The Sun.
London, England, 1865-09-27 00:00:00

THE ROYAL HERDS AT THE HOME PARK.

We regret to state that the cattle disease has broken out
among the Royal herds, at the Home-park, Hampton Court.

Mr. Digby Seymour on Fenianism.

A new flax scutching mill was recently opened at
Ballina, in Ireland, under the name of Ballina Mills
(Limited.) The event was commemorated by a
public procession, followed by an assembly of a
truly Irish description at which there was plenty to
eat and drink for all comers, and in which three
fiddlers were among the more prominent of the
celebrities.

Mr. DIGBY SEYMOUR, who was present, was called
upon for a speech, and in the course of a long ad-
dress he said—Fellow-countrymen and country-
women, it is now 20 years since I left the shores of
Ireland to fight the battles of life in the sister king-
dom. I have won some eminence and suffered
some defeats, butin every varying scene and chang-
ing circumstance my heart has fondly turned to-
wards the country of my birth. (Cheers.) Many.
things have often gratified me, and I have occupied
positions which have filled me with some natural
pride, but never was I so proud of any distinction as
of being called upon to address you on this glorious
occasion. (Applause.) I shall give you not one, but
three. I shall propose three sentiments which em-
brace the whole solution of what statesmen have
called " The Irish difficulty"—sentiments which
touch the root of the whole question with which;
once popularised in the country, once felt and ac-
knowledged among the people, poverty and sedition
and rancour will flee away as the clouds of mist I
saw dispersing this morning from the sunlit summit
of Mount Nephin. (Cheers.) Loyalty, properly
understood, is not an empty obedience to the letter
of the laws. It is a living form, not a lifeless for-
mula. It is not a pageant, but a passion. It is not
satisfied with simple veneration for the throne with-
out an affectionate deiotion for the person of the
monarch. I want to know whether in those far dis-
tant parts of Western Connaught fear of the power
of the British crown is united with love for the per-
son of Queen Victoria ? (Tremendous cheering.)
Are there are any Fenians here ? (Laughter, and a
cry, " Two or three.") lam glad to hear it.
(Laughter.) Boys, you're welcome. (Roars of
laughter.) I wish every Fenian in the country were
here ; but I'll tell you a secret. lam not sure, but
if I got them in the room below I'd turn the water-
sluice upon them, and try to cool their enthusiasm.
(Great cheers and laughter.) Why, what is a Fe-
nian? A discontented Irishman in search of a
grievance—a tool for American insolence to menace
the peace of Europe with—a thong in the lash with
which Yankee bunkum threatens to whip creation !
(Cheers and laughter.) Was Grattan a Fenian?
No ; he was always loyal to the throne and institu-
tions of his country. Was Curran a Fenian ? No ;
the warmth of his patriotism never consumed the
adamant of his loyalty. Was O'Connell a Fenian?
(Loud cries of "Hear.") No. (Cheers.) When
he spoke from the hill of Tara to ten thousand of
his countrymen he never uttered a disloyal
thought against the British throne or constitu-
tion. (Loud cheers.) I don't want to discuss
the question of republics ':or monarchies to-night,
but what can the utmost craving of a reasonable
soul expect from a free government that we do not
enjoy in Ireland ? Security for the person ? Would
it be greater under a republic than now ? Liberty
of the press ? Would it flourish more under a new
republic than it does now under an ancient
monarchy? Equality of the laws? Is there any
sane Irishman who believes that there is one law
now for the rich and another for the poor ? Impar-
tiality in government patronage ? Why, look to
your bench of judges in Dublin, and a Monaghan,
a Fitzgerald, and a Keogh will answer your in-
quiry. (Loud cheers.) Fenianism is born too late
for its time. The evils that might have excused it
are cured; the good that might have animated it
has been accomplished. I don't say Ireland has no
grievance, but I do say that she has none that re-
! quires a" Fenian" rebellion. (Applause.) Don't
tell me the people are ready for a rising. There is
only one rising for which they are ready—a rising
in their wages—(cheers)—a better pay for an honest
day's work. (Cheers.) Rising and rebellion, in-
deed ! Why, I went to your court-house this morn-
ing and saw some young men on their trial. Was
there ever anything more silly than their conduct ?
They had been marched four deep on a lonely
road at midnight, and though there were fifty of
them when three policemen appeared they took
to their heels like a set of rabbits scared in a
warren. (Laughter and cheers.) A conspirator
is generally a coward, and a fool never made a
soldier. (Cheers.) I have no fear of these
Fenians. I believe the heart of the people is loyal
to the core. While this was going on in your
court-house, a number of open carts laden with
valuable machinery, without a guard, without
a policeman, were wending their peaceful
way, up hill and through valley, as safely and
securely as a royal carriage driving under the sha-
dows of Windsor Castle. (Loud applause.) Come,
then, and join with me in a cheer—a cheer, the
sound of which will float along the Burnee river,
and re-echo from the slopes of old Nephin ! I give
you—The Queen. May her virtue as a woman, and
her wisdom as a Sovereign, consecrate her person
and her Throne in the loyal affections of her Irish
people. (The whole assemblage joined in a loud
and hearty cheer, which was repeated with great
enthusiasm.) Mr. Seymour proceeded—l have pro-
posed to you one sentiment ; I now offer to you
another. Religious animosity is the hereditary curse
of Ireland. (Cheers.) lam commissioned to say
that within these walls no man shall ever be asked
what is the hue and cry of his politics or his faith.
(Great cheers.) Where is the chemist that can
analyse for me the difference between a Protestant
or a Catholic stalk of flax. (Loud cheers.) Does not
the same blue flower adorn all fields? (Cheers.)
Shall I ask the brave soldier who fights by my side
In the cause of mankind, if our churches agree ?
Shall I give up the friend I have valued and tried,
If he kneels not before the same altar with me ?
(Cheering.) But the poetry of Moore sinks before
the divine philosophy of the Christian religion. Did
not the blessed Founder of your faith and of mine
inculcate by his example and teaching the principle
that was first proclaimed at Bethlehem—the prin-
ciple of " Peace on earth, good will towards men?"
(Hear.) Indifference to all religion is one thing,
but forbearance between all religions is another. I
am a Protestant, the son of a Protestant clergyman,
the brother of two, the near relative of many—
shall I therefore refuse the hand of fellowship to
the Rev. Father Healy who stands by my side, and
who has come here to hallow our opening ceremony
by his pious benedictions ? (Great applause.) Ire-
land will hexer be happy till every Irishman ac-