American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1873-03-15

thunder of the cannon. nor the roar Of musk etry
deferred rom approaching the jaws OF death, and
striking the proud and cursed invader to the
earth.
Story. the English historian and who was an
eye W tness, i'll describing the siege says:
The Irish then ventured upon the breach
again, and fiom the walls and every pIuce 20
pestered US upon the counterscarp, that after
three hours resisting bullets (from the yery wo
men who boldly stood the breach, fl hting with
such weapons as they could catch from the slain
and were nearer to our men than to their own)
and whatever means could be thought of to de-
stroy us, our ammunition being spent, it was
judged safest to return to our trenches"
The man that is not moved with what he reads,
That takes not fire at such heroic deeds,
Unworthy OF the blessings of the brave,
Is base in kind, and born to be a slave"
fsrque quaterque, beati quidus ante ora pat, um
Iioj9 SUD noenitus ditis, contisn oppetere. o
thrice happy were the noble Limerick women
who fell gloriously fighting under their walls, be-
fore they were compelled to witness the destruc-
tion of their country, and the slavery OF them
selves and their children.
The garrison having bravely defended L. merck
for several days finally captulated on most hon
orable terms. The treaty was made on the field
of battle, in the most solemn and binding man
ner. 1t guaranteed to the Irish all they fought
for, namely perfect freedom of conscience pro.
lection of life and property; the rights of trade,
commerce and manufactures and their national
legislature. This treaty solemnly signed
and ratified by King William and Mary. The ink
had no soOne. dried on the paper on which the
treaty was written, than the solemn compact was
most shamefully and VIGOROUSLY viola ed. o
England, may that foul and ignominious stain
main npOn thy escutcheon until wiped out by full
and complete restitution to the unfortunate land
of my nativity.
Soon after the treaty of Limerick, King Will
liam caused to be embodied into act of par
Lament all the penal laws against Catholics,
passed by Queen Elizabeth, and containing tbir-
~ a fpu of w sch haro
list. 1t stripped Catholic peers of the right to
cit in parliament. I'd 1t deprived Catholics of the
right to vote at elections, or hold any office.
9th. 1t fined them. at the rate of twenty pounds
a mont for not attending church-though they
believed not in its doctrines. It'll. 1t disabled
Catholics from keeping arms in their houses;
from maintaining suits at law; from being guard
ians or executors; from law or pbysic; from
travelling fl miles from their houses. 9th. II a
married woman kept away from church she for
teited two thirds OF her dover. 18th. 1t rendered
a Catholic incapable to purchase lands, and all
contracts entered into with him were null and
void. 18th. 1t imposed fine of ten pounds a
month on any Catholic family employing a Cath
Ole schoolmaster; and fine of two pounds day
on such schoo,master. 18th. 1t imposed fine
| of hundred pounds for sending q child to q for
eign Catholic scuOOl- 14th. 1t punished the
hearing OF mass with fine of sixty pounds 18th
Any Catholic priest who returned from beyond
seas was liable to be hanged and CHARTERED. 10th.
Any Protestant who became Catholic was liable
to suffer death. 2lst. Any Protestant. seeing a
might take the horse away from him. on tender
ing him Sc I'D. None but Prostestant5 were quail
flied jurymen. 9th. All marriages between Catho
lies and Protestants were annuied. 18th. Every
Catholic priest who celebrated marriage between
a Catholic and Protestant. or between two Pro-
testants, was condemned to be hanged. 32d. If
any one of the sons OF Catholic became q Prot.
estant. this son was to possess all the property
the father had. During Williams reign the most
stringent laws were also enacted against Irish
trade, commerce and manufactures. William in
1886. addressed the English parliament in these
words: A. Gentlemen. l shall do all in my power
to promote the trade Of England. and to discour-
age the wooden manufacture of Ireland" In the
Sd me year, parliament decreed that no Irish mer-
chant should ship beyond seas in any ships but
those built in England and owned by English;
that no freshman, whether Protestant or Catho-
lie, should trade with any foreign nation. with
any colony OF England, direct; or should export
or import any article. except to or from British
merchants resident in England. These cruel laws
were also enforced in the reigns of Anne AMI
George !.
Edmund Burke, a Protestant, and than whom
a nobler spirit never breathed, and whose elo
quence never has been surpassed in al!udlng to
those laws. says: - The most refiued ingenuity
OF man could not contrive any plan OF machinery
better calculated to degrade humanity than thi,
terrible code" And Montesqnieu the French
lawgiyer. says, " T his horrid code was conceived
by devils, written in human blood, and registered
in hell. j"
The person who now addresses YOU shall neve,
forget The horrible accounts given by eye- witness
es OF the terrible and savage crueitIes inflicted
on the unfortunate people of his native county
Carlow, who were Implicated, even suspected
in the provoked and justiiiable rebellion of the
year 1873.
The fact Is. the tyranny practised upon the
irish by the English has been unrcmipting for
iOo years. The only change has been in the man
ner oil ntiCting it; and yet tine English say the 3
are astonisied at the disco 1tent of the Irish must
here Int oduce an story which is quite applic bic
To our case An Irish drummer was employed to
hem 1,.l
mer struck high, the soldier exclaimed, Please
strike lowers; the drummer compiled. Bat i'm
medlately the poor soldier exclaimed, - Hgher.
II you please But again he called ont. - A lit
tie lower, upon which the accommodating drum
mer addressed him: Now, upon my conscience
see you are a discontinued man; for strike where
| will, cannot please you So it is with the
English, they never cease to strike the Irish al
though they may not always hit on the same place.
In 1882. lreands prospects fer national indie
penpence were brighter than at any other period
OF her history since the English invasion. She
almost became a nation. In hat year
gained the society of United Irishnen.'' 1t was
IA union OF brotherhood and affection among Irish
men Of all religious persuasiens- They were
unite'l for the NEST pure and exalted object that
can unite men on earth-to obtain civil and reli-
gious liberty. rhe Presbyterians of the North
joined by many of the best bravest, and most
patriotic lay members of the established church
united with their fellow-countrymen, the Catho-
lcr OF the South for the purpose of freeing their
native land from the grasp OF the tyrant Never
uiQ tnerc exist u Oouy Oh men possessed OF
motives or Drrer patriotism. than the body of the
Presbyterian clegy of ireland of that day. Some
of them suffered death, and many underwent long
Imprisonment for loving the land of their birth.
Peace to their ashes. Nearly half of the the lead
ing spirit of the patriotic movement were Protes-
tants, and their memory shall ever be revered by
every true Irishman, whether he be Catholic or
Protestant. The British government. seeing the
sons of Ireland were about being united, threw
the apple of discord in their midst, and again. by
sectional and sectarian hatred were the hopes of
the nation destroyed.
l could mention the names of hundreds of noble
spirits who sacrificed their lives the altar of
their country during the last patriotic movement
of the Irish, during the reign of George Ill, but
time will not permit me. | cannot. however; pass
over the names of Fitzgerald, Zone and Emmett.
Who cannot hut admire the noble. majestic and
beautiful Lord Edward Fitzgerald. SO enamored
of the glorious principles OF Liberty, impulsive
and generous, yielding his life in the bloom of
caust in the full ardor OF his patriotism. Wolfe
Tone, the indomitable and Maynard, preferred to
let his life blood out by his own hand. in dun
geon, rather than the English government miaht
bave another victim Tor the scatfold. Bat in the
front rank of Ireland's heroes and martyrs, we
must place the immortal Robert Emmett. Possess
ing yout b, genius, beauty, fame and wealth; sur
rounded by the highest social circles. and the
brightest smiles of fortune; yet, dearear than all
these to him, was his country's freedom. He is
both hero and martyr His epitaph is in indelibly
written in the hearts of his countrymen. Truly
did he say. II was sacrificed the altar OF
truth and liberty. No man can write my cpl
taph"
Sons of Erin let US not dwell any longer on
those heart-rending recit.is but let US weep over
the crimes of those who ruined our native land