If the United States and England unite in policy now and make by their
imposing attitude a breakwater to the ambitious league of despotism, the
Anglo-Saxon race, with all who gathered around that kernel, will not
only have the glorious pleasure of having saved the Christian world from
being absorbed by despotism, but you especially will have the noble
satisfaction of having contributed to the progress and to the
development of freedom in England, Scotland, and Ireland themselves: for
the principles of national sovereignty, independence, and
self-government, when restored on the continent of Europe, must in a
beneficent manner reach upon those islands themselves. They may remain
monarchical, if it be their will to do so, but the parliamentary
omnipotence, which absorbs all that _you_ call _State_ rights
and self-government, will yield to the influence of Europe's liberated
continent. England will govern its own domestic concerns by its own
parliament, and Scotland its own, and Ireland its own, just as the
states of your galaxy do; the three countries are destined to mutual
connection, by their geographical relations, by far more than New York
with Louisiana or Carolina with California. By conserving the
state-rights of self-government to all of them they will unite in a
common government for the common interest, as you have done. _Union,
and not unity, must be the guiding star of the future_ with every
power composed of several distinct bodies, and though I am a republican
more perhaps than thousands who are citizens of a republic, inasmuch as
I have known all the curse of having had a king--still such a
development of Great Britain's future, were it even connected with
monarchy, I, a true republican, would hail with fervent joy. To
contribute to such a future, I indeed should consider more practical
support to the cause of freedom, to the cause of Ireland itself, than,
out of passionate aversions either for past or present wrongs, to
discourage, nay, almost force Great Britain to submit to the threatening
attitude of despots or even to side with them against liberty. Out of
such a submission there can never result any good to any one in the
world, and certainly none to you--none to the nations of Europe--none to
Ireland--but increased oppression to Europe and Ireland, and danger to
you yourselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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