Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-03-18

the sword of Henry the Eighth, Queen
| Elizabeth and Cromwell she is now en-
! deavoring to do by her unrelenting in
| human system of extQrtion, which is
] slowly but surely slipping the life blood
| of the Irish race.
! In area, Ireland is about the size of
| the state of Maine and has a popula-
ton of about 1850, 900, her constabulary,
such as we term police force, will more
| than exceed in number half the stand
| ing army of the United States, and in
| addition she is obliged to maintain and
I support a standing army of 10000 men.
! During the darkest hours of ireland s
history, when English law made it a
crime for a, Catholic to adore his God
according to his conscience, when it was
a crime punishable by death for Cath
| Ole priest to administer to the faithful
of his flock, the A o. H. was organized
as secret body to protect the lives of
the Catholic clergy, and thus preserve
| for generations unborn the faith of st.
Patrick. Such was the origin and mis-
sion of the A. o. H, until England be-
! came tolerant enough to allow the Irish
race freedom of conscience; then it
emerged from seclusion and secrecy and
| resolved to maintain the order on the
principles of friendship, unity and true
Christian charity.
About 20 years ago it was organized
in the United States, and its growth and
| development has been most remarkable.
| Today the order exists in every state in
the union, and has upwards of 100000
members, and pays in charity to mem
bers and their families almost 100000
annually, exclusive of insurance. Thus
we point with pride to the living exem-
plification of our grand motto, Chris
| tian Charity" Previous to 1894 there
were times when the order experienced
At H., 81 90 Ii0
| clergy, but we have outlived all those
difficulties and have nobly fought our
way to the fore rank of Irish Catholic
societies. and are so recognized.
1893. This will be the great memorial
| year in the history of Ireland; it will be
the year when the descendants of the
Irish race from all quarters of the world
will gather in thoughtful procession
around the sacred soil where rests the
ashes Of the heroes of 1913" Their visit
will not be an invasion with sword and
rifle, but rather a peaceful pilgrimage
| to the homes and firesides of their birth,
and to the graves of their ancestors, and
| there with reverent hands and thankful
hearts bear tender offerings of love and
respect, accompanied by the softer and
sadder prayers to the Most High, for the
eternal peace and happiness of Ireland's
patriotic dead.
The sacred cause of human liberty
| knows no bounds, no race, no cline; it
| is the inherent right of Gods children,
black or white, and he is not a true
| American, nor has he caught the true
Efnspirations of our glorious institutions,
who will not give sympathy, more and
material aid to the downtrodden of amy
| land, whether it be poor and oppressed
Poland, crying aloud in the spirit of her
Kosciusko and Pulaski against the tyr
amy of Warsaw, the iron heel of Rus
| STA, or ancient Greece, in the heroic
| memories of her once proud Athens, to-
day standing arm in arm with bleeding
Armenia, protesting against the red
! handed, cold-blooded and inhuman
Turk, which is a standing insult to the
Christian spirit of the 18th century; or
the brave, patriotic Cubans, in their he
roic struggle for liberty, inspired by the
sacrifices of their dead Maceo and brave
lily marshalled on by their patriotic Gen.
Gomez against the brutal government
of cruel and treacherous Spain; or the
| Irish heroes of 1897 sacrificing their no.
| BILE lives on the altar of their country
| in their patriotic efforts to rid their ma
| tive land of reign of tyranny and OPP
preston, such as has no counterpart in
| the history of the civilized world All
are essentially American.
| Thus in the name of the heroes OF
| '9S. in the name of the martyred EN-
met, whose portrait hangs in the inner
wall of every Irish heart; IN the name
of Tom Grattan, O'Connell, the great
emancipation, as ne refused the gift, of
| the Shareholder of the south, In the
cause of Ireland; in the name Of that
matchless leader and statesman who led
united Ireland to the threshold Of re-