The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-05-28

may means Iildts tHOu I'll q 1tdutT ucIc VI a
leader there may sell out, :
the cause itself viii not be-
destroyed-the organization, : which
is stronger than any leaders, will continue
to do its work. That is the way in which
read the events of last week. The assur-
ance of the Land League leaders that they
had nothing to do with the assassinations
was scarcely needed. It is quite likely that
they have been in as much danger, since
their ''dicker' with the Government as any
member of the Government, There was
time when the desertion of the popular
cause by its foremost leaders meant the
collapse of that cause, at least for the time.
1t is not so now. The cause is stronger
than the leaders, and for this the Irish
agitators have chiefly to thank Mr.. Glad
stone, although they do not seem to realize
the full extent of their obligations to the
greatest statesman of this or any other
age They do not understand how
great a friend he has been to them, under
the disguise of an enemy.
The ministerial party complain that the
crime of the 9th of May was peculiarly
base-that it was a very bad return for the
ssolive branch" which Mr.. Gladstone was
holding out But what they none of them
seem to understand, in the ministry or out
of it, is that Ireland is not asking and
never has asked for the olive branch; that
she does not care a straw about it. A
frightened government may fancy that all
it has to do is to talk about olive branches
and love for Ireland, but the Irish people,
or at any rate the Irish agitators, do not
care a pins fee for all this sentimental and
unmeaning f1ummery. What they demand
is, England on one side of the channel and
Ireland IN the other-soe here, and yeu
there; this, and nothing shert of it, is their
ultimatum. Any statesman who carried
TO them compliance with that in one hand
might bear all olive branch, or anything
else, in the other The English people do
not quite understand this yet, but they
will come to understand it by and by. 1t
has taken a great deal to open their eyes,
for they are never quick to see what is dis
agreeable to them. Mr.. Gladstones
own policy, if he lives to carry it
out to its full extent, must lead him
to comply with the last demand of the
Irish people. His argument is that out
rage and violence give him the ''opportun-
ity" of redressing Irish wrongs, and he
hoids-not unnaturally-that an Irish
wrong is whatever the people deem
wrong at the time being. The Irish church
was wrong; so was the private right to
own land and so is the English occupation
of Ireland. But, the Radicals tell us, the
people of England will never be willing to
surrender Ireland. | am not So sure of
that. The English people seem to me to
be getting sick and tired of Ireland and all
its troubles, and if they could secretly get
rid of her-cast her off. as it were, in the
night and run AWAIT is quite probable
that they would do so. Not one public
meeting has been called in any part of the
country in consequence of all the wild and
bloody work which has taken place during
the past winter. The English nation has
received the news of each successive trag
edy with what, [ must say, looks very
much like absolute indifference. They are
always hearing of such things from Ire
land, and now that Mr.. Gladstone can do
nothing with that country, after all his
golden promises and pledges, what
hope is there of permanent
reconciliation Who can expect
to succeed where Mr.. Gladstone has fail
ed? This is the line of thought which
many a man is pursuing, and which some
of the Radical papers would doubtless ex-
press if they only dared But they are
afraid of alarming the public; it is too
soon yet to talk about Independence for
Ireland. One step at time first Home
Rule, and then Independence. Now Mr..
Gladstone has, this very session, held out
a promise to the Home Rulers that he will
consider their case if they will stop just
short of partition of the empire. This
was tremendous concession, and one can
almost calculate the time, by studying Mr..
Gladstone's previous conversions, which it
would take him to reach the Independent
platform. | have made this calculation,
and l bring it out that Mr.. Gladstone, at
his present rate of progress, would be
ready for total separation in 1885. But
there is always this to be considered, that
in the final stages of his transitions he
moves at a continually increasing rate of
velocity, so that we must not look upon
1885 as the cal Hest date at which his com
plete conversion on this question could be
looked for. 1t might happen to him at
case of the Irish Church; the momentous
moment might arrive next year, next
month, when the truth would be flashed
upon his mind, and then he would come
forward and prove TO the English people
ina speech of s'unrivalled eloquence,"
that they have no right to hold Ireland
against her will, and that by persisting in
holding her they run the risk of bringing
down upon their heads the vengeance of
Heaven as well as of man. Justice, sir"
he would once more say-as he is in the
habit of saying at the end of his speeches
Justice must be our guide. Led by
that Divine light we are safe.' Now if
Mr.. Gladstone does not take this course
he has made it impossible for his party to
avoid taking it some day or other. Let the
radicals paint and daub as they will, ito
this complexion must they come at last.