The Irish standard., 1908-01-25
1t Was the First Place in Ireland From
Which the Stream of Westward
Emigration Began to Flow.
The Recent Strikes Have Brought That City
Before the World in Distinctly
New Character.

clal spirit Of landlordism boldly took
the field, and where the retributive
'lawlessness" of which landlordism
so violently complains, was born; the
place, too, in which landlordism met
it's first defeat in the uprise of that
righteous spirit Of revolt which has
since brought the system to it's knees.
These things occurred early in the
second half of the eighteenth CEN
tury. Previous to this, the term land
lordlsm, afterwards SO fatally famil-
lar in Ireland, was practically un-
known. "The greed which subsequent
ly caused such widespread ruin had
been only secretly and timidly at work.
Popular patience and submission were
construed into popular cowardice. The
clowns, it was assumed, would not
dare to rise against their lords and
masters. What are they. what would
they be but, for us? yelled the despot-
ic feudalist. Wrong must wait its
opportunity as we'll as Right, and the
opportunity of the former was sup
posed to have arrived. The MARQUIS
of Donegal, one of the largest land
lords in the district, led the attack,
Demands Of the most unusual and l1u-
initiating nature were made upon the
tenants, which, according to the ini-
quitous law then, and UP to a COM
partively recent period, still in force,
being strictly legal, would, it was ex-
pected, be Immediately obeyed.
Tyranny never met with a steiner
denial or a more bitter disappoint-
ment. The formation of the Hearts
Of Steel' was the reply-the first
agrarian combination ever set on foot
for the defence of the tenant-farmers
and one that set an example of spirit
and boldness to all similar combina-
tions afterwards. 1t was complete
success-not, however, until after a
prolonged and bitter struggle, during
which "lawlessness" had become ram
pant, and "outrages" were charged
to which the performances of later
days furnish only "a faint parallel. But
though victorious, the people were
not satisfied. The peace that had
been assailed could never again he
what it had been; the spirit that had
been insulted by the touch Of tyran-
ny could not bear the idea of a pos
sible repetition of the humiliation.
Scores Of farms in Down and Antrim
were deserted and crowds Of deter
mined looking men with hearts doub-
ly steeled against their oppressors. met
day after day on the quays of Belfast,
on their way to the American Colonies
The great struggle which was ia
give birth to the United States was on
the eve Of breaking out; and they
We're just in time to take a noble re-
venge on the territorial tyrant who
had made them exiles, and on the
worse tyrant who made his existence
possible, by joining the army of Wash
ington. Thus many of them did and
their descendants are still living in
the State Of Pennsylvania. where most
Of them settled; who can tell you a
story of the "steel Boys" and then
doings which has been handed down
to them from father to son until this
day.
Up to the time Belfast had hardly
a place in Irish history. Outside the
northern end Of Ulster, it was practi.
cally unknown. 1t was almost as new
as was New York at the time of the
War of independence. But though
with a nearly equal population, II
had none Of New York's Importance
as a factor in National affairs. with
these, indeed, 1t seemed to have med.
died little, If at all, as matters outside
its sphere, in which it had no interest
and had hardly a right to have any
1t was still only trading community
making it's living on, strange soil
md Iriah on1., in the rAnao that II xvas