The Irish standard., 1899-05-20
The CAUSE OF IRELAND ADVANCING
Great Triumph OF Nationality in
The Recent Elections.
FALSE TOLERATION POLICY IGNORED
He Advocates the Boycotting of
The Land-Grabbers.

At recent meeting OF the United
Irish League, held in Wcstport, Mayo,
William O'Brien delivered speech
from which the following is taken:
Now, some OF the wiseacres told us
that the cause OF Home Rule would be
greatly damnifcd in England if we did
not return landlords and Unionists at
the elections Qaughter). Well, l think
that there are very few thinking men
now in the country who do not rccog-
nize that that policy OF bogus federation
was about as hideous piece OF folly as
ever men calling themselves Irish Ma,
tionalists committed themselves to.
If that policy had succeeded there would
have been an end of Home Rule for an
ether generation to come (hcar, hear).
1t would take another Fenian movement
and another Clerkenwell explosion to
awaken Englishmen to the fact that
there was such a thing as an Irish ques-
ton left at all (applause). Whereas,
what is the result OF the Irish people
having spoken out like mcn-why, you
have all England now alive to the fact
that the Irish question is more for
midable question than ever, that instead
OF spiking the guns OF the agitators they
have certainly added hundred pound
gun to OUR national artillery (chccrs)
You have the Times newspaper de-
claring "Unionism has been annihilated
in Munster and Connaught, almost to-
tally extirpated in Leinstcr, and badly
wounded even in Ulster" (Chccrs) l
know Englishmen fairly we'll now, and
SO do many OF you, l am sure. They
have their good qualities, they respect
manlincss, and they despise slavislnncss
(hear, hear) They would have walked
over us with contempt if we had re-
turned those landlord shoncen squircens
for our representatives (hear, l1car). But
now, on the contrary, Englishmcn arc
so impressed with the wonderful nation
al feeling that has been shown in Ire
land that if we only had a parliamentary
Party to do their work as unitcdly and
as we'll as the people did it at the polls
the week before last, I believe in my
heart that the Irish cause would occupy
more prominent position in England
to-day than ever it occupied, even in
the hey-day of Mr.. Parnell's power
(hcar, hear). Now. in this county OF
Mayo especially, we have provided the
country with an object lesson OF very
great national importance, and that les
son is that it is still perfectly possible,
in spite OF all that people say of apathy
and dissension-it is still perfectly pos
sible to get the whole population of two
hundred thousand people to act together
with as much unity and as much dis
ciplinc as in the best days OF the Land
League organization (chccrs). What
happened here? Candidates were chosen
in this room and by the other executives
through Mayo, in the frccst democratic
spirit, all personal jcalousics and little
local fcuds were tramplcd under foot,
and against difficulties as great as ever
assailcd a popular movement the cand-
dates OF this League, without single
exception, were carried TO the top OF the
poll (oud chccrs) by the votes OF the
iriezc-coatcd people in the cabins
(chcers) against all the influences OF the
rich and the powerful and Of those who
call themselves respectable because they
have no earthly title to respect Daughter
and cheers). But something even better
than that has happened because some
times once men are elected, they forget
the pledges on which they were elected
(hcar, hear). In many parts OF Ireland
County Councils have been chosen more
or less at hapllazard and without any
regular bond OF discipline to hold them
together, and it remains to be seen how
they will turn out. notice that one OF
them has already gone on its knees with
a grovelling resolution of welcome to an
English prince (groans). A voice mo-
mcnt ago reminded me of what hap
pened in the County Tyrone. Two So
called Nationalist County Councillors in
Strabanc have given the County Tyrone
to the Duke of Abercorn (groans).
There is no danger OF that here (cheers).
The Mayo County Council met before
hand to decide what course OF action
would be most serviceable for the Ma
tional cause. They pledged themselves
in writing to abide by the decision OF