The Irish standard., 1902-11-01

two years ago, met him in Marseil-
| les with an address i'll the Gaelic
! the Nationalist of Ireland. (Ap-
plause) And while in Marseilles, l
fraternizcd with ut least one hundred
representative journalists from every
country in Europe. and l have recent
ly met some of those journalists in
Paris, and we are contemplating es-
tublishiEg i'll Paris and in New York
Il news transmission agency which
will be independent of London.
Great applausc)
Il think you will all agree with me
that Ireland has never occupied
more honored or Il more dignitied po-
Sition in the affairs of the world for
the last 100 years than when her ma
tionalist Representatives in the House
of Commons, speaking for mainly Il
Catholic people, fought on the floor
of the Imperial Parliament the cause
of the two struggling Protestant re-
publics of South Africa. (Applause.)
1t was the cause of liberty, and
therefore it was the duty of Mr.. Red
mond and his friends to stand by it.
But l was proud some four weeks ago,
when spending four or five days in
The Hague in Holland with General
Dewet and General Delarey, when
General Dewet got up and shook me
by the hand as l was leaving, and
gave me this message which has
never vet been given to the public.
through the modesty of the gentle
man to whom it was given.
"He said to me, MIR. Davitt, want
you to convey to John Redmond and
to his colleagues my sincere thanks
for the help which they have render
ed to the cause in the imperial Parlia-
ment (applause), for outside of assist
ance given to us by our own race, the
Dutch race the Irish people have been
our best friends (Applause.)
"Wcl, l was proud of getting that
message, but l remembered another
conversation l had heard two years
ago when, one morning, riding along
side of the late General Philip Botha
(applause) from Ospruit camp to
rcconnoitre the English forces north
of Boemfontein, he leaned over my
saddle and said: MIR. Davitt,' for he
spoke English well, can you tell me
how many of your people there are in
: are supposed to have about 2O,O0O,-
OOO.' How many have they sent to
help us in South Africa against Ire
lands enemy| My answer was, and
| felt bitterly the humiliation Of the
| moment, Forty men, He said to me-
t If after Pardcburg your people in
l America had sent lis 5000 men We
, would have smashed England III
, South Africa Great Applause.) AND
do not care who it offends or who
e it startles, either here or in London
$ (Applause.) l shall go down to III!
: grave believing that our race il
T. America deserted the cause of Irelant
c and the cause of liberty during tina
!. war. (AppauseD
e at may be that l am speaking al
e indiscreton in saying here that sue
assistance should have been givel
t but, my God, where in the history O
e battles for freedom anywhere durin
S the last 300 or 400 years have Irisl
Il men not fought? for, while we hav
IL committed blunders, many agains
# ourselves, we have not been the activ
l. enemies of freedom anywhere.
Il 81 only wish to say this when tai
It ing leave from this topic. When thos
Y, on this continent who failed thes
d two brave little republics, who mad
o the nose heroic fight in histor
n against overwhelming odds, and thOs
\ people who have failed to rendt
Il them help wish to criticisc us and OF
e methods, | trust they will remcmbt
.. what l have said to you. applause
" II think | have got to the end {
Il my difficulty. The clock of Fancu
It Hall never registers any hour but
l. Lauyhtcr) 1t stood there II ycal
It ago, when l stood on this platform
$ when l made my first speech to
e sympathetic audience. Necessaril
" one is 21 years nearer the end of u
1T narrow span of life, but there is
" consolation in the thought that OF
j. is 81 years nearer the end Of u
ic struggle against English infamy
H. Ireland. (ApplauseD l have believ
,g firmly and fondly from that day
ne fcrrcd to by my friend Fincrty
at Mayo, that l would live to see t
day when landlordism would be
a Gently buried in Ireland. (Applaus
IL | hold to that belief tonight. Not OF
in that, believe that l will see the @
IT. of English rule in Ireland. e.
20, plause.)
at "AIy friends and here tonight lii
ii many enemies, as you know, and h;
NJ been illuminated all through our
pc litical careers by the enemies OF {
'sc country, but we have no object,
III. material object anyhow, i'll striving
it tlo our duty for Ireland. Our
w. ward. while we are performing Il
lis duty, is the confidence of our o