South Canterbury Times, MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1882.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2821, 10 April 1882, Page 2

South Canterbury Times, MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1882.

The appearance of things in Ireland (judging from the accounts we receive both from, the newspapers and from private sources) is not reassuring.. In'deed ho rays of light of any steadiness, but only a few fitful flashes, have yet penetrated the in wKiich this unhappy portion of the ’ empire is involved. And to so important a matter we, whose adopted country forms an integral portion of the British dominions, can not be indifferent. Though we witness the ' occurrences from a great distance, and from a secure vantage ground, we can not forget that these people are, in a national sense, “ bone of dur hone, flesh of our flesh.” And, so reflecting we can,. not but be deeply grieved that their land is desolated by internal disssentions. It appears that there is, now a, popular, party in • the ascendant in Ireland whose bond of union is their common hostility, not so immediately, tothe of- the British Crown as to ■ the landowners. This party has put forth every effort to'enlist the co-operation of all classes below the landlords, in rendering the proprietorship of land in Ireland by the hereditary aristocracy and gentry wellnigh impossible. And they throw in, asr-the ;argumentum ad hominem, the inflaming statement that, the Government is responsible for the dire consequences of this widei-spread. rebellion, in that it has for centuries been the protector and upholder of the hated landlord class, against the downtrodden peasantry. The consequence is that the people are now unanimous in their hatred to the proprietors, and in their resistance to the Government •which they allege has been the constant champion of the proprietors.!. The terrible climax is reached. No rent to the landlord, and no submission to the State, is the war cry of countless thousands of the people. Industry is neglected, the lands lie waste and profitless, the country is filled with an armed force, capital is kept out, and the minds of the people are turned wholly to revolution. Revolutionary ideas inflaming the naturally arden temperature and enthusiasm of the people,' have for the time converted one of the most generous and splendid races into rioters, assassins, and rebels of so obstinate a character as to render it apparently hopeless to dream of their coming to a right mind. A contemplation of the 1 present state of Ireland forces every

observer to the conviction that I sa and persistent a rebellion ( cannot be the .outcome of mere radical) sentiment, or the frothy declamation of • professional agitators, but must have been brought about by some mismanagement or negligence or i tyranny, on the part of the great landholders, and that the Government is so far to blame that it has not paid sufficient attention to the pleas put forth by .the other side. . It has been guilty, not, of. wilful tyranny, but of neglect and partiality. To this it is plainly awaking. The strenuous endeavors it is now making to remedy the wrongs of the peasantry by means of the new Land Act, sufficiently prove this. But the utmost efforts of the Government have no visible effect in the direction of pacification. The same determined resistance, the same conspiracies, thesame atrocities, secret murders, and fiendish cruelty, are in full blaze, and show no signs of diminution. T ; his makes the Government almost despair of ever restoring peace to the land. It is, perhaps, not surprising.' .A course of rebellion already pursued with success, the presence of armed forces among them, the somewhat vacillating policy of the Government; all these . causes have contributed to transform the rebellion from; a series of fierce efforts to a chronic condition. From • this state the leaders declare, with much raving, Ireland will hot go back until she has attained the one coveted boon, always witheld—Home Rule. This granted, and not until it is granted, the Irish, people will lay aside their arms. It is evident, (things haying come, to this pass) in the first place, that the dismemberment of the Empire which Horae Rule would entail is simply impossible. For England could not, permit it, in justice to herself, i In the next place, it follows, if the integrity of the Empire is to be preserved, that, existing disorders must he suppressed. If the united wisdom of Great Britain, and the unprejudiced minds among the Irish themselves are satisfied that England is, honestly and strongly, striving to introduce beneficent measures into the Irish community, the Government must take such concensus of opinion as their basis from which to carry out an immediate policy of suppression. It- ’must adopt the most severe measures consistent with the claims of humanity, in order : to preserve the people from the consequences of their own misguided action ; consequences ■which, thbugh mow dreadful enough as ’regards England,"must inevitably, in the long run, be much more so as regards Ireland: We cannot see how, in view of the efforts now being made by England to regulate the tenure of land and the relations between peasant and proprietor, the people of Ireland can doubt that there is in England a 'desire to repair the breaches, of the past, and to " promote the lasting happiness and prosperity of the country. We believe if they will consent to'examine this matter cahrily and candidly, they will acknowledge the solicitude of the British Government. We are of course met by the contemptuous assertion that all concessions Ireland ever got she obtained hy agitation. This is a correct statement, we own. But is it hot equally true of every other community of the realm ? And the agitation, too, which Ireland’s noblest leaders and most powerful and patriotic. agitators p ro- • moted was a peaceful one, or at least it called to its aid no systematic assassination, no dynamite or foul outrage. These/ will gain nothing. Such tactics pursued against any other great nation—Austria . or . France, Russia; or Germany—would be met by punishment of the severest and cruellest kind. The concessions now being granted to Ireland are not granted (let there be no mistake on this point) in a cowardly yielding spirit,, under pressure of an insurrec-; tion. They are granted in acknowledgement of the real needs of the people which investigation; .has disclosed. The position ; which the Church 'of Rome would take up in this matter was anxiously looked for by all parties. No one now doubts what .that position is, however. A considerable number .of her priests, natives of the soil, and naturally sharing the feelings of their kinsmen, many of them originally members of the peasant class, have, indeed, from the commanding eraminence of the altar, preached loyalty to the Land League as hardly second to loyalty to Holy Church. But, speaking through her most distinguished and exalted dignitaries, from the Supreme Pontiff,;, downwards, the Church has emphatically condemned the rebellion and the Land,.'league. It is, probably, the first occasion on which there' has been anything like a collision between -the' policy of the Church- and the* inclinations of the Irish people. This proves, more conclusively thah anything else could, how strong the present national feeling must be ; —that, the injunctions of, the Church are unheeded. What the result of this may be, who can foretell ? The Right Reverend Dr McCabe has spoken Out boldly against the National movement and has received (besides the thanks of the Queen) a substantial proof of the approval of His Holiness the Pope, in his promotion' to : the coveted rank of Cardinal. Thus candour, common sense and their Church alike seem to point to the wisdom of forthwith abandoning the horrid weapons wherewith the Irish have sought to enforce their claims upon the Government of Great Britain. Knowing the reality of Ireland’s grievances and the culpable indifference to them of successive Governments, we have shared the early enthusiasm of the leaders in the movement, and have appreciated their fearless patriotism. But the thing has now drifted too far. The rights wanted are all but secured. Dark days of misgovernment are now over for Ireland, and it is in a spirit of sincere regard and pity that wo would add our entreaties to the people of Ireland to let “moderate counsels” prevail. There lies before torn unhappy Ireland a more glorious future than the brightest day that has ever dawned upon her in the past; and it will date from the movement ■• hen she consents to lay down her weapons, nob under compulsion but from conviction. That day, wo trust, is not far distant.