The Irish standard., 1902-04-05

duty of the Divine Law, and it is not
the eloquent journalistic or platform
preacher of rifles and pom-poms,
Nrupps and Long Toms, who intends
to buy, OF who proposes to use, them
i'll the service of Irish liberty. This,
however, only refers to a profession of
faith. We all know, OF ought to, that
faith, without good works, won't help
II sinner very far on the high road to
Heaven. And so it is in the matter
|'of pious opinion in favor of the en-
pl0yment of arms. 1t will never dis
place single stone in the anti-Irish
'edifice of Dublin Castle. If we believe
in the methods and the principles of
the Beers, we must do as they did
namely. get the arms: and the way
how not to get arms and how not to
convert men to the patriotic wisdom
OF their use in the work of winning
1relands liberty, is to fiercely condemn
all 1rishmen who will not subscribe to
such methods as traitors 'humbugs,'
useless, and all the rest, in the strug-
gle against Ireland's enemy. For my
part. l would have every man in Ire
land armed with rifle tomorrow if
could. The only governments among
civilized nations which dread to have
their subjects armed are unjust gov
ernments. A just government, con-
SciOllS of the Righteousness of its rule.
arms its subjects as a measure of safe
ty for the state, and those powers or
rulers who make the possession of
arms by their citizens crime write
and proclaim in such laws their own
absolute failure and condemnation.
There is not Il single Nationalist in
Ireland today who will not, within the
next twelve months, pay more in tax
alton to the English eXchequer, upon
articles of luxury, like whiskey. tobac-
co, porter and beer. which he is not
compelled to buy. than would purchase
a rifle. This being so, am little
tired of Nationalist opponents of the
United Irish League here in Ireland
who write to America. saying. oh. if
you would only not send money to
Mr.. William O'Bren or to Mr.. John
Redmond in support of constitutional
agitation. but would subscribe. in
stead, to fund for the purchase of
arms, England would soon be brought
to terms Oaughter). This. my friends.
is only the lysteria of a factionist Ma
tionalism which would rather advocate
a movement against Mr.. Redmond and
Mr.. O'I}rien than a real fight against
'England's power in this country. Let
us come down to the canOns of COM
nonsense, and recognise that to beat
foreign rule out of Ireland by force
we must employ force, and plenty of
lit; and, that if we are ever to try, with
any chance of success. to win freedom
by one or both means, we must first
begin by discarding the miserable,
maniacal feud which separates Nation
alistS into scmi-hOstilc camps of phys
zeal and moral force supporters Zap
plause).
'There are. however. sinners on both
sides. Men who rely alone upon con-
stitutional action are equally unrea-
s"nable and as mischicvols in con-
demning means and methods which
have established liberty here and else
where as the political soldiers of the
opposite school. RecOllcct what this
policy Of insane rivalry has done
against our cause in this generation
(chcers). When O'COnncll's movement
had succeeded in banding almost all
Ireland together for repeal. the ardent
advocates of the media of force COM
menced to oppose his organization, and
to urge the use of sterner methods
than agitation. Between the antagon-
ism of the two schools the great fam
inc found Ireland almost without
soul. and completely without courage
Hence the appalling chapter of our
history. which tells of 100000 deaths
from starvation in land with plenty
of food and with 100000 of people,
and which records. to our eternal
shame as race, that there We're not