IRISH POLITICS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 309, 4 January 1908, Page 5

IRISH POLITICS.

LA I'iST CABLE NEWS

(By Cable.—Press Association.—Copy right).

LEADERS AT LOGGERHEADS. JOHN REDMOND'S EXPLANATION. Received Jan. 3, 8.1 J |,. m . London, January 3. Mr. John Redmond, in a lengthv statement regarding the failure to summon his party and the Directory League to endonte the action of the conference vl " 1 il due to Mr. William O'Drirns demand to immediately summon them. Ihis would !»■ inopportune and not making for unity, tun strife. The failure »as due also to Mr. William O'lirien', proposal to transfer arrangements in regard to convening the convention from hiU,(l * »f the Directory league to a committee of three who were C* bwn % nominees.

: William O'Brien, in a speech reported , yesterday, said that the mass of the , people must assert themselves and com- : pel reunion. The real cause of the troubles, according to him, was the Parliamentary Party and the National Directory u-agne, which, he declared usurped the people's polV er and obtained he control of the people. He went on to say that there were boundless Australian fund* at the Party's disposal which could not 1* letter empioyed than in summoning a convention to re-estab-lish unity, but the Redmondites, he said shrank from such a convention. oetnl,,T on re-union of the Nationalists, Mr O'Brien said: "Thej remedy was that the people should say to Mr Redmond and to himself, and to everybody else concerned—'TVe arc the masters, and we insist that you make peace, either by a friendly conference or by compulsory arbitration, and if you cannot, or wjll not, make peace" among ourselves, then clear out, and make room for those who will.' Mr Redmond would have to shnke himself free from those who have been leading Mm to his ruin in pursuit a policy, which he admitted himself to be a foolish and short-sighted one. He, and every sensible man in the party, must give up the policy of expelling man after man, and then keeping up the farce that there was absolute unanimity; they must franklv accept the olive branch that was heid out to them, and either arrive at a settlement by private arbitration, by whose decision they must abide. I'pon those terms there would be no earthly reason why there should not tv a genuine re-union of all the national forces.