The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1867-05-18
When Will the Blow be Struck?

speak 10 any lTlSnIlau VINO OBSERVES tLc HtiAe,
either here i'll America, or in the old land beyond
the sea, and the question which stands at the head
of this article is of the first he is sure to adj
dress to you. "When will the blow be struck"-
the blow which is to sever the bonds which for
seven centuries have cramped and cankered the
limbs of the fair land of his fathers-whch is to
strike down the infamous and accursed power Of
her tyrant and tormentor-and which is to leave
her free to arise from the dust and darkness Of her
humiliation, and take her rightful place among the
nations of the earth?
We cannot help respecting, even when we are
compelled to condemn, the unreasoning and impa-
tent ardor which prompts the inquiry 1t proves
that, although the mind may be anything but we'll
informed the heart is still in the right pace-that
the true metal, out of which free men and nations
are made, is still there-and that if worked with
energy and guided with wisdom, it might eventu-
ally be made to accomplish with success, the hercu
lean task of rghting the most internal wrongs that
ever people endured, and of uprooting, once and
forever tyranny more merciless than any by
which the human race has hitherto been crushed.
The question when is the blow to be struck %
plainly and practically means how soon, and by
what means, is Ireland to be freed from the yoke Of
English oppression? Such is the simple and dis
tinct issue which, if we are rational men, must be
fairly and squarely met.
Of the excellence and desirabilty of the work
itself, we shall assume that there will be ques-
tion And assuredly there be none, except
among those who, through the power of prejudice
or from the inducements Of interest," false to the
claims of justice, and to the principles of liberty
So far we are agreed.
But let us not forget the enormous amount of
evil that naa1st be Waadone before the good con-
template can possibly be accomplished. Before the
work can even be commenced-before the very
foundaton-stone of the structure can be laid-what
weary task of patient and persistent toll must be
gone through, in clearing away the accumulated
filth and rubbish Of SO many generations of slave
ry, and robbery, and wrong
AS people we must, first of all, be educated in
the principles and practices Of true liberty. We
must be made fit for freedom before can be free.
If that is not done, merely escape Scylla to per-
ish in Chary bdis-are delivered from the jaws of
the lion to fall into the fangs of the wolf-escape
from the blood-stained grasp of one highway-rob-
Der to become the prey of another. In tho hands
of Charles l the tyrants sceptre was rod; IN
those of Cromwell it became scorpion. France
under Louis XVI was hungry and wretched :;
France under Napoleon Bonaparte was sacrificed
outright.
Consider the political teaching the Irish people
have got for ages--which they are getting at this
hour. Is not obedience to power ordained of
hell the first and last lesson? Are not their very
prayers to the God of freedom poisoned and pol
ldted with those shameful applications, which
they are compelled to offer up, from every church
and altar, for blessings on that atrocious govern
ment, and on its monarchical head, which reduces