The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1868-07-26
JUSTICE FOR IRELAND"

uiNc Ou SuHuIy OCC0SlOLS VI luLC
the iniquitous proceedings of the oligarchy
which has so long held sway in Ireland.
The London Iomaha,rk, in a late number,
thus sides with justice and fair dealing:
Asentimental grievance. That is the stock
phrase with which it is fashionable to sneer
down the question of disestablishing the
Church of England in Ireland. A stale sub
ject, some one says. Stale 2 Yes, one might
we'll expect that the whole thing had been
publicly blown to atoms by this time, but
we live in the light of a glorious constitution,
and just now, moreover, happen to be blessed
with a wonderfully honest and conscientious
government. The sentimental grievance
has, therefore, occupied the attention of
Parliament for considerable time without
any practical result-Occupied it to the in
tense edfcation of lockers on, if to the
neglect of other imperial duties-occupied
it till British hearts have swelled proudly
beneath British coats, and hushes of ex-
cusable British pride have crept over British
British eyes. just let lis think of it. a." A
fine party struggle, sir, with intellect ar
-rayed against intellect, and swinging di-
visions one after the other! And the Min
istry! Ha, ha! Gladstone is no match for
old Dizzy, can tell. Dizzy will beat him
by some dodge or other yet, and doesn't
mean backing out of his place, whatever
else ne means. A fine struggle, sir, a fine
struggle, sir, fine struggle, and shows
what British institutions means."
Excusable pride all this, of course-for
when it is a question of Gladstone turning
out old Dizzy, or old Dizzy proving one too
many for Gladstone, who cares that the eyes
of the world are watching keenly to see
whether self-righteous England really
means to dispose of the greatest enormity
in Europe, and do justice to five millions of
her much-tried and prosecuted children
The thing really sickens one as one dwells
upon it, for who is there who will deny that
this, save in q few notable instances, is the
tone that is taken by the mass of English
men on this, perhaps, the most momentous
question that has ever come before the
House of Commons. So much for the i'm
mortal lethargy, the negative and paltry
earnestness of the country at large. But
that sinks into comparative insignihcance
when compared with it's fruit, the intense
pig-headedness and illogical bigotry of the
" influential minority" who are petitioning,
and praying, and croaking at the tail of the
government" These people, if their logic
were only equal to their prejudice, would
set up n torture chamber at the Castle,
making hearing the mass penal, and force,
with the aid of rack, hot pincers, or not less
brutal money fine, the Thirty-nine Articles
down every Popish throat in Ireland. That
is the proper conclusion drawn from their
own premises, though they are, probably,
like most ignorant and selfish people, quite
unconscious of the ultima ratio before them.
OF course, to enter into the Irish Church
question here would be superffuous and
absurd. The matter is, as far as its broad
thoroughly ventilated, and reasoning men
can only stare when they reflect that this Is
the year eighteen hundred and sixty-eight,
and that justice has not yet been done.
Still, nonsense is talked, good deal of it,
too, by what one may call the amiable
oT ol> 1r,i f1,a
injustice Of paying hierarchy ont of
q peoples pockets, to teach them some
thing to which they refuse to listen,
but add that, as far as the feeling of
humiliation alleged to be felt at the pre-
dominance of an alien creed is concerned,
the grievance, such as it is, is sentimental;
in short, that it does not existat all. Now,
this is the absolute reverse of the truth.
The IIintloo is better off than the Roman
Catholic Irishman, and the Irish Protestant.
knows it, assumes upon it, and looks down
upon the immense majority of his fellow
cOuntrymen as an Indian civil servant does
upon the millions he is sent to rule.
couple of facts may illustrate this state of
things with tolerable force. tits within the
memory of mene|stil living, that a little
child cried~out after yeoman who was
lounging down one of the principal streets
of Dublin. What the poor urchin said did
not transpirc, but it touched the dignity of
tne armed representative OF the ascend
ant" race, and he took up his carbine and
shot the little offender dead ON the spot.
The yeoman was tried by an "accident"
jury, and acquitt, d.
This is fact number one. Fact number
two is less dramatic and dashing, but
equally significant. The other day GER
tain public appointment that had usually
been, as matter of course, bestowed upon
one of the "ascendancy" party, was given
to Roman Catholic. Notwithstandingth the
fact that the position was one to which
every mark of public courtesy was due, and
that, therefore, by an unvarying precedent,
all the local gentry regarded it as an obli-
CATION to call upon the official in question,
not one thought it requisite to fulfill it in
the instance referred to. This particular
case is a sample'o some hundreds of others