The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1875-08-12

claimed that O'C0nneu and Dis loiIoMs
gave Englshmen the ballot under ina, aet
| IL is by no means certain that the corn laws
could have been abolished without their slo.
Ia the anti-slavery struggle O'Conne!l
stands, in influence and ability, equal Win
| the best. / know the credit all those meas
ures do to English leaders. But, IN my
opinion, the next generation will test the
statesmauship of Peel, Paimerston, husseh
and Gladstone almost entirely by their con-
duct of fhs irish question. All the lsureis
they have hitherto won In that neIa n1c are
wasted in ideas which Grattan and OCoo-
nell urged on reluctant hearers for hall
century Whv do Bismsrk and Alexsnder
| look with such contemptuous indifference
on every attempt OF England TO mingie
EUROPEAN AFFAIRS?
Because they know they have but to lift
finger and Ire and stabs her in the back
Where was the Craftsmanship of Engiis9
leaders when they allowed such an II to
grow SO formidable? This is Ireland to-day.
W hat WIS she when O'Connell undertook
| her cause? 1t was a community impOver
ished by five centuries OF oppression-four
millions of Ca bOl'cs robbed OF every acre
OF their native land. It was an island torn
| by rscs-hstred and religious bigOtry-her
priests indifferent ard her nGoies hopsiess
| or traitors. The wiliest of her enemies. a
! Pr0te~tant Irisbman. ruled the British Sen
7
| Irishman, led the armies OF Europe; Purl-
| tan hate, which bad grown binder
and more bitter since the DAYS OF
| Cromwell, gave them weapons. Ireland
| herself lay bound in the iron lioks Of a code
which Montesquieu said could have been
made only by devils, aud should be regis.
tered only in hell" Her millions wers be
yond the reach of the great reform engine of
| modern times, since they could neither read
| nor write. In this mass of ignorance, weak
/
| den, the elements of union and strength.
| Wish reTest skill he called them forth
| and naarshalled them into rank. Then this
one man, without birth, wealth or office,
in land ruled by truth, wealth or othfe,
moulded from those unsuspected elements
! a power which, overawing king, senate aud
people, wrote his single will on the ststut
book Ot the most obstinate nation In
E1re Safely to emaocIpate the Irish
| Catholics, and 10 spite OF Saxon PrOtaS ant
hste to lift all II. land 70 he lavel o' British
c1tizsnship--Jhis was the problem which
craftsmanship and patriotism bad been
seeking for two centuries to solve. For
this blood had been poured out like water.
On this the genius of Swift, the learning of
MOlvneux, and the elCquence of Buspe,
Grattsn a Q q Burke had been wasted Eng
lish leaders, ever since Fox, had studied
this problem aDxiOusly. They saw that tbe
safety OF the empire was compromised. Al
one or two critical moments in the reign OF
George the Third, one signal from an Irisn
leader would have snapped the chain tina
bound Ireland to his throne. His ministers
recognized II, and they tried every expedi
efit 5xSausted every device, dared every
peril, kept Osths, or broke them, in order t.
succeed. All fsil'd-and not only failed,
but ack now iedged they could see no way IN
which success could ever be achieved.
O'Conrell achieved it, Out of this darkness
HE CALLED FORTH LIGHT.
Out of this most abject, weak AID pitiabe
of kingdoms he made power, and dying
he lefl in parliament a spectre which. un-
less appeased, pushes Wing and Tory min
isters alike from their stools. But Broug-
nam says hs was dsmsgngue. Fie on Fox
!, AID Pitt, Wellington, Derby, Peel, Palmsr-
stoD, Liverpool, Russell and BruuLham to
! bs fooled aud ruled by a demagoguei Wha
must tney, the subjscts, be il O'COnneIl
! their king, be ouly a higot and demsgcgue?
a demagogue rides the storm. He has
never really the ability to create one H.
uses it narrowly, ignorantlY, and for selfish
ends. Ii not crushed by the force which,
without his will, has flung him into power;
: hs leads it with ridiculous miscalcula
tion against some insurmOun able obstacle
1 which scatters IL forever. Dying. he leaves
no mark on the elements with ~ nicl he has
oeen mixed ROC6S pierre will serve tor al
Illustration. 1t took o onnel thiIt years
J o. patient and sagaciOus labor to m"uli eIe-
I Ineuts wi OSe existence no man, no ever
I wise, had ever olscerned before. h used
F. item uuseItishIy, only t. break the yoke OF
4 his race. Nearly hfty years have passed
q slnce his triumph, but his Impress still
J s,s0ds forth clsar and sharp Oh the empire'
= Oolicv. IreiaDd is wholly indebted t. hin.
q f,rie- political fdu alton. Res Jon :, b iity
, educaJes. Hs iitted her to broader RESPONSE
OinLies. Her posse sion of power IN axes 1T
the keen interest Of other classes to see she l.
veil informed. Hs associated her witA
all the feOrm moV ements If Great
1 Britain. TnIs is the education OF al
fairs, broader, deeper and NOR
= real than wnat school ur college eau give.
fh.s and poWrr-his glits-ar5 ths leveG
which iifts heT To every other right and priv
: iI=,s. How much Eugiaud owes him We can
!. never know, since how great a danger anu
. curse Ireland would have been To the empire
u had she continued the chapter Pi5a ano
Cassleresgn efs ner is chepser OF history
wnico. t"ftu atsly, can never Oe written.
. M dernagOgue ever walked through .he
: -Gre,sss ol DaOiiu, as O'Conneil and Grattasi
did more snaD once, DOoted aud mObOed oe-
cause they opposed themselves 70 the mao
p puTpOss of the people ard crushed iG by n
!, sisrn resistance. No demsgOgue would
y have offered himself to a Ike the Irish
, az the apostle OF pesce; pledgIng hiInseii tO
l he Bri lsh go SerBmeDC that In the long a. /
! tstion before nin, with brave millions be-
hind buD,
: sPOILING FOR FIGHT,
;, he would never draw a sword. L have Pur-
II posely dwelt long on this view, because The
iexsent and the far reacning ffscts of O'Con-
: nell's work, without regard to the motives
: wh 'ch INSPIRED him, or the methods be used,
: have never been fully recognized. Briefly
9 stated, he old What sne abiesL aud bravest OF
/, his forerunBers had tried To do aud faiied.
; He crestsd q public opinion and unity Il
o purpose (no matter what be now the dis ga g
9 about Ineghodsl which make Ireland a =
= ton; Nc gave ner British ciLizsnsnip snd a
6 placs In toe imperial parliament; hs gave
Z her press aud Il public; with tbsse to0l- ner
j DESTINY - in her 0wu hands. When tine alb
& 0litiOnists got tor the uegrO sca0Ols ana tle
, vote ,ney settled the slave question, i"r tDey
planted tDe sure Seeds or civil eqGsiisy Y.