The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-11-27
LEAVES SINN FEINERS
M. j. Lennon, Of Athlone, Vacates tho
Chairmanship,

!, meeting is taken from the Dublin
= Weekly Freeman of Nov. IS:
!. A general meeting of the Athlone
\ Sim Fem Society was held on Sun
!; day night in the town hall. Mr.. M. ].
\ Lennon, ex-chairman of the Athlone
4 Urban Council, presided.
Amongst the large pile Of cordespon-
dence read was a letter informing the
4 branch that the year began with 4
7. debit balance of 200 pounds, and that
1000 pounds was required to carry
out the work given the Council Ivy
! Congress. .
Protest was also made in the corre-
spondence against the election of out
siders for parliamentary vacancies rs
!, in the case of Kilkenny, Sligo and Ar
! magh
/, The secretary regretted that out of
(. 1913 branches only 81 paid the affiliA-
! ton fee.
1t was decided eventually to make q
( special levy in aid of the funds.
Z, In reference to compulsory Irish, a
protracted debate took place. The
chairman said they may insist on
compulsory Irish, but they had the
educational authorities in the country
fighting against them and Directing
to have Irish essential in the Univer-
sity.
Mr.. Norton. U. D. c., said the Gaelic
teacher had to leave Athlone when
the bishops declared themselves
against compulsory Irish. Why didn't
/! we support him?
o. Chairman-The League is practical
~ dead in Athlone.
Mr.. Daly-And soccer football has
taken it's place.
Chairman-For that matter the IL.
"A. A. are the strongest supporters Of
the Irish party. We, as Irishmen
should not be pickering. If the Irish
fjority of the country think they are
right, we should not be pickering. AS
Sim Feiners we should fight the COM
! mon enemy and not our own country
men. No doubt the Irish party could
find better men than Mr.. MacMurrough
Mavanaugh, Or the gentleman they
elected for Sligo, or than the man they
elected for South Westmeath, bit
there are men in the Irish party vino
| have proved themselves good Irish
men.
Mr.. Mulvhill-And they are well
paid for it.
Chairman know men who repre-
: scented Westmeath in other times who
fwere not paid and they represented ii
very badly. ! know Parliamentarians
in this town and they are better Ma
tionalists than I am. It was matter
for the country whether the Irish par
ty were to withdraw from the House
of Commons.
Mr.. Norton, U. D. Cit is singular
| that you should be chairman of Slim
Fein if you are in doubt about that
policy. The withdrawal of the Irish
! party is the foundation of the Sim
Fein policy. Do you believe in the
| withdrawal of the members from Par
lament?
Chairman-If there was a free and
independent party 1 would keep them
kthere-a party like Parnell.
Mr.. Norton-Oh, you have Parnell
once in a century.
/ Chairman-There is no use in say
ltng the Parliamentary movement did
tnot do good.
Mr.. Norton said it was cowardly OF
kthe Irish party not to vote against the
FINANCE bill because they might en-
Pbarrass the government
Mr.. Murray-Anyone who is not in
favor of the Irish party withdrawing
from Parliament cannot call himself
Ia Sim Feiner. The Irish party got
Etnstructions from a National conven-
ktion to oppose additional taxation, and
Sthey did not vote against the Budget
which put on Ireland two millions of
/ additional taxation.
Is Chairman-I am opposed to that
am opposed to any such resolution.
Is Mr.. Sweeny said they could call on
the public boards to know if they were
satisfied with the action of the Irish
party.
Mr.. Murray agreed to that sugges-
Il tion.
Mr.. Sweeny then proposed the fol-
\ lowing resolution: "rhat we. the
4 members of the Athlone branch Of
i Sim Fem, ask the public bodies who
4. sent delegates to the recent National
Convention if they are satisfied with
4 the action of the Irish party in alb
staining from voting on the budget in
view of the fact that the convention
81 4nStructed the Irish partv to Vigorous