WILLIAM SMITH O'BRIEN. (1803-1864.) WILLIAM SMITH O'BRIEN was born in Dromoland, County Clare, Oct. 17, 1803, and was educated at Harrow, and afterward at Trinity College, Cambridge. His remote ancestors were, according to Mr. W. J. O'Neill Daunt in his 'Eighty-five Years of Irish History,' the royal O'Briens, of whose family Brian Boroimhe was a member. In 1826 he took his seat in Parliament as the Tory Member for Ennis, and not only used his influence against O'Connell, but on one occasion very strongly censured the conduct of the Liberator. But a change was brought about after some study of the social and political conditions, and Smith O'Brien became a violent member of the Young Ireland party. He was warmly welcomed and generously greeted by O'Connell when he made his appearance in Conciliation Hall, although his ideas of Irish freedom and the methods to be resorted to for obtaining it were very different from those of the great emancipator. The whole story of the attempt of 1848, its disastrous failure, and the trial and transportation of Smith O'Brien, is well told by Mr. A. M. Sullivan in his 'New Ireland.' After nearly five years in exile an unsolicited pardon was accorded to Smith O'Brien on condition of his not returning to Ireland, and in 1854 he went to Europe, settling with his family at Brussels. Here he wrote his 'Principles of Government, or Meditations in Exile,' which was afterward published in Dublin. It is clearly and forcibly written, the views are very moderate and far-seeing, and the ideas with regard to the Australian colonies show keen observation. In May, 1856, a free pardon was granted him, and July of the same year saw the patriot once more on the shores of Ireland. Although his opinions were unchanged, he wisely kept himself apart from politics. After spending a short time at home he departed on a European tour, visiting this country before his return. The ideas gleaned during his absence, and his conclusions formed upon many subjects, were utilized in a course of interesting lectures given in the Mechanics' Institute, Dublin. 66 In 1864 he visited England and Wales, with the view of restoring his failing health, but no improvement took place, and he died at Bangor, June 16, 1864. 'Few politicians," says Mr. Lecky, a writer who has no sympathy with his views, "have sacrificed more to what they believed to be right, and the invariable integrity of his motives has more than redeemed the errors of his judgment." AMUSEMENTS OF THE PEOPLE. From 'Principles of Government.' A beneficent government ought not to limit its efforts merely to the establishment of arrangements to promote the health of the community; it ought also to do whatever lies in its power to provide suitable recreation for the people. Enjoyment of some kind-excitement of some kind-is indispensable to man; and those best deserve innocent enjoyment who give up the greater portion of their time to useful toil. Now, if rational and innocent pleasures are not rendered accessible to the working-classes, they will naturally have recourse to those brutalizing excitements which are always within their reach. Many a laboring man spends his evening in a pot-house only because no other circle in which he can enjoy social converse is open to him. Many a young man has attended a cockfight, only because no more noble excitement has been presented to him. Had he been a citizen of ancient Athens, he would probably have spent his leisure hours in listening to the dramas of Euripides and Sophocles, or in taking part in those athletic exercises which developed and kept alive the manly prowess of the children of Greece... With regard to athletic exercises and games of skill, we have occasion to feel shame and regret when we contrast the feebleness and decrepitude of modern days with the vigor of antiquity. Horse-racing and the manly amusement of fox-hunting, which are the favorite excitements of the gentry of modern times, form but a poor substitute for the athletic exercises of Greece, or for the tournaments of the middle ages. At one period in English history the practice of archery was not only an amusement but a requirement exacted from every English peasant and yeoman. What manly exercise now forms part of the discipline of youth? The governors of many of those states which call themselves free would be afraid to place arms in the hands of the population at large, or to encourage them to learn the use of implements of defense; otherwise the rifle would now be, in the hands of an English peasant, what the bow was in former times. The hour will arrive when rulers, who have been accustomed to place their whole reliance upon standing armies, and to distrust the loyalty of their own population, will have reason to regret the decay of that self-relying spirit which they have labored to extinguish. I do not advocate the revival of pugilistic combats, though much may be said in favor of that barbarous amusement; but I cannot read Virgil's account of the games practiced by the followers of Eneas, without feeling how immeasurably superior was the spirit which is breathed in the following lines— 66 Hi proprium decus et partum indignantur honorem to that emulation which now prompts the peasantry of England to catch soaped pigs by the tail, or to run in sacks the rural sports of the nineteenth century. In a well-governed community not only should the population be encouraged to practice all sorts of gymnastic exercises; but also they should be trained to military evolutions, and to the use of arms. For such purposes days ought to be set apart, and prizes ought to be distributed by the municipal authorities. The acquisition of money has become the sole object of pursuit in modern days. Mammon now rules the civilized world with imperious sway. It should be the aim of the statesman to impart nobler emotions, more generous aspirations, than those which the love of gain can inspire. There are some who affect to disapprove emulation in every form-whether in a boat-race or in an academy. Yet even such squeamish moralists may assist in providing recreation for the people. They cannot object to throw open to the multitude zoölogical collections, botanic gardens, museums of painting and sculpture, or to encourage attendance upon lectures directed to the advancement of literary and scientific knowledge. It ought to be the pride, as it is the duty, of an enlightened government to encourage all such pursuits, and there is no mode of encouraging them so legitimate as that which calls into action the cooperation of the people themselves. Hence the municipal representatives of the people should not only be empowered, but stimulated, to provide in each locality such arrangements as shall contribute in the highest attainable degree to the health, recreation, and intellectual improvement of the population. There is no village, however small, in which something might not be done to promote the enjoyment of the inhabitants. These things are in some countries left undone, merely because no organization has been formed for carrying such objects into effect. “What is everybody's business is nobody's," says the proverb. It appears like intrusion on the part of an individual to do that for the public which the public neglects to do for itself; and if a benevolent or public-spirited individual hazards such an intrusion, some sinister motive will generally be imputed to him. Take the simplest instance that can be brought forward in illustration of this observation. It generally happens that, in the vicinity of every village, there are spots of favorite resort, which attract by their beauty of scenery, or by some other charm. It naturally occurs to every one that seats should be provided in such places for the accommodation of the public, yet seats are not provided. There is no public body authorized to make such arrangements, and each individual says to himself, "It is not my business. Why should I be called upon to expend my private funds for the accommodation of the public?" Or, if he be willing to incur the expense, he is deterred by the consideration that some unworthy motive will be attributed to him, in case he undertake to provide the desired accommodation. Were political institutions organized with a view to promote the happiness of the people, much would be done that is now left undone; much would be left undone that is now done. To exact taxes which shall be squandered upon the parasites of government, and to coerce those who offend against laws enacted for the maintenance of an artificial state of society, which is often repugnant to the requirements of nature, is too generally the principal, if not the sole object to which the whole energy of civil administration is directed. If taxes were levied with a view to promote the well-being and enjoyment of all classes of the community, they would be paid without reluctance, and universal contentment would render superfluous many of the expensive appliances now employed for the restraint and coercion of a discontented population." |