The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-08-09
The Catholics nId the O't'OnnCII
Centennial,

From the n, y, Pos, Of Friday last
Daniel O'Conncll was an intense lrish'
man. II is fitting, then, that the ceIebra'
ton Of his Centennial, now going on,
should hc intensely Irish; and il h 40. Mr..
Richard O'Gorman, the orator ofIhccven.
ing at the brooklyn Academy Of Music on
Wednesday, said that 0Connell had no
faith in an armed struggle between Ire.
land and England, because "the most &C.
cret plans Of the patriot leaders had been
divulgcd to thegovcrnment almost as soon
rs formed" II seems to ns that this IL
very himiiating confession Tor OCOnnell,
O'(iormanOr any other lrislman to make.
We can imagine what hot and eloquent
Celtic Indignation would he poured on
the head Of the haplcss person who, IN an
assembly Of lrishuien, himself nOtso for
tunatc rs to I've an lrislinlnn, should make
so swecping anlcrushinga charge against
the Irish. II amounts to M assertion that
every band Of "pNtriot leaders" in Ire.
land, however small contained traitor;
that Irish patriots could never be sure
that one Of their number would not
hctray them and their "plans'-if in
deed each could bC satisfied that he
himself would not I've guilty Of the
basest treOclery. Against What other
race has anybody ever vcnturcd TO make
this Wholesale imputntiUn? America
hnd IN Arnold hut only one Other
nations have had traitors, but treachery
Is the rare exception, not the rule. The
charge il not ours, let IL lc understood.
Mr.. Uuorman has made II, and he is All.
thOrity for the statement that UCOnnell
also made Il; hut II has come from many
other irish sources. II we were search.
ing for evidences Of It's truth We might
find II in the readiness Of lrishmCn TO
quarrel among themselves nj the very
tine when they ought TO be Of hearty &C.
cord, aud in the peculiar bitterness of
these domestic disputes rs compared with
their controversies with other people.
An instance Ia furnished by this very
OConnell Centennial. Now, II ever one
might believe that all patriotic lrishmCn
would Join with enger rnnnimity in
doing honor to the man who had
rendered great patriotic service TO
IrClnnd; that, however widely they
might differ on other things, they
would postpone their differences and
come together on the common ground
where they could agree. Instead Of doing
this they are engaged in as fierce q strife
as any in which OCOnnell himself ever
was concerned. The Roman Catholics
have resolved to give the affair strictly
scctaran tone. II il managed by Roman
Catholics Roman Catholics are put in
the front Of the demonstration, and il
members Of other religious denOmina-
tions desire to swell the festive numbers
they may bring up the rear, Il Is hardly
to he expected that the Irish Pedestrians,
Of whom there are not few, will consent
to I'LL so humble position, and natural
" they will stand alOoi. The animosi-
ties thus aroused will Oullast the Cen
tcnnial, and lrishmen will be, more than
ever before, their own worst enemies.
We have called this proceeding
intensely Irish. II Is therefore anus
inrly illogical. Suppose that Roman
Catholic emancipation il the event most
worthy Of celebration in Great Britain in
the last hundred years, what do the man
ayers Of the festival and Cardinal Cullen,
who defends their policy, believe were the
agencies in its accomplishments DO they
imagine that emancipation was the result
OF any inclination on the part Of those
who voted for II to accept Roman Catho.
licism ~ the only authentic religion2 On
the contrary, the Papal system was in as
little favor as II ever before had been or
ever since has been. Emancipation was
the outgrowth Of Protestant culture and
libcrality-trNits such as never haycbcen
developed under Roman Catholic in
AuCnces. To exclude Protestahts from
the formal commemoraton Of an act Of