The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-08-06
Daniel O'COnnell.
A Sketch of His Life and Labors.

daniel OC0nnell was born on the 9TH or
August, 1775, in Carhen, county of Kerry. He
sprang from an old and renowned family who
in spite of the DISCRIMINATING laws possessed
money sufficient to send their son to the CONT
nent, where he studied at the CatholcIcolleges
of Louvain, st. Omer and Doua While at
the second of these he witnessed some of the
terrible scenes of the French revolution, and it
was then that he imblbed those conservative
principles of action which made him an agita-
tor, not a revolutionist, which convinced him
at time when the people were ripe for sedi-
ton that moral force was the sole salvation of
Ireland. To these principles of conservatism
he chung with unwavering constancy to the
end OF his life, and the impartial verdict of his
tory has demonstrated that he was right.
OConnell studied law in the middle temple,
London, and was admitted to the Irish bar at
Dublin in 1898, the law affording Catholics this
privilege having been on the statute book for
only five years. His first public speech was in
1900, in opposition to the act of the Union not
yet consummated The act was carried and
O'Connell proceeded to organizelan agitation for
the abrogation of the political disqualifcations
of the Catholics. The position of the Irish
Catholics at that time was sad and deplorable
in the extreme. The Irish code was at once the
most infamous and inhuman system of laws
ever enacted by any nation on the globe. Ac-
cording to its provisions an Irish Catholic
could not hold the humblest Office in the king
dom; he could not sit on jury; he could not
vote. Of course he could not be priest, be-
cause a priest if caught in Ireland was hung.
If father sent his son to Catholic school to
be educated and would not send him to a Pro-
testant, he was fined hundred dollars week,
and for the third offence the Catholic school
master who taught him was hanged In the
words of Phillips "This is the code of which
the statesmanlike and scholarly pen of Monies
quiu, the calm jurist, was prompted to say,
''That it could have been written out
only by devils, and ought to be writ
ten in blood, and the only place to
register it was in hell" 70 crush this
code-this disgrace to Christianity, to humani-
ty and to civilization, o. Cornell summoned all
his mastery and statesmanlike abilities. The
great liberator's first political triumph was in
1908, where by speech of great force and
thrilling eloquence he overthrow the leaders of
the Catholic party and transformed its policy
from silence to that of agitation. From that
moment, by system of agitation which the
world had never seen, he tore page after page
of that bloody statute from England. In 1914
the government extinguished by proclamation,
the "Catholic Board" under whose auspices
the agitation had mainly been carried on. In
1915 O'Connell inspired new agitation, with
petition for unqualified emancipation. 1t was
about this time that he was challenged by
Capt. D'Esterre for calling the city of Dublin
"beggarly corporatlon;" the challenge was &C.
cepted and OConnells opponent fell MORALLY
wounded. The final and victorious struggle
for emancipation began in 1924 and was fin
ished in 1929. During that time the people o
Ireland gathered by thousands to listen to the
soul inspiring strains of the great orator.
Their demands were hurled by the
great agitator in tones of thunder
across the channel and shook the halls
of parliament from their very founda-
tions. All England trembled at the orators
thrilling tones In 1926 all Ireland was so
thoroughly agitated that the English govern
ment prepared Immediately for compromise.
The government proposed that emancipation
should be accompanied by payment of the cler-
gy by the state, and the disfranchIsement of
the forty shilling freeholders. Both PROPOSE
tions were received with indignation and both
were abandoned. Again the waves of agitation
rolled over Ireland, again the government was
thrilled with fear and dismay. 1t was evident
that concession must be made, that the infa-
nous act must be repealed. A still more start
ling event took place in 1928. O'Connell
announced himself candidate for parliament
for tho county of Glare. 1t is true the penal
laws made him ineligible, but he now proposed
to carry them into tha, House of Commons and
discuss them on that floor The government
saw the inevitible result and on lUtn of April,
1926, the Catholic emancipation bill was passed.
On the 18th of May O'Connell presented him.
self for admission to his seat in the House of
Commons. He refused to take the oath ten
dered, and in speech of three hours demon
strated that he was right. He was refused a
seat because his election occurred before the
passage of the emancipation bill which made
Catholics eligible to parliament. A new writ
was issued for Glare. O'Connell was reelected
without opposition, and took his seat unchal-
lenged in 1830' In 1882 the reform bill was
passed, through his influence In 1910 O'Con-
nell began new agitation for the repeal of the
Union. He organized monster meetings in all
parts of Ireland, and again all ireland was
convulsed. The government interfered, fur
ther assemblages were forbidden, and O'Con-
nell was arrested on the charge of conspiracy;
he was convicted and thrust into Jail. The
Lords, however, reversed the decision and
OConnell was liberated. His career, however,
was ended; his magnificent frame was wasted
by over exetion. The young Ireland party re-
belled against his principles. He started on a
pilgrimage to Rome and died at Genoa on May
Is, 1847. His heart was sent forward to the
eternal city, while his body was inferred on
that green island he loved so we'll. Thus died
one of the greatest men the world has ever
seen. AS statesman in the high and broad
sense of the term, he has no equal. His great
political maxims were "Nothing is politically
right 'Ohich ismorally acrong," and "He who
commits crime helps the e1,en1y.' He was
friend not merely of Irishmen but of all man
kind. He advocated negro emancipation in the
United States while he pleaded for universal
suffrage all over Great Britain. He demanded
complete separation of churrh and state.e0 Jas
an orator he had few if any equals. Wendell
Phillips calls him the greatest orator since the
days of Demosthenes, and if we compare the
results he achieved with those of other great
orators, we must give the palm to O'Connell
The purity of his life was untarnished, his
great heart beat in sympathy for the whole
human race. He was true representative of
that Emerald Isle which gave him birth.
4 u. Clerk Of Courts.
To the Editor of the Press: