Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-07-18
TUEsDAY, JULY Is, 1s71.


The Boston Pilot holds that the parade of the
New York Orangemen should have been sup
pressed; and, in different parts of that paper,
we find statements of its reasons for maintain
ing this position. The sum and substance of its
reasons may be stated as follows The Orange.
men are very offensive Irishmen; they have a
very offensive organization; and they are in
tensely hated by other Irishmen. Therefore,
they ought to be suppressed. This MEANS if il
really means anything worthy of attention, that
every association and every public demon
stration that offends somebody's preiudces
or challenges the correctness of some
body's views, should be forbidden by
the laws and put down by the police.
Catholics who accept the dogma of papal infal-
ibity must not be allowed to make a public
show of their faith, because there are many
people in the country who regard this dogma as
false-even blasphemous. The Masons must
keep their order and their regalia out of sight,
aud never be allowed to march and hold picncs,
because many people believe their organization
is extremely bad. The temperance societies and
divisions" must be suppressed or kept ont of
sight in some dark place, because there are not
few who regard them as fanatical, and hate
them with exceeding hatred. If the policy adj
vocated by the Pilot should be fully carried out,
not much liberty of opinion and association
would be left anywhere in the country. Only
once before in our history has such demand
for the suppression of liberty been heard among
us. There was time when the slave power de-
manded suppression and determination Of the
sph-slavery societies.
The Pilot gives so little attention to the princi-
pie involved in the policy it advocates, that it
cannot state it correctly; or, rather, does not
attempt to state it all nor even seem conscious
of its existence. To enforce its views against
the Orangemen, it employs an illustration, as
follows:
"Have the southern sympathizers in our large
northern cities an abstract right to celebrate
the battle of Bull Run by public procession,
with the "stars and bars flying, and the bands
playing Yankees, lie DOWN. How long would
the Yankees stand it?'
We suppose the Pilot capable of understand
ing that such demonstration as this would be
reasonable, and that the government would in
terfere with it on this ground. The "stars and
bars" mean the banner of treason against the
national government; therefore, the Pilots IL
lustration is wholly out of place. If that banner
involved nothing more than offense to
yankees" the case would be different. Diff
ferences Of opinion, with their attendant an
tagonisms Of argument and prejudice, must
be tolerated; and they must contrive
to conduct their controversies peace
fully. 1t is great folly for the Ribbonmen
and Orangemen to bring their old quarrel to
this country; but we do not see how they can
be justly suppressed, so long as they abstain
from treason, and accept the obligations i'm
posed by free institutions No law can be sue
cessfully enacted to prevent these or other
people from making fools of themselves. The
authorities can do no more than check and re-
strain their folly, when it disturbs the peace.
In the case under consideration, it was not the
Orangemen, but their assailants, who made the
riot and needed discipline. Last year, the
orangemen were attacked by murderous mob,
while quietly enjoying picnic on grounds they
had hired. This year, the same mob resolved
that they should have neither picnic nor
procession. Under these circumstances, to talk
Of suppressing the 0rangemen, instead of sup
pressing the mob, was treason to free institu.
tons.
The Pilot says "the 0rangemen are the
Benedict Arnolds of Ireland" 1t may be so.
We know nothing about the special quality of
either party to this foolish old fight So far as
ireland is concerned, however, we must go back
to the beginning of the twelfth century, to find
the men who delivered up their island to the
British government, and thus began the last
seven hundred years Of its history.