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Mr. President, Ladies, and
Gentlemen: On the same day, I have learned, on which I was born, an aunt
of mine, the mother of a large family, with her husband sailed for Canada,
and of course I used to hear of them from time to time as the years passed
on. When I was a visitor to this country in the year 1867, I managed to
get a few days to make a visit to her and her household in Canada. They
persuaded me to stay over a Sabbath, and of course they gave me an
opportunity to preach in the church. One of the elders of the Church, a
cousin of mine, made this statement to me before the beginning of the
services: "There is not a family in the Church that is not related to you
by blood, so that you needn't have the least hesitation in saying to us
'Men and Brethren.'" Now, ladies and gentlemen, I am bound to say that I
feel somewhat in this frame of mind as I stand up to speak to you here in
Atlanta. [Applause.] You have been so kind, so genial, so courteous, and
you have told me so much regarding the people of my race who are in this
state and a round about it, and I have had the privilege of being
introduced to so many of you with whose kindred, judging from names and
from other considertions, I was conversant in the old world, that I am
free to say that I feel at home among you. I feel that I can, with perfect
honesty, and in a way that is true to the truth of things, speak to you as
"Men and Brethren."
To-day a lady—I will not
put in those adjectives that you sometimes hear in that connection,
beautiful, and charming, and lovely, and so on—but a young lady summoned
me over to this side of this room and after a few pleasant words said: "My
grandmother was named Hall, and I want therefore to put this bouquet into
your hand," and she gave me a very beautiful bouquet. I am not very sure
that she did not learn from some quarter that my speaking and preaching
were both singularly devoid of flowers, rhetorical and oratorical, and so,
possibly, she intended to give me a little suggestion in the delicate and
gentle womanly way in which women instinctively have the power of making
suggestions and giving hints that we bigger human beings are not at all
able to rival.
I shall not attempt to
bring the flowers here, but I will say a word to you if you will kindly
allow me, in relation to that particular province to which in various ways
so many allusions are naturally made by a congress like this. I allude to
the province of Ulster in the North of Ireland. I have sometimes noticed a
little confusion of mind in relation to the phrase "Scotch-Irish," as if
it meant that Scotch people had come over and intermarried with the native
Irish, and that thus a combination of two races, two places, two
nationalities had taken place. That is by no means the state of the case.
On the contrary, with kindly good feeling in various directions, the
Scotch people kept to the Scotch people, and they are called Scotch-Irish
from purely local, geographical reasons, and not from any union of the
kind that I have alluded to. I haven't the least doubt that their being in
Ireland and in close contact with the native people of that land, and
their circumstances there, had some influence in the developing of the
character, in the broadening of the sympathies, in the extending of the
range of thought and action of the Scotch-Irish people; but they are
Scotch through and through, they are Scottish out and out, and they are
Irish because, in the providence of God, they were sent for some
generations to the land that I am permitted to speak of as the land of my
birth.
Now, I have had the
pleasure of going over for many years, from summer to summer, to the old
world, and of course I go always to the home at which I was born. I
happened to be the eldest child of the family, and so I am in possession
of the modest little place on which they settled. I am one of the seventh
generation after their coming over from old Scotland, and I never go over,
of course, without renewing the pleasant acquaintances with the people
among whom I grew up as a child and as a boy, and in whom, as a matter of
course, I still feel the deepest and the liveliest interest. I was last
summer, as usual, in that region, and I have thought that it would,
perhaps, interest many of you if I were to say a few things to you as to
the condition of the people of the province who are the blood relations of
so many in this audience.
To begin with, then, let me
say a word about the homes of the Ulster people. Outside the towns the
people live by their farms, and I dare say some of you can remember what
the character of the house was in which the Ulster farmer lived, modest in
design, and frequently uncomfortable, one story high, built of earth or
stone, the roof thatched, with a middle room which was called the kitchen,
where the cooking went on and where the family lived a good deal of the
time. At one end was the section where the sleeping apartments were, and
frequently at the other end, what was emphatically the room which did duty
as a parlor or drawing-room, with, very frequently, a handsome mahogany
table and sometimes a handsome set of mahogany drawers, in which, I am
bound to say from my observation and in some measure from my experience as
gentle, as genial, and as real hospitality used to be dispensed as one can
find in more magnificent mansions in any part of the world. [Applause.] A
great change has taken place in the matter of these homes, for many of
them have been exchanged for handsome two-story houses, carefully ceiled,
with modern windows, and when you enter their homes you find that carpets
have taken the place of the earthen floors that used to be, with here and
there musical instruments, cases of books and various other things,
indicating extended culture and improved general conditions on the part of
many of these people. I think that statement is true generally in relation
to the whole of the portion of the province that is occupied by the
Protestant people.
It is fair to say that in
point of agricultural progress I have been pleased and delighted from year
to year. The whole reaping used to be done with the hook, as it is
sometimes called. The sickle is the proper classical word. These
instruments have given place in a great degree to reaping machines, and
the immense amount of work that used to be done by hand is now done by
machinery. Not only is that the case, but a great change has taken place
in relation to a class of houses that used to be called in my childhood
"cotter houses." To a large extent they have disappeared; that element has
been thinned off, and the necessity has risen, in consequence, of doing a
good deal of the work that was done by hand by the aid of machinery. I
never saw the province of Ulster, in the matter of the homes of the
people, in the matter of the harvests, in the matter of their comforts, in
apparently a more happy and prosperous condition than I have seen them in
the last year and the year before.
Now as to the towns, the
names of many of which are familiar to you, I think that in most of these
towns there is a conspicuous progress. In many of those which some of you
can recollect there is a steady progress. There is no boom; that is not
the way among the Irish people, but there has been steady, diligent,
regular work, and there is a greater degree of what might be called social
and civil purity in the towns, that I think we can all admire, and for
which the people have cause to be thankful. You go to Belfast. It is now
the most important town in the province of Ulster, and probably the most
important in all Ireland. In fact, it is virtually the capital now; in
population it is equal to Dublin, if not ahead of it; in manufactures, in
various forms of industry in which employment is given to great numbers of
people, it is a long way ahead of the nominal capital, and the statement
is made that the province of Ulster, one of the four provinces of the
island, is paying on an average about 46 per cent, of the taxes of the
whole island. If you should have occasion to cross the ocean, as some of
you doubtless will, from time to time, you will be told of beautiful and
magnificent steamers, like the "Teutonic," like the "Majestic;" those
steamers have been built in the docks of the city of Belfast, for it is a
city now. I was taken over the docks of a great shipbuilding company in
that city last summer, and I have seen the principal cities of Europe, and
I have seen some cities upon this continent; but I am bound to say that I
never saw anything to compare with the skill and adaptation of the docks
that have been constructed there for the carrying on of the great
shipbuilding work of which Belfast is now becoming an important center.
I regret to say that in
parts of Ireland outside of Belfast and Ulster distilling and brewing are
the most remunerative forms of the use of capital that you can find. That
is all I have to say upon that particular aspect of the case.
There are some other things
in which you would naturally feel some interest. Take the question of
education. Many of you know that forty or fifty years ago when the average
Irishman—I don't say the Scotch-Irishman'—came over to this country, the
most that he was supposed to be capable of doing was the work of a navvy
or something else where mere hand power was needed. There has been a
system of education maintained by the British Government for a generation
past that has told upon the whole population to a degree, and the result
is now that the average young Irishman when he comes to this country is
ready to take a place in the dry goods house or some other business, or
where reading and writing and arithmetic are necessary preparations for
his work; but in the province of Ulster especially the cause of education
is steadily and continuously advancing. There are two colleges in Belfast
and a college in Londonderry that I think will compare favorably with any
similar institution in almost any part of the world. Then there is a
Ladies' college, now known as Victoria College. Some of the young ladies
who were students of that college have been taken over to the great
competitive examinations in England, and they have achieved such
conspicuous success as directed the most favorable notice to the
institution with which they are connected; and I am glad to say that in
the civil service examinations in connection with the British Empire a
great number of young men who were educated in Ireland have been
successful. The result is that they are sent to India or some other of the
British colonies, and thus secure valuable and remunerative employment.
One result of this is that we are getting into the United States now a
smaller proportion than we used to get of the thoroughly educated and
competent men, because these openings are made. The province of Ulster two
or three generations ago was ahead of the other three provinces in
educational matters. It is keeping that place relatively with the other
three provinces, and we have the greatest reason to rejoice over the
earnest and intelligent prosecution of education for the benefit of the
people of that northern province.
Now perhaps it will not be
out of the way if I say a word to you about another matter—namely, the
Churches as we find them in the province of Ulster. I do not hesitate to
speak of them, because I am one of those who believe that the strongest
and the best elements in the Scotch-Irish character are due to the
influences which it is the business of the Church to bring to bear upon
the judgment and the consciences of the people. We will begin with the
Baptist brethren. They are not at all a numerous body in Ireland, but
there are some of them there, and a very good people, and it is a pleasure
to me to say that they have been making much advance in proportion to
their numbers, and I am sure are bearing testimony to the truth in the
places where, in the providence of God, their Churches are established.
The same is true of the Congregationalists and the Methodists. Then you
pass to the Episcopalians. They are comparatively strong through Ulster;
but they are, of course, comparatively feeble and scattered through a
large proportion of the other three provinces. I am bound to say that the
Episcopal Church has been keeping its ground since disestablishment. It
has probably been increased in this manner, for while the laity had
comparatively little to do with its operations before disestablishment,
since disestablishment the laity have been called into various places in
assemblies, in congresses, in conventions, and so on, and they are taking
a personal and practical interest in the work of the Church, which I think
they did not before; and while there are some things that I would be
inclined still to criticize, I am bound to say that the Protestant
Episcopal Church, as we call it, is with increasing ardor and earnestness
trying to do its work in Ulster and over the other provinces of the land.
Then next come the Presbyterians. Many of you perhaps do not know exactly
what the statistics of the Church in Ulster and over Ireland are. Of
course the great bulk of its congregations you find in the province of
Ulster, but there are eight or ten congregations in Dublin, some in Cork,
Kilkenny, and the other points of like kind scattered over the other three
provinces. There are altogether somewhat over six hundred Presbyterian
congregations, and although the temptation to me, at a distance from a
Church in which I was brought up, and which with my whole heart I truly
love, is perhaps to dwell upon the virtues and shut my eyes to any
defects, yet I am bound to say, and I think I say it truly and with
sincerity, that for earnestness, for diligence, for consistency, for
systematic and effective teaching of substantial truth to the people,
there is not in Europe any body of clergy that will stand higher than the
ministry of that Church, and there is not any body of people that will
take a higher place in degree of intelligence, of purity, and of
liberality. [Applause.]
Now perhaps I may be
permitted to allude to a matter that is engaging the attention of Ulster
and every other portion of Ireland. I allude to the political discussion
that has been going on there many years, and to the impression on the part
of many people that, should Mr. Gladstone come into power again, there
will be developed a system of political policy that would be practically
upon the same lines as the repeal movement that was agitated a generation
ago, and that ultimately fell to the ground. I will only state to you
facts upon that matter. I think to a man—I do not know of as many
exceptions as the fingers upon my hand—to a man the Protestant clergy of
all denominations and the Protestant people regard with the greatest fear
and apprehension the steps of the movement that is expected to be carried
or to be pushed if Mr. Gladstone, that distinguished statesman, should
come into power. So strong is the feeling, that the people of the various
denominations have leagued themselves together, not under any party name,
but they have leagued themselves together to protest against such changes
as have been demanded, including the Parliament in Dublin, supervision of
the police, of education, of the military, etc.; and, seeing that the
Nonconformists in England and Scotland, with undiscriminating love for
liberty and with imperfect understanding of the case, have been taking the
ground that is supposed to be Mr. Gladstone's ground, these Protestant
Christians have decided to send over some hundred delegates to England and
Scotland to instruct these people upon the actual facts of the case, and
to make them understand that while they would approve of certain local
changes, certain county reforms, certain changes in local government and
administration, yet they would look upon the policy that is
accredited—whether justly or unjustly it is not for me to say—to that
distinguished statesman, as subversive of the real prosperity of the
island and as destructive, in all probability, of their comfort and their
safety as residents of the island. [Applause.] Do not understand me as
expressing convictions with a view to persuade you. My convictions are
founded substantially upon the ground that they take, and, ladies and
gentlemen, if you accept to be true those most eloquent statements that
were made to us last night and which you applauded, regarding the
prudence, the wisdom, the foresight, the sagacity, the integrity of my
countrymen and the people of my race, the Scotch-Irish race—if you accept
all those, then you must surely come to the conclusion that it is not
without reason that this attitude of antagonism is taken to what is known
commonly as the Home Rule policy. [Applause.]
This is the fourth time
that I have been at this delightful Congress, and once or twice I have
told some of my friends that when I am here I have had brought to mind a
little story for which an English author gets the credit and the moral of
which seems to be quite necessary to myself. I do not speak for anybody
else. According to that little story, a bright girl was in the habit of
reciting to her friends and acquaintances a long catalogue of her own
virtues and personal excellencies, and she always wound up with a
statement like this when she had concluded the lengthened list: "But I am
not proud, for Ma says that is sinful." [Laughter.] I feel the necessity
of coming to some ground like that when I come to these delightful
Congresses. I hear so much of laudation, so much of hearty praise which I
am bound to say is sustained by facts, and so many of these facts, I am
free to say, in relation to these United States, new to me, that I do feel
that there is a necessity to keep down self-complacency. [Laughter.]
I have only one word to say
as I conclude, thanking you for the attention with which you have listened
to me. Great numbers of our countrymen profess to have made brilliant
successes in this land. Thank God that great numbers of them now are in
conditions of thriftiness and of influence; but there are still numbers of
them that are in comparative ignorance and comparative poverty, in need of
friends, in need of loving agencies to be brought to bear upon them.
Descriptions have been given me of some of these men and women and
children in the valleys between the mountains over this magnificent
region, where the public schools do not provide, and have not provided,
adequate opportunities for teaching; where a strong, sturdy, vigorous race
has grown up combating with external difficulties, but with comparatively
little education, and in many instances without the means of grace. Ladies
and gentlemen, there is a Latin proverb to the effect that the corruptions
of the best things are the worst; and if these strong, sturdy, energetic,
vigorous Scotch-Irish people are not upon the lines of intelligence, the
lines of purity, the lines of sobriety, the lines of virtue, then the very
natural qualities that they possess become the greater facilities for them
of going astray, and astray on a track that leads to destruction. Wherever
you can hold out a loving hand to them, wherever you can send the Book and
the schoolmaster to them, wherever you can send the Sunday school teacher
to them, wherever you can send the minister to them, wherever you can try
to bring to bear upon them the forces that made our race in the face of
innumerable difficulties, do so in the love and the fear of God. They are
of our blood; they are of our race; they bear our names; they have gone
through hard struggles; if we can hold out to them a loving, brotherly,
gentle, Christian hand and lift them up, we shall be doing good to the
land; we shall be doing indescribable good to them; and we shall be
honoring those who gave us the benefits and the blessings for which we are
to be profoundly thankful to our Creator. [Applause.] |
