Then Donald MacPherson stepped out to the front—
His walk it was awkward, his spache it was blunt;
And sez he:
"Maister Chairman an' freens, ye maun ken
A Scotchman is famed as a king among men!
There's nae place on earth that
auld Scotland surpasses
For big, buirdly men and for braw, sonsy lasses;
The snell win's o' Scotland bring tears tae yer e'e,
But she cures a' yer ills wi' her strong barley bree;
At fechtin', a Scotchman will ne'er cry "Enough!"
And in business it's kent that he's aye up tae snuff.
Yet he's modest, and patient, and cautious, and sly,
And his wit brichtly sparkles, though
sometimes gey dry;
He is sober, and kindly, and fond o' his hame,
And a guid cog o' parritch refreshes his wame!
Owre the hale o' the warl' jist cast ye an e'e,
And Sandy ye'll find at the tap o' the tree!
We have Members o' Parliament here o' oor ain,
For Peacock and Swanson are Scotch tae the bane;
Judge Gillies (a Scotchman) is first in the law;
The Anglican Bishop's a Scotchman an' a';
And what's better than that, ye'll allow me tae tell,
(In strict confidence though) I'm a Scotchman masell!
"Then I'll still praise my countrymen, canty and douce;
And I'll still praise the country o' Wallace and Bruce;
The land that breeds poets and patriots by turns—
The brave Colin Campbell, the true Rabbie Burns,
An' the bauld Watty Scott, an' a hunner an' mair
O' poets tae sing o' her lasses sae fair.
It's the land that surpasses a' lands put thegither;
Then here's tae its lakes, and its hills and its heather,
Its whusky and cakes—here's auld Scotland for ever!"
John Liddell Kelly was born near near Airdrie, Scotland on Feb. 19,
1850. He emigrated to New Zealand in 1880 where he worked as a journalist and
became assistant editor / editor of the Auckland Star; Auckland Observer; Lyttelton Times; and the New Zealand
Times, as well as publishing his own works.
