The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1897.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXV, Issue 28, 12 November 1897, Page 17

The New Zealand Tablet. Fiat Justitia. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1897.

'98.

T is little wonder that the proposal to celebrate the events of '98 should have been taken up with such spontaneous enthusiasm by the seadivided Gael in every quarter of the globe. It is true that the movement of '98 was a rebellion, and what is perhaps worse, it was an unsuccessful rebellion. Bud it was a movement of which no one with a spark of patriotism in him could be ashamed, ami no Irishman, Worthy of the name, would "fear to speak " of that gallant though ineffectual struggle for justice and freedom. As has been well shown by correspondents in our columns the p:ovocation by which the unhappy people were goaded into rebellion surpasses in sheer, deliberate, iienca^h brutality anything to be found in the blackest pages of pagan _ history. Let the half-hearted, jelly-fishf Irishman— if there be any such— who is ashamed of this movement refresh his memory by a short study of the history of that infamous time." Let him read the story of his country's wrongs, of the plunder and wanton destruction of house and home, of the systematic infliction of the mo&t excruciating tortures of the wholesale murder of old and young, however helpless and however innocent, of the unspeakable outrages on women, let him read of these and all the maddening atrocities which finally dro>e the people out of their homes to sell their lives upon" the hillsides, and if he does not feel his pulse quicken and the hot blood of righteous indignation against the tyrants surge within him then he is no man but the veriest craven. The men ot '1)8 need, scarcely to be excused for not meeting this infamous system of terror, persecution, rapine and murder with a kidglove policy. Practically there were only two alternatives open to them, slavery or rebellion, and the United Irishmen chose the latter. The cause they fought for was lost for the time, but they did not light in vain.

" They never fall who die In a great cause ; the block may seek their gore, JQ° Their heads may sodden in the sun, their limbs Be strung to city gates and cattle wall*, But still their spirits walk abroad. Though years Elapse, and others share as dark a doom, They but augment the deep and sweeping thoughts That overpower all others, and conduct The world at last to freedom." These words apply, in a very special sense, to the men of '98. The same spirit which moved these martyr-heroes to sacrifice their lives on the altar of liberty still lives in their descendants, and it is that spirit which has lod the true-

hearted sons of Ireland all over the world to unite to do fitting honour to the memory of their patriot dead. Two objections are urged against holding any celebration in commemoration of the '98 movement. It is urged, in the first place, that such a celebration will be taken as expressing approval and endorsement of the revolutionary, as opposed to the constitutional method of seeking redress for Ireland's wrongs. There is not the slightest reason why it should be so taken. Irishmen sincerely desire a peaceful solution of their difficulties with England, and no Irish leader would now dream of counselling a return to the physical-force method of bringing about reform. The celebration is intended to honour not the method but the motive and the patriotic spirit which animated the heroes of '98, and we do not believe that anyone whose opinion is at all worth considering is in the least likely to misunderstand the significance of the demonstration. The other objection brought forward is that a commemoration of '98 is calculated to give offence to our English fellow-colonists. We do not in the least believe it. The recent commemoration in Scotland of the six-hundredth anniversary of the Battle of Stirling, at which commemoration ex-Premier Lord Roseberry delivered an eloquent panegyric on the Scottish " rebel," Wallace, shows that English "statesmen can admire heroism even if it be revolutionary heroism, and we feel sure the result of the '98 celebration will be toshow that broadminded colonists of every nationality can do the same. Even if it were otherwise, the matter is one which solely concerns the Irish race, and we do not see that Irishmen, in what is purely an Irish question, are called upon to show any _ very scrupulous regaid for the feelings of those who are in no way interested in the matter.

As to the particular form which the celebration should take, it is much to be regretted that, for geographical reasons, it is practically impossible for this Colony to have one grand central demonstration. Failing that, we think it is best and safest to leave each centre to settle for itself the lines on which its own particular celebration shall be carried out. So far as Danedin is concerned, we heartily approve of the course decided upon by the Hibernian Society. It is most desirable that Irishmen of all shades of political and religious belief should have an opportunity of taking part in the demonstration, and the plan of holding si public meeting is by far the most open, safe, and honourable way of inaugurating the great undertaking. It only remains for all concerned to throw themselves 1 " heart and soul into the good work and bund all their energies to make the celebration the grand success which so great an occasion dein inds.