THE HOME RULE DELEGATES

New Zealand Tablet, 20 April 1911, Page 717

THE HOME RULE DELEGATES

THEIR PROGRAMME His Lordship Bishop Verdon has received a communication from Mr. Martin Kennedy, Wellington, suggesting that arrangements be made in various parts of the diocese for meetings to be addressed by the Irish delegates. His Lordship has advised the * priests in the different centres accordingly. It is expected the delegates will reach Otago about the last week in May. The committee set up in Wellington to make arrangements in connection with the visit to New Zealand of the Irish delegates met last week in St. Patrick's Hali, Dr. Cahill presiding. Mr. Martin Kennedy, reporting on behalf of the-.re-ception committee, stated that the present movement had been inaugurated on the arrival of a cable from Mr. John Redmond, asking that a reception should be arranged for the delegates (Messrs. R. Hazlet'on, J. T. Donovan, and W. A. Redmond), who. were to arrive by the Rotorua on May 1. Since then a letter had come to hand from Mr. Redmond, bearing the date February 25, and therefore written some weeks before the cable was despatched. The letter, stated that the delegates would remain for about ten weeks in New Zealand, and would afterwards proceed to Australia. When this letter came before the committee it decided that instead of only twelve meetings, it would be possible to arrange for 35 or 40. The committee had been in communication with many places in the North Island with a view to getting some six or eight fixtures arranged before the delegates arrived. It was difficult at present to inform the various districts whether the three delegates would visit them in company, or whether only one or two would be able to do so. It should be possible to arrange that, at any rate in the case of a great many of the more important districts, at least two delegates should visit them in company. Actual fixtures arranged so far were: Wellington, either May 2 or 3; Masterton, May 4; Wanganui, May 5; New Plymouth, May 17. These'were dates pretty wide apart. Necessarily, each district must he allowed to select its own date as far as possible, so long as it was done within the limits of the time allotted. The committee had not yet communicated direct with any separate districts outside the North Island, but a general intimation had been sent to Canterbury and to Otago. From both provinces assurances of sympathy and support had been received. In all. Mr. Kennedy continued, about eleven meetings would be held in the Wellington district, and in the districts between New Plymouth .and Napier! In Canterbury about five meetings would lie held, and on the West Coast about six. In Otago there would be about seven meetings, and in Auckland, including Rotorun, about six. If Nelson and Blenheim between them could' bring the total number of meetings up to about 37, the chances were that the delegates would have ample time to fulfil their engagements. Quite possibly the total number of fixtures would be brought up to forty. There was no occasion, said Mr. Kennedy, to make any apology for the visit of the delegates to this country. * The Nationalist Party would have to expend a great deal of money in connection with the campaign they intended to conduct, not-

withstanding the promise they had from the Government or the day. They wanted to strengthen the Government's hands by carrying on a campaign right through Great Britain and Ireland. T./ Sir Joseph Ward, on being interviewed in New York said that without trespassing in the domain of English politics, he would suggest that it was possible that the continued failure of English statesmen to find a permanent solution of the Irish question barred the way to complete Anglo-Saxon unity. He urged the co-operation of the British communities on' the Pacific seaboard against an Asiatic invasion. I