THE HOME RULERS.

Thames Star, Volume X, Issue 3121, 18 February 1879, Page 1

THE HOME RULERS.

Mr O'Conrior Power. M.P., hn written a letter to the executive committee of th« Home Rule Confederttion, in wiiioh he states the reasons whipbfndaced him to write of Mr Butt in, the iermu which he employed in his letter on that genileman.'' Mr O Connor Powder say* :—•" Since the night on which Mr Butt rose in the House of Commons and, in the name of the Irish Nation, deno«n«ed Mr Parnell and Mr Biggar for daring to do that which was to them a matter of plain md simple dufcy» Xhai-a-felt that it_ was. inenmbent upon me, as a member of the Irish party, to obserre closely the dangerous course of the policy upon which, it appeared to me, he had then entered, and accordingly I have watched Mr Butt's conduct for a long time with distrust and alarm, with pain and humiliation. When it became necessary last winter to summon the friends of the Home Rule to a National Conference, this so-called leader threw "every" obstacle in the way. The conference was held, however, in spite of him, and W apd the whole Parliameßtary party were publicly bound over to a policy of energetic action. He solemnly pledged himself to energetio action, and- as solemnly promised to consult the party on all important ques- • tions so as to secure unity. But how did he fulfil these obligations ? He never appeared in his place in" Parliament during ' the following Session until the intermediate Education Bill was introduced, when he came over to appropriate the credit of other men's labours. This Was the extent of his, energy. What did he do to secure unity P He was literally bound to consult with his colleagues on 'imperial questions of importance ;' but when the final issue upon the Eastern Question arose, he wag one of the n>st to sound the note of discord, in a speech which would hare been more appropriate - in the mouth of a Gastlereagh than in that of a man supposed to represent a country struggling for "national independence. The member for Limerick says that just measures may be won by the influence of Bom 9 great organization combining the Irish people. And yet it is notorious that lie is now the implacable foe of every attempt at organization. He liii paralysed every organization subject to his:, fatal influence. . He has stifled discussion, resisted investigation, and sheltered political dishonesty. He ha« deferred the deafest and most cherished hopes of\ our race, for the convepienee of those who liare scouted our repeated demands for justice-and who still continue to outrage the national feeling of our country. Wherefore I protest that he shall no longer speak for me, alid rl.rgise my foiae and I call upon my countrymen eiery whereto ihake off the rags of that tattered and discredited 'leadership' which can only lead to national infamy.and national ruin." "