The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-04-25
HOME RULE AGITATION

A PROTESTANT MINISTER GIVES
THE HISTORY OF IRELAND'S
STRUGGLE FOR HOME RULE
WHICH HE SAYS DOES NOT
MEAN ROME RULE-ENGLIsH
NoN-c oNFo RMIsTS SYMPA-
THIzE WITH THE MOVEMENT.
Two years ago the Hon. jeremiah
MacVeagh, NJ. P, wrote pamphlet
entitled, Home Rule or Rome Rule"
in which he made an examination of
religious intolerance in Ireland. The
Introduction was written by the Rev.
erend c. Sylvester Horn, Protestant
minister, member of the British Par
lament and the recognized leader of
the English non-Conformists. AL
though not a Catholic, Mr.. Horn
is an ardent advocate of Home Rule
for Ireland and his testimony on be-
half of the justice of the cause of
Irish self-government is the more val
liable and convincing in view of the
fact that he cannot be accused of SYM
pathizing with the aspirations of Cath
olic Ireland on religious grounds. He
and his followers are the historic de-
scendants of the Puritans who fed
from England to Holland to escape
persecution and came to America in
1920.
He points out that there is a strong
bond of sympathy between English
non-C Conformists and Irish Roman
Catholics because both have been the
victims of cruel and persistent at
tempts to enforce uniformity in mat
ters of religion. He gives summary
of the relations between Ireland and
England since the time of the early
Irish wars which had but one object,
to subject Ireland to English law and
govern it according to English notions
for the benefit of the English govern
ment. Continuing he says:
The attempt to govern Ireland ac-
cording to English ideas is an indel-
ible blot on our record. It is similar
in character and effects to the folly
| that lost us America. 1t is essentially
the same misguided policy as that by
which it was endeavored to destroy
the originality and integrity of British
Nonconformity. Great as is the gulf
between the Covenanter in Scotland
and the Catholic in Ireland, they
fought for existence against the same
delusion of Uniformity: and men
whose noblest traditions are of hero
| ism endured in the fight for freedom
may differ in opinion, but sympathy
| in suffering makes them kin.
Ancient Irish Parliament.
To establish Uniformity it was nee.
essary to efface Irish Nationality; and
to efface Irish Nationality, it was
necessary to destroy the Irish Parlia.
ment. For Parliament is always an
institution which most of all fosters
and expresses the life of any people
When Ireland was first united to the
Crown of England, as Mrs. J. R. Green
reminds us in her book on Irish Ma
tionality, it was "as free and dis
tinct Kingdom, with the right of hold
ing Parliaments subject only to the
King and his Privy Council" Nc
statute passed by an English Parlia
ment had force of law in Ireland until
it was accepted by the Irish Parlia
ment. But the policy of Anglicising
Ireland made this freedom impossible
1t was easier to destroy the liberty
of the Irish Parliament than to tune
it to harmony with the will of Eng
land.
1t is pitiful story. The last steI
in the dishonoring of the ancient Irisf
Parliament was taken when, in 1891
it was ordered that no Catholic should
sit in either House or Parliament
The Irish Houses thus became purely
Protestant, and almost exclusively
English or Scottish. ALI the principles
we prize went by the board-repre
sentation with taxation, government
by consent of the governed, and 81
forth. The English Parliament re
duced the Irish Parliament to ignomy
preparatory to governing Ireland il
the sole interests of England.
Then follows the era of the delib
crate destruction of Irish commerce
The most hardened opponent Of Irisl
self-government cannot read tina
charge today without shame. English
traders had to be protected agains
Irish competition. So it.was enacted
that no cattle or dairy stuff might b'
brought from Ireland to England; NJ
trade might be carried on in soap
candles, cloth or any kind of linen bu
the coarsest. The woolen trade was
killed. The Irish were forbidden t.
build ships. Her ports were closed tC
American commerce. The industrie:
of the people were destroyed, so tha
their conquerors might have the fielC
to themselves.
/ independence Recovered.
Then began to flow the tide of Irisl
emigration westwards, which hal
never been arrested since They car
ried across the Atlantic their religion
their industrial skill, their commercial
enterprise-all that they were not al
lowed to enjoy in Ireland They car
i s~.I 81