St. Landry democrat., 1879-12-13
r. LANDRY DEMOCRAT.
Foreign News OF "A Fortnight.
IN. o. Times, DEC. 6tp.t

very StIEEluS HIS lduESAStts di'H't-,,
the purely political affairs i'll England,
France and in several continental
States have been more or less absorb
ing and somewhat important. There
have been no battles; there have been
no declarations Of wal, there have been
no political crises, and yet, after all
such out ward and apparent incidents
are not always the most significant CIR
cumstances. They are but the bursting
out OF interior and hidden s0cl0-p0liti-
cal forces, which are the real State ilfe
The chrOnicler, who merely notes th'
manifest events of the passing time, +
far from being Il historian. 10 under
stand the course of affairs among any
people, to comprehend the meaning
and the import of the actual and out,
ward occurrences which get not"d ana
noticed as daily news, it is necessary. Il
understand the moro occult snrs"'
economic, intellectual and moral condi-
tions of the people observed, as well a.
the personal characteristics and indlvl-
dual relations OF the men who are lead
ers. However, these reflections, are
foreign if not to foreign news. at least
to the method which we have adopted
in these articles.
During the week before last the mos
interesting and exciting affair tcle-
graphtd to us was the examination De
fore the magistrates in Sligo, i'll tl''
west Of ireland, of the antllent agltn-
tors, whose arrest we noticed III ot1
last article. The event itself is nov
stale, but we are the better able Il
weigh its significance. The leading
prisOners-Davitt, DAILY and kiIlel,--
bore themselves with dignity and dlH
no harm to their cause. They were all
held for trial, as was to be expected.
and bail was of course accepted. 1t Il
not reasonable to expect, however, tilat
they can be convicted by anything IKE
f: ir trial at cOmnOn law. No twelve
iurymen, drawn as the British law re-
uuires, could I've found in the vlclnag'
to convict. The government may, as
threatens to do, sumlnDrily change tn
venue to Dublin, and, by packing til,
.iurv, secure q conviction; hnt such
wan ton departure from proper !egA
methods would surely result in favor
of the agitators. But it the authori
ties attempt to try the Sligo prisoner:
as they are called, and they are acquit.
ted, the result would unquestiona bly,
be to give q new and dangerous i'm.
petus to the pending agitation. What
ever may be the result, looking at the
matter from the standpoint 0f mrr:
political criticism, it would seem thai
the arrest of Davitt and his coadlntol:
by the government of the lord litnttn
ant was bIuuder. The prisoners wer'
certainly not guilty of any overt acto
eedition tile only object. therefore, II
arresting them must have been t
check the agitation. The result hH'
been exactly The opposite. The meet
ings have been larger and more threat
ening; the excitement has been mol'
widespread. and the natural cry of or
preston which went up when trnstet
leaders were dragged to Jail has ha'
the effect to aronse il greater degree o.
than had been before shown. Durins
the week of the Sligo examinations
there was q sulcease OF meetings. The
Irish at home, and their English anf
Scotch brethren and friends appeared
to he holding their breath. But after
the MAGISTRATES committed killen and
sunn1arily abandoned their wool-sack1
leaving the executive counsellor, Rhea,
standing alone with his green bag in q
deserted Onrt-roOm-after this fina
scene of the somewhat farcical trial!
the excitement broke ont afresh. o.
Sunday, the second day thereafter
monster mass meetings were held in
various places in Western Ireland; th'
enthusiasm and excitement were in
tense, and there were some demonstra-
tions that were even threatening. Or
the same day there were also Immense
gatherings in Liverpool and in Hyde
Park, London.
In the meantime, as the depth of win
ter approaches, and the prospects OF
something like n famine among thu
peasantry, where the crops have failed.
Increased, the situation is becoming al
most alarming. Men who feel .tht
pangs of hunger, and who see thei
little ones starving about them, wl'
believe that their misfortunes are th'
result of oppression, may be easily LEI
to extreme revolutionary measures, II
indeed they do not themselves rush in
to sedition. All in all, we may exnect,
in the near future, exciting and PAIN
ful news from ireland. oSuch. an ex-
citement as now exists among the lrisi
masse8 cannot be checked or abate"
except the peopleaare pacitied by con
ceseion and relief, or unless by som'
sudden and violent crisis.
It ia not unlikely that these Irisl
troubles, and such other kindred home |
questions as may he excited Ivy similar |
causes, may after all hecome the grea' |
issue between the Liberals and Con |
servatiyes in the parliamentary elec |
tioDs, which will, of course, involve the |
actual government of the British En- !
pire. It is possible that q dissolution |
may not take place before the expira |
ton of the present house, which has |
vet q year to run; at all events, tho |
political excitement must inevitably in |
crease from now until the elections
whether they be soon or deferred until |
the last moment. 1t rs noticeable in |
this eonnectian that Mr.. Gladstone de-
elared in his speech at Eainhurg, OF
the 26th, that parliament ought to have
been dissolved ere now, but that thu |
government has not done so because
cit desires to be free for a year to givt
England and Europe new surprises
1t ia also worthy of notice that Mr.. |
Gladstone, in s1l of his recent utter
apces, has brought the Irish questo,
to the front. We may
expect that D'Israeli will in
deed. nnd speedily, provide some new
surprise. His only hope OF
retaining power is to make brilliant
foreign poIicy--an Imrerial rolicy-thr
living question in Eaglish pn!'tIcs.
The author 0f pancre:l and Viva,
Grey may be depended upon TO play his
dramatic and heroic Imagination agains,
the dull hnm-drGm of home needs.
From the continent the wires have
brought us, during the fortnight past,