One hundred years ago
MR GLADSTONE and Mr John Mor- ley should consider the significance of the incident at Olympia on Monday evening, when the Cork band refused to play 'God Save the Queen!' on the ground that it was a party tune, and not welcome to the ears of Irish Home- rulers. That reminds us of the way in which the health of the Queen was given in February at the Lord Mayor's lunch in Dublin, when Lord Ripon and Mr John Morley were the guests of the occasion. The toast was given in a low tone by the Lord Mayor, but talking went on while it was being drunk, and a number of the guests present remained seated and took no part in drinking the toast. On that occasion the presence of two ex-Ministers of the Queen made it necessary to get the loyalty done, though it was done with as much eco- nomy of loyalty as if the Irish were all but bankrupt in that quality. But at Olympia the loyalty was altogether omitted, even at the risk of provoking a collision between Irish Home-rulers who profess to detest the notion of Separation, and English roughs who have no notion of letting the Irish make an offensive show of their disloyalty on English ground, and under circum- stances where the Irish are reaping the advantage of English goodwill. We are glad that the collision did not take place. But we must say that we think Lord Arthur Hill would have done better to send the disloyal band back to Cork, than to compromise the matter by introducing another band to play the National Anthem.
The Spectator, 25 August 1888
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