The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1888-04-05

England. lne conquest OF Ireland,
such as it was, may be held to have
strong geographical likeness to the
conquest of Great Britain by the
Normans In each case it was the
people nearest the fated island, aided
by professional adventures, freeboot-
ers. and young sons of mobiles etklng
to f<.uud new families. VIII, mad= the
attempt Under h. Norman, Of
William are included great numbers
OF Armoricans (Bretons). Of Flemings,
and of Hollanders. Under the Eng
lish' of Strongbow it is difficult to
find any but Welsh, Nornlans, and
Flemings This has been written to
little purpose if the reader has not
come to the conclusion that popular
ideas are often fallacious, and that it
will no longer do to take things in
lump and follow the blind preiadices
which often rest upon foundations en-
tirely misunderstood. The noble Of
to-day is often parvenue with hardly
three generations of gentlemen be-
hind him. On the contrary, poor
Irish-speaking family from the hills
of Connaught. little better than pau
pers, is as likely as any other to derive
it's blood from families of the gentry
class, with Kettle names, who had at
one time relapsed into the clan system
Ascending still further, one nigh
reach the old Welsh nobility
that fought and married into tenn
porary fame in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. Back Of them
the track may hold to British princes
and the Norman Conqueror himself
According to the stiffest English ideas,
no better pedigree could be found. Yet
the ignorant self-suficiency Of most
men who speak English is such, that
without examination they would hold
themselves as of superior blood,
finer clay, a loftier ancestry than the
man with the Irish name. To the on
locker who has no sympathy with
these confused ideas of upper and
lower, better blood and worse, the
people who indulge in them seriously
seem little short Of lunatics. Some
Of the failings Of the Scotch in their
attitude toward the Irish have been
noted (The Catholic World for June:
Irish Bards and Scotch Reviewers" }
and it may seem invidious to point to
something similar among the Welsh.
Yet it is certain that the Welsh ex-
hibit coldness toward the Irish which
gerges on jealousy, coldness shown
by an affectation of ignoring Ireland
among the Welsh scholars not Of the
very latest group. The positive and
negative injustice Of Kelts of the
larger island to those of the smaller
would not, in itself, be worth notice;
it merely arises incidentally while
trying to fix freland's place as regards
England. It is only fair to the
Eoglish to show that if they have
been selfish and cruel, and at best
Indifferent to the Irish, they are not
entirely alone, since much nearer
portions of the Union have been, to
say the least, unsympathetic. Though
it does not excuse the unpardonable
spirit Of English legislation up to the
latest years, this is factor which
must not be overlooked. At the end
Of the last century the worst outrages
were committed by Welsh troopers,
and quite recently Welsh regiment
quartered ln Ireland INDUCED in
fatal riot with the people. The Eng
llsh have followed the old Norman
methods pursued at the conquest of
Ireland"-used the Welsh to pull the
chestnuts out of the fire. The re-
lations borne to each other by the
Welsh and irish in the past remind
one, considering their near kinship,
their quarrels, and the gallant men
and beautiful women they produce
when they intermarry, Of the Breton
proverb.
"Rugale c. hefnianted
Gwasa kerend a 20 er bed,
Ha gwella ma vent dimezed."
''Children of distant cousins-the
worst relatives in the world; but if
they are welded to each other, the
best"
The County Convention~ill be held
on next Saturday. 1t is hoped that
there will be harmonious gathering,
a sort of old-fashioned Republican
class-meeting. There will be warm
friendly contest for the Office of Sher-
if; the other candidates, so far as is
now known, will be renominated, by
acclamation. For Sheriff, there are a
mum her of candidates. all excellent