The Birkenhead News and Wirral General Advertiser. — 1880-10-09 (Birkenhead, Merseyside, England)

THE IRISH LEADER.  There can be no doubt that Mr. John Stewart Parnell is the trusted leader of the Irish people at the present moment. This must be admitted, though the state of the case is to be deplored, as he is far from being the most prudent of men. The other day he paid a visit to Cork. He received a reception such as seldom, if ever, fell to the lot of the " Liberator," Daniel O'Connell. The Town Council waited at Blarney to tender on behalf of the town their congratulations; the Land League was very largely represented; the committee of the hon, gentleman attended to a man; and at least thirty thousand members of trade societies and the labouring classes put in an appearance. After he had thanked his constituents for their kindly welcome, and the expression of approval of his parliamentary proceedings, the procession formed and marched to the Park, where the agitator addressed a large meeting. The feeling which animates many of the ardent persons who are disposed to make an idol of him may be gathered from a circumstance connected with his visit. A report says :—" At the commencement of the procession two Land Leaguers, O'Brien and Cronin, the latter the secretary to tne League in Cork, took seats in the carriage. These men, however, were remarked as persons who, at a meeting of the Land League, denounced the late raid for arms in Cork harbour. The men were pulled from the carriage, roughly handled, and threatened. Revolvers were drawn, and mischief might have been done had not the obnoxious men retreated and hidden themselves." It is to be presumed that Mr. Parnell's admirers felt that he would not condemn the seizure of arms. But, though he makes inflammatory speeches, he only, so far as mere explicit words go, urges his followers to am in a constitutional way. In the course of his speech at Blarney he said that "what Prussia had been able to do in the establishment  of a peasant proprietory a few years after the commencement of the present century England ought to be able to do tomorrow. He was sure that if the tenantry of Ireland would follow the advice of himself and his friends, within a very brief period they would have transferred two-thirds of the land of Ireland from the Irish landlords to the tenants. Perhaps during the next session of Parliament the Gladstone Ministry would find itself unable to settle this laud question, and would offer them some concession not worth their acceptance, and he felt sure that the longer a settlement of this question was delayed in this way the worse terms the landlords would eventually get. The Land League would soon bo in the position ' of victors, and then they would be able Ito dictate their own terms. They were determined to do their very utmost to make Ireland great, glorious, prosperous, and free, and to take the power of governing her out of the hands of the English Parliament and people and transfer it to the hands of the Irish." We are afraid, however, that he and his admirals are not so near the consummation of their hopes as they appear to think. Nor do we fancy that they will do much to advance their cause by establishing a reign of terror and throwing a sort of indulgence, if not countenance, over murder and outrage. It would be well to see them appeal to a Beuse of justice more and threaten less.