Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-12-11
same provinces were fused with them. Th

blood then IS Scotch with tlnSe Ol Ely
There, in the north Of Ireland as every
where the finger of history traces them, the
Scotch, (now the ScOtch-lrfsh,) t1ourlshed.
They heightened their cords, and strength
ened their states, bringing back to the Erin
of their ancestors that pure faith and form
of church solidity, which their ancestors
had given to North Britain more than
years before, ere Rome had en-
forced her false forms and false creed.
There, too, in a material sense they pros
pered-the God Of their fathers blessed
them. Says writer, "SOuth Ireland IS
profusely blessed with the gifts of nature, in
q far richer soil, in milder and more con-
genial climate; the whole, indeed, is an
emerald in the flashing ocean. The North
is rougher, colder, and less cOngenial, ana
yet, as you enter the province of Ulster, you
have left the region of filthy cabins, stur-
dy beggars, dilapidated villages, and wretch
ed, neglected farms, and fields of sluggards
luxurlant with thorns and thlstles; and
you enter a territory Of rich culture, OF COM
Portable dwellings, and thriving towns.
You have passed from land of joyous, Of
ten, yet careless idleness, where the Pig,
COW, and child, herd together in miserable
novels, into a province where the diligent
husbandman, the enterprising merchant,
the intelligent, plodding mechanic are
found, and the virtuous housewife, who
'seeketh wool and flax, and worketh dill
igently with her hands, who layeth her
hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the
distatf,' who 'lnaketh fine linen, and selleth
it, and delivereth girdles unto the mer-
chant > and whose candle goeth not out by
night 1t is land of our Presbyterian an
cestors, inhabited by a race instinct with
the sense of right, and hatred of oppression
of an instructed, and not superstitous, con
science; educated in q pure faith, versed IN
that vigorous theology which Augustine,
Calvin, and Knox, professed; their under
standing and reason addressed by an educa.
ted ministry on the Sabbath day, and
their household virtues stimulated and
formed by the voice of praise and prayer at
the domestic hearth" These are your an
cestors, my hearers! This the country, this
the religion, which have made them what
they were, and you what you now are
Behold them, and rejoice in them!
But as this people fourished everywhere
everywhere some hand was lifted to Op
press, and everywhere they refused to be
oppressed. In their Ireland-home the gov
ernment sometimes put upon them CALLING
religious disabilities, against which every
sentiment of their natures protested, ano
under which they peremtorily would no
rest This, together with their crowded
population, Influenced to some extent by
love of adventure, induced them to seek
home across the Atlantic. In the colonie:
of America they planted themselves, ant
took firm root.
The emigration of the Scotch-lrlsh int
the up-country of South Carolina was IRON
Pennsylvania, either by gradual emlgratlol
of families through the valleys OF Virginia
and across North Carolina, or by direct re
rnoval. A smaller number came acros
from Ireland to the port Of Charleston
thence by wagon, pack-hOrse, or on loot, II
the settlements of their choice. The ear
liest of all was 1.-THE WaXhaWs," in Lancas
ter county, about 1856.
In the year 1854 Bethel Church was or
ganized by Rev. MIR. Richardson from tn
| WaxhawS. How characteristic Of this peo
ple! How consOnant with their religion
| history! TO them the Bible, the Sabbath
the church, religious institutions, have eve
been cherished as Gods choicest blessings
They could not and would not live with
out them. And like the patriarch of old
with naught to cover him but the ,canop,
of heaven, and surrounded by a wild waste
who still felt the divine presence, you
early ancestors in this country erected I'M
Bethel, and for its sake endured tedlou
| Journeys lllIOuSl tlC NpS,S "ilNASAhS"t 80
self denial and toll of frontier life, and tn
perpetual risk Of savage barbarity. In thl
matter may you never prove degenerat
and unworthy sons and daughters!
And now mere you are. In the IONS G
YOUR fOrefathers you have been brought owe
long journey, and placed in the midst g
these surroundings. Rescued from the mis-
cries of heathansm, both temporal and ete1
nal, which was the heritage Of your barba
rian ancestors given a name and lntluenc
in ancient Caledonia, by whom it was mad
the splendid Scotland Of to-day re-plante
in the North of Ireland, where you made II
cheeress and rugged provinces blossom Tx
the rose; transferred to this country, befor
whom the savage has beat his retreat, the tol
est bowed his head, and the land yields ne
increase: early endowed with the priceless
and precious boon Of the Christian religion
YOU have brought it and its consequent civ
iization along with you, and churches nov
adorn your land almost as thick as dwelling
once stood, and school-houses are every
where to be seen; and through it all tn
volumne of your history is full Of brigf
pages, and many great and good men hav
risen at every period and on every soil an
in every cause to get you renoWn and bleS
their day and generation. Sweep the gamr
of your history: What were you? Whit
er did YOU come? What have you done
What is your present? What is your Il
ture? Religious and civil liberty-for thes
YOUR fathers fought, bled and died; wei
burned, hanged, drawn and quartered
and moved from place to place. Ines
you quietly enjoy. None threaten to III
prve you of them. These two crowns 20
peacefully wear, and to them none dl
pute your right.
Who has made your history? Who carve
out your destiny? Ascribe not the autho
ship to man. "Give unto the Lord tn
glory due unto his name: bring an offe
ING, and come before him: worship tn
Lord in the beauty of holiness" If
Hand thatguides the star with unerring pr
cision in its course across the nightly hea'
ems is the Hand that has guided the Scotcl
Irish, and made their history. | believe
a Providence, in a genera! and speci
Providence "rhe way of man is not
himself: it is not in man that Walket
to direct his steps" There is a power th'
stirs up our nests, crosses our purpose
, shapes our destiny, and presides over II
, future. All the lines Of history are gathe
; ed up by His hand, and find their meanlI
in His will and purpose: "Glve unto u
Lord the glory due unto his name"
) Another year Of peace and plenty III
ioined itself to the host of years which hay
taken their departure to the bosom of etc
nifty. AS citizens, as church-memberS,
! families, as individuals, as farmers gettl1
your bread by the honest sweat of yol
brow, God has smiled upon you. Mercl
, temporal and mercies spiritual, mercies
f providence and mercies of grace, have bee
bestowed upon you with the fulness tn
5 ever characterizes the dealings Of our hea
2 enly BcnefactOr. Survey the past as Il
= back as your information will carry 80
2 dwell upon the present, and push your vi
| ion into the future as far as you can, al
, cay vOu1d not inpratitudc be the base