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Proceedings of the Fourth Congress at Atlanta, GA., April 28 to May 1, 1892
Fourth Session of the Congress


MORNING SESSION.

Third Day, Saturday, April 30, 1892.

The Congress was called to order at 10:30 a.m. by the President, who announced that prayer would be offered by Dr. John Hall, of New York.

Dr. John Hall:

O God Almighty, our everlasting Father, we desire to come with one heart in prayer and supplication and thanksgiving unto thee. We come in the name of Jesus, whom we receive as thy mediator and the agent of thine appointment, in whom we trust as our great high priest, whom we receive as our divine teacher, and to whom as our king we will yield ourselves in holy obedience.

We humbly pray that thou wilt be with us in this meeting. Thou art making the sun from the sky to shine upon us; within us let the rays of the Sun of righteousness shine in our souls, filling us with light—spiritual light, divine light. We render thanks unto thee for the goodness that has attended us individually; we praise thee for the blessings that we have inherited. We would magnify the grace of God to those who have gone before us and through whom in thy kind providence we have received so much. We pray that thou wilt be with us in all that we do, direct every movement of this Society, let it be for the good of its members; let it be for the good of those of our own race who are scattered over these United States; show us, we pray thee, in what way we can best glorify thee, in what ways we can best serve our generation by the will of God. Let thy blessing rest upon this city, to which we pray thee to give every good and honorable prosperity. Let thy blessing be upon the state; do thou direct all the movements of those who are intrusted with authority by the votes of their fellow-citizens. Let thy favor rest upon the President of the United States and upon all those who have been called to places of trust; let them be sustained by the good will, the loyal attachment of their fellow-citizens. Bless the whole nation; repress and put away everything that is evil; build up, we beseech thee, and establish everything that is good. Let us be a righteous nation to the glory of thy great and holy name. Our Father, we wait upon thee; give ear, we beseech thee, to our petitions; we present them in that name that is above every name; receive us in Christ and bless us for his sake, and the praise shall be thine through him now and forever. Amen.

President Bonner:

Rev. Dr. Bryson, ex-Moderator of the Southern Presbyterian Church, has written a paper on "Scotch-Irish Inventors and Their Inventions," which he will now favor us with. During Dr. Bryson's visit to New York last summer it was my privilege to take him through different parts of Westchester County, to see the monument to the captors of Major Andre, to see Sunnyside, the old home of Washington Irving, and other objects of historical interest. It is hardly necessary for me to say that it gives me great pleasure to introduce him here now. [Applause.]

(For Dr. Bryson's address, see Part II., page 174.)

Rev. Dr. Cook, of Alabama:

I move that the thanks of the Society be tendered Dr. Bryson for this excellent production.

Carried.

President Bonner:

Col. Adair, of Atlanta, who is famed not only in this State, but adjoining ones as well, as a very polished preacher [laughter], or speaker, I should have said, will now address you. We have already had the pleasure of listening to him in this spring suit and in the role of a reader. We will now take pleasure in watching his course as a speaker.

Col. G. W. Adair:

Ladies and Gentlemen and Mr. President: I mentioned something about talking against a dinner bell yesterday, and I must request you now not to ring a chestnut bell on me for appearing so often before you. I have a little announcement to make—it is very short —which may take many of you by surprise, and that is that there is a modest Scotch-Irishman—I have no allusion to myself—in this hall. We have been claiming the earth and everything in it that is good for the Scotch-Irish, and it is a surprise that there should be among us a noted modest Scotch-Irishman; but there is. The founder of our order is here. You do not see him because he does not present himself. He is, as I say, a modest man, but he is always getting up good things. He formed our society. His is what we would call the "fine Italian hand" that is always doing something good and presenting those good things to the world. I allude, of course, to Col. T. T. Wright, the founder of the Scotch-Irish Society of America. [Applause.] I don't know whether he selected me on account of my modesty or my good reading ability, but he asked me to make a little announcement of some letters he has received from some distinguished people abroad and to read a little poem which accompanied the letters. "Kind messages come to this Congress through Col. T. T. Wright from the following Scotch-Irishmen: Lord Wolseley, Lord Dufferin, and Col. Wilson, military commander of West Point. Mr. James Logan sends a floral tribute from the home of Gen. Andrew Jackson's father at Carrick Fergus, Ireland; Mr. McKenna, of Belfast, sends a bunch of shamrocks; and Wallace Bruce, of Edinburgh, Scotland, sends a poem, addressed to Col. Wright, 'The Old Mortality of the Ulster-American Race.' "

(For Mr. Brace's poem, see page 100.)

Col. Adair:

I move that the letters in full be secured from Col. Wright and incorporated in the proceedings of our meeting.

Carried.

President Bonner:

Dr. Hall has a resolution to present to you which I think will meet with a response in every Scotch-Irish heart.

Dr. John Hall:

You will be a little relieved, perhaps, when I tell you that I am not going to make any speech. I propose this resolution to be adopted and forwarded to the Directors of the "World's Fair to be held in Chicago in 1893:

To the Directors of the World's Fair to be held at Chicago in 1893.

The Scotch-Irish Society of America, now in session at Atlanta, Ga., would respectfully present the following resolution, unanimously adopted this 30th day of April, 1892:

Resolved, That we, including in our Society representatives of the leading religious denominations of the country, earnestly hope that you will see it to be wise and right not to open either the grounds or the buildings of the Exposition on the Sabbath day.

We are led to deep conviction on this matter by the fact that as a Christian country, to which God has given wide influence, we are bound to regard his law and institutions, especially in a national undertaking which is commanding the world's attention. In thus expressing our strong desire, we have regard to the highest welfare of the multitudes of hard-working people whose day of rest would be imperiled by so conspicuous a violation of the word of him who said: "The Sabbath was made for man."

Rev. James Mitchell, of Atlanta:

I move that the resolution be adopted by a rising vote.

Judge Hamilton McWhorter:

Fully and unreservedly concurring in the wisdom and the purpose and the spirit of that resolution, I rise to second it, and move that the resolution be adopted by a rising vote.

Unanimously adopted by a rising vote.

Col. W. L. Calhoun:

I have received a telegram from a citizen of this state who is now in Chicago, Mr. Samuel W. Small, in which he says: "Propose me for Scotch-Irish Society membership. My father's name was Sawney; balance of me fighting Irish." I therefore have the honor of presenting Mr. Small for membership in this Society, and move that he be received. [Applause.]

Motion carried.

Dr. Bryson:

I desire to present for membership in this Society the name of Prof. W. H. Hammill, Superintendent of the Public Schools of Illinois, and now living, I think, at Peoria, who has expressed a desire to become a member.

Received.

Mr. George H. Frey:

I propose the name of Hon. O. S. Kelley, of Springfield, O., for membership in the Society.

Received.

Col. John W. Echols:

I nominate Col. Lavendar E. Ray, of Georgia, for membership.

Received.

President Bonner:

"We will now have the pleasure of listening for a few minutes to Capt. G. B. Forbes, Chairman of the Invitation Committee of the Scotch-Irish Society of Georgia. [Applause.]

(For Capt. Forbes's address, see Part II., page 235.)

President Bonner:

"We will now have the pleasure of listening for a few minutes to Rev. Samuel Young, of Allegheny City, Pa. Although he is from Allegheny City, he is a native of Ireland. You may think that perhaps we are claiming everything for the Scotch-Irish. In fact, a friend of mine in New York on my return from Louisville last year said: "You fellows will be claiming before long that even St. Paul was a Scotch-Irishman." Mr. Young. [Applause.]

(For Mr. Young's address, see Part II., page 228.)

President Bonner:

The Hon. David Roper, a distinguished lawyer and a member of the Pennsylvania Legislature, will now address us for a few minutes. [Applause.]

(For Mr. Roper's address, see Part II., page 237.)

President Bonner:

Col. I. W. Avery, a well-known literary man of Atlanta, will now address us for a few minutes. [Applause.]

(For Col. Avery's address, see Part II., page 204.)


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