Show the Irishman that a vice not indigenous to his
nation--for the rich and noble who are not so tempted are chivalrous
to an uncommon degree in their openness, bold sincerity, and adherence
to their word--has crept over and become deeply rooted in the poorer
people from the long oppressions they have undergone. Show them what
efforts and care will be needed to wash out the taint. Offer your aid,
as a faithful friend, to watch their lapses, and refine their sense of
truth. You will not speak in vain. If they never mend, if habit is too
powerful, still, their nobler nature will not have been addressed in
vain. They will not forget the counsels they have not strength to
follow, and the benefits will be seen in their children or children's
children.
Many say, "Well, suppose we do all this; what then? They are so fond
of change, they will leave us." What then? Why, let them go and carry
the good seed elsewhere. Will you be as selfish and short-sighted as
those who never plant trees to shade a hired house, lest some one else
should be blest by their shade?
It is a simple duty we ask you to engage in; it is, also, a great
patriotic work. You are asked to engage in the great work of mutual
education, which must be for this country the system of mutual
insurance.
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