The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-05-05


us to gam national existence and afterwards
arrested the destruction Of Greece YVES
lately constrained to witness the violation
OF the neutrality O' the Sucz canal and the
overthrow OF Egypt, for want OF unity and
| for want of maritime strength to prevent
1t. But there it WAS mighty England, Tory
England, that was the aggressor, and
whose maritime power dominates the
world, as does Its navigation and com
merce scd Its peculiar influence and poll
cies. Is il atheism OF love OF money that
causes our people and statesmen to be over
borne by t,eachery and bribery, or what IL
the matter with them.
Even Pagan Greece always was strong
true and wise enough TO eliminate such
influences, punish such offenders, and
m Ike love of country more honorable thar
love OF civil war and Office holding.
Immediately after the greatest struggle
of ancient united Greece against eastern
absolntism, and after one of the most glor
ious victories for human freedom and
nationality ever secn on earth, the very
general who lad been most honorcd with
| high command, undertook to he'ray his
country to imperialism unite il with Persia
| y,
! family Of that great cmnlre, which then
dominated the world. THIS rem erkahle
| political lesson is not to old tor us 10 re-
member and respect. Not even the great
military services Of Psusanius could save
| hun from the fclon's death, which he richly
deserved and which saved Greece. So, long
before, Mi.tiades after winning the great
! battle Of Marathon, had to march his army
at once upon Athens lest the imperial party
there should snrr 'nder the city to the Per.
sian fleet, which after their defeat at Mar.
athon came there for that very purpose,
Dats knowing we'll that many wealthy
Athenians were plotting for the restoration
Of Hippias to the head of the government,
and preferred strong concentrated or I'M.
perial government to democracy. Hippias
was with Datis, the Persian commander,
and was in communication with his party
IN Athens.
SO II will readily be seen that 1t vas not
the Persian military power only against
which Greece had to contend. II was a
contest OF two political principles that from
the beginning Of history to the present hour
have constantly commended
In that endless contest of the past and
The present we know little OF The power OK
bribery and intrigue aud party feeling up
on great many men. History tells us
little and the press OF our tunes seems al
most rs If forced to conceal the mo vital
facts or else present them in false light
and many of the largest journals are pub
lIshrd solely for pecuniary profit and real
control IS not allowed 10 their editors by
any means Wise and patriotic Greece was
saved from the power ct the corrupt ana
crring ambition Of that age, and the light
OF her peoples genius and advancement
produced the stock upon which modern
civilization has been grated.
But would Greece have been saved II her
language and literature and religion had
been the same as that of imperial Persia
and her laws and ancestry nearly the sameF
That is question we would do well to
ponder when we see the horrors OF need
less fratrlcidal war We would do well to
ponder 1t when VIC learn that financial
changes, ruinous to oar national Interests
had been affected by criminal means. We
would do well to ponder it when we see
our navigation and maritime power swept
away by trcachery and incapacity, and the
Daricn and Illinois canals kept back ana
opposed or delayed by hidden power
which we feel and suffer from but cannot
see.
SCHEMES OF VAST AMBITION, aided Oy
intrigue and bribery, penetrating every
nation and causing wars among varioss
natioDs-never on this earth were more
deep, powerful, deceltful and dangerous
than those formed and carried into effect
by the FEUDAL ISLAND LORDS, capitalists
aud merchants. Never on this earth were
bribery and intrigue, in all their varied,
unknown and nameless forms, more dan.
gerous than when welded by them. Lord
BeacOnsfield, in one of his last works, puts
in the mouth Of leading female star the
sentiment that land and religion were the
great powers in politics. They use these,
and they use money the beauty of women,
and everything that will give success,
wealth aud power They have their prin.
cIples OF honor, but the leading and gov
crning principle is to gain success, domln.
ion, wealth and power.
Their characters are drawn in the events
and affairs Of modern history, and the
greater their extremity, the more deter
mined will be their efforts and the more
deadly and INSCRIPTIONS the means they
Will resort to. They have the undOuOteu
supremacy now, on this planet and their
fixed and unaltcrable purpose is to keep
it and extend it more and more, come what
may This is the eighth year of short crops,
but instead of meeting the voice OF nature
and considering the abolition OF the law OF
primogepilure, they propose now OF late
that nearly all the land should be devoted
10 parks The navigation OF the world
and It's maritime power they of course IN
tend To keep securely, and extend and tif
the price OF the produce OF the world. All
this means for us the repression OF the
genius and energies of our people and
country, and the turning them, as now,
into inferior and subordinate channels, Iii
tie development of wealth among the
masses, little foreign commerce, save with
Europe on her terms, and in short the pre-
ponderance III every way ot the island
lords over ali the continents. IL docs not
mean the grand future we mightreach ana
should aspire to for our own good and the
good Of others.
II may easily mean for Us the rule oil
bribery, false issues, treachery and incapa
city, and may mean, ut any time when least
expected either foreign war or civil war
or both.
In the great and corrupt game that may
be played against us, ~ II has oeen agains
SO many, we can interposc nothing com
parable 10 full knowledge OF the grea