The Shasta courier., 1864-10-15
M'Cormack's speech.

MCormack's Speech !
On Thursday last, in pursuance of - -
given, the loyal Irish of San Francisco ct
for the purpose of organizing an Irish Union
Club The following speaks the sentiment
Of the meeting. and we command it to sthe
careful attention of our Irish fellow citizenF:
Mr.. Mccormack being loudly called for,
mounted the stand, and spoke as follows
Mr. President and Sons fmy Fathers Na
fire Land-I am glad, indeed, to meet you
here TO- night under the circumstances that
have called you together. It affords me ia.
finite satisfaction to see SO many loyal Irish
men who are ready to form another Irisb
Brigade to fight under the leadership Of =
Meagher sor any other man. in defe6o31f
the land of your adoption, to uphold lit5k1
and the freedom of man. This convinc>o 16
that you have not forgotten the teachin
the great O'Connell, when he poured outH1
eloquence like gushing stream of living w.
ter on Tara's hill in behalf of his down nd
den country and freedom of its people,
(Cheers.}. J. This meeting tells me that many
of my countrymen are still loyal and true n
the country of their adoption and belieSp
that should the necessity ever arrive here, al
it has in the East, the Government will 8nd
among its warmest and most jealous defDAd-
ers the loyal Irishmen Of California. Loud
cheers.)
IwouId like to have the opportunity Of
telling my misguided countrymen, what an
injury they inf1ct on US and our children BY
thei: treachery to the Government. How
false they are to the teachings of our tfuest
friends and interests. In the year 1900, Ire
land possessed its own Government, its own
Legislature, its own religion, its own Judges
by fraud and deception these privileges
were taken from her, and her parliament,
judges and religion. were changed by its new
rulers. The union that makes her part of
the British empire, was the foulest fraud ever
perpetrated on a free nation. When that
great patriot. Daniel O'Connell, in a life long.
struggle to make Ireland free, was making
appeals to his countrymen in terms so elo-
auent that his words moved their hearts in
unison as the winds of heaven rush the bill
lows of the ocean, did he not, on all occasions
appeal to you to break down the power Of
Great Britain by the peaceful revolutions that
Justice ever places in the hands of people ID
redress their wrongs sooner or later? Front
one end of the island to the ether, his appeals
in behalf OF Ireland set the people almost.
frantic with excitement. A single hint from
him would have spread rebellion, bioodshed+
and horror all over the country but he al
ways spoke against resort to rebel ion In
1913. when Smith O'Brien, Meagher. and
their followers, against his advice, raised the
standard Of revolt, none condemned the re-
bellion more strongly than Daniel O. 'Connel.
Now, if it was according to such authority
crime for an Irishman to rebel in behalf of
his native land, to snatch it from the grasp of
its tyrannical usurpers, how much greater
crime it must be for Irishmen to take up arms
in rebellion against such a Government as
this, whiclfdoes not Cypress but guards and
protects him. A government that passes
through a revolution every four pears, when
the people have the privilege of selecting their
own rulers a Government that is the will of
the people themselves; a Government. the
influence of which is felt, but as the dews of
heaven is felt by the flowers, to nourish and
sustain. .(Cheers.) We are now in the throes
of one of our periodical revolutions. and the
issue of this peaceful revolution that will be
decided at the ballot box on the 9Th of No.
vember, will be more decisive in its conse-
quence to the nation than a score of battles
won or lost. The arrogance of the South,
which refused to submit to the arbitrament
ct the ball1t-box, is being punished fearfully
ruin, desolation and sorrow has blighted their
once beauteous land. They have discovered,
but too late, that the people of the North are
c fnrbearing people, but when called upon
to fight for their rcountry-their freedom, they
know no such word as surrender Cheers
The boastful assertion of the rebels at the
outbreak of the war, that the men of the
North were cowards-would not fight; that
five of them were equal to one Southern man,
has been proven to be false as the principles
that caused the war. (Cheers) The battles
at Fort Donaldson. Shiloh, Chattanooga, Get
tysburg. Cbickamauga. Murfreesboro. in
which the rebels Mad the advantages of num-
bers. prove this. (Cheers.)
1t 1t be true that few of my countrymen
have been misled by their love of the empty
name Of Democracy to join the ranks of the
they do SO from honest conviction they are
deceived they have submitted to be so far
imposed upon by political tricksters as to ac-
cept spurious loyalty instead of the genu.
inc coin. My countrymen who came here to
escape the tyranny of Il cir kinglv rulers can
not he Sd wantoniy wicked, 50 insane-if they
understand the suhject-as to wish to support
a Government based on such principles as
that of the South, that would deprive them
of the right of suffrage. that would sell them
as slaves on the same block as they sell me-
groes. The Southern slaveh, lders, to my
knowledge-tke very men my countrymen
are striving to place in power-look upon us
Irishmen as inferior to their negroes. If
lrishmen are so base, so degraded, so wan.
only unprincipled as to d, these things, what
did they come here for? Why did they leave
their native land, its expressions and degra-
''atinns? Let all such base degenerate sons
ofO!d Ireland's soil 60 back to their misery
Let them return to tneir miserable mud cab
ins; the rotten potatoes their exacting, cruel
landlords to their famines and pei til nces
and there let them starve out the remainder
of their existence! They are not fit for free
dom. plenty. and happiness. Loud cheers \
Every lrishman who votes against the pres
ervation of the Union; against the sustain
ing of the present Government. commits per-
jury-perhaps not with guilty knowledge
in all cases, but it is perjury. Evernnatur-
allied citizen has, before he can exercise the
privilege Of freemen to take an oath, TO in