Scian Dubh

“ It is to such men as he, that Ireland owes all her misfortunes, and that the people of Canada owe the curse of the great embarrassments that now sorely beset them. For so far, not a single Irishman who has ever been prominently identified with the Government of Canada, if we are at all able to judge, has possessed a spark of honest or true patriotism. From first to last, every man Jack of them has fleeced the poor Canucks unmercifully, and played the toady to England in the most fulsome and sickening manner. ”

“ But if they had more than sufficient grounds for dealing a death blow to the power of the tyrant then, how must this debt of vengeance have accumulated since; when, to the wrongs already enumerated are to be added the atrocities of the Georges, as well as those of their worthy descendant—that traitress to humanity, whose hands have been just imbrued in the innocent blood of Allen, O’Brien and Larkin, and who now holds in thrall, within the gloom of her noisome dungeons, some of the noblest spirits that have ever breathed the vital air in this or any age of the world? ”

“ When, however, we come to dwell on the fact, that outside and beyond her control or reach, another body of Irish, which has been aptly termed a nation within a nation—when it comes to be understood, we say, that on the shores of free America a mighty and invincible Brotherhood has been built up, actuated by every sentiment of hostility which fires the breast of the most implacable of her enemies to-day, and that has for its aim and end an object in common with the people of Ireland at her own doors, then we begin to perceive how harrassed and powerless she must be. ”

“ So long as they are outside the pale of the Union and under the British flag, so long will a mighty war cloud hang upon their borders, that is liable to roll in upon them at any moment. The fact is fixed and unalterable, that the people of Ireland have secured for all time a permanent footing on this continent, where their numbers, wealth and influence have become irresistible, touching any project that they may entertain within the limits of the American Constitution. ”

“ When, however, he heard of the glorious victory of the arms of the Irish Republic at Ridgeway and Fort Erie, under O’Neill, he forgot everything else and leaped to his feet with a cheer that shook the house to its very foundation. In the ecstasy of joy that seized him, he took everybody near him by the hand ten times over, and added cheer to cheer until it was deemed expedient to recall him to something like reason. A more genuine display of heartfelt pleasure and patriotic feeling was never witnessed or experienced by any individual or indulged in a manner more original or unsophisticated. ”

“ It is this which now hangs a millstone about the neck of the British government, and which must ultimately develope itself in active sympathy with any people who have for their object the humiliation of the skull and cross-bones of St. George, on this side of the Atlantic at least.
And so the ball rolls; hourly accumulating force and magnitude, and destined, at no distant day, to sweep in upon Ireland and hurl the invader from her shores. No power on earth can stay its onward course. The freedom of Ireland is the creed of millions. The young lisp it; strong men repeat it in every clime ”

“ Under the liberal laws which accord freedom of speech to every man who touches the shores of the Republic, these men had, we know, a right to express, publicly or otherwise, their sentiments in this connection, how treacherous and untenable soever; but what we could never fathom, was the daring of any journal professing to be true to the interests of freedom or those of the Union, in endorsing those sentiments and setting them forth to the world as truthful and worthy the acceptance of every genuine American, no matter what his creed or party. ”

“ In the dark, English crucible of seven hundred years of famine, fire and sword, the children of Ireland have been tested to an intensity unknown to the annals of any other people. From the days of the second Henry down to those of the last of the Georges, every device that human ingenuity could encompass or the most diabolical spirit entertain, was brought to bear upon them, not only with a view to insuring their speedy degradation, but with the further design of accomplishing ultimately the utter extinction of their race. ”

“ Humanity and civilisation, common justice and the laws of nations, demand that a people who have battled against tyranny and usurpation for seven successive centuries, and who have still preserved intact their identity, their traditions and their altars, shall be no longer subjected to the brute force and infamous exactions of a freebooter who has so long played false to every principle of honor, and who has been the highwayman of powers and principalities for countless generations.
The record of England in relation to Ireland, is one of the most atrocious known to the history of mankind. ”

“ And yet, notwithstanding her penal laws, her blood-thirsty soldiery, and all her revolting persecutions, the Irish were more than a match for her in the open field, and ultimately embittered the closing years of her life. From the first moment of the invasion, the O’Neills—Kings and Princes of Aileach, Kings of Ulster and Princes of Tir-Eogain—as well as other chiefs and leaders, fought the Pale incessantly: and now, after a lapse of nearly four hundred years, again evinced to the world, that Ireland was still unconquered, and regarded England as a tyrant and usurper. ”

“ The men engaged in more exposed positions, performed absolute miracles of valor, and charged the foe in the face of the most galling fire, until they actually touched their bayonets, and then poured in the murderous volley that shattered their ranks and strewed the field with their wounded and dying. As we learn from Major Denison, of the British forces, the Fenian officers were ever in front of their men, cheering them on to death or victory, and evincing such instances of true bravery as commanded the admiration of even those against whom they fought. ”

“ But the enemy were rapidly getting in rear of the Union troops, and O’Neill fell back on the main body of his regiment, just in time to hear his Colonel cry out, ‘Oh, God! all is lost! save yourselves, men, the best way you can. Nothing is left us but retreat!’ ‘Not by a long sight!’ shouted O’Neill, as, sword in hand, he dashed in front of the mob of soldiers, upon whom panic and the example of their commander were rapidly doing the work of disorganization. ‘Men,’ continued he, turning to them, ‘all of you who mean to fight, fall in with me.’ The effect was almost miraculous. ”

“ Wait until false, foul and treacherous England can sit beneath the shadow of the guns of her infant monarchy, on the Canadian frontier, and then see if she does not begin to show her cloven foot anew. Let her once get a permanent foothold among the newly projected fortresses along the St. Lawrence and the Lakes, with Quebec as their key, and the peace and prosperity of America, as well as the stability of republican institutions, cannot be counted as secure, for a single day, from petty annoyance, or perhaps inroads of a more formidable character. ”

“ There were, of course, a few British sympathisers among the people and press who, ignoring their allegiance to the Union, or the principles for which the heroes of the Revolution laid down their lives, threw their voice and influence into the scale on the side of England, but they were in a hopeless minority; as the great heart of the nation beat steadily in the interests of liberty, and inspired its sons with all the confidence necessary to the most complete success. ”

“ And what wonder that the thinking portion of the people of Canada—men who have its material prosperity and its happiness at heart—should long for a union with this Republic, with which their interests are so intimately identified, and upon which they are almost solely dependant for a market and that good will that is not only necessary to their peace, but to their very existence? ”