98 THE LAND QUESTION.
Who in the United States dreamed of what was coming till the cannon-shot rang and the flag fell on Sumter? How confidently we said, " The American people are too intelligent, too practical, to go to cutting each other's throats"! How confidently we relied upon the strong common sense of the great masses, upon the great busi- ness interests, upon the universal desire to make money ! "War does not pay," we said, "therefore war is impos- sible." A shot rang over Charleston harbor; a bit of bunting dropped, and, riven into two hostile camps, a nation sprang to its feet to close in the death-lock.
And to just such a point are events hurrying in Great Britain to-day. History repeats itself, and what happened a century ago on one side of the English Channel is beginning again on the other. Already has the States- General met, and the Third Estate put on their hats. Already Necker is in despair. Already has the lit de justice been held, and the Tennis-Court been locked, and ball-cartridge been served to the Swiss Guard ! For the moment the forces of reaction triumph. Davitt is snatched to prison ; a " Liberal " government carries coercion by a tremendous majority, and the most despotic powers are invoked to make possible the eviction of Irish peasants. The order of Warsaw is to reign in Ireland, and the upholders of ancient wrong deem it secure again, as the wave that was mounting seems sweeping back. Let them wait a little and they will see. For again the wave will mount, and higher and higher, and soon the white foam will seethe and hiss on its toppling crest. It is not true conservatism which cries " Peace ! peace ! " when there is no peace ; which, like the ostrich, sticks its head in the sand and fancies itself secure ; which would compromise matters by putting more coal in the furnace, and hanging heavier weights on the safety-valve ! That alone is true conservatism which would look facts in the face, which
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