National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-21

Senator from that State, } and that the two Sen
stors win BE- found working together on al
great measures for what they believe to be the
best interests Of the country.
J n feEEAHDs MLLENLAL 90
THE THoUsANDTH ANNIVERSARY OF A
GOVERNMENT.
. Far away onthe very confines Of the Arctic
zone there Is an island which has for . long
time attracted but little attention. Its place
among the nations was once conspicuous; but
It's climate was then different from now, and
its cod more productive The whole aspect Of
the island was, indeed unlike what Il d to-day.
A thousand years ago, when frst discovered,
Il possessed extensive forests, which have since
disappeared. The Mortimer migrated there
in considerable numbers from Norwry, Dem
mark, Sweden, the Farce Islands and Hebrids,
but principally from Norway, whence they fed
from the tyranny of'their kings. It was, In
deed sort of Plymouth Rock to the perse-
cuted subjects Of HaraId Harfagr-hs Of the
fair hair-who made = VOW, and Kept IL, that
his hair should never be cut until he had broken
the power of the Jarls and concentrated the
authority which they had long welded in his
own hands. s s-r
Too feeble TO make further resistance, and
too proud to remain after their subjugation,
they fed, with their families and followers, to
to this island. They took with them cattle
and sheep, and large herds and focks were
soon reared upon the rich and abundant pas
lures of the extensive meadows. The island
produced everything necessary to satisfy their
needs. Its lakes and rivers abounded with
various kinds of fish; waterfowl and game
were plenty. They imported horses, con-
structed roads and extended their facilities for
intercommunication. At an early day they
ports Of Europe. They founded republican
form Of government and q literature. They
recorded, with Runic characters, the sagas OF
their ancestors and gave form 70 the Morse
religion. p
The soul Of Angio-saxonlit literature and the spiri.
Of Anglo-Saxon law gained new life from the ex-
ample Of this Iona, lonely, far-dlstsnt Island
commonwealth. In the hardy. liberty-lovtng
people we discover that that same independ-
ence Of spirit which resulted in the Magma
Charta and our common law. 1t was great
poet Of this island who gave to the world "The
Sublime Discourse" Of Odin, and their great
law-givers who first gave form to Morse
Jurisprudence.
Its peculiar climate lends TO II special in
terest. In summer the sun scarcely leaves the
heavens and the atmosphere becomes surpris-
ingiy warm. Vegetation is Of rapid growth,
and IL In places extremely vigorous. Ia winter
the sun gives but little light and less heat
Constant cold succeeds constant warmth, and
the trembling hues Of the aurora boreslis and
the weird brightness Of the moon guide the
footsteps Of the traveller. It was first discoy-
cred by Naddothr, Norwegian Viking, ia the
year $50, although 70 Is more than probable that
some Irish monks had been there before. He
saw It's LOFTY mountains covered with eternal
snow, and called It the snow land. Garthr, o
Svede, circumnsvigated 1t four years later, and
in S67 Flokki, surnamed the Raven, on account
Of the birds he turned loose to guide his course,
surveyed the southern part Of 1t and called Il
Iceland. Then Ingolfr and Hjorliefsr landed
there III $40 and began It's colfnization. This
was at the TIME Harold the Fair Haired was
prosecuting the Jsrls. The great migration
then began. On the I'd Of August, S74, the
coloEists assembled themselves together and
founded the republic-ths first Of northern Eu-
rope-whose descendants celebrate this year
their thousandth anniversary.
They have gone through. those thousand
years without material change. Their language
is unchanged, there laws are intact, and, ex-
cept in their wsrlike disposition, their habits
scarcely differ. From warriors, who titled the
soil and caught fish and captured game in the
intervals Of their more hardy pursuits, they
have gradually become pastoral people, edu-
Gated, hospitable, and kind. They have some
times changed their relations with the country
of their origin, but neither their customs nor
their character. Although practically free
Republic from the first, they were not wholly
free from dependence upon Norway.
No formal recognition Of any real allegiance
was. however, made until 1861, which was by
q decree of Alsling or general parliament of the
But no tribute was exaeted, and the Icelanders
were allowed TO hold civil Offices and acquire
honors In the parent country. In 1880 the
crown Of Norway was annexed to Denmark
and from that time to the present the silken
bond which had held Iceland to Norway has
still held It to Denmark. The Danish King
now grants them an absolutely free constitu-
lion, which absolyes them from their feeble
allegiance, and on their millennial day, on the
same lava beds of Thingvalls where the Althing
met annually for near q Thousand years, from
The Lsgberg, or law mount, It will be pro-
claimed as part Of the celebration that the
Republic of Iceland Is wholly free now, as Il
was In the beginning.
Is viii be singular and unprecedented
,pectacle@a Government celebrating It's thou
3andth anniversary. To Us, as Republicans,
In the very act which will excite the
attention Of the whole world. Thousands Of
curious people VIII flock there, and millions
who have thought Of Iceland only as land Of
oleakness and barren hills VIII be surprised to
discover In the far Arctic seas people worthy
IF their sympathy and admiration. For we
Know Il only 81 It's great ice-covered mountains,
Is desert plains, Its isolation in dreary, ice
,ncumbered sea adjacent to the Polar ocean,
which rolls there In its vast loneliness.
Remarkable In these respects Is regards the |
people, their history, their customs, their laws
ind learning, the island is yet doubly interest
ng as geological phenomenon, which viii at |
ract many students, not only to witness q
yreat event and take part In It's pageantry, but
o behold those great snow and Ice clad mount
Inns which, far more than its people, have
oven &c its worldwide character. It viii, In
Iced, be something worth all the trouble and
of long voyage to see the lofty
which have thrown forth are and
moke through their everlasting ridges of frost.
Even now fiery eruptions take place and streams
" molten lava burst through assures In the
ock. Volumes Of black, sulphurous vapor are
united from yayning crsters, and showers Of
shes are blown away before the winds over
and and sea for many Q league.
Heat and cold are forever struggling for the |
and the violence Of the contrast be-
ween the opposing forces Of nature which are |
n perpetual strife makes the spectacle ono Of
appalling sublimity. For, while with the arc !
&c regions we associate frost and with the tropics
leat, Chimborazo, crowned with snow under |
he Equator, h less startling spectacle than |
1ecla, blazing beneath the Pole.
Whether, therefore, We consider tia grand |
cenery of iceland itself, its people or It's long
stablished government, there "a abundance to |
atisfy the highest snticipations Of the throng |
hat shall gather this summer on the lava |
,lains Of Thingaila to celebrate Its thousand |
ears Of existence.-Nsp YORK. Herad.
CUBA.
CASE OF YOUNG DOCRRAY-LETTER
TO THE PRESIDENT IN HIS BEHALF
FROM SENATOR ooNovER, OF FLOR
IDA.