New-York tribune., 1886-08-13
THE IRISH QUESTION.
THE AGITATION FOR REPEAL.

for the period indicated. Far from it, Some OF the
most remarkable branches of that subject are
.carcely touched np0n In his pages. The lnsurrec-
tionary movements and cOnsp acies are passed o'o'
with little more than few careless a'luS'onS'
HIS real topic is the means hy which the legislative
union of England and Ireland was brought ABOUT
In 1900 and the efforts which the IRISH people nave
been making ever since then to resume the con''"'
of their own affairs Mr. Daunt has had an impor
liant personal share III manv of the TRANSACTIONS
which he describes, his activity in the rcpeai
movement reaching far back as the time oi
OConnell MANY of his "reminiscences are hehy
interesting his person al sketches livey. ana hS
narrative although somewhat Drolix and diS"r"e'S'
is readable well as instructive. we neen i'''"'
add that it is timely. The legislative nuepo" !
ence OF Ireland has become the great qneStoh VI '
British Empire; and few observing po''''''"
doubt that II is much nearer a SOLUTION no" 'n"" "
was even at the height of the OConneii ag'ta''"i
Mr. Gladstone wrote few weeks ago to weii-
known English Liberal, Mr. Georg" ho'
Cover: I" | am aInahel at the deafness oi '"'-"'
o,;nion Tn the blackguardsm and baseness- no
words or. strono enough--whIch beoui the whole
tis,orv of tie union IL IL an omen q'eS''o" W "S
mind whether if this folly lasts the thIhe may hot
N the end contribute 10 repeal. when should
c,e,tIv rer1etv Mr.. Daunts account OF the black
cnaroism and baseness by which The act OF Union
was carried is we'll calculated to wake dead vulgar
,iuio TO life in spite of the Fact that he too often
n,Iects to cite the evidence for his most rhetorical
charges The scheme OF Pitt for the destruction OF
the Irish Parliament inclndei. he MAINTAINS las
D,Connell used to maintain, n deliberate provoca-
tion of the rebellion of 79s in order that the Eng
lsh Government might have an excuse for cruSh'he
the spirit of the people and hlling the ISLAND VIII
soIdiers IL preliminary to taking away Homo
Rule. OLc means of exciting revolt was 10 "'i"
out the promise of Catholic Emancipation ana then
eNasperate the Catholics into an armed outbreak
by wthdrawingi It, Probably need not believe
the English Minister capable of such diahohcai
nolicy There is a simpler ex anation of his con-
dnct 1t was his object to prevent Catholics ana
Prosestants from combining against the unlon as
they were then dong; and there was no better way
of eecting this than to keep alive sccar'an d>scu'
sions Moreover he believed that when the Catho-
lies despaIred Of obtaining emancipation from an
Irish legislature they might learn to look upon Inc
English connection as their only hone. This plan
is fully disclosed in the " CORVALLIS COrrcNp"nd-
euce and other published letters. Earl flzw IL
ialG was sent to Ireland as Nlceroy with iuil a"-
thority from Pitt and his Cabinet To support the
Catholic claims, without which he declares that
he would not have accepted the office. In du' time
he was informed that emancipation must "e posi-
poned and finally the Duke of Portland, Home
Secretary writes to Lord Castcrcagh that" Caih'Hc
Emancipation must lot he granted but thr"nS" '"e
medium of a Union and 10y means of an united lAr-
lament" Lord Fitzwlliam refused to he the IN
strumcnt of this disreputable business, and was
consequently recalled.
Bat whatever view we may take of Pitts designs.
there is TO question about the effect of his poIicy
IN fomentiug the insurrection Shaking 1t to eX
pl,ir" is Lord Castlereagh's EXPRESSION or tne
ferocitv with which the rising WAS suppressed
Inon horh these heads Mr Daunt cites direct te,ti-
monv and Il fully confirms the remarkable state
ment which he copies from Thorold Rogers that
Pitt permitted in Ireland TaIgn of terror hardly
less atrocious though better concerted. than the
massacres of September and the lusllale al Lyons.
Lord Corvallis who succeeded Lord fltzWlliiam
as Viceroy. wrote that the country had been "rveh
into rebellion by violence aud cruelty; and the
violence he described rs comprising Lou-e-burn'ng
murder. torture by 1ogglng, and "univrr'"l rape
and robbery" The principal authors OF these
crimes were the soldiers. of whose sangunary eN-
eesses Lord CORVALLIS writes to the Ministry with
inst feeling fhe presence of n large army. however,
living at free quarters on the country vas deemed
essential TO the scheme OF .union. No fewer imam
1877 900 troops were sent into Ireland or recrnie
the1e from the friends of the English c"nncction
who were by far the most bloodtnr-ty and unman-
ageable of the ru mans with ON the NicerOv had
to deal The attempt to seduce the Catholics, or
any other party Of Irishmen into a willing surren-
der of their Independence a complete failure
The signatures TO petitions for legislative union
did not exceed 5000. according to many az
counts 3 poo while the signatures against 1t mum
bered 7O7 OOO. The final resource OF the Ministry
was direct purchase of the Parliament at DHblln
We NAV we'll hesitate to call that body an Irish
Parliament. To say nothing of the fact that the
Catholics. who constituted four nfths of the popu
lafiM were not represented IN it. majority OF the
members of both houses placemen, English
officers absentee landlords tenants of pocket Dor
oughs and incorrgbe foreign corruptionists, who
had no share in Irish interests and who could never
have sat in an Irish legislature under any genuine
representative system. There we're 300 members
in the Dublin House of Commons; l62 voted Tor
the union and ll6 of these were in the pay OF the
English Government as pensioners or placeholders.
Peerages, judgeshps bishOprics and commands
IN the army and navy were laNishly distributed IN
consideration of union votes. The sum OF
El275.OOO was expended in the purchase of nornl-
nation boroughs to be used i'll packing the Commons
with members hired only to vote their own extlnc-
ton and the Ministry crowned its proligacy by
the payment of direct bribes in money to the
amount of e.. 800. 900. Every man who had price
got it.
The Irish people have acquiesced in this
nefarious transaction. Their position is not that OF
insurgents trying to throw of % rule which they
once accepted as legitimate but now find oppres-
sve and unjust; they opposing to frau iulent
invasion of their right of self-government resist
ance which has been continuous ever since the
original commission of the wrong. the nature OF
that resistance has varied with their temper and
opportunity. but the resistance itself has never
ceased and in the face of it the English authority
cannot possibly acquire the sanction of prescrip-
son When English politicians insist that an Irish
Parliament would destroy the integrity OF lmperia
hot led he ca W. M m mi
how the legislative union was brought about and
how it has been maintained. One Of Mr. Daunt's
strongest points is his demonstration that the hos
tty to the union has not proceeded from one class