Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-02-11
The Irish Agitation.

lAtuliiafity viii ied'teT IN great EQGllc
affairs. Tue successor Of O'Conn,ll as
Irish agitator in clicf is undoubtedly
Mr.. Parnell, and him all who wished
saw and heard in this country during
his visit last winter. No two men
could he more different in temperament
than the great Repeater and his sue
ce9sor. The slim, almost spare lgure,
serious men, and dry manner OF Mr..
Iarneil are absolutely contrastel with
the burly form and joyial, ready wit.ed
eloquence Of the shrewd Irishman who
liked to play with fire forty and fifty
years ago. Mc. PARCEL shows plainly
his patt Americas origin. I,4ere WAS q
quiet gentlemanliness of impression
produced by his public appearance in
this country, but there was none OF the
characteristic Irish geniality. He did
not seem like man who had ever made
joke or taken one--a reformer rather
OF the lean Ca-sius type than of the or
der of st. Patrick. [ pom the delivery
of his first speech in New York there
was not what can be called enthusiasm
among the audience; at least the i'm
preston VS. that the feeling of The
audieAce impatien:ly sought an occa-
sion III his speech to manifest itself
rather than that it Was resistlcssly
evoked by the speech. Ns WAS cool,
measured, prudent, and without she
least trace OF pandering to the passions
Of his audience. These also are quail
ties Of leader who knows his men and
pursues his own cEds.
Within II few months the Irish agita-
ton has been again very active. and
enormous demonstrations have taken
place in honor Of Mr. parLell, while
tie murder of Il lau0lptG -noblcman and
lie tOnc of the speeches oi Mr.. Paruell
and his associates have aroused very
deep feeling aud iupch dpprehens ion.
Mr.. Froude has contributed one eli his
characteristic articles ia the literature
Of the contest. his remedy for the stu
alton being IA finn ind incorporating
assertion Of British power. His doctrine
is that the islands ~annot be severed,
and that humanity, reason AID every IN
terost require that fact to be conceded,
and that the imperial authority be i'm
perially msirtained, justly, but inexor-
ably. The article Is vigorous. bat no
policy which Mr. Froude coula propose
for Ireland would be acceptable to the
Irish.
Looking over the ocean it seems TO
be clear that the real object of the pres
ent agitation is the Old object the
practical independence of the country.
pe,hlps Mr.. Parnell would say that he
aims at peaceful revolution His pur-
pose seems t. be to produce state of
feeling which will cause the Irish ten
antry to refuse to pay rent for land ex-
cep. upon its own terms. This would
be practically recondscation by revolu
ton If the refusal were really general
and national, it could be met only by
arms, and anarchy would ensue. The
terrible famine of tho last year is u pow
erful ally OF Mr.. Parnell. War and
anarchy may be bad, but are they worse
than starvation? This would be the
unconscious or open argument of the
tenant und the agitator. This is the
situation which confronts the Gladstone
administration. Any government might
ho porplerad by the problem of Ire.
land. 1t is the result OF prolonged and
ingenious and outrageous misgovern-
ment, and the feeling in England as
shown by the action of the House of
Lords, which holds q veto upon legisla.
ton, only increases the difficulty.
From the American point of view the
true policy of the friends of Ireland
would have been to make Il cordial al
lance with Mr.. Glaistone's govern
mept, in the conf lence that states
man SO able and SO sincere, who had
shown himself to be faithful friend of
Justice in Ireland AS elsewhere, would
do everything that could be done, if
not every thing that Irish agitating ar
dor might desire. But to perplex his
by demands whose con-
cession would involve the overthrow of
the most cherished and fundamental
British principles and traditions seems
at this distance to be the deliberate
preference of an enemy to a friend.
The Irish agitation hiss very simple
choice of alternatives, unless it has de-
cilel to invoke war. 1t must choose
between the most liberal of possible
Liberal governments, which is that of
Mr.. Gladstone, and q Tory a1ministra.
ton such as the vote in the House of
Lords indicates. But the unreason of
the agitation, like the old misgovern-
meut, aud the bitter race and religious
prejudice, is one Of the chief elements
of trouble for an administration of the
best intentions.
The Irish agitation has evidently de-
cided that Mr.. Gladstone's inheritance
OF trouble is its opportunity. Here in
America, where there is strong sympa-
thy with the suffering of any people,
there is also profound faith ia the
sure and permanent, even if gradual,
remedy of law. Although republic
and with burning questions to consider,
we do not take to revolutionary short
cuts. 1t seems to us here that it will
be long before ireland is likely to have
SO powerful friend among British
statesmen as Mr.. Gladstone, and that
cooperation, not distruSt aud opposi-
ton, is tho balm for the present ill.
The domain of the Easy Chair, indeed.
is not the realm of politics, in any local
or partisan sense. But q tranquil spec
tator looking out upon current events
at home and abroad, and chatting of
them without acrimony, cannot but
hear, as the whole world has heard dur
ing the year, the cry OF Irish suffering.
and look with sympathy and friendly
interest upon the methods proposed