oeij^e Rafi aon foifsAil an caipReaTj.* 'I'hat is the suggestion that I have to make, and it is a practical one. I will ask every delegate from Ireland to send tiiat message in the most solemn manner away to America and Australia, and say, that the people are united, for we are practically united, and then when you have the money from those countries sent home to till the war chest once again, then, believe me, you will have a party that will be respected. That is the suggestion I have to make instead of the amendment which has been put before you. Rev. U. V. MuRNANE, Bermondsey — My lord, may I just say a few words of personal explanation, and also make an appeal to this very great gathering of our race? I am the representative of a branch— I am the founder of a branch — of the National League in Bermondsey, and therefore I am sure the esteemed jjiesident of that organisation will not feel that in the question I asked him a little while ago I had any personal feeling. But remember we have come here — we, the children of Erin, have come back now to trv and retrieve in some way the grand traditions that our people h.ive giveii to us. I confess tliat the speech of the most reverend chairman gives us wonderful courage and hope, for in it he spoke of unity, and there was not one word uttered by his lordship that gave the sligiitest offence to the tenderest susceptibilities of any section of the Irish jieople. May I try to follow up tie line of lliought of the delegate from Southampton. Remember that in every place where the Irish peu[)le have gathered together there you would have a little Ireland rejjrodueing the traditions and the faith, and, 1 am sorry to say, the dissensions and divisions of the Irish people at home. May I say to you, personally, that I am in accord with the great majoi ily of this meeting. Surely we liave not come here to push the niterest of any party before the cause of Ireland ? Surely we are not going to make a desert and call it peace? We have come here to make a golden bridge, over which those who differ from us may approach us again and reunite with us. Therefore, whether the platform is to be drawn up by the committee, or whether this great Convention is to decide, will you remember that the future will be very difTerent from the past? In the past it has been one section against another, but if it goes forth to the world that a programme was drawn up and adopted by this great gathering, surely you get full strength, and with the great power that will be behind us we can begin anew in a far stronger way. Surely we have come here to make peace with our divided fellow-countrymen, and not to cut off a still larger numl)er. This Convention will strengthen the supporters of majority rule. It is difficult now to go into the question of why those dissensions have arisen, and as to the differences and jealousies that have existed. When I was coming to this Conven- tion the words I used to the meeting gathered together to select a delegate was that I was coming hereon the understanding that no names were to be mentioned, that no sections were to be referred to, and that the whole object was to bring about unity amongst our separated brethren. I told Parnellites and the men who followed Mr. Healy, that ' The end of every Gospel is money. ^ I 1 J « S/'JCONI) DAY— REV. M. U. KENSEDY -'^7 ■J if tliey came here they would have fair play. 1 said to ihcm tliat this was a (luesiion for the Irish people to scltU-, and not the leaders. We are in favour of a policy of independent opposition to every p:irty. I implore of you, therefore, not to he of a (lartisan character, hut let us say " Ireland above all, and Ood save Ireland." The Chairman— I think it will accord with the sense of the Con- vention that one speaker, and only one speaker more should address you for the motion ; and although it is not in right order, yet I think, as it is his desire, I am sure the Convention wdl heir a lew words in support of his amendment before I take a division. I call upon hatlier Kennedy, late of Mcclin. Rev. M. 15. Ki;NNr,nv,C.C., Hlarncy — Mylord and fellow-countrymen, I have endeavoured to follow closely the arguments advanced in sujiport of the amendment moveil by Father I'lymi, and I fail to find any reason why he and those of his opinion should not leave to the decision of this grand Convention the settlemeiit of the ipiestion. Are we not siiecially selected by the Irish peoi)le f(jr the purpose of bringing about unity amongst our countrymen, and arc we to delegate our powers to a committee to go out of this Convention, whose authority a section of the party has ignored. Upon the success of this Convention — the most reiirescntative Convention of Irish Nationalists that ever assembled in Ireland — depends the future of Ireland for a generation. It is i)lain that for three or four years, owing to the noise and squabbling in this country, no progress whatever has been made ; and if this Convention fails to bring Irishmen within one bond of brotherhood, and show them that it is the duty and the interest of all Irish Nationalists to strive together, we shall write ourselves down a fickle and brawling race, fit only for the lot of slavery and unworthy of the sacrifices made by our Irish friends abroad. Fellow-countrymen, if we were in earnest we should have no leisure for wrangling. Recrimination and scjuabbling over every petty point of policy are not the weapons of men who have an honest appreciation of the sacredness of the work on which they have entered. No Irishman who is worthy to have any share in this great National struggle will descend to chmour — to the petty squabbles of John Doe and Richard Roe. Well, if subjection and discipline and self-restraint must be the motto of those who elected us, and who, like us, have to fight in the ranks, surely it must work disastrously to the progress of our cause if we tolerate insubordination on the part of those who are our lieutenants and the trustees of the National interests in Parliament. Unless we compel them to yield a loyal acquiescence to the mandate of the ruling authority of the Irish Party, all our efforts to maintain an efficient reitresentation at Westminster will be paralysed. Speaking from his Metropolitan See in this city, a great Aichbishoj) laid it down as the duty of Irishmen of his day tlial they should bend all their efforts to marshal and organise the elective i)ower of the country so as to ensure a right direction being given to every available vote. But it is no longer to organise and marshal our forces into one grand irresistible army the country is summoned. It is now with some — happily a small minority of our fellow-countrymen— it is now with them every chieftain for himself, every section for itself, every malcontent for his own grudge, and Ireland in such a clash of interests goes to the ;> '^ ,11 ; m m mi / I' I L (i /: nR litis II RACE CONVENTION. Saxon, where she went before, tlKoiigh divided counseli and the wnnl of a rontr.il nuihority capable of enforcing obedience and directing the combative power and strcnRtli of the nation. I say to you, fellow-count'ymen, to (nu-ll dissension you must keep the story of the past in your hearts. I'action, and the spirit of faction, have r()l)bcd Ireland of niany a glorious story in tiie jiast, and until that spirit has been exorcised from our midst it will continue to leave us at the mercy of those wlio can keep the future in their eye, and act up to the level of their destiny. In politics, as in the conduct of a great army, there is no such thing as strengtii without discipline and combined exertion. It is trui; we ari- twenty millions of peo|)le, counting our fellow-countrymen in AriU'rica and elsewhere, but it is also true t'- '.'. we were twenty millions ten times over our numerical lot would be politically powerless unless we proved our title to freedom i)y working unitedly and working untiringly for tiie noble object we have m view. Have we not one of the most powerful, one of the strongi'st countries on the earth to contend with, and here at home have we not a power- ful and meri:iless class who traditionally, and for every selfish motive are opposed to us, and why squander any of our resources in bye-battles as to who is the best man in the Irish I'arty, or in petty squabbles for the leadership of the Party, bycbattles and squabbles tliat can only make our cause odious, and, what is worse than odious, can make it con- temptible ? ity the details of our wrongs, and the fierce denunciations of injustice and oppression, we have created a public opinion in favour of our claim to legislative inde|)cndence ; wc have roused an<l enlisted on our side the feeling of America and Australia and of Liberal iOngland ; we have at our back in this struggle the respert and syni))athy of all honest men in Kurope. What do I say ? Degraded and weakned as Ireland at present is by dissension, we stand now uiion a vantage ground that even Mr. Parncll had not. I'ecause we have dcmoiistiated l)y the conclusiv- evidence of triumphant experience that a Home Rule I5i'' ' ''a-^ throiigli the eye of the needle of the House of Commons this juncture we allow dissension to sjjlit up the countrv camps as there are rival pretenders to the leadership, to not yet vacant, we shall be only trilling with the men > whose sympathies are with us, and we shall be abdir claim to the generous aid that our exiled friends in America . have been giving to us. Every evil that we have suffered, e\cry misfr - tune that we have sullcred for centuries past, is due to one cause *'iat at certain jieriods of national trouble and distraction, we cease to con ider ourselves as a nation of united brothers, whose first duty it is to i \ert our common efforts, not in recrimination or in mutual destruction, but to oppose the common enemy. J-ook into your hearts, fellow-couiury- men, they were made for love and confiding friendsliip. What fatal power has changed their nature and converted them into the dvvcliing places of diseoni and distrust ? Long ago it was the policy of the tyrant who divided that he might command. To-day it is the tiiri)uleii<e of a few who will not yield to the will of the majority. Well, let insubordina tion prevail, and to-morrow set in the chair whom it elects. How caii he expect to have obedient or disciplined followers in the Party or in the country — he who raised himself into authority by deeds of disorder and ii.Uluii- . ever any 1 Australia \.^.:-— .- niOMAH I,()II(1IIMN. (Soopp IW, '^0.) Ki;v. r, J. ()'i)()NN'Ki,i, (Soopii. HI, lTI.) I JU.SEl'U DKVLIN. (8L'e pp. 113, -m.) UON. JOHN UO.STIUAN. (Soepp. 110.273.) v^--^;:,- -M>" ■ y (: »30 I mail RACK coyvEyTioN. \\\ ■, i f undiscipiinc? If a rubtliious minority bliould at length succeed in attaining to control, must they who have been vanquished by the leader of the preser t strife cease to contend for the supremacy ? Has lie not marched to power through rapine and plunder — has he not set at naught the democratic i)rinciple on which alone he can hope to govern — the rule of the majority ? Is this drama of dissension, then, to go on for ever ? No, no, in the name of tlu beating and resolved hearts of millions of my countrymen, I siy no, no. Ireland has had, like every other land, her times of distracticn and degradation. Rut r.he is rising — has ar'sen — from the nightmare of strife and dissension. There is hojie on her brow ; above all, there is resolve in her heart. And, ah ! men ot Anerica and Australia, if you knew how much it nerves and ennobles the hearts of us here, and our countrymen, to find that we arc not alone in the world, to know that high-soulcd freemen like the patriotic American priests and delegates who addressed us here to-day and yesterday pant for union a nongst all sections of Irish Nationalists, and pray for it, for us, you would not grudge the pains you take for poor old Ireland. I, as one Irish priest, say to you — " God bless you." Mr. M. C)'iMi;ar.\ P.L.G., Dundalk — I do not wish to make r. speech, but I take the liberty of making the suggestion that there should be a limit to the time given to tiie Sjj 'echos. Rev. r. F. Flvnn, P.P. — My V J and brother delegates, I am extr'-'iiely grateful for your giving me an opportunity of replying to the very strong and exhausting criticisms that have ["^en passed upon my amendment. In the first place, I will take the liberty of saying that nearly every speaker who spoke against the amendment spoke as if I wished to take the decision of this matter out of the hands of the Con- vention. Gentlemen, I had no such wish, and, gentlemen, my amend- ment on the face of it told that most distinctly, and I am surprised that any one of the ability of my friend, Mr. O'Connor, and other gentlemen who spoke, could misconceive my meaning when I said that a committee could be appointed by yourselves who would report to you — (c.ies ol "When?") — report to you for your own consideration and your own approval, and you would be tli^ masters of the rituation. 1 therefore have not withdrawn the decision of this matter from the Convention. I came here, gentlemen, to jiromote unity if I can. There are two ways of promotin;; unity. One is by cutting off, and the other is by amalga- mation. T don't want to cut off if I can help it. To cut oft" should be our last and final decision. The men who would be cut off have done magnificent work for Ireland. But I would hope that when they would reconsider their position they would gladly join our ranks again and act together once more. J gentlemen, left out a part of the resolution which I handed to his liirdr.liii) yesteiday, and I have done that in the interests of peace and in the interests ol uiiion 1 have dune it because I thought it formed a more universal and less contentious platform. I introduced no names, I introduced no parties, and our Parliamentary representatives well know how committees are to be formed, and how they are to work, and when they ii.ve to sit, and how loni; they have ti sit, and with all their cleverness and with all their ability, I defy them to fix a time when any committee would sit, or should sit. Mr. O'Connor is familiar with Parliamentary work, and he knows well that if the / SECOND DAY— REV. P. F. FLYNX. '3' principle of a Bill be admitted, that Bill can be corrected and modified in committee. I aclsed you only to admit the principle of my amend- ment, and that you yours-jlves be your committee. 1 ask you to admit the prmciple of my amendment. A Delegate — What is the principle ? Rev. P. F. Flynn, P.P — The principle is that we elect a certain number of delegates from this Convention who will draw up rules that will bo approved of by th"; Convention. (Interruption and cries of "Withdraw,") The Ch.mkman— Kindly allow the speaker to proceed without inter- ruption. Rev. P. F. Flynn, P.P.— I fir.a here in letter M the following:— "That a committee, consisting of the following gentlemen, be appointed to amend the constitutio.i of the Irish National Federation." Now, you can see the names in letter M. This committee will be formed — it will sit how long ? A Delegate — It will be rejected. The Chairman — I have got written notice from Mr. M'Govern, of Cortmore, Dunboy, that the resolution is withdrawn — absolutely with- drawn. I wish to say it is w.thdrawn in favour of Father Flynn'."! amendment. Rev. P. F. Flynn, P.P. — I do not think, gentlemen, I have anything else to say except this. It has been stated that I made a great mistake in the original resolution by admitting that there were three or four parties in Ireland. The principal speaker who criticised me reduced them to two, and of those two the larger he divided into sections. I say, and the country holds, and it is my opinion, that that is a distinction without adifference. I believe there are three prrtics in Ireland to-day with whom we are going to unite. I, at all events, have endeavoured to explain n y position. I am grateful to the gentlemen who spoke so favourably of myself and my character. I can say the same of them, and I am only sorry that I have not an opportunity of grasping the hands of every member of the :,ea-di ■ ded Gael, and uniting them once more in a common, compact body, to work for Hie regeneration of our common co mtry. The Chairman — I am going to take your voice upon the resolution and the amendment. The amendment goes first, and it just occurs to me to say, from r'l I have heard, that if it were a question of majority rule I have not heard a dissentienr voice. At this point Father Flynn ai^proached his lordship and spoke a few words to him. The Chairman — Gentlemen, is there one here who has not heard of Father Flynn's services to Ireland ? Out of love for unity and Ireland, and to promote harmony, he withdraws his amendment. (Loud and long continued cheering, the whole assembly rising to their feet and enthusiastically waving hats and handkerchiefs.) Rev. P. F. Flynn, P. P. — Gentlemen, lam mostgratefulforyourapplause, and I say, now i..at my action has met your approbation, I feel hope, and only wish it was in my power to do anything further for the restora- tion of unity ; and I only hope that if there be any gentlemen wiio have the same feelings and ideas on this subject that I have, that if I could 1 ■I I i\ < RsH)] US I K \ r 231 imRn NACK COXVENTIOy. be their leader in the present circumstances 1 would ask them to follow my humble example. The Chairman — I will now put the resolution, which is as follows: ■ "Seeing that divisions anior.|;^t Irish Nationalist reiiresenlatives paralyse, to a great extent, their \f ver of serving Ireland, cast discredit on the country, and tend to alienate the sup|>ort ni the Irish race and to destroy their confidence in the cflicacy of Tarliamentaiy action, we record our firm conviction that it is of the liist importance to Ireland that the Nationalist representatives in Parliament should be reunited into one party; and, in the spirit of the recent resolution of the Irish Party, we declare that — ' In our earnest desire to accomplish that result, we aie prepared to meet on fair and equal terms all Xationali^ls who will join in the attempt to reconstitute a united Home Rule Parly, in which every supporter of the movement shall he cordially received and justly considered, regardless of all past differences and having regard only to his capacity to render service to the common cause.' We are glad to observe in the com- position of this Convention, and in the spirit shown throughout the country, marked cviilcnce of a growing tendency to re-umon ; and we invite the Irish Nationalist Party (o take such further steps as may to them seem calculated to promote the cause of re- union." The Chairman — All within the barrier in favour of the resolution will say "Aye." (Loud cries of " Aye.") All against the motion will say " No." There being no response : The Chairman — I declare the first resolution on the agenda paper — in discussing which so much has been done to debate the other ques- tions — unanimously tarried by this great Convention of the race of Erin. Will you kindly cast your eye an the second resolution on the agenda paper as follows. The Hon. Edward Blake will speak to the lesolution : — • " Th.at we recognise as the essential element of the existence of an effective Irish Parly the he.irty co-operation .ind cheerful subordination of each individual in carrying out the party policy, as settled after free discussion) by the judgment of the greater number. That while we are glad to observe that on grave questions there have been but few intelligible differences of opinion in the Irish Party, and none ditiicult of recon- ciliation \)y reasonable men willing to agree, we most strongly condemn those public disputes regarding minor questions of persons and tactics which have so gravely impaired the power of the Party. We solemnly call upon every man belonging to the Irish Parly, in answer to the prayers of our people all the world over, to forget old diflerences. to sink personal feelings, and to act for the future as good comr.ades and fellow-soldiers in the spirit of this resolution and in the support of thjit party unity, on which the fate of Ireland so largely depends. We ask tlie Irish Party to take such steps, as m.iy, in their judgment, be found necessary to the establlsliment of unity and discipline in their own ranks, in accordance with the resolutions of this Convention ; and we assure then-, of our unfailing support in the execution of this essential task." The Hon. i^. :w Blake, M.P. — Gentlemen of the Convention, the happy unanimity with which, after e.Nhaustive debate, the first resolution has been carried encourages me in the hope that the second resolution may meet the same result. You have already resolved with reference to those Irish Nationalists who are divided from the great organisation wbii h summoneil this Convention, who are divided from the Party, and from the majority in the country of Irish Nationalists — you have already unanimously resolved to extend to them a cordial and generous and frank invitation to enter into and move in co-operation with you in the sacred National cause. Reunion, as you have determined, is of the greatest importance to the cause of Ireland. You, as men of common n J r /-^ SECOND DAY—IIOK. EDWARD BLAKE, M.D. 23,-? sense, know that where a common battle is to be fought in one arena, the division of those who fight upon one side into two armies is useless, wasteful, and destructive. Furthermore, you recof.^nize that the union in the nature of things must be a cordial union, a vital union, a real union, a union of will and of sincerity, which shall make one single organisation governing the movement of the forces, as all complex organisations must, for effective work, be governed by the voice and morale of one single, controlling, self-created jjowcr. A merely nominal union, a sham union, really discordant, full of rivalries, seeking causes of dissent instead of try- ing to find common ground of agreement, would be, and if it has existed, has been an intolerable situation. The sorest woinids that can be inflicted uyion men are the wounds of their professing friends ; the most dangerous blows in the fight are those which are struck in the flank and in the rear. Numbers are important to an army ; therefore, we are for re- union. But morale is of far more benefit to an army than mere numbers. A general, it has been said, is \\orth forty or fifty thousand men. Why? Because his |)resence and spirit inspire confidence, and produce that morale and spirit which makes every man do tenfold work. Now, it has been said that wo are not doing anything practical. I say we are are doing business, and we are doing everything that is practi- cable. \\c began by the appeal wliich has been made to those wlio are effectively at this moment outside our ranks. We propose to deal in this Second resolution, which I humbly support, with the principles of union — not ineiely of the union wiiich we seek to consolidate with them, but also of that union which we wish to exist within our own ranks as they stand to-day, And, therefore, this resolution, in its first paragraph, describes that kind of union, which this Convention is asked to define, as the real essential union, which is to be its mandate to the people throughout the country : — " Tliiit wc rccdjjnise, .is the esscntml clement of tlie existt-nce of .in cfTectivc Irish I'arly, llie hearty cu-upor.ition and cheerful stibordination of each inilividual hi carry- ing out the party pcdicy as settled (after free discussion) by the judgment of the gieatcr nuuiher." I do not bel' ^ ,• that there exists in the breast of a single member of this Convention .. disposition to quarrel with the paragraph which I have just now read. Such a statement is true of all political parties. Our contlitts in this day, whether of peoples or of those who are represen- tatives of peoples, arc conflicts of opinion, conflicts of thought, conflicts of intellect, conflicts of emotion, where the arena is the field of thought. Men who are in general agreement as to great and capital objects towards which they seek to arrive, we must necessarily expect will combine for those capital objects while preserving a certain measure of indei)endence of thought and action, with a view to influencing those with whom they co-operate upon all the minor details and tactics which are to be used in order to reach the attainment of their great ends. In- telligent men, thinking men, though combining in the capital object, will yet necessarily have various shades of opinion upon these minor matters ; and in politics, above all tilings, questions of tactics, questions of ex- pediency, as distinguished from questions of principles — questions of time, of method, of manner, of ojjportunity, of ])lace, of degree— are the commonest questions with which we have to deal. All these various I lifif i m J r r- i\ i'mi'.i in' LBH ■■^19 £iiiii^H^ HmjpiJB 'M w^^^^Kw '^^^H^K ^^Jl^^' j^^H 1^1 ^^^^^^Fo^l ^^^^■n T^K J^M^BtbR ^M V "1 ■•^ O SFCnXf) />.!)- If ox. KDWMU) lll.AKF.. }f.P. 235 \\ clcmeills liavc nolliin;; to do witli i)riiici|ik-. Tiny :ii\; very ilillHiilt, very complicated. Ifpoii tlu'iii iiilmi will difl'or in jinlgnicnt, but if they do not agree to suhonlinate their opinion to the oi)inion of the greater number of their fellow-countrymen, there can be no successful party action, there can be no taking even the first step towards the common end. Free consultation there must bo, wliere\er consultation can in tlie .stress of battle be had ; but after that consultation, in which every man is free to s|)cak his own mind, a derision arrived at by the majority must be accepted by the others,not, indeed, violating their consciences, because if a capital occasion occurs in which a man believes that the wliolc future will be wrecked by the pursuit of that course, he need not vote for it, but. ivithcbaw ([uietly from the party. So much for the cases where consultation is possible. Tln're are other cases in war, and there are other cases in the Parliamentary conflict, where ].revioiis consultation is impossible. Nobody who knows anything of |)ohtics but knows that nothing is more likely to hapjjen than the unexpected in the course of a debate. On the floor of Parlia- ment the general in command may find himself confronted day after day, hour after hour, with an absolutely new situation. It was my niisfortimate at one time to lead a jiarty, and I Iiave often said to my friends — "Oentlemen, I will consult you whenever I can, and as often as I can, upon what I forecast to be the future, so that you should share my responsibility. Occasions may arise when no previous consultation is possible ; then I will do my best according to my judgment, and then I expect you will stand by me as loyal men facing the enemy, sustaining me for the hour, whether in the flank or in the rear, and if uiion the whole you think 1 am not worthy of your confidence, then later on court-martial me." While this is the rule in ordinary political parties, and a rule u])on which I myself have acted — while I say this is the rule of ordinary political parties, and applies to ordinary political battles, does it not apply with tenfold more force in the case of Ireland ? Ours is a case wholly exceptional. We arc waging a war for a nation's cause, and our success depends ufjon our presenting to the world the spectacle of unanimity. At the best we are eighty-five men in the midst of a Parliament whose total membership is 670. We are few as we stand. Are we to be for ever divided ? We may, perhaps, be weakened by the loss of a few votes. But divided counsels are infinitely more deleterious than the loss of a few votes. Our enemies rely to-day, as they relied in darker days, upon our discord. You recollect that speech of Lord .Salisbury, in which, with brutal frankness, he told the English people not long ago that all they had to do was to be patient a little with the Irish trouble, for that ever since the days of Strongbow all Irish troubles settled themselves by the divisions that arose. I say to you, take counsel from your adversaries. Be wise, and learn a lesson, before it is too late, from those jibes and taunts that are directed at you. 'I'hesc jibes and taunts are applauded by the enemies of Ireland. It is always said to be only the great majority that fails, and dissenting individuals are encouraged. Why ? Because discord is the best thing in ofier to render powerless the Irish race, and achieve a continuance of that domination that it is our duty to overthrow. Now, I don't like quotations, but I will give you two short quotations. They are from the speeches of two prominent men in the ranks of Irish politics, ^ 1 \ . c/V^ 236 IlilSII HAi !■: CONVEyTION. !! i I made al the grand Convention lield in tliis city in November, 1892, after ilie (lencral Election of 1892, and tiiey deal with the situation which had been treated by the unliaijpy split, and solved, so far as it was possible to solve it, at the deneral Election. The first reference that I shall read is by a man now unhappily retired from the service of the Irish Party because of those dissensions which we deprecate A Voice — Sexton. Mr. Blake — Mr. Sexton said this — " A united Irish people, a unitci] IrisVi I'-irty, lias licen substantially restored. The grand princi[iles, the indispensable principles of conduct and action, liave been the subject o( our struggle. If those piinciples had been su|)pressed the Irish cause was lost. What were lliey? Let me rec.iU Ihcm to your minds, and I ask you to fix them on your minds for over. The first was that the Irish cause, the cause of Irish liberty, and the fortunes of the Irish people, is supreme in its demand for allegiance, in its claim upon tlie services of every Irishinan, and no oilier cause, and no other claim, shall ever he brought into rivalry or competition. The second principle was that the representatives of a people struggling to be free must firmly act logetlier. They must net together or they will not win. The third principle is that in order that they should act together they must pledge themselves to disci|)line and obedience. The lourthand final principle in this code of fundamental and indispensable principles of the Irish cause is this —that the penalty for the breach of this solemn pledge is exclusion from public life. I say if these principles had been suppressed the Irish cause was lost. These principles were challenged ; they were allacUed and they were defended ; they were defended and they were maintained ; they have bi en maintained and carried to the front of our public life, and there they will remain lor ever." I am afraid that that promise has not been fulfilled, and owing to the disappointment of these expectations the eloquent speaker, whose words I have read, has for the time felt himself forced to quit the arena and cease to give the country those unexampled services that for many years he ren- dered to the cause which is dearer to him than lile. Now, I want lo read for you another extract or two from a speech delivered at the same Con- vention by another able and prominent member of the Irish Party, who has not withdrawn from public life, though, I regret to say, his presence does not adorn this platform. " What, then," he asked, " should be the spirit in which we approach this occasion ? I say in a spirit of reserve, in a spirit of recolltction, in a spirit ol due solemnity ; and I say that if there were patriotic hearts in Ireland — I care not how extreme they be — to hail the coming of that dtiy, they should rejoice and they shoukt be willing to work in unison with their brethren, no matter what minor det.ails have separated them. I decline the invitation lo make current controversy in Ireland one long post-mortem examination, and if we fail by our dissensions, by our divisions, to achieve the purjMse which we all assert, history will not engage in a discussion as to a nice apportionment of blame, but will curse the folly of the men who, in the l.ast and the declining years of the great statesman whose life is dear and precious to Ireland, sjient the time in odious recrimination. True it is," he said, speaking of those upon whose conduct he was animadverting — the separated minority, " true it is, they rate themselves very highly, and adopt noble maxims. Did you ever know in the history of heresy and schism that one was ever started without maintaining that it alone had the true deposit of faith ? Did you ever know any creed to be promulgated in any country that there was not something to be said in lavour of? And accordingly I take my stand " — as I take my stand this day— " And accordingly I take my stand in regard to all the questions of the future, in regard to the Honrie Kule Bill or any other mailer. I judge them by one fact— namely this, that they pledged themselves before conventions and the country to abidf l>y the rule of the m.ijority, and they have broken that rule. And why is it that they /!>: ( ■ -J) -. / o V SECOXl) DAY—Iioy. KhWAIil) HLAKK, M.I'. .'.57 sinnfl aloof from llicir countrymen ? Is it n question of principle, some qne^tions about the Innd or the judiciary ? I say it has become the merest personal question. There arc ccriain men who would rather rule in hell than serve in heaven ; who would rather he captain of the Forty Thieves than a private in the repular army. If the>;e nine statesmen came hack witliin the bosum of their parly — for it is their party— and had to debate in the forum and councils of that party with Mr. Sexton, Mr. John Dillon, or Mr. 0'Hrien,on questions of land or judiciary or of veto, I think they would very soon lind their level and their match." I rigrcc with those scntiniciils ; hut they arc not applieahlo tu I'ai- ncllitcs alone. 'I'hey arc not applicable to I'arncliites cliielly. Tliey arc applicable to other men and more modern .situations. I apjily them to- day, and to-day they arc as applicable as they were that day. Well, now 1 say that it is better that there should be 71 really united men according to the principles that arc stated in this resolution, than 82 divided aj^ainst themselves. And better that there should be 60 than 7 1 so div ided. Now, turn to the seco.id jiortion ol the resolution which states — " Th.it while we arc gla'l to observe that on grave questions there have been but ft-'W inlclli^ilile diflcrencis of opinion in the Irish parly, and none diflicuU of recon- cili.aiion by reasonable men willing to agree, we most strongly condemn those public disputes regarding minor questions of persons and tactics which have so gravely im- paired the power of the party." You will obseive that this resolution is framed, I am glad to observe, by Mr. Webb in the spirit which ought to actuate the spirit of this Conventi'-n ; it deals with ftimlamental principles of action, and does not invite dispute as to the merits of individuals or minor tiueslioiis. This paragraph deals with two great questions — first with fundamental (}ues- tions upon which we have agreed on which I need say nothing more ; and next with minor tiucstions of dispute. Now, how are these eiuestions to be treated to-day ? Some of us would like, on such an jncxaiTi|)led oc- casion as this to vindicate ourselves from attacks on matters to which no doubt this resolution has reference. A great service was done for the Irish cause at great personal cost in the silence which has been observed in these conditions. It was believed that on the whole public disunion, scandal, and dissension, which is a fatal thing, should cease, and the effort was made, perhaps too long, to preserve silence under attack so as to minimise the atmosphere, the area, and the acuteness of dissension. Gentlemen, will you allow me to say a few words as to Irish public service in Parliament? It is a service of sacrifice. We agree to forego the great opportunities of honourable ambition in ordinary politics. We accept no office ; we accept no honours ; we touch no remuneration. We are debarred by our voluntary action, by the inexorable conditions of your service, from the assumption of those active duties which many men feel competent and desirous to discharge. Our only reward is, that under these conditions, sitting in an alien, and, until lately, an absolutely unsympathetic Parliament, we have agreed to act as we have acted, and have done the best we could for our country. Let me tjuote the words of Kdmuiid Uurkc. Speaking to his electors, he said :— " It is not to be imagined how much of service is lost, from spirits full of activity and full of energy, who are pressing, who are rushing forward to great and capital objects, when you oblige them to be continually looking back. While they are defending one .sersice they defraud you of a hundred. Applaud us when we win, console us when we fall, cheei us wh«a we recover, but let us pass on, for God's sake kit us pass oa." . t (\ x: ^ lii i II HNS '~TJ »38 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. He goes on to say — " (Icntlcmcn, wo must not be peevish with those who serve the people, for none will serve lis where there is a Com I to .s.•rv(^ I'lit those who nre of ;i nice and jealous honour, they who think everylliinj; in comparison with that honour to he ilusi iinil ashes, will not i)ear to have it soiled ami impaired hy ihose for whose sake they m.ike a thousand sacrifices to preserve it imnuiculale and whole." Now, if I riglilly catch the spirit of this gathering, a spirit with which I highly sympatiiisc, you arc iigaiust entering into tlie si|uali(i details of that jKist wliicli yoti and I alike dci)lorc. 'J'lie chief accuser is not here. You have heard enough, and too nuich, for yotirself and for the cause of Ireland in the I'ress aiul on the platform. 1 will not even gu over the bead-roll of these accusations. I have ten or a dozen of the capital headings by which men in the forefront of the battle have been wounded — wounilcd, al IS, through the sides of Ireland in days gone by, and which have culminated in a course of negativing all i)arty discipline, those who called for the abolition of the comnnttce voting against its abolition ; those who called for the rise and progress of the Irish National Federa- tion decrying it and trying to paralyse it; those who called for party meetings systematically refusing to attend and help the deliberations of the |)arty ; those who called and |)rcssed for the National Convention refusing to attend it ; every occasion seized upon the lloorof Parliament to array men against the party action ; to make rival proposals ; to flout the rightful authority of the chair, and to paralj se anything like united and determined party progress. That situation is intolerable. Mr. Sexton, whose words I have quoted, has left the ranks of your service on account of it. Mr. Webb, who moved tliis resolution which I am supporting, has also left the ranks of the Irish I'arty in despair. Others of us have thought it fit to submit to the arbitration of the people the question and the situation before deciding upon our course ; and this Convention is called in order that the voice of Ireland may speak — that it may decide, not as against men or in respect of particular accusations, hut decide and affirm what are regarded as the fundamental principles of unity and subordination, in order that it may invoke a general amnesty, a general shake hands in concert and co-operation, and in order that it may give directions to the Parliamentary Party to do those things which may be needed to maintain unity anil discipline in the ranks. The resolution, as I have said, enters not into the tnerits of the disputes. Nor do I. It is the publicity of them, the time and the place, and the method of which we complain. It is the insubordination which you are asked to condemn. Some change is needful, lest there be a collapse of the Irish Parliamentary Party. God forbid that there should be such a collapse. Then what change ? The ne.xt paragraph of this resolution states the change for which we entertain, we are determined still to entertain a hope ;— " We solemnly call upon every man belonging to the Irish Party, in answer to the prayers of our people all the world over, to forget old dilTcrences, to sink personal feeUiigs, and to act for the future as good comrades .ind fellow-soldiers in the spirit of this resolution, and m the support of lliat party unity on which the fate of Ireland so largely depends." Our hearts are for peace, your hearts are for peace ; the keynote of this Convention is peace -a real peace, a genuine peace, founded not on the ..-4''- L ^ / ,^i^-A-'%i .'.:{:! 'i'/.'ii ; X Ml, *4e iiiisii ifACK coyvESTioy. vain protraction of disputes and difll-rencc!) about the past, but on for- gutfiiliioss of that painful past. Let us turn the bitter and shameful page, let us tear it and destroy it, and let us write a new pag-; of unity and foigetfulness of tiie evil [last, and go forward again as comrades to a glo- rious future. The lesson is obvious, the utility is plain. I ini|ilore and entreat that our olTered hands may be accepted. In the course of this struggle some wounds, undeserved, may have been inflicted upon me. I freely forgive them all. I am sure that, with every desire to say no unnecessary word, or do any unnecessary act, in the iieat arul strain of this struggle, I may have been teuii)ted into wcjrds which others may consider undeserved. I do not wait to be asked. I humbly beg par- don for any olfence of that kitid. 'riiis should be an occasion for the exhibition of peace, charity, and goodwill. Christians, although worship- l)ing at other altars, wo are united in worshipping the (iod of love, in acknowledging our trespasses and asking to bo forgiven, as we forgive ; and I am (|uite sure that the spirit in which this paragraph is framed must meet with the strongest support and sympathy Irom those ministers of the (lOspel who .adorn this hall by their presence. One word may I quote from a sweet singer of the land from which I come, though not the same division of North America, from the poet Whitlier— " Lcl us, then, united luiry All our iillu feuds in dust, And to future conllicis Ciirry Mutu.ll faith .tnd coniniun trust ; Alw.iyfi he who most forj^iveth In his lirother is most )nst." God grant our prayers may prevail in this great Convention —this supreme organised effort of Irish nationality. lUit, gentlemen, if unhai)piiy it should not be so, if our professions — genuine and sincere — are not ac- cepted, if the platform which we have laid before you is not agreed to, shall this movement collapse ? Shall we lay down our arms — shall we, of the m.ajority, confess ourselves beaten ? No, a thousand times no. Shall you abandon the ship, or shall you endeavour to reorganise the crew? An intolerable situation — may it end by mutual .agreement and good will, as, under the Providence of Cod, it ought to end. If not so ; then how ? By the same steps which have vindicated that prin- ciiile of unity and discipline to which the first paragra|)h of the resolu- tion gives adhesion. Such were the genuine conditions which settled the terms of the Irish National Parliamentary service, and which shall give Ireland an army which, though somewhat reduced in numbers, shall at all events be thoroughly efficient, acting upon those lines on which alone an army, small or large, can hope to achieve success at all. With this proposal the closing paragraph of this resolution deals. You are asked to instruct and to strengthen the hands of the Irish Party in a contingency which we cannot leave out of count. We trust and hope it may never arise, but if it does it must be dealt with. " We ask the Irish P.irty to take such steps as may in their judtjment l)e found ncccssaiy to the estaljlishnient of unity and iliscipline in tlieir own ranUs in accord- ance with the resolution of this Convention, and we assure them of our unfailing support in tlie execution of this essential task." If this meeting so interpret the duty of the Irish Party to ourselves, and to the people for whom we sjieak, so instruct us. Cive us the word. Yours is the duty of decision to-day. On your decision depends the ^ / SKCOXn DAY-MR. JOHN li. D'llinaiXS. »P future of tliis phase at any rate, of the movement, anil if this pliase fails, well we know iliat another phase, less hopeful and less pleasing to tlic Iri'-h people at larne, will have, in all probability, to be stiffcieil before a consti- tutional movement will a^ain emcrne. (lentiemcn, 1 have not used word.i of an^jtror of passion. I have not sought to excite in your hearts emotions other than those of which my own heart is full. lUit when a ^rave and festering wound has to be dealt with, it is necessary to |)roi)e it and see where the misdiief is, and I iiope I have said no words stronner than were absolutely iu'( essary in that connection. I havi: tried to set before you, in restrained tones, a plain and vital issue, and (Jod grant tiial you may be wisely tn.ded in the judgment you shall give, Mr. John D. O'IIigcjins, iioston — My lords ami fellow-dele,?atcs, I bear with me a message from the Hibernian Knights. It is a messagu of good will and of well done to honest John Dillon and the members of tliu Irish Tarty. I bear more, and I am sorry to say that it is a message that you won't like so well— a message to the rank and-(tle of my fellow- countrymen. The members of my society say to you : " Have d.jne with treason." They say that you have elected to a position in the Ihitish Parliament men who are traitors to Ireland. A month or two ago we held a small Convention, what we call a gathering of the clans, and we had a series of resolutions i);e[)ared by men who have ma<lc many sacri- fices in support of Irish liberty and in defence of the Irish cause. One of those resolutions denounced the man, who I am sorry not to sec hero to-day,in order that I could convey it to him — Mr. John Redmond, as well as the people who have elected him to the [)osilion he occupies. The Other resolution dealt with one who I own has done good service for the Irish cause, and whom I also exi)cctcd to sec here, and they desired me to say to him that though his work was good when it was well done, nevertheles, he acted like the cow that pitched over the bucket of milk, and deserved to be punished accordingly. Like your noble friend, Father Flynn, the proposer of that resolution, owing to its having been stated that Mr. Redmond and his followers and Mr. Ilealy and his followers would be at this Convention, withdrew it in favour of union and harniony, now we find— or at least I do find— that delegates who have come across the Atlantic Ocean to sjieak on behalf of unity are called something like dupes and nobodies, aye, and we are called tourists from Canada and America. Why don't these gentlemen take a little tour of probably only thirty or forty or fifty miles, and come in here to hear what the people of Ireland have to say. Aye, and they refer to the men who have held aloft the flag as the people who filled their pockets with gold and sold Irish seats. Well, that was enough to show mc those persons would not be here. Immediately on landing at the Cove of Cork yesterday morning I happened to get hold of a little newspaper jjrinted in the Rebel City, and 1 noticed the expression upon it, "This so-calletl Convention of the Irish Race," and I said to myself " The serpent is in Rebel Cork as well as in Dublin." Well, gentlemen, there is just one other message I have to convey to the Convention, and it is this that we believe that you have been too easy with those recreant members of the Irish Party. We believe in exacting the most rigid discipline possible from the Irish members. And why ? Because nearly a thousand years ago when a united Ireland , \ »;'--i' I '\ II (■■• •4» IIUSII HACK CONVKNTION. il ^ 4i ;;? '■ was onrc before created out of chaos, there is no other way to do it except hy the heroic methods of Ilrian Uoru, ami tliose methods were that people who were not with liini were against iiim, and were recoj;nised accordingly, and I trust that the Irish I'arty, the National Party, will recognise that there is no other way to deal with tliose people tlian to consider them from this moment against them, and act accordingly. Anil, men of the constituencies, I hope that when they do act you will be at their shoulder to a man, and to a woman also. It has been said that if the Irish I'arty did their duty there would have been no disunion. Well, I believe in my heart and soul that the reason why the Irish I'arty did not do their duty is because the Irish people had not done their duty just as well. A worthy soggarth from the South delivered a very sensible address before you to-day, and I will say to you in the lan- guage of the (iael, •do •>! ciiajir aijo.* I will further say tiiat in America, in speaking of the few intelligible differences of opinion in the Irish Party, we can hardly find a difference at all. 'I'he only thing that we can find is this, that there are not offices like that occupied by as good a man as ever adorned it to go around amongst so-called leaders. While you may call upon men belonging to the Irish I'i.rty, we over in America make a demand upon them ; and here let me say that, while a number of patriotic and true-hearted Irishmen and descendants of Irish- men voiced the opinions of those whom they rejiresent, and begged and appealed to you for union, the peoi)le whom I represent do not appeal to you ; we demand of you to have union. And why ? Some two years ago, at a Convention of the Ancient Order of Hibernians in the city of Omaha, Nebraska, an effort was m.ade to have a certain percentage of the large amfuit of money subscribed by the members sent to Ireland, and when we made an effort to have that motion carried it was found that, because of these little, miserable, and unintelligible differences amongst you people here, the Irish in America, representing that Order, refused absolutely to do anything because they thought it would only breed further dissension. That is the reason why we demand unity— in order that the money which has formerly tlown into the coffers of the organisation that is represented here to-day should again How .across the ocean, and so that, even if they could not .strike a blow for the dear old Ireland with our hands, the money that we would send over would hel]) to do it. I have one other little mes.sage to convey. I/Ooking over the faces of the men present at this Convention, I notice that the youth of Ireland are not as well represented as they might be. No, because they are to-day out on the Western plains beyond the Rockies, performing in the streets of IJoston and Chicago and other places ; and what are they doing ? They are hoping against hope that some day they will be able to return back and strike a blow against the oppressors. That is one of the reasons why they are not here. They are trying to show to fingland in their own small way that until she does justice to Ireland's claims, and recognises Ireland as an independent part of the United Kingdom — if you can say so much without speaking treason — we will work and toil, and build a cordon of tire about her — such a fire ns has • "lie was tight." 11 SKOOh'l) DAY—MH. JollS It. O'lllUdlXS t.\^ lii'cn built about litr in Smitii A(rir;i and ollur iioitions nf tlie j^lobe where the luinlcd fugitive Irislnnan has found a resting; place, I du not say that n» a threat. I trust that they will reroj;nisc that we area power, and not to be sneered nt or scolTed at, ami that it will lian;; over I'inj^land n» the sword uf I )anioeleH. I tell them also that the sooner Ihcy turn their forcinn faction out of Ireland, and Kt the Iiish people goVL-rn themselves, the better it would lie for tlie peace ol I'jiglaiid .ind peace of her people. I believe tiic su-i^esiion 1 nude will U-: ailopted, not only by the Irish I'.irty, but by the Irish peujile, and il the Irish people arc uintcd with the Dillons, the Davitts, and the (^'llriens, and the rest at the head of them, they are sure to succeed. I .say — " Knaves and Iraitum ttaml aside, • l-°uc tij lu'liknd, pX^ un boulac." The CjiAiKMAN — I think, in one w.iyor other, this second rcolulion has been debated at considerable lentil), and, luiless there be any person present to speak against il, I sIkiII put it from the (^hair, but iiefore doing so I think it riKht to say that two risoluiions have i)ccn h.inded in Irom different {|uarters, which I consider to be neiniane to the second resolution, and it would be rijjht, before putting the second resolution, to give the gentlemen interested an opportunity of speaking if they are so (lisposcd. Mr. Davht, M.P. — This resolution has been handed in by Mr, Michael Ilowley, of No. i Itranch Irish National Le.igue in Keiglitley, on behalf of Daniel .Smith and William Moran, ICdinburgh, of the John Uillon ai»d W. E. Gladstone Uranches I.N.L. of (ireat Britain : — "Tlmt, owing to the miseralilc squabbles wliidi have dispracod ilic Irish l'arli;i mentary I'aity <luiiiic the p.ist six yoais, rh>' cause nf tlonic KiiU', in our uiiiiiiini, has liccn seriously imperiled, the infhience of the party considerably lessened, and the ho]ies and nsplr.itions uf the best ami truest of our people chilled ami thwarted, lielievinu tlint the cardinal principle of unity should form the basis of the ileliberalinns of this iniporlant jjatherint;. we would respectfully urj;e when, after due consideration, its dccisiona have been arrived ut, every eflort should be made to impress on the various constituencies the absolute necessity of demanding the immediate resignation of any representative, no matter how marked his abilities ut how great hit wrvices, who neglects or refuses to abide by majority rule." The Chairman — If any of these gentlemen who handed in these resolutions wish now to speak, I ask them to come on to the platform and speak to the second resolution. There being no response, The Chairman put the second resolution. There was a general shout of "Ayes," and one person s.iid " No." The Chairman — It is carried with one dissentient voice. Several persons called out that it was in mistake the delegate said "No." The Chairman — I have been informed that the voice saying " No" was in mistake, and I declare the resolution carried unanimously. The ( JiAiUM.vN — Now, unless the gentlemen interested in the reso- lutions read by Mr. Davitt come forward to propose them, I shall assume that they are satisfied with the instructions which are given in the resolution No. 2, and, more markedly still, by the voice of this Conven- 'i^.^ .-C- Jv'SKl'lI I'ATIUCIC 1!Y.\.N (Sff lip. IL'J. 285.) Wll.i.IAM I.UNDDN (Sou 1)1). 127. L"J,).J f^KCOXD DAY— MR. JOHN DILLON, MP. ^t5 tion, lliu Irish Paity to take cffertive means to preserve tlioroiiRli discipline in their r.inks. Mr. John JJiilon will now speak to the third resolution. "Thai lliii Iii^l) Rare rdiivciili'iii rc-as'rils the iiiv.iicuviml claim of Ir.F.LAND A Nation. We <kclaie lliat lOiii^laml is (;ovi.-rnin^ IiLlaivl wr.>n ;liill) , by coercion, ami a(;ain4 tlic iieoplo's will • that each year proves afresh ,• lutilityul ihe attonipt ; that Irish evis mainly How frdiii alien, irrcspunsilile, imiiifurmcd, aiul uii'-yiiipathctic rule ; anil that nci j-^licy, whether uf .severe repression or of paitial conces.sion, ean allay her rightful discontent, or will slacken her eftorts to obtain a I.c_L;islaturc anil an Kxeciilivc making; and aihniiiiilerlnt; laws f.ir Ireland by iri.shnicn on Irish soil. \Vc declare it the prime duly of the Irish rarliamcntary I'arly to continue to maintain its absolute independence of l'jif;lish political parties, and tints to preserve its freedom to give an independent opposition or an iudep-ndent support to any p.irty, at may seem best in the interests of the National cause." Mr. John I'jii.i.on, M.P. — I Invc come here to-day to place myself unreservedly in the iiands of this (Convention. 1 came here prepared to answer cliarge.-; if they had been made where they ought te be made — in the face of the people. I came here prepared promptly and without reserve to obey the mandate of tliis Convention, and if it had asked me to follow any other man in the sacred catise of Irish Nationality, withottt hesitation, and, I may add, without reL;ret, I would have accepted this course, and would have shown that I co.ild obey, that I cottUl obey others, and that 1 knew what discii)line me.ant. I have risen for the purpose of supporting the third of these resolutions, but, with the kind pcrmi. .iion of this Convention, I think it might be lair to allow me to say a few biief words on the general questions which have been discussed, and, first of all, I am proud to sec, and more rejoiced than I can tell you, that .rom the begiiming of these proceedings, triumphantly successful as they have been, and liaught, as in my inmost heart I believe they arc, with a rich promise for the future of Ireland, no single man from all this mighty gathering has atteinptcd to epiestion the supremacy of this <^ nvention. And that I think iti itself is a matter of first and most essenti,' ''iportancc No man has lisen up to question the supremacy of this Cop untion, and when one looks back on the history of this Convention, and considers the methods by which it was st'.mtnoned, I fail to utiderstand how any honest man could tpiestion its right to speak for the people of Ireland. How was this Convention called into existence? The suggestion came this time frotn across the ocean, from a great man, none the less Irish because he occupies a lofty position in the Church of another nation, and who in his person typifies some of the greatest, tlie most historic, the most magnificent glories of our race, that they have carried the dominion, the faith of Ireland, to far foreign lands at the other side of the globe, aye, nnd have occupied lofty positions, higher than the position of [irinces, in that great and illustrious Church to which I am p"-- d to belong — thoi:gh Christians of all denominations are wclcom - i., this platform to-day and in thi.i hall. 1 say that this great man w lO first suggested this ('onvention typifies in his person also these glorious traditions of our race, tint no matter where they are scattered, and no matter to what eminence they may be elevated, no m.itter to what Chur'^h they may belong, their hearts are still bound to Ireland and to her cause with an indissoluble bond wliich neither thousands of miles of ocean nor long years of separatioi,. cm tear asunder. T "-tj 'LT 24C IlUl^n RACE CONVENTION. m And I confess I must ask tlic jjardon of the delegates asscmhlcd for being drawn by tbat eonsideration into a very brief digression— I con- fess when, in the early days of tlie preparations for tliis Convention, objection was taken to our opening tlie doors of the lialls and platforms of this gathering of the Irish race to the spokesmen and representatives of Ireland's scattered sons in America, in Australia, in South Africa, in New Zealand, and wherever that race lias been scattered by persecution and ill-government, I was astoumled, I may say I was horrified, that there could be found a man on the soil of Ireland who, with the un- paralleled and immortal record of the fidelity of Ireland's scattered children, could object to invite them into the councils of the nation, and to give to them that voic; which surely they are entitled to iiy ilio glorious part which they have borne in the past struiigles of our peoiilj. And in that invitation, in spite of objection, was included not only the men represented by the delegates from America and Australia, but Iho portion of our race who, throughout the years of our struggles and agony, have borne a i)lace in the vanguard of the battle, and who endured scorn, outrage, and boycotting, and were often driven from the workshops anil mines of (Ireat IJritain because they would not deny the land of their birtli — the land for which, if need were, tl.ey would .spill their blood. ^Ve were told that we sought to out-number the voice of the children of Ireland by the foreign delegates and the delegates from England. The men who held such views must be content to shut out from the future struggles the help of those men who had sacrificed so much. The scroll which hangs in front of me is the best answer to those who .say the children of the Gael in England have no right to a voice amongst us. We are assembled here to-day, and have delegates from every branch of the scattered Gael ; and I put it, has there been any attempt to out-number the representatives of Ireland, or has any- body been denied voice or vote ai this Convention ? Now, I come back to the question how this Convention was sum- moned. It was summoned, first of all, by resolution passed by the Irish Party, nearly unaniiiously, many months ago, afifirming that a great Convention should be called ; and later on, when the preparations were more advanced, the body of rules under which you meet were submitted to a duly convened meeting of the Irish Party, and at that meeting every member of the party ought to have been present, and the rules and constitution were unanimously agreed to and passed by the Irish Party, and this resolution was adopted : — "That wc cordially invite Mr. John Rcilinond anc! his friends Id co-op?rato with us in a ."inimon, earnest endeavour to make the coming Convenlioii an ■■iTective means of sali.slying the widespicad yearning of the Irisli race lor thorough union." By that resolution we invited the Parnellites to come in, not only to this Convention, but into the Organising Committee of this Convention, and to act with the Irish Party in securing that their party in the country was fairly represented in tiiis gathenig. I'iiey did not do so. Wc could not coerce tlicm ; but what we did was to act in such a manner as to bring the conviction to the mind of every man who takes an interest in Irish politics throughout the world that we did our best in the direction of union. Well, not having succeeded in getting the co-operation of the \\\ SECOND DAY— MR. JOHN DILLON, M.P. 7^^ Parnellite party, we proceeded, with the ajiproval of the Irish National Patty and Irish National (Jryanisation, in carrying out tlie arrangements for this Convention. Anil now I come to the point which 1 wouhl com- mend to tile common sense of the delegates present. I say that it does not lie in tb-: month of any man who belongs to th" Irish Parliamentary i'-rly, and who deliberately stays away from a meetinj; of the Party, to Jeclare that he is not bound by the act of this meeting. lie cr.i no longer truly say, if he pursues such a course, that he is acting with the party. And, therefore, I say that every member of the Irish Party without exception — they number seventy-one — is bound to recoL;nise the consti- tution of this Convention as sealed with the approval of the whole party. And I was glad and proud to observe that in )iis powerful and eloquent speech, and he alv'ays speaks with po.ver and elotiuence— I have heard him under very difficult circumstances, and under a much more difiicult circumstance than he occupied to-day — I allmle to Fatlier Flynn, of Waterford, for on more than one occasion in the streets of VVaterford we stood side by side in very unple;.sant circumstances. He always sjieaks jiowerfully, and I was glad to notice that at the outset of his speech he recognised in the fullest way the supremacy of this Convention, and the duty of every Irish Nationalist to abide by its decisions. Well, I am sorry to miss from the floor of this Convention some men who ought, and I trust will, abide by its decision. If Father Flynn and other men in this hall recognise the supremacy of this Convention, and that it is in reality the voice (if Ireland, has that been the attitude of all the metiibers of the Irish Party? I am sorry to say it has not been that attitude, I regret that tne foreign delegates and many otlier members of this Convention have been obliged to see this great assembly denoumed as a hole-atid-corner meeting — as a packed Convention, and as a meeting which was worthy of no respect and no consideration whatever. Now, I venture to say, regarding the proceedings of yesterday and to-day, that there will be found very few Nationalists in Ireland who will stick to that view of this Convention ; and if they do pretend to adhere to it I think they will find that the voice of Ireland has been heard here to-day, and that their view will find little support in Ireland. Now, in this connection I desire to say that I listened witli great interest and gieat pleasure to the speech delivered by, I tliink, Father Murnane, who represents one of the London branches of the League. He "xdvo- cated — and I could recognise in the tone of his voice an honest and an earnest desire — to bring about union in the Irisii P.irty ; anil he spoke with an eloquence — characteristic of many Irisli priests. He might remember, and I trust he will remember, that it was owing to the majority of the Irish Party and our action that he got leave to speak in this hall. For to men like him an effort was made to deny thijin the liberty of this platform, and shut their mouths, on the ground that they were strangers and outsiders, and had no right to take part in this Convention. Well, my lord, this Convention is assembled — I challenge any man who has an honest mind, who takes u[) the constitution under which it has assembled, to say that there was ever called together in Ireland a freer or more ojien Convention, and I say we have been listening for many long and weary years to charges and complaints of - ' '.;' ; •- X— ' — III' " >4A IRISH RACE COXVENTION. the most complicated and ever-changing characier. There is not a man, there is not a colleague who sits around nie, who has not been denounced and abused by those who ought to be his friends. For my patt I do not care how much any man may abuse me so long as he does not scandalize Ireland in the process. A certain section ol tiie I'ress in this country is teeming with allegations and cliarges. My lord, I say that lure to-day, l)efore the peoi)le of Ireland, those charges should not have been made, or the authors of them should iiave been on this platform to-day, or o\ight to be for ever silent ; and I ai)])eal to every delegate in this room, no matter what his views may be, whether he believes tiiat I am right, whether he agrees with my policy or not, I appeal to him for the honour of Ireland, and for the sake of the public life of this country, to set his foot resolutely and strongly on a continuation of these scandalous disputes. My lord, it has been said that personality and personal ambition stand in the way of the advancement of Ireland's cause. I st.Ued before this Convention assembled that if it should be found, either now or at any future period, that the Irish National members of Parliament — and 1 include now, for tiie purpose of this statement, all members re- turned to support the Home Rule cause — would assemble together and say, We will not follow Mr. Dillon, he has taken too active a j)art in previous bitter disputes — we will not follow this man or that man, but will select anot'ier man who has not taken part in this dispute, I say joy- fullj', and with a sense of immense relief, I would place my resignation in the hands of these men, and invite tnem, without regard to personal feelings, without regard to personality, and in the name of God and their country, to unite again, no matter who was made their leader. Some men seem to think that the position of being chairman of the Irish Party is very cheerful, under present circumstancci even, and so attractive a position that a general struggle and scramble for it have been going on, resulting in I mysolf out-distancing my opponents. ^Vell, ladies and gentlemen, I assure you that, thovgh after a brief experience, it is not all pleasure ; and I do say this, that I caiuiot understand how any man who has a sense of fairness could attribute, under present circumstances, to any individual an inordinate ambition to get into the position, unless it be that he argues from tlie condition of Iiis own mind. But I repeat this olfer from this platform to-day. Let the other men, whose names have been shibboleths of faction, meet me on this issue. Let the Par- nellites andjlet the Mealyites, if such there be — I am not aware that any member of the Irish Party is prepared to go before his constituents and declare himself a Healyite — let tiie Parnellites and let the Healyites, if there be any such— as Father Flynn suggested there are three parties in Ireland — let them assemble at any time during the autumn in Dublin and say, " Stand aside, Dillon ; stand aside, Redmond ; stand aside, Healy; and we will unite under another man," then I say I am their man, and I shall be the first to sign a pledge binding me to loyally follow that united paity. The fact of it is that, in dealing with these matters, we have been, to a certain extent, beating the air — lighting with i)hantoms. Charges and allegations have been made, and when you close with them to disjirove them, like the figure in the ancient fable, they dissolve in vapour and cloud, and Ircsh forms arise before >ou oa the path. When these li: m 3 K V-' i| I i Ij: '5° imfiTT RACE CONVENTION. matters arc all analysed they come down to questions of personalties; and I say it would have been an everlasting shame to Ireland — a shame from which this assembly happily entirely saved the country — it would be an eternal shaini; if i)crsonal i[Ucstions were allowed to ti;ar asunder the national f(jr(cs when tiiey were face to face with the implacable enemies of their race. Let me say a word on tiie ([uestion of party discipline and union. What I would implore of this Convention — though indeed it is not necessary to njake any appeal to tiieni, because they have by their action shown how keen an apprehension they have of the true princijjles on which a party must be founded — what I would implore of them is this. We have in the complexities of contention and quarrels to some extent, lost sight of those vital principles on which all i)atties throughout the world are founded and governed. Jf you break up and destroy the unity and discipline of that party you can have no progress. You have henrd from a man who can sjjcak with the authority of cxijcrience, as leading a great party himself (the Hon. Kdward Bl.ike), those princi[iles which must rule and do rule all])arties. If those principles as laid down by him apply to all parties, I say that they api)ly witii a thousandfold force to the small body on whose fidelity and on whose unity in the very heart of the camp ol tiie enemy the cause of Ireland rests. If it is the duty of Canadian or American parties to insist on unity and disci|)line, it is clear it is ten times more the duty of the little army of Ireland to insist upon a far more stringent discipline. We know that in the great parties of England, America and Canada there are many w. : of holding men together which do not exist with us — many ways ol influencing men who are inclined to go outside the party lines ; and in those countries the fate of a nation does not depend upon the discipline of any one party. In England or Canada, and if the party is negligent or disunited the punishment comes surely and swiftly, and it comes in the shape of the other party, who drive them out and come into power in their place. But in the case of Ireland the situation is totally different. We have no other party to take our places. We have not got command of the Government of our country, and our differences and our disorganisations and our personal disputes are visited on the miserable country which has sent us to tight its battle. We do not make way for another party. No, but we open the gates to the enemies of Ireland, and the consequences of our divisions are written in the tears and the blood of our people, and the endless prolongation of her sufferings. Therefore, I say in the name of God and of Ireland, never forget to mainiain untouched and untampered with the essential principles, which are the foundation upon which the Irish Party rests. I would ask what are those principles ? They are embodied in the pledge, but not sufficiently clearly embodied to defeat the ingenuity of men who are very able and very ingenious, and who desire to escape. But the pledge binds men not oidy to sit an<l vote, but to act with the Irish Party ; and I say deliberately that if it were to be considered free to men to defy on the platform and in the Press, as well as in the House of Commons, the deliberate judgment of the majority of the party, then I say the pledge becomes a mockery, a hum- bug, and a delusion, ami you will very soon have not only three parties, but at least a dozen parties, each led by a leader of its own. SECOND DAY— MR. JOliy DILLON, MP. 251 Therefore, what I claim to be the basis on which all party disciphne and party unity and t-ffcciivencss must be placed is, tinit tiicrc sluuild be given a loyal and earnest supi)ort by every member of the Tarty to the policy of the I'arty as a whole, and that the support sliould not stop even inside the House of Commons, but should be extended tlirougliout the country. The illustrious Hisliop of Meath some time ago in a con- versation that he had with the late Mr. Tarnell asked--" How did you keep the Irish I'arty togetlier?" He replied— " 1 kept it together by enforcing the rule of the majority. I sometimes thought the majority was wrong, but the great principle was that we should act together." It has been said by one priest here to-day in a most eloijuent speech that tiie minority should go wilii the majority whether the majoiity was right or wrong. Well, it is possible to conceive a case where a member of a minority could not see his way to do that. I5ut he has a remedy. If his conscience will not allow him to go with the majority, I say, for the sake of his t ountiy, he should stand aside. No.v let me say a word or two as to the future. I think myself, and I have long thoiigiit it, that too much has been said in a despairing tone as to the present position of Ireland, keally to hear some peojjlc talking you would suppose that the whole history of Ireland since the Union was the history of a united and unbroken jiarty until the year 1890, ^VI)at are the facts of the case ? There never was a united party in Ireland until 1S85, and it is most instructive to anyone who has to deal with the present situation in Ireland to look back for a moment to the history of the formation of the united party of 1885. Here is an extract from apapcr which is not a great friend of Ireland, but it is an interesting extract, and very much what is to be read in the same paper today — the London Tiiius. This article was written in the Tiiiirs oi tile 30th Marcli, 1S80, commenting on tlie general electioi". that was then taking place. And during that election, as many men around me on this platform and in the body of the hall to-day will remember, Ireland was torn asunder by differences. Nationalist being pitted against Nationalist in many of the constituencies. And here is what the Times said : — "It is not ill Wexford county .iloiie tlmt Mr. I'arnell's nominees are fniuid un- acccplaljle. lie can scareely fail to ilibcover that no true, durable unity can exist among Home Kulers. Tliey ni.ay at;ice to make themselves as disa;;recal)le as they can be to I'arli.anicnt, and may with one accord join in impeding puhlic business at Westminster. liul nothin;.; can shape into a homogenous party an unprecedented piece of political mosaic. Any trivial incident may break up and resolve into their original elements the motley collection ol intimidated or coerced Liberals, Nationalists Federalists, earnest lovers of Catholicism, and haters of the priesthood, '.rue sons of Ireland and men who have no real connection with it. The compact lasts just as long as no strain is put upon it. But only let Mr. rarncU and Mr. Biggar ende.ivout to cany some particular point which they have at heart, and the world is pretty sure to sec that the Home Rule I'arty is but a mob of politicians wliu bear no great love towards each other." Now that was the way in which Ireland presented itself to England in the year 1880. What occurred? An election took place, and on 27th April the Irish Party met — that is to say, all who had been returned to support Home Rule, and at that meeting a question arose as to who should be the chairman ot the new Irish Party that had been returned. V^ J 35' nUtill RACK coy VENT ION. Mr. I'.irncll was proposed as chairman, ami Mr. Sliaw w.is proposed ajjainst liini. 'I'lic p.irty divided, and Mr. I'ariKl! was carrii'd to tlic chair by 2,? votes to i8 — simply a majority of 5. What oceurri'd then? In a short time tlic minoriiy {piitted the majority, and finally crossed the floor, and for (our years tlie Irish Party was split, 32, 1 think, was the nimib.T of the J'arnellite Party, and a considerable mnuber of Irish Home Rnic niembirs ojiposed them from the oii])OSitesiile of the house. Within the ranks ol the Parnelliii; Party there were men who kicked over the traces, men of ability and position who objected to party disci|)line, and they fmally (iisap|>cared out of Irish public life in 1S85 ; so that during these years thire was not unity, there was division ; but there was a fight for unity, and what saved Ireland was this, that the princi|)les and practice of a united party were never surrendered, but were held up before the people, and when at last an api)eal was made after four or five years to the C')nslitue')ciesof the country then there was a united party, bn ;uise the constituencies took the matter into their own hands, and they ajiprovcd of the [iledge and the whole machinery by which since that day the Irish Party has b .en governed. What I would say is this, that so loni,' as those ])rinciples are stood by, and, above all, tu long as here, in the face of this mighty assembly, they can he asserted and unanimously aiijiroved, it is nonsense to talk about despairing of the futuie of the Irish cause. Le.ideis may come and leaders may go. You change the /tv.i'.v///(7 of your leaders and the /cmiww/ of your party, secession may occur, individuals may leave you, but so long as the great i)rinciple of unity is held up and insisted ujion by the peojile, and so long as a united party is held to be essential to the ell'ective constitu- tional fight for Ireland's liberties, then so long, I believe, Ireland will rally round that standard. For my part, my position in this matter is exceedingly simple and ex- ceedingly easy. My principles are known throughout the country; I am for a discijjlined jiarty. I am for a united ]»rty, and I am for maintaining that unity at any cost. I am in the hands of this Convention ; 1 am in the hands of the country, and ultimately in the hands of the Irish Parli.i- nientary parties — Parnellite and Nationalist — if they will assemble and agree to follow any other man. My i/ersonahty will never stand for a single hour, nor for a single moment, in the path ol Irish freedom, nor will it be allowed to stand for a single moment to obstruct the reunion of Ireland. So long as 1 liave a mandate from the people I will fight for unity against every man who assails it. I come now to say a word or two on the third resolution. I need say nothing on the opening put of that resolution, which simply re- asserts what is the first article in the creeii of every Irish Nationalist, that is our seperalc national right. I shall confine the very few remarks I have yet to make to tlie second portion of that resolution, which says.. that— "It is the prime duty of the Iiisli Parliamentary Party to continue to maintain its nl)Solute iiulepenilcncc of Ku^Iish political parties, anil t..us \.u iireserve its freedom to yivc an independent 0|ipositii)n or independent support to any party as may seem best in the interests of the National cause." That is a proposition which I believe will recommend itself to this grtat Convention. 1 do not believo that there will bj anv ditifcrence of SEVONJJ VAY—Mlt. JUllS DILLOS, M.l' -'5 J opinion in ronard to it. We hold that wc have always niaintaiiu'd the same independence which was tlie doctrine and liie creed ol our parly before 1890 hut wliat 1 want to lay before you, and before the country is tiiis. We do not seek to rake overa^-.ain the asiies of old controversies, we have faced the country and this ("onvention with this fresh piedtjc that we recognise it to be tiie duty of every Irish Nationalist to maintain an ai)solule independence of linglish political parlies. And if that be asked in tiie name of union, then in Clod's name we give it to the world as the first article of our creed and the first rule of our life in I'arlianient. Itut let me say this word in defence of the jiarty witii which I am connected. We have been charged, and from more than one quarter, with truckling to Engli.sh jjartics. I don't believe that we have ever laid ourselves o|)en to that charge, but it has been made, and I saw and read with astonish- ment a statement made in this city not a fortnight ago, that the object of my life was to make the National Party the tail of tlie English Liberal I'arly. Now let nic point out to you one fact. Some time ago one of the mulliludinous charges made against us was this — that so s-ubservient were we to the I'^nglish Liberals that, when the cause of Catholic educa- tion in I'Jngland was brought up by the Tories, we would turn our backs on tlie Catholic schools of England anil would support the Liberals. A Voice — You never did. That charge was made. It was made in various places throughout Ire- land — I need not recapitulate them, they will be in the minds of many men in this Convention— and it was made by members of our own party. Well, the timi; came for a decision, and I will say this, that there never wos an is'i\ie on which the Liberals of England were more anxious and more eager to get the support of the Irish I'arty. It appeared, from oiie jioint of view, rather a hard thing for the Irish I'arty, seeing that the Liberals had lately passed a Hume Rule Bill, and as they contend — I won't enter ituo an argument on the question — but, as they contend, they had been defeated at the polls because they were Home Rulers, that on the very first great question in which the Liberals were interested we should turn r und on them, and, as they put it, "overwhelm them with an avalanche of a majority." And I was appealed to personally. I suppose I received two or three hundred letters from the Radical leaders throughout England, imploring o( me at least to ask our party to with- draw from the House of Commons, and, as the cause of the Catholic schools was not in danger, not to humiliate the Liberals by increasing the majority to an overwhehiiing extent, and the Liberals in Parliament who had fouglit our battle appealed to me. Under these circumstances t' J Irish Party met, and would it be believed that the men who had charged myself and the men who work with me before Irish audiences with being prepared to betray the cause of the Catholics of I^ngland never took the trouble to cros., the Channel and attenl the meeting of the Irish Party when this great question was decided? And when this question was decided, what was"tlie action of the Irish Party ? The men who were concerned about the fate of the Irish Catholics and the possible action of the Irish Party in voting with the Liberals were not there,but we who had been told, and are now told, that we are the tail of the Liberal Party, we voted against the men who had offered us Home t :i li I I I I i 'S Qi i C'r' \ ■ SECOXD PAY- MR. JOHN DILLON, MP. 155 Rule, and we showed to the world by the Kfcatcst proof that any parly could give that wc Hland as inilL-|)t.'n(lunt of all llrititli iiatticx on tlio Moor of the House of Commons, at lt;.ist as Mulc|K'iidiMit as :iny party tlwit cviT Went before us. Vts, we Notccl independently, and we rireived tho united thanks of tlic Catliolic llishops of i'ln^Lind, and I hope, and I have some reason to hope, that when lldniu Kule <'onies up ai{.tin tho Catholic Bishops of iMigland ami the (,'atholics of Mnnland who voted against Home Rule at the last election will not lorKct our action. And now I <lialK'nj,'c any man to ronie again before an Irish audience and say that I was trymg to make the Irish I'.irty a tail ol tlu! Liberal Tarty. I faced the Liberal I'arty when the men who make these charges bkulkcd in Ireland. I stand here surrounded by the men who, by their services an<l record, are entitled to speak, and in the name of the honour of their couniry and of her most sacred interesis, in the name of thu Christian faith tluy profess, and of the chanty whidi they are bouixl to observe, I ask those who make these (hari;es to eonie forward now, when they have a full and aiienlivc audience, to make their i ouipl.iinls and slate their charj^es, and it they have not done so, I ask ihem to be silent for ever, and lo allow Ireland to go on undistracted by these petty, contemptible, houible, and deadly disputes, which have drajincd our sacred cause in the mire lufore the people of the worki, and which I trust and hope it will be the proud privilege of this so-called "holeand- corner" and "bogus" Convention to bury in an oblivion which no man will ever break. Mr. Daviit, M.l'. — The Convention will adjourn until to-morrow, at eleven r)'clock. \Vc have received a number of messa[;es from Queensland, Newfour.dland, and other places, which I shall hantl to the Press, i'he Convention adjourned at four o'clock. Letter!) handed to the Press ; — St. John's, Newfoundland, 17th August, i8y6. To THE Chairman dp the Irish NArioNAi, Conveniio.v. My Lonl,— On liolialf of the people of Newfoundland, we send to you llirou|»li our delegates a heartfelt jjteeliiit;, a warm word of sympathy and encourai^enicnt in the plorious work )ou have undertaken--naniely, the nathcrinj; together of the various llrcms of National life in Ireland into a ini^jhty and irresistible torrent of love and paliiotisiti, which shall sweep before it all obstacles, and blend every drop of heart's bloiKl that wells up in the bosoms other sons into one (jreat ocean of National unity and National stren);th. The delejjates to your Convention briii^; with them to the hallowed shores of Irrland the mandate of the Irish people from iho furthest corners ol the earth. \S'he[ever the sun shines upon the home of a child of the Irish race, irom the fro/en regions of the North to the burninj; sands of the tropics, from the distant lands of the Kast to the golden shore« of the I'acihc, from every elinie, and every land, there goes forth a cry— a henrtreiulinf; cry, an ajjimisinu cry, at the painful prospect ol the unreasoning; and patricidal disunion which prevails amoti); the ranks ol those who are in the van of the fijjht for tlie liberty aiul prosjjcrily of our motherland. And you, [jentlemendelefjales, are sent by us with a mission of innnensc meaniny. Il is a divine mission in a sense, for it is to echo the voice ol a (jreat people cryiny out for justice and jieace and unity, and as such, it is the voice of tJod himself. We send you not toentieat, or to sue for, but to connnand, u truce lo these divisions and dis- unions, and a brotherly embrace and hand-shake of love and yoodfellowship. The ■li - , . n IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) /. 1.0 I.I 11.25 lj£ Bii 12.2 •Uuu '1.4 II 1.6 ^ o> ^.^* ■^ >* Photographic Sciences Corporation '^"^^ 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14SS0 (716)872-4503 I ^ i ■ ^ ( / '- a5« IRISH RACE CONVEXTIOy. leaders of the National cause in Ireland are but the trustees nf the Irish people, and they are accountable not only to the small remnant, who, surviving persecution, famine and emigration, still dwell within the shores of Ireland herself, but to the luilliuns of her racrf who people the distant countries of the eaitli, and to whom every green so<l and every ivy clad ruin of the dear old land, are sacreil and revered pledges, cherished in the deepest memories of their licarts' and guarded with a jealous anxiety against encroachment or desecration. In this great Convention of the Irish people it is meet that Newftjundland should have a place, yea, and a leading place. Looking back over the annsils of our history we sec many a page lit up with the glorious record of her sympathy with Irelaml in her times of trouble, and of practical aid in her times of want and hardship. We claim the p'oud vaunt of being the "Ireland of the West," the earliest colony of Irish emigrants in the western world. The nearest point of America to the old land. We stretch out our arms a thousand miles into the Atlantic ocean to gr.asp in the warm clasp of fellowship .ind welcome, the hand of our motherland, to bid her have courage, and rise triumphant from her Inindage and become a nation among the countries of the world. We pray that God may bless this supreme eflort for union, ami that the setting sun of the nineteenth century may cast its golden splendour upun a prosperous, peaceful, and self-goven ing Ireland. On behalf of the people of Newfouiidl.and, * M. F. IIowi.KV, Bishop of .St. John'>, Chairman. P. J. Uo\Lli, Secretaiy. Greymouth, New Zealand, 28th July, 1896. To THE CHAIRNfAN OF TUB IRISH NAITONAL CoNVEN HON, DLHLI.N. Sir, — The Irishmen of the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand regret their inability to send a delegate to your Convention. They, however, as requested, send the following letter to express their views on the object of the Convention. Irish- men at home and abroad are fully conscious of the many disabilities under which our native land suffers. We are likewise cognisant that these must be removed before our people can live in any peace and prosjierity in the land of their birth. We, the children of Erin, have been driven into exile, and nearly every foreign land gives a refuge to many of us who, if our civil affairs at home were pro|)erly mannged, would have been spared the many miseries resulting from expatriation. But we are aware that tho future welfare of our native land, to a great extent at least, lies in the hands of her elected representatives. And what a power for good for Ireland have they not proved to be when they i)resented a united front in the British Parliament. That union secured lor the Irish Parliamentary Party the respect and admiration of all the lovers of our country throughout the world. It obtained for it many measures of amelioration which could not otherwise be obtained. It brought joy and hope for the future to the sea-divided Gael ; and on account of it the children of Erin in all ]'arts of the world, together with their many friends, cheerfully opened their hearts and purse-strings and contributed most generously to aid the good cause at home. But now we regret to see that the demon of discord has managed to edge in between, and creatid disunion amongst the elected representatives of our native land, uixjn whom rested iM;r highest hopes. Every mail scatters broadcast to the ends of the earth the fullest account of the bitter attacks and mutual recriminations made by the members of the Irish Parliamentary Party on each other. At this we, in foreign lands, hang our heads for shame and become very much disheartened. No men should know better, from bitter experience, than the Irish Parliamentary Parly that "a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand." The history of our nation and our people [wints out more clearly than that of any other nation that nearly all our national misfortunes have arisen from division, disunity, and divided counsels. Cannot past experience bring with it a profitable lesson for the future ? We hope so, indeed. Shall division and divided counsels continue to prevail in the ranks of the Parliamentary repiesenta- tivcs, and cause ihem, however well-intentioned and individually patriniic. to do most •^ 'I I I t' J b O-,. ) ■ ^•-"' SECOND DA Y--CORnESrOXDEXCE. 257 V.-. r efTectlvely by their moiius ai^tmiivihM is most pleasing lo the very bitterest c-.unies of our native land ? Well, we hope that the happiest results will accrue from the Convention now assemliled, ami we shall ever look upon those as the enemy of our country and rice who shall in any wny mar the object for which the meeting was called. And as we believe that Home Rule is the key to the solution of all the Irish difficulties, it is the ardent hope of the Irishmen of Westland, New Zealand, many o( whom are now m declining years, and who have always supported the cause of Ireland in hir legitimate struggles for the amelioration of her condition, that Providence may cement in solid unity the members of the Irish Parliamenlry I'arly, that so they may lie able to obtain by their united elTorts what the Irish race so much desire for their native land and what divided counsels can never attain. And may I le who controls the hearts and councils of men guide you in your deliberations to so laudable an isuc. Signed on behalf of The Irishmen of the West Coast of thf. South Xslano of New Zralanii. Croydon, N. Queensland, July loth, 1896. To John Dll.t.ov, Esq., M.P., Chairman Irish National Party. Dear .Sir,— The Home Rulers of Croydon, wishing to be represented at the Con- vention of the Irish Race to be held in Scpteml)cr next, h.ive this day apjioinleil the Rev. V. K. Landy, (J.S.A., as our delegate. He will present duly accrcilited cre- dentials signed by the Mayor, Mr. Tarbart, and other intluential gentlemen. Willi an carnesl prayer that the labours of the Convention will result in a comiilote union of the whole of the Irish race, \ ours failhlully, Jamf.s IIaii.. Devon Chambers, Hunter and O'Connell Streets, .Sydney, 28th July, 1896. John Dillon, Esq., M.P. My Dear Dillon,— I regret that it has not been found feasible to send a delcsale to represent New South Wales at the forthcoming Pan-Celtic Convention, to be held in Dublin on the 1st of September; but. although New South Wales will not be represented by a delegate, the interest which the friends of the cause take in every, thing that concerns the welfare of the movement continues in unabated strength. Some of the effects of dissension in the ranks of the Nationalist representatives of Ire- land in the British House of Commons in regard to the progress o( the movement are too obvious and deplorable to need mention. If the people of Ireland could on y realise fully the effect of this dissension upon the friends of the Irish cause who reside out of Ireland, I feel certain that the people would insist upon their representatives once again presenting a solid, united front to the opponents of Home Rule in the British Parliament. It is simply impossible for those who watch the progress of the movement from a distance to understand by what process of reasoning any (nend of the Irish National cause can tolerate the existence of rival sections in a >ational Party which has but one object-the restoration to Ireland of her right to Parlia- mentary Eovernment. . . ,„.,,,„ c, j The resolutions which were carried at the public meeting in he Guildhall, Sydney, last evening (and which are forwarded herewith), were carried with the enthusiasm that has always characterised Irish Australians in regard to the National ca jse. The proceedings at the forthcoming Convention must attract the attention of all well-wishers, not only of Ireland, but of the British Empire, as no sentiment exists more strongly than that the concession to Ireland of free Parliamentary institutions would be the most effective means of not only restoring prosperily and hai)piness to the people of Ireland, but of strengthening the Empiie itself. I can assure you that 2 L K^'') 5 'i I I ^^ i' I I r^^ h m 1 1 ■ ■ ( ^mtl "\ «S8 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. in no part of the worM will the proceedings at your Convention be watched with greater interest than in New South Wales. There is but one Bcnliment expressed in regard to the Convention, and that is, that its labours may result in once more placing the Irish National question in the van of British Political questions, and that the long deferred hopeol the Irish people may soon be realized with the attainment of a measure of freedom equal to that enjoyed by the British Colonics. Yours faithfully, Frank B. Fkeehill. St. r.itrick's .Society, Cornw.ill, Ontario, 14th August, 1896. Resolution moved by Mr. M. M. Mulhcrn, seconded by Mr. J. F. O'Neill, passed unanimously, and de-iircd to be conveyed to the Irish Kace Convention through Hon. John Costigan : — " VVhcreas, a call has been issued for a Convention of Irishmen, to l)e held in the city of Dublin on the 1st of September, for the purpose of uniting the Irish people the world over in the cause of Home Rule for Ireland. We, the members of the St. Patrick's Society of Cornwall, being desirous of placing before the ttssemblea delegates our firm belief in the principle of Iloine Kule, and believing that the united .nction of Irishmen, and those of Irish descent, at home and abroad, is neccss.iry to achieve the end for which the Convention is called, we heartily endorse any action taken. Having watched with feelings of pride the rise and progress of the Home Rule Party under thewise and patriotic leadership of the Kite Charles Stewart Parncll, anl noted the success attending their efTorts, and firmly believing that the cause of that success was mainly duo to the firm and united feeling that existed in the ranks of the Irish Parlia- mentary Party, ably assisted by the Irish people, both at home and abroad, therefore, it is with fc'-'lings of regret and humiliation that we notice that division? have arisen since the death of the late lamented Irish lea'!er, and we hail with joy the summons iss\ied for a Convention of the Irish Race throughout the world to formulate a policy whereby the forces of the Home Rule Party can be reunited, and the dissensions that exist be hcale<l ; and we hereby tender our sincere support and influence, both morally and financially, to further the aims of the Convention." K. O'CAi.l.Ar.iiAN, President. F. G. O'Hagan, Secretary. Message to the Convention from the Irish Home Rulers of Southern Tasmania, assembled in meeting at I loliart, rerpiesting Uev. T. M . O'CalLighan to represent them ; moved by Rev. J. O'Mahony, seconded by Mr. E. Mulcahy, M.H.A., and supported by Rev. P. OReilly :— "That this meeting views with sorrow the continued dissens'on in the ranks of the Irish Nationalist Party. That, though we consider it no part ot our duty to dictate to our friends at home the proper course to be followed, in order that this dissension maybe healed,yet, living as we do in a democratic community, we desire to impress upon our delegate, and through him urge upon the Convention that, in our opinion, the majority should rule ; that this is the only way in which the existing breach will be closed, and dissension will in the future be avoided." Telegram to John Dillon, M.P., Dublin :— " Success Convention ; Irishmen Rockhampton urgently recommend unity— Kei.ly, Gii.lkspie, Wynne." SECOND DA T—COIfRKSPOXDKXCE. 259 P. O. Itnx 419, Pretoria, S.A.R., Qth AhkusI, 1896. Jas. F. X. O'BrikV, F.sq., General Secrul.iiy, Iri^h National Cmivcntion, Westminster, S.W., London. Dear Sir, — At a nicotinic of Irishmen, held here nn 2lst nil , the resolution, whirli I have much pleasure in cnclosinf; hciewilh, was passed, and I was instriiclcd to send the s,ame to you to l>e read at the National Cimvenlion, which is to be held in Duhlin in the first week in Septcnilier next. It expres-es the sympathy of the Irishmen in this town with the view of the reunion of the Irish Party, and they sincerely trust the purpose for nhich the Convention has been convened will he accomijlished. Yours respectfully, '* M. C. IlAYl'.s, Hon. Secretary. At a meeting of Irishmen held in Pretoria, South African Ucpuhlic, on Tuesday, the 2lst July, 1896, the following resolution was unanimously carjied : — "That this meeting of Irishmen assendiled in Pretoria deeply <leplore ilie dissen- sion that still exists among the Iri^h I'aily, and express hope that the coming' National Convention ' will uniie all sections of the Irish representatives, and erase for ever the evil elements of dissension and discord." Ai.iri'.dJamf.s Fl.VNN, President. James Paul Gkraciii y, Vice-President. Co iimiltee : T. CUNNAMA. IIf.NRY DU.\N. T.Geary. J.V. O'Brikn. \V. n. Barry. W.Nixon. Edward I-'ariuii,. Thomas Lee. W. C. Haves, Hon. Sec. ::;) '(. \. r /( \ n •=>.. ^ ^ 1:.;'- i V" r KEV. DKXn O'lIAlcA. (Seepp 128, L"J«.) ItEV. lUCUAUD LY'lTLE <See pp. IK), 301.) \j-V DENIS KILBRIDE, M.P. (See pp. 131, 300.) GKOKGE J, LYN.SKEY. (See pp, 136, 303.) '«-»^. ■ W V,. .-• L ^6' J THIRD DAY— 3U1) SEPTEMBER, 1S96. The chair was taken at ii o'clock by lliu chairiiian, the Most Rev. Ur. ()'l)()NNi;i.i,, ISishop of Rai)lioc. The Chairman — .Mr. Davitt will read some correspondence. Mr. Davht, MA'. — I am re<|uested to announce that the Conven- tion of the Irish National League of dreat liritain will assemble at lo o'clock to-morrow in this hall instead of Saturday, as fust agreed upon. The following cable has been received by his lordship the chairman :— " Mosr Rkv. Dk. O'Donnei.i., Cliiiirmaii Irish Convenliun. I Iiujic tliat, in llic interests uf roumlos thou-.uncls of the youiii; people of Irel;iml. llie result of yoiit deliberations may lie unity, cuinplele an.l entire, amnnKst your rarliainenlary repre- sentatives. MlcilAKl. J. IIknrv, Kectoi, Mission of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Protection of Inniii[;iant Girls, New York." The following is a telegram from Leeds ; — "CitAlUMANt Irish Kach CuNVENnuN, I.jiuster Hall, llunslet Irishmen send greclintjs to bretliren from all parts. Trust result of deliLieralions will restore party unity." And the following has been received from Bris'.iane : — Brisbane, July 2ist, 1896. The Chairman, Uubi.in Convention. Sir,— At a public meetinj; of sympathisers with Home Kule for Ireland, held in this city on the 17th insl., the following resolution and address to the forlhconimi; Convention were unanimously adopted : — Resolution.— Proposed by J. Leahy, Esq., M.L.A., seconded by J. T. lieli, Es']., M.L.A., and supported by A. Dawson, Esq., M.L.A., and J. lloolan, Esq., M.L..\. :— " That this meeting approves of the holding of the foithcoming Conventional Dublin for the purpose of uniting the ranks o( the Irish Home Rtile Party, and exjiresses the hope that, since disunion in its ranks must retard the realisiition of self- government for Ireland, every effort will be made by all members of the Party lo promote united action in support of the great principle." Address.— Adoption moved by C. P. Fitzgerald, Es(]., M.L.-'V., seconded by E. J. Sydes, Esq., M.A., LL.P. :— Wc have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of an invitation to send a dele- gate from the Queensland supporters of Home Rule for Ireland to the Convention assembled for the purpose of restoring unity amongst its supporters in Ireland, and beg to thank you for the high privilege thus conferred on us. We tender our con- gratulations on the occasion of the meeting of such an important assemblage of the supporters of Home Ride from the different portions of the Kmiiire, and sincerely hope that its deliberations will ensue in the achievement of the great purpose for which it has been called. It appears to us that under the most favourable conditions Home Rule will not be granted by the Imperial Parliament while disunion exists amongst Home Rulers themselves, and we are strongly of opinion that such disunion is disastrous to the cause. Suc'.i opinion being substantially sound, it follows that the necessity of union amongst its supporters in Parliament is a question of paramount mm f s y U I' i t ! 1 1 ' ' :\ /" ,y "Lr- 263 IRISH HACK CUNVENriON. iinpcmancc. It follows alsollial every interest ami ilitfcrcnce of opinion, no matlei liy «lml p.irly il may Iw entertained, should \y.' suliorilinated to the iiritnary necessity of rtstoiinH union aimmi^st its supporteis in Ireland, ami in I'arlianientaiy action as an umlividtil bwly. On lielialf of the (,luc(.n>land supporters of Home Rule we pU'd(;e aj;.iin our assislance to the caiisr, and to the Irish rarliamentary I'urty tu «honi its couilutt liai been cntru ted hy the voice of the Irish people. Thomas J. Hvknk, Chairman, Attorney-General for (Queensland. The Chairman — Gentlemen, a notice appeared on the agenda paper of a resolution dealing with the custody and trusteeship of funds. That resolution lias been withdrawn. But I have I)ccn told by leatling members of the party that they looked forward to the discussion of that resolution as an op[)ortiinity of explaining to the Convention their views and principles in regard to these funds. Hence, later on in the course of the debate, a leading member of the party will state to the Conven- tion why it is the view of the party that tl e party should be the trustees, tliat the party itself should have the custody of the party funds. Dean Harris has a few woids to say to you. Very Rev. Dean Harris, St. Catherine's, Ottawa — My lord bishop and gentlemen, it is exceedingly courteous and kind of the distinguished and most rev. chairman to permit me to address you for a moment on behalf of a member of our delegation, who has been, not by insinuation but by interrogation, foully aspersed, I am sorry to say for the honour of the Press of Dublin, in one of the newspapers. This gentleman has brouc;ht his charming wife with him from Ottawa over here to attend this Convention, and the first reception he met with was that he was the companion and consort of Le Caron, the British spy. Gentle- men, this is not fair. This is not generous, this is not honourable, and, ladies, this is not Irish. Let me add that, as to the gentleman whom I will call upon this platform, there does not walk on the acreage of the Dominion of Canada a man more respected, a man who for the unparalleled series oi thirty-three years sat on the Aldermanic Board of the Corporation of Ottawa. More than that, which will appeal more strongly to your manhood, a man who, when the cholera ravaged the streets and houses of Ottawa among the Irish emigrants, took off his coat and carried the coffins on his back at night and laid them in conse- crated ground — a man who nursed the patients, stood by them, soothed them, bending over the sick, when, mad with the instinct of self- preservation, the friend deserted the friend and the brother turned away from the sister in the agony of self-preservation. This is the good man who, for his good deeds, his charitable deeds, has built up for himself a monument in the hearts of the people of Canada, that in Dublin, by one newspaper, was stigmatised as a spy of the English Government and a friend of Le Caron. A man who was honoured and decorated and knighted by his Holiness the Pope, not as a reward for military renown or prowess, not for distinguished literary achievement, but for the great and permanent qualification that he was an honest man. John Heney, stand up. Chevalier Heney (Ottawa) came forward, and was greeted with pro- longed cheers. ._^__^ 'i"-^, ^^^----i^^^- r 1 I r i \:> >J THIRD DAY—RKV'. DNAN HARRn^. jfi^ Very Rev. Dean Harris — This is a man who has the proud hoast that he has in his employment 150 Irishmen, and to minimise tiie importance of this veneraliie patriarch this newspaper, by interrogation — for it had not tiie manhness to say it straight, or Mr. Ilcney would proceed against it at the cost of a iiundrcd thousand dollars— but by interrogation it suggested that this man was a friend of Le Caron, the British spy.* * On Friday, Augu.st 2S1I1, Mr. John Rolinnii.l's oigiui, llio Ms/i Daily Independent, wound up a long article of attack on the American delegates to the Iiish Race Convention l>y the expression of " The hope that if the delegate described as ' (Chevalier ' Honey is the '.amc who in company with the infamous M.ijor Le Caron attended a certain meeting of Irish extremists as far back as l866, that the fact will lie duly notified. We have no desire to pry too closely into the antecedents of anyone who comes a long distance to attend the forthcoming funeral of Mr. John Uilhm's reputation ; Imt in the interests of the public it may be well to know who exactly some of the delegates at large are when they are at home and abroad." The p.ipcr in which this vile and utterly false insinuation w.is made ag.iinst this veteran Irish patriot of stainless character was for some d.iys kept from his knowledge, and the knowledge of his wile who acconi|ianied him to Ireland, liut at last a niiirkdl copy reached him through the post, and the insinuation is here repelled by Kev. De.m Harris and Chevalier lleney himself. Next day, 4th Seplemlier, the following ripoits of Very Rev. Dean Harris' and Chevalier Heney's S|X'eches appeared in the liidel'ciuUnt ; but, so far as can in: found no apology whatever has been given ; — " Dean Harris, Toronto, complained of a statement made in one of the papers that Mr. John Heney, one of the most honest Irishmen in Can.ida, who had spent the greater part o( seventy-four years of life in serving Ireland, had been the companion and consort ol Le Caron the liritish spy. This was not fair, honourable, or Irish. " Mr. lleney, the gentleman referred to, said that he alwayr, help.d the IriA movement in Canada. If it were for nothing else but the Chairman's address he would go home satisfied. The paper that had made the statement complained of had not the manhood to come out next day and state they believed it was not true. Continuing, Mr. Heney mentioned that he was born, not in (,'ork, but in Killeshandro, Co. Cavan. His wife was born at Lisnaskea. Her father was a M'Manus, and her mother an O'Connor, and that was not bad breeding stuff." The fact of the charge was cabled to Canada, and naturally laused the greatest excitement especially in Ottawa, where Chevalier Heney is universally res()ected. There was a constant interchange of cablegrams on the 3rd Septemlier between Ottawa and the American delegation. The Hon. John Costigan received the following cablegram : — "Costigan, Shelbourne, Dublin. — Papers report Heney charged associate Le Caron, Harris de ending him. If true, intense indignation here.— AuAMS, Walsh." The signatures affixed to this cablegram were those of Hon. Michael .\dams. Senator, and another equally respected resident of Ottaw.i. A reply was forwarded calculated a.? far as possible to allay public indignation, liut other cablegrams were received, amongst them two from the Rev. Father Whelan, of St. Patrick's, Ottawa, than whom no priest is better known or more loved — "Ottawa, Ontario, 5.14 p.m. "To Costigan, Delegate, Dublin. — Inquire attack Heney, suspicions. — Rev, Father Whblan." And later : — " Ottawa, 9.3s p.m. "To Heney, Dublin. — Unearth author. — Whei.an." Chevalier Heney has since, ive are informed, been unable to obtain audience, retractation,or apology. 11 X:: ^,-5 -X ■■/^ I " I r V a Q e M Q o TIIIJiD DAY-CUEVAUER IlENEY. »f>.s (' ^ c- Chevalier Henky, Ottawa — {icntlemen, I am only just going to say one word. I am a workingnian, and not a speaker. I came here with tiic one word — to try if possible to tiirow oil over the disturiied waters. That is my mission here to-day. I did take an active part in the affairs in Canada, and was an alderman of the ciiy, and the city grew up with me. I behcve I am the oldest delegate who came ai ross the sea. I am seventy-six )ears of age, and still an active nian. My lord, 1 am pleased with my visit, if it were only to have heard your lordshiij's splendid opening adilress. You, gentlemen, whom I see before me on these chairs, are the men who rule Ireland. It is for you to send your representatives into Parliament. They will do your honest work. It is you who can make your members tremble. When you go back to your districts, club together, and never forget this meeting. Let your mem- bers be honest and true to you, and we will be true to you. I left these shores fifty-three years ago a \wor, naked lad, without a dollar in my pocket, and since then I put thousands and thousands of dollars through my hands, and I never closed my hand to tiie emigrant, and never will. I came not from Cork, but from county I'avan, half-a-mile from Kille- shandra, where I was born seventy-six years ago. As an humble man amongst you here, I hoi)e that good will come from our mission amongst you, and the message I have received to convey to you is : " For God's sake, do something to reconcile our people, and we will be delighted." Since I have landed I have done all in my power to do this. I am accompanied by my wife, and I may tell you that her father was a M'Manus and her mother an O'Connor, and that was not bad breeding. I do not wish to keep up this any longer. I have been, I think, intruding on this meeting, and I will resume my seat. Very Rev. Canon M'Cartan, Donaghmore — My lord and rev. fathers and ladies and gentlemen, my first impulse in addressing you is to express my own and, I am sure, your great pleasure at seeing a digni- tary of the Church occupying the position in whicii Dr. O'Donnell now is. I think it is a happy omen that we are assembled here under the blessing of Leo XIIL, and had our proceedings conducted orderly, wisely, and with dignity by a venerable Bishop of the Irish Ciiurch. I think, moreover, that he is exactly in the right place, because, ladies and gentlemen, our poor country has been very much lately distracted. Differenies have arisen, giving rise to uncharitableness. I'riesls and people have been divided, and it is now high time that the episcopal body should take charge of a rather disorganised Hock But it has come to this ; and the time is now when I believe action such as this must be taken in the interest of good order and in the interest of religion. Having said so much, I wish to say a word with regard to the honour- able and right hon. gentlemen that I see around me from foreign parts. I hope and trust in God that they will not consider these as])ersions which have been cast upon them by a miserable Press — that they will not take them as an expression of the opinion of ninety-nine per cent. of the people of Ireland. It is a sad commentary on the exigencies of faction and parties that men can so far forget themselves as to speak of men who to-day appear in Ireland as nobodies — I did not read their paper to-day — and to describe them as spies and informers. There are two gentlemen connected with that paper, and I think it is due from 2 M \ d III ; r k I l.\i :.. 'v. iM lUlf^n RACE COXVKNTIOy. them, if tlicy have any 8elfrcspcct, if they have any gratiimle, if they ever expect to look an lioncst man in I he face, it i» their duty to repu- diate tlicse charges. 'I'here are somo ot those men who went abroad to collect money, and only lor sim h ncnllcniun as we liavu here Ironi foreign pans, they would have to pawn their watches ni order to get hack to Jrelind. I speak, however, now as a (.'atholii: priest, and I say it is sad tothnik of it. 1 remeinher in '79 and '80 the Lite lamented Archbishop, Dr. M'dettij^an, came to the Conlerence, his pockets lined with money sent Ironi America, to do what he liked with lor the people of Ireland who were poor. He was enabled to give checjucs for ^"50 and jC^o° to distribute amongst the jwor people. Here to-day we have men from all quarters — from America, Canada, and other places — all branded as " nobodies " or traitors. Gentlemen frcmi foreign paits, I beg to assure you that it is an honour conferred upon you today, becau-.e the man is not worth his salt to-;lay in Irt;land who does not receive attention from the same quarters that you have received it. Well, now, t;enilemen, having said so much — and being the first priest that spoke after Dean Harris, I could not say less — 1 now turn to the thiril resolution. 1 will not read it. The pith of it is that as England has wrongfully, by coercion and against the people's will, governed Ireland, it is the hounden duty of the Irish Party to continue and maintain their independence of Knglish political pariies, and thus preserve its freedom to give an indepenuent opposition or independent support to any party as may seem best to the interests of the National cause. Now, gentlemen, the success of this Convention will flepend upon the jjractical results ; and I say the first resolution — I was sorry I was absent from the statement the chairman made upon some little points in connection with the resolution, but it is left to the Irish Party, in their solicitude lor the welfare of the National cause, to take such measures as are possible to our cause in the promotion of unity. I pass that by, and pass to the subject of unity. It is a waste of time discuss- ing it. It has been thrashed out. Without unity there is disorganisation. In the Church to which I belong we have infallibility. It is the power that keeps us right in the ecclesiastical and spiritual order. If you go outside of that, and treat of human affairs, there is no way devised by the ingenuity of man by which order or unity will be preserved exce|)t by majority rule. By majorities, Poor Law Guardians, Town Council- lors, Parliament itself — even the bishops, when they meet, decide on questions by majority. If you don't admit the principle of abiding by the decision of the majority, you have nothing but political heresy. Now, gentlemen, 1 am delighted that we have got this resolution, and I am particularly delighted that I have got it myself. I believe, by establishing the principle of independent opposition, and no English alliance, we have ipade a platform broad enough for every honest Nationalist to take his stand upon. The policy of the future, as of the past, the successful policy now, as in days gone by, is the policy of no English alliance and independent opposition. That is the policy, gentlemen, that secured any lights that Ireland ever gained. Lately, perhaps, we may have trusted too much in English alliances. It is upon our own strength and upon our own selves we must rely. Grattan was not with the Whigs in 1782 when he got an Irish Nationalist Parlia- y' ■'^-^ It^J Tnini) DAY CASUS M-CARTAS. if)] V ! mcnt. Jolin Kcogh nn<l Wolfe Tone were not with the Tories wlicn wo got ihc Fninciiise Act. There was no nllinni-c in 1829, when I).micl O'C'onnull v/riing from an nnwillin^ (lovcrnnR-nt, an unwilling House of Lords, and an unwilling King, Catholic ICnianc ipation. There w.is no Knfiiisli alliance in i.S6y, when the (."hurcli was disostahlished, or when the I,and Hill of 1870 war, passed ; there was no alliance when I'arnell, leading a united ixnijle, placed the Land Art of 1881 on the St:itiile Hook; and, aliove all, there was no alliance in 1885, when (lladstutie was converted to Home Rule. Kn^land, ladies and gentkincn, will only yield to pressure, and that pressure must he applied at a long range ; it is d.ingeroiis to get into close (|uarteis with it, for if they stroke down your back "yonr integrity will he sappctl." Our men must keep away from them ; they must adopt I'arnell's rule. A gre.it iMiglish statesman having been asked in what he considered Parnell's strength princip.illy lay, said it was in aloofness— it was in keeping away from them all, When he came down to the House they didn't know how, or when, or where he might strike them, and they were always watching what he was going to do. The Irish jieoplc want no union with any ICnglish party, but they want the union of the entire Irish nation against every Knghsh parly. We want a clear, defiiiite i)oIicy, as declareil here to-ilay, and that policy shall be independent oi)position and no Knglish alliance. Will Mr. lU^aly refuse to join a party pledged to independent opposition and no English alliance ? Will Mr. Redmond refuse to join a party jileilged to independent opposition and no English alliance? What excuse have they now when the mandate of this Convention to the Irish Parly is that they are to have inde|)(;ndent opposition and no English alliance except on well defined lines which I will state afterwards ? The time will come again when some English party will take up the (jueslion of Home Rule. We will force them to do it, and when that time comes we will give them every support. Hut we won't give them support of such a nature as to give over ourselves soul and body to them. We are not going to aid them in passing English measures to which we might conscientiously object. They must consult us about the measures they are going to bring in as well as we must consult them. We must not, in order to please the Non- conformist conscience or those Welsh reformers, bind ouselves now and say, " If you give us a vote lor Home Rule, in which you believe, we therefore, will vote for you for measures in which we do not believe." There must be an honourable alliance. It must not be a thickaiid- thin alliance, but it must be an alliance of self-respecting men for a defined purpose, and that we arc prepared to make. The Irish members want to be the friends of England, but will never be their slaves. We can never get anything by truckling to England. We got a Home Rule Bill passe 1 through the House of Commons because we compelled it, and we will only succeed by putting them in a tight place and keeping them in it. Home Rule was taken up by the Liberal Party. Why ? Because Ireland was ungovernable. It was a policy of defiance, and not a policy of alliance, that obliged them to take up the Home Rule question, and obliged Gladstone to take it up, and drag the majority of the Liberals after him. There is need of a little caution, and there is need of great circumspection on the part of our members, oec'j V y" r^ -y< i i^ 368 IPISH RACE CONVENTION. ^ iifr>- [ (! 11 1. i: because I can tell you this, that the English Liberals — the vast majority of the English Liberals — would drop Horie Rule to-morrow if they would dare. They would rather draj out before you the abolition of the House of Lords, which is, perhaps, a question of half a century hence. 'I'hey would rather dangle that before you, and at the same time not honestly agitate for it themselves. You got such measures as Catholic Emancijjation, although the House ot Lords existed. If the Knglish peoiile want the House of Lords abolished, and if they consider that is the only means by which you may win Home Rule, then let them make E'lgland, Scotland and Wales too hot for the House of Lords. But whether they do that or not we will get Home Rule, because we will force it from one or the other party. I say, then, liiat as a rule those English Liberals are not our friends (Hear, hear, and cries of " No, no,"). It may be that there is a brother of Harcourt here. I am going to ask yj» was Harcourt an enthusiastic Home Ruler ? Is Henry Fowler a enthusiastic Home Ruler ? (Cries of ''Yes " and " No.") I'he Chairman — I would suggest that interrogation and answer do not suit the deliberations of this assembly. Canon M'Cartan — Is Asquith a Home Puler? The Chairman — I must persist in the ruling that interrogation and answer do not suit our deliberations. Canon M'Cartan— That gentleman when he was Home Secretary left our poor prisoners in jail against the wishes of Ireland until a Tory Government had to release them, and then they were ready for the grave or the lunatic asyluni. I give Mr. Morlay credit for being an honest Home Ruler, but Mr. Morley, unfortunately for us, has been looking rather to the Noiuonformist conscience of England than to the wants of Catholic Ireland. Gentlemen, I need go over no more names. I see it would only give rise to discussion. We must have a great many Englishmen in this assembly. I do not want to offend tne admirers of those Englishmen. I wish in conclusion to say to you all here, and to the members of Parliam'^nt, that it is with a view to strengthen their hands, to assist them to keep a stiff upper lip and a stout under jaw, to meet those fellows that we wish to give them a mandate from this Convention, and that mandate would be that it is our wish except for a well defined purpose and upon honourable terms that they are to make iiu alliance with any English Party, Mr. Hugh Murphy, Home Government Branch, Glasgow — My lord and fellow-delegates, before supporting the resolution, you may allow me briefly to refer to a paragraph which appeared in the London Letter of yesterday's Independent. Gentlemen, I wish to point out what the Independent is foisting upon its readers at the present time. Yester- day it stated that the Home Government Branch, Glasgow, sent fourteen delegates to this Convention, and that there were only eight of its members left in Glasgow. I may state that we have sent fourteen delegates, and that in addition to that we have supplied other branches with ten delegates, and that we have fifteen members sitting in the gallery as visitors, making in all thirty-nine. As a matter of fact that thirty-nine would not be missed from the meeting on Sunday. We would still have as many leftas there are Parneliitesin GreatBritain. I may further remind the Independent that one of our delegates is a Parnellite, .r^.-. --V /• . ) n y ill , I I Ay\ ■c/" -^ ^^ v^^ t '■ *' ! I I >) (T^ V Vi ll IS-:! il I _=^.-j li 270 IRISH RACE COyVENTION. Vr.v,^i j but I would be more correct perhaps by saying he was a Parnellile before he came to this Convention, and in the whole of Glasgow they could not find a correspondent to supply them with information, and they had to have recourse to the Home Government Branch to get its secretary to he their Glasgow correspondent. Now, in supporting this resolution, I think we should make it abundantly clear before leaving this Convention what our intentions are for the future. We agree that there should be unity, and we also agree that there should be discipline. Some of ou: friends remarked before this Convention that Mr. John Dillon was simply the chairman of the majority of the Irish Parlia- mentary Party. I think, however, after the speech which Mr. Dillon delivered yesterday, when the Convention is over Mr. John Dillon will be leader of the Irish race at home and abroad. For six or seven years we nave been supporting the majority of the Irish Parliamentary Party. We do not desire this to continue. From this time forward we say to Mr. John Dillon " We are not going to support the majority any longer ; we are going to support the entire Parliamentary Party ; " and we tell Mr. John Dillon that he must insist on that party on the minority abiding by the decision of the majority. In connection wiih the alliance spoken of by Canon M'Cartan— the alliance with the English Liberals — we are told that Mr. Redmond represented independent opposition. I have simply to point out that the alliance with British Liberals was formed not when Mr. Dillon was leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party but when Mr. Parnell was. I will simply say that from this time forward it will be our bounden duty to unite as one man in Great Britain, in America, and Australia, and we will send money and support to the Irish Parliamentary Party, and in return we ask Mr. Dillon to see that the members agree among themselves, or else clear out of the Party. Mr. Thomas Loughlin, Bradford— Most rev. president, I heard some remarks of the Very Rev. Canon M'Cartan with the deepest pain. If I believed that we could win Home Rule for Ireland without convert- ing some English party to the desirability of Home Rule, I, with some fellow-workers in Great Britain, would not look for their assistance for one moment. But the late Charles Stewart Parnell, after leading his party through splendid fights against both Whig and Tory, had to enter into an alliance with the Democratic Party in Great Britain, and that Democratic Party shed their aristocrats and became a democratic work- ingman's party. They lost the Devonshires and the other great titled men, and they brought in a splendid Home Rule Bill in the words of Mr. Parnell, spoken, too, on many of the platforms in Great Britain. They fought in the House of Commons, and when the fight was over there they went to the country, and for a time after Home Rule ^-s defeated we, the Irish in England, worked in the fight, canvassing Eng. h- men and Scotchmen and Welshmen, and made friends, who are still true friends to us and Home Rule to-day. At that time the Tory policy was perpetual coercion for Ireland, and we supported the Home Rule party against the policy of coercion of the government that followed. When the Liberals returned to power, with a small majority indeed, they had some parties in their country to conciliate, and had to show to the work- ingmen that they intended to do some good for them, and in the midst :> ■ ^^ / ^^. / V THIRD DAY— REV. P. J. O'DONNELL. -'7' of that they passed a Home Rule Bill through the House of Commons, and it was agamst the Hou=e of Lords that rejected it that we fought at the Inst general election in Great Britain. The result of that election was, that, owing to our divisions, a Tory majority was returned. Now, I don't say that every man in the present Liberal Party is sound, hut I am profoundly and firmly convinced that the vast majority of tiie Jjltural Party are sound to the core, and that Home Rule is still a plank in the Liberal programme, and so long as it so remains you are bound to sup- port the Liberal Party. The Chairman — Canon M'Cartan wishes to say a word in explana- tion of his views on the Home Rule alliance. Canon M'Cartan — I am sorry the last speaker has entirely mis- understood me. My contention was that until you convert some of tlie great English parties to take up the Home Rule question that you will fight them to death until you force that upon them. Once they take it up, then, you are at liberty to form an honourable alliance, not as I said before, an alliance of slaves, but an honourable alliance. Mr. Davitt — There never has been any alliance of slaves. Canon M'Cartan — Mr. Davitt says there never was an alliance of slaves, but if Mr. Sexton and other members of the House of Commons had yielded occasionally to the threats of John Morley, that he would re'"ign if they did not do so and so, that would have been an alliance of slaves. All I want is that we shall get a quid pro quo that will bo honour- able on all sides, and as long as they ate loyal to us we will be loyal to them, and if we want them to be loyal we must make them so.* Rev. P. J. O'DoNNELL, St. Mary's, Montreal — It is not for me to say much at this moment. I came with my fellow-delegates from Canada with a message, and, the message being identical, it was delivered in the beginning of this august assembly. It was a message of good-will, a message of peace, and a request that unity should exist for the purpose of carrying out and obtaining the grand result — the success of the sacred cause for which we have all struggled so long. The desire of the Irishmen of Montreal is this — that the cause should be pursued and the goal reached as soon as possible. But, as in other parts of the world, a spirit of depondency has for the last couple of years entered into their hearts. I am delighted to be here on this memorable occasion. A great many of my fellow-countrymen in honour of the cause 1 repre- sented saw me on board my train, and one enthusiastic and patriotic gentleman wished moreover that the carriage should carry the Irish flag. This sentiment did not prevail. But this was decided — " No," they said, " wait until he returns." Now, gentlemen, having sat at the deliberations cf thfs assembly, having witnessed the spirit which has animated the thousands present, I desire to say that I can bring back a message of * Canon M'Cartan, in a letter to '.he Press, makes a correction which hak been embodied in above. He says further : — " My whole ailment was that on the Home Rule -!>ll, as on the English Education Bill, the Liberals were trying to coerce or bully our Irish members, who went straight and maintained their independence ; and I wanted to strengthen iheir hands by showing those English leaders, and the Price Hugheses and the English and Welsh Nonconformist'!, that our Convention was at their back in their present line of policy of independence, and of setting at defiance the threats of any English party." I- li. mammm Il I I7J JPTSn RACE CONVENTION. t i Hi hope, and can say that you are determined to stand togetlier shoulder to shoulder at any sacrifice. I can say to the people of Montreal, to the Irishmen of the Dominion of Canada, that they may not now be ashamc to unfurl the green banner of Erin. We have heard a noble utterance from the great and distinguished prelate who presides so ably, and in the spirit of that address I think we may hope, by this Convention, to lay down the foundation deep and broad and solid enough to carry an edifice that will be a monument not only to ourselves, but for genera- tions yet to come, that from this platform we may secure the desire of the Irish race throughout the world — Home Rule for Ireland. I think this will be the result of the deliberations of this assembly, and when we go home to the different parts of the world from whence wc came I think we can encourage our people. I think I can ask them to unfurl the green flag, and not only to do that, but to put their hands deep into their pockets, and, each according to his means, give something that will not only stimulate the cause but help it along until victory is won. I have not the honour of having been born in Ireland, but my sentiments are the same. My love for Ireland is the same. Little over forty years ago my parents left their home in the land that has given to this assemblage the distinguished prelate whose name I bear. In conclusion, I thank you for your reception, and I feel assured and convinced that the results of the Convention will be all that you desire, and what all the people wc represent desire to obtain. 'I'he Chairman — I have been asked from many quarters to put on a time limit, but as an amendment is to be proposed to this resolution by Mr. Fitzgerald, of London, and as it deals with a matter of great public moment, I think it is well you should hear at some length Irish speakers who live ' Ireland in reference to the resolution. I call on Mr. Joseph Devlin, Belfast. Mr. Joseph Devlin, Belfast — My lord bishop, rev. fathers, and fellow-countrymen,, my only claim to address this magnificent assembly of the Irish race at home and abroad is the fact that I am, perhaps, the humblest of the delegation that has come from a city in this country which, during the past five years, has thrown no chip upon the fires of faction. We learned from Mr. Parnell (applause), when the Party existed in all its power and strength, the power and potency of a dis- ciplined Irish Party and a united Irish people, and when the unfortunate divisions arising out of the Parnellite split took ^lace, we learned from Mr. Healy the doctrine of majority rule. But we are faithful to-day, as this Convention proves to be, to the doctrines laid down by Parnell and Healy before the unfortunate divisions that exist at present commenced. Our position in the capital of Ulster is this. There is an ^rish Parlia- mentary Party. That Irish Parliamentary Party in a constitutional fashion meets in conclave ; it arrives at a deliberate decision. Whether that decision is right or wrong, it is the duty of every man to obey it. And we not only declare our belief in the principle of majority rule, but once a legitimate majority expresses its view, our position is this — that we will back up the majority by substantial public support. I say to this Convention to-day that the support of the majority should not be a laggard support ; it is not the way to stamp out faction by standing aside and leaving your leaders to fight an unequal battle, If you believe in ife f .•^. f^' i\ TTITRD BAY— no S. JOHN COST WAX. I 7' \ ( / 273 the spirit and the letter of lue pledge, you must stamp out faction, and you can do it best by supporting the majority. The best way in wliich you can support the majority — the best way in which you can stamp out the minority of mutineers — is by being generous and just in your help and in your spontaneous assistance to that party. We have heard that the divisions in the Irish ranks are merely internal divisions upon questions of party government ; but if you look back to the time when these divisions arose in the ranks, they did arise out of the question of party government. But a few days ago, in consequence of the stretch of this question, you had certain men — pledged to sit, act, and vote with the Party — going into a different lobby in the House of Commons before the enemies of our race. You had the leader, duly elected— the leader of the people — publicly insulted in the House of Commons. You had the cause of Ireland degraded and lowered in the minds of her enemies, and had torture brought to the heart of every friend of Ireland. If so, the position ic this : — If the people of Ireland declare to-day, as they have, and as they did in the past, that majority rule must prevail, the constitutional government of our movement must succeed. The way lo do it is not by passing resolutions, but by spreading the branches of the organisation — the only legitimate organisation of the country — and by every man of means giving his help when he can to aid the Patty in their difficult work. When the cry went out, " Starve out the Irish Party," Belfast commenced by trebling its subscriptions. That is the spirit which should actuate every man in this Convention. Our Convention has been a glorious success. It has been presided over, I am proud to say, by an illustrious Ulsterman. It it a great credit to our Church and the position we have taken up, and it is a gre.at glory to the National cause, that we have a man like him at our head. We will go forward again with gladdened hearts, longing for the time when we can make another strong appeal together, and hopeful for the day when, marching as one man, we place ourselves behind our leaders in their march to victory. The Hon. John Costigan, Ottawa — My lord, ladies and gentle- men, I feel it a great honour indeed, that is conferred upon me, and upon tlie Irishmen of the city of Ottawa especially, and that was endorsed by the Irishmen of Canada, that I was selected to come with a message of peace, a message of sympathy, a message of hope and confidence in the future in the attainment of the object which is dear to every Irishman at home and abroad. I feel that honour and realise it more since I came here. I feel proud, not as an Irishman, because unfortunately I cannot claim that I am an Irishman, but you would never make me say that I am not an Irishman. I am the descendant of Irish parents. They were always identified with the cause with which my deepest sympathies are enlisted now, and though I have not the honour of being an Irishman born in Ireland, I belong to a class all over the world that are the strongest friends of Ireland in the movement that you advocate to day. Yes, I feel proud of being here to-day, proud of having the honour of addressing this vast audience through you, my lord, who have opened the business of this Convention in an address that has challenged the admiration of every intelligent man. We who come from abroad had 2 N (<^: <j ) ) ■b ( ^'-s ,' ,_ ., . ^ I '( > ?i'/v'';! :> C:/J\^- ^^ ..k '^1 i^i I |Hnp ^^^^^^1 KhI ■^^^mTrKI/ ' ^ nis^iu 1 ^^^^Hh^BKvkV L f >• •V |e, ^h i ■ j^^^^^ra|rb';' HoHgvif -v ^^^^^^^^1 ■-•«> M Oi ^^^B;^ Hiir.' 9 -■'1 1 p ■^ .4 ^^^I^I^^Ri '^ -•' - '^^^^^^^^^B \ i" ^ V AIH ■«! BBiii ^^S '-' -.f * ■' '"^M o ■ ll'? ^^^^H ^Bn^^^RH. ■ , n 1 . • ^ ,1 1 \ ^ l?^'^' r' d HI^IHH!^^^ ( Ill V •■ ^ ... ■' ^^^H^'? d ^K 1| B^H^IHb' ''' § l^^^^^^nLdHHI ( "l ■* *i- ■„ ''")i 1 HHS^Kii^' T ^' ^ 1 / ,;-■'_.*? 1 Hk; fl I 'l IMIK^ M f '^ ;'*' 'r''tt^:><i^^^ I f J- t^v?Sff ■■K'jjr H^pr '^H ■■^^ S^ IK^^i*' ^:p r ■■ ,4V ' •. \ if' ;■- '•'. ' Ej , „-■' ■ptf A^ii^ ^ ^ THIRD DAY— HON. JOHN COSTKIAX. -75 /. some difficulties when wc reached here. We do unfortunately see dissension and disunion in the Irish ranks and among the Irish people. We had the privilege of educating ourselves througli the I'ress of the country, through the leading I'ress of this great city ; but the ediuMtloii was unsafe and unreliable. .And though it is supposed and charged against us who came from abroad that though delegate after dek^aie has on this ])latform and in the interviews which have taken place with representatives of the Press of the country; declare that the delegates came free and independent and unjiledged to any particular paity, and came as bearers of a message of conlidencc - they still ])ublish all sons of slanders against the delegates ; and, gentlemen, if to be an Irishnvin instead of the descendant of an Irishman — if the qualification to make me an Irishman was the a(loi)tion of a policy like that, then I would say, "Thank God, I am the descendant of an Irishman." Sir, as a matte r of courtesy, as a matter of cold policy, the reception given to the delegates from abroad was coarse and brutal to men who came across the ocean, not as tourists, but who left their business and came here as intelligent men to stand with you, and to express sympathy, and to give you the assurance that in a grand patriotic movement you may count upon the strong symi)atliy of your fellow-countrymen and their descend- ants. I have another complaint to make against the gentlemen who inspire, or are supposed to inspire, these articles. We are told the delegation from abroad will be here, and will be misled ; we will be fooled by the speeches of Mr. Dillon, by Mr. O'Connor, or Mr. Blake, and other prominent gentlemen I am proud to see on this platform to-day. Well, sir, I followed the history of this Convention as closely as I have been able to follow it, and I fmd that those gentlemen who make that statement seem to have done all in their power to make this grand Convention a failure, though I am glad to t&i, and every Irishman is glad to see, they have utterly failed in their eflforts. Why are not these gentlemen, professing to be Irishmen, why are they not here to-day ? Why are they not here today to save us from being misled by seeing that the question was fairly put and fairly discussed ? We are told, and you know that, through the Press, we are told that this Convention represents nobody, that it does not represent the Irish people, that it does not represent the friends of Home Rule in Canada or in the United States. Well, to my mind, my lord and gentlemen, I believe honestly and sincerely that it would be difificult to gather in the city of Dublin a more representative and intelligent representation of the Irish cause than I see before me here to-day. I know that time is passing, and I know how valuable that time is. I will not trespass much longer upon the patience of the Convention. I have delivered my message, and I exriect to take back a message- You need not instruct me ; I will draw my own conclusions. I will go back to my people in Canada, and 1 will tell ihem how \ '•oud I was to stand upon this platform. If they ask me if the breach « healed and union comjplete I will say I regret that I cannot go that far ; but I will say this, that standing upon this platform and looking at that vast audi- ence of representative men from England, Ireland, and Scotland, the United States, and our own delegates from Canada and from the distant colonies already named, I had no doubt that practically speaking union ) ^ \ IScS) 'II ^AJ- :X. 276 llUSIl RACE CONVENTION. {■ i: is established in Ireland to-day. And if they ask me for my reasons for coming to that conclusion I have many to f;ivc. Hut the only answer necessary in ("aiiada, and the one that will tell in the United States and the other colonies, will be that when I found as the result of the call for this Convention the success whicii attended it, notwithstanding every effort, lair and unfair, that was made to make it a failure, the response to that call gave evidence to my mind that the call emanated from the proper (juarter. When speaking to my fellow-citizens in Canada I shall say that the movement has the approbation of my old friend, though my political opponent, the Hon. lidward lllake. No further guarantee would be re(|uired in Canada, and if it were 1 would say that I saw around tl r |)latform in front of this movement members of the Irish Parliamentary Party whose names on the Continent of America w'U inspire more con- fidence than the name of any man who is throwing his influence against this Convention. If I mention on any platform on the other side ol the Atlantic the name of that Home Ruler, Michael Davitt, William O'Brien, John Dillon, and that of my old friend whom I am proud to say I met in Canada, Mr, Justin M'Carthy, these names will be the best endorse- ment of the action of this Convention here to-day, and the best justifica- tion for the calling of such a Convention. The Convention has been a tremendous success. We who have come from abroad will return, having delivered an humble message to the Irish people ; we will go back and deliver a message in return to our own people. We will say it may be impossible to bring within the (olds of the great patriotic party all that we would desire to see within it. I am not going to talk about their motives — it is bulticient for me to know that as they are not with this movement they must be against it. They may not come in. I am glad the motion to negotiate with those gentlemen who would not recognise this Convention was not carried. The mover and seconder of that motion seemed to overlook the fact that those gentlemen, having protested from the beginning against the authority of the Convention, there was no guarantee what- ever that they would submit to any action that would be taken by this Convention. I will go back and tell our friends in Canada that the Irish Parliamentary Party are surrounded by representative Irishmen who had the endorsation of the people of Ireland, and of the Irish people of the United States and other countries. I would like to repeat the words of that brilliant young Irishman who spoke before me, and in doing so I would be doing myself credit, and I believe 1 would be expressing the free sentiments of my colleagues. It has been said that if the people of Ireland will not agree to sink their dilTerences and unite that they ought not expect any assistance to be given them by their friends abroad. That is true generally speaking, but if it were to be carried out too rigidly and too strictly it would mean tliat a few individuals would be able to carry on a policy of wreck. We will give the matter a more generous interpretation in Canada. When we see that the Irish people are standing by their leaders and by the Irish Parliamentary Party, and standing by the policy laid down years ago — that the majority must rule, we in Canada, I think I can say that much, will see that you are deserv- ing of support, and it would be impossible for us to come to any other decision. I hear reference made to political parties. We have political :^ A 1 \ '. x* Tllllil) DAY MR. I'lTZGKRAU), »77 parties in our own rountry. A descendant of Irishmen as I am in Canada, I may be allowed to sav that wiien Home Rule fame up 1 did not hesitate to join the Home Rule ranks. You may easily underr.tand that that was not at all a popular or fashionable step to take. I am a staunch Conservative in Canada, and on tlie ((uestion of Home Rule, when I came to make up my mind, I said 1 did not see why the people of Ire- land should not enjoy those same blessings of self-government as we enjoyed in Canada. I have no party when I speak of Home Rule. Give us Home Rule and freedom. Let Ireland rule itself, and I care not from wiiom it conies, whether you call them Tories or Wliigs, or anything else. My lord, I thank you most sincerely for the permission to trespass so long upon the patience of the Convention. I look here to-day at this audience and see intelligent faces that I never expect to sec again, and I am afraid that I am right in this opinion, that it will be many a year and many a day until such a re|)resentative gathering of the world over shall appear in Ireland again. Let determination and union, and further and greater effort in the cause of the attainment of Ireland's rights, go on, and if I can reciprocate, unworthily it may be, the words of a reverend clergyman yesterday in reference to the foreign delegates when lie said — "God bless them," and say as an humble s tier, who may appeal to God also, "God bless the people of Ireland and those who figlit her battles." The Chairman — Mr. Fitzgerald, of Bermondsey Branch, has a reso- lution to move. I ask him to come to the platform. Mr. Fitzgerald, Bermondsey — I was asked when I came here not to be long, and I won't be long, because I am not much of a speaker. I am about to propose an amendment, and it is for this meeting to say whether it will adopt it or not as a representative meeting, which I believe it to be, anything to the contrary notwithstanding, of the Irish race. I won't say a single word about unity, because I conceive that question was settled yesterday. I don't mind what newspapers say, because newspapers write for their readers, and we should not bother about them except in so far as they would create public opinion. Con- sequently our policy should be not to make speeches and round periods, but if we are in earnest and agree that Mr. John Dillon should lead the Irish Party — if they are going to stand by John Dillon and the Irish Party as represented by him, they will expect that party to give some- thing in return for the support they gave to them. Therefore, if you will turn to your agenda paper, resolution 3, I want to add after the words " Irish soil " these words : — " We declare that this Convention is of opinion that the lime has arrived when the Irish Party should cease to treat with any English party for the granting of Home Rule, and should make English government of Ireland impossible in the English Parliament until the English nation is prepared to recognise Ireland's claim to be a nation by creating a Parliament in Dublin for the government of Ireland." My lord, you truly said that it was a matter of some public moment. It IS of great public moment for Ireland, because we have to consider when will England grant Ireland Home Rule? No man can say when, and I say — Why should Ireland wait ? Is Ireland to wait for four years more ? The Irish race has waited four years for England to grant Ireland Home Rule, and the demand for Home Rule has come to be a kind of glorified 7r>"' I Hi h^'i ? U:,\ ■^ i'. J7« I/iI,S/l RACE CONVENTION. m <; \ri/j County Council in the ideas of a great number of those Englishmen who votctl for it at the last election ; and I want to know why did not the IJiieral Tarty go to the country on the(iuestion of Home Rule after its rejection, instead of on the Local Veto question ? We are looking to you, Mr. Dillon, for statesmanship, guiilance, and leadership, and the rev, gentleman who, I think, seconded the resolution covered most of the KTound when he said that it is no use dealing with a section of the I'^nglish nation. The Liberal Party is not the English nation, and the English people have condoned the action of the House of Lords, and they will condone it again and again and again. I tell you that, as a man who has worked in London for many of the Liberal Party — and men in this room know that I have the confidence of the Liberal Party in my constituency — but at the same time I say that the jiolicy for Irishmen to take up is not to belong to any Liberal organisation. We want the party in the House of Commons to take up a policy of action, and I say that the country will justify you, sir, anil I want to know the name of the Irish representative who will dare to ilepart from the policy of action worked by you in the House of Commons in that way. 'I'iiat is the way you will get unity. Englishmen stood as an example in that respect. Their policy is — I'^ngland first, and politics after. I am pre- pared lo do my share, to sink my prejudices, if you call them prejudices, for you, and to stand by Dillon and the party, and then they must do something in the House of Commons instead of discussing details of this and that English Bill. I have been in the House of Commons many times, and have heard impassioned speeches froiv. Sexton, but docs that eloquence take any effect in the English House of Commons ? Not the slightest bit, but if you will do something, and if you will do something ugly and something uncomfortable, the Englishman will listen to you. Now for the representation. I say that these men know how to do that work, and they ought to do it. A Voice — What work? Mr. Fitzgerald — The men we have in the House of Commons ought to do something for Ireland. At this point a delegate on the platform rose to order, and someone at the back of the hall also interrupted. The Chairman — A point of order has been raised. I have been asked to rule that Mr. P'itzgerald's remarks are not pertinent. Mr. Fitzgerald intends to say very little more, and I think it better for me not to enter into the question as to whether his remarks are exactly to the resolution or in support of his addition to the resolution or not. Mr. Fitzgerald — I am endeavouring to show the meeting why I want this addition made, and I will try and keep to the point, and I don't think I have deviated from it, gentlemen. I want this meeting and I want all Ireland to support Mr. John Dillon in the decision this Con- vention came to, and I want to convey to your minds, and through your minds to the men you represent as delegates, that the policy that will command success and approval, that the policy that will fetch the dollars across the Atlantic, that the policy thot will make the men in Ireland work, that the policy that will command the respect of every man in Ireland who wants to see Ireland free, is not a policy of walking' through the corridors of the House of Commons, but a policy of action there, r .1 ll.' ^f" ^^am^^^^i^ ll d ALI'IIONSUS (^UlN. (Soo pp. 137, 3(U.) VEHY HEV. WILLUM FLAKNEIIT, D.D, (SCO iip. 138, 305.) JOHN B. DEVLIN. CSce pp. UU, 308.) HON. JOHN M'KEOWN, Q.C. (See pp. 143, 307.) K: ( \ fSe 77?/.^// RACE cnyvESTioy. that until the Knglixh nation recognise!) Irclaml'i claim to be a nation l)y giving hiT i\ Tarliaincnt in l)iil)lin, and you will make it impossible for her to govern Irolanil from Wcslininslcr. If you don't agree with that, don't accept my addition to the resolution. A Voift -In what way i* Mr. l''ii/.i;i;i<Ai,i) — riic old way that made a united Irish Party, nnd the oidy way; if tiie work is too hard for our present representatives, Ireland has plenty of men wi)o will do it. 'I'he Chairman — The addition or amendment, however it in to be called, has been |)r()posed to the resolution ; is there anyone to second it ? (Cries of " No, no.") The addition then falls to the ground. Father Clancy will now address you. Rev. M. J. {'i.ANCV, 'i'ippcrary — Although nobody has been found to second the addition to the third resolution, still it may not be out of place, in conseciuence of the manner in which the remarks of the s|)eakcr were received, to say a few words upon the (|uestion he has raised. Rev. I'aikick Lynch, M,R. (Manchester) — My lord, is this in order ? It is not before the Convention. The Chairman— I consider Father Clancy is in order, owing to the fact that some of the remarks made by Mr. Fit/gcrald might have been made in discussing the resolution itself. Rev. M. J. Clancy — Mr. Fitzgerald, animated no doubt by the \ cry best motives, has proposed a policy and a method of carrying on Parlia- mentary agitation which would make Parliamentary agitation in the present state of the Irish Party merely a scorn and a byeword. That might have been very well in the old days, when you had seven or eight men standing up in the House of Commons, every man's hand against them and their hands against every man ; but these times have changed, and with the increase of numbers, and the increase of funds, has come increased responsibility, and what might have been very much in place in the old days would be very much out of place at the present time. With regard to this question I have decided opinions. I must say that one of the things that most grate upon me is that wc should have to look to any English Party for the attainment of our free- dom. Lut we must take things as they are, and having entered on the path of Parliamentary agitation, we must work it out according to the rules of the game. It is all very well to discuss what ought to be done by Dillon, Davitt, or Blake. Wc, here at home, ( o not know the difficulties under which they labour If consideration for them does not decide the course we ought to adopt — a little ordinary modesty ought to do so. We have elected these men because they are tried men, clever men, because they have spent their lives battling for Home Rule according to the rules of Parliamentary action. Are we in our petty wisdom at home here to be laying down strict rules for them as to how they are to conduct themselves when troubles and emergencies arise? Their main object must be Home Rule without any alliance except what would most conduce towards Home Rule. But once that indispensable pnnciple is laid down you must le.ive them a great latitude of action. We are all very wise after the event, very clever politicians indeed when the march of events shows us that things would have been better if something else were done. I have no sympathy -rw ^ J ( \J V. (1. -^\ [ i ? ) Tinni) DAY Ilh'V. M. ./. CLASCY. aRi witli men wlioso only policy is a policy of criticism, and who when thinKS go wroMK which they made nocflort to set riKlil» adopt the policy of " I told you so." As to siipiKirtiiig Lihcral mcasuri's or standinn by them ill return for the adion of the Kiherals in pasaiiiK a Home Rule Bill — wlu'thcr a policy of give, and take between the Irish and Liberal Party — all these things must be left to the decision of the trained politicians who are chosen, because they are trained and skilled parlia- mentarians It occurs to mo that a very useful parallel mi^ht be drawn from the history of a portion of Napoleon's campaign. 'I'he Austrians were always bravo soldiers, they had magnificent generals, but still they were always beaten ; and why ? llecause tiiere was a council at homo which was always hampering the action of the men upon the field. It is the same with us. We have our men ujion the field, too. We have chosen them freely and in open ("onvention, and no man will dare to tell me before this assembly that Conventions were rigged in '<)5. I would like to see the man who would come down to Tipperary to rig a convention. We have chosen them in open Convention because they A^erc brave men, becauso they were clever men, and because they were .iclf-sacrificing men. We arc sending them into the heart of the enemy's country, and instead of twarting ami criticising them wc should leave Ihcin a free hand as long as they keep the princi|)le before their minds that their only object is Home Rule for Ireland. Now I may be ])ermitted to make a few remarks upon that beautiful speech delivoied by the Hon. John Costigan, from (Canada. As soon as I beard that speech I remarked to those who were about me that the Convention was not without fruit. If there was no other fruit except the delivery of that s|)ecch our time was not lost here. I le struck the key- note when he said that if you have not absolute unity you have practical unity. And furtiier, when he said that in the maintaining of the Irish Party, in the working out of absolute unity if wc can, there should be a generous and whole-hearted support from our fr'cnds at home and abroad. And some of the speakers will i)ardon me if I say that speaking about unity and speaking about majority rule in tho same breath was some- what illogical. If unity exists in the way in which they appear to s|)eak about it no question of majority rule can arise at all. When does majority rule arise, or the necessity for it ? When dissension exists, and when there is diversity of opinion, we require unity of action, 'rhore has been a good deal of balmy talk about unity and conciliation. Well I am for conciliation. I am for tjuiet measures as long as ([uiet measures or conciliation are of any use whatsoever. But there is a point, and I think it has been reached — there is a point beyond which conciliation, or forbearance, or toleration of the mutineers would be treason to the country. Let anybody passing through the streets read merely the placards of some of our Dublin papers, and I think they will convey that lesson just as well as I can. My last word would be — Here we are, laymen and ecclesiastics from every part of Ireland. Looking on this platform I see men present who bore, in the old times of the National League and against Balfour's Coercion Act, the burthen of the day and the heat when many men, who are brave critics now and bold Nationalists, were far more ready to attack the friends of Ireland than they were then to lace her enemies. I can see them here — the men on 2 o ^i/" ) I / V ll^^'^ l^>. 282 IRISTT UACE CONVENTION. whom we coulrt depend — the men on whom we could depend to go to Woodford, and in the midst of tl"i brave people of that district tear up to pieces and burn Balfour's proclamation. We have thera here, and — " True men, like you men,' Are plenty here to-day." We claim to be the majority, and if we are not the majority why are not the men here who say we are not, and put us into the minority ? Charges have been made, and I put it plainly and squarely to the foreign delegates whether it is not a fact that the reason why they were apathetic was, that they believed there was something behind the charges which were being levelled at the majority of the Irish Party. Well, there are the representatives of the majority. Where are their traducers ? There are men amongst them who are not very reticent. I won't mention places, but if I liked I could mention places where they made charges against their colleagues, when the making of such charges was calculated to do almost fatal injury to the Irish cause. Why are they not here to substantiate these charges ? Because they dare not. We have had grave discussion, we demand discussion, we challenge discussion, and if there is no response to our challenge, I ask the foreign delegates to disbelieve these charges, to believe that the men who form the majority of the Irish Party are not corrupted with English gold, that no bossism exist? '- the Irish Party, and really when you come to talk of bossism, it seems strange for people to imagine that John Dillon is able to boss Michael Davitt. We cannot, of course, expect absolute unity, but we pin our faith to majority rule. What does that lead us to ? The resolution is there which calls upon us to support the Irish Party in carryingout discipline in its own ranks. How can that be done ? Father O'Leary, Castlelyons, told you yesterday that it can be done if the funds come in to enable these men to insist upon discipline. You cannot expect absolute unity ; it is impossible; and, as remarked by a previous speaker, this talk about absolute unity only eni^bles a few mutineers to deplete the coffers of the Irish Party. That is their object. We must defeat that object. I have never asked anybody to do anything for Ireland that I am not prepared to do myself, and I pledge you, and I think I can pledge you, tiie people amongst whom I labour, and I think I can give a pledge on behalf of the people of Tipperary, where I now reside, and if the foreign delegates do their duty amongst their people we will do our duty amongst the Irish people at home, and, as far as I am concerned, my voice, my pen, and my pocket will always be at the service of the Irish Party and the Irish people. The Chairman — I hear calls for William O'Brien. Mr. WiLUAM O'Brien — My lord bishop, ladies, and gentlemen, I am wholly in the hands of the Convention, even in the matter of saying a few words, very much against my will, because so long as things were going on so triumphantly for Ireland as they have been going on yester- day and to-day I have no ambition in this hall but to hold my tongue, and sit and listen with joy and gratitude for the glorious work that is going on for Ireland. There is not a man here who has the least desire to exploit himself to the smallest degree except for the benefit of Ireland, and the triumphant success of this great Convention. Our good friend. c > r. ^. ^ J > It rillRD DAY— MR. WILLIAM 0' BR I EX 283 ■:) Father Flynn, of Waterford, may rest pf rfcctly assured that if any section of our fellow-countrymen who difTer from us, whether they be Parnellites, or whether they call themselves by any other name, if they will only imitate the spirit of Father F'lynn, displayed here at this Convention yesterday, I can promise them they will find that, as far as some of us are concerned, we are willing now as we were willing always to go any length to meet them, to conciliate them. Anything to induce these men to conduct themselves, and work as loyal comrades as they did before. My lord bishop, one thing, at all events, is certain, whatever they do, or whatever any man does, the full effect of this Convention will not perhaps be felt all at once, but I say the decrees of this Conven- tion if they are sustained by the Irish race in the spirit of the lion. Mr. Costigan's glorious speeches, these decrees will, beyond all doubt, settle the course of events in Ireland for this generation, and will efface sooner or later any man, or any set of men, that dare to stand up against them. Gentlemen, if there has been possibly any weakness in the action of the Irish Party in the past in dealing with these troubles, as a gentleman, I think it was Dr. O'Meara, suggested yesterday — well it was perhaps through an excess of patience and of good nature, of conciliation towards brother Irishmen, and of a very natural shrinking and disgust for those scenes of discord as long as it was humanly possible to avoid them. I am bound to say, also, it was largely because members of the Irish Party, certain members at all events of t' it Irish Party, of whom I was not one, were discouraged at the apparent apathy of the country, and thought that the people of Ireland had not spoken out their will with sutliciuiit determination to justify them m enforcing the discipline of the Party, even against men who were doing all that men could do tc break th.e solidity of that Party. Well, my friends, after this Convention no Irish member can ever make that complaint. The accusers of the Irish Party — their accusers in the English House of Commons, amidst the jeers of the grinning enemies of Ireland —have failed to face the music at this Convention. They have allowed judgment to go against them by default. This Convention is, and everybody who has spoken has admitted that it is, perhaps, the very greatest, the most harmonious, and the most represen- tative assemblage of the Irish race that ever came together. You, my lord bishop and gentlemen, have now given that Irish party your un- stinted confidence. A gentleman spoke here a while ago, and re echoed statements that possibly might have been better left unexpressed, as to our relations with English parties. I venture to say that there is not a man listening to me in this hall, aye, and among the su|ii)orters of the Parnellites throughout the country, there is not a man who in his heart and soul does not know that we care more for the little finger of one Irish pea.sant than for the whole bodies of the two British parties together. There are men in that Irish Party who for every hour they have ever spent under an Englishman's roof have spent as many months in her Majesty's prisons ; and even that record is child's play compared with the record of a man sitting on this platform who has spent nine years of independent opposition in the penal hells of England. No. That English party, whether Liberal or Tory, who are friends of Ireland are our friends. We know how to be true friends as well as to \ ; i!IL ! i; f 1 ! it- V '\^ U' . ^4^r^—^ •^xv/r' % '> i l(iH ■\ THIRD DAY-MR. JOSEPH P. RYAN. 285 be pretty tliorougligoing enemies, and the ICnglish p iity, Wliig or 'I'ory, who arc Ireland's enemies will have our undying hostility, a hostility tliat will be only all the keener if — as I for one don't anticipate — the linglish Liberal Party should ever abjure their solemn pledge to make Home Rule, and keep Home Rule, their very first business tiie moment they get into power. I am not able to go very much further. The excitement and my enthusiasm over all that we have i)een going through during the last few days are almost too great to allow me to say any thing more than this. As I have said before, the Irish Party may have had some doubt until now what is the will of the Irish nation. You have spoken out your will. You have armed ihem with sovereign authority to enforce that will, and to stand no further nonsense (Great cheering, the audience risii.g and waving their hats), and — it may not come about in a week nor in a month — but you have to-day laid the foundations once more for a real Irish Party under a real leader, a man for whom no Irish Nationalist will ever have reason to blush, a party that will be generous enough and broad-minded enough to welcome every honest Irish Nationalist into its ranks, but that will be strong enough to put down any man, or any section of men, who from this hour fortii dare to throw their own petty personal interests across the march of our exiled countrymen and our great old Gaelic race at home. At the conclusion of Mr. O'Brien's speech there were loud and pro- longed cries of "Davitt." Tiie Chairman — I must explain that Mr. O'Brien had sent me a message that he would not speak, and while noticing your cries, I was going to tell you — but was prevented by having to call on Mr. O'Brien — that you would have a speech from another distinguished delegate. That delegate will address you now. He represents the National Federation of America. He is the secretary of an organisation from which thousands and thousands of pounds have tlowed into the national coffers. Mr. Joseph P. Ryan, New York — I am sorry that the exigencies of business prevented the presence here of the President of the Organi- sation, Dr. Addis Emmet, and other capable officers. I am sorry they are not here to represent the Irish National Federation of America, and to voice its sentiments. The duty is imposed on me to bear to you a brief message. We demand that unity shall be established in tliis country, and that obedience to majority rule must be enforced by every legitimate means. Some question has been raised in some of the local journals as to whether we had a right to speak at this Convention. Now, gentlemen, I am well aware that no one knows better than the men who inspired a question of that sort the fact of our entire right to be present We are the same men, or the representatives of the same men, who have given unceasing service and generous aid to every appeal from Ireland, and whose generous hospitality has been shared by every ambassador that visited our shores, until the breath of discord had chilled the hearts and palsied the hands of our generous people. Wc are some of the men who have poured help into the coffers of the National League and the National Federation to enable a fight to be made against the common enemy. We are the same men who, at the last meeting held under the auspices of the ambassadors of a united ^.1/ y \) \:jr- > li V.^ .1! i 1 I ! I 286 -^ IRISH RACE CONVENTION. •\ party, raised at the meeting 27,000 dollars to aid Ireland. We are the same men, or the representatives of the same men, who in two years, under the auspices of what is known as the Hoffman House Committee of New York, sent to Ireland 200,000 dollars. We are the same men, or the representatives of the same men, who even since division came to the National forces of Ireland have raised, in spite of the disaffection and of the despair that hung over our people, a sum of 1 50,000 dollars. I might go on enumerating reasons from a material point of view, if I chose to do so, to show our right to be here. But there are other reasons. We deny the right of any authority in Ireland to deny our connection with the glorious history, traditions, and sufferings of Ireland. They are ours. We have shared them ; we have tried to remedy some of them. We may be the sea-divided Gael, but we are not divided in interest, so far as Ireland is concerned. I would not for a moment occupy your time to answer the question that has been put to us as to who we are, except that it is used for the purpose of confusing Irishmen, to impose upon them the belief that we who come here are not representative of the sentiment of Irishmen in the States. Perhaps, therefore, you will allow me to refer to the personnel of delegates, and mention the names of the persons who are here as delegates from the United States. At the moment in which the division occurred in the Irish Party, we were engaged, as some gentlemen on this platform can avow, and some others also on the other side of the house, we were engaged in the commencement in New York of a move- ment which promised to raise half-a-million of dollars for the Irish cause. That movement was cut short by division. At the meeting in New York the gentlemen who are here were the accredited messengers from the surrounding cities, and became the instrument of those particular cities to bear the money that was contributed in their different places. For instance, we have here Mr. James Duggan, of Norwich, Conn, who brought to the treasury, on behalf of the National P'edcration of Nor- wich, the money collected there. I think that is a fair title to be a representative here. We have Mr. Anthony Kelly, Minneapolis, whose service in the West, and whose social attention and money contribution when Mr. Parnell was there, gained the gratitude and favour of Mr. Parnell and those who accompanied him. We have here Mr. P. W. Wrenn, of Bridgeport, Conn, who at the meeting in the Metropolitan Opera House brought 3,000 or 3,500 dollars to the treasury. We have Mr. Denis O'Reilly, of Boston, and Mr. Edward Tracey, of Boston, who have been in the organisation in Massachusetts, and have been con- stant friends, and unceasing workers, and generous contributors, accord- ing to their means, in the National service. We have here Dr. P. J. Timmins, of Boston, and I couple with him the Reverend Denis O'Callaghan, whose names are a synonym for good work for Ireland ; and, as for Father O'Callaghan, he has been the leader in Boston of every public movement organised to aid Ireland. We have here Mr. John Cashman, of Manchester, New Hampshire, who is the treasurer of the organisation in that city, and through whom, from time to time, I got the money collected in the city for your service. W^ have Mr. Patrick Dunleavy, Vice-President of the National Council of Philadelphia, and need I say that Philadelphia was al'vays foremost in the Irish cause ? .1^... y (: THIRD DAY— MR. JOSEPH P. RYAN. 287 ':(. ,. '1 ! i!^- >!' We have here Mr. John B. Devlin, of Wilkesbarre, who, to my know- ledge, has been a constant, unselfish, and ever energetic worker in the National cause. We have here a gentleman who is a curiosity in his way, and it shows how long he has been in the service. We have Mr. Patrick Cox, of Rochester, who was the treasurer of the first branch oJ the Irish National League, and through vhich branch alone 30,000 dollars were raised for the service of Ireland. We have Mr. Patrick Marlin, and need I say to Irish Nationalists, whether strictly within the physical force ranks or outside them, who Mr. Patrick Marlin is ? He has been in both sections of the service, and I honour him for it. Now, 1 think I need not say any more to show that we are not all nobodies. For myself, I represent the certificate of the City Council of the New York Irish National Federation of America, and that title represents something. I do this, Mr. Chairman, not for the purpose of winning your a[jplause or recognition, but to satisfy the minds of those who might possibly give some credence to the statement that we here are tramps or tourists. We came here without instructions, except the general one, that we demand unity, obedience to majority rule, and that discipline which is ntcessary to the existence of the Party, and we will do our best to enforce it. Before leaving the United States we studied very carefully the call for this Convention, both individually and collectively, and it was the general verdict of those most interested and competent in the United States to pass upon it an opinion that it was bound to be a success in its scope and extent. We in the United States have had twenty years' experience of conventions. In the great Race Convention of Philadelphia, held in 1881 or 1882, we had no such great and wide provisions for admission to that assembly. For instance, the clergy had no privileges other than the laymen had. We did not consider them any better as politicians, or that they were entitled to more recognition than the laymen, and when they came they came as delegates. We did not throw it open to all the organisations and literary societies ; in fact, not to occupy your time, we demanded that there should be some service to the political movement before the society or organisation should have a right to representation. We had not the great breadth and scope of this Convention. We, therefore, said that there could be no man found who would have the hardihood to assert that this Convention had been rigged. How could it be possible when the sources of this Convention were so varied and so wide ? We claim that every Irishman who is honest and singleminded will adhere to the decrees of this Convention, and we think that the constituencies of Ireland should demand obedience from their representatives. It is enough to know that the power is placed in the hands of the people, who are bound by discipline to obey the decrees of this Convention, to make every member of Parliament be ver) careful in his work. Now, Mr. Chairman, and fellow-delegates, I think that so much has been said on every point to which I could posiibly address myself, that I would be only doing a superfluous work, and cccupying your time unnecessarily by further speech. I think I have ectablished their right to speak, and I think I have established the character of the delegation. I desire to say one word more on obedience to majority rule. In ! : !;1 fji; i p'1 r '^:. ^: \VM ! : 383 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. C' i America the question is raised amongst us ; it is taken as a law that is unchangeable, and must be accepted. If a man, or men, decide that theycannot obey and be in affiliation with the party of the majority, they quietly go out of that party, and either remain silent or become active opponents on the other side. That is what we expect to find, and do find, in the United States. On coming over here, from the nature of my position in the organisation as secretary, of course I am liable to a very large correspondence — I think I could have brought with me letters enough to have occupied your attention this whole session — every one ending with a prayer for unity and "God bless your 1 ission ; give us unity, and demand obedience to majority rule as the very essence of the government of the people." While on this platform lo-day, a telegram to me arrived from a gentleman whom we know in New York to be one of the most faithful servants of the movement, and one of its most generous contributors: — "Sacrifice everything, save honour, for unity ; bring about union in Ireland, and America will respond. — Peter M'Donald." Now, Mr. Chairman, the impression created on us has been that this Convention has been called on such a breadth and scope, that it has such a diversity of sources from which the delegates came, that we must naturally conclude that it is the expression of the popular will ; and if the gentlemen who tell us it is not will only come here and present their grievances, nobody is more anxious to redress them. If those gentlemen will abandon the whispered mouth- ings of calumny, and come like stalwart men to the Convention of their fellow-countrymen at home and abroad, present their protests and grievances, how readily we will redress them, if possible. But they are silent ! Silent except the whispers of calumny ; and to those men we say : "You have refused to come before the only court that was entitled to redress your grievances ; you have refused to come before the only court that is entitled to make reforms and changes in the basic condition of the party." No other power in Ireland has a right to change any single article under which the Federation exists in Ireland to-day. Here alone can it be done. In God's name, are these men not intelligent enough to know that. Is not this the place to do it? And failing to do it, let these men be silent. And I say to one class of these gentle- men — and if I did not say it I would be certainly betraying my own convictions and the opinions that I know will be held when I state the facts in America — I say to reverend gentlemen who may have grievances to remedy or protests to make, that this is their place, as well as the place of laymen. No station among the hierarchy is too great or too grand to come before this Convention and say to the people of Ireland represented here : " Such and such are the changes that we believe are necessary for the Irish people." And I tell you, gentlemen, who have watched the experiences of the past, who have learned the misery that followed some of the actions of this class of gentlemen in the past — I tell you that they will make more infidels than all the Agnostics in the world. Now, Mr. Dillon, you have received a mandate in the first two reso- lutions adopted at this Convention. It is, by every means in your power, to see to it that the grievances are redressed and reunion restored. That mandate is given to you by the public will of Ireland. We in ^1 --'-r- -f } pi! O H a o o n o M S3 W ^ F ni^ii ) 2 P ,_ >A ■<\/o :v r^ tn ...'- — ^u-M-'J 290 IinSII RACE CONVEXTION. llv^ r-n i>V^! America will look to it that that effort is being made, and that, while yieliling nothing to the criticism or calumny of persons who won't come liure ant! declare their grievances, we demand that every effort of yours, and that everything but honour, be sacrificed to restore the unity of the Irish people. It has been my experience just before I left to have had put into my hand a series of letters. Some were from cloistered nuns ; some were from the humble miner ; some were from gentlemen in pos- session of great wealth ; some came from archbishops, who, as you saw ill the first day's publication of the proceedings of this Convention, l>roinised at the holy altar of God that daily would they offer the sacrifice of the Mass for the success of the Convention. And, Mr. Dillon, if the prayers and protests of the Irish people at home and abroad fail to con- ciliate, then, in the name of the God who stamps upon mankind the dis- tinctions of race, I charge you, as leader of the Irish race, to spare no man who stands in the way. If conciliation fails, if reason fails, if reason and logic are defied, I charge )0U to mercilessly crush the man or men who stand in the way. In that I pledge you the assistance of every true Nationalist in America, no matter who the man is. 'I'he re- sult of all our labours for the past twenty years in the present move nient, and for centuries in the past, shall not be nullified by any man or set of men. Wc will not consent that our labours and sacrifices, and sufferings of famine and persecution in the past and present and future, should be sacrificed and made nothing of. I swear it is the duty, in my belief, of every Irishman to crush dissension and to crush out the man or men who stand in the way of union. To you, the men of Ireland outside the Irish Party, we charge you, and honestly, to act in this matter with unanimity. If you criticise, let it not be a carping, nagging criticism. Remember the position of your members is a very curious one in the House of Commons ; they stand there in your cause, await- ing to meet emergencies that may occur. Individual members may err, but consideration should be extended to them as men, and you must exact discipline — discipline. The Chairman put the third resolution as already read. It was carried unanimously. The Chairman — Gentlemen, you will consider, I think, I am follow- ing the proper course in confining the debate in very narrow limits on the resolutions that follow. There are some notices here sent up by gentlemen who wish to address the Convention. Those notices shall be carefully attended to, but, before we proceed to them or the next resolution, I hnve to say that the gentleman in whose name the notice of motion stands in reference to the Paris Funds has explained to me that he did not withdraw that part of his resolution ; consequently he shall have an opportunity of moving his resolution. And as I stated to this Convention that the leading members of the party were anxious to explain the party's position with reference to the Party funds, I now ask the Hon. Edward Blake to make the promised statement. Hon. Edward Blake, M.P. — My lord, ladies and gentlemen, the Irish Parliamentary Party, owing to the unhappy circumstances which have for so long a time so unnaturally divorced from the people and the popular cause the greater proportion of the wealth and of the opportuni- ties for acquiring wealth to be found within this island, the National :> y^ -V. ; THTRD DAY—nOX. KDWARD BLAKK, M.I'. 2')t Party is labouring under the disadvantage, if it be a disadvantage, of being and of acknowledging that it is relatively to English political parties a poor party in worldly wealth. There are aniongst us those whose cir- cumstances and exertions have enabled or enable them to olTer gratuitous services to the country which they love. And there are amongst tis also those who submit to a still greater sacrifice in the interest of lliat country, because they have foregone the ojiportunities and chances ot their lives— the opportunities which their own exertions, directed to their own advancement, would have produced to them— in order lo execute the somewhit thankless olVice of serving their country at Westminster. I say that the sacrifices of those men, from the worldly point of view, are not comparable in point of lightness with the .sacrifices of those who are able to afford gratuitous service, and that their position should be considered with a generosity, a chivalry, a respect greater than that which is due to those who m ly happen to be better off in the accident of the possession of worldly dross. Tiie Irish Party in Parliament, though a poor parly, is an independent and self- respecting party. It has held its head high — as high, and deservedly high, Jis the parties with which are associated wealth and rank. And those of us who entertain, as my colleagues with whom I generally act do entertain, very strong views upon the subject of the managemenl of the party funds, entertain them largely and mainly with reference to llic respectability and independence of the position which the Irish Parly ought to have in Parliament, in order that it may do its duly to the country which its represents. The Irish Party provides for the distribu- tion or allotment amongst its own members of the funds entrusted to the party itself for distribution, and is its own paymaster. And I do not believe it to be consistent with the independence and self-respect of that party, as a whole, or of individual members of that party, who may be in the position to which I have alluded, that any other body or set of men — chosen by I care not whom, and holding their power I care not from what source — should be the paymaster of one or more or any number of my colleagues in Parliament. We do not want to degenerate into a kept party. We do not want to degenerate into a party to any one of whose members it may be said in this island, or, still worse, outside this island, at Westminster ; " You owe your stipend to some committee sitting in Ireland — selected and chosen I know not how, and holding office by I know not what tenure. Unless you follow the orders of that committee, and obey their voice, your stipend will be cut oflf for your independence." You tell me that it has been said that the independence of Irish members is threatened by the system and the arrangements whereby the payment of those who require to be main- tained in Westminster is worked. If that be so, I want to know how much less the independence of that party will be threatened by those members owing the determination of that question to a committee outside, in Ireland or elsewhere. They are men, and being men of like dispositions to our own, they are animated by the same prejudices and feelings, and would find themselves under the same difficulties, and you would only transfer the area of unworthy contention and suspicion to some other quarter. You would by no means eliminate it by tlie change some, as I think, improvidently suggest. '"^r y -V(\ 39a IRISH RACE coy VENT ION. I have known very liule, though I have known, I dare say, quite as much as anybody else, of how this matter was managed durnig the last four years in detail, hccuise the old customs and practices which had been estaMis'i;d before the split commenced, were observed as rigor- ously as possible. Treasurers were a])poinlcd, to whom sums were handed in the gross, and they alone knew how niuch was paid to any, and to which, members of the party. To the pirty at large, to the committee of the party, that knowledge was not communicated. It may be thought the system recjuircs reconsideration within the councils of the party. I am inclined to believe that the system which answered admirably so long as unworthy suggestions were not made, so long as the honour of the Irish Party was not assailed within its own ranks, so long as suspicions were not flung broadcast — susjjicions which never ought to have been entertained— unwortiiy suspicions, suspicions which, if there were any foundation for them, would render my friends near me, and every man who takes a jiart in this struggle, unworliiy of any place in the councils of the nation, or the party, or its ranks— so long as these suspicions were not thrown out, tlie old plan might have been, as it has been, left to operate. Some change in detiil may be, and I incline to think is, recjuircd under the new rule of casting aspersion wholesale upon every man charged with responsibility, but that any rule or change can be made which shall divest the Irish Parliamentary Party from the control and responsibility of the management of its own funds, and which shall yet be consistent with rc'enlion of self-respect and inde- pendence I, for my part, utterly deny. If you trust the Irish Party in Parliament with the most sacred interests of your country, if you trust them, as you do by electing them to Parliament, with the whole business and the affairs of Ireland, if you say to them, " We trust yon to decide — in the stress and strain of Parliamentary conflict, and in the greatest difficulties — the lines it is best to take for Ireland, we trust you and we follow you," is it not absurd and foolish to say you cannot trust the men whom you trust with these enormous interests to observe the commonest dictates of honesty, fair play, and decency in tlie distribution of the funds which you give for the supjjort of the i)arty ? I did not think when I joined the Irish Parliamentary Party, in whatever rough work it might be my duty to engage, that I should ever personally have anything to do with the collection of funds for their maintenance. It has been, however, my duty during the last four years — in that constant, unceasing dissension, and under the suspicions engendered by the aspersions, and the unworthy statements propagated through the country — it has been in some small part my duty to help, as far as I could amongst my friends and the supporters of the cause abroad, to supply the Parliamentary Party with the necessary funds. I tell you, then, that after this unexpected duty devolved upon me, my friends — and you see what sort of friends Home Rule has in Can.ida — my friends, making some collections in that country for the purpose, remitted them to me personally, telling me to dispose of them as I myself thought best in the furtherance of the Irisii cause. So convinced was I that there was but one appropriate method of disposing of the contributions of the friends of Ireland that I declined to take the slightest responsibility as to their disposition. I said, " I will hand ^^Nrv.^ ■vX.f S^ ^^ii.i )S^ r\ / rillR!) DAY-MU. MICHAEL DAY ITT, M.P. -'93 Hi J ;■;*;• i ■•:,., 11 them ovci to the Party itself, to he dealt with by the Party itself accord- inu; to its rules and regulations. I shall never he a parly to the degra- dation and loss of self-respect and indt'pendencu of the Irish Parliamentary I'arty involved in the confession of its incapacity to he fair and just and honest and decent in the adniinislration of its moneys," and I say, if we can't do that we are not fit to serve you in those infi- nilcly greater concerns. Now, I have known something of these most painful and desradinR controversies, and I have watcliud as carefully as mar '-oidd watch what the true course of events has been, and I declare to you upon my honour that I am as satisfied as that I am standing here that there has never been the slightest foundation in fact for the suggestion — the base suggestion — that any man has been mean enough to consider for one moment the com])lexion and o])inions uoon subjects of Party difTcrenccs of any member in his relation to the Party funds. I don't believe that even my bitterest opponent will charge me, dissociated as I was neces- sarily with many of the rancours of the ])ast, with any ill-feeling, and I know that every man with whom I have been connected is as absolutely free and entirely above any sordid and unworthy action as I feel myself that I am. My lord, this Convention has evidenced its determination to give a renewed mandate of confidence to its faithlul servants who have endeavoured to hold aloft the flag of Ireland in the stress and strain of the conflict — the Hag not only torn and tittered in that conflict, but also, alas ! besmeared by mud and fiUh cast on it by those who should be the last to .soil it. This Convention has determined to hold up and strengthen their hands, and I am well assured that after this short expl.i- nation of the reasons why we felt bound to invite confidence in this as in other respects, there will be no dissenting voice here to the jirojiosi- tion that the Irish Parliamentary Party ought to be in this, as in other respects, trusted to do its duty subject to that account, in case malver- sation is charged and i)roved against it,to which every representative o( the people ought to be subject, and to which we are fully willing to submit. Mr. Michael Davitt, M.P. — My lord bishop, ladies and gentlemen, the fourth resolution which I have the honour to submit for your adop- tion reads as follows ; — "That, while hailing with satisfnclion the relcafie of someof ihc Irish political pris- oners, we are indignant that relief has come so late, afcer their health had been broken l)y long years of sulTcring. We condemn the brutal treatment which Kngland, while boasting herself to be the advance guard of freedom amongst the nations, infliits on political prisoners sentenced for offences arising out of Irish grievances. We mark the contrast in feeling and in action exhibited by England towards the Irish prisoners, and towards other political offenders, as, for instance, the Johannesburg Commillee and the Jameson Raiders. We call for the immediaie liberation of all the remaining Irish political prisoners still enduring the horrors of penal servitude, and we request the Irish I'arliameutary represcntativts to press with insistent urgency for their liberation." I say, ladies and gentlemen, that it is not altogether inappropriate that I should have been asked to submit this resolution to this great Convention. We demand a response to the prayer of this resolution on grounds and for reasons which would not be denied to-day by any other civilised nation throughout the world. The sentences in themselves were monstrous in the first instance, while the punishment inflicted upon "1 \\v\ I Hi- cr I I I ll i? y:'(i{ \ ^ •'-■■ ■ I *"> v:-- J t M i'. i Q b. o 5! o H n H "v T ^n THIRD DAY— MR. WILLIAM LIWDOX. »95 1 •) \ these men rotiUI nut be e(|ualle<l in cruelty by even the KuKsian deapot who Nciuls his foes to Silitri.in iiiiiu's. There is an iiistim t of hiiiiuniity cunuiion to every created beinn wlii( h prompts a iti.in |i. 'ivc footi even to a hungry dug. iltil it is left for I'.n^iaiul, enll^htelu i >■ ,ind, to include seniistarvation in the systi-in of |)unishinent she UKt 'it tu her Irish pohiK al foes. I have iiiukrKone over nine years' in in. inent, hecausc I have been a rebel anainst niisnoverniiii.iit from i c mo- ment I was first taught that, luxt to my duty to (>od was my i to Irish liberty, and I say here to day that during; seven long years oi Uiat imprisonment, under Mn^land's system of pimishment, I never lor one hour ceased to feel the pangs of hunger, (iod has made man a t.dkin(( being, but Kngland in>ists that silence, jierpetual silence, sh.iil bu enforced on her Irish political foes, no matter bow long their brutal sen- tences may have been, ami the men-— the few men— who were turned out the other day to die by luigland's ina^;nanimous Tory (lovernniciu — aye, but I hope not before the) will hel|) us to settle accounts with Ireland's brutal rulers birlieve it, fellow-deleg.ites, or not, I assert here today that during the thirteen long years that John Duly and Dr. (Jal- lagher and other;; have been kept in I'jigland's prison piMis it was a crime against Kngland's rulers to say "good morning" or "good evening" to a fellow-being undergoing the same brutal punishment. I'",ngl,iiid has had to beg for clemency and justic e for incriminated Knglishiiien from President Kruger. Irelanil deiiiaiids tlirougli this (Jonvention ol the Irish race that the remaining Irish political prisoners sli.ill be liberated. Mr. Wii.i.i AM I.UNiioN, Kilteely, (,'o. I,iinerick — Mylord bishop and brother delegates from all i)arls of the world as far as the Irish r.ice has extended, I feel highly privileged in being called upon to address you on this (|uestion of aiunesty, so dear to all your hearts. .No( uestion sp >ken of at thii" great assembly catches a greater hold of y'-.i. hearts, or the hearts of the Irish race thro'ighout the world, than the question of amnesty. Some people might say there was a vast difference in the various phases of the National movement, as evidenced by moral force and l)hysical force. I say the cause has been the same for the last seven hundred years, though it may have jiresented itself in dilterent shajies. It has been like a kaleidoscope, at one time moral force, at another time physical force, and so on, but in whatever way it presented itself it was Ireland first, Ireland centre, and Ireland last. We all know that only for the Crowleys, the Davitts, the O'Briens, and the others, we would not have been able to carry on the moral agitation of the last fifteen years. I also feel proud to speak on ibis question of amnesty, because I was the companion of dear John Daly. We stood side by side on platforms in the old amnesty movement of '69. He and I often differed, but no matter what our differences may have been in detail, I tell you, if you had one hundred thousand men of John Daly's calibre with arms in their hands, it would be easy for you to obtain Home Rule. I was present at the first meeting in the city of Limerick when this present movement was organised, and I was present at meetings in Tipperary, including the great amnesty demonstration held in that town. I don't want to say anything contentious. However, there is 0112 matter I would like to put before you. I refer now to about two years before _ r — rm 7 cr. m (^ f/^.'O) \ 'cy '- 296 ^> o IRISH RACE CONVENTION. the split I was the very man who proposed that Mr. Parnell should be invited to the great demonstration we were going to hold with reference to amnesty. He may have been a great man as a leader, but I tell you his heart was not bent on amnesty. In addition to him. other gentlemen were invited to attend, and I may tell you that not from one of them did we receive even a single reply, except a negative one that was not worth reading. Mr. Dsvitt has told you that his own experience of prison life was a hard one. I wish to tell you also that my experience of prison life was hard enough. I \yas imprisoned, under Eager, in Limerick. I was afterward taken to Mountjoy, and subsequently 1 graduated under the Old Gorilla at Kilmainham. I say that in whatever agitation you have before you, you will always have the amnesty question to the front, and I believe we will all leave it as a legacy to those who come after us. As regards our representation at Westminster there is no use in specious arguments there. If the Irish Party is united, and has the Irish people solid at its back, it will be able to get anything it wan*s, but otherwise you will get nothing, and they will look upon you as slaves. Dr. Gallagher and Mr. Whitehead and those other men are now nearly oblivious of what tliey went through. They have been simply driven into madness. There is not on God's earth a more efficacious way of driving a man to madness than the mode described by Mr. Davitt — the silent system. Man is a gregarious animal, and he must herd with his neighbour-,, and if he has to live in solitary confinement the ordinary man sinks to the level of the beast Englishmen have gone down on their knees to iniploie President Kruger to release the men who invaded a free country to deprive a people of their rights. They went in, if not for that pi"- posc, they went in simply to rob. The English have robbed the whole of the world, and nobody felt the truth of that more than the Irish people. Look at how France treated her political prisoners They did acts revolt- ing to humanity during the Commune. They kili^ : nfty priests and the sainted Archbishop D'Arboy, and all these men were now released. It was said the LiberalGovernment did not release the political prisoners. Well, the Tories would not release them until they saw that they could not disregard the condition they were in. I knew a case in Mountjoy Prison when I was there, and when the doctor at Mountjoy Prison said the man should be released they had tliree military doctors in to know whether they could keep the man in jail another month. We are here to ask for the release of the remaining political prisoners, the Land League prisoners, the Invincibles and others, and I hope you will never forget in this matter the names that adorn your walls, of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien. Very Rev. D. O'Hara, P.P., Kiltimagh— My lord and fellow dele gates, I have only to say as a delegate, and for my fellow-delegates, that we longed to see this day. We have seen it, and we are glad. We began tlie Convention well ; we began it with an Irish prayer ; we had the blessing of the Pope ; and we have an Irish Bishop in the chair. We are bound to succeed on these conditions, and, from the honest faces I see before me, I think it won't be your fault if we don't. I have been asked to say a few words in favour of amnesty, and I will spy this much, that I think we ought to be prepared to set the example, and to give a general amnesty all round to every man, to every Irishman, no mattei ) (■■ ..I (i THinn DAY-UEV. 1). O'HAHA. 297 i 'a "A ^] ( ' '•- lur^ ^l^^SS what he may have done in the past, iirovitlcd that he comes into the fold and says that he will fight once more for the sacred cause of our country. We are here assembled, on a most solemn occasion, to iiclp on the good old cause. In the nanie of the delegates that are here, |>riests and lay- men, I venture to make bold and to proclaim a general amnesty to every man. Let them come, and we have " A Imml for tliegr.isp ol ftiemlsliip," ai,d it may be well to know that we have " A li.iml to make them qimkp, Anil they're welcome to wliiclisnvcr It picucs them best to take.' The Irish nation is met here in council. It is the most historic and the most representative meeting of Irishmen that was ever held on Iiish soil, and there is not a delegate here, no maUer from what part of the world he came, who is not proud, and will for ever feel proud, that he is one of those who came to settle the affairs of Ireland. We came to discharge a solemn duty, the most solemn that man could discharge. We are able to tell the delegates who have come here from distant lands that the Old Guard are true to the old cause of Ireland, and that Ire- land stands to the front as ever she did before. Though it is too much to expect that we could be all absolutely united, we can assure them that the country is practically united. I only wish to endorse the observations of Mr. Davitt on the sirfferings of the political i)risoners. I cannot, I am sorry to say, claim that I have experience of tlie suffer- ings of prison life, but this I can boast of — that I was the first priest in Ireland marked out for imprisonment. It was not my fault then, for I never yielded one inch. I would say to cur delegates in this assembly that our proceedings here show that Ireland is a country worth fighting for, for we are no ites, but Irishmen, and whatever little mites might stand in our way, all we need is a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether to achieve our rights. We mean to do our duty. Wewill do our best at home ; we are bound to do it, and we ask the American and other delegates to back us up. We will help ourselves, no matter who helps us ; we will fight, no matter bow few are left ; and as a priest from America eloquently put it, no matter how few they are, as long as there are three Irishmen left we will fight for the good old cause. There are not three, but three thousand in this hall, priests and laymen, united as ever in the old cause, and, please God, when we go home we will tell the other priests, and his lordship, perhaps, may tell the bishops. All may agree in this, that at all events the Irish Party must get fail play — nobody must stand in the march of the nation. It wants the help of every man, and, please God, from the highest bishop in the land to the humblest curate, from the highest layman to the poorest living on the mountain side, we will all unite once more, we will dress our ranks, and we will march on to victory. The Chairman — Gentlemen, I shall soon propose a more rapid way of getting through the other resolutions, and I would put this resolution to you now were it not that a very distinguished Ameri' priest, Father Phillips, of Pennsylvania, has a word to say. Rev. E. S. Phillips, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania — I did not intend 'V"' 4 Hi % rrnr\ \m II I 1 " n wr il^Tri !:/ !J:^I ( < 1 ; .' ■ V 3 . i Wl\ ^ 998 77?/,?// /?ylC7; COyVENTION. to add one word to the few remarks that 1 made on the opening day of the Convention, but I was so much pleased by tlie sentiment conveyed by the last speaker in regard to general amnesty, when he said that the Irish delegates, priests, and people, were sending to America a feeling of unity, not only towards the men who belong to their regular party in Ireland, i)ut to those who differ, a general amnesty. I wisli to say on behalf of the American delegates that our principal is in America that " more Hies are cauglit by molasses than by vinegar." A few days before I left my home I had the ])leasure of spending a delightful hour with a priest of the diocese of Kaphoe, which is represented in so magnificent a manner by his lordship, our chairman, and he said to me, which I now see verified, " that if Bishop O'Donnell of Raphoe would consent to be present at the Convention, his spirit of true Irish Nationality will dominate the Convention, and a good result must come." Now, gentle- men, one of the speakers from America, representing the Irish National Federation, has given practical proof of the Irish-American loyalty to Ireland by the statement he has made of the contributions of Americans, as well as of Irish-Americans, and of Irishmen who have adopted America as their home, to the Irish cause. But he m.ade a remark with which I niubt in part disagree, that is, that America expects the honourable chairman if he cannot rule, to crush. Fourteen years ago I sat and worked with Mr. Dillon in America, when he visited that country with the late Mr. Parnell, whose soul, I am glad to say, is still marching on. But I thiric that it is well for parties to remember that men have opinions, and that these opinions are sometimes honestly expressed ; therefore, that the sense of this Convention is, I believe, that we extend the olive branch to these men still, and I do not tnmk that it is beneath the dignity of the regular Irish National Party, through its chairman, or in a body to make an appeal. Mr. 13illon was understood to make some remark. I wish, therefore, as the honourable chairman says " Yes," I wish to state on behalf of America, on behalf of the greater Ireland here repre- sented, that we are all united in believing that the Irish Party now represented by the piesent chairman, is the party of Ireland. Let me recall a sentiment which I remember being uttered by the honourable chairman at a banquet somewhere in London last March, which electrified me and thrilled me. He said, and with this I will close my remarks, as the sense of this Convention, as the sense of the people who are not here, but who should be, the sense which I hope they will experience after the thoughtful words that have been uttered on this platform, and which now comes from my heart — this language of Mr. Dillon's was this, " If I can but add a sentiment to ' Ireland a Nation ' it is, the ' Nationalists of Ireland all over the world united.'" The Chairman — I consider resolution G is pertinent to the next re- solution, 5. I consider the second part of the resolution O is pertinent to the sixth resolution in this series. I consider that the fourth part of the resolution O is germane to the tenth resolution of the series, and now the procedure I intend to follow it this ; Mr. Kilbride will propose these resolutions in globo and they will be seconded anci supported.* * For text of all these rcsoluliims see conclusion of procecilinjjs. ) i\'^;:'/!i -^^=^j :\ "^X^ ! 'i Dlt. I'ATlllCK JOSKVII TDIMINS. (Sou pp. 115,308.) liEV. JOHN SCANLAN. (.See pp. 117, 313 ) 1 .1 (- ) )J'.r JOHN E. KEDilOND, JU.l'. iSce p. 160.) MISS M (JUANE. tDoalgner of Delciiuto'a Certlllcatv.) ii/'.'f^)^ ).'; ,i! r ? I: 1 -■ (i. ^' \j "-^ — 300 77^7^7/ 7UC'A' CONVEXTWN. Mr. Uenis Kilbride, M.P. — I have been requested to move this resolution dealing with the land ;— ''That the Irish landlord system and methods have tended to impoverish, exter- minate, and expel the Irish race, and have thus been the fruitful source of miseiy, discontent, violence, and disturl),ince in Ireland. That the last Land Act, whilst l)eitcrin(; the condition of certain classes, fails to give the vast majoiity of the Irish tenantry that security against excessive rents and confiscation of improvements which is essential to their well-being, and to the success of any scheme of land pur- chase ; fails to give necessary powers for the enlargement of too small holdings hy the compulsory purch.ase of grass lands from which the people have been driven; and fails to make adeipiate provision for the restoration to their homes of the cvictc'l tenants, to whose courage and endurance such benefits as the farmers o( Ireland have obtained are largely due, and whose ca«c must ever appeal to the sense of honour and gratitude of their fellow-countrymen. We condemn the lateness of the period and the shortness of the time allowed for discussion, and the indecent tlireatx of withdrawal, by which legitimate debate was curtailed ; and we declare that the Act cannot be accepted even as a temporary settlement, and that the only hope »( the tenantry rests in a united and determined Parliamentary Party, backed by a !;rer>t agrarian combination, watching the operation of the Land Laws, exposing cases of injustice, and demanding a full measure of reform." Unfortunately we as Irishman know that this question of the land is a very vital one. The first portion of that resolution is that the land system in Ireland has impoverinhed our people, and is a system of con- fiscation. At the door of that system in Ireland may be laid the fact that the foreign delegates amongst us are the sons of men that the accursed land laws drove from their country. The resolution deals with the last T.aiid Bill — it deals with the Bill passed this session by the Tory Government — and the resolution asks the people of Ireland, and especially the tenant farmers of Ireland, to boldly declare in the face of the world that they do not, and will not, and cannot accept this Land Bill as a settlement of the Irish Land Question. I want your delegates to tell the authors of this Bill, to tell the Solicitor-General for Ireland and the Chief Secretary for Ireland, that you repudiate the Bill and repudiate the men. We never went so far as to say the Bill was an utter fraud or a sham. We admitted all the time that there were provi- sions in it which brought relief to a certain class of tenants ; but we said, and we say again, that this Bill brings no relief to the vast body of the Irish tenant farmers. But this Bill to my mind should be refused and rejected by any body of Irish farmers or by any body of justice- loving men. What does this Bill do ? The clause of this Bill which deals with improvements enacts that the labourer — the man who has expended the money, the man who has reclaimed the land, is not entitled to the full value of his labour. I say that when a tenant-farmer improves his holding, the value of that labour h;is increased the letting value, and adds to the value of the holding. But this Bill says that the whole of the increased value — the whole of the value of your labour — is not to be your property, that you are to have in the first instance a certain recognition for it — a certain percentage which this Bill does not define, but leaves it to the idiosyn- crasies, the whims, and the fancies of a body of the Land Commis- sioners. After it gives you a certain percentage on the value of your improvements this Bill then says that any further increased value should be divided between the landlord and the tenant. Our main objection ( \ ^- in i! ' , " i I 77///e7J i)^ir— iiA'K .U7J. LYTTLE 3°' to this rill is that it does not t;ivc full recognition to the improvements of the tenants, and the only final settlement of the Laml ([iieslion can be the purchase system, under which you will not be obliged to buy your own property, and will be obliged to pay for nothing but what is the property of others. Rev. Mr. I,vtti.k, Moneyrca — My lord and gentlemen, I am proud to stand on this platform ami to take my side with my fellow-countrymen in the advocacy of Home Rule, and second the resolution. I am inclined to speak on this land question, but I am sure you don't wish any technical drtails, so I shall only say a word or two as to how the land question affects in the province of Ulster the great cause which has brought us all here — the cause of self-government for Ireland. I believe, gentlemen, that already there are economic forces at work which will make the Unionists of Ulster shift tlieir present political moorings, ''''e remember that during the last century economic tyranny and pressure paved the way for the work of the reformers who marshalled the Volun- teers and United Irishmen among the planters of Ulster. Commercial restrictions which ruined the Protestant planters of Ulster during the last century helped Henry Grattan and his co-workers in influencing the minds of the Ulstermen. The seeds of patriotism sown in the minds of the people of the North in due time brought forth splendid fruit in the Volunteer movement and the '98 parly. Well, at the present time I have no hesitation in saying that the majorif of the Ulster farmers are on the verge of bankruptcy. Wages have risen, and are still rising, and God forbid that any of us should do anything to deprive the labourer of his hire. Prices are falling, and will continue to fall. Now, we know that the Irish farmers must keep a grip of their holdings. Ulster far- mers, Unionists though they be at the present moment, will be forced, in order to save themselves, to help to save their country. So, for this reason, I have no hesitation in saying that the time will yet come when Ulster will take her place at last, her proper place, in the very vanguard of the struggle for self-government and prosperity for Ireland. I have the honour, my lord, to speak on behalf of the Liberal and National Union of Ulster. May I be permitted to inform this great Convention of our race that this is a comparatively new organisation — an organisa- tion that already is nearly 2,000 in number, made up in its vast majority of those belonging to the various Protestant denominations ? But you will be glad to hear that the old narrowness has left us entirely, and that Roman Catholics are numbered among our most honoured members, and that Catholic and Protestant representatives from our body are here at this Convention to-day. Well, we know of at least 10,000 Protestants of the province of Ulster who are already in sympathy with the cause of self-government, and we aim at making this merely the nucleus of a great Protestant army — a great Protestant auxiliary in the army of Irish patriotism. But our efforts have been neutralised by the dissensions which disgrace our cause. We came here to this great Convention of our race because the doors have been opened to us, and because of a hope that this Convention might show the Irish people which way victory lies, and I, for one, feel that much has been done already. If now remains for the constituencies to accomplish the great end which we all have in view. I am not going into particulars, but I will say this, ! r i 3 (t 302 IRISH RACIC CONVENTION. that wc III die Nunii, wiiu li.ivc lakcii lliis sluiiU, liupc llint tlic iiuiv^iikiiI will be kept pure and noble. We hope that those at the head of it will set the noble example of magnanimity, of toleration, and let the world see that there is a great moral force in this movement. We cannot win by numbers, but we hope we shall win by the moral force of our cause. What would be the good of victory if we had not this great moral force ? Ours is not a dream of a small kingdom. I trust that our National ideal is not merely a great material thing — not merely that our peo|)lc shall be fixed as rocks in their native soil, not merely that they shall enjoy material prosjierity and the blessings of freedom — but also that they shall be illustrious in purity and nobility of public life, and glorious in the culture of literatuic, science, and art. This ought to be our ideal, and I hope it is. My lord, in conclusion, allow me to .say, as an Irish- man in whose veins runs a mingled tide of Celtic and Teutonic blood, that I am proud to stand here on this platform as an Irisiiman. I have devoted some of the energies of my life in recent years to the effort to make men sink distinctions of creed and parly in the common designa- tion of Irishmen. Allow me further to say, as a Protestant, and also, my lord, as an Ulsterman, born and reared in all the traditions of our province, that I am proud to speak on this platform under your dis- tinguished presidency. He is a poor, misled man, indeed, whatever may be his race or creed, who is not proud to associate with a man bearing the honoured name of a clan which in Ireland's past history rushed to glorious battle so often and so well in the service of Irish freedom. Once again Ireland has gone into battle with the glorious war-cry, " O'Donnell Aboo." Mr. Thomas Duffy, County Delegate for Longford — My lord bishop, rev. fathers, and ladies and gentlemen, I have heard a distinguished clergy- man say a few minutes ago he would not pass the time limit, you may be quite sure I won't pass the time limit, but coining as a member of the Central Council of the Federation, I think I would not be doing my duty if 1 did not say a word on behalf of the county I represent, I come from a county represented by the distinguished Mr. Blake, I come from a county represented by the father of the Irish Parliament.iry Party — Justin M'Carthy — and you will permit me on behalf of Ireland to return our sincere thanks to the foreign delegates who have come here to settle this petty dispute amongst Irishmen. We are here assembled in council, the greatest assembly of Irishmen, perhaps, that ever assembled in Dublin before. I always held it as a motto, and I hold it to-day, that majority rule must be obeyed. I am not at all surprised. If I am the oldest delegate in this great assembly, for I wore the badge of O'Connell on my breast when 1 was in the cradle, and what I say to the delegates is to go home and do their duty in organising their counties. Let us stand loyal and firm, shoulder to shoulder, determined to fight out to the bitter end, and Home Rule will be the glorious result. Mr. David Doran, Vice-chairman of the Kenmare Board of Guardians — My lord and representatives of that old race that seven centuries of oppression and tyranny could not stamp out — I rejoice in this Parliament of our race, first since ninety years, to speak on behalf of the unfortunate evicted tenants who are mentioned in the resolution before you. When the unfortunate strife amongst Irishmen commenced, r. m TITinD DAY— MR. G. J. LVXSh'EY. .P.? \ ! 1 /I! 1. ( ' ( ■y and when the I'lisoiicr of Tullaniurt; was la.d asidu and was prevented from fighting (or the unfortunate evicted tenants together with the Chairman of the Parliamentary Party, the evicted tenants have been since suffering privation, want, and misery, owing to this miserable strife. A meeting was held within the past week in the city of Dublin by the exterminators of our race for the purpose of trying — now that the second time for fixing the rents in the Land Courts has come — to secure that the reductions will be so small that tiie unfortunate Irish farmer will be starved. The unfortunate Irish farmer will be forced to part with his little girl and his little boy, and let them go to foreign countries to seek the bread that they ought to be able to earn in the land of their birth. You know that the only industry wc have in Ireland is the land. Since Strongbow came over the unfortunate tiller of the soil has been robbed of his right in the land, the proceeds of which have gone into the pockets of a wortless class to spend in Paris anfl in the dens of London. The unfortunate tenants appeal to you. Tlie strife in the Irish Party robbed them of friends and of the means of getting back to their homes, and tiie evicted tenants throughout Ireland and the farmers of the South and West look for tlie (jlorious day when union is restored once more in the Irish ranks. Cio back and organise. Stand together in your own districts and parishes, band yourselves into one great organisation that will conquer land- lordism, and be the means of planting the old flag on the Old House in College Green. ^Ir. G. J. LvNSKEV, Liverpool — I would not intervene at this hour but I think that the action of the Irish people in Liverpool deserves that their voice should be heard at this Convention. In every movement, whether constitutional or otherwise, the Irishmen of Liverpool have been in the forefront of it. We look upon it as the Capital of Ireland in Eng- land. We come here to-day to deliver one message, and speaking the unanimous voice of the Irish people of that city, I say that we come here for the purpose of supporting, maintaining, and helping majority rule and discipline in the Irish Party. I shall not dwell upon the questions that are coming before you, because I intend to be particularly brief. We feel that dissension has paralysed our action in England. We feel that dis- sension has deprived us of the support of men that ought to be in our ranks. We feel that dissension has disgusted Irish people who are always ready to support Ireland's demands, and we ask the Irish people at home that they should have union, and that they should have discip- line. We care not whether they shall get it by toleration or by conciliation, but get it by any means is what we demand. We have the honour, the distinguished honour of returning an Irish representative to the Imperial Parliament. You, yesterday, heard his eloquent tongue and his fearless speech ; but I say on behalf of our people, that if he was against the majority of the Irish Party, no matter how great his tongue, no matter how great his services, we would not stand him one hour. We would not tolerate him for one hour unless he was prepared to stand by union, to stand by discipline, and stand by majority rule. I don't suggest to you how you should deal with those who are against that rule, but I tell you how we should deal with them. I tell you how we should deal v/ith our representative, proud as we are of his distinguished ability, and I say the ^*a.W^ i^i I ij: ■^ "•' ■•s.»--,-'A' A !! !' C: 1 r I m t^^^H K.I 1^1 ^r 1 ^^^M Jt;i^H "^^^^^^^^^1 '■: ;. '. ; .1 '" :.aai^w; >: . i ■ ■ - . ! . .1 a i a 2 if w d o M d H H O a « M a a 2 . ' ■ - ,^ ) I f ', - . ) ^ ■7 THIRD DAY— MR. QVIX : REV. DR. FnAXXKItV. 305 Irish people of Liverpool would not tolerate Mr. O'Connor to stand against union, to stand against discipline, or to stand against support to the ciiairman of his party (onstitution.illy elected. We have a very dillicult task in England. You in Ireland have not tliu same sacrifices to make. Even in America, in Australia, in Africa, and uiher places, to lie an Irishman, to be a Nationalist Irishuian, does not |)revtni one from being successful in the worlil. In England it means boycotting, not- withstanding that, we have as true, as earnest, and as |)atri()tie a body of men as ever left Ireland's si.vores. Wliat we come to say to you is this : — " For (Jod's sake close u,> your ranks and he united once more." If you cannot heal up your diffensrces by reconciliation, then, in the last resort make an appeal to the const tucncies. No man has the right to stand between Ireland and her onvard progress ; and I say to you, as you stand together united in Ireland, helping and assisting each other, that we, in Liverpool, will stand by ycu untd we are driven to tlie last ditch in the c." !se of Home Rule. Mr. Ai.i'hoNsus QuiN, of Arboe, said — My lord and gentlemen, I wish to say a few words. I have been a I'arnellite ui) to very lately, but seeing this tremendous struggle yoing on, this great battle going on amongst ourselves, I did not see any reason why I woulil not come to this Convention, and, by my presence, support the resolution which was carried yesterday. This great Convention has been called, and its doors have been thrown open to everybody, and I think it would be a great medium to ask the Parnellites to join. What do they want to stand outside for ? I cannot see. I admired Parnell. I can also admire the great ability of Mr. Redmond, but what does he want but Home Rule and the land for the people ? What more does he want ? I was glad to hear Mr. Dillon say that he was prepared to throw over his position for the sake of unity. I may say I am a farmer myself, but I do not agree with Mr. Kilbride that the Land Act may not be of some use to the farmers. The courts will be open, and the people cannot be prevented from going into them. What we want now, as soon as the fifteen years have expired, is to go into the courts and get our rents reduced fifty per cent. That would be a pretty fair reduction. I would ask the farmers what will they do when the courts are open. Fifteen years ago I heard the cry, " Don't go into the Land Courts.'' But how can you keep the people out when they are bent down by starvation ? If the tenants go into the courts and get their rents reduced, they will be better able to fight the landlords. It will give you a strong hand, and when you get Home Rule you will have plenty of money. Rev. Dr. Flannerv, St. Thomas, Canada — I am one of the last of the Canadian representatives, and I think you may easily see by my countenance that though I come here from Canada, I am not a Canadian. I had the distinguished honour of being born in the County Tipperary. For the last five years of my life I have been working on the prairies, and along the Canaiian lakes, and on the borders of the great Niagara. During all that time I have had experience of Home Rule — Home Rule for Canadians — an absolute necessity for that country ; Home Rule for Australia — an absolute necessity for that country — yes. Home Rule for every country but Ireland. The British Government have allowed us Home Rule and self-government for every one of the seven provinces, 2 R ) V ^ i \-<rv ' , .>^ r' A ^^ jed 7/d/,S// /?^C£; CONVENTION. which enal)les us to promote the prosperity and industries of the country. It is dillicult to understand why (Ireat llritain siiould grant fieif-j;overn- nient to almost every portion of her dominions and refuse it to the most intelligent people on the face of the earth. We have sent you from Canada, money, and, as Kather Ryan said on th(! morning of the opening of the Convention, we sent you a man. We sent you that great, grand man, the Hon. Kdward lilake. Men have been trying to asperse his character and to impugn his motives, but we have known Mr. Itlake from his boyhood, because he grew in our midst. It was asked down in the County Tipperary, about four or five years ago when I came to visit my relatives : " Did not this man, Mr. Hlake, come over to look for otrice, and to get office under Gkidstone?" "What nonsense,"! said, "that man is above anything that Gladstone could offer him," ami so he is, for if he liked he would be to day Prime Minister of Canada, instead of his friend Mr. Laurier. Mr. Ulake is a man who has an immense jjractice as a lawyer, and he had a retaining fee of 30.000 dollars a year from the great r.\cific Railway, which unites the two oceans, the Pacific and the Atlantic. Mr. Blake — No, no. Rev. Dr. Fi.anneuv — Mr. Ulake left Canada because he wished to serve men like Davitt and Dillon in working for Ireland. He came here to stand in the gap and work for Ireland until you have succeeded in getting the restoration of the old Parliament in College Green. Mr. J. B. Devmn, Pennsylvania — I esteem it a great honour to be called on to address this Convention. I have come from the land beyond the seas where we have Home Rule in all sincerity. We are the spokes- men of the prosperity and the progress of that country, which was the outcome of the principle that you demand to have adopted. Home Rule for Ireland, and we are the bearers of a message to Great Britain, that so long as she continues to rule Ireland as at present, not only does she act unwisely but tyrannically. The road of patriotism is a rough and rugged path, but it has a goal which is worth striving for. In America we have a sharp and swift way of d"i''ig with a traitor to his political party. We ignore the man who becomes a renegade from his party. They are put aside, and are known as " Dead Ducks." Since I left the country there was no movement for the advantage of Ireland that I did not do my utmost to serve, and we on the other side of the Atlantic have been unselfish, and have made sacrifices in support of the cause of Ireland. Mr. Charles Herron, South Derry, said that he hailed from a constituency in the North of Ireland which had played an important part in the struggle of the last fifteen years. The people of South Derry were tolerant of no faction. They had shown that in two important and trying crises. At the time of the great fall of Mr. Parnell, Mr. Healy put into their hands the weapons with which they fought Parnell — the issue of the independence and the sacred interests of the country — and they chose the interests of the country, and with sorrow put aside Mr. Parnell. Little did they think then that a second crisis would arise when they would be obliged to use these same arguments against Mr. Healy. The speaker continuing, said— South Derry was indebted to Mr. Healy, but yet, when it came to the question of the country's interests or Mr. Healy's interests, we stood a second time by the country. If the rest of ^ Trr ■^ \:^.^ •i -ID il ;i y"U\\ i ''. •■ ^ ^ZAf^ <:■ rilllil) DAY-MH.JOIIS M'KtlOWy, Q.C. ^o^ Ireland imitated the i'xani|)lc nf Smith Derry there would lie littlu occasion for this uroat iiicctin){ to-day. I tell you here that there is no dissension in South Derry; there is unity — strong cnduriii);, and InslinK, South Derry has never for one moment varied from the princiiiles of unity and majority rule, and I have been asked, when coming here, to say that South Derry was again prepared to follcjw in the olil fuotst^'ps and fight the old hattles, but that this was su'ely a time when we should forget the past, meet others half way, and shake hands, and that in this great Convention, which has not unjustly been compared to the great Convention at Tara, we should be prepared to draw a veil over the past, and at least make a solemn and determined attempt to build up a new and bright future for our country. I trust that this great Convention will not separate without expressing its acknowledgment of the giant services Mr. John Dillon has rendered to his country. Mr. Dillon lias in season and out of season advocated the principles of unity in that Party, and he has endeavoured to do his duty as a man to reunite the Party in future and for all time. Mr. Davitt — His lordship desires nic to read the following telegram ; " Two tliouiami Irlslimun juin hcntt and soul wishing Gi)(I-«|)ecil, unity, peace. TVNAN, Rector, Ftirnworlh, Lanca.hirc." Mr. John M'ICkown, Q.C, St. Catherine's, Canada— It is with some diffidence that 1 rise so late in the day to address an audience so vast as this which has been for some time engaged in such serious deli- beration. I come here with my fellow delegates from Canada, and I do not desire to take up the time of this meeting by going over the ground which they so clearly, so forcibly, and so eloijueiuly put before you. I have simply to say that so far as the district from which 1 come, St. Catherine's, where Dean Harris is the parish priest, is concerned, we are united as one man in standing by the chairman of tlie Parliamentary Parly, no matter who that man may be. I have only to tell you this, that from Halifax to Vancouver, from north to south of the great Do- minion of Canada, the Irish Catholics and the Irish Liberals will follow and support by their voice and their purse any man that Kdward Hlake will follow and support. I have confidence in him ; I know him from boyhood ; we have been fellow students and lifelong friends, and we feel that when Edward Blake can follow a leader chosen by the Parlia- mentary Party that the whole dominion of Canada, so far as the Liberals and Home Rulers are concerned, will follow him without asking who he is. I will promise that the district from which I come will stand true to the cause of Home Rule and for the benefit of Ireland. Mr. Ulake, Mr. Justin M'Carthy, both of them know that we in that section of the country have shown our good-will by the contributions we collected, Dean Harris and myself, and transmitted to Mr. Blake. I have no desire to take up all the time allowed me. All I say is that it surprises me as an old campaigner, who has fought side by side with Mr. Blake in the past, following him as a leader, to hear the question of majority- rule called even into question. It is with us as an accepted maxim that every man in the party when he goes into caucus or counsel gives his opinion, and if the majority is against him he bows, and is loyal in the ranks. ! I !! I/' S i ill ^. 30(» iiiisri RACE coyvt^yTiny. ,%r>i.^?V I)r. TiMMiNS, Uruadway, South Uo8ton — I.ailicN and Ki^nllcnuni, n iiioiiient or two n;^(i, nt the sniicitntion of it few friends, I |)iTmitt<il my naini' to Ik; hnndud in on ronditimi that the \s.iterof yotir null was rniinin^ dry. Now, I do not kcc nny evidence oi that, and I think that lloston has been heard sntliciently of late, C'()nse(|iuntly, I shall not trespass on your time at any length. I'roni the other side of the ocean we are unanimous in our hope and belief that there should he unanimity on this siile also, i'crhajjs, if we lived witliin the confmes of your small isle, closeness to the objects you have to look at might also obscure our vision, and we might act wrongly, as man) <f the Inhabitants of this country have acted. You know it is sai<i t'- listancc lends enchant- ment to the view." We have determined t 'orityrule shall prevail. Why should it not be so? Why should i najority govern in all Well-constituted and legally-conslituted bodies i in America we have a homely phrase thai " the dog w.igs the tail — not the tail the doj;," and therclore we take it that the majority should be more than the nunority. "Two heads are better than one,"and, a fortiori^ many heads arc better than a few. What is the dilhculty in this iiuestion? A kindly invitation has been extended to all dissentient factions, and yet they had not put in an appearance. Did they need to have a gilt-edged card on a silver plate lined with gold presented to cai;h of them ? (lentlenien, these persons were suffering Ironi wh.\t is known in Anurica as "swelled head." Why sluiulil not the umjority rule? We cannot understand it, and I am sure you will agree that the majority here should rule, es|)eci- ally as the head of your majority is the man these very traitors taught us to call " Honest Joiui Dillon." Why, my friends, nothing has pleased them from the commencement of this Convention to the end. I took up a paper this morning — I know not what gentleman or what coterie il may rejiresent — but nothing, from the pr.iyer in Irish, from the Benedic- tion of the I'ojje down to the very minutest act, was s.itisfactory to this tarty I am not here to apply the knife nor to advise its application, ecause, as a physician and surgeon, the knife should be the last remedy. I merely would repeat which was so well said by the distinguished repre- sentative for Longford, the Hon. Edward HIake, who was regarded not only as an ornament to Canada, but an ornament to all America. He tendered the olive branch of jieace to those who are rt variance with you, and did it in a si)irit that should force any Christian gentleman to examine his conscience and see if he could any longer remain apart. I will merely add, that while we are in this country a little while longer we will watch and i)ray that the peaceful remedies ofTered, and the peaceful means pre- sented by Mr. Blake and others to this assembly, may be accepted before it is too late. I will tell the electors of the country — if they will take my advice, and I know some of them will take it — I will tell the electors of what has been, perhr.|)s, from time immemorial called the Black North, from which I have come, to fall into line, as I am glad to see it is falling into line — I shall ns ruct them, if these members continue obstinate as they have continued, ,hey are to work the guillotine, and thsy are to be the executioners. The)-' is a gentleman from Massachusetts and Boston of greater reputation a'ld si/c than myself, and as probibly he will have a word to sa; riuui that section, I beg to be excused from saying any more. A vord to the wise is sufficient. You have had many words, and I ■ :'' li ' i i !i| \ "\L/ vy <^/ r- / 3«o I HI ^11 RACK COyVENTION. I ■; :l I J 'I I' many eloquent words. Let them be sufficient; take them home — meditate upon them — ponder upon them, and do not fo.get, that the members of Parliament are your servants, and not your masters. The Chairman — Gentlemen, a number of other speakers would be willing to address the Convention, but at this hour of the day it is abso.. lately necessary to get through with the agenda paper. Is it your wil that these resolutions do pass ? (Loud cries of " Aye.") The Chairman — I declare these resolutions carried unanimously. (5) Land. — "That the Irish landlord system and methods have tended to impoverish, exterminate, and expel the Irish race, and have thus been the fruitful source of misery, discontent, violence, and disturliance in Ireland. 'J'hat the last Land Act, while lx!ttering the condition of crt-iin classes, fails to give the vast m.njority ofthe Irish tenantry that security against excessive rents and confiscation of impiovements which is essential to their well-being and to the success of any scheme of land purchase ; fails to give necessary powers for the culargement of too small holdings by the compulsory purchase of grass lands from which the people have been driven, and (ails i» make .adequate provision for the restoration to their homes of the evicted tenants, to whose courage and endurance uich benefits as the farmers of Ireland have obtained are largely due, and whose case must ever appeal lo the sense ofhonoi ml gratitude of their fellow-countrymen. We condemn the lateness of the period and the shortness of the lime allowed for discussion, and the indecent threats of withdrawal, by which legitimate delate was curtailed ; and we declare that the Act cannot be accepted even as a temporary settlement, and that the only hope of the tenantry rests in a united and determined Parliamentary party, backeil by a great agrarian combination, watching the operation of the Land Laws, exposing cases of injustice, and demanding a full measure of reform." (6) Taxation. — " That we rejoice that the evidence taken before the Financial Commission has at length made too clear for argument the injustice under which Ireland has been so long and is still labouring in the matter of Im]>erial taxation, and we record our grateful thanks lo Mr. .Sexton for his arduous and most successful labours in this regard. We call upon the Irish Parly al the earliest moment lo press upon Parliament our demand for the redress of past wrongs and for the relief from present unequal burdens imposed by the representatives of rich and powerful Britain upon weakened and impoverished Irela.id. (7) Labour. — " That while we hail with satisfaction the improved condition of those labourers from whom homes have been provided under the Labourers Act, we regret that the great body are still without decent habitations and plots of land. Notwithstanding recent improvements, we claim that, whilst maintaining due super- vision, the proce;lure should be further shortened, simplified, and cheapened, the ap|>eal to the I'rivy Conncil abolished, and the Act made more widely useful ; and that the Irish labourers shall be given the same franchise for the elections of guardians .as is possessed by the English labourers ; that we recognise the just claim of urban labour to an improvement in the laws as applicable lo the housing of the working classf.s of ilhe towns, and we sympathise with every effort for a reasonable reduction i.i tlie hours of daily toil." (8.) Local Govkrnme.nt. — "That v.'e condemn the non-representative and irresponsible system of Local Government in Irish Counties by Grand Juries, and the narrowness of the franchise in Irish boroughs ; we demand the immediate applica- tion in Ireland to Local Government in all its branches of those principles of democratic control which have been so fully carried out in Great Britain." (%) Education. — "That for Catholics we demand perfect equality in the law and udministration in the matter of education — primary, intermediate, and university — and the recognition therein not only of the national spirit but also of the highest educational right, namely, the religious training of youth in accordance with the price- less piincipl<"- ' religious liberty and freedom of conscience ; we demand the establish- ment of V .versity which shall afford to the Catholic people of Ireland educational opportunities equal to those enjoyed by the favoured minority of her population in the University of Dublin : we ask for a practical extension of technical education in W' THIRD DAY— MR. JOHN DILLON, M.P 3" agriculture and other industrial arts on a system ndapteJ lo the special needs of Ireland, so that her cliildrcn may be better filtcil to develop the resources odl.eir country. (lO.) Gaf.i.ic Lanchagk.— " We hail with satisfaction the successful efforts that arc licmg made at home and aliroad to revive ami extend interest in the prescivation of the (iaelic tongue, anil we urge upon all those who can further the intertsts of this movement to give every help and encouragement to the preservatiou and study of our ancient Irish longue by the children of the (jael." The Chairman — I find on the paper a number of notices handed in to me relative to particular Members. Now, considerinj;! the course of this debate, the mandate that you have given to the Parliamentary Party, and the desire of ail to see that peaceful counsels should prevail, I would suggest to the gentlemen charged with these resolutions at this hour of the uay to allow them to drop. There is another resolution thanking the two gentlemen — the leader of the National Party and Mr. Blake, for their unrivalled services to the National cause. I think I may be interpreting the views of both, when I also ask tho.se in charge of those resolutions not to put them to the meeting. There is also a notice of motion expressing condemnation of a particular newspaper, and perhaps the same course is the best in regard to that motion. There is a resolution with regard to the form of the Parliamentary Pledge, and perhaps the gentleman in charge of that motion would allow me to say that it is a great subject to enter upon at this stage of our proceedings, and that possibly we have done enough to secure the object these gentlemen have in view. The last resolution of all, I would suggest might be treated in the same way, as it proposes some- what of a new procedure. There remains two resolutions. With one of them I think you will have no difficulty. It might easily be added, I suggest, to the resolution about the Irish language. It is — " That, in order to give employment to the poorer classes, and remedy the poverty and misery due to the oppression and legalized robbery under which our country has so long sull'ered and still suft'er-, we appeal to all Irishmen of means lo assist in establishing manufactures in Ireland, and on all, to promote their success by using .articles of Irish manufacture as tar as they can be obtained." The next division contains a suggestion in addition to what is contained in the resolution on the Irish language already passed. I shall read it for you — " That the most strenuous efforts be made to create and foster a healthy National sentiment, by disseminating the knowledge of Irish history, and by tne cultivation of the Irish language, Irish literature, music and games." There remains a motion with reference to the Paris Funds, and it is diflTerent in character from those I have alluded to. Mr. Thomas M'Goverp v.-il' move the resolution, and then I think we can bring the matter to a conclusion in a short time. There being no response, after a pause, Ihe Chairman — I will ask Mr. Dillon to make a short statement on the maucj. Mr. John Dillon, M.P. — My lord and fellow-delegatt s, I stated before that I came before this Convention prepared to deal with any- thing in the nature of a charge tnat niit;ht be made, and I have no fault WKSlI y- r 3" IRISH RACE CONVESTION. I ' to find with Mr. M'Govern for putting that notice on the paper. On the contrary, I thank him for tailing that manly course of raising the question, and also for giving me notice that he proposed to raise it. Now, the answer is exceedingly brief and simple. The Paris Funds, as most of you are aware, were released under agreement between ourselves and the I'arnellite Party, when we were informed by the London solici- tors who had charge of the matter, on behalf of Mr. M'Carthy and our party, that it minht be twenty years before they could be got out by means of litigation. The terms of that agreement were published to the world, and were approved by unanimous vote at a meeting of the Irish Party in the month of November, 1893, at which fifty-four members of the party were present. Under that agreement, in the month of Novem- ber, 1894, the Paris Funds were released, and 1 may say, for the infor- mation of Mr. M'Govern, as he asks me to state how much was received by Mr. M'Carthy and myself, that since January, 1890, nothing was received until the month of November, 1894. The total net sum — after the payment of law costs paid under the agreement — the total net sum released was ;,^38,47i 14s. ixd. Under the agreement we were bound to set aside ;^ 14,000 of that sum to meet what were known as prior claims, and that ;^i4,ooo lies to-day, untouched as yet, in the Hibernian Bank, in O'ConncU Street in this city, in the names of Messrs. Michael Davitt, T. Harrington, and John Dillon. Many claims have been lodged against it, and I fear it may be some little time yet before we can arrive at an agreement as to the apportionment of the money to the various claims, as they are largely in excess of that sum. That left a balance of ;^24,47i 14s. I id., which, under the terms of the agreement, was to be devoted to the relief of the evicted tenants, and I am here to-day to state that, when that sum is fully expended, a careful audit of the account will be published, which will show that not a single farthing has gone to a member of the Irish Party, or to any political purpose whatever. Up to the date of the commencement of this Convention, that fund of ;^24,47i 4s. I id. was disposed of as follows : — ;£23,o84 7s. 4d. has been distributed amongst the evicted tenants of Ireland, ;^39S os. 9d. has been the cost in office expenses and in the salary of a secretary for the dis- tribution of that large sum, and ^992 6s. lod. still lies in bank for the use of the evicted tenants. And I have only further to say that Mr. M'Govern's motion asked me to state, on behalf of the party, the name and address of every individual who got a payment out of the Paris Funds. I have that actually prepared (cries of " It is not wanted "), but inasmuch as there are over twelve hundred names and over twelve hundred addresses, it would cover two sheets of the Freeman. But I can inform Mr. M'Govern, or anybody else interested, that by giving me notice, and calling at my house. No. 2 North Great George's Street, I shall hand the whole document over to him, and let him study it for himself. Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P. — My lord, I have to propose the following resolution, which I am about to read. If the hour were earlier, and if the case required any speaking. I might address some observations to you upon it ; but I think the case is so clear, and the motion expresses what you think so lucidly, that it will not be necessary for me to do more than read the motion. I hope my friends to whom the resolution l><^ I' n muj ^-- -- / THIRD DAY— REV. J. tiCANLAN. Vi is addressed will not misunderstand nic in thus moving the resolution without any comment— "That thii great National Convention of the Irish R.ice ofTcrs it's piofound gratilutlc to the distinguished (gentlemen from (he United Slates, Canada, Australasia, Newfoundland, and South Africa who have been self-sacrificint; and patriotic cnoui;h to travel such vast distances to attend this Convention. That we reco(;ni-.o in tlicin, holding as they do, great positions in politics, Iho Church, and commerce, not only the most iuflucntial representation of the scattered eliildren of the Gael which has ever visited Ireland, Imt as living proofs of the genius, energy, and cajiaciiy of the Irish race when free institutions give Irishmen a fair chance. And fnially that tlie presence of these men of our race from so many parts ot the earth shows to the whole ■world that the struggle of Ireland can rely on the steady, generous, and encrt;ctic support of a great and powerful race in almost every part of tlie world, and can look thus confidently to complete and triumphant success." Mr. Davitt — It gives me the greatest pleasure— in fact I feci an honour in performing the duty — in seconding the resolutioi: so well put by Mr. O'Connor. The motion was carried amidst enthusiastic cheering and waving of hats. Very Rev. Dean H.\rri.s — On behalf of the forei.'jn delegates, I wish to thank you for this warm expression of your kindly feelings towards us. If we have served no other purpose by our visit we have at least infused into the hearts of those present some of the warmth of feeling towards the old country that we have entertained ourselves. For coming these long d'^tances we are more than repaid by the courtesy with which we have been received by you, and by the instructions we have received in listening to the magnificent speeches delivered from this platform. I thank you. Mr. John Dillon, M.P. — It is now my duty to move that his lordship the Bishop of Raphoe do leave the chair, and that Mr. Edward Blake do take the second chair. Mr. Blake here took the place of the Bishop of Raphoe in the chair. Mr. Dillon — I have to submit to you a resolution, which, indeed, will not require that I should approach the limit of time, and that is — " That the thanlis of this great Convention and the thanks of the scattered children of the Gael should be accorded to that illustrious and eloquent prelate who has presided over our deliberations for the last three days, and who has shown that the blood of O'Donnell is still wairn." I shall say nothing more, for the reception you have given to the resolution shows that it is idle for me to recommend it to you. Rev. J. ScANLAN, P.P. — I have very great pleasure indeed in seconding this vote of thanks to his lordship, the Bishop of Raphoe, for the great services he has rendered to Ireland by presiding over this great Convention during the past three days. In accordance with the traditions of his honoured place he heard the call of Ireland, and he came to point out to the Irish people the road to duty, and I hope every man here will find in his heart a command to follow in that path of duty. At the opening of the Convention he made a speech that was at once eloquent and patriotic. During those three days he puided as ^ '\ y --- ^ -!.> c •.y-V> L A. pi 1 ir-r, v^ Q i 3 M u W d u H H o n H D o r a r; ..,/'l »'■. ^^ a TUIRI) DAY— THE CIIAIRMAX. 3'5 our deliberations with a wisdom tliat could not l)u surpassed, and for which Ireland owes him a debt of thanks. Under his lordship's auspices great good is bound to come from this Convention, for when you go home to your rcsi)eclive jiarishes you will be bound in honour as patriots and as men to give effect to the resolutions that were passed here during the last tiiree days. The Convention was a noble sight to see, but except you put life into your branches when you go home the Convention will be robbed of half its fruit, and his lordship will be deprived of half the pleasure due to him for having presided on this remarkable occasion. I tliink the very best thanks we could give him would be to put new life into the different branches of the organisation in our respective parishes, to gather our friends around us, and thereby give pleasure to Ireland and put fear into the hearts of her foes. With these (ew remarks I beg formally to second the vote of thanks to his lordship, who, in accordance with the traditions of his ancient and royal race, has done us great honour by presiding over our Convention. Mr. Blake then put the resolution to the meeting, and declared it carried amid a most extraordinary and unprecedented scene of enthusiasm. The Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell, on rising to reply to the vote of thanks, was the recipient of an extraordinary ovation. The whole crowded audience rose to their feet and cheered loudly, and waved hats and handkerchiefs for several minutes. After several renewals of the demonstration, and when silence was restored, his lordship said — Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen, it is beyond my power to return thanks as I ought for the far too kind words spoken of me by the proposer and seconder of this resolution, or to express my gratitude to the Convention at large for the generosity with which it has received those words, and the forbearance and kindliness that have been dealt out to me since the beginning of these memorable proceedings. When I took the chair I thought to myself it was likely to involve some strain, but I reflected that I should have the compensation of being in a good position to listen to a debate that promised to be fruitful with lasting blessings for the land we all love. I think this Convention has not been behind the expectation of anyone, and I say, whatever other convictions our friends from abroad bring back with them, they will bring this conviction — that when Ireland has a Parliament, that Parliament will be worthy of a nation. As regards the chair, my position was very largely a sinecure ; and if ever a wave threatened to ripple the placid face of this great sea of Irish public life, a little bang by Mr. Davitt on the gong at once stilled the storm. I venture to express the opinion to Mr. M'Neill, who, I understand, is writing a history of Irish Conventions, the best theme he can find for any chapter will be the proceedings of this Convention. I confess, indeed, on a secondary matter I had for a while some anxiety. I had a fear, when that strain of eloquence from across the seas poured into my ears, that the ungrateful children of Ireland who had left her soil were going to bear away the palm of eloquence. Fortunately, the balance became pretty fairly and evenly dressed. As one who occupied that chair, I take great pleasure in saying that I am proud of our people and very proud of our clergy who did so much good work in this Con- vention. One thing gave us enormous power in this hall during the ; — ' ,y !i I II ii w f. c 316 //e/.S'£r 7?^CJ5; CONVENTION. proceedings, and that was the presence and patient hearing and symiiathy of those most representative friends who have come to us from every land in which Irishmen can be found ; and I say to them, because at first sight it might appear somewhat strange that in the capital of the land they came to serve there were not more public demonstrations in their honour — I say to them that they have had a demonstration of respect and honour from the intellect and heart of Ireland in the vote that has been passed them this afternoon. And I tell them that if they go down to 'I'ipperary or Connemara, or to a place called Donegal — il they send to rural Ireland, where the Irish population chiefly lives — if they send a large deputation, we will make our Irish hills blaze with welcome in their honour. Gentlemen, can any man doubt that this Convention has been a magnificent success ? You know there are two peace-making ways in which unity may be promoted — there is the way of agi;regation and fusion, on the one hand, and there is the way, on the other hand, of growth and assimilation and attraction, and survival of the littest. Now, none of our friends leaving their homes thought it at all likely that on this platform the aggregation would actually be effected, but they are convinceil, and we are convinced, that the tone of this assembly, and the voice of this assembly, and the brotherly love and toleration exhibited by this assembly towards every man who is honestly a friend of Ireland, are eminently calculated to bring all true Irish Nationalists togetiier. Then, as regards growth and attraction and assimilation, has not the princi])le of growth been strengthened and renewed with a new spirit from the deliberations and decisions of this Convention ? And is it not a fact of which we feel well assured, that when the spirit of this Convention has its full influence on public opinion, when our delegates go back home and report, and when the whole country is vitalised anew by the sentiments poured forth so unanimously here, soon, and very soon, those who now linger outside the regular army will come in and obey the drill ? Gentlemen, our friends from abroad, have you any doubt now as to where the Irish Party is ? Well, the work of the Irish Party, my friends, would be very much easier if, besides bein{ the Irish Party, they had every Nationalist Home Rule member working cordially with them. But, gentlemen, I want to put you this. We have no claim on you except the great claim which constrains you of your love for our cause. And I say this to you unhesitatingly — it is my belief that it is a logical conclusion for you — that as a united Irish Party would have dominant claims on your sympathy and support, the true Irish Party that has spread out its hands to all true Nationalists, and asked them to come to meet you, and is surrounded with so much trouble and danger and diffi- culty in doing its work, has a greater claim on you than any party could have in which every Nationalist member would stand with his brothers. It is well known at home and abroad that for years past our Party in Parliament, owing to a sort of paralysis with which it was afflicted on the right and on the left, did not receive from the public that amount of financial support which is absolutely essential for the conduct of any movement or for maintaining an army in Westminster to fight our battles there. Well, if I interpret the spirit of this Convention aright, the men who compose it will not let our army starve for the want of commissariat. ^. j- 'T^--wi »-v /■' o. TlllRV DAY-THE CHAIRMAN. ,?«7 I will, therefore, .cad to >..,. a resolution wliirl, I propose lor the acceptance of friends from Ireland and from Ijcyond lier shoris :- " Tlmt thi- Convention, rcpre.cnlinR the I.Uh people. plc.lj;.s >»; fi"""';;;'' ™l'^ port to ti.e I.ish p^rly. nn,l calls iipoi, tl.cin to nuke an appeal for such support to the people in the course ot the present autumn," You will give that resolution cffert, I am sure, in the full confidetice, as Rev. Mr. Lyttle su-^csted, that in our own day, with Cod s hlcssinp;, Ireland will be a nation once again, with the mission to niaintam highest intelkcmal culture, supreme devotion to faith, and true liDerty for all its people. .,,,_• i i i i Mr. Blake put the resolution proposed by his lordship, anil Ueclarea it passed with acclamation. Mr. ]li.\KE, again rising— C.entlemen, in one moment this great Convention will be dissolved. Our collective power, our organised force, will be at an end. Our works will live alter us. Remember that with the moment our collective power ends our individual responsibility ami- mences, and as we separate and are resolved into our individual entities, we carry away with us, each one, a solemn duty to spread the light, and to cause every place where we live, and every man and woman with whom we have influence, to know wh it has been leatnt and wha. has been decided here these tiiree days, and to see that the seeds, the .;ood seeds, sown here, shall blossom and bear fruit all over Ireland, Geiille- nien, I declare this Convention dissolved. ^r" '7^^ '.'i '^ _y^ i i [ 3'« 1 ^be S^cdolutioiid of the Convention. ^'r/'f. The following is the full text of the resolutions as finally adopted by 'lie Convention of the Irish Race during its deliberations : — (i) Reunion.— "Seeing that divisions amongst Irish Nationalist representatives paralyze to a great extent their power of serving Ireland, cast discredit on the country, and tend to alienate tiie supi)ort of the Irish race and to destroy their confidence in the efficacy of I'arliamen- tary action, we record our firm conviction that it is of the first importance to Ireland that the Nationalist representatives in Parliament should be reunited into one party ; and, in tiie spirit of the recent resolution of the Irish Party, we declare that, 'In our earnest desire to accomplish that result, we are prepared to meet on fair and ecjual terms all Nationnlisis who will join in the attempt to reconstitute a united Home Rule Party, in which every sui)porter of the movement shall be cordially received and justly considered, regardless of all past differences, and having regard only to his capacity to render service to the common cause.' We are glad to observe in the composition of this Convention, and in the spirit shown throughout the country, marked evidence of a growing tendency to reunion, and we invite the Irish Nationalist Party to take such further steps as may to them seem calculated to promote the cause of reunion." (2) Unity. — "That we recognise as the essential element of the existence of an effective Irish Party the hearty co-operation and cheerful subordination of each individual in carrying out the Party policy, as settled (after free discussion) by the judgment of the greater number. That while we are glad to observe that on grave questions there have been but few intelligible differences of opinion in the Irish Party, and none difficult of reconciliation by reasonable men willing to agree, we most strongly condemn those public disputes regarding minor questions of persons and tactics which have so gravely impaired the power of the Party. We solemnly call upon every man belonging to the Irish Party, in answer to the prayers ol our people all the world over, to forget old differences, to sink personal feelings, and to act for the future as good comrades and fellow-soldiers in the spirit of this resolution and in the support of that party unity on which the fate of Ireland so largely de- pends. We ask the Irish Party to take such steps as may in their judg- ment be found necessary to the establishment of unity and discipline in their own ranks, in accordance with the resolutions of this Convention ; and we assure them of our unfailing support in the execution of this essential task." RKSOLUTin XS PA SSKD. 3»9 (3) HoMn Riir.E. — "That this Irish Race Convention reasserts the immemorial claim of Ireland a Nation. We declare tliat Ent;land is governing Ireland wrongfully, by coercion, and against the people's will ; that each year proves afresh the futility of the atlempl ; thai Irish evils mainly tlow from alien, irresponsible, uninformed, and unsympa- thetic rule ; and that no policy, whether of severe repression or of partial concession, can allay her riglitful discontent, or will slacken her efforts to obtain a Legislature and an executive making and administer- ing laws for Ireland by Irishmen on Irish soil. We declare it tiie prime duty of the Irish Parliamentary Party to continue to maintam its absolute independence of Englisii Political Parties, and thus to pre- I serve its freedom to give an indeijcndent opposition or an in(le|)endent I support to any Party, as may seem best in the interests of the National ' cause." (4) Amnkstv.— "Thai, while hailing with satisfaction the release of some of the Irish Political Prisonsrs, we are indignant that relief has come so late, after their health had been broken by long years of suffer- ing. We condemn the brutal treatment wiiicii England, while boasting herself to be the advance guard of freedom amongst the nations, inllicts on political prisoners sentenced for oftences arising out of Irish ' ( grievances. We mark the contrast in feeling and in action exhibited by England towards the Irish prisoners and towards other political offenders, as, for instance, the Johannesburg Committee and the Jameson Raiders. VVe call for the immediate liberation of all the ') ,) remaining Irish political prisoners still enduring the horrors of ])enal servitude, and we rcciuest the Irish Parliamentary representatives to press with insistent urgency for their release." (5) Land. — "That the Irish landlord system and methods have tended to impoverish, exterminate, and expel the Irish race, and have thus been the fruitful source of misery, discontent, violence and dis- turbance in Ireland. That the last Land Act, while bettering the condition of certain classes, fails to give the vast majority of the Irish tenantry that security against excessive rents and confiscation of im- provement which is essential to their well-being and to the success of any scheme of land purchase ; fails to give necessary powers for the enlargement of too small holdings by the compulsory purchase of grass lands from which the people have been driven, and fails to make adequate provision for the restoration to their homes of the evicted tenants, to whose courage and endurance such benefits as the farmers of Ireland have obtained are largely due, and whose case must ever appeal to the sense of honour and gratitude of their fellow-countrymen. We condemn the lateness of the period and the shortness of the time allowed for discussion, and the indecent threats of withdrawal, by which legitimate debate was curtailed ; and we declare that the act cannot be accepted even as a temporary settlement, and that the only hope of the tenantry rests in a united and determined Parliamentary party, backed by a great agrarian combination, watching the operation of the land laws, exposing cases of injustice, and demanding a full measure of reform." (6) Taxation. — "That we rejoice that the evidence taken before the Financial Commission has at length made too clear for argument S 7. Hi 3" iinsTi cnxvEXTiny. _L \ The injustice iitnler wliici> Ireland has been so long and is still labour- inf{ in the matter of Imperial taxation, and we record our grateful thanks to Mr. Suxton for his ariliioiis and most successful labours in this regard. We call upon the Irish I'arty at the earliest moment to press u))()n Parliament our demand for the redress of past wrongs and for the relief from present une(|ual burdens imj)osed by the rc|)rescntatives of rich and powerful liritain upon weakened and impoveiislu'd Ireland." (7) I.AiioUK. — "That while we hail with satisfaction the improved condition of those labourers for whom homes have been provided under the Labourers Act, we regret that the great body are still with- out decent habitations and plots of land. Notwithstanding recent improvements, wc claim that, whilst maiiuaining due supervision, the jirocL'dure should be further shortened, simplified, and cheajjened, the appeal to the Privy Council abolished, and the Act made more widely iiKcful ; and that the Irish labourers shall be given the ;:anie franchi'jo lor the elections of guardians as is possessed by the Knglish labourers ; that we recognise the just claim of urban labour to an inii)rovcment ii\ the laws as applicable to the housing of the working classes of the towns, and we sympathise with every effort for a reasonable reduction in the hours of daily toil." (8) Local Govukn.mf.nt. — "That wc condemn the non-representa- tive and irresponsible system of Local (Jovcrnment in Irish Counties by Cirand Juries, and the narrowness of the franchise in Irish boroughs ; we (V'lnand the immediate application in Ireland to Local (lovernment in all its branches of those jirinciples of democratic control which have been so fully carried out in Great Britain." (9) Education. — "That for Catholics we demand perfect equality in the law and administration in the matter of education — i)rimary, intermediate and university — and the recognition therein not only of the National spirit, but also of the highest educational right, namely, the religious trainingof youth in accordance with the priceless jiriiiciples of religious liberty and freedom of conscience ; we demand the establish- ment of a University which shall afford to the Catholic people of Ireland educational opportunities equal to those enjoyed by the favoured majority of her population in the University of Dublin ; we ask for a practical extension of technical education in agriculture and other industrial arts on ji system adapted to the special needs of Ireland, so that her children may be better fitted to develop the resources of their country." (10) CaI'.mc Languaoks. — "We hail with satisfaction the successful efforts that are being made at home and abroad to revive and extend interest in the preservation of the Gaelic tongue, and we urge upon all those who can further the interests of this movement to give every hel|) and encouragement to the preservation and study of our ancient Irish tongue by the children of the Gael. That the most strenuous efforts be made to create and foster a healthy National sentiment by disseminating the knowledge of Irish history, and by the cultivation of the Irisli language, Irish literature, music and games." (11) Irish Manufacture. — "That in order to give employment to the poorer classes, and remedy the poverty and misery due to the oppression and legalised robbery under which our country has so long .'"> /.^ .) L- --> 2 T - ^^J C V ^* / S" IRISH liACE COSVKSTION. suflercd and itill RufTeri, we appeal to all Irishmnn of means to tAsiiit in establishing manufactures in Ireland, and on ail to promote their success by using articles of Irish manufacture as far as they can be obtained," (ij) TiiK Dei.eoatks from AnROAi). — "That the great National Convention of the Irish Race offers its profound gratitude to the dis- tinguished gentlemen from the Ignited States, Canada, Australasia, Newfoundland, and South Africa, who have been self sacrificing and patriotic enough to travel such vast distances to attend thiii Convention. 'I'hat we recognise in them, holding as they do great positions in politics, the Church ami commerce, not only me most inlluential representation of the scattered children of the Gael which has ever visited Ireland but as living proofs of the genius, energy and capacity of the Irish race when free institutions gave Irishmen a fair chance. And finally, that the presence of these men of our race from so many jiarts of the earth shows to the whole world that the struggle of Ireland can rely on the steady, generous, and energetic support of a great and powerful race in almost every part of the world, and can look thus confidently to com- plete and iriumi)hant success." (13) Thanks to the Most Rkv, Chairman,— " That the thanks of this great Convention, and the thanks of the scatten-d children of the (lael, should be accorded to that illustrious and cloiiucnt prelate who line iirosidcd over our deliberations for the last three ilays, and who has shown that the blood of O'Donnell is still warm." (14) Financial Support. — "That this Convention, upresenting the Irish people, pledges its financial support to th. Irish Party, and r.ills upon them to make an appeal for such ^l _ a to the people in the course of the present autumn." Resolutions I to 10 appcarc' tho last scntcncu of 10, which v Kcsohition 1 1 was taken ' Ucsdlulions 13, I J and ■ cecdiniji. .awn uji h the exceptirm of ,». ihv course of the pro- IResolutions £)roppe&. The following, placed on the Agenda by the persons whose MRii are attached, were either not proposed when called, were taken as r lied in other resolut.ons, or were, on the suggestion of the Chai: not pressed. B. " T''at, owing to Iho miserable squabbles which have disgraceil the Iri I'arlia- inentary I'arty duiing llie p.ist six years, the cau~ of Home Rule, in our opinion, has been seriously imperilled, the inlluence of the , irty consideraljly lessened, and the hoiKs and aspiralions of the best and truest cl our [leojile chilled and thwarted, BelievinR that the cardinal principle of unity should form the basis of thcdeliber:Uions of this imimrtant gathering, we would respectfully urge when, after due consideration, its decisions have Iwcn arrived at, every effort should be made to impress on the various constituencies the absolute necessity of demanding; the immediate resignation .. !•;• / itKsor.i'Tinxs DHoi'i'Kn. W.l nf liny repre«cnl*live, no mailer how ni.iilicil lii* ahillliei, or hnw (•rem lii> »crvlce<i who ncglGt;U ur reluici In uliiilv l>y inujuiity nilv." 1).\NIK.I, Smith (ml Win mm Moran, K<llnl)tir(;li (nn lidiall nfiliv lolin Dillun anil W.B. lilidiluiiu tlianclivi, I.N.I.. u( Givat lliiuin). "Tluit wc view wllli deep Cdnri-rn llie prcieni unfuiiunnle ilUnensinni nnionc ihc Lciulcr» iif lliv Iriiili I'aily ; wu liiild ^Irnii^ly li ihr upiiiinii lli.il the inlervsU <if Irelnnd ran never lie ndvnmed iintd u Uniti'd I'arly reverts l.i tlir old sysleiii of rImiiIuIc lnde|iendence of all Knellsli I'nrliiH ; mid wc li'<p<'fiilly In.ik I'l iIiIh K"''<t Convenlioii In cnlun-e unity unilcr lliu leadvrHhip uf une wlm aliall lie ucccptaldo tu the wliulc lilsli incc. " M. I'ox, Ilirkenhrnd (on lielall ol the Wilfred .''hint lirancli, I.N. I.. u{ (ileal rrlinln). 1) "Tlinl this C'diivmlion Icmlcrs to Jdhn Dillon lit nincerL- (•rntiliido fur n lilr of service In Irelnnd, and lor Ihal crowning act of unjtlfiih nalriotiMn in rfi-poiidini,' to his coiinlry'fi call to llic leadcrsjiin al u porio<l of uns|ieal(al)le difficulty i and ron- Crnlnlateii him on the successor litis Session nt the helm, and lite admiralile ipialilies of slalcsinansliip he has ilispl.iyed in the lace of unparalleled opposilion ; we are proud to recoL'nisc his rITorls to restore unity a);ain in the liisli lauki. And this Convention calls on Mr. Thomas .Sexton to relurn lu the service of liis country, and continue the nia|;niiicent work he lias already done on its liehalf." Coi'MllloR I). M'Caiik, Manrhcslei, lor ihe Michael DavitI liranch, I.N.I... uf (ircat I^itain. I'. " That, In the opinion of this Convention, it is necessary for the qood of the cause that a representative ("oinmiHec be np|X)inted for the purpose ol ( irryinu out the resolutions of the Convention, with power to visit and siiiniiion ineelinKs in any constituency where, in their opinion, the siitint; Mcndier is not conducting himself in conformity with his pledges to his constituency and Party, and callini; on tlicin to demanil from him strict discipline, failinu which to duly convene a meeting of the electors in the place of his nomination mr the consideration of his conduct, and to take what other steps may \k considered advisable in the circumstances." TllK DEi.y.c.ATEs of the A M. Sullivan Branch, IN.L. of Great lirilain, Dundee. "We slronfily condemn the Nalion Irish newspaper for conlinuing to sow dissen- sion, and for inisiepresenlinK and Ircaliny with ridicule this Convention, composed of patriotic men, many of whom have travelled thousands of miles in the hope of pro- moting unity amongst the jieoplc of Ireland." Uelkoatbs, lirislul Brancli, I.N.L. of tireal llritain. 0. "That as the occupation by graziers of larjje tracts of lan<l, suitable for agricultural purposes, constitutes a land monopoly which is mosl detrimental to ihe best interests of our country, and is Ihe chief cause of the continued emigration of the flower of our people, it is hereby resolved — "That no setlleinenl of the land tpiestion shall he accepted as satisfactory or final that shall not provide for the expropriation of these large grass farms, for the purpose of relieving, as far as possible, the congcslion of the over- populated districts, and providing farms and homes for those agriculturists and labourers who must otherwise be compelled to emigrate, as under the present iniqui- tous system they are locked out from a great portion of the land of the country.'" jAMKii KlLMARTlN, Lallinaslue branch l.N.F. V. ^.-X r — ",■,-,/ 3-M /A7.S// HACK COXVEXTIOX. II. 1 1 1 ' 11 n (1) " Thit !vs a vacincy occur.i in any Cdiistitiuncy, tlie Iiish I'arly, or rmn- millLL's if tliirc liL- such, ilo imnicdialcly cnniniuiMcate willi the cDiistimcncy, ami if lla-y, in conjunction, decide upon conte^.tin,i,' the constituency, a Convention lie forth- Willi called in the most convenient part of tlie con-tituency, and at least one week's notice he Kiven of the dale anil place of holding said Convention; said notice to lie iiiililished in the Daily National Journal, also to lie given to the Local Dranch of I.N.I'., or oih'r duly representative association qualilied to send Delegates. That Saul C<jnveniion lie presi<lcd over liy a representative of the Irish I'nrly ; that the tionvenliin be c )nstituted as heretolore ; and that liefore the name of any eandiilate is sulimitted to the Convention he '>e compelled to sign the pledge hi;rcinalter nanted; and that the vote of the majority of delegates in all cases he binding ; and further, that it he the duty of all delegates and Nationalists to pport the candidate as chosen." (2) "That, at and after this C^onvontion, nil Nationalists Members of Parliament and any candidate seeking the representation of a National constituency, before his name be submitted to the Convention, shall be comiielled to sign the .following pledge; — I hereby pledge myself that if elected as .Member of I'arlianient for the constituency of , that I wdl sit, act, and vote with the majority of the Irish i'arty ; that I will abstain from criticising, in the Press or elsewhere, the actions or conduct of any of my colleagues until he or they have been tried and conilemned by a m.ijority of the Iiish National Pirly ; further, that after I have given my opinions within the councils of the I'arly, 1 will supjmrt the carrying out ol the programme, «nd uphold its decisions to the utmost of my aiiility ; also that I will resjiond upon all occasions to the summonses of the Whips or other duly-elected officers of the I'.uly ; and that I will n it absent myself from any meeting ot saiil Party, or from attending in the House of '.'ommons without sufficient cause, and giving notice to the Chairman an;' Whips . the i'arty ; and any time I feel unable to comply with the above 1 shall give notice to the Secretaries ol the Party, and forthwith resign my seat." (3) " 'I'hat the Irish I'arliamentary I'arly do elect at their next meeting a Com- mittee of eight members to act as a consultative or advisary Committee in conjunction with the Chairman to determine the policy and programme of the I'aily, in the interval between general meetings of the whole Party, ind to discharge such other duties as the Party may from time to lime empower them with." (4) "That a Committee be formed immediately afier this Convention in every County or Electoral Division, such Committee to be called the County or Divisi0n.1l Committee as the case may be, and to consist of five per cent, of the members on the books of each branch." "The place of ii.eeiinj and tl.c interval between each to be regulated by the Committee at its first nvjeting, and ihat a Chairman and Secretary shall be elected on the .same occisioi., e.ich to hold office, unless re-elected, for one year only. The principal duties of the Committee will be to make all the necessary ariangements re- lative to Parliamentary Elections in the County or Division which they represent, Vurking up the Branches of the I. N. F., and attending to all the matters brought under their notice by same through their delegates." J. Mac.ratii, M. a. Lazf.ndv, and J. Nugent, Biackrock Branch, I.N.F. I. "That, as it is impossible for the Irish Nationalist I'arty lO render much service to Ireland in the London House of Commons withoii'. unity and discipline being observed within the n.nks of the Par'.y, we, the members of this Convention of ;he Irish Race, demand that any member of the Irish Party who will in the future re(u-.e to obser" e and submit to the ruling of the majority of his I'arty, shall be called upon by his constituents to resign bis seat, and if his constituents fail to do so, tlmt ihe Iri.sli Party expel him from their body, and that the Executive of the federation cut off that constituency from the organisation." Patrick Ri;(;a.n, Delegate, Crossna, Co. Roscommon. J. "\Vhereas, dissension and disunion have done material damage to the National cause in ihe past, and whereas, the raking up of disputes would only opei up old i' \ I V r't r-' BESOLUTIOXS DliOPrKD. 3»S i I sovcs, be i; Oievcfdtc resnlvcil— 'That this Convention do not cnlertnin cnnlcniious mittcrs iclaling to past (hspviles amonga the Iri>h Parly, l)"t li'.octcd to lay down a nropramnic fur the fiituie pui(Uiice of tlie National cause.' Whcicas, we lulieve lliat it is only by striclly ailheriiiR to majority rule that the efl'icii m y of the Irish National I'artv can be niainla iiel for effective Parliamentary acl ion : Kcsolvnl — ''I'liat any memlicr of that P^rly who, eiiher in the Pre^s or on the |ilalform, pulilicly icpuiliates any ilccisioii avrived at by a majority of the Party, should be immediately called upon to resiun his seat.' " .„„,.,,,, t »• t- TiiK Dei.ec;.\tes, Cloonloo (Co. Sligo) Dranch I.N.F. I ! K "That as nnitv and discipKnc, so essciH^al to the success of our cause, can only be =tabli>lied and niaiulamed bv U.e reco.^nition of iiiajorily rule, this foiivcnUon is of .T.tnion that any member of the Irish I'aity guilly of iusubordmalion, aid tlicre by violating his solemn pledge to his constituents, should be nnmedialely c.lled upon by his coll 'atiues to resign his seat, and in tlie event of his fading to do so, should be expelled from the Party, at a meeting of which each member has received fourteen days' notice, held for that purpose." Nf.ai. IlAticiiEY, Pillon Br-nch, I.N.L. of Gieat l!iili>':i, Greenock. y K L. " We ask the Delcatcs at this Convention r.f the Irish Race to throw f.action .and ill feeling to one side, and call x\p>n the Iiisb Party to unite in one body, to be recT.nise.l by ail Irishmen as the Iridi National Parly ; aii<l we strongly condemn tlic action of the Parnellite Parly in issuing a manifesto denouncing this Convention as a snare to entrap Irishmen. We ask lli.a all Nationalists would join haml-.n-hand and work in p'-ace and harmony, as this is the only way tlut they will be able to attain any good for their native land." . , t xt r c Tim DF.iF,i;.\rFS, Daniel O'Connell Branch, I.N.L. o, Great Biitain, Hamilton, Scotland. M. (iV'Tliat a commitlec, consisliu':; of the following gentlemen, be appojntcd to am-nd the Constitution of the Irish National F-dcraiion, viz:-Iohn lerguson. Glasgow; Michael David, M.P. ; J. P. Farrell. M.P. ; Jeremiah Jordan, M.P. ; a Delegal- from the United Stales, America ; a iJelegate from ^Canada ; a Delegate from Ai- raMa ; and the Mover and Seconder of this resolution. (2) " That Mr. Justin M'Cartliy, M P., and Mr. John Dillon, M.P., do furnish this Convention with a detailed statement sho'.ving the receipts and ex per, ,:ture of the Paris Funds, giving amount received from said Funds since 1st January, ibQO, the names and addresses of the persons to whom money out of this Fund has been p.aid with the amount paid to each, with the nature of the services rendered by such P^'*°"' Thomas M'Govern, Gortmore, Bawnboy. N. " That we deplore the unfortunate dissensions that have arisen in the Irish Party, and we confidently h"pe that its members may recognise the fact that uniiv is tin essential condition of its permanence and of its realising the hopes of Irefantt. Rev. W. Foley, P.D., Delegate, Halifax, Nova Scotia. C. (1) "Tiiat Knglish rule in Ireland havin<' its oii ;in in conquest, and being up- held by force against the will of the people, is immoia". and an outrage on the rights of men, and it is the duly of all honest and patriot Irishmen to strive by every legiti- mate means for ils destruclion." ,., 1 1 (2) " That we protest against the over-taxatitm of our country, which h.as l>een maile manifest by the researches of the Financial Relations Commission ; and we caU -V_,-. 3*6 JinSlI HACK COXY EXT ION. on tlie English Gi)vernment I'l unite re-itiliUidn for Ihe Inmdrcds of millions sterling; of wliicli Irslaml has htzn robbed hy LngUnJ since tlio Union." (j) [I'assed as Resolution I I.J (4) [Ailded to Resolution 10.] (5) " Tliis Convention recognises thnl only as (K-ople learn mutual toleration, for- be.irancc, and consideration, are they fit for freedom and self-government, and that national and social [iro^icss is ini)i issiblc apart from moral improvement. It earnestly entreats all Irish politicians to sink personal .nnd party jealousies and animosities for the sake of their country, and to set an example of self-control and moderation of speech, realising that the people of Ireland ought to forgive as they need to be for- given. It utterly repudiates eveiy thought of ret.iliation for wrongs inflicted in the pnst. It is opposed to every kind of religiouj or class ascendancy, and aims at the securlngof equality of opportunity for all the people, without distinction of class or creed, nnd it desires to link the movement for justice to Ireland with the movement lor justice, freedom, and fraternity all the world over." (0) "That lor these objects it is essential that the wliole country be organised as thoroughly as possible. " Drlegati:s, Libctal and National Union ot Ulster, Belfast. r. " Tii'jt as the Irish i^cople are fully convincrd that without vigorous organisation it is utterly imp issible for i'-.m-.i to gain their rights or liberty, or even to retain the small concessions granted Ihcm of late years ; and, whereas, there are at present many parishes in Ireland where no branch of the National federation exists, and to remedy this great defect, and to give vigour, and vitality, and stability to patriotic sentiment, I, therefore, beg leave to mo\e the following resolution: Rer.olved — 'That, in the opinion of the membeis of this Conventio'i, every member of the Irish Parliamentary Party should visit (or depute some of liis colleagues) every parish within his Parlia- mentary Division, at least once a year, for the purpose of ascertaining how the National movement is progressing therein ; and that he uses, to the utmost, his influence and power, with the view of h.av'.i^ established and maintained an active branch of the National Federation in cvjy parish within his Pailiamentary Division.' " C^HAUi.i'.s Ci.ARicK, Lower Badony (County Tyrone) Branch, Irish National Federation I . ' h' I ' ■' I I r- ST. MICHAN'S CnUBCn, DUBLIN. S^v V,. BB [ 327 J !ILl8t of IDelcoates. XTbe 3rlsb IRacc Hbroab. United States of America. — T. C. Boland, Scanton, Pennsylvania ; Hon. William L. Brown, New York; John Cashman, Manchester, New Hampshire ; M. J. Cooney, Montana ; Patrick Cox, Rochester, New York ; John B. Devlin, \Vilkesbarre, Pennsylvania ; James Duggan, Norwicii, Connecticut ; Patrick Diinlcavy, Philadelphia Council, N.F. ; Rev. D. W. Fitzgerald, Manchester, New Hampshire ; Martin Fitzgerald, Manchester, New Hampshire ; P. Gallagher, New York ; John Guiney, VVilkesbarre, Pennsylvania; Anthony Kelly, Minnea- polis, Minnesota ; Edward Mackin, Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania ; Hon. Martin M'Mahon, New York; Rev. George F. Marshall, Milford, New Hampshire ; Patrick Martin, Baltimore, Maryland ; Michael Murphy, rejjresenting Irish National Federation of America, New York ; Rev. Denis O'Callaghan, Boston; Hon. Edmond O'Connor, Binghampton, New York ; Denis O'Reilly, Boston ; Hon. C. T. O'Sullivan, New York; Rev. Edward S. Philiii)s, Pennsylvania; Michael J. Rooney, representating Irish National Federation of America, New York ; Joseph P. Ryan, New York ; M. J. Ryan, Philadelphia ; Janus Sullivan, MI)., Manchester, New Hampshire; Edward Treacy, Boston ; P. W. Wren, Bridgeport, Connecticut. Canada. — Hon. Jolin Costigan, M.P., P.C. ; Very Rev. M. A. Clancy, Placentia, Newfoundland; P. F. Cronin, Toronto; Rev. Dr. Flannery, St. Thomas, Ontario, representing Ancient Order of Hiber- nians in Canada; Very Rev. Dr. Foley, Halifa.\, Novia Scotia ; James J. Foy, Q.C., Toronto; Edward Halley, First Vice-president Young Irishmen's Literary and Benefit Association, Montreal ; Very Rev. Dean Harris, St. Catherines ; Chevalier John Heney, Ottawa ; Jolin M. Keown, Q.C., St. Catherine's ; Lieut-Colonel \IacShane, Nova Scotia; James J. O'Brien, Halifax, Novia Scotia; Rev. P. F. O'Donnell, Montreal ; Rev. F. O'Reilly, Hamilton ; Rev. Frank Ryan (representing Archbishop of Toronto), Toronto ; Hugh Ryan (Constructor Sault Ste. Marie Canal and portion Canadian Pacific Railway), Toronto; James D. Ryan, President of the Benevolent Irish Society, St. John's, Newfoundland ; Gerald B. Tiernan, Halifax. Australasia. — Charles Hamilton, Bromly, Ex-Attorney-General, Northern Tasmania ; Michael Davitt, M.P., Delegated for Dunedin, New Zealand ; Thomas Hunt, Victoria ; Mr. Kennedy, Wellington, New Zealand ; Rev. Father O'Callaghan, C.C., Mallow, delegated to represent Southern Tasmania. South Africa. — Moses Cornwall, J. P., Kimherley, representing Irish- men of Griqualand, West ; H. J. Haskiiis, Johannesburg. 1 '.- \ >- --'^:<ji/i'y ^ 3«8 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. /D>embei"0 of iparliament. William Ahraliam; Dr. R. Ambrose; Miciiael Austin; Hon.E. Blake; r.ernard Collery ; T. J. Condon ; Eugene Ciean ; Daniel Crilly; Thomas Curran ; Michael Davitt ; John Dillon ; Captain Dontlan ; P. C. Doog.in ; C. J. Englcdow ; Sir Thomas G. Esmond, Bart. ; Thumas J. I''arr(,ll ; J. Einnucanc ; -M. J. Flavin ; J, C. Elynn ; James (iilhooly ; J. K, lIoHan; Jerc-miah Jordan ; Denis Kilbride ; Miciiael M'Cartan ; Justin M'd.-rthy; I'atnck M'Ucrmolt; Dr. M. A. M'Donnell ; Richard M'Clhec; P. A. MTIugh; J. G. S. MacNeill ; F. Mandeville; M. J. Minch ; George Murna^han ; J. F. X. O'Brien ; P. J. O'Brien ; T. P. O'Connor ; F. A. OKecffe ; William O'Malley ; J. Pinkerton ; P.J.Power; John Roche; J. J. Shee ; David Sheehy ; Dr. Tanner ; J. Tully ; Samuel Young. From this list are omitled the names of many clcrcjymcn who appear as ilcUf;ates uiuk-r oUier catCL;orii.'S. As vindor the coiistilulion uf llie Convention clcrijymcii were ailniiUcd williout creilenlials, it has been impossible to distinguish between those who attended as delegates and as \isilois; and many may have been omitted who did not j;ivc in their names, or whose n.imes «eie not curiectly taken down at the duois. Most Rev. Dr. O'Donnell, Lord Bishop of Raphoe ; Rev. R. Barrett, St. Patrick's, Cork; Rev. Michael Bonfield, Chicago, U.S. .A.; Rev. T. Boylan, Drumshambo ; Very Rev. P. Bermingham, P.P., Carrickmacross ; Rev. Father Berney, Scotlanil ; Rev. James Brady, Ballymahon ; Very Rev. John Brady, Gowel, Carrick-onShannon; Rev. John Brady, C.C., U.\bridge, Middlesex; Rev. J. Brennan, C.C., Slieverue ; Rev. E. Brennan, C.C., CuUohill ; Rev. P. F. Brennan, Rev. Thomas Brennan, C.C., Castlecomer ; Rev. M. Buckley, St. Mary's, Haslini^deii ; Rev. John Burke, P.P. ; Rev. J. E. Burke, Bolton, Lancashire ; Rev. Michael Burke, CC, Kilgobiiet ; Rev. B. Butler, Bath, England : Very Rev. Dr. Butler, Dublin ; Rev. Arthur Byrne, C.C., Monasterboice ; Rev. Father Byrne, Jarrow-on-Tyne ; Rev. Father Byrne, Strokestown. Rev. H. B. Callachor, O.S.B., B.A., Sydney, New South Wales; Rev. P. Callan, Eirigal, Truagh ; Rev. J. Campbell, Whitehaven, Cumberland ; Rev. J. Campbell, CC, Inniskeen, Dundalk; Rev. P. P. Campbell, P.P., Loughbrickland; Rev. N. C. Cantwell; Rev. W. Conway, P.P., Glenamoddy ; Rev. A. C'lancy. P.P., Killimer ; Rev. J. Clancy, CC, Rathcabbin, Birr ; Rev. M. A. Clancy, Placentia, New- foundland ; Rev. M. J. Clancy, Teinplemore ; Rev. P. Clarke, P.P., Kilmore; Rev. P. Clough, P.P., Ballina; Rev. P. Coffey, P.P., Tra- more; Rev. M. CoUeran, CC, Miltown, Tuam ; Very Rev. Canon Columb, P.P., Ballinakown, Athlone ; Rev. Terence Conlan, P.P., Donaghmoyne ; Rev. James Connolly, CC, Liverpool ; Rev. Richard Connolly ; Rev. M. D. Conroy, Rosscahill ; Rev. M. Considine, CC, Kiimihill ; Rev. P. Cooney, CC, Innishannon ; Rev. D. E. Coyle, CC, Convoy, Co. Donegal; Rev. P. J. Crimrains, CC; Rev. J. R. Crowe, P.P., Cappawhite ; Rev. Joseph Cullinan, Ncwbliss ; Rev. J. Cunningham, Sheffield ; Rev. James Curran, P.P., Kilconey ; Rev. John Curry, St. Mary's, Drogheda; Rev. M. B. Curry, P.P., Bournea. ■'/ ^ Ml ■ ■ 1 .'. , ^ '»■) : oir ) ^^ '•;: ■',•> LIST OF DELEGATES. 3^9 Rev. D. Daly, P.P., Templcglantine; Rev. P. J. iJaly, Hoston, U.S.A.; Rev. J. Dempsey, CC, Celbridne ; Rev. M. J. Dillon; Rev. 'rimothy Doheny, CC, Cloughjordan ; Rev. J. Doherty, New York ; Rev. Joiin Doherty, P.P. ; Rev. P. J. Donoghue, St. Mary's, Poston, Engiaiul ; Rev. P. Dooiey, P.P., Galway ; Dr. Anthony F. Dougherty, Luzerne, Co. Pa, U.S.A. ; Rev. M. Uoyle, CC, Tulihercurry; Rev. P. Diifly. Fintona ; Rev. W. Duggan, C.C., Athy ; Rev. L. Duncan, P.P., Maghera- clone, (Jarrickniacross ; Rev. Fatlier Dunleavy, Edinlnirgli ; Rt;v. Willian Dunphy, P.P., The Naul ; Rev. W. J. Dunphy, P.P., Arklow. Rev. P. Egan, P.P., Duniiy; Rev. Denis English, Cippamore. Rev. Peter Farnan, C'.C, Derrygonnelly ; Rev. Jolin J. T'ennelly; Rev. D. Fitzgerald ; Rev. P. Fit/gerald, Kilconncll ; Rev. 'i". Flanagan, Roscommon ; Rev. A. Forrest, P.P., Innishannon ; Rev. John Francis, Rahoon, Galway ; Rev. P. M. Furlong, P.P., Taghmon. Right Rev. James Gallagher, P.P., Carrigart, County Donegal ; Rev. James Gallagher, P.P., RathmuUan ; Rev. P. Gilchreest, P."., DrunireiUy; Rev. T. Gillie, C.C, Dunshaughhn ; Rev. L. Gillig; n, Kilmurry; Rev. Father Glevin ; Rev. P. Glvnn, P.P., Ogonnclhie ; Rev. Patrick Godfrey, Moyne; Rev. L. W. Gougluan, P.P., Arnev, Enniskillen; Very Rev. Canon Grealy, P.P., V.F., Newport, Mayo: Rev, Denis Greany, C.C, Headford, Co. Galway; Rev. J. Greany, Athlone; Rev. J. Grace, C.C, Ballyuskill, Athenagh ; Rev. B. G. Greeley, Behan, Ballyhaunis ; Rev. Thomas F. Gregg, New York. Rev. J. Hally, Kingstown ; Rev. James C Harte, S.J., Clongowes Wood College ; Pv.ev. M. Harte, Collaney ; Rev. John M. Harty, May- nooth ; Rev. Father Healy, Acton, Hamilton, Canada ; Rev. \V. Healy, P.P., Johnstown; Rev. Thomas Heany, Ballyhaunis; Rev. T. Hearne, P.P., Portlaw ; Rev. J. Halloran, Birr; Rev. Martin Holohan, CC, Kilkenny ; Rev. Thomas Hunt, C.C ; Rev. F. Jones, Athlone. Rev. R. Kavanagh, Monamolin ; Rev. Thomas Kearney, Adm., Skibbereen ; Rev. J. Keely, C.C, Gort ; Rev. M. Keveney, P.P., Charlestown ; Very Rev. B. Kelly, P.P., Ballyshannon ; Rev. J. Kelly, Birmingham ; Right Rev. Mons. Kelly, P.P., V.G., St. Peter's, Athlone; Rev. N. Kennedy, C.C. ; Rev. M. B. Kennedy, C.C, Blarney ; Rev. M. Kennelly, C.C, Achill; Rev. Patrick Kenny, P.P., Oulart; Rev. P. Kenny, P.P., Raphoe ; Rev. W. J. Kinane, Castleiny, Templemore. Rev. E. Lalor, P.P., Allen, Kilmeague ; Rev. T. J. Larkin, P.P., Moneymore ; Rev. Richard Little, Moneyrea ; Very Rev. Canon Loftus; Rev. J. Loftus, C.C; Rev. Denis Lundon ; Very Rev. Dr. Loughran, C.C, Dromintee, Newry ; Very Rev. Canon Lowry, (Jurteen; Rev. A, Lowry, Mayobridge ; Very Rev. Canon Lynskey, Clifden. Rev, P. M'CafTery, Adm., Inver; Rev. J. McAteer, C.C ; Rtv. A. Macauley, P.P., Aghagallon, Lurgan ; Rev. J. J. McCabe, SS. Joseph and Cuthbert, Loftus, Saltburn-on-Sea ; Rev. 3. Mc.^ndrew, P.P., Piallinakill ; Rev F. McCormac, C.C ; Very Rev. Canon McCartan, P.P., Donaghmore; Rev. T. McCarthy, P.P., Barryroe ; Rev. D, F. McCrea, M.R.LA., Maghera ; Rev. J. McDermott, Strokestown ; Rev. J. Mcllroy, P.P., Currin ; Rev. Father McEvilly, C.C ; Rev. J. McEvoy, Banbridge ; Rev. James McFadden, P.P., Gweedore : Right Rev. Mons. 'McGlynn, P.P., V.G., Stranorlar ; Rev. P. McGinity, P.P., Kilskecry ; Rev. Father McGowran, P.P., Ballina- 2U I'll r -,-^' "TIIK ril'KIi'S CWK." BliOWNlIAI.L. CO. DONKUAI-. C ) -pr" \\/ vl/ ■i\\ 7\\- "•^ \ -V I^^^HI ■^(^Hpap^MMM^ '■^1^ ^'■■^kr^'*'*.:/ ^m "W ^1^-- 1^^ 1 ~~' iV "^ - •^..€11 Ki< ni \ liotos liy] liOCK 15KACII, BUNDOli.AN, CO. roNKGAL, iwi'ki], r.uiiiift. \> I ■on ■ ». LIST OF DELEGATES. 331 glcrash; Rev. M. McOratli, P.P., Drangan, Fethard ; Right Rev. Mon- signor iMcl'aildcn, (Jwcedorc ; Rev. P. Mcdirr, (IC, Wcstport ; Rev. John iMackey, P.P., Kiiockbridge; Rev. A. Maguirc, C.C, Eniiiskilkn j Rev. M. J. McIIiigl), Adni., 'I'uain ; Rev. Father McKenna ; Rev. K. Mackey, C.C., Ratlifarnham ; Rev. M. Mackle, CC, Meigli, Newry j Rev. P. McLoiighliii ; Rev. John McNamar.i, P.P., Bodyke ; Rev. M. McPolin, Aihii., Newry ; Rev. J. McSwiney, P.P., Newmarket ; Rev. S. McTeriian, P.P., M.R.I.A. ; Rev. J. Maher, P.P., Kilglass ; Rev. John Malicr, CC, Luggacurran ; Rev. W ilham Meagher, CC, Clonnicl ; Rev. J. Meegary, Monaghan ; Rev. Father Mechn, C.("., CMoglier, Co. Tyrone ; Rev. Joseph A. Moloney, P.P., Roundstone ; Rev. James Monaglian, CC, Clouglijordaii ; Rev. F. Muri)hy, CC, Drimcong; Rev. 15. Mulhol- laiid, P.P., Coleraine ; Rev. P. Muhigan, P.P., Curry, Co. Shgo ; Rev. Michael Munnelly, BjinniUet ; Rev. A. Murjjhy, C.C., Cariowgraigue ; Rev. F. P. MurtaLh, CC., Ardee ; Rev. L, Muiphy, Donougiimore ; Rev. Thomas Murphy, P.P., Kilmore and Drumsn.il. Rev. M. Neviii ; Rev. Patrick Nicholson, CC, Dunmore, Co. Galway; Rev. I. Nolan, CC, Allen, Kilmeagiie. Rev. William O'iJrien, Cliicago, U.S.A. ; Rev. John O'iirien, P.P., Holycross, Tlnirless ; Very Rev. |ohn O'Urien, P.P., V.F., Banbridge ; Rev. C M. O'CiUaghan, CC, Mallow; Rev. O. O'Calla-han, liosion. Mass, U.S.A. ; Rev. J. O'Callaghan, CC ; Rev. .Michaef O'Calliyhan, (;ionakilty; Very Rev. Canon (/Connor, P.P., Nentownbulkr ; Rev, J. O'Connor, Ballaghadercen ; Rev. John O'Donnell, CC, Kill ; Rev. J. J. O'Donnell, Killybcgs ; Rev. P. O'Donnell, P.P., Doon ; Rev. P. O'Donnell, .Adm., .Monaglian; Rev. P. O'Domiell, CC. ; Rev. William O'Donnell, CC, Waterford ; Rev. Patrick O' Donovan, CC, Drinagh, Dunnianway ; Rev. P. S. O'Grady, CC, Collooney; Rev. T. O'Grady, CC, liohola ; Rev. Willi.am O'llalloran, Cork ; Rev. J. O'llaire, CC, Derrymacash, Liirgan ; Rev. P. O Halloran, P.P., Muckalee ; Rev. U. OUara, P.P., Kiltiniagh ; Rev. John O'lle.i, P.P., Ardfield, Clonakiltv; Rev. Peter OT.eary, P.P., Castlelyons ; Very Rev. John O'Leary, P.P., V.F., Clonakilty; Very Rev. Canon O'Nedl, P.P., Clones; Rev. H. O'Neill, CC, Bundoran ; Rev. John M. O'Reilly, CC, Svdney, N.S.W. ; Rev. W. O'Reilly, Liverpool ; Rev. F. O'Reilly ; Rev. John O'Shca, CC, Kilkenny; Rev. Jeremiah O'Toole, CC, Weslporl. Very Rev. W. L. Penny, V.F. ; Rev. Father Phelan, Boofield, U.S.A. J Rev. W. J. Phelan, P.P., Ardfniane, Cahir ; Rev. E. S. Phillips, Plains, Luzerne Co., Pennsylvania ; Very Rev. Canon Pope, Donoughmore, Co. Cork ; Rev. John Power, P.P., Kilteely ; Rev. Michael Power, P.P., New Inn, Cahir; Rev. M. Power, P.P., Ballyduff; Rev. J. S. Prendergast, Ballylooby. Rev. James Queally, CC, Kilrossinty ; Rev. B. Quinn, Thurles; Rev. C Quinn, CC, Camlough ; Rev. C S. Quinn, P.P., V. F., Duneane ; Rev. Bernard Quinn, CC, Bangor-Erris ; Rev. Father Quinn, CC, Ca\an; Rev. ^L J. Quinn, CC, Camlough. Very Rev. Dean Regan, V.G., P.P., Mitchelstown ; Rev. J. Roch- ford, Aghaboe; Rev. James Rockett, Rathdowney ; Rev. Daniel Ryan, P.P., Clonoulty, Co. Tipperary ; Rev. Gabriel Ryan, CC, Middlesboro', England; Rev. \V. Ryan, CC, Boherlahan ; Rev. H.arold Rylett. Rev. J. J. Savage, CC, Hilltown ; Rev. J. Scanlan, P.P.. Clough- ! \ i"l c ^^ 33» im&U 11 ACE CONVENTION. Jordan ; Rev. }• Sheridan, Donegal ; Rev. M. Shinnors, Ix)ndon ; Very Rev. Canon .Shinkwin, Bantry ; Very Rev. Canon Shortall, P.P., Durrow ; Very Rev. P. Canon Smyth, P.P., Bally hay ; Rev. P. Spait, P.P., Cappo(niin ; Rev. T. StafTord, Dublin; Rev. James Stejihens, P.P., Ciossboyne ; Rev. ]. Sullivan, Templebrcrlin, Pall.isgreen ; Rev. Daniel Sweeney, C.C., Kincoslagli, Donegal; Very Rev. J.Sweeney, P.P., Killybcgs. Rev. P. Tracey, C.C, Galmoy; Rev. Joseph Tully, Achill; Rev. J. Twomey, C.C, Glountane, Mallow; Rev. Timothy Twoniey, C.C, Middlesboro'. Right Rev. Mons. Walker, Lettcrkenny ; Rev. T. Whelahan, St. Patrick's, I'hmistead, S.E. ; Rev. C. Woods, CC;., Warrenpoint ; Rev. Nicholas Woods, C.C., MuUingar; Rev. John Woods, C.C, Drogheda. Coimtg an5 Clric. Messrs. Thomas Barry, Cork ; Jerome Boyce, Donegal ; Thomas Byrne, (lahvay; Daniel Corry, Meatli ; Joseph Devlin, Belfast; John Dolan, Leiiiim; Rev. P. F. Fiynn, P.P., Waterford City; Simon F. Hanraity, Newry Borough ; Laurence T. Kelly, Queen's County ; ^Villialn I.undon, Limerick ; Rev. J. Metgan, Monaghan ; James Neary, Roscommon ; John O'Dowd, Sligo ; Rev. D. O'Hara, P.P., Mayo ; Bernard O'Neill, Armagh ; Thomas Robertson, Kildare ; Rev. John Rock, P.P., Tyrone ; N. K. Shee, Tippcrary; John Ward, Sligo Borough ; John F. Wr^y, Fermanagh. Ifi'oin (Brcat ^Britain. (Under Locililics nnd Societies from which delegated.) AccRiNGTON— Samuel Bridges, Edward Burke. Alkxanhria, Scotland — Patrick Cassidy. Baunslev, William O'Brien — Dr, Haiton, J. P. ; Barrow-in-Furness, No. i — Thomas M'AIiillen. M'Creesh. Barry, Wales, Mandeville — John M'Donnell, Owen M'Cann, Dr. P. J. M'Donnell. Batley Carr, Emmet — Thomas Cox. Birkenhead, Wilfred Blunt — Dr. J. T. Martin, Thomas Mohen, Thomas Cusack. Birmingham — James Doherty. BiRSTALL, O'CoNNELL — Mrs. J. Gorman. Blackdurn, Sarsfield — Peter Doolan, Austin Moran, Bernard Fury. Blantvre, Scotland, O'Connell — Joseph Kennedy. Bolton, No. i— Richard Kelly, Rev. D. O'Brien, William O'Malley, Rev. Joseph A. Burke, T.C.D. ; W. Kearns, T.C ; M. Coghlan. Home Rule Club — W. Devlin, Charles Connolly. Bradford, Central — W. Sullivan, Councillor M. O'Flynn, M. J. Barry, J. P.; W. Sullivan, John Daly, John Cawley. Dwyer — Patrick Kane, Michael Conboy, John Kane, Michael Kearns. Graitan — Fenton Kenny, Richard Cullen, William Narey, William H. Fitzgerald, James Kelly, Owen Connolly. Dillon-O'Brien — T. Brow.ie, William Conroy, John Walling, J. Tane, William D. Payne, P. Neary. \. N. Club— Neil » V / ' LIST OF DELEGATES. .^^^ \H' Rowan. I,ai»ikh' Central— Miss M. Hennctt, Mrs. C. E. Cawley, Mrs. K. O. I'lynn, Miss M. Kceffe. Ladii.s' Dii.i.on-O'Ukikn -Mrs. Pendergast. Wolfe Tone— James (]ornian, James Konchan, Wilii.im Gorman, Thomas Nailoii, Terence White, Tliomas l.oiighlin. liuisTOL— John Valentine, John Downey, M. Ilanrahnn. 15K0X11UKN, Scotland— WilHam Mahoii, John Mulhern, Hugh Molloy, Thomas Dobie. Burnley — John Tighe. I5URN11ANK, Scotland, O'Connell— John Cassidy. IJuRV, Davitt — E. Timhn. IJusuY, Scotland, Grattan— John Fitzpatrick Cardiff, Wales, Emmet— Jeremiah McCarthy, Wilhain (rNcill, James Courtney, James Ncagie, John Hack, Frank A. I'ox, Alderman P. W. Carey, J. P. ; Dr. James Mullin, M.A., J. P.; James J. liuish, M.R, C.C. .,,,,, Coatbridgf., Scotland, Davitt— John Graven, Michael Hughes, Dr. O'Neill, John M'Evoy. Consett — Thomas Barry. Dkw.sburv, Graitan— lidward Rourke, Thomas Walsh, John M'Cann, John O'Hara. Dumbarton, Heart of Erin— Joseph M'Elhaw, Edward M'Alister. Dundee, Scotland, .St. Andrew's— Joseph Birmingham, John Hogan. A. M. Sullivan— Matthew M'Kenna, Daniel Daily. Earlstown— Thomas Galligan, Dominic Cafi'rey. Edinrukgh, Scotland, Dillon— Daniel Donworth, John M'Manus. Gladstone — FVancis M'Awecney. Farnwoktu— James Kelly, Hugh Gallagher. Gatf:shead, Emmett— Edward M'Kcown, Councillor F. J. Fmn, J. 1 . Davitt— James O'Donnell. ,,. . , Glasgow, Bridgeton —Henry Aylmer, Peter Campbell, Michael M'Ginty, Henry Logan. Home Government— Bailie Joseph Shaughnessy, John Ferguson, T.C. ; M. J. O'Connell, B.A. ; Michael Dunbar, Denis Brogan, Dr. Joseph Scanlan. Hugh Murphy, Thomas Colgan, William M'Killop, Arthur Murphy, John Carnin, James Kelly, C. J. M'Elhawe, Thomas C. Nelson, J. P. Independence— Dr. M'Loughlin. William O'Brien— James Stafibrd. Archbishop Walsh— D. J. Sheahan. Dillon— Richard St. John, James Burns. Father Maguire— John M'Quin. Davis— William Coyle, J. F. M'Groary. Celtic Football and Athletic Club— John Glass, President ; James M'Kay, Treasurer ; and William Maley, Secretary. Father M'Ginn— John M'Guire, Vice-President. Gorton, T. P. O'Connor— Councillor E. Scully, J.P.j Councillor M. Bushell. . , ,. GovAN, Sheehy— Martin Hester, James Grant, Patrick M'Loughlin. Greenock, Scotland, Dillon— Neal Haughey. Halifax— Mrs. Mary M'Hugh, Michael M'Hugh, Owen Canning, Martin Delaney. Hamil-ion, Scotland, DAVirr-Bailie M'Hale, J. P. Hanley, Allen, Larkin and O'Brien— Stephen DAicy, Dr. W. Dowling Prendergast. Hartlepool, West, Davis— Francis Jones, P.L.G. 334 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. llASi.iNnnr.N, Davitt— Mi-.hael Welsh, Patrick Glynn. IIiinDEHSKiKi.iJ— I'atrick Hopkins, Hui.i., Cknikai,— T. W. Morrisscy, J. D. O'Neill. East— James (Irayson, Jnlin Cunninj^haiii, Austin Hoyle. Kkic;eii.kv, No. i— lames Walsh, T.C. ; Michael Howley, T.C. IIomk Rui.K— Micluiel 6'ilara, J. T. Carroll. Kii>i)i;K.\iiNsri:i<, William O'Hrikn — John Boyle. Kir.iiiKNiic, Gladstonk — lulward M'Intyre, John MTiralh, C. J. M'Kll.aw. Lanark, Scotland, Owi.n Ron O'Nuill — Peter Martin. Lkicestkk, Dillon — T. Inviii. LoNGTON, 0'(JuNNELi, — Patrick Howley. LiiiiD.s, Dillon — Martin Silk. ("iRAttan — I'atrirk Coylc. HtrNSLKTT^ Peter Walsh, Rev. M. Dillon. I. N. Ci.uii— William Riley, M. O'Donnell, Miss R. O'Neill, Terence O'Neill, .S, M'Farlaiic, O. Kiernan, Miss M. Diirnan, Miss H. Diirnan. O'liRiKN-DAViiT — I'elix Byrne, Michael Hogan, Miss M. A. Diirnan. Emmki— Michael Cull ins. LivKKPdOL, Davitt — Joseph Hnwkshaw, Thomas Flynn, Kdward Clarke, John Clancy. Dillon — Mich.aclT. ltolt;er. Mandkvillk — Kdward I'lircell, C.'C. ; James liolger, C.C., 1'. !,.(].; James Shortell. North— Martin Coyne, T. K. IJrady, VAX.. Sr. Paul's— IJernanl M'Hennett, Jcjseph Hughes, Peter Murphy, J. G. T.igg.irt, C.C. W. ToxTKTH — John Quinii, (jeorge J. Lynsk( y, C.C. Cicntral — A. Mullen, T. J. Flynn, C.C. East— Dr. J. G. M'Cann. O'Connell — Patrick G. O'Neill, Patrick J. Deery, C.C. London, Bamicrsica — JohiiEnright. Hkrmondsicv — Rev. E. Murnanc, J. Moloney, E. Reilly. Clkkkknwell — John Ball. Deptkord — James Herlihy. East EiNsimRY — George Whitehead, James Nolan, Forest CiArK and Ui'ton — '['. P. O'Halloran. South Islin(;ton — William Finn, James Madden. Kicnsinhton, Sarskiicld — Patrick Morris, Michael Walsh, James C. Ahem. Marvleiione West— M. C. Walsli, Michael O'Rourke. Mktrotoi.han — J. M'Cormack, Frank Porter, R. J. Geraglity, J. Vincent Taaffe, .Martin Hoban, Maurice Ahem. Mkimmyr, Tydkil, Wales, Gladstone — William J. Jones, John Morley. Motherwell, Scotland, A. M. Sullivan — Thomas Monaghan. Manchester, Davitt — Councillor D. M'Cabe, J. P.; Thomas Q. Ruddin, P.L.G. ; John Kelly, Patrick Jedfers, F. J. Farley, James Reilly, Luke Hoy, Rev. T. Cusack. Esmonde — Councillor D. Boyle, Michael Smith. O'Connei.l — Peter Burke, J. M'Kinnon, James Merry. Poland Street — Joseph Carney, Patrick Cosgrove. Father Sheehv — W. H. Gaffney, Martin Ryan, James Rooney, Archuishoi' Walsh — Rev. P.atrick Lynch, M.R. Ni;wi'ORT, Monmouthshire, Davitt — James De Lacy, Michael M'Eniry. NoRMANiON, William O'Brien — Thomas M'Derniott, Thomas Rush. Newcastle oN-TvNE, No. i — Edward Timlin, P.L.(i. Bvker — Thomas Maley. Sexton — John Collins (Newcastle School Board). Oldham, Central — James Byrne, Patrick May. ^ ' LIST OF in: LEG AT ES. JM Paisi.kv, Justin M'Carthv — Jolm M'Carlhy. I'ariick, I'Immki' — ThaildLMis Nrciovcrin, I'miH, Dii.i.oN -Mirhiicl Kcrrinaii, I'.C. I'i.YMf)i)rii, 'I'liKii, I'liWNs — I'. J. Clarke. roiMSMourii — 11. I). Riie. Tour (!i,\sr,ow, Sakshki.d — Janu's l'it/| .itrick, Junes M'l.otishlin, J. P. Joscpii Dunne. C'.kai ian Thonias Manncry, Felix Nl'duskey. Ramsiioitom, T. V. O'CoNNOK— John Keenanlian, V.C RocFiiiAi.i:, T. P. t)'C0NN0K— W. 11. Capstick. SouniAMi'TON, (iuATiAN— riorence O'Sullivan, Dr. W. P. OMeara. StiiKi.Ds, North— Midiacl l,yclon. Si'RiNciiiURN — Patrick Corr. Stalevukidce— Peter llkkey. Swansea, Davitt — J. T. O'llara. SitF.i'FiicLD, 1. N. L. Club— Tiionias Walsh, Thom.is Crosliy. Davis RvAN — M. J. I'lynn. 'J'ai.i. (Jross, .Sloii.and, Exii r— D. J. M. Ouin. \\'arrin(;tiin— John C. D.illdii. WiDNES, 'P. P. O'CoNNOu — Hugh O'Donnell. WiNfiATE, Davitt — Joiin Mazel. WoKKiNiuiAM, p. J. Power — Michael M'Carthy. Wrkxham— I'Mward M'Halc. AO. H., En(;i.ani) — Thonias Parkin. A. OH., Scotlanii — Michat'l Pitzpatrirk, Patri( k Dohcrty, John Crihbin, Michael M'Inally, I'eter Malloii, Hernard Coyle, Ki< hard Sta|ileton, Samuel Kilpatrick, Daniel Harkins,'rhonins Urown, Thonias Mmncry, James (Jallagiier, F. Kierney, James Connor. Central 3Bo^^ 5. fl. jfcbcratton. Messrs. Thomas Caicy; Charles Conlan ; Major J. J. Crooks; Bernard Denipsey, Glasgow; Nicholas H. Dcvine, Tuhbercurry ; Andrew Donnelly, Purgan ; James Dwyer, Roscrea ; Joseph Dwyt r, Roscrea ; Prancis Fitzgerald, (ilin ; \Vm. Fitzgerald, Cappoqiiin ; John Fogarty; Charles Gallen, J.P. ; E. Gallagher; Frederick Giiroy ; Laurence Ginnell, 11. L, Dublin; Joh.i Harrington, J.P. ; Michael Ilayden, Castlerca ; James Hayes, Tipjierary ; ^Iichael Hearne, William Hodnett, Solicitor; Arthur Houston, Q.C. ; Dr. Keary, Woodford ; M. J. Kelly, Belfast ; P. J. Kelly, Chairman Westport Board of Guardians; Valentine Kilbride, Solicitor; Wm. Pyncli, Solicitor; Murtagh M'Cann, Liirgan ; John McDonnell, P.L.G. ; John McGinn ; l^dward McGrane, Dundrum; James IP McGrane ; William McGrath ; C. S. McGuiniiess ; Surgeon Murray MacKen/ie, R.N. ; P. M'Manus, Cavan ; Thomas P. NP()uaid ; J. C. ^PWalt(•r, L.P.S.L; John J. Meldon, Solicitor; James Moloney, Thomas Monaghan, Martin Morris ; David Murphy ; AP M. Murphv, Solicitor, Kilkenny; Patrick O'Brien ; Charles O'Connell, B.L. ; John O'Neill; fimothy O'Sullivan ; S. P. Preston ; William E. Reigli ; John C. Rooney; William TaalTe, Ardee ; George J. Wake, Liirgan ; Peter Ward ; Alfred Webb, Dublin : William Whiteside. (ilii.S ._ J ^ M(i i 33« IRISH h'.icK cuyvr.yrioN. \ IDclcontfons an& /IDcml>cm of ipubllc 3Bonl•^o, iDclcflntco (loin tbc .1l3nmcl)ca of tbc Jfc&ciation, Ipavlijbco, anD Societies tn 3l•claM^. ANTRIM. noAHnsnrnuARniANS: Bali.vmkna— (loraldS. M'Ciiinpliill.J.P; James Nt'csoii. Uai.i.vi.asilk — Jolin M'CaiinlKin, J.l'., vicc-cliairiiiaii ; l-;. K. M'Camtiridn..', J.r. ; J. I'. O'Kanc; llAi.T.VMnNhV— John lioyil. J.I'. IIkanciies I.N.F. ; Ilict.KAsr — John J, Donovan, W'illiini DowiiL'y, Jolin Rootu-y, James Hoyle. Hai.lvmonkv — James O'Kane, sun., George M'l'.ill, Daniel Demjisey. Hki.fasi- Yoi'no Irkland Sociktv— Patrick Flanagan, Francis Blair, I'. J. Hanna. I.iiiKRAi, AND Nationai, Union OF Ui.STKR — JoscpU M'Cauicy, J.I'., solicitDr i Rev. Richard Lyttlc, Dr. Logan. A.O.Il.U. OK Krin— John Crilly. arm.a(;h. Town Commissionf.ks, Kkady— Michael Smith, chairman ; John Nugent, P. Reynolds. Hoard ov riUARUiANS, Armacmi — Michael Kelly. Uranciiics I.N.F.: ni.ACKWATi:Rn)WN--HenryI.ennon, Felix Fox, James (larvey. Armacjii. — Jas. Donnelly, James M'Mahon, Michael (larvey, CAMLOUiiii— Very Rev. C. Qiiinn, P.P., V.F. ; Rev. C. M'Donnell, C.C. ; James O'llare, J.P., P.I-.G. ; James Aikyn, J. P. ; I,. Donnelly, I'.L.d. ; Rev. Michael J. Qiiinn, C.C. Coi.i.kcki.and — Menry 'I'oal, Hugh M'Cluskey, Felix O'Leary. Jonesiiouo' and Dromintek — Michael P. Rice, Miciiael O'Hare, Thomas Oltourke. Lurgan, Arthur Donnki.i.v — Andrew Donnelly, James M'Midian, Henry Mcl.arnon. Derrvmacasii — John C O'Reilly, James lilayney, Henry MTieown. I.ouuiioii.i.v — John J. M'Parland, John M'l'ailand, James Kenny. Keady — James M'Kennedy, James Mone, Tiiomas Kelly. CARLOW. Town (^ommissioner.s, Cari.ow. — llichael Molloy. Board of Guardians, Caklow — L;uirencc M I.oughlin, Charles F. M'Nally, J. P. Branch I.N.F., Cari.ow— Mich.acl Molloy, T.C. ; Patrick J. Conlon, J. Kelly. CAVAM. Town Commissioners : Cavan — Francis O'Reilly, Bern.ard Brady, James Galligan, Daniel Reilly, Patrick Ganney, John M'Carron, James Gallayher. CoorKiiir, I. — Andrew .Smith. IJKi.ruunnr — F. Boland, chairman ; P. Farley, P. Fitzpatrick, E. Gleeson, an<l W. (iillick. Boards of (iuARDiANs: Cavan — J. Jones, Bernard O'Connor, F. Maguirc, James Gilchreest, Luke Lee. Cooteiiili. — John O'Reilly. BAWNiioy — Bernard Kean, Hugh Reynolds, Thomas M'Ciovern, J^ Phillips. Branches I.N.F. : Drung — Patrick Reilly, F'rancis Reilly. Virginia — John Ticrney, J. P. ; Thomas M'Cabe, John M'Fvoy. Mum.ahovan AND LouGiiDUFF — F'elix M'Manus, Edward O'Reilly. :■•-, '. 5; r. p m K i\ :) \ i'. /-6 r 338 IRIHII h'ACK ('()XVI-:.\TI()X. Ll.ARli. Town Commissionf.ks : Ennis — M. S. Iloian, Michael A. Sranlon. Kii.RUsii — Joseph Finnucanc, James Clancy. Boards of (Juardians : Kiluvsari' — N. Stiiddart Ciihson, vice- chairman. Kii.RUSii — John Mulqueen. Fnnistvmo.m — Michael Leydon, Patrick Vaughan. I5KANCHKS I.N.F. : Ennistymon — John Cassidy, Mathew Ciirran, Michael O'lJrien. Kii.rusii— James Kelly, Jolin Egan. Ogonnici.i.oe — Uoniinick Stuart, hon. secretary; Michael Slatttry, vice-president; John Corbett, P. E.G. Ffaki.f. — Patrick M'Mahon, Michael Hogan, Thady Kelly. Mii.townmalhav — Denis O'Eoughlin. Bodyke and ToMc.REANY — Michael Brady, J. P.; Thomas Scanlon, Denis Tuohy. KiLi.iMER AND Knockf.rra — John liasseit, J. P. ; Michael Behan, P. E.G. ; Thomas Tally. KiLi.ALOii — Corney Hayes, Patrick Sheuhan, Michael M'Keogh, Michael Scanlan. Pakisuks: Ki..nAi.i.v()\VEN — Cornelins Haugh. KiiniMO — John Caliill. KiLLOKENNiiDY— John Gunning. — Bradford — P. V'aughan. II i ") CORK. Corporation, City of Cork— Alderman Fitzgerald, Alderman Martin Flavin, J. P. ; William Kinnionth, Jeremiah Ahem, John T. O'Donnell. Town Commissioners: Bandon — Thoma Scanlan, chairman ; J. Burke. Mini.ETfiN — Rich.-ird Fitzgerald, chairman ; J. O'Brien. Mallow— M'ch.ael Nunan, chairman; Cornelius Buckley, J. Cronin, Stephen O'Dwyer, J.P. ; John Golden. Youghal— Richard Carey, J. P., chairman ; John Condon, T.C. ; James Eynch, T.C. ; William Modnett, solicitor. Clonakilty— Daniel O'Eoary, chairman. FKRMf)Y — Edward Byrne, J.P. Quei.nhtown— William Meehan, Timothy Murray, J. H. Camp'oell. Skiiii!ERELN— John Murphy. Baltimore and SKiitiiEUEEN Harbour IJoauds— Patrick Sheehj-. Hoards of Guardians: Bandon — Edward Graigner, John Harris, Edward M'Carthy, John Kelly. Mii.lstreet— J. J. Corkcrry, chairman; Bryan MacSwyncy, J.P. ; Patrick O'Callagan. Cork— P. J. Scannell, Thouias Fuller, Patrick O'Connor, J. M'Carthy Barry, J. J, Humphreys, P. O'Neill, Michael Murphy. Midleton— Marlin Reardon, chairman ; T. J. Burke, Michael Buckley, J.P. Mallow —James Byrne, deputy vice-cliairman ; Cornelius O'Callaghan, D.J. O'Cail.aghan, Patrick Vaughan, Thomas Barry. Macroom— Michael 1 lealy, J.P. ; Daniel M'Carthy, John Moynihan. Mitchklstown — P. Rayleigh, J. P., chairman; Thomas Drake, J.P. Youghal — Thomas V. I'arrell, J. P., chairman; Peter Keefe, R. R. Russell, Patrick Einehan, Dun.manway— Michael Connolly, deputy vice- chairman ; T. M; Kearney, Jerome Mahonev. ' nelius Rcardon. William Cotter, ijaniel M'Carthy, C. O'Driscol. thull— Edaard Roycroft, J. P., chairman; T. Coghlan, c-;[)i;> vice-chairman; John Kelly. Kanturk— Buckley Daly, chairman; John Einehan, deputy vice-chairman; Charles C. Daly, Patrick Eane, Fermov — D. Verling, J. Maya, A. Heskin, G. Baylor, J. P. Collins. Kinsale— Jeremiah Bowen. Skibjereen — Daniel M'Carthy, deputy vice- chairman ; D. Burke. iliili t ^^ J\ mmmrn LIST OF DKLEGATKS. vvi Branches I.N.F. : Uai.i yvuurnkv — D.inii'i I.yiicli, M.D., J 1'.; Cor- nelius Lyiicli, 'rimutliy Twonicy. Hanudn — Tlu 'iias DiiincLii, 1'. |. M'C'arlliy, solicitor; 'riioma.s ('umniiiis. Dunmanway — Jaiiirs II. Purccli, solicitor ; Florence Croiilcy, James M'Carlhy. (,'iikK Ci iv — Thomas Crosbiu, pro|)iiptor Cork Exainiiur ; Michael Murphy, soli- citor ; Daniel Horg.iii, John O'Connor, Micliael Ryan, Cnrneliiis Millard, ICdmimd Russell, William Desmond. Kii.i;KiN-'riniothy Dennehy, I'.L.Ci. ; John Riordan. Bai.i.indwcan— Patrick Ilanly, James O'Riordan, John O'Keelle. Donik aii.e— John O'Connor. Kanturk — Francis J. liur.on, D. D. Malioiiy, Tliomas Lenehan. MiuLETON— William C().;an, J.I'. ; Mxliael Lynch, T.C. ; Willian) Moore. Mallow — 1'. R. Fit/gibbon, solicitor ; I'atrick Donovan, Denis Lynch, T.C. CastlklyOi.s — Carrett VerUn„', !•-. P. Kent, Cornelius Ronan. Drum iarifke — Bryan M'.Swecney, J.l'. ; Charles Daly, I'.L.Ci. ; J. J. Hanlon, M.J.Casey. Killavullln — Wiili.im Stackpoole. MnciiEi.siow.v — Very Reverend Dean O'Regan, I'.I'., V.O. ; Thomas O'lirien, Mi( liael Cnsack. Ci.onakilty — Daniel O'Leary, J.I'., chairman, Town Cominis'-ioncrs ; Dr. O'Cleary, Stephen O'lUien, solicitoi. Achada — Fdniond Rohan, William Hegarty. Dunc.ouhnev and Moc.eiclv — J. J. Bee hinor, I'.L.G. Freemount — Rev. T. 'I'womey, Simon J. Barry, V.C. ; John Foley. Skibbei'EEN — Rev. T. Kearney, Adni. ; Joseph J. Healy, solicitir. Banirv — William Cottar, I'.L.J.; Daniel Donovan, I'.L.(j. Parlshes: Caheraoh — Rev. Thomas Palmer, P.P. ; Jeremiah Sweeney, Patrick Hayes, Patrick M'Cartl'v. Newceston — James D.nly, J.I'. Ennlskeen — Patrick Foley. '. .^llinascartiiv — Daniel Nyhan, T. White. Leap— Dr. AL OTJriscolI, J.P. ; B. Cullinane, J.P. White- church — Denis Hegarty, J.P. Innlshannon — William Curtin. Douglas — John Colhns. Bali.vcloucii — W. Fitzgeralii. Blarney — John (Dan) Coleman; Mr. Ci>ri.clius Coakley attended from Aglieena parish, Cork. ; ''-goolu— '-".di lond Slack. Ball\ .moi.v — J. W. Walsh. Castlem. kfVR and Du.\(;owney— J. J. Beechinor, P.L.G. Ballinha.ssig — Peter O'Neill, P.L.G. j James P. Murphy. Kilworth — John Hanlon. Cork National Society — Thomas Lynch, George Croshie, B.L. ; P. D. O'Brien, J.P. ; Thomas Dooley, Thomas Goggin. DONEGAL,. Ballyshaknon Town Com.missioners— James Moohan. Boards of Guardians; Milford — Robert A. Wliyte, J. A. Diamond Stranorlar — Francis Callaghan, deputy vice-chairman ; Tague M'Gee, J.P. ; Patrick M'Dermott, J.P. IJunecal— Hugh M'Ginlv, William M'Devitt, ^'\ hael Dunnion. Glenties — John O'Donnell, J.P. ; John Sween.j ihn Kilbride. Ballvsh.\nnon — P.J. Fergas, chairman; Michael Cassidy, J. P., vice-chairman ; James M'Gurran, deputy vice-chairman. Innishowen — Michael White, vice-chairman ; Bernard Hannigan, J.l'. Branches, LN.F. : }5a' lyshannon (Bernard Kelly) — Bernard Reynolds, John M'Cartney, Myles Sweeney. Petiigo — Francis Britton, J.P. ; John M'Caffrey, James Britton. Donegal (Red Hugh O'Donnell) — Rtv. C. Cassidy, C'.C. , Hugh Gall.igliet, J.P. ; / ) V .''[ VI y ■;iii 3-4° IRISH RACE CONVESTION. r i ' Patrick Gallagliur. 1!.\m,vi:oi-ey and Si KANORi.y^- Tmus Boyle, James Connolly, Owen Slieil. IUli.ysiiannon (H. ■. 'llrrniLi.) — James Gavigan, James Hums, T. J. M'I'addun. Inver — William M'Devitt, P.L.O. ; Robert Meehan, Rev. P. M'Caffrey, Adm. DOWN. I'owN CoMMissioNKRR : Nf.wky — Patrick Connollv, M. J. M'Cartan, Mathew J. Dowdall, Janies Rice. Banhridge — Bcriianl M'Givcrn. Boards ok Guardian.s ; Nf.wry — John O'llare, vice-chairman ; John I.owry, William Ronnn, J. P. ; Edward Lowry, J. P. ; Samuel M'Court, Daniel Maginn, Laurence M'Court, Michael M'Cartan, J. P. (Gover- nor Co. Down Asylum) ; John C^ampbell. liAMiRiDCK — James Rooney, James M.inuire, J. P. Nf;wTOWNARiJS — R. B. Caughey. Hrancuks I.N.F. : BAi.iviioi.LANr) and Grinan — llui;h M'Nally, John Ryan, Terence M'Laughlin. IUnbridge — John S, Farrell, solicitor; John Flanigan, Peter M'Givern. Barnmkkn — H. .Mallon. BuRRAN — James Byrne, James Woods. John M'Crath. IIilltown — Joseph M'Polin, Andiew Murphy, James M'Aleavey, J, 'P. M'Laugh- lin, J. P.; Edward I.owry, J.l'. Kiixoo— John Magee, Peter Fitz- patrick, Peter M'Polin. Mayouridoe — James Loughran, John O'Harc, Bernard Kelly, John Downey. WARRENrniNT — ^Villiam J. M'Cornish, Michael Higgins. Tullylish and Gilford— Henry M'Inerney, Hugh MoUoy. Dgwni'aikick — D. M'Cartan, solicitor; Philip M'Cartan. Nf:\vky — James Rice, T.C. Parishes : Annaci.one — Dr. I'cgan. Donagh.more — Rev. F. M'Lou^';h- lin, P.P. ; John M'Avoy. .\. O. H., Board of Erin — P. M'Gennis. DUBLIN. DUHLIN Cor.roRATioN — Alderman R. Toole. Boards of Guardians : North Dublin — John M'Donnell, J. P. Balrothery — P. M'Cabe, James Clinton. Branches I.N.F. : Bi.ackrock — T. M'Grath, Mathew A. Lazenby, John Nugent, hon. sec. Clondalkin — Michael Coghlan, Christojiher Hanlon, Bernard Dowd. Drumcondra — Michael F. Mooney, Oliver J. O'Connor, Patrick M'Ardle. Rathmines and Harold's Cross — Arthur Hanlon, Patrick Cumming, John M'Donnell. Baluriggan — James Tolan, John Knox, Richard M'Cabe. Saggart, Rathcool AND Newcastle — John M'Cann, Joseph Coonan, Peter Daly. Arran Quay Ward — Denis Moran, Francis Gibney, John J. Rich- mond. St. Patrick's. —William O'lSrien, — Byrne, E. Brennan. Edmund Burke Literary and Debating Society — H. J. M'Cann, president ; Frederick Ryan, auditor. FAWCErr Association, Dublin Branch — John T. Kelly. FERMANAGH. EnniskillKn Town Commissioners — Hugh R. Lindsay, chairman ; J. M'Govern, Patrick Crumley, J. P. Boards of Guardians: Enniskillen — Francis Maguire, — M'Quaid, Arthur Duggan, J.P. Lisn\skea — James Mulligan, J.P. ; Thomas Mortimer. Irvinestown — James Mulhern, — Teague. fm > . irju<«^*;fM*T-Vn rM^ riiiliiifimi LIHT UF DELlUiATEH. 341 BKANCH-iS I.N.F. : Arney— Philii) M'C.loney, Janus Cimnii, Vrancis Kuenan. Enniskillen— Kdwanl Mt-anhcr, Josupli Coa, lUrnaul Coyle. AuuiiAi.UKCHER— Kdward Morris l-'lanagaii, I'o.cr Crudtl'.T! NiiWTOWNiiUTLiiK— Michael Harle, jaincs M'Ku-nian, A. MagiiVL iKviNiiSiOWN AND WiiiTLiiALL—Juliii Lcc, I'auick O'Kcill), John Woods. A. O. II., Hoard of Erin— James M'Kicrnan, Chadcs Curry, Luke Drum, James Malone. G A I. WAY. Town Commissioners: Galway— Er.mcis I.y(U)n. liALi.iNAsioK— John (Jogavin. Tuam— Patrick Culi<in, chainu.iii ;John Ml'lniiMiii., John G. Glynn, John I'atturson, Patrick Glynn. BoARUS of Guardians : Loucuirea— Michael Clasby, Ulick Poiirkc, Stephen Ruane. Gokt— John J5urke. Glenamaudy— J. Keavney, A. Keenan, Martin Freeney. Woodford- -J. Blake. Portumna— J P.Page. TuAM--PatrickC;iynn, Francis Tannian. Bai.i.iwasi.oe— 'I'imothy O'Connell, William Rorke. Gai.way— Martin Cunningiiani, A. G. Scott. OuGHTERAKD— Patrick Conrov. Ci.ifokx— Patrick O'Hara. MouNTBELLEW—Jamcs Naughton, Thomas (Iraigner. Branches I.N.F. : Tuam— Thomas Flately, T.C. ; P. Eyons, P.I..G. , Francis Maher. Bau.inasi.of— W. J. CoscUoe, John K-an, John Donovan, James Kilmartin. Tiernascua— James Gilibons, Uilliam Hogan, John Nevin. (jALWAY— Very Rev. P. Dooluy, P.P Fatiier Whelan, J. C. M'Donnell. Athfnrv— P. P. Brodenck, John llcnehan, John Connolly, T. G. Finnerty, J. Sweeny John Sweeny, T.C ; Patrick Connolly, W. J. Du.Ty, Edward O'Dea, J. Roche, M.P. Pauisuks ; DuNMORE— Thomas Fahy Headfokd — William Kyne. T.C. Woodford — Dr. Rev. John LOUOURKA — Thomas Mulkern, Kcary, F. Roche, (Jlenamauv — Martin B. Collins. KERRY. Tralee Town Commi.'-sioners- M. J. Kellchcr. J.P. ; Jeremiah O'Keeffe, |ohn O'Donnell, Thomas Slattery, John U Connor. Boards of Guardians: KENMARE-David Doran, vice-chairm.in ; John Gain, deputy vice-chairman; P. J. O'Si.Uivan. 1.istowei.-M. J. Nolan, J.P. ; William Fitzgerald, E. J. Stack, J.P. ; F. Fitzgerald, J.l'. Tralee— Jeremiah Roche, chairman ; Thomas Kearney, J. K. O'Connor, Eugene O'Connor, John O'Donnell, M. M'Mahon, J.P. ; F. O'SuUivan, J.P.; J. Leonard, J.P. ; T. Galv.n, J.l'.; George Branches I.N.F. : Tralee— St. J. H. Donovan, J.P., T.C. ; Thomas O'Regan, T.C. ; T. J. Healy. Glenflksk and Barxaduff— Daniel Lynch, Denis Lynch, Michael Dohcny. Ballylongf.ird-- James Brassil, Patrick Ahem, Patrick St.ick. Dingle— Imiothy M. O'Flaherty, Michael T. Moriarty. Kenmare— Daniel [. O Sullivan, Laurence Egan, Timothy J. O'SuUivan. Killarnicy— Daniel O'Sliea, James O'Leary, Daniel J. O'Connor. Parishes : Listowel— Jeremiah Kennelly. Asdee— Nicholas Mulvihill. Foss.\ — Daniel D. Sheehan. \V '^ .342 /A'M// A'.ir/; CO.WE.XTIOX. I!Ar.i,vi.()N(ii(ii<u YuUNG iKiiLANU SociKTY —Joseph N. O'Sulli.an, Joliii l''arri'll. LisTowEL YuuNU Ireland Society— M. J. Flavin, M.P.; J. F. Cronin. KILDARE. Town CoMMissiONF.RS : Athv— 1'. J. Murphy, Thomas llickcy. Naas — l'Ahvai<l Iiyrne. ]5oAKi)S OF (JuAKDiANs: Naas — Edward Fcnlon, chairman; Patrick Driver, l!:irtlc Kelly, I'ctcr Hcaly, J. 1'. Mooru, J.l'. ; Denis Nolan, Patrick Dunne, Tliomas Walslie. Ariiv — Michael '''reacy, Hugh Nolan, Jamc; Julian, Michael Hickey, John M'Lougiilin, W. IIn<;hcs. Branches I.N.F. : Ai.i.kn — Jolin Cribhin, Daniel Healy, J. Morrin. Castlkukumott — Thomas JJyrne, John Delany, Michael J. Aylnier. N/iKUA<;iiMORE — Jeremiah Kenna, I'eter CuUen, AncUew Costel'o. Nkwdridoe — Patrick Flood, Thoinns I'ringle, M. O'.Shauglinessy. SuNCROFT — James Kelly, J. P. ; James Morrin, Nicholas Cullen. NuRNiiv — Thomas O'lieirne. Aniv — Patrick Knowies, David Walsh, Stei)hen O'Brien. Naas — William Staples, Patrick Cunningham, John tliehan, James Ilyland, P. J, Doyle. Cakac.ii anij PRosi'Kumrs — I'jdward linnis, lulward Fitzharris, William Tierney. Two.Mii u- iiouRi.s — Jose[)li O'Connor, James Brennan, Henry Dillon. Mii.rowN Pakisii — John Tiernan. KILKENNY. Corporation, City ok Kii,ki;.nny — Major P. O'l.cary, Mayor; Ahler- man Thomas Cantwell, Alderman Murphy, M. King. Cam.an Town Commissioners — James Pollard. Boards of CiUardians ; Callan — James Power, chaiminn; W. F. MulLilly, J.P. ; .M. Gleeson, Patrick Fcnnclly, V.C. ; James Cahill, J. P.; Philip Lynch. Uri.imoford — William De Courcey, chairman ; Arthur Cavanagh, R. Rafter, Maurice Kelly. Cash, ecomkr — Michael Brennan, John Rowe, JefiVcy Brennan. Thomastown— Michael Doyle, jun., rliai-'nan; Michael Hogan, vice-chairman. BraN( iiKs LN.I''. : Winixiap— John Comerford, James Landy, Edward Cornan. John iowN and Crosspatrick— Joseph Delany, M.irlm Brennan, Jo'.n Broderick, Robert Rafter, P.L.G. ; J. Phelan, P.L.G. Thomastown— Michael Ilogan, Peter Carron, Thomas Whelan. Si.iF.vicRUK — Michael Rock, Patrick Grant. Muckalee— Charles Copley, Michael Moran, Henry Sherman, Sanmel Copley. St. John's, Kii KENNY — D. fJuilfoyle, John Barrett, P.L.G. ; J. Morrissey, I'.L.G. Gal.moy Parish— Arthur Kava.n.agh, P.L.G. ; Richard Gannon. KING S COUNTY. BiKR— J. C. Moran. TULLAMORi. — Joseph Town Commissioners ; Ryan, Henry I'^gan. Boards of Guardians : Parsonstown— Michael Dooley, deputy vice- chairman ; John Powell. Tui.lamore- Richard Kvlly. Edendfury Branch LN.F.— Thomas (jroome, James J5vrnc. Parishes: Balmnahown — Robert Dalton, P.1,.G, Mili.axe --Peter Sealull, P.L.G. LIST OF nh'Lh'dATES. 343 I.HHRIM. Boards of Guardians: Carkickon-Siiannon- -John Fox, deputy vice- chairman ; Peter Cashn, James I'akiiihain, J.l'. ; 'rhunias lleirne, Thomas Diiignam, J.l*. Moiiii.i. — Ruhcrt 1'. Waliai-L', Mich.a'l Murphy. Maniiriia.mi. ion — Joim Dolan, chairman ; 'I'hdniis I'alloii, deputy vice-chairman ; M. Duvanuy, Myles Woods, John .M'Cliiinncss, John Mcchan, I'atrick Clancy. Branches l.N.F. : Boknacoola — Patrick M'Gushin, Michael Canning. DuUMSiiAMiio— Francis Conway, James Cooney. 1 )ki'msna — Thomas W. Daly, Patrick M'Nabola, Francis Daly. I.owkk Drumkkiii.v— Thomas M'CiOvern, Laurence Dolan, i'.ilrick Prior. liAi.i.iNAiii r.uAdU —Rev. Thomas M'Gauran, P.P.; James J. Flynn. Kii.Tunun) — Thomas Heirne, Michael Judge. Monu.i.— John .M. Mulligan, James Reilly. Gi.r.NKAkNii— John Keany, president. DrumkkI'.kin— T. Ward, P. I .G. ; P. ICeaveney. Rossinvkr -Myles M'Keown. Manor- Hamilton — James Synotl, jun. D hum i.icasi; — John J. Rorke. Kii-MNUMKRV— John Kelly, Patrick Kaveney. Kii.i.asnkt— Patrick Lea, I'atrick Fox ''Frank), M. Devaney, P.L.G. Fenaoh — Rev. D. G'ay, i'.P. ; Bernard Heiherion. LIMERICK. Corporation, City of Limkuick — Alderman Stephen O'M.ira, P. E. P.ourke, J. P. ; Patrick O'Neill, Michael Spain, P.Urick Tr.ur). Ratiikkalk Town Commissionkrs— John Fremen, John Amhrosis BoarhsokGuardia:.;;: Limkuick. — 'I'honias I!. Mm IkII, vice ili.urman; T. Lane, FMmun 1 M. Kirhy, R. T. O'Kinncdy, J.P. ; I'.itrick Connolly. RAriiri\i.K— Daniel O'Brien, James O'Connor, P. I'lt/ sinions. Kr..MAi,i ock— J. Ryan, J.P. ; James Lyons, E. Barry. (■room— Michael O'Brien. Newca.sti.k Wkst— D. O'Leary llan- nigan, J.P. Bkanciiks I.N.F. : A:uieyfkai.k— Rev. W. Casey, P.P.; M. Moloney, P.L.G. ; George B.arry, William 0'.-Juliivan, John H. Banaher. Atiika— )ohn M. White, Patrick Griftin. T. D. Danaher. Granc.k - 1). S. O'Connel, N. J. Hayes. KiukaI.v— David O'.NIeara, David liarry, Tohn O'Mahonv. Raiukeai.k— -loh.i Burke, Patrick Barrett, Timothy Cusack, T.C. ; J. li. l\a.ia"r,er. Limkrici: CUty— J. 11. Roche, J. J. Ryan, K. J. Long. h'E\K\M(yn-\^'. J. Cl.mcy, Micii.iel Fielly, Henry Casey. Ku.mnanI'— James GalliL;in, John Doherty, David J. Condon. .SroNLiiAi.i.— Timothy Foley, Michael M.idigui. llKRiiERTsrowN— Michael B. Morcnev, John Condon, Thomas J. Moroney. Bali.yhaiiill— Daniel M'Coy, P.L.G. ; P. Uan.aghcr, R. Fitzgerald. Murrok and Bohkr— Very Rev. Michael Ryan, P.P., V.F. ; William Fitzgerald, P.L.G.; Bryan Kennedy, John }. Ryan, Daniel Ryan, John O'Mcara, John Ryan, John Humphteys, Caim'AMORE— Patrick Dugg.an, P.L.G.; Martin Ryan, T. Jorboy, D. M. English. Pallascreun— Michael Cunningham, PL.G. , Patrick Ryan, John M'Grith. Patrickswei.l and Bai.i,yiiro,*'n-— Michael Muhiueen, James Dundon, John Costello. Oola— Daniel Ryan, P.L.G. ; Timothy Hayes, Morgan Hayes. Anglkkiioro'-- Rev. T. Canty, C.C ; John English, jun.; Jeremiah O'Donnell. Hospital— Very Rev. Canon Scully, P.P.; Rev. Hugh Mockler, ""'■---A":..V 7^ w ' ■/:- 'Hit I t » ill 344 IRISH HACK COXVKXTinX. Micl)ael O'Donnell, James Ilnnnon. Gi.in — I''rancis Fit/gcrald, J.I'.; David Riddle, l'.l-.(i. Rockhii.l and Hkukkk — Thjir.as Poller, Palrick Horgan, Jeremiah IJonworth. Askeaton — Michael Feheny, John Lynch, 'I'homas Ryan. SnANAGOtnEN — David O'Brien, I'alrick Madigan, Maurice Fitzgihlion liooN — John Ryan, Palrick Kill)rido, James Ryan. Knockanv — John Casey, I-Ldmond liyrnes, Jolm O'Kane. Temi'LEGLAntine I'.iRisn — Michael Wren. LONDONDKRRY. i.T Board of Guauuians— Felix Ferran, J. P. Charles Maoiierafi Rogers, J. P. ; James Shivers. Branches I.N.F. : Bkllaohv — Charles Agncw, Joseph Davison, John Kearney. I.issan — T. Crilly, J. P.; John Ha;;an, Felix M'Cracken. Machera — Daniel Lagan, J. M'Kenna, M. M'f.'losker. Magiiera- KKr.r — Roger Convery, 'I'homas Larkin, John Kane. Monevmork (Tho.mas Sexton) — Henry Devlin, J. P. ; F. lUighes, Palrick Devlin. Bai.mnascreen— Michael O'Kane, Joseph D. Kelly, Bernard Rogers. SwATERAoii — Michael Doherty, J. M'Keefry. Dkkrv (M'Cakihv)— Daniel M'Bridc, James M'Gowan, Daniel Gallivan. LONGFORD. Town Commis.sioners : Lonoeord — Malthew Farrell, John Malhews, Joseph Miguire. Granard — F'rancis Reilly, Chairman. Boards OK Guakdian.s: LoN<ii-ORD — Michael Kiermi', Thomas DulTy, William F'arrell. Granard — John Kenny, Thomas Reilly, George Walker. Bai.i.vmaiion — Joseph Flood. Branches LN.F. : Ci-ONrroney — James O'Neill, John Connolly, V. DuiTy. Drumi.ish AND Bau.inamuck— Palrick I)ervine, J. Reynolds, Patrick Maslerson. Lonokord — Joseph Wilson, Robert Noud, Owen Victory. (Jranard — Thomas Dawson, Owen Carney, P.L.G. ; Richard Harte. Ci.oncuish — William Prunly, Michael Dr.ike. Parishes: Dro.mard — I'. Daignan, Matthew Gray. Ci.ouoii— Mr. Gerely. Rathcline Gaelic Club. — John Rhaligan. LOU T II . Corporation, Citv of Droghkda — Peter Lynch, Mayor; Alderman Simon Jordan, T. 'I'allon, John Slevin, Tlioiiias Callaii, J. Drew, John Dolan, William T. Skcttinglon. High Sheriff of Drogheda — Francis Gogarty, T.C. Drogheda Harbour Board. — Jose|)h Connolly, R.N. ; R. Nulty, James P. Kelly. Boards of Guardians: Drogheda— John Feehan, Patrick Reddy, L. Moore, F. Smith. Dundalk — M. O'Mcara, P. Hughes. Ardee — Joseph Dolan. Branches LN.F".: Coli.on — John Drumgoole, Matthew Downey, Bernard Cook. Drogheda — M. A. Casey, T. H. Clancy, Palrick M'Quail. Monasteruoice — James Dolan, James M'Donnell, John Mullen. Inniskeen — James Gartlan, James Callan. Sandpit — I^aurence M'Keown, Patrick Devin, L. F'linn. Reaghstown and Tali.anstgwn — • Ihomas Ward, James M'Keever. LIST OF DKIKGATKS. 34S Parishes: KNOCKimiDfiE— N, B. Kin^. I'.I,.G. Mokninoton and UicMYSTOwN — I)a\iil Ahcrnc. Kii.i.anv — James drccn. Irish National I'ori-sti.rs , Uranck '1'. 1'. Clii.i., No. 159). — Jaiiu's Gray, C.R. ; Patrick Waters, secretary; John Dlake. MAYO. Town Commissioners ; Wustport — Michael Browne, William Scott, Patrick I'uole. Casti.kiiar — James Gill. BciARUs OF Guardians; Swinford — M. C. Henry, chairman ; J. Irwin, vice-chairman; Francis Kuan, J. P.; John Davitt, Mark Waldion, Francis Davitt, W. J. Waldron, I'humas Roiighnccn. Wksti'ort^ John Flanncry, John Curran, John Walsh, A. O'Malley, Thomas Joyce, William Joyce. Foxkord — i'. M (Jallagher. Casilkiiar — Patrick Vahey, Chairman; William U'Mallcy. Ci.aremorris — M. M. Wal- dron, vice-chairman. Branchks I.N.F. : Achill — Rev. J.P.Connolly, P.P.; Anthony Mullury, Joseph Tull)', Rev. M. Hennelly, C.C. Hai.i.viiaunis — Rev. J. R. Canning,', P.P.; .Michael Dclaney, P.L.G.; James (Jrtaly. Ku.timach — M. O'Ucnnell, J. P.; Tiiomas Roughan, P.h.G.; Charles lUirke, Thomas Gallagher, Miss Amy Marnier. Knock — James Connell, Martin M'l.oughlin, Francis litirke. Midfikld — John Davitt. Kii.- i.ASSER — Rev. J. M'Keon, C.C; Patrick Gallagher, P. L.G.; I'atrick M'Hei.ry. Ntwi'oRT — William Chambers, John M'Govern. Bi;kan — Rev. B. G. Freely, P.P.; Martin Healy, Thomas Council. Ci.of;nKR — Dr. Ambrose, M.P.; William Doris, John O'Donnell. Swinford — P. M. Henry. Auohamosk — William J. Waldron, Darby (ilavy, Martin Henry. Kilmeenaand Kilmaci.asser — Rev. Father Healy, Adm.; Austin Gibbons, John O Donnell, Wm. Rice. ISallaijha- DEREtN — Thomas Spclman, John (Jasey, B. M'Dermott, J. P. Jordan, James Cawley. Tikrnaur — John Curran, P. L.G.; Hugh Moran. Bai.la — Thom.as Reilly, Malachy Henegan. Casti.eijar — P. (iil- lespie, Dr. Jordan, James Daly. Ku.movee — Very Rev. Canon O'llara, John Irwin, P.L.G.; B. Flannery, Patrick Cox, John Reid. LouisBURGii Parish— Thomas Lyons, P.L.G. MEATH. Town Commissioners; Navan— Patrick Sheridan. Kei.i.s— John S. Kelly. Boards of Guardians; Navan— Francis Sheridan, chairman ; Lawrence Rowan, vice-chairman ; Joseph Keappock. Kells — Patrick Far- relly, T. P. M'Kenna. Trim- Joseph Quirke. Oi-dcasile— James Tuitc, John Gilsenan, Patrick Gaynor. Branches LN.F.; Kii.ci.oone — John Leonard, William Moore, Thomns Dillon. Coole — Michael Connolly, Patrick Kerrigan, John Jiles. Slane -Joseph Maken, J. P.; John M'Donough, 'I'homas '.Vail. Sta.muli.en and JuLiANriowN— Richard Drew, James Bagnal, Edward F. Malone. Dunsiiaugiii.im — L. T. Canning, \. Mahon, John M'Entee. ^^^^H 1 |MHn i ^H ^^^^H ■ 4 o maamk LIST or i>i:i.i:n.\Ti:s. 347 MONAcaiAN. Town C'.mmissionkrs ; Carrickmackoss— James IViIv, M P., rhair- man; 'llioinas I'liclan, J. P.; J. [. Dowii'i, J. P.; AnlliMiiy Clititon, Patrick M'N.illy, James Kcftian, Owen J, Smith, Pclcr Dwyer, Owen Sherry. liAi.i.viiw — ^lirmird APKeniia, chairman; S. 1". Smyth, Patrick Connolly, James llanratlj-. Boards OF (luAUDiANs : Monaciian — luUvanl Magiiire, V. Ilu^lics. Ci.oNKS — lichvard P. Murray, Jas^n (Ir.iliam. ('Asri.nii.AYNi'.v — Francis Connolly, J. 1'.; James \Var.|, Jai;es DiilTy, John Dully. Car. RiCKMACROss — Thouias Phelan, J. P., cliairniaii ; Peter Dwyer, James Daly, J. P. Branches I.N.T. : Counrii- Peter Ki-ln.nhnn, James Hand, James O'Connor, l''raniis O'tjonnor. Ci.onis— Ivlward llrady, I'.dwaril Moore, Hugh NI'Donald, William M'Pliillip, jim.; James .NPCovern. Mdnachan — D.C. Riishc, solicitor; James Nlnnlun, William Ward. Agiiahoy — Edward API'liilli|)s, Joseph Dully, James Itrady. (Jar- RICKMACROSS — John D. NPVeinh, Kichard Biiyle, John Shankey. Ci.ONTiiiKicr — James Mohin, IKiiry iNP.Adam, Patrick lirennan, Patrick Mivcrnan, James (,'olemaii, I'aiiick \V'alsh, Patri(k I.avelle. CoRr\(;iiAN AND TiiRKKMiMvHoi'si: — P.ernard Clerkin, J. P.; John M'( !onville, Owen Kerans. 'J't'i.i.vi ni;ni;i — J(jlin lioylan, Thomas M'Carney, James Hnylan. Kii.i.kkvan — Charles 'I'oal, James Quigley. Errical TRUA(;ii — I'eter M'Keiuia, Owen i\l'Kenna, Arthur Ireland. PaklsiiI'S : CURRIN — John Fiizpatrick, Maoheracloonk — Patrick M'Cmke, MoVNK — John Daly. Carrickmackoss Trade and Lahoir I.iacue— John Martin, Patrick Coyle. QUEKN'S COUNTY. Boards OK CiUAUDiANS : Mounimei-mck — Michael Kinsella, !'.[,. C; John Carroll. AniiFYi.Ki.x — James M'Mahon, J. P., (le()uty vice- chairman ; James M'Kvoy. Branchics I.N.F. : Kii.lasmi:kstia,Kn'-jkaroo, and Borris in-Ossory — Thomas Lowery, J. P.; Pal-ink Kavanagh, Richard M'lCvoy. Hali.y- adams and Wolfhii.i. — Thomas ]5reen, John Ilealy, Edward Whelan. Kyle — Richard Moloney, Denis Egan, Thomas Delany. Knock — Michael Brennan, Thomas Kealey, Camross — Patrick Kelly, Thos. Costif^an, Thomas Dclaney. AciiAnoE and Pai.eacoi.i.a— John Car- roll, P.L.G.; Laurence Conimins, Josei)h Hart. Hai.i.vroan — Patrick Cami)ion, Denis De.anoy, Michael Kehoe. Duuuow and {!ui.i.oiiit,i, —John Clancy, P.L.i;.; Daniel liergin, P.L.O.; Mich.ael Molloy, Very Rev. Canon Shortall, P.P., V.F.; Rev. IC. lirennan, C.C. Rauickn — William Parkinson, IVtrick Parkinson, John Maher. KiLLESHiN Parish — P. L'rennan. Tviioi.ixND— James Hughes, P.h.C; Owen Lamb. Ddnaou- ROSCOMMON. Boards OF Guardians; Strokf.stown — JamesNcary. J.P.;M. J. Hanly, J.P.j H. Ortens. Roscommon — William J. Hanly. . , %^ IN ^t \) Ml'. 5 r(« Ih'imi HACK COSVESTIOS. Dranciiks I.N.I'. ; Dkumi.idn— Michael Kiinaii. Kii moui; — 1' J (.m\\. lulhin, I'iilrii k lli'iriu', Michail Dolicrty. Tuisk— Ucrnnril M'('.;inn, James Diitlicy. 'I'akmoniivkkv - Michael Fallon, Thoiuas ('iL'rnnhty, l'alri<:k Ijjoc. Hai.i.voI'hii ikk anij Kii,m\ki;ki. Jnsi'|>h I'cely. (.'ash, K.KKA- -James M'Liuinhliii, P. (1. M'ConviIJi;, Iv J. NI'Dcrmolt. (!k<)Ssna — I'air'ck Rc^an, lldwanl Doyle, Patrick (Connolly. Kii.- TUi.i.A(;ii — I'.ilrick M'( oriu ick, 'I'liomas Doih'I.iii, Micliai>| lli^j^ins, Miiliac'l Mui|ihy, Mi( had I.oluis, C'AKRiiiiiKNkoii— Mii had Al'lJcr- niu'.t, James J. Nanglc. si.ir.o. Corporation, City ok Si.ico— I*. A. Nl'llngh, M.l'., Mayor; Owen Dolan, 'I'hom.is Manncry, John j. Keenan, J.l'.; 1'. N. Whiti-, J.l'. IU)\l(l>s OK (lirARDIANS : Sl.KJO — \V. A. Milcliell, Patrick Kelly, James 1). O'lliieii, Palriik I'lynn, I'atrick licirne. l)Ko,Mni;|.; \Vi:st — Peter S. Kilgallcn. 'ruiii:i;ui;uRRY— P. J. O'Dowd, James N. Diirkan. BuANCiiiiS I.N.K. : IIai.i.vmote— James llannon, J.P. ; James W.ilsh, treasurer; John (lilmartin, assistant sc<-retary ; John J. M'Cietrick. UifNNiNAiiDKN — John O'Dowd, President ; Thomas llimt, P.L.CJ. ; Mich.iel ("rormley. Ci.ooni.oo— Patrick M'Manamy. Mui.i.ina- iiRKKNA — Denis (lalla^her, Peter Foye, Neill O'Donnell. Kivi'.ks- 'low.N' — John II. Judge, Micliael Itrennin, Thom.is Xl'Donagh. Si. KiO— Martin Mullif,'an, Thomas I'lanigan, t liarles Sweeney. Sooi v — Patrick ("lerkiii, William Flanagan, John M'l.oughlin. Drum- Ci.ii-KK — Matthew .Scanlan, Patrick Devine. Movloii-.h— Patrick J. O'Dowd, P.L.d. ; Michael J. O'Connor, Joim Davitt. liAi.i.iNiofwiKR — F-. A. Hrennan, Thomas Mulr^xmey, James (iihnartin. Kkasii — J. M. Cryan, Michael Oray, P.L.O. CiKKVAiwi— T. J. Nangle, James M'|)onai;h, James Waters, Michael llarte. I Iioiiwood — Peter Conlon, Michael M'Donagh. ItAi.i.YRUsii — John Walsh, Janice Lyons. Coi.i.oonky — P. D. Ilarte, D. 1". Ihee, l)o:iiii)iek lienson. 'IIPPRRARY. Ci.ONMEi. Corporation — Alderman Nugent, Mayor ; John F". O'Drieni Town Clerk ; James White, John M.igner, Jolin F. Slatiery. Tow.N Commissioners; Nknacii— [amcs Ilogan, Dr. H. F". Powell, J.P. ; John J. Tuinpane, J.P. ; M. M'Mahon, Dr. W. Courtney, J P. ; P. J. O'Mrien, F. R. Moloney, Town Clerk. Fktiiard — .M. CofTey, John Wall, Richard Maher. Tiiuki.ks— Thomas Ryan. C'ARRirKON-SuiR — Edmund liurke. Temi'I-kmork— John Connolly, Jolin Walsh, Thomas Morkan. Boards OK CiUARDiANS ; Casmf.t, — James Walsh, chairman; Richard O'Connell, Timothy F^ihy, William Maher, T. Cahill, Paul t,"iis.ack, Patrick Moclair. Tipperary — Patrick Duggan, Robert Cubbins, J.P. ; Joiin Kelly, D. Ryan. Horrisokane — James Cahalanc, John CoslcUo, J.P. ; Michael Tuohy. Thuki.ks —Thomas Collier, chair- m m ; Patrick I'inn, vice-chairman; Patrick Maher, T. Harney. ("i.OGHEEN — E. Riordan, chairman ; P. O'Donnell, J.P. ; P. Keating, Michael Ahem. Roscrea — Michael Loughman, M. F'arrell, James Filzpatrick, Patrick Egan. Carrick-on-Suir— Joim Shea, William Briiton, J.P. ; William Hearn, J.P. Nenaoh — Thomas Burke, 'Vice- 's^ LIST OF ifi:Lh:<;.\Ti:s. .V»') chairman; Thdinas O'lMen, dcptitv vice chairman ; TliDrnas M'Solcy, Iniiircnce lliitkr, Wiiham l-arroll, Stcplicn Seymour, Tatrifk Kcniiidy, 'IliomaH Kyan, J.l'. ItuANtiiKs I.N.F. : AKiJiJKdNKV -lamcH Cnstc-lli), jr. ; Denis Honaii, 'I'homas Dohcny. lloKKisoKwr, — Miiliaul ("ostollo, Mi<iiafl M'Kciina. Ci.kkiiian John Mm lair, Denis I liini, U'llham Slattciy. t'l.noNKKN— 'I'homas O'll.ilhiran, Robert li. ( )'ShtM \Vi\i, 'loliin. Or.oiXiiijoHDAN -Sti'])hcn Mahor, Wilham Moyl.in, Palm k M'Carthy. Dumi.i, — I'atrif k J. Walsli, 'i'homis I'rcndcrf^a'-t, Jcrcnii ih II uirahan. Ivii.isii — Patrick Ryan, Denis Mcara, P. !,.(;.; 'I'lmmas Mnylan. (iRAN(;i;M(MKi.KK — John P. l"'o\, j inics Cihill, Pierre Walsh. IIdi.v- CKoss— Philip Dwyer, James lleffernan, John Ryan, Kiiki'ank — Mirhai'l I''laiMit'ry, P.L.d. ; (liorne O'I.e.iry, C'ornflius Clcary. Niw Inn ami Knockukakkin- Amlnw Hciniessey, P.l,.(;. ; John Smyth, John Smyth, Miihail Purceil. Mai.i.ycaiiii i. Mniiael Dwyer, James Dannon, John ?»lalier. Soi.odiii.Aii— James iMiglish, John M'L'artiiy, John Ryan, P.I,.(i. CiKanuI': — 'I'homas Kealiiin, David ilickey.John Sidlivan. 'I'kmi'I kdekry — Thomas lliirke, P.l,.(i. ; James llarrinj^- ton, Michael Donohoc. I.okka and Dokkiia— 'I'liomas Ilaiinh, J. P. ; Mieh.ul O'Donohoe, J. P. ; Michael Hogan, P.I,.('i. Akdkinan AND ItAi.i.viiACiiN — John J. l-oncr^jan. (^ahik — William OI,onhnan, I'.L.Ci. ; Patri( k llennessy, I'.L.i;. ; 'J'homas Kyar. Casiiki, — Miihacl Devilt, Piiilip llickcy, James Ilanly. Kii.KKAciK— John FoK'""')'! James lUiiler, Thomas {."leary. Muliinaiionk— Thomas O'lirien, Patrick h'.gan, John (lorman. Tiii'Ki.i's — Patrick I'inn, I'.itrirk Darmody, James K. Moloney. Hai i.vi.nonv — Patrick Kealinj;, P.I, .(J. Ci.onmoim.i v and Rossmork— John liyrne, P. !,.(!.; Cornelius O'Dwycr, Daniel Hyrne, Joint Mnr|>hy. Movnk — James Maher, Richard (^uimi, Micliael i'ogarty. Knocknavki.i.a and DoNNASKiuoii — John M'Cirath, Denis Kelly, William Ivyan. Kit- SIIi;ki.an — Michael O'Shea. Kii.casii — Patrick S. M. inning, John Qiiinlan, Patrick O'Shea. Houkri.aiian — Michael Ryan, P.l-.d ; Richard Hennessy, P.l,.("i.; \Villiain O'Hrien. I''ki hard— James Smith, Thomas Frehy, Redmond lliirkc. Kii.i.u.sty — Thomas Keane, Jerome Dii.i;(;an, John Walsh. Carrick-dn Sijir — Thomas .'\. I.ynih, solicitor ; Richard Walsh (|)rcsident Young Ireland Society), John Quirke. Casii.einv — Michael O'Connell, John Slieppard. Nkwcasii.k — David llennessy. Siiivroni:— lulward Knriglit. Dromhanic — Rev. M.O'Sullivan, C-C. ; James O'lirien, Thomas Hritt. (ioi.DKN — Rev. M. M'Dmnell, P.P.; Patrick Merrick, J. P. ; Willi.im Dalton. IIansiia and Kii.movi.icr — Daniel HefTe nan, William (ioogan, John Cullinan. Tkrrvui.a.ss — James (lahalan, P.l,.(;. ; Michael I'l.mnery. Goi.DKN— Rev. M. M'Donnell, P.P.; Patrick Merrick, J. P. ; William D'Alton. Ui'i'i'.KCiUJRCii— James Kennedy, J. P.; Timoihy Kyan. Kii.i.KA— lulwaril I'ogarty, P. A. Ryan, Richard Ryan. Ci.onmki. — Jeremiah Condon, Thomas Fennessy, John Pike. Tkmim.kmokk — ]•'. J. Scarson, Thomas Comerford, T.C. ; .Michael Il.irney. Mov- CARKiiV— John Molumliy, William I'ogarty, T. Maher, P. 'I". Hogan. Parismivs; NKWTOWN^Palrick Toole. Drom — James lloarc. Kii- BARRUN — Patrick (bleary. Tkrkvoi. ass — Michael Flamury. Two MILE BoRKis— Daniel Hayes, Thomas Fanning. •Tj i V I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) <9 €<^^4i^ ^ Yj 1.0 12.8 150 2.2 I.I -1^ w -16 li us 1 1.25 ,1 ,.4 1 ,.6 ^ — ^ 6" ► O^ <p» /^ w /^^^? '> Jy^ •* ^14^ ** /!^ V J IS ^;^ # Photographic Sciences Corporation 4^ ^'\ WcS 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716) •72-4503 1 ^.'.i 350 ih'fsn i:ace co.wention. ^ M m I 'I'u'PERARY AND LiMicuicK I'armkrs' SOCIETY — John Conway, Denis i Quinliiii, l'.L.C.. ; J. R. M'Cormack. ^ Knockavii.i.a FooiUALL (^LUi! — Ueiiis Ticriic)-, James Madden, William Ryan. liAi,i,iNOARKV (i\Ki,ic Atiii.kiic AssocrATlOM — T. J. Powcr. Irish National FoKKsriius (Clonmkl) — Joiiii Cunningham, C.R. ; Philil) Buliiert, secretary. TYRONE. Town Commissionrrs : Cookstown — Patrick Corr. Strabane — John M'Crojsaii, John Torisli. IJoARDs OF Guardians : Cookstown — Bernard Quin, J. P., deputy vice-chairman ; M. M'Guirlc, B. M'duirk, Thomas Kccles. Omagh — Charles Clarke. Strahane — Patrick Boyle, M. M'Aleer. Dun- cannon — William lidwards, Joseph (!. Falls, J-P. ; P. M'Kean, J.P.; James Quinn. Ci.oghkr — Michael M'Klmeel. BLANCHES I.N.F. : Ci.onoe— John Connolly, Patrick Corr, Joseph M'CJuinness. Fintona — Patrick Meehan, J. P. ; James M'Quade, Daniel M'Nulty. Carrickmori! — T. O'Neill. Grkenca.stle — James Donnelly, Hugh Kccnan, Patrick Conway. Killeter — Rev. J. O'Rane, P.l*. Lowkr Badoney— Charles Clark, Hugh M'CuUough, Peter M'Cullough. Aruoe— Felix Taggart, Felix Laverty, Alphonsus I Quin. Omagh and Cappagh — Hu ;h Campbell, Michael Mullen, Edward Phillips. Pomeroy — John M'Guirk, Hugh Hagan, Francis ] ^PGurk. CoAi.isi.AND — John M'Cudden, James Toner. Donagh- MORE — John Camjibell, David Loughnan, Henry O'Neill. Dungannon — John A. Quinn, James Rodgers, Joseph Madden. Kildress — Bernard Quin, J. P.; M. M'Gurk, B. M'Gurk. Clogher — Rev. J. Rapmond, C.C. Caledon — James Wilson, FVancis J. Cullen. Cookstown — Michael Quinn, W. J. Harbinson, Patrick M'Larnon, T. J. Harbinson. Strabane — John M'Crossan, T.C. ; J. E. Maguire, B.A. Parishes : Dromore — Patrick Muldoon. Eglish — T. M'Connell. KiLSKEERY (Co. Tyrone) — Mr. Thomas Charleton, Michael Keenan, Jas. M'Quaid, P.L.G. ; Edivard Teague, P.L.G. Irish National Foresters (Branch William Orr, 189) — James Mayne, C.R. A.O.H., IJoARD OF Erin— Michael Keenan, James Devlin. ' I'f? Mf WATERFORD. Corporation, Cirv of Waterford. — Alderman W. J. Smyth, Mayor; Alderman Richard Power, J. P. ; John Curran, David M'Donald, Richard Hearn, J. P. ; A. S. Furlong. Boards of Guardians: Waterford — J. Dunphy. Dungarvan — James Queally, John V. Kiely, J. P. ; Thomas Power, Thomas Flynn, John Walsh. Eismore— A. Heskin, P.L.G. Branches EN.F. : Kilrossintv and Fews — Richard Costin, secretary. Abbeysidk — John Green. Carrickbeg — Patrick Walsh, Edmond Walsh, Thomas Healy. DuNGARVAN^Captain John Veale, Patrick O'Brien, T.C. ; John M'Carthy, P.L.G., deputy vice-chairman. / / . \ ,. 'o:) LIST OF DELEGATES. 35' Waterford City — Alderman Richard Power, J. P. ; John Curran, T.C. Bai.i.ygunner— John Delahunty, P.L.Ci. ; Patrick Phelan. SCART— Mi( had Walsh, P.L.CI. ; Patrick ShcL-han, P.L.C. Parishes: Kii.gobnet— John White. Nkwiow.v— Patrick Nugent. Old— Thomas O'Connor. Tramork— M. C. Murphy. Drumrlsii-- James Hearn. Waterforu National and Commercial Ci.un. — John Hayes, William Queally, J. E. O'Mahony. WESTMR.\TII. Athlonf, Town Commissioners. — D. O'Donnell, William Hannon. MuLi.iNGAR Board of Guardians. — James King. Rociii'ORDiiRiDGE Branch I.N.F.— Lawrc.iceG.ilvin, Martin Quinn.jun. Irish National Foresters Branch, Mullingar (No. 262)— John O'Sullivan, CR. Mullingar National Workingmen's Club.— George Byrne, Michae' Murtagh. WEXFORD. Corporation, City of Wexford — ^Michael O'Connor. Enniscorthy Town Commissioners— John Bolger, chairman j Mathew Ryan, G. Dempsey. Corey ]5oauu of Guardians— John M'Dermott, J.P. ; P. Sullivan. Branches I.N.F. ; Craankoru and Monaseeu— Daniel Kennedy, P.L.G. ; Michael Lyons. Cushionstown— James Furlong, William Kehoe, Michael Cloney, John Cloncy, James Kehoc. Ovlegate— John Bolger, John CuUin, James Crowley. Oulari— Laurence Lacy, James Crowe, William Doran. Tagoat and Kilrane.— Michael Doyle, Nicholas Murphy, James Browne. Monamolin— Thomas Mulligan, Arthur Gahan, Valentine Crowe. Gorey— James Redmond, Patrick Kinsella, James Dunne. Crosbadeg— John Lambert, John Baggan. WICKLOW. Bray Town Commissioners— Philip Condron. WicKLOw Harisuur Board— John V. Gahan. Boards of Guardians : Rathdrum— Michael Byrne. Baltinglass— E. P. O'Kelly, J. P., chairman ; William M'Loughlin. Branches I.N.F. : Baltinglass— Rev. T. O'Neill, P.P.; Thomas B. Doyle, J.P. ; Nicholas O'Brien, Matthers Byrne, Anthony O'Dwyer. KiLL.WENEY and Annacurra— J. O'Toole, J. Doyle, P. Doyle, Richard Kavanagh. Dumlavin— James Kcaly, John Burke, James Lawler. Bray Parish— James Coffey, Mathew O'Byrne. , > '. A^l ' H\ y -■^r-' -^ vn ) c A [ 35« 1 Stewards. The following gentlemen kindly acted as stewards ; Chief Stewards — John Denver D. Boyle Owen Kiernan F. J. Farley J. Shorten J. Reilly J. O'Conncll M. Sheehan Under Mr. Boyle — G. Holt T. Casey J. Walsh Under Mr. O'Connei.l— Michael O'Rourke, London, N. Patrick Lyons, „ Maurice Ahem, „ John Ball, London, North R. Geraghty, ,, J. Herlihy, Under Mr. Sheehan- John Glass, Glasgow James Stafford, „ John Hughes, Coatbridge John Craven, Coatbridge J. Kennedy, Blantyre J. Cassidy, Hamilton, N.B. Under Mr. Kiernan — Stephen M'Farlane William Reilly ^ Terence O'Neill Francis Jones Michael O'Donnell, Leeds Irish National Club John Macgee, West Hartlepool ■7) "^ H r c. o 3 a c cr B^j HC' ^^^7M s* - . I 2 Z ^n '^ ' r 354 ] Zbc 5visb IFlational Xeaoue of 6vcat Bvitain. ♦ annual Convention. To-day, Friday, September 4th, 1896, the annual Convention of the Irish Xati(jnal League of Great Britain, whicii was to have been held in lyianchester, at Whitsuntide, but which was postponed until after the Irish Knre Convention, took place in the I.einster Mall, Dublin, commencing at ten o'clock. Mr. ']'. P. O'Connor, M.r. (president), occupied the chair, and there were over two hundred delej^ates present whose names ha\e been already published in connection with the Race Convention. The proceedings wero thrfiughout of a most harmonious character, and were got through without any tumecessary v/aste of time. The members of Parliament present were : Messrs. John Dillon, M.P.; Hon. E. Blake, M.P. ; Wm. Abraham, M.P. ; Wm. O'Malley, M.P.; J. G. .Swifte MacNeill, M.P. ; Dr. Tanner, M.P. ; T. J. Condon, M.P. ; Dr. Ambro.se, M.P. ; J. Mandeville, M.P. ; J. C. Flynn, M.P. ; Mr. Austin, M.P. ; !• F. X. O'Brien, M.P., General Secretary. Among the visitors were : Very Rev. Father M'Fadden, P.P., Gweedore ; Rev. M. Marshall, Pennsylvania; Mr. William O'Brien. The President, in opening the jjroceedings, said : I do not intend to address you at any length, and even if 1 did, I would be precluded from doing .so by the state of my voice. And I dare say I faithfully represent your feelings by saying that after the three days' close attention which you gave to the great Convention which ha,s closed you are not disposed to imnecessarily prolong our iimceedings. I mus': heartily congratulate the organisation for having lieen able to send to the great Convention so strong and so representative a body of men from the Irish people in Great Britain. Vou are aware, of course, that a strong opposition was given to the Irish cause in Great Britain having any representation whatever in the National Conven- tion. But T think there is not much necessity of my \ \'' I >■) NATIONAL LEAGUE OF (IRKAT lllilTALW 355 v.„ , ... \.^ iloiiig imylliiiig to asseverate the claims of tlie Irisluncii of CJieat Britain to take a full siiare in any natiouiif liecisioii dealing with the fate of Jielanil. 1 might be regarded iis desirous of opennig old controversies, or of going unnecessarily into contentious matter, if J dwelt upon that topic any further. 1 will dismiss it now, not because 1 don't leel strongly on it, and you ilon't feel strongly on it, but because we think the people of Ireland have sulliciently educated their judg ment of the question. Now, gentlemen, ajs you are aware the report does not give what may be called a particularly cheerful view of the year that is just o\er; it frankly acknowledges that the same par;Uysis which has affected the Irish movement in other parts of the world has affected the movement in Great Britain, and it also frankly states what is the real source and cause of this paralysis, and that source and that causj are the tlisseusions among the members of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Well, as to the dissensions, every- body knows what the opinion of the Irishmen of Great Britain is. In this crisis, as in every other crisis, when that question has been raised, the Irishmen of Great Britain liave practically stood together as one man with one voice. Gentlemen, I may say that if there was the same union of oi)iniou anil of sentiment among the Irishmen in other parts of the world, a'.id especially at home, as there is among the Irishmen of Great Britain, the (juestion o£ dissension w-ould not last for six weeks. Well now, lailies and gentlemen, I don't think it would be right of me to pass over this occasion without taking notice of a statement and a charge so frequently made not only against me personally, which is a small matter, but against this organisation. This organisation is constantly referred to — not, I may say, in journals, remarkable for defending the principles of party unity-^this organisation is referred to as " Mr. T. P O'Connor's organisation." Well, gentlemen, that would be a very flattering thing to say of me personally, if it were true — but what I want to call your attention to is that the statement is not only absolutely unfounded in the suggestion it makes, but that it is a very gross calumny, a very unworthy slur upon this organisation itself. Here is the statement ot the real facts. I am a busy man ; I don't write more letters than I possibly can help. And now I want to make this statement pubh'cly. I want any man in this Convention to produce from me and under my hand a single letter I have written to him in reference to the affairs of the organisation for the last five or six years. There is a picture drawn of me (I am not alluding to this because of my personal ideas), but there is a picture drawn of me as a ceaseless wirepuller who spends nights and days in sending communications to all parts of the country, and in carrying on a correspondence 356 in IS I J RACK COX VENT ION. 1 1 multitudinous in its .sizu uinl Maciiiavflliau in its dishonesty. I sometimes don't write as many letters as I should. Mr. J. ]■'. X. O'Hrien: Hear, hear. 'J'he 1'kesident: \ok\ will oliseiAe the secretary of the orjjanisation ai)|)lauds that in tones which 1 thinlv have a good deal of personal feeling, not to say strong emotion, k-iiind them. hut here I make the statement ])ul)licly, that I don't believe for the last five years I ha\e written a single letter to an\ memlier of our organisation with regard to tiie afi'airs of the organisation, and ] have not done so for the very good reason that the judgment of the members of this body doesn't require any guidance from me, and they would not submit to anything like dictation from me. So much for this statement, whicii 1 feel it necessary to controvert, not for your sake, Ix'canse yon know it is false, but for the sake of the large number of persons who may be deceived by the frequency with which the calumny is repeated. As I have said, we are all united in tliis organisation ; there is not a dissentient voice on the agenda paper. I don't believe there wiil lie a dissentient voice to-day against putting down dissension and reestablishing unity. And what we can do is this, to go back to our people of Great Britain and tell them of the magnificent Convention held here during the last three days, and say that our ])eople came to the decision in that great representative body to give the National organisation their moral and material support. With these words, I beg to move the adoption of the report and statement of accounts. The following is the rejiort : " The Executive herewith submit to the C'onvention, as usual, a statement of the accounts of the organisa- tion. The receipts from branches since the last Convention are as follows: Cards, ^^"1,094 4s.; registration, ^520 los. ; meetings, ;£24o 13s. 3d.; Parliamentary Fund, ^83 14s. 6d. ; General Election Fund, jQ2?>^ 3s. 5d. ; evicted tenants, jQi% 5s. 6d. ; sundries, jQe^ 2s. 2(1. J total, _;£2,246 i2s. I id. The figures, it is unnecessary to say, reflect the depression — caused by dissension and insubordination in the ranks of the Irish Parliamentary Party — from which the Irish cause has suffered in Great Britain, as well as in Ireland, America, Australia, and all over the world ; to encounter and remedy this gigantic evil the Irish Race Convention — to include representative men of our race from every country in which our people are to be found — has been summoned. The members t)f the organisation are .aware that the place and the date of our Convention have been altered, for it was their own decision, in response to an appeal from the Executive, which l)roduced this alteration. The assembling of a great Convention of the Irish Race on Irish soil, and specially for the sacred object of restor- ing the unity of the National ranks, naturally suggested the idea that XATIOXAL LEAGUE OF GliEAT IIRITMX. ,557 the men of tht: Irish race in Great Britain, whose fidelity to the Irish cause has Ijueii .s(j ( 'leii ])ro\e(l, siioiild ha\c an opiiortimity of jiarti- c-ipatiiig in so hi.'toric a gathering, and should, liy nu'eting at tiie same time and place, throw the whole influence of their powerful and uniteil organisation 'n f.ivour of the restoration of unity. The organisa- tion would he untrue to all its traditions if it did not emphalically and unanimously declare for unity, and for all means liy which that unity can he restored and also maintained. In its own ranks, the organisation has experienced much the same disastrous result from that dissension in the Tarliamentary Party, which has made the Irish cause 11 weakness and a byword throughout tile world. Depression and lethargy have taken the place of hopefulness and energy. It will he for us, therefore, in sheer self-preservation, to insist on tne ending of the jiresent disastrous state of things; to see that a policy is ])nt before the people, so trulv national, broad and generous, zs to make it acceptable to every true Nationalist, and that the policy so formulated with the sanction of a nation's gathering shall find itself advocated in Ireland, and throughout the world, by a united and a disciplined party. Mr. Michael Lvdon (North .Shields) seconded the motion. Mr. W. .Sullivan (Bradford) asked how it was that after the action they had taken in (Ireat Britain they still found the name of Mr. Healy on the executive. The President : It is not on the executive. A meeting of the executive was held in November of hust year, in which, obeying the strongly expressed opinion of the organisation, the executive removed Mr. Healy's name from the meml)ership, Mr. Murphy (Liverjiool) said his branch was dissatisfied with the work of the secretary's dejjartmeiit. Mr. W. Sullivan said it was the general feeling in Bradford that they could not jwssibly receive more courtesy or more attention from any secretary than they got from Mr. J. 1". X. O'Brien. Hon. Mr. Blake : I wish to .say that, having had occasion, not unfrequently, in the discharge of my public duty, to visit the offices of the Irish National League of Great Britain, I found the .secretary and assistant-secretary in constant attendance, and in the diligent dis- charge of their duty and I don't believe you can get more faithful or more conscientious public senants than those you are fortunate enought to jiossess. Mr. W. Finn (South Islington") and Mr. J. C. Dalton (Warring- ton) also spoke in praise of the General .Secretary. Mr. Taggart (Liverpool) deprecated the idea that Mr. Murjihy had made any attack on Mr. O'Brien. Not only he, but every member of the branch had confidence in Mr. O'Brien. ..--> V (. Y,( I '.'• $ai IJflSI/ UACl'J CONVKNTWX. ! i ■ ; ' ) ,■' 'a ' i^ '^:: Dr. (I'Mara (Sinitliiiinptoii) siiiil he UaA ;i very slioil memory, fur Mr. Muriiliy luul ilistiiiclly .siiicl that the braiK'li lie re|irfseiilc(l \v:i.s ilissutislied with tlie work uf llie scerelury. In Soiilli.mipton tlicy had always foiiiid Mr. O'Briun a most courteoiKS secretary. Mr. Mi'Ki'iiv wished to say lie did nut make any attack personally on Mr. O'Jtriea, hut they in I,i\erpool had some cause ol complaint a.s to the want of attention ((iven to their affairs liy the Executive. Their representative could jjet no information from Mr. O'Hrien as to where Captain Donelan could be got for a registration meeting in Liverpool, and then Captain Donelan appeared in Liverpool un- expectedly. Mr. J. 1''. .\. O'Urien, M.l'. : I ha\'e a very simple rejily t(j give. I saw Mr. 'I'liomas Uurke ;uid told him if he wished to communi- cate with Captain Donelan he could write to him to the House of Commons or to me or to his address at Midlcton. The President thought it was very generous on his |>art to hear testimony to Mr. O'Hrien's zeal — because he was so energetic that he made his (the jjresident's) life a burden to him. Mr. O'lirien paid not too little but too much attention to every detail of the organisation. The report was adopted. Mr. Matthew M'Kenna (Dundee) moved : " 'I'hat this Convention regrets that in the p..st the Executive of the Irish National League of (ireat Britain has been composed exclusively of members of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and resolves that in future the Executive of this organisation be constituted as follows, viz : One-half of members of the organisation who are not members of Parliament, and one-half of members of the Irish Parliamentary Party, and that as heretofore the election of the Executive take place at each Convention by the delegates, and that the members of the Executive be elected individu- ally and not collectively." Mr. Cosgrave (Live.pool) seconded the motion in order that dis- cussion might be in order. Mr. Edward Scully, J. P. (Gortin) opposed the motion. He diJ not think it would bo practical to have half the members of the Exe- cutive drawn from the country. It would be very inconvenient if they had to send gentlemen from Manchester or Birmingham or I-iverpool from time to time to meet in London. Further than that, unless they are men of means, it would be an additional tax on the resources of the branches. They had implicit confidence in the members of Parliament, at least in some of them on the Executive, for he believed there were one or two names that some people thought should be removed and replaced by others in whom they had confidence. Mr. Hugh Murphy (Glasgow) said he had listened with amuse- ment to the resolution. He recollected that when the Irish Party > / I-. \ k M ■ I « ■> : ^ - ^ ta w ss n c "1 w i FT .y^\ 300 lllLSn HACK CONVENTION. was undur tlu- iL-ailcrshij) of Mr. rariu'll, he (Mr. Murphy) had intro- duced a similar rcsohitioii, but tht- dcifi^atus thuii a.H.si.'Milile(i would iu)t li.stfii to hini, so miicli couriilL'iici' iind they in the I'arty. He warned them at liu- lime tliat the day uiiglil conu! when they would not have »o much faith, and when the crisis arose in 1890 the Irish- men of (jreat Hrilain were found true to the cause, while 40 per cent, of the Irish I'arty who were members of the Executive Com- mittee went wroMj^. 'I'hey at that time purged the Executiv,-, and would again purge it, but while he was a.s much in favour of » demo(;ratic Convention as any other member, he was more in favour of Irish unity, and liir w<iuld earnestly ap|)e{d to his friend, Mr. M'Keiuia to withdraw his resolution for tiie present, in order to show that they were more (lesin)us of unity than of anything else. .Mr. D. J. QuiNN, of (liasgow, si)oke in favour of the resolution. Mr. KKr.i.Y, of Uromley, disagreed with Mr. Murphy in thinking that debate ;it that atuuial gathering should he curtailed in fa<:e ot hostile criticism. The debate should he a.s free as in former years. At the same time he also disagreed with the motion before the inceting. He thought it w.as better to leave well enough alnne. Mr. Sin. I. IVAN, of Bradford, said he rose to support the plea of Mr. Murphy for the withdrawal of the resolution. If they clccteil district memlx-rs how could they art in ca.se of emergency, unless they were attending regularly in I.fmdon. It was nece.ssary that they should be aci|uainted with the working of the Convention, and know what led up to the emergencies. Up to the jircsent they had been united in Great Britain under an executive comjio.sed of members of Parliament, and he exhorted them to <lo nothing to mar the effect of the great Convention which had just closed; ti> keej) united and strong, and show the firmness of their confidence in the men put upon the Executive Committee. Mr. M'Kf.nna then withdrew his motion, and was loudly ap])lauded. Mr. M'Corrv [imposed: "'nran<-hes shall be entitled to retain in the hanils of the branch treasurer 25 ]x;r cent, of the income derivable from the meml)ershi[) subscription, said retained sum to he applied in liquidation of the working exjienses of the branches ; any balance remaining thereof shall be remitted to the Executive at the end of each financial year." Mr. CovLE seconded the resolution, which was rejected. Mr. Walsh proposed, and Mr. I.eyden seconded, the following: " That ' two months ' be inserted instead of ' three weeks ' before Convention meets." The resolution was lost. Mr. D. J. QuiNN (Glasgow) proposed: "That country branches be visited by one of the Irish Party at least once a year." I-' I \ I <::£> r XATIOXAL LEAGUE OF GltEAT lililTAIS. 361 Mr. Finn (Livcrixjol) secoiuleil. Mr. Dalton (WiirriiiKtoii) oiJixjscd the rfsolutlon, stating his helicf tiiat it shoulil be left to the discretion of the I'arly to beiul members when practicable to visit the country districts. Mr. UuNWORiii (Kdiiibiirgh) i|uestioMed wiiethcr the organi:.ation would be lit to bear llic ox|icnse of sending members of I'arliament every year to all bran<iH's. Mr. SuoRTi.ETT, of Liverpool, complained that their branches had been neglected in this resi)ect. On the strength of i)romises from the Kxerntive, they had gum; to the expense of organising demonstrations in I,i\eri)ool, and had then been disapi)ointed. For that reason he supported the resolution. Mr. CovLE (Liverpool) also spoke in support. Mr. IIaughey said lu" thought it was the duty of the Convention to reject the motion. Dr. O'Mara (Southampton) moved as an amendment, to add, " That in such case the branch visited be prejiared to |)ay the expenses." Mr. J. V. X. O'Hrmcn said the reason I,iver|>ool was not sent a uieml)er on the occasion referred to by Mr. .Shortlett was that thev did not ajiply in sufllcient time, all the members having been engaged at the time they made their api)lication. After some furtiier discussion, the motion was by leave withdrawn. 'I'he Chairman tiien aiuiounced that the \Kv\. lather McKadden had expressed n desire to address the meeting, and asked the Con- vention if it was their wish to suspend the ordinary business to hear him. The delegates by acclamation unanimously welcomed the suggestion. Father M(-Fadden, who was warmly received, regretted exceedingly that other engagements made it necessary for him to interrupt the proceedings. He had not been desirous of addressing the meeting, but he dill so in deference to a strongly expressed wish. It was some- what of an iniusual occurrence for the representatives of the National League of Great Britain to assemble in Dublin, and he was pleased that he. as an Irish priest, was privileged to extend to them all a ('end wile f'nilfc and to take that occasion to express his gratitude to the organisation for the sen-ices receiveil at their hands when times were dark and troublous in the jiarish from which he came, and for the great kindness and warmth with which they recei\ed him on the occasion, when he had a rather |)leasing holiday in England after a retirement of six months elsewhere. Those kindnesses on their part ho did not forget, and he thought there was a fitness in the parish priest of Gweedore having been privileged to wish God's blessing on the opening of their proceedings. Mr. M. HowLEY (Keighley No. i Branch) moved: "That this Convention records its emphatic protest against the further detention 3A 362 IlilSIl HACK CONVENTION. ! M of the Irish political prisoners, believing that they iiave already more than exi)iatetl the offence of wliich they luve been found guilty, ami calls upon the Government to exercise the clemency, statesmanship, and magnanimity recently displayed by President Kruger v.'hen dealing with the i)olitical offences committed by Englishmen against the independence of the Transvaal Republic, by forthwith releasing these unfortunate Irishmen. Furthermore the Convention is of opinion that such an act of clemency, consistency, and justice on the part of the Government, could only tend in the direction of permanent peiico ar.d goodwill between the Irish and the English nations." The resolution was carried with acclamation. The Rev. Father Murnane, of the O'CJ'orman Mahon Uramh, Bermondsey, proposed: "That this Convention unanimously desiiL-! the return of Messrs. Sexton and W. O'Brien to Parliamentary life, where their eloquence and help are so much missed." He said that if Mr. Sexton and Mr. O'Brien would return to public life, and give the Irish cause the benefit of their help, it would indeed be a wonderful public manifestation 01 the good that had l)een achieved by the great Convention of the Irish Race. He (Father Murnane) had been all through a most faithful and a most loyal follower of the Irish Parliamentary Party. But the spirit i)i which he had come to this Convention was that they all, no matter to what party they be- longed, wanted to get i.-'ck all the soldiers of the Irish Party into the ranks. They felt that Ireland had need of the help of every man. and after the expression, the glorious expression of ojjinion on the part of Mr. John Dillon, he felt that those who had sup- ported Mr. Dillon should put it as strongly a.s possible to Mr. Sexton to return, because they felt how great was the need of the help of his matchless eloquence, his Parliamentary skill, and his man'ellous grasp of finance. They knew how much work was to be done in England. They knew how Willie O'Brien in the past had carried the fiery cross, and they felt they ought not to close their Con- vention without there going forth a most earnest and most unanimous — he did not like to say demand, though Ireland had a ."ight to demand — a unanimous demand that their friends should come back to carry on the fight in which they had borne such a gallant and noble part. Dr. Tanner, M.F., supported the motion, and said that they would try and compel Tom Sexton and Willie O'Brien to come back. The President said he might say that their accord was so hearty and so absolutely complete on this question that there was no necessity for further discussion upon it. With their consent he would declare it carried by acclamation. Mr. Jos. fivRNE (Bolton), moved a resolution thanking Mr. John Dillon for his services to Ireland, and calling on Mr. Sexton to return to the public service. ) ^ NATIONAL LEAGUE OE GREAT BRITAIN, i^i M I The resolution was carried with acclamation. Mr. Valentine (Bristol) moved a resolution endorsing the deci- sion of the Irish l<iice Convention in favour of putting down dissen- sion, and pledging that gathering to recommend to the branches to back up the Irish Tarty in carrying out tue mandate of the Conven- tion. As an Anglo-Irishman, he said he was ashamed of the vulgar and coarse abuse of some of the Dublin newspapers during the last few days, and that abuse should recoil on the heads of the men of the party that inspireil it. The motion was agreed to. On the motion of Mr. Walsh (Kensington Sarsfieid Branch), seconded by Mr. W. Coyle, Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P., was re- elected president. Mr. Walsh (Kensington), in propo.sing Mr. P. A. M'Hugh, M.P., as vice-president, said that for the past four or five years he had the pleasure of proposing another man, but circumstances altered cases, and he felt it would not be in accordance with his duty to recommend that name to them at the present time as vice-president, while Mr. P. A. M'Hugh, Mayor of Sligo, was a man in vvhom they all had con- fidence. Mr. MuRPUV (Liveri)ool) said he wished to move that Mr. T. L>. Sullivan, M.P., be retained as vice-president. During the past few days they were calling for unity in their ranks, and was there any likelihood of that harmony when they excluded such a veteran as T. D. Sullivan from the organisation? A Voice : Why is he not here ? Another Voice : Why was he not here during the past few days ? He is in Dublin. Mr. Murphy said they should show gratitude to -Mr. Sulli\an for previous services. A Voice : Why isn't he here ? Mr. Murphy: Seeing there is no chance of a fair hearing The President : Oh, nonsense. I must call on you to withdraw. Mr. Murphy : I withdraw it unreservedly. At this stage Mr. Wm. O'Brien entered the hall and was received with loud cheers. Mr. Murphy said he did not think interruptions ser\ed the harmony of the proceedings. The Rev. Father Murnane, Bermondsey, said he •.-ould earnestly apiieal to the Convention, as they had called on Mr. Sextr.i and Mr. William O'Brien to return to the public service, they should in the same way, in a spirit of peace and union, open the doors to all, and he hoped, therefore, that they would show Mr. T. D. Sullivan that the door was open. o 364 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. Mr. Hugh Murphy said if Mr. T. D. Sullivan had come to the Irish Race Coavention and intimated that he was willing to abide by its ijrinciples, he would have proposed him for re-election, but he had not done so. Mr. Flynn said tl.ey would be stultifying the proceedings of the Convention to put men like Mr. T. D. Sullivan in the position of vice- president, no matter what his services were in the past. Mr. E. RouRKE (Dewsbury) said he wanted to raise his voice in sujjport J the motion that Mr. Sullivan's name be erased from the executivii. Very recently they purged their executive of the most ouiuus name on it, Mr. T, M. Healy. Let them clear out all these rebellious men. Their reverend friends said they should hold the door open. This place had been ojien all the week — why did these men not come here? He said, out with the whole lot of them — T. D. Sullivan, Vesey Knox, and every one of them. Mr. John Ferguson (Glasgow) wished to say not one word cal- culated to create feelings of animosity towards an old friend and a name historic in Ireland, but he desired to impress on their minds a reason why Mr. P. A. M'Hugh ought to be elected in his place on this occasion When Mr. M'Hugh was challenged in the House of Commons for some action of his as Mayor of Sligo he got up and said, " I am Mayor of Sligo by the will of my fellow-citizens. 1 am responsible to them, and to them alone, for my acts and my opinions, and not resj)onsible to this or any other foreign or alien assembly." Mr. HowLEY (Keighley) said they were not leaving T. D. Sullivan, but T. D. Sullivan was leaving them. If they elected T. D. Sullivui now they would l)e guilty of the mistake which the Irish Party made when they elected Charles Stewart Parnell as their leader after the divorce affair. Mr. Keenaghan (Ramsbottom) said in 1885 the Irish voted Tory; they did that 'o place the Liberals on the stool of repentance, where they might do penance for their crimes. They asked these gentlemen to do penance also, and when they had done that they would be given absolution and admitted to the fold again. Mr. M'Hale (Wrexham) supported Mr. M'Hugh's election. Mr. Caley (Bradford) said they were but a small army fighting for liberty, but they could not afford to admit doubtful members withi.i the ranks and councils of the Party. He looked upon a man like Mr. Healy to-day — although perhaps he was, according to his own thinking, an Irish Nationalist, but an Irish Nationalist who would make national interests subservient to his own — as a man no longer to be admitted within the ranks of any party that wished to advance his country's cause. A new alliance had now been formed. He saw r^ '.r>j ■7 ■^ ...J NATIONAL LEAGUE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 365 by lluit inoniing'b papers that the esteemed friend of Ireland, Mr. Chamberlain, had taken Mr. Healy under his protection. He thought it was the duty of this Convention to rid itself of all doubtful ulemenls, and to closo their dcxjrs to traitors. A Delegate asked how many meetings of the Executive had bci'ii held since the last Convention, and how many attendances Mr. T. D. Sullivan had given. The President : There were eleven meetings of the Executive, and Mr. Sullivan attended two. The (juestion was then put to the Convention. There were eight votes for Mr. Sullivan, and the rest of the Convention voted for Mr. M'Hugh. Mr. M'Hugh, amid loud cheers, was elected vice-president. On the motion of Mr. Walsh (Kensington), seconded by Mr. Tinn (Islington), Mr. T. J. Farrell, M.P., was elected to the vacant treasurer- ship. Mr. Walsh (Kensington) moved the election of Mr. J. C. Flynn, M.P., as hon. secretary in place of Mr. Daniel Crilly, M.P., who had only attended one meeting of the executive. Mr. Geraghty (Metropolitan Branch, London) seconded the motion. The President, in rei)ly to a <]ue.stion, said that Mr. Flynn had attended five meetings out of the eleven of the executive. Mr. Lydon (North Shields) proposed that Mr. Daniel Crilly be elected hon. secretary. He had seen Mr. Crilly in attendance at the Irish Race Convention. The President, in reply to a question, said that Ilr. Crilly had attended one meeting of the executive out of eleven. Mr. Lydon said it appeared that Mr. Crilly had neglected his duty, and he would not persist in his motion. Mr. Flynn was unanimously elected hon. secretary. On the motion of Mr. Walsh, the following were elected as the other members of the Executive Committee : W. Abraham, Hon. E. Blake, M. Davitt, J. Dillon, Sir T. Esmonde, J. McCarthy, Captain Donelan, D. Kilbride, J. G. S. M'Neill, J. F. X. O'Brien, W. O'Malley, Dr. Tanner, Dr. M'Donnell, Dr. Robert Ambrose. It was decided that the next Convention should be held in Man- chester on the Saturday preceding Whit Sunday. Mr. Dillon, in response to an invitation from the Chairman, ad- dressed the Convention, and was enthusiastically received. In the course of his speech he said : When one recalls the events of the last four years, it is a splendid testimony to the intensity of the feeling of the Irish Nationalists of England, that through the clouds and storm that have obscured the whole scene of Irish politics they have still battled on while others despaired. They have never des- J ^■\LJ v-y" i I / - I \' *-■-■', / J l' J. ^HjHHR/t' .^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^I^^^^^^^^^H HK'- ^^^^^^^^^^^^E^h9i ■ge^^-' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^K^^^^iw^l ^^^^i- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^KSSml^^m fm: -^^K^^^K^^m K^^I^^^^Hhb ^^nPHE^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^HBI^^^HSoncunlH ^I^^Si^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^BlBilraB d ^■nWIMU^ ' '^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^EH^^^^^^Bufl -< B^s^'-^" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^^H^^^SHIhI o np"^^ ^^^^^■^^^^^^^■pH^ O ^mB^l' ^^^^^^H^^^^HiH^^^^^^^I^^^^^hK ^^^HqI Q ^^^^^^ ^^H^^HH^^^^^kHH^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^^^HH d ^^lg»r. '^^^^■HDS^^^^He^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^IhH o ^K^M^ '^ ^^^^^^HI^^^H^^Ik^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Dh «7 ^IGmHIw^ ^^^^^^^^^^B^^^HB^^^^^^K^I^^^^^^^^^^^^I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I^h^H M tf: CO ^^EBBu^^-' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^I^^^I^^^^^^^^I^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Ht9fl^^^B^^I O ^HB^MCsgci'i ^^^^^^^B? ^^^I^^^l^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^' ^^^^^^91 « H ^^K. ,^Hy^D^^^^^^^^^HH^H B HK' ^^I^^^^DH^M ^HBftMHHTT' , ^^H^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^F*'^^^^ '^ ^ ^& ^E^Bffij^^s^.. ' .^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Bk^^^^l^^^^^^^^K ^8^"' ^^■H^^^w^^'-K' ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^A^|^^^^^^^^|E^9I^^^«^ ^^^F' ^Bn^^^^/ " ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Bi^^^^^S fe--:J~-r ^D^^^^^' ' ^^^^^^^I^^^^^^^^H^^^^^^^I^^^^^ *^?v^ 1^^ ^K^%fi«i^^'' ■ ^^^^^^^■^^^^^^^^^^^^^^H^^^^KsKa&fla ^^^^^.>- ,i-/^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^M^^^^^^^^^^^^^g^JJ-yj^S^lfg l^^^s^ ^^EnttE' -i^> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^I^I^^^^^^^^E^HI^^HflHB Jp^'il^-J HHlMiMMfl^HHHilHHIi^HH^HIHHHI ■Bi XATIOJYAL LEAGUE OF GUEAT TiRirAIX. 3^7 paired, Imt have fought on true lines, and, thank God, their organisa- tion has survived to see what was to a large extent the result of their lai)ours and fidelity in the great Convention of the last few days. The organisation in iMigland exists for one purpose alone, and that is to assist the movement in Ireland, and if in Ireland the leaders of the people give forth a divided note— if looking across the Channel, you see nothing but confusion and discord in Ireland, how can you: organisation flourish? Your organisation must inevitably go up or down, flourish or decay in sympathy with Irish politics. When Ireland is united and strong then will your organisation increase in power and wealth and revenue. When Ireland is divided anil weak, then it is in the nature of things that your organisation will fall away and your funds decrease. It is no wonder that the organisation should be somewhat depressed in consequence of the things that have been done in Ireland. ]?ut what does strike me as singular ami luiaccount- able is that the men who are accountable for this condition of things have made the result of their dissensions a matter of public boast, ami are continually bragging that the National organisation in Great Britain and the National orginisaton in Ireland have been decaying and falling away. I say to you that I propose to act — and the majority of my colleagues I know are of the same view — I propose to act in the spirit of the great resolution of the great Convention of the last week. For any man who v^ill come into the ranks of the Irish Party, and who will work loyally in that Party, the past will be obliterated — absolutely obliterated. I have no intention of raking up past controversies here or elsewhere, but I myself have never sought, as my colleagues well know, the position of difficulty and responsibility in which I am now placed ; but this I can promise you, that so long as I am retained in that place by the vote of the majority there will not be allowed to remain in the Irish Party a man who will pot observe the Irish Party policy. (Great cheering, the delegates rising to their feet, waving their hats and cheering vehemently.) I may be right, or I may be wrong. This at least I can promise you, delegates of the National League of Great Britain, that so long as I am retained in that chair I will put a clear issue before you. I will show you a party in Ireland, who would, like the Pamellite party of old, be they few or be they large — and I would far rather work with a party of fifty who would work loyally together than work with a party of seventy-one who were cutting each other's throats — I will show you a party in Ireland within whose ranks the true old doctrines of party unity and party discipline are properly maintained ; and when the hour comes, as come it will, to appeal to the people of this country, and to our ciountr>men scattered over the earth,' they will know what the issue is on which M S\ \ ..>•. ^ '-: M 1 I c ^ /V\< ^\ 368 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. we appeal. If it should so turn out — and God forbid that it should — for I still trust and hope that the further steps that we will take will result in union by general (;onsent, and my offer still stands, that I will retire and resign if the whole party will unite under am iher man, but if that should prove to be impossible, at least I will promise you that from this forth you will see on one side of the line a party within whose ranks the principles of party discipline are strictly and absolutely observed, and on the other side of the line all those gentlemen, be they who they may, who are oppressed with an overwhelming sense of their own capacities, so overwhelming that they cannot find it possible to run in harness, but ninst be for ever kicking ever the traces. I lay no claim to pre-eminent abilities. All that I do claim — and I believe my countrymen give me credit for it — is that so long a.s you retain me in that chair I will honestly endeavour to do my best for my countr)-, and furthermore I say, and I think that this also has some claim to your support, that while I exercise patience and forbearance, as far as the interests ami the safety of the party would justify their exercise — and I have resisted pressure, and strong pressure, from my colleagues to adopt stringent and extreme measures — I will allow no man, so long as I am in that chair, to flout its authority, or to trample upon those necessary rules on which the union of the party is based ; and if any man persists, no matter how great his abilities may be, in conduct of that character, I will request him to withdraw from the Party, and honestly take up the position which he (jught to take up, and that is a critic, outside the Party and not within its ranks. Mr. Wm. O'Brien, who was called upon imperatively to make a speech, next came forward, and was received with enthusiastic cheering. He said he had no right except their kindness to address any observa- tion to the Convention, and he did think it a great privilege, indeed, that they had asked him to say a few words, because all men who knew anything of the secret history of this movement for the last few years believed it was in a large degree — perhaps he should say in the main degree — the mar\'ellous unity, fidelity, and good sense of the League of Great Britain that had saved the very life of this movement and brought about the great National uprising commenced within the last few days. Their one burning question was to see their cause of Irish freedom advancing, no matter who might be the leader, and no matter what might be the means, so long as they were honourable. He must say that, deep as was their own feeling of pain about Irish dissension, he often pitied even more Irishmen in other countries who were united themselves and who came over here to find them disunited, and who recognised that without something ) '>J ^c^. v^t-".*" " ^ . — -.r^ -/ -, _. ^- ;>J 1 NATIONAL LEAGUE OF GREAT lililTAIN. 369 like a united country notliing was possible, except defeat and disgrace. The worst of it was that no man could point to any substantial difference whatsoever that should keep Irishmen disunited. '['hey were all agreed as to what Irish self-government meant, and they were all agreed that it could only be won by Parnell's lines of in- dependent opiiosition. They all knew that instead of there being anything to despair of in the present position of the Irish cause, and given only the proper degree of unity, nothing was more certain than that their own party would soon again be acknowledged by another British Parliament whether I-iljeral or Tory. The ("onvention of the Irish Race had recognised and maile up their minds who were the defenders of the Irish Party and who were its destroyers. They had made up their minds to stand by the Irish Party. Let him say, because peoiile sometimes took a rather exaggerated view of Irish dis- sension, that it was chiefly, almost entirely, among a cou[)le of thousand [leople, and did not extend to the masses of the Irish Race. He would say solemnly that he believed that this country was at the present mc'ment ;us united in support of the majority of the Irish Party as any country in the world was united upon any point. Taking first Mr. Redmond's party, it was a fact that with the one exce[)tion of South Roscommon there was not a constituency in the whole of Ireland outside the city of Dublin that any sujjporters of Mr. Redmond's could carry without the aid of the Tory vote. And even in the city of Dublin, thank God, there were a good many indications that a change, a mighty change was beginning. He was jjrivileged to assist at the deliberations of the Irish Race Con- vention, wholly and solely as the representative of a Dublin Branch which was one of the most faithful in the country. As to their troubles with the Parnellite Party— he spoke now with reference to the electors — he believed it was only a mere question of time and patience. The only genuine thing that bound them to a separate existence was their respect, their honest respect, and veneration of the memory of Mr. Pamell. Well, as time went on, these men would, he thought come to reflect that they (the Nationalist Party) had never yet said one personally unpleasant thing of Mr. Parnell, living or dead. They had believed— conscientiously believed — that the retirement of Mr. Pameil was the only possible alternative to the certain destruction of the Irish cause. They believed that still more firmly than ever, but they never concealed from them- selves that in parting with such a leader many a year of trouble was before them. He reminded them that at that time Mr. Redmond laboured just as hard as they did to biing about that retirement in favour of the very man who was leader of the Irish Party to-day. .Since Mr. Parnell's death there had never been a moment when they were not 3" V.-. ..^■^ J> p J70 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. only too willing to shake hands with their Pamellite fellow country- men, and he helieved in his heart that to-day there were Pamellites throughout the country who were just as eager as they were to come together again. Proceeding, Mj. O'Hrien said — As to Mr. Healy, he would not I* able to get a single representative elected to support him in Munster, Connaught, or Ulster. Unfortunately there were honest Nationalists sujiixirting him in Leinster, but South I.outh showed what was the opinion even of Leinster. The Convention had recognised that the Irish Party were true to Ireland, in the face of calumnies and difficulties, and the Party were now armed with authority, and it would deserve to go down to history with contempt if they allowed the country to lie disturbed much longer by the protege of Mr. Chamberlain and the London Times. Tiie Convention closed with the singing of " God Save Ireland," which is pretty generally regarded as the National Anthem. It is herewith subjoined : I. V "GOD SAVE IRELAND!" [This son(; was written in reference to the execution at Manchester of three Irish- men named William I'liilip Allen, Michael I.arkin, ami Michael O'lirien, or the 23rd of November, 1867 ; and it w.is first published in 'I'/ie Nation a fortnight after that date. The people of Ireland " took it up " immediately, and it has become a popular anthem with Irishmen in all parts of the world.] Air—" Tramp, tramp, the boys are marching." High upon the gallows tree Swung the noble-hearted Three, By the vengeful tyrant stricken in their bloom j Hut they met him face to face, With the courage of their race. And they went with souls undaunted to their doom, "('■od save Ireland!" said the heroes; "(loil save Ireland!" said they all; "Whether on the scaffold high "Or the battle-fiild we die, "Oh, what matter, when for Krin dear we fall!" (iirt around with cruel foes, Still their spirit proudly rose, For they thought of hearts that loved them, far and near ; Of the millions true and brave O'er the oce.in's swi lling wave, And the friends in holy Ireland ever dear. " God save Ireland ! " said they proudly ! "God save Ireland !" said they all: "Whether on the scaffold high "Or the battle-field we die, " O , what matter, when for Erin dear we fall ! " ^ NATIONAL I.KAdUK OF (Ilil-IAT ItlilTMS. 371 CliiiilH:d Ihcy up ihe ninjjcd sli\ir, Kimj; tlicir vnices out in prayer, Tlicii willi Kn^lund's (atnl cord iirmiiid llioni c.isl, C'lo.fe liLMicath tlic (jallnw-. Irti', KNscd like hrolhurs lciviin;ly, to home and failh and frefdnni Id tlic last. True 'Oh, "(lod save Ireland 1 " prayid llicy loudly j "Cod save Ireland 1 " said tliey all: " Wliellier on llie scaffold liiijh " Or the hattlefield we die, what ni.iller, when for Erin ilear we fall!" Never liU the lalest day Shall Ihe memory pass away Of the gallant lives thus (,'iven for our land; liut on the cause must go, Amidst joy, or weal, or woe, Till we've made our isle a nation free and grand. " God save Ireland ! " say we proudly ; "(Jod save Ireland I" say we all: " Whether on the scalTold high "Or the Imttlelield we die, " Oh, what matter, when for Krin dear wu fall ! " T. D. Sullivan. ' ( '.; i) )..•.,: li I ( r /• ')) 3 a t 7 1 MA ] riDr. 3u0tin flD'Cnrtb^ on the Couvcnttoii. (From the /Mi/y Nttvs.) I'l'.RHArs it may W mnsidcrcd by sonic iiuo|ilc llmt I am not an absolutely impartial or uniirejudiccil critic wiiun I dfclare my (>|)inion that tiic National Convention, which bcg.m in Dublin on 'I'liesday and closed on Thursday, was a complete and splendid success. Hut 1 have seen a good many political conventions and political movements in my time, and I think I have a<:(iuire(l observation cnougii and common sense enough not to confound my own |)ersonal wishes with liie positive facts and tiie actual results. 'I'iie Convention realised all my best desires and dearest hopes as an Irish Nationalist. The (lonvention was fortunate in its President. The liishop of Raphoe is a very )()ung-look- ing man for a prelate, and has a clearly-cut statuestjue face, which must have won upon every spectator. Tiic Uislioj) of Ra|)hoe has a fint voice, and is richly endowed with power of argument and with thrilling eloquence. Let me say, that throughout the whole of the three days' proceedings there was hardly any display of that kind of Iiisii oratory which Mr. Davitt once described as " sunhurstcry." The meeting did not waut sunburstcry; it wanted reason and argument. It might have been an English meeting, or a Scottish meeting, so far as quiet, practical intel- ligence, and a desire to get at substantial results, could constitute its principal characteristics. Was it a representative assembly? Well, I can only say that the vast majority of those who attended it were regularly elected delegates, openly appointed by the various local branches of the Irish National Federa- tions over all parts of the world. There were delegates from the cities of the United States, from Canada, from the Australasian Colonies, from South America, from South Africa, from England, from Scotland, and from Ireland. The great Leinster Hall was literally crowded with delegates. It was a somewhat curious fact that on the same platform sat Mr. John Costigan, long Conservative Minister of the Dominion of Canada, and Mr. Edward Hlake, for many years the leader of the Liberal Party in the Dominion Parliament — botii alike, devoted to the cause of Home Rule in Ireland. As somebody asked, how could an American, or a Canadian, or an Australasian, fail to be a believer in Home Rule ? Is it not certain that one of the most distinguished Irishmen living. Lord Rosmead, lately known as Sir Hercules Robinson, became from an extreme opponent of Home Rule a convert to Home Rule because of his colonial experiences ? The object of the Convention was, as most people know, to bring about, if possible, a re-uniting of ranks among the Irish Nationalists, on V, -— ■ • ~ ^ ^s^ if ■«.r ,^^•-1'; S74 lUJSJl RACK CONVESTWN. itic |)rinci|ile that in a political party tliu in ijority must rule. I rc-mctn- bcr well — 1 am not likely ever to forget — how things went at the time when Mr. I'arncil was in the zenith of his power. Before any decision on Bon\e iin|)urtant (picstion in I'ariianicnt was taken the Irish i'arly met in one of the (^oniniittee Rooms. 'Die whole subject was deliated and discussed ; everyliody was free to express his opinion. Some of Mr. I'arncU's lieutenanis occasionally differed from tin- opmion of their leader. In the end a division was taken, and the will of the majority became the rule of the Party. Often and often it happened that the decision was only arriveil at just ni time; to enable the members of the Irish I'arliament.'iry I'arty to go into the division lobby and give practical exi)ression there to the will of the majority. Of course, it is jierfectly obvious that under t)u other conditions could a small party of men do any substantial and practical service to their cause in the House of Commons. The main object of the (Convention then was to bring back that recognition of the rii^ht of the m.ijority to dictate, which was recognised so absolutely througl) the gre.itcr part of Mr. Parnell's career. I have heard peo|)le argue that unless you have Mr. Parnell's power you cannot enforce Mr. I'arnell's policy. But surely the very fact that we have lost Mr. I'arnell is only anotiier reason why we should resolutely set ourselves to maintain his policy. It is jjure fantasy to suppose that Mr. I'arnell was a mere dictator and despot in his [)arty. I have known him more than once to refuse to express any opinion of his own on some pressing ([uestion, simply because, as he put it, he was anxious to get the unbiassed judgment of the majority, and was, therefore, unwilling to influence it by any argument of his own. Anyhow, the main object of the Convention this week was to re-alirtrm, and, if possible, re-establish the right of the majority to declare the policy of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Of course, an Irish Nationalist Member of Parliament is not compelled to act against the judgment of his own conscience. The pledge he has taken secures him his freedom of action in uny extreme case where his conscience will not allow him to act with the mtijority of his colleagues. In such a case he can resign his seat. There is no eternal necessity for his remaining a Member of Parliament. Let me say, however, that in my opinion the occasions must be rare indeed when such a conflict could arise. We are all pledged to Home Rule — if we were not so pledged our constituencies would never have elected us to the House of Commons. The questions which arise are questions is to whether this course of policy or that is the more likely to advance the cause of Home Rule. It is a question of policy altogether, and not of principle — a question of what we are to do — which way we are to vote — now, this moment, or at all events when the division bell rings, and what solution can the wit of man devise better than, or, indeed, other than, the rule that the judgment of the majority shall decide? Mr. Parnell never believed himself to be an infallible dictator ruling by sheer force ot inspired wisdom an obedient band of followers. He would not have been the really great leader that he was if he had any such nonsense in his mind. I have known him again and again to admit that he was mistaken upon this point or that. But we all recognised the fact that he was magnifi- cently endowed with the insinct and the genius of the commander-in- -. r> / ■y Mil M'CAUTUY, M.P., OX Till-: CDyVESTlON. 375 rhicf, nnd that when- a flecision liad to he Inkon nt a inomcnt's notice he was tliu (ine man whose judgment was best iiuahtkU to lead him and 111 to tiic ri^ht action. Assume the fact that we have not now a captain with the Renins of Mr. I'arncll. Tiiat la assuredly no reason for breaking up tiie camp. Hut if we are to hold the camp, we nuint keep up the disciplme, whu h alone can keep the camp together. This was really in suhstanic the jirinciple which the decisions of the Convention endeavoured to enforce. \Vc have yet to see how far the effort will he successful. For myself, I anticipate with confidence the licst results from the meetinj^s of these three days. 'Hie (Joiivention was practically unanimous. In one instance an amendment was proposed which called on the Irish Nationalist members to return to tlie jiolicy of unconditiDiial obstruction. The amendment did not fuid one single supporter. The common sense of the (.'onvenlion saw at once that if the country has elected a Parlia- mentary party to fight its battle, it would be absurd to attempt to chalk out some particular and uni(|ue course of strategy for them. Hut how is the rule of the majt)iity to be enforced? Of course, the (,'oiivention cannot enforce. It can only recommend — it cannot compel. Hut if any members of the I'arty should, after the deliberations and the warning of this week, |)ersist in ignoring the authority of the in.ijority, the con- stituents of such men will have to take action at the next Cieneral Klection. I sincerely ho|)o that long before that time we may have come to a complete understanding among ourselves. Odd as it may seem to the outer w.iy, there is absolutely no cjuestion of priiu iple — none whatever — in dispute between us. It would. Id my mind, bo a very serious calamity, a national, an imperial calamity indeed, if the present constitutional movement were to be brought to nothing. I''or I think there can be little doubt that the failure of the constitutional movement would only stimulate and ins|)ire the wish of many men at home and abroad to have a try at other means. Nothing on earth can get out of the hearts and spirits of the Irish race all over the world the tiesire nnd the determination to obtain national self-government for Ireland. It would be a misfortune indeed if the Irish Parliamentary movement were to be compelled, even for a week — for a day — to give way to the different and the wilder enterprises. If I were an English- man, and were only possessed of any reasonable amount of liberal thought and purpose, I should wish with all my heart that the en- deavours of the Dublin Convention should set up again the constitutional movement in Ireland, and enable a grejt, and, ultimately, a ceriaui reform in our system of domestic legislation to be accomplished in peace and with goodwill. / Cy [ 37(5 ] 3mprc00ton0 of tbc Convention. (Ity a "Spectafor," in the Freeman's /oiinial.') d- V"', c. m The great Convention of the Irish race has come and gone, and before its characteristic lines be lost it may be well to jot down a few impres- sions made upon a spectator to whom the proceedings suggested a comparison with similar assemblies in recent times. Such a comparison gives the measure and standard of its importance, and enables a forecast of its effect to be made with something approaching to accuracy. And first, as regards its size. The Convention greatly exceeded in numbers any of the Conventions called by the Irish Party since 1890, and was considerably larger than any Convention assembled since the beginning of the Home Rule agitation. The Convention that founded the National Fe'^^'ation in March, 1891, when the National League had been converted into a sectional and particularist organisation, met in the Antient Concert Rooms, and was easily accommodated there. The same hall, though less conveniently, gave space to the assembly in the autumn of 1892, after the general election, to frame a constitution for the National Federation. Neither of these gatherings at all approached in magnitude the Irish Race Convention. Not half those assembled in the Leinster Hall during the week could have crushed themselves into the rooms in Brunswick Street. In the March of 1893 a third Conven- tion was held to consider, and, as far as approved, rectify the Home Rule Bill just introduced by Mr. Gladstone. The subject, it is not necessary to say, excited intense interest in the country, and the delegates outnumbered those that attended the Convention of the pre- ceding autuinn. But the Rotunda gave ample room for the seating of the delegates, and left a good deal of floor space to spare. The Leinster Hall was uncomfortably full on Tuesday, VVednesday, and Thursday, and the delegates present could not possibly have been seated in the Rotunda. Even excluding the delegates who came from abroad, there was a larger representation of Nationalist Ireland present than on any of the other occasions mentioned. If the opposition to the Convention is to be accurately measured by the effects produced on the attendance, then it would seem to have power merely to stimulate the National forces. The home delegation present at the Race Convention was far larger than that which founded the National Federation, far larger than that which framed the constitution of the organisation, and much larger even than that which, in the name of the Irish Nation, accepted substantially the Home Rule Bill of 1893 as a setdement of the Government of Ireland question. Not alone was the attendance larger, it was more variously represen- tative. The delegation from abroad gave the assembly a character that no other Irish Convention ever possessed. Not since the Irish l\ 1 t ■'J A SPECTATOR OX THE CONVEXTIOX. 377 dispersion began has there been such a representation of the scattered provinces of the Irish world called to the capital of Ireland. But, apart from that impressive and distinctive feature, the composition of the Convention was most significant. There were more chairmen of Irish municipalities and chairmen and vice-chairmen of Irish poor law boards present than ever attended an Irish Convention previously. This extensive participation in the procef dings by the men elected to public positions by the votes of ilieir fellow-citizens is especially encouraging to the Irish Party as indicative of the influences working for the promotion of unity throughout the country. The Convention was not only larger and more representative than any of recent years, it was also a freer Council of the nation. In none of the Conventions mentioned was there such full and frank discussion of the political position, none was so deliberative, none elicited such a display of the mind of the assembled delegates, and of the various phases of political thought and sentiment to be found in the ranks. The resolutions passed unamended, but there was a candid debate of them all, and a clear indication of the spirit and manner in which the resolutions were to be interpreted ; and the final temper of the assembly was evolved after a process of debate and intercommunication which undoubtedly influenced many of the composing elements. The charge of political " bossism " so often levied against the National leaders in times present and past was never more ludicrously inapplicable than to the conduct of this Convention. The discussions discovered a wealth of political capacity among .he delegates There were speeches from priests and laymen that reached an extremely high level of ability. Good speaking niay always be expected in an Irish assembly. But the speeches referred to were not merely good talk, good oratory, they were most striking as specimens of reasoned politics, as expressions of sound statesmanship and political tact. The Bishop of Raphoe was more than justified in his boast that the Convention had proved that when Ireland has a Parliament of her own it will be one worthy of a nation. There never was a more tolerant assembly. It was intolerant of nothing but disorder. There was a fair hearing readily given to every speaker, no matter whether his opinions were out of harmony with the prevailing conviction or not ; and the warmest appreciation was shown of any concession that made for the cause of unity. The Con- vention was evidently one that would have welcomed any Nationalist to a place in its councils, provided that he came loyally resolved to assist in securing to the National forces unity of strength and direction. But combined with this spirit of toleration there was a predominant resolve to have an end of indiscipline and disunion in the Parliamentary representation. The Convention was all of one mind as to the necessity of unity and majority rule, though there was some slight difference as to how best to secure the desired ends. One large section of the Conven- tion was evidently against further truce or negotiation with dissentitnts ; a small section was for peace at any price ; but the spirit of the body of the delegates was expressed in Father O'Hara's speech : amnesty and oblivion if the opponents of unity will ; if not, a resolute struggle to end the disastrous indiscipline that has imperilled the Irish Part and the 3C --■ ij 'V;y •^.1 ^ *i r ' 378 IRISH HACK CONVENTION. National movement. That was not only the predominant mandate at the close, it was tl.e unanimous mandate ; for the course of the discussion, frank, free, and open, had moulded the feelings of the delegates into one. The proceedings were tonic. There was a perceptible rise in the spirit ami hardening in the resolve as the C^onvention wore to a close. It was always in earnest from beginning to end ; but doubt, and some- thing of despondency, gave way to confidence as the discussions pro- gressed. Before the end came it was manifest that the Convention would be fruitful, that promise would be followed by perform "nee, and tl-e profesjion of the Natioml faith by a revived activity of patriotic effort. One other remarkable impression was made by the Convention — it was from beginning to end a Home Rule Convention. There were resolutions referring to many pressing Irish questions proposed and passed. But again and again through the difcussions the speeches re- verted to the topic — how to secure unity in the ranks in order to win Home Rule? And the attitude to all minor questions was expressed in the Most Reverend Chairman's opening speech, when he said that in pursuing minor reforms they should not lose sight of the main ques- tion. The Convention was very largely composed of men of the farm- ing class, yet the interest exhibited by them in the resolution on the Land question was quite subordinate to that which they displayed on the National question. There was never a more complete answer to the argument that the Irish question is purely a social question than that furnished by the course of the discussions in this Convention. It was inspired by the National idea ; and in tone, temper, and capacity was worthy of the inspiration. Hbbress of SJcIegates from Sbroab to tbe Srisb Ipeople at Ibome anb Hbvoab. Before leaving for our resprotive homes we deem it our duty to place on record our grateful appreciation of the courtesy and kindness with which we have been received and treated by the home delegates to the Irish Race Convention. We came absolutely unbiassed in our views towards any party or section of party in the Irish Parliame itary representation, determined to form an independent opinion based on our own observations. We are bound to add that the gentlemen who are responsible for the arrange- ments of the Convention scrupulously abstained from any attempt what- ever to influence our judgments. We have kept separate and independent our own organisation, and have asked no one who was associated with the movement at home to attend our conferences. We are satisfied that the great Convention which we have attended was, in its composi- '" ' ' 1 I ^. iVa ) s -) / -^^2^J t \ ALDRKSS OF DELEGATES. 379 ,.> 1 l' !'.,, > I c lion, character, and numbers, representative of the Nationalists of Ireland, and that it voiced the Irish National sjMiit. We have watched the proceedings of the Convention from beginning to end, and we have heard the fullest and freest possible discussion of every point brought under its deliberations, and we have seen that its decisions have been unanimously taken. We have been particularly impressed by the earnest unanimity with which the Convention declared for genuine party unity necessarily involving discipline and respect for majority rule. We record our own entire belief in party unity based on the only foundation possible — submission to the majority. We believe in a real unity, rnd we exhort all who have the welfare of Ireland at heart to support fhe majority of their representatives, who have acted up to their pledge. We believe in Party discipline as the means by which unity is maintained ; and we declare that the preservation of discipline can be entrusted only to the men who keep the Party pledge. Ac delegates from the Irish Race in the United States, the Dominion of Canada, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Australasian colonies, we earnestly call upon the pcojjle of Ireland to stand together for unity in the cause of Home Rule and discipline in the Home Rule Party in Parliament. As citizens of countries enjoying the blessings of free government we affirm there is no other line of effective action known to us than submission to the rule of the majority in political organisations. We undertake, on our return to our various homes, to convey to our people our sense of the magnitude, authority, and order of tiie Con- vention ; and, as delegates, we pledge ourselves to give our loyal and unfailing support to the Parliamentary Party until the blessings of self- government have been won for Ireland. (Signed), UNITED Martin F. M'Mahon, Anthony Kelly, P. W. Wren, William L. Brown, Patrick Gallagher, James Duggan, Denis O'Reilly, Edward Treacv Patrick Kinney, John W. Corcoran P. J. TiMM STATES. Rev. Denis O'Callaghan, John Cashman, Patrick Dunlevy, Rev. George F. ^IARSHALL, John B. Devlin, Patrick Cox, Patrick Martin, James U'Sullivan, Martin Fitzgerald, Joseph P. Ryan, ins, M.D. DOMINION OF CANADA. Rev. T. Ryan, representing Archbishop of Toronto. John Costigan, Ottawa. John Heney, Ottawa. Very Rev. Dean W. R. Harris, Ontario, Canada. Rev. William Flannery, D.D., St. Thomas, Ontario. V y n <^' m o d o 9 I i.t".,' >; [ " y ,■ r- ^ ADDRESS OF DELEGATES. 381 Rev. Frank O'Reim.v, Priest, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Rev. P. F. O'DoNNELi., Priest, Montreal, Canada. John M'Keown, St. Catherine's, Ontario. Hugh Ryan, Toronto. J. J. Fov, Toronto. Rev. M. A. Clancv, Priest, PIncentia, Newfoundland. James D. Rvan, St. John's, Newfoundland. Edward Hai.i.ey, Montreal. William Foley, D.D., Halifax, Nova Scotia. Lieut.-Col. M'Shane, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Gerald 13. Tiernan, Halifax, Nova Scotia. P. F. Cronin, Secretary, Canadian Delegation. James J O'Brien. AUSTRALIA. Charles Hamilton Bromhy, Northern Tasmania. Thomas Hunt, Victoria. Mr. Kennedy, Wellington. SOUTH AFiaCA. H. G. Haskins, Johannesburg. Moses Cornwall. J.P., Kimberley, representing Griqualand West. Dublin, September 4th, 1S96. Speed) bi? \Der^ IRev. Dr. IR^an, of Toronto, DELIVERED AT A RECEPTION GIVEN TO THE DELEGATES liV THE CITY OF CLONMEL, 22ND SEl'TEMBEK, 1896. ■i"V, ^.J He said he felt it difficult to respond to and answer the addresses and the magnificent reception which they had received at the hantls of the people of the city of Clonmel and of gallant Tipperary. He knew very well the people had not assembled there to do them the pleasure of personal gratification. They had come there to honour them as the representatives of their kith and kin of the Irish race beyond the seas, to join in the grand struggle that has been going on so long, and which would go on until they had achieved the victory of their just rights — the struggle for the Legislative Independence of Ireland. As this was the last occasion on which probably he would address them in Ireland, he would desire to put before them, in a summarised form, his own views, first, as a representative from without and then as a witness from within, how he and his fellow-delegates considered the Irisii movement in its f resent surroundings, their view of the Irish Parliamentary Party and the present Irish representatives, their view of what had passed at the late Convention, and >vliat were their hopes for Ireland in the future. Ho might be considered as an outsider, but he felt to-day that for the first lime he stood upon his native heath, for his forefathers for genera- tions had been cradled in the lap of the Golden Vale, and had triumphs and trials in the city of Clonmel. ■J K^ -J sr*"^ J ^^^■^-r^. '■ I ' i i ! lii 38* IKISIJ RACE CONVENTION. ('^ ir.. I. > i; ''' ' ' i Now, the first point on which he was going to speak was on their altitude in coming to Ireland. What was that altitude? Some people called them foreigners when they came. He did not care, but there were gentlemen who did not like it. He thought they would agree that ihey were not foreigners in the real sense of the word. They were men of Irish birth or Irish blood, all true Irishmen, sympathising with Ireland heart and .soul. He came to Ireland as the representative of an Irish bishop, a Kilkenny man, who was a combination of all that was magnificent in Irishmen. The delegates were asked what right had they to interfere in the domestic iffairs of Ireland, and his answer was they did not come to interfere in Irish domestic affairs ; they came to Ireland, and they contended they had a right to come to Ireland on several grounds. First, they had the right of fiiend.sliip ; secondly, they had the right of kinship ; and thirdly, they had the right of invitation — a sacred right. Next, to put the matter on the lowest ground, they had a business right, for the Irish ])L'ople asked them to help in the National movement at home, and they had a right as a mere matter of business to come and see whether they should invest in the work or not. They did not come to Ireland to dictate or to coerce or to interfere, but they came merely as friends, and the Archbishop of Toronto expressly emphasised the fact that he as his representative was merely coming as a friend, not to interfere with the magnificent hierarchy of Ireland, so learned so prudent, so wise, and so patriotic, not to interfere with the splendid, the historic priesthood of Ireland or with the great Irish people, for they knew they were well capable of managing their own affairs ; but ihey came as outside friends to ask permission to tender their advice and give them the honour of continuing their moral and material support to the old struggle of the people at home. That was the position they took up, and he wished it to be perfectly understood. They came to Ireland not to any man or to any party, but they came emphatically to the Irish nation and the Irish people. They had come to the great people of Ireland, and having come he would tell them what they had found. They had found the Irish Party and the Chairman of that Party, and they had found repiesentatives of the Irish people assembled in a great Convention in the city of Dublin, and having fully considered everything bearing on the call of that Con- vention and the consdtution of it, they had come to the conclusion that that Convention was a representative Convention. They knew the men from abroad. These represented the Irish race abroad, for they knew how these men were selected and elected. They saw at that Conven- tion the great majority of the Irish Parliamentary Party with their Chairman. They saw nearly five hundred priests, and that splendid representative of the Irish hierarchy, the brave Bishop of Raphoe, pre- siding at it. They saw duly elected representatives from public boards and political organisations in Ireland, and, having taken part in that Convention, they said — " We cannot expect unanimity in Ireland any more than in any other land ; we must expect differences of opinion amongst intelligent men ; but still we can see that here in this Conven- tion we have Ireland at home really and truly, and honestly represented." After that Convention the representatives from abroad held a caucus, J '} V \ X '/ REV. DR. RYAN, TORONTO. i»i and they came to the conclusion as men of business — many of them men of great experience in the political affairs of Canada, the Uniteil States, and Australia — they came to the solemn conclusion to support the reso- lutions passed at the Convention as the resolutions of an honest and truly representative Convention. He had heard difficulties raised, and there was one resolution pro- posed at the Convention with which he certainly sympathised, and that was the resolution proposed by that patriotic priest. Father Flynn of Waterford. Well, he might tell them a secret. The delegates from abroad had already considered a similar resolution, and they liad come to the conclusion that though it was a very good thing to wait as pro- posed on various gentlemen, still that was impracticable. They came to the conclusion that it would be a good thing to wait on Mr. Healy and Mr. Redmond as proposed, but now that the Convention was sitting, and as Mr. Healy and Mr. Redmond did not put in an appear- ance, it was practically impossible. Why, in God's name, did not those gentlemen come to the Convention ? They were free to come ; they were invited to come. He called on these gentlemen — he called on Mr. Healy, and he also called on Mr. Redmond — but he did not find them at home ; and he had interviews with the ablest and most repre- sentative men on all sides. There was, in his opinion, an answer to all that was alleged, and let it go to the ])ublic. It was alleged, first, that the difficulty was the incapacity of the chairman and the incapacity of the Party ; and then that the Party was led by money. Well, he knew the chairman of the Irish Parliamentary Party per- sonally, and he had also inquired of persons he could trust, and he would say this, that though the chairman might not be a heaven-born genius, he was a worthy leader of an intelligent and honest Parliamen- tary Party. The question really was whether the chairman was rightly elected or not, and if he was then obey him. As for the party, it was elected by the people, and why should they not stand by the men that the people elect ? It was a party elected by the people of Ireland, and so far as the delegates from abroad were concerned, they were deter- mined to stand by the present Irish Parliamentary Party. There was no other course open to them that was either constitutional or sensible. Now, as to funds, what he would say he would state on his personal responsibility and personal knowledge. There were two funds. There was the Parliamentary Party Fund and there was a parish fund. It had been said that the Parliamentary Fund was administered for the purpose of personal coercion, and the leader used it for the purpose of gathering men around himself, and that no account was given as to the manner in which they were used. Now, just take this view of the matter. The Irish Party were elected to stand up for the interests of Ireland. In God's name, could not such men be trusted to manage a few paltry thousand dollars a year? They who were outsiders gave the money freely and generously to the Party, for they said to themselves, "These are the men our fellow-countrymen elect, and we feel sure they will deal justly, honourably, and honestly with the money.'' But what did he find was the fact ? The books were there audited, and any committee appointed by any party could go there and see them. Of course, no political party would print such accounts and publish them •v iH IRISH RACE CONVENTION. I H ': 1 ^P '- > to the world. lie knew the accounts were there, and he was satisfied with them. Then it was said, the leader having coerced the party, the parly coerced the country. Now, in liis opinion, the Iiish people were an intelligent and a nol)le, free ()eople, and tlicy woulil never allow them- selves to be coerced by any persons. Then he was told tbnt, in the case of the Castiebar Convention, the people were coerced by the leader, in order to force a candidate of his own on the constituency. Well, he went down to Castiebar, and he interviewed the priests, and he interviewed the leading electors, and it was proved to his absolute satisfaction that the people were not coerced by the leader, but that if the leader did anything, what he did was to preserve the liberty of tlic constituency to elect its own representative. Now, of those who criticised the party, he had asked, what was their alternative programme ? Up to the present he had only heard suggestions as to dilHculties, and accordingly he asked the critics for their own programme. One person suggested to destroy all the parties. Well, a great American statesman had impressed upon the jieople the proverb as to the danger of changing horses crossing a stream, but that was all the more true when there was not a second horse to change with. Tliere w.is a party in Ireland who wanted quiescence, who wanted no representation at all. Oh! God forbid that Ireland should ever adopt this policy. Then it was said that the priests were not with the people. That was not so. The priests of Ireland were always with the people of Ireland. They were with the people still, and with the help of God they would always be with the peojile. They, from abroad, did not expect political per- fection in Ireland. They did not expect perfect unanimity. There were no men who felt and thought more on the question of the rights of minorities than the Irish in Canada. Minorities had the right to be heard, the right to argue, to influence by argument, and, if possible, to convert a minority to a majority ; but minorities had no right to dictate any more than the majorities had. Minorities had not the right to calumniate, as majorities had not. Minorities had not the right to use opprobrious epithets, as majorities had not. And if a majority had not the right to coerce, then certainly a minority had not the right to coerce. They had a bitter experience in Ireland of minority rule. The people had men to guide them in the wise pronouncement of their able parish priest, a splendid representative of the priesthood of Ireland. He said, if the party proceed with wisdom, prudence, and discretion, and exercise a spirit of conciliation, he was convinced, and on going home he would tell his people, that though things were dis- turbed at present, still, by the time the General Election came round, they would find all parties in. Ireland united — the bishops, the priests, and the people. Thus united they would have the moral and material support of every Irishman the world over, and the Irish race, united at home and abroad, would march on in one solid phalanx until that victory was secured, by which they would have a native Parliament, a free people, and a glorious future for Ireland. \0 o '^^"^sttt /-^ [ 383 ] personal IRcmlnlsccnccs of tbc Scisb IRacc Convention of 189(5 b\? tbc IRcv. D. if. /licCrca. (From iliu Micliij^an Catliolu.) .) 'I'liK great Irish Race Convention of last September lias iiecn and ceased to be. Its friends and foes have had their say ; have spent themselves and feel happy. The promoters have declared it the greatest assembly of Irishmen and sympathisers the world had ever seen. Its enemies regarded it as a collection of drivelling fools, whipped together and ground beneath a yoke, against which they dare not kick. In the midst of these conflicting claims and assertions would it be possible from some vantage ground, and free from the bias of party politics, to view the situation and judge what, indeed, has been the result, and wh.it is likely to be the effect of the Irish R.ace Convention on the future of this country. I attended the Convention, not in any official capacity, but as an onlooker and listener. The sessions were held in the Leinster Hall, Dublin, and lasted for three days, beginning on Tuesday, September i, and ending on Thursday of the same week. On the first d.ay the session lasted four hours ; on the second, five ; and the third, five and a half hours. On each day there were at least 2,000 people present, and throughout the enthusiasm was unfl.igging. The hall was tastefully decorated, and on the walls hung suitable mottoes of Ireland's heroes and patriots. Among them, not the least remarkable, was that of Mr. Parnell's, which ran, " Let us cast aside all feelings of self- interest. Let us act onl\' with a desire to benefit our country— to regain for her a place among the nations of the world." It is too clear that Irishmen have not yet forgotten the services of Mr. Parnell to their country, and it is undoubted that if he had retired from the leadership on that occasion so notorious in history, he should in a short time be replaced in that proud position, the temporary deprivation of which drove him to desperation. Every time his name was mentioned by the speakers it drew forth rounds of applause. Fronting the gallery and right opposite the platform was the patriotic " God Save Ireland," in large blue lettering. A little incident occurred in this connection, at the opening of the proceedings, which might be interpreted as significant. The letters were sheets of paper or canvas, each about a square foot, and detached, !but affixed with nails, or some such simple contrivance. At the very beginning of the first session the letter D dropped from Ireland, The fact was very ■■A ) u -^ y 1^' llflHHII^^^^H IP .' 1 n f Si uf*'* il hM|^H| REV. DANIEL F. McCREA, M.R.I. A., K.K. S.A.I. »,/■ liEMlMSCKNCES Oh' Till': COyVKSTloS. -.s; 9 generally nuticuil, and the parodicii and lioniilics un tliu subject wore amusing. A Kerry priest scrio-roniirally dirl.ircd it nuaiit the Irisii demon of dissension must (,'"• I'li^ interpretation eiitilL-d very general commendation in his viiiiiity. lUit tlie general situation was taken very seriously by most peo[)le, and many (loubls were expressed, both as to the |)eaceful conduct ol the assembly and the iiuaring of the Con- vention on the future of tlie country. There were various surmises as to the chairman, aiul it was confidently asserted that no Irisli bishop would take any part in tlie proceedings. Then as to the a'-'ion of the Kedmondites, the llealyites, and even that of Mr. Dillon, under certain circumstances, there were so many varying opinions. Thus passed the anxious moments before the actual business of the sessions, and mean- while, the body of the hall was being crowded, and the platform was becoming well taken up with jiriests, delegates from abroad, and Irish M.P.'s. Towards noon, the ^[ost Kcv. Dr. O'Dorniell, Itishop of Raphoe, arrived, accompanied by some leading members of the Irish Parliamentary I'arty, while priests and people rose iit masse, and cheered vociferously. His position was a dilticult and trying one, for ho had agreed to act as chairman throughout. He was the only bishop in Ireland, it has been stated, who would have any say to the pro- ceedings ; yet, it was imjjossible to detect in him any drooping of spirits, or readiness to shirk his terrible res|)onsibility. He bowed slightly, anil acknowledged the greetings of the vast assembly. Dr. O'Donnell is a native of Donegal ; he is comparatively young, tall, fair complexion, with features neatly chiselled and attractive, displaying a high degree of intelligence. There have been many to find fault with the action of the bishop in permitting himself to be the centre-piece in a situation so critical. But even the most hostile Press is filled with admiration for his ])resence, his eloquence, his firmness, and his surprising self- control. The first day was taken up, mainly with the speeches of the foreign delegates, who, clearly enough, came unbiassed and unpledged. Every- body was impressed with their earnestness and their anxiety to restore peace and union among Irishmen. The speech of Very Rev. Father Ryan, the representative of Arch- bishop Walsh, of Toronto, was listened to with ra|)t attention. He was admittedly a worthy representative of the great Archbishop, who orig- inated the idea of the Irish Race Convention. His voice was clear and ringing, his gesticulation appropriate, and he was altogether regarded as the right man in the right place. The foreign delegates, with no excep- tion, acquitted themselves admirably, and they certainly did ably and well the work for which they were deputed. Many indeed were the regrets that a heartier welcome was not extended to them, and that the Ca| ital did not pour forth its thousands to greet them on their coming. But in the unhappy and distracted state of public opinion that could not be hoped for. There were so many rumours, and so many charges were levelled at the chief representatives of the Irish nation, that well-inten- tioned people stood aside, uncertain which was right, and which was wrong. To take part in a public display to honour the delegates from abroad, was taking sides, it was thought, with Mr. Dillon, against Mr. JS8 IKISII KM'K CUSVKSTIOS. I Italy or Mr. Kcdinoiul, und thuH, bunincsH men eiipccially, dreading to iiiakf for tlicnisclvt's encmios, kept in tlic l)ackKrounil, rcaii their papcrH, and spoke in sunii'NcntcncL's. It was so iit least as lat as Dublin was tonceriied, but other portions of the country spuke out plainly, and frankly acknowkdt^ed as in <luty buuiul their help in the past, their prisent sympathy, and the n)any sacrifK es they had made in conunn to Ireland for the historic occasion. In the forefront was Itelfast, then Letterkt! ny, I'-nniskillen, dalway and 'I'lpperary. Hartliy anybody en- deavoureil to inipujjn the motives of the furei^n delegates. 'I'here was an occasional thrust from the Dublin Press, which, however, seldom descended to personalities. Once only did the Iiiilefendtnt make an atia(k of a personal nature- that on Chevalier Ileney, Ottawa— which was (|ui(kly ri);hted by Dean Harris, Toronto, and the sympathetic newsjiapers of !ie country. At such a time it could not be exi>ected that the Tress would remain inactive, taking into account the principles that were involved, and all the jjossible results of that great assembly on the future. Now and then, during the sessions, therefore, the journals vented their feelings and caustic drollery. The St. Jmiifs's Gtizclte came all the way from London, to parody Father I'lynn, of Watcrford, who jiroposed a resolution which excited a little storm. The Gazelle has it : — " Of parlies, wc offer .-v cliiumin v^nriety, I'ttrnclliU's, lli-alyilcs, I)illi)irs socicly, Still we're al pe.ue here till mir anxiety, I'citlier U I'lynn makes it hut for us all. lloiild the prate of yi>u, I'ather U'l''lyiin, How shall we slop it, ifoiiee you liegin. At Ihc convention ? Sure why should you mention A word ul dissension to stir up our yall P " Let's talk of Reunion, Home Rule, Kducallon, Whether we suffer froni unfair taxation, 'Deed and we'll cheer for ' Ould Ireland a Nation ' — Father O'Flynn puts a stop to it all. Come, I venture to (jive you my word, Never amendment like this should \k heard : Take your Comuiittec To Waterford City— Maylie it's witty, but here you look small. " Och ! WE had yearnings and strivings for unity, .Sinking of self and rfgar<l for community, Brandishing tjlacklhorns the while with impunity, Till you poppid up— be hanged, Father, to you. Sure the good Hishop looked grave at your jest. Wishing you out of the way with the rest. ' Has ihe majority All the authority ? Isn't Tim Ilealy an Irishman too?'" I quote this, which I believe a very clever skit, and must have been written impromptu. After all, it is better a political cause should be treated hostilely than passed over with indifTerence by all sections of the Press. This hostility often creates for it significance. .^X. \ liEMISlSCENCKH OF THE CONVKNTIOS. j8., ( s Kvcrybody at tlic Convention wan charnicil with tlic licicKiiiL!* (orciun to these islcn and loud in |>rnise of the nhiiity they dispinycd and tne eio(iiicncc of not ;i ft' ■ . In this latter rin.ird tlitru was a 'livcrsityof opinion, soine rcnardinf; one as favourite, and sonic anoll ' was, however, partiiuiarly impressed hy the Kpecchos of Kev. Den K'll- lanlian, lloston ; Ktv. Dr. I'nley, Mahfax ; Mr. Joscpli I'. K) w York; and Mr. TiioniaH Hunt, Melliourne. Nearer home. Mi 1'. O'Clonnor delivered a speech of great power, and disjila^od rciii ' Mo ability. Many charges iiave been made against Mr. O'Connor, with what foiiiidatioii in fact I know not, but these charges have had at least the erteet of injuring his |)opularity with a section of Irish nationalists. I have no means of seeing into the condition of Mr. O'Connor's conscience, i)Ut no one could have watched iiim more closely than I during the proceedings, and he impressed me as being terribly in earnest and sincere. Mo could not have been more ileferential to the presid- ing bishop, or to the priests who differed from him on some of the points at issue. I observe, he gave a very complimentary notice of the Uishoi) of Raphoe in his London paper. Mis general demeanour in this matter would seem to mc in a goodly measure to dispose of the charges of anti clericalism soniulinies raised against him— a jwint upon whii h the Irish peojile, notwidistanding the existence of the ///lA/i'Wiv;/ and one or two other papers of its ilk, are not a litde .sensitive. He has a splendid presence, is still in the prime of life, tall and powerfully built, is full of energy, and was about the best-dressed iierson in the assembly. The Irish members, generally speaking, could not be called du<les, and almost widiout exception they seemed dreadfully careworn, apparently having suffered from great anxiety as to the results of the Convention. They, one would think, preferred to leave the work of tie iiieeting, and especially the oratory, to the delegates. Hut few oi tiiem spoke and usually a short time. Mr. Justin .McCarthy's speech was brief but very much to the point. His manner is ([uiet, but dignified, and is evidently more the //'//fVrt/(7/r than the politician. The speeches of Mr. Davitt and Mr. William O'Urien were listened to with marked attention. .Mr. Davitt's style is clear, terse and relevant. His manner is very decisive. He means what he says, and says it because he means it. Mr. O'Brien speaks well, is very fluent ; his voice is suitable for oratory, but his ges- ticulation is extrav.igant. To al! appearance he is not strong [)hysically, and appears to have suffered from overwork and mental strain. Several times during the course of his speech he had recourse to the water carafe. But there was none in whose speech so much interest was manifested as that of Mr. John Dillon, the Chairman of the Irish I'arlianieiitary Party. Charges without limit were made .against Mr. Dillon. Some said he was not under any circumstances a suitable jjcrson to be the leader of the Irish Race and cause. Others said he was dishonest, and that he forgot all else in his ambition to be the Chairman of the Irish Party. Again, it was claimed that he had acted harshly and imperiously to some members of that party, who were suspected of being his rivals for the leadership, especially Mr. T. Healy and those who sympathised with him. There were also charges as to his disjjosal of the moneys ^ O' ViX" ^^' v^' •/-^ 39° llilSlI RACE CONVENTION. I I •. C' contributed to the Irish Parliamentary Fund. All this was known to ( him ; and a section of the Dublin Press especially spared no means to make him feel his painful position. At no timn does Mr. Dillon seem very buoyant ; but those who know him intimately say he is a brif^ht and entertaining conversationalist, and a very agreeable and pleasant companion. Mr. Dillon is tall, slightly built, sallow of complexion, dark hair, which however, has become fringed with white. I had not seen him for ten years previous to the Convention, and, considering his very straining and laborious career, he seemed to me to have well stood die test of time. He might be styled dressy, with glasses and gold albert. Anybody could see there was something beyond the average in Mr. Dillon, and particularly when he began to speak. There he stood, confronted widi the fierce light of the civilized world, taunted, accused, vilified, and required by the representatives of the Irish race at home and abroad, who came together in council, to give an account of him- self, and answer to the charges preferred against him. Who will say this was not a terrible plight ? He displayed, notwithstanding, great pluck and self-possession ; and if one's countenance and manner arc any index to honesty and sincerity, anybody would say he deserved the designation, in a remarkable degree, by which he was so long known — that of " Honest John Dillon." I followed his speech with great interest, as did everybody in the vast assembly. He is extremely eloqui nt, with pleasing voice and very appropriate gesticulation. 1 do not think that, I during the course of a long speech, he was obliged to repeat a single , I word. It would be easily imagined from his appearance he was sufter- ing from ill-health ; but that impression is soon forgotten wher he warms into his speech. He explained his position at length, placing himself unreservedly in the hands of the Irish people, and willing to abide by their decision without a murmur. \" '' Mr. O'Brien, he had more than once to have recourse to the water coi.oolation, but otherwise showed no signs of physical exhaustion. His voice, nay, every word, could be heard in the most distant corner of the great hall, and thus he delivered one of the most remarkable and telling speeches I have ever heard. The whole assembly was charmed, and many who had hitherto regarded Mr. Dillon with disfavour became his most ardent adherents. No charges were forthcoming, and thus he took his seat amid the ring- ing cheers and plaudits of the great Convention. Mr. Dillon is still comparatively young, and has life enough yet and strength and energy to bring to a successful issue the cause for which the Irish people are labouring so earnesdy and so patiently. I wish I had space to enter minutely into the personnel of the Con- vention, for the material is so good. We have, however, to consider rather what has been effected by this historic gathering. Before enter- ' ' ing on this consideration, I must not pass over unnoticed one who took part in the proceedings, and who has so many claims on Ireland — I mean the Hon. Edward Blake. I had never seen Mr. Blake before, nor did I meet him on that occasion, although I learn he is not difficult to approach ; but I had been reading a good deal of him since he became connected with Irish politics. When in Canada some years ago I met many of his fi lends, who were high in his praise, and spoke ^ ) 1 n-' 1. ' I T".' \ "^ / NE}fTXISrEXrES OF THE COyVENTJOK. 391 of the wonderful sacrifices he had made in associating himself with the cause of Ireland. They assured me that he might have been since Premier of Canada, not to speak of the loss of time and the many pecuniary disadvantages to which he has been subjected on this account. His motives have been impugned, as the motives of every public man are liable to be ; but it is diflficult to realize that one jrassessed of such natural gifts, of such high social standing, having already attained both wealth and fame, should make such sacrifices for principles in which he did not believe. Mr, Blake is one of those about whom you will at once inquire, " Who and what is he ? " There is a good deal of repose in his manner, which is, at the same time, characterised by energy and great determination. He is tall, well and proportionately built, fair of complexion, clean shaven, somewhat dressy, and appears on the right side of fifty. On rising to speak, the reception that awaited him was very cordial. A great deal was expected of him, but he was fully equal to the occasion and the most ardent expectations. He spoke for a con- siderable time ; his manner and voice were charming, and his articulation perfect. Every word of his was listened to with rapt attention, and carefully treasured. His remarks, to be sure, were not punctuated witli the ringing plaudits accorded to some of the previous speakers. I3ut it was easy to see that every utterance was having effect ; and somehow, while the audience was carried away with his eloquence, and convinced by l.is reasoning, he inspired a respect which prevented those uproarious outbursts so usual on this and such like occasions. Mr. Blake certainly is one to inspire respect ; he is a born statesman, and just such a one as one would expect to be the leader of a great party. Now that the historic Irish Race Convention is over it remains to be seen what good has l)een effected, and if the real object for wiiirli it was convened has been attained, that of uniting all sections f)f Nationalists in this country. Let it be explained away as may seem best, there are undoubtedly three contending sections. There are the followers of Mr. Dillon, the followers of Mr. Healy, and again those of Mr. Ke.Imond. The foreign delegates seemed to think some one common platform could be easily constructed on which tlie three divisions might meet in fellowship, sinking all past differences in the interest of the community. This idea pervaded many of their speeches, and they appeared to think, moreover, it wa.s only necessary to give a word of friendly advice and encouragement to bring about the happy result. But there were points of difference which the casual visitor could not detect. There are still comparatively few signs of reconcilia- tion. The priests and people are often in opposite camps. Bishops and their priests sometimes hold different views. Only a few Irish bishops have publicly expressed their opinion, however, and owing 10 the latest development it is not likely any others will interfere until they are called upon to effect a conciliation. The suggestion that the ques- tions in dispute should be placed before the Cardinal Archbishop of Armagh, and some other members of the Irish hierarchy has been received by the people with much favour. The fund lately ' lugrated by Rev. Matthew Ryan on behalf of Mr. Healy and those \ support his policy, and which has been assisted by so many among the most 1>') / UK (■• c^ e V • » 392 IRISH RACE CONVENTION. influential of the Irish priesthood, goes to show that something must be done soon to effect a settlement. There are, notwithstanding, many of opinion that this new phase makes very little real difference in the state of affairs, and that both funds may be permitted to have their course, and that even if the new fund outstrips the other, there should be no very significant consequences. All sides, whenever the time comes, will uphold the interests of Ireland. This is well enough, but in the eyes of the nations, these divisions turn the Irish name into ridicule, and afford ample arguments to the enemies of Home Rule in the British House of Commons. The Irish Race Convention has certainly not put an end to dis- sension. But it has had the effect of arousing public feeling and symjjathy, which had grown lethargic. Everybody can see there is now no question of Home Rule, and all side issues h.ave come to be regarded as commonplace. In the circumstances, nohody could make any more of the situation than Mr. Dillon ; and if he retired to-morrow, now that Mr. Sexton refuses to have further concern with the cause, it would bo difficult to see who could fill his place so satisfactorily. Since the common enemy has become- too bulky and powerful to war with, and as the effort would be a hopeless one, Irishmen have directed their energies one against another. This conrlition of things is likely to continue for some time to come, especially as the Irish priesthood is so divided. At th' Ijeginning of the present struggles, the Irish hierarchy and priests preferred not to interfere directly in the politics of the country ; but they were dragged into it, and the people besought them to espouse their cause, so much so, that such as did not render tliem the political sympathy and help they claimed, were regarded as taking sides with the British Government, its coercion and unjust laws. Entering on public life, eventually, they came to be regarded as public men, and their public actions and motives were criticised accordingly. It is most remarkable that the individuals who were foremost in dragging the priests from behini' tiie sanctuary were the first, in many cases, to tell them they might go whence they came, and their ser\-ires were no longer required. This estrangement, however, wa.s, at the worst, only partial. It 's difficult indeed at the present time to know which leader to follow, and whose policy is best, considering that members of the same family are divided, that priests and people are divided, and bishops and their priests. Mr. John Dillon claims to be the legitimate leader of the Irish cause, having been duly elected by the majority of the Irish Parliamentary Party as their Chairman, and this election having received the confirmation of the great Convention ; and he has more than once shown a disposition to meet his opponents half way, and make .sacrifices in the interests of peace, and to secure that unity, which is indispensable to effect any important service to Ireland. Nothing, I think, could be fairer or more disinterested than his proposal at the Convention. "Let the Parnellites," he said, "and let the Healyites, if such there be, although I am not aware that any member of the Irish Party is prepared to go before his constituents and declare himself a Healyite — it has been suggested th.at there arc thres ' > c- (9, \; I ; I ' ^;7 1 > t':.t'l -^^■i^ REMINISCENCE'S OF THE CONVENTION. 393 parties in Ireland — let them assemble at any time tluiing the autumn in Dublin and say: 'Stand aside, Dillon; stand aside, Redmond; stand aside, Healy, and we will unite under another man.' Then I say I am their man, and I shall he the first to sign a pledge, binding me to loyally follow that united party." It is diftlcuit to see why the Pamellites and Healyites did not accept the challenge, made, as it was, face to face with the representatives of the Irish Race. Inasmuch as some proposition of his, in reference to the Irish Race Convention, was lost at a meeting of the Irish Parliamentary Party, in preparation for that historic evi.-nt, Mr. Healy absented him- self on the occasion of the great Convention, and so reconciliation was impossible. Mr. John Redmond was also absent, but it was clear enough from his utterances in the Independent newspaper he was watching closely the current of events. Afr. Healy and his friends have shown very little disposition to be reconciled. The Pamellites, however, ot whom Mr. Redmond is the avowed head, have made a move in the direction of peace and union. United Ireland, an organ of that party, has given an article which is very hopeful and encouraging. It is understood their resources are somewhat straightened. A short time ago it was announced that their favourite meeting piace in Upper O'Connell Street, Dublin, had passed into the hands of a Protestant body. Whereupon the Frceman'x Jnurnnl waxed exceeding s.id, especially on the further announcement that they thought of shi.cing to the National Club. Reports have it the club is not in a thriving condition, a thing for which the Freeman, as will be obser\'ed from the follow- ing quotation, has much sympathy. "The story is told that ps Sheridan was one night returning somewhat elated from dinner, he overtook a boon companion, who, in a worse plight than himself, lay prone in the mud of the roads. He implored assistance, and Sheridan, for an instant oblivious of his own condition, tried to help him. He seized him by the outstretched hand, and made three staggering attempts to raise him from the ground, but all in vain. Then he recognised the logic of the situation. ' My good friend,' he said, ' I cannot lift you np, but I can lie down beside you.' " Needless to make the application. Furthermore, it is gratifying, and augurs for unity, that Mr. Rerlmond and Mr. Dillon so recently stood side by side on the same platform in Tipperary on the amnesty question. But there is, on the whole, little sign of an immediate and thorough conciliation. The friends of Mr. Healy, who have started the opposition fund, claim that their step is the first and best thing to enforce union. It is difficult to see how it could effect this purpose. Indeed it is difficult to know who., is the real policy of Mr. Healy, and what his friends are wishing to secure for him. The question of appointing him chairman of the Party, seems not to have been entertained on any side. There is a feeling that the National Funds should be vested in trustees out- side of the National Party, and that there should be more freedom accorded the constituencies in selecting their candidates ; as also that the Irish representatives should keep free of all English parties. Meanwhile, although the Irish Race Convention has not yet 3E J ) ) -I s--- > 394 IRISH RACE CONVEyTION. elTected that union among the various suctions of Irishmen that had been hoped for at least in the fullest sense, still it is understood that its consequences shall be far reaching, and its decisions must eventually prevail. Its great principle was that minority should abide by the decision of the majority of the Irish Party. Without this principle it, would seem impossible to have any effective party, and it would be hoi)eless to conduct a party acting in unity. No matter what efforts are made to explain it away, the Convention was a memor- able event, and never again would it be possible to bring together an assembly so representative of Irish blood, except perhaps on the oc- casion of opening the Home Rule Parliament in College Green, if then. Differences it is true, still continue. But too much is made of our squabbles. When we consider the terrible scenes enacted during revolutions in other countries and the fury of the populace in their efforts to bring about reforms not half so much needed as in Ireland, we shall see that the conduct of the people of this country, under the most provoking of trials, is praiseworthy by comparison. We have the power and influence of the English Press to contend with, which is about the best equipped Press in the world, and loses no time to turn to account our little differences, and hold us up to ridicule in the eyes of the nations. But in spite of the grinning enemies of Ireland our rause goes on. We look for help and sympathy to the Irish Race abroad, and their friends, especially in America. .Sooner or later the national indepen- fienre of this country must be accomplished. ^ \ ^^mm^ ( 1 H - 1 ■ - ■■.--'■ t- . ^ . '• But remember when you have completed your system of impoverishment, that nature still proeeeds in her ordinary course, that discontent will increase with misery." — KuMUND Burke. " There is no debt ivith so much prejudice put o_ff as that of Justice."— Flvtaklh. \ Vi! 7 ; ) ( V -./- Ibon. je&\vait) BlaUc, ni>.K>., ON ©vcvssXTayation of Jtclanb. HOUSE OF COMMONS, z^th MARCH, 1897. i 1 ■ Hon. Edward Blake spoke as follows in support of his motion — "That in the oiiinion of this House the Report and I'rorcediiigs of the Royal Commission on the Fmancial Relations of (Ircat Biiuiin anil Ireland establish the existence of an undue burthen of taxation on Ireland, -vliich constitutes a great grievance to all classes of the Irish community, and makes it the duty of the Government to propose, at an early day, remedial legislation." Mr. Speaker, I rise to draw attention to the Report of the Royal Commission on the Financial Relations between Great Britain and Ireland, and to state tlie nature of the Irish case made out by that Report. I am glad to acknow- ledge that it has been favourably regarded in influential quarters on both sides of the House. But I am not insen- sible to the fact that there e.xists on the part of some members an indisposition, perhaps I might say an aversion to the discussion of Irish grievances ; some entertaining a conviction that there is no use in spending more time over Irish affairs, since, whatever is said or done, the people are still unreasonably dissatisfied ; and others cherishing the belief that Ireland is spoiled and favoured, rather than wronged and neglected. I feel too that the argument must be tedious, devoid of dramatic interest, full of wearisome detail. And most of all am I deeply conscious of my own inadequacy for the task which has been imposed upon me K..> -x^ ■^\;-J- , -- K "ij. vr ^ '■I / 398 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. il "3 - ^ V'-"/ '^1 ^^<:::±i^ nidfrcnce between this anil otiier Irish qucstiuns. Therefore I very earnestly supplicate the kind iiuhilgenrc of the I louse while I attempt to sustain the motion of which I have given notice. Sir, this differs from many former Irish questions. In those there was not so much as in this a united Ireland. In those the dominating British de- legation often assumed to be impartial judges, disinterested persons, deciding between con- flicting Irish factions. The Chancellor of the Exchequer said a while ago that in the discussion of this matter " a judicial mind " was essential. And the voices of the Irish Members are little regarded, because they are said to be parties, and therefore not fit judges in the case. But who, may I ask, are the other parties? If we be the plaintiffs, who are the defendants ? You, the British mem- bers I But your position is more powerful, and therefore more invidious, than ours, We, even if happily united on this question here as much as in Ireland, would be only one-seventh of this magisterial bench. You can neutralise us with near five hundred judges to spare. Thus, in the decision, we are impotent ; you all-powerful. You, then, are t/ie judges ; and we must plead with our adversaries to give judgment against themselves. On what then can we depend ? Whence cometh our hope ? We can rest only on the security declared in 1800 by a great British Minister to be adequate, when, speaking of this very contingency, he said — "But it has been said, 'What seniriiy can you give Ireland for the performance of the conditions?' If I were asked what security were necessary, without hesitation I would answer ' None.' The liberality, the justice, the honour of the people of Great Britain have never yet been found deficient." It is for you who speak for Britain to-day to make good Pitt's words of a century ago. Sir, I will limit to the utmost my large demand upon your patience. There are numerous questions, readily dis- cussible ad nauseam, involving economical and statistical problems, expert opinions, historical and legal views, ■.n , V _v- /- u /" J y ON OVER-TAX ATTON OF IRELAND. -joo I '.! 1 Population. columns of fij^urcs. \\y expanding all these, and hy dilat- ing upon the precise extent of the grievance and the possible kinds of redress, it would bo easy to obscure or sink the issue. I would gladly aim, if possible, rather at broad outlines and general results, and in some matters rely on expert authority ; but, after all, tedious details are inevitable. First let me ask the IIouso to consider the gravity of the issue ; and let me emphasise it by a brief Kconomic enumeration c f iome startling facts, new and resiills (if 1 Drit.iin's rule old, Collected by the Commission. For almost a since Union, ^^^^^y^^^ Britain has luled Ireland under the Union. I ask British members to recall the economic con- ditions of the two islands — the ruling and the ruled. They should give pause before the dismissal of our plaint. Take population. It is a great test, and involves a great element of strength. At the beginning Ire- land had five millions against a little over ten millions in Britain. She has now four and a-half millions, less by half a million, or lo per cent, of a loss in the century. Britain has now thirty-four millions, having increased by twenty-four millions, or 240 per cent. Had Ireland in- creased proportionately she would have had over sixteen millions ; her relative loss is eleven and a half millions. She had half as many : she has little more than one-eighth of Britain. But even this view is inadequate. Only half a century ago Ireland had eight and a half millions. She lost two millions directly and indirectly through the famine ; and since then so many more that, after eliminating the natural increase, her population has actually diminished by four millions, or 47 per cent, in half a century, an absolutely unexampled condition. Britain half a century ago had twenty millions ; she has increased by fourteen millions, or 70 per cent A proportionate Irish increase would make an Irish population of over fourteen millions. Her relative loss is near ten millions, or 70 per cent, in half a century. ':■■) J .V '"•iJ <y<iu'^/ >F 400 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. C. t M- C. of lIlC people. Fiimine. -'^1 W'" J Take next the condition of the people. Of this dread- fully reduced population there arc large Comliiion masses whose scale of existence is far below that of the corresponding masses of Hritain ; while Britain's increased numbers enjoy a steady and rapid advance in the standard of comfort. In Britain the scale of living and the margin available for emergencies make famine unknown and impossible. In Ireland the scale is so low and the margin so narrow that even a single bad crop tends in important areas to famine, necessitating public aid. In 1879- 1880, in 1886, in 1891, in 1894, you were obliged to pass Relief of Distress Acts for Ireland. In England there is no Congested Districts Board. In Ireland onc-si.xth of the country and near one-eighth of the population are thus dealt with. The average Poor- Law valuation of the area is £1 os. 2d. Many equally poor districts are excluded from the Act. There is pain- ful evidence of chronic penury and want in those parts ; reports which, if they could be alleged of a British district, would absolutely appal this House. Britain imports from Ireland and abroad for her masses vast quantities of the best foods, in addition o what she raises. Ireland raises great supplies of the best foods, which she is obliged largely to export to Britain, and to replace by inferior commodities, Indian corn and American bacon — the best her poverty-stricken masses can afford to use. Ireland is, in proportion to population, the fourth meat producer in the world, but only the sixteenth meat consumer. For England the conditions are reversed. She is the sixteenth meat producer, but the fourth meat consumer. The average Poor- Law valuation of all Ireland is under £$, about equal to the poorest East London union. The paupers of Ireland were per 1,000 in 1864, 52 ; of Britain, 49 ; nearly equal proportions, in 1895 they were in Ireland 95, being nearly doubled ; for Food. Poverty. ; ( M'"'-^ y^\.~j^\r. -■'Wii'!;i-4tr:-'*''-p!^t^;'>T / t u^ "■"^>H( :^ .y o ( ^U-[ niul Auricullurc. OX OVER-TAX ATIOX OF IRKI.AXh loi Britain, 26, bcitiy almost halved. From equality tliey have become near 4 lo i ; an increase, however, partly due to the assimilation of the systems as to out-door relief, limiijration has been drainiiii; from I'elaiui those in the prime of life. The very youn^j and the very comS. °''' remain. Thus the absolute and relative efficiency of the population has been lowered. Inferior conditions have produced other painful results. The proportion of deaf-mutes is near one-third Iart;cr than in Knt;land ; of blind, two-fifths ; of lunatics, one-third. And, on the other hand, the proportion of births over deaths is in Ireland less than half that in Britain. Take manufactures and agriculture. Irish manufactures have largely declined. While between 1841 Manufactiircj and 1 89 1 the wholc population decreased 43 per cent., the manufacturing population decreased 61 per cent. Now only 27 per cent, of the Irish population is urban. In the same time the manufactures of Britain have immeasurably increased, and now 71 per cent, of her population is urban. The figures are about reversed. Thus, Ireland has become more and more dependent upon the land ; 73 per cent, of her people live in the country, and 64 per cent, arc directly dependent upon agriculture. It follows that she has suffered enormously, absolutely and relatively, by the fall in prices, accentuated by the loss of local town markets ; and her gross and net returns from agriculture have been very greatly reduced, involving the loss of a large propor- tion of her yearly resources. Britain has become more and more independent of agriculture. Under 29 per cent, of her people are rural ; and therefore she has been less affected as a country by the fall in prices ; while agricul- ture itself has been helped by the wide-spreading urban districts, which have turned large agricultural areas into market gardens, and town supply-farms ; a process which ought to be much accelerated. 3t / b }l\ . <) r m; 'I \ m •(■- m <i ;( ST. PATIUCK STIIEET, DUUI-IN. (■"',■■ ; 1 • .'i "o^ji,;^ I I o.v (jyi:n.TA.\ATi(ix of ini:i..\sh. .(o,? Commcrci', Resources. Take commerce. Ireland has hardly any foreinn com- merce or invcstinnUs, and a l.ir^^c [larl of her yearly income is tliained away by ab.senlec landlords and inort(jat,'ees, Britain is still the yreat manufacturer, merchant, carrier, and lender of the world, whose wealth she drains. Thou^'h Irelanil still has a population of between one-seventh ami one-ei^;hth of Hritain's, the number of her railway passen<jers is but one- thirty-seventh; of tons of railway frcif^ht, f)ne-seventi<;th; of telegrams, Qnc-Ci);hteenth, and of money and puntal orders, oiic-ninctecnth — facts which prove her comparative sbiy- nation. Take resources. Sir Robert Giffen's conclusion is that, taking into account all circumstances, the incomes of the wage-earning classes in Ire- land arc, man for man, little more than half those of Groat Britain. The gross income or yearly resources of Ireland are estimated too highly at 70 millions ; those of Britain too low at 1,400 millions, or twenty-fold. The capital of Ireland was reckoned in 18 12 at 563 millions, or over one- third that of Britain, which was 1,500 millions. Ireland is thought now to have 400 millions, or near one-third re- duction, and Britain over 10,000 millions, or over seven- fold increase. Ireland has gone down relatively from over one-third to under one-twenty-fifth. Sir, these comparisons might be easily multiplied and cnlaiged upon, but the bald statements prove '^wul'tl' ^^^^ ^^'^ conditions of the two islands you govern are wholly different and increasingly diverging in the extent of their resources, in the kinds of their resources, and in their economic circumstances and interests. They show that your rule has advanced your- selves, but failed to prosper her. They prove that her situation demands the just and generous consideration of the rich and powerful rulers of the weak and poor island whose destinies you control. ' ••, ■' I ..' I. ('f^ :^a5.4 y '\^'' i ( 404 11 ox. EDM'ARD BLAKE, M.P. Maximum ,.„amate of Kclalivc Tax- able Capacity. Report. > I \aX inc add ihis one contrasting fact — that on wliich our present claim is founded. Tiie one great The one con- point in whicli Britain exliibits a decline and ''Taxation. Ireland an advance is in the scale of taxation! In Ireland the taxes on commodities which strike the masses, were per head, in 1790, 4s. ; in 1820, lis. ; in 1894, 22s. — they were doubled. In Britain they were, in 1820, 48s. ; in 1894, 24s. — they were halved. The Irish taxes which had been under one-fourth have become almost equal, notwithstanding the relative poverty of the country. Sir, n ay I deal, before considering our rights under the Union Act, with cne cardinal point of economic fact ; the relative taxable capacity of the two islands, as contrasted with their actual taxation. For the purposes of this debate it is enough to show the maximum estimate of Ireland's relative capacity, reached by any one of twelve out of thirteen commissioners The Joint Report finds that — " While the actual tax revenue of Ireland is about one-eleventh of that of Britain, the relative taxable capacity of Ireland is very much smaller, and is not estimated by any of us to exceed one-twentieth." This conclusion was reached after two years' examina- tion and consideration by eminent experts, oflirS financiers, statisticians, and Treasury officials. section of Lgj: me, because of the imputation of bias, Commission. , ,,,,.. , .1 1 leave out all the Irish members, though some of them, at any rate, ought to count in this question. Let me consider the British members only, who also, by the same reasoning, may have been unconsciously biassed against us. It was reached substantially by Mr. Childers, the first chairman, a distinguished economist and financier, an ey-Chancellor of the Exchequer, a man retired from party politics, who devoted the last years of his life to this great public service, in the discharge of which he died. It was i-eached by Lords Farrer and Welby, who had filled the L.o..est posts in the British Treasury, and in the Board of :^'U^ I V J J / ( ox OVER-TAXATION OF IRKf.AXn 405 •N Trade — posts demanding' and developing the qualities most required for the work ; and whose public services had been rewarded by scats in the Upper Chamber, whicii was honoured and strengthened by their accession to its ranks. It was reached by the late Mr. Currie, a man of the highest reputation in these walks, who had proved his powers in other posts ; and by Professor Hunter, a late colleague of ours, whose brain-power, knowledge, and industry are well-known here. It was reached substan- tially by Sir David Barbour, dissentient on other grounds, whose distinguished career abroad may, perhaps, permit him to be admitted as impartial, though marked by Irish, birth. There remains just one British member ; perhaps the Chancellor of the Exchequer would say f//e just one — a col- league of ours who does not give assent, proceeding on other lines, but, not as I understand, negativing the conclusion. It has indeed been said that even these British members arc tainted, too, because they are favourers of Home liule. But this is not now a question, though you may make it one, of Home Rule. The claim to Home Rule is made on other grounds. It is an absurd contention (as has been shown by the hon. member for Plymouth, whose sympa- thetic treatment of our case I gladly acknowledge) that such opinions could vitiate their judgment on this economic question. Then you must, as I submit, give great weight to the conclusions of that body of men, experts, but of like passions with ours, and subject to the same infirmities, who have yet found against themselves and you. It was reached on the evidence of Sir Robert Giffen and Sir Edward Hamilton, and others, great British public ser- vants — the one the able head of the Treasury and the other an economist and statistician of eminent repute, heightened by his display on this occasion. It was reached after collecting, weighing, and sifting all information sug- gested from every quarter, and valuing and applying all tests — population, '"mports and exports, consumption of duty-paid goods, consuiiiption of commodities of oriiriary / '-■ ' \..,., -. //: ' V •V ■J ( : Mb K'-i 'm 406 HOX. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. use, assessment of death duties, assessment of income tax, other incomes and wages, yearly wealth, aggregate pro- duction, capital, comparative progress of capacity, relative effects of fiscal policy, and so on, with statistical facts too numerous to name. It was reached after examination of the principles of taxation and their application, including some '^''"'hitir ""' ^"f^^^^ made a serious difference amongst us, mainly because some of us thought that the gross income was relatively smaller, and that a larger application was needed of the principles of equality of sacrifice, of deduction of a subsistence allowance, and of the relative taxable weakness of a poor as compared with a wealthy country. Some of us believed, and now believe, tliat a just application of these principles would show the Irish relative capacity much less, and her taxable surplus almost exhausted, while the British is hardly touched Wc saw an Irish surplus over living allowance of perhaps fifteen millions mainly abstracted by taxation, and a British surplus of perhaps eleven hundred millions less than tithed by t,axation. We saw the Irish relative taxable capacity steadily diminishing. We thought, in accordance with Sir Robert Giffen, that a far lower proportion would be true, and also that a maximum contribution should be fixed so as to meet the proved danger of excessively in- creased expenditure. I quite agree that a rigorous appli- cation of these figures and principles is not to be hoped for yet. It still is true that — " To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abun- dantly ; and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." But a nearer approach should be made ; and I hope some day to maintain this view in this place. Meantime, I ask you to remember that this is stated only as a maximum. Sir Edward Hamilton himself, towards the close of the in- quiry, put the relation of resources as one twenty-second apart, as I understand, from the question of subsistence \ • \j > 1 1 Enormous Over- Taxation proved. Oy OVEB-TAXATrOX OF I RELAX D. 407 allowance, and Lord Farrcr has lately, in another place, declared his conviction to be that the maximum named is too high. For my present purpose, this is enough and more than enough. It so far proves a grcit disproportion — so far establishes a substantial grievance — so far calls for a remedy. I would only ask you to remember that the contribu- tion of Ireland is between one-eleventh and one-twelfth, or nearly twice her maximum relative taxable capacity, and thus reaches a minimum excess of two and three-quarter millions. As 1 have said, on the question of precise degree the Commission was divided. All the facts and arguments arc now before the Government, which should propose a de- cision to be settled some other day on broad lines by I'ar- liamentary adjustment and compromise. I cannot then accept this as the just estimate ; I ask you to accept it only as a maximum. Indeed, I am not sure that this proposi- tion is now c"'sputed. It takes me only part of the way in my argument ; but I strongly argue that by itself it creates an urgent case for relief on the grounds of fair play and generous consideration due from the strong to the weak. But, sir, the case of Ireland stands higher. It stands upon treaty and justice, equity and right. Ireland has been found by the Commission entitled to separate consideration as a fiscal entity in this question of contribution ; and the finding is of weight. This is, however, not a question especially for experts. It is based on historical, legal, and equitable considerations, peculiarly for the final decision o( this House, and I must ask your patience while I briefly state its grounds. In 1782, Ireland had partly emerged from that condition of servitude as to her trade and manufactures i78rto'^^i8oo. described in 1785 in wounding words by Pitt, adding " Ireland had been made completely subservient to the interests and opulence of Great Britain ;" and further, " Such a system, however I' True l),isis of Iruhiml's Case. Report. Graltan's Parliament. I I Ji i t .^. !' IN C U:, cA\ L TUMULUS AT NEW GKANGE, CO. LOUTll, I ^ 'A J .3 -— , ... ^ :l V ) I I I ON OVEli-TAXATIOX OF Uih'LAMi. 409 necessary it might be to tiic partial benefit of districts in Hritain, promoted not tlic real strength and prosperity of the iMiipirc." From 1782 to 1800 Ireland had a measure of independence, though under a defective constitution. During the first ten years there was peace. The country, though poor, was improving ; manufactures, productions, and c.v-ports expanded ; the establishments were moderate; the taxation was one million, equal to 4s. a head, all on con.sumption ; and it met the expenditure. Then came the French war, followed by the Rebellion, after which a large army was planted on the country during the negotiations for the Union. These calamities had, by 1800, rai.sed the taxation to two and a-half millions, or los. a head. There was a deficiency of over sixteen millions — ten millions for the war ; six millions for the Rebellion and armed occupation. To meet this a debt of twenty-eight millions had been created, the charge for which was one and a-quarter millions. This condition was, of course, abnormal and temporary. The taxation of Britain at the same time, of which two-thirds was upon consumption, was ^3 a head, or six-fold that of Ireland. Then came the proposals for Union. They excited alarm at the danger of over-taxation of Ire- land. Speaker Foster, and other Irish mem- bers, in language which sounds prophetic now, anticipated the sad future. These alarms it was necessary to soothe. There was no pretence that Ireland was able to bear the British rate of taxation. Her absolute and relative poverty was acknowledged, and calculations were made professing to show the relative resources and to fix the just pro- portion of contribution of each country to the common burden to be assumed by the United Kingdom. The bases were unsound, narrow, defective, now exploded ; and, besides, they included some unfit Irish, and excluded 5'- iSoo. Union Proposals. Urilish Acknowledg- ments in Union De- b.ites' (Juota System. A J ]. 1^^ ^^ " It were a consummation much to be wished that the finances nf both countries were so nearly alike that the systems of both could be identified. Hut as, from the difierent proportions of debt, different stages of civilisation and commerce, and the diflferent wealth of the nations, that desirable object is rendered impracticable for some time to come," And so on. Thus there was a clear acknowledgment of the elements of our case — the materiality of the differences in civilisation, commerce, and wealth of the nations. The liriti-sh professions were all against any increase of Irish burdens. Pitt as- sured the House — Pitt's professions. "That the Union was not sought from a pecuniary motive;" " it must infuse a large portion of wealth into Ireland, and supply its want of industry and capital ; " " there was no ground for the apprehension that liritain would tax Ireland more heavily," " or that Ireland would be subject to an increase of taxes or to a load of debt ;" "the contribution to be imposed on Ireland would not be greater (han her own present necessary expenses ; " " Ireland would continue to contribute in its accustomed proportion;" and that "one of the 410 HON. EDWARD ULAKE, Ml' I f some proper British elements of calculation. The result was an erroneous estimate of relative taxable capacity of two to fifteen. Mark that the population was one to two; the quota, one to seven and a-half. The justice of the esti- mate was disputed. The Irish Lords protested, calculating that one to eighteen or twenty was the truth ; and they were justified by the event. The principle of proportionate contribution was sound ; but its application was false, and its results were ruinous. It was thought possible that a change might be made later allowing equal and indiscriminate ta.xation, subject to abatements and exemptions for Ireland. The main difficulty present to men's minds was the debt. Apparently the promoters contended that the leading end, namely — contribution according to resources — could be accom- plished by the alternative arrangement. But it is clear that this was not absolutely held, for in April, 1800, Pitt said — Indiscrimi- tiale Tax.iiion system. (■ ,_..i) ON UVER-TAXATIUN OF lUKLASt). 4 If Abatements nnd Exemptions. objects of the Act was to ensure that Ireland should never be taxed but in proportion as we tax ourselves." Viscount CastlcreaRh in the Irish House said ^rofessTons? ^^^ '^^'"c. Hc stated that tlie plan of revision — " Gave to Ireland the utninst possible security that she could rot be taxed lieyond the measure of her coinp.irative ability, and the ratio of her contribution must ever correspond with her relative wealth and prosperity." He, however, suggested that if indi.scriminate taxation were adopted it would have this effect, saying that — " liy no means whatsoever could the kingdoms be made to con- tribute so strictly according; to their means as bcin^ subject to the same taxes, equally bearing on the great objects of taxation in both coun- tries." Thus this suggestion was not to defeat but to maintain the principle of proportionate con- tribution of the two countries, and, therefore, it was coupled with appropriate security, being made — " .Subject to abatements and exemptions in Ireland and Scotland, ivhich circumstances might from time to time demand." On this provision, Castlereagh said — "While Ireland is thus secured against any injustice in substituting a system of common taxes in lieu of proportionate contribution, the Union Parliament will always be able to make abatements in Ireland, as the Parliament of Great Britain has always done in Scotland since thu Union, when from local circumstances the high duty cannot be levied without either rendering the revenue unproductive or pressing too hard upon the poorer classes." Mark these words. They explode the idea that the coin- parative poverty of the poorer classes in Ireland is to be ignored. It is to be recog- nised. The individuality of the country, the separate entity, so to speak, is in this respect, maintained. And indeed it is absurd to argue that a country full of contrasts with Britain in all respects, for which you are every day legislating separately, whose whole body of law is different from yours, should be in this Ireland i, Sep.iralc lax able entity alwiiys. ■i . '■ } ,y ^'l^'- 413 ^U" HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.V. matter, in which also its distinctions arc fundamental, recognised and iiiLrcasing, treated as one witii you. Pitt, indeed, could not decline to recognise the rule we invoke as between a poor and a rich country, for in 1785 he said, tis to these two islands — Hiilisistencc Allowance . "The smallest burden on ;i poor coiinliy was lo be considered v hen compared with those of a rich one, 1)y no ineaps in proporiiun to tue several abilities, for if one country exceeded another in wealth, popu- lation and established commerce, even in a proportion of two to one, he was nearly convinced that th;U country would be able to bear near ten times the burden that the other wouUI be e(pial 10." The reason is that in order to pay taxes we must live ; and that therefore a subsistence allowance must be made ; and even the margin after that allowance cannot be heavily touched without disaster. Some cconoinists think that fifteen per cent, is t'-e extreme point on an average ; and, of course, the narrower the margin, the sooner the extreme point would be reached. These considerations show that it was intended to secure and maintain a due recognition of the inferior capacity of Ireland, as a country, so long as that inferiority existed ; first by the creation and revision of the quota ; and later, if the other plan were adopted, by due consideration in the !cv)-ing, and due exemptions and abatements from the taxes. If, then, it be possible so to read the Act it ought to be so read. Sir, it is not only possible but in- evitable. Look at the Union Act, as quoted in Mr. Childers' Report. The seventh arti- cle, after providing separately for the debt, enacts — "That for twenty years the contribution of Britain and Ireland respectively towards the expenditure of the United Kingdom shall be defrayed in the proportion of fifteen parts for liritain and two parts for Irchnd; and at the expiration of twenty years the future expenditure of the United Kingdom shall be defrayed in such proportion as Parliament shall deem just and reasonable — (i) on comparison of imports and exports; (2) on comparison of consumption of beer, spirits, sugar, wine, tea, tobacco, and malt ; (3) or according to the aggregate proportion of both the above comparisons ; (4) or on com- Union Act : Taxation by Quota. (^ z^- ox (iVIUt-TAXATloX OF IUhLAXP. »'.? \ f>: / ' pjirisnn of iiirDiiu', in cnsc a ki'iui.iI like income lax was cstahlislied. riic rarliamtiit was afteiwanls in imikcciI in likuinaniHTto revi-ic and fix tiic proportion of liiirdciis at nitcrvals of Irotn twenty to seven years, and the fixed proportion was to be raised in eath teiinliy by such taxation in that country as I'arlianient deemed (it." So far all is quota ; and all is clear. Then tlic Act pro- vldes that — "(I) If, at any future day, the separate debt of eaih I'nion Art ; country be hquidated or reach eipial proportions, and Indiscrinilii.ile (2) if it shall ajipcar to I'arlianient that the respective Taxation. circumstances of the two cour.tries will thenceforth admit of their contributing indiscriminately by e(pial taxes imposed on the same articles in eacli, to the future expenditure of the United Kingdom, it shall be competent to rarliamcnt to declare that all future expenditure and the ilebt charge shall be so dcfr.iyeil indiscriminately .and by eipial taxes imposed on the same articles in each country ; and thenceforth from time to time, as circumstances may require, to impose and apply such taxes accordingly, subject only to such abatements and exemptions in Ireland and in that p.irt of (Ireat Ihitain called bcolland, as tircuinstantes m.iy appear from time to tune to demand." Note that it wa.s not on the sole condition of the attain- ment of the quota by the debt, but also on the determination of I'arliament that "the circum- stances of the two countries would admit of it," that the change could take place. And thus, even thereafter, the principle of regulating the contribution by national circumstances remained. Note again that even if the change did take effect, yet the im- position of equal taxes on the same articles was subject in Ireland, though not in any English county, to abatements and exemptions. It was recognised therefore that the plan might not produce the stipulated result, which was still intended, of contribution according to ability ; and a remedy was provided for all time. I implore you not to minimise that remedy I This safeguard against national injustice under the indiscriminate system was designed to preserve to Ireland substantially the same immunities. Docs anyone pretend that it was designed that her con- dition should be injuriously affected by the later change? Could the Act of Union have been carried on any such suggestion ? The principle ofcDinparalive National Capacity continues still. 1 i \ -\ /•-v '-Tr^ ~VI ^- !li 414 7/O.V. EDWAliD BLAKE, M.V. Result. Ireland is not placed in the position of an English county. You ask why should not Wiltshire IrilaiKl iKit or liast London complain. Sonic answers nil I'.iinlisli Ti u ^1 ii 1 coumy. arc — flicy have not our clause : they have no distinctive position : they arc protected as parts of the ruling island. It is thus clear that Ireland has always been entitled to claim that she should be taxed by the United Kingdom Parliament only in substantial pro- portion to her relative taxable capacity, and it is clear also that, regard being had to that relative capacity, she has heen overtaxed by this Parliament. Well, Sir, one would say the question is ended ! Hut it is now argued that this is only half the issue ; I'roposcd that there is a question of the application of Expenditure. United Kingdom taxation ; that it is to be divided into four sets of estimates ; one for England, one for Scotland, one for Ireland, and one for the United Kingdom ; that the contribution of each of the three countries is to be charged first with its own estimate ; that the obligation to proportionate contribution applies only to the newly proposed United Kingdom estimate ; and there- fore that it is only in respect to the balance available for this new and separate estimate that any question of over- taxation can arise. It is to the recognition and applica- tion of this new principle that the proposed Commission is mainly directed ; and against that proposal we protest. The First Lord of the Treasury said at Manchester, on the eve of the session, that those who argue at'^Manclicstcr ^^^^ Ireland's capacity is one-twenty-first are, necessarily committed to the view that she should pay one-twenty-first to what he is pleased to call Imperial objects; and he argued that the expenditure of the Imperial Parliament is to be divided into three amounts — one to be debited to Britain, one to Ireland, and one to re- main as the true Imperial Budget, in respect of which latter alone, no matter what the results ot the other accounts .„^„ " I / p H B : I f' .\. \) '^V^' 1 ..— .,.6 HON. EDWARD ULAKE, M.P. Tlir Union Act nllowH iKi ilivisiiiri of Kxpcn>liturc. luT taxable pnipurtion is to be paid by Ireland. This he called "clear and lo^jical " ; and he declared that the result of this method would be to show that Ireland was not over- tixed, but under-taxed by the present system. And it is to establish this result that he intends the new Commission. Sir, I will show later the circumstances under which this novel anu schismatical doctrine was pro- niulfjated, anil is now advaii< ■ d, and its ex- traordinary, far-reachinf(, and separatist con- sc(iuencos, wholly opposed to the pcncral conception of Unionist policy. And I will then deal with certain exceptional provisions which demand separate consideration. At present I deal with the con- tention only in its general aspect and on the basis of the treaty, in order to relieve the House from recurrence to that fimdaniental instrument. Now, what support docs ihc {jencral contention derive from this, the only effective (piarter ? None I Absolutely none ! The im.ity rightly rcijards all expenditure by the Farliam'- , of the United Kingdom as United Kingdom ' that all expenditure d' ""idod its view required, wb regard to the loc total, to be con its relative tav ' .pacity. which Britain Imv in overwl iming majority, had power to fix the objects ;uid the ale of expendittire. Ireland could not lay burdens on Britain, or vote hers* f one necessary shilling. ]3ritai could lay bui mis on 1 land, and could refuse to vote lier an unnecessary -shilli' The dread of Ireland was that she might be ovcr-t under-supplied ; and the Treaty was framed to apprehension. You may say — "What! is Hritain to Ireland to spend?" Not so. The United Kingd expend on objects which pra tically the British majority decides arc proper, in whatever part of the kingdom the expenditure may take place, and to whatever extent Par- iditure. Its hisis is ^^'^ '' irlian cnt, as in lature, without shall form otic iry according to Li ted Parliament, in and ■t this y and in is to •^ir V k / ) ON OVER.TAXATWN OF IRKI.AND. t'7 ? )o liamcnt may think necessary. Ami, to the aRnrcRatc expenditure so settled, each country is to contribute in proportion to its capacity. Hut you, the Unionists, arc now nrtjiiinK that the expenditure is in effect federal, and must be subject to separate accounts I Let me recur to the Treaty to demonstrate the truth. It contains one, and but one, provisimi for pro vu" mi^'^for ■'*ci>ai'atc Contribution by each country, namely, Expendliuio. to the debt charge ; and this was istal)li>hed In justice to Ireland, because her debt was so much lifjhtcr that to consolidate the debt would have involved a disproportionate burden. lUit this txct-ptinn from the general rule marks more clearly, in reason and in law, that in all other matters there was to be no separate accounting. It goes on to provide for the defrayal of the " Kxpcmlitiire of tlic Unitrd Kin^;ll()Ml" in the quota proportions, and for the defraj'al, after twenty years, of— "the future ex|)cn(litiire of tlie United Kinjjdom (other ih.in the interest and charge of tlic debt to which cither country shall Ic separately liable)" in proportions to be ascertained as provided. Thus the whole expenditure of the United Kingdom, apart from the debt charges, was so to be defrayed. But the Act lays down that — " For defraying the s.iid expenditure, according to the rules above laid down, the revenues of Ireland shall hfreafter constitute a consoli- dated fund which shall be charged in the (irst instance with the interest and sinking fund of the debt of Ireland, and the remainder shall In- applied towards defraying the proportion of the expenditure of the United Kingdotn to which Ireland may be li.ible in c.ich year." It provides that the i)roportion of the contribution to which Britain and Ireland would be liable shall be raised by such taxes in each country as the Parliament of the United Kingdom shall determine, with a provision against certain increases in Irish duties. It then enacts that — " If at the end of any year any surplus shall accrue from the revenues of Ireland, after defraying the mtcrest and sinking fund and the pro- 3" VJ {■^- A ■ 4t8 1[0N. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. portion of the contributions and scpnr.ite charges to which Ireland shall then be liable, taxes shall be taken off to the amount of such surplus, or the surplus shall be applied by the Parliament of the United Kin},'dom to local purposes in Ireland, or to make yood any deficiency in the Irish revenue m time of peace, or to be invested to accumulate for the benefit of Ireland in time of war.'' It is thus clearly shown by the specific appropriation of the whole revenues of Ireland that there is no place what- ever for the proposed plan. Every shilling to be raised from her is appropriated ; and no possibility exists of such an application as is now suggested. Again, the House will remark the provision for the application of a surplus to local purposes in Ireland. It is not every expenditure in Ireland that is local; the place alone does not make it " local ; " the purpose itself must also be local. The Act also provides for the application for twenty years " to local I I purposes in Ireland " (repeating the same phrase) i^, be ' decided by the Parliament of the United Kingdom, of a "^ sum equal to the average grants by the Irish Parliament for the prior six years in premiums for the internal encourage- . ' ment of agriculture or manufactures, or for the maintenance of institutions for pious and charitable purposes. Now, Sir, it seems to me too clear for argument that no such principle as is now iet up was contemplated or agreed to at the Union under the quota system. And I need not say that no such practice was attempted. But the Act, when providing for a possible change to indiscriminate taxation, only provides a new unde"^'^ method for supplying the same expenditure, common taxa- on the same principle of just contribution, and , I ■ contains no hint of authority for any different ' dealing. It provides for this possib'e change only — 1 "If it shall appear to Parliament that the respective circumstances , j flf the two countries will admit of their contributing indiscriminately to ' j the future expenditure of the United Kingdom." It enacts that in that case — " AU future expenses thencc*brth to be incurred " ' shall be defrayed accordingly, subject to abatements and I ■", i I - v.. mw^ ., I / ON OVER-TAXATION OF IRELAND. 4r9 exemptions. This is the same expenditure, provided for according to the same general principle, namely, relative resources, by another metiiod. It introduces no further change. Under the new idea the protection of Ireland would be quite illusory, for she might be taxed beyond the quota by the United Kingdom Parliament, which might make provision for large expenditure in Ireland, forming a prior charge on the quota. How could this be met, save by extra taxation .' Yet the quota limit was provided to meet all taxation. Now, Sir, as this is a cardinal point, I fear I must trouble the House with the views of that great majority The Reports of the Commissioners who, by separate yet this head. accordant reports, reached my conclusion. Mr. Childers says : — " We think tliat the nature of public expenditure in Ireland and the possibility of reducing it would be a very proper subject for a separate inquiry. It does not, however, seem that, because the cost of centr.il administriition in Ireland is greater relatively to population and wealth than it is in Great Britain, this, by itself, is any reason wh; the ])i.ople of Ireland should contribute to *he public revenue a share in excess of her relative wealth." " It was, in our opinion, the clear intention of the promotors of the Act of Union that so far as related to taxation, or the raising of revenue (v/hether contributing, as she did, according to a certain ratio till 1817, or whether, as subsequently, by way of in- discriminate taxation, subject to exemptions), Ireland should have a distinct position and a separate consideration. But it was equally their intentioi. that all expense, including no less that upon civil government in Ireland than that 'ipon the army and navy, should be in common or Imperial. It was never intended that the ratio of contribution or liie extent of the exemptions and abatements (as the case might be) should be affected by the consideration of the relative cost of administration in each of the three countries. We think that while the legislative and fiscal Union between the kingdom remains this way of treating the matter must hold good." The O'Conor Don and Messrs. Redmond, Hunter, Martin, and Wolf say in substance : — " The division of the Imperial expenditure into three parts — one for local purposes in Great Britain, one for local purposes in Ireland, and one for Imperial purposes, is a distinction of quite modern creation. It was not thought of at the time of the Act of Union. It is quite clear, .according to the provisions of tl'at Act, that the Imperial expenditure to which Ireland was to contribute under that Act included all civil government expenditure, no matter in what part nf the Unites '!iil li ^ I ) \ ■•^i/'^ >) 430 IION: EDWARD BLAKE. M.P. i Kinydom it took pl.ici;. Nothing can be ckMier tlian Mr. Pitt's and Lord Casllerea^ih's declarations on this point, and it is not denied by Sir Edward Hamilton that if the provisions of the Act of Union were still in force Imperial expenditure should be treated as a whole, and could not be split up in the way he suKntsts. This distinction was not thought of either at the time of the amalgamation of the Exchequers, or when Irish taxation was increased, or in the Irish Taxation Com- mittee of 1864. In truth, at those times, it would not have served as a defence, for the account was all the other way, and the adoption of this principle would have proved Ireland a creditor." Mr. Sexton and Messrs. Slattery and Blake say in sub- stance : — " Ireland, under the Treaty of Union, is, and must be regarded as, a separate country for the purpose of taxation. This is evident by the system of propoi'.ional taxation. Yet Lord Castlercagh, in moving the article, dwelt on tlic sacrifice to be inade by Great Britain and the advantage to be gamed by Ireland, and in proof of this advantage declared that — ' If the proportion of expenditure be rightly fixed and ascertained upcn just principles for every part of the empire it is im- material to GiC.it Ijritain where the expenditure takes pl.ice.' The principle thus enunciated, contribution according to relative means, expenditure as required, and without regard to limit of contribution, is the principle of the Treaty. Thus Ireland is to contribute her whole revenue to the wholr. revenue of the United Kingdom — not part of it to meet one set of charges and the rest to defray another ; nor has the amount of Imperial expend-'ure ary cfiect or bearing on '.he question of the amount which her circi instances, compared to those of Hritain, enable her to contribute to the common exchequer. The Imperial Parliament secured the power and accepted the duty of administering Irish .affairs or. the covenant that the taxation of Ireland should not be in excess of her relative resources. The violation of this covenant cannot be justified or excused by a reference to the kind of expendi- ture in Ireland which the Imperial Parliament, in the discharge of its assumed duty, has thought it necessary or proper to incur." It appears from the evidence that the late Sir Robert Hamilton was of the same opinion. There are then ten Commissioners, including three British Commissioners — Messrs. Childers, Hamilton, and Hunter — who have taken this position. And Lords Farrer and Welby and Mr. Currie, while — pressed, as I understand, by certain special cases — they are " unable to admit the general principle that local expenditure which is sanctioned by the Imperial Parliament must be regarded as Im- perial expenditure," think that "there is both truth and value in the contrary allegations fwhich *v r- t ON OVER-TAXATION OF 1 RELAX D. 421 tliey set out] if these bo confined to the support of the argument that we cannot, in taking an account between the two countries, justly set off the whole or the greater part of this expenditure against the over- taxation of Ireland." ■..; History — iSoo to 1817. Tho quota excessive. And thus there is, to a very large extent, unanimity on this head. I will deal later with the special cases referred to. At present t ask the House to agree that in the Treaty there is no ground for the general contention that expenditure in Ireland by the United Kingdom Parlia- ment is to be separately borne by Ireland. Well, Sir, the Union was consummated. The long war followed at enormous cost. Irish taxation was raised from under three millions in i8cx3 to six millions in 1817. The Select Committee of 181 1 reported serious falls in the Irish revenue in several periods, caused by a lessened yield, concurrently with doubled and trebled duties. The Select Committee of 1 8 17 found that Ireland had advanced in permanent taxation faster than Britain ; for while Britain's permanent taxation had been raised in the proportion of 16^ to 10, and her whole revenue, including war taxes, as 21^ to 10, Irish taxation had been raised as 23 to 10. The bulk of the Irish increase was on the consumption of the masses which was taxed to and beyond the highest productive point. Yet Ireland could not meet the quota. Her debt was increased by 84 millions as against a British increase of 291 millions, or as i to 3^. Thus the predictions ol the Union-makers were falsified , by the event. The Irish Lords' protest against Predictions of / ' Union makers the Union Act sounds like a prophecy. Iney falsified. j^^j protested— " Because, when we compare the relative abilities of Great Britain and Ireland, we find the contributions to be paid by the two king- doms to the expenses of the new Empire most unequally adjusted ; that the share of 2-1 7ths fixed upon us as the proportion to be paid by Ireland is far beyond what her resouices will enable her to dis- charge. Should Ireland undertake to pay more than she shall be able to answer, the act will be irrevocable, and the necessary conse- quences will be a gradual diminution of her capital, the decline of her /. ; o vr" ■i i ^H L - : V ^»^H HIJRl 1 M ^1 =r I^I^IHlL- -'"-'^iV 55 d w M W t <^ '^f: ^ !*_ \: y — ^ ON OVER-TAXATION OF IRELAND. 423 trade, a failure in the pi-oduce of her taxes, ar\d, finally her total bankruptcy.'' The quota was excessive I Some of the Commissioners thinl< it was because the rate was too high ; others because the war was too costly ; others for both these reasons. But there is practical unanimity in the finding that — "The Act of Union imposed on Ireland a burden which, as events showed, she was unable to bear." This finding I ask the House to assent to ; and to re- member that this was the beginning of the evil. This first experience demonstrates the truth of the view that there should be some limitation to the call Need of which, under such a union, the richer may make hmitation of ,, . a . . . ,- , contribution, o" the poorer nation. A jomt expenditure, the proportion of which, though heavy, may be tolerable on a lower scale of joint expense, becomes intoU erable to the poorer nation when the scale is raised, while it may be no more than heavy, and quite tolerable still, to the richer nation. Another illustration has been given by the results of the very latest statements as between Ireland and Britain, which show that while Ireland's contribution is larger than ever, the disproportionate excess contributed by Britain has apparently lessened for the year the Irish grievance 1 By this road Ireland approached a bankruptcy due to the unjust quota fixed by the Union Act, and one would have thought it the fairest course to anticipate by three years the stipulated term, and to revise the quota at once. But by this road, though through a reversed process, the debts had come into quota proportion, and this oppor- tunity was used to bring the other plan into force. For lack of time I pass over, however serious, the irregular dealings with the joint and separate debts, though I think they were contrary to the Act, and a violation of the agreement, and did not form a legal basis of action. New pltin adopted. C-'ommon taxation. - y 424 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. J J ) No intention of actually levying common taxes. Abatements and exemp- tions. The plan was proposed as the simplest means of dealing with the debt, and it is perfectly clear that there was no intention at that time of actually levying indiscriminate taxation. On the con- trary, Lord Liverpool, then Prime Minister, in contemplation of the measure, said in 181S :— "He trusted that when the two Treasuries of Great Britain and Ireland should be consolidated, such a measure, arranged with due caution, would be found exceedingly advantageous to all parties, and that the Irish public would benefit by its operation. Care would, no doubt, be taken in regulating the taxation to pay due regard to local circuiTistances, and that the principle of the measure in contemplation should be equally fair to Gre.it Britain and Ireland." And Mr. Vcsey Fitzgerald, the Irish Chancellor, said in reference to the results of the consolidation : — " I do not fear that Parliament will ever declare the competency of Ireland to bear the entire weight of that taxation which the wealth and resources of England enable her to support, without reference to those considerations upon which alone Ireland should be exempted from those burthens which are laid upon all other subjects of the United Kingdom. The power of that exemption is specially reserved to Parliament by the Act of Union." After the requisite preliminaries, on the ist July, 1816, the Rill consolidating the debts and revenues became law. But in these proceedings twice reappears the Union Act provision as to abatements and exemptions. The extraordi- nary declaration that — " The circumstances will admit of indiscrimate taxation," is itself made, "subject to such particular abatements and exemptions in Irel.tnd and .Scotland as circumstances may from time to time appear to de- mand." The declaration of expediency provides for the imposition of common taxation subject to abatements and exemptions in the same terms. Thus the Union Act provision has never lost its force. It was long acted on substantially ; it is acted on to some extent to-day. 1816. Consolidation Act. '~J I rT^T' r^- > A 1 I \ ox OVKR-TAXATION OF IRELAND. 425 Sir, may I now briefly state the course of taxation from 1817 to i860. There was, up to 1853, no sub- Course of stantial assimilation. Twenty millions of the to 1S60. taxation ofliritam was not imposed on Ireland. But though peace had been restored, and the expenditure of the United Kingdom enormously lessened, the Irish taxation, already shown to be excessive, was retained, while great remissions were made of the British war taxes. The policy of freeing the burdens on manufactures by abolishing the taxes on materials and on food Free trade, supplies was evolved and prosecuted. To this LfTect on ,,,,.„ , • r. . Britain. new end Peel, m 1842 and in 1845, renewed the British income tax, originally a war tax. But it was not extended to Ireland, on the grounds that it had never existed there ; that there was no machinery for its collection ; and that, as Britain would derive by far the greater advantage from the policy, it was but fair that she jhould bear the tax. In fact, five and a-half millions of taxation thus imposed on Britain enabled the remission of twelve millions to Britain. This was a good and fair argument. But I ask the House to note the recognition of the separateness, and of the diverse conditions, and of the different effects on different countries of a common system which it involves. I wish these sound views had continued to prevail. The general result was to lighten British burdens, directly and indirectly, and to promote enormously her commerce and manufactures, her wealth and population — in short, her tax-paying power. The policy as to free food supplies was, of course, precipi- tated by the Irish famine, when her people ^tteTta.^e% died of hunger, while large quantities of food on Ireland. were being exported from the country to pay rents. Ireland, whose manufactures had nearly perished, and were decaying still, derived no such gains as Britain, while she lost the advantage of preference in the British markets for her agricultural produce. It is worth 31 i !i' f'Inr < f/^ /.^A /s 426 HON. EDWARD BLAKE. M.P. remarking that the conditions of lorcign production and of transport and otiicr circumstances (or many years retarded the disadvantages to the agricultural interest ; and it is only within recent years, as to grain, and a still shorter period, as to meat, that it has experienced the full effects df the change. The economic condition of Ireland was very bad. The great famine inflicted on her a frightful blow, and thus her relative inferiority was increased. I must not enter into details; but few of the changes in her taxation were directly very adverse to Ireland, Income Tax g^ye thc tobacco taxes, until 1853; when Mr. onh'ciaiid. Gladstone, in furtherance of Peel's fiscal policy, proposed the extension for a limited term of the Income Tax to Ireland. He acknowledged thc greater poverty of the masses, but contended that this did not exempt thc wealthy from their obligation — an argument valid as to the adjustment between the classes of the Irish people of the payment of her total share, but fallacious as a justification of an increase of that total. As a set-off, he wiped out the famine advance debt of four millions, two millions of which had been reported by the Lords' Com- mittee as properly a grant. But the temporary Income Tax was made permanent, and the burden has enormously outweighed the boon. A little later Mr. Gladstone began the raising of thc spirit duties, on the plea that it was no part of .Spirit Duties an Irishman's rights to get drunk cheaper than in ircUind. an Englishman. I will have to show later on how this works in practice. The spirit dutes were raised at intervals, and were equalised by Mr. Disraeli in 1859. The result of these operations was to increase the Irish taxation by more than two millions, or over re'suU™: 4° P^"" '^^"'- Thus, while the average revenue Unjustifiable of Britain was no more than during the war at the beginning of the century, her population and wealth had greatly increased, and so her taxation was ':) a. .: '3 a"v ^'L:<^ ON OVER-TAXATION OF IHELAND. 4*7 much lightciied. I5iit the average revenue of Irclaiul had been raised over a third, and it was borne by a diminishinfj population out of contracting means. This dreadful change took place while Ireland was staggering under the blow of the famine, the after effects of which were accentuated by the added burdens. The British rate of taxation through duties on commodities was — in 1820, ;{;'2 8s. 7d.; in i860, £1 IIS. 7d. : the Irish rate was ns. and £l os. 7d. The taxation of the wealthier country had been greatly dimin- ished, that of the poorer enormously increased. The Joint Report finds that — "The increase of taxation laid upon Ircl.ind lietwecn 1853 and 1S60 was not justified by the then existing circumstances." The separate reports practically agree. It is this general verdict which I ask the House to endorse and to effectuate to-day. I must touch briefly upon what has happened since. Complete assimilation has not yet been Course of attempted. There are some exemptions still, since i860. Much cry has been made about four millions of British taxation not imposed on Ireland. Its imposition would not affect the masses of that com- munity ; it is mainly on wealth ; and its estimated yield, if imposed on Ireland, would be only ;{^ 150,000, or in the proportion of one twenty-seventh. Since i860 the chief change in Irish burdens has been in the increase of local rates. These stood in 1840 at £1,500,000, or 3s. a head ; in 1861, at ;{Ji, 875,000, or 6s. 5d. a head ; in 1893, at ;{^3,700,ooo, or 15s. 8d. a head; thus increasing steadily, notwithstanding certain grants from Imperial taxation in aid of local rates, to a present total of nearly four millions. The spending authorities are mainly grand juries and guardians — the one entirely and the other largely composed of appointed members ; and naturally extravagance, mismanagement, and partiality are com- plained of Irish local rates. w .'p --^ -*a!; r 4j8 nON, EVWAIW ULAKE, M.P. ^ --^'^•11 The general efTcct of the Uritish fiscal policy has been to abolish nearly all duties on raw materials General effect ;,„j (^J^,^\ substitutiiiu direct taxatiun on of ° fiscal policy, income and property, and heavy duties on three or four articles of wide and general consumption. These are the articles most largely con- sumed in Ireland ; while the articles freed were so freed mainly for the benefit of Britain. Now, I am not for a moment objecting to the adoption of Free Trade, or of any other policy advantageous to the interests of the great bulk of the United Kingdom ; but I do emphatically aver that the relative advantages and dis- advantages ensuing to each country, affecting as they do the relative taxable power of each, must be con- sidered. Now, the tax revenue of Ireland in 1820 was 14s. 5d. per head ; in 1894, 28s. lod. ; or twice as iic"H<;cn great. That of Britain was, in the earlici Tiriiisii ami year, £x los. 3d. : in the later, £2 4s. lod., lush TaxiUion ' , , ■ , , »t.i ■ or nearly one-tiiird less. 1 ho total taxation in Ireland, including rates, had largely increased in 1850, and was then £1 per head ; in 1880, £2 ; in 1894, £2 8s. lod.; now, £2 lis. lid. Her tax revenue last year was ;C7.o74,ooo, and the rate per head was £1 15s. id. — the highest yet. But, Sir, the taxation on commodities presses with greater relative as well as absolute severity on Ireland. In Britain, the tax revenue on commodities, which alone affects the masses, in 1820 was, per head, about £2 8s. ; in 1894 it was about £1 4s., or half the old rate ; and this kind is now about 53 per cent, of her total taxation. The Irish taxation on commodities in 1820 was, per head, about i is. ; in 1894 about £1 2s., or double the old rate ; and this com- prises 76 per cent, of her total taxation ; and her rate, per head, is now almost equal to that of Great Britain, though the Irish consumption is considerably less. Contrast in T.Txation on Commodities. i o w M W 1 r . V '— v^ <f {[ 4.10 HON. KbW'Mtn liLAKI-J, Ml'. The total tax revenue of Ireland is now, including' rates, over eleven millions, while her yearly resources Total Irl.h , l i / -ii- Tuxniidii : ni"c, as I conccivc.much under seventy millions; liiitdcn out of which arc to be paid, having regard to lieyuiul mc^ins. , , , V ^ . / v • the case of the masses — (i) taxation ; (2) aj^ri- cultural rents, including the large economic drain in favour of absentee landlords and mortgagees ; besides the first charge of all — namely, the subsistence of the masses — say nearly four and a-half millions of people. This makes clearly a condition of extraordinary pressure on the means of subsistence. Taxation must, in bad years, have more than exhausted the surplus, and so the capital has diminished. It is, as I have said, near double the maximum relative capacity. It has now been shown to be beyond the reason- able actual capacity. And the contrast between Ireland and Britain, with her 1,400 millions of income, is too obvious to need restatement That is true which Senior proved in 1864, that, considering capacity, Kngland is the most lightly, while Ireland is the most heavily taxed of countries. One word on a criticism objecting that this taxation is not, as my motion asserts, a grievance to all ''n'l;Jn«"i'''" classes of the Irish community. Sir, setting Biicvanco. aside the feelings which should make it such, no one who considers the material interests ol the wealthy and their relations to the poor of Ireland can doubt that they are in the most substantial way damnified by this excessive burden on the poor and that redress will help not one class only but all classes. Now, the second great purpose to which the new Commission is directed, though the lan- guage is condensed and oblique, is to dispute the possibility of undue burdens through this indirect taxation. The First Lord of the Treasury, dealing with this subject on the eve of the meeting of Parliament, insisted that if the view of the Commission as to undue burdens being imposed under indirect taxation of this sort was ^---^- n. ~. Second purpose of New Commis. lion to allege Indirect Taxa- tion no grievance. / 1 ON OVER-TAXATION OF IRK LAND. 131 sound as between countries, it must be sound as between individuals, and because it has not been atlopted as between individuals, it is, therefore, not KO"d as between countries. Uut, in establishing your plan for taxing one common political or geographical area, possessing those Tnxniinn in n elements of likeness in economic condition »'"«'*-' which render possible or tolerable a common couiUty, ' plan, without exceptions, you arc yet obliged to acknowledge inevitable ine(iualities in its operation on individuals, which you minimise so far as you can by your system, and bear the rest as you must. Here the case wholly differs. You arc dealing with two countries, wiiich your political Union did not two wholly physically unite or economically assimilate; (liffurcnt t^vo countries so different that when the Treaty countries. . . • i . i /• was made provisions were inckkied for con- tinued separate consideration ; two countries so different that even in other vital matters their laws remain divergent. Again, such a consideration of taxation is, of course, much easier between two countries, the inhabitants being dealt with as one community, than it would be between each unit of millions of individuals. The system may and does press also on the very poor in Hritain. Remedy it for the individu.il every- where if you please. Remedy it if you can, and as far as you can, by changes in the general system of taxation. Any general remedy you may apply will so far help to meet the Irish grievanc:. But, in so far as you do not apply an efficient general remedy you cannot expect Ireland, on which Hut Ireland , . r t i-rc ^ h;i3 separate ^^ a country in consequence of her different comlitions economic conditions, and of the much larger and tights. , , , , " numbers and narrower means of her very poor, the grievance presses with much greater weight, to accept your answer that there is some inequality in Britain too. System hard on poor every where. General remedies. 111 '■■■\ :'/ M ■': u, u- r - 43 « HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. (:■ Tlie riyht of separate treatment is recognised by the Treaty. Tliis argument therefore is one against the Treaty. But wc arc holding by the Treaty, and surely Unionists ought not to depart from it. Unhappily the two countries have more and more diverged in matters relevant to taxation ; and they exist with differing and incrcEsingly different taxable capacities and economic conditions. As the English Com- missioners have found : — " The system of tax.ition •.vliich now exists in the United Kingdom, while it may not be unsuit<;d to the reqiiireinents of a rich nation like Great Britain, presses h.ariUy and inequitably on a relatively poorer country like Ireland. Where there is comparatively but little wealth, as in Ireland, the main burden of taxation mujt of necessity be borne by the consumers of dutiable commodities. The amount thus levied appears to be in excess of what is required by the legitimate needs of Ireland and heavier than the masses of the Irish people ought to be called upon to bear.'' These things being so, Ireland has her Treaty right to have the circumstances recognised and weighed in settling hei burdens. After all, but an approximation can be reached ; an approximation between the two countries, leaving some inevitable discrepancies as between the indi- vidual inhabitants of those countries. Bui these defects will not justify a refusal to do what is possible, or an attempt to keep an undue burden on Ireland's shoulders. The First Lord ihinks, and the proposed Commission is in part designed to establish, that the indirect Mr. Balfour's character of the taxation deprives Ireland of nri^uments on ^ free will. any right to complain or to separate consider- ation. But the main or only Irish taxes ex- isting at the Union were indirect, and still quota and exemptions were provided. He complains that the Com- missioners in determining the over-taxation of two and three-quarter millions proceeded " by Lhe simple method of argument," and he says the very simplicity '-■:' ^ e argument should have created suspicion, for great finar ' questions are not usually or easily settled by such plain methods. A nd he objects to " logic and arithmetic " as factors in the case. But he himself resorts to still more simple \*i i:v^\ I L. -■ V ^— '• ( ON OVER-TAXATION OF JR.'' LAND. 433 arguments. lie says our views do not apply at all to indirect taxation, because, forsooth, "There is an element of frc( .vill in llie matter. A man may con- sume or not consuiiie as he plc.ses. If lie does not consume lie does not pay. It is surely folly to treat a case of that kind as yon would treat a case in which the tax-collector came and look so much money out of his pocket whether he liked it or not." Now, this in effect is saying that mere consumption, being practically voluntary, is the best test of capacity, for no wrong is done because there is no compulsion to consume. But, Sir, the compulsion comes in when, wanting to con- sume, craving to consum ;, needing to consume, you are obliged to pay the State for the power to consume. If this argument were correct, why any provision for exemp- tions, abatements, or quota? It would be cnouf^h to provide that taxation should not be differential, and then indirect taxation would take care of itself ; and, since all Irish taxation was then indirect, there would be nothing to take care of. But who would justify now a levelling up in 1800; and who justifies now the levelling up in the years 1853- 1860? Yet this argument is ample justification for both. If it were correct, why were the duties kept rc>lativcly lower for nearly forty years ? fter the consolidation of the Exchequers ? This is, ind r', too " s-mp'c" an argument ; but I admit it does not sin ' / the addition of " logic." The views of the English Com.mis.sionjrs arc thus stated : — "It has, however, been argued that the articles are, if not luxu ries, at any rate superfluities, and therefore fair tests of the balancr- remainin^' after the bare necessities of life have been supplied. We are unable to assent to this argument. We think that the consumption of the masses must be taken as a whole, and that we must accept what they actually consume as what they find it reccssary to consume, and what, without a total and almost inconceivable change in their habits, they are unable to forego." The same view is .. j'. expanded in the report of Mr, Sexton : — ''While equal taxes on property abstract the same proportion only of the income taxed in either country, equal taxes on articles of common consumption operate without any regard to disparity of in- 3K ^ V'iii -J r 434 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P If n The Truth aboiil Indirect Taxation. have you come. In proportion to the actual consujnption of articles of ordinary use, the poorest country, under such a common system, has to pay as much as the richest, at least to the extent to which the taxed articles Bte consumed in proportion to population. Thus, the poorer country surrenders a larger proportion of gross income, and a still higher pro- portion of surplus income, even if the rates of ronsi'mption of the taxed articles are alike in each. Certain commodities, though taxed, may be consumed in a poorer coimtry almost as much as in a rich one, because the rich has a choice of various articles, while the poor is practically limited to two or three stap'fis on which the tax is laid. The con- sumption of staples naturally tcr.ds to equality, the test being the satisfaction of appetite, so far as ttie power to acquire exists, and appetites not varying with incomes." Thus, a tax on articles of very general consumption approximates to a poll-tax. In trut'-, Sir, it is difficult to treat this argument seriously. On what calculation do you lay such heavy taxes on tobacco, spirits, beer, and tea ? Why ventured to make these the only contribu- tion of the masses to the public expenditure .' How do you dare to count, year after year, on the popula- tion paying such sums as — for tea, nineteen and a-half millions ; tobacco, twenty-five millions ; spirits, fifty-four and three-quarter millions ; beer, ninety-five millions — total, one hundred and ninety-four and a-quarter millions — sixty millions more than the value of all your imported foods! — one hundred and ninety- four and a-quarter millions, out of which you derive a " voluntary revenue " of forty-one and a-half millions, on which you depend to pay the greater part of the yearly charge of this empire ? The rich you force to pay ; the poor and the masses you do not ! They pay only voluntarily, as a matter of free-wiU ! Will this argument satisfy the Englishman when you propose to increase the beer-t:ax ? No ; he will say, " I must have my beer," and he will put out the politician who would " rob a poor man of his beer ! " No, Sir ; no ! The Chancellor of the Exchequer does not feel on this head much doubt or anxiety. Well, he knows that practically the settled ana rooted habits of the people ; tneir tastes, wants, cravings ; '^heir determination to have and use their tobacco, tea, or liquor ; their need of there articles, are so strong that they '3fr 'P Irish Complaint. OX OVER-TAXATlOX OF IRKLAXD. 435 almost amount to viiist ; and that it is, in any practical sense, a moci<ery to call the tax voluntary. Calmly he builds his whole financial fabric on the certainty that the pcoi)lc must have, and, therefore, must pay. I le goes gaily on his way, nor dreads any sudden uutbreaU '--f " free-will " which shall seriously cut down his revenue. It is said, Sir, that it is the whiskey-tax of which wc complain. There is a serious grievance of inequality to which I shall have to refer. But, apart from that, our complaint is of the exces- sive taxes which are on more than whiskey — which are on tea, tobacco, and beer as well. You will sec by the evidence as to the poorest districts — for example, Donegal — by the poor little family budgets which have been presented, so affecting in the narrowness and bareness of the lives they depict, that but little whiskey is drunk there ; tea and tobacco arc the only relief. Then it is said that the whiskey-tax is a tax on excess — on the drunkard. The right hon. member ' ^Mr. * for Bodmin used the same argument, saying Coiiriney's x\^^^ jf {qo much moncv comes from Ireland it is because too much whiskey is drunk there, and that we must fix our attention on the individual who pays the penalty of the indulgence of his taste ; and he added that if he suffered a wrong, the wrong would be doubled if the money were .eturned to his neighbour. The First Lord takes a similar line of consideration of the individual case. To this whole line of reasoning I demur. The revenue mainly comes — the efficiency, the productive- ness of the tax depends upon its coming — from the masses, who generally take tea, tobacco, and liquor. The vast proportion of the con- sumption of liquor is that of the great majority who are not drunkards. That is the virtue of the tax as a productive tax. The widcness of the area of pressure >s its strength as a fiscal device. The tax is m;>inly on / Tax general on sol;cr masses. (■ TUK UOYAL UNlVEUSlTy, DUBLIN. m I' III Pi« ' I ' ^. C^-J'tr''^ ^. p J »-'t. I I jr J iimfiiiiBffiii y t- in I Charge of Irish excess O.V OVFAi-TAXATloy OF IRELAND. 437 normal, not on excessive consumption. This it is which mai<cs it a general tax — a tax on tlie masses , and so an object of substantial justice would be achieved, if abatement or exemption were impossible, by remission or restitution to the masses of the community. It were truly a refine- ment of justice for Britain to refuse any remedy, any relief, for fear that the restoration to the Irish community of exces- sive taxation on individuals composing the Irish masses shall not exactly apportion the return to the individual taxpayer. Is this the reason why there is to be no redress? It would be a shabby excuse, which I hardly expected to hear urged tn this place ; but which I suspect is intended from one of the proposed references to the new Com- mission. But, Sir, the accusation of comparative excess which underlies this argument I dispute, and chal- lenge the accusers. I wish there were less drink- untrue, iiig in Ireland and in Britain. But Ireland, compared with Britain, is a sober country. You who accuse us spend far more on drink than we ; and you arrange to get it cheap, at Irish and Scottish expense. You are provident in you'' cups. There is hure a gross inequality under a nominally equal system. It is not necessary to go to hypothetical cases, as of tea-drinking and coffee-drinking countries united for taxation. Let us take the case of the beer and the whiskey-drinking coun- tries. Not merely is the whole sum of Irish taxation relatively excessive, but the spirit and the beer taxes arc also, as between themselves, grossly unequal and partial in their operation. Let us look at the facts. I take Britain as a whole Scotland has a case nere against England even Comparative , , , , ., Drink Hills— morc aggravated than ours ; and to strike ^Ireland'"* the account with Britain as a whole thus lessens unduly the Irish claim as against Kngland. But the reference is as between Great Britain and Ireland. ^ ::^ 438 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P S 1 , Whiskey. In 1893 the expenditure for beer in Britain was ;{^88,627,oc)0, or C2 13s. a head ; in Ireland, ;f 6,291,000, or £1 7s. 2d. a head. Thus the Briton spends all but twice as much on beer as the Irish- man. " Oh," you may say, " we all know that ! The Briton drinks beer, the Irishman whiskey ; what about whiskey ? " Well, Sir, what about whiskey? The expenditure for spirits in Britain was ;t48, 57 1,000, or £1 9s. per head ; in Ireland, .f 6,144,000, or £1 6s. 6d. per head. Thus, much more was spent per head on spirits in Britain than in Ireland. So Britain preserved her superiority in both branches of this competition ; having spent twice as much on beer, she took a good deal more spirits, too ; and then she says something about Irish drunkards ! The Briton spends on both £/^ 2s. ; the Irish- man, £2 13s. 8d. And then some British statesman tells his enthusiastic constituents that the Irish complaint is due to too much drink ; and if they would only purge and live cleanly they would have no ground for grievance. I venture to suggest that it is not for Britain to "cast a stone," to preach free-will, temperance, and soberness as our cure, or to defend injustice on her part by alleging excess on ours. But this is not all, or nearly all. As I have said, you are „ . _ provident in your cups. See how you have Unjust Taxa- ^ j ^u .. r Tu .. .. u- i. lion as between arranged the cost of that part which you can ^S^Vhs' control — the tax. You prefer beer, and the tax on beer is alike for all. So is the tax on spirits alike for all. But the tax on sixty gallons of your favourite drink — beer — is equal to the tax on one gallon of whiskey. Having regard to the rclatii-e quantity ol alcohol, the tax on beer is about one-sixth of the tax on spirits. The tax on beer is about one-sixth of the selling price in bulk ; the tax 011 spirits about three-fourths of the selling price. What is the practical result of these equal taxes? The tax revenue. Imperial and local, was for 1893 — '" L' ^ r:-^ <.'..~' ^..-TT ..7 ON OVER-TAXATION OF inKLAXf). 4.'?9 Britain — Spirits, ;^ 13,8 10,000 ; beer, £0,21^,000 — a total of ;£'23,024,ooo. In Ireland — Spirits, j{[2, 240,000 ; beer, ^^624,000— a total of ;^2, 764,000. Tlic Ikiton's drink bill was ;^4 23., out of which i6s. id. was tax ; the Irishman's, £2 13s. 6d., out of which 13s. lotd. was tax. If the Irish- man paid only at the Briton's rate his tax would be los. 6d. ; his excess is 3s. 4^d., which for Ireland is no less than seven hundred and eighty thousand pounds a year ! I have not run out the figures for Ireland as against England alone, but I fancy the excess would cover eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds a year. But this, according to the free-will doctrine of the First Lord, is, I must admit, no grievance. The Mr. B.ilfoiir's Irishman may differ in taste and in opinion, free will , ,. ..,.., ag.iiii. and difference of climate may affect his judg- ment as to the kind of drink most suitable for him. But these are mere details. The Briton likes his beer and likrs it cheap ; and so the Irishman must have the free will to like it too ; and thus he can save the tax ! In- deed the unequal pressure of the tax has been operating to some extent in this direction. I am not now arguing as to the expediency, in the general interest, of changes in these duties, or of diffcr- Diiriculiyof cntial rates. You may contend that on moral, clianjjc no . /. , i . i , i_ excuse. or economic, or fiscal grounds it would be a misfortune so to lower the duty on spirits, and a political impossibility so to raise the duty on beer as to produce equality, and a bad thing to have differential duties. But those contentions do not settle the question. If they be true, none the less is there a grievance to Ireland ; none the less should that grievance be met in some other way as a part of the fiscal arrangement ; none the less should the spirit of the compact be observed. You should not pro- mote your morality, or interest, or convenience at our ex- pense. I ask the House, concurring in the finding of the joint Report that " identity of rates of taxation docs not necessarily involve equality of burden," to agree also to the '}■ 1 ■I|i v; ilWiil (■ 440 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. Irish com- plaints anil rarliiimcntury i'ni|\iirics, 18C4. view, that I have proved, in the case of these two countries, Kross inequalities demanding redress. Well, Mr. Speaker, complaints of excessive taxation have been made for generations from ihe Irish benches. In 1864 the House referred it to a Select Committee, "to consider the taxation of Ireland ; how far it is in accordance with the Treaty of Union, or just in reference to the resources of the country," and a long inquiry took place. The Irish contention was then met by adopting the falla- cious idea of the taxation of individuals in.stead of the taxation of the country, and by ignoring the relevant con- siderations as to the practical effect of taxes on articles of primary use and general consumption. But, be it remembered, that there was then no suggestion of divided estimates ; those wiio resisted the '^^ividf I"sh claim did not found themselves on that cxiKnciiiiiri; construction. They took advantage of the opposite view — the one by which we hold ; and for a very good reason. In the sixties, when Ireland in one year paid £7,700,000, of which, even according to the preposterous divisions now suggested, ;^5,400,ooo went to what is now called Imperial expenditure, the modern argument would have made bad worse ; and according to it there would, during many years have been, as there is, an enormous balance overpaid by Ireland, aggregating many millions. At that time it suited Britain to adopt the other and truer view, namely, that local circumstances and condi- tions might involve a greater expenditure by the United Kingdom in one than in the other country ; that it was none the less common ; due to, growing out of, and material tc the Union ; expenditure of the United Kingdom. There were in later years ineffectual motions and rer.onstrances. But the question became demonstrably urgent on the occasion of the Home Rule Bill of 1S86, when the financial proposals involved the re-consideration of the whole Home Rule: 1886. -,i '^^"' ■<' ■, v^..-- ■T ON OVKIiTAXATlON OF IRELAND. u' problem, cnui)Icd with an attempt, in view of Irish self- government, to divide what iiad been tlic LInited J\ini,'dom expenditure into Imperial and local, based, of course, on the respective legislative s[)heres of the Imperial and the proposed local Legislatures. This event is the clue to much that has since occurred in this connection. In 1890, when, after the ([uestion of Home Rule had been placed before the country, a Unionist (jovcrn- Mr. Goschen's meiit was in power, the present I-'irst Lord action, 1890 ; A I • 1 \-^t Beparaieemiiy. 0' the Admiralty, then Chancellor of the Kxchequer, in reply to .1 request from these benches, said : — " I think we shall be prepared to grant an inquiry into tlie financial relations of the two countries. I do not want to cxchulc Scotland, and I think hon. members from botii countries will see that we arc anxious to meet them. We shall be glad to tlirow as much lii;ht as possible on the fina.icial relations of the two countries. Hon. members will sec at once that it must be a full and proper inquiry. Of course, if the inquiry should show that injustice has been done to any part of the United Kingdom steps will be taken to alVord redress." The right hon. gentleman, after consulting his colleagues later, in making the motion objccled to any historical retro- spect. The purpose, he said, was — "To see whether Scotland or Ireland should be relieved of any portion of the taxation they now pay ; to see if there should be any alteration of existing burdens. . , , The power of a country to pay taxation must to a large extent depend on numbers. I trust all these matters will be thrashed out in the Committee." The Committee sat but once, when it called for Treasury returns. Efforts to re-appoint it failed because of objec- tions taken by the Welsh members, who claimed a similar separate consideration for Wales, which the Government declined to grant on the ground that Wales had never ^ce'ii treated as a separate fiscal entity. The financial returns which have been presented for several j'ears had here their origin. Now, The Financial this proceeding and language involved the iVpers. recognition of the right of Ireland anc' Scot- land as countries to separate consider .tion ; and more, the acknowledgment that the indirect .system of 3>- >) 44> HON. ED w A hi) lii.AKi:, M.r. .'* ^ t.ixation did not automatically produce taxation according to resources ; and tliat tiic resources of tlic countries were to be considered, tlic alleged e(iu;d operation of the taxa- tion on the indi\ idual inhabitants not ans\vcrin^,' the dem.ind. The maintenance of such views would have cut away the ground for the committee. It seems to nic obvious that the form of the reference and returns was in part moulded by the recent attempts to make a division in connection with the Home Rule scheme. Again there have been recognitions in recent years of the separate condition of Ireland and Scot- Impcrinl land in connection with the Imperial grants Oraiils 111 mil . • , r , , . , , V. of rates. '" aid of local rates. I refer to, without implying approval of, the system. Hut how has it been worked ? These grants were based not on the plan of applying the total aid all over the United Kingdom, as one taxable entity, but on the theory (though not with- out exception later as against Ireland) that each of the three divisions was a taxable unit to which was being returned, for expenditure by the minor local authorities, a portion of the general taxation ; and, therefore, th.it the return should be on the basis of the proportions in which each of the units had contributed to the fund. Last Session when agricultural distress throughout the United Kingdom was to be aided this device was, as many of us think, most unwarrantably expanded, so as to limit the relief of Ireland — the country in which there existed the greatest agricultural distress — by making the grant, in form, a relief to local rates in England, and thus applying, as we think erroneously, the proportional system. And so, those who oppose our view that we arc entitled to separate treatment as to taxation, themselves insist, in some degree, on separate treatment in expenditure. Now, Sir, it is acknowledged by Sir Edward Hamilton that the Union Act does not contemplate this division. But he says, and others say, that circumstances have Agricultural Distress Relief, 1896. ai'i -Ml V... \ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) A f/j y. ^ 1.0 I.I Li»2^ 12.5 US I2i2 |2.2 ^ US, L25 in 1.4 1^ 3 4, "> ^ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 r^. >\^ f L < -NmTV 444 7/OiV. EL-WARD BLAKE, M.P. i ■:.-il No right lo alter treaty. Argument from British rates. altered since, that some expenditures are now made which were not then made, as, for example, on Police and Education. True, enlarged con- ceptions have been formed of the duty of the Government of the United Kingdom ; and it has been deemed to be a national object to provide for the educa- tion and for the order of the people ; and, for its govern- ment under the Union, a constabulary h. s been organised in Ireland. Accordingly Acts have been passed and revenue is raised and expended by the United Kingdom for this purpose. But this does not in the least alter the rights of Ireland, or render obsolete the provisions of the treaty. This is your own interpretation of the duty of the United Kingdom. But it is said that a part of the expenditure on education and on pobVe is, under Imperial legislation, provided for in Britain by local rates, raised by local bodies, who have been given a measure of control over the subjects, and that it is unfair to ignore this local expenditure in stating the account between the countries. T repeat that it is im- possible for this reason to divest the expenditure of the Imperial character which it clearly retains, so far as Ireland is concerned. You make it and you keep it Imperial ; and its scale, its purpose, its regulation, are all such as you choose to fix, not such as you are willing to confide to local representative authorities. We must therefore hold by the view that the money which this Parliament votes, expends, and controls, for the purpose of carrying on government in Ireland is in reason, and in the sense of the Union Act, Imperial expenditure. This view is our only protection against the injustice which would ensue from your being at liberty Mode of to fix the scale and direct the mode, while we meeting , ,. , , . objection. are obliged to pay. And the objection of in- equality would be fully met, if for the purpose of ascertaining the grand total to which Ireland should contribute, the analogous amount raised locally in Britain J) O^-. \ ON OVER-TAXATION OF IRELAND. 44S 11 towards these two objects were added to the sum of the Imperial estimate. Thus Ireland would bear her propor- tionate share of the whole expenditure ; and this would meet in a less objectionable way the position of Mr. Childer's as to Police and Education, and in very large measure the criticisms of Lord Farrer and his colleagues. This, I need hardly say, is a very narrow question. The data arc accessible ; the figures can be easily run out There are some minor cross-entries to be made. The general result would be perhaps so to enlarge the total Imperial estimate as to reduce the over-taxation by about ;^300,(X)0, or to about two and a half millions on the minimum estimate. I need hardly say that the adoption of this plan, with its limited and defined application, affords not the least justification for the proposed breaking up of the Imperial expenditure, which it rather keeps intact; still less docs it need a new Royal Commission. But it is said our contention would make Britain Britain tributary to Ireland. Not so; every detail not tributary of the whole affair is within your power, and to re an . j^ ^loulded according to your will. Then, if for argument's sake, the principle of breaking up the Imperial expenditure be admitted, we quarrel grievously with the details. On these also all the data for judgment are before us, and the questions are peculiarly for settle- ment by Parliament on the initiative of the Government. As Lord Farrer said in another place, they need no new Commission. The speech of the First Lord adopted the classification of the Treasury, and based on it the assertion that Ireland contributed but i-32nd to what he called Imperial expenditure. Now, let me glance at the details of this division. Ireland is charged with the Constabulary — an armed, semi-military force, maintained at enormous cost, far beyond any conceivable need for the policing, under normal conditions, of such a country ; a fore- and a scale of expenditure directly flowing from and V Preposterous details uf division. Local Expenditure. Constabulary. I', 440 HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. Education. Scale of Expenditure. due to the Union, and doing almost entirely Imperial \vori<. I do not find that any one of the Commissioners, or even Sir Edward Hamilton himself, approves this charge in its totality, and he states that in the earliest of the Financial Relations Papers it was distributed as Imperial. So it ought to be. Ireland is charged with the Imperial expenditure on the great national subject of education, which is moulded and directed through Imperial legis- lation, by Imperial and centralised administration. Ireland is charged with the collection of the Imperial revenue, the adminstration of justice, the ^^^' Post Ofifice, the Civil Service generally, the Viceregal establishment. All these are obviously Imperial. Then we quarrel with the scale of expenditure, created here and proposed to be charged exclusively to us. It is expensive, extravagant, centra- lized, on the Imperial scale. Look at the salaries and numbers of the judges, and contrast the condi- tions as between the emoluments of Bar and Bench, even with these which prevail here, still more with those which prevail in poorer countries. Contrast the cost of depart- ments compared with the cost even here. The whole system is unsuited to the circumstances and beyond the means of Ireland. It is not checked by the ordinary safeguards of local responsibility and the ordinary inducements to economy. All these are defects in the system. From it they flow. With what justice then do you propose to charge them exclusively on the weaker partner ? But you say, " Irishmen and Irish members will not cut down the votes." After all, it is you who frame the estimates and pass the votes. But give to Ireland the usual stimulus to economy — some profit from the saving, before you complain that she does not insist on pruning your extravagance. While she finds that she is taxed beyond her capacity ; that she will not appreciably gain by economy in Ireland ; and that the only Irish part in extravagance <^r ^ V ON OVER-TAXATION OF IRELAND. ny question is where the money shall be spent, is it much wonder that she should prefer Ireland as the scene ? At any rate the responsibility is yours ; Ireland cannot save or spend a shilling ; you have the power and must take the blame. But, Sir, it is not only to the Irish part of this divided estimate that we object. We object to the proposed" Imperial part as well. If you cut up the cs- Imperial timates as you propose, and find some elements to which, as Imperial, you hold us specially bound to make proportionate contribution, you drive us to analyse their nature, and to inquire whether there is any reasonable ground for our providing, first, everything you choose to call local expenditure, and then also our propor- tion, according to our relative taxable capacity, of these great heads of Imperial expenditure. I do not, in the present form of Union, want to open any of these questions. I believe they cannot be I^^livls^on. opened without violating the spirit of the Act. I believe the Act contemplates and provides that Ireland should contribute towards the expenditure of the Imperial Parliament, no matter where that money be spent or how it be applied, whether here, or in Ireland, or abroad, according to her relative taxable capacity. But if you will destroy this system, cut up the accounts, and enter into the question of the separate or But, if relative interests of Britain and of Ireland in change, then ,,./•/- inquiry. the different expenditures, depend upon it you will have to grapple with your Imperial as well as with your local estimates. We rest on the contract ; you propose a change. Then must we look at the new Imperial estimates. Look at your navy. Britain has created an economic system under which she requires, in order that ^Nav"*' she may obtain her supplies of food and of materials, and maintain her position as a manufacturing, mercantile, and carrying power, to keep v.^ -■-' C;. "^ ? Imperial Army. Imperial Debt. ON OVER-TAXATION OF IRELAND. 449 command of the sea. Her naval budget is her insurance premium. She is continually pressed to add to her insurance, and told that it is cheap. It may be cheap for her ; she has the gains. But can you honestly say that Ireland has the same proportionate interest in the profits insured by this premium ? And, if not, can you say she ought to con- tribute in that proportion to the insurance ? Look at your army, mainly required for the purposes of the Indian and Colonial Empire, and for the security of your commercial interests, and to which therefore the same considerations apply. Look at your debt charge, contracted for wars waged in the same interests. Do not charge me with taking a limited or a shopkeeper's view of this matter. Remember the language bury's views, of the Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary, uttered as late as the nth March, wiien he said — "All machinery— at all events of the external part of our Govern- ment—is in its intention and its object directed for the purpose of maintaining and facilitating liritish trade. We have heard and we rejoice at the great achievements of our army and our navy — how they have never failed us under any stress to which they have been put. Hut the object of all this action is that the various parts of the world may be kept open to the exploration, to the enterprise, to the industry of ISritain, may be saved from that encircling band of hostile tariffs which causes us to know, when we hearth.it u territory has fallen into foreign occupation, that it is really robbed from British trade." Sir, I think these considerations show that the proposed inquiry would, if it ever ended, never satisfy, result! ^"*^ ^^^^ ^^^ °"'y ^^^^ ground is to stand on the Union Act provisions. Let me repeat, I do not wish to open these matters. It is you, who set up this suggested division of expenditure, who raise the issue. But while I thus contend, I fully agree that, if this whole question were taken up by Britain in the proper spirit, it would become our duty and our interest to promote all reasonable reductions in the extravagance of Irish ex- penditure. -J I N d 45° HON. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. I u ; There remains only one set off on which I wish to say a single word, I refer to the remitted or unsettled Loans (\na , t i . ht* i » advances, advances or grants to Ireland. With part I have already dealt — namely, the famine ad- vances. Of the remainder, some are being settled by the ! Restitution Fund. Of the bulk it is to be remarked that they were not at all advances to local authorities, or analo- gous to the British grants, but expenditures made by the '' Imperial Government, largely wasteful and futile, and charged compulsorily on the people. The sum total seems in fairness reducible to about one million in excess of remissions of English advances; but if it all stood, it would form only a fraction of the restitution fairly due to Ireland in respect of past over-taxation, an element of the grievance which demands redress. On this, too, all the materials are belore us, and the question is ripe for your decision. r^ Now, Sir, an amendment has been put down insisting ^^ on the absolute fiscal indivisibility of the Mr. ^ United Kingdom, and on the consideration amendment' ^"'y °f the pressure of taxation on the individual, wherever he may reside. This was partly the view of the Committee of 1864. But it is not, as I think I have shown, the true view. Another amendment appears, designed at once seriously to limit the range and to indicate one direc- amfndment.' tion of remedial legislation. But I venture to submit to my right hon. friend that it is both a wiser course and a truer interpretation of Irish opinion to adhere to the comprehensive words of my pro- posal. The line of the Government is different It does not in terms adopt, though it may aim at the result of, the first amendment It does not acknow- ledge the existence of a grievance, or admit the propriety of the remedy suggested by the second amendment. The Government proposes to meet The Government line. ' ,^" J * *^ :. L.- ON UVKli-TAXATlUN UF Ilih'LAXD. 451 the case by llic appointment of a new ConiniissiDn, mainly to inquire into the results of the proposed division into four parts of the United Kingdom expenditure, into the effect of the existing; United Kingdom taxation, and into the propriety of changes in taxation and expenditure. In a word, it is proposed to deal with our demand upon tiie lines of the speech of the First Lord of the Treasury at Manchester, I have already given you the reasons why I think it impossible to assent to any such inquiry. It is said that the Commissioners failed to discharge their duty by not reporting upon this ciue.'ition The of division. But the bulk of the Commis- Commis- . . ^ , . »ioners' view, sioners held that tliat portion ot the reference had regard to the political conditions then existing as to Home Rule, and had no foundation under the Act of Union. That is the argument we advance. This, however, is to be added, that all the materials for a conclusion upon these questions have been New collected, and are to be found in the pro- ^3css'.''" cecdings of the Commission ; and that there is no necessity or utility in remitting such questions at this day to the decision of any such body. They are now, after all, peculiarly a matter for Parliament. Upon the ground then, first, that the proposed inquiry is based upon wrong principles ; secondly, that it is useless ; and thirdly, that it is dilatory, we object to and protest against the Commission. This being the answer to our demand, I am relieved from considering in detail the suggestion Demand for which has been thrown out in Ministerial remedy. quarters, that the Commission should have indicated, and that we, forsooth, should now indicate the precise form of the remedy. That question was not referred to the Commission. It is obviously one for Parliament, on the initiative of the Executive, to deal with. It is not for us, a small minority, powerless to achieve, to propound the specific remedy to-day. r 45- IWN. EDWARD BLAKE, M.P. i '.il i! Iluinc Kiilc. You well know what the majority of the Irish people think would embrace a cciiplcte and effective remedy. That solution you refuse to adopt. But your refusal entails on you even added responsi- bilities towards Ireland ; and, both as the Responsibility depositories of power and as the special de- "' ri"'" fenders of the existing form of Union, which is the basis of this Government, you are doubly bound to find a remedy for this grievous injustice, existent under the system you maintain and control. Several plans have been suggested, of which some are to be found in the various reports. All may Several plans have their inconveniences. It is for you to propound that which you think best, and for us to make counter-proposals. But, the principle of our claim once admitted, we shall make no difficulty in discus.s- ing with you the best remedy. If yon say " The inconveniences are too serious ; we find no practicable way within the Union ; therc- ^oA^T*'""* fore the grievance must remain unredressed," then assuredly, the friends of the Union will inflict a heavy blow on the system by which they stand. You have declared for that Union as a compact under which Ireland was secure in all her rights, and protected in all her interests ; under which she was assured of just and generous treatment. If you now aver that the Union demands that she shall still labour under this injustice, you cannot but discourage its friends, and place h\ the hands of its op. ponents a keen and powerful weapon of attack. Sir, we call for action, and to that end I move — " That in the opinion of this house the report and proceedings of the Royal Commission on the Financial Relations of Great Britain and Ireland establish the existence of an undue burden of taxation on Ireland, which constitutes a great grievance to all classes of the Irish community, and makes it the duty of the Government to propose at an early day remedial legislation." ^ — ^-^ r. I '>^ I. I' \U ffe'' i 1,1 I It •11 CIIBIST CIIUBOH OATHEDBAt, DUBLIN, \-r- ITablce. COMI'lLliU DY MK. ALFRED V/EliU. I. VopuLATioN or Criat Dritain and Ireland from 1780 to 1896. [The Agiirri for Tireat lt(t(:iin are (aken printinally from Cefiftilt Uuportt ; ttio^e for Ireland frum Or. (iriiii^haw'! I'ablci, HviUtncft II. 437-8. Those fur 1896 are ftotn Ueiftttrar* <ieiiiralt' Khtimitei.] Year. Great Britain. Ireland. 1780 9,510,000 3,526,000 1791 10,055,000 4,206,000 1801 10,942,000 4,937,000 1811 13,596,000 S.79S.OOO iSai 14,329,000 6,802,000 1831 16,260,000 7,767,000 1841 18,534,000 8,199,000 1851 20,815,000 6,514,000 1861 23,128,000 5,788.000 1871 36,073,000 5,398,000 1881 29,709,000 5,145.000 1891 33.027,000 4,681,000 1896 34,917,000 4,560,000 II. exfbnditurb per head op population on spirits and beer in Great Britain and in Ireland in 1893. [Pari. Paper ]]4 of 1893, Evidenci, I. 360.] Great Britain. Ireland. Spirits Beer /;« 9 a 13 /:i 6 6 I 7 a Totals A a L^ 13 8 TAHLKS. 4SS in. Tax RrvBNiiK or Orrat Hkitain and or Irklanr rROM lySj-j TO 1893-4, ArCOKhINO TO TIIR Tkkasi'kv Taiu.ks of Nki Ukvknub, rROM 1783-3 TO liioo-i, iNCLiisiVK ; oi' Tdtai. Kkvkni'k from i8oi-a TO 1816-7, INCLUSIVK i AND OK KSTIMATKI) I'KIIK KkVKNUK FROM 1819-20 TO 1893-4. [»08 Tiiblef put In Kviitenct by Hir H. W. Hanillon, Alllllanl-Srrr<'l.-iry lo Ihi- I'rraiury, I. ]08-9, J71-J, mill II. ii)i.l [AUo. nottt:— Up to 1801 fur Groat Drit.iin, and to 1811 for Ireland, the population if Fitimated. From 1801 (incl'iiivv) fur Great llritain, and 1811 (iDcluiive) for Ireland, thu Cennut fif^nroi are taken.] The amounts prr head, ai woli at tlic totals of Revenue, for i8i9<2o, and . thenceforward, to^ 1893-94, arc ex- tracted from Sir E, W, Hamilton't Table, II. p. 191, l78ii-83 ... 1792-93 - 1801-02 ... 1809-10 .., 1819-20 .., 1829-30 .. 1839-40 .. 1849-50 .. 1859-60 .. 18O9-70 .. 1879-80 .. 1889-90 .. 1 1893-94 .. Great Britain. Tax Revoiuc. Per head. Ireland, Tax Revenue. Per head. 150 11,880,000 s I 16,519,0003 [l 12 O 33.596,000 61,275,000 49,511,000 47,416,000 43,918,000 49,651,000 I 57,866,000 59,678,000 60,060,000 71,588,000 75,796,000 340 530 3 "o 3 2 18 o 2 7 5 278 2 10 o 259 205 234 2 4 10 814,000 1,016,000 2,521,000 4,687,000 4,911,000 5,067,000 5,076,000 4,563,000 7,340,000 6,868,000 6,437,000 6,820,000 6,643,000 040 040 o 10 o o 16 o o 14 5 o 13 I O 13 5 13 u « 5 4 1 S 5 I 411 1 9 o •1 810 • Increased in 1895-6 to £\ 15]. id. Statistics such as are here given form tlie basis of I.eland's contention regarding over-taxation. Since 1809-10, the taxation of Great Britain has been reduced from £^ 2%. tO;{[2 4s. lod. per head ; that of Ireland has been increased from 16s. to £1 15s. id. per bead. The proportions of taxation liave not been adhered to, against which even the Irish Lords recorded their protest, and by which a bare majority of the Irish Commons were induced to agree to the Union. i I L. '^^ ♦sft- TABLES. IV. Payments from Ireland to England constituting a ON the Economic Resources of Ireland, i.e.. Pay- Pkincipal drain MBN'IS and ExPENniTURE OUT OF THE ANNUAL GROSS INCOME OF IREIAND FOR WHICH THERE IS I.ITTLii OR NO CoRRESFONDINO Return. [Mr. Murrough O'Brien' .ih\c, Evidence II. irfi,] Amount known approxi- ProbaH- Amount. mately. £ £ I. Value of property owned by absentees, con- 2,470,816 > 5,000,000 fined to rural property as per Return 167 of April 23, 1872.* 2. .Similar proportion of Urban properties Re .lue of London Co. 's estates ... 960900 3- .,-.-00 4- Mortgages of English Insurance Co.'s as 630,000 1,500,000 estimated by Dr. Giffen in 18S6, (all absentee ;f 14,000,000 at 4'/i per cent.t mortgages and annuities) S- Average amount paid by Church Fund as interest for 23 years to 31st March, 1894 219,631 219,631 6. Average annual amount of capital repaid by Church Fund for 19 years. 379.769 379.769 7- Interest on Board ol Woiks and Public Works Loan Commissioners Ix>ans average taken as p.iyment in 1893. (Smith-Barry's Return 376, 17th August, 1893.) J 26s. "37 265,137 8. Repayment of capital by same rp'urn 430,686 430,686 9. Quit-rents and Crown Reversions 40,coo 40,000 lO. Land Loan Annuities 4 per cent, on j£ 1 2,000,000. 480,000 480,000 II. Remittances of capital for deposit in Post Office and Trustee Savings Banks. Average annual increase of deposits for past 21 half years. 2S4.760 254.760 12. Interest at i per cent, on Post Office and Trustee Bank deposits on which 2^ per cent, is paid to depositors, while they are lent bark to Ireland at not less than 3^ per cent. 65,000 65,000 >3- Extra cost of Iiish Private Bill legislation. Not ascer- — estimated {see debate in 1871) to cost for tained. witnesses five times as much as if con- ducted in Ireland. «♦• Expenses of loo M.P.'s at ;f300 each per session. 30,000 30,000 ;f 6,^56,699 ;£8,664,983 *Thii return was well known to be an under estimate; superior rents, rentchargcs, and annuities were not included in it, Abscntcism has increased since 1679. -fXhe mortgaee debt on Iriih real estate has heea estimated at from 80 to 130 milliont by authonties, Irish mortgages were for many years a favourite investment for English lenders owing to the higher rate ^ f interest obtainable. t The benefit of most of this expenditure is represented in the assessment retumf and rental. (■ ( TAlifJJS. V. 4S7 Taxable Capacity of Irklano, as coMPAnEi) to that op GRr.Ai- Uritain. [CalriilaleJ : NoJ. I to H, 15 and ifi, from Sir Uulirrt (lifTcn's Tallica, EviJtiiri-, II. 17 No o from Mr. Murrou^h O'ltiicn's TiihU-, tiviii^nvr^ I. 3H7. No«. in 10 ij fro Sir L. W. Hamilton's 'I'atjle, EvnUncc^ 1. 350-7. Ng. 14. See Table VI. J 1. 0111 In Ireland compared with tli:a in Grc.it lltilain is .is 1. Cunsumption of Co.-^l ... ... I H 41 2. Nett Income Tax Assessments of Quarries. Mines and Gasworks I f 1 58 3- Tonnage of Shipping in Foreign Trade I M 58 4- rcisons engaged in Textile Factories I ,, 62 S' Capital of Joint Stock Companies I II 43 6. I'assengers (exclusive of Season Ticktt Holders) carried on Railways , >t 36 7. Goods conveyed on Railways I tt 71 8. Value of Mineral Troduce 1 It 416 9- Capital of Industrial and Provident Societies I II S32 10. Income from Government Stocks (average of years 1891, 1892, 1S93) ... I ., S3 II. Profits derived from Trades and Professions (same period) I 11 32 12. Total Profits assessed to Income-Tax (same period) f ,, 21 «3- Property assessed to Probate and Succession Duly (same period) I tl 20 14. Surplus Income after deducting cost of Sub- sistence and Taxation Males above 20 in Agricultural Class in 1891 Nett Agricultural Production Average per person • 27 Ireland. Great Biitain. IS 16 701,000 ^{,■40 ,000, 000 1,146,000 ^iSo.ooo.ooo /;>S7 It is upon figures such as these that Ireland's low taxable capacity, as com- pared to Great Britain, is established. The two last lines prove that even in her one great industry, agriculture, her people are at a disadvantage. ^ TABLES. VI. 459 Approximate Capital of Grrat Britain and op Iurland in 1895, WITH Api'roxi.matu Estimate of Surplus Incomu of Inhadi- TANTS in nOTlI COUNTKIKS. [Evidence /(ijjjOT, and Mr. Murrough O'lirien's Tabic, £'ri</i-M<rc, I, 388.] Great Britain. Ireland. Capital in 1812 >. 189s I 1,500,000,000 10,000,000,000 £ 563,000.000 400.000,000 Gross Annual Income, 1895 Maintenance Allowance, ;/[i2 per head of population 1,500,000,000 420,000,000 70,000,000 55,000,000 Great Britain. Ireland. Revenue, 1892-93 ... 88,000,000 7,000,000 Local Taxes ... 39,000,000 3,000,000 1,080,000,000 127,000,000 15,000,000 10,000,000 Surplus above bare Maintenance 953.000,000" about ;f 27 per head 5,000,000 about £1 per head * More according to some Evidence. VII. The extent to ./hicii in Ireland, as compared to in Great Britain, Taxes are raised off Commodities in General Use by the People. [From Sir Edwa'd W. Hamilton's Tables, Evidence II. 192.] Great Britain. Ireland. Indirect Indirect Years. Taxes on Direct and Taxes on Direct and Commodities, other Taxes. Commodities, other Taxes. etc. etc. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. Per cent. 1819-1820 69- 1 309 7i-4 236 1829-1830 72-6 274 879 12 I I 839- I 840 724 27-6 892 IO-8 1849-1850 63-4 366 873 127 1859-1860 63-2 368 8i-3 187 1869-1870 56 'O 440 807 •93 I 879- I 880 58-2 4.-8 806 194 1889-1890 535 465 800 200 1893-1894 537 463 764 236 f^"K'~ 460 TABLES. VIII. rRoroRTiONS OF Marriaues, Births, and Df.aths in the Three Kingdoms. Per 1,000 of Population, aver.ige-l87i-92. LHogistrar-Gcncral, hvidetue I. 300.] England. Scotland. Ireland. Persons who Married Births Deaths 15-6 34 -o 23-3 I3'9 33-6 20 '4 9-0 24-9 l8-o Excess of Births over Deaths [Sir Uobcrl Giffen's Table, EviJeme II. 162.] Per 1,000 of Population IIS 11-4 SO Estimated Average Marrying Age. [Mulli.iU's Sta/is/ks, iSga.] Males Females 277 25 '5 2S-6 257 299 25-2 Upon the figures, such as these, Sir Robert Giffen remarks (EvUeme, II. 162-3) '• — " What is found by experience to be a most significant sign of general economic conditions is the . . . excess of births over deaths. A hiph excess, when combined, as it usually is, with a low death rate, and with a moderate if not a low birth rate, is a good sign of prosperity. . . . Ireland has more jieople in proportion above 50 than Great Britain has, and fewer people in prime of life, i.e., between 20 and 40. The difference is sensible. Ill Ireland no less than l8-6 per cent, of the male population are upwards of 50, but in Scotland and England the per-centages are I3'5 and 137 respectively. The per-centage in Ireland between 20 and 40 is 26'6 per cent., and in Scotland and England 28'9 and 29-9 respectively. The per- centages of the female population are much the same. Ireland has thus fewer people in proportion in the prime of life and more above 50 than Great Britain has. . . . These figures also agree with the facts as to the composition of emigration from Ireland and Great Britain respectively. In Ireland there b a steadier stream of people in the prime of life." IX. Emigration from England, Scotland and Ireland, 1880 to 1894. [C.vl'i.latcd from Sir Hubert Giffen's Table, EviJttue II. 175.] England. Scotland. Ireland. Male Emigrants Female ,, Children „ 1,155,000 634,000 376,000 189,000 112,000 78,000 460,000 430,000 123,000 Proportion of Males to Females ... 100 to 55 100 to 59 100 to 93 Proportion of Children in Total ... 17 percent. 20 per cent. 12 percent. This striking Table suggests the extent to which Irish emigration is drawn from the presumably young, unmarried portion of the population in the prime of life, and the degree in which thereby the country is depleted of the life- giving portion of its population. TAIII.KX. 4^1 X. Revenue from Tea, Cocoa, Chicorv and Coffef, anp TonAcco Contributed by (Jkeat Bruain and iiy Ireland, 1S93-4. [Aj computed ly Treasury (Paper C 313, of i3 y() Uvideme, I. 408.) Great Biitain. Ireland. Irish as to liritish Contribution. Tea Cocoa CofTee and Chicory Tobacco £ 3,cx54,ooo 90,000 210,000 8,945,000 C 48y,ooo 12,000 12,000 1,174,000 1 to 6; 1 >. n I ., 17J I ., 78 12,249,000 1,687,000 • .. 7i Compare these figures with the taxable capacity, " not estimated by any of" the eleven Commissioners "as exceeding one-twentieth." XI. Average Annual Value of Crops and Stock in Ireland, four Periods between 1851-55 and 1889-93. [Dr. Griroshaw's Tables, Evidettcet 1. 451-3.] I8SI-SS 1866-70 I884-8S 1889-93 Crops. 58,537,000 45,365,000 35,752,000 34,643,000 Stock. £ 39,348,000 59.630,000 55,827,000 54,312,000 Total. £ 97,885,000 104,995,000 yi, 579,000 88,955,000 AvESAGB Annual Value Disposed of, Exclusive of the Tortion OF Crops used by Stock. Crops. Stock. Total. 1851-55 1866-70 18S4-88 1889-93 £ 43,603.000 27.935.oco 16,466,000 Not given. £ 28,3^5,000 44,27i),coo 37,548,000 L 71,988,000 72,214,000 54,014,000 ■^---nS 46a TABLES. XII. Table siiowino the Increase of Pauperism in Ireland Within PAST TniRTV Years. [Mr. H, A. Robinson's Tabic, Evidence, II. 198.] Averai;e daily numl 'n receipt of relief. Percentage of Total daily average on population. Year. InWorkhouses and Institutions fat the Blind, etc. In receipt of Outdoor Relief (ap- proximate y). Total daily average number. 1S62-3 1867-8 1872-3 1877-8 1882-3 1887-8 1892-3 S«.30I 54.195 47,325 47,749 5 ',097 4^.105 4 '.549 6,263 14,940 27.5'29 33,547 58,835 65,506 59.137 64,564 69, MS 7i.!J34 81,296 109,932 lii,6ii 100,686 I'I2 126 1 40 >'53 2 19 = •31 217 XIII. PsotORTiON OF Blind, Deaf and Dumb, and Insane Persons in Great Britain and in Ireland, in 1891. [Knglish Census, iS^i, EviJence, II, 309-210,] Number per Million. England and Wales, Scotland. Ireland. Blind Deaf and Dumb Insane 809 489 3-358 695 528 3,841 i.«3S 7'S 4,504 Here is shown the inevitable outcome of drain upon resources and the emigration of the young and vigorous. INTERIOR OF TUMULUS, NEW ailANOE, CO LOUTU. ■ V V rUBI.ICATIONS REI,ATINr. TO THE OVER- TAXATION OF IRI'.LAND. 'J In addition to numerous nrticlea in Nfagntincs and separate publicationn, such as the reports of speeches by Sir Edward Ci.arkb and others, the following, to be procured through any bookseller, are some of them the principal, and others of them amongst the principal, sources of information concerning the Over-taxation of Ireland : — Final Report by Her Majesty's Commissioners AFroiNTBD to enquire INTO TUB Financiai, Relations hktween Great Britain and Ireland. a28 pp., folio. Price One Shil/ing and Ten Pence. Eyre & Spottiswoode, London. This contains Mr. Sexton's Report and the other Reports enumerated in Introduction. England's Wealth, Ireland's Poverty, by Thomas Lough, M.P., with Ten Coloured Diagrams, 223, xv. pp. Price One Shilliiis. Downey & Co. York Street, Covent Garden, London. England's Debt to Ireland, by the late James r. Maunsell, reprinted from the Daily Express, with Diagrams , 26 pp. Price One Penny. Office of the Daily Express, Dublin. The Over-taxation of Ireland, a Record of City and County Meetings, the Declarations of Public Bodies, Chambers of Commerce, Political Conventions and British Statesmen, on the Financial Relations between Great Britain and Ireland, 292, xxii. pp. Price One Shilling. Freeman's Journal Comp.iny, Dublin. The Financial Relations Question, ExrENDiTURE Account, A Paper read before the Statistical Society of Ireland, by Arthur \V. Samuels, Q.C. 32 pp. Price Sixpence. Scaly, Bryers & Walker, Dublin. Some Features of the Over-taxation of Ireland, A Paper read before the St.itistlc.il Society of Ireland, by Nicholas J. Synnott, 20 pp. Price Threepence. Sealv, Bryeis h Walker, Dublin. •o sealv, nnvEiis and walkeb, rniNTEBS, duiilix. J *