The Irish standard., 1896-05-23
death Of the Irish Nation Will
only Be the Life Of It," Says
Sir Boyle Roche.
Dramatic . ! Event Told in a Most
Realistic Way by a Close
Observer.
Concluded from last week.)

actors in the tragedy. Cut-throat Castle
reagh on the government bench, and
brave John Foster, true to the last, In the
lsleakers chair. Opposite us sit the Irish
"gentlemen' who have bought ques-
tionable honors for themselves and their
children at the price Of their country's
liberties, and the British clerks and Of
fcers who have been smuggled in here
t'to vote away 1.-THE constitution of a
country to which they are strangers,
and in, which they have neither interest
nor connection
| But-hush: The moment has arrived.
| "A silence, like the silence which be-
longs to the heart Of the desert, falls
upon the assembly as Robert Stewart,
Lord Castlereagh, rises to the right; of
the mace to put the finishing touch on
his fendish work. A silence like the
silence of the grave. He looks at Foster
sitting with frigid and scornful dignity
near him to the left; then at the thronged
galleries; his eye drops to the benches on
which are still a few dozen of the true
and trusty patriots who defed his threats
and spurned his gold; and So, dwelling
for a moment on the tripod in the center
and to the devilish business he has in
hand.
The secretary's face looks sinister as
che begs to move the order of the day
for the third reading of the bill providing
for q legislative union between Great
Britain and Ireland.'' 'Tame, unmarried,
cold blooded,'' says i a spectator, the
words seemed frozen as they issued from
his lips. -. At. that moment he
had NO country, no God but his ambition !;
he made his motion and resumed his seat
with the utmost ccnnposure and indif-
ference.
Confused murnnurs ran through the
house. All were visibly affected, though
with conflicting emotions vsome pale,
some flushed, some agitated; there were
few countenances to which the heart did
not dispatch some messenger. Several
members withdrew before the question
could be repeated, and an awful momen-
tary silence succeeded their departure.
The speaker rose slowly from that chair
which had been the proud source of his
honors and of his high character, for a
moment resumed his seat, but the
strength Of his mind sustained him I'm his
duty, though his struggle was apparent.
With that dignity which never failed to
signalize his official actions he held up
the bill for a moment in silence; he look
ed steadily around him on the last agony
Of the expiring parliament. He at length
repeated in an emphatic tone, "As many
as are Of 'opinion that this bill do pass.
say aye The affirmative was languid,
but indisputable, another momentary
pause ensued, again his lips seemed to
decline their Office; at length, with an
eye averted from the object which It
hated, he proclaimed, with a subdued
sentence was now pronounced; for an in
stant he stood statue-like; then indig-
nantly. and with disgust, flung the bill
upon the table, and sank into his chair,
wan and exhausted An independent
country thus was degraded into a prov
ince-Ireland, as a nation, was extin-
guished.
The speaker had sunk into his chair;
but the end had not come yet.
II 1tlNow, let the bloodiest assassin dis
#solye the house" 5$ss 4 g..s
Every man and woman in the chamber
stood UP excitedly and looked towards
the gallery behind the speakers chair. d.
Now the voice again repeated, 'let
the bloodiest assassin dissolve the house!
Let the bloodiest assassin dissolve the
Ehousey' 81 ,s.3
tits almost impossible to describe the
scene that followed. Nor would it be
possible to understand it were it not for
the fact that a short time previously Mr..
Charles Ball, the new member for Clog
her, and a most ardent and, indeed, furi-
GUS opponent of the union, had declared
in the crowded coffee-room that he was
|astonished that while hundreds OF wretch
ed men nTevery day were sacrificing their
lives IN resisting those who openly at
tackled their liberties, there was none
who did not at once rid their country Of
the monsters who were betraying It. It
could be easily done, z said he, by q few
hand grenades, or Tells. thrown h from the
gallery when your ministerial gentlemen
are locked up for a division Z Mr.. Ball
Fadded, with affected gravity that he had
heard such plan was intended. The
statement, though evid lily made In Jest,
Remained in the memories Of all who
heard it, as the scene which now took
place proved In a most extraordinary
manner. s..s 7s is3s s5 u.
i.fNow. let the bloodiest assassin dissolve
the house, s55 u 81
4 he shells and hand -erenad This
was the idea which took possession of
every ybody,s mind Ali was terror and
con fusion. III Hats fell rom the galleries
as their owners str 5tched over the ballls-
trade and they added a shundred-fol to-
the heSeonsternation, for the members be-
lieved them 70 contain powde er. Several
Esantl half drew their sword and
[pocket pistols flashed among the. thfong,
which now ssrged toward he bar alcoss
tho lobby, into the court of sbeQuests, and
so8o on sto the piazza, where the soldiers
/ stood tl1understrucksats ats 4 the SCENE and
Ma ited for ord derss to fix bayDne or to:
fire No such ex xtre iinary episode had
ksn 81 ace since the Dublin mob took,
81 the hlolse sof lords over 40l
asra a1lt,f
III Thasa
Z 81 g
=.