The New York herald., 1879-10-23

AN ENGLISH PORTRAIT OF THE IRISH AGr-
TAToR-HIs PARLIAMENTARY EXPERIENCES
AND pOsIrTON

| III Farneii docs not draw the rein.' remarked
friend TO mo the other day. .the country will soon
have to put him under lock and key" 1t is not my
intention to justify the observation to discuss
the anti-rent agitation in ireland any shape. but
It seems to me that when politician comes to be
regarded by o great many people a rather dan
gerous inan--and there o great many people Of
| my friends way OF thnking-it is we'll the coun-
| try should know something about him. Gladstone
We know. and Beaconsheld we know; but here is
new factor In politics. as the jargon OF the
day goes. about whom nobody. except his own
personal friends. knows anything. To begin with.
Mr.. Parnell-as am for the moment biographi-
cal. let me say Mr.. Charles Stuart Parnell-although
an Irish agitator and tho hope OF a very .young
Ireland" party. is. curiousy enough not an Irish
man at all. or ono only to a limited extent He is
American by his mothers side, his mother being the
daughter Of an admiral in the United States Navy
and his father comes of old English family origi-
nally. believe, from one of the Midland counties.
The poet Parnell one of his ancestors. do not
know ut what date the Parnells settled in Ireland
but itmust have been very long time ago. for the
grandfather of our Mr. Parnell the last Chancc-
lor OF the Exchequer of the Irish Parliament and
q bitter opponent of tho Union. So much for the
lineage Of my hero. 1t is not by any means con-
temptible. There arc very many peers who have not
FIRST APPEARANCE IN PARLIAMENT.
Now for the man himself. I do not know that
heard of Mr.. Parnell. His father quiet, unob-
trusive man OF no mark ut ALL except that he was
the family property is situated The first appear
ance OF our friend on any stage was when he made
his bow to the Speaker of the House Of Commons,
in April. 1875 with the return for the county Of
Meath in his pocket. tall, thin. fair. studious
tSon t Suspected in him the future leader Of party
! of exasperation." He had not long finished
his studies at Cambridge and politics
Rule which Mr. Butt had not long before in
| it was then understood by Young Ireland to be
patriotic thing to believe in That session. after the
mute Mr. Parnel heard vote after vote Of the csti-
mates passed. and clause after clause of bills dis
cussed In committee and said not word. Tho idea
| of obstruction then far from his mind
from, say Admiral Edmonston's. The following Sos
sion began to nd his feet and to interest himself
in small details Of estimates. and it seems to have
been about this time. on his seeing the success
which attended persistent criticism. that he
thought of obstruction. 1t was only by degrees.
however. that the policy Of obstruction devel-
oped and the House itself is. perhaps. in some de-
Gouse. or rather the Ministerial portion Of it. is
somewhat impatient OF criticism, especially OF per-
sisent criticism. OF the estimates. Dillwyn, Whit
we'll and few others have q sort OF prescrptive
right to make the same remarks and ask the same
questions year after year; but no sooner does any
new member betray a disposition to pry into the
secrets of the public purse than the mechanical ma
jority proceeds to sit him after its own fashion.
A COuverSatlOu
man gots upon his legs. The now man. being under
the impression that members are merely careless.
and not malicious raises his voice. the takers raise
theirs till length If tho trial Of strength is
tinued long enough the House is perfect Babel of
sound. This was Mr.. Parnelrs experience.
FIRST PARLIAMENTARY EXPERIENCES.
Now, few men have the temerity to bravo the
House Of Commons Ninety-nine members out OF
a hundred. finding that they cannot get q hearing
Parncll. Under a slim and almost etfemnate exte-
fIa Hnneo wOu IiSta M rOr ho
would talk, even although he could not be heard
more than couple of benches of. and his persist
thetic Biggar and two kindred spirits in the
same direction. who looked upon him as an Irish
when he had nothing to say and 50 during the SEES
slons Of 1877 and 1878 the merits OF
Cessions from the government gradually dawned
| upon him and his faithful adherents.
administrative critics the House resented In pretty
much the samc way as his own. Perhaps had Mr.:
Parnen possessed In some degree the oratorical
faculty the House would nave treated him moro
kindly But he has harsh, monotonous voice,
which at once destroys all sympathy between him
and his hearers. and his manner is stiff, and so to
| speak, wooden. Since he has been in Parliament
| he has never, far as recolect spoken upon any
| question Of general politics except foggng. and
that he took up more perhaps. for obstructive pur.
poses than on conscientious grounds The political
creed which he asks the country to support 1s
has this advantage above all others which have ever
been preached that it falls within the comprehen-
|
| PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS.
| have spoken OF Mr. Parnell's personal appear
ance. He Is standing wonder even to his friends.
Calm. cool. bioodless he is man whom nothing
| move O'Connor Power grows savage under tho
Misses his Words through his teeth with i'll
resentment But Parncll remains invariably imper-
turbable. A contest between him and the House is
| q comedy in itsolf. 'Mr. Speaker" says Mr.. Par
NELL rising to his feet amid overpowerng cries Of
"'vdel 'vide" Then comes lull. in which Mr..
| Parnen edges in the words "Mr. Speaker, sir"
| Here there is q renewed chorus Of voices the
| subsidng OF which Mr. Parnell utters the words,
/ II rise." which followed by another outburst.
| In this way he contrives. bit by Bit to proceed
| with his speech, tho House unconscously serving
his purpose by forcing him to pauso ut overy word.
| Though q man Of this resolute and unbending
stamp, hc has, in personal intercourse the mildest
and most gentle manner conceivable. Ho Is almost
womanly, and Sir Wilfrid lawson has long since
noted that he is an inveterate water drinker. A
somewhat comic transformation in his appearance
occurred session or two ago. Finding his hair
| thinning he persuaded to shave the upper por-
tion OF his scalp. and the result that tor
House from jenkins. The remedy-a somewhat
hazardous one-succeeded in his case, enabling him
to stave on-at all events for some years-the mis-
fortune OF badness.
There is q belief abroad that Parncl is a wealthy
| man. This is mistake His property does not
| bring him in more than fl 500 year, and, true
to the principles he has recently been preaching up
| and down Ireland, he has within the past few
weeks, reduced his own rents some twenty per cent
1t is q question OF somo importance how man OF
| this stamp stands in popular estimation. From in.
| quires have made am convinced that Mr.. Parncll
| is ut present tho most popular man In Ireland
who naturally take kindly to the new doc
| trine that unless tho landlords concode in
all a reduction of twenty-five per cent in rents
1t is legitimate to pay no rent at all. by the
! bcrs of the home rule party no has never boon cor
daily liked. He was never on any but bare speak
ing terms with Mr.. Butt and the relations existing
between him and Mr. Shaw. the present leader OF tho
home rule party. are very similar. The breach be-
tween him and the party generally considerably
| widened by an incident which took place last
session. At meeting OF the home rule committee
he urged that unless the government grantcd
u substantial University bill to Ireland, the
| whole of tho votes for the Queens colleges
should be opposed. The proposal was rejected. and
Mr. Parncll. who is Protestant, is said while smart
ing under defeat. to have used tho words, 'You
| cowardly lot OF Papist rats" fierce controversy
ragged this subject In tho Irish papers. 1t
serted by some members Of Parliament and denied
| by others, that tho words had been used. Whether