The Sun.
London, England, 1860-07-05 00:00:00

A FREA CH VIEW OF IRELAND.

La Revue Contemporaine, in an article entitled
" Chronique Politique," after alluding to the death
of Prince Jerome, .and to other topics of general in-
terest, thus speaks of Ireland:—
"The Irish have every claim to our interest ; they
are Catholics, like us; they are Celts, and we have
Celtic blood in our veins. We only wish that the
author of " M'Mahon, King of Ireland," or any '
other pamphlet on the same subject, would be so
good as tp specify what reproach he makes to the
English Government in its present conduct towards
Ireland, and what are the reforms which he demands.
There are various remedies for the evils which
spring from a bad government; but for the evils
which spring from misery, we know but two reme-
dies—labour among the poor, charity among the
rich ; and neither the one nor the other can be effi-
caciously applied by Government. The Irish ques-
tion, if there be one, is not a political question.
Policy gave to Ireland, 30 years ago, all that she
could demand. The Irish possess exactly the same
rights as the English—that is, civil and political
rights, which pass for being very extensive, and
such as few nations now possess. Individual liberty
—liberty of conscience and of religious worship—
unlimited liberty of the press—liberty to make a
will—liberty of meeting and association—the jury
—national representation; there is not one of the
guarantees, not one of the advantages of the
English constitution of which the Irish have
not the full and entire enjoyment. An Irish-
man, Catholic or Protestant, may aspire to every
public employment. Queen Victoria's Prime Mini-
ster is an Irishman, a Protestant, it is true, and
very Protestant—in the Irish Government Depart-
ments are to be found many Catholics. It is suffi-
cient to open any Irish journal in which the Queen's
Ministry are frequently insulted—it is sufficient to
read the report of any meeting where the very
basis of the English Government is violently at-
tacked, and where foreign invasion is openly invoked,
to convince one's self that the liberty of discussion
is respected in Ireland, even in its greatest excess.
If the Irish see the English manifest their sympa-
thies for a cause which is odious to them, they are
perfectly free to raise their voice in favour of the
opposite cause ; if a subscription is opened for the
Sicilians in London, the citizens of Dublin may
subscribe for the Pope or the King of Naples; if it
displeases them to hear one of the Queen's Mini-
sters praise Garibaldi, they may give themselves
the pleasure of burning the same Garibaldi in
effigy in the public squares—they did so the other
day. For a trifle they would burn the Minister
himself. And yet people speak of the tyranny
practised by the English Government on Ireland !
" There was a time when such accusations were
well founded. It was when exceptional laws
pressed upon Ireland—when the Catholics were
indirectly excluded from public employments by
the obligation of an oath at which their conscience
revolted. Even then Ireland, though less fortunate
than England, enjoyed institutions which many
nations in Europe would have envied her, She
had trial by jury--she had a Parliament, and,
though the members were not Catholics, the electors
might be, and were so for the most part, and their
choice no doubt was influenced by that fact. We
would, moreover, wish to know whether at that
period—that is, the 18th century--.the condition of
the Protestants of France and in many other coun-
tries of the Continent was better than that of the
Irish Catholics. At present even tke inequality
between Catholics and Protestants has disappeared
in practice as well as in legislation, and the Eng-
lish Government can no longer be reproached with
a single act of injustice on this head. There
remains, it is true, in Ireland, one inequality—an
inequality of fortunes, which neither the Ministers
nor the Parliament can suppress—there are rich
and poor there as elsewhere. It is to God we must
refer it, or, rather, to te moral and physical con-
ditions in which humanity lives, to the inequality
of force, to the difference of character, to the varia-
tions of seasons, and to the accidents of fortune.
But people prefer blaming the Government, which
can do nothing. We touch here upon one of the
weaknesses of our own country, which is to call for
the assistance of the Government on every occa-
sion. Should the harvest be a bad one, bread dear,
rents high, it is the Government which is applied
to for a remedy. But it is not the duty of the Go-
vernment to bring rain down from heaven, to pre-
vent hail, to force an abundant harvest, nor to re-
gulate rents. The duty of the Government is to
govern well—that is to say, to govern as little as
possible ; to respect the liberty of every individual
so long as he does not attack the liberty of another,
and to leave to individual exertion its spontaneous
development. The English Government performs
this duty faithfully in Ireland, and this is all that
can be expected of it. Complaints are made that
there are landlords who expel their tenants from
their cabins. Does not this happen in France every
day ? Can a farmer or a lodger complain of being
replaced by a farmer or a lodger who offers better
terms ? And even should a landlord—which some-
times happens in France as in Ireland—use his
right with rigour, can the Government interfere ?
Is it for the Government to meddle with private
contracts, to violate one of the most necessary liber-
ties—that of property, and can it prescribe humanity
by administrative measures ? The Irish emigra-
tion is deplored, but are Irish the only people who
emigrate? English, Germans, Swiss do the same
every day. Certain races have a taste for emigra-
tion ; it is a necessity for people who increase ra-
pidly. In place of too curiously examining the
mote which may be in our neighbour's eye, we
ought to occupy ourselves with the beam that is in
our own. How well it becomes us to preach to ano-
ther the liberty which he has enjoyed for a long
time while we have lost the best part of that which
we did possess, and while we scarcely know how
to make use of what has been left to us."

The 84th anniversary of American independence
was celebrated yesterday evening. by a dinner at
the London Tavern, presided over by Gen. Camp-
bell, the American Consul-General in London.
Amongst the company present were Mr. Dallas,
American Minister; Mr. Crosky, Gen. Macdonald,
Dr. Mackay, Mr. Hollinshead, Mr. Magnus, and
about 100 gentlemen more or less connected with
the United States. The dinner was of excellent
quality, and the arrangements altogether gave
unmixed satisfaction.
On the removal of the cloth,
The CHAIRMAN briefly stated the object of their
festive meeting. They were assembled, he said,
to celebrate the 84th anniversary of a day on which
a young nation had determined to be free, and
which stood alone in the presence of friend and foe.
From that day down to the present America had
been the home of the fugitive, and a friend of
struggling freedom all over the world. (Cheers.)
Mr. DALLAS said that any one who listened to
him was aware of the peculiar affection and respect
with which that anniversary dinner was regarded
by all Americans. They knew and they appre-
ciated the wisdom and the courage of a young
people in declaring themselves independent of an
old Government, and the patriotism associated with
the names of those who had founded the present
system of the American Government. No one
needed to be told what signification attached to the
4th of July—the hallowed birthday of a great
nation. (Cheers.) It was hailed and accepted as
an epoch signally illrstrated by many virtues, and
was lastingly auspicious to mankind. (Loud cheers.)
It might be gratifying to those who listened to him
were he to dwell, as he had often done before, upon
the ennobling characteristics of their early heroic
times. Even in this capital of England, no one could
listen with reluctance to the recurrence of such
names as Washington—(loud cheers)—Franklin—
(loud cheers)—Jefferson—(continued cheering)
or Madison—(protracted cheering)—to descriptions
of famous fields of fight, such as Bunker's-hill, Sara-
toga, or Yorktown; or to the majestic deliberations
of councils, or to the continental congress presided
over by Hancock. (Hear, hear.) To the American
ear, the swelling theme never had lost, and never
would lose, its significance or attraction. He ab-
stained, however, now, and mindful of the limits of
a proper reserve, would only add, that the fondness
with which they eulogised their revolutionary sires
was neither ungenerous nor exclusive, but, on the
contrary, would be as warmly manifested whenever
and wherever similar excellence was displayed.
On this day the hearts of his countrymen expanded
to recognise true greatness evinced in any land, by
any race. At this moment, in a somewhat distant
island, a spontaneous and popular insurrection
against oppression, cruelty, and wrong awakened
wide-spread sympathies. (Loud cheers.) He for-
bore a single comment on the merits of the case ;
but if there could be found amongst the champions
of Sicilian rights and liberties a wise, just, brave,
and disinterested deliverer, they should hasten to
connect the heroism of the present day with the
heroism of the day they were then commemorating.
(Cheers.)
Mr. CROSKEY here called for three cheers for
Garibaldi, which was vociferousl,y responded to.
The next toast was "The President of the United
States," to which followed "The Queen," in giving
which the Chairman stated that her ajesty had
most kindly lent her celebrated portrait by Winter-
halter, for the purpose of its being copied by an
American artist, and placed in the club room of the
American Association. The toast was most enthu-
siastically responded to.
The next toast was " The Diplomatic Service of
the United States," coupling with it the name of his
Excellency G. M. Dallas.
Mr. DALLAS briefly returned thanks, alluding to
the long roll of distinguished men who had illus-
trated American diplomacy from the revolution
down to the present day. These men, he said, had
distinguished themselves because they came from a
free nation and were sustained by a free people.
(Cheers.)
Mr. CROSKEY gave the health of the Chairman,
which was warmly responded to, after which the
remaining toasts on the chairman's list were dis-
posed of, and the company separated.
A selection of appropriate music was efficiently
performed by the Distin Ventil Horn Union, who
wore the uniform of the London Rifle Brigade.
Mr. Higgs was the toastmaster.