THE Manawatu Times. SATURDAY, JAN. 15, 1881. THE STRUGGLE IN IRELAND.

Manawatu Times, Volume V, Issue 108, 15 January 1881, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

SATURDAY, JAN. 15, 1881. THE STRUGGLE IN IRELAND.

"Words are things, and a drop of ink falling like dew upon a thought, produces that which makes thousands, perhaps millions think."

"W*B know of no subject so difficult for the Colonial journalist to touch upon as the present unhappy state of Ireland — the Noibe of JNations — rent assunder and split into factions by internecine warfare. There is no man on the face of the earth who loves his country with an undying strength like a true " son of the soil." He loves her for her sorrows, he loves her for her wrongs, and he loves her for her very faults. His is a love only like unto that of a fond and devoted mother for her only child, whose teart-strings are bound up m her darling, the failings of her offspring only drawing the bond between them the cTosetJ ' For a journalist, then, who hails from the green Isle to attempt to analyse the cause of the present unhappy state of affairs m the land of his birth, aridto do po calmly, dispassionately, and justly, is a task beset with extreme dificulty. ■On the other hand, to hitn who knowsnothing of the wrongs so long endured, and the injustices perpetrated ; whose whole source of information comes through the garbled medium of the electric wire — purposely spiced up to make it the more delectable — -it is not one whit more easy to steer clear of the rocks of bias and the quicksands of prejudice. We are, however, pleased to see that the greater bulk of the JEnglish Press is far more just to Ireland than are many of bef own recreant sons. This, however, is only another exemplification of the old adage, " History repeats itself," as the tone of feeling m Englandjwith regard to the Land League is becoming assimilated to that with regard to the Home JRule. A dozen years ago, and the very mention of -the movement was laughed to scorn, and those who advocated it denounced as cracked-brained enthusiasts, if not something very much worse. It was almost a matter of impossibility to find a paper outside of tbe National organs, devoting a single -paragraph to the. claims of the Irish Nationalise. So preposterous were they held to be, and so utterly futile weire the efforts made for self-govern-ment by the party, that the advocacy was. either sought to be annihilated by a stroke of the pen, or treated with sublime indifference. Six years later and "the sceris was changed; slowly, but surely, 'Ihe much condemned band fought the unequal contest until m 1874, the Home movement not only forced itself to be acknowledged, but compelled a favorable expression of the -justice of their claims from the great Thunderer itself. The London limes, m a leading article written before the general election which took place m that year, But with an evident foreknowledge of the power of the League, reviewed the Home Rule position, and concluded, by admitting that a tribunal or board sittingin Dublin to settle local affairs; wbttld be of vast benefit to the Empire. We Venture to say that if the proposition were* to emanate from the pen * of ; a'' Colonial writer he would be soon anveloped iri a hale of suspicion, if fi©ta>pereiy denounced as a rebel im .disguise. .Yet this is what tbat journal "says:— v ,' TJnSer the control of Parliament, a board or committee sitting m. Dublin, or, better still, conducting inquiries throughout the country, (jonld by no. possibility be manipulated into an Opposition Legislature, or centre of National hopes, and an engine of Separatist strategy. On the ether hand, it would take away many of the remaining practical grievances of which Ireland has a right to complain. The plan m its essentials is a sound one, and if prudently worked out, would be of publio benefit only, but to the whole Empire. If it vere not that the above admission appeared m the leading columns of Engtan.t's representative orgau m good black. print, most people would be inclined to doubt that it had ever been .toade. What a change from twenty years "before, when the same journal proposid^as the only panaced for Treland^V^OGß . ft nd wrongs, thatfshe should ~6e~Hippe"d beneath the waters of the ' Atlantis, and kept there for twenty-four hours. The tide of Irish affairs has begun to turn, and it is a matter of impossibility that they can remain m their present position. The miserable scheme adapted by some journals of characterising the movement as designs of TJltramontanism— a kind of bugbear by which it can be imagined the susceptibilities of the people «an be raised, and tJieir prejudices traded upon — is characteristically mean and despicable. The Irish as a race are intensely

Catholic, as they are intensely national, but that they have been loyal and true „to whatever cause they .have claimed their allegiance, the devotion to the illfated Stoabts has. amply proved. But the Pall Mall Gazette, and its kindred, instead of taking advantage of those sentiments, to consolidate the Empire, by developing those admirable qualities, systematically seek to crush them out, -and wound the feelings of a nation by the denial of common justice, the perpetuation of admitted wrongs, and the studied use of Contemptuous and insulting language. To prove that the Irish are not a nation of rebels, as they have been- denounced, we take the following striking extract from Mr. Charles Bradlaugh's admirable statement of the relation between England and Ireland, and" it is entitled .. to the greater weight; being the conscientious opinions of an Englishman: — When England was m a shameful war, to which I need .not further allude m this place ; when England was weak ; when there was no one to overawe the Irish m Ireland ; taro men sent a cry from Ireland m terms of fiery eloquence, which Ireland's advocates from time to time used. One was Flood; the other- was Henry Grattan. Their voices, like the touches of the magician's wand sprang from part to part of Ireland, and these men armed m bands at least 80*000 ' volunteers. Did they embrace that moment when we were weak to strike us ? Did they use that moment to give us that meed-of vengeance> which we could hardly have resisted ? No ! They only asked some rights for themselves, some freedom, some liberty. Then they only spoke the words of hope, the words of power ; and it was to these 80,000 Volunteers that George 111. conceded the repeal of those statutes; which the Irish took as a boon, rather than as a right. The words of the eloquent Grattan speaking out for Ireland's freedom were uttered m Stephen's Green, where I hope that Irishmen may have the opportunity of again legislating for their own wrongs and grievances. With the words of Henry Grattan they were concent. They used no sort of menace, no sort of threat, no sort of violence. When we were weak they were loyal, and when we left our side exposed, instead of taking advantage of the weak place to strike a blow, the very Irishmen who had been trampled upon, gnar..ed and shielded us with their arms. When we were strong men again we repaid them by breaking the bayonets which we had entrusted to them, and took back the liberties we had given to them. In the sentiments uttered above we recognise that spirit of honesty and fair play, of which the typical Englishman is said. to be the representative. But Mr Chaeleß Bbadlaugh is not now m good odor either at Home or abroad, and consequently we give his testimony for what it is-worth. Ireland being an agricultural country, naturally the land question is the question which meets one most specially, and its consideration is of such importance as to create a feeling of suspense from one end of the British Empire to the other. Upon this all-absorbing and important matter we will need no apology for making a final quotation, when we state that its author is no less a person than John Stuart Mill, who at the time of its utterance was perhaps the first political economist iv the woi Id. The extract is one taken from a speech made by him m tho House of Commons upon Mr. Chichestvse Foetesqtxe's Land Bill, and the sentiments expressed, beside being especially apropos at the present critical juncture, are worthy of the noble source from whence they emanated : — People often ask, and it has been asked this evening, why should that which works well m England not work well m Ireland P or why should anything be needed m Ireland that is not needed m England ? Whether Ireland was an exception to all mankind, that they cannot bear the institutions which reason and experience have taught are the best calculated to promote national prosperity. Sir, we were eloquently reminded the other night of that double ignorance against which a great philosopher warned his contemporaries— ignorant of our being ignorant — and when we insist upon applying the same rule with respect to Ireland arid to England, we show another kind of 'double ignorance, and at the same time disregard the precept which was inscribed on the front of the temple at Delphi ; not only do we not know what we undertake to govern, but we do not know ourselves. Irish circumstances and Irish ideas as to social and agricultural economy are-the general ideas,' and the general circumstances of the human race. It is English circumstances and English ideas that are peculiar. Ireland is tbe main stream of human existence, and human feeling, and human opinion ; it is England that is one of the lateral channels. If any honorable gentleman doubts this, I ask is there any other country on the face of the earth m which, not merely as a national fact, but as a general rule, the land is owned m great estates by one class, and farmed by anot her class of capitalist farmers, and actually cultivated by laborers only detached from the soil, and receiving only a miserable day's' wage. Ireland is like the rest of mankind ; England is the exceptional. country. Throughout this article — for whose extreme length we must apologise to Our readers — we have given the opinion of others, reserving to ourselves a few ( w;ords m cbncTusion. At .this distance from the theaffe of events it would be somewhat unwise to trust tco implicitly to reports which, jeach us of. the operations of one sideor the other. . We know from our experience, gleaned from a residence m the country, that the land laws of Ireland are iniqiutously and ■monstrously unjust, anl their amendment and abolition would be the barest justice to the unhappy tenant. The struggles of the Leaguersj to that end have our heartiest and warmest sympathies; but we hold as the greatest enemy to the people, the man who'w'ould counsel emancipation by secret assassination. The freedom of Ireland, or an amelioration of her woes, a redress of her wrongs, are all too high a price to pay fo* the life-blood of a fellow- mortal taken by treachery, however black he may have been. The sneaking coward who shoot? his. victim from behind a bush, is no lover of Ireland, he is no patriot, he is" not even a man ; and although the dear old land has not one more true or devoted son than the writer of this article, rather would he see her groan m bondage for another seven centuries, than owe her freedom to the knife or bullet of the assassin. The man who is inspired with the fire of true patriotism strikes not from behind nor wars' in tho dark. Oh, how the iron must have entered the soul of the gallant Emmet, when he saw his brutal followers drag the aged JBJtLwardek from his carriage, and pin his body to the earth with their pikes ; and

how he must have been torn with remorse when he found himself leagued with a "band of merciless cut-throats, whose savage instincts lie waa powerless to restrain. If the freedom or Ireland is to be won, let it be m the JH alls of St. Stephens ; or m the open field face to face with the foe, not shooting down unsuspecting victims, while the cowardly assassins skulks with a shelter fpr their own miserable bodies. _