Daily national Republican., 1863-02-26
LOCAL NEWS
Lecture on sCurrsn ana ths wits oS the
Iriah BARI
by MASON JONES

This distinguished orator was greeted, last even
ing, By ~ intelligent and critical audience
we remember ever having seen in Washington.
The hallwas crowded, many not being able to 80
cure even standing room.
He commenced referring 10 the period In which
curran lived during which time, he said, the most
brilliant Of IreiAnd's intellectual luminaries ar
peAred. ..
Iriahmen had not much to he proud Of for seven
centuries Of oppression had 90 ground them down
as 10 almost destroy their manhood, energy, pat
rlotism and ambition. But, notwithstanding all
their oalAmities as a nation, they had two things
70 be proud Of and In which he would unhesitAt-
ingly assert they beat tho world. These two
things were their eloquenoe and muaic.
The speaker then proceeded 10 describe In an In
teresting and graphic manner the various styles Of
oratery, and the distinguishing qualities Of dfer-
ent orators. Curran, he said, possessed 10 re-
markabe degree happy combination Of all these
qualities, which rendered him hrst-class orator,
and superior to all his famous contemporaries.
Curran was born In the year I7OO and through.
out his youth had to struggle against poverty. So
poor was he, that he and fellow student at col
lege had but one pair Of pantaloons, which, when
worn BY one the other remained in durance vile In
hls room.
Curran's biographerS gave but a faint idea Of the
great wealth and brilllancy Of his genius. That by
aaa aNA ~ hoou1 uuN NnhN uy NnhTleh fUliIpb uOeB
him great injustice BY the fusomeness Of his praise
and the extravaganza Of his conceIts.
The speaker referred 10 important events in
CurrAnb life, nketching incidentally, as he pro-
seeded, the character and genius Of two or three
OF his cotemporaries, and gave quotations from
some OF Curran's more celebrated orations, which
he remarked Curran never committed to paper, a.
he had great aversion to written speeches.
Ono grand feature Of Curran's life was that he
RlNvRVa .ad II. "a
liberty 70 all men, black or white, the whole world
over
The speaker here cited, In an eloquent manner,
the soul-stirring speech Of Curran, gorifying Eng
land for her act Of univ ersal emancipation.
Yes, said tho speaker, although England may
have been guilty Of crimes against liberty In India
In China, in Ireland, she has ever stood out as
grand example to the civilized nations ofthe earth
In granting freedom to ALL the instant they should
place their foot upon British soil.
II had been the boast Of England that no slave
could breathe beneath the folds Of Ito flag But
floating often beside that British ensign there was
another proud, naughty nag-the symbol OF liberty
all the world over-the ensign Of hope to the op-
pressed, and terror to the oRpressor. Upon It's
folds there was a deep and dAmning stain, This
was its sanction Of that barbarous custom OF
trading In human nesh, and the despotS Of Europe
were glad TO have an opportunity Of pointing the
~NAe-@NH
claimed TO wave over = community Of men born
with equal rights and protected by equal liberties
and laws, upheld and sustained one Of the most
tnhuman and ungodly trAfies that was ever en-
gagged in BY man. Yes, they pointed to that banner
and said, "Look at the boAsted symbol Of your Re
publican Institution, separating mother nom child
and husband from wife" And the reproach was a
jUst one.
Now, however, thank God, the fires Of Heaven
have been hurled aSainst that Aecursed institution
which was deprsving and communicating every
form Of moral, social, and political life BY the
madness OF Southern Slaveholders themselves they
have been brought to condign punishment, and
before long the American nag will wave over this
vast continent from the Lakes to the Gulf Of Mex.
loo, nom tho Atlantic 10 the Pacinc and then the
splendid panesyric Of currAn will be as applicable
20 its folds a. 10 those OF the British flag.
That nag will now be rescued from the only dis.
grace which has hitherto been attached to IT,
for hereafter We trust that Whenever thu
"stars and stripes" are seen, there no slave shall
be allowed to longer breathe az such; but when he
looks upon Its azure fodS he shall stand rode
Begenerated, diSenthrslled by the irresistible 70
MUS of"universal emancipation"
This eloquent sentiment was received with the
most enthuSiAStic applause by the vast audience
assembled, and II some time before the speaker
was able to resumed