The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-10-09
BLAINEs BIGoTED SPEECH AT sARAT0GA
ON THE ORANGE RIOTS.


prominent Irishmen actively identified
with practical movements for lreland's
Liberation, who is not carried away by the
so called Irish sympathy for the repub-
lican candidate for the presidency. A
Nercu0y representative dropped into the
Washington Club the other evening and
found the military looking president
with a party of friends in an ante room.
An interesting conversation followed.
Now, 1 will tell you one thing that |
know of my own personal knowledge,
said the colonel, which proves Mr..
Blaine to he Know Nothing even to the
present day. His apologists have said
that his Kennebec Journal Know Moth
ingism of 81 and 80 was only the willis
ness of youth Granting them tn At, what
plea can they put in for him in 1871,
when he Extensively displayed the same
spirit? # was al a sercnade given him
at the Grand Union Hotel ut Saratoga. in
August Of that year. 1t was during my
first term as member OF congress, and
had got to rather like Blaine for his
brightness and ability as speaker. All
New Workers will remember the Orange
Riots of July, 1871. A couple of weeks
after the riots, Blaine was at Saragota
and serenade WAS given him. The bal,
comics of the Grand Union Hotel were
crowded with the fashion of the place,
comprising ladies and gentlemen of all
races, creeds and nationalitieS who had
come out to enjoy the music and amuse'
ments in the cool of the evening air.
Blaine advanced to reply to the
compliment paid him. and returned
thanks at first in graceful Ian
guage, but his Know Nothing proclvilies
got the better of him. and he Haunted his
bigotry in the face of all that vast asscm-
blagc After returning thanks he branch
ed into politics, and compared the purity
and honesty of republican administration
at Washington with democratic rule in
New York city He went for Tammany
with a battering RAM and attributed the
corruption In Office and the public dis
turbancas to the large number Of Irish
who were in the city, and who kept the
corrupt democratic ring in power.
THE AVERAGE IRISH VOTER
did not care what became of the city, or
how much was stolen, if he got a petty
sinecure himself or an inspectorship on
the big pipes WHAT the city was plum
dered and made bankrupt? He had moth
ing TO lose Then he came to the riots
very sad affair in which innocent men,
l women and children were slaughtered in
the streets, hearts were broken and fam
lies desolated 1t was an occurrence
which everybody wanted to forget as soon
as possible, yet Blaine saw fit to indulge
in a dastardly attack upon the Irish of
New York, whom he accused of causing
the riot. remember we'll the feeling OF
surprise and disgust his TRADE created;
The recent conduct of the Irish in the
city of New York, said Mr.. Blaine on that
occasion, threatens that most dangerous
: of all disorders and eXcitement-a war OF
classes and of creeds. The government is
based on the absolute federation Of al
forms of belief, and whoever aims tC
strike blow at the rights of one imperils
thereby the rights of all and is bad Cit
izen-a man unfit to be citizen of this
free land This is what the Irish CathO-
lies of New York, brought up in slavery
of both body and soul, have ATTEMPTED tC
do. But as our political liberties rest on
the Revolution, so our religious freedom
and emancipation from the thraldOm OF
Rome are based on the Reformation-ant
this is a free Protestant land. When the
democratic government of the city of New
York undertook to say that certain pro
cessiOn of Protcstants should not march
through the streets of the American met
ropolis, they were false to the first prin'
ciples of religious freedom They aimee
!; deadly blow at the spirit of American
liberty in obedience to the blind and de
grading prejudices and ignorant blgotr.
, of foreign born rabble, who are Away:
shouting for liberty for their native liant
but who will not concede that right II
any who oppose them, and who are prov
en- by their own acts to be unfit to eXer-
else the great privileges of freemen ant
who are unable, in their narrow big0tr,
: and blind passions, to comprehend tn
u fundamental principle of true liberty
: Protestant myself, demand the right o
- the Protestant Irish to celebrate the Bat
s tie of the Boyne. The spirit of religion
J; liberty which is claimed on the 18th o
; March by the stipendiaries and slaves
j Rome, must be held equally sacred on tn
18th of July. Blaine continued on il
p this strain for some time, but | turnet
away. had invited some of my friend
II to hear him, as they would be pleased wit
n his eloquence, not anticipating politica
= or religious TRADE. One of my friend
II said to me: Roberts, this is nice intel
IL lectual feast you invited us to- The i'm
n preston made on me by that speech coul
:, never be obliterated. Although | spen
t. nearly three years more in Congress,
e never recognized him after that evenin
s at Saratoga remember, too. in tina
;. Saratoga speech he also borrowed tn
it occasion to pay compliment to Englan
j. by referring to the Alabama claims t
e do 80, he mlsrepresented history an
a ignored hard and i'll featured facts. lrisf
: men should think over Blane's Orang
n speech at Saratoga in the summer G
e 1871. "