The Irish standard., 1903-04-25

witt can consistently support the new
The purposes Of both are the same
To-day ireland is on the eve of q
new national life. 1t was only two
years ago that George Wyndham, was
given absolute reign. He was ignorant
OF Irish affairs, deaf to appeals, and
became tired to the appeals Of the PEG.
pie. The only thing he had to offer
was that the landlords and tenants
should bring the fight to an end"
Mr.. Devlin then went on to show
how the tenants soon were at the
mercy of the landlords, who combined
and entered upon new tyrannies. 1t
was an uneven contest.
a new order Of affairs soon pre-
vailed; trial by jury was abolished,
the press was gagged, and every
effort possible to squelch the national
spirit was resorted to.
But after eighteen months the advo-
Gates Of the new order had to admit
themselves beaten.
Mr.. Devlin emphasized the absurdity
of Ireland ever having any hope in
physical force against England. 1t
must all be brought about by other
methods.
"When the land league was organ
ized," he said, ''there was not a
peasant who could call his soul his
own. But the league made him free
man, and to-day the Irish farmer
counts for more than the landlord or
agent"
In referring to the new land bill, Mr..
Devlin said:
1--WE now have measure that will
break the system that has eaten to
the very heart of the nation"
Mr.. Devlin called attention to the
fact that the old order of things had
resulted in the country being drained
of it's life blood; now there only re-
mains old people and children. The
emigration each year amounts to 49,
600. Ireland should be for the Irish,
and it's valuable traditions should be
preserved. The Irish should be in
duced to remain there.
"Let me impress this upon you," he
said. ''If the land question is not
solved in our generation, it is only a
matter of time when the Irish in the
United States, Canada and elsewhere
will become like the wandering Jew
a man without country"
The proposed land act had already
it's effect, he said. There are indus
trial indications. The land question
he considered the basis Of industrial
progress, and by it the people will be
given the opportunity to build their
own country's future.
In discussing the act of one hundred
years ago, which provided that only
non-Catholics could hold public office,
Mr.. Devlin made the following re-
mark, which was vigorously ap-
plauded:
II will say, as an Irish Catholic, that
will sooner be governed by hundred
men who differ with me religiously, if
they are of my own people, than by
hundred foreigners, though they may
have the same faith"
Mr.. Devlin spoke with considerable
pride of the stand taken by the Irish
in parliament during the Boer war.
Although Inducements were held out
to Ireland to assist Great Britain i'll
the war it was waging in South
Africa, this people would not for any
gratuity take part against another peo-
pie fighting for liberty. On the other
hand, the Irish members had contin-
ually exposed to the world during the
Poer war what Mr.. Devlin termed
'crimes against humanity"
Rev. Father Cleary, on being intro
duced by the governor, spoke briefly,
complimentlng Mr.. Devlin on his able
address and commencing the work in
which he was engaged. Frank NJ.
Nye and Chris. A Gallagher also ad-
dressed the audience and at the con-
clusion of the meeting liberal COL
lection was taken up.