XXVII Ireland and party politics, 1885-7 : an unpublished Conservative memoir (I)

Introduction

“…Salisbury therefore concluded that the threat of less drastic action against the League might be sufficient to reassure Irish Unionists, ensure a decisive break between his administration and Parnell, and provide him with an opportunity to relinquish an office from which he was 'feverishly eager' to escape. 226 Contingency planning for a confrontation with the nationalists therefore continued at the War Office, where General Wolseley finalized military plans for the suppression of armed rebellion. 227 The plan to suppress the National League was met with consternation by those who would have been responsible for its implementation.…”