The Irish standard., 1900-03-24
Shamrock Order Fails to Cause
a..Feeling Of Pride.
STRONG SENTIMENTS OF OPPOSITION
People Justly Regard Her as a
Heartless Hypocrite.

"Hcr most gracious majesty, Queen
Victoria" has done startling thing;
the first time in all her long career that
she has done, from a national stand
point, gracious, or sympathetic
thing. She has at last recognized the
fact and through her the English gov
.ernment has announced to the world
that were it not for her Irish soldiers
the union jack would be not only rob-
Der but a fleeing flag in South Africa
to-day. OF course she does not verbal
" say this, but history will interpret her
words as meaning even more and will
inevitably recall the story of what Irish
soldiers, generals and statesmen have
done to make her empire worldwide and
the reveille of her martial drums the
awakening morning call on every con-
tinent, says the Dublin correspondent
of the Chicago Chronicle.
Is the English government coming
to its senses at last and beginning to
recognize the fact that it is easier to
lead than to drive generous, trusting
aan spirited people aiiiest z1zish Has
. the truth dawned upon her jingo i'm
bperialist that the race which has fought
3so magnifcently in South Africa may
sometime find an opportunity to fight
as bravely at home? The queens order
is incomprehensible, is, to use an Amer
icanism, mere clap DOODLE" unless it
has more meaning than it bears upon
its face. The fearful and disgraceful
drubbing the English received for four
months on the veldts and kopjes Of
Natal, and when her only stand was
due to the impulsive valor of the Irish
troops may have taught the queen and
her counselors that it would be better
for her existence as military power
a necessity, in fact-that Ireland should
be an honored and petted integral por-
ton of the empire than crushed and
despised dependency. Before the queen
uttered her royal word the bravery Of
the Irish soldier was on every English
mans lips and no praise was too warm
for him. The hate of the cockney has
been turned to love and adulation. All
this surely, especially when voiced from
the throne, must mean something more
than mere perfunctory compliment.
The Tory, though arrogant, takes
pride in. being manfuHy and generously
regal, and he has no use for the preju-
dices and hairsplitting of his narrow
Sminded nonconformist countryman. In
Yhis present outburst of gratitude he
may have come to the conclusion that
it is full time that justice was done to
the "sister ISLE" and that the "pre-
dominant partner" so dependent on
Irish valor for its credit and safety,
should no longer hold Ireland in thrall.
Home rule is sure to come, and it
would be just like the Tory to grant it,
when it was least expected, and thus
take the wind from the sails Of the So
called Liberals. If the queen, who has
always been an enemy of ireland, and
as bitter one as her German husband
was, should now become her friend and
champion, the days of alien ascendancy
in this old land will soon pass away
! and self-government take the place OF
government by imported cormorants,
who, like India's rulers, as described
by Edmund Burke, are veritable birds
of passage and of prey" This granting
of autonomy to ireland would be real
crown of glory-and the only one-at
i the close OF Victoria's phenomenally
glong reign.
u In connection with her order about
the "good fighting done by the Irish
troops" it was also announced that her
majesty had decided to pay visit to
Ireland early next month. This will be
, her fourth visit to this country, her pre-
vious ones being in the years 1s4o, 1858
and 1861. She will be welcomed cour-
teously, for the Irish are chivalrous
race where a woman is concerned, but
there must be- no effort made to make
her presence an occasion for loyalist or
west British jublation, else there will be
trouble. When some two or three years
ago the Duke of York, her majesty S
son, visited this country the castle au-
thorities, the aristocracy and the sho-
mems were minded to make the occa-
sion great loyalist event and demon
stration, but the no uncertain nor sub