Part 5

A. Fred Brown. Thomas R. Hall. William H. Hume. Frederick T. Hume. John Connelly. James F. Minturn. John C. McGuire. John Kirkpatrick. William J. Farrell. T. S. Danahy. C. H. Conway. John P. Kelly. Wm. H. Kelly. A. B. Carlton. J. J. Gleason. F. C. O’Reilly. J. J. Clingen. George E. Kilgore. J. DeM. Thompson. J. F. Slevin. Charles Black. Owen J. Carney. Patrick C. Meehan. Theodore Meehan. M. D. Greene. Wm. J. Fanning. John McKean. R. W. Powell. John Callaghan. Austin Finnegan. George F. Crowley. P. A. Moynahan. Arthur B. Waring. F. C. Hodgdon. Richard Dixon. T. T. Tomlinson. G. B. Warriner. Thomas F. Glynn.

Upon the cigars being lighted, Gen. James R. O’Beirne, the presiding officer, arose and in a neat speech opened the after-dinner exercises.

He first introduced Dr. Thomas Addis Emmet of New York city, who read a paper on “Irish Emigration During the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries.”

Hon. John C. Linehan of Concord, N. H., followed with a paper on “Some Pre-Revolutionary Irishmen,” which was well received, and proved of much value and interest.

Rev. John J. McCoy of Chicopee, Mass., read an able paper on “The Irish Element in the Second Massachusetts Volunteers in the Recent War” (with Spain).

James Jeffrey Roche, editor of _The Pilot_, Boston, Mass., entertained the company with a paper touching upon the work of the Society, and was frequently applauded.

John Jerome Rooney of New York city recited a fine poem on “The Irish Name,” and elicited the plaudits of the company.

Thomas J. Gargan of Boston, Mass., the new president-general, delivered a stirring address relative to the Society’s mission.

Joseph Smith of Lowell, Mass., made a short address, urging the establishment of a fund to assist the organization in carrying on its work. He also read a letter from Jeremiah Curtin, the author, who was then visiting Russia.

During the evening an address from Edward A. Moseley of Washington, D. C., the retiring president-general, was presented, Mr. Moseley not being able to attend in person.

Capt. E. O’Meagher Condon of New York city made a brief address, which was well received.

At intervals during the evening the company joined in singing patriotic American and Irish selections, accompanied by the orchestra.

There were also addresses by Hon. Thomas Dunn English of Newark, N. J., and Hon. William McAdoo, recently assistant secretary of the United States navy, whose remarks aroused much enthusiasm.

Letters regretting their inability to attend the gathering were received from Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, governor of New York; Hon. George F. Hoar, Washington, D. C.; Hon. George Fred Williams, Boston, Mass.; E. Benjamin Andrews, superintendent of public schools, Chicago, Ill., and from other gentlemen.

Before adjourning, General O’Beirne reminded the members that Hon. Theodore Roosevelt, who had expected to be present to-night but was unable, would give the Society a reception the next afternoon (Jan. 20) at 4 o’clock. The reception would take place at the residence of the governor’s sister, Mrs. Cowles, Madison avenue. General O’Beirne requested the members to meet at the Hotel Savoy at 3:30 p.m., in order that they might proceed to the governor’s reception in a body. The company then adjourned.

GOVERNOR ROOSEVELT’S RECEPTION.

Pursuant to the agreement made at the meeting the previous evening, a large number of the members of the Society met at the Hotel Savoy, New York, on the afternoon of Jan. 20, 1899. About half an hour later they formed in line and walked to the residence of Mrs. Cowles, the governor’s sister, on Madison avenue.

They were received by Governor Roosevelt, assisted by Mrs. Cowles. Each member of the Society present was introduced by General O’Beirne, and was cordially greeted.

After all had been introduced, Governor Roosevelt made a charming little speech, expressing his pleasure at meeting the Society’s representatives. He also expressed regret at having been unable to attend the Society’s dinner last night, but official duties had prevented.

He complimented the Society on the work in which it is engaged, and said that such historical bodies are capable of a great deal of good. He paid an eloquent tribute to the soldier of Irish extraction in American military life, and recalled special instances where this element’s valor had been displayed. The governor spoke feelingly of Capt. “Bucky” O’Neill, one of the officers who had served under him in the “Rough Riders” during the war with Spain, and said that he was one of the best captains in the regiment.

Upon the conclusion of his address, the governor invited those present to partake of a lunch that had been prepared, and the invitation was cordially accepted.

After bidding adieu to the governor and his sister, many of the members accepted an invitation from Hon. John D. Crimmins and participated in a reception at the latter’s residence, 40 East 68th street, New York. It proved a most enjoyable occasion.

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The leading addresses made, papers read, etc., at the annual meeting here follow:

ADDRESSES MADE AND PAPERS READ.

AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, THURSDAY EVENING, JANUARY 19, 1899.

LETTER FROM EDWARD A. MOSELEY, THE RETIRING PRESIDENT-GENERAL.

Edward A. Moseley, Washington, D. C., the retiring president-general of the Society, wrote as follows:

_To the Members of the American-Irish Historical Society_:

BROTHERS:—I regret very much that it will be impossible for me to attend the annual meeting of our Society on the 19th instant. I have been under medical treatment during the past ten days, and I am still far from well, and am advised by my physician that it would be very unwise for me to leave the city for some time to come.

It would be an exceeding pleasure to me to be with you, and to meet so many of the distinguished gentlemen of our Society who will be present, and who will, no doubt, illuminate with their wit and eloquence the banquet hall at Sherry’s on the evening of the 19th. I shall be with you in spirit, but as I cannot be there in person, would you kindly make a few suggestions for me at the meeting.

I have received the copy of Volume I of the _Journal_. It is a handsome volume, and a publication creditable to its editors and our Society. My only regret is that we cannot afford to publish such works extensively, and place one in the household of every American who boasts of his supposed Anglo-Saxon ancestry, and especially in the hands of our dear brethren, the “Scotch-Irish” advocates, who take so much pains to distinguish themselves from the mere Irish element.

In these days, when the brotherhood of man does not count for so much as in the early days of the republic, and when some are dividing themselves into classes and races and assuming superiority for the so-called “Anglo-Saxon race” over all the other races of men created by Almighty God, it seems to me that, as we do not claim to be of the “Anglo-Saxon race,” we should not submit to the implication contained in the term that all other peoples, including the Irish, are inferiors in race.

It is, therefore, high time for us to reassert and emphasize our protest against the claim that the American people belong to the “Anglo-Saxon race,” or that any of the Caucasian peoples are in any degree inferior in race to any other. Where differences exist it is a question of environment. After two or three generations, no one can perceive any radical distinctions between Americans descended from ancestors who were Englishmen, Irishmen, Scotchmen, Welshmen, Dutchmen, Germans, Scandinavians or of any other European nationality.

As there never was an “Anglo-Saxon” race—that being a term which designated two German tribes—we repudiate any suggestion that American civilization or progress is materially indebted to any supposed Anglo-Saxon element in our composition. On the contrary, we assert that all European nationalities have contributed to our advancement and magnificent citizenship.

The purpose of our Society is not to attribute all our splendid traits and achievements alone to the Irish element in our composition. Unlike our Anglomaniac brethren, who contend that everything great and good must be Anglo-Saxon, we merely claim credit for a just share in the upbuilding of the nation.

I would like the learned gentlemen of our Society to enlighten the average American, from time to time, in his local newspaper or on the rostrum, in respect to this Anglo-Saxon fetish. This has already been done for the American student by many distinguished ethnologists. It is easy to give object lessons on this line by the color of the hair and the eyes, and the shape of the skull, features which demonstrate beyond question that men of the supposed Anglo-Saxon type are the rare exceptions in our make-up, and are often very far from being at the top of the scale in any respect; while on the other hand, men of the received Celtic type compose the overwhelming majority in this country and in the British Isles—even in England itself, and in every part of England. They are in the vast majority all over the world wherever the English tongue prevails.

Many of the gentlemen of our Society can write just such admirable papers as Mr. Bocock contributed to the _Cosmopolitan_ magazine of this month (who confined himself, however, to instances of Irishmen who achieved great fame). No one has done more in this direction than our respected vice-president for the District of Columbia, Mr. J. D. O’Connell, whose pen has ever been at the service of his countrymen, particularly in this respect.

Whenever an Irishmen attains to fame or distinction in war, literature, art, law, or statesmanship in the British Empire, he is immediately claimed to be an Englishman, and, consequently, as displaying “Anglo-Saxon” pluck and “Anglo-Saxon” intellect.

The truth is, that among all those who have achieved great prominence in the English-speaking world, the Anglo-Saxon type is conspicuous by its absence. Nine times in ten, when a man boasts of “Anglo-Saxon” pluck, enterprise, ability, and progress, he himself is not of that type of man, and nine-tenths of the incidents he cites were brought about through the pluck, enterprise, ability and progress which came from mixed blood.

I can only liken this misrepresentation of the truth of history to the rattling of peas in a bladder, shaken by one of Shakespeare’s clowns. Puncture the bladder, my friends, whenever and wherever it is shaken. Tell the clown who calls himself an “Anglo-Saxon” that he is an ass! and prove to him by the color of his hair, the color of his eyes, and the shape of his skull that he is a Celt, a Milesian, a Latin, or anything but an “Anglo-Saxon,” and that if it was ever true that the English people were Anglo-Saxon, and that the Anglo-Saxons were ever, at any time, the greatest people on earth—superior to all other races—that time has so long since passed away that no one now remembers it, and no true history chronicles when and where they flourished.

* * * * *

But I have already trespassed too far on this line. Permit me to wish you all, if not too late, a very happy and prosperous New Year, and also to say to you that, as I have been twice honored by election to the presidency of the Society—and that is, I think, sufficient honor for any member—I beg to invoke the national rule against a third term. Therefore, if any friend of mine should be so indiscreet as to nominate me for that office, I request and urge you to ask him to immediately withdraw the nomination.

Fraternally yours, EDWARD A. MOSELEY, _President-General_.

WASHINGTON, D. C., Jan. 17, 1899.

IRISH EMIGRATION DURING THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES.

BY THOMAS ADDIS EMMET, M. D., NEW YORK CITY.

Irish people were among the pioneers in this country from almost the first settlement on the Atlantic coast, and continued until the line of immigration had crossed the continent to the Pacific.

The Colonial records bear testimony that Irish people were here at an early period, and so many hamlets on the frontier were designated by distinctive Irish names that had we no other proof than these facts, we could not honestly divest ourselves of the conviction that Ireland contributed more in numbers for the development of this country than came from any other one source.

Great injustice has been done the Irish people by depriving them of credit so justly due them. This has resulted partially from ignorance, but to a greater extent it is due to an influence exerted prior to the first settlement in this country. The purpose which prompts this injustice has been maintained through English influence, and has always been wanting so much in charity to the Irish people, that we can hope to accomplish little in any effort to establish the truth so long as individuals in this country are willing to have their judgment influenced by the policy of a foreign power.

The same influence has been as actively engaged in claiming that we are English; that this country is consequently “a worthy daughter of a more worthy mother!” Yet my investigations have impressed me with the belief that of the seventy-five millions forming our present population, there are a far greater number of individuals who could be more certain of their African origin, than there are those who could prove a direct English descent.

It is not sufficient to show proof of an ancestor sailing from an English port, as all such were rated during the seventeenth century as English, without reference to their nationality. Moreover the bearing of an English name would be no more conclusive, as we shall show that a large proportion of the “Wild Irish” were compelled by law to assume English surnames, which their descendants bear at the present time.

I have no precise data bearing directly upon the earliest immigration of the Irish to this country, for none exists. On the other hand, the assertion that they were among the first settlers, and the most numerous afterwards, cannot be rejected or disproved. I will now very clearly show, as circumstantial evidence, that throughout the greater portion of the seventeenth century a dire provocation existed, and that the Catholics were driven out of Ireland by a persecution which has never been equaled. The world to-day is in ignorance of the fact, since a complete history of Ireland, and of the suffering borne by a majority of the people, has yet to be written.

Whenever an advantage was to be gained by falsifying an historical event in connection with Ireland, the English government has never hesitated, in the past, to exercise its influence for that purpose. Yet with a strange inconsistency every record in the keeping of the government bearing upon its own immediate history, is zealously preserved, notwithstanding the most damning testimony is thus furnished of corruption, double dealing and crime.

As an American I would gladly have laid aside all religious appellations if it had been possible otherwise to have done justice to my subject, but unfortunately, as a consequence of the prejudices of centuries, not a few people regard the “Protestant Irishman,” the “Presbyterian Irishman,” and the “Catholic Irishman” as so many distinct species of the human family. The necessity, therefore, exists in doing justice to Ireland, that all at least in relation to the Catholic portion should be made prominent, as this precludes the plea of being either English or “Scotch-Irish.”

But as regards the race, the fact is that even within the period of which we shall treat in regard to the forced emigration, there remained in Ireland but little of the pure old Celtic stock. The inhabitants of Ireland had been gradually becoming a mixed people, and were as much of an aggregation as the population of the United States is a conglomeration of all other races. Yet there is something in the Irish climate and surroundings, which, even within a generation, exercises a powerful influence in bringing the descendants of all foreigners to a type possessing much in common, and with characteristics unlike any other people.

It was not until near the close of the reign of Charles the First, that the Irish people were forced to emigrate. Therefore, I propose to begin with a brief reference to the so-called “Rebellion of 1641.”

In this movement Charles the First of England was the active spirit, and if ever a man richly deserved his fate through retributive justice, Charles rightly suffered. His inhuman treatment of the Irish people, who had been most loyal to him, would have justified his execution if no other cause existed. No historical event, which antedates the testimony of living witnesses, can be more clearly established in all its details than the history of this forced outbreak in 1641, and this can be done notwithstanding there are few instances in history which have been more distorted by falsehood.

It would not be germane to my subject to enter into detail at greater length than to establish the provocation, or necessity existing at this time, for a large emigration of the Irish people. The English government had long held for the crown an absurd claim which involved the title of every estate in Connaught. The Catholics held nine tenths of the land and they bore in numbers about the same proportion to the population. During the reign of James an effort had been made to clear off this claimed lien, and large sums of money had been paid by the owners to the English government for this purpose, with the understanding that these transactions should be made a public record.

When Charles came to the throne it was found that James had appropriated this money for his own use, and the only record existing was one in which only the title of estates held by Protestants was established.

For an additional sum Charles promised, among many other promises which he did not keep, to have the title of the estates held by the Catholics cleared of all government claims, wherever the holder could prove his right of possession. For this ostensible purpose a commission was appointed, at the head of which was the Lord Chief Justice and the chief prosecuting officer for the crown in Ireland.

It is now known that the real object of the commission was to obtain some pretext for a general confiscation of the land, and to make a plantation of Catholic Connaught, after the people had been disposed of. As a stimulus to the zeal of these officers an additional bonus of two shillings on the pound was granted from the value of each estate confiscated to the crown, when made on the plea of a defective title. The owner was generally made foreman of the jury and whenever the verdict was a “Prevarication on the evidence,” as it was termed, and not for the crown, he was fined to bankruptcy, his estate confiscated “legally,” and the jurymen were both fined and imprisoned.

But this semblance of justice proved to be too slow a process, so the country was suddenly overrun with English troops to force an extended outbreak. Additional instructions were given to exterminate, if possible, the whole Catholic population, English as well as Irish, as is clearly proved by the writings of Leland, Clarendon, Warner, Carte, and other writers, who had no sympathy for the Irish people.

The cattle and all available property were seized; persons in all stations of life were imprisoned, without having charges preferred against them, or they were wilfully murdered without provocation; the wives and daughters of the Catholic Irish were subjected to unspeakable brutality, and it was a frequent boast that no woman was spared; the well and the sick, the young and the old were indiscriminately turned adrift, their houses were burned, and all provisions and stores which could not be used by the troops were wantonly destroyed.

No less than three thousand heads of families, constituting the Catholic nobility and gentry, and the owners of the land in the west of Ireland were imprisoned, charged with treason, and their property was seized.

A new commission was now formed, consisting of judge and jurymen in English interests, yet who were sworn, it is supposed, to investigate with some pretext to honesty the charge of treason against these individuals. As a result of their labors _over one thousand indictments were drawn up by this commission in two days_, by which each individual was found guilty of treason, thus losing his life, and his property was seized for the crown! If it be assumed that this jury worked continuously each day for twelve hours, the average would be about one indictment for a little less than every minute and a half. During which time it was supposed that witnesses duly sworn were examined as to the guilt of each individual, and after due deliberation, and after giving the prisoner the benefit of all doubt, where the testimony was deemed unreliable, the verdict had been rendered.

Is it possible to conceive of a more complete travesty on justice? The prisoners knew nothing of the proceedings, and the average time for conviction of less than one minute and a half was scarcely sufficient to add the signatures necessary to give each death warrant a semblance of legality.

By this one transaction the British crown came into possession of some ten millions of acres, which was a little more than one half of all the available land in Ireland.

Between five and six hundred thousand men, women, and children were slaughtered, or died from starvation. Many thousand were sent to the West Indies, or to the American colonies, and sold as slaves. A limited number escaped to the mountains, where many died from starvation, and the remainder lived for years a life in common with the wild beasts, with a price upon their heads, and were hunted as such. The whole and entire population of this great tract of country disappeared, and was literally wiped out.

Shortly after, Cromwell overran the south and southwestern portion of Ireland which was also chiefly settled by Catholics, and they received as little mercy from his army as had been meted out to those of their creed in Connaught. When Cromwell had completed his work at least two thirds of the landed property in Ireland had been confiscated; and after the greater portion of the Catholic Irish men, women, and children had been put to the sword, or driven into exile, the whole country became resettled with his soldiers, or by persons devoted to the English interest. Over one hundred thousand young children, who had been made orphans, or who were taken from their Catholic parents, were sent to the West Indies, to Virginia, or to New England, that they might thus lose their faith, as well as all knowledge of their nationality.

During this period thousands of Irishmen were driven into exile, to enter the armies of European nations, or to emigrate and settle on the frontiers of the American colonies, as a bulwark against the Indians, for the protection of the more favored settlers on the coast.

In addition, a host of both men and women who were taken prisoners, were sold in Virginia and New England as slaves, and without respect to their former station in life.

In later years, certain writers have attempted to pervert the truth by claiming that these men and women, who were refined and educated, and who had been the owners of the confiscated lands, were convicts. But I have not been able to obtain any reliable evidence to prove that Virginia or any of the American colonies were ever made penal settlements.