PARNELL SPEAKS AGAIN.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XIII, Issue 28, 6 November 1885, Page 19

PARNELL SPEAKS AGAIN.

(Dublin Freeman, September 5.)

On Tuesday the Right Hon. the Lord Mayor entertained in the Mansion Honse Mr. Parnell, M.P., and the other members of the Irish Parliamentary Party. Twenty-four members of the party were present. Owing to the large number of the invitations the banquet was laid in the Great Bound Room, which was well and tastefully decorated. ETeigreens were disposed around the room ; a gas device of a harp and Btmmrock, surrounded by the sentiment 41 Cead Mille Failthe," and fiauked by the green flag, the tricolour, and the stars and stripes, replaced the " V. R." of past days ; and the fine plaster models of Foley's great statues a ided a classic embellishment. Mr. Parnell, M.P., on neing to lespond, was received with loud »nd prolonged cheerß. He said -My Lord Mayor, ladies and geotlemen, I shall leave to other and abler handß the duty and the pleasure of thanking you for the honour which you have done my colleagues and myself in inviting us to meet this goodly company, and I shall proceed, though with Borne reluctance and great diffidence, to face the consideration of the important i oast which you have placed in my hands (cheers)— the toast, my Lord Mayor, ladies and gentlemen, of Ireland a Na-ion " (lou.l cheers). It is one which recalls to our minds many recollections— recollections of great men— of a long and enduring 'struggle-of many *uff aringa on the part of our people, and of a survival to-day of wh»t is an Irish nation (cheers)— the survival or a people who have forced upon an unwilling opponent the recognition of an actual fact-that Ireland still lives (cheers). Scotland has lost her nationality, and has practically become merged in England ; bat Ireland has never done this (cheerß). A Vsice — And never will. Mr. Parnell— And she never will (cheers). There are many reasons for this result— reasons into which I do not propose to enter to-night. It is with facts— with some accomplished facts— we have to deal (hear, hear), and wiih facts which we hope soon to see accomplished (hear, hear). Our right to nationhood to-day is practically undisputed (hear, hear). In order that our people may be c labled to watch round the footsteps of our nation, what is necessary f It is necessary that we should exchange the dark, temble, And Buffering history of the put for a future of freedom saoV prosperity (bear, hear), when it may be possible for the freely «wt«d [representatives of a nation to shape the future of our country (near, Lear). I do not know any other condition under which it is possible for m nation to shape her oovrse wita jostioa to herself, asd

without injury or harm to other countries, save under the fosteriiw guidance and care of a freely elected Parliament (hear, hearj, and it it to such an assembly that we have to look for the development of our nation (hear, hear). We are told, my Lord Mayor, upon high authority that this is an impossibility, that it is impossible for Ireland to obtain the right of Self-Government (do, no). I believe that if it be sought to make it impossible for our country to •btaio the rtgtifc of administering her own affairs, we will make all other throp» impossible for those who so seek (prolonged cheering, during whi«h a large body of those present rose to their feet and waved handkerchiefs). And who is it that tells us these things are impossible! It is the same man who said that local government for Ireland was impossible without ample declarations on our part — these statements come from tha same lips as those that told us that equal electoral privileges, that the concession of equal electoral privileges by England to Ireland would be madness, and we see that what waft considered madness in the eyes of tbe man who now tell* us tha* Ireland's right to self-government is an impossibility has been n»w conceded without opposition, aud that self-government which was then also denied to ns from the same source is now offered to «a. ; The local self-government then denied us from the Name source M | now offered to us by the same person with an humble entreaty that we may take it in order that we may educate ourselves lor better things and further powers. I do not propose, however to dwell longer on this seeming impossibility. There is nothing impossible to a united and determined country, and for an honest representation of that country (renewed applause). Of course Lord Haitington (hisses) doesn't enter into a consideration of tbe questis* with an evenly balanced mind. He invites the other factions ef which bis party is composed— the Radicals, the Bradlaugbitee, the Local Optionists. Mr. Healy, M.P.— The Deceased Wives' Bisters. Mr. Parnell — The Deceased Wives' Sister*) (great laughter &mi cheering) — the Freelandere, and the hundred and one atoms of wbita tbe great Liberal party is composed, to stop and put aside all those agreeable views of theirs, while he stops to wrestle with tbe yooog Irish giant. There shall be no legislation for England. There is •» be a kind of lion lying down wita a lamb (loud laughter). There h to be absolute union between all English parties upon great an 4 important Home and Imperial questions, which will always engross their miuds until they have squelshed us out (laughter). Well, gentlemen, I am not much given to boasting (hear, hear, and applause) ; and I should be very unwilling to assume to myself the riit of ike prophet ; but lam obliged, I suppose, to-night to give you my candid opinion upon this matter, aod it is this— that if they have n«t succeeded in squelshing us during the last five years, they are not likely to do it during the next five (great cheering), unless they brace themselves up to adopt one of two alternatives under tbe adoption of either one of which we should ultimately win, aDd perhaps win a larger and greater share than we otherwise should. They will either have to grant to Ireland the complete right to rule herself, or they will have to take away from vi the share — the sham share— in the English Constitutional system which they extended to us at the Unio», and govern us as a Grown Colony, without any Parliamentary representation whatever (applause). The government of Ireland, suppose they adopt the second alternative, will practically lead to the same thing as the adoption of the first one. The government of Ireland as a Crown colony — and it would be the government of a very large Crown colony— a much larger one than they possess or have attempted to govern from London up to the present— would simply lead to the concession of a Constitution similar to that which is enjoyed with the good will of England by eaoh and all of the largocolonies ; and that is practically what we have been asking for Ireland. So that, whether they chose directly to give ua the right of sellgovernment in its fullest sense — the right of National self-government — or whether they chose to govern ts as a Crowa colouy, it will come to the same thing in trie long run (hear, hear). I desire now to express my fullest conviction that tbe Irish pc pie are on the bruak of victory in this struggle (cheers). There is nothing in the worW, humanly speaking, that could prevent their success save immoderation on their own part (hear, hear). I would entreat everybody, every honest Irishman, to show that he and our country are worthy of self-government (hear). We are far more likely to lose by attempting to do too much in the near future thau we are likely to win fry adopting such a course. I scarcely like to attach much importance to some recent events which have occurred down in the county of Kerry, and I will explaia. why I don't attach much importance to these events. We have heard of houses being broken into — oae'«p two houses broken into, and a recurrence of what was known in times past as moonlighting (hear, bear.) I don't attach too much importance to those occurrences for several reasons. Iv the first place, because the county of Kerry has unhappily never at any time, even during the height of the Coeroion Act, been free from such occurrences. That kind of thing was always going ou iv that locality. It is jmk especially impoverished district. It is a district where the evil* at landlordism, magnified and intensified as they may have been in other parts of Ireland, have been reproduced to a moat extraordinary extent. It is a locality where it is scarcely possible for the people to live, where they drag out a miserable existence, and where, practically speaking, nothing but desperation aud the impossibility of living drives them to such courses &$ these (bear, hear). Bad as has been the history of landlordism in these eastern districts of Ireland, it ho» been ten thousand times worse in such counties as Kerry (bear, hear). Butlambound,my Lord- Mayor and gentlemen, in my position to state my conviction that such occurrences as these which have takes place in Kerry reeeutly are producing an enormous evil aud mischief to tbe cause of Irish nationality (hear, hear, and applause). Transient as they may be.confined to one p&rtioular locality as they may be, I wouM ask the young men or tho oil man who nay be taking part iv soeh things, if they be men without the reaoh of my voice, if they be not the product of police management in Ireland (cheers), if these actio— be really undertaken by hottest Irishmen with tbe view to benefit their country, I would ask them to pause — to hearken to my voice (applause), to believe with no that every web action— evejy so«b /

thought as those which spurred them into such actions— are destructive so far as they can be destructive, to the interest of our country and the life of our nation (loud cheers). And bavin? said so much on one side I desire also to say something on the other side (cheers), lhis will be a very sore and cruel winter for the asricultural community. It is a certainty that the land has undoubtedly not produced in any part of the country the rent which landlords are now seeking to exact (hear, hear). Tnere are many tenants who are able to pay their reDts, but they are able to pay their rents not out of any return ot the soil during the last lear, but out of their frugal savings (bear hear). There are many others who are unable to pay th<»ir rents and who must lose their homes and the little property which they and their predecessors in title have created during many long struggles and years of toil if landlords are allowed by the Government to assert their full right, and if those full rights are asserted, and if tbe tenants are not able to pay their rents what must become under those circumstances of those who are not able to pay (hear, hear) lnat was the leading principle of the old Land League fight (hear near). We pointed out that unless the tenants acted in a body, unless those who were rich stood by those who were poor (hear, hear), idoV 1 ! ? ng nm mußt go down, and the result was the Land Act of 1881, and the Land Purchase Act of 1885 (hear, hear). But we are now face to face with a situation in which forbearance is required and not alone upon one Bide but upon the other (hear, hear and applause). If we are to urge moderation upon our people, ought not the other side to set us an example, or if they wont set us the example, ought not tney to follow our example? (hear, hear and applause.) Irish landlordism would appear to be almost an irretrievable plant. It has had many chances, bat it has never been wiMing to take one. The Government have large forces of police and military at their disposal, maintained at the cost of the British tax-payer to a very large extent. Are these forces to be used for the evio'ion of tenants during the coming winter who are not able to pay their rents, as well as for the eviction of those who are ? (Hear, hear, and " no.") It is not now any longer a question of conspiracy or combination to refuse to pay rents (hear, hear). That cannot be alleged as an excuse— it is "very easy to separate the wheat from the chaff —it is very easy for those in'authority to decide who are able to pay and who are not (h»ar, hear). All we ask is that our people shall not be banished from their country (applause). We cannot hope to maintain a nation without mainiainmg our people, and if the slow and silent process of extermination is to goon, we are bound to take our stand by the side of our people (loud cheers). So. then, while I D reach mi while I hope all of you, coming as you do from many diff rent localities of Ireland, will each in your own station preach moderation, so I think that we ought to expect moderation from the other side (hear bear). Discriminatio-i is easy under present circumstances. But we should be untrue tj ourselves, as we should undoubtedly be untrue to our suffering fellow, countrymen, if we did not endeavour to do what in us lay to shield the helpless tiller of the soil from extermination and from banishment dunng the coming winter (hear and cheers). The outlook in all other respects is hopeful for Ireland ; but undoubtedly the great depre-sion of pricps, the agricultural depression, introduces a new and very great difficulty. It will be for Irish landlordism to show of what it is madeduring the coming winter (hear, hear), and if it exacts its full pound of flesh, or attempts to exact its full pound of flesh, I am confident that the result will be that landlordism will be left with very lr tie flesh to exact in the future Cc-ieers). And for the rest, gentlemen, outside the hnd question, which is the real question of Ireland at present, outride that great question let us hope— and lam sure you all hope with me, and that you feel the same confidence that I do— that our nation, surviving her long trial and her terrible bufferings, will join the other nations of the earth in that march Awards prosperity and towards freedom which we all hope for her, and are determined to secure for her (enthusiastic plaudits a^ain and a^ain renewed).