Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1868-03-05


cents of our money, is the utmost th,
ordinary Irish laborer can earn, ant
his employment even at this rate i
casual and prccarious. Prosperous
No doubt the resident and the abson
tee landlords are prosperous, but tn,
peopleare poor beyond all description
and as the rich are growing richer
the poor are growing poorer. Ire.
land, sir, as she isgoverned, cannot
support her population This is the
truth of tho matter.
Now, sir, is a general principle
of public law, that when Govern.
ment is unable TO hnd homes and EN-.
ployment forits redundant population,
it is bound to conccde to them the
right of expatriasien. Men have a
natural right TO 20 from places where
they must starve to places where their
labor can procure a comfortable sub
sistence. The British Government
has maintained for centuries system
of intestacy and of land taxation that
has made it impossible for laboring
men TO retain land titles, and have
condensed the lands of The three king.
doms into the hands Of comparatively
few millionairies and nobles-a
small, select, but enormously rich aris-
tocracy-and it is in tie interest OF
this class that ireland is governed.
The soil, naturally COED, has been
much exhausted by bng culture
very little is done to restore il, and
failures Of crops from these causes or
from adverse weather are frequent,
and always entail extensive and ex-
quisite suffering upon the laboring
classes. Social disorders ensue from
these causes, which the only mailed arm
of the Government can suppress. How
unjust and cruel for an English states.
man to charge people so oppressed
with dlsaflection in the midst of pros.
perity Let him rather lift off Church
rates and compel landlords 10 give
their tenantry some interest in the
lands they cultivate let him give la
Dor chance TO earn daily bread, be.
fore he charges whole people with
unreasonable discomfort.
But if these things cannot be done
if no relief can be devised for down.
trodden Ireland--if the Government
must continue to be administered only
for the benefit Of the privileged classes,
in the name of all that is ust and de-
cent let the emigrant enjoy the rights
of citizenship he has earned in more
hospitable country. When he goes
back TO the Green Isle, to revisit the
graves of his ancestors and frien DIS,
let him not be told thai he is still a
British subject, that his oath of natu-
ralizaton was farce, and that Amer
lean citizenship means nothin0 = ~
English court. "rhis-fs the unkind-
est cut of all.
Sir, we owe it 10 our adopted citi-
zens, and to our own dignity, to vim
dicate the citizenship we confer. By
naturalization the foreigner becomes
an American citizen, except for one
or two purposes,as truly as ifhe was'na-
tive and to the manor born And when
he returns TO his native country, eth
or for business or pleasure, he is en-
titled to the same protection that any
American citizen has a right TO claim.
The British Government have no
more right to seize him and deal with
him as a rebellious Fenian subject, or
a deserter fro,n his native allegiance,
than they would have TO treat you or
me as their subject. If their laws are
violated, let the offender be punished
for transgressions of law within their
jurisdiction, not for words utter
cd and acts done within our iurisdic-
tion. The proceedings of some British
judges lately, in dealing with suspect
ed Fenians, are gross outrages upon
our rights of citizenship, and demand
the instant nterposition of our Exec.
utivc. Ere long, trust, the British
lion will be made to respect the Amer
lean eagle. We taught England by
the war of 1912 that our seamen could
not be impressed into her service, and,
if necessary, we can repeat the lesson
in behalf of our naturalized citizens.
But war ought not to be necessary to
vindicato so plain a right, and trust
this bill will peacefully accomplish the
reform that is demanded by circum-
stances.
France and the German States are
more liberal in their policy than Great
Britain and Russia, but none of the
European Governments have in form
recognized the right of expatriation as
we insist upon maintaining it. They
have no love for us, but they have
learned TO respect our power One of
the few good results Of our late civil
war was to impress foreign nations
with sense OF our military power.
They saw war waged here, not of
such puny proportions as that of the
Roses in England, but which outstrip-
ped the grandest martial displays Of
Napoleon, Caesar, or Alexander-a
contest that shook tho whole earth I;
and, if now we could present 10 them
the spectacle of a fraternal union be.
tween the belligerent sections, they
would be careful not to provoke a
blow from united forces which were
so formidable in division. They would
yield 10 their fears what they might
not to their sense Of justice, and would
respect our naturalization of their sub.
jects whom they could not detain at
home. Thus, underlying this great
question, as all other public questions
of our day, is the policy Of union,
speedy, cordial, indissoluble union.
That is all we want to commend the
principles ofthis bill to the nations Of