The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1868-04-18
Who are the Friends of Free Trade with
England2


The trade of England-her buying and selling to
her o'0n advantage in almost every land earthis the
very backbone of her power. Deprived of this, she
would be like Samson shorn of his locks Her people
would be horde of benighted and brutazed serfs,
as badly fed and clothed and housed as their ancestors
were less than two thousand years ago. when they lived
on sugs, and such other garbage as they could get
under the black forests of the Baltic And her mobiles
would be little superior to the painted savages which
Julius Caesar saw when he landed on the shore of
Britain
This so sefevdent that it will neither be doubted
nor denied by any individuals, outside of England,
cept by those who too ignorant to understand it,
too full of party prejudice confess the TRUTH
when it is clear and cogent enough to compel the
victions of their dsngenuous minds The former class
deserve our pity The latter worthy only of scorn
and contempt
If therefore, in British trade lies the secret Of Brit
lsh power it follows inevitable consequence that
all cho from any motive whatever giOe their money
their influence to uphold Mat trade the friends and
supporters Of that poe It matters nothing to us what
the nature of the motives may be by which men are
actuated in pursuing such of conduct. Such
motives undoubtedly widely different But they all
produce result and that is English ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
On the part of Englishmen themselves seinterest is
the very natural and powerful why they desire
to ship their paupermade rubbish to all lands and
bring the gold of all lands back English pockets And
considering what human nature u.s. it is hardly reason
able to blame them for enrching themselves at other
peoples expense, when other people are silly enough
to permit their doing So On the part of Canadian
n
motive is different It consists, in no small de-
gree, of jealousy of their fellowcountrymen For after
a the citizens of the United States are virtually sons
of the soil with the Canadians and ought to be-
what they essentially are, the people. But the
latter have grown so smalminded under their foreign
tuteage that too many of them have to hate the
glory and greatness of the American Republic which
they feel must overmaster and absorb them last But
they not fools enough to swallow the full dose
of Free Trade with England That amount of stupidity
and insanity reserved for another people, to whom
we shall presently alude And as to the Irish-born
worshipers of English power they, too hate and fear
their Republican countrymen-for all true Irish nation
ass to-day Republicans whether they are still at
home or scattered in exile Hence the West Brtons"
bow in savsh alteration before the golden calf which
England erects and commands them to worship. They
free traders Gin the English sense) to man. But
there yet additional class who pronounce the same
shibboeth and grove at thesame shrine Their leaders,
although, generally speaking Americans by BIRTH are
not true to American Institutions to American in
terests They much the worthy to associate
with those whose characters have just glanced at
The Southern slaveocracy had trade manufacture
of their All that they did was to compel negroes
to raise cotton which they so andwthout remunera-
ting the rasers of the commoditythey put the money
to their own They depended, almost entirely, on
the industry of others for those nnumerable articles
which in modern life have become less matter of lux
ury than of necessity. The English worshiped King