The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1887-10-22 00:00:00

Tilt; AGITATION IN IRELAND. _

STIUNGE SCENES AT VirOODFORD.
• MIDNIGHT MEETING OF THE LEAGUE.

The Government proclamation of the meeting
announced to be held at Woodford was set at defi-
ance by the National Leaguers of the district, who
furthermore outwitted the police, and at aa early
hour on Sunday morning held a demonstration in the
streets of the village, and were addressed by Mr. Wm,
O'Brien, M.P., and other speakers. Early on Satur-
day morning copies of the proclamation of the
Government were extensively posted in the locality,
but in most cases they were torn down by the
people, and everywhere the posters of the National
League announcing that Mr. John Dillon, Mr,
O'Brien, and others would attend and deliver ad-
dresses met the eye. Mr. O'Brien, M.P., left Dublili
early, and journeyed on to Limerick by rail, thence
to Killsloe, and by road to Bodyke and Wood-
ford, arriving at the latter place about midnight. One
hundred and fifty police, under the command of
County Inspector O'Brien, arrived in Loughrea,
where they remained overnight, and at six o'clock on
Sunday morning drove to Woodford, a distance of 12
miles. The Government authorities had no idea that
the Leaguers would adopt the line of action they did,
but were inclined to believe that Mr. O'Brien would
follow the example set at Ballycoree last month. In
this they were mistaken, for while the resident magis-
trates, county inspector, and constabulary were at
Loughrea, Mr. O'Brien was addressing a large meet-
ing at Woodford, the local police being totally inade-
quate to enforce the proclamation. It would seem
that the constabulary knew nothing about Mr.
O'Brien's whereabouts until Sunday morning. It is
now known that he spoke at a meeting of tenants near
Bodyke on Saturday. On the same day Mr. Cox,
M.P., reached Portumna from Birr, and on Saturday
night he attempted to address a crowd headed by a
band. A. local publican, named Carey, was voted to
the chair, and, after apologising for the absence of
Mr. O'Brien, he called upon Mr. Cox to speak.
Before, however, Mr. Cox had an opportunity of
saying anything, Mr. Paul, resident magistrate, in-
formed him that the meeting could not be held, and
at the same time a force of police appeared on the
scene. Mr. Cox called upon the people, some of
whom were very excited and carried sticks, nDt to
move, and for a few moments it seemed very likely
that a serious conflict would occur. Observing
the determined attitude of the magistrate, Mr.
Cox changed his tone, and advised the people
to go home; but they were so agitated that it
was several minutes before they complied with
the request. Mr. Sheehy, M.P., reached Loughrea on
Saturday night, and was addressing a meeting in the
town when the police interfered and dispersed the
gathering. Mr. Sheehy then left for Woodford.
Mr. O'Brien, on arriving at the last-named place,
proceeded to the house of the parish priest, Father
Coen, in the lower part of the main street, which is
practically the only thoroughfare of Woodford. All
the circumstances connected with the meeting which
was afterwards held indicate that it was the out-
come of mature prearrangement. Some hours before
Mr. O'Brien reached Woodford the town assumed
an air of activity, too great to arise merely,
from market day. In the evening the throng in-
creased in strength, and at length close upon 3000
people surrounded the priest's house, [where Mr.
O'Brien was staying. Bonfires were lighted on the
various eminences which surround Woodford
every side, while at every window in the
town tallow candles gleamed a welcome.
In fact, the visible signs of preparation
gave ample proof of premeditation to defeat the law.
Midnight had not long passsed, and the day to which
the proclamation had reference begun, when the pro-
hibited meeting was organised. Father Coen was in-
stalled chairman, and, having delivered a few intro-
ductotory remarks to the crowd from a window of his
house, gave way to Mr. O'Brien.

'VIOLENT SPEECH OF MR. O'BRIEN.—THE
GOVERNMENT PROCLAMATION BURNT.
Mr. William O'Brien, M.P., who was received with
tremendous cheering and the waving of hundreds of
torchlight!, began his speech from an upper window
by saying that he held in his hand the proclamation
of Mr. Balfour forbidding the Clanricarde tenantry
to assemble there in Woodford to defend themselves
against merciless rack-renters. All the respect he
would show to the proclamation would be to now
publicly commit it to the flames. (Mr. O'Brien then
placed a candle to the proclamation, which was
destroyed amidst cheering.) He said he was proud
beyond measure of the grand discipline and the
extraordinary numbers in which the men of Galway
for many a Mile round he'd assembled to assert their
rights as freemen in the teeth of Mr. Balfour and his
Crimes Act. This midnight meeting in Mr. Balfour's
day would be as memorable as the midnight messes
during the time of the Penal Laws. If they would
not be allowed to assemble at midday they would as-
semble at midnight—(cheers)—and before the winter
was over they would teach Mr. Balfour that he could
no more suppress the National League, or suppress
its principles in the Irish heart, than he could suppress
the streams that gushed from the Irish hills. (Cheers.)
They were assembled on the anniversary of the Plan
of Campaign, which had been the salvation of the
Irish tenantry. It was upon this day twelve months,
and upon this very spot, that John Dillon and him-
self unfurled the flag of the Plan of Campaign, and
there never was a policy propounded to the Irish
people that had better borne the test of time, or
had borne better fruits of victory. (Cheers.) He
recalled all the devices that had been tried against
them during the past twelve rconths—the garnishees,
the bankruptcy proceedings, the highway rob-
bery at Loughrea, the trials, the Saxe-Weimar
proclamations, which were to have squelched and
annihilated them long ago—and he asked, Where
were they all now? (Cheers.) The Chief Secretary
of twelve months ago had passed away, the Under-
Secretary had passed away, the Attorney-General had
passed away, and Lord Clanricarde's agent of twelve
months ago had passed away, bat here were the cam-
paigners to-night as blithe and brisk as ever after the
British Parliament had spent six months in forging
a tremendous Coercion Act against them. Much as
the Clanricarde tenantry had suffered, they had the
satisfaction of knowing, at all events, that they had
fined Clanricarde £20,000 of his rental for all his
brutal evictions and oppression. (Great cheering.)
Their cause was so just that the Tory Govern-
ment dare not face English public opinion
by undertaking another eviction campaign as the
allies of Lord Clanricarde. Bat the Government did
a meaner and baser thing. They gave Lord Clan-
ricarde's agent police protection to go about night
and day plundering the people of their cattle, making
their lives a misery, and trying to goad the people
Into some deed that would enable them to poison the
English against the Irish cause. It was because he
knew that the people were suffering and were perse-
euted almost beyond human endurance that he came
down to advise them to bear with it a little longer.
He would not counsel patience to an enslaved people
if he did not believe in his heart that patience was
the best policy and was a winning policy. By patience
he did not mean slavish submission to wrong. If their
homes were attacked by landlords he told them, as he
told the men of Mitchelstown, in God's name to
defend their homes like men. (Loud cheers.) If
they were struck at let them strike back with com-
pound interest. (Cheers.) Let them hunt Mr. Balfour
and his proclamations up hill and down dale, and don't
let them spare them on his account. (Cheers and
laughter.) He implored them not to be tempted or
exasperated into any criminal or disgraceful action—
(cheers)—not to let the Tory Government goad them
Into deeds that their villainous enemies would seize
upon to mar the glorious work of Gladstone—(great
cheers)—and of Parnell. (Renewed cheering.) It
bad taken a great deal to convince him that the Eng-
lish people were with them, but he was now con-
vinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that the hearts
of the English masses were being won over to the
Irish cause ovary week in thousands and in
millions. That was why they could afford to
be patient and not to give way to madness and fully,
because he believed in his soul that the more severe
the coercion and oppression they would have to endure
within the next few months the sooner would come' the
hour of victory and the more meritorious would the
victory be when it came. (Cheers.) Let their motto
then be," No crime, but no surrender." (Cheers.) Let
their cry be, " Eternal war against the Clauricardes
and the Balfours—(groans)—but eternal friendship
for Gladstone—(cheers)—and for the English nation
upon the day when they signed his blessed treaty of
peace and legislative independence for Ireland."
(Great cheering.) He had received a telegram
announiing that Clanricarde had been smashed with
costs in all his ejectment actions at Gort the previous
day. Balfour was smashed with costs in Woodford
that night. (Tremendous cheering.)