A 
 
 BATIM COPY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 Tarnell Commission 
 
 Report 
 
 J 
 
 COMPLETE INDEX AND NOTES. 
 
 London : 
 
 B>ubli6be& b^ the 5ri5b Xo^al anO ipiatriotic W\io\h 
 
 26, Talace Chambers, Bridge St., Westminster. 
 
 Dublin: 109, Grafton Street. 
 1890. 
 
 n 
 

 PREFACE, 
 
 '^ I ^HIS publicaticn is simply what it is stated to be 
 on the cover, a verbatim copy of the Special 
 Commission Report, in popular form. The cross-headings 
 and index are supplied in order to assist the reader, in 
 quickly mastering the details of a very long document. 
 With a view of assisting reference to the official report 
 itself, the pages from which the portions are taken, are 
 given at the end of each paragraph ; and also in the 
 index, which appears at the close. 
 
 n/Vr\«»^. 
 
TABLE OF CONTEiNTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Mode of Procedure adopted in the Inquiry vii 
 
 The Charges and Allegations xii 
 
 R.ST Charge — Ultimate Object of Respondents absolute Independ- 
 ence of Ireland I 
 
 Constitution of Irish Republican Brotherhood and Clan-na-Gael ... 2 
 Davitt's release from Prison. His reception by Mr. Parnell 
 
 and others, and his first visit to America, 1877 3 
 
 The New Departure, 187S 4 
 
 The Alliance between Devoy and Davi'Lt and their arrival in 
 
 Ireland, 1879 7 
 
 Commencement of Land Agitation and subsequent formation of 
 
 Land League 9 
 
 The different aims of those who joined the Land League 16 
 
 ]Mr. Parnell's visit to America and Interview with Ives 16 
 
 Mr. Parnell's Reception and Speeches in America 19 
 
 Mr. Parnell's views upon the Government of Ireland 21 
 
 Mr. Parnell's return to Ireland, i3So ... 22 
 
 Attitude of Fenians to Mr. Parnell and the New Movement ... 22 
 
 The Land League, by whum conducted, and how 26 
 
 The Fenian Raid for Arms on the Ship "Juno" 31 
 
 Mr. Davitt's second Visit to America, 1880 33 
 
 Relations between the Founders of the Land League and Fenian 
 
 Organization 35 
 
 Finding upon First Charge 36 
 
 ,COND Charge — Incitement to Boycotting by Respondents, and object 
 
 thereof 36 
 
 The Compensation for Disturbance Bill rejected August, iSSo ... 36 
 
 Mr. Parnell's Ennis Speech sanctioning Boycotting, September, 1880 41 
 
 Great increase of Agitation 42 
 
 Speeches by Dillon, Biggar, and others 43 
 
 Instances of Boycotting 51 
 
 [3 
 
IV. TABLE OF CONTEXTS. 
 
 Page- 
 Findings upon Second Chart^e 60 
 
 Suppression of Land League 62 
 
 Ladies' Land League 63 
 
 Kilmainham Treaty . 64 
 
 Charge that Sheridan and Boyton were used for Outrage, and 
 
 Finding thereon 64' 
 
 Phoenix Park Murders, May, 1882 64 
 
 Charge that the Invincibles were a liranch of Land League, and 
 
 Finding thereon 65- 
 
 Charge that Mr. Parnell knew Invincibles engaged in Phoenix 
 
 Park Murders, and Findings thereon 66 
 
 Third Charge — Facsimile Letter and Finding thereon « 66' 
 
 Fourth Charge — Disseminating Newspapers tending to incite to crime 67' 
 
 The "Irish World" • 67' 
 
 The "United Ireland"' 74 
 
 The "Irishman" Si 
 
 Finding upon Fourth Charge 87" 
 
 Fifth Charge — Incitement to Crime by Respondents Sy' 
 
 Effect of the Speeches and the Agitation upon Crime 87 
 
 Instances of Outrage upon Persons disol)eying Rules of League ... 88 
 
 Statistics of Crime and Conclusions therefrom 93 
 
 The Causes of Crime as asserted by Respondents 100 
 
 Examination of Argument that Distress and Eviction produced 
 
 Crime lor 
 
 Examination of Argument that Crime v/as the work of Secret 
 
 Societies 103; 
 
 Finding upon Fifth Charge 104 
 
 Sixth Charge — That ResjXJndents did notliing to prevent Crime ... 104 
 
 Examination of what was done 105 
 
 No steps taken by Land League to aid in detection of Crime ... 107 
 
 Finding upon Sixth Charge no- 
 
 Seventh Charge — Indiscriminate defence of Prisoners by Respondents, 
 
 and Finding thereon Ill' 
 
 The opportune Remittance by Mr. Parnell to F. Byrne, and Finding 
 
 thereon ill 
 
 Eighth Charge — Compensation to Persons injured while engaged in 
 
 Crime II2 
 
 Finding on Eighth Chai-ge I15 
 
 The Land League Accounts US- 
 
 Formation of National League. Revival of Agitation in 1885, 
 
 and increase of Crime IlS- 
 
 4] 
 
TABLE OF CONTEXTS. V, 
 
 Page 
 
 :NiNTH Charge— That Respondents were subsidised by Advocates of 
 
 Crime and Dynamite 122 
 
 The Buffalo Convention, January, 1881 124 
 
 The Interview between I>e Caron and Mr. Parnell at House of 
 
 Commons, May, 1S81 I2t 
 
 The loth Annual Convention of ( ;ian-na-Gael, August, iS8r, 
 
 and its Dynamite Programme 128 
 
 The Chicago Convention, November, 18S1, Power obtained by 
 
 Clan-na-Gael by means of Committee of Seven 129 
 
 The Washington Convention, April, 1882 132 
 
 The Astor House Meeting, July, 1882 133 
 
 Arrival of Egan and others in America, March and April. 1883. 133 
 
 The Philadelphia Convention, April, 1883 134 
 
 Discontinuance of Land League of America and Substitution of 
 
 National League in its Place 134 
 
 The Control the Clan-na-Gacl obtained over the Land League 
 
 Movement in America 13^ 
 
 The Boston Convention, April, 18S4. The Parliamentary Fund ... 140 
 The Action of the Glan-na-Gael in 1885 ia support of the 
 
 Parliamentary Fund 140 
 
 The Chicago Convention, 1886. Accounts of the Parliamentary 
 
 Fund ••" J.. 
 
 Finding upon the Ninth Charge 14^ 
 
 Recapitulation of Findings j.5 
 
 r5 
 
61 
 
REPORT OF. THE COMMISSIONERS MADE PURSUANT TO AN 
 ACT OF PARLIAMENT, INTITULED "AN ACT TO CON- 
 *«STITUTE A SPECIAL COMMISSION TO INQUIRE INTO 
 "THE CHARGES AND ALLEGATIONS MADE AGAINST CER- 
 " TAIN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT AND OTHER PERSONS 
 " BY THE DEFENDANTS IN THE RECENT TRIAL OF 
 "AN ACTION ENTITLED O'DONNELL v. WALTER AND 
 "ANOTHER." 
 
 Jltag it ^hast your ffla\tst^. 
 
 We the undersigned Commissioners, appointed under 
 the " Special Commission Act, 1888," to enquire into and 
 report upon the charges and allegations made against 
 certain Members of Parliament and other persons in the 
 course of the proceedings in an action entitled O'Donnell 
 versus Walter and another, having inquired into the said 
 charges and allegations, humbly report to Your Majesty as 
 follows : — 
 
 The defendants in the action of O'Donnell v. Walter 
 and another were John Walter, the registered proprietor, 
 and George Edward Wright, the printer and publisher of 
 the " Times " newspaper. 
 
 On the 7th of March, 1887, there appeared in that 
 newspaper the first of a series of articles which were 
 afterwards published in a pamphlet entitled " Parnellism 
 
Vlll. PRELIMINARY. 
 
 and Crime." In these articles charges and allegations 
 were made against Charles Stewart Parnell, M.P. for Cork, 
 the leader of the Irish Home Rule Party, and his 
 supporters in Parliament and elsewhere, the gravity of 
 which may be collected from the following passage in the 
 first of the articles above referred to, " in times not yet 
 " remote they would assuredly have been impeached for 
 " one tithe of their avowed defiance of the law, and in ages 
 '' yet more robustly conscious of the difference between 
 " evil and good, their heads would have decorated the city 
 " gates." 
 
 In particular, Mr. Parnell and his associates were 
 accused of having established an organization called the 
 " National Land League of Ireland," '^ depending upon a 
 " system of Intimidation carried out by the most brutal 
 " means, and resting ultimately on the sanction of 
 *^ murder." 
 
 On the i8th of April, 1887, there was published in the 
 '' Times " the facsimile of a letter, bearing date the 
 15th May, 1882, alleged to have been written by the 
 authority of Mr. Parnell and signed by him, in which he 
 appeared to apologise for having, as a matter of expe- 
 dienc}-, openly condemned the murder of Lord Frederick 
 Cavendish and Mr. Burke, though he, in fact, thought that 
 Mr. Burke had deserved his fate. Mr. Parnell on the 
 same day, in his place in the House of Commons, declared 
 that this letter was a forgery, but he did not at that time 
 take any legal proceedings against the *' Times " for the 
 publication of it. 
 
 In November, 1887, Mr. Frank Hugh O'Donnell, 
 formerly M.P. for Dungarvan, who had been a political 
 
PRELIM IN ARV. IX. 
 
 follower of Mr. Parnell, conceiving himself to be one 
 of the persons included in the accusations of the "Times" 
 against the members of the " Home Rule " or "Parnellite " 
 party, brought an action against Messrs. Walter and 
 Wright for the alleged libels on him, contained in the 
 articles known as '* Parnellism and Crime." 
 
 The defendants in that action denied that the state- 
 ments complained of related to the plaintiff Mr. O'Donnell, 
 and also pleaded that the alleged libels were true in 
 substance and in fact. 
 
 The case came to trial before the Lord Chief Justice 
 of England on the 2nd of July, 1888. At the close of the 
 opening of the case for the defendants the plaintiff with- 
 drew from the jury all the alleged libels excepting two in 
 which the plaintiff had been specifically named, and on 
 these the jury found a verdict for the defendants. In the 
 course of the trial it had been necessary for Sir R. Webster, 
 the Attorney-General, who appeared as counsel for the 
 defendants, to state the facts which he proposed to give in 
 evidence in the event of the issue of the truth or falsehood 
 of the alleged libels having to be determined by the jury, 
 and in his speech he repeated and enlarged upon the 
 charges and allegations contained in the articles com- 
 plained of. 
 
 After the trial of O'Donnell v. Walter and another, a 
 motion was made in the House of Commons that a 
 Committee of that House should be appointed to inquire 
 whether the letter of the 15th May, 1882, was a forgery. 
 This was rejected, but an inquiry of a more general nature 
 was ultimately directed by the " Special Commission Act, 
 l858," from which we derive our jurisdiction. 
 
 [9 
 
X. PRELIMINARY. 
 
 We believe that this Act is in some respects without a 
 precedent. We mention this merely to point out that 
 we had no example to follow as to our mode of procedure. 
 If we had taken Royal Commissions of Inquiry as our 
 guide, it would have been necessary for us, ourselves, to 
 have found the witnesses to be called, and for this purpose 
 we must have employed agents to see them and take 
 their proofs, in order that we might have the materials 
 for their examination by us. Amongst several objections 
 to this course, one appeared to us conclusive, namely, that 
 we should have seemed to be taking upon ourselves the 
 functions of a prosecutor, with which the duties of a judge 
 are scarcely consistent. 
 
 As the Act empowered the persons implicated in the 
 charges and allegations to appear by counsel and cross- 
 examine witnesses, we decided that the inquiry should be 
 conducted as though an issue had been directed to be tried, 
 to determine whether or not the persons charged had been 
 guilty of the acts alleged against them. From the consti- 
 tution of the Commission, the powers conferred upon it, 
 and the character of the charges made, we considered that 
 it was fitting that we should conduct the inquiry judicially 
 and according to the law of evidence and procedure pre- 
 vailing in the ordinary courts of justice. We therefore 
 determined to call on the accusers (the defendants in the 
 action of O'Donnell v. Walter and another) to lay before 
 us the evidence on which they relied to substantiate their 
 charges against the accused. 
 
 At a preliminary meeting of the Commission, held on 
 the i/th of September, i888, we announced the principles 
 on which we proposed to act. We required, in the first 
 
 10] 
 
PRELIM IX ARV. 
 
 XI. 
 
 place, that the accusers should give particulars of the' 
 persons against whom they made their charges. 
 
 In obedience to our order, the names of the following 
 Members of Parliament, against whom it was proposed to 
 crlve evidence, were furnished : — 
 
 Thomas Sexton. 
 Joseph Gillis Biggar. 
 Joseph Richard Cox. 
 Jeremiah Jordan. 
 James Christopher Flynii. 
 John Hooper. 
 Charles Stewart Parncll. 
 Maurice Ilealy. 
 James Edward O'Dohcrt)- 
 Patrick O'Heu. 
 Arthur O'Connor. 
 Michael INIcCartan. 
 John J. Clancy. 
 Sir Thomas Esmondc, Dt. 
 Timothy D. Sullivan. 
 Timothy Harrington. 
 William H. K. Redmond. 
 Henry Campbell. 
 Patrick J. Foley. 
 Matthew Harris; 
 David Sheeny. 
 John Stack. 
 Edward Harrington. 
 Denis Kilbride. 
 Jeremiah D. Sheehan. 
 James Leahy. ^ 
 Patrick A. Chance. 
 Thomas Quinn. 
 Dr. Joseph Francis Fox. 
 Michael Conway. 
 Luke Patrick Hayden. 
 WiUiam Abral am. 
 John Finucane. 
 
 William O'Brien. 
 Dr. Charles K. D. Tanner. 
 William J. Lane. 
 James Gilhooly. 
 Joseph E. Kenny. 
 Francis A. O'Keefe. 
 Justin McCarthy. 
 Timothy M. Healy. 
 Joseph Nolan. 
 Thomas P. Gill. 
 Daniel Crilly. 
 John Deasy. 
 John Dillon. 
 James F. O'Brien. 
 Patrick O'Brien. 
 Richard Lalor. 
 James J. O'Kelly. 
 Andrew Commins, LL.D. 
 Edmund Leamy. 
 P. J. O'Bden. 
 Thomas P^Iayne. 
 John O'Connor. 
 Matthew J. Kenny. 
 Jasper D. Pyne. 
 Patrick Joseph Power. 
 James Tuite. 
 Donal Sullivan. 
 Thomas Joseph Condon.- 
 John E. Redmond. 
 John B^rry, 
 Garrett Mich. Byrne. 
 Thomas P. O'Connor. 
 
 [u 
 
Xll. PRELIMINARY. 
 
 All the Members of Parliament named appeared, and, 
 with the exceptions of Mr. J. G. Big-gar, Mr. T. M. Healy, 
 and Mr. P. A. Chance, were represented by solicitor and 
 counsel. Mr. Big-gar and Mr. Healy conducted their cases 
 in person. ]\Ir. Chance appointed a solicitor to watch the 
 proceedings on his behalf. Mr. Michael Davitt, not men- 
 tioned in the particulars, but a person implicated, also 
 appeared in person. No other person implicated appeared 
 or claimed to be represented before us. Nothing affecting 
 Mr. Chance occurred during the progress of the inquiry, and 
 he will not be included in the expression the " respondents " 
 hereinafter used to designate the other persons charged or 
 implicated who appeared before us. 
 
 As the " charges and allegations " into which we were 
 directed to inquire were scattered over the several articles 
 in the " Times," upon which the action of O'Donnell v. 
 Walter and another was founded, and also throughout the 
 speech of counsel for the defendants in that action, we 
 thought it right to order that the accusers should formulate 
 the charges and allegations which they intended to make 
 and proposed to substantiate by evidence. The full par- 
 ticulars Avhich were delivered in obedience to our order 
 will be found in Appendix I. 
 
 The charges and allegations formulated in these par- 
 ticulars may be thus sum.marized : — 
 
 I. That the respondents were members of a conspiracy 
 and organisation having for its ultimate object to 
 •establish the absolute independence of Ireland. 
 
 II. That one of the immediate objects of their con- 
 12] 
 
PRELIMINARY. Xlll. 
 
 jsplracy was, by a system of coercion and intimidation, 
 to promote an agrarian agitation against the payment of 
 agricultural rents, for the purpose of impoverishing and 
 expelling from the country the Irish landlords, who 
 were styled the " English garrison." 
 
 III. That when on certain occasions they thought it 
 politic to denounce, and did denounce, certain crimes in 
 public, they afterwards led their supporters to believe 
 such denunciation was not sincere. (This charge is- 
 chiefly based on the "facsimile" letter of 15th Alay, 
 1882, alleged to be signed by Mr. Parnell). 
 
 IV. That they disseminated the " Irish World " and 
 other newspapers tending to incite to sedition and the 
 commission of other crime. 
 
 V. That they, by their speeches and by payments for 
 that purpose, incited persons to the commission of 
 crime, including murder. 
 
 VI. That they did nothing to prevent crime, and 
 expressed no bond fide disapproval of it. 
 
 VII. That they subscribed to testimonials for and 
 were intimately associated with notorious criminals,. 
 defended persons supposed to be guilty of agrarian 
 crime, supported their families, and made payments to 
 secure the escape of criminals from justice. 
 
 VIII. That they made payments to persons who had 
 been injured in the commission of crime. 
 
 IX. That the respondents invited the assistance and 
 
 [13 
 
co-operation of, and accepted subscriptions of money 
 from, known advocates of crime and dynamite. 
 
 Sir Charles Russell, on behalf of the respondents, has 
 collected under nine heads the accusations which he 
 .alleged they had to meet. They are as follows : — 
 
 1. That the Land Leaguers deliberately based their 
 movement on a scheme of assassination and outrage. 
 
 2. That the leaders, by their speeches and those of 
 their subordinates, directly incited the people to outrage, 
 and took no step, by speech or act, to prevent, to stop, 
 or to condemn the outrages. 
 
 3. That if at any time any of the leaders have verbally 
 condemned or discouraged outrage and crime, their 
 language was insincere and hypocritical. 
 
 4. That no other cause has been or could be suggested 
 for the crime in Ireland from and after 1879, except the 
 agitation of the Land League and the speeches of its 
 leaders. 
 
 5. That the funds of the Land League were habitually 
 used to pay for outrage, and were used to procure the 
 escape from justice of criminals. 
 
 6. That at the time of the Kilmainham negotiations 
 Mr. Parnell knew that Sheridan and Boyton had been 
 organising outrage, and therefore v.ished to use them to 
 put down outrage. 
 
 . 7. That the Invinciblcs were a branch of the Land 
 
PRELIMINARY. XV. 
 
 League, and were organised and paid by Egan, the 
 treasurer of the Land League. 
 
 8. That Mr. Parnell was intimate with the leading 
 Invincibles ; that he probably learned from them what 
 they were about when he was released on parole in 
 April, 1882; that he recognised the Phoenix Park 
 murders as their handiwork, and that, knowing it to 
 be theirs, and partly for his own safety, he secretly 
 qualified and revoked the condemnation which he had 
 thought it politic publicly to pronounce. 
 
 9. That Mr. Parnell, on the 23rd January, 1883, by an 
 opportune remittance, enabled Byrne to escape from 
 justice to France. 
 
 These heads do not cover the same ground as the par- 
 ticulars of the accusers, and some are not included in them. 
 We shall deal with these in the course of our report. 
 
 In addition to the general charges against the respond- 
 ents, including Mr. Davitt, two are especially directed 
 against him, namely — 
 
 {a.) That he was a member of the Fenian organisa- 
 tion and convicted as such, and that he assisted in the 
 formation of the Land League with money which had 
 been contributed for the purpose of outrage and crime. 
 
 {b.) And that he was in close and intimate association 
 with the party of violence in America, and was mainly 
 instrumental in bringing about the alliance between 
 
 [15 
 
xvi. PRELIxMINARY. 
 
 that party and the Parnellite and Home Rule party in 
 Ireland. 
 
 We now proceed to deal with the several charges and 
 allegations as nearly as practicable, in the order in whicl* 
 they are set out in the above summary of the particulars. 
 
 The first charge is that the respondents weic members 
 of a conspiracy and organisation having for its ultimate 
 object to establish the absolute independence of Ireland^ 
 or in the language of the " Times " article of the 7th March, 
 1887, that the "prominent members of the Home Rule 
 " party were inspired by hatred of this country and by a 
 " determination to destroy the last link that keeps Ireland 
 " bound to England." 
 
 !(!] 
 
I.— INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 In order to ascertain the ultimate object of the respondents 
 and promoters of the land agitation, it is necessary to investi{:,'-ate 
 the action of the leaders from the year 1877. We were invited 
 to take a political retrospect of the History of Ireland for the 
 last century, and to criticise the land legislation during that 
 period, and specially to pass judgment on the sufficiency or 
 insufficiency of the Acts of Parliament which within the last 
 20 years have been enacted to ameliorate the condition of Irish 
 tenant farmers. But these subjects are not within the scope of 
 our inquiry. We must leave it for historians to investigate the 
 remote causes of the present condition of Ireland — we must 
 leave it for politicians to discuss, and for statesmen to determine, 
 in what respects the present laws affecting land in that country 
 are capable of improvement, and we must confine our researches 
 to the question whether the respondents or any of them have been 
 guilty of the things charged and alleged against them ; we have 
 no commission to consider whether the conduct of which they 
 are accused can be palliated by the circumstances of the time, 
 or whether it should be condoned in consideration of benefits 
 alleged to have resulted from their actions. 
 
 It may be occasionally necessary to refer to events of an 
 earlier date, but for our immediate purpose the year 1877 may 
 be taken as the starting point in our investigations. [Report, p. 5 ]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell assumes Leadership. 
 
 In the year 1877 the virtual leadership of the so-called Home 
 Rule Party, which h-^d previously acted with Mr. Butt, fell to 
 Mr. Parnell, though his formal appointment to that position did 
 not take place till i88c. At first his field of action was chiefly if 
 not exclusively in Parliament, and so continued until he took part 
 with Mr. M. Davitt in the land agitation in 1879. 
 
 In the year 1877, ^^^ Fenian movement was represented by 
 two organisations, one in Ireland and one in America. The 
 organisation in Ireland, otherwise known as the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood, had for its object the separation of Ireland from 
 England by insurrection, and in anticipation of that event its 
 funds were largely used for the introduction of arms into Ireland. 
 All persons enrolled in the association took an oath to bear true 
 allegiance to the Irish Republic, to take up arms when called 
 upon, to achieve the liberty of Ireland, to obey implicitly the 
 orders of superiors, and to submit to expulsion for disobedience. 
 
 C 
 
 [17 
 
The Supreme Council had power to award capital punishment in 
 cases of treason, and the crime of treason was defined to be any 
 wilful act or word on the part of any member of the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood or of the Supreme Council calculated to 
 betray the cause of Irish Independence and subser\^e the interest 
 of the British or any foreign Government in Ireland. Mr. Parnell 
 stated in his evidence that he always understood that it was the 
 practice of the brotherhood to assassinate traitors. [Report, p. 5]. 
 
 The Clan-na-Gael Conspiracy. 
 
 The corresponding^ organisation amongst the Irish residents in 
 America went by the name of the United Brotherhood or Clan-na- 
 Gael. The object of this organisation, as stated in its constitution, 
 was to aid the Irish people in the attainment of the complete and 
 absolute independence of Ireland by the overthrow of English 
 domination, a total separation from that country, the complete 
 severance of all political connexion with it, and the establishment 
 of an independent republic. It was to prepare unceasingly for 
 an armed insurrection in- Ireland, to have no interference directly 
 or indirectly in politics, to act in concert with the Irish Republican- 
 Brotherhood in Ireland and Great Britain, and to assist it with 
 money, war material^ and men. 
 
 The Clan-na-Gael in America and the Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood in Ireland were parts of one and the same con- 
 spiracy, its members being interchangeable by a system of 
 transfers. 
 
 Mr. Davitt who about the year 1865, became a member of 
 ihe Fenian organisation, was convicted in 1870 of a conspiracy 
 to depose the Queen, and to levy war against Her, and was 
 sentenced to 1,5 years' penal servitude. [Report, pp. 5, 6]. 
 
 Mr. Davitt on Ticket-of-Leave. 
 
 Upon Mr. Davitt's release from prison in December, 1877^ 
 upon a ticket-of-leave, a committee to receive him, together with 
 Charles McCarthy, Thomas Chambers, and John P. O'Brien 
 (three persons recently relea.sed from imprisonment under sen- 
 tences for seditious practices), was formed, and a public address^ 
 signed by Messrs. Parnell, Biggar, Dillon, D. Curley, Patrick 
 Egan, James Carey, Thomas Brennan, and others was presented 
 to them. This address contained the following words. "With 
 '' a self-denying patriotism like the patriot Marcus Curtius, you 
 '•' made an offering of life, fortune, and liberty on the altar of 
 ■' your country, and if by such sacrifices as yours her freedom 
 *' has not been achieved her honor has been saved." 
 
 18] 
 
Mr. Davitt immediately rejoined the Irish Re- 
 publican Brotherhood, and became a member .of 
 the Supreme Council. He says that he did so for the 
 purpose of trying- to convert it into a movement of open and 
 constitutional action. This will be considered hereafter. 
 
 In Aug-ust, 1878, he visited the United States, where some 
 members of his family were residing-, but he has stated that he 
 " had a well-defined purpose in his mind which made his journey 
 " across the Atlantic more than a mere incident," and we collect 
 from his evidence that that purpose was to realise the plan he had 
 formed, while in prison, of making- the land question the stepping" 
 stone to national independence. [Report, p. 6]. 
 
 An Address from Fenians. 
 
 In September, 1878, an address was presented to Mr. Davitt 
 in America, on behalf of the Irish Nationalists, by a committee 
 consisting of L. G. Gouldino-, chairman, J. J. Rossiter, secretary, 
 Captain Neil J. Breslin, Mr. J. J. O'Kelly (now M.P.), J. J. Breslin, 
 James Kavanagh, Th. Clark Luby, John King-, John Devoy, and 
 Th. F. Bourke (for whose rescue Clerkenwell Prison was blown 
 up). Of these Mr. Davitt states that he was aware that 
 J. J. Breslin had rescued J. Stephens (Head Fenian 
 Centre) in the year 1867 from Richmond Prison, that Luby 
 had been convicted of treason felony, and sentenced to 
 twenty years' penal servitude, that Devoy had been sen- 
 tenced to ten years' penal servitude for ''being a 
 Fonian," and that Th. F. Bourke had been sen- 
 tenced to death for treason, and amnestied, and that the 
 majority of this committee were extreme Nationalists. Mr. 
 Davitt also knew that Mr. J. J. O'Kelly was a 
 member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, and 
 it has been proved before us that J. J. Breslin, 
 T. F. Bourke, John Devoy, and T. C. Luby 
 were trustees of the Skirmishing* Fund herein- 
 after mentioned, and that J, J. Rossiter and 
 J, J. O'Kelly were members of the Clan-na-GaeL 
 [Report, p. 6]. 
 
 Repeal — and no Compromise. 
 
 In answer to this address Mr. Davitt said : — 
 
 *' Twelve or fourteen years ago my boyish heart thrilled with admiration for 
 ** the men who confronted Ireland's foe, and taught from the dock and the prison 
 *' the undying principles of Irish Nationality. I became an humble disciple of the 
 *' same and an enemy to the eaemies of my country. In my riper years I have 
 •' adhered to the principles I then imbibed, and when fheir profession entailed a 
 
 [19 
 
*• like penalty to that which Dr. Lnby, Mr. Devoy, Gen. Bourlce, and many 
 *' others had to bear, I trust I endured it in a like spirit to ;he rs, and left behind 
 *♦ me a prison record of which my countrynien need not f;el ashamed Yovi 
 *' are already aware that my stay in America is to be of short duration, and as a 
 '* public expression of my opinions as a Nationalist would be injudicious, I 
 *' therefore refrain from any allusion to them beyond saying that my imprison- 
 ** ment has not changed my political conviction in the least, nor lessened my faith 
 *' in the ultimate triumph of the cause in which they are enlisted." 
 
 On the 24th September 1878, Mr. Davitt was present at a 
 meeting- in New York, when the following" resolutions were 
 proposed by Mr. Devoy and carried : — 
 
 *' That we deem the present a fitting opportunity to proclaim our conviction of 
 *' Ireland's right to an independent National existence. That as Ireland has 
 " never forfeited her right to independence, and as no action on the part of 
 ** England has given any justification for the acceptance of the union, we hereby 
 '* protest against all attempts to compromise and renew our resolve to work for 
 ** the complete overthrow of British domination." 
 
 *' That the landlord system, forced on the Irish people by English legislation, is 
 ** a disgrace to humanity and the civilisation of the present century. It is the 
 *• direct cause of the expatriation of millions of the Irish race, and of the miserable 
 •* condition of the Irish peasantry. That, as the land of Ireland belongs to the 
 *' people of Ireland, the abolition of the foreign landlord system, and the substi- 
 *' tution of one by which the tiller of the soil will be fixed permanently upon it, and 
 *' holding directly of the State, is the only true solution of tlae Irish land question, 
 *' a solution which an Irish republic alone can effect." [Report, pp. 6, 7.] 
 
 Mr. Davitt voted for these resolutions, being, as he says, a 
 republican in principle. 
 
 Honouring the Manchester Murderers. 
 
 On the 26th September, 1878, Mr. Davitt, together with 
 O'Donovan Rossa (who, under the name of O'Donovan, had been 
 sentenced to penal servitude for life, and amnestied in 1870), John 
 Devoy, J. J. Breslin, Th. F. Bourke, and Th. C. Luby, was present 
 at a meeting held at New York to welcome Edward O' Meagher 
 Condon and Patrick Meledy (who had been convicted of partici- 
 pation in the murder of Sergeant Brett at Manchester in 1867, and 
 who had been recently released), when the following address was 
 presented to them : — 
 
 " On behalf of the Irish Nationalists of New York we congratulate you on your 
 ** release from British prisons, and offer you a fraternal welcome to the United 
 " States. You were tried and convicted in a British court for participation in a 
 *' movement for the liberation of our native land : a movement in which we are 
 "proud to have borne a part, and which to-day is possessed of a more vigorous 
 ''vitality than when the three confessors of our political faith gave 
 " up their lives for Ireland on the Manchester scaffold." 
 
 The ''three confessors" were Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien, 
 executed for the murder of Serg-eant Brett. A report of this 
 meeting- and address was published on the 19th October, 1878, 
 in the ''Nation" newspaper, in Ireland, of which Mr. T. D. 
 Sullivan, M.P., is the proprietor. [Repokt, p. 7]. 
 
 20] 
 
Waving the Flag of Independence. 
 
 In a lecture delivered by Mr. Davitt at New York on the 
 13th October, 1878, he said : — 
 
 " Heretofore the National party has held aloof from the parliamentary question, 
 ** because of the treachery of the men who misrepresented Ireland, Those men have 
 " given a wrong impression of the Irish question to the world. They have given the 
 " impression abroad that all that Ireland wanted was a fair federal union with the 
 " British Empire, a thing that the Irish people will never willingly consent to. 
 " Not one of the 103 representatives in Parliament from Ireland ever hints that 
 " he represents a people who desire a separate national existence. 
 
 * * * * * If 
 
 " Then there is another section, composed of the honest men, who are 
 •' represented by Mr. Parnell. They are known as the ' Obstructionist party,' and 
 '* are composed of young and talented Irishmen, who are possessed of courage and 
 " persistency, and do what they can to assist Ireland 
 
 " The Home Rule party does not represent the Irish popular feeling. The aim 
 •' of the Home Rule party, as defined by Mr. Power, the member for Mayo, when 
 *• in this country, was an effort to place Ireland in the same relation to the British 
 ** Empire that the State of New York bears to the Union. It is a scheme that 
 " the Irish people will not tolerate, and they have thrown the platform and the 
 * * party aside, and it exists only in name. " 
 
 Mr. John Devoy spoke after Mr. Davitt, and said : — 
 " But now that I am here, and you want me to say something, I will say that I 
 " endorse the views set forth in the very able lecture you have just heard from 
 " Mr. Davitt, and that I fully approve of the public policy he proposes for the 
 '• National party. I think, however, that some portions of it require further 
 '' elaboration and plainer speaking. I think the National party should take a 
 '• more active part in the public life of the country, and endeavour to mould public 
 '• opinion at home and abroad for the benefit of the National cause. I think we 
 •• have remained in the backgi'ound too long, and allowed the countiy to be mis- 
 " represented. I think the time has come when we should step to the front in the 
 *" broad light of day and proclaim to the world what we want ; that it is time to 
 '• push aside the men who misrepresent Ireland in Parliament, and in the local 
 " public bodies throughout Ireland. Until this is done we shall be misunderstood 
 •' on tlie Continent of Europe, and even here in America, and our cause must 
 
 '• suffer in consequence, 
 
 " This kind of thing has been said of us before, and it will continue to be said so 
 " long as we send only two sets of men to Parliament, one to support the present j 
 " state of things, and the other to proclaim to the world that Ireland would / 
 " be satisfied with the bastard federal connexion proposed by Isaac Butt. / 
 *' (Cries of ' Never,') Nov, the National party can change all that if its eyes are 
 " opened to the necessity, I claim that by the adoption of a proper public policy 
 " and a vigorous propaganda the Nationalists can sweep away the men who mis- 
 " represent us, and obtain control of the public voice of the country. Eveiy public 
 " body in the country, from the little boards of poor law guardians and the town 
 " commissioners to the city corporations and the members of Parliament, should be 
 *' controlled by the National party ; and until it is able to control them it w"ill be 
 
 " looked upon by foreigners as a powerless and insignificant faction 
 
 " Now, I believe in Irish independence, but I don't believe it would be wortli 
 " while to free Ireland if that foreign landlord system were to be left standing. 
 " (Cheers,) I am in favour of sweeping away every vestige of the English 
 " connexion and this accursed landlord system above and before all. (Tremendous 
 " applause.) But while I think it is a right to proclaim this, and that tlie 
 " National party should proclaim that nothing less than this would satisfy it, I 
 *' know it is a solution that cannot be reached in a day, and, therefore, I think we 
 " should, in the meantime, accept all measures looking to the prevention of 
 ' ' arbitrary eviction and the creation of a peasant proprietary as a step in the right 
 " direction." [Report, pp. 7, 8J. 
 
Union with American Revolutionists. 
 
 In October, 1878, Dr. W. Carrol, J. J. Breslin, General Millen, 
 J. Devoy, and Patrick Mahon, all of -whom, according to 
 Mr. Davitt, -were extreme Nationalists, and have 
 been proved to be members of the Cian-na-Gael, 
 
 despatched a cableg-ram to Dublin proposing- an union with the 
 supporters in Ireland of Mr. Parneirs policy. 
 
 The rriessage was in these terms : — 
 
 " The Nationalists here will support you on the following" 
 *' conditions : — 
 
 " First. Abandonment of the federal demand, and substitution 
 '* of a general declaration in favour of self-government. 
 
 " Second. Vig'orous agitation of the land question on the basis 
 *' of a peasant proprietary, while accepting concessions tending 
 ** to abolish arbitrary eviction. 
 
 " Third. Exclusion of all sectarian issues from the platform. 
 
 " Fourth. Irish members to vote together on all Imperial and 
 ''home questions, adopt an aggressive policy, and energetically 
 *' resist coercive legislation. 
 
 " Fifth. Advocacy of all struggling nationalities in the British 
 '' Empire and elsewhere." 
 
 This message was not communicated to Mr. Parnell at the 
 time, but he states that he became aware of it after- 
 wards. In all probability he knew of it shortly 
 afterwards, as it was published and commented on in the 
 Irish newspapers. In 1879 this proposal was submitted to a 
 meeting of the Supreme Council of the Irish Republican Brother- 
 hood held in Paris, of which Mr. Davitt was a member, and was 
 rejected, each person being left to his own individual action. 
 Although the proposal was not formally accepted by Mr. Parnell 
 or by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, it appears to us to have 
 formed the basis on which the American Irish Nationalists 
 afterwards lent their support to Mr. Parnell and his policy. 
 [Report, pp. 8, 9]. 
 
 The " New Departure." 
 
 On the nth December, 1878, Mr, Devoy addressed a letter to 
 the "Freeman" newspaper in Dublin on the subject of the 
 above-mentioned cablegram, which he referred to as the ''New 
 Departure." Mr. Davitt has stated that this letter was written 
 with a view of influencing the Nationalists of Ireland in favour of 
 the new policy that would widen the field of revolutionary effort. 
 
 22] 
 
7- 
 
 In this letter Mr. Devoy states : — 
 
 '* The Nationalists could only obtain control of the local bodies, and of the 
 "" Parliamentary representation by the adoption of such a broad and comprehen- 
 '' sive public policy as would secure the support of that large class of Irishmen 
 "" who now hold aloof from all parties, but are Nationalists in heart and feeling, 
 *' and vote for the man or the party that goes nearest to their ideas, and which 
 " would further detach from the Home Rule party all who are really in favour of 
 " a larger demand than that of Mr, Butt, but who now give the Home Rulers a 
 " conditional support. The object, however, can be reached much more easily by 
 ■" an honourable compromise. This compromise is only possible by leaving the 
 *' form of self-government indefinite, putting off the definition until a really repre- 
 *' sentative body, with the countiy at its back, and elected with that mandate, 
 *' should be established, and speak in the name of the nation. When the nation 
 " speaks all parties obey, and a United Irish nation can shape its own destiny. 
 ■*' There is no use defining the form of self-government for the mere psrpose of 
 *' bringing forward a motion in Parliament once a year or once a session only to 
 ''be thrown out by a hostile majority, and complete independence cannot be 
 ■*' demanded without coming into conflict with the law. As the battle of Irish 
 *' freedom is outside Parliament, and as Home Rulers, Repealers, and Nationalists 
 ■*' all call the form of autonomy they desire 'self-government,' as, in addition to 
 ■'" this, they agree substantially as to the present needs of Ireland, there should be 
 *' nothing to prevent them agreeing on a common platform which would bind 
 ■^' them together for the common good of the country until the country itself should 
 •^* speak in such a manner as to command the allegiance of all." 
 
 Mr. Davitt has expressed his concurrence with the opinions of 
 Mr. Devoy, and states that he became a Land Leaguer and an 
 ■advocate with him in endeavouring to persuade other NationaHsts 
 to join the movement, as a step towards the overthrow of the English 
 dominion. 
 
 In the early part of 1879 Mr. Davitt returned to Ireland from 
 America, and in January and February saw various leaders of the 
 Fenian organisation in Mayo, in order to explain his scheme of land 
 agitation to them. [Report, p. 9]. 
 
 The Fenian Envoys at work. 
 
 Mr. Devoy, who had come to Ireland at the same time for 
 some purpose known to Mr. Davitt, but which he refused to dis- 
 close to us, also visited Mayo. We know, however, from Devoy's 
 report to the executive body of the Clan-na-Gael, made on his return 
 to America, that he had come to Ireland as the envoy of that body 
 to the Irish Republican Brotherhood, for the purpose of consolida- 
 ting the unien between the Clan-na-Gael and tliue Irish Republican 
 Brotherhood, and devising some means of perfecting the work of 
 preparation for a revolutionary struggle in Ireland. With this 
 object he arranged for the supply of a large quantity of rifles to the 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood, to be distributed throughout the 
 country amongst the members, the majority of whom were said to be 
 small farmers or farmers' sons. We also learn from Mr. Harris, 
 M.P., that shortly before this he (Mr. Harris) had been distributing 
 arms amongst the farming classes; and Mr. J. O'Connor, M.P., 
 
 [2a 
 
8- 
 
 informed us that he also had been providing money for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 General Millen, under the name of Robinson, accompanied 
 Mr. Devoy as military envoy from the Clan-na-Gael, having received 
 instructions from the Executive Council " to make a tour of the 
 *' organisation for inspection of the same as to its adaptability for 
 "more thorough military instruction." The purposes for which 
 General Millen visited Ireland were known to Mr. Davitt, but he 
 refused to state what the General was engaged in doing there. 
 Dr. W. Carroll, a trustee of the Skirmishing Fund, also came for 
 similar purposes as Devoy and General Millen, with the know- 
 ledge of Mr. Davitt, but he refused to disclose what Dr. Carroll 
 was doing. 
 
 Mr. Davitt's American Visit. 
 
 We may now review the effects of Mr. Davitt's visit to America. 
 He had found two sections of the Clan-na-Geal, united as to the 
 end they desired to achieve, but differing- as to the means to be 
 employed to attain it. They both looked upon the complete 
 severance of Ireland from England as the main object of their 
 exertions. One of them regarded insurrection as the only means 
 of attaining this end, and for this they prepared by organising 
 their forces both in America and Ireland, and by the introduction 
 of arms into the latter country, and held entirely aloof from 
 parliamentary action. 
 
 The other section, under the guidance of Mr. Devoy, while 
 approving of insurrection when practicable, considered that the 
 time when it could be resorted to with success would be hastened 
 by taking part in the political life of Ireland, and sought to aid 
 the cause of Irish independence by connecting it with some social 
 question, like that of the land, in which the mass of the Irish 
 people was interested. 
 
 With this section of the Clan-na-Gael Mr. Davitt formed a close 
 alliance, and endeavoured to gain recruits from the former and 
 more irreconcilable party, or at least to remove their active 
 opposition. [Report, p. lo]. 
 
 The Policy of Davitt and Devoy* 
 
 The policy recommended both by Mr. Davitt and by Devoy 
 was that the two sections should put asidejealousy of one another 
 and act in harmony, neither interfering with the other in its 
 exertions for the attainment of their common end; and throughout 
 the whole history of the Land League movement it will be 
 observed that the necessity of conciliating the extreme section 
 modified and controlled the action of the parliamentary party. 
 [Report, pp. lo, ii]. 
 
 24] 
 
9 
 
 The manner in which they carried out this policy is seen in the 
 Action taken by Mr. Davitt and Mr. Devoy respectively on their 
 arrival in Ireland in January, 1879. Mr. Davitt, after explaining- 
 his views to the Fenian leaders in Mayo, commenced his public 
 ag-itation of the land question in that county, while Mr. Devoy, 
 with the knowledge of Mr. Davitt, carried on his organisation of 
 the Irish Republican Brotherhood in the same county, where at 
 that time the Fenian body was more powerful than in any other. 
 [Report, pp. lO, iij. 
 
 II._WOEKING THE ''NEW DEPAETURE, 
 
 The Founding of the Land League. 
 
 On the 20th April, 1879, Mr. Davitt arranged a meeting at 
 Irishtown, co. Mayo. He was not present at this meeting, but 
 he wrote the resolutions for it. The speakers there were Messrs.. 
 Brennan, Ferguson, of Glasgow, Malachi, O'Sullivan, M. 
 Harris, O'Connor Power, M.P., and Louden. Of these, Brennan, 
 M. Harris, and O'Connor Power, M.P., were Fenians; and Mr. 
 Davitt tells us that Brennan was actively engaged with him in 
 addressing the western meetings in Mayo. Mr. Davitt says 
 that this meeting- was the beginning of the subsequent agrarian 
 movement. 
 
 On the 7th June, 1879, a meeting- was held at Westport, at 
 which Mr. Parnell attended. Mr. Parnell knew at this time that 
 Mr. Davitt had been in communication with John Devoy as t» 
 the proposed new organisation, and that the latter was in favour 
 of the Land League movement in Ireland. Mr. Davitt had often 
 expressed to Mr. Parnell his opinion that there ought to be a 
 combined agrarian and political agitation, but this was the first 
 occasion on which Mr. Parnell appeared on the same platform 
 with Mr. Davitt, or made any speech in favour of the Land 
 movement. [Report, p. ii]. 
 
 The Thunders of the Church. 
 
 In anticipation of this meeting- the Archbishop of Tuam had 
 published the following letter: — 
 
 " Westport, June 5, 1879. 
 
 " Dear Sir, — In a telegraphic message exhibited towards the end of last week in 
 " a public room of this town, an Irish Member of Parliament has unwittingly 
 *• expressed his readiness to attend a meeting convened in a mysterious and 
 
 [25 
 
10 
 
 ■" disorderly manner, which is to be held, it seems, at Westport on Sunday next. 
 ** Of the sympathy of the Catholic clergy for the rack-rented tenantry of Ireland, 
 " and of their willingness to co-operate earnestly in redressing their grievances, 
 " abundant evidence exists in historic Mayo as elsewhere. But night patrolling, 
 *' acts and words of menace, with arms in hand, the profanation of what is most 
 *' sacred in religion — all the result of lawless and occult association, eminently 
 *' merit the solemn condemnation of the ministers of religion as directly tending to 
 *' impiety and disorder in church and in society. Against such combinations in 
 *' this diocese, organised by a few designing men, who, instead of the well-being 
 " of the community, seek only to promote personal interests, the faithful clergy will 
 *' not fail to raise their warning voices, and to point out to the people that 
 *' unhallowed combinations lead invariably to disaster and to the firmer rivetting 
 *' of the chains by which we are unhappily bound as a subordinate people to a 
 *' dominant race. 1 remain, dear sir, faithfully yours, 
 
 "John, Archbishop of Tuam." 
 [Report, p.ii]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell explains his position. 
 
 Mr. Parnell addressed the meeting- as follows ; — 
 
 " It was only when leaving my home yesterday to com.e here that I first became 
 " acquainted by reading that letter that his Grace was opposed to the meeting — 
 
 "I am sure 'John of Tuam' would not wish me to dishonour myself by 
 "' breaking my word to this meeting, and by remaining away from it. The 
 ** resolution I have to propose is this 'That: whereas many landlords by 
 " ' successfully asserting in the courts of law their power to arbitiarily increase their 
 *' ' rents, irrespective of the value of their holdings on their estate, have rendered 
 *• ' worthless the Land Act of 1870, as a means of protection to the Irish tenants, 
 'we do hereby declare that not only political expediency but justice, and the 
 vital interests of Ireland demand such a readjustment of the land tenure — a 
 readjustment based upon the principle that the occupier of the land shall be the 
 owner thereof — as will prevent further confiscation of the tenants' property 
 " ' by unscrupulous landlords, and will secure to the people of Ireland their 
 " ' natural right to the soil of their country.' I am one of those who believe the 
 *' landlord institution is not a natural institution in any country. I believe that the 
 " maintenance of the class of landlords in a country is not for the greatest benefit of 
 " the greatest number. Ireland has perhaps suffered more than any other country in 
 " the world for the maintenance of such a class. England has perhaps assimilated 
 ' ' itself better than any other country to the landlord system ; but in almost every other 
 '^' country in the world where the system has been tried it has been given up. In 
 '•' Belgium, in Prussia, in France, and in Russia the land has been given to the people 
 *' — to the occupiers of the land. In some cases the landlords have been deprived of 
 *' tlieir property in the soil by the iron hand of revolution ; in other cases, as in 
 ^' Prussia, the landlords have been purchased out. If such an arrangement could 
 " be made witliout injuring tlie landlord, so as to enable the tenant to have his 
 ^^ land as his own, and to cultivate it as it ought to be cultivated, it would be for the 
 "" benefit and prosperity of the country. 1 look to this as the final settlement 
 '^' of this question ; but in the meanwhile it is necessary to ensure that as long as 
 " the tenant pays a fair rent he shall be kft to enjoy the fruits of his 
 " industry. A fair rent is a rent tlie tenant can reasonably pay according 
 " to the times, but in bad times the tenant cannot be expected to pay as 
 " much as he did in good times, three or four years ago. If such rents are 
 " insisted upon, a repetition of the scenes of 1847 and 1848 will be witnessed. 
 "'Now, what must we do in order to induce the landlords to see the position? 
 " You must show the landlords that you intend to hold a firm grip on your home- 
 " steads and lands. You must not allow yourselves to be dispossessed as you were 
 " dispossessed in 1847. You must not allow your small holdings to be turned into 
 
 
 2R 
 
 6] 
 
11 
 
 *' large ones. I am not supposing that the landlords will remain deaf to the voice 
 ■*' of reason, but I hope they may not, and that on those properties on which the 
 *' rents are out of all proportion to the times, that a reduction may be made, and 
 *' that immediately. If not, you must help yourselves, and the public opinion ot 
 " the world will stand by you and support you in your struggle to defend your 
 " homesteads. I should be deceiving you if I told you that there was any use in 
 " relying upon the exertions of the Irish Members of Parliament in your behalf 
 ■" I think that it' your members were determined and resolute they could help you, 
 " but I am afraid they won't. I hope that I may be wrong, and that you may 
 '^ rely upon the constitutional action of your Parliamentary representatives in this 
 " the sore time of your need and trial, but above all things remember that God 
 *' helps him who helps himself, and by that showing such a public spirit as you have 
 " shown here to-day, by coming in your thousands in the face of every difficulty, 
 " you will do more to show the landlords the necessity of dealing justly with you 
 *' than if you had 150 Irish members in the House of Commons. Perhaps I may 
 "' be permitted for a moment to refer to the great question of self-government for 
 ■" Ireland. You will say, perhaps, that many men have said that this 
 " struggling for concessions in the House of Commons is a demoralising 
 *' thing. Now, I am as confident as I am of my own existence that if you 
 " had men of determination, of some sort of courage and energy representing 
 " you, that you could obtain concessions. We are not likely to get them of 
 *' such importance and amount as to run the risk of being demoralised by them ; 
 " and also there is really no reason why we should permit ourselves to be de- 
 ■" moralised by the greatest concession of all. If you obtain concessions on right 
 •' principles, such as the Irish Church Act and the Land Act, you run no risk of 
 " demoralising yourselves. I have always noticed that the breaking down of 
 " barriers between different classes has increased their self-respect and increased 
 " the spirit of nationality amongst our people. I am convinced that nothing would 
 " more effectually promote the cause of self-government for Ireland than the 
 ■" breaking down of those barriers between different classes. Nothing would be 
 ■*' more effectual for that than the obtaining of a good Land Bill — the planting of 
 ** the people in the soil. If we had the farmers of Ireland the owners of the soil 
 " to-morrow, we would not be long without getting an Irish Parliament. I don't 
 " intend to be demoralised myself by any concessions. While we are getting a 
 ■*' concession we may show the government a little consideration for the time being, 
 *' and give them a (/uid pro quo; but after that the bargain ceases, and when we 
 " have returned them a fitting return for what we have got we are quits again, and 
 "^^ are free to use such measures as may be necessary according to the times and 
 "" according to the circumstances. You have a great country to struggle for — a 
 " great country before you. It is worth a little exertion on your part — it is worth?. 
 *' a little time. Do your best, and your country will thank you for it, and your 
 ■" children hereafter." [Report, pp. 11-13]. 
 
 Mr. Davitt as great a Fenian as ever. 
 
 Mr. Davitt spoke after Mr. Parnell and said: — 
 
 " It had been his lot in a chequered career to have had the pleasure of addressing 
 ■^' Irishmen everywhere, but never did he feel such pleasure as on the present 
 " occasion, when he addressed his countrymen and was asked to propose to them — 
 
 "' ' That whereas all political power comes from the people, and that the people 
 *' ' of Ireland have never ceased to proclaim their right to autonomy, we hereby 
 " ' re-assert the right of our country to self-government. ' They were asked to define 
 " what they meant by self-government for Ireland. {A Voice. We will have 
 *' total separation). 
 
 " Mr. Davitt continued to say that he was so identified with the principle of nation- 
 " ality, that it was not necessary for him to define to them what he meant by 
 *' self-government. 
 
 " He would venture to say that there was no Mayo man there who would tell 
 '* him as a man who has been imprisoned, that he had done anything for which he 
 
 [27 
 
" should apologise before that meeting. He would not, in the presence of the 
 '• gentlemen upon that platform, commit tliem nor the meeting by giving his 
 " definition of the resolution, and would content himself by leaving it to those 
 "present to draw their inferences from it. They were there to proclaim what 
 " was proclaimed in a different way a hundred years ago. A race of savages on the 
 " Continent of Africa were now showing their right to that principle which 
 " was as strong in the Irish heart to-day as it was years ago. Various opinions existed 
 " as to whether they should demand their full right of Irish independence or ought 
 " to accept some different or medium measure. He (Mr. Davitt), as an 
 " Irish Nationalist, could not retreat one inch from the position 
 " he took up when he represented his right to independence. He 
 " called upon the Irish farmers to unite. He had no confidence in the English 
 " members who pretended to have sympathy with Ireland. They had expresssed 
 " that sympathy by oppression, and now, because they could not wipe them off the 
 " face of the earth, they were compelled to show a little attention to Irish questions. 
 "Why did they do this? Because Mr. Parnell had succeeded in blocking the 
 " machinery of the English House of Commons. 
 
 " Ihey were there to denounce the landlord system, which was like a millstone 
 " around the neck of Ireland. They should leave this meeting condemning not 
 " an individual case but the system itself. It was imposed upon them by the 
 " P^nglish Government, and the landlords were only filling a territorial garrison. 
 " When the day came for the settlement of this question the Government's duty 
 " would be to compensate the Irish landlords. The people would depend upon 
 " themselves for the settlement of the Irish land question, and not upon the Irisli 
 " Parliamentary Party. As regarded that party he believed they could count upon 
 •' their fingers the honest men. If they resolved that they should organise and 
 " combine to defend each other in their interests, they then would find the land 
 " question settled within a shorter time than was used in useless legislation. Do 
 " not allow anybody, no matter (he now spoke of the clerg)' with respect) what the 
 " cut or colour of his cloth may be, to use the present agitation, or to use them in 
 " order that their personal greivances maybe remedied. At present the question, 
 " of the day was the land question. He had great pleasure in proposing tlie 
 "resolution." [Report, pp. 13, 14]. 
 
 The Opportune Skinnisliing Fund. 
 
 Mr. Davitt then wrote to private friends he had made in 
 America to explain the nature of this new agitation, and to ask. 
 for assistance in the case of his lecturing* there to get funds '' ta 
 keep the movement going in Ireland."' Amongst those to whom 
 he addressed himself were John Boyle O'Reilly, editor of the 
 "Boston Pilot," John Devoy, then engaged on the *'New York 
 Herald," Patrick Ford, the editor of the "Irish World," 
 Patrick Mahon of Rochester, and Dr. W. Carroll, of Philadelphia. 
 In answer to this appeal, Patrick Ford wrote saying that the 
 trustees of a fund previously known as the Skirmishing Fund, 
 but then called the National Fund, had resolved to send Mr. 
 Davitt a sum of money in order that he might carry on his work 
 of agitation in Ireland, and not proceed to America as had been 
 his intention. Mr. Devoy, one of the trustees of the fund, 
 immediately sent £200, and other sums, making a total of £408, 
 were sent to Mr. Davitt soon after, 
 
 Mr. Davitt was aware that the Skirmishing 
 Fund had been started by O'Donovan Rossa to 
 
 28] 
 
13 
 
 assist Ireland to strike England " anywhere 
 ** where she could be hurt," and tliat the trustees were 
 J. J. Breslin, Th. C. Luby, John Devoy, Th. F. Bourke, Jeremiah 
 O'D. Rossa, James Reynolds, and Dr. W. Carroll. 
 
 Dr. W. Carroll was chairman of the Executive of the Clan- 
 na-Gael, and was succeeded by James Reynolds. The antecedents 
 of the other trustees we have already g-iven. These trustees 
 were appointed by the Clan-na-Gael, to whom they rendered 
 their accounts. 
 
 Mr. Davitt states that O'Donovan Rossa objected to the grant 
 of this money. In consequence of this, Mr. Davitt afterwards 
 returned it out of his own resources, and refused an offer made to 
 him by Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon to reimburse him the amount 
 out of the funds of the Land League. 
 
 On the 1 6th August, 1879, a convention was held at Castlebar, 
 at which Mr. Davitt read the programme which he had framed 
 for the projected National Land League of Mayo. It is sufficient 
 to say that it declared that the '' land of Ireland belonged to the 
 " people of Ireland," and that it recognised the principle of 
 compensation to the landlords. 
 
 Thus was laid the foundation of an organisation essentially 
 similar to the National Land League established in Dublin in the 
 following October, and Mr. Parnell has described the Mayo 
 Land League as the precursor of the other. [Report, p. 14]. 
 
 On the loth September, 1879, Mr. Davitt wrote to Mr. J. B. O'Reilly 
 in America as follows : 
 
 "My dear O'Reilly, 
 
 " I am sending you an article for the 'Pilot ' on the next phase of the 
 *' National Land Movement. This Land agitation is destined to do more for 
 " Ireland than all the movements since '98. The entire country has accepted the 
 " proposal for abolishing landlordism. All the known and active nationals (sic) 
 " will combine. A convention is shortly to be summoned which will endeavour to 
 '^ weld the two sections of national politicians into one. I hope you will endeavour 
 *' to arouse the healthy Irish Americans to a generous appreciation of what this 
 ■" national movement demands at their hands if they care anything at all for 
 " Ireland. 
 
 *' I am, sincerely yours, 
 
 [Report, p. 15]. "Michael Davitt." 
 
 Mr. Butt's Advice. 
 
 Mr. Parnell did not at once assent to the establishment of a Land 
 League for Ireland generally, and he has given as his reason that 
 he had been advised by Mr. Butt that the formation of such an 
 organisation for the entire country would be attended with risk, as 
 the whole body would be responsible for the acts of members of 
 the branches, but Mr. Parnell says that he afterwards saw that it 
 was necessary to take this risk, and accordingly he joined in inviting 
 representative land reformers and Nationalists to a conference in 
 
 [29 
 
14 
 
 Dublin. This conference was held on the 21st October, 1879, ^-t 
 the Imperial Hotel, Dublin, at which the National Land League of 
 Ireland was organised. [Report, p. 15], 
 
 The Planks in the League Platform. 
 
 The resolutions proposed and carried were as follows : — 
 
 " I. That an association be hereby formed, to be named 'The Irish National 
 *' ' Land League, ' " 
 
 ** 2. That the objects of the League are, first, to bring about a reduction of 
 " rackrents ; second, to facilitate the obtaining of tlie ownership of the 
 *' soil by the occupiers of the soil." 
 
 *' 3. That the objects of the League can be best obtained by promoting 
 *' organisation among the tenant farmers by defending those who may be 
 " threatened with eviction for refusing to pay unjust rents; by facilitating 
 •' the working of the Bright clauses of the Land Act " (that is the Act of 
 1870) "during the winter, and by obtaining such reform in the laws 
 " relating to land as will enable every tenant to become the owner of his 
 " holding by paying a fair rent for a limited number of years." 
 
 *' 4. That Mr. Charles S. Parnell, M.P., be elected president of this League ;. 
 " that Mr. A. J. Kettle, Mr. Michael Davitt, and Mr. Thomas Brennan 
 *' be appointed honorary secretaries of the League." 
 
 •♦ 5. That Mr. L G. Biggar, M.P., Mr. W. H. O'SuUivan, ILT., and Mr. 
 " Patrick Egan be appointed treasurers." 
 
 6. Moved by the Rev. Eugene Sheehy, seconded by Mr, Michael Davitt, 
 " That the president of this League, Mr, Parnell, be requested to proceed 
 *' to America for the purpose of obtaining assistance from our exiled 
 " countrymen, and other sympathisers, for the objects for which this 
 " appeal is issued." 
 
 7. and last. " That none of the funds of this League shall be used for the 
 " purchase of any landlord's interest in the land, or for furthering the 
 " interests of any Parliamentary candidate." 
 
 No rules for the government of the League or its branches were 
 at that time formulated, but on the 3rd January, 1880, certain 
 suggestions were passed and adopted, which were embodied in^ 
 formal rules in the following November, 1880. [Report, p. 15]. 
 
 The First League Manifesto. 
 
 Soon after the formation of the League an appeal to the Irish- 
 race was issued, under the sanction of the Executive, in which the 
 objects of the land and rent agitation were explained, and the 
 establishment of a peasant proprietary of the land was advocated, 
 but it was stated that : — 
 
 •• In formulating a demand for ownership of the soil by the occupiers in sub- 
 '* stitution for that of the landlords, the people of Ireland neither contemplate 
 *' nor ask for the confiscation of those proprietorial rights which existing laws 
 *' must necessarily recognise and protect ; but that for the transfer of those rights 
 *' to au industrial ownership, a fair compensation may be given to those who 
 
 30] 
 
15 
 
 *' shall be called upon to agree to such transfer for the settlement of the agi-ariaii/ 
 " strife of the country, and for the supreme good of ils peoi^le. 
 
 " In constituting ourselves a committee for the purpose of carrying out this 
 *' work, we are animated with but one desire — to aid the tenant farmers, and those 
 " depending upon the soil of Ireland, to lift themselves from the misery and social 
 '* degradation in which they are plunged, into a position where the notice to quit, 
 *' and the rack rent will not operate against their industry, security, and content- 
 " ment. We are influenced l)y no party spirit in making this appeal, nor do we in 
 *' any way purpose to place this committee in antagonism with existing bodies or 
 •' organisations employed in other departments of national labour." [Report, 
 P- 15]- 
 
 Not to "Usurp Fenian Efforts. 
 
 In connection with this passage Mr. Davitt's language, in a 
 letter which he wrote to the "Irish World" on the 24th July, 
 1880, may be referred to : — 
 
 "The Land League movement is but a temporary one . . . The land 
 "movement, therefore, does not arrogate to itself the task which other organisa- 
 ** tions are and have been engaged in here in America in working for Ireland in 
 *' another direction, nor do its leaders desire to interfere with such work, or 
 *' expect men engaged in it to transfer their exertions from one department oi 
 ' ' national labour to that of the Land League. Whiit we want is that the Land 
 " League movement be appreciated and supported on the merits of its platform, 
 *' its work and object as published to the world, by all Irishmen who believe 
 *' that they would be thereby advancing the interests of our people at home, and 
 *' lifting their fatherland from the mire of social serfdom. The Land League 
 *' movement was never intended, nor does it purpose, to be placed in opposition 
 " to those movements which aim at achieving either national independence on the 
 *' one hand, or what is known as Home Rule on the other. With a clear and 
 ** distinct purpose in view, we desire to work in harmony with all the friends of 
 " Ireland at home and abroad, and while striving for the rescue of our people 
 •' from the slavery of landlordism, to prevent the carrying out of that task from 
 ** conflicting with any just principle or causing injury to any higher national 
 ** aspiration for the complete redemption of Ireland." [Report, p. 16]. 
 
 ^^ To free Ireland if there were a chance." 
 
 In cross-examination Mr. Davitt said, by " other organisations " 
 he meant extreme organisations, with a view to military training, 
 to free Ireland if there were a chance. 
 
 The general object of the organisation, so far as it is disclosed 
 in its official documents, was to bring together these various 
 sections on what is called a "common platform," and to combine 
 their efforts and resources for the attainment of ends which, by 
 some, might be regarded as final, by others as steps towards funda- 
 mental changes in the constitution, and by all as desirable in 
 themselves. 
 
 It has been admitted by Mr. Davitt that the programme which was 
 drawn up by himself and others 
 
 *' Inasmuch as it did not comprise any demand for self-government, cannot be 
 *' credited with containing the whole 'principle' upon which the Land League 
 " was founded. The organisers of the Conference had to consider the 
 '* advisability of framing such a programme as would not 'scare' any timid land 
 *' reformer away from the projected movement ; and it was further considered neces- 
 
 [31 
 
16 
 
 •" sary to render it eminently constitutional, for the double purpose of legal protection 
 " against the Castle, and to enable Members of Parliament to defend it within 
 ■" the House of Commons. What, then, was the principle upon which the Land 
 ^' League was founded? I maintain that it was the complete destruction of Irish 
 " landlordism : first, as the system which was responsible for the poverty and 
 " periodical famines which have decimated Ireland ; and, secondly, because land- 
 ■" lordism was a British garrison, which barred the way to national independence." 
 [Report, p. i6]. 
 
 The League Officers. 
 
 Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P., also stated that, inasmuch as the 
 prog"ramme of the Land League put forward on the 2 ist October, 
 1879, did not contain a claim for self-government, it was not a 
 complete programme of the whole principles on which the League 
 was founded. 
 
 A committee of 60 members was appointed, of whom it is said 
 that five only had been connected with any secret society. But 
 of the seven first chosen officers of the League, four, namely, 
 Messrs. Biggar, Egan, Davitt, and Brennan were or had been 
 members of the LR.B., or Fenian organisation. The committee 
 undoubtedly consisted of men of various opinions on the subject 
 of the government of Ireland, and with different objects as to 
 changes in that government. Some desired and aimed at a 
 complete separation of Ireland from England, and the establish- 
 ment of an Irish Republic; some desired that a federal con- 
 nexion should be established between those portions of the United 
 Kingdom; while others looked only to the amelioration of the 
 condition of the tenant farmers of Ireland by the reduction of 
 rents, and the acquisition by them of the ownership of the soil. 
 [Report, pp. 16, 17]. 
 
 III.— MR. PARNELL IN AMERICA. 
 
 The 6th resolution adopted at the conference of the 21st 
 October, 1879, was, that Mr. Parnell should be requested to 
 proceed to America for the purpose of obtaining assistance for 
 the objects of the League. 
 
 The Interview with Mr. Ives. 
 
 Mr. Parnell accordingly left Ireland for America on the 21st cf 
 December, 1879, Mr. Dillon accom.panied him, and Mr. Ives, a 
 reporter on the staff of the ''New York Herald," sailed in the 
 
 B21 
 
17 
 
 same steamer for the purpose of obtaining- a knowledge of Mr 
 Parnell's motives in visiting the United States. The conversa- 
 tions he had with Mr. Parnell during the voyage were written 
 down at the time, and were submitted to Mr. Parnell, with a view 
 to their publication, which took place in the columns of the *' New 
 York Herald" on the 2nd January, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Parnell, after giving to Mr. Ives his opinion of the extent 
 of the distress in Ireland then existing and expected, stated : — 
 
 "That the Land League decided, just before he left Ireland, to receive sub- 
 " scriptions for the distressed ; and that, although his primary object was to raise 
 •' money in aid of the Land League, yet that he would be happy to receive and 
 " apply funds for relief of the poor. But that it would not be necessary for him to 
 " come to America simply to ask for assistance for the distressed Irish. 
 
 Restated that "the land agitation was started by Mr. Davitt in April last, 
 " taking advantage of the threatening state of affairs, for the purpose of obtaining 
 ' ' the land for the tillers of it. That sixty-eight meetings had been held in all during the 
 "past eight months, and 620,000 persons on foot and 13,000 horsemen had 
 " attended them, and that it was proposed to devote the funds of the Land League, 
 " first, to recompense unjustly evicted tenants, in cases like that of Dempsey, who 
 " was still by the roadside when he left, holding out pluckily by the help of private 
 " subscriptions. That a permanent fund for the purpose would encourage the 
 " tenants to maintain a determined attitude and to hold out longer than they other » 
 " wise could, for they would know that if the worst came there would be an 
 " organisation, with money at its back, to help them 
 
 He further added that " many landlords were obliged to make a tenant pay a 
 " very high rent in order to meet the emcumbrances on their estates and leave 
 " something for themselves ; that the land agitation would force the estates of such 
 " men into the market, and as there would in future be few purchasers except 
 " tenants, the tenants would get a chance to become purchasers at reasonable 
 " prices which they never had before ; and that previous to this movement the 
 " price of land in the Landed Estate Court was at 22^ years' purchase with fair 
 " sales, now it only fetched 15 years' purchase and the sales were very low." 
 [Report, p. 17]. 
 
 Tenants who Pay called " Cowards." 
 
 In answer to the inquiry, " whether many of the poorest tenants were paying 
 " their rents ?" — He said "Yes, but rents paid this year are not paid out of the 
 "profits of this year's farming, they are being paid from the earnings of past 
 " years or out of sums borrowed. We cannot of course prevent all tenants from 
 " paying their rents, and there are cowards among them who have not shaken oft 
 " their belief in the divine rights of landlords. It is this doctrine which we are 
 " trying to eradicate from the tenant minds, and with great success generally. We 
 " don't attach so much importance as you may think to the mere reduction of rent. 
 " We don't consider the land question settled by the reduction of rents by any 
 " means. It is only a temporary assistance, but it establishes a principle. The 
 " greatest object we have gained, after all, is to have instilled into the minds of the 
 '' tenants their true relation to the land and the true relation of the landlords to it. 
 " The farmers thought before the agitation that the landlord had an absolute — a 
 " divine right — to the land, and that the rent was the first debt to be paid at all 
 " costs. We have taught them the difference between rent and an ordinary debt ; 
 " but it is necessary to continue this teaching, and to so deeply root this doctrine in 
 " their minds that a returning and temporary prosperity — if that ever returns 
 " without reform — will not tempt them to forget their rights and wrongs," 
 
 " ^. Do you not believe it wrong for a tenant who is able to pay his rent not 
 " to pay it?" 
 
 D 
 
 [33 
 
18 
 
 '* A. No. I think that where the majority of the tenants are maintaining a 
 ** principle in refusing to pay an unfair rent, that it is cowardly and wrong for a 
 " few to violate the wishes of the majority, and thus to make the movement which 
 ** is for the general good, inoperative." 
 
 " Q. But do you not believe in the consequences which are visited upon tenants 
 " who do pay their rents?" [Report, p. i8]. 
 
 No Kid Gloves for a Social Revolution. 
 
 *' Well, it may be accepted as an axiom that you cannot effect a social revolution 
 ^* by dealing with it with kid gloves. Of course, if any farmers have burned the 
 " crops of their neighbours, or destroyed their cattle, because they have paid their 
 " rents, those farmers are not only wrong but they are fools, for they have to pay 
 "the cost. The person who has thus had his crop or stack destroyed is 
 " remunerated by the law, and his fellow-tenants have to bear the loss. But a 
 '* certain amount of pressure from public opinion, which in such cases is apt 
 " occasionally to manifest itself in unpleasant ways, must be brought to bear 
 " upon those who are weak and cowardly. Look at the strikes in England and 
 
 '• America, and the penalties threatened towards traitors to the common cause. 
 ***** * 
 
 ** As far as I have been able to gather, the Fenian organisation and its leaders 
 "*' are opposed, though not hostile, to our movement, the reason being that it is 
 " constitutional. A true revolutionary movement in Ireland should, in my 
 " opinion, partake both of a constitutional and an illegal character. It should be 
 *' both an open and a secret organisation, using the Constitution for its own 
 '* purposes, but also taking advantage of its secret combination. But the leaders 
 ** of the Fenian movement do not believe in constitutional action, because it has 
 " always been used in the past for the selfish purposes of its leaders. There was 
 ** a strong objection by the Fenians to our parliamentary action for the same 
 *' reasons, and, indeed, if we look at the action of the Irish parliamentary leaders 
 " since the union, there is ample justification for the views of the physical force 
 ^' party." 
 
 Mr. Parnell added that there was nothing- secret in connexion, 
 with the Land Leag-ue, and that he would not belong" to any 
 illeg-al body. [Report, p. i8]. 
 
 Both Constitutional and Illegal. 
 
 Mr. Parnell has stated in his evidence that in what he said 
 concerning a true revolutionary movement he did not refer to the 
 Land League organisation, which he did not regard as a 
 revolutionary movement, except that it accomplished a revolu- 
 tion. He said that he referred entirely and solely to the Fenian 
 or physical force party or movement. We think, however, 
 that this is not the natural or correct interpretation 
 of Mr. Parnell's language. He was deprecating the 
 opposition of the Fenians to his movement, and pointing out that 
 open and secret organisation might be usefully combined. He, 
 therefore, regretted that the Fenians did not see this, but persisted 
 in maintaining an independent attitude, instead of using the open 
 organisation to assist their own. 
 
 These passages from Mr. Ives' report confirm the view that 
 
 34] 
 
19 
 
 Mr. Parnell's primary object in visiting- America was to obtain 
 funds for the prosecution of the Land League agitation as a 
 political instrument, and that advantage had been taken of the 
 prevailing and threatened distress to carry out the scheme for 
 abolishing landlordism, which had been devised by Mr. Davitt 
 long before. Mr. Parnell had himself said at Enniscorthy, on 
 the 26th October, 1879, '' How are we to destroy that system? 
 If the good times had gone on as they were doing the last few 
 years we never could destroy it " (the landlord system). 
 
 These conversations further show that Mr. Parnell claimed 
 that a large diminution in the value of land in Ireland had been 
 already brought about by the agitation. [Report, pp. 18, 19]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell received by the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon were warmly received by all 
 sections of the Irish party in the United States, and among^st 
 them by the Clan-na-Gael, or United Brotherhood, a body, 
 as we have already stated, acting in concert with the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood in Ireland. Some of this body were, 
 no doubt, as Mr. Parnell describes them, opposed, but not 
 liostile, to the new departure, that is, they preferred the policy of 
 open insurrection if practicable, but they did not impede 
 a movement which they thought likely to prepare 
 for and assist them in any insurrectionary enter- 
 prise which might become possible. Amongst the 
 leaders of the extreme party with whom Mr. Parnell was brought 
 into communication in New York were Austin Ford, employed 
 on the ''Irish World" (and of which his relative, Patrick Ford, 
 was editor), Thomas F. Bourke, John Devoy, Dr. William 
 Carroll, Captain O'Meagher Condon, Alexander Sullivan 
 Th. C. Luby, and J. J. Finnerty. But the reception extended 
 to Mr. Parnell and Mr. Dillon was offered not only by the 
 extreme or physical force party but by the general body of 
 the American Irish, as well as by large numbers of American 
 politicians. [Report, p. 19]. 
 
 Major Le Caron appears. 
 
 Major Le Caron, a British subject, who had served in the 
 United States Army during the Civil War, afterwards became 
 a member of the Clan-na-Gael for the purpose of giving informa- 
 tion to the British Government. His evidence, corroborated 
 by the documents he produced, establishes that the Clan-na-Gael 
 endeavoured to arrange and control the meetings held in various 
 places for the reception and hearing of Mr. Parnell, and they, 
 doubtless, succeeded, in many instances, in their 
 
 [35 
 
20 
 
 efforts. But the evidence does not establish that this was done 
 with the consent or knowledge of Mr. Parnell, who, moreover, 
 stated in his evidence that he did not know, except by rumours in 
 some instances, the antecedents of the persons who organised 
 the meetings which he addressed, and supported him on the 
 platform. 
 
 Mr. Parnell, in the address on Irish affairs which he was 
 permitted to make in the presence of the United States House of 
 Representatives on the 2nd February, 1880, explained his objects 
 and devoted a large part of his speech to the mode by which he 
 proposed to change the land tenure of Ireland by an expropriation 
 of the landlords with compensation for their existing interests. 
 
 Captain O'M. Condon took a leading part on the Committee 
 which procured for Mr. Parnell this hearing before the House of 
 Representatives. Mr. Parnell knew this, and that 
 Condon was a member of the Clan-na-Gael, and 
 one of the released prisoners in connection with 
 the murder of Sergeant Brett. [Report, p. 19], 
 
 Mr. Parnell at Brooklyn. ^A 
 
 At Brooklyn, on the 24th January, 1880, Mr. Parnell made a 
 I speech in which the following passages occur : — 
 
 " In order to obtain a settlement of any question in Ireland from the Imperial 
 ** Parliament you have to make it a burning question. 
 
 ** Mr. Gladstone himself admitted the other day, when speaking at Midlothian, 
 " that it was not until a police constable had been shot at Manchester, in the 
 ** discharge of his duty, by the Fenians, and Clerkenwell prison blown up, that 
 " the Irish Church question came within the domain of practical English 
 " politics. He admitted in that way that you have to direct English public 
 *' opinion, that you have to act upon it in some extraordinary and 
 '* unusual way in order to obtain any consideration of the Irish 
 ** land question. 
 
 '* Let us not suppose that a great cause like this can be won 
 ** without shedding" a drop of blood; but the whole tendency up to this 
 " time has been towards the restraining of useless suffering, and, as I said the 
 *' other day, we have saved the lives of the landlords and the lives of the people ; 
 *' for if the people had been left to themselves, as they were in 1847, then land- 
 " lordism was synonymous with eviction, but up to the present time there have 
 '* been no evictions. 
 
 *'We don't ask you to send armed expeditions over to Ireland. (A voice : 
 *' *That is what we would like to do,' and applause.) I know that you would like 
 " to do that very much. (Applause and ' Right.') I think I know what you are 
 " going to say, and what you would like to do, and how willing you will be to help 
 " us all. (Applause.) But we ask you to help us in preventing the people who 
 • ' have taken our advice, and who are exhibiting an attitude of devotion which has 
 " never been surpassed ; what we ask you to do is to help us in preventing these 
 ' ' people from being starved to death. That you can do, and while you are thus 
 " helping these people you will have the satisfaction of feeling that you are engaged 
 " in the noble work of charity ; and while you are doing that you will know that 
 * ' you are engaged in assisting in breaking down a system which has proved the 
 " ruin and destruction of Ireland. This is not a new enterprise ; this struggle has 
 " gone on for many centuries, and it is bound to go on to the bitter end, and in one 
 *' way or another the Irish people will insist upon having the land of Ireland for 
 
 361 
 
21 
 
 *' themselves (applause), and the end of it will be that then the men who till the 
 '* soil will also own it. (Applause.) The high heart of our country remains 
 ** unquelled ; the will and the courage of our race are unquenched, and they are 
 •' strengthened by the spectacle and the fine estate and by the great power of our 
 ** people in this free land. (Applause.) I feel very confident that the day is very 
 *' near at hand when we shall have struck the first blow, the first vital blow, at the 
 *' land system as it now exists in Ireland, and when we shall have taken the first 
 *' step to obtain for Ireland that right to nationhood for which she has struggled so 
 *' long and so well." [Report, p. 20]. 
 
 When England is Beaten to her Knees. 
 
 At Lynn, U.S., on the 31st January, 1880, in addressing a 
 meeting, he said : — 
 
 " Without awaiting for agitation the English landlords reduce their rents. We 
 "attempt to improve the condition of affairs, and we are called communists and 
 " land-robbers. In France, the Revolution swept away the landlords without a 
 *' penny's compensation. Perhaps if the Irish landlords do not heed the lesson, 
 *' another revolution may sweep them away. 
 
 " They are a defenceless people in Ireland. The right to carry arms is denied, 
 " and that birthright of every freeman is punished in Ireland V7ith imprisonment 
 *' for two years. A large body of constabulary is employed with 30,000 soldiers, 
 " and the time may come when Ireland will have a chance. When she (England) 
 *' is at war and beaten to her knees, the idea of the Irish Nationalists may be 
 "realized." [Report, pp. 20, 21]. 
 
 The Notorious Last Link Speech. 
 
 In these speeches Mr. Parnell used language indicating a 
 desire for the complete separation of Ireland from the United 
 Kingdom. At Cincinnati, on the 20th February, 1880, he is 
 reported to have said : — 
 
 " When we have given Ireland to the people of Ireland we shall have laid tlie 
 ' ' foundation upon which to build up our Irish nation. 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 misgovern- 
 " ment ; when we have undermined English misgovernment we have paved the 
 " way for Ireland to take her place amongst the nations of the earth, and let us 
 " not forget that is the ultimate goal at which all we Irishmen aim 
 
 "None of us, whether we are in America or Ireland, or wherever we may be, 
 " will be satisfied until we have destroyed the last link which keeps Ireland bound 
 "to England." 
 
 Mr. Parnell will not undertake to say that he did not use the 
 expression that he would not be satisfied till the last link between 
 Ireland and England was destroyed, but says that it is 
 improbable that he did so, and that if he did it must have been 
 largely qualified with other matter, as it is entirely opposed to 
 anything he has ever thought or said. 
 
 The evidence leads us to the conclusion that Mr. Parnell 
 did use the words attributed to him, and they certainly 
 are not inconsistent with some of his previous utterances. 
 [Report^ p. 21]. 
 
 [37 
 
22 
 No ne plus ultra to Ireland's Nationhood. 
 
 It is to be observed that the first paragraph of the new 
 departure cablegram of October, 1878, was " Abandonment of the 
 '* federal demand, and substitution of a general declaration in 
 "favour of self-government;" Mr. Parnell had, on the 27th 
 September, 1879, stated at Tipperary that he was a federalist, 
 but he did not at any time, so far as we know, 
 during his stay in America say anything in favour 
 of federalism. Mr. Parnell appears on this subject to have 
 spoken differently on different occasions, and his final aims with 
 regard to it are doubtful. He usually confined himself to that 
 general declaration in favour of self-government which was 
 recommended in the "new departure'' cablegram, leaving his 
 language to be interpreted by his hearers in accordance with 
 their individual wishes. Probably his attitude with reference 
 to the connexion of Ireland with England is best indicated by a 
 speech he made at Cork as late as January, 1885, where he said: 
 
 '" We cannot, under the British Constitution, ask for more than the restitution 
 *' of Grattan's Parliament. (Renewed cheering.) But no man has the right to 
 *• fix the boimdary to the march of a nation. (Great cheers.) No man has a 
 " right to say to his country, 'Thus far shalt thou go and no further," and we have 
 " never attempted to fix '■ ne plus ttltra ' to the progress of Ireland's nationhood, 
 *' and we never shall." 
 
 Mr. Parnell left the United States on the 12th of March, 
 1880; his tour having been shortened in consequence of the 
 dissolution of Parliament. Before his departure he summoned a 
 conference of prominent Irishmen at New York, to which he 
 invited Patrick Ford, for the purpose of forming an auxiliary 
 organisation of the Land League in America in harmony with 
 the org-anisation in Ireland, and to assist its objects. We shall 
 return at a later stage to the history of the American Land 
 League then formed. [Report, p. 21]. 
 
 IV.— Mr. PARNELL BACK IN IRELAND. 
 
 On Mr. Parnell's arrival at Cork, on the 21st March, 1880, 
 he was presented with an address from the Nationalists of the 
 county and city of Cork, that is, by those of Fenian proclivities 
 and opinions. 
 
 The Fenians Wait and Watch. 
 
 The address was as follows : — 
 
 "Dear Sir, — Upon this your return to your native country, fresh from the noble 
 "mission you have undertaken, we, the Nationalists of this great country and city 
 "of Cork, hasten to greet you and offer the cordial welcome of not ungrateful 
 
 38] 
 
23 
 
 "hearts. . . . We cannot deny our applause to any representative or body of 
 "representatives who honestly and courageously strive to improve the condition 
 "of our people. But while saying this we must take the opportunity to express 
 " our clear conviction of the hopelessness of looking for justice to Ireland 
 "from the English Parliament, and the firm belief of the intelligent manhood of 
 " the country, that it is utterly futile to seek for any practical national good through 
 "the means of Parliamentary representation. Impelled by such convictions, the 
 " Nationalists of the country have determined that, as a political party, they will 
 "take no part in the coming elections, and consequently no part in the adoption, 
 "rejection, or support of the Parliamentary candidates. It shall be their duty to 
 "watch the course of events, and also to remind Irishmen that in themselves, in 
 "their virtue, and in their own courage, in their perseverance in the practical work 
 "lies the best hope for the prospects and the regeneration of Ireland." 
 [Report, p. 22]. 
 
 Mr. Biggar and another Hartmann. 
 
 At a banquet given to Mr. Parnell the same day, Mr. Biggar, 
 in his presence, made a speech, in which he said that — 
 
 *' He could not believe that the Irish race was as badly off as the Russian race. 
 *' They had all seen what Hartmann had done, and, if the present constitutional 
 " course that they were pursuing in Parliament did not succeed in getting the 
 " rights they wanted for Ireland, he thought that Ireland would be able to 
 " produce another Hartmann, probably with a much better result." 
 
 Mr. Biggar does not deny that he used these 
 words, but says that it was in such a connexion as to express 
 a warning of what would be the result if "the Irish Parliamentary 
 " representatives pursued the milk-and-water policy of the Whig 
 section." But this explanation gives no effect to the 
 concluding words, expressing a hope that the 
 anticipated Irish attempts at assassination would 
 have ''a much better result" than that of Hart- 
 mann. 
 
 Mr. Parnell at once engaged in the Parliamentary election 
 contests ot 1880; and desiring money for this purpose, he 
 applied to Mr. Egan, the treasurer of the Land League, to 
 supply it, notwithstanding the 7th Article of the Land League 
 constitution, that ncne of its funds should be used for furthering 
 the interest of any Parliamentary candidate. [Report, p. 22]. 
 
 The League Funds for Elections. 
 
 Mr. Egan, taking what Mr. Parnell calls a large view of the 
 subject, at once advanced him £2,000. Mr. Parnell says that he 
 always objected to the resolution restraining the employment of 
 the Land League funds for Parliamentary purposes, and that it 
 was afterwards rescinded. No evidence has been given of this 
 rescission, but it is clear that the resolution was in force when 
 Mr. Egan advanced the £2,000, and the only importance of 
 the incident is to show the large discretionary- 
 power which Mr. Egan and Mr. Parnell assumed 
 over the Land League resources. [Report, p. 22]. 
 
 [39 
 
24 
 
 The Physical Force Party. 
 
 After Mr. Parneirs return from America he appears on two 
 occasions to have received opposition Irom the Fenians, or 
 Irish Republican Brotherhood. The first was on the 28th 
 March, 1880, at Enniscorthy, co. Wexford, when the physical 
 force party were opposed to Mr. Garrett M. Burne, the then 
 candidate for parliamentary election, as not being sufficiently 
 advanced for their views. They then endeavoured to break up a 
 meeting at which Mr. Parnell was about to speak. 
 
 The second occasion was at a meeting at the Rotunda, in 
 Dublin, on 30th April, 1880, held in the following circumstances : 
 
 Shortly after the general election of 1880 a committee was 
 appointed by the executive of the Land League to draw up a 
 programme of land reform. The members of the committee 
 were : — Messrs. Parnell, Davitt, Egan, Kettle, O'Kelly, and 
 Louden. 
 
 The programme recommended a two years' suspension of 
 ejectments for non-payment of rent ; compulsory sale by the land- 
 lord at 20 years' purchase on the poor law valuation ; purchase 
 money to be advanced by the State, and an improved system of 
 land transfer. Mr. Davitt declined to sign this docum.ent on the 
 ground that the 20 years' purchase clause was excessive. 
 
 A conference upon this programme was held at the Rotunda, 
 Dublin, on the 29th and 30th April, 1880, and was followed by a 
 public meeting on the evening of 30th April. At this meeting 
 Mr. Parnell and a number of his Parliamentary colleagues were 
 present, and Mr. McCoan, M.P., moved a resolution approving of 
 the recommendation of the conference as to the suspension of 
 evictions, and thereupon a number of men, among whom was one 
 Edward O'Hanlon, assaulted the party upon the platform, and 
 took possession of it. A general disturbance ensued, during 
 which O'Hanlon endeavoured to move a resolution which he had 
 upon paper. At this meeting Mr. Parnell said : [Report, 
 pp. 22, 23]. 
 
 Twenty Dollars for Lead. 
 
 " The Americans sent me back with this message, that for the future you must 
 ** not expect one cent for charity, but millions to break the law system, and now, 
 *' before I go I will tell you a little incident that happened at one of our meetings 
 " in America. A gentleman came on the platform and handed me ^25, and said: 
 *• ' Here is $5 for bread and ^20 for lead.' " 
 
 The report of this speech in the " Freeman " newspaper adds 
 that loud and long cheers followed. Mr. Parnell said in cross- 
 examination that his narration of this offer of ''20 dollars for 
 lead " was stupid, and more than stupid, as there was no object 
 in it, because by lead he understood the person who gave the 
 
 40] 
 
25 
 
 dollars to mean the Land League. It appears to us, however, 
 that there was an object in it, namely, to give to his hearers 
 evidence that he had the support of those who advocated 
 the use of lead, and that his hearers were not intended to 
 think, and would not be likely to understand, that by " lead " the 
 Irish Land League was signified. It will be seen hereafter 
 that the organiser Boyton thought this anecdote of sufficient 
 importance to repeat in a speech addressed to the men of 
 ^' Rebel Cork." 
 
 After this meeting at the Rotunda, Mr. Parnell does not 
 appear to have encountered any hostility from the physical force 
 party. The majority had become convinced by this time that the 
 new movement, so far from being an obstacle to the realisation 
 of their aims, was really a stepping stone to their fulfilment. 
 [Report, p. 23]. 
 
 Mr. Parneirs Interview with James Redpath. 
 
 Mr. Parnell indeed asserts that the organization ot the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood constantly and consistently opposed the 
 Land League from the first, but the account of his views given 
 in the "Nation ' newspaper of the 2nd October, 1880, does not 
 agree with this, A report, which Mr. Parnell admits to be 
 accurate, is there given of an interview with Mr. Jas. Redpath, in 
 which Mr. Redpath asked : — 
 
 *' But is the movement not opposed by the Nationalists and the priests ?" To 
 which Mr. Parnell answered, "Indeed it is not. I should despair of Ireland 
 '* if the most active forces in the country arrayed themselves against a movement 
 *' like this. Individual priests may have condemned chance indiscretions, 
 "individual Nationalists have protested that we should lie by while prepara- 
 *' tions are being made to cope with England by physical force, but that is all. 
 ** Everyone is welcome to his opinion about this movement, and to express it. 
 
 Q. " Well, and as to the Nationalists ? " A. ^' They are a body whose earnest- 
 " ness and readiness for sacrifice I have always respected. There is no conflict 
 " between us, and we travel on different roads. Some interested persons may, it 
 " is true, try to spread the idea among them that there should be no other popular 
 *' movement in Ireland except theirs ; but I feel sure the vast majority ot the 
 *' party would pre 'er to have their energies used in fighting England, than in 
 *' quarrelling with us." 
 
 Q. " Had you their support at the elections ? " 
 
 A. ^' 1 should not suppose that officially as an organisation any action was 
 ** taken, but individual Nationalists would naturally join in against the landlords 
 *' and the Whigs." 
 
 Mr. Parnell stated in cross-examination that the opposition of the 
 Fenian party became stronger after this, but we find no 
 evidence of it. On the contrary, Mr. M. Harris told us 
 that had it not been for the Fenian organisation 
 the Land League never could have assumed the 
 proportions it did, and he added, "I know that 
 
 in 
 
26 
 
 *'what I am saying will tell a good deal against 
 " what has been put forth in the witness-box, but 
 *' I want to tell the truth." [Report, pp. 23, 24]. 
 
 The Davitt, Egan and Brennan Executive. 
 
 During Mr. Parnell's absence in America, the government of the 
 Land League had been in the hands of an executive committee, but 
 the business of the organisation was chiefly conducted by Messrs. 
 Davitt, Egan, and Brennan, all of whom either were or had been 
 Fenians. The important position which Mr. Egan occupied is 
 shown by the evidence of Mr. Parnell, Mr. Biggar, M.P., and Mr. 
 T. P. O'Connor, M.P. 
 
 Mr. Parnell states that he left the appointment of organisers to 
 Mr. Egan and Mr. Davitt, and that he made no inquiries as to the 
 antecedents of the persons they selected. Amongst these organisers 
 so appointed were M. P. Boyton, in Mayo, John W. Walsh, of Balla, 
 in Connaught, Sheridan, a member of the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood, and holding the ofB.ce of 
 '* Centre " in that body in the west of Ireland^ 
 and James Redpath. Mr. M. Harris, M.P., who had 
 been a member of the Supreme Council of the Irish 
 Republican Brotherhood up to the summer of 
 1880, was invited to become a paid organiser, but he preferred to 
 assist without personal payment, and P. J. Gordon appears to have 
 acted in a similar capacity. J. J. O'Kelly, M.P., who, up to 
 1879, had been a member of the Clan-na-Gael, and 
 engaged in importing arms into Ireland, also acted 
 as an organiser. 
 
 The manner in which the organisation was carried on may be 
 seen from passages from the speeches delivered by Land League 
 speakers during the spring and summer of 1880. [Report, p. 24]. 
 
 The Language of the Organisers. 
 
 We give here extracts from some of the speeches of the leading 
 organisers of the agitation, but it is in evidence that on many 
 occasions other speakers were permitted to occupy the platforms 
 and make condemnable speeches without repudiation or rebuke. 
 
 Mr. Parnell's Twenty Dollars for Lead. 
 
 On the 30th of INIay, 1880, at Dunmanway, co. Cork, Boyton, in 
 the course of a speech in which he addressed his hearers as " Men of 
 " Rebel Cork," said :— 
 
 *' 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 
 
 421 
 
27 
 
 *' ' 25 dollars, five for bread and 20 for lead.' Now that simple hit 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 that was a 
 " bona fide transaction, that the man gave him 25 dollars. I am authorised to tell 
 " you here, and I came all the way to Dunmanway, that those 20 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 
 " £7f>-,0Q)O 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 20 dollars that has since swelled into 20,000. The money 
 " gives four or five per cent, interest on it, and we are turning it into good round 
 " sovereigns, with the 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, 
 " If you show us evidence that you are in earnest to help us, and take a share in 
 
 " this 20 dollars, by showing us that you will stand together 
 
 " . . . . 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). 
 
 On the 6th June, 1880, at Mount Irvine, co. Slig-o, Sheridan 
 addressed a meeting- thus : — 
 
 " I would wish to say one or two words, and give you one advice from this 
 " platform. I wish you all to know that from the 1st of June you can carry and. 
 " keep arms of every sort (cheers). 
 
 " Now, my friends, there are some of you who have a natural taste for keeping 
 " a gun in your places, and being so long deprived of the right to keep arms, 
 " very probably you will be going to purchase arms to take into your house for 
 " to use occasionally to shoot at game. You must recollect that it is for this you 
 '* have them. Some young men may be foolish enough to be using them for 
 " other purposes, and they will be caught by the police, who will come round to 
 " search for poteen or something else. 
 
 '* If any of you do anything like that you will be the cause of the Government 
 " putting this Act in force again, and the arms will be taken up, and you will be 
 " left without your arms or the money you purchased them with. Proceed in the 
 *' same quiet discreet way that you always have done, and there is plenty to occups'- 
 *' your time besides looking for arms. Just mind your business ; the state of the 
 " country is enough to occupy your time." [Report, pp. 24, 25J. 
 
 A Pretty Strong Hint. 
 
 On the 13th June, 1880, at New Town, Queen's County, 
 Mr. Boyton announced himself to be the representative of their 
 illustrious leader, C. S. Parnell, and in that character opened a 
 branch of the Land League. In the course of his speech he 
 said : — 
 
 *' The organisation that is spreading over Ireland has in view a set of objects, 
 " and if we are enabled to carry out these objects — and without you we can do 
 '* nothing — if you enable us to carry out these objects we will make the property of 
 *' Irish landlords so worthless that the landlords will leave it to you 
 
 " We are men engaged in doing the only thing that we can do to gain our 
 *' independence from the British Constitution. 
 
 *' There have been evictions in Mayo, Galway, and Tipperary, 
 
 *' and the caretakers that are watching these evicted farms and inhabiting these 
 *' homesteads are the bats and the owls, and God help the man who dares to go 
 *' near one of them." 
 
 [43 
 
28 
 
 On the 20th June, 1880, at Shrule, co. Galway, P. J. Gordon, 
 at a public meeting, in seconding a resolution condemning anyone 
 who should take land from which another has been evicted, said : — 
 
 •'It is now twelve months since I had the honour of addressing you in Shrule, 
 '* and I now say the Irish people will never be loyal to that Government until 
 " Ireland gets justice. 
 
 '• The only way that you have to let the Government see that you are not 
 ' ' cowards any longer, arm yourselves like people, and, if you have no way of 
 *' getting the rifle, sell the old 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 gim on your shoulder 
 
 " . . . . The Government has sent into the country an amount of seeds 
 " called Champions. I will ask you here to-day to say you are Champions, and 
 " I will ask the young blood to put up their hands and say that they will fight for 
 " the land of their birth if their fathers did not do so. O'Connell once said that the 
 " land of Ireland would be dearly bought at one drop of blood, but I differ from 
 •' him. It is better for you to lose your blood as Allen, Larkin, and 
 
 " O'Brien did, and we are determined to do the same I 
 
 " repeat the names Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien. They have walked to the scaffold, 
 '* and the last prayer they uttered from their lips was God save Ireland. I say in 
 " following in the wake of Allen, Larkin, and O'Brien that you will combine your- 
 '* selves as one man — aye, as one woman. The last words I will ask you to say are, 
 " Away with land-robbers, and God save the people. 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. Gordon continued — Pass them by with scorn, and I will tell you, my 
 " people, that like Lord Castlereagh when he sold his country to the Government, 
 ' ' he may go and buy a razor and cut his throat. If they are treated with contempt, 
 " they will come on their bended knees and ask forgiveaess of their country. But, 
 " I say, don't forgive them. They have sold their nationality, and away with 
 "them." [Report, pp. 25, 26]. 
 
 The Manchester Murderers' Example. 
 
 On the 27th June, 1880, at Ballinloug-h, co. Roscommon, 
 Brennan, the secretary of the Land League, made a speech, in 
 which he said : — 
 
 "We have a prospect of a good harvest this year, and the landlord has his eye 
 " on that harvest, and soon the question will come to be decided whether he or you 
 " will enjoy it 
 
 " Voice ; ' He will never.' 
 
 " Mr. Brennan : Whether after having starved yourselves for the last 12 months, 
 " having golden prospects this harvest, whether you will be content to endure the 
 " same privation for the next 12 months, whether you will be content that the 
 " charity box must be again passed round for you. (Cheers for Parnell.) The 
 " question must soon be decided, whether you will quietly surrender that harvest 
 " in order that a few idlers may enjoy the usual quantity of champagne. (Never.) 
 " In order that they may be in a position to purchase prize dogs and pay gambling 
 ■" debts in the hells on the Continent. (Hear, hear.) 
 
 " I don't advise you to offer any open resistance to the law, simply because I 
 " believe you would not be able to defeat it, 
 
 " I believe there is nothing wrong in guarding your own lives and your pro- 
 " perty ; and if 1 don't advise open resistance to acts of tyrannv, it is not because I 
 " see anything wrong in it, but because I know it is not advisable, and I know the 
 " landlords would not wish for anything better than that you adopt such a course 
 
 44! 
 
29 
 
 *♦ in order to invoke the aid of a Government that has ever been too ready to crush 
 *' you. We advised you last year not to pay exorbitant rents ; not to pay rent that 
 ** you were not able to afford. We give you the same advice this year, and we 
 *' say any man that pays an unjust rent, whether he can afford it or not, is an 
 " enemy to the common good." (Cheers.) [Report, p. 26]. 
 
 A Eifle and a Piece of Steel, 
 
 On the 4th July, 1880, at Carndonagh, co. Doneg-al, Mr. Boyton, 
 in supporting- a resolution, said : — 
 
 *' I want you, men of Donegal, to listen to-day intently to my words, and to take 
 ** from them a meaning deeper perhaps than appears on the surface. (Cheers). 
 " The resolution which has been read and proposed on this occasion is one that I 
 " will take the liberty ol analysing for you. (Cheers). Bear in mind when this 
 ' ' resolution is put to you by the chairman, that each and every man here becomes 
 '* responsible for the meaning of it, and adopts it as his profession. (Cheers). 
 
 " That we, the men of Donegal, assembled to-day in our thousands on the 
 •* heights of Cuckaughrim, do commemorate the glorious anniversary of American 
 " Independence — (cheers) — and the birth of that mighty Republic in which the 
 " exiled millions of an ancient race enjoy the inalienable rights of 'life, liberty, 
 ** ' and the pursuit of happiness.' (Cheers.) 
 
 ** These words are taken from the document that made its first appearance on 
 ** on the 4th July, 1776. (Cheers). In the year 1776 three millions of 
 " people exiled from their native land beyond the Atlantic, were fonced — forced in 
 *' self-preservation to claim their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 
 
 " Every man who signed his name, signed at the same time his death warrant. 
 " (Cheers). And the concluding sentence of that document is 'in furtherance of 
 " ' which we pledge our lives, our properties, and our sacred honour.' (Cheers), 
 " They went, and having told the world what they declared, that the law of a 
 " foreign country had no right to bind them — (cheers) — and having told the world 
 " that they proved it, for with the rifle and the sword, with fire and steel they won 
 " their liberties— (cheers) — and to-day that flag, that represents in its stars the 
 •' emblems that God Almighty has placed above, shows each State, as the three- 
 " leaved shamrock might show each province or county in Ireland 
 
 • . . "I want you to listen to-day with deep import to my language, to my 
 " meaning. I am obliged to be constitutional. I am living under the laws of 
 " Great Britain. I have lived seven years in free England, and therefore I am 
 " qualified to say what is wrong under these laws, for the self-same British flag is 
 " floating to-day by the power of might over this island, as it was over the other 
 " island that I left there. (Cheers). I know well and thoroughly the right of a 
 " British subject, and I intend to tell you that here to-day, and 1 leave you to draw 
 " inferences from anything further I may say. I must be constitutional, and I 
 " think before I am through I will, perhaps, show some of those who claim to 
 " represent constitutional authority here, how much they have out-stepped and 
 " over-stepped the power that is conferred on them by the Government of Great 
 " Britain. (Groans). ........... 
 
 " Therefore, Irishmen, in striking to-day constitutionally at the system of Irish 
 " landlordism, you are striking at the greatest weapon that has ever been held in 
 " the hand of that power, that if there be a just God — and we are told there is a 
 " limit even to God's justice — will so surely reap the harvest, in this ill-fated unhappy 
 " island, that they have sowed. We are teaching you to stand together within 
 " the law, for you are powerless to do anything else. We are teaching you to know 
 " your rights as British subjects. We want to tell you what you can do if you will 
 " stand together like men, nobly, manfully, and honestly. (Cheers). If you 
 " knew a tenth of the power that you possess under the laws of this land, you 
 " would be a different race of men in 12 months, but you don't 
 
 " Do no crime, for to-day while we hold that by steel and fire alone can liberty 
 *' be achieved, we hold it too that the man who commits a crime gives strength to 
 
 [45 
 
30 
 
 " the enemies of his country. (Cheers). Therefore, I ask you men, and here in 
 " the north you are credited with good, sound common sense, with firmness and 
 " resolution — therefore, I ask you men of the north to-day, when the war-cry 
 " against landlordism resounds from the hills of Donegal, that you will be quite 
 " patient, quite peaceable, resolved firmly shoulder to shoulder to do the work that is 
 
 " pointed out for you to do. (Cheers) 
 
 " To-day every man in this assembly is a British subject, and has a right to 
 *' carry on his shoulder one of those improved rifles, and a piece of steel here, if 
 
 ^' he comes and pays los., the cost of a license. ... 
 
 " One of the rights of free men, and the right that every man that is a free man in 
 " England and Scotland or Wales had, is the right to bear arms. I have it not in 
 " my power to shower little los. licenses among you. If I had, by the blue vault 
 * ' above us, they would come down like snow flakes. Do not mistake me. The 
 '• reason I tell you this is, because the Government has lately consented to extend 
 *' to Ireland the advantages of an Act — the right to kill ground game. The 
 *' ground game has not been, so far as my reading of the Bill before Parliament, 
 •'yet defined. I think it is hares and rabbits, however, that is something for 
 ** yourselves. But I want you. men of Donegal, to know this, that you have a 
 " right to bear arms, to wear them, and to learn the use of them. (Cheers). I 
 '' am acting in telling you so under the advice of Queen's Counsel. Let those 
 " whom it may concern make the best of it" (Cheers). [Report, pp. 26—28]. 
 
 He Stole away Five of them. 
 
 On the nth July, 1880, at Cong-, co. Galway, P.J. Gordon 
 3ai(i : — ... 
 
 " I will sketch over the attempt at Ballinrobe. They have run over to Clare- 
 " morris and took one man from amongst us. But they wanted to have some bird 
 " in the nest. They knew he had nothing to do with the murder. They look 
 ' ' with an eye of suspicion upon everyone who says we will be no longer beggars. 
 "If you waken up that spirit of undying nationality in your bosoms speak it to 
 "your children in the morning and when they are going to bed, that it is their 
 " right to assert their right to the land of their birth. The police went as far 
 " as Queenstown and arrested those men on their way to America. I stole away 
 " five of them, and before a week elapse the other two will be away too. If 
 " there were a crime committed against a man, let them find out the guilty party and 
 "the guilty party in his own heart. He has evicted a poor widow and her orphans, 
 " and left them to starve. Then, I say, the guilty conscience requires no accuser. 
 
 " I will ask you to raise your hands to high Heaven, and say no man will take 
 " the land from which another has been evicted, and if you break it you cannot 
 " say but you made the pledge in the presence of two soggarths aroon. 
 
 " If any man occupy that land let it be the police with a barrack. I don't 
 ** object to the police, they are better than the landlords. I ask you to be in 
 " the future united. The House of Commons is composed of landlord robbers." 
 
 The '* attempt at Ballinrobe " referred to was the shooting at 
 that place of a man named Feerick, a land agent in Mayo, who 
 died of his wounds shortly after. 
 
 These extracts, to which many more of a similar character 
 might be added, will serve to show the manner in which leading 
 organisers and representatives of the Land League were carrying 
 on the work of establishing branches of that association and 
 expounding its objects during the earlier months of 1880. 
 
 In some of these speeches the hearers were recommended to 
 obtain a license for firearms, and reference was made to the 
 right to kill ground game. We regard these allusions as 
 
 46] 
 
31 
 
 mere pretences, and that the object of the speeches 
 ^was to induce persons to obtain firearms ready to be 
 Tised for insurrectionary or other illeg-al purposes. 
 
 In connexion with this subject of arms we must call attention to 
 a particular incident. [Report, pp. 27,28]. 
 
 A Cargo of Firearms. 
 
 In August, 1880, a vessel called the "Juno" was lying- at 
 Passage, in the neighbourhood of Cork. A party of men 
 attacked this vessel, and carried off from it a quantity of firearms 
 •(40 cases) and some cases of cartridges. There is no doubt that 
 this raid was effected by Fenians. At a meeting of the local 
 branch of the Land League of Cork, held on the 13th August, a 
 resolution was moved by Mr. Cronin, and seconded by Mr. J. 
 O'Brien, in these terms : — - 
 
 *' That we deeply regret that a robbery of useless old firearms has taken place; 
 *• that we condemn lawlessness in any shape, and we believe the occurrence must 
 ** have been effected by those who desire to see a renewal of the Coercion Acts 
 *' inflicted upon this country, and who wish to give the Government good value 
 "" for their secret service money." 
 
 Mr. J. O'Brien, in seconding this resolution, said : — 
 
 " That amongst the persons upon whom the Government would try to throw the 
 ■*' odium of stealing these arms were many who had a great deal more common 
 ~" sense and talent than would lead them to rob and carry away a few old rusty 
 *' firearms." 
 
 An amendment was moved by I\Ir. C. P. O'Sullivan, who said that 
 it was well known that he held national views, and he thought the 
 greatest curse of this country was that one organisation interfered 
 with another. It was quite possible that those men thought there 
 were a good deal better weapons in that vessel than there were, and 
 he did not see why the Land League should turn round and denounce 
 their countrymen. He thought that ought to be the work of the 
 English Government ?nd of English spies. The amendment was 
 negatived, and the original resolution was carried. [Report, 
 
 pp. 28, 29]. 
 
 Mr. Dillon no Enemy of Fenianism. 
 
 At a meeting of the National Land League, held in Dublin on 
 Tuesday, the 17th of August, 1880, Mr. Brennan called attention to 
 this subject, and said : — 
 
 "A branch of the Land League had been discussing matters that it ought to 
 ** have left alone. They had seen by the ' Freeman ' of the previous day that the 
 *' Cork Branch of the Land League had taken up a matter that did not come 
 " under its province at all. It would be just as well if they would confine them- 
 *' selves for the future to the objects for which they were formed. They had no 
 •" more to do with the subject they discussed than with the relative merits of the 
 ■" candidates for the Presidency of America." 
 
 [47 
 
32 
 
 Mr. Dillon, M.P., who was chairman on this occasion, said : — 
 " That he felt strongly with Mr, Brennan in this matter, the resolution passed 
 " by the Cork Land League was entirely without its sphere. It assumed a right 
 "to do what the Land League distinctly condemned and repudiated, namely, 
 ♦• judging the case of men who did not belong to their body. They did not want 
 *' to place themselves in antagonism with any other bodies in Ireland who were 
 ** not placing themselves in antagonism with them, and the same liberty which 
 " they claimed for themselves they must be prepared to allow to others. He did 
 " not know whether it was desirable to pass any resolution on the subject or not, 
 *' but he took the general sense of the meeting to be that they entirely disclaimed 
 '* the resolution passed by the Cork Land League, and emphatically stated that it 
 *' in no degree represented the feeling of that organisation." [Report, p. 29]. 
 
 Mr. John O'Connor, M.P., on the Raid. 
 
 On the 2 1st of August, 1880, a meeting of the Cork Branch was. 
 held, at which Mr. John O'Connor, M.P., attended. Mr. C. P. 
 O'Sullivan, who had moved the amendment on the previous occa- 
 sion, proposed that the resolution condemning the raid should be 
 expunged from their proceedings. Mr. O'Connor, in seconding 
 Mr. O'Sullivan's motion, said that he wished to refer to the 
 uncalled for, injudicious, and arrogant proceeding of some 
 gentleman connected with the League who proposed the resolution 
 in reference to the Passage raid. He recognised the service that 
 the League had done, but he failed to perceive, either in that 
 service or in the period of their existence, anything to give them a 
 right to criticise the action of other people as they had done on 
 that day week. 
 
 The motion to expunge the resolution of the 13th August was 
 then carried 7iem. con. [Report, p. 29], 
 
 The Cork Fenians show themselves. 
 
 On Sunday, the 3rd October, Mr. Parnell was received at Cork, 
 with a great demonstration. As he approached the city an armed 
 party stopped the procession. These men were no doubt of the 
 physical force or Fenian party, but their object is shown by the- 
 result of their attack, for they carried off and detained for the day 
 Mr. Cronin and Mr. O'Brien, the mover and seconder of the 
 resolution condemning the ''Juno" raid, and then allowed the 
 procession to pass. 
 
 Soon after this Mr. Dillon visited Cork, on the occasion of the 
 reconstruction of the Cork Branch of the Land League, and made- 
 a speech in which he said : — 
 
 '' Now I think it right to point out, especially in this city, that those who say 
 *< that this movement is antagonistic to any other movement 
 *< which has the good of Ireland in view are misrepresenting 
 ** our motives, and are treating us with the grossest injustice, 
 '* and I venture to say that I am known to have the warmest 
 <* sympathy with other movements that have the good of Ireland 
 "in view." [Report, pp. 29, 30], 
 
 48] 
 
33 
 
 Mr. Davitt on the '' Juno " Raid. 
 
 Mr. Davitt's views on the subject of this raid upon the ** Juno " 
 will be seen from a speech he made in Chicago in August, 1880, 
 when he said : — 
 
 '* That the convulsion of horror which grew out of it was because the English 
 *' Government knew there were n;en in Ireland to-day absolutely feverish to clutch 
 " hundreds and thousands of rilles in order not only to abolish Irish landlordism 
 *' but to consummate the hopes of Irishmen of abolishing something else," by 
 which, as he has stated, he meant the English Government. 
 
 We consider that this incident of the ''Juno" raid 
 throws strong light on the true relations between 
 the leaders of the Land League and the party of 
 physical force, or Fenians. 
 
 We are not dealing- here with the case anticipated by Mr. Butt, 
 of responsibility arising- from the conduct of obscure members of 
 a local branch, but with the acts of the Executive Council ot the 
 central body, presided over by one of the foremost men of the 
 Land League organisation. It is apparent that the 
 object was not to win over the Fenians from their 
 illegal and insurrectionary courses to a con- 
 stitutional policy, but to retain their assistance, 
 by making it clear that the Land League leaders 
 did not condemn their flagrantly illegal acts, and 
 by the avowal made by Mr. Dillon that he sym- 
 pathised with them, [Report, p. 30]. 
 
 Mr. Davitt's Second American Visit. 
 
 At this stage it may be convenient briefly to notice the incidents 
 of Mr. Davitt's second visit to America. 
 
 Mr. Davitt arrived in time to attend the first Conventi©n of the 
 Land League of America, held at Trenor Hall on i8th May, 1880. 
 
 Mr. Davitt says that ai this Convention all classes were represented, 
 but that " possibly one-third of them might have been extremists." 
 Mr. Davitt there said : — 
 
 " There are two means which we pursue to accomplish our end ; the first is a 
 ■" policy of destruction by hammering against landlordism ; we are satisfied with 
 *' nothing but its total abolition. In the House of Commons we pursue a construc- 
 '" tive policy, so that you will be able to reconcile the speeches in Ireland against 
 " landlordism, and the speeches in the House which might not seem to be in keeping 
 ■" with those delivered by members of the same party in Ireland" [Report, p. 30]. 
 
 To Disorganise the Police. 
 
 Not long after the Trenor Hall Convention, Mr. Davitt and M--. John 
 Dillon, M.P., addressed a meeting at which Mr. Dillon said : — 
 
 " We, as Irish representatives, have a duty to do that will make easier the work 
 *' of the Irish National Land League in Ireland. We have various duties to 
 
 E 
 
 [49 
 
34 
 
 ** perform — to stand in the path of the English Government when they try to pass 
 " coercive measures or place our friends in Ireland in confinement, and if they do, 
 *' make them sweat in the work. It will be our duty, and we will 
 *' set about it without delay, to disorganise and break up the 
 " Irish Constabulary that for the past 30 years have stood at 
 " the back of the Irish landlords bayonet in hand. The pay 
 "of these men, which is taken out of the pockets of the Irish tenants, is 
 " voted yearly in the English Parliament, and not an Irish Member could be 
 " found to protest against it. Let us now see that instead of the twelve hundred 
 " thousand pounds a year, which is devoted to pay the Irish Constabulary, that not 
 " one hundred tliousand will go for that purpose ; then I would like to see the 
 " landlord who would face the Irish tenant ! (Applause.) I tell you that the hour 
 " we take- away the bayonet of the Irish policeman, that hour the landlords will 
 " come to ask us for a settlement of the land question." 
 
 After this Convention, the address of the Council which had been 
 elected at it, was issued in May, 1880. This document resembles 
 the ''Appeal to the Irish Race," which was issued after the Imperial 
 Hotel Conference, in Dublin, on 21st October, 1879. 
 
 "The land movement in Ireland," says the address, "endangers no national 
 " principle, nor asks its supporters to forego any reasonable or legitimate 
 " aspiration for the future of their country. It recognises no sectarian distinctions, 
 " and refuses no promise of assistance from any class or any creed. It is a move- 
 " ment of Irishmen for Ireland and humanity, which endeavours to unite upon one 
 " platform men of all parties and religions, to work out the common good of 
 " Ireland and its people. It asks from the Irish race the material help which is 
 " essential to success, and from the civilised world, the sympathy and moral 
 " support which is necessary to secure it." [Report, pp. 30, 31]. 
 
 The Fenian in Suspense. 
 
 At this time Davitt had, as " a member, or having 
 " been am.ember of the Suprem.e Couticil, the virtual 
 " entry to the Clan-na-Gael." He attended five or six or 
 more of the camp meetings of that association for the purpose ol 
 o-aining- their support for the Land League, and in his speeches 
 strongly insisted on the movement being kept free from crime. 
 
 At Kansas City, on nth September, 1880, Mr. Davitt said : — 
 
 " In addition to that, we have, as you have already been told, declared an 
 " unceasing war against landlordism ; not a war to call on our people to shoulder 
 " the rifle, and go out in open field and settle the question that is now agitating 
 " Ireland (although I am not opposed to a settlement of that nature), providing I 
 " could see a chance of success, but for the fourth time during the present century, 
 " we have tried a physical struggle with England, and instead of hurting England, 
 " we have generally hurt ourselves. Now, I believe, it is far better to meet on 
 " different ground, and to do battle in a different mode. And in declaring this 
 " war against Irish landlords, in not paying rent, in order to bring down their 
 " garrison in Ireland, we know we are doing a proper work. We are preparing 
 " the way for that independence which you enjoy in this great American Republic. 
 " At present, however, we are engaged in a peaceful revolution. 
 
 " It is a war of ideas rather than a war of blows. We put justice, reason, and 
 " common sense against theft, tyranny and barbarism ; and we are going to win in 
 " the contest. Already we have more than ioo,ODO enrolled in the League, and 
 " it will be increased to over 300,000 ; and they represent, with their families, over 
 " 1,000,000 of the people. England cannot afford to keep Ireland in this 
 " constant state of unsettlement, and we mean to keep Ireland in that state until 
 " England shall banish the landlord system." 
 
 501 
 
35 
 
 Mr. Davitt stated that he had frequently used similar language. 
 
 ''I Wish to God I could get it to-morrow." 
 
 The acts and speeches of Mr. Davitt explain and illustrate the 
 position he had adopted. Still a Fenian in sympathy, 
 if not in actual membership, and still actuated by 
 a desire, not only to abolish landlordism, but to 
 bring about a total separation of Ireland from 
 England, he had determined to make use of an open 
 or so-called constitutional movement to prepare the 
 "way for the realization of his aims. He, first of all those 
 then engaged in Irish politics, had recognised the expediency ot 
 uniting- the land movement with Fenianism, and by an appeal, 
 as he says, to self-interest, to give it force and vitality, He 
 avowed in the witness-box before us that the principle on which 
 he had always acted was to make the land question a stepping- 
 stone to complete national independence ; and he concluded 
 '* I wish to God I could get it to-morrow." 
 
 For this he, in conjunction with others, had created the Land 
 League, and drafted its constitution, started the necessary 
 agitation, and induced Mr. Parnell to adopt his methods. For 
 these ends he a second time visited America, where his Fenian 
 antecedents secured him a reception and a hearing among the 
 extreme Nationalist party. In appealing to that party he was 
 ever careful to assuage their distrust of the open 
 movement by pointing out to them that his pre- 
 sent proposals would further, not frustrate, their 
 ultimate aims ; and he acted throughout as the 
 link between the two wings of the Irish party. 
 [Report, p. 30]. 
 
 The Fenians and the League. 
 
 In our judgment the object aimed at by Mr. Davitt and the 
 other founders of the Land League with regard to the Revolu- 
 tionary party was not to put an end to or restrain its action, by 
 merging it in the new movement, but to point out to those holding 
 Fenian opinions that the two parties did not clash, and that they 
 might be of mutual aid to one another. 
 
 We have now briefly reviewed the various steps by which the 
 Land League of Ireland was formed and organised. It was 
 originated by Mr. Davitt, adopted by Mr. Parnell, and the 
 support of the extreme party, both in Ireland and in America, was 
 secured. Some at least of the leaders of the movement joined it 
 as a means of obtaining the complete separation of Ireland from 
 England, but we do not think that the mere joining the Land 
 League necessarily implied a desire for such separation. 
 
 [51 
 
36 
 
 In our judgment the charge against the respond- 
 ents collectively of having conspired to bring 
 about total separation is not established ; but 
 we find that some of them, together with Mr. 
 Davitt, established and joined in the Land League 
 organisation with the intention, by its means, to 
 bring about the absolute independence of Ireland 
 as a separate nation. We think that this has 
 been established against the following among the 
 respondents :- Mr. Davitt, Mr. M. Harris, Mr. 
 Dillon, Mr. W. O'Brien, Mr. W. Redmond, Mr. 
 J. O'Connor, Mr. Joseph Condon, and Mr. J. J. 
 O'Kelly. [Report, pp. 31, 32]. 
 
 v.— THE BOYCOTTING EEGIME. 
 
 The second charge we have to investiofate is, that one of the 
 immediate objects of the conspiracy was, by a system of coercion 
 and intimidation, to promote an agrarian agitation against the 
 payment of agricultural rents for the purpose of impoverishing 
 and expelling from the county the Irish landlords, who were styled 
 the English garrison. This charge is contained in the "Times" 
 articles of the 7th and 14th March, 1887, which, allege that the 
 
 *' whole organisation of the Land League and its successor, the National League, 
 " depended upon a system of intimidation carried on by the most brutal means, 
 " and resting ultimately on the sanction of murder ;" and that " the ultimate aim 
 " of the organisation was plunder ; " and further, that the conspirators "had to 
 *' strike at and cripple the power of Irish landlordism — England's territorial 
 " garrison in Ireland — before they could call into the field of action the full power 
 " of Irish manhood and Irish national sentiment." [Report, p. 32]. 
 
 The Compensation Bill allegation. 
 
 On the 3rd of August, 1880, the Compensation for Disturbance 
 Bill, which had passed the House of Commons, was rejected by 
 the House of Lords. 
 
 It is contended on behalt of the respondents that this 
 rejection had the effect of exasperating the suffering tenant 
 farmers of Ireland, and so of predisposing them to the commission 
 of outrage. We are not at liberty to pronounce an opinion on the 
 course adopted by the House of Lords, but it may be assumed that 
 the rejection of the Bill, when known, was likely to cause discontent 
 amongst those who v/ould have been benefited by its provisions. 
 
 52] 
 
37 
 
 The question, however, which presents itself for our consideration 
 is, whether, after the 3rd August, 1880, the representatives of the 
 Land League took advantage of the occasion to carry on their 
 agitation with renewed vigour, by further inflaming the minds 
 of those interested, and stimulating them and others to illegal 
 courses. 
 
 For this purpose we must examine the speeches delivered at 
 some of the numerous meetings held in the autumn of 1880, in 
 furtherance of the Land League movement, from which date, as 
 Mr. Parnell tells us, the Land League spread like wildfire. 
 [Report, pp. 32, 33]. 
 
 Better he had not been born. 
 
 At a meeting held on the 8th August, 1880, at Mullinahone, 
 CO. Tipperary, Mr. Boyton said : — ■ 
 
 " In the face of existing circumstances no more deadly— no more serious charge 
 " could he brought against a man to-day in South Tipperary than that of being 
 " ' a land-shark,' 'a land-grabber,' for we, and when I say we, I mean the people 
 " from whom I sprung, and not the lords spiritual or temporal. (Cheers. ) We, 
 "the people, determined that we would make the name of 'land-shark' and 
 " ' land-grabber ' as odious as ever was the name of informer in Ireland. . , . 
 " . . . Mark you this, men of Tipperary, it were better for the man who will 
 " hereafter be found to even think of betraying the people's cause, it will be better 
 '* for him that he had not been born, for though we might not answer for his 
 " miserable life, the contempt and the infamy that attaches to the committing 
 " of treason against the people's cause will be handed down to his children's 
 " children." 
 
 On the same day (8th August, 1880) at a meeting at Keadne, 
 CO. Roscommon, Mr. Brennan said : — 
 
 " The battle-ground of this social movement is not, I believe, in the English 
 " House of Commons, but on Irish hills and Irish fields, in Irish cabins and Irish 
 " workshops (cheers), and I believe that your representatives would much more 
 " serve the cause of the people by coming down amongst their constituents to teach 
 " them their rights, and how to assert them, than walking around the streets of 
 "London, or writing essays for the English periodicals. (Voice: 'We will let 
 " 'the lords know their duty.') Mr. Brennan : Yes, as my friend remarks, 
 " within the last few days that aristocratic assembly, by which Mr. Frank Hugh 
 " O'Donnell is so enamoured, has thrown out the Compensation for Disturbance 
 " Bill, introduced by Mr. Forster. I think we ought to be very much obliged to 
 " those worthy citizens, and I do not know whether we will pass a vote of thanks 
 " to them here to-day. Hereditary statesmen are not always remarkable for their 
 " precision, but certainly I did not imagine that their lordships would play so 
 " directly in our hands, for every action of this kind but rouses the people, and I 
 " have no doubt but that these gentlemen have created a fiame for the destruction 
 " of their own political and social power." (Cheers.) [Report, p. 33]. 
 
 The Chapel Bells and Horns. 
 
 At the same meeting Mr. Sheridan said : — 
 
 ** The resolution which I have been honoured to support is new on the platform, 
 " it asks you to hold your crops and not surrender them to your landlords. 
 " Landlordism, which not only threatens to rob you of your crops, but of your very 
 " existence, and the tenant farmer who refuses to join us, is not one hair better 
 
 [53 
 
38 
 
 " than the landlord ; if such a man can be found he is destroying all the means by 
 " which his neighbours are trying to find a home in the land of their birth. The 
 " resolution says it is absolutely necessary to stick to your harvests; landlordism 
 " will take advantage of the occasion lost in refusing the Bill which has been sent 
 " up from the Lower House. Who are those lords? They are all that you should 
 ' ' detest. They are the personification of idleness, who spend the wealth you 
 
 "gather. (Groans.) Away to 
 
 * * the chapel bells and church bells when the eviction is to take place ; let there be 
 " horns in every parish ; let men and women assemble there and keep the people 
 " in their homesteads, and the legislature will see that it is necessary to act in 
 " conformity with those ideas." 
 
 At Ballintubber, co. Roscommon, on the same day, Malachi 
 O'SuUivan, the assistant secretary of the Land League, said : — 
 
 " We are assembled to further the land movement in Ireland, to pledge our- 
 " selves never to take a farm from which another has been evicted, or which has 
 " been surrendered from any cause whatever, to pledge ourselves never to work 
 " upon these farms, never to buy the cattle, the goods, or the produce of the farm 
 " which has been sold for rent. To let that produce rot upon the farm, if the 
 " landlord and his wife and family do not go with their scythes and rakes, and 
 " work upon it themselves, and do one honest day's work. 
 
 " You have just passed a resolution condemning the recent action of the House oi 
 " Lords. I myself never cared very much for the action of the House of Lords or 
 " the House of Commons ; but I do care for the action of the people of Ireland. 
 " It is not upon their action you have to depend ; it is upon your own combined 
 
 " repeated action Have we not as much manliness as the French 
 
 " a hundred years ago, with your honour here and there. Ihey were no better 
 " nor worse than their neighbours. A few loseto the occasion, said they would not 
 " pay any more rent, the landlords came to them, and the people sprang from the 
 " earth, they turned upon them, they gave them the position they deserved, they 
 " hung them. 
 
 " 1 do not wish that human blood should be shed in any shape or form, if you 
 " can gain your rights without it. But by all means gain your libeity, and your 
 " manhood, continue in this agitation. We have brought the landlords to their 
 " knees. We have compelled the Government to bring in the Compensation for 
 " Disturbance Bill. The landlords threw it out, and the people will rise in 
 '* insurrection against that House. We want unity for this. I want to know will 
 " you unite. I don't want you to cheer, or hold up your hands, but that you 
 " will go home with a full determination to organise yourselves in clubs." 
 [Report, pp. 33, 34]. 
 
 Pay no Eent at all. 
 
 At the same meeting-, J. W. Walsh said : — 
 
 " I think it right to preach the same doctrines as I have done on every platform. 
 " I have been at meetings every Sunday since these meetings commenced . . . 
 
 " Now we stand here fearlessly to ask you to pay no rent at all 
 
 " I am sure the people of Ballintubber will not be behind the people of Ireland. 
 " I hereby to-day call upon you. Irishmen, in the name of humanity, in the name 
 " of your struggling countrymen the world over, each and every man on the, 
 " townland in which a tenant is evicted, to go to the landlord and say 'We have 
 " made up our mind to pay no rent until the man is restored.' " 
 
 At a m.eeting held at Kildare, co. Kildare, on the 15th 
 August, 1 880, Mr. Dillon, who was one of the head organisers, 
 made a speech in which he said : — 
 
 " Men of Kildare, it gives me greater pleasure than I can tell you of to see you 
 " assembled in such numbers as will strike fear into the men who dream of turning 
 " a Kildare man out of his farm. . . . Until you prove to the landlords that 
 " you will have your rights, and that you will settle them yourselves, you will 
 
 54] 
 
m 
 
 *' not get anything. (Cheers.) The people ought to go to the Government 
 ** and get then- rights. First of all, the immediate object is to put a stop to 
 "rackrents; every man in Kildare shall pay it no more. Secondly, we must insist 
 *' that no man nor woman shall be put out of his or her farm. No evictions 
 *' shall be in Kildare. Third, no arrears of rent shall be levied in Kildare. 
 '* The country is emerging out of a grave crisis, and there is no use in a good 
 *' season if you will not be in a good position to take advantage of it. If you pay 
 ** rent and arrears of rent this year then the good harvest will go to the landlords. 
 *' Therefore this year there shall be no arrears of rent paid. (Cheers.) A great 
 *' deal has been said about the House of Lords having rejected the Compensation 
 ** for Disturbance Bill, but I assert that the Irish people ought to be thankful to 
 *' the House of Lords if they only knew how to take advantage of them. (Cheers). 
 " The House of Lords have taught the people that no good can come out of 
 " London to Ireland, so that until the Irish people are banded together in an 
 *' organisation fitted to fight and win the battle for themselves, they cannot expect 
 "justice or fair play from an English Parliament. (Cheers.) In that sense the 
 *' House of Lords have done good service to the people because they have thrown 
 *' out a Bill that was no good to the people. (Cheers.) .... If the people 
 *' desire to put down landlordism, the only road to this is to have an organisation 
 *' in ihe country, that every farmer shall belong to a branch of the Land League 
 *' that exists throughout the country, that all the young men shall be prepared to 
 " march to the meetings, and in proper order too. And when we have that 
 " organisation perfected let the word go out that no farm from which any man has 
 " been evicted shall be touched or used until the rightful owner shall be put back 
 "again." (Cheers.) [Report, pp. 34, 35], 
 
 Inciting to Cattle Maim. 
 
 "In the county of Mayo, where the organisation is pretty strong, we have 
 *' many a farm lying idle, from which no rent can be drawn, and there they shall 
 " lie ; and if the landlord shall put cattle on them, the cattle won't prosper very 
 " much. You must teach the landlords that if they evict tenants they will not be 
 " the richer, but the poorer ; and if any man comes and takes the farm from which 
 " a tenant is evicted, show him in a hundred ways that it would be better for 
 " him not to have taken it (cheers ; a voice : ' Give him the ball') without raising 
 " a finger to harm him. All your meetings will be useless except they are followed 
 " by work — unless you work at home by organisation in every townland. We ask 
 " of you in every townland two men who are not afraid of any man. Give each of 
 " these a book with the names of every man in the townland. They will go round 
 " to all these men and ask every one of them to join the Land League ; and in this 
 " way every man who refuses is known to turn his back upon the people. I believe 
 
 " that every nine out of ten will join. (Cheers) 
 
 " We can tell you, the people, to drill 
 
 " yourselves, and organise yourselves, and we can take it out of the power of the 
 " police to arrest every man found out after 8 o'clock at night. (Cheers.) We in 
 " Parliament can see that Irishmen have a right to be out after 8 o'clock, or all 
 " night if they like. We will see that they have a right to march to meetings and 
 " obey the commands of their leaders if they choose to do so. We shall see that 
 " every man in Ireland shall have a rifle if he likes. (Cheers.) All I will say is that 
 " if the manhood of Ireland is not enough when you have your rights to win your 
 "freedom and put down landlordism, then I shall be ashamed to call myself an 
 " Irishman. /'Cheers.) Let the people of Kildare show during the coming 
 " autumn that neither dukes nor marquises, nor any other lords, can terrorise you 
 " or intimidate the manhood of Ireland " (Great cheering. ) 
 
 At the same meeting- Mr. Boyton said : — 
 
 " I appeal to you through every parish, in every town, in every village, and at 
 " every cross road — for I am as much in earnest at cross roads as any place else 
 " (cheers) — to pick out two men who will not be afraid of any man, and send them 
 " to me, and it is my duty — my painful duty — to show these men how they will 
 " work up the man of Kildare." [Report, p. 35]. • 
 
 [55 
 
40 
 
 At Kiltullag-h, co. Galway, at a meeting- held on the 22nd 
 Aug-ust, 1880, J. W. Walsh said :— 
 
 " I want a pledge from you, that if any one is mean enough to take the land from 
 ** which another is evicted you will not recognise him in the public market-place, 
 " or at church on Sunday, that you will not buy from him nor sell to him, and in 
 ** fact that you will look upon him as the enemy of his country, and that you will 
 " leave his corn uncut, and himself to wither under the people's curse. If you do 
 *' that, and are true to yourselves, as your cause is a just one, you must succeed. 
 
 "(Cheers.) Beware of the land-grabber, for he is worse than 
 
 ** the landlord. \\Tierever you meet him look upon him with scorn. If he goes 
 ** into a shop to buy goods do you go in after him and tell the shopkeeper not to 
 '* sell him goods or that you will not buy goods there any more. Whenever a 
 *' tenant is evicted I want the tenantry to go to the landlord and say to him, we will 
 "not pay you one penny rent until you reinstate that man. (Cheers.) The 
 ** trades unions carry out that rule, and ours is a tenants' union, and I don't see 
 *' why we should not carry it out." 
 
 At Manorhamilton, co. Leitrim, on the 29th August, 1880, P. J. 
 Sheridan in supporting a resolution pledging his hearers to pay no 
 rent pending the settlement of the land question, and to hold their 
 harvest, after stating that he had been deputed to open branches in 
 the country, said — 
 
 •* If a neighbour was evicted there were too many of you to go behind his back. 
 " and look for his holding, but the day is gone for land-grabbing. Anywhere a 
 " landlord evicts a man from his home, let no man dare to herd it. If any wretch 
 ** should be low enough to do so, whether it be at the church or chapel, point the 
 " finger of scorn at him and bring him into contempt ; cry shame at him, and point 
 " him out to everyone as an unclean animal. By this you will establish what you 
 *' are in perfect ignorance of Let the people be as one, unanimous, and true to 
 ** the national trust ; let every man discharge his duty — his Christian duty — to his 
 " kind. If any wretch should go and do what is so strongly condemned on this 
 " platform here to-day he will feel his own life a burden to him. Some may 
 ** imagine that it is too strong. No ; a desperate sore requires a desperate cure, 
 " landlordism and land-grabbing require a desperate cure." [Report, pp. 35, 36], 
 
 A Thousand-and-One ways to Punish. 
 
 On the 5th September, 1880, at Clanmacnoise, King's co., 
 Brennan said : — 
 
 *' You must be loyal to yourselves, and you must, in the first case, refuse to pay 
 *' an unjust rent. (Hear, hear.) An unjust rent is, as my friend Mr. Kilrae 
 *' explained to you, anything over the surplus profit that remains after you have 
 *' paid for every claim for the working of your holdings. Pay the labourer, pay the 
 " merchant, pay the banker, pay yourself in the support and education of your 
 " children, and if there is anything over that, offer it to the landlord (cheers and 
 "laughter), and if he does not take it then put it in your pocket till becomes 
 ** respectfully to ask you for it (cheers) ; but above all, and before all, you must 
 '* refuse to take a farm from which a man has been evicted. (Cheers.) Let that 
 " form remain waste ; let the grass rot upon it ; let the crops rot upon it ; and it 
 *' any man is found to take it, or even work upon it, there are a thousand-and-one 
 '* ways in which you can punish him (cheers) ; that you can punish him without; 
 ** transgressing the law." [Report, p. 36]. 
 
 The Murder of Lord Mountmorris. 
 
 On the 15th September, 1880, Lord Mountmorris was murdered 
 near Clonbar. On the day after his murder five persons were seen 
 
 56] 
 
41 
 
 with joined hands shouting and jumping and dancing in a circle 
 around the spot where his blood was on the ground. No informa- 
 tion could be obtained by the police from anyone in the neighbour- 
 hood, and consequently no one was apprehended. Mr. T. D. 
 Sullivan, M.P., in his paper, the "Nation," of the 2nd October, 1880, 
 strongly denounced the murder by name, as did also Father 
 Eglington at a meeting held on the 3rd October, 1880. 
 
 This, however, was not the view taken of this murder by Mr. 
 Redpath, who, Mr. Parnell tells us, actively supported the 
 formation of the land movement, and was doing so still, and who, 
 it appears, had received from the Land Leag-ue, on the 14th 
 Aug-ust, 1880, £100 for his expenses. 
 
 On the 2nd November, 1880, at a meeting- of the executive 
 branch of the Land League, at Middle Alley Street, Dublin, 
 Mr. T. D. Sullivan, M.P, in the chair, Mr. Sexton, M.P., P. J. 
 Sherridan, Boyton, Brennan, Kettle, Patrick Eg-an, T. Harring-ton, 
 M.P., M. O'Sullivan, T. P. O'Connor, M.P., Donelly, and J. E. 
 Kenny, M.P., being- also present. Mr. Redpath, alluding to 
 Lord Mountmorris' murder, spoke as follows: — 
 
 "He had had the misfortune to be in Clonbar when Lord Mountmorris was 
 " killed. The friends of the Irish peasantry had been altogether too gentle in 
 " their talk about the infamous rascal. He was a Government spy, and once 
 " bragged that he was in the pay of the Castle. He made very disrespectful 
 ** remarks about Fenians. If they were going to do that, they should keep out 
 '* of the West of Ireland, or they would be hurt." 
 
 We find no repudiation of this speech by those present, and on 
 the 29th November, 1880, two resolutions of the Land League 
 were passed, one thanking Mr. Redpath for his services in the 
 cause of the toiling masses in Ireland, and the other requesting 
 him to give his services in the Land League movement in America 
 in lieu of Mr. Davitt, who was coming back to Ireland. 
 [Report, pp. 36, 37]. 
 
 The Genesis of Boycotting. 
 
 On the 19th vSeptember, 1880, Mr. Parnell attended a meeting 
 at Ennis, co. Clare, when he made a speech which marks an 
 epoch in the Land League agitation, since he there gave his 
 sanction to the system which has been called boycotting. This 
 system, as will have been seen from some of the speeches 
 already cited, had been recommended more or less explicitly by 
 others. The earliest allusion to the subject seems to have been 
 by Mr. Dillon, on the 5th October, 1879, at Maryborough, 
 Queen's County, where he said: — 
 
 *' It was during the winter they would have to fight. (Hear, hear.) He had 
 *' read in a Tory paper that the landlords had applied for new regiments against 
 *' them (groans) and new powers. Do not imagine the landlords would give up 
 '* the fight so soon. Now, how were they to carry on against them ? His sugges- 
 ** tion was not to shoot the landlords. He would not advise that at all." 
 
 (Voices: "No, no.") 
 
 Mr. Dillon. — " His advice was to abstain from outrage, because outrages were 
 
 [57 
 
42 
 
 " not necessary-. Let each parish form a tenant-right league, and meet outside the 
 " chapel every Sunday after mass, and let every man tell his neighbours his story, 
 " and let them elect a leader in each parish, and when a hardship was told, call a 
 ' ' meeting and denounce the landlord ; publish the case ; send it up to the 
 " 'Freeman' in Dublin, and they will publish it, and they would frighten the 
 " landlords in that way. (Applause.) If that did not succeed, have a monster 
 " meeting ; ask Mr. Parnell to come over to denounce the landlord, and he will. 
 " (Cheers.) The fight will begin after the November days. What will the land- 
 ' ' lords do when they refuse them the rents of November ? Let those who have 
 " the money pay the rent, and those that have too high rents ask the landlord to 
 ' ' reduce them by 50 or 60 per cent , and if he refused, pay no rent. 
 
 (A voice : " Never, never.") 
 
 Mr. Dillon. — "He will then serve the tenant with notice, and they must have 
 " the meetings every Sunday, and if the last resource were adopted, they must put 
 " a ban on his land. If any man then takes up that land, let no man speak to 
 " him or have any business transactions with him. (Cheers, and hear, hear). In 
 " such a crisis every man should stand by his neighbour." (Cheers.) 
 
 Mr. Davitt, on the loth July, 1880, at the Boston Music Hall, had 
 expressed his view of the manner in which the process, afterwards 
 known as boycotting, should be carried out. 
 
 " If one should be found so recklessly indifferent as to dare to take the farm of 
 " an evicted tenant it will be simply impossible for him to live in that locality, the 
 " people would not buy from him, ihey would not sell to him, in chapel on Sunday 
 " he would have to sit apart by himself." [Report, pp. 37, 38]. 
 
 The famous Ennis Speech. 
 
 Mr. Pamell's language on this subject at Ennis, on 
 19th September, 1880, above referred to, was as follows: — 
 
 " Now, what are you to do to a tenant who bids for a farm from which his 
 *' neighbour has been evicted? (Various shouts, among which 'Kill him,' and 
 " ' Shoot him.') Now, I think I heard somebody say, ' Shoot him ' — (* Shoot him ') 
 " — but I wish to point out to you a very much better way, a more Christian 
 "and a more charitable way, which will give the lost sinner an oppor- 
 " tunity of repenting. (Hear, hear.) When a man takes a fami from which 
 " another has been evicted, you must show him on the roadside when you meet 
 " him, you m.ust show him in the streets of the town, you must show him at the 
 • ' shop-counter, you must show him in the fair and in the market-place, and even 
 " in the house of worship, by leaving him severely alone, by putting him into 
 " a moral Coventry, by isolating him from the rest of his kind as if he was a 
 " leper of old — you must show him your detestation of the crime he has com- 
 *' mitted, and you may depend upon it, if the population of a county in Ireland 
 *' carry out this doctrine that there will be no man so full of avarice, so lost of 
 " shame, as to dare the public opinion of all right-thinking men within 
 *' the county, and to transgress your unwritten code of laws." (Cheers). 
 
 From this time forward this speech was taken as a model upon 
 which the speeches of the organisers and leading members of the 
 Land League were framed. The practice of boycotting was 
 recommended in emphatic terms, and was adopted as a main 
 instrument for the purpose of carrying out the unwritten law of 
 the League. A strenuous and combined effort was now made 
 by means of speeches throughout the country to arouse the 
 passions of the people, and conspicuous amongst the 
 speakers were Mr. Dillon and Mr. Biggar. [Report, p. 38]. 
 
 58] 
 
43 
 Mr. Dillon's idea of Rent fixing. 
 
 Mr. Dillon, at a meeting at Templemore, co. Tipperary, on the 
 loth October, 1880, said: — 
 
 " 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 own hands and declare war on the Irish people, that I believe 
 *' that 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 these 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 has gone by when the Irish landlord can turn his house into an 
 " arsenal, and have his thousands of gims 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 thev have made a very false step 
 " both for themselves and for the privileges which they sought to defend. 
 " . . . Now, the Irish National Land League proposes that for the coming year 
 " the Irish farmer shall fix the rent of Irish land, and we mean to treat them 
 " better than they have treated the farmer, because we do not mean to give them 
 " nothing, at least, not yet, but we mean to give them a fair value, and we will 
 *' see how that works for a year. What we then propose to do is for the present 
 '* winter, to reduce the rents wherever the rents are excessive. By this united 
 ** action, if the landlord in reply to your protest that you will not pay more than a 
 ** fair rent, if he serves notices of eviction, then report the case to the Land 
 " League in Dublin, and we will have it out with him, and if he evicts any man, 
 " looking at this meeting here to-day, I believe that in this and the surrounding 
 " estates, that if he evicts any man, so far from adding to the rental of his estates, 
 " he will have an idle farm on his hands, he will have on his hands what I have 
 "heard described as a 'model' farm, that is, a farm which no living thing 
 " will go on, to show what the power of the public opinion of the people is." 
 [Report, pp. 38, 39]. 
 
 Boycotting more effective than Shooting. 
 
 " By coming here to-day you have only commenced the battle. You must 
 " organise every townland. In each townland one or two men ought to go round 
 " with a list of the farmers of that townland, and ask each man will he not join 
 ' ' the Land League, or will he desert the people. Give every man a chance to 
 " stand by his people, and organise in that way the farmers of every townland, 
 " and then when a man sets himself against the rules of the League, and takes a 
 " farm from which another has been evicted, the way to deal with him is this — 
 •' (' I should shoot him.') No, I would not injure any man, but a way to deal 
 " with him is this : do not have any communication with him at all ; do not allow 
 " your children to mix with his children ; do not speak to him, and have no 
 " dealings with him ; neither buy nor sell with him ; show in every way that you 
 " can that you regard him as what he is, that he is a traitor to his people and his 
 ' ' country, and a friend of the oppressors of the people. Believe me, if you keep 
 " up that system for a short time, it will be far more effectual than if you shoot 
 " him, because no man can be punished for such a deed, and you will find that he 
 " will give way before long to the force of public opinion, and will hand back the 
 " farm, as many men have already done, back to its rightful owner. I believe that if 
 '• you act upon these lines and organise yourselves thoroughly, and never mind 
 " Parliament at all, that you will bring about a settlement ot this question very 
 " soon, and a settlement very favourable to the people. Do you reduce the rents 
 " in Tipperary ; do you prevent eviction in Tipperary, and let the Parliament 
 " in London settle the land question whenever they have tia.e." (Cheers). 
 [Report, p. 39]. 
 
 [59 
 
44 
 The Land League Doctrine. 
 
 At Holyford, co. Tipperary, on the 17th October, 1880, Mr. 
 Dillon, said : — 
 
 "You must meet on each estate and come to an agreement as to what you can 
 " fairly pay, and then go in a body to the landlord and say, this much will we pay 
 " and no more. You must say to him, then if you will ryot take this, and give us a 
 " clear receipt for all the rent due up to last gale day, we will not give you anything 
 ** at all. Now, assume that he serves all the tenants with notices of eviction, then 
 " comes the test whether the Irish people are men at all or women, because if they 
 " are men they will stand together and will not be put down. You must stand 
 " together and not allow one or two men to be crushed. You must all go in the 
 " same boat, and sink or swim together, and if a landlord attempts to clear the whole 
 " of his estate, let him, and we will build little cottages round about on the borders 
 " of the estate. (Cheers.) If you stick together I do not believe any man will be 
 '* found brave enough to come in and take possession of your farms. Now, when 
 " any man is convicted unjustly, and after the Land League have declared that it is 
 " unjust to evict him, what are you to do wiih the farm ? Turn it into what w^e 
 " call a model farm, a farm on which no living thing can go. The object of that, 
 " as a model farm, will be to warn landlords not to be going on with evictions. 
 
 " Now the doctrine which the Land League teaches is this, that the landlords oi 
 *' Ireland have had it in their power for 80 years to fix the rents at their free will ; 
 *' that is not just ; and now the Land League, with your help, is going to take that 
 *' business into their own hands. We mean to fix the rents in Ireland for the next 
 *' year, and we will fix them at a fairer value than the landlords did. We will 
 " always be ready to submit to fair terms and an impartial tribunal to arbitrate 
 " between landlord and tenant, but until the landlords consent to that, let the Irish 
 " farmer fix their own rents, and pay no more than what they consider is just. If 
 " you organise as well as they have done in Connaught you can carry out this 
 " programme, the Land Leaguers of Dublin will support you, but you must organise 
 '* strictly. Remember that to-day you are only commencing the fight. Every 
 " townland must be canvassed carefully, and every farmer asked to join, and any 
 *' man who breaks the rules of the Land League, and takes a farm from which a 
 " neighbour has been evicted, or who buys cattle or crops which have been seized 
 " for rent, or who has any dealings with a man who has taken a farm from which 
 *' a neighbour has been evicted, that man you must not speak to, you must not buy 
 " from him, nor sell to him, nor have any dealings with him whatever, and before 
 " the month is out he will leave the country and the farm vacant. Now, how are 
 " you to set about organizing ? In each townland two men should agree to go 
 " round and ask every farmer to give his name for the Land League. Let them 
 *' go with books, and let each farmer give his valuation and his rent. Let those 
 " be brought all in to a central committee, and submitted to them, and let them say 
 " where the rents are excessive, and in that townland order the members to pay no 
 *' more than a certain sum for rent. When that order goes out, any man that does 
 " not obey it is a traitor to the people and a friend of the oppressors of the farmers, 
 " and do not you have any more dealings with him, and he will soon leave the 
 " country. By that means I tell you that you can reduce rents here in Tipperary 
 " by your own unaided action ; by that means you can put a stop to eviction ; by 
 *' that means you can make yourselves independent of the landlords; and until 
 " you have done that by your own actions in Tipperary, I tell you that the English 
 " Parliament will give you no justice." [Report, pp. 39, 40]. 
 
 Mr. Dillon called on Limerick. 
 
 On the 24th October, 1880, at Clonmel, co. Tipperary, Mr. 
 
 Dillon made a speech to a similar effect. 
 
 At Limerick Town, on the ist November, 1880, he said : — 
 
 ** In Tipperary they have pledged themselves to pay no more than Griffith's 
 
 ** valuation. I think you would do well to take the same pledge in Limerick. 
 
 ** (* We will') When you have taken it, stand to it like men, and stand to each 
 
 60] 
 
45 
 
 " other, and if any man goei back on his neighbour, then let him be an outcast in 
 ** Limerick. (Cheers.) Now is the time for every county to organise and pull 
 ** together in this cause. Do not allow the Government to beat down Mayo or 
 •' Galway while Limerick ii quiet. They will come to you afterwards when they 
 *' have defeated Mayo. When they attack them in the rear, show them that they 
 " will require as much trouble to levy rackrents in Limerick as to levy them 
 " in Galway. Keep the police, if necessary, marching from one end of Limerick 
 *' to the other, as they have got to march from one end of Mayo to the other, and 
 *' before a year is out, you will bring things to such a pass that it will take, not 
 " ll,ooo, but 50,000 police to levy rackrents in Ireland. When you have 
 " brought about such a condition of things that 50,000 police will not levy 
 *' rackrents, then the Irish land question will be settled, and the landlords will 
 *' come to reasonable terms without any more pressure." [Report, p. 40], 
 
 ''Make an Outlaw of him." 
 
 On the 7th November, 1880, at Killaloe, co. Clare, Mr. Dillon 
 made a speech, in the course of which he said : — 
 
 " Well, then, the task that is before you is this : Pledge, every 
 
 *' man who is here, and every man in the two counties, not to pay one farthing over 
 " Griffith's valuation (cheers) ; and if any man — let every parish in the two counties 
 '' have its Land League, let every man be enrolled in that Land League, and do not 
 " wait for them to come in, but send young men round to ask every farmer, — having 
 " a list of every farmer, — to ask him will he come in, or will he not ? And then 
 " you will know who are the friends of the people, and who are their enemies — 
 " (interruption), and then let each parish resolve for itself what they will pay. Let 
 " them hold a meeting of the executive, let them consider the case, and let them 
 *' resolve what they will pay. You must alter the resolution according to cir- 
 *' cumstances. If you have got to deal Math a very bad rackrenter who has raised 
 *' his rents more than double the valuation, you ought not to pay him a single 
 ** farthing this year. If he is a more moderate man, come down to the valuation ; 
 '^ but you must suit the resolution to the circumstances of each locality. When you 
 *' have come to that resolution, then the man who goes back on the organisation, — 
 " who goes behind backs and pays, while he stands pledged to his neighbours to 
 " stand by them, — you must treat him as what he is ; that is to say, a traitor to his 
 " people and to his country. You must make an outlaw of him, and let no honest 
 *' man speak to him, or have anything to say to him. (Cheers.) Do not let any 
 *' man terrify you by the threat which I have heard used within the last fortnight 
 *' to poor people in my country, do not let any man or agent terify you by the 
 " threat of putting you to expense. The Land League in Dublin is pledged, so 
 *' far as its resources go, to bear all legal expenses gone to in this struggle ; and, if 
 " they threaten to evict, you must be prepared and expect that this will be a pretty 
 *' bitter struggle. You must not be easily frightened, you must stand together, and 
 ** if it comes to eviction, why, all you have to do is to keep the farm empty, and we 
 *' will stand by you as best we can until you get the farm back again. If you pull 
 *' together, if the organisation is strong, there will be no evictions, because the land- 
 " lord will be afraid to evict." 
 
 On the 2 1 St November, 1880, at Balag-haderin, co. Mayo, 
 Mr. Dillon said : — 
 
 " We confidently expect that this struggle will go 
 
 ** on to the end without bloodshed, without violence, and without danger; but 
 ** shame on the Irishman who would be afraid, if the necessity arose, and if the 
 ** risk came, to take his stand by his own threshold, and defend it at the cost of 
 ** his life-blood. Let it go forth now that the Irish nation, having once ascertained 
 ** their power and their rights, will never again submit to be trampled on, unless 
 " their life-blood has been spilt at first on their own threshold. Prepare, then, I 
 " say, and organise for defence, if defence be necessary ; but meanwhile let your 
 *' policy be a policy of defence, and not aggression. Attack no man, and commit 
 *' no violence ; but, when you are attacked, show the man who attacks you that he 
 " has got to deal with men, and not with women." f Report, p. 41]. 
 
 [cl 
 
46 
 
 An Appeal to Galway. 
 
 On the 17th March, 1 881, at Loughrea, co. Galway, he said : — 
 
 * ' Therefore, I would say to you that, even at the cost of 
 
 '* some temporary sacrifice, and I appeal to the young men of Galway especially 
 ** to show a bold front to these tyrants — teach them that the Irish race is rising all over 
 '* the earth to-day — teach them that there is power still in the Irish race to destroy 
 "Irish landlordism, and win back the fair fields of Ireland for the people from 
 " whom they have been too long kept." 
 
 Mr. Dillon said on this occasion that 12 meetings of the same kind 
 were being held on that day. 
 
 On the 3rd April, 1881, at Clough, co. Kilkenny, Mr. Dillon 
 
 said: — 
 
 *' If you do as Father O'Halloran advised you to do with a traitor, and maintain 
 " the organisation, and have a committee, a good working, active committee, and 
 *' exercise your intelligence in protecting your own interest, you have got nothing to 
 *' fear from landlordism, because you have numbers on your side, and you can beat 
 " the landlords if you are true to yourselves. What you have got to fear is traitors 
 •' in your own ranks, and you must keep an eye upon every traitor, and, having 
 • • found them, you must have no mercy on them, but treat them as pointed out by 
 " your president. When you have made a few examples you will find traitors not 
 " so numerous as in the past, that the land-grabber and landlordism can do nothing, 
 " and when you have taught the people by this organisation to believe and trust 
 "each man in his neighbour, and in the loyalty and honour and honesty of his 
 " neighbour, we may be in a position next autumn to attempt to take a bolder 
 " stand than we have done as yet." 
 
 On the 1 8th April, 1881, at Donegal, he said : — 
 
 " Do not be waiting for directions from Dublin. Do not be looking for leaders. 
 " Let every townland fight this battle. You have brains in your heads. Another 
 " game before you is simply one of passive, obstinate resistance ; and if the Govern- 
 " ment breaks up the organisation in Dublin and arrests the leaders, then what you 
 " have got to do is hold meetings after Mass every Sunday, and pledge yourselves 
 " to carry on the struggle honestly and honourably. As I said before, let leaders 
 " be got up amongst the young men of every townland, and keep an eye on every 
 " man who betrays the cause, and teach him by a principle which you understand 
 " much better than I do, that it would have been much better for him to stand by 
 " his neighbours. If you act on that advice, it does not matter whether the 
 " Government breaks up the central organisation or not." [Report, pp. 41, 42], 
 
 Mr. Biggar and Dumb Animals. 
 
 On the loth October, 1880, Mr. Biggar, at Castleisland, co. 
 Kerry, in opening- the Land League in that county, said : — 
 
 . " Then, brethren, there are other duties which Land 
 
 " Leaguers can do of the very greatest importance. (Interruption.) Among other 
 " thing:?, you can take care that none of your neighbours give more than the 
 " (Government ?) valuation to the landlords in the shape of rent. You can take 
 " care, if anyone is base enough to take property against the course pursued by his 
 " fellows, that the public opinion of the district can be brought against him, and 
 " that he be forced, not by physical means, but by means which are exceedingly 
 " powerful, to do what he ought to do in regard to a matter of that kind. 
 " Then suppose a tenant farmer is threatened with an eviction with no 
 " cause, you can take care that all the facts are supplied to the Land League in 
 " Dublin, and that this man would get a proper defence. (Interruption.) In the 
 
 " great majority of cases, if they had been properly defended 
 
 " the result would have been that the landlords would have been unsuccessful, and 
 " the tenant would have continued in the possession of his farm. Then, again, 
 " suppose a tenant is evicted, you can, if possible, take means to have this tenant 
 " put back into his holding. You can take care that the land will be of no value 
 
 62] 
 
47 
 
 ** to anybody else, you can take care that the cattle shall not be cruelly treated, but 
 ♦• that they can stray off the land ; the fences will fall down, and there will be no 
 •* benefit in having that land. Suppose any man takes this land ? (Interruption). 
 
 *' These are all means which you can take. Another means was taken in 
 ** Limerick the other day. A farmer had taken a farm from which the occupier 
 *' had been evicted. He took the produce to Limerick market, and could get no 
 *' buyer. You can take care that any of these shall be a marked man, and shall 
 "suffer instead of gain. (Hear, hear.) There is another question 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 for a great variety of reasons. They never have given any 
 " advice of the sort. Mr. Hussey 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. What is the good of shooting a 
 *' landlord ? First of all the Government offers an enormous reward ; for a large 
 " sum of money someone may commit perjury against one for whom a grudge may 
 " be felt, or against whom there is no cause of suspicion but of the very vagues't 
 ** kind, may take place. Then the police take care that, if they hear anything of a 
 *' suspicious nature, tliey bring him before the magistrates, and take care, if any- 
 *' thing is in favour of the prisoner at the bar (interruption) shall be suppressed, 
 " and use every means in their power for a conviction (renewed interruption). 
 " Then, again, the magistrates who hear the case are all partisans against the 
 " prisoner at the bar, and in favour of their own class. Then, again, if any case 
 " whatever is made against the prisoner, and he is sent forward for trial at the 
 *' Assizes, the Government take care to pack the jury, they bring down the ablest 
 
 " counsel at the bar, who try, if possible, to twist any little at 
 
 *• their command for the means of bringing about a conviction. 
 
 " 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." [Report, pp. 42, 43]. 
 
 Within the Cognisance of the League. 
 
 On the 17th October, 1880, Mr. Big-gar, at Tullow, co. Carlow, 
 said : — 
 
 ^' Now, if anyone does — as has been pointed out — takes land from which a 
 " tenant has been evicted for non-payment of an exorbitant rent, or in any case in 
 " which he has not got full compensation from the landlord for his disturbance, 
 " and for all his improvements, I do think, Mr. Chairman, that the attitude of all 
 " the neighbours of that man is to take care that he shall not derive any profit from 
 " that land. Do not assist him as a labourer, do not (interruption) deal with him, 
 " do not buy from him, do not sell to him, and the result will be that that man 
 " will in a very limited time be very well pleased to give the land to the party who had 
 *' been evicted from it. Then, suppose another case in which the landlord takes 
 "the land in his own hand. Well now, I gave a suggestion in county Kerry on 
 " this day week, but I do not know whether it is the best or not, but I would say 
 " if the landlord puts this crop, this land into crop, such as oats, turnips, or 
 " potatoes, if his cows stray into these oats, do not take the trouble to have the 
 " cattle turned out. (Laughter.) Well, if he has any crop to cut, why, advise all 
 *' the labourers in the neigbourhood to take care not to take any employment from 
 *' him, try to get employment at some other place and allow the crop to lie waste, 
 " so that he will make nothing out of it. Then, suppose, for instance, his cattle 
 " stray in the road, well, allow them to continue to stray ; do not take the trouble 
 *' to put them back. All these are little things not infringing the law. At the 
 *' same time they are matters which would effectually come within the cognisance 
 ** of the members of the Land League." [Report, p. 43]. 
 
 [63 
 
48 
 
 To Beat the Landlord. 
 
 On the I St November, 1880, at Dungannon, County Tyrone, 
 Mr. Biggar said : — 
 
 " The Land Leaguer should use every exertion to beat the landlord in every 
 *' way he can be beaten. First of all, if he brings an eviction, or brings a claim 
 " for rent, defend the action in a court of law. If you are beaten in the court of 
 " law, and he actually seizes the crop of the men for an unreasonable amount ot 
 " rent claimed, take care that none of you yourselves, and take care, as far as 
 " possible, that no one else bids for any of the produce of that seizure. If he can 
 " get no rent beyond the Government valuation, unless he is a very wealthy man, 
 " he will naturally get scarce of money, and will naturally be disposed to 
 " compromise with the occupying tenant. Then, suppose he goes a step further, 
 " and ejects the tenant— suppose he carries the thmg to the bitter end — well, 
 " subscribe among yourselves, and support the tenant who is evicted, as far as you 
 " possibly can ; and then, do not any of you take the land from which a tenant 
 " has been evicted, and, as far as your influence extends, take care that no one 
 " else takes the land from which your friends have been evicted. I need not 
 " point out to you the means which should be used. You all know them. There 
 " are fifty ways. Do not speak to him — do not speak to his family — hoot him, 
 " and go the other side of the road — (tumult) — do not buy from him — do not sell 
 *' to him — put him entirely in what is called * Coventry ; ' and the result will be 
 " that it will become so unpopular in the country for any man to take land from 
 " which another has been evicted, that the fact is, the thing will become 
 
 " impossible, and it will cease to be practised Now, 
 
 " this Compensation for Disturbance Bill, was a bill, which I say deliberately, 
 " it was an outrage to the understanding and to the intelligence of the Irish 
 " members, and of the Iiish people, to propose a bill such as was called the Irish 
 " Disturbance Bill, of last session." 
 
 On the 13th November, 1880, at Blacklion, co. Cavan, he 
 said: — 
 
 "The next step you must take, every tenant farmer should combine and 
 " become members of the Land League for the protection of the tenant 
 " farmers. . . You should not give more than the Government valuation in 
 " the shape of rent. We know where the tenant league has been made workable 
 " — what has been done? We know what the trades-unionists of any country 
 
 " would do Suppose you met another neighbour who refused to 
 
 " act in conformity with you, shun him. Don't buy or sell from him. If a shop- 
 " keeper sells to him, then you say, 'We won't buy from you ; ' and let the grass 
 " grow at the shopkeeper's door who will sell to a man who takes land from which 
 *' a tenant has been evicted, or who will not act in conformity with the interest of 
 *' his class. 
 
 "Suppose the landlord takes the land into his own hands, don't work for him. 
 " I don't mean to strike any man that works for him. Reason with him, and 
 " allow this covetous landlord to till his own land. If he puts cattle on his land, 
 " let him herd them himself If his hay requires to be cut, let him cut it himself. 
 " If you carry out these principles, the result must be you will be masters of the 
 *' situation." [Report, p. 44]. 
 
 It would injure the cause. 
 
 On the 1 2th December, 1880, at Mullagh, co. Cavan, Mr. 
 Biggar said : — 
 
 "Now, there are some thmgs the League never did. The League never 
 " recommended outrages of any sort. The League has been charged with 
 " recommending murder. Well, the League never did anything of the sort, and 
 
 64] 
 
49 
 
 ** the Leagfue never will, I believe. It certainly has not done so up to the 
 " present, and so far as I can form an opinion, it never will recommend 
 " anything of the sort. Well, then, it has been charged with another thing, 
 " with recommending the maiming of cattle. That is a thing I would 
 " advise in the strongest terms I could possibly use, — I would recommend that 
 ** nothing of that sort should be practised, and for this reason. First of all it is a 
 '* frightfully cruel and sinful thing to do ; and in the next place it is a matter that 
 " is calculated to injure your cause very materially and very seriously with large. 
 " classes of the English people who have political influence with regard to a settle- 
 '* ment of this question. Now, these are things that should he avoided ; that is, 
 " really substantial dona fide outrage should be avoided by all means, and by all 
 " the influence which you and the League can use. But there are other things 
 " which the League can do, and which the League has done, and in which I hold 
 *' the League is thoroughly justified in doing. The League, with regard to the 
 " lands of a county, Meath, near to where we are, — the League is perfectly 
 "justified in my opinion in doing what they did in Kells the other day, that is, 
 " come together in a large number, and allow the persons who formerly bid for 
 " grass lands to know that they, the large crowd which collected together there, 
 " are of opinion that it is undesirable that the land of Meath should be kept for 
 " the purpose of grazing cattle instead of the purpose of raising men. (Cheers). 
 
 " That was thoroughly legitimate Now, when you, 
 
 " when any district of Ireland, when the occupiers of the land in any district of 
 " Ireland has combined not to pay more than they consider a reasonable rent, 
 " then what they can do is this, they can use their influence with all their neigh- 
 " hours to urge them not to give more than this reasonable and fair rent, and if 
 " any of these neighbours are injudicious and foolish enough to break, and 
 " dishonest enough in fact to break through the compact into which they have 
 " themselves entered, then it is thoroughly legitimate and proper that their neigh- 
 " hours should expostulate with them, advise them to be more careful for the time 
 '* to come, and if this wicked person is impenitent, they may cease to buy and sell with 
 " him ; they may say, ' We think this man an enemy of society, and that society should 
 '* ' hold no intercourse with him directly or indirectly of any sort,' and thus the pressure 
 " would become so great that this dishonest person would be brought to see a sense 
 " of his wickedness, and be brought to join with his fellows and act as he ought to 
 " do. Then in cases of a more frightfully wicked nature, cases in which a man 
 *' has broken the Tenth Commandment by coveting his neighbour's land, and has 
 " taken land over another person's head, why then you can visit him, not threaten 
 " him, of course, but at the same time you should reason with him, advise him to 
 " mend his ways and give up the holding, and reinstate the person who was 
 " unjustly evicted from that holding. These matters are very easy understood, and 
 " veiy easy practised, and at the same time you can do it without using such threats 
 " as would bring you within the scope of the criminal law, and thus you can do so 
 " with perfect safety to yourselves and with enormous benefit to the community." 
 [Report, pp. 44, 45]. 
 
 Their own Intelligence. 
 
 " Well now, I have nearly done, and will only make a short reference to what I 
 " think might be justifiably done with regard to these grass lands of Meath. It is 
 " a local subject, and I think I might tell you things which you should not do, and 
 " which you might reasonably do. Of course your own intelligence will teach you 
 " very much better than anything I can say, but at the same time it is no harm for me 
 " to mention tlie subject. Now, I think you are perfectly justified in recommend- 
 " ing the persons who herd the lands of large graziers to cease to act as herds on 
 " these lands. We all agree that this system of exterminating the human popula- 
 " tion from the land, and replacing these land occupiers with cattle, is one which 
 " has done incalculable injury to this country, and one which should be put a stop 
 " to. 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 
 
 [6i 
 
50 
 
 " toward 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 liis neighbours. (Cheers). If this 
 " herd would refuse to take the laudable advice of his neighbours, why, then, other 
 " means may be used. For instance, the shopkeepers in the village might cease 
 " to supply him with the tilings he requires ; he might get no assistance in anv ot 
 " his difficulties, and his position would become so untenable that he probably 
 " would give up that occupation. Then, when the matter had gone so far, ot 
 " course it would be inconvenient for this landlord to look after the 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 
 " on« could defend conduct of that sort, but I tell you Avhat 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 find 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 
 '* his stone fences along the roadside were broken down, and 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 landowner, who is doing such 
 " incalculable injury to the community — to point out to him that that injury had 
 " taken place on his fence. (Laughter). These are things that do not require 
 *' any argument, and in these ways it would be made exceedingly uncomfortable 
 ** and inconvenient for the landlord to keep his land in grass, and if this pressure 
 " were continually brought to bear upon him, the result would probably be, that in 
 " a very limited time he would think it more for his interest to let this land to 
 " human beings than keep it in its i^resent state, which is so injurious to us all." 
 [Report, pp. 45, 46.] 
 
 The full text of Mr. Dillon's and Mr. Big-g-ar's speeches, from 
 which we have given extracts, will be found in (Report) 
 Appendix V. 
 
 Blow his brains out. 
 
 On the 4th March, 188 1, Mr, Boyton, at Kilorg-lin, co. Kerry, 
 said : — 
 
 ** We have seen plenty of them " (landlords and agents) " who 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 his brams 
 " out, blow them out in the day time. It will be your duty to punish those people 
 " (the landlords) for any exercise of their power. Don't be afraid of the Govern- 
 ** ment or the police, but teach that man (the land-grabber), to be afraid of you. 
 *' It is the intention of the Government to prop up the landlords that you have 
 " pledged us here to-day to destroy. You must continue the struggle until we get 
 " rid of landlords in this Irish nation for ever. That is what we want. Any 
 " policeman that enters your house between sunset to-night and sunrise to-morrow, 
 *' you can kill him if you choose. If they, 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. Teach your children to grow up in the love of God and 
 *' hatred of English misgovernment and oppression. If we saw a fair prospect of 
 " something better we w^ould not be afraid to sacrifice our liberty first and after- 
 *' wards our lives in its attainment." 
 
 The above extracts will sufficiently show the character of the 
 speeches delivered at this time by leaders of the Land League. 
 [Report, p. 46]. 
 
 66] 
 
51 
 Some Typical Cases. 
 
 We will now examine how the directions of leaders and organisers 
 were acted upon. For this purpose we shall give some cases as 
 typical of the manner in which boycotting was practised. Instances 
 of similar treatment of persons obnoxious to the Land League are 
 so numerous that we can only give examples. 
 
 We will first give the case of Captain Boycott, from whom the 
 system has derived its name. 
 
 Captain Boycott. 
 
 This gentleman was agent to Lord Erne, and lived for several 
 years near Lough Mask. He was on perfectly good terms with the 
 tenants until after the commencement of the land agitation in the 
 summer of 1879, when a threatening notice demanding a reduction 
 of rent was posted on his gate. In November, 1879, the tenants 
 came to him and said that 5s. in the £ reduction was " the law of 
 the land now," and that they dare not pay more. On the 22nd 
 September, 1880, a few days after Mr. Parnell's Ennis speech, 
 Captain Boycott's walls were thrown down, his cattle driven off, and 
 scattered over the roads. He had no one to work for him, but had 
 to do the work of the stables and farm himself. He could not get 
 his horses shod, the smith telling him that he was very sorry, but 
 that he dare not do it. He had to procure provisions through a 
 friend from Cong, not being able to get them himself from Ballinrobe, 
 where he usually obtained them. When he met the people on the 
 road they hooted and booed at him, and spat across his feet as he 
 went. In consequence of this treatment he had to leave, and went 
 with his wife and family to the Harman Hotel, at Dublin. They 
 were not allowed to remain there, the landlord having received 
 a threatening notice that if he kept them it would be at his peril. 
 Captain Boycott therefore left the country, and remained away for 
 nearly twelve months. During his absence a steward whom he had 
 left in charge employed a man named Michael Farragher, where- 
 upon a shot was fired through Farragher's door. Captain Boycott 
 returned in September, 1881, when he was again hooted and mobbed, 
 and his effigy hanged and burnt in the market-square, and he was 
 obliged to have police protection. No cause for this treatment of 
 Captain Boycott has been suggested other than his collecting rents. 
 [Report, p. 47]. 
 
 Richard Mitchell, a Farmer. 
 
 Richard Mitchell, who farmed, and also let out agricultural 
 machines to farmers, resided in co. Carlow, and also in South 
 Tipperary. 
 
 Prior to the year 1881 all had gone well with him, and he had 
 laid by a fortune of some £4,000. In the year 1881, however, he, 
 
 [67 
 
52 
 
 in the way of his trade, let out in co. Carlow on hire some agri- 
 cultural machines to persons who were then boycotted, and upon 
 whose holding's emergency men were at work. 
 
 He was thereupon warned by the Carlow, Graigue, and 
 Kilshellan branch of the Land League, and cautioned to desist, 
 the secretary of the branch, O'Neill, telling" him if he did not, 
 he would be quite unable to prevent his being shot. Mitchell 
 did not desist, and he was thereupon boycotted. 
 
 In 1883 he saved and sold some hay for the landlord of a 
 property in Tipperary, and in the next year took the grazing- 
 of the land. After this he was boycotted by the Tipperary 
 branch of the Land League at Drangan, for which the secretary, 
 Michael Cusack, was prosecuted and punished. 
 
 After 1884 Mitchell could not get food at any place nearer 
 than 18 or 20 miles from Drangan. There were several villages 
 around where Mitchell lived, but whenever he attempted to g-o 
 to them to get goods, messengers on horseback were sent on 
 with signals to warn the shopkeepers of his coming. Twenty- 
 nine of Mitchell's cattle were from time to time maliciously killed, 
 and when he applied for compensation he was resisted by the 
 League, who called witnesses to depreciate the value of his. 
 cattle and otherwise oppose his claim. By this means the costs, 
 which (under the statute providing compensation) had to be 
 paid by Mitchell, rendered wholly inadequate the allowances 
 he got for his cattle. A druggist refused to serve him with salt 
 for a sick cow. 
 
 In the autumn of 1886, Mitchell's harvest being then on the 
 ground, he went to Clonmel, a distance of 18 miles from Drangan, 
 to get labourers to save his corn. Whilst there he went into the 
 shop of ]\Ir. Condon, M.P. for Tipperary (who keeps a butcher's 
 shop) to buy some meat, and was supplied by the man in the shop, 
 who did not know him. Mr. Condon was, and still is, Vice-President 
 of the National League. 
 
 Mitchell told us that he had paid the man in the shop, and that as 
 he (Mitchell) was going out, he met Mr. Condon coming in, who at 
 once clutched at the meat and said, " If I had been in the shop it 
 "would have been the knife you would have got." IMr. Condon 
 denies that he said this, or that he ever saw ^Mitchell ; but, upon 
 cross-examination, IMr. Condon stated that had he known Mitchell 
 was boycotted, he most certainly would not have supplied him with 
 anything at his shop. 
 
 Mitchell had to send his horses 20 miles to get them shod. In 
 November, 1887, Mitchell's son, a boy of 11 years of age, was going 
 home with bread, Mitchell having been two days without food, when 
 the boy was attacked by three men, who hit him in his side with a 
 large stone, which, to use Mitchell's expression, *' rendered him 
 "worthless for his life." 
 
 The result of this action of the Land League against Mitchell 
 was, that he was ruined and driven into the Bankruptcy Court. 
 [Report, pp. 47, 48]. 
 
 68] 
 
53 
 Edward Herbert, a Publican. 
 
 Edward Herbert was a publican at Ballyduff, co. Kerry. In 
 the year 1876 he was appointed by the County Court Judge Bailiff 
 to the County Court. Prior to the year 1881 he hved on friendly 
 terms with his neighbours, carrying on his business as publican and 
 County Court Bailiff. Early in 1881, Martin Sullivan, the Secretary 
 of the Ballyduff branch of the Land League, called upon him, and 
 warned him that if he served any papers in connection with rent, he 
 would get into trouble about his public-house. Herbert promised 
 this man, as well as other members of the Land League, that he 
 would serve no writs ; but any papers coming from the County Court 
 he dare not refuse I0 serve, as he was not prepared to give up his 
 position. Thereupon Herbert refused to serve writs for the land- 
 lord, but continued his County Court duties, and in April, 1881, 
 served the processes of the Court. On the next Sunday, a notice was 
 posted on the Chapel gate, calling upon all persons to boycott him 
 severely. From that day he was boycotted. His public-house was 
 watched, no people came to it, he could get no work done except by 
 importing strangers, he had to go 12 miles to get provisions for 
 himself and family, and he was hooted and hissed when he went 
 abroad. He and his family were stoned, and his business of a 
 publican was ruined. 
 
 On the 27th May, 1881, the following appeared in the "Kerry 
 Sentinel" (the newspaper of Mr. Edward Harrington, M.P.) : — 
 
 " Five farms on the Ballyduff estate of Mr. J. A. Slaughton, from which the 
 *' tenants were ejected or were voluntarily evicted through the rents being exorbi- 
 *' tant, are now common waste. The old rent warner, a man named Sullivan, was 
 *' appointed caretaker over the farm, but he resigned the office and also that of 
 ■" rent warner. It appears that he got disgusted with the m'anner in which the 
 "" tenants were treated. Two months then elapsed before the agent, Mr. George 
 •" Sandes, could get another caretaker, when he picked up an army pensioner at 
 "* Listowel, who apparently determined to mind the farms come what might 
 *' However, he very soon changed his mind, for alter his second day there, he 
 ■" quietly decamped. The farms were then another month without a caretaker, at 
 *' the expiration of which Mr. Sandes was able to procure the services of the 
 ** process-server Herbert. That man was not so timid as his predecessors in office, 
 ■"as a consequence of which he would not get a pennyworth of bread in the 
 ■" district, even it he offered ^^loo for it." 
 
 On the 3rd June, 1881, the ''Kerry Sentinel" again published 
 of Herbert as follows : — 
 
 *' A bailiff named Edward Herbert was appointed by Mr. J. A. Slaughton as 
 *' drover on the Ballyduff estate. Fairs are held in the village twice a year, and 
 *' Mr. Slaughton is allowed ihe tolls of the fairs. The Ballyduff fair was held on 
 " Wednesday, and Herbert was appointed to collect the tolls, but he could not find 
 *' a man to collect a halfpenny for him or hold any communication with him. The 
 ** result of that was that people were charged no tolls at all." 
 
 On the i6th September, 1S81, the "Kerry Sentinel" again 
 published of Herbert, as follows : — 
 
 " Lixmore and Ennismore Land League. A sum of 30s, was voted to defray 
 ■*' the expenses of parties lately summoned before the O'Dorney Petty Sessions, for 
 •" assaulting the process-server Herbert whilst serving a writ on E. Fitzmaurice, 
 ^'P.L.G. 
 
 [69 
 
54 
 
 Herbert was obliged to obtain police protection. 
 
 In the 3^ear 1883 he took the grazing of some of the land from 
 which one of the tenants above-mentioned had been evicted, and 
 which had been vacant for two years. He remained unniolested 
 until the establishment of the National League at Ballyduff, in the 
 month of March, 1886. The boycotting which he had previously 
 experienced was then renewed. 
 
 Mr. Edward Harrington, M.P., in his *' Kerry Sentinel," published 
 the following resolutions of the Ballyduff Branch about him : — 
 
 " Kerry Sentinel," 21st May, 1886, Ballyduff Branch. ** That no member 
 " hold any communication with i he notorious Edward Herbert, Ballyduff, who is 
 " going all over the country doing the dirty work the other bailiffs or process- 
 *' servers will not do, and who in addition holds two evicted farms from which the 
 " families had to fly to America. One of them returned and claimed his farm, 
 " but Herbert would not give it up, and therefore had to go back to 
 " America." 
 
 Again the "Kerry Sentinel," on nth June, 1886, published the 
 following : — 
 
 Ballyduff Branch. "A charge was made against a tradesman for working by 
 " n-ight for the notorious Edwai'd Herbert, but could not be proved to the 
 ** satisfaction of the meeting." 
 
 Herbert's father, an old man of over 70 years of age, was 
 stoned and wounded ; his child, 10 years of age, was pursued and 
 terrified, and on the 24th June, 1886, Herbert himself was 
 attacked, on his way home from the County Court Sessions at 
 Tralee, by three or four men, who fired at him, riddling- his coat 
 with bullets, one of which struck him on the right arm, causing 
 him to be confined in the infirmary for about six weeks. 
 
 Mr. Edward Harrington, M.P., when these extracts from his 
 paper were put to him upon cross-examination, suggested for the 
 first time that he did not believe Herbert had been wilfully shot, 
 but that the wound had been accidently inflicted by Herbert 
 himself. This suggestion, however, in our judg- 
 ment, is entirely unfounded, and, moreover, Mr. 
 Harrington had, in the ''Kerry Sentinel" of the 
 26th June, 1886, published an article, narrating the 
 outrage "with great particularity, and stating that 
 a most determined and desperate attempt had been 
 made on the life of Edv/ard Herbert, and never 
 suggesting that the injury Herbert received was 
 self-inflicted. The article added that no arrests were made. 
 [Report, pp. 48, 49]. 
 
 Jeremiah Hegarty, a Merchant. 
 
 Jeremiah Hegarty, of Mill Street, in the county Cork, was a 
 well-to-do general merchant in that town, as well as a con- 
 
 70] 
 
bo 
 
 siderable farmer. On the ist August, 1880, a branch of the Land 
 League was established in his town. Prior to this Hegarty 
 had Hved in peace and amity with his neighbours, and carried on 
 a thriving trade. 
 
 Upon the establishment of the League, Hegarty was invited to 
 join it, but refused, disapproving of it. He was thereupon 
 denounced at a League Meeting held at Knocknagree about the 
 15th August, 1880. He still continued to be a non-leaguer, and 
 on the 22nd December, 1880, the following notice was posted 
 in Mill Street and the district: — 
 
 " Take notice you are cautioned against having any dealings with John 
 " (meaning Jeremiah) Hegarty, of Mill JStreet, or his family ; neither buy nor sell^ 
 " them anything ; shun them as you would lepers. If you disobey this order majj- 
 * ' the Lord have mercy on you. " 
 
 It will be seen that the term " Shun them as you would lepers," 
 is taken from Mr. Parnell's Ennis speech, of the 19th September, 
 1880. 
 
 The day after this notice appeared, Hegarty's shop was 
 picketted by two members of the League and his customers 
 molested. 
 
 On the 26th December, Hegarty wrote the following letter to 
 Mr. Davitt at the head office of the League in Dublin : — 
 
 " Mill Street, co. Cork, 
 " Sir, " 26th December, 1880. 
 
 " Though I do not agree in your general politics or in the entire pro- 
 " gramme of the Land League, of which body I am not a member, I am bound to- 
 " say I greatly admire your manly utteiances as regards coercion, and fully 
 "believe in the integrity and sincerity of your convictions from your point of 
 " view, and it is on this account that I feel it my duty to inform you of the uses- 
 " to which the name of the League has been prostituted in this town, and 
 •' probably equally so in many other districts, viz., to gratify spleen and private 
 " malice, and to annoy and ruin many individuals, agamst whom no charge could 
 " be adduced. For instance, a meeting of the Land League was held here on 
 " Tuesday last, at which a resolution was carried to boycott me. This was, I 
 " believe, opposed by the chairman, &c., and when he failed in his opposition, he 
 " insisted upon reasons bei^g assigned for such an extraordinary act. This they 
 " also declined to do, and proceeded during Tuesday night, posting notices, 
 " calling upon the people to have no dealings with me or my family in very 
 " offensive and unbecoming language, in addition to which a sentry of mem- 
 " bers of the League were posted opposite my business to intimidate people 
 " from entering my house. They also have attempted personal violence to myself, 
 " and on several occasions, during the past three nights, having broken into my 
 '- brother-iu-law's house in the public street at Mill Street (and for which infor- 
 '' mations have been lodged against them), for no reason except that they have 
 " been active in my hour of trial on my behalf. I have no doubt that there are 
 " many active, useful, and honest members in the Mill Street Land League. On 
 " the other hand, it contains a sufficient number of members, who, if looked at 
 " from any point of view, are certain to bring disgrace upon all the League 
 " organisations throughout this country. It is needless for me to particularise 
 '' their conduct here, but I say without fear of contradiction, that if every district 
 " in Ireland is governed by the same reign of terror as Mill Street, that the 
 " Habeas Corpus Act is suspended in its most hideous form. I know numbers of 
 '• people whoare coerced into this business of the League by open and defiant 
 '' threats of violence, &c. Surely such conduct as this is likely to weaken instead 
 " of being an element of strength to the interests of the poor tenant 
 " farmers of Ireland, whose wants so sadly require amelioration. Such cruel 
 *' acts on individuals as have been practised on me are sure to invoke the 
 
 [71 
 
56 
 
 " indignation of everjr honest man in the community, whether in the Land 
 " League or out of it, and to produce the fruits they so richly merit. I 
 " have carried on an extensive trade in this town during the past 25 years, and 
 " have not during that time injured a man in my business dealings. If I have 
 " somewhat succeeded better than many of my neighbouring traders it is well 
 " known that it is by constant toil, untiring zeal, and persevering industry- that I 
 " have so succeeded, and I fearlessly assert that I have, in season and out of 
 " season, during the time never lost an opportunity of advocating the interests of 
 " the farming community and an amendment of the land laws ; even on selfish or 
 " personal grounds it could not be otherwise, as probably I am amongst the 
 " highest rented tenants in the community, my valuation being £2i\o, rent £S9^i 
 *' and holding chiefly as a yearly tenant. Every penny I have ever made has "been 
 " spent in procuring employment for the labourers and artizans in the district 
 " during the last ten years. I have given away in employment annually ;i^i,000. 
 " I have been endeavouring to educate and maintain fairly a large young family, 
 " and because a number of insolvent rowdies here have been enabled, under the 
 " auspices of the Land League, to stop me of following my usual calling, I am to 
 *' be ruined and prevented from supporting that family, though there is no charge 
 "advanced against me. If trial, suffering, and deprivation of personal liberty be 
 '• the result of the teaching of the Land League here, in the name of freedom, 
 " patriotism, and all that is dear and sacred to Irishmen at home and abroad, I 
 " call upon the Government to exercise its prerogative, and crush out and for ever 
 " such tyranny. 
 
 ** I am, Sir, yours truly, 
 *' To M. Davitt, Esq., » Jeremiah Hegarty, P.L.G. 
 
 *" Offices, Irish National Land League, 
 
 " 39> Upper Sackville Street, Dublin." [Report, pp. 49-5 il- 
 
 Mr. Davitt's explanation. 
 
 No answer to this letter was ever received, and Hegarty 
 published it in the press. 
 
 Mr. Davitt stated in evidence that he wrote to the President of 
 the Land League at Mill Street about the case, but his letter 
 was not produced, nor did Mr. Davitt when in the box know the 
 name of the person to whom he had written, but stated he would 
 make enquiries and let us know. This he never did, nor has 
 the President of the branch been called before us. What then 
 took place is as follows : — Hegarty was boycotted as before, so 
 that neither he nor his family could obtain the necessaries of life 
 in Mill Street ; threatening notices about him were placarded 
 throughout the town, his workmen were warned to leave his 
 employment or otherwise they would be traitors to their country. 
 Some left through fear, and others who remained were raided at 
 night in their homes, ill-used, and intimidated by the firing ot 
 shots. Certain of his customers who still had the courage to 
 continue to deal with him were in like manner visited and 
 intimidated; one young girl for so doing having her hair cut off. 
 
 His brother-in-law, who still continued on terms of intimacy 
 with Hegarty, had his house set on fire at night (he and his 
 family being within), and he was boycotted in church, the people 
 leaving the side on which he sat. 
 
 At the Cork Spring Assizes of 1 881 Hegarty prosecuted to 
 conviction two men who had molested him by picketting his door. 
 [Report, p. 51]. 
 
 72] 
 
57 
 A Letter from the League. 
 
 Shortly after the trial the following- letter, signed by the Hon 
 Secretary, the President, and the Treasurer of the Mill Street 
 Land League was published relative to Hegarty : — 
 
 " From his (Hegarty's) increasing tyranny and intolerance, his oppression and 
 "enmity to the Land League, he has been most thoroughly boycotted ; he has 
 " also been beaten in the Poor Law Board. He instituted Crown prosecutions 
 •' against a number of our people for alleged boycotting, and succeeded in getting 
 ** two of our best men in prison for a year. The evidence was very weak, but 
 ** this viper has so much influence at the Castle (it is even said freely that he has 
 " a yearly pension since 1867), that in the present state of the country he, by the 
 " judge's charge, chiefly succeeded only too well. On Friday, 25th March, when 
 *' the evil tidings were known a tremendous crowd attacked his house. 
 
 " That was to show their sympathy with the prisoners, who are men of good 
 " families here, but I am sorry to say that their present circumstances are 
 ** anything but flourishing. The effect of taking them away at present is simply 
 " piteous to their wives and large young families, if the generosity of their 
 *' countrymen at home and abroad does not come at once to their assistance. 
 
 " From the start of the Land League those two men have been foremost in the 
 " good work, sparing neither time nor expense ; they were true to the backbone, 
 *' and thus incurred the hate of Jeremiah Hegarty. Their relations are all true 
 " men. No expense has been spared in defending them. 
 *' Yours faithfully, 
 
 "John Riordan, Hon. Secretar}'. 
 " John Rorke, President. 
 " Mill Street Land League." *' N. T. Murphy, Treasurer. 
 
 In the month of April, 188 1, an attempt was made on 
 Hegarty's life, he being shot at. [Report, pp. 51, 52]. 
 
 The Mill Street National School. 
 
 On the 14th May, 1881, Mr. T. D. Sullivan, M.P., in his paper 
 ''The Nation," published the following : — 
 
 "Boycotting a National School in Mill Street, co. Cork. 
 "The Cork papers of Saturday last have the following: — 
 
 " 'Considerable exciten.ent was caused at Mill Street a few days ago by the 
 
 * appearance on the walls of the town of placards calling imperatively on the 
 ' people to boycott the National School, as a relative of the witnesses who gave 
 ' evidence in the Mill Street Land League tiials at Cork was teaching there as 
 ' an assistant schoolmaster. Since the posting up and publication of these 
 
 * placards, which stated that in opposition to the National School a Land League 
 
 * private preparatory school was to be opened in the council room of the town, 
 
 * about 100 children have been withdrawn from the National School and sent 
 
 * and taught at the Land League School, the master of which, Mr. Thos. 
 
 * McCarthy, has been chosen by the people. With regard to the boycotting of 
 ' the National School in Mill Street, it is right to say that it does not extend at 
 ' all to the advanced National School, that is, to the department where the 
 ' senior pupils are educated, but entirely to the preparatory, as in the school 
 ' there is a relative of the witnesses who gave evidence against the Land League 
 ' prisoners in the recent trial. As a matter of fact, the number of pupils at the 
 
 * present time attending the male preparatory National School is 15, whereas 
 
 * previous to the publication of this placard the number was 100.' " 
 
 Hegarty's house was wrecked, and the persons who supplied 
 him with goods for his trade were threatened. [Report, p. 52]. 
 
 [73 
 
58 
 Dr. Tanner's Incitements. 
 
 This state of things was notorious : Dr. Tanner, a leading* 
 member of the Land League and M.P. for Cork, when speaking- 
 of Hegarty, said "Mill Street has become historic." No one 
 from the League took Hegarty" s part, and with the exception of 
 an interval during which the League was not active, matters 
 continued as above described. 
 
 On the 15th December, 1885, Dr. Tanner again went to 
 Mill Street, and addressed a large crowd to the following 
 effect : — 
 
 " He called Hegarty a low creeping reptile living in their midst, who used all 
 " his influence in maligning the people amongst whom he lived, and who was 
 " endeavouring to climb to the magisterial bench, but who would yet be relegated 
 *' to the lowest depths of a felon's cell. He is an infamous being who did not 
 *' deserve the name of a being, whose proper definition would be a thing, but 
 " since he should call him a being, he would call him the lowest of created 
 " beings, a creeping louse, and he called upon all those present who wished him 
 " out of the place to lift up their hands." 
 
 After this speech the oppression of Hegarty increased. His 
 trade became seriously injured, and in the month of April, 1887, 
 his life was again attempted, two shots being fired at him. one 
 taking effect upon the side of his head. Efforts were made in 
 cross-examination to show that Hegarty's unpopularity and the 
 consequent outrages upon him Vv^ere to be attributed to the fact 
 that he had taken part in evictions. 
 
 In our judgment it was conclusively established 
 that the persecution of Hegarty was the direct 
 result of the action of the League. He had applied 
 to headquarters for relief, and could obtain none. The 
 Reverend Canon Griffin, the parish priest of Mill Street, 
 w^ho was acquainted with all the facts, described the treat- 
 ment of Hegarty as a great outrage and an infamy. [Report, 
 pp. 52, 53]. 
 
 The Facts in a Nutshell. 
 
 It will be seen from these instances of boycotting, which might 
 be largely added to, that it constituted a system of intimidation 
 of a most severe and cruel character. It was directed not only 
 against those who took land from which another had been 
 evicted, but against every one who, directly or indirectly, offered 
 any obstacle to the reign of the unwritten law of the League in 
 the place of the law of the land. It was directed against those 
 who paid their rent when others refused to pay, a class whom 
 Mr. Parnell, in his interview with Mr. Ives, had designated 
 as weak and cowardly, and againstwhom public opinion must 
 
 74] 
 
59 
 
 be brought to bear, though it might manifest itself in unpleasant 
 ways. It was directed against agents of landlords, bailiffs, care- 
 takers, emergency men called in to prevent the land becoming 
 waste, against those who supplied goods to such men, and 
 generally against all who supplied food or even spoke to boy- 
 cotted persons ; against those who refused to join the League ; 
 against those who gave evidence in courts of justice adverse to 
 those accused of agrarian crime ; against those who supplied 
 cars to the police ; against the children of boycotted persons, 
 and the schools they attended ; and against a school because an 
 assistant teacher was related to persons who had offended the 
 League. The funerals of obnoxious persons were put under a 
 similar ban, and even coffins, or the wood to make them, were 
 withheld from the dead. [Report, p. 53]. 
 
 How Rents were paid Secretly. 
 
 That this intimidation operated as was intended, was proved by 
 a body of evidence which established the various devices to which 
 those tenants resorted who were willing to pay their rent, but who 
 feared that by so doing they would bring upon themselves the 
 vengeance of the League. Some sent their rent from a distance 
 through the hands of strangers. Some sent it under cover of 
 letters addressed to others than the agent. Some desired that 
 no receipt should be sent to them at their known address, others 
 that it should not be entered in their pass-books. Some paid 
 their rent into banks to be thus handed to the landlord or agent, 
 others to shopkeepers in the village to be in like manner dealt 
 with. Some before paying asked that writs might be issued 
 against them, even at their own costs. Some that judgments 
 might be signed, and others that the sheriff might be put in. 
 Some went by stealth to the rent office. Some paid secretly by 
 night, and others walked long journeys to pay at a distant town. 
 One man who was a member of the League sent word to his 
 landlord to meet him in a wood at night, where he wished to 
 pay his rent, which he did, the man saying, " For God's sake 
 don't tell." [Report, p. 53]. 
 
 An Emphatic Condemnation. 
 
 We are of opinion tliat the combination of which 
 boycotting "was the instrument -was illegal both in 
 its objects and the means -which were adopted. The 
 
 object of this elaborate and all pervading tyranny was not only 
 
 [75 
 
60 
 
 to injure the individual landlords ag"ainst whom it was directed 
 by rendering- their land useless to them unless they obeyed the 
 edicts of the Land League, but to injure the landlords as a class 
 and drive them out of the country. We have shown that the 
 Land League leaders proposed that the landlords should be 
 compensated, but it was intended so to reduce the value of the 
 land by reducing the rents to such sums as the Land League or 
 the tenants should determine, that the compensation to be made 
 should be diminished, and Mr. Parnell, as early as December, 
 1879, claimed that the result of the agitation had been to bring 
 down the purchase price of land from 21 to 15 years, and that 
 with difficulty of sale. The means by which this depreciation 
 had been and continued to be effected was by inciting tenants 
 not to pay the rents they had contracted to pay, and by 
 intimidating those who were willing to fulfil their engagements 
 from doing so. This intimidation was extended to caretakers 
 and herds, and all by whose assistance the land could be 
 rendered of any value to its owner, thus preventing these persons 
 from exercising their lawful callings, and depriving them of their 
 liberty of action by the fear of loss or injury, and coercing them 
 to obey the commands of the Land League. It was not contended 
 before us by the respondents that actual intimidation could be 
 justified, but it was argued that the Land League did no more 
 than direct the force of public opinion against those whose 
 conduct was deemed injurious to the interests of the tenants. It 
 was, however, proved before us, that the action of the Land 
 League far exceeded this limit, and that the effects of boycotting 
 were such as might be expected to and did create a well grounded 
 terror in the minds of those who suffered under it, and we come 
 to the conclusion that this was the intention of those who devised 
 and carried out this system. It is further to be observed that 
 though boycotting led in many cases to actual outrage, yet it 
 was persisted in for years against the same individuals, and was 
 generally recommended notwithstanding the evils which plainly 
 resulted from it. [Report, pp. 53, 54]. 
 
 Guilty of Criminal Conspiracy. 
 
 In our judgment the leaders of the Land League 
 who combined together to carry out the system 
 of boycotting were guilty of a criminal conspiracy, 
 
 one of the objects of which was (as stated in the second charge) 
 by a v^ystem of coercion and intimidation to promote an agrarian 
 agitation against the payment of agricultural rents for the purpose 
 of impoverishing and expelling from the country the Irish landlords, 
 who were styled the English garrison. [Report, p. 54]. 
 
 76] 
 
61 
 
 The Guilty Respondents, 
 
 We consider that this charge has been established 
 against the following respondents :— 
 
 C. S. Parnell. Jeremiah D. Sheehan. 
 
 John Dillon. James Leahy, 
 
 Joseph G. Biggar. Edward Leamy. 
 
 Thomas Sexton. John Barry. 
 
 T. P. O'Connor. Dr. Tanner. 
 
 M. Harris. Maurice Healy. 
 
 W. O'Brien. Thomas Quinn. 
 
 T. D. Sullivan. Danl. Crilly. 
 
 T. M. Healy. Henry Campbell. 
 
 Tim. Harrington. Patk, J. Foley 
 
 Ed. Harrington. J. J. Clancy. 
 
 A. O'Connor. J. F. O'Brien. 
 
 Jos. E. Kenny. R. Lalor. 
 
 W. Redmond. Thos. Mayne. 
 
 J. E. Redmond. Jno. Deasy. 
 
 Justin McCarthy. J. C. Flynn. 
 
 J. O'Connor. Jeremiah Jordan. 
 
 Th. Jos. Condon. W. J. Lane. 
 
 J. J. O'Kelly. D. Sheehy. 
 
 Andrew Cummins Donal Sullivan. 
 
 Jos. R. Cox. Garrett M. Byrne. 
 
 Patrick O'Hea. Michael Davitt. 
 [Report, p. 54]. 
 
 No evidence was given against the other respondents, but it 
 vjSLS stated by counsel on their behalf that the whole 65 stood on 
 the same public platform, and that while some had been more 
 or less active, all were agreed on the principles on which they 
 had acted, but as the extent of this admission may be doubtful, 
 our several findings will relate only to the respondents above 
 mentioned. 
 
 VI.— MR. PARNELL AND OTHERS IN PRISON. 
 
 In the year 1880 an information was filed against Messrs. 
 Parnell, Dillon, Biggar, T. D. Sullivan, Sexton, P. Egan, 
 T. Brennan, M. M. O'Sullivan, M. Boyton, J. P. Sheridan, 
 P. J. Gordon, Matt Harriss, J. W. Walsh, and J. W. Nally, for 
 conspiracy to induce tenants not to pay their rents, and to deter 
 them trom doing so by threats of boycotting and intimidation, 
 to induce evicted tenants unlawfully to re-enter on their farms, 
 to resist eviction, and prevent others from taking farms from 
 which tenants had been evicted. 
 
 On the 28th December, 1880, this information came to trial 
 in Dublin ; and after a hearing lasting 2 1 days, the jury, being 
 unable to agree, were discharged. 
 
 [77 
 
62 
 An Abatement in the Agitation, 
 
 During the progTess of these proceeding's the ag-itation was 
 abated. Mr. M. Harris stated that it was an understood thing- 
 between Mr. Egan, Mr. Davitt, and himself, that at that time they 
 should pursue a more moderate policy, but we find that after a 
 little delay the agitation was resumed. 
 
 Early in 1 88 1 Mr. Forster gave notice in the House of Commons 
 that the Government intended to introduce a Bill which in March, 
 1881, became law under the title of "The Protection of Persons 
 " and Property (Ireland) Act." 
 
 Under this Act the Government acquired power to apprehend 
 suspected persons, and several of the Land League leaders and 
 organisers, who had been agitating in the provinces, were from 
 time to time afterwards arrested under it. Mr. Egan, the active 
 treasurer of the Land League, fearing arrest, proceeded to Paris 
 early in February, 18S1, taking some of the Land League books 
 with him, and he was soon after joined there by the principal 
 members of the executive council, Messrs. Parnell, Biggar, Dillon, 
 Brennan, J. J. O'Kelly, Louden, and Harris. The mode of carry- 
 ing on the Land League was then considered, and Mr. Egan 
 from that time forward chiefly conducted the monetary 
 transactions of the Land League from Paris. [Report, p. 55]. 
 
 ''Suspected" by Mr. Gladstone. 
 
 On the 13th October, 1881, Mr. Parnell was arrested and 
 imprisoned in Kilmainham. Mr Sexton was arrested on the 
 14th, Mr. J. J. O'Kelly and W. O'Brien on the 15th, and 
 Dr. Kenny on the 24th. 
 
 On the 14th October, 1881, Egan telegraphed to Ford in 
 America informing him of tiie imprisonment of Mr. Parnell. 
 
 On the 17th October, 1881, Ford telegraphed to Egan — 
 
 ' ' Communicate with Parnell if possible. Consult with your colleagues ; then issue 
 " Manifesto — No Rent." To which Egan replied, "Your suggestion is approved. 
 " Prompt measures are now in preparation to prepare a general strike against rent. 
 •' The manifesto will be issued throughout the land. It is the only weapon in our 
 "hands." Thereon a manifesto was issued and published in "United Ireland," 
 *' advising the " tenant-farmers of Ireland from that time forth to pay no rents 
 " under any circumstances to their landlords until the Government relinquished 
 " the existing system of terrorism, and restored the constitutional rights of the 
 " people." [Report, p. 55]. 
 
 The ''No-Rent Manifesto." 
 
 This manifesto, issued out of Kilmainham Prison, was sig-ned 
 as follows : — 
 
 Charles S. Parnell; Andrew Kettle; Michael Davitt, honorary 
 secretary; Thomas Brennan, honorary secretary; John Dillon, 
 head organiser; Thomas Sexton, head organiser; Patrick Egan, 
 treasurer . 
 
 78] 
 
63 
 
 Mr. Davitt's signature was attached to this document by Brennan. 
 Mr. Davitt then being in Portland Prison. 
 
 A second manifesto, with the same object, was issued by Patrick 
 Ford, and a third by Patrick Egan. 
 
 It was proved before us that Mr. William Redmond, M.P., under 
 the name of "Mondred," distributed No-Rent manifestoes in various 
 parts of Ireland. 
 
 Notwithstanding the efforts made to induce the tenant-farmers 
 generally to refuse to pay rent, these appeals do not appear to have 
 been largely acted upon. 
 
 The Land League was suppressed on i8th October, 1881, and 
 thereupon most of the books were removed to London by Messrs. 
 Campbell, M.P., and P. J. Sheridan. [Report, pp. 55, 56]. 
 
 The Ladies' Land League. 
 
 During the imprisonment of the leaders, the work of the Land 
 League was carried on by the Ladies' Land League, which had been 
 founded by Mr. Davitt on the 2nd February, 1881, the day before 
 his arrest. The action of the Ladies' Land League is not marked by 
 the making of many speeches, but the agitation was none the less 
 active. During the continuance of their work, money was sent to 
 them from time to time from the Land League funds. On 3rd 
 December, 1881, the sum of ;^4,ooo was remitted to them from Paris 
 by Mr. Egan, and the money received by them during the imprison- 
 ment of Mr. Parnell in Kilmainham amounted to upwards of 
 ^70,000. Moreover, about the summer or autumn of 1882, when 
 the Ladies' Land League was dissolved, Mr. Parnell undertook the 
 discharge of its liabilities, including the maintenance of suspects in 
 prison ; the relief of the families of suspects ; the defence of a number 
 of prisoners, and the assistance of evicted tenants. [Report, p. 56]. 
 
 What Mr. Parnell knew. 
 
 On the 2nd May, 1882, Mr. Parnell and some others of the leaders, 
 who had been confined in Kilmainham, were released in pursuance 
 of an arrangement which has been called the Kilmainham Treaty. 
 Sir Charles Russell's sixth heading has reference to what occurred on 
 this occasion, and is thus worded, '' that at the time of the 
 ** Kilmainham negociations, Mr. Parnell knew that Sheridan and 
 " Boyton had been organising outrage, and therefore wished to use 
 " them to put down outrage." 
 
 This charge is founded on a passage in the " Times " article of 
 loth March, 1887. 
 
 *' Meanwhile all England had been startled by the detection of the ' Kilmainham 
 *' Treaty.' The disclosures of Mr. Forster, Mr. Parnell, and Captain O'Shea came 
 ** to this, that the 'suspects' had been released on a conditional undertaking to 
 
 [79 
 
64 
 
 " support the law, and that Mr. Parnell had offered Mr. Gladstone their political 
 *' services. Captain O'Shea told Mr. Forster how the ' constitutional organisation' 
 ** would be adapted to prevent crime. ' The conspiracy (or organisation),' he said, 
 " ' which had been used to get up boycotting and outrages, will now be used to put 
 •* 'them down.' He added that ' Parnell hoped to make use of a certain person, 
 " ' and to get him back from abroad, as he knew all the details (of conspiracy or 
 " ' agitation) in the West.' That person's name was P. J. Sheridan, Mr. Parnell's 
 ** sometime colleague on the Central League. He was at this period in disguise, 
 " ' coming backwards and forwards from Egan to the outragemongers in the West' 
 *' Four days later (May 19th) Captain O'Shea explained, in a letter to the ' Times,' 
 " that his principal's offer was not limited to Sheridan, it applied to Davitt, Egan, 
 " and Boyton as well." 
 
 We are of opinion that this charge has not been proved. That 
 Mr. Parnell should employ Sheridan and Boyton to quiet the 
 disturbed districts was natural, as they had been organisers there, and 
 had, no doubt, acquired influence in those districts. We cannot 
 doubt that Mr. Parnell was aware of the in- 
 flammatory speeches they had made, but there is no 
 evidence that he knew Sheridan or Boyton had organised crime. 
 [Report, p. 56]. 
 
 The ''Invincibles." 
 
 On the 6th May, 1882, the murders of Lord Frederick Caven- 
 dish and Mr. Burke were committed in the Phoenix Park. 
 
 It appears that towards the end of 1881 a society was formed 
 which had for its object the assassination of obnoxious officials. 
 It consisted apparently of about 30 members, and was called 
 the Invincible Society. The perpetrators of the murders were 
 members of this society. 
 
 As soon as the murders were known Messrs. Parnell, Dillon, 
 and Davitt issued a manifesto earnestly denouncing- them. Mr. 
 Davitt, on the loth May, 1882, wrote a letter to the " Standard" in 
 which he expressed the loathing- which he felt for outrage, his 
 belief that a pilgrimage to denounce assassination and outrag-e 
 oug-ht to be made, and that had it been made before he firmly 
 believed that the terrible trag-edy of the Phoenix Park and many 
 another trag^edy, which, thoug-h it had not attracted so much 
 attention had wrung heart-strings as bitterly, would never have 
 occurred. " United Ireland " also published an article strongly 
 condemning the murders. 
 
 The seventh and eighth heads under which Sir Charles Russell 
 has grouped the charges and allegations relate to the Phoenix 
 Park murders. The seventh is ''that the Invincibles were a 
 " branch of the Land League, and were organised and paid by 
 " Egan, the treasurer of the Land League." This does not 
 appear to be founded so much on the " Times" articles in "Parnell- 
 *' ism and Crime" as on passages in the Attorney-General's 
 speech in O'Donnell v. Walter. 
 
 80] 
 
65 
 
 We do not think it necessary to set out these passag'es, as we 
 find that the Invincibles were not a branch of the Land League, 
 and that the Land League did not organise or pay the Invincibles, 
 nor did the respondents or any of them associate with any 
 persons known by them to be employed in the Invincible 
 conspiracy. 
 
 There are passages in the articles included in " Parnellism 
 ^■'and Crime " which Sir C.Russell construed as justifying the 
 eighth head of his summary of the charges, that 
 
 *' Mr. Parnell was intimate with the leading Invincibles, that he probably learned 
 *' from them what they were about when he was released on parole in April, 1882, 
 ** and that he recognised the Phoenix Park murders as their handiwork, and that, 
 *' knowing it to be theirs and partly for his own safety, he secretly qualified and 
 ** revoked the condemnation which he had thought it politic publicly to pronounce. " 
 
 Mr. Parnell on Parole. 
 
 This is based upon the following passage of the '' Times* " 
 article of loth March, 1887: — 
 
 *' Mr. Parnell was liberated on parole on loth April, 1882, to attend his nephew's 
 *' funeral in Paris. He was late for the funeral, but he passed several days in Paris 
 *' and in London. Messrs. Egan, Sexton, and Healy happened to be in the French 
 " capital, while Mr. Justice McCarthy, the chairman, and Mr. Frank Byrne, the 
 '^ general secretary of the League in this country (under its then alias of ' The 
 " * National Land and Labour League of Great Britain'), went out to meet the Irish 
 " mail at Willesden the evening of their leader's release ; Mr. Frank Byrne, indeed, 
 '•' *was the first to enter the compartment and greet Mr. Parnell, whom 'he 
 *^' 'warmly shook by the hand.' That gentleman appeared delighted at seeing 
 " 'him,' and expressing (sic) his satisfaction at meeting him. But Mr. Parnell hacJ 
 "' the inexpressible mortification of informing his friends in both cities that his 
 " parole bound him to refrain from politics. His honour, indeed, was the sole 
 " obstacle to the most exhaustive discussion of all pending transactions between the 
 " confederates. The heads of Mr. Parnell' s several organisations were at hand. 
 " They had many vital secrets on their minds. They had every facility for private 
 " conference with their chief. All of them were not distinguished by a chivalrous 
 ** regard for truth. But on the 24th, Mr. Parnell returned to Kilmainham, his 
 *■' pledge, we are assured, inviolate in letter and in spirit. He had his reward. He 
 ^* was definitively released or 2nd May, and hastened to London with his liberated 
 '^' lieutenants. On Saturday, 6th May, he escorted Michael Davitt from Portland 
 " Prison to town. At Vauxhall the chiefs were met by Mr. Frank Byrne, and 
 " other favoured disciples. The same evening, Lord Frederick Cavendish 
 *' and Mr. Thomas Burke were stabbed with amputating knives in the Phoenix 
 " Park. The knives were brought to Dublin for the purpose by a woman, whom 
 " one of the principal assassins believed to be Frank Byrne's wife. The shock to 
 " the public conscience was tremendous. On the Sunday, Davitt drew up a 
 *' manifesto recording his own horror and that of his co-signatories, Messrs. Parnell 
 " and Dillon, at the deed. The same day, Mr. J. E. Redmond, M.P., spoke at 
 *' Manchester. He, too, condemned the Chief Secretary's murder. But it is a 
 *' point of high significance, noted at the time, that at this meeting, 'no reference 
 " 'whatever was made to the murder of Mr. Burke.' Not less curious is the 
 ** prescience which enabled Mr. Parnell to assure a representative of the 'France' 
 " that 'the crime was neither organised nor executed by the Fenians . . . but by 
 '"' ' assassins who may, I think, be members of some association much more 
 *' ' extreme.' " [Report, pp. 57, 58]. 
 
 It appears to us that Sir Charles Russell has put a correct 
 interpretation upon the meaning of the language used. 
 
 G 
 
 [81 
 
66 
 
 We consider that there is no foundation whatever for the 
 charge that Mr. Parnell was intimate with Invincibles, knowing- 
 them to be such, or that he had any knowledge, direct or 
 indirect, of the conspiracy which resulted in the Phoenix Park 
 murders, and we find the same with reference to all the other 
 respondents. We do not think it necessary to enter into the 
 question whether or not any persons other than those who were 
 convicted were guilty of participation in those crimes, because 
 we are clearly of opinion that none of the respondents were 
 aware at the time that any persons with whom they associated 
 were connected with these murders. [Report, pp. 57, 58]. 
 
 The Pigott Letters. 
 
 The third charge we have to consider is " that when on certain 
 *' occasions the respondents thought it politic to denounce and 
 " did denounce certain crimes in public, they afterwards led their 
 *' supporters to believe that such denunciation was not sincere." 
 
 This corresponds to Sir Charles Russell's third head. 
 
 This was chiefly based on the letter known throughout the 
 inquiry as the ''facsimile letter," which was as follow^s: — 
 
 " Deal- Sir, '' 15/5/82. 
 
 " I am not surprised at your friend's anger, but lie and you should kno\y 
 ** that to denounce the murders was the only course open to us. To do that 
 '* promptly was plainly our best policy. 
 
 " But you can tell him and all others concerned that though I regret the accident 
 " of Lord F. Cavendish's death, I cannot refuse to admit that Burke got no 
 " more than his deserts. 
 
 " You are at liberty to show him this, and others whom you can trust also, but 
 ** let not my address be known. He can write to House of Commons. 
 
 *' Yours very truly, 
 
 " Chas. S. Parnell." 
 
 This letter was one of a series obtained from the witness 
 Richard Pigott by Mr. Houston, who afterwards supplied them 
 to the manager of the '' Times " newspaper upon payment of 
 sums amounting to £2,530. We do not propose to narrate the 
 circumstances attending on the obtaining of these letters. They 
 will be found in the evidence. 
 
 The story told by Pigott as to the manner in 
 which he had obtained these letters was entirely 
 unworthy of credit, and before his cross-examina- 
 tion was concluded he absconded, and committed 
 suicide. We find that all the letters produced by 
 Pigott and set out in the Appendix, are forgeries, 
 and we entirely acquit Mr. Parnell and the other 
 respondents of the charge of insincerity in their 
 denunciation of the Phoenix Park murders. 
 
 Immediately after the Phoenix Park murders, Sir William 
 Vernon Harcourt introduced a Bill for the prevention of Crime 
 in Ireland, which became law on the 12th July, 18S2, and 
 continued in force until the autumn of 1885. [Feport, pp. 58, 59]. 
 
 82] 
 
67 
 
 VIL— THE ^^RISH WORLD" AND 
 DYNAMITE. 
 
 We now proceed to consider the fourth charge, that the 
 respondents disseminated the "Irish World" and other news- 
 papers tending- to incite to sedition and the commission of other 
 crime. 
 
 The ''Times" contains the following passages in a leading 
 article of loth March, 1887 ; — 
 
 " The father of the League and its secretary Brennan were regular contributors 
 *' to Ford's columns. By all means send the ' Irish World ' into Ireland, its power 
 " for good is wonderful said the former at St. Louis, while in January, 1881, 
 " secretary Brennan, in the name of the Land League, tendered the sincere and 
 " most grateful acknowledgments of that body to Ford's readers, and in March 
 "he adjured them to 'relax not in their good work of spreading the Light in 
 " 'Ireland.'" 
 
 ** * United Ireland,' Mr. Parnell's official organ, owned, written, edited, and 
 "distributed by his colleagues, denounced the 'Bloody Assize' with the most 
 
 " ferocious rhetoric at its command The harangues of this 
 
 " mouthpiece of a constitutional movement were followed by their natural result." 
 [Report, p. 59]. 
 
 Disseminating the *' Irish World." 
 
 During 1880, 1881, 1882, the Land League disseminated 
 throughout Ireland an American paper called the '' Irish World." 
 It was edited by Patrick Ford, who, in conjunction with O'Donovan 
 Rossa, had ori inated the Skirmishing Fund. 
 
 During these years Patrick Ford was requested by Messrs. 
 Davitt, Egan, Quinn, secretary of the Land League, and 
 Brennan, to send this paper to Ireland, and it was proved that it 
 was disseminated by the League marked for " free distribution." 
 
 Down to the middle of autumn of 1882, this paper was admittedly 
 favourable to the League, and we have been told by IMr. Davitt that 
 three-fourths of the sums coming from America were subscribed 
 through the instrumentality of the hundreds of branches of the 
 auxiliary American League by reason of the appeals made by Ford 
 in the " Irish World." 
 
 Mr. Parnell stated to us that up to 1882 the ''Irish World" had 
 most actively supported the Land League, and that till then it never 
 wavered ; that it then ceased to co-operate with the Land League, 
 but that since the introduction of Mr. Gladstone's Bill (of 1886) 
 Patrick Ford again changed his policy. 
 
 It appears to us that until the 14th October, 1882, when the 
 columns of the " Irish World " were closed to the Land League 
 Fund, the "Irish World" actively supported the League, though 
 shortly before that date it did not show the same anxiety in the 
 cause as it had previously, but at the end of 1885 and in 1886 we find 
 that Patrick Ford was forwarding subscriptions to the Parliamentary 
 Fund of the National League of Ireland. 
 
 [83 
 
f 
 
 68 
 
 On the 5 th May, 1880, Davitt telegraphed to Patrick Ford as 
 follows : — 
 
 *' Copies of the 'Irish World' shall be sent to all parts of Ireland. Bishop 
 " Moron, of Ossory (a nephew of Cardinal CuUen) denounced it and the Land 
 "League. May Heaven open his eyes to the truth. Spread the light." 
 
 [Report, p. 59]. 
 
 Extracts from the Dynamite Organ. 
 
 We give some extracts indicating the character of this publi- 
 cation : — 
 
 On the 1 2th June, 1880, in a leading article was the following 
 passage : — 
 
 *' 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 
 ** consequence which of the two countries takes preceHence in this onward step 
 "towards 'civilization.' Still we claim the merit for Ireland. True the intro- 
 ** ductory 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." 
 
 On the 2 1 St August, 1880, it published an extract from Davitt's 
 speech at Scanton, in America (after the throwing out of the 
 Compensation for Disturbance Bill) : — 
 
 " If Ireland had the men and the arms, he would say settle the difficulty as 
 " America had done ; but that was out of the question at this time, with England 
 *' as one of the greatest and most rapacious Empires on the earth. He was sure 
 " they all shed tears when they read of her defeat in Afghanistan." 
 
 On the 28th August, 1880, the following- leading- article 
 appeared : — 
 
 " Five years ago 0' Donovan Rossa, through the columns of this paper, made 
 '* known to the Irish people the idea of skirmishing .... He did not 
 " himself write the address that was published, Rossa called for $5,000. The 
 " first notion seemed to rise no higher than the rescue of a few Fenian prisoners 
 " then held in English gaols. He wanted badly to 'knock a feather out of 
 " 'England's cap.' That sort of theatrical work did not satisfy us. Nor did it 
 " commend itself to some others either. Rossa then said he was willing to burn 
 " some shipping in Liverpool. 'Why not burn down London and the principal 
 " 'cities of England ?' asked one of the two whom Rossa, in the beginning, 
 " associated with him in the movement. Rossa said he was in favour of anything. 
 " The question of loss of life was raised, 'Yes,' said he who had put forward the 
 " idea, 'Yes, it is war, and in all wars life must be lost, but in my opinion the loss 
 " 'of life under such circumstances would not be one-tenth that recorded in the 
 " 'least of the smallest battles between the South and the North.' Some one 
 " suggested that plenty of thieves and burglars in London could be got to do this 
 " job. Here we interposed, 'Why should you ask others to do what you yourself 
 " 'deem wrong ? After all would it not be yourself that would be committing the 
 " 'sin? Gentlemen, if you cannot go into this thing with a good conscience you 
 " 'ought not to entertain the notion at all.' " 
 
 " Here now two questions presented themselves (i) Was the thing feasible? 
 " (2) If feasible, what would be the probable result ? " [Report, pp. 59, 60]. 
 
 ' ' Skirmishers " Disguised 
 
 That the ides 
 ashes in 24 I 
 
 84] 
 
 •' That the idea could be carried into execution, and that London could be laid 
 in ashes in 24 hours, was to us self-evident. England could be invaded by a 
 
69 
 
 •* small and resolute band ol men— say ten or a dozen, when a force of a 
 ** thousand times this number, coming with ships and artillery, and banners flying, 
 •' could not effect a landing. Spaniards in the days of the ' Invincible Armada,' 
 ** and Zulus to-day, could not do what English-speaking Irishmen can accomplish. 
 ** Language, skin-colour, dress, general manners, are all in favour of the Irish. 
 •* Then, tens of thousands of Irishmen, from long residence in the enemy's 
 " country, know England's cities well. Our Irish Skirmishers would be well 
 '* disguised. They would enter London unknown and unnoticed. When the 
 ** night for action came — the night that the wind was blowing strong — this little 
 •* band would deploy, each man setting about his own allotted task ; and no man, 
 "save the captain of the band alone, knowing what any other man was to do, 
 ** and, at the same instant, ' strike with lightning ' the enemy of their land and 
 
 ** race In two hours from the word of command London would 
 
 •* be in flames shooting up to the heavens in 50 different places. Whilst this 
 ** would be going on, the men could be still at work. The blazing spectacle 
 *• would attract all eyes, and leave the 'skirmishers' to operate with impunity 
 
 " in the darkness Of the feasibility of the thing we are perfectly 
 
 ** satisfied. What would be the probable result of all this. 
 
 ** Desti-oy London and you destroy her credit. Lay London in ashes and 
 
 ** down go her banks, her insurance companies, and her prestige 
 
 ** W'hat then? Would not Englishmen play at this game too? Might not 
 *• Dublin, Cork, Bellast, and Galway share the fate of London ? Possibly, but 
 •* not likely. But if so, then lay Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, and Sheffield, 
 " likewise in ashes ! The four English cities are woith more than the four Irish 
 '* cities. What then ? Then the flag of the Revolution would appear in England 
 
 " Ireland would be England's regenerator as well as her own 
 
 ** emancipator ; and over the blackened ruins the English Republic and the Irish 
 *' Republic, forgetting and forgiving the past, would sign a treaty of perpetual 
 *' peace .... We have here digressed from the history of the Skirmishing 
 ** Fund for an obvious reason. Some very sedate and very sensible men are apt 
 '* to suppose no one but a devil-may-care sort of fellow would ever identify 
 •* himself with skirmishing. As the ' Irish World ' lent its endorsement to the 
 " idea, and as the ' Irish World ' is anxious to win and to retain the good opinion 
 '* of those very sedate and very sensible men, it is but right that the reasons 
 "that induced us to do so should be set forth. Our reason for holding 
 " aloof from both 'regulars' and 'skirmishers' also calls for explanation." 
 [Report, pp. 60, 61]. 
 
 The History of the Fund, 
 
 " Mr. R W. Crowe, of Belleville, now of Pouris, Illinois, laid the visible 
 *' foundation of the SkirmisiTing Fund in the shape of $50, which he forwarded to 
 " the editor of the 'Irish World,' wdth the request that he would act as treasurer. 
 " We declined to act as treasurer, and sent the money back. Some weeks elapsed, 
 "and again Mr. Crowe re-forwarded on the ^50, with a similar request. We 
 " promptly and absolutely refused. Thereupon O'Donovan Rossa temporarily took 
 " it in charge. We suggested the name of James J. Clancy as treasurer. He was 
 " accepted. Rossa likewise joined to him Augustine Ford as trustee. The fund 
 " was opened in this paper. We put down ^50 ourselves. In addition to that, we 
 " expended from our own pocket upwards of >'j^300 on circulars, &c., rn its behalf, 
 " and for more than a year continued to pay into the fund $5 a week — giving, in 
 " all, about $700 thereto. Transatlantic sent along ^100. 
 
 " Rossa at that time was a member of the Clan-na-Gael. He was likewise 
 " head-centre of the Fenian organisation. Some of the officers of these two 
 " societies evidently were afraid that Rossa might precipitate matters by blowing 
 " up the British Empire before they had got ready, and thereby deprived them of 
 " the glory ; and they begged him to be cautious. He was cautious. For a 
 " whole year he was laying his plans, profound and deep, and then, when the idea 
 " was fully developed, he came into this office with a man and unfolded a map of 
 " operations , . . . [Report, p. 61]. 
 
 [85 
 
70 
 
 On the nth September, 1880, the following appeared : — 
 
 " Davitfs Advice. 
 
 •' The closing words of Davitt's great speech at St, Louis, which we reported last 
 " week, were omitted by an oversight. They were an exhortation of his hearers to 
 ' ' send the ' Irish World ' to Ireland as one of the deadliest batteries that has been 
 " opened on landlordism, and one of the surest ways of hastening the day of its 
 " final overthrow. " [Report, p. 61]. 
 
 <^ Transatlantic's" Sentiments. 
 
 On the 9th October, 1880, a letter signed Transatlantic was 
 published in the '' Irish World." 
 
 *'The Irish Land League. 
 
 " The Irish Land League is accepted by the Irish people at home and abroad as 
 " their faithful friend, philosopher, and guide. I am thoroughly grieved to find 
 " existing among my American friends, and my Dublin friends also, a disposition 
 •' to quarrel with the trustees of the Skirmishing Fund in New York, for that they 
 " advanced I, coo or 2,000 dollars over a year ago from the Skirmishing Fund to 
 " help to start the anti-rent agitation in Ireland. No possible application of a 
 " portion of the fund would to my mind be more legitimate, more in accordance 
 " with the desires of us all to help on towards the deliverance of our down-trodden 
 " people. That little bit of seed, the first advance from the Skirmishing Fund, 
 " has worked as a great miracle as the grain of mustard seed spoken of in the 
 " sacred Scriptures. Behold now 200 Land League branches established through 
 " Ireland, with at least 500 members in each, and all in full cry against the land- 
 " robbers. Behold almost as many more co-operating branches established in 
 " America, Canada, Australia, and in England, Scotland, and Wales. Will any 
 " man tell me that this movement will die out without lifting Ireland to a vantage 
 " ground on which she may declare and maintain her separate political 
 " existence. Wait awhile till the numbers of the Land League branches swell up 
 " to Dillon's 300,000. Wait till they are enlightened with political knowledge, 
 " instructed in military drill, and armed with rifles, bullets, and buckshot. One 
 " or two years more will work wonders. Don't quarrel, friends, about a thousand 
 " dollars or about 20,000 dollars. 
 
 " I am a large subscriber. I feel it necessary to declare here that I am among 
 " the largest of the individual subscribers to the Skirmishing Fund. First, five 
 " dollars on its announcement by O' Donovan Rossa, then next 100 dollars, third 
 ^' time 100 dollars, total 205 dollars, and four years' interest. I, for one, of the 
 
 •" contributors, find no fault with the tnistees for any help they may have given, or 
 '•'■ that they may hereafter give, to the Land League ; and I humbly pray and urge 
 
 -•'■ my friends at home and abroad, to drop the controversy and clasp hands, 
 -' and unite against the common enemies of our people, the landlords (land- 
 •' robbers) of Ireland and of England, with their armies of armed men at their back." 
 
 \^Report, p. 62]. 
 
 On Lord Mountmorres's Murder. 
 
 On the 9th October, 1880, the following appeared : — 
 
 *' llie death of Lord Claremorris (Mountmorres) is related in another part of 
 our paper. So also are a great number of outpost skirmishes — all historic of the 
 social war. For more reasons than one, we regret this last execution. 
 * God willeth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he be converted, and 
 live.' Through that sentence breathes a morality that should be ever present 
 with us. Besides, this wretched man did not, and not one of these wretched 
 men does, know what a curse he is on the earth. 
 
 86] 
 
71 
 
 ** If a man is born blind, who would attach blame to him because he cannot 
 " see ? And is it not as had on a man to be bred blind, as to be born blind ? 
 
 " Besides, there is a flash of light descending on us, that if we only welcome it, 
 *' and spread ir, may render unnecessary the flash of a musket. If it doesn't, why, 
 '' tlien, in the name of the Fnther and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, do what 
 ** you must do. But never till then." [Report, p. 62J. 
 
 '' Transatlantic" Replies. 
 
 Mr. P. J. Smyth, M.P., who, as Mr. Sexton tells us, had been 
 an 1848 man, on October 10, 1880, wrote a letter to the 
 ''Freeman" newspaper of Dublin, denouncing" in strong- terms 
 the publications which were being" scattered through the land, 
 and denounced them as being- undisguisedly murderous and 
 blasphemous. On the 6th November, 1880, the " Irish World " 
 published of Mr. Smyth the following- letter of " Transatlantic": — 
 
 " Mr. Smyth, M.P., is quite willing now-a-days to do not a thing that shall 
 
 " ' distuib 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 Mitchel, his master, 
 " designated the ' Pirate Flag of Britain,' as to getting Irishwomen to fling out 
 ** vitriol upon the ruffianly soldiery which English felony may send over to Ireland, 
 ** as John Mitchel taught Mr. Smyth soon after his college days. Tut, tut. The 
 ** Smyth of to-day is not that kind of a 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!" 
 
 On the 30th October, 1880, Mr. Davitt, speaking- at Leadville, 
 in America, characterised the " Irish World " as one of the 
 noblest friends of the Irish people. 
 
 On the 20th November, 1880, the " Irish World " published 
 the following letter of ''Transatlantic" : — 
 
 "Spread the light ! My countrymen, spread the light ! Better than dynamite, 
 " though a grand ' factor ' in our affairs — better still is the light of truth. T. A." 
 
 ''Outrages. 
 
 On the 1 8th December, 1880, the following" appeared: — 
 
 " ' Outrages ! ' They haven't begun yet ! Out ye vipers of darkness ! Out 
 "'ye hungry wolves! Ye bloodhounds! Out from God's holy isle ere ye are 
 "overtaken by that punishment which caught the wicked land-wolves of France 
 " from 1779 [stc) to 1793." 
 
 "Moral — Irishmen ! 
 
 " You will perceive from all those facts which I have gathered for your study 
 " that England must be near ' standing on her last legs.' Another Sepoy rising in 
 " India, another Kaffir rising in South Africa, anotlier war in Cabul, another war 
 "inBurmah, no enlistments in Ireland, England, or India. .... Then 
 " the coming battle in England and Ireland between the people who labour and 
 " the people who idle, who rob the labourers by 50 different stealthy methods. 
 " This battle is coming. Nothing can keep it back. Therefore, Irishmen, cheer 
 "up. Cheer each other ! Be brothers. 'Fall in.' Study military knowledge 
 ■" night and day, Sunday and holiday. Keep sober, with closed lips, but burning 
 " hearts. The day for your emancipation is nearer than you suppose. God may 
 " make you worthy of freedom ! " 
 
 [87 
 
72 
 
 A letter from John Groves, of the ist January, 1881, was 
 published : — 
 
 ** Editor 'Irish World' — One of the most spirited meetings ever gotten up 
 ** here was held last Wednesday to help the Land League. 
 
 ** General O'Brien reviewed the career of landlordism in Ireland, and was glad 
 ** to see all Ireland now united against it. They talk of agrarian murders ! Why 
 *' shouldn't there be under such a robber system. It is only a natural outcome. 
 ** The people of Ireland were robbed of their property, and it wasn't to be 
 ** wondered at that a robber was occasionally killed. (Applause.) He was glad 
 ** to see the bishops and priests of Ireland joining with these people for their 
 ** people's rights. He advised all to lend a hearty helping hand to the Land 
 ** League." [Report, p. 63]. 
 
 Mr, Parnell thanks the "Irish World. 
 
 On the 26th January, 1881, Mr. Parnell telegraphed to Ford as 
 follows : — 
 
 "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 force of an acquittal 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 of its ultimate success." 
 
 On the 4th June, 1881, a telegram from Egan was printed : — 
 
 "Friends in America, towards you we turn our eyes. England, too, is 
 " watching you. You are the Land League's base of operations. Realise the 
 " glorious possibilities of which you are capable ; be faithful to the banner of 
 " 'The Land for the People,' which is the initial principle in popular rights, and 
 " with your brothers on this side of the Atlantic, now gallantly struggling with 
 " landlordism in the first stages of the Revolution, show a bold and determined 
 " front to the foe, give the enemy distinctly to understand that you have enlisted 
 " for the war, and the success of the cause of Ireland is beyond doubt assured.'" 
 
 On the 2nd July, 1881, a telegram from J. P. Quinn, the 
 secretary of the Land League, was published : — 
 
 "We again appeal to the lovers of liberty and sympathisers with suffering 
 " humanity to send the 'Irish World' to Ireland. The success of the cause is to 
 " be measured by the extent of the acceptance of its principles. When 
 " the * Irish World' is read in every hamlet in eveiy county, it will be beyond the 
 *' power of earth and hell to pei-petuate landlordism in Ireland. More Light." 
 
 On the 24th September, 188 1, the following letter from 
 Transatlantic was given : — 
 
 " 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 
 *• 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 by the rich, the one hundred and eighty-six thousand 
 " imprisoned English criminals, the half million uncaught criminals in England^ 
 *' the failing English manufacturers, the idle workpeople and their starving children. 
 " Here are abundant materials for the prophet of the people. He must be some- 
 
 «8] 
 
73 
 
 *• where in the crowd, at present obscure. Let him come forth to save the people. 
 " Spread the light through England." 
 
 On the 5th October, 1881, J. P. Quinn telegraphed to Patrick 
 Ford : — 
 
 ** Numerous applications are daily received at the Land League office for 
 "copies of the 'Irish World.' I appeal to our friends in America to furnish us 
 *• with as many copies as they can, so that we may be able to meet the constant 
 " demand for it. Its circulation just now can be of immense service to the 
 *' cause." [Report, p. 64]. 
 
 Making War on England, 
 
 It would seem that from October, 1881, till December, 1883, 
 Patrick Ford suspended his advocacy of the Skirmishing- Fund 
 policy, but in December, 1883, he opened an Emergency Fund, 
 the object of which he has thus described in his paper : — 
 
 *' The object of this fund will be to aid the active forces on the other side in 
 " carrying on the war against the enemy. It is unnecessary to enter into details. 
 " I can only say in a general way what I believe in myself. I believe in making 
 *' reprisals. ' An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' I believe that every 
 " informer ought to die the death of a dog. I believe that all the material damage 
 " possible ought to be inflicted on the enemy, and that the war against the foeman 
 '* ought to be persisted in without quarter to the end. I believe that England 
 ** ought to be plagued with all the plagues of Egypt, — that she ought to be scourged 
 " by day, and terrorised by night. I believe that this species of warfare ought to 
 ** be kept up until England, hurt as well as scared, falls paralysed upon her knees 
 '* and begs Ii-eland to depart from her. This is my idea of making war on 
 «' England." 
 
 In 1884 in his paper he wrote " Success, say we, to the National 
 " League, and more power to dynamite;'' and in 1886, writing 
 of what he termed ** this gospel of dynamite " he said " Well, all 
 *' that I have ever said on this subject, I stand by now. . . . 
 *' Dynamite, employing it in the direction given to it by Irish 
 " patriotism, was never intended for anarchial purposes. It was 
 " not a war against society. It was a war between the two 
 " nations." [Report, pp. 64, 65]. 
 
 Ford, a Christian and Philanthropist. 
 
 Mr. Davitt told us that whenever he went to America after 
 1878 Patrick Ford's was the first house to which he bent his foot- 
 steps upon arriving in New York, and that Ford was a man 
 altogether misrepresented in England, that he (Davitt) knew a 
 large number of people in America and Europe, and that he had 
 yet to meet a better man morally, both as a Christian and as a 
 philanthropist, than Patrick Ford. [Report p. 65.] 
 
 [89 
 
74 
 VIII— MR. PARNELL^S PAPERS ON MXIRDER, 
 
 The Appearance of *' United Ireland." 
 
 By the month of May, i8Si, the principal persons who had 
 been ag-itating- in the provinces, namely, Messrs. Dillon, Harris, 
 Brennan, Boyton, Sheridan, and Davitt, as before stated, were in 
 prison, and the number of speeches delivered was consequently 
 diminished, but the agitation was in other respects carried on as 
 before. 
 
 In the month of July, i88i, negotiations took place for the 
 purchase from Richard Pigott of the " Shamrock,'' the " Flag" of 
 Ireland," and "Irishman" newspapers, which had been organs 
 of the Fenian party. A company was registered under 
 the name of the ''Irish National Newspaper and Publishing 
 Company, Limited," of which Mr. Parnell and Mr. Patrick Egan 
 were the principal shareholders. Dr. Kenny, Mr. Biggar, Mr. 
 O'Brien, Mr. Justin McCarthy, and Mr. Richard Lalor, making 
 up the requisite number for registration. These papers were 
 purchased out of the funds of the Land League, and Mr. Parnell 
 and Patrick Egan held the shares as trustees for the Land League. 
 The ''Shamrock" appears to have been subsequently discon- 
 tinued, the "Irishman" was continued under the same name, 
 while the "Flag of Ireland" for the future appeared as "United 
 Ireland." The editor of these two papers (the "Irishman" and 
 " United Ireland") was Mr. William O'Brien, M.P., who tells us 
 that he was never a Fenian, but that he was in thorough 
 sympathy with Fenians, and that he considers it one of the 
 proudest things in his life that the Fenians trusted him without 
 the sanction of an oath. The first number of "United Ireland" 
 appeared early in August, iSSi. It was preceded by a farewell 
 notice in the " Flag of Ireland," stating that the new paper 
 would remain "anchored for ever in the faith of an indestructible 
 " Irish nation." [Report, p. 65]. 
 
 " United Ireland's " Articles. 
 
 We find that the numbers of "United Ireland," from its 
 commencement on IJth August, 1881, down to the middle of 
 February, 1882, almost invariably contained a column entitled: 
 " The Land War," or "The Campaign," or " The Spirit of the 
 Country," or " Incidents of the Campaign." In these columns 
 there were inserted short narratives of various outrages, 
 which were thus treated as incidental to the land agitation. 
 
 90] 
 
75 
 
 ' A few examples of these will show their general character. 
 For convenience they are collected in this place, but they also 
 serve to illustrate the connexion between the Land League 
 agitation and the outrages which accompanied it. 
 
 [Report, p. 65]. 
 
 '' THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Left Severely Alone. 
 
 "Mr. John Hartnctt, J. P., Curryglass, co. Cork, is isolated for having lately 
 *' evicted tenants on his property at Abbeyfield, co. Limerick. Four police are 
 " guarding Mr. Hartnett, and two drive with him about the countiy. One man 
 *' only, who is guarded by police, works on the farm. The shopkeepers in Curry- 
 " glass have refused to sell provisions to Mr. Hartnett, and the local smith has 
 *' refused to work for him. The people will not sit with him in chapel." 
 
 ^' A Flying Coluvm. 
 
 *' On reaching the Ballybrophy station, on Friday week, an emergency band 
 '* were attacked by a crowd, and dispersed without a struggle. The _' spalpeens ' 
 ^* fled for refuge to the waiting-room, abandoning their kit and provisions. The 
 " Rathdowney police, hearing of the circumstances, proceeded to Ballybrophy, an^l 
 " came in for some rough usage, particularly one of their number, who had 
 " recently been a witness at Borris-in-Ossory, when 14 prisoners were returned for 
 *' trial. An investigation will be held." 
 
 '' Bread a7id Lead. 
 
 " Four hundred loaves of bread were sent on Saturday by rail from Kingsbridge 
 "•' terminus to Birdhill for the use of the Orange emergency expedition. A quantity 
 " of cartridges were sent at the same time to the same destination. Birdhill is 
 " becoming as famous as Lough Mask. On Saturday morning a special train left 
 *' Limerick for the seat of war with a large force of military in view of the 
 " anticipated disturbance. All the spare constabulary from the outlying districts 
 *' were concentrated in the city during the day, and in the evening they left by the 
 ** ordinary train to Birdhill." 
 
 ** Standing Together. 
 
 *' Several writs have been sei-ved on the estate of Mr. White, Incharoe, co. Cork. 
 " Sixty of tenants held a meeting last week, and unanimously agreed to adhere 
 " to the programme of the Land League." [Report, pp. 65, 66]. 
 
 *'THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 *' Boycotting Notices, 
 
 " Saturday morning several printed notices were found posted up in Boyle, 
 " calling on the people to boycott three persons. One of them has been boycotted 
 *' for taking con-acre meadow from a grazier, while the other two— a carpenter 
 ' ' and a smith — have been boycotted for having w^orked for a process-server who 
 *' has been boycotted." 
 
 " THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 " Bathing a Bailiff. 
 
 " At Carleary (Naas) Petty Sessions, on Monday, 15 young men ol a respectable 
 " farming class were charged with tarring a process-server named Mills and 
 
 [91 
 
76 
 
 throwing him into the Grand Canal, On the 3rd of August a process-server, 
 named William Mills, residing in Dublin, was sent to Moyvalley to serve some 
 writs. After accomplishing his task, he was proceeding to return home when he 
 was surrounded and attacked by a crowd of 40 people. He fled for safety to 
 the waiting-room of Moyvalley Station, but was dragged therefrom and tarred 
 all over, and then thrown into the canal." 
 
 " Escape, 
 
 ** The dwelling-house of a process-server named John Sullivan, who for the 
 " past week had been engaged in serving processes for the ensuing Quarter 
 " Sessions in his district about Glenbeigh, was forcibly entered a few nights ago 
 " by a large party of men in disguise. Sullivan appears to have got word that an 
 " attack would be made, and he escaped through a back way in the house. His 
 " 'visitors' made a close search for any writs or processes that might be in tlie 
 " house, but they did not succeed in getting any of them." 
 
 " The Consequence, 
 
 ** A Cashel correspondent says on Sunday, the Ryans (minors), who took a 
 " 'boycotted' farm at Goodcross, attended the chapel at Conoulty, when they were 
 " hooted and groaned and pelted with stones. The Ryans' dwelling house and 
 " dairy on the ' boycotted ' farm were recently burned to the ground." [Report, 
 pp. 66, 67]. 
 
 "THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 "■ Labour Lost. 
 
 " Monday being market day in Monaghan, a large number of farmers were in 
 " town, and at 12 o'clock the sheriffs bellman gathered a multitude of people in 
 " the Diamond to bid for a farm of land, a quantity of hay, oats, and potatoes, and 
 " a horse, cart, and harness. The plaintiff was Mr. W. Ancketill, and the 
 "defendant, James McKenna, who had fallen into arrears of rent to the amount 
 " of;^37 i6s. yd. When the auctioneer appeared in the midst of the crowd he was 
 " cheered and groaned. Cries of ' The Land League ' and ' Parnell for ever ' were 
 " frequent The auctioneer having for about lo minutes vainly endeavoured to get 
 " a bid, adjourned the sale sine die.^' 
 
 "-4 Skirmish. 
 
 " A collision has taken place at Lismore between property defence men and the 
 * ' county folks, who were at work on a boycotted farm, and a mob. " 
 
 " Serious Affray. 
 
 " It was reported in the city on Tuesday that an armed party visited the house of 
 ** a man named Mahony, at Knockagree, co. Cork, on Sunday night, and fired." 
 
 ''Delf Shooting with a Threat. 
 
 ' ' On Sunday night an armed party attacked the house of a herd on the Macna- 
 " mara estate, in the county Clare, and having, by means of revolver shots, destroyed 
 ** the crockery and other furniture of the place, informed him that unless he gave 
 ** up his employment they would on a future visit take his life." 
 
 92] 
 
" Dynamite in Limerick. 
 
 " The blowing up of the Limerick police barracks, which was suspected oa 
 ** Monday, did not happen. Perhaps it was postponed- " 
 
 *' The Perils of a Grabber. 
 
 ** Two men, named Hennessy and O'KeefFe, were charged at Ballymartle Petty 
 ** Sessions with being of an armed party who had broken into two houses, fired 
 '* shots and used threats towards a man named Murphy. Convicted for trial," 
 [Report, p 67]. 
 
 *^THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 '' Stoned. 
 
 ** A party of 100 police, protecting a procession at Carra Castle, co. Mayo, 
 ** Monday, were followed by about 600 people and stoned." 
 
 *'THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 *' Alleged shooting near Kanturk. 
 
 " The Central News says : — On Monday evening a man living near Kanturk 
 ** was fired at, and it is believed mortally wounded, He had carried oats for a 
 ** boycotted farmer." 
 
 ** Process-serving made difficult. 
 
 " The people opposed a determined resistance to the seizing of writs in 
 *' Clonfanlough, King's County, on Saturday. When the police and military 
 * ' started on the road they found it rendered impassable by trunks of trees and piles 
 " of stones. Seven bridges were raised, and when the police advanced towards the 
 *' obstruction, they received such showers of missiles that they gave up the mission." 
 
 *' A Land-grabber confounded. 
 
 *' A man named Dempsey, who had taken a derelict farm near Clara, had 
 ** employed men to save his hay. Several hundreds of people collected and 
 ** scattered the party in all directions." 
 
 *' Captain Moonlight. 
 
 " In the town of Scar iff notices signed 'Captain Moonlight,' containing threats 
 *' against any person that would dare speak to the police or supply them with 
 *' necessaries have been posted." 
 
 " Breaking a Policeman's Nose. 
 
 . "A serious affray has taken place at Kilkeely between the police and the 
 ** people. About half-past ten o'clock the police were attacked by about 20 men. 
 *• The former drew their batons, and used them. Two men were arrested ; one ot 
 ** whom inflicted a deep cut on the constable, breaking his nose. The constable's 
 " depositions have been taken by Captain O' Grady, J. P." 
 
 [93 
 
78 
 
 "A Grabber boycotted, 
 
 ** A correspondent says ; — Charles McDevitt, Kilmacrenan, is boycotted for a 
 " grave misdemeanour against Land League principles." [Report, pp. 67, 68]. 
 
 "THE SPIRIT OF THE COUNTRY. 
 
 " Captain Moonlight in Kildare, 
 
 ** The following threatening notice was found posted on the Athy Catholic 
 " Church gate on Sunday mornmg : — ' Notice to the Kavanaghs of Chapel Lane, 
 " ' Athy. Drive no more Preseners or Police As I am Captain Moonlight I will 
 " ' visit you by a nearly Date and leave youse a neaxample to all mankind. 
 *'' Captain Moonlight,' At the bottom were two coffms carefully and tastefully 
 *' drawn. The notice was written in a female hand." 
 
 "INCIDENTS OF THE CAMPAIGN. 
 
 " The Dark Nights at Athlone. 
 
 "Several incendiary fires took place lately in the neighbourhood of Athlone. 
 " Several ricks of hay belonging to a farmer named Blades, at Curramore, and 
 " the hay crop belonging to a man named Kenny at Kilton, also turf belonging to 
 " a man named Curley, Carramore, were destroyed. The victims had disregarded 
 ** the injunctions of the Land League by dealing with a boycotted shopkeeper 
 *' named MoUoy." 
 
 Mr. O'Brien tells us that the title of "Incidents of the Camp- 
 aio"n " was discontinued owing" to the disapproval of Mr. Parnell, 
 but the fact remains as evidence that the outrages reported were 
 represented by the organ of the Land League for about six 
 months to be incidental to the campaig-n in which that organisa- 
 tion was engaged, and we are of opinion that they were in fact 
 the result of the system of intimidation established and carried on 
 by the Land League leaders. [Report, p. 68]. 
 
 Sympathy for '' Invincibles." 
 
 A large number of extracts from " United Ireland " were read in 
 evidence before us. We do not think it necessary to set out many 
 of these extracts. The obvious intention of many of 
 them was to appeal to men of extreme views. 
 
 Our attention was directed to some of a more moderate character, 
 among which we may specially mention the denunciation of the 
 Phoenix Park murders, headed "In Token of Abhorrence and 
 " Shame for the Stain cast upon the Character of our Nation for 
 '' Manliness and Hospitality." But others appeared of a very repre- 
 hensible character. 
 
 The following will afford some examples : — 
 
 On 26th May, 1883 :— 
 
 Mrs. Curley Fund. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " As the strangling Commission is over, and honest Dan Curley is killed off by 
 *' the British Government, I enclose los. for his helpless family. I only wish 
 •* it were pounds." 
 
 94] 
 
79 
 
 Daniel Curley was one of the persons convicted of the Phoenix 
 Park murders. 
 
 On 9th June, 1883 : — 
 
 " Prayers for the Brave One. 
 " Sir, 
 
 " Kindly allow me space in your truly National journals (sic) to tell the Castle 
 ** and the Cromwellian Government that their hangings in Ireland are not 
 ** producing the effect which would please them, and which they desire to have 
 ** made. Here in England, Irishmen feel a deep resentment at the cold-blooded 
 ** butchery taking place every week upon the Kilmainham scaifold. The feeling of 
 "horror at the murders in the Park is now turned into a feeling of still deeper 
 "horror at the murders on the gallows. There have been Masses offered for 
 " the repose of the souls of the brave men who are strangled and sent to an 
 " untimely gi-ave. We, in Dudley, pray not for those who have pleaded guilty 
 " and threw themselves upon the mercy of a British court of law. We believe only 
 " in men that die bravely, no matter what crime they may have committed. 
 " Those who subscribed for the Masses are Mr. Martin, 2s, 6d. ; a King' County 
 " landlord, 2s. 6d. ; Michael Conolly, 2s. 6d. ; James Harvey, 2s. 6d. I may 
 " remark that the King's County landlord holds a deservedly high position among 
 ' * the Irishmen of Dudley. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 " Dudley, June 4. " An Englishman." 
 
 On 15th December, 1883: — 
 
 " Monstrous and incredible. Surely six hundred Irish gentlemen could not eat 
 " their dinner without pouring out libations to the adoration of an old lady who is 
 *' only known in Ireland by her scarcely decently disguised hatred of this country, 
 " and by the inordinate amount of her salaiy. As for the flag of England, who- 
 " ever saw an Irish popular gathering at which that blood-red ensign was not 
 ' ' profusely and ostentatiously displayed ? There was surely some strange mistake. 
 " The Parnell National Banquet without the Union Jack, and without a hip, hip, 
 ' ' hurrah, and a tiger for Queen Victoria. We refuse to believe it ' ' 
 
 In a leading article of the 22nd December, 1883, O'Donnell, the 
 murderer of Carey, is described as having slain a monster for whose 
 destruction he would in most civilised communities have been 
 esteemed a public benefactor. 
 
 On the 30th June, 1883, we find Mr. Finnerty described in 
 " United Ireland" as an ''Irishman brave and daring almost to a 
 ''fault." In the "Nation" of 31st March, 1883, it was reported 
 that Mr. Finnerty had said in regard to the blowing up of the 
 Government buildings in London, that " he was very sorry that it was 
 " not more successful." 
 
 In a sub-leader of the 22nd November, 1884 : — 
 
 " Whatever tends to the destruction of the hateful power of England cannot but 
 " be a matter of deep concern to Irishmen." [Report, pp. 69, 70]. 
 
 Mr, Wm. O'Brien on Civil War. 
 
 On 7th March, 1885, "United Ireland" published the following- 
 report of a speech by the editor, Mr. William O'Brien, M.P. : — 
 
 ** I have not the slightest personal objection that the representatives of Ireland 
 *' should be treated in the English House of Commons as foreigners and as 
 " enemies. ,...:. 
 
 [95 
 
80 
 
 *' It serves to remind us ot the truth that was so often insisted upon by John Dillon 
 " that they hate us, and that we hate them in return. You may be quite sure that 
 " the nations of Europe who are watching the foreign and domestic relations of 
 " England pretty closely just now — you may be sure that they learn from events 
 " like the events of last week, that here in the heart of the British Empire is a 
 *« nation of Irishmen, with several millions of men all over the globe, whose 
 *' relations with England are simply the relations of civil war, tempered by the 
 '* scarcity of fire-arms." 
 
 On the 1 8th April, 1885 :— 
 
 *' On or after the 25th instant we may be able to announce the exhilarating news 
 ** that the key to India is in Komaroff s possession. It would be still more gratify- 
 ** ing if the Irish millions scattered over the globe should wake up one of these 
 ** mornings to hear the war chimes joyfully ringing the declaration that would 
 ** drive England on to downfall and destruction." [Report, p. 70]. 
 
 Earl Spencer Accused. 
 
 On the 13th June, 1885 :— 
 
 '* With all the stubborn force of a cruel, narrow, dogged nature, he (Lord 
 ** Spencer) struck murderous blow after blow at the people under his rod. He 
 *' stopped at nothing ; not at subsidising red-handed murderers, not at knighting 
 '* jury-packers, not at sheltering black official villainy with a coat of darkness, not 
 '* at police quarterings, blood taxes, the bludgeoning of peaceful meetings, the 
 ** clapping handcuffs and convicts' jackets on M.P.'s, mayors, and editors, not at 
 ** wholesale battues of hangings, and transportations by hook or crook, not at 
 * * burying the proof of his victims' innocence in their graves. With Earl Spencer, 
 ** to his lugubrious limbo, probably departs the last 'strong' Englishman who will 
 •" ever undertake to dragoon Ireland out of her nationality by police barbarism, paid 
 ^' perjury, jury -juggling, the immemorial informer, and the sacred rope. 
 *' Hurrah." [Report, p. 70]. 
 
 On 19th September, 1885, a leading article was published : — 
 
 ^'Can we Hurt England?" 
 
 " In the sense of smashing her army and navy. Indubitably no. Under 
 ** present conditions, the day on which England can get us to draw out our forces 
 *' in battle array, and pull a trigger, is our last. It is because she knows how 
 ** impregnably she stands entrenched behind her fortresses, iron-clads, and lOO-ton 
 *' guns, that she is so eager for us to come on with our tin pikeheads and black- 
 '* thorn sticks. And it is because we nourish no illusions on the subject, but know 
 " perfectly well that numbers, discipline and bullets, are overwhelmingly against 
 " us, that we decline to end the controversy on the 15 acres, and let Irish 
 " disaffection sink helplessly into a bloody grave. We know a trick worth ten of 
 " that We cannot fight England in the open. We can keep her in hot water. 
 *' We cannot evict our English rulers neck and crop. We can make their rule 
 *' more insupportable for them even than for us. It may be a more inglorious form 
 *' of warfare than that which is celebrated to the stirring music of the trumpet and the 
 '* cannon ; but it is no fault of ours if we cannot organise Waterloos to decide our 
 ** quarrels. We were nine millions, and England has bled us down to four. Our 
 " young men have fewer opportunities of learning the use of fire-arms than of 
 " studying Chinese. A man may very easily lose his life in importing a rifle. 
 " He will assuredly lose his liberty, if he keeps it anywhere that it won't rot. 
 " Taking up arms is one thing ; having no arms to take up is quite another, and 
 ** is our case. The Invincibles were a band of just 27 ; yet who cannot recall 
 '* with a shudder, that they murdered two of the prmcipal governors of the 
 
 96] 
 
81 
 
 ** countiy, opposite the Lord Lieutenant's windows ; attacked jurors and judges in 
 " crowded streets ; held a great city for months in a state of chattering terror ; 
 '* and were only finally smashed because they failed to remember that refusing to 
 " open their lips in the Castle Star Chamber only involved a week's 
 ** imprisonment, 
 
 " We recall these things, not that we do not shrink from such mad and sanguinary 
 '* conspiracies, with at least as genuine a horror as Mr. Chamberlain does, but 
 " because Mr. Chamberlain's brute majority argument, if pushed to extremities, 
 *' would beyond all doubt produce a crop of similar chib dcs enrages^ which are 
 ** disbanded at present, not through terror of the rope or the vigilance of the police, 
 " but through a conviction that the Irish people are not in the mood for tolerating 
 ** them. The argument of numbers might in that event be sardonically retorted, 
 *' for the more millions of people there were to be terrorised and the fewer the 
 " terrorists, the more easily they could find victims to practice upon and to cover 
 " up their own tracks. 
 
 " Nor are the murderous clubs of maniacs or smouldering civil war by any 
 " means the only physical discomforts that would attend English rule over a 
 " thoroughly exasperated Ireland. England's right hand would be tied up from war 
 *' with France or Prussia or the United States. It is not as in the days when the 
 '* Franco-Dutch armament waited in the Texel for a favouring wind till Tone's 
 ** heart was sick, or when Hoche's ill-starred fleet was blown out of Bantry Bay 
 " like a fleet of cockleshells. Any of theoe powers could defy the winds and evade 
 '* the world-scattered English fleet, and fling five or ten thousand veteran troops, 
 " with supplies of rifles, cannon, and officers, upon any given point of the Irish 
 " coast. And while an Irish rising with scythes and cudgels may seem the best 
 ** joke in the world to Mr. Chamberlain, a French army in possession of Limerick, 
 " with all the hot-blooded youth of the country flocking thither to shoulder its 
 " 100,000 French rifles and learn its French drill, coincidently with an Irish con- 
 '* flagi-ation throughout Durham and Lancashire and an Irish irruption among the 
 " palaces and banking houses of London city, would not furnish nearly so cheerful 
 " food for merriment to a Warrington audience. We mention these matters, not as 
 " threats or as a policy, but as matter-of-fact eventualities, that everybody who 
 " thinks that the Irish four millions can but grind their teeth however the four-and- 
 *' thirty millions may choose to hector them would do well not to overlook. Nor 
 '* is the physical arm the only arm of the four millions, Mr, Parnell has not fired 
 '* a shot in anger these five years past ; yet will anybody pretend that English rule 
 ** conducted under the same conditions he has had to wince under for the past five 
 '* years could long be endurable to English rulers." [Report, pp. 70, 71]. 
 
 The " Irishman " Newspaper. 
 
 The " Irishman " newspaper, which was purchased by Mr. Parnell 
 and others as above-mentioned, first appeared under the editorship 
 of Mr. William O'Brien, M.P., on the 6th August, 1881, and was 
 continued down to August, 1885, notwithstanding, as w^e learn from 
 Mr. Parnell, that its publication involved a loss. 
 
 Mr. Parnell stated in evidence that he purchased the " Irishman " 
 because it was a disreputable paper which he wished to get rid of, 
 but the editorial notice of the 6th August, 1881, upon the change of 
 proprietorship, contained these words. 
 
 ** The 'Irishman ' has changed hands, but not minds, the history of its past is 
 *' the programme of its future. Thrice in its career a transfer of management 
 *' has taken place, but not once has it swerved from the great principles for 
 ** the advocacy of which it Avas first established ; as there has not been, so there 
 " shall not be any change in its spirit." 
 
 This promise appears to have been fully kept. [Report, pp. 71, 72]. 
 
 H 
 
 [97 
 
S2 
 
 The Organ for the Fenians. 
 
 The " Irishman " newspaper had been the organ of the physical 
 force or Fenian party, and we draw the inference from Mr. Parnell s 
 purchase of that paper, coupled with the manner in which it was 
 conducted until its extinction in August, 1885, ^^^^ ^^- Parnell's 
 object was to address his Fenian supporters through that medium, 
 while " United Ireland " was more particularly the organ of the 
 Land League organisation. 
 
 The " Irishman " published, under the heading " Land War," 
 incidents similar to those printed by "United Ireland" under the 
 titles of ''The Land War," "The Campaign," "Spirit of the 
 Country," and " Incidents of the Campaign." We give some 
 specimens of its articles. 
 
 On 2 1 St January, 1 882, after giving- a description of the military 
 preparations then going on in King's County, it proceeds : — 
 
 ** In spite of all this, sometliing effective is done every night by the other army, 
 '* which is composed of the Irish people. One day it is a bridge blown up, another 
 " a deep trench is dug round Duffy's farm, and so the war goes on determinedly 
 *' on both sides. The English sappers and miners and the whole engineer corps 
 "of the army are daily being engaged in repairing the destruction of the night 
 " before." 
 
 On the 8th April,Ji882 :— 
 
 ''The Sicilian Vespers. 
 
 " The wholesale massacre of the alien on the soil of Italy by Italians is applauded 
 
 " by London publicists. Now if this precedent were to be , but we 
 
 ' ' pause in charity to the thoughtlessly enthusiastic. ' " 
 
 On the 15th July, 1882 :— 
 
 " Dynamite — Current Notes. 
 
 " The English have employed dynamite in destroying the Egyptian forts. 
 " Englishmen are angiy because O' Donovan Rossa proposes to use their own 
 *' thunder against themselves." [Report, p. 72]. 
 
 On the Phoenix Park Murder Inquiry. 
 
 On the 23rd December, 1882, while the preliminary investigation 
 which led to the detection of the Phoenix Park murderers was being 
 prosecuted, the following article appeared : — 
 
 *' The Spanish Inquisition was blunt and brutal ; the Star Chamber was a 
 *' diabolical institution ; but the inquisition going on for the last fortnight in Dublin 
 " Castle is more horrible and disgraceful than either. 
 
 ** In the kingdom of Dahomey, in the dominions of King Theebaw, in the 
 " government of Coomassie, there may be more savagery, more bloodthirsty 
 
 " absolution In the midst of these beautiful surroundings stands 
 
 " Dublin Castle, a whited sepulchre without ; inside it is a trap, a snare, a grand 
 *' inquisition to reduce men to speak something to their own destruction. 
 
 98] 
 
83 
 
 ** The inquisition in Dublin Caslle is an outrage upon mankind, and an un- 
 *' blushing violation of law, religion, and civilisation. If any crime could be 
 *' greater than the Park murder it is this inquisition. Oljviously, the Government, 
 ** or some one having authority in the Castle, is making use of the jackal journals 
 *' to further the illegal proceedings of the inquisition. The comments which 
 *' appear in those reptile papers have the official stamp on the face of them. 
 ** They are written purposely to frighten people into making disclosures by giving 
 ** hints that the Government have got a clue, that they are at last on the track of 
 ** the Park murderers, that one of the band has made a clean breast of the 
 ** whole plot. . . . It is quite clear that Government have not the slightest 
 *' clue to the Park murder." 
 
 On the I2th of May 1883 : — 
 
 " Every movement organised against the benevolent laws of this country is 
 ** supported with Irish- American money, and encouraging speeches are sent flying 
 *' hither upon the wings of the Press. Millions of dollars have thus been freely 
 *' subscribed for no other purpose but to thwart the intentions of Government and 
 *' keep alive the flame of dissatisfaction and rebellion. Look at the Conven- 
 *' tion held in Philadelphia. What manifold mischief the ' Parliament of the 
 *' 'Irish Race in Exile' will work here at home. Our countrymen in America 
 *' are accumulating vast wealth and consolidating immense force, and for what 
 *' object? We can hardly venture to name it. The outcome of the Convention 
 ** no man can accurately forecast. It threatens to encompass and {sic) of thrilling 
 " interest to England. From the union and resolve, and determination of the 
 *' Gael in the American Continent there is no prophesying what may issue. In the 
 " hearts of those 15 or 20 millions of men of Irish blood rankles a wound which 
 " refuses to be heeled. There is no cure for it, they say; with dogged obstinacy, 
 ** but topsy-turvy here, and then the retreat of the English garrison with bag and 
 " baggage — if mayhap the latter can be saved in the pell-mell confusion of a 
 *• horrible upheaval and universal crash." [Report, pp. 72, 73.] 
 
 An Obituary Notice of Joe Brady. 
 
 On the 19th May, 1883, the following- article alluded to Joseph 
 Brady, one of the murderers of Lord F. Cavendish and Mr. 
 Burke : — 
 
 *' The lesson of the young life thus early quenched in darkness should not be 
 ** lost upon our rulers. Brady was not the type of man who becomes a murderer 
 " from sheer callousness or base motives. The history of English government 
 " in Ireland Irom long before Mullaghmast down to our own times had taught 
 '* him that any means were justifiable in dealing with a political enemy. He was 
 " convinced that what he did would benefit his countiy, and he risked his life and 
 '* has died that his fellow-men might be happier when his body had rotted in the 
 "quicklime of a prison grave. Terrible as was the crime in itself and its 
 " consequences, it was the act of the brave, self-sacrificing, misguided man. May 
 *' his soul have found a more favourable judgment before the throne of mercy 
 *' than was granted him here below. 
 
 *' All accounts agree in stating that Joe Brady met his death with more than 
 *' ordinary firmness and courage. His physique was powerful at the age of 22 
 '* years, and he appears to have possessed a fortitude equal to the extraordinary 
 " audacity of the deed in the Park. Fear had no place in his heart. It was not 
 **the indifference of the nihilist or the pluck of the atheist, who believe that death 
 *' is annihilation. In his growing years, and in his youthful manhood, he evinced 
 " a strong religious disposition, and was regular and constant in his attendance at 
 "the Franciscan chapel in Church Street. Carey, it may be urged, was also a 
 *' devoted Catholic, outwardly at least. But it might also be said that very 
 ** indifferent Christians, or even agnostics, freethinkers, and persons of no religion 
 * ' would not enter into a murder conspiracy, nor commit a crime of such magni- 
 
 [99 
 
84 
 
 '* tude as that of assassination. In these matters the human heart remains 
 ** inscrutable. It is quite clear, at all events, that very different motives actuated 
 •* Carey and Brady. One was evidently a hypocrite and a cunning coward. The 
 ** other was evidently a sincere, lion-hearted enthusiast." [Report, p. 73]. 
 
 The Attack on Mr, Field, 
 
 On the 25th August, 1883 : — 
 
 ** Once more we may refer to the case of Mr. Field for the purpose of repeating- 
 *' our surprise that no one will purchase his establishment in Westmoreland Street. 
 ** On Saturday the lease of the premises, which are situated in the choicest and 
 ** dearest portion of Dublin, was put up for auction with the same result — 
 ** no bidders ; no one would offer a shilling for those valuable concerns.'" 
 
 Mr. Field was one of the jurors on the trial of Michael Walsh for the 
 murder of Constable Kavanagh, who had been concerned in getting 
 up the evidence in the Lyden murders. Mr. Field's life was attempted 
 on 27th November, 1882. 
 
 On 22nd September, 1883 : — 
 
 "Money will not be wanting for O'Donnell's defence. 
 
 "The "Irish World" collection alone amounts to 5,000 dollars. If the defence. 
 " needed 100,000 dollars it would be subscribed in a week if necessary. In all 
 " parts of the world the Irish would contribute their last shilling to save the life of 
 " the man who committed the most popular murder since Talbot was shot in 
 "Dublin." 
 
 This alludes to the man who murdered James Carey, through 
 whose information the Phoenix Park murderers were convicted. 
 Talbot was a police constable who had also been assassinated. 
 
 On the 15th December, 1883 :— 
 
 " Parnell as a Nationalist is a notable advance upon O'Connell and Butt. Id 
 " his public speeches, we find none of the nauseous loyalty of the Liberator, nor 
 " any of the constitutional twaddle of the Home Ruler." [Report, p. 74]. 
 
 The Genteel Dastards. 
 
 On the 20th December, 1883, the execution of O'Donnell and 
 Poole was described as a ** gallows carnival." 
 
 On the 22nd December, 1883, the following appeared : — 
 
 " O'Donnell was hanged in London on Monday, and on the following day 
 " Joe Poole was strangled in Dublin. In both capitals Ireland s no-surrender 
 " platform was sustained with firmness, pluck, courage, and defiance. The fight 
 " against England is carried on in all parts of the world ; sometimes it is brought 
 " home to the doors of the British Cabinet. O'Donnell was hanged in the 
 " centre of the British Babylon, a circumstance which must give English statesmen 
 •* a lively sense of the Anglo-Irish war. When O'Donnell was sentenced he 
 "shouted 'To hell with England, down with the bloody British Government.' 
 " and uttered at the highest pitch of his voice other shibboleths which made it 
 " clear that the war to the death struggle between Ireland and Great Britain is 
 •* in full blast. The genteel dastards who spend their frothy stuff in the anti-Irish 
 ** press, sought to baffle the effect of O'Donnell's exclamations by imputing his 
 ** shouts to bad temper, ignorance, and vexation. In the hurry of a few moments' 
 
 100] 
 
85 
 
 ** opportunity, the ablest and most educated man could do no more than hurl 
 ■" contempt at his country's enemies in one or two war-cries. This O'Donnell 
 ■" died after shooting a vile Irishman whom the English abhorred, while they 
 *' were using him to hang his fellow-countrymen. 
 
 ''That O'Donnell died like a man there is no doubt. We are proud of his 
 ■" firmness and fortitude in walking to the scaffold without faintness or faltering. 
 '• Indeed, it is the general character of Irishmen to fall into the hands of the 
 *' English enemy. They face death with pluck and a manly indifference to the 
 *' mere shock which ends their days. This is how they ought to meet their fate ; 
 ■" and, as many more must climb the gallows-steps before the feud is ended, we 
 ** hope that none of them will ever march weak-kneed to the scaffold. 
 
 ' ' Poole's dying speech was delivered in the dock in Green Street. He there 
 *' proclaimed his principles. He was a Fenian. He was proud of it, and had no 
 ■*' reason to regi-et that he was a sworn foe to British rule in Ireland. As he 
 ■*' spoke and felt, so he died — a sworn enemy of foreign despotism." 
 
 On the 26th January, 1884 : — 
 
 ** A deep fear of Irish and American dynamiters has taken hold of the English 
 **mind .... All the apprehension has been caused by information received 
 *' from America that the 'Irish World' fund is running high, and that some of it 
 *' has already been expended in London. The Home Office is in a flutter. In 
 *' the coming session of Parliament the Members of the Government, and others 
 ** too, are likely to feel very uncomfortable in their seats." [Report, pp. 74, 75]. 
 
 Vengeance "by Dynamite. 
 
 On the 15th March, 1884 :— 
 
 " Between England and Ireland is one unbroken round of revenge and retalia- 
 "" tion. The telegrams tell us that there is in Paris a brother of Joe Brady and a 
 •" son of O'Donovan Rossa. Both are engaged in the dynamite business ; one to 
 ■" get satisfaction for the death of his brother, the other to pay off England for her 
 " cruel treatment of his father while in prison. In this announcement from Paris 
 ■" there is a whole history. The English will not, it seems, be permitted to enjoy 
 •" that last execution." 
 
 On the 22nd March, 1884 : — 
 
 " We know what instruments England has employed in repressing us. We 
 ■"know how she never scrupled to murder and assassinate that she might rob, 
 
 " despoil, and conquer Against such a foe any weapons are lav^^ul." 
 
 [Report, p. 75]. 
 
 Irish Republicanism. 
 
 On the 29th March, 1884 :— 
 
 " St. Patrick's Day in Paris. Physical forces — the First toast of the evening 
 •" ' Ireland's heroes — Living and Dead,' was responded to by Mr. Patrick Casey, 
 ■" of Paris, who gloiified latter-day Irishmen who died fighting against England. 
 ■" Mr. Casey proclaimed himself an apostle of physical force and an advocate of 
 " dynamite in the struggle against England. He ridiculed the inconsistency of 
 ■" English pressmen, who ranked the comparatively harmless explosion at Victoria 
 ^* Station amongst the most heinous crimes, while almost at the same time they 
 •" chuckled with wild delight at the massacre of thousands of Arabs by their own 
 " countrymen. 
 
 [101 
 
86 
 
 " The Irish Repubh'c. A representative of the Hon. John F. Finert)', member 
 of Congress, one of the dynamite leaders in the States, stated that the vast 
 majority of the Old Guard in America were now running the dynamite ticket. 
 The toast of ' The Irish Republic ' was responded to by Mr. William 
 Kirwan, who predicted that England would be so terrorised by Irish extremists 
 that she would be so compelled to cut the cable which bound both countries 
 under one executive. Mr. Kirwan's remarks were received with great applause. 
 Mr. Joseph Casey, on being called upon to respond to the toast of ' The Irish 
 in France,' laid gi-eat stress on the fact that the Irish in Paris were nearly all 
 revolutionists of the real Radical type. Several other speeches were delivered,'' 
 
 On the 31st January, 1885 : — 
 
 "With all their spies and detective agencies in every part of the world, the 
 English Government must be unable to get any really valuable information as 
 to the movements of the Irish Republicans. Thousands upon thousands a 
 year are spent upon secret police ; and what is the result of it all ? Explosions 
 every other week, some of them at the very door of their detective head office in 
 ' London." [Report, p. 75]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell's Silence a Proof. 
 
 On the 7th February, 1885 : — 
 
 ** Still the English papers howl at Mr. Parnell for not denouncing the dynamite 
 "people. Mr. Parnell's silence is a proof of his statesmanship, 
 " and one of the best evidences he could g-ive of his sagacity. It is 
 " none of his business to take Irishmen to task for their ways and means. Let 
 " the English look to themselves and do their own work. We hope Mr. 
 *' Parnell will never utter one word to gratify English screechers. To rail at the 
 " man upon whom they have heaped abuse for not helping them is the meanest 
 " kind of poltroonery. The English press has for seven years never ceased to 
 " pour out its dirty vituperation upon the head of the Irish leader, and now it 
 "impudently calls upon him to condemn the dynamitards. Verily, Mr. Parnell 
 " has his revenge." 
 
 I\Ir. Parnell, when cross-examined with reference to the article of 
 the 7th February, 1885, above referred to, said that he did not approve 
 of it, and that the writer had evidently wished to represent what was 
 not the fact regarding him. But Mr. Parnell did not 
 produce the report of any speech in which he had 
 denounced the use of dynamite. He, however, called 
 attention to a speech he made in the House of Commons, on the 
 23rd February, 1883, in answer to Mr. Forster, in which he said : 
 
 " He (Mr. Forster) has charged me with the responsibility for writings in the 
 '*' Irish World.' Sir, I suppose if there is one newspaper I differ with more 
 * ' than another that I have had to do with, and have read less of, that I have 
 
 " studied less, it is the ' Irish World.' , 
 
 " Mr. Patrick Ford's aims, and objects, and programme are not my aims, and 
 ** objects, and programme, although they may be much nearer the aims and objects 
 " which the late Chief Secretary for Ireland appeared desirous to bring about." 
 
 No denunciation by Mr. Parnell of the action of 
 the physical force party either in Ireland or 
 America, has been given in evidence, and Mr. 
 Parnell stated before us that he could not say that 
 he had, by speech or action, found fault with the 
 Fenian organisation. 
 
 102] 
 
87 
 
 We think that the articles from the ''Irishman," above cited, were 
 deservedly characterised by Archbishop Walsh, as " most abom- 
 ** inable." 
 
 Upon this part of the case we find that the 
 respondents did disseminate newspapers tending 
 to incite to sedition and the commission of crime. 
 [Report, pp. ys, 76]. 
 
 IX— SPEECHES AND THEIR OUTCOME, 
 
 We now proceed to consider the extent to which agrarian crime 
 had existed up to July, 1882, when the Prevention of Crime (Ireland) 
 Act came into force, and to contrast it with the amount of similar 
 crime which subsequently prevailed. 
 
 The fifth charg-e against the respondents is that they, by their 
 speeches and by payments for that purpose, incited persons to 
 the commission of crime, including murder. This is based on 
 passages in the "Times," leading- article of 7th March, 1887: — 
 
 ' ' Murder still startles the casuist and the doctrinaire, and we charge that the 
 " Land League chiefs based their movement on a scheme of assassination carefully 
 
 " calculated and coolly applied It is not necessary to show 
 
 " that the leaders of the Home Rule movement have directly incited to crime, it 
 " is enough if it can be shown the organisation which gives them their power, which 
 ^' elects their nominees, and which pays their salaries, derives its power in turn 
 * ' from the systematic preparation of crime. ' ' 
 
 This charg-e corresponds with the first and a portion of the 
 second of Sir Charles Russell's heads of charge. 
 
 We may say, at once, that the charge that the respondents by their 
 speeches, or otherwise, incited persons to the commission of murder, 
 or that the Land League chiefs based their scheme on a system of 
 assassination, has not been substantiated. No proof has been given, 
 and we do not believe that there was any intention on the part of the 
 respondents, or any of them, to procure any murder, or murder in 
 general, to be committed ; and, further, we believe that even those- 
 of them who have used the most dangerous language, did not intend 
 to cause the perpetration of murder. [Report, p. y6']. 
 
 The Unwritten Law enforced by Assassination, 
 
 But while we acquit the respondents of having directly or intention- 
 ally incited to murder, -we find that the speeches made, 
 in which landgrabbers and other offenders against 
 the League were denounced as traitors, and as 
 being as bad as informers — the urging young men to 
 procure arms, and the dissemination of the newspapers above 
 referred to— had the effect of causing an excitable 
 
 [103 
 
88 
 
 peasantry to carry out the laws of the Land League 
 even by assassination. This appears to us to be confirmed by 
 the proof (so frequently given in the course of this inquiry) that murders 
 and attempts to kill or maim and other outrages, were committed 
 because the victims had done something in contravention of the rules 
 of the Land League, such as taking evicted or surrendered lands or 
 paying rent. This was proved by (amongst others) Allan Belh 
 District Inspector of the Royal Irish Constabulary ; Maurice Leonard^ 
 Agent for Lord Kenmare; David G. Huggins, District Inspector, 
 R.I.C. ; Wm. Davis, District Inspector, R.I.C. ; Chas. G. Crane, 
 District Inspector, R.I.C. ; and Patrick Derly Kenny, President of 
 the Castleisland Land League, called as a witness by the respondents. 
 In addition to the particular evidence given by these witnesses, 
 they all concurred in the opinion expressed by Captain Plunket, 
 resident magistrate, and Captain Slack, divisional magistrate, that 
 outrages followed as a consequence upon the establishment of the 
 Land League in the districts to which their evidence related. 
 [Report, p. ']']\ 
 
 A few cases of Outrage. 
 
 Out of the many cases proved before us of agrarian outrage 
 following upon breaking the rules of the Land League, we may cite 
 as instances the following : — 
 
 James IMaloney. In May, 1880, James Maloney took for six 
 months, of INIr. Ormsby, the grazing of a farm which a prior tenant 
 had given up to his landlord. On the 14th June, 1880, he was 
 dragged out of his bed at night into the street by some unknown men, 
 a handkerchief was tied over his eyes, and he was then asked if he 
 was going to give up his grazing to the landlord. He was then 
 carded, his ears were bored, he was knocked down and kicked, and 
 whilst down a shot was fired over him. 
 
 Patrick Murphy. In the year 1880, Patrick Murphy became 
 tenant to Mr. Chute, in co. Kerry, of a farm from which Cath. Lenihan 
 had been evicted. On the 15th November, 1880, a party of armed 
 men in disguise visited Murphy's house, fired shots, and then broke 
 in, dragged him into the yard, cut off a part of his ear, and shot at 
 him, but missed him. 
 
 Michael Joyce, in the month of July, 1880, entered upon a farm 
 at Oranmore, county Galway, which the tenant had voluntarily 
 surrendered in the previous May. Joyce had lived for many years 
 under the landlord from whom he then took the farm. He stocked 
 it, and continued there for about a month without molestation ; but 
 on the 8th August, 1880, sixteen of his sheep and six of his cattle 
 were mutilated or killed. Joyce thereupon at once gave up 
 possession. 
 
 104] 
 
89 
 
 Jeremiah Sullivan was a tenant to Lord Ventry, county Kerry. 
 Prior to the 2nd December, 1880, the tenants upon Lord Ventry's 
 estate went in a body, and demanded a reduction of rent, SuUivan 
 going with them. This demand was refused, and the following day 
 Sullivan sent his wife to pay part of the rent, viz. : ^i^, out of 
 jCi7 17s. 6d. then due, which she did. On the 2nd December, 1880, 
 at night, two shots were fired through his bedroom window, which 
 went through the curtains of the bed where he and his wife were 
 sleeping. On the next morning, the following notice was found by 
 Sullivan posted on his door. : — 
 
 " The cause that we came to you is that you paid your rent ; and we swear by 
 " our God, that if you ever again pay it against the will of the people, or any 
 ^' other man, they will be shot. Talce notice, only for the large family that was 
 *'' dependent upon you, you (would) have been shot; and there is more black 
 " sheep in the neighbourhood ; and you have got not to pay rent ; and they paid 
 ' ' it, and they will be shot. Rory-of-the-Hills. The Moonlight Rangers. God 
 " rest his soul." 
 
 Sullivan after this became a member of the Land League. 
 
 Peter Doherty took a farm of Mr. Walter Blake, in co. Galway, 
 which had been surrendered by a man called Kaniff. After he had 
 entered, viz., on the 12th March, 1881, two of his cattle were 
 poisoned, he was boycotted, but he still continued to hold the farm, 
 and on the 2nd November, 1881, at night he was shot dead. 
 
 Patrick Gannon lived on a farm of Mrs. Blake, of Renoyle, co. 
 Galway, and paid his rent to that lady. On the 5th April, 1881, a 
 party of men came by night to his house, and he crawled on to the 
 top of his bed and hid himself. The men found him, dragged him 
 down, and shot him in the knee, saying, " You have paid your rent." 
 
 James Connor, about the month of May, 1881, became tenant of 
 a piece of bogland which James Keogh had vacated. During the 
 fortnight Connor was tenant of the land he and his wife were boy- 
 cotted. They could get no food other than that brought to them by 
 the police at night. They were shouted at when leaving chapel, and 
 when they went to their neighbouring town, Loughrea, Connor was 
 hooted as a land-grabber. On the nth May, 188 1, as Connor was 
 driving his wife to her fathers funeral, he was shot dead. After the 
 murder the widow was boycotted as before. The neighbours would 
 not attend the funeral, nor work for her, and to obtain labour she had 
 to go a distance of 13 miles. [Report, pp. y6 — yS']. 
 
 Murdered going to Place of Worship. 
 
 The circumstances attending Peter Dempsey's murder, which took 
 place on the 29th May, 1881, are as follows : — 
 
 On the 23rd August, 1880, a tenant of Lord Dunsandles, named 
 Bermingham, at Ballyheffena, about six miles from Loughrea, co. 
 Galway, was evicted from his holding. After this, Murty Hynes went 
 
 [105 
 
90 
 
 into occupation. On the 19th September, 1880, a Land League 
 meeting of between 4,000 and 5,000 people, with flags of every 
 description, was held upon the farm. The boundary wall of the 
 farm for about 145 yards was thrown down. Mr. Malachi O' Sullivan, 
 secretary of the Land League in Dublin, and Mr. Pvlatthew Harris, 
 M.P., attended this meeting. 
 
 Mr. Huban moved the first resolution : — 
 
 " That we protest against the action of Murty Hynes, of Ballybane, who has 
 *' violated one of the first principles of the Land League in takhig land from 
 ** which another has been evicted." 
 
 He exhorted the people to combine fearlessly but openly, above 
 board and legally, and to raise a determined clamour against the 
 system of landlordism until there was not a shadow of it left to 
 darken the face of an Irish home, and to never, never let the shadow 
 of the assassin's curse rest upon their home, but to fight fearlessly 
 like men of honour, and to have no cowardice or shirking about it. 
 
 Mr. Malachi O' Sullivan then spoke as follows : — 
 
 '* It is now 18 months since you have pledged yourselves never to take a farm 
 " from which anoiher had been evicted. To-day you stand here to stamp upon 
 " the man who has violated that rule ; to stamp upon him the indelible stigma of 
 ' ' public abhorrence. ........... 
 
 "In France the people set up and did not offer any compensation to these men : 
 '• they would not have it, but they hanged them, and they did away with them in 
 " that way. (Cries of ' the right way.') We have no right to say whether it was 
 •' right or wrong. The French are the best judges of their own work. What 
 " we have to do is to settle our own question, and it can be done easily if you adhere 
 '' to the principle of not taking a farm from which another has been evicted." 
 
 Mr. Matthew Harris, M.P., after saying" that he was not 
 anxious to speak in favour of this Bermingham, who had been 
 evicted from the farm, and that it was not that he wanted to 
 support him, or that he cared about him, and that it was not that 
 he wanted to interfere between Lord Dunsandle and the slaves 
 that he has had around him, but that he had come to maintain 
 the broad principle, said : — 
 
 ' That no man should auction a crop or take land from which another had been 
 " evicted. ............. 
 
 " In the Presidency of Bengal, when what they call a man-eater, one of the 
 " fiercest of the tiger species, puts his appearance in, the whole of the villagers 
 " around are in a state of alarm. The tiger ! They do not know when he may 
 *' devour some of them, and they all come together and make great exertions to 
 ' ' drive him from the locality in which he is. So it should be with a bad landlord, his 
 " agent, or bailiff; when he comes into a district to oppress and grind them, to 
 " put people out of their peaceable homes, you should all congregate together as 
 " people do in Bengal and drive that worst of tigers from your midst. I am sure 
 " to-day that if the tenant farmers of Ireland had their choice, they would 
 '• sooner have imported into the country so many lions or tigers, or any other 
 '' savage animals, than have the landlords they at present have oppressing them." 
 [Report, pp. 78, 79]. 
 
 Dempsey succeeded Murty Hynes. 
 
 In consequence of this meeting- Murty Hynes stated that he 
 would surrender the farm, and he accordingly gave up possession. 
 
 106] 
 
91 
 
 About the month of March, 1881, the farm having been vacant 
 since Murty Hynes gave it up, Peter Dempsey went in, stocked 
 it, and laid out money upon it. Between the meeting of the 19th 
 September, 1880, and the day of Dempsey 's murder several 
 other meetings were held in the district. 
 
 On the 17th March, 1881, Mr. Dillon went to Loughrea, and 
 made a speech, which has already been referred to. 
 
 On Sunday, the 29th May, 1881, Peter Dempsey started for 
 mass with his two young children, and at about 11. 30 a.m. he 
 was murdered as he went. No evidence could be obtained as to 
 who were the murderers, though many persons were then on 
 their way to the church. His funeral was not attended by any 
 of his neighbours, and on the night he was buried his widow 
 heard people singing as they passed her house, and bonfires 
 were lighted on the hilltops around. After this she asked 
 strangers to work for her, knowing, as she said, that her neigh- 
 bours would refuse. She obtained police protection. 
 
 A farmer named Hanify was called by the respondents, who 
 denied that bonfires were lit on the hills on the night of 
 Dempsey's funeral, and stated that no disrespect was shown to 
 Mrs. Dempsey by the people, and that from twenty to forty 
 people attended the funeral ; but we do not think that his 
 testimony outweighs the affirmative evidence on these points. 
 This witness, upon cross-examination, admitted that he never 
 knew that Dempsey had wronged any man before the murder, that 
 he could not guess or conjecture why he was murdered, that he 
 had seen a man working for Mrs. Dempsey with two policemen 
 standing by his side protecting him, and that he believed 
 Dempsey had offended against the principle of the League by 
 taking an evicted farm. [Report, p. 79]. 
 
 Parnellite Police on Patrol. 
 
 In the month of July, 1881, three tenants of Mr. A. Blennerhas- 
 sett, of Ballyseedy, near Tralee, co. Kerry, were evicted, viz., 
 Driscoll, Poff, and O'Sullivan. On the 19th July, 1881, a resolu- 
 tion was passed by the League that Poff should be assisted. A 
 man named Fitzgerald, who was put in as caretaker, left, and 
 one Keefe succeeded him. Keefe was then shot at, and in 
 consequence gave up the caretaking. Thos. Cliff'ord and his 
 brother then went to take care of the farms. 
 
 On the night of the 6th November, 1881, eight men, armed and 
 disguised, visited the Clifford's, inquired of Thomas where and for 
 whom he was working, and on being told, ordered him on to his 
 knees, and shot him in the thigh and back. 
 
 Mr. Ed. Harrington, M.P., stated that the motive of the outrage 
 was the fact that Clifford was caretaking an evicted farm. 
 
 [107 
 
92 
 
 On the 8th November, 1881, the '* Kerry Sentinel" published as 
 follows : — 
 
 ' * Outrage near Ballyseedy. " "A party of disguised men entered a house 
 *' where a caretaker named Clifford was sleeping, and shot him in the leg. He 
 *' was taking care of an evicted farm from which a tenant named DriscoU had been 
 *' evicted." 
 
 The Clifford's thereupon gave up caretaking the farm. 
 
 The next man who was put in as caretaker was Pat Cahill. On 
 the 14th June, 1882, as he was returning home in the evening, he 
 was shot at. He then obtained police protection, but on the 
 22nd June, 1882, he was shot dead. 
 
 Patrick Donoghue, in the month of December, 1881, purchased 
 for the sum of jC90, the interest which Ed. Berry then had in a farm 
 belonging to Lord Kenmare. Ejectment proceedings at the time 
 had been commenced against Berry, who thereupon sold his interest 
 to Donoghue and went to America. 
 
 On the night of the i8th December, 1881, some men came to 
 Donoghue's house, broke open the door, took him into the yard, 
 beat him, and then shot him in the ankle. 
 
 Daniel Cronin was a tenant to Lord Kenmare. He made no 
 complaint of the amount of his rent, was satisfied with his holding, 
 and prior to 27th November, 1881, had paid his rent in secret. He 
 did not have the payment of this rent entered in his pass-book, as was 
 usual, but the precaution was taken that his wife should obtain a 
 separate receipt for it. 
 
 On the night of the 27th November, 1881, two men came to his 
 house, put the lamp out which was on the table, turned his wife 
 and daughter out of the kitchen, and then asked him if he had paid 
 his rent. Daniel Cronin said he had not, and showed them his 
 pass-book with no receipt for the same entered. This evidently was 
 not believed by the men, and one of them said '' He is right," and 
 ordered Cronin to turn his face to the wall, and thereupon shot him 
 in the thigh. 
 
 John White lived at Kilmore, near Swinford, and occupied 10 or 
 II acres of land. One night in Febmar)', 1882, a party of men came 
 to his house at night, asked for him, pulled him out, told him to keep 
 his rent in his pocket, and to fortune his daughters, and wounded him 
 on his head and jaw. 
 
 Daniel Dowling was tenant to Mr. William Blennerhasset at 
 Castle Island. Dowling paid his rent regularly, and in March, 1882, 
 with a reduction of 30 per cent. 
 
 On the 6th March, 1882, at night, some men came to his house 
 and asked him, *' Did I pay my rent." He said " I did." They then 
 asked him why he had done so, and he said " The rest of the tenants 
 *' paid it before me, and I did the same." He was thereupon ordered 
 outside the door, and shot in the thigh. 
 
 108] 
 
93 
 
 Houligan's. — In September, 1884, one Houligan's had taken a farm 
 from which a shoemaker named Rane or Reane had been evicted. At a 
 meeting of members of the Killoo Branch of the League, co. Longford, 
 Houligan's conduct was discussed, and John Jag-o, a member of 
 the League, was appointed with Kane to assault Houligan. 
 They afterwards did so, and Houligan died of a blow which he 
 received from Jago. These facts were proved by Jago, whose 
 evidence was corroborated and not contradicted in essential 
 particulars. [Report, pp. 79-81]* 
 
 IX.— STATISTICS OF CRIME, 1880-82. 
 
 The statistics of crime during the years 1880-82 
 strongly corroborate the evidence of those witnesses 
 we have already referred to, who stated that 
 outrages followed as a consequence in those dis- 
 tricts in which the Land League was established. 
 
 There is no room for doubt that agrarian crime 
 was raging in Ireland during the years 1880, 1881, 
 1882, when the Land League agitation was at its 
 height. 
 
 The following table shows the total amount of agrarian crime 
 during the years 1877 to 1885 in all Ireland : — 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 1880. 
 
 J 
 
 1881. 
 
 1882. 
 
 1883. 
 
 1884. 
 
 1885. 
 
 236 
 
 301 
 
 863 
 
 2,589 
 
 4439 
 
 S,4S2 
 
 870 
 
 762 
 
 944 
 
 It will be seen from the above table how abnormal was the 
 crime during 1880, 18S1, and 1882. [Report, p. 81]. 
 
 Crime in Mayo, Galway, and Sligo. 
 
 Mr. Dillon tells us that in the year 1879 only two or three 
 counties were engaged in the movement. Two of the counties 
 referred to were Mayo and Galway, and from Mr. Davitt's 
 evidence it appears that the third county was Sligo. 
 
 [109 
 
94 
 
 The statistics of agrarian crime in Mayo, Galway and Sligo 
 are as follows : 
 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 1882. 
 
 1883. 
 
 1884. 
 
 1885. 
 
 Mayo 
 
 o2 
 
 25 
 
 178 
 
 343 
 
 308 
 
 146 
 
 45 
 
 24 
 
 26 
 
 Galway ... 
 
 20 
 
 22 
 
 179 
 
 402 
 
 487 
 
 349 
 
 56 
 
 43 
 
 79 
 
 Sligo ... 
 
 5 
 
 15 
 
 53 
 
 71 
 
 100 
 
 137 
 
 17 
 
 20 
 
 11 
 
 It is obvious from this table how crime rose in 
 these three counties in 1879, when the Land League 
 was at work there. [Report, p. 8i]. 
 
 Crime on the Western Seaboard. 
 
 The statistics of ag-rarian crime in the four remaining- counties 
 on the western seaboard, which comprised the remaining- poorest 
 parts of Ireland,* and in which, in 1879, the Land League was 
 not active, are as follows : — 
 
 
 1877. 
 
 1878. 
 
 1879. 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 1882. 
 
 1883. 
 
 1884. 
 
 1885. 
 
 Donegal . . . 
 
 15 
 
 16 
 
 25 
 
 52 
 
 119 
 
 58 
 
 10 
 
 22 
 
 7 
 
 Clare 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 21 
 
 93 
 
 213 
 
 207 
 
 55 
 
 38 
 
 88 
 
 Kerry 
 
 8 
 
 5 
 
 13 
 
 298 
 
 401 
 
 347 
 
 146 
 
 117 
 
 180 
 
 West Cork 
 
 1 
 
 9 
 
 16 
 
 133 
 
 338 
 
 171 
 
 39 
 
 34 
 
 45 
 
 Thus it appears that although there was a rise in 
 crime in the year 1879 in these four counties, it 
 was insignificant when compared with the rise 
 which took place in that year in the counties of 
 Mayo and Galway, where the agitation was then 
 active, and also with the rise which took place in 
 the two subsequent years in these four counties 
 when the Land League extended its operations to 
 them. 
 
 We will now examine the rise ot agrarian crime in the 
 counties Kerry and Clare, as shown in the above table. 
 [Report, p. 81]. 
 
 * Local Government Board Report, 17th April, 1880. 
 
 110] 
 
95 
 Grime in Kerry, 1880. 
 
 In CO. Kerry the Land League had not organised itself until the 
 month of October, 1880, though some agitation had previously com- 
 menced there. 
 
 It will be seen what an enormous increase in crime took place in 
 this county in the year 1880, viz., from 13 cases in 1879 to 298 in 
 1880, and from the table below it appears that during the first nine 
 months of the year 1880 (January to September inclusive) the 
 average of crime in this county was eight cases per month, whereas 
 during the last three months of the year the average rose to no less 
 than 75 cases per month, a fact peculiarly significant, especially when 
 it is borne in mind that by far the acutest distress in this county 
 existed in the winter and spring of 1879 — ^^' 
 
 Table of Agrarian Crime per month in county Kerry during 
 
 1880. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April. 
 
 May. 
 
 June. July. Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 7 
 
 1 
 2 5 
 
 1 
 
 5 
 
 12 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 20 
 
 47 
 
 86 
 
 93 
 
 [Report, p. 82], 
 
 Mr. Parnell wakes Clare up. 
 
 As regards Clare, Mr. Parnell, on the 19th September, 1880, in his 
 Ennis speech, in which he advocated boycotting, stated to the people 
 of Clare : — 
 
 " When you have made the question really ripe for settlement 
 
 *' and then and not till then will it be settled. It is very nearly ripe already in 
 *' many parts of Ireland. It is ripe in Mayo, in Galway, in Roscommon, in 
 " Sligo, and in portions of the county of Cork, but I regret to say that the 
 *' tenant fanners of Clare have been behind in organisation up to the present time. 
 
 *' (Shouts.) You must band yourselves together into Land Leagues 
 
 *' You must see that the principle of the Land League is inculcated, and when 
 -* you have done this in Clare, Clare will take her rank with the other Irish 
 " counties, and you will find you will be included in the next Land Bill which 
 '•will be brought forward by the Government." [Report, p. 82]. 
 
 With this Result. 
 
 The following table shows the rise of agrarian crime in Clare after 
 the delivery of this speech : — 
 
 Up to the end of September, in which month the speech was made, 
 the average of agrarian crime was four cases per month, and after 
 the speech, during October, November, and December, the average 
 was 18 per month, and increased during 1881 and 1882. 
 
 [Report, p. 82]. 
 
 [Ill 
 
96 
 
 Table of Agrarian Crime per month in county Clare during 
 
 1880. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April. 
 
 May. 
 
 June. 
 
 July. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 1 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 6 7 
 
 1 
 
 G 
 
 25 
 
 12 
 
 19 
 
 The table of agrarian crime for Roscommon and county Cork will 
 be found in the evidence. 
 
 Crime Spread like Wild-fire. 
 
 Mr. Parnell told us, that until August, 1880, when the Compensa- 
 tion for Disturbance Bill was thrown out by the House of Lords, the 
 Land League was practically speaking non-existent, excepting in 
 Mayo and Galway, and that it then spread like wild-fire north, south, 
 east and west. The following table proves that during the first eight 
 months of this year, i.e., January to August, 1880, inclusive, the 
 average of agrarian crime in all Ireland was 91 cases per month, 
 whereas during the last four months of this year the average rose to 
 no less than 464 per month. [Report, p. 82]. 
 
 Agrarian Crime in Ireland during 1880. 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 April. 
 
 May. 
 
 June. 
 
 July. 
 
 Aug. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov. 
 
 Dec. 
 
 114 
 
 97 
 
 83 
 
 67 
 
 88 
 
 90 
 
 84 
 
 104 
 
 165 
 
 269 
 
 559 
 
 865 
 
 It is impossible to study these figures without 
 seeing that the rise of agrarian crime was coincident 
 with the activity of the Land League, and the 
 coincidence of the decrease of agrarian crime with 
 the inactivity of the Land League will be found to 
 be equally conspicuous. LReport, p. 83]. 
 
 The Ladies in Office. 
 
 It is true that the Land League as an org-anisation was 
 suppressed in October, 1881, and its leaders imprisoned in 
 Kilmainham, but its agitation was continued by the Ladies' Land 
 League, with the assent and approbation of the Land League 
 leaders. The Ladies' Land League occupied the same premises 
 in Dublin as the Land League had done, and the funds of the 
 
 112] 
 
97 
 
 Land Leag-ue, as before stated, to the amount ot over jCyo,000, 
 were handed to them to carry on the work, which they continued 
 until the Crimes Prevention Act (i 2th July, 1882,) put a check 
 upon their proceeding's. 
 
 The following- table shows the decrease of crime which then 
 took place : — 
 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 1882. 
 
 1883. 
 
 1884. 
 
 1885. 
 
 Agrarian Crime in ") kq7 
 all Ireland ... 3 "^'^^^ 
 
 4,439 
 
 3,432 
 
 870 
 
 762 
 
 944 
 
 {Report, p. 83]. 
 
 A Decrease under the Crimes Act. 
 
 The next Table shows how, in the year 1882, crime decreased 
 coincidently with the passings of the Crimes Act in July of that 
 year :— 
 
 Jan 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. 
 
 Apr. 
 
 May. June 
 
 July. 
 
 Sept. 
 
 Oct. 
 
 Nov 
 
 Dee. 
 
 Agrarian Crime in 
 all Ireland 
 
 495 
 
 4.10 
 
 542 
 
 465 
 
 401284 
 
 231 
 
 176139112 
 
 93 
 
 85 
 
 being an average of 404 per month of crime up to the end ot 
 July, and an average of 121 per month after. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that, as in August, 1880, when Mr. Parnell 
 says the Land League started in its full vigour, crime increased 
 from 91 to 464 cases per month, so in July, 1882, when the Land 
 League agitation was checked by the operation of the Crimes 
 Act, it decreased from ^04 per month to 121 per month. 
 [Report, p. 83]. 
 
 The different forms of Crime. 
 
 Returns were given in evidence showing that the crimes were, 
 amongst others, threatening letters, killing or maiming cattle, 
 arson, firing into dwellings or at the person, and murder. Thes. 
 returns contained columns describing the nature of the crimes 
 and the suggested motives for their commission, and from these 
 it appears that in very many instances the crimes were committed 
 to punish those who had done acts which the Land League had 
 forbidden, or for showing hostility to it, such as taking land from 
 which a tenant had been evicted, for serving processes for the 
 
 [113 
 
98 
 
 recovery of land, acting- as bailiff or as herd to a person 
 obnoxious to the Land League, for paying- rent, and other similar 
 causes. 
 
 The exact facts in a majority of these cases have not been 
 proved before us, but, from the numerous instances as 
 to which evidence has been given, we see no 
 reason to doubt that the motives suggested to 
 have prompted the crimes have in the main been 
 correctly assigned. [Report, p. 83]. 
 
 Threatening Letters. 
 
 The above tables contain, as before stated, the whole 
 agrarian crime in Ireland, including threatening letters. We 
 regard threatening letters as a serious form of agrarian crime^ 
 but if these are eliminated it makes no difference in the con- 
 clusions to be drawn, the proportion which these letters bear to 
 the total agrarian crime being about the same throughout the 
 various periods referred to. [Report, p. 84]. 
 
 The National League and Crime. 
 
 The National League, though founded upon the 17th October^ 
 1882, did not show much activity until the year 1885. Mr. 
 Timothy Harrington, M.P., the Secretary of the National 
 League throughout this period, says that there were very few 
 branches up to the year 1885, — that it was in 1885 that the 
 National League spread so rapidly as to render it not easy for a 
 man in his position to control it, — that the general election 
 occurred in 1885, and consequently the branches of the League 
 trebled in that year. 
 
 It will be seen from the table below how crime in 1885 again 
 increased coincidently with this renewed activity of the National 
 Leasfue : — 
 
 
 1880. 
 
 1881. 
 
 1882. 1883. 
 
 1884. 
 
 1885. 
 
 1886. 
 
 Agrarian Crime in") 
 all Ireland y 
 
 2,589 
 
 4,439 
 
 3,432 
 
 870 I 762 
 
 i 
 
 9d4 
 
 1,05$ 
 
 [Report, p. 84]. 
 
 That Crime follows Evictions, not true. 
 
 It was contended before us, that the agrarian crime of 1880, 
 1 88 1, and 1882, abnormal and appalling as it was, ought not to be 
 attributed to the agitation of the League, but to a chronic state of 
 
 114] 
 
99 
 
 crime into which Ireland was wont to lapse when distress, aggravated 
 by eviction, and the fear of it, set in. It was asserted that, as 
 following on the famine years of 1846-48, ejectments and threats of 
 ejectments multiplied, crime increased; so in the years 1879, 1880, 
 1 88 1, 1882, like causes produced like results. It was further 
 suggested that the crime was the work of secret societies, acting in 
 antagonism to the League ; and, lastly, that it resulted from the 
 House of Lords having thrown out the Compensation for Disturbance 
 Bill, in August, 1880. On examining' the facts, how- 
 ever, we cannot accept any of these hypotheses. 
 [Report, p. 84]. 
 
 Boycotting culminated in Outrage. 
 
 With regard to these suggestions, the character of the crime must 
 be considered. We have pointed out that a large portion of the 
 outrages were committed upon persons who had taken land from 
 which others had been evicted ; another large portion upon those 
 who had paid their rent ; and another upon those who had disobeyed 
 other laws of the League. These three classes of crime were 
 generally perpetrated by means of outrage committed at night, and 
 which is ordinarily known by the term moonlighting. We also 
 find that, in many instances, the pressure which 
 began in boycotting-, culminated in outrage upon 
 the person boycotted. 
 
 The Rev. Father O'Connor, the parish priest of Firies, county 
 Kerry, called by the respondents, gave us, upon cross-examination, 
 what we consider to be an accurate description of the object and 
 nature of the moonlighter. [Report, p. 84]. 
 
 Moonlighting Accurately Described. 
 
 He said the origin of the moonlighting raids for arms was to be 
 sought for in the determination of the people, especially of the young 
 men of the district, to create such a feeling that no one would 
 venture to take an evicted farm. That, no doubt, the taking of an 
 evicted farm was lawful, but on the principle of doing unto others as 
 you would they should do unto you, the action of the land-grabber 
 was not justifiable. The object of these raids was to cow anyone who 
 might meditate land-grabbing ; not only so, but it appeared to have 
 been calculated upon, that the knowledge that the moonlighters 
 possessed arms, would still further deter intending grabbers. 
 
 He told us that in the course of time the ranks of the moon- 
 lighters had been recruited by a class whose objects were 
 different from those contemplated by the originators of the 
 system. The new men had made use of the moonlighting- 
 system for the purpose of simple robbery, and had thus, in some 
 instances, gone beyond the original intention, which was merely 
 to intimidate intending land-grabbers. [Report, pp. 84, 85]. 
 
 [115 
 
100 
 X.— THE DISTRESS OF 1879-80. 
 
 We now turn to the argument founded upon distress and 
 eviction. 
 
 That there was great privation amongst the tenants on the 
 western seaboard of Ireland and parts adjacent in the winter 
 and spring of 1879 and 1880, we have no doubt. Uncontradicted 
 evidence as to this was laid before us. Mr. Thomas Leonard, 
 agent to Lord Kenmare, told us that from November, 1879, to 
 April, 1880, in Kerry, there were people blue with hunger, and 
 the large relief funds raised in the autumn of 1879 by the 
 Duchess of Marlborough, the ''New York Herald," the 
 Canadians, the Mansion House, and the Land League, whereby 
 sums amounting to above £360,000 were obtained, of which 
 the Land League collected £6o,coo, show the magnitude of the 
 prevailing distress. 
 
 The year 1S76 had been an excessively good year, and 
 represented a high average of good years. The year 1877 had 
 an indifferent harvest, and 1878 was inclement and wet. The 
 year 1879 was the worst year since the great famine years of 
 5846-48. [Report, p. 85]. 
 
 Report of Duke of Richmond's Commission. 
 
 The Duke of Richmond's Commission, in January, 1881, 
 reported upon the condition of the farmers in Ireland. From 
 the evidence before us, we consider that the report contains an 
 accurate description of their condition at that time. The report 
 says : — 
 
 ** In coromon with the rest of the United Kingdom, the agricultural depression 
 "of the years 1877, 1878, 1879 has greatly affected Ireland, and has been to 
 *' some extent increased in the country by the absence of manufacturing industries 
 " and other sources of employment. There is no doubt that the depression has 
 *' fallen with extreme severity upon the small farmers. We have, therefore, 
 *' reason to fear that a veiy large proportion of these farmers are insolvent, and 
 ** it is stated that the bountiful harvest of this year {i.e., 1880) has alone prevented 
 " their entire collapse. With respect to the very small holders in the western 
 " districts of Ireland, we are satisfied that, with the slightest failure of their crops, 
 " they would be unable to exist upon the produce of their farms even if they 
 *' paid no rent." [Report, p. 85]. 
 
 The Harvest of 1880 Bountiful. 
 
 The harvest of 1880 was described by this Committee as 
 bountiful, and Mr. Dillon, speaking at Kildare on the 15th 
 August, 1880, said; — 
 
 " The country is emerging out of a grave crisis, and there is no use in a good 
 " season if you will not be in a good position to take advantage of it. If you pay 
 " rent and arrears of rent this year, then the good harvest will go to the landlord. 
 " Therefore this year there shall be no arrears of rent paid." 
 
 The years 1881 and 1882 were average years, and there 
 certainly was nothing in their character to account for the 
 abnormal crime which then existed. 
 
 116] 
 
101 
 
 It was urged that the increased evictions, which in fact took 
 place in the years 1878, 1879, ^^^O, 1881, and 1882, had created 
 fear in the minds of the tenants that the evictions of 1848 and 
 subsequent periods were about to recur, and that the crime ot 
 1880, 1 88 1, and 1882 arose from this fear, and that to this and 
 not to the agitation of the League was crime to be attributed. 
 
 We do not doubt that evictions and fear of eviction are 
 contributory causes of agrarian crime, but the question for our 
 consideration is whether these causes alone produced the crime 
 which in fact existed in 1880, 1881 and 1882 in the west ot 
 Ireland. [Report, pp. 85, 86]. 
 
 Evictions and Crime, 1849-86. 
 
 The following shows the total number of evictions and ot 
 agrarian crimes from 1849 to 1886 inclusive. A full table is given 
 in the Shorthand Notes : — 
 
 Table of Agrarian Crime and Evictions in Ireland, 1 849-86. 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 1 
 1 
 
 
 Total 
 
 Year. 
 
 FamiliGS 
 
 Agrarian 
 
 Year. 
 
 Families 
 
 Agrarian 
 
 evicted. 
 
 Crime in 
 
 evicted. 
 
 Crime in 
 
 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 
 
 Ireland. 
 
 1849 
 
 16,686 
 
 957 ; 
 
 1868 
 
 637 
 
 160 
 
 1850 
 
 19,949 
 
 1,362 
 
 1869 
 
 374 
 
 767 
 
 1851 
 
 13,197 
 
 1,013 
 
 1870 
 
 548 
 
 1,329 
 
 1852 
 
 8,591 
 
 913 
 
 1871 
 
 482 
 
 373 
 
 1853 
 
 4,833 
 
 469 
 
 1872 
 
 526 
 
 256 
 
 1854 
 
 2,156 
 
 334 
 
 1873 
 
 671 
 
 254 
 
 1855 
 
 1,849 
 
 255 
 
 1874 
 
 726 
 
 213 
 
 1856 
 
 1,108 
 
 287 
 
 1875 
 
 667 
 
 136 
 
 1857 
 
 1,161 
 
 194 
 
 1876 
 
 553 
 
 212 
 
 1858 
 
 957 
 
 235 
 
 1877 
 
 463 
 
 236 
 
 1859 
 
 837 
 
 221 
 
 1878 
 
 980 
 
 301 
 
 1860 
 
 636 
 
 232 
 
 1879 
 
 1,238 
 
 863 
 
 1861 
 
 1,092 
 
 229 
 
 1880 
 
 2,110 
 
 2,590 
 
 1862 
 
 1,136 
 
 363 
 
 1881 
 
 3,415 
 
 4,439 
 
 1863 
 
 1,734 
 
 349 , 
 
 1882 
 
 5,201 
 
 3,432 
 
 1864 
 
 1,924 
 
 304 
 
 ; 1883 
 
 3,643 
 
 870 
 
 1865 
 
 942 
 
 178 
 
 1 1884 
 
 3,978 
 
 762 
 
 1866 
 
 795 
 
 87 ■' 
 
 1 1885 
 
 3,127 
 
 944 
 
 1867 
 
 549 
 
 123 
 
 1 1886 
 
 3,781 
 
 1,056 
 
 Evictions increased in the year 1878, and so did crime, but the 
 increase in crime was small when compared with that which took 
 place in subsequent years. 
 
 [117 
 
102 
 
 Evictions also increased in 1879, and so did crime, but the 
 agitation against the landlords had then commenced in Ireland, and 
 out of the total cases of agrarian crime of all Ireland in this year 
 (viz., 863), no less than 410 were in Mayo, Galway, and Sligo, 
 where, as has already been shown, the movement had begun in 
 1879. [Report, p. 86]. 
 
 Those who could pay, but would not. 
 
 The increase of evictions which took place in and after 1879 is, 
 in our judgment, accounted for by the fact that in the spring of 
 1879 ^h^ ^^'^'^ against the landlords was commenced in Mayo and 
 Galway, and thence, after August, 1880, spread through Ireland. 
 Tenants everywhere, as the agitation proceeded, were exhorted not 
 to pay their contract rent, to keep a firm grip upon their holdings, 
 to bring the landlords to their knees, and were told if they would 
 but do this they would be, as they in fact were, protected by the 
 League. This exhortation was not limited in any way to those 
 unable to pay their rent, but, on the contrary, the tenant who could 
 pay, but refused to do so at the dictation of the League, was held up 
 as the person to be applauded and followed by others. 
 
 That the landlords in such circumstances should 
 oppose the League and resort to the only weapon 
 they had for their protection, viz., eviction, is not 
 to be wondered at, and in our judgment the 
 increase in evictions, which began in 1879 and 
 continued during subsequent years, was the result 
 of the agitation against the landlords. 
 
 It was sought to liken the crime of 1880, 1881, 1882, to that 
 which existed in the years following the great famine of 1846 — 48, 
 but when the figures as to these years are 
 vexamined the analogy fails. [Report, p. 86]. 
 
 Evictions and Crime, 1849-52. 
 
 The year 1849 was the first year in which the statistics of eviction 
 and crime respectively were first compiled. The figures are as 
 follows : — 
 
 Pamilies 
 evicted. 
 
 Agrarian 
 
 Crimes 
 
 in Ireland. 
 
 il849 
 1851 
 1852 
 
 Total. 
 
 [Report, p. 87]. 
 118] 
 
 957 
 1,362 
 1,013 
 
 913 
 
 4,245 
 
103 
 
 Evictions and Crime, 1879-82. 
 
 Families 
 evicted. 
 
 Agrarian 
 
 Crimes 
 in Ireland. 
 
 1879 
 
 For the four years -<J -, gg-. 
 
 1882 
 
 Total... 
 
 1,238 
 2,110 
 3,415 
 5,201 
 
 11,964 
 
 863 
 2,589 
 4,439 
 3,432 
 
 11,323 
 
 So that with 3,415 famiUes evicted in i88r there was more 
 agrarian crime (4,439) ^^an in all the four years together (1849-1852) 
 with 58,423 famihes evicted. [Report, p. Sy]. 
 
 Secret Societies not Responsible. 
 
 As to the suggestion that the crime was caused by secret societies 
 acting in antagonism to the Land League, Mr. Parnell, in the House 
 of Commons, on the 7th January, 1881, stated that secret societies 
 had then ceased to exist in Ireland. Mr. Parnell was then alluding 
 to secret societies other than that of the Fenian conspiracy, and in 
 our judgment Mr. Parnell was accurate when he made that state- 
 ment. Mr. M. Harris has also stated in evidence that no secret 
 societies except that of the Fenians then existed. We find no 
 trace in the evidence of the League or of any of its 
 chiefs or of&cers suggesting that the crime which 
 existed was the act of any such societies. It 
 appears to us that this suggestion was first made during this inquiry. 
 [Report, p. 8y'], 
 
 Mr. Louden had no Facts. 
 
 Mr. Louden, when in the box, stated that the crime in his part 
 of the country was perpetrated by a society called the Herds 
 League, but upon cross-examination it appeared that he 
 had no facts upon which to base his assertion. 
 
 [Report, p. 8y]. 
 
 The Disturbance Bill only a Cloak. 
 
 As to the third sug-g-estion, viz., that the throwing out of the 
 Compensation for Disturbance Bill in August, 1880, was the 
 origin of the increase of crime, we are of opinion that it was 
 
 [119 
 
104 
 
 not the eflfective cause of that increase, but that it 
 arose from the agitation of which the rejection 
 of the Disturbance Bill was made the occasion. 
 
 [Report, p. 87]. 
 
 The Arrears Act of '82— another Cloak. 
 
 It has been sugg-ested that the decrease ot crime which took 
 place after July, 1S82, was to be attributed to the conciliatory 
 effect of the Arrears of Rent (Ireland) Act, which had become 
 law on the 18th April, 1882. We must remark, in answer to 
 this sug-g-estion, that the Land Act of 1881, which has been 
 described by the counsel for the respondents as " the first Great 
 Charter for the Irish tenant class," had no such effect, and in 
 our judgment the suggestion is not well founded. 
 [Report, p. 87]. 
 
 The Land League— its Founders and Leaders 
 responsible for Crime. 
 
 Sir Charles Russell's fourth head of charge is that no other 
 cause has been or could be sug-g-ested for the crime in Ireland from 
 and after 1879, except the agitation of the Land League and the 
 speeches of its leaders. The question, however, as we have already 
 observed, is not whether no other cause could be suggested, but 
 whether the action of the leaders of the Land League agitation 
 contributed to produce the increase of agrarian crime from 1879- 
 1882, and on this point ^^re find that the increase in 
 agrarian crime during those years, though not exclusively 
 to be ascribed to the agitation, was mainly due to the 
 action of the Land League, its founders and 
 leaders ; and generally upon the fifth charge, we find that 
 the respondents did not directly incite persons to the commission of 
 crime other than intimidation, but that they did incite to 
 intimidation, and that the consequence of that 
 crime and outrage were committed by the persons 
 incited. We find that it was not proved that the respondents 
 made payments for the purpose of inciting persons to commit crime. 
 [Report, pp. S7, SS^ 
 
 Mr. Parnell's Condemnation Insufficient. 
 
 We have next to consider the sixth charge, that the re- 
 spondents did nothing to prevent crime, and expressed no dona 
 fide disapproval of it (Sir Charles Russell's second head). 
 
 In ascertaining whether any efficient steps were taken by the 
 League or its leaders to repress the crime (which was unquestionably 
 attending the agitation) it is necessary to examine the conduct of the 
 leaders and of the League, during 1880, 1881 and 1882. 
 
 120] 
 
105 
 
 When Mr. Davitt returned from America, in November, 1880, he 
 was alarmed at the great increase of crime which had occurred. 
 
 Mr. Parnell states that in December, his attention was first called 
 to the fact that there had been an alarming increase in agrarian 
 crime throughout the country. Mr. Davitt informed him that this 
 crime, apart from its moral wrong, would damage their cause, both 
 at home and abroad, and that some steps must be taken to check it. 
 
 Mr. Parnell had on several occasions condemned crime, but he had 
 done so in a manner which (at least in some instances), he has 
 admitted was insufficient. 
 
 An instance or two. 
 
 For example, at New Ross, co. Wexford, on the 26th 
 September, 1880, he said: — 
 
 " I had wished, in referring to a sad occurrence which took place lately, the 
 " shooting, or attempted sho tmg, of a land agent in this neighbourhood (uproar). 
 "I had wished to point out that recourse to such measures of procedure is. 
 " entirely unnecessary, and absolutely prejudicial, where there is a suitable 
 " organisation amongst the tenants themselves ; and I have thought from time to 
 " time, looking at the want of organisation in this and other counties, that the 
 " reason for this occurrence was the want of organisation amongst the farmers. (Hear, 
 " hear.) 1 believe that if Kilkenny county had been organised, young Boyd would 
 ♦' never have been shot, because his' father, in the face of strong public and organised 
 '* opinion, would not have ventured to abuse his rights as a landlord. But, 
 " in dealing with this matter, and in urging, as I wish to urge, the people not to 
 •' go beyond the law (hear, hear), I feel myself very much hampered by the 
 *' action of the Government of the country, which has been of such a character as 
 '* to produce an impression that they desire to set the sympathy of every fair- 
 " minded and just man in this country against the adminisiration of the law." 
 
 And on the 24th October. 1880, at Galway, he said : — 
 
 " Now, your chairman has deprecated assassination and violence as being 
 " unnecessary to win your cause, and very properly and justly deprecated it 
 '* (hear, hear), and at all the land meetings which had been held up to the 
 " time when extra police were planted down in the county of Mayo, I also took 
 " care to join in that condemnation. (Hear, hear, ' Long may you live.') But I 
 ** utterly refuse further to allow any credence to be attached to the charges which 
 " have been made against us and our people by the English press, by in future 
 " deprecating outrage and crime which do not and have not existed." 
 
 Mr. Parnell excuses the insufficiency of these denunciations on 
 the ground that he was not at the time aware of the increase in 
 crime. After he became aware of it, he says that no public 
 occasion for speaking- on the subject arose, but he approved of the 
 measures adopted by Mr. Davitt. [Report, p. 88]. 
 
 A Memorandum that failed to Condemn. 
 
 On the 13th December, 1880, a memorandum of instructions, 
 drawn up by Mr. Davitt, to organisers and officers of the 
 branches of the Land League, was addressed to them by the 
 executive of the League \vith the approval of Mr. Parnell. 
 
 [121 
 
106 
 
 The concluding- portion of this document relating to crime is in 
 these terms : — 
 
 '■ In no period of the League's existence was it so absolutely necessary for the 
 •^ tenant-farmers and labourers throughout the length and breadth of the country to 
 ■" keep a firm grip upon and control over their passions and indignation at wrongs 
 ■" perpetrated and injustice threatened than at the present hour. The evil system 
 '• which has so long been the curse of their families and existence is now gasping 
 *' out its criminal life in face of the whole world, dethroned, discredited, and on 
 '' the point of being destroyed by the stern but passionless action of a united 
 ^' and indignant people through the means of a bloodless revolution. To consum- 
 *' mate its death should be the effort of every member of the League, to have the 
 "" civilised world bend back its thumbs and give sanction to that decree against 
 " landlordism should be the aim and desire of every man upon whom it has 
 *' inflicted injuries. How is this to be effected ? To show the world that the just 
 *' use of organised strength is to remedy present evils, and not to avenge past 
 *' vvrongs, to convince our enemies that we have at last learned how to evolve out 
 " of ourselves, build up, and control a power which can be directed by judgment 
 *' and reason in the practical amelioration of our wrcmgs and grievances, instead of 
 "' allowing it to fall a prey to that intoxication of purpose and unsystematic action 
 " which have hitherto purchased the defeat of the people's cause. To effect this 
 ■" object demands no sacrifice from any man in our ranks but that of temper and 
 *' passion ; to see it triumph requires no action but such as the League points out 
 '^' in its teachings, and unless firm and determined attitude in making just demands 
 *' without violence, to enforce what intelligent, legal, and resolute combination 
 ^^ can obtain, enunciation oi just principles and motives, to convince where intimi- 
 *' dation entails a conflict with law, arguments and motives based upon lis^ht and 
 ■" common good, when born of deep and honest conviction, will be lound a more 
 '* potent agency in furthering the cause of free land, and helping the League in 
 ■" winning it for the people, than means which jar upon the public mind and tend 
 ^' to alienate the sympathy of outside observers, 
 
 " Threatening letters are as unnecessary as they are stupidly criminal and 
 *' unjustifiable ; and we feel assured that no member of our organisation has 
 ■" resorted to such a method of making just demands which invites the stigma of 
 *' cowardice and clumsily plays into the hands of the landlords. If a just right 
 ■" cannot fearlessly be demanded by a victim of landlord power when a powerful 
 *' organisation is at his back to protect him, he deserves neither a concession from 
 ■" the landlord nor assistance from the League in obtaining it. 
 
 " In speaking of injuries inflicted upon dumb animals we cannot for a single 
 *' instant believe either the numerous reports of these monstrous outrages which the 
 *' landlord organs are publishing, or that a single man within the ranks of our 
 "' organisation would be guilty of participating in the few cases which we are soriy 
 •" to say have been authenticated. No injustice in the power of Irish landlordism to 
 ■" perpetuate upon our people could justify in the least degree the unfeeling brutality 
 *" which inflicts injuries or suffering upon harmless and defenceless animals, in 
 ■" revenge for the wrongs committed by their owners. While dwelling upon this 
 "' painful subject we would point out to the officers of the various branches through- 
 "" out Ireland the advisability of informing the executive of the League of any 
 "" outrage occurring in the locality, in order that reliable information may be at 
 '^' hand to correct the vicious exaggeration given to insignificant occurrences by the 
 *' landlord organs. Agents of the Associated Press throughout the country are 
 *' known to have manufactured outrages near their districts in order to turn them 
 " to account in obtaining money by feeding the criminal appetite of English 
 *=' readers ; and it is well to remind those gentlemen that while the privileges of the 
 *' press entitle them to publish facts and make any just or fair comments thereon, 
 *' deliberate concoction of outrages will be looked upon as real outrages upon the 
 *' character and name of the Irish people. A fair and judicious use of the power 
 *" of combination against the enemies of the people, traitors to the League, or 
 '* instruments of unjust eviction^ or other landlord injustice, will work the 
 *' requirements of our movement in the present crisis, without any resort to means 
 " or methods which would offer a pretext for foul play against the organisation, or 
 " estrange the moral support of public opinion outside of Ireland from a just and 
 " noble cause. " [Report, pp. 89, 90]. 
 
 122] 
 
107 
 
 The Mischief already d®ne. 
 
 This memorandum undoubtedly condemns in emphatic and 
 adequate terms the two offences with which it particularly deals, 
 namely, the sendim^ of threatening- letters and injuries to dumb 
 animals, but it fails to condemn in a like manner 
 the other kinds of outrage and intimidation which 
 had been put in force against the so-called "enemies 
 of the people and traitors to the League." 
 
 Before the issuing of this memorandum, Mr. Davitt had 
 delivered speeches in which in general terms he had denounced 
 crime, and he continued to deliver speeches of the same kind 
 down to the time of his arrest in the following February. But 
 in none of these speeches, so far as we know, was 
 reference made to the special evils resulting from 
 intimidation and boycotting which had been con- 
 tinued with undiminished severity. 
 
 The mischief had already been done; other 
 influences than those exercised by Mr. Davitt's 
 speeches had been at work. Since August, and especially 
 in and from October, 1880, the agitation had been carried on 
 with greater activity than any previous period, and numerous 
 speeches, several of which had already been referred to, 
 had been delivered by Mr. Dillon, Mr. Biggar, and others 
 calculated to excite rather than allay the tendency to illegality; 
 Mr. Dillon has recently stated what was the object and 
 effect of the agitation. In a speech reported in " United 
 Ireland," of the 2nd June, 1888, he said: — 
 
 " I have been for nine years now engaged in this struggle, and if any man asks me 
 " what was it that won, so far as I could answer without hesitation, 11 was keeping 
 " the farms empty. (Cheers). If the landlords had found it possible during 
 " these nine years to let every evicted farm, you never would have had the Land 
 ** Bill at all. Those who went before tried good means, and they tried bad means 
 " too, and there never was .he slightest success until we hit upon the dodge of 
 " making it too hot for the man who took his neighbour's land." [Report, 
 pp. 88, 89]. 
 
 Mr. Dillon advises Midnight Drill, 
 
 We refer, by way of illustration, to Mr. Dillon's recommenda- 
 tion to young men upon the subject of their right to procure 
 arms, to drill and organise, and to be out after dark, and all 
 night if they please, and to keep an eye on every man who 
 betrayed the cause, and to treat him by a principle which they 
 understood much better than he (Mr. Dillon) did, that it 
 would have been much better for a man to stand by his 
 neighbours, and to his statement that if a landlord put 
 cattle on an evicted farm they would not prosper very much, and 
 
 [123 
 
108 
 
 that the land should be turned into a model farm on which no 
 living- thing- could go. We refer also to Mr. Biggar's statement 
 that his hearers could take care that the land of evicted tenants 
 should be of no value to anybody but them, and that the cattle 
 should stray off the land, and that fences would fall down. 
 [Report, pp. 90, 91]. 
 
 Denunciation "was all gammon." 
 
 We have no doubt that many of those who joined the League 
 were sincerely opposed to crime, and were honestly desirous that 
 it should be avoided. Numerous instances of denunciation have 
 been proved, and extracts from the " Cork Daily Herald " in 
 1880, 1881, 1882 were produced, showing- that at many meetings 
 of the Land League local branches crime was denounced. 
 
 Mr. T, D. Sullivan, M.P., has given evidence of many condem- 
 nations of crime by individuals, including speeches by himself and 
 articles in his paper the " Nation." Mr. E. Harrington also 
 produced instances in his paper the " Kerry Sentinel." 
 
 O'Malley, an ofPcer of the Royal Irish Constabulary, called by 
 the accusers, and who was sent by the authorities to take the 
 speeches then made by the agitators in Galway, stated that he 
 had attended about 200 meetings, and that at most of them there 
 were denunciations of crime and outrage, that the people were 
 exhorted to commit no crime, and that they would injure their 
 cause by so doing. Head-Constable Irvine, also called by the 
 accusers, told us that at a good many of the meetings he reported, 
 the speakers enjoined the people to be patient, to keep quiet, and to 
 rely upon the efforts of their leaders to secure benefits from 
 Parliament for their relief. 
 
 In our judgment those denunciations were of little avail, 
 
 BECAUSE contemporaneously WITH THEM THE LEADERS AND ORGAN- 
 ISERS WERE CARRYING ON THE AGITATION BY MEANS OF SPEECHES AND 
 conduct tending TO ENCOURAGE CRIME. Mb. M. HaRRIS TOLD US 
 THAT THE DENUNCIATIONS OF CRIME UPON THE PLATFORM WOULD 
 NOT HAVE MUCH EFFECT BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WOULD THINK THAI 
 IT WAS "talking TO THE POLICE, AND THAT IT WAS ALL GAMMON." 
 
 [Report, p. 91]. 
 
 Mr. John O'Connor, M.P., interferes. 
 
 During: the years, 1880, 1881, and 1882, we cannot 
 find that the League as an organisation took any 
 step whatever to aid in the detection of crime, or 
 gave any directions for that purpose to its numerous 
 branches throughout the country. 
 
 On one occasion a local branch of the Land League (at 
 Buttivant, co. Cork) did take a step to prevent future crime, by 
 passing- a resolution offering a reward to any person who would 
 
 124] 
 
109 
 
 bring to prosecution the perpetrators of outrag-es near that town, 
 and, having- done so, communicated the fact to Mr. John O'Connor, 
 M.P., asking- for an expression of opinion from the Cork Land 
 League upon the subject. Mr. O'Connor brought the 
 matter before the Cork League, and suggested that 
 the Buttivant League ought to allow the Government 
 to do their own police work, and nothing more was 
 done. [Report, p. 91]. 
 
 Branded as an "Informer." 
 
 This is an example of the feeling-, so largely entertained in 
 Ireland, that the detection of criminals is solely the affair of the 
 police, and that it is not the duty of anyone else to aid in the 
 discovery. The great obstacle to the detection and punishment of 
 agrarian crime in Ireland is the unwillingness of the mass of the 
 people to give information to aid in the discovery and prosecution 
 of the criminals. To give information to the police is looked upon 
 as a base act, and the person who does it is held up to opprobrium 
 under the name of " Informer." This feeling is not confined to the 
 ignorant, but is shared by those from whose education and position 
 it was to be expected that juster views would prevail of the duty 
 of persons able to assist in the detection of crime. [Report, p. 91]. 
 
 Mr. Davitt's Standard of Honour. 
 
 For example, take the case of the widow Walsh. For our present 
 purpose it is immaterial whether the facts stated with reference to 
 her are correctly given. Mr. Davitt said in his evidence that 
 widow Walsh's two sons were convicted of a murder of which 
 they were innocent, but that they or one of them knew the real 
 murderer, who had escaped to America ; that the mother visited 
 her son in prison, and exhorted him not to disclose the name of 
 the true criminal, and that he died concealing the name of 
 the real murderer. Mr. Davitt stated that he considered this 
 woman entitled to honour, and a subscription was raised in her 
 favour. The expression of such sentiments cannot but have the 
 effect of creating a false standard of honour, and of impeding the 
 detection of crime. 
 
 These views lead to the result that, in cases of 2.grarian crime, 
 evidence can rarely be obtained from those to whom the offenders 
 are known. But when for want of untainted evidence that of 
 informers is resorted to, the police, and even the Government, are 
 denounced as seeking by worthless testimony to take the lives of 
 innocent men. Thus a vicious circle is established. To make 
 the police acquainted with the name of a criminal is to become an 
 informer; to become an informer is base, and the evidence of 
 such a person is untrustworthy and ought not to be used. And 
 thus impunity is secured for the guilty. [Report, pp. 91, 92]. 
 
 [125 
 
no 
 The Respondents had knowledge of the fact. 
 
 Mr. M. Harris said in his evidence that : 
 
 *' If you assist in the smallest degree in the detection of a criminal connected 
 ** with this agrarian crime, you would cease there and then to have the slightest 
 "public influence in Ireland. If Mr. Parnell were to give information of the 
 " humblest peasant in the county of Galway he would cease to be a leader of the 
 '* Irish people on the spot." 
 
 We find on this alleg-ation that while some of the respondents, 
 and in particular Mr. Davitt, did express bona fide disapproval of 
 crime and outraofe, the respondents did not denounce 
 the system of intimidation which led to crime and 
 outrage, but persisted in it with knowledge of its 
 effect. [Report, p. 92]. 
 
 Paid for Defence of Criminals. 
 
 The seventh of the charges against the respondents is that 
 they subscribed to testimonials for and were intimately associated 
 with notorious criminals, defended persons supposed to be guilty of 
 agrarian crime, supported their families, and made payments to 
 procure the escape of criminals from justice. 
 
 It has not been proved that the respondents subscribed to testi- 
 monials for or were intimately associated with notorious criminals. 
 Proof has been given that the Land League systematically 
 and indiscriminately paid for the defence of persons charged 
 with agrarian crimes. It cannot be said that the supplying 
 means of defence to prisoners is in the abstract unjustifiable, but 
 we entertain no doubt that the knowledge that such assistance 
 would in all cases be afforded must have the effect of encouraging 
 persons disposed to commit outrage, and the same observations 
 apply to the support of their families. That the practice of the 
 Land League with regard to the defence of prisoners was felt 
 to be dangerous is shown by the evidence of Mr. Parnell, who 
 states that he disapproved of it, and endeavoured to stop it, but 
 his remonstrance appears to have been without effect. The only 
 excuse which has been offered is that it was necessary to defend 
 accused persons against the attempts ot the Government 
 and its offices to procure the conviction of innocent persons. 
 [Report, p. 92]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell's Testimonial to a Convict. 
 
 Mr. Parnell on this subject said at Castlebar, co. Mayo, on 
 the 3rd November, 1885, speaking or the convict P. W. Nally, 
 whom the Fenians had proposed as a candidate for the 
 county : — 
 
 ** And I wish to say of Mr. Nally that he is a maa who has performed great 
 ** and important services to the cause of the Land League when it was formed in 
 
 126] 
 
Ill 
 
 " this county (renewed cheering), the county of its Ijirth-place. (A voice 'cheers 
 •' for Davitt. ' Prolonged applause.) I believe of Mr. Nally that he is one of the 
 " victims to the infamous system which existed in this country during the three 
 ** years of the Coercion Act. (Groans.) I believe of Patrick Nally that he is a 
 " victim of the conspiracy which was formed between Lord Spencer (groans) and 
 " the informers of their country for the purpose to obtain victims to what they 
 " called ' law and justice ' by any and every means, whether they were innocent 
 " or not." 
 
 We cannot suppose that Mr. Parnell really believed in 
 the justice of the accusation which he here made against 
 Lord Spencer. 
 
 Defended Criminals, and supported 
 their families. 
 
 The charg-e that the respondents made payments to procure 
 the escape of criminals from justice, which corresponds to a 
 portion of the fifth head of charge of Sir Charles Russell, has 
 not been established. This was mainly directed against Mr. 
 Parnell, who is alleged to have made an '•'opportune remittance," 
 which enabled F. Byrne to '' escape to France before the warrant 
 for his arrest reached Scotland Yard," and forms Sir Charles 
 Russell's ninth head of charge. That Mr. Parnell paid a sum 
 of 1 00/. to F. Byrne at his request immediately before he left the 
 country has been proved, but it has been satisfactorily- 
 shown that it had no connexion with his flight, and that Mr. 
 Parnell had no knowledge of his intention to leave, or of the 
 cause. 
 
 On the seventh charge, we find that the respondents dii> 
 
 defend persons charged with AGRARIAN CRIME, AND SUPPORTED 
 
 THEIR FAMILIES, but that it has not been proved that they 
 subscribed to testimonials for or were intimately associated with 
 notorious criminals, or that they made payments to procure the 
 escape of criminals from justice. [Report, pp. 92, 93]. 
 
 XI.— THE LEAGUE FUNDS. 
 
 The next matter we have to consider is the eighth charo-e^ 
 that the respondents made compensation to persons who had 
 been injured in the commission of crime. This has been dis- 
 cussed before us under the charge of making payments for the 
 purpose of inciting persons to commit crime. We have thought 
 it right to treat it as a separate head of inquiry. The evidence 
 on this point is as follows : — 
 
 [127 
 
112 
 
 Land League Documents. 
 
 Alexander J. Phillips, in October, 1881, was a clerk in the 
 employment of the Land League in Dublin. He received his 
 instructions there from Mr. Arthur O'Connor, M.P., who at that 
 time had control of the Central Office. Phillips remained at the 
 Central Office until the suppression of the League on the i8th 
 October, 1881, and continued to discharge his duties until he was 
 arrested under Mr. Forster's Act on the 25th October, 1881. At 
 the time of the suppression there were large quantities of books 
 and papers in the Central Office of the League. Of these some 
 were passed to persons who had been clerks in the office, and 
 amongst them to Phillips. From the time of the suppression ot 
 the League until his arrest Phillips worked at his own house, 
 where on two or three occasions Mr. Moloney, Mr. J. J. Clancy, 
 M.P., Mr. Redmond, M.P., and Mr. Leamy, M.P., came to 
 transact business. 
 
 In this way large quantities of letters and papers connected 
 with the business of the League, and also some Land League 
 books, came into Phillips' possession, and were at his house at the 
 time of his arrest. The bulk of these documents were locked up, 
 but a few letters were lying scattered about the room, and upon 
 a detective officer coming to his house his wife threw them upon 
 the top of a wardrobe to prevent the officer obtaining possession 
 of them, and denied that she had any documents belonging to the 
 League. The police did not search the house. 
 
 The other books and papers which were in his house were at once 
 taken possession of by Mrs. Mahony, treasurer of the Ladies' 
 Land League, and Miss Stritch, also a member of the Ladies' 
 Land League, and it is stated that the documents so taken filled 
 two sacks. 
 
 The few letters which had been concealed by Mrs. Phillips were 
 found by Phillips on his release from prison, and were subsequently 
 -delivered to Mr. Soames, the solicitor to the "Times." These few 
 letters are all that we have been enabled to examine out of the large 
 correspondence that was once undoubtedly in the possession of 
 the Land League officials. [Report, pp. 93, 94]. 
 
 Timothy Horan's Application. 
 
 Amongst these letters was one from Timothy Horan, the 
 ■secretary of the Castleisland branch of the Land League, to 
 J. P. Quinn, secretary of the Land League in Dublin, as 
 follows : — 
 
 *' The Irish National Land League, 
 " Branch Office, 
 •" J. P. Quinn, Esq., " Castleisland, 20th September, 1881. 
 
 •' Sir, 
 " I beg to direct your attention to a matter of a piivate character, which I 
 ■*' attempted to explain to you when I was in Dublin at the Convention. The fact 
 *' is that one of the men from a shock lost the use of his eye. It cost him £4 to 
 
 158] 
 
113 
 
 ** go to Cork for medical attendance. Another man received a wound in the 
 *' thigh and was laid up for a month. No one knows the persons but the doctor 
 ** and myself, and the members of that society. I may inform you that the said 
 " parties cannot afford to suffer. If it were a public affair, a subscription list 
 ** would be opened at once for them, as they proved to be heroes. One other 
 " man escaped a shot, but got his jaws grazed. Hoping you will at your 
 " discretion see your way to making a grant, which you can send through me or 
 '* the Reverend John O'Callaghan, C,C. 
 
 '* Yours truly, 
 
 " Timothy Horan. 
 On the back of this letter was endorsed : — 
 ♦'£6.-12/10/81. J.F." 
 
 We have no doubt that the application made in this letter was 
 for compensation to persons injured whilst in the commission of 
 some criminal act. 
 
 It was proved before us that the initials J. F. were those of 
 Mr. John Ferguson, of Glasgow, who tells us that he was one of 
 those who originated the Land League, and was chairman of the 
 executive committee upon the 12th October, 1883. [Report, p. 94]. 
 
 Dr. Kenny remits to the Moonlighter. 
 
 It was also proved that the application was entertained at a 
 Land League meeting of the Executive in Dublin on the 
 1 2th October, 1881, and that the 6/. applied for in the letter was 
 granted, and was afterwards paid to T. Horan by a cheque of 
 Dr. J. E. Kenny, M.P., treasurer of the Land League in Dublin. 
 It was said that this was an isolated case, done at a time when 
 the leaders of the Land League were in prison and unable to 
 conduct its business. 
 
 This latter excuse cannot be accepted, for on the 
 I2th October, 1881, many leaders and officials of the Land 
 League were still at large, and the executive committee then 
 n?et. [Report, p. 94]. 
 
 One Case out of many. 
 
 With regard to its being an isolated act, we have not 
 
 BEEN afforded THE MEANS OF ARRIVING AT SUCH A CONCLUSION. 
 The CORRESPONDENCE OF THE LaND LeAGUE WITH ITS BRANCHES 
 HAS NOT BEEN PRODUCED, NOR HAS THE NON-PRODUCTION BEEN 
 ACCOUNTED FOR. ThE TRANSACTION, AS IT APPEARS IN THE BOOK 
 WHICH WAS PRODUCED, WOULD, ON THE FACE OF IT, SEEM TO BE 
 REGULAR, AND IT WAS ONLY BY THE ACCIDENTAL PRESERVATION OF 
 THE LETTER BY pHILLIPS THAT ITS REAL CHARACTER WAS MADE 
 MANIFEST. 
 
 K 
 
 [120 
 
114 
 
 Mr. Ferg-uson in cross-examination stated that they had had 
 several similar applications, that some were g-ranted and some 
 refused, but none were ever assented to without the permission of 
 the executive committee, and that each case was considered as it 
 arose ; and Mr. Big-gar, M.P., says that in the course of their 
 business such an application would certainly be considered by the 
 executive and dealt with. 
 
 Mr. Ferg-uson stated that in his vievV the men for whom the 67. 
 were asked had been carrying- out some of the purposes which the 
 League would require them to carry out, that is to say, some of 
 those purposes that came within their rules, but which the police 
 would baton them for, and that in Ireland they were bound to 
 sympathise with men who were doing things that under a consti- 
 tutionally governed country they dare not and would not sympathise 
 with, and he added that personally he would assist them, even if 
 they had been engaged in crime, to medical assistance if no other 
 could be got, and that he should do it again except for the matter 
 of implicating the League. 
 
 Timothy Horan was dead, but neither Mr. Quinn, who had 
 been in court, nor the Rev. Mr. O'Callaghan, were called before us. 
 [Report, pp. 94, 95]. 
 
 Financial Aid to a House-breaker. 
 
 Phillips, during the sitting of the Commission, again searched 
 through some old papers in his desk, and amongst these he found 
 the following letter of the 27th September, 1881, from William 
 Doriss, from the Land League Oflice, Dublin, to Patrick Burke, 
 Keltrevan, Roscommon. 
 
 " Dear Sir, 
 
 " The Executive are anxious to give some assistance in the case. They 
 *' have directed me to send your statement to our solicitors, and to enquire what 
 ** the cost of the bail motion would be. They are of opinion that the friends of 
 ** the prisoners should subscribe half the expenses. 
 
 " Your faithfully, 
 
 *' William Doriss." 
 
 Upon this letter was the following memorandum in the hand- 
 writing of John Butterfield, who, Mr. Parnell told us, was a very active 
 organiser :— 
 
 '* In this case three men are in goal on a charge of intimidation and hous«- 
 " brealang, awaiting their trial at Mullingar Assizes, 5th December. I have 
 '* promised that a grant would be made for their families, and they would be 
 "defended by counsel sent by the executive ; ;i^2 each would be well received, 
 '* and they are really deserving. 
 
 •'8th November, 1881. "John Butterfield." 
 
 " Prisoners are nine weeks in goal." 
 
 130] 
 
 r- 
 
115 
 
 The "intimidation and housebreaking" mentioned in this letter 
 no doubt refer to some act of moonlighting. 
 
 It appears that the £(i asked for by John Butterfield for the 
 three men was paid to him out of Land League funds on the i6th 
 November, 1881. 
 
 Upon this evidence we find that the respondents 
 did make payments to compensate persons who 
 had been injured in the commission of crime. 
 
 [Report, p. 95]. 
 
 The Land League Funds. 
 
 In connexion with the subject of the absence of the documents of 
 the Land League showing how its funds were applied, we have to 
 report as follows : — 
 
 The money of the Land League, or at least a considerable part of 
 it, was distributed by means of the Hibernian Bank in Dublin. 
 These accounts were examined. In conformity with the practice 
 of banking in Ireland there is nothing in these books to show in 
 whose favour the cheques on the various accounts were drawn. 
 
 The details of these payments would appear from the cheque 
 counterfoils, and from the returned paid cheques, but very few of 
 these have been produced. This renders it impossible to arrive at 
 the figures with any certainty. [Report, p. 95]. 
 
 Egan gives an Account of his Stewardship. 
 
 We have, however, a published letter from Mr. Egan to Mr. 
 Parnell of the 14th October, 1882, containing his account of his 
 receipts and expenditure up to that time. 
 
 The figures are as follows : — 
 
 Receipts. ' Expenditure. 
 
 £ s. d.\ £ 
 
 Relief Fund 59, 17S 14 3 ' Relief for distress, as per 
 
 Land League Fund to ^ accounts already published, 
 
 3rd February, 1881 ... 30,825 O 7 | about 50,000 
 
 Defence Fund for Land j State trials over 15.000 
 
 League 6,563 8 5 [General Land League and 
 
 Defence Fund for Free- j Ladies' Land League in sup- 
 man's Journal I4>5I4 o o; port of evicted tenants, pro- 
 
 Received since my arrival 
 in Paris, 3rd February, 
 1 881, 3,280, 168 francs 
 at 25.25 129,907 o o 
 
 viding wooden houses, law 
 costs, sheriffs' sales, defence 
 against ejectments, various 
 local law proceedings, and 
 
 Amount coupons on in- general expenses of organi- 
 
 vestments, 65,196 francs I sations ... 148,000 
 
 at 25.25 2,582 
 
 Profit realized on sale of 
 ^91,000, U.S., 4 per 
 eent. bonds 1 ,250 o o 
 
 ;^244,820 3 3 
 
 Balance 31,000 
 
 ^244,000 
 1131 
 
116 
 
 It will be observed that the items of expenditure are in round sums, 
 the details of which have not been given to us. [Report, p. 96}. 
 
 The Audit was a farce. 
 
 An audit was held by ]\Ir. Dillon, M.P., Mr. Matthew Harris, and* 
 the Rev. Eugene Sheehy, but not by any professional accountant. 
 The results of this audit were published by them in Paris on i6th 
 December, 1882, but add nothing to our knowledge of the manner in 
 which the money was expended. The certificate of the auditors 
 states that they had ''examined the vouchers" for ;{^2 1 9,065 los. iid., 
 and that a "balance remained of ^'27, 154 is.", and that "every 
 '* item had been fully and satisfactorily vouched, and that they had 
 " pleasure in bearing testimony to the systematic and strictly business- 
 " like manner in which the accounts and records of the said fund had 
 *' been kept by Mr. Egan." 
 
 Mr. Parnell stated in evidence that this audit was only of the 
 monies received by Egan and paid over by Egan in Paris to the 
 Land League ; and that there had never been any audit of the Land 
 League expenditure at all. [Report, p. 96]. 
 
 Over £100,000 not accounted for. 
 
 Of the item of ^f 148,000 above mentioned on the expenditure side, 
 about ^40,000 has been accounted for in the evidence before us ; 
 of the remaining ^108,000 over ^^70,000 went to the Ladies' Land 
 League. No account has been given in evidence of 
 the expenditure of the money handed over to the 
 Ladies' Land League or of the residue of the 
 £108,000. 
 
 We have information from j\Ir. Davitt of a book called the Book 
 of Kells, kept by the Ladies' Land League. Neither this book 
 nor any other book of the Ladies' Land League has 
 been produced. 
 
 Thus we have over £100,000 of Land League 
 funds received, but no details of the manner in 
 which it was expended. [Report, p. 96J. 
 
 Thousands of Missing Documents. 
 
 It is proved that the books and documents of the Land League 
 were numerous and bulky. Mr. Davitt speaks of "thousands of 
 letters." Farrigher. the clerk of the Land League, deposes to books 
 and letters taken in a van. Phillips speaks of a sackfuU of letters 
 every morning, and, indeed, when we consider the enormous amount 
 
 132] 
 
117 
 
 of business transacted, the staff of clerks kept, and the large sums of 
 money spent, it is obvious that there must have been numbers of 
 books and documents which, if they had been produced, would 
 have thrown light on the nature of the Land League proceedings. 
 We have been unable to obtain these documents, 
 and no valid excuse has been given for their non- 
 production. 
 
 The books which have been produced before us by the respondents 
 are four small books which Mr. Moloney states he always kept in 
 his possession, and which were left behind in Ireland at the time of 
 the general removal of the books in October, 1881. We were 
 informed that the books of the National Bank containing the 
 entries for the years down to 1883 had been destroyed by the 
 bank officials in March, 1889, according to their usual course of 
 business. [Report, p. 96]. 
 
 Mr. Geo. Lewis made a mistake. 
 
 We have also to observe on the non -production of the 
 cash books and ledgers for the years 1881-83 of the Land 
 League of Great Britain, of which Frank Byrne was the then 
 secretary. 
 
 Mr. Justin MacCarthy, M.P., in an affidavit he made on the 
 9th of October, 1888, stated that he had obtained a list of the 
 books relating to this League, and which he was willing should 
 be produced. This list had been furnished to him by Mr. Brady, 
 the secretary of the English Branch of the National League. 
 
 During the progress of the case the production of these cash 
 books and ledgers for the years 1881 to 1883 proved to be of 
 importance. When called for, Mr. Justin MacCarthy was 
 unable to produce them, and was unable to explain the reason 
 for their non-production. Mr. G. Lewis, the solicitor for the 
 respondents, stated that a mistake had been made in the 
 affidavit. Mr. Brady was in court but was not called, and 
 how and in what way the suggested mistake arose, 
 if any did arise, has never been explained, nor have the 
 books for 1881-83 been produced. [Report, p. 97]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell refused assistance. 
 
 In the course of the inquiry into the accounts of the League it 
 appeared that after February, 1881, Egan kept an account in 
 Paris, at the bank of Messrs. Monro & Co. We appointed a 
 commission to examine the books in Paris, but Messrs. Monro 
 declined to allow them to be seen, and as they were not 
 subject to our jurisdiction the commission was without result. 
 
 [133 
 
118 
 
 We therefore requested Mr. Parnell to give authoHty to Messrs. 
 Monro to produce the accounts relating- to the Land League. 
 This he refused to do. We have therefore been 
 deprived of evidence upon the question how the 
 moneys of the Land League were expended in the 
 years 1881 and 1882. 
 
 On this subject we may say generally that we have not 
 
 RECEIVED FROM Mr. PaRNELL AND THE OFFICERS OF THE LaND 
 
 League the assistance we were entitled to expect in the 
 
 INVESTIGATION OF THE LaND LeaGUE ACCOUNTS, IN ORDER THAT IT 
 MIGHT BE SEEN HOW ITS FUNDS WERE EXPENDED. [RePOET, p. 97]. 
 
 XII— THE NATIONAL & LAND LEAGUES ONE, 
 
 The National Land League of Ireland was formed on the 17th 
 October, 1882, on the suggestion of Mr. Davitt, adopted by 
 Mr. Parnell. We consider that the National League, 
 like the Ladies' Land League, was substantially the 
 old Land League under another name. 
 
 The National Land League gradually gained in numbers, and 
 Mr. T. Harrington stated that during the first two or three years he 
 was making efforts to extend it in the portions of Ireland that were 
 quiet ; that he wanted to keep the organisation free from any 
 districts where crime had prevailed, and that it was only in 1885 
 that branches began to be formed there, when it was a matter of 
 necessity that the country should take part in the selection of 
 candidates for the General Election, and that the branches then 
 trebled. [Report, p. 98]. 
 
 The Agitation Revived, 
 
 During the years 1883 and 1884 the agitation by speeches was 
 diminished. 
 
 On the 8th February, 1885, Mr. John O'Connor, M.P., and 
 Mr. W. O'Brien, M.P., started the agitation afresh at Bansha, 
 Tipperary. 
 
 Mr. Wm. O'Brien and the Mahdi. 
 
 Mr. W. O'Brien, M.P., amongst other things, said 
 ** wej 
 
 134] 
 
 •* Your gallant member John O'Connor witnesses, what I believe, in spite of the 
 ** weather we are experiencing now, the commencement of a new struggle in 
 
119 
 
 " Tipperary, to root out landlordism from its last holding place, and to wrest the 
 " land of Ireland from the hands of idlers and foreigners for the use of the people 
 " whom God planted on this soil. 
 
 " That is the curse of be'ng ruled by an assembly of foreigners over in London. 
 " The Irish people will have to ring a new chapel bell in these men's ears — such 
 " a chapel bell as the Land l>cague sent to them across the water five years ago, 
 " and this time the farmers and labourers of Ireland will have to take up a more 
 " advanced, a bolder and a more determined, attitude than ever. 
 
 " There is not a capital in Europe which knows the fall of Khartoum the 
 "other day but received it with joy and exultation, and with a great wish and 
 *' prayer of 'more power to the Mahdi and his men.' " 
 
 On the loth April, 1885, Mr. W. O'Brien, at Kantnrk, co. 
 Cork, said : — 
 
 " I think you will bear me out, and that for one man in this whole assembly 
 " who would raise a cheer for the Trince of Wales - (several voices : ' No one ' — 
 " hoots and hisses) there are 10,000 here to-day whose hearts go out to the brave 
 " Arabs of the Soudan — (cheeis for the Mahdi) — who have driven two armies ai 
 " English invaders back in disgrace 
 
 '* It the Russian General Komaroff goes on as he has been doing, I am afraid 
 " that he will be found a more popular man in Ireland than the Mahdi." 
 [Report, p. 98]. 
 
 Mr. Wm. Redmond admires Boycotters. 
 
 On the 24th May, 1885, Mr. WiUiam Redmond, M.P., at Tagmore, 
 CO. Wexford, spoke, and said : — 
 
 " Now, it is your duty here from this day to register a vow, that if you have 
 " been lacking in energy and devotion to the cause before, that from this day you 
 " will be true to the principles of nationality and to your country. I myself know 
 '•' that this meeting is the first of a series of meetings that will be held all over 
 "Ireland. I myself am going to the North after a day or two; and from the 
 " North to the South, and to the East and the West, mass meetings of the people 
 *' wall assemble, as you have assembled here to-day, to make the voice of Ireland 
 " heard distinctly — heard saying, that as long as we have coercion we will be 
 " rebellious, and not until we get a full measure of liberty will we abandon 
 " agitation and the work of agitation. We, in the House of Commons, have u 
 " very hard duty to perform ; we have to put up with a great deal of inconvenience, 
 " but we are willing to do anything at all so long as you are true to yourselves. 
 " Now I want everyone of you to understand this, that the poorest man amongst 
 " you has got it within his power to do as much for the national cause as any 
 " Member of Parliament. It is a mistake for you to imagine that all the work is to 
 " be done by Members of Parliament and men who make speeches. For my part, 
 " if you show me a man, and say that man makes a good speech, and show me 
 " another man, and say that man is a fine boycotter, 1 will say the last man is the 
 " best of the two. (Bravo.) We will do the speech-making, and we will give it 
 " to them hot, and we will give it to them strong. We will do all the speech- 
 '* making that is wanted, and all we ask of you is to do the boycotting — (laughter) 
 " for unless you boycott you might as well give up the struggle altogether. 
 *' (Hear, hear.) Unless you boycott you will never beat landlordism out of this 
 " country ; unless you boycott you will never be able to put the green flag 
 '* prominently over that castle as it is there to-day. Unless you boycott you will 
 " be unable to continue this stiuggle at all, and I say to you, and I ask you all to 
 " notice each other, and if there is a man deserving to be boycotted, boycott him 
 ** as hard as ever you can." (Cheers and laughter). [Report, p. 98J. 
 
 [135 
 
120 
 
 Enemy of God and Man. 
 
 " Now, there are some people who object to boycotting, because they say it is a 
 " very hard measure. They say it is a cruel thing to boycott a man and cut him 
 " off from intercourse with his fellow-creatures, I will tell you what it is. We 
 " are aware, and you are aware of it, because we have all along been too mild 
 *' in our action, and too considerate for the comfort and feelings of our enemies. 
 " If we had commenced to learn how to boycott earlier, maybe we would be 
 " free to-day. But look at the men whom you are boycotting, and of whom it is 
 ' ' said it is a hard thing to boycott. Who are they ? They are the enemies of both 
 " God and man. Just look at the chara(5^er of the man. What does he do ? A 
 " person is evi<5led from a bit of land, which he cannot hold because of the excessive 
 " rent imposed, is put out — and I have seen them put out myselj on the roadside — 
 " with his children and his wife, and a man comes along and calls himself a good 
 " Christian, a good Irishman, and maybe he goes to mass and confession, and 
 '* maybe he thinks when he dies he will go to heaven ; and he goes in, and he 
 " takes the land from which those unfortunate people have been evicted. Why! 
 " when a man commits a murder, and sheds his brother's blood, he is hung, and 
 " deserves to be hung too, I say, a thousand times far greater than the sin of 
 " the murderer is the sin of that man who takes the farm from which the family 
 "have been unjustly evicted. What is murder? Murder merely means the 
 " taking of life ; if you take that which gives and sustains life, you take life and 
 *' you commit murder. I say that the man who takes a farm from which people 
 " have been evicted, who prevents that man from tilling the land, of earning a 
 " livelihood, who drives that man into the workhouse with his children, and drives 
 " him to emigiate to the slums of New York — I say the land-giabber in doing this 
 " commits a crime that is far deadlier and blacker than any murderer that I have 
 " ever heard of, and it is to boycott this man that I ask you." [Report, 
 pp. 98, 99]. 
 
 On the 24th May, 1885, Mr. W. O'Brien spoke at Tulla, 
 County Clare. He said: — 
 
 " If they pa'=sed the Crimes Act for the purpose of putting down boycotting, and 
 " popularising land-gi'abbers, I don't think they have quite succeeded in either of 
 " these objects. I am sorry to think, by one of your resolutions, that the land- 
 " grabber is a sj-ecies of reptile not yet extmct ; but whenever I find a land-giabber 
 '' poisoning the air, I generally find it is the fault of the people rather than the 
 " law ; because I defy all the Crimes Acts that were ever passed to prevent the 
 " people from making a land-grabber — a man who steals his neighbour's farm, and 
 " cuts liis neighbour's throat — to make him feel that he is an outcast, and an object 
 " of scorn, and contempt, and loathing, in the sight of his neighbours." 
 
 On the 29th Aug-ust, 1885, Mr. William O'Brien spoke at 
 Gorey, County Wexford : — 
 
 *' We have an organisation at our back which has proved sufficient to make 
 ** land-giabbing in any shape a very disagi-eeable and risky profession." 
 
 On the loth September. 1885, Mr. Matthew Harris, M.P., at 
 Loug-hrea, co. Galway, said : — 
 
 " In all Ireland there is not to be found a more patriotic, a more energetic, a 
 " better people than in Loughrea and the surrounding neighbourhood. (Cheers.) 
 " In fact they are so inclined for the work, that in these latter days when things 
 " are become somewhat cooled down it has been said the men of Loughrea are very 
 " little good in a calm but the very best in the storm. Well, for my part, I hope 
 " it won't be long until we have another storm, and then the men of Loughrea will 
 ** come forward in the future as they have in the glorious days of the Land 
 *' League." 
 
 136] 
 
121 
 
 This district in the days of the Land League was one of those 
 in which agrarian crime had been most serious in its extent and 
 character. [Report, p. 99]. 
 
 Boycotting even in the Churcli. 
 
 In the month of September, 1885, Mr. Joseph Biggar spoke as 
 follows : — 
 
 •* Land-gi-abbers in his opinion were greater criminals than most men who died 
 ** upon the scaffolcL In point of fact, ihey do more injury to the community 
 *' among whom they live than any other criminals, and they deserved no mercy 
 ** from any punishment which the people had power to inflict on them morally and 
 ** legally. 
 
 " They were not called upon either morally or legally to hold social intercourse 
 ^^ with a notorious liar ; and the sins of theft and falsehood were venial sins com- 
 '■'■ pared with the sin of the land-grabber, who, in coveting his neighbour's goods, 
 ^' committed the greatest sin in the Decalogue, It was not right to hold intercourse, 
 " directly or indirectly with such a man. It was not right to deal with him or to 
 "■* sell to him, and if they knew anyone who held intercourse with a land-grabber 
 "' they should treat him similarly. They should not allow their children to go to 
 "■' the school to which a land-grabber sent his children, if it were possible they 
 *' should not worship in the same church with him. 
 
 " He did not mean that the people should leave the church, but if they saw a 
 *' grabber entering a church they should leave him alone in a corner by himself." 
 [Report, pp. 99, 100]. 
 
 Mr. Ed. Harrington's " Vile Wretches." 
 
 On the 20th September, 1885, Mr. Edward Harrington, M.P., 
 at Kenmare, co, Kerry, said : — 
 
 " Believe, me, when I tell you that when you have established a branch, it will 
 ^* be your own fault if the land-grabber or the vile emergency-man shows his head 
 "' amongst you. And do 3 ou think I counsel any act of indiscretion ? No ! I can 
 ^' raise my hand to heaven and say that I never counselled where I never led. 
 *" There are a thousand ways in which you can make those vile wretches feel the 
 "" position in which they are placed by bringing their slimy trail across the 
 *' principles you have laid down. If he takes a heifer or a sheep to the fair or 
 ^' market, you can give him plenty of room in the square, If he takes bovines, 
 "'you can discover that they have the measles or the chin cough." Report, 
 p. 100]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell, at Castlebar, co. Mayo, on 3rd November, 1885, made 
 the speech already referred to (page 1 10.) 
 
 During this year boycotting was again strenuously recommended 
 by the leaders of the agitation ; the land-grabber was denounced ; 
 courts were held by the branch leagues, to which persons who 
 disobeyed the edicts of the League were summoned. The names of 
 those who did not join the League were published, and the resolu- 
 tions come to, at League meetings were set forth openly in the 
 newspapers supporting Mr. Parnell. 
 
 [137 
 
122 
 
 As instances, we may take the following- from Mr. Edward 
 Harrington's paper, the ''Kerry Sentinel": — 
 
 October 6th, 1885:— 
 
 " The boycotted man, Devane, who some weeks ago bought a cow from oft one 
 *' of Mr. Hussey's evicted farms, got to understand he would be forgiven after 
 *' disposing of the old cow, which he promised to do at the Ballaclare or next 
 " Dingle fair. 
 
 *' The unfortunate man had a most wretched appearance, the result of the 
 ** powerful weapon of boycotting." 
 
 ** Keriy Sentinel," November 27th, 1885 :— 
 
 " Ferriter Branch. 
 
 '* The Rev. William Egan in the chair. 
 
 *' After considering a very grave charge brought against a certain party, and the 
 *' charge proving to be gi'oundless, the general members were admitted. The 
 " chief offender of the boycoited Blasket Island man attended to seek forgiveness, 
 ** and on promising to keep clear of boycotted persons in the future, and to abide 
 " by the principles of the League, he was pardoned." 
 
 Thus in 1885 we find a revival of the Land League agitation. The 
 table above given shows that it was accompanied by an increase of 
 crime. [Report, pp. 98 — 100]. 
 
 The ''Plan of Campaign." 
 
 We do not think it necessary to continue the narrative of events 
 in Ireland after the end of 1885. The reception of evidence 
 relating to the " Plan of Campaign " (a fresh mode of opposition to 
 the payment of rents), commenced in 1886, was objected to by the 
 counsel for the respondents, and this objection was acquiesced in by 
 the accusers. The reasons for this course were not fully explained, 
 but as it seemed to us that the evidence already given was sufficient 
 to enable us to determine the issues raised for our consideration, 
 we did not prosecute the inquiry as regards Ireland beyond the date 
 agreed on by the parties. [Report, p. lOO]. 
 
 XIII.— THE AMEBIC AN BRAKCH OF THE 
 CONSPIRACY. 
 
 We have given the history of the formation of the Land League 
 of America by Mr. Parnell and Mr. Davitt in 1880. 
 
 It now remains to trace the course of the Land League movement 
 in America, and its connexion with the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 This comes under the ninth charge, namely, that the respondents 
 invited the assistance and co-operation, and accepted subscriptions 
 from, known advocates of crime and dynamite. This is based on 
 
 138] 
 
123 
 
 the following passages from the "Times." articles of loth and 
 14th and i8ih March, 1887. 
 
 loth March, 1887 : — 
 
 " We shall show that that consph-acy (the Clan-na-Gael) has always been 
 "controlled, and is now controlled, by notorious dynamiters and assassins; that 
 " its relations to Mr. Parnell's agitation have been continuous, and that at this 
 "moment they are as intimate and as vital to the prosperi-y of 'the cause' 
 " as when the parliamentary leader in person sought and gained the patronage ol 
 " Patrick Ford, and the good graces of the American Fenians." 
 
 14th March, 1887 : — 
 
 " The body thus created (the American National League) held its first session at 
 "Philadelphia on 25th April, 1883. All Mr. Parnell's ch ef ofiicers attended 
 " There were treasurer Egan and secretary Brennan, chief organiser Sheridan, and 
 " chief organiser Boy ton. The last reached America on the second day of the 
 " proceedings, and immediately hastened to share the deliberations of his friends. 
 " Tnere, too, were Frank Byrne, P. J. Sheridan's 'fellow celebrity,' and ex-secretary 
 " to the National League of Great Britain ; John Walsh, most successful ot 
 " organisers, against whom a true bill for murder had just been found ; O' Donovan 
 " Kossa, the author of the Local Government Board explos'on of the previous 
 " month ; D. C. Feehy and John Devoy, both leaders of the Clan-na-Gael ; 
 "John H. Parnell, and Mrs. Parnell. Mr. Parnell himself directly acknowledged 
 " this body as ' the most representative Convention of Irish American opinion ever 
 " ' assembled,' in a telegram to Mooney its president, excused his own enforced 
 "absence, and urged caution on his associates. Egan and Sullivan 'ran the 
 " 'machine' in the interests of the 'constitutional movement,' and from this. 
 " concourse of Fenians, murderers, and dynamiters, the 'Irish National League 
 " ' of America ' arose. Alexander Sullivan was elected first president, and was 
 " only induced to take office by the special request of treasurer Egan and secretai-) 
 " Brennan. 1 ■ 1, 
 
 "Mr. Sullivan's scruples were perhaps due to the fact that he holds a high 
 " position in the ranks of another patriotic association, which not even the most 
 "delirious partizanship can represent as 'public, legal, or parliamentar}'. 
 "Mr. Sullivan is well known to Scotland Yard as one of the three heads of the 
 " Irish-American murder club called the Clan-na-Gael. His colleagues are 
 "Colonel Michael Boland (who signed the resolutions of July, 1882), and Mr. 
 " D. C. Feehy (or, according to other authorities, General Michael Kerwm). 
 
 *' In the opinion of experts the Clan-na-Gael planned and 
 
 " executed all the most diabolic of the dynamite outrages perpetrated in this 
 " countiy since the spring of 1883. To that society we owe the ' explosions in our 
 " 'crowded streets, the attempted destruction of our public buildings,' and the 
 " designs to murder Ministers in their places, upon which Mr. Parnell lately dwelt 
 " with so much unction. And from the directorate of ihat society Mr. Parnell s 
 " colleagues chose the first President of the Auxiliary League, on which Mr. 
 " Parnell's ' constitutional movement ' now lives." 
 
 1 8th March, 1887 :— 
 
 " Are Mr. Gladstone and his associates prepared to continue to work for common 
 " objects with politicians confederated with and subsidised by the authors of dyna- 
 " mite conspiracies and murderous outrages ? Are they prepared to join hands with 
 " the men who have been the guests and intimates of Ford and Egan, and who are 
 " at this hour receiving the subscriptions collected by the ' Irish World,' in resisting 
 " measures for restoring law and order in Ireland." [Report, pp. loi, 102]. 
 
 The Clan-na-Gael takes action. 
 
 The constitution and objects of the Clan-na-Gael have been 
 already described (page 2). 
 
 [139 
 
124 
 
 On the 19th April, 1880, the executive body of the Clan-na- 
 <iael issued a circular to the officers and members. It was there- 
 in stated: — 
 
 ** When land leagues are formed or any other public movements are organised in 
 •*' which members of the V.C, (Clan-na-Gael) can conscientiously participate, no 
 ** pains should be spared to secure the control of these movements or organisations 
 ■" by members of the V.C. A few of our good men working in concert can always 
 •*' manage to secure this control. Lest these organisations may at any time prove 
 *' dangerous rather than assistants to our work, we should so secure the control ot 
 *' their management as to be able to disband them if they should ever become 
 ■" necessaiy. 
 
 "The power and usefulness of organisation were never better exhibited than in 
 •*' the magnificent successes which have attended Mr. Parnell in America. . . . 
 ■*' In all the large cities the members of the Clan-na-Gael were among the foremost 
 " in preparing the ground, in attending to the details, and in seconding the 
 
 ■*' co-operation of our fellow-citizens The old is passing 
 
 *' away, and the new life is at hand, and whether the change is being made 
 *' through the terrible agencies of the dynamite of the nihilists of Russia, or the 
 *" pistol shot of the socialist of Germany, or the march of the republic in France, 
 *' or the demand for the land in England, Scotland, and Ireland, it is as certain as 
 ■" the sun in the heavens that a great resolution is being wrought, and that 
 ■" aristocracy and feudalism must give way to democracy and the distribution of 
 
 *' the soil among the people God speed the mark. It was 
 
 ■•' said of Joseph that he was a growing son. May it be said of this movement 
 *' that it is a growing movement, and that the tree which was planted by Davitt 
 ■*' in the soil of Mayo in April last may spread its branches wherever an Jsjtinbo 
 *' (Irishman) breathes, or tLe heart of a humanitarian beats responsive to the cries 
 ■" of the people for a larger and better life." [Report, p. 102]. 
 
 The Buffalo Convention. 
 
 A Convention of the Irish National Land League of America 
 was summoned at Buffalo on the 12th January, 1881, by the Rev. 
 Laurence Walsh, the treasurer. James Redpath, one of the 
 Irish Land League organisers, attended it, and the Rev. 
 Laurence Walsh announced the receipt of $4,087, adding, 
 however, that a good deal of money has been forwarded directly 
 to Egan in Europe. He announced that many branches of the 
 League had not joined in the Convention. The action of this 
 Convention does not seem to have satisfied the Clan-na-Gael, for 
 ■on the 1st March following, in a circular sent by it to its members, 
 complaint was made that a party in the 
 
 ^' late Land League Convention " was " actively at work inside that organisation 
 ■" with the object of gi-adually sapping the foundations of our organisation, and 
 •*' building up a power capable of crushing out the revolutionary spirit, while 
 *" ostensibly workir.g for Ireland. . . . Every effort should be made to retain 
 ■*' the money in the local branches until the executive body can meet, and, after 
 *' considering all the facts, decide upon what course should be adopted towards the 
 ** League in future." [Report, pp. 102, 103]. 
 
 Major Le Caron's Interview with Mr. Parnell. 
 
 The next incident we have to refer to is the interview between 
 the witness Major Le Caron and Mr. Parnell at the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 140] 
 
125 
 
 In the month of March, 1881, Major Le Caron contemplated 
 paying- a visit to Europe, and early in that month met John Devoy 
 by appointment at Chicago, who gave him two sealed packets, one 
 addressed to Patrick Egan and another to John O'Leary in Paris, 
 who was the accredited resident agent there in charge of the 
 (distribution of funds and transacting the business of the revolu- 
 tionary organisation on this side of the water. Le Caron arrived in. 
 Paris about the 14th April, 1881, and entered into communication, 
 with Egan and O'Leary, and afterwards came to London. He 
 was then introduced by Egan to Mr. Parnell as " one of our friends 
 from America," the interview only lasting a minute or two. 
 Le Caron and Egan returned to Paris, and whilst there Egan 
 told Le Caron that Mr. Parnell desired to see him before he left 
 for America. Le Caron returned to London, and as he states had 
 an interview with Mr. J. J. O'Kelly and Mr. Parnell in a corridor 
 in the House of Commons. 
 
 Le Caron asserts that Mr. O'Kelly on that occasion suggested 
 to him that on his return he should use his influence with his 
 friends on the other side to bring the organisation into line on 
 that side of the water. That they were all working for one 
 common object, and therefore there should and need be na 
 misunderstanding. 
 
 Le Caron states that after Mr. O'Kelly left, Mr. Parnell, wha 
 was present, continued the same line of conversation that 
 Mr. O'Kelly had introduced, and said, '' you furnish the sinews 
 *' of war, you have them in your power, if they do not do as you tell 
 " them, stop the supplies; the whole matter rests in your hands," 
 that he (Mr. Parnell) wished him as soon as he returned to New 
 York to see John Devoy, to say to him from Mr. Parnell that he 
 believed John Devoy could do more than any other one man in 
 the organisation to bring about an understanding such as was 
 desired, and he wished to secure his presence as soon as possible 
 on this side of the water, and would meet him in Paris on his 
 arriving there, and chat so far as his (Devoy's) expenses were con- 
 cerned, he (Mr. Parnell) would guarantee that he would defray 
 them. 
 
 Le Caron states that Mr. Parnell requested him also to see 
 Alexander Sullivan, and that he (Mr. Parnell) mentioned also 
 the names of Dr. William Carroll, of Philadelphia, and of 
 "William J. Hynes, whom he was to see and to lay before them 
 the situation, and to show the necessity for bringing about 
 a thorough understanding, and that if Devoy would not or could 
 not come, to get one of the others, Hynes or Sullivan, not 
 Dr. Carroll, for he was opposing and not a friend of the open 
 movement, and that *' there need be no misunderstand- 
 ing, we are working: for a common purpose for the 
 independence of Ireland just the same as you are 
 working for." [Report, p. 103]. 
 
 [141 
 
126 
 
 Mr. Parnell on Physical Force. 
 
 Le Caron also stated that Mr. Parnell said that he had 
 long" since ceased to believe that anything but the 
 force of arms would bring about the redemption of 
 Ireland. Mr. Parnell does not say that he did not have a 
 conversation with Le Caron, he says that he may have had an 
 interview with him, but he has no recollection of it, and thinksit 
 most improbable. 
 
 Mr. Parnell states that he never sent any message either to 
 the Clan-na-Gael or to any of the persons mentioned by Le Caron, 
 and that he neither directly nor indirectly communicated with any 
 of these persons for the purpose that is sug^g-ested by Le Caron. 
 Mr. Parnell denies that he stated he had ceased to believe that 
 anything but the force of arms would bring- about the redemption 
 of Ireland, because he says he never thought so. Mr. J. J. O' Kelly 
 could not say whether the conversation between him and Le Caron 
 did or did not take place, but stated that he had not the slightest 
 remembrance of it. • [Report, pp. 103, 104]. 
 
 John Devoy's Letter Corroborates. 
 
 When Le Caron gave his evidence in chief his private papers 
 were not in this country, but they arrived during the inquiry. 
 
 From these he produced the following letter received by him 
 from John Devoy : — 
 
 Brass, | a Office ot 
 
 Composition, _ 
 
 *' James Reynolds, 
 
 *' Brass Founder, 
 
 " 41 & 43, Orange Street, 
 
 " New Haven, C, June 24th, 1881 
 
 Bell Metal, 
 
 Bronze, white 
 
 and other 
 
 soft metal 
 
 Castings 
 
 made to order. 
 
 *« Dear Friend, 
 
 " I am Sony I was obliged to leave here for New York last Saturday, and 
 '* consequently did not get your letters till my return last night. They would 
 •'have been sent on to me, but that I was expected to return. I am much 
 '* obliged for the information you give me, and the interest you have taken in a 
 ** matter that affects us all so closely. I have not heard from H. yet. Yesterday 
 *' 1 received a short note from E., urging me strongly to go over, but I did not 
 "understand for what purpose till 1 got your explanation. I would like to go 
 " very much if I could spare the time, and if I thought my visit would produce 
 ** the effect anticipated, but I am afraid it would not. I have no authority to 
 " speak for anybody, and no man could undertake to speak for the V.C. 
 *' without its consent — which it would take time to get. And none of us 
 "here could, even with the sanction of the V.C, guarantee anything for 
 " the individuals on the other side who are hostile, but who I feel certain 
 *' do not represent the opinion of the home organisation. There can be 
 " no change there till there is a change of persons, and that is sure to come in 
 "time. All I could do would be to tell E. and P., on my own responsibility, 
 " what I believed would satisfy our friends here, and make propositions that I 
 
 142] 
 
127 
 
 ** might feel morally certain would be approved ot. But I would not on any 
 *• consideration have them pay my expenses. That would place me in a false 
 '• position at once. I have asked advice, and if certain friends of ours here think 
 " it the right thing to do, will start next Wednesday, but at present I don't think 
 •• I shall be so advised. They seem to misunderstand our dissatisfaction here. It 
 "is not with their action in Ireland, but the action they allow their friends to 
 " take i;z /-^dVr wfl/;/!? here. There is little difference of opinion about essential 
 " points, but we cannot tolerate the kind of tiling begun in JJuffalo. Please di'op 
 " me a line to P.O. box 4,479, New York City, and even if ] 5-hould go it will 
 " reach me. I will write again. — Yours in haste, J. Devoy." [Report, p. 104"! 
 
 Major Le Caron v, Mr. Parnell. 
 
 This being" the evidence on the one side and the other as to 
 this interview between Major Le Caron and Mr. Parnell, we have 
 first to consider the probabilities of the case. It appears to 
 US to be highly probable that Mr. Parnell w^ould say 
 to anyone whom he regarded as a member of the 
 physical force party in America, that he thought it 
 desirable that an understanding should be brought 
 about between that party and Mr. Parnell and the 
 supporters of the Land League movement. It was 
 probable also that Mr. Devoy should be mentioned 
 by Mr. Parnell as the person best able to bring 
 about the understanding w^hich he desired, for 
 Devoy had undoubtedly been one of the principal 
 agents by whom the support of a section of the 
 Fenians had been obtained. The purpose for which 
 such an alliance was to be formed, and the terms on 
 which it was to be based, may be disputed, but the 
 desire on the part of Mr. Parnell, Mr. Davitt, and 
 other Land League leaders that the two parties of 
 physical force and open political movement should 
 act in harmony and not in opposition to one another 
 has been proved. 
 
 We have next to consider whether there is any corroboration of 
 Le Caron's evidence, and we find it in the letter from Devoy. 
 
 It is clear from that letter that Le Carron had informed him that 
 it was desired that he should come to Europe to see " E. and P." 
 We draw the inference that Egan and Parnell are meant by these 
 initials, and it is also clear from the contents of the letter that Devoy 
 had been told that his assistance was wanted to remove some dissatis- 
 faction which had arisen in the revolutionary party in America as to 
 Irish affairs. The letter also shows that Le Caron had informed 
 Devoy that his expenses would be paid. [Report, pp. 104, 105J. 
 
 Le Caron's the Correct Version. 
 
 We think that these passages tend strongly to confirm 
 Le Caron's testimony; and we come to the conclusion that 
 
 [143 
 
128 
 Le Caron has given a correct account of the message he was 
 
 REQUESTED BY Mr. PaRNELL TO CONVEY TO DeVOY. 
 
 Mr. Parnell denies that he ever said that he had long since ceased 
 to believe that anything but force of arms would bring about the 
 redemption of Ireland ; but he bases his denial on the fact that he 
 never thought so. It is, however, not impossible, in 
 conversation with a supposed revolutionist, Mr. 
 Parnell may have expressed himself so as to leave 
 the impression that ne agreed with his interlocutor. 
 
 Le Caron had returned to America on the 12th June, 1881. 
 
 [Report, p. 105]. 
 
 XIV —THE GAELS CAPTURE THE LEAGUE. 
 
 The loth Annual Convention of the Clan-na-Gael took place on 
 August 3rd, 1881. Alexander Sullivan was elected president, with 
 greater power than had been possessed by previous presidents, 
 lames Reynolds was the chairman of the Executive Committee. 
 The circulars and proceedings of this convention show that the 
 dynamite policy had then been adopted by the Clan-na-GaeL 
 Le Caron states a dynamite campaign was decided upon by the 
 delegates to this convention. Its committee on " Foreign Relations " 
 reported as follows : — 
 
 " The envoy of the T. D. (Supreme Council ol the Irish Republican Brother- 
 " hood) having reported to us that our brothers have established a special 
 " .'.epartment for instruction in engineering, chemicals, draughting, and mining, 
 ** and other branches of the higher and technical departments of warfare suitable 
 " to the advancement and inventions of the age, v\e earnestly recommend the like 
 «' course in theV.C." 
 
 The accounts of the Skirmishing- Fund were submitted to the 
 Convention, though the control of that fund was still left in the 
 hands of its trustees. [Report, p. 105]. 
 
 Mr. Parnell Telegraphs Patrick Ford. 
 
 A telegram was sent by Mr. Parnell to Patrick Ford, which 
 was published in the *' Irish World," ist October, 1881 : 
 
 " I heartily thank the land leaguers throughout the United States for their 
 ' ' glorious work. 
 
 ** I thank you for the invitation to visit America, but the movement will 
 *' probably claim my constant attention and presence in Ireland this winter, 
 " rendering a visit to the States improbable. 
 
 " Mr. T. p. O'Connor will start for America early in October, and will represent 
 my views and those of the Iiish organisation. 
 
 ** Charles Stewart Parnell.'* 
 
 144] 
 
129 
 
 Mr. T. P. O'Connor arrived in America on the 29lh October, 
 1 88 1. He appears to have seen Patrick Ford and Mr. Finnerty. 
 On November loth the call to the Convention to be held on 
 November 30th, 1881, at Chicago, was issued. [Report, p. 105]. 
 
 A Whip to the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 On November 21st, a circular was sent by the Clan-na-Gael to its 
 camps : — 
 
 " Dear Sir and Brothers, 
 
 " It is the desire of the F.C." (executive body) '• that as many members ot 
 "the V.C. (Clan-na-Gael) as can possibly attend the Irish National Convention 
 •' at Chicago, 30th November, 1881, will do so without entailing any expense on 
 " the organisation. 
 
 " You will therefore make every effort to get the members of the V.C. elected 
 " as delegates from any Irish society that may have an existence in your neighbour- 
 '•' hood, whether it be as representatives of the Land League Club, the A.O.H. 
 " (Ancient Order of Hibernians), or any other organisation. The F.C. particularly 
 " desires your presence as a delegate, if it is possible for you to attend as such." 
 
 On 26th November, 1881, Mr. T. M. Healy, M.P., and the 
 Rev. Eugene Sheehy, arrived. A meeting was held at the offices of 
 Patrick Ford's paper, the " Irish World," at which Mr. T. P. 
 O'Connor, M.P., Mr. Healy, INI. P., and the Rev. Eugene Sheehy were 
 present, together with Finnerty, a member of the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 On the 29th November, 1881, a secret meeting of the Clan-na- 
 Gael took place, at which it was arranged that the lion. W. J. Hynes 
 (also a member of the Clan-na-Gael), should be in the chair, and that 
 Finnerty should make the first speech at the Land League Con- 
 vention next day. [Report, p. 106]. 
 
 A Clan-na-Gael Chairman. 
 
 The Land League Convention, at Chicago, was opened on 
 30th November, 1881 Hynes was in the chair. Finnerty first 
 spoke, and said : — 
 
 " This Convention meets to give a definite expression and proclaim a definite 
 ' ' policy for the Irish- American people ; to tell the English Government exactly 
 ' ' what we mean to do — (cheers) — to tell the Irish people no more than what we 
 " mean to do — (applause and cries of ' That's right ') — to align ourselves with the 
 " people in Ireland — (applause) — to go with them as far as they go — (cheers)— and 
 " as much farther as they are prepared to go." (Tremendous cheers.) 
 
 Committees on rules and organisation were then appointed, and 
 the nominations placed in the hands of Hynes, the Clan-na-Gael 
 chairman. [Report, p. 106]. 
 
 The Irish Delegates. 
 
 On the same evening, a reception to Mr. T. P. O'Connor, M.P., 
 T. M. Healy, M.P., and the Rev. Eugene Sheehy, was given at 
 McCormack Hall. 
 
 [145 
 
130 
 Mr. T. p. O'Connor, M.P., said :— 
 
 " The landlord has not got any rent from the ten thousand who are ejected 
 ♦' ' from the farms, and he is not going to get any rent. (Applause. ) What becomes 
 " of the ten thousand farmers meantime ? We will put the tenants as near these 
 " farms as we possibly can. They like to have a glimpse of their old home, and 
 " if 1 was an agent of an insurance society I would not like to have my whole 
 " organisation and corporation dependent on the ten thousand farmers who will go 
 *' into the farms that the other ten thousand have been evicted from." 
 
 This speech shows that the dangerous consequences resulting from 
 the action of the Land League were known to the speaker, and 
 Mr. O'Connor admitted that "the shooting of land- 
 *' grabbers was one of the incidents of the civil 
 •* -war." 
 
 The Rev. Eugene Sheehy, said : — 
 
 " I want to tell you here to-night, assembled delegates of the Irish- American 
 " race in America, that we face landlordism and aim at its utter destruction, but 
 " only as a stepping stone and as a means to a greater and a higher end. Will 
 " you be content to go on paying what is called a fair rent, an abomination, 
 " a crime, not alone against modern civilisation in Ireland, but against 
 " common sense and a blasphemy against God ? I stand here to-night a 
 ' ' teacher of morals. I weigh the words I utter. I face the responsibility of 
 *' every word. In France, landlordism was swept down and crushed utterly into 
 *' powder by the armed hand of revolution. If any gentleman will undertake the 
 " commission he will have my benediction. I look also into their hearts 
 " and I see a burning love of Ireland and a burning* hatred of 
 *' England. I do not measure my words where there is a question 
 " of England. I say that there is only one enemy on this earth of 
 *' Ireland, and that enemy is England." 
 
 Mr. T. M. Healy, M.P., said:— 
 
 ' ' For what is the business for which this Convention has assembled, it is the 
 "** purpose of revenge, as I take it ; revenge upon the enemy which drove you and 
 
 *' your fathers from your own land Why was it 
 
 ** that we did not believe in the No-Rent manifesto ? I am in favour of no rent, 
 ** not merely as a temporary policy, but for all time. But the consideration of 
 " our men was this — is it expedient ? And we considered that it was not ex- 
 *' pedient, because we did not believe that our people at that time were worked 
 '* up to it, and we would adopt no policy which would lead to disaster or defeat. 
 '* But I, for my part, believed with John Mitchel that the land system of Ireland 
 ** is the nerve centre, is the ganglion, is the heart of British rule; and I believe 
 *'that il you want to break the British rule, you must strike it 
 ♦* through the land system and landlordism . ." 
 
 [Report, pp. ig6, 107]. 
 
 A Clan-na-Gael President. 
 
 The committee on permanent organisation proposed the 
 ■Rev. George Betts as President, and, supported by the Rev. Eugene 
 Sheehy, he was elected. The Rev. George Betts was a member of 
 the Clan-na-Gael, and it was resolved that " all committees 
 "were to be appointed by the chairman, unless 
 *' otherwise ordered." 
 
 146] 
 
131 
 
 Resolutions were prepared by the committee on resolutions. 
 Messrs. T. P. O'Connor, T. M. Healy, and the Rev. Eugene Sheehy 
 attended on behalf of the Land League of Ireland, and took part in 
 the preparation of the resolutions to be submitted to the Convention. 
 These resolutions declared English rule in Ireland to be without 
 either legal or moral sanction, and endorsed the policy of the Irish 
 leaders at home, and the No-Rent manifesto. 
 
 In the afternoon, on the motion of Judge Birdsall, it was proposed 
 that an 
 
 '* Executive committee of seven members be appointed by the chairman, whose 
 *' duty shall be to call any future Conventions, and also to confer and act with the 
 " leaders of the different organisations here represented, or any ethers that may 
 ' ' be hereafter organised to further the interest of Irish rights in promoting the 
 '•' objects and redeeming the pledges contained in the address and resolutions 
 " adopted by this Convention." [Report, p, 107]. 
 
 The Executive Committee, 
 
 After some discussion, this was carried, whereupon the members 
 of the Convention " sprang to their feet, and burst into a tremendous 
 cheer." The Chairman, the Rev. George Betts, then appointed the 
 following executive committee of seven : — 
 
 Judge Birdsall, of Connecticut, Michael Boland, Kentucky (Clan^ 
 na-Gael), Patrick Ford (of the ''Irish World"), P. A. Collins, 
 Massachusetts, W. B. Boland, New York, Alex. Sullivan, Illinois 
 (President of the Clan-na-Gael), Andrew Brown, Missouri fClan- 
 na-Gael). 
 
 The Rev. Eugene Sheehy, at this meeting, said : — 
 
 *' I recognise, as Ireland's home representatives, her indebtedness to the extreme 
 * 'Nationalists for their attitude here in this Convention. (Cheers) . , . 
 
 "' Mr. Ford has my thanks (cheers), from the fact that for the last few days he 
 ' ' prepared to forget himself in the interests of harmony, and because of what his 
 " paper has done in the past. (Cheers). Ireland at home thanks Patrick Ford. 
 " ( Cheers). I say deliberately that the Land League owes much to Patrick Ford, 
 " and Ireland embodies his ideas in the Land League movement. (Cheers). It 
 " has an immense amount of gratitude to the ' Irish World.' " [Report, p. 107]. 
 
 The Gaels boast of the Capture. 
 
 The proceedings at this Convention show that 
 the Clan-na-Gael obtained power through the 
 chairman, a member of their body, to appoint on 
 the executive committee a majority of persons 
 supporting the Clan-na-Gael policy. This view is 
 confirmed by the circular of the Clan-na-Gael which 
 was sent to its members in January, 1882, and it 
 anticipates the course of subsequent events. 
 
 [147 
 
132 
 
 The material parts of this circular are as follows : — 
 
 " Owing to the failure of many delegates who were V.C. men to report and 
 " register at the place designated, only 320 names were obtained. It is generally 
 " believed that there were at least 80 more in attendance at that body. It will 
 " thus he seen that the V.C. was able to send on very short notice a much larger 
 '< representation to the Convention than did any other organisation, and it will 
 " also be seen that by the secret concerted action of its members it was able to 
 " send this representation chiefly from other organisations. 
 
 " The presence of a large body of men in accord and with unmistakeable views 
 " was soon recognised by all the elements in the Convention 
 
 " The committee on permanent organisation reported at the head of their list 
 " the name of a distinguished brother of the V.C, a clergyman of the Episcopal 
 "Church 
 
 " The Convention finally decided to create a national committee of seven, to be 
 *• appointed by the chair. 
 
 ******* 
 
 " This committee has power to call future Conventions, to address all societies 
 " now in existence, or hereafter to be created, whenever in its judgment the 
 " interests of the cause required such addresses, and to take steps to bring about 
 " the desired federation of all the organisations in this country upon a national 
 " basis. The committee was appointed by a V.C chairman. Doubtless it can 
 " find means to teach our views, and to pave the way for a period when such a 
 " public organisation can be formed by common consent, and without the creation 
 " of ill-will towards the V.C, or the multiplication of factions in the eyes of the 
 •' world. The committee above referred to have met, have organised by the 
 " selection of V.C. men as ofhcers, have issued an address, and already have taken 
 " steps looking to union of all the elements composing our race. Part of their 
 '' dutv is to appeal to all presidents of existing societies to send their views con- 
 •• cerning the union. It is the duty of each member of the V.C, who know the 
 " president of any Jsjti (Irish) society, to use his influence to get that president 
 " forthwith to write to the Secretary of the National Committee, Andrew F. 
 " BroA\m, nth and Walnut Street, St. Louis, Mo., that he favours the proposed 
 " union, and that he desires the committee to proceed to bring about a union, and 
 " authorised them to act for him in so doing. These gentlemen, the presidents, 
 " may be urged to write that they have confidence in the committee chosen by so 
 " large and able a Convention. By securing this course on the part of all society 
 *• presidents, the power of action will be placed in the committee, which, as 
 " already stated, was appointed by a V.C chairman in the Convention, and is 
 '• now directed and officered by V.C. men." [Report, p. 108]. 
 
 The Washington Convention, 1882. 
 
 The next Land League Convention assembled at Washington 
 on the 1 2th April, 1S82, and was called to order by Patrick 
 A. Collins. 
 
 Mr. Collins said : — 
 
 " Let us stand together on the platform Michael Davitt built ; a platform 
 ** broad enough for all the friends of Ireland to stand upon ; and with all hearts, 
 " and wills, and energies, unite behind ' United Ireland.' " [Report, p. 108J. 
 
 Egan on National Independence. 
 
 A letter from Egan was read containing- the following 
 passage : — 
 
 ** The Land League movement was originated, built up, and sustained by the 
 *' Nationalists of Ireland, men who, eschewing sentiment and sunburstism, 
 *' determined to set practically to work to effect the regeneration of their country. 
 '« On my own behalf and behalf of my friends of the League, 
 " both in pcison and outside, I can say that we regard the land 
 
 148] ... 
 
133 
 
 ''question only in the' light of a step towards national in- 
 " dependence, which is and shall continue to be the goal of all 
 '* our efforts." 
 
 The following- resolution, amongst others, was proposed and 
 carried : — 
 
 " That this Convention instructs its officers to confer at their earliest oppor- 
 '* tunity with the council of seven chosen at the Chicago Convention as to the 
 ** feasibility of uniting under one head all the Land League branches now 
 *' organised in the United States." [Report, p. 109]. 
 
 Mr. Davitt's Third Visit to America. 
 
 Immediately after the Phoenix Park murders, Mr. Davitt went 
 to Paris to see Egan, and then sailed to America with Mr. 
 William Redmond, M.P., and Mr. Dillon, M.P. This was 
 Mr. Davitt's third visit to America. 
 
 On 15th July, 1882, he met at Astor House, in New York, the 
 committee of seven appointed by the chairman of the Chicago 
 Convention of 1881, and also the central council of the Land 
 League, viz.. Rev. Laurence Walsh, James Mooney, and Hynes. 
 
 It was resolved that : — 
 
 "As Ireland is now passing through a crisis which strains the moral and 
 " financial resources of the people under the merciless reign of coercion and 
 " eviction, we earnestly appeal to the whole Irish race to steadily continue their 
 " efforts in their several organisations, and to forward ample contributions to 
 " enable the Irish people to fight to the end their great battle." 
 
 After this Davitt returned to see Egan in Paris, whence he 
 proceeded to Ireland. His desire was to found a Land NationaHsa- 
 tion scheme for England and Ireland, but Mr. Parnell would not 
 consent. Thereupon he devised the National League, and persuaded 
 Mr. Parnell to join it on a platform of peasant proprietary. This 
 was accordingly carried out at a Convention in Ireland on 17th 
 October, 1882. 
 
 In October a circular was issued by the Clan-na-Gael, of which 
 Alexander Sullivan was president. This circular clearly 
 pointed to the use of dynamite. It contains the following 
 passage : 
 
 " There are those of us who carry their lives in their hands, and whose labours, 
 " if at any moment discovered, would lead to their destruction." 
 
 [Report, p. 109]. 
 
 XV.— EGAN AND DYNAMITE IN AMERICA. 
 
 On 3rd March, 1883, Patrick Egan arrived in America from Ireland, 
 and went at once to the house of Alexander Sullivan. On 30th 
 March the Clan-na-Gael issued a circular, in which is the following 
 passage : — 
 
 ** It shall be the duty of the S. G.'s (senior guardians) to diligently inquire, 
 ** without informing the parties or any one else, the names and addresses of the 
 
 [149 
 
134 
 
 " men best fitted for private work of a confidential and dangerous character, and 
 ''report the same in a hst made out or furnished for that purpose to 'Y,'and 
 " this list shall be made out at such stated periods as they may be demanded 
 " . . . . When possible and practical, and the same can be done without 
 " interfering \Wth the work of the organisation, it is urged that the open organisa- 
 " tion be aided as far as possible." 
 
 About this time instructions were issued by the Claii-na-Gael to 
 its members to attend the coming Convention of the Land League 
 at Philadelphia, which had been called by a notice signed by 
 Patrick Egan, of the National League of Ireland, James Mooney, 
 President Irish American Land League, and Michael Boland, 
 Chairman of the committee ot seven. [Report, pp. 109, no]. 
 
 The Philadelphia Convention, 1883. 
 
 Three distinct Conventions were summoned at Philadelphia for 
 the same date, viz., the Clan-na-Gael, which met in secret, the 
 Irish Land League Convention, which met on 25th April, and the 
 Irish American National Convention, which was to meet on the 
 following day. 
 
 That the important questions about to be dis- 
 cussed at these Conventions were known in Ireland 
 is shown by an extract from the *' Nation" of the 
 21st April, 1883. [Report, p. no]. 
 
 " Our London Letter." 
 
 " The question of the advisability of Mr. Parnell's attending the fortlicoming 
 •' Irish Convention at Chicago (sic. Philadelphia?; was, as the newspapers state, 
 • ' considered and resolved upon by a meeting of his colleagues a few days ago. 
 " The view of the majority was strongly opposed to his so doing. Weighty 
 " reasons were adduced by them in support of their views ; but reasons were also 
 " given on the other side. We must all hope that the best and wisest thing has 
 " been done, but if a newspaper correspondent may express an opinion on so 
 '^ important and complicated a question, I would say that I had much rather 
 " the decision had gone on the other way. The proceedings of the Convention 
 • ' are being looked forward to with great interest by every one here. It is said 
 *• that the plain issue to be determined there is, whether or not the use of physical 
 " force of all kind — dynamite included — may not properly be employed by the 
 ' ' Irish people in their struggle for the liberation of their country from British rule. 
 " To take the affirmation side of the discussion would — putting all other consider- 
 " ations aside — hardly be a safe thing for any one who would contemplate 
 " returning to, and living in any part of the so-called United Kingdom ; least ot 
 " all would it be safe for a member of the British Parliament. On the other 
 " hand, it would be no easy task to argue before an Irish- American audience, 
 '• that the use of force by Ireland, or by any other oppressed nation, for the 
 " recovery of its liberties, would be immoral." [Report, p. no]. 
 
 The Chairman selected secretly. 
 
 Secret meeting-s of the Clan-na-Gael were held on each day 
 preceding- the open meetings of the Convention. At the first of 
 these secret meetings Collins and Dorney were put forward as 
 
 150] 
 
135 
 
 candidates tor the office of temporary presiding- officer at the 
 Convention. Collins was rejected on the ground of its 
 being: reported that he had offered a reward for 
 the arrest of the Phoenix Park murderers. Dorney 
 was subsequently elected by the open Convention. 
 
 On 25th April, 1883, the Irish National Land League Con- 
 vention v^as opened at Philadelphia by James Mooney, its 
 president, at which over 1,100 delegates were present. Ac- 
 cording to -'United Ireland," of 5th May, 1883, "the Fenian 
 Brotherhood was strongly represented." Major Le Car on 
 attended in two capacities, viz., for the Braidwood Lcind 
 League Branch and also for the Emmet Club of Braidwood, a 
 branch of the Clan-na-Gael. Patrick Egan, Brennan, 
 Frank Byrne and his wife, and M. Boyton, were 
 present at the open Convention, and Brennan 
 attended the secret meetings of the Clan-na-Gael. 
 It was resolved that a committee should be formed to take steps 
 to merg-e the old Land League in the new National League, and 
 a committee was accordingly appointed to devise means for 
 carrying this out. The committee reported a recommendation 
 that the delegates of the Irish National Land League should 
 attend the meeting of the Irish-American National Convention. 
 On the motion of Mr. Andrew Brown (Clan-na-Gael) it was 
 resolved : — 
 
 ** That when this Convention adjourns, it be to meet with the Convention to- 
 " morrow, and that the chairman appoint a committee of seven, with power to 
 " declare the Land League adjourned sine rfie, provided the Convention to-morrow 
 " complies with the reports submitted and adopted here this evening by the 
 *' committee appointed to submit a plan of reorganisation." 
 
 [Report, pp. no, in]. 
 
 A Majority of Clan-na-Gael Men. 
 
 The president accordingly nominated the committee, on plan 
 of organisation, viz. : — 
 
 Andrew Brown ^Clan-na-Gael) ; P. A. Collins; Rev. P. 
 Cronin ; M. V. Gannon (Clan-na-Gael) ; Rev. Ch. O'Reilly ; 
 J. F. Armstrong- (Cian-na-Gael) ; Rev. M. J. Dorney (Clan-na- 
 Gael). 
 
 On the next day, 26th April, the '' Irish National Convention " 
 met. It was called to order by Alexander Sullivan, and the Rev. 
 George Betts read the call. Maurice Dorney was then elected 
 chairman, on James Mooney's nommation. These four persons 
 were all members of the Clan-na-Gael. [Report, p. 1 1 1], 
 
 Mr. Parnell cables his views. 
 
 The following- cablegram from Mr. Parnell, M.P., to James 
 Mooney, was read to the Convention : — 
 
 *' My presence at the opening of the most representative Convention of Irish 
 *' American opinion ever assembled being impossible owing to the necessity oi 
 
 ri^i 
 
136 
 
 " m}'' remaining here to oppose the Criminal Code Bill, which re-enacts per- 
 •* manently the worst provisions of coercion, and which, if passed, will leave con- 
 " stitutional movements at the mercy of the Government, I would ask you to lay 
 " my views before the Convention. I would respectfully advise that your platform 
 " be so framed as to enable us to continue to accept help from America, and at 
 " the same time avoid offering a pretext to the i5ritish Government for entirely 
 " suppressing the national movement in Ireland. In this way only can unity of 
 " movement be preserved both in Ireland and America. I have perfect confidence 
 " that by prudence, moderation, and firmness, the cause of Ireland will continue 
 " to advance, and thous^h persecution rests heavily upon us at present, before 
 " many years have passed we shall have achieved those great objects for which 
 " through many centuries our race has struggled." [Report, p. iii]. 
 
 No Debate was Allowed. 
 
 The next step was to restrict discussion to such 
 propositions as should be brought forward by the 
 committee on resolutions, and no debate was to 
 take place except on subjects included in the call 
 to the Convention. This placed the whole proceed- 
 ings in the power of the committee on resolutions 
 and the persons drafting the call. 
 
 A report was then presented from the committee on plan of 
 organisation above referred to, which recommended that the 
 Irish citizens of America and Canada should sink all private 
 prejudices and creed distinctions, and band themselves together 
 with the name and title of the Irish National League of America, 
 to be governed by a president, vice-president, and a national 
 council consisting of a member from each state or territory, and 
 which national council should appoint out of its number an execu- 
 tive committee of seven, of which committee the president should 
 be ex-officio chairman. [Report, p. iii]. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Sullivan (Glan-na-Gael), 
 
 John Byrne, and John J. Hynes were elected respectively 
 president, vice-president, and secretary of the Irish National 
 League of America. 
 
 The executive committee of seven elected were: — Rev. P. A. 
 M'Kenna, of Massachusetts; D. W. B. Wallace, of New York; 
 James Reynolds, of Connecticut (Clan-na-Gael) ; M. V. Gannon, 
 of Iowa (Clan-na-Gael) ; Hon. J. G. Donnelly, of Wisconsin 
 (Clan-na-Gael) ; John F. Armstrong, of Georgia (Clan-na-Gael) ; 
 and Senator James G. Fair, of Nevada. 
 
 With power to the council of seven to fill up vacancies in the 
 board of officers. 
 
 The Irish National Land League was adjourned sine die, and 
 ceased to exist as a separate organisation. The Irish National 
 Convention then adjourned. [Report, p. in]. 
 
 152] 
 
137 
 
 The Clan-na-Gael Obtained Control. 
 
 Thus it will be seen that at the Philadelphia Convention ot 
 April, 1883, the Land League of America ceased to exist. The 
 Irish National League then took the place of the Irish National 
 Land League of America, and by means of the committee 
 of seven the Clan-na-Gael, as had been advised in the 
 circuiar of 19th April, 1883, obtained the control 
 over the entire -Land League movement in America, 
 and thenceforward retained it. 
 
 This was the subject of a circular ot congratulation issued to 
 the Clan-na-Gael by the president, Alexander Sullivan, in which 
 he recommended the members ''by renewed zeal in behalf 
 " of the ruling and directing organisation which does its work 
 " patiently, silently, unostentatiously, by determining to redouble 
 " your efforts for its careful and safe extension, to let the future 
 " make even brighter record than the past." [Report, p. 1 12]. 
 
 Instructions from Headquarters. 
 
 On the 5th of May, 1883, the Executive Body of the Clan-na- 
 Gael issued a circular to its members prescribing rules for the 
 "perfect security of the interests of the organisation," as 
 follows : — 
 
 '* Headquarters F.C., V.C, 
 "5th May, 18S3. 
 " For the more perfect security of the interests of the organisation the 
 *' following rules are published, and it is made the duty of S.G's (senior guardians) 
 " officers, and members of D's (camps) to see that they are rigidly enforced : — 
 *' I. Hereafter no member shall by interview or in any manner appear in the 
 " public press, or speak or write to anyone not a member, of any matter 
 "person, or event engaged in or arrested for Jsji (Irish) revolutionary 
 " operations. 
 "2. S.G's shall, in their sound discretion, or by direction of F.C., have 
 
 power to publish information calculated to deceive the enemy. 
 *' 3. D's may, when it .'s deemed prudent, change their present names and 
 *' locations for others less suspicious, without attracting public attention 
 *' to the change. 
 **4. No person who is not a member for at least three years, and whose 
 *' antecedents, prudence, and courage is not fully known, shall be 
 " accepted or sent forward for any work of a revolutionaiy character. 
 "5. In localities favourable to the work, D's shall institute schools for the 
 
 " manufacture of explosives and other warfare. 
 ** 6. D's shall procure, as far as possible, the names, photographs, and 
 
 " residence of detectives, and keep a list of the same. 
 " 7. All books and papers, when the same cannot be satisfactorily secured, 
 
 " must be destroyed or cancelled. 
 *' 8. It is made the duty of eveiy D. to utilise every available method of 
 " raising funds for the Special Fund, by pic-nics, balls, parties, and 
 " fairs, and contributions from outside confideotial sources. 
 " Fraternally, 
 
 " The F.C. (Executive Body) ' 
 [Report, p. 112]. 
 
 [loo 
 
138 
 The " Nation " on the Convention. 
 
 The "Nation" newspaper of Ireland, of 21st April, 1883, cited 
 above, had pointed out the questions about to be discussed at the 
 Philadelphia Convention. 
 
 The "Irishman," on 12th May, 1883, gave its view of the 
 effect of that Convention : — 
 
 ' ' Look at the Convention held in Philadelphia. What manifold mischief the 
 '• ' Parliament of the Irish Race in Exile ' will work here at home. Our country- 
 " men in America are accumulating vast wealth and consolidating immense force, 
 " and for what object ? We can hardly venture to name it. 
 
 '• The outcome of the Convention no man can accurately forecast. It threatens 
 '• to compass an end of thrilling interest to England. From the union and resolve 
 " and determination of the Gael in the American Continent there is no prophesying 
 " what may issue. In the hearts of those 15 or 20 millions of men of Irish blood 
 " rankles a wound which refuses to be healed. There is no cure for it, they say, 
 " with dogged obstinacy, but topsy-tur\7 here, and then the retreat of the English 
 " garrison with bag and baggage — if, mayhap, the latter can be saved in the pell- 
 •' mell confusion of a horrible upheaval and universal crash." 
 
 [Report, pp. 112, 113]. 
 
 Patrick Egan joins the Organization. 
 
 On 14th May the executive committee or council of the Irish 
 National League of America met. The persons present were 
 Alexander Sullivan, president. Rev. Dr. C. O'Reilly, J. J. Hynes, and 
 Major W. B. Wallace, Father M'Kenna, M. V. Gannon, Jas. Reynolds, 
 J. G. Donnelly, and Patrick Egan. It has been proved that 
 Alexander Sullivan, M. V. Gannon, James Reynolds, and J. G. 
 Donnelly, were members of the Clan-na-Gael. It has also been 
 proved that Patrick Egan became a member of the 
 Clan-na-Gael at som.e date prior to 1st June, 1883. 
 An address was issued which was designed to unite the various bodies 
 in America who were in sympathy with the common cause. It 
 contained the following passage : — 
 
 " In compliance with the duties imposed upon us, we request all Irish- American 
 " benevolent, temperance, military, literaiy, social, patriotic, and musical societies 
 " represented in the Convention, or desirous of affiliating with the Irish National 
 " League of America, immediately to send to the secretary, Room 5, No. 8, Clark 
 " Street, Chicago, Ills, , their full name, with time and place of meeting, the name 
 " and correct post office address of their respective presidents and secretaries, 
 " that they may be supplied with the platform rules of organisation, and literature 
 "to be issued in the future, by means of which the closest union between this 
 '■' country and Ireland will be constantly maintained. Each society will continue 
 " its special work under its own name, but as members of the Irish National 
 
 " League of America each will be designated ' Branch No- ' in the order in 
 
 *' which they comply with Section XI. of the Plan of Organisation." 
 
 [Report, p. 113]. 
 
 The Dynamite Outrages in London. 
 
 In April, 1883, explosions took place in London, in one of which 
 (at London Bridge) Lomasney is supposed to have perished. His 
 family was afterwards supported by the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 154] 
 
On nth June, 1883, Thomas Gallagher and others were tried and 
 convicted at the Old Bailey, before the Lord Chief Justice of 
 England, the Master of the Rolls, and Mr. Justice Grove, for 
 feloniously compassing and intending to depose the Queen from 
 Her Imperial crown, for intending to levy war upon the Queen, and 
 for intending to intimidate and overawe the Houses of Parliament, 
 by means of the use of Dynamite. [Report, p. 1 13]. 
 
 A Dynamite Circular. 
 
 On the i6th September, 1883, a circular was issued by 
 Alexander Sullivan and the executive of the 
 Clan-na-Gael to its members, advocating dynamite, 
 
 and advising the punishment of traitors. It also contained the 
 following passages :— 
 
 " Though the efforts of your executive have not been fully realised, or rather, 
 '* indeed, were marred by the informer's treason, yet those brothers (with one 
 ' ' solitary exception) entrusted with the work did nobly, and were at the very 
 '• threshold of deeds that would have startled the world, and put the fear of the 
 " organisation in the hearts of the enemy. These brothers, with heroic faith, 
 '' have carried your secrets to the dungeon, under a fate and torture worse than 
 ' ' death. They did nobly ; it was by no fault of theirs they failed, and they must 
 " and will be enrolled among the gallant band of martyr patriots, m^io have 
 " perpetuated the glorious struggle for Jsjti {Irish) independence. They 
 " paralysed the haughty power of Fohmboe {England), they placed Fohmboe 
 " (£ng/and) under the bayonet of martial law, they brought war from the starving 
 "and crushed people of Jsfmboe (^Irelafid) to the imperial gates of Fohmboe 
 " (^England) ; they have settled the legal status of a new mode of warfare. By a 
 " solemn decision of the highest authority in Fohmboe (^England), presided over 
 " by her Chief Justice, we have compelled her to recognise a new epoch in the ait 
 " of war. Had these men invaded Fohmboe (^England) with a musket they 
 " would have suffered no less." 
 
 (This alludes to the trial of Gallagher above mentioned). 
 
 " We cannot see our way for an armed insurrection in Jsfmboe {IrelaJtd) this 
 " side of some gi'eat foreign war with Fohmboe (^England), but in the meantime 
 " M'e shall carry on an incessant and persistent warfare with the powers ot 
 
 " Fohmboe (^England) in public and in secret. 
 
 " You will note with pleasure that the informer is fore-doomed, and that no man 
 " can betray and live. No hole too dark, no corner of the earth too obscure or too 
 " far to hide the spy and the informer from the avenging arm of Jsjti {Irisli) 
 " nationality.'" 
 
 (James Carey, who turned informer at the Phoenix Park murder 
 trials, had just previously been shot by O'Donnell). 
 
 At the end of 1883, the Clan-na-Gael became divided into two 
 branches, the one retaining the old name of the V.C. or United 
 Brotherhood, the other and the larger body, under the presidency 
 of Alexander Sullivan, adopting the initials U.S., and the govern- 
 ment of this branch was reduced to three, known as the 
 "Triangle." [Report, pp. 113, 114]. 
 
 [155 
 
140 
 
 XVI.— THE GAELS SUBSIDISE THE M.P.'S. 
 
 A Convention of the Irish National League of America was held 
 at Boston on the 7th of August, 1884. It was preceded by a 
 circular issued by a meeting of the Clan-na-Gael, arranging for 
 the election of as many brothers as possible as delegates to the 
 Convention, and for the prevention of any resolutions denouncing 
 " certain kinds of warfare." The Rev. George Betts was the 
 presiding officer at this meeting. [Report, p. 114]. 
 
 The Talk at the Boston Convention. 
 
 Mr. Sexton, M.P., and Mr. W. Redmond, M.P., were the 
 delegates from Ireland to the Convention. Mr. Sexton says that 
 *' a great many people at this Convention -were 
 '* connected with the extreme section." 
 
 James Mooney (Clan-na-Gael) was the temporary presiding 
 officer, and M. V. Gannon, Clan-na-Gael, the permanent presid- 
 ing officer of the Convention, and Patrick Egan, Clan-na-Gael, 
 was elected president of the Irish National League of America 
 after Mr. A. Sullivan had declined the appointment, and Roger 
 Walsh was appointed secretary. The Convention was called to 
 order by Alexander Sullivan, president of the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 At this Convention Mr. W. Redmond, M.P.. made a speech 
 saying : 
 
 " We will work as long as we have life for the consummation of that object for 
 ' ' which our fathers worked far more bitterly than we may be called upon to work, 
 '' until we have made Ireland a nation, and given her a harp 
 *' without a crown." 
 
 Mr. Gannon made a speech, saying that he would 
 
 " Not go round with lying lips apologising for any patriot Irishman's crime. 
 ' ' \Vhen they give back Francis Hynes and place him in the flesh ; when they 
 " restore to life the murdered Irishmen of this past decade, then, perhaps, we 
 " may pass by on the other side and pretend there is a tear in our eye ; but, until 
 " then it is not our time for crying." [Report, p. 114]. 
 
 The Parnell Testimonial. 
 
 The accounts were read, and among them appears the sum of 
 $4,767 for the Parliamentary Fund started at the meeting of the 
 executive council on 15th April, 1884. There is also a sum of 
 $17,517 for the Pamell Testimonial. 
 
 An executive committee of seven was then appointed as follows : — 
 M. V. Gannon, of Iowa (Clan-na-Gael) ; Michael Boland, of Colorada 
 (Clan-na-Gael) ; Timothy Moroney, of Louisiana (Clan-na-Gael) ; 
 Thomas Flatley, of Massachusetts ; M. B. Holmes, of New Jersey 
 (Clan-na-Gael) ; Hon. J. G. Donnelly, of Wisconsin (Clan-na-Gael); 
 Hugh J. Carroll, of Rhode Island (Clan-na-Gael). 
 
 156] 
 
141 
 
 For two years no further open Convention was held, during which 
 time Alexander Sullivan remained at the head of the Clan-na-Gael, 
 and Patrick Egan, who was a member of the Clan-na-Gael, was 
 president of the Irish National League. 
 
 In the summer of 1885 it was proposed to increase the Parlia- 
 mentary Fund, and the Irish National League of America issued a 
 circular of the 17th June, 1885, appealing for funds to support 
 Mr. Parnell's movement. The Circular was signed by 
 Patrick Egan, president, Charles O'Reilly, treasurer, and 
 Roger Walsh, secretary. [Report, p. 115]. 
 
 The Clan-na-Gael Collection for the Parlia- 
 mentary Party. 
 
 On the 25th July, 1885, the Clan-na-Gael also issued a circular to 
 its members for the like purpose. 
 "To the U.S., 
 
 *' We are aware that the public events of the past few months must have 
 " attracted your attention, and we are compelled to say we feel much sm-prised at 
 ** the failure throughout the country to do more noticeable work in public affairs 
 •* in response to the news received. Of course, we refer to the work of Parnell. 
 "His great work of driving a strong Ministry out of power is of service in an 
 " immeasureable degree in strengthening nationality, and in securing the first part 
 " of national rights. 
 
 " His action without one word from us should have received more prompt 
 " recognition, in a manner which would have shown to the world that the race is 
 " united. There should be an immediate move to cause funds to be sent to the 
 " treasurer of the League in this country. There is not a camp in the U.S. in 
 " our judgment, whose members cannot cause at least $100 to be contributed 
 " within /^;z ^oyj after the receipt of this circular. We do not mean that our 
 "members should bear this burden, or that they shall contribute this money. 
 " What we mean is that they shall put the work in motion, and get men who caii 
 " afford it, and who do not belong to the U.S., to contribute to this purpose. 
 
 ** Eacii camp will appoint a committee, immediately upon the 
 '' reading of this circular, to collect money for the Parliamentary 
 *< Fund, to be sent at once to Rev. Dr. Charles O'Reilly, Detroit, Michigan. 
 " This committee must not, and indeed should not, be composed solely of our 
 " members. Suppose the cOwn is of such size that five would be an ample 
 " committee, then two or three members could add two or three outsiders to their 
 " number and start a collection. Any camp that has a contingent fund can vote 
 " ten or fifteen dollars out of that fund to enable a few members to subscribe in 
 " their individual names, where that is necessary to start it. In most cases it will 
 " be better to flatter some wealthy leading business man or clergyman by getting 
 
 * ' him to head the list ,...,.' 
 
 ' ' God save Ireland, 
 
 *' The Triangle." 
 [Report, p. 115]. 
 
 The Leader of the Public Movement. 
 
 This was followed by a circular of loth November, 1885 • 
 
 " To the Officers and Members of the U.S. 
 " Brothers, — We beg to congratulate you on the vigour and earnestness with 
 " which you put into operation north, south, east, and west, in city and in village, 
 
 [157 
 
142 
 
 " the movement on behalf ot the Parliamentary Fund. Even those whose 
 " correspondence at first indicated to us that they doubted the policy of the order, 
 " manfully obeyed it, and many of them have since written to us frankly saying 
 * ' that they have seen its wisdom 
 
 " We earnestly urge you to see to it at once, that all funds subscribed are col- 
 " lected and forwarded to the Rev. Chas. O'Reilly, D. D. ,St. Patrick's Church, 
 *' Detroit, Mich., so that the reverend treasurer of the League in America can 
 '* remit home at the time they stand most in need of it. It is directed that in all 
 *' cases the money may be sent through Dr. O'Reilly. The next pubHc duty 
 " devolving upon us will be the reorganisation of branches of the League, and the 
 " election of delegates to its National Convention, to be held in Chicago on the 
 " 20th Januaiy next, at which Mr. Parnell will be present. The Convention, 
 "therefore, must be made a great success. It would be perilous to the 
 *' cause to have any failure in connection with, the visit of the 
 * ' leader of the public movement. 
 
 " There should be no question about the organisation sending to Chicago men 
 " enough to control the Convention, so that its utterances shall not be compromising 
 " or uncertain. 
 
 " While we aid, and, for that matter, keep alive, the public movement, we must 
 " see that it is not allowed to degenerate into a half-hearted, compromising, or 
 *' denationalised movement. It must be held up to the highest notch to which it 
 " is prudent for all concerned to hold up a public movement. 
 
 ** At the same time we can and should aid in electing a reasonable percentage 
 ** of the delegates from men of our race of large means and great public influence, 
 " men whose presence will aid the cause, so that the Avhole burden of both public 
 " and private movements shall not all fall upon the shoulders of the same body of 
 " men. Work should be begun at once to reorganise the branches of the League, 
 •' and to cause them to remit to Dr. O'Reilly the dues necessaiy to put them in 
 *' good standing, entitled to representation in the Chicago Convention. Each camp 
 *' is directed to begin this work at once, and to prosecute it vigorously. 
 
 *' It may be proper here to intimate to you that if our firm has not done much 
 " advertising of late it is because of a fixed and understood policy, and is not 
 " mere accident. We have deemed it wise, in view of the present attitude of 
 "public affairs, to keep quiet and make 'as little noise as possible. Our rivals 
 " have not been hurting our business much of late. Whenever they change their 
 " policy and hurt our trade they will hear from us. ' A word to the wise.' 
 
 *•' Yours fraternally, 
 
 The Triangle 
 
 [Report, pp. 115, 116I. 
 
 Anticipating Home Eule. 
 
 Another Clan-na-Gael circular to its camps is as follows : — 
 "Brothers, "iSth December, 1885. 
 
 " The coming Convention of the Irish National League to be held at Chicago 
 " in January will be the most important, and, it is to be hoped, the most 
 " representative assembly of Irishmen ever gathered together in this country. 
 '•' It is hoped that the Convention will be able to make the demand of Mr. Parnell 
 ' ' for an Irish Parliament irresistible. Your long, persistent, and intelligent 
 " co-operation has culminated in making this demand opportune and its granting 
 *' inevitable. England will, however, attempt to put limitations and restrictions 
 "on the grant. The character and measure of the grant is to be determined by 
 *• the force and power of your demand. With an intelligent, persistent, and 
 " unyielding body, embracing a united race at his back, the demands of 
 " Mr. Parnell will be at least substantially complied with. With a feeble and 
 ' ' divided body of supporters the enemy will avail themselves of his weakness. 
 " and gi-ant accordingly. The language of the Convention must be forcible and 
 " emphatic. While our objects lie far beyond what may be 
 *' obtained by agitation, a National Parliament is an object 
 " which we are bound to attain by any means offered. 
 
 .158] 
 
143 
 
 *' The achievement of a National Parliament give; us a footing upon Irish 
 ■*' soil ; it gives us the agencies and instrumentalities of a government de facto at 
 ■" the very commencement of the Irish struggle. It places the government 
 '• of the land in the hands of our friends and brothers. It 
 " removes the Castle's rings, and gives us what we may well 
 ^- express as the plant of an armed revolution. 
 
 '* From tliat standpoint the restoration of Parliament is part of our programme. 
 ** When this is attained, if agitation will not go further, we will still go on 
 " with our forces unimpaired and strengthened. We therefore deem it advisable 
 " that you secure the election of as many delegates as is practicable or possible to 
 " the Convention of the Irish National League to be held in Chicago." 
 
 [Report, pp. ii6, 117]. 
 
 Dynamite Operations in Abeyance. 
 
 Another circular of the 23rd December, 1S85, contains this 
 passag-e : — 
 
 " The operations so far conducted have compelled the enemy to recognise the 
 " constitutional party, and we are now in a fair way to reap the benefits and 
 " results of the heroic work of the members of the U.S. The work of organisa- 
 *' tion is being pushed in every possible direction, but we call the attention of the 
 " U.S. to the importance of organising new camps in every town and city in their 
 ' ' vicinity. The creation of new camps is even of greater importance than the 
 ^' bringing into the organisation of a like number of members to fill the old camps. 
 ' ' A new camp forms the nucleus for the organisation of resources in each neigh- 
 " bourhood, gives us reliable and active agencies at new points, and extends the 
 •'U.S. in new localities. We expect to resume active operations 
 '-' after the present exigences of the constitutional party are 
 " passed. We have purposely and advisedly abstained from doing anything 
 '^' likely to embarrass them during the crisis of the elections. It is to be hoped 
 " that during these operations members will abstain from making inquiries or 
 *' discussing the subject in any manner, for we cannot say when we undertake to 
 "' answer members, but that at the same time we are answering the inquiries of 
 " our enemy, furnishing important information, and giving important clues to 
 '* detect and suppress our work. The mystery of an unknown power striking in 
 " the dark, always able to evade detection, is far more terrible than the damage 
 " inflicted. We caution you, therefore, above all things to be silent, but if 
 " compelled to speak, disavow all knowledge, or, better still, mislead all inquirers. 
 " In the meantime we wish to impress on you the necessity of mutual forbearance 
 *' and faith. " Fraternally, 
 
 "The Triangle." 
 
 [Report, p. 117]. 
 
 The Chicago Convention of 1886. 
 
 On i6th Aug-ust, 1886, a Convention of the National League 
 •of America was held at Chicago. 
 
 On July 24th the Clan-na-Gael had sent the following circular 
 to its camps : 
 
 " Private. " July 24th, 1886. 
 
 "The senior guardian of each camp is most urgently requested to secure proxies 
 "for all branches of the National League in his vicinity that cannot send a 
 " delegate to the coming Convention of the League at Chicago, and immediately 
 "forward said proxy or proxies to Patrick Egan, Esq., Lincoln, 
 ■" Nebraska. " Fraternally, 
 
 " The Triangle, 
 
 "By the Secretary." 
 
 [159 
 
144 
 
 Thus it will be seen that Mr. Patrick Egan, at 
 that time a member of the Clan-na-Gael, as well as 
 president of the National League of America, was 
 entrusted with the proxies obtained through the 
 instrumentality of the Clan-na-Gael. 
 
 Shortly before the Convention, a meeting of the Clan-na-Gael 
 took place at Pittsburg. It was resolved that " we maintain the 
 " same relations in the future to open societies working for the 
 " same purposes as ourselves, that we have in the past.'' ''That 
 " the name Clan-na-Gael be no longer used." 
 
 Before the Chicago Convention, meetings of the Clan-na-Gael 
 were held as before, and the nominees for office there chosen 
 were elected in the National League Convention. The meeting 
 of this Convention was preceded by one at Ogden Grove, at which 
 Finnerty made a violent speech. Mr. Davitt, who was present, 
 said he believed that *' we in Ireland can work out the destiny 
 " of our country, vindicate Irish national sentiment, realise Irish 
 " patriotic aspirations, without the aid of dynamite or any policy 
 " of that kind." 
 
 The Parnellite delegates to the Convention were Messrs. W. 
 O'Brien. M.P., J. Redmond, M.P., and Deasy, M.P. 
 
 The night before the Convention there was a meeting between 
 Messrs. Davitt, O'Brien, Redmond, Egan, Sullivan, and Ford. 
 
 The National League Convention was called to order by 
 P. Egan (president). Over a thousand delegates attended. At 
 this meeting a resolution was passed giving the president of the 
 National League the power of selecting the seven members of 
 the executive committee. [Report, pp. 117, 118]. 
 
 The 1886 Balance Sheet. 
 
 The committee on finance submitted a report showing the 
 following balance sheet for two years : — 
 
 Parliamentary Fund. J 
 
 Cash on hand reported to Boston Convention - - - 4,739 
 
 Cash received at Boston Convention ------ i,iii 
 
 Interest on deposit ------------ 175 
 
 Receipts from all other sources -------- 314,257 
 
 Total §320,282 
 
 Transmitted to C. S. Parnell and trustees of the 
 
 Parliamentary Fund - --- -_-._- 314,452 
 
 Balance on hand $5^830 
 
 League Fund. 
 Total - - - - - - $37,138 
 
 Expenditure. 
 Total - - - - $2 1. 082 
 
 1601 
 
145 
 
 It has been proved that out of the $314,452 transmitted to 
 Mr. Parnell and the trustees of the Parliamentary Fund the 
 Irish Members of Parliament received in the year 1886, 
 £7,666., and in 1S87, £10,500. [Report p. 118]. 
 
 The Amount Paid in Parliamentary Salaries. 
 
 We are of opinion that the evidence proves that the Irish 
 National League of America has been, since the Philadelphia 
 Convention, 25TH April, 1883, directed by the Clan-na-Gael, 
 a body actively engaged in promoting the use of dynamite for 
 the destruction of life and property in England. It has been 
 further proved that while the Clan-na-Gael controlled 
 
 AND directed THE IrISH NATIONAL LeAGUE OF AMERICA, THE 
 TWO ORGANISATIONS CONCURRENTLY COLLECTED SUMS AMOUNTING 
 TO MORE THAN ;f 6c,000 FOR A FUND CALLED THE PARLIAMENTARY 
 
 Fund, out of which payments have been made to Irish Members 
 OF Parliament, amounting in the year 1886 to ^^7,556, and 
 in 1887 TO ;f 10,500. [Report, p. 118]. 
 
 Invited and Obtained Assistance. 
 
 It has not, however, been proved that Mr. Parneil or any 
 OF the respondents knew that the Clan-na-Gael had obtained 
 the control over the Irish National League of America, or 
 WAS collecting, money for the Parliamentary Fund, and the 
 
 circulars of that body, AS WELL AS THE EVIDENCE OF Le CaRON, 
 SHOW THAT THEIR OPERATIONS WERE SECRET. BuT THOUGH IT HAS 
 NOT BEEN PROVED THAT Mr. PaRNELL AND THE OTHER RESPONDENTS 
 KNEW THAT THE ClAN-NA-GaEL CONTROLLED THE LeAGUE, OR THAT 
 
 THE Clan-na-Gael was collecting money for the Parliamentary 
 Fund, it has been proved that they invited and obtained the 
 
 ASSISTANCE AND CO-OPERATION OF THE PHYSICAL FoRCE PaRTY 
 
 IN America, including the Clan-na-Gael, and in order to 
 obtain that assistance abstained from repudiating or con- 
 demning THE ACTION OF THAT PARTY. It HAS ALSO BEEN PROVED 
 THAT THE RESPONDENTS INVITED THE ASSISTANCE AND CO-OPERATION, 
 AND ACCEPTED SUBSCRIPTIONS FROM PATRICK FoRD, A KNOWN 
 ADVOCATE OF CRIME AND THE USE OF DYNAMITE. 
 
 It was agreed between counsel for the accusers and the respon- 
 dents that the names of the recipients of the money paid to them 
 out of the Parliamentary Fund should not be disclosed, and we 
 have not thought it necessary to prosecute our inquiries further on 
 this subject. [Report, pp. 118, 119], 
 
 M 
 
 ri6i 
 
146 
 
 Eecapitulation of Findings. 
 
 We have now pursued our inquiry over a sufficiently extended 
 period to enable us to report upon the several charges and allegations 
 which have been made against the respondents, and we have indicated' 
 in the course of this statement our findings upon these charges and 
 allegations, but it will be convenient to repeat seriatim the conclusions 
 we have arrived at upon the issues which have been raised for our 
 consideration. 
 
 I. We find that the respondent Members of Parliament collec- 
 tively were not members of a conspiracy having for its object to 
 establish the absolute independence of Ireland, but we find that 
 some of them, together with Mr. Davitt, established and joined in 
 the Land League organization with the intention by its means to- 
 bring about the absolute independence of Ireland as a separate 
 nation. The names of those respondents are set out at page 32 of* 
 this Report. 
 
 II. We find that the respondents did enter into a conspiracy 
 by a system of coercion and intimidation to promote an agrarian 
 agitation against the payment of agricultural rents, for the purpose- 
 of impoverishing and expelling from the country the Irish landlords,, 
 who were styled the " English Garrison." 
 
 III. We find that the charge that '' when on certain occasions- 
 *' they thought it politic to denounce, and did denounce certain 
 " crimes in public they afterwards led their supporters to believe- 
 " such denunciations were not sincere " is not established. We 
 entirely acquit Mr. Parnell and the other respondents of the charge 
 of insincerity in their denunciation of the Phcenix Park murders, 
 and find that the "fac-simile" letter on which this charge was 
 chiefly based, as against Mr. Parnell is a forgery. 
 
 IV. We find that the respondents did disseminate the *' Irish 
 World " and other newspapers tending to incite to sedition and the 
 commission of other crime. 
 
 V. We find that the respondents did not directly incite persons, 
 to the commission of crime other than intimidation, but that they 
 did incite to intimidation, and that the consequence of that incite- 
 ment was that crime and outrage were committed by the persons 
 incited. We find that it has not been proved that the respondents 
 made payments for the purpose of inciting persons to commit crime. 
 
 VL We find as to the allegation that the respondents did nothing 
 to prevent crime and expressed no bona fide disapproval, that some 
 of the respondents, and in particular Mr. Davitt, did express bona 
 fide disapproval of crime and outrage, but that the respondents did 
 not denounce the system of intimidation which led to crime 
 and outrage, but persisted in it with knowledge of its effect. 
 
 1G2] 
 
147 
 
 VII. We find that the respondents did defend persons charged 
 with agrarian crime, and supported their famiUes, but that it has 
 not been proved that they subscribed to testimonials for, or were 
 intimately associated with, notorious criminals, or that they made 
 payments to procure the escape of criminals from justice. 
 
 VIII. We find as to the allegation that the respondents made 
 payments to compensate persons who had been injured in the com- 
 mission of crime, that they did make such payments. 
 
 IX. As to the allegation that the respondents invited the assist- 
 ance and co-operation of and accepted subscriptions of money from 
 known advocates of crime and the use of dynamite, we find that 
 the respondents did invite the assistance and co-operation of and 
 accepted subscriptions of money from Patrick Ford, a known 
 advocate of crime and the use of dynamite, but that it has not 
 been proved that the respondents or any of them knew that the 
 Clan-na-Gael controlled the League or was collecting money for 
 the Parliamentary Fund. It has been proved that the respondents 
 invited and obtained the assistance and co-operation of the Physical 
 Force party in America, including the Clan-na-Gael, and in order 
 to obtain that assistance, abstained from repudiating or condemning 
 the action of that party. 
 
 There remain three specific charges against Mr. Parnell, namely : — 
 
 (a.) " That at the time of the Kilmainham negotiations Mr. Parnell 
 knew that Sheridan and Boyton had been organising outrage, 
 and therefore wished to use them to put down outrage." 
 
 We find that this charge has not been proved. 
 
 (d.) '' That Mr. Parnell was intimate with the leading Invincibles, 
 
 " that he probably learned from them what they were about when 
 
 " he was released on parole in April, 1882, and that he recognised 
 
 *' the Phoenix Park murders as their handiwork." 
 
 We find that there is no foundation for this charge. We have 
 already stated that the Invincibles were not a branch of the Land 
 League. 
 
 (<:.) ''That Mr. Parnell on 23rd January., 1883, by an oppor- 
 
 " tune remittance enabled F. Byrne to escape from justice to 
 
 " France." 
 
 We find that Mr. Parnell did not make any remittance to enable 
 F. Byrne to escape from justice. 
 
 The two special charges against Mr. Davitt, viz. : {a.) " That he 
 " was a member of the Fenian organization, and convicted as such, 
 " and that he assisted in the formation of the Land League with 
 " money which had been contributed for the purpose of outrage and 
 *' crime ; {b.) " That he was in close and intimate association with 
 *' the party of violence in America, and was mainly instrumental in 
 '' bringing about the alliance between that party and the Parnellite 
 " and Home Rule Party in America ; " are based on passages in the 
 " Times " leading articles of the 7th and 14th March, 1887. *' The 
 
 [163 
 
148 
 
 '* new movement was appropriately started by Fenians out of Fenian 
 ** funds ; its ' father' is Michael Davitt, a convicted Fenian." " That 
 " Mr. Parnell's * constitutional organization ' was planned by Fenian 
 " brains, founded on a Fenian loan, and reared by Fenian hands.'* 
 
 We have shown in the course of the report that Mr. Davitt was a 
 member of the Fenian organization, and convicted as such, and that 
 he received money from a fund which had been contributed for the 
 purpose of outrage and crime, viz., the Skirmishing Fund. It was 
 not, however, for the formation of the Land League itself, but for 
 the promotion of the agitation which led up to it. We have also 
 shown that Mr. Davitt returned the money out of his own resources. 
 
 With regard to the further allegation that he was in close and 
 intimate association with the party of violence in America, and 
 mainly instrumental in bringing about the alliance between that party 
 and the Parnellite and Home Rule Party in America, we find that he 
 was in such close and intimate association for the purpose of bringing 
 about, and that he was mainly instrumental in bringing about the 
 alliance referred to. 
 
 All which we humbly report to Your Majesty. 
 
 JAMES HANNEN. 
 
 JOHN C. DAY. 
 
 ARCHIBALD L. SMITH. 
 
 Henry Hardinge Cunynghame, 
 
 Secretary, 
 Royal Courts of Justice, 
 13th February, 1890. 
 
 [Report, pp. 119 — 121] 
 
 KVt 
 
INDEX 
 
 [Explanatory. — It will be noticed that two distinct 
 pag-ings are given to each matter dealt with in Index, 
 This arrangement is for the convenience of the reader, in 
 order to permit of his referring to the original report if he 
 wishes to verify any statement in this publication. The 
 first figure given in each line supplies the page in this 
 pamphlet, to which reference is made. The second figure, 
 in brackets, gives the page in the original report or 
 blue book. As a matter of fact, therefore, this Index 
 will suit equally well for the purpose of reference to the 
 pamphlet, of which it is a part; or to the blue book, of 
 which the pamphlet is a verbatim copy]. 
 
 Agitation, An Abatement in the, in i8Si 
 
 ,, Revived in 1SS5 
 
 American Branch of the Conspiracy 
 
 Amount Paid in Parliamentary Salaries 
 
 An Appeal to Galway 
 
 Anticipating Home Rule, The Gaels 
 
 Aixears Act of 1882, Excuse only a Cloak 
 
 A Thousand-and-One Ways to Punish 
 
 Audit was a Farce, The League 
 
 Balance Sheet, 1S86, The 
 
 Better he had not been Born 
 
 Biggar, Mr, Joseph, M.P., and another Hartmann ... 
 
 ,, ,, and Dumb Animals, at Castle Island 
 
 ,, ,, at Blacklion, 13th November, 18S0 
 
 ,, „ at Dungannon, 1st November, I SSo... 48 
 
 ... 62 
 
 [651 
 
 ... 118 
 
 [98] 
 
 ... 122 
 
 [100] 
 
 ... 145 
 
 [118] 
 
 ... 46 
 
 [41] 
 
 ... 142 
 
 [117] 
 
 ... 104 
 
 [87] 
 
 ... 40 
 
 [36] 
 
 ... 116 
 
 [96] 
 
 ... 144 
 
 [118] 
 
 ... 37 
 
 [33] 
 
 ... 23 
 
 [22] 
 
 1 46 
 
 [42] 
 
 ... 48 
 
 144] 
 
 ... 48 
 
 [44I 
 
 1(>5 
 
150 
 
 Biggar, Mr. Joseph, M.P., at Mullagh, 12th December, 1880 ... 48 [44] 
 
 ,, ,, at TuUow, 17th October, 1880 ... 47 [43] 
 
 ,, ,, on Boycotting in Church ••• 121 [99] 
 
 <* Blow His Brains Out " 50 [46] 
 
 Boston Convention, The, 5th September, 1880 140 [114] 
 
 Both Constitutional and Illegal Agitation 18 [18] 
 
 Boycotting, Culminated in Outrage 99 [84] 
 
 Even in the Church 121 [99] 
 
 Genesis of 41 [37] 
 
 More Effective than Shooting 43 [38] 
 
 of Captain Boycott 51 [47] 
 
 of Edward Herbert 53 [48] 
 
 of Jeremiah Hegarty 55 [49] 
 
 of Richard Mitchill 51 [47] 
 
 Some Typical Cases of 51 [47] 
 
 The Mill Street National School 57 [52] 
 
 Boyton, M. J. (Organizer) at Carndonagh, 4th July, 1880 ... 29 [26] 
 
 ,, ,, at Dunmanway, 30th May, 1880 ... 26 [24] 
 
 at Kildare, 13th August, 1880 39 [35] 
 
 ,, ,, at Kilorglin, 4th March, 1S81 50 [46] 
 
 ,, ,, at Mullinahone, 8th August, 1880 ... 37 [33] 
 
 ,, ,, at Newtown, 13th June, 18S0 27 [25] 
 
 Brady, Joseph, " Irishman," Obituaiy Notice 83 [73] 
 
 Brennan, Thomas, at Ballinlough, 27th June, 1880 28 [26] 
 
 ,, at Clonmacnoise, 5th September, 1880 ... 40 [36J 
 
 ,, at Keadue, 8th August, 1880 37 [33] 
 
 Buffalo Convention of American League 124 [102] 
 
 Butt, Mr.— Advice 13 [15] 
 
 Cahill, Pat, Shot Dead 92 [80] 
 
 *' Campaign," The 75 [65] 
 
 „ Incidents of 78 [68] 
 
 *'Can we hurt England," "United Ireland" on 80 [76] 
 
 Cargo of Firearms, A 31 [28] 
 
 Chau-man Selected Secretly, The, at Philadelphia Convention ... 134 [no] 
 
 Chapel Bells and Horns, With 37 [34] 
 
 Chicago Convention, 1886, The 143 [117] 
 
 Clan-na-Gael— A Secret Meeting of 129 [106] 
 
 ,, A Whip to 129 [106] 
 
 ,, Chairman, A, at Chicago Convention 129 [106] 
 
 ,, Circular, 25th July, 1885 141 [115] 
 
 ,, ,, I oth November, 1885 141 [115] 
 
 ^, ,, 1 8th December, 1S85 142 [116] 
 
 ,, 23rd December, 1885 143 ["7] 
 
 24th July, 1886 143 [117] 
 
 1661 
 
151 
 
 Clan-na-Gael — Circular in 1882 
 
 ,, Collection for tlie Parliamentary Party 
 
 ,, Conspiracy, The 
 
 ,, Dynamite Circular, i6th September, 1883 ... 
 
 ,, Instructions from Head-Quarters 
 
 ,, Men, A majority of, at Philadelphia Convenlion. 
 
 ,, Mr. Parnell received by 
 
 ,, obtained control of Philadelphia Convention 
 
 ,, President, A, ,, ,, 
 
 ,, Secret Meetings of 
 
 ,, takes action 
 
 Compensation Bill Allegation, The 
 
 Condon, O'M., and Mr. Parnell 
 
 Connor, James, Outrage on 
 
 Cork Fenians show themselves ••• 
 
 Crime, and Evictions, 1849-52 
 
 and Evictions, 1849-86 
 
 and Evictions, 1879-82 
 
 and National League 
 
 Decrease under Crimes Act 
 
 Different forms of 
 
 follows Eviction — not true 
 
 Spread like Wildfire 
 
 Crime Statistics, 1880-82 
 
 in Clare, 1880 
 
 in Ireland, 1880 
 
 in Ireland, 1885 
 
 in Ireland, 1886 (Agrarian Crime) 
 
 in Kerry, i88o 
 
 in Mayo, Gal way and Sligo 
 
 on Westf^rn Seaboard 
 
 Criminals Defended, and their families supported 
 
 ,, Respondents paid for defence of 
 
 Cronin, Daniel, Shooting of 
 
 Davitt, Egan, and Brennan Executive 
 
 Davitt, Mr. — And the Clan-na-Gael 
 
 ,, And the Hegarty Boycotting 
 
 ,, Arranged Irishtown Meeting, 1879 
 
 ,, As a Fenian in Suspense 
 
 ,, As great a Fenian as ever 
 
 ,, At Boston Music Hall 
 
 ,, At New York Meeting, I S 78 
 
 ,, Became Member Supreme Council, I. R. B. 
 
 ,, Convicted in 1870 
 
 ^33 
 
 [109] 
 
 141 
 
 [115] 
 
 2 
 
 [5] 
 
 139 
 
 [113] 
 
 136 
 
 [112] 
 
 135 
 
 [III] 
 
 19 
 
 [99] 
 
 ^37 
 
 [112] 
 
 130 
 
 [107] 
 
 134 
 
 [no] 
 
 123 
 
 [102] 
 
 36 
 
 [32] 
 
 20 
 
 [19] 
 
 89 
 
 [771 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 102 
 
 [87] 
 
 lOI 
 
 [86] 
 
 103 
 
 [87] 
 
 gS 
 
 [84] 
 
 97 
 
 [83] 
 
 97 
 
 [83] 
 
 98 
 
 [84I 
 
 96 
 
 [823 
 
 93 
 
 [Si] 
 
 95 
 
 [82] 
 
 96 
 
 mi 
 
 97 
 
 [83] 
 
 98 
 
 C84] 
 
 95 
 
 [82] 
 
 93 
 
 [81] 
 
 94 
 
 [81] 
 
 III 
 
 [92] 
 
 no 
 
 [92] 
 
 92 
 
 [79] 
 
 26 
 
 [24] 
 
 8 
 
 [10] 
 
 55 
 
 [49] 
 
 9 
 
 [ii3 
 
 34 
 
 [31] 
 
 II 
 
 [13] 
 
 42 
 
 137] 
 
 4 
 
 [6] 
 
 3 
 
 [6] 
 
 2 
 
 [5] 
 
 [167 
 
152 
 
 Davitl, Mr,, in Mayo, 1879 
 
 „ Letter to "Irish World," 24th July, 1880 
 
 „ Letter to John B. O'Reilly 
 
 „ On Patrick Ford 
 
 On the "Irish World" 
 
 „ On the " Juno " Raid 
 
 ,, On Ticket-of-Leave 
 
 ,, Presented with Address 
 
 ,, Received by well-known Fenians 
 
 ,, Remittance from Skirmishing Fund ... . ••• 
 
 ,, Result of First American Visit 
 
 ,, Returned to Paris to see Egan 
 
 ,, Second American Visit 
 
 „ Standard of Honour 
 
 „ Submits Programme of Land League 
 
 ,, Third Visit to America 
 
 „ Visited America, 1878 
 
 Devoy, John — Letter on " New Departure " 
 
 ,, Letter to Le Caron 
 
 ,, Moved Resolution, New York Meeting, I S78 
 
 ,, Visit to Mayo, 1879, with Davilt 
 
 Dempsey, Murder of Peter 
 
 ,, succeeded Murty Hynes 
 
 Denunciation " was All Gammon " Mr Harris says 
 
 Dillon, Mr. John, M.P. — Accompanies Mr. Parnell in 1S79 
 
 ,, Advises Midnight Drill 
 
 ,, At Ballaghaderin, 21st November, 1880 
 
 ,, At Clough, 3rd April, 1881 
 
 .. At Cork, on the Fenians, 1880 
 
 ,, At Donegal, 21st April, 1881 
 
 ,, At Holyford, 17th October, 18S0 
 
 ,. At Kildare, 15th August, 1880 
 
 ,, At Killaloe, 7th November, 1880 
 
 ,, At Loughrea, 17th March, 1881 
 
 ,, At Maryborough, 5th October, 1879 ... 
 
 ,, At Templemore, loth October, 18S0 ... 
 
 ,, Called in Limerick 
 
 ,, His idea of Rent-fixing 
 
 ,, No Enemy of Fenianism 
 
 Doherty, Peter — Outrage on 
 
 Donoghue, Patrick — Shooting of 
 
 Dowling, Daniel, Shooting of 
 
 Disorganise the Police, To 
 
 Distress of 1879-80 
 
 168] 
 
 7 
 
 [9] 
 
 15 
 
 [16] 
 
 13 
 
 [15] 
 
 73 
 
 [65] 
 
 68 
 
 [59] 
 
 33 
 
 [30] 
 
 3 
 
 [6] 
 
 3 
 
 [6] 
 
 4 
 
 [6] 
 
 12 
 
 [14] 
 
 4 
 
 [10] 
 
 ^33 
 
 [109] 
 
 33 
 
 [30] 
 
 109 
 
 [91] 
 
 13 
 
 [14] 
 
 T^33 
 
 [109] 
 
 3 
 
 [6] 
 
 7 
 
 [9] 
 
 126 
 
 [104] 
 
 5 
 
 [7] 
 
 7 
 
 [9] 
 
 89 
 
 [78] 
 
 90 
 
 [79] 
 
 loS 
 
 [91] 
 
 16 
 
 [17] 
 
 107 
 
 [90] 
 
 45 
 
 [41] 
 
 46 
 
 [42] 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 46 
 
 [42] 
 
 44 
 
 [39] 
 
 38 
 
 [34] 
 
 45 
 
 [41J 
 
 46 
 
 [41I 
 
 41 
 
 [37} 
 
 43 
 
 [38] 
 
 44 
 
 [40] 
 
 43 
 
 [38] 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 89 
 
 [77] 
 
 92 
 
 [79] 
 
 92 
 
 [79] 
 
 33 
 
 [30] 
 
 100 
 
 [85] 
 
153 
 
 Digturbance Bill, Excuse only a Cloak 
 
 Dynamite — Circular, A — by Alexander Sullivan 
 
 Operations in Abeyance 
 
 Outrages in London 
 
 Vengeance by ** Irish World " on ... 
 Egan, Patrick — And Dynamite in America, 1883 
 And the " Irish World " 
 Gives an Account of his Stewardshij 
 His Paris Banking Account 
 
 Joins the Clan-na-Gael 
 
 Large Discretionary Powers of 
 On National Independence 
 Telegi-aphs Patrick Ford 
 Emphatic Condemnation of Boycotting, An 
 
 England Beaten to her Knees — When 
 
 Evicted Farms, New Tenants on. Outraged 
 
 Evictions and Crime — 1849 — 86 
 
 1849—52 
 
 1879—82 
 
 Executive Committee of Chicago Convention, 1S81, The ... 
 Extracts from the Dynamite Organ 
 
 Facts in a Nutshell 
 
 Fenians — An Address to Mr. Parnell from 
 
 ,, and League 
 
 ,, Envoys at Work 
 
 ,, In Suspense, Michael Davitt, a ... 
 
 ,, '* Irishman " Organ of 
 
 ,, League efforts not to Usuip 
 
 ,, Movement in 1877 
 
 ,, Mr. Dillon, M.P., on the 
 
 ,, The Cork, Show Themselves 
 
 ,, Wait and Watch, The 
 
 Ferguson, Mr. John, Evidence of 
 
 Field, The Attack on Mr. " The Irishman" c 
 
 Financial Aid for a Housebreaker 
 
 Firearais, A Cargo of 
 
 Ford, Patrick, a Christian and Philanthropist 
 ,, telegi-am to, from Mr. Parnell 
 ,, Patrick, Telegram to Egan, 17th Oct., i 
 Founding of Land League 
 
 Gaels boast of the Capture ... 
 ,, Capture the League, The 
 
 
 
 
 103 
 
 [87] 
 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 [113] 
 
 
 
 
 143 
 
 [117] 
 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 [113] 
 
 
 
 
 85 
 
 [75] 
 
 
 
 
 133 
 
 [109] 
 
 
 
 
 72 
 
 [64] 
 
 
 
 
 "5 
 
 [96] 
 
 
 
 
 117 
 
 [97] 
 
 
 
 
 138 
 
 [113] 
 
 
 
 
 23 
 
 [22] 
 
 
 
 
 132 
 
 [109] 
 
 
 
 
 62 
 
 [55] 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 [53] 
 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 [20] 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 [53] 
 
 
 
 
 lOI 
 
 [86] 
 
 
 
 
 102 
 
 [87] 
 
 
 
 
 103 
 
 [87] 
 
 e 
 
 
 
 131 
 
 [107] 
 
 
 
 
 68 
 
 [59] 
 
 
 
 
 58 
 
 [53] 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 [6] 
 
 
 
 
 35 
 
 [32] 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 [9] 
 
 
 
 34 
 
 [31] 
 
 
 
 
 82 
 
 [71] 
 
 
 
 
 15 
 
 [16] 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 [6] 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 
 
 
 22 
 
 [22] 
 
 
 
 
 114 
 
 [94] 
 
 
 . . 
 
 84 
 
 [74] 
 
 
 
 
 114 
 
 [95] 
 
 
 
 
 3^ 
 
 [28] 
 
 
 
 
 73 
 
 [65] 
 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 [105] 
 
 N 
 
 Rent" 
 
 62 
 
 [55] 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 [II] 
 
 
 
 
 131 
 
 [108] 
 
 
 ... ... 
 
 128 
 
 [105] 
 
 [169 
 
lo4 
 
 Gaels Subsidise the M. P. 's 140 [114] 
 
 'Gannon, Patrick, Outrage on ... 89 [77] 
 
 "Genteel Dastards," The "Irishman" on 84 [74] 
 
 Gordon, P. J. (Organizer) at Shrule, 13th June, 1 880 28 [25] 
 
 ,, at Cong, nth July, 1880 30 [28] 
 
 Guilty of a Criminal Conspiracy, The Respondents 61 [54] 
 
 Harrington, Mr. Ed., at Kenmare, 20th September, 1885 121 [100] 
 
 ,, on the "Vile Wretches" 121 [loo] 
 
 Harris, Mr. Matthew, M.P., at Loughrea, loth September, 18S5 120 [99] 
 
 ,, ,, Distributing Arms 8 [9] 
 
 ,, ,, on Denunciations being "All Gammon" 108 [92] 
 
 ,, ,, on Detection of Crime Iio [92] 
 
 ,, ,, on Fenian Assistance 25 [23] 
 
 •Harvest of 1880 Bountiful 100 [85] 
 
 Healy, Mr. T. M., at Chicago Convention, 1881 130 [107] 
 
 He (Boyton, Organizer) Stole Away Five of Them (suspected 
 
 murderers) 30 [28] 
 
 Hegarty, Boycotting of Jeremiali 55 [49] 
 
 Herbert, Boycotting of Edward 53 [48] 
 
 Home Rule, Clan -na- Gael anticipating 142 [116] 
 
 Honouring the Manchester Murderers 4 [7] 
 
 Horan, Timothy, Letter of Application 112 [94] 
 
 Houligan, Assault on 93 [79] 
 
 Housebreaker Financially Assisted I14 [95] 
 
 How Rents were Paid Secretly 59 [53] 
 
 Inciting to Cattle Maiming 
 
 Informers, Those assisting Police, called 
 
 Invincibles, The 
 
 Invited and obtained assistance from Gaels, Respondents 
 
 Ireland, to Free, if there were a chance 
 
 Irish Delegates at Chicago Convention, 1881 
 
 •" Irishman " on Attack on Mr. Field 
 
 ,, Newspaper, purchase of 
 
 ,, Obituary Notice of Joe Brady 
 
 ,, on Philadelphia Convention 
 
 ,, on Phoenix Park Murder Inquiry 
 
 ,, on " The Genteel Dastards " 
 
 ,, The organ of the Fenians 
 
 Srish Republicanism, "Irishman" on 
 
 Irishtown (Co. Mayo) Meeting, 1879 
 
 " Irish World " and Dynamite 
 
 ,, Disseminating, The 
 
 ,, Extracts from ... 
 
 39 
 
 109 
 
 64 
 
 145 
 
 15 
 
 129 
 
 S4 
 Si 
 
 83 
 84 
 82 
 84 
 82 
 85 
 9 
 85 
 67 
 68 
 
 [34] 
 [91] 
 [56] 
 
 [119] 
 [16] 
 
 [ic6] 
 [74] 
 [71] 
 
 inl 
 [74] 
 [72] 
 [74] 
 [71] 
 [75] 
 [II] 
 
 [75] 
 [59] 
 [59] 
 
 170] 
 
155 
 
 *'Insh World," Michael Davitt and the 
 
 J) J> 5 ) )> ••• ••• •.. 
 
 ,, Mr. Parnell and the 
 
 ,, on Irish Republicanism 
 
 ,, on Mr. Parnell's Silence, a Proof 
 
 ,, on Murder of Lord Mountmorrcs 
 
 ,, Patrick Egan and the 
 
 It would injure the cause 
 
 Ives, Mr. — Interview with Mr. Parnell 
 
 *' I wish to God we could get it to-morrow," Davitt's wish 
 
 Joyce, Michael, Outrage on 
 
 ♦* Juno" Raid, The 
 
 Kenny, Dr. , M. P. , Remits to the Moonlighter 
 
 Ladies' Land League Books not Produced 
 
 ,, Land League, The 
 
 ,, in Office 
 
 Land League, a Letter from 
 
 ,, and Fenians 
 
 ,, and National League one 
 
 ,, Books not Produced 
 
 ,, Boston Convention, 1884 
 
 ,, Buffalo Convention, 1881 
 
 ,, Chicago Convention, 1881 
 
 1886 
 
 ,, Conference, Rotunda, Dublin, April, 1880 ... 
 
 ,, Doctrine, The 
 
 ,, Documents, the extent of the 
 
 ,, Founding of National, October, 1879 
 
 ,, Funds 
 
 ,, Funds used for Elections 
 
 ., Its Founder and Leaders responsible for Crime 
 
 ,, Manifesto 
 
 ,, Officers 
 
 ,, Organizers 
 
 ,, Organizers' Language 
 
 ,, Philadelphia Convention, 1883 
 
 ,, Planks in the Platform 
 
 ,, Programme at Castlebar, 1879 
 
 ,, Washington Convention, 1882 
 
 Last Link Speech, The, by Mr. Parnell 
 
 Le Caron, Major, appears 
 
 ,, Attends Philadelphia Convention, 1883... 
 
 15 
 
 [16] 
 
 68 
 
 [59] 
 
 72 
 
 [63] 
 
 85 
 
 [75] 
 
 86 
 
 [76] 
 
 70 
 
 [62] 
 
 72 
 
 [64] 
 
 48 
 
 [44] 
 
 16 
 
 [171 
 
 35 
 
 [32] 
 
 88 
 
 [77] 
 
 31 
 
 [28] 
 
 113 
 
 [94] 
 
 116 
 
 [96] 
 
 63 
 
 [56] 
 
 96 
 
 1^3^ 
 
 57 
 
 [51] 
 
 35 
 
 [31] 
 
 118 
 
 [98] 
 
 117 
 
 [97] 
 
 140 
 
 [114] 
 
 124 
 
 [102] 
 
 129 
 
 [106] 
 
 143 
 
 [117] 
 
 24 
 
 [22] 
 
 44 
 
 [39] 
 
 112 
 
 [93] 
 
 9 
 
 [II] 
 
 III 
 
 [93] 
 
 23 
 
 [22] 
 
 104 
 
 [87] 
 
 14 
 
 [15] 
 
 16 
 
 [16] 
 
 26 
 
 [24] 
 
 26 
 
 [24] 
 
 134 
 
 [109] 
 
 14 
 
 [15] 
 
 13 
 
 [14] 
 
 132 
 
 [108] 
 
 26 
 
 [24] 
 
 19 
 
 [19] 
 
 135 
 
 [no] 
 
 [171 
 
156 
 
 Lc Caron, Major, Interview with Mr. Parnell 
 ,, The Commissioners believe 
 ,, V. Mr. Parnell 
 
 Lewis, Mr. Geo., made a mistake 
 
 Louden had no facts, Mr 
 
 McCarthy, Mr., a Notable Affidavit by 
 
 Madhi, Mr. Wm. O'Bi-ien and the 
 
 " Make an Outlaw of Him " 
 
 Making War on England, "Irish World " on 
 
 Manchester Murders, Example 
 
 ,, ,, Honouring the 
 
 Memorandum that Failed to Condemn, A 
 
 Millen, General, Military Envoy, Visits Ireland 
 
 Mill Street National School Boycotting 
 
 Mischief Already Done, The 
 
 Mitchell, Richard, Boycotting of 
 
 Moloney, James, Outrage on 
 
 Moonlighting accurately Described 
 
 Moonlighters receive Remittance from League 
 
 Mountmorres, Lord, "Irish World" on 
 
 ,, Murder of 
 
 „ Redpath, on Murder of 
 
 Murdered going to Place of Worship 
 
 Miu-phy, Patrick, Outrage on 
 
 Miuty Hynes Succeeded by Peter Dempsey 
 
 ,, ,, Surrenders 
 
 Nally, P. W., Testimonial from Mr. Parnell to 
 
 "Nation" Newspaper on Philadelphia Convention, 1S83 
 
 National and Land Leagues One 
 
 National League and Crime 
 
 New Departure, The 
 
 No Kid Gloves for a Social Revolutionist 
 
 No ne phis 7illra to Ireland's Nationhood 
 
 No-Rent Manifesto suggested by Patrick Ford 
 
 Not to Usurp Fenian Efforts, The League 
 
 O'Brien, Mr. Wm., and the Mahdi 
 
 „ „ at Gorey, 29th August, 1885 
 
 „ „ atTulla, 24th May, 1S85 
 
 ,, ,, on Civil War 
 
 O'Connor, Father, on Moonlighting 
 
 124 
 
 C103] 
 
 127 
 
 [105] 
 
 127 
 
 [105] 
 
 117 
 
 [97] 
 
 103 
 
 [87] 
 
 117 
 
 [97] 
 
 119 
 
 [98] 
 
 45 
 
 [41] 
 
 73 
 
 [65] 
 
 28 
 
 [26] 
 
 4 
 
 [7] 
 
 105 
 
 [89] 
 
 40 
 
 [36] 
 
 57 
 
 [52] 
 
 107 
 
 [88] 
 
 51 
 
 [47] 
 
 88 
 
 [77] 
 
 99 
 
 [84] 
 
 113 
 
 [94] 
 
 70 
 
 [62] 
 
 40 
 
 [36] 
 
 70 
 
 [62] 
 
 89 
 
 [78] 
 
 88 
 
 [77] 
 
 91 
 
 [79] 
 
 96 
 
 [78] 
 
 no 
 
 [92] 
 
 138 
 
 [112] 
 
 118 
 
 [112] 
 
 98 
 
 [84] 
 
 7 
 
 [9] 
 
 18 
 
 [18] 
 
 22 
 
 [21] 
 
 62 
 
 [55] 
 
 15 
 
 [16] 
 
 118 
 
 [98] 
 
 120 
 
 [99] 
 
 120 
 
 [99] 
 
 79 
 
 [70] 
 
 99 
 
 [84] 
 
 172] 
 
157 
 
 O'Connor, Mr, John, M. P., on assisting the Police 
 
 ,, ,, on the "Juno" Raid 
 
 ,, ,, Providing Funds for Arms 
 
 O'Connor, Mr. T, P., M.P., at Chicago Convention, iS8i... 
 
 ,, ,, in America, October, i88i ... 
 
 Officers of the Land League, The 
 
 O'Kelly, Mr. J. J., M.P., Interview with Le Caron 
 
 O'Sullivan, M., at Ballintubber 
 
 Outrage, A few Cases of 
 
 Over ^100,000 unaccounted for 
 
 Paid for Defence of Criminals, Respondents 
 
 Parliamentary Salaries, Amount Paid in 
 
 Parnell, Mr., and Capt. O'M. Condon 
 
 ,, And Twenty Dollars for Lead 
 
 ,, Assumes Leadership 
 
 ,, At Brooklyn, 24th January, 1880 
 
 ,, At Cincinnati, 20th Febmary, 1880 
 
 „ At Cork, 1885 
 
 „ At Cork, 3rd October, 1880 
 
 ,, At Ennis, 19th September, 1880 
 
 ,, At Galway, 24th October, 1880 
 
 ,, At Lynn, 31st January, i88o 
 
 ,, At New Ross, 26th September, 1880 
 
 ,, At Tipperaiy, September, 1879 
 
 ,, At Westport, 7th June, 1879 
 
 ,, Aware of Organizers' Language 
 
 ,, Cablegram from American Revolutionists ... 
 
 ,, Cables his Views to Philadelphia Convention 
 
 ,, Condemnation of Crime Insufficient 
 
 ,, Departed for America, October, 1879 
 
 ,, Explains his Position 
 
 ,, in American House of Representatives 
 
 ,, in Prison 
 
 ,, Intei-view with James Redpath 
 
 ,, Inteniew with Major Le Caron 
 
 ,. Interview with Mr. Ives 
 
 ,, No Denunciation of Physical Force, by 
 
 ,, on Constitutional and Illegal Agitation 
 
 ,, on Physical Force 
 
 ,, Papers on Murder 
 
 ,, Received by the Clan-na-Gael 
 
 ,, Refuses Assistance to Commissioners 
 
 ,, Return to Ireland, 2 1st March, 1880 
 
 108 
 
 [91] 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 8 
 
 [9] 
 
 130 
 
 [106] 
 
 129 
 
 [105] 
 
 16 
 
 [16] 
 
 125 
 
 [103] 
 
 38 
 
 [34] 
 
 88 
 
 [87] 
 
 116 
 
 [96] 
 
 no 
 
 [92] 
 
 145 
 
 [118] 
 
 20 
 
 [19] 
 
 24 
 
 [23] 
 
 2 
 
 [5] 
 
 20 
 
 [20] 
 
 21 
 
 [20] 
 
 22 
 
 [21] 
 
 32 
 
 [29] 
 
 42 
 
 [37] 
 
 105 
 
 [88] 
 
 21 
 
 [20] 
 
 105 
 
 [88] 
 
 22 
 
 [21] 
 
 9 
 
 [II] 
 
 64 
 
 [56] 
 
 6 
 
 [8] 
 
 135 
 
 [III] 
 
 104 
 
 [88] 
 
 16 
 
 [17] 
 
 10 
 
 [II] 
 
 20 
 
 [19] 
 
 62 
 
 [55] 
 
 25 
 
 [23] 
 
 124 
 
 [103] 
 
 16 
 
 [17^ 
 
 86 
 
 [75] 
 
 18 
 
 [18] 
 
 126 
 
 [103] 
 
 S6 
 
 [76] 
 
 19 
 
 [19] 
 
 117 
 
 [97J 
 
 22 
 
 [22] 
 
 [173 
 
158 
 
 Pai-nell, Mr., Silence, a Proof, "Irishman" on his 
 
 . ,, Telegraphs Patrick Ford 
 
 ,, Testimonial to a Convict 
 
 ,, Testimonial worked by Gaels 
 
 Thanks the " Irish World " 
 
 ,, V. Major Le Caron 
 
 ,, Wakes Clare up 
 
 Pai-nellite Police on Patrol 
 
 "Pay No Rent at all" 
 
 Philadelphia Convention, 1883 
 
 Philips, Land League Clerk, Evidence of 
 
 Phoenix Park Murders, The *' Irishman " on 
 
 Physical Force Party, The 
 
 „ At Dublin, 30th April, 1880 ... 
 
 ,, At Enniscorthy, 28th March, 1880 
 
 Pigott Letters, The ^ 
 
 Plan of Campaign, The 
 
 Planks in the League Platform, The 
 
 Police, To disorganise the 
 
 Policy of Davitt and Devoy 
 
 Pretty Strong Hint, A 
 
 Recapitulation of Commissioners' Findings 
 
 Redmond, M.P,, Mr. W., Admires Boycotters 
 
 ,, At Boston Convention, 1 884. ... 
 
 Redpath, Jas. — Interview with Mr. Parnell 
 
 ,, On Murder of Lord Mountmorres 
 
 Rents Paid Secretly 
 
 Repeal and No Compromise, Davitt on 
 
 Respondents had Knowledge of Effects of Intimidation ... 
 ,, Invited and Obtained Assistance of Giels 
 
 Richmond Commission, Report of 
 
 Rifle and a Piece of Steel, Boyton Urges 
 
 Secret Societies not responsible for Crime 
 
 Sexton, Mr., M.P. — at Boston Convention 
 
 Sheehy, Rev. Eugene — at Chicago Convention, 1881 
 
 Sheridan, P. J., at Keadue, 8th August, 1880 
 
 ,, at Manor Hamilton, 29th August, 1880 
 
 ,, at Mount Irvine, 6th June, 1880 
 
 ,, at Shrule, 20th June, 1880 
 
 Skirmishing Fund — History of 
 
 ,, Skirmishers, Disguised 
 
 ,, The Remittance to Davitt, from 
 
 Social Revolution— No Kid gloves for, says Mr. Parnell ... 
 
 86 
 
 [75} 
 
 128 
 
 [105] 
 
 no 
 
 [92] 
 
 140 
 
 [114] 
 
 72 
 
 [63J 
 
 127 
 
 [I04]' 
 
 95 
 
 [82] 
 
 91 
 
 [79] 
 
 38 
 
 [34]' 
 
 133 
 
 [109I 
 
 112 
 
 [93} 
 
 82 
 
 [73] 
 
 24 
 
 [22] 
 
 24 
 
 [22] 
 
 24 
 
 [22J 
 
 66 
 
 [58] 
 
 122 
 
 [lOOj 
 
 14 
 
 [15} 
 
 33 
 
 [30] 
 
 9 
 
 [10]' 
 
 27 
 
 [25} 
 
 146 
 
 [II9T 
 
 119 
 
 [v9J 
 
 140 
 
 [114]' 
 
 25 
 
 [23] 
 
 41 
 
 [36] 
 
 59 
 
 [53} 
 
 4 
 
 [6], 
 
 no 
 
 [92], 
 
 145 
 
 [ii8]i. 
 
 100 
 
 [85] 
 
 29 
 
 [261 
 
 103 
 
 [87.1 
 
 140 
 
 [114]^ 
 
 130 
 
 [io6]l 
 
 37 
 
 {.ZZ\^ 
 
 40 
 
 [36]' 
 
 27 
 
 [25]^ 
 
 28 
 
 [25]' 
 
 69 
 
 [61], 
 
 68 
 
 [60} 
 
 12 
 
 [I4l 
 
 18 
 
 [i83 
 
 174] 
 
159 
 
 Spencer, Earl, Accused 80 [707 
 
 Sullivan, Alexander — President of Clan-na-Gael — Visited by Egan 136 [ill] 
 
 Sullivan, Jeremiah, Outrage on gr^ r^^j 
 
 "Suspected" by Mr. Gladstone, Mr. ParncU and others 62 [55] 
 
 Sympathy for "Invincibles," Parnellite 78 [69] 
 
 Tanner, Dr., M. P., Incitements to Boycott by 58 [52] 
 
 Tenants who Pay Rent called ** Cowards" by Mr. Parnell ... 17 [18] 
 
 The famous Ennis Speech 42 I'lyl 
 
 Their own Intelligence 40 [d.K'] 
 
 Those \Mio Could Pay and Would Not 102 [861 
 
 Thousands of Missing Documents 116 [96] 
 
 Threatening Letters — Serious form of Crime 98 [84] 
 
 Thunders of the Church, The lo [11] 
 
 To Beat the Landlord 48 [44], 
 
 " To Free Ireland if there were a Chance " 15 [16]'. 
 
 "Transatlantic" Replies 71 [63]; 
 
 ,, Sentiments 70 [62] 
 
 Tuam, Archbishop of, Letter from 10 [iij 
 
 Twenty Dollars for Lead Speeches 24 [23]' 
 
 Union with American Revolutionists 6 [8] 
 
 " United Ireland, " The Appearance of 74 [65] 
 
 Unwritten Law Enforced by Assassination S7 [77] 
 
 Walsh, J. W.— at Ballintubber, 8th August, 1880 ... ^S [34] 
 
 ,, at Kiltullagh, 22nd August, 1880 40 [35] 
 
 Washington Convention, 1882 132 [108] 
 
 Waving the Flag of Independence, Davitt and Devoy 5 [7] 
 
 When England is Beaten to her Knees 21 [20] 
 
 White, John, Wounding -f 92 [79] 
 
 Within the Cognisance of the League 47 [43] 
 
 IT.") 
 
XouDon : 
 
 Tkinted ky M'Corquodale & Company Limited, 
 "The Armoury," Southwark, S.E. 
 
 11 a] 
 
METHODS OF THE LEAGUE -No. I. 
 
 Seven Inches 
 
 . 1 I I I I 
 
 Iron 
 
 Tipper A RY Bomb 
 Before Explosioai. 
 
 , -.,-rt^^ 
 
 
 Seven Inches 
 
 11 1111= 
 
 Iron 
 
 TipPERARY Bomb 
 After Explosioai. 
 
 SKVi-. 
 
 !W?^:I 
 
 TIPPERARY BOMBS. 
 
 [see over, 
 
METHODS OF THE LEAGUE.-NO. 1 
 
 TIPPERARY BOMBS. 
 
 In the House of Commons the explosives used in Tipperary 
 have been described as mere squibs of the Guy Fawkes' day 
 kind. Mr. John Dillon, M.P., constantly asserted it. The 
 annexed sketch illustrates these novel kind of "squibs." 
 The bomb is the iron box of a cart wheel, seven inches long, 
 and about six pounds weight. The iron bolt joins two iron 
 caps at each end, these are screwed together with wooden 
 plugs inside. The caps and bolts have holes through them 
 to admit fuse to the powder in centre. 
 
 One of these bombs, bursting, struck the water-shoot off 
 the eaves of a three-storied house and broke the iron wofK 
 of a street lamp thirty yards away. 
 
 Such are some of the weapons employed by the Parnellite 
 League, not against Mr. Smith-Barry, but against the 
 peaceful inhabitants of Tipperar)^ to make boycotting 
 effective — the boycotting now playfully described by Mr. 
 Gladstone as exclusive dealing. 
 
 PRINTED FOR AND PUBLISHED BY THE IRISH LOYAL AND PATRIOTIC UNIOK 
 Dublin: 109, Grafton Street. 
 London; 26, Palace Chambers, Bridgi-Street, VVkstminster. 
 
 Fifth Series, No. 41. 
 
 / ^:- U vj kj'lo 
 
ACME 
 BOOKBIMDiNG CO., INC. 
 
 NOVl 51983 
 
 100 cambridge street 
 cha:^le3town, mass. 
 
BOSTON COLLEGE 
 
 3 9031 025 20018 9