The Irish standard., 1908-12-26

13AAVAV 82161Sl ~ -
ties which are claimed for, and gener-
ally, accorded to our couptrlnien-..wit,
poetry, eltluence, passion, vehemence.
And his intellect, unlike that Of 9TH
.er distinguished men,, rested on the
base Of high moral virtue Truth.
candor, courage. were united with his,
intellectual powers, and with simplici-
.ty and tenderness Of character; to form
a perfect man. Nor was he the less
perfect, because the keen but not gen.
erous criticism of modern writer's has
discovered. or fancies that it has dis
covered on. the ample disk of. his glory,
scme tritling spots. In truth, he was
our greatest Irishman: and of the era
Of our greatest glory, he was the. pre-
siding, ruling genius. With a. quick
and eager spirit, ne possessed a direct
ing wisdom;. what he felt to be right,
he pursued with inrpassfoned zeal, and
though his great work, Legislative
freedom, was only. monumental to his
glory, it was as great a fabric as ever
was weaved by human genius and Wis
dom. =.
Such .was the man .who passed
through every stage Of popular affec-
tion and hatred; at one period. idol
lied, at another hunted like a GRIMM
al, he' underwent the chance of being
defied by the people. who afterwards
sought to crush him with the punish:
1i'ent of. a. Sejanus. And though he
outlived the ISLANDERS of his own. day,
and by a long life Of generours devo.
ton to his country, gave. the lie to
contemporary hatred, his memory has
not escaped some mistaken. bpt it is to
be hoped unintentiopal callmnies,
which the ingenuity Of modern critic:
ism has piled upon a, grave that de-
serves to be. guarded with the tender
aid precious love Of a nation, whose
liberties he achieved, and whose. fame
he increased by unequalied genius and
virtue. Her1y Gsattan was the man
Of his age; he contaminated. in few
year what Flood, Wyho;was the, q greater
statesman, but .neither SO. great a. man,
nor, so. great mad worked
for half a life to effect. :.
April 10, 1880, was the day select
ed by Grattan TO- crown the triumph Of
the principles Of Swift, Of Molyteux,
and Lucas: On that day he took pos
session Of the heritage of their wis
dom and gave form to their. noblest
conceptions. Every exert1on had .been
made to impede him his career: he
had been treated as Phaeton rashly
nleddling with the chariot of the sun;
he was described as madman. But
with wise passion he scanned the fu-
ture, he decided that no time was to
be given to the enemies of his coun-
tcy,. and his assault Upon old usurpa-
ton was one full of brilliancy, fire, and
wisdom. No greater day, none Of
more glory, ever rose upon that coun-
try than that which dawned upon the
Senate House of Ireland, on April u.
$780, The dull chronicles Of the time,
and the meagre press which then rep
resented popular opinion. are filed
with details of the circumstances un.
der which Grattan brought forward. his
Declaration of Right. They were cir
cumstances certainly uneaualed. in our
history, of military splendor, and NOR.
[ai triumph. ..
The streets around the Attic temple
OF legislation were thronged with the
disciplined numbers of the Volunteers,
and the impatient multitude Of the
people. The uniforms of the Irish ar.
N.Y. the gaudy orange, the brilliant
scarlet, and; the chaster and more ma
tional green7-turned up with different
feelings, according to the tastes of the
various corps--contrasted gaily, with
the dark background Of the civilian
mass that watched with eager eyes the
extraordinary scene. over the heads
Of the crowd foated the banners of
the Volunteers, with the watchwords
Of freedom and political Regeneration
worked in gold or silver on ground
OF. blue. green, or white. And truly,
the issue to. be tried within the wallis
Q: that magnificent building was one
great in it's effects, and illustrious
from the character of the. econtending
parties: =. -.
It was d trial of right between two
sreat.nitions.btt more, it was to be
either q precedent of freedom or an
argument of. :usurpation. Much de-
pended on the result, not alone as to
the present interests, but as to the
future. destinies Of the country; and
the great men who were engaged in
conducting this controversy of liberty