Mr. T. P. O'Connor made a speech to - his constituents
in the Scotland Division of Liverpool on Wednesday, which, at least in its calm and businesslike tone, forms a remarkable contrast to the speeches of both Parnellites and Anti-Par- nellites in Ireland. He professed complete indifference, and even some scepticism, as to the revelations of the Divorce Court concerning Mr. Parnell, and charged those who had laid such stress upon these revelations with Pharisaism. But on the subject of Mr. Parnell's manifesto, his language was very strong :—" It broke down the whole case on which we have been asking for Home-rule. It was an appeal to racial hates and distrusts. It was a violent attack on the Liberal Party, the Liberal leaders, and especially Mr. Gladstone. That, I say, took the whole ground from under the Home-rule position,"— and consequently Mr. T. P. O'Connor disapproves it. But he fails to note that this was just the very reason why the mani- festo was so effective both in Ireland and America. Both in Ireland and America there are multitudes of Home-rulers who wish for Home-rule only to express "racial hates and dis. trusts," to render, in fact, any kind of rule in co-operation with England impossible, and which calls itself Home-rule only provisionally till it can call itself independence. Mr. T. P. O'Connor sees that it is fatal to his cause that this policy should be avowed as Mr. Parnell has avowed it. But whether avowed or not, it prevails widely. And that is the Unionist's final reason for vetoing Home-rule.
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