THINLY-VEILED TREASON.

Evening Star, Issue 11132, 6 January 1900, Page 7

THINLY-VEILED TREASON.

AN EXTRAORDINARY SPEECH,

Mr Michael Davitt was, on Sunday, November 5, the principal speaker at a. meeting of the United Irish League at Aughamorc, a village near Claremorris, in South Mayo. lb had been expected that Mr DavittVspecch would lake the shape of a declaration of Dillonite policy, and observers of Mr Dillon's recent overtures to Mr William O'Brien were nob unprepared for an arrangement that the United Irish League -would figure largely in the future schemes of the Irish parliamentary party. Mr Davitt's speech made it clear that these suspicions were perfectly accurate, and that Mr Dillon hopes to use the League as a lever for expelling from .parliamentary life, every Nationalist member who refuses to give him an absolute and unquestioning obedience. Mr Davitt began by saying that it was his duty plainly and pointedly about the present slate of the Irish parliamentary party. The party ns it now stood was hopelessly unable to render any practical aid to the Nationalist enise in the House of Commons, and its re-election would infallibly bar the way to n possible, creation of a really united party. There were men in each section who ought not to be elected again on any account. One group of such men was the "Modernto V,\'.-l British "group, men who were but who believed mora in the principles n 1 Mr Horace Plunkett than in the princip'.c of national self-government v Such men :.- these, among whonj he included the gentlemen who went to America so as not to"h;: obliged to oppose the war policy of the Onvernment, ought not to be included in a parly Avhosc mission should be to put Irish freedom from British rule above every other political consideration. One of the objects of his retirement had been to strike this note, of warning. No one man's genius and r.o amount of eloquence could make any impression upon the British Parliament if the Irish race did not supply the force in a determined combination which lent meaning and argument to Ireland's spokesmen in Westminster. England understood nothing but what was supported by power or force. The Land League educated her on the land question, the National League on Home Rule, and her education would have been complete and Home Rule won in 1892 had it not been for the disruption of Irish popular forces by the split of 1890. These or similar forces they were now trying to recruit again in the movement of the United Irish League, and unless the country was ready and willing to organise a power strong enough to present Ireland's demand for national selfgovernment and landlord abolition to the British Parliament in a proper militant spirit the constitutional movement would become a mockery and a farce. The present moment was an excellent one for such a scheme of popular pressure on the part of Ireland. Not one of the Great Powers of Europe would stir a hand to save England from destruction to-morrow. France and Russia were now calmly and gleefully looking on at the war in South Africa, and witnessing an army of untrained farmers sweeping the flower of Britain's forces before them. This situation was almost the Waterloo of England's military prestige. America was the only Power which was at all likely to come to her assistance, and in America, with its twenty millions of Celts, Ireland had a, force which could dictate terms to England. Mr Davitt's speech was interspersed with many prayers for the success of the Boors, and he gave his sanction to the following resolution, which was passed by the meeting:—"That we cannot refrain from an expression of our approval of the conduct of some thousand of the Brilirfh mules in the neighborhood of Ladysmith in Natal, nor the expression' of sincere hope- that some fitting testimonial w,ill be made to the common sense of these intelligent animals, in following the example of British soldier-! in running into, the camp of the victorious Boers." Mr Dillon's •newspaper gives its enthusiastic support to Mr Davitt's projected plan of campaign, and declare.-; that Irishmen in Ireland and America never had a more favorable opportunity for extorting Ireland's liberty from an England humbled j,.nd broken and humiliation in South Africa.