256 



MY LIFE 



[Chap. 



how a well-educated and thoughtful American was impressed 

 by the English rule of Ireland — 



" I had not intended to speak in public before coming to 

 England ; but I feel so much sympathy with the Irish people 

 in their resistance to the degrading tyranny now rampant 

 here, that it seems to me cowardly to refuse any little assist- 

 ance I might give, and I have told some gentlemen who have 

 been urging me that I will lecture this week for the benefit of 

 the Political Prisoners' Aid Society, of which Miss Helen 

 Taylor is President. 



" I had the pleasure of meeting that lady here, and the 

 pleasure of listening to her address to the ladies of the Land 

 League — a speech that I wished could have rung through the 

 length and breadth of England. When will the great English 

 party to whom the future will be given raise its head ? I long 

 for its advent. If this is Liberalism which I see here, what 

 Toryism may be I can with difficulty imagine. 



" I have had the pleasure, too, of meeting an Irish Catholic 

 bishop who is with us entirely — Bishop Nulty, of Meath — a 

 prelate who does not hesitate to declare that private property 

 in land is an injurious blasphemy. He is fettered to some 

 extent, of course, but he wields great influence, and we shall 

 hear from him before this thing is over." 



The lady above referred to, step-daughter of John Stuart 

 Mill, was an earnest land-nationaHzer and a valued supporter 

 of our society. She was always ready to speak at our meet- 

 ings ; she supported us liberally by donations and subscrip- 

 tions, and she gave to our public proceedings that tone of 

 sympathy, humanity, and idealistic enthusiasm which was 

 of great importance to us. 



Among my early correspondents on the land question 

 were Mr. Jesse Collings and Mr. J. Boyd-Kinnear, both after- 

 wards M.P.'s. The latter gentleman was so much interested 

 in my writings on this and allied questions, that he invited 

 me and my wife to visit him at Guernsey, where he was then 

 living. We spent a delightful week on that beautiful island, 

 either driving or walking over it. Mr. Boyd-Kinnear was a 

 practical farmer and agricultural chemist, and had a small 



