COST OF IRISH AGITATION.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1864, 12 March 1889, Page 4

COST OF IRISH AGITATION.

Those who believe that all the money collected goes into the pockets of Mr Parnell and his followers, may feel interested in the following interview hold by the representative .of the New York World with Mr Parnell:—

,l Are the expanses, of the Irish movement great at the present moment, or have they been diminished by the adoption of the Horae Rule principle by the Liberal party. V... “ Tbey'have increased, ’he said, “ for various reasons. Indeed, you have just giveu one of the reasons—the adoption of our principles by the great English party, by changing the whole situation has considerably increased our labours and our expenditure. The demand for Irish members to speak at English meetings is universal, and the unanimous account 1 get is that their speeches do enormous service in advancing the movement by dispelling ignorance and prejudice. We pay the expenses of our members in travelling about the country out of our own funds. Then, there has been an equally large demand for literature on thi Irish question. We have had accordingly to establish a bureau for spenfeers and for literature, which is known as the Irish Press Agency. The bureau provides the members for the English meetings, and at the same time superintends the production of pamphlets, leaflets, and even placards. Recently the Tories have taken to covering thb dead walls, especially when there ia an election, with placards giving lurid and lying pictures of some of the tragic incidents in the agitation. It has deer, found necessary to counteract the influence of such things bj giving pictorial representations of evictions and other scenes in the present regime. All this, too, costs money. The Irish Press Agency costs annually £3500, rising, I am gjad to say, to £5000.” “ What i« the other great item of expenditure 1” “ The fond for the evicted tenants. We have made it, as you know, a rule of our movement that no tenant who falls in a manful struggle against a bad landlord shall be neglscted. We build him a house, we supp ! y Him with a weekly allowance for food. We never loose s'ght of him until he is restored to his holding. Where wholesale evictions take place, as on the Clanricarde property, where a whole district Iras been evicted, this entails an enormous expense. The operations under the Plan of Campaign have of course added largely to the expenditure under this head. The expenditure for the Plan of Campaign does not come out of the funds of the National League, for the League has never taken any part in the Plan; but Ibeti funds, of course, do come from monejr* placed at the disposal of the National cause, I put down our annual expenditure at the present moment on evicted tenants at £25,000.”

“ What’is the next item ? ” “ The fund for the members of the party. That comes to about £IO,OOO a

year, ” “ You spend a good deal of money on looking after tho registration of voters 1 ”

“In U star especially we have Lad to spend money freely under this hoed. There arc several feats there where the contests are very dose, and as people in England are a w*ys Ih’nking that Ulster is aga ; nst ns, it is most important that we should fight the seats in Uster more vigorously than any place else. Then, again, we have to spend money on regislralion in England—l mean on the registration of our own people—because now every Engbsh election is a mutter of vital interest to the Irish cau*e. I put the expenditure under legislation at between £3OOO »nd £4ooo—say £3soo—n yn«r ; lino.ly you may put down £2OOO annually for miscellaneous exp'-nsfs,” “ This, then, is your budget, I said— Evicted ten'ti ts, £25,00Q ; Irish Press Agency, £SOOO ; Irish Pailiamontary Fund, £10,000; registration, £3500; miscellaneous, £2OOO ; total, £45,000.’’ "That is about right,” he said, looking over the figures. “ Where have you receded for the last year the money necessary for thiienormous expenditure ? ”

“ I got £IO,OGO from Mr Rhodes, a South African merchant, who is in sympathy with the Irish cause, and I got £IOO3 from Mr Morroh, an Irishman, a friend and partner of Mr Rhodes in the Kimberley mines. Some money lias also come from Australia, and our organism lion in Ireland brings ua about £IO,OOO annually,’ How does America stand T'

“ That is a subject upon which I speak with acme hesitation. We have been treated with such extraordinary generosity by America that I am afraid to say it, though it is true, that the subscriptions from there hove rrlher fallen off for the Just year or two ; but then they have been very busy with their own great political struggles ; besides, they have sent as vast sums in the past. Where would we hava been without the assistance of America?”

“As we are on the question of finances, Mr Parnell,” I went on, “ perhaps I may recur to the trial with The Times. You have not mentioned the expenses of that suit in the items of your expenditure T’ “ I understand you,” replied Mr Parnell, “ to speak of permanent items of expenditure and not of an accidental and transitory item like this. The suit is, indeed, very costly. I cannot put it down at less than £50,090 on our side, while the case will cent The Times, I should ray, £150,000. The amount they have spent on witnesses is fabulous, and I may even say grotesque, considering what little return they are gelling for their money.”

“Do you think there is any truth in the popular impression that the Government is paying a porlion of (ho expenses of The Times V’ “ I don’t think it is making any grant in money worth, as has been plainly proved jn the case. The Government is placing 11 the servants of the A.dministrniion at the disposal of The Times without any charge. Every resident magistrate, every police official, every police constable in Ireland whom. The Times wants is woi king for The T'ms ; also every clerk of the police and tvey clerk of the Crown, nod .perhaps I may add every Crown solicitor. The Times,may have to give the people some money when they come over here, be even, this they may not boobligad to do, for, as was acknowledged in the House, these officials are in lecmpt of their sal ries'■'while' they are absent in London i j the service of The Times'. Of course, ihia is in sccordance with the wlule policy of the Government, which has been 'n il." conspiracy of The Times to crush ,us' from the commencement,