Iowa capitol reporter. [volume] (Iowa City, Iowa) 1841-1855, 1848-11-15
Cause Of the Nome olm m nce m e MT
Of the Rebellion IN iceland.
To the Editors cfthe Spirit Of the Times:
CoNGREss-HAII.

i CoNGREss-HALL,
Thursday, Oct. IL, lS4S,
i Dean SrR: Several gentlemen of this
5 city, who have long felt deep interest in
| the affairs of Ireland, (of which number
you have not been the least active de-
sire that | should give some public ex-
PLANTATION Of the causes which led to the
unexpected failure Of the late revolution
ary movement in that country.
| feel bound to meet their wishes, as be-
ing theirs, and for this other reason, that
no honest statement OF the matter can be
made at present in Ireland, where the
right Of meeting and the liberty of the
press have been both annihilated by the
British authorities. Were it not my for
tune to arrive in your city, l should have
felt it my duty to have made the Execu-
tive Directory of New York the medium
of this statement. But being detained
here, and hearing SO many anxious inqui-
ries daily made, I have yielded to the gen
eral desire to make il public without de-
lay. In doing so | fear ! will try your
patience much, but am certain none of
your readers will consider the final fate
of seven millions Of generous and gifted
race subject Of Indifference to them, as
men or as Americans.
In what | say shall speak from my
own knowledge, for, though | went ON
mission into neighboring country toward
the end Of July, was back in Ireland the
first week in August, and was engaged
there till September.
There are three dates to be borne in
mind in reference to this movement; the
month of February, when the continental
revolution began--the Oath of July, when
the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended,
and the Harvest time, which, in Ireland,
does not come till September.
In February last, the Irish parties who
sought change of Government, were
two-''the moral force Repealers," and
"Young Ireland" These parties origi-
mated in July, 1916, when young Ireland
seeded from the Repeal Association, on
the subject of the lawfulness of shedding
blood to achieve political rights. Before
that event, Daniel O'Connell was as abb
solntely the ruler of Ireland, as Nicholas
| Romanoff is Of Russia. The old honored
him for his cautious tactics, the young, be-
cause England feared and hated him; many
Professionals sincerely co-operated with
him for his liberality; the Catholics rever-
ed him as the man who rebuilt their affairs,
and loosed the tongues and arms of their
/ Priesthood. Twothousand Catholic Clergy
men, qnartefed in every hamlet and at ev
cry cross-road, were his Captains and his
lnagistracy. His word was the only law
in the land, and children were baptized
with his name, as with the name Of a
Saint.
This man, so powerful and so well be-
loved, taught in his last days the doctrine
that 'no amount of liberty was worth the
splitting Of one drop of human blood, y and
the great majority of the clergymen and
the people adopted it implicitly. But
there was an underground OF new gen.
Grafton in Ireland, who desired seli-g
eminent, and who thought it a cause worth
fighting ior-who, indeed wished 10 fight
for it, provided it could not otherwise be
had. O>Connell introduced, in July '46,
his test Of membership in the Repeal AS
tons, and Young Ireland, believing
that such course would be fatal to
success against such an enemy, seeded
In January, lS47, they formed ''the Irish
Confederation out OF which the heat Of
the Continental events produced this late
attempt at instruction.
In lS47, Young Ireland was busy gain
!, l.. IL
''moral force" and with the examples Of
Plus the Ninth, and the revolutions last
Spring, we succeeded. At any time du-
ring the last six months the towns people
OF Ireland were, in terms, con mitted to at
tempt forcible expulsion of the British
power.
This township organization consisted of
500 clubs, in the total of about 10000 men
Of the lighting age. Of these, less than
half were more or less armed in July, and
the other half were acquiring arms as fast
4 as they could where money was scarce
and military weapons dear. have known
hali-employed tradesmen to stint them
selves OF their daily meals in order to buy
a gun. Each Club was divided into Sec
,tlOiiS vi 'CII IHCu3 VIII d NdStCl W cdCli
section, who knew, personally, each OF his
ten men. And let me assure our gener-
Gus American friends that although the
clubs, as Clubs, do not meet now together
in Ireland, these sections nearly all exist,
and form nucleus OF future movement
which cannot be reached or crushed.
assure them OF this both from knowledge
of the system and from the fact that under
the Disarming Act, twenty stands Of arms
have not yet been captured from the con-
iederates.
But the Confederate principles did not
pervade the rural populations up to the
last hour. For this there are many causes.
The famine of '46 and al, had left las
situde after it like that which follows fe-
yer. The Peasantry could not retain the
heat that Mitchell, Duffy and Meagher
would infuse into them. They felt the
electricity as "a shock--and it passed
through them.
The Government saw--it was patent
I fact--that we had converted and organic
: ed the towns, but had not reached the
) heart OF the country. They knew that