Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-09-22
The Lecture.

struggles here that we feel in his beyond
the water"
The Lecture
Mr.. Sullivan then came forward and re-
manned standing quietly during fresh out
bursts of cheering. He began his sddres;
by begging indulgence for any emotion he
| might show before that vast audience, and
asked that If his words should seem too cold
for the passionate anger that deep sense oil
wrong had buried in the soul of his country
men they would REMINDER he was not there
| TO wage war upon other mems convictions,
but rather to narrate and portray as faith
fully as he could events and facts and things
Is they are to-day in the land OF their CON-
4 mon love.
He thanked the press and the public for
the kindly words of friendly eulogy he had
received, and then passed on to review The
source from which Americans drew most
| of their knowledge of Irish affairs-the
London press. He said that any sporting
| paper which was consistently wrong in its
treatment vi sPeriing events, or any paper
| which consistently erred IN It's prophecy OF
the future of railrosd property, would be
| discarded by Americans. Then he continued
as follows:
"Yet invite any man from Texss up to
the st. Lawrence river to put his hands on 3
pile of the Times or any other London Jour-
press foretold 10 him So even probable any
| of the great changes which have rcome 10
pass in Ireland, where the reforms which are
now being praised to the skies were not first
declared to be impossible, monstrous and
wicked. put it to this people, who are in
the van of civilization and of commercial
and mercantile prosperity, are they so infst-
usted as to trust as guides press that has
| SO system atically misled them for the last
| 6ftv vnors9 The nnericau neopla ara mar
picked on this Irish question. They would
| fain aid Ireland in her aspirations for lib
| erty, but, SO have heard some say, the
American people being law abiding, cannot
sympa.hize with nation who are opposed
| to government and law. Law is most sacred
| and holy when it is the emation of the will
| OF free nation; when it is the will of a
| subjugator over subjugated people, it
is as detestable as the chain of slavery.
1t is said that our wrongs are things of
| the past. If we have no present grievances,
| what return can England make for having
1 antagonized in our minds government and
| law, duty and patriotism? 1t is an historic
fact, written in letters of blood, that every
! virtue which survives the Irish heart sur
| wives in despite of law and government.
.I dislike the use of strong statements at
/ this stage OF Tue Iffsn QUESTION; ti-sy can
| be avoided. / will use no stronger language
than has been used by Englishmsn with ref
erence to Irelands wrongs. Lord Aberdale,
| an English lord, and am glad to say that
| there are some English lords who have
| brains laughter ]-cb aracterized the state of
Irish affairs SIS the product of the enactment
] of the most cruel-aye, the most internal
| laws that have ever been enforced upon a
people. Another Englishmsn-a commits
sioner sent from The University of Cam
bridge to study the social conditions of the
| Old World-reported that if there was one
| country above all others where human mise
| ry and oppression impeached the govern
ment above ii, that country was Ireland
| we have made Ireland he says, the most
degraded and the most miserable country in
| the world Whatever there is of vice in our
| countrymen was planted in them by law.
Up to the seventeenth century England pur-
| sued toward Ireland policy of extermina-
ton; that was followed in the eighteenth
century by ruthless confscation of property.
In the century when young liberty was grow
ing up in the hearts of American colonists, in
The century when freedom was awakening in
the people all over the world, statute after
statute was rained on Ireland to put out the
eyes of her mind, to conGscate her property, to
strip her of education, to deprive her of arms,
that her SONS might be slaves.
"'But new policy has been adopted by
England / hear Americans cay. Your
condition has been deplorable, but the En-
glish policy now is changed 1t is true
that the policy of England in our century
has not been determination; the barbarity of
the penal code is no more; but l say to En-
gland that down TO the present hour your
policy has been, Refuse and resist while
you can; yield and concede when you
must Let England herself speak on this
point. The Rev. Sydney Smith-he was not
an Irishman, for that name is neither a Muir
ply nor an OBriep, [laug Inter denied that
auy voluntary concession was ever made by
England to Ireland. What did Ireland
ever ask that was granted-what did she
ever ask that was not refused? When |
Ireland asked on her knees for redress her
petition was rejected with every mark of
contempt; when her demand came from the |
voice of 10000 men it was granted with |
every mark of CONSERVATION and dismay. | |
will also quote from a letter written by john |
Bright in 1868 to the father of John Dillon, |
who had asked the Liberal government to
grapple with two questionable disest ablish-
ment of the Irish Church and the settlement |
of the Irish land questions. Mr.. Bright re-
piled that to strike an established church
and 10 abandon the theory of England's ter
ritorial system would only destroy the gov
eminent that would attempt to do it. Our
rulers though uncomfortable were not suffi-
GENTLY alarmed to yield.
"The emancipation bill was passed. The
argument that prevailed most against this
were emancipated after their long oppression
they would ostracise every man who was Of
the Protest ant faith. How did it come out?
The county of Cork, in which / YVES
cradled, has ninety-two per cent. OF
is population Catholics: yet from the
hour that bill was passed that county
offered to Protestant Irishmau one
,f the seats at its disposal. [Applause
here isn't country in christendom where
leep religious feeling is stronger, but we read
q the histories of our land that on the scat
old and on the block flowed the blood of
Catholic and Protestant, and we could not be
'lgots. The story OF eighty-two years of
prison cells was dismal part in the history
i ireland. In 1870, however, there were
orotestants and Conservatives who asked
whether there was not some way by which
Ireland could realize the national hope. We
made a compact that we would not compro-
Mise and sell the national birthright. By
874 Ireland had sent band of men to the
British House Of Commons who were told to
'e moderate. They tried the experiment OF
noderatiou. was one OF that band. APP
,lsuse. We grappled with the fisheries, the
ailroads, The schools and the franchise OF .
ur country, non-political questions, but the
British party all The same hooed down the |
rish party. Hissss- In 1875, 1876 and
S77 the landlords In ireland could have had
be land question settled on terms immensely
etter for them thsn those offered by the land =,
ill OF Gladstone, which Irish people laugh I
{ SIS too late.
'Instead of avertiDg revolution BY wise
ieasures of reform, the landlords rushed I
orgard to resist every reform measure. But
q 1879 there fell on our country So sdow.
here was a new generation born in ireland.
hey were men who were children in 1647, Q
no had seen the slaughter and felt the 2
umiliztion of that time. Here on Ameri- =
an soil, whence came that noble benevolence !
our country, tell you that never again
i'll the hat go round for ireland. APP Q
lause1 Whenever an Irish famine comes v
gain the people will not pay their rent.
Te would have made an honorable compact
iih the Irish landlords, but the cup IL full A
I'D Irish landlords must 60 Loud ap-
lsuse.
"When moderation had been laughed to
orr, Englishmen have asked me TO restrain RI
,e violence oil nv colleague. Laughter. T
asked them what did we gain Dy modera- ~
on from 1874 10 1897 We got nothing by 3,
Liberation, but by determination lap N
ause. I No man who knew Ireland twenty,
en- ten. years ago has any commensurate
,ovledee of the Ireland of to-day. A revo- q
ton has been wrought by the school and oil
e printing press, and, at length, by the
ckvard wave of American influence and II
mpathy. American letters have hlltd
;sb homes with hope and a spirit that 81
: ,srrible to landlords. There are scarcely W
" names that are so objurgsied in Eh- e,
and as those OF Charles Stewart Psrneu &C