The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-03-14

profah MY TO tmpugn. Everyone WHO
ever 'iAeamed Of altering, or attempted
to alter the laws of land-holdinp In
ireland, has been denounced az q
Communist and IN enemy Of human
society, If not of God.
The religious aspect of the question
became evident when the curse of the
"Reformation' movement was extend.
ed to Ireland. Those old Catholic
families who held out against that
moverIent paid not only the penalty
Of ther lives. as rule, but their land.
ed possessions We're confiscated by the
Crown and transferred to English ad.
venturcrs or more complaint Irish kin.
dred who had performed some vile
service for the English rulers. Much
land was conflscated in Munster under
Elijah eth, but this was as nothing
when compared with what was done
by james the First when he took up
the work Of persecption. Six whole
counties In Ulster, the property Of
Irish Catholic tribes, were dcclared for.
feited the Crown, on the flimsy pre-
text that the two principal chiefs, o.
Ncill and O'Donnell, had quilted tho
island without the new monnrch's pcr.
mission although ns n matter of fact.
they We're not aware that any change
had taken place in the sovereignty.
since Il lizabeth's death and James
accession occurred while they were
travelling on the high seas. The Irish
Catholic. tribes were driven out at the
point o. the pike an1 the mllzzle Of tho
blundclb bus ava Il horde of the worst
KIND OF rcbble, the offscourings of the
Scottish lowlands and tho English
cities, was shipped over and set to
swarm over the faircst lands Of Tir.
connell. Then arose the walls of
"Londol derry" and began that bitter
contest between the Irish denizens of
the "bo, side" and those Of the encinc-
tured city above it, which has never
halted tt this day. All over Ulster this
conflict Degan, In greater or lesser vol.
umc alNi nspellty, since it was found
physically impossible either to kill or
drive Of all the original tllers of the
SOIL These took 10 the neighboring
hills or boglands, and commenced a
system of harrying the crew who had
supplantsl them, which continued
down to the end Of the eighteenth cen.
fury, AMI which, under changed con.
ditions, ;urvives in some measure to
the present day.
Under Cromwell similar process.
carried out with still more ferocious
concomitants, took place in the PROV
inccs. Tue "Popish' landlords were
extcrminntcd ruthlessly, and their
lands wee drawn by lot in the back
room Of !, Dublin tavern. Protestant
landlords succeeded the old race Of
Catholic 'nes with whom the tenants
had maintained the most kindly rela.
ti0ns. Tie number Of Irish Catholic
families effected by the Cromwellian
conliscatiuns may he estimated by the
fact that 900 officers were on the lists
supplied 10 King Charles II, as those
who had either mortgagcd or lost their
estates in his own and his fathers
cause during the Cromwellian and
Confedera ion wars, and whose wives
and children were in q destitute or
condition in consequence. At
Brcda the king undertook to restore
the properly Of those faithful follow
ers; in London, when firmly planted on
the throne he abandoned them to their
fate and scented to the will confirm
ing his ia hers enemies and his own
in their possession Of the homes Of
those who gave their blood and their
lives for II cir sake.
A third great confiscation befell
when the llouse of Stuart was finally
driven from the throne. Ireland, un-
happily, had sided with the miserable
James II, I'd once again the old Cath
olic families suffered for their devo-
ton and IL ralty. No transaction in
history aft. ds a parallel to this, in
shameless iIse pretenses. The victor
ious VILLA: lites mad the effrontery to