y, or from both," and that the co-operation
of Irishmen of all creeds and classes willing to aid in the attainment
of any or all of those objects should be cordially welcomed. Within a
week Mr Redmond conveyed to Mr O'Brien his desire for a Conference on
unity. It was duly held. Mr O'Brien's proposals were substantially
agreed to. It will be observed that they were a solemn reiteration of
the principles of Conference and Conciliation, which was the bed-rock
basis of the Party policy in its most useful and memorable year, 1903.
It is possible that if Mr O'Brien's suggestion for a National
Convention to give the new Unity an enthusiastic "send-off" had been
agreed to, many things might have been different to-day. But Mr Dillon
never wanted, in those days, if he could help it, to appear before a
great assemblage of his countrymen in company with Mr O'Brien. He knew
his own limitations for popular appeal too well to risk comparison
with the most persuasive Irish orator since the days of O'Connell.

The six of us who rejoined the Party under the foregoing peace treaty
were sincerely anxious that the reunion should be cordial and thorough.
We saw, however, no manifestations of a similar spirit on the part of Mr
Dillon or his special coterie of friends. Mr O'Brien published in his
own paper, _The Irish People,_ a _communique_ in which he said:

"I am certain the universal Irish instinct will be, frankly and
completely, to drop all disputes as to the past and have no rivalries
except as to who shall do most to create good will and a common
patriotism among Irishmen of all shades and schools of thought. Let us
turn with high hearts from the tragedies of the past to the glorious
possibilities of the future."

Our optimism was sadly disappointed when the first occasion came for
testing the sincerity of the reunion. A Treasury Report was issued
containing proposals for lessening the landlords' bonus under the
Purchase Act of 1903 and for increasing the tenants' annuities. (These
proposals were later embodied in Mr Birrell's Land Act of 1909 and
practically put an end to land purchase and to the beneficent
operations of the Act of 1903.) A meeting of the reunited Party was
summoned for the Mansion House, Dublin (29th April 1908), to deal with
this grave situation, rendered all the more serious by reason of the
fact that the Treasury proposals were openly advocated by _The
Freeman's Journal._ One of the clauses of the articles of r