THE RACES OF IRELAND.
(TO THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."1
Sta,—Perhaps you will kindly allow me to offer a few remarks regarding the letters that appeared recently in your interesting weekly. The confusion of thought betrayed by some of your correspondents on this subject is remarkable; and seemingly onr Professors are really of little use to us, for the lessons they teach are persistently ignored.
Your postscript to Mr. Yenning's letter is correct on the whole, but Why should we sacrifice accuracy for the sake of political. expediency, as you suggest, when you say that the North might be called " Saxon " and South "Celtic"! Broadly apeaking, the Irish people are Celto-Norse, this being the bulk compound racial element constituting the inhabitants of that country throughout. The whole trouble in Ireland is religious, eliminate that disturbing factor and there would be no trouble. When religion is BO degraded as to become an intriguing political factor it undoubtedly is a curse. as is clearly illustrated in the case of Ireland.
One of your correspondents says that the Highlanders 0, Scotland are purely Celtic. but this is far from the truth. Ethnologically, the Highlanders belong to the Gaelie-Scan- dinavinn race, as the place-names and the names of the people clearly demonstrate—this particularly with regard to the Western Isles, almost every one of which is called by a Norm name, whilst a large proportion of the Lowland names—place and personal—are Gaelic. The Highlanders do not call the Lowlanders " Sassemich." This word applies solely to the inhabitants of England: the word simply means Englishmen. I have never yet heard a Lowlander called Sassenach, and I am a Highlander and a Gaelic speaker. The main racial basis of the whole of Lowland Scotland is Pictish (Northern and Southern), which to-day is conclusively proved to have hoes Gaelic or Celtic; so that, taking the whole of the Scottish people together, it is pretty much the same right through, with the exception of a sprinkling on the East and South-I:1.4 coast of industrial elements from the Low Countries, who,. racial composition is said to be somewhat obscure.—! am.
5 East India Avenue, E.C. 3.
[We cannot continue this correspoudence.—Eo. Spectator.]
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