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4 Gaelic Society of Inverness.
leuni English, so that they may lie able when they grow up
to fight the battle of life, I am not at all certain that they
would not be able to fight this battle better, and with more hopes
of success, if they could speak not only English but Gaelic as well.
(Hear, hear.) Personally, I regret that T am not able to s])eak
Gaelic, and though, perhaps, I am now too old to hope to attain any
gi'eat result if I were to try and overcome this defect, I can only
trust that if, in years to come, it should be your wish to confer
the honour you have paid me on my son, 1 may be one of the
company who will listen to him making a Gaelic speech in this
room, even though I may have to get him to translate it afterwards
for my special benefit.
much struck—in spite of the
(Applause.) I have often been
concessions which were granted by
the Government in 1875 and 1878, practically teachers, even
when the children only understand Gaelic, make very little use of
that language in the schools— at the rapid strides which the
children make, and which speaks very highly both of the natural
sharpness and cleverness of Highland children, as well as the
trouble and jiatience which teachers must exercise to bring this
about. I remember one teacher in a Highland i)arish telling me
that though he himself was quite ignorant of Gaelic, he found the
children who attended his school very soon, by the help of the
ditterent i)icture majjs on the walls, and with a little patience on
his part, were able to understand and speak Englisli thoroughly.
The day for saying that a knowledge of Gaelic was any hindrance
to success in life is of the past. (Cheers.) Now that it is recognised
as one of the ancient languages, we shall find that these amongst
us who are not only able to s})eak, 1)ut read, and what I believe is
more diificult still, to spell Gaelic— (Laughter)—will be looked up
to as lieing a great deal superior to those poor unfortunates who
cannot do any one of them. (Cheers.) I was talking to our
Secretary the other day, and asked if it was not probable that we
could devote some of our funds towards forming a
for the promotion of Gaelic. He told me that at
bursary
present
we were hai'dly in a position to do so, and I wish to impress
upon you that the remedy for this lies in your own hands.
Those of you who are not memljtis jf this Society, I hope will
at once belong to it — (Applause)— and those of you who are
should try and pnsvail upoiv as many of your friends as you can
to join it, so that we may ha in a position not only to go on preserving
and publisliing works beai'ing on Gaelic literature in our
Transactions, Init that we shall be abk; togivc si>ecial prizes to the
poorer amongst our children for proficiency in tiiat language.