Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1898-12-10
Last Meeting of the Irish Vol
unteer Convention i'm the
Year 1888.
Lord CharlemOnt Responsible
For the Double Triumph
of England.
ACTIVITY OF THE BISHOP OF DERRY

"Grattan's Volunteers" we are used
to calling them, but though Grattan and
Flood were the leading spirits OF that
grand movement that secured an indie
pendent Parliament for Ireland, it was
Lord Charlemont, their Commander-in-
Chief, who dissolved them suddenly IN
the hour of their greatest promise, on
December l, 1888.
"Let us imagine, writes the historian
Thomas Mooney, "the Repeal Associa-
ton of Ireland suddenly dissolved by
Daniel O'Counell or Smith O'Brien, and
we will then have an idea of the nature
of this extraordinary deed" We all
know how the Volunteers owed their
birth and maturity to the American War
for independence; how, when they felt
themselves strong enough they de-
manded and got of the British Parlia-
ment the right to have the laws Tor Ire
land made in an Irish Parliament in Col
lege Green; how the establishment of
that Irish Parliament was followed by
the most unexampled national prosper
ity which the annals Of any nation or
any time can exhibit.
Ireland's agriculture, fisheries. mines,
manufactures - all sources of national
northumberland ostered and protected
by the home parliament; canals made,
rivers rendered nsvigable, ships built.
Tradesmen from England, Scotland and
France came to Ireland for employment
and there was no immigration of Irish
workmen seeking employment.
But the Volunteers, who were the orig
inators of that Parliament, were also its
constituted guardians. They early saw
il was one thing to have an independent
,ParIiawe2t-another thing to keep It in
dependent. The people were not properly
rspresented in it to insure its safety.
of the 300 members only sixty-four rep
resented counties. A few lords and
wealthy commoners owned the big ma
i,ritv of the seats, and there was no
surety that the British Government could
not buy these when it suited 1t to try,
and, worst of all, Catholics had none OF
the seats. No Catholic could sit in
Parliament - 10 Catholic could even
vote.
So Parliamentary reform came to be
the one topic of interest, and grand
meeting of the Irish Volunteers from all
parts of Ireland was called TO assemble
in Dublin OH the 10th of November, 1888,
to discuss and frame necessary measures
of reform looking to the equal repre-
sentation of all the people of Ireland in
their own Parliament. Henry Flood was
the leading spirit of this move for re-
form. Grattan was not sure of the need
of casting any suspicion on the integrity
of the Irish Parliament or England's SIM
cerity in granting it. His confidence i'll
the honesty of British promises was the
cause at that time of an open rupture
with Henry Flood, which was never
healed.
November 10 saw a most imposing
demonstration, as the delegates from
every volunteer company in Ireland as
sembled in the Rotunda. The state OF
affairs in Ireland was then seriously felt
by the English Cabinet-it became
alarmed. Ireland now stood in high
station. No longer lin the language OF
Gibbon) remote and obscure island, she
formed new feature on the face of Eu-
rope.
The firing of twenty-one guns an
nounccd the first movement of the dele
gates marching to the Rotunda. The con
vention assembled, and among the first
of the plans for reform presented for
consideration was the right of Catholic:
hitherto excluded) to sit in the Irish
Parliament. The Bishop of Derry cham
pioned the Catholic plea, but to no pur
pose. 1t was entirely out of the question
to admit Catholics. Then Flood set tC
work theoretically to frame bill that
would open the seats to Protestant forty
shilling freeholders (only the aristocracy
we're heretofore eligible -unseat Gov
eminent pensioners = prevent person.
guilty of bribery having a seat, and linn
ting the duration of Parliament to three
years. -
A sadly one-sided bill it was, in thai
it excluded Catholics, but still it was {
great measure of reform, and one thai
promised growth in the right direction
even to embracing the Catholics in time
Flood was authorized by the majority o
the convention to present this bill to the
Irish Parliament, of which he was I
member. Parliament was sitting in Col
lege Green, while the convention hat
been in session day after day in the Ro
tunda.
While the convention was in session
the Bishop of Derry, delegate from hi
own district, came in an open carriag'
drawn by six white horses, richly decked
with retinue of carriages and cavalry
and trumpeters ahead Of him. Passing
the Irish Parliament House-then in ses
sion--he stopped his retinue and ordere'
r.