Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1884-08-28
s. S cox.
ity of Blaine's Claim to support
From Irishmen.
Newark Advocate.
New YORK CITY, l3E. 18th ST., !

lNtNhFh AuNONhVsl
NEW YORK CITY, l3 +. 18th ST.,
August 0, 1884.
DEAR Mr.. TAYLOR:-On arriving
home yours of the 4th inst. awaited me.
have not time just now to go fully
into the recOrds-showing the utter
falsity of the statements as to Mr..
Blaine's care for the Irish, in or out of
British Bastiles. / have been known
for ten or fifteen years as an active and
leading member, who has brought the
cases of the suspects" and others be-
fore the Department of State and Con-
gress. have never been conscious of
Mr.. Blaine's sympathy or been con-
scious of anything from him as aid.
Nor has any other Republican of any
prominence helped in these matters
except Mr.. Orth, of Indiana, now dead,
and Judge Stanley Matthews. When
Senator, the latter aided Judge Thur
man to pass my House resolutions, on
the last day of the 47th Congress, for
the release of O'Connor. had, before
then, even made a trip to London to
help those in prison. The memorial
contest of 1882, in Congress, was brought
up by my resolution. As modified, it
finally passed. 1t referred to the
OConnor and other cases. He was n
Baltimore man, and American citizen.
1t was case of the arbitrary arrest of q
Suspect" The man was held without
due warrant, and denied any trial. Mr..
Blaine was Secretary of State. Did he
aid in the enlargement, or forward or
demand the trial of O'Connor? No.
He wrote to the brother in Buffalo
THAT it was an elementary principle of
public law-that in such a case, the
government of Great Britain, in the ex-
ercise of its various functons-judical
and executive-administers and inter-
prets the law in question"
This was said in reference to law of
Parliament, called "the coercion act"
1t suspended habeas corpus. 1t en-
abled an irresponsible officer to pick up
our citizens, Jail them and try them Just
when and how they pleased, however
remote the time or distant the place, or
not try them at all, at their royal pleas
ure.
1t was simply infamous. 1t was
black blot on civilization, an insult to
the English as we'll as to our constit-
uents. We Democrats of the Marcy
school denied this absolute and SOW
ereign right'-as Mr.. Blaine called it,
whether applied "to citizen or a resi-
dent alien, I've desired it, and Mr..
Frelinghuysen, when he succeeded Mr..
Blaine in the Foreign and Home Affairs
Department, reiterated our denial. Let
this be said to his credit.
But the story of Irish wrong and Re-
publican Indifference is long one.
1t requires much research to bring it
out. Before long it will be done.
The temporary ardor of few perver-
ted lrishmen in behalf of Mr.. Blaine,
because he will bringa slap-dash-rattle-
te-bang insane vigor into our foreign
policy, is not borne out by good sense
and international comfy, or by Just
love of either the "old sod" or the new
soil.
After all, the calm, earnest, firm and
intelligent defiance of foreign dictation
which Marcy and Cass and the Democ-
racy have illustrated in our past diplo-
matte and political history, gives the
best assurance that the flag will cover
the cltizenwherever he travels, and that
whether an adopted or native born citi-
zen, the right of trial-speedy and fair
cannot be abridged by coercion or other
tyrannous acts of Parliment. The after
noon of the nineteenth century, under
Democratic rule, will not derogate from
the splendid thought and heroic atti-
tude of ITS and it's great declaration.
| write these views hurriedly. They
may be too crude for publication. but
to my old Irish friends in Central Ohio,
and whose children are now ready to
vote, l commend them as true views of
duty based on honest experience. Res
pectfully, S. S. Cox.
Waldo Taylor, Mayor of Newark, o.