The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1895-09-18
THE. CONDITION OF EUROPE.
REVOLUTION IN IRELAND AP-
PREACHING.
Five-Armed Camp-An Interesting
Article.
(The Philadelphia American.)

character OF the new parliament and the
tasks before it, we are reminded Of NJ.
Emile Olivier, in 1870, when he declared
that he and his colleagues undertook the
war with Germany avec un occur legere.
with a light heart" So far as Eng
lands relations with Ireland are con-
cerned, they are worse than ever. The
constituencies of the subject island are
more unanimaus in opposition to the
alien rule of Great Britain than ever be-
FORE While gaining new members
everywhere else, even in Wales, the I'm
land. This shows that irish discon-
tent is at least as widespread and We
hement as ever it was. Nothing that
has been done in the way Of land legisla-
ton, disestablishment and other RENE
dial measures has had the least effect
on the temper of the people. The only
appearance of a growth of Cancellation
has been the truce which followed the
adoption of home rule by the Liberal
party. With the prospect of some feeble
sort of self-government in sight, the
Irish thought it both wise and fair 10
change their tactics. They gave up the
nagging of their rulers by violent and
other means. They assumed an atti-
tude of friendly expectation, in the belief
that the night Of misr';le was far spent,
and the day of deliverance was at hand.
This attitude was eminently helpful to
the maintenance Of peace in Ireland. The
Tories profited by it during their control
of the ministry in 18S6-1S92, because the
majority by which they held Office was
narrow, and its steady reduction in the
by-elections gave the home rulers every
reason to expect an early return to pow
er. The Irish people at the worst, dur
Ing those. six years, were in friendly
alliance with one Of the two great part
les of Great Britain, and had reason to
expect deliverance from alien rule at
its hands. This developed a strong pub
tic opinion in Ireland in favor of social
peace and Of constitutional methods of
pressing Irish claims. Ever since Mr..
GladStone'S declaration in favor of home
rule, indeed, the Irish people have been
on their good behavior. Extreme coun-
sells have been iiscredited; extreme
leaders retired to the rear. The worst
step taken has been the plan of cam
paign,' which aimed at forcing the lands
Of the landlords by passive resistance TO
their demands.
The recent elections have put an end
to all this, and have brought the Irish
question back to it's acute stage. Prac-
tically, there no longer is a Liberal party
for the Irish to join their fortunes with.
IT disappeared in the recent elections,
leaving but wreck behind. The con-
stituencies, for whatever reason, discred-
tied it so unanimously that England has
nof the most one-sided parliament that
has met for 60 years and more. The To-
ries say that this is due as much to Eng
lish repugnance for home rule as to any
other cause. They tell the Irish people
that the English constituencies have re-
pudiated the scanty and partial adher-
ence they once gave to the home rule
proposition, and that they now are I'm
ionists by overwhelming majorities.
They tell them that, while England may
end will give them partial reforms when
the parliament has nothing else to do in
the way of British legislation, yet there
will be no measure taken to enable Ire
land to take care Of herself. The situa-
ton which existed before Biggar and
Parnell forced attention to Irish affairs
by blocking legislation, when-as Mr..
Gladstone frankly confessed for himself
no English statesman felt obliged to
study the Irish problem, or to plan for
that country any thing but measures Of
repression to keep down agitation. This
may not be the real meaning of the Eng
lish elections. Indeed, it is capable of
proof that home rule was not before the
minds of the voters generally This,
however, is the first look of the matter
and this is what the victors are tell
ing the Irish people in every speech and
every leading article touching on the
subject.
In Ireland the effect must be to bring
to the front once more the men and the
measures which are calculated to make
peace impossible. These are of two
classes, the popular and the revolution
airy. The Revolutionary party is made
up Of those Irish leaders Who have in
herited the traditions of the young Ire
land party of 1S42-1S49, and of the Fen
ian Society of 1S65-1S6S They distinct
ly refuse to regard the English people
as likely to concede to Ireland anything
worth her taking, except under the COM
pulsion of physical force. They hold
that Ireland's duty is to organize, arm
and wait her opportunity. And by Ire
land they mean not only the remnant of
the people left at home, but the greater
Ireland of America and the British Colo
niles, to whom they look for the sinews of
war, as we'll as for the active help of ex-
perienced military men. This party gave
way in 1878 to the persuasions of Messrs
Parnell and Dillon, so far as to suspend
it's activities in Difference to their belief
that home rule could be obtained by
peaceful MEANS and would serve as a
stepping-stOne to Irish liberation.
Against that concession many of it's
ablest leaders are known to have pro-
tested. 1t now will pass again under
their direction, and will resume prepara-
lions for revolution.
The European situation is such as en-
courages it's hopes. The Continent is
occupied by five armed camps, whose
cost is so oppressive to all material and
social interests as to make a general
war boon rather than a calamity Until
within year past England regarded the
prospect of such war with entire euua-
nimity. She was confident of her abil-
ity to isolate herself from the area of
hostilities in spite of all experience to the
contrary. She now has abandoned that
confidence. Her relations with France
have become so antagonistic, through
French resentment at the permanent oc-
cupation of Egypt and of the Suez Canal,
that it is far from improbable that the
first outbreak of hostilities will be on
the line Of the channel rather than Of