The Express.
London, England, 1868-04-07 00:00:00

IR ereuntsp

EVERY EVENING.

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LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 7.

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ROY IL IT E2T.4 IN IRELAND.

rust
T‘ e. month of Apr7l, 1868, will mark, let us t
and believe, en epoch in the annals of the sister.
isle. The debate and division in the House of
Cotonou last week signalised the close of an era of
domination and injustice, and, although the
good work may be tardily and Painfully
accomplnhed, pointed to better times to come,
and, what is better than ineffectual vows
and halting legislation. held out to the new
generation the promise of a great atone-
meta . ,or t •ee past, and a full satisfac-
tion for the future of a suffering raoe•
The vote on the Irish Church was indeed "the bow
"in the cloud.- The flood of wrong is stayed at
last, and the Ark of Union rests upon a height re-
moved beyond the destroying passions of "afflicted
" centuries." Fenianians, if not dead, is dispirited
, and dispersed, and the sweet influences of the spring
tide season were never more congenial to the fresh-
ened hopes of the beautiful land oft the shamrock.
a-
No human beings are more sensiive to kin
meta, more easily grateful for generosity and good
will, more open to the charm of gracious looks and
pleasant ways, more susceptible
gentle smiles and
of a passionate personal:devotion, more impression. -
able, for better or for worse, than the population
of Ireland. We cannot doubt that the clearly
expressed
determination (of the great Liberal
majority of the British Parliament and
people to make Irish rights and Irish
wrongs their own. will sink into the
hearts of our fellow subjects on the other side
of St. Oeorge's Channel, and as time runs on, and
the work of reconciliation advances, slowly but
surely, to the good end, will not only pluck from
a national memory the rooted sorrows, and raze out
the written troubles of the past, but reconcile
and reunite the two races in bonds of an
enduring brotherhood. But for a people of
lively sensibilities and affectionate temperament,
something more and better than healing
measures of legislation is needed to prove to
every eye and ear the great yearning of the
heart of England. Ireland must be made to
as that it is part of the United Kingdom, not by
oreiqueat or by long adverse possession, but by the
golden link of a common sovereignty and =pre-
macy--the sovereignty and supremacy of the
Orown Imperial. It may be that, philosophically
considered, royalty is but a superstition, a cere-
mony, a page ant • , it may be that in constitutional
countries royalty is but a convenient fiction, or a
solemn impersonation. Yet in this free and united
kingdom at least royalty is something more and
better than all this. It is the majesty of equal law,
the crown and consecration of equal rights, the
living embodiment of national unity and power. It
is a symbol no doubt ; it is a personification as-
suredly ; but it is the symbol of the historic
commonwealth, and the personification of the life
and being of the State.
These considerations, among others, have caused
us
to rejoice at the announcement of the royal visit
to Ireland. It cannot be denied that the sister
kingdom has not had her fair share of the
loving grace of the royal face. There have doubtless
been reasons for this regrettable fact--reasons of
State, or reasons of a more private nature, which
it would be impertinent to discuss. If among
the reasons of State is to be accounted the
frequently disturbed state of Ireland of late years.
we would venture to suggest that perhaps had
royal visits been more frequent, Ireland might
have been leas disturbed. If among reasons of
State is to be reckoned the presence of a Lord- TN F. ItL)•••11,19 Poi/ gives some interesting Par-
Lieutenant, we can only say that the absence of tieulere respecting the new Alexandra-park
and
royalty would seem to supply • better ann. Palace at Muswell-hill. After
. parliament refused
meat for the abolition of the Viceroyalty to purchase the old exhibition buildings of 1862,
they passed into the hands of a company, and
than the presence of a Vicemyfor the absence of the
ground was taken for park, gardens, and a perma-
Crown. One of the advantages of a numerous royal
family has always appeared to be the strengthen-
Palacenerite xhibition suchsutais provided
. Railwbythae Crystal-
ing of the monarchy by distributing the grace of itsCompany
e north of at Ingdenm land have been awarey for
the different portions of the empire. There
presence —ut plusibus evenimentia insisteretur—over gars to th
years nar_st of the efforts being made to improve and
is no advantage to the State in the presence beautify an already lovely site, and we learn
of all the princes of the royal house at the centre of from our contemporary that they are so far
open to the
finishedpublic that the grounds
Monarchy and his country much better by early in June. A race-course has been added to
visiting the Australian colonies than by
the other attractions of the new park, and the
re-
first meeting will be held there under the auspices
siding half the year in London and half the
year in an English of
wail known turf
men—the Marquis of
county. W
• hear that in ,the addresses with which are
the Irish HASTINGS, the Duke of NEWCASTLE, Mr. H.
SAVILI, and other familiar names being among
IneateiPalitie• are preparing to greet their Royal the list of stewards. The course is of three
Highnesses they have not had the false modesty to
lengths, of five furlongs, one mile, and one mile
• °brink from the expression of a hope that this and a half. The grand stand will acoommodate
visit of the Heir to the Crown may be the precursor 3,000 people ; and the company have placed
of a more lasting royal establishment in the country. 1,5001. in the hands of Mr. WILATHIRLY as their
The rare visits of English royalty to Ireland •
towards the stakes. The races will
have b contributioneen so successful that the wonder is they occupy two days, and we see no rescion to doubt
have been so few and far between. SOROS will become both fashionable
and
popular. The
the FOURTH fairly carried the
PeePle's building itself is considerably modified and um-
hearts away by his deportment, and there proved ; one only of the famous domes is used,
is no knowing how much good might have and this stands in the centre of the pile of build-
been done since that memorable visit if the ins. Within, stained glass windows, handsomely
remembrance of it had not been suffered to fade decorated panels, the largest organ in the world,
into a vague tradition. Who knows how many and an extensive range of well-lit picture and
euleuudeestandinP and how much disaffection other galleries will minister to the popular taste,
might have been prevented had no single I while the sculpture and other works of art which
year elapsed without a royal visit to I have been selected from the Paris Exhibition by
Ireland ? And if a royal visit might have Mr. HENRY COL/ will be plentifully distributed
sown the seeds of loyalty and goodwill broadcast about the building and grounds. Vocal and
over the land, what might not a permanent hutrumental concerts, fashionable proms odes,
royal settlement have accomplished ? We can choice gardens, and an exquisite landscape--erben
imagine no State reason that should forbid added to the normal attractions of a rawooluse

" IMPERIAL" ENGLISHMEN.

WHEN Mr. Ruzst-ex told the House of Com-
mons that he preferred the appellation " Imperial
Englishman " to the name of " Briton " his words
conveyed a meaning which some of his hearers
probably failed to perceive. It is at once singular
and unfortunate that all the QVLE2eB subjects are
not known by one name. Englishmen, Irishmen,
Scotchmen, and Welshmen, are supposed to
speak the same language, and yield allegiance
to the same Sovereign, yet they scrupulously
maintain the designations which are supposed to
indicate their nationalities. This applies equally
to the natives of the islands in the English and
Irish Channels. Manxmen, Jeraeymen, Guernsey-
men, are proud of their distinctive appellations.
It is doubtful, however, if natives of Alderney and
Sark could be designated in such a way as to pre.
vent confusion, and a native of the Isle of Mull would
find even greater difficulty in this case. There is
no reason why local names should be superseded ;
but it would be advantageous if a name could be
discovered which should apply generally. A citizen
of the United States may be a New Englander, a
Kentuckian, or a Californian when at home ; but
to the rest of the world he is an American. So
with an Italian, a German, a Frenchman. In
Italy, Germany, and France the differences of race
and the peculiarities of speech are as marked as in
the United Kingdom. A Neapolitan differs as
much from a Piedmonteae as a native of Kent
differs from a native of Caithness. German, as
spoken colloquially in Berlin, no more resembles the
German of Frankfort than the dialect of Cockney-
dons resembles the dialect of Aberdeen. There
are as many points of dissimilarity between a
native of Brittany and a native of Provence as
between a Dorset labourer and a Dublin car-
driver. Yet Italians, Germans, and Frenchmen
adopt a generic appellation whereas the English-
man or Irishman or Scotchman shrinks from
admitting that he has everything of moment in
common with his fellow subject. At the time of
the union with Scotland, it was proposed to speak
of the natives of the southern and northern parts
of the island as North and South Britons. The
experiment was tried, but failed utterly. Since
the publication of the journal entitled the
North Brikm, the epithet has become doubly
unwelcome to the natives of Scotland. It
is easier to point out this anomaly than to
indicate a remedy. The difficulty is that national'
names are adopted by general consent, and cannot
be imposed by authority. France took its name
from a small section of the country. In time
Prussia may be merged into Germany. Even now
although a Prairies' boasts of his name he is yet
quite pleased when addressed as a German. Not
so with either Irishmen or Sootchmen. Let al
foreigner address them as Englishmen, and they
will indignantly assure him that he is mistaken.
These petty rivalries ought to be things of the
past. The natives of a United Kingdom should
at least have a name in common. Till they pos-
sess a title of general application, they cannot be
rightly recognised as fellow citizens of the same
great Empire.

ALEXANDRA-PARK.