The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1871-02-18

Editorial Opinions Of the Leading JournsIs
upon Current Topios--oompiled Every
Day for the Evening Telegraph.
sIR1sH FREE TRADE" VS.. PROTECTION.

IucTo ID REOhb pOMcI III u hdLhOs OoPCSA"AAy
in politics. The name ''free trade" has been
popular in Ireland for more than century.
It has there expressed one of the national
ideas which have inspired the Irish people in
their various movements in behalf of Irish
nationality and Irish freedom. The history
of Epgland's sway over the Green Isle has
been made up of three elements, VIII
1. Confiscation of the lands, personal pro-
perty, and political rights of Irish Catholics,
under the balefui plea of overcoming
'Poperyss" as Catholicism was styled.
Q. Transferring all these to Protestant colo
nists from Great Britain.
8. Crippling, running, and prohibiting, by
penal laws, whatever industries in Ireland
seemed calculated to promote Irish wealth,
prosperity, and independence, and permitting
those only to be carried on which would in
some way aid, and not compete with, EHg-
Iish industries, whether manufacturing, COM
mercial, maritime, or agricultural.
r Making due allowance for the disastrous
effects of persecuting the Catholics, stealing
their land, and absenteeism, we still believe
that neither of these causes tended SO directly
to impoverish and starve out the Irish as the
interference of England with Irish industries,
the prohibition upon her exports, her manu-
features, her shipping, her fisheries, her
trade with other colonies, and even upon va
rious branches of her agriculture. 1t was
against this interference that through all her
struggles for national freedom Ireland pro-
tested, and this protest was known in
Ireland as the demand of the Irish for free
trade, .. e., the emancipation of Ireland's
industries from British legislation. With
this meaning, the term free trade be-
came as popular throughout Ireland as Catho-
lie emancipation, Dublin Parliaments, or the
Irish volunteers of the days of Curran and
Grattan. Our Irish fellow-citizens have been
in this manner prejudiced in favor of free
trade in America, where it means exactly the
reverse of what it meant in Ireland viz,
the ascendancy of the British influence in
trade.
In proof of this we shall cite some extracts
from the Coordination of the Abbe Geohe-
gan's History of Ireland from the Treaty of
Limerick to the Present Time" by John
Mitchell. AS John Mitchell has never acted
with American protectionists, he cannot be
charged with having written to aid their
cause.
On page 1913 of his history, referring to the
period of 1879 and 1880, he Says
'aTo force from reluctant England a free trade
and the repeal or rather declarstory nulliacstion
of Poyning's law, which required the Irish Parlia-
mentto submit the heads OF their bills to the Eng
lsh Privy Council before they could presume to pass
them-these were, in few words, the two great OBJ.
jects which the leaders Of the volunteers Kept now
at must be here observed that the idea and the
term free trade as then understood in Ireland did
free trade. What was sought was q release from
those restrictions on Irish trade imposed by an
English Parliament and for the profit OF the English
people. This did not mean that imports and ex-
ports should be free OF all duty to the State but only
restrained by foreign laws that the duties to be
derived from 1t should be imposed by Irelands own
self. This distinction is the more important to be
observed, because modern free traders In Ireland
and 10 Eaad % nc. eae sometimes appealed to the
erned the volunteer movement as an authority In
favor OF abolishipg import and export duties. The
citation Is by no means applicable"
He then proceeds to recite that at this time
many of the volunteer corps, as we'll as meet
ings of the citizens of Dublin, Waterford,
and other cities, backed by the women of
Ireland, adopted non-importation agree
ments, to the effect that until the
British laws prohibiting the export of
cottons, woollens, and provisions from Ire
land should be repealed, they would not buy,
sell, or wear any article of British manufac-
ture. These pledges became so popular, that
ladies of wealth and fashion made it a point
of honor to appear clothed exclusively in
Irish fabrics. The following resolutions of
general meeting of the freeholders of Dublin,
given on page 1913 of the same work, are
sample of what the Irish people meant by
Irish free trade:-
"Resolved That the unjust, illiberal and mpolitic
opposition given by many selfinterested people of
Great Britain to the proposed encouragement OF the
trade and commerce Of this kingdom, originated in
"ResOlved, That we viii not directly or indirectly,
or use any Of se ca M nr OF
duced or manufactured In this kingdom, till an
lghtened public policy, founded on principles OF JUS
tice shall appear TO actuate the Inhabitants OF
tain manufacturing towns OF Great Britain, who
have taken so active part in opposing the regula-
lations proposed In favor OF the trade OF Ireland
and until they appear TO entertain sentiments OF
respect and affection for their feowsubects OF this
Kingdom"
A ~.
as continued to sell English goods were gra-
tuitously published in the Dublin papers, for
the purpose of drawing upon them the indig-
nation of the people. Commenting on these
acts as a retaliation for "the meanness of the
manufacturers and traders of England, and
for the measures adopted by the English
Parliament, at their dictation, to crush the
trade and paralyze the industry of Ireland, I"
the historian says Up. 1885,
"The retaliation was just, and no means that
the conduct OF the English towns the pr oductye
industry OF Ireland. Englishmen had Parliament
English tradethe Irish people had hot as yet esta-
blished their freedom, nor armed them
free institutions. ssS ss'esS ers weapon h.sa q
10 legsate for themselves and were Justified by the
exigency In adopting any means to enforce the ns-
SIT seems strange that 1t should be necessary 10
defend the measure OF holding up to scorn the
traitors who could expose in their shops articles Of
foreign production, every article OF which was re-
preventative OF their countrys impoyerishment ana
decay But the English press denounced It as the
policy OF sayages, and pointed out the Irish people
to the cOntupely OF Europe.
sat the same time the English manufacturers, ever
careless OF present sacrifices to secure permanent
advantages, hooded the country towns with the ac-
which, owing to the (Amercan) and other causes
had remained on their hands,. They offered these
goods to the small shopkeepers at theloWest possible
prices ana desired them to name their own time fol
payment; and they partially succeeded in inducing
MANY the low and embarrassed serVitOra nj trade