The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-07-23
Observation-Disclosures DemagoEues-A Few Words
to Our Irish Readers.

Misunderstanding DemagoGues-A Few Words
to Our Irish Readers.
stricted freedom is that, in times of great
excitement, demagogues are enabled by
iucendiary appeals to the passions of the
bigoted and ignorant, to endanger the public
peace. A mailman raving through the
streets may be arrested and placed in an asy-
unprincpled fellow who lives by melting his
dupes to deeds of violence cannot, unfortu-
nately, be 80 summarily dealt with He is
sure to demand the rights he is 80 ready to
deny to others and defy authority Nothing
but the weight of public censure can avail
against him. Then mark his insolence. The
more his dangerous braggadocio is condemned
the more impudent is he in the assertion of
his own self-assumed Importance. Notoriety
is the breath of his existence, and without it
he would starve. Vain, vapid and utterly
uuprincipled he cares little of what is said of
him so that something is said.
The irrecaimable agitator who lately en-
deavored by public address to a crowd of
excitable men to incite hatred and contempt of
the laws which, perhaps unwisely, protect him,
and Of the principles of the government (Which
interposed between him and the aroused anger
of the British authorities), is not content with
the notoriety that achievement gave him. He
wants to explain and to set forth again his
sympathy with his countrymen" sympathy
for which, perhaps, his countrymen have
already paid too dearly. Mr.. Stephen J.
Meany sends us his speech, as corrected by
himself, together with the following letter -
NEW YORK, July q, 1871.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD:-
You have passed severe animadversons on a
speech purporting to be mine at the Irish meeting
on Wednesday night. have no desire to be made
the victim or careless reporting careful misreport
ing. and therefore SEM you correct version OF my
observations You may make what you please out
OF it. The sentiments and words are mine con-
TESS to sympathy with my countrymen, to detes-
taiIon OF the outrage oy which SO many Of them
were shot dead and wounded and TO desire for
legal and legitlmate punishment OF the Offenders.
ms is the sum and substance Of my address, II this
be crime in your view by all means continue to de-
nounce 1t; but Dy all means, too. and In justice make
my own words the text for your commentary.
STEPHEN J. MEANY.
Now, it matters little whether Meany used
every word attributed to him in the shorthand
reports Of the meeting at which the speech was
delivered. There Ia enough in the corrected
address to condemn him as an incendiary,
and as one to be avoided by his countrymen.
He promises, with the warmth of a man who
knows he cannot fulfil his promise, that the
Orangemen shall never again be allowed to
parade in the streets of New York; aud with
the art of demagogue worked up his hot
headed hearers to that pitch Of ferocous hate
that one of them cried out to hang the Governor
to a lamp-post. This is from Meany's own
report. Altogether, the speech differs so
very little from the report of it already pub
lished that reprint is unnecessary. We
have had enough of Meany. And, for the
reasons stated above, we would not notice
him at all in this way but for the fact that the
city is infested with persons equally danger
GUS to the public peace. Against them we
earnestly warn our Irish fellow citizens. They
represent nobody but themselves; the Catholic
Church condemns them; the intelligent public
detest them, and administrators of the law
regard them as dangerous enemies. Adven-
turers all their lives, fattening on disturbances,
and growing rich through disseminating hate,
they should not be listened to or regarded
with any other feeling than aversion.
As American citizens the Irish should bury
the differences that divided them in Ireland.
Orange and green ought to strive together to
oblterate the marks Of former conflicts.
Americans do not care for what Orange Billy
did or did not do; for the atrocities of the
Hessians, or the retaliatory acts of the insur-
gents Of 49, The Irish, green, orange and
every other color and stripe, have found a vel
come on these shores, and they must not now
in requital annoy us with their senseless feuds.
Let the dead past bury its dead, and let there
be no more quarrels between Irshmen on ac-
count of deeds done beyond the sea. As for
Meany and his associate mischief makers, they
should be ignored. The indifference of the
people, on whose generosity these fellows live,
to what they do or say will be their most fitting
rebuke. In the meantime, however, the au-
thoritiss should see to it that men so dangerous
to the peace of the community should not be
encouraged A fellow who dares to defy the
authority Of the State and labors to foment
disorder is not fit to hold public Office.
A WISE PRooERDINe.-A deputation of
Dutch, German and Austrian bankers are
about visiting this country with view of
making an examination of the route, condition
of the work and prospects Of the Northern
Pacific Railroad. These fnanciers with
thoughtfulness which we applaud, come to
America to see for themselves where they