THE IRISH SPLIT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 320, 21 February 1910, Page 7

THE IRISH SPLIT.

ILEALY ON REDMOND.

'! Despite frantic efforts of the Red".mondites to keep Mr. T. M. llealy out ■'.of Parliament, the electors of North Louth returned him by a substantial majority. .Speaking at St. Mary'* ' Marist College at Dundalk, the member 5 for North Louth "dealt" with the Na-' tionalist leader hi remarkably trenchant terms, saying: ' AppanuiK- i i". Redmo.-.d wanted in • future ••penny -in - liie - slot" members, 3 judging irom thu account of his speech "• in Dundalk the previous day. He wa* 6 laying down a doctrine which was naver claimed by Parnell—a doctrine of personal domination, which was absolutely f fatal not only to political liberty, but ' to their rights to Home Rule. The Tirisli l - people might return thirty or forty * men, but unless they had the imf primatur of Mr. Redmond they were not allowed to work for Ireland or for ' the Nationalist party. In other words, 1 they were to be Mr. Redmond's repra- [ sentatives, and not Ireland's. Mr. Redmond'!:' speech was a mass and tissue • of misstatements such as he had never read in his life. He denied that he . (Mr. Healy) owed his first entrance into 1 public life to Mr. Redmond, and stated . that when he was first returned Mr. . Redmonl was a clerk in the House of [ Commons earning £3OO- a year. They . knew those boys who were employed ; sometimes' at theatres or concerts to hand round programmes. When a mem- - ber came into the House of Commons . for what was called the orders of the j day, programmes of the proceedings >' were issued, and Mr. Redmond used to > bow to them and humbly hand to them j the bills. And he wished to pay him , this compliment: that a more punctual, . industrious, and courteous young clerk . he never met, and he earned his' money as well as his brother "Billy" did on r the militia. When Mr. Redmond's father 1 died Mr. John Redmond wrote to him' 5 (Mr. Healy) and Mr. Parnell stating that he had a kind of hereditary right r to the seat. He said he was his father's 5 s'on. (Laughter). Parnell asked him f (Mr. Healy): "Who is this chap?" and l' he replied: "Don't you remember young 1 Redmond, the clerk in the House of i Commons that hands us' out pros' grammes?" "What!" said Parnell; f "that fellow?" He (Mr. Healy) never remembered Mr. Redmond going down 5 to Wexford and introducing him to the T electorate, but on his (Mr. Healy's) recommendation to Parnell Mr. Redmond ■' stood for New Ross and was returned. : At that time his (Mr. Redmond's) brother William was a militia captain in the barracks at Wexford, and 'he : sent him the following telegram: "For God's' sake don't disgrace your family by joining the Land League or Parnell." ' When he (Mr. Healy) was in control of the vast majority of the Nationalist ■ members, rather than have dissension he asked the captain of the "pirate ship" (Mr. Redmond) to be leader, and they would follow him. He denied that he quarrelled with every leader. He quarrelled with Parnell about Captain O'Shea and nothing else. Continuing, he said he would be -very glad n Mr. Redmond would take his brief bag and give him (Mr. Healy) his £2OOO a year in the House of Commons. He thought he would "'fill the bill' as well as Johnny. He read a statement showing that during the last session he wag present at 191 divisions and Mr. Redmond at 195. In less than ten years he ventured' to say that Mr. Redmond had got £>o,ooo of their money, whereas he (Mr. Healy) had not got one farthing. He opposed no clause of the Land Bill that was not opposed by the Nationalist party with one exception, and the inom«nt he opposed it it was dropped like a hot' potato. Mr. Redmond said that when ' his back was turned he (Mr. Healy) attacked him—lie was so much afraid of Johnny. That statement of' Mr. Redmond's was absolutely false. They maintained that tie license duty wias •; too high, and that the new method of j valuation, though it might be suitable in England and Scotland, was not s'uit- ; able in Ireland. A circular was issued by Mr, John Redmond that there whs no occasion for their further attend--1 anee, but he suspected the 'Government., and he found after showing some visitors round the House that Mr. Whyte had nioved to report progress on account of the breach of faith of the Government in going back on their engagement of thy night before. Mr. Whyte asked him to second him, and he ; (Mr. Healy) did so, having found that the Secretary to the Treasury stated, | on being asked by the Chairman of Committees, that they still intended to per- ! sist in applying to Ireland the English 'and the Scotch system of valuation, i He asked the Government if it was for this that the Nationalist members saved them from defeat. ''lt seems'," he said, "that we have got nothing, and you j (the Government) have got the Budget." ■Had tliey been betrayed? Because he had gone to the rescue of his fellowmember Mr. Redmond declared that he I had broken the pledge of the Nationalist party. Tf so. why didn't they expel Mr. Whyte? Why didn't they expel him (Mr. Healy)? He asked why didn't Mr. Redmond go down to North Tyrone 1 and challenge the member of Mr. Asquith's Government as to by what right he occupied the position of their representative in the House of Commons, . which should he filled by an Irish Nationalist. "Did I (Mr. liealy continued) .begin life as' a clerk in the House of Commons? Did I end my career as , leader of the Irish people by selling my estate at twentv-four and a-lialf years' purchase?" Concluding, the speaker said that if he had remained entirely absent . from Parliament, if he hadn't bothered about the Budget, or the Land Act, or - the Education Act, he would to-day 1 have been Mr. RedmoniFs "white-haired . boy." He (Mr. llealy) was not a betting man, hut he would give Mr. Redmond i twenty-four and a-half years' purchase That he would beat him.