River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-02-24

remain in Ireland and in parliament
during the present crisis, for reasons
which / will shortly detail to you. Our
movement IN America, although of
great Importance and capable of I'M
mense development, depends entirely
ON the stand made in Ireland. Ii we
are worthy of the occasion here. the
American people and the Irish nation
in America, viii give us proportional
sympathy and practical help. If the
spirit and courage of our people at
home be maintained, the resources of
the whole Irish race abroad will be at
our disposal, while if there is slight
flinching or reaction in Ireland, it will
produce a disastrous result in Ame,i-
ca. Nor do agree with you that for
the remainder of the session very little
is to be expected from parliamentary
action. The expelled Irish members
have almost unanimously decided to
remain in their places and offer every
resistance, which the forms of the
house of commons permits, to the pas
sage of the coercion of terms bills.
In this resolution | fully concur; the
result of renewed exertions of the par
/ ty since the coup de etdt and the adop-
ton of gaging and robbing has been so
far most encouraging. Moreover, it
would be scarcely just of me to leave
my party to face the uphill work en-
/ tailed on them. and think | can be of
some service during the passage of the
land bill in pointing out in what re-
spects it may fall short of settlement
of the land question, should it fail to
offer an adequate solution. The
government of England hav-
ing adopted rules of intimidation
against our people at home and their
representatives in parliament and hav-
ing practically attempted to drive both
one and the other outside the limits
of the constitution; and to the adoption
of illegal means in parliament and in
the country; two courses appear open
to us. The first that the Irish Nom
members should retire in body from
the house of commons and announce
to their constituents that the constitu-
tional weopon of parliamentary rep
resentation had been snatched from
their hands and that nothing but sullen
acquiescence or appeal to force in oppo-
sition to the force which has been used
against us; or second, and the only
other alternative, appears to be that we
should steadfastly labor on reforming
the lines and widening the area
of our agitation, appealing to the
great masses of England and
Scotland, who are much less represent
ed in the house of commons than the
masses, and appealing l say, against
the terrorism ola dominant parliament
to the working men and agriculture,
| laborers of Britain, who surely have nc
interest in misgoverning Ireland. have
dismissed the first of the these courses
from consideration, but the second al
tentative presents to us many elements
of hope in ultimate success. AS | have
said, parliament at present is governed
by the lords, manufacturers and shop
keepers of Great Britain. At election
time the springs are set in motion by
the wire pullers of the two political par.
ties, and the masses of the electors
are driven to the polling booths
to register the decree of some caucus
with place and power and not the peo-
pie as its object. Public opinion in
England is also deliberately and sys-
tematically perversed with regard tc
Ireland, but vigorous agitation in
England and Scotland would change al
this. The near approach of house.
hold suffrage in these countries is prac-
teal, certainly, and before the genera
election it will sound the doom of the
English land system, and the starving
of workingmen or agricultural labor
A candidate in every British consistency
would soon bring the house of com
mons and radicalism to its senses. A
junction between English democracy
and Irish nationalism upon a basis O
Ireland's right to make her own laws
and the overthrow of territorialisn
in both countries, and to enfran
chise labor from the crushing
taxes for the maintenance o
the standing armies and nayies would
prove irresistible, it would criminatt
the strife in both countries and secure
lasting friendship and mutual Interest
and confidence, between the two ma
tons / would say, in conclusion, there
is nothing in the recent events OF
coming measure of coercion to compel
the Irish people to modify, in the
slightest degree. their action of oper