THE IRISH COLONY IN PARIS.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XII, Issue 8, 13 June 1884, Page 23

THE IRISH COLONY IN PARIS.

"An Old Irish Colonist " contributes the following article to tha St. Jamett Gazette :— The Irish Colony of Paris is; like other colonies, made up of many component parts. It may, however, at a first glance, be generally divided into Les Ancient Irlandais, or descendants of Irish parents, and the Irish themselves. Les Ancient Irlandais belong mostly if not exclusively to the aristocratic class, and are Royalists in French politics. Tradition more than anything else has made them decidedly anti-Republican. Their forefathers, many of whom followed the fortunes of James the Second at the battle ot the Boyae, fought many a time under the Fleur-de-Lys, and were as devoted to the Bourbons as they had been to the Stuarts. When the French Revolution came on hardly any of these soldiers' sons espoueed its principles, and more than one Franco-Hibernian was guillotined. This, perhaps, is why their children to-day rank themselves among the most determined opponents of the existing regime. Les Anctens Irlandais are scattered throughout France, and are numerous in its capital. Viscount O'Neil de Tyrone is one of the more prominent personages of the body and claims kindred in direct line with the great Hugh of that name. The other wing of the Irish Colony is stronger than is generally supposed. It comprises men who were prominently identified with the Fenian movement of 1865 and who still have faith in its ultimate success. There are men, also, who have gone in advance of that movement, and advocate the dynamite doctrines upheld by Patrick Ford and O'Donovan Rossa. In addition to these we must take into account a few Repealers, or O Connellites, who cherish the notion of seeing an independent Parliament in College-green some fine day inaugurated by her Majesty the Queen or his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, amid the load plaudits of a happy and loyal population. The Irish Parisians wno dream such unoffending dreams are in a minority, and belong to the ante-diluvian school of Irish politics. As to the business pursuits of Irishmen in Paris, all that may be said is that not a few of them teach the English language in the schools and colleges of the capital • others are engaged in commerce, literature, and journalism. We meet with hundreds of them in the humbler walks of life, plyin" their various trades and occupations— some voluntary exiles, others compelled to leave tie United Kingdom for alieged complicity in recent attempts against English law in Ireland, or British life and property. llwre is a goodly number of Irish dynamiters on the bank of the Seine just now. Some who reside permanently in the city have made themselves more or less conspicuous at re-unions of late, but the majority shrink from publicity, and adopt various disguises to baffle the English police who are on their track. Inspector Moser of Scotland Yard, made a searching investigation of the dynamite conspiracy in Paris some weeks ago ; but failed to discover anything of a startling character, simply because he had oppoueucs to meet who were skilled men, and who knew from childhood" the ins and outs of secret movements in Ireland, America, and, above all, on the Continent of Buiope, where they studied profoundly in past years the working of the Oarbonari and such other formidable societies. Inspector Moser had to leave Paris almost as much at sea as when be left London to unravel the mystery that shrouded the doings of these desperate men. He has been foiled in his efforts at every step • and all he could say on his return to headquarters was that he only found some fourteen or sixteen dynamiters in Paris, and firmly believed that the contingent did noc number more. The inspector has committed a very grave mistake there. The Irish dynamite™ meet in small groups of three or four at a time. They never frequent drinkiug saloons for the transaction of " business " ; although one or two of them may be seen at Irish and" American bars quietly discussing with stray acquaintances every question under the suu save the Irish quastiou. If they happen to be Irish- Americans, they have left their suits of tweed and slouched hats at the railway hotels on their arrival. They dress in the most orthodox Parisian fashion whether it be the broadcloth of the " gentleman r> or the blouse of tbe ouvrier. They drop the American swagger, walk quietly and meekly through the streets, and have as little of the Yankee twan<* m their accent as if the*y had never been in the States. As to what their immediate intentions may be I have not the remotest idea. They may be platonic Skirmishers, or seriously desperate ones. I am not politically in sympathy either with themselves or their principles ; yet, for obvious reasons, it would be out of the question for me to give their names to the public. . John O'Leary, tbe ex-editor of the LR.B.'s official organ, the Irui/o People, has resided in Paris ever since his release from prison in 1870, if 1 except a short stay he made at Brussels and periodical visits he pays to Nice and A merica. He has no connection, direct or indirect, with the dynamiters. He hates and detests them with all the force of his naturally saturnine temperament. Mr. O'Leary leads the life of a student in the French capital. He may be seen frequently on the qiuiAs collecting stray volumes or buried in their perusal in the Cafe de la Paix. Although he does not now take any active pare ia Irish politics, except by way of writing a letter now aud again on the topics of the hour to the newspapers, he still has faith iv tbe Fenianism of '65 and hopes for its revival. He acted for some time as the Paris correspondent of the New York Nation which is owned by Messrs. John Devoy and John Breslin, but does not, I believe, write regularly now for any journal or magazine James Stephens, the founder of Fenianism, resides also in Paris and devotes much of his time to literary studies, contributing letters on Irish and other subjects to various leading A merican newspapers General MacA.daras, though not a Fenian in <;he precise and literal' signification of the word, is one in spirit and sympathy. A graduate of the Ecole de Saint Cyr, he served under the East India Company, and had attained the rank of colonel when the Company's soldiers were compelled to accept c ther of two alternatives— to resign their posts or take the oath of allegiance to the Queen. MacAdaras resigned rather than make a sworn profession of loyalty When the Franco-German war broke out he offered bis sword to

France, and it was accepted. It was owing chiefly to his efforts that the Irish Legion was organised; MacAdaras himself, however, fought in Chnnzy's aimy, and was wounded in one of the battles during that ill-omened campaign on the banks of the Loire. Tbe French Government nominated him brigadier-general in recognition of his service?. These three gentlemen are tbe most prominent politicians of the Irish revolutionary school which does not include the dagger or dynamite in their programme. There aie a few score of other Irishmen in Paris who share their opinions in this respect. The Repealers in Paris are «"few and far beiween." Dr. M Carlby, the medical attendant at the Irish College of the Rue des Irlandais, is one of them and Mr. J. P. Leonard is another. Dr. M'Carthy is a kindbearted. affable gentlemen, and loves his country sincerely ; but be would not touch revolution or revolutionists with a foity-foot pcle. Mr. Leonard, on the contrary, associates with one or two of the extremists, althongh he does not hold with them on the possibility— or, perhaps, advisability— of a separate national existence for Ireland. Mr. Leonard is one of the longest Irish residents in the French capital, having left Ireland during, I believe, the Repeal agitation. He has been teaching English since in various schools and colleges, and giving private lessons in aristocratic families. Sir Charles Gavan Duffy another Repealer, often qm'ts the solitude of his chateau near Nice to share the companionship of Mr. Leonard and others of a similar congenial disposition. Immediately before tbe Land League was founded, these gentlemen were forming a project for a Repeal movement, but this project had to be abandoned, when it was seen that the people rallied in such strength around the banner unfurled in the West of Ireland in response to the appeal of Messrs. Davitt, Egan, and Brennan. There are a hundred students in the Irish College of Paris, all of whom are Irish by birth and are studying for the priesthood for various dioceses in Ireland. The superiors of the institution are also Irish by birth, but they profes3 little sympathy with the present move -neat headed by Mr. Parnell. The Alumni, however, are nearly all oE a patriotic turn of mind, as the reception they accorded Dr. Oroke, Archbishop of Cashel, some time ago, amply demonstrated, fcjdta president, Dr. MacNamara, is a Whig, and belongs to the coterie which Lord O'Hagan is the figure-head and Mr. Erringtoa the diplomatist and grand prophet. The seminary of St. Sulpice contains a few hundred students, the vast majority of whom are of French nationality. Here also, however, Ireland is represented by an Irish professor Father Hogan, and a fair number of >oung ecclesiastics from the •• Emerald Lile," all of whom have advanced views on the Irish question, The Irish- American bar in the Rue Boyale is one of the favourite haunts of Irishmen in Paris. Here detectives and dynamiters jostle each other in quite a friendly and quasi unsuspecting fashion, often clinking glasses with exquisite bonhomie. The same class of ' peop'e frequent the New York bar. I need hardly add that both places are also patronised by Irishmen of more moderate principles, as well as by Englishmen and Americans generally. The " Irish Ambassador," Mr. James Cullen, a sturdy Wicklow man, has his " Shamrock " drinking establishment near the Elysee Palace, in the Rue Duras, and is one of the Irish curiosities of Paris. His bar is noted for being a^ rendezvous of Irishmen who make sterling stump speeches and can sing good Irish songs. Politics in prose are forbidden oa the premises, but an Irishman may be as rebellious in song as he pleases. Such is a bird's-eye view of the Irish Colony in Paris. Very much more could be said about it ; but I trust enough has been given for the present to enable the reader to form an idea of its importance j as well a» its characteristics.