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THE
TRUTH ABOUT THE LAND LEAGUE,
Its Leaders, and its Teaching.
BY
"ONE WHO KNOWS."
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1882
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TRUTH ABOUT THE LAND LEAGUE,
Its Leaders, and its Teaching.
BY
"ONE WHO KNOWS."
Hugh Jakeley
?
-Forster
"MAKE A NOTE.
HERE ARE ABUNDANT MATERIALS.
LIGHT THROUGH
ENGLAND."
SPREAD THE
"TRANSATLANTIC" in the Irish World.

PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY
THE NATIONAL PRESS AGENCY, LIMITED,
13, Whitefriars Street, E. C.
1882.
CONTENTS.
PAGES
CHAP. I. INTRODUCTORY. Sources of
Information Probable
Criticisms-Their Value-Question at Issue-Responsibility of Leaders
-Irish Point of View-The Leaders of the Land League
CHAP. II.-THE FOUNDER OF THE LAND LEAGUE. Michael
Davitt-The Charge against Him-His Trial-Letter Attributed to
Him-Opinion of the Lord Chief Justice-Verdict and Sentence-
Subsequent Career of Davitt
CHAP. III-THE TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE (1880).
PART I. SPEECHES BY MEMBers OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
Land League Speeches in 1880-Mr. Parnell at New Ross-Mr. Biggar
on Murder - Mr. Biggar on Grazing Farms
...
CHAP. IV.—THE TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE (1880).
PART II. SPEECHES by MEMBERS OF THE LAND LEAGUE. Speeches
delivered at Land League Meetings-Their Uniform Character-
Speeches by Brennan, M. O'Sullivan, R. Lalor, Muffeney, Harris,
Gordon, Nally
...
CHAP. V.-THE TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE (1880).
PART III. SPEECHES INCITING TO REBELLION AND TREASON.
Speeches by Boyton, Brennan, Walsh, Nally, M. O'Sullivan, T. D.
Sullivan, Sheridan, Dillon
...
...
...
CHAP. VI. THE TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE (1880).
PART IV. MR. PARNELL'S SPEECHES. Speeches by Mr. Parnell-
Remarks upon their Character-Speeches in the House of Commons
-In Ireland-Banquet Speeches -American Speeches
I-4
5-8
9-12
13-17
18-23
24-28
CHAP. VII.—THE LITERATURE OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
PART I. THE IRISH WORLD." The Irish World-Its Character
- Its Connection with the Land League-Opinions of Messrs. Parnell,
Brennan, Davitt, and Redpath with regard to it-Mr. Redpath-
Pecuniary Support given by the Irish World to the Land League 29-33
...
iv
Contents.
PAGES
CHAP. VIII.-THE LITERATURE OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
PART I THE "IRISH WORLD" (continued). The Irish World
on Murder, Rebellion, Mutilation, Plunder-The Use of Dynamite—
Mr. Parnell's "Practical Joke”—The Official View of the "Practical
Joke "...
CHAP. IX.-THE
...
...
LITERATURE OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
PART II. "UNITED IRELAND." A Moral Strife-Connection of the
Land League with United Ireland-Incidents in the Moral War-The
Spirit of the Country-Proprietors of United Ireland-The Freeman's
Journal on the Land League-The "Guise of a Patriot "
"Dreamy Youths"-The First Correspondent of United Ireland,
and his Antecedents
...
CHAP. X.-POPULAR FALLACIES WITH REGARD TO THE
LAND LEAGUE. The Land League and the Repression of Crime-
Land League Meetings and Agrarian Outrages—The " Wild Justice of
Revenge "-Incorrectness of the Definition-Land League Protests
against Outrage by Mr. Biggar, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Sexton, and Mr. Parnell
-Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Parnell
CHAP.
RENT,
AND THE
UNWRITTEN LAW.
XI. - NO
The Land League Story-Inside the House-and Outside-A “Fair
Trial" for the Land Act-Mr. Parnell's Test Cases-The Convention and
the Land Act-The "Unwritten Law "What it is-The No Rent
Manifesto-How Enforced-A Model Farm
...
34-40
41-47
48-53
54-58
CHAP. XII.-CONCLUSION. Language used by Land Leaguers—Its
Coarseness-Its Dangers-Excessive Moderation in dealing with it—
Mr. Parnell and the House of Commons-Conduct of Irish Members
-Summary of the Achievements of the Land League-Conclusion 59-63
...

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE LAND LEAGUE.
"C
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY.
Though a young member of the Whig party, I will venture to speak in the
name of the whole body. I tell the honourable and learned gentleman, that the same
spirit which sustained us in a just contest for him will sustain us in an equally just
contest against him. Calumny, abuse, royal displeasure, popular fury, exclusion
from office, exclusion from Parliament, we were ready to endure them all, rather
than that he should be less than a British subject. We never will suffer him to
be more.”—Macaulay's Speech on Motion for Repeal of the Union, in answer to
O'Connell.
INTRODUCTORY-SOURCES OF INFORMATION-PROBABLE CRITICISMS-THEIR
VALUE-QUESTION AT ISSUE-RESPONSIBILITY OF LEADERS-IRISH POINT OF
VIEW-THE LEADERS oF THE LAND LEAGUE.
A few words of introduction are necessary in submitting this
pamphlet to the public. It is not, and does not pretend to be,
exhaustive. No complete history of the Irish Land League can be
written until its secret history is before the world; and that is not likely
to be for a long time to come. It is safe, however, to prophesy that
when it does see the light, the reputation of the organization which it
describes will not be improved.
Meanwhile, there are many sources of information already available,
and it is from these sources, and from these alone, that the passages
contained in the following pages are taken. With few exceptions
the extracts are from documents published by, or with the authority
of, the Land League. The quotations from speeches are in nearly
every instance from sworn reports which have been put in evidence
and never challenged. The correctness of the quotation, the effect of
the context, and the circumstances of the publication, can in every
instance be verified by any member of the public. It must not be
2
The Truth about the Land League.
supposed that because the passages selected are short or few in
number their paucity or brevity is due to any failure in the supply.
The contrary is the case. The Land League has raised up for itself
an indestructible monument in the literature which it has created.
That literature is voluminous, but it is uniform in its character. What
its character is it is the object of this pamphlet to show.
One word may be added in anticipation of the criticisms which are
tolerably certain to be made upon this compilation. It will be said
that to devote attention to the coarseness and brutality of a few men,
is to indicate forgetfulness of the circumstances which make that
coarseness and brutality a danger and a curse.
Of course, the argument is illogical, but that has not prevented its
doing duty very frequently in the past; nor is it likely to prevent it in
the future. But, indeed, whatever weight there is in the proposition
that the unhappy past of Ireland is in the main responsible for her
unhappy present, it is wholly in favour of the expediency of making
as clear as possible how the traditions of that unhappy past are being
aggravated and traded upon for the purpose of rendering doubly sure
an unhappy future.
It will be no answer to the strictures which the subsequent passages
may seem to imply, to say that without English tyranny there would
not now be Irish crime. That is a truism, but that is not the point.
The point is whether the so-called leaders of the Irish people have or
have not used the expressions and given the advice attributed to them
in these pages; whether, granting that they did so, the expressions
which they used and the advice they proffered were not coarse, brutal,
and criminal, calculated to bring about the very consequences which,
beyond all controversy, invariably followed them.
For the unfortunate people of Ireland, to whom want, oppression,
and the sense of injustice are realities, and who, above all, are ignorant of
the wider learning of the world, of the feeling of Englishmen towards
them, and of the desire of England to befriend them; for those whose sole
idea of what is passing outside their own localities comes through the
lying columns of worthless journals, every excuse ought to be made, and
indeed is made. But what is to be said in favour of those who,
removed from the madness which comes from despair, and free from
the perverted ideas of morality which are the fruit of ignorance, have
dared deliberately to inflame the vilest passions, and to pander to the
The Truth about the Land League.
3
lowest desires of the men whom by every reason of patriotism, of
honesty, and of humanity, they were bound to elevate and to protect? (1.)
Once more the question is: Did the men referred to in these pages
say and do the things therein attributed to them? If so, did they say
them and do them deliberately and of malice aforethought?
Lastly: One remark as to the invariable stock argument about
taking the Irish point of view in these matters. Once for all, as far as
these men are concerned, there is no Irish point of view. Even within
those limits to which with some justice the doctrine may be applied,
it has been terribly abused. It is true that in rare instances crimes
have been committed in Ireland which, in the popular estimation, were
not crimes, or, at the most, venial offences. English politicians,
prompted by a charity which has overrun its object, have sometimes
sought to palliate the fault because they pity the perpetrator. The
tendency is natural enough, but it is not without its perils in Ireland.
The lax way in which Englishmen have at times allowed themselves to
speak of acts of vengeance for real or fancied injuries committed in
Ireland, has done an infinity of harm among a people who are certainly
not too ready to appreciate the enormous difference between the
infliction of the sentence of death under the sanction of a court of law,
and the killing of any human being, however guilty, by an unauthorised
and irresponsible fellow-creature.
But whatever may be the moral guilt of those who offend against the
law under a fancied claim of right, there is surely no question about
that of those who not only know every intricacy of the law, but are able
to protect themselves by it when they please, and to influence public
opinion in their cause, and are at liberty to choose without interference
any and every method of relief save the one which they have
deliberately preferred to adopt.
It is right also that the world should realise who the leaders of this
Irish Land League really are. Some of them, it is true, are Irishmen,
others are not; but there is scarcely one among the number who, by his
education, by his position, or by his occupation, has not acquired ample
opportunities of studying the past history and present condition of his
(1.) This is how a leading member of the Land League speaks of the relations
between England and Ireland: "I will not mince my words, and I say that the one
prevailing and unchangeable passion between Ireland and England is the passion of
hate.”—Mr. Sexton, M.P., at the meeting of the Central Land League in Dublin,
October 14th, 1881.
4
The Truth about the Land League.
country from the outside. For them the excuses, which are perhaps
justly to be made for the ignorant and suffering tenantry of the West of
Ireland, are not available. Brought up, many of them, with the same
advantages, and under the same conditions as the representatives of
English constituencies, they deserve the same measure of justice as
those representatives receive, and no more. If it be true that their
countrymen are prone to be led away into the commission of outrage, it
was their duty to denounce outrage in terms that could not be mistaken.
If it be true that the history of the past has sown hatred between
England and Ireland, it was their duty to join with the people of
England, who for forty years have been striving to remove the causes of
that hatred. If it be true that they had their country's welfare at
heart, it was their duty to repudiate the doctrine of public plunder that
their countrymen have been urged to accept. Have they done any of
these things? That is the question which the following pages may help
us to answer.
It is usually considered that no greater service can be rendered to a
politician or to a party than to give publicity to the views which they
entertain, and to the objects which they have in view. It is intended
in these pages to perform this friendly office on behalf of those
politicians and of that party whose words, methods, and actions are
therein recorded.
It is the aim of the compiler throughout to allow the facts as far as
possible to speak for themselves, and to reproduce, whenever practic-
able, the actual words, whether written or spoken, of the persons whose
careers it is intended to illustrate. Fortunately it is not difficult to
obtain a vast amount of information without transgressing these
limits. The literature of the Land League is abundant, and the
extracts which have been made from that literature in this work are,
as has been said, in all cases capable of verification, and if need be of
correction.
The Irish National Land League has appealed to the world upon
the justice of its cause, and the purity of its methods. It is at least fair
that the world should have the opportunity of forming its judgment by
the aid, not only of the carefully selected utterances which are reserved
for the House of Commons and for English platforms; but by the light
also of the teaching which, with equal deliberation and far greater
energy, has been inflicted upon the people of Ireland.
[ 5 ]
CHAPTER II.
THE FOUNDER OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
BOSWELL.-I cannot think his intention was bad.
JOHNSON.-Sir, that will not do. We cannot prove any man's intention to
be bad. You may shoot a man through the head, and say you intended to
miss him; but the judge will order you to be hanged.
Boswell's Life of Johnson.
MICHAEL DAVITT-THE CHARGE AGAINST HIM-HIS TRIAL-LETTER ATTRI-
BUTED TO HIM-OPINION OF THE LORD CHIEF JUSTICE-VERDICT AND SENTENCE
-SUBSEQUENT CAREER OF DAVITT.
Michael Davitt was the founder of the Irish National Land League,
and by universal consent it appears that Michael Davitt is, of all the
leading members of that Association, the most entitled to our esteem,
admiration, and respect. Public opinion is probably quite correct in its
estimate, and, apart from all other considerations, there can be
no doubt that real suffering and real imprisonment must and
ought to excite our sympathy, even though that suffering and that
imprisonment be justly inflicted. This is more likely to be the case
where constant publicity brings the realities of the situation closely
under the public observation. It is not desirable to interfere in any
way with the existence or expression of this very commendable sentiment
of pity. It is possible, however, for it to assume dimensions, and to
lead us to conclusions, which the circumstances in no way warrant ; and
when a particular individual is singled out as its special object, it seems
but natural to enquire how far we are justified in extending to
one man, convicted under the ordinary law of the land, a sympathy
which we are not accustomed to accord to his many companions in
misfortune.
6
The Truth about the Land League.
It may be as well, therefore, to recall, as simply as possible, the
leading incidents in the trial which ended in the conviction and
sentence of Michael Davitt.
On the 15th July, 1870, John Wilson and Michael Davitt were
indicted at the Old Bailey for "Treason Felony." No objections
were made to the jury panel on behalf of the prisoners. The judge at
the trial was the Lord Chief Justice of England, Sir Alexander
Cockburn. In the course of the trial the following facts appeared :—
The prisoners, according to the prosecution, had been concerned in
forwarding to various large towns in the United Kingdom packages
containing arms, chiefly revolvers. These arms were for the most part
consigned to fictitious addresses, and the jury were asked to believe
that they were intended to be made use of in carrying on the Fenian
movement. Evidence was given to show that Davitt had been privy to
the projected attack upon Chester Castle, an attack which was happily
frustrated by the vigilance of the police.
In the course of the trial a letter was put in by the prosecution.
This letter was sworn to be in Davitt's handwriting. It was in the
following terms :—
"Glasgow, Wednesday. Dear Friend,—I have just returned from Dundee, which
place I have left all right. Your letter of Monday I have just read. I have no doubt
but what the account is correct. In reference to the other affair, I hope you won't
take any part in it whatever; I mean in the carrying of it out. If it is decided upon
and you receive Jem's and, through him, Fitz's consent, let it be done by all means,
but one thing you must remember, and that is that you are of too much importance to
our family to be spared, even at the risk of allowing a rotten sheep to exist among
the flock. You must know that if anything happened to you the toil and trouble of
the last six months will have been almost in vain. Whoever is employed, don't let him
use the pen we are and have been selling; get another for the purpose, a common one.
I hope and trust that when I return to Man I may not hear that every man, woman,
and child know all about it ere it occurred."
It was proved that "a family" in the Fenian phraseology meant
a secret society; that the "pen we have been selling" referred to
revolvers.
The theory of the prosecution was that this letter referred to a
plot to murder some unknown person who was considered unsafe by
the leaders of the gang, and they maintained also that Davitt was a
consenting, and approving, party to the execution of this plot. The
friends of the prisoner maintained his innocence. It is impossible to
arrive at a moral certainty about this or any other matter, but this
The Truth about the Land League.
7
is how the question presented itself to the Lord Chief Justice in
summing up the case to the jury:-
"If that letter was to be taken as genuine, did it convince them that it had
reference to a Fenian scheme, or to some other measure of the deepest atrocity? It
seemed impossible to resist the conclusion, but they must judge for themselves upon
that point as men of the world, as men of reason and sense.'
The jury did not resist the conclusion. As men presumably of
reason and of sense they found Davitt guilty, and with their verdict
the Lord Chief Justice found no difficulty in agreeing.
In sentencing the prisoners he expressed his opinion that "Davitt
had been convicted on evidence that could not leave the slightest
shadow of doubt on the mind
mind of any reasonable man who
dispassionately considered it.
There was one thing he could
not help regarding with a feeling of the utmost condemnation and
horror, and that was, that assassination was not considered as a
means too desperate or bad to be resorted to when it was found
convenient to have recourse to it. That letter of Davitt's about
which the witness Forrester had told a story that no sensible
man could believe, showed that there was some dark and villainous
design against the life of some man. The letter spoke for itself."
The prisoners were sentenced to fifteen and five years' penal
servitude respectively. Davitt received the longer term, and the
difference in guilt, implied in the judge's apportionment of the punish-
ment, is significant.
It would be unnecessary to revive the recollection of these facts were
it not that some allusion to Davitt's antecedents seems due, by virtue
of the prominent place which has been assigned to him in the organisa-
tion of the Irish Land League.
He was detected in an attempt to distribute firearms in the
large towns of the kingdom; he was detected in what
the Lord Chief Justice of England and twelve jurymen
were unanimous in believing to be a scheme of private murder.
Our English towns were saved from the unpleasantness of having to
suppress a Fenian outbreak, and the life of the unknown victim was
rendered secure.
As Davitt was fairly tried, so was he fairly and even generously
dealt with. After serving a portion of his sentence he was released
by the clemency of the Crown. He chose to ally himself with an
8
The Truth about the Land League.
association whose attributes and objects are described hereafter, but
which, it suffices to say, boasted of its determination to elude or to defy
the law. He took the consequences, and must have expected to take
them. Whether he did so or not, however, there was plainly only
one duty before the Executive of the country, namely, to revoke the
licence which its holder thought himself compelled to abuse.
In justice to Davitt it must be said that he has throughout main-
tained the reputation of being the most dignified and possibly the
most entitled to respect of his colleagues.

:
[9]
CHAPTER III.
TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE, 1880.
PART I.
SPEECHES BY MEMBERS OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
Spare
A trumpeter being taken prisoner in a battle, begged hard for quarter.
me, good sirs, I beseech you," said he, "and put me not to death without cause,
for I have killed no one myself, nor have I any arms but this trumpet only."
shall you the sooner
"For that very reason," said they who had seized him,
die, for without the spirit to fight yourself, you stir up others to warfare and
bloodshed."
Moral. He who incites to strife is worse than he who takes part in it.
Æsop's Fables.
LAND LEAGUE SPEECHES IN 1880-MR. PARNELL AT NEW ROSS-MR. BIGGAR
ON MURDER-MR. BIGGAR ON GRAZING FARMS.
Having said a word or two as to the founder of the Land Leagu e
it now becomes our duty to enquire in what spirit, and by what means,
the Institution which he created was formed and conducted.
Here, as in all cases, it is best, because fairest, to go to the leading
members of the Land League themselves, and learn from their mouths
what it was that they were teaching to the unhappy peasantry of Ireland
during the summer and autumn of 1880.
Luckily, there is abundant material at hand upon which we are able
to draw. The speeches made by the leading members of the Central
and Local Land Leagues are on record, and have been preserved with
a fidelity and accuracy such as only the most perfect system of short-
hand writing, practised by masters in the stenographic art, could have
achieved. In these records we shall find the information we require.
First in point of time, first too perhaps in its mischievous brutality,
is the well-known speech of Mr. Parnell at New Ross. The words of
IO
The Truth about the Land League.
this address have become to a certain extent historical; but the circum-
stances under which they were delivered, and the rider by which they
were accompanied, are not perhaps equally fresh in the recollection of
the public. It is permissible, therefore, to recall them. Speaking at
New Ross on September 26th, 1880, almost on the grave of a young man
who, though innocent of any offence, real or imaginary, had been brutally
murdered in broad daylight; speaking within a few weeks of the event,
and while the enquiry to which it gave rise was still in progress, the
leader of the Land League delivered himself of these words :—
"I had wished, in referring to a sad occurrence which took place lately-the
shooting, or attempted shooting, of a land agent in this neighbourhood-I had
wished to point out that recourse to such measures of procedure is entirely unnecessary,
and absolutely prejudicial, WHERE THERE IS A SUITABLE ORGANIZATION AMONG
THE TENANTS THEMSELVES."
As above suggested, the rider is important, not as demonstrating a
fact, but as enforcing a theory. The fact is exactly the reverse of what
Mr. Parnell chose to assert. The increase of crime in a district has
invariably been in almost exact proportion to the increase in the number
and violence of the Land League meetings. So far was it from being
the case, that the extension of the Land League organization was con-
sidered an adequate substitute for the crime of murder, that it is true,
to use the words of Mr. Gladstone, that "crime dogged the footsteps of
the Land League." Wherever the organization was most perfect there
the terrorism and lawlessness were the most complete.
This was Mr. Parnell's first protest against murder; we shall see
that it was not his last. His indignant denunciation did not, however,
have much effect in dissuading his admirers from indulgence in "the
unnecessary and prejudicial measure of procedure."
""
During the
Mr. Parnell was worthily seconded. Mr. Biggar, his colleague and
ally, contributed the weight of his counsel to the common fund of
advice tendered to the people of Ireland by their leaders.
month of October, 1880, this gentleman made several speeches to
public meetings in Ireland; and as Mr. Biggar is a member of Parlia-
ment, and as his utterances were endorsed by the presence of two of his
most distinguished colleagues (Mr. Sexton and Mr. A. O'Connor), it is
worth while to quote them at some length.
"There is another question," said the member for Cavan, "which has been raised,
very much. The Land League are unfairly charged with the shooting of landlords.
It is no part of the duty of the Land League to recommend the shooting of landlords
The Truth about the Land League.
II
for a great variety of reasons. They never have given any advice of the sort. Mr.
Hussey (a land agent) may be a very bad man, and plenty of other men are as bad as
Mr. Hussey, but I can tell you what the Land League can do. If anyone is charged
with shooting or offering violence to the landlord or his agent, it is the duty of the
Land League to see that that person who is charged with the offence shall get a fair
trial. Well you, the members of the local Land League, can use your exertions
to get everything in favour of the person who is charged with such a crime as
shooting a landlord. You can take care an innocent man shall not suffer the penalty
he is not entitled to suffer. These are all things which are thoroughly legitimate,
and which you can do, and which will have the effect of bringing about a
beneficial state of things."
At a meeting in the same month the speaker said :
"It is your duty and it is your interest to give your assistance in such a manner as
you can easily do-in certain ways-which manner I will now point out to you. We
do not recommend shooting landlords. That is an extreme measure, and certainly we
cannot recommend it; and besides, it is held undesirable, for the interest of the cause,
that it should be done, for this reason: that when such a thing takes place it is
blazoned forth in all the English newspapers, and prejudice is excited in the English
mind against the Irish tenant farmers, which is calculated to interfere to a material
extent with the advocacy of my friend Mr. Parnell and others on behalf of the tenant
farmers."
A third and last quotation will suffice:-
"Now our worthy chairman in his speech said that it was undesirable that anything
in the way of violence towards the landlords should be perpetrated. Now on that
subject I will say this: that the Land League as a body wants to do what is most
beneficial, and they do not want that any violence should be offered to the
landlords. Now one of the reasons is this—that persons who have undertaken to shoot
landlords have missed the landlord and shot some one whom they did not intend.
Now that is one objection which is palpable on the face of it.
But there are other objections which have been raised against this agitation as a
body-that deeds of violence have been committed on the part of people who come
to Land League meetings; and the result of that has been that it is calculated to
injure the cause of the tenant farmers of Ireland in public opinion with those likely
to have the decision of the Irish land tenure. And you should discourage deeds of
violence then. Then there is another objection, which will undoubtedly be palpable
to you all. If acting violently to any class of people became the general thing the
result would be that deeds of violence would become general, and then bring discredit
on the Irish people. These are reasons that are sure to be felt."
Such are Mr. Biggar's reasons against committing the crime of
murder; they may be briefly summarised thus:-Do not commit
murder because-1. You may miss your man. 2. You may be tried
by an unfair tribunal and convicted. 3. You will create a prejudice
against you in England. 4. You may, perhaps, suffer yourselves if you
murder too freely, because the country will become demoralised.
•
But this is not quite the end of this matter. The coarse ruffianism
12
The Truth about the Land League.
of these addresses would be harmless enough in England; and it is,
perhaps, those who forget that what is contemptible in England is
dangerous, and known to be dangerous, in Ireland, who are disposed to
treat Mr. Biggar's vile phrases as amusing whimsicalities. The
consequence, if not the result, of one of these harangues was that
within a district twelve miles square, which had been previously
tranquil, no fewer than eighty-seven outrages were committed in a few
weeks after its delivery!
It is a maxim of the English law that a man must be responsible for
the natural consequence of his acts. If Mr. Biggar was not aware that
the probable consequence of such speeches as those quoted above would
be the actual result which followed them, he was probably the only man
professing to be acquainted with Ireland and Irish feelings at the time
who could be accused of such ignorance.
One more speech of Mr. Biggar's is worth quoting, for it throws some
light on a crime which has not been unfrequent during the present
agitation.
Speaking at a Land League meeting in the autumn of 1880, he
says:
"Now you would not be justified-I can tell you this-in threatening the herd of a
big grazier, you would not be justified in using any personal violence towards him;
but, as I have told you, you would be justified, and thoroughly justified, in trying to
persuade him to leave the occupation which he then followed, and try to get one which
would be less injurious to his neighbours. (Cheers.) If this herd would refuse to take the
laudable advice of his neighbours, why then other means might be used. For instance,
the shopkeepers in the village might cease to supply him with the things he requires ;
he might get no assistance in any of his difficulties, and his position would become so
intolerable that he would probably give up that occupation. Then, when the matter
had gone so far, of course it would be inconvenient for the landlord to look after his
cattle himself. (Laughter and cheers.) Well then, you know, when there is no one
to look after the cattle, if by any means-of course I have told you before that
above all things you should not attempt to maim or injure the cattle
of anyone, because no one could defend conduct of that sort-but
I tell you what I might say on this subject, that there is no law, human or
divine, that would force you to look after this man's cattle if you were not in his
employ, and if you found the cattle straying on the road it really would be nothing
criminal to avoid taking any notice of the cattle. (Laughter.) Then again, my friends,
suppose the stone fences-any of the stone fences along the road-side—were broken
down, and the holes were in them, of course you would not be called upon at all to
repair these fences, and you would not be called upon to point out to this landlord
who is doing such incalculable injury to the country-to point out to him that that
injury had taken place in his fence." (Laughter.)
[ 13 ]
CHAPTER IV.
TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE, 1880.
PART II.
SPEECHES BY MEMBERS OF THE LAND LEAGUE,
"A species of men, to whom a state of order would become a sentence of obscurity,
are nourished into a dangerous magnitude by the heat of intestine disturbances; and
it is no wonder that, by a sort of sinister piety, they cherish, in their turn, the disorders.
which are the parents of all their consequence.”—Burke.
UNIFORM
SPEECHES DELIVERED AT LAND LEAGUE MEETINGS-THEIR
CHARACTER-SPEECHES BY BRENNAN-M. O'SULLIVAN—R. LALOR-MUFFENEY—
HARRIS-GORDON-NALLY.
We shall now proceed to quote, with but little comment, a few other
passages from the speeches of speakers at Land League meetings during
the year 1880. It must not be supposed, however, for a moment that
the selection of a few brief portions can convey any adequate idea of the
real nature of the Land League teaching during the period in question..
To understand properly what were the doctrines which were deliberately
implanted in the minds of the Irish peasantry, it is necessary to realize
the persistency with which they were inculcated, and the almost
absolute uniformity of their character. No isolated indiscretion, no.
single recommendation made in the heat and excitement of the
moment, would deserve to occupy our attention. But here there is.
neither haste nor excitement. The same unfailing incitements to crime-
and to dishonesty occur over and over again with "damnable iteration,”
varied only by fresh extravagances of false illustration and misplaced
metaphor, which at once stamp them as being the prepared and
considered utterances of the speakers. Only by wading through page
after page and volume after volume of the oratory of the Land League:
14
The Truth about the Land League.
spokesmen, can a just idea be formed of the flood of poison that rolled
over Ireland during the first year of Mr. Parnell's agitation.
We will begin with a few passages from the speeches of the
Secretary of the Land League, Mr. Brennan (1). These are his
words :-
"From next Tuesday morning every man in this assemblage, every man in Ireland,
has a right to have a gun (cheers), and not only has a right to have a gun, for you
always had that right, but you have now a right to show it; and before many weeks
will have passed away you will have a right to use it. You will have a right to use
it in shooting the rabbits and the hares (cheers); so I trust you will no longer live on
Indian meal, but that you will have something better in the pot. (Laughter and
cheers.)" (2).
Again, he says:-
"Well, I do not know whether I am preaching Communism or not, but if it be
Communism to say that the earth was made by God for the people, and that the
people have as much right to the earth as the free air of heaven, then I am a
Communist, and I glory in it. (Cheers.) We had a good deal lately about giving to
Cæsar that which belongs to Cæsar. Most readily and heartily do we accept that
doctrine; but if Cæsar is to get his due what compensation are Irish landlords to
give you? Unfortunately they cannot restore some of the things of which they have
robbed you. They cannot restore the many happy homes in the land. They cannot
restore the two millions of your people whom they murdered in '47; and this is the
institution and these are the men that some land reformers told us that we should
make a fixity in the country. France, when she was getting shut of her landlords,
did not give them twenty years' compensation. No; she gave them twenty feet of a rope.
(Cheers.) We are the followers of Stein; we want to accomplish a peaceful
revolution." (3.)
A little later on he appears inclined to abandon strict adherence to
the policy of Stein, for he says:-
"When I think of these things I ask myself and I ask you what compensation are
Irish landlords entitled to ?
'A Voice: Nothing.
"Mr. Thomas Brennan : When I advocate the programme of the Land League, and
ask you to adopt it, I do injustice to my own feelings, for I believe the compensation
most Irish landlords would be entitled to would be a prison or a rope (cheers) for
having robbed or murdered the Irish people." (4)
Mr. Malachi O'Sullivan, a very prominent member of the Land
League and a traverser at the trials, is responsible for the following :—
"I am here to-day in open insurrection to landlordism in every shape or form; you
must have that before you, you must have that in your mouths. If you are not
(1.) Mr. Brennan was one of the signatories of Mr. Parnell's "No Rent"
Manifesto and a member of the Central Land League.
(2.) Teevnacreena, May 30th, 1880.
(3.) Cardenstown, May 23rd.
(4.) Rosscahill, November 14th.
The Truth about the Land League.
15
determined to have that you are not determined to have your rights. Who can give
them to you? Organise! Organise! Organise! In other countries peasant
proprietary has been established. In France the peasants were first in much the
same way as we are. The people rose together as one man and won. Then I would
like to ask you people to come together, only that we are a hundred years behind the
French peasants; we are not as determined as they were, but we might be.
(Cheers.)" (1.)
Mr. R. Lalor's words at Athy can hardly be called an effective
protest against murder. As to his assertion that the Land League
controlled the crime, as has been shown (2) it is simply the contrary of
the fact. He says:-
"How many have been shot in this country, or deprived of their lives, since
this Land League commenced? No, I am convinced that only for the National
Land League there would have been ten murders to the one since it commenced.
What we have, and what the Land League has to try, is to show you another road
besides shooting those men, because they are not worth shooting. (Cheers.) Recollect
who these poor wretches are, these landlords. They are foreigners. You can judge
of who they are by the people who gave them a footing here." (3.)
Mr. Muffeney has the merit of being frank. This is his advice, given
in the name of the Land League :-
"The Land League counsels you to hold the harvest, and pledge yourselves, before
God and your country, that you will not take a farm from which another has been
evicted. You can carry and use guns and pistols. You may shoot ground game and
overground game, such as rattle snakes, which you may point your gun at, and if they
bite shoot them." (4.)
One other passage may be quoted here, although the speech in which
it was contained was delivered at a much later date than those hitherto
referred to. The words are those of Mr. Boyton, (5) the organiser of the
Land League, and were spoken on the 5th March, 1881. They were as
follows:-
"We have seen plenty of landlords and agents that deserve to be shot at any
man's hands. I have always denounced the commission of outrages by night, but
meet him in the broad daylight, and if you must blow out his brains, blow them out
in the daytime
If the police come at night and you have an old musket or
an old pistol, and your wife or daughter is frightened, you can blow out his brains."
It is not necessary to continue these quotations, nor need we waste
much time in recalling the brutal recommendations of such persons as
Harris, Gordon, and Nally. Had it not been that their services were
(1.) Finea, May 27th, 1880.
(2.) P. 10. (3). Athy, October 10th.
(4). Knockmore, October 31st.
(5.) Member of the Executive of the Central Land League.
16
The Truth about the Land League.
throughout the agitation accepted by the Land League; were it not that
they spoke openly and frequently at Land League meetings; and were
it not that no rebuke of any kind from those who led the agitation ever
reached them, they might be passed over as altogether too contemptible
for notice. Remembering, however, the facts stated above, and remember-
ing too that the counsels which they were permitted to give in the name
of the Land League were faithfully followed over and over again, by
those to whom they addressed themselves, it is perhaps best to give a
few specimens of what they actually said.
Mr. P. J. Gordon, speaking at Abbeyknockmoy on the 3rd
October, speaks thus :-
"Well when I arrived in Clonbur I had the pleasure of hearing that some great
land robber [Lord Mountmorres] was murdered or shot himself.”
Again, he says:-
"There has been a return asked in the House of Commons the other night for the
number of cattle slaughtered in Ireland maliciously the last two years. I say the cowardly
fellow who would slaughter the sheep belonging to the landlord would not have the courage
to slaughter the landlord himself. I tell you I'd neither injure the sheep nor cow of
the land robber who threw me on the world to starve. I would say with the fellow
who had his white trousers destroyed by a mad dog, 'I will neither beat you nor
abuse you, but I will cry mad dog till the people hunt you down and kill you.'" (1)
It is interesting to know what is considered the appropriate treatment
for a (C
mad dog" in Ireland, for at a meeting at which Mr. Dillon,
M.P., Mr. O'Kelly, M.P., Mr. Brennan, and Mr. Walsh were present,
we find a gentleman who lays down the unwritten law in the following
terms:-
"One passage of the resolution must apply to everyone, that no one should take
a farm from which another has been evicted. He should be as a mad dog.”
But to return to Mr. Gordon. On the 13th June we find him
telling the people "not to pay or obey the Government of England, or
any other Government which is inclined to rule you with an iron hand.
If you are evicted the Land League will assist you." A few days later
he says:-
"The only way that you have, to let the Government see that you are not cowards
any longer is to arm yourselves, and if you have no way of getting the rifle sell the old
(1.) Caherlistrane, November 14th.
The Truth about the Land League.
17
cow and buy one. You have a privilege now to buy a gun, and if you can afford to
pay for it, you can be a policeman in town with your gun on your shoulder.”
This is how Mr. Parnell's policemen are recruited!
The following passage is instructive :—
"In referring to the land sharks and land grabbers, unfortunately we have them in
our midst. I ask you in the name of Ireland to treat them with contempt, pass them
by, don't speak to them in the fair. (A Voice: Give them what Lord Leitrim got.)
"Mr. J. W. Nally: You are too cowardly to do that.
Mr.Nally's services to the Land League were frequent, and his usual
adjuration to the people took the form of asking them to "use his
pills ". —a playful synonym for committing murder. He it was, too, who
wished the people "to unite to scatter that blasted Government [the
British] with dynamite and gun-cotton;" who suggested also that a
ten shilling licence should be taken out to entitle the owners to shoot
the police and landlords as vermin.
But it is useless to waste any more space in reciting the utterances of
Messrs. Gordon and Nally. They were tried, together with other Land
League supporters, at Dublin, and discharged, the jury not being able
to agree. They have always claimed to be ardent supporters of Mr.
Parnell, and their services have never been disavowed.

[ 18 ]
CHAPTER V.
TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE, 1880.
PART III.
SPEECHES INCITING TO REBELLION AND TREASON.
"Everyone who is convicted of High Treason must be sentenced to be hanged by
the neck until he is dead.
"Everybody who in the case of felony would be an accessory before the fact is, in
the case of High Treason, a principal traitor."
•
Digest of the Criminal Law.
"That
Amendment to the Address proposed by Mr. Justin McCarthy, M.P.: .
this House regards with grave concern the action of the Executive in Ireland whereby
hundreds of your Majesty's subjects in Ireland are detained in prison
without the right of Habeas Corpus, many of them on the alleged suspicion of
offences for which, even if duly tried and found guilty, they could not have been
subjected to punishment as severe as that which they have already undergone."
February 9th, 1882.
SPEECHES BY BOYTON-BRENNAN-WALSH
SULLIVAN-SHERIDAN-DILLON.
NALLY -M. O'SULLIVAN-T. D.
""
The passages we have referred to are not by any means the most
significant indications of the nature of this "constitutional agitation
which was going on till it was rudely interrupted by a "brutal and
tyrannical Government." Again we will let the Land League speak for
itself, and the lesser lights shall begin the recital.
Let us commence with an official of the Land League, the "Paid
Organiser," Mr. Boyton. He says:-
"Men of the North, I ask you to-day, and I do so in the name of God-in the
name of your common country-I ask you to sound the knell of despair to the power
of Britain. And I to-day want you to lift your voices and hands [all hands raised] to
fight for the green soil of Erin. (Cheers.) There are great but misguided men who
state and write that we are leaving aside the great, glorious cause of Irish nationality,
and occupying our attention with the lesser one. It is false. Until you can take the
green colour, which God Almighty printed on that ground, you can never separate
the greater from the lesser of these glorious causes. Furthermore, I say to you that
for the short time this movement has been on foot no leader ever gained as much for
us as our illustrious Parnell."
The Truth about the Land League.
19
Again he says:-
"Now, I want to see side by side with every police barrack a good rifle club.
You have a right to organise these clubs, and to purchase these rifles under the British
Constitution until they make any patching or tinkering of it again, and you have also
the right to keep the arms, and to also keep your temper, and do not allow yourselves
to be trapped by my language, or by the inflated bombast of any other man, into
making a fool' of yourselves. Do not go boasting, but go to work honestly,
determinedly, like men, first to create free crops, next to keep your farms until the
sheriff comes, backed by the soldiers, for they are not policemen-(cheers)—backed by
the army of occupation in Ireland. I tell you, in God's name then, that in adopting this
resolution you are doing something serious, and more than may appear here to-day.
You are sending a message beyond the sea. Do not deceive them. They would if
they could send one hundred thousand men like me, with the benefit, the advantages
of a freeman's education, and of a soldier's training-(cheers)-to help you; but they
do not think-and I do not think-you ought to be helped if you do not shew some
determination to be no longer like a rope of sand." (1.)
He continues:
"Therefore your work to-day is not agitation; it is not speeches, or bands, or
music, or banners; it is the solid stern work of combining to bring on its knees the
mainstay of the English rule in Ireland. (Cheers.) Mr. Dillon has told you, that
which we knew all along, never to look for anything from any British Government,
no matter how Liberal, that you are not prepared to tear out of their teeth. (Cheers.)
Mr. Gladstone has instructed his satellites in Ireland to institute proceedings against
the men who have led the people in this movement, to prosecute them for conspiracy.
Well, for my own part, in the cause of justice and humanity, that I believe this cause
to be, I am proud of the name of conspirator. (Cheers.) The last conspiracy that I
was engaged in politically numbered 100,000 Irishmen with rifles in their hands-
(loud cheers)—and that conspiracy succeeded in doing in the United States of America
what we propose to do with your help, with God's help and yours, here in Ireland, to
blot out the stain of slavery. (Cheers.) Therefore, if we be conspirators, every man
in that assemblage, I hold out my hand to him as a brother conspirator." (2.)
At Dunmanaway he recites the following anecdote, and gives his
explanation of it :-
"There was a little story told by Mr. Parnell, at a meeting in the Rotunda, at the
conclusion of his address, to the effect that a certain American gentleman came upon
the platform and said, 'Parnell, there is twenty-five dollars, five for bread and twenty
for lead.' Now that simple little bit of humour has put your hereditary enemy in a great
flutter. Therefore, I am not authorised by the President of the Irish National Land
League to tell you that was a bonâ fide transaction, that the man gave him twenty-five
dollars. I am authorised to tell you here, and I came all the way down to Dunmanaway,
that those twenty dollars are perfectly safe, and that as Mr. Forster, in the House of
Commons on Friday night, refused to tell your representatives what he was going to do
with the £30,000 of Secret Service money, and that he has displayed admirable reticence
in doing so, we, in like manner, are not going to tell Mr. Forster what we are going to
do with the twenty dollars that has since swelled into 20,000. The money gives 4 or
5 per cent. interest on it, and we are turning it into good round sovereigns, with the
(1.) Carndonagh, July 4th.
(2.) Thurles, November 14th.
20
The Truth about the Land League.
imprint of Her Most Gracious Majesty upon them. Therefore I ask you in the name
of God, in the name of every honest Irishman, in the name of your long-suffering
country, to stick together like brothers, one and all. Shew us evidence that you are
in earnest to help us, and take a share in this twenty dollars by shewing us that you
will stand together. Daniel O'Connell never had half such a following on Tara or
Mullaghmast as our illustrious young leader, Charles Stuart Parnell-(cheers)—and
I tell you that if you stick together you will see that this assemblage will be historical
in the county of Cork. You will stand together for peasant proprietary for Ireland.
(Cheers.) We have at the back of that more than great agitators had before. We
have moral force, and we are going to use it; and, perhaps, we have something in the
shape of physical force, but we don't want to use it. We may some day come down
and see you, and talk about something else." (Cheers.) (1.)
From the paid organiser of the Land League, let us pass to the
Secretary, and see what advice he gives on behalf of the organisation
which he represents.
Mr. Brennan says :—
"I do not believe in the efficacy of Parliamentary representation in the English
House of Commons. I believe that if this country is ever to be redeemed, socially or
politically, it will be by the might of mind and might of arm of Ireland's democracy.
I ask you to keep before your minds the one ultimate object, the sovereign independ-
ence of your country." (2.)
Again, at Westport, he declares himself in these terms :—
"It is the duty of every man to work to make Ireland a nation. I mean no
mockery of freedom. I mean Ireland mistress of her own destinies—(cheers)—Ireland
with a national army to guard her shores, Ireland with a national senate, and Ireland
with a national government that will know no higher authority than the sovereign will
of the Irish people." (Cheers.) (3.)
On May 30th, he says:-
"As an Irish Nationalist, I hope for and will work for my country's independence,
and I believe that I cannot at present adopt a more feasible plan to accomplish that
purpose than by the destruction of what has been the enemy's garrison in this country.
('Down with landlordism.') There will be very little use in talking of making
Ireland a nation when what should compose that nation will have been swept away
from the country. Let us then go on in this work for the destruction of landlordism.
Let us take it ourselves, what are our manifest rights. (Cheers for Mr. O'Kelly, M.P.)
Yes, cheer for your member-(cheers)—because in the House of Commons to-day
there is not a more sincere Irish Nationalist or a more determined opponent of land-
lordism than James J. O'Kelly." (Loud cheers.) (4)
Mr. Walsh (5), afterwards one of the traversers, early learned to
appreciate the connection between the Land League and Fenianism.
(1.) Dunmanaway, May 30th.
(3.) Westport, October 17th.
(2.) Carrick-on-Shannon, October 24th.
(4.) Teevnacrena, May 30th.
(5.) Member of the Central Land League.
The Truth about the Land League.
21
He says:-
"I would ask the men of Sylaun not to marry any young lady who works for 6d
a-day, and I'd ask the women of Sylaun not to marry any man unless he is a member
of the Land League or a Fenian. You will find you will do more by works of this
kind than if you were cheering for a lifetime." (1.)
The same gentleman, speaking at Milltown, says :-
"Mr. Parnell, Mr. Davitt, Mr. Brennan, and others, recognise that the first
distinction of national independence is the successful carrying out of the Irish National
Land League." (2.)
In October we find Messrs. Nally and Walsh together on the
platform at a Land League meeting at Shrule.
Mr. Nally delivered himself as follows :-
"But I am firmly convinced that by first uprooting this system
by first
laying the foundation stone of national independence in the destruction of Irish land-
lordism, you will then be able gloriously to build that edifice for which Emmet died,
and for which Lord Edward bled. I have been told that there are here to-day only
two parties, the National Land League and the Fenians. (Cheers for the Fenians.)
"Mr. Walsh: Three cheers more for Fenianism. (Cheers.)
"Mr. Nally: Are we to be told here to-day that the National Land League and
the Fenians cannot unite? We have only one enemy—the English Government. For
seven hundred years they have tried to destroy our nationality. We lived through the
Elizabeths, the Marys, and the Victorias, and we are destined to-day to live until
our nation is a glorious one—an independent one and a glorious one. The cause of
every tenant farmer who is a Land Leaguer is the cause of every man who is a
Fenian." (3.)
The following extract is from a speech by Mr. M. O'Sullivan, already
referred to as an active member of the League (4.):
"It is not by words and by cheers that we can accomplish that end. If it were
it would be easy enough to gain independence. ('Hear, hear.') Let us look to
America to-day. Let us look to every country in the world. Can you point me to
one--? What is it that has gained it? The sword, and the sword alone; the rifle
and the man——. These are the only powers that can gain your independence, and
any person that tells you the contrary, tells you a lie. 'What rends in twain the
dungeon's chain ? 'The sword.' What is it that will right the oppression-—— ?
What is it that will right Irishmen, and no man will say there is no oppression——?
Who can stand here and tell me that the Irish tenant farmer is not a slave, a slave to
his landlord? 'What rends in twain the despot's chain ?' If we had no despots, if
we had not the prison, we have got too much of it. It is only in one way we can get
rid of it. What is the of the sword? To free the slave; to make all men free
before the nation. Are Irishmen cowards enough that they will not stand up and free
themselves as other nations have done? It rests for you to say whether you will or
This is a great day. Will you ask them another year to send you alms? Will
you not stand up and say to them to-day, when they are celebrating their anniversary
not.
(1.) Caherlistrane, September 5th.
(2.) Milltown, July 25th.
(3.) Shrule, October 31st.
(4.) The omissions are owing to interruptions, during which the reporter was unable
to continue his notes.
22
The Truth about the Land League.
of independence, will you not say, 'You are our brothers, we are ready to sacrifice
our lives for our country as you have done to free yours?' Will that cry go to the
world? ('Yes.') Are you determined? ('Yes.') Will you have that in your
hearts? ('Yes.') It is rarely you are spoken to like this. Men have come forward
to gain notoriety to get into Parliament. They have duped you. The time has come
now when men, no better than yourselves, mean to shake off the landlord yoke in
this country, and also the yoke of British domination." (1.)
Mr. T. D. Sullivan is responsible for the following :—
'Now, one word in conclusion. There are people in this country who are foolish
enough to think that if the farmers of Ireland were made secure in their holdings, if
they were made comfortable and happy, they would forget the national cause of
Ireland. That slander has been uttered upon the tenant farmers, who are the bone
and sinew of the Irish race. Here to-day, I denounce it as a slander-(cheers)—and
if I could believe that story for a single minute, I never would stand upon a land
platform. But, my friends, I have a different opinion of the Irish race, and my belief
is this, that as you make them strong, as you clothe them and feed them, and raise
their hearts to a true perception of what the condition of the people should be,
according as you educate them, and according as their young people grow up about
them, reading and thinking and learning for themselves the history of their country and
the history of the world, stronger and stronger will grow the spirit of Irish nationality
in the hearts of the people." (Hear, hear, and 'Bravo.') (2.)
The next fragment is by Mr. Sheridan, a colleague of Mr. Parnell's
in the Central Land League in Dublin :—
"Mr. Chairman and fellow countrymen, I feel proud at seeing you assembled here
to-day in your thousands. We must assert our rights, and if we do not get them
through our members of Parliament, I would ask you then to ring out your voices
through the muzzles of 'Minié' rifles as well as from those platforms. We have
America at our back, and she is watching over us and helping us in the hours of our
distress. (A Voice: Cheers for America.') There are evictions in all parts of
Ireland; the landlords are fighting against us with a strong hand. Organise
yourselves, then; join the National Land League, and by this means you will see
your country what she once was, a free and prosperous country." (Cheers.) (3.)
He goes on :-
•
“God forbid that we will ever forget to make Ireland a nation ; and when I say
Ireland a nation, I mean more than a green flag floating from Dublin Castle; I mean
Ireland for the Irish. If the government of Ireland
Most of us here will
agree that the highest form of government is a republic. Well, you may establish an
Irish Republic on Irish soil; but as long as the tillers of that soil are forced to support
a class, your Irish Republic would be but a mockery of freedom. (Cheers.)"
Mr. Dillon, who is always frank, declares himself thus :—
"It has been asserted, men of Tipperary, that the Nationalists of Ireland are
hostile to the movement to set free the tenant farmers of Ireland and make them
freemen in the land of their birth. (Cheers.) We come here to-day to a town where
(2.) Ennis, September 19th.
(1.) Rainsborough, July 4th.
(3.) Lackagh, August 1st.
The Truth about the Land League.
23
no movement can shew its head that is hostile to the Nationalists of Ireland; and I
say that when the Irish Land League has assembled in Tipperary a meeting so large
as this, that the man who will, in the face of this meeting, tell me that the Irish
Nationalists are against the Land League is nothing better than a common liar.
(Cheers.) No, neither are the Irish Nationalists hostile to the Land League, nor is
the Land League hostile to the Nationalists." (1)
At Holyford, Mr. Dillon expresses the same idea with equal clear-
ness :-
:-
"This is the cause which every Irishman can go into, whether he be Catholic or
Protestant, whether he be a Nationalist or not. It is a cause which the Irish
Nationalist can go into, because its object is to break down and defeat the English
garrison which holds this country for England. Its object is to clear the path for
Irish nationality by emancipating all the people of Ireland from the control of English
landlordism, and settling them in their own homes as free men.
" (2.)
Of course the sentiments contained in the passages above quoted
are in a certain sense unobjectionable from the moral point of view. If
men really do make up their minds that treason and rebellion are the
only remedies for the misfortunes of their country, no one can well
blame them for saying so. But what some of these speakers seem to
forget is that treason and rebellion have their penalties as well as their
pleasures. The individuals who produce this kind of talk have probably
good reason to be thankful that they have aired their opinions in the
British dominions. What is a playful exercise in Ireland might be a
serious matter in the United States, or on the Continent. But this is
not the gravest part of the matter. Mr. Sheridan may urge the people
to join the Land League, and "to ring out their claims from the muzzles
of their Minié rifles ;" or Mr. M. O'Sullivan may brag about using the
sword, and not much harm may be done in the way of upsetting the
British Empire. Neither of these heroes is likely to be called upon
for an exhibition of his prowess. But the real mischief appears when
week after week, and sometimes day after day, the record comes in of
heartless and brutal murders or attempted murders of men shot
down, not by rifles used in open warfare, but discharged in the darkness.
by the secret assassin.
*
(1.) Tipperary, October 31st.
(2.) Holyford, October 19th.
[ 24 ]
CHAPTER VI.
TEACHINGS OF THE LAND LEAGUE, 1880.
PART IV.
MR. PARNELL'S SPEECHES.
"Held up the buckler of the people's cause
Against the Crown, and skulked behind the laws.
Weak arguments which yet he knew full well
Were strong with people easy to rebel."
Dryden.
SPEECHES BY MR. PARNELL-REMARKS UPON THEIR CHARACTER-SPEECHES
IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS-IN IRELAND-BANQUET SPEECHES-AMERICAN
SPEECHES.
Hitherto we have not referred to the utterances of the Leader of the
Land League in the direction of treason. It must not be supposed,
however, that the omission is due to any lack of material. But Mr.
Parnell's speeches stand upon a somewhat peculiar footing, and deserve,
therefore, a special and separate notice.
It has been already observed that the material provided by the
Land League for the edification of the British Parliament and of the
English people, was of a totally different nature from that which it is
considered desirable to present for the instruction of the Irish peasantry.
The speeches which will be found below are a striking illustration of
this proposition. It may be said, to use a mathematical figure, that
Mr. Parnell's sentiments on the subject of treason "vary in proportion
to the square of the distance." The difference between the hon.
member for Cork in the House of Commons, and the "Uncrowned
Prince of Ireland" starring it in Pittston or Cincinnati, is as great as that
between the temperature of the pole and of the equator,
Let us first hear what he says upon the floor of the House. He is
The Truth about the Land League.
25
explaining the object and purposes of the Land League, which he
declares to be as follows:-
"The objects of the Land League are very simple. First, to prevent rack-renting;
second, to enable tenants to become owners of their own farms by paying a fair rent
for a limited number of years; third, to facilitate the working of the 'Bright Clauses'
of the Land Act. Those are the objects which we have been working to bring to a
successful issue.
I can only say that for my part I think at every meeting
at which I spoke in Ireland, up to the time when the Chief Secretary sent extra
constabulary into the starving localities of Galway and Mayo, that I took care to
reprobate outrage and to point out that we did not wish outrage, but we wished to
act in a peaceful and constitutional manner. (1.)
In the course of the same debate he again states the aim of the
Land League, as prepared for English consumption, in these modest
terms:-
"I should say that our desire was, by acting upon public opinion, to replace the
bad portion of the law of the land."
Soon after this Mr. Parnell appears to have realised that, in the
opinion of some, there appeared to be a marked discrepancy between
the constitutional and loyal sentiments which so frequently animated
him in the House of Commons, and the ideas which invariably suggested
themselves to his mind when speaking outside the walls of Parliament.
He accordingly favoured the House with an explanation and an apology,
which he commences thus:-
"I would ask you to allow me to remove some misapprehensions which have
arisen in the minds of many hon. members of this House with regard to my position
in this land movement. I have been charged several times, and the impression seems
extremely prevalent, with desiring to make the land movement of Ireland a lever for
disintegrating the Empire. (Hear, hear.) I am very glad if I have stated the idea
that prevails correctly, and I admit that isolated sentences which have been read from
time to time from my speeches are, taken by themselves, capable of that construction.
But these sentences have usually been taken from speeches which I have delivered in
the open air; from speeches of a very brief character, in which I was unable
thoroughly to explain the views which I then assumed, and still hold." (2.)
And then follows a long explanation of the speaker's views upon the
ultimate result of the Constitutional suppression of landlords, and its
probable effect upon the relations of England and Ireland.
It may seem strange that after this explanation the misapprehension
referred to should still exist. Yet, beyond all doubt, it does exist in the
minds of many. It is certainly most unfortunate that on none of the
(1.) Hansard's Debates, January 7th, 1881.
(2.) Ibid, January 17th, 1881.
26
The Truth about the Land League.
occasions on which Mr. Parnell delivered himself of the opinions which
he considers so unfairly attributed to him; neither on the platform nor
in the Land League meetings; neither at banquets in Ireland, nor at
Irish gatherings in America, did he find time to append the explanation.
which he vouchsafes to the House of Commons and the English Press.
For England there is the Constitutional agitation, the integrity of the
Empire, and so forth; for Ireland there are the regiments of armed
Irish and Americans, and the breaking of the last link between England
and Ireland.
At Galway, in the presence of a Government reporter, the member
for Cork is a little, but only a little, more explicit :-
"I expressed my belief at the beginning of last session that the present Chief
Secretary, who was then all smiles and promises, would not have proceeded very far
in the duties of his office before he would have found that he had undertaken an
impossible task to govern Ireland, and that the only way to govern Ireland is to allow
her to govern herself. (Cheers.) And if they prosecute the leaders in this movement,
it will not be because they wish to preserve the lives of one or two landlords-much
the English Government care about the lives of one or two landlords-('Nor we;
away with them all ')—but it will be because they see that behind this movement there
is a more dangerous movement, to have a hold over Ireland; because they know that
if they fail in upholding landlordism here, and they will fail, they have no chance of
maintaining it in Ireland; because they know that if they fail in upholding landlordism
in Ireland, their power to misrule Ireland will go too." (1.)
And again :-
"We will see that the people will not be swept from the country while there is
money to defend them in the courts of law. The National Land League has plenty
of money at its disposal for the purpose of defending the tenantry of Ireland. . Your
fellow countrymen in America will send you as much money as you want. Everywhere
throughout the States I found the greatest anxiety to help you. Do not, then, be
afraid; band yourselves together; organise yourselves—(cheers)—against the landlord
system; and, believe me, the day is dawning when we shall have taken the first great
step to strike down British misrule, and the noble dreams of Grattan, Emmet, and
Lord Otho Fitzgerald, and of every Irish patriot, ought at all times to be brought to a
triumph and realisation." (Cheers.) (2.)
Free from the observation of an unpleasant witness, however, Mr.
Parnell becomes more explicit. Speaking at a banquet at Cork he
says:-
"Now we are a party occupying an independent position in the House of
Commons, pledged to remain aloof from every English party who will not concede to
Ireland the right to home government; pledged, in the words of Mr. Fred. Lucas, to
be a separate element in the Legislature, and, if necessary, 'disorderly, disorganising,
(1.) Galway, October 1st.
(2.) Beaufort, May 16th.
The Truth about the Land League.
27
interfering with every business that may be transacted, as far as it is expedient or
feasible.' (Cheers.) We can push the policy just as far as we like. We may never
trench on it at all. We may let this weapon lie in its scabbard, as we did last session;
but the weapon is there; you have it in your hand, and when all other resources have
failed, it is as sharp and as potent and as powerful for a party of forty against the
present Whig Ministry as it was for a party of seven against the last Tory Government."
(Loud cheers.) (1.)
At a similar entertainment at Galway he says :-
"Well, we sailed for New York, and it was only on my entry to New York that
I first commenced to appreciate the undeveloped power that is available for your
succour, not only in the matter of charity, but in other matters of a very different
nature if you call upon them." (Loud cheers.) (2.)
He continues :—
"Well, I pass from this subject of our countrymen abroad with this remark—that
I feel confident that if you ever call upon them in another field and in another way
for help, and if you can shew them that there is a fair and good chance of success—
(enthusiastic cheering)—that you will have their assistance—their trained and organised
assistance for the purpose of breaking the yoke that encircles you, just in the same
way as you had their assistance last winter to save you from famine." (Cheers.)
The following declaration is evidently for Irish consumption only :—
"At one time it is the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, at another time it is
a Coercion Act, again it is the sending of extra police into counties, the proclamation
of martial law. They cannot suspend the Habeas Corpus Act without an Act of
Parliament, and they cannot pass a Coercion Act without an Act of Parliament, and
so long as we are able to stand in Parliament I will undertake to say they will pass
neither one nor the other. (Loud and prolonged cheering.) And I am sure that these
forces are amply sufficient for the task which we all, Mr. Mayor, ladies, and gentlemen,
have before us, the task of breaking the neck of English misgovernment in Ireland,
and chasing from the country the usurpation which has long had its heel upon our
necks." (3.)
And later on in the same speech he says:-
"We stand to-day in the same position that our ancestors stood. We declare that
it is the duty of every Irishman to free his country if he can. (Cheers.) We refuse to
inflict needless suffering on the masses of our people. We will work by constitutional
means as long as it suits us. (Great cheering.) We refuse to plunge this country into
the horrors of civil war when she has not a chance; but I ask any man at this board,
I ask any true Irishman, be he priest or be he layman, whether he would not consider
it the first duty of an Irishman to do what he could to enable his country to take her
place among the nations of the world. (Cheers.) If it could be shewn to him that
there was a fair prospect of success from the sacrifice, I ask my reverend and lay
friends whether they would not consider it their highest duty to give their lives for the
country that gave them birth. (Cheers.) I call for no vain, no useless sacrifice. I
(1.) Cork, October 4th. (Irish Times' report.)
(2.) Galway, October 25th. (Irish Times' report.)
(3.) Waterford, December 6th. (Freeman's Journal report.)
28
The Truth about the Land League.
don't wish to be misunderstood for a moment. Our present path is within the lines
of the Constitution. England has given us that Constitution for her purposes. We
will use it for ours." (Loud cheers.)
It is considerate of Mr. Parnell to undertake not to "plunge us into
the horrors of civil war" just yet. Sometimes, however, he appears to
forget his pledges. By the time he gets 3,000 miles away from the
House of Commons, and the tyrannous restraints of English law, this is
what Mr. Parnell has come to :-
"I have said that we are fighting this battle against heavy odds. I have also said
that we feel confident of winning it. It has given me great pleasure during my visit
to the cities of this country to see the armed regiments of Irishmen who have frequently
turned out to escort us; and when I saw some of these gallant men to-day, who are
even now in this hall, I thought that each one of them must wish with Sanfield of old,
O that I could carry these arms for Ireland.' (Great applause.) Well, it may come
to that some day or other. The peaceable and proper solution of the question has
been roughly put to one side by the British Government, as it has so frequently put
aside measures of reform for Ireland; but if things are allowed to continue as they are
in that country, I cannot help seeing that some day or other the time will come when
the landlords and Government will get very much sharper and worse terms from
somebody else." (Great applause.) (1.)
A few weeks later he says:-
"I promise on our side to fight this battle as pluckily as you can wish. (Loud
applause.) Up to this time the landlords and Government have failed to give
assistance, but the fiendish work of eviction is still pursued, but from the blood of the
brave Connemara women who resisted the home destroyers shall spring up a power which
will sweep away not only the land system, but the infamous Government that maintains
it." (Cheers.) (2.)
At Cincinnati, in the same month, he is still more explicit; there are
none of the fine distinctions about the link of the Crown, local government,
or the other common forms which we are accustomed to hear in speeches
on this side of the Atlantic. This is how the gentleman who has taken
the oath of allegiance talks :—
"Justice and the many, against injustice and the few, must win. (Applause.)
With your help in keeping our people alive this winter I feel confident we shall kill
the Irish landlord system. (Applause.) And when we have given Ireland to the
people of Ireland, we shall have laid the foundation upon which to build up our Irish
nation. (Loud applause.) The feudal tenure and the rule of the minority have been
the corner stone of English misrule. Pull out that corner stone, break it up, destroy
it, and you undermine English misgovernment. (Applause.)
And let us not
None of us—
forget that that is the ultimate goal at which all we Irishmen aim.
whether we are in America or in Ireland, or wherever we may be will be satisfied
until we have destroyed the last link which keeps Ireland bound to England.
(Applause.) (3.).
""
(1.) Cleveland, Ohio, January 26th.
(2.) Pittston, February 16th.
(3.) Cincinnati, February 23rd.
[ 29 ]
CHAPTER VII.
THE LITERATURE OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
PART I.
THE "IRISH WORLD.”
'Anyone who proclaims himself or allows himself to be represented as a member
of a party, will be understood as identifying himself with the rest, and giving his
sanction to whatever is said or done, at least by the leaders or by any considerable
portion of the party, except so far as he expressly, and publicly protests against it. He
will be considered as a partner, not under the system of limited liability, but according
to the rules of ordinary partnership which make each partner responsible for all the
acts and all the debts of the firm. And since this is the mode in which it is known
the public will judge, it is vain to complain that it is an unjust mode. A man who,
with his eyes open, does that which he knows will convey a certain impression to the
minds of others, must be prepared to take the consequences."
66
""
Archbishop Whately.
THE IRISH WORLD "-ITS CHARACTER-ITS CONNECTION WITH THE LAND
LEAGUE—OPINIONS OF MESSRS. PARNELL, BRENNAN, DAVITT, and redpatH, WITH
REGARD TO IT-MR. REDPATH-PECUNIARY SUPPORT GIVEN BY THE "IRISH
WORLD TO THE LAND LEAGUE.
""
We now come to the consideration of another method by which the
views of the Irish National Land League were, and indeed still are,
disseminated among the people of Ireland. Perhaps the most effective
way of stating the nature of this journal, and its connection with Mr.
Parnell and his friends, will be to affirm certain propositions with
regard to it, and then to adduce proofs in support of those propositions.
The statements which the facts appear to justify are these :—
The Irish World is the advocate of—
(a) 1. Private murder.
2. Rebellion and treason.
3. Mutilation.
4. Plunder and robbery.
5. Assassination on a large scale by means of explosives.
30
The Truth about the Land League.
(b) The Irish World is the recognised authorised organ
of the Irish National Land League.
(c) The Irish World is under the special patronage of Mr.
Parnell.
(d) The Irish National Land League is alike the patron and
pensioner of the Irish World.
(e) The Irish World is disseminated throughout Ireland with
the knowledge of, and by the aid of, the Irish National
Land League.
These are strong statements, and they require strong evidence to
support them. Strong evidence, however, is forthcoming. Before
considering the charges against the paper, it will perhaps be best to
establish beyond doubt its connection with the Land League.
The "Irish World" is the recognised authorised organ of the Irish
National Land League.
This is beyond dispute. For months the special Irish correspondent
of the Irish World was Mr. Brennan, the paid official secretary of the
League. His signed contributions appeared weekly until the time of
his arrest. Here is one of his letters:
•
"No copies of the Irish World have been received in Ireland during the last two
weeks. It is thought the Government is intercepting them
Let those
who have so generously assisted us in spreading the light relax not in their good work.
Let them continue to aid us in the Holy Work in which we are engaged. The Irish
World will find its way into Ireland in spite of the efforts that are made to keep it out."
(Signed) THOMAS BRENNAN.
The date of this letter is March 12th, 1881, and is worth recording
because, as we shall see later on, the "Holy Work of spreading the
light," as understood by the Irish World at that date, was, to say
the least of it, peculiar. Again, writing on January 2nd of the same
year, the paid secretary of the Land League says :—
"In the name of the Land League I beg to tender to the readers of the Irish
World, and to all co-operators, its sincere and most grateful acknowledgments."
(Signed) THOMAS BRENNAN.
The nature of the co-operation for which this fervent gratitude is
expressed, will also appear a few pages further on.
In August, 1881, Mr. Parnell was openly challenged in the House
of Commons with his connection with the paper in question, which was
The Truth about the Land League.
31
declared to be the official organ of the Land League. Mr. Parnell
denied that it was his "official organ."—"Unofficial then?" was the reply.
-"Yes," said the Land League leader. It is not of much importance
by what particular formula Mr. Parnell chooses to describe his relations
to the organ of assassination; the public are able to form a sufficiently
clear idea from the facts themselves. But it is worth while to put the
admission on record.
The "Irish World" is under the special patronage of Mr. Parnell
himself.
If this fact were not otherwise manifest, it would be made clear by
the following extracts from a telegram despatched by "Special Cable to
the Editor of the Irish World."
It commences thus :-
"The Land League has scored a victory. The ten-to-two disagreement of the
jury in face of the tremendous pressure of the Court, is everywhere accepted as
having the effect of an acquittal."
The conclusion is as follows:-
Thanks to the Irish World and its readers for their constant
co-operation and substantial support in our great cause. Let them have no fear for
its ultimate success."-Jan. 26th, 1881.
(Signed) CHArles Stewart Parnell.
To the diligent reader of the Irish World it certainly seems not
unnatural to thank that journal for the disagreement of the jury. (1.)
The Irish National Land League is alike the patron and the pensioner
of the "Irish World."
Enough has perhaps already been said to carry conviction on the
first point of this proposition, but one or two facts throwing light upon
the same subject are so remarkable that they cannot be omitted. For
many months there has appeared regularly in a prominent position in the
Irish World, the following passage :—
"Davitt's Advice. By all means send the Irish World into Ireland. Its power
for good is wonderful; it is an all-strengthening force among the Irish people, and I
cannot speak too strongly on the subject."
'MICHAEL DAVITT at St. Louis."
(1.). Immediately before the opening of the trial here alluded to the following
threat appeared in the Irish World: "I dare them to convict," says the writer; "I
say dare agree advisedly. Let my words go forth. Accursed be the juryman who
will dare to find these men " (the traversers) "guilty of any crime against the people
of Ireland."-Nov. 20th, 1880.
32
The Truth about the Land League.
For an almost equally long period, this valuable advice was followed
by a no less valuable "exhortation,” to this effect:-
"
'Redpath's Exhortation.—You don't know how much they appreciate the Irish
World over in Ireland, and one of the things I seek most to impress upon you here in
America, is the necessity of supplying them at home with literature of the right sort.
I would urge this in the strongest terms."
(Signed) JAMES Redpath.
We shall see what was the nature of the "literature of the right
sort," whose "influence for good was so incalculable;" but first we must
say a word or two in passing with regard to this James Redpath whose
opinion seems to be so highly valued by the unofficial organ of the Land
League. He is the gentleman to whose utterances Sir William Harcourt
called attention in the House of Commons. (1.) He it was who, speak-
ing on the same platform as Mrs. Parnell, delivered himself as follows.
After alluding lightly to "a dastard, a flunkey, a coward and a parasite
by the name of Hepworth, who disgraced America by toadying to an
infamous wretch and debauched young man" (the "debauched young
man" apparently being the Duke of Edinburgh), he proceeds thus:-
"Ireland's landlord system is the old feudal system of tenure, and the landlord
regards the tenant merely as a machine for making rent for him, and such men, I say,
with all deference to the ladies, should exist in only one place,-hell
Many of you may think I am prejudiced when I say that the Scotch Presbyterians are
superior to the Catholics of Ireland. I'll tell
by landlords they shot them down like rabbits.
landlords shot than rabbits, and I think it was
were only beasts of prey. (Loud applause.)
ment against the Catholic countries than the fact that they have treated these
landlords leniently.
I must say that Irishmen are cowards. I don't like
them to apologise for the shooting of landlords."
you why. When they were oppressed
About thirty years ago there were more
perfectly legitimate, for the landlords
I can't conceive a more terrific indict-
It appears that Mr. Redpath over-estimated the sensibility of the
ladies, for we read that "at the close of the speaker's remarks Mrs.
Parnell was loudly called for, and received a perfect ovation when she
appeared. She spoke for upwards of twenty minutes, and gave a brief
view of the work of the Land League up to the present time, and
expressed her heartfelt sympathy with its future." It is not recorded,
however, that the allusions to the ultimate home of landlords, or to the
means by which they were to be sent there, occupied her attention, or
greatly agitated her.
One more remark remains to be made with regard to Redpath,
(1.) Redpath was present and spoke at the Land League Convention held in
Dublin, in September, 1881.
The Truth about the Land League.
33
which is both amusing and instructive. This friend of the Land
League and defender of murder was very properly denounced in the
House of Commons by Mr. A. M. Sullivan, who not only disclaimed
any sympathy with his opinions, but even refused to recognise him as a
compatriot. Mr. Redpath, Mr. Sullivan declared, was a Scotchman.
Whatever country, however, is really entitled to the distinction which
must attach to the native land of that individual, there is no doubt that
in the eyes of the unofficial organ of the Land League he not only was
an Irishman, but deserved to be specially claimed as being such. Mr.
Redpath, says the Irish World, is "Hibernis ipsis Hibernior"—more
Irish than the Irish themselves. It is not of much importance whether
Mr. Sullivan or the Irish World is correct, but the anxiety of anyone to
claim kindred with the author of the speech we have quoted is
significant.
The Irish National Land League is the pensioner of the "Irish
World."
This requires no formal proof. It is not and never has been denied
that by far the greater part of the money received by the League has
come through the hands of the editor of that paper. For every shilling
raised in Ireland for the purposes of Mr. Parnell's agitation a pound
has been received through the agency of the Irish World.
The "Irish World" is disseminated throughout Ireland with the
knowledge of, and by the aid of the Irish National Land League.
It is not necessary again to produce proof of this proposition, which
to anyone who is acquainted with the Irish World is self-evident; but
these leading facts may be briefly recalled :-
That Mr. Parnell has formally accepted the services of the paper.
That two of its regular correspondents, Messrs. Brennan and Egan
are paid officers of the Land League.
That Mr. Brennan is found deploring the stoppage in the supply of
the paper. (1)
(1) See ante p. 30.
[ 34 ]
CHAPTER VIII.
THE LITERATURE OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
PART I.
THE "IRISH WORLD" (continued.)
"Thou shalt do no murder."-EXODUS, Chap. xx.
THE
""
IRISH WORLD ON MURDER-REBELLION-MUTILATION-PLUNDER-
THE USE OF DYNAMITE-MR. PARNELL'S "PRACTICAL JOKE"
PRACTICAL JOKE "THE OFFICIAL
VIEW OF THE PRACTICAL JOKE.
""
The connection between the Irish World and the Irish
National Land League having been thus established, it is necessary to
enquire-What is the nature of the journal which is considered so
valuable an ally; and what are the teachings which are calculated to
be such a "wonderful power for good" in Ireland? (1)
To arrive at a satisfactory answer to this enquiry, we cannot do
better than go back to the propositions formulated at the head of
the preceding chapter, and give a few proofs, out of the many
which might be cited, of the correctness of the charges which they
contain.
The "Irish World" is the Advocate of Private Murder.
Here, for instance, is the way in which it describes the murder
of an unfortunate man who was shot down like a dog in open
day, riddled with bullets, and left to die upon the high road.
AGRARIAN OUTRAGE IN MAYO.
"There is an obscurity in this account also, but the fact and the omens remain.
Meehan shot on one side to day; Feerick shot on the other side to-morrow.
(1) See ante p. 31. Letter from Michael Davitt.
The Truth about the Land League.
35
Somebody said long ago that 'it made no difference among neighbours who
dies first.' Those killings on both sides have been too long continued for us
to hope that they will be discontinued. But every pistol shot will stimulate
action; of the thieves to guard the stolen goods away in the darkness; of the
true men to let the light in on the darkness and the true owners in on the
stolen goods. There are stirring times before us. Awaken your neighbours. It
will soon be daylight."
Another foul and brutal murder is committed, and this is how the
"unofficial" organ of the Land League heads the paragraph describing
the death of the victim-" Another Land Thief executed.”
The "Irish World" is the Advocate of Rebellion and Treason.
It would be sufficient, in order to prove this statement, to say
merely "See Irish World, passim." Almost every page of every copy
contains incitements direct or indirect to the open display of Irish
disaffection; but one or two passages may be cited as examples merely.
The two following are from the letters of an individual who has for
more than two years been the most regular and most voluminous
correspondent of the Irish World. "Transatlantic" (for that is his
nom de plume) writes thus:
"Irishmen, cheer up! be brothers! fall in! Study military knowledge night
and day, Sunday and holiday. The day of your emancipation is nearer than you
suppose."
Again :-
"A hearty coming together of our scattered race-the 'sea-divided Gael '-with
honest and courageous leaders, and united watchword, 'Free Lands in Free Ireland,'
we have in those elements the material power, not only to free our island from the
felon grasp of the English aristocracy, but to follow the felons if we think it best
into their own country, and there defeat them in the open, and in their cities, and
thus destroy the British Empire,' the greatest scourge which the human race ever
experienced,"
The following is apparently editorial matter:-
"Thank God that the huge political structure that has been built up by robbery,
and which goes by the name of the British Empire, is crumbling to pieces. The
sooner it is destroyed the better for humanity."
Here is a letter in the same paper :—
A PHYSICAL FORCE MAN WHO BELIEVES THAT THE SWORD ALONE WILL Right
THINGS; BUT HE WANTS IRISHMEN TO KNOW THEIR DUTY BEFORE
THEY TAKE IT.
Poquonock Conn.-To Editor, "Irish World."
"Enclosed find 3 dols. 25 cents to spread the light; from Mrs. Bement, I dol. ;
Patrick Callaghan, I dol. Put me down for 25 cents every month. I wish
36
The Truth about the Land League.
that the Irish World were at the hearth-stone of every house in Ireland. Oh
to God that it had been in Ireland ten years before the rising of '67. I am
a physical force man, and believe that before Ireland gets anything from England
she must use the sword, but before using it Irishmen must know their duty, and
that duty is truly taught them through the Irish World.
"What rights the brave? the sword;
'What frees the slave? the sword.'
"For the last three years I have sent 324 copies to Ireland, and I call upon
Irishmen and friends to liberty, with all the earnestness I possess, to send the
Irish World into Ireland and thus most practically free its people."-Yours
sincerely,
B. QUINLAN.
Of course tomfoolery of this kind is contemptible enough, and
under ordinary circumstances harmless enough. Mr. Quinlan's twenty-
five cents will probably not do much harm to the British Empire, and
England is likely to survive "Transatlantic's" foul-mouthed threats;
but when we come to see what "spreading the light" really means,
and what is the practical application that is given to "physical
force," and the "doctrine of the sword," we shall perceive that
such incitements as those quoted are not as harmless as we
might at first be tempted to suppose.
The "Irish World" is the Advocate of Mutilation.
Here is a contribution to the paper which leaves no doubt on
the subject: -
"Mr. Smyth, M.P., is quite willing now-a-days to do not a thing that shall
'disturb society,' and quite agrees with all the respectables (idlers) of society that a
mixture of good (devils) landlords would benefit society. As to pulling down what
John Mitchell designated the 'pirate flag of Britain,' as to getting Irishwomen to
fling out vitriol upon the ruffianly soldiery whom English felony may send over to
Ireland, as John Mitchell taught Mr. Smyth soon after his college days; tut, tut, the
Mr. Smyth of to-day is not that kind of patriot at all. He would not now after the
teaching of O'Connell take the liberty of Ireland if it cost one drop of blood--not
he! not he !"
(Signed)
TRANSATLANTIC.
In the first place it
This passage requires one or two comments.
must be remembered that Mr. P. J. Smyth, against whom this brutal
attack is directed, is an Irishman and a patriot, who has shown
a devotion to his country's cause, and a readiness to suffer for
her sake, to which no one concerned in the present agitation can
pretend.
In the second place, the horrible effects of the particular torture
The Truth about the Land League.
37
<
which the women of Ireland are here asked to inflict must not be
forgotten.
And lastly, it must be remembered that at the time this appeared
the Irish World was active in the service of the Land League; and
that Mr. Parnell's warm telegram of appreciation and thanks followed
its publication by a few weeks only. (1)
The "Irish World" is the Advocate of Robbery and Plunder.
Here, for instance, are some instructive passages throwing light
upon this proposition. The first is particularly valuable when read
by the light of the letter which appeared in the same column,
purporting to be signed by the paid secretary of the Irish National
Land League.
"London, consisting of 4,000,000 of the wealthiest people in the world, is
at the mercy of its criminal classes, who number a quarter of a million, guarded
by only 2,500 regular troops, 10,000 policemen, and 10,000 men in volunteer
companies the latter mere holiday soldiers. Make a note. Spread the light!
O spread the light!"
(Signed) TRANSATLANTIC. (2)
Those who are acquainted with "Transatlantic's" effusions, know
well enough what " spreading the light means in this context.
In the same column in which this letter appears there is another
which runs as follows:
"No copies of the Irish World have been received in Ireland during the last
two weeks. It is thought the Government is intercepting them.
Let
those who have so generously assisted us in Spreading the Light relax not in their good
work. Let them continue to aid us in the holy work in which we are engaged. The
Irish World will find its way into Ireland in spite of the efforts that are being made
to keep it out.”
(Signed) THOMAS BRENNAN.
This is the sort of thing which has been distributed throughout the
length and breadth of Ireland, under the imprimatur of the Irish
National Land League; this is the literature which the founder of
that organisation believes will be such an incalculable influence for
good.
Here is another example of the way in which the "holy work" is
assisted.
"PLENTY OF KINDLING WOOD IN ENGLAND.”
"I have filled my letter with arguments, recommendations, and proofs to show
my countrymen the weak parts of the British Empire, and to teach them
(1) See p. 31.
(2) Paper of May 14th, 1881.
38
The Truth about the Land League.
where and how to strike. There is plenty of dry kindling wood in England and
Scotland to set the whole working population in a blaze. The farm labourers, the miners,
the factory hands, the million of paupers disinherited from the common lands
of the rich, one hundred and eighty-six thousand imprisoned English criminals,
the half-million of uncaught criminals in England, the failing English manufacturers,
the idle work people and their starving children. Here are abundant materials
for the prophet of the people. He must be somewhere in the crowd, at present
obscure. Let him come forth to save the people. Spread the light through
England."
TRANSATLANTIC.
(Signed)
How the English factory hands, labourers, and miners will relish.
the duty assigned to them of ruining their own country in conjunction
with paupers, felons, "Transatlantic," and his patrons of the Land
League, remains to be seen.
The "Irish World" is the Advocate of Assassination on a large
scale by means of Explosives.
Let the editor speak for himself.
"AN ARMY EQUIVALENT."
"Some think it is an open question whether the political agent called Dynamite
was first commissioned in Russia, or first in Ireland. Well, it is not of much con-
sequence which of the two countries takes precedence in this onward step towards
civilisation.' Still we claim the merit for Ireland. True, the introductory blast was
blown in England, and in the very centre of the enemy's headquarters. But the
work itself was no doubt done by one or two Irish hands, which settles both the
claim and the priority." (1)
This is the beginning of what appears to be a long editorial;
and it is interesting to note that the man who either himself wrote,
or at any rate inserted in his paper, this and other pieces of
villainy of the same kind, is the man who has been selected to
conduct Mr. Parnell's special emissary, Mr. T. P. O'Connor,
through the United States.
Lastly, under this head we must quote one more reference to this
same subject of dynamite which is conclusive, at any rate, as to what
the Irish National Land League thinks of its use.
It may be remembered that in the winter of 1880-81, an unfor-
tunate child was murdered in Salford by an explosion of dynamite.
Reference was made to the subject in the House of Commons, and the
President of the Land League thus expressed himself upon the matter:-
(1) June 12th, 1880.
The Truth about the Land League.
39
"The only reason for this panic," said Mr. Parnell, "was that a tin
containing dynamite was exploded at Salford; but the circumstances
pointed to its being meant as a practical joke.” (1)
Mr. Forster, in reply, said that he was surprised at the manner in
which the hon. member had alluded to what occurred at Salford,
when he described the explosion of a can of dynamite as a
practical joke. That explosion had caused the death of a poor
child, and might cause the death of another person."-(Hansard's
Reports.)
It is not necessary to enquire what would be the result of a
few more practical jokes of this kind in the large towns in the
North of England; but it is important to ascertain what was the
Land League view of the occurrence as stated, not for the benefit
of the English Parliament and the English people, but for the
encouragement of the tenant farmers of Ireland and the subscribers.
in America.
Mr. Parnell's speech was delivered on the 22nd January, 1881. In
the Irish World of the 29th January, there appears a letter from
Mr. Parnell's own trusted official, the paid secretary of the committee
of which he was the president. From the date it appears that the
letter claiming credit for the murder must have been written almost on
the same day as the speech in which it was disavowed was delivered.
The letter runs thus:
"All sorts of theories are afloat concerning this explosion, but the truly loyal one
is that Fenianism did it. Accidents can never occur in times like these. It is
asserted that the regiment now quartered in the Salford barracks contains many Irish,
and that Fenianism had been previously suspected among them."
(Signed) THOMAS BRennan.
This is what the Land League wished to be believed in Ireland.
Those who can persuade themselves that Mr. Parnell really regarded
the incident as a practical joke, are entitled to their opinion. The
perpetrators of the outrage were warmly welcomed by a portion of the
Irish American Press on their return to the United States.
Such is the Irish World, such are its patrons.
This chapter
(1) It is amusing to note that in the Freeman's Journal report, Mr. Parnell's
suggestion that the murder was a practical joke is omitted.
40
The Truth about the Land League.
may appropriately conclude with the words of the founder of the Irish
National Land League, already quoted :-
"
By all means send the Irish World into Ireland. Its power for good is
wonderful. It is an all strengthening force among the Irish people, and I
cannot speak too strongly on the subject."
MICHAEL Davitt.
NOTE.-It should be stated in justice to the Irish World
that the greater proportion of the objectionable matter which it
contains is connected with Irish subjects, and usually furnished by
contributors on this side of the Atlantic. Much of what appears
in the paper on other topics is comparatively moderate; and,
unlike the contributions to United Ireland mentioned in the
following chapter, is often very ably written.

[ 41 ]
CHAPTER IX.
THE LITERATURE OF THE LAND LEAGUE.
PART II.
"UNITED IRELAND.”
"Stand together for the right;
Stand together 'gainst the wrong ;
Stand together in your might:
And the struggle won't be long.
For your strife's a moral war,
"
And waged with speech and pen ;
And moral force is mightier far
Than all the swords of men.
"United Ireland," November 5th, 1881.
A MORAL STRIFE-CONNECTION OF THE LAND LEAGUE WITH UNITED
IRELAND "-INCIDENTS IN THE MORAL WAR-THE SPIRIT OF THE COUNTRY-
PROPRIETORS OF UNITED IRELAND "-THE FREEMAN'S JOURNAL" ON THE
'—" DREAMY
A PATRIOT
YOUTHS"-THE
LAND
"
GUISE OF
LEAGUE-THE
FIRST CORRESPONDENT OF "UNITED IRELAND ∙AND HIS antecedents.
Hitherto we have devoted our attention chiefly though not
exclusively to the earlier periods in the history of the Land League: it
now becomes our duty to enquire how far the teaching of 1880 and
the opening months of 1881 has been continued and insisted upon
down to the present time. For this purpose it is again necessary to
turn to the columns of a newspaper which will supply us with the
information we are in search of in a definite and unmistakable shape.
United Ireland is the journal in question, and in quoting from
it we may dispense with the preliminary evidence which was necessary
in the case of the Irish World, in order to connect that paper with the
Land League.
United Ireland is the organ of the Irish National Land League,
just as much as the National Reformer is the organ of Mr. Bradlaugh.
42
The Truth about the Land League.
When the career of the United Ireland as an independent Nationalist.
paper terminated, by its transfer from the hands of Mr. Pigott into
those of the Land League, it at once acquired an importance and
authority, as the exponent of the views of its new owners, which it is
not easy to over-estimate. Owned and conducted, edited and
distributed, by members of the League, it furnishes us with a useful
guide to the kind of facts which its owners are anxious to disseminate
among the Irish people, and to the spirit in which they wish those
facts to be regarded. It is no exaggeration to say that United Ireland'
since it became the organ of the Land League has been one long and
consistent series of incitements to outrage, and to law-breaking.
But it is best to let the paper speak for itself. In the same number
in which the charming and irreproachable sentiments contained in
the lines at the beginning of this chapter appear, is to be found the
following heading: "Incidents of the Campaign." And this title, or
the still more suggestive one of the "Spirit of the Country," is the
regular mode of drawing the attention of the admirers of the
"unwritten law" to the progress of the outrage campaign conducted
under the auspices of the League.
Here is an account of the "Moral Strife," as described by the
chiefs of the "Moral Band" by whom it is waged :—
"INCIDENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN.”
"A FARMER SHOT DEAD.”
"Peter Doherty, a young farmer, living at Carrigan, who took a farm sur-
rendered by another tenant who was refused a reduction, was shot dead at
his own door, on Wednesday night."
"A STORY FROM BaltinGLASS.'” (1)
"The youngest child of Mr. Thompson, of this town, died on Wednesday
morning, and because this gentleman has incurred, in some way, the displeasure
of the Land League, a carpenter would not be allowed to make a coffin for him.
The crape on his door knocker was pelted with stones."
"HOUNDING THEM ON."
"A meeting of King's Co. magistrates was held on Saturday in Parsons-
town, when resolutions calling on the Government to restore law and order
were adopted."
To those unfamiliar with the "unwritten law," and with the
peculiar views of those who rejoice at the ordinary law being "knocked
(1) This story is considered to be so valuable and instructive, that it is thought
worth while specially to quote it from the Dublin Express.
The Truth about the Land League.
43
into a cocked hat," this last paragraph may seem somewhat obscure.
What it means, however, is this: that the magistrates of the King's
Co. are held up to the execration of the readers of the United
Ireland for asking the Government to try and put a stop to the
outrages which are so graphically described in that paper.
what is meant by "hounding them on.”
Here are some more "Incidents of the Campaign.”
"BY PERSONS UNKNOWN."
This is
"On Saturday night at II o'clock an attack was made by twenty men with
blackened faces on the house of Owen Curtin, of Mountmay. They fired shots into
the house, and broke in the door. Curtin and his son were taken out of the house
and beaten in the yard with the butts of guns. Old Curtin was then sworn that he
would not dispossess a tenant on whom he had served a notice to quit. Curtin was
some time ago brought before the Kilavullen Land League for not giving an abatement
to his tenant, and reprimanded. On the party leaving Curtin's house they fired several
shots, and promised to visit him again if he did not do as they wished. The police
have been out making inquiries, but no arrests have been made, as Curtin and family
say they do not know any of the persons who attacked them.”
Here is a "moral strife" with a vengeance.
The next item is headed
"ATTEMPT TO BURN A BAILIFF."
"On Monday night a most determined attempt was made to burn a bailiff to
death at Creaden, in the County of Waterford. It appears that a couple of days ago
a tenant of Earl Fortescue, named Hally, was evicted for non-payment of rent
and a bailiff was put into possession of the farm. The bailiff in charge went
to bed about II o'clock at night, and was awakened about two o'clock in the morning
by the crackling of burnt timber, and jumping out of bed he found the dwelling
house in flames. It was with great difficulty he got out of the burning house."
(6
'A Bailiff Killed" is the title of the next
"Incident in the
Moral Strife," and it relates how an unfortunate man was brutally
murdered, shot through the head in the darkness, the bullet passing
out through his eye.
A passage headed, "A Land Agent Shot At," is followed by a
paragraph entitled "The Dark Nights at Athlone," recounting how the
ricks and turf of certain persons were burnt; "the victims had
disregarded the injunctions of the Land League by dealing with a
boycotted shopkeeper named Molloy." (1)
As before mentioned, the methods by which the "No Rent"
(1) This passage also is thought worth quoting from another paper, the Ulster
Examiner.
44
The Truth about the Land League.
doctrine is enforced, are sometimes described under the heading,
Here are some examples of that
"The Spirit of the Country."
spirit:
DENYING THE SOFT IMPEACHMENT.
'Richard Brown, agricultural implement maker, writes to the Wexford People
to deny that he worked for boycotted persons at Adamstown as charged by the
chairman of a local Land League."
The following shows that the individuals in Kilmainham are not the
only "Suspects" in Ireland.
"SUSPECTED OF PAYING RENT."
"A telegram from Carrick-on-Shannon states that large quantities of farm
produce were burned on Wednesday night on farms near Readon and
Ballyfaron, the owners being suspected of paying their rent.”
Then comes “A Midnight Warning":
“A telegram of Thursday says, a party of armed, disguised men last night visited
the house of a farmer named Michael Walshe, at Berring, twelve miles from Cork,
and cautioned him repeatedly not to pay his rent, or they would take his life. He
said he would pay his rent, and would not be intimidated by them. One of the
party then fired and wounded him, it is believed mortally. The tenants were about
to pay their rents to Mr. Saunders, of Charleville. It is stated they are afraid now
A man named Daniel Herlihy has been arrested."
to pay.
Lastly, we may note another fine manifestation of the "Spirit of the
Country," which is thus described:-
"DESPERATE ASSAULT."
"A woman named Mary Carroll who recently took a farm from which a family
hamed Dolan had been evicted, was fearfully beaten and kicked about the head at
Newtown, near Ballinasloe, on Tuesday night, and lies in a precarious condition in
the Ballinasloe Workhouse Hospital."
These extracts are enough for our purpose; unfortunately they are
by no means enough for the proprietors of United Ireland. They are
not picked specimens; they are simply a fair sample of the bulk. It is
horrible and lamentable that these vile outrages should be committed
at all, but that they should be blazoned forth in this way in a paper
of which Mr. Parnell, Mr. Biggar, Mr. Egan, Mr. Justin McCarthy,
and Dr. Kenny, are proprietors and patrons is startling even to those
who are tolerably acquainted with the depth to which the Land League
agitation has sunk.
Whether the incidents actually happened is comparatively unimportant;
whether the descriptions which are contained in the United Ireland
The Truth about the Land League.
45
are borrowed from elsewhere, is immaterial; what is important is the
fact, which admits of no contradiction, that the accounts of these
brutalities, whether real or imaginary, have been deliberately compiled
and circulated in the form and under the titles already mentioned, by
the responsible leaders of the Irish National Land League.
Of course there are two opinions upon most subjects. This is the
opinion of that highly virtuous paper, the Freeman's Journal:-
"It is as wicked to libel an organisation as to libel a man, and what can be
worse than to charge all kinds of crimes against the Land League without one tittle
of evidence to support these charges? The Land League was at all times an open
public organisation, carrying on its operations by open meetings and by addresses
published to the whole world.
"There is not one grain of evidence connecting this organisation with the slightest
injury to life, limb, or property. On the contrary, during its active operations its.
most prominent members denounced outrages of all kinds.”—November 17th, 1881.
It is for those who have read the preceding chapters to form their
own opinion as to the correctness of the Freeman's view, and the
necessity for its virtuous indignation.
It may be after all that the Freeman itself might have done a
little more in the way of " denouncing outrages of all kinds;"
it might have been better if the article from which the following
passages are extracts had not been written. The article relates to the
capture and trial of a number of scoundrels who had been infesting.
the neighbourhood of Millstreet, under the name of Moonlighters;
and the "informer" alluded to is a member of the gang, named
Connell, who turned Queen's evidence against his accomplices:-
"In our caution to the unwary and inexperienced so short a time ago,
we had no hesitation in conveying that the light of what happened before
showed with electric clearness that persons would be found throughout the
country seducing the young, the hot-spirited, and the dreamy into the paths
of danger.
But it is enough to record to-day that a reported informer-
has already ten victims amongst the ardent and impulsive peasants of the
South.
Whatever credence is to be attached to the prisoner's story,
enough is amply exhibited for our purpose, namely, that, South, East, and West, the
unsophisticated, innocent poor people are living in an atmosphere of spies and
traitors, of plans and plots and perjury. Again we solemnly adjure our country-
men, especially the young, to beware the brand of the secret society-man, the
Captain Moonlight; the Rory of the Hills; the Riband-man. There is a
snake in the grass.
There are TaLBOTS IN THE GUISE OF PATRIOTS.” (1)
This is a remarkable article, and will appear all the more
(1) Talbot was a detective who acquired the confidence of the Fenian
. organisers, and then gave information to the police.
46
The Truth about the Land League.
remarkable when we consider the facts to which it alludes. In the
first place, it should be noted that for the actual outrages committed
by the "Moonlighters" there is no single word of condemnation; the
whole moral of the argument is "Don't do it, for you may be found out
if you do." But that is perhaps an oversight. The allusions to the
"hot-headed, dreamy youths," the "innocent and unsophisticated
peasants," are certainly somewhat startling by the light of the work
which these playful but misguided infants set themselves to do. This
is the programme of one night's amusement :-
"This lot of enclosed orders must be performed. Notice.-Good men, and self in
person, to appear with arms, at an early hour, at James Twohy's on the night of
the 30th December, 1881, bringing Healy's shears and bayonet out of the stock and
false whiskers for Owen Riordan also."
Regimental orders, by Captain Moonlight, for appointed raids, 30th 12, 1881.
"No. 1. James Sullivan, to be shot in the leg. Mother and daughter to be clipped
for dealing at Heggarty's.
“No. 2. John Linehan, for story-telling to Father F., clipped also.
"No. 3. Dennis Coakley, for turning out his labourers, clipped also.
"No. 4. John Murphy, shot in the legs, for paying his rent.
"No. 5 Another man, name unknown, to be shot in the legs for paying his rent.
(Signed and confirmed) CAPTAIN MOONLIGHT.
Mary Coakeley, to be clipped for speaking to the police at Macroom."
There is certainly something rather comic, if it were not so serious,
in the notion of the innocent but impulsive Owen Riordan wandering
forth in his dreamy way, disguised in a pair of false whiskers, and
armed with a gun and bayonet, shooting some unlucky man in the legs,
or clipping an offending woman, in the freaks of his singular reverie. But
these strange reflections are after all plain and easy to understand in
comparison with the last passage which the Freeman's article contains.
"There is a snake in the grass; there are Talbots in the guise of patriots."
Now that passage has one meaning, and one meaning only, in such a
context. If this man Connell had not been a "Talbot," that is, an
informer, he would have been a "patriot." He turned Queen's evidence,
and therefore he is to be condemned, but the "guise of a patriot” is the
guise in which this miserable ruffian presented himself to the "hot-
headed, dreamy youths" whom he appears to have led with such
success.
Such is one at least of the contributions which the Freeman's
Journal has made to the discouragement of crime and outrage in
Ireland. Let those who wish to discover what is the "guise of a
The Truth about the Land League.
47
patriot" read the account of the trial of Connell and his accomplices
at the Cork Winter Assizes, for the year 1882. (1)
It would be impossible to conclude a review of United Ireland
without some reference to its earliest and perhaps most remarkable
contributor. In the very first number of the paper of which Mr.
MacCarthy is a proprietor, appears a letter from a scoundrel of the
name of O'Donovan Rossa.
The letter, which appears in the issue of the 13th August, is thus
introduced :-
"The following. by O'Donovan Rossa, appeared in a recent issue of his
paper :—' Irish landlords, we have a few words to say to you.
:-
It has been
determined to give you warning that henceforward a record will be kept of all
landlords who exercise their powers of eviction in Ireland, and for every such
death sentence executed upon a tenant a death sentence will be executed by
the Irish race against the offender's house, and the Irish race all over the
world will give encouragement to the avenging angel."
Then follows a request to be furnished with the names
landlords concerned.
of the
Of course, as the Attorney-General for Ireland remarked in the
House of Commons, this is a direct incitement to murder. That is
nothing new for Mr. Rossa, but what ought not to be forgotten or
overlooked, is that it is a letter of this nature from a ruffian of this
type that the managers of United Ireland think desirable to pick out
for insertion in the very first number of the journal through which they
were addressing the people of Ireland. Mr. McCarthy and his
companions in this last literary venture have a good deal to answer
for. In another chapter we shall see how the advice which was so
thoughtfully transcribed went home to those whom it was intended to
reach.
(1) In his speech in the House of Commons in February, 1882, the Attorney-
General for Ireland asked the following pertinent question: "But who defended
Captain Moonlight'? It was sworn at the trial that the Land League was connected
with these outrages.
The defence was undoubtedly carried on by the Land League.
Where did the hundred guineas for counsel come from? Who paid the original
retainer and the refreshers from day to day? The question had never been
answered. Those fees were not paid from subscriptions."
[ 48 ]
CHAPTER X.
POPULAR FALLACIES WITH REGARD TO
THE LAND LEAGUE.
"Intimidation means violence, or the threat of violence, and the threat, we all
know, would do nothing without the perfectly understood reality behind it.
"It is an insult to our knowledge and our understandings to talk of restricting the
interference of such organisations to 'moral suasion'; we know that it never stops
there, and would be laughed at if it did; and we see every day instances of the
extent to which the sense of crime and wrong dies out of the minds of both instru-
ments and leaders."
W. R. Greg.
(C
THE LAND LEAGUE AND THE REPRESSION OF CRIME-LAND LEAGUE
MEETINGS AND AGRARIAN OUTRAGES—THE WILD JUSTICE OF REVENGE”.
INCORRECTNESS OF THE DEFINITION-LAND LEAGUE PROTESTS AGAINST OUTRAGE,
BY MR. BIGGAR, MR. DILLON, MR. SEXTON, AND MR. PARNELL-MR. GLADSTONE
AND MR. PARNELL.
In dealing with the history of the Land League it would be
undesirable to omit all mention of certain fallacies connected with it,
and with subjects upon which it has declared its opinion; fallacies
which seem likely to obtain credence among outsiders for no other
reason than that no one has hitherto taken the trouble to contradict them.
For instance-It is an absolute fallacy that the Land League has ever
controlled or diminished outrages; and it is equally a fallacy to suppose that
were the leaders of the League at this moment free to exert their influence,
they would exert it in favour of the suppression of crime.
Mr. Parnell asserted, in his speech at New Ross, that a suitable
organisation among the tenants would render crime unnecessary. Here
are the figures which show the almost exact correspondence between the
number of Land League meetings and the number of agrarian crimes
The Truth about the Land League.
49
in each county in the year 1880, during which year, be it remem-
bered, the Land League operations were absolutely unfettered.
County.
!Land League
Meetings.
Agrarian
Crimes.
County.
Land League
Meetings.
Agrarian
Crimes.
Carlow
Dublin
Kildare
8
ΙΟ
2 0
22
Down...
6
20
-7
Londonderry...
4
14
30 Tyrone
II
Kilkenny
13
31
Leitrim
32
King's County
IO
49
Mayo
55
Longford
II
31
Sligo
22
Louth...
2
8
Cork (E.R.)...
42
:
:
:
Meath...
ΙΟ
4I
Cork (W.R.)...
27
...
21
102
343
71
157
133
Queen's County
13
18
:
Tipperary (N.R.) 8
Westmeath
16
35
Tipperary (S.R.) 18
Wexford
14
·
56
Armagh
8
Wicklow
6
Clare
20
Kerry...
:
:
23
Donegal
15
•
93
298
Fermanagh
Monaghan
:
7
12
:
: :
49
57
30
72
6
19
Limerick
186
Galway (E.R.)
34
Waterford
...
46
Galway (W.R.)
33
Antrim
15
Roscommon... 36
78
324
43
Cavan
73
23
17
5
7
15
It will thus be seen that, according to a fair average, a Land League
meeting may be considered good for four outrages, the rate of pro-
duction being higher in the Southern counties where the League is
most thoroughly organised, and lower as a rule in Ulster and Co.
Dublin, where the organisation took little root. Mayo-as might be
expected from its being the birthplace of the Land League-carries off
the palm in the number both of its meetings and its outrages.
It is a fallacy to suppose that the Land League leaders if at liberty
would control crime.
At least this is the conclusion to which the facts seem to point. At
no period has the total of agrarian crime been so high as in December,
1880. In December, 1880, the Land League was at the height of its
power; it was interfered with by no Coercion Act, by no prosecutions,
by no newspaper seizures. If the Land Leaguers are so ready to
control crime in 1882, why did they not check it in 1880?
It is a fallacy to believe that the agrarian outrages which have recently
taken place in Ireland are the " Wild Justice of Revenge.”
This is a phrase of Mr. Parnell's, and the sentence, or the idea
which it contains, has been repeated so often that there is a real danger
of some persons actually going so far as to believe it. The danger is
50
The Truth about the Land League.
not merely an imaginary one. For instance, here is an instance of
what it leads to. The following is a quotation from a letter by a
Mr. George Mitchell addressed to an English paper :—
"The shooting of innocent men and women from behind hedges is mentioned.
I don't think any innocent men have been shot. I know for certain that some who
have been sacrified to the desperation of a ruined, starved, and outraged nation
have been 'verily guilty.""
This would be wicked if it were not merely foolish. Mr. Mitchell
of course has been misled by the popular notion that the victims of
agrarian crime in Ireland during the last two years have been the
landowning class. The misconception ought to be entirely removed
by the following words taken from the charge of Judge Fitzgerald,
addressed to the grand jury at Cork, in January, 1882. He says:-
'The totally different character of the crimes we have had to deal with here and
on a similar occasion twelve months ago or at periods still further back, cannot fail to
have struck you.
I have not had before me during the present protracted sitting a
single case of outrage upon one of the upper classes. We had no case of a gentleman's
life being attempted, or a landlord's or an agent's house being broken into, or one of
the aristocracy threatened in any way. They have been, one and all, outrages com-
mitted upon the poor and the humble; and I have indeed felt for these unfortunate
people, living in lonely houses on the mountain side and away from all succour,
possibly with very humble means of securing food or other necessaries.”
Up to the present time the total number of persons actually killed
during the past year is twenty-one. The attempts to commit murder
have reached the formidable total of sixty-eight, and the fact that several
hundreds of persons have been under personal protection has
probably saved a large number of lives. There have been no less than
one hundred cases of aggravated assault, not including sixty-seven
assaults on police and process servers. Not one landlord has been
murdered during this period. (1)
But to return for a moment to Mr. Parnell's description of the
Land League murders as being the "Wild Justice of Revenge." Never
was there a definition which more widely departed from the truth in
every word which it contained. The crime which has characterised the
present agitation is not wild, is not justice, and is not revenge.
It is not wild, for it is one of the basest characteristics of this reign
of terror, that the crimes which it produces are, in almost every case,
deliberate, calculated, planned attacks, always upon the defenceless,
always upon the unprotected, always upon the unresisting.
(1) These figures do not include the first three months of 1882, which would add
considerably to the total under each head.
The Truth about the Land League.
51
It is not necessary to pause to enquire into their justice. Even were
they what crimes in Ireland have sometimes been, they would not be
just; and the reflection gives an occasion for the expression of a protest
against the loose habit into which some persons in England have at
times allowed themselves to fall, when they have spoken of the murder
of unpopular and possibly harsh landlords as being a species of rude
justice. The step between condemning harsh and cruel action under
the law, and condoning the assumption by any individual of the
terrible responsibility of inflicting death upon his fellow-creatures is so
wide, that to ignore it, or even to seem to ignore it, is to do incalculable
harm in any country, in Ireland more than in any other country. But
once for all the idea should be dismissed that the men and women on
whose persons and whose property these barbarities are committed, are
landlords or anything of the kind; they are simply men and women
who have dared to be honest, who have striven to be true.
And lastly, as to the third point of Mr. Parnell's definition, which
speaks of these crimes as "acts of vengeance." They are not acts of
vengeance; they are acts of deliberate cruelty and tyranny, inflicted
for the sake of propping up a vile system, for the purpose of annexing
other people's property, and of establishing the will of an illegal
organisation. They are the means used to punish the innocent and to
shield the guilty, and are in no sense of the word, good or bad,
vengeance or revenge.
It is a fallacy to believe that the leaders of the Land League have made
any effective protest against outrage.
Some protests they have made, but they were neither effective nor
effectual. The following are samples.
Mr. Biggar's protest we have already quoted :—
“We do not recommend shooting landlords,” says the member for Cavan.
is an extreme measure, and certainly we cannot recommend it."
Or again :-
..That
"It is no part of the duty of the Land League to recommend the shooting of
landlords for a great variety of reasons."
Strange to say, these strictures and the explanations by which
they were accompanied did not produce the required effect; quite the
contrary. (1)
Nor are Mr. Dillon's protests very impressive :-
(1) See p. 48.
52
The Truth about the Land League.
"I wish to tell the landlords, that while we prevent every act of outrage upon
their class, that if they undertake, as indicated in this speech, to repeat the deeds of
past years, I think I shall say we have at our disposal means which shall make them
bitterly repent the day."
Or again :
"Now, I want to point out to the landlords that we have advised the people of
Ireland always to carry on this agitation peaceably, and to injure no man in the
course of it, but I wish here to tell the landlords of Ireland that if they take the law
into their hands and declare war on the Irish people, I believe the Irish people know
how to defend themselves,-('We will,' and cheers)—and I believe, what is more,
that the Irish people have got in their possession a great many of those tools which
the landlords considered were their exclusive right to possess. (Cheers.) Furthermore,
I tell the Irish landlords that it is the right of every Irish tenant to have the same
arms that an Irish landlord has, and that the day is gone by when the Irish landlord
can turn his house into an arsenal, and have his thousands of guns and his pistols to
be used against the people, and that it shall be considered a crime for an Irish tenant
to hang his rifle over his mantelpiece. (Cheers.) We mean not to break the peace,
we mean to carry on this great movement peaceably and orderly, but I tell the man
who breaks the peace on the Irish people, that he and his order will repent it, and
they will before very long learn to know that they have made a very false step both
for themselves and for the privileges which they sought to defend."
Mr. Sexton also is found protesting, and this is how he does it:
"There is one point upon which this resolution is silent, and I think it my duty to
say that if any man be found among you to violate the rule which you have laid down
—if
any man be found who takes a farm from which another has been evicted-it is
your duty, it is your right, to make evidenced the feeling which the action of that
man caused in your minds. You have no idea-I am sure none of you would commit
an outrage. Outrage hurts our cause. It may. gratify the feelings of one man, but it
raises the cry for coercion, which may, perhaps, interfere with the progress of our
movement, and do material hurt."
It may be that diligent enquiry would reveal other protests even
more forcible than these tremendous denunciations! It is to be
hoped so; but while Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, and Sexton sat at the same
council table as Messrs. Biggar, Brennan, Sheridan, Boyton, and
Kettle, it is hardly to be supposed that their hearers should be much
impressed by these uncontrollable outbursts of indignation.
fi
Mr. Parnell's protests deserve special mention. The first which he
vouchsafed has been already recorded. (1) "Murder," he declared,
was an entirely unnecessary measure of procedure, entirely unnecessary
and absolutely prejudicial where there was a suitable organisation
among the tenants."
It is no use breaking the sixth commandment where there is a
local Land League. That is certainly satisfactory as far as it goes.
(1) See p. 10.
The Truth about the Land League.
53
But this effort does not exhaust Mr. Parnell's powers of protest-
far from it. On the 7th October, 1881, the Prime Minister of
England, speaking before twenty thousand people at Leeds, openly and
deliberately charged the President of the Irish National Land League
with complicity with the assassination Press of America. These were
Mr. Gladstone's words :-
"Mr. Parnell has said America is the only friend of Ireland, but in all his
references to America he has never found time to utter one word of disapproval about
what is known as the assassination literature of that country. Not American
literature; no, there is not an American who does not spurn and loathe it; but there
are, it is sad to say, a knot of Irishmen who are not ashamed to point out, in the
Press which they maintain, how the ships of Her Majesty's Navy ought to be blown
into the air to destroy the power of England by secret treachery, and how individuals
they are pleased to select ought to be made the object of the knife of the assassin
because they do not conform to the new Irish gospel."
Never, probably, was a graver charge brought by a great statesman
against the leader of a political party. The accusation was made before
the whole world, and before the whole world it was answered. This is
how it was answered. On the 9th October Mr, Parnell alluded to the
charge brought against him in these terms:-
"Mr. Gladstone accuses me of not having repudiated what he calls the dynamite
policy. Well, I am not aware that Mr. Shaw has repudiated that dynamite policy
either. But I will tell you what Mr. Shaw did. Mr. Shaw did not repudiate the
dynamite policy any more than I did, but I will tell you what he said eighteen months
ago. He said that his blood boiled whenever he saw a process server-(laughter)—and
that he never saw one without feeling inclined to take the lynch-pin out of his cart.
(Renewed laughter.) That speech of Mr. Shaw's was a clearer incitement to an act
of violence than anything ever said by any of the men that are in any of the jails
throughout the country.
Mr. Shaw has not the courage to meet the process
server openly, as many of the men and women of Ireland have done." (1) Freeman's
Journal, 10th October, 1881.
This is Mr. Parnell's answer; this is his repudiation. He does not
even attempt to deny his complicity with the paper by which his
organisation is paid, but contents himself with reciting a cock-and-bull
story about one of the most honest and patriotic of his countrymen, which
has as much to do with the point as the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.
(1) The following is from a speech of the Attorney-General for Ireland, in the
House of Commons, 16th February, 1882.—“At the winter assizes at Cork it was
proved that some bailiffs were stripped naked by women. If there was one thing
in Ireland they were proud of it was the virtue of their women. But under the
teaching of the League women stripped a bailiff naked and hunted him for four miles.
Women were put forward by the men to tear from the bailiffs their last rag of clothing.
I have lived all my life in Ireland, and I know her people pretty well, and have
never heard of anything like this before."
+
[54]
CHAPTER XI.
NO RENT-AND THE UNWRITTEN LAW.
"After Mass at Tuam Cathedral, the Rev. Dr. McEvilly, Bishop of Galway,
delivered a most impressive sermon, in which, in unsparing language, he denounced
the teaching of the new doctrine of 'No Rent' as being contrary to every principle
of religion, every dictate of morality, and a breach of that law which says, 'Thou
shalt not steal.””—Irish Times, November 2nd, 1881.
19
((
THE LAND LEAGUE STORY—INSIDE THE HOUSE—AND OUTSIDE—A FAIR
TRIAL FOR THE LAND ACT-MR. PARNELL'S TEST CASES-THE CONVENTION
AND THE LAND ACT-THE UNWRITTEN LAW"-WHAT IT IS THE NO Rent
MANIFESTO-HOW ENFORCED—A MODEL FARM.
66
We have already spoken of certain popular fallacies connected with
the Land League and its organisation; it remains for us to mention
one more delusion which the followers of Mr. Parnell have endeavoured
to encourage on this side of the Channel, and which they have possibly
induced some uninformed persons to accept as the truth. Those who
are not accustomed to distinguish between Land League oratory as
supplied to Irish audiences, and the same matter doctored for the use
of the House of Commons, are now and then taken aback by the simple
and plausible tale which they hear and which they are assured really
represents the action and policy of the Land League. The "Un-
written Law," they are told, means merely the force of public opinion
directed against an individual who acts contrary to the wishes
of his class. The Land Act was to have had a fair trial,
and the whole energies of the League were directed to securing
such a trial until the task was made impossible by the precipitate and
unconstitutional action of the Government in arresting the persons who
were so anxious to see justice done. The No Rent doctrine did not
mean no rent at all, but merely signified that in the opinion of
The Truth about the Land League.
55
Mr. Parnell there ought to be a considerable reduction in the total
amount of rent paid. These are the sort of statements which are now
and again produced in grave, set speeches in the House of Commons;
it will be worth while to enquire shortly what they are worth. It is
best to go straight to the fountain head and see what Mr. Parnell says
on the subject of a fair trial for the Land Act, and what he means by
test cases. The telegram quoted, be it observed, is dated before the
arrests which are supposed to have made so much difference.
"Dublin, September 17th, 1881. To Collins, President Land League, Boston.—
The Convention has just closed, after three days' session. Resolutions were adopted
for national self-government, the unconditional liberation of the land for the people,
tenants not to use the rent-fixing clauses of the Land Act, and follow old Land League
lines and rely upon the old methods to reach justice. The executive of the League
is empowered to select test cases, in order that tenants in surrounding districts may
realise, by the result of cases decided, the hollowness of the Act."
(Signed) PARNell.
The "old methods" are hinted at in the following counsel given by
Mr. Parnell :-
"I cannot see that the tenants will lose anything at all where it is possible for the
Land League to keep the farm vacant. This has been our principle from the very
commencement; without such a policy we could not have succeeded in the movement
at all from the beginning, and if we are able to keep a tenant's farm vacant who has
allowed his interest to be sold, there can be no shadow of doubt whatever that he
will be able, if he desires, to make a satisfactory arrangement with his landlord
hereafter."-September 9th, 1881.
As we shall see, the "unwritten law" does its best to ensure the
success of the policy of keeping farms vacant.
Before, however, dealing with that aspect of the question, it may be
as well to remove all doubt as to what was the view of the Land Act and
its uses which the Land League sought to impress upon the Irish
people. Again we quote from Messrs. Parnell, McCarthy and Co.'s
special organ. This is what the United Ireland of the 17th September,
1881, has to say on the matter :—
"The spirit which cowed the tyrants in their rent offices must be the spirit in
which the Land Commission Courts are to be approached if they are to be approached
at all."
And on the 24th of the same month :—
"The Convention has thrust Mr. Gladstone's Act aside
clear commission from the nation, the Land League resumes its sovereignty
By a
and its purpose. If the Land Courts do its bidding, well; if they
56
The Truth about the Land League.
refuse to do it, better still.
If they falter (as it is extremely
likely they will), the Land League are now armed with the most ample authority to
take the work out of their hands and to do it by swifter and sharper methods.
The decree of the Convention is, that either the Land Act shall be used as a weapon
in that war (against landlordism) or it shall not be used at all; it shall be used for
the benefit of the entire nation, or the man who uses it shall quit the society of his
fellow-men. It remains now for the country to see that decree obeyed."
Mr. T. P. O'Connor, Mr. Parnell's special emissary to the United
States, is as plain spoken as most of his colleagues are when not
addressing an English audience. This is what he thinks of the Land
Act:-
"Landlordism is dead, the spark of life cannot be put into the corpse. Gladstone's
policy was to fix a relation between the landlord and tenant; the policy of the League
was to abolish the relation, and trample landlordism beneath its heel. Gladstone's
Land Act and the Land League were of precisely opposite principles."
This is how a fair trial is to be given to the Land Act, by those who
have the impertinence to ask the British public to believe that they did
not regard that measure as their worst and most dangerous enemy!
As to the "unwritten law," by which, through two weary years, the
tyranny of the Land League has been supported, it would be idle to
attempt within the limits of such a compilation as this adequately to
describe its brutal ferocity. Never was there a more entire delusion
than to suppose that the influence which the Land League has exerted
has been the influence of public opinion. It has been and still is the
power which depends upon intimidation and outrage. The Land
League farms have been kept vacant by Land League murders; boycot-
ting has become a reality because, behind the boycotting notice, is the
bullet of the assassin or the torch of the incendiary. The "No Rent "
manifesto, wherever it has been effectual, has been effectual because
those who paid rent knew that they might share the fate of Moroney in
the Co. Clare.
The following placard is one of the ordinances of the Land
League :-
The Truth about the Land League.
57
TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND.
The Government of England has declared war against the Irish people. The
organisation that protected them against the ravages of landlordism has been declared
"unlawful and criminal." A reign of terror has commenced. Meet the action of
the English Government with a determined passive resistance. The No Rent Banner
has been raised, and it remains with the people now to prove themselves dastards or
men,
PAY NO RENT.
AVOID THE LAND COURT.
Such is the programme now before the country. Adopt it, and it will lead you to
free land and happy homes. Reject it, and slavery and degradation will be your
portion.
PAY NO RENT.
The person who does should be visited with the severest sentence of social
ostracism.
AVOID THE LAND COURT.
Cast out the person who enters it as a renegade to his country and to the cause of
his fellow men.
HOLD THE HARVEST
is the watchword. To do that effectually you should, as far as possible, turn it into
money. Sell your stock, when such a course will not entail a loss. Make a friendly
arrangement with your creditors about your interests in your farms. A short and
sharp struggle now, and the vilest oppression that ever afflicted humanity will be
wiped away.
NO RENT.
Your brethren in America have risen to the crisis, and are ready to supply you
with unlimited funds, provided you maintain your attitude of passive resistance and
PAY
NO
NO RENT.
RENT.
"The tenants of Ireland have still one tremendous move in their power, and that
is TO QUIETLY STAY AT HOME AND PAY NO RENT. I believe that if they unitedly
adopted a policy of passive resistance, which I do not see how it would be possible
for the landlords to combat, it would lead to one of the greatest revolutions that
Ireland has ever known."-NASSAU WILLIAM, Senior Professor Political Economy,
University of Oxford.
"I do not suggest an impossible hypothesis to your Majesty when I state the
possibility (I might state it more strongly) of the tenantry of the country refusing to
pay tithes or rents. The clergy and the landlords might have recourse to the law, but
how is the law to be enforced? How can they distrain for RENT OR TITHES UPON
MILLIONS OF TENANTS?”—The DUKE OF Wellington to the King.
"The land, therefore, of any country is the common property of the people of
that country, because its real owner, the Creator, who made it, has transferred it as a
voluntary gift to them."-Dr. NULTY, Bishop of Meath.
PAY NO RENT.
By Order,
PATRICK EGAN, Treasurer.
58
The Truth about the Land League.
The local branches are prompt to support the central authority. The
following is a placard recently posted in Galway :
"
"NOTICE.
£10 reward will be given to any person who can give sufficient information of
any tenant farmer having paid any rent since the No-rent manifesto was issued by the
Central Executive. And also a reward of £5 will be given to any person who can
give information of any spy who is informing the police about the Land League
organisation.
"BY ORDER OF THE COMMITTEE IN COUNCIL."
This placard was posted on the wall of a chapel. This is how the
crime of honesty is detected; the following paragraph will show how it
is punished :-
"An armed party of sixteen men, disguised, attacked a farmer's house at Feakle,
co. Clare, yesterday morning. They entered the house, searched for a candle, but
could not find one. They then went to the next house, procured a light, and return-
ing to the farmer's house placed him on his knees, and shot the unfortunate man in
the legs. His son, who was concealed under the bed, was dragged out and stabbed
three times in the head. A second son, who had rushed for concealment to another
part of the house, attempted to run out, when some of the party who remained out-
side on guard, fired at the young fellow and killed him. The reason assigned for
this extraordinary outrage is that the farmer was suspected of having paid his rent."
What happened to Moroney, in Clare, is merely an example of what
has happened to many another through all that part of Ireland in
which the Land League has undertaken to enforce the doctrine,
"Thou
Shalt Steal." Those who are anxious to learn the extent to which the
process of intimidation has been carried, have only to refer to the police
reports of agrarian crime, or if they doubt the correctness of the
information drawn from that source, let them peruse the equally full
record which may be found in the columns of United Ireland under
the head of "Incidents of the Campaign."
When Mr. Dillon speaks of a "model farm " as a farm on which
no living thing should, by the power of public opinion, be allowed to
exist; and when Mr. Boyton, chief organiser of the Land League,
declares that "there are already a dozen model farms existing in the
Co. Tipperary, standing as living witnesses that the landlords
dare not till the land and cannot get a living man to strike a spade or
a plough into it," it is well to remember how the farms are kept vacant,
and why no man dare till the land.
[ 59 ]
CHAPTER XII.
CONCLUSION,
Why encourage men in a mischievous proceeding, because their absurdity may
disappoint their malice? 'But noticing them may give them consequence.”
Certainly. But they are noticed, not with reproof, but with that kind of countenance
which is given by an apparent concurrence (not a real one, I am convinced) of a great
party, in the praises of the object which they hold out to imitation.”—Burke.
LANGUAGE USED BY LAND LEAGUERS-ITS COARSENESS-ITS DANGERS-EXCES-
SIVE MODERATION IN DEALING WITH IT-MR. PARNELL AND THE HOUSE OF
COMMONS-CONDUCT OF IRISH MEMBERS-SUMMARY OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS of
THE LAND LEAGUE-CONCLUSION.
Such is the character, such are the actions of the leaders of the
Irish Land League. In the preceding chapters illustrations have been
given of what it is that they have been teaching the people of Ireland
during the past two years. One other feature in their method of serving
their country has not been alluded to, and deserves, at least, a passing
comment. The persistent coarseness and vulgarity with which, both in
and out of Parliament, the Land League campaign has been conducted
is a matter which, perhaps, has scarcely received sufficient consideration.
The language in which it has been thought necessary to inculcate
patriotism and plead the cause of justice outside the House is indeed a
minor consideration in comparison with the physical methods which are
taken to enforce adhesion to a principle. With some people it is
possible that Mr. O'Donnell's comparison of Mr. Gladstone to Judas
Iscariot may pass for wit; but the number must be few; they are
probably the persons to whom the following lines of Miss Parnell's
appear to be poetry :—
"Tear up that parchment lie!
You, Gladstone, sunk supine to quivering slush ;
You, Forster, with the sign of Cain in breast and eye;
You, Bright, whose slopping tongue can gloze and gush;
You, puppet brood, the lesser legislative fry—
A people's might your bungled work shall crush!
A people's wrath your grinning cozenage defy.
We will not loose the land, we will not starve or fly;
Tear up your chartered lie!
Vor M
60
The Truth about the Land League.
Weapons such as these do little harm to any but those who wield
them; and if the evil rested there, there would be little to complain of.
Unfortunately, however, there is another and a more serious aspect of
the question. What is mere coarseness outside Parliament bids fair to
become a real danger if tolerated within its walls.
It is a real danger that the House should have to put up with the
repetition of such scenes as that which Mr. Bright well described as
"the worst attempt he had ever known to insult and degrade the
Imperial House of Parliament." It is a real danger that the House
should become habituated to the use of language which, if uttered in the
"Codgers' Hall," would ensure the instant expulsion of the offender by
methods less ceremonious than effective. The House of Commons
already appears to some outside observers to be in a fair way to
"Get wantonness confirmed by Act of Parliament an honesty,
And so approved of all.”
And the danger, such as it is, does not become less formidable when
we realise, as many members must themselves have realised, and as all
those who have followed the course of Land League oratory are con-
vinced,that insult and obstruction are part of the organised machinery by
which a party in the State has made up its mind to work.
There are probably few political virtues so essential as those of
patience and toleration towards opponents; but there is a point at which
patience and toleration become little more than weakness and blindness.
Mr. Parnell has frankly avowed that the British Constitution having
been given to him and his followers for one purpose, it is his intention
to use it for another; and that other, hostile to those who are interested
in maintaining it. Outside the House he and his friends have, both in
their speeches and in the Press, announced their intention of obstructing
the House of Commons, and the whole business of the Government of
England. It is hard to say where the line is to be drawn in political
warfare now-a-days, and when Mr. Parnell boasts to a provincial
audience that an Act of Parliament, on which five-sixths of the House
are determined, "shall not pass as long as he can stand in the House;"
or again when he declares that "he and his party occupy an independent
position in the House of Commons
pledged to be a separate
disorderly, disorganising,
element in the Legislature, and, if necessary,
interfering with every business that may be transacted, as far as it is
expedient or feasible;" it is possible that he is pursuing a wise and
The Truth about the Land League.
6I
patriotic course. But when we find the same speaker rising in the
House which he has thus threatened, and saying, "I appeal to the
sense of fair play that no doubt is entertained by the majority of the
members of this House," and when we reflect that hitherto such an
appeal has never been made in vain, we are tempted to doubt whether
matters have not gone rather beyond the stage when concession and
indulgence are likely to be of much service.
It may be all very well for one of Mr. Parnell's lieutenants to speak
publicly of the House of Commons as "500 scoundrels ;" and for
another to tell his hearers that the English Government is based upon
"murder, rapine, violence, confiscation, sacrilege, buckshot, bayonets, and
flying columns ;" (1) and to escape with nothing more than the contempt
which they deserve; but when these same persons or their friends again
and again demand and receive the indulgence of the assembly and the
Government which they are so eager to vilify, they present a spectacle
which, in English politics at any rate, has fortunately had few parallels.
One more remark remains to be made. It is simply a calamity that
none of the many Irish members who disapprove of the teachings and
policy of Mr. Parnell, have felt it their duty to endeavour to present
the other side of the question to their unfortunate countrymen.
It requires some knowledge of the literature
literature which is in
circulation in a great part of Ireland to realise the extraordinary
diffusion of pure and unadulterated falsehood that has gone on
among a people who are only too ready to believe any statement which
coincides with what may be their view at the moment. It is hard to
conceive the difference which might have been made if those, who by
every reason of propriety and fitness might have felt it their duty to
stand between their countrymen and doctrines which they knew to be
pernicious and wrong, had, instead of confining themselves to platonic
discourses upon the necessity of agrarian reform and the wickedness
of outrage, made use of their privilege as Irishmen speaking to
Irishmen, and had, with whatever inconvenience or annoyance to them-
selves, fairly faced the Boytons, the Biggars, and the Parnells on their own
ground. Had they done so they might have rendered a service to Ireland
which no parliamentary distinction, however high, is able to confer.
We have now reached the limits intended in this compilation. The
(1) Mr. T. P. O'Connor.
62
The Truth about the Land League.
Irish Land League has been represented as it has chosen to represent
itself. The men and their methods have been described. The
charges which have been made are not brought against men who are
unable to answer for themselves; for the offences committed, if offences
they be, were neither denied nor palliated at a time when the power to
do so was not taken away. With an Anglo-American Protestant land-
lord, educated at Cambridge, at its head-with a nameless tribe of
ruffians and desperadoes at its tail-the Irish Land League in the short
space of two years has succeeded in accomplishing an amount of harm
which it is not easy to over-estimate. With regard to England and
English matters the position may be briefly summed up by saying that
every effort which either the generosity, the friendship, or the remorse
of Englishmen may have made to remove the difficulties of their Irish
fellow countrymen, and to create a better feeling between the two
peoples, it has been the deliberate endeavour of the Land League to
prevent or to undo.
But though in an indirect way the Land League may have inflicted
some damage on England and English institutions, the mischief is nothing
in comparison with the misery and disgrace which it has succeeded
in inflicting upon Ireland. It has succeeded in branding the people of
Ireland against their will with thestigma of national dishonesty. It has
forced from the reluctant people of England a curtailment of the laws which
guaranteed the freedom of the subject. It has done its best to secure
the contempt, if not the hatred, of the great Radical party in England,
by its persistent refusal to dispense with outrage and insult in the
furtherance of its aims. It has discredited, almost beyond the hope of
recovery, the power of legitimate agitation in Ireland; and lastly, by a
far-reaching and well organised system of terrorism it has forced tens of
thousands of Irishmen to acquiesce in acts and principles against which
their hearts, in common with those of every honest man, must have
revolted. Meanwhile, by a refinement of impertinence the representatives
of the Land League in Parliament have appealed to the generosity and
forbearance of that people whom, according to their own statement, it is
their avowed intention to insult, to injure, and to ruin. Such is the
indictment. Against the leaders of the Land League it is laid and
against them only.
Against the unhappy people upon whose ignorance or whose
passions they have practised no accusation is made. Against those who
The Truth about the Land League.
63
through fear or through folly have stood by and seen the demoralisation
of their country go on before their eyes, no charge is here made. The
poor tenantry of Ireland have had a bitter lot to bear, and little enough
help in discerning true from false guides. The indictment is not
against them; it is in their cause that it is drawn up.
•
But against those who with malice aforethought have used their
knowledge to mislead and inflame their countrymen, the indict-
ment is laid. The force of public opinion in these days is over-
whelming, the force of public opinion with right on its side is
irresistible. As the power of universal approval is enormous, so
also is the power of universal reprobation. No man, no party, it
matters not who they be, can stand before it when it is just. The ways
and means, the methods and aims, of the persons who have created and
conducted the Irish Land League have been described. The facts may
be wrongly stated; if so, they will be confuted. But if they have been
stated rightly, then it is to be wished that every English-speaking man
and woman, and everybody who is called upon to stand in judgment
between the people of England and the leaders of the Land League,
should hear and know them. The result is not to be feared. The
judgment of such a tribunal is irresistible, and as to the nature of that
judgment there need be neither doubt nor alarm.

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