The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1915-12-25
IRISH NATIONAL OPINION IN
AMERICA.
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offer shadow of Justification for sucl

Continued from page ~
offer shadow of justification for such
proposal to a race which has been
almost exterminated by the oppres-
sions of England.
Kill the cattle of the Irish and de-
stroy their crops" shrieked Henry
VIII. 1t has ever been destruction by
the English in Ireland. Is it not a
sardonic fate that forces the oppres-
sors of our day to ask the Irish to
save them from destruction? Can
any 1rishman forget Elizabeth? The
Virgin Queen" almost made Ireland
desert, and her reign was the most
heartless and bloody in all the annals
of time. 1t was James I, the faithless
son of Mary, Queen of Scots, a per-
vert, who gave out this royal mandate:
1--WE hereby make it known to our
Catholic subjects in Ireland that no
federation shall ever be granted by
u.s." The narrowness which laid down
this policy still exhibits itself in Eng
lish laws.
Charles I greedily took 100000
from the Catholics of Ireland for just
concessions which were never grant.
ed, and his murderer, Cromwell, de.
clared that "all the property of the
Catholics of Ireland belonged to him
and his troopers, and that they (the
1rish) could go to hell or to
] Connaught."
Charles II, in a royal mandate, said:
Il deny to Catholics, claimants and
accused, the justice granted to the
vilest criminals-that of fair and
equal trial"
James II-Well, the Irish people
though loyal to James were deserted
by that ungrateful King.
William III prince of Orange)
broke the treaty of Limerick, approved
the penal laws, and deliberately de.
stroyed the wooden trade of Ireland.
Under Anne the cruelty of the penal
laws became more intense. Then
came the four Georges. All Ameri.
cans know of the tyranny of George
III, ana George Nv wept with bitter
chagrin when he signed the bill which
gave Catholics some shadow of the
laws protection-the emancipation
bill.
We know the reign of Victoria, with
it's famine which made the majority
of the race paupers or exiles, which
made the island one vast charnel
house, with two millions of graves.
We all remember Victoria's reign
the misery, the hooking taunts of the
English press, the fierce exultation
over the prospect of the extinction of
the Irish race, the coercion acts, the
evictions-yes, we all remember Vic.
toria.
| Yet we are asked by the recreant
leaders to forget and forgive. We may
forgive, but we can never forget. To
forget would be the foulest obloquy
which could conceivably cover our
fame. It would be an act of mean
dishonor, insulting to the memory of
our fathers, who dauntlessly died, and
of our mothers, who silently suffered
We have for generations existed in
chains and rags in the land of our an.
cestOrs. Let us now-at this most
critical hour in all the history of our
nation-remember the past. Let us
so act that we shall never be ashamed
of the present.
The movement which resulted in
the formation of an Irish Nationalist
Party was the movement of Parnell
and of Davitt. What would these two
incorruptible leaders do were they en-.
trusted with the destinies of Ireland
in the circumstances now existing?
Can any man, knowing their sagacity
and their patriotism, doubt what
would be their course?. Would they
not seize the present hour ana wiring
from England the redress which has
been sought in field and forum for
generations? Would they succumb to
the tolls of imperialism and abandon
their country?
The position of Ireland has been
mis-stated by its political leaders
What of the stand of the Irish in
America? Who shall state their pc.
sition? Who shall utter to the world
authoritatively the thoughts of the
voiceless millions of Irish birth or
blood in the mills, the farms, the for.
ests and the mighty cities of America?