The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1896-08-01


Ell ed the bonds of many millions OF black
| men, and at the same time made free
many millions more of white men.
| When the demonstration for Governor
! ANgeld had subsidized he said:
| The noblest instinct implanted by the
Almighty in the heart of man is dove
OF freedom; a love of liberty. This is the
| mother of all chievement, of all that is
great and good and glorious. That man
| and that people in whom this instinct has
died must act the part of a drudge anda a
slave in the great drama Of life.
The brightest pages Of all history are
those that record the struggle FOR liberty
Whether the struggle failed or Won, all
| the world lauds the effort. ,.
On the other hand, the saddest annals
Of all the ages are those which tell the
story of the nations in which the spirit of
liberty was crushed. The story of man S
inhumanity to man is as old as time. That
the natural tendency of the influential
and powerful is to appropriate the sub
stance and control the action OF their
less fortunate brethren is one Of the sad
facts of this world. Robbery and oppres-
sions generally manage to marry the
government and have the laws which
protest it also shield them, so that. it
comes to pass that mere protest against
the wrong becomes treason to the gov
ernment.
And the story of the past is that under
these circumstances there are always
found servile creatures, as witnesses, 1ur-
ors, judges and jailers. who under the
pretense of patriotism. are ready to crush
right and enthrone wrong.
In all countries and in all times the
pathway to liberty has led across the
plain of divisions-tnrough the horrors
of the ungeor-through the shadow of
the gallows and by the red stream Of the
patriots blood.
But the world moves, and the civilized
world now makes heroes of those men
who do acts for their country which if
done for themselves would make them
criminals The world now makes a dis
tinction between common crime and what
are called political crimes.
Some countries refuse to surrender as
fugitives from justice men who have COM
mitted acts for their country for which they
would otherwise be executed. To be sure,
no government will recognize this principle
in dealing with it's own people-but inter-
nationally it is accepted Grand old Ire
land is moving along the path and her case
is the more pathetic because her sons have
helped to lay the foundations of liberty in
every country that boasts Of free institu-
tions today.
If she could gather together the graves of
her heroic children who died to maintain
freedom in other lands they would form
holy mountain whose top would be enclr-
cled with an everlasting halo Of glory.
Instead Of this, the waves Of the Atlantic
watt to lis her cry of distress. We look
across the waters and We see some of her
strongest men languishing in prisons. We
hear the: sneaking tread of the government.
spy. We,hear the old, old story Of outrage
committed in the name OF the law, and we
ask how long, Lord, how long shall these
things be?
In. this case of the Irish prisoners the
record makes a deep conviction on the
mind that they were convicted on utterly
insufficient evidence and simply as con-
ven:ence to the government. e..
But even If it were not so, no man charges
that they did anything to benefit them
selves. Whatever stroke they gave was
for the country that gave them birth. II
they committed any offense it was what
the world calls a political offen5e, and the
sense of justice of the civilized world will
demand their release whenever the facts
are once known.
Proclaim the facts from the hills-sound
them over the waters-the avenging angel
is not dead and time does all things. Stand
by the island and the graves OF your
fathers and the time will come when the
glad waters of the Atlantic will kiss the
shores of free Ireland.
DR.. Hirsh declared political offe1ses in
the nineteenth century to be an achronism,
IS 3S M
treason.
""England stands confessedly before hui
manity as having done injustice to Ire
land,' said he and the statement was re-
ceived with cheers, "but the future ages
will remember with blessings these pris-
oners in English dungeons. Let England
give Ireland freedom and there will be no
need of igniting powder under the tower OF
London: it will all be exploded Oh the
Irish Fourth of July. I add my voice to
yours for the release of these prisoners.
/ Col. Marcus Kavanaugh was the last
speaker. He said:
The English government seems deter
mined to give the Irish race reason to
hate it. Never in 700 years past has it
listened to one appeal for justice except
when the Irish demanded it with loaded
rifles in their hands. The question at
issue not only affects the Irishman, but the
dignity of American citizenship and the
whiteness of American honor. England
has raised her hands in holy horror at the
acts of the Russians in Siberia. but every
demand for justice asked by Ireland has
met with the dungeon or the g;bbet. If;
England had pursued the course toward the
United States that she has toward the
weaker nations she would not have a foot
of territory left in North America. The,
maddening thought Of it all IS that these
prisoners have not been proved guilty OF
the crimes charged against them. The.
fact that they were Americans showed the
hostility and acrimony Of Great Britain
against this country at that time. The res
olutions adopted tonight not only voice the
sentiment of this meeting, but OF the whole
American people.
Following is the memorial adopted:
The quality of mercy is something that.
appeals or should appeal to every human
heart, God himself is mercy. If He we're
not. how few of His creatures could ever
hope to enjoy His glory. Man, made in the
image and likeness of God, should possess
the attribute Of mercy above and before
all other qualities. But the members OF.
the British ministerial cabinet seem desti-3
tute OF Gods mercy, for, from fifteen to.
thirty years, several unhappy Irish-Amer-s e
leans citizens of the United States, and
many Irisamen who are claimed as subjects
of tae British crown, have been kept in