ABSTRACT
In search of a new basis for society, European thought crystallized around the three concepts of liberty, humanity, and patriotism. All three tended to put human relations especially the relation between government and people on a new basis, irrespective of traditions and classes. The new English concepts of liberty and trusteeship expressed themselves in all fields of philanthropy and humanitarian reform; the British Empire set the pace for tolerance and respect for human personality where they had been unknown before. The conflict between Ireland and England was originally neither national nor religious: it was a conflict of two civilizations, in which the decaying primitive tribalism of Ireland succumbed without finding in itself the strength of adjustment to changing circumstances and higher forms of life. The differences between the feudal law of England and the tribal law of Ireland were at the bottom of most misunderstandings and ensuing conflicts.
