Well, the point is, what are modern times? What date are we to fix for the beginning of good government in Ireland—1800? Scarcely. I do not think that the rankest Tory that ever lived will now attempt to defend English rule in Ireland between 1800 and 1828. In fact, this is what they call ancient history. They will say to you: “Well, of course, we know that the Catholics ought to have been emancipated at the Union, and a great many other things ought to have been done! But what is the good of talking about that now?” The good is, that the lessons of the past are the safeguards of the future. Hence they must be learned. “Progress,” says Lamennais, “is in a straight line. To find it we must go back to the past.” Let us take the line of “progress” in Ireland throughout the nineteenth century. In 1800 the Irish Parliament was destroyed; the English Parliament took Ireland in hand. A new era was to dawn upon the country. The Catholics were to be emancipated, measures of social and political amelioration were to be passed, peace and prosperity were to reign in the land. Such was the promise of the Union. How was it fulfilled? The Catholics were not emancipated; measures of social amelioration were not carried; but the Statute book was filled with Coercion Acts passed to crush the efforts of the people in their struggle for justice and freedom. A chronology of Ireland lies before me. Such entries as these meet the eye at every turn. 1800-1801. Insurrection Act, Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, and Martial Law. 1803. Insurrection Act. 1804. Habeas Corpus Suspension Act. 1807-1810. Insurrection Act, Martial Law and Habeas Corpus Suspension Act. 1814. Habeas Corpus Suspension Act. 1814-1818. Insurrection Act. 1822-1824. Habeas Corpus Suspension Act, Insurrection Act. 1825-1828. Act for Suppression of Catholic Association. Nothing can give a better idea of the character of English Government in Ireland during the first quarter of the century than the mere recital of these Acts. And then when we look at the Statute book for the measures passed to ameliorate the condition of the people, to reconcile them to the loss of their Parliament, and to give them confidence in the English Legislature, what do we find? At the General Election of 1910, a pamphlet was published in the county——. It bore the title—“What Mr. M—— has done for the people of ——” You then turned over the leaves and found every page a blank. So is it with the English Statute book, during the years 1800-1829, as far as measures of justice for Ireland are concerned. Out of a total population of 5,000,000 people at the time of the Union, 4,000,000 were Catholics. These Catholics, representing the old Irish race, were treated as outlanders in their own country. Ireland was governed through the Protestant minority who, (themselves the descendants of English settlers), were, under England, the masters of the land. In 1798, Cornwallis had written to Pitt: