, 1881-09-18

Foolish Scheme OF Irish Secession md
fEchcIliO1t.


1kehcIlio1t.
Ne,p T"rS Herald.
1t is difficult to believe that A1r. Par1lei1 is
serious in asking the Irish people to unite
with him III the agitation Of propositions as cx.
| frayasant rs sonae of those he has presented.
| Take, for Instance, his claim of national SELF
! government for Ireland. It it could be- pos
sible for Ireland to have an independent ia:
! tional exlStancc it would be {: qualification,
not onlNto the people themselves, but to all
| who believe in self-Soyernment, But politl-
cal leaders must look at facts. not dreams.
| The fact is that Ireland is m important part
! of great at>eMpre-ss much 4 part of Great
| Britain rs South Carolina is OF the United
| States. England would rs soon consent to
] the independence Of Ireland rs America to
the secession OF South Carolina. This is Il
| question that is governed by considerations Of
| high national safety. England knows that if
Ireland were free tomorrow SHE would become
/ the ally or the tool of any Continental Pow er
that chose to make war upon the Crown.
She knows that there is 4 large portion of
| the Irish Debple-the thrifty, pi0us, indus
trious class in the north especial y-wllo
would regard secession from England as an
nnspeakable calamity and would resist it to
civil war. She feels as much pride in the i'll
tegrity of her empire us we do in the integ-
rity Of our republic. For Irishmcn IN
America, therefore, to contribute money to
is worse than folly. It is extrayagance,
waste, encouragement to sedition and tlisor
der Mt home. What Irislmen should de-
1nand is that they should haye the same lib
erty in home affairs rs New York and South
ton. AN agitation for this would be prac-
tical and sensible. There is no doubt that if
lrislmen patriotically and zealously press
. these reforms upon the attention of the Brit
istl Government other beneficial measures
will follow the passage OF the Land bill.
1t is difficult also to see how any agitation
can be seriously conducted upon the theory
Of Mr. Parnell in reference to landlords
Ills position. as we understand nj it, IS Com
man to property in land under any decent,
orderly government is as sacred as his right
to anything else which !!e has earned by his
skill or his industry. The power to deprive
the tiller who succeeded him Of the same
land tomorrow if a new Parntll should arise
and conduct a successful agitation. Mr..
Parneu cannot follow this line Of advance
without leading his party into inextricable
difficulties, and arr;tying against his cause
the common sense Of mankind. lie shows
himself to be a political 'crank" Of the fam
tastic nishty ortter, when he seriously asks
Americans to give him money fGr tile de-
strnctiolr Of the landlords right to his prop
erty i'll land. The proposal to revive Irish
industries is Salutary and proper, likewise
the suggestion that 1rish1neil shall only wear
articles Of Irish manufacture. OF this no
one can complain. II Mr.. Parnell can teach
his people to be self-reliant and ellterprisug;
to build mills, make cloth st1ltfs, and develop
the resources of their country, he will do
them a great benefit
So far as Alr. Parne1i's new movement |
looks to testing the benefits Of the Land bill.
assisting the tenants in the maintenance Of |
their rights, and so far as it encourages Irish
industry and the revival Of Irish lnanufact- /
ures, it is comlnentable. But these are only |
minor parts of the new progranl. The real J
policy is to agitate burning, passionate ques- |
tions which make men angry and lead to |
continued ill-feeling between the peo- !
pie and the Government. To do this
he looks to America for money. |
We certainly think that lrishmen |
in America have done enough for their cour~
try, enough for the aneli0ratiQn of the pe0-
pie, enough for political movements, with J
ont being called upon to subscribe to these
mad anu fantastic enterprises. Let our Irish !
friends keep their money at home and use 1t |
for better purposes than tanning discomfort:
the operation Of the Land bill Let them fol- |
low the advice of Archbishop Croke, a dis
tlnguished prelate Of the Catholic Church. |
who took pro minenL part III the LaIlu |
League and whose words are certainly ell !
titieh to patient consideration and respect. |
Let them listen to the counsel of Sir Charles |
Gayan Duffy. who WAS 4 distinguished lead
er in Ireland before ParreIl was borll-the
the friend, and counselor of
sees in the Land bill hope |
full future for his native land. !