The Portland daily press., 1886-06-02

for generations, has acted towards these IN
dustries of Ireland as she is attempting 70
act today with the fishermen OF Maine ana
Massachusetts,, that is, played the part OF oIy,,
erbearing bully and robber Irishmen could
not say as we do, "hands of.
Yes, it is struggle for the development OF
those mineral, manufacturing, water, agri-
cultural and commercial advantages which
Ireland possesses by soil, climate and geo
graphical position. Give the people OF Ire
land Home Rule and they will attend to the
rest. Give them fair play, and they VIII
prove to the world, as they have already done
in every other country, that they possess the
qualities necessary for individual and social
progress as well as for national greatness.
The object of our Parliamentary Fund is to
help them on the way to it.
The practical side is to own the land which
God gave them by buying out the landlords
1t is a scheme of constructive reform. The
title to the land was never acquired by the
English invaders, on account of ceaSeless,
protest. the titles remained defective, and It's
yalue saws Mr. Giffen, President of the Brit
ish Board of Trade, has been paid to the
landlords again and again. Island says
he ''isyearly robbed of millions of pounds
sterling, by disproportionate taxation"
Nevertheless Irishmen are still willing to
buy out the landlords.
Another consideration to encourage US to
aid Ireland is to remember that IN the right
ing of social and national wrongs, there Is
no such thing as insulated action in history
All the world is more or less affected by
every action that takes place. at Lexlng;
they fired the shot heard round the world.
The Irish race has already contributed It's
share, in this century, to the common per
petuity and growth of human rights and I'D
critics.
All! who can look at tho past history of
Ireland and not feel his heart stirred with
sympathy for her in this the hour Oh her
struggle? 1t is an old story, but one that
can never grow old in the telling, so long as
tie human heart beats with one sympathetic
throb for the fallen, and robbed, and yet un-
conquerable greatness, or feel one exultant
thrill at its examples of heroic Individual
and national virtue! Poor Ireland! land OF
sorrow, of suffering and song land, in days
of yore, of scholar, saint and sage!
g Ah its old banner of green,
The blood of its sons has but frightened its
sheen;
Shall it dfoop thus forever? MOI no! God is
just"
When the applause which followed Father
McKenna's address had subsided, the band
struck up selection which was interrupted
by the movement of the crowd on the plat
form and the applause of those who caught
sight of Mr.. Blaine as he entered by the way
of the ante-room. when Mr.. Blaine ap-
peared the applause deepened, and round
after round shook the house, while the au-
dience cheered and the ladies in the galleries
produced breeze with their waving hand
kerchiefs. Gov. Robie introduced Mr.. Blaine
and second ovation was rendered him as he
advanced to commence his address, which
received the closest attention of the audience
and was loudly applauded. The address is
as follows:
MIR. BLAINE's ADDRESS.
Your E1cellency:
Directly after the publication OF this meet
ing | received letter from a venerable cltl-
zen in an adjacent county, asking me to eX-
plain, if could, Just what the Irish question
is. l appreciate the question, or rather Sp,
preciate his request, for in question that
calls forth so much sympathy and sentiment
on the part of the world at large, and-eyokes
so much opposition among those who are dl-
rectly interested, there may be danger OF not
giving attention enough to the simple ele-
mentary facts of the case.
Now what is home rule? Why, it is what
every State and Territory of the United
States enjoys. [Applausel. And It is what
Ireland does not enjoy In Parliament OF
COS members, Great Britain has 553 and Ire
land has 1O5 And except with the consent
of that Parliament Ireland cannot organize
gas company [laughter, or horse railroad
company, or a ferry over stream laughterb
or do the slightest thing that implies leglsla-
tive power.
Now, suppose we bring that home, and the
State of Maine should be linked with the
State of New York, relatively as large with
the State of Maine as England In numbers
with Ireland, and your beautiful city mere
could not take step for Its Improvement
nor the State of Maine organize any associa-
tion of any kind unless the overwhelming
galaxy of the New York legislature gave her
consent How long do you think the people
of Maine would stand it? IApplausel;
That is the simple question between England
and Ireland except there is this great fact in
York and Maine-that there are centuries OF
wrong which have built up monuments OF
hatred on the part of those who are the sub
jects of oppression, and which has aggra-
Great Britain far beyond the limits that
would be found between New York and
Maine.
| suppose if the question were left to the
United States to decide we should say:
adopt the federal system; have your legls-
lature for Ireland, your legislature for Eng
land, your legislature for Wales, your legis-
lature for Scotland, and your imperial Par
lament for the British Empire. Let tquestions
that are Irish be settled by lrlshmen, Ques-
tions that are English be settled by English
men, questions that are Welsh be settled by
WelShmen and questions that are Scotch be
settled by Scotchmen. [Applause.l
The questions that affect the whole en-
Parliament in which:the four great eonstitu-
ent elements should be impartially repre-
sented. APPLAUSE
[ say that would be the shorthand method
of settling the question, for we have lived
that way for 100 years nearly in the United
States of America. Applause.l L do not
forget however, that it would be political
empirieism to attempt by any prescription to
give the exact measure, the exact details OF
any measure that should settle these long
nfoSh Grnot Rrltqin and ireland.
| am admonished by what have noticed In
the British Parliament in discussions concern
ing America not to be too forward In
knowledge of details OF in prescribing exact
measures, because | suppose they would re-
tort that we knew quite as little about their
precise troubles as they know. about ours.
| Therefore | do not stand here simply to say
| that Mr.. Gladstone's is perfect measure. |
| do not stand here to say that | even could
| give you the exact details of that measure.
| / do not say that ever took time to examine
| them, but | say that am in favor OF any PHI
| that shall take the first step toward rlghtns
! this wrong, and of handing over the govern
ment to to Irelend [Applause.J As to pre-
| cision of statement regarding Parliamentary
| power in Great Britain, am admonlshed tC
| be modest, because | well remember that
l. Lord Palmerston, during our war, on very
| grave occasion, informed the House OF Com
mons that the President of the United States
| could not alone declare war, that it required
| assent of the Senate, when every schoolboy
| knows that it is the Congress of the United
| States to whom the war power is given If
! this country Laughter But that was mol
| SO bad as another member of Parliament
| who assured the House on certain occasion
| that no law in the United States was perfec1
| until it had received the assent of two-thlrdS
| of the legislatures of the several States
| [laughterl, and fellew member corrected
him and said, You are wrong; Congress can
not take up any law to discuss it until two
| thirds of the legislatures of the States con
sent" [Great laughterJ
| Mr.. Seward, on a given occasion, to VIII or
| motion made by Lord John Russell In the
| House of Commons in 1914, to inquire into
the condition of Ireland-I said Mr.. Sew
ard meant Lord Maeaulay, but am SURE
that the memory of neither will be injured
by being mistaken for the other. Jap
| plause.l Lord Macauley said, "You admi
that you goven Ireland, not as you govern
| England, not as you govern Scotland, but al
| YOU govern your new conqueSts IN India
| not by means of the respect which the peo
pie feel for tn laws, but by means of bayo
nents, artillery and entrenched camps" Nov
| if that were true in 1874 | am very sure | dt
| not eXaggerate when | say that the long pc
priod Of forty-two years which has inter
| yened has served to strengthen
tie truth of Lord Macaulay's worl
rather than diminish it. [Applause.
Lord Salisbury gives the remedy. He say'
if the Irish do not wish to be governed by
the British they should leave. But the lrlsl
have been in Ireland quite as long as Lore
Salisbury's ancestors have been in EnglanC
| TIau0htar1 and very likely for aught know