The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-23
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
FATHER sHEEHY's VEHEMENT DE-
NUNCIATION OF ENGLISH RULE.
700 YEARS OF OPPRESSION.
IRELAND HAS SUFFERED THAT
LONG UNDER ENGLISH DoMI-
NATION.

nauon, ArdOr ana unity Ihun
Now, Says Father sheehy-He Re-
tOices in the Commercial Progress
of the United States-How This
Country Is Beating England Right
AIOng-Father Sheehy's Opinion of
King Edward.
There is no reason why the people of
Ireland should love England; on the con-
trary the history of Ireland, for more
than seven hundred years, offers myriad
of reasons why we should hate the coun-
try which has taken from us our indie
pendence, our national existence and our
civil and political rights"
In this strain Rev. Father Eugene
| sheehy of Limerick, Ireland, who is now
making a tour of this country, and is
visiting Savannah, talked yesterday af-
ternoon of conditions in his native isle
Discussing conditions and the means the
Irish people are taking to remedy or over
turn them, Father Sheehy was calm and
composed enough, but when he reverted
to the wrongs his people have suffered
| and the indignities to which they are sub
jected. he spoke with passionate vehe-
mence and fire.
1t could be cen that Father
Sheehy is of the church militant
or is at any rate a militant churchman;
indeed, he said he believed the only policy
that was consistent with the Irish peoples
self respect, and at the same time offered
! a hope of success, was that of uncom-
promising hostility to England and TO all
| it represents.
I'VE have carried on the fight against
| English domination for over 700 years"
he said, land never before in this time
| has the fight been waged with more de-
termination, ardor and unity, or with
more hope of eventual success. We are
an ancient people, with a glorious his
| tory, and we ask or want nothing more
| than our rights. 1 cannot doubt, and my
people cannot doubt, that we shall win
! in the end.
There are so many thing to do, so
many needs that we have, needs social,
political and educational. that we can
only hope to gain a few of these at a
| time; our wrongs are SO many that we
! cannot hope at once to redress them all.
| We must do, as we are doing, what we
| can.
And, first of all, we are keeping up
| the fight to secure the restitution 20 us
| of our national rights We want home
rule, the right to make our own laws and
| to govern our internal affairs in our own
way. The act of union was passed less
| than hundred years ago and the means
employed to carry it were force fraud and
| corruption; it never represented, and GER
tainly does not represent to-day. the free
will of the Irish people. Irishmen have
| H., L "a - -
was passed; we shall continue to fight it
until it is repealed.
THE great English premier, Gladstone.
| saw clearly 1t was not the will of the
| Irish people and realized that to give
| back to Ireland her National Parliament
was only simple act of justice. The
Liberal party went before the country
on the question of home rule and carried
the United Kingdom by a large major
| ity in favor of this policy of restitution.
| The bill giving Ireland home rule became
an act of Parliament, so far as the House
| of Commons was concerned, but was de-
feated in the House of Lords.
eve shall have it yet. We are more
united, more determined, more jealous
in the cause, than we have ever been be-
| fore.
Subsidiary to the principal question
| there are many others of pressing i'm
portance to Ireland. Among these is the
| question of land tenures. The agricul-
| tural situation in Ireland is such that no
tenant farmer can succeed, and self-pres-
ervation demands that it be changed
| This can be accomplished only by the
| abolition of the present system of land
tenures and the substitution for the ten
| ant class of a class of small farmers own
| ing their own lands.
Legislation has been passed which was
designed to give the tenant farmer the
| benefit of the improvements made by
| himself on the lands, but the intended
effect of this legislation has not been
given it by the courts. The result of every
effort of tenant to improve his land has
been the payment by him of a still high
er and more onerous rent.
We'll. we have got to force the land
lords to sell and permit the tenants to
buy. We hope to accomplish this by
making the profession of landowner both
Improbable and unpalatable and to this
end We have used the boycott which we
invented, with good result.
Some estates have been sold and these
the government has permitted the tenants
| to buy. lending them the money to make
the purchase. which is paid back with
! interest at per cent. per annum. Under
| this plan of governmental assistance, the
| principal and interest is repaid at the
! end of thirty-five years. The improvement
| fit mfwy cmfwy cmfw dow dow dow )dw
| in the lands thus taken from the landlords
and become the property of the actual &C.
cupant. has been little less than marvel
| Gus.
Further we are making an effort to re-
| vive our industries, notably the manufac-
| ture of woolens, which was destroyed by
| means of unjust discriminatory acts of the
| English parliament All home manufac-
tured goods are given the preference by
! the people, and we are to hold an exposi-
| ton at Cork, next year, especially to show
the progress in this branch Of our national
| life.
I'VE are endeavoring to perfect our ed
| vocational system and to revive the old
| Gaelic language. We are making studies
/ of our literature and music and theater
for the production of Gaelic plays, has
| been established. In every possible way
we are keeping up the fight for national
independence and we will not be satisfied
with anything less"
| Father Sheehy rather deplored the re-
| cent attack made by William OBrien
editor of the Irish People. upon King
| Edward and Cardinal Vaughn. He
! thought It unseemly that a bucket of
mud from the pathways a man had trod
in his past life should be thrown into his
| face.
Whatever his life has been" said
Father Sheehy. II think 1t should be for
! gotten and the King OF England Judged
/ nv what he does in the future To ma q