Year: 1877

| Vs. "..j Aoi PoWoh VI CohUiuhtlOH
that mark his name, but the evidence
that his was a master mind, able to con.
troll all those with which it came in con.
tact. As an agitator he deserves graft
tude for his constitutional method. We
have learned to dislike the words aqitator
and agitation. Before we condemn them
we should study the word. Agitation IL
an old word with new meaning; in
fact, 1t indicates the great, necessary, in.
evitable method for advancement. Sir
Robert Peel said it was the marshalinp
Of the conscience of the nation fol
changing the laws. 1t may be said that
in nation where suffrage is universal
there is no need Of agitation. But the
fact is, the freer the government the more
necessary does agitation become. Sup


pose that this was now the time of your
political contest, which ended some
months since, and suppose that you, as s
people, had been aroused by what the
French call a burning question:" car
you not see how it would have searched
your society to the very bottom? As il


was with the question of the abolition
of slavery, so it is with every such ques


tion-the time comes when every man
must vote or fight on the side that his
principles dictate. He cannot evade the
duty; he does not wish to evade it.
Now, passing by the pulpit, there are two
educators which are relied on to train the
masses, and these are the party and the
press. Now, how far can the party 90 ?
Suppose, in your late canvass, that had
been your speaker in caucus, and sup.
pose that you were overwhelmed BY
the magnitude of some great ques


ton which you must grapple
with and bring to some solu.
ton. You would come to me to learn
how to vote 30 as to reach this question.
But it is plain that before the caucus OF
the political meeting l should not be
permitted to say all l know or all you
think. / must stop at line fixed for
me beforehand. My usefulness as a
political orator would be gauged by my
success in saying just 30 much as would
be profitable to the party, and not a
word more. | must hit yeu carefully
between the wind and water of your
ignorance and prejudices. 1t is not
meant to condemn parties, but to define
the limit beyond which they cannot pass.
The press is one of the grandest elements
of progress, but it has its limitations.


The editor might as we'll shoot his sub
scribers as treat them to the luxury OF
new IDEAS He follows reform, but he
does not inaugurate it. He does not
make the wave, he only rides upon it.
For example, l wrote letter once, and
carried it to the editor OF a liberal news
paper in Boston. The editor took the
manuscript and read it, and when he
came to the last sentence he said: 81
wish you would erase the last sentence"
and answered, "No, that is the cracker
of the whip. The whole letter was writ
ten for the sake of that sentence" He
said it was all true, every word of it,
but this was not the time to make it
public. He had promised to print the
letter, and he could not break his faith,
but the next morning, when the letter
came out, there was also a paragraph in
another column, which expressed regret
for the unfounded statement which Mr..
Phillips had seen fit to make. The
editor kept his promise by printing the
letter, and preserved his reputation by
printing the paragraph. Bricks can
not I've made without straw. The party
and the press are grand elements,
but there must be an element
which moves regardless of everything
but the truth. O'Connell realized the
length, the breadth, and the supreme
power OF agitation. He began with a
fixed political creed. The first and most
important maxim of his life was that no
political change was worth one drop Of
human blood. This is principle which
it is difficult for some nations to recog-
nize. TheFrenchman builds his barricade,
loads his gun to the very lips, and man.
ages to raise his country handbreadth.
1t falls back half the distance when the
fight is over. The Englishman prints
and argues and votes, and when the
change comes, it comes to stay. Another
of fO' COnnelPs principles was that nothing
is politically right that is morally wrong.
Parties go by general averages. When
OConnell left his party he resolved tohave
no compromise. The mobiles of his coun-
try repelled him. The priests even dis
couraged him. They said it was cruel
to think of attempting anything in q
cause that was hopeless. O'Connell
replied to these doubters that of the three
million heads in Ireland he would weld
a thunderbeldt to destroy the throne.
Bacon might say to the engine and tele-
graph, "You are mine. because taught
man TO invent" SO O'Connell, when
ever single shackle drops from Irish
limbs, can say, That is my work."


Speaking of the English code, Mr.,
Phillips said: You cannot suppose that
the Irish, with blood like quicksilver


would be quiet under such oppression


Mr.. Froude said that he was astonished
to find that the history of the country
was a record of perpetual rebellion. O.


course It was. The people Of IRELAND
dashed themselves against the power o


England as sea-birds against the granite
cliffs of our own coast. 1t was only
once that there seemed any prospec


of success for them. Defeat wa
followed by the most revolving cruelties
It was at this, the darkest moment
that O'Connell, young lawyer
stepped forward. He was met by tn


coldness of the mobiles and the fear
of the priests. He was prevented from
any attempt TO organize by the act Q
convention which forbade organization
and forbade any political committee il
one place to recognize the existence O
any other committee. Falling back Of
the masses he resolved TO mould tLem b


his purpose. He found that to become


leader an Irishman must be able TO boas


Of his family. This O'Connell could no


do. Then be must be fighter, either


soldier or duelist. With prediction


for the priesthood, his principles wer


against tine practice Of dueling. He wa
forced to fight one, and his opponent wa
Il l-.n-I IT, L. roosafapod q vnw tha