The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-05-16
IVOR|TES IN CONVENTION
Twenty-Seventh Annual Session Of the
Grand Lodge at Wilkes-Barre.
AT LAST EVENINGS BANQUET
Address of william r. Lewis, Of This City,
Was Notable Featurc-What
Was DOno ut the First
Days Session.
[Concluded from Page IL

concluded from Page IL
country has Its hero, and when we boas'
of our Caradoc, st. David, Howell the
Good, owen Glendor, 1vor Hael and othei
eminent Welshmen, we should not forget
that Cramer, Lattimer Ridley. Buckstei
and Wilberforce were Englishmen. thai
Daniel O'Connell was an Irishman, John
Knox was a Scotchman. and Martin
Luther was a German; that Kossuth was
Hungarian, and Garibaldi was an Ital-
ian; that John Huss was a Bohemian, and
that 1t was chiefly Polish prowess that
stemmed the waves of Turkish barbarism
which at one time threatened TO over
whelm the Christian civilization of Eu-
rope. Let us be fair to others as well us
honest with ourselves. While l am as
ready as any man in America to give all
due credit to those Welshman that fought
for American independence. and helped
to develop American resources, while
feel proud that Francis Lewis, one of the
signers Of the Declaration Of Independ-
ence, and one of the heroes Of the Revolu-
tionary War, was a genuine Welshman,
cannot forget that Lafayette was a
Frenchman that Steuben was German,
and that Kosclusko was Pole, and
confess that blush with shame when
read that Charles Lee, that skillful but
treacherous general, who was ready TO
sacrifice the American cause on the altar
Of personal ambition, was born In Wales.
The Welsh nation has enough worthy
heroes Of its own, without borrowing from
other nations, or without withdrawing
any of Its own unworthy sons.
Tho Happy Mother.Lnnd.
There Is something In this gathering
that reminds me that forty seven years ago
tonight / was on the ocean crossing to
America and as | have never been back,
you can easily imagine that / do not know
much, personally, about Wales. But
though have not been back in the body
l am very fond of going there In my mind.
Sometimes, as / gaze upon the map, l i'm
agine myself taking tramp over its
hills and through it's valleys. I take a
roundabout journey from Holyhead to
Cardiff, from there to Llancarvan. and
thence straight up over Mt. Epyut, over
the highest point in Wales at Llanidloes,
then through the Bala. until l reach Liam
dudwn, in the extreme north. 1t has been
very unpleasant, this mental journey, for
l fancied myself chanting with the shep-
herd on the hillside, watching the men as
they held the plows and guided the teams
going with the quarrymen to dig for
slate In the mountains, and with the
miners to dig for iron, coal and gold in
the bowels Of the earth. l have entered
into the churches and listened to the ferv-
ent prayer and song of praise as they as
cended in unison to the throne Of the Most
High. l did some eavesdropping at the
homes and l heard the mothers sing the
children to sleep with the dear old Welsh
melodies. / have stood entranced as my
ears have caught the sound of Cambrla's s
sons and daughters as they chanted the
songs of piety and patriotism until the
echo rebounded from crag to crag, re-
verberated over<the mountains of Breck-
enshire, leaped from the top of Plumlimon
to the top of Cader Idris and ascended
over the highest peaks of Snowden to
swell In majestic cadence through the
vale of Clwyd in the north, to the Rhond-
da valley in the south. Was it any wonder
that I asked myself when l got through,
under the impulse of a thrill Of Affection
'Pa wlad wedi r siarad, sydd
Mar Ian Chymru lanydd?'
delivered an address of welcome which
was full Of feeling. He, in turn, was
followed by d. w. Meredith, who, in
excellent voice. sang 1.-THE Land of My
Fathers" Mr.. Meredith's singing
ELECTED much applause. After a num-
Der Of addresses and songs, William r.
Lewis, of Scranton, was introduced. He
spoke as follows:
Attorney Lewis Address.
"These exercises are held, understand,
in connection with the session of the Grand
lodge of Ivorites In this city. 1t Is rs
Welshmen we meet here tonight to honor
the chief officers Of an organization COM
posed Of Welshmen, an organization
founded for the purpose of charity; an
organization that cherishes thoughts of
that land where rest the remains of our
ancestors; an organization that inculcates
into the hearts Of Its members a feeling Of
deep veneration for that land of legend
and story. that land of song and poetry.
They want US to know Wales, and by
knowing 1t to love it..
THE history making nations of the
earth have much to be proud Of, but their
greatness has not been sufficient to OBJ
scure the dark and meretricious methods
adopted to secure their greatness. We
hear their people tell Of their great mill
itary achievements, their strategy, their
victories and their cOnquests, but not of
cities sacked and countries devastated
without just cause The methods of con-
quering nations are seldom to be COM
mended, and In their desire for glory and
conquest they detract much from their
claims to greatness and Justice.
VirtuOus and Libcrty.Loying.
Seldom, If ever, the greed Of conquest
took possession of the Welsh. While no
successful wars of any Importance were
waged by them. their history Is neverthe-
less glorious and worthy Of the attention
and study Of its people, From the glimpses
we catch of the Welsh peoples early his
tory we find them virtuous and liberty
loving: We find them not levying tribute
where no tribute Is due, waging war
against weak and defenseless nations to
rob them Of their lands, nor hurrying
blindly and impetuOusly ut the call OF
some naughty lord to resent some fanc!ed
insult We find them resolutely and cour-
ageously defending their ancient domains
against the relentless encroachments of
the invader fighting nobly In defense of
that greatest of human institutions, their
homes. While intensely religious, no st.
Eve nor 100000 massacre
blots the fair pages of their history, and
wherever civilization spreads, becoming
more universal year Dy year, and driving
bigotry before 1t. that great and glorious
principle, THAT every man has right
to worship God according to the dictates
Of his own conscience" was declared, and
flttingly so here on American soil, by that
great and good Welshman, Roger Will
lams.
"The difficulty In procuring history of
the Welsh has led many of our people to
believe that Wales provides in her past
no material worthy Of the pen of the his
torian. 1t is true that the Welsh fought
none Of the decisive battles Of the world.
While the history Of a nation that wages
no foreign wars and SEEKS no conquests
Is but little known, 1t may be glorious.
We watch and admire the rose as 1t is un-
folded in its beauty, but once It begins to
decay 1t ceases to interest us. So It is
with nations. 1t is the nation that ex-
-. - IL