The Irish standard., 1896-12-05

with England, il only restitution for
past wrongs, and the only effective
means OF removing present evils is Of
fered In the concession OF a native leg
sis1ature, itsmay be asked why do Eng
llishmen persist in this hostility to Ire
lands national demand. Because OF
their ineffabIe vanity in the first place;
because they do not wish to make a
concession that would look like a sur
render or an admission Of wrong-doing
in the second place; and because. per-
haps, of desire to continue plundering
us under the. guise of protecting us. in
the future as in the past, because of the
advantages rendered by the system to.
the British exchequer.
But the Saxon is, above all things, a
bargain maker, and ought surely to ask
himself what it is that he gets in re-
turn for these three reasons Of his for
denying us restitution. He gets Irish
hate in abundance so intense, SO heart
felt and so passionate that to a Nation
alist Irishman the Englishman who JUS
titles his country's misruIe in Ireland is
the incarnation Of every evil 1t is, let
us assume, an unreasoning hate, but a
prosecuted and down-trodden people
are not inclined to reason when they
think of the source whence all their ills
arise. But right or wrong, justifable
or not, the hate is there, and by this
time every sensible Englishman is
aware that it is something more than a
mere emotion, that it can take practical
form, that it can hurt in a vital part
English misgovernment produces Irish
hate, Irish desire for vengeance, and
out of that grows danger for England,
il not within the seas of Ireland, at
least in America, where Ireland is
strong, and where she can excite Am
erican statesmen to alarm England
with the terrors of a Monroe doctrine.
That is what England obtains because
Of her obstinate refusal to do us justice.
The concession Of autonomy would in
moment remove that hate, cement an
alliance between the two nations that
would make them irresistible, stitle all
the jealousies and racial animosities
that keep them apart, and add immeas-
urably to England's strength, influence
and prestige among the nations OF the
world But as there is yet majority
of Englishmen who, following the lead
Of Salisbury in thinking it good policy
to crush powerless peoples and whine
before mighty ones, will not realize the
necessity for home rule, so it is incum-
bent on every Irishman worth his salt
to show that wesare today as ever-our
party and personal differences apart
resolved to go on with the cause; to
honor those who work for it; to keep in
loving memory the names of those who,
in the past, fell, or fought, or sacrificed
for it; and to have it proclaimed that
there is not a man in Ireland who be-
lieves in Irish nationhood who fears to
speak of '98.
Let Englishmen never pu the fattering
JUNCTION to their souls that we are going
to abandon this fight. We dare not
The ghosts Of =our ancestors for hun-
dreds Of years back would rise in revolt
out of their graves to terrify us with
their reproaches. We could not For
the very blood that flows through our
veins, the very instincts Of our souls.
would forbid it. We would not For
to work for. Ireland is the most sacred
and hallowed duty that 1rishmen can
engage in. Some time in the year
after next, thousands and tens Of thou
sands of Irish exiles will visit. this
country, to show to the world that they
treasure in their hearts the memory Of
those who in the dark and bitter days
of 's8 fought foot-to-foot with England,
deded her tortures, avenged their
wrongs, sacrificed their lives, but put
new soul into Ireland. Next Sunday
Irishmen all over the world will honor
the memory of the Manchester martyrs,
and in all their chapels and places Of
worship will pray for their souls, and
perhaps with the prayer many will min
igle excavations OH the people that per-
petrated this outrage on humanity and
speckledthe prestige Of their justice,
with the blood Of innocent 1rishme e j.
But tile butchery at Manchester did not
prevent the martyrs praying on the
scafold, God save Ireland, and that
prayer, whether Eng lishmen like Y Of
not, viii ascend with y ceasing earnest
ness to heaven while one single Irish
man is left to doabattie for the cause Is
and to honor the memo OF the dead '' s
AN IRISH ATOM.
oyembe Der o / q the Con 81
rs ds 2evfew. lliam O,Bfien