The Irish standard., 1896-10-17

Parnell Knew How to Drive a
| Hard Bargain in His To-
liticaI Deals.
In All His Associations With
Gladstone He Never Fully
Trusted Him.
One Of the first indications we got Of
the coming of Home Rule as a plank in
the Liberal platform was in the news
papers Parnell was so reticent man
| that he rarely said anything to his most
intimate colleagues OF momentous
events in which he was CONCERNED until
they had reached what he considered a
ripe stage. He was a simple man In
many ways; but he had a great power
OF holding his tongue. His followers
! had such extraordinary confidence in
his Judgment and his luck that they
never questioned him. have some
times thought that this was not alto
gether wise, since that date. Parnetl
undoubtedly was a great politicdan;. but
| he had weak points in I his armor.
When the split came, ans when he had
to fight without some Of the men who
had stood by him loyalty for SO many
years, he did some very stupid and
some very silly things Temperament,
as I have said before, rather than In
tellect was his strength. For instance,
he made some proposals in regard to
the Land Question which Mr.. Sexton
dissected in the House of Commons one
night with that extraordinary com
nland of figures fol. which he is remark m
able. 1t was painful even tns ! hose who
had engaged in the fierce fight with
Parnell to see how easily his scheme
was. riddled by an intellect so much
keener and better equipped than his.
But whether or no Parnell was great all
round, when it came to the settlement
of a great constitution such as ireland
was about to receive, he was emlnently
fitted for some part Of the work. He
was born for making a bargain. liz this
respect he reminded me more OF an Irish
farmer than, of an Irish squire. With
his own money he was generous, not 10
say lavish; but with public money he
was careful to parsimoniousness. l re-
member the horror with which ne one
day rejected a certain amount recon-
mended as the salary Of an official OF the
Land League. You are accustomed, j.
P..,,''; he said reproachfully, ito living in
ia rich country, and you have entlrely
absurd notions of what should be paid
in poor country like ireland. have
no doubt whatever, then, that when Mr..
Parnell came to drive his bargain with
Mr.. Gladstone he did not yield am inch
which he could help. There were moth
ing beyond vague rumors, even after
the Home Rule scheme had been pre-
sented to Parliament, of what the con-
yersation between the Two: politicians
had been; but there was an amusing,
anecdote. which made the Irishmen
very proud of their, leader-that at one
stage in the negotiations ParneM had,
for instance, had the happy inspiration
of taking UP his hat as if he We're leav-
ing the room and breaking off all fur.
ther negotiations The story may not
have been true, but it Is quite possible
with such man assParnell. He had not
q particle of sentiment. He did mol
mean in politics-lle ID didf Aot concern
himself bit abort the feeling other
people. In political strife and bargain
ing he had what is sometimes the SUI
premest of all gifts namely, the power
OF looking on every human being as an
instrument, either to be used or flung
away. according to his power to faclli-
tate or oppose a great political end.
/ have always thought that one OF the
greatest scenes in the Balzac is that in
which he describes Yantrin in his last
incarnation. You mayssrene nember that
the last volume begins with the scene
in which Vautrin sits at the bedside OF
the woman who had loved poor dead
Young Rubempre and that, While wo-
man-hater himself, he understood the
seq SO we'll that he was able to say the
very. thing which touched-as violin
is touched by a great artist--the very
inn1ost chords of her heart, and brought
forth such music as he wished. And
thus, he. who had never, loved a woman,
who despised the very creature he was
talking to at the moment, was able to
do what neither love nor intelligence
could do in the person OF her husband;
he was able to bring her back to reason
and to life. It would appear some
what quaint conceit, but somehow or
other I thought Of this passage one
night in the House Of Commons shortly
after the introduction of the Home Rule
Bill: in 1885, Somebody had attacked
Mr. Gladstone; and somebody think,
from our benches-waS defending him,
and had sad some words OF admiration
for the courage and genius which had
inspired the Home Rule policy. These
were the times when Home Rule was
still so unfamiliar to the British public
that. mauy good people were ready to
believe that Mr.. Gladstone, in adopting
it as policy, had sold himself to God
knows what or whom.
When the Irishman uttered those
words there was loud groan of protest
from the Tory benches. At once, there
was a great cheer of defiant response
from the Irish benches--and In that
cheer could be easily distinguished the
deep. strong, almost hoarse notes Of
Parnell's voice was sitting beside
him at the time, and turning round with
some surprise, for Parnell was not In the
habit of cheering; and somehow or
other, the cheer, with all its intensity,
struck me as wanting in the note Of
real feeling and deep-seated. emotion.
And i was right. for, after all, Mr. Par.
nell showed that he had never very
much trusted Mr.. Gladstone, and that
he could turn on the o.d man fiercely
when he stood IN his way The cheer
was simply part Of 3sa great politician
and a great lsaaer ~ power OF pTa-sings