The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-12-26
on the head when he stated !:


on the head when he stated:
/. "a person who sits upon the fence is
always an obnoxious Individual, and
statesmen who are SO absorbed in the
crucial care have referred to, cannot
make allowances for the motives of our
traditional detachment from their own
political system and fail entirely to COM
prehend that England's face is turned
Stewards rather than towards the Euro
pean continent, and that we are more
concerned with our own commercial and
colonial interests across the ocean than
with the internal rivalries of our imme-
diate neighbors. tCheers)'
Lord Dufferin, after his long diplo-
matte service, must be listened to with
great respect when he af1rms a convic-
ton, derived from long contact with the
world, viz:
At a meeting of Cuba sym pathizers in
New York this week whenever the name
of President Cleveland was mentioned it
was bitterly Kissed. 1t will be almost a.
miracle if the burly prophet escapes i'm
parchment before the expiration of his
term, providing he should ignore the
passage of the Cuban resolutions, as
passed by both houses of congress. The
people are in no mood to submit to the
naughty ways of the president. They
often ask themselves upon what meat
doeth this Caesar feed that he has grown
SO great?"
THAT, in spite Of Christianity, civi:iza-
ton, in spite OF humanitarian phil
osophies, the triumphs Of scientific
knowledge, in spite OF the lessons Of his
tory, and the bitter experiences of the
more recent past, force and not fight is
still the dominant factor in human at
fairs (hear, hear), and that no nations
independence or possessions are safe for
q moment unless she can guard them
with her own right hand. (Cheers.)
Quiet, stay-at-home people in England,
who, as their fathers before them for SO
many generations, nave passed their I'M
troubled lives in blissft1l ignorance OF
what invasion means, can scarcely bring
themselves to believe in the actuality OF
the ruthless. ravages Of war. in disaster
and defeat raging through the land. with
it's ACCOMPLISHMENTS of disbanded armies.
violated women, and burning and plum
dered towns. And yet these scenes have
been enacted not so long ago within
few hundred miles of our own borders
and have extended over the greater part
of Europe, for not only France, but Den
mark, Italy, Turkey, Poland, Bulgaria,
Austria, have each in turn been desc
Grated by the red ruin of many bloody
battlefield. Nor have America, India,
China or Japan escaped these awful Wis.,
itations. And the worst Of it is that most
of these wars have not been wars Of right
and wrong clearly defined and under
stood, but wars Of policy, of passion. of
misty interests and obscure origins, and
so completely has this been the rule that
in almost every instance the exact casus
belli is still a matter of ambiguity and
historical dispute, and incapable OF con-
signment by the puzzled annalists to any
precise formula. (Kear. hear.)"
Lord Dufferin believes that, in the
event Of European war; England's enc
mics would attempt, if not an invasion Of
the British Isles, at least important
diversions on the British coasts. He dis
tinctly advises Britain to be ready for
the worst, believing that to be fore
warned is to be forearmed. Lord Duff
FERNS words can we'll bear repetition:
"Above all things it should be renem-
bered that the possession of a sufficient
strength to command the respect Of a ma
tons neighbors does great deal more
than guarantee a successful defense in
the case of unprovoked attack: it also
discourages and prevents hundred irri-
tating, provoking and impossible de-
mands-nay, it even diminlshes the risks
of dangerous international newspaper
polemics, calming and moderating to a
wonderful degree the menacing attitude
of pugnacious press, for even irrespon-
sible and anonymous able editors think
twice before insulting an enemy, how
ever hated, that has half million armed
men at it's disposal ("hear, hear and
laughter), though they may use consid~
cradle freedom towards a far more inof-
fensive friend who they know might have
difficulty in putting, ON a. critical emer-
gency, half corps d'armee into the
field. (Cheers.)"
1t speaks we'll, indeed, for Lore Duff
FERNS love of Ireland that he comes
back to the dear old land to spend the
evening of his days.
The grand jury has been in session in
this city for week past and will con-
tinue their 1abors during the coming
week and perhaps for long time after.