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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 26, 26 October 1883, Page 16

Herb, according to the correspondent of the Otago Daily Times is bow Mr. J. E. Redmond was received in Auckland :—": — " Mr. J. E| Redmond has at last brought tbe Home Rule question home to the doors of the Auckland citizens, and made them familiar wtth Irish agitation in one of its phases. His reception by his countrymen on arrival by steamer from Sydney was not over enthusiastic and impressive. Tbe principal figures in the deputation -were three publicans — though what connection there can be between Home Eule and beer it would be difficult to imagine. As for tbe propertied class of Irishmen, or those possessed of s?cial status and influence, they were principally conspicuous by their absence. An address was presented to Mr. Redmond in a public-house upstairs parlour purporting to come from Irishmen and d escendants of Irishmen residing in Auckland, but I do not think that the apostle of Home Rule was particularly impressed with it. Affairs at the Thames were not propitious for a visit, so it was cut out of the programme. The meeting in Auckland at the Theatre Royal was, however, largely attendedThere was some difficulty in getting a chairman, a Protestant being desired, if possible ; but none being forthcoming, a son of the Church — a good-natured and worthy blacksmith— at last accepted tbe situation, of whom Ulr. Redmond said : « Probably his only qualification for the office was that he was an honest Irishman.' Mr. J. A. Tole, M.H.R. for Eden, who was chairman at the Hon. Mr. Bromby's lectures in Auckland, did not even put in an appearance on the platform, but , was content with a back seat in the dress-circle. The lecture at the Theatre Royal was well delivered, the lecturer being possessed of considerable oratorical ability, and was well received . but a considerable portion of the audience, while willing to cheer the' orator — a cheap procedure — were not willing to bleed for their country, for when the subscription-list came round fully one half of the audience left the theatre, having pressing business down the street. Mr. Redmond referred with some bitterness and contempt to the fact that in the colonies the upper class of Irishmen held aloof from the movement, and that he was compelled to xely on tbe rank and file— the masses of his countrymen. Some £300 has been raised to support the agitation in Ireland, and a branch oE the Land League formed here, so that the seeds of political dissension and race feiids are fairly implanted in the community — to bring forth bitter fruit in years to come. Notwithstanding that some of the Catholic clergy are privately enthusiastic admirers of the Home Rule party, they loyally obeyed the injunction of Bishop Luck, and studiously kept apart from tbe proceedings in connection with the Redmond mission." — But is not the contempt for the working-men shown by such correspondents somewhat astonishing, considering that the workingmen are the strength of th.« Colony ? We are not as yet in a position to contradict the statements of this writer, as owing to the shortness of Mr. Redmond's stay in Dunedin we had not time to in {uire about his visit to Auckland, and so far we have received no details oE it. But for the credit of the "swell" class of Irishmen, if there is such a thing, and others, we hope to be able to contradict them in an early issue. At a meeting held oa Wednesday in the rooms of the Messrs. Redmond and Walshe, at the City Hotel, Dunedin, a local branch of the Irish .National League was formed as follows : — Messrs. N. Moloney, J. P. Armstrong, J. Carroll, J. Daly, J. J. Connor, N. Smith,"P. Keligher, C. O'Driscoll, with Mr. J. B. Callan as president, and Messrs. F. Meenan and J. F. Perrin as honorary treasurer nnd necretary respectively. Mr. J. J. Connor was appointed a delegate to represent the branch at the Melbourne Convention on November 7. The Messrs. Redmond and Walshe have come and gone, and their visit to Dunedin has been thoroughly successful. The meetings held in the Queen's Theatre were numerously attended, and not only were the Irish settlers delighted with the eloquence displayed there, but even the enemies of the cause themselves, of whom several attended weTe obliged to acknowledge the charm of Mr. J. E. Redmond's speech. A speaker of such power had seldom, if ever, been heard before in Dunedin. He kept his audience entranced from the beginning to the end, and, at times, a pin might have been heard to drop, so intense was the silence of the crowd. That Mr. Redmond pleaded hia cause well, and that he had a good cause to plead may be seen from our report of his lecture— but to convey a notion of his power as a speaker is impossible in any rewspaper. To be fully appreciated he must be beard. His brother, Mr. W. Redmond, also won golden opinions from his hearers, and made it evident that he possessed an abundant store of talent, to be used through many years, we hope, ton tbe good of Ireland— first, in gaining her national independence, and then in helping to guide it. Duripg- their, stay in Dunedin the gentlemen were visited and entertained, so/far as

their time admitted of it, by several of the residents", and the "Most Rev. Dr. Moran called on and accompanied them in a drive or two around the neighbourhood of the town. They also paid a visit to the Rev Fathers O'Malley and McEnroe, S.J., at St. Aloysiiis 1 College, and to the Dominican Convent, inspecting tbe nun's' "schools as wellas those of the Christian Brothers. We may add that everyone who came in contact with Mr. J. E. Redmond especially, a gentleman who had taken so prominent a part in the Parliamentary struggle, lias expressed their admiration at his complete want of assumption ' of conceit of any kind, and the perfect simplicity of his manners and bearing.— "VVe make this remark with especial allusion to a vulgar paragraph in the letter of a certain correspondent, published here a little time ago, and which pretended to describe Mr. Redmond's manners and appearance. The Rev. Fathers Sauzeau ana Lewis, S.M., spent a day or two this week in Dunedin on their way to Wellington. The Rev. Father Sauzeau is returning from a visit to America and Europe, where, as we have seen from the French and American papers, he has,' on several occasions, spoken highly of New Zealand. The Rev. Father Lewis comes to the Colony for tbe first time. Hir Excellency Baron Hubneb, in passing through Dunedin on Thursday, 18th inst, called on the Most Rev. Dr. Moran, and was shown by His Lordship over the new Cathedral buildings,' and the Dominican Convent and Christian Brothers' Schools. His Excellency expressed himself very much pleased with what he had seen, and added a few words in commendation of the Irish people— whose exile he recognised as a providential provision for the spread OfJjie Catholic faith throughout the new world. ''■v Although, as we have said, a wrapped attention was ,tbe general characteristic of the audiences at the Redmond, lectures, a Blight departure from this rule did once or twice take place on the second evening. For example, an elderly gentleman was seen to .rise from his place ia one of the wings of the circle, and hasten out at the door. Immediately a merry sound of whistling was heard, and a shufiiing of feet, and it was perceived that this elderly party was dancing in the lobby to his own music. No explanation was offered concerning the matter, and we are left to conjecture that the individual may have been a superannuated and exiled landlord stirred to hilarity by Mr. Redmond's descripcion of the feats that B/me members of his class had performed. But if it were so, unfortunately his honor's mirth was not consistent with the comfort of the audience, and it was found necessary at once to insist on his resuming a quiet attitude or leaving the building-which alternative he preferred.— A demonstration made by a certain member of the House of Representatives had little that was merry about it, and was only checked in time to prevent tbe people of a country constituency from hearing that their representative bad been ignominiously turned out. These are the only instances of misconduct we have heard of in connection with the meetings. At the conclnsion of Mr. J. E. Redmond's second lecture, Mr Callan congratulated the Press of Dunedin on the manner in which they had treated the delegates. So far at least as their reports had gone, we very cordially agree with what Mr. Callan said. But further, we may say that the editor of the Morning Mrald has' otherwise dealt very fairly with Mr. Redmond and the cause he advocates and if the editor seems not fully convinced by Mr. Redmond's argu-' mentsthat is not unnatural,-r-We can well fancy that it is difficult on even impossible for an Englishman to believe, not at the first but even at the one hundredth hearing, the tale of what Ireland has suffered, and is suffering. To those of us who know the English character in private life— especially who have had an opportunity of seeing Englishmen in their own country and learning how just, and generous, and warm-hearted thay are in truth— nothing' short of the stern knowledge of facts could make it credible that Englishmen had played the part they certainly have played in Ireland, and what then can we expect from Englishmen themselves who havo had no opportunity of being, against their will and almost to the distrust of their senses, convinced of the truth? It seems, indeed, incredible that such men as, for example, Mr. Gladstone, Lord Spencer, and Mr. Trevelyan should carry out a cruel and despicable policy, but let us remember that men who had done" so before their time had been as honourable as they, and have left records not only testifying to their knowledge of the base part they were engaged in, but of the loathUJP with which they acted. There was Lord Oornwallis, for instance, who testified to the horror he felt of the task he had undertaken, and to bis disgust at the people who were the tool 3of his Governmentpeople whom he flattered while he longed to kick them instead. But our contemporary desires to hear the landlords' side of the 'story. Well, we count ourselves fortunate in being to some degree able to lay it before him. We ourselves lately received a letter from- a representative of the landlord class— the descendant of a line of landlords and the close relation now of several of them— and in the letter the' people were described as " Canaanites," who deserved no considera* tion, but resistance to the uttermost! There, then, is in part at least, the landlords' eid« of the story. Our contemporary

the Daily Times has also been fair and full in his reporting columns, but there hiß fair-play ceases. However, we need not waste many words on the Daily Times. He is the representative of the class that would play' in New Zealand the part that landlordism has played in Ireland ; and, therefore, abuse of the Irish cause is all that lies open to him. We have spoken of Lord Cornwallis, and of how he longed to kick the miserable tools by which the dirty work of his Government was carried on. Let us hope, for the credit of humanity, that there may be a member or two of the class that directs the Daily Times, who, were the interests of their class not paramount with them, would gladly kick their editor. We found it asiced a few weeks ago, here in Dunedin, of what religion were the people of- New Boss — especially the supposed poisoner or poisoners of forty men. We are now prepared to answer the question. The majority of the people of New Eoss are Catholics, then, but Mr. F. A. Leigh, J.P, of Rosegarland is a member of the Church of England. — And Mr. F. A. Leigh was accountable for the poisoning referred to. It took place by the distribution of beef among the men employed on Mr. Leigh's harvest — the meat having been cut from a beast that had been killed on its showing symptoms of disease. Forty people were immediate'y taken ill, some of JFthem most dangerously so, and two of them had diieel at the latest date to which we have news. — The Nation, September 8. But as to why Mr. F. A. Leigh thought carrion good enough food for his harvestmen we shall leave that gentleman himself to explain. — Nevertheless, although we possess some slight knowledge of hia reputation, we do not believe he had any intention of injuring the people so fed by him . — And now will those editors who have published a calumny on the people of New .Ross in connection with this poisoning case explain how the matter really stands ? The Juvenile concert at the Queen's Theatre, Dunedin, last night was a great success. The house was crowded, and the programme charmingly rendered. At the conclusion Bishop Moran returned thanks to all who had given their assistance ; to the young performers ; Mr. Leech, their conductor ; Mr. G. W. Elliot, who had kindly given the use of the Theatre, and the audience who had patronised the entertainment. His Lordship added that Dunedin was to be congratulated on the proficiency shown by it 3 youth in the fine arts. We are obliged, owing to want of space, to hold ever our detailed critique until next week. In consequence of pressure on our space and time we are obliged to hold over to next week the subscription Jists to the church at Gordon ; reports of the Catholic Literary Societies at Christchurch and Invercargill ; Ahaura subscriptions to Irish National League, and various other matters. Our leaders will the more readily excuse us when they hear that a chief cause of our failure to publish the matter forwarded to us has been circumstances attendant on the visit of the Messrs. Redmond to Dunedin. Me. J. E. Eedmond left Dunedin yesterday morning for Invercargill, where he lectured last evening. Early as the hoar was several gentleman had assembled at the terminus to bid him God speed, among whom we noticed the Venerable Archdeacon Coleman, t he Rev. Father Lynch, Messrs J. P. Armstrong, F. Meenan, J. Daly, C. O'Driscoll, J. J. Coanor, Ames, and J. F. Perrin. Mr. Redmond we may truly say has taken with him the lasting regard and admiration of all those who came in contact with him, and attachment to his person will in future add a warmth to their zeal in the cause he advocates. A better man could not po9sibly have been found for the mission confided to him, and even Ireland may feel proud of her envoy. Messrs W. Redmond, and J. W. Walshe, left in the afternoon by the s.s. Ringarooma for the Bluff, where Mr. J. E. Redmond joins them en route for Melbourne to-day. The good wishes and respect of the Irishmen'of Dunedin, and we believe we may vouch for those of the men worthy to be called Irishmen in all New ZeaJand, accompany these gentlemen in their voyage as they thoroughly