The Life Of Charles Stewart Parnell Vol - I

JEi. 31] THE OLD POLICY V. THE NEW 143
genial and affectionate of men. Then he had defended the Fenian prisoners, and had afterwards thrown himself heart and soul into the amnesty movement. But his conciliatory tactics in the House of Commons, his submission to the House of Commons, his deference to English opinion and feeling, made us distrust him; not his earnestness, not his anxiety to do the best for Ireland, but his power to effect anything. He was courting English opinion, instead of leaning on us. We thought his policy hopeless. We believed all the time that you could get nothing out of England but by fighting her, by showing her we were a power, and that if she did not grant our demands we could and would do her harm. The Irish voters in England had forced English candidates to take the Home llule pledge. It was not love of us; it was not belief in Home Eule; it was simply the knowledge that they could not do without us. Well, Butt was really ignoring all that. He talked in the House of Commons as if he could, by mere reason and eloquence, persuade the English to give a Parliament to Ireland. Why, it was nonsense. ParnelTs tactics were very different. He did not believe in talk. He did not waste time in argument. He thought only of one thing (as the Yankees say), twisting the tail of the British lion. That was the true policy. But it was not the policy of Isaac Butt.
'Well, as the time for holding the meetings of tint Confederation came round I saw Parnell, and diHcuHHod the situation with him. He said to me one night: " I think there must be quite a new departure in our party. We are only at the beginning of an activo forward policy; but it must be pushed to oxtrcmoH. A few men in the House of Commons can <lo nothing