Ireland as it is, and as it would be under Home RuleBuckley, Robert John
History
Ireland as it is, and as it would be under Home Rule
Buckley, Robert John
Home rule -- Ireland; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901; Irish question
Two miles outside the town I came on a fine Home Ruler, who had
somewhere failed to sell a pig. "Sorra one o' me 'll do any good till
we get Home Rule." He paid L5 a year for two acres of land with a
house. "'Tis the one-half too much, Av I paid fifty shillings, I'd be
aisy," he said. Truly a small sum to stand between him and affluence.
I failed to sympathise with this worthy man, but my spirits fell as I
walked through a collar factory, and thought of Mr. Gladstone. The
dislocation of the shirt trade is less serious. Few Irish patriots
have any personal interest in this particular branch of industry.
Dublin, April 8th.
MR. BALFOUR IN DUBLIN.
Mr. Balfour is the most popular man in Ireland, and his Dublin visit
will be for ever memorable. The Leinster Hall, which holds several
thousands, was packed by half-past five; ninety minutes before
starting time, and the multitude outside was of enormous proportions.
The people were respectable, quiet, good-humoured, as are Unionist
crowds in general, though it was plain that the Dubliners are more
demonstrative than the Belfast men. The line of police in Hawkins
Street had much difficulty in regulating the surging throng which
pressed tumultuously on the great entrance without the smallest hope
of ever getting in. The turmoil of cheering and singing was incessant,
and everyone seemed under the influence of pleasurable excitement. As
you caught the eye of any member of the crowd he would smile with a
"What-a-day-we're-having" kind of expression. The college students
were in great form, cheering with an inexhaustible vigour, every man
smoking and carrying a "thrifle iv a switch." Portraits of Mr. Balfour
found a ready sale, and Tussaud's great exhibition of waxworks next
door to the hall was quite unable to compete with the living hero.
Messrs. Burke and Hare, Parnell and Informer Carey, Tim Healy and
Breeches O'Brien, Mr. Gladstone and Palmer the poisoner, with other
benefactors and philanthropists, were at a discount. The outsiders
were waiting to see Mr. Balfour, but they were disappointed. Lord
Iveagh's carriage suddenly appeared in Poolbeg Street at the
pressmen's entrance, and the hero slipped into the hall almost
unobserved. Inside, the enthusiasm was tremendous. The building is
planned like the Birmingham Town Hall, and the leading features of the
auditorium are similar. The orchestra was crowded to the ceiling, the
great gallery was closely packed, the windows were occupied, and every
inch of floor was covered. A band played "God Save the Queen," "Rule
Britannia," and the "Boyne Water." The word "Union," followed by the
names of Balfour, Abercorn, Iveagh, Hartington, Chamberlain, and
Goschen, was conspicuous on the side galleries, and over Mr. Balfour's
head was a great banner bearing the rose, thistle, and shamrock, with
the Union Jack and the English crown over all. Boldly-printed mottoes
in scarlet and white, such as "Quis Separabit?" "Union is strength,"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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