I EASY
RSE aT,
Bellefonte, Pa., February 15, 1918.
THE SCOTCH-IRISH.
(Address read by Dr. W. E. McKinney,
pastor of the Bellefonte Presbyterian
church, before the Bellefonte Chapter of
the D. A. R).
(Concluded from last week).
The testimony of another strong
American is worth quoting—that of
another ex-President of our Repub-
lic, Theodore Roosevelt. ' In his
“Winning of the West” he says
“Along the western frontier of the
colonies that were so soon to be the
United States, among the foothills of
the Alleghenies, on the slopes of the
wooded mountains, and in the long
trough-like valleys that lay between
the ranges, dwelt in 1774 a peculiar
and characteristically American peo-
ple. They were of a mixed race, but
the dominant strain in their blood was
that of the Ulster Irish—the Scotch-
Irish, as they are often called. Full
credit has been awarded the Round-
head and the Cavalier for their lead-
ership in our history; nor have we
been altogether blind to the deeds of
the Hollander and the Huguenot; but
it is doubtful if we have wholly real-
ized the importance of the part play-
ed by that stern and virile people, the
Irish whose preachers taught the
creed of Knox and Calvin. These
Irish representatives of the Cove-
nanters were in the West almost what
the Puritans were in the Northeast
and more than the Cavaliers were in
the South. Mingled with the descend-
ants of many other races, they never-
theless formed the kernel of the dis-
tinctly and intensely American stock
who were the pioneers of our people
in their march westward. They were
a truculent and obstinate people, and
gloried in the warlike renown of their
forefathers, the men who had follow-
ed Cromwell, and who had shared in
the defence of Derry, and in the vic-
tories of the Boyne and Aughrim.
“The West was won by those who had
been rightly called the Roundheads
of the South, the same men who be-
fore any other declared for American
independence.”
ir Let us come down from generali-
ties, and see if facts of historical
knowledge substantiate these claims
of Froude, and Lecky, and McKinley,
and Roosevelt.
There has been a good deal of con-
troversy as to the birthplace of Amer-
ican independence—was it in New
England, the home of the Puritan, or
was it in Virginia, the home of the
Cavalier?
Bostonians contend that the first
gun of complete independence was fir-
ed in the old Town House in Boston
in the month of February, 1761.
James Otis shouldered the gun, and
with deadly aim shattered the “acts
of trade” recently formulated by the
British Parliament controlled by King
George, the Third.
But what of Virginia’s claim? Ac-
cording to the testimony of Thomas
Jefferson, as quoted by William Wirt,
“Mr. Patrick Henry gave the first im-
pulse to the ball of the revolution.”
“He was our leader in the measures
of the Revolution in Virginia, and in
that respect more is due to him than
to any other man.” Thus Virginia
claims to have given birth to the
child Independence, which in fifteen
years—in 1776—grew up to manhood,
and declared itself free.
What of these claims? John Ad-
ams, who supports the claim of Bos-
ton, was born in Massachusetts and
was a New Englander through and
through. Thomas Jefferson, the sup-
porter of Virginia’s claim, was born
in the State of Virginia and was a
typical son of the Old Dominion col-
In the Colonial Assemblies of 1775
the relation of the colonies to Great
them. While all deplored the arro-
gant and iniquitous conduct of Brit-
ain, not one of them voted for a com-
plete break with the mother country.
The tenor of all the colonies might be
summed up in the words of the New
York provincial convention for that
year. It reads “The turbulent state
of this colony does not arise from a
want of attachment to the King, from
a desire to become independent of the
British crown, or a spirit of opposi-
tion to the ancient and established
form of government to which we have
been subjected; but solely for the op-
pressive acts of the British parlia-
ment.”
In contrast with this statement of
relationship considered what is known
in history as the Mechlenburg Decla-
ration. The North Carolina Conven-
tion had formulated a judgment much
the same as that of New York. The
citizens from the county of Mechlen-
burg demurred from that judgment,
and determined to give to the world
their conception of the situation. In
May of 1771 the Scotch-Irish of this
county and contiguous territory had
resisted the oppression of the British
crown as unjust. The Governor of
the colony had treated them as out-
laws, and sent an army against them
and shot them down, and took captive
and hung thirty of their number.
This was the first blood of the Revo-
lution—shed by the sons of Ulster-
men. It is known in history as the
war of the Regulators. Bancroft says
of it “The blood of the first rebels
against British oppression was first
shed on the branches of the Cape Fear
River.” We can easily understand
what would be the feeling of these cit-
izens of Mechlenburg when they heard
of the doings of the minutemen of
New England in the battle of Lexing-
ton. It did not take them long to act.
A summons was issued to send their
representatives to Charlotte, North
Carolina, in conference for May 21st,
1775. There were twenty-seven del-
egates, and every man a son of
Scotch-Irish parents.
They formulated a Declaration of
five propositions. To understand
their decision on the relationship that
ought to exist between Britain and
these colonies we have only to read
number two. It says “Resolved, 2nd,
That we the citizens of Mechlenburg
county, do hereby dissolve the polit-
ical bonds which have connected us
with the mother country, and hereby
absolve ourselves from all allegiance
to the British crown and abjure all
political connection, contract, or as-
sociation with that nation, which has
wantonly trampled on our rights and
liberties, and inhumanly shed the
blood of American patriots at Lex-
ington.” This was the first recogniz-
ed public convention which called for
a complete severance from the Brit-
ish crown. It antedated the Philadel-
phia Declaration of Independence
one whole year. It was in toto an as-
sembly of Ulstermen, and historians
of today are giving it its rightful
place in the evolution of our national
independence. “Wallace Bruce, a man
with a double Scotch name and a
double Scotch nature, honors the event
of Mechlenburg in verse:
Manhattan and Plymouth and Jamestown
(an boast of their heritage true,
But Mechlenburg's fame is immortal
When we number the stars in the blue;
The Scotch-Irish Puritan Fathers
First drafted the words of the free,
And the speech of Virginia's Henry
Is the crown of our liberty’s plea.”
Ulstermen were the first who dared
to resist British oppression in these
States of ours, with the sword; Ul-
stermen were the first to shed their
blood for the liberties we now enjoy;
and they were the first to announce
openly to the world that we ought to
be an independent people—a republi-
ony.
Suppose we turn to history of the
United States—not a history of Vir-
ginia or even of New England. Ban-
croft is a recognized authority, and
both by training and make-up was
well fitted to give us an unbiased ac-
count of the whole matter. His his-
tory has received the highest com-
mendation from men entitled to re-
spect. Here is his view of this mat-
ter, “The first voice publicly raised
in America to dissolve all connection
with Great Britain, came not from the
Puritans of New England, nor from
the planters of Virginia, nor from the
Dutch of New York, but from the
Scotch-Irish.”
Col. A. K. McClure, the famous
Philadelphia editor, has left on wec-
ord “It was the Scotch-Irish people of
the colonies that made the declara-
tion of 1776. Without them it would
not have been thought of except as a
passing fancy. The action of the
Continental Congress voiced the
teachings of the Scotch-Irish people
of the land. They did not falter, they
did not dissemble, they did not tem-
porize. It was not the Quaker, nor
the Puritan, not the Cavalier, not
even the Hugeunot or the German; it
was the Scotch-Irish of the land whose
voice was first heard in Virginia. In
the valley of Virginia, in North Caro-
lina, in Cumberland and Westmore-
land counties in Pennsylvania, the
Scotch-Irish had declared that these
colonies are and of right ought to be
free and independent. They had
taught this not only in their public
speeches, but at their altars, in their
pulpits, at their fivesides, and it was
from these there came that outburst
of rugged and determined people that
made the declaration of 1776 possi-
ble. They were its authors, and they
were ready to maintain it by all the
moral and physical power they pos-
sessed. They meant that Scotch-Irish
blood was ready to flow on the battle
field, and come weal or woe they
would maintain it with their lives.”
lcan government, of the people, for the
people, and by the people. History
has richly justified their wisdom.
Had we time, what names we could
bring forward to show the spirit and
calibre of the men of Scotch-Irish
blood. One prefers to quote the ver-
dict of others rather than give his
own conception of things. Says Dins-
more, “During the war the Scotch-
Irish were incomparably the most ef-
fective element in Washington’s ar-
my.”
It was from this race that George
Washington got Henry Knox, a mem-
ber of his cabinet, and the first See-
retary of War in the American Re-
public. It was from this race that
Washington got Rev. James Caldwell,
the chaplain of the First Brigade.
Caldwell was more than chaplain; he
was at one time the assistant commis-
ary-general. Washington esteemed
his services as invaluable. Thomas
Jefferson is the recognized writer of
the American constitution; he was a
son of this race. Professor McClos-
kie, Princeton University, says the
Declaration of Independence, as we
have it now, is in the hand writing of
a son of this race; it was printed by
another son -of this race, and a third
— Captain Nixon—first read it pub-
licly to the people.
This race also claims Patrick Hen-
ry, among the first to sound the toc-
sin of war in that great sentence of
his “give me liberty or give me
death.” Madison is claimed by more
than one member of the Scotch-Irish
Society. He is known asthe father of
the American Constitution. Seven
Governors out of the thirteen origi-
nal States were either Scotch or
Scotch-Irish. In the words of Doug-
las Campbell, a lover as well asa
writer on the Puritan “The Scotch-
Irish gave to New York her first Gov-
ernor, George Clinton.” To Pennsyl-
vania they gave her first Governor,
Thomas McKean, one of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence.
Britain was discussed in each one of |,
RAL WAYS TO |
eee ee ee eR
To Delaware they gave her first Gov-
ernor, John McKinley To Virginia they
gave Patrick Henry—part Scotch and
part Scotch-Irish—the great war
Governor, and also civil leader, who,
supported by his Scotch-Irish breth-
ren from the western counties, first
carried and then held Virginia for the
cause of Independence. To North
Carolina the Scotch-Irish gave her
first Governor, Richard Caswell, and
to South Carolina they gave another
ence, Edward Rutledge, and another
great war Governor in the person of
John Jay, of French extraction; the
second chief justice was John Rut-
ledge, of Scotch-Irish descent. Two
lof the original associate Justices
| were of this race—Wilson and Iredell.
| Scotch-Irish blood predominated in
lat least seven of our Presidents—
| Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Johnson,
Grant, Arthur, and McKinley. There
was also a goodly stream of Secotch-
Irish blood in the veins of Jefferson,
Monroe, Madison, Taylor, Lincoln,
Hayes, Harrison, Cleveland and Wil-
son. Alexander Hamilton was Scotch
and Scotch-Irish.
In the naval wars of 1776 and later
the Scotch-Irish gave such command-
ers as Samuel Nicholson, Richard
Dale, Alexander Murray, Matthew
Galbraith Perry, Oliver Perry and
others equally famous in their day.
Among American generals a few
may be mentioned: Andrew Jackson,
U.S. Grant, James B. McPherson,
George B. McClellan, Stonewall Jack-
son, James Longstreet, John F. Rey-
nolds, Winfield S. Hancock, Frederick
Funston, etc.
In politics we have such men as
John C. Calhoun, Alexander H.
Stephens, Marcus A. Hanna, White-
law Reid, Wane McVeagh, Stephen
A. Douglas, Stephen B. Elkins, ete.
In American literature we find of
this strain such men as Lew Wallace,
Marion Crawford, Thomas Nelson
Page, and Maurice Thompson.
Hanna tells us that, “in law and
theology they outclass all other na-
tionalities.” Of the Sixty Judges of
the United States Supreme court, it
is said taht one-half have been of
Scotch or Scotch-Irish blood. Amer-
ica’s prominent business men have
been of the same grain. Witness A.
T. Stewart, Robert Stuart, John I
Blair, James Lenox, Andrew Carne-
gie.
During the first hundred years of
our existence as a nation historians
seemed to see mo further than New
England or Virginia. Everything
AVE SUGAR-WHICH 1S YOUR WAY?
signer of the Declaration of Independ-
was credited to the Puritan and the
Cavalier. The Hollanders in New
Amsterdam, the Huguenots in New
Rochelle; the Quaker in Pennsylva-
nia; and the Scotch-Irish everywhere
—these were forgotten, neglected,
passed by. But there has been a won-
derful change in this respect in the
past forty years. These other factors
in American Republicanism are com-
ing into their rightful heritage. As
one has said “The eyes of the public
are being opened, and the result is,
there is an honest and a popular de-
mand that American history be re-
written from alpha to omega, and
that the uncredited heroes be en-
throned in the midst of their lawful
rewards, and that every omitted chap-
tor be inserted in full.” When this
becomes a reality we believe those
historians will only expand on a state-
ment made by William McKinley in
the address referred to, “The Scotch-
'Yrishman comes of mighty stock—
that we know—descending from those
| who would fight, who would die, but
' never surrender. He is the perfection
"of a type which is the development of
ithe commingling and assimilating
| process of centuries. In the Ameri-
| can Seotch-Irishman we behold the
personification of liberty and law.
| His thoughts have been widened with
"the process of suns, and the civiliza-
tion which he has helped to secure
has added: light and sweetness to the
stern faith of his fathers. To the dis-
tinctive qualities of this type has
been added the humanizing and fra-
ternal influence of the American spir-
it of toleration and equality. He will
stand forth as a fair prototype of the
coming American.”
—A company at Moss Landing,
Cal., has established a packing house
for whale meat and will soon supply
consumers on the Pacific Coast. The
whales are caught with trollers and
harpoon guns. The flesh is sold in
steaks and roasts, free from bone and
gristle, at 8 to 10 cents a pound, and
resembles good beef in flavor, texture
and appearance.
ee —— V
Took a Preparatory Course.
That auctioneer seems to know his
business.
Yes, knocking down is his special-
ty. He used to be a pugilist.—Bos-
ton Transcript.
Boastful.
«] know that he is bragging.”
“Why?”
“He says he knows all about the in-
come tax law.”—Detroit Free Press.
CASTORIA.
CASTORIA.
\ \
3 ES
age is its guarantee.
GENUINE
Bears the
59-28-e.00w
Tn Use For Over 30 Years
The Kind You Have Always Bought
EE
EEE
The Kind You Have Always Bought, and which has been
in use for over over 30 years, has borne the signature of
and has been made under his per-
sonal supervision since its infancy.
Allow no one to deceive you in this.
All Countc:izits, Imitations and “ Just-as-good ” are but
Experiments that trifle with and endanger the health of
Infants and Children—Experience against Experiment.
- 5 » *
What is CASTORIA
Castoria is a harmless substitute for Castor Oil, Paregoric,
Drops and Soothing Syrups.
neither Opium, Morphine nor other narcotic substance. Its
For more than thirty years it has
been in constant use for the relief of Constipation, Flatulency,
Wind Colic and Diarrhoea; allaying Feverishness arising
therefrom, and by regulating the Stomach and Bowels, aids
the assimilation of Food; giving healthy and natural sleep.
The Children’s Panacea—The ¥other’s Friend.
CASTORIA ALWAYS
It is pleasant. It contains
Signature of
@
Shoes. Shoes.
FEBRUARY
SHOE SALE
tie) AT
YEAGERS SHOE STORE
ET
Dh the month of February I
will reduce the prices on all shoes.
This is not a sale of another store’s
stock, but a sale of my own good quality
of shoes at Reduced Prices.
NOW IS YOUR TIME
to purchase your needs in the shoe line,
even though you may not need them for |
months to come.
Girls $7.00 Tan, High Top, Low Heel
Shoes Reduced to $3.00.
YEAGER'S SHOE STORE
THE SHOE STORE FOR THE POOR MAN
Bush Arcade Building
58-27 BELLEFONTE, PA.
asin nnn.
. Come to the “Watchman” office for High Class Job work.
LYON @ COMPANY.
We have just received 1400 yds. Dress
Ginghams in stripes and plaids, dark and
medium light, all colors, that are worth
to-day 30 cents per yard ; while they last
our price 20 cents.
A large assortment of new Voiles in
stripes, plaids and dotted, also embroid-
ered from 10 cents to 50 cents per yard.
Costumes Crepes in the floral designs,
all colors that do not need ironing,
special 35 cents.
A full assortment of Ramie Linens, all
colors, 44 inches wide at 75 cents.
Special Cloth, a beautiful line of colors,
old rose Copenhagen and tan, looks like
Tinen, 36 inches wide, only 35 cents.
SILKS.
Our new Silks for Spring are ready for
inspection. Satins in the new Spring
shades, plaids and stripes in all colors,
taffetas and Georgette Crepes to match.
COATS AND SUITS.
All our winter Coats and Suits at
cost, which means manufacturers prices,
a big saving and plenty of cold weather
to get good wear this season.
At Special Request
we are continuing our White Sale until
February 16th.
Lyon & Co. «-» Bellefonte.
-»
*