Rev. M. W. Newman.
Enjoy present pleasures in such a way as not to injure future ones.
It is fading, ah, 'tis fading like the leaves upon the trees!It is dying, sadly dying, like echoes 'mong the trees!When the last breath of Autumn sighing on the breeze.The places now that know it, it soon shall know no more;It has vanished, it has vanished, like some loved one gone before.No more is it spoken as it was in the days of yore.It is sinking, slowly sinking, into its silent grave at last,To live but in the memory as a relic of the past;Our olden time is sinking by time and wrong harassed.And the land that gave it birth it will leave forevermore;No more the hills re-echo to its music as of yore,Amid the ancient ruins pining, an exile on its native shore.It was spoken ere the Grecian or the Persian felt the chain,Ere Christianity's light arose to educate and tameThe fierceness of the pagan, and free the world again.Its youth beheld the Semite on Irish coasts a guest,Whose manhood saw the empire of the Cæsars sink to restIn its old age, as a patriarch sinks silently to rest.In royal hall and peasant home its accents oft had rung;Oft the glories of his native land the enraptured minstrel sung,To king and nobles gathered round, in his wild, sweet, native tongue.Ah, sacred tongue, that oft has borne the message from above!Ah, pleasing tongue, whose murmurs soft, like the cooing of the dove,To patriots united it bore words of sweetest love.It was the tongue the apostle spoke in the days of long ago;In it the priest advised his flock in the penal days of woe;Its wild huzza at Fontenoy dismayed and beat the foe.Our Keltic tongue is dying and we stand coldly by,Without a pang within the heart, or a tear fall from the eye,Without a care to save it, or e'en a mournful sigh,To see it thus receding as the sunlight on the sea.Oh, rescue it 'ere 'tis too late; oh, raise your might to freeThe language of our fathers, from dark oblivion's sea.Shall it no more be spoken on Eire's fertile plain?Shall not her sons aspire no more to rend the iron chain,And light the fires of freedom that smouldered in its train?Oh, mute, forsaken tongue, must a captive's fate be thine,Crushed by a despot's sceptre, but to be the signOf a ruined country, a desecrated shrine.Phenix of the fire and storm, shall it arising in its strength,Spurning the galling, servile yoke, gloriously be at length,Immortal and unconquerable, the language of Juvent.
It is fading, ah, 'tis fading like the leaves upon the trees!It is dying, sadly dying, like echoes 'mong the trees!When the last breath of Autumn sighing on the breeze.
The places now that know it, it soon shall know no more;It has vanished, it has vanished, like some loved one gone before.No more is it spoken as it was in the days of yore.
It is sinking, slowly sinking, into its silent grave at last,To live but in the memory as a relic of the past;Our olden time is sinking by time and wrong harassed.
And the land that gave it birth it will leave forevermore;No more the hills re-echo to its music as of yore,Amid the ancient ruins pining, an exile on its native shore.
It was spoken ere the Grecian or the Persian felt the chain,Ere Christianity's light arose to educate and tameThe fierceness of the pagan, and free the world again.
Its youth beheld the Semite on Irish coasts a guest,Whose manhood saw the empire of the Cæsars sink to restIn its old age, as a patriarch sinks silently to rest.
In royal hall and peasant home its accents oft had rung;Oft the glories of his native land the enraptured minstrel sung,To king and nobles gathered round, in his wild, sweet, native tongue.
Ah, sacred tongue, that oft has borne the message from above!Ah, pleasing tongue, whose murmurs soft, like the cooing of the dove,To patriots united it bore words of sweetest love.
It was the tongue the apostle spoke in the days of long ago;In it the priest advised his flock in the penal days of woe;Its wild huzza at Fontenoy dismayed and beat the foe.
Our Keltic tongue is dying and we stand coldly by,Without a pang within the heart, or a tear fall from the eye,Without a care to save it, or e'en a mournful sigh,
To see it thus receding as the sunlight on the sea.Oh, rescue it 'ere 'tis too late; oh, raise your might to freeThe language of our fathers, from dark oblivion's sea.
Shall it no more be spoken on Eire's fertile plain?Shall not her sons aspire no more to rend the iron chain,And light the fires of freedom that smouldered in its train?
Oh, mute, forsaken tongue, must a captive's fate be thine,Crushed by a despot's sceptre, but to be the signOf a ruined country, a desecrated shrine.
Phenix of the fire and storm, shall it arising in its strength,Spurning the galling, servile yoke, gloriously be at length,Immortal and unconquerable, the language of Juvent.
J. Sullivan.
Worcester, Mass.
TheBoston Heraldgives us a fair history of the ancient and honorable Charitable Irish Society, which we cheerfully reproduce:—Within a few weeks, probably at the annual meeting in March, action will be taken by the members of the Charitable Irish Society looking to the proper observance of the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of that organization, which is one of the oldest in the country. The history of the Society is a most interesting one, so much so that when Dr. Samuel A. Green was mayor of the city, he requested that copies of the printed records be deposited in the library at the Harvard University, with the Massachusetts Historic Genealogical and Boston Historical Society, and in the principal public libraries of the State. The motive underlying the formation of the Society was very explicitly set forth when the original members assembled and prepared the preamble to the rules and orders, which declared that "Several Gentlemen, Merchants and others, of the Irish Nation, residing in Boston and in New England, from an Affectionate and Compassionate concern for their countrymen in these Parts, who may be reduced by Sickness, Shipwreck, Old Age and other Infirmities and Unforeseen Accidents, Have thought fit to form themselves into a Charitable Society for the relief of such of their poor and indigent Countrymen, without any Design of not contributing toward the provision of the town poor in general as usual. And, the Society being now in its Minority, it is to be hoped and expected that all Gentlemen, Merchants, and others of the Irish Nation or Extraction residing in or trading to these Parts, who are lovers of Charity and their Countrymen, will readily come in and give their Assistance to so laudable an undertaking." A remarkable provision of the by-laws, as originally drawn, was the restriction that only Protestants should be admitted to membership; but there are good grounds for believing that Roman Catholics were admitted as early as 1742, and it is known that prominent persons of that faith were members in 1770. The preserved records do not show when Catholics were first admitted to membership; but when the constitution was revised in 1804, the restricted clause was repealed. The by-laws at first were few in number and very
The quarterly dues were two shillings, with "2 Shillings additional for the Expenses of the House. The dues were to be paid into the treasurer's hands when the members were called by their respective names, and all persons on the calling of the List to keep their Seats to prevent disturbance. And, further, that all members residing in Boston and not attending at said quarterly meetings, but sending their quarterize, shall also send 1 shilling for the good of the stock." "Expenses of the house" suggests that, while the proceedings at meetings were in progress, the members enjoyed "potheen," or something as exhilarating, for another by-law provided that "no Person call for ororder any drink into the room where said Society is, except the President, who, or some Person appointed by him, is to keep an acct. of the Liquor, and to take care that the same do not exceed two Shillings for each member present." Decorum and order were enforced at the meetings under a by-law which provided that "if any Member offer any Indignity to another, or shall Swear or Curse in said Society, such Member so offending shall pay as a Fine to the Fund of said Society the Sum of Ten Shillings, and such Member refusing to pay such Fine after being adjudged culpable by a Majority of the Members present, such Person shall be excluded from said Society." Four years after the founding of this Society, interest in the meetings began to flag, and it was voted that the fine for non-attendance should be five shillings, unless the member absenting himself gave a reasonable excuse therefor. At one time, six o'clock in the evening, was the hour set for assembling. There were some members who worked at their trades well up to that time of day, and could not get to their homes without danger of being fined in meeting for absence, and, consequently, they appeared in their working clothes. This necessitated a new by-law in 1744, providing that "All Members who appear at the Annual and Quarterly Meeting to be Decent and Clean, without Capps or Aprons." Notifications of meetings were called "warnings," and members were warned in whatever way the secretary desired. In 1768 it was thought that two shillings' worth of beer and tobacco was rather too much for any one man to drink and smoke at a meeting, and it was voted that "there shant be above 1 s. 4 d. a man spent at a meeting before the Business of the evening be over and the reckning called & settled; and that a clarke be chosen Each Evening to settle the reckning," etc. The Society had no regular place of assembly, but met around wherever it could. From the 21st of February, 1775, till the 26th of October, 1784, the Society did not meet, owing to many of the members being in the Continental Army,
On the evening of the reassembling of the Society after the War of the Revolution, the President delivered an address in which he said: "Gentlemen, Members of the Charitable Irish Society: I congratulate you on this joyful occasion, that we are assembled again after ten years' absence occasioned by a dreadful and ruinous war of eight years; also that we have conquered one of the greatest and most potent nations on the globe so far as to have peace and independency. May our friends, countrymen in Ireland, behave like the brave Americans, till they recover their liberties." It has long been a custom to invite to the annual dinner of the Society, representatives of the Catholic and Protestant clergy, and as far back as 1797 the committee having the entertainment in charge was "authorized to admit such gentlemen as may appear proper subjects for the celebration, they paying their own club." In 1798 the members were not "warned" for the August meeting because the contagion raged, and the members were principally out of Boston. In October of the same year, they were not warned, "Because the Contagion was not entirely eradicated and the Members not generally Returned." In June, 1799, the secretary was a littlenettled because he had no company at the meeting, and he made as a record: "President, Vice-President and all the members absent except the secretary. Therefore, all business is suspended until the next meeting." For a year or more afterward, the meetings were not well attended. In April, 1808, an election of officers and other business was being disposed of, when the proceedings terminated very abruptly, and the record gives the reason as follows: "Fire is cried and bells ringing; the Society disperse." By 1810, the material in the organization began to grow again, and the meetings were held at the Old Exchange coffee house. Twenty years later. Gallagher's Howard Street House was the popular place of rendezvous, and it was here that a vote was passed providing standards and banners for the Society. One of the most memorable events recorded, took place on the 22d of June, 1833, when "thirteen marshals conducted the Society to the lodgings of the President of the United States, at the Tremont House, to pay their respects." President James Boyd of the Society delivered an address of welcome, and President Andrew Jackson replied as follows: "I feel much gratified, sir, at this testimony of respect shown me by the Charitable Irish Society of this city. It is with great pleasure that I see so many of the countrymen of my father assembled on this occasion. I have always been proud of my ancestry, and of being descended from that noble race, and rejoice that I am so nearly allied to a country which has so much to recommend it to the good wishes of the world. Would to God, sir, that Irishmen on the other side of the great water, enjoyed the comforts, happiness, contentment and liberty that we enjoy here. I am well aware, sir, that Irishmen have never been backward in giving their support to
"They have fought, sir, for this country valiantly, and, I have no doubt, would fight again were it necessary; but I hope it will be long before the institutions of our country need support of that kind. Accept my best wishes for the happiness of you all." The members of the Society were about to withdraw when President Jackson took Mr. Boyd by the hand and said: "I am somewhat fatigued, sir, as you may notice; but I cannot allow you to part with me until I again shake hands with you, which I do for yourself and the whole Society. I assure you, sir, there are few circumstances that have given me more heart-felt satisfaction than this visit. I shall remember it with pleasure, and I hope you, sir, and all your Society will long enjoy health and happiness." The next event of interest was the appearance of the Society in the procession on the occasion of services commemorative of Gen. Lafayette, September 6, 1834, "With a standard bearer and ten marshals, who decorated themselves with the medals of the Society, and a special badge provided for the occasion in honor of Gen. Lafayette, and bearing his likeness." The centennial celebration was another red letter event. J. Boyd, the President, delivered an oration at Masonic Hall. Governor Edward Everett, Mayor Samuel Atkins Eliot, and other distinguished gentlemen being present as invited guests, and these gentlemen also attended the banquet in the evening and deliveredaddresses. In 1841 the Society began to meet at the Stackpole House, which stood on the south-west corner of Milk and Devonshire Streets, where the Post-office building now stands. The Parker House has been the place of meeting for about thirty years, beginning in 1856. Efforts have frequently been made to detach the Society from Parker's; but the memories of good times and old faces has so entwined the Society to that "tavern," that it has been impossible thus far to effect a separation. In addition to the officers usually elected in societies, namely, president, vice-president, secretaries, treasurer and directors, the Charitable Irish Society adheres to the old-time custom of electing a "keeper of the silver key," who is also chairman of the board of directors. The silver key is not a myth, as many of the new members of the organization, as well as other persons, have supposed. It is made of coin silver, after the style of the old-fashioned iron keys used to lock the main front doors of places of business and family mansions, some of which are yet to be seen in houses fifty or more years old. It is about seven or eight inches long, and weighs between a quarter and half a pound. This key is preserved in a velvet-lined case, and is one of
Its utility is described in the thirteenth section of the original rules and orders, as follows: "The key keepers are to attend gentlemen and others, natives of Ireland, or of Irish extraction, residing in these parts, or transients, to acquaint them with the charitable design and nature of this Society, and invite them to contribute by the formality of delivering them a silver key, with the arms of Ireland thereon; and if any person do refuse the same, they are to return their names at some subsequent quarterly meeting." The records do not show that at any time in the history of the Society has the key keeper had occasion to report the name of anybody for refusing to contribute to charity. There are also other relics and devices, all of which are in the possession of the treasurer, who gives bonds for the safe-keeping of the same. The device, or coat-of-arms, of the Society, represents an eagle with outstretched wings, holding in one claw a liberty pole, surmounted by the cap of liberty, and in the other a "sprig of shamrock." Pendant from the eagle's neck is a shield, with an Irish harp and a shamrock in the centre, around which is the legend: "Charitable Irish Society." Beneath the device is the Society's motto: "Fostered under thy wings, we will die in thy defence," and above are the dates of the founding (1737) and incorporation (1809) of the Society. The banner of the organization is now exhibited on but one day of the year, March 17, when it is given a place as near the head of the banquet table as possible. By a rule of the Society, the charity was formerly limited to forty shillings for any one person at any one time, and there is no doubt that a great deal of good was done. The growth of public and private charitable institutions and associations had the effect, twenty or twenty-five years ago, of leaving the Society with little or nothing to do, as its members were nearly all associated with other charities, which covered the ground more fully and promptly. Not for many years, however, has a record of dispensed charity been kept. All cases are referred to the board ofdirectors, and upon investigation, if found worthy, the keeper of the silver key and the treasurer have been instructed to aid the person asking assistance. The impression has gone abroad, so quietly and unostentatiously has the work been done, that the Society gives nothing in charity. An incident touching this fact is related by one of the officers. A respectable and intelligent mechanic, a brass finisher, applied for relief. He had a wife and four children in Dublin. He was out of employment there and came to America to get work. He had heard that
He did not ask to be sent to them because he had nothing to give them. He could get employment in New York, and soon would earn enough to bridge over their necessities. He had called at a newspaper office in Boston to ascertain where he could find a charitable Irish society to help him, and was informed that "there was such a society in existence, but that it was charitable only in name." The man found his way to the keeper of the silver key eventually, and his immediate wants were supplied, and he was given transportation to New York. Before the train rolled out of the depot, he informed the member of the Society, who was seeing him off, that he had paid another visit to the newspaper office, and informed the people there that they had been misinformed; that "The Charitable Irish Society was charitable not only in name, but in deed, and in a direction, too, not covered by other charities of a private nature." He felt it a duty incumbent on him to correct the misapprehension, and, having done so, he bade them good day. This case is only one of many that might be cited. Among the presidents of the Society were some of the best known descendants of Irishmen in Boston. The presidents for the last fifty years are as follows:
For several years past the subject of erecting a suitable building in which the Society should have a meeting place of its own, with rooms for reading and social purposes for young men of the present and coming generations, and also small halls for other Society meetings, has been under consideration. The project seemed visionary till this year, when a committee was appointed to raise a fund for the purpose. This committee has given the subject most careful consideration, and intends by means of a series of entertainments this winter, to establish a foundation on which to build a fund for the erection of the structure proposed. When the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary is about to be observed, it is intended to invite President Cleveland to be the Society's guest, and the occasion will, without doubt, be one of great interest.
TheCatholic Review: Interest to be at all justifiable ought to consider a number of elements, which in the case of most of our Catholic churches in great cities like New York, Boston, Brooklyn or Philadelphia, are largely in favor of the church corporations.Lucrum cessanswill justify interest; but just now where else can a gain of four-and-half per cent. be combined with absolute safety.Damnum emergensjustifies interest; but in the present condition of affairs, with bank presidents looking for investments at two per cent., and telling depositors that the mere safe keeping of their deposits is interest enough, where does the loss of profit arise? "Danger of the investment" justifies interest; but is it not ridiculous to say that any bank imperils money lent to a Catholic church in New York or Brooklyn on a first mortgage? The fact is, such an investment is only equalled in security by a United States bond; it may not be as easily negotiable, but it is just as safe. It ought to cost very little more.
Priests to whom the second of January and first of July are sad days, and who for weeks and even months previous are persecuted by the necessity of begging from and irritating their congregations by painful appeals for money to pay these dreadful interests, have asked theCatholic Reviewagain and again to draw popular attention to the high rate that is charged for such loans. We do so. But having done our duty in this respect, we think we ought to add that it belongs to themselves to deal effectively with the whole question, the very outside limits of which we can only touch upon. Six per cent., that some of them pay, would pay for many a Catholic teacher in a parochial school. How are they to secure a reduction? We think a business-like and amicable discussion of the whole question would convince the banks that property such as a church is entitled to consideration not accorded to private or business property. We do not now refer to motives of charity or religion, but of pure business. No doubt some bankers willsay, at first, that "the thing cannot be done." Well, the example of the Trustees of St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York, is a good one. When their demand for a just reduction was, as we think, foolishly, refused, they had no difficulty in transferring their mortgage. If half a dozen strong churches took up the question, they would, we predict, bring all opponents to time. It is worth talking over. Still more, it is worth acting upon. Many a church that is now paying six per cent. could employ six additional teachers if it had to pay only three per cent. interest.
"To the troops (the Irish Brigade) commanded by General Meagher, was principally committed the desperate task of bursting out of the town of Fredericksburg and forming under the withering fire of the Confederate batteries, to attack Marye's Heights, towering immediately in their front. Never at Fontenoy, Albuera or at Waterloo was more undaunted courage displayed by the sons of Erin than during those six frantic dashes which they directed against the almost impregnable position of their foe.... The bodies which lie in dense masses within forty yards of the muzzles of Colonel Walton's guns are the best evidence what manner of men they were who pressed on to death with the dauntlessness of a race which has gained glory on a thousand battle-fields, and never more richly deserved it than at the foot of Marye's Heights on the 13th day of December, 1862."
Of this brigade of five regiments the Twenty-Eighth Massachusetts Volunteers, Colonel Richard Byrnes, was the second Irish regiment raised in Massachusetts in defence of the Union in 1861. The tribute above quoted is the testimony of the war correspondent of theLondon Times, the files of which are to be found in our Boston Athenæum. He was the famous Dr. Russell, the Crimean and other wars' correspondent of theLondon Thunderer. He should surely be a judge of heroic service and undaunted bravery. He was an eye-witness, as was the writer of these lines, of what he speaks, and could with great truth form a personal knowledge of the facts, and with ocular proof depict the thrilling and tragic drama enacted on the bloody slopes of Fredericksburg, Va., on that midwinter day. The nature of the ground on the left bank of the Rappahannock afforded ample views of the scenes being enacted on the other side, and it requires no difficult stretch of the imagination or of the sympathies of humanity to enter into the feelings of men, who, seeing this fearful havoc of their Federal comrades, awaited their turn for Burnside to order them, "his latest chanceto try," across the ensanguined river. When the order did come for the fresh Irish troops, it was only to find themselves mingled in the slaughter with their prone dead and dying comrades from the old Bay State, the Twenty-Eighth Massachusetts, distinguishable by the fresh and natural sprigs of green with which they had on that fateful morning decorated their military caps, but which were now in too, too many cases, crimsoned with blood and brains, or embedded in the crushed skulls of the gallant heroes, who, only a few short hours before, so jauntily wore them.
Col. Richard Byrnes.Col. Richard Byrnes.
"Why should we be sad, boys, whose business it is to die!" sung Wolfe at Quebec. The strain was melancholy and its vein mercenary. It was not the business of these gallant citizen soldiers to die. They should have lived to see a country restored to peace and greatness as a proof of their patriotism, valor and sacrifices. "But," says Dr. Russell in another part of his Fredericksburg letter to theLondon Times, "that any mortal men could have carried the position before which they were wantonly sacrificed, defended as it was, it seems to me idle for a moment to believe." And these valiant, adopted citizens of the Republic hesitated not to obey the cruel order to charge and charge again and again up to those impregnable works with a fortitude and persistence that could not possibly be expected from troops who adopted the trade of soldier and "whose business it was to die."[2]
On another occasion, General Hancock said of a charge in which the Twenty-Eighth Massachusetts participated: "I have never seen anything so splendid." He was a judge of what a good charge consisted. Great credit is most justly due to Colonel Richard Byrnes, of whom a most excellent likeness is herewith presented, and of whom the writer will have something more to say before he finishes a brief record of this famed Irish-American Regiment.
The evidences of fine discipline and military bearing given by the first Irish regiment, the Ninth Infantry, organized in Massachusetts, and which, when it went to the front sustained so admirably those earlier promises to the great satisfaction of the national and state authorities, prompted the latter to form a second similar corps. Accordingly Gov. Andrew and Gen. Schouler consulted with the Right Rev. Bishop Fitzpatrick of the Boston diocese and Mr. Patrick Donahoe with this view. The outlook was favorable and the state officials received patriotic and most cheerful assurances from these and other Irish-American gentlemen taken into counsel on the subject. The authority of the general government was at once secured and the formation of the Faugh-a-Ballaghs, to be numbered the Twenty-Eighth Massachusetts Infantry Volunteers, was speedily begun. An announcement appeared inThe Pilotstating that on September 28, 1861, the war office sanctioned the formation of the regiment to be commanded by Colonel Thomas T. Murphy of the Montgomery Guard of New York, and accordingly recruiting was begun with head-quarters at 16 Howard Street, Boston. An address was issued which spiritedly set forth that for this Irishmen and sons of Irishmen, should rally forth for their country's cause, "now that Governor Andrew has been granted authority to raise another Irish regiment.... This is to afford an opportunity to all those whose allegiance, patriotism and home welfare all combine to enlist their sympathies for the country of their adoption and the safety and protection of the Union; to unite one and all to uphold its integrity and render it inviolable for future ages. Signed Patrick Donahoe and Dr. W. M. Walsh." Among the gentlemen authorized to recruit for it, were Messrs. Alexander Blaney of Natick, Florence Buckley of South Natick, E. H. Fitzpatrick of New Bedford, Owen E. Neale of Fitchburg, S. W. Moore of Marlboro', C. W. Judge of Haverhill and Daniel O'Donovan of the same locality, Martin Kirwin of Lawrence, A. A. Griffin of East Cambridge, John Riley of Worcester, Paul Eveny of Salem, and Lieutenant Ed. F. O'Brien of Burlington, Vt.
The nucleus of the Faugh-a-Ballaghs was rendezvoused at Camp Cameron, Cambridge, where the good, pious and patriotic Rev. Father Manasses Dougherty of St. Peter's Church, Concord Avenue, ministered to the spiritual and many of the temporal wants of the sick and the well until a regular chaplain was assigned to the command. Many a gallant soldier who, shortly afterwards, sank into a bloody grave, recalled with love and veneration the tender and manly ministrations of this dear Soggarth Aroon. A chaplain of the regiment, Father McMahon, is now the bishop of the diocese of Hartford, Conn. Among the first acts of Company A, Captain William Mitchell commanding,was to pass, by a unanimous vote, the resolve: "That in consideration of the untiring zeal and patriotic feelings of Mr. Patrick Donahoe in prompting and aiding the organization of the Second Irish Massachusetts Regiment (the Twenty-Eighth) this company will, hereafter, be known and called the Donahoe Guard." This paragraph was further supplemented with the assurance from the company to the patriotic gentleman whom they had named as patron, that their conduct as soldiers and Irishmen in the field would never give cause of disgrace to the name they had thus, with so much hearty unanimity, voted to assume. Here let us for the close of this chapter leave the "boys," many of whom are looking forward to a glorious future in which the fate of their native Ireland is romantically blended. How often have they thrilled with martial fervor, as they read or heard Thomas Davis's Fontenoy, that famed Fontenoy, which would have been a Waterloo,
"Were not those exiles ready then, fresh, vehement and true."
Ah, yes, they will learn the science of war and if fate reserves them in the glorious fight for the Union, their practical knowledge, their tested courage will then be used by the grace of the God of Hosts to help free their native land.
What theland questionwas to the agricultural population of Ireland, the labor questionisto the toiling masses of the United States—who, in one or another form of manufacturing industry, in mines and shops, or public employment, are honestly striving to "earn their bread by the sweat of their brow."
In the case of the Irish people the question was one of life and death, or, what was practically the same, starvation or exile.
An alternative so monstrous and so pitiful is not presented in the United States to those who toil; but the conditions and prospects presented to them are often harsh and bitter.
We have seen in the instances of labor strikes, and by the simultaneous suspension of work in the great mills and factories, that tens of thousands of men accustomed to subsist by the returns of their daily toil, have been reduced, with their families, to want and wretchedness.
The accounts given in the public journals of the sufferings in Ohio and Pennsylvania during the recent strikes amongst the miners, recalls the widespread, and, in instances, awful distress which prevailed in the districts in question.
The startling figures lately put forth by representatives of the Knights of Labor, which is said to be a powerful and widely extended labor organization, as to the number of unemployed men in the United States, seem incredible in the face of the apparent activity of trade and the general seeming prosperity; but there is no doubt the real figuresare great enough to excite deep concern on the part of the thoughtful and reflecting observer.
It does not require that one should be either a philosopher or a communist to see in the prevailing conditions of the labor element in the United States, that something is seriously out of gear. With capital everywhere concentrating in the form of monopolies,—whether it be in the consolidation of railroads and telegraphs, or in mills and mines where products are "pooled," or yet in the colossal stores and factories, on every hand is seen the strengthening and solidifying of capital in the hands of the few. And this consolidation, it is plain, is only effected by sweeping out or swallowing up smaller enterprises. This is the logical and perhaps inevitable result of our modern social system—in which wealth and "greed of gain" is held to be the chief end of life. But, with this visible agglomeration of wealth in the hands of the comparatively few, what is to be said of the conditions and prospects of the laboring masses? If, happily, in the acquisition and accumulation of wealth by monopolists, we could hope for the rules and application of Christian principles and a realizing sense of Christian duties in its employment and distribution, there would then be less occasion for concern and apprehension in considering the problems presented in the questions of "Capital and Labor." However seductive and alluring may be the dreams and vagaries of latter-day theorizers, inequality of social and worldly conditions is and will remain the rule.Utopiawill remain in the books; it cannot be realized, in fact, under the conditions of our or any other known civilization. It can and may be realized, but in a form and fashion outside the ken of the modern "philosopher,"—and that will be by the universal acceptance of Divine law and the general practice of the Divine commands.
The Ten Commandments and the Sermon on the Mount contain the solution of all the problems with which we are concerned in the discussion of this question. When capital recognizes and acts up tothe dutiesinvolved in and implied by the possession of wealth, labor will recognize and respectthe rightsof capital.
The philosophy of the question turns upon these two simple words, "RIGHTS" and "DUTIES."
Adam Smith says: "The property which every man has in his own labor, as it is the original foundation of all other property, so it is the most sacred and inviolable. The patrimony of a poor man lies in the strength and dexterity of his hands; and to hinder him from employing this strength and dexterity in what manner he thinks proper, without injury to his neighbor, is a plain violation of this most sacred property." A distinguished Catholic authority—Cardinal Manning—gives a more concise definition—"the honest exertion of the powers of our minds and of our body for our own good, and for the good of our neighbors."
The rights of the workman to dispose of his own toil on his own terms cannot be questioned, nor can his right to combine and unite with other toilers for purposes of mutual protection be seriously questioned. Indeed, such unions and combinations may be said to be a necessity in the existing order.
How is it possible except through such union and combination toresist the power of great corporations and exacting monopolies, which, as a rule, little regard the rights of the day laborer. Capital is protected by its own innate power, by its influence over legislation and legislative bodies, and by the readiness with which "pools" and "combinations" are formed to its bidding; but in its control over labor it is more powerful still by reason of the helplessness of the working masses, who must work in order to live. An autocratic order from the chief of some great corporation will sometimes reduce the wages of tens of thousands of employés from ten to twenty per cent in one swoop. And the tens of thousands have no redress or alternative unless to "strike."
And here lies the difficulty. The public, as a rule, do not sympathize with "strikes" and "strikers." Strikes are always inconvenient. They upset the existing order, disturb business, and sometimes lead to destruction of property.
There is, and can be, of course, no justification for lawlessness. If the rights of the workman to fix a price for his labor, and other conditions as to the hours of his service, cannot be disputed, the equal rights of the employers to fix the terms and price to be paid is no less certain. Between these often irreconcilable conditions lie only submission, strikes, or arbitration. The former is often expedient, the second sometimes necessary, the last is always wise. A leading mine owner, widely known for his uniform practical sympathy with his operatives, and for his public spirit and high character, Col. William P. Rend, of Chicago, has lately put forward, in several public conventions representing the mining interests, a method of arbitration which would be invoked in case of differences between employers and operatives.
The simple suggestion of arbitration as the true remedy carries on its face the evident solution of this vexed labor problem.
It is not necessary to suggest details. The fundamental idea is that all differences may and ought to be reconciled by frank and honest arbitration. Where employers will meet operatives on this half-way neutral ground, an adjustment may be confidently looked for in most cases. The arts of the demagogue and the threats of the socialists will no longer be effective with the laboring masses. Where arbitration by mutual agreement is not practicable, legislative "Boards of Arbitration" could be appealed to; and these should be provided for by law in every state.
When corporations and individual employers shall, as very many to their honor, be it said, undoubtedly do, show due regard and consideration for the rights and necessities of workmen and operatives, there need be no fear of the spectre of communistic disorder in the United States. Our mechanics and workingmen are instinctively conservative and cannot be led away permanently into dangerous societies and combinations, if only capital will join in promoting the adoption of "arbitration" as the true solution of the labor problem.
Wm. J. OnahaninScholastic Annual.
ACurefor tight shoes—go barefoot.
Hon. John J. Hayes.Hon. John J. Hayes.
Among the forty gentlemen elected to serve in the Senate during the present term of the General Court of Massachusetts, we hesitate not to predict that it will be found that Hon. John J. Hayes, the subject of this brief sketch, will bring to bear upon such questions for legislative consideration and action as may devolve upon him a most intelligent culture, a well-developed business training and thorough uprightness of purpose. In choosing him as their senatorial representative, the voters of the Eighth Suffolk District, embracing Wards Twenty-two, Twenty-three, Twenty-four and Twenty-five—all combined, having a preponderating majority of Republican votes—have exhibited the soundest judgment, we are confident, in the exercise of citizen-franchise. Mr. Hayes' election was a well-considered rebuke to the narrow systems of legislation prevalent in most of the New England States. Hon. William H. Spooner, the district Senator of last year, is, in private and business life, an honorable and esteemed gentleman; but being an extreme partisan in politics and a zealot in sectional legislative efforts, when a fittingcandidate was offered at the last election to oppose him, a gentleman of adequate views of the needs and requirements of his fellow-citizens to confront him, the voters hesitated not at the polls whom to choose.
Among his fellow-citizens of Boston and vicinity, Senator Hayes is well recognized as an uncompromising adherent of Home Rule principles in the affairs of Ireland, his native land. These come naturally to him. His father, Mr. John Hayes, now of Manchester, N. H., was a devoted supporter of O'Connell and, though young in years, was in turn warmly appreciated by the great liberator. From the most steadfast patriotism he has never swerved, and the blood in his children's veins, with the teachings he inculcated, impels them to tread in the same path of patriotic purpose as their worthy sire.
Our Senator was born in Killarney, Kerry, January 26, 1845. His childhood saw many days amidst the inspiring scenes of this grand and most lovely portion of Ireland. He was educated in Dublin. Mr. Hayes entered for the civil service examination for the war office department before the noted Military Institute of Stapleton of Trinity College, and readily passed the first examination. Pending the usual delay preceding the second examination, the Bank of Ireland threw their appointments open to public examination, and John J. received the first of fourteen appointments, several hundred persons being competitors for these places. He was assigned to serve in the Dublin office of the Bank, and subsequently found rapid advancement in the Gorey and Arklow branches as cashier, and later in the same capacity in the respectively more responsible branches of the Bank in Drogheda and Cork. Mr. Hayes growing restive under the naturally slow advancement in the Bank's services, accepted a tempting offer from one of the strongest banks in Canada and reached Boston en route thereto. Here, however, he was met with a business offer which induced him to pitch his fortune in Boston business circles, and after a few years became the junior member of the firm of Brown & Hayes, importers, exporters and commission merchants, Broad Street, and where he still continues to do the same business. His firm changed to Hayes & Poppelé in 1877 and as it is now to Hayes & Angle.
Under the new organization of the School Board, Senator Hayes served five years, from 1876 to 1880, during which he won deserved confidence by his independence and unremitting watchfulness in school matters. During these years he held several chairmanships and membership in committees on accounts, salaries and other executive duties of the board. He was a pronounced advocate of proper compensation to teachers in which work he has always felt and shown a great and sympathetic interest. From the advent of his services on the board, the teachers had reason to know him as a friend, who would do battle for them against reduction of their salaries, as was many times attested by his minority reports and speeches in session. He resisted the attempts to do away with the Suburban High Schools, and the residents of the sections where they are located should feel indebted to his leading opposition to such attempts for the retention of these suburban schools.
Mr. Hayes has been a director in several insurance companiesand has been for many years on the executive committee of the Union Institution for Savings. Senator Hayes resides in a handsome residence, surrounded by ample grounds, in the Dorchester district, Ward Twenty-four. He is a thorough Democrat in principle. It was, therefore, a most flattering testimony to his personal popularity and of the great respect of his usual political opponents that they voted for him. Particularly is this the case in so far as his Dorchester Republican neighbors are concerned, so many of these being of the ancient and wealthy families, descendants of the earlier colonial settlers of Massachusetts Bay. The district also embraces the homes of many retired merchants and strong business men of Boston. In view of all the circumstances, Mr. Hayes' senatorial campaign success, it must be conceded, was a most brilliant one.
Even among Catholics the story of St. Patrick's driving the snakes and other reptiles out of Ireland has often been made the subject of, let us say, good-natured jest. But, besides, among others than Irishmen the legend has been laid to the score of the excessive credulity of Irishmen. I myself have heard German Catholics instance this story as an evidence of the excesses into which the Celtic mind is apt to run. And yet, investigation shows that the Irish are not alone in their pious belief. Father Chas. Cahier, a Jesuit, has compiled a work entitled "Caractéristiques des Saints dans l'Art Populaire." It is a most wonderful and valuable storehouse of information, illustration, and explanation. Thus we find in that our saint is not only patron of Ireland but also of Murcia in Spain, for the reason that on his feast, 17th of March, 1452, was won the battle of Los Alporchones. Turning to the heading "Serpent," we meet with a long array of saints represented in painting or sculpture with one or more of these reptiles in his vicinity. Italy, Brittany, Germany, France, Syria, Egypt, and other lands furnish legends as strange as that concerning our apostle. In fact, comparatively small space is devoted to him by the erudite Jesuit. He briefly says, "It is thoroughly admitted by the Irish that he drove from their Isle the serpents and other venomous animals. It is even added that the English have many times, but in vain, endeavored to acclimate venomous animals in Ireland." In a footnote he continues as follows:
"A prose of Saint Patrick (in theOfficia SS. Patritii, Columbæ, Brigidæ, etc., Paris, 1620, in 16, p. 110-112) says:"'Virosa reptiliaPrece congregata,Pellit ab HiberniaMari liberata.'"Cf. Molan Hist. SS. Imag., lib. iii. cap. x. (ed. Paquot, p. 265).Nieremberg, De Miraculosis ... in Europa, lib. ii. cap. LXII. (p. 469, sq.); et cap. XVIII. (p. 429).
"A prose of Saint Patrick (in theOfficia SS. Patritii, Columbæ, Brigidæ, etc., Paris, 1620, in 16, p. 110-112) says:
"'Virosa reptiliaPrece congregata,Pellit ab HiberniaMari liberata.'
"'Virosa reptiliaPrece congregata,Pellit ab HiberniaMari liberata.'
"Cf. Molan Hist. SS. Imag., lib. iii. cap. x. (ed. Paquot, p. 265).Nieremberg, De Miraculosis ... in Europa, lib. ii. cap. LXII. (p. 469, sq.); et cap. XVIII. (p. 429).
"Nevertheless, Father Theoph. Raynaud (Opp, t. viii. p. 513) says that this might have been a fact existing in Ireland previous to the days of her apostle."
In Jocelyn's "Life and Acts of Saint Patrick," Chap. CLXIX., we read, "Even from the time of its original inhabitants, did Hibernia labor under a three-fold plague: a swarm of poisonous creatures, whereof the number could not be counted; a great concourse of demons visibly appearing; and a multitude of evil-doers and magicians. And these venomous and monstrous creatures, rising out of the earth and out of the sea, so prevailed over the whole island that they not only wounded men and animals with their deadly sting, but slayed them with cruel bitings, and not seldom rent and devoured their members."
Chapter CLXX. continues: "And the most holy Patrick applied all his diligence unto the extirpation of this three-fold plague; and at length by his salutary doctrine and fervent prayer he relieved Hibernia of the increasing mischief. Therefore he, the most excellent pastor, bore on his shoulder the staff of Jesus, and aided of the angelic aid, he by its comminatory elevation gathered together from all parts of the island, all the poisonous creatures into one place; then compelled he them all unto a very high promontory, which was then called Cruachan-ailge, but now Cruachan-Phadring; and by the power of his word he drove the whole pestilent swarm from the precipice of the mountain headlong into the ocean. O eminent sign! O illustrious miracle! even from the beginning of the world unheard, but now experienced by tribes, by peoples and by tongues, known unto all nations, but to the dwellers in Hibernia especially needful! And at this marvellous, yet most profitable sight, a most numerous assembly was present; many of whom had flocked from all parts to behold miracles, many to receive the word of life.
"Then turned he his face toward Mannia, and the other islands which he had imbued and blessed with the faith of Christ and with the holy sacraments; and by the power of his prayers he freed all these likewise from the plague of venomous reptiles. But other islands, the which had not believed at his preaching, still are cursed with the procreation of those poisonous creatures."
The Rev. Mr. O'Farrell, in his "Popular life of Saint Patrick," says, "Rothe in his elucidations upon this passage of Jocelyn, compared this quality bestowed upon Irish soil, through the prayers of Saint Patrick, with that conferred upon Malta by the merits of Saint Paul, with this difference, he adds, 'that while in Malta serpents, adders, and other venomous reptiles, retain their life and motion, and lose only their poisonous power, in Ireland they can neither hurt nor exist, inasmuch as not only the soil but the climate and atmosphere, are unto them instant death.'"
Ribadeneira says that even the wood of Ireland is proof against poisonous reptiles. He declares that King's College, Cambridge, is built within of Irish oak, and consequently not even a spider can be found within it.
In the first volume of Chambers' "Book of Days" is told the story of the attempt made by James Cleland, an Irish gentleman, in 1831, tointroduce reptiles into the Holy Isle. He bought half a dozen harmless English snakes (natrix torquata) in Covent Garden market, London, and turned them loose in his garden in Rathgael, County Down. Within a week one was killed at Milecross three miles distant. A peasant who found one and thought it an eel, took it to Dr. J. L. Drummond, the celebrated Irish naturalist, and was horrified to learn that it was a genuine serpent. There was great excitement, and it was fortunate for Mr. Cleland that his connection with the affair was not known. One clergyman preached on the discovery of the reptile as a presage of the millennium; another saw a relation between it and the cholera-morbus. Some energetic men took the matter in hand and offered a reward for the dead bodies of the snakes. Three were killed within a few miles of the garden, and the others were never fully accounted for.
But to return to Father Cahier. He tells us of the following, depicted in sacred art in close proximity to serpents.
Mosesis not only represented raising the brazen serpent in the desert to cure those who had been bitten by the reptiles (Num. xxi. 6-9), but also casting his rod on the ground, that it may be changed into a serpent—either at God's command before the burning bush as proof of his divine mission (Exod. iv. 1-5), or before Pharaoh to obtain the deliverance of the Israelites. (Exod. viii. 8-13.)
Saint Paul the Apostle.A viper hanging from his hand and which he is shaking off into the fire. (Acts. xxviii. 3-6.) This event, which occurred in the island of Malta, has given rise to a devotion greatly in vogue, especially among the Greeks. Earth taken from a cavern, wherein it is alleged Saint Paul took refuge after his shipwreck on the coast of that island, is carried to a distance as a preservative against the bite of dangerous beasts and against fevers.
There was also in by-gone times a persuasion that any man born on the 25th of January (the day of the apostle's conversion) was guaranteed against the reptile's tooth.
Saint Andrew the Apostle.His apocryphal legend relates, that he cast out devils, under the form of serpents or dragons. (Legend aur., cap. ii.) This is found represented amongst other places, on a stained-glass window of the Cathedral of Chartres.
Saint Peter Celestine, Pope. I do not remember, says Father Cahier, ever to have seen him painted with a dragon or a large serpent; but it is probable that this may be met with, especially in Italy. For it is related that, having retired into a grotto of the Abruzzi, he expelled from it a venomous serpent, which had made great ravages in the neighborhood.
Saint RomainorRomanus, Bishop of Rouen; 24th of October, 639. His dragon, or serpent, gave rise to an annual procession, during which a prisoner was released in memory of the service rendered to the country by the holy bishop. Father Cahier adds that this legend probably allegorized the destruction of Paganism by the bishop's efforts in his diocese.
Saint Spiridion, Bishop of Tremithontes in the island of Cyprus; 14th of December, about 348. Offering a serpent to a poor man.
He had a great reputation for charity, so the needy confidently applied to him for aid. But one day when a beggar asked him for assistance, the saint, who had nothing to give him, picked up a serpent, which the poor man hardly cared to accept. Nevertheless, encouraged by the bishop, he held his hand out; and the beast was converted into gold. (Surius, 14th December.)
Saint Narcissus, Bishop of Gironu in Catalonia, and apostle of Augsburg; 18th of March, about 307. It is related in the country of the Julian Alps that he destroyed a dragon, which was posted beside a spring, from which all the inhabitants fled.
Saint Amand, Bishop of Maestricht, and apostle of Flanders; 6th of February, 675. While still a child, he drove, it is said, from the island of Oye (near La Rochelle) a serpent which he met in his way. (Acta Sanctorum, Februar., t. i, p. 849.) Father Cahier says that the original is a dragon, which artists have converted into a serpent, and that it is quite likely it symbolizes the idols overthrown by the saint's apostolic labors in the country about Ghent.
Saint Modestus, Bishop of Jerusalem; 16th of December, seventh century. Putting to death a serpent which infested a fountain; much like the legend of Saint Narcissus. (Bagatta,Admiranda orbis, lib. vii. cap. i, §. 19, No. 29.)
Saint Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers; 14th of January, about 368. Old artists paint him with a staff around which is twined a serpent; or serpents fleeing from that staff. This signifies, that during his exile, he completely banished the reptiles which infested the island ofGallinariain the Mediterranean, near Genoa (the Gallinara of the present day). According to other versions he did not exactly rid the entire island of those animals, but simply relegated them to a corner of the land, where he planted his staff as a boundary which they were nevermore to pass. (P. de Natal., libr. ii, cap. LXVIII.—AA. SS.,Januar., t. i, p. 792.) Cl. Robert quotes an epitaph on the doctor of Poitiers, found, he says, in an ancient manuscript, although the style gives little indication of the Middle Ages.