Lord Clare, as an
Irishman, naturally reversed the order, but his compelling points were
the same:--To Ireland the Union was a "vital interest," which at the
same time "intimately affected the strength and prosperity of the
British Empire." From that day to this the two fundamental arguments for
the Union of Great Britain and Ireland have remained unchanged, and they
apply with ever-growing force to the existing situation at home and
abroad. But the argument from history has, perhaps, been a little
neglected of late, and calls for at least a passing notice.
Popular oratory will have it that England has always been keen and
aggressive in regard to the incorporation of Ireland within the Empire,
but as a matter of fact, the very opposite has been the case. From the
time of Pope Adrian's Bull, _Laudabiliter_, in 1154, which granted to
Henry II. the Lordship of Ireland, but which Henry left unemployed for
seventeen years, to that of the Irish petition for a legislative Union
in 1703, which remained unanswered for nearly a century, vacillation and
hesitation rather than eagerness for aggression have been the
characteristic marks of English policy in Ireland.
Pages:
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70