The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-10-10

ment, did q good deal to open nv
eyes to the true state of the facts by |
q series of letters which some wears
ago he addressed to morning iour-
nal, and which he published in a |
small volume. But when I had
the honor to assume the office which
/ now unWorthily fill (no, mol
am sorry to say now fill two-but
l mean the Office which assumed
four and half years, or nearly five
years ago-it became my duty to
tender advice to her Majesty upon
subjects connected with ecclesias-
teal appointments in Wales, and
that duty, ladies and gentleman, led
me to examine more fully the rela-
lions of the two countries. You will
well understand that / am not about
to trouble you with any question that
can raise difference of opinion.
/ address you here as WeIshmen.
and in no other capacity. Now I
was struck in the course of nv ex-
animation of the SUBJECT, with the
very great difference that has pre-
vailed in the treatment of Wales
by the Sovereigns and the legisla-
tuIe of England at different peri
DDS; and especially was struck by
the ample measure of justice that
was dealt out to Wales by the great
Queen Elizabeth. We all owe her
mach, Englishmen and Walesmen
too. 1t may be very easy to criti-
else her character, but / know of
few people TO whom we are more
indebted in the past than we arc to
the great Queen Elizabeth. 1t was
one of the duties of the great
Queen Elizabeth, ladies and gentle
men, to give you your Welsh bibles,
and you were in possession of that
translation of the Bible--as / am
informed, most notable and wor-
thy translation of the Bible-lono
before England was in possession of
that translation of the Bible, which
also forms, l rejoice to think, one
of her great national treasures.
But, now, what was the conduct of
England to Wales at that period
of the British crown to Wales
with respect to the important cues
ton of ecclesiastical appointments !?
Why, Welshmen, were the special
favorites of the crown for ecclesias-
teal appointments? There were
four and forty Welshmen appoint
ed TO sees in Wales and England
between the reign of Henry VII,
and the reign of George /. and if
you consider and reckon the num-
Der of vacancies in Welsh sees du-
ring that period, you will see that
the four sees in Wales never would
have called for the appointment of
so large q number of Welsh bishops.
and several English bishops of
great eminence in the 18th and 10th
centuries were welshmen. Well,
then came, gentlemen, the period
of the revolution and 1 am not
here to discuss the great political
blessings which the revolution be-
slowed upon the country, but I
must say the revolution did not do
justice to Wales. From that time
there took place a most extraor-
binary change, and from an early
period of the 18th century there
never was Welshman, if I am
correct-and l am very nearly cor
rect am quite sure there never
was Weishman appointed to any
episcopal see, either in Wales or in
England, until her Majesty was
pleased, some three years ago, to
sanction the appointment Of the
Right. Rev. DIR. Hughes. Well, it
is certainly very remarkable that
two hundred years ago the Welsh
people were the most Jealous church
people in the country. And what
reward have they had for it? The
reward which they had for it from
the time that have described was
that strangers to them in language
and strangers to them in symCathy,
were put into the high ecclesiasti-
cal offices of the land, and these
Dlshops, strangers as they were to
the people, unhappily entered into
the idea, which seems to have been
the idea of William Ill, and gov
ernments of that day that YOU
could change the language and Gus
toms, and traditions, and affections
of q people by force-at least if not
by actual physical compulsion, by
moral pressure, and by making it
announcement for them to follow the
natural bent of their inclinations.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was i'm
my opinion a vital mistake, a mis-
take in principle and mistake in
policy"
After referring to the tenacity
with which the Welsh people have
chung to their language, and of his
having become sensible of the
claims which are recognized BY the
Eisteddvodan, aud urging Welsh
men, notwithstanding to cultivate
knowledge of the English Ian
guage, so that they may be at no
disadvantage in the prosecution of
their material interests. Mr.. Glad
stone proceeds:
"What is the case with respect to
the Welsh language? Ladies and
gentlemen, l will make, briefly, a
comparison which l think is re.
markable. 1t seems to mel know
not whether it is so or not-that
after the great revolution of 1859
the king and the government of
England were betrayed bv a false
analogy. They looked at ireland !;
they found a people speaking
Erse; they found that people at
tached to the exiied dynasty; and
they looked upon it-no doubt with
reason-as hostile TO themselves.
They looked at the highlands of
Scotland; they found people
speaking Gaelic, and they knew
that the great mass of that people
were also hostile to themselves,
They looked at Wales; and then, l
am afraid, misled 10y this analogy,
they said to themselves, The
Welshmen speak Welsh, that lam
guage tends to make them hostile
to us; we will use every power
that law and political and ecclesias-
teal influence can give US in order
to- What shall l say, drive is q
hard word, yet i think / may al
most say drive them into the use of
English and the abandonment of
their native tongue What has
been the result? In Scotland the
people are rapidly giving up Gaelic.
There is not valley in the high
lands where the Gaelic is not mount
ing higher and higher-that is, re-
ceeding more and more from the
forces of civilization. In Ireland.
l understand, now there is nobody
who does not understand English
scarcely even here and there an
old man and an old woman belong
ing to former generation, like me
and like other old people. In
Wales. on the other hand, it is said
that 100000 people still cling to
their native tongue in spite of all
the pressure that has been put upon
them, in spite of the English speak
iDg,aye, and the English-feeliug
bishops, not the bishops of the pres
ent day., those of them who are
English in birth, have made great
efforts, and believe efforts as suc-
cessiut as any men in their circum-
stances could make TO acquire the
language of the people and asso.