or the expropriation
for evermore from all ownership in the land of the class who cast him
and his people adrift in earlier years.

The writer has it proudly to his credit that, acting on behalf of the
tenants of County Cork, he individually negotiated the sales of more
landed estates than any other man, or combination of men, in Ireland,
and that with the good will and, indeed, with the gratitude of the
landlords and their agents, and by reason of the fact that he applied
the policy of Conference, Conciliation and Consent to this practical
concern of men's lives, he secured for the tenants of County Cork a
margin of from one and a half to two years' purchase better terms than
the average rate prevailing elsewhere.

For the rest he devoted himself during the better part of a quarter of
a century to the housing and the social betterment of the workers in
town and country, with results which are reflected in their present
vastly improved condition.

But his greatest effort, and what he would wish most to be remembered
for is that, with a faithful few and against overwhelming odds, he
took his stand for Mr William O'Brien's policy of National
Reconciliation, which all thoughtful men now admit would have saved
Ireland from countless horrors and England from a series of most
appalling political blunders if only it had been given fair play and a
fair trial.

It is no use, however, in a very sordid and material world, sighing
for the might-have-beens. What the writer seeks in the present work is
to give, fairly and dispassionately, a narrative of what has happened
in Ireland since Parnell appeared upon the Irish scene and the curtain
was rung down upon the tragedy that brought the career of the one and
only "Uncrowned King of Ireland" to a close--and until, in turn, the
downfall of Parliamentarianism was accomplished by means which will,
in due course, appear in these pages.

IRELAND SINCE PARNELL

CHAPTER I

A LEADER APPEARS

There are some who would dispute the greatness of Parnell--who would
deny him the stature and the dignity of a leader of men. There are
others who would aver that Parnell was made by his lieutenants--that
he owed all his success in the political arena to their ability and
fighting qualities and that he was essentially a man of mediocre
talents himself.

It might be enough to answer to these critics tha