Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1898-09-03

coNrINuEp FROM FIRST PAGE.


such measurable distance of the goal of
all our wishes If we're to stop here I
should have said quite enough to justify
all the honor that we or future genera
tions of Irishmen can pay to the memory
of Tone. But can not stop here. must
do what can, within the reasonable lin
its of speech, to point out, in some little
detail, what exactly Tone did. He first
combined all classes and creeds of his
countrymen in that body, so well known
to all of us, under the honored name of
United Irishmen. How he did this time
will not allow me to tell, but | should adj
wise all of you to find it out for yourselves
in that charming book-Tone's Life by
his son, and in Madden's Lives of the
United Irishmen. Two things, however,
in the life of Tone, / must for moment
dwell upon-the scene in Bantry Bay and
the last great scene of all. You all know,
or at least you onght to know, something
about the greatest of the three expeditions
that Tone succeeded in getting fitted out
for the invasion of Ireland. They con-
sisted, roughly speaking, of fleet of
forty-three vessels, with troops to the
number of over $4,000 on board, and an
ample supply of arms for the use OF the
Irish. Hoche, if not the greatest, one OF
the two greatest generals then living,
was in command of the troops. Human
ly speaking. if that force in its entirety
had reached Bantry Bay there was an
end of English rule in Ireland But,
alas that was not to be. You all know
what is proverbially said about certain
people having certain sort OF luck.
Some 5000 men in all succeeded in reach
ing the Irish coast, but without their gem
eral-in-chief. Tone, even in the absence
of Hoche, wished TO land with such forces
as they had, and at last brought the
French commanders round to his opin-
ion. But man proposes and God dis
poses. On the night before the day they
had agreed upon for the landing the ships
were again scattered to the winds and
forced to find their way back to France
as best they could. But what must have
been the feeling of Tone during all this
trying timer l fancy his agony was
greater than in the last great scene of all,
though his hope of eventual success must
have still stood high. But let us hasten
to that last scene. In the year '97 great
Dutch expedition was ready to sail, but
was shut up in the Texel by adverse
winds, while an English fleet, growing
stronger day by day, guarded the sea out
side. Finally there was battle, in
which the Dutch were defeated, and so
there was an end of that. Then came a
wearying time for Tone, when Hoche
was dead and Carnot removed from pow
er, and everything depended upon Napo-
leon Bonaparte, who apparently never
intended to aid Ireland. Then came on
the fateful year '9S itself, the arrest of the
chief leaders, the outbreak of the insur-
rection and its suppression, after the
many gallant fights of which we all have
D. I'd. 70 know how Tone felt during
+ lsad period, you must read his diary /;
and this you can now easily do in little
sixpenny book, by Miss Milligan, where
the whole thing is very well epitomized.
But at last Tone was to find his way back
to Ireland-to hopeless fight and GER
tain death. A small French fleet, with
Wolfe Tone on board, had barely reached
Tough Swilly when it found itself pur-
sued by much stronger English squad
ron. Some of the lighter French ships
were able to effect their escape, and Tone
was entreated by all to sail with them,
seeing that, whatever might be the fate
of the Frenchmen who remained, Tones
fate was certain. But he simply answered:
"Shall it be said that fled whilst the
French were fighting the battles of my
country" Then came the surrender OF
the French ship, after desperate de-
tense-the recognition of Tone among
the French prisoners of war-his dispatch
to Dublin in fetters-his trial by courtmar-
tial-and his sentence to be hanged, his
English enemy, with its wonted want OF
generosity, refusing his only request
that he should be granted the death OF a
soldier. But can not go on. The trial
and the tragedy in prison are agonizing
reading, but you must find out all about
them for yourselves, in the life BY the
son, or at worst in Miss Milligan's little
book. One thing, however, may give
ain cause like this" says Tone, "suc
cess is everything" Success in the eyes
of the vulgar fixes its merit. Washing
ton succeeded and Kosciusko failed
But, thank God, we are no yulgars here
today. To us Tones failure is grandei
than any success; for he failed gloriously
in great attempt. l shall not keep yoi
any longer; We have many other speakers
no doubt, better worth listening to t.
hear. There are many lessons to b.
learned from the life of Tone, but we d.
not mean to be controversial, or, hope
too lengthy here today. If we mean tina
Ireland should be free-and hope we al
mean that-we must become Unitet
I1ishmen again, in literal sense at least
and personally could wish that we wer
all United Irishmen in the national sense
too.
A memorial parchment was here depos
led Il, the hollow of the stone toQethe