"THE OLD SPIDER'S" WEB

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2155, 22 May 1914, Page 7

"THE OLD SPIDER'S" WEB

PARNELL AND MR. GLADSTONE LEAVES FROM MRS. O'SHEA'S BOOK By Tclccraph—Prflfij AißociaUon-'-ConrriEht London, May 2U. In her book. Mrs. O'Shea (Mrs. Parnell) states that when the divorce decree) was issued (after the hearing of Hie, suit O'Shen v. O'Shca and Parnell), Parnell: said that there would bo a howl, but it would Ik the how:! of hypocritcs. ' Ho cried, saying, "Kiss me, sweet wifie, and I'll trv to sleep a little." hen Mrs. O'Siiea was acting as Parnell's intermediary between Mr. Gladstone and other political leaders, Mr. Gladstone conversed with her, tho. two walking arm-in-arm to Downing otreoL -Mr. Gladstone bargained for the Irish vote. He got letters frem larnell, dated from her house, while larnell, after leaving Mr. (now Lord) Morloy (then Chief Secretary for lrc!'?p ' c ' ' ler had said: "Can't you do something to stir np the people?" When tho exposure regarding tho Par-nell-O'Shea liaison came, Mr. Gladstone ami others were duly shocked. Parnell was not angrv, remarking: "The old snider lias nearly all my flies in his web." Many statements in the hook are boriio out by letters; others aru dependent on the authoress's memory. The originator of the Homo Rule far .Ireland movement was the fate Mr. Isaac Butt, who inaugurated the flsihiL-!} at a , 111CGtin S at Dublin in }fav ef 18(0, and ho soon had a following of 87 Homo Rule inerohftf,'? ir.i I'arliftnioiit* But it was Parnell who forced ijio rjaeftion to the front at Westminster l>y a .systematic obstruction of,' Pnrliameatnly business; in Ireland, agitation aiul nganan outrages fomented public ardour. In 1880 lie became leader of thr Irish Nationalist Party, with a following .of BG, and in that year Jfr. W, E. Gladstone determined, to deal with, the Question, and embodied his proposals in a Homo Rule Bill, which was thrown out by the House of Lords. In November, ISfIS, a decree nisi was granted to Captain O'Shea, with Mr. Parnell as. co-respniident. A few days later Mr. Gladstone wrote to Mr. John Morlev; demanding Sir. Pasrnell's resignation of tho leadership of the Irish Party) as the condition up-sn which he could continue the. leadership of tho Liberal Party. The Irish members soon bewail to secede from their leader, and heated conferences were held in "Cormiiithes Room No. 15" of the House of Commons. On December C, Mr, Parnell was left with only twenty-six supporters. The majority of forty-five were known a.s"Aiiti»Pavnell» ites," and they elected Mr. Justin M'C-arthy their teatler. The twenty-six supporters were known as "ParuelHtes." In 1892 only nine Farnellites were clected to Parliament under Mr. John Redmond's leadership. Mr. Parnell died at Brighton on October G, IS3I, The incident is known as the "Parflollito split."