Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-01-03
PARNELLs ACHIEVEMENT
Hsme RuIeto Come In 1889, Says John
Boyle O'Reilly.
From the North A n,erican Revie,s.

BOyIe - he1ilH.
From the North A pssrtcan ReUies.
While the Fenians lay in prison-from
1865 to tST4-and the habeas corpus act
was suspended, and the stipendiary mag
-lstrates had the power of Persian satraps.
Ireland lay still aud gnawed her heart in
the waiting. Feeble voices OF timid home
rulers were raised in Westminster, and
Wing landlords patrOnized Ireland with
mock patriotism. Then the moral pres
sure OF the world, and especially OF Amer
lea, compelled England to open the prison
doors for the political conVicts and there
came out to the world some scores OF
men whose patriotism had been condensed
and crystallized into terrible purpose;
and many of them mad become powerful
leaders by reelection and seltmastership.
Michael Davitt, John O'Leary, John De-
voy, ODonovan Rosa, Charles Hickman,
Thomas Clarke Luby, and host of others,
We're sown like seed among the fertile
Irish and Irish American millions; and
their impressive story and unoompromis-
ing principles took root and flourished in
new crop of Irish unrest. The tendency
was toward another attempt at violent
revolution; but England, though alarm
| ed, was secure in the knowledge that an
! appeal TO arms by the disorganized, scat
tered, disarmed Irish could be crushed as
all similar attempts had been crushed.
Then, fresh from oxford, with his cold
English training, his Yankee blood and
Irish patriotic Evolutionary feeling, came
Parnell with new message and a new
method. No need to follow his steps.
From the moment that he first laid his
hand on the Irish keyboard the race
listened to him. He has done what
O'Connell failed to do, enlisted all creeds
and classes-landlords, professional men,
l'tradesmen, peasants. He has made the
| larger Ireland in exile one body with the
: 5,OOO000 at home. The Radicals have
Joined his forces, believing in the man.
The bishops and priests are his warmest
| supporters. A Protestant, a landlord an
aTistOcrat, and home ruler, he has the
support and friendship Of ArchbishOps
| Walsh and CrOke, Michael Davitt, the
| Fenians, the farmers, the laborers, the
! mechanics.
! He has drawn together the 100000 of
| people who respond to the Irish barOme-
ter, in all lands, and made them into one
| marvellous, moral, organized nationality,
! supporting Ireland with public opinion,
/ agitation, and money. The 30,00O,000 of
Englishmen are confronted with this eX-
! traordinary, cloud-like, but absolutely
real and potential Irish force, and as yet
they do not know quite what 1t means
| The late elections have opened the eyes
of the world to the fact that Ireland is
! overwhelmingly National" Eigbty-siX
/ out OF lob Irish members stand behind
! Mr.. Parnell in Parliament, pledged to
| vote as he leads, utterly irrespective OF
| British interests or desires. Liberal and
! Tory in England may join to defeat the
Irish strength. but It will be only for a
| year or two. 1t is clear now that another
Cromwell must sweep Ireland with fire
and sword, or that England must grant
her constitutional demand for home gov
eminent. The abomIuable selfsbness
which would destroy Ireland for Eng
lands sake, if now allowed to operate in
another conquest and ACKNOWLEDGMENT,
would assuredly destroy England-and
England is learning the great lesson.
Ireland is saved by the 20,000,000 Irish
bloOded Americans; by the 5000, 600 Irish
and their descendants in England,
Scotland, and Wales; by the vast number
OF Irish sympaJhizers in An stralia, New
zealand, Canada, and other countries.
/ IT would be highly dangerous To slaughter
the kindred of such people.
II is not likely that Ireland will gain
much from the coming Parliament. The
/ Parliament cannot last long: it is too
! evenly balanced. Besides, England has
not yet realized that home rule for Ire
/ land is inevitable. 1t will take three
| years to Yacoinate her with the idea and
/ allow it to 'Ftake.'
/ The second leader Of the English Libe-
| rails, during the recent elections, several
! times repeated this assertion, that the
! Irish elections were not truly the ex-
/ preston of the cOuntry-that Mr.. Parnell
was ''grinding'' aud depressing" the
Irish people! A glance at the returns
at the ten or twelve to one in scores of
/ cities, towns and counties, makes such a
/ charge ridiculous. But it indicates the
! perverse ignorance or the audacious dis
/ honesty OF even leading Englishmen. In
| returning elghty-six Nationalist members
! to Parliament the Irish have not ended,
! but just begun, their national struggle.
/ There are three stages in pacific reform
/ agitation, controversy and legislation.
! The Irish have passed through the
! first and are entering the second. Par
/ nell, with fifteen or twenty votes, was
not a power; he was only voice, an
emphasis, an appeal. He was an a9ita-
/ tiOnal influence. With eightY-six votes
! he is a controversial force. "He has
/ compelled John Bull TO listen" as Wen
/ deli Phillips said Of him. In 1899, pre-
! dict, the Legislative stage OF the Irish
| question Will have arrived; and the
union with England, which shall then
nave cursed Ireland for nine-tenths of a
century, viii be repealed.
Ill ~. n