The Irish standard., 1906-03-10
PHILLIPS TRIBUTE
What the Silver Tongued Orator
Had to Say Of
Ireland's Champion Of Liberty,
Daniel O'Connell.

! do not think exaggerate when
say that never since God made De.
mosthenes has He made a man bet.
ter fitted for great work than He die
O'Connell. You may say that am par.
ttal; but John Randolph, of Roanoke
who hated an Irishman almost as much
as he did a Yankee, when he got to
London and heard O'Connell, the old
Shareholder threw up his hands and
exclaimed: This is the man, those
are the lips. the most eloquent that
speak English in my day." and think
he was right.
Webster could address a bench OF
judges; Everett could charm a college;
Rufus Choate could delude a jury;
Clay could magnetic senate, and
Ton, Corwin could hold a mob in his
| right hand, but no one of these men
could do moro than this one thing.
The wonder about O'Connell was that
he could out-talk Corwin, he could
charm a college better than Everett,
and leave Henry Clay far behind in
magnetizing senate.
1t has been my privilege to have
heard all the great orators of America
who have become singularly famed
about the worlds circumference. I
know what was the majesty of Web
ster; I know what it was to meet un-
der the magnetism of Henry Clay; l
have seen eloquence in the iron logic
Of Calhoun; but all three Of these men
never surpassed and no one Of them
ever equalled the great 1rishman. 1
have hitherto been speaking Of his
ability and success, will now consider
his character
To show you that he never took
leaf from our American gospel Of COM
promise, that he never filed his tongue
to silence on one truth fancying so to
help another, let me compare him to
Kossuth, whose only merits were his
eloquence and his patriotism. When
kossuth was in Faneuil Hall, he ex-
claimed, Here is flag without a
STAIN nation without a crime"
We abolitiontsts appeal to him. 20
eloquent son. OF the Magyar. come to
break chains, have you no word, no
pulse-beat for four millions of negroes
bending under yoke ten times hca-
vier than that Of Hungary"
He exclaimed, Il would forget any
body. would praise anything, to help
Hungary"
O'Conne!l never said anything like
that.
When l was in Naples 1 asked Sir
Thomas Buxton: rs Danicr O'Connell
an honest man?"
''As honest man as ever breathed,"
said hc and then he told me the fol-
lowing story: When, in 1880, O'Con-
nell first entered Parliament, the anti
slavery cause was so weak that 1t had
only I4ushington and myself to speak
for it, and we agreed that when he
spoke should cheer him up. and when
spoke he should cheer me, and these
were the only cheers we ever got.
O'Connell came with one irish member
to- support him. A large party of
members Il think Buxton said twenty
seven) whom we called West India in
terest. the Bristol party. tho slave par
'ty, went to him saying "O'Connell, ut
last you are in the House with one
helper--if you will never go down to
Freemason's Hall with Buxton and
Brougham, here are twenty seven votes
for you on every Irish question. If you
work with those abolitionists, count us
always against you"
Ii was a terrible temptation. How
many Il so-called statesman would
have yielded! O'Connell said:
Gentlemen, God knows speak for
the saddest people the sun sees; but
may my right hand forget its cunning
and my tongue cleave to the roof Of
my mouth, If to help 1reland-even
Ireland-1 forgot the slave one single
hour"
From thar day." said Buxton
"Lushington and never went into the
lobby that O'Connell did not follow
u.s.
And then besides his irreproachable
character, he had what is half the
power Of a popular orator, he had 9
majestic presence. In youth he hae
the brow of Jupiter or Jove. and thu
stature Of Apollo. A little O'Connel
would have been no O'Connell at all
Sydney Smith says Of Lord John Rus
sells five feet. when he went dow
to Yorkshire after the Reform Bill ha'
passed, the stalwart hunters Of York
} shire exclaimed, what, that littl
shrimp he carry the Reform Bill!
! "No, no." said Smith, che was larg
: man, but the labors Of the bill shrunl
: him"
You remember the story that Rus
{ sell Lowell tells of Webster when W
in Massachusetts, were about to brea
up the Wing party. Webster cam
, home to Faneuil Hall to protest, an
e four thousands wings came out t
meet him. He lifted up his majesti