AN ENGLISH INTERVIEWER OF MR. PARNELL'S.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume IX, Issue 453, 16 December 1881, Page 5

AN ENGLISH INTERVIEWER OF MR. PARNELL'S.

The London Standard of Monday last has* the following account of an interview which its special commissioner had with Mr. Parnell on Friday week in Kilmainham :—: — I had an interview with Mr. Parnell in Kilmainham jail yesterday (Friday), but was prevented from sendii g by wire an account of my visit owing to the interruption of the telegraphic service by the storm . I drove to the famous prison, which is a large castellated pile of grey stone, standing well out of the city some two miles to the west. Once out of the streets, I do not think I met a dozen persona, exclusive of bare-legged little boys, during the drive. I had to wait in the guardroom for a few minutes until some visitors already admitted had been dismissed, and these present ly appeared in the persona of Mr. Arthur O'Connor, M.P., and Mr. O'Kelly, M.P., the face of the j latter wearin? an expression of unwonted concern. Some delay ensued, there being, it seems, a rule limiting the number of visitors to two daily, but at Mr. Parnell's request an exception was made ia mv favour, and I am consequently enabled to lay before your readers some views and opinions of tbe imprisoned leader of the League which may be at this crisis worthy of attention. A good humoured warder, bearing his keys of office, and an official whom I took to be a secretary or undersecretary of tbe governor, were* present during the interview, but behaved with the fullest respect and consideration towards the prisoner. Mr. Parnell was deadly pale. He was, as usual, carefully dressed, and were a small round smoking-cap. He appeared to be cheerful, and I may at once say that throughout the interview he abstained from any expression of hostility or resentment against the Government, or any member of it. The room into which he was removed yesterday is that lately occupied by Father Sheehy, asd is about the best and most cheerful at the povernor's disposal. Tbe ladies of the Land League and others have filled it with books and bright-coloured furniture, so that there is nothing to suggest the gloomy cell and clanking chains in which tbe American illustrated journals were pleased to represent tha fragile form of the obstreperous priest. A bright fire was burning in the old-fashioned fireplace, and before this we sat. Mr. Parnell told Me that he had expected ever since reading the Premier's speech at

Leeds to be arrested, and that he had received certain intelligence of the determination of the Cabinet on Wednesday evening last. He had not attempted to evade capture, as he was aware that it would have been almost impossible. I mentioned to him the excitement of the old retainers at Morrisson's Hotel, who knew his people well, and some of whom had carried him into the hotel when a boy in their arms. " Yeß," he replied, smiling, " somebody proposed that I should get out of the back window, but I declined, as I knew tbe approaches were watched." He said that Superintendent Mallon had behaved with all possible politeness. Although troubled with, a slight cold, he had in no way suffered from his imprisonment so far, but he anticipated that any long-continued imprisonment must have a very prejudicial effect upon one of his lively constitution and active habits. He thought it probable that he would be kept prisoner for some considerable period. The arrest, or, as he preferred to describe it, the return to the policy of coercion, was, he thought, due to the misinformation of the Government, who were under tbe impression that tbe League would prevent tenants with really good cases from going before the court. On the contrary, he said, the League had taken up great numbers of cases of every description all over the country, and his only object had been to prevent the farmers from indulging in needless litigation, when, by watching the decision of similar test cases, they would be able to judge of the views of the court about their own cases and make agreements accordingly. He affirmed that he bad not committed tbe offences named in the warrants, and denied the legality of these documents. '• I defy them ! " exclaimed Mr, Parnell, " to show one speech of mine made within the Dublin district, the district named in the warrants in which I have given such advice to tenants." I believe that Mr. Gladstone, by retui ning to this coercion policy has seriously injured the prospects of his Act. The tenants will not after this go into court so freely as before. And if they go, there are, after all, great defects in the Act. We have selected cases of rackrented tenants — for instance, we have taken one case from the Galtee estate (that I described in my last letter as having been selected in my presence by Mr. Healy)— " but we are very apprehensive about tbe way in which the commissions will administer tbe Act under Healy's Clause in the cases to tenants whose reclamations have been effected during tbe last thirty yeais or so. Again, Ido not believe that more than about ten thousand of the Irish leaseholders will receive any benefit, and, in short, perhaps one-half of the tenant-farmers of Ireland have nothing to expect from the Act. I don't know for certain who will be the leader of the party now, but I should think it will be John Dillon. It is possible that they may arrest him, however^as they have arrested Mr. Quin, the assistant secretary of the Land League, this morning and intend, lam told, to arrest Sexton and others. Dillon is more advanced than I am, and I have not hitherto held his views in fall, but if the Government should suppress the League, as is rumoured, I should in that case feel it mv duty to advise tbe farmers to pay no rent whatever. I told you a week before I was arrested that even if the Government seized me there would be no fear of disturbances, and lam still of that opinion. One effect of the course taken by the, Government will be that every Irish voter in England will vote against them for the future. If lam released in time to attend the next session of Parliament I shall support — and even, if possible, extend and improve — the bill lately determined upon by the farmers' Alliance» for England. But, in the meantime, I shall practise in jail carpentering, or some occupation of that kind. I was always rather inclined to mechanical operations for relaxation. Thanks to the Ladies' Laud Leagne, I am, us you see, well supplied with books, but I have not as yet come to the determination to write any work. Here the warder announced that it was time to leave. At the same moment a janitor entered with a snow-white tablecloth, for dinner, and I took leave of Mr. Parnell.