The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1898-12-10


fortnight's rustication had Parnell
wished to return to Cambridge. But.
as Mr.. O'Brien writes, he regarded his
school and college days in England
with peculiar aversion"
The personal interest in the volumes is,
therefore, small; the political interest
has been anticipated to great extent
by Mr.. O'Connor's book and by Fosters
biography. Nevertheless, there are
some political revelations of Importance
in the volumes. For example, special
chapter is contributed by Sir Charles
Gavan Duffy upon the Carnarvon nego-
tiations and interviews. Sir Charles
throws a considerable amount of light
on the interlude in Tory relations with
Ireland by his account of the personal
views of Lord Carnarvon. He thinks
the latter was not quite fairly treated
by Mr.. Parnell, but he leaves no doubt
that Lord Carnarvon was a convinced
home ruler, and strenuously labored to
convert his colleagues to that view. That
was true even before he became lord
lieutenant of Ireland. He writes in
March, 1885:
know, largely with you. believe
might say the same of many of my po-
litical friends, though, as 1 have always
said, can only speak for myself; but
have come unwillingly to the conclusion
that at this moment, in the very critical
state of foreign affairs, with a general
election close upon us, with a condition
Of parties which enormously enhances
the great difficulties of the question it.
self, it is not practicable, or indeed.
wise, to attempt any forward step. And
however strong your own wish is to-
wards different conclusion, think you
will agree that Shis view is not an UNI
reasonable one.
"My belief is that till the general
election is over, and both parties know
their strength, any attempt to settle this
controversy will not only be hopeless,
but will prejudice the result and if this
is so, it is clearly one of those cases in
which the best chance lies in patience
and some-not very long-delay.
Il hope that you will believe that
say this from no desire to spare myself
labor or anxiety. appreciate too much
the trancendant Importance of the sub
ject. But I have come slowly to
this conclusion, and only after taking
every means in my power to satisfy my
self of the correctness of it,"
He encouraged Sir Charles in his prop
aganda for the conciliation of the Irish
minority, and wrote:
II have read your articles on Colonial
Constitutions with great interest, and I
am glad to see that there is another in
today's Freeman. 1 hope you will con-
tinue them, for am satisfied that they
are very useful"
But the balance of party advantage
for the Tories lay, they concluded, in
resisting home rule. That is the moral
basis if their resistance of Lord Carnar-
Won is to be believed After a visit to
Hatfield he informed Sir Charles:
eve might gain all you promise in
Ireland by taking the course you aug-
gest, but we should lose more in Eng
land"
The interviews with Mr.. Chamberlain
and John Bright, which NJ OBrien :ulls
from his notebooks, are not less inter-
esting reading. 1t is useful to know
that all Mr. Chamberlain's zeal for the
integrity of parliament and the inclusion
of the Irish members in 1886 was merely
meant to "kill the bill" Cecil Rhodes
account of his negotiations with Parnell
is also a useful document. Among the
points discussed was the strength of the
Irish representation. If Mr.. Rhodes is
right, Mr.. Parnell said:
II have no objection to your permis-
sive clause, but should not consent to
the reduction of the number of the irish
members in the imperial parliament. It
Is only by our strength we can make
ourselves felt there, and if you were to
cut us down to so, or 40, or 80, they
would pay no attention to us. We must
remain in our present number. In addi-
tion, certain questions will remain still
unsettled after the home rule bill has
been passed. There are questions re-
lating to the police and the Judiciary
which may remain unsettled. We must
have our full number of members in the
imperial parliament until those ques-
tions are settled"
But if this account is true, there is
curious inconsistency to be explained
in the latter pronouncements of Mr.. Par
nell. 1t is strange to find that an al
legged proposal to retain the Irish mem
bers in their full strength was made one
Of the points in the disruption of the
Bologne conference. On Feb. 5, 1891, we
find Parnell writing:
within the last 20 hours information
Of most startling character has
reached me from reliable source, which
may render it necessary for me to widen
my position in these negotiations. 1t
will be remembered that during the Ha-
warden communication the one point of
the form upon which the views Of the
Liberal leaders were not definitely and