HOME RULE.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 122, 9 May 1911, Page 5

HOME RULE.

ERIN’S ENVOYS IN HASTINGS.

AN ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING

The Princess Theatre was crowded with an audience of about eight hundred people last evening, when the Irish Envoys, Messrs. R. Hazelton, M.P., W. A. Redmond, M.P.. and J. T. Donovan, LL.B., gave addresses on “Home Rule for Ireland." The Mayor (Mr. James Garnett) presided, and occupying seats on the platform with the Envoys were members of the Reception Committee, Very Rev. Father Keogh, Messrs. A. L. D. Fraser. D. Scanneil. Judge Gilfedder. J. A. Gallacher. Rev. Father Saunderson (Waipawa;, Mr. G. P. Donnelly. D. O’Reilly. A. B. Greene, G. Maddison, L. De Pelichet. H. lan Simson, F. Pimley, J. D. Donovan (secretary), and other prominent supporters of Home Rule. ;

The stage was nicely decorated, ; the national Hag of Ireland being suspended in the foreground. The meeting was very enthusias-; tic throughout, and the different speakers were heartily and frequently applauded. { The Mayor opened the proveedings by calling for three cheers tor. the envoys, and the large audience responded with great gusto. MR. HAZELTON’S SPEECH. ;

The first of the delegates to ad-, dress the meeting was Mr. Hazelton, who met with a great reeep- i lion. He began by saying that he; would want to be hard hearted in-• deed not to be stirred by the en-‘ thusiastic and splendid reception 1 which they had been accorded in; Hastings. When he came to think; it seemed an extraordinary thing; that out here in New Zealand J some 14,000 miles from Ireland,: such a large audience had gathered to listen to delegates from the Old Land pleading on its behalf, and when he came to reflect it came home to him that a cause; which had awakened so much interest in a land so far away mustbe a noble one, and one bound to, triumph. (Applause.) They came, before them not as representatives of any one section or class in Ireland, but of the whole Irish people. The movement was not sec- 1 tional or sectarian, they spoke not ; only on behalf of the Catholic people, but of the whole Irish people as a nation. It was sometimes said by theii’ opponents that the Irish Nationalist Party did not represent the whole Irish people, but in stating the facts he would point out that out of the JO3 members returned for Ireland, 86 were pledged to one single, clear, definite purpose, to bring back to Ireland the power that was taken from her in 1800. He asked what would 1 they think if it was said that the members returned to the Dominion Parliament at Wellington were not entitled to represent the people. ’ They had come all this way out to New Zealand to place before them the cause of their country and en-j list their help and support, which; they had given in the past, by not only those of Irish birth or extrac-, tion, but men who had no connec-i tion with Ireland, men of all creeds' and classes. He was proud to be i able to say that since the move-i ment was started by Isaac Butt.' never since the Party was formed by Parnell, did it occupy the posi-; tion of strength which it occupied 1 to-day, and never was it on the; verge of victory as it was at the present, time. (Applause.) It wasi not necessary on this occasion to ; explain the of the movement, because from past experience they knew 7 , no matter how far; they were separated from England or Ireland, they watched the progress of events at Home and kept i in touch with the cause which was so dear to their hearts. But like all great movements, it had its enemies—enemies who misrepre-j sented it intentionally or otherwise. It was sometimes said by; their opponents that Ireland did 1 not want Home Rule, but separa-' tion from England and the Empire. He gave this emphatic contradict tion. M hat they demanded was ai Parliament of their own with an; I executive if sponsible to it. with j full power over all Irish affairs.; ‘and the same lihert.v as they en-' joyed here in New Zealand. They did not ask for separation, but ‘ wanted to be allowed to work out' their own destinies, and managetheir own affairs without interference from England or any other nation. This they wanted. and; would take no less. It had been their demand since the time of Butt and Parnell, and was what. England and the present British Ministry had promised to give them, and before long he believed , they would see it realised. It had: been said that the Irish were dis-{ loyal in refusing to take part in l the Coronation, the Dublin Cor-; poration refusing to present an ad-; dress of w r elcome to King George j on his visit. Their answer was: — ‘ When you give us something to be loyal to. we will be loyal also.”

i Applause. > He asked how would the people of New Zealand act if th“ir Parliament was taken away by force, if a Lord Lieutenant was sent to rule over them without

consulting their wishes.' Would | rite people of New Zealand tolerate ! th.at for twenty-four hours (Cries; of "No.") This had been the state l of affairs in Ireland for a centurypassed, and which they wished to j put an end to once and for ail. j He pointed to the fact that when the late Queen Victoria came toe th? throne. Canada was in arms) because she had not control of her I own affairs : South Africa had been ! at war with England, but both had 1 been made prosperous and happy j by getting the management of I their own internal affairs. Whatj had been the system in Ireland for rhe last century ! Though nominally they had a, system of representation in Parliament, the Irish people had no more voice in the government of Ireland than the people of New Zealand. Instancing the conditions under which Ireland suffered, the speaker related that there was a certain bench oil magistrates whose hostility to j motorists became so great that it! i came to be remarked that no mat- | ter what the ehni-se on which a l

I man was brought before them, aj ’conviction was certain to be re-[ t corded. On one occasion a motorj ist was charged with driving at ! the rate of 40 miles per hour, but he succeeded in proving to the I Court that he was going up-hill, I that his car was an old one, and even on a straight road could not attain a greater speed than 10 miles per hour. In giving their decision the magistrates said that the man had proved his case to the hilt, but they would have to fine him £lO for loil /ring. (Loud laughter.) That was the way of things in Ireland at the present time. They had proved their case to the hilt in education, they had shown how their schools were neglected, more money was spent on police than on education, and the Government admitted the grievance. They were determined that this grievance should end by placing in the hands of the people the control and management of their own , affairs. It was said sometimes that if the Irish people obtained this power to govern themselves, they would make a greater mess of it than the present Government. In answer to that he would point out the fact that as soon as their countrymen went out to Canada and Australasia they were found to be occupying high positions in tiie governing of other countries. j Some of the world’s greatest , I statesmen and generals were Irishmen, and the Prime Minister of New Zealand was himself of Irish extraction. All they asked was to

be given a chance to do for their own people what had been done by their countrymen in all parts of the Empire, and when it came, ; t would be good for England, as well as Ireland, and the British flag. (Applause.) He asked who were opposed to the granting of their demands at the present time. Some people thought they were fighting against England, Scotland, and Wales, but he pointed out that all the Scotch representatives in Parliament with the exception of two were in favour of Home Rule, and not one Welshman was opposed to it. (Applause.) The people of England were not. and never were, their enemies. Their enemies were a small party of reactionaries in the House of Lords. At this time of day and at this stage of civilisation they were not going to tolerate a state of affairs which existed in the days of Oliver Cromi well. The fight was bound to . come, and it had come with a ven- | geance. But the people of both

j Ireland and England now recognised that they were going to win, ! and take away tlie power of the ; House of Lords. The Veto Bill, i the third reading of which was set ; down for this month, provided that ’ any measure which was passed I three times I>y the House of Commons must go through the House of Lords. In 1 S!K> the Home Bide i question would have be. fi settled ' but for the House of Lords rejecting the Bill, but they would have i no power to do this when the Bill ! was brought down next year. (ApI plause.) Mr. Hazelton said he was | glad to see in the evening newsj papers a cable stating that in a ; speech at Manchester the British ! Prime Minister Lad stated the j Cabinet was absolutely united on i the Home Bule question, therefore i the message which they (the dele- : gates) brought that night was one ;of good cheer and hope for the 'future. He asked them for their ; help and support so that the last blow to be struck would be a mighty one to make Ireland a selfgoverning nation, to end the quarrel by bringing the nations together, and working in friendship side by side. (Loud applause.)

MR. REDMOND’S SPEECH. Mr. Redmond, who was received with applause, said he was glad

Ito have the privilege of addressing] ! such an enthusiastic meeting on a , subject which he could see was so dear to his audience. He and his colleagues had met with enthusias- I tic welcomes in Hobart. Welling- | ton, Masterton and Hastings, and ] in each instance they had had the . Chief Magistrate of the town presiding over their meetings. This fact then was brought home to them that the cause they represented was I not an Irish one. It was a cause | above ami beyond Ireland, it was a national cause, but greatest of all. it was a humanitarian cause. The support they were asking for was both material and moral. It had been asked why the Irish party wanted money for this movement, as a matter of fact one newspaper in New Zealand had asked why a party of S 7 members wanted funds for any special object? and yet four days later had published the announcement that the opponents of Home Rule had found £lOO,OOO to prevent

any measure of justice being done to Ireland. They came as representatives of a poor party and a poor country. They could not gather together at a moment’s notice twenty-five members of their party lin a room at a Carlton Club | Hotel in London and write out I cheques for £lOO,OOO. They were i a poor country and a poor party bei cause they had been misgoverned. | misruled, and oppressed for one j hundred years; they were overtaxed, over-policed, and had not sufficient money to educate the smallest child in the most elementary doctrines of intelligence. There was one thing above all he had noticed since he arrived in the Dominion, that in every branch of science and industry they were an up-to-date people. He did not consider it necessary to explain the Home Rule question to such peo- ' pie, he knew everyone present realised the fight there had been and ’ the struggle they were making was identical with the fight and struggle made in the 40's for the freedom which they possessed to-day. He believed, the future would be a greatonefortheEnglish people, but until the Irish question was settled, that future would not be strewn with roses. To-day they were not in conflict with the Monarchy of England, they did not go about like • roaring lions seeking every Englishman whom they might devour, they were at one with the people of England. and the people of England were at one with the British mon- ' archy, but the struggle was with i that rotten relic of barbarism, the | British House of Lords. Every de j mocratic measure introduced into i the* British House of Commons dulling the past century had been sup- ! ported and carried by Irish votes ; I the great Reform Act of 1H32 was ■'carried by one Irish vote: (applause), every democratic measure. , f even though it had no bearing on ■ i Irish affairs, was supported by vote land speech in Parliament by the ! Irish party. The Budget which was passed two years ago, and to which ! such opposition was shown. was passed through Irish votes, any ■ measure which had anything to do ■ with the condition of factory work- . ers, miners’ rights, or the needs of “ the British artisan, was won by , Irish votes. This proved that the : Irish party was a purely democrai tic one, representing democratic Ireland, and to-day it would see ■ that no measure introduced for the benefit of the working section ; |of England’s people was despoiled ’j by the House of Lords. One of the ’ j various accusations made against ’ the Irish people, an infamous in- ’ suit, was that although (’anada. South Africa, Australia, New Zea- ’ land and the Maoris had revolted I and had been granted a free con- > stitution in each case, yet Ireland was said to be unfit for a const itu- } tion of her own. The same argument had been used in the Tory press of both England and the col- ’ onies. Another argument was that Home Rule would mean Rome [. Rule, and Ireland would lie ruled lj by the Pope. He gave an instance j i to prove that was not likely to be _!the case, saying that O’C'onnell. a , j man of whom they were proud as a , .statesman, had said that he would [ I as soon take his politics from Rome J as his religion from Constantinople. Hit would be remembered that on pone occasion lhe Irish people were _ I desirous of showing their regard G for Parnell by a great testimonial. -■At that time there was amongst the i 1 Pope’s advisers in Rome certain II gentlemen who were hostile to Ire- ? ] land, and for some cause or other i I Parnell was accused of being im- ? I plicated in the Phoenix Park mur--|der. A cable was sent from Rome \l discounting the proposed festimon- ? ial. which at this time had reached ri about £7OOO. but strange to say t that although it was only anticii pated that £15,000 would be raised, - in three months they were within - £3 of £40,000. (Applause).

MR. DONOVAN. Mr. Donovan was also received in a very cordial manner. He said that in the first place he felt he was entitled to join with his col-

leagues in thanking the people of Hastings for the reception accorded

them, which was not only complimentary and flattering to them, but the best they had received since landing in New Zealand. Mr. Donovan traversed much of the same [ ground taken by the previous ] speakers. He said they had not | come before them with any revolt)- 1 tionary scheme, but with a message j of hope ami good cheer. They only ] asked for what they had in New : Zealand, seif-g<ivernnient wit 11out any interferencefrom outside. Irishmen played an important part in the building up of the Empire, and in defending the Empire, and it was a standing disgrace to see a country such as she was, deprived of her legislation rights, rights accorded other portions of the Empire. They were a people possessed of different characteristics to those who ruled them, and from a historic view alone, had the right to govern themselves. He asked how would New Zealand like to be governed from Australia. The Government Boards of Ireland were largely composed of retired officers from the army and navy, sent to rule a people whose affairs they knew nothing about. The people were not allowed to elect these Boards, only their representatives to Parliament. If they needed such a thing as a canal or a bridge in Ireland, they had to draft a bill arid have it taken through Parliament. Looking back in history it was seen that such Protestants as Grattan had been fighting for Irish freedom, and the speaker said he did not care if Ireland had a Protestant Parliament to-morrow so long as it was composed of Irishmen. (Cheers). The cause was not a sectarian one, and Protestants and Catholics worked side by side to get their rights. Mr. Devlin, who was a Catholic, and one of the previous delegation, represented a Protestant constituency mainly composed of Orangemen. Mr. Donovan referred to the lying cables which were sent by the Press Association, misrepresenting the Irish cause, and asked his hearers to discount 90 per cent of these cables. Only that evening he had seen in the Press a sample of English ignorance in the fact that the wattle had been selected as the emblem of South Africa (laughter) in the King’s coronation stole. He asked what would New Zealand have* said if the native rata had been chosen in its place. (Laughter). Home Rule would mean peace for

Ireland and greater security for the Empire, anti would pave the way for an Anglo-American alliance, and enable Ireland to take her part in that Empire which she had done so much towards building up. But the twenty millions of Irish people, or their descendants had sufficient influence in America to prevent any alliance being brought about until the Irish question was settled. The speaker quoted instances to show that sectarian differences were dying out, and ridiculed the argument that Irishmen were not able to govern themselves. He had seen in his travels in Australia, Canada ami New Zealand Irishmen taking prominent parts in public endeavour, they were leading lawyers, doctors and foremost in all the I walks of life, simply because they had free opportunity. The leading men of distinction in America were Irishmen, and to say that Ireland’s sons were not able to govern themselves was placing too great a strain on the imaginations of intelligent people. The speaker said he loelieved this would be their last appeal in New Zealand for funds. Two elections had been forced on them to cripple their funds, and had cost the party over £25,000, but thanks to the generosity of their supporters throughout the Empire, they would have sufficient funds to carry victory, the glory of which would be shared by New Zealand through their liberal contributions. Mr. Donovan concluded by thanking the Reception Committee for their hospitality and also trouble in making the arrangements for their visit ; also the Press for their asI sistance.

The speaker was loudly applauded as he resumed his seat. On the motion of Messrs. Scannell and A. L. D. Fraser, a resolution in favour of Home Rule for Ireland was carried by acclamation. A vote of thanks to the Mayor for presiding was carried on the motion of Very Rev. Father Keogh and Mr. W. A. Redmond, and, at the call of the latter the meeting gave three cheers for His Worship. A collection was taken up between the speeches and the sum of £32 was realised.

The Hastings Town Band escorted the Envoys to the Theatre, and Tombs’ orchestra played a number of Irish airs at intervals during the evening.