The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-12-29


said:
81 have jast received your letter dated yes
terdsy, enclosing requisition signed by you on
the part OF nine members of the Irish Parlie-
mentsry party for q meeting OF the party on
Thursday, the 5th. As you are aware, although
nominaly one of the secretaries, DIR. Ward is
the man who really does the work, and as-
sented to my being ontnu ed rs secretary on
the Distinct understanding that my. colleague
was to be the acting ctfioer. have, therefore,
sent him forward the requisitiou, addressed to
the House of Commons, ss do not know his
present address. The rule about calling meet
ings of the party is that, upon the req uisition
of ten members, t5e committee or their honor
able secretaries shall call meeting Under
the above circumstances, aud the impossibility
of consulting my colleague, and my absence
responsiDilit of telegraphing or writing to
London directing a meeting to be summoned.
Besides, there would not be time to inform any
member save those who might be in London
on Thursday of the intended meeting"
To this Mr.. Parnell replied:
AvoNDALE, RATHDRuM, Dec 4, 1873.
My Dear Sir-1n reply to your letter of yes
terday' 8 date, regret that you have not taken
steps to comply with the tex ms of the requisi
ton calling for D meeting of the Parliamen
party on tie first day of the session. In apply
ing to you as one of the honorary secretaries,
have folio we'd the precedent adopted by me last
session when l obtained a requisition for a
meeting of the party. Upon that occasion
handed the reqnisition to you, and you did not
then. make any objection on the ground thst
you were not an acting secretary, but you at
once took steps TO convene the meeting.
Neither csn sgree with you that "Dr. Ward
is the man who really does the work." ms
have seen that you have always hitherto taken
your share in the duties of the eff 20. The re-
qnist'onis's s have also acted strictly on prece-
dent in asking for a meeting on the frat day
of the session. For three years such a meeting
has always been held, and I should have
thought that upon this occasion the secretaries
would have anticipated ard provided for it.
There seems, however, to be an unacoountable
desire at this joncture to obstruct aud prevent
any coming together of the party for consulta
ton, and difficulties are raised which at an
other time would not be allowed to weigh for
moment. As consequence, the party has
BEEN left at q most important crisis without
any means of holding properly constituted
meeting on q day when it was above all things
necessary that means should be afforded for
taking counsel together.
The newly founded Irish Association for the
Prevention OF Intemperanoe promises to be
one of the most fourishing orgoniz stions of
the day. at meeting of the executive COM
mittee a few days since the secretary announ-
ced that the subscriptions to the guarantee
fund had already amounted to no less than
$4,000, We are glad to observe that the com-
mittee is bent on paying particular sttentio
to the projeot for closing public houses on Sat
urday night.
A distinguished and well deserved compli
ment was paid on Saturday in Dublin, to the
great Irish trsgedian, Mr.. Barry Sullivan. Ht
was presented with an address and entertained
| at banquet in the Exhibition Palace by
| large number of our leading citzsns, headed
| by the Lord Mayor
| The success of the Kickham Fund movemen
| may now he regarded assured A few day
| ago, at a meeting in the Office of our contem
| porary, the Freeman's Journal very influ
| tial committee was formed TO toSe charge o
| the fund, and on that occasion it v as aDnoun
| ced' that the subscriptions up to that tim
amounted to over f325. Since then sum
| have been received bringing the an ount mp t
| irving from various parte of the country. ADD
| to this th at collections ere in Progressin Clou
| mel, Thnrles and other Southern towns, with
| so far, satisfactory results. 1t is to be hope
that success in this matter will be not oul
complete but speedily attained.
The enlightened English town of Bath wa
the scene on Monday evening of an occurreno
| which, to judge from the writings in tn
English press, only takes place in IRELAND
While Lord Bury, we read, was addressing
Conservative meeting in reference to the wal
@ band of Liberal obstru ctionists produce
considerable interru ption, and finally prevent
ed, by the constitutional method of an attnol
on the platform, the formal carrying of q TesC
luton. Rowdyisu, in fact, was rampant o.
the occasion. yet We fud no article in Lor
unfit for self-government.
The election of Mayors by the ten Irish mu
pioipalities which are permitted to have suo
officers took place on Monday. In every css
but two, the new chief magistrate was eleote
unanimously. Iu the outgoing Mayo
was re elected. AS 20 the poll tics Of the ne