The evening Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1861-1871, 1868-03-25

during a war Of two hundred years with the
Danes. and which finally ended in the ex-
nnlsion of the Danes from Ireland, BY the
victory achieved BY old Brian Boru at Clon-
tart in the year lola. Suffice 1t TO say, that
during that long and dark period of her his
tory ireland Was true to herself and produc-
cd : race of warriors and heroes.
now come to a time the most painful 10
her history, The Normans having become
masters Of England By the battle of Hast
ings, and mingled with the Saxon aud the
Celt, had grown to great power in the
reign of Henry IT,, who had long desired
the conquest of Ireland. At this time Adri-
an. an Englishman, ruled Rome, and readily
granted Henry the authority to invade Ire
land, and subjugate her people. Henry held
this privilege in allegiance for thirteen years,
until at last a favorable opportunity was
presented. Dermid McMurrough, the las
civions adulterer, having been banished for
his crimes, fed to England, and sought the
aid of Henry, in the year ll67. Succeed
ing in his mission, he returned to Ireland
with his Norman allies, and thus, through
crime,. deception and per6dy, was English
power introduced into Ireland; and by
crime, robbery and fraud, that power is
maintained to this day. Now, indeed, had
the time come for Ireland to be the mother
of a heroic race. Let the student OF history
read the pages that recite those bloody wars
tina. have never ceased in order to maintain
British supremacy. Let him mark the gen
erations of the children of Ireland and he
will see them in every age doing battle in
defence of Fatherland and against the de-
spoiler of his race and country. Let him
e Al e. L.
wholesale butchery of every age and sex,
and he will find that the march Of the inva
der has been over the bodies of as heroic a
race as ever met foe or died for country.
Let him read the atrocious and inhuman Pc
nal laws, enacted in the reign Of Queen
Anne, never to be forgotten, when love for
Ireland was felony; when the parent dared
not educate his child, or worship God &C
cording to his own conscience, under pen
atty of transportation or death; when every
common and natural right was denied, and
an Irishman was held as an outlaw in the
land of his fathers; and, as we pass along
through those dark, bloody and struggling
years, how often is the attention arrested at
the efforts of gallant people to maintain
their independence, while, on every page
appear the familiar names of those whose
deeds will never be forgotten until that race
is extinct and that history blotted from the
memory of man. But pass to that impor-
tant event when the patriots of Ireland or
ganized the society called the "United Irish
men," bound together without distinction of
creed, to make one more desperate effort
for freedom. The spirit of American indie
pendence then thrilled every patriotic Irish
heart, and in 1898 FIVE hundred thousand
Irishmen had become sworn brothers in the
dream of Irish liberty, among whom were
Tone, its founder; Nelson, Fitzgerald,
O'Connor, McNevens, Sampson. Adds En-
NETT, Russell, Tandy, and hundreds Of 9th
er bright names.
Again the Irish are in arms, and again
| they are doomed to defeat, men of the no.
blest minds and the purest patriotism freely
giving their lives in the cause of Irish lib
erty. Did time permit me to detail the eff
| forts on their behalf truly you would ex-
claim, "lreland, thou art the mother of he
| roic race!" Those gallant men have passed
away, but their spirit has not died; trans
| mitted to another generation, invoked and
| kept alive by the eloquence of O'Connell, it
| kindled the fame of revolution in the men
| of SO. They, too, have suffered, and many
| of them have passed away; but still the strug-
gle goes on.
Ireland's greatest aspiration is now to full
FL the dreams of Emmett. Inspired by his
dying words and recognizing the right OF
man to self government, her children are
once more in revolution. In this grand and
| glorious cause the ancient Fenians were re-
organized. An organization that has sha.
| ken the British power TO its foundation and
though assailed on all sides it yet lives and
| grows in strength. It's corner stone is hu-
| man liberty, which can never be destroyed.
| Its members even meet under the shadow OF
| the Queens palace and London trembles at
| the name of Kelly. 1t embraces mea of all
classes and creeds; its mission is the freedom
of Ireland. 1t demands hearing for Ire
| land among the nations of the earth. 1t ap.
peals to America, the land OF liberty, be-
| cause her sons have proven their devotion to
| liberty on every battle field from Bunker
| Hill to Richmond. 1t appeals to France by
| the memories of the Irish brigade, by 45o,.
| 900 Irishmen who served in her armies du.
ring the seventeenth century, and by the
glorious day at Fontenoy, when IRISH valor
under Dillon and Clare sent the English fly
| ing home with the cry of Remember Linn
| erick" ringing in their ears. 1t appeals to
| Austria by the memory of the kavanaughs,
| Nugents and O'Reilleys. To Spain by the
" bOnuauS, Tue " htHtcYS hUu " 1Ar3S. IL
appeals to all liberal Englshmen by the ties
of common oppression; and above all, it ap.
peals to God that Ireland 8 persecution may
now end and that He will help her with lib.
erty and nationality. So glorious a struggle
must go on; Allen, Larkin and O'Brien have
| died for it. Rosa, Lubby, kirkham, Flood
| Burke, McCafferty. O'Connor, Meany. Hal
pin and hundreds of other gallant men are
| now suffering for it. Yes it shall 60 on,
nor is it in the power of man to stay its
march. 1t may be checked, but never
stopped, for, as Gods justice is eternal so
| sure must Irelands wrongs be righted.-
From the darkness and gloom of ages, the
old flag is rising once more. The vow of
the Fenian priest has become the breathing
spirit of all its true followers:
| "And wen swear by the blood which the Briton
| has shed,
And well VOW by the wrecks which through
Erin he spread,
And well swear by the thousands who, famished,
unfed,
Died down in the wild-howling for
bread,
And wen vow by our heroes whose spirits have
And we'll swear by the bones in each cofinless
That wen battle the Briton through danger and
| dread,
| That well cling to the cause which we glory to
wed,
Till the CLEAN of our steel and the shock of our
lead,
Shall prove to our foes that we meant what we
said,