The Irish, Poles, Germans, &c.
When come English diplomatist — we do not recollect who it was — after the suppression of the Polish rebellion in 1831, endeavored to intercede with the Emperor Nicholas in favor of that unhappy people, whom he was dragging from their homes by thousands, to people his frightful deserts in
Siberia, he was cut short by the despot, and told to turn his attention to the Irish if he wished to ameliorate the condition of an oppressed nation. "The Poles," added the autocrat, " are
myIrish. " He spoke the truth.
Since the world began there never was, so far as we can recollect, such long.
continued oppression as that under which the Poles have labored.
The
Turks established their dominion over the Byzantine empire only about four hundred years ago — the descendants of Tamerlane had occupied the throne of
India only about two hundred and fifty years, when the
Empire of the Great Mogul was broken to pieces by the agent of an English trading company--the Moors held a disputed empire in
Spain not more than five hundred years. But for seven long and weary centuries — from the reign of the second
Henry to the time of
Victoria — from the lieutenancy of
Salisbury (commonly called Longsword, not Strongbow as we said yesterday,) to that of the present occupant of the vice-regal palace in
Dublin — through all the mighty changes, social and political, which
England has undergone — her hand has been heavy upon
Ireland.
It mattered little who was on the throne — whether a Plantagenet or a Tudor, a York or a Lancaster, a Stuart or a Guelf.
It mattered little whether the form of Government was a Monarchy or a Commonwealth,
Ireland was still to suffer persecution under them all. The
Plantagenet and the Tudors exterminated the ancient families, as far as they could —
Cromwell slaughtered the people and transported them to
Jamaica.
Pitt gave up the island to spies and informers, to the torch; the sword, and the gallows.
All that all these agents of the infernal powers did, however, was mercy in comparison with what successive Parliaments did, beginning with the reign of William the 3d, in the passage of acts designed to abridge the
Irishman's rights, to surround him with all manner of disabilities, to torture him to death by systems of espionage and domiciliary interference.
Let any man who can, in the face of all this, wonder that
Ireland hates
England, and would be glad to see her sunk in the bottom of the sea. As
Nicholas filled up the places his Siberian exiles had left vacant, so
Great Britain seems to be steadily pursuing a plan which will end by depopulating
Ireland, and leaving it to be filled up by an English population.
It has been found that emigration can effect this object better than the wholesale murders of
Cromwell and
Pitt, and therefore emigration is encouraged to the utmost.
When a third people are struggling for their liberty one would hardly expect to see
Ireland and
Poland banding against them.
Yet that is precisely what we do see at the present moment.
The
Irish and the Poles are the foremost in the
Yankee ranks — seeking to subject us to a despotism infinitely worse than that from which they have themselves escaped.
The Poles, like the Germans, are all Red Republicans.
Liberty, equality, and fraternization with all mankind, are the main articles of their political creed.
They hate everything which looks like feudal aristocracy, and they take the
Southern Governments to be such, because of negro slavery.
They are as willing to fraternize with the negro as with anybody else.
They abhor every conservative element in every form of Government.
They object, indeed, to all Government.
They prefer anarchy and the rule of the mob. It is not surprising, therefore, that they should forget their obligations to the
Southern people in their desire to establish the reign of indiscriminate plunder and the supremacy of disorder.
But the Irish are not Red Republicans — they are, of all the world, the least affected with the negro
mania--they are in general decidedly conservative.
That they have, almost to a man, or appear to have, a passion for arms, is true.
But that they should take up arms to deprive of their liberty men who, like themselves, are conservative; like them.
selves, are unaffected by Red Republicanism; like themselves, enemies to negropholists and their abominable tenets; and who, moreover, when there was a question of disfranchising them and proscribing their religion, and this, too, in defiance of their native priests, whose hold upon them is proverbially strong, and, as it is said, even of the
Pope himself, who, like the priests in question, is believed to be opposed to the emigration which has filled the
Yankee ranks with Irish soldiers — all this appears to us marvellous, or rather, perhaps we ought to say, it did appear marvellous, until the revelations of the last few days.
It now seems that there has all along been in existence in Yankeedom a society called the
Femian Brotherhood, the object of the association being to entice Irishmen into the ranks, under the promise that as soon as the
Confederacy shall have been subdued, the
Union will then exert its whole power to effect the liberation of
Ireland by force of arms.
About three hundred members of this association lately met at
Chicago in Convention.
They came from
Ireland,
Canada, and the
United States.
The Yankee papers are very careful to disclaim for their Government all part or participation in this conspiracy to disme her the
British empire.
It is nevertheless asserted that
Seward not only knew of its existence, but encouraged its proceedings by holding out to the leaders promises of cooperation in their favorite project, provided the Irish would assist him in subduing the
Confederacy.
We have always wished to see
Ireland free.
But do they deserve freedom who seek it by destroying the liberties of others?
If the persons who concocted this unheard-of wickedness believe in a God they can hardly hope to succeed by such means.
