The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1868-03-22


itself cures all theesils which it works, that
the educated and intelligent classes are in over
whelming strength and majestic repose, ready,
like opr1niitary force in riots, to act at mo- mo,
friends generally say this because they have
such faith in themselves and their nostrums,
when they shall return, as the public welfare
requires, to place and power. But this faith #
theirs one cannot exactly share, when one has
SO long had them and their nostrums at work,
and sees that they have not prevented our,
and one finds, also, that the outbreaks of row.
dyism tend to become less and less tri6ee, to
become more frequent rather than lees frequent;
and that meanwhile our educated and intelli-
gent esFenain in their majestic repose, and
that some how .or other, whatever happens,
their overwhelming strength, like our military
force in riots, never does act.
How, indeed should their overwh Ginning
fiammatory lecture, OF breaks down the Park
ratings, invades o secretary of states Office,
is only following an Englishman's impulse to
do as he likes; and our own conscience tells us
that we ourselves have always regarded this
impulse as something primary and sacredf Mr.
Murphy lectures at Birmingham, and showers
on the Catholic population Of that town
dressed to thieves or murderers.S What then
Mr.. Murphy has his own reasons of several
kinds. He suspects the Roman Catholic Church
mayors and magistrates do not care for their
wives and daughters, he does. But, above all,
he is doing as he likes, OF, in worthier language
asserting his personal liberty will carry
out my lectures if they walk over my body as
a dead corpse ;, and say to the mayor of Bir-
mingham that he is my servant while am in
birmingham and as my servant he must do his
duty and protect me-" Touching and beautiful
words, which find sympathetic chord in every
British bosom! The moment it is plainly put
before us that man is asserting his personal
believers in freedom, and not in some dream of
a right reason to which the assertion of our
freedom is to be subordinated. Accordingly,
the secretary of state had to say that although
the lecturers language was only fit to be ad-
dressed to thieves or murderers," yet, do
not think he is to be deprived do not think
that anything have said could justify the in
ference that he is to be deprived-of the right
of protection in q place built by him for the
purpose of these lectures; because the lam
guage was notlanguage which afforded grounds
for o criminal prosecution" No, nor to be
silenced by mayor, home secretary, any
administrative authority earth, simply on
their notion of what is discreet and reasonable.
This is in perfect consonance with our public
opinion, and with our national love for the as
sertiOn of personal liberty.
In quite another department of affairs, Sir
William Page WoedSrelates an incident which
is just to the same effect as this of Mr.. Murphy.
testator bequeathsd E30O year, to be for
ever applied as q pension to some person who
had been unsuccessful in literature, and whose
duty it should be to support and difuse by his
writings, the testator's own views, as enforced
in the testator's publications This bequest
was appealed against in the court of chancery,
| on the ground of its absurdity; but, being only
absurd, it was upheld, and the so-called charity
was established.
1t is very easy to mistake or to exaggerate
the sort of anarchy from which we are in dan
ger through them. We are not in danger from
Fenianism, fierce and turbulent as it may show
itself; for against this our conscience is free
enough to let us act resolutely and put forth
our Overwhelming strength the moment there
is any real need for it. In the first place, it
never was any part of our creed that the great
right ard blessedness of an Irishman, or, in
deed, of anybody on earth except an English
| man, is to do as he likes and we can have no
scruple at all about abridging, if necessary, a
| non-Englisirnah's assertion of personal liberty.
| The British constitution, its checks, and its
prime virtues, for Englishmen. We may
extend them to others out of love and kindness F;
| but we find real divine law written on our
| hearts constraining us SO to extend Them And
| then the difference between Irish Fenian
and an English rough is 80 immense, and the
| case, in dealing with the Fenan SO much more
| clearl He is so evidently desperate and dan
! gerous, a man of q conquered race, q Papist,
with centuries of ill-usage to infame him
against us, with an alien religion established
in his country by us at his expense, with no
admiration of our institutions, no love of our
virtues, no talents for our business; turn for
leeur comfort! Show him our symbolcal truss
| manufactory on the finest site in Europe, and
etll him that British industrialism and individ-
ualism can bring man to that, and he remains
| cold. But with the Hyde Park rioter how diff
ferent! He is our own flesh and blood he is
u PrOUeStant, ne Is traueu- Dy nature TO 10 as
| we do, hate what we hate, love what we love
he is capable Of feeling the symbolical force of
the truss mandatory; the question of questions
for him, is q wages question. That beautiful
sentence Sir Daniel Gooch quoted to the Swim
don workmen, and which treasure as Mrs.
Gooch's golden rule-or the Divine injunction,
Be We perfect" done into British-the sentence
Sir Daniel Gooch's mother repeated to him
every morning when he was boy going to
work: Ever remember, my dear Dan, that you
should look forward to being some day mama
l aI,.k 1850
ing his personal liberty little. He does not
break many laws, OF not many at one time;