Mr. Parnell was, however, compelled to retreat from Liver- pool,
where he hoped to carry the Exchange Division, and to fall back on Cork. In a speech of scarcely concealed bitter- ness, he announced that success was impossible, reproached the Tories for allowing a Tory to resist him, and adjured the Irish to vote for Captain O'Shea, who is a Liberal. Mr. Parnell remained in Liverpool, however, to manage his party there, who have only seated one candidate, Mr. T. P. O'Connor ; and on Tuesday he made a speech intended to hint, we imagine, at the " gruEtr- antees " he would offer to the Empire. He demanded for Ireland the position of Canada, with this difference, that the Irish would leave "to the Imperial authorities the duty and the right of raising and controlling the armed forces of the country." Moreover, they "did not wish to interfere with or control the great Imperial questions of interest to the Empire at large." That is a definite offer to accept the Colonial position ; but how does it meet the facts ? If the Irish Government wanted an Army, it would just triple the police, which, meanwhile, would carry out any order tending to allow attacks on landlords, or any class opposed to the interests of the dominant faction. We should have a far better " guarantee " if Ireland were separate, namely, the ironclads in the Irish Channel.
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