The times., 1899-03-27
IRISH TO CONFER.
An Effort to Reunite Irish NATIONAL
lists in Parliament.


Dublin. Ireland. March 26.-The most
serious attempt TO reunitc the Irish Ma
uonaiist members of Parliament since the
Parnell split will be made in the City Hall
here April 4.
A conference. to which all the Nation
aiist members of Parliament of all sec
tions are invited, will assemble that day
with the object of arriving at basis of
unity and common action for the future in
and out of Parliament.
This conference is the result of the en-
ergetic measures taken by the Limerick
corporation to ascertain the feeling of the
public bodies throughout Ireland having
Nationalist majorities on the subject OF
reunion and a cessation OF fnternecine
strife.
Mr.. Dillon and the majority of those who
act with him Immediately accepted the in
vitation to the conference. Mr.. Healy and
several of his colleagues also signfied their
intention to be present, but John Redmond
has not yet replied.
Unfortunately there has been hitch in
connection with proposition made by
Redmond which may balk the whole effort
at unity. Early in March he sent to Sir
| Thomas Esmonde-the acting chairman Of
the Irish party since Dillon resigned-a
| resolution adopted by his followers pro-
posing that before the Dublin meeting
there should be preliminary conference
in London of all the Irish Nationalist
members to decide, il possible, upon a
scheme of agreement to be submitted to
the Dublin conference
Though this proceeding was considered
by Dillon and other members of the Irish
party rather superfluous they still urged
Esmonde to summon full meeting of the
party quickly to consider Redmond's sug-
gestion. But Esmonde fell i'll Of influenza,
has been laid up a month, and as no one
was empowered to act in his stead he fixed
the meeting of the Irish party to consider
Redmond's proposal for Tuesday, March %.
the day Parliament adjourns for the Easter
recess.
Healy in his paper accused Dillon. Blake,
Davitt, and T. p. O'Connor with having
arranged this most inconvenient date. when
few Irish members will be in London. in
order to kill Redmonds proposal and pre-
vent him from joining the conference in
Dublin. These members, however. have re-
torted by showing that they protested from
the first to Esmonde against delay In hold
ing the meeting and warned him that the
2Sth was fatally late.
Esmonde, in fact, committed the blum
der, imperiling the whole chance of sue
cess of the unity movement for the pres
ent. The interval between March Is and
April 4 is insufficient to admit OF negotia-
tions between Redmond and the Irish party,
and Redmond may refuse to have anything
to do with the Dublin conference.
1t is not certain either whether 1t will be
attended even by Healy and his followers
il Redmond remains away as he almost
surely will.
Thus malign fate seems to follow every
attempt to restore unity to the Irish fac
tions.
Dillon's retirement, inspired as it was By
the best motives, may result in leaving
matters even worse of than they were be-
fore
The Irish party has no real chairman at
present the election having been deferred
at Dillon's suggestion until after the Dub
lin conference If that conference fails the
possibility of agreeing upon chairman
will be more remote than ever.