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 Rev, Fr . Rooney's. 
 Oration on St. Patrick's 
 Day 
 
 By 
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 REV. FR.ROOUEY'S ORATION 
 
 St. PATRICK'S Day, 
 
 ^«^ 
 
 >-;il 
 
 DELIVERED AT 
 
 St. DoMiivric's Church, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, 1878. 
 
 TOGETHEE WITH HIS 
 
 CRUSH.ING REPLY 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ^TF(ICTUF(E3 OF THE j]o/Vl JVIER CIy\L ^DVOCATE, 
 
 THE ORGAN OF THE AMERICAN PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION 
 AND OF CHINES«; LABOR. 
 
 Tho proceeds are for the benefit of the New Academy of St. Rose, to be under 
 the charge of the DominicaR Sisters. 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO: 
 PcjBLTsHED BY P. J. Thomas, 505 Clay Stkekt, S. W. Cornek S.^NSOME. 
 
 1878. 
 
 fit
 
 I
 
 m. n. EooBEY's mim 
 
 J 
 
 ON 
 
 St. PATRICK'S Day, 
 
 DELIVEBED AT 
 
 St. IDoMiivric's Chxjkch, 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, 1878. 
 
 TOGETHEB WITH HIS 
 
 CRUSHING REPLY 
 
 TO THE 
 
 ^TF(ICTUF(i:^ OF THE J^OJVIJVIE: RC Iy\L ^AdVOCATE, 
 
 THE ORGAN OF THE ABIERICAN PROTESTANT ASSOCIATION 
 AND OF CHINESE LABOR. 
 
 The proceeds are for the tenefit of the New Academy of St. Rose, to be ur-dc-r 
 the charge of the Dominican Sisters. 
 
 SAN FliAKCISCO: 
 Published by P. J. Thomas, 505 Clay Siheet, S. W. C'okxek Sansome. 
 
 1878. 
 
 PRICE, TEN CENTS. '
 
 « • • • « «
 
 '-^•A 
 
 a 
 
 ORATION. 
 
 "You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a pur- 
 chased people, that you may declare His virtues who hath called you out of 
 darkness into His iidmiiable light." — 1st Epistle St. Peter, ch. 2, verse 9. 
 
 BELOVED CHRISTIANS :— It is not my intention to be so 
 presumptiious as to imagine that I can entertain you to-night 
 with praise adequate to the deserts of Ireland's glorious Apostle. 
 You need not exj^ect to behold a perfect delineation of the rare 
 virtues and noble exercises of religion practised by him; for not 
 St. Paul himself, who had awe-stricken his audience of the Areopa- 
 gus, nor St. Chrysostom, who received, whilst he was electrify- 
 ing his people with his golden eloquence, a spontaneous burst 
 of applause, nor St. Basil, the Christian Demosthenes, could do 
 justice to the subject before me to-night. Nay, there is no finite 
 being that can trul}' paint the grand character of our national 
 Saint; it will then be reserved for the infinite alone to pronounce 
 on the great accounting day a perfect eulogium of the life and 
 labors of Ireland's Apostle, for He alone knows the immensity of 
 good he has accomplished, and the intrinsic value of the virtues 
 with which his soul was adorned. It is the common opinion of the 
 J.: learned that he was born in France, of a noble family, about the 
 ^-., end of the fourth century. AVe are entirely ignorant of his ca- 
 '■"" rear of life until his sixteenth year, when, by the disposition of 
 'r^' an all-wise and just Providence, he was led captive, and sold to 
 ^ a petty prince in county Antrim, Ireland. After being six 
 H5 years in bondage, he was miraculously delivered from his shackles. 
 2" He feels within himself an ardent desire of serving that country in 
 J^--: which he endured all the pains and torture of temporal slavery, 
 r and desires to see her emancipated from the more galling yoke 
 that Satan had put upon her, and that she might be bedizened 
 with the nimbus of faith. In his slumbers he sees the children 
 of Ireland stretching forth their tiny hands toward him and im- 
 ploring him in piteous tones to come among them, and admin- 
 ister to them the consoling helps of religion. A soul like his, 
 that was on fire with the love of God, and consequently of his 
 neighbor, could not resist such an appeal. He recognized that 
 it was the will of God that he should dedicate himself to His 
 service in the holy ministry, and he at once set about qualifying 
 himself for that noble and more than angelic dut}-. He said 
 within his holy soul: " As God has evidently called me to be an 
 apostle, to be a messenger of His divine word, He wishes that I 
 take the proper means to arrive at such an august end." He is 
 fully aware that there are three things which are essentially ne- 
 cessary to a priest, with which he can do all things and without 
 which he will infallibly expose to perdition his own soul and the 
 
 3'70r»6 
 
 ^a
 
 souls of those committed to his care. Those three things are 
 sanctity, learning and zeal In order to save his own soul he 
 must be holy, and therefore he considered the sanctification of 
 his own soul as paramount to every other consideration; for of 
 what avail would it have been to him if he gained the whole 
 world over to Christianity, if he lost his own soul? He knew that 
 all men are bound to live holily, but especially the ambassadors 
 of Christ, to whom, in a special manner, it was said: " Be ye 
 holy, as I the Lord your God am holy." " Let your light so 
 shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify 
 your Father who is in heaven; be ye imitators of me as I am of 
 My Father." Of them the Apostle says: "Let them minister 
 having no crime." He is fully impressed that the sacred Scrip- 
 tures command sanctity to jjriests es2:)ecialh^ The second quali- 
 fication that he knows is necessary for a priest is science — not 
 that science that puffeth up, and tends rather to divert from, than 
 serve to conduce to the fuliillment of his duty — but that science 
 that will aid and assist him in carrying out the great designs God 
 had in view in selecting him and in calling him to the dignity to 
 which he asj)ired. He knew that it was necessary to be perfectly 
 conversant with the sacred Scriptures, which undoubtedly he was, 
 to make the guide of his own life and that of others; he felt that 
 he should become thoroughly acquainted with the Fathers of the 
 Church who preceded him, in order that he may make their holy 
 and untarnished conduct the rule of his own. To this know- 
 ledge he was bound, and nothing could dissuade him from the 
 pursuit of it. He heard the divine oracles already passing sen- 
 tence of condemnation on him did he not become filled with the 
 science without which it would be far better for him not to be 
 enrolled among the clergy. He heard the Almighty declaring, 
 in most emphatic language, by the mouth of the projjhet Malachy, 
 those truly remarkable passages: "Because you have rejected 
 science, I have rejected you from the ministry of my j^riesthood." 
 The lips of the priest shall keep knowledge, and they (the peo- 
 ple) shall seek the law at his mouth, because he is the angel of 
 the Lord of Hosts." From the prophet Osee he learned that the 
 same Lord commanded the people to "ask the priests" on all 
 points that in any way concerned their salvation, and therefore 
 he well understood that if the priests are to answer the difficul- 
 ties proposed by the peoj^le, they must be deeply versed in sci- 
 ence. He stood terrified at the unerring words of Christ, " If 
 the blind lead the blind, they will both fall into the ditch." He 
 shuddered at those still more terrifying words of Holy Writ: 
 " Wo to you, blind leaders." Deeply j^enetrated with those solid 
 maxims, he says within his noble soul, "I will not be ignorant 
 of my duty; I will become a doctor, as the Apostle requires of 
 me. If Solon and Lycurgus labored and traveled so much in 
 order that they might frame a code of laws for the good of their 
 neighbors, why should not I strenuously exert myself, not to frame 
 human laws, but to propound the greatest of all laws — verily, 
 that of Jesus Christ ? "
 
 L 5 ] 
 
 In keeping with this resolution, he undertook a painful journey 
 to foreign parts, to enrich his mind with learning and experience, 
 and spent in the acquiring of these about thirty years. Under 
 Martin of Tours he received a perfect knowledge of church dis- 
 cipline. After the death of this illustrious prelate., his uncle, 
 he betook himself to the famous St. Germain of Auxerre, from 
 whom he imbibed the knowledge of humanities and the inferior 
 science, and by whom he was ordained priest. He also spent 
 some time in Rome among the canons regular, from whom he 
 obtained a thorough knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures. 
 The third qualification that he is fully aware to be necessary for a 
 priest, is zeal for the spiritual welfare of his neighbor. For, said 
 he, if every man is bound to love his neighbor as himself, the 
 minister of God who dedicates himself in a special manner to 
 His service is bound to undergo every danger, even death itself, 
 for the salvation of souls; as Christ declares, " The good shepherd 
 layeth down his life for his flock." Having the due qualities re- 
 quired by God and His Church for properly fulfilling his ministry, 
 he j)laces himself in the hands of the Yicar of Christ, Pope Ce- 
 lestine, in order that he may receive from him his commission 
 and credentials to preach. That holy Pontiff received him with 
 open arms, and rejoiced exceedingly to find so noble and com- 
 l>etent an instrument for the task in hand. He immediately con- 
 secrated him, gave him plenipotentiary power, and dismissed 
 him with his benediction to the ocean island. Despite all oppo- 
 sition, despite every impediment thrown in his way by relations, 
 he turns his thoughts and bends his course to beautiful Erin, 
 determined to convert her. He cares not what dangers, what 
 troubles, what toils he has to encounter, provided he can gain 
 souls to Christ. He is willing, as was his prototype, .^t. Paul, 
 to become an anathema, to gain souls and plant the Church. He 
 was ready to offer himself as a holocaust, to suffer martyrdom, 
 provided the Church would pullulate by the effusion of his blood. 
 
 Behold, children of St. Patrick, that grand old man, nearly sixty 
 years of age, entering the land of our forefathers. At the ap- 
 proach of this flambeau of the Gospel, darkness, ignorance and 
 error departed from the land; their place was no longer to be 
 found, and the contrary virtues ornamented the souls of those 
 poor creatures who had lain in the labyrinth or mazes of infidel- 
 ity. He penetrated fearlessly into the whole island, arming him- 
 self with the shield of confidence in that God in whose service 
 he was so intently engaged. He proceeded to the Hill of Tara, 
 in order to have a chance to preach to the chiefs of Ireland, who 
 were then assembled there to celebrate their paganish rites, fully 
 aware that he would have to contend with the potent princes, 
 and with the almost oppressive argumentation of the learned 
 Druids; but he knew, too, that he was more than a match for 
 them, and he was convinced that he would there stem the torrent 
 of iniquity, and that he would rescue many noble souls from the 
 very jaws of the dragon of error. As a reward of his courage 
 and intrepidity several were converted on the spot. Having 
 gained a great victory here, and being much encouraged thereat.
 
 [6] 
 
 he next repairs to the royal Courts of Dublin and Munster, where 
 he set forth the truths of Christianity with such unction and ardor 
 that thousands enrolled themselves under the banner of the Cross. 
 He turns his attention to the ordaining of fit ministers of the Gos- 
 pel — men who were imbued with the spirit of self-sacrifice, and en- 
 dowed with the heroism of apostles; men found worthy to be ea- 
 rolled among the angels of the Church of the Lord of Hosts. He 
 was a most tender father to all; they desired to be always with him. 
 The people of Ireland placed all their riches at his feet, saying, 
 Why should not we give all our earthly goods to him who has 
 caused the heavens to rain down so plentifully on us all spiritual 
 favors? But, no; he would never accept of the least present from 
 them. His noble soul could not bear to be sullied with the base 
 passion of lucre. He would rather give than take, and he 
 showered profusely his alms on the poor. He had the Irish, as 
 the apostles had the first Christians, all " of one heart and one 
 soul." His zeal knew no bounds; he was not satisfied A\ith 
 christianiziag Ireland; he was not content with raising the Cross 
 there : he built schools and seminaries of leai'ning throughout 
 the land; h^ provided them with the best teachers in order that 
 he might cultivate those bright intellects which the Apostle 
 himself assures us the Irish had. He filled the land with monas- 
 teries, for he saw, as he himself tells us, that when the Irish 
 once knew the truth, they would follow it and hold to it, and 
 would carry it to its supernaturally logical conclusion — that is, 
 give themselves up to the most exalted practices of religion. 
 After having converted all Ireland, he repaired to Rome to ren- 
 ^der an account of his mission and labors to the Supreme Pontiff 
 who then occupied the chair of Peter. The venerable Vicar of 
 Christ received him most kindly, and with the greatest joy 
 confirmed him in the apostolate of Ireland, and sent him back 
 armed with the legatine authority. On his return to Ireland he 
 spent some time in repairing and building monasteries and 
 churches, and in framing laws for the guidance and direction of 
 his clergy. Now, seeing that his end was nigh, and that he had 
 already accomplished his great task of evangelizing Ireland, he 
 entered a monastery. There he lived for twenty years, practis- 
 .ng all virtues, ascending the mountain of God with unabated 
 ardor. Under these circumstances did he render his pure soul 
 into the hands of the Creator. What must now be the reward 
 of that saint? If a simple saint, laboring in retirement and 
 buried from the gaze of the world, will be surrounded with in- 
 effable light in God'3 Kingdom, what must not now be the glory, 
 the recompense of this Abraham of Ireland, this Melchisedec of 
 the Irish priesthood, this Moses of the Irish legislators, this 
 Saint John of Ireland's Virgins, this Saint Paul of her fiery and 
 invincible apostles, this Saint Peter of the Church — the rock on 
 which this special Church was founded, and which more than any 
 other has partaken of the nature and powers of the Universal 
 Church founded on Peter? He certainly must i-eceive a great re- 
 ward who made of a land that was filled with thorns and briars 
 the garden that was covered with flowers of the most odoriferous
 
 [7] 
 
 kind, who placed in it the most exquisite plants — the holy souls 
 that continually sing the praise of the Immaculate Lamb, those 
 lilies, the virgins, who, most of all, adorn our holy Church ! His 
 labors are summed up in brief, by saying that he converted all 
 Ireland, he built innumerable monasteries, he erected seven 
 hundred churches, consecrated three hundred and sixty-five 
 bishops, and ordained three thousand priests. 
 
 How sublime all this, and how great must not be his reward 
 for his labors undertaken from a divine motive ! 
 
 I now turn my attention, in order to show still more forcibly 
 how well St. Patrick did his work, to the Irish Church herself. 
 The children reflect the father, and the character of the father is 
 deejjly ingrained into the nature of the children. It is truly 
 wonderful, after seeing so many trials to which they have been 
 subjected, to see the Irish Church as deeply rooted in the faith 
 as when Patrick had christianized them. Who can explain how 
 the Irish Church has remained firm and apostolic amidst the 
 storms of ages, when not a Church established by the apostles, 
 except that by Peter, has come down to us ? Where now is the 
 Church of Antioch, Smyrna, Corinth, Jerusalem, Thessalonica, 
 Ephesus, Colossse, and others founded by the first Apostles, who 
 were certainly qualified directly by God himself ? They have 
 vanished from the face of the earth! The Roman See, the centre 
 of unity, built by and on Peter, remains. Like the See of Rome, 
 the Irish Church shows supernatural life that never was or could 
 be extinguished. There is, in fact, something very strange in 
 this striking resemblance between Ireland and Rome; and who 
 can explain why it is so ? Unquestionably, the steadfast, un- 
 wavering, undying, invincible faith of Rome is in Ireland to this 
 hour, and it can never be rooted out of the noble hearts of the 
 Irish. God seems to have gifted Ireland with the durability of 
 the faith of Rome. Now, why is it that Ireland has been so 
 particularly blessed above all other nations and peoples ? Why 
 is it that the faith that is God-given remains in them as a nation, 
 even as it does in the Roman Church — the mother and mistress 
 of Chvii'ches, and to which all Churches must conform ? 
 
 I can assign three reasons for this wonderful effect that is so 
 noticeable even to a child. The first is, that St. Patrick himself 
 impressed on the minds of the Irish that they were Christians 
 only in proportion as they were obedient to the Pope of Rome. 
 This truth was so deeply imbedded in their souls that, in all 
 troubles, in all doubts and anxieties, the Irish looked for com- 
 fort to Rome. Hear how our noble Apostle speaks on this sub- 
 ject in his Confessions: " Ut estis Ghristiani, ila siiis Eomani." 
 " As you are Christians, so also be true Romans." That sentence, 
 which has rung on the minds of the Irish in every age since its 
 utterance, has been the safe-guard of our faith. So long as we 
 treasure up that truth in our souls, and follow its meaning, so 
 long will we have durability of faith. Ireland never listened 
 to a heretic; Ireland never begat an arch-heretic; Ireland never 
 lost the lustre of her faith, because St. Patrick taught her to 
 be, above all things, Roman. Irishmen who hear me, swear to
 
 L8] 
 
 be, above all things, truly Koman, and never listen to a bishop, 
 priest, or layman who dares to contradict the voice of Rome. 
 In your societies, in your gatherings, in your conventions, never 
 let anything be done by you, the daughter, the Irish Church, 
 that would insult your mother — the Church of Eome. Never 
 allow any man that opposes Rome to have influence amongst 
 you. In a word, be true to the teachings of St. Patrick, your 
 well beloved Apostle — "You must be obedient to Rome to be 
 true Christians,'" and you will continue the admiration of the 
 world, but, above all, of your mother — Rome, for your undying 
 faith. The kings of Ireland never asked the people of Ireland 
 to obey them in preference to the Pope; in Ireland there was 
 never a question of disobeying the Pope. The Pope, in the 
 Irish mind, as in the mind and heart of the Church, is next to 
 Grod; and hence the Irish remained as St. Patrick wished, real, 
 genuine Romans. May God grant that they will ever remain 
 so, and their faith shall never die! 
 
 The second reason for the undying faith of the Irish Church 
 is, that although God made Rome the centre of unity, the home 
 of authority, and the citadel of apostolicity, yet He designed 
 another place as the nursery of missionaries to diffuse the 
 truths emanating from Rome. Ireland has been, from the time 
 of her conversion, that missionary centre, that nursery of 
 Apostles. Rome had so much to do with those missionaries in 
 every age and in every clime, that Eome meant everything 
 religious to Ireland. They lived on the very breath of Rome; 
 they despised even in little things what Rome despised, and 
 they loved what Rome loved, and unfalteringly they believed 
 what Rome believed. The Irish peojDle, then, from the kings to 
 the lowest subjects, knew, and all acted up to this knowledge, 
 that the Pope in religion was everything. How could they lose 
 the faith of Rome when they paid no attention to any man who 
 had not his credentials from Rome ? The same spirit is to be 
 found to-day in the Irish Church. In the seminaries, in the 
 halls of learning, the young candidates were continually hearing 
 from their professors, that the Poj^e (not the king) wants so 
 many Irish missionaries to go to such a place. Any man can 
 easily see that such continual, close contact with infallible Rome 
 has kept Ireland always Romanized. Thank God, it is so, and 
 may Ireland ever be the nursery, the seminary from which her 
 mother, Rome, will ever be able to call foi'th innumerable efficient 
 missionaries to evangelize nations and peoples ! 
 
 The third reason for the intense faith of Ireland is, that 
 Ireland seems, in a certain sense, to deserve this favor. That 
 is, above all other nations, she deserves it, from the fact that she 
 received the faith so readily and so joyfully when proposed to 
 her. Ireland did not put her Apostle to death ; she did not re- 
 fuse to acknowledge the miracles of St. Patrick; she did not, 
 at any time, spill one drop of Christian blood to persecute the 
 Church. This eulogv cannot be said or pronounced in favor of 
 any other nation. Ireland stands before the world in this respect 
 without a companion !
 
 [9] 
 
 Let us ever bear in mind that this fact shows, beyond question, 
 the high state of civilization that Ireland possessed even before 
 the introduction of Christianity to its shores. It is a well- 
 known fact that our pagan ancestors were not steeped in any of 
 the degrading practices to which Greece, Rome and Egypt were 
 addicted. Our noble land never offered human sacrifices, nor 
 did she pa}^ homage to the low animals; she adored only the sun, 
 moon and stars, as figures and representatives of light. How 
 different the condition of the Irish people from all others! How 
 intelligent, how refined, how free from barbarism, how friendly 
 to each other and how hospitable to strangers, even whilst yet 
 under the pagan yoke! Irishmen, we have reason to be proud 
 of even our pagan ancestors as well as of our Christian fore- 
 fathers. There was no stain upon our escutcheon, even whilst 
 we were pagans. God himself seems to have especially rewarded 
 Ireland for her natural virtues, for her moral observances, by 
 pouring out exuberantly and superabundantly upon her the price- 
 less gift of faith with its concomitants. I am thoroughly con- 
 vinced that those three reasons fully explain the perpetuity of 
 Ireland's faith. And yet, no nation, no people was ever more 
 sorely tried, more terribly exposed, nor more cruelly treated, 
 because of the faith, than the noble Irish race. It was assaulted 
 by the Saxon and the Dane, by the learning of Usher and by 
 Protestantism; it has withstood the terrible ordeal of a penal 
 code, such as neither heathen or barbarian is recorded to have 
 devised. 
 
 The Celtic Church ! What memories are conjured up at that 
 name! what a vision of glory and of gloom, of bright ages, of 
 light and love and joy! what horrid pictures of desolation and 
 thraldom and exile, what unextinguishable vitality and undying 
 fidelity to faith and nationality are mirrored in that name ! 
 Fourteen hundred years have tested the indestructibility of the 
 edifice which Saint Patrick erected, and it is to-day as young, as 
 fresh and as beautiful as when it was first built up by his 
 pure hands whose feast we to-day celebrate; and the faith 
 which he, under God, gave to us, is as ineradicably fixed in the 
 heart of the Celtic race as Erin is in the ocean. But faith, undy- 
 ing, is not the only virtue of the Irish people. Purity, gene- 
 rosity, hosj)itality, respect for parents, for old age, for the min- 
 isters of the altar, and kindness and sympathy for sufferers of 
 every description, are prominent features in the Irish character. 
 It is generally believed that peoj)le that have strong faith are 
 pure. There is not a people on earth, who, as a nation, are as 
 pure as the Irish ! Modesty is stamped uj^on their very counten- 
 ances; the Irish girls all over the world are the admiration of all 
 who give a thought to this subject. How often are they not ex- 
 posed, in various ways, and yet, how singularly they triumph over 
 all temptations and the many inducements held out to them! 
 Theit faith- -love of God and of the Immaculate Mary — guards 
 their chastity, and their singular chastity intensifies their faith. 
 How generous are not the Irish people ! Their generosity has 
 become proverbial. For the Church, for charities, for suffering
 
 [10] 
 
 humanity, their generosity surpasses that of all other people. 
 What a gTand sight did not Ireland present, when for three 
 hundred years her magnificent schools were open to students 
 frori all parts of Europe, who received education, food and lodg- 
 ing, gratuitously ! How generously the Irish people took care of 
 the couutless students during this long period of time ! How 
 nobly the Irish kings and people laid aside land and moneys, and 
 purchased manuscripts, for the benefit of those in quest of learn- 
 ing ! All this proves not only the generosity of the Irish race, 
 but their thirst for learning, and their desire to see it propagated. 
 The same spirit of generosity exists to-day in all its warmth. 
 Who build our churches ? who erect our orphanages and reli- 
 gious institutions ? who support religion ? who are the promoters 
 of every charitable object? Everybody exclaims, it is the Irish. 
 The homes of the Irish are ever open to the traveler and the way- 
 worn, and there is no charge. Their salute to the poor, on com- 
 ing to their houses is, "a hundred thousand welcomes," and 
 " God and the Blessed Virgin be with vou," when thev are de- 
 parting from the place to which they were so kindly welcomed. 
 No people manifest so much warmth of heart, exhibit so much 
 friendliness to, or do so much to make strangers feel at home as 
 the Irish. Their hospitality, like their generosity, is proverbial. 
 The Irish are the most devoted to their parents; even when chil- 
 dren get married and have their own families, they never lose 
 sight of the reverence due to the authors of their being; they con- 
 sult their aged parents on all points of importance, and are 
 most careful to see that their parents want for nothing. You 
 have a most striking proof of how devoted children are to their 
 parents in the fact of so many persons of both sexes, here, send- 
 ing home all their earnings for the support of those they dearly 
 love. Here people pay little or no attention to relationship; 
 but the Irish act diflferently. Old age is regarded in Ireland as 
 something venerable ! The profligate, debauchee, the seeker of 
 pleasure, is, generally speaking, cut off while yet young. It is 
 only the pure, the regular, the temperate man, as a rule, that at- 
 tains to ripe old age. God promises to obedient children length 
 of days; and hence the Irish have the profoundest respect for old 
 men and old women. There they are not laughed at; their words 
 are regarded as wisdom ; there evervbodv is willing to do honor 
 to, and to treat with marked kindness, those whose hair is silvered 
 and whose step is unsteady from age. But what shall I say of 
 their reverence for the ministers of the altar ? There is no peo- 
 ple on earth that so thoroughly understand the dignity, the sub- 
 lime character of the priesthood, as the Irish. They know pre- 
 cisely what a priest is, that he is the " mouthpiece of God," that 
 he is the " coadjutor of Jesus Christ," that he is the " angel of 
 the Lord of Hosts." They know that, no matter what fault he 
 may have as a man, the brilliancy of his priestly character re- 
 mains forever undimmed. There is a reason for this special re- 
 spect which the Irish pay to their priests. There is no doubt 
 about it, the Irish priests have deserved all the affection and love 
 of the Irish people; and cursed will be the day when the Irish
 
 [11] 
 
 priests aud people will take different roads ! Irish priests have 
 been true to Rome and true to noble Ireland. They never for- 
 got to inculcate sound faith, and they were true patriots. The 
 Irish priests never taught the people of Ireland that it was wrong 
 to love Ireland next to their religion, nor that it was wrong to 
 shake off the galling yoke of England, that was placed on her 
 noble neck by treachery, chicanery and duplicity; no — nor did 
 the Irish priests forbid their people to chop off the leg of the 
 tyrant when his accursed heel was on our mother's noble breast. 
 They only said: Beloved people, you know we are your friends, 
 nay, more, your fathers in God — do not resist the tyrant now; if 
 you attempt it, you will be all butchered. Abide j'our time; hope 
 of success will yet beam upon your just cause, and when that 
 time comes, we, your priests, will lead you to victory, and not 
 to death. The Irish people have, indeed, reason to revere their 
 priests, for those priests guarded them from, and admonished them 
 of danger. When had the Irish people reason to regret follow- 
 ing their advice? Never ! But, alas ! they often had to weep 
 for disobeying them. The priests of Ireland, as a body, were 
 always a most learned class of men — they were well versed in the 
 topics of the day; they were generally posted on all the chances 
 of success the people had, and the terrible evils that would fol- 
 low in case of failure in their undertaking. They weighed these 
 two sides well before God, and they gave their children the ben- 
 efit of their knowledge. 
 
 There is nothing more sickening than to hear illiterate peo- 
 ple, and young, would-be smart fops who actually could not give 
 you the outlines of Irish history nor the catechism of Ireland's 
 wrongs, blaming the priests of Ireland for her long subjection to 
 English misrule. Let me tell you, and I tell you with the blaz- 
 ing torch of history before me, that the Irish priests have been the 
 saviors of their people, for, long since, would they have been 
 butchered and exterminated were it not for the priests. The Irish 
 priests knew well that there was not a secret society in Ireland 
 at any time since their establishment there that did not contain 
 English sjDies, who knew every man in the organization, and who 
 kept the English Government posted on each man's doings. The 
 government allowed those societies to go on with their meetings, 
 to mature their plans, to sometimes break out in rebellion, for 
 the sake of accompli-shing her devilish work of gibbetting, quar- 
 tering, etc. Who knew better than the priests the danger these 
 poor men were exposing themselves to without a shadow of hope 
 of success, and therefore they endeavored to dissuade the people 
 from attaching themselves to such societies, knowing well that 
 their names, as soon as they were recorded on the lodge-book, 
 would be forwarded to the Castle. It is only the ignorant or 
 malicious that will blame the priests of Ireland. The would-be 
 smart ones and the sneering infidel Irishmen, with whom I have 
 already warned you to be on your guard, will pompously ex- 
 claim — and while they are so doing, you would be tempted to im- 
 agine that Solomon must have loaned those speakers his judicial 
 wandj since he could not have loaned them any more wisdom ;
 
 [12] 
 
 " But the Irish priests are not patriotic; they never go with the 
 people ; they are always preaching obedience to the most cursed 
 of governments." The priests are men of sense; they are not 
 madmen; they study and see conclusions, and wisely tell the peo- 
 ple to wait yet longer, and to keep aloof from unnecessary and 
 wanton danger. Does a man lose his patriotism, his love of coun- 
 try, his devotion to his nation, by becoming a priest? Heaven 
 fori3id such a thought in any man's mind ! My own solemn opin- 
 ion is, that a man always becomes patriotic in proportion to his 
 religious convictions. Irishmen, if there be one man that I warn 
 you against above all others as the enemy of your race and your 
 creed, and as the traitor to your cause in the hour of trial, that 
 man is he who mocks your priests, who bids you to pay no atten- 
 tion to them, who lures you to forbidden societies, and who is 
 himself a member of condemned and secret organizations. Have 
 no fellowship with those of that ilk. Ireland's cause is just. 
 She has suffered, for religion and nationality, wrongs unparalleled 
 in history. She need have no fear of being condemned by Grod 
 or the Church so long as she acts wisely, prudently, and not 
 under the guidance of madcaps, who have, unfortunately, but 
 too often exposed us to ridicule and contempt, and have given 
 England fresh opportunities to persecute us still more. 
 
 Yes, Irishmen, always trust, as you ever have, as a nation, 
 your priests ; and when the propitious moment will come to 
 settle accounts with old, brutal England, the murderer of your 
 priests and of your forefathers, the merciless despoiler of your 
 sanctuaries, the pilferer of your possessions, and the cruel hater 
 of your grand old Roman Catholic faith, those priests will bless 
 the sword that you will use that it may cut the more keenly, and 
 the bullet that it may perforate the more deeply, and your hands 
 that they may wield the weapons the more powerfully, and your 
 nerves that they may be the more steady, in carrying out the 
 revenge which, as a people, you have a just right to wreak on 
 your worst enemy. Yes, and the bloody memories of the past 
 seven hundred years will rise up before' you, and the martyred 
 dead, and the starved population of Ireland will cry out: Avenge 
 us, our descendants, and blot out forever the nation that has so 
 outraged faith and nationality ! Irishmen, you have no necessity 
 to join secret societies — they are reprobated by the Church, and 
 never brought anything but evil wherever they existed. Keep 
 out of them, and if you had the misfortune of entering them, 
 cut loose from them, in God's name. " A nation," says Saint 
 Augustine, " has no soul ;" then it must be rewarded or punished 
 here according to its deserts. 
 
 What a terrible reckoning England will have to give after 
 seven hundred years of cruelty to poor, noble, ever-faithful Ire- 
 land ! From the time of the invasion down to the days of Henry 
 VIII., from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. Catholic Eng- 
 land sought to rob us of our nationality, and for this purpose 
 belied us before the world, and, by her lying, actually sank us 
 low in the estimation of all Europe. She made laws by which 
 all the people of Ireland, except five families, were to be regard-
 
 ri3] 
 
 ed as mere animals, so that no Irishman, outside of those fami- 
 lies, was allowed to become a religious, or to enjoy the rights of 
 a man. From the days of Henry VIII., or from the sixteenth 
 century down to the present time, England has endeavored to 
 destroy not only our nationality, but our religion. She has suc- 
 ceeded no better than her Catholic ancestors in this double pur- 
 pose of hers. Great God! my very soul sickens at the sight of 
 the tortures, iarials, persecutions, and all manner of grievances 
 inflicted upon my noble mother, Ireland. Proscription of 
 learning in the whole island, banishment of the learned from 
 their sanctuaries, the murder or exile of priests, the starvation 
 of the people, the gibbet, the halter, the rack, the jail, the hor- 
 rible penal code — in a word, ever^^'thing that the united efforts of 
 earth and hell could make use of to exterminate us as a people 
 and to destroy our holy religion, to which we clung so fondly 
 and so truly. 
 
 Ireland shed no blood in the establishment of her religion; 
 but enough has been shed in Ireland since she was forced by 
 villainy to a union with cursed England to merit for her the title 
 of the " Island of Martyrs." We would be the most craven, cring- 
 ing i-ace, unworthy of the name of men, if, when God gives us the 
 chance to throw off the shackles that England has placed upon 
 us, we do not do it. How long, O God! how long must we wait 
 for this chance? And the answer comes back: Prepare, it will be 
 soon, and I will be with you. Your cause is just; it is mine, too. 
 Soberly, orderly, prudently do your duty for your country; it is 
 an act of religion to labor for the good of your country, to res- 
 cue her from hellish chains and laws. Will any man stand by 
 and see his mother butchered or his sister ravished, when he can 
 prevent these foul deeds? Cursed, indeed, would be the wretch 
 that would idly look on when he could prevent such unholy 
 actions ! Ireland is more to us than mother or sister. Catholic 
 theology teaches us that we must sacrifice ourselves and our all 
 but religion for the well-being of our country, if necessary. The 
 Church does not forbid us to labor, to struggle for liberty; but 
 consecrates the aspiration, and blesses the legitimate means that 
 will lead to such an end. Certainly, the Church must ever con- 
 demn foolish, indiscreet, imprudent movements that will inevi- 
 tably bring destruction on the people and do no good. 
 
 Ireland is worthy of all our love and of all the trials we can 
 undergo for her. For seven hundred years barbarous England 
 has been trying to wipe her out as a nation, but she has failed. 
 The Irish nationality is as marked, is as noble, is as purely Celtic 
 to-day as when Brian Boru governed our glorious country. There 
 is no similarity in any way between Ireland and England; there 
 is no love between them; there is no congeniality of feeling; 
 there is no bond of union. England holds us chained, bound 
 to her by force; and you are well aware that brute force alone 
 keeps us fettered. Away down deep in the heart of every Irish 
 man, woman and child is a yearning for a divorce, an everlasting 
 separation from that godless nation; and that thirst for emanci-
 
 [14] 
 
 pation from British shackles makes every nerve and sinew dance 
 with delight whenever we hear that England is in a difficulty. 
 For " England's difficulty will be our chance." 
 
 Irishmen, there are two noble ends in view in celebrating St. 
 Patrick's Day. The first is to thank God for the faith He gave 
 us through St. Patrick, and which we, blessed be God! have 
 never lost ; the second is to return God thanks for the glories 
 of our nation, and for the nationality which could jiever be taken 
 from us. The day that Irishmen will cease to celebrate St. 
 Patrick's Day (which is so fraught with noble memories), becom- 
 ingly, will see Irish faith and patriotism on the wane. May 
 Heaven avert such a calamity ! 
 
 Then, Irishmen, gather your children around you; collect your 
 neighbors and tell them of the past glories of the ocean island, 
 both when she was pagan, and when she was a Christian govern- 
 ment. Tell them how for ages in our pagan days we were a 
 peaceable, happy people, with a civilization far superior to that 
 of Greece or Rome; that we were free from the barbarous 
 practices of idolatry that Avere found elsewhere; that we were 
 a most enlightened nation; that no nation has preserved its 
 history so completely, so accurately as Ireland, from the fact that 
 from the very beginning she bad scribes and recorders of the 
 deeds of every clan, every province, and of the whole nation. 
 Tell them that our kings were selected because they were the 
 best men of the clans, and the noblest of the noble, and that 
 if there was a detect in mind or body, the one having such 
 defect could not be king in Ireland. Tell them that the Irish 
 were never slaves, and that they always had the daring and 
 martial ardor peculiar to the Celtic race. Say to them that 
 liome never owned a foot of Irish soil whilst its power 
 was felt over British land. Announce to them that the Knights 
 of Erin were the most chivalrous band of noblemen the world 
 ever saw, " sworn to defend justice, learning and women." And 
 when you have briefly depicted the glories of pagan Ireland, 
 then with flashing eyes and dilated soul speak to them of the 
 glories of Christian Ireland; declare to them that Ireland did 
 not do, as most other nations did, put her Apostles to death; that 
 for three hundred years after Saint Patrick, she was the Island 
 of Saints; that she was the nursery of learning for all Europe, 
 and that students came from all parts to her shores to be 
 enriched with the priceless treasures of learning; declare to 
 them that she was the Island of the Learned as well as of the 
 Saints. Announce to them that our saints and learned men, 
 filled with zeal for the salvation of souls, and with a thirst to 
 propagate learning, went over to Scotland, Iceland, Norway, 
 Wales, France, Austria, Germany and even to Italy, to briitg the 
 people of those countries Irish faith and Irish learning. Tell 
 them how we resisted the Danes who prowled around our shores 
 so often and so long. Make known that though we are regarded 
 for the last seven hundred years as the property of England, that 
 we still sigh for liberty, and love our njoble mother, Ireland, as 
 faithfully as ever, and that we every day say, in the spirit of the
 
 [ 15] 
 
 Israelites when iu bondage, and for the same reason, for our 
 religion and nationality were assailed in every possible manner: 
 "Upon the rivei's of Babylon, there we sat and wept, when we 
 remembered Sion (the Irish Church.) If I forget thee, O 
 Jerusalem (Ireland) ! let my right hand be forgotten. Let my 
 tongue cleave to my jaws, if I do not remember thee. O daugh- 
 ter of Babylon (cruel, brutal England) ! blessed shall he be who 
 shall repay thee thy jDayment which thou hast paid us." Recount 
 to them the bitterness of the chalice which was given to Ireland 
 in the days of the Plantagenets and Tudors. Point out England's 
 duplicity, her meanness, her want of honesty in all her dealings 
 with Ireland; say, however, that Ireland kept her faith and pre- 
 served her nationality in spite of all the persecutions; and then, 
 Irishmen, your children and your neighbors will be fired with the 
 spirit of all true patriots, with love for their country and an 
 efficacious and sacred desire of seeing her free and independent, 
 as she should be, and each St. Patrick's Day will thus make us 
 more thoroughly Irish and more purely Roman Catholic. 
 
 We may well be proud of our history, of our faith and of our 
 patriotism, and of the apostolic spirit of our people ! Even 
 since we have been under the despotic sway of England, in our 
 povert;/, which was brought upon us because we would not give 
 up our faith, have we not sent to every land our learned and 
 pious missionaries? In every country of Europe, in Africa, Asia, 
 India, Australia, are to be found Irish prelates and Irish teachers. 
 What would America be to-day in respect to churches, priests, 
 nuns, and teachers in academies and seminaries, if it were not 
 for the Irish ! May Grod, in His own good time, grant indepen- 
 dence to our dear land! May He even hasten that time, in which 
 Ireland's sons will have joy in bursting the chains that have so 
 long fettered her noble limbs, and that she may once more be- 
 come a nation such as she has been —a nation truly Roman 
 Catholic, a nation most just, a nation most holy, a nation most 
 honorable, and a nation most learned! 
 
 It is our duty. Irishmen, to pray for this; it is our duty to 
 prudently, wisely, nobly labor for this, for true patriotism does 
 not consist in words, in speech-making, in delivering harangues; 
 but in being willing and ready to even die for our country when 
 the interests of that country demands such sacrifice at our 
 hands. The holy scriptures warn us to "never trust an enemy." 
 England is the sworn enemy of our faith and nationality; she 
 has always deceived us, and she has never conceded anything to 
 us except when forced, or when she was in difficulty, and it was 
 her interest .to conciliate us. Then it is plain that we have to 
 rely on the cannon's roar, the whizzing bullet and the flash- 
 ing scimitar. Religion first and above all things — that means 
 obedience to God and to His Church — then love of country. I 
 would sum up in a few words what I, as a priest, religious 
 and Irishman, feel to-day in regard to the topic already discussed, 
 and, in my three-fold capacity, concluded my meditation this 
 morning.
 
 r 16 ] 
 
 O God ! I beseech Thee to liberate noble, faithful Ireland 
 from the infernal grasp of England! I love my country dearly, 
 because she has ever been so faithful to the Church, and so honest 
 in her dealings; but yet, my God, if you foresee that she would 
 lose her faith by being made free, then I pray thee, from my 
 heart, leave her shackled, and, if necessary, torture her still more, 
 — yea, my God, blot her out of existence before she loses what she 
 has ever prized most — her faith; or before she would abandon 
 the Pope, as other nations have done. But, O God ! if Ireland 
 will remain true to thee, in becoming free — and I don't doubt it 
 for a moment, and will continue to be Roman and Apostolic — 
 then, in the name of the Triune Deity, let her slavery be ended be- 
 fore to-morrow's sun shall rise. Send thy angels to deliver her 
 from the thraldom which has lasted so long. This is my religion, 
 this is my patriotism, and it embraces all legitimate means. 
 May God and His Immaculate Mother and our great Apostle 
 guard the faith and nationality of faithful Ireland, and give 
 strength to the arms, and victory to the heroes who will wisely, 
 prudently and legitimately fight for such a noble cause against 
 the most cursed of governments that ever ruled an oppressed 
 nation, or, more properly speaking, that ever misruled a most 
 Catholic people. 
 
 We may well conclude in the words of our national poet — 
 Davis : 
 
 "And 'tis for this we think and toil, and knowledge strive to glean, 
 That we may pull the English Eed below the Irish Green, 
 And leave onr sons sweet Liberty, and smiling plenty spread 
 Above the land once dark with blood — the Green above the Red. 
 
 The jealous English tyrant now has banned the Irish Green, 
 And forced us to conceal it like a something foul and mean; 
 But yet, by Heavens ! he'll sooner raise his victims from the dead 
 Than force our hearts to leave the Green, and cotton to the Red ! 
 
 We'll trust ourselves, for God is good, and blesses those who lean 
 On their brave hearts, and not upon an earthly king or queen; 
 And, freely as we lift our hands, we vow our blood to shed 
 Once and forevermore to raise the Green above the Red."
 
 CRITICISM ON FATHER RODNEY'S ORATION. 
 
 (FBOM the SAN FRANCISCO " COMMEKCIAL ADVOCATE.") 
 
 You Must be True Komans to be Christians. 
 
 Father Kooney, in his address in this citj on the 17th of 
 the present month, gave utterance to the treasonable and 
 American principle, that the Irish Eoman Catholics among 
 us should — 
 
 "Swear to be above all things Koman, and never listen to any 
 man who would seduce you from your allegiance to Eome. In 
 your conventions, gatherings and meetings, allow no man to have 
 influence over you that rejects Rome." 
 
 The purport of this advice is, that if the order emanates 
 from the Pope of Kome to break up our system of diffusing 
 knowledge in our public schools; or to create dissensions 
 among our rich and poor; or to obtain control of our political 
 institutions, with the ultimate view of gaining for the hier- 
 archy the ascendancy in our national affairs, and thus give the 
 Church a greater advantage than she otherwise could obtain ; 
 or for any other movement or plan of action that would be 
 subservient to the interests of the Papal power and detri- 
 mental to our free institutions, they should SWEAPt to im- 
 plicitly follow those dictations and in every instance hold the 
 mandates of the Prelate to be paramount to the laws of their 
 adopted home. In swearing to the dogma of this priest, they 
 at once commit a wilful perjury; for in taking the oath of 
 allegiance to the American government they have positively 
 sworn to cast off all allegiance to any foreign potentate, prince 
 or power. 
 
 Here we have an instance of a so-styled minister of the gos- 
 pel of the truthful and holy Nazarene, demanding from his 
 hearers, and the adherents to the creed which he endeavors 
 to promulgate, that they should violate their oath to the 
 government which in its noble magnanimity and bountiful 
 generosity has tendered them a home in its free and prosper- 
 ous laud. By so doing he invites their co-operation in per- 
 jury and treason. 
 
 Then, with an arrogance which approaches sublimity in 
 its marvelous disregard of history and truth, says of Ireland : 
 ''Our civilization was superior to that of Greece or Rome."
 
 [18] 
 
 \ 
 
 We would advise Munchausen if he were living at the present 
 day to surrender his claim, for which he is so notorious, to 
 this popish priest, Father Kooney; for his reverence, cer- 
 tainly, after that utterance, has an undoubted right to such 
 supremacy. 
 
 He gives the following advice to his countrymen who have 
 .come to dwell among us: 
 
 " Trust your priests, as you ever have as a nation, and when 
 the i)ropitious moment comes to settle accounts with brutal old 
 England, the murderer of your priests and forefathers, the 
 merciless despoiler of your sanctuaries, the pilferer of your pos- 
 sessions, and the starver of your people, those priests will bless 
 the sword that you will use, that it may cut the more keenly; the 
 bullet that it may perforate the more deeply; and your hands 
 that they may wield the weapon more powerfully; and your 
 nerves that you may move steadily and avenge your injured 
 mother and your noble ancestors." 
 
 Not content with the endeavor to array class against class 
 among our citizens, this Romish priest would gladly embroil 
 two nations that are now in amity and peace with each other 
 in all the horrors and evils of a war. Has he forgotten the 
 Divine injunction to "Forgive your enemies," and to "Do 
 good to them that would persecute you '' ? Has the promise 
 of God passed from his remembrance — "vengeance is mine; 
 I 2^/// repay " ? Has the beautiful sentiment of " Peace on 
 earth and good will to men " ever been heard by him ? And 
 he tells them further that : 
 
 "The Pope in the mind of the Irish, as in the mind of the 
 Universal Church, meant the one next to God, the centre of di- 
 vine authority on earth." 
 
 Or that the orders of the Pope should be obeyed, no 
 matter what they were, and be acknowledged by Irish Roman 
 Catholics as above all other considerations. 
 
 If this is in accordance with American principles, if it 
 assimilates with the letter and spirit of the oath of alle- 
 giance to the American Government, then we must admit our 
 obtuseness in our inability to perceive it, or our want of 
 comprehension of the true meaning of our language.
 
 REJOINDER. 
 
 " Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." 
 
 In the Commercial Advocates issue of March 30th, one 
 
 number of which accidentally came into my posession only 
 
 a few days ago, I noticed a most insidious but, of course, 
 
 elegantly-manipulated review of my Patrick's Day oration. I 
 
 would not deign to notice personal flings at myself, for it is 
 
 generally admitted that only fools and ill-bred persons attack 
 
 when there is no reason for it; but I feel bound to defend the 
 
 views I gave in my discourse, and to make some explanations 
 
 rendered necessary by said attack, lest, by my silence, I 
 
 should be considered, in any quarter, as backing down from 
 
 principles I hold sacred and most dear. 
 
 The writer of the review of my discourse must be a most 
 
 keen and penetrating jurist; his comments on my oration 
 
 clearly prove this. He declared that I spoke treasonable 
 
 language in asking Catholics, who are citizens of this glorious 
 
 Republic, "to swear to be, above all things, Roman, and 
 
 never to listen to any man who would wish to seduce them 
 
 from their allegiance to Rome." Would the dear reviewer — 
 
 mighty Apollo, Nemesis itself — be so kind as to inform me 
 
 in what my treason consists ? I must bow to this man 
 of legal lore. I must, then, have been wrong in my views of 
 allegiance to this country; but, under the guidance of my 
 wise mentor, I will yet come all right ! This discrimina- 
 ting criticiser is just the profound scholar I have been look- 
 ing for; and it is a miracle of a wonder that the people of 
 San Francisco did not discover this star in their religious 
 firmament before this; and, strange, it is by the merest ac- 
 cident that this light is even now discovered. Had I not 
 preached on Patrick's Day, he would have been one of the 
 Nebulae. Blackstone, Kent, and all the able jurists pale 
 into insignificance when compared with my amiable casti- 
 gator. Such a ready judge, one who can so quickly despatch 
 a six-column oration, and do it so satisfactorily, at lea.-.t to 
 himself, ought to be appointed at once to expedite the heavy 
 cases of our courts ! 
 
 But, seriously, I would ask my charitable censor — for I 
 am only a "Popish priest" — to inform me where the treason is 
 in my words? I said: " The Pope, in the Irish mind as in
 
 [20] 
 
 the mind of the Universal Church, means the being next to 
 God, the centre of divine authority on earth " — in other 
 words, the Pope is the mouthpiece of Jesus Christ, and the 
 foundation of the Church. But Christ says that His Church 
 is a spiritual kingdom. Why does this most learned jurist 
 try to drag me from the domain of the spiritual kingdom to 
 the arena of politics ? Did I say that we were to obey the 
 Pope in purely temporal matters, or did I declare that we, 
 as American citizens, or as Irishmen, should obey him in 
 purely political matters? Never ! When I said that "we 
 should swear to be, above all things, Roman," I was refer- 
 ring to our obedience to the divinely-constituted head of the 
 Church; I had in view only our duty as Christians, and i 
 never dreamt once about politics. 
 
 Hear how my polished adversary deduces conclusions from 
 the above words. He is a most logical antagonist, and 
 deserves close watching ! How beautifully his deductions 
 flow from my words ! ' ' The purport of this advice is, that 
 if the order emanates from the Pope of Rome to break up 
 our system of diilusing knowledge in our public schools, or 
 to create dissension among our rich and poor, or to obtain 
 control of our political institutions with the ultimate view 
 of gaining for the hierarchy the ascendancy in our national 
 affairs, and thus give the Church a greater advantage than 
 she otherwise could obtain, or for any other movement or 
 plan of action that would be subservient to the interests of 
 the Papal power, and detrimental to our free institutions, 
 they should swear to implicitly follow those dictations, and 
 in "every instance hold the mandates of the prelate to be 
 paramount to the laws of their adopted home. In swearing 
 to the dogma of this priest, they at once commit a wilful 
 perjur}'; for, in taking the oath of allegiance to the American 
 Government, they have positively sworn to cast off all alle- 
 giance to any foreign potentate, prince or power." 
 
 The juggernaut weight of these mighty deductions, so 
 logically drawn from my words, almost crush me, and I feel 
 sure they would deaden me, only my epidermis is so thick 
 and my neck so confoundedly stiff, especially where my faith 
 or nationality is concerned. Will the most eminent jurist 
 please to answer me one question ? Is God a foreign prince 
 or potentate according to the tenor of the oath we foreigners 
 had to take? If He be regarded as such, then I never took 
 the oath, for I never intended to give up God for any coun- 
 try. If He be not regarded as a foreign prince or potentate, 
 but as the first and great ruler in every nation, "by whom 
 kings rule," then my allegiance to my God should not clash, 
 and cannot, with the State, nor should the State make laws 
 that will clash with my duty to my first superior — the Most 
 
 High.
 
 [21] 
 
 The meaning, then, of my words, " Swear to be, above all 
 things. Eoman," is that we must above all things obey God. 
 And if our temporal interests, or State regulations, should 
 try to stand between us and God, we must adhere to God; 
 for the Good Book says : "It is better to obey God than 
 princes." I hope my most exalted opponent will see that his 
 deductions are not regarded by me, I suppose, on account of 
 my obtuseness, as altogether in harmony with the principles 
 I laid down. I would remind my most serene antagonist 
 that his deductions are out of joint. His kind of shooting 
 may be very good for making a report, for gathering Protes- 
 tants around the standard of bigotry, but he did not hit the 
 mark; in fact, he went so high above my now diminished 
 head that I barely heard the volley, and I felt a conscious- 
 ness that I was not at all in danger in being in the neighbor- 
 hood of such a shooter. My super-eminent attacker may be 
 a splendid authority on treason, but he has yet to learn the 
 science of gunnery — logic. He has wasted all his powder, 
 for he has been shooting at impossible conjectures, conjured 
 up by the (to him) hideous spectre of Popery. 
 
 Let me say in brief to my benign opposer, that we Catholics 
 regard the Pope as being next to God, and our spiritual 
 head on earth, so far as religion, faith, morals and discipline 
 are C(mcerned; but in the domain of pure politics, of science, 
 of purely temporal matters, we are Popes ourselves. If, by 
 an impossible supposition, the Pope were to urge us to rise 
 in rebellion against America; if he were to call on us to 
 fight, or if he were to attempt to assume the control of our 
 purses, we would defiantly say to him: " Thy kingdom, the 
 kingdom of Christ, is not of this world;" rule thy Church, 
 but leave purely political matters, which belong to the State, 
 to the people. If he would come over here with an armed 
 force to invade our shores, we Irish, "who swear to be 
 above all things Roman," would rise to a man, to drive him, 
 not as Pope, but as a robber and usurper, from our adopted 
 country. In calling on the people to be true Romans, every 
 one, but a most exalted genius, who always sees some things 
 that common minds can't grasp in expressions, must under- 
 stand that I meant religion before everything else, even 
 before nationality or patriotism. Where, then, I most hum- 
 bly ask, is the treason in my remarks ? Where is the 
 foundation for my profound reviewer saying, that ' ' my advice 
 urges to wilful perjury?" 
 
 From some other remarks of my most sapient adviser, one 
 would be tempted to imagine that we Irish are here only by 
 sufferance, that the Americans are most kind to us in allowing 
 us to remain here at all. Will my most calm and illustrious 
 propounder of sage things, let a "Popish priest" declare to him 
 that we are all foreigners here but the poor Indians, who have
 
 ■[2'2 J 
 
 been driven from place to place, until their race is nearly 
 extinct? Let me say, in my "arrogance," that we Irish- 
 American citizens are not hece by sufferance, that we helped 
 to found this grand Republic, that we stood by it in the hour 
 of trial, and we will never allow its grand Hag to be dragged 
 in the mire. Yes, we have a sacred right here, and we have 
 a sacred duty to perform — to keep up the glorious Republic ! 
 It cannot be said that the Irish were on the side of England 
 at any time against this country; but we have very good 
 reasons for knowing that there are now some blatant, so- 
 called Americans, whose ancestors were Hessians or Col- 
 onists, who did not help the American cause, but gave much 
 trouble to their noble neighbors in the Colonies ! Of course 
 I would not dare to insinuate for a moment that my most lumi- 
 nous opposer came from that class — all I mean is, that the 
 Irish certainly did not come from that class. My noble 
 opponent has been so much taken up in musty tomes of law 
 that he could not find time for reading Washington's Address 
 to the Catholics who fought for American independence, nor 
 probably did he ever hear of the splendid array of Irish 
 names of heroes who were officers in our armies and navies, 
 from the dawn of our independence to the present hour. Nor 
 did he care about counting the innumerable hosts of Irish- 
 men who shed their blood for this country; no, nor he never 
 heard how Catholic France came to our assistance in the dark 
 hour of our slavery. 
 
 Let me furthermore tell m}^ sublime wrestler that neither 
 the Catholic nor the Irish element will ever break up or 
 machinate against this government; but if it ever be broken 
 up, which may God avert ! it will be by the secret organizations 
 of bigotry, of which the Commercial Advocate is a warm 
 defender. I would expect so able a jurist, as my opponent 
 has proved himself to be, to be posted on everything. But a 
 universal genius such as Napoleon is a " rara avis" — that is, 
 of rare occurrence. Generally, as there is a predominant 
 passion in every man, so there is also a peculiar talent, if 
 there be any there at all. Law, jurisprudence, special cases 
 of treason, where a keen, penetrating eye is required in order 
 to detect its lurking, is the shining specialty of my con- 
 siderate adversary; hence, when he hears anything of his- 
 tory, he calls it Munchausenism. I have heard some good 
 people, who were inconceivably ignorant — and they were not 
 Irish — say that the burning of the witches at Salem, Mass., 
 that the Blue Laws of Connecticut, that the story of 
 the Irish having fought for the independence of this 
 country whilst many of the Protestant Colonists were on 
 the side of the home government, that the miracles of our 
 Lord — were all Munchausen stories. I would not for the 
 world apply to my contented demonstrator the words so
 
 [ 23] 
 
 often quoted: "There are none so blind as those who will 
 not see." I always gave credit to jurists for knowing at 
 least enough of logic to tell them that naked expressions, 
 bare declarations, unsupported statements, can fairly be 
 dismissed with a bare negation. " Quod (jratis asseritur, 
 gratis negaiur." 
 
 I thought my benign assailer was only filled with law; but 
 I confess I made a mistake. He appears to be filled with 
 Scripture, too — it is wonderful " hoAV one small head can 
 carry all he knows." I thought at first he was a lawyer, from 
 his profound knowledge of law, and the facile manner in 
 which he dashes off legal technicalities; but now I am 
 beginning to think he is a propounder or retailer of Scriptural 
 sayings. In fact, I am at a loss to know what manner of 
 man he is, under the guise of a newspaper attache. Had I 
 taken the ordinary precaution of a phrenologist, put him on 
 a pivot, wheeled him round a few times, examined his bumps, 
 1 would at once have taken his measure, and I would have 
 seen the halo of scriptural lore shining out from him. I 
 could never apply to my most mellifluous denouncer the 
 words of a great man, "Fools rush in where angels fear to 
 tread." I would say, however, that it is always dangerous 
 to attack old Rome. What does this sonorous upbraider 
 mean, when he says: "Not content with the endeavor to 
 array class against class among our citizens, this Romish 
 priest would gladly embroil two nations, that are now in 
 amity and peace with each other, in all the horrors and evils 
 of war." Profound scripturalist ! towering Hector! (would I 
 exclaim to my sagacious defamer,) when did I or any of my 
 calling "attempt to array class against class among our 
 citizens ? " When did I say or do anything of an inflammatory 
 character to stir up the people or arouse their bad passions? 
 
 He most charmingly asks me if I forgot the divine injunc- 
 tion: " Forgive your enemies; do good to them that would 
 persecute you;" and he blandly says: "Remember, 
 vengeance is mine; I will repay." What does my sturdy Scrip- 
 turalist want to prove by those texts ? He alone knows. He 
 is so taken up with law that he forgets a nation has no soul, 
 as St. Augustine says. I never advised strife or contest with 
 individuals; I never said you can fail in charity to any one. 
 Not at all. I am too supremely obtuse to understand that 
 these texts forbid war; they never were understood to do so. 
 We would be under England yet, if his charitable application 
 of the Scriptures were carried out; it may be, that is what 
 the knowing writer in the Commercial Advocate wants ; in that 
 case, who is the traitor to tliis country? Does my sagacious 
 opponent really mean that the texts he quoted for my benefit 
 are opposed to war? Then his doctrine is, there must be no 
 war. All the nations of the earth, particularly the tyrannical 
 
 370562
 
 [24] 
 
 ones, ought to vote a subsidy to sucli a champion of their 
 cause. I am very much inclined to think that it is because 
 England is attacked that my most glorious slayer is annoyed. 
 Must a nation, then, when she is overcome by brute force 
 and enslaved, give up her aspirations for liberty? Must 
 she be content with being absorbed into her conqueror? 
 Shade of Munchausen ! thou hast been restored, filled with 
 vitality and even Avith more sparkling and fascinating 
 radiance, into the corpus of my gigantic pugilist. 
 
 Hear wisdom and history speaking through this gran- 
 diloquent writer: "This Romish priest" (I suppose the 
 etiquette of the forensic stj'le requires the use of the elegant 
 word " Romish" instead of the vulgar Roman) "would gladly 
 embroil two nations that are now at amity and peace with 
 each other in all the horrors and evils of war." Can it be that 
 my noble rebutter has been sleeping the sleep of Rip Van 
 Winkle, or has he a mania for turning over the folios of 
 law to such an extent that he has not time to post himself on 
 Anglo-Irish peace and amity ? I have heard of some poor 
 people, living in mountainous districts, far awav from the in- 
 fluence of the press, who, for several successive elections 
 after his death, cast their votes for Andrew Jackson. I used 
 to think that was a Munchausen story; but I can well believe 
 now it was not, when I have printed evidence before me that a 
 man lives in the nineteenth century, associated with the 
 press, the grand difl'user of knowledge, who actually has de- 
 clared that Ireland and England are at peace and in amity ! 
 Such peace ! such amity ! ! Does Ireland love England ? 
 does Ireland want to remain as she is? is Ireland content 
 with England? No; and she never will be content with 
 anything less than complete independence. Shame upon 
 any son of hers, no matter who he is, who would be content 
 with less ! 
 
 I am well aware that there must be great, mighty reasons 
 for revolution, and there must be strong hope of success. 
 I am not advocating rebellion. I am not defending revolu- 
 tion, except under the proper conditions. If the time comes 
 when we can shake off the galling yoke, we will know how to 
 dare to do it. What a magnificent aptitude my jocund reviler 
 has for putting things ! I almost envy him his gift ! He 
 can, without a change of countenance, make or deny history. 
 It is most useful to have such a ready genius in our midst. 
 I am surprised the good people of this beautiful city don't 
 utilize so able an expounder of law, history, the Holy 
 Scriptures, and so amiable a representative of Christian 
 peace and amity. For my part, I have been wonderfully 
 amused by the transparencies of my most radiant enlightener. 
 He puts me in mind of " Will o' the Wisp." 
 
 FATHER ROONEY, O. P.
 
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