The Irish standard., 1919-11-01
Continued from Page 2.l

Your Southern states had contract
which your people believed meant that
they had voluntarily come into a un-
ion, and you felt that there was con-
tract which you wanted to maintain.
And, besides, the Southern states
were not an Independent nation. In
our own case, there has been no con-
tract of union, and we are a separate
and distinct nation. In fact, our claim
Is far better claim than the one that
George Washington and his comrades
in 1776 could have put forth. When
they were proclaiming their indepen-
dence, you notice the long argument
setting forth the reasons why they re-
volted, setting forth the reasons why
because they wanted, on account of the
decent respect to the opinions of man.
kind" they said-they set forth long
list explaining why it was that they
were justified in throwing off Eng
lands rule.
In our Declaration of independence
there is no such argument. Why? Be-
cause we were not a colony of Eng
land; we had never acknowledged Eng
lands right. In our case it was not
revolt. In our case it was simply the
continuation of the battle for liberty
which began centuries, even, before
Columbus discovered America, though
we were spoken of in the recent war
to be stabbing America in the back
and stabbing her in the back six
months before she entered the war at
ALL (Applause).
Our position, then, is a strong one.
spoke about the union, the contract.
Some Of you who know something
about history, may say, What about
the union of 1902" We say that un-
ion was no union. 1t was union that
Byron called, at the time, the union
of the shark with it's prey, and that is
UNFAIRLY concerned.
This union was union brought
about by corruption and force, which
one British statesman called the most
disreputable transaction that has ever
taken place between one nation and
another Gladstone, Asquith, numbers
of these statesmen, have pointed to
that transaction as one which, II 1t
were related to any other conveyance,
would, on account OF the methods by
which it was brought about, be rem
dered a conveyance null and void.
Think of what it was. Here you had
a narrow eolonized parliament speak
ing for the Irish people that 1t did
not represent. The parliament of that
day in that country was not represen-
tative like the parliament of today.
This was narrow parliament. They
didn't speak for the Irish nation. They
sold the Irish nation by having been
corrupted by English gold, and it was
passed at time when the Irish peo-
ple, by brute force, were prevented
from protesting, when the country was
overrun, after revolution, by Eng
lish soldiery and dragons. At that
period this contract this so-called
contract, this so-called union was
passed, and it was passed against the
protests of the nation as whole, and
it was passed by people who could not
sign away the nation.
If your senators and your congress
men who are elected by you, not to
sell your liberty but to maintain it
il they were corrupted by some for
eign power and if they undid the un-
ion or your independence, undid the
Revolution of '76, and so to sell you
to England again, would you, the
American people, feel bound by what
they had done? Would one of you feel
that one of these men had a right to
sell you if they were corrupted? You
know perfectly we'll that is not why
YOU have elected them. And If some
body who was not elected by you, who
could not speak in your name, was to
try to do that, would you think it was
a contract to which you were leg1tl-
mately committed? The best proof OF
it has been that ever since that act
was passed, the Irish people have vir-
t,,allv been in arms against England.
England has controlled Ireland since
the union only by repeated question
able acts which, in effect, take away all
liberty. all the safeguards of liberty
which individuals have in civilized
communities. No trial by jury; cit1-
zens can be arrested and thrown INTO
prison without charge; cannot meet
free speech forbidden. These are the
means by which England has governed
Ireland for over a hundred years and
the means by which she has worked
and the Irish party have risen in re-
volt after revolt. 1t is only by ques-
tionable acts she is able to carry out