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1906 - 1914 January : During the Westminster General Elections in England, the Liberal Party was to win with a big majority, and under their leader, Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman they then took over control of the British Government and granted self - government to South Africa under General Botha and General Smuts. They tried to bring in social reform, but due to their personal majority still had no need to offer Irish Home Rule to the Irish Parliamentary Party until 1918. Although it was still in their Party's platform, it had played no part in their election strategy, although the Irish Parliamentary Party had returned 81 members, of which 73 were elected unopposed, During the speech by the British King, on behalf of the Liberal Party, devolution was also mentioned for Ireland, involving an Irish Council partly elected, partly appointed, to control certain Irish departments, which were to be financed by the Imperial Exchequer. As it was not to be Irish Home Rule, John Redmond the Irish Parliamentary Party leader rejected it completely. Despite this the Ascendancy Unionists in the Ulster Province still carried on their activities in defiance of the expected introduction of Irish Home Rule, and no one outside of Ulster was to take any notice of them. - Edward Saunderson, the staunch non - Catholic Unionist leader, who previously had quit the Whigs under William Gladstone over disestablishment of the Church of England / Ireland, died, and he was replaced in the Westminster Parliament by Walter Long the M.P. for South Dublin, until he himself became an M.P. again in England. The defeated Conservatives, who were now in the Opposition were to use their permanent majority in the unelected House of Lords, who had the veto over all legislation to delay, amend or defeat any measure the new British Liberal Government brought forward. (This was to finally bring about the end of their unelected veto over all previous legislation in England.)

Joseph Devlin, became the M.P. for West Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province. - Arthur Griffiths who had founded the Sinn Fein Party, and who was the editor of the United Irishmen newspaper resigned from it, and the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. and wrote and article entitled, ("The Resurrection of Hungary, a parallel for Ireland,") which became the basic principals for the development in the future for the Sinn Fein Party / Irish Republican Party policies. - Edward Martyn, joined the Gaelic League and became the President of the Sinn Fein Party. - Dennis Mac Cullough was now a member of the Supreme Council of the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood - Michael Collins, who was to become Ireland's leading light in the future, was now 15 year old and he passed the test to obtain employment in the Post Office and went to Kensington in England to live with his sister. - Michael Davitt, the intrepid founder of the Irish Land League, which had begun the return of Irish land back to the Irish people, died, this year.

1907 James Larkin, who had been born in Lancashire in England, and who was to be a great Labour leader in Ireland, organized the Dockers in Ireland and was to also organize dock strikes in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the Ulster Province, with green and orange banners, and as a consequence strike breakers were brought over from England and Scotland to counteract his proposals for better working conditions for the common man. - The Royal Irish Constabulary / R.I.C in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province mutineered and British Military Forces were also brought in there and Joseph Devlin who was now the M.P. for Belfast supported their strike. - Patrick Mac Cartan, from Carrickmore in Co Tyrone in Central Southern - Ulster had formed the Dungannon Club for Irish students there to play a part in their Country’s political affairs, and they were to come out and back the the principals of the Sinn Fein Party / We Ourselves as the the Cumann na nGaedheal and the Dungannon Clubs now combined to become the Sinn Fein League. The Irish National Council then merged with them also, together with the Irish Republican Brotherhood / I.R.B. who did not agree to the British King of Ireland provision, that had been included originally by Arthur Griffith. They then introduced a further article into the Sinn Fein Party Convention where the Irish people themselves would actually be able to choose by referendum their own form of Government, and Bulmer Hobson from Ulster Province became the Vice - President of the Sinn Fein Party.

The British Liberal Government in England, who were now under the leadership of Sir Henry Campbell - Bannerman in a move towards Irish Home Rule had Augustine Birrell, who they had appointed as their British Chief Secretary in Ireland until 1916, introduce the Irish Council Bill, which was to allow for 82 elected members and 24 nominated members to govern Ireland with the appointed British Lord Lieutenant in Ireland having the power to annul any resolutions that did not suite the British Government. John Dillon the Irish Parliamentary Party M.P. member opposed it, and after a meeting of the United Irish League Convention the Irish Nationalists rejected it also, so the British Government were forced to drop it altogether. John Redmond the leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party was now in trouble as many of the Irish Parliamentary Party members at Westminster wanted out of the alliance with the Liberal Party, which they now saw as being next to useless. The British Liberal Government had finally pushed the whole Country to become determined to bring about change in Ireland by a more vigorous means.

John Mac Dermott / Sean Mheic Diarmada from Co. Leitrim in Northern Connacht joined the Gaelic League, the I.R.B. / Irish Republican Brotherhood and the Hibernians, and was to became a great influence on all of those who were willing to fight for Irish Independence, especially the young Michael Collins, as he moved the I.R.B. forward, towards actually doing something physically about bringing about Irish Independence from the ongoing oppression of the British Governments. - Tom Clarke, who would become known as the Old Republican, who had previously spent 15 years in English prisons for his actions in demanding basic Irish rights and Irish Independence returned from America to Ireland and set up a newsagent and tobacconist shop in Dublin, which was to become a meeting place for the Irish Republicans and were he was to produce "Irish Freedom" the newspaper of the I.R.B / Irish Republican Brotherhood. - The people at Liscannor in Co. Clare in the north - west of the Munster Province, rescued the members of a French ship this year, that had been wrecked off their coastline and in gratitude they built a Celtic Church there. - John O Leary, (1830 - 1907) the revolutionary journalist, who had been arrested, imprisoned and exiled in 1965 AD by the British Government's Dublin Castle authorities, and had returned to Ireland to live in Dublin in 1885 AD when he wrote his memoirs, died this year.

1908 Irish Universities Act / Queens College in Belfast in Co. Antrim in the north - east of the Ulster Province became a separate University with those in Co. Cork in Southern Munster and Co. Galway in Southern Connacht also becoming Colleges of the National University of Ireland. - The hierarchy of the Irish Catholic Church objected to Queen's College being non - denominational, without any religious instruction, where over time most of the graduates were to be Presbyterian, while adherents to the Church of England / Ireland went to Trinity College in Dublin. - Eamonn de Valera, a Professor of Mathematics, who had been born in America and grew up in Co. Limerick in the mid - west of the Munster Province where he was educated by the Christian Brothers, now joined the Central Branch / Ard Chraobh of the Gaelic League, and was to be a major player in the future political developments in Ireland. - William O Brien the old Labour stalwart from Co. Cork in Southern Munster, who was always on the job, rejoined the Irish Parliamentary Party. - Eammon Ceannt / Kent joined the Sinn Fein Party and Sean O Kelly was to be their Secretary up to 1915, and at this time they tried standing a candidate in the by - election for the seat of Northern Leitrim, but it was still won by the Irish Parliamentary Party, although John Redmond and his I.P. Party were by now becoming well and truly out of step with the rest of the Country. This initial Sinn Fein Party political assault on the seat there in Northern Leinster, in reality showed up the declining position of the Irish Parliamentary Party now in the scheme of things, and should have sent them a warning to become more active on behalf of the general population in Ireland or make way for those who would. Although John Redmond kept pressing the Liberal Party Government for an Irish Home Rule Bill he continued to receive no satisfaction from them, yet still living in hope he continued to maintain the alliance with them, while feeling the pressure at home in Ireland. - At this time, Robert Erskine Childers, who was an English civil servant also firmly believed in Irish Home Rule, and he would also play a part in the scheme of things in Ireland. - Hanna Sheehy - Skeffington founded the Womens Franchise League and was to become their secretary in anticipation of obtaining the right to vote for all women.

Sir Campbell - Bannerman, the British Liberal Prime Minister, died, and Herbert Asquith took over his position until 1916 and was forced to take head on the un - elected British House of Lords in regard to their veto power over all British legislation, when they vetoed the Supply Bill, as they had continue to exercise this over riding power of veto over English legislation for Centuries, especially against any chance of reform for the people of Ireland, without any elected right, handed down from the original Land Barons. Herbert Asquith, the new British Liberal Prime Minister, now gave a public assurance that Irish Home Rule was the only solution for the ongoing problems in Ireland. - The Irish Universities Act was bought in under the control of Augustine Birrell the British Government's appointed Chief Secretary in Ireland, and the Royal University was abolished, with the establishment of 2 new ones to replace it. (The National University of Ireland to accommodate the Catholic Bishops preferences with colleges in Co. Dublin, Co. Cork and Co. Galway and the Queen's University at Belfast in the Ulster Province, which was to become a separate University.) This action was to placate the non - Catholics there, and it was now opened to all students, but the Ascendancy Unionists were against it as before most of it's graduates were Presbyterians, while the Trinity College in Dublin was a Church of England / Ireland stronghold, and both had previously been denied to the Catholic Irish. - Up until now, Augustine Birrell, the British Liberal Government appointed representative in Ireland, had brought on improvements in rural and urban housing, re - instatement of the Irish tenants evicted from their holdings, and protection for the Irish tenants in the towns.

1909 -1910

Situated on the western bank of the Hunter River, midway between Muswellbrook and Denman the doorway to the Heart of Australia's "Horse Capital" in the Hunter Valley in New South Wales., Australia.

John & Sue Markham

RAINBOW FARMS 603 Roxburgh Road., Muswellbrook., 2333.

02 65 479 100 - Fax: 02 65 479 102 E - Mail: www.rainbowfarms@bigpond.com