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The Brussels Post, 1890-4-25, Page 1Volume 17. ADDRESS ON TEMPERANCE. DY Dina. 0. D. nowia. MY Daia Faisune,—I feel that I am called, upon to -night to addroas you on a subject in whioh thousands of our beet and noblest countrymen and women aro interested, and who have devoted their lives to war against the evil, whioh like some hideout' vampire, ie sucking the lite -blood of aooiety.. I do not need to dilate on the horror: caused by that hateful vice to which thousaude, ay miliione, aro onelaved. We are, atad, too familiar with the terrible (note which the daily papers bring to our notice, of primes committed by mon and women while under the tnfluenee of etroug drink. Tho evil is there end we know it and tbo oraeade whioh eo many noble souls are waging against it has for its object the total auppreeeion of thie ini- quiteua and soal-deatroying traffic in spirits and alcoholic drinks. My frionde, what ie known as the temperance cause is a comparatively now movement. The oldest Christian Women': Temperance Union in America is that of Grass Valley, California, organized on the 25th of May, 1874. What a noble work is being done in this and other lands in that groat cause we can all know if we are sufficiently interested in the subject to acquaint uureelvee with the etatistioa aa given through the median] of the temperance prase. Many of us, however, know that there are temperance societies and guilds in the very community to which we belong, and yet we do not en- quire how the work is progressing in their hands or what they are doing to achieve the results whioh they meek to attain. How is it that we are indifferent to a work that we must aoknowledge is among the moat noble that could fire the enthusiasm of the Christian worker. Ia it beoauee the queetioo dose not touoh us vitally, because, thank God, we have no drunken brothers or husbands? Surely such a selfish reason would not be sufficient to make as withhold our sym- pathy and help from those who are struggling in the interest of humanity rather than to rescue a few personal frianda. We none of us know how near the curse may come to bur own door, bat we know that it is blighting many homes and parting those who are bound by the strongest ties. In the light of such knowledge does it not seem in- cumbent on every Christian to use his or her influence to etrengthen the heeds of those already engaged in the work and to aid personally in endeavoring to awaken public sentiment, to the enor- mity of the evil and enlist its aid in the suppression of it. At the dant Gen- eral Assembly one of the recommend- ations adopted was "that this Aeaembly recognizing the value of wine Christian teaohing on tbia subject, would urge on mtolstere and office -bearers of our oharoh tht importance of taking a leading part in eo moulding publio sentiment and in so educating the publio oonecience ae to secure the early and total prohibition of the liquor traffic." Of course wo can •easily nue why the General assembly would make a medium of the ministers and oftico•bearere to propagate right viewe on this important subject, from their position, they have naturally a wide -reaching influence, but 01000 they Can only give it a limited place among the numerous topics whioh it is their duty and privilege to descant upon, it become the more incumbent on those who hear, to put into practice those eng- ,geations whioh the voice of the clauroh urges upon all who seek to know the will of God, and so do it. The General Assembly also declare their conviction that "the general traffic in intoxicating liquor is contrary to the word of God." It would take too long to•uight to exam- ine the question in its relation to Sorip- tura. There may be room for diversity of opinion in the matter, but the general oonolueion drawn will be that which our learned and Anglia body of divioee have declared to be their conviction. If then we are persuaded "that the general traffic: in intoxicating liquors is contrary eo the word of God" the questiou that naturally presents itself to every child of God will be : What ie my duty in regard to this gneation f It is not neces- sary uor desirable that we should all be. come publio looturnra on temperance, but it is moat desirable that every one who valla Christ his Master should be a temperance miesionaty in hie own home and neighborhood. There eau be little .doubt that the intlaenoe brought to bear upon the young of this generation, in regard to temperance, through she Banda ofHope and other temperance organization will be a powerful factor in the future in taking the citadel of that enemy whose ramparte we are now assailing. The Mende of rho eause have gained many a signal victory already. Speaking of the closing of the saloons, County attorney Curtis said : "At ono time there were 140 ealoone open in Topeka, their average sales pet day were not less than $30 each, whioh Would make $4,200 spent daily for liquor. This amount came largely from working people, To -day not ono dollar of that amount is spout for whiskey. Where dims it go to? It gods for food and clothing for tho wile, and children, and the father will tell yeti he is the happiest man in the Stat° and thea prohibition lemma. him." We might consume a whole evening in telling o£ the triumphs of prohibition, but alas wo could apand as much time in telling of tho horrors and crimes oautadbyinto:eh:Mime Think what must be the wicltodnese of a city with its one etineleal to every twontythreo citizens, ono liquor saloon to every nixtoen voters and 4,000 grog shops, yet snob is said to bo an Fran, cisco. Although much has been, and is being done, the evil is still very rife, but the [viands of the ean5o aro net and have no ne:d to bo discouraged for God ie on their bide and they will some off wholly victorious at last. "Not by might nor byowor, but by my s tilt eaith the Lrd" T. bele no doubt that the totnp, BRUSSELS, ONTARIO, FRIDAY, APRIL 28, 1890. erenco cause would be vaulty etrongth- ened if it were made a more earnest sub. Plot of prayer and if there were more oonsiatenoy to principles in the conduct of flume who proton to be friends of the cause. In conclusion I would 'aggeat that if there aro any among na who have not given thio question any attention that we should interest ourselves forth- with and iu ae practical a manner ae possible. It lips within the power of every one to disoontinne the use of apirit• uouo liquors as a drink on any and every occasion. Its use at wedding and other festivities is entirely one whioh custom has aanotioned but whioh does not ma. terially affect the enjoyment of the gath- ering. A.n example in high life, whioh cannot fail to have a good influence, waa lately set by the Carlisle family, whose palatial residence I have visited with do - light on more than one occasion. "At the feativitlea at Castle Howard, Eng- land, on the oeoaaion of the marriage of Lady Mary Howard, eldest daughter of the Earl and Countess of Carlisle, no intoxicating drinks were used either by friends or tenants. Ail was conducted in strict consistency with the temper- ance principles of Lady Carlieto and her family. Thio exoellent example, Aays the United Empire Alliance, ought to encourage others, who, while profeea• ing to encourage temperance have not the courage of their opinions when it comes to the test of dinners or aoeial entertainments generally." No doubt it temperance priooiplee were generally in. eulouted in the home there would be no need to agitate the matter in publio, but unfortunately they are not taught in them homes whioh need them moat, those homes which aro being destroyed by the three, therefore, itbehooves every one who recognizes his duty on this question to deny access to spirituous Liguori' in his own home and to raise hie voice in condemnation of the inigoitoue traffic. Yea, my friends, it ba not enough under existing circumstances to confine one's influence to the home. The evil we would fain see suppressed is a public one and it ie the public who mast deoide whether it is to methane to devour mil- lions of hard earned dollars and to All our asylums and prisons with !emetics and criminals. There would be little need fur eaoll institutions if there wore no drink, and what a saving that would be to the oouutry 1 I consider it the duty of every loyal citizen to hio country to use whatever influence he has in moulding public sentiment and as we cermet hope for legislation in the matter until our representatives are in Bym- pathy with it, it becomes a necessity for all Who wish for total prohibition to reflect a representative who would make prohibition a central plank in his plet- fo m, not one who would make a stalk- ing horse of it at election time to catch votes, but one who is honorably and firmR ly persuaded that the suppressing of the traffic would be for the good of the coun- try, and one who would have the courage to maintain the cause of temperanoo in spite of party oonsideration. The W. C. T, Unions and other sooietiea ^are doing a great work but it is, from the nature of the case, only initiatory the influence they are exerting is permeating .the mase of society and is making itself felt, but since the traffic is licensed by law it will take the law to suppress it. There ie little doubt but that the legislature would put its veto upon a traffic whioh hoe =oh a pernaoioua effect on the country but they find it is to their personal in. tereot to wink at any reform in that line, for millions of dollars enrich the Fiddle treasury from that source. Mr. Joseph Ryan ,says : "The government want the money derivable from the fear• cul traffic however polluted it ie. In ad- dition to the money bribe the exigencies of the respective governments wanted the liquor parties' vote, so to clutch the gold and get the vote the governments at Ottawa and .Toronto worked in the interest of liquordom and against temp- erance." If it be true•thet the country is ready for prohibition but the govern. mento are not" I think that the mein energies of temperance workers ahonld be directed in awakening those who have 'eerie to a sense of the enormous rospooe- ibility which line upon them when they record their vote in the interest of the party to whioh they belong, instead of ascertaining whether their candidate is likely to prove a staunch advocate of those temperance principles which, for the salvation of the country, they aok- nowledge must be embodied iu the law of the land. Again let me urge that we all interest ourselves in the temperance movement by encouraging those already engaged in the work and by protesting at home and abroad against the mann. facture, Bale or use of all intoxicating liquors that we endeavor personally to influence those who bave it in their power to hasten the time when probib• ition shall reign by sending men to Parliament who will pledge themselves to use all their influence to secure legis• Wien to that end. The Toronto University fund now amounts to about 41,000. It is proposed to erode public abattoir at Toronto to Dost $75,000. The Minister of Education, Eton. G. W. Ross, has conferred upon Sohn Millar, M. A„ Principal of the High and Public schools of St. Thomas, the posi- tion of Deputy Minister of Education, rendered vacant by the loath of Alex. Marling. The salary of the Deputy Mitlistee of liduoation is $2,500. It is reported that the Dominion Gov- orumont at the solicitation of north• western residents lee decided to change the name of the Northwest Territories to the Western Territories of Canada. It is held by people there that the name of Northweethae deterred many people from coming to the country to settle. In bis sermon last Sunday evening, Rev. 11. Hobbs, of Tileonburg, paused long enough to ask a question whioh made the audienoo shite. $e said he wanted to know when the Lord let out the oontraotto the oquib correspondents Of thio (motion of the country for dietet- ing to ministate of the Gospel ae to how and what they aro to proaol. OCD IRISH CUSTOMS. Number 41. vnon mere 00000 (Inunettn)rttnerne0BNm, There was a fair hold in a certain town in the county Sligo, more for amueo- mont sake than for the cremating o! ordinary fair business, at whioh fair at least a score of ample sized poke were to be seen boiling away, whose owners had enough to do to servo out meat and broth to their several customers. But about midday some person at the fair pro- cured et dead oat, and, being a little ineb- riated, and having an old spleen in for one, of the broth vendore, throws the dead oat into hie boiling pot. When he, like the proverbial blank sheep, wiehing to have a comrade, threw it into hie neighbor's pot ; he did the same, and so on to the last of them. Then one struck the other with the dead and greasy cat. The blaokthorne were oalled into action, and as if the epirit of striking became contagious, there waa not a man at the fair who did not strike another, The striking was kept up until daylight. Still it resulted in no serious injury to anything • it passed off and was afterward talked of as a "great day's spree." And when the boys who engaged in the great com- bat were old men, they were won't to tell it with a great abow of exaggeration to their children, thereby causing those juveniles to think it to have been a groat achievement, and a heroin action to have taken part in it. Altogether believing it to hove been a glorious day for Ireland. Now, the last custom whioh I am about to obroniole ie, I think, the most remote and moat ancient of all. I do not mean to say it was a very wide- spread one ; no doubt, it was a limited one. Still I think that anything which held a plane among tbo practices of the old and frank -hearted Irish, have a just claim on our attention and our vener- ation also. Therefore, I have much pleaeurein planing before the soap of posterity's eyes. First, I moat toll my readers that hate were not so plentiful some time ago as they are now. One would search a pariah and not find a dozen in the whole of it, The first hat which came into fashion was known by the name 'cam been,' and that was as tall ae a mile- stone; for in after years, when there Dame to be an assortment of hate at re- duced prices assumed it the "chimney pot" hat. Those "caubeons" when first purchased (I mean the second elan of them, and they were dear enough for some at the time) had a splendid shade in them ; but after a little wear they turned a ohabby brown, so that they be- came a nasty pile on any men's head. The common wear of the peasants were kind of turbans, made of any sort of cloth the wearer fancied, and at a gath- ering in those days there was a greater display of oolora than in now exhibited by the ladies' headgear. Sometimes two, throe, or perhaps half a dozen men would together purchase a bat of those, whioh they would keep for certain occasions—such as attendiug weddings or same other noteworthy gathering—and would wear it turn about acoording as each needed it. Oftimes they were compelled to cast lots for the poeeeaaion of it, when the most pert of the shareholders would, at the same time, put in their respective claims for it. Now, the casting of those lots waa a curious and a simple way of settling such matters goietly, and a way which all the concerned parties acknowledged to be just and fair, and were willing and quite satisfied to abide by its settlement. Those lots were cast in the following way : Suppose four men were the num- ber about to oast and draw the lots, ono of the fear would procure four straws, chips, or anything like that ; three of which he made an equal length, the oth- er one he loft a piece longer. Then he would turn around to arrange them secretly, and presently would present them to his three companions to draw, while he held, them in his hand with merely the end of them crushed between his finger and thumb ; while the remain der of them lay hid in the palm of his hand. Then each of the three would poll one, and whoever chanced to get the, long ono was the lucky person. Thea it waa they settled all disputes about the wearing of this bat, I have heard of a man who bad a hat of those. It be- longed to hie father, who got it when he was married and kept it until dying, and then willed it to his eon. For many years the eon had it until its color could not be determined by any in the cata- logue of hues and colors. Seldom he were his holiday hat, except on vary state oceaaiona. When ho wished to look big and important then this bet waa called into use ; but on one of those meadow he wished to look more than usually eprnce, and when he took his bat and looked at it, the color of it filled his heart with dissatisfaction. He be- gan to grumble at its aged appearance, and hie eon, who was a little hopeful of ten years, was listening to his father's laments. He was after giving his fath• er's boots it good shine a moment before, and being of a fertile imagination, he came to the eollolusion the' blanking would have as nice en efface on the hat as on the boots ; and immediately pro• posed suck to hie father. The fathee, who heti a previous knowledge of his inventions, willingly consented to allow hie oetesstocl hat to undergo the promise. It did not take lite youngster long to go round the hat With his brushoff, el - though the slat was almost as tali as himself. When it was 110161t4 the father gave a try of delight, for hie own eon's in- vention had tho desired effeot ; the hat looked altogether new and nice. lie put it on hie head and went on his journey a proud man, mutterieg tc himeelf— "That is a wonderful lad, ton to one if he don't be le great man yet." Now, any poreene wishing to prove this can try the experiment on their own hate, and if they take the aatnr lronble with it, as WWI their boots ;. l; give theta my word, it will look like a now silk hat, It will have a nice shine on it while damp, bat when ezpoaed to the notion of the sun it tarne to an ugly grey color ; just as as if it were dueted all ever with road duet, And so it turned out with this man woo fait so proud of his eon's ingenuity, for when he arrived at hie destination his hat had a most repulsive color, and moon he became the amusement of the whole assembly. He did not know why everyone laughed when ho drew mar, and when he had aecerbained tho pause of their merriment, he wished himaelf a thoueaud miles away. Ho did not enjoy himself mnoh that day, end when he returned home again his ingenious eon received a teats of the paternal boot toe ; much to that ohap'e chagrin, who imagined he had invented a plan to eolipse all batter's minor im- provements. Now as those customs whioh I have enumerated have become disused. Still we are not to wonder at our customs going, when our language ie nearly gone. A langoage that has existed since the confusion of Babylon ; a language that was almost first and oldest, and a lan- guage which bee been spoken all over the world. Now it oan be proved with• out the shadow of a doubt that the Irieb people are Japheth'a deecenclante. It has been proved eo. Moses having in Geneeee x. 1, enumerated the children of Japheth, and some of their descend• ants, say in the fifth verse of the came chapter : By these we the Isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands ; every one after bis tongue, after their families, in their nations." Ae for the Isles of the Gentiles, according to the Hebrew language, which is common in Seripture, maritime regions or provinces are meant by it, that is, all those countries you pace into by see, lower Aeia, Greene, Italy, Gaul and Spain, and other like places. But it ie certain they were the posterity of Japheth that peopled these countries. Gomer was bis eldest son, the Gomer- ians were his descendants, and were the people who filled Gaul with their colonist'. So the Gomerians were tite ancestors of•Sece; the Saoe were the ancestors of the Titans ; the Titans were the ancestors of the Celts, and the Celts were the ancestors of the Irish. Renee, the Irish are the decendants of the Celt(' ; the Celts of the Titans ; the Titans of the Sam ; the Saoe of the Gomerians ; the Gomerians of Gomer ; and Gomer was Japheth's eldeet son, and Japheth being Noah's eldest son, the line of genealogy comes in a direct line down to us from Noah. The Celtic language was the first language of the Gomerians of Asia, then of Saoe, and after many ages it became the language of the Gaols. "The lenge- age, therefore, of the Celts, who fixed in Gaol, was from the first ages of the Poet• dilnviou world, and the language of the Gomerians, who were Fleeted originally in the Higher Asia." Well, then, are we to doubt for a moment that the language of the Gomerians was not the language of Go- mer, who was their first anoeator? And if it was his language, it certain- ly must be one of those formed at the confusion of Babel—a self•evideot foot. According to my authority those Celts who extended themeelvee to the utmost boondsriea of the west, that ie into Paul, were Titanum Sera poateritae, the dere oendanta of the Titano and their last posterity. And if these Celle come from the blood of the -Titans, it ie not to be doubted but that they preserved their language, as being that of their fathers and animators. And even to this day the Celtic language has many words of the Hebrew among it, so that it is quite obvious it had its origin in the country o! Babylon amidst the confusion of the first language. I cannot the it has any other beginning than this, yet we aro not to be surprised at this, for it is not eo very singular as it seems, since there are 0o many languages that can also boast of it. For the affinity between the Irish language and the Kalmuo language of Mongallia is eo etrikin8 as to convince o person et once that it is one and the lame. These Kelmuce extend from Pungens., along the well at China, through Tibet to Leaoton, and const. gnently include the Mantebeyn Tartars, whose method of writing ie in every way similes to the Irish Oghem. By the col. lation of the Irish with the language of Siberia, it ie evident the Celtic dialect waa epokoo, end is yet preserved on the northern toast of Aeia, from Ilea river Oby to Kamtchatka ; and by the great discovery of Captain Cooke, the passage from this coast to the continent of. America ie eafaiy performed by boats; from island to island. Captain William. son, who wee lieutenant to Cooke on those voyages, says that from the middle of the channel between Kamtschtka and America he had discovered lend= either side ; and this not only readily accounts for the peopling of America, but also for the Celtic language being spoken on that great continent. Ono half of the Irish is identically the same as the Arabic sad Fenian, at whioh we are not to wonder, since the Pereiane are descended from the most ancient learbhians, and that these last wore the progeny of the Go- tucriane; who, as I have said, wore after- warcle celled Saes, and the ancestors of the Celts. Those Saoo made eruptions from Armenia into Oappodocitt, adjoin- ing 1iuxine Sea ; and not long after, passed into Tippet Phrygia, under the command of Amnon enol his brother Doeas. It was in Phrygia, and ander the government of Wrauua, the son of Aomori that the Gomerian Sate began to change thele name and to aeaume that of Titans, which signifies an Barth born Mani These Titans grew femorae, and they spread themeelvee more and more in Greece, Italy, Sicily, Gaol and Speen ; and it may well enough be imagined that their language beoamo as extonbive as Wide turflike, Which lasted for egos. When I say that the linguae(' of the when 1 shall add that the langoage of the Aborigines or first Latins of Italy wen enriched by that of the Oelte, there will bo no great difficulty to believe it, at lest I cannot think I shall meet with much reluctancy in this matter. Should we suppose for once that the empire of the Titano, who wore the ancestors of the Colts, wee scattered over Greece and Italy, as indeed it cannot well be contested, a man would in some degree be esteemed an opiniate and nn. reasonable not to believe a thing that has such a face of truth, As I wish to do all in my power in the clearing up of this subject, I will now take one quota- tion from the clever writings of John Beard, D. D. "The Crete, as far back as history goes, were the primitive inhabi. tants of England, Wee, Scotland and Ireland. The race at large, in an anti - historic period, migrated from Central Aeia into Europe, end, spreading over its surface, penetrated to its western limits ; end that in our present English, the original Celtic of these islands still remains to no 000siderable extent." Now there ie another fact recorded in the annals, "that when Ith came ae a pioneer of the Mileoians he found the princes of Danana speaking a language he quite understood, an improbable thing seemingly, an the Mileeiane Dame front Spain." On whatever part of the earth we oast our eyes, there we will find euoh striking veetfges of the Celle as will convince us that there is no aaaiety, no people, or empire, known in history, wen] can deny the Celts to have been their first founder, Numerous little inoidente interepereed through the annuals and the barbio literature point the student to the fact, while a very little study will convince any person who knows something of comparative philology of the very great antiquity of the Irish language. "The Irish language is a soft, sweet and guttural language." What is there that pee to the heart in each a pitying way as an Irish song when effectively sung ; nothing I know of appnale so touchingly to the heart. Whet a sad, sad thing it is to see it going as it is. Of course the societies are doing a good deal to keep it in vogue, but, alas, the proper pro. nnncietion of it is lost. For instance, take an Irish word, learn to speak it as properly as you oan, then if you have a quick ear and a flexible voice, you will see at once the great beauty and the great difSoulty of the ancient Irish ; and, no doubt, you will readily agree with the person who would openly assert that those who found it easy to speak this language possessed more perfect organs of speech add a greater degree of intelli- gence than we do. The Irish language was peculiarly adapted to verse making, eo that it is no wonder it was once termed a land of poets. But I am forced to say the re. mains of our langoage is only lingering like a mist around a monutain's creat of a summer's morn, gniotly, calmly, soft. ly, bot surely withdrawing ; and I fear very much that the Irish language and its pure history Boon shall be allowed to pees into the limita of exploded myths, wherese there aro Bo many in those modern times fatly inclined to believe that Ireland a few centuries ago was an almost barbarous and totally ignorant nation, whose past history ie unworthy of remembrance. Now I wonder'how any person is led to that belief, ae it cannot be based on historical grounds, for Ireland in the olden times waa a more educated and a more scientific. nation than any other in the then known world. The ancients were not vulgar nor ignor- ant, for the old Druidical philosophers, when astronomy was unknown in the world, made long journeys by sea, guided by the knowledge of the conetellatione. Neither had they been strangers to the We of the telesoope, for by it they could bring the moon very near them, and show its opacity with mountains, rocks, and other appearance(' upon its surfaoe. They were aleo well acquainted with glace and oryetala, and it is but natural to Bappoeethat our contemplative phil- oeopbers were in some way the invent - ore of it, ae the word "zloine" is the Oeltic.name for glass, and is of Celtic origin, and not of foreign extract. And then, again, when we trace hie tory we find that in the eighth century the knowledge of the Irish in the true figure and formation of the earth stood Bingle among the nations of Europe. Ireland at that time could pro - dam some of the finest men that could be found. For inetaaco, Firgir, who was descended of an ancient and honorable family, left hie native land and went to France, where be spent two whole years at the Court of the King, by whom he was kindly entertained for his groat learning and sweetness of bsbavior. He afterwards became Bishop Saltzbary, and is reported to have written the glossary quoted by Milcbboir Goldaat in hie notee on Columban and a discourse of the Antipodes, whioh he told most truly against the received opinion of ancients, who imagined the earth to bo a plain, and the heavens in some way to join it. Then coming to a somewhat later date wo find that Ireland was a sanctuary for tate distressed. It then afforded learn- ing, protection, bootie and food to all who wished to apply, or shelter themselves uncle» her fostering wing. Irelend was once the collage of Cheistonilom. It was then Germans, Saxons, Danes, Swedes and many other nations flocked to Ito. land to receive their collegiate education. I have it on good anthoeify that the Col- lege of Armagh contained in ono season 7,000 studonte, at which time there were thyme' Mime oollegee in the nation, "It math common in those ditye to nay molt a person is gone to Troland to College as wo wonhl say now of Trinity or May. nooth." ltfaley English noblemen came to Ireland for divinity or to load e, neonaetid life, all•of whioh the Irish re, oeived most willingly, giving them books and professore gratuitously. Da one of these collo ee (5 believe the Metro Cbl. lego) Alfred the Great finis/led his min - cation, and anyone acquainted with his- tory can see plaittly that it wan by his groat musical VOwors he charmed the savage heart of Futhrum, and regeened ancient Grooke waa fully of Celtic, and the British Drown. And It wee Wilde in Ireland that he acquired bis excellence on the harp whioh served him so well atterwarde. The ancient Irish were well versed in the refined art of music, even the ladies could piny the harp to perfec- tion. It was a lady who instructed Hammon, the celebrated minstrel, who lost hie eyeaight while a boy, and who lived to the age of 112 years. In hie time he was the first harper of Ireland, and neare ly the last, as the harp, whioh ono0 rung eympbonioaely through the balls of an. oient Tara and Tyr000uell, is now, alas I slmoet obsolete. No nation in the world hue mesio so cad yet pleasing, and at the same time hearts eo cheery, as our own sweet isle. An Italian muaicien on hearing, at one time, some of our plaintive sire perform- ed, said, "'Truss a land of woe." Ireland was once studded with primes of the good old blood ; for when ging Richard II viaited Ireland he entertained no leas than eeventy.five independent princes at once. No true Irishman should read any literature wherein our land ie alluded to as being berbarone, either in the past or present period. Of course I must aoknow. ledge that Ireland is not what it waa, for the time is gone when she could feed and olothe her eiglit millions of people with- out foreign aid, while now she cannot • keep her four millions without the help of other nations. The Irish have suffered themselves to be plundered of most of their ancient and valuable manuscripts that could prove them to have been a teerned,Boien- tific and truly religious people. Ireland is not, nor never wart, a bar- barous or a hardhearted nation; for the Irish are a feeling race, ever ready to belp the weak and distressed, with te kindly mad mille a failthe for every friend who troubles their hospitable board. There ie a nabocklieh for the eorrowe of any, and there ie a cheery song at night while eitting before e< bright fire. Ireland is not what it was, but still it has retained its enlightenment, its hospi- tality, its bravery, its wit and many other of its precious game ; whilet many more have withered away under the heavy breath of adversity. I grieve to hear our nation called ignorant and our people barbarous—a nation that has been purified by saints; a nation unmatched in prase and triumph, and in war; a na- tion rich in silver and gold ore ; a nation whose very air is laden with health, while her hand is free from savage beasts or scaly snakes. Where is there a land to vie with the Emerald Isle of the west? Where is there a land eo endowed with heavenly gifts ? Where is there a land so pure, 00 chaste ? Where, oh I where, is there a land to compare with old Sainted 311 - hernia ? "Tbouglt famine's stern and adamantine brand, Ban oft, my Erin t emote thy eaintad land; Yet, oh, my country 1 still thy sone are brave, Oa the embattled plain, and bloodstained wave. Thy daughters, blooming se the blush of more ; Thy bills, thy dales, and cottages adorn ; They moat the etraager with benignant smile. And greet them weloomo to thy holy isle.' Canadian Newts. A. M, Dymond, a young Toronto '1u(0 - ester, eon of IIIr. Dymond, of the; Gov- ernment Blind Institute at Brantford, has been appointed law olerk by the Ontario Government to succeed Mr. Cartwright. The Duke o! Connaught is to reach Van000ver May 24th, visiting Niagara Falls, Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Mon- treal and Quebec, and the fishing grounds in New Brunswick before sailing for Eng- land, on June 12. A lad 8 years of age, eon of Wm. Shaw, an employee of the Harbor Company, Bowmsnville, was accidentally allot Sat- urday afternoon by young Laughlin, an older lad. The discharge took effect in the side near the shoulder. The boy ie still living. On Wednesday. 'of last week a lad named Forrest Afiokfe, of Amheretbnrg, got into a small boat' that was tied to one of the docks anti untied the rope. He was not old enopgh to realize the con- sequences, and in a few minntee he was being carried lekeward. A mac named Denman heard his cries and rescued him, but not before he had gob away out in the lake. An ore laden steamer from lake Sup- erior broke her rudder chain while own- ing down the Rapids at Sarnia the other morning, and got beyond the control of ber crow. She ran into W. 33. Clark's wharf and npeet the warehouse, badly wreaking it and blocking the Grand Trunk track for some hours. Local trains were considerably delayed in con- sequence. A meeting of the Hamilton le Barton, Inclined Railway Company Wee held at Hamilton Tuesday evening. Between 00,000 and $15,000 will be ne000sary to build the projected inclined railway up the mountain. 0f this sus $10,030 hart already been subscribed. It was decided to proceed at once with the building of the railway, and the provisional board were empowered to engage an engineer, procure plana and lot contracts. The emelt will bo proceeded with at an early date. There is oonaicletable excitement among egg dealers over the proposed imposition of a five cent duty on seek dozen of Oauaclien eggs by the United Status Government. Jones 551 Jt Jo„ of Jarvis, and MoNanghton, Walker to Co., 0C Chathttnl, two of the most ex- tensive egg shipping firms in the province, state that they will bo ptaoti. calls turned unless they tranefor their pickling vets aoroas the bottler. in fact, it is given out that the letter firtn have already decided to remove their vats to Detroit and send thcir eggs there. They say towards the end of the season they would probably have 500,000 dozers in pickle and 400,000 dozen in the reftig• orator, end the five per cont. duty would Make a difference of $35,000 to them. They therefore propoa0 to send the eggs to Detroit and de all the handling there. W, K. Toting to Co., of roust, have opened an egg tvarohcaso al lbrlt Ciratiot.