t the opinion of the landlords over the heads of the
Landowners Convention. The plebiscite taken by this Committee more
than justified them. By a vote of 1128 to 578 the landlords of Ireland
declared themselves in favour of a Conference, and empowered the
Conciliation Committee to nominate representatives on their behalf.

Thus the first stage of the struggle for a settlement by consent was
victoriously carried.

The next stage was the discussion of the terms upon which the
landlords would allow themselves to be expropriated throughout the
length and breadth of the land. Here there were, unfortunately,
violent divergences of opinion on the tenants' side. Mr O'Brien
postulated, as an essential ingredient of any settlement that could
hope for success, that the State should step in with a liberal bonus
to bridge over the difference between what the tenants could afford to
give and the landlords afford to take. When this proposal was first
mooted it was regarded as a counsel of perfection, and Mr O'Brien was
looked upon as a genial visionary or a well-meaning optimist. But
nobody thought it was a demand that the Government or Parliament would
agree to. Happily, however, for the foresight of Mr O'Brien, it was
his much-derided bonus scheme which became the very pivot of the Land
Conference Report.

Meanwhile events were moving rapidly behind the scenes. It was
conveyed to Messrs Redmond, Davitt, Dillon and O'Brien that Mr Wyndham
had offered the Under-Secretaryship for Ireland to Sir Antony
MacDonnell, who had lately retired from the position of Governor of
Bengal. They were told by his brother, Dr Mark Antony MacDonnell, who
was one of the Nationalist members, that Sir Antony was hesitating
much as to his decision. Sir Antony conveyed that he had made it clear
to Mr Wyndham that, as he was an Irish Nationalist and a believer in
self-government, he could not think of going to Ireland to administer
a Coercion regime, and, further, that he favoured a bold and generous
settlement of the University difficulty. Mr Wyndham, it was
understood, had given the necessary assurances, and Sir Antony now
wished it to be conveyed to the Irish leaders that he would not accept
the post against their will or without a certain measure, at least, of
benevolent toleration on their part.

All these happenings foreshadowed a joyous transformation of the
political scene, to the incalculable advantage of those who had made
such a magnificent st