The Irish standard., 1913-06-07

CHER said as much: "Abhor the sword
-stigmatize the sword? No, my Lord,
for in the passes of the Tyrol it cut
toEpieces the banner of the Ravarian,
and through those dragged passes
/, struck path to fame for the peasant
insurrectionist Of. Innspruck! Abhor
A-stigmatise the sword? No. my Lord.
my lord, for at its blow a giant ma
ton started from the waters of the At
lantic, and by it's redeeming magic
and in the quivering of its crimson
light crippled colony sprung into the
cttitude Of proud Republic. From
!. the time God nerved the arm Of the
Jewish girl to smite the drunken ty-
rant in his tent down to the day when
He has blest the insurgent chivalry
of Belgium, His Almighty hand has
ever been stretched forth to conse-
crate the flag of freedom-to bless the
patriots sword. But In the defense or
in the assertion OF a peoples liberty.
Il hail the sword as sacred weapon"
The effect of this speech can better be
imagined than described. 1t evoked
a storm Of applause and rent the meet
ing In twain. Had united Ireland
VI at this critical moment taken Mea-
igher's advice and appealed to the
= sword, the dream of independence
.sWould most likely be realized.
The results that followed are part
Of Irish history-the Secession-the
Irish Confederation-the famine with
its disheartening consequences. Tie
failure of the '48 movement was as
fMeagher himself wrote, not the de
feat Of whole people. 1t was moth
= ing more than the rout of a few peas
ants hastily collected, badly armed,
=. lhalf-starved and miserably clad. The
"a country did not turn out: therefore,
the country was not beaten"
-as:. We follow Meagher to Paris. where
w4te paid most eloquent tribute to the
s'ffrench Revolutionists; and, later. to
Australia, whittier he was transported
with his illustrious compatriots. Will
liam Smith O'Brien, Terrence Bellew
ia yGManus and Patrick o'Donohue.
.sstaIn a letter from Van Diemens
J. Land; dated February, 1880, Meagher
writes: II have no complaint to make
with regard to our present fate. al
though 1t 10 dull, bleak and wearisome
here But what we feel most keenly
IL the separation by so many thousand
miles Of Sea from all that was dear.
consoling and inspiring to our hearts.
Nevertheless. We do not despair. And
g Oh! should hearts grow faint at home.
and In the cold. dark current Of despair
in the cold. dark current OF despair,
fling down the hope they once waved
like 4 sacred torch on high, tell them
:; that hero in this strange land. and
in the loneliest haunts and pathways
: Of it--here by q lake where as yet
no salt has sparkled ana no sound has
scared the wild swan or startled the
black snake from its nest-tell them
that here upon a lone, lone spot in
@ the far-off Southern Seas, there are
prayers full Of confidence, full Of faith
and love offered up for Ireland's cause,
and that the belief in her redemption
and in her future glory has accom-.
i, panied her sons to their places of ex-
ils."
After two years In Van Diemen's
: Land, Measher and his friends ef-
fected their escape, arriving in New
York on May rs, 1852.
A happy reunion took place between
Thomas Francis Meagher and the
refugees Of '4s. then resident in New
York and Brooklyn. Chief among the
latter were Richard O'Gorman, John
Dillon, Thomas Devlin Reilly. Michael
Doheny, Joseph Brennan and John
Savage. The press of New York greet
and extended to him the warmest well
come OF the Republic. His dashing
escape" said leading journal. from
the British penal colony reads like the
achievement of a cavalier OF old.
Meagher's arrival in America opens
q new page in the history Of Ireland
We picture a great career for him
under the nag Of Washington; for he
comes here to sway his countrymen
by the spell of his glorious eloquence
and to renew amongst them the best
N memories and traditions of Ireland.
memories which dwell in his own po-
.aetic and heroic soul. His coming,
therefore. should open a new era for
Ireland and for the Irish in America"
- Meagher was rendered an ovation
wherever he went. Under the auspices
of various patriotic societies he lee
~Na~A t.