The Irish standard., 1886-08-21
ABOUT 7-'IIEE:: EMERALD ISLE ISL +.
Archbishop Walsh, Tho : Patriotic Pgslata Of
Dublin, Oh tha Is5i4;a ss.1d Question
and .=}fri1l,lsi. Politics. .ss..z s5 5s
HOME RULE An Assl.sE.t7D FACT,
Tie Arch aishoo Would Not E's tbs Least
s,,ap1isse. IL .sft: KID, i ;1sma
From IN ior.as

II st Rev. -Art:iiD sEo}> Walsh, says
| the North Ailsa,.c;, News, Company
was interviewed by all. Z. z. all, NJ
z, the other day, AND the following
wise words from His Grace lips will be
interesting reading, as showing how ae-
ct2rately he has gagged the subject Of
| the Irish land and Home Rule ques-
| tions. We give the interview III the
! form Of question and answer us it ap-
peared IN the columns of one Of the
daily newspapers:
Mr.. Gill-Your Grace has no oblec-
ton to my asking you a few questions
as to the views you take OF the present
state Of affairs i'll Ireland?
The Archbishop--Certajnly not. So
far as your questions seem fair and
proper shall answer them with pleas
ure. The outlook, think, is in one
way as gloomy as gloomy can be. AS
for Home Rule, it must come. Mr..
G]adstone's bill. with this conflict that
has arisen Oh. of it, has made il inpos-
sible for the English Liberal party to
20 back. and take it that it is the Lib
eraz and not the Tory party that has
the future Of English politics in Its
hands. It would Of course by nc
means surprise me il Home Rule came
60 us from the Tories bat aouls it Wlll,
and that very soon. When I speak Of
q gloomy outlook + am thinking rather
Of another question, tle land question,
and tire trouble that I lear 1T has III
store for us. What fools our Irish
landlords have proved themselves to
be.
Mr., Gi1l-Y QUIZ Grace then thinks
that the Democratic movement in Ire
land will now be great enough to break
the old notions about rent, and the OBJ
legation CT paying it,
The Archbishop-You misundel-
stand ms, The rent question in Ire
land has but little to do with questions
Of democracy. or aristocracy, or Wlti)
f.ny other merely political question.
Let me tell you Of an incident that
bears on this. Not Tong ago al Eng
IisI1 gentleman, who had come to Ire
land to study the land question, did me
the favor Of calling upon me. His
great difficulty was about rent: and the
payment OF non payment OF it. 1t may
seem little amusing to YOU, nuI Che
view he took was that tile seny Ques-
5ion in Ireland was in tie main ques-
ton between Catholics and protestants
and in this sense q religious question,
for. as he put it to me, the bulk Of the
tenants being Catholics, and staunch
Catholics, and the bulk OF the land
lords being Protestants, and staunch
Protestants, he took it. that the diff
Guilty about the payment OF rent in Ire
land WAS an nnwillingness on the part
of our Irish farmers to Let SO much
Catholic money go into Protestant
pockets. .....
MIR. Glll--BLt this Englis!1man must
have known very little Of the real state
Of the country.
The Archbishop--Manifestly he knew
practically nothing about it. He told
me that his strongest sympatlles were
with us, that he was anxious to help on
the Irish cause, that already he had
done soIne good work for us iii England,
but that he. now found it had become
useless FOR him or 4or anyone like him,
to rut his views on Irish affairs, before
his fello,y ctuntrymen, whether in pub
lie or in private, unless the man who
out them forward was able to speak
from personal knowledge of Ireland,
and SO be had come over to see things
for himself.
Mr.. Gill--After all, this is not an un-
reasonable view for Englishmen TO
take Oft
The A.rchbishop--No; on the con-
trary, it is a most reasonable view, that
is to say, it would be most reasonable
view if they took it all round. but they
don't. Why, any Englishnan who
takes the Irish popular side on any
Irish question is at once pulled up with
the remark, ''What do you know about
Ireland: How long have you lived
there?o and so forth, but when Mr..
Chamberlain gives his speculations, or
Mr.. .Goschen, or Mr.. Card, nc such
question is raised Or even thought of.
IF, indeed, the settlement Of the Irish
difficulties was really left to the judg-
ment of those who know our country
and our people the prospect Of peace
and reconciliation between the two ma
tions would be bright one indeed.
But to return to the point. Your very
natural observation turned me aside
for the moment from what was about
to say. My English visitor came over
to Ireland full Of the idea that the