CHAPTER
PRINCIPLE THE BEST POLICY.
WE have now seen the point that should be aimed at, and the method by which it is to be reached. There is another branch of the subject which practical men must consider : the political forces that may be mar- shaled; the political resistance that must be overcome. It is one thing to work out such a problem in the closet- to demonstrate its proper solution to the satisfaction of a few intelligent readers. It is another thing to solve it in the field of action, where ignorance, prejudice, and powerful interests must be met.
It cannot be that the really earnest men in the Irish movement are satisfied with any program yet put forth. But they are doubtless influenced by the fear that the avowal of radical views and aims would not merely intensify present opposition, but frighten away from their cause large numbers and important influences now with it. To say nothing of English conservatism, there is in Ireland a large class now supporting the movement who are morbidly afraid of anything which savors of " communism " or " socialism," while in the United States, whence much moral support and pecuniary aid have been derived, it is certain that many of those who are now loudest in their expressions of sympathy would slink away from a movement which avowed the intention of abolish- ing private property in land. A resolution expressive of
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