The Irish standard., 1911-04-29

cultlvates silence. Animated by an
unwavering enthusiasm, by forcing
himself 10 severe restraint for the
sake of his future plans, he is known
as the hard, determined political
fighter. giving no mercy. asking for
none, and ready when the day comes
to strike mercilessly. He has had no
time to develop the humor which no
lrishman ever lacks. His purpose has
been too serious, too grim, his diff
culties too great, to permit the light
jest and the witty repartee. His life
has been given up 10 political war
fare. And yet away from his official
work John Redmond Is not at all an
ogre. Amiability and reasonableness
| go with a certain business acuteness.
In Ireland l heard him telling funny
stories of his American experiences
with a gravity which only gave them
keener point. But both in the House
Of Commons and out of it he main
tains dignity which is absolutely
part of him.
William Redmond's Characteristics.
William Redmond is an entirely diff
fent type of 1rishman. He has wavy
iron-grey hair, humorous eyes, and his
face, though of the Redmond type, is
much softer in contour than his broth
er's He is not heavily built. His
voice has a drawling broguc, peculiar
ly effective for purposes ur rcpartee.
He makes frequent use of it, and ques-
| ton time in the House is a great per-
iod for him. AS his courage is equal
to his wit, he has added much vivacy
to Parliamentary proceedings. He is
Il great favorite with members. Popu-
larity at Westminster, as in school
life, is often indicated by the manner
in which IL man is known, and no one
ever refers privately to William Red
mond except as willie Redmond"
which with Its implication Of affection
ate familiarity exactly describes the
attitude of the House towards him.
They idolize him in Ireland. ! was at
Cork during the recent election, in
which he was 9, candidate, and was
! present when one Of crowd Of work
ing women forced her way into the
brake from which he was speaking,
put her arm around his neck and
kissed him.
TO these two is now added William
Archer Redmond, aged twenty-siX
He was returned at the last election
for East Tyrone, the scat previously
held by r. NJ. Kettle. Ie chose the
debate on Home Rule as the occasion
on which to make his maiden speech
and it is safe to say that after John
Redmond and the Prime Minister
there was no speaker who was looked
forward to with as great interest
by the Nationalists. He took his
place on his fathers bench, being sep
arated from him by two or three other
members. There was very general
desire to take part In the debate, and
young Mr.. Redmond had to wait his
turn throughout the dinner hour. The
loyal nntionlists waited with him. He
looked indeed the son of his father
as he sat there with a bundle of notes
in his hand, as he waited for the op-
portunity which was so long in com
ing.
The New Members First Speech.
He has his fathers bold, haWkllke
nose, his square jaw, his determined
mouth, and there is the Irish Leaders
expression in his eyes. The resem-
blance would be phenomena were It
not that in place of the grey hair,
thinning rapidly, OF his father, he has
q luxuriant mass Of dark hair. When
the Speaker at last called on linn he
rose amid enthusiastic cheers from
the Nationalists and plunged at once
into his facts and arguments. He
spoke huently. His voice Is strange
blend Of his fathers and his uncle's.
John Redmond had place at the
end of the bench in the comparative
obscurity of the gallery, and one could
imagine his emotions as he leaned
forward to lose no word of his sons
| first speech. William Redmond came
hurrying in from the Lobby and stood
at the Bar listening to the young man
with an expression OF happy reflective
ness. AS to the members in general,
they divided their attention between
father, uncle and nephew. Everybody
had temporarily forgotten Home Rule,
and for once in a way politics were
far from the minds of all.
A Clever Reply.
Archbishop Ireland was urging one