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My Fellow Citizens, Ladies
and Gentlemen:- I can not give expression to the pleasure that I feel in
being permitted to come and speak to so many of you, and in the
circumstances in which we are gathered together.
I shall explain to you, in
a word or two, the purpose that is before my mind. Many months ago, I
received a communication from your friends who organized this society,
asking me to come and take part in its proceedings. It appeared to me
extremely improbable at the time that I could accept the invitation ; and
I took the liberty of naming an alternate, in the person of Dr. Macintosh,
of Philadelphia. Accordingly, it was arranged that he should come, and,
properly speaking, my address will be delivered by Dr. Macintosh, at such
time as the committee may select.
It is said of a countryman
of mine who settled in America, that he liked it so well that he resolved
to make it his native land. You smile audibly at this statement, but, in
point of fact, it is the very thing that Dr. Macintosh did. He came over
to Pennsylvania to be born, then went back to Great Britain to be
educated, and finally came back to America, and has done nothing but honor
to it ever since. (Applause.)
I do not propose, ladies
and gentlemen, to go into the field of history that has been traversed
already, and that will be traversed again, with so great ability. It is
the story of a marked race. We all know how voluminous the authors of
Germany are. One of them proposed to write a history of the world, and he
set about the task. He completed three full volumes before he reached the
creation. (Laughter.) I do not want to set out on that line, but rather to
talk to you, in the simplest and most informal manner, about my
observations among the people in the laud from which the Scotch-Irish
came. I belong to their race. I am of the sixth generation that moved over
from Scotland into Ireland. They continued to live upon the same land, and
I have the happiness of being the eldest son of the family, and of having
the land upon which my ancestors dwelt for the six generations; and if
ever you hear any thing spoken in the way of calling out sympathy for the
tenants of Ireland. I hope you will extend a part of your sympathy to me,
for I belong to that category. It is two and twenty years since I left
Ireland and became a resident of these United States. Speaking of this
date reminds me of a circumstance that may interest some of you. One of
our most prominent ministers, Rev. Dr. Beatty, made a visit to Belfast
years ago, and a reception was tendered him and his associates by the
town. When he was called upon to speak, as I am doing now, he came upon
the platform and said: " It gives me great pleasure to be back here among
my people. I left Ulster one hundred and thirty years ago." They opened
their eyes widely, for they could not take in the thought that he was one
hundred and thirty years old; but he explained that that was the time when
his forefathers left the land and came to reside in America. It has been
twenty-two years since I left that land, and, though I can say that I have
in me the spirit of a true American citizen, I have not lost a particle of
the love and affection that I cherish, and will ever cherish, for the
people of my own native Ulster. (Applause.)
When I was in Cincinnati,
in 1867, being sent over as a delegate to this country to the meeting of
the general assembly, I went into a church. A gentleman was sitting by me
in the audience, and was volunteering information to me about things that
were going on around. My eye rested upon a man in the audience, and I
said: "Is his name McKee?" My friend said: "Yes; he is McKee, of
Louisville; a famous preacher there, I believe." A day or two afterward, I
was introduced to the same gentleman; his face was so like that of the
McKees in Ulster that I identified him at once. A few days after our
introduction, he told me he came from Ulster, and that he heard there were
several persons of his name in the ministry over there. I say to you, as I
looked over the faces of the people here yesterday, I could hardly keep
the tears from my eyes, as they rested upon so many heads and faces and
figures like those with which I had been familiar in Ulster. The changes
of a physical kind are far less than one would at first suppose; and I
wish for nothing better than that you may keep pure the moral
characteristics and the habits of private life that made, the Scotch-Irish
what, by the grace of God, they have been made.
I will say a few words as
to the characteristics of the people as I lived among them. In the first
place, I think it is true to say, that they are remarkably industrious as
a people, and they succeeded in securing a degree of comfort in their
homes, and respectability in dress and appearance, that would hardly be
expected from their limited means. I remember that four or five or six
acres of land was enough for a family. They raised crops upon it for the
support of the family, and by means of weaving at other times, the men and
the women were accustomed to supplement the produce of the little farm,
and secure a certain degree of independence and respectability. Those
industrious traits are propagated still, and I hope they will continue to
be. Just as soon as machinery came into use, the people of the north of
Ireland availed themselves of it. They adapted themselves to the new
conditions and circumstances, and its effect is visible at the present
time. The one manufacturing region in Ireland you will find in Ulster. The
only thing that has succeeded in money making in the way of manufacturing
in the three other provinces are two forms of enterprise known as
distilling and brewing; but in Ulster it is the other way. Many people in
Ulster feel apprehensive in regard to contemplated legislation, for they
say that, if a high rate of taxation should be put upon the provinces, the
amount which would fall upon Ulster would be out of proportion to that
upon the other provinces, and would tend to embarrass its industries.
We should do the best that
we can to propagate these habits of hard working and industry among the
people with whom we come in contact. I will mention an incident that
occurred in Ulster during the terrible famine in 1844-5-6. Owing to the
complete failure of the potato crop in Connaught, the suffering there was
very intense. Many contributions from America and elsewhere were sent in.
Christian ladies resolved to make the people in Ireland self-sustaining.
They corresponded with the people mostly in Ulster, and asked that
teachers be sent out to give instruction in sewed muslin work. The result
was, that female teachers, mostly the daughters of farmers in Ulster,
capable and educated, were sent into Connaught, where the people were
starving ; and the result was the introduction, not only of a high moral
training, but a teaching of industry, and habits of self-support and
self-reliance, which is still visible in their condition to this day.
The second thing I have to
notice, in connection with these Ulster people, is a certain unwillingness
on their part to be the recipients of charity. There were various forms of
charity scattered over the country, governmental and ecclesiastical. The
Scotch-Irish, as a class, were usually the last to avail themselves of
these opportunities. It is a governmental regulation in the old world that
in the poor-houses there should be chaplains of the respective
denominations. Presbyterian ministers used to smile over the fact that it
was difficult to get their people into the poor-house. They had a small
constituency in there. For nine years, I was chaplain of the Presbyterian
order to the female convict establishment in Dublin, which represented all
the female convicts of the country. My salary was not particularly
extravagant, but I used to feel compunction in taking it. We had in the
establishment seven hundred female convicts. Usually, there would be about
sixty-five that were Protestants of any kind, and fifteen of these were as
many as usually fell to my lot, although the Protestant people represented
a fourth of the population of the country. This unwillingness to be
dependent upon charity is characteristic of the people. I am sorry to say,
that there are some of my fellow-countrymen who do not inherit this
self-respect. I remember a man that, some time ago, made application to me
for aid on the ground that he was a Presbyterian " like I was," and
therefore thought it best to apply to me. There was a certain brogue in
his voice that put me a little in doubt. "Well," I said, "I know nearly
every man that is in the congregation I serve, and I don't remember seeing
you there." He convicted himself when he said, "Well, I am always there at
vespers." The American way of describing it is, that he gave himself away
without knowing it.
Let us cultivate in America
this proud spirit of self reliance. Where is there a land with the
resources that this country has? I was taken out yesterday eight or nine
miles to the old historic church, and as I gazed at the fertile land, the
beautiful fields, the growing crops, the magnificent trees, the treasures
of the southland, I could not but think what responsibility rests upon the
people of these regions; how much God has given them, for which they
should magnify, glorify, and honor him!
The third thing I would
like to mention in connection with these Scotch-Irish people, is that they
are very strict and conscientious in the matter of their religious
observances. My memory goes back to the scenes that made the greatest
impression upon me, I mean the communion seasons in the country
congregations. There was a solemn assemblage of the people on Wednesday or
Thursday, when the people were expected to be in church. There was another
service on Saturday, the ministers generally getting some of their
brethren to assist them in the exercises. The services of the communion
Sabbath would last three, four, and five hours, and yet there did not seem
to be any weariness on the part of the people.
I remember how, before the
elders gave the cup, the people sang:
"I'll of salvation take the
cup,
And on God's name will call;
I'll pay my vows now to the Lord
Before His people all."
They would take a seat at
the table, then communion services would follow, and thanksgiving would be
raised for the blessings they enjoyed, and then the visiting minister
would take charge. The impression made by those services I will carry to
my dying day, and I could wish nothing better for the Scotch-Irish race
than that, reasonably dependent upon new conditions, we should retain the
same loyal attachment to God's truth, the same high appreciation of
Christian privileges, and the same spirit of consecration to him whom we
call the God of our salvation, and before whom we rejoice as the God of
our fathers. I remember the first time I was taken to Sunday-school. Two
girls, relations of mine, told me that they would call for me. I can
remember the picture that was then presented to me. They had on their
Sunday dresses, of course, nice, clean, with a pocket handkerchief wrapped
reverently around a little Bible, a flower stuck in the end of the Bible.
The girls carried this in their hands in a decent, quiet way, and they
brought me thus to school. At that time we had no international lesson
system, and no modern methods of teaching. We boys, after school, would
compare notes and say: "How many chapters did you read? We have read
thirteen." The reply would be, "Oh, we did better than that; we read
fourteen." The work consisted mainly in the children being grouped
together and reading verse after verse. The teacher confined his
instruction mainly to correcting errors in pronunciation, and keeping the
boys in good order. An immense change has taken place to-day, and you
would not find in Christendom better organized Sunday-schools and better
teachers than there are in Ulster at the present time. Let us continue the
same methods over this land, without partisanship, but in the true spirit
of patriotism. You and I will agree in the declaration that if we would
have the righteousness that exalteth a nation, and keep away the sin that
disgraces a people, we must get the word of the Lord into the hearts of
the people, we must educate the conscience and keep it educated, and then
men will fear God, and work righteousness.
One other thing
characteristic of the people as I knew them: that is, the great interest
they felt in education. This is a fruitful theme, but I will not dwell
long upon it. I will only mention that for generations, in the province of
Ulster, an educated ministry was always sought and obtained; but that
these men might be educated had given the greatest trouble and difficulty.
No college would admit them. Trinity college was founded upon a broad
basis, and the two first fellows were Presbyterians and Scotchmen. But
this was taken away. and the boys had then to go to Scotland. They walked
fifty or sixty miles with a package on their shoulders. They stopped at
the farmhouses, and they never were refused hospitality. They would laud
at Glasgow and walk to Edinburgh, and accept hospitality from the people.
Dr. Henry Cook, one of the greatest men that Ireland ever produced, made
his way thus to a Scottish university. The process of conflict, of
self-denial, of constrained ingenuity that these young men were compelled
to go through in order to obtain an education, made them in a high degree
strong men, capable men, business men, effective men in doing the work
that was given them as leaders of the people, and instructors in the
interests of good. Some of the best instructors that the people call
Scotch-Irish were found in the persons of ministers. A minister would set
up a classical school to which boys would come to get an education that
was necessary to fit them for entering college. Many came who did not want
to learn the classics. All paid school fees regularly, and maintained
their independence. In this connection I think of the Rev. Mr. Blakely,
minister in Monohan, where there are hundreds of men, and not a few upon
this continent to-day, who will tell you that they owe every thing in life
to the teaching of that faithful minister, who did the duties of his
charge at the same time he was giving this instruction. Another specimen
was Dr. McKee, a kinsman of the man to whom I have alluded.
It is my misfortune that I
am tall. I am a high churchman by nature. I was tall as a boy, but Mr.
McKee was taller, six feet, seven, and perfectly straight. I remember
to-day with pride that he laid his hand upon my head and gave me a
pleasant word. I was a student then, but I never forgot it. He had a fine
school and a large congregation. He was a farmer, and managed his farm
with skill and ability. He had a good horse, and like Mr. Bonner here, he
was very proud of horses, but he never touched any thing like betting or
gambling on races. He was driving through his parish one afternoon on one
of his extremely good horses. It was a day like this, with a strong sun.
There was a poor man working in a field by the roadside, with his coat
off, and his shirt badly torn. The consequence was that the sun had
reddened that portion of his skin which was exposed, as if it would
blister it. McKee looked at the man and pitied him. He dismounted, and
having long legs, stepped over the fence. "My friend, come here," and
McKee took off his waistcoat and shirt, and made the man put on the shirt,
and then buttoning up the coat, said, "Nobody will miss my shirt before I
get home," and he left it there. He was the only Presbyterian minister in
Ireland that was invited to go and to speak in a Roman Catholic Church.
The people regarded him as an honest, God-fearing man, and they said:
"Whatever he says we must do." He passed away, but left a son behind who
was my successor in the large church in Dublin. He was minister in the
north of Ireland before being brought to Dublin. I heard a circumstance
concerning him that I will repeat now. "You ought to have a better
salary," said some of his deacons to him. " Why ? " said he. " Well, you
have to go to more expense than we," they said. "You have to wear better
clothing, and keep up better style." "Clothing," said he, and he turned
around and laid his hand upon the head of one of his elders who was near,
and said: "He is a better man than I; why should I have a better coat than
he?" That was the style of the man; unselfish, noble, heroic, living for
the truth; and when his health broke down, and he had to go to Australia
with the hope of improving it. It was proposed by and by, in the course of
time, that there should be established a national system of education.
All united secular
education was fought by the Catholics. The Presbyterians first took their
stand in the support of that system. The time was when my poor countrymen
who came here from the other provinces of Ireland could neither read nor
write, and came as navies, porters, and railroad hands. The corresponding
class coming to this country to-day does not come to be porters and
railroad workers, but present themselves at the dry-goods stores and other
such occupations, because they have an education that can sustain them.
There have been established in Ireland colleges — three Queen's colleges
and two other institutions under the control of the General Assembly, and
the best educational facilities are enjoyed by the people; and it is with
great satisfaction that I notice from time to time in the contests in the
three kingdoms, that the male and female students from these Irish
institutions take their places among the foremost. Ulster is keeping its
ground in the forefront in the education of the country. I am unwilling to
take up too much of your time, but will say a single word in relation to
things denominational there at this time.
A very intelligent man said
to me a short while ago: "I am glad to see you, and to shake hands with
you. When an Irishman becomes a Presbyterian, he is sure to be a good
one." That gentleman had in his mind the idea that all Irishmen in their
native land were other than Protestant. That is a mistake. I might say in
rough numbers that one-fourth of the people of Ireland are Protestant, and
nearly one-half of these retain the Scotch Presbyterian type. The other
half is the Protestant Episcopal church, which is strongest in Ulster, but
is to some extent spread over the kingdom. I accordingly say to the
gentlemen who are round about me, that when you are trying to form an
estimate of proposed legislation for Ireland, of which we read so much,
take into consideration the historic claims of this portion of Ireland,
and its peculiar position; for, unless we do so, we can not rightly judge
of the situation.
The Irish General Assembly
does not contain many rich people. They are found mostly in Belfast and
the manufacturing centers, but although these people were poor they
founded colonial missions; preachers were sent to Canada and Australia,
and these reflected gratitude to the feeble Presbyterian church of Ireland
by establishing kindred institutions in those two dominions. The General
Assembly now has missions in India, and in China, and in Spain. It has six
hundred congregations as many ministers, and I might say that to-day there
can not be found in Christendom a more determined body of ministers. And I
am also glad to speak a word on behalf of the Protestant Episcopal church,
which has working members and ministers. The disestablishment which took
place, it was supposed by many, would destroy that institution, the state
and church being so intimately connected. But the crisis was passed, and
the members of the church found a responsibility resting upon them which
they did not feel before, and though there have been a few local troubles,
the Protestant Episcopal church in Ireland is stronger and better than
before the disestablishment. This is one more illustration of the way in
which the United States is setting the example to the nations and the
countries of the world, of breaking down prejudice and making friends.
This meeting is the
beginning of a series, the commencement of an organization that I think
may do great good over this land. Let us know one another, and have
sympathy with one another. Let it be intelligent sympathy. Let us try to
understand the historical incidents of the country, and of the people to
which we belong. Let us know how God led them. I can but think that the
eye of America is seeing more distinctly than it once did, the way in
which its life was shaped. There were Huguenots who suffered temptations
and learned the trials of freedom. The Puritan passed through the same
experience. He knew the blessing of free conscience, free worship, free
legislation ; and there are Scotch-Irish well fitted to be their
companions, their comrades, their fellow soldiers, and fellow workers in
the building up of a great nation, where God on the one hand shall have
his rights, and his creatures on the other hand shall have their rights
that he intended them to enjoy, and with which He blessed the community.
Let us know one another, care for one another, love one another; let us
help one another, and feel that it is a dignity that God has put upon us
when he permits us to co-operate with these, our brethren, without
sectionalism, partisanship or political feeling, in developing our great
nation. On higher grounds let us come together and co-operate in building
up and perpetuating the power of this great and glorious country : and
then we, the children of the Scotch-Irish, will be moving upon the lines
along which our fathers have gone in the generations that preceded us.
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