New-York tribune., 1894-04-29

, advantage OF a prospective war with SPAN to
| argue in a pamphlet that ireland was not pound
| by declaration of war the part or England
! but ought to stipulate for neutrality as an In
) dependent nation. The essay was suppressed oy
| the publisher But the idea OF complete sepa-
| ration for Ireland dominated the rest or Tone $
! career
He certainly had high talent not merely as
| pamphleteer, but as diplomatis ana possibly
| as military leader AS political s'rate8lst
| he showed great skill in uniting Dissenters ana
| Catholics as they have never been united since
| his day against the protestant Ascendancy'
| 1t Is probable that he would have shown the
same mastery Of difficult problems In war. What
| might have happened If he had possessed the
military experience to overaWe the dila'ory
Grouchy in Bantry Bay can only be imagined
Certainly the one great achievement OF his hie'
though 1t failed. will always be admired. IL
came about in this way His career OF agta-
ton in Ireland was brought to sudden clsse
by an almost accidental connection with a
patriot. the Rev. William Jackson. whose most
beinous crime seems to have been undue self
confidence Tone emigrated 10 America and
settled near Princeton, n. j.. but had hardly
begun life as a farmer in the New World before
he was besought by his friends to interest France
in the Irish cause He had no influential sup
mort of any kind which he could estimate before
hand, and he had but little money. The Duke
of Wellington described him as carrying on
long diplomatic enterprise in Paris on hundred
guineas There Is only one drawback to COM
mendation for an enemy from the Duke of Wei
ungton The victor Of Waterloo never stinted
his praise Of his adversarfes. for he well knew
that to endow them with courage and ability
indirectly redounded to his own credit. But
Wolfe Tone was formidable foe. II was per-
haps fortunate for him that he started on his
mission to France from the United States rather
than from Ireland He seems to have leaped at
once into the good graces OF Monroe. then the
American Minister in Paris Certain letters
which he carried helped to this result. IL was
Monroe who started the young lrishman on the
road to success in his negotiations. At the
second meeting with Tone. after listening 10 all
that had been done he said: You must change
your plan" Abiding to the persons with whom
Tone had begun to labor. he added. 1T Is a
subaltern way of doing business. Go at once
to the Directore Executif and demand an
audience: explain yourself TO them, and, as TO
me- you may go far as TO refer 10 me for the
authenticity of what you may advance. and You
may add that you have reason TO think that
am in degree. apprised Of the outline of your
business" With this clear hintsas TO method
Wolfe Tone went to work and at last persuaded
the French 10 send an expedition 10 over;urn
British Government in Ireland. "For the
Tone not responsible. He had organized
victory; an incompetent French general con-
trived defeat" With army OF 49, 900 men.
as things wcre in Ireland. there was every hope
Of success. But Hoche, the comma nder-in chief.
never reached the shores of ireland. and with
Grouchy. next in rank, all the arguments that
Tone could use in favor OF prompt landing and
vigorous carrying out Of the purposes OF the ex-
petition, were vain. Though such an oppor-
tunity could never occur again, Tone renewed
his negotiations in France. and started new ex-
petitions. in the last Of which he was himself
taken prisoner. He had the good fortune
take his own life before he could be executed by
the English authorities. These two thick
volumes contain the revelation OF an extraOrii-
nary character. in which solid qualities and high
capacity were mingled with much that seems
fantastic. Wolfe Tone himself declared that he
had in him something of the coxcomb. Never
theiess he was man OF genius. These volumes
are illustrated with several portraits.