Mr Parnell at St. James’ Hall.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 5004, 11 May 1889, Page 3

Mr Parnell at St. James’ Hall.

The Pall Mall Gazette, in the course of its ; oport of the gathering in St James’ Hall, in honour of Mr Parnell, says : —Then came another great scone. Bising as chairman, Mr Morley called upon “ Mr Parnell,” HOMAGE TO ME 2ABNELL. Mr Parnell rose, pale and tall, with his left arm in a sling, a great white flower in his but* lon-hole, and confronted the audience. In a moment every one was up, and for the next five minutes St James’’Hall was even as Exeter Hall when the Salvation Army has one of its greatest field days, when the general has wrought his soldiers up to the highest pitch of ecdiisy. Cheer followed cheer in endless succession. The whole hall was white with handkerchiefs. Ladies waved their scarves and cheered, then waved their scarves and cheered again, as if they would never stop. Mr Parnell stood silent and unmoved. Twice only, during Mr Morley’s philippic, his impassive features had relaxed as the ghost of a smile played over his lips. What a flood of thoughts, of reminiscences, of exultant memories must be surging through his brain! Interesting and pathetic indeed was that spare, slight form, apparently the most impassive of all the thousands there. MB PABNELL’S SPEECH. It was cool, measured, dignified. No man is less of a demagogue, no man lees of the typical Irishman, all wit, enthusiasm, and eloquence, than the leader of the Irish race. Mr Parnell laboured under a disadvantage in following Mr Morley. Now and then he indulged in vigorous thrusts, as when he lamented that the Goverment had left the task of unearthing crime to amateurs, who had made a pretty mess of the work, and then he sneered' at the Government for fighting behind -the petticoats of the Times. He warmly acknowledged the welcome extended to him in the name of Ireland, and insisted with much force upon the fact that no single fact had been substantiated by the Times which was not known to Lord Salisbury and Lord Carnarvon when they opened negotiations with ''him for the establishment of a new Constitution for Ireland with an Irish Parliament. He referred to the skill of Sir Charles Russell, whereupon wo all rose and cheered again. Mr lewis, to whom he owed even more than to all his barristers, was not present. Then he took us off to the land question, declared that the peasant who resisted eviction was like a fly fighting an elephant, explained how it was that Irishmen became dynamitards, told us a touching story of one convict who had seven years for importing arms, and wound up his speech by an effective and eloquent declaration against all kinds of violence and in favor of that constitutional agitation which would soon give to Ireland all legitimate control over her own affairs without interfering in the least with the interests of the Empire.