Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1867-06-25
a TALK WITH JOHN BRIGHT, THE
LEADER OF THE BRITISH RADI-
GALS.

and throughout Great Britain, is
much younger man than expected
to meet. He is in his fifty sixth
year, but does not look TO be more
than forty-eight. Although not tai.
Ter, be is stouter than Speaker Colfax.
His countenanee is not unlike that
OF Hon. James II. Ashley. the Repre-
sentative in Congress from Toledo,
Ohio. A more genial, animated and
benevolent face have never studied.
You see, at glance, that he is
Thoroughly contentious statesman
that all his opinions are convictions,
to be maintained against every odds,
and at any sacrifice. In my long
and agreeable interview with Mr..
Bright, | found him completely post.
ed in American affairs. He was as
familiar with the statesmen and SOL
diers who figured before and during
the rebellion, and with the details of
political parties in the United States,
asst he knew the first personally, and
had assisted in the direct mar age,
ment OF the second. All his ques
tons proving equally his intense in
terest in our affairs and the care with
| which he had studied the actors in
| the drama of the war. Indeed, Mr..
Bright deserves the title of the cham
pion of American liberty in the Brit
ish Parliament. There has never
| been moment when he has doubted.
or turned back in the support of gen
uine republican principles. His anx-
iety for the success of the great Rad
ical party of America was we'll calcu-
lrted to excite my gratitude. Proud
and full Of praise of the manner in
which the Thirty -ninth and Fortieth
Congress had completed the work of
reconstruction, he is extremely So
licltous that no mistake may endan~
ger the triumph Of the coming elec>
ton, and that nothing will hinder u
wise and continued administration of
the National Government by the men
who saved it from ruin. That such
man should be loved by the Enc :
lish masses, and faithfully followed
by his associatesi in Pertinent, is very
natural, and we in America should
not refuse to listen to his counsel. |
never shsll forget the fervor with
which he said "Nothing in history
equals the glorious triumph of hu>
manity and liberty in your country.
You will find things much changed
for the beIter in Great Britain. The
overthrow Of Your enemies at home
has surrounded your cause with
friends abroad. The wonderful mag
nanimity with which you have treat
ed the rebels (who would instantly
have been hung by hundreds if they
had taken arms against a monarchy
has been a terrible contrast to the
cruelty of these bad men, and an
admonition and example to the ty>
rants Of the earth" As Mr.. Bright
had been laboring for several DAYS
past to save the lives of those FEM
an leaders who have been sentenced
to be hung especially Burke and
as, when he spoke to me, there was
some doubt whether the efforts of
himself and his friends would prevail,
he gave peculiar emphasis to this re-
mark: You tell me-" he went on
to say "what know and deeply re-
greet, that 1rishmen in America vote
with the falsly called Democratic
party, and against the noble Repub-
licans, who are the courageous friends
of human rights all over the world,
and this is the more painful when |
tell you that the liberal party in Par
liamant has never had more able
and faithful body Of supporters than
the majority of the members from
Ireland. But time will cure all this
If God in his infinite providence does
not bring the Irish in America right
ly to view their duty to the only
country in which they can truly
prosper, they will gradually be lost in
the overwhelming growth and pre-
ponderating influence of the natives
born element, white and black.
In the nature of things, the tide Of
emigration from Ireland to America
cannot be greater hereafter than it
has been, while the increase Of your
homogeneous population will render
any attempt to organize internal
combinations, based upon either the
Catholic religion or hatred of par>
ticular people, comparatively inaffct-
ual" Mr.. Bright said the deport-
ment of the colored people in our
country since their liberation was
the "sublimest spectacle in history )"
and when | assured him how COM
pletely they had disappointed the pre-
dictions Of their foes and the fears Of
their friends, he said he never doubt
ed how the experiment of setting
them free would end. The ballot,
being the representative Of an inalen-
able right, Q natural franchise, which,
belonging to all men alike in a civil>
lied country, cannot be withheld
without gross injustice, and even
when conceded conveys the assump-
ton of q revolving preumtion by those
who desire to concede it-makes men
emulous to be worthy Of the response
bilities Of citizenship. 81 may not
live to see the day, but Cunning to
his son, young gentleman about
twenty years of age, standing at his
side this lad will, when colored men
as able as any of your whites will
figure in your national councils. y
One part of this interesting inter
view deserves a special consideration
that where Mr.. Bright took espe>
cial pains to deny that the Liberal
leaders entertained any purpose of
creating bitter feelings between Eng
land and the United States. His
language here was precisely what
have heared from the lips of John
Stuart Mill, NJ. p, Goodwin Smith,
Thomas B. Potter, NJ P, Thomas
Hughers, NJ. P, (the author Of "Tom
Brown Lord Charles Friedrich Cav
endish, NJ. P, Sir Francis Crosley,
NJ. p. and other men of the same
school. One and all, they deplored
the Fenian movement in Ireland, and
regretted the action of the House of
Representatives at Washington SYM