Evening Memories

New Zealand Tablet, Volume L, Issue 34, 30 August 1923, Page 9

Evening Memories

(By William O'Bbibn.)

CHAPTER XXVL—(Continued.) It is likely that, had I been free to mention from the start the Irish Leader's promise to put himself at the head of the anti-eviction movement, neither the Chief Secretary nor the Landlords' Syndicate would have persisted in challenging a new conflict which, in lieu of a score of scattered estates, would have arrayed almost every estate in the country against them. Now, at all events, that the conditions agreed upon between us had been amply fulfilled, the moment was come for Parnell's open identification with the movement, if the enthusiastic response already made by the country was not to evaporate as soon as my prolonged, term of imprisonment should begin. Accordingly, at a Convention of the Smith-Barry tenantry on the day before my prosecution in Tiptperary, I made public the inspiring news that Parnell, with all the powers of his Party, would be found at the back of the new National Insurance combination against the evictors,* and at the same time wrote to Parnell that the Archbishop of Cashel warmly welcomed the proposal to begin with a County Convention in Thurles, and begged of him to write a public letter to His Grace without delay, naming a date for his attendance. A heavy disappointment was in store for the Archbishop and myself. Parnell sent mo a letter pleading that the state of his health and his engagements in connection with the sittings of the Commission Court, placed it out of his power for the present to undertake a visit to Ireland, but expressing great satisfaction at the progress already made, and offering to depute Mr. Sexton to represent him at the inaugural Convention. There was no longer time to f seek him out in London myself. I despatched a special messenger with a reply in which I reminded him that it was solely on his undertaking to support the anti-eviction movement with his full authority and co-operation, I should ever have dreamed of appealing to the people of Tipperary or to the Archbishop to take action; that both had responded not only with an enthusiasm which guaranteed a universal national endorsement, but with a caution which restricted the combination to a strictly defensive one on Trade Union lines; but that his own promised attendance as president of the opening demonstration was essential if the movement was to attain National dimensions, and that the proposal to dequte the duty to any substitute could lead to nothing except heavy disappointment and misunderstanding as to his genuine attitude. Now, as always, I recognised his supreme right to decide. If his mind was made up that -the cause of Ireland would be best served by abandoning the project, the Smith-Barry tenants had not yet committed themselves to definite action, and with my disappearance into prison means might readily be found to let the new movement silently die out without discredit to anybody except myself. On the other hand, if he still recognised that the struggle against an iniquitous extermination campaign by Irish rackrenters and English millionaires, offered the best and, indeed, only method available of protecting thousands of deeply wronged families from destruction, and keeping a firm front to the Coercionists * "It would be premature for me to-day to go into particulars, but many weeks —possibly many —will not elapse before we can take the public into our confidence and make it clear that we are on the eve of a combination for the protection of the Irish tenantry which will command the assent of the most honored and most illustrious names of Ireland and which will command the united strength and energy of thte whole Irish Party. . . It is not the first time the landlords of Ireland have been even more stupid than they were cruel. lt ,They have put the whole Irish race upon their mettle. They have brought into the field the entire fighting forces of the Irish Party under its illustrious leader, Charles Stuart Parnell. They have given us an opportunity of fencing round these persecuted bodies of Irish tenantry with ramparts of impregnable legality. . . . I hope in a very short time we will be able to place before the Irish people and before the English people, the lines upon which this new Tenants' Defence League ought to go, and of all that possibly the Irish Leader may be able to tell you personally in my place."— United Ireland, July 13, 1889. /;. \. ...; V;>.\ /" .. . •,. . ■;,' M:dk

during the depressing interval between us and the General Election, then his failure to give the one unmistakable public testimony required of his sympathy, must inevitably be followed by the collapse of the resistance to the Eviction Syndicate, in the absence of both. Mr, Dillon and myself from the people’s side, and in these circumstances it would be criminal on my part to tempt the people of Tipperary one step further towards risks and sacrifices foredoomed to end in disaster.

To this no reply was returned when, on August 28, at Clonakilty, I was sent to prison for a term of four months upon a new indictment manufactured out of my speech there.t A few day! later a confidential message reached me from Archbishop Croke to announce that the valuable interests of the middle-leaseholders of the town of Tipperary were to be sold off and to inquire were the leaseholders to abstain, as they were inclined to do, from making any bid for their property. My reply was that the fundamental condition on which the movement was initiated was ■ the Irish Leader’s promise to throw all the weight of his great office into the tenants’ scale, and that, unless they ascertained that he was prepared to make that much clear by his promised attendance at the Thuides Convention, I must decline to encourage the Tipperary tenants to face the risks of pushing their protest any further. And pains were taken that my message should reach Messrs. John Redmond, T. P. Gill, and J. J. Clancy, M.P.’s, who had undertaken jointly to assume control of the organisation during the absence of Mr. Dillon and myself. A deputation of the Smith-Barry tenants was instantly despatched to London in search of Parnell, accompanied if my memory serves, by John Redmond. Their interview, as I learned long afterwards, gave them but scant 'satisfaction. Parnell renewed his plea of inability to leave London in person, and could not be prevailed upon to go further than his revised promise to depute Mr. Sexton to represent him, at the Thurles Convention. The deputation returned homo discouraged and uncertain.

tThe prosecution in Tipperary, as we have seen, was dropped in order to keep Mr. Smith-Barry out of the witness box. The necessity for producing him at Clonakilty was obviated by the new dodge of accepting the publication of my speech in United Ireland as sufficient evidence of the offence. (To be continued.)