Mr. Parnell denies that he has asked for police protection,
but his tone in the House is singularly moderate, and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that both he and his followers feel that the fissure between them and the " party of dynamite " is complete. They are not prepared to allow the control of Ire- land to pass into the hands of men who have far other views than theirs, and are ready for a far more unscrupulous mode of warfare. There is evidence that the furious section in America are enraged by what they consider a defection, it is reported that remittances are stopping, and it is quite possible that the leading Parnellites are themselves in very considerable danger. We hope it is not so, for the murder of Mr. Parnell would be as utterly criminal as the murder of Lord F. Cavendish ; but it is well that Par- nellites should realise the truth which all Revolutionaries have discovered,—that if terror is once tolerated, it is the Terrorist who will terrorise all men, who comes ultimately to the front. The Mountain kills Girondists as readily as Royalists. Their responsibility for the agrarian outrages may be imperfect or non-existent, but their responsibility for relaxing the bonds which render outrages impossible is complete, and imposes on them a peremptory duty in assisting to put them down. We are happy to believe that the recent crime has shocked some of them at least into this conviction.
Previous page
