Daily Los Angeles herald., 1882-03-01
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When the handsome and elo-
quent young member from Galway
confronted q Los Angeles audience
1t Turnversin Hall Monday night
probably few Of his hearers had a
definite idea of the real situation in
Ireland. Though we had read q
great deal about it, and had
scanned the Irish papers, we con.
fess that cur own idea Of the Land
League and mo Rent" question
was ut best a clouded one.
Graphic as was Mr.. O'Conpor's
narrative Of the long train Of op.
pressions which have cursed Ire.
land under English rule, eloquent
~ was his invectivs against bar
barlty which Mr.. Gladstone has
clothed under the euphemlsm OF
tho employment Of 1.-THE resources
Of civilization" perhaps the most
Interesting portion Of his address
was that which related to the ..No
Rentu manifesto. There has been
ageneral idea in the United States
that an incorporating cop.
munistic intent was embodied in
this programme, and that the rad
ical notions of the first French
revolutienists had obtained q lodg.
ment in Ireland. This misconcep.
ton has repelled great deal OF
sympathy that would otherwise
have been at the service Of the
Irish people in their mortal strug.
gle with the Ian dlords, who have
succeeded In converting Mr.. Glad.
stone and the whole machinery OF
the British rule into supple tools,
to wreak their vengeance upon an
inoffsnsive and long suffering race
that had at last been absolutely
crowded to the wall.
The mo Rent" manlfestO was
the logical answer of the leaders of
sths Land League to the entire sus-
pension of all law In ireland. 1t
was not devised as measure
which ought to characterize q nor.
NAL condition of things. When
the government suspended the
writ of habeas corpus, imprisoned
members Of Parliament and edi-
tors of newspapers; when it ar
rested the very 'devil" who yells
for copy in the editorial sanctum
and the nsws-boy who calls his
journal in the street, and i'm INJURED
them all in Kilmainham Jail, with.
out q pretence Of intending to
bring them to trial, the machinery
Of the courts which, under a con.
stitutional system, they might
have invoked, being paraly zed
then Mr.. Gladstone and the Brit
ish authorities were clearly the
real inoitsrs Of anarchy. 1t lie per.
missible to fight the devil with
fire. Those who ought to have
maintained the sanotity of the law
having spat upon 1t, what wonder
that the doctrine Of retaliation
suggests itself to o down tredder
people, and that the worm should
turn under the heel Of the op'
prsssor?
It was said of old that he who
takes the sword shall perish by the
sword. The English government
having said that there should be
no law for the rack-rented tenants,
the latter have declared, in theil
turn, that there shall be no law fol
the landlord as long as the law re.
mains in allegiance as respects the
masses of the Irish people. 1t 10
tit.for-tat. It is every fellow sor
himself and the devil take the
hindmost.
The next highly interesting fea.
turs of Mr.. O'Connor's address was
his reply to the sneer, which be
had constantly encountered in the
United States. that success was i'm
possible. He met this assertion
by the downright declaration
that the Land League had
already won its fight. 1t
is true that Kilmainham and
the other Irish jaiIs are cram med
with so-called criminals, but the
government dares not bring them
to trial. It is true that fifty thous-
and British troops fiaunt their red
coats and FURNISHED bayonets in
the eyes Of the Irish people. and
that frequent brutalities disgrace
the story of Ireland. 1t is true
that even women are arrested and
marched off to prison. Neverthe-
less the masses have been so dis.
ciplined that they will give the
troops no opportunity for those
Wholesale and ruthless slaughters
that were matter of course under
Cromwell and William and Anne
and the Georges, but at which the
civilization Of the Nineteenth CEN
fury would revolt in horror. 1t Is
also true that the landlords, absen.
tee and resident, still nominally
retain their possessions, but these
are . source Of no income and there
are no purchasers. While there
are exceptions to this rule, they