The daily gazette., 1881-02-01
SECOND EDITION
JOHN O'BYRNE ON IRELAND.
he TELLS THE CATHOLIC CLUB ABOUT
THR LAND SYSTEM.

THR LAND SYSTEM.
mo admission of natural legal
right was ever obtained from England
unless it was taken from her by the
power of the armed man or wrenched
from her by the ears" Applause.
The utterance was by John OByrne
the former well known member of the
Philadelphia bar, now of the bar of
New York, in a. lecture before the
Catholic Club on the "Irish Land
Laws, at their rooms on Broad street
below Walnut, last night. Every seat
in the brilliantly lighted room was oc-
cupied and people stood in the door
way and back against the wall, hold
ing their positions throughout the en-
tire lecture. a number of ladies were
i'll the audience. The lecture began
at 8 o'clock and lasted two hours
MIR. O'Byrne went back to the days
when Ireland belonged to the Irish
people, and starting here came down
through The ages, tracing and describ-
ing the successive events and acts of
tyrannyand injustice which had trans
fcrred the soil from The rightful own
ers to the usurpers. The title to al
most every acre of land in Ireland res
ted upon the basis of confiscation.-
The confiscations of King William add
ell to those of Cromwell and the first
James amounted to over 1000, 900
acres. Two points particularly the
lecturer dwelt upon and impressed
forcibly upon his hearers-'he whole
some eonfiscai ions of the land and the
unjust discrimination by the English
Government against ireland through
the former obnoxious navigation laws.
People exclaimed against the Irish of
tentimes as a shlftless, unlettered
class of people. Who was to blame
for its The first manufacture which
The Irish people showed any aptitude
for was forbidden. By an act of Par
Lament in Queen Anne's time the
manufacture of woolens was prohibit
I'd in Ireland. They were afraid the
Irish people would compete with the
manufactures of Lancashire, Devon
shire and Yorkshire. To make the
discrimination more effective the nav.
igation laws were passed, which pre-
vented the impor alton of a pound of
sngar or coffee unless it was first en-
tered ia the custom house of Eng
land. Not yard of linen could be
exported without being entered in the
custom house of England.
The speaker then came to the penal
laws, which made it o!I,.nse pun
ishable under IL. law for any one to
leach an Irish child TO read or write.
THAT law was IN force for three-quar-
ters of century. Il has been Eng
lands policy from the frs: to discrimi-
nate against Ireland. English greed
has been the bane of Irish industry"
The speaker followed up the events
If Irish history and showed how when
grievances became unbearable the up
rising of the Ilish people en- masse al
ways brought about modification or
! total repeal of the Objectionable
statutes. Thus were the navigation
laws done away with thus was the
tithe act adjusted ; thus were the OBJ
noxioas penal laws in reference to pro
hibiting the education of children
done away with thus would the pres
ent land grievances compel means of
redress. [Applause.]
The speaker quoted France as the
wealthiest nation to day on the face of
the earth. The abolition of the feudal
system and the distribution of the
land among the people, he said, was
the cause of this. Prussia, after her
overwhelming misfortunss at the
hands of Napoleon, had arisen into
power and wealth again through the
same means. Thus and thus alone
must Ireland rise. There are millions
at home in Ireland demanding tueir
rights and preparing to take Them in
the fashion of their times there are
millions in this free country of fAmeri-
cain the wilds of Australia, in the
pampas of South Aulerica-millions
who have their eyes fixed on their
struggling brothers in the Old World,
and whose voices rise loud i'll The uni-
versal protest against the injustice,
the tyranny, and the intimidation OF
England. And when Ireland s people
rise in their might and demand their
rights they will receive them.
The lecture was many times inter
rupted with applause, and when it was
the lecturer received such an
demonstration that it fell