The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-11-11
As Told by VIM. E. H. Lecky, the
Famous Historian.
AND N. P. FOR DUBLIN UNIVERSITY
Won When Ireland Was on the
Verge Of Revolution.

In spite OF proclamations and perse-
cutions, Daniel O'Connell, after long
struggle, won Catholic emancipation
from the British government. The only
weapon employed by him was his
tongue, but so powerful was it that he
succeeded in bringing Ireland to the
verge OF revolution; and as it contained
100000 people at the time the Duke
of Wellington thought discretion was
the better part OF valor and passed the
Catholic relief bill to avert civil war.
The following account of O'Connell's
ferculean labors is given by William
Edward Hartpole Lccky, the famous
historian and member of parliament for
Dublin University:
He avowed himself repeatedly to be
an agitator, with an Interior object"
says Lecky, "and declared that that OBJ
ject was the repeal of the Union. De
string as I do the repeal of the Union,'
he said in one of his speeches in 1873,
I rejoice to see how our enemies pro-
mote that great object. They delay the
liberty OF the Catholics, but they COM
pensate us most amply because they
advance the restoration of Ireland. By
leaving one cause OF agitation they have
created and they will embody and give
shape and form to a-public mind and
public spirit
Nothing can be more untrue" con-
tinues Lecky, than to represent the
designed to sustain his (O'Connelrs)
tagging popularity. Nor can it be said
that the project was first started by him.
The deep indignation the Union had
produced in Ireland was fernenting
among all classes and assuming the form
sometimes of a French party, sometimes
OF a social war, and sometimes of a
constitutional agitation. 1t would be
tedious to follow into minute detail the
difficulties and the mistakes that OBJ
structcd the Catholic movement and
were finally overcome by the energy
and the tact Of O'Connel.
"Several times the movement was
nenaced by government proclamatons
and prosecutions. Its great difficulty
was to bring out the public opinion of
the whole body of the Catholics actively
and habitually into the question. For
the first time under the influence of
O'Connell, the great swell of really
democratic movement was felt. The
simplest way of concentrating the new
enthusiasm would have been by sys-
tenn of delegates, but this would have
been rendered illegal by the convention
act On the other hand, the right of
petitioning was one of the fundamental
privileges of the constitution. By avail
ing himself of his right O'Connell con-
trived, with the dexterity of practiced
lawyer, to violate continually the spirit
of the convention act, while keeping
within the letter of the law.
"The government issued proclamation
after proclamation against O'Connell's
society, but by continually changing its
name and its form, he generally sue
ceeded in evading prosecution. These
early societies, however, all sink into
insignifcance compared with that great
Catholic organization which was formed
in 1924. The avowed objects of this
society were to promote religious edu
cation, to ascertain the numerical
strength of the different religions and
to answer the charges against Catholics
embodied in hostile petitions. 1t also
recommended petitions (unconnected
with the society from every parish and
aggregate meetings in every county.
The real object was to form gigantic
system OF organization, ramifying over
the entire country and directed in every
parish by the priests, for the purpose
of petitioning and in every way agitat-
ing in favor of emancipation.
"The success of the Catholic associa-
ton became every week more striking.
The Catholic rent, system of small
subscriptions collected throughout Ire
land to pay the heavy expenses attend
ant upon so great a project, rose with
extraordinary rapidity from $3.50 week
in October, to f7oo week in Decem-
Der, 1924. The meetings in every coun-
ty grew more and more enthusiastic.
The government made feeble and
abortive effort to arrest the storm by
threatening both O'Connell and Richard
T.alor Shelf with prosecution for cer-