844 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER 



KAY ■'(, 18^)7. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMMR. 



ADDRESS 



Delivered before the Charilnhle Irish Society, in 

 Boston, at the Celebration of their Ccntunnini 

 Aiiniversary, March 17, 1837. By Jumcs Boyd, 

 President of the Society. Boston : pnblislied 

 by James B. Dow, No. 362 Washington st. 

 There are traits in the national character of the 

 Irish, U'liich are strongly marked, — altogether pe- 

 culiar to that race, and highly worthy the atten- 

 tion, if they may not always meet the apijrohation 

 of the politician and the philanthropist. The na. 

 live of Erin is usually possessed of a robust and 

 athletic frame, alike qualified for active and effi- 

 cient exertion, or patient, passive and persevering 

 endurance. He is quick, but not always accu- 

 rate in his perceptions, and ardent, generous, hos- 

 pitable and sensitive in his feelings. An Irish- 

 man is not one of those negative, half alive sort 

 of beings, whom Horace describes as nati consu- 

 merefniges, (born to clear the provision market.) 

 Always ready and willing to "go ahead," if ycu 

 understand his mental mechanism, and know how 

 to touch his springs of action, his movements are, 

 generally, subservient to good purposes. But ill 

 treat and provoke him, and he will present more 

 adverse points than a porcupine, be always ripe 

 for a riot, and like a phosphoric match, take fire 

 with the least friction. 



No other country, we believe, has produced a 

 larger number of great men, in pro]:ortion to its 

 popidation, the chances it affords for the devel- 

 opment of mental powers, and the opportunities 

 it presents for exhibiting the fruits of genius than 

 Ireland. In proof of this assertion, we might 

 mention Burke, Goldsmith, Curran, Grattan, Wel- 

 lington, and many others, names of as great and 

 well deserved celebrity as ever shone in the an- 

 nals of tnankind. 



But to the pamidilet before us: The following 

 quotations aie not only samples of the style of 

 this Address, but will convey historical informa- 

 tion, which will doubtless be new to many of our 

 readers : 



" The records of our institution, show that its 

 original organization, was in the year 1737 ; a 

 imiidier of Irishmen having then associated under 

 the name of The Irish Socicly, and laid the foun- 

 dation of the fraternal charity, the care of which 

 has descended into our hands. It is pleasant and 

 gratifying to see that the important designs of the 

 founders are still recognised by the practice of 

 their successors at the present day. An extract 

 from the preamble to their rules and orders, will 

 give some insight to the motives which induced 

 the movement we are met to celebrate. 

 " The preamble reads thus : — 

 " 'Whereas several gentlemen, merchants and 

 others of the Irish nation, residing in Boston, in 

 New England, from an afTectionate and compas- 

 sionate concern lor their countrymen in these 

 pans, who may be reduced by sickness, ship- 

 wreck, old age, and other infirmities and unfore- 

 seen accidents, have thought fit to form them- 

 selves into a charitable society, for the relief of 

 such of their poor and indigent countrymen, with- 

 out any design of hot contributing towards the 

 jjrovision of the town poor in general, as usual.' 

 "This shovvs, in the clearest manner, that our 

 worthy predecessors possessed the right kind of 

 spirit. The language of this preamble is as broad 



as the luantle of charity itself; wide enough to 

 cover and bring within the pale of relief, the un- 

 fortunate subject of distress, under any of the 

 'ills that flesh is heir to,' provided he be one of 

 their countrymen ; and it will be noticed, that 

 though this charity is only for Irishmen, its pro- 

 moters declare explicitly that they have not ' any 

 design of not contributing towards the provision 

 of the town poor, as usual.' " * * * 



The following is a jast tribute to Irish industry 

 and intellect. 



" We are all willing to work, and some of us at 

 a species of labor with which !\ lazy man will 

 avoid cultivating any acipiaintance. Wherever 

 the spirit of in)[)roveinent is found laying its plans, 

 there the head and the hand of the Irishtnan are 

 found executing them. If the forest is to be 

 cleared, his arm vvields the axe. If Ijills are to 

 be reduced, valleys elevated, tnountains or rivers 

 tunnelled, whose hands are depended on to per- 

 form the laborious toil .' If, in the quaint lan- 

 guage of one of these laborers, the "Globe is to 

 be new modelled,'' that portion of it at least 

 known as the western hemisphere, will it be done 

 by the native, or by the foreig-n inhabitant ? But, 

 though a condition of labor is that of Irishmen 

 generally in N. England, and though it is one they 

 are neither ashamed nor afraid of, yet, such is not 

 the condition of all our brethren, who reside in, 

 and become citizens of these United States. In 

 other states, we find them in professions and em- 

 ployments where intellect is the material (if I may 

 so ex[jress it) to work upon — in the merchant's 

 counting-room — at the bar — in the pulpit — in the 

 practice of the healing art — on the bench — in 

 Congress, even at the Senate board of the I'nited 

 States. Jn all these different situations and pla- 

 ces do we find Irishmen, and in all, doing tliem- 

 selveg credit, and conferring the highest possible 

 benefits on their adopted country." 



The evils of intemperance are well portayed ; 

 for instance : 



"If men woidd pcrmitthomsclves for a moment 

 to reflect, and compare results arising from the 

 labor of those who do, and those who do not in- 

 dulge in the use of spirituous drink, they would 

 not hesitate long on which of the sides to rank 

 themselves. They only need to coiTii)are — they 

 cnly need to place the |)icture before their own 

 eyes, with their own hands, and it will hardly re- 

 quire a second look, to convince a man of sound 

 mind, which he should select as a model for his 

 own life." 



After some just and lucid observations on the 

 political rights and duties of Irishmen towards this 

 their adopteil country, i\ir Boyd observes — 



" Let foreigners do their duty in political mat- 

 ters — -btii] nothing more than their duty — ard the 

 laws of the country will not very soon be altered 

 to their prejudice. ' Let each, who of himself de- 

 sires to possess and exercise the privileges of a 

 freeman, take, without delay, the necessary mea- 

 sures to qualify himself as such ; and, once hav- 

 ing the right, let him use it like a freeman — use 

 it as owing no accountability to any power on 

 earth. And, whilst you would spurn |)oiitical dic- 

 tation from others, avoid imposing such dictation 

 on any one. Those who do not desire to possess 

 or exercise the right of voting for their rulers, 

 ought never to be advised to trouble thcntselves 

 about it ; they should be left to themselves. In 

 this case, the desire to possess and the fitness to 

 use, generally go together. Let no outward in- 



fluence be ])ractised to induce to the possession 

 when the ability or desire to use, does not pre- 

 viously exist. Of those who would make a tool 

 of the individual who cannot of necessity, judge 

 for himself, nothing more need be said." 



On the whole, we think this Address ought 

 not to be suffered to pass into oblivion ; to disap. 

 pear among the evanescent political bubbles which 

 float but for a moment on the current of time. It 

 contains much useful as well as entertaining mat- 

 ter, ami its observations on the political rights and 

 duties of foreigners, as well as other important 

 topics, should entitle it to a place in the library of 

 every citizen of the United States, whether a na- 

 tive or of foreign origin. 



Two ladies in (uiiiiliar chat, 

 Discoursed of this tiling and of that. 

 Of Agriculluie's cljariiis one spukc. 

 And said, she handled well the rake. 

 Ah ! cried the other with a leer, 

 Now mark iny word, my cous.n dear. 

 If with these bakes you've ought to do, 

 You'll know the use of cradle too ! 



I.IFLAIMMATION OF THE ThROAT CURED BY Al- 



UM. — Powdered alum app'.ied by the finger to the 

 part affected, very seldom fails to ctire inHairima- 

 tion of the throat in a few days. The efEcacy of 

 this remedy, says th^ author, is as marvellous as 

 it is rapid. Employed the first, second, third or 

 fiurtli ilay, while there is yet no abscess in the 

 tonsils, it arrests all symptoms, as it wer6, by en- 

 chantment ; the fever abates, the swelling dimin- 

 ishes, the appetite returns, and the convalescence 

 is quickly decided and completed. Alum has al- 

 ready been in use for certain disorders of the 

 throat ; its malignant inflammations, for example, 

 then in chronic ; but as the greater number of 

 practitioners remained fixed in opinion that it must 

 be dangerous in common inflamniations, its use 

 was not so extensive as it deserves to be. By 

 showing that this remedy is as powerful in sim- 

 ple inflammation as in inflammation of the ton- 

 sils, M, Valpeau liopes that jiractitioners will no 

 longer liesitate to make proof of its efficacy, and 

 rescue thereby hundreds of human beings from 

 the grave. — London Pa, 



THE NEW EMGLAKD FARMER 



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