The Irish republic. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1867-18??, 1868-01-25
The Friends and Foes Of English Rule in Ireland


The Friends and Foes of English Rule in Ireland
From the Scotsman.
Take not confound the innocent with the guilty. is
cry raised neither unnaturaly quite unnecessarily in
mistake and injustice very apt to be committed in such
cases. and that bhooves ALL when excited by the
most righteous indignation and the most just resentment to
set guard upon lips and judgments In the present
case that duty is toeraby easy arbu beyond certain
points, little assistance is needed from the innocent them
selves To all but those consumed by national by ecce
ascal bigotrya pretty formidable exception it must be
admittedt easy not to confound the Fenans with the
Irish, Fenansm with Roman Catholicism. If the Irish
Fenans should long this have things
have not seen and should not have things
that have been pleasant behold The wretched attempts
at instruction in Ireland have received the aid of only the
most contemplate fraction of the population and no diff
Guilty found in getting the offenders convicted by
baoted without regard to politics religion So far
be judged from all that has been publicly said done
and in the absence of any just suspicion to the
trary there have been strenuous effective
opponents of the Fenan madness than the Roman Catholic
clergy And there be greater though there might
be less natural mistake than to imagine that the Roman
Catholic clergy of Ireland either have been least
for several generations the promoters of nsureconary
movements of an insurreconary spirit. There
time and long time during which the chief business
Roman Catholic religion; and it is therefore natural that
there should be popular idea that the Roman Catholic
priesthood employed themselves in plotting and nstgatng
Instructions But it not the priesthood agated
for religious freedom and political equality, within the
constitution under OConne and his predecessors but they
free than almost any class in Ireland from the
charge of prompting participating in acts of violence
in harboring revolutionary designs For several
generatonsom before 1913 up to '48he chief leaders of
Irish instructions have been Professionals not excluding Pro-
cergymen The of 98 meaning the leaders,
were with few exceptions Protestant men, and for the
part Presbyteas That movement the most formidable of
It's class essentially Protestant and Northern in its
origin. The funeral procession at Dublin on Sunday
week gave insults under of to Lord Edward
Fitzgerald and Robert Emmett who certainly died for
their political and opinions the Fenans who have
and who will be hanged in England died and will die for
mere dasardy murder; and Fitzgerald and Emmett were
Protestants So Tone Tandy the Hon. Simon Butler,
Oliver Bond and others of the most daring consprators.
Ulster by far the largest contributor both in men and
money three Presbyterian ministers suffered as rebels on
Hamilton Rowan and others among the foremost and des
perate of those who first raised and longest upheld the
rebel flag were Pesbyterans of the North If the of
the Roman Catholic clergy had not remained loyal at that
time the insrrecton would have been of very different
magnitude if the Irish Roman Catholic preates had not
supported the Union two years afterwards the United King
dom would then have been constituted III the fact that
the Roman clergy have always themselves against
all secret societies. irrespective of their Objects their
opposition Fenanism to less merorlous on merely
political grounds at least renders it easy OF beef
and confidence. Of course great number OF the fenl
consprators are nominally Roman Catholics, when may
seem inconsistent with exertion of that great IN
huence over their focks which the Roman Cathoc
priesthood known to possess but the offenders are Pr
badly for the most part Roman Cahohcs only W anJ
that thew were born Catholics and not ProtesahS' anu
even though the priest may be the such ofenoels
fear he is also the last man to whom they wiz e +S
ofenses become known. There is no Justification sre
fore for including either the Irish people or Tue 1@
Catholic religion in the condemnation OF fenlaiS nor
even for accusing that people that religion DIS pc
cuar tendencies in such drectons-ort the oenoeiS are
not pure Irshmen good Roman Catno1lcs Hu'
oon;Zed Irshmen and revoed Catholics Let there be no
sweeping clauses of accusation against Whoe
only individuals who guilty either prncpay OF arr ana
part either by guilty act or guilty "
there are more than enough OF persons to be pro-