The Irish standard., 1897-07-10
REPORT OF the ROYAL COMMISSION
UNITED AND DETERMINED, VICTORY
Is FINALLY ASSURED.
1 GIGAR1IC WRONG ERPE1RA7ED.
Combined AND PATRIOTIC ACTION
THE SINE Qua NON.

The following article from the pen of
Mr.. Standish O'Grady, an Irish liberal
unionist and man Of letters, is exceed
lngly interesting at this time:
LAS If designed and prepared to that
end of Providence or the good genius of
our land and race, there has emerged In
our time the great international finance
question, m issue Of such magnitude
that In its presence all causes of in
testinal discord, If such there be, dwindle
into insigniticance. Beside the great
common wrong pressing upon all alike,
upon the peer and the peasant, robbing
the merchant of his profits and the labor
ing man and woman of the fair fruits of
their toll. wrong wreaked upon the
poorest people In Christendom In the in
terest Of the richest that the world has
ever seen. Il wrong still continuing and
still insolcntly denied or sought to be
concealed by subterfugcs, what other
wrong of any Irish class can be men
toned? The proved fruits of 1t exceed
the capitalized value Of all Ireland. The
fiscal spoliation of Ireland by successive
Chancellors of the EXcheQuer known all
along intuitively by many of us and s,ls-
pected, on general principles. by many
more, stands now established beyond the
reach of cavil. We know that it is gross
and palpable, and has been conducted
upon colossal scale. One hundred mil
lions does not express the aggregate
amount of the plunder rakcd into the
Imperial Golfers out of this country, or
two hundred millions, or three. The
more the international accounts are In
vestigated the huger Is perceived to be
the sum total of that plunder. In
quarters, new and unsupported, new and
unsupported forms of fiscal fraud are be-
ing brought to light: in transactions nigh
hundred years old robberics are found
concealed under plausible arrays OF
figures. Mr.. Balfour and his friends did
unWisely in struggling against the re-
port of the Financial Relations Commits
u,
and enormous the injustice which It re-
vealed. That at least was the report of
Englishmen, and the great wrong was
thereby defined and limited. We, tho
these accounts In Ireland nnd from an
Irish point Of view. When we are awake
and alive to the full meaning Of the issue
we will Some day we shall appoint our
own Commission, charged with the uuty
of ripping up these accounts, alb initio,
and will stand by the report of our own
flnanciers till some approximation to
justice Is arrived ut. Ireland, be it re-
membered, has not SO far pronounced
upon those transactions. We have not,
indeed, as yet, shown any Of the spirit in
which such things are possible; but then
we have not so far realized either me
Significance of the figures or the extent
of our power. Time, however, is on our
side. The great wrong stands and en-
durcs In all Its magnitude. the suffering
endures, and the cynical Indifference
and robber insolence of tho spoilers show
no sign of abatement. Slowly but surely
the new movement sWells and grows.
with many pause and relapse, for it's
action is undular, like all such. In the
wake of that poor little wave of agita-
tion which we have witnessed, other and
greater waves are gathering and behind
all Is the rising tide Forces of utterly
incalculable strength are by their very
nature bound ere long to mingle with this
movement and carry it forward to un-
known and unapprchendcd issues
Meantime we can abide by the Report
OF the Commission Of 1896, as represent
Ing the minimum OF the irish demand.
knowing well - for 1t has been proved
that the ministerial allegation of a
set off" on foot of an imaginary over
expenditure upon Irish administration.
is not even u plausible pretence and is,
in any case, nullifed by the distinct
terms Of the deed of partnership between
the nations. That Report is quite sufti-
cient for current purposes. for it reveals
as due to Ireland by the Imperial Treas
ury debt which is. at the lowest, some
15O millions of pounds sterling, the re-
covery and wise application of which, or
even small proportion OF which, and
the suppression Of the fiscal system which
has rendered such spoliation possible,
are enough to occupy our best energies
for wears to come
Here, then, beyond all doubt, Is our
base OF unity; hence the summons to
combined and patriotic action. This Is
the centre around which Irish politics in
the future must revolve, and upon which
the chaos of our intestine confusions
must subside. Ireland has been stripped
so bare that there is nothing left about
which 1t would be worth while for us to