MR. MORLEY'S TASK IN IRELAND

From Irish Ideas by William O'Brien, 1893

Page 100

MR. MORLEY'S TASK IN IRELAND

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As likely as not, the man of his choice may, nevertheless, be one against whom a coroner's verdict of wilful murder stands uninvestigated. Where is the remedy? There are six or eight great officials—the Under-Secretary, the Assistant Under-Secretary, the. Inspector-General of Constabulary, and the Divisional Commissioners especially —who are the Chief Secretary's eyes and arms. Unless he can discover half a dozen real auxiliaries for these great posts, it is difficult to see how he can direct the course of events in Ireland any better than an armless man could drive a four-in-hand. Yet it is easy to imagine Mr. Morley in the sombre gloom of Dublin Castle cudgelling his brain for the names of even half a dozen.

This might well be an insuperable difficulty, were it not that the difficulty is understood by the Irish people. Mr. Morley has not come to show that an Englishman can govern Ireland satisfactorily. He is gaining bitter experience in his own person that, with the best will in the world, the thing is impossible. He is simply administering in an interregnum. The Irish people are shrewd enough to see that they must be content with an honest man's best efforts, without demanding miracles, if the interregnum is not to end by re-establishing the Castle instead of clearing it out. A considerable section of the officials, too, are shrewd enough to understand that a philosopher with the grit of Newcastle in him may be more than a match for the tricks of a provincial circumlocution office, and they will shape their conduct accordingly.

Moreover, the crass folly of the landlords in attempting to provide a lively winter for Mr. Morley has had an excellent effect in teaching the Irish people to make a liberal allowance for his difficulties. The landlords were, to use an American phrase, too previous. They had a … continue reading »

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