Year: 1879

ing tmef 1t is q question that, We have
10 doubt, will be deeply and Anxiously
considered. The actual state OF things
at present existing is far from being satis


factory. bat we see no reason why anyone
should be disheartened thereby. The coan
try eau repair what Is amiss, and push on
with the work of Irish patriotism. In the
long and arduous but still glorious struggle
for the national rights of our native land
there will inevitably come periods of de-
preston, of disappointment, IL may be OF
disaster; bat if the heart of the people be
sound, as we believe it to be, if their pa
triotic resolve be unshaken, as We believe
il ia, the cause cannot be lost, the depres-
sion will be overcome, the disaster will be
repaired, and the struggle, however pro-
longed, will be certain to eventuate in sue
cess.


just now how stand the facts with rs Z
After five years of working, a national
Parliamentary party from whom much was
expected is found to be much less eff cient
than it WAS supposed to be. Some OF it's
members appear not to have much heart
in the business they undertook to perform,
some have shown themselves quite neglect
full of their duties, and the course of con
duct pursued by others is 30 much at vari-
ance with the sentiments, the wishes, and
the intentions of their constituents as to be
surprising and almost inexplicable. This
ia not pleasant, but yet it is Hot very won
OeTIQI. ElV0 years vi "Oih
suffice to give a shake to any party; per.
sonal weaknesses are developed in that
time; individual faults of character are
made apparent; differences of opinion
crop up the enthusiasm of some men is
found to abste and the whole machine
begins to stand in need of repair. 1t is 30
with every party. Even the British Cab


net, small in mum ber and carefully select
ed though it is, and having moreover the
bonds of pay and power to keep its compo-
nent parts together, is not exempt from the
deterioratiDg effects of wear and tear. Dis
cordant elements find their way into even
that small circle, disruptions take place
there, some members are got rid of and
others are taken into their places. Unfor-
tunately for the public interest we have no
way of compelling the retirement of men,
bers of Parliament who have ceased to en-
Joy the confidence of their constituents
for the making OF such changes we have to
wait for the general election, but the mere
fact that a necessity for some such changes
has arisen affords no ground for despair
ing of the public cause. We must expect
such things they are not pleasant, but
they are inevitable. Our d1ty is to make
good, when we can, the defects shown to
exist in our political organization we
must repair it as we would steam engine
which needed some new wheels, cranks or
pivots but to think of destroying it would
be an act of folly.


OF course we have to face the fact that
the appointed leader of our national move
ment has, for come unexplained cause, or
combination of causes, practically abdicat-
ed his functions. This Is serious mischief,
quite a misfortune to ia, bat even so, it
should not induce us to despair. No man
has the Irish cause in the hollow of his
hand to make or break it. Its custodians
are the Irish people, and while it has
place in their hearts it is indestructible.
We know not how to account for the course
taken by Mr.. Butt during the past twelve
months, or, We might cay, two years.
Many guesses and surmses there have
been on the subject, many explanations
have been suggested, but which of them to
adopt, or whether any one of them is cor
rect, who can tell 3 What is beyond gues-
tion is that, by one means and another, in
Parliament and out of it, Mr.. Butt has so
acted as to bring paralysis upon the move
nent. By somewhat more cheerfulDess,
more energy and more courage he could
have kept the Parliamentary party and the
Home Rale League 10 good working order.
There was life and spirit in those bodies.
They we're willing TO work and ready for
action, but he reduced them to u condition
IN which they are numb and dumb. He
denounced the active party among the
Irish members, and thereby deferred q
number of their colleagues from giving
them any countenance or assistance ; he
excluded the favorers OF an active policy
from the Council of the League, and 80
brought that body to lie quiet as log Of
wood upon the W aters. His motives for all
this we cannot pretend to determine to
us they are inscrutible; we have never
alleged that they were dishonorable. In
the bitterness of the public feeling occa-
stoned by his conduct things have been
said of him of which we are far from ap-
proving: correspondents writing of him in
these columns have used language which
we would be sorry to adopt as Onr own.
We cannot, however, resist the conclusion
that, however the fact may be accounted
for, fact it is that MI. Butt has actually
and decidedly y failed to carry on the move
ment which he 80 ably and 30 hopefully
inaugurated. As we have said in a pre-
vious article, he no longer leads it, he
rather holds it back. He has blocked the
wheels of the engine, screwed down the
brakes, turned of the steam, and left it
stuck fast in a rut. Bat there the Irish
people will not allow it to remain. They
must have it out again, placed upon the