The Irish standard., 1889-06-01

Twill conclude these testimonies b,
another great authority. because 1t is
good thing when you can to get you!
witnesses from the ranks of your op
ponents, ard will take aremark made
in speech delivered by Mr.. Chamber
lain at West Islington on the 18th cl
June. 1885. [ say that this speech from
which am about to read is, and ought
TO be, in the mind of any fair nan, full
justification for everything we have
done for Ireland, and for a good dea
more if we were only able. II do not
belieye,'' says Mr.. Chamberlain, "that
the great majority of Englishmen have
the slightest conception of the system
under which this free nation attempts
to rule sister colony. 1t is q system
| which is founded on the bayonets OF
$4,000 soldiers enc mped permanently
as in a hostile country. 1t is a system
as completely centralized and bureau
cratic as that With which Russia gov
erns Poland. or as that which was com
mon in Venice under Austrian rEle.
An Irishman cannot at this moment
move step, he cannot lift finger in
any parochial, municipal, oreducational
work without being confronted, Inter
1clCu Will, Cou4OAou Wy Oh AIhEAAo1A OA-
ficial appointed by foreign govern
men and without the shadow or shade
of representative authority" Ia the
face Of that statement from RESPONSE
BILE Minister of the Crown in England,
who processes to have studied carefully
the Irish question, we are accused OF
disloyalty and We are accused of a want
of respect for the law, because we re-
volt against such a system as that. All
l can say is this, accepting the defni-
ton Of Mr.. Chamberlain as applicable
to the condition of government under
which we are compelled to live in Ire
land, should scorn the race to which
( belong, and would be ashamed to
call myself an Irishman it I sat down
under it (cheersl.
Now you hear men say that If this
system of government is not maintained
the union will be destroyed. But then
what else have we had for the last
ninety years but this system of govern
ment, and what has been the result?
Has it made Ireland loyal? Has it made
Ireland peaceable? Has 1T made the
Irish question an easier question to
solve? 1 say the result has been-and
all statesmen in England are obliged to
confess !t-that during these ninety
years the irish question has been gel-
ling worse from day to day, and by the
results. if nothing else, the whole sys-
tenn has been condemned cloud cheers).
During these fifty years we have had no
less than eighty-eigit Coercion Acts,
and there were but five years, from 1885
to 184O, during which the. Irish people
lived under the ordinary law. All the
rest of the time the pretext, for 1t is
lev fN al
Act of Parliament. After ninety years
what do we find today in Ireland? Dis
tress and misery, discomfort aud hatred
of tho law. We 6nd the population
dwindling away at the rate of so, 900 a
year, a thing unknown IN any other
civilized couptrv in the world. Whereas
in other European countries Without
exception the pOpu4atiOn is rapidly in
creasing, in Ireland alone Is is rapidly
decreasing. We find the cities and
towns of Ireland decaying year after
wear, while cities in England. Scotland
and Wales are increasing in wealth and
in size; and we find that all this is the
result Of ninety years of the Govern
ment of Dublin Castle, supplied witt,
all the military, all the police, all the
money and all the power they a for
(cheers) 1t has resulted in it's being
necessary to maintain in that country
the most expensive police force in the
world, and the most ineffective, because
you ca mot have 8 good police force
when that force is also made to do mill
tary duty.
There is just one other point on which
l wish to say a few words, and that l6
the dreadful, absurd and cruel charges
which have been made against tn peo-
pie of Ireland with regard to the pos
slble persecution Of Protestants. [ say
deliberately that of all the outrageous
and false charges ever made against
people, this charge is the most un-
founded and most malignant. In Ire
land wherever you find district in the
south where the PrOtestants are IN a
small minority, there IS no religious ILL
feeling whatever, and in Cork and Dub
lin you find the Protestants holding
some of the most important and lucrat
i've positions in the gift Of those cities
(cheers) 1t was only last year that in
the city Of Dublin the post Of engineer
to the Corporation fell vacant, a post
worth 41 600 or 81 200 a year. There
was a Catholic and Il Protestant in the
fiold, and a,thoug the Catholic had
very good support, the Protestant beat
him by considerable number of votes.
Yet in the City Of Dublin the Protest
ants are in minority OF about one to
four (cheers). Ga the other hand, in
the city OF Belfast. where there is
large Protestant ma ority, no Catholic
has ever heiu civic position since the
foundation of the town ('Shame'J, So
it is really a case OF the wolf and the
lamb daughter and hear, hear. The
unfortunate spirit which unhapplly pre-
walls in the north of Ireland is attribut-
able to one source only-to what has
been the curse of Ireland ever since it
was founded-the Orange Srciety
[cheers). ,here the Orange Society
has not set up i,s fell banner to stir the
vi.est passions, to set Christian against
CHRISTIAN, and teach them that the way
To follow the teaching of Christ is to
hate each other for the love Of God,
Catholic and Protestant are able to
work together iii harmony for the good
of their country (cheers). 10 imagine
that the race Of men among whom the
names of Tone, Emmet, Fitzgerald,
Mitcnell and Davis are as household
gods would turn against the Protest
ants Of Ireland is to betray the blankest
aud most utter ignorance OF the history
and spirit nf the unODla of Ireland.