The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-03-20
Homo Rule for Irolsnd-A Great Qucs-
tion for British Statesmen.

| Ge0n TOE Brltaso otoVeemeus
America a. nation does not take kindly to
ofdcious meddling in the affairs of other ma
tons. II has, however. never turned deaf
ear to the voice of Reason claiming recogni-
ton or the cry of Misery asking relief. When
the voice comes from land whence millions
of our citizens have sprung we should be truly
unjust not to listen. Ireland just now is en-
gagged in making special appeal to England to
be allowed to govern herself. to make her own
laws in matters which do not touch the legis-
lation for the British Empire in general. On
Monday last all over the world the children of
Ireland commemorated her memory. On the
day previous we learned that the Irish popu-
lation of London, England, had held q
monster mass meeting in Hyde Park favoring
home rule for Ireland and amnesty to the i'm
prisoned Fenians. We are glad, indeed, to
observe that the growth of liberal ideas is such
in England as to permit this gathering, and
we are equally glad that, with q single excep-
ton, there was no disturbance of the peace
growing out of it. It is not many years since
the event would have been impossible on
account of the strong prejudice against the
movement which this mass meeting repre-
sented This prejudice would find its active
opponents more among the English people
themselves than in the government. The
effort, indeed, to shut the parks against agita-
tors is very recent. That the English people
were obliged, in protesting against their own
exclusion, to make room for Irish agitators is
one of the evidences that good rule will
work both ways. The rule that admits MIR.
| Bradlaugh must admit the followers of Mr..
Isaac Butt.
We all understand the reason why the Irish
residents Of London should ask for amnesty
to the imprisoned Fenians. Mr.. Gladstone
himself has, in his partial amnesty, given
them fair right to demand that the rest of
the Fenians should be pardoned. The pris-
oners set free were VIGOROUSLY the leaders of
the insurrectionary body, and it seems very
lame argument that the smaller try should be
held when the tritons are let 60. The dis
tinction having once been made between their
offences and ordinary felony the friends of the
prisoners have right on their side in claiming
that it be applied to all
Home rule, however, is not question on
which the caprice of a Premier can be relied
for settlement. It is wide measure which
many Englishmen who look to the integrity
of the United Kingdom will carefully con-
slider before taking the justice reasonableness
! or logic of the case into account-before even
they consider the wishes Of Ireland itself
This is the unfortunate part of the matter SO
far as Ireland is concerned. Every concession
to Ireland has first to be strained through
English prejudice, and is consequently likely
to come out very much thinner than before
! the process. There are two points in all these
propositions for curing Irelands ills which
are the bugbears of nglishmen-namely, how
| far will they threaten the national strength,
and will they lead to Catholic ascendancy?
The broad question of justice is overlooked in
the first, and the second is merely the evidence
of religious intolerance not yet rooted out
If the average Englishman however, puts
one query to himself he will arrive at
conclusion which may soften his antip-
athy to what Irishmen demand as home
rule. That query is What, under the present
circumstances, is Ireland's strength to the EN-
|
more unsatisfactory in proportion as he is able
to measure Irish feeling. The first question
will then recur in a more favorable light as
he asks, What will home rule do to quench
Irish disafection? The most earnest home
rulers aver that the disaffection is largely
durable by good local laws, which an imperial
Parliament can neither spare time to discuss
nor gain sufficient knowledge of Irish wants
to see their necessity. There are some people,
doubtless in Ireland, to whom this concession
would still be insufficient, notably the Fe-
mans. Members of Parliament elected from
Irish constituencies on home rule pledges,
such as Isaac Butt John Martin and MIR.
Munster, are unanimous in declaring that this
class would fail of the sympathy which they
now command as heroes and martyrs, and
would ultimately become SO diminished in
numbers as to be utterly powerless to embar-
rass an honest well-meaning government.
They contend that o Parliament in
Dublin having power to deal with
the large wants and small grievances
of the poorer classes would attract
the loyalty of the very class to which Fenian-
ism looks for its recruits The Fenians, who
support home rule as a stepping stone to
their larger demands, would thus find that
they had Internationally secured reign of
peace and prosperity, which they would, if
really patriotic, be the last to upset. The
other element which opposes home rule among
Irishmen themselves is composed Of the ultra
Professionals, of whom Mr.. Froude, while here,
constituted himself the champion. He pro-
fesses to fear that the Catholic majority in the
island would soon make existence very I'M
comfortable for their Protestant fellow coun-
trymen. He went SO far as to picture war of
religions, with English Professionalism stepping
| in, sword in hand, to make matters even once