New-York tribune., 1885-03-12
ROYAL VISIT TO IRELAND.
HOW 1T WAS gRESOLvED ON AND WHAT ls
HOPED FROM 1T.

and Princess OF WaeS Is not NO" o"0' ~
often been put forward at critical moments iho
Prince, believe, has always been ready 10 Co. ou'
the Queen has not approved. The present proposal
is understood to have been made and strongly
pressed by Lord Spencer. Mr. Gladstone concurred
with the view of the Lord Lieutenant so did the
Cabinet, or a large majority Of the Cabinet ana
upon the representations submitted TO her
Majesty tho opposition, or rather reluctance Oh
the Queen was finally overcome and the decision
taken There was no difficulty with the frince
himself He declared himself delighted WIN inc
prospect of q visit to Ireland If he had been less
so. the public spirit he has 30 often shown wonid
have led him to assent cordially, for himself ana
for the Princess without the Princess the vis''
would have lost half, moro than half, It's charn
Not a whisper of this project had been allowed TO
get abroad before the publication Of the oihclai
announcement this morning. The pross has been
permitted to anticipate the usual gossip and mys-
terious. whispering of court and social Circles
The press has therefore had the first word to say on
the matter. II was taken into the confidence OF
the Government before Parliament was. and there
nav be some erumbling because 1t was. But the
advantage of this course that the first expression
of opinion on the matter is heard from the recog-
nized organs of public opinion.
In the London press there is but one voice
CONCENTRATIONS are addressed to the Prince ana
Princess on the one hand and to Ireland on the
other The visit IL treated of course. as very con-
siderable political event 1t is to be made In state
There is no ahectation of privacy and no attempt
to disguise the hope of good effect on IRISH feeling
as consequence of the presence OF royalty on lrsh
soil The visit takes place early III April. Inc
Prince and Princess will hold Levee and Draw
ing-ro in the Queen's name IN Dublin Castle
From Dublin they will journey to several parts
of the country; what parts we are left To con-
lecture and il is probable enough that the ronte To
be taken and the places 70 be visited are not vet
determined Clearly it cannot be Dublin and Ulster
alone which they are to favor with their presence
As the journey has been resolved on. the general
plan of it must have been thought out and
decision taken whether. for example the itinerary
is TO include Connaught. and what districts OF Con-
nanght. Not one of the four provinces can pru-
IDENTITY he neglected The Prince and Princess must
GO to Londonderry in recognition of the loyalty Of
Londonderry. They must go to Cork with lively
sense of loyalty to come as reward for their
presence. and they must extend their tour TO Lin
erick and to Galway unless they mean to give Linn
erick and Galway an excuse for protesting less
devotion to the Crown than Londonderry and Cork
and Dublin itself.
This programme. it will be seen. is pretty cx-
tcnsive one, and involves an absence from London
of some weeks at the height of the season. The
London tradesmen will swear. and IL has usually
been thought polite not to offend the London
tradesmen, who are. in one way. powerful body,
with particularly shrewd eye 10 their own inter
ests They will nevertheless have 10 understand on
the present occasion that other interests than their
own have first TO be taken into account. As matters
stand the advisers of Her Majesty think IL n moro
pressing duty to discover inst how much LOYALTY
~ IL. -. a. o.. lao
pccuniary profit of n singnlarly grasping body of
West End shopkeepers. | am not sure whether II
will strike Americans as odd that so much should
be hoped from such an expedition this which the
future King and Queen of England are to undertake
Bnt nobody here thinks il odd. The social and
personal influence Of the Prince and Princess Of
Wales in England is enormous So is Il in Scotland.
SO has il been in times past in Ireland. why
should il not be again Is doubtless the query
which has been present to the minds of those who
had to decide on this visit. At any rate they are
going 10 try. II the experiment fails. no great harm
will have been done. II IL succeeds. IL may put
new face on the relations between England ana
Ireland such, at least. is the calculation or the
hope Those who build on t know what cards they
a,e playinc II Is hardly necessary To repeat that
the Prince Of Wales has an unriyalled mastery oi
all those social arts by which personal influence
that he has the best manners In England. lie has
tact goodnature real kindliness OF disposition
knowledge of men, and a gift of doing and saying
the right thing at the right time and In the right
way lie will make no mistake in Ireland that any
Eugllshman could avoid. The Princess OF Wales is
quite independently. If one may say so, oi her
rank the most popular woman In England. ms
"a trne Of her both In public and in private. The
Irish have always been thought to possess much
suscrpiblity to beauty. and the Princess has pre-
served the loveliness which has been proverb for
more than twenty wears. They are thought to be
chyalrous and the brilliant distinction OF manner
which belongs to the Princess OF Wales might evoke
a chivalry where none existed.
II may he said Of this visit indeed that il is sort
of appeal from England to the best feelings of the
Irish race. Anywhere else the Kingdom the
presence of the Prince and Princess of Wales would
be the signal for an outbuIst of enthusiastic
welcome Ii Is obvious. however. that the first
thought of the English Is whether in Ireland they
will even be safe. The Irish Irreconcilables have
opcnly threatened the Prince OF Wales. One OF the
last pieces Of intelligence you sent from America
was the offer of a reward for his assassination. The
Irish have lately been cheering the Mahd in public
meetings; Irish members of Parliament giving the
signal The Fenians in Paris have just published
another 'menacIng programme. IL Is no wonder H.
amid all these and many other ominous signs OF
widespread Irish hatred to everything English, the
English themselves look upon this enterprise as
involving no little peril, and requiring no little
courage. The royal party will be surrounded with
precautions. Even In England the Prince never
strs abroad without some sort of protection II he
goes TO n country house the grounds are filled with
police These days when 10 would be mad
ness to omit such safeguards. They certainly will
p,t hc omittcd In Ireland The immense majority
of IIishmen would themselves protect guest OF
Ireland, royal other. but the little minority oil
murderers cannot be left out OF account.
The question of danger however, might well be