The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1874-03-08
From Our Own Correspondent
OUR IRISH LETTER.


DUBLIN, February 10, 1874
We are in the middle of the general election.
Indeed, three fourths of the elections are over
and all will be over by Tuesday evening next.
I am happy to say that the results are most
cheering for the friends of Irish national in
dependence. North, South, East and West the
constituencies are being carried with a rush :;
and two or three seats that have been lost
would have been won had suitable candidates
been forthcoming, or had the Home Rule
League been able to pay the expenses, or had
time been given to the constituencies them
selves to prepare for the struggle. In three
fourths of the constituencies the watchwords
of the hour are Home Rule, UNCONVENTIONAL
education, fxity of tenure and political am
nesty. In Ulster the popular cry is chiefly
fxity of tenure. Even mere Wing and Tory
candidates have been forced to make consider
able concessions to the public feeling in favor
of native government. l don't suppose there
are altogether half q dozen of those candidates
who have not professed their readiness to vote
for measure transferring to Irish tribunals
n Ireland good deal of Irish business that is
now done by the London Parliament. Nearly
all the Whig-Liberal members have swallowed
the Home Rule pledge whole, and in consider
alton thereof and in consequence of the want
OF time to procure better men, have been re-
elected. Altogether, there Will be in the next
Parliament about sixty Irish members (out of
total of 1O3) pledged to Home Rule, and
about twenty-four members for English and
Scotch constituencies similarly pledged. TWEEN
ty-nine Irish Home Rulers could have been
elected had the country not been called upon
so suddenly to elect its representatives. The
excitement during the past fortnight and cs-
pecially during the past week, has been intense
and the hopes of the people at such a course of
all but uninterrupted victories, are high. The
ballot has, on the whole, worked well and for
the advantage of the Irish cause The chief
complaint about it is that in marking their
ballot papers, the more uninstructed voters
committed mistakes which led to their vote
being cancelled at the counting. Thus in
Meath, this week, where the Home Rule can
didates were Mr.. Ennis Ga tenant farmer) and
Mr.. John Martin, four hundred votes cast for
them were lost through some mistake or an
other. In Tralee, where the traitor ODono-
ghue was opposed to and beat, by q majority
of three, by Mr.. Daily the Home Ruler, six votes
given for the latter were set aside in conse-
quence of the ballot papers having been, in
some way or another, marked wrongly. In
Athlone whore Mr.. She'll (Homo Ruler) and
Mr.. Ennis (Whig -LiberaI had an equal num-
Der of votes, twenty five votes cast for Mr..
She'll were cancelled for similar reason To
come to particulars, let me notice few of the
more important victories obtained by the Home
Rulers. Mr.. Butt (Home Ruler), Mr.. O'Shaugh-
messy Catholic Home Ruler), Mr.. Spraight
protestant Tory) Sir Peter TAFT protestant
Home Ruer), and Col. Vereker protestant
Home Ruler), went to the poll in Limerick
and the two first named gentlemen were elect
ed by an overwhelming majority. Mr.. Butt
was placed at the head of the poll although he
never once set foot in Limerick during the
whole contest. This was great triumph,
but really if the leader of the Home Rule
were not SO successful as he was in
a city like Limerick, it would be a great blow
to the cause. Mr.. Martin and Mr. Ennis "a
and a Catholic) were, as 1 have
already noticed, elected for Meath. Several
other candidates made their appearance, but
all withdrew from the contest except Tory
named Naper, who defeated by an over !
whelming majority. Martin aud Ennis-both
home Rulers-never made the slightest exer- |
ton and actually had no agents at the polling |
booths, yet they could afford to lose over 400 |
votes and still win by majority of a thous. |
and. Moreover, they were elected free of ex-
pense. In Cork county, the largest constitu-
ency in Ireland, containing over a quarter of |
million of souls, Mr.. Mccarthy Downing and
Mr. William Shaw (the President as the reader |
may remember, of the Homo Rule Conference), |
were returned unopposed. This was a great |
victory 1t was purely victory for the Home |
Rule tenant-farmers who are in every county |