/ 
 
 . 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE 
 
 Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 CHARLES STEWAET PARNELL 
 
 VOL. I.

 
 THE JLIFE 
 
 OF 
 
 CHAELES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 1846- 1891 
 
 ^V BY 
 
 B^BARBY O'BRIEN 
 
 OP THE MIDDLE TEMPLE, BABBISTEB-AT-LAW 
 AUTHOK OF ' FIFTY YEABS OF CONCESSIONS TO IBELAND ' ET 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. I. 
 
 LONDON 
 
 SMITH, ELDER, & CO., 15 WATERLOO PLACE 
 1898 
 
 [All rights reserved]
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIKST VOLUME 
 
 rn.U'TKK PAGK 
 
 I. PARNELL'S ANCESTORS 1 
 
 II. BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS 32 
 
 III. THE HOME EULE MOVEMENT 58 
 
 IV. PUBLIC LIFE . . . 70 
 
 V. IN PARLIAMENT 80 
 
 VI. GATHERING CLOUDS 89 
 
 VII. WAR 106 
 
 ^ VIII. THE NEW DEPARTURE 153 
 
 IX. THE LAND LEAGUE 175 
 
 X. THE CLAN-NA-GAEL THE GENERAL ELECTION . . 198 
 
 XI. LEADER 226 
 
 XII. COERCION AND REDRESS 266 
 
 XIII. KlLMAINHAM 319 
 
 \*> XIV. THE NEW REGIME . 351 
 
 PORTRAIT OF CHARLES STEWART PARNELL . Frontispiece
 
 THE LIFE 
 
 OP 
 
 CHAELES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 PARNELL'S ANCESTORS 
 
 THE founder of the Parnell family was Thomas Parnell, 
 ' mercer or draper,' who became Mayor of Congleton, 
 Cheshire, in the reign of James I. He had four sons- 
 William, Thomas, Eichard, and Tobias. Of William 
 and Thomas little is known, but Eichard seems to have 
 been the most remarkable of the brothers. He was a 
 staunch Cromwellian, the friend of Bradshaw, and thrice 
 mayor of the town. Tobias was a gilder and decorative 
 painter, and also stood high in the esteem of his fellow- 
 citizens. He passed away with the Commonwealth. 
 At the Eestoration, his son Thomas, quitting the old 
 home, purchased an estate in Ireland, and took up his 
 abode there. This Thomas Parnell the first of the 
 Irish Parnells was the ancestor of an illustrious off- 
 spring. Dying probably in 1685, he left two sons 
 Thomas, the poet, the friend of Swift, Pope, Gay, 
 Bolingbroke, and other famous wits ; and John, who 
 VOL. i. B
 
 2 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 died one of the judges of the Irish Court of King's 
 Bench. 1 
 
 Thomas, the poet, was born in Dublin in 1679. A 
 bright lad with a remarkable memory, he attracted the 
 special attention of Dr. Jones, to whose school he was 
 first sent, and afterwards sustained his early reputation 
 by a distinguished career at college. Matriculating 
 at Dublin University in 1693, he took his degree in 
 1697. Then, entering the Church, he was ordained 
 Deacon in 1700, and Priest in 1703. In 1704 he 
 became Minor Canon of St. Patrick's, and in 1706 
 Archdeacon of Clogher. Soon afterwards he married 
 Miss Anne Minchin, of Tipperary a beautiful girl, to 
 whom he was passionately attached. His life was soon 
 divided between literary pursuits and Church affairs. 
 In 1709 Convocation appointed a committee to consider 
 the best means for converting the Irish Catholics, and 
 Parnell was made its chairman. But his heart was in 
 literature. He now paid frequent visits to London, and 
 mingled in the society of the wits of the day. He was 
 very popular, prized for his conversational gifts and 
 scholarly attainments. With Pope he was a special 
 favourite, while Swift held him in high esteem. The 
 former was always impatient of his absence in Ireland, 
 and would often write to urge his return to his English 
 friends. 
 
 ' Dear sir,' says Pope in one of these letters, ' not 
 only as you are a friend, and a good natured man, but 
 as you are a Christian and a divine, come back speedily 
 and prevent the increase of my sins ; for at the rate I 
 have began to rave, I shall not only damn all the poets 
 and commentators who have gone before me, but be 
 
 1 Head, Coiujlcton, Past and Present.
 
 THOMAS PAKNELL 3 
 
 damned myself by all who come after me. To be 
 serious, you have not only left me to the last degree 
 impatient for your return, who at all times should have 
 been so (though never so much as since I knew you 
 in best health here), but you have wrought several 
 miracles upon our family. You have made old people 
 fond of a young and gay person, and inveterate papists 
 of a clergyman of the Church of England. Even nurse 
 herself is in danger of being in love in her old age ; and, 
 for aught I know, would even marry Dennis for your 
 sake, because he is your man, and loves his master. In 
 short come down forthwith, or give me good reasons 
 for delaying, though but for a day or two, by the next 
 post. If I find them just, I will come up to you, 
 though you must know how precious my time is at 
 present ; my hours were never worth so much money 
 before ; but perhaps you are not sensible of this, who 
 give away your own works. You are a generous 
 author ; I, a hackney scribbler. You are a Grecian and 
 bred at a University ; I a poor Englishman, of my own 
 educating. You are a reverend parson, I a wag. In 
 short, you are a Doctor Parnelle (with an e at the end 
 of your name), and I your obliged and affectionate 
 friend and faithful servant.' 
 
 In August 1711 Parnell lost his wife, and her 
 death seems to have overwhelmed him with grief. 
 Nearly a year later Swift wrote in his ' Journal to Stella ' : 
 ' On Sunday Archdeacon Parnell came here to see me. 
 It seems he has been ill for grief of his wife's death, 
 and has been two months at Bath. He has a mind to 
 go to Dunkirk with Jack Hill, and I persuaded him to 
 it, and have spoke to Hill to receive him, but I doubt 
 he won't have spirit to go.' 
 
 Towards the end of 1712 Parnell wrote a poetical 
 
 B 2
 
 4 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 essay on the ' Different Styles of Poetry.' Swift made 
 him insert 'some compliments' to Bolingbroke, and 
 then seized the opportunity of introducing him to the 
 Minister. On December 22 the Dean notes in his 
 ' Journal to Stella ' : ' I gave Lord Bolingbroke a poem of 
 Parnell's. I made Parnell insert some compliments in 
 it to his lordship. He is extremely pleased with it, 
 and read some parts of it to-day to Lord Treasurer, 
 who liked it much ; and, indeed, he outdoes all our 
 poets here a bar's length. Lord Bolingbroke has 
 ordered me to bring him to dinner on Christmas Day, 
 and I made Lord Treasurer promise to see him, and it 
 may one day do Parnell a kindness.' 
 
 ' Dec. 25th. I carried Parnell to dine at Lord 
 Bolingbroke's, and he behaved himself very well, and 
 Lord Bolingbroke is mightily pleased with him.' 
 
 ' January 31st. I contrived it so, that Lord Trea- 
 surer came to me and asked (I had Parnell by me) 
 whether that was Dr. Parnell, and came up and spoke 
 to him with great kindness, and invited him to his 
 house. I value myself on making the ministry desire 
 to be acquainted with Parnell, and not Parnell with the 
 ministry. His poem is almost fully corrected, and shall 
 be out soon.' 
 
 February ~L9th. I was at Court to-day, to speak 
 to Lord Bolingbroke to look over Parnell's poem since 
 it is corrected, and Parnell and I dined with him, and 
 he has shown him three or four more places to alter a 
 little. Lady Bolingbroke came down to us while we 
 were at dinner, and Parnell stared at her as if she were 
 a goddess. I thought she was like Parnell's wife, and 
 he thought so too.' 
 
 But despite Parnell's literary distractions, the death 
 of his wife still seriously affected his health and spirits.
 
 SWIFT AND PARNELL 6 
 
 On March G, 1713, Swift says in his 'Journal': 'I 
 thought to have made Parnell dine with him (Lord 
 Treasurer), but he was ill; his head is out of order 
 like mine, but more constant, poor boy.' And again, 
 on March 20 : ' Parnell's poem will be published on 
 Monday, and to-morrow I design he shall present it to 
 Lord Treasurer and Lord Bolingbroke, at Court. The 
 poor lad is almost always out of order with his head.' 
 The poem was now published. ' [It is],' says Swift, 
 ' mightily esteemed ; but poetry sells ill.' 
 
 In 1714 we find Parnell, who was still in precarious 
 health, at Bath with Pope. In 1715 he was once more 
 in Ireland. In 1716 he was presented to the Vicarage 
 of Finglass, which he retained until his death two 
 years later. Towards the close of his life he seems to 
 have suffered more acutely from fits of depression, to 
 which he was apparently subject for many years. At 
 these times he kept himself away from his friends, 
 withdrawing to a remote part of the country, and there 
 enjoying a ' gloomy kind of satisfaction in giving 
 hideous descriptions of the solitude ' by which he was 
 surrounded. In the summer of 1718 he paid his last 
 visit to London, and met some of his old friends. But 
 his health was now rapidly failing, and, on his way to 
 Ireland in October, he fell suddenly ill at Chester and 
 there died : pre-deceased by two unmarried sons, and 
 leaving one daughter, who, it is said, lived to a ripe 
 old age. His remains rest in Holy Trinity church- 
 yard, not far from the home of his ancestors. 1 
 
 In 1721 Pope raised the most enduring monument 
 to his fame by bringing out an edition of his works, 
 
 1 Goldsmith, Life of Tlwmas Parnell ; Johnson, Lives of tlie Poets 
 (ed. Cunningham); Swift's Journal to Stella; Tlie Dictionary of 
 National Biography.
 
 6 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 and dedicating the volume in immortal lines to the 
 Earl of Oxford : 
 
 ' Such were the notes, thy once-loved poet sung, 
 'Till death untimely stopp'd his tuneful tongue. 
 Oh, just beheld, and lost ! admired and mourn'd, 
 With softest manners, gentlest arts, adorn'd ! 
 Blest in each science, blest in every strain ! 
 Dear to the muse, to Harley dear in vain ! 
 For him thou oft hast bid the world attend, 
 Fond to forget the statesman in the friend : 
 For Swift and him, despis'd the farce of state, 
 The sober follies of the wise and great ; 
 Dext'rous the craving fawning crowd to quit, 
 And pleas'd to 'scape from flattery to wit. 
 Absent or dead, still let a friend be dear 
 (A sigh the absent claims, the dead a tear) ; 
 Recall those nights that closed thy toilsome days, 
 Still hear thy Parnell in his living lays : 
 Who careless, now, of int'rest, fame, or fate, 
 Perhaps forgets that Oxford ere was great, 
 Or, deeming meanest what we greatest call, 
 Behold thee glorious only in thy fall.' 
 
 The family property (including land in Armagh, 
 which the poet inherited from his mother) now descended 
 to the poet's brother John. Beyond the fact that he 
 was a barrister, a member of Parliament, and a judge, 
 little is known of the details of John Parnell's life. 
 Married to the sister of Lord Chief Justice Whitshed, 
 he died in 1727, leaving one son, John, who became 
 member for Bangor in 1761, and was created a baronet 
 in 1766. He married the second daughter of the Hon. 
 Michael Ward, of Castleward, in the County Down, one 
 of the judges of the Court of King's Bench, and, dying 
 in 1782, was succeeded by his famous son, Sir John 
 Parnell, Chancellor of the Exchequer in Grattan's 
 Parliament.
 
 SIR JOHN PARXELL 7 
 
 Sir John Parnell was bom about 1745. At first 
 intended for the diplomatic service, he ultimately gave 
 himself up wholly to^ Irish politics. Becoming a 
 student of Lincoln's Inn in 1766, he was never called 
 to the Bar either in England or Ireland ; though 
 elected, many years later, a bencher of the King's Inns, 
 Dublin. He entered the Irish Parliament about 1776, 
 and was appointed a Commissioner of Customs and 
 Excise in 1780. 
 
 Parnell's position was now unique. Holding office 
 under the Crown, he possessed the confidence of 
 Grattan and the Nationalists ; a supporter of the 
 Government, he was in touch with popular feeling. 
 He commanded a volunteer corps during the great 
 crisis of 1780-82, and cordially identified himself with 
 the struggle for legislative independence. In 1783, 
 however, he opposed Flood's Scheme of Parliamentary 
 Reform, and later still he declined, like many other 
 patriotic Irishmen of the time, to follow Grattan's 
 lead on the Catholic question. Standing high in favour 
 with the authorities, he became Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer in 1785, and Privy Councillor in 1786. 
 In 1788 he won popular applause by reducing the 
 interest on the National Debt from 6 to 5 per cent. 
 After the admission of the Catholics to the parlia- 
 mentary franchise in 1793, he was drawn more into 
 sympathy with them, and apparently looked upon 
 complete emancipation as inevitable. 
 
 In 1794 he, Grattan, and some other Irish poli- 
 ticians visited London and conferred with Pitt on Irish 
 affairs. At a dinner party at the Duke of Portland's, 
 Parnell, who sat next to Pitt, took the opportunity of 
 introducing the subject of Catholics and Protestants 
 in Ireland. He said that the old feeling of ill-will was
 
 8 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 disappearing, and that he looked forward hopefully to 
 the establishment of more cordial relations between 
 the members of both creeds. 'Yes, Sir,' said Pitt, 
 ' but the question is, whose will they be ? ' A union 
 between Catholics and Protestants in the English 
 interest would have been gratifying enough to the 
 English Minister, but a union for the purpose of 
 building up an Irish nation was not to his taste. It 
 was, however, rather of the Irish nation than the 
 English interest that both Grattan and Parnell were 
 thinking, and Pitt no doubt shrewdly suspected the 
 fact. ' What does Ireland want ? ' he said to Grattan. 
 ' What would she have more ? ' ' Mr. Pitt does not 
 like Ireland,' Grattan observed afterwards. ' She is 
 not handy enough for him.' And handy enough, indeed, 
 she was not for Mr. Pitt, nor has she been for any 
 other English Minister. Before leaving England 
 Grattan told Pitt that the time had come when the 
 Catholics should be completely emancipated, and, as we 
 know, in 1795 Lord Fitzwilliam was sent as Viceroy 
 to emancipate them. Parnell, at Grattan's urgent 
 request, was retained in office, a fact which shows how 
 thoroughly the Nationalist leader believed in the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer. The sudden recall 
 of Lord Fitzwilliam and the breach of faith with the 
 Catholics are amongst the best known and the most 
 discreditable transactions in the history of the Eng- 
 lish in Ireland. Rebellion followed, and when it 
 was crushed Pitt determined to destroy the Irish 
 Parliament. 
 
 In November 1798 Sir John Parnell was in London, 
 and Pitt broached the subject of the Union to him. Par- 
 nell dealt cautiously with the subject, saying, ' that 
 before any decided step was taken communications
 
 THE UNION V 
 
 ought to be opened with the leading men in Ireland 
 and public opinion sounded.' 
 
 In December 1798 JLord Cornwallis wrote to the 
 Duke of Portland : ' I trust that the Speaker [Sir John 
 Foster] and Sir John Parnell will not have left London 
 before Lord Castlereagh's arrival, as I consider it highly 
 important that he should have an opportunity of hear- 
 ing them state their opinions before the king's minister 
 on the question. Some of the king's servants appeared 
 to be amongst the most impracticable in their opinions ; 
 and I feel confident that your Grace will leave no means 
 untried to impress these gentlemen more favourably 
 before they return to this kingdom.' But Sir John 
 Parnell was not ' impressed favourably,' for we find 
 Cornwallis writing to Portland on January 16, 1799 : 
 ' On my finding from a conversation which I had 
 with Sir John Parnell soon after he landed that he 
 was determined not to support the Union, I have noti- 
 fied to him his dismission from the office of Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer.' Parnell now flung himself heart 
 and soul into the struggle against the Union. On 
 January 22 he opposed the measure in limine, 
 though in what Cornwallis described as a ' fair and 
 candid ' speech, avoiding ' topics of violence.' ' I have 
 only now to express my sincere regret,' Cornwallis 
 wrote to Portland on January 23, ' to your Grace that 
 the prejudices prevailing amongst the members of the 
 Commons, countenanced and encouraged as they have 
 been by the Speaker and Sir John Parnell, are infi- 
 nitely too strong to afford me any prospect of bringing, 
 forward this measure with any chance of success in 
 the course of the present session.' 
 
 In 1800 the struggle was renewed, and Parnell 
 fought against the Government with increasing vigour
 
 10 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 and vehemence. On February 17, 1800, we learn 
 from Cornwallis that ' Sir John Parnell rose at eleven 
 and went into the details of the measure, on which he 
 commented with severity.' On March 13 he moved 
 that ' an address be presented to his Majesty, to request 
 his Majesty to dissolve the present Parliament and call 
 a new one before the measure of legislative Union 
 should be concluded.' 
 
 After a fierce debate the motion was defeated at 
 three o'clock in the morning by a majority of 150 
 to 104. 
 
 On May 26 we find Parnell defending Grattan from 
 the imputation of treason cast upon him by Lord 
 Castlereagh. Grattan had said that the Union was a 
 measure of slavery, but that liberty was immortal, and 
 that the nation would yet rise to recover its rights. 
 * Rebellion, treason,' cried Castlereagh. ' No,' retorted 
 Parnell, ' for we shall recover our rights by consti- 
 tutional means. The Sovereign himself will yet appeal 
 to the people to vindicate the freedom of which they have 
 been robbed.' But there was no such appeal. The 
 people were not consulted. The Parliament was de- 
 stroyed by force and fraud. The nation was cheated by 
 intrigue and falsehood. Immediately after the Union 
 Parnell took his seat in the English House of Commons 
 as member for the Queen's County. But he did not long 
 survive the Irish Parliament, dying somewhat suddenly 
 in Clifford Street, London, on December 5, 1801. There 
 were few members of the old Irish Parliament more 
 universally esteemed than Sir John Parnell. Frank, 
 upright, honourable, courageous, he won the confidence 
 of friends and the admiration of foes. Moderate in 
 opinion, firm in resolve, he entered every struggle with 
 deliberation and fought every issue without flinching.
 
 SIR HENRY PARNELL 11 
 
 Called to high office in corrupt days, he never used his 
 position for the advancement of a single member of 
 his family ; he never under any circumstances allowed 
 personal considerations to interfere with his lofty 
 conceptions of public duty. He was no orator ; but 
 his speeches commanded the attention and respect 
 alwaj's given to a man who speaks with the authority 
 which knowledge, sense, and honesty confer. A 
 short time after his death the Prime Minister, Mr. 
 Addington, paid a just tribute of esteem to his memory, 
 describing him as a man 'whose loss they deeply 
 deplored and whose memory would be reverenced by 
 all who set any value on a sound understanding, 
 extensive information, and a benevolent heart.' 
 
 Sir John married Letitia Charlotte, second daughter 
 and co-heiress of Sir Arthur Brooke, Bart., of Cole- 
 brooke, County Fermanagh, and had six children, 
 amongst whom were Henry, the first Lord Congleton, 
 and William, the grandfather of Charles Stewart 
 Parnell. 
 
 Henry Parnell had a distinguished career. Born 
 in 1776, he was educated at Eton, and Trinity College, 
 Cambridge. In 1797 he entered the Irish Parliament, 
 and took his place in the National ranks, in the struggle 
 against the Union. On his father's death in 1801 he 
 succeeded to the family estates which had been settled 
 on him by Act of Parliament in 1789, owing to the 
 incurable mental and physical disabilities of his eldest 
 brother, John Augustus. Entering the English Parlia- 
 ment in April 1802, he retired before the end of the 
 year; only, however, to return to active life early in 
 1806 as member for the Queen's County. Appointed 
 a Commissioner of the Treasury in Ireland under the 
 short-lived Grenville Administration (1806-7), he found
 
 12 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 himself again in Opposition after enjoying the sweets 
 of office for less than a twelvemonth. In Opposition 
 as in power he was a staunch supporter of the Catholic 
 claims, and threw himself into the struggle for emanci- 
 pation with persistence and energy. 
 
 In 1809 he called the attention of Parliament to 
 the Tithe Question, and moved for an inquiry ; but 
 the motion was rejected by a large majority. In 1810 
 he returned to the subject, but again failed to awaken 
 the interest of the House of Commons in it. During 
 the hard fight for the removal of the Catholic dis- 
 abilities, he stood side by side with Grattan until 1815, 
 when the two friends for a time parted. Grattan had 
 expressed his willingness to accept emancipation, 
 subject to the condition that the Crown should have a 
 veto on the appointment of the Catholic bishops. But 
 O'Connell, who was now rapidly rising to power, de- 
 manded emancipation unfettered by any such restric- 
 tions, and carried the country with him. In this crisis 
 Parnell supported O'Connell, and thenceforth became 
 the representative of the Catholic Board in the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 In July 1815 Sir Henry moved for a commission 
 to inquire into the nature and effects of the Orange 
 Society in Ireland. ' I voted for the question,' says 
 Sir Samuel Romilly in his diary, ' and, as is always the 
 case in important questions of this kind relative to 
 Ireland, in a very small minority. We were only 20, 
 the majority being upwards of 80.' We get some 
 more glimpses of Parnell in Sir Samuel Romilly's 
 diary : 
 
 'May 21, 1817. Mr. Peel moved and obtained 
 leave to bring in a Bill to continue the Irish Insurrec- 
 tion Act. I intended to oppose it, but, knowing that
 
 COERCION 13 
 
 Sir Henry Parnell meant to oppose it too, I waited for 
 him to rise, as he meant to do. But the question 
 having been put hastily ,-it was declared by the Speaker 
 to be carried before he had risen ; and it was therefore 
 passed without opposition. 
 
 ' May 23. I opposed on the second reading the 
 further progress of the Bill for continuing the Irish 
 Insurrection Act, on the ground that a measure of such 
 extraordinary severity ought cot to be continued, but 
 in case of absolute necessity ; and that that necessity 
 could not be apparent without an inquiry into the 
 state of Ireland. That it was quite unjustifiable to 
 persevere in such a system, upon no better grounds 
 than the mere statements of the Irish Secretary. None 
 of the members for Ireland supported me in this 
 opposition except Sir Henry Parnell and General 
 Matthew. 
 
 ' June 13. On a motion for going into committee 
 on the Irish Insurrection Bill I again resisted the 
 further progress of it, and supported a motion of Sir 
 Henry Parnell for an inquiry into the facts which 
 were stated as the grounds of proposing the measure. 
 General Matthew and Sir William Burroughs were 
 the only other members who opposed the Bill now, 
 as they were the only members who had, together 
 with myself and Sir Henry Parnell, opposed the second 
 reading.' 
 
 In 1825 Parnell opposed the Bill for the suppres- 
 sion of the Catholic Association, urging that Ministers 
 should adopt not a policy of coercion, but of redress. 
 
 After the concession of Catholic Emancipation in 
 1829, Parnell co-operated with the Liberal party ; and, 
 indeed, it was on his motion to refer the Civil List to a 
 Select Committee that the Government of the Duke of
 
 14 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 Wellington was defeated and driven from office in 
 November 1830. On the accession of the Grey 
 Ministry, Parnell was made Secretary of War and 
 Privy Councillor. But he proved a restive subaltern. 
 He differed from the Postmaster-General on the subject 
 of postal reform, he prepared army estimates which 
 the Ministry would not accept, and, finally, he was dis- 
 missed from office in January 1832 for refusing to vote 
 in favour of paying the dividend on the Kussian-Dutch 
 Loan, contrary to treaty stipulations. 1 On leaving 
 office he wrote to Brougham, urging him to induce the 
 Government of Lord Grey to come to terms with 
 O'Connell and to take up the Irish question. ' Kecurring 
 to Ireland,' he said, ' I must press on you the urgency 
 of your taking an active and decided part in its affairs. 
 You are the only member of the Cabinet who at all 
 comprehends the case. Most of your colleagues are 
 not only ignorant of it, but, as it seems to me, incapable 
 of understanding it.' 
 
 Parnell did not contest Maryborough at the general 
 election of 1832, but in 1833 he was returned for 
 Dundee. 
 
 In 1835 he became Paymaster-General of the Forces 
 in the Melbourne Administration, a post which he held 
 until his elevation to the peerage as Lord Congleton in 
 1841. He now ceased to take interest in public affairs. 
 His health became seriously impaired. His mind was 
 ultimately affected, and, in August 1842, he died by his 
 own hand at his residence in Cadogan Place, Chelsea. 
 
 Sir Henry Parnell was an advanced Liberal of inde- 
 
 1 During the French war Russia had borrowed from a Dutch house 
 in Amsterdam the sum of 25,000,000 florins. After the war, the King of 
 the Netherlands and Great Britain agreed to bear one-half of the charge 
 until Holland and Belgium were separated a contingency which hap- 
 pened in 1830.
 
 DEATH OF SIR H. PARNELL 15 
 
 pendent views and a sturdy spirit. At first interesting 
 himself chiefly in Irish and financial questions, he 
 soon pushed forward along the whole line of Liberal 
 reform. He advocated the extension of the franchise 
 and vote by ballot, the shortening of Parliaments, the 
 repeal of the corn laws, and a rigorous policy of retrench- 
 ment in all public departments. Nearly half a century 
 later his grand-nephew took a leading part in the agita- 
 tion for the abolition of flogging in the army. But Sir 
 Henry anticipated the movement, and, in office and out 
 of office, condemned the lash with uncompromising 
 hostility. Like his father, he w r as no orator, but a 
 plain, businesslike, matter-of-fact speaker, who, how- 
 ever, possessed a complete mastery of every subject on 
 which he touched, and was always listened to with 
 attention and respect. His appearance in the House of 
 Commons is thus described by a contemporary autho- 
 rity : ' Sir Henry Parnell is a respectable, but by no 
 means a superior, speaker. He has a fine clear voice, 
 but he never varies the key in which he commences. 
 He is, however, audible in all parts of the House. His 
 utterance is well timed, and he appears to speak with 
 great ease. He delivers his speeches in much the same 
 way as if he were repeating some pieces of writing he 
 had committed to his memory in his schoolboy years. 
 His gesticulation is a great deal too tame for his speeches 
 to produce any effect. He stands stock still, except 
 when he occasionally raises and lets fall his right hand. 
 Even this he does in a very gentle manner. What he 
 excels in is giving a plain, luminous statement of com- 
 plex financial matters. In this respect he has no supe- 
 rior. Sir Henry is gentlemanly in his appearance ; so 
 is he also in reality. His manners are highly courteous. 
 His stature is of the middle size, rather inclining to
 
 16 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 stoutness. His complexion is fair, his features are 
 regular, with a mild expression about them ; and his 
 hair is pure white.' l Sir Henry published several 
 books, the most important of which is a ' History of 
 the Penal Laws against Irish Catholics from 1C89 to 
 the Union ' the best work, perhaps, on the subject. 
 
 He married Lady Caroline Elizabeth Dawson, eldest 
 daughter of the first Earl of Portarlington, by whom 
 he had five children, three daughters and two sons. 
 
 Sir Henry's youngest brother, William the grand- 
 father, as has been said, of Charles Stewart Parnell 
 was born about 1780. Of his early years little is 
 known. But in 1801 he succeeded, under his father's 
 will, to the property of Avondale, which had been 
 settled on Sir John Parnell by a friend and admirer, 
 Samuel Hayes, barrister-at-law. William Parnell was 
 a modest, retiring man, fond of his books and his home ; 
 und, though keenly interested in political affairs, 
 unwilling to take active part in public life. An 
 enemy of the Union, a friend to the Catholics, a good 
 landlord, a just magistrate, amiable, benevolent, sym- 
 pathetic, he was very popular amongst the people in 
 whose midst he lived, and whose welfare he studied. 
 From his quiet retreat near the beautiful Vale of 
 Avoca he watched the political struggle beyond, and 
 even sometimes gave signs of the faith that was in 
 him. In 1805 he published a pamphlet, entitled, ' An 
 Enquiry into the Causes of Popular Discontent,' setting 
 out the causes thus : 
 
 ' 1st. The recollections which exist in Ireland of 
 being a conquered people. 
 
 ' 2nd. The great confiscation of private property. 
 
 1 Random Recollections of the House of Commons.
 
 WILLIAM PARNELL 17 
 
 ' 3rd. The distinctions between Protestants and 
 Catholics. 
 
 ' 4th. The distinction between the members of the 
 Church of England and the Presbyterians. 
 
 '5th. Tithes. 
 
 ' 6th. The degraded state- of the peasantry. 
 
 ' 7th. The influence of a Eepublican Party. 
 
 '8th. The Union.' 
 
 He devotes many pages to a vigorous condemnation 
 of the Union, putting the case at one point very happily, 
 thus : ' The reasoning and practice of the Union was 
 very like a transaction in " Mon Oncle Thomas." A 
 grenadier sold his son's teeth to a dentist. The only 
 difficulty was to persuade the child to part with them. 
 The contracting parties took the favourable opportunity 
 of a severe fit of toothache and reasoned the matter 
 thus : " This tooth you are going to have drawn gives 
 you a great deal of pain ; all the rest will decay in 
 their turn, and give you as much pain; therefore, 
 while you are about it, you had better have them all 
 drawn at once." " Oh, but," said the child, " how should 
 I be able to chew my victuals ? " " That is easily settled," 
 said the father ; " I will chew them for you." The 
 English,' said Parnell, ' have the disposition of a 
 nation accustomed to Empire. Anything that com- 
 promises their own dignity is out of the question. 
 But the dignity of any other nation never makes any 
 obstacle to their measures.' A few years later he 
 published the work by which he is best known, 'An 
 Historical Apology for the Irish Catholics.' This is a 
 remarkable little book, showing an intimate knowledge 
 of Irish history, and displaying both literary skill and 
 logical acumen. Taking up the argument that Irish 
 disaffection springs from religious causes, he proves 
 
 VOL. i. c
 
 18 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 that the Irish were rebellious before religious differ- 
 ences arose. The English came, he says in effect, 
 to rob and kill, and the Irish fought for property and 
 life. ' Contemporary writers never mentioned religion 
 as a cause of rebellion till long after the Reformation ; 
 on the contrary, their fears are always expressed against 
 the Irishry, not against the Papists. They found the 
 greatest opposition in national pride, not in religion.' 
 He thus deals with the Protestant oligarchy, though he 
 himself belonged to that oligarchy : ' The Protestants, 
 in their terror of persecution, have become persecutors, 
 their alarm at Catholic atrocities has made them atro- 
 cious. To hear them speak, one would imagine that 
 they had been the patient and uncomplaining sufferers, 
 from the reign of William till George III. ; that they 
 had borne this long and cruel test with loyal resig- 
 nation ; that they had been deprived of property, of 
 arms, of every legal and honourable right. No, it is 
 not suffering, but it is power, it is pride of artificial 
 ascendancy, it is the jealousy arising from exclusive 
 privilege that corrupts the understanding and hardens 
 the heart.' Sydney Smith reviewed the book very 
 favourably in the ' Edinburgh,' saying : ' We are truly 
 glad to agree so entirely with Mr. Parnell upon this 
 great question ; we admire his way of thinking, and 
 most cordially recommend his work to the attention of 
 the public.' 
 
 A warm friendship existed between William Parnell 
 and Thomas Moore. It was at Avondale that the poet 
 wrote ' The Meeting of the Waters,' and the exact 
 spot from which he is supposed to have viewed the 
 scene was pointed out to me by Mr. John Parnell 
 some time ago. 
 
 ' Tom Moore's tree ' under whose wide-spreading
 
 THOMAS MOORE 19 
 
 branches the poet sat, it is said, when he penned his 
 famous song is still shown as one of the sights of 
 Avondale. But there ias always been uncertainty 
 and mystery on the subject uncertainty and mys- 
 tery which, even at the request of William. Parnell, 
 Moore declined to clear up. Fourteen years after 
 Parnell's death he revisited the scene, and notes with 
 a touch of pardonable vanity in his journal : ' August 
 25, 1835. After breakfast the landau and four was 
 again at the door, and with a most clear morning, pro- 
 mising a delicious day, we set out for the Vale of Avoca 
 and the meeting of the waters. I had not been in this 
 beautiful region since the visit (ages ago it seems) 
 which gave birth to the now memorable song, " There 
 is not in the wide world." How wise it was of Scott 
 to connect his poetry with the beautiful scenery of his 
 country. Even indifferent verses derived from such an 
 association obtain a degree of vitality which nothing 
 else could impart to them. I felt this strongly to-day 
 while my companions talked of the different discussions 
 there were afloat as to the particular spot from which 
 I viewed the scene ; whether it was the first or second 
 meeting of the waters I meant to describe. I told 
 them that I meant to leave all that in the mystery best 
 suited to such questions. Poor William Parnell, who 
 now no longer looks upon those waters, wrote to me 
 many years since on the subject of those doubts, and, 
 mentioning a seat in the Abbey churchyard belonging 
 to him where it was said I sat while writing the 
 verses, begged me to give him two lines to that effect 
 to be put on the seat. " If you can't tell a lie for me," 
 said he, " in prose, you will, perhaps, to oblige an old 
 friend, do it in verse." 
 
 But Moore did not comply with the request. 
 
 c 2
 
 20 CHAKLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 Though little inclined to take an active part in 
 politics, Parnell was induced to enter Parliament as 
 member for Wicklow in 1817. But his public career 
 was of brief duration. In 1821 he died in the prime of 
 life, deeply mourned by true and loving friends, and 
 keenly missed by a faithful and sorrowing tenantry. He 
 married the eldest daughter of the Hon. Hugh Howard, 
 of Castle Howard, County Wicklow, by whom he had 
 two children, John Henry and Catherine. 
 
 John Henry Parnell led an uneventful life. Resid- 
 ing on his estate at Avondale and interesting himself 
 chiefly in questions of agricultural improvement, he 
 sought by every means in his power to promote the 
 well-being and happiness of his people. A good land- 
 lord, a staunch Liberal, a kind friend, he was respected 
 and esteemed by all classes in the country. In his 
 youth he was fond of travel, and during a visit to the 
 United States, in 1834, he met, loved, and married 
 Miss Delia Tudor, the daughter of Commodore Charles 
 Stewart, of the American Navy. This was the one 
 notable event in the life of John Henry Parnell. 
 
 Delia Stewart was the daughter of a remarkable 
 man. About the middle of the eighteenth century 
 there were agrarian disturbances in Ulster ; and thou- 
 sands of tenants, smarting under a sense of wrong and 
 despairing of the future, fled across the ocean to seek a 
 refuge and a home in the British colonies of North 
 America. Among these emigrants were the parents of 
 Charles Stewart. They settled in Philadelphia, and 
 there he was born on July 28, 1778. Two years 
 afterwards his father died, and Mrs. Stewart was left 
 to face the world alone with a young and helpless 
 family. But her forlorn position excited the pity and 
 the love of a generous man, and after the lapse of some
 
 COMMODORE STEWART 21 
 
 time she became the wife of Captain Britton, a member 
 of Congress and Commander of Washington's body- 
 guard. Britton was more than a stepfather to the 
 little Stewarts, and to Charlie he took special fancy, as, 
 growing up, the lad showed a brave spirit and a warm 
 heart. In 1790 Britton introduced him to President 
 Washington, an incident in his life which Charles 
 Stewart never forgot. In old age he often spoke of 
 this famous interview, dwelling particularly upon the 
 effect which it produced on his playmates at Phila- 
 delphia. ' Not one of them,' he would say, ' dare 
 knock a chip off my shoulder after that.' Britton 
 intended to have young Stewart trained for some quiet 
 and honourable post in the public service. But the lad 
 had his own plans. He resolved to go to sea. His 
 mother and stepfather protested ; but Charlie settled 
 the question one day by running away from school and 
 becoming cabin boy in a coasting schooner. Britton, 
 like a sensible man, accepted the inevitable, and deter- 
 mined to help the youth along the lines he had marked 
 out for himself. With his own brains and grit, and by 
 Britton's influence, Charlie went rapidly ahead, and 
 before he was twenty-one rose to the command of an 
 Indiaman. Then he left the merchant service, and 
 in 1798 entered the navy as lieutenant on board the 
 frigate ' United States.' Thenceforth his success was 
 steady and remarkable. 
 
 In 1800 he was sent in the ' Experiment ' to deal with 
 French privateers in West Indian waters. During this 
 mission he displayed the fighting qualities which were 
 destined to make him famous, seizing privateers and 
 warships, re-capturing American vessels, scouring the 
 seas, and scattering his enemies. Nor was he less 
 mindful of works of humanity, for this same year he
 
 22 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 rescued a number of women and childen who had 
 been wrecked while escaping from a revolution in San 
 Domingo. This gallant action brought a despatch of 
 grateful acknowledgment from the Spanish Governor of 
 the island to the President of the United States. 
 
 In 1803 he was despatched on a graver mission. 
 The United States had made war on Tripoli for insults 
 offered to the American flag, and Stewart was sent to 
 co-operate with Captain Trible, who commanded the 
 American squadron in the Mediterranean. In the 
 operations which followed (1803, 1804) Stewart again 
 distinguished himself ; supporting Lieutenant Dicatur 
 in his successful efforts to re-capture the frigate 
 ' Philadelphia,' which had fallen into the hand of the 
 Tripolitans ; seizing a British and a Greek vessel, 
 which had attempted to run the blockade of the 
 harbour ; and leading the attack on the enemy's flotilla 
 in the bombardment of the town. For these services 
 he was promoted to the rank of master-commandant. 
 
 He was next sent in the ' Essex r to Tunis, where 
 fresh troubles had arisen. The American Consul, 
 fearing an attack on the consulate, had fled to the fleet. 
 A council of war was held. Operations against the 
 town were suggested. But Stewart said, ' No.' Wai- 
 had not been declared by the United States against 
 Tunis, and the fleet, therefore, could not act. The 
 fleet could not declare war. Congress alone could do 
 that. Negotiations, he urged, should be re-opened 
 with the Bey. This advice was taken. Negotiations 
 were re-opened. They were carried to a successful 
 issue. The Consul was sent back, and peaceful rela- 
 tions were established. Thus Stewart proved himself 
 a skilful diplomatist as well as a hard fighter. His 
 sound constitutional views and admirable tact on this
 
 ENGLAND AND AMERICA 23 
 
 occasion won the high commendation of President 
 Jefferson. 
 
 In 1806 he was promoted to the rank of captain, 
 and, a season of peace having supervened, he returned 
 to the merchant service. But on the breaking out of 
 the war with England in 1812 he once more joined 
 the navy. England claimed the right to search 
 American vessels for English sailors. The United 
 States repudiated this claim, and resolved to resist it 
 by force. The Government at first decided to act on 
 the defensive, collecting the fleet close to the American 
 shore to await events. Stewart and Captain Barn- 
 bridge, however, pointed out that this would be a fatal 
 policy, and proposed instead that the vessels should 
 put to sea and attack the Britisher wherever he was 
 to be found. Their views finally prevailed, and in 
 January 1813 Stewart was ordered to sail in the 
 frigate ' Constellation ' from Washington to Norfolk, 
 and thence to the open sea. But on reaching Norfolk 
 he found a British fleet in the offing. Dropping down 
 the river, the American captain anchored abreast of 
 Craney Island, to cover the fortifications which were 
 in course of construction. There he was greatly 
 exposed to the enemy. But he prepared a plan of 
 defence which baffled his foes and won the admiration 
 of naval experts. The ' Constellation ' was anchored in 
 the middle of a narrow channel. On each side of her 
 were seven gunboats. A circle of booms protected 
 the gunboats from being boarded, and enabled them 
 at the same time to maintain a flanking fire on all 
 assailants of the frigate. On board the frigate herself 
 the greatest precautions were taken. The gun-decks 
 were housed, the ports shut in, the stern ladders taken 
 away, and the gangway cleats removed. Not a rope
 
 24 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 could be seen hanging over the side, while every 
 means that ingenuity could suggest were devised for 
 embarrassing, bewildering, and out-manoeuvring the 
 enemy, should he succeed in coming to close quarters. 
 Then the carronades were charged to the muzzle with 
 musket-balls and depressed to the nearest range, in 
 order to sweep the water around the ship. ' As the 
 frigate was light and unusually high out of the water, 
 it was the opinion of the best judges that, defended as 
 she would certainly have been under the officers who 
 were in her, she could not have been carried without 
 a loss of several hundred men to the enemy, if she 
 could have been carried at all.' l 
 
 This was clearly the opinion of the English admiral 
 too. For, after reconnoitring several times with great 
 care, he came to the conclusion that no attempt could 
 safely be made to attack the ' Constellation ' ; the 
 English officers confessing that the vigilance of the 
 ship was too much for them, and insisting that Captain 
 Stewart must be a Scotchman, he was so actively 
 awake. 2 So Stewart remained abreast of Craney 
 Island until the fortifications were completed, when he 
 returned to Norfolk Harbour. 
 
 Soon afterwards he was given the command of the 
 ' Constitution,' and in the summer of 1813 sailed in 
 her for the "West Indies. In this cruise he captured 
 the British war schooner ' Picton,' a letter of marque 
 under her convoy, and several merchant vessels. 
 Beturning to America for repairs, he fell in with two 
 British ships, which gave him chase, but, skilfully evad- 
 ing them, he ran his craft under the guns of Fort 
 Marblehead, and a few days afterwards reached Boston 
 Harbour in perfect safety. There, for a moment, he 
 
 1 Fenimore Cooper, History of tlie American Navy. 2 Ibid.
 
 NAVAL BATTLE 2o 
 
 deserted the god of battles for the god of love, and 
 married Delia Tudor, ' the belle of Boston,' daughter 
 of Judge Tudor, who had fought against the British 
 in the War of Independence. But the wedding was 
 scarcely over when the ' Constitution ' was once more 
 ready for sea, and Stewart bade farewell to his bride. 
 * What present shall I bring you home ? ' he asked as 
 they parted. 'A British frigate,' was the prompt 
 reply. ' I shall bring you two,' said Stewart. In 
 December 1814 he set sail for Europe, seizing two 
 British vessels on the way, destroying one, and sending 
 the other, which had a valuable cargo, to New York. 
 On February 19, 1815, at 1 P.M., the ' Constitution ' 
 was off the coast of Spain. A sail was sighted some 
 twelve miles ahead. The first lieutenant reported that 
 she was probably a British ship of 50 guns. ' What- 
 ever may be the number of her guns,' said Stewart, 
 ' I'll fight. Set every stitch of canvas ; lay me along- 
 side.' With studding sails alow and aloft the ' Con- 
 stitution ' sped through the waters, and by 4 P.M. she 
 had shortened the distance between herself and the 
 enemy by one-half. Then a second ship hove in sight, 
 and she was soon pronounced to be the consort of the 
 first. But the ' Constitution ' sped on. ' Before sunset, 
 my lads,' said Stewart, ' we must flog these Britishers, 
 whether they have one or two gun-decks each.' The 
 ' Constitution ' now came up hand over hand, and it 
 was soon seen that the British ships for so they 
 turned out to be were ready for action. All three 
 vessels formed (as Stewart put it) an equilateral 
 triangle ; the British ships the ' Cyane,' 34 guns, and 
 the ' Levant,' 21 guns making the base, the ' Consti- 
 tution ' the apex. Stewart began the action by firing 
 between the British ships. The British responded
 
 26 CHAKLES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 with a broadside, which was, however, ineffective owing 
 to the American's excellent strategic position. Stewart 
 now concentrated his fire on the foremost vessel, the 
 ' Levant,' raking her fore and aft. The British replied 
 gallantly, and a hot combat ensued. At this juncture 
 the sternmost ship, the ' Cyane,' crept up to the 
 ' Constitution ' and endeavoured to take her on the 
 weather side. But Stewart, handling his ship with 
 admirable skill, out-manoeuvred the Britisher, and 
 getting to close quarters poured a tremendous broad- 
 side into her. Both ships now maintained a running 
 fire until about 6 P.M., when the enemy, raked, bat- 
 tered, and disabled, was forced to surrender. Stewart, 
 putting a crew on board the frigate, bore down on 
 the ' Levant,' passing under her stern and delivering 
 a well-directed broadside. The ' Levant ' briskly re- 
 turned the fire, striking the ' Constitution ' amidships ; 
 but another broadside from the American brought 
 down the British colours, and made Stewart the victor 
 of the day. He had kept his word with his bride. 
 He had captured two British frigates in less than 
 two months since they had parted. When the battle 
 was over the British commanders sat in the cabin 
 of the ' Constitution ' and discussed the action in 
 the presence of Stewart, each blaming the other for 
 the disaster which had befallen them. ' Gentlemen,' 
 said Stewart, ' it is idle to discuss the question. You 
 both fought gallantly, and neither of you is to blame. 
 No matter what you had done the result would have 
 been the same. If you doubt it, go back to your ships 
 and we will fight the battle over again.' 
 
 Stewart now made for home with his two frigates. 
 On the way back he rested in neutral waters at Porto 
 Praya in Santiago, the largest of the Cape Verde
 
 PEACE WITH ENGLAND 27 
 
 islands. But a British squadron soon hove in sight. 
 Stewart knew that the British would not respect the 
 neutral waters of a weak Power like Portugal ; so he 
 slipped his cable and, followed by his prizes, set sail 
 for America. The British squadron gave chase and 
 quickly overhauled the Americans. Fighting was out 
 of the question, for the ' Constitution ' was under- 
 manned, her crew being distributed in the prizes. 
 Stewart's only plan, therefore, was to escape the enemy. 
 Signalling the ' Cyane ' and the ' Levant ' to vary their 
 courses so as to distract and scatter the pursuers, he 
 succeeded in getting all three vessels out of range of 
 the squadron's fire. The ' Constitution ' and the 
 'Cyane ' reached New York in safety, but the ' Levant,' 
 pressed by two of the British ships, re-entered Porto 
 Prayo and anchored under the shelter of the forts. 
 The British squadron, ignoring neutral rights, sailed in 
 and recaptured her, and thus the affair ended. 
 
 On reaching Xew York Stewart was welcomed with 
 honours. Congress voted him thanks, a sword, and a 
 gold medal, the State of Pennsylvania thanks and a 
 sword, Xew York the freedom of the city, while the 
 masses of the people greeted him with the appropriate 
 sobriquet of ' Old Ironsides.' l 
 
 In September 1814 peace was made with England, 
 and Stewart spent the rest of his life in tranquillity, 
 although he remained still for nearly fifty years in the 
 public service. From 1816 to 1820 he commanded 
 the American squadron in the Mediterranean, from 
 1820 to 1825 he guarded American interests in the 
 Pacific with characteristic tact, skill, and patriotism. 
 
 Afterwards he continued to fill important posts 
 
 1 This was a name first given to the ' Constitution ' ; it was now 
 transferred to her captain.
 
 28 CIIAKLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 afloat or ashore until 1862, when he was placed on 
 the retired list as rear-admiral. The remainder of his 
 days were serenely passed in his house at Bordentown, 
 New Jersey, where he died, full of years and honour, 
 on November 9, 1869. His personal appearance is 
 thus described : 
 
 ' Commodore Stewart was about five feet nine inches 
 high and of a dignified and engaging presence. His 
 complexion was fair, his hair chestnut, eyes blue, large, 
 penetrating, and intelligent. The cast of his counte- 
 nance was Roman, bold, strong, and commanding, and 
 his head finely formed. His control of his passions 
 was truly surprising, and under the most irritating 
 circumstances his oldest seamen never saw a ray of 
 anger flash from his eyes. His kindness, benevolence, 
 and humanity were proverbial ; but his sense of justice 
 and the requisitions of duty were as unbending as fate. 
 In the moment of great stress and danger he was cool, 
 and quick in judgment, as he was utterly ignorant of 
 fear. His mind was acute and powerful, grasping the 
 greatest or smallest subjects with the intuitive mastery 
 of genius.' 
 
 Commodore Stewart was predeceased by his son- 
 in-law, John Henry Parnell, who died in Dublin in 
 1859 ; but his daughter, Delia Tudor Stewart Parnell, 
 lived until 1898.' In the autumn of 1896 I called on her 
 in Dublin. She had just arrived from America and was 
 recovering from a severe illness. She looked pale and 
 delicate, but was bright and even incisive in conversa- 
 tion, taking a keen interest in political affairs. Her 
 face suggested no likeness to her remarkable son, but 
 she had the calm, determined, self-possessed manner 
 which always distinguished him. She knew her own 
 mind, too. Her views might have been right or wrong,
 
 PARXELL'S MOTHER L>9 
 
 sensible or the reverse, but she had no doubts. She 
 held her ground firmly in argument, and could not 
 easily be moved from hej 1 opinions. She was certainly 
 a woman of convictions, independent, fearless, resolute ; 
 indifferent to established conventions and animated by 
 one fixed idea, a rooted hatred of England ; or rather, 
 as she herself put it, of 'English dominion.' 'How 
 came it,' I said, ' that your son Charles had such an 
 antipathy to the English ? ' ' Why should he not ? ' 
 she answered, with American deliberation. ' Have not 
 his ancestors been always opposed to England ? My 
 grandfather Tudor fought against the English in the 
 War of Independence. My father fought against the 
 English in the war of 1812, and I suppose the Parnells 
 had no great love for them. Sir John Parnell fought 
 against the Union and gave up office for Ireland, and 
 Sir Henry was always on the Irish side against 
 England, and so was my son's grandfather William. 
 It was very natural for Charles to dislike the English ; 
 but it is not the English whom we dislike, or whom 
 he disliked. We have no objection to the English 
 people ; we object to the English dominion. We would 
 not have it in America. Why should they have it in 
 Ireland ? Why are the English so jealous of any out- 
 side interference in their affairs, and why are they 
 always trying to dip their fingers in everybody's pie ? 
 The English are hated in America for their grasping 
 policy ; they are hated everywhere for their arrogance, 
 greed, cant, and hypocrisy. No country must have 
 national rights or national aspirations but England. 
 That is the English creed. Well ! other people don't 
 see it ; and the English are astonished. They want 
 us all to think they are so goody goody. They are 
 simply thieves.'
 
 30 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 Although there was no physical resemblance that 
 I could discern between Mrs. Parnell and Charles 
 Stewart Parnell, there were mental traits of likeness 
 which could not be mistaken, and the opinions and 
 sentiments of the mother were certainly the opinions 
 and sentiments of the son. 
 
 The living members of the Parnell family are 
 
 John Howard, who now resides at Avondale ; 
 
 Henry Tudor ; 
 
 Emily, who married Captain Dickinson ; 
 
 Theodosia, who married Lieutenant Paget, E.N. ; 
 
 Anna, who played an important part in the Land 
 League agitation. 
 
 Those who have passed away are Fanny, a poetess 
 of considerable ability ; William ; Hayes ; Delia, who 
 married Mr. Livingston Thomson ; Sophia, who 
 married Mr. MacDermott, and Charles Stewart, the 
 story of whose life I have now to tell.
 
 PARNELL'S ANCESTORS 
 
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 32 CHARLES STEWART TARNELL [1846 
 
 CHAPTEK II 
 BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS . 
 
 FROM Dublin to Kathdrum is a pleasant run of an hour 
 and a half by the Dublin, Wicklow, and Wexford 
 Railway along the edge of the sea. Rathdrum is a 
 neat little village, the centre for visiting the Vale of 
 Avoca, Glendalough, and other scenes of infinite beauty 
 in the county of Wicklow. 
 
 Avondale lies close by, and thither one day in the 
 September of 1896 I drove to visit the home of Parnell. 
 
 The one pervading influence of this beautiful spot 
 is melancholy. Perhaps it is difficult to dissociate the 
 place from the sorrowful memories which linger around 
 the name of its late owner. But, however that may 
 be, a feeling of sadness and gloom possessed me as 
 I drove up the avenue leading to the house a spacious, 
 even in some measure a noble, residence. There was 
 an appearance of neglect a look, indeed, as if death 
 had been there, and as if his shadow still overhung the 
 stricken home. 
 
 As I alighted I was met at the door by the present 
 owner, Mr. John Parnell a quiet, courteous, hospitable, 
 kindly gentleman. He, too, looked sad and thoughtful, 
 and there was for a moment in his eyes that far-away 
 look which those who knew Charles Stewart Parnell 
 will never forget
 
 _T. 1] AVOXDALE 33 
 
 On entering the hall, which has quite a baronial 
 appearance in miniature, there was a warm, pleasant 
 feeling. There was no fire to be seen, but a genial, 
 comfortable atmosphere which made me at once think 
 of what Parnell used often to say, ' I like a warm house.' 
 In this respect Avondale is perfect. Above the hall is a 
 little gallery, and hung all around are mementoes of 
 the dead Chief. ' In the old days,' said Mr. Parnell, 
 * we used to have dances in this hall, and the band used 
 to be placed in that gallery.' We lingered for a while 
 in the hall. It is the distinguishing characteristic of 
 the Parnells that they seem to be like no other people. 
 They are absolutely unconventional. They all give you 
 the idea of having pre-occupations quite outside their 
 immediate surroundings. How often did one feel in 
 walking with Parnell that he really was unconscious of 
 your presence, that his thoughts were far, far away 
 from you, and from anything of which you were think- 
 ing or talking ! He did not strike you at these moments 
 as a practical statesman. He looked a visionary, a 
 poet, a dreamer of dreams anything but the Charles 
 Stewart Parnell that the world knew him to be. You 
 felt that those eyes, with their inward look, took little 
 notice of anything that was going on around. But, 
 suddenly you said something that specially fixed the 
 attention of the Chief. He at once woke up ; the 
 eyes were turned full upon you, the whole body was 
 swung round, and you soon found that not only had the 
 immediate remark which produced this effect been fully 
 taken in, but that all you had been saying for the past 
 half-hour had been fully grasped and most thoroughly 
 considered. Well, all the Parnells have that pre-occu- 
 pied look that distinguished Charles, but they lack the 
 practical skill and the genius which made him famous. 
 
 VOL. I. D
 
 34 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1846 
 
 We walked through the house. Everywhere there 
 was an exceptionally warm, agreeable atmosphere (in 
 very pleasant contrast to the damp outside), but an 
 inexpressible air of sadness all the time. There was 
 absolute silence. The house might have been almost 
 deserted. Indeed, one felt as if one were being shown 
 over the castle or mansion of a great chief who had 
 passed away long ago, and as if nothing had been 
 touched since his death. There was furniture, there 
 were bookcases and books, all looking ancient, all appa- 
 rently belonging to another time. In the hall hung a 
 picture of the Irish House of Commons. The scene 
 painted was an important debate. Curran was address- 
 ing the House. Around sat Grattan, Sir John Parnell, 
 and other well-known figures of the day. But the 
 memories which this picture awakened did not, as it 
 were, belong more completely to the past than did the 
 memories aw T akened in walking through the rooms at 
 Avondale. We stood at a window : what a beautiful 
 sight met our eyes ! The house stands on an eminence ; 
 around rise the Wicklow hills ; beneath runs the little 
 river Avonmore, through glens and dells that lend a 
 delightful charm to a glorious scene. For quite ten 
 minutes we exchanged not a word. It is the genius 
 of the Parnells to invite silence and to suggest thought. 
 I was thinking how beautiful everything was, and 
 how sad. I said at length exactly what I thought. 
 ' It is most sad to wander through this house and to 
 think what might have been.' 
 
 We walked about the grounds, and new glimpses of 
 interest and beauty constantly caught the eye. 
 
 We passed through a wooded way close to the river's 
 side a delightfully solitary spot to commune with one- 
 self. ' This,' said John, ' was Charlie's favourite walk.
 
 yET. 1] AVOCA So 
 
 He was fond of Avondale. " There is no place like 
 Avondale, Jack," he would say.' 
 
 After a ramble around the grounds we returned to 
 luncheon. We sat in the library. It was still a dampish 
 day outside, and there was a nice log fire which gave a 
 pleasant air of comfort to the room. When luncheon 
 was over, John rose, and said, ' Let us walk to the Vale 
 of Avoca. You have never seen it, and it is very beau- 
 tiful.' To Avoca we strolled along the river-side, and 
 I beheld for the first time the charming spot which 
 Moore has made famous. Gleams of brightness lighted 
 up the beautiful scene, and valley and waters lay bathed 
 in the subdued light of the autumn sun. It was, indeed, 
 a glorious panorama, and Moore's lines were readily 
 recalled, not only by the picture on which we gazed, 
 but by the appropriateness of the concluding lines to 
 what might well have been the aspirations of Parnell 
 amid the storms which closed his checkered life. 
 
 There is not in the wide world a valley so sweet 
 
 As that vale in whose bosom the bright waters meet ; 
 
 Oh ! the last rays of feeling and life must depart 
 
 Ere the bloom of that valley shall fade from my heart. 
 
 Sweet Vale of Avoca ! how calm could I rest 
 
 In thy bosom of shade, with the friends I love best, 
 
 When the storms that WB feel in this cold world should 
 
 cease, 
 And our hearts, like thy waters, be mingled in peace. 
 
 At Avondale, within ten minutes' walk of the Vale 
 of Avoca, Charles Stewart Parnell was born on June 27, 
 1846. 
 
 As a lad he was delicate but wiry, nervous but 
 brave, reserved but affectionate, thoughtful and delibe- 
 rate, but bright and cheery. He was fond of home life, 
 
 D 2
 
 36 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1846-54 
 
 and warmly attached to the members of his family, 
 especially to Emily, Fanny, and John, he had few 
 companions outside the home circle, and was very shy 
 with strangers. Delighting in all sorts of games 
 outdoor and indoor his favourite pastime was playing 
 at soldiers. He never liked to be beaten at anything, 
 and was resourceful and ingenious, though not too 
 punctilious or scrupulous, in the adoption of means for 
 out-mano3uvring his opponents. One day he had a 
 game of soldiers with his sister Fanny. ' He com- 
 manded one well-organised division, while she directed 
 the movements of another and opposing force. These 
 never came into actual conflict, but faced one another 
 impassively, while their respective commanders pep- 
 pered with pop-guns at the enemy's lines. For several 
 days the war continued without apparent advantage 
 being gained by either side. One morning, however, 
 heavy cannonading was heard in the furthest corner 
 of the room (produced by rolling a spiked ball across 
 the floor). Pickets were called in, and in three 
 minutes from the firing of the first shot there was a 
 general engagement all along the line. Strange as it 
 may seem, Fanny's soldiers fell by the score and hun- 
 dred, while those commanded by her brother refused 
 to waver even when palpably hit. This went on for 
 some time until Fanny's army was utterly annihilated. 
 It was learned, from his own confession, an hour after 
 this Waterloo, that Charles had, before the battle 
 began, glued his soldiers' feet securely to the floor.' l 
 He also liked the game of ' follow-my-leader.' ' Charlie,' 
 says a member of the family, ' liked playing the game 
 of "follow-my-leader," but always insisted on being 
 
 1 This story is told in Mr. Sherlock's clever little sketch of Parnell.
 
 /Ex. 1-8] AT SCHOOL 37 
 
 the leader.' ' He was very fond of fighting,' says his 
 brother John, ' and would fight with me if he had 
 nobody else.' But there was no malice in his com- 
 bativeness. He liked fighting for fighting sake, and 
 was quite good friends afterwards with the boy whom 
 he might have thrashed or who might have thrashed 
 him. Insubordinate and headstrong in the hands of 
 those for whom he did not care, he was obedient and 
 docile with the people he loved. Even as a boy he 
 had a keen sense of justice, and was ever ready to 
 assist the weak and helpless. ' As a little boy,' writes 
 his sister, Mrs. Dickinson, ' he showed that considera- 
 tion for all things helpless and weak, whether human 
 beings or animals, for which he was distinguished in 
 after years.' ' One day,' says his mother, ' he thought 
 the nurse was too severe with his sister Anna. Anna 
 was placed in a room to be punished. Charles got into 
 the room, put Anna on a table, rolled the table into a 
 corner, and, standing in front of it with a big stick, 
 kept the nurse at bay.' 
 
 In 1853, when Charlie was just six years, Mr. 
 Parnell took him to England, and put him in charge 
 of a lady who kept a boarding-school for girls near 
 Yeovil, in Somersetshire. It was not the custom to 
 take boys in the school, but an exception was made in 
 the case of little Parnell. Mr. Parnell, so he told the 
 mistress of the school, was anxious that Charlie should 
 ' spend some of his earlier years in England, with some- 
 one who would mother him and cure his stammering.' 
 After returning from the mid-summer holidays of 1854 
 the boy fell seriously ill with typhoid fever. ' I nursed 
 him,' says his schoolmistress, ' for six weeks, night 
 and day, to an entire recovery,' and she adds : ' this 
 formed a link between us which has made every event
 
 38 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1854-65 
 
 of his life most important to me.' He was a special 
 favourite with this lady, who speaks of him as quick, 
 interesting to teach, very affectionate to those he loved 
 (a few), reserved to others ; therefore not a great favou- 
 rite with his companions.' He remained at Yeovil 
 until 1855, and then returned to Avondale. For a time 
 afterwards he was taught by his sister's governess, and 
 later on by a tutor. But he got on with neither. He 
 argued with the governess, defied the tutor, made fun 
 of the clergyman who was engaged to give him religious 
 instruction, and generally infused a spirit of rebellion 
 into the household. Finally he was despatched once 
 more to England, taking up his abode first at the Eev. 
 Mr. Barton's, Kirk Langley, Derbyshire, and next at 
 the Rev. Mr. Wishaw's, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire. 
 At both schools he was idle, read little, resisted the 
 authority of the under masters (though submissive to 
 the head of the establishment), disliked his fellow-pupils, 
 and was disliked by them. 
 
 On one occasion he was construing a Greek play 
 and mistranslated a word. Wishaw corrected him, but 
 Parnell argued the point. Wishaw said : ' Well, look 
 the word out in the Lexicon,' passing the book to- 
 wards him. Parnell looked into the Lexicon, and saw 
 that it bore out Wishaw's views ; but coolly answered : 
 ' Well, the Lexicon says what you say, but I expect 
 the Lexicon is wrong.' He cared only for two things, 
 cricket and mathematics, and was proficient in the 
 game and in the science. Still, he was not popular, 
 either with the masters or the boys, though the one 
 recognised his sharpness and ability and the other his 
 manliness and pluck. Even at school he showed the 
 reserve and aloofness which were among his traits in 
 after years ; and he was always glad when the vacation
 
 JE-r. 8-19] CHIPPING NORTON 39 
 
 came round to find himself back at Avondale free and 
 among friends and favourites. 
 
 ' I well remember,' says one who was at Chipping 
 Norton with Parnell, ' the day the Parnells (for John 
 accompanied Charles) came. Their mother brought 
 them. She wore a green dress, and Wishaw came 
 
 to me and said : " I say, B , I have met one of 
 
 the most extraordinary women I have ever seen the 
 mother of the Parnells. She is a regular rebel. I 
 have never heard such treason in my life. Without 
 a note of warning she opened fire on the British 
 Government, and by Jove she did give it us hot. I 
 have asked her to come for a drive, to show her the 
 country, and you must come too for protection." So 
 we went for a drive, but my presence did not prevent 
 Mrs. Parnell from giving her views about the iniquities 
 of the English Government in Ireland.' 
 
 My informant added : ' We liked John, who was a 
 very good, genial fellow ; but we did not like Charles. 
 He was arrogant and aggressive, and he tried to sit on 
 us, and we tried to sit on him. That was about the 
 state of the case.' 
 
 At this time, and for many years afterwards, he 
 "was subject to nervous attacks and would walk in his 
 sleep. When the nervous attacks were on he never 
 liked to be left alone, and would send for some person 
 to remain with him. The feeling continued even when 
 he had grown up to man's estate, and was, indeed, in 
 Parliament. 
 
 One night, in the days when the British Ministers 
 were at their wits' end to devise means for suppressing 
 the terrible agitation, he was alone at Avondale. No one 
 was in the house except the old housekeeper (who had 
 been his nurse), her husband, and another servant. In
 
 40 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1865-69 
 
 the early morning the master's bell was vigorously rung, 
 and old Peter and his wife came up. Parnell lay in 
 bed wide awake, looking nervous and distressed. ' I 
 am sorry,' he said, ' to ring you up, but the fact is I am 
 not well, and have not slept all night. I am better 
 now, but feel nervous, and would like someone to stop 
 with me for awhile.' Old Peter remained, and Parnell 
 talked away on a variety of domestic topics until a 
 couple of hours had passed, when he fell quietly asleep. 
 His somnambulistic habits also continued after he left 
 school and college. But he ultimately cured himself 
 by tying his leg to the bed, an inconvenient but effectual 
 remedy. He was at all times very fond of dogs, but 
 very much afraid of hydrophobia. One day a favourite 
 dog jumped on him in play, and pressed his teeth 
 through the sleeve of his coat. Feeling the pressure 
 he thought he was bitten, and ordered a car to drive 
 for the doctor. ' But,' said his old housekeeper, 
 ' perhaps the dog has not bitten you at all.' And on 
 examination that was found to be the case. ' Ah 1 I 
 am glad, Mary,' said he, ' for I would not like to kill 
 him, which they say you should do if a dog bites you.' 
 ' And foolish to say so,' urged Mary, ' for the harm is 
 done.' ' You are very wise, Mary,' said Parnell, and he 
 went off with the dog for a ramble over the fields. 
 
 In July 1865 Parnell went to Cambridge Uni- 
 versity. ' He was entered,' says a correspondent, ' as a 
 pensioner on the boards of Magdalene College, Cam- 
 bridge, July 1, 1865, and came into residence the 
 following October. The rooms allotted to him were on 
 the ground floor of the right cloister in the Pepysian 
 buildings, looking out on the college close and im- 
 mediately beneath the famous Pepysian Library. 
 Before Parnell caine up, Mrs. Parnell forewarned the
 
 .Ex. 19-23] AT CAMBRIDGE 41 
 
 tutor (Mr. Mynors Bright) that her son was given to 
 somnambulism. The tutor accordingly instructed the 
 college servant to sleep in an adjacent gyp-room. On 
 the first night of his residence, however, Parnell, 
 walking round, but not in his sleep, to take stock of 
 his new tenement, discovered the intruder, and 
 promptly expelled him. 
 
 ' Parnell showed considerable aptitude for mathe- 
 matics. One of his tutors, Mr. F. Patrick, whose 
 lectures he attended, used often to describe how 
 Parnell, when he had been given the ordinary solution 
 of a problem, would generally set about to find whether 
 it could not be solved equally well by some other 
 method. 
 
 ' On one occasion, after the college gates were 
 closed, there being some town and gown commotion 
 in the street outside, Parnell ran up to Mr. Patrick 
 as he was going to ascertain the cause, exclaiming : 
 " Sir, do let me go out to protect you." But his career 
 was undistinguished at Cambridge ; and indeed the 
 place was utterly uncongenial to him. Whether he 
 would have taken more kindly to Irish schools and 
 colleges may be a matter of doubt. But he certainly 
 regarded his school and college days in England with 
 peculiar aversion. The English he did not like. ' These 
 English,' he would say to his brother John, ' despise 
 us because we are Irish ; but we must stand up to 
 them. That's the way to treat the Englishman 
 stand up to him.' 
 
 Parnell's English training had undoubtedly some- 
 thing to do in the making of him, and if it did not 
 make him very Irish, it certainly made him very anti- 
 English. 
 
 In 1869 he left Cambridge without taking a degree.
 
 42 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869 
 
 He was, in fact, ' sent down,' under circumstances 
 which have been related to me by Mr. Wilfrid A. Gill, 
 Fellow and Tutor of Magdalene College, Cambridge : 
 ' The story of Parnell's being sent down from college 
 has never been authoritatively told, and has often been 
 misstated or exaggerated. The case came (at first) 
 before the Cambridge County Court on May 21, 1869, 
 .and the course which the college subsequently took 
 was the usual one in such instances of misconduct. 
 A Mr. Hamilton, a merchant of Harestone, sought to 
 recover 331. as compensation for alleged assault. To 
 avoid the appearance of blackmailing, he undertook, if 
 successful, to devote the proceeds of the suit to Adden- 
 brooke's Hospital. He stated in court that on Saturday, 
 May 1, about 10 P.M., he saw a man lying across the 
 path in the station road drunk, another man (Mr. 
 Bentley) standing over him. Asking if he could be 
 of any assistance, Bentley replied to him, " \Vt> want 
 
 none of your d d help." Parnell then, springing up, 
 
 struck witness on the face and collarbone, and kicked 
 him on the knee. Hamilton's man retaliated by striking 
 Parnell. 
 
 ' This was the plaintiff's statement. 
 
 ' Parnell's statement in reply was as follows. He, 
 with three friends, drove in a fly to the station between 
 9 and 10 P.M. to take some light refreshment, " sherry, 
 champagne, and biscuit," at the restaurant. In half 
 an hour they prepared to return home. Parnell, with 
 one of them, sat dow*n and waited in the station road, 
 while the others went in search of a fly. Meanwhile 
 two men passing by exclaimed : " Hullo, what's the 
 matter with this 'ere cove," or words to that effect. 
 Bentley replied that he wanted no interference. 
 Hamilton answered in gross language. Then he
 
 Jvr. 23] TOWN AND GOWN 43 
 
 (Parnell) first interposed, striking at Hamilton but 
 missing him. Hamilton next struck Parnell, where- 
 upon Parnell knocked him down. Hamilton's man 
 then attacked Parnell, who knocked him down also, 
 though he at once offered a hand to raise him. Parnell 
 never kicked Hamilton. A police constable corrobo- 
 rated Parnell's statement that he (Parnell) was perfectly 
 sober. After other evidence had been called, Parnell's 
 counsel admitted to some fault on his client's part, and 
 stated that he would not resist a verdict. He asked, 
 however, for nominal damages, little harm really 
 having been done ; and there also seemed to be some 
 attempt at extortion. 
 
 ' The judge held that, the assault being admitted, 
 the damages should be substantial. The jury, after 
 some consideration, found damages for twenty guineas. 
 ' On May 26 a college meeting was convened, at 
 which it w r as resolved to send down Parnell for the 
 remainder of the term in consequence of the mis- 
 conduct proved against him. There being only two 
 weeks before the end of the term, the actual punish- 
 ment was not a severe one, and, had Parnell wished it, 
 there was nothing to prevent his resuming residence in 
 the following term. He did not, however, return to 
 Cambridge.' 
 
 Up to this time Parnell had paid no attention to 
 Irish affairs. He had probably never read an Irish 
 history or political tract. He knew nothing of the 
 career of his great-grandfather, Sir John Parnell, or 
 his grand-uncle, Sir Henry, or his grandfather, William 
 Parnell. At Avondale politics were tabooed, and when 
 Charles was there he spent his time fishing or shooting, 
 riding or playing cricket. Ireland was almost a closed 
 book to him. Something he had certainly heard of
 
 44 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869 
 
 the rebellion of 1798 from the peasants in the neigh- 
 bourhood, but the effect of these stories was transient. 
 
 How came Parnell, then, to turn his attention to 
 Irish affairs ? He has himself answered this question. 
 He has told us that it was the Fenian movement that 
 first awakened his interest in Ireland. 
 
 Most of my readers know that about the year 1859 1 
 two men who had taken part in the Young Ireland 
 rising John O'Mahony and James Stephens formed 
 a political organisation for the purpose of separating- 
 Ireland from England and of establishing an Irish 
 republic. This organisation, called by its founders 
 and members the Irish Revolutionary Brotherhood, 
 was popularly known as the Fenian Society. It grew 
 steadily in numbers and influence. Fenian bodies 
 were scattered throughout Ireland, Scotland, England, 
 and America, and within five years of its formation it 
 had already become a power in the land. 
 
 In 1863 a Fenian newspaper, the ' Irish People/ 
 was founded, under the management of John O'Leary, 
 assisted by Thomas Clarke Luby and Charles Kick- 
 ham. Its office was within a stone's-throw of Dublin 
 Castle, and there, under the very shadow of the 
 authorities, it preached week by week a crusade of 
 insurrection and war. Among the contributors to the 
 ' Irish People ' was a handsome young girl, who used 
 to come to the office accompanied by a tall lanky youth. 
 Entering the editor's room, she would place her ' copy ' 
 in his hands and depart. The ' copy ' generally consisted 
 of some stirring verses which breathed a spirit of treason 
 and revolt. The girl was Miss Fanny Parnell, and 
 the youth her brother John. Fenianism soon invaded 
 Avondale. The political indifference which had hitherto-
 
 ,T. 23] FEXIAXISM 45 
 
 prevailed there gradually disappeared, and Ireland 
 came to have a foremost place in the thoughts of the 
 family. Mrs. Parnell especially took a keen interest 
 in the movement, and did not hesitate to express her 
 views and sympathies in the Government circles in 
 which she moved. Lord Carlisle, the Lord Lieutenant 
 in 1864, was a friend of the Parnell household. Mrs. 
 Parnell, both at his table and at her own, felt no hesi- 
 tation in condemning British misrule and justifying 
 Irish discontent. In 1865 there was a crisis : the 
 Government swooped down on the ' Irish People,' and 
 arrested the editor and some of the leading members 
 of the staff. State trials, the suspension of the Habeas 
 Corpus Act, and an abortive insurrection followed. 
 Fenianism was the question of the hour. People 
 thought and spoke of nothing else. The whole empire 
 watched the Fenian trials with interest and anxiety. 
 In the dock the Fenian prisoners demeaned themselves 
 like men of faith, courage, and honesty. They neither 
 faltered nor flinched. Baffled for the moment, they 
 believed that their cause would yet triumph, and they 
 boldly told their judges that they neither repented nor 
 despaired. ' You ought to have known,' said Judge 
 Fitzgerald, in passing sentence on O'Leary, ' that the 
 game you entered upon was desperate hopeless.' 
 
 O'Leary. ' Not hopeless.' 
 
 Judge. ' You ought further to have known that 
 insurrection in this country or revolution in this 
 country meant not insurrection alone, but that it 
 meant a war of extermination.' 
 
 O'Leary. ' No such thing.' 
 
 Judge. ' You have lost.' 
 
 O'Leary. ' For the present.' 
 
 Judge. ' It is my duty to announce to you that the
 
 46 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869 
 
 sentence of the court is such as may deter others we 
 hope it will.' 
 
 O'Leary. ' I hope not.' 
 
 Judge. ' The sentence of the court is that you be 
 detained in penal servitude for twenty years.' 
 
 'As long as there are men in my country,' said 
 Luby, ' prepared to expose themselves to every difficulty 
 and danger, and who are prepared to brave captivity 
 and even death itself, if need be this country cannot 
 be lost.' 
 
 Years afterwards Isaac Butt, the advocate who 
 defended almost all the Fenian prisoners, wrote of 
 them : 
 
 ' Whatever obloquy gathered round them at first, 
 there are few men who now deny to the leaders of the 
 Fenian conspiracy the merits of perfect sincerity, of a 
 deep and honest conviction of the righteousness of their 
 cause, and of an unselfish and disinterested devotion to 
 the cause. 1 was placed towards most of them in a 
 relation which gave me some opportunity of observing 
 them, in circumstances that try men's souls. Both I 
 and those that were associated with me in that relation 
 have often been struck by their high-mindedness and 
 truthfulness, that shrunk with sensitiveness from sub- 
 terfuges which few men in their position would have 
 thought w T rong. No mean or selfish instruction ever 
 reached us. Many, many, many messages were con- 
 veyed to us which were marked by a punctilious and 
 almost over-strained anxiety to avoid even a semblance 
 of departure from the strictest line of honour. There 
 was not one of them who would have purchased safety 
 by a falsehood, by a concession that would have brought 
 dishonour on his cause, or by a disclosure that would 
 have compromised the safety of a companion. It seems
 
 /El. 23] MllS. PARXELL AND THE FEXIAXS 47 
 
 like exaggeration to say this, but this is a matter on 
 which I can write as a witness, and therefore ani bound 
 by the responsibility of one. I know that my testimony 
 would be confirmed by all who had the same means of 
 observing them as myself. The conviction was forced 
 upon us all, that whatever the men were, they were no 
 vulgar revolutionists disturbing their country for any 
 base or selfish purpose ; they were enthusiasts of great 
 heart and lofty minds, and in the bold and unwavering 
 courage with which one and all they met the doom 
 which the law pronounced upon their crime against its 
 authority, there was a startling proof that their cause 
 and their principles had power to inspire in them the 
 fuith and the endurance which elevated suffering into 
 martyrdom.' 
 
 No one followed the Fenian trials with keener 
 interest than Mrs. Parnell. But her interest was not 
 merely of a passive character. Her house in Temple 
 Street, Dublin, was placed under police surveillance. 
 One night a batch of detectives paid a surprise visit 
 and insisted on searching the premises. Mrs. Parnell 
 (who was alone with her daughter) protested, but the 
 police remained ; the daughter left, and spent the night 
 at Hood's Hotel, Great Brunswick Street. The police 
 went on with their work, and were rewarded for their 
 pains by finding a sword, which they carried off in 
 triumph. The sword belonged to Charles, who was at 
 
 that time an officer in the Wicklow Militia. ' D 
 
 their impudence in taking my sw T ord,' he said after- 
 wards, on hearing the news, ' but I shall make them give 
 it back precious soon ' (which he did) . ' Perhaps one 
 day I will give the police something better to do than 
 turning my sister into the street. I call it an outrage 
 on the part of the Government of this country.'
 
 48 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869 
 
 But the event which was destined to turn Parnell's 
 thoughts fully to Irish politics now occurred. In 
 September 1867 two Fenian leaders, Kelly and Deasy, 
 were arrested in Manchester. Their comrades in the 
 city resolved to rescue them. Accordingly, as the van 
 conveying them was on its way from the police court 
 to the jail at Bellevue it was attacked. The prisoners 
 were liberated, and a policeman. Sergeant Brett, was 
 shot dead in the struggle. Many Fenians were arrested 
 for complicity in this affray, including Allen, Larkin, 
 Condon, and O'Brien, who were tried, convicted, and 
 sentenced to death. In the dock they showed a bold 
 front, a dauntless spirit, and an abiding faith in their 
 cause. All protested their innocence of the crime of 
 murder, but did not shrink from the charge of treason. 
 Indeed, they gloried in it. ' No man in this court,' 
 said Allen, ' regrets the death of Sergeant Brett more 
 than I do, and I positively say in the presence of the 
 Almighty and ever-living God that I am innocent- 
 ay, as innocent as any man in this court. I don't 
 say this for the sake of mercy. I want no mercy, I'll 
 have no mercy. I'll die, as many thousands have died, 
 for the sake of their beloved land and in defence of it.' 
 
 'I was not even present,' said Condon, 1 'when the 
 rescue took place. But I do not accuse the jury of 
 wilfully wishing to convict, but I believe they were 
 prejudiced. We have, however, been convicted, and, 
 as a matter of course, we accept our death. We are 
 not afraid to die. I only trust that those who are to 
 be tried after us will have a fair trial, and that our 
 blood will satisfy the craving which, I understand, 
 exists. You will soon send us before God, and I am 
 perfectly prepared to go. I have nothing to regret, or 
 
 1 Condon was afterwards reprieved.
 
 .Ex. 23] THE MANCHESTER MEN 49 
 
 to retract, or take back. I can only say, " God save 
 Ireland ! " ' God save Ireland ! ' repeated all the pri- 
 soners, and ' God save Ireland ! ' has since become a 
 political watchword in the country. 
 
 All England was profoundly moved by this Man- 
 chester affair. Irish discontent and Irish treason were 
 painfully brought home to the English people. But 
 the first feeling was one of vengeance and retaliation, 
 when the mob which gathered round the gaol the night 
 before the execution, shouting, cheering, and reviling 
 the men within, singing ' Rule, Britannia,' performing 
 break-down dances, and bursting into yells of glee, only 
 too faithfully represented the general feeling of triumph 
 and satisfaction at the fate of the doomed men. On 
 the morning of November 23, 1867, Allen, Larkin, and 
 O'Brien perished on the scaffold. Nothing can, per- 
 haps, better show the chasm which separates English 
 from Irish political opinion than the way in which the 
 news of their execution was received in each country. 
 In England it awoke a paean of joy : in Ireland it 
 produced a growl of indignation and horror. In the 
 one country they were regarded as murderers and 
 traitors, in the other as heroes and martyrs. Up to 
 this time a section of the Home Rulers was more or less 
 out of sympathy with the Fenian movement. But the 
 Manchester executions brought all Irish Nationalists 
 into line. ' Commemorative funerals ' were held in 
 almost every principal city in Ireland, and Consti- 
 tutional-Nationalists and Revolutionists marched side 
 by side in honour of the Manchester martyrs. ' The 
 Dublin procession,' says Mr. A. M. Sullivan, himself a 
 persistent opponent of Fenianism, ' was a marvellous 
 display. The day was cold, wet, and gloomy, yet it 
 was computed that 150,000 persons participated in the 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 .50 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869 
 
 demonstration, 60,000 of them marching in a line over 
 a route some three or four miles in length. As the 
 three hearses, bearing the names of the executed men, 
 passed through the streets, the multitudes that lined 
 the streets fell on their knees, every head was bared, 
 and not a sound was heard save the solemn notes of 
 the " Dead March in Saul " from the bands, or the sobs 
 that burst occasionally from the crowd. At the ceme- 
 tery gate the procession formed into a vast assemblage, 
 which was addressed by Mr. Martin in feeling and 
 forcible language, expressive of the national sentiment 
 on the Manchester executions. At the close once more 
 all heads were bared, a prayer was offered, and the 
 mourning thousands peacefully sought their homes.' 
 To Englishmen these demonstrations were only a proof 
 of Irish sympathy with crime. A policeman had been 
 killed by a gang of Irish revolutionists, and Ireland 
 went mad over the transaction. That was all that 
 Englishmen saw in the Manchester celebrations. But 
 Parnell, despite his English surroundings, caught the 
 Irish feeling on the instant. ' It was no murder,' he 
 said, then and afterwards. It was not the intention of 
 Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien to kill Sergeant Brett. 
 Their sole object was to rescue their comrades. And 
 why not ? Was England to sit in judgment on Fenian- 
 ism, or upon anything Irish ? The Irish were justified 
 in overthrowing the English rule, if they could. The 
 Fenians who rescued Kelly and Deasy had a better case 
 than the English Government which punished them. 
 They acted with pluck and manliness. What they did 
 they did in the open day. A few Irishmen faced the 
 police and mob of a hostile city, and snatched their 
 comrades from the clutches of the law the law to 
 which they morally owed no allegiance. The rescue
 
 -Ex. -23] 4 ^Q MURDER ' 51 
 
 was a gallant act, the execution a brutal and a 
 cowardly deed. A strong and generous Government 
 would never have carried out the extreme penalties of 
 the law. But the English people were panic-stricken. 
 The presence of Fenianism in their midst filled them 
 with alarm, and they clamoured for blood. The killing 
 of Sergeant Brett was no murder ; the execution of the 
 Fenians was. 1 
 
 That was the Irish view of the case, and that was 
 the view of Parnell. But, though the execution of 
 Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien made Parnell think about 
 Ireland, he did not for several years afterwards take an. 
 active part in Irish politics. He never did anything in 
 a hurry. He thought out every question. He looked 
 carefully around before taking any forward step. But 
 when once he put his hand to the plough he never 
 turned back. When I was at Avondale in 1896 I met a 
 middle-aged man, a retainer of the family, who remem- 
 bered Parnell as a boy and a man. He said to me : ' You 
 see, sir, if it was only the picking up of that piece of 
 stick (pointing to the ground). Master Charles would 
 take about half an hour thinking of it. He never would 
 do anything at once, and when he grew up it was just 
 the same. I would sometimes ask him to make some 
 alterations about the place. " I will think of that, 
 Jim," he would say, and I would think he would forget 
 all I said ; but he would come back, maybe in two 
 days' time, and say, " I have considered it all," and 
 would do what I asked, or not, just as he liked.' 
 
 1 It is quite clear that it was not the intention of the Fenians to kill 
 Sergeant Brett. Brett was on guard inside the van. He was asked to 
 give up the keys, but refused. Allen then fired to force the lock of the 
 door. The ball penetrated, and killed Brett. Shaw, a police-constable, 
 swore at the trial that it was his impression that Allen fired to knock 
 the lock off Annual Register, 1867. 
 
 E 2
 
 62 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869 
 
 Parnell's favourite pastime was cricket. He became 
 captain of the Wicklow Eleven, and threw himself 
 with zest into the game. A strict disciplinarian, 
 always bent on victory, and ever ready to take ad- 
 vantage of every chance (which the rules allowed) to 
 outwit his opponents, reserved, uncompromising, self- 
 willed, he was obeyed and trusted rather than courted 
 or liked. 
 
 1 Before Mr. Parnell entered politics,' says one who 
 knew him in those days, ' he was pretty well known in 
 the province of Leinster in the commendable character 
 of cricketer. We considered him ill-tempered and a 
 little hard in his conduct of that pastime. For 
 example, when the next bat was not up to time, 
 Mr. Parnell, as captain of the fielders, used to claim 
 a wicket. Of course he was within his right in doing 
 so, but his doing it was anything but relished in a 
 country where the game is never played on the 
 assumption that this rule will be enforced. In order to 
 win a victory he did not hesitate to take advantage of 
 the strict letter of the law. On one occasion a match 
 was arranged between the Wicklow team and an eleven 
 of the Phoenix Club, to be played on the ground of the 
 latter in the Phoenix Park. Mr. Parnell's men, with 
 great trouble and inconvenience, many of them having 
 to take long drives in the early morning, assembled on 
 the ground. A dispute occurred between Mr. Parnell 
 and the captain of the Phoenix team. The Wicklow men 
 wished their own captain to give in, and let the match 
 proceed. Mr. Parnell was stubborn, and, rather than 
 give up his point, marched his growling eleven back. 
 That must have been a pleasant party so returning 
 without their expected day's amusement, but the 
 Captain did not care. In later years Mr. Parnell used
 
 .El. 23] NINETY-EIGHT 53 
 
 to use the Irish party much as he used the Wicklow 
 eleven.' ' He was very fond of taking long rides in the 
 country with his sister, Mrs. Dickinson. ' Used he ever,' 
 I asked her, ' to talk politics upon these occasions ? ' 
 She said : ' No. He was completely wrapped up in his 
 family, and our conversations were chiefly about family 
 matters and country life. The only political incident 
 which seemed to affect him was the execution of the 
 Manchester martyrs. He was very indignant at that. 
 It first called forth his aversion for England, and set 
 him thinking of Ireland. But he rarely talked politics 
 to any of us. He brooded a great deal, and was always 
 one to keep things to himself.' ' Did you ever see him 
 read in those days '? ' I asked another member of his 
 family. ' The only book I ever saw him read,' he said, 
 ' was that (pointing to Youatt's " The Horse "), and he 
 knew that very well.' 
 
 Within a few miles of Avondale was Parnell's 
 shooting - lodge, Aughavannah. Aughavannah was 
 originally a barrack, built in 1798 for the soldiers 
 who scoured that part of the country for rebels. The 
 barrack ultimately fell into the hands of the Parnells, 
 and was converted into a shooting-lodge ; here Parnell 
 spent several weeks in the autumn of each year. At 
 the back of the barrack was a granite stone, where 
 so runs the tradition the rebels sharpened their 
 pikes. Parnell was very fond of showing this stone 
 to his friends, and would, when in the humour, tell 
 them stories of '98. Here is one of them. A rebel 
 was seized by the soldiers. He was court-rnartialled, 
 and ordered to be whipped to death. The sentence 
 was carried out, but the lashes were inflicted on his 
 belly instead of on his back. The old lodge-keeper at 
 1 Pall Mall Budget.
 
 54 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1869-71 
 
 Avondale, who had witnessed the scene, would say 
 how the man shrieked in his agony and cried for 
 mercy, calling upon the colonel of the regiment, 
 Colonel Yeo, until his lacerated body fell, bleeding and 
 torn, lifeless to the ground. Parnell seems to have 
 had some knowledge of the rebel Holt, picked up, no- 
 doubt, from the tradition of the peasants rather than 
 the memoirs of the insurgent himself. Holt was a 
 Wicklow man and Protestant, and had led the rebels 
 in his native county with courage, skill, and chivalry. 
 Parnell always felt that if there had been many chiefs 
 like Holt the rebellion might have had a different 
 termination. But Parnell was very proud of Wicklow 
 and Wicklow men. ' I am,' he would say, ' an Irish- 
 man first but a Wicklow man afterwards.' 
 
 In 1871 he went to America on a visit to his- 
 brother John, who had settled in Alabama, and there 
 he remained a twelvemonth. ' While he was with you 
 at that time,' I asked John, ' did he show any inclina- 
 tion to go into politics or take up any career ? ' John 
 said : ' No, he never talked politics. But he was never 
 a good man at conversation ; and you could never very 
 easily find out what he was thinking about. If some- 
 thing turned up to draw him, then he would talk ; and 
 I was often surprised to find on those occasions that he 
 knew things of which he never spoke before. Some- 
 thing practical was always necessary to draw him. 
 One day we called to see a State Governor. When we 
 came away, Charlie surprised me by saying, "You see 
 that fellow despises us because we are Irish.. But the 
 Irish can make themselves felt everywhere if they are 
 self-reliant and stick to each other. Just think of that 
 fellow, where he has come from, and yet he despises 
 the Irish." That always stuck in Charlie that the Irish
 
 .-Ivr. 23-25] IX AMERICA 55 
 
 were despised. You see,' continued John, ' none of 
 us take in many things at once. But we are awful to 
 stick to anything we take up. The idea that the Irish 
 were despised was always in Charlie's mind. But you 
 would never know it if some particular thing did not 
 happen to stir him up at the moment. In those days 
 he was ready to take offence, and was even quarrelsome, 
 though he worked himself out of all that afterwards. 
 One day I took him to see a house I was building for a 
 man, an Irishman too. The man complained of some- 
 thing I had done. I did not object. It was quite fair, 
 and we were very good friends. While he was pointing 
 out these things to me, Charlie went quietly over the 
 house, and then, coming back, walked up to the man 
 and said very coolly : "I tell you what it is, the house 
 
 is a deal too good for you." " You're a d d liar," said 
 
 the man. In an instant Charlie's coat was off, and it 
 was only by the greatest effort that I prevented them 
 from flying at one another. We then all went off to 
 luncheon, and were as hearty as possible. We all 
 laughed at the row, and I said there was no doubt but 
 we were all Irishmen. The man his name was Ryan, 
 a very good fellow told us that in America they always 
 say "it takes two Irishmen to make a row, three to 
 make a revolt, and four to make an insurrection." 
 Charlie said if we knew our powers we could make 
 ourselves felt in America and everywhere else.' 
 
 While in America Parnell was nearly killed in a 
 railway accident. He and John were travelling 
 together. There was a collision on the line. John 
 was flung to the bottom of the car with great violence, 
 and there he lay bruised and unconscious. Parnell 
 was unhurt. Seeing John on the ground, he said to 
 the other occupant of the car, ' My brother is killed.
 
 56 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1871-73 
 
 I expect we shall be killed next, for this car is certain 
 to tumble down the embankment.' The car, however, 
 did not tumble down the embankment, and Parnell 
 escaped without a scratch. John was laid up with a 
 severe illness after the accident, and Parnell nursed 
 him all the time. ' No one,' said John, ' could have 
 been a better nurse than Charlie ; he was thoughtful, 
 patient, and gentle as a woman.' 
 
 In 1872 Parnell, accompanied by John, returned to 
 Avondale. Vote by ballot had just been extended to 
 Ireland. The measure drew Parnell's attention once 
 more to politics. He thought it was of greater prac- 
 tical importance than either the Irish Church Act or 
 the Land Act, for it emancipated the voters. ' Now,' he 
 said, ' something can be done if full advantage will be 
 taken of this Ballot Act.' His sympathies had gone 
 out to the Fenians after the Manchester executions. 
 But he did not see how Fenianism was to be practically 
 worked. The Ballot Act first suggested to him a 
 mode of practical operation. The Irish voter was now 
 a free man. He could send whom he liked to Parlia- 
 ment. He was master of the situation. An in- 
 dependent Irish party, free from the touch of English 
 influence, was the thing wanted, and this party could 
 be elected under the Ballot Act. 
 
 One morning in 1873 the two brothers were at 
 breakfast at Avondale. John, who was essentially a 
 Democrat, said, ' Well, Charlie, why don't you go into 
 Parliament ? You are living all alone here, you re- 
 present the family, and you ought to take an interest 
 in public affairs. Our family were always mixed up 
 with politics, and you ought to take your place. Go 
 in and help the tenants, and join the Home Rulers.' 
 Parnell answered knocking the tip of an egg and
 
 .Ex. 25-27] THINKING OF POLITICS 57 
 
 peering into it suspiciously, as if its state was much 
 more important to him than Parliament ' I do not 
 see my way. I am in favour of the tenants and Home 
 Rule, but I do not know any of the men who are 
 working the movement.' John replied : ' It is easy to 
 know the men. Go and see them.' 'Ah,' replied 
 Parnell, ' that is what I don't quite see. I must look 
 more around for myself first ; I must see a little more 
 how things are going ; I must make out my own way. 
 The whole question is English dominion. That is 
 what is to be dealt with, and I do not know what the 
 men in these movements intend.' Then, with a little 
 banter, in which he occasionally indulged, he added, 
 4 But, John, why don't you go into Parliament '? Why 
 should not we make a start with you ? You are the 
 head of the family. In fact, Avondale is more yours 
 than mine. Do you lead the way.' 
 
 This little conversation satisfied John that Parnell 
 had been thinking more of politics than his family at 
 all suspected, though with characteristic reticence he 
 kept his own counsel. Nor did he even after this 
 show any disposition to resume the subject. He 
 relapsed into his old state of apparent indifference, 
 devoting himself mainly to family and local affairs. 
 
 He had, indeed, become a member of the Synod of 
 the Disestablished Church, but he took more interest 
 in the mining operations which he had then com- 
 menced on his estate than in the affairs of that 
 institution. And so the last days of the year 1873 
 found Parnell still living the life of a quiet country 
 gentleman, still leaving politics severely alone.
 
 58 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1874 
 
 CHAPTEK III 
 
 THE HOME RULE MOVEMENT 
 
 ' WELL,' said an Old Irelander to me towards the end 
 of the year 1870, ' out of evil comes good. The un- 
 fortunate Fenians have made the English disestablish 
 the Church (1869) , and pass the Land Act (1870). 
 But, poor devils ! what good have they done for them- 
 selves ? Penal servitude and the gallows.' ' You are 
 right enough, sir,' said a Fenian who was standing 
 by. ' The difference between the Whigs and Fenians. 
 is, the Fenians do good for Ireland but no good for 
 themselves, the Whigs do good for themselves and no 
 good for Ireland.' ' Begad, I believe you are right,' 
 said the Old Irelander, who was a frank and genial old 
 fellow. 
 
 Old Irelander and Fenian were both right. Fenian- 
 ism had roused the English conscience, had ' rung the 
 chapel bell,' and the result was disestablishment and the 
 first great measure of land reform. Mr. Gladstone has. 
 made the matter very plain. ' It has only been since 
 the termination of the American war,' he said, ' and the 
 appearance of Fenianism that the mind of this country 
 has been greatly turned to the consideration of Irish 
 affairs. ... In my opinion, and in the opinion of 
 many with whom I communicated, the Fenian con- 
 spiracy has had an important influence with respect to 
 Irish policy ; but it has not been an influence in
 
 JET. 27] MR. GLADSTONE AND FENIANISM 59 
 
 determining, or in affecting in the slightest degree, the 
 convictions which \ve have entertained with respect to 
 the course proper to be pursued in Ireland. The 
 influence of Fenianisrn was this that when the 
 Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, when all the con- 
 sequent proceedings occurred, when the overflow of 
 mischief came into England itself, when the tran- 
 quillity of the great city of Manchester was disturbed, 
 when the Metropolis itself was shocked and horrified 
 by an inhuman outrage, when a sense of insecurity 
 went abroad far and wide the right honourable 
 gentleman [Mr. Gathorne-Hardy] was, better than we, 
 cognisant of the extent to which the inhabitants of the 
 different towns of the country were swearing them- 
 selves in as special constables for the maintenance of 
 life and property then it was when these phenomena 
 came home to the popular mind, and produced that 
 attitude of attention and preparedness on the part of 
 the whole of the population of this country which 
 qualified them to embrace in a manner foreign to their 
 habits in other times the vast importance of the Irish 
 controversy.' 
 
 Again, answering Mr. Gathorne-Hardy in the 
 House of Commons on April 3, 1868, he said : 
 
 ' The right lion, gentleman says, " Why did you 
 not deal with the Irish Church in 1866, when you 
 asked for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act ? " 
 My answer is, for a perfectly plain and simple reason. 
 In the first place, circumstances were not ripe then as 
 they are now. Circumstances, I repeat, were not ripe, 
 in so far as we did not then know so much as we know 
 now with respect to the intensity of Fenianism.' 
 
 But though Fenianism forced disestablishment and 
 land reform, the Fenians cared little either for the
 
 60 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 1873 
 
 Church or the land. Their movement was purely 
 political, and none of the leaders at that time saw any 
 advantage in associating a struggle for national free- 
 dom with an agitation for the redress of material 
 grievances. Accordingly, while the Constitutionalists 
 pushed forward their demands for Church and land 
 reform, the Fenians concentrated themselves on a 
 movement for the release of their comrades who had 
 been sent to penal servitude in the years 1865, 1866, 
 and 1867. 
 
 In 1868 the first Amnesty Association was formed. 
 Isaac Butt became its president. 
 
 Butt was one of the most remarkable men who 
 have appeared in Irish politics during the past half- 
 century. Born at Glenfin, in the County Donegal, in 
 1813, he was educated at the Royal School, Raphoe, 
 and entered Trinity College, Dublin (as a scholar) in 
 1832. He took his degree in 1835, became LL.B. in 
 1836, and M.A. and LL.D. in 1840. As one of the 
 founders and for a time editor of the Dublin ' Uni- 
 versity Magazine,' he showed the culture and literary 
 skill which always distinguished him. In 1836 he was 
 appointed Whately Professor of Political Economy at 
 Dublin University, and in 1838 he was called to the Bar. 
 In 1841 he gave up his professorship, and thenceforth 
 devoted himself absolutely to law and public affairs. 
 Chosen in 1840 by the Municipal Corporation of 
 Dublin then a Tory stronghold to defend their 
 privileges before the House of Lords and to oppose 
 the Irish Municipal Reform Bill, he was, in recognition 
 of his able but unsuccessful efforts, elected an alder- 
 man of the Reformed Corporation. He now became 
 one of the leading champions of Conservatism in the 
 City, and was singled out to confront O'Connell in
 
 .Ex. 27] ISAAC BUTT 61 
 
 the famous three days' debate on Repeal, which took 
 place in the City Hall in February 1843. 
 
 In 1844 he was called to the Inner Bar, and in the 
 same year he founded the ' Protestant Guardian,' l which 
 became a leading Tory organ in the Press. But his 
 Toryism did not prevent him from defending the Young 
 Ireland leader, Gavan Duffy, in 1848, or indeed from 
 showing a general appreciation of the Nationalist posi- 
 tion. He first entered Parliament in 1852 as the Tory 
 member for Harwich ; but in the general election of the 
 same year he was returned as a Liberal Conservative 
 for Youghal, which borough he continued to represent 
 until 1865. 
 
 In 1865, when the Fenian prisoners looked around 
 for leading counsel to defend them, they at once fixed 
 on Butt. He stood in the front rank of his profession, 
 he had been associated with the Young Ireland trials, 
 and his politics were nothing to men who despised 
 Whig and Tory alike. Butt flung himself zealously 
 into the cause of his clients. He practically gave up 
 all other business at the Bar, and his advocacy of the 
 hopeless case of the rebels was among the most earnest 
 and brilliant of his forensic efforts. From 1865 to 
 1869 these Fenian trials dragged on, and towards the 
 end Butt became the friend as well as the advocate of 
 the prisoners. The purity of their intentions, the 
 uprightness of their aims, their courage, their honesty, 
 their self-sacrifice, produced a deep impression on the 
 generous and impulsive advocate, and made him feel 
 that there was something essentially rotten in the 
 State when such men were driven to such desperate 
 courses. 
 
 1 Afterwards incorporated in the Warder. See article on ' Butt ' in 
 Dictionary of National Biography.
 
 62 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1873 
 
 ' Mr. Gladstone/ he exclaimed, ' said that Fenian- 
 ism taught him the intensity of Irish disaffection. It 
 taught me more and better things. It taught me the 
 depth, the breadth, the sincerity of that love of father- 
 land that misgovernment had tortured into disaffection, 
 and misgovernment, driving men to despair, had ex- 
 aggerated into revolt.' And again he says : ' The con- 
 viction forced itself upon everyone that the men whom 
 they saw meet their fate with heroism and dignity were 
 not a mere band of assassins actuated by base motives, 
 but real earnest patriots, moved by unselfish thoughts, 
 and risking all in that which they believed to be their 
 country's cause. The lofty faith of their principles 
 and their cause which breathed through the words of 
 many of them as they braved the sentence which closed 
 upon them all hope made it impossible for anyone to 
 doubt their sincerity -difficult even for those who 
 most disapproved of their enterprise to withhold from 
 them the tribute of compassion and respect.' 
 
 Butt was not content with advocating the cause of 
 the Fenian prisoners when they stood in the dock. 
 He followed them to the prison cells, and finally led the 
 movement which was initiated towards the end of 1868 
 to obtain their release. One of the first of the great 
 amnesty meetings was held at Cabra, near Dublin, in 
 October 1868. Butt took the chair. It was an extra- 
 ordinary gathering. Quite 200,000 people were present. 
 Butt himself describes the scene : ' Words of far more 
 power than any I can command. would fail to give 
 expression to emotions I can but faintly recall, when I 
 stood in the presence of 200,000 human beings, and was 
 conscious that every eye in that vast assemblage was 
 turned upon me, and felt that every heart in that 
 mighty multitude far, far beyond the limit to which
 
 JEi. 27] AMNESTY 63 
 
 the human voice could reach was throbbing with the 
 belief that I was giving utterance to the one thought 
 that was actuating all. That scene was worth the 
 memories of a life. Into every human form in that 
 great multitude God had breathed the breath of life as 
 each of them became a living soul. In the voice of 
 that multitude spoke the spirit which that breath had 
 sent into the heart of man. There was an awe and 
 solemnity in the presence of so many living souls. 
 Dense masses of men, outnumbering the armies that 
 decided the fate of Europe on the field of Waterloo, 
 covered a space of ground upon the far-off verge of 
 which their forms were lost in distance. Around that 
 verge the gorgeous banners of a hundred trades' 
 unions, recalling to the mind the noblest glories of the 
 Italian free republics, glistened in the brightness of a 
 clear autumn sun. Words fail to describe imagination 
 and memory fail in reproducing the image of a scene 
 which, like recollections of Venice, is so different from 
 all the incidents of ordinary life that it seems like the 
 remembrance of a vision or a dream.' 
 
 Amnesty meetings were now held throughout the 
 country. Amnesty became a rallying cry. Constitu- 
 tional-Nationalists and Fenians stood shoulder to 
 shoulder on the amnesty platforms. No word was 
 now raised against the Fenians by any Home Ruler ; 
 and even outside the Nationalist ranks altogether there 
 was a feeling of admiration and pity for the men who 
 had shown their readiness to sacrifice liberty and life 
 in the cause they held dearer than both. Many people 
 did not see that these amnesty meetings were making all 
 the time for Home Rule. They were bringing all Irish 
 Nationalists, constitutional and revolutionary, together. 
 They were inspiring Isaac Butt, they were inspiring
 
 64 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1873 
 
 the whole country, with intense national feeling. The 
 farmers might be content with land reform ; the old 
 Catholic Whigs might be content with disestablish- 
 ment ; but outside there was a new generation who 
 believed that all would be lost if national freedom were 
 not gained. Accordingly, neither disestablishment nor 
 land reform checked for one moment the flowing 
 tide. Indeed, the first measure served only to accelerate 
 it by driving discontented Protestants into the National 
 ranks. The upshot was the establishment of the 
 ' Home Government Association of Ireland.' ' On 
 May 19, 1870, a remarkable gathering met at the 
 Bilton Hotel, Dublin. There were Protestants and 
 Catholics, Tories and Liberals, Orangemen and 
 Fenians all come together to protest against the 
 legislative union with Great Britain. 
 
 Speaking,- some years afterwards, to a Fenian 
 leader who was at this meeting, he said to me : ' I \vent 
 under an assumed name to watch the proceedings. 
 The suppression of the rising in 1867 and the imprison- 
 ment of our people did not damp our energies a bit. 
 "We kept working away just the same as ever, with this 
 difference, that we had thousands of sympathisers in 
 
 1 To show the influence that Fenianism had gained in the country 
 the case of the Tipperary election of November 1809 may be cited. The 
 Liberal candidate was Mr. Heron, a popular Catholic barrister. The 
 Fenians suddenly started in opposition a Fenian convict, O'Donovan 
 Bossa, who was actually undergoing his term of penal servitude. Of 
 course he was an impossible candidate, and everyone knew it. But he 
 was started as a protest against Whiggery, to rally the Fenians. He 
 was elected, to the amazement of the loyalists, by 1,311 votes to 1,028. 
 Of course the election was declared void, and in January 1870 a new 
 election took place. Mr. Heron stood again. There was a difference of 
 opinion now among the Fenians. Some said enough had been done for 
 honour in Eossa's candidature. Others said ' No ' ; and these latter put 
 up Kickham, who had just been liberated on account of serious illness. 
 However, Kickham declared he would never enter the English Parliament. 
 Nevertheless, the Fenians demanded a poll, with the result Heron, 
 1,668 ; Kickham, 1,664.
 
 JEx. -27] A FENIAN CENTRE 65 
 
 1870 who would not touch us at all in 1865. In fact, 
 we had a stronger hold on the country after the rising 
 than we had before. We were anxious to follow the 
 new movement carefully. Even at that date the idea 
 of the " new departure " had occurred to some of us. 
 We felt that we might have a long time to wait before 
 we could put 20,000 or 30,000 men into the field to 
 fight England ; but we thought that by taking part in 
 every political or semi-political movement that was 
 going on we could exercise much influence, and mould 
 these movements to our own ends. An Irish Parlia- 
 ment was certainly the next best thing to absolute 
 separation, and many of us would be quite content to 
 close the account with England on the basis of legis- 
 lative independence. But then we had to see that this 
 Parliament would not be a sham. If the Home Rule 
 movement w r ere a genuine affair, we would help it all 
 we could. But we had to take care it should be 
 genuine ; we had to take care that there should be no 
 backsliding on the part of the Parliamentarians. So I 
 went to watch and report. I gave the name of James 
 Martin, and I was greatly amused afterwards to find 
 myself figuring in A. M. Sullivan's book as "James 
 Martin," J.P., ex-High Sheriff. I believe Martin, who 
 is an old Catholic Whig, was very indignant at finding 
 his name in such doubtful company. What would he 
 have said if he had known that it had been used as a 
 blind by a Fenian centre ? ' ' 
 
 The first resolution of the meeting carried by 
 acclamation was : 
 
 ' That it is the opinion of this meeting that the true 
 remedy for the evils of Ireland is the establish- 
 
 1 Before the meeting at the Bilton Hotel ' Mr. Martin ' met Butt at 
 the lodgings of another Fenian, when an understanding was arrived at 
 
 VOL. I. F
 
 66 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1873 
 
 ment of an Irish Parliament with full control 
 over our domestic affairs.' 
 
 The objects of the new association were then defined 
 specifically thus : 
 
 I. This association is formed for the purpose of obtaining for 
 Ireland the right of self-government by means of a National 
 Parliament. 
 
 II. It is hereby declared, as the essential principle of this 
 association, that the objects, and THE ONLY OBJECTS, contemplated 
 by its organisation are : 
 
 To obtain for our country the right and privilege of managing 
 our own affairs, by a Parliament assembled in Ireland, com- 
 posed of her Majesty the Sovereign, and her successors, and 
 the Lords and Commons of Ireland ; 
 
 To secure for that Parliament, under a federal arrangement, the 
 right of legislating for and regulating all matters relating to 
 the internal affairs of Ireland, and control over Irish re- 
 sources and revenues, subject to the obligation of contributing 
 our just proportion of the Imperial expenditure ; 
 To leave to an Imperial Parliament the power of dealing with 
 all questions affecting the Imperial Crown and Government, 
 legislation regarding the Colonies and other dependencies of 
 the Crown, the relations of the United Empire with foreign 
 States, and all matters appertaining to the defence and the 
 stability of the empire at large ; 
 
 To attain such an adjustment of the relations between the two 
 countries, without any interference with the prerogatives of 
 the Crown, or any disturbance of the principles of the 
 constitution. 
 
 III. The association invites the co-operation of all Irishmen 
 who are willing to join in seeking for Ireland a federal arrangement 
 based upon these general principles. 
 
 IV. The association will endeavour to forward the object it 
 has in view, by using all legitimate means of influencing public 
 sentiment, both in Ireland and Great Britain, by taking all 
 opportunities of instructing and informing public opinion, and by 
 seeking to unite Irishmen of all creeds and classes in one national 
 
 that the Fenians would at least assume an attitude of benevolent 
 neutrality towards the ' open movement.'
 
 ,-Ei. -27'. HOME KULE LEAGUE 67 
 
 movement, in support of the great national object hereby contem- 
 plated. 
 
 V. It is declared to be an essential principle of the association 
 that, while every member is understood by joining it to concur in 
 its general object and plan of action, no person so joining is com- 
 mitted to any political opinion, except the advisability of seeking 
 for Ireland the amount of self-government contemplated in the 
 objects of the association. 
 
 Thus was the Home Kule movement launched. 
 The words ' Home Eule ' were the invention of Butt. 
 He thought the old cry of ' Kepeal ' would frighten the 
 English ; but that the phrase ' Home Kule ' would com- 
 mend itself to everyone as reasonable and innocent. 
 
 The new movement was opposed by the orthodox 
 Liberals and the orthodox Tories ; by the ' Freeman's 
 Journal/ the most powerful newspaper in the country; 
 and, more important than all, by the Catholic Church. 
 But it nevertheless grew and prospered. In 1871 
 came the first trial of strength. There were four by- 
 elections Meath, West Meath, Galway (city), and 
 Limerick (city). Home Eulers were returned for all : 
 John Martin for Meath, P. J. Smyth for West Meath, 
 Mitchell-Henry for Galway, and Butt himself for 
 Limerick. In 1872 there were two more important 
 by-elections, Kerry and Galway (county). Home 
 Kulers were once more put forward for both, and were 
 returned Mr. Blennerhassett for Kerry, and Colonel 
 Nolan for Galway. 
 
 Great preparations were now made for the General 
 Election, which it was felt would soon come. In 
 November 1873 a Home Eule Conference was held in 
 Dublin ; the name of the organisation was changed 
 from the ' Home Government Association ' to the 
 ' Home Eule League.' The ' Freeman's Journal ' and 
 the Church gave in their adhesion to the movement ; 
 
 F 2
 
 68 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1874 
 
 and further resolutions were passed defining the object 
 of the society. It was declared, among other things : 
 
 ' That as the basis of the proceedings of this con- 
 ference we declare our conviction that it is essentially 
 necessary to the peace and prosperity of Ireland that 
 the right of domestic legislation on all Irish affairs 
 should be restored to our country. 
 
 ' That in accordance with all ancient and constitu- 
 tional rights of the Irish nation we claim the privilege 
 of managing our own affairs by a Parliament as- 
 sembled in Ireland, composed of the Sovereign, the 
 Lords, and the Commons of Ireland. 
 
 ' That in claiming these rights and privileges for 
 our country we adopt the principle of federal arrange- 
 ment which would secure to the Irish Parliament the 
 right of legislating for and regulating all matters re- 
 lating to the internal affairs of Ireland ; while leaving 
 the Imperial Parliament the power of dealing with all 
 questions affecting the Imperial Crown and Govern- 
 ment, legislation regarding the Colonies and other 
 dependencies of the Crown, the relations of the empire 
 with foreign States, and all matters appertaining to 
 the defence and stability of the empire at large, as 
 well as the power of granting and providing the 
 supplies necessary for Imperial purposes. 
 
 ' That such an arrangement does not involve any 
 change in the existing constitution of Imperial Parlia- 
 ment, or any interference with the prerogatives of the 
 Crown, or disturbance of the principles of the con- 
 stitution. 
 
 ' That to secure to the Irish people the advantages 
 of constitutional government it is essential that there 
 should be in Ireland an Administration of Irish affairs, 
 controlled according to constitutional principles by the
 
 Mi. 28] THE GENERAL ELECTION, 74 69 
 
 Irish Parliament and conducted by the Ministers con- 
 stitutionally responsible to that Parliament.' 
 
 In February 1874 the General Election came like 
 a bolt from the blue. The Home Eulers were taken 
 by surprise, but they rallied vigorously, and, to the 
 astonishment of everyone, carried over fifty-nine seats 
 all told. 
 
 Four Fenians were subsequently returned. 
 
 The return of these Fenians was not pleasing to 
 the leaders of the I. B. B., who believed that an oath 
 of allegiance to the Queen (which every member of 
 Parliament was bound to take) was inconsistent with 
 the oath of allegiance to the Irish republic (which all 
 those men had taken) ; but some of the rank and file 
 were not troubled by scruples about the double oath. 
 The Fenian members were, however, all ultimately 
 expelled from the organisation by the chief executive 
 authority. 
 
 The General Election of 1874 was, then, a great 
 Home Kule victory. While it was pending Parnell 
 resolved to enter public life.
 
 70 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1874 
 
 CHAPTEE IV 
 
 PUBLIC LIFE 
 
 ONE night during the General Election of 1874 Parnell 
 dined with his sister, Mrs. Dickinson, in Dublin. 
 After dinner Captain Dickinson said : ' Well, Charles, 
 why don't you go into Parliament ? Why don't you 
 stand for your native county ? ' To the surprise of 
 everyone at the table, Parnell said quickly : ' I will. 
 Whom ought I to see ? ' ' Oh ! ' said Dickinson, ' we 
 will see about that to-morrow. The great thing is you 
 have decided to stand.' ' I will see about it at once,' 
 said Parnell. ' I have made up my mind, and I won't 
 wait. Whom ought I to see/? ' ' I think Gray, of 
 the "Freeman's Journal,"' said John, who was also 
 present. 'Very well,' said Parnell, rising from the 
 table, ' I shall go to him at once. Do you come with 
 me, John.' The two brothers then went away together. 
 It was now eleven o'clock, and they found Gray at 
 the ' Freeman's ' office. He was amazed when Parnell 
 entered and said : ' I have come to say, Mr. Gray, that 
 I mean to stand for Wicklow as a Home Ruler.' 
 Gray was much pleased with the intelligence, and he 
 and the two Parnells sat down to consider the situation. 
 ' You know,' said Parnell, ' I am High Sheriff of the 
 county, but then I can be relieved from the office by 
 the Lord Lieutenant.' ' Then,' answered Gray, ' the
 
 ,ET. 28] WICKLOAV ELECTION 71 
 
 first thing to do is to see the Lord Lieutenant. See 
 him in the morning, and if he releases you start at 
 once for Wicklow, and^the Home Eule League will 
 send you all the help they can. We have already a 
 candidate in the field, Mr. O'Byrne.' Next day Parnell 
 and John went to Dublin Castle and saw the Lord 
 Lieutenant. But his Excellency would not relieve 
 Parnell from his duty as Sheriff. ' Very well,' said 
 Parnell, as he and John walked away from the Castle, 
 ' but we shall not be baulked. You shall stand, John. 
 We shall start for Eathdrum this evening, and begin 
 the campaign at once.' Having advised the Home 
 Eule League of their intentions, they proceeded that 
 evening to Eathdrum. The news of John's candida- 
 ture had travelled before them, and a crowd was 
 collected at the village to give them a hearty recep- 
 tion. ' Charlie,' says John, ' mounted a cart or a barrel 
 and made a speech. He was not much of a speaker 
 then, but he said things which caught on. I was 
 rather surprised at his trying to speak at all. But 
 he knew what to say, though he said little, and they 
 cheered him. It struck me at the time that what he 
 said was rather wild, and on the way to Avondale I 
 said to him: "You know you ought not to make 
 speeches, you ought not to interfere at all. You will 
 get into trouble." "What can they do to me?" he 
 asked. " Turn you out of the office of Sheriff, for one 
 thing," I replied. "What I want," said he, smiling. 
 However, he finally agreed not to interfere again, and 
 to act properly as Sheriff, and this he did. Well, the 
 election came off, and I was left at the bottom of the 
 poll.' 
 
 But the Wicklow election was practically the 
 
 1 Mr. 0. Byrne (ILB.) and Mr. Dick (Liberal) were elected.
 
 72 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1874 
 
 beginning of Parnell's public career. He was now 
 bent on plunging headlong into politics at the first 
 opportunity. 
 
 The opportunity soon came. Colonel Taylor, one 
 of the members for Dublin County, had become Chan- 
 cellor of the Duchy in Mr. Disraeli's Ministry, and 
 had to seek re-election on his appointment to office. 
 The Home Rule League, of which Parnell was now 
 a member, resolved to contest the seat. It would, 
 they knew, be a hopeless battle. Still they felt that 
 the contest would rally the Home Rulers of the county, 
 and be an incentive to action as well as a test of 
 strength. But who would enter the list for this 
 desperate conflict? A strong candidate, a candidate 
 of means, was essential. Parnell offered to jump into 
 the breach. But his offer was not quite regarded with 
 satisfaction. He was a landlord and a Protestant, and 
 he came of a good old stock ; in addition, he would be 
 able to pay his own election expenses. These things 
 were in his favour. But would he in other respects 
 make a good candidate? Personally he was hardly 
 known to the council of the League. A few Home 
 Rulers had, indeed, met him. But they had formed an 
 unfavourable opinion of him. He was at this time a 
 tall, thin, handsome, delicate, young fellow ; very diffi- 
 dent, very reticent, utterly ignorant of political affairs, 
 and apparently without any political faculty. His 
 whole stock of information about Ireland was limited 
 to the history of the Manchester martyrs. He could 
 talk of them, but he could not talk of anything else. 
 Still, it must be allowed that even this limited know- 
 ledge helped him. ' Did Parnell,' I asked one who was 
 familiar with Irish politics, 'ever meet any Fenians 
 about this time ? ' ' Yes,' was the answer, ' I some-
 
 ,Ex. 28] DUBLIN ELECTION 73 
 
 times saw him with . They used to talk about 
 
 the amnesty movement, so far as Parnell ever talked 
 at all, but he was a better listener than a talker. He 
 knew nothing about Home Kule, but he was interested 
 in Fenianism. For that matter,' my friend added, 
 ' so was Butt. Butt often said to me at the begin- 
 ning of the movement that the Fenians were the best 
 men in Irish politics.' Fenianism and Home Rule 
 were certainly a good deal mixed up ; and at a dinner 
 party at Butt's, when the question of the Wicklow 
 
 candidature was practically decided, was present 
 
 and supported Parnell, though a leading Constitutional- 
 Nationalist said ' he would never do.' Butt himself 
 was favourable to Parnell. 
 
 One morning about this time I called on Butt at his 
 residence in Henrietta Street, Dublin. He came into 
 the library in his usual genial radiant way, looking well 
 pleased and in excellent humour. Without any formal 
 words he rushed up to me and said : ' My dear boy, we 
 have got a splendid recruit, an historic name, my friend, 
 young Parnell, of Wicklow ; and unless I am mistaken, 
 the Saxon will find him an ugly customer, though he is 
 a good-looking fellow.' But the council of the Home 
 Eule League had yet to pronounce judgment. When 
 the question came formally before them there was 
 much misgiving. ' Will he go straight ? ' one of the 
 members asked. ' If he gives his word,' said the '48 
 veteran, John Martin, ' I will trust him. I would 
 trust any of the Parnells.' ' Still,' says Mr. A. M. 
 Sullivan, who was present, ' there was hesitancy, and 
 eventually we said, " Let us see him." The general 
 council adjourned for the purpose, and on re-assem- 
 bling I saw Mr. C. S. Parnell for the first time. I do 
 not wish to pretend that I possessed any marvellous
 
 74 CHA11LES STEWART PA KNELL [1874 
 
 power of divination, but when the young neophyte 
 had retired I not only joined John Martin in espousing 
 his cause, but undertook to move his adoption at a 
 public meeting which it was decided to hold in the 
 Rotunda.' 
 
 At this public meeting Parnell made his debut. 
 Mr. Sullivan describes the scene. ' The resolution 
 which I had moved in his favour having been adopted 
 with acclamation, he came forward to address the 
 assemblage. To our dismay, he broke down utterly. 
 He faltered, he paused, went on, got confused, and, pale 
 with intense but subdued nervous anxiety, caused every- 
 one to feel deep sympathy for him. The audience saw 
 it all, and cheered him kindly and heartily ; but many 
 on the platform shook their heads, sagely prophesying 
 that if ever he got to Westminster, no matter how 
 long he stayed there, he would either be a " silent 
 member" or be known as "single-speech Parnell." 
 ' What was thought of Parnell at that time,' I asked 
 another prominent Nationalist. ' Well,' he answered, 
 ' we thought him a nice gentlemanly fellow who would 
 be an ornament but no use.' ' I first met Parnell,' said 
 Mr. T. W. Russell, 'in 1874, when he was standing 
 for Dublin. I was then struck by what I thought his 
 extraordinary political ignorance and incapacity. He 
 knew nothing, and I thought he would never do any- 
 thing. I interviewed him on behalf of the Temperance 
 people. He promised to vote for the Sunday Closing 
 Bill, and he kept his word. I found him very straight 
 in what I had to do with him.' 
 
 ' I met Parnell,' says Mr. O'Connor Power, ' in 1874, 
 the time of the Dublin election. He seemed to me a 
 nice gentlemanly fellow, but he was hopelessly igno- 
 rant, and seemed to me to have no political capacity
 
 .Er. 28] AX UNPROMISING CANDIDATE 75 
 
 whatever. He could not speak at all. He was hardly 
 able to get up and say, " Gentlemen, I am a candidate 
 for the representation of sthe county of Dublin." We 
 all listened to him with pain while he was on his legs, 
 and felt immensely relieved when he sat dow T n. Xo 
 one ever thought he would cut a figure in politics. We 
 thought he would be a respectable mediocrity.' So 
 much for early promises. 
 
 On March 7 Parnell issued his address to the 
 electors of the county of Dublin, and on March 9 the 
 parish priest of Kathdrum wrote supporting his can- 
 didature, saying : ' His coolness, sound judgment, great 
 prudence and moderation, as well as capacity as a 
 practical man, will be a great acquisition to the 
 National Party should he be returned for the county 
 of Dublin.' 
 
 A few days later the Tories circulated a report 
 that Parnell had treated some of his tenants with 
 harshness. 
 
 ' It has been sought,' Parnell said in a public letter 
 dealing with the matter, ' to connect me with some 
 difference between Mr. Henry Parnell and his tenants. 
 In reply to this transparent electioneering trick, I in 
 the most emphatic manner publicly declare that I 
 was in no way, directly or indirectly, connected with 
 or mixed up in any manner with the said dispute, 
 nor could I in any way control or influence the 
 matter.' 
 
 As John had been left at the bottom of the poll in 
 the Wicklow election, so Charles was left at the bottom 
 of the poll in the Dublin. 1 
 
 1 Parnell received 300Z. from the Home Rule League to contest this 
 election. When the election was over he handed back the 300Z. to the 
 League The contest cost him 2,OOOZ.
 
 76 CHARLES STEWART PAR NELL [1875 
 
 ' I well remember,' said one of the retainers of the 
 Parnell family at Avondale, 'the day Master Charlie 
 came home when he was beaten at the Dublin election. 
 He walked up here, looking so handsome and grand 
 and devil-may-care. " Well, boys," he said, " I am 
 beaten, but they are not done with me yet." The 
 driver, sir, who brought him home said to us after- 
 wards, " That's a regular devil. He talked all the way 
 about fighting again and smashing them all, and he 
 looked wild and fierce." And, sir, Master Charles 
 was a regular devil when his blood was up, and no 
 mistake.' 
 
 Parnell now resumed once more his quiet life at 
 Avondale, attending to his mines, his sawmills, and 
 his other country avocations, and so he remained for 
 a twelvemonth. Then an event occurred which drew 
 him from his retreat. 
 
 John Mitchell returned to Ireland. He had been 
 sentenced to fourteen years' transportation in 1848 for 
 treason-felony. In 1850 he escaped from Tasmania, 
 and fled to the United States. There he remained 
 for twenty-four years. Just about the time of his 
 arrival in Ireland in February 1875 a vacancy occurred 
 in the representation of Tipperary. The Nationalists 
 resolved to nominate Mitchell, and he was elected 
 without opposition. The House of Commons quashed 
 the return on the ground that Mitchell was a felon 
 who had neither received a free pardon nor purged his 
 crime by serving the term of his imprisonment. A 
 new writ was accordingly issued in March 1875. But 
 the Nationalists resolved to defy the House of Commons, 
 and to nominate Mitchell again. In this crisis Parnell 
 reappeared. 
 
 Writing to the * Freeman's Journal,' and inclosing
 
 .Ex. 29] MEATH ELECTION 77 
 
 a cheque for 25Z. towards Mitchell's expenses, he said 
 he hoped that Mitchell would again be returned for 
 Tipperary, and that the J party vote of the House of 
 Commons ' would be thus ' reversed,' adding, ' Let the 
 legal question be fought out calmly and fairly after- 
 wards.' 
 
 The second Tipperary election took place on March 
 11. Mitchell was opposed by a Tory, but was returned 
 by an overwhelming majority. He, however, never 
 took his seat. A few days afterwards he fell seriously 
 ill, and died in his native town, Newry, on March 20. 
 Nine days later his old friend and comrade, John 
 Martin, passed away, and a vacancy was thus created 
 in the representation of County Meath. Parnell, who 
 was now a member of the council of the Home Rule 
 League, was put up by the Nationalists. 
 
 A short time prior to the election Sir Gavan Duffy 
 arrived in Europe from Victoria. He had scarcely 
 landed at Brindisi when he received the following tele- 
 gram from an old friend, Father Peter O'Reilly : 
 
 ' John Martin dead, telegraph will you stand for 
 Meath. At a conference in Kells on Monday twenty- 
 four priests present, much enthusiasm, the bishop not 
 disapproving. Come home, success certain.' 
 
 This telegram was followed by another, purporting 
 to be signed by William Dillon, the son of John Blake 
 Dillon, one of Duffy's colleagues in the '48 move- 
 ment : 
 
 ' John Martin dead. Parnell, candidate of Home 
 Rule League, would probably retire if you join League 
 and stand. Wire reply. Wm. Dillon, 15 Nassau Street, 
 Dublin.'
 
 78 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1875 
 
 This telegram was a forgery. It was never signed 
 by Mr. William Dillon, nor in any way authorised by 
 him. But Sir Gavan Duffy naturally believed it to be 
 genuine, and sent the following reply : 
 
 ' Thanks. I do not seek a constituency, but I am 
 a repealer, as I have been all my life, and if Meath 
 elect me I will do my best in concert with the Irish 
 members to serve the Irish cause. Should the con- 
 stituency be dissatisfied with rne at any time I will 
 resign. But if it be made a condition that I shall join 
 the League and adopt its novel formula instead of the 
 principles held by me in common with 0' Council, 
 O'Brien, Davis, Dillon, Dr. Maginn, Meagher, and all 
 the Nationalists in my time, that I cannot do.' 
 
 This telegram was read immediately to the Home 
 Rule League. A rumour was spread that Duffy meant 
 to repudiate the League, and to destroy it ; and in 
 order to avoid a split in the Nationalist ranks, his 
 friends in Meath did not press his candidature. 
 
 Parnell, however, was opposed by a Tory and by 
 an Independent Home Euler. But in April 1875 he 
 was placed at the head of the poll, amid a storm of 
 popular enthusiasm. ' There was tremendous rejoicing 
 in Royal Meath,' says a contemporary writer, ' over the 
 victory. Enthusiastic crowds assembled in thousands 
 to give vent to a common feeling of delight. Bonfires 
 blazed in many quarters; and the populace of Trim, 
 in which town the declaration of the poll had been 
 made, having discovered Mr. Parnell walking down 
 from the parochial house to his hotel, laid lovingly 
 violent hands on him, carried him in triumph round 
 their own special bonfire in the Market Square, and
 
 /Ex. 29] MEATH ELECTION 79 
 
 finally set him standing on a cask,' where he said a 
 few words of thanks for his return and of congratu- 
 lation for the Nationalist victory. The hour of the 
 future leader had at length come. 1 
 
 1 Sir Gavan Duffy objected to Butt's Home Rule plan as a retreat 
 from the historical position taken up by O'Connell and the Young 
 Irelanders, and complained that the policy of independent opposition, 
 initiated by him and the Tenant Right Leaguers of 1852, was not carried 
 out. ' I strove,' says Sir Gavan Duffy, ' to familiarise the people with 
 the policy by which alone the cause might be carried to success the 
 policy of independent opposition ; a policy which meant union with no 
 English party, and hostility to none which was prepared to advance our 
 cause.' NortJi and South.
 
 80 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1875 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 IN PARLIAMENT 
 
 PARNELL took his seat in the House of Commons on 
 April 22, 1875. He was introduced by Captain Nolan, 
 member for Galway, and Mr. Ennis, senior member 
 for Meath. 
 
 There were at this time, as we have seen, fifty-nine 
 Home Rulers. The parliamentary attitude of the 
 great majority of these may be described as active 
 rather than aggressive. Butt himself was a model of 
 courtesy and moderation. He tried rather to win 
 English sympathy than force English opinion. He 
 addressed the House as he would address a jury. He 
 sought to persuade, conciliate, humour, never saying 
 or doing aught to shock the susceptibilities of his 
 audience. He argued, he appealed, he based his case 
 on facts and reason, he relied on the justice and fair- 
 ness of England. He respected English sentiment, 
 and hoped by moderation and friendliness to remove 
 English prejudice. He scrupulously observed parlia- 
 mentary forms, and conscientiously kept the law of the 
 land. He was, indeed, a perfect type of the consti- 
 tutional agitator, seeking by legal methods to change 
 the law, but doing no violence to it. ' The House of 
 Commons,' said the late Mr. Henry Richards, ' is like 
 the kingdom of Heaven in one respect, though it is
 
 JOSEPH BIGGAR 81 
 
 very unlike it in other respects ; but it is like it in this, 
 it suffereth violence and the violent take it by force.' 
 These, however, were not^the views of Isaac Butt. 'I 
 am not,' he once said, ' in favour of a policy of 
 exasperation.' The House cheered the sentiment ; and 
 for the rest treated Butt with gentle contempt. There 
 was at this time a member of the Irish party who did 
 not sympathise with the tactics of his leader. He 
 believed in a policy of blood and iron. ' All non- 
 sense, sir,' he would say, ' the way Butt goes on. 
 He thinks he will get something out of the English by 
 rubbing them down. Nonsense ; rub them up, sir, 
 that's the thing to do ; rub them up. Make them 
 uncomfortable. That's the right policy.' This amiable 
 individual was Joseph Gillis Biggar. 
 
 Biggar was a wealthy Ulster merchant and a 
 member of the supreme council of the I. E. B. He 
 came to the British Parliament practically to see how 
 much mischief he could do to the British Empire. 
 He had no respect for the House of Commons ; he 
 had no respect for any English institution. Of course 
 he had no oratorical faculty, no literary gifts ; indeed, 
 he could hardly speak three consecutive sentences. 
 He had little political knowledge, he despised books 
 and the readers of books ; but he was shrewd and 
 businesslike, without manners and without fear. He 
 regarded parliamentary rules as all 'rot/ delighted 
 in shocking the House, and gloried in causing general 
 confusion. He had but two ideas to rasp the House 
 of Commons, and make himself thoroughly hated by 
 the British public. It must be confessed that in these 
 respects he succeeded to his heart's content. 
 
 Curiously enough, the very day on which Parnell 
 took his seat Biggar made his first formidable essay in 
 
 VOL. I. G
 
 82 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1875 
 
 parliamentary debate. A Coercion Bill was under con- 
 sideration. It had just reached the committee stage. 
 Biggar rose to move an amendment. It would be 
 absurd to say that he made a speech. But he was on 
 his feet for four hours by the clock. 
 
 ' We shall not,' wrote the ' Times,' in commenting 
 on this performance, ' attempt to inflict on our readers 
 a rechauffe of Mr. Biggar's address, and as it was, 
 indeed, to a large extent inaudible, it must be lost to 
 the world, unless it be printed in some Dublin news- 
 paper.' 
 
 But Biggar's speech is not ' lost to the world.' 
 It is enshrined in the pages of ' Hansard ' to the 
 extent of seven columns, and has gained a good 
 deal as many another address has gained at the 
 hands of a friendly reporter. But as a matter of 
 fact the oration was mainly inaudible and wholly 
 irrelevant. 
 
 Drawing at the start upon his internal resources, 
 but finding that they did not carry him very far, the 
 member for Cavan literally took away the breath of 
 the House by plunging into Blue Books, newspapers, 
 and strewing disjecta membra over his discourse. There 
 is much unconscious humour in ' Hansard's ' account 
 of this part of the performance : 
 
 ' The hon. member then read, in a manner which 
 made it impossible to follow the application, long 
 extracts from reports and evidence of the West Meath 
 Commission, and from the Catholic newspapers of 
 Ireland, and from statements and resolutions of various 
 public bodies and meetings. The general purport 
 appeared to be to denounce the necessity for any 
 exceptional legislation in regard to Ireland, to assert 
 the general tranquillity and good order of the country,
 
 -Ex. 29] BIGGAK'S SPEECH 83 
 
 and the absence of Eibbonism, and to protest against 
 the invasion of the liberties of the people.' 
 
 Having inflicted these documents on the House 
 until the assembly groaned under their weight, Biggar 
 once more varied the entertainment by falling back on 
 original resources, jerking out a number of incoherent 
 and irrelevant sentences, but still keeping on the even 
 tenor of his way with imperturbable calmness and 
 resolution. The more the House groaned, the more 
 delighted was the orator. He was sparing, however, 
 of original matter, and soon took refuge in literature 
 again. This time, to show the variety of his knowledge, 
 he abandoned the Blue Books and the public Press, 
 and gave the House a touch of the ' statutes at large.' 
 ' The hon. member,' says the dignified ' Hansard/ 
 * who was almost inaudible, was understood to recapitu- 
 
 -ome of the arbitrary enactments of older statutes, 
 and to point out that they were in substance or effect 
 re-enacted in the various Arms Acts and Peace Preser- 
 vation Acts of the present reign.' 
 
 Having completely overwhelmed the House with 
 this legal lore, Biggar again dropped into a lighter 
 vein, and treated his listeners once more to some 
 original observations. The House was now almost 
 empty ; and an hon. member called attention to the 
 fact that ' forty members were not present.' Biggar 
 immediately resumed his seat, beaming benevolently 
 for be it known that Biggar was one of the most 
 benevolent-looking men in the House, and his face 
 was almost one perpetual smile and observing to an 
 Irish member by his side, ' I am not half done yet' 
 The House soon filled, and Biggar again rose. He had 
 now come absolutely to an end of all original ideas ; 
 he had exhausted his knowledge of the statutes, but 
 
 o 2
 
 84 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1875 
 
 the Blue Books were still before him. ' The hon. 
 member,' says ' Hansard,' with delightful gravity, 
 ' proceeded to read extracts from the evidence before 
 the West Meath Commission as was understood 
 but in a manner which rendered him totally unin- 
 telligible.' The Speaker at length interposed, saying 
 that the rules of the House required that an hon. 
 member should address himself to the Chair, and that 
 this rule the hon. member was at present neglecting. 
 This was the crisis ; but Biggar was equal to it. 
 He expressed great regret that he had not observed 
 the rule in question, but said the fact was that feeling 
 fatigued after speaking so long, and being so far away 
 from the Chair, he could not make himself heard. 
 This state of things, however, could be easily remedied, 
 and he would, therefore, with the permission of the 
 House, take up a more favourable position. Accordingly, 
 leaving his place behind the gangway, he marched right 
 up to the Treasury Bench, taking with him Blue Books, 
 Acts of Parliament, newspapers, and in fact a perfect 
 library of materials, from which, to quote once more 
 the decorous 'Hansard,' 'he continued to read long 
 extracts with comments.' But the longest day must 
 have an end, and even Biggar at length released the 
 House from bondage, and sank complacently into the 
 nearest seat. 
 
 'If Mr. Biggar,' said the 'Times,' 'had devoted 
 but one hour out of his four to the resolution upon 
 which he was nominally speaking, he might have said 
 something effective.' But it was not Biggar's intention 
 to say anything effective. He wanted to do something 
 offensive, and he did. He proved that one member 
 could stop the business of the House for four hours, 
 and make its proceedings absolutely ridiculous. The
 
 .-El. 29] AN APT PUPIL 85 
 
 lesson was not lost on Parnell, who sat calmly by and 
 watched the performance with interest and amuse- 
 ment. Four days later he himself took part in the 
 discussion, and made his maiden speech. It was short, 
 modest, spoken in a thin voice and with manifest 
 nervousness. However, he got out what he wanted to 
 say, and what he said, briefly and even spasmodically, 
 was the kernel of the whole matter. ' I trust,' he said, 
 ' that England will give to Irishmen the right which 
 they claim the right of self-government. Why should 
 Ireland be treated as a geographical fragment of 
 England, as I heard an ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 call her some time ago ? Ireland is not a geographical 
 fragment. She is a nation.' 
 
 The year 1875 passed quietly away in Parliament and 
 in Ireland. Parnell remained chiefly a calm spectator 
 of the proceedings of the House of Commons, watching, 
 learning, biding his time. He was ignorant of public 
 affairs, and he read no books. But he was not ashamed 
 to ask for information, and to pick up knowledge in that 
 way. ' How do you get materials,' he asked one of 
 the Irish members, ' for questioning the Ministers ? ' 
 ' Why,' said his friend, smiling at the simplicity of the 
 novice, ' from the newspapers, from our constituents, 
 from many sources.' ' Ah,' said Parnell, ' I must try 
 and ask a question myself some day.' 
 
 With his eminently practical turn of mind he soon 
 saw that it was absolutely necessary, for the purpose 
 of parliamentary warfare, to obtain a complete mastery 
 of the rules of debate. But he did not, as some 
 suppose, read up the subject laboriously. He never 
 did anything laboriously. What he knew, he knew 
 intuitively, or learned by some easy method of his own 
 devising. Books he avoided. ' How am I to learn
 
 86 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [187-5 
 
 the rules of the House ? ' a young Irish member asked 
 him in after years. ' By breaking them,' was the 
 answer. ' That's what I did/ It was true enough. 
 Parnell learned the rules of debate by breaking them 
 himself, or by seeing others break them. But he was 
 very quiet, very unobtrusive, very diffident, during 
 the session of 1875. He came, he saw, and was for 
 the time content. He did not, however, altogether 
 remain a silent member. He asked some questions ; 
 he made some speeches, short, sharp, and to the 
 point. 
 
 Before the session closed he had formed his own 
 views of the House of Commons and of the position 
 of Irishmen in it ; and he gave expression to these 
 views during the recess in two brief and pithy sentences. 
 Speaking at Navan on October 7, he said : ' We do not 
 want speakers in the House of Commons, but men 
 who will vote right.' Ten days later he said, at a 
 meeting at Nobber : ' The Irish people should watch 
 the conduct of their representatives in the House of 
 Commons.' These sentences summed up the Parnell 
 gospel : a vigilant public opinion outside, and practical 
 rather than talking members inside Parliament. From 
 the beginning to the end Parnell disliked speechifying. 
 The process was absolutely painful to him. Talking 
 was sometimes necessary to get things done (or to pre- 
 vent their being done), and he was forced to put up 
 with it. But he took no pleasure in oratory, and had 
 not the least ambition to become a great public speaker. 
 The only occasion on which he made or listened to 
 speeches with any degree of satisfaction was when 
 talking obstructed the business of the House. Biggar 
 was, perhaps, his ideal of a useful public speaker a 
 man who was silent, when business had to be done, but
 
 -Ei. & ' THE TDtlES ' OX IRELAND 
 
 who could hold the floor for four hours at a stretch 
 when business had to be prevented. 
 
 Parnell from the outset seems to have thought that 
 the atmosphere of the House of Commons was fatal to 
 Irish activity, and that a healthy and vigorous public 
 opinion in the country was absolutely necessary to save 
 the Irish representation from inertia and collapse. He 
 did nothing during the session of 1S75 which fixed the 
 public attention on him ; but it is abundantly clear 
 that even then he had resolved on his line, and that he 
 only waited the opportunity to take it. His faith was 
 .a mere Parliamentarians, but in forces outside, 
 stronger than Parliarnentarianism, which he deter- 
 mined to influence, and by whose help he hoped to 
 dominate the parliamentary army. From the moment 
 he first thought seriously of politics he saw, as if by 
 instinct, that Fenian ism was the key of Irish Nation- 
 ality ; and if he could or would not have the key in his 
 hand, he was certainly resolved never to let it out of 
 his sight. We shall therefore see him as the vears 
 roll by standing on the verge of treason-felony, but 
 with marvellous dexterity always preventing himself 
 from slipping over. Perhaps this was the secret of his 
 power. But the year 1S75 ended without that power 
 being revealed, or, indeed, even dreamt of. No one 
 saw into the future. On the surface Ireland was tran- 
 quil ; there seemed no signs of coming storm in any 
 part of the political horizon ; all was apparently quiet, 
 peaceful, prosperous. The Dublin correspondent of 
 the ' Times ' summed up the situation thus : * The 
 present circumstances of Ireland may be briefly summed 
 up in the statement that at no period of her history did 
 she appear more tranquil, more free from serious crime, 
 more prosperous and contented. But few of the dis-
 
 88 CHAELES STEWART PARNELL [1875 
 
 quieting elements of former times are now at work. 
 Political excitement has all but died out with Mitchell 
 and Martin, w r hose last effort to revive it exhausted its 
 impotent fury. There is no longer the agitation which 
 convulsed the country in days gone by. Home Rule 
 still keeps a little cauldron simmering, but there is no 
 fear that it will ever become formidable ; for, though 
 there is no want of a Hecate to practise the old spells, 
 they have lost their power over the people. An organised 
 attempt is made to fan into a general flame the dis- 
 satisfaction which is felt in some parts of the country 
 with the working of the Land Act ; but its success has 
 hitherto been slight, and confined to certain localities. 
 The relations between landlord and tenant continue to 
 be generally friendly, and both parties are, with some re- 
 markable exceptions, adapting themselves with prudence 
 and good feeling to the change consequent upon the appli- 
 cation of a new law. In the north a determined struggle 
 is made to obtain a larger concession of tenant-right than 
 the Act has given, and in the other provinces corre- 
 sponding advantages are sought ; but the tenants whom 
 it is sought to arouse and combine in general action 
 are giving but a faint response to the call of their 
 leaders. The truth is that it is by no means so easy 
 as it was formerly to make them discontented, and they 
 are unwilling to be drawn away from more profitable 
 pursuits to engage in an agitation which offers but little 
 chance of success.' 
 
 These were strange words, written on the eve of a 
 great convulsion.
 
 JET. 29] 89 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 GATHERING CLOUDS 
 
 IT is unnecessary to say that the opening of the year 
 1876 found all England united against the Irish 
 Nationalist demand. The Tories were in power. Mr. 
 Disraeli was Prime Minister, Sir Michael Hicks-Beach 
 was Chief Secretary for Ireland. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone had retired from the leadership of the 
 Liberal party, and Lord Hartington had taken his place. 
 Differing on almost all other points, Liberals and Tories 
 were united in their hostility to Home Eule. The fact 
 that nearly sixty Irish members had been returned 
 pledged to the question made no impression on the 
 House of Commons. The great majority of these 
 members were moderate, respectable men, anxious to 
 conciliate English opinion, careful not to wound 
 English sentiment. I have said that Butt was a 
 perfect type of a constitutional agitator. The Irish 
 party was a perfect type of a constitutional party. But 
 it was laughed at and despised by the House of Com- 
 mons. Home Rule was regarded as a supreme joke ; 
 the Home Rulers w r ere looked upon as a collection of 
 foolish but harmless ' gentlemen from Ireland.' Biggar 
 alone stood out in bold relief from the whole crowd, 
 and his efforts to seize every opportunity for outraging 
 English opinion not only made him hateful to the
 
 90 CHAKLES STEWART PAEXELL [1876 
 
 English members, but even brought him under the 
 displeasure of the majority of his own party. 
 
 'Whigs, sir, Whigs, every one of them,' he said, 
 speaking of his colleagues in moments of relaxation. 
 No Irish Nationalist, be it said, can apply a more 
 opprobrious epithet to another than to call him a 
 Whig. To call him a Tory would be almost praise in 
 comparison. In Ireland the Tory is regarded as an 
 open enemy ; the Whig as a treacherous friend. It 
 is the Whigs, not the Tories, who have habitually 
 sapped the integrity of the Irish representation. So at 
 least the Irish think, and in 1876 there was a growing 
 suspicion in the country that the Irish party was 
 gliding into Whiggery. Indeed, the Irish members 
 themselves used sometimes to twit each other on the 
 subject. ' You know you are a Whig,' I heard one 
 Irish member say to another in the lobby in 1876. 
 ' To be sure I am,' said S., ' and you are a Whig, and 
 your father was a Whig, and Butt is a Whig, and 
 Sullivan is a Whig, and Mitchell Henry is a Whig we 
 are all Whigs.' Poor S. was naked but not ashamed ; 
 he had indeed been the most orthodox of Whigs all his 
 life, until 1874, when the flowing tide swept him into 
 Home Eule. The Irish parliamentary party was not, 
 however, as a whole a party of Whigs. There were no 
 doubt Whigs in its ranks, men who had been forced by 
 their constituents to take the Home Eule pledge, but 
 who did not believe in it. The majority of the party, 
 however, were true Nationalists, albeit sincerely con- 
 stitutional agitators. ' We shall fight England,' one of 
 them said, ' not with bullets, but with ballot-boxes ' ; 
 and this was practically the creed of the whole body. 
 They believed that the House of Commons could be 
 convinced by reason and moderation, that the battle
 
 -Ki. 30] THE SESSION OF 1876 91 
 
 could be fought within the lines of the constitution 
 and in accordance with the usages which obtain in a 
 society of gentlemen. ' I think,' said one of them, 
 animadverting on Biggar's activity, 'that a man should 
 be a gentleman first and a patriot afterwards,' and the 
 sentiment was cheered by Irish members. They did 
 not think that the House of Commons would ' suffer 
 violence,' and they certainly had not the most remote 
 notion of ' taking it by force.' If a body of Irishmen 
 bent on constitutional agitation pure and simple, eager 
 to cultivate friendly relations with Englishmen, and 
 desirous of treating opponents with the courtesy and 
 respect which they expected for themselves, could have 
 made way in the English Parliament, then the followers 
 of Butt ought to have succeeded. But they did not 
 succeed. They made no way whatever. They not 
 only failed in pushing Home Eule to the front, but 
 they failed in pushing any Irish question to the front, 
 though their attention was given to every Irish ques- 
 tion. They were voted down by ' brutal majorities ' or 
 out-manoeuvred by skilful parliamentary tacticians, and 
 thus their efforts were unavailing. 
 
 On the opening of the Session of 1876 the Irish 
 members mustered in full strength, and notices were 
 given of a goodly array of Bills. The Land question 
 and Education question were taken in hand. Measures 
 were announced for dealing with the subjects of 
 Union Eating, Electoral County Boards, Deep-sea 
 Fishing, Eeclamation of Waste Lands, Grand Jury 
 Eeform, Municipal Eeform, Parliamentary Eeform. 
 But none of the Irish Bills found their way to the 
 Statute Book. 
 
 Butt's Land Bill, a very moderate measure indeed 
 compared with recent enactments, was rejected by an
 
 92 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1876 
 
 overwhelming majority, 290 to 56 votes. 1 The House 
 of Commons considered that the Land question had 
 been settled in 1870, and that it was simply an imperti- 
 nence to revive it. The Irish were not to have a 
 Parliament of their own, and the English Parliament 
 did not think it worth while to consider seriously an 
 Irish demand which went to the very root of the well- 
 being of the people. Such was the sagacious attitude of 
 British statesmanship towards Ireland in the year 1876. 
 Biggar, be it said, ' thoroughly disapproved of the 
 tactics of the Irish parliamentary party. He looked on 
 the introduction of all these Bills as "mere moon- 
 shine." 'What's the good?' he would say. 'We 
 can't get them through, we know we can't get them 
 through. The English stop our Bills. Why don't we 
 stop their Bills ? That's the thing to do. Xo Irish 
 Bills ; but stop English Bills. No legislation ; that's 
 the policy, sir, that's the policy. Butt's a fool, too 
 
 1 The Land Act of 1870, it may be said, provided that tenants 
 should, on eviction, receive compensation for improvements, and in 
 certain cases for disturbance. That Act had not worked well, and Butt 
 now proposed to amend it. ' I propose,' he said, in introducing his Bill, 
 ' that every tenant shall have permission to claim from the chairman of 
 his county the benefit of his improvements, and if he does that I propose 
 that a certificate shall be given him protecting him against eviction 
 by his landlord. That will in point of time establish a perpetuity of 
 tenure. The great difficulty in anything of this kind is to get a tribunal 
 which will fairly value the land. I confess that it is a difficulty which 
 I have found very hard to meet. This idea of a valued rent seems to be 
 getting largely hold of some of the landlords, and I see that some of 
 them suggest the valuation should be fixed by a Government valuer. 
 There are, I admit, some attractions in that proposal. Another sugges- 
 tion is that the appointment of the arbitrators should be vested in three 
 Privy Councillors, and some time ago I proposed that the judges of 
 assize should appoint them. It is, however, the most difficult thing in 
 the world to find a tribunal to which you can entrust this task. I 
 therefore propose, by this Bill, that the landlord and tenant should each 
 select one arbitrator, and the two arbitrators thus appointed shall agree 
 on a third. In cases where the landlord should not appear I suggest 
 that the rent should be assessed by a jury, composed of three special 
 and three common jurors."
 
 2Ei. 30] JOSEPH RQNAYNE 93 
 
 K 
 
 gentlemanly ; we're all too gentlemanly.' There was 
 at this time an Irish member who shared Biggar's 
 views, or perhaps it might be more accurate to say that 
 Biggar shared his views. Any way they thought alike 
 on the subject of parliamentary tactics. This member 
 was Joseph Eonayne. 
 
 Eonayne had been a Young Irelander, and had sat 
 for the city of Cork since 1872. He was a shrewd, 
 business-like man, of quiet and retiring manners. 
 Unwilling to take a prominent part in debate, he was 
 helpful and earnest in council, always advising ener- 
 getic action, but, as he would say, too old he w r as only 
 fifty-four to put his views into practice. After three 
 years' experience in the House of Commons he came to 
 the conclusion that Irish business could never be done 
 by the adoption of Butt's conciliatory tactics. ' We 
 will never,' he urged in 1874, ' make any impression on 
 the House until we interfere in English business. At 
 present Englishmen manage their own affairs in their 
 own way without any interference from us. Then, 
 when we want to get our business through, they stop 
 us. We ought to show them that two can play at 
 this game of obstruction. Let us interfere in English 
 legislation ; let us show them that if we are not strong 
 enough to get our own work done, we are strong enough 
 to prevent them from getting theirs.' 
 
 But, with a single exception, the Irish party were 
 at this time unwilling to take Eonayne's advice. Butt 
 would not listen to it. He thought such tactics would 
 be undignified, useless, mischievous. Eonayne did not 
 press the point, but he would say to the younger men 
 of the party : ' Well, it is for you to do the work. I 
 am too old. But Englishmen will never pay attention 
 to you until you make yourselves a nuisance to them.'
 
 94 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1876 
 
 ' Konayne is quite right,' Biggar would say. ' We'll 
 never do any good until we take an intelligent interest 
 in English affairs.' As Biggar preached, so he practised 
 to the best of his abilities. 
 
 Parnell had heard of Eonayne's advice. He had 
 seen Biggar at work. He knew that Butt objected to 
 obstruction. But, without a moment's hesitation, he 
 backed Eonayne's words and Biggar's deeds. It was 
 one of the characteristics of this remarkable man that 
 he never seemed to be taken unawares. If you sug- 
 gested what you conceived to be a new idea, you found 
 that apparently it was an old idea with him. ' Yes,' 
 he would say to you, as you came up brimful of 
 brilliant thoughts, ' I have thought that over.' This 
 would, perhaps, have been unpleasant coming from 
 another man, as it would in a sense take away the 
 credit of the initiative from you and we are all very 
 vain but it was never unpleasant coming from Parnell. 
 After talking the matter over with him, he sent you 
 away with the two-fold feeling : (1) that it was im- 
 possible to anticipate him in anything ; (2) that you 
 had done good service in bringing the subject under 
 his notice, as the result might be to quicken his 
 thoughts into action. He never wearied of impressing 
 men with a sense of their usefulness, though you 
 never spoke to him without feeling his absolute 
 superiority as a political leader. The one idea which 
 above all others he fixed in the minds of those who 
 had intercourse with him was that he could lead them, 
 and that they could not lead him. 
 
 When the subject of obstruction was brought before 
 him, he was ready for it, and went briskly into action. 
 Biggar was uncouth and brutal, and could scarcely 
 succeed in getting members of his own party to stand
 
 MT. 30] FIRST NOTABLE UTTERANCE 95 
 
 s. 
 
 by him in his ' assaults ' on the House. But Parnell 
 was polished and skilful, had a happy knack of putting 
 other people in the wrong, and used not only to win 
 Irish support, but would occasionally obtain English 
 sympathy. 
 
 Parnell's first really notable utterance in the House 
 was made on June 30, during the debate on Butt's 
 motion for an inquiry into the Home Rule demand. 
 Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, the Chief Secretary for 
 Ireland, was speaking ; Parnell looked coldly and im- 
 passively on. How far the speech of the Chief Secretary 
 interested him, how far he was paying any attention 
 to the subject, it would be difficult to tell. At length 
 Sir Michael Hicks-Beach said : ' Of all the extra- 
 ordinary delusions which are connected with the 
 subject, the most strange to me appears the idea that 
 Home Kule can have the effect of liberating the Fenian 
 
 prisoners, the Manchester murderers .' ' No ! No ! ' 
 
 cried Parnell, with a suddenness and vehemence which 
 startled everyone. The House was shocked at what 
 seemed to be a justification of murder, and there was 
 an indignant murmur of disapprobation. Sir Michael 
 Hicks-Beach paused, and then, looking straight at 
 Parnell and amid sympathetic cheers, said solemnly : 
 ' I regret to hear that there is an hon. member in this 
 House who will apologise for murder.' The House 
 thought that the young member for Meath was crushed, 
 and the cry of ' Withdraw ! ' ' Withdraw ! ' rang from 
 all quarters. 
 
 But Parnell rose with great dignity and great 
 deliberation, and said in clear and icy accents : ' The 
 right hon. gentleman looked at me so directly when 
 he said that he regretted that any member of the 
 House should apologise for murder that I wish to say
 
 96 CHARLES STEWART PARKELL [1876 
 
 as publicly as I can that I do not believe, and never 
 shall believe, that any murder was committed at 
 Manchester.' This rejoinder was received with loud 
 cheers from the Irish benches, and Sir Michael Hicks- 
 Beach passed from the subject of the ' Manchester 
 murderers.' l 
 
 1 On August 1, 1876, a motion for the release of the Fenian 
 prisoners was brought forward by Mr. O'Connor Power. Mr. Bright 
 took part in the debate, and dealing with the case of the Manchester 
 men, said : ' I have regretted that on a former occasion when this 
 matter was before us I did not take the opportunity of saying what 
 I have long thought with regard to the case which is called " The 
 Manchester Outrage." There was in that case one man killed one 
 man shot one fatal shot fired, and therefore it may be urged positively 
 that only one man in a certain sense was guilty of murder. I had, 
 living in that neighbourhood, a very painful interview with the relatives 
 of one of the three men who were hanged, and they were not willing 
 to lay the blame upon either of the other two, but they felt very con- 
 fidently that there were no sufficient grounds for believing that the 
 prisoner in whose fate they were particularly interested was the one 
 who fired the fatal shot. One of the three, I presume, was the guilty 
 person, but the three were hanged. Now, it always appeared to me 
 that the course pursued by the Home Office on that occasion was an 
 unwise one. I am averse to capital punishment, as most members of the 
 House know, but in a case of this kind I think to hang three men for 
 one fatal shot was a mistake a mistake according to the order and 
 practice of our law, and a great mistake when we look at it in its political 
 aspect. On the occasion I have alluded to, when representations were 
 made, it was denied that this was strictly a political case, or that severity 
 was resorted to because it was a political case ; but I have always held 
 the opinion that I held then, and hold now, that it was solely because 
 it was a political case that three men were hanged for the murder of one 
 man. I recollect urging it in this way : If these three men had been 
 out on a poaching expedition, and in the conflict that took place one 
 keeper was killed by one shot, and three men were tried for it, I believe 
 there is no judge who would have sentenced, and no Home Secretary 
 who would have thought it his duty to advise that, these three men 
 should be hanged for the offence. I believe that the three men were 
 hanged because it was a political offence, and not because it was an 
 ordinary murder of one man, committed by one man and by one shot. 
 The other day there was a case in my neighbourhood of an outrage 
 committed by persons connected with a trade union in the neighbour- 
 hood of Bolton. Unfortunately a man was attacked by a number of his 
 fellow-workmen and was killed. No doubt all who were present and 
 maltreated the man were guilty of an illegal act, but it is difficult to 
 say who it was that was guilty of the offence of destroying that man's 
 life. Three, I think, were convicted, not of murder, but of manslaughter.
 
 yEi. 30] A FENIAN OPINION 97 
 
 This utterance first fixed the attention of the 
 Fenians on Parnell. Four years later I met a num- 
 ber of Fenians in a town in the North of England. 
 I asked how it came to pass that Parnell gained 
 the confidence of so many Fenians. One of them 
 answered : ' In 1876 we no longer believed in Butt ; 
 we thought his way of dealing with the House of 
 Commons was absurd. The House showed no defer- 
 ence to the Irish members, yet Butt was always 
 showing deference to the House. Of course we had no 
 belief in parliamentary agitation, but we wished to see 
 Irish members stand up to the House. The humilia- 
 tion of England anywhere was, of course, a pleasure to 
 us, and there were some of us who thought that she 
 might be humiliated even in the House of Commons. 
 But it was quite clear that Butt's methods could lead 
 to nothing but the humiliation of Ireland. We had 
 grown quite tired of Butt, though we always liked him 
 for his defence of our people in the State trials. "What 
 we wanted was a fighting policy. Even constitutional 
 agitators who would defy England, who would shock 
 English sentiment, who would show a bold spirit of 
 resistance to English law and English custom, would 
 help to keep the national feeling alive. But we knew 
 pretty well that no Irish member would keep up a sus- 
 tained fight against England unless he was in touch with 
 us. A Constitutionalist could only do good by drawing 
 inspiration from Fenianism, and Fenianism had ceased 
 
 It was an illegal act, and they were punished by various terms of 
 imprisonment from, I think, three to fifteen years. Unless this was a 
 political offence, the evidence of murder was not very much different 
 from the case I am now describing. I believe it was a great mistake. 
 I said it then, and I say it now, and I have, I say, always believed 
 that the extremity of the law was put in force against three men, 
 only one of whom supposing the one who committed the offence was 
 captured caused the death of the unfortunate and lamented policeman.' 
 
 VOL. I. H
 
 93 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1876 
 
 to inspire Butt. We did not know very much about 
 Parnell at this time. His defence of the Manchester 
 men in the House of Commons was a revelation to us ; 
 but we never lost sight of him afterwards, and I think 
 he never lost sight of us.' 
 
 Parnell certainly did not lose sight of the Fenians ; 
 and he ultimately rode into power on their shoulders. 
 But up to the end of 1876 he continued undistinguished, 
 and almost unnoticed. He had not yet, so to say, 
 drawn out of the ruck, and no one anticipated his 
 extraordinary future. 
 
 Parnell hated England before he entered the House 
 of Commons ; and his hatred was intensified by his 
 parliamentary experience. He thought the position of 
 the Irish members painfully humiliating. They were 
 waiters on English providence ; beggars for English 
 favours. English Ministers behaved as if they belonged 
 to the injured nation ; as if, indeed, they showed exces- 
 sive generosity in tolerating Irishmen in their midst at 
 all. This arrogance, this assumption of superiority, 
 galled Parnell. It was repugnant to his nature to 
 approach anyone with bated breath and whispering 
 humbleness ; and he resolved to wring justice from 
 England, and to humiliate her in the process. He 
 wanted not only reparation, but vengeance as well. 
 
 In those days he would sometimes sit in one of the 
 side galleries, and look down serenely on the performers 
 below. He regarded the whole proceedings, so far as 
 Irish business was concerned, as purely academic. The 
 House of Commons seemed to him to be nothing better 
 than a mere debating society, where Irishmen had an 
 opportunity of airing their oratory, and were, appa- 
 rently, satisfied when that was done. A distinguished 
 Irish advocate once said that a ' speech was ah 1 very
 
 JET. 30] ADDRESS TO PRESIDENT GRANT 99 
 
 x 
 
 good in its way, but that the verdict was the thing.' 
 In the House of Commons the speech was ' the thing,' 
 and Parnell despised the speech. He wanted ' the 
 verdict.' One night an Irish Bill was under discussion. 
 The member in charge of it acquitted himself with 
 skill and ability. Butt sat near him, and was mani- 
 festly much pleased with the performance. When the 
 member sat down the Home Rule leader patted him 
 paternally on the back and beamed satisfaction. Parnell 
 smiled on the scene. When the debate was over, and 
 when the Bill had been handsomely defeated, he met 
 the member in the Lobby, walked up to him, patted 
 him on the back in imitation of Butt, and said : ' You 
 have been a very good boy, you did that very well, and 
 you may now go home and you won't hear any more 
 about your Bill for another twelvemonth.' Then (in a 
 more serious tone), * Ah, it is not by smooth speeches 
 that you will get anything done here. We want rougher 
 work. We must show them that we mean business. 
 They are a good deal too comfortable in that House, 
 and the English are a good deal too comfortable every- 
 where.' 
 
 In the autumn a meeting of ' advanced Nationalists ' 
 was held at Harold's Cross, near Dublin. Among other 
 business transacted, an address was voted to President 
 Grant, congratulating the American people on the 
 centenary of American independence. Parnell and 
 Mr. O'Connor Power were deputed to present this 
 address to General Grant. 
 
 They arrived at New York in October. It so hap- 
 pened that the President was in the city at the time. 
 Parnell suggested that they should see him at once. 
 Grant received them, expressed himself personally 
 grateful for the address, but said it would be necessary 
 
 H 2
 
 100 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1876 
 
 for him to learn what was the etiquette in matters of 
 this kind, and that he would communicate with them 
 on his return to Washington. Grant immediately 
 returned to Washington, whither the delegates pro- 
 ceeded too. There they were informed that it would 
 be necessary to have the address presented through the 
 English Ambassador, but they declined to take this 
 course. 
 
 A correspondence then took place between the 
 delegates and the American Secretary of State, they 
 urging that the intervention of the British Minister 
 was unnecessary and objectionable, he insisting that it 
 could not be dispensed with. 
 
 Parnell returned to England in November, leaving 
 Mr. O'Connor Power in charge of the address, which 
 was ultimately accepted by the Legislative Assembly 
 over the head of the President. Immediately on his 
 arrival at Liverpool Parnell addressed a Home Rule 
 meeting. He said : 
 
 ' You have also another duty to perform, which is 
 to educate public opinion in England upon Irish 
 questions, which I have looked upon as a difficult and 
 almost impossible task so difficult that I have often 
 been tempted to think that it was no use trying to 
 educate English public opinion. The English Press 
 encourage prejudice against Ireland. Englishmen 
 themselves are in many respects fair-minded and 
 reasonable, but it is almost impossible to get at them 
 it requires intelligence almost superhuman to remove 
 the clouds of prejudice under which they have lived 
 during their lives. I know the difficulties of the 
 position of the Irish people in England. It is not easy 
 for people, living as they are in friendship with their 
 English neighbours, to keep themselves separated from
 
 .Ex. 30] SPEECH IN LIVERPOOL 101 
 
 x. 
 
 English political organisations, but they have never been 
 afraid to lay aside private and local considerations in 
 favour of supporting their fellow-countrymen at home. 
 Our position in Ireland is peculiar. One party says we go 
 too far in the Home Eule agitation, while another party 
 says we do not go far enough. You have been told we 
 have lowered the national flag that the Home Eule 
 cause is not the cause of Ireland a nation, and that we 
 will degrade our country into the position of a province. 
 I deny all this. There is no reason why Ireland under 
 Home Rule would not be Ireland a nation in every 
 sense and for every purpose that it was right she 
 should be a nation. I have lately seen in the city of 
 New York a review of the militia, in which five or six 
 thousand armed and trained men took part, at least 
 half of them being veterans of the war. They marched 
 past with firm step, and armed with improved weapons. 
 They were at the command of the legislature of New 
 York, and they could not budge one inch from the 
 city without the orders of the governor. If in Ireland 
 we could ever have under Home Eule such a nationa 
 militia, they would be able to protect the interests o. 
 Ireland as a nation, while they would never wish to 
 trespass upon the integrity of the English Empire, or 
 to do harm to those they then would call their English 
 brothers. It was a foolish want of confidence that 
 prevented Englishmen and the English Government 
 from trusting Ireland. They know Ireland is deter- 
 mined to be an armed nation, and they fear to see her 
 so, for they remember how a section of the Irish 
 people in 1782, with arms in their hands, wrung from 
 England legislative independence. Without a full 
 measure of Home Eule for Ireland no Irishman would 
 ever rest content.'
 
 102 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [18T6 
 
 One who was present has given me the following 
 account of how Parnell delivered this speech. He 
 says : 
 
 'I remember that he came once to speak for us 
 in Liverpool. It was in 1876. He was a bad speaker 
 then had a bad, halting delivery. In fact, it was 
 painful to listen to him. You would think he would 
 break down every moment. He seemed to be con- 
 stantly stuck for want of a word. It was horribly 
 awkward for the people listening to him, but, oddly 
 enough, it never seemed awkward to him. I remem- 
 ber a number of us who were on the platform near 
 him would now and then suggest a word to him 
 in the pauses. But he never once took a word from 
 any one of us. There he would stand,, with clenched 
 fists, which he shook nervously until the word he 
 wanted came. And what struck us all, and what we 
 talked of afterwards^ was that Parnell's word was 
 always the right word, and expressed exactly the idea 
 in his head ; our word was simply makeshift, for which 
 he did not even thank us.' 
 
 By the end of 1876 Parnell regarded Butt's move- 
 ment as an absolute failure. Of the innumerable Bills 
 and resolutions which had been introduced by the 
 Irish party since 1871 only one measure of any im- 
 portance had become law the Municipal Privileges 
 Act, which enabled municipal corporations to confer 
 the freedom of their cities and to appoint sheriffs. 
 The failure of the parliamentary party was, he 
 thought, in some respects attributable to a want of 
 energy and boldness. , The majority of Butt's followers 
 were too apathetic, too deferential to English opinion 
 and sentiment, too fond of English society in a word, 
 too 'respectable.' Biggar was ParnelFs ideal of an
 
 -Ex. 30] ' XO QUARRELS ' 103 
 
 Irish member a political Ishmael, who would not 
 conciliate and who could not be conciliated. Butt's 
 policy was a policy of peace. Biggar's was the em- 
 bodiment of a policy of war, and Parnell believed in a 
 policy of war. His faith was centred in a policy of 
 ' aloofness ' from all English parties, and indeed from 
 all Englishmen. He regarded them as enemies, and 
 he would treat them as enemies. He did not believe 
 in negotiations. He believed in fighting. The fighting 
 force in Ireland was the Fenians. Any man, Consti- 
 tutionalist or Kevolutionist, who was prepared to fight 
 England anywhere or anyhow was sure of Fenian 
 sympathy, though his methods might not always meet 
 with Fenian approval. 
 
 Were the Fenians to be fought on the one hand, 
 and the English on the other? Could any party of 
 Constitutionalists hope to succeed if the Fenians 
 were actively against them ? Butt himself had 
 leant on the Fenians in founding the Home Eule 
 movement. What would become of him if the Fenian 
 support were withdrawn? There was the Church, 
 certainly. But what would become of Home Eule if 
 there were to be an open struggle between the Church 
 and the Fenians ? The one thing Parnell hated 
 throughout his whole career was quarrels among Irish- 
 men. 'Parnell's great gift,' Mr. Healy once said, 
 ' was his faculty of reducing a quarrel to the smallest 
 dimensions.' He was, in truth, a centre of unity and 
 strength. He was able, if not to reconcile, certainly to 
 neutralise the antagonism of opposing forces and hos- 
 tile characters. He was, indeed, a great peacemaker 
 as well as a great fighter, and herein lay his power. 
 ' No war ' was, we are told, a favourite expression of 
 Elizabeth's at the council board. ' No quarrels ' was cer-
 
 104 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1876 
 
 tainly a favourite thought, if not a favourite expression, 
 of Parnell. To have any single force which made for 
 Irish nationality in conflict with any other force which 
 made in the same direction, or which could by any possi- 
 bility be brought to make in the same direction, was 
 utterly abhorrent to him. And yet danger of such a 
 conflict there was in 1876. The Fenians were getting 
 thoroughly tired of Home Eule. They had given the 
 movement a fair trial, and nothing had come of it. It 
 was now time, many of them thought, to look to 
 their own organisation and to that alone. Within the 
 parliamentary ranks there were divisions and dis- 
 sensions. Butt had ceased to be a power. The 
 constitutional movement was drifting on the rocks. 
 It was a period in the history of the country when 
 everything depended on the appearance of a man. 
 O'Connell would have got the Church at his back, 
 broken with the Fenians, and inaugurated a mighty 
 constitutional agitation. A Stephens would have 
 reorganised Fenianism on a formidable basis, fought 
 the Church and Constitutionalists, and drawn the 
 country into insurrection. But there was no O'Connell, 
 no Stephens. Parnell came ; he was unlike both the 
 great agitator and the great conspirator. He was not 
 a son of the Church. He was not a son of the revolu- 
 tion. But he believed profoundly in the power of the 
 one and of the other, and resolved to combine both. 
 This was a herculean labour, but it was not above the 
 stature of Charles Stewart Parnell. ' Ireland,' he once 
 said, * cannot afford to lose a single man.' That was 
 his creed. To combine all Irishmen in solid mass and 
 hurl them at the Saxon, that was his policy. In the 
 ensuing pages we shall find him pursuing that policy, 
 steadily, skilfully. We shall find him gradually winning
 
 .-Ex. 30] ' THE UNCROWNED KING ' 105 
 
 N. 
 
 the confidence of the Church and of the Fenians the 
 two great forces, be it said, in Irish politics and 
 ultimately obtaining an ascendency over both. We 
 shall find him forming and dominating a strictly 
 disciplined parliamentary party, and at length reaching 
 that position of eminence well described by the title 
 which the people gave him the ' uncrowned King of 
 Ireland.'
 
 106 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 CHAPTEE VII 
 
 WAR 
 
 THE Queen's Speech in opening the parliamentary 
 session of 1877 contained the following paragraph 
 about Ireland : 
 
 ' You will be asked to constitute one Supreme 
 Court of Judicature for Ireland, and to confer an 
 equitable jurisdiction in the county courts of that 
 country.' 
 
 Every question that stirred the nation was calmly 
 ignored land, education, parliamentary franchise, 
 Home Rule. The people had asked for bread in the 
 shape of legislative freedom ; they were offered a stone 
 in the shape of a Judicature Bill. Yet Butt showed 
 no disposition to harass the Government. He was 
 resolved to bring forward his Irish measures, to fight 
 them, through the House of Commons in accordance 
 with the ordinary rules of the game, and to abide the 
 result. But Parnell and Biggar were now practically 
 in revolt and on the war track. ' If we are to have 
 parliamentary action,' said the former in one of those 
 short, sharp, and decisive sentences which always 
 meant business, ' it ^ must not be the action of con- 
 ciliation, but of retaliation,' and on the policy of 
 retaliation he was now more than ever inexorably 
 bent.
 
 .-Ei. 3r OBSTRUCTION 107 
 
 In 1876 Parnell had already fleshed his sword. In 
 the spring of 1877 he regularly opened the obstruction 
 campaign. He singled out the Mutiny Bill and the 
 Prisons Bill for attack. Anyone reading ' Hansard ' 
 now would see nothing unusual in his proceedings. 
 For anything that appears to the contrary, he might 
 have been influenced by a bond-fide desire to improve 
 both measures. ' Parnell excelled us all,' said one of 
 his obstructive colleagues, ' in obstructing as if he were 
 really acting in the interests of the British legislators.' 
 He was cool, calm, business-like, always kept to the 
 point, and rarely became aggressive in voice or manner. 
 Sometimes he would give wa}- with excellent grace, 
 and with a show of conceding much to his opponents ; 
 but he never abandoned his main purpose, never re- 
 linquished his determination to harass and punish the 
 'enemy.' The very quietness of his demeanour, the 
 orderliness with which he carried out a policy of dis- 
 order, served only to exasperate, and even to enrage, 
 his antagonists. One night an Irish member proposed 
 that the committee on the Irish Prisons Bill should 
 be put off, as the Irish members ' would shortly have 
 to attend the grand juries at the assizes in Ireland.' 
 This was barefaced obstruction. But Parnell would 
 have none of it. Rising with the dignity of a 
 Minister responsible for the despatch of public busi- 
 ness, he said : ' I think the business of the nation 
 should be attended tQ before local affairs, and therefore 
 the attendance at the grand juries is no reason for 
 postponing the committee/ Who could charge this 
 man with obstruction ? Upon another occasion he 
 moved an amendment to the English Prisons Bill. 
 Mr. Newdigate (who had sometimes gone into the 
 same lobby with him in the divisions on the Bill, for
 
 108 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 Parnell drew his amendments with so much skill that 
 he often caught an English vote) asked him to with- 
 draw the amendment. Biggar (who used to say that 
 he never withdrew anything) urged Parnell to perse- 
 vere ; but Parnell, with much show of grace, said : 
 ' Out of deference to the committee I will not press 
 my amendment, although I consider I shall be doing 
 wrong in abandoning it. I must, however, say that 
 it is incorrect for any hon. member to say that I am 
 chargeable with obstructing the business of the House. 
 My opinion on obstruction is that when it is employed 
 it should be like the action of the bayonet short, 
 sharp, and decisive.' 
 
 From February 14, when his Bill for facilitating the 
 creation of a peasant proprietary under the operation of 
 the Church Act was rejected, up to April 12 Parnell 
 was constantly in evidence, constantly interfering in 
 the business of the House, constantly obstructing, 
 constantly seeking to turn everything upside down 
 with tantalising politeness and provoking tenacity. 
 'How came Parnell,' I asked one of his obstructive 
 colleagues, ' to lead you all in these rights ? He was 
 not an able speaker, he was deficient in intellectual 
 gifts, which many of you possessed, he had little 
 parliamentary experience.' ' By tenacity,' was the 
 answer. ' Sheer tenacity. He stuck on when the 
 rest of us gave way.' 
 
 ' What was Parnell's distinguishing characteristic ? ' 
 I asked another of his colleagues \vho loved him not. 
 He answered, ' He was a beautiful fighter. He knew 
 exactly how much the House would stand. One night 
 I was obstructing. S was near me. He was gene- 
 rally timid, afraid of shocking the House. He said : 
 " , you had better stop or you will be suspended."
 
 /ET. 31] IX REVOLT 109 
 
 " Oh, no," quietly interjected Parnell, who was sitting 
 by us, " they will stand a good deal more than this. 
 You may go on for another half-hour." I did go on 
 for another half-hour or so. Then there was an awful 
 row, and I stopped. Parnell had gauged the exact 
 limit. Another night I was obstructing again. Parnell 
 came in suddenly and said, " Stop now, or there will 
 be an explosion in five minutes, and I don't want 
 a row to-night." In all these things Parnell was 
 perfect.' 
 
 It is needless to say that in all these fights Mr. 
 Biggar was his right-hand man. It was a rule of 
 the House that no opposed business should be taken 
 after half-past twelve at night. Biggar used this rule 
 to block every Bill, important or unimportant, which 
 was introduced after the prescribed hour. 'After 
 every order of the day,' wrote the London corre- 
 spondent of the ' Liverpool Daily Post ' in March 
 1877, ' there is this announcement. " Mr. Biggar : 
 That this Bill be read a second time this day six 
 months." 
 
 Butt was sadly perplexed by the tactics of his two 
 unruly lieutenants. He hated obstruction. He believed 
 it was discreditable and mischievous. And yet the 
 House by its constant rejection of Irish Bills exposed 
 itself to this policy of retaliation. Parnell and Biggar 
 were not without justification. Butt felt this as well 
 as anybody else. Yet he thought, upon the w r hole, 
 that the policy of ' retaliation ' was undignified and 
 useless, and that the proper remedy was more con- 
 centration on Irish measures and more persistence in 
 pushing them to the front. He had, however, this 
 difficulty to contend with : the Moderate Home Rulers 
 could not be kept up to the collar, the energetic Irish
 
 110 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 members were unruly, the orderly Irish members were 
 apathetic. This was Butt's difficulty. While the 
 House was smarting under Parnell's attacks, much 
 pressure was used by the Moderate Home Rulers and 
 by the English members to induce Butt to crush 
 him. Parnell was aware of this, but he stuck to 
 his guns, and was resolved, in the last resort, to fight 
 it out with his leader rather than abandon the policy 
 of obstruction. In justice to the young member for 
 Meath this much must be said. While in the main 
 his object was obstruction pure and simple, yet he did 
 introduce some amendments with a sincere desire of 
 improving the measures under consideration. I will 
 give an instance. On April 5 he moved an amendment 
 on the Prisons Bill to the effect that any prisoners 
 convicted of treason-felony, sedition, or seditious libel 
 should be treated as first-class misdemeanants. ' It is 
 high time,' he said, 'that an attempt was made to 
 remove from England the reproach that she treated 
 her political prisoners worse than any other country 
 in the world. In France even the Communards, 
 who half burnt Paris, and to whom were attributed 
 the most atrocious designs, were not sent to the 
 hulks or the galleys, but simply expatriated. When 
 history comes to be written there is nothing for which 
 the children of Englishmen now living would blush so 
 much as for the treatment of the [Fenian] men con- 
 victed in 1865. ... I hope that this Bill when it 
 leaves the committee will be so framed that political 
 prisoners will not be treated as murderers, demons, 
 and culprits of the worst order.' A long debate 
 followed, and Parnell ultimately, on the suggestion 
 of Sir Henry James, withdrew the words 'treason- 
 felony,' retaining the words 'sedition' and 'seditious
 
 .Ex. 31] ' A SCEXi: ' 111 
 
 libel,' and with this alteration the clause was added to 
 the Bill. 
 
 But there was more of pure obstruction in his 
 opposition to the Mutiny Bill on April 12. He, 
 Captain Xolan, and Biggar fought many clauses, and 
 at length, about twelve o'clock, Biggar moved to 
 'report progress.' ' It was quite too late,' he said, ' to 
 go on with the Bill, as there were several important 
 amendments to be proposed.' 
 
 Mr. Gatlwrne-Hardy. ' I hope the committee will 
 pass the unopposed clauses.' 
 
 Parnell. ' Will the Government undertake to report 
 progress when Clause 55 is passed ? ' 
 
 Mr. Gatlwrne-Hardy . ' I propose to take the clauses 
 up to Clause 93.' 
 
 Parnell. ' The Government are unreasonable. I 
 have endeavoured to facilitate business. But an ex- 
 ample of obstruction was set the other night by hon. 
 members opposite, who would not allow the Bill of the 
 hon. member for Sheffield (Mr. Mundella) to proceed, 
 and not only so, but the Government followed their 
 disorderly supporters into the lobby.' (Cries of ' Order.') 
 
 The Chairman. ' The expression just used is cer- 
 tainly one that should not be used by hon. members.' 
 
 The unimpassioned page of Hansard gives no notion 
 of the state of excitement into which the House (a full 
 House) was plunged during this altercation. Most of 
 the clauses in question were unopposed. Members were 
 impatient, and anxious to get the business through 
 quickly. There was really nothing which needed 
 serious discussion. But Parnell inexorably blocked 
 the way. The House stormed and raged, but the 
 member for. Meath held his ground defiantly. The 
 Moderate Home Rulers were as much shocked at his
 
 112 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 conduct as any English member. Butt was not 
 present. He was sitting quietly in the smoking-room. 
 Thither several Irish members hastened to tell their 
 leader what was going on, and to urge him to interfere. 
 English members came to him too, and implored him 
 to save the dignity of Parliament and suppress his 
 unruly follower. Butt, after some hesitation, at length 
 yielded to these importunities, rushed into the House 
 flushed with passion and indignation, and pounced on 
 the member for Meath. ' I regret,' he said, ' that the 
 time of the House has been wasted in this miserable 
 and wretched discussion. If at this hour of the night 
 any member really wished to propose a serious amend- 
 ment, I would support the motion to "report progress," 
 and so also, I think, would the Secretary for War. But 
 when there was no amendment to a number of clauses, 
 I must express my disapproval of the course taken by 
 the hon. member for Meath. It is a course of obstruc- 
 tion, and one against which I must enter my protest. 
 I am not responsible for the member for Meath, and 
 cannot control him. I have, however, a duty to dis- 
 charge to the great nation of Ireland, and I think I 
 should discharge it best when I say I disapprove 
 entirely of the conduct of the hon. member for 
 Meath.' 
 
 This speech was received with ringing cheers from 
 all parts of the House. But how did the member for 
 Meath take his castigation ? He sat calmly, cynically 
 by, watching his leader with a placid smile. Well he 
 knew that the English cheers which greeted Butt only 
 sounded the political death knell of the Home Kule 
 leader. No Irishman who had attacked a comrade in 
 the face of the ' common enemy,' and because he fought 
 the common enemy, could ever again command the
 
 .Ex. 31] BUTT AND PARNELL 113 
 
 sympathy of the Fenian organisations ; and without 
 the help of the Fenians no man could lead the Home 
 Rule movement. Butt had allowed himself to be 
 carried away by the English cheers, and had for the 
 moment thought only of the House of Commons. 
 Parnell cared nothing for the House of Commons, and 
 thought chiefly of the extreme men in Ireland and in 
 England. 
 
 Parnell disposed of Butt's oration in a single 
 sentence: ' The hon. and learned gentleman,' he said, 
 ' was not in the House when I attempted to explain why 
 I had not put down notice of my amendments.' That 
 was enough. Butt had attacked him without having 
 heard him in justification of his position. Parnell 
 knew that the single sentence he had spoken in reply 
 would filter through the Fenian mind and would arouse 
 Fenian sympathies ; and, as subsequent events proved, 
 he did not count without his host. Four days later 
 he was again in evidence, obstructing as vigorously 
 and persistently as ever. 
 
 On April 16 the Marine Mutiny Bill was under 
 consideration. Parnell protested against the clause 
 dealing with crime punishable by death. He sug- 
 gested that there should be some classification of 
 offences, and that any offence which did not involve 
 any moral depravity, or any injury to an officer, or 
 any other person, might be punished by imprison- 
 ment with or without hard labour instead of penal 
 servitude. 
 
 All his amendments on the Mutiny Bill (Marine 
 and Army) and on the Prisons Bill were directed to 
 mitigate their severity, and several of them were 
 adopted. There was obstruction plenty of obstruc- 
 tion, wilful obstruction in his tactics ; but I feel I am 
 
 VOL. i. I
 
 1U CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 doing him only the barest justice in saying that many 
 of the amendments were inspired by humane and 
 manly considerations. 1 
 
 On June 5 he said, speaking on an amendment 
 moved by Mr. O'Connor Power, that it was unnecessary 
 for him to go further into the question, for the com- 
 plaints of the Fenian prisoners were fully established 
 before the Devon Commission ; but before he sat down 
 he wished to say that the Irish people were deeply 
 interested in this question, that it was a question on 
 which they could go to extremities as they could not go 
 on any other Irish question. 
 
 On June 14, 1877, he returned to the subject. He 
 reminded the House that the Devon Commission had 
 recommended that certain relaxations should be made 
 in the treatment of political prisoners, and that they 
 should be kept apart from other convicts ; and he 
 trusted the Home Secretary would see his way to give 
 effect to that recommendation. 
 
 The breach between Butt and Parnell had now 
 widened much ; and before the end of May the struggle 
 for the mastery had commenced. 
 
 A lengthy correspondence between them appeared 
 in the ' Freeman's Journal.' Parnell wrote on April 13 
 complaining of Butt's action in the House of Commons 
 on the previous day : 2 
 
 1 On the motion of Parnell the following clauses were added to the 
 Prisons Bill on June 14, 1877 : ' It shall not be lawful for any jailor to 
 order any prisoner to be confined in a punishment cell for any term 
 exceeding twenty-four hours, nor shall it be lawful for the Visiting 
 Committee of Justices to order any prisoner to be punished by con- 
 finement in a punishment cell for any term exceeding fourteen days.' 
 ' In a case where an inquest is held on the body of a person who dies in 
 prison, no person engaged in any sort of trade or dealing with the 
 prison shall be a juror on such inquest.' 
 
 - Ante, p. 112.
 
 Mi. 31] CONTROVERSY WITH BUTT 11/i 
 
 Parnell to Butt 
 
 1 On that occasion I yielded my judgment to your 
 opinion upon a matter regarding which full individual 
 liberty of action had always been left to each member 
 of our party. You will recollect that upon the only occa- 
 sion when you suggested that our party should follow 
 you on a question of Imperial policy it was, after a long 
 discussion, decided that each individual should act for 
 himself. I must then, in future, claim for myself that 
 liberty of action upon Imperial and English matters 
 which has hitherto been granted to every member of 
 the party, while I shall continue to follow your lead in 
 regard to Irish questions.' 
 
 Butt replied on April 21 in a very long letter, the 
 import of which may, however, be gathered from the 
 following extracts : 
 
 ' If I rightly interpret your letter, I understand you 
 to say that, while you owe to me in relation to Irish 
 measures that which you are good enough to call 
 "allegiance," your conduct in all Imperial and English 
 measures is free from obligation either to me or the 
 party in whose ranks you have enrolled yourself. . . . 
 I must dissent from your view of the relation in which 
 each member of our party stands to the rest. 
 
 ' The pledge which we take is clear, plain, and 
 distinct : 
 
 ' " That, deeply impressed with the importance of 
 unity of action upon all matters that can affect the 
 parliamentary position of the Home Rule party, or the 
 interests of the Home Eule cause, we engage to each 
 other and the country to obtain that unity by taking 
 counsel together, by making all reasonable concessions 
 to the opinions of each other, by avoiding as far as 
 
 i 2
 
 116 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 possible isolated action, and by sustaining and sup- 
 porting each other in the course that may be deemed 
 best calculated to promote the grand object of self- 
 government which the nation has committed to our 
 care." 
 
 ' This pledge carefully defines the limits of our 
 obligations. The application of that engagement to 
 our conduct in the House does not depend upon the 
 point whether it relates to Irish or English or Imperial 
 questions, but whether it is such as can affect the parlia- 
 mentary position of the Home Rule party or the interests 
 of the Home Rule cause. In all matters that affect the 
 parliamentary position of the Home Rule party or the 
 interests of the Home Rule cause we have solemnly 
 bound ourselves to avoid setting up any private opinions 
 of our own, to defer to the judgment of our colleagues, 
 and to sustain and support each other in the course 
 that may be deemed best calculated to promote the 
 great object we have in view. I am sure you will, on 
 reflection, see that to limit the effect of this pledge to 
 our conduct on Irish measures would be an evasion of 
 its plain and direct terms. Were such a construction 
 possible, it would reduce the pledge to an absurdity. 
 It would enable any professing Home Rule member to 
 intrigue with any English party, to give his vote on 
 every Imperial or English question to serve the interests 
 of the faction of which he might be the minion, and to 
 fulfil his pledge to his country by voting two or three 
 times in the year on questions on which his vote could 
 not do his masters any harm.' 
 
 Butt went on to say that he had no objection to see 
 Parnell and other Irish members take part in debates 
 on English and Imperial affairs, provided they acted 
 bond fide in the public interests. 'But,' he added, 'it
 
 JET. 31] CONTROVERSY WITH BUTT 117 
 
 is impossible not to see that your action in the House 
 is considered both by friends and enemies as an 
 organised system of policy adopted not for English but 
 for Irish purposes, and one which both friends and 
 enemies do not hesitate to describe as a policy " of 
 obstruction." 
 
 ' I feel that I am in a position in which I can judge 
 of the effect that is likely to be produced by any 
 " policy of obstruction." It must tend to alienate 
 from us our truest and our best English friends. 
 
 ' It must waste in aimless and objectless obstruction 
 the time which we might, in some form or other, 
 obtain for the discussion of Irish grievances. It must 
 expose us to the taunts of being unfit to administer 
 even the forms of representative government, and even 
 of discrediting and damaging every movement we 
 make. 
 
 ' But, if I urge these grounds of prudence, I am not 
 insensible of that which is higher than all prudence 
 the duty of maintaining before the civilised world the 
 dignity of the Irish nation and the Irish cause. That 
 will only be done while we respect ourselves and our 
 duties to the assembly of which we are members an 
 assembly to degrade which is to strike a blow at 
 representative institutions all over the world, a blow 
 that will recoil with terrible severity on the very claims 
 we make for our own country, but which, whatever be 
 its effects, would be unworthy of ourselves and our 
 cause.' 
 
 Parnell's reply (which I am also obliged to abridge) 
 was written on May 24, 1877 : 
 
 ' Your interpretation of the views which I expressed 
 in my last letter regarding my obligations to yourself 
 (not to the Home Rule party, as you state) is not a
 
 118 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 correct one, and does not accurately convey either the 
 expressions used by me or their sense. I did not say, 
 or in any measure convey, that my conduct on all 
 Imperial and English measures is free from any 
 obligation to the Irish party ; but I did intend you to 
 understand that I should preserve my individual liberty 
 of action, unfettered by your control, upon those 
 English and Imperial questions upon which the Irish 
 party are agreed not to act as a party ; while I have 
 always been ready cheerfully to surrender my own 
 opinion to the majority upon any of those questions 
 that our party decided to take up. You remark that 
 " were the pledge only to embrace our conduct on 
 Irish measures " (which I certainly never argued) " it 
 would enable any professing Home Eule member to 
 intrigue with any English party, to give his vote on 
 every English and Imperial question, to serve the 
 interests of the faction of whom he might be the 
 minion, and to fulfil his pledge to his country by 
 voting two or three times in the j'ear on questions 
 on which his vote could not do his masters any 
 harm." 
 
 ' Now, unfortunately, all these things are precisely 
 what many Home Eule members are constantly doing, 
 and apparently without remonstrance or even attempt 
 at restraint by you. It has been rendered perfectly 
 evident by the experience of four sessions that " any 
 professing Home Kule member may intrigue with any 
 English party," either Whig or Tory, and yet bring 
 upon himself neither your denunciation nor those of 
 that Irish journal which is supposed to be devoted to 
 your interests. . . . 
 
 ' Now [to go to another point], my clause on the 
 Prisons Bill regarding the treatment of the political
 
 -Ex. 31] CONTROVERSY WITH BUTT 119 
 
 prisoners was supported by all sections of the English 
 Liberal party, and the Government were compelled to 
 accept it lest they should be defeated on a division. 
 Here, then, no adverse effect as regards the support of 
 Englishmen was produced by niy course of action. 
 Subsequently, on the Marine and Army Mutiny Bills, 
 amendments that I moved were supported by the full 
 strength of all sections of the Liberal party present, as 
 many as 146 and 150 voting for some of the amend- 
 ments, although at this very time the English Press 
 was teeming with complaints of my "obstruction," and 
 you had yourself thought proper to denounce me pub- 
 licly in the House on similar grounds a night or two 
 previously. Here again no English votes were lost to 
 me owing to my action. Furthermore, by our action 
 on the Mutiny Bills I obtained some important re- 
 strictions of power to inflict cruel punishments, and 
 the Government also agreed to submit these Bills to 
 the consideration of a select committee Bills that for 
 many years had been adopted as a matter of course 
 almost without discussion. 
 
 ' The hours at or after midnight are always reserved 
 for Irish Bills, and it is a physical impossibility that it 
 could be otherwise. Consequently no action of mine 
 can diminish the chances of Ireland obtaining what 
 she has never had a share in the Government time. 
 On the other hand, nothing that I have done interferes 
 with the time at the disposal of private members, as I 
 have not interfered with measures brought in by such 
 members. 
 
 ' I cannot sympathise with your conclusions as to 
 my duty towards the House of Commons. If English- 
 men insist on the artificial maintenance of an anti- 
 quated institution which can only perform a portion of
 
 120 CIIAKLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 its functions by the "connivance" of those intrusted 
 with its working, in the imperfect and defective 
 performance of much of even that portion if the con- 
 tinued working of this institution is constantly attended 
 with much wrong and hardship to my country, as 
 frequently it has been the source of gross cruelty and 
 tyranny I cannot consider it is my duty to connive in 
 the imperfect performance of these functions, while I 
 should certainly not think of obstructing any useful, 
 solid, or well-performed work.' 
 
 While this correspondence was going on Parnell 
 wrote the following letter to Dr. Kenny with reference 
 to the Tipperary election, then pending : 
 
 ' MY DEAR DR. KENNY, I do not think - 
 wonld be much use. We have too many men of his 
 stamp already, who consider that they are sent here 
 to make a parliamentary reputation and not to attend 
 to the interests of the country. I quite agree with 
 you, it is best to let Mr. Biggar, myself, and others 
 work along quietly for the present. If Butt can only be 
 induced to let us alone, we are quite equal to the task 
 we have set ourselves, which is not a very difficult one. 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 ' CHAS. S. PARNELL.' 
 
 Parnell now resolved to carry on the fight with 
 Butt to the bitter end. The Home Rule leader had 
 the Moderate Home Rulers at his back. The member 
 for Meath relied on the advanced men. The Home 
 Rule Confederation of Great Britain a body influenced 
 by Fenians took him up, and under its auspices he 
 addressed public meetings in England and Scotland. 
 ' We got Parnell a platform,' said the founder of this
 
 .Ex. 31] IRISH IX ENGLAND li>l 
 
 organisation himself a member of the Fenian brother- 
 hood to me some years ago ; ' we made him.' It would 
 not be accurate to say that the Fenians made Parnell. 
 Parnell made himself. But it would be accurate to 
 say that in Fenianism he found the lever on which 
 his power turned. Here it will be necessary to add 
 a few words about the Home Rule Confederation of 
 Great Britain. 
 
 In 1873 a member of the supreme council of the 
 I. E. B., whom I shall call X., asked Butt if he 
 intended to take any steps for pushing forward the 
 Home Eule cause in England. Butt said that he was 
 rather puzzled to know what to do ; he was anxious 
 to found an English organisation, but afraid that the 
 Fenians might smash it. X. said that he did not 
 think they would smash it ; that they certainly looked 
 suspiciously on Home Eule and disbelieved in parlia- 
 mentary agitation, but that nevertheless they would 
 not place themselves actively in opposition to Butt. 
 It was ultimately agreed between Butt and X. that 
 a Home Eule organisation should be formed in 
 England ; and X. set to work to form it. He found 
 many difficulties in the way. Many Fenians did not 
 take kindly to the notion of co-operating with the 
 Constitutionalists ; they said that union with the 
 Parliamentarians would only weaken their movement. 
 The minds of the people would be fixed on parlia- 
 mentary agitation and drawn away from Fenianism. 
 Parliamentary agitation would end, as it always had 
 ended, in failure ; the upshot of the whole business would 
 be collapse, both of Fenianism and Constitutionalism. 
 X. took a different view. He said : ' We need not 
 give up our own principles by joining the Home 
 Eulers. They go part of the way in our direction ;
 
 122 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 why not help them so far '? In addition we will stiffen 
 their backs by joining them. Here are the Irish in 
 England a great force ; but absolutely lost at present. 
 It is our policy to make the English feel the presence 
 of the Irish everywhere. They don't know what a 
 power the Irish can be made in their midst. The 
 English only recognise power. We must make our- 
 selves troublesome. We can make ourselves trouble- 
 some by organising the Irish vote in Great Britain, 
 and by forcing the English candidates to take the 
 Home Rule pledge. We can control the parliamentary 
 movement if we go into it. At all events, let us 
 try.' 
 
 X.'s arguments at length prevailed among a certain 
 number of the rank and file of the Fenians, and 
 the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain was 
 formed. 
 
 Butt had promised to attend the inaugural meeting 
 at Manchester. Some of the Moderates, however, got 
 at him. saying that the association was in the hands 
 of the Fenians. He became uneasy, and wrote to 
 X. just on the eve of the meeting to say that he 
 was afraid he could not attend. X. wired back a 
 telegram of nearly 1,000 words, urging Butt not to 
 fail, saying that the meeting had been got up on 
 the strength of his promise to attend, that dele- 
 gates had been summoned from all parts of Great 
 Britain, and that his absence would be nothing short 
 of an insult. Butt subsequently related to X. the 
 circumstances under which he received the monster 
 telegram : 
 
 ' I was in court at the time ; I was addressing the 
 judges. The telegram was placed in my hands. I 
 opened the envelope in itself a formidable document
 
 .Ex. 31] IRISH IN ENGLAND 123 
 
 and out tumbled a package the like of which was 
 certainly never seen in telegraphic form before. The 
 judges looked at it ; everybody looked at it. I said : 
 " My lords, will you allow me to read this message ? It 
 may be of importance." They said, " Certainly," and 
 I sat down and waded through the telegram, turning 
 over sheet after sheet, to the amazement of the on- 
 lookers. But it was not your arguments that made 
 an impression on me it was the length of the telegram. 
 41 The man," I said, " who has sent me this telegram of 
 1,000 words must be terribly in earnest, and the men 
 behind him must be terribly in earnest too," and so I 
 sent off a reply to you at once.' Butt's reply was short 
 and to the point. ' Shall be with you if I am alive.' 
 And so Butt attended the meeting, and the Home 
 Eule Confederation of Great Britain sprang into being. 
 'Was the Confederation always under the control of 
 Fenians ? ' I asked X. ' Always,' he answered. ' They 
 were well represented on the council ; our best workers 
 and best organisers were Fenians. Of course, there were 
 plenty of members who were not Fenians, but the 
 Fenians were the masters of the situation.' The Home 
 Eule Confederation of Great Britain did excellent work 
 for the Home Eule cause in Great Britain. The Irish 
 vote was perfectly organised ; the Irish voter w r as 
 made formidable. Every candidate who stood for a 
 constituency where the Irish vote was strong had the 
 following pledge submitted to him : ' To vote for the 
 appointment of a select committee to inquire into and 
 report upon the motive, extent, and the grounds of 
 {he demand made by a large proportion of the Irish 
 people for the restoration to Ireland of an Irish Parlia- 
 ment with power to control the internal affairs of the 
 country.'
 
 1J4 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 Between 1874 and 1877 several English candidates 
 took this pledge and were returned to Parliament. 1 
 ' Did the candidates who took the pledge really believe 
 in Home Rule ? ' I asked X. ' Not at all,' he said ; ' they 
 took it to get the Irish vote. The first man who took 
 it was Jacob Bright. They wired to him from the 
 central Liberal offices in London not to take it, and he 
 refused at first. But we held him firm ; " the pledge 
 or no Irish vote," we said. Then we went to the Tory, 
 Powell, and he took it right off. The Liberals were in 
 a devil of a fix ; but Jacob turned round and took 
 the pledge too. Then we were in a fix, because as the 
 Tory promised first we ought to have supported him ; 
 but the Irish preferred the Liberals, and they particu- 
 larly liked Jacob Bright. Butt came and made a 
 speech. He said that as both candidates had taken 
 the pledge, the Irish might go for whichever they 
 pleased. They voted for Jacob and put him in. Jacob 
 was a good fellow, and would just as soon take the 
 pledge as not, though of course he wouldn't take it if 
 it wouldn't get him in. That's all that most of them 
 thought about getting in. Wilfrid Lawson and 
 Joe Cowen were exceptions. We had practically no- 
 influence in Lawson's constituency (Carlisle), but he 
 went Home Rule all the same. He believed in it. We 
 had influence in Cowen's constituency (Newcastle), but 
 it was not our influence that weighed with Cowen. 
 He would have voted for Home Rule anyway. He 
 was thoroughly Irish in feeling. There was another 
 respectable man who took the pledge Joseph Kay, of 
 Salford. He took the pledge at the by-election at 
 
 1 In 1877 the following were the English Home Rulers in the House 
 of Commons : Barran (Leeds), Jacob Bright (Manchester), Gourley 
 (Sunderland), Hibbert (Oldham), Sir W. Lawson (Carlisle), Macdpnald 
 (Stafford), R. N. Philips (Bury), Cowen (Newcastle).
 
 _Ei. 31] SALFORD ELECTION 125 
 
 Salford in April 1877. Of course we meant Home 
 Kule by the pledge. It was the thin edge of the 
 wedge. It was as far as we could then go. But I 
 don't know that Kay meant Home Rule. He probably 
 meant exactly what the pledge said, an inquiry.' 
 
 Joseph Kay, Q.C., was the author of two remarkable 
 books, ' Education of the Poor in England and 
 Europe/ published in 1846, and ' Social Condition and 
 Education in England and Europe,' published in 1850. 
 In the latter work Mr. Kay showed a keen appreciation 
 of the evils produced by the Irish system of land tenure. 
 In fact he was an advanced reformer on all subjects, 
 and felt a deep sympathy for Ireland and the Irish. 
 He married, in 1863, the eldest daughter of Thomas 
 Drummond, whose administration of Ireland during 
 the Melbourne Government (1835-40) has given him 
 an abiding place in the affections of the people. As 
 X. said, Kay was in favour of an ' inquiry ' pure and 
 simple ; he \vished to see what would come of it. He 
 was not sure that it would lead to Home Rule ; but he 
 did think that it might lead to an examination and 
 a removal of Irish grievances which might obviate the 
 necessity of Home Eule. However, his supporters in 
 Salford and in London thought chiefly of the Irish 
 vote. With them the question was to get the Liberal 
 candidate in. 
 
 Some extracts from letters written by influential 
 Liberals at the time anent the Salford election will 
 make this very clear. Thus, one writes from the 
 House of Commons on April 4 : ' I have had a con- 
 versation this evening about the Home Rulers. It is 
 most essential that the promise to vote for Mr. Butt's 
 motion should be given cheerfully [by Mr. Kay] and at 
 once, as both Mr. Butt and Lord Francis Cunningham
 
 126 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 assure me that such a promise will secure the cordial 
 and thorough support of the Irish voters, and without 
 such promise, whatever else is said, many will abstain, 
 and may possibly, under Bishop Vaughan's influence, 
 go to the other side.' 
 
 Another Liberal wrote, on April G : 
 
 'I have had a long talk with S and J 
 
 to-day. They are both against any promise to the 
 Irish faction, but I feel a promise will be necessary if 
 
 you are to win.' Ultimately S and J agreed 
 
 that it was ' necessary ' for Kay to make the ' promise,' 
 in order ' to win.' 
 
 J himself wrote, oddly enough, on this very 
 
 6th of April, saying : ' I understand that the Irish 
 vote is so large that it would be necessary for the 
 Liberal candidate to support Mr. Butt's motion for an 
 inquiry on the subject of Home Rule. Of course I do 
 not know Mr. Kay's views, but I have no doubt that 
 this difficulty can be overcome.' 
 
 On April 12 another Liberal wrote : ' I think Mr. 
 Kay should go in for the inquiry into Home Rule. I 
 got that up with Mr. Butt at the Manchester election, 
 and the Tory, Mr. Powell, swallowed it. If it will get 
 the Catholic vote I think Mr. Kay should swallow it 
 too. It means nothing, and I got it up with Mr. Butt 
 for that very reason.' 
 
 Mr. Kay did promise to vote for an inquiry, with 
 the approbation of the party managers. But he lost 
 the election. Then the Liberals were, forsooth, 
 scandalised, and ascribed his defeat to ' Home Rule 
 crotchets.' ' London and other newspapers at a dis- 
 tance,' wrote a Salford Liberal, ' may attribute the 
 defeat to the concession to Home Rule. . . . How is 
 it that this burning zeal for putting down Home Rule
 
 .Ex. 31] PAEXELL AND X. 127 
 
 crotchets on the part of Liberal newspapers did not 
 manifest itself when a Liberal Home Ruler was 
 elected for Manchester ? Verily nothing succeeds like 
 success.' 
 
 ' Kay lost the seat,' says X., ' by a small majority, 
 and then there was a great howl among the Liberals 
 against Home Rule. They never howled when Liberals 
 got in on the Home Rule ticket ; but the moment 
 
 they lost, then it was the " d d Irish." But we 
 
 stuck to our guns. When Waddy stood for Sheffield 
 some time later we made him take the pledge, and put 
 him in. Then there was no howl against the Irish. 
 We showed them our power. We had to be conciliated, 
 and the only way to conciliate us the only way to get 
 the Irish vote was to take the Home Rule pledge. 
 That was the root of the matter.' 
 
 In 1877 the Home Rule Confederation of Great 
 Britain was, then, a formidable body, and to it Parnell 
 came when his struggle with Butt had reached a crisis. 
 X. and the Fenians within the Confederation, 
 though warmly attached to Butt, were thoroughly out 
 of sympathy with his conciliatory tactics. They 
 believed not in soft words, but in hard blows. I have 
 already said that the Irishman who carries out a 
 fighting policy against England in any shape or form 
 is bound to command the sympathy of the rank and file 
 of the Fenian organisation. 
 
 Throughout 1877 X. saw Parnell frequently in 
 London. Parnell said that in order to keep up the fight 
 in Parliament he should be supported in the country. 
 ' You must get me a platform,' he said to X. in the 
 summer of 1877. ' You must organise meetings in 
 England. I must show that I have something at 
 my back. A few men in the House of Commons
 
 128 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 cannot carry on the struggle alone. We must have 
 encouragement outside.' X. organised the meetings. 
 ' In a very short time,' he said, ' I organised thirteen 
 meetings. I came to the House of Commons and told 
 Parnell. I expected to find him very much pleased. 
 But suddenly he looked quite melancholy. " Oh," 
 said he, "that will never do." "What will never 
 do ? " said I. " Thirteen meetings," said he, with a most 
 lugubrious look ; " you will have to knock one off or put 
 on one. Don't you know thirteen is a most unlucky 
 number ? " 
 
 On May 29 Parnell addressed what was practically 
 a Fenian gathering at Glasgow. Speaking on obstruc- 
 tion he said : 
 
 ' I am satisfied to abide by the decision of the Irish 
 people. Are they for peace, and conciliation, or for 
 hostility and war? (Cries of "War.") Are you for 
 making things convenient for England, and for ad- 
 vancing English interests ? If so I will bow to your 
 decision, but my constituents will have to get someone 
 else to represent them.' 
 
 On July 2 he was in his place in Parliament, again 
 carrying on the war with renewed vigour. The second of 
 July was a famous night in the obstruction campaign. 
 The House was in Committee of Supply. About mid- 
 night Mr. O'Connor Power moved to report progress. 
 ' He declined to vote away the public money at such a 
 late hour.' This was not quite the mode of obstruction 
 Parnell favoured. It was too transparent, and gave no 
 opportunity of amending some particular measure so as 
 to show useful results if the charge of obstruction were 
 made. Nevertheless, he stood by his colleague. The 
 motion was defeated by 128 votes to 8. But the fight 
 was kept up. Mr. O'Donnell next moved 'that the
 
 /Ex. 31] SPEECH AT MANCHESTER 129 
 
 chairman do now leave the chair.' This motion was 
 defeated by 127 to 6. Then Major O'Gorman came to 
 the front amid ' strong expressions of disapprobation,' 
 and moved to 'report progress,' and so the battle went on. 
 Obstructive motion succeeded obstructive motion, until 
 the House was thrown into a fever of excitement and 
 anger. At three o'clock in the morning, when the 
 obstructives were reduced to five, Parnell, with cha- 
 racteristic coolness, asked the Chancellor of the Exche- 
 quer what he wanted. ' Does the right hon. gentleman 
 want a victory over five Irishmen? What is the 
 principle for which he is contending ? ' 
 
 The Chancellor of the Exchequer answered : ' That 
 a small minority shall give way to a large majority.' 
 
 But Mr. O'Connor Power, who led the fight, would 
 not give way, and the struggle continued. At half-past 
 three Mr. Whalley protested that the business of the 
 House ought to be carried on 'in the light of day.' 
 The House was weary and angry ; but the unconscious 
 humour of this appeal was too much. It was a brilliant 
 July morning, and the ' light of day ' was streaming in 
 through the open windows. The House roared, and 
 Whalley succumbed. Mr. O'Donnell rose nearly an 
 hour later to protest once more ' against the shame of 
 this midnight legislation.' The House, however, sat 
 on steadily voting down the irrepressible five, who kept 
 alternately moving that ' the chairman do report pro- 
 gress ' and that ' the chairman do now leave the chair ' 
 until 7 A.M., when the Government threw up the sponge 
 and left the obstructives triumphant. 
 
 On July 15 Parnell addressed a great meeting at 
 Manchester, one of X.'s thirteen, or rather fourteen 
 meetings. He said : ' For my part, I must tell you that 
 I do not believe in a policy of conciliation of English 
 
 VOL. I. K
 
 130 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 feeling or English prejudices. I believe that you may 
 go on trying to conciliate English prejudice until 
 the day of judgment, and that you will not get the 
 breadth of my nail from them. What did we ever get 
 in the past by trying to conciliate them ? ' 
 
 A Voice. ' Nothing except the sword.' (Applause.) 
 Parnell. ' Did we get the abolition of tithes by the 
 conciliation of our English taskmasters ? No ; it was 
 because we adopted different measures. (Applause.) 
 Did O'Connell gain emancipation for Ireland by concilia- 
 tion? (Cries of "No.") I rather think that O'Connell 
 in his time was not of a very conciliatory disposition, 
 and that at least during a part of his career he was about 
 the best-abused Irishman living. (Laughter and loud 
 applause.) Catholic emancipation was gained because 
 an English king and his Minister feared revolution. 
 (Applause.) Why was the English Church in Ireland 
 disestablished and disendowed ? Why was some mea- 
 sure of protection given to the Irish tenant ? It was 
 because there was an explosion at Clerkenwell and 
 because a lock was shot off a prison van at Manchester. 
 (Great applause.) We will never gain anything from 
 England unless we tread upon her toes ; we will never 
 gain a single sixpenny worth from her by conciliation.' 
 (Great cheering.) 
 
 On July 25 there was another encounter between 
 the Irishmen and the Government. The South Africa 
 Bill the Bill for the annexation of the Transvaal 
 was in committee. It was opposed, not only by Parnell 
 and his little band, but by some British members as 
 well, notably by Mr. Courtney and Mr. Jenkins. On 
 this particular night Mr. Jenkins and ' other hon. 
 members ' were charged by Mr. Monk with ' abusing 
 the forms of the House.' Mr. Jenkins individually
 
 -Ex. 31] THWARTING THE GOVERNMENT 131 
 
 repudiated the imputation, and moved that Mr. Monk's 
 words 'be taken down.' 
 
 Parnell. ' I second that motion. I think the 
 limits of forbearance have been passed in regard to 
 the language which hon. members opposite have 
 thought proper to address to me and to those who 
 act with me.' Here the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
 somewhat precipitately pounced on Mr. Parnell, and 
 moved that his words ' be taken down.' The House 
 expected Parnell to withdraw or explain. He would 
 do neither. On the contrary, he delivered, amidst con- 
 stant interruption, a series of short, cutting speeches 
 which irritated the House, and expressed his own utter 
 contempt of the whole proceedings. Sir Stafford North- 
 cote watched him carefully to see if, under the excite- 
 ment of the moment, he might slip into some incautious 
 phrase which would - deliver him into the hands of 
 his enemies. At last the moment for which the 
 Chancellor had anxiously watched arrived. Parnell, 
 concluding his remarks with apparent warmth and 
 raising his voice almost to a shriek, while the assembly, 
 wild with passion, surged around him, said : ' As it 
 was with Ireland, so it was with the South African 
 Colonies ; yet Irish members were asked to assist the 
 Government in carrying out their selfish and inconside- 
 rate policy. Therefore, as an Irishman, coming from a 
 country that had experienced to its fullest extent the 
 results of English interference in its affairs and the 
 consequences of English cruelty and tyranny, I feel a 
 special satisfaction in preventing and thwarting the 
 intentions of the Government in respect of this Bill.' 
 
 There was a roar of indignation from all parts of 
 the House as the member for Meath resumed his seat. 
 Sir Stafford at once arose, amid a salvo of cheers,
 
 ]32 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 which were repeated again and again as he moved 
 ' that the words of the hon. member be taken down.' 
 The Speaker was sent for. Parnell's words were 
 taken down : ' I feel a special satisfaction in pre- 
 venting and thwarting the intentions of the Govern- 
 ment.' The wily rebel had at length been caught 
 napping, his coolness had for once deserted him. 
 So thought the House, as Sir Stafford moved, amid 
 general applause : ' That the hon. member for Meath 
 be suspended from his functions of speaking and 
 taking part in the debates of the House until 
 Friday next.' The Speaker at once called on 
 Parnell to ' explain.' Parnell rose, and in his iciest 
 manner said that his words had been accurately taken 
 down ; though he rather thought that he had used the 
 word ' interest ' instead of ' satisfaction.' He regretted 
 that the whole of his speech was not taken down, as he 
 wished to emphasise his condemnation of the Govern- 
 ment policy. ' I need not refer to history to support 
 the accusation that successive Governments of this 
 country have always treated those whom they thought 
 they could bully and oppress without reference to their 
 interest.' 
 
 This was not ' explanation,' it was ' defiance,' and 
 the Speaker called Parnell to order. Parnell's whole 
 answer was that he condemned the policy of the 
 Government, and would persevere in his efforts to 
 thwart it. He then withdrew, and taking up a position 
 in the gallery looked down on the scene below. He 
 soon witnessed the complete discomfiture of the Chan- 
 cellor of the Exchequer and his own absolute triumph. 
 It was the Chancellor, not Parnell, who had been 
 carried away by the excitement of the moment. Parnell 
 had said that he would 'thwart,' not the business of
 
 .Ex. 31] NEW RULES 133 
 
 the House of Commons (which was the meaning attached 
 to his words in the general confusion), but the inten- 
 tions of the Government a very different thing. 
 
 Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen, who had not a particle 
 of sympathy with Parnell, put the case clearly before 
 the House after Parnell had withdrawn. ' I am sure/ 
 said he, ' that the Chancellor of the Exchequer would 
 not contend that the member for Meath should be 
 punished because he wished to thwart the intentions 
 of the Government.' ' Certainly not,' said Sir Stafford 
 with emphasis. The House soon saw the situation. 
 Sir Stafford had blundered. Mr. Gathorne-Hardy rose 
 immediately to move that the ' debate (on the motion 
 to suspend Parnell) be adjourned until Friday.' l The 
 motion was carried, and Parnell, escorted by Biggar, 
 returned to the House, and resumed his speech on the 
 South African Bill just at the point where he had been 
 interrupted, as if nothing unusual had occurred. 
 
 On Friday, July 27, Sir Stafford Xorthcote proposed 
 two new rules for dealing with obstruction, the effect 
 of which was (1) that a member twice declared out of 
 order might be suspended ; (2) that the motion ' to 
 report progress,' and kindred motions, could only be 
 moved once by the same member in the same debate. 
 Parnell offered no serious opposition to these rules. 
 He knew it would be useless. But he made a short 
 speech in defence of his own conduct, which may be 
 taken as a fair specimen of his concentrated style of 
 argument and general mode of repelling obstructive 
 accusations. 
 
 ' I suppose every newspaper in England contained 
 charges of obstruction against me on account of my 
 action on the Prisons Bill. But what was the result 
 1 The debate was never resumed.
 
 134 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 of my action ? Why, it was that more of the clauses 
 of the present Bill have been proposed and carried by 
 me than by all the Conservative members put together. 
 Those clauses were admittedly useful and good ones ; 
 and I was told afterwards that if I confined myself to 
 moving such amendments or to discussing measures, 
 in that way, instead of obstructing them, I would be 
 filling a good and useful part in the House. Then 
 came the discussions on the Mutiny Bill. I ventured 
 to propose some amendments in those time-honoured 
 institutions, which I suppose have not been interfered 
 with for a quarter of a century, and again I was told I 
 was obstructing. I moved some amendments in com- 
 mittee, but, owing to the paucity of attendance, I did 
 not get many members to support them not more 
 than 40 or 50. There was also the disadvantage that 
 they had been prepared hastily, and that I had not had 
 time to get them on paper. I determined therefore to 
 move them again on report. This also was obstruction. 
 What right had an Irish member to move amendments 
 on report which had already been rejected? Again 
 I was justified by the results ; for I was supported by 
 140 or 150 members, including the whole of the front 
 Opposition bench, and including gentlemen who had 
 since been loud in charging me with obstruction.' 
 
 Four days after the adoption of the new rules ob- 
 struction was carried to an extent hitherto unparalleled 
 in the history of the House of Commons. On Tuesday, 
 July 31, the House was again in committee on the 
 South African Bill. The Government wished to push 
 the measure through the committee stage that night. 
 The Irishmen were determined to prevent them. About 
 5 P.M. Mr. O'Donnell began operations by moving ' to 
 report progress.' Parnell supported the motion, saying
 
 JET. 31] SOUTH AFRICAN BILL 135 
 
 that there was much information that the House yet 
 needed on the whole question, and protesting against 
 rash legislation. Sir William Harcourt quickly joined 
 in the fray, interrupting Parnell, charging him with 
 deliberate obstruction, and appealing to the House to 
 put down the small minority who sought to destroy its 
 utility. When Sir William sat down, Parnell said, in 
 the most unruffled manner, ' Sir, I will now continue 
 my observations.' He was greeted with a perfect storm 
 of yells from every part of the House. He paused, 
 w r aited patiently until there was a lull, and then went 
 on with his remarks. The chairman called him to 
 order, but still he persevered with excellent temper and 
 great courtesy, complimenting the chairman on the 
 fairness of his ruling, but nevertheless showing no 
 intention of giving way. Finally the motion ' to 
 report progress ' was withdrawn. But other obstructive 
 motions rapidly followed, and the House was soon 
 thrown into a ferment of disorder. At one stage of 
 the proceedings the din was so great that Parnell, 
 finding it impossible to command the attention of the 
 chairman, walked very coolly from his place below the 
 gangway to the table, and there, amid a lull caused by 
 his supreme audacity, resumed his observations. 
 
 Upon another occasion he warned hon. members 
 that they were wasting the time of the House in 
 entering into personal quarrels, instead of sticking to 
 the Bill. ' As for the threats of physical endurance 
 held out to me, I can assure the House if hon. members 
 divide themselves into relays, my friends * and I can- 
 divide ourselves into relays too.' 
 
 At three o'clock in the morning Butt burst in upon 
 
 1 Parnell's force ' all told ' numbered five men Biggar, O'Donnell, 
 O'Connor Power, Kirk, and Parnell.
 
 136 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 the scene, denounced the obstructives, and then dis- 
 appeared. But the fight went on. At 7 A.M. the 
 Chancellor of the Exchequer asked the minority to 
 yield. ' They were suffering considerable physical in- 
 convenience,' he said, and he recognised the gallantry 
 with which the struggle had been carried on. But 
 Parnell would not yield. ' The Government are 
 bringing up reserve forces,' he said, ' the first mail- 
 boat will bring them from Ireland ; and even in 
 London the member for Cavan (Biggar), though now 
 peacefully asleep, will soon return like a giant re- 
 freshed.' At 7.40 A.M. Biggar re-appeared and informed 
 the House that he had had ' a long sleep and a good 
 breakfast,' and was ready to carry on the fight a 
 -entrance. Parnell retired at 8 A.M., but was back again 
 at twelve noon, Mr. O'Donnell, Mr. Kirk, Captain 
 Nolan, Mr. Gray, and Biggar, having meanwhile 
 kept the obstructive flag flying. At twelve Parnell 
 pressed the Government to allow progress to be 
 reported ; but the Government refused. The fight 
 then went on for two hours longer, when at 2 P.M. 
 the Bill was passed through committee and the House 
 adjourned, having sat continuously for twenty-six 
 hours. Through that long sitting there was one 
 occupant of the Ladies' Gallery who never deserted 
 her post Miss Fanny Parnell. 
 
 Parnell was now one of the most universally 
 detested men in England. In Ireland and among 
 the Irish in Great Britain he was a hero. He had 
 flouted the House of Commons, he had harassed the 
 Government, he had defied English public opinion. 
 These were his claims to Irish popularity. ' The 
 Fenians,' said X., ' did not wish public attention 
 to be fixed on Parliament. But Parnell fixed it on
 
 .Ex. 31] CAUTION AND RESERVE 137 
 
 Parliament by fixing it on himself. Yet many of our 
 people thought that he was simply wasting his time. 
 He was a man of energy and resource, that was clear. 
 But were not his powers lost in Parliament ? Could 
 not his abilities be turned to infinitely better account 
 in the Fenian organisation ? So many of our people 
 thought. And in fact I was, about this time, deputed 
 to ask Parnell to join us. I did ask him. He said 
 " No " without a moment's hesitation. He had the 
 fullest sympathy with us. He wished our organisation 
 to remain intact. He had no desire to interfere with 
 us in any way. But he said we ought not to interfere 
 with him. He felt that he could turn the parlia- 
 mentary machine to good account. He had no doubt 
 on the point. He was not disposed to argue the 
 question. All he would say was that he saw his way 
 quite clear. " Have patience with me," he said ; " give 
 me a trial for three or four years. Then, if I cannot do 
 anything, I will step aside. But give me a trial and 
 have patience with me ! " That was a favourite phrase 
 of his, " have patience." 
 
 ' What was it about Parnell that struck you most ? ' 
 X. ' His silence. It was extraordinary. One 
 was not accustomed to it. All Irish agitators talked. 
 He didn't. He listened with wonderful patience. His 
 reserve was a revelation. We used to say : "If ever 
 there was a man for a secret society, this is the man 
 he can hold his tongue ! " But I could never discover 
 that Parnell had the least notion at any time of joining 
 us. That was just what was so remarkable about him. 
 He never led any of us to believe that he would become 
 a Fenian, and nevertheless he gained a complete ascen- 
 dency over us. Why he gained this ascendency nobody 
 could very well tell, but that he gained it everyone felt.
 
 138 CHARLES STEAVART PARXELL [1877 
 
 Then he was delightful to do business with : so quick, 
 so ready, so clear-headed, and never in doubt about 
 anything which ought to be done. He was a great 
 man of action.' 
 
 ' Was he at this time pleasant, genial, sociable ? ' 
 X. ' Pleasant, certainly, but genial, sociable 
 scarcely. All the pleasure was in doing business with 
 him. He was always at his best when dealing with 
 practical questions. In general conversation he drooped. 
 I think he hated talking. However, I have seen 
 Parnell " at play." One evening coming from the 
 House of Commons, in April 1877, 1 said : " Mr. Parnell, 
 do you ever go to places of amusement? " " Oh, yes, 
 sometimes," he said; "would you like to go to any 
 place now? " I said, " Yes; let us go to the theatre." 
 " Oh, no," said he, " let us go and see Dan O'Leary 
 walk." ' And we went to the Agricultural Hall to see 
 the walking match between O'Leary and Weston. 
 Parnell took a keen interest in the match, but the 
 interest was centred entirely in O'Leary. O'Leary 
 won and Parnell was highly pleased. The band struck 
 up " God save the Queen " as soon as the match was 
 over. " What nonsense ! " said Parnell, " why, it ought 
 to be ' God save Ireland ' in honour of Dan O'Leary 
 the man who won. Make them play ' God save 
 Ireland.' ' I said that was impossible ; that it was 
 the custom of the country to play " God save the 
 Queen " at the end of these entertainments. " Oh, 
 nonsense ! " said he, " they must compliment the man 
 who won, that's only fair. Tell them to play ' God 
 save Ireland ' ; explain the reason. Here, give them 
 
 1 Dan O'Leary was a native of Cork and a naturalised citizen of the 
 United States. In April 1877 there was a great walking match between 
 him and Weston (an American), at the Agricultural Hall, Islington, for 
 1000/., or 500Z. aside. The match lasted six days and O'Leary won.
 
 3&. 31] '.AT PLAY ' 139 
 
 these two sovereigns." Well, I laughed at the notion; 
 but he was so earnest that I went off to the band. 
 The bandmaster was a German. I did not ask him 
 to play " God save Ireland," for I knew he would not 
 understand it. But I asked him to play " Tramp, 
 tramp, tramp, the boys are marching," which is the 
 same tune. He said : " Oh, now we have played ' God 
 save the Queen ' it is all over." I explained to him that 
 " Tramp, tramp, tramp, the boys are marching " was 
 very appropriate, and that O'Leary, w T ho had won, was 
 anxious to hear it. The German smiled at this, and 
 seemed to think there was something in it. At the 
 same time I slipped four sovereigns into his hand (two 
 from myself as well as Parnell's two), and the band 
 immediately struck up " Tramp, tramp," &c., to the 
 delight of Parnell and to the bewilderment of everybody 
 else. I remember Sir John Astley was there, and he 
 was very vexed.' 
 
 ' Had Parnell any sense of humour ? ' 
 
 X. ' Oh, yes, he had, but it was very peculiar. 
 He would never laugh at the ordinary good story. In 
 fact, you never could tell what would exactly amuse 
 him. Certain things used to tickle him very much, 
 though other people used not to see much fun in them. 
 For instance, John Barry and Garrett Byrne, two of 
 the stoutest men of the Irish party, were "paid off" 
 on one occasion to " schedule " the distressed districts. 
 Parnell used to smile immoderately at this (he never 
 laughed outright). "Look," he would say, "at the 
 tellers for the distressed districts," and he would enjoy 
 the joke very quietly to himself. His face used quite 
 to beam at the idea when he would see Barry or 
 Byrne, fat and well favoured, walking across the lobby. 
 There was a farmer in County Wicklow named Codd
 
 140 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1877 
 
 Nicholas Codd ; he was popularly called Nicky Codd. 
 He had a dispute with his landlord. He offered the 
 landlord a reduced rent, which the landlord would not 
 accept. An ambassador was sent to Nicky to see if a 
 compromise could be arranged. " But suppose, Mr. 
 Codd," said the ambassador, "that the landlord insists 
 on not accepting your offer, is there not some alterna- 
 tive." " Yes," said Nicky, " there is." The ambassador 
 was satisfied. He thought that they would at length 
 arrive at a modus vivendi. " What is the alternative, 
 Mr. Codd?" said he. "He may go to hell," said 
 Nicky. I told this story to Parnell and it tickled him 
 greatly. Afterwards, whenever he was engaged in 
 negotiations himself, and whenever he made an offer 
 which was refused, he would say, " Very well ; they 
 can take Nicky Codd's alternative." Nicky Codd's 
 alternative became quite a saying of his.' 
 
 Another informant, one of Parnell's obstructive 
 colleagues in the House of Commons, corroborates, 
 more or less, X.'s statement about Parnell's ' social 
 qualities.' This gentleman also said that Parnell was 
 rather ' pleasant than genial, or sociable, though he 
 always had a charm of manner which made him a 
 most agreeable companion. We [the obstructives] used 
 to dine together at Gatti's in the Strand. He certainly 
 did not contribute much to the " fun " of the meeting. 
 He never told a good story, he was not a good con- 
 versationalist in any sense, but he was appreciative 
 and a splendid listener. We all talked around him, 
 and he seemed to enjoy the conversation while taking 
 little part in it. He was only " on the spot " when 
 something had to be done. One evening he and I 
 were walking along Oxford Street (I think) . We passed 
 a music-hall. He looked at the people going in and
 
 /Ex. 31] THE PARLIAMENTARY RECESS 141 
 
 said: "Let us go in to this place," and \ve went in. 
 But he took little interest in the performance. He sat 
 down in a dreamy state and seemed to me to be half 
 asleep most of the time. But an acrobat soon appeared, 
 and Parnell suddenly woke up. He watched this man 
 all the while, then said to me, " Now, why should that 
 man be tumbling about on the stage and I sitting here ? 
 Why shouldn't I be on the stage and he here ? Chance, 
 just that. You see everything is chance." 
 
 ' This seemed to show the democratic strain which 
 ran through the Parnells' character. Aristocratic and 
 autocratic as he was, he couldn't recognise anything 
 but chance in the arrangement of things. The accident 
 of birth was everything.' 
 
 Parliament was prorogued on August 14. No 
 measure of any importance had been passed for Ireland. 
 Another year of failure had been added to the record 
 of the Parliamentarians. 
 
 Land, education, franchise, all questions great and 
 small were left unsettled; while, as for Home Kule, 
 the ' Times ' 1 well expressed English public opinion on 
 the subject in the following contemptuous sentences : 
 
 ' Parliament will not, cannot grant Home Rule. 
 The mere demand for it lies beyond the range of 
 practical discussion. The utmost favour which the 
 House of Commons can show to its advocates is to 
 listen to them with patience and courtesy once a year.' 2 
 England would not legislate for Ireland, nor allow 
 Ireland to legislate for herself ; that was the situation. 
 
 1 Times, April 20, 1877. 
 
 - Butt's annual motion for an inquiry into the nature, extent, and 
 grounds of the demand for Home Rule was rejected in 1877 (April 24) 
 by 417 to 67 votes. The following English members voted for the 
 motion : Barran (Leeds), Jacob Bright (Manchester), Gourley (Sunder- 
 land), Hibbert (Oldham), Lawson (Carlisle), Macdonald (Stafford). 
 Philips (Bury), Cowen (Newcastle).
 
 142 CHARLES STEWART PAIiXELL [1877 
 
 The Irish people were steadily losing faith in parlia- 
 mentary agitation ; but they watched the career of 
 Parnell with interest and curiosity. What would 
 become of him ? Would he remain in Parliament or 
 would he glide into revolution ? That was the question 
 which many men in Ireland asked themselves in 1877. 
 
 On August 25 Parnell and Biggar attended a great 
 meeting at the Rotunda, Dublin. ' About this time,' 
 says one who was present, ' it was a question among 
 advanced men whether Parnell or Biggar would take 
 foremost place. The Rotunda meeting settled it. The 
 gathering was practically got up by the Fenians. 
 Biggar and Parnell both spoke. Biggar made a very 
 long speech and produced no effect. 
 
 'Parnell then came forward. He made a short, 
 quiet speech, badly delivered ; but it produced great 
 effect. We said, talking the matter over afterwards : 
 " Biggar has said all he had to say, but Parnell has 
 barely opened his mind to us ; there is a lot behind." 
 
 Nevertheless, Parnell stated his views with charac- 
 teristic clearness, and in the language best suited to 
 the audience he addressed. ' I care nothing,' he said, 
 ' for this English Parliament and its outcries. I care 
 nothing for its existence, if that existence is to 
 continue a source of tyranny and destruction to my 
 country.' 
 
 On September 1 the most remarkable event which 
 had yet taken place in the life of Parnell occurred. On 
 that day the Home Rule Confederation of Great Britain 
 held their annual meeting at Liverpool. I must again 
 fall back on X. for an account . of what happened : 
 * Butt was at this time our president, but many of our 
 people had lost confidence in him. We all were 
 warmly attached to him ; for he was one of the most
 
 JET. 31] THE OLD POLICY V. THE NEW 143 
 
 genial and affectionate of men. Then he had defended 
 the Fenian prisoners, and had afterwards thrown 
 himself heart and soul into the amnesty movement. 
 But his conciliatory tactics in the House of Commons, 
 his submission to the House of Commons, his deference 
 to English opinion and feeling, made us distrust him ; 
 not his earnestness, not his anxiety to do the best for 
 Ireland, but his power to effect anything. He was 
 courting English opinion, instead of leaning on us. We 
 thought his policy hopeless. We believed all the time 
 that you could get nothing out of England but by 
 fighting her, by showing her we were a power, and 
 that if she did not grant our demands we could and 
 would do her harm. The Irish voters in England had 
 forced English candidates to take the Home Rule 
 pledge. It was not love of us ; it was not belief in 
 Home Kule ; it was simply the knowledge that they 
 could not do without us. Well, Butt was really 
 ignoring all that. He talked in the House of Commons 
 as if he could, by mere reason and eloquence, persuade 
 the English to give a Parliament to Ireland. Why, it 
 was nonsense. Parnell's tactics were very different. 
 He did not believe in talk. He did not waste time in 
 argument. He thought only of one thing (as the 
 Yankees say), twisting the tail of the British lion. 
 That was the true policy. But it was not the policy 
 of Isaac Butt. 
 
 ' Well, as the time for holding the meetings of the 
 Confederation came round I saw r Parnell, and discussed 
 the situation with him. He said to me one night : " I 
 think there must be quite a new departure in our 
 party. We are only at the beginning of an active 
 forward policy ; but it must be pushed to extremes. A 
 few men in the House of Commons can do nothing
 
 144 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 unless they are well supported in the country. Some- 
 thing striking must be done. Your organisation must 
 do something striking. You must show plainly you 
 mean to stand by the active men in the House of 
 Commons." That was all he said, but it was enough. 
 " Something striking must be done." I well remember 
 how he said these words ; what suppressed energy 
 there was in the voice and manner of the man, and 
 what a strange voice. And how the words used to be 
 forced, as if they were too precious to be parted with 
 " Something striking must be done " with outstretched 
 hands and clenched fists, and eyes that went through 
 you all the time. Well, I left Parnell, determined that 
 Butt should be deposed, and that Parnell should become 
 president of the Confederation. That was the most 
 " striking thing " I could think of. It was very painful, 
 I was very fond of Butt. He was himself the kindest- 
 hearted man in the world, and here \vas I going to do 
 the unkindest thing to him. I had brought him into 
 the association, I had made him president, and here 
 was I now going to depose him. But Parnell's words, 
 " Something striking must be done," rang in my ears, 
 and I felt he was right. But it was a sad business all 
 the same. The meeting took place in September. 
 There was a great gathering. Of course the Fenians 
 bossed the show, and they were determined to a man to 
 make Parnell president. Butt was there, Parnell was 
 there, everyone was there. And what a contrast 
 between Butt and Parnell ! Butt w r ith his leonine head, 
 his beaming face, his sparkling eyes, and the merry 
 laugh which used to ring out so cheerily and musically. 
 Parnell, cold and reserved, dignified and almost austere. 
 " My dear fellow, delighted to see you," Butt would 
 say, and he would almost take you into his arms. How
 
 -Ex. 31] A CRISIS 145 
 
 different Parncll's " How do you do, Mr. '?" with 
 
 a handshake which was warm though hard, and a smile 
 which was sweet and gracious; 3-011 felt there was a 
 gulf between you and him. It was different with Butt. 
 You felt he brought himself down to your level. You 
 forgot his genius in his pleasant homely ways. But 
 Parnell never descended. No matter how familiar he 
 might be, he kept the distance always between himself 
 and you. He was always encased in steel. Well, the 
 hour of business came. One of the first items on the 
 agenda was the election of president. Parnell was 
 proposed and seconded, and elected by acclamation. 
 There was no competitor. The whole thing was done 
 in a quiet business-like way, as if it were a mere matter 
 of form. I looked at Butt. There was no mistaking 
 his feelings. He felt the blow keenly. He rose, after 
 a little time, and said that he was obliged to go to 
 Dublin on urgent matters of business, and hoped that 
 the meeting would excuse his absence. He then 
 retired. I followed him from the hall. There was no 
 blinking the fact he was greatly pained by what had 
 happened. I determined to tell him frankly the reason 
 why we had chosen Parnell that we wanted an ad- 
 vanced policy, and that Parnell was the man to carry 
 it out. I came up with Butt near the door. " Mr. 
 Butt," I said, "I am very sorry for what has happened, 
 but it could not be helped." He turned round; his 
 eyes were filled with tears, as he said in the most 
 touching way, " Ah ! I never thought the Irish in 
 England would do this to me." Well, my voice stuck 
 in my throat. I couldn't say anything. Butt took my 
 hand in both his, pressed it, and rushed off. There 
 was not a bit of malice in the man. He was full of 
 sorrow, but I do not think he was angry with anyone. 
 VOL. I. L
 
 146 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 I went back to the meeting. Parnell was there, look- 
 ing like a bit of granite. But no one could help 
 thinking he was the man to fight the English ; he was 
 so like themselves, cool, callous, inexorable, always 
 going straight to the point, and not caring much how 
 he got there, so long as he did get there. There was 
 one thing about Parnell on which the Fenians believed 
 they could rely, his hatred of England. They felt that 
 that would last for ever.' 
 
 The election of Parnell as president of the Home 
 Rule Confederation of Great Britain was the turning- 
 point in his career. The Irish in England and Scotland 
 had practically passed a vote of censure on Butt, had 
 practically endorsed the policy of Parnell. ' The Irish 
 in Great Britain,' Parnell said to X., 'must take the lead. 
 It is easier for the advanced men to push forward 
 here than in Ireland. Ireland will follow.' 
 
 ' How did he come to rely on the Fenians ? How 
 did he know anything about them ? ' 
 
 X. 'How did he know anything? By instinct. 
 He knew nothing of the details of Fenianism. He 
 hated details all details. But he knew that Fenians 
 were men who had run risks, and were ready to run 
 risks again. 
 
 ' A Constitutionalist was a man who was ready to 
 go into Parliament for Ireland. A Fenian was a man 
 who was ready to go into penal servitude for Ireland. 
 Parnell grasped that fact. He felt the Fenians were 
 the men to drive the ship, but he wanted to steer her 
 himself. That was about the state of the case. Of 
 course many of the Fenian leaders did not want to 
 drive the ship for Parnell, but the rank and file of the 
 Fenians did. They believed that Parnell would not 
 steer the ship into an English port, and that he would
 
 .KT. 31] A SIGNIFICANT INCIDENT 147 
 
 steer her into an Irish port, and perhaps a port not far 
 from the one of their choice.' 
 
 The following incident, related to me by an official 
 of the Home Kule Confederation of Great Britain, shows 
 how from the beginning Parnell kept in touch with the 
 advanced men. ' The first time I saw Parnell was 
 in 1875 the time of the O'Connell centenary. The 
 members of the Confederation resolved to attend the 
 Dublin demonstration in honour of O'Connell. We 
 came in great force from Liverpool, Manchester, and 
 other northern towns. On arriving in Dublin, I was 
 deputed to call on the Dublin organisers and to arrange 
 for the place which our men should take up in the pro- 
 cession. I waited on a gentleman whose name I now 
 forget. He met me very bluntly and said, " Oh, we are 
 not going to give a place in the procession to Fenians." 
 I replied : " We are not Fenians. We represent the 
 Home Kule Confederation of Great Britain, and surely 
 we ought to have a place." But he w r ould not give way. 
 Of course there were Fenians amongst us, and there were 
 a good many Fenian sympathisers ; we appreciated 
 the earnestness and grit of the Fenians, and we 
 sympathised with the men who had suffered for Ire- 
 land. But the majority of the men who came from 
 England were not, so far as I know, sworn Fenians. 
 I came back and told our people what had happened, 
 how we had been refused a place in the procession. 
 " Oh ! " said they, " very well ; if they do not give us a 
 place, we will take one ourselves." Accordingly, when 
 the day came we formed in order with our cars and 
 banners, and took up a position in advance of every- 
 body else in fact, we headed the procession and 
 marched forward. Some of the Dublin organisers 
 were much annoyed, and very foolishly told the coal- 
 
 L 2
 
 148 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 porters to dislodge us. The coal-porters generally had 
 the place of honour in these processions since O'Connell's 
 time. In fact they used to be called " O'Connell's 
 bodyguard." Well, so far as we were concerned we 
 did not want a front place ; we dropped into the place 
 as much by accident as anything else. The coal- 
 porters came forward in great numbers. When they 
 saw us with our banners flying, " Liverpool Home 
 Rule Branch," " Manchester Home Rule Branch," 
 and so forth, and at the head of all an amnesty car 
 with the words "Freedom for the Political Prisoners," 
 they simply cheered us and fell in, in the rear. 
 Then P. J. Smyth as a protest, I suppose, against 
 our insubordination swooped down on us with a 
 number of men, and cut the traces of the amnesty car, 
 and drove off the horses. Then I saw Parnell for the 
 first time. He dashed to the front with a number 
 of others O'Connor Power was there and a lot 
 more and they seized the traces and dragged the car 
 forward themselves, while we all cheered heartily. 
 We then got to the place in Sackville Street where 
 the centenary address was to be delivered. Lord 
 O'Hagan had written the address. But we objected 
 to his reading it. We said O'Hagan was a Whig, 
 and the proper person to address us was Butt, the 
 Home Rule leader. Butt could not be found, where- 
 upon [X.] went off and discovered Butt at the Imperial 
 Hotel, brought him along at once, and then he 
 addressed us from the platform. So altogether the 
 Irish in England asserted themselves pretty firmly. 
 But we had plenty of sympathisers in Dublin. The 
 Dublin Fenians and the Fenians from the country 
 of course stuck by our Fenians. Afterwards we 
 adjourned to the Imperial Hotel, where we all talked
 
 Mit. 31] RECESS SPEECHES 149 
 
 over the day's doings. Parnell was at the Imperial 
 Hotel too, but he did not talk. Everybody talked but 
 him. He seemed to be a shy, diffident, gentlemanly 
 young fellow. Looking at him in the room at the 
 Imperial you would never think that he would have 
 flung himself into the work at the amnesty car as 
 he did.' 
 
 During September Parnell addressed several meet- 
 ings in Great Britain and Ireland, dealing chiefly with 
 the question of obstruction. In these speeches he never 
 failed to impress on his hearers the necessity for 
 parliamentary action vigorous parliamentary action. 
 He never hesitated to tell the Fenians that there must 
 be parliamentary agitation. He never hesitated to 
 tell the Constitutionalists that outside Parliament 
 there must be forces to co-operate with the men 
 within. ' The followers of Mr. Butt,' he said at Burs- 
 lem in Staffordshire on September 8, ' say we must 
 behave as the English members behave ; in fact, we 
 must be Englishmen. We must go into English 
 society and make ourselves agreeable, and not cause a 
 ruffle on the smooth sea of parliamentary life, lest we 
 forget our position as gentlemen and as members of 
 the British House of Commons. Mr. Biggar and 
 myself, however, think that that is a wrong view to 
 take, and that it is better for us always to remember 
 that we are Irish representatives.' At Kilmallock, on 
 September 17, he sounded another note : ' We none of 
 us can do any good unless the Irish people stand 
 behind us ; but if the people stand behind us I care 
 nothing for the threats of the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer these funny old womanish threats ; I care 
 not for the threats of any Englishman. We shall 
 show them that with the Irish people at our backs we
 
 150 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1877 
 
 shall meet their threats with deeds.' At Greenock, on 
 September 22, where the Fenians were in force, he 
 declared : ' We must carry out a vigorous and energetic 
 policy in the House of Commons. If that be done, 
 then I believe we have a power in Parliament of which 
 few men have any notion.' Addressing a meeting of 
 his own constituents, where Fenians were not strongly 
 represented, on September 24, he said : ' I think that 
 opposition to English rule is best which is most felt. 
 . . . O'Connell gained Catholic emancipation outside 
 the House of Commons. . . . No amount of eloquence 
 could achieve what the fear of an impending insurrection, 
 what the Clerkenwell explosion and the shot into the 
 police van, had achieved.' 
 
 In October there was a conference of Irish members 
 in the City Hall, Dublin. Here Butt denounced ob- 
 struction with impassioned eloquence, and singled out 
 Parnell for special animadversion. 
 
 Parnell replied briefly and quietly. He said he did 
 not care whether his policy was called a policy of 
 obstruction or not. There was no value in a name ; it 
 was a policy of energy and earnestness, and that was 
 what the Irish people wanted. Mr. O'Connor Power 
 and Mr. A. M. Sullivan, two eloquent speakers, de- 
 fended the ' forward ' policy at greater length. Indeed, 
 Parnell left the talking to them. 
 
 Parnell now felt he had many of the rank and file of 
 the Fenians at his back, and he believed that the future 
 was with them. Butt's policy of conciliation only 
 helped to estrange Fenian sympathisers and to under- 
 mine the influence of the Home Rule leader. 
 
 In December an event fraught with important 
 results in the development of Parnell's relations with 
 the Fenians occurred. Michael Davitt, a Fenian
 
 -Ex. 31] MICHAEL DAVITT 151 
 
 convict, was released from Dartmoor Prison. Davitt 
 was born near Straide, in the County Mayo, in 1846. 
 When he was quite a child his parents emigrated to 
 England, settling at Haslingden, near Manchester. 
 There Davitt grew up. He attended a Wesleyan 
 school in the town, entered a factory (where he lost 
 his right arm, which was caught accidentally in 
 the machinery), became in turn an assistant letter- 
 carrier, a bookkeeper in the post office, a commercial 
 traveller, and finally joined the Fenian organisation in 
 1870. He was tried at Newgate for treason-felony, 
 found guilty, and sentenced to fifteen years' penal servi- 
 tude. Seven years and seven months of this sentence 
 he endured. He was then, on December 19, 1877, 
 released on ticket-of-leave. 1 He immediately rejoined 
 the organisation, and ultimately became a member of 
 
 1 Davitt had been engaged in collecting arms, and some 14,000 
 rounds of revolver cartridges and 400 Snider rifles were traced to him. 
 Apropos of Davitt' s release, the official of the Home Rule Con- 
 federation whom I have already quoted told me the following incident : 
 ' There was a local Home Eule association called the " Westminster Home 
 Rule Union." It was an association for the " respectable " members of the 
 organisation who did not like to rub shoulders with Fenians and Fenian 
 sympathisers. Of course, at the central office we were glad of the asso- 
 ciation ; every association in league with us helped. One night 
 I was at a meeting of the Westminster Union. Suddenly a Fenian 
 
 named C popped in his head rather mysteriously, and popped it out 
 
 again without saying anything. He returned in about ten minutes, and 
 brought in a dark, delicate-looking young fellow of about thirty with 
 him. "Here," he said, without any ceremony, "is Michael Davitt, who 
 has just been released from Dartmoor." Well, the " respectables " were 
 in a fix. They couldn't turn Davitt out, so they asked him to sit 
 down. He and C - stopped for about twenty minutes, and then 
 went away. When they were gone some of the members of the Union 
 
 said : " What the devil does that fellow C mean by coming in here 
 
 and bringing this Davitt with him ? " I said : " You need not turn up 
 your nose at a man who has suffered seven years' penal servitude for 
 Ireland whether you agree with him or not." They simply sneered. 
 However, before many weeks these gentlemen were on the same platform 
 with Davitt, and were loud in their praises of the man who had " suffered 
 for Ireland." You see that is the way Fenianism colours our political 
 movements and influences the most constitutional of us.'
 
 152 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878- 
 
 the supreme council. Tliree other Fenians were re- 
 leased about the same time as Davitt Sergeant 
 McCarthy, Corporal Chambers, and John P. O'Brien. 
 On January 5, 1878, all three returned to Ireland. 
 They were met on their arrival at Kingstown by 
 Parnell, O'Connor Power, and others. 
 
 The men received a great ovation on reaching 
 Westland Row, and with the cheers for the ' political 
 prisoners ' were mingled cheers for ' Parnell.' 
 
 Parnell invited the four men to breakfast at Mor- 
 rison's Hotel, where a tragic scene occurred. As 
 Sergeant McCarthy, who had suffered much in prison, 
 entered the room he was seen to grow faint and stagger. 
 He was immediately helped to a sofa, where, in a few 
 minutes, he died. Parnell was much shocked, but the 
 tragedy served to increase the respect and sympathy 
 which he always felt for those who did and dared for 
 Ireland. McCarthy, like many another Fenian, had 
 risked all, and lost all, for the faith that was in him.
 
 ,Er. 32] 153 
 
 CHAPTEK VIII 
 
 THE NEW DEPARTURE 
 
 Ox January 14 and 15, 1878, another Home Rule con- 
 ference was held in Dublin, in the hope of closing the 
 widening breach between Butt and Parnell. 
 
 Butt once more condemned the policy of obstruction, 
 and Parnell once more defended it. An extract from 
 the speech of each will suffice. 
 
 Mr. Butt. ' I took the liberty some time ago at 
 Limerick to lay down what I believed was the policy 
 to pursue, and that was to make an assault all along 
 the whole line of English inisgovernment, and to bring 
 forward every grievance of Ireland, and to press the 
 English House of Commons for their redress ; and I 
 believed, and believe it still, that if once we got liberal- 
 minded Englishmen fairly to consider how they would 
 redress the grievance of Irish niisgovernment, they 
 would come in the end to the conclusion that they had 
 but one way of giving us good government, and that 
 was by allowing us to govern ourselves.' 
 
 Parnell. ' If I refrain from asking the country 
 to-day, by the voice of this conference, to adopt any 
 particular line of action, or any particular policy, or to 
 put any definite issue in reference to it before this con- 
 ference, I do so solely because I am young, and can 
 wait '
 
 154 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 Butt. ' Hear, hear.' 
 
 Parnell. ' And because I believe the country can 
 also wait, and that the country which has waited so 
 long can wait a little longer. Mr. Butt has very fairly 
 explained the policy that he has carried out during the 
 three or four years that this Parliament has lasted, and 
 he has pointed to his speech at Limerick, in which he 
 described his policy as one which was designed to make 
 an attack on the whole line of English misgovernment 
 in Ireland by laying bare the grievances under which 
 Ireland suffers. He has also told us his belief that if 
 he made it clear to Englishmen that we did really suffer 
 under many unjust laws, that he would be able to induce 
 fair-minded Englishmen to direct their attention to the 
 redress of these grievances, and that he would be able 
 to persuade them that the best way to redress our 
 grievances would be to leave us to redress them our- 
 selves. Now I gladly agree with Mr. Butt that it is 
 very possible, and very probable, that he would be able 
 to persuade a fair-minded Englishman in the direction 
 that he has indicated ; but still I do not think that the 
 House of Commons is mainly composed of fair-minded 
 Englishmen. If we had to deal with men who were 
 capable of listening to fair arguments there would be 
 every hope of success for the policy of Mr. Butt as 
 carried out in past sessions ; but we are dealing with 
 political parties who really consider the interests of 
 their political organisations as paramount, beyond every 
 other consideration.' 
 
 This conference led to no practical results. Parnell, 
 backed by the advanced men, stood to his guns, and 
 Butt, ill-supported by the Moderates and broken in 
 health, gradually gave up the struggle. Indeed, before 
 the end of the year 1878 the young member for Meath
 
 .Ex. 32] EEPORT OX OBSTRUCTION loo 
 
 was virtually master of the situation. Almost im- 
 mediately on the meeting of Parliament the Govern- 
 ment took up the question of obstruction, and appointed 
 a select committee to inquire into the subject of public 
 business. Humorously enough, Parnell was placed 
 on this committee. The chief criminal was not put 
 into the dock ; he took his seat among the judges, and 
 from that vantage ground he cross-examined with 
 much shrewdness and skill the Speaker, the Chairman 
 of Committees, and other high authorities on parlia- 
 mentary procedure. The sittings of the committee 
 lasted from March until July, when a report was 
 prepared on which the Government took action early 
 in 1879. 
 
 Parnell drafted a report of his own, which, however, 
 the committee refused to accept. In this report the 
 member for Meath (inter alia) said : ' The Committee 
 cannot shut their eyes to the fact that the House is com- 
 posed of several different nationalities w r ho sympathise 
 little with the aspirations, and who understand less of 
 the affairs, of each other. Considerable friction, heat, 
 and ill-feeling is frequently engendered by the inter- 
 ference of members belonging to one nationality in 
 the affairs of the others, with the result of delay, loss 
 of time, and obstruction to the general progress of 
 business. In addition, the affairs of Ireland and India 
 are neglected, and the representatives of these two 
 countries, if they attend the sittings of the House, find 
 themselves in a position of enforced idleness, unless they 
 occupy themselves with English affairs and so incur 
 the risk of the ill-will of the majority of the House.' 
 
 Leaving the question of obstruction, I must now 
 turn to Parnell's relation with Fenians during the year 
 1878. We have seen how X. formed the Home Rule
 
 156 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 Confederation of Great Britain, drew some of the 
 Fenians into it, and made Parnell president. The 
 difficulties which X. had to encounter from the begin- 
 ning in reconciling Fenianism with Parliamentarianism 
 in any shape or form much increased in 1878. I shall, 
 however, let him tell his story in his own way : 
 
 ' I was always opposed by a party on the supreme 
 council who wished to have nothing whatever to do 
 with the Parliamentarians. They wished the Fenians 
 to remain within their own lines, to go on collecting 
 arms, drilling, keeping alive the separatist spirit, 
 watching, waiting, preparing. They believed in a 
 policy of open warfare. Parliamentarianism, they said, 
 was bound, sooner or later, to undermine the secret 
 movement. I had no objection to the policy of open 
 warfare, but open warfare seemed a long way off, and 
 here was a new field of activity, which ought not to 
 be neglected. Our great idea was to keep the spirit 
 of nationality alive. This could always be done by 
 fighting England. In Parnell we had a man who 
 hated England, and who was ready and able to fight 
 her at every available point. I thought that such a 
 man ought to be given his head. He had asked for a 
 fair trial, and I felt he was entitled to it. However, 
 in the spring of 1878 there was a crisis. 
 
 ' The supreme council which was the governing 
 body of the Fenians on this side of the Atlantic- 
 consisted of eleven members. It is an open secret 
 that Kickham was a member of the supreme council, 
 and the most important man among us. Well, 
 Kickham was dead against any . alliance with the 
 Parliamentarians. - He believed that contact with 
 them was demoralising, and that Parliamentarianism 
 was nothing more nor less than an Anglicising influ-
 
 .Er. 32] CHARLES KICKIIAM 157 
 
 ence. In fact he did not think that the question was 
 arguable. It is also an open secret that Biggar and 
 Egan were members of the supreme council. The 
 other names have not transpired, and accordingly 
 cannot be published. In 1878 Kickham and those 
 who thought with him determined to take action. 
 They brought forward a resolution pledging the council 
 to sever all connection with the parliamentary party. 
 This resolution was carried by a majority of one. I 
 immediately resigned. I said that I did not agree 
 with the decision of the council, and as I wished to 
 have a free hand I would retire. Biggar agreed with 
 me, but refused to resign. Parnell advised him to 
 resign. He said, " No, sir, I never withdraw from any- 
 thing. Let them expel me." They did expel him. They 
 also expelled Egan, and others who voted with me. I 
 saw Parnell and told him what I had done. He said 
 I acted quite rightly ; that I could not very well remain 
 a member of a body from which I had differed on a 
 cardinal point.' 
 
 ' Which would be the more accurate thing to say : 
 that the Fenians helped, or did not help, the Parnell 
 movement, so called, in the years following 1878? ' 
 
 X. ' Oh, helped, certainly. The heads of the I. E. B. 
 were against Parnell, but many of the rank and file 
 went w r ith him. That was just the cleverness of the 
 man. He appreciated the energy and earnestness of 
 the Fenians, but turned these qualities to the account 
 of his own movement. He did not try to weaken the 
 force of Fenianism, but he diverted it into a channel 
 of his own choosing. Had he attempted to break up 
 Fenianism he would have gone to pieces. He therefore 
 leant on it ; he walked on the verge of treason-felony, 
 and so won the hearts of many of the rank and file.
 
 158 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 He was always the master of himself, and ultimately 
 became the master of us. 
 
 ' In the spring of 1878, about the time I left the 
 supreme council, the American Fenians sent an agent 
 to London to discuss the question of united action with 
 Parnell. But that part of the story belongs to the 
 Clan-na-Gael. I can only speak of what happened 
 between Parnell and the Clan by hearsay.' 
 
 The Clan-na-Gael, be it said, was the American 
 branch of the Fenian organisation. The Clan had 
 watched Parnell closely, and was interested in his 
 operations. The question was what could be done with 
 him. In the Clan-na-Gael, as in the I. R. B., there 
 was a difference of opinion about the advisability of 
 co-operating with the constitutional party. Some of 
 the American leaders were heartily in sympathy with 
 the supreme council of the I. K. B., and believed that 
 it would be a mistake to come into touch with the 
 Parliamentarians in any way. Parliamentarianism, 
 they said, would fizzle out, as it had always fizzled 
 out ; and then, if Fenianism were not kept intact, 
 the people would be left without any political 
 organisation. Let Fenianism which was based on 
 Nationality, and on nothing but Nationality keep 
 itself to itself. That, briefly, was the position of the 
 no-alliance party in the Clan-na-Gael. But there was 
 another party, led mainly by Mr. John Devoy, who 
 favoured combined action between the parliamentary 
 and the revolutionary forces. Fenianism, they said, 
 had kept itself to itself far too much all the time. It 
 ought now to mingle with the public life of the 
 country, to interest itself in everything which inte- 
 rested any section of the population. In the old days 
 the farmers had held aloof from Fenianism. Why ?
 
 Jvr. 32] THE CLAX-NA-GAEL 159 
 
 Because Fenianism had held aloof from them. The 
 land question was a vital question ; the Fenians should 
 not leave it wholly in the hands of the Constitutionalists. 
 Every man would not become a Nationalist, because 
 nationality was a high ideal. Most people were not 
 influenced by high ideals. They were influenced by 
 selfish considerations, and these considerations had, 
 unfortunately, to be worked upon. If the Fenians 
 helped the farmers, the farmers would help the Fenians. 
 By co-operating, then, with the ' open movement,' by 
 mingling in the public life of the country, by directing 
 the current of agitation into channels favourable to 
 Fenian expansion, the cause of nationality would best 
 be served. Let the Fenians go into the constitutional 
 movement and keep it on national lines. That was the 
 true policy to follow. 
 
 'In the spring of 1878 one of the heads of the 
 Clan-na-Gael, being in London, desired to bring about 
 a meeting between Parnell and some of the Parliamen- 
 tarians, and himself and some of the most influential 
 among the Fenians. The meeting took place at the 
 Clan-na-Gael man's lodgings in Craven Street, Strand. 
 There were present Parnell, an Irish member (who, it 
 may as well be said, was selected by the Fenians 
 because he had never been a Fenian and was not open 
 to the fatal fault in their eyes of having taken two 
 conflicting oaths), the chief official of the supreme 
 council, one of the three most prominent Fenians then 
 living, and, of course, the Irish-American gentleman 
 himself. What occurred that night was shortly this. 
 Parnell was mostly silent, but certainly impressively so. 
 The Fenian official scarcely spoke at all, and the Clan- 
 na-Gael man said but little. All the talking, roughly 
 speaking, was done by Parnell's colleague and the
 
 160 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1878 
 
 prominent Fenian, with the result that after much 
 argument things remained very much as they had been 
 at the beginning, the M.P. producing little or no effect 
 upon the possibly too uncompromising Fenian, and the 
 Fenian probably producing no effect whatever on the 
 M.P. In fact the chasm between them was too wide 
 to be overleaped. What effect either, or anything that 
 occurred, produced upon Parnell it would be hard to 
 say ; but most certainly Parnell, silent as he was, and 
 possibly somewhat because of his silence, produced a 
 very great effect upon everyone present. The Clan-na- 
 Gael man met the M.P. some days after, and, no doubt, 
 Parnell more than once. The prominent Fenian also had 
 a long talk with Parnell some short time afterwards, 
 without their coming any nearer to each other in policy, 
 though then, as before and even after, this Fenian 
 was strongly impressed by the striking personality of 
 Parnell.' * 
 
 Parnejl had, as we have seen, the strongest 
 sympathies with Fenianism, but he was resolved not to 
 be managed by the Fenians nor, indeed, by any force 
 whatever. He believed profoundly in Fenian help, 
 but saw the danger of Fenianism swamping the con- 
 stitutional movement. His policy was to keep Parlia- 
 mentarianism well in front, and to mass the Kevolu- 
 tionists behind it. The Fenians were to be his reserves. 
 He certainly had no objection to an alliance between 
 Fenianism and Constitutionalism, but he was deter- 
 mined that he should be master of the alliance. ' A 
 true revolutionary movement in Ireland,' he said 
 publicly, ' should, in my opinion, partake both of a 
 constitutional and illegal character. It should be both 
 an open and a secret organisation, using the constitu- 
 
 1 This account has been given to me by one who was present. Mr. 
 " Martin " (ante, p. 65) was at this Craven Street meeting.
 
 .Ex. :3L>] THE PARLIAMENTARY MACHINE lei 
 
 tion for its own purposes, but also taking advantage of 
 its secret combination.' ' 
 
 At this time another attempt was made to draw him 
 into the ranks of the I. R. B. A Fenian agent was once 
 more deputed to call on him, and ask him to join the 
 organisation. He again refused firmly. ' I think,' he 
 said, ' I can do good with the parliamentary machine. 
 I mean to try it, at all events. Purely physical-force 
 movements have always failed in Ireland.' The Fenian 
 reminded him that purely constitutional movements 
 had always failed too. Parnell agreed, saying : ' But I 
 do not want to break up your movement. On the 
 contrary, I wish it to go on. Collect arms, do every- 
 thing that you are doing, but let the open movement 
 have a chance too. We can both help each other, but 
 I am sure I can be of more use in the open movement.' 
 On another occasion he said to another Fenian : ' I 
 am sure I can do something with the parliamentary 
 machine. I cannot explain how I am going to do it, 
 but I am quite satisfied I can do it.. I see my way 
 clearly.' 
 
 Despite the attitude of the leaders of the I. R. B., 
 Parnell was gaining some influence over the rank 
 and file of the society. I asked the official of the 
 Home Eule Confederation of Great Britain from whom 
 I have already quoted ' 2 how far the Fenians were 
 helping the Home Rule movement in England in 1878 
 and 1879. He said : ' The leaders opposed us, but the 
 rank and file were divided. Some supported us, 
 others did nothing. When there was nothing particu- 
 lar doing, very few r of the Fenians troubled them- 
 selves about us. But when there was something 
 special afoot a parliamentary election, a municipal 
 
 1 Nero York Herald, January 2, 1880. - Ante, p. 145. 
 
 VOL. I. M
 
 162 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 election, anything of that kind then certainly many 
 Fenians came in and helped us. They were full of 
 energy ; they were about the best workers we had. It 
 always seemed to me that they could not help having 
 a " go " at England whenever an opportunity of any 
 kind offered ; and they certainly felt that in fighting 
 for a Home Eule candidate against a Unionist they 
 were striking in some way against English authority in 
 Ireland. I had rather a curious experience myself of 
 the Fenians about this time. There was a working 
 men's club composed entirely of Irish. I came in 
 contact with the members, as I was always knocking up 
 against Irishmen in London and other parts of England. 
 These working men asked me to do some secretarial 
 business for them to keep their books, &c. I agreed, 
 and used to attend their meetings occasionally. Look- 
 ing through their books I found there was a fine lot of 
 names, and they were a fine lot of fellows too, and I 
 did not see why they should not join the Confederation. 
 So one day I sent a circular to all the members of the 
 club inviting them to join. Some time afterwards I 
 went to the club as usual, but I was met with scowls. 
 As every man dropped in he looked at me askance and 
 suspiciously. I could see that I was in some sort of 
 disgrace, but I could not make out what it was all 
 about. At last one of them got up and said : " What 
 I suspected has happened. I was against Mr. 
 coming in here and doing anything for us. He is 
 a Home Kule agent, and I knew he would' be inter- 
 fering with us. I am as thankful to him as anyone 
 here for the work he has done for our club. But wr 
 are not Home Eulers. We are Fenians, and we do 
 not want to be interfered with, that's all." The cir- 
 cular was the cause of the whole row. I expressed
 
 ^ET. 32] AX EX-FENIAN'S VIEW 163 
 
 regret for sending it, said I thought there was no 
 harm, and so forth. The upshot of the whole business 
 was that, after mutual explanations, they asked me 
 still to come and help in the business of the club, but 
 to leave Home Rule alone. This I did. But when- 
 ever there was an election on, or whenever there was 
 fighting to be done, I used to ask these men to give 
 me a hand, and they always did. They did not join 
 the Confederation, but they gave us outside help, 
 and we got lots of assistance from Fenians in that 
 way.' 
 
 An ex-Fenian who had suffered in the cause also 
 throws some light on the effect produced by Parnell's 
 vigorous parliamentary action. He says : ' When I 
 came out of prison I went back at once to the organi- 
 sation. I began to collect arms, to conceal them, to 
 organise. Then my attention was turned to what was 
 going on in Parliament, and to Parnell chiefly. This 
 was something new. Here was a handful of men 
 fighting the British Government on its own ground. 
 People do not become Kevolutionists for the fun of the 
 thing. Every Fenian carried his life in his hand. 
 There is not much fun in that. Why were we Fenians ? 
 Because in Fenianism was the only hope for Ireland. 
 Parliamentarianism had always been contemptible. It 
 was worse, it was mischievous. The London Parlia- 
 ment was simply a school for Anglicising Irishmen. 
 We hated the thing. But if there were the slightest 
 chance of getting an Irish Parliament by constitutional 
 means, the vast majority of Fenians would be Con- 
 stitutionalists. A real Irish Parliament, not a sham, 
 would have satisfied the great majority of our people 
 all the time. But we saw no chance of getting an 
 Irish Parliament or anything else by constitutional
 
 164 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 means, and we became Revolutionists. But here was 
 a new departure. Here was a new man with new 
 methods. There was no chance of English society 
 seizing him, for he was making himself detestable to 
 all Englishmen. Ought he not to get a trial, ought not 
 his methods to get a trial ? That is what I thought, 
 and as the years passed Parnell impressed me more and 
 more with his power, and ultimately I left the Fenian 
 organisation and joined him.' 
 
 While, then, the Fenian mind in Ireland and America 
 was much exercised by Parnell' s manoeuvres, Michael 
 Davitt landed in New York in August 1878. Why 
 had he gone? First, to visit his mother at Phila- 
 delphia ; secondly, to meet the members of the Clan- 
 na-Gael, and to discuss the political situation generally. 
 Davitt was still a Fenian ; but there can be no doubt 
 that he was gradually, perhaps unconsciously, drifting 
 away from the movement. He took a keen interest 
 in the land question. 1 He had come from the peasant 
 
 1 I have elsewhere given some account of the relation between land- 
 lord and tenant in Ireland, and may here repeat what I have written. 
 ' The tenant, " scrambling for the potato " and left without any resource 
 but the land, offered an exorbitant rent, which the landlord accepted 
 and exacted to the uttermost farthing. Freedom of contract between 
 landlord and tenant there was none. The tenant came into the market 
 under circumstances which left him entirely at the mercy of the land- 
 lord. The "bit of land" meant life to him, the want of it death; for 
 in the absence of commercial industries the people were thrown upon 
 the land mainly for existence. " The treaty between landlord and 
 tenant [in Ireland]," says Mr. Nassau Senior, " is not a calm bargain, in 
 which the tenant, having offered what he thinks the land worth, cares 
 little whether his offer is accepted or not ; it is a struggle, like the 
 struggle to buy bread in a besieged town, or to buy water in an African 
 caravan." In truth, the landlord had a monopoly of the means of 
 existence, and he used it for his own aggrandisement, regardless of the 
 tenant's fate or the public weal. " The landlords in Ireland," said 
 Lord Donoughmore in 1854, " have been in the habit of letting land, not 
 farms." Never has a happ'ier description of the Irish land system been 
 given than this. The landlord let " land " a strip of bog, barren, wild, 
 dreary. The tenant reclaimed it, drained, fenced, reduced the waste to 
 a cultivated state, made the "land" a "farm." Then the landlord
 
 yE-r. 32] DEYOY AND DAVITT 165 
 
 class ; he felt their wrongs acutely, and longed to right 
 them. He has sometimes been credited with the 
 invention of what came to be called the ' new de- 
 parture,' the combined action of Constitutionalists and 
 Revolutionists for the common purpose of national 
 independence. But the fact is the ' new departure ' 
 was in the air before Davitt arrived in America. James 
 O'Kelly, John Devoy, and others had been thinking it 
 out while Davitt was in jail. ' Had Davitt come to 
 America in the beginning of 1877,' said a member of 
 the Clan-na-Gael to me, ' he would have found a few 
 men ready to discuss the new departure and to favour it. 
 But neither he nor we could have dared broach it at a 
 public meeting of the clan. But a change had taken place 
 in a twelvemonth. Parnell's action in Parliament had 
 made people think that something might be done with 
 the Parliamentarians after all. Parliamentarianisni 
 was apparently becoming a respectable thing. It 
 might be possible to touch it without becoming con- 
 taminated. Parnell had, in fact, made the running for 
 Davitt, and Davitt arrived in New York just in the 
 nick of time. Many influential members of the Clan 
 were full of the notion of an alliance with the Consti- 
 tutional party, and were now ready to co-operate with 
 Davitt in bringing it about.' Davitt had, of course, 
 
 pounced upon him for an increased rent. The tenant could not pay ; 
 his resources had been exhausted in bringing the bog into a state of 
 cultivation, he had not yet recouped himself for his outlay and labour. 
 He was evicted, Hung on the roadside to starve, without receiving one 
 shilling compensation for his outlay on the land, and the " farm " which 
 he had made was given to another at an enhanced rental. What did 
 the evicted tenant do ? He entered a Ribbon Lodge, told the story of 
 his wrong, and demanded vengeance on the man whom he called a 
 tyrant and an oppressor. Only too often his story was listened to and 
 vengeance was wreaked on the landlord, or the new tenant ; and some- 
 times on both. This is briefly the dismal story of the land trouble in 
 Ireland.' Thomas Dmmmond, Life and Letters.
 
 166 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 seen Parnell before he started for America, and Parnell 
 knew that he would see the leaders of the Clan-na-Gael. 
 But the cautious member for Meath gave him no code 
 of instructions, and sent no message to the Clan, as has 
 sometimes been suggested. That was not Parnell's way 
 of doing business. He never wished to know too much, 
 and was at all events careful not to let others into the 
 secret of his knowledge, whatever it might be. On 
 arriving at New York one of the first men whom 
 Davitt met was John Devoy the champion of the 
 new departure in the Clan-na-Gael. Devoy w r as a 
 Revolutionist. He wished to draw the farmers into the 
 revolutionary movement ; and believed this could be 
 done by making agrarian reform a plank in the national 
 platform. Devoy and Davitt agreed at once on a 
 common programme and worked together as one man 
 to carry it out ; ' the land of Ireland,' to use the words 
 of Davitt, ' was to be made the basis of Irish nation- 
 ality.' 
 
 In September both men attended a large public 
 meeting, composed chiefly of members of the Clan-na- 
 Gael, in New York, when the following resolutions, 
 proposed by Devoy, were carried : 
 
 ' 1. That we deem the present a fitting opportunity 
 to proclaim our conviction of Ireland's right to an 
 independent national existence. That as Ireland has 
 never forfeited her right to independence, and as no 
 action on the part of England has given any justifi- 
 cation for the acceptance of the Union, we hereby 
 protest against all attempts at compromise, and renew 
 our resolve to work for the complete overthrow of 
 British domination. ' 
 
 ' 2. That the landlord system forced on the Irish 
 people by English legislation is a disgrace to humanity
 
 yEr. 32] DEVOY'S POLICY 167 
 
 and to the civilisation of the present century. It is the 
 direct cause of the expatriation of millions of the Irish 
 race, and of the miserable condition of the Irish pea- 
 santry. That as the land of Ireland belongs to the 
 people of Ireland, the abolition of the foreign landlord 
 system and the substitution of one by which the tiller 
 of the soil will be fixed permanently upon it, and 
 holding directly of the State, is the only true solution 
 of the Irish land question, which an Irish Republic can 
 alone effect.' 
 
 A month later Devoy and Davitt attended another 
 public meeting in New York, when the former advo- 
 cated the policy of the new departure in a vigorous 
 speech. He said : ' I claim that by the adoption of 
 a proper public policy and a vigorous propaganda the 
 Nationalists can sweep aw r ay the men who misrepresent 
 us [the followers of Butt chiefly] and obtain control of 
 the public voice of the country. Every public body in 
 the country, from the little boards of poor-law guardians 
 and land commissioners to the city corporations and 
 members of Parliament, should be controlled by the 
 National [the Fenian] party, and until it is able to 
 control them it will be looked upon by foreigners as a 
 powerless and insignificant faction. . . . Now I believe 
 in Irish independence, but I don't believe it would 
 be worth while to free Ireland if that foreign landlord 
 system were left standing, I am in favour of sweeping 
 away every vestige of the English connection, and this 
 accursed landlord system above all and before all. But 
 while I think it is right to proclaim this, and that the 
 national party should proclaim that nothing less than 
 this would satisfy it, I know it is a solution that cannot 
 be reached in a day, and therefore I think we should 
 in the meantime accept all measures tending to the
 
 168 CIIAKLES STEWART PAKXELL [1878 
 
 prevention of arbitrary eviction, and the creation of a 
 peasant proprietary as a step in the right direction.' 
 
 This was the policy of John Devoy. This was the 
 policy of the New Departure. The Fenians were to 
 have a hand in everything that was going on, and 
 ' above and before all ' they were to have a hand in the 
 land question. Agrarian reform or agrarian revolution 
 was to be made the stepping-stone to separation from 
 England. Devoy did not believe in Home Rule. But 
 he did not wish to raise the separatist flag publicly. 
 He suggested that the limits of national independence 
 should not be denned. Let ' self-government ' and 
 ' self-government ' only be demanded. Then the 
 Fenians could co-operate cordially with the Constitu- 
 tionalists. Each section could put its own construction 
 on the meaning of the words. 
 
 Devoy succeeded in carrying many of the leaders of 
 the Clan-na-gael with him on these lines, and in October 
 1878 he despatched a cablegram to Parnell, setting out 
 the terms of alliance between the Revolutionists and 
 the Constitutionalists ; the cablegram ran as follows : 
 ' The Nationalists here will support you on the follow- 
 ing conditions : 
 
 ' First. Abandonment of the Federal demand and 
 substitution of a general declaration in favour of self- 
 government. 
 
 ' Second. Vigorous agitation of the land question 
 on the basis of a peasant proprietary, while accepting 
 concessions tending to abolition of arbitrary eviction. 
 
 ' Third. Exclusion of all sectarian issues from the 
 platform. 
 
 'Fourth. Irish members to vote together on all 
 Imperial and Home Rule questions, adopt an aggressive 
 policy, and energetically resist coercive legislation.
 
 DEVOY AND PARNELL 169 
 
 1 Fifth. Advocacy of all struggling nationalities in 
 the British Empire and elsewhere.' l 
 
 These were the terms offered by the Clan-na-gael 
 to Pamell in October 1878. 
 
 What did Parnell do? He never answered the 
 cablegram. The Clan had shown its hand. Parnell 
 declined to show his. Devoy, a man of remarkable 
 energy and grit, was not, however, discouraged. In 
 December he addressed a letter to the ' Freeman's 
 Journal ' the Home Rule organ in Dublin still 
 further expounding his policy, and practically urging 
 the union of Constitutionalists and Revolutionists for 
 the common purpose, however veiled, of undermining 
 English authority in Ireland. Towards the end of the 
 year he sailed for Europe, resolved to deal with the 
 Irish situation on the spot. 
 
 But to return to Parnell. He had now an esta- 
 blished position in Parliament. He was a power in the 
 House. The skill and ability which he displayed on 
 the committee appointed to inquire into the subject of 
 obstruction won the admiration of his most inveterate 
 enemies, and even English publicists wrote that if 
 Parnell would only apply himself seriously to public 
 affairs he would soon become a valuable citizen. Of 
 course there was obstruction during the session of 1878, 
 but there were fewer of those ' scenes ' which had 
 characterised the manoeuvres of 1877. Butt had said 
 that the policy of obstruction would prevent useful 
 legislation for Ireland. This prophecy, however, was 
 destined to be falsified, for in 1878 an important Irish 
 measure became law the Intermediate Education Bill. 2 
 
 1 The cablegram was signed by Devoy, Dr. Carroll, Breslin, General 
 Millin, and Patrick Mahon. 
 
 - A Board, called the ' Intermediate Education Board of Ireland,' was
 
 170 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 1876 
 
 Parnell also scored a success by causing the Mutiny 
 Bill which he again obstructed to be referred to a 
 select committee, a step which was followed by im- 
 portant reforms in the ensuing session. Altogether he 
 had already proved to the House and to the country 
 that he was a man with a future. 
 
 Outside Parliament he devoted himself industriously 
 to the cause of Home Eule. As President of the 
 Home Kule Confederation of Great Britain he attended 
 regularly at the meetings of the executive body, and 
 took a leading part in the transaction of its business. 
 
 ' Parnell was an excellent chairman,' says the official 
 of the Confederation on whose information I have 
 already drawn. ' He used to rattle through the busi- 
 ness with great speed. Faith, he allowed no obstruction 
 in our work.' 
 
 ' Was he as pleasant a man to do business with as 
 Butt ? ' 
 
 Official. ' There was a great difference between 
 them. Butt was genial and lovable. You did not feel 
 you were doing business with him at all. I used often 
 to go to his lodgings in London. He always received 
 you with open arms ; sat you down to a cup of tea, or 
 a glass of whisky punch, and chatted away as if you 
 had only called to spend a social evening. He was a 
 delightful companion, so friendly, and so homely. 
 He would crack a joke, tell a good story, and gossip 
 away in the happiest style. I quite loved the old man. 
 But Parnell was altogether different. He was certainly 
 a very pleasant man to do business with, very quick at 
 
 formed for the purpose of holding examinations and granting exhibitions 
 and prizes to students who passed in subjects of secondary education. 
 A sum of 1,000,00(M., taken from the Irish Church surplus, was devoted 
 to the objects of the Board.
 
 JE-r. 32] BUSINESS-LIKE QUALITIES 171 
 
 seeing a thing, very ready to show the way out of a 
 difficulty, courteous, agreeable, making the most of 
 what you did and the least of what he did himself. If 
 he differed from you it was in the mildest way, and he 
 always put his points as if it were for you and not for 
 him to decide. " Don't you think it would be better '. ; " 
 " Suppose we say so-and-so," that was his formula. 
 But, pleasant and even charming as he could be, you 
 always felt that there was a piece of ice between you 
 and him. I used to go to his apartment as I went to 
 Butt's, but we never had a glass of punch together or 
 even a cup of tea. It was business all the time. Occa- 
 sionally he would take a strong line, but very seldom. 
 However, when he said " That cannot be done," one 
 knew there was an end of the discussion. I remember 
 on one occasion reading a report for the executive 
 when Parnell was in the chair. I stated in the report 
 that the Catholic clergy in England gave the Confede- 
 ration a good deal of trouble, because they tried to 
 make the Irish vote Tory. The English priests did 
 did not care about Home Kule, they only cared about 
 education, and as the Tories were more with them on 
 that subject than the Liberals, they went Tory, and 
 wanted to bring our people with them. As soon as I 
 had read the paragraph he said, " I'm not going to fight 
 the Church." There was some dissent, but Parnell 
 was very firm, though smiling and rather chaffing us 
 all the time. But the paragraph went out. That was 
 Parnell's policy. He would not fight with any Irish 
 force. His aim was to bring all Irish forces into line. 
 He would no more fight with the Church than he 
 would with the Fenians. Parnell never talked freely 
 with me or with anyone, so far as I could make out. 
 The only time I ever heard him make any attempt at
 
 172 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1878 
 
 conversation was when someone introduced the subject 
 of mechanics. Then he started off, greatly to my sur- 
 prise, talking in a lively way, and giving us a lot of 
 information about mechanics. Then someone referred 
 to politics, and he stopped in an instant. He would 
 never talk politics unless something had to be done.' 
 
 I asked an Irish member, who had been a Fenian, 
 on one occasion, if Parnell had been forced to quarrel 
 either with the Fenians or the Church, which it 
 would be ? He said : ' The Church, for Parnell liked 
 the Fenians, but he did not like the Church. He 
 knew, however, the power of the Church, and he wished 
 unquestionably to have a great conserving force like it 
 at his back. Parnell would never quarrel with the 
 Church unless the Church forced the quarrel, there can 
 be no doubt of that.' 
 
 Butt was now breaking fast. One remembers how 
 in the session of 1878 he moved about the House care- 
 worn and dejected. He felt that the ground was slip- 
 ping beneath his feet. He knew the time was gone 
 when he could hope to lead a united Irish party to 
 victory. The dissensions among the Parliamentarians 
 were fatal to his command, if they were not, in truth, 
 fatal to the triumph of the Home Rule cause itself. 
 All these things he saw clearly, and he was bowed 
 down with sorrow and despair. In April he addressed 
 a manifesto to the electors of Limerick, condemning 
 the policy of obstruction, pointing out the disasters 
 which he believed it would bring on the Home Eule 
 cause, pleading ill-health as a reason for retirement, and 
 formally announcing his resignation of the leadership. 
 But his followers urged him to reconsider his decision, 
 and ultimately he withdrew his resignation. The 
 breach, however, between him and Parnell remained
 
 .Ex. 32] ' JUSTIFIABLE EEBELLION ' 173 
 
 as wide as ever. In October the Home Rule Con- 
 federation of Great Britain held its annual meeting 
 in Dublin. Butt objected to this proceeding. The 
 organisation, he felt, ought to confine its operations to 
 the other side of the channel. But the Confederation 
 had come to Dublin for a special reason. By the Con- 
 vention Act of 1793 no meeting attended by delegates 
 could be held in Ireland. ' But,' the leaders of the 
 Confederation argued, ' we shall hold our meeting in 
 Dublin, and we shall summon delegates from England, 
 and then we shall present to the Irish and the English 
 public the extraordinary spectacle of an Irish organisa- 
 tion with its headquarters in England summoning dele- 
 gates from England to sit in the Irish capital, while no 
 organisation in Ireland can summon delegates from 
 Ireland for the same purpose ; and if that does not kill 
 the Convention Act we don't know what will.' I cannot 
 say whether this manoeuvre did kill the Convention 
 Act, but, as a matter of fact, it was repealed the next 
 year. 
 
 Efforts were still made to bring about a modus 
 vivendi between Butt and Parnell, but in vain. 'You 
 are in rebellion,' said Professor Galbraith to Parnell. 
 ' Yes,' was the answer ; ' but in justifiable rebellion.' 
 'I do not want you to become an obstructive,' he said 
 to Butt ; ' I do not want anyone to become an obstruc- 
 tive ; but there must be a vigorous policy. I am 
 young and active, and I cannot be kicking my heels 
 about the English House of Commons doing nothing. 
 Englishmen will not give me an opportunity of con- 
 cerning myself about the affairs of my own country, 
 and I mean to concern myself about the affairs of their 
 country.' 
 
 ' Butt,' he said on another occasion, ' is hopeless.
 
 174 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1878 
 
 He is too much under the English influence. He 
 wants to please the English. But you may be sure 
 that when we are pleasing the English we are not 
 winning. We must not care for English opinion. 
 We must go right on in the way Ireland wants.' 
 ' There is a great force in England,' he said, addressing 
 the Confederation in Dublin. ' A British force,' cried 
 a voice in the crowd. ' No,' retorted Parnell, amid 
 tremendous cheers, ' an Irish force. We must,' he 
 urged, 'see that the Irish in England think only of 
 Ireland and vote only for Ireland, and that they 
 make English candidates vote for Ireland too. I 
 said when I was last on this platform that I 
 would not promise anything by parliamentary action, 
 nor any particular line of policy ; but I said we could 
 help you to punish the English, and I predicted that 
 the English would very soon get afraid of the policy of 
 punishment.' 
 
 It was at this time suggested to Parnell that he 
 ought to address more meetings in Ireland. 'Ah,' he 
 said ; ' but I have not an independent platform.' 
 
 ' If I get up a meeting for you, will you come to 
 it?' said a friend. 'Certainly,' answered Parnell. 
 A great meeting a land meeting was organised in 
 Tralee. Parnell addressed it in November. He made 
 a vigorous speech, saying plainly enough that nothing 
 short of a revolution would bring about a change in 
 the land laws, and urging the establishment of a 
 tribunal for fixing rents, and the creation of a peasant 
 proprietary. ' It will take an earthquake to settle 
 the land question, Mr. Parnell/ someone said to him. 
 ' Then we must have an earthquake ' was the reply.
 
 . 33] 175 
 
 CHAPTEK IX 
 
 THE LAND LEAGUE 
 
 DEVOY arrived in Ireland about January 1879. He 
 was soon joined by Davitt, who had preceded him across 
 the Atlantic. No one played a more important part in 
 Irish politics at this crisis than Michael Davitt. He 
 was still a Fenian. He was even yet a member of 
 the supreme council of the I. E. B. He possessed 
 the confidence of the Fenians in America. He was in 
 touch with Parnell. In a word, he was the connecting- 
 link between the American Revolutionists and the 
 extreme wing of the constitutional party ; the very 
 pivot on which the ' new departure ' turned. 
 
 The time was ripe for the plans of the Neo-Fenians. 
 The land agitation had already commenced, ' Tenants' 
 Defence Associations ' had been formed in various parts 
 of the country, and public attention was fixed on the 
 subject. Distress accompanied discontent, and both 
 causes combined to excite and influence the peasantry. 
 Bents could not be paid, and non-payment of rent was 
 followed by eviction. Landlords were unreasonable, 
 tenants were exasperated, and soon the flame of agita- 
 tion was fanned in every part of the country. I have 
 already said that the Land Act of 1870 had proved a 
 failure. It had been passed to prevent arbitrary evic-
 
 176 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 tions and to secure to industrious tenants compensation 
 for improvements, and in certain cases for disturbance. 
 But it neither effected the one purpose nor the other. 
 The power of the landlords remained practically 
 unchecked. Between 1876 and 1879 Bills had been 
 introduced to make the legislation of 1870 a reality. 
 But they were rejected in the House of Commons. 
 The Irish tenants saw at last that the Irish members 
 could not help them, and they resolved to help them- 
 selves. 
 
 Devoy had come to Ireland with the view of 
 bringing about an alliance between Revolutionists and 
 Constitutionalists for the common purpose of under- 
 mining English authority in the island. The land 
 question, he felt, was the basis on which that authority 
 rested. The overthrow of the land system was accord- 
 ingly, from his standpoint, a matter of paramount 
 importance. Davitt was also in favour of separa- 
 tion, but nevertheless looked upon landlordism as an 
 evil in itself, which ought, apart from all other con- 
 siderations, to be swept utterly away. Both men now 
 saw that a bond-fide land agitation had, without any 
 reference whatever to their aims, commenced ; and the 
 question was, how could it be turned to the account of 
 the separatist movement ? 
 
 Devoy had two interviews with Parnell in the 
 presence of Davitt. The member for Meath was as 
 usual cautious, and took good care not to give himself 
 away. He entered into no compact with Devoy, but 
 listened to all that Devoy had to tell him about the 
 Clan-na-Gael. The furthermost extent to which he 
 went was to ask, ,as he had on previous occasions 
 asked, for time to work the parliamentary machine. 
 He did not mind letting Devoy see his antipathy to
 
 Jvr. 33] DEYOY AND KICKHAM 177 
 
 England and his sympathy with the Fenians. But he 
 entered into no understanding with the Clan. 
 
 At a meeting of the supreme council of the I. R. B. 
 in Paris, when the question of the ' new departure ' was 
 fully discussed, Kickham was present, and offered a 
 vehement opposition to it. He regarded it as dis- 
 honest and immoral, and denounced Devoy in vigorous 
 language. Kickham, it should be said, was very deaf, 
 and could only be approached through a speaking- 
 trumpet. As he proceeded in his condemnation of 
 Devoy's scheme, Devoy and Davitt tried now and 
 again to get at the trumpet and to put in a word in 
 reply ; but Kickham waved them off. He carried the 
 council with him ; in fact Devoy and Davitt found 
 only one supporter in that body. One point, however, 
 Devoy gained. It was agreed that, while no alliance 
 should be entered into between the supreme council 
 and the Parliamentarians, ' the officers of the organisa- 
 tion should be left free to take part in the open move- 
 ment if they felt so disposed such officers to be held 
 responsible for acts or w r ords deemed to be injurious to 
 the revolutionary cause.' 1 
 
 Devoy now sailed for America, where, in defiance of 
 the supreme council of the I. E. B., he threw himself 
 heart and soul into the work of the ' new departure ' ; 
 and Davitt stayed in Ireland to co-operate cordially 
 and vigorously at his end with the American Fenians. 
 
 Meanwhile the land agitation grew apace. In 
 Connaught, Davitt's province, the pinch of poverty 
 was most sorely felt, and Connaught became the 
 centre of disturbance. 
 
 On April 20 a great land meeting was held in 
 
 1 This permission was withdrawn in 1880. Davitt attended no more 
 meetings of the supreme council. 
 
 VOL. I. N
 
 178 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 Irishtown, County Mayo. Three Fenians besides 
 Davitt attended, and they were unquestionably the 
 ablest and most energetic men present. There is little 
 use in mincing words over these transactions now. 
 Official Fenianism in Ireland held aloof from the land 
 agitation. But that agitation would probably have 
 never reached the formidable proportions it assumed 
 had not individual Fenians flung themselves into it 
 with characteristic earnestness and daring. 1 The 
 * Land League Fenians ' were, no doubt, ultimately 
 expelled from their own body ; but they carried into 
 the new movement the fire and energy of the old, 
 unchastened and unrestrained, however, by that purer 
 spirit of nationality which animated the founders of 
 the Fenian organisation. 
 
 At the Irishtown meeting was struck the spark 
 which soon set Ireland in a blaze. But before the 
 conflagration had yet spread throughout the land 
 Isaac Butt, perhaps fittingly, passed away. In July 
 1878 he felt seriously alarmed about his health, and 
 wrote to his medical adviser and friend, Dr. O'Leary : 
 
 ' United Hotel, Charles Street, St. James's, 
 ' July 4, 1878. 
 
 'MY DEAK O'L-EARY, You have always shown 
 such kindness and care to me that I would like you 
 to know every little thing that happens to me. I am 
 not happy about myself. Yesterday I crossed over in 
 a good passage. I laid down the latter half of the way. 
 Before getting up I felt an uneasy sensation at my 
 heart, with something like palpitation. Getting up I 
 
 1 The freedom given to the Fenian officers at the Paris meeting was 
 of course, very useful to Devoy and Davitt ; the reason, no doubt, why 
 it was taken away in 1880.
 
 .-Ex. 33] ILLNESS OF BUTT 179 
 
 had difficulty in breathing, nearly as great as I used to 
 have at Buxton on the night I came over with you. 
 It has continued more or less ever since. My journey 
 to the sitting-room here you know the length has 
 been a series of relays and pantings, and all this is 
 accompanied by vagueness in my trains of thought. 
 Now surely, my dear friend, it is useless to say that 
 this is of no consequence. Is it not better to accept 
 the truth that it is the knell of the curfew telling 
 us the hour is come when the fire must be put out 
 and the light quenched? If not, is it not at least 
 something that requires more care than you or I 
 or Butcher have given it? In other respects I am 
 improving. You will see in this letter that my hand 
 is steadier, but does not this give to these symptoms 
 a w r orse character? I have observed latterly that in 
 writing I very frequently omit a word, far oftener 
 the syllables or letters of a word. When half-an-hour 
 in bed last night I had lost all recollection of where I 
 was, or how I came to be where I was. I had great 
 difficulty in settling to myself whether the change from 
 Irish to English time made my watch fast or slow. 
 Is it not through the want of blood to feed the action 
 of the brain, or is it only congestion of the ganglionic 
 nerves ? Do not laugh at this, tell me honestly, and as 
 a true, because a candid, friend what you think. I will 
 go to Quain to-morrow, but I fear this is of no use. I 
 have taken a strange notion in my head. I would like 
 to consult a perfect stranger who does not know me, 
 and see what he would say. If I were to carry out this 
 perverse notion, w r ho would be the best man to select ? 
 Can I depend on you to tell me the trutn ? I will 
 write to you to-morrow what Quain says. I am afraid 
 I must stay here until the Education Bill passes. If I
 
 180 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 go over I must come back again. I will know to- 
 morrow what I will do. 
 
 ' Yours ever sincerely, 
 
 ' ISAAC BUTT.' 
 
 Parnell and Butt came into conflict for the last 
 time on February 5, 1879. It was at a public meeting 
 in the Leinster Lecture Hall, Molesworth Street, 
 Dublin. The old question of obstruction was again 
 discussed. Butt again condemned the tactics of the 
 forward party, and Parnell spoke once more of the 
 inaction of Butt. Issue was joined on the following 
 resolution, proposed by Mr. T. D. Sullivan and seconded 
 by Mr. Biggar : 
 
 ' That this meeting highly approves of the decla- 
 rations made by Mr. Butt at the National Conference 
 of November 1873, to the following effect : that " the 
 more every Irish member keeps aloof from all private 
 communications with English ministers or English 
 parties the better;" that "there is enmity between 
 the English Government and the Irish nation ; " and 
 that " the representatives of the people must accept this 
 position;" that "they should hold no private parley 
 with the power which is at war with the Irish people, 
 and with which, therefore, the Irish members should 
 be at war." That this meeting respectfully but 
 earnestly recommends all the Home Rule represen- 
 tatives to act in the spirit of the foregoing declarations, 
 and re-affirms (as specially applicable to the present 
 time) the following resolution adopted by the National 
 Conference held in the Kotunda on January 15, 1878 : 
 " That, in view of ,the present circumstances, we think 
 it desirable in the interests of the Home Rule cause 
 that more energetic action should be taken in Parlia-
 
 SET. 33] DEATH OF BUTT 181 
 
 ment, and we therefore impress upon the Home Rule 
 members the necessity of increased activity and more 
 regular attendance during the ensuing session." : 
 
 Butt defended his policy with much of the old fire 
 and eloquence, and succeeded in defeating the resolu- 
 tion by eight votes. 1 
 
 He was gratified with the result and left the hall 
 in his usual genial pleasant way, leaning on the arm 
 of a member of the ' forward ' party. He never 
 appeared on the political stage again. A short time 
 afterwards he fell seriously ill, and on May 13 sank 
 peacefully to rest. 
 
 The founder of the Home Eule movement has to 
 some extent been overshadowed by the remarkable 
 man who was so near bringing that movement to a 
 successful issue. Nevertheless, Isaac Butt will always 
 stand in the front rank of the Irish political leaders of 
 the nineteenth century. 
 
 On the collapse of Fenianism there was every danger 
 that Ireland would sink into the slough of Whiggery. 
 From any danger of such a calamity he saved her. He 
 created a great national movement, and led it with 
 conspicuous ability and in a true spirit of chivalry. 
 Under his command Ireland sent sixty Home Eule 
 members to the House of Commons, the Irish vote in 
 England was organised, and many English parlia- 
 mentary candidates were constrained to take the Home 
 Eule pledge. He had, however, the defects of his 
 qualities. He was a scrupulous constitutional leader, 
 
 1 Technically, the division was taken on an amendment, proposed 
 by Mr. D. B. Sullivan, to the effect that all reference to Mr. Butt should 
 "be omitted, and that merely the resolution passed at the conference of 
 1878 should be re-affirmed.
 
 182 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 and instinctively shrank from revolutionary methods. 
 He revered representative institutions, and revolted 
 against all proceedings calculated to bring them into 
 contempt. No Englishman respected the House of 
 Commons more than Isaac Butt, and he fought the 
 advanced section of his own party in defence of that 
 venerable institution. 
 
 ' No man,' he said, addressing a meeting in Dublin 
 in January 1879, ' can damage the authority of the 
 House of Commons without damaging the cause of 
 representative government and of freedom all over the 
 world.' 
 
 It was a misfortune for which he certainly was not 
 to blame that, while the House of Commons influenced 
 him, he did not influence the House of Commons. He 
 appealed to the reason and justice of Englishmen, but 
 the English did not respond to the appeal. He was 
 a loyal citizen of the empire, but his loyalty did not 
 get him a hearing. He kept the agitation within the 
 limits of the law, respected the opinions and feelings of 
 opponents, the conventions of society. But no English- 
 man took him seriously. ' Do you really mean Home 
 Rule ? ' an old Whig said to him one day in the Four 
 Courts, Dublin. ' Indeed I do,' he answered, with 
 genial earnestness. The old Whig smiled and walked 
 away. No one ever asked Parnell if he meant Home 
 Eule. There were those who thought that he meant 
 a great deal more. 
 
 And what was Parnell ? A Kevolutionist working 
 with constitutional weapons. We have seen what Butt 
 said of the House of Commons. What said Parnell ? 
 ' I said when I was last here [in Dublin] that I would 
 not promise anything by parliamentary action, nor by 
 any particular line of policy; but I said we could
 
 .-Ei. 33] THE AVESTP011T MEETING 183 
 
 punish the English, and I predicted that the English 
 would very soon get afraid of punishment.' 
 
 Nothing can better show the chasm which separated 
 the two men in thought and feeling than these two 
 sentences. Yet the House of Commons despised Butt ; 
 and Parnell became the greatest figure in it, in his day, 
 with a single exception. 
 
 I have said that Butt was a constitutional agitator. 
 He was also a great advocate. And if pure advocacy 
 able, earnest, courteous could have won the Irish 
 cause he would have succeeded. It could not, and he 
 failed hopelessly. 
 
 Constitutional agitation, strictly speaking, disappeared 
 with Butt. Revolutionary agitation followed. Davitt 
 preached the new departure in public and in private, 
 visited the most distressed and disaffected districts, and 
 swept all the Fenians he could into the new movement. 
 On June 7 another great land meeting, organised by 
 Davitt and the local Fenians, though of course attended 
 by thousands of tenant farmers who were not Fenians, 
 was held at Westport, County Mayo. Parnell was in- 
 vited. He hesitated, for he had not yet gauged the force 
 of the agrarian agitation. His attention was probably 
 first seriously directed to the subject in the course of 
 a conversation with Kickham, the date of which I 
 cannot give. ' Do you think, Mr. Kickham,' he asked, 
 ' that the people feel very keenly on the land question ? ' 
 ' Feel keenly on the land question ? ' answered Kick- 
 ham. ' I am only sorry to say that I think they would 
 go to hell for it.' Finally Parnell resolved to accept 
 the invitation of the Westport men. The Archbishop 
 of Tuarn, who saw something besides land in the new 
 movement, condemned the meeting, and indirectly
 
 1S4 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1879 
 
 warned Parnell not to come. But he came, and de- 
 livered a stirring speech, which was long remembered 
 by friends and foes. 
 
 ' A fair rent is a rent a tenant can reasonably pay 
 according to the times ; but in bad times the tenant can- 
 not be expected to pay as much as he did in good times, 
 three or four years ago. If such rents are insisted upon 
 a repetition of the scenes of 1847 and 1848 will be wit- 
 nessed. Now, what must we do in order to induce the 
 landlords to see the position? You must show the 
 landlords that you intend to hold a firm grip on your 
 homesteads and lands. You must not allow yourselves 
 to be dispossessed as you were dispossessed in 1847. 
 You must not allow your small holdings to be turned 
 into large ones. I am not supposing that the landlords 
 will remain deaf to the voice of reason, but I hope they 
 may not, and that on those properties on which the 
 rents are out of all proportion to the times that a reduc- 
 tion may be made, and that immediately. If not, you 
 must help yourselves, and the public opinion of the 
 world will stand by you and support you in your 
 struggle to defend your homesteads. I should be 
 deceiving you if I told you that there was any use in 
 relying upon the exertions of the Irish members of 
 Parliament on your behalf. I think that if your mem- 
 bers were determined and resolute they could help you, 
 but I am afraid they won't. I hope that I may be 
 wrong, and that you may rely upon the constitutional 
 action of your parliamentary representatives in this the 
 sore time of your need and trial ; but above all things 
 remember that God helps him who helps himself, and 
 that by showing such a public spirit as you have shown 
 here to-day, by coming in your thousands in the face 
 of every difficulty, you will do more to show the land-
 
 .Ex. 33] ENGLISH INDIFFERENCE 185 
 
 lords the necessity of dealing justly with you than if 
 you had 150 Irish members in the House of Commons.' 
 
 Davitt also made a rattling speech, full of defiance 
 and rebellion. 
 
 The fire spread, and the Government did nothing 
 to put it out. They did not concede, they did not 
 coerce. They listened neither to tenants nor to land- 
 lords. They unwittingly gave Davitt his head. With 
 a little wisdom and foresight the fire might have been 
 quenched at the outset. But the Irish Secretary Mr. 
 James Lowther was ignorant, indifferent, incapable, 
 and he faithfully represented English statesmanship 
 in Ireland. On June 26 the question of agricultural 
 distress in Ireland was brought before the House of 
 Commons by Mr. O'Connor Power. He was treated 
 with disdain by Mr. Lowther, and literally howled 
 down by the Tories. Here is the official account of 
 the scene. 
 
 ' From the time when the hon. member stated his 
 intention to move the adjournment of the House, and 
 it appeared probable that a debate was about to be 
 raised, hon. members ceased to pay any attention to 
 the hon. member's remarks, and conversation became 
 so general and so loud that the hon. member could 
 with difficulty be heard.' 1 
 
 So disgraceful were these interruptions that Mr. 
 John Bright felt himself constrained to intervene and 
 to sharply rebuke the Irish Secretary and his un- 
 mannerly followers. Nothing, of course, was done. 
 The Government had not the most remote notion of 
 what was brewing in Ireland ; not the faintest con- 
 ception that by neglecting the demands of the farmers 
 
 1 Hansard, 3rd series, vol. ccxlvii. p. G96.
 
 186 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 they were throwing the country into the hands of the 
 Eevolutionists. 
 
 Other work now lay ready to Parnell's hands in the 
 House of Commons. I have said that in 1878 a 
 committee was appointed to consider the subject of 
 obstruction. Early in 1879 Sir Stafford Northcote 
 gave notice of six resolutions for dealing with the 
 question ; but he had to abandon them all except one, 
 which proved of little use. The object of this resolu- 
 tion was to prevent members from discussing various 
 miscellaneous grievances before the House went into 
 Committee of Supply. The House was kept for three 
 nights discussing this single resolution, and in the end 
 amendments were added which much weakened its 
 force. 
 
 So far all attempts to deal with obstruction had 
 failed, as Parnell showed when the Army Discipline 
 Bill came up for consideration. Oyjer this Bill or 
 rather over one subject included in it, flogging in the 
 army the fight of the session took place. 
 
 We have seen that Parnell had opposed and ob- 
 structed the Mutiny Bills in 1877 because the Govern- 
 ment would not abolish flogging. In 1878 he returned 
 to the charge, succeeded in getting the Bills referred 
 to a select committee, and wrung from the Government 
 a pledge that before they were brought in again an 
 amended Army Bill would be introduced. In 1879 this 
 pledge was redeemed, and the Army Discipline and 
 Regulation Bill was introduced. The new measure 
 contained a clause retaining the punishment of flogging. 
 Parnell opposed the clause. In 1877 and 1878 he and 
 his band of obstructives stood almost alone in their 
 opposition to the ' cat.' Now they were supported by 
 a crowd of English Eadicals. Parnell wisely allowed
 
 ^Ei. 33] THE ' CAT ' 187 
 
 / 
 
 these Radicals to take the lead. On May 20 Mr. 
 Hopwood opened operations by moving an amendment 
 abolishing flogging altogether. He was supported by 
 Parnell and the Irish, opposed by Sir William Harcourt 
 (who asked what punishment could be substituted for 
 flogging), and beaten by fifty-six votes. On June 10 
 Parnell stepped to the front, moving an amendment 
 which was technically in order, but which practically 
 raised the question which had, in fact, been settled by 
 vote on May 20. ' I was asked the other night,' he 
 said, ' by the hon. member for Oxford (Sir William 
 Harcourt) what punishment could be substituted for 
 flogging. I could not answer the question at the time. 
 I have since consulted military authorities, and I 
 can answer it now.' He then suggested alternative 
 punishments ; but his amendment was defeated by forty- 
 three votes. Mr. Hopwood next came forward once 
 more, moving that the number of lashes should be 
 reduced from twenty to six. Parnell and the obstruc- 
 tives supported. The amendment was still under 
 consideration when the House met on June 17 in 
 some respects the most eventful night of the debate. 
 Mr. Chamberlain now interposed, condemning flogging 
 as ' unnecessary and immoral,' and calling upon the 
 Government to put in a schedule specifying the offences 
 for which it was to be inflicted. Sir William Harcourt 
 supported this demand. Then John Bright, in a short 
 but powerful speech, urged the Minister of War, 
 Colonel Stanley, to show a spirit of conciliation, and 
 to reduce the number of lashes from fifty to twenty- 
 five at the least. This suggestion l was accepted, 
 Hopwood withdrawing his amendment in favour of 
 
 1 Bright's suggestion later on moved as an amendment by Mr. 
 Brown.
 
 188 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1879 
 
 it. Nevertheless the battle of the ' cat ' was not yet 
 over. Mr. Hopwood immediately moved that the 
 punishment should be inflicted by a ' cat ' with one 
 tail, instead of a ' cat ' with nine tails. Lord Harting- 
 ton opposed this amendment, which was defeated by 
 110 votes. An Irish member, Mr. Callan, next pro- 
 posed that a specimen of the ' cat ' should be exhibited 
 in the Library. ' Yes,' said Parnell, fastening upon 
 this suggestion, ' I should like to see what sort of 
 an instrument is to be used, for I understand there 
 are several kinds.' The Government would not, how- 
 ever, gratify the curiosity either of Mr. Callan or 
 Parnell. Other amendments were now proposed, and 
 on June 19 Parnell once more appealed to the Govern- 
 ment to abolish the cat. ' Let us,' he said, ' as this 
 day's work abolish flogging. If you do that I will 
 wash my hands of the Bill and give you no further 
 trouble.' 
 
 ' No,' said Sir William Harcourt, supported by 
 Ministers ; ' as the Bill now stands (with Bright' s 
 amendment) it is satisfactory, and when the schedule 
 asked for by the hon. member for Birmingham 
 (Chamberlain) is put in we may feel content.' 
 
 ' I will not accept the advice of the hon. member for 
 Oxford,' said Mr. Chamberlain with much warmth ; 
 * he is far too favourable to this Bill. Nothing can 
 be done without obstruction,' he added, and then 
 wound up with this compliment to Parnell : ' I will 
 only add before I sit down that the friends of humanity 
 and the friends of the British army owe a debt of 
 gratitude to my hon. friend the member for Meath for 
 standing up alone against this system of flogging when 
 I myself, and other members, had not the courage 
 of our convictions. The hon. member had opposed
 
 -Ex. 33] MR. CHAMBERLAIN 18!) 
 
 flogging in the Mutiny Bill, but unsuccessfully ; he 
 had opposed it unsuccessfully in the Prisons Bill ; but 
 now he raises the question again, and I hope his efforts 
 will be crowned with success.' l 
 
 Parnell, with characteristic tenacity, had never lost 
 sight of Mr. Callan's suggestion that specimens of the 
 ' cat ' should be exhibited in the Library. ' I should 
 like to know,' he said, ' what the Government knows 
 about these " cats." I have a shrewd suspicion that 
 they know very little. Let the " cats " be produced.' 
 But the Government were obdurate. They had given 
 way on Bright's amendment. They now meant to 
 stand firm. Parnell, however, kept pegging away. He 
 moved that when a man received more than twelve 
 lashes he should be expelled from the army with 
 ignominy, but the amendment was defeated by 109 
 votes. 
 
 Obstruction, of which there had been very little up 
 to about June 20, now began, and the Irish pushed to 
 the front, ' Mr. Parnell,' as the ' Annual Eegister ' 
 put it, ' providing them with opportunities by moving 
 a succession of minute amendments relative to the 
 provisions for enlisting and billeting.' 
 
 On July 3 Mr. Callan, in an amusing speech, in- 
 formed the House that he had paid a visit to the Library, 
 and had seen the ' cat ' in fact, several ' cats ' which 
 he graphically described. The Ministers questioned the 
 accuracy of Mr. Callan's description of the ' instruments 
 of torture.' ' Produce the " cats," ' said Parnell ; ' then 
 we shall know who is right.' Ultimately the ' cats ' 
 were produced on July 5. Mr. Callan's description 
 
 1 ' Chamberlain,' said Mr. Justin McCarthy, ' spoke to me with great 
 admiration of Parnell, and said that his obstructive tactics were the 
 only tactics to succeed.'
 
 190 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 was accurate, and the sight of the ' instruments of 
 torture ' proved fatal to the position of the Govern- 
 ment. 'Abolish flogging,' urged Mr. Chamberlain on 
 this same day (July 5), ' and your Bill will be passed 
 at once; otherwise it will be systematically opposed 
 and obstructed.' 
 
 Colonel Stanley asked Mr. Chamberlain to suspend 
 further opposition until the schedule was put in. 
 ' Agreed,' said Chamberlain, and he appealed to Parnell 
 to let the clauses then under consideration go through. 
 ' No,' cried Parnell, and he moved to report progress 
 on the instant, showing a relentless front and keeping 
 the committee sitting for three hours longer. 
 
 On July 7 Colonel Stanley announced that the 
 Government had resolved to abolish flogging in all 
 cases except when death was the alternative. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain expressed his dissatisfaction with 
 this arrangement, and urged that flogging should be 
 wholly and unconditionally abolished. Lord Hartington 
 supported the Government, when Mr. Chamberlain 
 denounced him in a bitter speech as : ' The noble lord, 
 lately the leader of the Opposition, now the leader of a 
 section of the Opposition.' Bright stood by Chamber- 
 lain, and Parnell and the Irish took the same side. 
 
 On July 15 Parnell and Mr. Chamberlain still showed 
 fight, when Lord Hartington promised that if they 
 allowed the Bill to pass through committee he would 
 move a resolution on the report to give effect to their 
 wishes. They agreed, and on July 17 Lord Hartington, 
 on behalf of the whole Liberal party, moved : ' That no 
 Bill for the discipline and regulation of the army will 
 be satisfactory to this House which provides for the 
 retention of corporal punishment for military offences.' 
 This was the final struggle. The Government stood
 
 l&f. 33] THE EXNIS ELECTION 191 
 
 by their concession' of July 7, and defeated Lord 
 Hartington's resolution by 291 to 185 votes. So ended 
 the campaign against the ' cat ' in 1879 flogging was 
 abolished in all cases except when the alternative 
 punishment was death. In 1881 it was abolished 
 altogether. In the end other men became as anxious 
 for the abolition of the ' cat ' as Parnell ; but it was 
 he who began the fight, and who carried it on with a 
 skill and tenacity which made victory secure. 
 
 From Westminster Parnell hastened to Ireland to 
 take part in the Ennis election in July. There were two 
 candidates in the field : Mr. William O'Brien (Whig), 
 a Catholic barrister and Crown prosecutor, and Mr. 
 Finnigan (Home Ruler), Parnell' s nominee. The bishops 
 and the priests supported Mr. O'Brien, the advanced 
 men stood by Mr. Finnigan. It was the Ennis election 
 that tested Parnell's strength in the country. ' If Ennis 
 had been lost,' he said afterwards, ' I would have retired 
 from public life, for it would have satisfied me that the 
 priests were supreme in Irish politics.' Ennis was 
 not lost. Mr. Finnigan was returned. 
 
 Some days later an incident occurred which caused 
 a good deal of commotion at the time, and gave Parnell 
 not a little trouble. The Irish University Bill (which 
 afterwards became law) 1 was before the House of 
 Commons. Parnell took an advanced position in the 
 discussion. He was, in fact, in favour of the extreme 
 Catholic demand namely, a Catholic university. Mr. 
 Gray, the proprietor of the ' Freeman's Journal,' and 
 other moderate Catholic members were in favour of a 
 
 1 The Bill establishing a Eoyal university practically an examining 
 board. Curiously enough, the Government said they would not deal 
 with the subject at the beginning of the session ; but, to buy off Parnell's 
 opposition to their measures generally, they introduced and passed it at 
 the end.
 
 192 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 compromise such as the Government proposed. There 
 was a meeting of the Irish members to consider the 
 subject. Some hot words passed between the extreme 
 and the moderate men, and Parnell was reported to 
 have referred contemptuously to the moderates as 
 ' Papist rats.' Currency was given to this report in 
 the ' Freeman's Journal.' Parnell said the statement 
 was ' absolutely false,' and several of the extreme 
 Catholics corroborated his assertion. Still, there was 
 a good deal of unpleasantness over the matter, and 
 many people believed that Parnell used the words. 
 As a matter of fact he did not use them. They were 
 used by an extreme Catholic just as the meeting had 
 broken up and when there was a good deal of con- 
 fusion in the room. ' The first time I ever had a talk 
 with Parnell about politics,' Mr. Corbett, the present 
 member for Wicklow, said to me, ' was about the 
 " Papist rats " incident. Gray and Parnell had differed 
 on the education question. Gray was in favour of a 
 compromise ; Parnell wanted the extreme Catholic 
 demand. Gray succeeded in carrying the party with 
 him, and Parnell was reported to have said, on leaving 
 the room, "these Papist rats." I asked Parnell if 
 he had used the words. He said : " No. The words 
 were used, but not by me. Why, Corbett, should I 
 offend the Catholics of Ireland by speaking insultingly 
 of them? Certainly it would be very foolish, to put 
 the matter on no other ground. An Irish Protestant 
 politician can least of all afford to offend the Catholic 
 priests or laity. No ; I would not insult the priests." 
 
 The condition of Ireland was now alarming. Dis- 
 tress was increasing ; evictions were imminent ; agi- 
 tation, fed by the poverty of the tenants and the follies 
 of the landlords, spread like wildfire. Towards the end of
 
 Jvi. 38] ROUSING THE COUNTRY 193 
 
 / 
 
 April a great land meeting was held in Limerick. Parnell 
 attended. The chairman a parish priest made a 
 moderate speech, but the meeting was in no temper 
 for moderation. ' The farmers of Ireland,' said the 
 priest, ' if there are to be peace and loyalty, ought to 
 have free land, as the farmers of Belgium, France, and 
 Holland.' ' We want physical force,' shouted the 
 crowd. ' We must not have Fenianism,' said the f 
 priest. ' Three cheers for the Irish republic,' was 
 the response. 
 
 Parnell sat calm and impassive while the vast mass 
 before him surged with discontent. When his time 
 for speaking came he made one of those cold-blooded, 
 businesslike speeches which fired the people more than 
 the wild rhetoric of some of his more inflammable 
 colleagues. Repeating the advice he had given at 
 Westport, he told the farmers to keep a ' firm grip on 
 their homesteads,' and to show ' a firm and determined 
 attitude ' to the landlords. ' Stand to your guns,' he 
 said, ' and there is no power on earth which can 
 prevail against the hundreds of thousands of tenant 
 farmers of this country.' On September 21 he attended 
 another land meeting in Tipperary. There he once 
 more told the people to rely upon themselves, and 
 themselves alone. 
 
 ' It is no use relying upon the Government, it is 
 no use relying upon the Irish members, it is no use 
 relying upon the House of Commons. (Groans.) You 
 must rely upon your own determination, that deter- 
 mination which has enabled you to survive the famine 
 years and to be present here to-day (cheers) and if 
 you are determined, I tell you, you have the game in 
 your own hands.' (Prolonged cheers.) 
 
 Davitt, who was the soul of this land agitation, 
 
 VOL. i. o
 
 194 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 now resolved to sweep the various tenant defence 
 societies scattered over the country into one great 
 organisation, and to call it the Land League. His 
 plan was to have a central committee in Dublin, and 
 local branches in the rural districts. He put his views 
 before Parnell. Parnell for a moment hesitated. He 
 had often heard Butt say that organisations of this 
 kind were attended with a good deal of danger. The 
 central authority could not always control the local 
 branches, yet it was responsible for every act of a 
 local branch. The moderate members of the parlia- 
 mentary party, while sympathising thoroughly with 
 the cause of the tenants, shrank from Davitt's proposal. 
 Parnell, however, with the clearness of vision which 
 always characterised him, saw that the promotion of 
 the League was inevitable. The question was, should 
 it go on without him ? 
 
 After the conversation with Kickham, if not before, 
 he fully realised that the tenant farmers could never be 
 left out of account ; therefore, to hold himself apart 
 from a great land movement would be political suicide. 
 Farmers, Fenians, Home Kulers, bishops, priests 
 all should be brought into line, and he should lead all. 
 That was the policy, that was the faith, of Parnell. 
 
 ' Unless we unite all shades of political opinion in 
 the country,' he had said at a meeting of the Home 
 Eule League on September 11, ' I fail to see how we 
 can expect ever to attain national independence.' To 
 have a Land League standing by itself and out of touch 
 with the Home Rule League seemed to him, after a 
 little reflection, the height of folly. His principle all 
 the time was ' unity;' and assuredly it would not make 
 for unity to have Davitt at the head of one league and 
 himself, or somebody else, at the head of another.
 
 .Ex. 33] THE LAND LEAGUE 195 
 
 t 
 
 He saw all the risks of the situation, and he resolved 
 to face them. A united Ireland was the paramount 
 consideration. 
 
 On October 21 there was a conference of Nationalists 
 and Land Eeformers at the Imperial Hotel, Dublin, and 
 there and then the ' Irish National Land League ' was 
 formed, for the purpose of ' bringing about a reduction 
 of rack rents ' and facilitating the creation of a peasant 
 proprietary. ' The objects of the League,' so ran one 
 of the resolutions, ' can best be attained by defending 
 those who may be threatened with eviction for refusing 
 to pay unjust rents ; and by obtaining such reforms in 
 the laws relating to land as will enable every tenant to 
 become the owner of his holding by paying a fair rent 
 for a limited number of years. Parnell was elected 
 president of the League ; Mr. Biggar, Mr. O' Sullivan, 
 Mr. Patrick Egan, hon. treasurers ; Mr. Davitt, Mr. 
 Kettle, Mr. Brennan, hon. secretaries. Thus of the 
 seven first chosen officers four were Fenians or ex- 
 Fenians Biggar, Egan, Brennan, Davitt and all were 
 in sympathy with Fenianism. The Land League was, 
 in fact, the organisation of the New Departure. Within 
 twelve months of his return from America Davitt had 
 established a formidable association, well fitted in' 
 every respect to carry out the policy which he and 
 Devoy had planned. Davitt and his colleagues might 
 be in rebellion against England. They were also in 
 rebellion against the governing body of the Fenian 
 society. Land League meetings were now held con- 
 stantly throughout the country, and speeches of extreme 
 violence were delivered. The fight between the League 
 and th'e Government had commenced in earnest. 
 
 The agitators acted with vigour and ability ; the 
 Government with supineness and stupidity. Disbe- 
 
 o 2
 
 196 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL 
 
 lieving in the reality of the land movement, they had 
 allowed it to grow ; then, suddenly alarmed at the out- 
 look, they struck at it in the moment of its strength, and 
 finally recoiled from the impetus of their own blow. 
 Davitt, Daly (a Mayo journalist), and Killen (a barrister) 
 addressed a meeting at Gurteen, in the county of Sligo, 
 on November 2. They made violent speeches, not, how- 
 ever, exceeding in ' lawlessness ' of tone the calm incite- 
 ments to ' rebellion ' which had characterised the 
 unrhetorical utterances of Parnell at Westport, Limerick, 
 and Tipperary. Yet the Government resolved to punish 
 them while letting the wily Parliamentarian go free. 
 On November 19 the three Land Leaguers were 
 arrested. Parnell showed his appreciation of this move 
 by attending a meeting at Balla, County Mayo, a few 
 days later, summoned to protest against evictions and 
 to denounce the Government. Brennan, one of the 
 secretaries of the League, was the orator of the day. 
 He delivered a furious oration, defying the authorities, 
 and appealing to the Royal Irish Constabulary who 
 were present to stand by ' their kith and kin,' and not 
 to play the base part of the ' destroyers of their own 
 people ' by helping on the work of eviction. While the 
 meeting wildly cheered the fiery sentences of Brennan, 
 Parnell sat unmoved. Then he rose, congratulated 
 Brennan on the ' magnificent speech ' to which they 
 had listened, and added, with imperturbable gravity : ' I 
 fear very much that the result of the lead which Mr. 
 Brennan has taken in the movement will be that he 
 will be sent to share the fate of Mr. Davitt, Mr. Daly, 
 and Mr. Killen.' This proved a true prediction. On 
 December 5 Brennan was arrested. What happened ? 
 In a few days the Government flinched, dropped the 
 prosecution, and discharged the prisoners. They had
 
 /Ex. 33] DEPARTURE FOR AMERICA 197 
 
 / 
 
 realised, though rather late in the day for their own 
 dignity, that no jury could be got to convict the 
 Leaguers, and they did not wish to risk a verdict of 
 ' not guilty.' All Ireland laughed at this performance ; 
 and landlords and tenants, who had so little in com- 
 mon, joined in regarding the action or non-action of 
 the Administration with contempt and ridicule. As 
 winter approached famine threatened the west, and 
 committees were formed by the Duchess of Marl- 
 borough (the wife of the Lord-Lieutenant) and by 
 the Lord Mayors to collect food and clothing for the 
 starving peasantry. At the Land League Conference 
 of October 21 a resolution had been passed requesting 
 Parnell to visit America ' for the purpose of obtaining 
 assistance from our exiled fellow-countrymen.' This 
 resolution was now put into effect, and on December 21 
 Parnell set out for New York (accompanied by Mr. 
 Dillon) on the twofold mission of appealing for funds 
 to save the tenant farmers from immediate ruin, and of 
 consolidating the union between the Irish at home and 
 the Irish abroad.
 
 198 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1879 
 
 CHAPTEK X 
 
 THE CLAN-NA-GAEL THE GENERAL ELECTION 
 
 ' WELL, Parnell has his work cut out for him now, at 
 all events. If he can hold his ground with the 
 Clan-na-Gael, and afterwards hold it in the House of 
 Commons, he will win Home Rule. The Clan-na-Gael 
 are the open and avowed enemies of England. Their 
 policy is to strike her anywhere and anyhow. What 
 is Parnell going to say to them ? If he speaks with 
 an eye to the House of Commons his speeches won't 
 go down with the Clan. If he speaks with an eye to 
 the Clan his speeches will be used with tremendous 
 effect against him in the House. It is all very well 
 for men who are not members of Parliament to go 
 among Revolutionists. But the member of Parliament 
 has to face the music at St. Stephen's ; and how 
 Parnell is going to face it after his visit to the Clan- 
 na-Gael I don't know.' 
 
 So said an Irish Home Rule member to me on the 
 eve of Parnell's departure for the United States. 
 
 Parnell himself set out on his mission with a light 
 heart. What the House of Commons would think, or 
 would not think, gave him little trouble. He was not 
 in the habit of forecasting the future to an extent which 
 would interfere with the operations of the present.
 
 -Ex. 33] A POLICY OF UNION 199 
 
 / 
 
 1 Sufficient for the day is the work thereof ' ; that was 
 
 practically his motto. He saw his way clearly to a 
 given point ; he went straight to that point, and then 
 surveyed the situation afresh. ' The critical side of 
 his character is too strongly developed. He can only 
 see difficulties.' This has been said of an English 
 Liberal statesman of our own day. It could not be 
 said of Parnell. No man certainly was so quick in 
 seeing, or rather in judging, difficulties ; but neither 
 was any man so adroit, so ready, so resourceful in over- 
 coming them. Difficulties paralyse the mere man of 
 thought ; they nerve the man of action. Parnell had 
 the eye of a general. He took in the whole situation 
 at a glance. He knew when to advance, when to 
 retreat. He divined with the instinct of genius when 
 a position had to be stormed, and when it could be 
 turned with safety. 
 
 When the time for action came he made up his 
 mind quickly ; he did not hesitate, he did not flinch. 
 His objective now w r as the union of all Irishmen, not 
 only in Ireland but all over the world, against England. 
 This was a vital point, and he was prepared to do 
 anything, to risk anything, for it. The opinion of the 
 House of Commons was nothing to him. The House, 
 he felt, would give way quickly enough before a united 
 Ireland ; and of a united Ireland he thought alone. 
 The Irish in America were a great force. It was 
 essential to bring them into line with the Irish at 
 home. The Clan-na-Gael was probably not an im- 
 maculate organisation. But was the English Govern- 
 ment in Ireland immaculate ? He would avail himself of 
 every power within his reach to attack that Government ; 
 and would show exactly the same amount of ' scruple ' 
 in dealing with England that England had habitually
 
 200 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 shown in dealing with his own nation. If he could he 
 would have preferred to settle the Anglo-Irish question 
 by open warfare. That was not possible. He would, 
 therefore, use whatever means were ready to his hand 
 for out-mano3uvring the ' common enemy.' He had 
 no more intention of giving himself away to the Clan- 
 na-Gael than he had of giving himself away to the 
 British Minister. But, after all, there was something 
 in common between him and the Clan, however much 
 they might differ about the modus operandi. They 
 both hated England. Between him and the British 
 Minister there was nothing in common. He would 
 accordingly use the Clan, as he would use every Irish 
 organisation, to fight the Britisher. For the rest he 
 would trust to the fortunes of war. 
 
 Parnell arrived in New York early in 1880. His 
 work was indeed cut out for him. The Clan-na-Gael 
 were not united in favour of the ' new departure.' 
 There were many important members of the organisa- 
 tion opposed to the parliamentary movement and 
 anxious to make war against it. These men had to 
 be won over, or their hostility, at least, disarmed. 
 Success in this respect was, however, only half the 
 battle. There were thousands of Irishmen who were 
 not Fenians, yet they had to be brought into line with 
 the Fenians. Lastly, the sympathy of the Americans 
 themselves had to be enlisted in the cause of Ireland. 
 How were these things to be accomplished? Most 
 Irish agitators believe in talking. Parnell believed in 
 listening, and by listening, chiefly, he got into the good 
 graces of the Clan-na-Gael. He saw the leaders. He 
 heard what they had to say. He held his tongue. 
 He made no compact ; he entered into no undertaking. 
 He asked only for fair play for the parliamentary
 
 .Ex. :J4] SPEECHES IX AMERICA 20 f 
 
 / 
 
 movement. ' I believe in it,' he said ; ' give it a chance/ 
 His path was not a smooth one in America. There 
 were those in the Clan who said : ' Do not trust 
 Parnell ; he will use you for his own purposes, he will 
 make our movement subservient to his.' This was- 
 particularly the opinion of the Fenian agent who had 
 been sent to Europe in 1878. Then he was more or less 
 favourably disposed to the ' new departure.' Now he was 
 vehemently against it. He quarrelled with Parnell. 
 ' Mr. Parnell,' he said one day with much warmth, 
 ' you are always making inquiries about the Clan-na- 
 Gael. We don't like it. It shows you suspect us. I 
 cannot work with a man who suspects me. The fact 
 is, Mr. Parnell, you want to become the master of the 
 Clan-na-Gael, to use it for the constitutional move- 
 ment. That is your aim. Well, I won't work on 
 that basis.' It was Parnell's luck if luck it is to be 
 called that he almost always succeeded in neu- 
 tralising the hostility of the men who opposed him ; 
 and this particular Fenian soon found himself in a 
 minority. 
 
 The public platform is the breath of the nostrils of 
 the ordinary Irish agitator. He loves it. Parnell 
 detested it. 'I hate public assemblies,' he once said 
 to a friend ; 'it is always an effort for me to attend 
 them. I am always nervous. I dislike crowds/ 
 The public platform had, however, to be used, and r 
 despite his aversion to it, Parnell used it with effect in 
 America. 
 
 At Brooklyn, on January 24, 1880, he said : ' We 
 do not ask you to send armed expeditions over to 
 Ireland (a voice, "That's what we would like." Ap- 
 plause.) I know that you would like to do that very 
 much. (Applause, " Eight.") I think I know what
 
 1>02 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 you are going to say, and what you would like to do, 
 and what you are willing to do, and how willing you 
 will be to help us all. But we ask you to help us in 
 preventing the people who have taken our advice, and 
 who are exhibiting an attitude of devotion which has 
 never been surpassed what we ask you to do is to 
 help us in preventing these people from being starved 
 to death. This is not a new enterprise ; this struggle 
 has gone on for many centuries, and it is bound to go 
 on to the bitter end, and in one way or another the 
 Irish people will insist upon having the land of Ireland 
 for themselves, and the end of it will be that these men 
 who till the soil will also own it. The high heart of 
 our country remains unquelled, the will and courage of 
 our race unquenched, and they are strengthened by the 
 great power of our people in this free land. I feel 
 very confident that the day is very near at hand when 
 we shall have struck the first blow, the first vital blow, 
 at the land system as it now exists in Ireland, and 
 then we shall have taken the first step to obtain for 
 Ireland that right to nationhood for which she has 
 struggled so long and so well.' 
 
 At Cleveland, on January 26, 1880, he said : ' I have 
 said that we are fighting this battle against heavy odds. 
 I have also said that we feel confident of winning it. 
 It has given me great pleasure during my visit to the 
 cities of this country to see the armed regiments of 
 Irishmen who have frequently turned out to escort us ; 
 and when I saw some of these gallant men to-day, who 
 are even now in this hall, I thought that each one of 
 them must wish, with Sarsfield of old, when dying upon 
 a foreign battlefield, " Oh ! that I could carry these 
 arms for Ireland." Well, it may come to that some day 
 or other.'
 
 .Ex. 34] ' THE LAST LINK ' -203 
 
 f 
 
 At Cincinnati, on February 23, 1880, he said : ' I feel 
 confident that we shall kill the Irish landlord system, 
 and when we have given Ireland to the people of Ireland 
 we shall have laid the foundation upon which to build 
 up our Irish nation. The feudal tenure and the rule of 
 the minority have been the corner-stone of English 
 misrule. Pull out that corner-stone, break it up, 
 destroy it, and you undermine English mis-govern- 
 ment. When we have undermined English mis- 
 government we have paved the way for Ireland to 
 take her place among the nations of the earth. And 
 let us not forget that that is the ultimate goal at 
 which all we Irishmen aim. None of us, whether 
 we be in America or in Ireland, or wherever we may be, 
 will be satisfied until we have destroy edv the last link 
 which keeps Ireland bound to England.' 
 
 At Eochester, in February 1880, he said : ' I am 
 bound to admit that it is the duty of every Irishman to 
 shed the last drop of his blood in order to obtain his 
 rights, if there were a probable chance of success, yet 
 at the same time we all recognise the great responsi- 
 bility of hurling our unarmed people on the points of 
 British bayonets. We must act with prudence when 
 the contest w r ould be hopeless, and not rush upon 
 destruction.' 
 
 It would be doing scant justice to Parnell to suggest 
 for an instant that these speeches were made merely 
 for the purpose of conciliating the Clan-na-Gael. Far 
 from it. In what he said he spoke the faith that was 
 in him. Other speeches he made to Irishmen who 
 were not Fenians, and then he dealt with the land 
 question alone. But he did not take off his coat to 
 reform the land laws of Ireland. He took off his coat 
 to loosen the English grip on the island. Therefore at
 
 204 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 Brooklyn, Cleveland, and Cincinnati he spoke from his 
 heart. 
 
 His progress in America was a triumphal procession. 
 He went everywhere, and everywhere he was received 
 with open arms. Large towns and small vied with 
 each other in showing honour to him, and sympathy 
 for the cause he represented. Public bodies presented 
 addresses to him. Irish soldiers lined the streets of the 
 cities through which he passed. Governors of States 
 waited on him. Congress itself threw open its doors 
 to let him plead the cause of his country before the 
 Parliament of the republic. ' In spite, and partly 
 perhaps because, of the attacks directed at us by a 
 portion of the Eastern Press,' he wrote to P. Egan on 
 March 1, ' the enthusiasm increases in volume as we 
 proceed from place to place, military guards and salvoes 
 of artillery salute our coming, and the meetings which 
 we address, although high admission charge is made, 
 are packed from floor to roof. State Governors, 
 members of Congress, local representatives, judges, 
 clergymen, continually appear upon the platform.' 
 
 ' In two months,' he said subsequently, ' we visited 
 sixty-two different cities that is, little more than one 
 city a night. Between two of these cities we on one 
 occasion travelled 1,400 miles. During the two months 
 we remained in America we travelled together something 
 like 10,000 or 11,000 by land. This, joined to the 6,000 
 miles of ocean there and back, amounts roughly to 16,000 
 miles in three months, which is not bad for a man. The 
 net result of these sixty-two cities was 200,000 dollars 
 actually in the hands of our committee in America.' l 
 
 1 The honour extended to Parnell of addressing the House of 
 Eepresentatives was shared only by three other individuals. Curiously 
 enough O'Meara Condon, one of the men tried and convicted in con-
 
 .Ex. 34] IN CANADA 20-3 
 
 f 
 
 From the United States Parnell went to Canada, 
 whither he was accompanied by Mr. Healy, who had 
 joined him in America. ' I was with him,' says Mr. 
 Healy, ' for about three weeks, but I have not much to 
 tell beyond what appears in the newspapers. We 
 went to Canada together. Before starting the Bishop 
 of Toronto wrote to Parnell to warn him against 
 coming, suggesting that he would probably be attacked 
 by the Orangemen. Parnell sent a dignified reply, 
 saying he had promised to come, that he would keep 
 his word, and that he had no apprehensions of dis- 
 turbance. We came. There was no row, nor sign of 
 a row. " Perhaps," said Parnell with an enigmatical 
 smile, " the Orangemen do not wish to attack a Pro- 
 testant." On arriving at Toronto Parnell went straight 
 to a telegraph station, and told me to " come along." 
 He took up a telegram form, wrote out a message with 
 great pains, and then tore up the form. He tried 
 again, and went on boggling over his message until I 
 thought he would never get done. At length he 
 apparently satisfied himself, and then handed the 
 message to me, saying, ' Is that all right '? ' It was 
 simply a wire to his mother in New York saying that 
 he had arrived safely, and that she need have no fears 
 about him as all was quiet and peaceful. But it was 
 written in French. That was the cause of the boggling. 
 I thought it was very odd that he should (to secure 
 secrecy) send a telegram in French from Toronto, where 
 they speak French as well as they do in Paris. I felt 
 inclined to tell him so ; but thought on reflection that 
 it was no business of mine. Moreover, it struck me 
 
 nection with the Manchester rescue, and who had cried from the 
 clock, ' God save Ireland,' was a prominent member of the committee 
 which organised Parnell's reception by Congress.
 
 206 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 that perhaps he wanted to keep someone in the dark in 
 New York. Another thing struck me about this inci- 
 dent. There was this cold, callous man, who seemed 
 not to care for anyone, rushing off to a telegraph office 
 to w r ire his mother not to be uneasy about him. He 
 was a man of surprises, and certainly very fond of his 
 own family. 
 
 ' We had a great meeting at Toronto. But the 
 biggest meeting I ever attended was at Montreal. It 
 was here he was first called the " uncrowned king." 
 A high charge was made for admission. The hall, the 
 biggest in the city, could not hold all the people who 
 wanted to come. The enthusiasm was tremendous. 
 Parnell sat like a sphinx the whole time. He seemed 
 not to be a bit touched by the demonstration. The 
 whole town went mad about him. Everyone was 
 affected but himself. 
 
 ' Next day, as we steamed out of the railway station, 
 returning to New York, I repeated some humorous 
 lines which I had recently read about Montreal. I 
 wanted to see if Parnell could see the fun of them. 
 He listened in a dreamy way until I was done, and 
 then said : "I have been thinking if anyone will ever 
 pay to come and hear me lecture again." The poem 
 was thrown away on him. 
 
 ' We left New York for Ireland on a bitterly cold 
 March morning. The 69th Eegiment l saw us off. 
 As soon as I got on board the tender I turned towards 
 the cabin to get under shelter from the driving sleet. 
 Parnell stood on the bridge the whole time until the 
 tender left with head uncovered ; and it was a fine 
 sight to see the 69th>salute as we sailed off, and Parnell 
 wave his hand in response, looking like a king.' 
 
 1 This regiment was at one time composed entirely of Fenians.
 
 DISTRESS IX IRELAND 207 
 
 Parnell's last act before starting for Ireland was to 
 form an American Land League. A hurried meeting 
 was held in New York. The Fenians dominated it, 
 though Constitutionalists also attended at Parnell's. 
 special request. A committee of seven was appointed 
 to frame a constitution for the new association, and 
 out of these seven four were members of the Clan-na- 
 Gael. We have seen that Davitt was one of the secre- 
 taries of the Irish Land League. John Devoy was 
 now appointed one of the treasurers of the American 
 Land League. Thus the joint authors of the policy 
 of the new departure held important posts in the 
 joint organisations founded (inter alia) to carry out 
 that policy. What then, briefly, was the situation in 
 the spring of 1880 ? Within the American Land 
 League there were Constitutionalists, between whom 
 and the Revolutionists much friction existed ; but 
 the Revolutionists were always in a majority. In 
 the Irish Land League the overwhelming majority 
 were Constitutionalists, but the most active spirits 
 were Fenians or ex-Fenians. The supreme council of 
 the I. R. B. fought to the last against the Leaguers 
 without, however, producing any permanent effect on 
 the course of events. Parnell all the time concentrated 
 the whole of his energies in uniting the discordant 
 elements of which the whole movement against Eng- 
 land was composed. He was the centre of unity. 
 
 Meanwhile the agitation in Ireland went steadily 
 on. The distress of the people in the western districts ^ 
 grew appalling. Evictions increased. No reductions 
 in rent were made. The landlords, with the madness 
 of the old French regime, foresaw nothing, and un- 
 consciously fanned the flames which were to consume 
 them. On the meeting of Parliament Mr. Shaw moved
 
 ^08 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1880 
 
 an amendment to the Address affirming that, ' although 
 in possession of timely warning and information, the 
 Government had not taken adequate steps to alleviate 
 the distress,' and adding that ' it was essential to the 
 peace and prosperity of Ireland to legislate at once in 
 a comprehensive manner on those questions which 
 affect the tenure of land in Ireland, the neglect of 
 w r hich by Parliament had been the true cause of the 
 constantly recurring disaffection and distress in Ireland.' 
 In the debate which followed Sir Stafford Northcote 
 made a statement on the subject of that distress which 
 we are told ' startled ' the House. ' The statistics,' says 
 the ' Annual Register,' ' given by Sir S. Northcote 
 from the report of the Registrar-General on the agri- 
 cultural condition of Ireland were startling. It was 
 estimated that there had been a falling off in the prin- 
 cipal crops from the yield of the previous year to the 
 value of 10,000,OOOZ. The value of the potato crop 
 was more than 6,000,OOOZ. below the average. . . . 
 Figures of such an enormous deficiency startled many 
 who had been previously disposed to believe that the 
 Irish distress had no serious foundation except in the 
 imaginations of the Home Rulers and anti-rent agi- 
 tators.' The British Parliament, with characteristic 
 indifference, had turned a deaf ear to the remonstrances 
 of the Irish representatives until famine was upon the 
 land and the fires of agitation were blazing in every 
 district. Even then Ministers pottered with the situa- 
 tion. Of course Mr. Shaw's amendment was defeated 
 by an overwhelming majority 216 against 66 the 
 notion of reforming the land laws of Ireland was 
 scouted, and an inadequate Relief Bill passed. 1 
 
 1 This Belief Bill was thus described by the present Lord Chief 
 Justice of England before the Parnell Commission : ' The form it took
 
 .Er. 34] DISSOLUTION OF PARLIAMENT 209 
 
 Then, to the astonishment of everyone, the Dissolu- 
 tion was sprung upon the country. 1 The Government 
 tried to make Home Kule the issue of the conflict, and 
 to stir up English passion and prejudice against Ireland. 
 ' My Lord Duke,' said Lord Beaconsfield in his letter 
 to the Irish Viceroy, the Duke of Marlborough, ' A 
 danger in its ultimate results scarcely less disastrous 
 than pestilence and famine, and which now engages 
 your Excellency's anxious attention, distracts Ireland. 
 
 was advancing to Irish landlords 1,100,0007. of the surplus funds of the 
 disestablished Church in Ireland, to lend that money to Irish landlords 
 without interest for two years, and at the end of two years at the rate of 
 one per cent. ; and, unless numbers of landlords are gravely maligned, 
 when they employed their tenants and paid them wages out of this fund 
 for working upon their own farms (which wages went towards payment 
 of rent), those tenants were charged in some cases four and five and 
 even more per cent., and that in perpetuity, on the very money advanced 
 by the State for their relief, thus getting the relief filtered through the 
 hands of the landlords in this indirect and very ineffective fashion r 
 (Speech of Sir Charles Russell, p. 159). 
 
 1 The Government made another attempt in February to deal with 
 obstruction, and passed the following resolution : ' That whenever any 
 member shall have been named by the Speaker or by the chairman of a 
 committee of the whole House as disregarding the authority of the 
 chair, or abusing the rules of the House by persistently and wilfully 
 obstructing the business of the House or otherwise, then, if the offence 
 has been committed in the House, the Speaker shall forthwith put the 
 question or motion being made, no amendment, adjournment, or debate 
 being allowed : " That such member be suspended from the service of 
 the House during the remainder of that day's sitting ; " and if the offence 
 has been committed in a committee of the whole House, the chairman 
 shall, on motion being made, put the same question in a similar way, 
 and if the motion is carried shall forthwith suspend the proceedings of 
 the committee and report the circumstance to the House, and the 
 Speaker shall thereupon put the same question, without amendment, 
 adjournment, or debate, as if the offence had been committed in the 
 House itself. If any member be suspended three times in one session 
 under this order, this suspension on the third occasion shall continue 
 for one week and until a motion has been made, upon which it shall be 
 decided at one sitting by the House whether the suspension shall then 
 cease or for what longer period it shall continue, and on the occasion of 
 such motion the member may, if he desires it, be heard in his place. 
 Provided always that nothing in this resolution shall be taken to deprive 
 the House of the power of proceeding against any member according to 
 ancient usages.' 
 
 VOL. I. P
 
 210 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1880 
 
 A portion of its population is attempting to sever the 
 constitutional tie which unites it to Great Britain in 
 that bond which has favoured the power and prosperity 
 of both.' l Mr. Gladstone refused to accept the issue 
 l as stated by Lord Beaconsfield, and resolved to fight 
 the Government upon the whole line of their policy ; 
 but chiefly on the question of foreign affairs. To the 
 paragraph in the Prime Minister's letter dealing with 
 Ireland Mr. Gladstone replied in his address to the 
 electors of Midlothian : ' Gentlemen, those who endan- 
 gered the Union with Ireland were the party that main- 
 tained there an alien Church, an unjust land law, and 
 franchises inferior to our own ; and the true supporters 
 of the Union are those who uphold the supreme 
 authority of Parliament, but exercise that authority 
 to bind the three nations by the indissoluble tie of 
 liberal and equal laws. Let me say that in my 
 opinion these two great subjects of local government 
 and the land laws ought now to occupy a foremost 
 place in the thoughts of every man who aspires to be a 
 legislator. In the matter of local government there 
 may lie a solution of some national and even Imperial 
 difficulties. It will not be in my power to enter 
 largely [now] upon the important question of the 
 condition of Ireland ; but you know well how un- 
 happily the action of Parliament has been impeded 
 and disorganised, from considerations, no doubt, con- 
 scientiously entertained by a part of the Irish repre- 
 
 1 A month before the Dissolution an election took place at Liverpool 
 which once more showed the power of the Irish vote in the English 
 constituencies. Lord Ramsay, the Liberal candidate, was obliged to take 
 the Home Rule pledge (i.e. to vote for an inquiry). He was beaten by a 
 majority of 2,000, but the fact that the Liberal wire-pullers felt that the 
 Home Rulers had to be won over in a great constituency like Liverpool 
 produced a strong impression in political circles throughout the whole 
 country.
 
 .Ei. 34] MR. GLADSTONE AND HOME RULE 211 
 
 f 
 
 sentatives, and from their desire to establish what they 
 
 term Home Eule. If you ask me what I think of 
 Home Rule, I must tell you that I will only answer you 
 when you tell me how Home Rule is related to local 
 government. I am friendly to large local privileges 
 and powers. I desire, I may almost say I intensely 
 desire, to see Parliament relieved of some portion of its 
 duties. I see the efficiency of Parliament interfered 
 with, not only by obstruction from Irish members, but 
 even more gravely by the enormous weight that is 
 placed upon the time and the minds of those whom 
 you send to represent you. We have got an over- 
 weighted Parliament, and if Ireland or any other 
 portion of the country is desirous and able so to 
 arrange its affairs that by taking the local part or 
 some local part of its transactions off the hands of 
 Parliament it can liberate and strengthen Parliament 
 for Imperial concerns, I say I will not only accord a 
 reluctant assent, but I will give a zealous support to 
 any such scheme. One limit, gentlemen, one limit 
 only, I know to the extension of local government. It 
 is this ; nothing can be done, in my opinion, by any 
 wise statesman or right-minded Briton to weaken or 
 compromise the authority of the Imperial Parliament, 
 because the Imperial Parliament must be supreme in 
 these three kingdoms. And nothing that creates a 
 doubt upon that supremacy can be tolerated by an 
 intelligent and patriotic man. But, subject to that 
 limitation, if we can make arrangements under which 
 Ireland, Scotland, Wales, portions of England, can 
 deal with questions of local and special interest to 
 themselves more efficiently than Parliament now can, 
 that, I say, will be the attainment of a great national 
 'good.' 
 
 p 2
 
 212 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 It was the sudden Dissolution that forced Parnell 
 to bring his American tour to an abrupt termination, 
 and to hasten back to Ireland, where he arrived on 
 March 21. 
 
 Parnell thought much of the Clan-na-Gael as a 
 powerful political organisation. In his evidence before 
 the Special Commission he said : ' I believe that so far 
 as any active interest was taken at the time of my 
 going to America by Irishmen in the Irish question, it 
 was by the men of revolutionary physical-force ideas. 
 I believe that the great bulk of the Irish people in 
 America, until I went there, did not take any interest 
 at all in Irish politics.' Nevertheless, he disliked the 
 Clan, because he feared it would give him much 
 trouble. Even at this early date he foresaw that some 
 of its members might run into excesses, which would 
 compromise him and bring discredit on the national 
 movement. He knew, too, that as three thousand 
 miles of ocean separated him from the organisation, he 
 could exercise little restraining influence over its 
 operations. 
 
 But he could not ignore the Clan ; he could not 
 ignore any important Irish political association. His 
 central idea was to attack England. He took the help 
 of all allies for that purpose, and faced the conse- 
 quences. On landing at Queenstown he was met by 
 some members of the I. R. B., who presented him with 
 an address which contained these words : 
 
 ' "We must take the opportunity to express our clear 
 conviction of the hopelessness of looking for justice to 
 Ireland from the English Parliament, and the firm 
 belief of the intelligent manhood of the country that 
 it is utterly futile to seek for any practical national 
 good through the means of parliamentary representation.
 
 .Ex. 34] ENNISCORTHY 213 
 
 Impelled by such convictions, the Nationalists of the 
 country have determined, as a political party, they will 
 take no part in the coming elections, and consequently 
 no part in the adoption, rejection, or support of the 
 parliamentary candidates.' 
 
 We have seen that in 1879 the supreme council of 
 the I. R. B. passed a resolution to the effect that the 
 members of the rank and file might take part in the 
 parliamentary movement at their own risk. In 1880 
 this resolution was rescinded, and it was declared that 
 no Fenian, under any circumstances, should co-operate 
 with the constitutional party. The Queenstown address 
 simply gave expression to this determination. Some 
 days later Parnell received further proof that all the 
 Fenians had not acquiesced in the new departure. 
 The platform from which he addressed a meeting in 
 Enniscorthy in support of the parliamentary candida- 
 ture of his nominees, Mr. Barry and Mr. Byrne, was 
 attacked, and he himself almost dragged from it to 
 the ground. Mr. John Redmond, who stood by his 
 side on the platform, has thus described the scene 
 to me : 
 
 ' I met Parnell in 1880 after his return from 
 America. I was at Enniscorthy with him. It was an 
 awful scene. There were about 4,000 to 5,000 people 
 there. They all seemed to be against him. I re- 
 member one man shouting, though w T hat he meant I 
 could not tell : " We will show Parnell that the blood 
 of Vinegar Hill is still green." The priests were 
 against Parnell. Parnell stood on the platform calm 
 and self-possessed. There was no use in trying to 
 talk. He faced the crowd, looking sad and sorrowful, 
 but not at all angry ; it was an awful picture of patience. 
 A rotten egg was flung at him. It struck him on the
 
 214 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 beard and trickled down. He took no notice of it, 
 never wiped it off, and was not apparently conscious 
 of it ; he faced the crowd steadfastly, and held his 
 ground. One man rushed at him, seized him by the 
 leg, and tore his trouser right up from bottom to top. 
 There was no chance of a hearing, and we got away 
 from the platform and went to the hotel to lunch. 
 Parnell ate a hearty lunch while a waiter was busy 
 stitching his trousers all the time. It was a comical 
 sight. Afterwards we w T ent for a walk. We were 
 met by a hostile mob, and I was knocked down and 
 cut in the face. I got up as quickly as I could and 
 made my way to the railway station. When Parnell 
 saw me he said: "Why, you are bleeding. What is 
 the matter?" I told him what had happened, and he 
 said, smiling: "Well, you have shed your blood for me 
 at all events." 
 
 Into the General Election Parnell flung himself with 
 ardour and vigour, working literally day and night, 
 selecting candidates, superintending all details, flying 
 from constituency to constituency, and inspiring every- 
 one with his energy and determination. Three con- 
 stituencies vied with each other for the honour of 
 electing him Meath, Mayo, and Cork City. The 
 circumstances tinder which he was nominated for Cork 
 were curious, and even remarkable. Here is the story 
 as told to me by his election agent and faithful friend, 
 Mr. Horgan : 
 
 ' The nomination for Cork City was fixed for ( 
 March 31, the candidates being EL D. Murphy (Whig), /' 
 William Goulding (Conservative), and John Daly 
 (Home Ruler). Up to the day of the nomination 
 the advanced Nationalists of Cork took no interest in 
 the election. Of course, they cared nothing for the
 
 /Ex. 34] CORK CITY ELECTION L>15 
 
 / 
 
 Whig nor the Tory, and the Home Kuler was far too 
 moderate. 
 
 ' On the day of the nomination, however, a politician 
 of supposed Nationalist leanings (whom we shall 
 call Y.) came into my office, accompanied by some 
 genuine Nationalists. He handed me a nomination 
 paper bearing Parnell's name. The paper was signed 
 by the Kev. John O'Mahony, C.C., and another 
 priest, the Rev. Denis McCarthy, and by several other 
 electors. Y. asked me to sign as nominator, and 
 to hand the paper to the Sheriff. Before signing I 
 asked him if he had Mr. Parnell's sanction. He replied 
 that he had, and produced 250Z. in bank-notes, which 
 he said Mr. Parnell had sent him from Dublin that 
 morning. 
 
 ' I was at once convinced by the production of the 
 money that the matter was all right. I signed the 
 nomination paper, and had only time to rush from my 
 office across the street to the Sheriff's office and hand 
 it in. Y. gave me 501. to pay the Sheriff's fees. 
 There were a few thousand people on the South Mall, 
 opposite the Sheriff's office, and when they heard that 
 Parnell had been nominated they cheered vigorously 
 and became intensely excited. 
 
 ' The friends of Daly and Murphy were both greatly 
 annoyed, and as I was returning to my office I was 
 jostled about by some of them, and the late Sir 
 D. V. O' Sullivan shouted into my face : "Parnell will 
 not poll the 511 given to John Mitchell at the last 
 election." 
 
 ' Of course it was the advanced Nationalists who 
 had supported Mitchell at the last election, and the 
 same men were supporting Parnell now. The result 
 of bringing Mitchell forward then was to split the
 
 216 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 Liberal vote and to let the Tory Goulding slip in. 
 O' Sullivan feared a similar result now, though in any 
 case he would not like to see an " Extremist " like 
 Parnell returned. 
 
 ' Murphy was a strong candidate, having immense 
 local influence, and the Catholic Bishop, Dr. Delaney, 
 was at his back. In the evening I had a wire from 
 Parnell from Morrison's Hotel, Dublin, thanking me 
 for nominating him, and saying he would come down 
 by the night mail on Friday, April 2. 
 
 ' During Friday afternoon a rumour was freely 
 circulated that Parnell was the Tory nominee. On 
 Saturday morning he arrived at 2 A.M. I met him at 
 the railway station. He surprised me by asking how 
 he came to be nominated. "Why," I said, "did you 
 not authorise Y. to nominate you, and send him 
 250Z. to pay expenses?" "I did not send him a 
 farthing," said Parnell, " and I know nothing whatever 
 about him ; never heard of him. There is something 
 that wants looking into here." " Well," I said, " let 
 us come to the hotel, at all events ; have a rest, and I 
 will send for Father O'Mahony." Accordingly, we 
 went to the hotel. Parnell had some hours' rest, and 
 came down to breakfast looking as fresh as paint. 
 Father O'Mahony had also come, and was much 
 excited about the rumour that Parnell was being 
 run by the Tories. Tim Healy was present too. I 
 told the whole story of how Y. came to me over 
 again. 
 
 ' WTien I was done Parnell said, as quick as light- 
 ning : " Send for Y." We despatched a messenger for 
 Y., who soon appeared upon the scene. Parnell at 
 once took Y. in hand, and went straight to the point 
 without a moment's delay. " Where did you get the
 
 .Ex. 34] CORK CITY ELECTION 217 
 
 / 
 
 250/. you showed Mr. Horgan on Wednesday last ?" 
 he asked, with a keen, determined look. Y. shuffled 
 for a bit, but soon collapsed and made a clean breast 
 of it. He had gone one evening into Goulding's com- 
 mittee rooms, where they were freely discussing the 
 chances of the Nationalists putting forward O'Donovan 
 Kossa or some other impossible candidate, who, like 
 Mitchell, might draw away five or six hundred votes 
 from Daly and Murphy. In such case, they said, 
 Goulding would once more slip in between the broken 
 Liberal ranks. 
 
 / 'Yywas personally known to some of the Tory 
 wire-pullers, and looked upon as an ;i Extremist " who 
 oared neither for Whig nor Tory, and would not in 
 the least object to spoil the Whig game. He was 
 sounded there and then, and told that if he could get 
 an extreme Nationalist candidate the Tories would 
 pay the Sheriff's fees and give him (Y.) 200Z. for 
 himself. 
 
 ' Y. undertook to bring forward such a candidate, 
 but said he would not disclose the name until the 
 day of nomination. He stipulated, however, that the 
 250/. should be given to him at once. This was agreed 
 to, and Mr. B handed Y. the money (250Z.). 
 
 ' That was Y.'s plain unvarnished tale. When 
 he had finished Parnell said : " You gave 50Z. to 
 Mr. Horgan on the day of the nomination. Where is 
 the remaining 200Z. ? " Y. refused to tell. Parnell 
 pressed him; he still held out. "Y.," said Parnell 
 at last, with a determined look, " if you do not tell 
 me at once where the money is I will raise that 
 window and denounce you to the citizens of Cork." 
 An immense crowd had by this time gathered outside. 
 Y. looked at the crowd and then at Parnell, and
 
 218 CHARLES STEWAKT PARNELL [1880 
 
 finally put his hand into his breeches pocket and pulled 
 out a bundle of bank-notes. " There is the 200Z.," said 
 he. Healy, who was nearest to him, seized the notes 
 at once. " Now," said Parnell, " the question is what 
 shall we do with the money." "Return it to the 
 Tories at once," said Father O'Mahony. " Nonsense," 
 said Healy. " We'll fight the election with it. It will 
 be all the sweeter to win the seat with Tory money." 
 Tim relished the fun of the thing immensely. "I 
 think the best thing to do at present," said Parnell, 
 "is to hand the money to Mr. Horgan until we have 
 time to consider the matter." Tim then handed me 
 the notes. Well, we kept the money. It was barely 
 enough, although w r e ran the contest on the most 
 economical lines. 
 
 ' Parnell addressed the citizens (an enormous crowd) 
 from the hotel windows that night, and was cheered 
 with wild delight. I remember that the " Cork 
 Examiner " (Whig), which attacked Parnell, was 
 publicly burned outside the window. On Sunday, 
 April 4, we started after breakfast with Parnell and a 
 large body of supporters on cars for Douglas, a village 
 three miles from Cork, where Parnell addressed the 
 rural voters after Mass, and then we drove to Blackrock, 
 another rural parish, where he also addressed another 
 meeting. Then we drove to the other side of the city 
 to Glanmire, where the people took the horses from 
 his car and drew him back to Cork. 
 
 ' Next we proceeded to the city park, where he 
 addressed thirty thousand people wild with excitement. 
 His horses again were unyoked, and he was drawn 
 back to the hotel. ' That night at eight o'clock he 
 addressed the people from the hotel window. The 
 crowd was enormous, and occupied the whole of
 
 ^Ei. 34] CORK COUNTY ELECTIOX 219 
 
 / 
 
 Patrick Street. I never will forget his opening words. 
 They acted like an electric shock on the excited 
 people. He said, in slow and measured language, with 
 a deep pause after each word : " Citizens of Cork. This 
 is the night before the battle. To your guns then." 
 It was quite evident that we had all Cork with us, and 
 that there was no fear of Parnell at the election next 
 day. 
 
 ' At breakfast on Monday morning Parnell decided 
 to nominate Mr. Kettle for the county l ; the nomination 
 was to be on that day from ten to twelve o'clock at the 
 Court House. The difficulty was to get a nomination 
 paper without disclosing what we were about. So I 
 wrote out the form of nomination on an ordinary sheet 
 of notepaper. Then the difficulty was to get ten 
 county electors to sign it, as the city liberties extend 
 seven or eight miles around the city. As twelve o'clock 
 was the latest hour fixed for receiving nominations, we 
 were hard pressed for time. I suggested that I should 
 get a county list of voters, and with it proceed to the 
 corn and butter markets, where numbers of county 
 farmers usually were. Accordingly we drove off to the 
 corn market, and every man we saw with a frieze coat 
 we asked his name and where he was from, and then 
 looked out for the name in the list of voters, and, on 
 finding it, got the man to sign the nomination paper. 
 At the corn market we only got a few names ; we then 
 drove to the butter market, where we got some farmers 
 from Castletown Bearhaven, and some from Chorle- 
 velly, and different other parts of the county. Then 
 we drove to the Court House, where Kettle and Parnell 
 missed each other, and as the last moment for lodging the 
 
 1 The Home Rule candidates already nominated were Shaw and 
 Colonel Colthurst.
 
 220 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 paper was at hand great excitement prevailed. Kettle 
 who, as the candidate, had to hand in the nomina- 
 tion paper could not be found ; none of his nominators 
 were on the spot either. Parnell was very anxious, 
 and kept dashing up and down the stairs and about the 
 court doors, seeking for Kettle. At the last moment 
 Kettle arrived and handed Mr. Johnson, the sub-sheriff, 
 the nomination paper. John George McCarthy, the 
 agent for Shaw and Colthurst, objected, first on the 
 ground that we were late ; but the Sheriff said the time 
 by his watch wanted half a minute to twelve o'clock, 
 and accordingly ruled that we were in time. Then 
 McCarthy objected to the paper because it was in- 
 formal, being on a sheet of notepaper instead of the 
 Sheriff's printed form. That was also overruled, and 
 then the names of the nominators were questioned ; 
 but they were found to be all right, and so Kettle was 
 nominated. There was a great commotion as soon as 
 it was known that Parnell had put up Kettle against 
 Shaw and Colthurst. The local Press were dead 
 against him. Next day the county was placarded with 
 a letter signed by the four Catholic bishops of Cork, 
 Cloyne, Boss, and Kerry (the latter has jurisdiction 
 over several parishes, Millstreet, Glengariff, and Castle- 
 town Bere, which, though in the County Cork, are 
 in the Kerry diocese), strongly advocating Shaw and 
 Colthurst. I managed the election all over the county. 
 The priests attended the polling booths, ranged on 
 the side of Shaw and Colthurst, and did all they 
 could against Kettle. Parnell went off immediately 
 after nominating Kettle to Mayo and Meath, being 
 also candidate for each of these counties. On April 6 
 the poll for the city was declared, and Parnell and Daly 
 were elected. From this until the county polling on
 
 .Ex. 34] CORK COUNTY ELECTION 221 
 
 / 
 April 14 Parnell kept flying around the counties of 
 
 Cork, Mayo, and Meath. He \vas nights and days 
 travelling between the three counties and addressing 
 meetings. James O'Kelly, with Healy and Kettle r 
 remained with me in Cork, and also Lysath Finnigan. 
 These gentlemen scattered themselves about parts of the 
 county, but they were unable to visit one-fifteenth part 
 of the constituency. One day Parnell was in Mayo, 
 next day in Cork, and next in Meath, and so on, 
 eternally flying from one county to the other. I do- 
 not believe Parnell slept in a bed for ten days. He was 
 also much engaged with looking after his other various 
 candidates all over Ireland. The county election took 
 place on April 14. Eeports came in that the priests 
 w T ere working hard at every polling centre on behalf of 
 Shaw and Colthurst. On April 15 the scrutiny took 
 place. It was very exciting. The voting was very 
 even for some hours. Colthurst was so sure of defeat 
 by Kettle that he retired from the room ; but towards 
 the end it was found that Colthurst was ahead of 
 Kettle by 151. Shaw polled 5,354, Colthurst 3,581, 
 and Kettle 3,430, which was a splendid result con- 
 sidering the opposition of the four bishops and all 
 the priests, and the short time we had for prepara- 
 tion. 
 
 ' About a month after the election Y. brought 
 
 O 
 
 me a letter from Mr. Harvey, solicitor, demanding 
 
 payment on behalf of Mr. B of the 250Z. which 
 
 B - had given Y., and threatening an action at law 
 if it was not paid. I took Mr. Harvey's letter, and 
 told Y. I would see him harmless over the matter 
 and attend to it myself. I wrote to Harvey saying I 
 would accept service of the writ on behalf of Y. I 
 was never served with the writ, so that we had the
 
 224 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1830 
 
 On April 30 there was a great Nationalist meeting 
 at the Rotunda, and it was upon that occasion that 
 Parnell made what has been called the 'bread and 
 lead speech.' He said : ' The Americans sent me 
 back with this message that for the future you must 
 not expect one cent for charity, but millions to break 
 the land system. And now before I go I will tell you 
 a little incident that happened at one of our meetings 
 in America. A gentleman came on the platform and 
 handed me #25, and said: "Here is #5 for bread and 
 #20 for lead." ' 
 
 Parnell was now in the saddle, where for eleven 
 years he sat firmly without a competitor or an equal. 
 ' How came Parnell,' I asked Mr. Justin McCarthy, ' to 
 acquire his great ascendency ? ' He answered : ' He 
 owed his ascendency to his strength of will and his 
 readiness to see what was the right thing to do at a 
 given moment. He was not liked by the party as a 
 whole. S. never liked him. H. very soon began to 
 dislike him. D. was loyal to him, but did not like 
 him. 0. liked him. I liked him. But, like or 
 dislike, all bowed to him, because all felt that he was 
 the one man who knew what to do in moments of 
 difficulty, and that he was always right. He had the 
 genius of a Commander-in-Chief. It was that which 
 gave him his power. Others of us might be useful in 
 fixing lines of policy in advance. But when a crisis 
 arose, when something had to be done on the instant 
 which might have a serious effect in the future, we 
 were no good. We were paralysed. Parnell made 
 
 Gill, Dawson, Leamy, Corbet, McCoan, Finnigan, Daly, Marum, W. H. 
 O'Sullivan, J. Leahy, O'Gorman Mahon, O'Shea 23. 
 
 For Shaw : McFarlane, Brooke, Colthurst, Synan, Sir P. O'Brien, 
 Foley, Smithwick, Fay, Errington, Gabbett, Smyth, E. Power, Blake, 
 McKenna, P. Martin, Meldon, Callan, Gray 18.
 
 -ET. 34] AX ' IRON WILL ' 225 
 
 / 
 
 up his mind in an instant, and did the thing without 
 doubting or flinching.' 
 
 ' As a parliamentary strategist,' says Mr. Healy, 
 ' Parnell was simply perfect. No one was like him 
 for seeing the difficulties of a situation and for getting 
 out of them.' 
 
 ' To what do you ascribe Parnell's success ? ' I asked 
 Sir Charles Dilke. 
 
 He answered : ' To his aloofness. He hated Eng- 
 land, English ways, English modes of thought. He 
 would have nothing to do with us. He acted like a 
 foreigner. We could not get at him as at any other 
 man in English public life. He was not one of us in 
 any sense. Dealing with him was like dealing with a 
 foreign Power. This gave him immense advantage, 
 and, coupled with his iron will, explains his ascendency 
 and success.' Inexorable tenacity, sound judgment, 
 knowledge of his own mind at all times, dauntless 
 courage, an iron will, and the faculty of controlling 
 himself and others these were the qualities which 
 made Parnell leader of the Irish people and arbiter of 
 English parties. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 224 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1830 
 
 On April 30 there was a great Nationalist meeting 
 at the Eotunda, and it was upon that occasion that 
 Parnell made what has been called the 'bread and 
 lead speech.' He said : ' The Americans sent me 
 back with this message that for the future you must 
 not expect one cent for charity, but millions to break 
 the land system. And now before I go I will tell you 
 a little incident that happened at one of our meetings 
 in America. A gentleman came on the platform and 
 handed me $25, and said : " Here is $5 for bread and 
 #20 for lead." ' 
 
 Parnell was now in the saddle, where for eleven 
 years he sat firmly without a competitor or an equal. 
 ' How came Parnell,' I asked Mr. Justin McCarthy, ' to 
 acquire his great ascendency ? ' He answered : ' He 
 owed his ascendency to his strength of will and his 
 readiness to see what was the right thing to do at a 
 given moment. He was not liked by the party as a 
 whole. S. never liked him. H. very soon began to 
 dislike him. D. was loyal to him, but did not like 
 him. O. liked him. I liked him. But, like or 
 dislike, all bowed to him, because all felt that he was 
 the one man who knew what to do in moments of 
 difficulty, and that he was always right. He had the 
 genius of a Commander-in-Chief. It was that which 
 gave him his power. Others of us might be useful in 
 fixing lines of policy in advance. But when a crisis 
 arose, when something had to be done on the instant 
 which might have a serious effect in the future, we 
 were no good. We were paralysed. Parnell made 
 
 Gill, Dawson, Leamy, Corbet, McCoan, Finnigan, Daly, Marum, \V. H. 
 O'Sullivan, J. Leahy, O'Gorman Mahon, O'Shea 23. 
 
 For Shaw : McFarlane, Brooke, Colthurst, Synan, Sir P. O'Brien, 
 Foley, Smithwick, Fay, Errington, Gabbett, Smyth, E. Power, Blake, 
 McKenna, P. Martin, Meldon, Callan, Gray 18.
 
 .Ex. 34] AX ' IRON WILL ' 22o 
 
 / 
 
 up his mind in an instant, and did the thing without 
 doubting or flinching.' 
 
 ' As a parliamentary strategist,' says Mr. Healy, 
 ' Parnell was simply perfect. No one was like him 
 for seeing the difficulties of a situation and for getting 
 out of them.' 
 
 ' To what do you ascribe Parnell's success ? ' I asked 
 Sir Charles Dilke. 
 
 He answered : ' To his aloofness. He hated Eng- 
 land, English ways, English modes of thought. He 
 would have nothing to do with us. He acted like a 
 foreigner. We could not get at him as at any other 
 man in English public life. He was not one of us in 
 any sense. Dealing with him was like dealing with a 
 foreign Power. This gave him immense advantage, 
 and, coupled wdth his iron will, explains his ascendency 
 and success.' Inexorable tenacity, sound judgment, 
 knowledge of his own mind at all times, dauntless 
 courage, an iron will, and the faculty of controlling 
 himself and others these were the qualities which 
 made Parnell leader of the Irish people and arbiter of 
 English parties. 
 
 VOL. I.
 
 2i>6 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL T1880 
 
 CHAPTEE XI 
 
 LEADER 
 
 ME. GLADSTONE was now Prime Minister, Lord Cowper 
 Irish Viceroy, Mr. Forster Chief Secretary. The new 
 Parliament met on April 29. The Queen's Speech 
 dealt with every subject of public importance except 
 the Irish land question. The Government, in truth, 
 did not realise the gravity of the Irish situation. Mr. 
 Gladstone has said with perfect frankness that he 
 thought the Irish question was settled by the Church 
 Act of 1869 and the Land Act of 1870. It troubled 
 him no more. Mr. Bright, however, still felt keenly 
 interested in one branch of the Irish question the 
 land ; but he did not see his way to do anything. On 
 January 9, 1880, he wrote : ' On this question of the 
 land the difficulty would not be great. All might be 
 done which is not of a revolutionary character, and the 
 present time seems favourable for such changes as are 
 possible without violence and by consent of the Im- 
 perial Parliament.' T 
 
 On January 12 he returned to the subject, expressing 
 his doubt as to the practicability of establishing any 
 satisfactory tribunal for fixing ' fair rents.' He said : 
 ' I do not see how what is called a " fair rent " is to be 
 
 1 Private letter.
 
 .Ex. 34] THE LAND QUESTION 227 
 
 / 
 
 determined. A " fair rent " to one man would be much 
 more than another could pay, and less than a third man 
 could without imprudence agree to give.' 1 
 
 Lord Hartington also showed some interest in the 
 land question, though, like Mr. Bright, he did not see 
 his way to action. On January 22 he wrote : ' I think 
 that the failure of the Land Act [1870] is not established 
 by the figures which you give. The difference between 
 rentals and the Government valuation in some cases, as 
 well as the increase in the number of notices of eject- 
 ment, may be, and I think probably are, capable of 
 some explanation, and so far as I am aware all the 
 cases of cruel evictions on a large scale which are 
 related by you took place before the passing of the Act. 
 I am not opposed to any reasonable or practical pro- 
 posals for improving the working of the Bright clauses 
 [the purchase clauses] of the Act, but I am of opinion 
 that the difficulties of inducing Parliament to legislate 
 in this direction have been greatly increased by the 
 recent anti-rent agitation. The advice which has been 
 given, and which has to some extent been acted upon, 
 to disregard the contract now existing between landlord 
 and tenant, is not calculated to give Parliament any 
 confident expectation that greater respect will be shown 
 to the contract which it is proposed to create between 
 the State and the tenant purchaser.' - 
 
 I think it but just to Mr. Bright and Lord Hartington 
 to set out the views which they privately expressed in 
 January 1880. Nevertheless, in April the Liberal 
 Government as a whole thought not of Ireland. ' The 
 Government,' said Lord Cowper, 'were not thinking 
 of the land question when I came to Ireland.' ' The 
 
 1 Ibid. - Ibid. 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 CHAKLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 present Government,' said the Duke of Argyll in 1881, 
 ' was formed with no express intention of bringing in 
 another great Irish Land Bill ... it formed no part 
 of the programme upon which the Government was 
 formed.' 
 
 It is strange that this should have been so. The 
 land question had been kept constantly before Parlia- 
 ment since 1876. Mr. Butt's Bill, based on the 
 three F.'s, was then introduced. It was rejected by 
 290 against 56 votes. 
 
 In 1877 Mr. Crawford, an Ulster Liberal, introduced 
 a Bill to extend the Ulster custom the right of free 
 sale through the rest of Ireland. It was talked out. 
 In 1878 Mr. Crawford again introduced the Bill. It 
 was defeated by 85 against 66 votes. Mr. Butt's Bill 
 of 1876 was also re-introduced. It was defeated by 286 
 against 86 votes. In 1879 Mr. Butt's Bill was again 
 brought in. It was again defeated by 263 to 61 votes ; 
 and Mr. Crawford's Bill was again talked out. The 
 land agitation had been growing in intensity since 
 1877. : Sir Stafford Northcote's statement in the House 
 in February 1880 demonstrated the reality of Irish 
 distress. Everything that was happening showed the 
 discontent and the misery of the people. Yet on the 
 meeting of Parliament in April Mr. Gladstone's Govern- 
 ment gave no sign that Ireland filled any place in the 
 thoughts of Ministers. 
 
 The first appearance of the Irish members in the 
 House of Commons showed that there was still a 
 division in their ranks. Mr. Shaw, with those who 
 had supported him at the public meeting, sat upon one 
 
 1 I have dealt fully with the land controversy in The Irish Land 
 Question and English Public Opinion and in the Parliamentary 
 History of the Irish Land Question. See also Sir Gavan Duffy, League 
 of North and South.
 
 JET. 34] INDEPENDENT OPPOSITION 229 
 
 / 
 
 side of the House ; Parnell and his party, reviving the 
 practice of the Independent Opposition party of 1852, 
 sat on the other. He said that the Irish Nationalists 
 should always sit in Opposition until the full measure 
 of their" demands was conceded. In the last Parlia- 
 ment they had sat in Opposition with the English 
 Liberals. They would now, since the Liberals had 
 succeeded to office, sit in Opposition with the Tories. 
 Thus they would emphasise their position as an inde- 
 pendent party, and show that Whigs and Tories were 
 all alike to them. 
 
 Mr. Shaw took a different view. The Liberals, 
 he said, were the friends of Ireland. It was, there- 
 fore, the duty of the Irish members to support the 
 Liberal Government. He would accordingly adhere 
 to the old custom, and sit on the Liberal side of the 
 House. 
 
 This idea of an independent Irish party Parnell 
 constantly said he had got from Gavan Duffy and the 
 Tenant Leaguers of 1852. ' I had some knowledge, 
 not very deep, of Irish history,' he said before the 
 Special Commission, ' and had read about the indepen- 
 dent opposition movement of Sir Charles Gavan Duffy 
 and the late Mr. Frederick Lucas in 1852, and when- 
 ever I thought about politics I always thought that 
 that would be an ideal movement for the benefit of 
 Ireland. Their idea was an independent party reflect- 
 ing the opinions of the masses of the people ; acting 
 independently in the House of Commons, free from the 
 influence of either English political party ; pledged not 
 to take office or form any combination with any English 
 political party until the wants of Ireland had been 
 attended to. The passing of the Ballot Act rendered 
 this possible in my judgment, because for the first time
 
 230 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [I860 
 
 it enabled the Irish electors to vote free from the coercion 
 of the Irish landlords.' 
 
 In the last Parliament Parnell had to fight Butt as 
 well as the British Minister. Now he had to fight 
 Shaw and the ' moderate ' Home Rulers. But his 
 task was comparatively easy. In the struggle against 
 Butt he began by having only a handful of Fenians at 
 his back. Now he was supported by a section of the 
 Clan-na-gael, by many of the rank and file of the 
 I. R. B., by the farmers, by the priests, and by the 
 ' Nation ' itself, partly a clerical organ. Shaw and 
 the ' moderates ' were supported by the bishops and 
 the ' Freeman's Journal.' A new, perhaps unexpected, 
 ally came also to his side her Majesty's Government. 
 Timely concessions from Ministers would have strength- 
 ened the hands of Shaw and the 'moderates,' and 
 might have broken up the union between Fenians, 
 farmers, and priests. The refusal of concession in 
 time consolidated this union, discredited the policy of 
 the 'moderates,' and threw the game into Parnell's 
 hands. 
 
 The Parnellite members lost no time in calling the 
 attention of Parliament to Ireland. Mr. O'Connor 
 Power brought in a Bill practically to ' stay evictions.' 
 Under the Land Act of 1870, compensation for dis- 
 turbance could not be awarded if the ' disturbed ' 
 tenant owed a year's rent. Mr. O'Connor Power 
 now proposed that compensation should (under exist- 
 ing circumstances) be awarded in any case of dis- 
 turbance. 
 
 The Government who, at the beginning of the 
 session, had refused- to deal with the land question 
 were now undecided what to do. They would not 
 support the Parnellite Bill ; but, said Mr. Forster, ' I
 
 .ET. 34] COMPENSATION FOR DISTURBANCE BILL 231 
 
 / 
 
 am not prepared to vote against the principle.' A few 
 days later the Government gave way, and on June 18 
 Mr. Forster himself, taking up the question, introduced 
 the famous ' Compensation for Disturbance Bill.' This 
 measure proposed that an evicted tenant should be 
 entitled to compensation when he could prove to the 
 satisfaction of the Court 
 
 1. That he was unable to pay the rent. 
 
 2. That he was unable to pay it, not from thrift- 
 lessness or idleness, but on account of the bad harvest 
 of the current year, or of the two preceding years. 
 
 3. That he was willing to continue the tenancy on 
 just and reasonable terms as to rent and otherwise. 
 
 4. That these terms were unreasonably refused by 
 the landlord. 
 
 Lord Hartington justified this measure in an 
 effective speech. 
 
 The Bill, he said, was the logical outcome of the 
 Act of 1870, and had been framed simply with a view 
 of preventing the objects of that Act from being 
 defeated by exceptional circumstances which could not 
 be foreseen. ' In some parts of Ireland the im- 
 poverished circumstances of the tenant have placed in 
 the hands of the landlord a weapon which the Govern- 
 ment never contemplated, and which enables the 
 landlord, at a sacrifice of half or a quarter of a year's 
 rent, to clear his estate of hundreds of tenants, whom 
 in ordinary circumstances he would not have been able 
 to remove, except at a heavy pecuniary fine. 
 
 ' I ask whether that is not a weapon calculated to 
 enable landlords absolutely to defeat the main purposes 
 of the Act. 
 
 ' Supposing a landlord wished to clear the estate of 
 a number of small tenants ; he knows that this is the
 
 232 CHARLES STEWART TARNELL [1880 
 
 time to do it, and if he should lose this opportunity 
 he can never have it again, without great pecuniary 
 sacrifice.' But, despite the weight which Lord 
 Hartington carried with all moderate men, many 
 Liberals opposed the Bill. It was, however, read a 
 second time, on July 5, by 295 against 217 votes ; 
 20 Liberals voting against it, and 20 walking out. 
 
 The Irish Nationalists to a man supported the 
 Government. Harried by the dissentient members of 
 their own party, Ministers proposed in committee to 
 introduce an amendment, which aroused the hostility 
 of Parnell. The purpose of the amendment was to 
 disallow the tenant's claim to compensation, provided 
 the landlord gave him permission to sell his interest 
 in the holding. ' This is impossible,' said Parnell. ' In 
 the present state of affairs in Ireland no one will buy 
 the tenant Iright, and,' he added, turning to Mr. Forster, 
 " unstable as water thou shalt not excel." Parnell was 
 supported by Mr. Charles Russell (now Lord Eussell of 
 Killowen, the Lord Chief Justice of England), who 
 denounced the amendment as a ' mockery ' and begged 
 the Government to withdraw it. The Government, 
 still wavering, did finally withdraw it, substituting in 
 its place an alteration proposed by Mr. Gladstone (and 
 carried), to the effect that the tenant ' should be entitled 
 to compensation if the landlord had refused the terms 
 set out in the Bill without the offer of any reason- 
 able alternative.' The next crisis in the fate of the 
 Bill was the acceptance by Ministers of a proposal 
 from the Opposition to the effect that the application 
 of the measure should be limited to tenancies not 
 exceeding 151. a year. Parnell protested against this 
 limit, which, under his pressure, was abandoned, a 
 new limit of SQL valuation, equivalent to 421. rent,
 
 -Ex. 34] A ' FENIAN RAID ' i>33 
 
 / 
 
 being agreed to. The third reading was carried on 
 July 26 by 304 to 237 votes; 16 Liberals voting 
 against the measure, and Parnell and his followers 
 (dissatisfied with the alterations and the ' weakness ' 
 of the Government) walking out. The Bill had been 
 under the consideration of the Commons for over a 
 month. The Lords disposed of it in two nights. It 
 was rejected by 282 to 51 votes. 
 
 The rejection of this Compensation for Disturbance 
 Bill was the signal for extreme agitation in Ireland. 
 
 ' Soon after the rejection of the Bill,' says the 
 ' Annual Kegister,' 'there came most disquieting reports 
 from Ireland. There were riots at evictions ; tenants 
 who had ventured to take the place of the evicted 
 occupiers were assaulted, their property damaged, 
 their ricks burned, their cattle maimed ; there was a 
 mysterious robbery of arms from a ship lying in 
 Queenstown Harbour ; and it was said that a plot had 
 been discovered for the blowing up of Cork Barracks.' 
 
 The story of the ' robbery of arms ' throws a curious 
 light on the relations between the Fenians and the 
 Land League. In August a party of Fenians attacked 
 a vessel called the ' Juno ' in Cork Harbour, and carried 
 off forty cases of firearms. The Constitutionalists in 
 the local branch of the League were much exercised by 
 this act. They were anxious, fearing that some sus- 
 picion might rest on their organisation, to vindicate 
 themselves and to show their loyalty. Accordingly, a 
 resolution was proposed by Mr. Cronin and seconded 
 by Mr. J. O'Brien declaring that ' we deeply regret 
 that a robbery of useless old firearms has taken place, 
 that we condemn lawlessness in any shape, and we 
 believe the occurrence must have been effected by 
 those who desire to see a renewal of the Coercion Acts
 
 _>34 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 inflicted upon this country, and who wish to give 
 the Government good value for their secret service 
 money.' 
 
 An amendment was moved hy an ' advanced man,' 
 Mr. O' Sullivan, who protested against the right of the 
 League to interfere with any other organisation. Mr. 
 O' Sullivan was, however, in a hopeless minority on 
 that day, and the resolution was triumphantly carried. 
 But the Fenians w r ere resolved to teach the Con- 
 stitutionalists in the League a lesson which should not 
 be forgotten. The matter was at once brought under 
 the notice of the central body in Dublin, when, on 
 August 17, Mr. Brennan, himself a Fenian, condemned 
 the action of the Cork branch, saying that they had no 
 more right to consider the subject of the ' Juno ' raid 
 than they had to discuss the relative merits of the 
 candidates for the presidency of the United States. 
 Mr. Dillon, who was the chairman on the occasion, 
 agreed with Mr. Brennan, and said that ' the meeting 
 entirely disclaimed the resolution passed by the Cork 
 branch.' On August 21 there was another meeting of 
 the Cork branch. Mr. John O'Connor attended. .Mr. 
 0' Sullivan was again in evidence. He proposed that 
 the resolution of August 1 3 should be expunged, and it 
 was expunged nem. con. However, the incident was 
 not yet closed. On October 3 Parnell visited Cork. 
 As he approached the city an armed party of Fenians 
 stopped the procession, seized Mr. Cronin and Mr. 
 O'Brien, who were in the carriage by his side, carried 
 them off, and detained them for the day. They were 
 resolved that no man who had struck at Fenianism 
 should join in the welcome to Parnell. Soon afterwards 
 the Cork branch of the League was 'reconstructed.' 
 
 Meanwhile Parnell had made up his mind to wage
 
 JEi. 34] ' WAR TO THE KNIFE ' :>3o 
 
 / 
 
 relentless war against the Government. He did not 
 throw all the blame for the rejection of the Compen- 
 sation Bill on the House of Lords. 'If the Govern- 
 ment,' he would say, ' had the people of England 
 behind them the Lords dare not do this. Well, we 
 will stiffen the back of the Government. Then we 
 shall see what the Lords will do.' He told the Minis- 
 ters that they were half-hearted, that they did not 
 believe in their own measures, that they wanted grit. 
 He called upon them to give assurances of legislation 
 for the next session, else they would receive little help 
 from him. Lord Hartington who was leading the 
 House in the absence of Mr. Gladstone through serious 
 illness refused to give assurances, and said the Govern- 
 ment had no further concessions to make. Parnell 
 had thrown down the gauntlet. Lord Hartington 
 picked it up. ' War to the knife, sir war to the 
 knife,' said Biggar. ' The next thing will be a State 
 trial. The Whigs always start with a State trial. 
 Something for the lawyers, you know. Whigs rogues, 
 sir.' 
 
 Returning to Ireland, Parnell flung himself heart 
 and soul into the land agitation. The Government 
 had failed to protect the tenants. The tenants 
 should now protect themselves. The scenes of 1847 
 should not be re-enacted. No more peasants should 
 be cast on the roadside to die. What the Govern- 
 ment had failed to do the Land League would do. 
 But the tenants must rally to the League ; they must 
 band themselves together ; they must cast aside the 
 weak and cowardly in their ranks, and fight sturdily for 
 their homes and country against the destroying land- 
 lords and their ally, the Government of England. 
 This was the doctrine which Parnell and the Leaguers
 
 236 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 preached from the hilltops, and which the masses of 
 the people willingly obeyed. 
 
 On September 19 Parnell attended a mass meeting 
 at Ennis. There, in a speech which rang throughout 
 the land, he struck the keynote of the agitation ; he 
 laid down the lines on which the League should work. 
 Slowly, calmly, deliberately, without a quiver of passion, 
 a note of rhetoric, or an exclamation of anger, but in a 
 tone that penetrated his audience like the touch of cold 
 steel, he proclaimed war against all who should resist 
 the mandates of the League. 
 
 ' Depend upon it that the measure of the Land 
 Bill next session will be the measure of your activity 
 and energy this winter. It will be the measure of 
 your determination not to pay unjust rents ; it will 
 be the measure of your determination to keep a firm 
 grip on your homesteads. It will be the measure of 
 your determination not to bid for farms from which 
 others have been evicted, and to use the strong force 
 of public opinion to deter any unjust men amongst 
 yourselves and there are many such from bidding 
 for such farms. Now what are you to do to a tenant 
 who bids for a farm from which his neighbour has 
 been evicted ? ' 
 
 Here there was much excitement, and cries of ' Kill 
 him ! ' ' Shoot him ! ' Parnell waited, with his hands 
 clasped behind his back, looking quietly out upon the 
 crowd until the tumult subsided, and then softly re- 
 sumed : 'Now I think I heard somebody say " Shoot 
 him ! " (A voice : " Yes, quite right ") but I wish to 
 point out to you a very much better way a more 
 Christian and a more charitable way, which will give 
 the lost sinner an opportunity of repenting.' 
 
 Here there were inquiring glances, and a lull, and a
 
 .ET. 34] BOYCOTTING 237 
 
 f 
 
 silence, which was scarcely broken until Parnell finished 
 the next sentence a long sentence, but every word of 
 which was heard, as the voice of the speaker hardened 
 and his face wore an expression of remorseless deter- 
 mination. ' When a man takes a farm from which 
 another has been evicted, you must show him on the 
 roadside when you meet him, you must show him in 
 the streets of the town (A voice : " Shun him ! ") 
 you must show him at the shop counter, you must 
 show him in the fair and in the market-place, and 
 even in the house of worship, by leaving him severely 
 alone, by putting him into a moral Coventry, by 
 isolating him from his kind as if he was a leper of old 
 you must show him your detestation of the crime he 
 has committed, and you may depend upon it that there 
 will be no man so full of avarice, so lost to shame, as 
 to dare the public opinion of all right-thinking men and 
 to transgress your unwritten code of laws.' 
 
 The closing sentence was received with a shout of 
 applause ; the doctrine of boycotting, as it afterwards 
 came to be called, was accepted with popular enthusiasm. 
 
 Three days afterwards the peasants of Connaught 
 showed how ready they were to practise as Parnell had 
 preached. Captain Boycott, the agent of Lord Erne, 
 had been offered by the tenants on the estate what they 
 conceived to be a just rent. He refused to take it, and 
 the tenants refused to give more ; whereupon eject- 
 ment processes were issued against them. 
 
 On September 22 the process server went forth to 
 serve the ejectments. He was met by a number of 
 peasants, who forced him to abandon the work and 
 retreat precipitately to the agent's house. Next day 
 the peasants visited the house and adjoining farm, and 
 ordered the servants in Captain Boycott's employ to
 
 238 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 depart a mandate which was promptly obeyed ; the 
 result being that the unfortunate gentleman was left 
 without farm labourers or stablemen, while his crops 
 remained ungathered and unsaved. Nor did the 
 peasants stop here. They forbade the local shop- 
 keepers to serve him, told the blacksmith and laun- 
 dress not to work for him, threatened the post-boy 
 who carried his letters, and upon one occasion stopped 
 and ' cautioned ' the bearer of a telegram. 
 
 Captain Boycott was left ' severely alone,' ' put 
 into moral Coventry.' As days wore on it became 
 a matter of pressing importance to him to have his 
 crops saved, but no one in the neighbourhood could 
 be got to do the work. In these circumstances an 
 opportunity, gladly seized, for ' demonstrating in force ' 
 was given to the Ulster Orangemen. One hundred of 
 them offered to ' invade ' Connaught to save Captain 
 Boycott's crops. The Captain informed the authorities 
 of Dublin Castle that fifty men would be quite sufficient 
 for agricultural purposes ; and being himself a man of 
 peace, he did not feel at all disposed to see a hundred 
 Orangemen marching in battle array over his farm, 
 shouting ' to hell with the Pope,' and drinking the 
 memory of the glorious, pious, and immortal William 
 at his expense. Fifty Orangemen were accordingly des- 
 patched to Connaught under the protection of a large 
 force of military and police (with two field pieces) to 
 save Captain Boycott's crops. The work done the 
 Orangemen, accompanied by Captain Boycott, departed 
 in peace, and the Connaught peasants were left masters 
 of the situation. 
 
 The ' isolation ' ,of Captain Boycott was followed by 
 another famous case. Mr. Bence Jones, of Clonakilty, 
 in the County Cork, had incurred the popular dis-
 
 JET. 34] GAL WAY SPEECH 
 
 / 
 
 pleasure, and was, in the phraseology of the day, boy- 
 cotted. He tried to sell his cattle in Cork market, but no 
 one could be got to buy. He then sent them to Dublin 
 to be shipped off to the Liverpool markets, but the men 
 in the service of the Dublin Steam Packet Company 
 refused to put them on board. Finally, after a great 
 deal of difficulty, the cattle were taken in small batches- 
 across the Channel and sold. 
 
 After these cases boycotting became a great weapon 
 in the armoury of the League, and was, as one of the 
 Leaguers said, ' better than any 81-ton gun ever 
 manufactured.' 
 
 Parnell's Ennis speech was altogether an agrarian 
 speech. He concentrated himself upon the land, and 
 told the people how the campaign against landlordism 
 was to be carried on. But at Galway, on October 24, 
 he plunged into politics and dealt with the more con- 
 genial subject of national freedom: 'I expressed my 
 belief at the beginning of last session that the present 
 Chief Secretary, who was then all smiles and promises, 
 would not have proceeded very far in the duties of his- 
 office before he would have found that he had under- 
 taken an impossible task to govern Ireland, and that 
 the only way to govern Ireland was to allow her to 
 govern herself.' (Cheers.) 
 
 A voice. ' A touch of the rifle.' 
 
 ' And if they prosecute the leaders of this move- 
 ment ' 
 
 A voice. l They dare not.' 
 
 ParneU. ' If they prosecute the leaders of this 
 movement it is not because they want to preserve the 
 lives of one or two landlords. Much the English 
 Government cares about the lives of one or two land- 
 lords.'
 
 JJO CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1880 
 
 A voice. ' Nor we.' 
 
 Another voice. ' Away with them.' 
 
 Parnell. ' But it will be because they see that 
 behind this movement lies a more dangerous movement 
 to their hold over Ireland ; because they know that if 
 they fail in upholding landlordism here and they will 
 fail they have no chance of maintaining it over 
 Ireland ; it will be because they know that if they fail 
 in upholding landlordism in Ireland, their power to 
 misrule Ireland will go too.' (Cheers.) Then he 
 uttered one of those sentences which, coming straight 
 from the heart, and disclosing the real thoughts and 
 feelings which animated him, burned themselves into 
 the minds of his hearers. ' I wish to see the 
 tenant farmers prosperous ; but large and important 
 as this class of tenant farmers is, constituting, as 
 they do, with their wives and families, the majority 
 of the people of the country, I would not have 
 taken off my coat and gone to this work if I had not 
 known that we were laying the foundation in this 
 movement for the regeneration of our legislative inde- 
 pendence. (Cheers.) Push on, then, towards this goal, 
 extend your organisation, and let every tenant farmer, 
 while he keeps a grip on his holding, recognise also 
 the great truth that he is serving his country and the 
 people at large, and helping to break down English 
 misrule in Ireland.' 
 
 The Land League now grew in importance and 
 influence day by day. Money poured into its treasury, 
 not only from Ireland, but from America. Its branches 
 extended all over the country. Its mandates were 
 everywhere obeyed.* It was, in truth, nothing more 
 nor less than a provisional Irish Government, stronger, 
 because based on popular suffrage, than the Government
 
 .Ex. 34] A PROVISIONAL HUSH GOVERNMENT i>4l 
 
 / 
 
 of the Castle. ' Self-elected, self-constituted, self-assem- 
 bled, self-adjourned, acknowledging no superior, tole- 
 rating no equal, interfering in all stages with the 
 administration of justice, levying contributions and 
 discharging all the functions of regular government, 
 it obtained a complete mastery and control over the 
 masses of the Irish people.' 
 
 So Canning described the Catholic Association. 
 So might the Ministers of the day have described (so in 
 effect they did describe) the Land League. 
 
 ' Things are now come to that pass that the 
 question is whether O'Connell or I shall govern Ire- 
 land ' so said the Irish Viceroy, Lord Anglesea, in 
 1831. And Lord Cowper might have said in 1880 : 
 ' The question is whether Parnell or I shall govern 
 Ireland.' 
 
 While Parnell, helped by the Fenian Treasurer 
 Egan l and the Fenian Secretary Brennan, was driving 
 the League ahead in Ireland, Davitt was forming 
 branches throughout the United States. 
 
 There was still a party in the Clan-na-Gael opposed 
 to the new departure. The Clan-na-Gael man who 
 had come to England in 1878 to see Parnell, and 
 who was then favourably disposed to an alliance 
 between the Revolutionists and the Constitutionalists, 
 had now gone quite round. In addition to his hostility 
 to the policy of Devoy and Davitt, he had formed an 
 intense dislike to Parnell, and was resolved, so far as 
 he could, to break off all relations with the Parlia- 
 mentarians. Davitt, who always kept himself well 
 
 1 Egan has been described by the late Mr. A. M. Sullivan in New 
 Ireland. ' He seldom or never made a speech. He aspired to no 
 display on the platform, but was the ablest strategist of the whole cam- 
 paign, and perhaps, except Davitt, the most resolute and invincible spirit 
 amongst them all.' 
 
 VOL. I. E
 
 242 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1880 
 
 posted in the American news, soon learned that things 
 were not going quite smoothly on the other side of the 
 Atlantic. In May he sailed for New York, to co-operate 
 with Devoy in defeating their opponents in the Clan. 
 The supreme council of the I. B. B. were also aware 
 that a party of American Fenians led by the Clan-na- 
 Gael man shared their views about the inadvisability of 
 working with the Constitutionalists, and they had pre- 
 viously despatched the prominent Fenian of the Craven 
 Street meeting to defeat Davitt's plans. A meeting of 
 the council of the Clan was called in New York to hear 
 both Davitt and this Fenian. 
 
 The proceedings were opened by the Clan-na-Gael 
 man, who moved a resolution severing all connection 
 between the Clan and the Parliamentarians. Parnell was 
 not to be trusted. He would simply use them for his own 
 purposes, and throw them over at the first opportunity. 
 What were they asked to do ? Practically to supply 
 funds for parliamentary agitation. The thing was 
 absurd. They would keep their funds for their own 
 organisation, and concentrate themselves upon it. The 
 Parliamentarians had everything to gain by uniting 
 with them. They had nothing to gain by uniting with 
 the Parliamentarians. That was the Clan-na-gael man's 
 case. Davitt replied. He said that Fenianism had lost 
 ground by holding aloof from public movements in Ire- 
 land. The Fenians ought to keep themselves in touch 
 with all that was going on. They should try to influence 
 every movement and to gain support from all quarters. 
 The land was the question of the hour. Was it to be 
 left wholly in the hands of the Constitutionalists ? The 
 farmers would be the friends of the men who helped 
 them in this crisis of their fate, and no movement could 
 be successful in Ireland unless the farmers were at its
 
 JET. 34] A SECRET CONCLAA E 243 
 
 / 
 
 back. How were they to gain the farmers ? By throw- 
 ing themselves into the land agitation, by identifying 
 their cause with the cause of the tenants. 
 
 The prominent Fenian attacked Davitt. He said 
 that the new departure was immoral and impolitic. 
 Fenians and Constitutionalists were to be combined in 
 one movement. There was to be a pretence of loyalty, 
 but in reality treason all along the line. The upshot 
 of this arrangement would be sham loyalty and sham 
 treason. He did not believe in a policy of dust- 
 throwing and lying, but that was the policy of the 
 new departure. The Fenian movement was purely a 
 national movement. If he were to stand absolutely 
 alone, he would resist this dishonest and unholy 
 alliance. ' Freedom comes from God's right hand,' and 
 he, at all events, believed in righteous means as well as 
 in righteous ends. 
 
 A division was then taken on the Clan-na-Gael man's 
 motion, and it was defeated. The prominent Fenian 
 had beaten Davitt in 1879. Davitt had his revenge in 
 1880. 
 
 The founder of the Land League, as Davitt has 
 been called, next made a tour throughout the States, 
 forming branches of the League and ' spreading the 
 light.' All his public utterances and he addressed 
 many meetings resolved themselves into two main 
 arguments : 
 
 1 . The cause of the tenant farmers was just in itself 
 and ought to be supported. 
 
 2. The destruction of landlordism would lead to the 
 overthrow of the English power in Ireland. 
 
 Two extracts may be given from his speeches to 
 illustrate their character. Speaking at Chicago in 
 August, he said, referring to the raid on the ' Juno ' :
 
 244 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 ' The convulsion of horror which grew out of it was 
 because the English Government knew there were men 
 in Ireland to-day absolutely feverish to clutch hundreds 
 and thousands of rifles, in order, not only to abolish 
 Irish landlordism, but to consummate the hopes of 
 Irishmen by abolishing something else.' 
 
 At Kansas City, in September, he said : ' We have, 
 as you have already been told, declared an unceasing 
 war against landlordism ; not a war to call on our people 
 to shoulder the rifle and to go out in the open field and 
 settle the question that is now agitating Ireland 
 although I am not opposed to a settlement of that 
 nature providing I could see a chance of success but 
 for the fourth time during the present century we 
 have tried a physical struggle with England, and 
 instead of hurting England we have generally hurt 
 ourselves. Now I believe it is far better to meet 
 on different ground and to do battle in a different 
 mode. And in declaring this war against Irish land- 
 lordism, in not paying rent in order to bring down 
 the garrison in Ireland, we know we are doing a proper 
 work. We are preparing the way for that inde- 
 pendence which you enjoy in this great American 
 republic.' 
 
 In America Davitt formed a fast friendship with 
 Patrick Ford, the proprietor of the 'Irish World,' 
 who defended the policy of the new departure, col- 
 lected funds for the Land League, and preached a 
 furious crusade against England. 
 
 The ' Irish World ' was circulated freely in Ireland, 
 and it must be confessed that a more inflammable pro- 
 duction could scarcely be placed in the hands of the 
 people. A few extracts from its columns may be given 
 to make the point clearer.
 
 ^Ei. 34] THE ' IRISH WORLJ) ' 245 
 
 / 
 
 'England's mode of warfare. What is it? Ask 
 the biographer of Cromwell, ask the Ghoorkas of 
 India, ask the signers of the Declaration of Indepen- 
 dence. Listen ! She has plundered our seas, ravaged 
 our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of 
 the people. This is the testimony of the men of '76. 
 Ask the American historian of the War of 1812. Ask 
 every unfortunate people upon whom England has 
 ever breathed her unwholesome breath, and in whose 
 midst her ruffian soldiery have planted her robber flag. 
 The answer is all the same.' 
 
 In June 1880 the following passage appeared : 
 ' Some think it is an open question whether the 
 political agent called dynamite was first commissioned 
 in Kussia, or first in Ireland. Well, it is not of much 
 consequence which of the two countries takes pre- 
 cedence in this onward step towards civilisation. Still, 
 we claim the merit for Ireland. True the introductory 
 blast was blown in England, and in the very centre of 
 the enemy's head-quarters. But the work itself was 
 no doubt done by one or two Irish hands, which settles 
 both the claim and the priority.' 
 
 In October its correspondent ' Transatlantic ' wrote : 
 ' The Irish Land League is accepted by the Irish 
 people at home and abroad as the faithful friend, 
 philosopher, and guide. I am thoroughly grieved 
 to find existing among my American friends, and my 
 Dublin friends also, a disposition to quarrel with the 
 trustees of the Skirmishing Fund 1 in New York, 
 because they advanced 1,000 or 2,000 dollars over a 
 year ago from the Skirmishing Fund to help to start 
 
 1 This fund was formed by O'Donovan Eossa and Ford for the purpose 
 of employing agents to lay English cities in ashes. Report of Special 
 Commission, p. 60.
 
 i>46 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 the anti-rent agitation in Ireland. No possible appli- 
 cation of a portion of the fund would to my mind bo 
 more legitimate, more in accordance with the desire 
 of us all to help on towards the deliverance of our 
 downtrodden people. That little bit of seed, the first 
 advance from the Skirmishing Fund, has worked as 
 great a miracle as the grain of mustard seed spoken 
 of in the Sacred Scripture. Behold now 200 Land 
 League branches established through Ireland with at 
 east 500 members in each, and all in full cry against 
 the land robbers. Behold almost as many more co- 
 operating branches established in America, Canada, 
 Australia, and in England^ Scotland, and Wales. Will 
 any man tell me that this movement will die out 
 without lifting Ireland to a vantage ground on which 
 she may declare and maintain her separate political 
 existence? Wait till the numbers of the Land 
 League branches swell to 300,000. Wait till they 
 are enlightened with political knowledge, instructed 
 in military drill, and armed with rifles, bullets, and 
 buck-shot. One or two years more will work 
 wonders. 
 
 ' Don't quarrel, friends, about 1,000 dollars or 2,000 
 dollars. ... I pray and urge my friends at home and 
 abroad to drop the controversy, and to unite against 
 the common enemies of our people, the landlords of 
 Ireland and of England, with their forces of armed 
 men at their backs I ' 
 
 While Davitt was helping to ' spread the light ' l in 
 America the state of Ireland was growing desperate. 
 
 1 On May 5 Davitt cabled to Ford : ' Copies of Irish World shall be 
 sent to all parts of Ireland. Bishop Moran, of Ossory (a nephew of 
 Cardinal Cullen) denounced it and the Land League. May Heaven 
 open his eyes to the truth ; " Spread the light." '
 
 .Ex. 34] EVICTIONS AND OUTRAGES 2*7 
 
 / 
 
 The people in the western districts were starving. ' I 
 
 mnst say,' wrote General Gordon, who visited the 
 country in the winter of 1880, ' from all accounts and 
 my own observation, that the state of our fellow- 
 countrymen in the parts I have named is worse than 
 that of any people in the world, let alone Europe. I 
 believe these people are made as we are ; that they are 
 patient beyond belief ; loyal, but broken spirited and 
 desperate ; lying on the verge of starvation in places 
 where we would not keep cattle.' It rained evictions, 
 it rained outrages. Cattle were houghed and maimed ; 
 tenants who paid unjust rents, or took farms from 
 which others had been evicted, were dragged out of 
 their beds, assaulted, sometimes forced to their knees, 
 while shots were fired over their heads to make them 
 promise submission to the popular desires in future. 
 Bands of peasants scoured the country, firing into 
 the houses of obnoxious individuals. Graves were 
 dug before the doors of evicting landlords. Murder 
 was committed. A reign of terror had in truth com- 
 menced. 1 
 
 What were they doing at Dublin Castle all this 
 time? Lord Cowper and Mr. Forster fully realised 
 the gravity of the situation. Neither was quite out of 
 sympathy with the demands of the tenant farmers. 
 Both desired a policy of concession to a certain extent. 
 ' If you pass the Bill' [the Compensation for Disturbance 
 Bill], Mr. Forster had said in the House of Commons, 
 
 1 The following table will show the increase of evictions and outrages 
 from 1877 to 1880 (inclusive) : 
 
 Year Year Agrarian I 
 
 1*77 . . . 2.177 1877 ... 236 
 
 878 . . ' . 4 " 1878 ... 301 
 
 6,230 ls7b ... 863 
 
 1880 . . 10.457 1880 . . . 2,590
 
 248. CHARLES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 ' it will put out the fire.' The Bill was not passed. 
 The fire blazed up with increased and increasing fury. 
 How was it to be ' put out ' now ? The House of 
 Lords would have no concessions. What was the 
 alternative '? Coercion, pure and simple. The Land 
 League had, in fact, become a rival Government. If 
 the Queen's authority were to prevail, no choice re- 
 mained but to crush the League. The question really 
 was, whether Lord Cowper or Parnell should rule 
 Ireland, for both the Viceroy and the Chief Secretary 
 recognised that Parnell was the centre of disturbance. 
 
 'When I was in Ireland,' says Lord Cowper, 'we 
 considered Mr. Parnell the centre of the whole move- 
 ment. We thought him the chief, if not the only, 
 danger. We feared him because he had united all the 
 elements of discontent, because we never knew what he 
 would be up to, and we felt that he would stop at 
 nothing. I certainly thought that his aim was separa- 
 tion. I thought that he used agrarian discontent for 
 separatist purposes. There was very little said about 
 Home Rule at that time. It was all agrarianism, with 
 separation in the background, and Parnell was the 
 centre of everything. 
 
 'He had no second, no one at all near him. I 
 should say that the next man to him was Davitt ; 
 but he was a long way off. Mr. Healy was, I think, 
 coming to the front then. We thought him clever, 
 but he did not trouble us much. Mr. Dillon was 
 better known, and he used to go about the country 
 making speeches. But our view of him was that 
 somehow he was always putting his foot in it. Our 
 attention was concentrated on Parnell. We did not 
 think he instigated outrages. We thought that he 
 connived at them. We thought that he would stop
 
 .Ivr. 34] DUBLIN CASTLE AND PARNELL -249 
 
 f 
 
 at nothing to gain his end, and, as I have said, we 
 believed his end was separation. I think he was very 
 English. He had neither the virtues nor the vices of 
 an Irishman. His very passion was English, his 
 coolness was English, his reserve was English.' 
 
 In September or October Lord Cowper and Mr. 
 Forster came to the conclusion that the Government 
 could not be carried on by the ordinary law. Still they 
 were reluctant to take extreme measures until it was 
 patent to every law abiding and loyal citizen that 
 extreme measures could alone meet the exigencies of 
 the case. 
 
 The suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act was an 
 old familiar ' remedy.' The officials at Dublin Castle 
 had been accustomed to govern in a state of siege. 
 Landlords, magistrates, police officers, judges, privy 
 councillors all the loyal and ruling classes cried out 
 with one voice : ' Suspend the Habeas Corpus Act or 
 the country will be ruined.' 'Everyone,' says Lord 
 Cowper, ' advised us to suspend the Habeas Corpus 
 Act ; the Lords-Lieutenant of Counties, the police, 
 the law officers. The police said they knew all the 
 people who got up outrages ; and that if the Habeas 
 Corpus Act was suspended they could arrest them 
 all.' Nevertheless, Lord Cowper and Mr. Forster still 
 hesitated. ' We shall first,' they said in effect, ' make 
 an effort to put down disorder by enforcing the ordinary 
 law. We shall prosecute the Leaguers. If the jury 
 refuse to convict on the plain facts which we shall 
 produce, then it will be clear to every reasonable and 
 loyal man that the administration of the country cannot 
 be carried on unless we are invested with extraordinary 
 powers. 
 
 ' If trial by jury breaks down, manifestly the only
 
 250 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 remedy is suspension of trial by jury, but trial by jury 
 first.' 
 
 Lord Cowper placed his views before the Cabinet 
 and before Mr. Gladstone personally in a series of able 
 communications, some of which I shall now set out : 
 
 Lord Coivper to the Cabinet 
 
 [Early in October 1880.] 
 
 ' There has been an immense increase of agrarian 
 crime. Men who have taken farms from which others 
 have been evicted have in many cases been intimidated 
 into throwing them up, and of those who remain a 
 large number are under police protection. Meetings 
 denouncing in strong language the very class which 
 has been subject to this outrage and intimidation have 
 at the same time been held throughout the country, 
 and it seems reasonable to connect the meetings with 
 the increase of crime. In spite of the fact that some 
 of the speakers have dissuaded their hearers from 
 committing murder, and of the suggestion that if 
 freedom of speech were stopped secret associations 
 would derive increased strength, it is my opinion that 
 the meetings cause more crime than they prevent. 
 
 ' I would preserve freedom of speech to the very 
 utmost as long as it is confined to general subjects, 
 such as abuse of England, abuse of the Government, 
 or advocacy of political measures, however impractic- 
 able ; when it has the immediate effect of endangering 
 the lives or property of individuals, it should be stopped. 
 One would wish to check it either by stopping meetings, 
 or only prosecuting tfre promoters of meetings or the 
 principal speakers. Can this be done ? We might, it 
 is true, have stopped the Charleville meeting, because
 
 ,ET. 34] LORD COAVPER '2ZI 
 
 / 
 
 a particular farm was named in the placard and the 
 occupier denounced ; but this mentioning of a name 
 was a slip which is not likely to be made again. AYe 
 could not stop other meetings. As to speeches. Xo 
 speech has yet been made in the presence of a Govern- 
 ment reporter for which the speaker could be prosecuted. 
 Government reporters can only be sent to a limited 
 number of places, and these speakers, knowing that 
 they are now being watched very carefully, will become 
 more cautious. Even if the occupier of a farm is 
 mentioned in a placard, and subsequent to the issue 
 of that placard throws up the farm, the person re- 
 sponsible cannot be prosecuted, as is evident from the 
 answer of the law officers to the question about the 
 Riversdale case. From all this it appears that we shall 
 probably never have an opportunity of either stopping 
 a meeting, or prosecuting a speaker, or issuer of a 
 placard. If we think that agitation ought to be stopped 
 it appears there is only one possible way. A combina- 
 tion to prevent persons from taking evicted farms or 
 purchasing stock, &c., is illegal. We have not yet ob- 
 tained a decided opinion upon the question whether the 
 Land League is such a combination, but it would appear 
 to be so. If so, it would also appear that its president 
 or its leading members could be prosecuted. Such a 
 course would have the advantage of striking at the 
 head. It would fix the attention of the w T hole country 
 from its announcement till its conclusion and divert 
 the minds of the leaders of the League from their 
 ordinary work, such as intimidating landlords and 
 agents and the takers of farms from which men have 
 been evicted. It would show the determination of the 
 Government to stop the present state of things. If 
 the prosecution failed through the perversity of the
 
 i>">i' CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 jury, it would give a reason for asking for stronger 
 powers. The prosecution of the Land League, if possible, 
 seems desirable in itself, but its chief recommendation 
 is that it appears to be the only alternative to doing 
 nothing. The proposed new Land Bill will be much 
 more likely to have a good effect if it follows a strong 
 blow against agitation than if it appears to result 
 from it.' 
 
 Lord Cowper to Mr. Gladstone 
 
 [October 20, 1880.] 
 
 ' DEAR ME. GLADSTONE, Though you are in con- 
 stant communication with Forster, and though he 
 and I take pretty much the same views, perhaps you 
 would not object to an occasional line from me saying 
 what I think and giving what information I can. 
 
 ' Spencer will have shown you the statistics of crime, 
 and you will have seen that outrages are very numerous,, 
 and will have gathered that they will probably increase. 
 But the peculiarity of the present state of Ireland seems- 
 to me to lie not so much in the number of outrages as 
 in the general ill-feeling among the tenants. I gather 
 from all sources, including men of Liberal politics, and 
 who would naturally support the Government, such as- 
 Colonel Dease, my Chamberlain, Cork's agent, Leahy,. 
 and Kenmare's agent, Hussey, that there never has- 
 been such a state of panic on one side and lawlessness 
 and ill-will on the other. The police fully confirm 
 this. Of course, what strikes me is the universal 
 sympathy of the population with the criminals, and the 
 impossibility of bringing to justice any one member of 
 large gangs of men who do not even, on some occasions, 
 take the precaution of disguising themselves. This, how-
 
 .Ex. 34] LORD COWPER 2o3 
 
 / 
 
 ever, is not what most impresses those who know the 
 country, for the difficulty of detecting a criminal 1 
 seems always to have existed. What strikes them 
 most is the bitterness of feeling against all landlords 
 and agents, and most of all against all those who have 
 lately taken farms, even in cases where the previous 
 tenant had owed three or four years' rent and was him- 
 self quite willing to leave. It seems really to be the 
 case that in four or five counties none of these classes 
 feel their lives to be safe, and the mischief is rapidly 
 spreading. Tenants are also afraid to pay more than 
 the Government valuation, or any other sum ordered. 
 As to this point a crisis will probably arise in about a 
 fortnight or three weeks. Most rents are due on 
 November 1, and will be collected immediately after. 
 "We shall then see what happens. Many people expect 
 a general refusal. 
 
 ' The state of feeling which I have described is by 
 the class which suffers from it universally ascribed to 
 the Land League, and I have been repeatedly assured 
 that places which were peaceful and contented before 
 become very different after a meeting. If this is the 
 case the population must be very inflammable, but it 
 certainly is the general impression. I do not know 
 whether you were surprised or annoyed by the news of 
 the impending prosecution having oozed out. I have 
 been inclined to look upon it as a lucky accident. It 
 would, of course, have been better to have struck at 
 once, but as this could not be done the announcement 
 that we intend to strike appears to me the next best 
 thing. The knowledge that the Government intends 
 to do something has, I think, rather moderated the 
 
 1 An agrarian criminal.
 
 2~A CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1880 
 
 language of one party, and certainly mitigated the panic 
 of the other.' 
 
 On November 2 the Government ' struck.' An 
 information was on that day filed in the Crown Office 
 of the Queen's Bench, Dublin, against the Land League 
 for conspiracy to prevent the payment of rent, to resist 
 the process of ejectment, to prevent the taking of farms 
 from which tenants had been evicted, and to create 
 ill-will among her Majesty's subjects. 
 
 The defendants named in the information were : 
 Charles Stewart Parnell, M.P. ; John Dillon, M.P. ; 
 Joseph G. Biggar, M.P. ; T. D. Sullivan, M.P. ; Thomas 
 Sexton, M.P. ; Patrick Egan (Treasurer), Thomas 
 Brennan (Secretary), Michael O' Sullivan (Assistant 
 Secretary), M. P. Boyton (Organiser), Matthew Harris 
 (Organiser), J. Nally, P. J. Gordon, John W. Walsh, 
 P. Sheridan. 
 
 The determination of the Government to prosecute 
 the League produced no effect on Parnell. He knew 
 that a conviction was practically impossible ; the jury 
 might disagree ; they might acquit him. In either 
 case the League would be triumphant. Two days 
 after the information had been filed he referred to the 
 matter with contemptuous brevity at a public meeting 
 in Dublin. 
 
 'I regret,' he said, 'that Mr. Forster has chosen 
 rather to waste his time, the money of Government, 
 and our money in these prosecutions. He has begun 
 in a bad way, and I fear that the result of his attempt 
 to govern Ireland on these lines will be to shatter 
 his reputation for statesmanship which he formerly 
 acquired in another .branch. He is surrounded by a 
 landlord atmosphere at the Castle of Dublin, and 
 although he may be able to resist the effect of that
 
 Jvr. 34] PROSECUTION FOR CONSPIRACY 255 
 
 / 
 atmosphere longer than most men, yet, sooner or later, 
 
 it is bound to tell on him.' 
 
 About the same time he told the people of Limerick, 
 when they presented him with the freedom of the city, 
 that no reliance could be placed ' permanently ' on an 
 Irish party at Westminster. 
 
 ' I am not one of those,' he said in a remarkable 
 utterance, ' who believe in the permanence of an Irish 
 party in the English Parliament. I feel convinced that, 
 sooner or later, the influence which every English 
 Government has at its command the powerful and 
 demoralising influence sooner or later will sap the 
 best party you can return to the House of Commons. 
 I don't think we ought to rely too much on the 
 permanent independence of an Irish party sitting at a 
 distance from their constituencies, or legislating, or 
 attempting to legislate, for Ireland at Westminster. 
 But I think it possible to maintain the independence of 
 our party by great exertions and by great sacrifices on 
 the part of the constituencies of Ireland, while we are 
 making a short, sharp, and I trust decisive, struggle 
 for the restoration of our legislative independence.' 
 
 I met Mr. Patrick Egan while the legal proceed- 
 ings were pending. He was full of glee, for he antici- 
 pated a crowning victor}'. ' When this prosecution 
 breaks down,' said he, ' we ought to make Forster an 
 honorary member of the League.' Biggar, however, 
 
 was seriously angry. ' D d lawyers, sir,' said he. 
 
 ' D d lawyers. Wasting the public money, 
 
 wasting the public money. Whigs rogues ; Forster 
 d d" fool.' 
 
 Lord Cowper scarcely expected that the prosecution 
 would succeed, and warned the Cabinet that they must 
 be prepared to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act :
 
 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1880 
 
 Lord Coicpcr to Cabinet [abridged] 
 
 ' The state of the country is undoubtedly most 
 serious. Xor do the number of outrages by any 
 means represent the [gravity of the situation], and 
 for this reason : that in many places . . . those who 
 would profit [by outrages] are complete masters of the 
 situation, and their temptation, therefore, is removed. 
 Nobody dares to evict. Tenants of evicted farms, even 
 those who have been in possession for more than a 
 year, are daily giving them up. Eighty persons are 
 under police protection. We cannot yet say for 
 certain how far the autumn rents will be paid, but it 
 appears already that in many places tenants have 
 refused to pay more than Government valuation. 
 Landlords will not agree to this, they will evict, and 
 then a great increase of outrages may be expected. 
 It will then be too late to give us extra powers. If 
 they are to be conferred, the decision must be come to 
 at once. 
 
 ' Her Majesty's Government may well be reluctant 
 to repeat once more the dreary old story of special restric- 
 tive legislation for Ireland, the evil of which has so often 
 been exposed. I cannot regard it as an error to have 
 trusted, even for a short period, to the common law for 
 the maintenance of order in this country. And if we 
 could be sure of going through the coming winter with 
 no greater amount of outrage than we have now, large as 
 that amount is, so great is my detestation of coercive 
 measures that I should hesitate to recommend them. 
 But I feel strongly that there is nothing to prevent 
 outrages from largely increasing at any moment both 
 in number and atrocity, and if this should be the case
 
 JE-f. 34] THE POLICY OF THE CASTLE 257 
 
 s 
 
 I should reproach myself for the rest of my life with 
 not having put my opinion on record that, in the present 
 state of feeling, the law is not strong enough as it 
 stands. For the ordinary law to be sufficient to re- 
 press crime it is necessary that the majority of the 
 population be on the side of the injured person, and in 
 the disturbed parts of Ireland the vast majority are, in 
 cases of an agrarian nature, invariably on the side of the 
 criminal. In spite, then, of all my wishes being that 
 we could trust to the ordinary law, I must repeat my 
 conviction that to make up our minds to face the 
 winter without stronger powers would be very danger- 
 ous. If her Majesty decides upon coercive legislation, 
 what form is it to take ? . . . The one remedy sug- 
 gested by every landlord and every agent is the sus- 
 pension of the Habeas Corpus Act ; and though the 
 opinion of one class, particularly when in a great state 
 of alarm and indignation, should certainly not be held 
 conclusive as to the necessity of strong measures, it 
 may nevertheless, if strong measures are resolved 
 upon, be a good guide as to what direction they should 
 take. The same remedy as to the whole of Connaught 
 except Sligo is recommended by the police inspectors 
 in their answer to a recent circular. Authority 
 would therefore point to a suspension of the Habeas 
 Corpus Act as the proper remedy, and common 
 sense would appear to make the same suggestion. 
 The sudden imprisonment of some of those who 
 are known to instigate or to commit these crimes 
 would strike general terror in a way that nothing 
 else would, for no man would know how far he was 
 suspected or whether his own turn might not come 
 next. . . .' 
 
 VOL. i. s
 
 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1680 
 
 Lord Cowper to Mr. Gladstone 
 
 ' November 13, 1880. 
 
 ' I am more convinced every day and every hour of 
 the necessity of suspending the Habeas Corpus Act 
 and having an Arms Bill. The fear of being unduly in- 
 fluenced by the strong current of public feeling in favour 
 of coercion, and a vivid conception of what a glorious 
 triumph it would have been to get through the winter 
 with nothing but the ordinary law, have prevented me 
 from giving an opinion until the other day, and perhaps 
 even then made me give it in too undecided a manner. 
 You have all the statistics before you, and everything 
 that can explain them ; and, with Mr. Forster at hand 
 to answer every question and give information of all 
 kinds, you will very likely think a letter from me 
 unnecessary. But I write more to relieve my own 
 mind than anything else. What impresses me most is 
 the conviction that there is absolutely nothing to pre- 
 vent sudden outbursts of the worst kind. I do not 
 know that it is an exaggeration to say that something 
 like a general massacre of all landlords and agents not 
 under police protection is a conceivable and possible 
 event. 
 
 ' Of course I do not mean that this is probable, 
 but how can we say it might not happen ? The longer 
 a suspension is put off, the more doubtful will it be 
 whether the mischief has not got beyond the stage 
 in which it can be cured by the arrest of a few im- 
 portant people ; certainly, in order to have the desired 
 effect more people v would have to be arrested now 
 than a short time ago and more still in another 
 month.'
 
 .Er. :J4] ' THE DOMINION OF THE LEAGUE ' 2o9 
 
 f 
 
 Lord Cowper to Mr. Gladstone 
 
 ' November 23, 1880 
 
 ' You know my apprehensions as to an outbreak of 
 crime in this country. I must repeat that there is 
 nothing to prevent this, and if it does take place it will 
 be because the landlords are afraid of exercising their 
 power, and because the greater part of the country is 
 under the absolute dominion of the Land League and 
 all rights of property are at an end. 
 
 ' The remedy, and the only remedy, for this state of 
 things is, I feel quite sure, the suspension of the Habeas 
 Corpus Act. I have been anxiously considering during 
 the last few days whether, holding this opinion, I am 
 justified in retaining the position of Lord Lieutenant 
 unless this remedy is provided. I am most unwilling 
 to have the appearance of leaving the ship in the 
 middle of the storm. I feel, also, as regards myself, 
 that to resign now would be to put an end for ever to 
 anything in the shape of a public career. 
 
 ' I had given up all hope of this till your offer to 
 me last May of the high place I occupy made me feel 
 I had an unexpected chance which it would be a great 
 sacrifice for me to forfeit. I can honestly say that it 
 is a great source of pride and pleasure to me to serve 
 in the Government of one whom I have always 
 regarded with such feelings of admiration. What, 
 however, has most weighed with me is a sense of the 
 embarrassment my retirement would cause others. 
 
 ' I feel that if I went Mr. Forster's position would 
 become almost untenable, all the more so as I know 
 him to hold the same opinion as I do. Putting every- 
 thing together, I have come to the conclusion that 
 I will not do anything until January, but that if then I
 
 260 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1880 
 
 see no possibility of changing my mind as to the neces- 
 sity of a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and if 
 it is not granted, I will place my resignation in your 
 hands.' 
 
 Mr. Gladstone to Lord Cowpcr 
 
 ' November 24. 
 
 ' I am persuaded, after reading your letter of j r es- 
 terday, that in a very difficult case you have arrived 
 at a wise conclusion. For my own part I incline to 
 the belief that an outbreak of secessions from the 
 Government either way, at this particular moment, 
 when the double question of order and of land reform 
 is at issue, would render it impossible for us to effect 
 any good solution of that question in its twofold 
 branches. 
 
 ' It is with regret, and perhaps with mortification, 
 that I see the question of land reform again assuming 
 or having assumed its large proportions. My desire 
 certainly would have been to remain on the lines of the 
 Act of 1870, if not exactly as it passed, such as (I speak 
 of the occupying clauses) it left the House of Commons. 
 It is needless to inquire in what proportions the 
 scarcity, or the agitation, or the Disturbances Bill, or 
 (last, not least) the rejection of that Bill may have 
 brought about the result ; for there it is. I think that 
 on this side of the Channel we feel not less really, if 
 less acutely, than you in Dublin the pain, the embar- 
 rassment, and discredit of the present condition of 
 Ireland. Acquiescence in its continuance for even a 
 few weeks seems to me dependent on these conditions : 
 
 ' 1. That the disturbance so largely affecting pro- 
 perty and causing terror should not assume the form 
 of a great increase in crime affecting life. 
 
 ' 2. That by means of this delay we put ourselves
 
 .Ex. 34] MR. GLADSTONE OX THE SITUATION -261 
 
 in a position to propose with authority as a united 
 Government a remedy applicable to the whole of the 
 mischief. 
 
 ' The paralysis of very important rights affecting 
 the tenure of land is the special characteristic of the 
 present mischief in Ireland, and it may be right to apply 
 a thorough remedy a little later rather than a partial 
 (indeed, as I think, a very doubtful) remedy a little, and 
 only & little, sooner. What I personally think a very 
 doubtful remedy is a suspension of the Habeas Corpus 
 Act proposed alone, carried after much delay, in the teeth 
 of two-thirds of the representatives of Ireland (without 
 taking British allies into account) , and used in order to 
 cope with a wide-spreading conspiracy embracing in 
 certain districts large fractions of the population, and 
 largely armed with means other than material for 
 action. You may rely upon it that, when the time 
 you indicate arrives, the Cabinet will look at the duty 
 of defending proprietary rights without any mawkish 
 susceptibilities, and the suspension, should you and 
 Forster then still see cause to desire it, will be most 
 impartially entertained. For my own part, w r hat I lean 
 to expecting is, that if requisite it will not be sufficient, 
 and that we may have to legislate directly against the 
 Land League, not against its name only, but against 
 the purpose of all combinations aiming at the non- 
 payment of debts and non-fulfilment of contracts at 
 the very least, when these illegal aims are so pursued 
 as to endanger the public security.' 
 
 Lord Cowper to Mr. Gladstone 
 
 ' December 12. 
 
 ' In my letter of November 23 I said that I had come 
 to the conclusion that if in January I saw no possi-
 
 2Ci CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 bility of changing 1113* opinion as to the necessity of a 
 suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and if it was not 
 granted, I should feel it my duty to place my resignation 
 in your hands. I am sorr} 7 to say that I have not been 
 able to change my opinion, and all chance of my doing 
 so may be considered at an end. 
 
 ' The state of the country becomes worse every day. 
 Outrages have increased, and the Land League has 
 taken a much deeper root. ... I feel very strongly 
 that Parliament ought to be called together without 
 delay.' 
 
 The day after this letter was written the State trial 
 began. It lasted twenty days before two judges Mr. 
 Justice Fitzgerald and Mr. Justice Barry and a jury. 
 At half-past one o'clock on Tuesday, January 25, 1881, 
 the jury retired to consider their verdict. At half-past 
 five they returned to court. ' Have you agreed to your 
 verdict, gentlemen?' asked the clerk of the crown. 
 ' No,' answered the foreman. ' Is there any likelihood 
 of your agreeing ? ' asked the judge. ' Not a bit, my 
 lord,' said the foreman ; and he added, amid a burst of 
 laughter, ' we are unanimous that we cannot agree.' 
 The jury were sent back to their room for a couple of 
 hours more ; they came into court again at half -past 
 seven. 'Well, gentlemen,' said the judge, 'have you 
 agreed? ' ' No, my lord,' said the foreman, ' and there 
 is no good in keeping us here any longer ; we'll never 
 agree.' ' We are ten to two, my lord,' said an indiscreet 
 juror, with the look of a man who had a grievance ; and 
 the gallery rang with applause. ' Let the jury be dis- 
 charged,' ordered the judge ; ' we shall not force an 
 agreement.' 
 
 Parnell, who was in court, hastened from the scene.
 
 .ET. 35] A NON-POLITICAL FUNCTION 263 
 
 / 
 
 His appearance in the hall was the signal for another 
 outburst of applause, and as he jumped on an outside 
 car and drove rapidly off to catch the boat for England, 
 the crowd on the quay cheered vociferously, shouting 
 ' Long live the Chief ! ' 
 
 ' The Laud League,' cabled Parnell to the ' Irish 
 World,' ' has scored a victory. The ten to two disa- 
 greement of the jury is everywhere accepted as having 
 the force of an acquittal. Thanks to the " Irish World " 
 and its readers for their constant co-operation and sub- 
 stantial support in our good cause. Let them have no 
 fear of its ultimate success.' 
 
 Brennan, the secretary of the League, cabled about 
 the same time (February 2) to the ' Irish World ' : 
 ' 1,000 cabled this week by " Irish World " is received.' 
 
 The result of the trial was received with a blaze of 
 approbation. Bonfires were lit on every hill, meetings 
 were called in every district, resolutions of triumph 
 and confidence were everywhere passed. The first 
 move of the Government was a blunder. It served 
 only to consolidate the strength of the League. 
 
 I shall close this chapter with some account of a 
 non-political function which Parnell attended in the 
 autumn of 1880. I shall let Mr. Horgan, who took a 
 leading part at the function, tell the story. 
 
 ' In the summer of 1880 I was engaged to be 
 married. One evening I took my intended wife to 
 the House of Commons. She went to the Ladies' 
 Gallery. I had some business to do with Parnell. 
 He and I walked up and down one of the corridors 
 for some time, talking over business matters. That 
 done, I said to him, " Mr. Parnell, I am going to be 
 married." "Quite right, Horgan," said he, placing
 
 i}64 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 his hand on my shoulder; " I am glad to hear it." I 
 thought I should like to ask him to come to my 
 wedding, but I didn't know how he would take it. 
 He was, however, so very pleasant and friendly this 
 evening that I mustered up courage, and, faith, a good 
 deal to my surprise, found myself saying, " I would 
 feel very proud, Mr. Parnell, if you would come to 
 my wedding." " Certainly, Horgan," said he, in the 
 most off-hand manner. When he consented to this I 
 thought I might ask him to do anything. " Mr. Parnell," 
 said I, " will you think it presumptuous of me if I ask 
 you to be my best man ? " He looked amused, smiled, 
 and said quickly, " With pleasure, Horgan ; and now 
 you must introduce me to your intended wife." I told 
 him she was in the Ladies' Gallery. We went up. I 
 introduced him. He talked away pleasantly, took her 
 over the House, said smilingly " he was glad Horgan 
 was going to have someone to take care of him," and 
 was altogether perfectly charming. I was married at 
 the Eedemptorist Church, Clapham, on August 7. 
 Eleven o'clock was the hour fixed for the ceremony. 
 The rumour had got abroad that Parnell was coming 
 to the wedding, and the church and the street were 
 crowded with people anxious to see him. As the hour 
 approached I felt very nervous, for I thought he might 
 not turn up, or that at all events he might not turn up 
 in time. Indeed, I thought I would be a lucky fellow 
 if he arrived at twelve or one o'clock. I stood at the 
 church door on the lookout. At about ten minutes to 
 eleven a carriage and pair dashed up to the door, and 
 there was Parnell, dressed magnificently and looking so 
 handsome and dignified. Every head was uncovered 
 as he stepped out of the carriage, with the air of an 
 emperor, and walked up to me. "Ah, Horgan," he
 
 .Kr. 05] ' BEST MAN ' 265 
 
 / 
 
 said, " you look nervous (which I was very). Come and 
 have a glass of champagne ; that's what you want. We 
 have plenty of time." We went to an hotel close by 
 and we had a pint of champagne, which was what I 
 wanted. We then returned to the church. He was 
 very attentive during the ceremony, knelt down, and 
 showed every respect and reverence. Afterwards he 
 signed the register. Then I thought he would dash off, 
 glad to be rid of us. Not a bit of it. He came to the 
 luncheon, entered quite into the spirit of the whole 
 (business, and did not leave until my wife and I drove 
 ;away. There was a great deal of kindness in the man, 
 despite his coldness and reserve. The wedding must 
 have bored him terribly, but he came because it gave 
 ^pleasure to others.'
 
 260 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 
 COEECION AND REDRESS 
 
 BEFORE the State trials had commenced the Cabinet 
 resolved to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act in Ireland. 
 The decision was arrived at reluctantly. Mr. Gladstone 
 was opposed to coercion. Mr. Chamberlain was 
 opposed to it. Mr. Bright detested it. But the de- 
 mands of the Irish Executive were imperative. The 
 question was practically coercion or resignation ; and 
 Bright, Chamberlain, and Gladstone ultimately yielded 
 to the importunities of Dublin Castle. The determina- 
 tion of the Ministers was foreshadowed in the Speech 
 from the Throne : 
 
 'I grieve to state that the social condition of 
 [Ireland] has assumed an alarming character. Agrarian 
 crimes in general have multiplied far beyond the 
 experience of recent years. Attempts upon life have 
 not grown in the same proportion as other offences, 
 but I must add that efforts have been made for personal 
 protection far beyond all former precedent by the 
 police under the direction of the Executive. I have to 
 notice other evils yet more widely spread ; the ad- 
 ministration of justice has been frustrated with respect 
 to these offences through the impossibility of procuring 
 evidence, and an extended system of terror has thus 
 been established in various parts of the country which
 
 .El. 35] THE QUEEN'S SPEECH 267 
 
 / 
 
 has paralysed alike the exercise of private rights and 
 the performance of civil duties. In a state of things 
 new in some important respects, and hence with little 
 available guidance from former precedent, I have 
 deemed it right steadily to put in use the ordinary 
 powers of the law before making any new demand. 
 But a demonstration of their insufficiency, amply 
 supplied by the present circumstances, leads me now 
 to apprise you that proposals will be immediately sub- 
 mitted to you for entrusting me with additional powers, 
 necessary, in my judgment, not only for the vindication 
 of order and public law, but likewise to secure, on 
 behalf of my subjects, protection for life and property.' 
 
 Thus the Queen's Speech. 
 
 Parnell prepared for action. The Government 
 might, he said, carry their coercive measures, but it 
 would be only after a struggle which they should never 
 forget. 
 
 In the thick of the fight he cabled to the ' Irish 
 World ' : ' The fight the Irish members are making for 
 the liberties of the people is inspiring and strengthening 
 every Irishman. We are now in the thick of the 
 conflict. The present struggle against coercion will, 
 please God, be such as never has been seen within the 
 walls of Parliament.' 
 
 The ' Times ' once said that Parnell might prophesy 
 with safety, because he had the power of fulfilling his 
 prophecies. This particular prophecy was at all events 
 fulfilled to the letter. In 1883 there was a memorable 
 struggle over Grey's Coercion Bill. Then the debate 
 on the Address lasted five nights, the debate on the 
 first reading six nights, the debate on the second 
 reading two nights, and six nights were spent in 
 committee. That record was now beaten. In 1881
 
 268 CHABLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 the debate on the Address lasted eleven nights, the 
 debate on the first reading five, and even then the Bill 
 was only ' read ' by a coup de main. The debate on 
 the second reading lasted four nights, ten nights were 
 spent in committee, and two on the third reading. 
 
 Forster's case may be stated in a few words. The 
 Land League, the centre of disturbance, was ' supreme.' 
 It was necessary its powers should be crippled. They 
 could only be crippled by investing the Executive with 
 extraordinary powers. The wretches who committed 
 the outrages ' village tyrants,' ' dissolute ruffians '- 
 were known to the police. If the Habeas Corpus Act 
 were suspended they would all be arrested and the 
 disorder would be stopped. It gave him the keenest 
 sorrow, he declared, to ask for extraordinary powers. 
 This had been to him a most ' painful duty,' he added 
 with pathetic honesty. ' I never expected I should 
 have to discharge it. If I had thought that this duty 
 would devolve on the Irish Secretary, I would never 
 have held office ; if I could have foreseen that this 
 would have been the result of twenty years of parlia- 
 mentary life, I would have left Parliament rather than 
 have undertaken it. But I never was more clear than 
 I am now that it is my duty. I never was more clear 
 that the man responsible, as I am, for the administra- 
 tion of the government of Ireland ought no longer to 
 have any part or share in any Government which does 
 not fulfil its first duty the protection of person and 
 property and the security of liberty.' 
 
 Parnell's answer may be given briefly too. The 
 public opinion of Ireland was at the back of the 
 League. The policy of the Government was the 
 coercion of a nation. The people suffered wrongs. 
 The Government admitted it. Let these wrongs be
 
 yEx. 83] ' I AM VERY IGNORANT ' 26^ 
 
 / 
 
 redressed, and peace would be restored ; but no amount 
 of coercion would force the Irish people to submit to 
 unjust and cruel laws. Let evictions be stopped and 
 crime would disappear. ' What a spectacle have we ? 
 Two great English parties united for one purpose only 
 to crush, put down, and bully a poor, weak, and 
 starving nation ; a nation they did not attempt to 
 assist in her hour of famine and suffering. In this 
 state of things the duty of the Irish members is plain. 
 They are bound to use every form of the House to 
 prevent the first stage of the Bill. We shall have no 
 indecent haste. We must have full and fair discussion; 
 and the Irish members are the best judges of the extent 
 and value of the resistance which they ought to make 
 to the measure of coercion.' 
 
 ' We are bound to prevent the first stage of the 
 Bill.' This w r as a frank avowal of policy ; obstruction, 
 not argument, was the weapon on which the Irish 
 leader relied. Indeed, he never tried to make a secret 
 of his contempt for argument in the House of Com- 
 mons. ' Don't embarrass the Government,' was the cry 
 of the complacent Irish Whig. ' Embarrass the Govern- 
 ment ' was the mandate of Parnell. 
 
 During the six nights' debate on the first reading I 
 spent some hours with him walking up and down the 
 corridors of the House. He was always anxious to 
 learn anything of Irish history which had any practical 
 bearing on the issues of the day. He now wished to 
 know something of the previous fights over coercion. I 
 told him the story of the struggle over Grey's Coercion 
 Bill. ' By Jove,' he would say, ' that's good and 
 O'Connell too ! They are always holding O'Connell 
 up to me as a model, but you make him out to be as 
 bad as I am. Can I get all this in books ? You see I
 
 270 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 am very ignorant. I am very quick, though, at picking 
 up things.' I named some books to him. ' All right,' 
 he said, ' I will go into the Library and get them. We 
 will look through them together.' He went to the 
 Library, and soon returned with the books. We stood 
 at the little desk close to the door leading into the 
 Beading-room. He plunged into the books, marking 
 with blue pencil the passages that specially interested 
 him. ' Do they allow you to mark books here ? ' I 
 asked, observing that he was disfiguring the pages in 
 the most reckless fashion. ' I don't know,' was the 
 answer, with the air of a man who thought the question 
 quite irrelevant. ' By Jove ! ' he would repeat, ' this is 
 very good,' and he would once more daub the margin. 
 ' Well, they cannot say I invented obstruction, for here 
 is O'Connell doing the very thing, and defying every- 
 body.' 
 
 A Whig Home Euler came along, and was about to 
 pass into the Beading-room, when Parnell suddenly 
 stopped him. 
 
 1 Where are you going ? ' he asked. ' Just into the 
 Beading-room, Mr. Parnell, to skirn over the evening 
 papers.' 
 
 Parnell. ' Don't you think you ought to be in the 
 House ? ' 
 
 Whig Home Elder. ' Yes, Mr. Parnell, I will return 
 immediately.' 
 
 Parnell [laying his hand on the Whig's shoulder]. 
 * You will speak against the Bill ? ' 
 
 Whig Home Elder. ' I would rather not, Mr. Parnell. 
 I really am not able to speak.' 
 
 Parnell [with a faintly humorous glance at me]. 
 ' You can move the adjournment of the debate, or move 
 the Speaker out of the chair. That won't take much.'
 
 ,ET. 35] ' WHIPPING ' THE IRISH MEMBERS i'71 
 
 i 
 
 Whig Home Eider [with alarm]. ' Oh, dear, no, 
 Mr. Parnell, you must excuse me ; I never could do it.' 
 Parnell [tightening his grip on the Whig's 
 shoulder]. ' Mark, you must vote against this Bill. I 
 suppose you can do that. It does not need a speech, 
 and the sooner you get back to the House the better.' 
 
 Someone else called Parnell's attention off at this 
 moment, and as the Whig, passing into the Reading- 
 room, turned to me and said, ' Desperate man, desperate 
 man,' Parnell returned to the desk. 
 
 After a time another Irish member (a moderate 
 Nationalist) carnr* along. Parnell stopped him too. 
 ' Why have you come away ? ' he asked. 
 
 ' I have just spoken, Mr. Parnell,' said the member, 
 ' to the motion for adjournment, and I cannot do any- 
 thing until the division is taken. I cannot speak twice 
 to the same motion.' 
 
 Parnell. ' No, but you can help to keep a House 
 and watch what is going forward. I think you should 
 all remain in your places.' 
 
 After a little while I saw r both the Nationalist and 
 the Whig wending their melancholy way back towards 
 the Lobby. 
 
 Another member soon appeared. 
 Parnell [stopping him]. ' Why are you all coming 
 out of the House '? You should remain at your posts. 
 It is impossible to say what may turn up at any 
 moment.' 
 
 Member. ' I have just spoken.' 
 Parnell. ' That does not matter ; a speech is not 
 everything.' 
 
 Member. ' Here is a telegram which I have just 
 
 received from the corporation of , protesting 
 
 ' against coercion.'
 
 272 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 Parnell. ' Then go back and read it.' 
 
 Member. ' I cannot ; I have already spoken.' 
 
 Parnell. ' Then you can give it to someone else to 
 read. Give it to me. Come along.' And both walked 
 off. 
 
 Another night while we were together an Irish 
 newspaper reporter came to him and asked : ' Will you 
 speak to-night, Mr. Parnell ? ' 
 
 Parnell. ' I really don't know.' Then, turning to- 
 an Irish member who had just joined us, ' I have lost 
 the notes of my speech.' 
 
 Irish member. ' Where do you think you left 
 them, Mr. Parnell ? ' 
 
 Parnell. ' I don't know.' Then, with a roguish 
 twinkle : ' The notes of your speech are tied up with 
 them.' 
 
 The Irish member, without asking any more 
 questions, dashed off to the Library, and was soon back 
 again and tearing off in other directions in search of 
 the notes. 
 
 ' I am sorry for poor F ,' said Parnell, as he 
 
 looked in an amusing way after him ; ' but it really 
 does not matter whether the notes are lost or not/ 
 On another occasion, when the debate had lasted for 
 several nights, and when the House was thoroughly 
 exasperated, an Irish Liberal who had made one of 
 the ablest speeches against the Bill came up to Parnell 
 and said : 
 
 ' Will you allow the division to be taken to-night, 
 Mr. Parnell?' 
 
 Parnell. ' I think not.' 
 
 Irish Liberal. ' To be quite frank, I have a personal 
 interest in asking the question. I came up from 
 Liverpool to vote to-night. I am obliged to be in
 
 /ET. 35] ' INEXORABLE ' 278 
 
 i 
 
 Liverpool again to-morrow, and I don't want to have 
 my journey for nothing.' 
 
 Parnell. ' I don't think there will be a division to- 
 night.' 
 
 Irish Liberal. ' When will there be a division ? ' 
 
 Parnell. ' I don't know. It won't be to-night.' 
 
 The Liberal pressed Parnell to allow the division 
 to be taken, urging that there would be plenty of 
 opportunities on the second reading and in committee 
 to attack the Bill. 
 
 Parnell's simple answer was : ' No, I don't think 
 there will be a division to-night.' 
 
 He did not argue the question. He gave no reasons 
 for his decision. He merely repeated : ' There will be 
 no division to-night.' 
 
 ' Inexorable,' whispered the Liberal to me as he 
 went off. ' That's the character of the man, and it 
 gives him his power.' 
 
 Mr. Bright made a vigorous speech in support of the 
 Bill. Mr. O'Connor Power, who was put up to answer 
 him, failed utterly. I said so to Parnell. ' Your man 
 failed to answer Bright. Bright ought to be answered. 
 But he should not be treated as an enemy. His past 
 services to Ireland ought not to be forgotten. He is 
 as much our friend now as ever, though he is wrong 
 on this question.' 
 
 Parnell. ' I agree with what you say about Bright. 
 He ought to be treated in a friendly way. I got one 
 of our best men to reply to him. I can do no more.' 
 
 ' Do you think Bright has been answered ? ' 
 
 Parnell. ' Perhaps not. But if O'Connor Power 
 failed, who is likely to succeed ? ' 
 
 'Bright's speech is very damaging, and it is 
 ridiculous of your people to try and make light of a 
 
 VOL. I. T
 
 274 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 speech which none of them have answered up to the 
 present.' 
 
 We walked along the corridor in silence for a few 
 seconds ; then Parnell turned round, faced me, and said : 
 ' What does it matter ? Do you think that Irish 
 speeches have any effect on that House ? You know 
 they mean to pass this Bill. Do you think ' (with a 
 sneer) ' that any number of clever and pretty speeches 
 will prevent them ? What does it matter who is right 
 about the number of outrages? The question really 
 is, Do the Irish people support the League or the 
 English Government ? We all know they support the 
 League, because the League helps them, and they never 
 trust the English Government. If we had not the 
 people behind us we could do nothing. Mr. Forster 
 talks as if he represented Ireland, and the House 
 believes him. They believe what they like to believe. 
 We must show them that Ireland supports us, and 
 defies their House. They will get this Bill through, 
 but it will be a big job I can assure you. They have 
 not read it a first time yet. I don't know when they 
 will, unless they break their own rules.' 
 
 A few nights afterwards we were walking in one 
 of the corridors. The excitement in the House at this 
 time was intense, and almost every English member 
 was against the Irish party. Parnell was, as usual, 
 calm and self-possessed, and he seemed to enjoy the 
 discomfiture of the enemy. After awhile Lord Granville 
 came along the corridor. Parnell took no notice of 
 him. I said : ' A pleasant face, Lord Granville's.' 
 
 Parnell. ' I did not see it.' 
 
 Then Lord Kimberley came along. Parnell looked 
 furtively at him as he passed, but said nothing. Soon 
 Lord Spencer came along, following his colleagues.
 
 .Ex. 35] AN ILLEGIBLE EXTRACT i>7-3 
 
 i 
 
 Parnell turned round and looked after him, saying : ' A 
 Cabinet Council, I wonder what they are up to now. 
 They are at their wits' end to get this Bill read a first 
 time. I wonder what will they do. Something violent 
 I suspect. I wish I knew.' It was amusing to watch 
 him as he said this, rather aloud to himself than to me ; 
 standing in the middle of the passage with folded arms, 
 handsome, thoughtful face, figure erect and defiant, a 
 very picture of dignity and authority. Looking at 
 him one would have supposed that he was the Prime 
 Minister, bent on upholding law and order, and that the 
 innocent noblemen at whom he looked so suspiciously 
 were Land Leaguers conspiring against the State. We 
 walked once more towards the Library, when three 
 more Cabinet Ministers approached us. ' I am right,' 
 whispered Parnell as they passed ; ' it is a Cabinet 
 Council. I'm off' (with a smile). 'I must get my 
 people together,' and he disappeared through a side 
 door. 
 
 I wrote out an extract for him to use in his speech on 
 the Coercion Bill. Mr. A. M. Sullivan, who sat by him 
 as he read it to the House, afterwards described the 
 scene to me. ' He made an impressive speech, and was 
 listened to as usual with much attention. Then he 
 pulled a piece of foolscap out of his pocket and began 
 to read its contents. He got through the first two or 
 three sentences fairly well, but stopped at the fourth. 
 Ultimately he made it out ; only, however, to find him- 
 self hopelessly stuck in the fifth and following sentences. 
 The House watched him as he turned the paper in 
 every direction to decipher the illegible words. I felt 
 quite embarrassed on his account, though he was cool 
 and unconcerned. I leant forward looking at the 
 writing over his shoulder. " Mr. Parnell," I said, " I 
 
 T 2
 
 276 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 am accustomed to that handwriting. Will you let me 
 read the extract for you?" "No," said he, " I will 
 read it myself," and he stuck to it doggedly until he 
 read the whole document through. It was the worst 
 quarter of an hour he had ever had in the House of 
 Commons.' 
 
 I met Parnell the next night. I said : ' I am 
 afraid I caused you some embarrassment -last evening.' 
 ' How ? ' he replied. ' A. M. Sullivan tells me you could 
 scarcely make out my handwriting.' 
 
 Parnell. ' Not at all. I read it very well and pro- 
 duced a very good effect.' 
 
 This was characteristic of him always ready to 
 make the best of everything. 
 
 Forster's Coercion Bill was introduced on January 
 24. On the 25th Mr. Gladstone moved that it should 
 have precedence of all other business. Parnell and the 
 Irish members fiercely opposed this motion, adopting 
 the most extreme obstructive tactics, and keeping the 
 House sitting continuously from 4 P.M. on Tuesday 
 until 2 P.M. on Wednesday. On Thursday, 27th, the 
 debate was resumed. On Monday, 31st, the Govern- 
 ment declared their determination to close the debate 
 on the first reading that night. Parnell and the Irish 
 protested, and prepared for another all-night sitting. 
 Belays were ordered on both sides, and English and 
 Irish settled down doggedly to work. The House was 
 once more kept sitting continuously from 4 P.M. on 
 Monday until 9 A.M. on Wednesday forty-one hours. 
 Then a memorable scene occurred. 
 
 On Wednesday morning, February 2, the Speaker 
 who had been relieved from time to time in the 
 discharge of his duties during an uninterrupted sitting 
 of forty-one hours resumed the chair, and, review-
 
 -Ei. 3o] THE SPEAKER'S COUP 277 
 
 / 
 
 ing the incidents of the debate, declared that in the 
 interest of ' the dignity, the credit, and the authority 
 of the House,' he had resolved to stop the further 
 discussion of the Bill, and to call upon hon. members 
 to decide at once on the question of the first reading. 
 This announcement fell like a thunderclap on the Irish 
 party. They were thoroughly unprepared for it ; they 
 had no conception that the debate would be closed in 
 this manner. Accordingly, taken completely by surprise, 
 they did not attempt to resist the Speaker's authority, 
 and the first reading was then put, and carried by a 
 majority of 164 to 19. Immediately afterwards the 
 House adjourned until noon, the Irish members, 
 astonished and perplexed, crying out as they retired : 
 ' Privilege ! Privilege ! ' 
 
 Mr. Parnell was not present at this scene. He had 
 been at his post until an advanced hour in the morning, 
 and had retired for a brief rest. ' Parnell,' says Mr. 
 Justin McCarthy, ' was not present. He came into the 
 House some time afterwards. The men were com- 
 plaining of his absence. But there were no complaints 
 when he appeared. Everyone seemed delighted to see 
 him. There was a feeling of relief. He took the 
 whole business very coolly, and said the action of 
 the Speaker should at once be brought under the 
 notice of the House. 
 
 The House met at twelve o'clock. The report of 
 the Speaker's coup had spread rapidly throughout 
 the West End, and many persons had gathered within 
 the precincts of the House to watch the further develop- 
 ment of events. The Lobby was crowded, as usual on 
 great or critical occasions, and the question, 'What 
 will Parnell do now '? ' passed hurriedly around. There 
 was a general impression that any attempt on the part
 
 278 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 of the Irish members to resist the rnling of the Speaker, 
 or to reopen in any shape the discussion which had 
 been so summarily closed that morning, would be 
 attended with grave consequences,, the nature of which, 
 however, no one ventured to define. ' They will be 
 sent to the Tower,' said one bystander. ' Nonsense,' 
 said another. ' Then what will happen ? ' said the 
 first. ' God knows,' w r as the reply, ' but the House is 
 not in a temper to stand any nonsense now.' 
 
 About twelve o'clock the Speaker passed through 
 the Lobby to take the chair,, looking as if nothing out 
 of the ordinary routine of business had occurred. 
 He was soon followed by the Irish party, who marched 
 from the Library through the Lobby in single file with 
 Parnell at their head, looking somewhat perplexed, 
 but combative and defiant. After some preliminary 
 matters had been disposed of, Mr. Labouchere rose,, 
 and in a full House, breathless, I think I may say, 
 with expectation, and perhaps anxiety, said in his 
 clear, bell-like voice : ' I wish to ask you, sir, whether, 
 in bringing the debate upon the question which was- 
 before the House this morning to a sudden close, 
 you acted under any standing order of the House, and 
 if so, which.' Mr. Labouchere's rising was received 
 with complete silence, and when he resumed his 
 place only a very feeble cheer broke from the Irish 
 ranks. It was plain the Irish members had not j r et 
 recovered from the effects of the Speaker's blow, and 
 they were far too anxious and too uncertain as to the 
 issue of the combat to cheer much or heartily. When 
 Mr. Labouchere sat down the Speaker rose, and, folding 
 his gown around him with dignity, said : ' I acted on 
 my own responsibility, and from a sense of duty to the 
 House.' Then a loud and prolonged cheer broke from
 
 .Ex. 35] CONFLICT WITH THE SPEAKER 279 
 
 / 
 
 the Whig and Tory benches the cheer of men who 
 had been victorious, and were resolved that the fruits 
 of their triumph should not be lost. When the 
 cheering ceased Parnell rose, and his rising was. a 
 signal for a cheer, but yet a feeble one, from his fol- 
 lowers. He said : ' I venture, sir, to assume it will be 
 proper for me, in consequence of the reply which you 
 have just vouchsafed to the question of the hon. mem- 
 ber for Northampton, at once to bring forward, as a 
 matter of privilege, a resolution declaring that the 
 action of the Speaker in preventing further discussion 
 on the Protection of Property and Person (Ireland) 
 Bill this morning was a breach of the privileges of the 
 House.' Parnell resumed his seat, and the Speaker 
 at once rose, and in measured language answered : 
 ' The hon. member having stated the resolution he 
 proposes to submit to the House, I have to inform the 
 hon. member that the resolution he so proposes relates, 
 not to a question of privilege, but to a question of order.' 
 These words were received with another burst of cheer- 
 ing from the Whig and Tory benches ; and the Speaker 
 continued : ' If he thinks proper to bring the matter 
 under the notice of the House in the regular way, he is 
 entitled to do so by notice of motion, but not at the 
 present time and as a question of privilege.' Once more 
 the words of the Speaker were received with Whig and 
 Tory cheers, amidst which he resumed his seat. Mr. 
 Parnell rose again, and again slight Irish cheers greeted 
 him, his followers being desirous of showing their 
 loyalty to him, but feeling that in the present crisis of 
 affairs they really were not in a position to cheer. 
 They had been defeated in the morning, and there 
 did not yet appear the slightest chance of the tide of 
 battle being turned against their adversaries. In these
 
 280 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 circumstances they doubtless thought that it did not 
 behove them to demonstrate too much. Their leader, 
 addressing the Speaker, said : ' Sir, I respectfully sub- 
 mit for your further consideration that there is at least 
 one precedent for the course I propose to take.' The 
 Speaker firmly replied : ' I have ruled that the course 
 the hon. member proposes to take is out of order.' 
 Again the Whigs and Tories cheered lustily, and the 
 Speaker added : ' If he wishes to challenge that ruling 
 he is entitled to do so by motion.' Parnell rose again ; 
 but the House had now grown impatient, and cries of 
 ' Order, order ' broke from the benches on both sides 
 above the gangway, in the midst of which he sat 
 down. Here The O'Donoghue interposed to ask when 
 his ' hon. friend would have an opportunity of raising 
 the question of order' an interrogatory which was 
 received with laughter. The Speaker answered, ' That 
 is a matter for the House itself,' a reply which evoked 
 another salvo of cheers from the Whigs and Tories. 
 And now the struggle seemed all over. There were 
 slight ' movements ' in the House, as if hon. members 
 were preparing to settle down to business. The 
 Speaker leant back in the chair and waved his hand 
 gently in the direction of the Treasury Bench, to indi- 
 cate to the leader of the House Mr. Gladstone that 
 the coast was at length clear for passing to the ' Orders 
 of the day.' At this juncture Mr. A. M. Sullivan sprang 
 to his feet. ' Do I understand you, sir,' he said, with 
 outstretched hand and in a clear and manly voice, ' do I 
 understand you, sir, to rule that my hon. friend cannot 
 as a matter of privilege challenge the course which, 
 without precedent, you took this morning?' He 
 paused for a moment, manifestly much agitated, but 
 quite self-possessed, and then boldly continued : ' In
 
 JEi. 35] MR. A. M. SULLIVAN 281 
 
 t 
 
 that case, sir, I rise to move that the House do disagree 
 with Mr. Speaker in that ruling.' Now, for the first 
 time, hearty cheers broke from the Irish ranks, mingled 
 with cries of ' Chair,' ' Order, order,' from other parts 
 of the House. Mr. Speaker quickly rose and said : ' In 
 taking that course the hon. member will be disregard- 
 ing the authority of the Chair, and I must caution the 
 hon. member that the course he proposes to take will 
 involve him in the consequences of that proceeding '- 
 a reply which again called forth shouts of applause 
 from the Ministerial and Tory benches. Mr. Sullivan, 
 nothing daunted or disturbed by the minatory words 
 of the Speaker, replied that there was no member of 
 the House more ready to bow to the ruling of the Chair 
 than he, as there were none who more ' totally disre- 
 garded consequences in the discharge of conscientious 
 duties.' He was only seeking for advice and direction, 
 and wished to be instructed and guided by the Speaker 
 in the course he proposed to take. ' I ask you, sir,' he 
 said, ' whether it is not a fact that in the Journals and 
 records of this House there stand motions that the 
 House do disagree with a particular ruling of Mr. 
 Speaker on a point of order ? ' Again there were Irish 
 cheers, which had scarcely subsided when the Speaker 
 rose and said : ' I can quite understand that there may 
 have been motions of that kind made in the House, and 
 it may be that the hon. member can make such a 
 motion, but not as a matter of privilege.' 
 
 ' I did not rise,' answered Mr. Sullivan, ' to make it 
 as a matter of privilege, but to ask your advice as to 
 the course proper to take.' 
 
 The Speaker replied : ' If the hon. member admits 
 that it is not a question of privilege his course is quite 
 clear; he is bound to give notice of motion.' Once
 
 282 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 again the decision of the Speaker was the signal for 
 Whig and Tory expressions of triumph and exultation. 
 But these manifestations of feeling did not disconcert 
 the sturdy Celt, who was now full of fight and quite 
 indifferent to consequences. 
 
 'I thank you, Mr. Speaker,' he said, 'but I wish 
 further to ask you if it is not a fact that the ruling of 
 the Chair has been challenged on the instant ? ' 
 
 The great crisis in the contest had now clearly 
 arrived. The answer of the Speaker to this question 
 would manifestly decide the issue, and it was accord- 
 ingly awaited with much anxiety. ' The hon. mem- 
 ber,' said the Speaker, ' asks me a question which 
 at the present moment I am not able to answer 
 without searching for precedents.' No Whig or Tory 
 cheer greeted these words, but a ringing shout of 
 triumph broke from the Irish benches, which was 
 repeated again and again as Mr. Sullivan rose and, 
 waving his hand in the direction of his countrymen, 
 essayed to speak, but in vain, for the plaudits of the 
 Home Rulers rendered all sounds save their own cheers 
 inaudible. At length, the cheers gradually subsiding 
 and complete silence having for a moment supervened, 
 Mr. Sullivan, raising his voice to its highest pitch and 
 speaking with great deliberation and firmness, said : 
 ' Then, sir, in order that you may have time to search 
 for precedents I shall conclude with a motion.' This 
 declaration was received with another outburst of Irish 
 applause, which was not in the least checked but 
 perhaps rather stimulated by the rising of the Speaker. 
 When order was restored, the Speaker, looking grave 
 and serious, said : ' I caution the hon. member that if 
 he proposes to move the adjournment of the House with 
 a view of calling in question what was done this morning
 
 Jvr. 33] AX IRISH VICTORY 283 
 
 i 
 
 he will be entirely out of order.' This statement was 
 received with ironical laughter by the Irish members, 
 and met by Mr. Sullivan with a pointed and, I think, 
 dignified reply. He said : ' Sir, I am about to move the 
 adjournment of the House, and I trust I shall do so with- 
 in the strict rules and privileges of the House, and not 
 beyond them.' He then proceeded to deliver a clever 
 speech on the question of adjournment which lasted 
 nearly an hour. He was followed by Mr. Gray, who 
 seconded the motion. In quick succession the rest of 
 the Irish members, supported by Mr. Cowen and Mr. 
 Labouchere, took part in the debate, which dragged on 
 until a quarter to six in the evening, when the House 
 adjourned. Thus the Irish members on Wednesday 
 afternoon gained a victory over the House which was 
 as complete as that gained by the House over them in 
 the morning. Throughout the whole of Wednesday 
 they obstructed the public business, and rendered the 
 work of the Speaker in stopping the debate in the 
 morning inoperative. 1 
 
 The fierce obstruction of the first reading of the 
 Coercion Bill convinced the Government that a drastic 
 change in the Rules of Procedure was necessary to 
 defeat the tactics of Parnell, and they resolved to make 
 this change before the next stage of the measure. Mr. 
 Gladstone accordingly, on February 2, gave notice of a 
 resolution to the effect that if a motion declaring the 
 business urgent should be supported by forty members 
 rising in their places, then the motion should be put 
 forthwith without debate, and if carried by a majority of 
 not less than three to one, the regulation of the business 
 for the time being should remain in the hands of the 
 Speaker. 
 
 1 I have taken the description of. this scene (which I witnessed) 
 from Fifty Years of Concessions to Ireland.
 
 284 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 This resolution was the first order of the day on 
 Thursday, February 3. But before it was reached Sir 
 William Harcourt informed the House that Michael 
 Davitt had just been arrested in Dublin for violating 
 the conditions of his ticket-of-leave. 
 
 ' What conditions ? ' asked Parnell; but Sir William 
 Harcourt gave no answer. 1 
 
 Mr. Gladstone then rose to move the ' closure ' 
 resolution, but Mr. Dillon interposed to ask further 
 questions relating to Davitt's arrest. The Speaker 
 called on Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 Mr. Dillon refused to give way. ' I demand,' he 
 cried out, amid the din which his persistence produced, 
 ' I demand my privilege of speech.' 
 
 The Speaker then ' named ' Mr. Dillon for wilfully 
 disregarding the authority of the Chair, and on the 
 motion of Mr. Gladstone he was suspended. Called 
 upon to withdraw, he refused to leave his place, and 
 W 7 as removed by the Sergeant-at-Arms. Mr. A. M. 
 Sullivan questioned the authority of the Chair in 
 ordering the forcible removal of Mr. Dillon without 
 first seeking the sanction of the House for that course, 
 but the point was quickly overruled. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone rose once more to propose his re- 
 solution, when Parnell moved that ' the right hon. 
 member be no longer heard.' Another scene of in- 
 describable excitement and confusion followed. The 
 Speaker refused to hear Parnell ; Parnell ' insisted ' 
 that his motion should be put. The Speaker named 
 him for persisting in a course of ' wilful and deliberate 
 obstruction,' and he was at once suspended on the motion 
 
 1 The Government recognised that Davitt was a danger, and simply 
 made the violation of the conditions of the ' ticket-of-leave ' a pretext 
 for arresting him. Davitt was immediately taken to Portland, where he 
 remained until May G, 1882.
 
 .Et. 35] SUSPENSION OF IRISH MEMBERS 285 
 
 / 
 
 of Mr. Gladstone. Thirty-two Irish members refused 
 to leave the House during the division, and they 
 were immediate!}' suspended. ' I was sitting quietly 
 in my room off the Strand,' says Mr. Frank Hugh 
 O'Donnell, 'when Biggar rushed in and said: "We 
 have been suspended. Do you run down to the House 
 and get suspended at once." Of course I rushed off. 
 As I took my seat Mr. Gladstone was speaking on the 
 " closure." I at once moved that he should be no 
 longer heard, and was suspended on the spot.' Other 
 Irish members who had been away, at the ' grand 
 scene ' strolled in, moved that Mr. Gladstone should 
 no longer be heard, and were suspended in detail. 
 The last victim was ' Dick ' Power, one of the most 
 genial and pleasant of men. He was a great friend of 
 the Sergeant-at-Arms, Sergeant Gossett, and indeed 
 spent many hours chatting away in that official's room 
 during dull nights when the House bored him. ' Dick ' 
 having refused to leave his seat during the division on 
 Mr. O'Donnell's suspension, was named. He declined 
 to withdraw unless under the pressure of superior 
 force. The Sergeant-at-Arms appeared, placed his 
 hand on Dick's shoulder, and asked his old friend to 
 retire. ' I won't go, Sergeant,' said Dick. ' My dear 
 Dick,' quoth the Sergeant, ' do come away.' ' Devil a 
 foot, Sergeant. You'll have to get the police before I 
 stir.' And he kept the Sergeant on tenterhooks for 
 several minutes before finally quitting his place. Later 
 on he might have been seen discussing the whole 
 question in the Sergeant's room over a friendly cigar. 
 
 ' Did Mr. Parnell,' I asked Mr. McCarthy, ' seek 
 the expulsion of the Irish members on this occasion ? ' 
 
 He answered : ' Parnell certainly forced the running. 
 Dillon first got into difficulties with the Speaker. He
 
 -28-3 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 said to Parnell : " Don't commit the party on my 
 account. Let it be my affair alone." Parnell an- 
 swered, " Go on, go on," and very soon made the 
 matter a party affair. He did it deliberately. He 
 always believed that the one thing necessary was to 
 cause explosions in the House, and to show how hope- 
 lessly strained were the relations between English and 
 Irish.' 
 
 The active Irish members having been got rid of, 
 Mr. Gladstone then moved his resolution, which was 
 carried with one alteration viz., that there should be 
 at least a House of 300 as well as a majority of three 
 to one before ' urgency ' could be voted. 
 
 The resolution having been adopted, ' urgency ' 
 was at once declared, and next day, February 4, Mr. 
 Forster moved the second reading of the Coercion 
 Bill. 
 
 Despite the revolution in procedure, the Irish still 
 fought vigorously against the measure, and it was not 
 until February 25 that the last stage was passed in the 
 Commons. On March 2 the Bill became law. Briefly, it 
 enabled the Lord Lieutenant to arrest any person whom 
 he reasonably suspected of treasonable practices or 
 agrarian offences, and to keep such persons in prison 
 for any period up to September 30, 1882. 
 
 The Irish Executive were now possessed of the 
 powers for which they had asked, and during the spring, 
 summer, and autumn of 1881 hundreds of Land 
 Leaguers \vere swept into Kilmainham. But the 
 agitation did not abate. Men were readily found to 
 jump into the breach ; the places of the suspects were 
 quickly filled ; land meetings went on much as usual ; 
 the speeches of agitators increased in violence and 
 lawlessness ; crime and outrage were rampant in a
 
 -Ex. 35] AX ' ILLEGAL ASSOCIATION ' 287 
 
 i 
 
 word, the policy of the Government was everywhere 
 met with denunciation and defiance, the Land League 
 remaining supreme. The difficulties of the situation, 
 in nowise diminished by the suspension of the Habeas 
 Corpus Act, were fully realised at Dublin Castle, as the 
 following minute of Lord Cowper will show : 
 
 Lord Cowper to the Cabinet 
 
 ' The first point which I will consider is whether it 
 is desirable to break up the Land League. I mean 
 whether it should be declared an illegal association, and 
 the head committee in Sackville Street and the various 
 local committees forcibly suppressed. There is no 
 doubt that in the opinion of many lawyers it is an illegal 
 association, and if our law officers had shared this 
 opinion it might have been a grave question in the 
 early autumn whether it should not have been put an 
 end to. This could hardly be done now without an 
 Act of Parliament, and how long such an Act would 
 take to pass, and how far the business of the session 
 would be interfered with, her Majesty's Ministers are 
 better able to judge than I am. It must be remembered 
 that the Land League has now taken very deep root 
 throughout the country, and that Fenians, Kibbonmen, 
 and bad characters of every description take advantage 
 of its organisation, and are enrolled in its local branches. 
 If the restraining influences of the central body were 
 withdrawn, and the local branches driven to become 
 secret societies, crime, particularly assassination, might 
 increase ; for though the central body gives unity and 
 strength to the movement, it does to a certain extent 
 restrain crime. 
 
 ' The priests still exercise an extraordinary influence
 
 288 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 over the people, as has been shown lately in the most 
 marked manner by the power they possess of con- 
 trolling and pacifying the most excited crowd, and to 
 withdraw the priests from the movement would be an 
 object for which a great deal of risk might be run. 
 I have thought it worth while to make these obser- 
 vations, but from recent speeches in both Houses I 
 infer that her Majesty's Government have come to 
 the conclusion that the Land League is not to be 
 broken up. 
 
 ' Next comes the question of stopping the Land 
 League meetings. I have already expressed my opinion, 
 in a minute of December 27, 1880, that they ought to 
 have been stopped. They did an immense amount of 
 mischief, and allowing them to go on has been and will 
 be fixed upon as the chief error of our Administration. 
 On the other hand, no one can suppose that under any 
 circumstances there would not have been a vast number 
 of outrages last year ; and if we had suppressed the 
 meetings we should have been accused of sitting on 
 the safety valve, and it would have been said that if 
 we had allowed a freer expression of opinion and a 
 constitutional agitation all would have been well. 
 
 ' I think now that stopping the Land League meet- 
 ings would be too late, that it would involve too great a 
 change of front, and that it w r ould be much more 
 difficult than last year, as the people are better organised 
 and able to change the time and place of meeting more 
 rapidly than they could before. We must pursue the 
 policy we began at the end of the year, drawing a line 
 at those meetings where there is sworn information 
 that they would be attended with danger to an 
 individual. 
 
 'Now comes the question of the arrest of indi-
 
 _Er. 35] TROOPS AND POLICE 289 
 
 / 
 viduals. To strike at the leaders is undoubtedly the 
 
 right thing, and this is just what we have been accused 
 of not doing. But openly teaching the doctrine of 
 breach of contract, which is their real crime, does not, 
 unfortunately, enable us to take them up. We are 
 hampered in cur action by an express agreement that 
 we will not arrest any man unless we can say on our 
 honour that we believe him to have actually committed 
 or incited to outrage. This at first prevented us 
 from attacking the leaders as vigorously as we might 
 have done, but latterly some of them have been less 
 cautious, and we have also prevailed upon ourselves to 
 give a wider interpretation to our powers. For my 
 part, I should be inclined to interpret them very widely. 
 It is hardly too much to say that in the present state of 
 the country everybody who takes a leading part in the 
 Land League does, by the very fact of so doing, incite 
 to outrage. And there is now hardly anybody whose 
 detention policy would demand that I would not 
 personally arrest. Next to arresting all the leading 
 men that we can comes the strict enforcement of the 
 law. Every failure to serve a process, or to carry out 
 a forced sale, or an eviction, does immense mischief. 
 Of course, a collision should, if possible, be prevented, 
 and for this purpose we always endeavour to send an 
 overwhelming force. 
 
 ' I may here notice that complaint has been made 
 of the troops being exposed to stoning without being 
 allowed to act in return. A certain amount of this 
 may be unavoidable, but troops, in my opinion, should 
 never be brought face to face with the mob unless they 
 are intended to act. It is not fair for the troops, 
 and it diminishes the moral effect upon the people. 
 The police should, if possible, be employed in prefer- 
 
 YOL. i. u
 
 290 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 ence, as they can use their batons, which they are not 
 afraid to use, and which inflict just the right sort of 
 chastisement. 
 
 ' These are the general principles which are impressed 
 upon each Resident Magistrate, but as to details he 
 must, of course, in each individual instance use his own 
 discretion. I have little more to recommend. The state 
 of the country is very bad, after making every allowance 
 for the exaggeration of the Press. Indeed, these very 
 exaggerations are a proof of the uneasiness of public 
 feeling. One of the worst points is the bad feeling 
 which prevails in the south and west against the 
 military and police. Worse still are the vast mobs 
 which can be collected at a moment's notice. 
 
 ' In the autumn individual assassination was the 
 great danger. Now, in addition to this is the danger of 
 a sudden overwhelming, by sheer weight of numbers, 
 of small bodies of police or military. One such 
 catastrophe would be of incalculable evil. Besides the 
 disgrace of the authorities, it would lead to after attempts 
 of the same kind, and might actually be the beginning 
 of a small civil war which could not be concluded with- 
 out such an amount of bloodshed as would cause renewed 
 bitterness of feeling against England for more than one 
 generation. If the troops fire upon the people, as may 
 be necessary at any moment, and loss of life, even 
 indeed that of women and children, is the result, it 
 must be remembered their action may have saved the 
 country from something even more deplorable.' 
 
 If the Government had hoped to conciliate the 
 agitators by the introduction of a big Land Bill they 
 were doomed to disappointment. The bitterness caused 
 by the fight over the Coercion Bill and the imprison-
 
 -r. 3--T THE LAND BILL . 291 
 
 / 
 
 nient of the Land Leaguers intensified the old feeling 
 of distrust and ill-will, so that when Mr. Gladstone 
 brought in his sweeping measure of land reform on 
 April 7 he spoke to unsympathetic Irish benches. 
 Biggar sat next to Parnell as the Prime Minister pro- 
 ceeded to unfold his scheme. When he had been on 
 his feet for about ten minutes and, of course, before he 
 had touched the fringe of the subject the member for 
 Cavan turned to his colleagues and said, with charac- 
 teristic abruptness : ' Thoroughly bad Bill.' A delight- 
 fully humorous smile was Parnell 's only response. 
 But Biggar's frame of mind was the frame of mind of 
 many of the advanced Nationalists. They wanted a 
 ' thoroughly bad ' Bill because a ' thoroughly bad ' Bill 
 would not ease the situation. 
 
 There always have been certain Irishmen who 
 believe that a policy of ' remedial legislation ' would be 
 fatal to the national demand. ' Let the grievances of 
 the people be redressed,' they say, ' and there will be 
 an end of Home Rule.' This was not Parnell's view. 
 He believed that the spirit of nationality could not be 
 quenched ; that the claim for legislative independence 
 would never be given up, whatever the course of 
 remedial legislation might be. I once had a conversa- 
 tion with him in the Smoking-room of the House of 
 Commons on the subject. It was a propos of a sugges- 
 tion to appoint grand committees for the consideration 
 of Irish, English, and Scotch Bills. Some of the Irish 
 members thought that the appointment of these com- 
 mittees might be accepted as a substitute for Home 
 Rule, and accordingly opposed the proposal. 'Irish 
 nationality,' said Parnell, ' must be very thin if it is to 
 be given up for grand committees or anything else. 
 My opinion is that everything they give us makes for 
 
 u 2
 
 292 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 Home Rule, and we should take everything. The 
 better off the people are, the better Nationalists they 
 will be. The starving man is not a good Nationalist.' 
 Upon another occasion a rumour reached me that the 
 Government (Lord Salisbury's Ministry, 1886) intended 
 buying up the Irish railways. I mentioned the fact to 
 an Irish member. ' Oh,' he exclaimed, ' we must not 
 have that. It w r ould settle Home Rule for ever. If 
 the English Government sink money in the country 
 that way, they will take care to keep everything in 
 their own hands.' I told Parnell what his colleague 
 had said. ' I am accustomed to these remarks,' was 
 his commentary. ' All I say is, I hope what you tell 
 me about the intentions of the Government is true. It 
 would be a good business. It would open up the 
 country, bring the people nearer good markets, and 
 develop industry. Home Rule is not to be killed as 
 
 easily as thinks. It would go on even if we 
 
 lost .' 
 
 Parnell wanted a good Land Bill, and he was 
 determined to secure the fullest measure of justice 
 which it was possible to obtain for the tenants. ' The 
 measure of Land Reform,' he had said at Ennis in 
 1880, ' will be the measure of your energy this winter.' 
 The people were energetic with a vengeance, and the 
 Land Bill was a sweeping measure of reform. 'I 
 would strongly recommend public men,' Parnell said 
 in the same Ennis speech, ' not to waste their breath 
 too much in discussing how the land question is to be 
 settled, but rather to encourage the people in making 
 it ripe for settlement.' The people had made it ' ripe ' 
 for settlement. Mr. Gladstone's Bill proclaimed a 
 revolution. 
 
 The old power of the landlord was for ever taken
 
 .Ex. 30] PARNELL'S POSITION 293 
 
 / 
 
 away. He could no longer increase rents at his 
 pleasure, or, indeed, increase them at all. New 
 tribunals l were established for fixing rents, and gene- 
 rally for adjusting the relations of landlord and tenant. 
 Increased facilities for the creation of a peasant pro- 
 prietary were given, and the tenant's right to dispose of 
 the goodwill of his farm was amply secured. The 
 ' three F's ' fixity of tenure, fair rents, and free sale 
 for which Isaac Butt had agitated in vain (within the 
 law, and without seeking to outrage Parliament or to 
 humiliate English parties), were now wrenched from 
 the Government by one of the most lawless movements 
 which had ever convulsed any country. 
 
 ' There is no use,' an Irish Unionist member once 
 said in the House of Commons, 'in any Irishman 
 approaching an English Minister on Irish questions 
 unless he comes with the head of a landlord in one 
 hand or the tail of a cow in the other.' It was in this 
 way the Land League came, and we all now know 
 the Land League triumphed. ' I must make one admis- 
 sion,' said Mr. Gladstone in 1893, ' and that is, that 
 without the Land League the Act of 1881 would not 
 now be on the Statute-book.' 2 
 
 The Irish members were fairly astonished at the 
 completeness of Mr. Gladstone's Bill, and some of 
 them were little disposed to accept it. 
 
 Parnell's position was one of extreme difficulty. 
 To have wrecked the Land Bill would have been an 
 act of insensate folly ; to have accepted it cordially 
 might have made the Government feel that they had 
 conceded too much, and would certainly have caused 
 divisions in his own ranks. What was he to do? 
 
 1 Land courts. 
 
 - House of Commons, April 21, 1893.
 
 294 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 ' When in doubt, do nothing,' was one of Lord 
 Melbourne's wise maxims. Parnell resolved to do 
 nothing for the present. Before the first and second 
 reading of the Bill the Easter recess intervened. 
 During that time he kept his own counsel. The 
 general impression was, however, that he meant to 
 support the Bill. ' People whispered : ' Parnell will take 
 the moderate line, he will accept the Bill.' A clique of 
 Parliamentarians prepared to undermine his authority. 
 A convention was summoned in Dublin to consider the 
 situation. Like Parnell, the convention decided to do 
 nothing. Every member of Parliament was to be left 
 free to take any course he pleased, thus leaving the 
 question still open. The second reading of the Bill 
 was fixed for the 25th of April. 
 
 A few days previously the parliamentary party met 
 to consider finally what course should be pursued. 
 ' We were all assembled on the appointed day,' says 
 an Irish member. ' As usual, Parnell was not up to 
 time, which gave an opportunity to the malcontents to 
 grumble. At length he arrived, walked straight to the 
 chair, of course, made no apology for being late, sat 
 down, then rose immediately and said : " Gentlemen, 
 I don't know what your view on this question is. 
 I am against voting for the second reading of the 
 Bill. We have not considered it carefully. We must 
 not make ourselves responsible for it. Of course I 
 do not want to force my views upon anybody, but I 
 feel so strongly on the subject that if a majority 
 of the party differ from me I shall resign at once." 
 This was a thunderbolt. It took us all by surprise. 
 The clique who were- plotting against Parnell looked 
 perfect fools. He had trumped their card. There was 
 dead silence. "I now move," said Parnell, "that we
 
 JEn. 35] ' A HIGH-HANDED ACT ' 295 
 
 i 
 
 do not vote for the second reading." There were some 
 expressions of dissent, but the motion was carried. 
 The whole thing was done in less than an hour. 
 Parnell, neither then nor at any other time, discussed 
 the question with us.' 
 
 Mr. A. M. Sullivan was one of those who had 
 spoken publicly during the recess in favour of the Bill. 
 Parnell's decision that the party should abstain from 
 voting on the second reading came as a surprise to 
 him, as well as to everyone else. He was not at the 
 party meeting, but news of what had occurred soon 
 reached him. Coming into the chambers which we 
 both occupied in the Temple and flinging himself into 
 a chair, he said, with some warmth, ' Do you know 
 what has happened?' I said 'No.' He went on: 
 ' Parnell has carried a resolution pledging the party 
 not to vote for the second reading of the Land Bill. 
 He forced the party into this position by threatening 
 to resign. This is a high-handed act. He did not 
 give us the slightest inkling of what was passing in his 
 mind. Some of us have made speeches in support of 
 the Bill. I have myself stated publicly that I would 
 vote for the second reading. Then Parnell comes with- 
 out giving us a moment's preparation, and says that 
 we must not vote for the second reading, or, if we do, 
 he will resign. The only course open to me is to leave 
 the party. I will write to Parnell, telling him. exactly 
 what I think, and placing my resignation in his 
 hands.' 
 
 Mr. Sullivan did as he said. Afterwards he had an 
 interview with Parnell, of which he gave me the follow- 
 ing account : ' Parnell is certainly the coolest hand I ever 
 met. He is never put out at anything, and he never 
 thinks that you ought to be put out. He is a regular
 
 296 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 Englishman. There is not a bit of the Celt in him. 
 " Vote for the second reading if you think you have 
 committed yourself. It will make no matter. As a 
 question of tactics we ought not to make ourselves 
 responsible for the Bill. Do whatever you think best. 
 The Bill is safe." That is simply his answer to me. 
 Parnell may be quite right in holding back. I entirely 
 appreciate his anxiety not to make himself responsible 
 for the Bill. What I object to is, that he should keep 
 us in the dark up to the very last moment, and then 
 force us into a position inconsistent with our public 
 declarations.' Some days later Mr. Sullivan said : ' I 
 never come away from talking to Parnell without feeling 
 that he knows better than any of us how to deal with 
 the people on this side. Time always tells in his favour. 
 Many of us are inclined to be carried away by what we 
 think a kindly or a generous act. Parnell is never 
 carried away by anything. He never dreams of giving 
 the English credit for good intentions. He is always 
 on the lookout for the cloven foot. He distrusts the 
 whole lot of them, and is always on the watch. They 
 have got their match in him, and serve them right. 
 It is not poor Isaac Butt that they have to deal w r ith, or 
 even O'Connell. Parnell is their master as well as ours.' 1 
 The Land Bill was read a second time on May 19 
 by 352 to 176 votes, 35 Home Rulers walking out with 
 Parnell and 24 joining the majority. In committee, 
 however, Parnell's true designs revealed themselves. 
 The Bill was to be saved, but the Government were 
 not to be ostentatiously supported. Whenever the 
 measure was in danger the Parnellites came to the 
 rescue. When it was^safe they criticised and objected, 
 and, it must be allowed, improved the Bill. Mr. 
 
 1 Mr. Sullivan did not vote for the second reading.
 
 ,ET. 35] SUSPENSION OF PARNELL 297 
 
 i 
 
 Heneage, a Liberal, moved an amendment to exclude 
 English-managed estates from the operation of the 
 Act. The Parnellites stood by the Government and 
 saved the clause. Lord Edmond Fitzmaurice moved 
 an amendment to limit the jurisdiction of the Land 
 Court in fixing fair rents to tenancies under 100Z. 
 annual value. The Parnellites again stood by the 
 Government and again saved that clause too. 1 
 
 On July 30 the Bill was read a third time by 220 
 to 14 votes. Mr. Parnell again walked out of the 
 House, followed by a handful of friends, while the 
 great bulk of the Irish party supported the Govern- 
 ment. Two nights afterwards August 1 Parnell 
 was suspended for defying the authority of the Chair. 
 On a motion for regulating the business of the House 
 during the remainder of the session he insisted on 
 demanding a day for the discussion of the Irish ad- 
 ministration. The Speaker called him to order again 
 and again, but he held on the even tenor of his way. 
 The Speaker warned, Parnell defied the warning. 
 * The Ministry of the day,' he said, ' of course alw r ays 
 gain the sympathies of the powers that be, in this 
 House, and if we may not bring the cause of our 
 imprisoned countrymen before the House, I may say 
 that all liberty and regard of private right is lost in 
 this assembly, and that the Minister of the day has 
 
 1 Another shifting of the political kaleidoscope occurred on the 
 proposal of Mr. Parnell that the landlord should not be allowed to 
 .force the sale of the tenant's rights except with the consent of the 
 court. The Government, desirous of giving the tenant a fair start with 
 the new Bill, accepted the proposal, but on the protest of Mr. Gibson that 
 the landlord should not possess less rights than other creditors, Mr. 
 Parneil modified his proposal so as to place all on the same footing. 
 These tactics somewhat disconcerted the Conservative leaders, who 
 found themselves on a division supported by only seventy-six members, 
 whilst Mr. Parnell was followed into the lobby by twenty members, 
 including the whole Treasury Bench. Annual Register, 1881.
 
 L>98 CHAELES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 transformed himself from a constitutional Minister into 
 a tyrant ! ' Here the Speaker named Parnell at once. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone. ' I was about to move ' 
 
 Parnell. ' I shall not await the farce of a division. 
 I shall leave you and your House, and I shall call the 
 public to witness that you have refused freedom of 
 discussion.' 
 
 He was then suspended for the remainder of the 
 sitting. 
 
 The Land Bill now passed without further incident 
 through the Commons, was of course ' amended ' in 
 the Lords, and ultimately received the Eoyal assent on 
 August 22. 
 
 An Ulster Liberal has made the following statement 
 to me with reference to the Land Bill : 
 
 'At the beginning of the year there was an article 
 in the "Daily News" from which I gathered (rightly 
 or wrongly) that it was the intention of the Govern- 
 ment to introduce a strong Coercion Bill and a weak 
 Land Bill. I wrote to the paper saying substantially 
 that if this were the policy of the Government they 
 could not rely on Ulster. 
 
 ' I met Sir William Harcourt in the Lobby, and he 
 asked rne what I meant by writing such a letter. I 
 said that Ulster would have no tinkering with the land 
 question ; that there should be a sweeping measure of 
 reform. Sir William Harcourt asked me to breakfast 
 with him next day, in order that we should talk the 
 matter over. I then told him plainly that unless the 
 Government meant to accept the " three F's " they 
 had better not legislate at all. He expressed no 
 opinion on the subject, but listened quietly to all I had 
 to say. Some time afterwards, when the Bill was 
 introduced, I met him in the Lobby again. He said :
 
 -Ei. 35] ' UNITED IRELAND ' 299 
 
 i 
 
 " D , when you. told me that morning we break- 
 fasted together that nothing less than the ' three F's ' 
 would do, I thought you were mad ; but they are all in 
 the Bill." 
 
 'When the second reading was carried, a number 
 of Ulsterrnen met at the Westminster Palace Hotel to 
 consider what message should be sent to the north. 
 They had no copy of the Bill, and they asked me to 
 get one. I went to the Irish office and saw Law (the 
 Irish Attorney-General) . I told him about the meeting 
 at the Westminster Palace Hotel, and asked for a copy 
 of the Bill. He said : " The only copy I have is the 
 one you see on the table, which has my private notes 
 on it, and of course I cannot give you that." I pressed 
 him to give it to me, and he finally consented, making 
 me promise that I would not let it out of my hands. 
 As he gave me the Bill he said : " Do you see 
 that '? " pointing to a figure I think it was 22 on 
 the Bill. I said: "Yes; what does it mean?" "It 
 means," he replied, " that that is the twenty-second 
 Bill which has been before us!" "And, Law," I 
 asked, "what was the first Bill like?" "Well may 
 you ask," he said with a smile. And then I learnt 
 this moral lesson from my conversation with Law : 
 that the first Land Bill was an insignificant amend- 
 ment of the Land Act, 1870, but that as lawlessness 
 and outrage increased in Ireland the Bill was broadened 
 until it reached its final dimensions.' 
 
 While the measure was going through Parliament 
 Paniell lent himself to a new project. There was no 
 organ in the Irish Press which he could absolutely 
 control. The ' Freeman's Journal ' was in the hands of 
 Mr. Gray ; the ' Nation ' and ' Weekly News ? belonged 
 to the Sullivans ; the ' Irishman,' the ' Shamrock,' and
 
 300 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 the ' Flag of Ireland ' were owned by Mr. Pigott. 
 Parnell resolved to buy out Pigott and start a journal 
 which he could himself command. 
 
 To carry out this purpose he formed the ' Irish 
 National Newspaper and Publishing Company, 
 Limited,' purchased all Pigott's papers, dropped the 
 * Shamrock,' converted the ' Flag of Ireland ' into 
 'United Ireland,' and continued the ' Irishman.' 
 
 Mr. William O'Brien was appointed editor of the 
 Land League organs, as ' United Ireland ' and the 
 ' Irishman ' now became. 
 
 While negotiations were pending Parnell wrote to 
 Dr. Kenny on July 9, 1881 : 
 
 Parnell to Dr. Kenny 
 
 ' MY DEAR DR. KENNY, Mr. O'Brien arrived here 
 yesterday morning. I have had to-day an interview 
 with him, and he has definitely agreed to accept the 
 position at a salary of 400?. per annum. He wishes to 
 be permitted to appoint a sub-editor, who will also act 
 as commercial manager, at a salary of 300?. to 350Z. ; 
 and he mentions Hooper, who is at present manager 
 and factotum in general of the " Cork Herald." He 
 thinks that Mr. James O'Connor might have his present 
 salary in a third position on the paper ; but he is not 
 quite certain about this so that it may become desir- 
 able to give Mr. O'Connor a hundred pounds or so and 
 let him go. Mr. O'Brien will not be able to undertake 
 the duties for two or three weeks ; so that meanwhile 
 the paper will have to be brought out by Mr. O'Connor. 
 Mr. O'Brien thinks it would tend greatly to insure the 
 success of the paper if it were known that the pro- 
 prietors were the leading members of the Land League ; 
 and I have, on reconsideration of the question, come to
 
 JET. 35] ' UNITED IRELAND ' 301 
 
 i 
 
 the conclusion that it would be better that our Limited 
 Liability Company should be formed of such members. 
 I would suggest the following names : Yourself, Mr. 
 Egan, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Justin McCarthy, Mr. John 
 Barry, Mr. Biggar, and myself. These names will be 
 fairly representative of the different shades of feeling in 
 the organisation. Mr. Davitt's name should of course 
 be one, but there might be danger of interference from 
 the Government under present circumstances. Kindly 
 say by wire what you think of these names for the 
 Limited Liability Company. Mr. O'Brien is very 
 hopeful of the success of the paper, if determinedly 
 taken in hand by the organisation of the Land League. 
 He thinks that a total capital of 10,000?., including the 
 purchase money, will be sufficient. I have also commu- 
 nicated the above names to Mr. Egan. I am, yours 
 very truly, 
 
 'CHARLES S. PARNELL.' 
 
 Some difficulties arose in carrying out these schemes, 
 but Parnell brushed them all aside. On July 22 he 
 wrote again to Dr. Kenny : 
 
 Parnell to Dr. Kenny 
 
 1 1 have had a good deal of business these last few 
 days, so that I trust you will excuse my tardiness in 
 replying to your letter. I think you were quite right 
 to make the arrangement you have with O'Connor, which 
 I suppose you did after consultation with O'Brien. 
 
 ' I regret very much that Dillon will not co-operate 
 in reference to the " Irishman " ; but feel sure, when I 
 am able to see him and explain matters fully, he will 
 come round. I do not apprehend any grave results 
 from the position taken up by our friends in Kilmainham< 
 in regard to the matter.'
 
 .302 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 All difficulties were finally got over, and on August 13 
 the first number of ' United Ireland ' appeared. 
 
 With the passing of the Land Bill Parnell's diffi- 
 culties increased. His American allies, as represented 
 by Ford and the ' Irish World,' did not in the first 
 instance wish the Bill to become law ; they did not 
 wish to see it in force. Parnell was resolved not to 
 quarrel with his American allies, whose contributions 
 filled the coffers of the League. On the other hand, 
 he determined that the Land Act should not be made 
 a dead letter. Indeed, he knew that the tenants would 
 not permit it. What course, then, was he to pursue so 
 that the farmers might reap the full benefit of the Land 
 Act and his American friends be appeased ? He deter- 
 mined to adopt his old tactics of drawing the fire of the 
 English enemy on himself, believing that while English 
 statesmen and publicists blazed at him from every 
 quarter his influence in Ireland and in America would 
 be unimpaired. Next, he determined that the tenants 
 should be prevented from rushing precipitately into the 
 Land Courts, and from abandoning all agitation hence- 
 forth. He had little faith in the Land Court per se. 
 He believed that the reduction of rents would be in 
 exact proportion to the pressure which the League 
 could bring to bear upon the commissioners. ' By 
 what rule,' I once asked an Irish official ' do the Land 
 Courts fix the rents ? ' ' By the rule of funk ' was the 
 answer. Parnell resolved that the ' rule of funk ' 
 should be rigidly enforced. By the ' rule of funk ' he 
 had got the Land Act. By the ' rule of funk ' he was 
 determined it should be administered. 1 ' I thought at 
 
 1 United Ireland, September 17, 1881, expressed this idea in 
 unmistakable language : ' The spirit which cowed the tyrants in their 
 rent offices must be the spirit in which the Land Commission Courts are 
 to be approached.'
 
 -ET. 35] MR. GLADSTONE OX THE OUTLOOK 303 
 
 / 
 the time,' said the Ulster Liberal whom I have already 
 
 quoted, 1 ' that Parnell's policy of trying to keep the 
 tenants out of the Land Courts in 1881 was foolish, and 
 almost criminal. But I now believe he was quite right.' 
 By keeping the tenants back, by looking suspiciously at 
 the Act, by keeping up the agitation, he succeeded in 
 getting larger reductions than would ever have been 
 made if the farmers had rushed into the courts, and if 
 Parnell had taken no pains to control the decisions of 
 the commissioners. In fact it was Parnell who got the 
 Land Act, and it was Parnell who administered it in 
 the south ; though he refused to make himself respon- 
 sible for it, and even appeared to be hostile to it. He 
 played a deep game and played it with great ability. 
 He kept his whole party together by not cordially 
 accepting the Land Act, and he took pains at the same 
 time to secure the best administration of it in the 
 interests of the tenants. 
 
 Mr. Gladstone thought that Parnell was bent on 
 obstructing the Land Act and thwarting the Govern- 
 ment. Nevertheless the Prime Minister believed that 
 the Irish Executive ought to pursue a conciliatory 
 policy. On September 5 he wrote to Mr. Forster : 
 
 Mr. Gladstone to Mr. Forster 
 
 1 . . . We have before us in administration a problem 
 not less delicate and arduous than the problem of 
 legislation with which we have lately had to deal in 
 Parliament. Of the leaders, the officials, the skeleton 
 of the Land League, I have no hope whatever. The 
 better the prospect of the Land Act with their adhe- 
 rents outside the circle of wirepullers, and with the 
 
 1 Ante, p. 298.
 
 S04 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 Irish people, the more bitter will be their hatred, and 
 the more sure they will be to go as far as fear of the 
 people will allow them in keeping up the agitation 
 which they cannot afford to part with on account of 
 their ulterior ends. All we can do is to thin more and 
 more the masses of their followers, to fine them down 
 by good laws and good government ; and it is in this 
 view that the question of judicious releases from prison, 
 should improving statistics encourage it, may become 
 one of early importance.' 
 
 In September an election took place in the County 
 Tyrone. Mr. T. A. Dickson, the Liberal candidate, 
 gained a great victory over Parnell's nominee, the Rev. 
 Harold Rylett, a Unitarian Minister. The result filled 
 Mr. Gladstone with hope. 
 
 On September 8 he wrote to Mr. Forster, who had 
 gone abroad for a short holiday : 
 
 Mr. Gladstone to Mr. Forster 
 
 ' The unexpected victory in Tyrone is an event of 
 importance, and I own it much increases my desire to 
 meet this remarkable Irish manifestation and discom- 
 fiture both of Parnell and the Tories with some initial 
 act of clemency, in view especially of the coming 
 election for Monaghan. I do not know whether the 
 release of the priest (Father Sheehy) would be a season- 
 able beginning, but I shall be very sorry if we cannot 
 do something to meet the various friendly and hopeful 
 indications of which the Ulster election is the most 
 remarkable. To reduce the following of Parnell by 
 drawing away from him all well-inclined men seems to 
 me the key of Irish politics for the moment. Though 
 I felt reluctant that anything should be done in your
 
 .ET. 35] LAND LEAGUE CONVENTION 305 
 
 i 
 absence, yet I think the impendency of Monaghan 
 
 election is a fact of commanding importance in the 
 case before us.' 
 
 To this letter Mr. Forster replied on September 11, 
 saying that the Tyrone election was certainly a stroke 
 of luck, but reminding Mr. Gladstone that Tyrone was 
 in Ulster, and that ' Ulster is not Connaught or 
 Minister.' Upon the whole he was not disposed to 
 take Mr. Gladstone's advice until there was some more 
 cogent proof of the waning influence of Parnell than 
 the Tyrone election afforded. 
 
 On September 14 a great Land League Convention 
 which lasted for three days met in Dublin to consider 
 the situation. There were divided counsels. Some 
 thought that the Land Act should be freely used, others 
 that it should be wholly repudiated. But, under the 
 direction of Parnell, the convention unanimously re- 
 solved on a middle course. The Act was to be ' tested ' ; 
 certain cases were to be carefully selected for trial. 
 But there were to be no indiscriminate applications to 
 the courts. This resolution simply meant that the Act 
 was to be administered under the control of Parnell. 
 ' Nothing,' said Parnell, ' could be more disastrous to our 
 movement and our organisation, and to your hopes of 
 getting your rents reduced, than any indiscriminate 
 rush of the tenantry into court, and it is with a view 
 to prevent this that we desire to take the tenantry in 
 hand and to guide them in this matter, because, depend 
 upon it, if we don't guide them there will be others that 
 will. If we don't take hold of the Irish tenantry and 
 guide them for their advantage, there will be others who 
 will guide them for their destruction.' 
 
 Parnell's policy, however, did not satisfy his 
 American allies, and he was forced to send the follow- 
 VOL. i. x
 
 306 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 ing explanatory telegram to the President of the Land 
 League of America : 
 
 Dublin : Sept. 17, 1881. 
 
 ' The convention has just closed after three days' 
 session. Resolutions were adopted for national self- 
 government, the unconditional liberation of the land 
 for the people, tenants not to use the rent-fixing clauses 
 of the Land Act, and follow old Land League lines, 
 and rely on the old methods to reach justice. The 
 Executive of the League is empowered to select test 
 cases, in order that tenants in surrounding districts 
 may realise, by the result of cases decided, the hollow- 
 ness of the Act.' 
 
 On September 26 Parnell attended a Land League 
 convention at Maryborough, when a number of resolu- 
 tions were passed endorsing the action of the Dublin 
 convention, and practically advising the tenants to use 
 the Act under the direction of the League. 
 
 A private meeting of organisers was held some 
 hours before the convention assembled to consider the 
 resolutions which were to be submitted to it. ' I well 
 remember,' says one who was present, ' sitting beside 
 Parnell at this private meeting. Proofs of the resolu- 
 tions were handed around. There were fifteen resolu- 
 tions altogether. Parnell fixed his attention at once on 
 No. 11, which ran as follows : 
 
 ' " That the test cases selected for the Land Com- 
 mission shall not be the most rack-rented tenants, but 
 rather tenants whose rents hitherto have not been con- 
 sidered cruel or exorbitant." 
 
 ' Parnell took out of his pocket a blue-ink pencil, 
 and, having glanced down the proof, turned it over and 
 wrote on the back :
 
 -Ex. So] 'THE RESOURCES OF CIVILISATION' 307 
 t 
 
 '"After the eleventh resolution. 
 
 1 " That, pending the result of the test cases selected 
 by the Executive, no member of the League should 
 apply to the court to fix his rent without previous con- 
 sultation with, and obtaining the consent of, the branch 
 of the League to which he belongs." 
 
 ' Having written this, he handed me the proof to 
 pass it on to the secretary so that the alteration might 
 be duly made. I looked at it, and said : " This is an 
 interesting document, Mr. Parnell, and I think I will 
 give the secretary a clean copy and, as the lawyers say, 
 ' file the original.' " He smiled, and simply said "It is 
 business." The resolution as amended by Parnell was 
 carried at the convention.' 
 
 I cannot say how far this Maryborough meeting 
 affected the action of the Irish Executive, but curiously 
 enough it was on this very day, September 26, that 
 Mr. Forster wrote to Mr. Gladstone suggesting that 
 Parnell should be arrested, adding : ' I think you will 
 do great good by denouncing Parnell 's action and policy 
 at Leeds.' 1 
 
 Mr. Gladstone did denounce Parnell's ' action and 
 policy ' at the Leeds meeting on October 7, telling his 
 audience that the 'resources of civilisation were not 
 exhausted,' and plainly hinting that they would be 
 used against the Irish leader who [in his efforts to 
 obstruct the operation of the Land Act] stood between 
 the living and the dead, not, like Aaron, to stay the 
 plague, but to spread the plague.' 
 
 ' Parnell's reply to you,' Forster wrote to Gladstone 
 on October 9, ' may be a treasonable outburst. If the 
 
 1 Sir Wemyss Reid, Life of tlie Bight Hon. W. E. Forster. 
 
 x 2
 
 308 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 lawyers clearly advise me to that effect, I do not think I 
 can postpone immediate arrest on suspicion of treason- 
 able practices.' 
 
 Parnell's reply, made at Wexford on October 9, 
 may or may not have been a ' treasonable outburst,' but 
 there can be no doubt that it was the reply which the 
 occasion demanded spirited and defiant. He began : 
 
 ' You have gained something by your exertions 
 during the last twelve months ; but I am here to-day 
 to tell you that you have gained but a fraction of that 
 to which you are entitled. And the Irishman who 
 thinks that he can now throw away his arms, just as 
 Grattan disbanded the volunteers in 1783, will find to 
 his sorrow and destruction when too late that he has 
 placed himself in the power of the perfidious and cruel 
 and relentless English enemy.' Then, turning to Mr. 
 Gladstone's speech, he continued : 
 
 ' It is a good sign that the masquerading knight- 
 errant, this pretending champion of the rights of every 
 other nation except those of the Irish nation, should be 
 obliged to throw off the mask to-day, and stand revealed 
 as the man who, by his own utterances, is prepared to 
 carry fire and sword into your homesteads, unless you 
 humbly abase yourselves before him and before the land- 
 lords of the country. But I have forgotten. I said that 
 he maligned everybody. Oh, no. He has a good word 
 for one or two people. He says the late Isaac Butt 
 was a most estimable man and a true patriot. When 
 we in Ireland were following Isaac Butt into the 
 lobbies, endeavouring to obtain the very Act which 
 William Ewart Gladstone, having stolen the idea from 
 Isaac Butt, passed last session, William Ewart Glad- 
 stone and his ex-Government officials were following 
 Sir Stafford Northcote and Benjamin Disraeli into the
 
 JET. 35] DEFIANCE OF THE GOVERNMENT 309 
 
 l 
 
 other lobby. No man is great in Ireland until he is 
 dead and unable to do anything more for his country. 
 
 ' In the opinion of an English statesman, no man is 
 good in Ireland until he is dead and buried, and unable 
 to strike a blow for Ireland. Perhaps the day may 
 come when I may get a good word from English states- 
 men as being a moderate man, after I am dead and 
 buried. When people talk of "public plunder" they 
 should ask themselves who were the first plunderers in 
 Ireland ? The land of Ireland has been confiscated 
 three times over by the men whose descendants Mr. 
 Gladstone is supporting in the enjoyment of the fruits 
 of their plunder by his bayonets and his buckshot. 
 And when we are spoken to about plunder we are 
 entitled to ask who were the first and biggest plun- 
 derers. This doctrine of public plunder is only a 
 question of degree. 
 
 'In one last despairing wail Mr. Gladstone says, 
 " And the Government is expected to preserve peace 
 with no moral force behind it." The Government has 
 no moral force behind them in Ireland ; the whole Irish 
 people are against them. They have to depend for 
 their support upon a self-interested and a very small 
 minority of the people of this country, and therefore 
 they have no moral force behind them, and Mr. Glad- 
 stone in those few short words admits that English 
 government has failed in Ireland. 
 
 ' He admits the contention that Grattan and the 
 volunteers of 1782 fought for ; he admits the contention 
 that the men of '98 died for ; he admits the conten- 
 tion that O'Connell argued for ; he admits the con- 
 tention that the men of '$8 staked their all for ; he - 1 
 admits the contention that the men of '67, after a long 
 period of depression and apparent death of national
 
 310 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 life in Ireland, cheerfully faced the dungeons and horrors 
 of penal servitude for ; and he admits the contention 
 that to-day you, in your overpowering multitudes, have 
 established, and, please God, will bring to a successful 
 issue namely, that England's mission in Ireland has 
 been a failure, and that Irishmen have established their 
 right to govern Ireland by laws made by themselves 
 on Irish soil. I say it is not in Mr. Gladstone's 
 power to trample on the aspirations and rights of the 
 Irish nation with no moral force behind him. . . . 
 These are very brave words that he uses, but it 
 strikes me that they have a ring about them like the 
 whistle of a schoolboy on his way through a churchyard 
 at night to keep up his courage. He would have you 
 believe that he is not afraid of you because he has dis- 
 armed you, because he has attempted to disorganise 
 you, because he knows that the Irish nation is to-day 
 disarmed as far as physical weapons go. But he does 
 not hold this kind of language with the Boers. At the 
 beginning of this session he said something of this kind 
 with regard to the Boers. He said that he was going 
 to put them down, and as soon as he had discovered 
 that they were able to shoot straighter than his own 
 soldiers he allowed these few men to put him and his 
 Government down. I trust as the result of this great 
 movement we shall see that, just as Gladstone by the 
 Act of 1881 has eaten all his own words, has departed 
 from all his formerly declared principles, now we shall 
 see that these brave words of the English Prime Minister 
 will be scattered like chaff before the united and 
 advancing determination of the Irish people to regain 
 for themselves their lost land and their legislative 
 independence.' 
 
 Parnell's speech was received with salvos of applause.
 
 ,Ei. 3.3] READY FOR THE WORST 311 
 
 i 
 
 He struck the keynote of defiance which suited the 
 temper of the audience. Mr. Gladstone spoke at Leeds 
 as if he had a special mission to stand between Parnell 
 and Ireland. Ireland answered at Wexford repudiating 
 the help of any Englishman, and reminding the Prime 
 Minister that whatever she had got from England she 
 had got by the strength of her own right hand. 
 
 On the evening of the Wexford meeting two Irish 
 members dined with Parnell. ' We felt,' one of them 
 has since said to me, ' that he was bound to be arrested 
 after this speech, and we thought that he ought to 
 give us some instructions as to the future in case our 
 
 suspicions should prove correct. P (the other 
 
 member) suggested that I should ask him for instruc- 
 tions. I suggested that P should be the spokesman. 
 
 In fact neither of us quite liked the job, not knowing 
 exactly how he would take it. We all three sat down 
 together. P and I w r ere like a pair of schoolboys, 
 anxious to get information but afraid to ask for it. It 
 
 was a comical situation. P kept kicking me under 
 
 the table to go on, and I kept h'ming and hawing, 
 and beating about the bush, but Parnell, who w r as not 
 at all inclined to talk, could not be drawn. 
 
 ' At length I plucked up courage and said : " Do you 
 think, Mr. Parnell, that you are likely to be arrested 
 after your speech to-day? " " I think I am likely to be 
 arrested at any time so are we all. A speech is not 
 necessary. Old Buckshot l thinks that by making 
 Ireland a jail he will settle the Irish question." Then 
 
 1 ' Buckshot ' was a nickname given to Mr. Forster in reference to 
 the kind of ammunition which the constabulary were ordered to use in 
 ease of being obliged to tire on the people. The name was scarcely 
 appropriate to Mr. Forster, because the buckshot had been ordered by 
 his predecessor. I once pointed this out to Parnell. He said: 'I 
 believe so ; but Forster uses the buckshot, so it comes to the same 
 thing. It is a very good name for him. 1
 
 312 CHAELES STEWART PARXELL 
 
 there was a pause. After a little while I returned to 
 the charge. " Suppose they arrest you, Mr. Parnell," 
 I asked, " have you any instructions to give us ? "Who 
 will take your place?" "Ah!" he said deliberately, 
 looking through a glass of champagne which he had 
 just raised to his lips. " Ah, if I am arrested Captain 
 Moonlight l will take my place." 
 
 On Tuesday, October 11, Mr. Forster crossed to 
 England, having previously arranged with Sir Thomas 
 Steele, the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in Ireland, 
 that in the event of the Cabinet consenting to the 
 arrest of Parnell he would wire the one word ' proceed.' 
 
 On Wednesday, October 12, the Cabinet met. 
 Parnell's arrest was decided on. Forster immediately 
 wired to Steele, ' Proceed.' 2 
 
 Meanwhile Parnell, who had returned to Avondale 
 on Tuesday, came back to Dublin on Wednesday night, 
 intending to address a meeting next day in Naas, County 
 Kildare. He was to have left the Knightsbridge 
 terminus at 10.15 A.M. On Wednesday night he told 
 the boots at Morrison's Hotel to call him at half-past 
 eight in the morning. I shall let Mr. Parnell himself 
 continue the narrative. 
 
 ' When the man came to rny bedroom to awaken 
 me, he told me that two gentlemen were waiting below 
 who wanted to see me. I told him to ask their names 
 and business. Having gone out, he came back in a 
 few moments and said that one was the superintendent 
 of police and the other was a policeman. I told him 
 to say I would dress in half-an-hour, and would see 
 
 1 The threatening notices which used at this time to be served on 
 landlords and obnoxious tenants were generally signed ' Captain 
 Moonlight.' 
 
 z Sir Wemyss Reid, Life of the Bight Hon. W. E. Forster.
 
 .Ei. 3o] ARREST OF TARXELL 31:5 
 
 i 
 them then. He went away, but came back again to 
 
 tell me that he had been downstairs to see the gentle- 
 men, and had told them I was not stopping at that 
 hotel. He then said I should get out through the 
 back of the house, and not allow them to touch me. 
 I told him that I would not do that, even if it were 
 possible, because the police authorities would be sure 
 to have every way most closely watched. He again 
 went down, and this time showed the detectives up to 
 my bedroom.' 
 
 The rest of the story is told by the 'Freeman's 
 Journal.' 
 
 ' Mr. Mallon, the superintendent, when he entered 
 the bedroom, found Mr. Parnell in the act of dressing, 
 and immediately presented him with two warrants. He 
 did not state their purport, but Mr. Parnell understood 
 the situation without any intimation. The documents 
 were presented to him with gentlemanly courtesy by 
 Mr. Mallon, and the honourable gentleman who was 
 about to be arrested received them with perfect calm- 
 ness and deliberation. He had had private advices 
 from England regarding the Cabinet Council, and was 
 well aware that the Government meditated some coup 
 d'etat. 
 
 ' Two copies of the warrants had also been sent to 
 the Knightsbridge terminus, to be served on Parnell 
 in case he should go to Naas by an early train. 
 Superintendent Mallon expressed some anxiety lest a 
 crowd should collect and interfere with the arrest, and 
 requested Mr. Parnell to come away as quickly as 
 possible. Mr. Parnell responded to his anxiety. A cab 
 was called, and the two detectives, with the honourable 
 prisoner, drove away. When the party reached the 
 Bank of Ireland (to the former memories and future
 
 3U CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1881 
 
 prospects of which Mr. Parnell had, but a fortnight 
 previously, directed the attention of many thousands), 
 five or six metropolitan police, evidently by preconceived 
 arrangement, jumped upon two outside cars and drove 
 in front of the party. On reaching the quay at the foot 
 of Parliament Street a number of horse police joined 
 the procession at the rear. In this order the four 
 vehicles drove to Kilmainham. This strange procession 
 passed along the thoroughfares without creating any 
 remarkable notice. A few people did stop to look at it 
 on part of the route, and they pursued the vehicles, 
 but their curiosity was probably aroused by the presence 
 of the force rather than by any knowledge that after a 
 short lull the Coercion Act was again being applied to 
 the elite of the League. They stopped their chase 
 after going a few paces, and at half-past nine o'clock 
 Mr. Parnell appeared in front of the dark portals of 
 Kilmainham.' 
 
 'We arrested Parnell,' Lord Cowper said to me, 
 ' because we thought it absurd to put lesser men into 
 jail and to have him at large. Furthermore, we thought 
 that his test cases would interfere with the working 
 of the Land Act.' 
 
 And how were things going on inside Kilmainham 
 at that moment ? One of the ' suspects ' shall answer. 
 *I was in Kilmainham,' he says, 'several months 
 before Parnell came. There was a little clique among 
 the " suspects " who were always finding fault with 
 Parnell, complaining of his moderation, and saying that 
 he wanted to work the Land Act and to unite with the 
 Liberal party. Upon one occasion a " suspect " was 
 about to be discharged on account of ill-health. It 
 was suggested that he should see Parnell and " stiffen 
 his back," and make him face the Government. I
 
 .Ex. 35] IX PRISON 315 
 
 i 
 asked this "suspect," when we were alone, what he 
 
 would say to Parnell. He answered : " I don't know. 
 I suppose he will talk me over in half-an-hour." 
 
 ' When it became known that a convention would 
 be held in September to discuss the Land Act these 
 malcontents came together to consider what message 
 they would send to the assembly. I remember they 
 met in an iron shed in the recreation yard. One of 
 them began the proceedings by taking a box of matches 
 out of his pocket and saying, " Here is the message I 
 will send to the convention a box of matches to burn 
 the Land Act." This kind of thing was always going 
 on, and Parnell's " moderation " was a constant theme 
 of conversation. One morning there was unusual 
 bustle in the jail. A warder came to my room. I said : 
 "Anything extraordinary going on. Is the Lord 
 Lieutenant coming to see us?" He grinned and 
 answered : " Mr. Parnell has come. He is in the cell 
 below." My first feeling was to laugh outright. Here 
 was the man whom the malcontents in Kilmainham 
 condemned for his moderation, and now the Govern- 
 ment had laid him by the heels like the rest of us. 
 I sent a message to the Deputy Governor to ask for 
 permission to see Parnell. He consented at once. 
 I went downstairs and found Parnell in a cell 12 feet 
 by 6, sitting in a chair. " Oh, Mr. Parnell !" I said, 
 <( have they sent you here too? What have you 
 done?" "Forster thought," he answered, "that I 
 meant to prevent the working of the Land Act, so he 
 sent me here to keep me out of the way. I don't know 
 that he will gain anything by this move." 
 
 ' The room looked miserable, and I thought I 
 might improve its appearance and brighten it a bit by 
 putting a beautiful green baize cloth, which had been
 
 316 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 specially worked for me by friends outside, on the bare 
 table at which Parnell sat. I went up to my cell and 
 brought down the cloth. " This, Mr. Parnell," I said,. 
 " will be better than nothing," and I put the cloth on 
 the table, feeling very proud of myself. " Have you any 
 good cigars? " asked Parnell. " Certainly," I answered.. 
 " I have a box of splendid cigars upstairs," and away I 
 went for them. When I came back I found ParnelL 
 sitting once more by a bare table, and my beautiful 
 green baize cloth was huddled up in a corner on the 
 floor. I gave Parnell a cigar, and then, looking round, 
 the room, I said: "What have you done with my 
 beautiful green cloth, Mr. Parnell ? " " Ah ! " he said,, 
 lighting a cigar, "green is an unlucky colour." Then,. 
 puffing it, " This is a very good cigar." 
 
 While Parnell was spending his first days in Kil- 
 mainham Mr. Gladstone was holding high festival in 
 London. 
 
 A few hours after the Irish leader's arrest the- 
 freedom of the City was presented, to the Prime' 
 Minister. The news had spread that a decisis-e blow 
 had been struck at the Irish conspiracy by the arrest 
 of the chief criminal, and when Mr. Gladstone rose 
 to address the meeting he was received with signifi- 
 cant cheers. 'Within these few minutes,' he said 
 in solemn accents and amid dead silence, ' I have been 
 informed that towards the vindication of the law, 
 of order, of the rights of property, and the freedom of 
 the land, of the first elements of political life and 
 civilisation, the first step has been taken in the arrest 
 
 of the man .' Here he was interrupted. The great 
 
 meeting rose en masse, frantic with excitement and joy, 
 and rounds of applause rang again and again throughout 
 the hall, until the speaker himself was astonished, and
 
 -Ei. 35] MR. GLADSTONE AT THE GUILDHALL 317 
 
 perhaps startled, at the savage enthusiasm which this 
 announcement called forth. When the cheering at 
 length ceased he finished his sentence ' who has 
 made himself prominent in the attempt to destroy the 
 authority of the law, and substitute what would end in 
 being nothing more nor less than anarchical oppression 
 exercised upon the people of Ireland.' 
 
 ' Parnell's arrest,' says the biographer of Mr. Forster, 
 "bearing strange testimony to the power of this extra- 
 ordinary man, ' was hailed almost as though it had been 
 the news of a signal victory gained by England over a 
 hated and formidable enemy.' This description is as 
 true as it is pithy. Indeed, the defeat of a foreign 
 fleet at the mouth of the Thames could scarcely have 
 excited a greater ferment than the simple announcement 
 that Charles Stewart Parnell was safe and sound under 
 lock and key in Kilmainham. The British Empire 
 breathed once more. 
 
 How was the news of Parnell's arrest received in 
 Ireland ? A cry of indignation and anger went up from 
 almost every part of the country. In many towns and 
 villages the shops were closed, and the streets wore 
 the appearance of sorrow and mourning. In Dublin 
 there were riots, and the people were bludgeoned by 
 the police. Everywhere there were manifestations of 
 discontent and irritation. It may indeed be said with- 
 out exaggeration that scarcely since the Union was the 
 name of England more intensely detested than during 
 the four-and-twenty hours following Parnell's arrest. 
 
 At the Guildhall, as at Leeds, Mr. Gladstone, in 
 denouncing Parnell, assumed the role of the saviour of 
 Ireland. But the memory of Cromwell was not more 
 obnoxious to the Irish people than the personality of 
 the Prime Minister at this moment. It was the old
 
 318 CHAELES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 story. Public opinion in England went in one direction, 
 public opinion in Ireland in another. The solitary 
 individual who regarded the whole proceeding with the 
 most perfect equanimity was the prisoner himself. In 
 the course of the day a reporter from the ' Freeman's 
 Journal ' called to interview him. He ended the inter- 
 view, with one of those significant sentences which 
 displayed his faculty for always saying the thing that 
 best suited the occasion : ' I shall take it as evidence,' 
 he said, ' that the people of the country did not do their 
 duty if I am speedily released.' 
 
 In his cell at Kilmainham Parnell was a greater 
 power in Ireland than the British Minister, surrounded 
 by all the paraphernalia of office and authority.
 
 35] 319 
 
 CHAPTEB XIII 
 
 KILMAINHAM 
 
 THE League's answer to Parnell's arrest was a manifesto 
 calling upon the tenants to pay no agrarian rents, under 
 any circumstances, until the Government had restored 
 the constitutional rights of the people. 
 
 This document was inspired by Ford and Egan, 
 written by William O'Brien, and signed by Parnell, 
 Kettle, Davitt, Brennan, Dillon, Sexton, and Egan. 1 All 
 the prominent Leaguers were not in favour of the policy 
 of the No Rent manifesto. Mr. O'Kelly was opposed to 
 it, and his views were shared by Mr. Dillon, who was 
 sent back to Kilmainham (for a second time) a few 
 days after Parnell's arrest. Indeed, the very day that 
 Mr. Dillon arrived the document was under considera- 
 tion. As he entered the room the conspirators were 
 sitting in council. Parnell exclaimed : ' Here is Dillon ; 
 let us see w T hat he says about the manifesto.' The 
 manifesto was handed to Mr. Dillon, who condemned 
 it on the instant. ' A strike against rent,' he said, 
 
 1 On the introduction of the Coercion Bill Egan retired to Paris, and 
 there attended to the financial business of the League. On October 17 
 Ford wired to him : ' Communicate with Parnell if possible, consult with 
 your colleagues, then issue manifesto " No Rent."' Egan replied: 'Your 
 suggestion is approved. Prompt measures are now in preparation to 
 prepare a general strike against rent. The manifesto will be issued 
 throughout the land. It is the only weapon in our hands.' Davitt's 
 name was signed by Brennan, Davitt being in Portland.
 
 3-20 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1881 
 
 * cannot be carried out without the help of the priests, 
 and the priests cannot support so barefaced a repudia- 
 tion of debt as this. Rome would not let them.' 
 Parnell, who was really opposed to the manifesto, but 
 reluctant at the moment to run counter to Ford and 
 Egan, used Dillon's opposition as a pretext for re- 
 opening the whole question. ' That,' he said, ' is 
 serious. I think we had better carefully reconsider 
 the whole question. We will read the paper over 
 again.' This was done, Parnell still holding the 
 scales evenly balanced, and throwing his weight neither 
 upon the one side nor the other. At length a vote 
 was taken. The majority of those present approved of 
 the manifesto, which was accordingly issued and pub- 
 lished in ' United Ireland ' on October 17. It fell 
 absolutely flat. It was condemned by the bishops and 
 priests and ignored by the people. The arrest of 
 Parnell had thrown the movement into the hands of 
 the extremists. The No Rent manifesto was the 
 result. 
 
 Parnell was fond of telling a story which tickled 
 his peculiar sense of humour anent this manifesto and 
 his own arrest. In the County Wexford there was a 
 respectable farmer and a man of moderate political 
 views named Dennis - . He subscribed to the 
 funds of the Land League, but took no further part in 
 its work. He was, in fact, what in Ireland is con- 
 temptuously called an ' Old Whig.' Like many persons 
 who sympathised little with the operations of the 
 League, he had an intense admiration for Parnell. 
 The arrest of the Irish leader was a shock to him. 
 The one man of sense and moderation in the move- 
 ment had been flung into jail, the one restraining hand 
 had been paralysed such was the wisdom of the
 
 -Er. 35] A CONVERT 321 
 
 i 
 
 British Government. So reasoned Dennis , and 
 
 so reasoning he resolved to make a protest on his own 
 account. 
 
 A Land League meeting was convened in his own 
 district. He determined to attend it. The day of 
 meeting came. Dennis put in an appearance. The 
 ' boys ' were astonished and delighted to see him, and 
 everyone said, ' Dennis must take the chair.' Dennis 
 emphatically declined the most unexpected honour 
 thus thrust upon him. But the chance of holding a 
 Land League meeting under such respectable auspices 
 was not to be thrown away. Despite all remonstrances, 
 Dennis was borne to the chair amid popular acclama- 
 tions. Strong resolutions were proposed, violent speeches 
 were made, and a paper, which made the chairman's 
 ears tingle, though he did not take it all in at once, was 
 read. Then he was called upon to put the resolution to 
 the meeting and to read the paper. He read the paper. 
 It took his breath away, but he went through manfully 
 to the end. The paper was the ' No Rent ' manifesto, 
 and the resolution pledged the meeting to support it. 
 Three days afterwards Dennis found himself inside 
 Kilmainham. The mildest-mannered man in Wexford 
 was within the grip of the law. That was not all. 
 Dennis was at first much shocked by the conversation 
 of some of his fellow ' suspects.' He did not appreciate 
 the good stories of the Leaguers. Gradually, however, 
 he became reconciled to them. Finally, he began to 
 retail them. At length the crisis arrived. One day he 
 approached Parnell in the recreation yard. ' Mr. 
 Parnell,' said he, ' I would like to have a word with 
 you.' ' Certainly, Dennis,' said Parnell. They walked 
 apart. ' Then ' as Parnell would say, telling the 
 S t ry ' Dennis came very close to me, put his lips very 
 
 VOL. I. Y
 
 322 CHAELES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 close to my ear, and, holding up a copy of the 
 " Freeman's Journal " at the same time, whispered: 
 " Another blackguard swept." A landlord or a tenant 
 had been shot for disobeying the popular decrees. 
 Dennis had become completely demoralised under the 
 coercion regime. The ' Old Whig ' had been converted 
 into a rampant Land Leaguer. 
 
 Apart from the inevitable monotony of a prison, 
 life in Kilmainham was not severe. The place itself, 
 for a jail, is not particularly repulsive. 
 
 Passing the portals, which are dark and gloomy, you 
 enter a magnificent hall, through the glass roof of 
 which, on the day in August 1897 when I visited it, 
 the sun shone brightly. In this cheery-looking place 
 there was scarcely a suggestion of a prison. A number 
 of little rooms cells about twelve feet by six rising 
 in three storeys, open off . this central hall, and you 
 ascend to the top by iron staircases. I went into one 
 of the cells. A prisoner was working hard making 
 sacks ; he was bound to get through a certain 
 number in the day, and he plied his needle with fierce 
 industry. He was a forbidding-looking individual, and 
 eyed the warder and myself rather savagely. Yet he 
 had literary tastes, and a book by Eolf Boldrewood 
 rested on a little shelf in his cell. The man was in 
 for theft. I learned subsequently that it was in this 
 cell that Parnell slept his first night in Kilmainham. 
 He was, however, immediately transferred to good 
 quarters in another part of the building. They consisted 
 of two large rooms, one of which he used by day, the 
 other by night. Nothing could be more comfortable 
 within the walls x of a prison. The day room was 
 indeed excellent large and plenty of light. 
 
 It has sometimes been said that Parnell chafed
 
 ^Ei. 36] PRISON LIFE 3i>3 
 
 i 
 
 more than any of the suspects under the prison treat- 
 ment. I asked one of the warders if that were so. 
 He said : ' Not at all. He was a delicate gentleman, 
 but he bore up as well as any of them.' Parnell him- 
 self did not complain of his treatment in Kilmainham. 
 One night, shortly after his release, when a scratch 
 dinner had been prepared for him in the house of a 
 Dublin friend, the hostess apologised, saying : ' This is 
 worse than Kilmainham.' ' Ah well, come,' he said 
 smiling, ' Kilmainham was not so bad after all.' 
 
 One of his favourite recreations in jail was chess. 
 All the ' suspects ' used to meet in the central hall, 
 and there Parnell would be often seen playing chess 
 with one of his comrades. ' I often played with him,' 
 says one of these. ' He was not a scientific chess 
 player, and he clearly had very little practice. I used 
 always to beat him, and I am not a good player ; but 
 his play was characteristic. He was very slow in 
 making moves. As soon as he had decided on some 
 course, instead of moving the piece slowly, as people 
 who think slowly generally do, he would pounce upon 
 it and rap it energetically down on the spot he wanted, 
 suddenly developing some fierce movement of attack. 
 When he was stopped he would relapse into a state of 
 thoughtfulness once more until he had worked out 
 another plan of assault ; then he would again move 
 rapidly and energetically until he was brought to a 
 standstill again.' 
 
 On April 10, 1882, Parnell was allowed to leave 
 Kilmainham to visit his sister, Mrs. Thomson, whose 
 son was dying in Paris. It was whispered at the time 
 that this was merely an excuse to get out of prison ; 
 that Parnell's nephew was not dying ; even some malig- 
 nant spirits went so far as to say that he had no
 
 3i>4 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 nephew. The following letter will dispose of these 
 slanders : 
 
 Parnell to Mrs. Dickinson 
 
 ' 8, Hue Presbourg, Paris : April 17, 1882. 
 
 ' MY DEAE EMILY, I shall be sure to call to see 
 Theodosia and Claude before I return to Ireland, but 
 cannot fix the day just yet. I will wire him the day 
 before. Delia is much cut up by her dreadful loss, but 
 is somewhat better now ; my being here has done her a 
 great deal of good. It appears Henry used to live in 
 an apartment of his own, and it was quite by accident 
 that they discovered he was ill. In the first ten days 
 it did not seem to be much, but the fever then went to 
 his head, and after a week's constant delirium the poor 
 fellow died. He used to devote himself entirely to 
 music, composing, &c., and it is thought that his brain 
 was injured or weakened by dwelling too much upon 
 this one subject, and so was unable to stand disease. 
 ' Your affectionate brother, 
 
 ' CHARLES S. PARNELL. 
 
 ' P.S. I am sorry to hear Theodosia is not looking 
 at all strong.' 
 
 A few days afterwards Parnell returned to Kil- 
 mainham. 
 
 Mr. Forster's Coercion Act had now been twelve 
 months in force. It had proved an utter failure ; and, 
 to do Mr. Forster justice, no one was more painfully 
 conscious of the fact than he. His confessions of 
 failure are indeed pathetic. ' I can never do now what 
 I might have done for Ireland,' he sorrowfully admits 
 as early as June 1881, and he adds, ' it is seriously to 
 be thought whether after the Land Bill is passed I 
 ought not to get out of it all.'
 
 JET. 36] BREAKDOWN OF COERCION 32o 
 
 i 
 
 In September he writes again : ' Up to now, 
 Limerick, West Cork, Kerry, and the Loughrea 
 district of Galway have been as bad as ever.' 
 
 In October Mr. Gladstone, in the innocence of his 
 heart, was anxious that law-abiding citizens in Ireland 
 should be sworn in as special constables. There is a 
 touch of humour in Mr. Forster's reply, though it also 
 affords a curious commentary on the complex state of 
 affairs in Ireland. ' As regards special constables, one 
 of the first questions I asked months ago was, why 
 could we not have them ? I was soon convinced that 
 in Ireland they are impossible ; in the south and west 
 we cannot get them, and in the north Orangemen 
 would offer themselves, and we should probably have 
 to put a policeman at the side of every special to keep 
 him in order.' In November he writes again : ' I am 
 sorry to say there is a turn decidedly for the worse, and 
 we are going to have a most anxious winter. . . . We 
 have more secret outrages and attempts to murder ' ; 
 and he concludes sorrowfully : ' If w r e could get the 
 country quiet I should be anxious to leave Ireland. 
 While we are fighting for law and order I cannot 
 desert my post ; but this battle over and the Land 
 [Act] well at work, I am quite sure that the best 
 course for Ireland, as well as for myself, would be my 
 replacement by someone not tarred by the Coercion 
 brush.' l 
 
 The early months of 1882 still found Ireland the 
 prey of anarchy and disorder. 2 On April 12 Mr. Forster 
 wrote to Mr. Gladstone : ' My six special magistrates 
 all bring me very bad reports. These are confirmed by 
 
 1 Sir Wemyss Reid, Life of the Right Hon. W. E. Forster. 
 
 2 The Irish Government seems to have lost its head over th* 
 anarchical condition of the country ; and Mr. Clifford -Lloyd, one of the 
 special magistrates, issued an insane circular to the police stating that
 
 326 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 constabulary reports. The impunity from punishment 
 is spreading like a plague.' 
 
 On April 19 Lord Cowper wrote to the Cabinet : 
 
 Lord Cowper to the Cabinet 
 
 ' The returns of agrarian crime during the last two 
 years are before the Cabinet. They have been pre- 
 sented in every kind of shape, and comparisons may be 
 made by weeks, by months, and by quarters. The 
 increase of murders and other serious outrages is 
 fluctuating, and not uniform, but this increase is very 
 serious, and for this reason new legislation is demanded. 
 With regard to this fluctuation, I may remark in passing 
 that after any very great crime, towards which any 
 considerable attention has been attracted, there appears 
 generally to be a lull. 
 
 ' For instance, since the murders of Mr. Herbert 
 and Mrs. Smythe l there were very few outrages for 
 nearly a fortnight. This seems to point towards 
 proving that a strong organisation still exists, and 
 that the Land League is not so completely broken 
 down as was imagined. This is, I am afraid, 'very 
 much owing to the fact that since the imprisonment or 
 dispersion of the men who led it the work has been 
 taken up by women. We know that women go about 
 the country conveying messages and encouraging dis- 
 affection, and that they distribute money in large 
 quantities both by hand and by letter. 
 
 if they should ' accidentally commit an error in shooting any person on 
 suspicion of that person being about to commit a murder,' the produc- 
 tion of the circular would exonerate them. This document which, as 
 the Annual Register says, was practically authority ' to shoot on sight ' 
 had ultimately to be withdrawn. Annual Register, 1882, p. 187. 
 
 1 On April 2 a most sensational agrarian murder was committed. 
 Mr. Smythe, while driving with his sister-in-law, Mrs. Henry Smythe, 
 was fired at. The shot missed him, but hit and killed Mrs. Smythe.
 
 .El. 36] BREAKDOWN OF COERCION 327 
 
 ' My own idea, 'looking solely to the state of things 
 in this country, would have been to treat the women 
 exactly like the men, both as to the ordinary law and 
 as to arrest under the Protection of Person and Property 
 Act ; and to have made no more difference between the 
 two sexes than a magistrate or judge would in the case 
 of stealing a loaf of bread or a pair of boots. I am 
 aware, however, that the feeling of the British public 
 and of the House of Commons must be consulted, and 
 if the arrest of women would raise such a storm as to 
 render the renewal of the Act impossible this may be 
 sufficient reason for not acting as I should wish. The 
 returns of outrage of themselves appear to demand new 
 measures. But they are not the only mode by which 
 we should judge the necessity for these. If I am asked 
 what other means of judging there are, I answer, 
 " general opinion, as far as it can be collected, of those 
 likely to know." 
 
 ' The Irish Press of all shades of political feeling is of 
 one mind as to the serious state of the country. I have 
 seen many landlords, agents, and others. I have seen 
 many of the judges, and their personal accounts more 
 than confirm what they have said in public. Above 
 all, I have seen resident magistrates, inspectors, and 
 sub-inspectors, who come to the Castle almost every 
 day from all parts of the country to recommend arrests ; 
 and the general, I may say universal, opinion is that 
 the amount of intimidation is as serious as it can be 
 and that a sudden increase of agrarian crime at any 
 moment, to any extent, is quite possible. 
 
 ' But it is hardly necessary to go further than the 
 printed reports of the six special resident magistrates, 
 who have charge of the worst part of the country. It 
 must be remembered that these six men are picked out
 
 328 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 from more than seventy of their class, that each one 
 of them is known to be of exceptional ability, and that 
 their experience is drawn from separate districts. They 
 all concur in their views of the deplorable state of the 
 country and the utterly crushing intimidation which 
 prevails, and we know what this intimidation may at 
 any time produce. They agree also as to the necessity 
 for further legislation, and their recommendations are 
 substantially the same. 
 
 ' In addition to the renewal of the Protection of 
 Person and Property Act for another year, these 
 recommendations are as follows : 
 
 ' 1. Increase of summary jurisdiction. 
 
 ' This is the point to which I should personally 
 attach the highest importance of all. A resident 
 magistrate, and in serious cases a special resident 
 magistrate, should be present. 
 
 ' 2. Special commission to try agrarian cases in 
 certain districts without jury. Unless the judge can 
 be compelled to act there will be difficulties about this. 
 If so it will be all the more necessary that, under 
 No. 1, twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour 
 could be given as recommended by Messrs. Plunkett, 
 Clifford-Lloyd, and Blake. 
 
 ' 3. Improvement of Arms Act, so as to make one 
 warrant do for a whole townland and allow search by 
 night ; also power to search for papers. 
 
 ' 4. Power to tax districts for payment of extra police, 
 and for compensation for death or injury to the person. 
 
 ' 5. Power to arrest strangers and persons at night. 
 
 '.As I consider the present question to be whether 
 any fresh legislation is required, and in what general 
 direction, I do not enter into more minute particulars. 
 I content myself with saying that in my opinion legis-
 
 .ET. 30" BREAKDOWN OF COERCION 
 
 lation is required, that it is required at once, and that 
 every day during which crime can be committed with 
 impunity will make the dealing with it more difficult.' 
 
 This minute of Lord Cowper's bears witness to the 
 failure of Mr. Forster's policy. The last state of Ireland 
 was worse than the first. ' If you are arrested, who will 
 take your place ? ' Parnell was asked after the Wexford 
 meeting. ' Captain Moonlight will take my place ' was 
 the answer. Captain Moonlight had taken his place 
 in earnest. The National Land League had been 
 suppressed immediately on the publication of the 
 ' No Kent ' manifesto. Its place was at once taken by 
 the Ladies' Land League, an organisation formed some 
 twelve months previously on the suggestion of Mr. 
 Davitt to meet the very contingency which had arisen. 
 
 The ladies very soon outleagued the League. Lord 
 Cowper, as we have seen, said on one occasion that the 
 central executive of the Land League did exercise some 
 controlling influence over the wilder spirits in the 
 country districts. But no controlling influence was 
 exercised now. Things went from bad to worse. 
 
 The total number of agrarian outrages for the ten 
 months March to December 1880 preceding the 
 Coercion Act was '2,379. The total number for the 
 ten months March to December 1881 succeeding 
 the Coercion Act, 3,821. When one classifies these 
 outrages the case appears even worse. 
 
 Ten months preceding Coercion Act 
 Homicides Firing at the person Firing into dwellings 
 
 7 21 62 
 
 Ten months succeeding Coercion Act 
 
 Homicides Firing at the person Firing into dwellings 
 
 20 63 122
 
 330 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 In the first quarter of 1881 there was one murder ; 
 in the first quarter of 1882 there were six. The total 
 number of cases of homicide and of firing at the person 
 in the first quarter of 1881 was seven ; in the first 
 quarter of 1882, thirty-three. 
 
 The total number of agrarian outrages in October 
 1881, when the Land League was suppressed, stood at 
 511; in March 1882 the figure was 531. But it is 
 unnecessary to dwell further on these details. The 
 utter breakdown of the Coercion Act is beyond 
 dispute. 
 
 ' Everyone,' says Lord Cowper with perfect frank- 
 ness, ' advised us to suspend the Habeas Corpus Act 
 the lords-lieutenant of counties, the police, the law 
 officers. The police led us quite astray. They said 
 they knew all the people who got up the outrages, and 
 that if the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended they 
 could arrest them. Of course we found out afterwards 
 that the police were mistaken.' 
 
 Some two years after the events with which I am 
 now dealing I called one morning on Mr. Bright at his 
 apartments in Piccadilly. He was sitting at the table, 
 wrapped in a dressing-gown and reading Plowden's 
 'History of Ireland.' 'Ahl' he exclaimed, 'they say 
 I have lost all interest in Ireland since I voted for 
 coercion, as they call it ; still I have been reading this 
 book all the morning. The history of Ireland has 
 always interested me.' After some talk about Irish 
 history the subject of coercion came up again. ' They 
 call it coercion,' he said, 'but they forget the coercion 
 of the Land League.' 
 
 ' Their coercion, Mr. Bright,' I said, ' is at all events 
 more effective than yours. Mr. Forster's Act was a 
 complete failure. I felt very sorry that you voted for
 
 YT. 36] ME. BRIGHT OX THE COERCION ACT 331 
 
 i 
 
 the Bill. I heard your speech in support, and I didn't 
 like it.' 
 
 Mr. Bright (with a smile, and stroking his chin with 
 his finger). 'I dare say you didn't. What would you 
 have ? Eemember, I voted for coercion before. The 
 position I have always taken has been that you cannot 
 resist the demand of the Minister who is responsible for 
 the administration in Ireland, though you may say, as 
 I have certainly said, that other remedies must be 
 applied.' 
 
 I said : ' The Minister in this case was wrong.' 
 
 Mr. Bright. ' Well, yes ' (getting up and throwing 
 some coal on the fire and then turning his back to it, 
 looking withal a noble figure, as he there stood with 
 leonine head, venerable grey hair, and dignified bearing). 
 * The suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act,' he con- 
 tinued, ' had been successful in the case of the Fenians ; 
 we supposed it would be successful in the case of the 
 Land League. That was the mistake. The League was 
 a bigger organisation. It extended all over the country. 
 The arrest of the leaders did not affect it : the local 
 branches w r ere too well organised. For every man who 
 w r as arrested there was another ready to take his place. 
 Our information was wrong. The conspiracy was more 
 widespread and more deeply rooted than we were led to 
 suppose. It w r as not a case for the suspension of the 
 Habeas Corpus Act.' 
 
 I said : ' The policy was inexcusable.' 
 
 Mr. Bright. ' To be fair you must consider the cir- 
 cumstances under which the policy was adopted. Put 
 yourself in the place of a Cabinet Minister. Suppose 
 the Lord Lieutenant and Chief Secretary the men, 
 mark, who are responsible for the government of the 
 country, the Executive suppose they tell you that
 
 332 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 they will resign unless you give them the powers they 
 demand, what would you say ? ' 
 
 I made no reply. 
 
 Mr. Bright. ' You don't answer, but what you feel 
 inclined to say is, " Let them resign." 
 
 I said : ' Exactly.' 
 
 Mr. Brigh t. ' If you say that, it shows that you cannot 
 put yourself in the place of a Cabinet Minister. Resig- 
 nations are very serious things for a Government. They 
 are not to be lightly accepted. There is another point. 
 Suppose you could not get anyone to fill their places. 
 I do not say it was so ; it did not come to that. I put 
 the case. No. I admit the policy was a failure, or, at 
 least, not as successful as we anticipated it would be. 
 But under the circumstances, in face of the representa- 
 tions of the Irish Government, it was impossible 
 to avoid trying it. Remember, too, that if we had 
 not passed a Coercion Act we could not have got a 
 good Land Bill through. That was a consideration 
 which weighed much with me, and I think with all 
 of us.' 
 
 The failure of Mr. Forster's policy was patent to all. 
 What was now to be done ? The Irish Executive had 
 no misgivings on the point. More coercion ; that was 
 their remedy. The Protection of Person and Property 
 Act, which would expire in September, should be 
 renewed, and a new Crimes Bill passed. These were 
 the proposals of Lord Cowper and Mr. Forster. But 
 Mr. Gladstone was little disposed to plunge deeper into 
 a policy which had been tried and which had failed. 
 All along it had been his wish rather to let the ' sus- 
 pects ' out than to -keep them in, and the thought 
 uppermost in his mind at this crisis was, ' Is there any 
 chance of a modus vivendi with Pamell ? '
 
 ,Ei. 36] THE TORIES AND COERCION 333 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain also had been against coercion 
 from the beginning ; he had been Forster's enemy in 
 the Cabinet during the whole period of the Chief Secre- 
 tary's term of office, and he was now determined to 
 thwart the efforts of the Irish Executive in committing 
 the Government any longer to a policy which had been 
 marked by failure. Mr. Chamberlain was energetically 
 supported in the Press by Mr. John Morley, then editor 
 of the ' Pall Mall Gazette.' 
 
 ' We knew,' said Lord Cowper, ' that Mr. Chamber- 
 lain and Mr. Morley were working together to thwart 
 Mr. Forster,' and Lord Cowper was right. But this 
 was not all. The Tories were suddenly seized by a vir- 
 tuous fit, and cried out against coercion too. ' The 
 present measures of coercion,' said Mr. Gorst on 
 March 28, 'have entirely failed to restore order in 
 Ireland. The assizes just concluded show that the 
 amount of crime was more than double what it was 
 in all the various districts last year; in almost every 
 case the juries failed to convict, and therefore there 
 must be some new departure on the part of the 
 Government.' 
 
 A Conservative member, Sir John Hay, gave notice 
 of motion : 
 
 ' That the detention of large numbers of her 
 Majesty's subjects in solitary confinement, without 
 cause assigned and without trial, is repugnant to the 
 spirit of the constitution, and that to enable them to be 
 brought to trial jury trials should, for a limited time 
 in Ireland, and in regard to crimes of a well-defined 
 character, be replaced by some form of trial less liable 
 to abuse.' 
 
 Mr. W. H. Smith proposed ' to ask the First Lord 
 of the Treasury if the Government will take into their
 
 3M CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 consideration the urgent necessity for the introduction 
 of a measure to extend the purchase clauses of the 
 Land Act, and to make effectual provision for facili- 
 tating the transfer of the ownership of land to tenants 
 who are occupiers on terms which would be just and 
 reasonable to the existing landlords.' 
 
 Here were the Tories apparently condemning coer- 
 cion and proposing an alternative policy. 
 
 A peasant proprietary had always been Parnell's 
 solution of the Land question. A peasant proprietary 
 was now the solution of Mr. W. H. Smith. Were the 
 Tories going to outflank Mr. Gladstone ? "Was the old 
 parliamentary hand going to be checkmated? There 
 never existed a parliamentary tactician on whom it was 
 more difficult to execute a flank manoeuvre than Mr. 
 Gladstone, and he had no notion now of allowing the 
 Opposition to pose as the enemies of coercion and the 
 friends of the Irish tenants at his expense. Indeed, 
 the Tory manoeuvres served only to strengthen the 
 hands of the anti-coercionists in the Cabinet, and to 
 stimulate the Prime Minister in his eagerness to end 
 the Forster regime. 
 
 While Whigs and Tories were thus playing the 
 usual party game, regarding Ireland merely as a pawn 
 on the chess-board, Parnell sat in his spacious room in 
 Kilmainham revolving the whole situation in his mind. 
 ' And what a room ! ' said a friend who visited him at 
 this time. ' The table strewn with everything, news- 
 papers, books, magazines, light literature, Blue Books, 
 illustrated periodicals, fruit, addresses from public 
 bodies, presents of every description, all lying in one 
 indiscriminate heap before him, and he supremely 
 indifferent to their existence.' 
 
 ' You have everything here, Mr. Parnell, except a
 
 .El. 36] AN IMPOSSIBLE SITUATION 335 
 
 i 
 
 green flag/ said an admirer ; and Parnell smiled at this 
 delicate allusion to one of his many superstitions. 
 ' How is the No Eent manifesto working, Mr. 
 Parnell ? ' said another visitor. ' All I know about it 
 is that my own tenants are acting strictly up to it,' was 
 the grim answer. 
 
 Eeports of the state of the country reached him 
 almost every day. Indeed, he knew all that was going 
 on as well as, perhaps even better than, Mr. Forster. 
 Ireland was in a state of lawlessness and anarchy. 
 Lawlessness and anarchy which served only to em- 
 barrass the British Minister mattered little to Parnell. 
 Lawlessness and anarchy which served to embarrass 
 himself mattered a great deal. The country was drift- 
 ing out of his hands, and drifting into the hands of 
 reckless and irresponsible men and women whose wild 
 operations would, he felt sure, sap his authority and 
 bring disaster on the national movement. It was quite 
 time for him to grasp the reins of power once more, and 
 to direct the course of events. His release from prison 
 became, in fact, a matter of paramount importance. 
 How was he to get out ? I have said that the thought 
 uppermost in Mr. Gladstone's mind was how to bring 
 about a modus vivendi with Parnell. The thought 
 uppermost in Parnell's mind was how to bring about a 
 modus vivendi with Mr. Gladstone. It occurred to the 
 Irish leader that a treaty might be made on the basis 
 of doing something more for the Irish tenants. He 
 had pointed out the defects of the Land Act, he had 
 dwelt on the importance of dealing with the question 
 of arrears, and he now thought that this question 
 might be made the ground of some arrangement 
 whereby the present intolerable and (it seemed to him) 
 insane condition of affairs would be ended.
 
 3.36 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 Parnell, as has been already mentioned, 1 had left 
 Dublin for Paris on April 10. At Willesden Junction he 
 was met by Mr. Justin McCarthy, Mr. Quin, and Mr. 
 Frank Byrne. They had organised a public demonstra- 
 tion, which, however, Parnell avoided, saying that he did 
 not consider himself free by the terms of his release to 
 take part in any political proceedings. That same 
 evening he had a long conversation with Mr. Justin 
 McCarthy on Irish affairs. ' I told him,' says Parnell, 
 ' that the tenants, all of them who could pay their rents, 
 had done so and obtained good reductions, and that there 
 only remained those who could not pay the smaller 
 tenants in arrears. That the " No Kent manifesto " 
 had been practically withdrawn, as when the [new] 
 Land Bill was drafted 2 it had been withdrawn from 
 circulation, and no further attempts made to get the 
 tenants to refuse to pay their rents ; and that now the 
 thing was to press Parliament for some legislation to 
 assist the small tenants, some 100,000 in number I 
 suppose, who were unable to pay their rents and who 
 were threatened with evictions. I told him that if 
 these tenants were evicted on any large scale the result 
 would be great increase of crime and terrible suffering, 
 and that I had every reason to believe that the state of 
 the country, and the crime in the country, was entirely 
 due to the inability of those small and poor tenants to 
 pay their rents, and that in self-protection they were 
 going about, or their sons were going about, banding 
 themselves together to intimidate the larger tenants 
 from paying, or that they had been doing so, and that 
 an Arrears Act would have an immediate effect in 
 
 1 Ante, p. 323. 
 
 2 A Bill drafted by Parnell in prison for the amendment of the 
 Land Act of 1881.
 
 -Ex. 36] A WAY OUT 337 
 
 producing tranquillity and restoring peace in the 
 country.' ' 
 
 On April 11 he saw Captain O'Shea (an Irish 
 Home Eule member of Whig proclivities, who was 
 in touch with the Government), and repeated what he 
 had said to Mr. McCarthy. That night Parnell crossed 
 to Paris. Captain O'Shea immediately put himself in 
 communication with Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Cham- 
 berlain, apparently suggesting the feasibility of some 
 arrangement by which the ' suspects ' might be released 
 and an Arrears Bill passed. Subsequently he received 
 the following letters : 
 
 Mr. Gladstone to Captain O'Shea 
 
 ' April 15, 1882. 
 
 ' DEAR SIR, I have received your letter of the 
 13th, and I will communicate with Mr. Forster on 
 the important and varied matter which it contains. I 
 will not now enter upon any portion of that matter, 
 but will simply say that no apology can be required 
 either for the length or freedom of your letter. On the 
 contrary, both demand my acknowledgments. I am 
 very sensible of the spirit in which you write ; but I 
 think you assume the existence of a spirit on my part 
 with which you can sympathise. Whether there be 
 any agreement as to the means, the end in view is of 
 vast moment, and assuredly no resentment, personal 
 prejudice, or false shame, or other impediment extra- 
 neous to the matter itself, will prevent the Government 
 from treading in that path which may most safely lead 
 to the pacijfication of Ireland. 
 
 ' Truly yours, 
 
 *W. E. GLADSTONE.' 
 
 1 Special Commission, Q. 58,758, et seq. 
 VOL. I. Z
 
 338 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain to Captain O'Shea 
 
 ' April 17, 1882. 
 
 ' MY DEAE SIR, I am really very much obliged 
 to you for your letter, and especially for the copy of 
 your very important and interesting communication to 
 Mr. Gladstone. I am not in a position, as you will 
 understand, to write you fully on the subject, but I 
 think I may say that there appears to me nothing in 
 your proposal which does not deserve consideration. I 
 entirely agree in your view that it is the duty of the 
 Government to lose no opportunity of acquainting 
 themselves with representative opinion in Ireland, and 
 for that purpose that we ought to welcome suggestions 
 and criticism from every quarter, and from all sections 
 and classes of Irishmen, provided that they are ani- 
 mated by a desire for good government and not by 
 blind hatred of all government whatever. There is one 
 thing must be borne in mind that if the Government 
 and the Liberal party generally are bound to show 
 greater consideration than they have hitherto done for 
 Irish opinion, on the other hand, the leaders of the 
 Irish party must pay some attention to public opinion 
 in England and in Scotland. Since the present 
 Government have been in office they have not had 
 the slightest assistance in this direction. On the 
 contrary, some of the Irish members have acted as if 
 their object were to embitter and prejudice the English 
 nation. The result is that nothing would be easier 
 than at the present moment to get up in every large 
 town an anti-Irish > agitation almost as formidable as 
 the anti-Jewish agitation in Kussia. I fail to see how 
 Irishmen or Ireland can profit by such policy, and I
 
 .Ex. 36] NEGOTIATIONS 339 
 
 i 
 
 shall rejoice whenever the time comes that a more 
 hopeful spirit is manifested on both sides. 
 
 ' Truly yours, 
 
 ' J. CHAMBERLAIN.' 
 
 Mr. Gladstone at once put Mr. Forster in possession 
 of 0' Shea's communications. The Irish Secretary 
 seems to have been quite sympathetic on the question 
 of arrears ; but he did not see his way to the release of 
 Parnell. He would not bargain with the Irish leader. 
 He would not allow himself to be undermined by Mr. 
 Chamberlain and Mr. Morley. He looked upon the 
 whole business as an underhand proceeding, quite in 
 keeping with the attempts which had been constantly 
 made to thwart him in his Irish administration, and 
 he resolved to take no part in negotiations which had 
 been begun over his head. 
 
 ' Forster himself,' says Lord Cowper, ' thought ulti- 
 mately that Parnell would have to be let out on certain 
 conditions. It was the way the thing was done rather 
 than the thing itself to which he objected.' 
 
 On April 18 Parnell wrote a characteristic letter, 
 making an appointment with Mr. McCarthy, but saying 
 nothing of the business in hand. 
 
 Parnell to Justin McCarthy 
 
 ' 8 Rue Presbourg, Paris : Tuesday, April 18. 
 
 ' MY DEAR MCCARTHY, I hope to pass through 
 London next Sunday, and will try to look you up at 
 your house in Jermyn Street. Have had a bad cold 
 since I have been here, but am nearly all right again. 
 With best regards to all friends, 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 'CHARLES S. PARNELL.' 
 
 z 2
 
 340 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 Parnell to Mr. Justin McCarthy 
 
 ' Saturday [April 22, 1882]. 
 
 ' MY DEAR MCCARTHY, I have arrived in England, 
 and will call to see you to-morrow afternoon some time. 
 I cannot at present give you the exact hour, but would 
 it be too much to ask you to remain at home after three 
 o'clock ? I trust you will have some news of result of 
 Cabinet to-day. 1 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 ' C. S. P.' 
 
 On Sunday afternoon Parnell discussed the whole 
 situation with Mr. McCarthy. He had previously seen 
 Captain O'Shea, who expressed the hope that, as a 
 result of the negotiations then going on, the ' suspects ' 
 might be permanently released. ' Never mind the " sus- 
 pects," ' he said; ' try and get the question of the arrears 
 satisfactorily adjusted, and the contribution made not a 
 loan, but a gift on compulsion. The Tories have now 
 adopted my views as to peasant proprietary. The great 
 object to be attained is to stay evictions by an Arrears 
 Bill.' 2 
 
 On April 24, as we have seen, Parnell was back at 
 Kilmainham. On the following day he wrote to Mr. 
 McCarthy : 
 
 1 ' It was not,' says Sir Wemyss Eeid in his Life of Forster, ' until 
 the 22nd [of April] that the Cabinet took up the Irish question, Mr. 
 Forster having by this time returned to London.' Vol. ii. p. 428. 
 
 2 There were 100,000 tenants in arrears, and consequently unable to 
 avail themselves of the benefit of the Land Act. These tenants could 
 all be evicted. ParnelFs object was to get a Bill which would practically 
 wipe out these arrears. See Anmial Register, 1882, p. 21.
 
 JEi. 36] NEGOTIATIONS 341 
 
 i 
 
 Parnell to Mr. Justin McCarthy 
 
 [Confidential] 
 
 ' Kilmainham : April 25, 1882. 
 
 ' MY DEAR MCCARTHY, I send you a letter em- 
 bodying our conversation, and which, if you think it 
 desirable, you might take the earliest opportunity of 
 showing to Chamberlain. Do not let it out of your 
 hands, but if he wishes you might give him a copy of 
 the body of it. 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 "CHARLES S. PARNELL.' 
 
 The body of the letter ran as follows : 
 
 ' We think, in the first place, no time should be lost 
 in endeavouring to obtain satisfactory settlement of the 
 arrears question, and that the solution proposed in the 
 Bill standing for second reading to-morrow (Wednes- 
 day) would provide a satisfactory solution, though the 
 Church Fund would have to be supplemented by a grant 
 from Imperial resources of probably a million or so. 
 
 ' Next, as regards the permanent amendment of the 
 Land Act, we consider that the rent-fixing clauses 
 should be extended to as great an extent as is possible, 
 having in view the necessity of passing an Amendment 
 Bill through the House of Lords ; that leaseholders 
 who have taken leases, either before or since the Act of 
 1870, should be permitted to apply to have a fair rent 
 fixed ; and that the purchase clauses should be amended 
 as suggested by the Bill the second reading of which 
 will be moved by Mr. Redmond to-morrow. 
 
 ' If the Government were to announce their inten- 
 tion of proposing a satisfactory settlement of the arrears 
 difficulty as indicated above, we on our part would
 
 342 CHARLES STEWAET PAEXELL 
 
 make it known that the No Rent manifesto was with- 
 drawn, and we should advise the tenants to settle with 
 their landlords. We should also then be in a much 
 better position than we were ever before to make our 
 exertions effective to put a stop to the outrages which 
 are unhappily so prevalent. 
 
 ' If the result of the arrears settlement and the 
 further ameliorative measures suggested above were the 
 material diminution of outrage before the end of the 
 session, and the prospect of the return of the country, 
 after a time, to something like a normal condition, we 
 should hope that the Government would allow the 
 Coercion Act to lapse, and govern the country bj T the 
 same laws as in England.' 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain acknowledged the receipt of this 
 communication in the following letter : 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain to Mr. Justin McCarthy 
 
 ' April 30. 
 
 'Mr DEAK MCCARTHY, Many thanks for your 
 note, with the extract from Mr. ParneU's letter. I will 
 endeavour to make good use of it. I only wish it could 
 be published, for the knowledge that the question still 
 under discussion will be treated in this conciliatory 
 spirit would have a great effect on public opinion. 
 
 ' You may rely on me at all times to do my best to 
 help forward the solution of the Irish problem, and, in 
 spite of past failure and past mistakes, I am still 
 hopeful for the future. 
 
 ' Yours very truly. 
 
 ' J. CHAMBERLAIN." 
 
 About the same time Parnell wrote to Captain 
 O'Shea:
 
 .-Ex. 36] THE ARREARS QUESTION 343 
 
 t 
 Parnell to Captain O'Shea 
 
 ' Kilmainham : April 28. 
 
 ' I was very sorry that you had left Albert Mansions 
 before I reached London from Eltham, as I had wished 
 to tell you that after our conversation I had made up 
 my mind that it would be proper for me to put Mr. 
 McCarthy in possession of the views which I had pre- 
 viously communicated to you. I desire to impress upon 
 you the absolute necessity of a settlement of the arrears 
 question which will leave no recurring sore connected 
 with it behind, and which will enable us to show the 
 smaller tenantry that they have been treated with 
 justice and some generosity. 
 
 ' The proposal you have described to me as sug- 
 gested in some quarters of making a loan, over however 
 many years the payment might be spread, should be 
 absolutely rejected, for reasons which I have already 
 fully explained to you. If the arrears question be 
 settled upon the lines indicated by us, I have every 
 confidence a confidence shared by my colleagues 
 that the exertions which we should be able to make 
 strenuously and unremittingly would be effective in 
 stopping outrages and intimidation of all kinds. 
 
 ' As regards permanent legislation of an ameliorative 
 character, I may say that the views which you always 
 shared with me as to the admission of leaseholders to 
 the fair rent clauses of the Act are more confirmed 
 than ever. So long as the flower of the Irish peasantry 
 are kept outside the Act there cannot be any permanent 
 settlement of the Land Act, which we all so much desire. 
 
 ' I should also strongly hope that some compromise 
 might be arrived at this session with regard to the 
 amendment of the tenure clauses. It is unnecessary
 
 344 CHAKLES STEWART PAENELL [1882 
 
 for me to dwell upon the enormous advantages to be 
 derived from the full extension of the purchase clauses, 
 which now seem practically to have been adopted by all 
 parties. 
 
 ' The accomplishment of the programme I have 
 sketched would, in my judgment, be regarded by the 
 country as a practical settlement of the land question, 
 and would, I feel sure, enable us to co-operate cordially 
 for the future with the Liberal party in forwarding 
 Liberal principles ; so that the Government, at the 
 end of the session, would, from the state of the country, 
 feel themselves thoroughly justified in dispensing with 
 further coercive measures. 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 <C. S. PARNELL.' 
 
 On April 30 Captain O'Shea called on Mr. Forster 
 at his residence in Eccleston Square, and showed him 
 this letter. Mr. Forster has given us a detailed account 
 of the interview : 
 
 'After carefully reading [the letter] I said [to 
 Captain O'Shea] : "Is that all, do you think, that 
 Parnell would be inclined to say ? " He said : " What 
 more do you want? Doubtless I could supplement 
 it." I said : " It comes to this, that upon our doing 
 certain things he will help us to prevent outrages," or 
 words to that effect. He again said : " How can I 
 supplement it ? " referring, I imagine, to different 
 measures. I did not feel justified in giving him my 
 own opinion, which might be interpreted to be that of 
 the Cabinet, so I said : " I had better show the letter to 
 Mr. Gladstone, and to one or two others." He said : 
 " Well, there may be faults of expression, but the 
 thing is done. If these words will not do I must get
 
 .T. 36] MR. FORSTER AND MR. GLADSTONE 34o 
 
 i _ 
 
 others ; but what is obtained is " and here he used 
 most remarkable words " that the conspiracy which 
 has been used to get up boycotting and outrages will 
 now be used to put them down, and that there will be a 
 union with the Liberal party ; " and as an illustration of 
 how the first of these results was to be obtained, he 
 said that Parnell hoped to make use of Sheridan and 
 get him back from abroad, as he would be able to help 
 him put down the conspiracy (or agitation, I am not 
 sure which word was used), as he knew all its details 
 in the west. (This last statement is quite true. 
 Sheridan is a released suspect, against whom we have 
 for some time had a fresh warrant, and who under 
 disguises has hitherto eluded the police, coming back- 
 wards and forwards from Egan to the outragemongers 
 in the west.) I did not feel myself sufficiently master 
 of the situation to let him know what I thought of this 
 confidence ; but I again told him that I could not do 
 more at present than tell others what he had told me. 
 I may say that in the early part of the conversation he 
 stated that he (O'Shea) hoped and advised and in this 
 case he was doubtless speaking for Parnell that we 
 should not to-morrow I suppose meaning Tuesday 
 " pledge ourselves to any time for bringing on fresh 
 repressive measures." He also said that he had per- 
 suaded Parnell to help to support a large emigration 
 from the west, and that Parnell had told him that he 
 had a good deal of conversation with Dillon, and had 
 brought him round to be in full agreement with himself 
 upon the general question.' 
 
 Mr. Forster immediately sent Parnell's letter and 
 the above account of his own interview with Captain 
 O'Shea to Mr. Gladstone. ' I expected little from these 
 negotiations,' was the Irish Secretary's comment upon
 
 346 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 the whole transaction. But Mr. Gladstone was highly 
 gratified. ' This,' said he, ' is a hors d'ceuvre which we 
 had no right to expect, and I rather think have no 
 right at present to accept. I may be far wide of the 
 mark, but I can scarcely wonder at O'Shea saying " the 
 thing is done." . . . On the whole Parnell's letter is, 
 I think, the most extraordinary I ever read. I cannot 
 help feeling indebted to O'Shea.' ; 
 
 The thing was done. On May 1 the Cabinet met 
 to discuss the prospective policy in lieu of coercion. 
 After the meeting of the Cabinet Mr. Gladstone wrote 
 to Lord Cowper : 
 
 Mr. Gladstone to Lord Cowper 
 
 ' MY DEAR COWPER, In consequence of the altered 
 position of the No Rent party, further attested to us by 
 important information which (without any covenant) 
 we have obtained, the Cabinet has discussed anxiously 
 the question whether the three members of Parliament 2 
 now in prison should be released, with a view to further 
 progressive release of those not believed to be impli- 
 cated in crime upon careful examination of their cases. 
 No decision has been absolutely taken, but the Cabinet 
 meets again to-morrow at twelve, and it is probable 
 that a telegram may be sent to you requesting you to 
 give directions for the immediate liberation of the 
 three. The information we have had in the briefest 
 words is shortly this : we know that Parnell and his 
 friends are ready to abandon "No Eent " formally, and 
 to declare against outrage energetically, intimidation 
 included, if and when the Government announce 
 a satisfactory plan for dealing with arrears. We have 
 
 1 Sir Wemyss Reid, Life of the Right Hon. W. E. Forster. 
 - The three were Parnell, Mr. O'Kelly, and Mr. Dillon.
 
 /Ei. 36] MR. GLADSTONE AND LORD COWPER 347 
 
 already as good as resolved upon a plan, and we do not 
 know any absolute reason why the form of it should 
 not be satisfactorj 7 . 
 
 ' Sincerely yours, 
 
 ' W. E. GLADSTONE.' 
 
 On May 2 Mr. Gladstone telegraphed in cypher to 
 Lord Cowper : 
 
 'Matters being settled here for immediate action 
 and on a footing named in last telegram to sign and 
 give necessary directions for the three forthwith.' 
 
 To this Lord Cowper wired in reply : 
 
 ' I should much prefer, for reasons I will give by 
 letter, that your intention should be carried out by my 
 successor. But I will obey orders if insisted on.' 
 
 This letter, giving the reasons, ran as follows : 
 
 Lord Cowper to Mr. Gladstone 
 
 ' Vice-Regal Lodge. Dublin : 
 
 ' May 2, 1882. 
 
 ' MY DEAR MR. GLADSTONE, The proposed release 
 of the three members of Parliament so took me by 
 surprise that I have hardly been able to form a deliberate 
 opinion about it. Nothing but a series of formidable 
 objections has yet occurred to me. This is the way in 
 which the circumstances present themselves to my 
 mind. These men have been imprisoned for a gross 
 violation of the law. They follow this up with a 
 violation still grosser, the No Eent manifesto. There 
 is at this moment a great amount of bad outrage. We 
 know or suspect that this is instigated by the prisoners. 
 At the same time their organs in the Press taunt us with 
 having put under restraint the only people who have
 
 348 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 power to stop it. We, apparently despairing of restoring 
 order ourselves, let them out on condition that they 
 will help us and will refrain for the future, not from the 
 conduct for which they were imprisoned, but only from 
 the more outrageous policy to which they have after- 
 wards committed themselves, and even this they are 
 only willing to do in return for fresh legislation in 
 favour of the tenant. 
 
 ' There may be another side to the question, but, as 
 I am not able to grasp it, you will understand my 
 objections to being the instrument of their release. 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 ' COWPER.' 
 
 Mr. Gladstone wired immediately : 
 
 'Your signature, if required, as it w r ould be after 
 resignation, would be merely ministerial and without 
 political responsibility. When do you come to London? 
 I quite understand your letter, as it shows me, to my 
 surprise, that you have had no previous information.' 
 
 This terminated the correspondence. 
 
 Lord Cowper immediately signed the order of 
 release, and Parnell (with his colleagues, Mr. 0' Kelly 
 and Mr. Dillon) walked forth a free man once more. 
 All Ireland, outside the loyal corner of Ulster, hailed 
 the liberation as a national triumph, and a shout of 
 victory went up from one end of the land to the other. 
 The Irish Executive had been beaten. The Prime 
 Minister, who but seven months before had announced 
 Parnell's arrest with such dramatic effect to an excited 
 English meeting, had now flung the Irish agents of 
 the Government over and made peace with the 
 invincible agitator. Mr. Forster, rightly appreciating
 
 JET. 36] THE KILMAIXHAM TREATY 34& 
 
 the omnipotence of Parnell, described this situation 
 thus : 
 
 ' A surrender is bad, but a compromise or arrange- 
 ment is worse. I think we may remember what a 
 Tudor king said to a great Irishman in former times : 
 " If all Ireland cannot govern the Earl of Kildare, 
 then let the Earl of Kildare govern all Ireland." The 
 king thought it was better that the Earl of Kildare 
 should govern Ireland than that there should be an 
 arrangement between the Earl of Kildare and his 
 representatives. In like manner, if all England cannot 
 govern the hon. member for Cork, then let us acknow- 
 ledge that he is the greatest power in all Ireland to-day/ 
 
 On his release Parnell hastened to Avondale, 
 whither he was accompanied by an Irish member, who 
 shall describe the scene of his arrival at home : 
 
 ' I went to Avondale with Parnell after his release 
 from Kilmainham. When we arrived at the place all 
 the old servants rushed out to see him. They were 
 crying with joy. I was horribly affected, and began to 
 cry myself. Parnell was absolutely unmoved. I 
 thought he w r as the most callous fellow I had ever 
 met. An old w r oman rushed out and seized him by 
 the hand, kissed it, covered it with tears, and said : 
 " Oh, Master Charley, are you back to us again ? " He 
 was like a statue. He made some casual remark as if he 
 had been out for a morning walk, and passed through 
 them all into the drawing-room, where Mrs. Dickinson 
 was. I hung back, as I did not like to be present at the 
 meeting between brother and sister, but Parnell said : 
 " Come along." Mrs. Dickinson was as icy as himself. 
 She got up calmly as he entered, and said quite 
 casually : "Ah, Charley, is that you? I thought they 
 would never let you back again."
 
 350 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 ' Parnell. " Well, what did you think they would 
 do to me? " 
 
 'Mrs. Dickinson. "I thought they would hang 
 you." 
 
 'Parnell (smiling). "Well, it may come to that 
 
 yet." 
 
 ' That was the whole greeting. They then talked 
 about family affairs.' 
 
 It has been said that there was no Kilmainham 
 treaty. Well, it is idle to quibble about words. There 
 was a Kilmainham treaty, and these, in a single 
 sentence, were its terms. The Government were to 
 introduce a satisfactory Arrears Bill, and Parnell was 
 to ' slow down ' the agitation. ' One of the most 
 sagacious arrangements,' says Mr. Healy, commenting 
 on Parnell's conduct, 'that ever enabled a hard 
 pressed general to secure terms for his forces.'
 
 -T. 36] 351 
 
 CHAPTEK XIV 
 
 THE NEW KEG I ME 
 
 ONE of the first results of the Kilmainham treaty was 
 the resignation of Lord Cowper and Mr. Forster. On 
 May 4 Mr. Forster made his explanation in Parliament. 
 The substance of what he said may be given in a few 
 sentences. The state of Ireland did not justify the 
 release of Parnell without a promise of ' amendment ' ' 
 or a new Coercion Act. He darkly hinted at a bargain 
 between the Prime Minister and the agitator, but did 
 not dwell on the subject. While he was in the middle 
 of his speech, and just as he had uttered the following 
 words : ' There are two warrants w r hich I signed in 
 regard to the member for the city of Cork ' Parnell 
 entered the House. It was a dramatic scene. 
 
 Deafening cheers broke from the Irish benches, 
 drowning Forster's voice, and preventing the con- 
 clusion of the sentence from being heard. 
 
 Parnell quickly surveyed the situation, and, bowing 
 to the Speaker, passed, with head erect and measured 
 tread, to his place, the victor of the hour. 
 
 One can easily imagine his feelings when Mr. Glad- 
 stone rose to answer Mr. Forster. ' To divide and govern ' 
 had always been the policy of the English in Ireland. 
 
 1 On the lines already indicated, ante, p. 328.
 
 352 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 Parnell was now applying that policy to the English 
 themselves. Seven months before Mr. Gladstone and 
 Mr. Forster had been united in sending him to prison. 
 They were united no longer. 
 
 The English in Ireland never more thoroughly 
 appreciated the importance of dividing their enemies, 
 while standing shoulder to shoulder themselves, than 
 did this man, who was so English in temperament and 
 in method. To see English parties at sixes and sevens 
 while he commanded an unbroken phalanx was the 
 central idea of his policy. He now saw the Prime 
 Minister rise to fight his battle, which was, in truth, 
 the battle of the Prime Minister too. 
 
 What a revolution ! Mr. Gladstone and Parnell in 
 the same boat and Mr. Forster flung to the waves. 
 Mr. Gladstone's reply was simple and courteous. In 
 brief it came to this. The circumstances which had 
 warranted the arrest no longer existed ; in addition, he 
 had an assurance that if the Government dealt with 
 the arrears question the three members released would 
 range themselves on the side of law and order. 
 
 Parnell followed, saying : 
 
 ' In the first portion of his (Mr. Gladstone's) speech 
 the idea conveyed was that if the hon. members for 
 Tipperary and Roscommon (Messrs. Dillon and 'Kelly), 
 along with myself, were released we would take some 
 special action with regard to the restoration of law and 
 order. I assume that the right hon. gentleman has 
 received information from some of my friends to whom 
 I have made either written or verbal communication 
 with regard to my intentions upon the state of this 
 Irish question. But I wish to say emphatically that I 
 have not in conversation with my friends or in any 
 written communication to my friends entered into the
 
 MT. 3 ] THE PHCENIX PARK MURDERS 3o3 
 
 question of the release of my hon. friends and myself 
 as any condition of our action. (Mr. Gladstone, 
 "Hear, hear.") I have not, either in writing or 
 verbally, referred to our release in any degree what- 
 soever, and I wish to call attention to the first state- 
 ment of the Prime Minister in order to show that it 
 conveyed although I am sure the right hon. gentleman 
 did not intend it should do so the reverse of that fact. 
 ("No, no," from Mr. Gladstone.) Still, sir, I have 
 stated verbally to more than one of my hon. friends, 
 and I have written, that I believe a settlement of this 
 arrears question which now compels the Government 
 to turn out into the road tenants who are unable 
 to pay their rents, who have no hope of being able to 
 pay their rents, for which they were rendered liable 
 in the bad seasons of 1878, 1879, and 1880 would 
 have an enormous effect in the restoration of law and 
 order in Ireland (Cheers) would take away the last 
 excuse for the outrages which have been unhappily 
 committed in such large numbers during the last six 
 months, and I believed we, in common with all persons 
 who desire to see the prosperity of Ireland, would be" 
 able to take such steps as would have material effect iff 
 diminishing those unhappy and lamentable outrages.' 
 (Ministerial and Irish cheers.) 
 
 And so the discussion practically ended on May 4, 
 to be resumed, however, some time later with more 
 bitterness and rancour. In the interval a terrible 
 tragedy occurred. On May 6 the new Lord Lieutenant 
 (Earl Spencer) made his state entry into Dublin. The 
 new Chief Secretary (Lord Frederick Cavendish) took 
 part in the pageant. Afterwards he drove on an out- 
 side car to the Chief Secretary's Lodge in the Phoenix 
 Park. On the way he met the Under- Secretary (Mr. 
 
 VOL. i. A A
 
 354 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 Burke), alighted, and both walked together through the 
 park. As they came opposite the Viceregal Lodge 
 about 7 P.M. a band of assassins fell upon them and 
 stabbed them to death. These men belonged to a 
 murder society, self -called the ' Invincibles,' which 
 had sprung up under Mr. Forster's regime l for the 
 purpose, as one of them said, of ' making history ' by 
 ' removing ' obnoxious political personages. Mr. Burke 
 and Lord Frederick Cavendish were their first victims. 
 The assassins were ultimately arrested and hanged. 2 
 The ' Annual Register ' of 1882, in giving an account 
 of this horrible transaction, says : ' It is even more 
 painful to know that from the Viceregal Lodge Lord 
 Spencer himself was looking out of the windows, 
 and saw with unconcerned eyes the scuffle on the road 
 some hundred yards away, little thinking that what 
 seemed to be the horseplay of half a dozen roughs was 
 in reality the murder of two of his colleagues.' 
 
 This statement is inaccurate. Lord Spencer did 
 not see the ' scuffle.' 
 
 Here is his Lordship's recollection of what happened : 
 ' It is said that I saw the murder. That is not so. I 
 had asked Cavendish 3 to drive to the park with me. 
 He said he would not ; he would rather walk with 
 Burke. Of course, if he had come with me it would 
 not have happened. I then rode to the park with a 
 small escort, I think my aide-de-camp and a trooper. 
 Curiously enough, I stopped to look at the polo match 
 which Carey described, so that he and I seem to have 
 
 1 Forster's own life was frequently in jeopardy, and he seems to 
 have had some miraculous escapes. Sir Wemyss Eeid, Life of tlie Right 
 Hon. W. E. Forster. 
 
 2 One of the ' Invincibles,' Carey, turned informer. He was after- 
 wards shot by a man named* O'Donnell, on board ship off Cape Colony. 
 O'Donnell was arrested, and brought to England and hanged. 
 
 8 On hearing that Burke had already set out for the park Lord 
 Frederick Cavendish took the car to overtake him.
 
 2x. 36] LORD SPENCER 355 
 
 been together upon that occasion. I then turned 
 towards the Viceregal Lodge. The ordinary and more 
 direct way for me to go was over the very scene of the 
 murder. Had I so gone the murder would not pro- 
 bably have been committed. Three men coming up 
 would have prevented anything of that kind. But I 
 made a slight detour, and got to the lodge another 
 way. When I reached the lodge I sat down near the 
 window and began to read some papers. Suddenly I 
 heard a shriek which I shall never forget. I seem to 
 hear it now ; it is always in my ears. This shriek was 
 repeated again and again. I got up to look out. I 
 saw a man rushing along. He jumped over the palings 
 and dashed up to the lodge, shouting : " Mr. Burke 
 and Lord Frederick Cavendish are killed." There 
 was great confusion, and immediately I rushed out ; 
 but someone of the Household stopped me, saying that 
 it might be a ruse to get me out, and advising me to 
 wait and make inquiries. Of course the inquiries were 
 made and the truth soon discovered. I always deplore 
 my unfortunate decision to make that detour, always 
 feeling that if I had gone to the lodge by the ordinary 
 way the murder would have been prevented. I have 
 said that I did not see the murder, but my servant did. 
 He was upstairs and saw a scuffle going on, but of 
 course did not know what it was about.' 
 
 The news of the crime sent a thrill through the 
 land. Agrarian outrages were common enough. But 
 political assassination was something new. 1 ' Had the 
 Fenians anything to do with it ? ' a correspondent of an 
 American paper asked Kickham. ' I don't know,' was 
 
 1 The object of the assassins was to kill Burke. Lord Frederick 
 Cavendish was killed simply through the accident of his being with 
 Burke. 
 
 AA 2
 
 356 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 the answer ; ' but if they had they were Fenians seduced 
 by the Land League.' Candour compels me to say that 
 it was the murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish which 
 produced a real feeling of sorrow and of shame among 
 the people. He was a stranger. He had never up to 
 that hour taken part in the government of the country. 
 He was an ' innocent ' man. An old Fenian a hater of 
 the Land League and all its works told me the 
 following anecdote, which I think fairly illustrates Irish 
 popular feeling : ' I went into a shop,' he said, ' in New 
 York a few days after the murder to buy something. 
 I said casually to the man behind the counter : " This 
 is bad work." He agreed, and denounced the crime in 
 strong language. Here, at all events, thought I, is a 
 man who has escaped the influence of the Land 
 League. I turned to leave, and as I got to the door 
 he added : " What harm if it was only Burke ? But to 
 kill the strange gentleman who did nothing to us ! " 
 That was what he thought about it, and no doubt that 
 was what a great many other Irish people thought 
 about it too.* 
 
 What thought Parnell ? There cannot be a ques- 
 tion that he was profoundly moved by the event. It 
 was not easy to startle him, to take him by surprise. 
 But the Phoenix Park murders did both. An out- 
 burst of agrarianism would probably have produced 
 no effect upon him. The reports which he had 
 received in prison rather prepared him for that. 
 Here, however, was a new development for which he 
 was not prepared, and the exact meaning and extent of 
 which he did not on the instant grasp. As a rule, no 
 man was so ready in cases of emergency. Now he 
 collapsed utterly. He read the news in the ' Observer ' 
 on Sunday morning, and went immediately to the
 
 JET. 36] PARXELL AND THE MURDERS 357 
 
 Westminster Palace Hotel, where he found Davitt. 
 ' He flung himself into a chair in my room,' says 
 Davitfc, ' and declared he would leave public life. " How 
 can I," he said, " carry on a public agitation if I am 
 stabbed in the back in this way ? " He was wild. 
 Talk of the calm and callous Parnell. There was not 
 much calmness or callousness about him that morning.' 
 
 Later in the day he called on Sir Charles Dilke 
 with Mr. Justin McCarthy. 
 
 ' Parnell,' says Sir Charles, ' called upon me with 
 Mr. Justin McCarthy the morning after the Phoenix 
 Park murders. I never saw a man so cut up in my 
 life. He was pale, careworn, altogether unstrung.' 
 
 ' On the Sunday after the Phoenix Park murders,' 
 says Mr. Gladstone, ' while I was at lunch, a letter was 
 brought to me from Parnell. I was much touched 
 by it. He wrote evidently under strong emotion. He 
 did not ask me if I would advise him to retire from 
 public life or not. That was not how he put it. He 
 asked me what effect I thought the murder would have 
 on English public opinion in relation to his leadership 
 of the Irish party. Well, I wrote expressing my own 
 opinion, and what I thought would be the opinion of 
 others, that his retirement from public life would do no 
 good ; on the contrary, would do harm. I thought his 
 conduct in the whole matter very praiseworthy.' 
 
 Mr. John Redmond gives the following ' reminis- 
 cence ' : ' I was in Manchester the night of the Phoenix 
 Park murders. I heard that Cavendish and Spencer 
 had been killed. I went to the police station to make 
 inquiries, but they would not tell me anything. I made 
 a speech condemning the murder of Cavendish, saying 
 the Government was the real cause of the crime. The 
 " Times " reported my speech with the comment that
 
 353 CHARLES STEWART FARNKU, [1882 
 
 I said nothing about Burke. Parnell spoke to me on 
 the subject. I told him that I did not know that 
 Burke had been killed when I made the speech. He 
 said, "Write to the 'Times' and say so." I wrote to 
 the " Times." They did not publish the letter.' l 
 
 A manifesto 2 signed by Parnell, Dillon, and Davit t 
 (who had been released from Dartmoor on that very 
 May 6) was immediately issued ' to the Irish people,' 
 condemning the murders, and expressing the hope tluil 
 the assassins would be brought to justice. It concluded 
 with these words : ' We feel that no act has ever been 
 perpetrated in our country during the exciting struggles 
 for social and political rights of the past fifty years that 
 has so stained the name of hospitable Ireland as this 
 cowardly and unprovoked assassination of a friendly 
 stranger, and that until the murderers of Lord Fre- 
 derick Cavendish and Mr. Burke are brought to justice 
 that stain will sully our country's name.' 
 
 When the House of Commons met on May 8 
 Parnell was in his place, looking jaded, careworn, 
 anxious, and depressed. He had won a great victory. 
 He had beaten the Irish Executive. He had drawn the 
 Prime Minister to his side. He had obtained a promise 
 of more concessions, and there was every prospect that 
 the policy of coercion would be abandoned. His success 
 was complete, and now all was jeopardised by a gang of 
 criminal lunatics. He had, so to say, hemmed in the 
 British forces opposed to him, only to find on his flank 
 an enemy whose power for mischief he could not at 
 that moment gauge. 
 
 The murders were the one topic referred to in Parlia- 
 
 1 The Times subsequently explained that they did not receive the 
 letter. 
 
 * The manifesto was written by Davitt.
 
 -Er. 36] THE CRIMES BILL :\w 
 
 t 
 
 mont on that 8th of May. Parnell made a short, 
 manly, straightforward speech, condemning the out 
 in unqualified terms, saying that it was a deadly blmv 
 dealt to his party, and expressing the fear that, under 
 the circumstances, the Government would feel con- 
 strained to revert to the policy of coercion a deplorable 
 prospect. 
 
 The Government did revert to the policy of coercion. 
 On May 11 Sir William Harcourt (the Home Secretary) 
 introduced a ' Crimes Bill,' based practically upon the 
 lines laid down by Lord Cowper in his letter to Mr. 
 Gladstone already quoted. 1 In certain cases (inter alia) 
 trial by judges or by magistrates was substituted for 
 trial by jury, and power was given to the Executive to 
 summon witnesses and to carry on inquiries in secret, 
 even when no person was in custody charged with 
 crime. Mr. Forster had his revenge. The assassins of 
 the Phoenix Park had, for the moment, placed him in a 
 position of triumph. They had in a single hour done 
 more to subdue the spirit of Parnell than he during 
 the whole of his administration. The Irish members, 
 of course, opposed the new Coercion Bill, opposed it 
 even with energy ; but it was clear all the time that 
 they, and Parnell especially, fought under the shadow 
 of the crime of May G. While keenly criticising the 
 details of the measure and rebuking the Government 
 for this backward step, he spoke rather in sorrow than 
 in anger. There was a touch of pathos, a tone of 
 dejection, in his speeches which sounded unusual and 
 strange. Mr. Gladstone especially he treated with 
 the utmost gentleness ; nor did he attempt in any way 
 to conceal the bitterness of his conviction that the 
 Phoenix Park murders strengthened the hand of the 
 
 1 Ante, p. 328.
 
 360 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 Government and weakened his own. He looked and 
 spoke like a man under a cloud. An extract from 
 one of his speeches on the Bill will perhaps suffice to 
 show the character of them all. On May 29 he said : 
 ' We have been contending against the right hon. 
 gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) for two years. We have 
 found him to be a great man and a strong man. I 
 even think it is no dishonour to admit that we should 
 not wish to be fought again in the same way by any- 
 body in the future. I regret that the event in the 
 Phoenix Park has prevented him continuing the course 
 of conciliation that we had expected from him. I 
 regret that owing to the exigencies of his party, of his 
 position in the country, he has felt himself compelled 
 to turn from that course of conciliation and concession 
 into the horrible paths of coercion.' 
 
 Nevertheless, the struggle over the measure was 
 protracted. There were many scenes. There was an 
 all-night sitting, and eighteen Irish members were 
 suspended. 
 
 Finally the Irish withdrew from the contest, pro- 
 testing : ' That inasmuch as the Irish parliamentary 
 party have been expelled from the House of Commons 
 under threat of physical force during the consideration 
 of a measure affecting vitally the rights and liberties of 
 Ireland, and as the Government during the enforced 
 absence of the Irish members from the House pressed 
 forward material parts of the measure in committee, 
 thus depriving the representatives of the Irish people 
 of the right to discuss and to vote upon coercion 
 proposals for Ireland ; we, therefore, hereby resolve to 
 take no further part in the proceedings in committee on 
 the Coercion Bill, and we cast upon the Government 
 the sole responsibility for a Bill which has been urged
 
 JiT. 36] THE ARREARS BILL 361 
 
 i 
 
 through the House by a course of violence and subter- 
 fuge, and which, when passed into law, will be devoid 
 of moral force and will be no constitutional Act of 
 Parliament.' 
 
 While it was going through the House Mr. Glad- 
 stone brought in the Arrears Bill. As the one measure 
 was based on lines laid down by Lord Cowper, the other 
 was based on lines laid down by Parnell. During his 
 incarceration in Kilmainham he had practically drafted 
 the Bill. Mr. Healy tells a story a propos of this 
 subject which curiously illustrates how Parnell's super- 
 stitious instincts never deserted him : 
 
 ' While the Kilmainham treaty was in preparation, 
 and the late Mr. W. E. Forster's throne in Dublin 
 Castle was being sapped by his prisoner from the jail 
 hard by, Mr. Parnell skilfully hit on the idea of availing 
 himself of the introduction of an amending Land Bill, 
 for which the Irish party had won a Wednesday for 
 a second reading debate, as the public basis of his 
 arrangement with Mr. Gladstone. The Bill was after- 
 wards moved by Mr. John Redmond, in April 1882, and 
 one of the clauses became the Government Arrears Act 
 of that year. To frame such a measure in prison legal 
 help of course was necessary, and Parnell asked Mr. 
 Maurice Healy to visit the prison and discuss the matter, 
 which he did for several days. 
 
 ' Even at so early a date after the passage of the 
 Land Act of 1881 that enactment had been riddled by 
 the judges in provisions vital to the tenants' interest. 
 There was, therefore, a great outcry for amendments, and 
 various proposals were discussed in turn in the prison. 
 One suggestion, however, which my brother made Mr. 
 Parnell refused to adopt. He was pressed again and 
 again as to its necessity, but into the Bill he would not
 
 362 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 allow it to go. The enemies of the alleged agrarian 
 jacquerie in Ireland little supposed that at its head was 
 a moderate, almost conservative, leader, averse, except 
 when driven to it by the " stokers " of the movement, to 
 lend his approval to extreme demands. Indeed, later 
 on, as his power increased, he grew still more moderate, 
 so that Mr. Biggar once said of him, musingly, " I 
 wonder what are Parnell's real politics ! " At all events, 
 by Easter 1882 Mr. Parnell, having obtained a fort- 
 night's release on parole, had effected an understanding 
 with Mr. Chamberlain, who was acting for the anti- 
 Forster section in the Cabinet, and he was extremely 
 anxious for some compromise. He was, therefore, 
 unwilling that the proposed Land Bill should be 
 weighted with unacceptable provisions, so the measure 
 took shape without the clauses which his young adviser 
 recommended. After some days a draft was got ready 
 to be sent across to Westminster, where it was urgently 
 required, as the Bill had to be printed and distributed 
 the following Wednesday. When all was completed 
 a fair copy was taken up to the prison, lest any 
 final revising touches should be required before being 
 posted. Clause by clause the great prisoner went 
 over his Bill, until at last the final page was reached. 
 Then he turned over the leaves again and counted the 
 clauses. Suddenly, having contemplated the reckoning, 
 he threw the manuscript on the table as if he had been 
 stung. " Why," said he, " this will never do ! " " What 
 is the matter? " said his solicitor, in alarm. " There are 
 thirteen clauses," said Mr. Parnell ; " we can't have 
 thirteen clauses." " But is there anything out of order 
 in that?" asked the, other, wondering whether some 
 point of parliamentary practice could be involved. 
 "No," said Mr. Parnell sternly; "but what Bill with
 
 ^Ei. 36] THE ARREARS BILL 363 
 
 i 
 
 thirteen clauses could have any chance ? It would be 
 horribly unlucky." This was a staggerer for the 
 draftsman. Not even the treaty with Mr. Cham- 
 berlain and the promise of favourable consideration of 
 the Bill by the Cabinet could induce the wary prisoner 
 to risk a defiance of his boyhood's teaching. His 
 amazed adviser then asked what was to be done could 
 any clause be omitted ? It was late in the afternoon, 
 post hour approached, and another day's delay might 
 prevent the draft reaching the Queen's printers in 
 London in time for distribution to members before the 
 second reading. The humour of the situation did 
 not at all strike the legal mind at this crisis. A hasty 
 dissection of the Bill was made, but only to disclose 
 that it could not well be shorn of a clause. What 
 could be hit upon ? There in bewilderment and anxiety 
 stood the statesman and draftsman in her Majesty's 
 prison at Kilmainham, eyeing each other in despair in 
 the darkening cell as the minutes to post hour slipped 
 away. At last a gleam flashed from Mr. Parnell's eyes, 
 half ironical, half triumphant. " I have it," said he. 
 
 " Add that d d clause of yours, and that will get 
 
 us out of the difficulty." It was an inspiration, and so 
 it was done.' l 
 
 This Arrears Bill (which became law in July and 
 applied only to tenancies under 301.) provided that the 
 tenants' arrears should be cancelled on the following 
 conditions : 
 
 1. That the tenant should pay the rent due in 1881. 
 
 2. That of the antecedent arrears he should pay one 
 year's rent, the State another. 
 
 1 Westminster Gazette, November 2, 1892. 'This clause,' says 
 Mr. Healy, ' though not adopted then, was ultimately embodied in the 
 Tory Land Act of 1887.'
 
 364 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 3. That the tenant should satisfy a legal tribunal of 
 his inability to pay the whole of the arrears. 
 
 We have seen how Mr. Healy describes Parnell as 
 a man of moderate and even conservative tendencies. 
 The description is true. Never was a revolutionary 
 movement led by so conservative a politician. He was 
 not violent by choice. He was only violent through 
 necessity. When the exigencies of the situation de- 
 manded, he never hesitated to raise a popular storm. 
 When the occasion required, he was the first to throw 
 oil upon the troubled waters. At this crisis he desired 
 a calm in public affairs, because the country had got out 
 of hand and he wanted a lull to take his bearings 
 afresh and to shape the future course of the agitation. 
 
 On May 6 he had gone to Dartmoor to meet 
 Davitt. They travelled to London together. ' All the 
 the way,' said Davitt, 'he talked of the state of the 
 country, said it was dreadful, denounced the Ladies' 
 Land League, swore at everybody, and spoke of anarchy 
 as if he were a British Minister bringing in a Coercion 
 Bill. I never saw him so wild and angry ; the Ladies' 
 Land League had, he declared, taken the country out 
 of his hands, and should be suppressed. I defended 
 the ladies, saying that after all they had kept the ball 
 rolling w T hile he was in jail. " I am out now," said he, 
 " and I don't want them to keep the ball rolling any 
 more. The League must be suppressed, or I will leave 
 public life." 
 
 ' In August we met at Dublin. The Ladies' League 
 wanted 500Z. I called on Parnell, at Morrison's Hotel, 
 and asked him for a cheque for that amount. " No," he 
 said, " not a shilling ;, they have squandered the money 
 given to them, and I shall take care that they get no 
 more." I said : " But, Mr. Parnell, their debts must be
 
 ^Ei. 36] SLOWING DOWN THE AGITATION 365 
 
 paid whatever happens." But he would not discuss the 
 matter. I left him in a bit of a temper, and would not 
 come back when he sent Dillon for me later in the day. 
 Next day, however, I saw him again. He gave me 
 the cheque. " There," said he, "let those ladies make 
 the most of it. They will get no more money from me, 
 and let the League be dissolved at once." 
 
 I believe the Ladies' Land League was never 
 formally dissolved, but it died of inanition, for Parnell 
 stopped the supplies. 
 
 The Land League had been suppressed by the 
 Government. 
 
 The Ladies' Land League was practically suppressed 
 by Parnell. 
 
 There was now no public organisation. It was 
 necessary to found one. Parnell, however, moved 
 slowly. He had made the Kilmainham treaty. He 
 wished to keep it. ' There is one thing about the man,' 
 said Mr. Forster, ' of which I am quite sure his word 
 can be relied on.' 
 
 It was difficult for him to keep the Kilmainham 
 compact, for the Crimes Act, which violated the letter 
 if not the spirit of the treaty, exasperated the people 
 and made the Government intensely unpopular. Never- 
 theless Parnell kept his word. ' What are your inten- 
 tions ? ' said Mr. Dillon, who thought that the land 
 agitation should still be carried on with fierce energy. 
 ' Do you mean to carry on the war or to slow down the 
 agitation ? ' 'To slow down the agitation,' said Parnell, 
 with emphasis. 
 
 Mr. Davitt wished Land Nationalisation to be made 
 a plank in the new platform. 
 Parnell said ' No.' 
 'He was,' says Mr. Davitt, 'opposed to a fresh
 
 366 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 land agitation, and wished to keep solely on the Home 
 Rule tack.' 
 
 Brennan (who with Davitt and Egan made the 
 working triumvirate of the Land League) denounced 
 Parnell privately for his moderation, said his days of 
 usefulness had gone by, and ultimately left the country 
 in disgust. Before leaving he had asked Parnell to 
 send him on a mission to Australia. Parnell refused 
 point blank, and sent Mr. Redmond instead. Egan 
 (who had already left Ireland) used all his influence to 
 keep the agitation on the old lines, but in vain. No one 
 could prevail against the inexorable Chief. 
 
 On August 16 he was presented with the freedom of 
 the City of Dublin. He asked permission to sign the 
 roll in private. He wanted no public demonstration, 
 but the corporation insisted on it. He then made a 
 short speech, warning his audience that an ' Indepen- 
 dent Irish Party ' could not be maintained ' for any 
 length of time ' in the English House of Commons, 
 and urging them to concentrate their energies on that 
 ' great object of reform which has always possessed the 
 hearts of the Irish people at home and abroad, I mean the 
 restoration of the legislative independence of Ireland.' 
 
 Afterwards he went to Avondale and Aughavanagh 
 to enjoy a brief period of repose. Mr. John Redmond, 
 who joined him at the latter place, tells the following 
 anecdote a propos of Parnell's relations with his people 
 in the country. ' One day,' says Mr. Redmond, ' we 
 were walking up a mountain, and we met an old man, 
 a tenant on the property, named Whitty. " Whitty," 
 said Parnell, "you have been on the land for many 
 years, you never pay me any rent, and all I ask you is 
 to keep the sheep off the mountains when I am out 
 shooting, and, you old villain, you don't even do that."
 
 36] A NEW ORGANISATION 
 
 367 
 
 'Used he to talk politics to you?' I asked Mr. 
 Eedmond. ' No,' he answered, ' his conversation was 
 principally about sporting. He was always looking for 
 gold in Wicklow. Gold, sport, and the applied sciences 
 were his subjects out of Parliament.' 
 
 In October the new organisation was founded. 
 
 ' On the Sunday previous to the convention,' says 
 Mr. Healy, ' I went in the evening to Morrison's 
 Hotel with the draft constitution, which Parnell wished 
 to talk over. This was in the month of October 
 1882. I found him in bed, and apparently poorly 
 enough. Seeing this I suggested postponing the work 
 of revision. " Oh, no," said he ; " it is nothing." After 
 a pause he added, musingly, " Something happens 
 to me always in October." This remark fell from him 
 as if he were announcing a decree of fate, and struck 
 me intensely. October, in Mr. Parnell's horoscope, 
 was a month of " influence," and he always regarded it 
 with apprehension. 
 
 ' In October 1879 he became President of the Land 
 League, which was then started for the first time, and 
 he was commissioned to visit America to spread the 
 new movement and collect funds. In October 1880 
 the agrarian agitation in Ireland culminated, and the 
 Government commenced the State prosecutions of that 
 year. Curiously enough, in the same month of that 
 year, for some occult reason, Mr. Parnell divested 
 himself of his beard and made himself almost unrecog- 
 nisable by the people. In October 1881 he was arrested, 
 and arrested, strange to say, on October 13. In October 
 1886 he sickened almost to death in the critical autumn 
 following the rejection of the Home Kule Bill. In 
 October of that year also the Plan of Campaign, as he 
 complained, was published by Mr. Harrington without
 
 368 CHAELES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 his authority or that of the Irish party. The result was 
 the enactment of the perpetual Coercion Act of 1887 
 and the eviction of many tenants, whose fate deeply 
 affected the Irish party in their decision in Room 15 
 against Mr. Parnell's leadership. Strangest of all, in 
 view of his premonitions, is the fact that it was in the 
 month of October that he died so unexpectedly in 1891. 
 A belief that a particular month might be " influential " 
 would probably react with depressing effect on physical 
 health at the critical period and thus weaken the 
 resisting power at that time. Nevertheless, the stoutest 
 disbeliever in unseen influence will deem the coinci- 
 dences noteworthy. 
 
 ' On this Sunday of October 1882, while I worked 
 away at the draft constitution of the National League 
 in Morrison's Hotel, the sick man lay with his face to 
 the wall, replying composedly now and again as to the 
 points which remained to be settled in it. I wrote at a 
 table by his bedside, on which four candles stood 
 lighted. Hours passed by, and being engrossed in the 
 work I did not heed the fact that one of the candles 
 was burning to the socket and finally spluttered itself 
 out. A stir from the patient aroused me, and I looked up. 
 With astonishment I saw that Mr. Parnell had turned 
 round, raised himself in the bed, and, leaning over my 
 table, was furiously blowing out one of the remaining 
 candles. " What on earth is that for? " said I, amazed 
 at this performance. "I want more light than that." 
 His eyes gleamed weirdly in their pale setting as he 
 answered : " Don't you know that nothing is more 
 unlucky than to have three candles burning ? " Almost 
 petrified, I confessed that I did not. " Your consti- 
 tution, then, would have been very successful," said he 
 with quiet sarcasm, and he turned his face to the wall
 
 ^Ti. 36] THE NATIONAL LEAGUE 369 
 
 again, evidently persuaded that his intervention alone 
 had averted some political catastrophe. The conviction 
 which he threw into his words, the instant motion to 
 quench the unlucky candle at some inconvenience to 
 himself and without a warning to me, the strange seer- 
 like face, and the previous forebodings about October, 
 made up a situation which felt almost awesome. It 
 would have been as irreverent to smile as it would be 
 to scoff in the presence of believers at the worship of 
 their unknown gods. Afterwards I learnt that three 
 candles are lit at wakes in Ireland around a corpse - 
 possibly in some distant way to symbolise or reverence 
 the Trinity.' l 
 
 On October 17 the convention met. Parnell pre- 
 sided. The National League was formed. Home Rule 
 was put in the forefront. Land reform, local self- 
 government, parliamentary and municipal reform came 
 after. The President announced the policy of the 
 future in a brief and pithy speech. He said : ' I wish 
 to affirm the opinion which I have expressed ever since 
 I first stood upon an Irish platform, that until we obtain 
 for the majority of the people of this country the right 
 of making their own laws we shall never be able and 
 we never can hope to see the laws of Ireland in 
 accordance with the wishes of the people of Ireland, or 
 calculated, as they should, to bring about the permanent 
 prosperity of our country. And I would always desire 
 to impress upon my fellow countrymen that their first 
 duty and their first object is to obtain for our country the 
 right of making her own laws upon Irish soil.' Then, 
 turning to the subject of land, he added : ' I wish to 
 re-affirm the belief which I have expressed upon every 
 platform upon which I have stood since the commence- 
 
 1 Westminster Gazette, November 3, 1893. 
 VOL. J. BB
 
 370 CHAELES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 ment of the land agitation that no solution of the 
 land question can be accepted as a final one that does 
 not insure the occupying farmers the right of becoming 
 owners by purchase of the holdings which they now 
 occupy as tenants.' 
 
 Home Eule and a peasant proprietary were, then, 
 the principal planks of the new platform. 
 
 Later in the year Parnell sent Mr. Redmond to 
 Australia and to America to collect funds for the League. 
 Mr. Redmond had some strange experiences. ' When 
 I arrived at Sydney,' he says, ' the Phoanix Park 
 murders were the talk of the colony. I received a 
 chilling reception. All the respectable people who had 
 promised support kept away. The priests would not 
 help me, except the Jesuits, who were friendly to me as 
 an old Clongowes boy. The man a leading citizen 
 who had promised to take the chair at my first meeting 
 would not come. Sir Harry Parkes, the Prime Minister, 
 proposed that I should be expelled the colony, but the 
 motion was defeated. The Irish working men stood 
 by me, and in fact saved the situation. They kept me 
 going until telegrams arrived exculpating the parlia- 
 mentary party. Then all the Irish gradually came 
 around and ultimately flocked to my meetings. I col- 
 lected 15,OOOZ. and went to America. Fenians did 
 everything for us there. Without them we could have 
 done nothing. I addressed a great meeting at the Opera 
 House, Chicago. Boyle O'Reilly was in the chair. 
 There were 10,000 people present. It was a grand 
 sight. It was grand to see the Irish united as they 
 were then. I was escorted to the meeting by the 
 Governor and the Mayor, and the streets were lined 
 with solders, who presented arms as we passed.' 
 
 During the winter Parnell addressed a few meetings
 
 ^Ei. 36] ' FIGHT AND STICK TOGETHER ' 371 
 
 in the country, Speaking with studied moderation, and 
 showing clearly that it was his wish to keep things 
 quiet for the present. Alderman Kedmond, who travelled 
 with him by train to one of these meetings from 
 Waterford to Dungarvan and back has given me the 
 following note of a conversation which took place 
 between them : 
 
 'I found Parnell a pleasant companion. He did 
 not like talking, but he listened to you with great 
 attention. I said : " Mr. Parnell, how do you think 
 Home Kule is getting on ? " " Very well," he answered. 
 " If the people pull steadily together we shall get it in 
 a few years." 
 
 ' Alderman Eedmond. " Surely, Mr. Parnell, the 
 English people are strongly opposed to Home Eule. 
 You will take a long time to bring them round." 
 
 ' Parnell. " They were strongly opposed to Catholic 
 Emancipation, but they had to come round in the end. 
 O'Connell had nothing like our power ; he stood almost 
 alone. We have only to fight and stick together, and 
 we will win. We must not yield an inch. You get 
 nothing from the English by yielding." 
 
 "Alderman Eedmond. "But, Mr. Parnell, some 
 people think that we are not fit for Home Kule, that we 
 would misuse it. They say all this in the North." 
 
 ' Parnell. " The North certainly show us a bad ex- 
 ample, for they exclude Catholics from all power there. 
 There might be difficulties in working Home Kule at 
 first, but the good sense of the country would make 
 things right after a time. Even the fears of the North 
 would soon be set at rest." 
 
 1 Alderman Eedmond. "How would you make 
 Ireland prosper under Home Kule ? " 
 
 'Parnell (laughing). " Well, I will ask you another
 
 372 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 question. How can any country prosper that has not 
 the management of its own affairs, of its own income ? 
 Do you think England would prosper if she were to 
 allow France to take care of her purse ? The income 
 of Ireland is nearly 8,000, OOOZ. a year. Where does it 
 all go to ? England can do, is doing, what she likes 
 with it. An Irish Government could keep down ex- 
 penses. Take the one item of police. We could save 
 a million under that head alone. We do not want the 
 costly establishments of England." 
 
 ' Alderman Redmond. "What would you do with 
 the landlords ? " 
 
 ' Parnell. " I would treat them fairly and honestly. 
 I would encourage them to live quietly among their 
 own people. I would give them a fair share of parlia- 
 mentary honours, and I would make them happy in 
 their own country, which they are not at present." 
 
 ' In returning from Dungarvan to Waterford I said 
 to him, " Well, Mr. Parnell, you made a good, sensible 
 speech to-day." He replied, " I hate public speaking, 
 and always feel nervous before and after I get on a 
 public platform." 
 
 Mr. William Redmond (who had been in Kilmain- 
 ham with Parnell) made a ' treasonable ' speech in 
 Cork towards the end of the year 1882, and subse- 
 quently left Ireland. Soon after his departure a 
 warrant was issued for his arrest. Learning this, he 
 wrote to Parnell, expressing his wish to return and 
 1 face the music.' Parnell replied : 
 
 Parnell to Mr. William Redmond 
 
 ' House of Commons : December 6, 1882. 
 
 ' DEAR MR. REDMOND, Your letter of the 1st 
 instant to hand, and I am strongly of opinion that you
 
 A DARK PERIOD 
 
 373 
 
 ought not to return. You should carry out your 
 original programme of going to Nice and looking after 
 your health. If you were to come back now you would 
 be certain to be sentenced to a period of imprisonment 
 with hard labour, and in any case the state of your 
 health will be in a better position to face a prosecution 
 when you return than it is now. I hope, however, that 
 the matter will have blown over by then. 
 
 ' Yours very truly, 
 
 ' CHAS. S. PARNELL.' 
 
 Mr. Eedmond ultimately joined his brother in 
 Australia. When he returned the matter had blown over. 1 
 
 The year 1882 marks one of the darkest periods 
 in the land agitation in Ireland. The following table, 
 submitted by Sir Charles Russell to the Parnell Com- 
 mission, speaks volumes : 2 
 
 AGRARIAN CRIME FOR THE WHOLE OF IRELAND 
 
 
 
 Two years, 1880-81. 
 Average for two years. 
 
 Total in 1882 alone. 
 
 Murders 
 
 12 
 
 26 
 
 Firing at persons 
 Incendiary fires and arson 
 Cattle outrages . 
 Threatening letters . 
 Firing into dwellings 
 
 283 
 128 
 1,764 
 105 
 
 58 
 281 
 144 
 2,009 
 117 
 
 Totals . 
 
 2,338 
 
 2,635 
 
 1 ' I was at Parnell's house, Ironsides, Bordenstown, in 1882,' says 
 Mr. William Redmond, ' when Fanny Parnell died. She died very 
 suddenly. One day she went out for a walk. She returned in a great 
 state of excitement with a copy of the New York Herald in her hand. 
 It was the time of the Egyptian war, and there was a rumour of an 
 English defeat. I remember well seeing Fanny burst into the drawing 
 room, waving the paper over her head, and saying, " Oh, mother, there is 
 an Egyptian victory. Arabi has whipped the Britishers. It is grand." 
 That was the last time I saw Fanny Parnell alive. Next day she died 
 quite suddenly.' 
 
 2 Sir Charles Russell's speech before the Parnell Commission, 
 p. 294.
 
 374 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 It was especially a year of sensational murders. In 
 January, the Huddys, Lord Ardilaun's bailiffs, were 
 killed. In February, Bernard Bailey, an informer, was 
 shot dead in a crowded thoroughfare in Dublin. In 
 March, Joseph McMahon, another informer, was killed. 
 In April, as has been said, Mrs. Smythe was shot dead 
 in open day while driving in a carriage with her 
 brother-in-law from church. 1 In May, the Phrenix 
 Park murders took place. In June, Mr. Walter 
 ^Bourke, a land agent, Mr. Blake, another land agent, 
 Mr. Keene, a land steward, and Mr. McCausland were 
 killed. In August, the Joyce family were killed at 
 Maamtrasna, because it was said that they knew the 
 murderers of the Huddys and might give evidence 
 against them. In November, an unsuccessful attempt 
 was made to assassinate Mr. Justice Lawson. In the 
 same month, Field, who had served on a jury which 
 had convicted a prisoner charged with the murder of a 
 policeman, was stabbed almost to death just outside his 
 house in North Frederick Street, Dublin. The country 
 reeked with blood. Mr. Forster had hoped to restrain 
 the 'dissolute ruffians' of Ireland. In truth, he had, 
 unwittingly, let them loose. 
 
 No man was more deeply concerned by the dis- 
 tracted condition of Ireland in 1882 than Parnell. He 
 was not ' alarmed ' because English public opinion was 
 ' shocked.' He had no faith in the fine moral sense of 
 the English. ' Much the English care,' he had said, 
 ' for the shooting of a few landlords in Ireland.' He 
 looked upon the English as a nation of hypocrites. 
 ' They murder and plunder,' he would say, ' all over the 
 world, and then they howl when somebody is killed in 
 Ireland, because the killing is of no use to them.' He 
 
 1 The bullet was intended for her brother-in-law.
 
 JET. 36] VIEWS OF ENGLISH STATESMEN 373 
 
 i 
 
 would as soon have thought of favouring a plan for the 
 construction of a railway to the moon as appealing to 
 the moral sense of England. Therefore, when moderate 
 men used to say to him, ' Mr. Parnell, you ought to 
 restrain your people; nothing shocks a law-abiding 
 community like the English so much as lawlessness,' 
 he would simply smile. His one idea of dealing with 
 the English was to put them in a tight place. He felt 
 that English party leaders thought as much and no 
 more of the ' morality ' of the ' moves ' in the game of 
 politics than a chess player thinks of the morality of 
 the moves in a game of chess. An English statesman 
 was to him an individual who would risk his soul to sit 
 on the Treasury bench. It was the duty of the Irish 
 agitator to see that the English statesman should sit on 
 the Treasury bench only on his conditions. An outburst 
 of lawlessness in Ireland was regarded by Parnell simply 
 with a view to its effect on the national 'movement.' 
 And, in his opinion, at this moment there was every 
 danger that the extreme wing of his army might, under 
 the evil influences of men who gained the upper hand 
 while he was in jail, run amuck, which could only end in 
 the disorganisation and collapse of the National cause. 
 Mr. Dillon and Davitt did not see eye to eye with 
 Mr. Parnell. The former, as I have said, was of opinion 
 that the land agitation ought still to be kept at fever 
 heat. The latter thought that there ought to be a new 
 development of that agitation in the direction of land 
 nationalisation. Parnell differed from both and would 
 not yield a jot to either. Mr. Dillon was much incensed 
 and threatened to resign his seat in Parliament. Parnell 
 did not want this. He did not wish to see the smallest 
 rift within the lute ; but he would not give way. It was 
 about this time that Mr. Dillon went to Avondale to
 
 376 CHARLES STEWART PARXELL [1882 
 
 ask him. point blank if he meant to ' slow down ' the 
 agitation. On receiving his Chief's answer, delivered 
 with inexorable precision, and acting on the advice of 
 his medical attendant, Mr. Dillon sailed for Colorado 
 and troubled Parnell no more. 
 
 Davitt's opposition was a more serious affair. He 
 was a power. He had the ' Irish World ' at his back. 
 He could easily have formed an anti-Parnellite party in 
 America. He could not, of course, have driven Parnell 
 from the position of Irish leader, for all Ireland was 
 now solid for the Chief the Church, the farmers, and 
 many of the rank and file of the Fenians, who 'had, 
 contrary to the direction of the supreme council, joined 
 the Land League but he could have made divisions 
 in the ranks. The ' Irish "World ' was only too ready 
 to dethrone Parnell, whom Ford disliked for his modera- 
 tion and his strength. Had Davitt only spoken the word 
 there would probably have been an internecine struggle 
 full of peril to the national interests. Parnell knew 
 this well. The one thing he detested was a quarrel 
 with any set of Irishmen. But he felt that, at all costs, 
 the Extremists should be taught that he was master. 
 He would take money from his American allies. He 
 would remain in alliance with them. But the direction 
 of the national movement should rest in his hands, and 
 in his hands alone. He had no notion of allowing his 
 American auxiliaries to boss the situation, and that they 
 meant to boss it he had not a particle of doubt. America 
 should help, but should not lead Ireland. That was 
 the principle on which he acted. 
 
 His feelings towards Davitt were friendly. He had 
 always the warmest sympathies for a man who had 
 suffered so much for Ireland. He always recognised 
 the power and the usefulness of the political convict.
 
 .Ex. 36] PARXELL AND DAVITT 377 
 
 i 
 
 Davitt, we know, was the connecting-link with America, 
 and Parnell's policy was to curb, not break with, the 
 Americans. Davitt had therefore to be kept by his side, 
 while Davitt's pet scheme of Land Nationalisation had 
 to be flung to the winds. It was in the manipulation 
 of affairs of this nature that Parnell excelled. In such 
 cases the charm of his personality, the strength of his 
 character told. He did not conquer you by argument. 
 He threw over you the spell of irresistible fascination, 
 or impressed you with an uneasy sense of relentless 
 authority. I have said that, ' had Davitt only spoken 
 the word there would probably have been an internecine 
 struggle full of peril to the national interests.' He did 
 not speak it. He made no attempt at revolt. He 
 tried to convert Parnell to his views. He failed and 
 submitted. 
 
 ' Parnell and I differed seriously,' says Davitt, ' but 
 we remained fairly good friends almost to the end.' 
 
 From 1882 onwards there was constant friction 
 between Parnell and the Extremists. Nevertheless he 
 held all the Nationalist forces together ; he presented 
 an unbroken front to the common enemy. It is dan- 
 gerous for an Irish leader to be ' moderate.' He runs 
 the risk of exposing himself to the fatal charge of 
 ' Whiggery.' Yet in his 'moderate' days this charge 
 was never levelled at Parnell. Why ? Simply because 
 he never won, never wished to win, the applause of the 
 British public. Butt's fate was sealed the moment he 
 fell in any degree under English influence, the moment 
 English cheers in the House of Commons became 
 pleasant to his ears. Parnell never fell in the slightest 
 deree under English influence, and he avoided an 
 English cheer as a skilful pilot would keep clear of the 
 breakers on a rock-bound coast. He did nothing to
 
 378 CHARLES STEWART PARNELL [1882 
 
 please Englishmen at the expense of any Irishman ; 
 indeed, he did nothing to please them at all. This gave 
 him his strength. He was asked upon one occasion 
 to move a resolution in public condemning outrages, 
 ' No,' said he ; ' I dislike outrages as much as any man, 
 but I am not going to act police for the English 
 Government.' ' Why do you not keep your young 
 barbarians in order, Mr. Parnell ? ' a friend said to him 
 one night in the House of Commons. ' Ah ! ' said 
 Parnell, ' I like to see them flesh their spears.' 
 
 It was in his moderate days that Parnell spoke the 
 following words, which sank deeply into the Fenian 
 mind : ' I do not wish to attach too much importance 
 to what can be gained by the action of your members 
 in the House of Commons. Much good has resulted, 
 and much good will result, from an independent parlia- 
 mentary representation, but I have never claimed ,for 
 parliamentary action anything more than its just share 
 of weight.' 
 
 ' Extreme ' or ' moderate,' Parnell held his ground 
 because the Irish, ' at home and abroad,' were convinced 
 and he took good care never under any circumstances 
 to weaken the conviction that he was ever the un- 
 changing enemy of England. 
 
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