Immediately after I received a letter from my friend J. J. McCarthy:—
Dr. Donnelly, Bishop of Clogher (he wrote), called here this morning, and showed me a letter from Dr. Nulty, Bishop of Meath, saying that he and several of the priests were in your favour, and were sure you would have a "walk over"; but that they could not make out your address to communicate with you. Dr. Donnelly has telegraphed your address to Dr. Nulty, and by his advice I have sent to Dr. Nulty your telegram to W. Dillon.
That is how affairs stand just now. Let them say will they have you under the old flag. There is talk also of naming you for Tipperary.
The telegram referred to in McCarthy's letter was as follows:
John Martin dead. Parnell candidate of Home Rule League would probably retire if you join League and stand. Wire reply. Wm. Dillon, 15, Nassau Street, Dublin.
William Dillon was the eldest son of my late well beloved friend John Dillon, and though I was somewhat surprised at his interference with a constituency with which he was unconnected, this was my reply:—
Thanks. I do not seek a constituency, but I am a Repealer, as I have been all my life, and if Meath elect me I will do my best in concert with the Irish members to serve the Irish cause. Should the constituency be dissatisfied with me at any time, I will resign. But if it be made a condition that I shall join the League and adopt its novel formula instead of the principles held by me in common with O'Connell, O'Brien, Davis, Dillon, Dr. Maginn, Meagher, and all the Nationalists in my time, that I cannot do.—Gavan Duffy.
At the same time I wrote to Mr. Dillon:—
My dear Sir,—I answered your telegram this morning, but Foreign Telegraph Offices make such a hash of messages in English that I think it better to enclose you a copy.I do not seek a seat in Parliament, and I will only accept one, if it comes unsought, as a duty—the sort of duty we all owe to our country. A seat in Parliament to a man who means to use it only for public ends is a heavy burthen and a constant responsibility. I do not believe one man worth sending there has gone from Ireland to the House of Commons as a popular representative in my day, whose life was not shortened by the toils and chagrins of the position. It probably shortened the life of John Martin; I am persuaded it shortened the life of your father; it certainly, killed Frederick Lucas, and perhaps George Henry Moore. That is not a reason for shrinking from it any more than a man would be justified in shrinking from a forlorn hope in a just war; but it is a good reason, I think, for not soliciting a seat as if it were a personal favour or a personal advantage.
