The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-03-18
movement Won must first become ac-

for out of the latter the former wa:
evolved. 1t was between the year:
1S4O-1S45, a time of great commotiol
in England and France. In England
there was the religious awakening
John Henry Newman, at the head o.
the tractarian movement, leadin:
back to the bosom of the Old Church
the intellectual lights of the great Uni
yersity of Oxford. In France ont
branch of the reigning family wa:
driven forth from that country ant
the other was about to succumb to ;
similar fate at the hands of that mod
ern giant, journalism. 1t WAS at this
period, prolific i'll so many events, thai
three brave young Irishmcn, Caviar
Duffy, John b. Dillon and Thomas Da
Wis, came together and resolved tc
publish IL great newspaper and tt
name it the Nation" 1t was to &C
comp1fsh 4 twofuld purpose, patriotic
and literary. The great O'Connell WAS
striving hard then to libelatc his coun
Try and they considered that a news
Taper, run along the lines they marked
out for it, would be to him of un-
speakable service. From a literary
standpoint ireland was extremely
poor; nothing more than the rude street
ballads could be found in the peas
ants homes. To help along the cause
of the Liberator and supply good lit
erature to the people, the Nation set
itself. What was the result? Light
was discovered in what had hitherto
seemed dark corners. Beautiful coll
tributions in prose and verse poured in
on all sides and soon the poor poetic
effusions the people were wont to read
were laid aside for the Nation
where you could discover the match
ess eloquence of O'Connell, the song
Ind essay of Davis, and the deathless
songs of NIangan and others. This
newspaper became veritable nation
al school where correct principles were
expounded and where apt pupils con-
gregated There we could find men
who became familarized to Americans
afterwards. L. Il. Meagher, Richard
Dalton Williams, Thomas Darcy Nc
Gee and Richard O'Gorman, men
whose lives should be often fondly read
by Irish-Americans, when tempted to
forsake their Irish and American ma
tional sentiments. In 1916 O'Connell
is still fighting for the old cause, and
preaching the doctrine Of moral force
as all-suficient for the attainment Of
his object. That the young men were
weary Of this moral force idea is evil
denced from Meagher's "Eulogy on
the Sword" delivered at this period.
Listen to the manner in which he de-
tends this weapon Of defense: "The
soldier" he says, "is proof against an
argument, but he is not proof against
a bullet. The man that will listen to
reason, let him be reasoned with; but
it is the weaponed arm Of the patriot
that can alone avail against battal-
toned despotism. Then l do not dis
claim the use of arms as immoral, nor
do believe it is the truth to say that
the God Of Heaven withhods his sane
tion from the use Of arms. From the
day on which in the valley Of Bethulia
He nerved the arm Of the Jewish girl
to smite the drunken tyrant in his tent
down to the hour in which He blessed
the insurgent chivalry of the Belgian
priests His Almighty Hand has been
stretched forth from His Throne Of
Light to consecrate the flag Of free
dom, to bless the patriots sword. Be
it for the defense or be it in the asser-
ton of nations liberty, l hail the
sword as a sacred weapon; and if 1t
has sometimes Redeemed the shroud Of
the oppressor, like the Amounted rod
Of the high priest, it has at other times
blossomed into flowers to deck the free
mans brow" This was martial mu-
sic in the ears of O'Connell and most
repugnant also to his ideas. A split
there and then ensued, the younger
patriots adhering to Meagher and his
principles. The aged liberator, now
worn out with many struggles, sad
dened by the disaffection Of his COM
rades, and more than all by the dire
prospect opening up for his people, the
terrible famine Of 1S47, he undertook
pilgrimage to Rome, and on the way
thither, attacked by fatal illness, he
surrendered his spirit to its Maker ut
Genoa, the birthplace of Columbus, in
May, '1S47. The young men, left now
to follow their plans, designed the
Young Ireland" party and planned
an armed Instruction to obtain their
long-delayed rights. The government
appraised of their methods, gave orders
that all those concerned in it should be
Immediately arrested. McGee and
O'Gorman, in disguised garb, fled the
country before the officers of law could
lay hands on them, and reached this
country in safety. Z. Il. Meagher and
his other associates, being arrested
and tried, were found guilty and SEN
fenced to be hanged. This sentence
was not carried out, but they were
transported for life. Ireland could now
be only compared to another Rachel
weeping for her children. 1t was GER
tainly gloomy picture for nation