The Irish standard., 1901-03-23
He 81. Patrick's Day Speech on the
Anxlo-BoeD War.


ment ever devised by man.
"The distinctions which exist be
tween our form of government ant
that of monarchies, limited or other
wise, are particularly emphasized ir
the recent address to parliament of Ed
ward VII, the new king Of Great Brit
ain and Ireland and emperor of India
Gle assures parliament that my re-
lations with other powers continue to
be friendly while he rejoices that the
capitals Of the two South African re-
publics ARE in my hands,, and he tells
parliament that my troops will deal
effectively with the forces of the enc
my Such expressions sound strange
ly upon our ears in free America. Here
we would tolerate no such assumption
of superiority and power as those
terms imply. Loyalty here means 10y
atty to ourselves-to our own consti-
tuted but not inherited authorities.
1.-THE kings address deserves further
notice in passing. He characterized the
resistance of the brave Dutch farmers,
heroically defending their liberties, as
'fruitless guerilla warfare, maintained
by the Boer partisans in the former
territories Of the two republics He
further asserts that their easy sub
mission is much to be desired in their
own interest He then adds: Until
it takes place it will be impossible for
ME to establish in those colonies insti.
buttons which will secure equal rights
to all the white inhabitants and protec-
ton and peace to the native poDula-
tion.'
"These are most remarkable utter
ances in this progressive and enlight-
ened twentieth century. We submit
that it does hot render the British
cause any more righteous by stigma
tlzing the Beers rs partisans instead
OF patriots, nor to obtain the exact
military situation by seeking to regard
their resistance as fruitless guerilla
warfare
1.-THE apathy of this great republic in
this emergency, while witnessing the
destruction of two struggling republics
in South Africa and the substitution of
monarchical government in their
place is almost ncomprehcnsible.
eff it be urged in defense Of our ma
tlonal lethnrgy that the Monroe doc
trlnc presents no objection to the de-
structlon of republics elsewhere than
upon this continent, it may well be an
swercd that neither did that doctrine
contemplate an attempt upon our part
to extend our jurisdiction into the Pa
ciflc seas.
But whether it can be seriously cs-
tabllshed that there rested upon this
nation the positive duty of interference
III the first instance to protect it's two
sister republics from humiliation at
the hands of a monarchical govern
ment, it is suggested that at least it
was our national duty to insist that
the alleged grievances of Great Brit
ain which formed the prctext for its
warfare upon the two weak republics
should be submitted to arbitration be-
fore hostilities were actually opened
1.-THE country cannot have forgotten
so quickly the attitude which was as
sumed by this government only few
years since, when serious differences
arose between Great Britain and Vene-
zuela over disputed boundary lire.
"The essential principle established
in that international controversy was
briefly this: That strong and power
full monarchy must submit it's alleged
differences with weak republic to ar
bitratiOn or else the United States will
not permit the monarchy on pretense of
such differences to crush the republic.
ut is singular circumstance that,
aside from a mere formal tender of the
friendly offices Of this government to
the respective belllgerents Great Brit
ain promptly and rather tartly de-
clined), there has been no manifesto
tion of our rational interest in the out
come of the struggle; there has been
no protest raised against the cruel con-
summation of the wrongs; there has
been permitted in congress not even n
mild expression of sympathy for the
struggling republics; and they have
been confronted, not only with cold
neutrality. but with manifest indif-
ference to their fate, and there has
been an apparent abandonment Of the
new American doctrine, which was
proclaimed so vigorously and effective
ly in 1895.
II do not violate any confidence when
I state that an interview I had in
Washington In December last with en-
President Harrison-one of our great
est lawyers and statesmen, whose re-
cent death the whole country is now
lamenting- in discussing some consti-
tutional question not now necessary to
be mentioned and reference had been
made to the South African struggle,
he suddenly turned to me, and with
much feeling and impressiveness> said: