The Life Of Charles Stewart Parnell - Ii

Ate. 41-42] MIL CECIL RHODES 187
us. Wo must remain in our present numbers. In addition, certain questions will remain still unsettled after the Home Kule Bill has boon passed. There arc questions relating to the police and the judiciary which may remain unsettled. We must have our full number of members in the Imperial Parliament until those questions are settled/1
1 Rhodes. " Very well I can understand your diffictilties, I do not press that point. Are we agreed on the other points?"
1 ParnelL l41 have no objection to the4, retention of the Irish members in their present numbers, nor to tho permissive clause you suggest."
'Rhode*. "Will you put those points to Mr. Gladstone?"
1 ParnelL ** No. I do not think it would be wine for me to put the point to Mr. Gladstone now, he is BO strongly opposed to retaining the Irish members Wo must bring him gradually round."
1 Ultimately it was arranged that I should writes a letter to Parnctll setting out my VIUWH, and that ho should send me a reply,1
Parneirs reply wa« an follows;
Panwtt to Mr. (kdl lllwtk*
• Juno *JII» l«SB,
* DKAH Hut,™! am much obliged to you for your
letter of tho 19th in«t.f which confirms thci very interesting account given mo at Avondalo last January
by Mr. McNoill an to hits interviews and conversations with you on the subject of Homo Kule for Ireland* I may say at once, and frankly, that you have correctly judged tho exclusion of the Irish members from Westminster to havo a defect in the Homo liuleo the reduction of the number of the Irish members in the Imperial Parliament. It is only by our strength that we can make ourselves felt there, and if you were to cut us down to fifty or forty or thirty they would pay no attention tove away.ral Bpeechen*