The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1913-01-18
EDMOND GIVEN
VICTOR 5 PALM
BY ALL L[ADE RS
Speakers Logic, Wit and
Sarcasm Cause Opponents
to Vince All Through
Great Grafton
POETIC FEELING IS
DISPLACED BY FACT
Local Irishnen Express
Views on Measure Passed
by Commons
Special Cable to The CALI


LONDON. Jan. l7.-Unionist and lib
eral leaders alike, in reviewing the
debate preceding the triumph OF the
home rule bill IN the house of COM
mons, award the palm to John e. Red
mond. The famous leader was in his
great solemnity but with frequent
flashes of humor.
The grafton. though coming at the
most dramatic moment in the speakers 8
career, bore no signs of special
preparation. On the contrary. 1t flowed
swiftly. and the short, homely words
seemed quite impromptu. It held the
house breathless except for occasional
sharp explosions of applause.
Enemies of home rule. men who de-
clare that home rule means rebellion
and bloodshed in Ulster. forgot their
with intent faces, over which, now
and then, ripples of emotion played.
The logic of the speakers home thrusts
and facts caused the leaders of the
opposition to vince.
The big stocky nationalist. though
having the full share of Ce1t's poetic
feeling and gift for word coloring, gave
scant rein to these. The speech was
compounded of history. political facts
and blunt strokes which strive to block
the restoration to Ireland of its rights
to nationhood.
BALF0UR HIS MAIN TARGET
..rth1r ]. Balfo1r was selected as
Redmond's main target. He showed
how inconsistent the Tory leaders at
.titude toward Ireland was when COM
pared with his attitude toward every
other part of the empire. AS the lib
erals gave representative government
to South Africa Balfour had appre-
ciated the principle Of nationality and
recognized that a government which
ignored or defied this principle could
not abide.
Touching the watchword of the union
lists, Redmond, the dictator" the Irish
leader reminded the house that the
home rule bill had secured at every
stage an average majority OF 11s,
which meant that in eliminating the
Irish vote that purely British majority
was as large as the majority which
in the past, including the Irish vote.
had passed some OF the greatest re-
forms in the last century. He recalled
how the Tories throughout their his
tory had distrusted the people, with
held political liberty wherever possible
and inflicted irreparable calamity upon
the empire.
BEST IRISH SPEECH HEARD
just here the fire of passion blazed
up brightly, but almost at once the
speaker damped 1t down to the re-
strained level of his great .utterance.
Indeed. even his peroration. which was
a moving picture OF oratory, was kept
within studied bounds. The speakers
intense feeling glowed in his eye and
face and vibrated in his voice. sending
thrill after thrill through the rapt
members on the benches, but never
once did it carry him out OF an almost
Grecian mold Of simplicity and mod
and while the house was swept by a
tempest of jubilant and affecting en-
thusiasn1. one of the old hands In the
press gallery remarked:
THAT. perhaps, was the most i'm
pressfve, conciliatory, and uniformly
statesmanlike Irish speech ever heard
in the house OF commons"