Irish people were among the pioneers in this country from almost the first settlement on the Atlantic coast, and continued until the line of immigration had crossed the continent to the Pacific. The Colonial records bear testimony that Irish people were here at an early period, and so many hamlets on the frontier were designated by distinctive Irish names that had we no other proof than these facts, we could not honestly divest ourselves of the conviction that Ireland contributed more in numbers for the development of this country than came from any other one source. Great injustice has been done the Irish people by depriving them of credit so justly due them. This has resulted partially from ignorance, but to a greater extent it is due to an influence exerted prior to the first settlement in this country. The purpose which prompts this injustice has been maintained through English influence, and has always been wanting so much in charity to the Irish people, that we can hope to accomplish little in any effort to establish the truth so long as individuals in this country are willing to have their judgment influenced by the policy of a foreign power. The same influence has been as actively engaged in claiming that we are English; that this country is consequently “a worthy daughter of a more worthy mother!” Yet my investigations have impressed me with the belief that of the seventy-five millions forming our present population, there are a far greater number of individuals who could be more certain of their African origin, than there are those who could prove a direct English descent. It is not sufficient to show proof of an ancestor sailing from an English port, as all such were rated during the seventeenth century as English, without reference to their nationality. Moreover the bearing of an English name would be no more conclusive, as we shall show that a large proportion of the “Wild Irish” were compelled by law to assume English surnames, which their descendants bear at the present time. I have no precise data bearing directly upon the earliest immigration of the Irish to this country, for none exists. On the other hand, the assertion that they were among the first settlers, and the most numerous afterwards, cannot be rejected or disproved. I will now very clearly show, as circumstantial evidence, that throughout the greater portion of the seventeenth century a dire provocation existed, and that the Catholics were driven out of Ireland by a persecution which has never been equaled. The world to-day is in ignorance of the fact, since a complete history of Ireland, and of the suffering borne by a majority of the people, has yet to be written.