l rights."

A pamphlet by Mr Griffith, entitled _The Resurrection of
Hungary_, was prepared and published, which expounded the details of
the new policy. Mr R.M. Henry, in his admirable book, _The
Evolution of Sinn Fein_ (to which I express my indebtedness for
much of what appears in this chapter), tells us that the pamphlet, as
a piece of propaganda, was a failure, and produced no immediate or
widespread response. Mr Henry also takes exception to the fact of Mr
Griffith putting forward the Hungarian policy as an original idea. "It
had," he writes, "been advocated and to a certain extent practised in
Ireland long before the Hungarian Deputies adopted it," and he quotes
matter to show that Thomas Davis was the real author of the policy of
Parliamentary abstention and wonders why the credit was not given to
the Irishman instead of the Hungarian Franz Deak.

The claim of Mr Griffith at this stage was that the independence of
Ireland was to be based not upon force but upon law and the
constitution of 1782: "His claim was not a Republic, but a national
constitution under an Irish Crown" (Mr R.M. Henry). Finally _Sinn
Fein_, which, literally translated, means "Ourselves," was formally
inaugurated at a meeting held in Dublin on 28th November 1905, under
the chairmanship of Mr Edward Martyn and was defined as: "National
self-development through the recognition of the rights and duties of
citizenship on the part of the individual and by the aid and support
of all movements originating from within Ireland, instinct with
national tradition and not looking outside Ireland for the
accomplishment of their aims."

Sinn Fein had now formally constituted itself into a distinct Party,
with a definite policy of its own, and _The United Irishman_
ceasing to exist, a new organ was established, called _Sinn
Fein_. But though Mr Griffith may found a Party, he was not so
fortunate in getting followers. The Parliamentarians had not yet begun
to make that mess of their position which they did so lamentably
later. That self-reliant spirit was not abroad which came when a
manlier generation arose to take their stand for Ireland.

Canon Hannay paints a peculiarly unpleasant picture of the state of
Ireland at this time. "Never," he writes, "in her history was Ireland
less inclined to self-reliance. The soul of the country was debauched
with doles and charities. An English statesman might quite truthfully
have boasted that Ireland would eat out