ULSTER IN THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY
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and free laws. The material prosperity of Ulster is a thing very evident; it can be proved by statistics, or seen with the eye. It shows in the humble prosperity of the small farmers of County Down, with their carefully whitewashed cottages, and their carefully tended farms, cut up with their many hedgerows; in their balances in the bank at Belfast; their belief in the Orange Society; their deep attachment to the Presbyterian Church; their supreme ambition, like their brethren in Scotland, if it be possible, to breed a son who may "wag his pow in the pu'pit." King James was right when he insisted that the colonists should be fixed to the soil by leases for long terms of years, or for life. It shows in the well-ordered little country towns, with their broad streets, and well-built churches adorned with handsome spires; their busy weekly markets; and that surest sign of a high-class population,--their well-washed, clean-pinafored children. It shows in the perfervid energy of her greater towns, especially Belfast; in the genius which their inhabitants evince for business of all kinds; in their zeal for religion,--call it sectarianism if you will, the zeal shows at least vigour and intensity; in their desire for education, which must in course of time bring culture and refinement in its train. There may be many faults of passion and headstrong zeal in this Scottish Ulster, but there is what far more than compensates, there is the first necessity for a living organism,--abounding life. The master-mind of Oliver Cromwell grasped the...continue reading »
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Page 81
The Scot in Ulster:
Sketch of the History of the Scottish Population of Ulster
by John Harrison
1888