Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-09-02
Only Serious Opposition VIII
Come From the IgnOble
FaetiOnists.
Irish Leaders to Educate Eng
lish People on Home
Rule.
O'BRIEN and HEALY SCORED


ablest and most reliable papers in
Ireland, in a review of the political
situation and the course of William
O'Brien and Tim Healy, asserts that
the final fight for Ireland's freedom
must be fought, not at home, but in
the English constituencies during the
next year or two. The Irish men,
bers of Parliament during the time
the home rule bill will be in course
of transit ought to be free to devote
the entire of their time and attention
to educating the English people as
to what home rule is, and countering
the campaign which will certainly be
entered upon by Orange emissaries
in England to poison the electorate
there. AS things are, however, in
ireland 1t will be necessary at the
same time to devote some attention
to the campaign which will certainly
be made by factionists at home to
lnstill poison of slightly different
character into the Nationalist body,
in the hope of creating diversion
which may perhaps give strength to
the opponents of home rule. Nobody
doubts that his attempt will be
made by the factionists. They have
been steadily working up to it for
some time. Whatever the form of
home rule may be that will be Of
fered us, it will inevitably be as
sailed with vicious criticism by the
factionists, who will endeavor to con-
vince Irishmen that it is a vicious
and worthless thing because they
themselves have chosen to prophecy
that it would be. 1t will be neces-
sary to pay some attention to these
gentlemen.
1t is a mistake to allow Messrs.
O'Brien and Healy to pour venom
into Irish ears without supplying the
antidotes. Experience has shown
that constant repetition of any state
ment unchallenged by contradiction
will result in that statement being
swallowed by a certain number of
gullible people. O'Brien has for
some considerable time, for instance,
been prophesying the failure of the
attack upon the House of Lords. He
has denounced it as "crazy and in
sane" ridiculous and impossible"
beyond the pale of practical pol
Itics," and so on. He has predicted
over and over again in speeches and
writing that the Lords would win
and that Redmond and his idiotic ,
adorers" would be swept out of
political existence in the failure of
their hopeless attempt to destroy the
one obstacle in the way of home
rule. These prophecies of O'Brien
have failed; but their failure will
not prevent his credulous supporters
from swallowing predictions quite as
"crazy and insane" Furthermore
there is danger that gentleman who
INDUCES in prophecies will strain
every nerve to make his prophecies
come true. O'Brien certainly gave
no help in the attack upon the Lords,
which despite his prophecy has sue
ceeded. He may be relied on to
give no help to the home rule bill,
for in his preconceived opinion no
possible good can come from either
the Irish party or the Liberals. Has
he not told us that only he can give
us real home rule by combining all
parties in favor of I'll
The pet subject of the Seer of
Mallow for two years past has been
the so-called breakdown of land
purchase, consequent on the Birrell
act of 1909. He aired his grievances
under this head in the House OF
Commons by declaring that act to be
''the biggest failure and crime in the
history of English government in
SO long as O'Brien made
these statements in Cork they es-
- /
zion; but his ventilation OF this
grievance in Parliament enabled
Brrell to show that the act Of 1909
lid not stop land purchase at all, /
hat its chief effect was TO relieve
he Irish taxpayer of the liability
imposed on him by the act OF 1903
% make good all the loss on the flota-
ion of land stock, amounting TO
many millions sterling. The fact Is
hat the finance of the 1903 act, of
which Healy used to speak in terms
II such extravagant praise, COM
)letely broke down, and II all the
and of Ireland had been purchased
inder that act, and no relief been I
yiven under the Birrell act, the
country would have been by this
ime in a condition Of hopeless and
nextricable bankruptcy. Its people {
n town and country would have been /
liable for millions OF money lost by
he Treasury in floating stock that
he public could not be got to take
L par. So far from land purchase
laVing broken down. the five millions l
year, which Wyndham expected Z
would be needed TO finance II. have [
,rown TO eight millions year; and a
n this very year the Treasury has {
,een called upon for the greatest /
mount ever asked for this purpose. /
he act OF 1909, whatever its short 9
emings. relieved the Irish tax I
aver. II provided for the 4
acquisition OF land In d
ongested districts-the real crux- 4