Clearfield Republican. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1851-1937, 1880-04-07
4 PORGOTTEN ASPECT OF
THE IRISH QUESTION.


4 FORGOTTEN ASPECT OF
THE IRISH QUESTION
Ono of the great evils Of our dealing
with Ireland is that we have persisted in
governing her according to English
prejudces and ideas, Not thus have
we dealt with India, or French Canada,
or even the Isle of Man, and the Chan.
mel Islands. The land tenure of Ire.
land was altogether different from that
OF England. The land belonged to the
sept, not TO the chief or TO any Of his
vassals, This was forgotten or ignored
when the lands Of chiefs were declared
forfeited and granted TO fresh land.
lords, II was not mere class which
the confscations disinherited and up.
rooted from the soil, but the entire race
Of lrishmen and these still cherish
the tradition that they are the lawful
owners Of the land.
And as If il were not enough TO have
divorced whole nation from the soil
which gave 1t birth, and which of fright
belonged to it, the ingenuity OF En-.
glish statecraft found other means of
completing the ruin OF Ireland. Till
Queen Elizabeth's reign the Irish had
q flourishing trade in supplying En-.
gland with cattle. This was supposed
to depreciate rents in England, and
Irish cattle were accordingly declared
by act Of Parliament "a nuisance" and
theirimportation was forbidden. There
upon the Irish killed their cattle at
home and sent them TO England as
salted meat This provoked another
act OF Parliament, iorbidding in per
petuity the importation Of all cattle
from Ireland, "dead or alive, great or
small, fat or lean" Nevertheless the
Lord. Lieutenant appealed to Ireland
on behalf OF the sufferers from the
great fire of London. The Irish were
wretchedly poor, and had no gold or
silver to spare, but they sent q hand.
some contribution in cattle. This gift
the landed interest in England resented
in loud and angry tones as "a political
contrivanoe TO defeat the prohibition
of Irish cattle Driven to their wits
ends, the Irish turned the hides of
their cattle into leather, which they
exported to England. But here too
they were baflled by the English Jcal.
ousy. Then they took to sheep farm
ing, and sent excellent wool to England.
Again the landed interest of England
took alarm, and Irish wool was dc.
clarcd contraband by act of Parliament
in the reign Of Charles ii. The Irish
then manufactured the raw material at
home and soon drove thriving trade
in wooden stnfls. The manufacturers
of England thereupon rose up against
the iniquity Of Irish competition, and
the woolen manufacturers of Ireland
were promptly excluded from the
markets of the Continent. They were,
however, so excellent and so cheap that
the industry still fourished. But En-
glish jealousy never ceased its clamor
against it, and in the year 1893 both
Houses of the English Parliament
petitioned the King to suppress it.
His Majesty replied to the Lords
that he would "take care to do
what their lordships desired To the
Commons he said 81 shall do all that
in me lies to discourage the woolen
manufacture of Ireland" Discouraged
they were accordingly; and so effectu.
ally that whereas two centuries ago
they held their own against England
in foreign markets, | find from an of.
fetal return of 1866 the following sig.
nificant figures: The value Of the
wooden exports OF Great Britain in
that year was e2l, l,795,97l; that of
Ireland, E2I6. The wooden industry
being destroyed, the Irish tried their
hand with marked success at the man.
ufacture of silk. From that field also
British jealousy drove them 10 despair.
But they are a pertinacious race, and
do not readily 'say de-" So they
tried their hands at the smaller indus
tries, since all the large ones were ia
booed them. Awaiting themselves Of
lrelands facilities for the manufacture
of glass they were summary stopped
by law which prohibited the expor-
tation OF glass from ireland, and its
importation into Ireland from any
country save England. Cotton, sugar,
soap, candle making, aud other manu-.
factures were all tried in turn, and
with like result. To crush her in.
dustries beyond all hope of competition
with English merchants, all the Medi.
terranean ports were closed against
her and she was at length shut out
from commerce with the whole world,
Old and New, including even our own
colonies. To such pitch did this
cruel policy, and not more cruel than
stupid, reach, that even the sp0ntane-
GUS produce Of the ocean which washed
his shores could not be enjoyed by the
Irishman without the jealous interfer-
ence of English interests and the
fishermen of Waterford and Wexford
were thought presumptuous Tor pursu-
ing their calling along their own coasts
because, foroooth tho hsh markets Of
England might thereby be injured
One solitary industry remained to Ire
land She was allowed to cultivate
the linen trade, though British inter.
ests" tried TO strangle II also and
Manchester in 1885 sent petition to
Parliament signed by ll7 900 persons,
praying for tho prohibition Of Irish
linens The voice ofreason and justice
for once prevailed, and Derry, and Bel
fast, and Lisburn flourish TO prove
what the rest Of Ireland might now be,
II the purbhnd champions OF british
interests" had not then, as lately,
ignorantly sacrificed TO a purely ina.
ginary danger the welfare and good
will of an oppressed race. The sins OF
nations, Of individuals, are sure TO find
them out, and we have no just cause
of complaint if events should prove
that our sins against Ireland are not
yet expiated in full. We robbed the
Irish OF their land, and they betook
themselves TO other industries for live.
liSood. OF these We robbed them also,
and drove them back upon the land
exclusively for their support Yet we
wonder that there is now Land Ques-
ton in lreland.-Ne Contemporary
Rcpieic.
A Cleveland lawyer defending a
handsome young lady charged with
larceny, closed his appeal TO the jury