The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1865-03-24

life; ignoble acts and sentiments were a. q
premium; from time to time, we were SOLO on
as slaves to distant countries or euD)ecteo 20
wholesale massacres at home. live can YET
discern virtues among the Irish people, virtue
must have taken deep root 10 our near'S'
And still we have our virtues.
The root and foundation of virtue is faith II
is through the teachings of our Saviour tnat
man is purified, elevated above material inte-
rests and earthly passions. Where there ID q
lively faith, there are virtues, and if vices are
sometimes there, there is yet hope that virtue
will finally triumph the branches may be
whitening; you will not cut down the tree 80
long as the root is full OF life and sap. Here
is an emerald that no tyranny could ever pluck
from Erin's crown. Never was the virginity of
Erin's creed polluted by error. Nations have
received the faith and have lost it: our sea-girt
isle has ever been Catholic. The most Catholic
countries have sometimes caused the heart OF
the church to bleed by her arrogant disposi-
lions Erin has ever been devoted, an ODE.
dent child. Ht-
Nor can it be said of the faith OF the Irish,
that it is shallow, superficial sentiment that
has persevered because all has been qniet
around it, because no adverse wind ever blew
to weaken and shatter it. No, the rain de-
scended, and the floods came and beat against
it, and it remained unmoved: go solid are its
foundations. For three centuries we have been
persecuted; the whole country was covered
with the bones and moistened with the blood
Of martyrs-and yet we did not yield. stu to.
day this herOism Is amongst us when famine
stalks through the land, and our people are
dying for want of food, the apostles of the es-
tablished church offer bread, as the price OF
apoetacy-but they would rather die than be
sullied. Notice to quit is given to. the in
habitants of whole district, unless they send
their children to proselytizing schools; ii they
highway, or to take refuge in the workhouse
and still they obey the dictates of their con-
sciences. A nation that can undergo such sac
rifces, is grand, noble nation What high
mindedness! What pround independence! No
matter what chain bind our body, our soul is
always free!
The faith of the Irish is not mere specula.
tive sentiment: they live by faith; it controls
all their thoughts and actions they are SUI
pernatural people their modes of speech ever
betray their constant attention to the unseen
world They have that strong faith of the first
Christians, which works miracles: hence, am
convinced, supernatural occurrences take place
in Ireland more than In other countries. x
people with such strong faith will be
good: they may fall, but the sting of con-
science will quickly spur them on to better
life. Take the worst of them-there is always
ground to work upon his conversion is never
an impossible task. ssl...-
Faithful to their God, they are faithful to
| their country. It is the indefeasible honor,
though, alas! not the happiness of our people,
to be passionately attached to their native land.
1t is now seven hundred years since the Nor
man set foot on her soil our love for the harp
| and the green flag are yet undiminished. We
| may wander away from her shores, over many
a ravishing scene, but the last desire of our de-
parting spirits is i.
''Oh, bury me under the green sod,
| With the cross and the shamrock Ger mel"
| When inspired by any noble idea, above all
when addressed in the name of religion and Of
| country, they are susceptible of the most lofty
and generous impulses. Their persevering re
sistance to the rule and creed of England, be
1 speak high heroism. They falter before nc
sacrifice; they are never blanched by fear
Hence, as soldiers, they have won such world
| wide renOwn. 1t is said their enthusiasm
blinds their reason they act before they thinl
II would rather say they lose no time IL
thinking; and proof that their enthusiasm
is not unaccompanied by reason, Is that the
are not so often found on the wrong side.
The social qualities of the Irish are undenia
bic; they are kind and genial; the Irish hear
is a compound of love and kindness; it is al
| admirable heart. Their generosity is vel
known, and one of the causes that they are 81
! often poor is their proclivity to give. Thi
generosity is especially visible when they arr
called upon to support their priests. or Il
build churches tor the service of the Living
God. -.
Among their social virtues there is one st
charming that it attracts the admiration of al
men, even of those who are the most destitute
of it. Imean the purity of morals. Ireland
has been called, and she still deserves her title
the Virgin Isle. There survives, as in an in
| exhaustible focus, that admirable purity Of
morals, which no cOnquerOr, no adversary has
ever been able either to impugn, or to equal, OF
to corrupt. An English writer, Thackeray,
says: No nation of Europe can boast of such
| general purity; that great terror striker, the
confessional, is ever before them, and sooner
or later, their sins must be told there" There
| is but one epot of the globe where Irishmen
are not found-Utah Territory.
Nowhere are the family ties 90 well pre-
served; that bane of the family, divorce, is
there unknown; every son is boy every
daughter is girl, they are children, i. e., they
obey their parents until they are called to pre-
side over the destinies of houses of their own.
And as the family is the nursery of every vir.
tue, these children will be good men. good
citizens.
Add to the foregoing virtues geuine gaity
and lightheartedness, despite the lash of the
oppressor; laudable ambition to develop
one; ones talents, to advance, elevate ones self in
lite, Notwithstanding the crushing tyranny of
England, and you have an idea Of what good
there is in the Irish people at home. -
True, they have their faults; owing to the
wars of determination that have been waped
against them, some have grown indolent and
shiftless; they are improvident and do not
care sufficiently for the future. y,
Some have been almost necessarily unman.
ned. They have not enough of what is termed
responsibility. Some too seek to drown their
pain and misfortune in strong drinks. 1t is
natural to create fictitious joy, where no real
JOY can be found. Perhaps we lack also energy
but we fall back too easily if wo do not carry
our point at the first assault. We are too much
divided among ourselves; we lack unity of &C.
ton We are tO0 irritable ond l,a;,,r, - J;,tJa