The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1889-03-28
JOHN y. WISE ON IRELAND.
An Eloquent peech.

j E
On the occasion Of the celebration Of st.
Patrick's day in New York. on, the
IL h inst. Hon. Jno. s. Wise spoke TO
the toast of Ireland. as follows:
.sThe rat arms that nfolded me IN infancy
were strong. faithful Irish Drawn and bone.
The tirst voice that greeted my new arrival
was Favored with the rich bfogue of the NnIth
~ Ireland. The lu,iables of my childhood were
these which had sung 10 rest the babes of Lon
Gonderry. J he spaoks and sprites and COLLINS
Of lh. Emerald isl- were the burden of the
nursery tales, of Il happy childhood and The
legends of brave J. ish men and b~auti.ul Irish
women gave the first impulse to my youthful
conception of romance and heroisni. APP
piause.l In later years my first knowledge of
Dnijtical vents was in The famous Virginia
cont est of 1855 involving the civil and re igious
II b .riy of torets ners in america. The famous
Know. nothing party. under the inisappied
name nj American, was cOmpactly Wgan'Zed
nv the Hight OF It's dark lanterns. AMI sweeping
trtuln plantlv through tier OF Northern
stat, 3 with prescription ana ostraclsm as its
real tenet, believed Itself 10 be invnrible
eyprywhere. Its amnesty was hieffv lire cted
against Iri1hlnen and Roman Catholicism.
Flushed with Victory. II reached the Potomac
river. ard crossed into the Old Dominion to
wage u bsltJie royal TO- supremacy. 1T came to
blessed old Virginia. with her peak of Mont-
col Ia ON which was reared an humble shaft to
Thomas Jefferson. The author of the statutes OF
c,vll and religious liberty: 10 Old Virginia,
whose sons mad given birth Othe thoughts and
Ia ne max inns upon " hfch Daniel . Council in
1899 had mace his gloriGns night, compelling the
ifuSs pf Wellington To declare That the passage
uf he act OF Irish emancipation was necessary
10 nv old a civil ar in england. hmbo!ieped
Tx uubrOken triuIn phs, know mot hiP lem he
liayed tuat even la the Old dominion, the
ihe nolhe T. of our glorious Union, The asylum
Tor he oppr- ssed OF all anus its principles and
nractices won be allowed to prevail. NV
TAI her was ehos al as the standard bearer of
the opposiIiO Ion chosen at u time when the
odds ed desperate and all the probabilities
against your cause ard his. Of that long ana
bi,ter dght you know as much IS l. Though
many months &c Waged with relentless
aurnest ness on botn SIDES. and even after the
polls had closed knaw nottingham. alwaS S
boastful, proclaimed its triumph. But Its
| uoasi ings were vain. hen the full returns
were in IL v as ascertained that IL had met with
| a whitening, staggering. desoltting defeat.
| which chez. ed III power and ultimAtelV broke
Its streng III In every portion OF The Union. &c
| was glorious victory fot h great principle. III
| placed upon lnpregnabie foundations the sup
| bort aud proIe lion of your rights In the Amer
| lean Union. and settled forever The question
/ OF civil and religt ous liberty to foreigners in
| the United States l was TOO young then 10
| appre cate its full significance but not too young
| TO RENE mber The hosts of lrshnlen who came
I with land and baIiner 10 my iathers nome 70
celebrate our common triumph. While life
lasis shall, never forget the burst OF Irish en-
| ,husiasm VIII ich met the opening sentences OF
| his cougratulatory a.tdrs ss. rs ne said w e
have n ct the black knight " ith his visor down
and his shield a I'D lance are broken. | knew
that he could not Withstand the pibruch OF lib-
erty or the viva vOce OF the Tree ana generous
people OF Virginia.