The Portland daily press., 1882-06-20
MICHAEL DAVITT.
His Speech in Music Hall Last
Night
AND DENIES ANY ILL FEELING TO.
WARDS PARNELL.

NEW York, June 49, The audience at the
| Academy of Music tonight participating in
| the reception to Michael Davitt, was not SO
large aa expected, but very enthusiastic On
the platform were judges Healey and Van
Hoesen, Father Riordan, Stephen J. Meaney,
DR.. William b. Wallace, William Redmond,
(Davitts secretary, A. e. Ford and many
other friends of Ireland's cause, while Mrs
Parnell and other ladies occupied private
box. Judge Van Hoesen presided, and after a
brief address of welcome introduced Mr..
Davitt.
Mr.. Dayitt, in the course of his speech, said: ::
am charged with setting up for rivalry with
Parnell, but the Irish people would never &C
ranks of the. people. Parnell has all
the qualifications of leadership in the
Irish movement, and / am content with
being free lance in Ireland's cause.
The charge that l am promulgating new
departure rests uron the misconception of my
Liverpool speech, ignorance of my declarations
during the land agitation and of unjust and
ungenerous interpretations put supon my mo-
tives by members who call themselves my
friends including Parnell. [ have simply ex
planned in Liverpool what 1 first uttered in
Westport. This is my plan for Ireland, and it
is merely given as my plan l am not asham-
ed of it nor do think it shows hostility to Par
nell. have not borrowed my opinions of
land reform from Parnell. l put my scheme
for settlement side by side with his, or to him,
not for the purpose of dividing the land league
ranks upon theoretic issue but to test public
opinion throughout the world upon two systems
of land administration advocated by the two
schools of economic thought in Europe and
America. l am charged with going in for
Communism" confess / am ignorant what
the word really signifies. As to the writers
who charge me with communism as appre-
hend the term tell them they lie in their
threats.
Enlarging upon his own peculiar plan for
settling the Irish land question Davitt said.
"To propose that the English government
should become the owner, steward or guardian
of the soil of Ireland would at first sight ap-
pear an anti-national settlement of the land
question, and one which involves principle of
renunciation that cannot be sanctioned by
Irishmen who belong to the extreme or nation
alist party.
am convinced, however, that calm eonsid-
GRAFTON of the question will dissipate the idea
that naturalization of the land of ireland is
any more of recognition of England's right
to rule us than is involved in the payment of
taxes or in calling upon its government to ad-
vance the necessary funds for carrying out the
schemes of the present proprietary. While I
yield to no Irishman alive in my allegiance to
the principle of Ireland's right to govern it.
self, would greatly prefer to deal directly
with the English government than with its ex-
acting and unscruplous mercenaries, the Irish
landlords. Better to have the land of our
country administered by even an executive
English authority than see it made the
instrument of social slavery and degra-
dation-of tyranny and exaction by
the mereiless and polluted hands Of Irish land
lordism.
OF the charge that he had abandoned the
Irish nationality, Davitt said, 81 neither con-
denim nor repudiate those who rely solely up
on physical force for the redemption of Ire
land. severed my connection with that par
ty from full conviction that its leaders in
Ireland honestly desired me to do so on ac-
count of nv active DarticipatiOn in legal and
constitutional agitation, and from the full con-
scientious belief that 1 could serve a dual
cause of civil and national reform all the bet
ter by throwing myself into the ranks of the
national effort for Ireland unfettered by party
ties or prejudices engendered by party associa-
tions.
Now let me say a word about the criticisms
by Parnell, which appeared upon me in Sum
days Herald. Parnell's criticism is not fair
one. With the full text of my speech before
him, with public and private declarations of
mine of confidence in him and loyalty to his
leadership, am sorry to find he encourages
the sopinion that my Liverpool speech vas
prompted by motives which my whole career
bellies, and which, if held, as he insinuates,
would convict me OF treason to the Land
League movement. and of treachery to the ma
tional cause. My speech in Cork, on the eve
os my departure for America should have re-
moved every particle of doubt from his mind
as to my feeling toward him, and as to the
real object of my mission to this country
AT the close of Davitt's speech, Mr.. Red
mond, brother of the member of Parliament
spoke of the cruelties attending Irish evic-
tions, and urged his hearers to continue stead
fast in the cause of Ireland.
Judge Van Hoesen called upon the audience
for verdict as to whether the charges against
Davitt had been sustained, and the whole au-
dience shouted mo"
Other brief speeches were made by DR.. Nc.
Glynn and Mrs. Parnell.