The Idaho world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1864-1918, 1869-04-15
rHr IRISH ELEMENT IN OUR POPULATION.

We copy the following from the PAL
timore Sun:
The celebration of St. Patricks DAY
is an occasion of great interest TO :,
large body of adopted citizens, as well
as to the still larger number OF native
birth united to them by ties OF relation
ship. The Irish in America have this
curious and undeniable characteristic,
that they never cease to be Irish, ana
at the same time arc as good Amerl-
cans as the best. They are, indeed,
among the most remarkable of modern
people. Genius, wit and eloquencc
seem to be the common heritage, III
greater or less degree, of the whole
Irish race. Among their most prom.
nent characteristics are the courage OF
the men, the purity of the women, open
hands and warm hearts of all, strong
religious faith and an imperlshable love
of old Ireland.
The magnitude of the Irish element
in our population may be judged OF by
the fact that in the torty-six years, 1919
to 1860, the total number of immigrants
arriving from the United Kingdom OF
Great Britain and Ireland Oh our shores
was =, 75O,S74. In the same period, H.
1861 persons emigrated from the
United Kingdom to the British colonies
in North America, large portion OF
whom are known to have eventually
settled in the United States. BY the
census of 1860 the population III the
United States of Irish birth was GIL
304, and that of German ,3Ol ,l36.-
Since that period, the German element
has increased, relatively speaking. The
greatest number of Irish reside III the
States of New York, Pennsylvania, H.
lnoiS, Ohio, Wisconsin and Michigan.
1t is computed that the four millions 81
cmigrants enumerated in the United
States in 1860, together with the mum
Der deceased, must have brought into
the country an amount of property not
less than 100000, 900, besides the
much greater capital which the lInml-
grants in themselves represent, physi-
calIv and intellectually. One fact 10
which we would call special attention
is the large sums of money which have
been sent by settlers in North America
to friends III Great Britain, amounting,
from lS4S 10 1860, according t. the re-
turns of banks and mercantile houses
through which they have been forward
ed, and not including sums RENTED
through other agencies, to $50, l9l 1873.
Taking rs a standard the increase of
population of Irish nativity from 1850
TO 1860, which was about ~ 900, the
census of next year will probably give
1902, 304 persons of Irish nativity III
this country, not counting the large
number of Irish descent
No accession to our population from
abroad has been more valuable than
that Of the Irish They may be said 10
have been the pioneers in the clnigra-
ton to this country, and as such their
labor was Indispensable in the indus
trial enterprises which have been ncccs-
sarv to the development of our nation
al wealth. The public works of the
country, the canals, the railroads, the
clearing up of the Western wilderness,
have been accomplished III great meas
urc through their bone and muscle
They have formed the front ranks in the
armies of peace as well as of war
Their creative energies are as great as
their destructive and when we say that
we need add nothing further. In all
our battles, whether by sea or land,
their courage has been conspicuous.
In all the wars of England it is Irish
who lead the advance, and even in the
late expedition to Abyssinia, it was an
Irish column which swept away the
barbarians around Thcodorus, at the
moment when some of their own coun-
trymen were lying in Jail in England,
or preparing to mount the scallold, as
the penalty of alleged treason. 1t is
not, however, by their physical stami-
ma alone, either in peace or war, that
the Irish have been of value to our
country. They have contributed to
our moral, intellectual and political
forces as largely as any class of emf
- Al