HOME RULE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1100, 12 April 1911, Page 3

HOME RULE.

PENDING VISIT OF DELECATESAN ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING, The committee set up recently tr, make, arrangements in connection with Hie. pending visit to New Zealand of .three members of .the Irish Nationalist Party, and sympathisers with the movement, held a meeting last evening in St, ; ' Patrick's Hull. Dr. C'ahill presided. Mr. Martin Kennedy, reporting on ' 1-cUiilf of the Reception Committee, slated that the present movement had been inaugurated oii the arrival of a cable from Mr. John Redmond, asking ' that a reception should be. arranged for the delegates (Messrs. H. Hazlcton, J. T. Donovan, and W. A. Redmond), who were to arrive by the Rolorua on May ; 1. Since then a letter hail come to' bund from Mr. Redmond, bearing tho date February 23, and therefore written some weeks before the cable was dispatched. The letter stated that the ' delegates would remain for about ten weeks in New Zealand, and would afterwards proceed to Australia. Tho Programme. When this letter came before the committee it decided that instead of < only twelve meetings, it, would bo possible to arrange for 35 or 40. The committee had been in communication .with nmiiy places in tho North Island with a view to getting some six- or eight fixtures arranged before tho delegates anived.' It was.difficult at present to inform the various districts whether the three delegates would visit them in company, or whether only, one or two would be able to do ko. It should be .possible to arrange that; at any ■ ~ rate in the case of a great many of the more important districts, at least two delegates should visit them in company. Actual fixtures arranged so far were: . Wellington, either May '2 or 3;. Masterton, May •(; Wangnuui, -May 3; Now Plymouth, May ]". These wore- ,• dates pretty wide apart. Necessarily, each district must be allowed to select its own date as far as possible, so long as it was done within the limits of the time allotted. The committee- had not yet communicated direct with any separat-e districts outside the North . j Island, but a general intimation bad been sent to Canterbury and to Otago. From both provinces assurances of sympathy and support bad been received. In all, Mr. Kennedy continued, about eleven met-lings would be held in • the Wellington district, and in tho dUtrjcta between New Plymouth and Napier. In Canterbury about five meetinge • would be lield, and on tlie West Coast about six. In Otngo there would be about seven meetings, and in Auckland, including Rotorua, about six. If Nelson and Blenheim between them could bring the total number of meetings up to about .')?, the chances weiu that tho delegatos would Have ample time to fulfill their engagements. Quito possibly the total number of fixtures would 'be brought up to forty. There was no occasion, said Mr. Kennedy, to make any apology for the visit of the delegates to this country, Tho' Nationalist party would have to expend a great deal of money, in. connection with tho - campaign ttiey intended to -'conduct, notwithstanding the promise they had from the of the day. They wanted to strengthen the Government's hands by carrying on a campaign right through Great Britain and Ireland. The womon's Part. " Reporting on behalf oi ii ; J}S\(oT'fl , ?#'? s ' Committee, Mr. J. Burke stated- that-at a mooting in the Town Hal), attended by 60 or 70 ladies, a committee was sot up. with Mrs. Maearthy as chairwoman Mid Miss Kennedy as secretary. The ladies had scarcely left tho hall before they "tool; the town in tho face' , with subscription lists, and canvassing bad been carried, on vigorously ever since. Tho ladies had since,taken up n project of entertaining the delegates at an "at home." Mr. and Mrs. Kennedy had very kindly placed their grounds and house, at the disposal of tho ladies, for this, purpose. ■ • Futila Objections.Dr. Cahill dealt with some of- tho ■ objections that had been raised to Homo Rule. One of the strongest objections advanced, he said, was cmbodied in the question: "Why should the wealth and the educated classes of ' Ireland be handed over to tho un- ', educated and poor Nationalists?" With regard to tho wealth, the question, was answered at once. When the Land Acts of Ireland placed the land in tho hands of the people, the wealth of Ireland passed into tho hands of the Nationalists. They represented tho wealth of Ireland to-day, or by far tho ' , greater part of it. With regard to education, he would answer ilio objection by quoting a statement of Sir Horace I'lunkett, a. distinguished and generous friend to everything Irish although ho was a Protestant and a Unionist.' Recently Sir Horace Phinkott hnd said: "No one could desire a better instrument for the achievement of great reforms than the Irish Party. They aro far beyond any similar group of English members in rhetorical skill and quickness, in intelligence and decision. They aro faithful to the interests of their country, as they understand them, and have proved themselves notaWy superior to selfish personal aims." (Applause,) This, said Dr. Cahili, m concluding, was tho last occasion on which the peo- . pie of New Zealand would have a chance of subscribing to the funds of the Nationalist party in Ireland, because assistance would not be wanted in the, future. Lot them, therefore, send these people back to Ireland with joyful hearts and the material to , assist them in their last great fight. ■ The Rev. Father O'Shea (Vicar-Gen-eral) apologised for the absence of Archbishop Redwood, and assured his hearers, on behalf not only of the Archbishop, but of all the clergy in the eily, that the movement would have -their ' hearty sympathy and co-operation. "Nothing lo Fear." Dr. Martin said he stood there as a somi-Irish Protestant. His father was', an Ulster man, at least, he was just on the border, and his mother was Scotch. No educated person who had studied the question would Sail to say that it was a pity it had \ not been granted years ago. . The speaker had received tho other day a most remarkable, manifesto from the captains of industry in Belfast. Tho statement of these Ulster Protestants was that they had nothing to fear from their Catholic brethren. In face of such n btalement as that, surely any ' ordinary man would trust the ' Irish people to govern themselves? Homo Rule had been granted to tho Doers, a bravo, but in many ways an ignorant, people. Surely it could not be refused to Ireland? Mr. P. J. O'Began said he believed he was safe in saying that this was Ireland's last appeal for aid in terminating a struggle that had lasted for over seven hundred years. He was not risnguinc enough to believe that Home Rule would bo a Coronation gift, but be believed that a majority of the people in this country would live to see that reform established. Replying to a question, the secrr'anstated that Iw had sent out over 170(1 subscription lists to various centres and districts. Mr. Kennedy announced that some donations had already eomo in. A guinea had been received from Mr. P. C. Freeth, and £5 os. from Mr. J. Maude],