The Irish standard., 1911-06-10
WHAT DEMOCRACY
OWES TO IRELAND
The Nationalist Party the Most DEM
ocratic Party in Existence,
Says Devlin.
All the Gold in the British Treasury
Could not Corrupt Single
Member.
Religious Prosecutions, Say Histor~
ians, Due to Protestants, Not
to Catholics.

Joseph Devlin was one of the prin-
cipal figures at the recent great Ma
tionalist meeting at Edinburgh. In
the course of speech made at the
banquet in his honor he reviewed tho
part played by the Irish Party in ad-
rancing the cause of Democracy in
England and spoke at some length on
the false charges made against the
Catholics of Ireland. Such facts as Mr..
Dcvlin gave are well worth preserving.
We quote his speech in part:
The British Democracy owed some-
thing to Ireland for the work which
lr1shmen had done in the House Of
Commons and in the country in help
ing forward progressive and Democrat
ic legislation There was no more
Democratic Party in existence than the
Irish Party. The Party, it was true
represented not a class, but a Nation.
But the Irish Nation was a Democrat
ic Nation, and the Irish Party was
what the Nation made it. 1t had fought
for religious liberty for the Dissenters
as well as for the Catholics. 1t had 4
and every succeeding Bill which had
for it's aim the broadening of the basis
Of human liberty in these islands, Il. 1
the lettering Of the condition OF the
basis of the Commonwealth Lot them
remember, too. that the Irish Party,
though composed of comparatively
poor men. sought neither place or
emolument, and were maintained at
Westminster by the voluntary sub
scriptions of the Irish people at home
and abroad.
Irish Members Not Purcha hasable.
In the whole history Of the Party not
one member had been false to his
pledge to accept no office from the
Government And so jealous were they
Of their independence that they had
passed Il unanimous resolution which,
whilst admitting that they were in ia
vor of the principle Of payment of
members. declared that they did not
desire that the system should be ex-
tended to Ireland, but rather that their
equivalent of the payment should be
devoted to some useful Irish public
purpose. Why did he mention this
matter? For very good reason. Ono
of the stcreotyped charges against the
Irish Party was that they were what
Mr.. Balfour called the Liberal Party in
the refined language of the aristoc-
racy, "a fraud" that they were only
in politics for what they could make
out Of it for themselves, and that they
were not patriots but mercenaries.
Whatever might be it's faults. all the
gold in the British Treasury could not
buy.
1t as as false as many of the other
| charges which the enemies of Home
Rule have made against the Irish Party
and the Irish people. They charged
| them with being bigoted and intoler
ant towards Protestants, whereas
| there was not and never had been, in
| the history of the world, a people less
bigoted and more tolerant than the
| Catholics Of Ireland. He did not ask
| them to take his word for that state
ment. He could quote reams Of testi-
mony from the Protestant writer's in
support Of it. He might cite the testi
mony of men like Buckle, Hallan.
Laing Lecky, Sydney Smith, DR.. Chal-
mers, Lord Spencer and Others But
he would content himself with that of
the Protestant, Taylor, who wrote the
History of the Civil Wars in Ire
land" in which he says:
Persecution Sin Of Reformed Church.
1T is but justice to this maligned
body, the Irish Catholics, to add that
on the three occasions of their obtain
ing the upper hand they never injured
single person in life or limb for pro-
Tossing religion different from their
own." And the Chief Rabbi of the
jews speaking in 1871. said: II have
long been anxious for many reasons to
visit that beautiful country. Ireland.