| | to Catholics, without seriously restricting the rights of
private property or jeopardizing the position of the
Established Church, the union could be preserved and
Irishmen of different classes and religious persuasions
could cooperate in promoting the prosperity of their
country. In the late 1840's the Famine forced a heavy emigra-
tion, reduced those who remained at home to the verge
of starvation, and incited a group of talented young
intellectuals, the Young Irelanders, to attempt a futile
insurrection. Butt's criticism of existing economic
conditions responsible for the Famine, and his opinion
that the union fostered these conditions, focused public
attention on him during the crisis. His The Famine in
the Land ( 1847) was an outstanding contribution to
Famine literature. There Butt attacked the Govern-
ment's laissez faire policy that discouraged efforts to
provide for the destitute and reminded Englishmen
that they had a responsibility to their Irish partners in
the Union. He also suggested reforms for the perma-
nent improvement of the Irish economy: public works
projects to provide employment and at the same time
increase the potentialities of the Irish soil, expanded
transportation facilities to stimulate industrial and
agricultural production, and a well-thought-out emigra-
tion policy to relieve the strain of overpopulation. Butt
concluded his pamphlet with a warning to Englishmen
that they could no longer depend on class and religious
antagonisms in Ireland to preserve the union. There
were indications that the Famine had taught Irishmen
the value of cooperative effort, and if this unity per-
sisted beyond the present crisis, and if English politi-
cians continued to ignore Irish needs, the union would
not survive many more crises like the Famine. In 1848 many of the Young Irelanders retained Butt
as their counsel in the sedition trials following the abor-
tive rebellion. Although he insisted on his loyalty to
the union, Butt's comments to the juries indicated his
advance along nationalist lines. He placed the blame
for the impoverished condition of his country on the
British connection which strangled the Irish economy,
and he insisted on the right of Irishmen to protest the
misgovernment of their country, even to the extent of
demanding Repeal. Butt revealed Federalist sym-
pathies when he suggested that a local parliament for
Irish affairs was not necessarily inconsistent with the
spirit of unionism or a danger to the Empire. 5 Surely
the Government's reaction to the Famine indicated
that the British Parliament lacked the knowledge and
competence to deal with Irish problems. 6 From 1852 to 1865 Butt served as a Conservative
M. P., and his record in the House of Commons was, to
say the least, undistinguished and disappointing. He
(lid, however, do a few things that pleased many Irish-
men: he endorsed tenant right, pressed for extensive
railroad construction in Ireland, and defended Catholics
against charges made by no-Popery bigots in the House
of Commons. After his defeat in the election of 1865,
Butt returned to Dublin to concentrate on his legal
practice but he found time to write several important
pamphlets on the Land Question. 7 He advocated legis-
lation that would guarantee secure tenures at fair rents
to tenant farmers, and prompt payment of financial
obligations to landlords, as a conservative solution to
a perplexing problem and one that was capable of win-
ing the assent of contending parties. Butt's concern for Ireland, and his devotion to con-
servative principles, involved him in the education
controversy. The Catholic hierarchy and clergy ap-
pealed to the Government to convert the national educa-
tion system to a denominational one. Butt supported this
request as reasonable and consistent with Irish public
opinion, and he went on to endorse the demand for an
endowed Catholic university. Butt believed that the
secularist principles popular with English radicals
endangered the spiritual foundations of the Constitu-
tion, and he advised Irish Catholics and Protestants to
unite behind the demand for religious education as a
barrier against secularist influences in Ireland. 8
II On the evening of May 19, 1870, forty-nine promi-
nent Dubliners assembled at the Bilton Hotel to devise
a plan "for promoting the future interests and welfare
of Ireland." 9 This meeting was called to exploit an
apparent shift in Irish Conservative opinion that en-
couraged the prospect of future collaboration between
Irish Catholics and Protestants in an agitation to re-
store Irish legislative independence. Angered by the
disestablishment of their Church, frightened by the im-
plications of the proposed land act, and worried by the
unhealthy state of the Irish economy, Protestant lead- ____________________
| 5 | In the 1840's a number of prominent Irishmen were Federal-
ists. In October, 1844, O'Connell announced his willingness to
accept federalism as an alternative to Repeal. A month later
he withdrew his offer when Federalists failed to respond to his
proposal and when Repealers, particularly the Young Ireland
group, objected to the abandonment of the traditional national
demand. Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, Young Ireland 2: 107-124,
London, 1890. | | 6 | At this time, Butt was willing to cooperate with nationalists
in an effort to obtain a seat in Parliament. He wanted Duffy,
Smith O'Brien, and T. F. Meagher to recommend him to an
Irish constituency. Duffy and Meagher indicated a willingness
to comply with Butt's request if he would declare himself a
Repealer. Duffy, Sir Charles Gavan, My life in two hemi-
spheres 1: 313, London, 1898. | | 7 | Butt Isaac, The Irish people and the Irish land, Dublin,
1867; Land tenure in Ireland: a plea for the Celtic race, Dublin,
1866; The Irish querist, Dublin, 1867. Butt did some of his
writing during a brief stay in prison for inability to pay his
many creditors. | | 8 | Butt Isaac, The liberty of teaching vindicated, Dublin, 1865;
The problem of Irish education, London, 1875; and Irish uni-
versity education, Dublin, 1877. | | 9 | Evening Mail ( Dublin), May 20, 1870. | -8- | |
