, 1881-02-20
spectlon. She has fallen back OWING TO . re-
taxation Of the standard. Chicagqray profit
by the example,



TIE TINES CHANGE.
| The Irish Land -Leaguers, who are now de-
nounced as though they were solne OF the
.'yilest wretclles that cumber; the earth, y
should stake heart OF grace, ;" and remem-
ber that they are not the only advanced poll
tieians who in our age hare bten subjected
to the denunciatlons of the English press,
the scorn Of upper-tendom, aid the contume-
ly Of the so-calletl respectable classes. In
| 1872, when the free-trade agitation was at
| its highest the London press and the En-
glish pan1phleteers were az fierce in their
denunciation Of the Antl-Corn Law
| League as they are nov III denuncla-
tion OF the Land League. The Pau Mdtt
] Gazette quotes from the advanced sheets Of
d book about to be published in England a
| chapter OF the history Of tle free-trade agi-
! tatton, which gives us n clear insight into the
| history Of the times to which we refer.
1.-THE League" it says, twas thoroughly
| out of fashion. It was regarded as violent,
extreme, anu not respectable" 1t was de-
scribed as "a selfish and fontenptible fac
tion." The Quarterlu Revetu referred to 1t
as ''the foulest and most dangerous conlbi-
nation Of recent times"; he London Times
alluded to Golden AMI john Bright
as "capering mercenaries,' "incendiary
claptraps," and "perlpatetic orators putting
themselves into easy popularity by second
hand arguments In the jail OF 1872 there
were furious riots gottenE up by English
mtll-operatives, and, still la;er in the season,
hayricks were burned down i'll many of the
southern and midland slites Of England.
The Anti-Corn Law Leagte was charged
with promoting these outrsges, just as the
Land League is charged nowadays with
promoting the outrages If Ireland, ".rhe
ruling classes,'' adds the work from which we
are quoting, '4were anx1ousat almost any cost
to destroy Cobden," just as the Irish land
lord classes are anxious nowadays to de-
stroy Parnell. Golden WIS looked on as the
head and front Of the an'i-Corn law agita-
tion rs 'Parnell is now looEed on as the head
Of the anti-rent agitation.
During the Parliamentary session cf 1913
Lord uowdick moved a resolution In re-
gard to the prevailing distress In En-
gland, and Golden, replying to Glad
stone and Peel, who advocated the MAIN
tenance OF the Corn laws, charged Peel
with being ''indiyiduaIly responsible" for
the distress prevailing in England. Peel
affected virtuous indignation, and construed
Mr.. Cobden's language to mean that he
Q'eeD was personally" responsible, and he
created a scene in tho House of Commons by
"acting the ciloleric man." as Beaconsfield
expressed it. How like the scenes in The
House of Commons, nowadays, when Sir
William Harcourt, Lord Harrington, or Mr.
Secretary Forster lashes himself into frenzy
at Mr.. Parneli's rather forcible languasei
But the storm blew o{er then, just as alI
English political Storm blow over, and as
the anti-1rish storm in England is now blow
ing over. ~.
There were not wanting wise mentors in
those days, too, to condtmn the inpetuosity
OF the ardent Ulysses Of REFORM Lord
Broushaln was to Mr.. bbden in those days
what Atr. Shaw is to Nj. Parnell. The quon-
dam radical nobleman expressed his ''utter
abhorrence" Of the couBe of Mr.. Golden and
Mr.. Bright just as NJ. Shaw expresses his
utter abhorrence Of Ir. Parnell and Mr..
Dillon. He "abhor:ed, detested, and
scorned'' the wild! rhetoric of the
Anti-Corn Law Leasners, and held that
their speeches were Calculated to produces
the taking away of innocent life" In fact,
his speech then enbotied the ideas which
the English Wings would now express
against the Irish LAND Lcaguers, had they the
ability or eloquence 0, Lord Brougham.. In.
a few years after these denunciations and ar,
imadversions the program Of the Anti-Corn
Law League became tue program of the Gov
ernment of the day; and in less than a
quarter Of centuryafter Afr. Golden was
offered Cabinet position. and i'll tlirty-fve
years after Afr. BRIGHT accepted Cabinet
position. Would it be Surprising, then, to find
all English Cabinet adopting the full Land
League program? i is perhaps too much to.
expect that Mr.. Paruth may have the refusal
Of !. Cabinet position inside Of twenty-five
years, and that Mr.. Dillon may be Chancellor
Of the Duchy Of Lancaster or Chief Secretary |
for ireland inside thirty years,