Huntsville gazette., 1890-12-20
DILLON ON PARNELL.
a Calm Statement of Facts on the
Irish Question.
John Dillon, the Fugitive Irish Agitator1
Defends Messrs. Gladstone and
Morley Against the Insults
of Parnell.

OtecSh- NJ iiQutt DOtu SUES To dDStdln lTOlQ
all bitterness of language which might rem
der it difficult for us to fight together in the
future as comrades against the enemies of
Ireland as we have done for the last ten
years. And with this view used any inf1u
ence possessed to prevent the war being
carried into Ireland until all possible means
OF bringing about a compromise had been
exhausted. am sorry, for this reason, that
the Kilkenny election has been precipi
tated, and 1 am strongly opposed to
any personally offensive attacks on
Mr.. Parnell. Although it must be
admitted that the cruelty unjust charges he
has leveled against the members of his
party, and the extraordinary violence of the
methods by which he has sought to suppress
all expression of opinion hostile to himself,
renders it very difficult for his opponents to
maintain an attitude of moderation. Now
that Mr.. Parnell has insisted on challenging
public opinion in Ireland l trust the Irish
people will let their opinion be known in no
uncertain fashion. If they declare for Par
nell's leadership they must do so on the plat
form of his manifesto and his speeches at
Dublin and Cork, and that would mean a
definite end for our time to all hope for win
ming home rule through the good will of the
English people. And there is only one other
way of winning, that is by fighting for it.
In other words Mr.. Parnell invites the peo-
pie to abandon the policy by which he has
led them for the last ten years to adopt a
policy which must end in insurrection-if it
end in any thing. l believe that this new
policy means the destruction of all the work
of the last ten years.
We feel bound to offer to the Irish people a
full opportunity of deciding ON this terrible
issue which has been forced upon them. But
1 most earnestly desire that this decision
should be arrived at with the least possible
amount of personal bitterness. And the
language used in Ireland on both sides-dis-
gusting and humiliating to every true friend
of Ireland-is only calculated to divert the
minds of the people from the true issue be-
fore them. That issue is not personal one,
but it is a question of public policy,
and it is an exceedingly simple
one. If Mr.. Parnell persists in
refusing to retire from the leadership, the
Tory party will win at the general election
by such a majority as will condemn Ireland
to another seven years of coercion, and de-
stroy all hope Of gaining home rule by Far
liamentary action in our time. This and
this alone is the question which the Irish
people have to consider. And the various
other questions which are at this moment
being hotly debated by Irishmen all over the
world, are irrelevant side issues, raised
for no other purpose than to divert the pub
lie mind from the one great issue on which
Mr. Parnell knows that he is hopelessly in
the wrong and with which neither in his
manifesto nor in any of his recent speeches
has he ever attempted to deal.
Mr.. Parnell complains of Mr.. Gladstone's
attempts to dictate to the Irish party. Yet
in 1882, after the assassination in Phoenix
Park, Mr.. Parnell, without consulting any of
his colleagues, went to Mr.. Gladstone and Of
fered to give up the leadership, resign his
seat for Cork and retire from public life. And
that at time when Mr. Gladstone was not a
Home Ruler. And it was only at Mr.. Glad
stones personal request that Mr.. Parnell re-
tanned his position. What has Mr.. Glad
stone done in the present case? For nine
days after the verdict in the divorce suit he
waited in silence, expecting Mr.. Parnell to
do as he had done in 1882. Then when he was
convinced that the general election was hope
lessly lost if Mr.. Parnell retained the chair
of the Irish party, Mr.. Gladstone took steps
to inform Mr.. Parnell privately of this fact
With this information in his possession Mr..
Parnell accepted his reelection, and it was
only then that Mr.. Gladstone published his
letter for the information of the Irish
party and Irish people, leaving them
the full liberty and full re-
sponsiblity of acting under all the circum
stances as they thought best for the interests
of their country. The cry of dictation is an
idle and obscure cry. But am sorry to say
it has been only too effective in misleading
thousands of true hearted Irishmen.
Mr. Parnell reproaches his colleagues for
re- electlng him if they did not mean to stand
by him in all eventualities. We reelected
him because we were grateful to him for all
he had done for Ireland; because we never
for one moment supposed that he would al
low his personal feelings to prevail with him
while the safety of the country was at stake,
or that he would appeal to us-as he has
done-to stand by his leadership even though
it should involve the ruin of our cause.
Mr.. ParnelPs revelations of private con-
versations with Mr. Gladstone and Mr.. Nor
lev is a subject painful and humiliating to
every Irish Nationalist No one for mo-
ment believes that these revelations would
have been made were it not for Mr.. Parnell's
private difficulties, and it seems to me horri-
BILE that the two English statesmen who dur
ing the past five years have, to my own
knowledge consistently and steadfastly
fought to secure full and genuine measure
of home rule for Ireland, should now be sin
gIeG out for gross and monstrous insults,
and that charges of treachery, attempts to
corrupt the Irish party, etc, should be lev
eled against them-charges for which / am
convinced in my soul there is not shadow
of foundation: charges which would never
have been imagined, much less uttered, but
for the divorce case and Mr.. Gladstone's let
ter.
AS a last resource Mr.. Parnell proposed
that definite pledges on certain points should
be asked from Mr.. Gladstone and Mr.. Morley
and so far forgot himself as to address to the
colleagues who had followed him with a
fidelity unparalleled in history this mon
strous insult: 'If you wish to sell me, i
want to secure you good price" This
policy of demanding from Mr.. Gladstone be-
fore the election definite pledges on the de-
tails of Home Rule bill, has been all along
the policy of Lord Harrington and Mr.. Cham'
berlain, and 1 have frequently heard 1t de-
nounced by Mr.. Parnel and the leaders OF
our party. If Mr.. Gladstone and Mr.. Morley
are treecherous and dishonorable men as
Mr.. Parnen would now have US believe, nc
pledges would bind them. If, on the othe1
hand they are men OF honor ana true
friends of Ireland, as firmly De
lieve them to be, we have the best
of all pledges in their frequently repeated
promises that they shall do their utmost
and they can not do more-to secure to Ire
land such a measure of home rule as Wi
satisfy the aspirations Of the irish people
But for my part say frankly that my reh,
ance for the satisfactory character 81