Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-04-27
Judge Black on ireland.

The great speech of jeremiah S.
Black at the Gtattan centenary in Bal.
tImore on Tuesday night has made IA
profound impression throughout the
country. II was indeed masterIy pre-.
sentation of the condition Of Ireland.
As 10 the duty OF American people ~
the matter Judge Black struck the KEY
note and thousands who have been in.
q iierent to the struggles between TIA.
IRISH and their English oppressors viii,
on reading this address, be moved to
| the warmest sympathy for the pers"cu
| ted children Of the Green Isle. Judge
Black said "For seven centuries Ire.
land has worn the yoke Of political
bondage. The general notion IL thai
England and ireland are united king.
| doms, but there is no real union. and
there never vas. They are pinned to.
gether with bAyonets. Undoubtedi,
much OF the present trouble i directl,
| chu.ed by the unnatural relations eE-
| Isling between the millions whose lahor
| CuItlyates the coil, and the landlords,
small IN number, but great IN power
who stand ready TO snatch away TIN
! fruits Of IT A. soon as they are gathered
You may say what you will about the
sacred right of property be.
| lieyes in It more deyoully than / do.
| Concede that these landlords have "A
title which cannot now be questioned.
Assume that the owner Of property can
rent 1t on the hardest terms he can
exact--still the existence Of that gigan.
tic monopoly. clothed with the privilege
| Of desolAtIng a country and starving
the industry Of a people, is the saddest
TACT in the history Of the human race.
| We must speak respectfully OF England.
! The vast wealth Of our commerce makes
/ II every5 5ody's interest to stand well
| with her. Her armies circle the earth
/ her fleets cover every sea the long
| reach ot her diplomacy perpleXes where
/ il does not control the councils OF all
other states. We cannot but remcm
Ter that Chathnm'z language is our
mother tongue, and the great name OF
/ Hsmpden ranks only second TO that OF
/ Washington nor can we forget that
/ the present monarch Of that country il
| a queen whose personal virtues have a
| richer value than all the jewels in her
I crown, But these ministerial tools OF a
/ greedy aristocracy, who have done and
are now doing all that in them lies to
/ oppress and wrong a people TO whom
they owe protectlou-are they fl to
/ govern No, not hyel II hsd the
voice of an angel trumpetto toneucd
could not speak their condemnation
more loudly than tbe truth would var.
/ rant. The speaker described the Euf,
I ierinFs Of the Irish people through
centuries Of political oppression aud
\ then went on to ssy "But what con.
/ cern have we in this ContcstY Why
/ should vs. be disturbed by wrongs which
We neither suffer nor inhictl ! answer
l that. situated a. we are, II il impossible
to restrain our sympathieE or school our
I feelings TO the policy OF a Geld indifier.
ence. The Roman dramatist said 1
[ am man aud therefore IN all thiurs
| human These irish are not merely
/ human they are not Tartars, Mongols.
/ Cbincse or negToes-fRr of and doubt.
/ fully connected with humanity. They
belong to our imperial race whose phys-
I ical structure, mental endowment and
capacity for improvement put them
ever IN the foremost rank Of men.
/ More than that--thcy are our kith and
kin; We trace their ancestors in the
line Of our own descent their blood,
| mingled with atiiuent streams IRON
other sources, flows in our own veins
| But what can we do for themi How
! c.n we help them in this fearful strait
I We have no right TO come between
{ England and her subjects by any Kind
I of force or violence. tor that IL prohibit.
ed by the law Of both countries and by
I treaty slipulations. But you have WAYS
I we'll understood of giving moral com.
I fort and material aid which break no
I law. The most devoted adhereuts oi
/ the British ministry Acknowledged that
/ the success OF their irish polio, Is more
endangered by your opposition 10 1t
l than hy al other causes nut together.
! A land league merely lflsh they can
easily reprpss, but league with it,
/ roots on this side of the Atlantic will
/ grow 10 be power, not merely formIda.
/ BILE but fatal to the ascendancy Of the
| landlords. To make this more intelll
gible will require = brief look At the
| situation. The formation Of the land
I league, or rather the assumption Of its
present attitude, was new era in the
/ history Of the contest. Agricultural
/ lahorers resolved that they would not
work for their enemies, and tenants
said they would voluntarily pay no rent
without the distinct assurance Of some
e ornament substantial relief to the
country. Acting upon the precepi of
| the early Christians to bear one anoth.
ere burdens, they solemnly covenanted
that each should be supported by the
strength OF all the rect. IL was the
grandest labor strike on record. The
Il ~
criminal design was ever imputed to H.
Active assistance they would not render
to their adversaries, but passive obedi.
ence TO the Law they would yield when
they must. Nevertheless, il spreads
panic among landlords, middlemen and
bailiffs. The Land Act Of 1881 and the
hsrsh treatment Of the principal mem.
bers Of the land league we're then discuss
I'd. the speaker finishing this branch Of
his subject in the following striking Ian.