Note 233 — Chapter XXIX · THE BATTLE OF THE UNION.

This intrigue was initiated by Mr. Justin McCarthy, who had long enjoyed Lord Carnarvon’s personal friendship. Before finally selling the Irish vote, Mr. Parnell had a personal interview with Lord Carnarvon, at which the bargain was struck. Lord Carnarvon has denied various accounts of this interview, but he has never denied that as Viceroy of Ireland, he told Mr. Parnell that Irish industries must be stimulated, and that he would give the new Irish Government power to levy Protective Duties. As taxation and representation go together, this concession implies that the Irish Government was to be vested with fiscal powers, which could only be exercised in co-operation with and under responsibility to an Irish Parliament.