The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1892-08-20
.ment act the nation released her majesty
from the compact.

tlHgS 1lQul21u IN OE nunQT0lS OI OFdnBe
platforms during the disestablishment
1 agitation. But then and now the Or.
|angemen were joined in their crusade
Iagainst Mr.. Gladstone's bill by the
'iloysl Protestant minority through
1 ireland, who were unconnected with the
| Orange institution, and then, as now
! the orators of that "loyal minority ri,
vailed tha Orahgenen in the brag and
/ bluster of their speeches. Mr.. Plunkett,
@, G. (now known as Right Hon. David
|Plunkett, NJ. P, first commissioner of
works. made celebrated speech at a
great diocesan conference, held in the
chapter room of St. Patrick's Cathedral,
Dublin, March 2l, 1869. His grand
father, the famous orator ct the Irish
Parliament, in the course Of a speech on
the union in the Irish House Of Com
mons, declared that if the nefarious
measure were carried he, like Ha1 nibal,
would bring his sons to the altar and
make them swear eternal enmity to the
union, and, if necessary, to transmit the
oath to his children's children and to the
children of his children's children until
Ireland's ancient liberties were once
more restored. .SHannibal Plunkett's''
promise: was never fulfilled. He &C.
ccepted the union, for it brought him
office. His grandson, however, went al
most to the altar of st. Patrick's Cathe.
dral to vow that he would take the field
il the church disestabliehment bill were
passed.
The Irish church was dlsestablished
but Mr.. Plunlzett followed the example
sat by his grandfather, accepted the in
evitable, and with it Office in the Tory
administration.
( The present threats Of civil war are
certain to go the way OF the others and
lswell the huge category Of unfulilled
Orange vows. We shall have no civil
war after Home Rule. The Orangemen
are powerless to take the field even for q
||aay. The order, like all things Of its
kind, has been able to resist the inau-
ence Of these days of enlightenment, toll
erance and broadness OF view. 1T was
practically omnipotent in Ireland at the
opening of the century; and it's members
occupied all the high places of the land,
executive and administrative. 1t was
sworn before the select committee in
1885 that there were 100000 members of
the society in Ireland; $4,000 members
was the estimate of it's present strength
given few nights ago in the House of
Commons by DIR. Rentoul, an Ulster
Conservative representative. The So
ciety is to-day what it has always been
aggressive; but morally and intellectu-
ally it's influence is nil. Its selfish, bit
ter, rabid sectarianisna, it's narrow ultra
Toryism, has Disguised all broad minded
men. It has indeed seen the best of it's
days, it's claws have been sadly clipped,
it's resources crippled, and it is powerless
now for any display of physical force
against the authorities beyond street
riot. Its riots have certainly been al
ways Of most sanguinary tinge. Take,
for instance, the massacre at Dolly's
Brae, which took place on July IL, 1849,
the very year in which the order was re-
suscitated, after being famed by Par
lament, and began the present phase of
it's career. Dolly's Brae is an exclusively
Catholic district in Down, and for thet
very reason the Orangemen Of the county
thought it the best and most appropriate
place in the county to celebrate the bat
tie of the Boyne. They marched into
Dolly's Brae, two thousand Of them
armed, with drums and banners, and
were treated to beer and cheese and ora
tory by Lord Roden at Tullamore Park.
''It is for the right Of private judgement
in the study of Gods word that Orange
men contend" said his lordship. Who
wanted to deprive them of that right?
No one. How did they contend for it?
Before the sun went down that evening
four Catholics were slain and consider
able numbers injured, and eight houses,
including the chapel and priests resi-
dence, were wrecked and burned. No
one was made amenable.
1t may be that in the event of Home
Rule we shall see the fulflment of Mr.
T. w. Rnssell's prophecy that the Catho-
lies will be driven out of the mills of
Belfast; we may have some weeks of
bloodshed and pillage in Belfast; but in
time the Orange rabies will work itself
out; and seeing that an Irish Parliament
will have no more evil effect on their
fate and fortunes than q disestablised
church, that their possession Of their
prosperous commercial towns and
thriving agricultural districts will
remain undisturbed, the Orangemen
will engross themselves for ever more III
money making and industrial enterprise,
and leave Ireland after her long centu-
. . 1