"good cinna, take this paper, and look you, lay it in the
praetor's chair, where brutus may but find it!"
—shakespeare (julius c?sar).
negotiations concerning the crimes bill were broken off, but before the end of june, 1882, i was once more acting as envoy to gladstone. the following is a characteristic memorandum drafted by parnell for transmission by me to the prime minister:—
although the coercion bill as likely to pass into law is of such a character as to render it impossible for him to take any further part in the irish land movement, yet he trusts that the administration of the act by the government will be of such a moderate character as to enable him to co-operate generally with mr. g. in parliament and in the english constituencies in carrying to a successful end that land legislation the foundations of which were so broadly laid in the act of last session, and in gaining those other measures of general reform for the benefit of the peoples of both england and ireland which now constitute the programme of the liberal party.
since his (parnell's) release he has taken steps to secure that no portion of the invested surplus of the fund shall be drawn without his signature, and he will endeavour to provide that future remittances from the offices of the central organization in america shall be added to this fund; the remittances through the irish world, however, he has no hopes of being able to control in any way.
the bill[1] to go through all its stages in six days—supply to be facilitated.
{179}
duration to be limited to three months after assembly of a new parliament if present parliament is dissolved within three years—treason felony struck out on report.
centres of disturbance are being rapidly created throughout ireland, owing to loss by tenants of legal interest in their holdings through sale or expiry of period of redemption. the formation of the new landlord corporation accompanied by a harsh administration of the coercion act will tend to encourage landlords to resist reasonable concessions.
he has placed new clauses on the notice paper for the arrears bill which will go far to meet these difficulties, and will do what he can to facilitate supply and the passage of that bill, also to prevent obstruction to other government business.
these notes were submitted a second time to mr. gladstone, with the addition of the following paragraphs:—
this danger might be met by insertion of clauses in arrears bill having compulsory retrospective effect as far back as june, 1880, and making provision for payment of costs.
it is most desirable that parliament should reassemble after short holiday to make whatever permanent amendments the government think necessary in the land act.
on june 29th mr. gladstone wrote thanking me for my letter and returning "the enclosure."[2] reference was made by him to the murders of mr. walter bourke and corporal wallace in galway; and though i have no doubt he did not suspect parnell of the least shade of complicity, it was plain that he did not completely acquit the extremists of the irish world.
the progress of the crimes bill was more hotly contested than ever in the committee stage, which extended over twenty-four sittings of the house. clauses were {180} fought word by word, sentence by sentence. the bill was read a third time on july 8th, and was passed by the lords four days later, receiving the royal assent on the following day. in less than a week 17 counties were proclaimed; and by the beginning of august 170 suspects were in custody.
on july 21st the arrears bill passed the commons by 169 to 98. lord eversley (mr. shaw lefevre) rightly observes that instead of appealing to justice mr. gladstone based his support of the bill on expediency. for years tenants had been burdened with excessive rents on land which their efforts had raised from prairie value. the wiping out of the accumulated arrears of these unjust rents could hardly be termed a mere act of expediency.
on july 31st the lords returned the bill to the commons cut to pieces. certain minor concessions were made, and the bill was sent back otherwise in its original form. when next it appeared in the lords the irish landlord peers revolted. the bill promised them part payment of what they had looked upon as a bad debt; and so—not for the sake of justice, but for the sake of that bait of two years' rent—they supported the bill, which was passed by the lords on august 10th. on or about august 18th, when it became law, fifty suspects were released.
i had addressed an appeal to mr. gladstone against the death sentence passed upon a young irishman on very doubtful evidence. on september 14th he wrote saying that he would certainly bring the appeal under the notice of lord spencer. i was in correspondence with mr. gladstone throughout november of this year.
ireland did not figure largely in the parliamentary legislation of 1883, though a number of minor irish bills, on tramways, fisheries and so forth, which received the {181} support of parnell, were carried. parnell's position in ireland was impregnable, but the extremists in america were exasperated by his constitutional agitation. early in 1883 patrick ford started a dynamite crusade against england in the irish world, and attempts were actually made to blow up public buildings in london, while a nitro-glycerine factory was discovered in birmingham. immediately an explosives bill of the most drastic character was introduced by sir william harcourt and rushed through the commons in a single sitting. the irish party offered no opposition.
it is significant of the tactics of mr. gladstone that he was secretly striving to influence the vatican against home rule. a mr. errington, an irish catholic, but a whig member of parliament, had been sent to rome with a letter of recommendation from lord granville. mr. gladstone had also written about him through cardinal manning, who was opposed to the mission. his business was at first to work for a papal reprimand of priests who engaged in land league agitation. he succeeded finally in engineering a rescript, dated may 11th, 1883, calling upon bishops to restrain priests from taking part in the parnell testimonial.
willie was very anxious that mr. o'hart (o'hart's irish pedigrees) should be granted a pension from the civil list. mr. gladstone had already declined to include him in the list of beneficiaries. now at willie's urgent request i most reluctantly asked mr. gladstone to reconsider his decision as to mr. o'hart, and on september 19th, 1884, received a snub for my pains. i had told gladstone that lord spencer was credited with having expressed the opinion that parnell had some connexion with the phoenix park murders. gladstone {182} now said he was sure that spencer did not really believe this.
in october, 1884, mr. trevelyan ceased to be irish secretary and entered the cabinet as chancellor of the duchy of lancaster. the vacant post was offered to mr. shaw lefevre, but on hearing that lord spencer intended to seek for the renewal of the coercion act when it expired in september, 1885, he refused the offer. mr. (afterwards sir henry) campbell-bannerman became chief secretary on october 24th.
during 1884 parnell kept quiet, and my negotiations on his behalf with gladstone were intermittent.
in the early part of the year, however, a document of tremendous import was submitted—none other than "a proposed constitution for ireland," drawn up by parnell, which was as follows:—
an elected chamber with power to make enactments regarding all the domestic concerns of ireland, but without power to interfere in any imperial matter.
the chamber to consist of three hundred members.
two hundred and six of the number to be elected under the present suffrage, by the present irish constituencies, with special arrangements for securing to the protestant minority a representation proportionate to their numbers; the remaining 94 members to be named in the act constituting the chamber.
the principle of nomination regarding this proportion of members to last necessarily only during the duration of the first chamber.
the number of elected members, suffrage, and boundaries constituencies for election of succeeding chamber to be capable of alteration by the preceding chamber, excepting those special arrangements for securing to the protestant minority a proportionate representation, which arrangements shall be fixed and immutable.
the first chamber to last for three years, unless sooner dissolved by the crown.
{183}
the chamber shall have power to enact laws and make regulations regarding all the domestic and internal affairs of ireland, including her sea fisheries.
the chamber shall also have power to raise a revenue for any purpose over which it has jurisdiction, by direct taxation upon property, by customs duties, and by licences.
the chamber shall have power to create departments for the transaction of all business connected with the affairs over which it has jurisdiction, and to appoint and dismiss chief and subordinate officials for such departments, to fix the term of their office, and to fix and pay their salaries; and to maintain a police force for the preservation of order and the enforcement of the law.
this power will include the constitution of courts of justice and the appointment or payment of all judges, magistrates, and other officials of such courts, provided that the appointment of judges and magistrates shall in each case be subject to the assent of the crown.
no enactment of the chamber shall have the force of law until it shall have received the assent of the crown.
a sum of one million pounds sterling per annum shall be paid by the chamber to the imperial treasury in lieu of the right of the crown to levy taxes in ireland for imperial purposes, which right would be held in suspense so long as punctual payment was made of the above annual sum.
the right of the imperial parliament to legislate regarding the domestic concerns and internal affairs of ireland will also be held in suspense, only to be exercised for weighty and urgent cause.
the abolition of the office of lord lieutenant of ireland and all other offices in ireland under the crown connected with the domestic affairs of that country.
the representation of ireland in the imperial parliament might be retained or might be given up. if it be retained the speaker might have the power of deciding what questions the irish members might take part in as imperial questions, if this limitation were thought desirable.
such naval and military force as the crown thought requisite from time to time would be maintained in ireland out {184} of the contribution of one million pounds per annum to the imperial treasury; any excess in the cost of these forces over such sum being provided for out of the imperial revenue (i.e. by great britain).
the militia would also be levied, controlled, and paid by the crown, and all forts, military barracks, posts, and strong places of the country would be held and garrisoned by the crown forces.
no volunteer force to be raised in ireland without the consent of the crown and enactment of the imperial parliament, and, if raised, to be paid for and controlled by the crown.
on may 11th, 1884, lord richard grosvenor wrote a non-committal acknowledgment of the receipt of this memorandum.
the government was then devoting its attention to the franchise bill and the redistribution of seats bill, and it had been decided to incorporate ireland in the scheme. this parnell considered to be of tremendous importance. speaking in december, 1883, at the dublin banquet held in his honour, he alluded to the force which had then been gained for ireland. the change was, in fact, enormous. instead of the franchise being confined practically to the farmers, it would now include the labourers and the cottier tenants, and the number of voters in ireland would go up from 200,000 to 600,000. how would those labourers and cottier tenants vote? lord randolph churchill (who supported the bill against his party) and mr. chamberlain thought, strangely enough, that their inclusion would help the landlord interest. parnell knew better, and when the bill became law, in december, 1884, he leapt into action. this was the weapon for which he had been waiting. from december to march of the following year he went through ireland organizing for the imminent general election.
{185}
in the early months of 1885 the liberal government was in a bad way. it had narrowly escaped defeat on the vote of censure for its failure to relieve gordon at khartoum. the cabinet was divided against itself. many of the liberal members were inclined to rebel, and the irish were working with the tory opposition. ireland was the rock upon which the government was to come to a wreck. the majority of the cabinet was in favour of continued coercion. mr. chamberlain, sir charles dilke, and mr. shaw lefevre were strongly opposed to it. but on the subject of local government for ireland the difference of opinion was even more dangerous. chamberlain submitted a scheme for an elective national council in dublin, with control over administrative boards and departments, but not over the police and the administration of the law. it had been ascertained indirectly that parnell would accept this scheme, and would not oppose a moderate coercion act. gladstone was prepared to go a step further and give the national council control over the police. a vote was taken in the cabinet. all the peers, with the exception of lord granville,[3] were against, and the commoners, with the exception of lord hartington, were in favour of the scheme. therefore "for the present" the scheme was abandoned. this was in may. the battle over coercion remained to be fought. in less than four weeks the government was out of office.
gladstone had not been able to make up his mind to abandon coercion altogether, though he had endeavoured to sweeten the draught with the promise of a land purchase bill, and parnell had been able to arrange privately {186} with the conservative opposition that if they came into power coercion would be dropped.
on june 8th the government was beaten on the second reading of the budget. the ostensible question, which concerned nobody, was that of a tax on wine and beer. the whole of the thirty-nine irish members voted for the opposition, and the government was beaten by twelve. thereupon gladstone resigned and lord salisbury formed his first ministry. parnell held the key of the position. he had put the tories into power; at his will he could put them out again.
lord carnarvon became lord lieutenant, sir michael hicks-beach chief secretary, and the intention was expressed to govern ireland by constitutional methods. coercion for the time being was abandoned, lord carnarvon had thought much on irish questions, and his rule was in marked contrast to that of his immediate predecessors.
on july 14th lord richard grosvenor suddenly remembered parnell's draft constitution for ireland which i had submitted to gladstone. did it still hold good? to this letter i replied, and on july 23rd lord richard wrote again asking for a plain answer. but this at the moment it was impossible to give, for the attitude the tories would take up with regard to home rule was not yet certain. lord carnarvon, the lord lieutenant, was believed to be very favourably disposed to the irish demands, and lord randolph churchill seemed willing to go far. on july 28th lord richard wrote again, imploring us to show our hand. evidently the irish vote was worth securing.
it is interesting to note that on july 17th mr. chamberlain, speaking at holloway, urged that the pacification {187} of ireland depended on the concession to her of the right to govern herself in the matter of purely local business.
at the end of july parnell met lord carnarvon in london. the lord lieutenant had already been in communication with sir charles gavan duffy and mr. justin mccarthy upon the subject of home rule, and there can be little doubt he was in earnest in his agreement with the principle. how far he was used by his party as a cat's-paw to play for the irish vote is another question. at least lord salisbury knew of the proceedings of his colleague and was perhaps not averse from using lord carnarvon's convictions to win parnell's support at the forthcoming elections without giving a definite party pledge. the conversation between lord carnarvon and parnell led the latter to believe that the tories were prepared to support a measure of local government for ireland. but how far were the liberals prepared to go?
on august 4th mr. gladstone wrote to me further with reference to the proposed constitution for ireland. did this represent parnell's views now? he was urgent in asking for an answer. in one of my notes i had spoken of the suggestion that a proposition of his son, mr. herbert (now lord) gladstone, should be substituted for it. mr. gladstone now assured me on the best authority that no such proposition had been made. i gathered, however, that his son had made some suggestions.
to this a long and comprehensive reply was sent—apparently too long and comprehensive. no doubt he wanted a definite and limited scheme to be set before him. i had referred in my letter to certain changes which had occurred since the draft was sent. i knew that gladstone knew what those changes were, for the frantic appeals for {188} a definite statement were precisely the counter-bidding against the heightened biddings of lord randolph churchill and the conservative party in which gladstone declared he would not engage. he was obviously disinclined to make an offer until parnell had pinned himself down to a final demand. if only he could know what the home rule party wanted!
the following day mr. gladstone set out on a yachting expedition (to norway), and a few days later, on august 11th, parliament was prorogued.
parnell opened his campaign in dublin on august 11th, when he announced that he and his party would stand for an irish parliament and nothing else. there was no talk now of a national council. lord hartington replied declaring parnell's proposals to be fatal and mischievous, and on september 9th lord richard wrote, on behalf of mr. gladstone, who was back in england, pleading for details.
on october 7th lord salisbury, speaking at newport (mon.), made a diplomatic statement about ireland which suggested much and promised nothing.
later in the month i sent mr. gladstone a paper containing the views of mr. parnell, and on november 3rd lord richard grosvenor replied, referring me to the government of the day, but thanking me for the information. there was some mention in the letter of willie's prospects for mid-armagh. apparently that affair was off, since willie had himself written to such an effect. willie was given a gentle rap on the fingers for having in ireland talked over the plans for his election with another person.[4]
{189}
on november 9th, at edinburgh, mr. gladstone made a speech which rivalled lord salisbury's in elusiveness. the constitutional demands of ireland must not be disregarded, but it would be a vital danger if at such a time there was not a party politically independent of the irish vote.
parnell desired precisely the contrary, and on november 21st, the eve of the general election, a manifesto was issued calling upon irish voters in great britain to vote against the liberal party.
before parnell's interview with lord carnarvon i had sent gladstone parnell's suggestions for a new home rule bill. mr. gladstone wrote expressing satisfaction at the news of the intended interview, but he would not be drawn. nevertheless parnell made another attempt, {190} and on december 14th, 1885, addressed the following letter from my house at eltham:—
north park, eltham, kent.
december 14th, 1885.
my dear mrs. o'shea,—it appeared to me from mr. gladstone's utterances in scotland that he would admit the justice of ireland's claim for autonomy, and also the expediency of soon endeavouring to satisfy it provided the result of the general election went to show an overwhelming preponderance of the opinion of the representatives of ireland in favour of this claim. a very proper reservation was also made regarding the maintenance of the supremacy of the crown in ireland and all the authority of parliament necessary for this supremacy.
we now know that more than five-sixths of the irish members elected by household suffrage have been returned, mostly by very large majorities, as supporters of the institution of an irish parliament, that a clear majority, seventeen out of thirty-three, from the ulster constituencies have been so returned, and that only one county and one city in ireland, antrim and belfast respectively, are without nationalist representation.
under these circumstances does it not seem that the question has now resolved itself firstly into a consideration of the details of the proposed settlement, and secondly, as to the procedure to be adopted in obtaining the assent of parliament, and if needful of the british electorate to this settlement? as regards the first matter, the rough sketch, which i sent you some weeks back, appeared then, and still appears to me, the smallest proposal which would be likely to find favour in ireland if brought forward by an english minister, but it is not one which i could undertake to suggest publicly myself, though if it were enacted i would work in ireland to have it accepted bona fide as a final settlement, and i believe it would prove to be one.
facsimile of a portion of letter on pp. 190, 192-3.
facsimile of a portion of letter on pp. 190, 192-3.
this proposal was carefully designed with a view to propitiate english prejudice, and to afford those guarantees against hasty legislation, interference in extraneous matters, and unfair action against particular classes, apprehended by {192} many persons as a result of the establishment of an irish parliament. it did not involve a repeal of the act of union, an irrevocable step, and the imperial parliament having conferred the privilege by statute would thus always be in a position to recall it by a similar method, if the privilege was abused.
it provided for a special proportionate representation for the large protestant minority of ireland. it also left to the imperial parliament the practical decision from time to time as to the matters which did or did not come within the province of the local legislature. these are all important concessions and guarantees, and some opinion must surely have been formed by now upon these and other details.
as regards the question of procedure, i am desirous of knowing after a time whether the solution of the irish question would be made the first and only business by a liberal government till the question was settled. the reform of procedure would probably be found not so necessary or pressing if the imperial parliament could get rid of its irish work. it appeared to me that the best way to turn out the present government would be by a general vote of censure without special reference to ireland, or by a vote directed against some act of policy other than irish, for which occasion may shortly arise. we might then either abstain or vote for the censure as might be deemed best. i have not seen lord c.,[5] and shall probably not arrange to do so for a week or two, as i wish to know how the other side is disposed first. i have always felt mr. gladstone is the only living statesman who has both the power and the will to carry a settlement it would be possible for me to accept and work with.
i doubt lord c.'s power to do so, though i know him to be very well disposed. however, if neither party can offer a solution of the question i should prefer the conservatives to remain in office, as under them we could at least work out gradually a solution of the land question. you will see from this letter that i am very much in the dark, except as to my own mind and that of ireland, that i want information as to whether mr. gladstone has, as i suppose, accepted the principle of a chamber for ireland with power over her domestic and {193} internal affairs, and, if so, which, if any, of the details contained in sketch he objects to or is in doubt about. further, it is important that i should be advised before the meeting of parliament what procedure would in his judgment be best for bringing about that change of government which would enable mr. gladstone to deal authoritatively with the irish question.—yours very truly, chas. s. parnell.
i sent this letter to gladstone, and on december 16, three days before the completion of the general election, he dispatched from hawarden a long reply; but he said nothing more than he had already said in public at midlothian and elsewhere and in private letters to me. throughout this period the one fact apparent was that he would pledge the liberal party to nothing until he was in office and supported by the irish party. while there was a tory government in alliance with parnell he would do nothing. whether or no he was sincere in his advice to us to take home rule rather from the tories than the liberals if possible—because many liberals would support a tory home rule bill, while all tories would oppose a liberal measure—this i cannot say. he offered it constantly, though he urged that a trafficking with both parties for the purpose of getting the best terms possible, when, as in the end it must be, avowed, would injure a tory measure and kill a liberal one.
the result of the election was that the tories in alliance with the parnellites outnumbered the liberals by four. the liberals in alliance with parnell would have outnumbered the tories by 167. parnell had swept the board in ireland, and in the house of commons he was dictator.
immediately after the general election the salisbury cabinet met to consider its irish policy, and lord carnarvon at once tendered his resignation. the conclusion {194} to be drawn is obvious. compact or no compact, lord carnarvon had reason to believe that the cabinet were prepared to pursue a certain line of policy which it now appeared they had no intention of pursuing. the reason for the volte face, too, is plain. tories plus parnellites formed too narrow a majority of the house for governmental purposes. the irish were no longer of any use, and they were abandoned.
correspondence with mr. gladstone continued, and his letters were still cautious. he seemed to fear the soreness of certain liberals over the parnellite opposition at the polls, but he confessed to be very willing to co-operate with the tory government in the matter of home rule, and he stated that he had acquainted the government with his disposition. letters of december 19th, 22nd, and 24th are all more or less to this effect. he harped on the word "bribe."
as a matter of fact, mr. gladstone had approached the cabinet through mr. balfour, both personally and by letter, urging that it would be a calamity if this great question were to fall into the lines of party conflict. the cabinet seem to have treated mr. gladstone's letter with scant respect. in spite of lord carnarvon's tendered resignation, lord salisbury was resolved to make no concession to home rule. lord carnarvon agreed not to resign until the opening of parliament.
a statement in the press inspired by mr. herbert gladstone to the effect that mr. gladstone was prepared to concede an irish parliament in dublin was declared by the latter to be "inaccurate and not authentic." but on december 26 he issued a memorandum to certain of his more reliable followers to the effect that he would support the tories in a home rule policy which should satisfy {195} him and the irish nationalists, and that if he were called upon to form a government the preparation of a scheme of duly guarded home rule would be an indispensable condition.
on december 29 i wrote to gladstone, forwarding a memorandum from parnell. on the last day of the year he sent me a memorandum marked "secret," in which he summarized the position between parnell and himself. it amounted to this: parnell wanted a definite pledge that there should be no more coercion before throwing the tories out of power and putting the liberals in. gladstone, while realizing the gravity of o'brien's statistics in the nineteenth century as to the result of exceptional legislation, refused to give this pledge. he alluded philosophically to the probable course of events if the address went through unamended. mr. parnell wrote to me to the following effect embodying the points i was to pass on to gladstone.
dear mrs. o'shea,—in reply to your query it would be inexpedient that the government.... but, in any case, we should move a series of separate amendments to the address—one asking for a suspension of the support by the naval, military and constabulary forces of the crown of ejectments, pending the consideration by parliament of the proposed land measure; another praying the crown to remove chief justice may from the bench; a third condemning the practice of jury packing, resorted to by the crown in all the recent trials; a fourth asking her majesty to fulfil the promise contained in the speech of last year for the equalization of the borough franchise in ireland to that in england; a fifth condemning the proclamation of the meetings at brookeboro' and cullohill; and a sixth protesting against the proclamation and additional police force sent to several of the counties.
this would be an assault along the whole line of english misgovernment in ireland, and should, in my opinion, be {196} delivered before we allow the address to leave the house. the first fortnight or so of the session would thus be occupied while the government were making up their minds as to their proposed land bill.
at the meeting of the party i think of proposing a resolution recommending the minority to pay more deference to the opinion of the majority than they did last session, and urging all the irish members to sit together in opposition.
kindly let me know what you think of these proposals.—yours truly, charles s. parnell.
these blanks were left in the letter as the phrases omitted were too confidential to be written. i learnt them and quoted them to gladstone.
on january 21 parliament met to transact business, and the resignations of lord carnarvon and sir w. hart dyke were announced. notice was given of a new coercion act, and on the 26th the government was defeated by 331 to 252 votes—not, however, on an irish amendment, but on the motion of jesse collings raising the question of "three acres and a cow."
