The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1905-12-16

III those halcyon days when the duel
tlourished in Ireland, Galway, as all
the world knows, was 4 name of mar
vel. and many foreigners might we'll
ask, as did the Spaniard when Galway
was the great port Of trade With Spain,
Il couple of hundred years ago: "In
what part of Galway is lreland?" says
Scumas MacManus in the Catholic
Union and Times. 9
We may deplore these duelling days
as much as we wish, but, If duelling
had its abuse, it had likewise It's use.
You could then, within the law, call
out and give it's quietus to any political
wrongdocr. Political and ministerial
robbers of today are not shot they
are only knighted. They could not be
shot, in fact, without raising Il rumprs
Yet, that there is sore need for shoot
ing somebody or other just as an ex-
ample is evident by the fact (Which is
being commented on presently by the
Irish press) that while Ireland is taxed
to the extent of eleven million three
hundred and forty thousand pounds,
the predominant Partner"-as Lord
Roschcry cuphonistically likes to term
|it-pockcts between two ANA three mill
lions of this amount ana spends the
greater portion of the remainder upOn
bayoncts ana swords for terrorizing
purposes ana upon men to carry
them. Foolish people occasionally ask
apropos of Home Rule. how would
Ireland exist without great, rich Eng
land at her back? You could hardly
mike these foolish people believe. al
though the blue books prove ii, that
England stands at our back only to
pick II pocket-to the tune of two and
three million pounds II year
| Yet, be it well remembered that
, England is not to blame for every
thing; we bring many of our woes
upon ourselves. We voluntarily pay
| into the British cXchcuucr every year
| seven million pounds. that being the
amount of tax collected annually in
ireland upon tobacco ana upon spirits.
is on spirits alone. ana on the day
that lrishmcn resolve to become man
lier men by forcswcaring spirits COM
! pletely, they will not only have Gle
waited themselves, but they will have
struck IL blow ut the golden link by
| which we draw and bind England to
us. IT will be said that we do not
drink more than do IInglishmen or
Scotchlnen or Observation-Disclosures
why should we be in the running at
all?
| ! suppose we shall continue smoking
tobacco, for which we pay, yearly, q
customs tax of one-nnd-a- half million
pounds; but If we grew our own to-
bacco, we would save a certain
amount. The experimental tobacco
| crops, that are these years being
| grown in ireland, have shown up very
well this year. Col. Everard, in the
County Meath. has been publishing re-
suits. He grew IA twenty-acre field
in tobacco this year at Il total produce
ton cost Of four hundred pounds. The
value Of the plant taken off was a
thousand pounds-which means a net
| profit OF thirty pounds per acre An
| American expert, who inspected the
coionefs crop. pronounced the leaf bet
ter than the American The Tara
cigar may yet relegatc the Havana to
| deserved obscurity.
In Ireland we should have spirits
! enough. without having recourse to
the bottled article-and l think we
have The great thunderer, the Times
| of London, is just now laundering be-
cause of an emulation of spirits on
the part of Dublin students the other
day--a combination of boyish spirit
and national spirit. At the comforting
of degrees of the Royal University the
ceremony has ever been wound up bv
some great musician playing upon the
organ the English national anthem,