The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1913-03-25
PROUD ERIN'S
PRAISE TOLD
Continued from first page)

of the lowly cottage, the battlefield, thu
death chamber, the dungeon and sfteS
its way through many trying times Il
the present day. The spirit dates bacl
to obscurity, back before the time o.
the invasion of the Emerald Isle by tn,
Scot, who left as the monument OF Their
invasion their social organization, which
in some phases is not extinct today.
The Scots Government System
The Scots, who were world power
in that period of history, were endowed
a social organization which was of 0
natural system. The principles of this
System were that the ownership OF land
was vested in the elan of family, and
the individual political and civil rights
depended upon being member of the
Iclan. The system, which prescribed
those requisites, is characteristic of the
Irish race to great extent in the pres
ent generation. The evolution of the
system was natural and free from out
side influences. The government was
representative and united the family.
Now let us dwell on the social gov
eminent of the clan system. Minds of
those days were unable clearly to inter-
pref the system and today it is un-
derstood by very few people. For the
reason of its incomprehensibility the an
cient government has been blotted off
the pages OF history for ages. II was
| in the second and fourth centuries that
the Christian missions visited the Emer-
aid Isle. Returning from the British
mainland at this period was ship OF
lcaptives and among its number was an
infant, from whose bosom and nurtur-
ing was to spring the famous Celtic
race. While making this passage the
providential hand of the Almighty pre-
served for mankind another apostle,
Paul.
Twenty years lapses between the land
when Patrick. the patron saint of Ire
land, issued forth to discourse the Cos
pei and convert the Irish race to Chris
tianity This reserved, austere and self
denying saint preached the gospel with
fervor and quickly accomplished the con
version of the Irish. The light of Chris.
tiaanity spread with rapidly. Never
has there been recorded such triumph
of truth with so little shedding of blood.
Corruption in the Roman empire at
this period had devastating effect on
their subject countries. To enhance this
corruption, the Goths and the Vandals
were descending from the North At
this period the diplomatic powers of the /
Romans were exerting Themselves and |
striving to patch together the fragments |
Of the once powerful empire. Ireland |
rose to espouse the cause of the Chris
tian countries and men OF strong bodies |
and active minds went out 10 their as |
sistance. The Irish relghted the fire
Of light and because OF their espousal |
IF Righteousness, their race slowly ex-
banded over the world, and today their
race extends through the course of the
globe.
ID another system of social organiza
ion. 1t was feudalism. The underlying
principle of feudalsm was that land was
he source OF all power, all political and
.ivic rights. The supreme ruler of the
and was absolute owner of all the land
n his domains.
He sublet to barons, who in turns
to Others. In return from
he rental of the land, service was rem
lered to its respective superiors. Even ,
t that period it was discernible that
his system would be unable to survive
ime and was making rapid progress
o doom. Here were two systems UNI
er which the people of the world were =
wing, one the direct antithesis OF the =
Their, one obtaining its rights from the
amily, and the other from. the earth.
The Norman Invasion
Ireland, under the Celtic rules, sur.
ived until the eleventh century, with I
landing the batteries and ravages of
II nations until the Norman invasion.
-eland made its last stand on the bat +
e of Clontarf on Good Friday, l0l4. IL
rian Boru, who ruled his dominion with +
gor, was reconstructing the isle from Il
lie ravages of previous wars, when he F
owed in submission to the Normans. A
no annexed the isles to the mainland Il
ingdom. The Norman dynasty termi A
ated the rule of the Celts. Until this
eriod the Celts, the prevailing people A
Ireland and the Saxons, the ruling
,wers of England, were on friendly A
rms and now the invasion of the Nor
ans instigated strife that was to know
, bounds. There was many a bloody
I'd terrible conflict between the Norman
ID the Celt. oi
Pass over the years since this Inflated in
inquest of the Normans and try to dl
slize the full portent of the conflict
tween Celts and Normans. II was
1t a clash of systems, the feudal re-
acing the clan. Claims of the Irish
r civilization are completely ignored 1
d largely destroyed, not because Eng
h historians and literary writers were Al
fair OF prejudiced. The English looked
ION the customs of the Irish as bar II
rous. II was only recently that the q
,rh has come TO realize the great in
ence of Irish literature on the civiliza- 81
ms of all times. It's intellectual quail III
es and its code of laws are the won
r of nations today. They are intact.
FIR. Lynch took exceptions to the crit II
SINS. indicting the Irish as belligerent
d warlike race. The Irish, he said, w
re Of peaceful disposition and ven
red into battle only when their hui Al
In freedom, home and liberty have 30
en- at stake, and in every instance
re outright patriots. And no matter II
Iat portion of the world in which you he
it today. where the Irish people in
bit. one will recognize this race spirit.
Alderman Keefe, who was the first In
,kesmsn TO be called on, responded
a very fitting manner with a hui. In
rous speech, bringing to light in
noes during the last city campaign IN
+. Keefe devoted considerable of his lilo
l. IL IL Il