Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1891-04-16

|
repeated in England the works in marble
and stone that he had learned in Ireland,
and had his men build the pointed roofs
and arches now called Gothic.
For more than two thousand wears
Ireland was a free and prosperous nation.
as history and her ruins proclaim First
the Dane made their descent upon the Is
land, capturing many places and driving
| Irish scholars into all parts of Europe At
forwards England realized that Ireland
was rich and prosperous land. with every
advantage of wealth and culture. The
! Irish were brave and intelligent people.
superior to the English in everything but
| power. Superior numbers have conquered
and for seven hundred years Ireland has
been made to feel that England is her mas
ter and she is a slave.
Then, amid the thunders of the Ameri-
! can revolution, when the British Empire
reeled before the blows of the allied forces
of Louis XVI and George Washington;
when Paul Jones, the Yankee Pr1vateer,
preyed on English commerce and spread
terror along the Scottish coast; when Ire
land was without English troops and the
only military force in all Ireland was the
Irish volunteers, Grattan's parliament was
called into existence. Then, like giant
released from bondage, the country again
advanced, making rapid strides in prog
ress, until Lord Glare proclaimed, There
is not civilized nation on the face of the
globe which has advanced in cultivation,
in agriculture, in manufactures, with the
same rapidity as Irelandn
For eighteen years that parliament met
in one of the finest buildings in Europe,
and made the laws to govern the Irish
people. Then, again, the jealousy of Eng
land, through treachery and fraud, de-
stroyed the Irish parliament, and Grattan,
who had led the Irish people to freedom,
lived to see her liberties crushed out by the
sword and her parliament destroyed by
gold. But though PROSTATE and bleeding,
smarting under the sense of outraged dig
nifty, through years Of eviction, famine,
Imprisonment and death, she has again
determined to claim her rights Another
beam of sunlight has touched the living
picture, and reveals a mighty man, whose
hand is on the keyboard Of British poll
tics! One who has brought forth har
mony of class and creed that resounds
throughout the world, astonishing man
kindw
The evenings entertainment was pleas
ant and gay, with music and conversation.
The grand good humOr of our host gave a
tone Of cheerfulneSs to the whole party.
At a late hour the final farewells were said
and the bridal party took leave of their
friends at Blue Ridge.
In the morning Colonel Haynes, his wife
and mother and Sir Wren babe adieu to
Ravens Park. but Stella, Myrtle and my
self formed part Of the company as far as
Liverpool. There the last fareWells were
spoken while we stood on the deck of the
great steamer that was to be their dwell
ing place for the next few days.
"Well Waverland,' said Colonel Haynes
as he took my arm for a short stroll Oh the
deck before parting, keep me posted as
to the condition and progress of the work
in the British parliament, and / will send
you not of matters in America. We
shall be widely separated, yet l shall feel
that we are co-laborers in the same great
work. You are engaged in a long death
struggle to loosen the fangS of landlOrCiism
from the brightest spot Of rich green earth
on the face OF the globe! go to America,
to do what [ can, by agitation and work, to
prevent the same monster from stealing
the Inheritance of the freeSt people in the
world Unlike chattel slavery, landlord
ism is stealthy and deceptive! It charms
as the serpent, and is as cruel as the gray e.
1t starves and debauches it's victims
to helplessnesS and revels amid the suffer
ing.
'The curse of Ireland is this same con-
densed villainy! This same cruelty, bru-
tally and terror, conceived in lust and per
petuated by force! have seen it with my
own eyes. Words cannot describe it. 1t
does not recognize manhood, womanhood
I. IL I. L
die III Ireland! Its victims are five mil
lions of people who cannot get away. They
are held down by the bayonet, while the
landlords rob the helpless in the name of
the law!
4 believe Irish landlordism comprises
all the villainies the devil ever invented,
with chattel slavery thrown in; for when
q chattel slave is sick his master cares for
him-he is his money! When an Irish
tenant is unable to work he is thrown out
upon the roadside with his wife and chill
dren to perish. In short I have come to
feel that this system that confronts US is
legalized piracy! The old Saxon was
drunken. sensual brute, but he had his
good points; he was not perfect landlord,
/ but when the Danes, born sea pirates, and
the Normans, born land pirates, swooped
Saxon such men as Lord Sanders We're Gre
ated; cOld-blooded, cruel and far-reaching;
with his $1,000 per year income from
his farms in Illinois. He and his brother
landlords have already larger holdings in
America than they have in Europe. 1t
makes the blood boil in my veins! Must
we sit idle while these men enact the Same
cruelties in America that 1 have seen in
Ireland. No, we are ready for work. This
: system we go forth into the two hemis-
! pheres to fight! You are led by the great
| est men of Europe. Y ,ur weapons afe
truth ana Jusucel Your fri nds have made
a start. This hot furnace of perdition viii
hot yield easily, you will be beaten once,
twice, thrice. But remember the story of
Bruce and the spider; thirteen times are
not too often to try! Follow Gladstone and
Parnel. Keep firm hand on the dyna-
miters. They are the unwilling tools of
landlords here, and the monopolies in
America, and will ruin the cause of liberty
| by their Impotence if permitted. The
rights of persons and property should be
! maintained. 1t is lesson for old and
young, rich and poor. No man has right
to destroy his neighbours property, or to
infringe on his neighbours rights, either as
| idHulofuS, nOnOpOuSIS or as OynannUerS!
Justice, right and free ballot are the only
weapons that can conquer tyranny in all its
| formsI''
The signal bell sounded. warning US that
the parting time had come. With clasped
hands, full hearts and moist eyes, more ex-
pressive than words, we pledged eternal
| friendship.
annie" Stella was saying, as we joined
them, write to me often. Tell me of the