The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-11-15
Manifesto Of Home Rulers to the
Irish People.

NEW lOhh, NOV. (.-LIeTOtu 8 bOuUllu.
The following manifesto, addressed to the
Irish people by the Home Rule Leaguers, is
to be discussed at a meeting tomorrow,
Tuesday,.
FeU0p cOuntrymen:
On the eve of the centenary of the accom-
plishment of Irish freedom, brought about by
the glorious man Of Dungannon, we would
be spiritlsss should we acknowledge that the
iron Of slav cry has eaten into our vitals
and we were not stirred At such q time to ad-
miration OF the deeds of 1882. If the Irish
people have not utterly lost the spirit which
animated their fathers, they will not fail to
make 1882 memorable in their annals for
their determined and successful efforts to re-
constitute the fabric raised 100 years ago by
the public virtue Of Henry Grastan and vol
u~ntsers, and destroyed in 1900 by the brides
and baysnets Of Pitt and Castle erea. The
state Of things which prevails in this country
would b An eternal disgrace to the worst and
most uncivilized government On the face of
the globe. In ne country Of the world ex-
cspt perhaps Russia, 10 there so little public
liberty left, or 50 much despstisn exercisep
by the ruling executive, as In Ireland in
1881.
Thirty-nve thousand soldiers and $1,000
military police garrison the country. They
allow no day to pass without making tho
people feel that now, As in the days Of Eliza
beth, Cromwell and William, the sword is
after all the argument with which England
seeks to answer all that the Irish nation de-
mands. Cannons are planted on the public
places Of our cities public meetings are pre-
hibited and dispersed police invade even
private dwellings to dnperse assenblages ;
every mans liberty is Al the mercy OF the
chief secretary acting On the secret denun-
Citations Of paid spies and informers. Every
day numbers Of persons of the highest re-
probability, and many occupying representa-
tive positions are arrested and flung into
common jsils without. trial. Among those
90 deprived of liberty are four member Of
Parliament, one of whom 10 acknowledged to
b the leader of the Irish people, and woald
under free Institutions be prime minister Of
the country. The possession Of arms, the
birthright of every member Of every free
Commonwealth, not civilly incapacitated, is \
crime punishable by . heavy fine or impris-
onnsnt. Nov two questions arise. First
Can it be for enc moment pretended that .
system of government under which occur
rences such As have been just named, habit
ually takes place, has any neral right to exist ?
Second-Would a people who did not endeav-
At the earliest moment by every legal and COD
stitutional means to put an end forever to
such ~occurances, deserve anything better than
the scourge of the shaved river Our manu-
features since 1900 have been nearly extin-
guished. We have had since the union four
famines, our country has been depleted by
three millions since IS40. While Engla' d is,
relative to taxable ability, the most lightly
taxed, Ireland is the most taxed. Since 1900
there have been tifty-nine savage coercion
acts in force here. We we're promised at the
time Of the union equal rights and priviledg.
es with the people Of great Britain; bat to,
day, fourteen years after the establishment OF
household suffrage and Of compulsory reg
i~ssratiou of voters in England and Scotland,
we are still denied these important rights,
with the result that while the proportion of
voters in England IL one to four, the proper
ton in Ireland is one to twenty-four. The
municipal fraternity, as also compared with
that of England and Scotland, is a mockery,
1t is needless to go through the list of griev-
anees, but sufficient to add that scarcely a
matter of pablo concern Of Ireland has the
will of the Irish people, that every depart.
ment of Dir business, no matter how little il
concerns Others than ourselves, 10 managed by
irresponsible sutocratic boards appointed by
Englishmen, aud composed to a large extent
of EnglishmeR and Scotchmen. Despite this,