The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-02-17

| sheepstealer. In his speech TO tne jury ~
| drew o glowing picture Of the prisoner at the
bar as a model husband and father Che wa
| not married at Rll), dntiful non, an exem
| plary citizen, virtuous, pious, industrious, IN
offensive Al this point the prisoner IN tne
claimed to those around him, II never knew
before that bore so high q character" Well
sir, we have heard tonight the defender OF
| British rule in ireland extollnR the virtues
and excellence of his clIent and well may
| the prisoner at the bar in this case e1claim,
81 never knew was so beautiful, 80 vrtuons,
| 50 meritorious az all that" Only believe the
| hon, and learned gentleman and there 10 not
| the slightest need of changing snything-the
| slightest possibility Of improving anything
| in ireland. Everything there Is already per.
feet in the matter of government, law, and
ad mi Illustration. There 10 not, II you believe
him, o more fortunate spot on the face OF the
! habitsble globe. 1t is the homo OF happiness,
ing loyalty. Conservative cheers). Hon gentle
men opposite cheer. Yon evidently think 30 too.
You know all about it, You know Ireland better
than we do You are better entitled to speak
for il than we, the Irish maj ority, are. Are
youf But, pray. by what right does your
party hold those benches and rule the desti.
nies of England but by the right OF o psrlia-
mentary msiortyf In virtue or parliament
ary ma iority you say are entitled to speak to
the world for England, while in virtue of
parliamentary minority you would claim to
speak for Ireland. Bat, sir, the question be-
fore the House is nuoh wider, and greater. and
more serons, than the merits of the lrisa
"bils' which the Government has promised
II it were u matter of u better or worse
grand jury law, or n better or worse Inter-
led iate Education bill, for one should hesi-
tate TO concur in an interpositIon like the
present. Tho question we raise is that for
which it may be- said Parliament has been
especially convoked. We have been told in
the roy al speech of possible danger near at
hand, of precautions and preparations that
may be necessary for the defence of the power
and stability of the empire Well, we have
utif,n
aud the most potential PREPARATION which the
Government could make. The matter is
glozed over by avoiding phrases, bat the
danger that you all mean il war, q war in
which England will have to fight for her very
existence as q nation thai war breaks out,
IL it be not averted, as hope it may be-
England will find herself In such desperate
straits as she has not known for four hundred
years, Your army, small but brave and fear.
less as ever, will behave with it's traditional
valor; wherever 1t may be sent, on whatever
field it may fight, the army OF this country
will exhibit those splendid qualities that have
justly given it q worldwide fame. l would
say as much for it even were it not composed
as largely as it is OF my own brave country
men. But there is not military man sitting
in this House who does not know and feel the
truth of what / say-thst q recent memora-
BILE war in Europe has demonstrated that
courage and prestige no longer compensate IS
largely as they used to do sixty years ago
against overwhelming odds and that your
army of q hundred thousand, or hundred and
fifty thousand, men would be utterly power
less before the hosts that now stand arrayed
and disciplined on the continent of Europe.
Should this calamity befall. should this trouble
for your existence arise, think you that 1t is
upon inanimate sword and bsyonet and ship
and gun, rather than upon stalwart arms
reliance twill bef Should that crisis come,
right sure sm that amongst the English
masses q patriotic fervor will answer to your
call. Throughout England and throughout
Scotland it will be 80, but will it be 80 in Ire
land In the spirit of the oath which l swore
at that table-nay, higher obligations still, by
the duty i owe to conscience and to truth
dare all misoonoepton and outcry to deliver at
this momentous crisis my solemn testimony
and belief that if this empire enters upon
struggle of such magnitude while Ireland is in
the attitude which Hungary occupied towards
Austria previous to Sadows, the popular en-
thusiasm which you will receive in England
and Scotland will ::ot respond to you in Ireland
(shouts of "Oh I" interruptions and cheers) l
was prepared for your EXPLANATIONS, and do
not complain, for the statement have made Is
serious, and naturally unwelcome; bat time
will vindicate the truth OF my words aud the
integrity of my motives. Twenty or twenty
ii years ago there stood upon the floor of this
Hons band of Irish mbers, struggling, as
we struggle now, to persuade you to listen to
Irish demands. Study for oTyourselves what was
their fate read for yourselves the lesson of
that time. They were voted down. they were
sh 9uted down, they were laughed at, they
were denounced or derided. Yeu had in that
nhNS-SO"S
eloquent Irshman in your service to get up
and do your work against his countrymen-to
contradict their tt sjlmony, to tell you pleasant
tidings which you hailed as gospel truths,
while their honest wsrnings of danger were
shrieked against as seditious incentives. John
Francis Mcguire and others ventured to say in
this House, as l say now, that there was dan
ger and disaffootion in Ireland. They were set
upon anRrly as almost traitors. They were
contradicted and condemned. This House. by
overwhelming voice, declared their testimony
untrue, and that Ireland was peaoeable, con-
tented and loyal to the core. Alasl a year or
two barely passed when events threw q terrible
| light on all this. At that very moment my
| unfortunate countrymen were being sworn in
by the Thousand in o secret conspiracy for
armed insurreotion. Barely few years passed
away when the crowded dock, the convict
ship. the penal gang. the triangle and the
bloody lash-nay, the soaffold itself-furnished ed
a frightful contradiction to the pleasant testi.
monies which you preferred to believe; q
| frightful corroboration to the waruiugs you
denounced and disregardedl What happened
| thenf Like the story of the recent Feniau
| amnesty which We have heard to night, mes
sures prayed for in vain in the hour of your
tranquility, when concession would have grace
| and efficacy, were conceded amidst public dis