Wichita eagle., 1890-03-05
THE EMMETT ANNIVERSARY.

the heart OF every true Irishman The
meeting was called to order by the presi-
dent, Mr. J. +. Mcnamara, who intro
duced Col. Emmett Callahan, the orator
of the evening, from whose address the
following is extracted:
In the quiet suburbs OF Ireiand's capital
there is silent grave in which patriots
heart lies cold and still. When sDringtime
comes and nature s flowers are IN bloom
tender, loving hands come there TO plant
the ivy and the moss rose. "hen summer
days are gone and heavy winter comes
around, the wind chants mournful reGui-
ems there aud snow flakes gather fast and
deep. In the dead stiffness OF the mid
night hour the stars keep vigil o'e- that
lonely resting place, and there at early
morn the tears of lreland's sons are shed.
Yes. the lonely grave is there, and the dewS
of Irish skies fall soft and sweet upon il.
And the willows weep and mourn there,
but the marble slab that marks the spot IS
uninscribed. No epitaph is there 10 tell
the virtues of the silent inmate-no Sculp-
tured art TO indicate his greatness.
| Do you ask who sleeps within
that tomb? 1t is the grave of
! Ireland's truest, purest, noblest martyr,
! Robert Emmett. Across the oiue waters
! OF the Irish sea there Is an empire where
cruel tyranny reigns supreme The pages
| of her history are inscribed in blood Her
! public works are the gulilotine and the
| glbbet, her treasury Is haunted by the
! spectres of the starved dead. Her laws IN
| Ireland are based upon most vile oppres-
| sion Her courts are theatres in which
farces alone are played. Her subjects are
| slaves, unciothed, half fed. Her god is
! gold and her principles cruelty and rdplne.
! Do you ask what nation l describef, IL Is
! the murderer of Emmett-the most tyran-
nical, the most oppressive, the most blood
/ Ia N.ls,f nrnt m
| The martyr sleeps the sleep OF death with
| IL the cold and silent churchyarG.
The assassin still lives IN wealth and
| splentlor, enthroned on the banks Of the
! river Thames.
One hundred and ten years ago today the
eyes of Emmett first saw light. 1here
| was nothing uncommon IN the birth OF an
! Irish boy Thousands had already passed
away. But little did the Irish people think
! that this prattling babe would one day be-
come the most jealous champion OF their
rights Little did they dream that he was
destined TO become the most bitter oppo-
uent of their cruel Zoe. Little did they
know that he would one day lead them on
! the road TO liberty and to happiness. There
were giants in the days of Emmett's child
! hood-men with brains 10 plan ana nerves
to execute Herculean tasks. men who dar-
| ed assert their rights, men who loved their
| freedom and strove to gam It,.
|
ing the golden link" that bound his
country to the British crown. The volun-
teers had wrested from England precious
| boon. aud the green fag, with harp and
the suuburst, fioated triumphantly over
an Irish parliament.
In such an atmosphere as this Emmett
could not fail to breath the life-giving air
| of liberty The first music that reached
| his infant ears was the martial music OF
the volunteers, and the first words with
which he had become familiar were those
in which the aspirations OF people de
termined to be free, were SO often and so
| eloquently translated.
But the Irish parliament soon passed
away. British gold could not endure It's
blessedness, and, like the wild beast
crouching for its prey Britain awaited
| favorab bic moment: IL came, and the Eng
! lish flag filoated once more IL the breeze.
| II Ireland had been crushed before, she
suffered doubiy now. No ray of sunshine
| beamed upon her. The dense, black
clouds of tyranny alone hung in her sky.
Robert Emmett was the son or an emil
neut Irish surgeon, raised in the lap of
| luxury, and through the good fortune OF
| his parents never knew what it was to
want At an early age he displayed Won
| derful aptitude for learning, and from the
social standing of his family every oppor-
/ tunity was afforded him, and at he age OF
/ Is wears he was admitted TO enter Trinity
! college. Dublin, aS student, graduating
with the highest honors OF the university;
obtaining IA gold medal for his proficiency
! in his classical and mathematical studies.
III the same institution OF learning also
studied Grattan, Curran, Flood and
! Burke All of whom reflect honor upon
| the land OF their nativity, and who have
| done much to advance their Countrymen
from the deplorable condition they were
plunged into by the hasty action
of few west Brltons, VINO
took British gold as bribe, 10 place the
woke of slavery on the necks of the masses,
and voted to have the Irish parliament re-
moved to London.
Emmett consulted history, and he dis
covered in its pages that there were peri
odcal famines, and on investigating FUR
ther to find out its cause, he found that
the farming classes were compelled to sell
the very last marketable produce to pay
the landlords their eXtravagant demands
And may we not ask who are those men
STYLED Irish landlords? They are the de-
ctndents OF British soldiers That went over
and by fraud got IoothoiI In Ireland
| with strongbow, ana were given its broad
and fertile acres as a recompence Tor their
LOYALTY. and are at this day, through their
profiigate scions squeezing the lie blood
! cut of the Irish people TO sustain them
selves III debauchery and opuleuce, while
the producer lives in squaiid misery.
\ lover beloved himself, anu forced to re-
| sign the object OF his affections at the loot
of The oaliowS. Ii these be not cOmbIDa-
tion of circumstances as remarkable as
melancholy, and If they be not htted to
appeal To the sympathieS OF men, | know
OF none in history that are. And. there
fore so long as men love freedom so .lOug
! a patriots contend tor the AUTONOMY OF
( states: so long AS there are great hearted
! champions of humanity; SO long, IN point
of. .Ir11aI lee
/ tlons that give n poetic shade TO hie: So
| long ~ men have passion aud the heart
Woes so long, | say, the memory or the
IRISH patriot will survive, aud the sweet
est flowers of sympathetic recoIect!ons
Will be strewn upon his tomb.
BY strange destiny, applied 10 the AZ
fairs OF the people, the sympathetic lie OF
I Emmett has been Unparalleled IN the his
I tory,of his country
Whether his epitaph shall yet be,wrltten
couformably 10 ais own wishes, when his
country should take her place among the
nations OF the earth, Is problem nearer
; solution han IL was, let Us nope tAan at
the time of Emmett.
think | may with safety indulge one
prediction, free or tributary. self-goyeTLed
/ or haraesed under GespotS: domination.
the land OF Emmett, VIII be IN tue future
what it has been IN the past. Al object OF
/ fraterual regard TO sister states, sometimes,
( perhaps, ueildaLiIS ScaIctCES ACNS SA A&SA4N-
Ing contempt.
It VIII still be the land OF valor, a valoT
that has illustrated the martial aulals OF
the race, and in every cline. 1t viii still
be the land of Wit and eloqueuce, where
the name Of Swift. and CurT-n, and tSrat-
tan, and Sheridan, and Shiel, and Phil
lIpps, and O'Connell, Burke and Charles
Stewart Parueli are OF themselves a her
ita ge OF fame.
IL viii still he the land OF posey, where
harps were struck to which the hearts OF