The San Francisco call., 1898-12-11
ALL CANDIDATES
 ID BE PLEDGED Importance of the Com ing Dublin Election.
BY J. J. CLANCY.
Special Correspondence of The Call.

DUBLIN, Nov 26-As yet the elec-
 tions under the new local government act in Ireland have not, as a general rule, led to any decided action on the part of the electors, except in the city of Dublin. Here a regular campaign has already been begun. There are practically as yet only two bodies in the field-the Labor Electoral Asso- citation and the Independent, or Par nellite, League. The former body was first in the field and nominated several candidates on purely labor ticket. To most of those candidates, if not to all of them, no objection might probably be taken if they had declared them selves on the great political question of the hour-namely, whether Union ist Lord Mayor should be elected for Dublin or not. A pledge on this sub
 ject not having been extracted from the candidates of the Labor Electoral Association, and they themselves not having given such pledge except in one or two instances, the Independent League has intervened and insisted on every man comin~ forward for a seat in the corporation fulfilling the required condition. The result in most wards so far, is that the candidates of the Independent League have been adopted by public meetings of the congresses, and it is probable, if not absolutely certain, that during the next few weeks selections of candidates in the Independent Leagues interest will be made for every one of the fifteen wards in the city. Hitherto these ward elections have been, as matter of fact, merely local affairs, but the queS- tion of the MayOralty which is now in- volved has for the first time raised the whole matter into a higher plane, and the consequence is that all the ward elections have become the common concern of the whole city.
 The most notable man in the North of Ireland has died within the last week. mean the Rev. Dr. Kane of Belfast. Dr. Kane was the successor of an equally famous man, the Rev. pr. Hanna, or Roaring Hanna" as he used to be called, and was for many years the leader of the Orange Democ racy in Ulster. AS such he constantly appeared on Orange platforms as the mouthpiece of the most extreme Orange views, and as such habitually made use of arguments and language most hurtful to Catholics and Nationalists. During the whole Home Rule campaign especially, he was prominent in threat ening physical and armed opposition to the establishment of an Irish Parlia- ment and an Irish Government. The published reports of his speeches gave the impression that he was a rough, uncultivated and uncouth fanatic. Fanatic, no doubt, he was-that is to say, he held the most extreme views, but held them sincerely.
 ''The difference between pr. Kane and most of the other Orange leaders in Ulster" said friend of mine to me the other day, lis that when Dr. Kane said to hell with the Pope he meant it, whereas the others did not or did not care whether the Pope went there or not" But. though Dr. Kane was an anti-Catholic fanatic in religion, he cannot have been at bottom an anti-Irish IriShman, and herein lies the difference between him and the rest of the Orange leaders of Ulster. For example, he was a strong supporter of the movement for the redress of the financial grievance of Ireland, and in that respect stood almost alone among the Orange leaders in Belfast, who seem to take a delight in being over- taxed by England, and who would ap- parently rather be overtaxed by an English Parliament than be fairly taxed by an Irish one. In his capacity of financial reformer he made, as far as I can recollect, but one appearance on an Irish national platform. It was twelve months ago at a great meet ing in the Mansion House Dublin, composed of persons of political parties When it was announced that he was to be among the speakers great curiosity was excited, and hundreds went to see and hear him who had never thought of seeing or hearing him before. was present on the occasion myself and well recollect the pleasant disappoint- ment his manner and his speech occa- stoned. Instead of the rough, uncouth and bfgoted Orange fanatic there was presented to the gaze of an audience mainly Nationalist a polished speaker of gentlemanly demeanor and instinct. with Irish feeling, at least, on the par ticular subject under discussion. His speech took his audience captive and he sat down amidst rounds and rounds