Belletonte, Pa., February 1, 1918. THE SCOTCH-IRISH. (Address read by Dr. W. BE. McKinney, pastor of the Bellefonte Presbyterian church, before the Bellefonte Chapter of the D. A. R). “For two hundred years and more, the Scotch-Irish race has been a very potential and beneficent factor inthe development of the American Repub- lic. All things considered, it seems probable that the people of this race have cut deeper into the history of the United States than have the people of any other race though they have not been hy any means the most numerous or boastful. This is not an extravagant statement. It can be verified by ir- refragable proofs. Until recent years the Scotch-Irish have been mostly si- lent about their achievements. They have been content to do the work giv- en them to do, and let others take the glory.” Thus writes Dr. John Walk- er Dinsmore in his book “The Scotch- Irish in America.” Some critics may question the veracity of the asser- tion; everyone has the right to his own opinion, but when we consider the fact that the Scotch-Irish have never numbered over half a million in their native province of Ulster—a population equal to that of New Hampshire, or one-sixth the popula- tion of New Jersey, we can then form some idea of their influence in propor- tion to their size. No unbiased his- torian will contradict this assertion— the facts prove the case—that propor- tionally no race has had a greater impact on American principles or method of government than the Scotch-Irish. Who are the Scotch-Irish? The term is distinctly an American one, coming into use about the time of the American Revolution. It is very scarcely, if ever, used by these peo- ple in the homeland, indeed the pres- ent writer lived for twenty years in the cradle of that race, and he never remembers hearing this term applied to his forbears or those around him. In the homeland they are either de- nominated Scotchmen or Ulstermen. To get at the root of the matter we must go back to English history to the reign of Queen Elizabeth and King James—to the opening of the seventeenth century—1600 to 1640. English history of this period has a good deal to say about “The Ulster Plantation.” What was this Ulster Plantation? It was a scheme on the part of James the First, King of England and Scotland, to induce Eng- lish, but chiefly Scottish citizens, to go over to Ireland and settle in that factious little island and thus cement it also to the British crown. Queen Elizabeth died in 1603. James the Sixth was then King of Scotland. Queen Elizabeth, being un- married, left no successor throne of England. James, the Sixth, of Scotland, son of Mary, Queen of Scotland, and great-granddaughter of Henry Seventh, King of England, comes to the throne of England as James the First. Thus we behold the union of these two countries under one sovereign. Now a large part of Ireland was nominally under the con- trol of the English Kings, but as at the present time it was a thorn in the flesh of the regning powers. Could James with a united England and Scotland back of him not bring Ire- land into complete and abiding sub- mission or control? This was his problem, and the Ulster Plantation was his method of solution. The Earls of Tyrone and Tyrcon- nel in the northern part of the island had been guilty of rebellion, at least James thought so. Without doubt these Ulster chieftains had entered into negotiations with Spain to re- ceive aid from that country and thus throw off the nominal yoke of the British rule. We cannot blame them when we understand the treatment they had received at the hands of British Kings. They had as good a reason as had the American colonies in 1775. These chiefs and rulers of that land wanted to retain possession of what had ever belonged to them and their forefathers. But James thought otherwise, and sending an ar- my across the channel, he took pos- session of the greater part of the is- land, confiscating to the crown the lands of the rebellious chiefs of the North. He then formed the scheme of settling this confiscated land with English and Scotch settlers. He par- celled it out in sections of two thous- and acres to lords, dukes, noblemen, and gentlemen of England and Scot- land on condition that each of these noblemen would induce, at least, twenty loyal citizens to go over to Ireland and setle on the estates thus granted them. This policy did not achieve all that was expected from it, but it did succeed to a large extent in the North of the green isle. Very few English were able to meet the terms of the contract, but thousands of the lowland Scotch wended their way to Ulster and settled down in their new homes. James even gave special inducement to the Scotch, for, as we know, he was King of Scotland before he was King of England, and knowing the true-hearted loyalty of the former he wanted to place them as the permanent quality or quantity — reliable quantity—in that island of sedition and insurrection, which in some respects seems to be little bet- ter today than it was in the days of the Tudors. ’ ‘This is the Ulster Plantation, the transplanting of thousands of Scotch citizens, loyal to the English crown, in the Northern part of Ireland—in the counties of Antrim, Down, Derry, to the|* | Tyrone, Aramagh, Fermanagh, North Cavan, and East Donegal. It took place in the years 1605 to 1610, but for some years before this date and some years after it there was much the same process, only on a smaller scale. Its purpose; the forming of the nucleus of a citizenship that would remain faithful to the British crown and British rule. This purpose may have been accomplished, but the Ul- ster Plantation had other effects. Among these others it laid the foun- dation of that iniquitous land system whereby the tillers of the soil could never own their own farms. They were compelled to work for those idlers living in England or Scotland, and were also compelled to pay what- ever rent was assessed by the land- owners, or else they were evicted from home and homestead. This is the foundation of what is known in history as “The Irish Evictions” which have elicited the condemnation of the civilized world. These evic- tions were a stigma on English his- tory for many a long day, but during the ministry of W. E. Gladstone the whole land system was reorganized and readjusted, so that Ireland today enjoys as much freedom and as much representation in the British parlia- ment as any State of our Republic enjoys under the Federal government of the United States. Thus we see the origin‘of the Scotch-Irish people, and the exact connotation of the term. It refers to the descendants of the Scotch people, who, in the beginning of the seven- teenth century went over to Ireland and remained there. They settled chiefly in the North and today call themselves Scotchmen or Ulstermen. They have remained Scotch in relig- ous thinking, in life, in marriage, in associations, and even in brogue. The name is really a misnomer. It would lead us to believe that the Scotch of the colony of Ulster inter- married with the Irish, and that this people is therefore a people of mixed blood. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The name, which has its origin in purely geographical reasons, is ethnologically incorrect. The Ul- ster people to this day are Scotch through and through. There is no in- termarriage; there is no union of Scotch and Irish. The name when ap- plied to an American of today does not signify a mixed Hiberno-Scottish descent. It refers to the descendants in America of the early Scottish em- igrants from Ireland. This leads up to our next question — when and why did these Scotch- Irish come to our shores—to Ameri- ca? When did they come, what was the chief cause of their coming? Let us take our answer from “Ma- ker's of the American Republic” by Dr. David Gregg, himself an Amer- ican. Some time after the colonists had settled in Ulster “they were not allowed to pursue the even tenor of of their way. They were oppressed, just as the American colonists were * * = py FEngland. First, Eng- | land, by the passage of oppressive | measures, .took from Ulster its wool- in any capacity under the government, all practising before the law courts, all acting in any” town council to swear that they were either members of, or would take the oath of allegi- ance to, the communion of the Church of England. This was the entering wedge law-putting under the ban all citizens of the realm, save those who were members of the State Church, refusing to allow any member of the Roman Catholic, Independent, Puri- tan, or Presbyterian churches to hold any government office, or even any other important position in life. (Continued next week). John Fye's Experience in the Civil War. Editor of the “Watchman:” As an old soldier of the Civil war I would like you to print this to let your readers know a little of my ex- perience in that struggle as well as the hardships the soldiers had to en- dure at that time. When a little past eighteen years of ago I enlisted inthe state troops and served three months, being discharg- ed the latter part of August, 1863. 1 stayed at home until February, 1864, when I again enlisted and was mus- tered in at Harrisburg on February 29th, it being leap year. After being fitted with a full uniform I stayed there a short time then went to An- napolis, Md., where I remained until when I was sent to the Army of the Patomac in the Wilderness campaign. Saw hard fighting there and at Spottsylvania Court House. Later I was sent to Fredericksburg and was assigned to the burying squad, and it was no unusual thing to dig a trench large enough to hold ten bodies, lay them in, pull their caps over their faces and cover them up. We had no coffins and no time to pre- pare even a box. I worked at that gruesome detail about a month and was then ordered to join my regiment, which lay not far from the Weldon railroad. On the 19th of August I went into battle there. We drove the confed- erates back and tore up the railroad for a distance of several miles. That night I was on picket duty and about ten o'clock the next morning the con- federates flanked us and took a num- ber of prisoners, and I was one of them. They took us over near Peters- burg where we were kept under guard until the next day when we were load- ed in cattle cars and taken to Rich- mond where we were. put in the fa- mous Libby prison. We were stripped naked when searched and all our money taken, our guards stating that the money would be given back to us later, but 1 haven’t got mine yet. Later they took us to the stockade on Belle Isle. Our food consisted of a loaf of corn bread divided among four prisoners. Every few days we would be taken out of the stockade in squads for exercise and at such times we would gather splints and chips and carry them back with us. Then we would cut the crust from our piece tin can with water and with our | splints and chips build a fire and boil | the contents of the can, and call it | coffee, and it tasted good. Once in | awhile we would get a small portion | of real coffee. Sometimes we would get a few | bites of meat, or a bone with a little | meat on it, and the fortunate ones | would suck the bone as long as there ! was a taste of meat on it; and if it | was a rib, they would split it open | and scrape the inside. Some days we would get bean soup and the prisoner | who had a tin or a can was in luck. Those who had none of these would | take one shoe and take his soup in it. | We generally got about a half pint. | We called it bean soup without the beans. At night we would lie down in rows, and called it “spoons,” getting as close together as we could to keep warm, and if a man died, and plenty of them did, some one would get up, take him by the feet and pull him out of the “spoon,” then we would close up ranks. If it rained we would stay on our feet until it cleared up. We had no covers, not even a tree for shade and when the sun was hot the “graybacks” were so plentiful you could see them crawling in the sand. Some of the prisoners called them Jeff Davis plagues and others termed them government lice. Now this was the experience of prisoners during the Civil war, while as soldiers they faced the canon and muskets, marched through rain and mud, and at night spread a blanket on the wet ground while sleeping, and sometimes had a little tent for a house. Now dear reader, compare the ex- periences of the soldier of those days with the way the government is tak- ing care of them now, and yet there are young men today who are conjur- ing up all kinds of excuses why they should not go and defend their coun- try. Why, if I were a young man I would relish the opportunity to go across and help to get the Kaiser. JOHN FYE. Karthaus, Pa., Jan. 21. The Best Clothes Service i For Man or Boy at Fauble’s. Prices Moderate and Honest. Only depend- able merchandise. Your Money Back any time for the asking. — Every househald in Italy saves all the odd bits of paper. These are soaked in water and kneaded into balls, then put in the sun to dry. They will serve to give a little heat later on. Walk down a fashionable street in Mi- lan and you will see pyramids of these paper balls in the balconies of the houses of the rich. The Lincoln highway begin- ning at New York city and ending at San Francisco, is about one-third fin- ished, though it is already available for travel for a greater distance. This highway will have a hard surface and will be open to travel throughout the year. : FAUBLE’S. Allegheny St. «« BELLEFONTE, PA. Between Girls. Betty Wilde—Jack declares he'll go crazy if I don’t marry him. Her Friend—Ah! Then there’s no |= hope for him either way. —To prevent coughs, colds and sore throat call a White Line taxi at the Bush house. Both phones. 2-4t FINE GROCERIES en trade. This was like a stroke of | of corn bread, pulverize it, put it in a paralysis. It caused the first great exodus of the Scotch colonists to = NE America. A second and a larger ex- odus was caused by the scandalous "ESTABLISHED IN 1853. LL GOODS in our line are thirty to sixty days late this sea- E son. Prices are somewhat, but not strongly above the lev- advancement of the rents of the farms, and by a taxation on the im- provements caused by the industry of the people. The first outrage made an attack on commerce and manufac- ture; the second outrage was an at- tack on the agriculture of the colony. For fifty long years, from 1720 to el at this time last season. It is not safe to predict, but it does seem that prices are just now “passing over the top” and may be somewhat more reasonable in the near future. We Have Received New Evaporated Apricots at 25¢c and 30c a lb. Fancy Peaches 20c and 22¢c Ib. Very Fancy Evaporated Corn at 35c a lb. or 3 cans for $1.00. Fancy Selected Sweet Potatoes 5c a lb.—some grades at 3c 1770, the people, abused and then ejected from their farms and home- steads, which they and their fathers had made what they were, poured in streams of twelve thousand a year in- to America.” This gives us the economic reason, but there was another and a more im- portant one; the religious one. To give a true picture of the situation we cannot overlook it. To understand the place of the Puritan in American history we must know what made him a Puritan and why he came across the Atlantic to our shores; we must know his religious experiences before he left sunny England for the rocky coasts of New England. And in the same way, if we are to understand the Scotch-Irish nature as we see it man- ifested in American history, we must know something of that religious ex- LEGGETT'S GUTH'S JANSON’S Chocolates PERFUMES FINE LINE TOILET ARTICLES AND SUNDRIES Green's Pharmacy Co., ow The largest and oldest Drug Store in Centre County to 4c a Ib. Very Fancy Cranberries at 18c per quart or pound. Almerin White Grapes, Celery, New Paper-shell Almonds, California Walnuts, Finest Quality Cheese. INCLUDE OYSTERS IN YOUR ORDERS We will deliver fresh opened, solid measure at cost with other goods. WE MAKE OUR OWN MINCE MEAT. No item is cut our or cut short on account of cost—it is just THE BEST WE CAN MAKE and is highly recommended by all those who have tried it. If you have used it you already know—or try it just now. SECHLER & COMPANY, Bush House Block, 57-1 Bellefonte, Pa. perience through which he passed ere he became a part of our free land. There are some people who cannot understand the everlasting antipathy of the Celtic Irish to English rule. Such a one ought to read “The His- tory of Ireland” by Thebaud. Some cannot understand why the Ulsterman has no special love for the cowl, whether worn by King or prelate. Then take up such a book as Reid’s history of the Ulster Plantation; hear the story of the way in which Eng- land’s Kings and prelates treated the Scotch-Irish and the whole problem will be solved for you. It has been said that religion is life, and if so, the emigration of the Scotch-Irish from their adopted home in Ulster is one of the finest illustrations in his- tory of its application and revelation. As the chief reason for the coming of the Puritan was religious, so was it in the emigration of the men of Ul- ster in the middle of the eighteenth century. During the reign of William Third an Act of Toleration was passed, and as long as he lived there was a com- parative spirit of toleration manifest- ed. In 1702 he died, and with him the spirit of his reign. Queen Anne ascends the throne, and according to history, the glory of her reigns found in the penal laws which she enacted against both Roman Catholics and Non-Conformists. The Test Act was passed. This compelled all serving POWER. Now is the time to BUY as prices North Water St. 61-30 EFFICIENCY. PRICES HAVE ADVANCED AS FOLLOWS: Four from $ 985 to $1050 Six from $1250 to $1385 GEORGE A. BEEZER, AGENT, A AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASAINAAAS DURABILITY. Tomorrow—this very day—a few hundred dollars might give you a chance in business, in real estate, that would start you on the road to wealth. HAVE YOU THE FEW HUNDRED? If you haven't, make up your mind to accumulate that sum, for there’s no telling when such an opper- tunity will present itself. Start a Bank Account Today THE CENTRE COUNTY BANK, BELLEFONTE will advance further at any time. va BELLEFONTE, PA.
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