The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-06-28

1 political philosophers Ireland has ever | produced. That man was Edmund 1 Burke whose firm integrity. advanced 1 ideas, and broadminded views had such weight and importance in the aI- fairs of the time. Although brought | up in the Protestant religion Of his | father, he never ceased to respect the Catholic religion of his mother, which l taught him the all important lesson | of tOleratiOn.
 When young, he went to Q school iu l Ballitore, and from there entered | Trinity college in Dublin, where he | He was then enrolled in the Middle l Temple in London, as student of law, | according to his fathers wishes; but | soon rejected it for the pursuit of lit erature and philosophy, which was
 more to his liking. His father, an- gered al his sons action, cut off his l allowance and forced him to eke out his own living by writing, a most dan gerous occupation for a penniless youth. Thus thrown on his own re-
 sources, Burke commenced to do
 "hackwork" for publishers, practical | ly living from hand to mouth. Grad
 ually his reputation for literary talent | grew and soon was increased by the i publication of several works, one Of which was "A Vindication of Natural Society,". It was intended for satire
 on Bolingbroke; but, being annonym- | OuS, and on account of the clever tmi- tation by it's author, it was taken for | the work of Bolngbroke himself, and greatly praised. Burke, in second edition, cleared up the matter and gave his reasons for writing 1t. Later, he edited the Annual Register at 4 small profit to himself, but demon strated his able talent at every issue. Gradually coming in contact with notable men, he formed many profit able acquaintances. It was at this | time that he became secretary to a
 MT. Hamilton, then travelling in Ire land. During this service, Burke first
 saw the oppression and persecution
 of it's inhabitants, the memories of
 which he kept forever in mind and l which, probably, urged him later to his noble defense of the suffering col onies. But his lofty independence of spirit would not permit him to serve Hamilton entirely, and he returned to London. Soon after, in recognition of his general ability and of his knowI- .
 edge of politics, shown in his work on I the Annual Register" he became sec . retary to Lord Rockingham, when 1atter's influence, he was elected to
 Parliament from the borough of : Wendover.
 The Stamp Act. At this time, Parliament was strug- gling with the taxation of American 7 colonies, the main question being the . Stamp Act, that infamous bill, which 1
 was forcing the suffering colonies into I | u
 that Burke, in several remarkable speeches employed his powerful elo- 2 quence and wisdom. His noble sense of justice and his fierce hatred against disorder and oppression, inf1amed and urged him on. Through hIs passiona te eloquence and able argum ments, the re- peal of the Stamp Act was brought about, and great praise was paid to {. the ministry for it's noble work. Soon kafter, Burke left Parliament because of ha 6iSS0lVinO a could have held office with possible reward in the new administration. but, true to his principles, he remained with his friends and took his fate with his party. Later, in eloquent address
 Burke attacked the action of Pariia-
 ment and the King, in regard to the member Wilkes This was a supreme test for his knowledge of public af- fairs, in which he lived up to his repu-
 tation, accusing Parliament of expelI- ing the member, unconstitutionally, and expressing the opinion that a con- stituency may elect whom it p1eases. "The Present Discontents," he fear 1essly attacked the King for corrupt ing a Parliament and creating discord in the government. DiSHking to change the constitution, as remedy for the evils, and claiming that the fault was with the representatives, he urged the citizens to watch and regulate their repr esentatives' actions.
 Burke, who mad NlrIualfy become the leader of his faction, devoted his energies to keeping the Rockingham Whigs united; refusing for his party's
 sake a fattering offer to go to India as commissioner to overhaul the af- fairs of the East India company.
 through France, perceiving the first signs fof the later cOnvulsions and on his return sounded a shrill note of warning for the future Revolution.
 I,i roIa ov,-1
 to justice was not for naught. for soon, he was named as candidate for
 Bristol, one of the largest constit- uencies of the country Burke's splen-
 did characteristic of independence was exemplif1ed, when, after the election,
 he said, The representatives unbiased
 opinion, his mature judgment, his enlightened constitution, he ought not to sacrifice to you, to any man or set of men living. Your representative { owes you not his industry only, but his :. judgment, and he betrays you instead . of serving you, if he sacrifices to your , opinion It was this fearless inde- / pendence, that cost him the nomina- tion, six years later.
 Crisis Arrives.
 But, now, a crisis had come in tho affairs of the country, in regard to the American colonies. It was here that his outraged sense of justice and his hatred of oppression burst forth into those paSSi Onate and eloquent speeches on America. In the speech on Amer ican Taxation, he argued that the tea duty brought no revenue, only serving to irritate the Americans His ideal thought in rhe speech on Cancellation with America, was that England ought to conciliate, by yielding to the demands of the colonies. In the let ters to the sheriffs of Bristol, he justi- fled his own position in the light Oe results and reviewed the struggle. In these famous speeches his complete grasp of details, those clear and we'll defined facts and opinions, his great
 political wisdom and breadth of thought was brought to light. Every argument was put forth in its most convincing form; he called up all that had been said and done in a complete summary, dwelling on all injustice and miSSrule.
 Then, too, he saw what so many failed to see, that America, in resist
 ing the encroachments of royal privi- lege, was fighting a battle for the liO- critics of Englishmen at home. But his eloquence was of no avail and ths result was well-earned freedom for the colonies
 At the end of the war, seeing the people staggering under debt and the weakened condition of the country, Burke instituted a remarkable series of reforms, which resulted in beDe-. ficial reorganization of the civil and part of the military service. Here a gain he gave further evidence of bIs