The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1848-11-13

several attempts have been made OF late, ON
both sides Of the Atlantic, to attribute the failure
Of the late instruction In Ireland to the Insh Ca
tholic clergy. AS long this error was confined
to the few ignorant writers on this side OF the At
lantic, who now and again give us their opinions
on Irish matters, il was OF very little consequence
but they become invested with more importance,
and are calculated to produce erroneous impress
slons on the public mind here, when they are en-
dorsed and reiterated by some Of those gentlemen
who have taken part in getting up the Insurrecton,
and who have just made their escaps to this coun
try.
One of these gentlemen, Mr.. Niece, Is desi.
rOus OF impress,ng the public here with the belief
that the failure of the instruction to be attrbut
ed to the Catholic clergy not joining the move.
ment He says A" that the clergy ofthe people made
grave political mistake, and that that mistake
was atal to the resurrection in Its inc,pient stages
Now, with great respect tor Mr.. MCGEE, we take
leave to say that this is ingenious but not very
gentemanIy calumny on the Catholic clergy Of Ire
land. Mr.. MCGEE knows well, or ought to know,
that there Is not body of men In the world who
have chung with more fidelity and self.denlal to
the principles OF civil and religious liberty and
though it has of late become the fashion with the
and their followers in this country, to heap upon
the "surpllced rufiians' and the 50 hooded incen-
diaries every kind of obloquy that satanic inge-
nuity could DEVISE for their attachment to Ireland,
it is neither honest nor honorable in the Irish re-
fugees to join now at the other end of the trai and
assail them for the very contrary.
Besides, such an assertion is scandalously false.
The failure OF the attempted insurrection was
owing TO the incompetence and laundering stupi-
dity of few self-concelted young men, who, dur
ing their short public career, lived in continual
round Of selfcreated delusions. Who ever placed
any confidence In Smith O'Brlen! He is an ho-
nest-a bold man-we are ready to admit, and is
worthy of all esteem, not only from his own coun-
trymen but from every lover of liberty in the world
but honesty and bodness are not the only qualities
necessary for the man who takes upon himself the
position of another Moses, to lead the modern
Israetes out OF bondage. Who, again, was
Mitchell man whose words and writings
proved him to be utterly incompetent for the task
he undertook. To take one instance Out of hum
dreds: Will any one who con Insiders his conduct
previous to the celebrated LINER soiy<e, under
take to say that such man was calculated to win
the confidence of people, He went to that city
for the purpose of winning over' the disciples of
moral force to the sword, and as a preparatory
mannuvre, he issued in the Nation of the pre-.
vIous week, one of the most inAammatory, abusive.
and, to say the least of 1t, lnjudlcous attacks on
the memory Of O'Connell that even he ever in.
dulged In.
This was the mode which this other leader
adopted to "win over" the city OF the "violated
heart" and the world has witnessed the result.
The only other man worth mentioning, and the
abest man, by far, of the party, DAVIS, was called
off to better and brighter sphere just In time to
save himself from the modification of being drag
ged through the mud, or as one of the Young Ire
land party propheticaly termed it, " through the
social SHAMELESS" by his more rash, reckless and
mad colleagues. AS for MacNevin and Meagher.
Duffy and Dillon, Barry and O'Gorman, and some
others, whatever quallca ton they had for making
speeches and writing strong, imprisoned newspa.
per articles and poetic appeals, they were utterly
incompetent for the part of leaders of the Irish
people.
II ls an ungraclous task, and one which we do
not set about with much pleasure, to expose the
hollow pretensions of these would.be leaders of
the Irish people; the more especially as some of
them have undergone, and some OF them still await
the vengeance of the British government But
the subject has been forced upon us by the folly
and falsehood OF their friends. MIR. MCGEE also
says, ",hat at any time during the last SIX months,
the towns-people were in terms committed to at.
tempt forcible expulsion of the British power"
This sounds "passlng strange" Can 1t be possible
that this gentleman has soon forgotten the igno-
minIous expulsion of his own party, at any time
within the last twelve months, from Waterford.
Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick and Belfast, and every
other town they VISITED TO " win over 2" Can he
have forgotten that he himself, with Smith O'Brien.
Meagher, Mitchell, and Martin, narrowly escaped
with their lives, about this time last year. from the
Music Hall of Belfast And 80 incensed was 20
pular feeling against them, that they had to be es
corted home to their hotels by the British police
This, however, was but repetition of the treat
ment they received In almost every town in Ire
land that they visited to " win over"
It's very convenient now, for this gentleman to
turn round upon the Catholic clergy, and place the
failure OF the insure ction at their door, But it is
poor DEVICE" a weak invention If the enemy"
Mr.. Mitchell, Mr. OBrien. Mr.. Duffy a. Co., knew
very well at the commencement of their secession,
up to the last throw OF the dice, that the clergy was
against them. Indeed, they appeared rather sa-
usfied than otherwise, that this was the case-and
look especial pains to proclaim to the world, and
to boast in their usual vaInglorlous style how in
differently they regarded such a circumstance.
1t is not our intention to go into the question O.,
moral or physical force, in contests for popular
liberty. Both are proper, at proper time and places.
Our sole object is TO place the responsibility of the
late failure in the proper quarter. The Catholic
clergy Of Ireland may be all their enemies
say they are but they have ever chung with
unialterlng fidelity to their people, unseduced
by brides, and unawed by power. 1t is well
known they did not Join the Young Ireland
party. But who could blame them Who in
Ireland, whose good opinion of any value,
placed confidence in that party! No one and
a. a.. a. L. l.