The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-01-09
THE IRISH SIDE OF THE QUESTION.

a
terrible fascination, that there is skeleton in
every house. The saying is, perhaps, more
true Of nations than Of families. A great his
torical crime or blunder committed by peo-
pie is sure to leave monument which will be
a perpetual reproach and menace 7; one
which can neither be destroyed, hidden, nor
forgotten, and the thought or the sight of
which will always be enough to perplex
craftsmanship and alarm patriotism. Yet
every nation which is haunted by such sin
lister presence is much more prone, in its
pride and self-complacency, to note and ex-
plain the skeletons of other nations than to
acknowledge the existence and admit the
significance of its own. The English, for ex-
ample, can clearly perceive in the United
States the CHASTITY monument Of folly and in
Equity which, in consequence of the policy
of the ruling party in the country, begins
to rise out of the question of Southern
reconstruction. But up to this time, they
manifested in general quite piggish obtuse-
ness with respect to the true origin and the
real form and dimensions of the skeleton
which has its abode in the English house.
This is the unsolved Irish question. It is only
just now, indeed, that the most intelli-
gent of public men and of writers for the
press in England have, apparently, begun to
understand the true nature of the trouble
which lies in that question. 1t was formerly the
habit of Englishmen to regard Irishmen who
we're dissatisfied with their existing relations
to England, as merely discontinued class
CT British subjects. But the root of the matter
is at length discovered to be that these Irish
men, in their own view, are not British sub
jects, that they are bitterly intent on not
consenting to be British subjects, and
that as long as the British govern
ment shall persist in treating them
as such they will never be content under any
policy, however good in itself, which that
government may pursue towards them. Fe-
nianism is the latest, the most curious, and
the most startling expression of this invincible
repugnance to the incorporation of Ireland on
any terms under the same government with
the English. Those who entertain this senti-
meLt hate England so much that not even
the reform of the tenant system, the rectif-
cation of the land laws, the distribution of
lands, the abolition of the English church
establishment and the institution of Cath
ole establishment, the repeal of the Union
and the restoration of the Irish Parliament
no extent Of concessions, in a word, would
satisfy them unless they should go to the length
of complete separation from England. The
passionate vehemence, the romantic frenzy,
with which these people, after so many CEN
turies of the subsection of Ireland to English
rule, cherish and struggle for the idea of
national independence, present phenomenon
without parallel in history. They abhor the
thought, as their frankest spokesman do not
hesitate to confess ,,of enjoying even blessings
Of government at the hands of the British
Parliament; and they would rather be badly
governed as an independent State than well
governed as an integral part of the British
empire. This is about the gist Of a remarza-
bic article by an American Fenian, contributed |
to Tinsley's Magazine, London, and which
IS Il ard is measure each q e:t 'front.' on Race Street. ~
pT01esses to give the IrIsn side of the Irish
question. According to this article, the ex-
tensive commentaries upon which by English
journals show that it has powerfully helped
to wake up the English mind to the real char
acter and tendency of the chronic discomfort
among the Irish, Fenianism means simply the
existence of war between Ireland and Eng
land. Let us illustrate by few extracts:
The first radical error in regard to Ireland is 70
believe that the Irish people will be cOntented
with ANYTHING less than complete Independence of
England tie second radical error is TO believe
that they have no chance OF securing their lnde-
pendence. From these two errors all Others grow.
Good English laws. good English government,
good English reforms for Ireland, are all very
well In their way; but they do not touch the Irish
question any more than good Austrian laws, good
Austrian government, good Austrian reforms
touched tie Italian question. II ia very difficult
for you to understand that the ish people want
TO be lid Of England altogether; that they you'd
rather have bad laws OF their own making than
coed ones Of yours that they would rataer be
badly governed by themselves than well governed
by you; and that no possible reforms, even though
they were Utopian IN their blessings, would be
acceptable to the Irish people, so long as
thew had that hated word English" afi Ked TO
them? Why, for The last bslf hundred years you
have been improving your treatment Of Ireland,
end it is undeDsble that many OF the worst evils
which formerly afflicted her unhsppy people have
been removed; but yet the Fenian uprising OF
1861 has been more powerful than any which
have preceded it, and il is still vital, dangerous
and deadly. Is this The result of your better laws,
your improved legislation, your kind reforms?
Hundreds Of thousands OF people have emigrated
from Ireland; the population, thus thianed out, is
better provided for than ever before; the island
is, on the whole, much more prosperous; but still
the hatred 70 England is as deep the disposition
to conspiracies prevalent and the desire for
Independence as heartfelt as in the bad old days,
while the number and the power of the conspira-
tors have actually increased and they have been
able 10 carry the war into the cities Of England
threaten armories, release prisoners, and 20 keep
the whole country under arms Past reforms
have not settled the Irish question, and futnre
reforms will not be any more effective.
The author of the article here quoted does
not justify the recent assassinations in Eng
land which have been ascribed to Fenian
conspirators. Still, supposing them to be the
acts Of Fenians, "these outrages," he says,
care the natural result of the state of war
that exists ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS England, and
if committed by i'll advised and desperate
men, they do not affect the credit of the
" And he Goes on