In his speech to his Birmingham oonstitnents on Wednesday, the
Home Secretary (Mr. Henry Matthews) denied altogether the claim of Ireland to a distinct national genius and life " He denied that Lord Roberts and Lord Wolseley were of a different nationality from Lord Clive ; Moore was of the same nation as Scott or as Byron and therefore when this plea of a different nationality was set up, he repudiated it entirely. There were found in Great Britain racial differences more marked than those which existed between Great Britain and Ireland,—far more marked and distinct than any which divided, say, Ulster from Scotland." There cannot be a doubt of it. Even the Scotch Highlanders are more distinct from the Scotch Lowlanders, than the Irish Celts from the Celts of Wales. The claim of Ireland to national traditions and customs of her own is indisputable. Her claim to any broad racial distinction is very disputable indeed.
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