Dickens on Orangeism

New Zealand Tablet, 19 January 1922, Page 37

Dickens on Orangeism

Readers should know that the decent Protestants of Ireland do not approve of the Orange Order in which the very narrow-minded portion of their brethren join, for oppressing people of a different religious persuasion (says a writer in the North-West Review, Canada). In fact intelligent, decent, broad-minded Protestantism is, naturally ashamed of and opposed to, -the Oran'geism which brings disgrace on their Christianity. No less a personage than the great Charles Dickens wrote, half a century ago, a sketch of Orange history which I shall here reproduce and which will give Canadian readers a good insight into Orangeism. I copy it from Dickens’ All the Year Bound, of June 9, 1866. “Just before the great Irish Rebellion (1798) broke out, the Protestant yeomen of the north, always well armed, well cared for, and well trained in militia regiments, affected to be in terror of the wretched minority of the other religion who were scattered among them. They took on themselves the duties of a sort of committee of vigilance and undertook to keep that part of the country ‘ quiet.’ This as done by forming themselves into bands who went over the country ‘visiting’ Catholic houses early.in the morning, and driving out the unfortunate and helpless tenants, whom they suspected. This systemutterly unchecked by any responsibility beyond the ‘ loyalty ’ of the administratorsgradually enlarged until they became known as ‘The Peep o’ Day Boys,’ a name commonly supposed to belong to a party of quite opposite principles. The miseries of this wholesale terrorism is described as almost unendurable. Other names by which they came to be known were ‘ The Protestant Boys,’ Wreckers,’ and the like. Being so successful in their proceedings, they determined to enlarge their procedure, and drive out all the Papists wholesale. A respectable Quaker who had lived through all these doings well recollected how often fifteen and sixteen houses would be wrecked in a night, and how he had seen the roads covered with flying hordes of half-naked, famished, frantic Irish, who were thus hunted through the country. ’•“At .last it was felt that the system only wanted a little organisation, and on the 21st of September, 1795, the first Orange Lodge was formed, at the house of one Sloan. It began to spread almost at once. Lodges sprang all over the country. A grand central Lodge was constituted at Dublin in 1800. It was founded on exaggerated protestations of loyalty, almost suspicious in their ardor. But, if looked at closely, it will be found that the Grangeman’s loyalty is always conditional, and to be secured only at the price of Ascendancy. The early rules betray this, when there was a deal of violent swearing to support and pay allegiance to the king and his successors, so long as he or they support Protestant Ascendancy; and it is said there was added a secret declaration, * And that I will exterminate the Catholics of Ireland so far as lies in my power.’ “It then spread to England, to London, Manchester, and all the leading towns, with extraordinary success but from the year 1813 it began to decay sensibly. In the year 1827, however, on the eve of‘the great question of Emancipation, it enjoyed a glorious revival. It was then entirely reorganised. Its rules were revised. The awkward oath of conditional allegiance was withdrawn. Instead, there was much swearing ‘ to support the true religion as by law established. Then the qualities of a model Orangeman were set forth with much complacency, in the style of the old c characters.’ He was to be full of c faith, piety, courtesy, and compassion’; ‘ sober, honest, wise, and prudent’; to love ‘ rational, society, and hate swearing.’ On these principles it received august patronage. Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, became Grand Master; the Bishtfp of Salisbury became ‘ Grand Chaplain ’ and an immense roll of distinguished noblemen, bishops, and conservative squires, filled the other ‘ grand ’ offices. “The Rolay Prince was not merely ornamental, but a most active and stirring president. He seems to have been constantly filling up warrants, and encouraging a spirit of propagandism in all directions. He sent out emissaries to the Canadas, lonian Islands, and colonies of all sorts, who labored in the vineyard with surprising suc-

cess. Their zeal actually carried them so far as to tamper with the military,,and in some 30 or 40 regiments ‘lodges’ were formed, in which the soldiers made speeches and drank and swore to exterminate their comrades of the obnoxious religion. In vain the colonels protested against a system so subversive of all good discipline. The eager emissaries went on with their labor, and the Royal Grand Master filled in warrant after warrant for constituting fresh military lodges. At last the authorities interfered. Ernest himself was called to account, and after some awkward denials, which looked very .like shuffling, was compelled to withdraw this portion of the system. “The organisation seems to have been borrowed from the Freemasons. Any persons or any number of persons can form a ‘ private lodge ’ by forwarding their names and a guinea to the grand lodge. All the private lodges in" a county elect members to the ‘ district lodges.’ The district lodges elect six members to the county lodges, and the county lodges elect to the grand central. A public house was generally the appropriate venue for the rites of inauguration or discussion of the important concerns of the fraternity; and prayer introduced and terminated the pious proceedings.” Such was Dickens’ account of Orange Orders. It has not changed. But the English Government has found it a useful tool for keeping hold of Ireland.