The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1875-10-14

Ladies and Gentlemen Il feel proud to
meet so many of you here on the pres
ent occasion, and under the present fa-
yorable circumstances. But before l pro-
ceed any further, permit me to return
my most sincere thanks to the Commit
tee of this Eisteddfod for the honor they
have conferred upon me in electing me
to this chair.
The Eisteddfod. as most of you doubt
less are aware, is Welsh institution. 1t
takes its date from a very early period in
the annals of our history as a nation.
The first National Eisteddfod of which
we have any account, was held at Conwy,
in the year $40, under the Presidency of
Maelgwn Gwynedd.
The term Eisteddfod properly means
a sitting or session" which has ever
been and is still used to denote meetings
for the purpose of making or admins
tering the laws. There were formerly
three kinds of Eisteddfodau: Tho
Royal, or that which enacted the laws.
2-The Eisteddfod of Justice, where
criminals were tried, and where legal
questions were decided. 3-The Bardic
Eisteddfod, according to privilege and
custom of the Bards of the Island of
Britain.
The Eisteddfod had been discontinued
for ages, until the year 1919, when they
were revived. Since that time consid-
erable number of Eisteddfodau have
been held in Wales, Australia, and the
United States. But you ask, What is
the object of these large gatherings;
what is the end of an Eisteddfod ?" Or,
in other words, What advantage have
they been to you as a nation, or what
profit do you expect to obtain through
their instrumentality in the future"
answer, without hesitation, much, in
many ways. They have been productive
of signal benefit to the cause of Welsh
literature, by promoting spirit of en-
quiry into the antiquities of Wales
They have also stimulated the genius of
our countrymen by distributing rewards
for the best compositions in prose and
verse. The have opened, to the poor, yet
persevering Welsh boy, an avenue to
honor and distinction. They have been
instrumental in bringing out native tai
ent, in removing the rubbish of disad-
vantage caused by prejudice, and bring
ing to light of genius of great moral
worth. And last, but not the least, they
are we'll adapted to create and encourage
a strong feeling for the preservation of
the Welsh language, and the cultivation
of its poetry and music. But perchance
some one will ask. What is the use OF
keeping up the Welsh language? Would
it not be better for you to abandon it2 /
say, No Emphatically, NO. l know it,
and feel it, that every man, woman and
child in the United States, ought to un-
derstand and cultivate the English lam
guage, as it is the language Of the gov
ernment and the country in general.
But for the Welshman to abandon, for
get and deny his noble language, is un-
pardonable. The language that has sur
vived the shock of ages and the wreck
of other tongues Other languages, Gas
Clan Ulen says), may have been brought
up with history and grown old in her
company, but the Cymraeg was an an
cient, gray-beaded dame, and bards were
bald and blind with age, before history
borrowed the pen of learning, or had
been cradled in the lap of time. Our
language is worth preserving, even for
the priceless literature. Wepossess over
two thousand manuscripts, containing
specimens of the Authorship of every
century from the fifth downwards. To
our language we are indebted for many
of those characteristics which distin-
guish us as nation, and you cannot
transplant the feelings and ideas of one
people into the language Of another.
But you may ask, Would not the aban-
donment of the Welsh language, and
the adoption of the English in its stead,
have a tendency to bind the Welsh
more closely and firmly to their country,
and its government? I answer in the
negative, and history will bear me out in
it. For instance, more than ne-tenths
of the inhabitants of Wales speak the
Welsh language, and many of them
know no other; yet John Bull has no
better subjects-no more law-abiding
citizens within his dominion. But why
should l go over the sea to prove this
matter, or back to the Declaration of In
dependence? You all remember when
this gigantic, yet unholy rebellion was
organized in the South, for the hellish
purpose OF destroying the best govern
ment under the sun, of rending our
beautiful union in twain, hundreds and
hundreds of our young men willingly
and manfully responded to theIr coun-
try's CALL took their lives in their hands,
and followed the stars and stripes where
ever it went. Some of them are here