Ireland Under Coercion - vol. 1

Ireland Under Coercion - vol. 1

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Title: Ireland Under Coercion (2nd ed.) (1 of 2) (1888)
Author: William Henry Hurlbert
Release Date: December 29, 2004 [EBook #14510]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: MAP TO ILLUSTRATE DIARY OF AN AMERICAN.]

IRELAND UNDER COERCION
THE DIARY OF AN AMERICAN

BY
WILLIAM HENRY HURLBERT
VOL. I.
SECOND EDITION.
1888
"Upon the future of Ireland hangs the future of the British Empire."
CARDINAL MANNING TO EARL GREY, 1868

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.
Although barely a month has elapsed since the publication of these
volumes, events of more or less general notoriety have so far confirmed
the views taken in them of the actual state and outlook of affairs in
Ireland, that I gladly comply with the request of my publisher for a
Preface to this Second Edition.
Upon one most important point--the progressive demoralisation of the
Irish people by the methods of the so-called political combinations,
which are doing the work of the Agrarian and Anti-Social Revolution
in Ireland, some passages, from a remarkable sermon delivered in
August in the Cathedral of Waterford by the Catholic bishop of that
diocese, will be found to echo almost to the letter the statement given to
me in June by a strong Protestant Home Ruler, that "the Nationalists
are stripping Irishmen as bare of moral sense as the bushmen of South
Africa."
Speaking of what he had personally witnessed in one of the lanes of
Waterford, the Bishop says, in the report which I have seen of his
sermon, "the most barbarous tribes of Africa would justly feel ashamed
if they were guilty of what I saw, or approached to the guilt I witnessed,
on that occasion." As a faithful shepherd of his people, he is not content
with general denunciations of their misconduct, but goes on to analyse

the influences which are thus reducing a Christian people to a level
below that of the savages whom Cardinal Lavigerie is now organising a
great missionary crusade to rescue from their degradation.
He agrees with Archbishop Croke in attributing much of this
demoralisation to the excessive and increasing use of strong drink,
striking evidences of which came under my own observation at more
than one point of my Irish journeys. But I fear Archbishop Croke
would scarcely agree with the Bishop of Waterford in his diagnosis of
the effects upon the popular character of what has now come to pass
current in many parts of Ireland as "patriotism."
The Bishop says, "The women as well as the men were fighting, and
when we sought to bring them to order, one man threatened to take up a
weapon and drive bishop, priests, and police from the place! On the
Quay, I understand, it was one scene of riot and disorder, and what
made matters worse was that when the police went to discharge their
duty for the protection of the people, the moment they interfered the
people turned on them and maltreated them in a shocking way. I
understand that some police who were in coloured clothes were picked
out for the worst treatment--knocked down and kicked brutally. One
police officer, I learn, had his fingers broken. This is a state of things
that nothing at all would justify. It is not to be justified or excused on
any principle of reason or religion. What is still worse, sympathy was
shown for those who had obstructed and attacked the police. The only
excuse I could find that was urged for this shameful misconduct was
that it was dignified with the name of 'patriotism'! All I can say is, that
if rowdyism like this be an indication of the patriotism of the people, as
far as I am concerned, I say, better our poor country were for ever in
political slavery than attain to liberty by such means."
This is the language of a good Catholic, of a good Irishman, and of a
faithful Bishop. Were it more often heard from the lips of the Irish
Episcopate the true friends of Ireland might look forward to her future
with more hope and confidence than many of the best and ablest of
them are now able to feel. As things actually are, not even the Papal
Decree has yet