y read Irish history. It is a
sort of forbidden subject. It might reveal too much. From what I have
read of it I am free to say that for stupid injustice, blind,
unreasoning, brutal cruelty, treachery and corruption on the part of
England from about the middle of the 12th century down to to-night it
equals if it does not exceed in atrocity the rule of the Spaniard in
South America.

Yet all the wicked things that the atrocity was intended to exterminate
are still alive and possibly stronger than they were in the twelfth
century. Roman Catholicism is as strong as ever, the language still
lives, and there has been a special revival of it within the last two
years. The most wonderful part of all is that the Irishman is still
alive, still an Irishman with children and grandchildren. He still loves
his country, still loves independence and home rule, is still carrying
on what you call guerilla tactics; and this very summer made a special
outburst of guerillaism in the British parliament itself in the very
heart of London.

What does all this show? Simply that the spirit of independence, the
natural nation-forming instinct of human beings, when once aroused, is
usually inextinguishable except by the annihilation of every individual;
and that this is a provision of nature for the formation of human
societies in the world. Secondly that men will fight longer and more
desperately for justice or against injustice than they will fight for
money.

It has been the consciousness of eternal justice that has kept the Irish
and Armenians going for seven hundred years, that inspired the
Netherlands to resist the Spaniard for eighty years, that kept your
ancestor fighting for seven years and determined Washington to resort to
"predatory" war rather than yield to the "benevolence and good
government" of England.

Justice is far superior to philanthropy, charity, "the white man's
burden" or any other pious hypocrisy or fraud that the villainy of man
has invented. It is more important than, and it must precede both morals
and good government. After you have been just to a people you may begin
to preach to them. Good government as well as agricultural, commercial
and industrial prosperity, have been rendered impossible in Ireland for
centuries because there has been no justice to the native and patriotic
party among the people. Justice can purify most of the international
horrors of the world far better than "benevolence."

We are on t