AN GAOḊAL.
339
RESPECTABLE AMERICANS — TO WHOM
DOES THE TITLE PROPERLY BELONG.
The Gael having for its object the cultivation of
the language and literature of Ireland and through
it the social elevation of the Irish people or or more
properly, their defense from the aspersions sought
to be cast on them by the subsidized agents of
England so as to justify that power in keeping
them in bondage, we shall not cease to strike back
whenever any party by declaration or innuendo
seeks to reflect on our nationality. Under ordinary
circumstances, and before an unprejudiced, enlight¬
ened public, the social and intellectual status of
the Irish, as a people, need no defense. But, in¬
stead, we have to meet extraordinary circumstan¬
ces and unmitigated far reaching prejudice. — Ex¬
traordinary circumstances in the fact that Irishmen
themselves, by ignoring the language and literature
of their country, (which are the only evidences any
people can produce to show the civilization of their
forefathers) assist the enemies of their race and na¬
tion in placing them before the world as a tribe
devoid of antecedents and respectability, and, there¬
fore, unfit to govern themselves.
Herein lies the secret of Ireland's degradation
as a nation, and the Irishman who neglects to cul¬
tivate the language and literature of his country,
and says, "What good is it", conduces to that deg¬
radation. He is a greater enemy to his country
than the most rabid Englishman, because he shows
the world by his acts that Ireland never possessed
anything, in his opinion, worth preserving — for a
man's actions are the reflex of his mind. These, we
call extraordinary circumstances.
Unmitigated and far-reaching prejudice in the
fact that the atmosphere in which we move has
been impregnated with inveterate hostility to our
race, intensified by religious fanaticism and the
fear always present to the oppressor that the op¬
pressed might someday be in a position to retali¬
ate for his misdeeds. The wealth and influence of
England have been freely lavished to compass this
end, and educated Irishmen, as above remarked,
abet in its furtherance. Unthinkingly and unin¬
tentionally they assist in riveting the chains which
keep them in slavery.
Take up the public press of the country — even
that portion of it that has been nurtured into man¬
hood by Irishmen — and the venomous hiss of the
snake becomes audible. Yet, Irishmen continue
to support such journals! This fact we also call
extraordinary.
These remarks are called forth by the
attitude of certain journals, principally support¬
ed by Irishmen, towards some Irish-American re¬
publican politicians of New York City. It is not
our purpose to dilate on the merits or demerits of
the parties under consideration, individually, but
when they are being employed as levers to re¬
flect on our nationality, we certainly feel justified
in instituting what we think wil be a telling com¬
parison.
The Irish-Americans to whom we alluded above
are John J. O'Brien, Michael Creagan, and Ber¬
nard Biglin, &c., and our objection to the action
of the press in criticising them is that their names,
or that part of them which assuredly indicates
their nationality, has been apostrophied, with a
view of exciting and perpetuating National preju¬
dice in the pro-English portion of our fellow citi¬
zens. Thus — "Johnny O'Brien", "Mike" Creagan
"Barney" Biglin &c. &c. It would be insulting the
reader's intelligence to suggest the object sought
to be gained by such characterization. We are
surprised that they did not try to include some
"Pat" in the group — it hardly looks finished with¬
out it. But, oh ! we forgot. A scion of English
Royalty is called "Pat", Prince Patrick, Duke of
Connaught, and, for the world, our respectable Am¬
ericans, who would bow to the shadow of royalty,
would not insult that name. "Mike" being a name
in the royal family of Russia and Austria is of no
consequence, tho' if Prince Michael, brother to the
Czar of Russia, were marching down Broadway to-
morrow, our shoddy respectables would bow to
his shadow.
A handful of our citizens claim to own this coun¬
try and to shape its destinies, and, singular to re¬
late, they are the descendants of those who sided
with England against Washington and the patriot¬
ic party during the Revolutionary war — the Tories.
They are English today to the back-bone, and
through her money and her influence they are able
to shape the government of the country in Eng¬
land's interest. They, through the same means,
have controlled the press of the country which
keeps them before the public as "the respectable
Americans". This handful of citizens is what is
commonly known as the New England element.
They are not 5 per cent of the population and yet
they shape the laws, to the discredit, we think,
and to the danger of the liberties of the great mass
of the people. This right to own and to govern
the country and to arrogate to themselves the title
exclusively, to American respectability, they claim
by virtue of being the direct descendants of the or¬
iginal English settlers. Now — we shall institute
a comparison between them and the "Johnny
O'Briens", the "Mikes", and the "Barneys", and
we shall let the reader judge which party, by right,
should be adjudged respectable. The items which
we shall produce in support of our demonstration
will be taken from their own historian (Anderson).
The Spaniards and the French were the first set¬
tlers of America. The Spaniards settled in Flor¬
ida, Texas, and the southern part of the country.
The French settled in Canada, Nova Scotia, Caro-
lina, Louisiana, &c. 128 years after the discovery
of America by the Spaniards, and its partial set¬
tlement by themselves and the French, a colony
