Rensselaer Republican, Volume 23, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 December 1890 — THE IRISH STRUGGLE. [ARTICLE]

THE IRISH STRUGGLE.

Ab Extremely Blttor Contest Betw»OB tho Faction—Porntli Home Bale. The struggle in Ireland is exciting all the interest of a contest between giadiae tore, says a.X.ondon' special. The English ■ man dearly loves to look on at a prizefight, t and a battle in earnest between leading Irishmen is a luxury that of late years has has been very rare. Eyenthe strongest of British Home rulers can hardly witness it without a perhaps involuntary chuckle of «*»Usfsctlan» iQr the old Adam of ancient antipathies has not yet been quite eradiated. Just now the English press,regardless of politics, is engaged in the congenial task of egging on the combatants and waiting for the first blood. If all accounts from Ireland are true they will not havs long to wait for blood, as tfce excitement is( turning into frenzy, and common decency is forgotten in the explosion of long pentup jealousies and hates. The bitterness of the crowd is Timothy Healy, who. has all' the heat without the self restraint and polish which normally characterize Parnell Saturday he m ade a coarse allusion to tho O’Shea case which nearly drew a blow from one of Parnell’s supporters, and his remark that the campaign cry of the party ought to he “Cuckoo” elicted a protest of! disgust from clergymen who heard it ands who belieW that the battle, however fiercely fought, should not include Chinese stink pots as weapons of combat. The wave of reaction against Mr. Par* nell is becoming more pronounced, The! influence of the priests is rapidly making! itself felt. In {the churches everywhere,! but especially in Kilkenny, the clergy! urged openly upon their hearers the dntyj of following the advice of the bishops and I striking a blow at immorality in high' places by voting against Parnell. Thej Bishop of Cloyne has requested the menu. l hers of the league in his diocese to withdraw from the present organization controlled by Mr. Parnell, and to form a reorganized league, free from alliance with the dircredited leader. The East and South Down branches of the league have stopped remitting to the league treasury, at Dublin, until the right to dispose of the general fund is made more clear. The scenes at the Tipperary" meeting Sunday are regarded as a prelude to a campaign of violence that may reach a degree little short of civil war before the question at issue is finnlly decided by the Irish people. A gang of forty roughs captured the meeting temporarily and carried everything for Parnell. But the country people from a radius of twentysflve miles around came in and the situation was speedily changed. After a lively series of scrimmages the anti-Parnellttes got control of . the meeting and the most violent of tho partisans of Parnell were expelled. The latter had come to the meeting with heavy blackthorns and there is no doubt they meant to break up the meeting. This goes far toward proving the truth of the asser-j tions of Mr. Davitt and his friends that the, support of Mr. Parnell comes from theriff-J raff of the cities, or as he puts it, the “re-! siduum.” Mr. Healey’s statement to the effect that he and Biggar at one time contemplated strangling tho Parnell-O’Shea connection was the subject of severe animadversion: to-day by John O’Connor, one of Parnell’s; supporters, who said to a correspondent! that Biggar had no right to refleet upon, any private affair of Parnell, having him*! self been the paramour of a woman by l whom he had a child, to which child and] mother he bequeathed nearly all his prop-} erty and none to the national cause, Mr.) G’Connor said these facts did not derogate from Mr. Biggar’s services to his country,: and he did wot believe that Biggar had ever joined in any reflection upon Mr. ParnelL