The Irish standard., 1892-01-02
MINNEAPOLIS AND ST. PAUL. SATURDAY. JANUAY q 1892

/ SATURDAY. JANU
|splendid business of the Bristol slave
) dealers in Irish flesh), the exile Of {
hundred thousand Catholics for theil
religion during two years of Cromwell
lian atrocities, or the massacre Of priests
women and children in the distant set
Elements to which the Government con-
Eeigned them:-all such facts are SO dis.
creetly CLOSED over in English story.
books thaf not one young man in a
thousand has SO much as heard of them.
! What English school boy Of an upper
form was ever asked to give the words
of the .oath of abjuration" which was
compulsory upon all the Irish Catholics
in 1850 an oath which included the
denial of the doctrine Of Transubstan-
tiatlon, of the Sacrifice OF the Mass, Of
Purgatory, of the authority of the Pope,
In short, of every distinctively Catholic
doctrine? Or what young student Of
Irish history was ever asked why in the
eighteenth century, when the Irish
were struggling for liberties in their
I1ish Parliament, sixtY-6ve Catholic
one Protestant church was even injured.
IF we propose such questions as these
to even old people, we not unfrequentlY
get the answer: "Pity that Cromwell
did not exterminate the Irish altogether;
then we should have had an English
Ireland in the bonds of fellowship"
Now let it be repeated that the English
are not to be blamed (not wholly for
this total misconception Of the facts of
the case. If for two centuries they
have been taught that, in the political
order, the Irish have been always rebel.
li0us or perfdious; while. i'm the re]i-
gious order, they have been ignorant
and superstitious, priest-ridden, big
oted, and even prosecuting, how can We
be surprised that they still think that
Portestant England is the best matron
or schoolmistress for Catholic Ireland.
1t is true that the religious prejudice
is not so strong as 1t was, because Eng
lishmen now know something OF Cath
Oilcity. Yet, say up to forty years ago,
the English horror Of Popery was al
most Justified by the English ignorance
of what il was. How could you expect
people to grant Home Rule to coun-
Etry which was assumed to be sunk IN
gross idolatry; and which might use its
acquired liberties to persecute Irish
Professionalism to pay them back in
their own coin of mallgnity? This
alarm about religious persecution" IS
professed by many Englishmen Of the
present day. I have heard it said
score of times: elf you give the Irish
their independence, they will make it
impossible for Protestants to continue
to live in the country.' Comic as is the
idea of an Irish Parliament proceeding
to pass penal laws against Protestants,
while all the while the armed legions of
England are not only close to Ireland,
but are within it, the OLD prejudice has
its way with those Coercionists who
| will believe anything chat is foolish
about Irishmen. And at this point let
it be asked: Is the misconception Of
the Irish character as strong factor in
the English prejndice as it used to be?
I should reply that it is not, yet 1T is
sufficiently strong to cool the ardor Of
three-fourths of even the sincere English
sympathizers with Home Rule. The
| English have never understood the
Irish. They do so a little now, perhaps,
for two reasons; first, because they
know something OF their religion; and
next because Mr.. Gladstone has taught
them that English selfishness, injustice,
and ins0lence have naturally produced
some unlovely expressions on the irish
countenance. Still. an Irishman is
mystery to an Englishmau. He is
nv ystery because he Is full Of sentiment
and full Of humor, whereas all such
graces ought to have been pumped out
MYSTERY because he stuck manfully to
his religion when both England and
Scotland 'sgave I'M; and this was an un-
pardonable offence downright 'sperson-
al''), which seemed to imply that he
| rather looked down on his neighbors,
who yielded to the allurements of Queen
| Elizabeth-in the form Of gibbeJs and
prisons and con6scations, and such-}ike
tender appeals to the conscience. He
is mystery because he IS so stubborn
vet SO playful; SO absolutely unconquer-
able while always conquered; so super
| ior to Balfourian tactics as to write odes
on them while in Jail; and so strong in
his weakness as to return five sixths of
the representatives of Irish political
opinion or patriotism. Now the aver
age English Protestant does not like
mysteries. In other words, he objects
to people who will not take the same
views as himself, and who indeed seem
to have contempt for his views.
Hence the prejudice. Hence the sort
Of constitutional incapacitv to throw
the mind into another's mind. or to say,
s.Eow should act were in his case?"
The prejudice is one Of habit, not of
reasoning; one Of hereditary misconcep
l. s; not ~ oynorionno nno Of a }aoYno a..