The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.) SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1875.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume III, Issue 312, 2 October 1875, Page 2

The Standard AND PEOPLE'S ADVOCATE. (PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY.)

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1875.

" We shall sell to no man justice or right: We shall deny to no man justice or right: We shall defer to no man justice or right.”

A Celtic Peoeessobship in the University of Edinburgh has been long considered a desideratum. As far back as 1763, an eminent Highland Minister —Dr. Smith, of Campbelltown'—moved the Synod of Argyll, to overture the General Assemblj' of the Church of Scotland, to take effective steps for supplying this want, on the ground that the study of Celtic literature should be adequately promoted and fostered in a country like Scotland, where nearly one-sixth of the population spoke Gaelic, and were so attached to it as to prefer it to any other language, especially in the ministrations of religion. The overture was transmitted to and discussed in the Assembly at great length, the result being that a committee was appointed to make certain preliminary arrangements anent the subject, with a view to further action. From some cause or other the committee failed to perform the functions thus entrusted to them ; and owing to this remissuess on their part nothing more was done in the matter. The subject was, however, revived in 1817, by the Synod of Glenelg, and brought before the General Assembly ; -and although one Highland nobleman—the Duke of Athole —signified his willingness to contribute £lOOO towards the endowment of a Celtic Chair, apathy again superseded activity, and the project was abandoned. About two years ago Dr. Blackie, Professor of Greek in the University of Edinburgh, after consultation with his fellow Professors, convened a public meeting in the Scottish Metropolis for the express purpose of discussing the propriety of founding a Gaelic Professorship, which Professorship, from the largenumberof Highland Students who annually attended the Edinburgh and Aberdeen Universities, and for whose ed ucation in their native vernacular, no provision had been made,, be deemed to be indispensably necessary. The meeting —which was presided over by the Lord Provost of Edinburgh—was numerously attended, and enthusiastic speeches in favor of the project were delivered by the Chairman, Dr. Blackie, Dr. Candlish, Dr. M'Lavchlan, and others; and a resolution, affirming the necessity of establishing a Celtic Chair, was passed by acclamation. In pursuance of this resolution Dr. Blackie,withcharacteristic enterprise and energy, undertook to raise the requisite funds (£10,000) wherewith to endow the Professorship, and assiduously applied himself to the work. In less than six months, he held thirtyone meetings for the advocacy of the cause, and raised upwards of £3OOO. He has since continued to agitate the matter with great success, not only in Great Britain, but on the other side of the Atlantic. He appealed to the Highlanders of Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and the Carolinas of the United States, and they all heartily responded to the appeal by contributing liberally to the endowment fund, which has now reached £7OOO.

Professor Blackie, although not a Celt himself, is, perhaps, the most enthusiastic lover of Gaelic living. He has acquired such a perfect knowledge of the language of Ossian, as r.ot only to be able to speak and write it most fluently, but to make standard translations of it into English; and Highlanders everywhere now admire and revere him, as their ancestors were wont to esteem and venerate a popular head of a clan in daysof yore. All his public speeches, in furtherance of the Celtic Chair movement, demonstrate his thorough earnestness towards the advancement of this department of literature, as may be unmistakably inferred from the following extract from an address recently delivered by him at a public meeting in the north of Scotland:—■“ Professor “ Blackie, after a few introductory re- “ marks, asked if it was not a disgrace “ to Highlanders to neglect the study “ of their noble and ancient language ? “ He remarked that botanists began “ the study of their subject, not by “the study of exotics, but by enquiring “ into the nature and qualities of what “ they found growing by theburns, and “ in the glens and all around them. He “ proved that Gaelic was the sister of “ Greek and Latin. He did not agree “ with those who thought it the parent “ of all languages ; its being young “ was no disgrace to it. At any rate “ he would place Ossian on the left “ hand of Homeb; and VibGil on the “right. This showed the folly of “thosewho hung down their heads, “ and with ignorant affectation felt “ ashamed of Gaelic. Next to the last “ first rate novel ho recommended “ young ladies to study a little geology, “ a little philology, and then Gaelic ; “ and firstly, secondly, and thirdly, “ that if they would sing their Gaelic “in the West End of London, all “ English Dukes and Earls would pro- “ pose right off. After explaining the “ methods of discovering the roots of “ a language, he concluded by giving “some excellent political translations “ by himself from AlistebM’Donald.” The Highlanders, like the Welsh, are passionately fond of their native tongue, and wherever a true Gael is found—whether in the backwoods of

America, the plains of India, or the wiltf bush of Australia—his heart warms when he hears it talked. The late Dr. M‘Leod of Glasgow, who, for many years, occupied the position of Chaplain to the Queen in Scotland, and whose sister first taught Her Majesty Gaelic, often remarked that any Highlander who was ashamed of his country or language, was one to whom money ought not to be paid without obtaining a receipt from him. We notice that the Highlanders “of Poverty Bay are taking steps to aid the Celtic Chair movement. A public meeting for the purpose is to be held at Ormond, on Wednesday evening, the 13th inst.; and the promoters thereof being men of enthusiasm and energy in such matters, we have no doubt they will succeed in raising a handsome contribution for the object.