The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1899-11-04

years has used every effort TO belittle
Irish achievements when devoted to
Irish purposes, and to exalt them when
devoted to English ambitions. This is
what Thomas Moore meant in ooh,
Blame Not the Bard" when he wrote
OF Ireland
Unprized are her sons till they learn to
bctray;
Undistinguishcd they live, if they
shame not their sires,
And the torch that should light them
through dignity's way
Must be caught from the pile where
their country expires.
Any 1risllman conversant with his
native country's unhappy history who
can be loyal to England must be
moral monstrosity England has by
turns conquered, cajolcd and scourgcd
the Irish. She has sought to render
them ignorant, base and brutihcd. She
has levelcd their homes, stolen their
substance, exiled them by the million
and starved them by the myriad. Vic
toria's reign has bcheld the Irish pop
ulation diminished by onc-hali, and it is
still diminishing, not because Ireland is
poor by nature, but because England
has kept her poor by the gravcst forms
OF misgovernmcnt. That her penal laws
and other horrible rcprcssivc lcgisla-
tion have borne Dead Sea fruit for Ire
land is evidenced by the hunliating
circumstance that any Irish-born man
whatsoever should be found ranged be-
meath her colors. The English have
deep purpose in making Irish soldiers
i'll their pay prominent in this unholy
war against the Beers. Allow NE to
quote from letter recently written to
Il Dublin newspaper by Miss Maudc
Come, whose father was colonel in
the British army, on "Thc Dublin and
Munster Fusilcrs," so much in evidence
in Natal at present:
"rhc Dublin and Munster Fusilers
are not entirely composed OF Irishmen.
They may have been once; they arc not
to-day. Recruiting in Ireland, l am
glad to say-and | have this from the
lips OF an English generals falling off
very considerably; the so-callcd Irish
regiments have to be made up by a
large mixture OF English cockncys.
England jcalously conscrvcs the Irish
names OF her regiments in order to
show the world that there arc still
lrishmen SO devoid OF dignity that they
will wear the uniform OF their op-
prcssors, and tlius destroy ur weaken
the sympathy and respect which ireland
possesses among foreign nations, and
change that sympathy into plying
contempt"
No, Mr.. Editor, take no pride in,
but rather feel mortified at the news
that Irish blood was shed in maintc-
nance OF wrong, whether committed by
England or any other power, including
the United States. am not with my
countrymcn when they disgrace their
race by upholding tyrants. Humanity
is broader than country, and liberty
than racial pride Ireland has now no
voice among the nations; her crown
is rclt; her constitution crushed and her
senate cXtinguishcd. England has her
scalp. Her sons may march in the Brit
isll triumph, but their owners regard
them with contempt. Fortunately, all
Ireland has not yielded to the yoke, in
the moral sense, at least Davitt, Dill
lon and William Redmond, snccrcd at
by the British for upholding the Bocr
cause, arc honorcd by the Irisll--all cx-
ccpt the Irish Hcssians-thc world
around.
The Boers have the sympathy OF the
real lrcland-of the real lrsll-I hope,
also, OF the real America. They may
be subducd by numbers, but that they
can give good account OF themselves
is best illustrated by the monumental
casualty list OF the British army May
the god OF battles and OF justice give it
goodly increase! And If, in the end, the
Boers should be conquered, the glory
OF the conflict will still be theirs, and,
like Ireland after Aughrim, they may
sing in heroic lament:
But 'tis past, and tho blazoncd in story
The name OF our victor may be-
Accurscd is the march OF that glory
Which trcads on the hearts OF the
Far dcarcr the grave, or the prison,
lllumcd by one patriot name,
Than the trophies OF all who have risen
On libcrty's ruin to fame.
Commenting on the foregoing COM
munication, the Times Herald said: "If
the Dublin Fusiicrs at Dundee Hill
were cockncys at least Mr.. Fincrty will
acknowledge that they fought like Irish
men, just as the Irishmcn in the Gordon
Highlandcrs at Dargai Ridge were in
distinguishablc from their killed COM
radcs OF Scotch blood" Whercupon Mr..
Fincrty replies in the Citizen by saying:
Whether in tunics or in pcttcoats, or
without either, as at Crcmona, Irish
men can always fight with Strength
and majesty" but their valor cannot
cnnOb1c n had carce Tn t1c ponipc,1,