94
AN GAOḊAL
it is your duty to enlighten them,
for, "To whom much is given, of
him much is expected." We have
distributed gratuitously, for the
last ten years, 500 copies of each
issue of the Gael; but such mode
of distributing it would not have
the same effect as a personal can¬
vas, and we hope Gaels will make
that personal canvass.
In canvassing for support for
the Gael seventeen years ago, we
had nothing but sentiment to urge
in the premises — to-day, we have
tangible results to back that senti¬
ment.
Gaels, as a final argument to those
who would say, "what good is the
language?" Ask them in return
what was the social standing of
the Irish people, at home and ab¬
road twenty six years ago when
the Gaelic Movement was organiz¬
ed compared with what it is now.
And should they retort that it is
owing to natural causes, ask again
why did not the effects of these
causes manifest themselves for the
preceding three hundred years —
until the Gaelic Movement demon¬
strated to the general world (in¬
cluding a large number of the Irish
themselves that they did have a
learned literature, and, therefore,
a learned ancestry. So that only
a back-woods Irishman would de¬
ny the land of his birth to-day, a
common matter twenty-five years
ago.
The change in favor of the Irish's
social standing exerted by Conti¬
nental public opinion through the
instrumentality of the Irish Lang¬
uage movement, has been made
manifest by the following facts —
It has elevated a Catholic Irish¬
man to be Chief Justice of Eng¬
land; it inspired Michl. Davitt in
the founding of the Land League;
it led to the election of Wm Grace
to the Mayoralty of New York ; it
led to the appointment of Catholic
Irishmen to Cabinet positions in
Washington, and to seats on the
Supreme Bench of the U.S.; it led
to the calling of Archbishop Ire¬
land to a Cabinet conference of the
nation in this supreme hour of our
country's troubles; and, though
last not least, it elected the candi¬
dates of the Irish-American ele¬
ent to the government of Greater
New York !
Yes, all these things were com¬
passed by the Gaelic Movement by
practically and sensibly demonst¬
rating to an enlightened, plastic,
world that the opprobrious epithet
"Ignorant" applied to them by
their enemies was not peculiar to
them, but was an artificial exotic
forced on them at the point of the
word or the dangling of the gib¬
bet. And the manner in which
the Gaels demonstrated the truth
of their assertions was, to publish
the Language itself, and that in the
face of the supercilious sneers of
the (artificially made) ignorant I¬
rish themselves; who now reap of
what they did not sow.
Some years ago, we got up what
we intended to be a Gaelic Histor¬
ic-Album, giving, as its title indi¬
cates, the photo of all who took a
prominent part in the Gaelic cause,
who were, generally, subscribers to
the Gael. We had 400 photos, and
the blocking of one of these would
cost $3. This was too much for us
to undertake, so the matter dropt
for the time. But now, by the re¬
cently discovered process of half¬
toning we can get the photos block¬
ed for $1. each. We have the lit¬
erary matter prepared, and as soon
as we draw little breath, the book
will be printed. It will be a brief
sketch of every subscriber to the
Gael, and of others who took an
active part in the Gaelic move¬
