Present Irish Questions

Present Irish Questions

I have written much on Ireland from early youth, especially in the Edinburgh Review and the Times; and two works of mine, Ireland, 1494-1868 published in The Cambridge Historical Series, and Ireland, 1798-1898, have been received with more than ordinary favour. I have ventured to think that the opinions of a veteran inquirer into Irish affairs, with respect to Present Irish Questions just now of much importance, and certain to be ere long fully discussed in Parliament and elsewhere, may be of some use to a younger generation, that will have to examine and must be affected by them. I am not unaware of the cynical remarks of Swift on the disregard shown to authors who may be said to have had their day; and I do not pretend that, in the instance of myself, old experience has given something of a prophetic strain to what is contained in this volume. But I can say, with truth, that few living men have had such opportunities as have fallen to my lot, during a long series of years, to understand Ireland in its different parts, and the feelings and sentiments of the Irish community; to form sound and moderate views on the many and perplexing phenomena called Irish Questions; to deal reasonably with Irish political and social problems, free from the influences of party prejudice and passion; in short, to do my subject complete and impartial justice. How the accidents and associations of a life already protracted beyond the[Pg vi] ordinary span, have, as I hope, given me these qualifications, I have explained at some length in my Ireland, 1798-1898; I shall not repeat what I have already written. But Ireland has constantly been uppermost in my thoughts; and as regards the conclusions I have come to in these pages, I may say, with the Roman historian, hc senectuti seposui. The examination of Present Irish Questions, in this work, shows the views I entertain with regard to the actual condition of Ireland in its various aspects, and to her probable future destinies. These views may be censured as too gloomy, and even paradoxical; but Ireland remains, as she was when Macaulay wrote of her, A member indeed of the Empire, but a withered and distorted member; the revolution which has passed, nay, is still passing, over her, has destroyed a great deal that ought to have been preserved, and has put little that is solid and stable in its place; there is much that is threatening and even dangerous in her political and social order, and in the sentiments of the mass of her community. In the case of Ireland, indeed, as in that of any other people, I have faith in the effect of salutary legislation on wise and just principles, and of consistent good government steadily carried out, of both of which there has been but too little evidence, during the last twenty years, in Irish affairs; above all, my trust is large in the healing influences of Time. But I have not forgotten that the vision of Pacata Hibernia, which flitted even before the majestic understanding of Bacon, three centuries ago, has not been realised; the thoughtless optimism, which, during the last two generations, has represented Ireland to be in a state of continual progress, nay, as contented and happy, whenever she has not been convulsed by disorder and trouble, or racked by poverty and distress, has been completely falsified; and with nations, as with individuals, the profound remark of Butler is true; a life of repentance[Pg vii] often fails to redeem the errors of the past. I proceed to indicate some at least of the authorities which relate to the different parts of my subject. The material condition of Ireland of late years may, perhaps, be best ascertained by studying, over some length of time, the large body of statistics compiled by the Government, and contained in that valuable publication, Thoms Directory, and by a perusal of the Irish debates in Hansard. Reference, too, should be made to the important papers of Mr. Childers, of Lord Farrer, and of Mr. Sexton in the Report of the Childers Commission, and especially to the evidence of Sir Robert Giffen, and even of Sir Edward Hamilton, in the Blue Books appended to that inquiry. Englands Wealth, Irelands Poverty, by Thomas Lough, M.P., though a one-sided book, also deserves attention; and useful information may be obtained from The Five Years in Ireland, 1895-1900, of Mr. Michael J. F. McCarthy, too much a eulogy, however, of things as they are, and marked by a spirit of aversion to, and distrust of, the Irish priesthood, which are a characteristic of a small section of the Irish Catholics. The sources of our knowledge respecting the moral, social, and political state of Ireland are numerous and ample; I shall confine myself, as much as I can, to those which relate to what may be called her recent revolutionary period, though Irish history in the past, even in the distant past, is anything but an old almanack. This mass of evidence faithfully represents the disturbances and the troubles that have prevailed in Ireland, with intervals of time between, during the last twenty years and upwards, and the fierce animosities and conflicts which have been the consequence. Here a reader should again consult Hansard, notably the debates on Ireland, during the agitated period from 1880 to 1889; of course he should only study the great speeches. The publications on this subject are very many, and some of real importance; as[Pg viii] regards the policy and conduct of the Land, and even of the National Leagues, and the frightful outbreak of disorder and crime which was the result, nothing is equal in value to the Report of the Judges of the Special Commission, and to the immense body of evidence brought before them; The Verdict, by Professor Dicey, sums up well the conclusions at which they arrived. The utterances of the so-called Irish Nationalist Press, throughout these years, fully verify the facts disclosed in the Report, and its findings; they have, indeed, been continued in a less ferocious and violent, but in a significant, strain ever since; a collection of them will be found in the volumes published by the Irish Unionist Alliance. On this subject, and also on the state of opinion existing among a large majority, probably, of the Irish people, see The Continuity of the Irish Revolutionary Movement, by Professor Brougham Leech; The Truth about the Land League, by Mr. Arnold Foster, M.P.; Parnellism and Crime, republished from the Times; Incipient Irish Revolution, anonymous but able; some valuable articles on Ireland by the late Lord Grey that appeared in the Nineteenth Century; Disturbed Ireland, by Mr. T. W. Russell, M.P.; The Plan of Campaign Illustrated; and About Ireland, by Mrs. E. Lynn Lynton. The recent revolutionary and agrarian movements in Ireland have not found many to vindicate them, or even fully to explain their causes; but reference may be made to The Parnell Movement, by T. P. OConnor, M.P.; to the New Ireland of Mr. A. M. Sullivan; to Mr. Barry OBriens Irish Wrongs and English Remedies; and to a series of articles called Ungrateful Ireland, in the Nineteenth Century, from the pen of Sir G. Duffy. A host of papers in quarterly, monthly, and other reviews and magazines on the political and social condition of Ireland of late years has, also, been published from time to time. Attempts have been made, quite recently, to show that the troubles of Ireland have[Pg ix] become things of the past, and that she is a prosperous and happy land; but though real improvement has certainly taken place, these are mere repetitions of the optimistic fancies that have so often proved delusions. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 37853
Author: Morris, William O'Connor
Release Date: Oct 26, 2011
Format: eBook
Language: English