Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1919-03-20
irish QUESTION IN
IS DISCUSSED
Father O'Reilly Gives Introductory
Address at St. Patrick's Day
Celebration at St. Joseph Church

ciOus feast Monday night at st. Pat
TiCks Day celebration, and listened to
a very interesting program in the audi
tOrium, where Ireland's right to self
determination was ably advocated by
the speakers of the evening. The prin-
cipal speaker of the evening was At
tOrney J. F. DOherty of La Crosse. Be
fore introducing the speaker of the
evening, Father O'ReilIy, with evident
signs of deep emotion, made the fol
lowing remarks:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Before introducing the speakers OF
che evening, | cannot refrain from say
ing a few words in behalf of dear old
Ireland, the land of my birth, to enable
you to understand more clearly the
justice of her claims to national indie
pendence.
ireland has never relinquished her
right to national independence, and
has done more to advance the civiliZa-
tiOn of the world than all the other
small nations that have been recog-
nized and freed.
Ireland had a federal government
many centuries before England and
France dreamed Of such a social con-
dition, and she has never, to this pres
ent day, surrendered her claim to self
government At the end of the 18th
century small party Of English ad
venturers, of the same type and with
the same motives as the Mexican bri-
grands who recently annoyed our from
tiers, raided Ireland, and were defeat
ed. They finally settled in space
about the size of the District Of Colum-
oia and were forgotten there. Four
hundred years later, at the end Of
Queen Elizabeth's reign, the English,
without any prOvOcatiOn or right be-
gan systematic subjugation of Ire
land The Irish vigorously resisted
the English rule for over one hundred
years, and only ceased to resist when
her man Of fighting age were either
dead or the battlefields or sold into
layery in America, or exiled in the
military service of France.
Despite all this, Ireland had self-de-
termination in government, until Cas-
tlerea. century ago, was robbed of
her parliament From 1170 to 1919,
never for an instant has even re-
spectacle minority of the Irish people
relinquished a full claim to its right to
seli-government.
This opposition of the Irish to sur
render apart from any other reason,
nd of oil N o
right, even of sQuatter's right, to Ire
land. Occupation by conquest, after
Just war. can give right to terri
tory. but there is no occupation, even
though it lasted thousand years, that
iustides protested occupation by bri-
gandage.
ireland Finances
But we are told that Ireland should
bbe satisfied; that the wrongs of which
she complains are matters Of ancient
history, and that England in the good
ness Of her heart is governing Ireland
at a great financial loss to the British
empire But let us see what are the
real facts iii this case. twenty-five
years ago MI Gladstone appointed
what was known as the Chilters com
mission, composed almost exclusively
of Englishmen, to investigate the real
facts in regards to Irish taxation, and
after ten years careful study of the
financial figures in relation to both
countries, since 1901 to the cOnclu
sion of the investigation in 1904, the
commission reported that Ireland had
been overtaxed $12,500000 per year,
so that since 1901 to the present day,
Ireland has been overtaxed by Eng
land the enormous sum of one billion
five hundred million dollars.
But we are told that Ireland has for
feited her right to freedom by refus-
ing to submit to conscription, that she
did not contribute her full quota of
man power to the allied cause. Let
us see what are the real facts. When
the war was declared, England COM
puted the available manpower of Ire
land at $4,000 Long before England
thought of cOnscripting Ireland she
had 10000 men on the batlefields of
France. besides $4,000 who were in
Quoted into the service in England,
making in all 100000, or five and one
half per cent of her entire population,
so that America would have to have in
France an army of over 5,500,000 be-
fore her contribution to the war would
equal that of poor, down-trodden Ire
land, who fought and died for the free
eiom of other oppressed nations while
being denied her own.
Americas Debt
My friends, America owes debt OF
gratitude to Ireland which she is bound
IN conscience to repay. In 1776. the
irish exiles, who formed almost half
of Washington's army, fought and died
TO make America free. And in every
war from Lexington and Concord
down to Chateau!Thierry, the Argonne
forest and the Marne, the sons of Irish
exiles have fought and died, defending
the sacred banner of liberty, the Stars
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