The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-12-22

whole Austrian Army. The Austriaus nst1
the men. but no money. Now, mark thiaA
eight and one half millions, and, conse-
queDtly the annual, taxation was ons mil
lion two hundred and fifty thousand |
pounds. lathe gear 1917 the same lfish |
debt, which, sixteen years before, was on
ly twenty eight millions, was now fll2,-
four millions one hundred and four thous- I
and pounds sterling. Ia other words, in
sixteen years., the debt of England was
doubled but the debt of Ireland was made
four times as much as it was in tue year 10
which the Act of Union was passed. You
may ask me how d id that happenf 1t hap
pened, from the very fact that, being uni
ted toEngland, having lost our Parliament,
the English Chancellor of the Exchequer
took aud kept the money and the Irish &C
coupts,-kept the books. Ireland lost the
privilege of keeping her own accounts
And this is the account he brought against
Ireland in 1917. ~ ~'4
ireland was so lightly burdened with
debt, at the time Of tile Union, as compar-
ed with EsslaBl, that the English did not
ask us, when they united our Parliament to
their own-they did otPresume to ask Ms,
they had not the presumption to ask us
to take, share and share alike In the taxes.
Why should they I We only owed twenty
millions and they owed four hundred and
City millions. Why should we be asked TO
pay the.inteFest on their debt They were
rich and could bear that taxation; Ireland
was. poor, and she could not bear IT; IRE.
land was, conseq uently, much moro lightly
| taxed than England. 1t was very much
easier to pay interest on twenty millions OF
pounds than on fonr hundred and fifty mil
lions But there was an agreement made
by Castlereagh with the Irish Parliament.
1t was this. He said T" That if the Irish
national debt ever comes up to the one
seventh of the national debt of England,
then We will throw it all in together and tax
the people share and share alike. The OBJ
ject of running up the Irish debt was to
bring it up within one seventh of the Eng
Then the Irish and the English were taxed
unfortunately, and they all alike were
obliged to pay the taxes for the inter-
Fest on the four, hundred aud fifty mil
lions of debt that the Crown of England
had incurred, before the Union at all. The
"Ad, but,n says Mr.. Froude, " consider
the advantages Of the Union +! You have
the same commercial privileges that the
English had" To this 1 answer, in the
words of the illustrious, the honest, the
high minded John Mitchell. 1t is true"
says Mr.. Mitchell, that the laws regulat-
ing trade are the same in the two islands.
Ireland may export fax and wooden cloths
to England; che may import her own tea
from China, and sugar from Barbados !;
the laws which made these acts penal Of
fences no longer exists; and why7 Be-
operation of these old laws Ireland was ut
terry ruine& England has the CONNER
cial marine Ireland has it to create.
/ Eogland has the manufacturing machinery
and skill of which Ireland was deprived by
express laws made for that purpose. Eng
~ in her own channels, while Ireland is
left dry. To create OF to recover, at this
day, the great industrial aud commercial
resources, and that in the face of wealthy
rivals, that are already in full possession
10 manifestiy impossible without one or the
other of these two conditions. namely
an immense command of capital, or efec-
tual protective duties. But, by the Union,
our capital was drawn away to England
and by the Union we were deprived of the
power Of imposing protective duties"
1t was to this very end that the Union
was forced upon Ireland, through intoler-
4 ance for Irish prosperity. "Don't unite
with us, SIR" says the honest old man, DR..
Samuel johnson, when addressed on the
subject Of union in his day. "Don't unite
with us, sir, we shall rob youw In the
very first year after the Union was passed
Mr.. Foster stated in the English House OF
Parliament, that there was . falling off in
tho linen trade of Ireland Of five millions
less Of yards exported. The same gentle.
man, three years later, stated that in 1900
the year Of the Union-the net produce
Of the Irish revenue was S2 800 600, while
the debt was only eos, 100000. Three
years later, after three years experience OF
the Union, the debt had increased to esq,
100000, and the revenue had diminished
by Eli 900. Ireland was deserted. That
+ Absenteeism, which was the curse of Ire
land in the days of Swift had so increased
by the Union, that Dublin became almost
a deserted city, and all the cities in Irelasd
were as places in the wilderness. At this
very day, in Dublin, the Duke of Leinster's
city palace is turned into a museum of r.
ish industry. Powerscourt House, in Dame
street, has becsme a draper's shop; Ty-
rome House is school house the house
of the Earl of Beehive was pulled down a
few years ago, to build up Scotch Pres
byterian Meeting House in it's place.
Charlemont Household Charlemont's res
idepce-was sold about six IN onths before
L came to America and it is now the head
office of the Board of Works Aldborough
House is barrack Belvidere HOnse is a
convent So, fashion, trade, commercial
activity, intellectual enterprise, political
tufarest thing has rono Tn T,on6on