The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-05-25
John Mitchell ON tho STATE or Ireland.

Mr.. John Mitchell has addresseda second epistle
to the'O 'Opinione Nationale on Ireland. His former
letter, he says, was commented upon In Leading
article of the Tmes but no one disputed the facts
set forth in it, and the Times deduced from them
an argument in favor Of the coercive system in
ireland. He hopes that no one in France will ever
again declare that Ireland is administered by the
same laws, or that she enjoys the same liberties
as England The grievances which Mr.. Mitchell
now complains Of may be summed up thus: The
existence in Ireland Of q code to which England,
Scotland, and Wales are strangers. Exceptional
laws by which the Irish people are prohibited
own affairs by means Of q committee Of dele.
gates elected for that object. The right Of
possessing arms restricted to q few favored per-
sons. The teaching or learning drill, or any mill
prohibited, under penalty Of transportation, with
hard labor. The II ;sh cannot organize them
selves as voluDtee for the defence OF their
country. And, finally, the sherifs Of the large
citizens, as in England, are named by the crown,
in order to secure the juries. Everybody must
admit that such system is well adapted for
crushing in Ireland all free action and all politi-
cal and civil life. It is true that the rigorous yigi-
lance Of the English in preventing the Irish from
procuring arms and learning the use of them may
be considered as sort OF compliment to us. Eng
land does us the honor Of believing that if We had
arms we should know how to make proper use 70 Of 2!
8 compliment badly turned but in the mat
terloff compliment between England and Ireland
we must not be nice. Let us, then, accept 1t for
the moment until we got better. We shsll doubt
less be told that Ireland has access, through her
representatives, to the London Parliament and
has thus legal, certain, and suficient means to
obtain all reforms and liberties necessary and
accessory. But in reality in that Parliament Ire
land has but :derisive semblauce OF representa-
tion, and that representation, such a5 1t ls, ID
completely controlled by the British Government.
The Irish people do not believe that they are re-
presented in the English Parliament. They do
not desire to be 30. They have not tho right to
be 30. They hope for nothing good--nothing just
from that Parliament; and they have never reaped
anything from its legislation but f4mines, and q
system Of corruption and coercion without
reforms have done nothing but evil to Ireland.
It is by the law of municipal reform that the
British Government has found the means OF al
ways picking and choosing it's juries. 1t is by the
Catholic Emancipation Act that the Government
has been enabled to buy up the richest and most
influential Catholics, who, but for it, would never
have dared to sell themselves. In word, the
London Parliament to which we are referred for
the redress of all our grievances, is itself the
greatest and the most fatal Of all the grievances
OF Ireland, and includes all the others. Ireland,
then, in the judgment Of the majority of it's popu-
lation, has no legal and constitutional means OF
obtaining justice Hence We have Fenianiem, the
deliberate and organized negation of all English
laws and OF that Constitution which the English
call the wonder and envy Of the nations of the
universe"
Mr. Mitchell intimates that be proposes in a fu-
ture letter, to explain clearly what Fenianism is
and above all what it is not.