The Labor enquirer., 1884-05-17

and are both using the same instrument
Yet there must be q difference some
where. twill never do to call a Chris
tan government like England by the
same name as we call an Irish Fenian.
Although murder is murder as a general
thing it must not be called murder when
directed by q powerful government
against Ireland, Egypt and India. It is
civilized, honorable warfare" in the
nation which lays low with destructive
explosives, poor, weak, unoffending and
defenseless tribes. 1t first becomes
murder when the poor, homeless wretch,
seeing no justice in the accredited forms
of law, dashes hack the same explosives
at the wicked head and stony heart OF
his oppressor. Can you see. reader, the
sublime tweedledum and tweedledee in
volved in this distinction? You certainly
can if you will remember that no war
fare is honorable warfare" which pro-
ceeds from any other source than act Of
parliament though the moral motive
and physical agency of the Irish Fenian
be exactly identical with that of dyna-
mite kings and buckshot statesmen.
Yes, even though the motive OF the
Irish dynamiter be the highest and most
selfsacrifcing love of family and father
land, while the motive of dynamite kings
and buckshot statesmen is robbery and
oppression, still in current social ethics
must the Irish dynamiter be set down as
murderer and outlaw, while England,
the defender of honorable warfare, erects
monuments and sounds eternal praise to
her legal instruments for prosecuting the
resources OF civilization. @s
If the English government had dyna-
mite guns planted along her coast look
| ing towards Ireland of such destructive
power that they could sweep the whole
extent of Ireland and level down whole
disafected counties without moving from
the spot where the guns were planted
such an invention in the art of honor
able warfare would be hailed by the
world as a resource of civilization. The
welding of these guns IN dead earnest
upon any outbreak in Ireland would
be regarded as an accepted d resource of
civilization by the world since conducted
constitutionally and legally by act of
parliament. Ireland would then be
regarded as having forfeited her hopes
of natural independence and liberty
through the>ineyitable and legally con-
stituted drift of modern science and
civilization, in other words the slavery
of Ireland would have been brought
about under the forms of law and under
the conduct of accepted honorable
warfare"
But now let US suppose that while
these terrible and far-reaching dynamite
guns along the English coast were hold
ing all Ireland by the throat some half
dozen Irish Fenians should invent a
single dynamite gun of such enormous
power that it could alone sweep the
whole of England and level Its cities as
with the thunderbolts of Jove. They
plant their gun upon some hill in Ireland
and cry out before firing :-"Now, John
Bull, your day of certain doom has come
if you do not Immediately take your
murderous hand once and forever off
the throat of Irelandp Receiving no
response they let 60 the gun as re-
minder that they are in earnest and the
city of London is riddled as though
lashed by huge cyclone. Hundreds
are killed, terror and confusion are ram
pant and all England trembles as though
an omnipotent crack of doom were i'm
pending.
What would be the cry of the civilized
world when the first, telling gun of
Ire}and's emancipation went off? Lo,
the cry would be: "This gun was not
manned by any responsible power. 1t
was the murderous work of six Irish
Fenlans. This is not honorable warfare
it is murder most foul and despicable p
Mark you, however, that while England
was sweeping Ireland with her less
effective guns and leveiing her cities and
killing her people by act of parliament
it was honorable warfare" then. 1t was
the applied resources of civilization and
Ireland was asked to submit to the inc
vitable and renounce her hopes for
liberty forever. Now, the six Fenians,
by experimenting with the same re-
sources of civilization, have brought to
bear dynamite gun that puts the whole
English game into the shade they haye
out-resourced English resources of civili-
zation and hold England by the throat
as she before held Ireland. Yet the six
Fenians are foul murderers and outlaws,
while those who manned the English
guns by act of parliament are law-abid-
ing defenders of honorable warfare and
Christian civilization. -.
| know of nothing either under the
laws of God or under the rulings of
truly honorable men which makes MUIR
der by act of parliament a civilized
virtue while it brands the here of
righteous revolt murderer and the
prince of all vileness. If crime is to be
| measured by the numbers and respecta-
bility of those who sin, then either the
moral universe is sadly off or morbid