The Irish standard., 1902-08-23

majority of the representatives of the
counties and considerable towns, and
to innumerable addresses from all
parts of the country. The Union was
a crime of the deepest turpitude, which
by imposing with every circumstance
of infamy new form of government
in reluctant and protesting nation
has Vitiated the whole cause of Irish
opinion. Lord Gray, speaking after
the Union in England, pointed out that
there We're 800 members in the Irish
parliament. OF that number 100 men,
bers strongly opposed the Union, and
162 voted in favor of it; and of those
1G2, 1O6 were placement in the pay of
| the English government (applause.l
| Now from that day to this Ireland has
never ceased to protest against the
usurpation of the government of Ire
| land by the English parliament. She
has never ceased to protest according
to the circumstances and the oppor
tunities of the moment She has pro-
tested by means of armed insurrec-
tons, and generation after generation
has witnessed brave and gallant men
sacrificing in the prison cell or on the
scaffold in defense of Irish freedom
(applause) She has protested against
it by agitation-never ceasing agita-
tion-protested against it from gener-
alton to generation, on the floor of the
foreign assembly to which the Irish
representatives have been sent zap
plauSel 1t is quite true that Ireland
has from time to time been willing to
compromise her claim for the restUla-
ton of GlIttan's coordinate Parliu-
| ment. For example, she was willing
in the days of Isaac Butt to accept Il
place in a federal union. She was
willing in the time of Parnell to accept
such a settlement as Gladstone Of
fered. And l say here today-and l
claim that | am entitled to speak on
this point with authority (hear, hear)-
l claim today that Ireland and the
Irish Party stand On this quest III pre-
cisely where Palnell stood in 'S6 (hear.
hear.) Although that lis 50, Ireland
has always denied and Ireland still
denies that the Union was binding
upon her either legally or morally zap
plause.) And here Oh this historic o.
casion we have assembled to renew
our protest and to place it upon record
Well, England thus destroyed our con-
stitution in 1900. What has she given
us in return? Has she given us in re-
| turn her own constitution? Nothing
of the kind. Never for one single hour
since the Union WAS passed has Ire
land been Il constitutiOnally-g governed
country (hear, hear, Never for one
hour has the sovereign of England
Ireland. Ireland, in effect, has since
1900 been governed as a crown col my,
| with certain empty forms and pre-
fences of cOnstitutionalsm Never for
| one hour have the elected representa-
| tiN2s of the majority of the Irish peo-
| pie had the control or even Il potent
voice in the government of this coun-
try. Never for one hour since then has
THE English government of Ireland
rested upon anything except naked
fIrcc and unabaSheG corruption Never
for one hour has the British constitu-
ton been in force in this country.
whose own constitution was destroyed.
Why. the mere fact that in one hun
| dred years, eighty-seven Coercion
Acts have been passed by the English
parliament for Ireland, in spite of
Irish protest. is sufficient to establish
| the facts that l have alduced. Mar
| tial law. suspense II of the habeas cor
pus. suspension of trial by jury, sup
| preston OF free spepch-thase have
been tile permanent blessings con-
| ferrcd on Ireland by the destruction
of the Irish constitution Chear. hear. J
No single reform, large or smlll has
ever been obtained by purely consti-
tutional methods (applause) Let any
Englisllman who questions that, an
swer this question. Let him point to
any single act of Justice or reform
which has not been eXtorted in one
way or another from the British par
lament by force or by fear zap
plause.l Catholic emancipation, false
ly promised before the Union, granted
in the words of Wellington, to avoid
civil war. The Church Act and tile
Land Act, pro iuccd by the influence
OF Fenhlnsm Clplaus@l was inter
ested the other day III reading an arti-
Gle which appeared in the wear 1881
III the 'Ninetcenth Century" written
by tile late Lord Derby Mr.. Glad
stone has III these recent times often
been censurcd for declaring that the
! Church Act and the Land Act were
the result Of Feniunism. Let me
| quote the words of the late Lord Der
by, who cannot be questioned us an ad-
equate representative exponent of
English Unionist opinion. He said:
The Fenian movement ayitated Ire
land from 1864 to 1867, producing
among other results the Clprkenwell
explosion. Mr.. Gladstones statement
as to the effect of this and similar
attempts on the public mind of Eng