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The Irish Delegates

ENTHUSIASTIC MEETING IN WELLINGTON

SPEECH BY THE PREMIER

(By telegraph Itom our own correspondent.) December 24

Mr. Joseph Devlin, W.P., addressed a meeting of about 2000 people in the 'i own. Hall, Wellington, on

Friday evening, December 21. His reception was the most - cordial a*ui enthusiastic possible. A great deal was_ expected from him, and in spite of suffering from the strain of a vigorous campaign in Australia and in the south^iie more than fulfilled the' most sanguine hopes. The general opinion here is. that- the address, judged by the standard of eloquence,' was the_ .grandest ever, heard, in this' city, and one of the- imost convincing and, solid. The ' Mew Zealand Times ' describes it as 'an unanswerable argument in favor of full self-governing powers being conferred^on.the people of Ireland.' His Wo l ship the Mayor "presided, and among those present on the platform were the Premier, the Minister., for Native Affairs, the -Minister for • Education, the Hon. John Rigg, TVT.L.C.,' Messrs. Field and" Barber, M;il.R.s/; his Grace Archbishop Redwood, Very Rev. Father Lewis. V.G., Very. Rev. _ Father Keogh (Rector of St. Patrick's College), Rev. Father O'Shea, Mr. John Hutcheson (a former Member for the cty), Mr. W T. ioung (pci^nloijt of the Irades ari;i: Labor Cpuncil), Councillors- Hindmarsh, McLaren, . andt Carmichael, Mr. Martin Kennedy (president of the United lJish League), and Mr. George Gibbons, of Melbourne. Apologies were received from Hon. James McGowan, Mivlzard, M.H.R., Mr/ Fugeue O'Connor,- and the Mayor of Petone. -

The Mayor, the Hon.. T. Hislop, in introducing Mr. Devlin, referred to the history of the movement for self-govern-ment on the part of the colonies, and instanced .the. case of the Canadian rebellion. He was satisfied tha^* from the expeiience of the past the ills .foretold as:likely to result from the granting of Home Rule to Ireland would not come to pass. -He wa& convinced that if the subject . were only pursued with persistency and good - temper a solution was not far off. He had- pleasure in presiding at such a meeting, and called on Mr. Martin Kennedy to move

THE FIItST RESOLUTION. :

1 That this meeting, in welcoming Mr. Devlin, pledges itself to give bQt/h moral and material support to the' Irish Parliamentary. Party under -the efficient leadership of Mr. John E. .Redmond in their magnificent efforts to secure the Jong-delayed measure of justice, . selfgovernment for Ireland, the granting of which we- are convinced would result, as in Canada, Australia, ami New Zealand, in strengthening and consolidating the British Empire.' r • , --<--• ~ln~ moving the resolution Mr. Kennedy contrasted the progress of the colonies during the past fifty years with the decay of Ireland _ during the same period— a decay in her population, in her industries, her " commerce, and her agricultural resources. He would not speak at further , length to the motion, for they were there that night to- hear one thdt was specially invited for the purpose. '

Mr. John Hutcheson, speaking with much sincerity ot feeling, said that he was proud of the honor conferred on him, the : , honor , of seconding the resolution just moved. lie . was not an Irishman, he was a Scotchman, but he seconded the motion as a' loyal citizen of New Zealand. They could not .afford to overlook the misdeeds of the past. The grey dawn of Ireland s freedom was now breaking, and it was the timeto settle details, as Canada and Australia had already declared on -favor of Home Rule, arid as New Zealand would soon declare. - The Old Country, which had shown such criminal obduracy iu_ the "past; could not longer ignore the work of the self-governing colonies There was coming.a time, and soon, when in the process of political evtlulion an. advisory body- a Council of .kmpire, would be an imperative necessity for the great aggregation: of self-governing units called the British Empire. That body would have no- time for parochial matters ; the trend of thought would force o n Home Rule not only for Ireland but for every other constituent part of the -British _Empiro

The resolution was put by the Mayor awd carried with extraordinary enthusiasm. * -

MR. ' DEVLIN'S SPEECH;

Then Mr. Devlin rose to speak. He " is v an animated personage in conversing. On' the platform -he .is another person altogether. He is the personification of sincerity, 'and fairly teems with the cause he has at heart. It was this zeal and earnestness in the man that won him the sympathy of- his great audience.

This morning I spoke to a gentleman of great attainments. He is one whose sympathies are certainly not Irish, and he went -to the meeting with his mind, if anything, against . Home Rule. 'He came away powerfully impressed with the sincerity of the advocate', and described the address as something, far surpassing anything of its kind ever heard in this country. This is the general opinion. The speaker on rising received an ovation: He appealed to the instructive love of liberty in the breasts of his audience, and in this was ttie strength of lAs appeal. In dealing with the content-ion that Home Rule meant Rome Itule and in exposing the fallacy of such an argument he was particularly strong ; thefacts he adduced of Protestant members being returned.

by constituencies for the most part Catholic were convincing arguments, and the mixed audience were satisfied that the cry of Rome Rule was, to use the words

of the advocate h,imself, a grey-haired calumny. MrDevlin expressed his deep and warm obligations to the meeting for, the public spirit and devotion to the cause

that inspired them to assemble there that night to lend their sympathy to Ireland struggling- t to be free, and he especially thanked, the Premier for his courage and for his imperial political sagacity for lending the

prestige of his high position and the force of his — political wisdom to the adjustment of a great question, vital not only -to Ireland' but •to the .. Empire, and all that made for- its solidarity and its glory. He came not only as an Irish envoy, but tis the representative of the

Most Powerful Democratic' Party that ever stood for social progress on the floor" of

the British House of Commons.

The Irish Party had

been instrumental in placing on the Statute Book soane of the most beneficent measures for the toilers of the

Old Land. He was there that night to plead for Hoitie Rule, for an Ireland for the Irish, just as there was a New Zealand for the New Zealanders. He quoted from the Blue Books to show that the population of Ireland was "fast ebbing away — that population which was the greatest asset, of any nation. The most alarming feature of the tide of emigration was that 95 per cent, of the emigrants were from twelve to forty-five years' of age. It was . the young, the powerful, and "the virile that were gefing from theshores of Erin, lie reminded them- of the fact 80,000 Irish peasants were compelled, by the conditions obtaining in the laud, to live in hovels that were not to be, • compared to the dog -kennels -of - the landlords. He then referred to the alarming increase of lunacy, cancer, and consumption, an increase proved to be due to the wretched conditions of life as the result of irJisgov eminent. *He next dealt with ■ the question of taxation. Ireland with a population of nine millions contributed two millions to the Imperial Exchequer, while now, with a population half as large, she contributed " ten millions. It was said Ireland was disloyal, and why ? He had travelled throughout many parts of the Empire, and everywhere Lei fciur^t " loyaltyi prevailed where there was self-government ; surely the conclusion was that if Ireland were disloyal, and he did not admit the fact, it was' because the - right of selfgovernment was denied her. Mr. Devlin next dealt - with the sectarian cry of Rome Rule, and he qJite ex- k ploded the old theory.. His reference to the Protestant leaders of Ireland fairly brought down- the house and when he spoke of the pictures "of Our Lady and the Protestant patriot, Robert Emmet, being hung side by side in the Irish homes he scored a point perhaps the most telling of his- speech. His appeal for the pre- " servation of the last remnants of a noble race fell >on sympathetic . ears, and then he closed his brilliant powerful, and touching address with the- firm hope that ■ the next envoy to these shores- would bring the message of Ireland's freedom. There- would be wafted across the seas a message as sweet as the tones of the Vesper bell summoning the people to prayer in the peaceful places in Ireland. * *

After an address lasting for an" hour and thirtyfive nnnates^Mr. Devlin resumed his seat amidst loud and prolonged applause. Mp. P. J. O'Regan reminded those present that members of the Imperial Parliament received no" emolu-

ments. They were supported by their followers. .He was therefore to announce the collection. The ' Par-

liament of Great Britain, he continued, could not fail to grant to the Irish people what it had' granted almost unasked to the South African Dutch. He then read a list' of contributions - already received totalling over £230. - "

The collectors then proceeded to canvass the assenjp Jjlage, and a liberal response was. made.' It is expected that the total result will be somewhere between£4oo and £500. Donations are still conAng in.v__ OTHER SPEECHES. ' • The Premier said that although not one -of - the _ chosen speakers for that', evening he was there as a New Zealand citizen to ,, join in showing their appreciation of the great uork being done by Mr. Devlin— ' the splendid" Irish envoy, who had just charmed them all with his eloquent speech. For oratorical ability, .descriptive power,- and sympathetic appeal and force he feit he was right •in saying, that they had never heard a better speech in any part of this country.. The reason- they recognised that was because he spoke from his heart, and that he was voicing the sentiments not only of his own country but- of many millions of people outside Ireland, who believed that the present system of ruling Ireland must be. changed. .We in New Zealand recognised that we were in • a free land— a free people in the true sense of the word. -We

were impressed more than he could indicate with

fact that the solidarity of the Empire, the, knitting together of every part of Ji was absolutely essential for its preservation from the attacks of dominant powers, which" did not -see eye to eye with England, Scotland, or Ireland. \ He' desired to announce for the first time that the Government of New Zealand had just concluded a reciprocal treaty with the recently created seif-governing colonies in South Africa. He moved a hearty vote of tttanks to Mr. Devlin. Apart altogether from the cause the" speech was an intellectual treat. Sir Joseph, who spoke splendidly, received great applause. The -vote was carried amidst cheers.

His Grace Archbishop Redwood spoke to the mo^ tion in an eloquent and forceful speech that was punctuated with loud' applause. He referred in appreciative terms to the earnestness and invincible arguments of Mr. Devlin's address. It seemed inconceivable that any man without prejudice could hear these arguments and not be a firm believer in the cause of Home Rule. Mr. Devlin was raising a great force of public opinion that must one day, and soon, carry Home Rule for Ireland. He believed, as he hoped, that the grand triumph was near at hand.

Mr. Devlin made a most feeling reply. He moved a vote of thanks to the Mayor, the Premier, and Archbishop Redwood for lending to the movement the prestige of their high position. He hoped that this free and beautiful land so prosperous -to-day would have a continuance of , its wonderful progress. The singing of .the National Anthem- closed a meetl ■ing that may, without the slightest exaggeration be -described as the most enthusiastic ever held "in -this city. Mr. Devlin left this morning for Rotorua. -MR. DONOVAN'S ARRIVAL. Mr. Donovan, Mr. Devlin's colleague, ~ leaves Hobart for the Bluff on January 4.

This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.I whakaputaina aunoatia ēnei kuputuhi tuhinga, e kitea ai pea ētahi hapa i roto. Tirohia te whārangi katoa kia kitea te āhuatanga taketake o te tuhinga.
Permanent link to this item
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZT19070103.2.24

Bibliographic details
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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 1, 3 January 1907, Page 11

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2,028

The Irish Delegates New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 1, 3 January 1907, Page 11

The Irish Delegates New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 1, 3 January 1907, Page 11

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