The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-11-21
ANOTHER PICTURE OF PARNELL
By F. I. MONKS

England appealed less. knew the man, publicly and privately. I have discussed many questions with him and never for moment did he entertain feeling in which any one of these three qualities found Judgment in his breast He was 'too proud to be vindictive,s personal honors had no attraction for him, In fact he was a man of retiring manner rather than spotlight performer, and so far as bringing England and it's government to their knees concerned him he only trled to do so to obtain Justice for his own country. Any person who reads Eng lish history knows that England never did justice to a weaker power until that power put England on her knees. Amer jeans ought to know this, and 1T they don't 1t is not because the school books fail to tell it. -
 Parnell went to the house of commons as representative of the Irish people and he asked justice, simple justice, for l Ireland His words fell with as much ef- l feet upon the government as hailstones on a granite pavement. His maiden 1 speech, published In Hansard, shows the 1 enthusiasm and ardor of the young pa I triot as he told the house the old. old story, 'the wrongs of Ireland" With | the attention and respect which the house of commons always listens to a maiden speech Mir. Parnell was favored. but si- | fence followed its close. The meteor flash l ed across the sky and then all was dark ness. On the following day "The Times" on terms of mock qualification, hailed him as the newest and latest patriot from
 the Emerald Isle and got off some merry Jests on the wrongs complained of. | Tl,oE nc. x--JJs on the wrongs of Ireland, thereafter he i, spoke on the demands of Ireland, and
 he began the study, the deep earnest
 study of book that afterwards was | 10 him, and since has been to his suc- | cessors, the most powerful weapon ever used by a member of the house of com
 mons, and that book was the rules of procedure. Armed with the knowledge of
 the rules he began a campaign of ob-
 struction in which he was supported by
 six or seven associates and soon he had
 the government on their knee, and it took the united strength of 800 men to
 crush Parnell and his dauntless six. Ths
 forces of obstruction having been over | come Parnell saw that he must have an independent body of men behind him of I such number as to hold the balance Of power between the two great political | parties in the house of commons, and |
 men, all pledged to sit, act and vote as
 unit under his leadership. Then it was that MT. Gladstone introduced his first
 home rule bill which was lost through
 the treachery of Joseph Chamberains
 The tale of Ireland's wrongs was a sor- | rowful tale but wearisome, and brought
 no results; Ireland's demands for justice
 woke England up and has kept her widss
 awake to this day.
 It Is difficult to confine oneself to a
 small space when the subject is one
 that could we'll fill volume. The time
 will come when Parnell will be as in-
 teresting study for statesmen as Ma
 poleon is for the soldiers. Had Parnell
 been the vain, yindctive, cold hearted sort of a man that MT Harrison describes
 him he never would have won his way into the hearts of the Irish people, not
 only in Ireland, but all over the world
 He never would have left behind nim
 such a feeling as found expression a few
 days ago in Dublin when a quarter mill
 lion people barred their heads in salutu,- | ton to his statue. Parnell was the | Moses of his people and, like Moses
 brought his people within sight of she Promised Land which he himself was
 not destined to enter He was a grea,
 leader, great statesman; man of sim.
 pie tastes and few intmates. His pri
 vate life, known to few, is equally as in
 teresting for it's quiet, yet practical stud, Of the every day problems confronting th, poor. and his plans for their bettermen snow where his heart lay