The Irish standard., 1895-10-12
THE NEW MOVEMENT.

stitutional movement In Ireland, but 1t
is clear that our friends across the sea,
4 the bone and sinew Of the men who con-
2stitute what has been well cad led Greater
Ireland. have since the death Of Parnell,
| gradually shed their belief in constitu-
tional agitation and today there Is hardly
| to be found across the. face Of the CONT
Enent single Irishman from the Atlantic
! to the Pacific who does not believe that
constitutionaiism has got trial sufficient
and has been found wanting. AS we have
repeatedly said, there is much justifcas
| ton for this growing distrust in parlia-
| mentarianism. Up to Parnell's death
every Irishrnan had at least some faith
in the possibility of the constitutional
movement working out the regeneration
OF ireland. If, then, today numbers of
Irishmen have parted from the constitu
tional line and have become converted
to the physical force doctrines the change
is due to the men who, at the bidding of
the Englishmen, reneaged from Parnell
and his movement, and brought upon
themselves the detestation of every right
thinking man in the community, and
upon the name of the country world wide
ridicule and contempt Now, we are not
going to say right here that the physical
force idea shall henceforth prevail. Sick
though we have reason to be of Constitu-
tionalisun, and disguised as we are at the
antics of the men who under its easy cloak
have showed themselves into Irish life,
and who are now the degraded camp fol-
lowers of an English party, we yet con-
tinue to believe that the constitutional
movement now captained by Mr.. John
Redmond may achieve great results for
ireland, if it does not entirely bring us
to the goal of our aspirations, which is
Irish Nationhood. There is no man liv-
ing, at least no man who has given pass
ing attention to the movement led by Mr..
Parnell, who will not admit that it worked
wonders for Ireland. To sustain that
proposition would be, to any sensible
man, like the occupation known as paint
ing the lily. Did not the conspirators Of
committee room Is succeed in their vile
enterprise Of bounding down Parnell to
please the Saxons, it is certain that the
Home Rule that the Liberals had intro
duced would never have been hung up
after it was kicked out by the Lords, and
tits well within the bounds of probability
that 1t would now be law. If, under
Parneil, the constitutional movement
wrought so much for Ireland, what is to
prevent from achieving additional results
under Mr. John Redmond and his party,
who are guided by his principles, inspired
by his example, encouraged by his sue
cess, and impelled by the recollection Of
his tragic death to complete the work he
had so nearly crowned? We still have
some hope in Parliamentarianism If it
does not succeed in bringing us back our
native parliament it will, at least, if
Irishmen only utilize it on the "block the
way" principle, help to remove many OBJ
stacles to our material progress and there
by, as we trust, better equip us for the
fight that is to come some day.
At the same time we are glad to see
that our countrymen have not relih-
quished the physical-force idea Some
time or other they will have to put it in
practice, and the sooner they make prep
arations the better 1t will at least have
the effect of keeping UP before the minds
of Irishmen the highest ideal of political
duty, and it will tend to show to the
world that Irishmen are not ashamed of
their ancestors, that they have not for
gotten the heroic efforts OF Tone, Emmett.
and Fitzgerald, and that they are de-
termined to win their rights from Eng
land, come veal or woe, without pam
dering to any section Of Britishers, with
out acting the parts to England of era
VEINS, sycOphants, or knaves, and without
surrendering trace of that national dig
nifty and pride in ones country that
should be the characteristic of every man
helping his nation in her struggle to be
free.
Now, we believe that if the physical
force idea is ever to prove practical or
successful it must be propagated in
America. IA And If the Irishmen in Amer
lea were really serious they could--if
they kept before them high and holy
aims, and kept clear Of the dividing in
trigues that characterize party politics in
the states-muster within a month a
force of 100000 men, each with a gun in
his hand, ready to strike for Ireland at
the first moment that found England in
volved in difficulties. IF our American
friends are serious they will keep this
possibility before their minds. They
should beware the intrigues OF knaves
who NEEDLE in these movements because
notoriety brings its own reward. They
should drive from their midst suspicious
men and unclean men, who may be Eng
lish spies or cowardly murderers, and
they should put trust and faith in men
whose characters are above reproach
and whose patriotism is unquesttoned.
Without such safeguards no movement
can be q success. We await with inter-
est further developments Of this new
movement, and it is our hope that every
thing done under it's auspices will be-
worthy of Irishmen and Of the great
cause Of ;fatherland. s.ts