The Irish standard., 1899-05-06

tor National UNITY lcheers). very well,
nothing is easier-only let the ninety
nine assert themselves like men Cloud
cheers), and let the courly give up
looking for unity to the 6 iZ.t of men
where you cannot have it, ae<1e. is to
few members of parliamenext S
glad to see so moderate and thoue q
an Irishman as Mr. Alfred Webb poil.
ing out that the country itself is as
united as any country can hope to be if
it only had some organized means Of
making its will respected (hear, hear).
The Limerick board of guardians have
done brave and memorable National
service in bringing this parliamentary
pustrlto head once for all. We have
two of the originators of that movement
amongst US (cheers for Mr.. McInerney
and Alderman O'Mara), and it is one of
the remarkable signs of the times that
Mr.. Mc1nerney was yesterday unani-
mously chosen chairman of the Limerick
board of guardians as well as chairman
of the Clare district council (cheers).
But I think Mr.. McInerney and Alder
man O'Mara will be the first to tell you
that we have done quite enough in the
way of dancing attendance upon gentle
men who have sickened the country
(cheers) with hair-splitting and quib-
bling points of etiquette that would not
be worthy lawyers debating society.
cloud cheers.) Ninety-nine out Of
every hundred men of the Irish race are
for National Unity. What the country
wants is square dealing Cloud cheers).
Everybody knows that the whole thing
would be settled in five minutes if two
or three men came into room with the
right dispositions-with the same dis
positions (hear, hear) with which men
like Mr.. McInerney and others have
stretched out an honest hand to their
brother Nationalists. 1t is not the way
that is wanting, but the will (cheers).
If you ask me how these parliamentary
squabbles are to be dealt with / would
answer simply: Let them alone cloud
cheers). Take no notice of them. Let
them pull and drag as they please in
parliament for the present. Things can
not possibly be worse than they are,
when only 16 out of Sc home rule men,
bers thought it worth while to vote for
the Evicted Tenants bill (shame). What
happens in the English parliament be-
tween this and the general election is
suprenely unimportant compared with
what can be done in Ireland cloud
cheers). The only way of bringing
these gentlemen to reason is to ignore
them (cheers), and to make them feel
that the fate of the country is not hang
ing upon their lips cloud cheers). 1t
takes two sides to make quarrel. For
the last two years in the West we have
not made the slightest reference to these
parliamentary dissensions. We have
never even mentioned these gentlemen's S
names, but let them and their news
papers blaze away and abuse us to their
hearts content (cheers and laughter)
And what is the consequence? That
the moment it came to vote of the
people all these gentlemen's abuse had
no more effect than if their speeches
and their newspapers were printed in
the Chinese language (great cheering).
|'If you want proof that the country can
have unity without the members of par
Lament, and in spite of the members Of
parliament, you need go no further than
the county council elections of last week
(cheers). 1t was, perhaps, one of the
most important turning points in the
whole history OF this country. Two Of
the three parliamentary factions, or frac-
tions, or whatever you may call them,
advised the people to do what Mr.. Bal
four wanted them to do (groans), and
to elect minority of landlords, without
telling us by what machinery we were
to prevent the landlord minority
from becoming majority if once
you introduced the thin end of the wedge
of shoneeism and snobbery Cloud
cheers). Here and there one or two
landlords have survived as specimens OF
an extinguished order, just as you would
occasionally meet wolf in the remote
parts of Ireland up to the end OF the
last century Qaughter); but was there
ever such smash and wreck in single
day? You may pick up few survivors
-"rari nantes in gurgite vasto"-a few
queer fish like Lord Dunraven and Lord
Castlerosse have swan in on an ocean
of porter daughter and cheers), but as
to that landlord domination that held
this country in the hollow OF its hand
for many an age, it is gone to the bot
tom for all eternity (great cheering),
deeper than did ever plummet sound.
The people now know their strength,
and their enemies know it. If ever there
was united country it was the country
that at single blow annihilated land
lordism and factionism at the polls last
week (cheers).
Few countries have suffered so many
changes of name as Ireland. In the
time of Ptolemy the island was known
as Scotia. Diodorus Siculus calls the
island Irs, or Irisi; in the 'DeMundo,"
credited by. some scholars to Aristotle,
T. &c co11ed Traooa. a., %ha GA rooo,,,+;c,