The Portland daily press., 1867-04-01
Irish Rehellsn..


OF st. Peter. That Enehsbm,n p -.
~, III ue year ll36, issued a bull granting
to the English King Henry H., complete an
thOrity over Ireland. The subjugation or Tho
island was completed, with but little d;l,icul,v
in I'LL. Among the adyenturers who tool,
part in the conquest il conquest it can he
called, were two knights from South Wales
Robert Fitz Stephens and Maurice Fitz Ger
aid, whose descendants have been plotting
almost ever siuce to undo the work their an
cestors accomplished so easily. Among the
native princes, Roderick O'Connor, King of
Connaught, was the most considerable, and
next to him the kings of Munster, Leinster
and Ulster. These four kingdoms became
and remain provinces of the British Empire
An English seneschal or governor was appoint
ed; the native princes were left in possession
OF the greater part of their ancient terrific
rles; such lands as were taken from them
were bestowed upon the followers of the new
Sovereign; and so the annexation of ireland
was complete. #s.H
The papal authority served TO reconcile the
Irish to the revolution which had thus taken
place. The authority of England was hardly
amore than nominal. Pope Adrian had re-
quired the homage Of the Irish ohieftains to
be paid to their royal neighbor, and why not
comply? For seven hundred years the Irish
had been Christian people. The labOrs OF
st. Patrick, the piety and learning of his sue
cessors, were famous not only in Ireland but
in all Europe. Then as now, the Irish peo-
pie were proud Of their Church and devotedly
loyal to it. When in 1884, Henry VIII. quar-
relied with the scrupulous Pope who refused
to sanction his first divorce, when the British
Parliament in the same year declared the
king 'the only supreme head in earth of the
Church of England" that church ceased to
be Catholic. In 1888 papal bull publicly de-
livered over Henry's soul to the devil and his
dominions to the first invader. The disaffec-
ton of the Catholic Irish began then, and
from year to year has only grown more pro-
found.
The first considerable rebellion broke out in
1893, when Hugh O'Neale, Earl of Tyrone, de-
feated the English at Blackwater. The NAL
content Irish were then acting in concert
with the Spanish, but when in 1902 it became
clear that the Spaniards would accomplish
nothing against England, Tyrone surrender
ed his lite and fortunes Internationally to
Queen Elizabeth. The terrible rebellion of
1641 was led by another Tyrone. Sir Phelim
O'Neale. 1t is vaiiously estimated that from
10000 to 100000 English colonists, of both
sexes and all ages and conditions, perished by
the sword. by hunger and cold, with circum-
stanc,s of inhuman barbarity. Charles 1.
and his Parliament were at odds, and the
| rebels had their own way with but little op-
position, till 1649, when Parliament effected
| permanent settlement by beheading the king
| Then came Cromwell and chastised Ireland
with a rod iron. The Irish emigration began
at this epoch; 10000 fighting men went into
voluntary exile, taking service in the armies
of Europe, wherever there was prospect of
meeting the English. In 1000 the Irish were
Jacobites, and King James, supported by his
French allies, remained master OF Ireland for
more than year and half after his flight
from England. The famous battle OF the
Boyne in 1890, decided his fate. The Rap
parees were driven intO their holes the next
year, and Ireland was once more pacified.
The independence of the United States was
recognized by England in 1852. The French
revolution broke out in 1889, and war was de-
clared between France and England in 1893.
The Irish rebellion OF 1898 was the natural
result of these great revolutions and of the
opportunity afforded by foreign war. The
society of United Irishmen was formed by
Wolfe Tone in 1871. The plan of an insur-
rection took form gradually. One Of the
principal leaders was Lord Edward Fitzger-
aid, a brother Of the Duke of Leinster; Ar
thur O'Connor and Thomas Emmett were also
active in the business. All these men were
arrested, however, in 179S, and though the
rising took place it was without order or dis
tinct purpose, blazing up here and there but
easily trampled out. In 1900, the union OF
England aud Ireland was deereed by an act
abOlishing the Irish Parliament and admitting
100 Irish members 70 the English House OF
Commons and 32 peers to the House Of Lords.
In 1903 Robert Emmett made his unfortu-
hSoS Sss~AAPS " SsAA oP ACNOu
| Union. In 1924 Daniel OConnell began to
| agitate for the admission of Catholics to Par
lament. The bill passed five years later, aud
OCOnnell next demanded a repeal of the
Union. The agitation on this topic waxed
in intensity, till in 1s43 O'Connell was arrest
edand found guilty of conspiracy and sedition.
The judgment of the court was afterwards re-
versed by the House OF Lords, but OConnell
died few years later. Smith O'Brien's re-
bellion in the famine year, 1S4S, was the
natural outgrowth Of the violent agitation OF
the twenty years preceding John Mitchell
and Darcy MCGEE were among O'Brien's sup
porters in this affair.
| The Fenian rebellion closes the list for the
present 1t is plain from the preceding ac-
count that ever since the rule of England be-
gan to be felt, the Irish have been ready, at
anybody's signal, to rise in revolt. They have
failed again and again, but failure does not
| check the ardor of their desire forindeperdence
Those who look upon the Fcnian movement
| as gigantic "swindle" are mistaken, so far as
the great majority of its participants are con-
4 Cerucu. uc men WHO were tn Smlt0 " Bfl-
ems plans in 1S4s are the men who have or
ganized this new movement. The name is
taken from the ancient title OF the Irish mill
tia, Fianna Erinn, a name long since extinct
since the body itself was broken up in the
third century of our era. The Fenian scheme
rested upon three assumptions: l. That the
lrishmen in the English army would revolt
2. That England could not land in ireland
within three months more than $4,000 troops
3. That Is 900 Fenians could be put in the
field at once, with reserve Of 100000 more.
In the first and third of these particulars the
scheme has broken down, and the second is
therefore ofno account. 1t is curious to no
tice how the old names reappear. Timothy
Connell has been arrested. j. J. OConnor
was the Kerry leader. James Stephens may
be descendant Of Robert Fitz Stephens him
SELF Who knows? ..
| General Blair at Hartford.
Frank p Blair, theyecently rejected appontee to
inv xifadfb 10