In fact, who has heard much of Irishmen in New England until the present generation? As in New England, so throughout the Colonies. The Virginia Cavalier was not less hostile to the Irish than the Massachusetts Puritan. Should the American-Irish Historical Society go out of existence to-night, it would have already accomplished a grand mission in this: that it has brought forth from obscure records the deeds of Irishmen in America, and has laid the foundation for the erection of an historical monument to Irishmen that, with its base laid in colonial times, and still being constructed, challenges the respect and admiration of all lovers of American history. The work of this society has been thus far practically confined to research of New England records. This research has been fruitful of good results. Among other things we learn of the Irish as brickmakers of Rehoboth and settlers in Salem and Lynn in early colonial times. Again, we learn that the Irish in the Granite State had become so numerous in colonial times that the General Court of Massachusetts passed a law prohibiting the “wild Irishmen of New Hampshire” from coming across the state line, lest they should drive out the people of the older colony. As long as that state shall last the glory and the fame of the Sullivans and their contemporaries of the Irish race will remain illustrious. The history of Irishmen in Maine will be dwelt upon in the address of one of the gentlemen who is to follow on the program. This research has extracted from the records of Rhode Island the influence of the Irish schoolmaster, McSparren, in moulding the intellectual development of that colony; it has called attention to the work of Bishop Berkely in the promotion of education there, and what is to me, personally, exceedingly pleasant information, that Brown University, my beloved Alma Mater, in its infancy was succored by the contributions of worthy people residing in Ireland. The work of presenting to the world the achievements of Irishmen in America, in its just proportion to the achievements of men of other races in the colonization, struggle for independence, and the creation of a republic, the development of that republic from a theory into a concrete nation, and the perpetuation of that nation, is a duty not only to the men whose deeds are to be chronicled, but also a debt which we owe to ourselves, which we should cheerfully assume. The labor involved in this from its very nature is such as can only be performed by an organization such as the American-Irish Historical Society.