The Irish standard., 1893-03-18
;he centuries of history, resplendent


the centuries of history, resplenden
constellation.
These memories, cherished with ten
der affection, mingle with the joyous
ness which attends the observance o
this day, marked and impressive rever
ence.
The festival of st. Patrick is an occas
ion OF worldwide celebration. Probably
no other anniversary ever was observed
IN so many different climes, among &C
many different nations.
The baleful tyranny Of the English
government has made q vast majority OF
the Irish people exiles. They have
roamed the wide earth over and have
captured its affection and its favor.
The world admires the Iri.hman be-
cause he is brave and intellectual. It
loves him because he is generous and
kind of heart. It honors and advances
him because he is q master of eloquence.
It crowns him with laurel because he is
prince of literature. It weeps with
him because he can touch SD deftly the
pathetic chords of human emotion. It
laughs with him because he can be the
blthest, gayest and wittiest of mortals.
What has been said of the men of Ire
land can also be said of her women with
this added: That in grace and beauty
they hold coveted pre-eminence among
the maidens and matrons of the world.
Therefore, the world unites with the
Irish in celebrating the festival of their
famous patron saint. The tap of the
drum, the blare of the trumpet, the
cheer of the multitude, as they reeound
through Ireland, are echoed around the
globe.
The happy rhyme of an Irish poet
tells us:
The noisy streets are supremely green,
And all the clans are in order;
A thousand waving Tags are seen,
And each has green for it's border.
Arrah! But the land is all ablaze,
The bells have sounded their warming
And the only tune the wide world plays
is est. Patrick's Day in the Morning."
You may traverse the world from northern
main
To the line of the hot equator;
You may go from Sahara's desert plain
To Vesuvius, close to the crater;
You are sure to find an Irishman there,
All trouble and danger scorning,
And he's sure to be humming the darling
air
Of'st. Patrck's Day in the Morning.
But though you find, him in distant parts.
And whether at sea or on dry land,
The tenderest spot in his heart of hearts
Is reserved for the Emerald Island.
The soil of his birth is his proudest boast,
And he'll give you whack for warning
If you fail to respond to his patriot toast
OF 'sSt. Pairick's Day in the Morning.
Among the great political contests
which have occurred during the present
century, the mighty effort to secure re-
form of the land laws of Ireland, and to
secure ee]f-government for her people is
notably interesting. It is struggle
which appeals with moving force both
to the reason and the sympathy.
The past six centuries have been, for
the Irish race, mournful and desolate
period of tyranny. The English govern
ment securing control of Ireland by
force and fraud, has persistently and
maliciously misgoverned that beautiful
but unhappy realm. The merciless
confiscations of Cromwell and of Will
lam III have wrested the soil from it's
rightful possessors and bestowed it in
large tracts upon eervile followers, few
in number, mean in spirit, and ignoble
by nature, who have welded landed
monopoly with the worst of wills, and in
the worst of ways. The masses of the
people are the tenants of the few. The
terms of leasing are harsh and the
rents excessive.
The landlords habitually Cypress the
tenants, and their wealth and social po
sltion enable them to generally defeat
any effort on the part of the tenant to
enforce his rights in the courts.
Hapless and hopeless seemed the con-
dition of the Irish peasantry-the great
mass of the people until recent years.
The thunders of O'Connell had shaken
the British throne. and had compelled
the grant of Catholic emancipation.
Herein had Ireland triumphed. But the
spirited efforts Of Young Ireland soon
after accomplished naught save to send
Smith O'Brien, John Mitchell and
Thomas Francis Meagher into penal SER
vitude.
Hope was, with good reason, revived,
and the national spirit Of Ireland slim
ulated to the loftiest fervor, by the
founding in the year 1879 Of the Irish
National Land League.
The leegue has formulated new gov.
ernmental policy for Ireland and has
gained for it the cordial assent Of the
people Of the entire world, save the