Irish Parliament returned by priests. For it _will_ be returned by
priests. Surely the Gladstonian English admit that? To speak of
loyalty to England in connection with an Irish Parliament is too
absurd. Did not the Clan-na-Gael circular say that while its objects
lay far beyond anything that might openly be named, the National
Parliament must be first attained by whatever means? Then it went on
to say that Ireland would be able to command the working plant of an
armed revolution. Do you not know that the Irish Army of Independence
is already being organised? What do you suppose the men who join it
think it means? Did not Arthur O'Connor say that when England was
involved in war, that would be the time? Did he not say that 100,000
men were already prepared, and that at three days' notice Ireland
could possess double that number, all willing to fight England for
love, and without any pay? If the English Home Rulers lived in Galway
they would remember these things as I do. _You think the Bill can
never become law. If you could assure me of that, I would be a happy
man this night._ I would go to my pillow more contented than I have
been for years. _I and my family would go on our knees and thank God
from our hearts._"

Mr. Wakely, of Mount Shannon Daly, said:--"I live in one of the
wildest parts of Galway, but all went on well with us until this Home
Rule Bill upset the country. Now I am completely unsettled. Whether to
plant the land or let it lie waste, I cannot tell. I might not be able
to reap the harvest. Whether to buy stock to raise and fatten, or
whether to keep what cash we have with a view to a sudden pack-up and
exit, we do not know. And I think we are not the only timid folks, for
the other day I took a horse twenty-four miles to a fair where I made
sure of selling him easily. I had to take him back the twenty-four
miles, having wasted my trouble and best part of two days. The
franchise is too low, that is what ruined the country."

Another desponding Galwegian found fault with the Liberal party of
1884. He said, "They were actuated by so much philanthropy. Their
motto was "Trust the people." We know what was their object well
enough, They let in the flood of Irish democracy. The Radicals got
forty, but the Nationalists gained sixty, and then part of the
Radicals--the steady, sensible party among them--ran out a breakwater
to prevent both countries being swamped. A break-water is a good
thing, but there was n