his services as the champion of the political freedom of the Irish people were being kept in the background.  Also—­and that was why the Amnesty Association for the release of political prisoners took the initiative in the protest against the action of the Centenary Committee—­because, on a great national occasion like this, the very existence of the martyrs for freedom, who were suffering in English prisons, appeared to be forgotten.  Such forgetfulness was considered at the least highly inappropriate.

There was much indignation, too, that Lord O’Hagan should have been chosen to speak the panegyric on O’Connell, seeing that he had actually sentenced some of those very prisoners.

The Irish organisation in Great Britain sympathised with these views, and the various branches sending contingents showed their feelings by throwing in their part with the Amnesty Association.

The contingent from Great Britain was, on the proposition of Mr. Patrick Egan, given the place of honour in front of the amnesty procession which, on the morning of the Centenary celebration, the 6th of August, 1875, started from Beresford Place, near the Custom House.  The banners of the three Liverpool branches were a picturesque feature in the procession, as also was the Sarsfield Band, a body of fine young Liverpool Irishmen who headed our contingent.

CHAPTER XV.

HOME RULE IN LOCAL ELECTIONS—­PARNELL SUCCEEDS BUTT AS PRESIDENT OF THE IRISH ORGANISATION IN GREAT BRITAIN.

It was at the Liverpool Municipal Elections of 1875 that we first introduced the question of Home Rule into local politics.  When we were holding our inaugural meeting to establish the Home Rule organisation in the town, we could not get any of our Irish public men to take the chair.  The reason was that these had not been elected as Irishmen but as Liberals.  As a matter of fact, we had in Dr. Commins a man immensely superior to any of them.  But we thought that men who had been elected to public positions mainly by Irish votes should not refuse to identify themselves with the national movement, and to help it by whatever influence they possessed.  We therefore decided to make some public men.  In Scotland and Vauxhall Wards we had a clear majority, but though the Irish vote in these wards was expected for Liberal candidates, who were not Irish or Catholic, in no other ward could a Catholic or Irishman be elected.  We, therefore, commenced to make a change by putting forward for Scotland Ward one of our own men, Lawrence Connolly, as a Home Ruler, and elected him as such.  He afterwards sat in the Imperial Parliament for an Irish constituency.  His election was followed in succeeding years by that of other Home Rulers, so that there was soon a considerable Nationalist Party in the City Council, and no lack of public men to do the honours for the Irishmen of Liverpool when any distinguished fellow-countryman came amongst them.  Their civic utility was very great.