LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
THE IRISH QUESTION.
[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR." J
SIR, —In yoar issue of January 16th you well describe the chaos that exists in the public mind on the Irish Question till Mr. Gladstone and Lord Salisbury speak. I confess, however, it is puzzling to conceive why they should speak at all, unless to say that they will propose nothing till Mr. Parnell states authori- tatively what he wants. Both statesmen have jointly given Mr. Parnell the power of constitutionally presenting the opinion of Ireland constitutionally ascertained ; and that either of them should make haste to offer concessions to the Irish people until they have heard the nature of the concessions required is surely most unlikely. Were they to do so, they would only give the Nationalist leader the opportunity he specially desires of being in a position at once to play off one against the other.
That this is his policy receives fresh confirmation from the paragraph in the Daily News (January 15th), evidently authori- tative, which states :—" We are informed that whilst no definite resolution has been come to by the Parnellites in view of the coming Parliamentary struggle, the leaders of the party are in favour of supporting Mr. Gladstone in whatever course he may decide to take."
The explanation of this manifest attempt to " draw " Mr. Gladstone is to be found in the following confession of Parnellite embarrassment, which appears in the Daily News' leading article of same date :—" Mr. Parnell is not likely to produce a plan, for it would be a miracle if any plan that he could submit would be sure of satisfying all his clients or his patrons, whichever they may be." Now, if Mr. Parnell cannot satisfy those whose man- date he professes to carry, how impossible it must be for either Mr. Gladstone or Lord Salisbury to attempt to do so ! The un- crowned king's business, however, does not require such haste bat that we can wait till he himself delivers his royal message. Any Bill he may bring in will be certain of the most earnest and respectful consideration by all political leaders.
It may be added that we in Ulster have special reason to desire an authoritative statement of Nationalist demands, because, whatever may have taken place elsewhere, in Ulster constituencies the Parnellite candidates during the late contests did not issue formal election addresses. They treated us simply to platform speeches, the tone and temper of which varied according to the degree of intermixture of creeds and parties in different localities. It is time that a definite scheme was pre- sented, on the merits of which they were, as a party, prepared to stand or fall.—I am, Sir, &c., THOMAS SINCLAIR.
Ulster Reform Club, Belfast, January 20th.
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