The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1903-12-05

4
plans for freedom, most grand anc
heroic in its Climax, if not that oil
Theobald Wolfe Tone? Next to EN-
NETS his was the name that inspired
/ the Irish soldier in America and nerv-
ed him to desperate chances in Ireland
or on the Canadian border, and made
then and now irrevocable the VOW of
loyalty to liberty and nationality. Can
the most bitter and malignant enemy
OF ireland point to story so strange,
! so noble, SO elevating and so entranc-
ing as his autobiography? If Ireland
had produced but this one man the es-
pousal Of her cause with the sacrifice
OF his life would have made good her
claims to every part of justice which
she seeks, and nerved her arm against
every wrong which she tries to extir-
pate. We see him at the court of
Napoleon one day begging for French
aid, the next on the ramparts defend
ing French honor, again in the unset
wv WINS vi 1AllcIlCa increasingly
planning the discontinue OF his coun-
trys enemies, and the relief of his ma
tive land; we see him sacrifice ON the
altar Of his patriotism the tendercst
ties OF his heart, the most loving as
ISOLATION OF friends, and leaving his
little family to the mercy of God and
the kindness of strangers, departing
to make one last struggle for the lib
Grafton OF his land. Buffeted by mis-
fortune, pursued by malice, thwarted
by the elements, refusing to leave the
ship, or disgrace the uniform Of
France which he wore, or the honor
OF Ireland in his keeping, we find him
at last basely betrayed by his alleged
Trend, and savagely sacrificed by his
country's enemies. And yet in these
rich and later days we are asked in
some quarters to forget his memory
to look upon him as delirious and
impracticable revolutionist, to love
that which he hated and to hate that
which he loved, to abandon his ideals.
to send his memory into oblivion, and
the example OF his life to be held lid
only as warning to check every gen
erous impulse and repress every ma
tional aspiration.
The methods of the times have in
deed changed, but have the ends for
which lie strove disappeared? Has
the goal for which he travelled from
hoyhood to manhood turned out to be
mirage OF the imagination-an ell
chantment to bcwilder and confuse?
Is it not possible to travel by modern
methods and present circumstances
and still arrive in the temple of lib
crty, or is the old and beaten course
the only avenue that leads to success?
The weapons OF the day have changed,
but the hand must still be firm, the
heart must still be bold the mind must
still be convinced the soul must still
be determined, if Ireland is to reach
the high seat for which Emmett died
and Tone strove, toiled and died, and
Allen, Larkin and O'Brien laid down
their lives.
No divided councils must give en-
enlargement to the enemy; no light
resolves change the passing currents; :,
no fitting determination, no waverng
conviction, can win a battle so dcsper-
ate, a prize SO high and imperishable
These martyrs have passed Away, but
the seed OF the martyrs is still viric
and invincible in the heart Of Ireland.
The spirit Of the martyr is still with
them. The holy communion OF the
martyrs is privilege and refresh
ment. The army of the martyrs shed
their blessing and their praise on their
cause and cry for harmony, resolution
and unyielding courage. And have
these men died in vain? And all Ire
land answers no, and all ireland
claims that from their graves have
risen grand results, glorious achieve
ments, and splendid progress As the
bodies of Allen, L.arkin and O'Brien
went through the fatal drop the alien
church i'll Ireland began to crumble to
its ruin, as a government establish
ment a. most oppressive institution, a
grinding burden placed in the name
OF religion on the backs OF the vast
ma ority OF the Irish people.
What did ireland gain by the trag-
cdy OF Tone and the sacrifice of the
Manchester martyrs? The discstablisl-
ment OF an alien church, substantial
progress along the lines toward land
lord abolition, an agitation for SELF
government, which under Mr.. Parnell
shook the very foundations Of the
British empire, resulting in larger de-
crees Of local government, and the axe
at the root OF the Upas tree OF land
lordism-and, finally, the recent ac-
acknowledgement of an English king,
made on Irish soil, that Ireland is dis
tinctly and separately in all her char
acteristics and destiny nation apart
fSom England, over which she rules,
and that the sentiments of the majority
OF her people, and not those of a mar
row and bigoted minority, are the true
source of the public opinion which,
dominates her councils.