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Show Significance of a National Tragedy, (From the Oakland. Cal., Tribune.) The celebration of St. Patrick's day has all the significance of a national tragedy. It is the memory of a disinherited disin-herited nation. It recalls to the memory mem-ory of every patriotic Irishman the story of a thousand wrongs, the history I of centuries of oppression, the record of broken treaties and the cruelties of a bigoted persecution. These brands on the Irish heart carry hatred for Great Britain wherever the children of Ie-land Ie-land can plant their feet. Vhn the Irish were robbed of their liberties they were also robbed of their landa. . By the conquerors tribal chieftainship chief-tainship was assumed for purposes of confiscation to embody ownership of tribal lanrls. Thus a tainted title was conferred that it might be employed as a pretext for robbery. But still more deadly blows were aimed at tho race opirit and independence independ-ence of the unfortunate inhabitants of Erin. The very language of the people was put under interdict, and today, i after eight centuries' experience with the rule of the Saxon, the Irish are1 paying rent to the stranger and speaking speak-ing his language in their own land. For long their religion was under the ban, their priests hunted down like wild beasts, and the celebration of the Mass treated a a capital offense. All these things are recalled to Irish hearts the 17th of each -March. St. Patrick Pat-rick himself was a humble Roman missionary, mis-sionary, but as the patron saint of Ireland Ire-land he typifies the faith which was l.on g associated with persecution and which suffered equally with the spirit of liberty. His anniversary signifies national grief and national inspiration, as well as loyalty to the ancient faith of Ireland. The .man who celebrates St. Patrick's day loners for the deliverance deliv-erance of Ireland from the British yoke; he longs for a restored Irish nation; he thirsts to have Drogheda, Limerick r and Aighrim avenged, and to see the green flag, with Its golden harp, nut- 1 terlng over a parliament sitting in College Col-lege green and deliberating in the Irish language. . ; ; , " : I This is the hope St. Patrick's dav sir- I nifles to the Irishman. . It is the story '. of how brave, generous people lost their liberty, their lands and their language, lan-guage, and only preserved their religion relig-ion by a devotion rare in human an-: nals. ....... j |
