The San Francisco call., 1909-09-16
TORTURE MADE REBELS
OF IRISH PEASANTRY
Dissolution of Parliament Effected by Brbing Members
With Patents Of Nobility and Buying Seals
BY HUGH SUTHERLAND
frventy-second letter.


humiliation of granting legislative In
dependence in 17s2 The manufactured
rebellion and the excesses which fol-
lowed furnished the excuse. and 1t was
decreed that the Irish parliament
should be wiped out. merged with the
parliament at Westminster. True. the
Irish parliament was virtually the
property of the landlord minority with
some honorable exceptions. the mem
bers were leaders or benefciaries of
the intolerable system OF minority rule.
yet at least it had the form OF an hon.
estly representative legislature, and in
time might have been regenerated by
public opinion. But it was doomed to
extinction.
lish rule in Ireland lacks the bloody
stains of those which preceded it, but.
If it is possible, is more disgraceful
Pitt might have accomplished the union
by force. but he chose to encompass
1t by corruption, and make ireland pay
the cost OF her own betrayal
In its first attempt, in the session
defeat. the opposition being made up
OF patriots and of the selfish owners
of rotten boroughs," who, under the
plan of the union. would lose many
of the parliamentary seats which they
owned" This gave the government an
opportunity to split the opponents OF
the measure. 1t set out deliberately
-
boroughs which the change would ex-
tinguish.
All through the year 1893 emissaries
OF the government were busy upon
their unholy mission No less than
S6,300.0O0 was expended in buying the
borough seats. Nor was this all, pat
ents of nobility 60 were scattered law
ishly bribes. Among the betrayers
twenty-five Irish peerages. six English
peerages and twenty-five promotions
in the Irish peerage, as rewards for the
dirty sale OF Irelandss rights.
The Irish parliament met for the
last time on January Is, 1900. The OPP
ponents of the union-Protesants and
Catholics-presented petitions against
the plan from 26 of the 80 counties. A
fiery debate began. In the midst of IL
came dramatic Interruption Graf
tan, weak and i'll, walked slowly into
the house, supported by two friends.
Retiring, sick at heart, from the USE
less struggle against corruption in
1877, the leader had come back at the
call of his country.
His presence and his eloquence in
spired the opposition, but nothing
could overcome the effect OF the de-
bauchery of the members. On an
amendment to the address indorsing
the independence settled in 1882, the
vote was 96 TO 13S, a government ma
1ority of A. A month later Gerry,
chancellor OF the exchequer. moved the
resolutions adopted in the British par
lament ernbodying the articles of
union. He took occasion TO make a
base attack on Grattan. III as he was.
the leader retorted in a fiery speech,
branding Cory as a coward and VII
lain They met at dawn in the Phoe-
nix park and Grattan had the satisfac-
tion of putting a. bullet in the slander-
er's arm.
But the beginning of the end had
come The various resolutions leading
to the union were jammed through
and the final bill was passed on Nav
&c by a vote of 153 TO SO. This is the
comment of Charles George WalpoIe,
historian:
Thus ended the parliament OF the
English colony in Ireland. 1t was
never in any sense representative of
the nation II was the corrupt en-
bodiment of a dominant race. It sold
the birthright of the nation for its own
selfish ends There had not. even been
dissolution to test the opinion OF the
constituencies. the proposal to consult
the people upon a question so vital TO
their interests having been sternk
condemned by Pitt. The most remark
able and creditahle thing about the
whole transaction was that so many
members of the lower house were
found whose integrity the government
was unable TO corrupt and whose
honor 1T was powerless to purchase
BY a supreme stroke or irony. the
cost Of the cOuntry's betrayal more
tfan 81 900. was charged to the na-
tional debt Of Ireland and made per-
The record OF infamy was complete.
The world has accepted the deliberate
Judgment of Gladstone
There is no blacker or fouler trans
action in the history of man" he de-
ciared, than the making of the union
between Great Britain and Ireland"
Thus. after 700 years OF spoliation
by violence and penal enactments
England had completed the subsection
of Ireland by robbins her of her
shadow of a parliament under a cloak
of constitutional methods For bet
ter or worse the kingdoms were united.
1t was to be no longer possible to
blame Irish wrongs upon the "zarrf-
son. England assumed the RESPONSE
bility herself During the nineteenth
century she was to open a new account
with Ireland. The world. better in
formed and more watchful than In
those other days, has been able to ex-
anime the account.
1t is. truly. record far more honor
able than that OF the preceding CEN
turtles Many evils have been swept
away. many wrongs righted. But the
fact remains that England Is stiu
vastly in Ireland's debt