^><^ 
 
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 CJ5> 
 
 
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SPEECHES 
 
 ON THE 
 
 LEGISLATIVE ODEPENDENCE 
 
 OF 
 
 IRELAND. 
 
 WITH INTRODUCTOEY NOTES 
 
 BY 
 
 THOMAS FRANCIS MEAGHER. 
 
 REDFIELD, 
 
 no & 112 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK. 
 
 18 5 3. 
 
4'^S5l 
 
 Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1852, by 
 
 J. S. REBFIELD, 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Southern District of New York. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 ENGLISH LEGISLATION IN 1846— GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The potatoe blight — scientific opinions on it — extent and probable 
 causes of the disease — appearance in France, Holland, Belgium, 
 and America — meetings held in reference to it — measures suggested 
 to meet the crisis — drainage — closing the ports — public granaries, 
 &c., — demand for precautionary measures — conduct of Foreign 
 Governments under the calamity — Lord Cloncurry's letter to Sir 
 Robert Peel — Mansion House committee — resolutions denouncing 
 the Government — Lord John Russell bids for favor on the Corn 
 question — Parliament opens — the Queen's speech — resignation and 
 avowal of Sir R. Peel and Lord Stanley — Sir Thomas Freemantle's 
 Motions for Public "Works — Repeal Association — Mr. Grey Porter — 
 Mr. Bourke, of Hayes, and the Dublin Evening 3fail — extract from 
 Mr. Porter's pamphlet — Mr. Smith O'Brien's protest — policy of Lord 
 J. Russell o . . . 1 
 
 ARMS ACT— POLISH INSURRECTION. 
 
 Mayo election — famine fever — Sir James Graham's motion for 
 hospitals — food verstcs physic — opinions on the bill — Mr. Wakley's 
 speech in the House of Commons — state of the country — statement 
 of Countess of Glengall, Mr. Tabiteau, Mr. Kemmis, Mr. Howley 
 and others regarding landlord and tenant's " outrages " — Arms' Act 
 introduced into Parliament — its provisions — opinions on the bill — 
 Lord Melbourne's letter to the Repeal Association — the Sikhs incensed 
 against the British authorities — march to Peshawur — invasion of the 
 "British possessions" — loss of the Sikhs — vote of thanks from the 
 Lords and Commons to the Army in India — Mr. Bright presents a 
 petition against the vote — sudden rise of the Poles at Cracow — instal 
 a Provisional Government — GaUacia in " rebellion " — Veliska, 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGB 
 
 Sondez, Lembourg in the hands of the Poles — the Jews sustain the 
 Provisional Government with money — the Polish exiles in Paris 
 leave for the scene of action — xSO.OOO sent to the revolutionists from 
 the Polish nobles in Paris — the women in arms — patriotism of the 
 priests — the prayer at the altar — noble manifesto — the Austrians, 
 Russians, and Prussians, enter Cracovv' — vengeance of despotism — 
 depopulation of the land — assassination of Count Morska, brother 
 and mother — outrages on his wife — the wages of treason . . 18 
 
 POLITICAL ECON"OMY— MORALITY OF SELF-GO^TERI^MEFr. 
 
 Mr. Butt's lectures on political economy — protection to native 
 industry — Mr. Mitchel's speech — Earl Grey's speech on the "inquiry 
 into the state of Ireland " — Ireland the " deep blot " upon Britain 
 — the Duke of Wellington's opinion — caution to the House of 
 Lords . 34 
 
 EVIPRISON'MENT OF MR. SMITH O'BRIEI^ BY THE HOUSE 
 
 OF COMMOISTS. 
 
 Speaker's warrant of arrest for non-attendance on Parliamentary 
 Committees — supposition that Mr. Hume leagued with Mr. O'Connell 
 for the purpose of testing the warrant — power of the Commons to 
 coerce the Irish members — Mr. O'Connell refuses to obey the war- 
 rant — letters of Mr. Smith O'Brien and Mr. O'Connell, refusing to 
 serve on English railway committees — second letter of Mr. O'Brien — 
 reply of Mr. T, G, B, Estcourt, chairman of the selection committee 
 — the Commons order Mr. O'Brien to attend — his speech on the 
 occasion — Mr. Estcourt moved his arrest — opinions of members on 
 the motion — arrest of Mr. O'Brien — his letter to Mr. E. B. Roche — 
 recreancy of the Irish members — meetings in Ireland approving 
 Mr. O'Brien's course — extracts from addresses to him . . . 4t 
 
 ACCESSION" OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. 
 
 Powerless position of Sir Robert Peel — course of the Protectionists 
 — discussion on the first reading of the Coercion Bill — Protectionists 
 and leading Whigs oppose it on second reading — speech of Lord 
 George Bentinck — Mr. D'Israeli's charge against Sir R. Peel — Wliig 
 attempts to coalesce with the Repeal party — Mr. O'Connell's grati- 
 tude to them 64 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FREEDOM OF OPINIO^^— MORALITY OF WAR. 
 
 Desigued prolongation of the debate on the Coercion Bill — 
 Ministers defeated on the second reading — their resignation — speech 
 of Sir R. Peel on the occasion — Whig administration — promises of 
 Lord J. Russell — reinstates the Repeal Magistrates — Mr. O'Connell's 
 gratitude — Mr. R. L. Shiel resigns his seat for Dungarvon — selected 
 under the auspices of Mr. O'Connell — the "Peace Resolutions" in 
 Conciliation Hall, their nature — reason of their introduction — ^Mr. 
 O'Connell acts upon the statements of Lord J. Russell — opposition 
 of " Young Ireland " to the Whigs — they must be got rid of — the 
 "marked line" between "Young" and. "Old Ireland" — Mr, John 
 O'Connell reopens the " Physical Force " discussions — Messrs. 
 Mitchel, O'Brien and Meagher reply — speech of the latter inter- 
 rupted by Mr. O'Connell and proclaimed as "most dangerous" — 
 secession . . . . . 'JT 
 
 IRISH CONFEDERATIOIS^— I^ATIONAL UNIOK 
 
 Formation of the Irish Confederation — its principles — opposition 
 of the Confederates to place-hunting — Mr. O'Connell's encourage- 
 ment of it — his avowals — progress of the Famine — starvation of 
 laborers on the Public Works — noxious substitutes for food — excite- 
 ment in the County Kerry — " Bread or Blood" — letter of Mr. 
 Cummins, J.P., to the Duke of Wellington on the dreadful state of 
 Skibbereen — export statutes — presentment session statistics — sugges- 
 tion of Mr. Monsell to appropriate the money to Public Works — 
 requisition of the Irish Peers, and meetings of the landholders, 
 magistrates, clergy, &c., seconding the proposition — speeches at the 
 meeting in Dublin — Hogan's" statue of O'Connell — Father Front's 
 description of it — Irish friars in Rome 91 
 
 GALWAY ELECTIOIT— STRUGGLE AGAIIs'ST ENGLAND. 
 
 Sir Valentine Blake resigns his seat for Galway — a Repeal and a Whig 
 candidate present themselves — Lord Clanricarde compels his ten- 
 antry to vote for the government candidate — the laborers on the 
 Public Works coerced into voting likewise — the W^hig returned . 112 
 
 LANDLORD COERCION — GOVERNMENT COERCION. 
 The Galway election continued .... ... 118 
 
Vl CONTENTS. 
 
 miSH PAUPERISM— OUT DOOR RELIEF. 
 
 The cook of the Reform Club inyents an. economic soup — proposes to 
 feed the people of Ireland — the same approved of — government 
 sends him to Ireland — medical opinion on the soup — inauguration 
 of the soup kitchen at Dublin — experiment with it — model beggars 
 — Sir Richard Musgrave's recommendation to hungry people — 
 fatality of the famine — letters of Dr. Trail and Rev. Mr. O'Driscoll — 
 meeting of the Dublin employers — speech of Mr. Fitzgibbon — prac- 
 tical plan to feed the people . . . . . . . .123 
 
 AMERICAN BENEVOLENCE— IRISH GRATITUDE. 
 
 Arrival of food in Ireland from America — banquet to Captain Clarke 
 of the Victor, and presentation of an Irish Flag to the ladies of 
 America by the citizens of Dublin ....... 140 
 
 PLACE BEGGING— SELF-RELIANCE. 
 
 The approach of a general election — the Irish Confederati'on will 
 support only the anti-Place-begging candidates — place-hunting and 
 patriotism incompatible — meeting in Cork seconding the Confedera- 
 tion — Mr. O'Connell's health declines — goes to Europe — dies at 
 Genoa 144 
 
 DECLARATION OF RIGHTS— RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 
 
 Meeting in Cork to form a branch of the Confederation — opposition of 
 dissentient parties. — Death of Pope Gregoiy XVI. — enthusiastic 
 election of Cardinal Ferretti to the papacy — Reform movements of 
 Pius IX. — political amnesty — state pageantry diminished — public in- 
 struction — popularity of the Pope — the Sacred College oppose the 
 reform measures — reply of Pius IX. to the cardinal — circular to the 
 governors of Roman States — schools for the education of the people 
 — continued opposition of the Cardinals — Cardinals replaced by a 
 Consulta di Stato — overtures for a federative union in Italy — opposi- 
 tion of the Neapolitan Court — diminution of crime — reorganization 
 of the Papal army — banquet of the middle classes — excitement at 
 the Palazzo Borghese — sympathy of Charles Albert — recalls Count 
 Broglia — growth of the revolutionary spirit — display in Genoa — 
 secret proclamation — popular enthusiasm at Romagna, Forli, Rimini, 
 Ravenna, &c. — " Death to the strangers " — popular manifestation at 
 
CONTENTS. ni 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Pisa on the arrival of the Archduke Ferdinand d'Este — explosion in 
 the palace — increase of Austrian troops — a French yice-consul 
 placed at Ferrara — organisation of the National Guard — Austrians 
 enter some of the Roman towns — discovery of a dangerous plot — 
 arrest of Cardinal Freddi — the Austrian occupation of Ferrara pro- 
 tested against — Pius IX. preaches self-reliance — proclamations — 
 Austrians overrun Ferrara — possess themselves of the public places 
 — Cicerouacchio — Count Auersperg adopts hostile measures at 
 Ferrara — indignation of the Italians — camp at Forli — the friars of 
 Perugia in arms — Charles Albert protests against Austrian aggres- 
 sion — offers his army and navy to the Pope — national activity at 
 Piedmont, Bologna, Pisa, Florence — marching for Ferrara — the 
 Cabinet at Vienna regret the occupation, and throw the blame on 
 Radetzky 156 
 
 SPIRIT OF THE IS^ORTH— EUROPEAN" EXAMPLES. 
 
 Deputation of Confederates in Belfast — opposition of the O'Connell- 
 ites — policy and principles of the Confederation . . . .173 
 
 OPENING- OF THE GRATTAN CLUB, DUBLIN. 
 
 The Cause — Club organization — creed of Liberty — no leadership — " no 
 despotism by committee " — memories of Grattan . . . .193 
 
 POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 Mr. Mitchel renounces connexion with the Nation newspaper — his 
 letter to the Editor of that paper — Mr. Mitchel believes the endea- 
 vors of the Confederation " to combine the classes " futile — he 
 enters warmly into the meetings of the Irish Council — his opi- 
 nions on the Poor-law, Native industry. Tenant-right, Relief mea- 
 sures, etc. — to feed the people, no new resources needed — his 
 disappointment at the course of the Irish Council — the Coercion 
 Bill — opinions regarding it — Mr. Mitchel's speech on it — ]\[r. Devin 
 Reilly withdraws from the Nation — his letter — Mr. Smith O'Brien 
 desires to test the principles of the Confederation — Mr. O'Brien's 
 resolution — debate — adoption of the resolution . . . 203 
 
VIU CONTENTS. 
 
 WA.TERFORD ELECTIOK 
 
 Vacancy in the representation of "Waterford — three candidates in the 
 field — Mr. Meagher's address to the electors — the O'Connellites and 
 priests supj)ort a Government pensioner — return of Sir W. H. 
 Barron 219 
 
 LETTER TO THE GOUJ^CIL OF THE IRISH CONFEDERATIOK 
 Congratulations to France 231 
 
 THE FRENCH REVOLUTION— APPEAL TO ARMS. 
 
 Reform banquets in France — King's address to the new Chamber-— 
 angry debate on it — the right of assembly demanded — banquet of 
 the 12th arrondissement prohibited — precautionary measures of the 
 ministry — 50,000 men around Paris — 22nd February, gatherings of 
 students — anxiety of the people — the Marseillaise — 30,000 men 
 knock at the Chamber of Deputies — the attack — collisions between 
 the people and the soldiers — the barricades — " the head of Guizot " 
 — incident at the Hotel des Affaires Etrangeres — Guizot in the 
 Chamber — M. Odillon Barrot impeaches the ministry — division in 
 the Opposition — weakness of M. Barrot — addresses from the pro- 
 vinces — perseverance of the people — barricades — affair at the Filles 
 du Cabraires — General Sebastiani killed — fraternization of the Na- 
 tional Guard with the people — dismissal of ministers — affair at the 
 hotel of M. Guizot, fifty-two killed — the torch-light funeral — " Veti- 
 geance " — night in Paris — " Have you arms ?" — M. Thiers — proclama- 
 tion — the prisons unbarred — demolition of the Guard House — the 
 Palais Royal taken — the Tuilleries gutted — abdication and flight of 
 the King — burning of the throne — Duchess of Orleans in the Chamber 
 — proclamation of a Republic — provisional government — adhesions 
 
 to the Republic. rinsurrection in Sicily — flight of Marshal Landi 
 
 — exhortations of the Clergy — patriotism of the Sicilian women — 
 Maria Testa di Lana — provisional government — bombardment of 
 
 Palermo — decrees of concession from the King. Ireland, change 
 
 in the policy of the Confederation — preparations for the massacre 
 of the citizens of Dublin — occupation of public buildings by the 
 soldiers — state of siege — proclamation of the Confederation . . 234 
 
CONTENTS. IX 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SYMPATHY OF FRANCE. 
 
 Irish Confederation address the French Republic — Irish deputation 
 proceed to Paris — rumors of the English press — reception of the 
 Irish deputies by M. de Lamartine— English nature of his reply — 
 Sir George Grey echoes the falsehoods of the press in Parliament — 
 Mr. O'Brien's bold explanation — French aid, not sought for — Irish 
 freedom by Irish courage — falsehood and prevarication of M. de 
 Lamartine in his words and writings — his statements refuted . . 255 
 
 PRESENTATION OF THE IRISH TRICOLOR. 
 
 Return of the deputies from France — memories of a revolutionary 
 city — signification of the Irish tricolor ...... 262 
 
 VINDICATION OF SEDITION. 
 
 Arrest of Messrs. O'Brien, Mitchel, and Meagher — approval of Nation- 
 alists of their conduct — invited to a banquet in Limerick — assailed 
 by the O'Connellites, instigated by a priest — ^military called out — 
 sedition no crime 263 
 
 TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 
 
 Treason-Felony bill — remarks of Mr. "W. J. Fox upon it — provisions of 
 the bill — arrest of Mr. Mitchel on two charges of "felony" — hig 
 trial, conviction, and sentence — hurried off in irons — -jury packing — 
 statement of the Confederation in reference to Mr. Mitchel's trial — 
 extracts from the English press on the jury-packing system — reasons 
 for opposing a rescue — depression — the "black ship upon the 
 southern sea" — the return of the exile ...... 269 
 
 LETTERS ON THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION— FIRST LETTER. 
 
 Different agencies of revolution — military and political — treaties of 
 Vienna and Chaumont — balancing of European interests — disposal 
 of Belgium — policy of the Dutch government — ^list of grievances — 
 exclusion of Belgians from various offices — transference of the 
 Supreme Court from Brussels to The Hague — suppression of the 
 Flemish tongue — imposition of taxes — enactment of statutes inter- 
 fering with the national religion — first symptoms of the storm . . 281 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 SECOND LETTER. 
 
 Pains and penalties — disaifection spreads — "seditious meetings" — 
 speeches — pamphlets — propagandism by the press — the Dutch 
 government hire an Italian spy to write down the "rebels" — scene 
 at the Opera — "people take the field" — first blow struck — Govern- 
 ment try a trick or two — the Dutch king, visits Liege — rejection of 
 petitions — the " Order of Infamy " 288 
 
 THIRD LETTER. 
 
 French Revolution of '30 — effect in Brussels — the fire spreads — the 
 King negotiates — burgher guard enrolled — "higher orders" hold 
 back — a few words on aristocracy 294 
 
 FOURTH LETTER. 
 
 Popular excesses — ^no disparagement to liberty — conceit of piety — the 
 fight warms — citadels, royal palaces, and cities made over to the 
 " rebels " — lessons taught thereby to other people — the tricolor of 
 Brabant flies from the tower of St. Gudule— the Dutch govern- 
 ment gives in — "concession has not reached its limits" — "the 
 royal heart bleeds " — the most benevolent measures proposed and 
 rejected— inflexibility of the people— the ball kept going— the 
 game won 
 
 300 
 
 "THE RED ABOVE THE GREEK" 
 
 English anniversaries — patriotism of the Dublin drawing-rooms and 
 theatres — homage to the Red flag — prizes won by Nelson — memories 
 of '82, '98 — Irish Brigade — Clontarf — the fashion and the beggary of 
 Ireland S07 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Resolutions of the Common Council of New York on the arrival of 
 T. F. Meagher — deputation at the Astor House — presentation of 
 address and resolutions — Mr. Meagher's replies — declines public 
 procession and hospitalities of the city . . . . . .311 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 -^- 
 
 In coming to the resolution of publishing these speeches, 
 I have been chiefly influenced by the desire of placing 
 upon record, in a permanent form, the opinions that led 
 me, though various changes of fortune and of climate, to 
 this Eepublic. 
 
 The anxiety will not be censured which induces me to 
 save from injury the proofs of an interest, early taken in 
 the condition of my Native Land. Nor will it be wholly 
 ascribed to vanity, if the hope escapes me, that, even yet, 
 these words of mine may conduce to her advantage. 
 
 To some extent, the speeches may be considered out of 
 date. The tone, inspired by a people in the attitude of 
 resistance, sounds strangely upon the ear when the chorus, 
 which hailed the coming of the contest, has ceased — and 
 the fire upon the altar has been extinguished. 
 
 To revive in Ireland the spirit which, in the summer of 
 1848, impetuously sought to clear a way, with an armed 
 hand, to the destiny that lay beyond an intervening camp 
 and throne, may be for the time forbidden. 
 
 But, in the pursuit of humbler blessings — in the endur- 
 ance even of defeat — the vices, which adversity engen- 
 ders or exasperates, may be resisted — hope, activity, and 
 
XU PREFACE. 
 
 courage be awakened — all those virtues be restored and 
 nourished, wMch, in a loftier mood, were loved so dearly 
 for the strength and ornament they bestovred. 
 
 The suppression of sectarian feuds — the blending of the 
 various races that have at different seasons been cast upon 
 our soil, and have taken root therein — the love of truth, 
 liberality, and labor — the necessity of disinterestedness, 
 integrity, and fortitude amongst the people — the neces- 
 sity of a high order of intellect, honor, and propriety 
 amongst our public men — these were the lessons taught — ■ 
 these the virtues encouraged and enforced — when, break- 
 ing through a corrupt system of politics, the young 
 Democracy of Ireland claimed for their country, the rank 
 and title which was her's by natural law, by covenant, and 
 prescription. 
 
 Such lessons are still profitable, and may still be needed. 
 Such virtues are still in requisition, and should still be 
 cherished. Wherever — within the gates, by the rivers, 
 amongst the ruins, amid the mountains, of the old land — 
 the former are forgotten, or the latter lie entranced, these 
 echoes of a voice once known, may waken the memory 
 that slumbers — the morality that degenerates. 
 
 Amongst my countrymen in America, I believe, this 
 volume will find favor. If for no other reason, it will be 
 kindly thought of, for the memories, the sympathies, the 
 longings out of which it has grown — and the wreck of 
 which it is a fragment. 
 
 There are homes, however, in which it may prove some- 
 thing more than an idle relic. It may put forth a healing 
 power — may rouse a faltering love — an expiring faith — 
 may warm the desponding heart, and set its currents flow- 
 
PREFACE. xili 
 
 ing — may, witli tlie genial magic of some familiar hymn, 
 touch the imprisoned mind, and restore it to the sunshine 
 of its early skies. 
 
 To those citizens of the Republic who are bound by no 
 ties of birth to Ireland, yet are moved by a generous 
 spirit of inquiry to explore the mystery of her misfortune, 
 the following pages may to some extent explain the cir- 
 cumstances which preceded and provoked the attempt 
 last made to free her, and the frustration of which has 
 thrown upon the shores, and scattered through the cities 
 of this great commonwealth, so many of her children. 
 
 Thomas Francis Meagher. 
 
 Irving Place, JVeio YorJc, 
 
 November 10th, 1852. 
 
INTHODUCTION. 
 
 In the year 1176, the Norman adventurers landed in 
 Ireland. Their object was plunder, lust, and conquest. 
 They wrought their work, with sword and flame, and 
 without faith or mercy. 
 
 They met a stern resistance, however, and their foothold 
 for centuries, was narrow, slippery, and precarious. The 
 conflict with native valor, was obstinate and enduring. 
 Six hundred years of strife, left the question of supremacy, 
 undecided. 
 
 At the end of that long period of confiscation, treachery, 
 and blood, Ireland was still mistress of her own destiny. 
 Partially betrayed, sacked, and stricken down, she never 
 had been despoiled of the attributes of nationhood. In 
 1T9T, she had an Army, a Navy, a Flag, a Parliament, a 
 power, and a will of her own. 
 
 This was a singular spectacle, almost a miraculous one 
 — in the presence of England, an intolerable result, after 
 an expenditure of so much treasure, and life, and crime. 
 Baffled in the field, bafi&ed in council, baffled in diplomacy, 
 her strength defied, her treachery defeated, England had 
 recourse to a last desperate and licentious effort. 
 
 She succeeded, and in consummating the act of Union, 
 consummated the ruin of the Irish nation. Ireland was 
 at last discrowned. She lost her Flag, her Army, her 
 Senate — her Strength, her People, and her Name. 
 
XVI INTEODUCTION. 
 
 How England accomplislied lier object, it is needless to 
 tell. The details, if relevant, would be repulsive. Of 
 its moral obligation and binding force, William Saurin, 
 one of its opponents, altliougli a servant of the Crown, 
 thus speaks : — 
 
 " You may make the Union binding as a law, but you 
 cannot make it obligatory in conscience. It will be 
 obeyed so long as England is strong ; but resistance to it 
 will be in the abstract a duty." 
 
 This high sentiment — the prophecy of genius — survived 
 the wreck as the beacon of national salvation. It soon 
 flashed into a broad purpose. 
 
 The " Eepeal of the Union" was the first object filling 
 the measure of the patriot heart. In 1810, Mr. O'Connell 
 assigned it preeminence over Eeligious Liberty. In 
 1812-'13, he again repeated his preference. In 1830, he 
 proclaimed it as the first utterance of the liberated Catho- 
 lics. In 1831, an organized confederacy grew into for- 
 midable existence — animated and directed by the hope it 
 inspired. 
 
 Soon afterwards, it ceased to be heard as a rallying cry; 
 but the spirit it awoke was the most active and audible 
 within the island. As a challenge to action, it was hushed 
 — but only to be born as a prouder passion. 
 
 During this period, while Mr. O'Connell was yielding to 
 an experiment — of whose failure he was thoroughly con- 
 scious — a treacherous and ruinous influence found its way 
 into the working details. Government patronage shed its 
 seeds in the hearts of the people. 
 
 A fatal curse, wherever it prevails. In Ireland, the 
 traces of it are indelibly marked in her misery and shame. 
 
 While it was eating into her vitals, it became apparent 
 to all, that Mr. 0' Council's experiment, as he had foreseen, 
 was a mockery, and again, in 1839, he revived the national 
 organization for the " Repeal of the Union." 
 
INTRODUCTION. XTU 
 
 Altliougli the sentiment was but the expression of tlie 
 cherished hope of the country, still the great bulk of the 
 people, to whom Mr. O'Connell's counsels of expediency 
 were not intelligible, stood aloof for a while, doubting 
 and distrusting. This distrust did not for a moment 
 attach personally to the champion of the cause, or question 
 his sincerity. The doubt was whether the 'M^epeal of the 
 Union " was an end or a means. Whether owing to this or 
 some other cause, the new association made slow progress 
 during the first two or three years. 
 
 About this time, a new element breathed itself silently 
 into the organization. Heretofore it consisted for the most 
 part of politicians. 
 
 " Politician," suggests the idea of contempt as well as 
 power. When attached to a great man, the idea of power 
 preponderates — when to a little man, contempt. So uni- 
 versal is this belief, that politicians themselves are first 
 and loudest in welcome of men not belonging to their 
 class — thus doing homage to patriotism, purer and loftier 
 than their own. Through this channel of feeling, the 
 richest and ripest glories shed their warmth and light on 
 the struggling Repeal Association. 
 
 Thomas Davis, a student of Trinity College, whose 
 aspirations of courage, hope, love, and truth, were cur- 
 tained by the College wall, and there only breathed to his 
 most cherished friends, found his way to the Association. 
 He owned nothing in common with its exterior conforma- 
 tion — its formulas of action or routine functions — but his 
 enthusiasm grasped its undefined soul. Its outward linea- 
 ments were to him imperceptible, while holding communion 
 with its disembodied aim. That aim he sought to impreg- 
 nate with indestructible vitality. Sedulously, noiselessly, 
 and successfully, he was moulding to his wishes the inert, 
 and the sternest elements of the Association. 
 
 But the first great impulse of the organization dates 
 
 '%}». 
 
XYlll INTRODUCTION. 
 
 from the debate in tlie Dublin Corporation, on tlie 28th 
 day of February, 1843. 
 
 The Corporation contained antagonistic parties. It 
 was a deliberative assembly. Almost every party had 
 representatives there. It was not impelled by popular 
 passions. It was an arena not alone for deliberation, but 
 dissent, and from the presence there of some of Ireland's 
 most gifted intellects, an opportunity was presented for 
 testing the reasons which could be urged against, as well 
 as in favor of " Kepeal." 
 
 Mr. O'Connell introduced the question. His speech 
 was a miracle of power. It surpassed every effort of his 
 varied and wonderful career. Its bases were as inde- 
 structible as the foundations of the island. 
 
 Mr. Butt, a man possessing unsullied personal charac- 
 ter, cultivated intellect, and rare eloquence, attempted to 
 reply. But his shafts, however keenly edged, glanced as 
 if from a marble block or a shield of polished steel. No 
 conclusion of Mr. O'Counell's was disturbed. The struc- 
 ture of his argument was solid, massive, impregnable, 
 unassailable. 
 
 From that moment, the feelings of the nation swelled into 
 one current, and swept irresistibly forward. The organi- 
 zation embraced the island — its strength, its purpose, its 
 intelligence, its pulsations, and its breath of life. The 
 vigor of manhood, the yearning of boyhood, the soft, 
 silent prayer of womanhood, rolled along in that resist- 
 less tide. No nation ever yet presented a grander moral 
 spectacle. 
 
 In the hot exulting breath of an uprising people, the 
 seeds of corruption withered. Ireland insensibly assumed 
 the attitude and the attributes of nationality. The word 
 of the Association became her law. No hall could enclose 
 the multitudes enrolled in the national conscription, and 
 they assembled on her immemorial hills. The people sup- 
 
INTRODUCTION. XIX 
 
 plied a revenue averaging .£1,000 per week, which was 
 again appropriated to the diffusion of knowledge, the 
 repression of tyranny, and the extension of the organiza- 
 tion. The Government, the Parliament, the Courts of 
 Law, w^ere nearly superseded by a moral combination, 
 having no agency but a superior virtue. The spell of this 
 element acknowledged no confines. 
 
 It thrilled to the soul of France, and her bravest spirits 
 grasped their swords and purse to fling them in the scale. 
 America, with a graver sympathy, responded to it, remem- 
 bering her own suffering, daring, and trials. It rose to the 
 foot of Mont Blanc, and murmured along the Rhine. 
 
 All this took place in three years from the date of the 
 Corporation Debate. It was encountered, too, by the pro- 
 scription of one government, and the coercion of another. 
 
 In the shadow of this gigantic enterprise, the birth of 
 a new spirit and new era was tended by Thomas Davis, 
 and his young brotherhood of orators and poets. He 
 evoked from the history, the traditions, the passions, the 
 beauty, the chivalry, the genius of the country, all that 
 could elevate and inspire, and poured it over the hearts 
 of his cotemporaries in a flood of song. 
 
 Out of this the sentiments of true nationality sprung. 
 The young men who followed him and won his love, saw 
 their country not triumphing over a parliament restored, 
 but a full and perfect national sovereignty eternally 
 secured. Mr. O'Connell, as if conscious of this pervading 
 principle, and anxious to be its interpreter, pronounced 
 his memorable challenge to the Government, at the Mallow 
 meeting, on the 10th of June, 1843. 
 
 The Government accepted this challenge in a different 
 sense and spirit. They determined to combat Mr. O'Con- 
 nell in the courts of law. 
 
 An indictment for conspiracy was framed, and on the 
 first of October, 1843, Mr. O'Connell was held to bail. 
 
XX ' INTRODUCTION. 
 
 On that and the succeeding days, eight others, incUiding 
 his son and two Roman Catholic clergymen, were placed 
 under arrest. 
 
 From that time forward, the bolder energies of the 
 Association were engaged in resisting the prosecution. 
 Its treasury was exhausted, its intellect dissipated, and its 
 strength expended on quibbles of law. It was discom- 
 fited, and on the 30th of May, 1844, Mr. O'Connell, with 
 his son and five others of his associates, slept within a 
 prison. 
 
 This event brought gloom everywhere. For the cause, 
 however, it had no terrors. On the contrary, within the 
 circle of the Association, it supplied new energy. 
 
 A rumor obtained currency that it would be dispersed 
 at the point of the bayonet. William Smith O'Brien had 
 joined during the trials. His energy of character and 
 stern will won for him the love of the entire body. They 
 would have accorded him the place of honor and of peril 
 with one voice, on the day they were menaced with vio- 
 lence, but he generously yielded a post which so many 
 were emulous to fill. 
 
 Under his auspices, the Association progressed with a 
 surer, truer, and steadier aim than ever it did before. 
 The organization was perfected. The young, the gene- 
 rous, and the gifted, clustered round the new chief, who 
 labored to exalt their genius, and give their talents a 
 practical direction. 
 
 Thus the passions of youth, the pride of literary attain- 
 ments, the loftiest inspirations of genius, and the spirit 
 of song, became absorbed in patriotism. Under this 
 aspect it won the admiration and respect of all. 
 
 Meantime an appeal, from the judgment on O'Connell, 
 was made to the House of Lords. Their lordships reversed 
 the judgment, and liberated the prisoners after an im- 
 prisonment of fourteen weeks. This was regarded as a 
 
INTRODUCTION. Xxi 
 
 * wondrous triumph ; and so it was, but it revealed a fact 
 of fearful omen. 
 
 The O'Connell who entered the prison never came forth 
 again. His high purpose, his indomitable courage, had 
 succumbed. He returned to the scene of his labors, trials, 
 and triumphs, tame in purpose and in heart. The man 
 had sunk within him, and his subdued feeling communi- 
 cated its influence to the action of the Repeal Association. 
 
 He retired to his native mountains, and there evinced a 
 desire to fall back on a policy, short of his former aspir- 
 ations. Dissent followed. He again retracted, but a 
 backward step is not to be recovered. 
 
 Besides, new causes of dissension arose. They were 
 very trifling, however, and attended with no serious results. 
 The Association remained steady in its great purpose. 
 
 A new organisation, more select, more refined, more in- 
 fluential than the Association itself — the '82 Club — was 
 formed. This body was sacred from polemical discussion, 
 or any other question which could disturb its brotherhood. 
 Before it was yet a year old, it became the medium of a 
 public display, intended and calculated, if the thing were 
 possible, to revive the action of the Association. 
 
 The anniversary of the imprisonment was declared sacred 
 to Liberty, and it was resolved that the nation should come 
 to honor the liberated chief and his associates. 
 
 The Round Room of the Dublin Rotunda was selected 
 for the gorgeous pageant. There sat Mr. O'Connell, as if 
 on a throne, surrounded by the members of the Club in 
 their brilliant uniform, while deputations from city and 
 province, and county, and corporations, and from other 
 provincial boards, did him kingly homage. On that day 
 Dublin presented a spectacle of grandeur such as was never 
 witnessed there, before or since. 
 
 A meeting of the leaders of the Association, the Club, and 
 the deputations, was held in an adjoining room, at which 
 
xxii INTROI>UCTION. 
 
 an irrevocable pledge was solemnly adopted, never to aban- 
 don the struggle for nationality. To this pledge, Daniel 
 O'Connell's was the first signature. Those of some hun- 
 dred others followed. It remains yet to be redeemed. 
 
 After the Eotunda display, an imperceptible reaction 
 set in. The dissensions in the Association were not 
 revived, but the elements of distrust were becoming pal- 
 pable and menacing. Religious partialities and prejudices 
 became more distinct and dangerous. 
 
 In one night, a sudden blight overspread the land, 
 and in its breath the entire supply of food for 8,000,000 
 perished. The blow was not immediately felt, nor even 
 comprehended. God, who inflicted the terrible dispensa- 
 tion, spared the people the full revelation of its horrors. 
 But a presentiment of the coming woes seems to have 
 excited the irritability of all parties. 
 
 The dark hand of Government was felt everywhere, 
 awaking and fanning the flames of discord and internecine 
 strife. Religion, politics, personality, combined to bring 
 the chiefs into conflict, and the nation to ruin. 
 
 Amid these discordant elements, the heart, and voice, 
 and pen of Thomas Davis were tasked to the uttermost to 
 restore union, cordiality, and brotherly love. Never did 
 genius or truth assert a brighter future, than when she 
 flashed from his pen in the din of these unnatural passions. 
 
 But, alas ! in this his hour of highest pride, the eagle 
 was struck down. The news of his illness had not 
 reached his friends, when his heart and voice were hushed 
 for ever. He passed into a better world on the 16th of 
 September, 1845. 
 
 The death of Thomas Davis was an unspeakable cala- 
 mity. Never did heavier one fall upon a doomed nation. 
 It was in this hour of gloom, in the first wreck of such 
 brilliant hopes, the opening speech of the following col- 
 lection was spoken. 
 
NOTE. 
 
 In the collection and arrangement of the notes, prefacing the following 
 
 Speeches, I have been greatly assisted by my friend, Me. John Savage ; 
 
 and feel sincere pleasm'e in acknowledging the kind and patient industry 
 
 he bestowed upon them. 
 
 T. R M. 
 
SPEECHES. 
 
 -^»» 
 
 ENGLISH LEGISLATION.— GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL 
 
 SPIRIT. 
 
 Conciliation HalJ^ Dublin^ IQth Fehruary^ 1846. 
 
 [In the autumn of 1845, the potato Lliglat attracted tlie public 
 attention. In September *' several samples of potatoes from the sur- 
 rounding country" were exhibited before the magistrates of St. Ives 
 ** all much diseased — a fearful calamity for the country, as it appears 
 to pervade nearly all parts of England." {Bedford Mercury, Eng., Sept, 
 1845.) The same anxiety and convictions, in a greater or lesser degree, 
 were expressed by all the English journals. Tlie same month, date 
 13th, Lord Portman, President of the Royal Agricultural Society, in a 
 letter to William Herapath, Esq., the Analytical Chemist of Bristol, says, 
 « "As I am specially bound, during this year of my holding the office of 
 President of tlie Royal Agricultural Society of England, to promote inquiry 
 and to notify observations on subjects relative to the produce of the soil, I 
 trouble you with this letter, and ask if any method has occurred to you by 
 which the potato may be preserved for the planting of 1846. * * ■«■ J 
 apply to you as one of our most eminent chemists upon this point." Mr. 
 Herapath summed up his opinion thus — " I do not think it would be either 
 safe or prudent to depend upon the infected potatoes of the present season's 
 seed for the next year." Dr. Varlez writing in the Belgian Moniteur, 
 about the same period, says, " After having been exposed to this tempera- 
 ture (something less than 180° Fahr.) for a few minutes, a copious black 
 matter oozed out of the potatoes, and they emitted a nauseous fetid 
 smell." The Very Rev. Dr. M'Evoy, P. P., Kells, (Co. Westmeath) writing 
 to the FreemarCs Journal, says, "On my most minute personal inspection 
 
 1 
 
2 ' ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 of the state of the potato crop in this most fertile potato-growing locale, is 
 lounded my inexpressibly painful conyiction that one family in twenty of 
 the people will not have a single potato left on Christmas day next." Mr. 
 Horace Townsend writing to the Southern Reporter, says, " I have found no 
 
 field without the disease." October 18th, at a Special Meeting of the 
 
 Council of the Eoyal Agricultural Improvement Society of Ireland, at 
 which were present, Sharman Crawford, Sir Percy ISTugent, Bart., J. Bolton 
 Massy, ex-Lord Mayor Roe, John Sproule, &c., Robert (now Sir Robert) 
 Kane, M.D , Chairman of the sub-Committee of Inquiry into the Potato rot, 
 reported that, after sitting two days, the Committee, from the difficult nature of 
 their inquiry, could not report anything definite. George Alexander Hamil- 
 ton, M.P., in a letter to the Secretary, suggested " that the Council should 
 take means for bringing the subject before the Lord Lieutenant, in the hope 
 that Government might take some steps to make provision against the immi- 
 nent famine." The reports of the Secretaries of the different local Farm- 
 ing Societies to the Royal Agricultural Society, confirmed the fact of the 
 
 prevalency of the disease. The Secretary also received, by direction of the 
 
 Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, " the Report of the Com- 
 mission of Agriculture of the Province of Groningen, on the Disease Affecting 
 the Potato in the Netherlands." This report gave five, as the probable, 
 causes of the disease, among which were — the too rapid development of the 
 plant — the intense heat in the early summer of 1845 — the sudden change to 
 cold and rain. The character of the disease w^as the same as in other 
 coimtries. Several remedies for the disease were recommended, the 
 principal of which was " a drier atmosphere." The report remarked, that 
 rotten potatoes were hurtful not only to man but also to cattle, and that a 
 too frequent use of spoiled potatoes was equally dangerous to those who 
 
 made their sole food of them. October 21st, th^ Corporation of the City 
 
 of Dublin, at a Special Meeting for the purpose, appointed a Committee of 
 nine to inquire into and report on the potato disease. The most eminent 
 chemical and agricultural skill failed to stay the blight or protect the 
 plant. Already wheat had risen from 15s. to 20s. per quarter. {Mark 
 Lane Express, Oct 20, 1845.) Letters from Scotland told of the spread 
 of the blight in that country. In Ireland, a report from the Com- 
 missioners on the potato disease (Professors Kane, Lindley, and Playfair, 
 
 was laid before the Lord Lieutenant (Heytesbury), Oct. 24. The 
 
 statistics of the disease proved, almost to a certainty, that fully one-half 
 of the crop, on which millions of our countrymen are half-fed every 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIItlT. 3 
 
 year, was destroyed. There was not a county in Ireland in which the 
 potato-rot had not by this time appeared. It also was discovered in 
 France, Holland, Belgium, America, and wherever potatoes were cultivated. 
 The continental states, especially Belgium, had prohibited the exportation 
 of grain, meal, and flour. The Nation of this date, warning the landlords, 
 asks, " Can they hope, if the ordinary driving and grinding system be pur- 
 sued this cruel year, that agrarian outrage, even of a more combined and 
 extensive character than we have yet seen, will not stalk in blood and 
 
 terror over the land ?" Oct. 25th. Oct. 28th, A meeting of the Dublin 
 
 Corporation was held in reference to the potato blight. Oct. 30th, A 
 
 public meeting of the citizens of Dublin was called by the Lord Mayor at 
 the Music Hall, to take suitable measures to avoid the approaching famine. 
 The Duke of Leinster, Lord Cloncurry, Daniel O'Connell, M.P., Henry 
 Grattan, M.P., Admiral Oliver, &c., were present. A second Report of the 
 Commissioners (dated 29th Oct.) to the Lord Lieutenant was read. It 
 amounted to no practical use, being the explanation of certain chemical 
 experiments. Mr. O'Connell said, at this meeting, " he was grateful to the 
 government for giving so much attention to the subject, but was afraid it 
 would end in nothing." Mr. Henry Grattan suggested, that the Executive 
 should be called upon to lay an embargo upon the ports of Ireland. He 
 had gone through the counties of Monaghan, Armagh, Meatli, Kildare, 
 Cavan, Longford and Wicklow, and he found the disease rapidly progress- 
 ing. The Duke of Leinster believed in the "paternal care" of the govern- 
 ment. " He had heard much relative to the potato disease, but could 
 give no information ;" yet, as an " emergency was at hand," suggested a 
 Committee, to take into consideration the recommendation of Mr. Pierce 
 Mahoney, which was to the effect, that an extensive system of drainage 
 should be adopted by the government to give employment to the people. 
 Mr. O'Gorman, sen., was for making all the property in the country avail- 
 able for the people. Lord Cloncurry relied on the oat crop, if the Lord 
 Lieutenant shut up the ports and distillei'ies ; he felt that they should not 
 suffer the corn to go to England ; and that this famine could have been 
 prevented, years ago, had they instituted public granaries, as in Switzerland 
 
 and Germany. Nov. 3rd, a deputation, consisting of the Lord Mayor, 
 
 Duke of Leinster, Lord Cloncurry, Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Henry Grattan, and 
 others, waited on the Lord Lieutenant, Heytesbury. That official, in a 
 written reply, expatiated on the anxious attention of government, in sending 
 over from England scientific men to experimentalize on the potato. " They 
 
4 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 have not yet terminated tlieir inquiries," but then " there is no immediate 
 ■jfressure in the market." He would, however, lose no time in sub- 
 mitting the suggestions of the Deputation to the Cabinet. A Third 
 
 Report from the Commissioners (Nov. 3rd) was submitted. Same 
 date, at a meeting of the citizens of Dublin, Mr. James Haughton, a 
 corn merchant, regretted that Government was called upon to close 
 the ports. He would j^i'opose, that government should purchase and 
 store up at home, and from all parts of the world, a sufficiency. 
 He opposed Mr. O'Connell's proposition to raise money on credit of the 
 Woods' and Forests' income ; Government should advance the money, to 
 be paid by a tax after the peril had passed. Mr. J. Augustus O'Neill 
 remarked that the blight was not confined to Ireland, and that most of the 
 European ports, at that very moment, were closed for self-preservation ; and 
 further, that even from Odessa a report of the failure of the wheat crop 
 had arrived. Mr. Gordon hoped that measures would be taken for an 
 unconditional repeal of the restrictions on the importation of food, and 
 thus raise a supply. Mr. Dixon said that their former committee was 
 "bowed out of the Castle," and that the Queen's representative gave no 
 hope that the Government would advance a shilling — in fact, they were, 
 in effect, told to rely on their own resources. Mr. O'Connell was for free- 
 trade, but not to the exclusion of a question of famine. Ireland had to pay 
 tax on all foreign corn. England paid tax on foreign corn, but received 
 every grain from Ireland free. Mr. Birmingham was of opinion, that the 
 expression of Lord Clonbroek should be that of every landlord to his 
 tenants, " Touch not your oats ; don't take it out of your haggards, until 
 
 you are safe from the imminent peril that threatens you." Same date, 
 
 a meeting held by the citizens of Belfast, the Mayor presiding, called on 
 Government to close the ports. The Town Council of Londonderry 
 adopted a similar resolution. The Town Council of Waterford, the 
 inhabitants of Galway and other towns, held self-preservation meetings. 
 
 Mr. Smith O'Brien, in the Repeal Association (Nov. 8), demanded, as 
 
 one of the Representatives of the Irish people, that Parliament should be 
 
 convened before Christmas to consider the state of the country. The 
 
 voices of the four Provinces joined in demanding precautionarj* measures : 
 the non-exportation of domestic, and free importation of foreign grain. 
 The conduct of foreign governments showed the necessity .of immediate 
 action. The government of Belgium held her grain and opened her ports; 
 that of Holland did the same ; Russia did not hesitate to do the same. 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. 6 
 
 The Grand Seignior did the same. As early as the 22nd October, Artim 
 Bey, the prime minister of the Viceroy of Egypt, issued a notice that his 
 Highness, " ever studying the welfare of Egyj)t,-' decided on prohibiting 
 for the present, the exportation of all grain and pulse, in consequence of 
 the short crops. Lord Cloncurry, writing (Nov. '7) to Sir Robert Peel, then 
 prime minister, impressed on him the extent of the disease, and the fatality 
 attending delay. He spoke from a thorough knowledge of the facts, and 
 gave as his conviction, in unison with the Mansion House Committee, that, 
 it was "the imperative duty of Government to adopt some or all of the 
 following measures " — they were : The opening of the ports — Non-exporta- 
 tion — Diminution of the consumption of oats by the cavalry in Ireland — 
 Suspension of the distilleries — The raising of money (million and half), 
 chargeable upon Irish resources (Woods and Forests) — The formation of 
 granaries — and the immediate employment of the people on works of 
 general or local utility. Sir Robert Peel, in reply, begged to assure Lord 
 Cloncurry that the subject was occupying the unremitting attention of her 
 
 Majesty's confidential advisers. A fourth (Nov. 7) and a fifth (Nov. 12) 
 
 report of the Commissioners were submitted to the Lord Lieutenant. 
 
 The Mansion House Committee (Nov. 19), Lord Cloncurry in the chair, 
 ■unanimously adopted a series of resolutions, stating that no reasonable 
 conjecture could be formed, with respect to the limits of the effects of the 
 disease, short of the entire destruction of the potato crop. The fifth 
 resolution arraigned, in the strongest terms, the culpable conduct of the 
 Administration, for refusing to forward any alleviating measures. Also 
 for "the positive and unequivocal crime of keeping the ports closed against 
 foreign provisions." The sixth denounced the criminality of the Ministers 
 of the Crown, in leaving the ports open to the exportation of the most 
 abundant Irish oat crop, already amounting to a quantity nearly adequate 
 to feed the entire people of Ireland. The seventh arraigned the Ministers 
 for "postponing the meeting of Parliament to next year." The eighth 
 proposed an address to her Majesty on the subject. At this time, the 
 Dublin papers (Nov. 22) write, " We hear of several foreign markets sup- 
 plied with Irish corn," In a letter to the Electors of London, Lord John 
 
 Russell says, "Three weeks ago it was generally expected that Pnrlianient 
 would be immediately called together. The announcement that Ministers 
 were prepared at that time to advise the Crown to summon Parliament, 
 and to propose on their first meeting a suspension of the import duties on 
 corn, would have caused orders at once to be sent to various ports of 
 
6 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Europe and America for the purchase and transmission of grain for the 
 consumption of the United Kingdom. An order in Coiineil dispensing with 
 the law was neither necessary nor desirable. ]S"o party in Parliament 
 woidd have made itself responsible for the obstruction of a measure so 
 urgent and so beneficial." He took advantage, of the obnoxious position 
 in which the Ministers -yere placed, to bid for public favor, pointing out the 
 evils of the Corndaws, and of all interference with the supply of food. 
 From being a moderate protectionist, he became a wholesale abolitionist as 
 regards the Corndaws. On the 12tli of January, having been presented 
 by the Lord Provost with the " freedom " of the city of Glasgow, his 
 Lordship repeated "his declaration to the Electors of London," and was 
 decidedly of opinion, that " those Corndaws ought to be totally repealed." 
 
 Forty-one of the most eminent bankers and merchants of the city of 
 
 London, in a published document, supported the repeal of the Corndaws, 
 and declared their " deliberate conviction " that no necessity could justify 
 
 the legislature in tampering with the food of the people. Dec. 10th, the 
 
 Dublin Corporation addressed a petition to the Queen on the potato-crisis, 
 
 and the prospects of famine. Much excitement prevailed about this time 
 
 in consequence of an announcement in the Times newspaper, that the Cabinet 
 had met, decided on calling the Parliament together on the 6th of January, 
 and that the Speech from the Throne would recommend the abolition of 
 
 the corn duties. The free-traders redoubled their efforts — Liverpool and 
 
 Manchester subscribed £85,000 to the Anti-Corn-law League. Parliament 
 assembled on the 22nd of January. The Queen's Speech regretted the 
 " crimes in Ireland," and solicited the Lords and Commons to join with 
 her in " protecting life in that country." It also lamented the failure 
 of the potato crop as, " in consequence there will be a deficient supply of an 
 article of food, which proves the chief subsistence of great numbers of my 
 people." Sir Eobert Peel explained, that his resignation of the Premiership 
 and breaking up of the late government, in the month of December, was 
 caused by the potato rot — "the subject required immediate decision as to 
 the laws regulating the importation of food, but though the immediate 
 cause, he would not deny that his opinions on the subject of protection had 
 undergone a change." Lord Stanley (now Earl of Derby) said his reason 
 for retiring was " the inadequacy of the amount of protection proposed to 
 be allowed." Sir Thomas Freemantle (Chief Secretary for Iroland) intro- 
 duced a bill to amend the act for the promotion of Public Works in Ireland. 
 On the 26th, the same gentleman moved a grant of £50,000 for said works in 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. 7 
 
 Ireland. On the 2Yth Jan. 1846, Sir Robert Peel proposed tliat every- 
 thing in the category of vegetable and animal food should be admitted duty 
 free. 28th, Public Works Bill read a second time. 31st, the Parlia- 
 mentary Committee of the Repeal Association reported on the BilL They 
 viewed " with indignation," the inefficiency of the grant, and the opposition 
 which the granting of even such a sum had met from the English 
 Parliament and press. They disclaimed any participation in appeals to 
 England or Englishmen, and demanded that money should be raised by a 
 
 tax on Irish absentee landlords. Feb. 2, Sir Thomas Freemantle moved 
 
 for leave to bring in a bill, granting £50,000 for the construction of piers 
 and harbors in Ireland, The Bill would apply to rivers as well as sea- 
 fisheries, and contain many clauses similar to those embodied in the Drain- 
 age Bill. Feb. 10. The Drainage Bill for Ireland went through Com- 
 mittee. The Repeal Association addressed a circular to the Irish members 
 on the subject. Such was the progress of action taken by the Government, 
 the Parliament, and the people, during the growth of the famine, up to the 
 
 date of the following speech. Concurrently, the national feeling began 
 
 to show itself in quarters where it was least expected, and the prospects of 
 national unanimity, in behalf of the country, were every day becomi n g 
 more and more promising. Doctor Maunsell, a distinguished Conserva- 
 tive, in the preceding year, moved in the Dublin Corporation a petition in 
 favor of rotatory Parliaments; that is, in favor of the Imperial Parliament 
 meeting alternately in London, Dublin, and Edinburgh. In moving this 
 petition he dwelt with force on the injustice of the Act of Union, and gave 
 expression to many national sentiments, which not only attracted, to a 
 considerable extent, the attention of the people of Ireland, but also that of 
 
 the English press. Mr. Grey V. Porter, a Protestant Ulster gentleman 
 
 of large property, who had been High Sheriff of the county Fermanagh, 
 early in 1844, attracted much notice by the publication of a pamphlet 
 in which he condemned the Act of Union. He was of opinion that 
 a new and equal Union between England and Ireland would work well ; 
 but if that were not possible, or failed in working, he was for striking 
 for complete independence. He also proposed the raising of an Irish 
 militia. He joined the Repeal Association, but after a short time resigned 
 his membership. However, he published a second pamphlet in August^ 
 1845, entitled " Calm Observations on Irish Affairs." In this pamphlet he 
 states his position thus : " The great hypothesis upon which I stand, with 
 aU my views and opinions, is, that the Irish people are determined to be a 
 
8 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 nation, and to take their place as a nation among the nations of the -world ; 
 ■whether in union with our industrious neighbors, the British people, as 
 their partners in the Hiberno-British Empire, and, for its sake, under one 
 Supreme Legislative Assembly in London; or, in absolute, separate inde- 
 pendence bj themselves, with their own armj, navj, flag, ambassadors, and 
 I suppose a republican President at top, is a matter of second-rate impor- 
 tance. * * * * "- * Ireland was, and is, a deeply cheated, deeply 
 humbugged country by the Act of (so called) Union of 1800, which 
 was got by frauds, and bribes, and threats of every kind, in a season of 
 national weakness, under the bayonets of an immense English army, and in 
 opposition to the wishes of all respectable and independent men in Ireland." 
 A meeting to petition the Queen for local committees, to adjudicate on 
 Irish Railways, was held in Limerick, Dec. 18, 1845. Lord Gort, Smith 
 O'Brien, Sir Aubrey De Yere, Bart, Sir David Roche, Bart, Mr. Samuel 
 Dickson, and Mr. Wm. Monsell, D.L., spoke on the occasion. About £4000 
 per Railway was expended for the necessary inquiries before the bill pro- 
 posed is introduced to the house. There were, on the Dublin Gazette, more 
 than eighty intended applications for Railway bills. According to the 
 arrangement existing, Ireland is deprived of the entire benefit of this 
 expenditure, the Irish Railway legislation being conducted in London (see 
 
 Sir C. O'Loghlin's Report). Mr. Robert Bourke (now Lord K"aas, and 
 
 former Tory candidate for Kildare), in December, 1845, in an address to the 
 electors of that county, advocated a modification in the Act of Union. He 
 proposed that the Parliament should sit two months in the year in Dublin, 
 for the transaction of Irish business. He was not a Repealer, believing 
 that Repeal meant separation, and, in his mind, "separation would be 
 destruction alike to England's greatness and Ireland's prosperity." He was 
 fully aware, however, that Irish affairs had been " habitually administered, 
 not with reference to Irish interests, but to English politics and parties." 
 
 In January, 1846, The Evening Mail, the leading Conservative journal 
 
 in Ireland, proposed the formation of a combined Irish party. During 
 
 the uncertain state of parties, and with eveiy prospect of the succession of 
 the Whigs to power, the Queen having called on Lord John Russell to form 
 an administration upon the resignation of Sir Robert Peel (Dec. 8, 1845), 
 Smith O'Brien, in several speeches and in letters to the Repeal Association, 
 protested against any compromise or alliance with any English parties 
 whatever. "iS"ever," wrote he (18th Dec. 1845), "in the day of danger— 
 
GEOWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. 9 
 
 never, in the hour of hope — never to desist, never to pause from onr high 
 and hallowed labors until we shall have obtained a_ Parliament for our 
 native land, — is the vow to which the Irish nation is irrevocably 
 pledged." Previous to this, December 1st, he had stated, in Concilia- 
 tion Hall, that "it was iitterly impossible for Lord John Russell, as 
 the leader of the "Whig party, to rally the Whig and Radical force, and 
 unite them in opposition to the Tory government, until he could effect 
 a junction between the Corn-law Repealers and the Whigs ;" that " he 
 had, with great dexterity, surrendered his opinions on the question ;" 
 and that " henceforth, the English Liberal party would be consolidated by 
 the mutual bond of common hostility to the Corn-laws" — he thought it 
 right, therefore, " to warn the people of Ireland, that an attempt would be 
 made by the English Whigs, to induce them to merge their agitation in one 
 for the repeal of the Corn-laws" — for his part, "he was resolved to retire 
 into private life, rather than deviate from the principle of having nothing 
 to do with the English factions ;" that " their party was their country, their 
 partizans, the Irish people ;" and that " the minister, be he Whig or Tory, 
 who wished them to confederate with him to promote his object, should 
 begin by declaring for the Repeal of the Legislative Union." This course 
 seemed to him the more necessary at this period, as the organ of Lord 
 Palmerston calculated "that no immediate obstacle would be presented by 
 the Repeal leaders" to the prospects of Lord J. Russell; and the London 
 Sun, the principal organ of the English Radicals and Free Traders, announced 
 that " the receipt of Mr. O'Connell's speech on Monday last (Dec. 15th) had 
 placed the future policy of Lord John Russell beyond all doubt " — " O'Con- 
 nell prefers food to Repeal" — "Lord John Russell's course as to Ireland was 
 free from one great difficulty." During the famine, the Times " Com- 
 missioner," in a series of very able letters, continued to attract the atten- 
 tion of England, Ireland, and Scotland by his exciting revelations of the 
 state, prospects, and sufferings of the peasantry.] 
 
 I rise, Sir, at the request of the parliamentary committee, to state 
 to the Association, that the following circular, in reference to the 
 drainage bill for Ireland, was forwarded, last week to the members 
 of the Imperial parliament. Having but a very limited time at 
 their command, previous to its being committed, the parliamentary 
 
 1* 
 
10 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 committee substituted this mode of conveying tlieir opinions ujDon 
 tlie bill for the more customary one of a report : — 
 
 ^^ Dublin, 10th February, 1846. 
 
 " Sir — The parliamentary committee of the Loyal National 
 Repeal Association beg leave to call your particular attention to 
 the following suggestions, respecting the details of the drainage 
 bill now passing through parliament. 
 
 "In most of the provisions of this act, they entirely concur; 
 but they would suggest, that that portion of clause 5, which gives 
 power to the Board of Works to recover instalments in arrear by 
 distress, should be omitted. They consider the law of distress 
 should not be extended more than it is at present ; and moreover 
 it appears to them most objectionable to extend it to the recovery 
 of drainage instalments, as these are, in the generality of cases, 
 payable by the landlord, and not by the tenant, upon whose 
 property the distress, of course, would be made. The committee 
 are also of opinion, that that portion of the same clause which 
 limits the sum to be recovered by civil bill to £10, should also be 
 struck out, as they consider it advisable that the greatest facilities 
 should be afforded for the recos^ery of instalments by civil bill. 
 
 "In clause 9, the committee would suggest, that after the word 
 'grand jury,' (p. 7, line 29) should be introduced , the words 'on 
 the application of any cess-payer ; ' as they consider power should 
 be given to cess-payers to initiate the proceedings contemj^lated 
 by that action, in case no grand juror was found to do so. 
 
 " In reference to the amount which may be advanced by the 
 Board of Works, in any one year, in aid of the deposit necessary 
 for preliminary expenses, the committee see no reason in fixing 
 any limit, as is done by clause 10, inasmuch as the advance is 
 solely by way of loan, to be repaid out of the money raised for 
 carrying on the works. 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. 11 
 
 "The committee consider that clause 14 should be omitted. 
 The power of appeal to the assistant-barrister is most important, 
 as without it the Board of Works would be invested with arbitrary- 
 power. Under the present law the power of appeal exists, and 
 the committee see no reason for taking it away. 
 
 " Clause 17 the committee consider is too general, and that it 
 should be confined to mere formal errors. Errors in substance 
 should be still open to objection. 
 
 "In conclusion, the committee would suggest that the clauses 
 for regulating what the bill calls ' summary proceedings,' should 
 be rendered more clear and precise, as at present they consider 
 them very obscure. 
 
 " By order of the Committee, 
 
 " T. M. Ray, Secretary." 
 
 Sir, it is to be regretted that the suggestions contained in that 
 circular have not been attended to — particularly those relating to 
 the 5th and 14th clauses — and that the bill has passed the com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons without any amendment. Had 
 those suggestions been attended to, the bill would have been ren- 
 dered most acceptable, and of its useful operation there might now 
 be entertained no reasonable doubt. 
 
 For myself, I regret that the duty of directing the attention of 
 the Associatioij to this subject, was not entrusted to one more 
 famihar with the various details to which it relates. 
 
 From what I have stated, however, it will be perceived abroad, 
 that, upon this important subject, the Association has not been 
 inattentive to the interests of the people, whose energies it directs, 
 and of whose sentiments it is the organ. It will be perceived, I 
 trust, that — unelected though it be by the people, unrecognised 
 though it be by the government — it occupies the place, and fulfils 
 in great measure the duties, of a native legislature — scrutinizing the 
 proceedings of the parliament that has deprived you of the first 
 
12 , ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 privilege of a free people — counteracting, as far as its unauthorized 
 power will admit, the errors of that parliament — investigating the 
 resources and the grievances of the country — deliberating and 
 advising on them — day after day impressing the broad truths of 
 freedom upon the public mind — and, by enlightened agencies, 
 preparing society for a great change in the destiny of Ireland. 
 
 Sir, another subject, during the last week, has met the attention 
 of the committee — the sea fisheries of Ireland. Upon this 
 important subject two very valuable reports have been already 
 adopted by the Association — the first, in September, 1841 — the 
 second, in September, 1844. It has been thought advisable to 
 lay it a thu'd time before you, a bill for the encouragement of the 
 Irish fisheries being now in progress through parliament. 
 
 Into the question of these fisheries, I shall not at present enter ; 
 nor is it my intention to offer any observations upon the bill to 
 Vv^hich I have referred, since it will come under the consideration 
 of the committee in the ensuing week, and form there a prominent 
 subject of discussion. 
 
 I will observe, however, in reference to the inadequate grant of 
 £50,000 — to be applied to the purposes of the act in question — 
 that the illiberal spirit in which the government has come forward 
 at this period of grievous distress — whilst famine is breeding in the 
 very soil — to give employment to the people, to aid their industrial 
 efforts, and thus avert, in some measure, the horrors of the threat- 
 ened plague, affords new evidence of the rooted reluctance of 
 England to do good for Ireland. 
 
 And it is natural that it should be so. The Eussian sympa- 
 thizes not with the Pole whom he has struck down ; and if you 
 expect it to be otherwise, you do not possess the sagacity of men, 
 and are only qualified to be slaves. 
 
 Even from the royal lips, with an expression of pity for our 
 country, there came a cold, harsh threat of coercion, and it was 
 intimated to us, that, in the coming season, another weapon, 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. 13 
 
 besides tlie poisoned arrow of pestilence, would be busy witb tlie 
 mass of peasant life. Thus, year after year, session after session, 
 the conviction grows still more strong, and forces itself yet more 
 urgently upon the public mind, that the salvation of Ireland is in 
 self-government, and in that alone. 
 
 But, Sir, whilst this, the opinion of the Association, is confirmed, 
 the opinions of the most honorable and best educated men in the 
 community — men heretofore wholly opposed to us upon the ques- 
 tion of a home parliament — are in process of change. 
 
 The proposition made by Doctor Maunsell in your corporation 
 last year — the pamphlets of Mr. Grey Porter — the meeting in 
 Limerick and other towns, to memorialize government for the 
 transference of the Irish railway committees to Dublin, and the 
 intelligent advocacy of that measure by the Conservative press of 
 Ireland — the letter of Mr. Burke, of Hayes, to the electors of Kil- 
 dare — the more recent letter of Mr. Fetherston Haugh — the forma- 
 tion of an Irish party — a project earnestly suggested by the lead- 
 ing Conservative journal of this city, and which project, I must 
 say, was met in a most ungenerous spirit by the Whig organ 
 — these manifestations, together with the sentiments that are 
 heai'd each day in the various walks of society, indicate a great 
 revolution of opinion in this country, which must in time convince 
 the minister, whoever he may be, that this Union, as at present 
 constituted, will stand no longer. 
 
 But, Sir, we have pledged ourselves never to accept the Union 
 — to accept the Union upon no terms — nor any modification of 
 the Union. 
 
 It ill becomes a country like ours — a country with an ancient 
 fame — a- country that gave light to Europe, whilst Europe's oldest 
 state of this day was yet an infant in civilization and in arms — a 
 country that has written down great names upon the brightest 
 page of European literature — a country that has sent orators into 
 the senate whose eloquence, to the latest day, will inspire free sen- 
 
14 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 timents, and dictate bold acts — a country tliat has sent soldiers into 
 the field whose courage and whose honor it will ever be our proud- 
 est privilege to record, if not our noblest duty to imitate — a coun- 
 try whose sculptors rank high in Rome, and whose painters have 
 won for Irish genius a proud pre-eminence even in the capital of 
 the stranger — a country whose musicians may be said to stand this 
 day in glorious rivalship with those of Italy, and whose poets have 
 had their melodies re-echoed from the most polished courts of 
 Europe to the loneliest dwelling in the deep forests beyond the 
 Mississippi — it ill becomes a country, so distinguished and respect- 
 able, to serve as the subaltern of England, qualified as she is to 
 take up an eminent position, and stand erect in the face of Europe. 
 
 It is hers to command, for she possesses, the materials of manly 
 power and stately opulence. Education is abroad, and her people 
 are being tutored in the arts and virtues of an enlightened nation- 
 hood. They are being taught how to enjoy, and how to preserve, 
 the beatitude of freedom. 
 
 A spirit of brotherhood is alive, and breathing through the land. 
 Old antipathies are losing ground — traditional distinctions of sect 
 and party are being now eff'aced. Irrespective of descent or creed, 
 we begin at last to appreciate the abilities and virtues of all our 
 fellow countrymen. 
 
 We now look into history with the generous pride of the 
 nationalist, not with the cramped prejudice of the partisan. We 
 do homage to Irish valor, whether it conquers on the walls of 
 Deny, or capitulates with honor before the ramparts of Limerick 
 — and, Sir, we award the laurel to Irish genius, whether it has lit 
 its flame within the walls of old Trinity, or has drawn its inspira- 
 tion from the sanctuary of Saint Omer's. 
 
 Acting in this spirit, we shall repair the errors, and reverse the 
 mean condition of the past. If not, we perpetuate the evil that 
 has, for so many years, consigned this country to the calamities of 
 war and the infirmities of vassalage. 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. 15 
 
 "We must tolerate each otlier," said Henry Grattan, tlie 
 inspired preaclier of Irish nationahty — he whose eloquence, as 
 Moore has described it, was the very music of Freedom — " We 
 must tolerate each other, or we must tolerate the common enemy." 
 
 After years of social disorder, years of detestable recrimination, 
 between factions, and provinces, and creeds, we are on the march 
 to freedom. A nation, organized and disciplined, instructed and 
 inspired, under the guidance of wise spirits, and in the dawning 
 light of a glorious future, makes head against a powerful supre- 
 ,macy. 
 
 On the march, let us sustain a firm, a gallant, and a courteous 
 bearing. Let us avoid all offence to those who pass us by ; and, 
 by rude affi'onts, let us not drive still further from our ranks, those 
 who at present decline to join. 
 
 If aspersed, we must not stop to retaliate. With proud hearts, 
 let us look forward to the event that will refute all calumnies — 
 that will vindicate our motives and recompense our labors. An 
 honorable forbearance towards those who censure us, a generous 
 respect for those who differ from us, will do much to diminish the 
 difficulties that impede our progress. 
 
 Let us cherish, and, upon every occasion, manifest an anxiety 
 for the preservation of the rights of all our fellow countrymen — 
 their rights as citizens — their municipal rights — the privileges 
 which their rank in society has given them — the position which 
 their wealth has purchased or their education has conferred — and 
 we will in time, and before long, efface the impression, that we 
 seek for Repeal with a view to crush those rights— to erect a 
 church-ascendency, to injure property, and create a slave-class. 
 
 But, Sir, whilst we thus act towards those who dissent from the 
 principles we profess, let us not forget the duties we owe each 
 other. The good will it becomes us to evince towards our oppo- 
 nents, the same should we cultivate amongst ourselves. 
 
 Above all, let us cherish, and in its fall integrity maintain, the 
 
16 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 riglit of free discussion. Witli his views identified with ours upon 
 the one great question, let us not accuse of treason to the national 
 cause the associate who may deem this measure advisable, or that 
 measure inexpedient. Upon subordinate questions — questions of 
 detail — there must naturally arise in this assembly a difference of 
 opinion. If views, adverse to the majority, be entertained, we 
 should solicit their exposition, and meet them by honest argument. 
 If the majority rule, let the minority be heard. Toleration of 
 opinion will generate confidence amongst all classes, and lay the 
 sure basis of national independence. 
 
 But, Sir, whilst we thus endeavor wisely to conciliate, let us not, 
 to the strongest foe, nor in the most tempting emergency, weakly 
 capitulate. A decisive attitude — an unequivocal tone — language 
 that cannot be construed by the English press into the renuncia- 
 tion or the postponement of our claim — these should be the cha- 
 racteristics of this assembly at the present crisis, if we desire to 
 convince the opponents of our freedom, that our sentiments are 
 sincere and our vow irrevocable. 
 
 Hence, the course advised by the Honorable Member for Lime- 
 rick, for this Association to pursue, must have met the approval of 
 every man who is earnest in the cause. It is the course most con- 
 sistent with the repeated declarations of this Association — the most 
 compatible with the principles on which it is founded, and the 
 character it has been its ambition to sustain. It was the advice 
 of a man who loved his country above all else, and loved that 
 country earnestly, that, in the present juncture of public aflfairs, 
 we should act independently of the English factions, and not 
 deviate a degree from the straightforward pursuit of the one great 
 national blessing. 
 
 Sir, we must be true to the principles we have embraced — the 
 principles of 1782. We must be true to the pledge, which, on 
 the first anniversary of the lawless imprisonment of our great 
 leader and his distinguished associates, we deliberately, uncondi- 
 
GROWTH OF THE NATIONAL SPIRIT. lY 
 
 tionally, and imequivocally signed. We must be true to tliat 
 pledge in every vicissitude of party, and under every denomina- 
 tion of government — be true to that pledge, whether it be Heytes- 
 bury, the diplomatist, or Normanby, the cavalier, who holds the 
 Castle. We must be true to that pledge wherever we command 
 the slightest influence — wherever we can pronounce an opinion, or 
 register a vote. We must be true to that pledge in the council 
 chamber and the board of guardians — we must renew it at the 
 registry, and redeem it on the hustings. 
 
 Let earnest truth, stern fidelity to principle, love for all who 
 bear the name of Irishman, sustain, ennoble, and immortalize this 
 cause. Thus shall we reverse the dark fortunes of the Irish race, 
 and call forth here a new nation from the ruins of the old. Thus 
 shall a parliament — moulded from the soil, racy of the soil, preg- 
 nant with the sympathies and glowing with the genius of the soil 
 — be here raised up. Thus shall an honorable kingdom be enabled 
 to fulfil the great ends that a bounteous Providence hath assigned 
 her — which ends have been signified to her in the resources of her 
 soil, and the abilities of her sons. 
 
ARMS ACT.— POLISH INSURRECTION. 
 
 Conciliation Hall^ Dublin^ 27id March, 1846. 
 
 [Mato Election. — In consequence of the resignation of Mr. Martin J. 
 Blake, the representation of Mayo became vacant. The Repeal Association 
 started a candidate, Mr. Joseph M. Macdonnell, who was elected (March 7th, 
 1846). His return was hailed with enthusiasm hj the people of Connaught, 
 
 who accompanied the event with the usual rejoicings. FeverHospitals. — 
 
 The Government having received advices from the Lord Lieutenant, stating 
 that almost in every county in Ireland, fever, arising from the potato failure, 
 was prevalent, Sir James Graham, head of the Home Department (March 
 13), moved the establishment of Fever Hospitals in Ireland. Mr, Wakley 
 contended, that it would entail needless expense — the people wanted food, 
 not physic, and quoted the pamphlet of Dr. Corrigan on "Famine and 
 Fever," which, " founded on the most convincing statistical details, shewed 
 clearly that no change of weather, climate, condition, or circumstances 
 would stay the progress of such fevers, but only the additional supply of 
 food." Mr. Colquhoun referred to the precedents of 1823 and 1831, when 
 the West of Ireland was in the same predicament, and the only possible 
 relief was food. The fever in Ireland arose from want of food (Lord G. 
 Bentinck). The condition of the people was such that they could not wait 
 for railways, or anything of the sort ; they must have immediate relief 
 (Mr. Bernal). It was cruel and impolitic to starve them down to the fever 
 pitch before any assistance was given (Mr. P. Serope). Mr. Smith O'Brien 
 " had himself but departed thence a week, and he had more than once seen 
 whole families sitting down to a meal of potatoes, which any member of 
 that house would be sorry to offer to his Jbogs." During a discussion rela- 
 tive to the second reading of this bill (Fever Relief) in the Commons 
 (March 16), the Arms Act passed the Lords and was brought down to the 
 former as the Hospitals' debate came to a close. Mr. Smith O'Brien said, "In 
 107 Unions, distributed over twenty-five counties, the reports proved there 
 was fever, diarrhoea, and all manner of complaints arising from scanty and 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTIO^^ 19 
 
 diseased food" (March 18). "If a poor man were to die of staryation in 
 this country (England), after having made application for relief to the 
 proper officers appointed to administer it, of what offence would those 
 officers be guilty at law ? Why, if they had withheld the relief, they 
 would be guilty of the crime of murder " (Mr. "Wakley in the Commons). 
 
 Arms Act. — Some outrages, growing out of the landlord and tenant 
 
 disputes in Tipperary, Westmeath, Cavan, and other places, gave the 
 magistrates a pretext for denouncing the people, and calling upon Govern- 
 ment for the most tyrannous measures against them. Their memorials 
 were condemned in the Repeal Association as "cunning and cruel, cowardly 
 
 and calumnious." The late Countess of Glengall, being asked, if she was 
 
 aware of any difficulties which impeded the industry of the female peasantry, 
 answered, "They are perfectly naked as to clothing, and perfectly helpless, 
 without any comfort or convenience, or any possible way of getting a 
 livelihood, and the gentry are so used to that kind of distress that it does 
 not shock them. They see people naked, with nothing in the world but a 
 blanket to sleep on, without a bed to lie on, and they are not aware that 
 that is not the usual and proper way for the people to exist." Mr. 
 Tabiteau, a stipendiary magistrate, some six years previous, stated, before a 
 committee of the House of Lords, that Tipperary abounded in destitution, 
 and that something about land was the cause of every murder committed 
 in that county. Mr. Kemmis, Crown Solicitor of the circuit, deposed, that 
 more than three-fourths of the outrages there were caused by turning 
 tenants out of possession. " I had one hundred and fifty ejectments in one 
 Quarter Sessions, besides all that were brought in the Upper Courts," said 
 Mr. Howley, chairman of that county. The agent of Baron Pennefather 
 declared it was miraculous that they had the patience to live as they did. 
 Another person said, that he had seen, in the neighborhood of N"enagh, 
 seven, eight, or nine persons upon one heap of straw, without as much 
 as a blanket over them, or any other covering than their rags — "so," 
 said the English Morning Chronicle, " the progress of two and twenty 
 years has altered their condition only by stripping them of the blanket 
 
 which they had in the time of Lady Glengall." Feb. 10th, the 
 
 Earl of St. Germains laid on the table of the House of Lords, the bill 
 for the " Better Protection of Life and Property in Ireland." Read the 
 third time (Feb. 23). This bill gave the Lord Lieutenant and Privy 
 Council the power to proclaim, as disaffected, any county in which a man 
 should have received a blow at a fair — to transport a man, for not less than 
 
20 ENGLISH LEaiSLATION. 
 
 seven years, who appeared out of his house after sunset or before sunrise — 
 to quarter, on any district, any additional police force they pleased — to pay 
 informers and detectives — to compensate, with monej'-, the relatives of any 
 person murdered — to imprison for three years, or transport for fifteen, any 
 person having in his possession a gun without license — to pay every expense 
 thought fit to be incurred in carrying out the provisions of the bill — to 
 raise a tax on the tenantry to meet such expense, in the form of a poundage 
 tax on the net annual value of the several hereditaments within the pro- 
 claimed district. A distinct clause made this payable only by the poor occu- 
 piers, and not by the lessor or owner, and the latter were forbidden to allow 
 it to the tenant in rent payment. Such was the bill for the quieting of the 
 
 people. Lords Lansdowne, Farnham, and Clanricarde supported the bill. 
 
 Lord Brougham said their first duty was to make Ireland a habitable 
 country ; he desired to have a provision in the bill, to have the trial and 
 accusation take place in a part of the country where the prosecuting 
 parties and witnesses were not liable to be shot. "They caU it a pacifica- 
 tion bill, but it is really a bill to create insurrection in Ireland " (Smith 
 O'Brien). " It is an atrocious measure — an Algerine act. It holds out the 
 fiendish intention of being perpetual. It announces distinctly that, as long 
 as this Union statute is law, this Coercion bill shall be the charter of 
 Irish slavery and degradation" (O'Connell). A remonstrance against 
 the bill was moved, Feb. 23d, and presented to the people, March 3d. 
 
 ■ In reply to a circular, forwarded by the Secretary of the Repeal 
 
 Association to the members of the House of Lords, praying " their influence 
 to prevent the Coercion bill being hurried with undue precipitation through 
 the House, in order that the people of Ireland may have an opportunity of 
 matm'ely considering the measure," the following note was received : — ~ 
 
 "South street, Feb. 24, 1846. 
 
 "Sir,— 
 
 " I beg leave to acknowledge your letter of the 20th instant, and to 
 inform you, in reply, that it is my decided opinion that the measure now 
 before the House of Lords, which has for its object the more effectual 
 prevention and the more certain discovery of the frightful crimes which 
 prevail in many parts of Ireland, has clearly been delayed too long, and 
 cannot now be pressed with too much celerity. 
 
 "I remain, sir, your faithful and obedient servant, 
 
 " Melbourne. 
 " To the Secretary of the Loyal National Association, Ireland." 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTION. 21 
 
 War in the Ptinjaub. — ^The Bombay Times of Dec. 1845, brought the 
 
 news to England that, the Sikh government, incensed at the reported 
 intention of the British authorities to "appropriate the territories on this 
 side the Sutlej," marched the soldiery to that river to repel the " expected 
 aggression." The troops were "greatlj elated" at the prospect of 
 hostilities, and stated that, "if onlj permitted to cross the river, they 
 required no pay or gratuity from the Sirka," The soldiers in the battalions 
 of Mewa Singh, Goolab Singh, and the Dhera Count Sahib, were much 
 excited. Impatient for the march to Kussoor, they might be heard saying 
 " that, as soon as the order was issued, they would proceed with such 
 celerity as to dine in Lahore, and drink the customary draught of water 
 after the meal on the far side of the Sutlej." On the 12th Nov., the troops 
 were on their way to Peshawur. The Rajah of Pattialah, a " protected " 
 state, sent to say that he was being " greatly annoyed " by the British 
 authorities, and that troops ought to be sent to his assistance ; it was he 
 who despatched the last batch of Zumeendars, and " was certain that the 
 moment the Sikaree troops crossed, the whole country would rise against 
 the British." 52,000 men were concentrating on the frontier under Sir 
 Henry Hardinge. The Sikhs, with a reported force of 50,000, and 150 
 pieces of artillery, invaded the "British possessions" on the 21st December. 
 A battle immediately took place, which lasted till the 23rd. The loss was 
 immense on both sides, the Sikhs suffering most. They lost 65 pieces of 
 cannon. Sir John Littler, who commanded the left wing of the British, 
 was forced to retire on the first attack, but the Governor-General and 
 Commander-in-Chief advancing, the "enemy" were routed. In the House 
 of Lords, March 2d, the Earl of Ripon moved a vote of thanks to the 
 Army in India, for the " energy, ability, and heroism with which they 
 repelled the unprovoked invasion, by the Sikh army, of the dominions 
 of the British government, and of the protected States on the left 
 bank of the Sutlej." On the same night, in the House of Commons, 
 Sir Robert Peel made a similar motion. Mr. Bright (the member for 
 Durham) having interposed, immediately after the Minister had risen 
 to address the House, presented a petition from Reading, praying thst 
 the House would not vote thanks to the Army in India, " as the troops had 
 
 been engaged in an unjust and impolitic warfare." Polish Insurrection. — 
 
 "The Poles are again in arms!" A letter from Silesia, d.ited 26th Febru- 
 ary, which appeared in the German Gazette, stated, that as the Austrian 
 General Collin " was preparing to leave Cracow with his troops, they were 
 
22 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 assailed with such sudden impetuosity by some considerable bands of 
 insurgents, that, after having had several killed and vs^ounded, they were 
 obliged to evacuate the place with the utmost precipitation." It further 
 stated, that a Provisional Government had been established at Cracow ; had 
 installed itself, on the evening of the 22d February, in the Tower of Saint 
 Christopher; and had at its command between 9,000 and 10,000 armed 
 men, part of them peasants with their scythes. The English papers of the 
 day announced, that Cracow was in the "peaceable and complete possession 
 of the insurgents," and added, that the German papers themselves, " though 
 tinder the control of the censorship, could not conceal their admiration of 
 the order and propriety of all the proceedings adopted by the Provisional 
 Government." The revolt had crossed the Vistula. The Insurgents were 
 in possession of the whole district of Yeliska. The town of Sondez, at the 
 foot of the Carpathian Mountains, was occupied by 6000 Polish troops, 
 " fully armed, and well provided with stores." A great part of Gallicia 
 was also reported to be in a "state of insurrection," and Lembourg, the 
 capital of the province, was said to have shared the fate of Sondez. The 
 Provisional Government at Cracow (to sustain which the Polish Jews had 
 promptly offered a considerable sum of money) intimated to the Polish 
 Committee in Paris, that it considered itself merely as its representative, 
 and was ready to give up the management of affairs to it, as soon as called 
 upon to do so. Several of the refugees, consequently, left Paris for the scene 
 of action, amongst them some of the most distinguished ofHcers who served 
 in the insurrection of 1830. The wealthier Polish nobles resident in Paris, 
 Bold shares in the French railway to the amount of £80,000, and sent the 
 proceeds to their countrymen, to aid the revolution. In the meanwhile, the 
 Government were enrolling troops, amongst whom (according to the Jour- 
 nal des Debats) might be seen priests, monks, old men and children ! The 
 Leipsic Gazette stated, that even the women had taken up arms, and might 
 be seen riding on horseback through the streets, bearing Polish eagles, and 
 banners of white and purple, embroidered by their own hands. An old 
 clergyman, one of those who in their vestments had blest the arms, the 
 men, and banners of the "revolt," exclaimed at the altar, "My adored 
 country ! so long dead, appears to me rising from the grave ! I behold her 
 with my own eyes — I touch her with my own hands ! Her wounds are 
 healed — the immortal God has animated her with his breath — she is 
 living ! Oh ! emigrants — regretted friends — you the sons of her blood, how 
 I grieve that you have not assisted at her glorious resurrection." A noble 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTION. 23 
 
 manifesto, issued from the house of Krytoforz (the residence of Joseph Poni- 
 atowski during the campaign of 1809) declared, in the name of the Provi- 
 sional Government, the abolition of serfdom, "Let there be no more 
 privileges," it exclaims, "but each Pole find full security for himself, his 
 wife, and children ; and let him, who is inferior in mind or body, find, with- 
 out humiliation, the infallible aid of the nation, which shall have the abso- 
 lute property of the land which to-day is only enjoyed by some. From 
 this moment we recognise no difterence. Let us henceforward be as the 
 children of one mother — of Justice ; of one father — the God who is in 
 Heaven. Let us invoke his aid, he will bless our arms, and give us victory ; 
 but, in order to draw down his blessing, we must not sully ourselves by 
 the vice of drunkenness, or any other infamous action. Let us not treat 
 despotically those who have been confided to us ; let us not kill those who 
 are without arms, nor such as do not think with ourselves, nor strangers ; 
 for we fight not with a people, but with their oppressors. Let them but 
 make one step more, and Poland exists no longer. Our grandchildren will 
 curse our memory for having left them nothing, in one of the finest 
 countries in the world, but deserts and ruins ; for having left our warlike 
 people in irons; for having forced them to profess a foreign faith, to speak 
 a strange language, and for having reduced them to be the slaves of our 
 oppressors. The dust of our fathers, martyrs for the rights of the nation, 
 cries from the tomb to avenge them. Children at the breast implore us to 
 preserve for them the country that God has confided to us. The free 
 nations of the world invite us not to allow our nationality to be destroved. 
 God himself invites us — He who will one day demand an account of our 
 stewardship." But the day of her freedom had not yet come. After a 
 glimpse of life, Poland was thrust back to her tomb. The Austrians and 
 Eussians entered Cracow on the 3rd March. The Prussians entered on the 
 5tli. The Austrian Government had previously offered a premium for the 
 head of every land-owner, or lord of a manor. Encouraged by this procla- 
 mation, the peasants massacred two hundred of the nobility. The "insur- 
 gents" were visited with the severest vengeance. So much so, that on the 
 7th March, a deputation of ladies from the Grand Duchy of Posen had 
 arrived at Berlin, to implore the clemency of the King of Prussia, Field- 
 Marshal Paskiewiteh was appointed to the chief command in the kingdom 
 of Poland, and the governments of Vollymia and Podolia. In these three 
 provinces, martial law was immediately proclaimed. At Siedlec and 
 Warsaw, the principal leaders were hanged. Many were degraded from 
 
24 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 their rank and condemned to hard labor in the salt mines and deserts of 
 Siberia, having been compelled, on their leaving prison, to pass under the 
 gallows. In three of the most populous and opulent districts, scarcely a 
 single proprietor remained. All had been either killed or compelled to fly. 
 The hoiises had been plundered. In the circle of Tarno, only six proprie- 
 tors escaped the general massacre. The beautiful estates belonging to the 
 Princess De Ligny had been completely devastated. So, too, with the 
 estates of Prince Ladislaus Lengurzko. The chateau of the Countess 
 Morska was stormed; her husband, her brother, and her mother-in-law 
 assassinated. Having compelled her to drink a quantity of brandy with 
 them, the peasantry perpetrated the most horrid crimes on the Countess 
 herself, and then flung her into a ditch to die. A letter from Lembourg, 
 which appeared in the Journal des Debats, referring to these atrocities, 
 expresses the hope that " the government, although it has not yet done so, 
 will take measures to put a stop to these horrors;" adding, that "the 
 audacity of the peasants is increased by the conviction that they will be 
 recompensed for committing these abominable excesses." The " insurrec- 
 tion" being thus brought to a close, the Emperor of Russia directed 
 Marshal Paskie witch to announce the fact to the Ministers of Russia at 
 foreign Courts ; and ordered, at the same time, that the peasants who con- 
 tribiited'to the suppression of the revolt, should be rewarded by money, 
 medals, and a remission of taxation. Subsequently, the emperor issued 
 a proclamation, addressed to his "faithful Gallieians," thanking them for 
 "the good spirit they had displayed in resisting the attempts of a few 
 insurgents, who had been led into a rebellion got up by a conspiracy 
 abroad." The Vienna Gazette of the 22d March informs us that the "faith- 
 ful Gallieians" repaired to Cracow, to sell the jewels and other valuable 
 objects they had robbed — " with the sanction," it intimates, " of the 
 Austrian authorities."] 
 
 Sir — I have the honor to move that tlie letter, addressed by Mr. 
 Doheny to the Secretary of the Association, be inserted on the 
 minutes. 
 
 It describes in eloquent terms a great triumph — a triumph which 
 proves that the wise lessons preached from this tribune are ripen- 
 ing into manly deeds — a triumph which demonstrates the disci- 
 pline that regulates, and the spirit that inspires the constituency 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURKECTIOX. 25 
 
 of Mayo — predicting* tlie conduct and success, at the coming elec- 
 tions, of the other Repeal constituencies of Ireland. It is a tri- 
 umph, moreover, wliich assures us, that the Union has taken no 
 hold of the Irish mind, and that, therefore, it is a doomed measure. 
 
 Sir, whatever be the laws and institutions of a country — how- 
 ever strongly these laws and institutions may be imbued with the 
 despotic, or with that, which we repudiate as distinctly — the cen- 
 tralising principle — so long as the intellect and impulse of the 
 people are adverse to them — so long do those laws and institutions 
 fail to work their worst effect. The darkenino- shadow is there 
 more than the crushing' substance. In the lio-ht of an informed 
 nation, that shadow shall pass away. Institutions that had no 
 foundation in the national heart — laws that received no sanction 
 from the national will — that existed, but did not thrive — that w^ere 
 enforced, but not accepted — that were endured, but not supported 
 — institutions like these shall fall, and laws like these shall be 
 effaced, in whatever country they may be, when the sentiment, 
 that has been their antagonist for years, shall have grown to its 
 full power, and, swelling beyond the limits of a religion or a class, 
 shall have become the active sentiment of the nation. 
 
 Thus shall the Union fall — a law that was never based upon the 
 sympathies, nor sanctioned by the intelligence, of the Irish people. 
 
 And, Sir, it would seem as if the parliament, which usurped the 
 legislative functions of this country, was anxious to accelerate that 
 fall, and add fresh vigor to the spirit by which it shall be accom- 
 plished. The disposition evinced by that parliament towards this 
 country, since the commencement of the present session, has had 
 that effect — weakening, not strengthening, the legislative annexa- 
 tion. 
 
 A pestilence, as strange as it is sweeping, comes upon the land. 
 The putrifying earth reveals it to the peasant — men of science 
 report it to the minister. The peer, the merchant, and the priest, 
 call aloud for succor, beseeching the minister to interpose between 
 
26 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 the people who starve and the famine that strikes. To mitigate 
 the plague — to ward oflf fear — to inspire hope — to compose the 
 public mind — to bring consolation to the peasant's hearth — ^to 
 protect life — so says the treacherous preamble — they give you this 
 coercion bill ! 
 
 Those English Lords, who never trod on Irish soil — who know 
 not the afflictions of the people whose character they defame — 
 who never sympathized with those whom they would now coerce 
 — those English Lords, in whose pictured galleries we would vainly 
 search for the stricken image of the Irish peasant, and on whose 
 damasked tables the Irish famine will not cast its scaring shadow 
 — those English Lords, to whom Strafford, and Campden, and 
 Carhampton seem to have bequeathed their spirit and their blood 
 — those English Lords, to whom the Irish millions, on the day of 
 retribution, will address these words of sacred accusation — " We 
 were naked, and you clothed us not ; we were hungry, and you 
 gave us not to eat ; we were thirsty, and you gave us not to drink" 
 — those English Lords, at this day, renew the enactments that 
 have long since brought down upon the English supremacy the 
 curse of the Irish province. 
 
 Sir, laws like this have driven a people into insurrection ; and 
 when insurrection triumphs, it receives the homage of mankind. 
 
 But the Irish people have had too severe an experience of the 
 calamities which a rash revolt originates. Exasperating as this 
 lav/ may be, they will not deviate from the policy of an instructed 
 confederation. They will not hazard, by a precipitate act, the 
 freedom which a deliberate movement like ours can alone secure. 
 
 Sir, it has been said that an evil seldom comes from which some 
 good may not arise. In the present instance I recognise the truth 
 of a familiar proverb. 
 
 Bad as this enactment is, the discussion it occasioned has been 
 of advantage to us. It has brought out the Whigs. In the 
 speeches delivered in the Lords — in the letter received by the 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTION. 2Y 
 
 secretary of this iVssociation from Viscount Melbourne — we have 
 distinct proofs of the true spirit that animate the men who have so 
 long professed themselves to be the friends of the Irish people. 
 
 The Whigs have ceased to be the muffled foes of Irish freedom. 
 Standing before us, not with select appointments and jail deliveries, 
 but with the coercion bill and its amendments in their hands, the 
 Whigs will never more corrupt, for they have thrown aside the 
 mask that enabled them to deceive. 
 
 I rejoice at this occurrence, for, I confess, that often calculating 
 upon the influences by which our cause might be imperilled, I 
 always did foresee more danger from the seductive compliments of 
 a Whig, than from the aggressive edicts of a Conservative admi- 
 nistration. We all know that poison may be infused, where a blow 
 has missed its aim. 
 
 I repeat it, I rejoice at this occurrence, for I have ever looked 
 upon the W^higs as the most effective enemies which the dissemi- 
 nators of the national sentiment were destined to encounter. 
 
 In the days of their government, English supremacy in this 
 country knew no assailant. In those days, men were taught to 
 serve the minister rather than the country ; were taught to look 
 to the government for patronage, not to the pubhc for support ; 
 were taught to prefer the purchased interest of officials, to the free 
 sympathy of honest citizens ; were taught to solicit appointments 
 for themselves, not to demand measures for the country. The 
 policy of the Whigs, working on all the less exalted passions of 
 society, was hourly hastening the project of the Union to its most 
 odious consummation. The servitude, that existed only in law, 
 was sinking into the soul of the country ; and once it was centred 
 there, England might withdraw her troops, disband her police 
 force, and put arms withm the grasp of every peasant in the land 
 — their spirit extinguished, they would not strike to emancipate. 
 
 A nation's thanks to the God of Freedom ! Those statesmen 
 were checked in their career. We have recovered and grown 
 
28 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 strong since their defeat in the summer of 1841 ; and if, at some 
 future period, they return to office, they shall find us a reformed 
 people — too honest to be bribed, too powerful to be crushed. 
 
 Sir, into the consideration of this coercion bill, which is at pre- 
 sent the chief topic of public debate, it is not my intention to pro- 
 ceed. That task has been already well performed by several 
 members of this Association, much more competent than I am to 
 investigate questions of such importance. In the letters received 
 from Mr. O'Connell, in the speeches that have been delivered by 
 Mr. Smith O'Brien, Mr. Grattan, Mr. Barry, Mr. O'Gorman, and 
 Mr. Balfe, its provisions have been fully discussed, and their evil 
 tendencies most intelligently exposed. 
 
 I will make one observation, however. 
 
 Mr. Balfe, in the speech which you heard from him on this day 
 fortnight, and which must have afforded to the country much 
 sound information upon the question, in a masterly argument 
 pointed out the inefficiency of this act for the purpose it professes 
 to accomplish — the suppression of agrarian outrage. He cited the 
 evidence sworn before the parliamentary committee in 1824, and, 
 from testimonies that will not be questioned, distinctly proved the 
 failure of similar acts at antecedent periods. 
 
 An eminent French historian. Monsieur Gustave de Beaumont, 
 has given an opinion, corroborative of the view taken by Mr. Balfe, 
 in his celebrated work on Ireland, which, with the permission of 
 the meeting, I will read: — 
 
 " In vain will you employ a Draconian code to repress atrocious 
 outrages ; in vain will you enact cruel laws to arrest the course of 
 revolting excesses ; in vain will you affix the penalty of death to 
 minor crimes ; in vain, actuated by the terrors of weakness, will 
 you suspend the ordinary course of law, and proclaim entire coun- 
 ties under the insurrection act ; in vain will you violate the prin- 
 ciple of individual liberty, create martial law and special commis- 
 sions, and so produce a salutary impression of terror ; all these 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTION. 29 
 
 rigors will be in vain. Instead of healing the wound, they will 
 irritate it, and render it the more painful and dangerous. The 
 peasants, who, in 1760, revolted against a bad social systena, under 
 the name of Whiteboys, renewed the insurrection, some years 
 after, under the name of Oakboys ; in 1772, under the name of 
 Steelboys ; in 1788, they were called Rightboys ; at a later period, 
 they took the name of Rockites, subjects of Captain Bock and 
 Fady Clare; in 1805, they called themselves the Trash ers ; in 
 1811, '15, '20, '21, '23, and '29, they resumed the name of White- 
 boys; in 1831, they were Terry Alts; in 1832, '33, and '37, 
 Whitefeet and Blackfeet ; and, under these various denominations, 
 you may see them actuated by the sense of the same miseries, 
 committing the same acts of violence, followed by the same cruel 
 means of repression which have been always powerless. All your 
 measures to restore peace and order will be abortive, because the 
 order you design to make supreme is actual disorder ; because the 
 peace you wish to establish is oppression." 
 
 Sir, we required not the opinion of the French historian to 
 remind us, that, for the purposes of peace, coercive enactments in 
 this country must prove inoperative. The English Lords and 
 Commons, too, ought long since to have derived a little wisdom 
 from the retrospect of their penal legislation. 
 
 But if they are still determined to test the efficacy of penal 
 laws, let them test it in some other country. Here the harsh 
 experiment always failed. Let them test it in the country of the 
 Sikhs ! There they have to civilize a most disordered people ! 
 There they have to deal, not with a defenceless, but an armed 
 people ! A gallant people — who prize the freedom they possess, 
 and, guarding it as true men should ever guard the anointed gift, 
 will not meanly economize their blood in its defence ! 
 
 But whatever course the English parliament may take, let this 
 Association continue to act with that spirit and intelh'gence — with 
 that prudence, yet with that decision — which has acquired for it 
 the confidence of the country, the independence of which it is its 
 honorable mission to retrieve. 
 
80 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 To repeat what I said, when I had last the privilege of address- 
 ing you, let us be true to the principles we have embraced — be 
 true to them, in every vicissitude and whatever may befal. Whilst 
 we exhibit, to our English adversaries, a firm determination never 
 to withdraw the claim we urge, let us prove, to those who are as 
 yet opposed to us in this country, our earnest anxiety to dispel 
 those prejudices which here estrange, enfeeble, and debase. 
 
 There is one great truth we recognize — our country, to be free, 
 must be self-governed. Let us recognize another, no less essential — 
 that for the people of this country to resume the prerogative of 
 self-government, they must be united. 
 
 With this truth impressed upon our minds, let us act a^it dic- 
 tates. Let the profession become a practice, and the theory a fact. 
 
 Let us denounce the man, who, from our history, learns nothing 
 save the vices of the past ; who, from that sad book, is taught not 
 to arrest, but to propagate, the errors of our fathei's ; who still con- 
 tinues to survey the scenes of our civil feuds, with the passions 
 that made those feuds detestable. Let us denounce the man, who, 
 fi'om the banks of the Suir, would, at this day, demand revenge for 
 those who were vanquished on the banks of the Boyne ; and who 
 would disorganize the nation to institute a faction. Such a man 
 pleads for Repeal and retrogression, not for Repeal and reform. 
 
 " Degenerate slave !" says Schiller ; " who cries down freedom 
 amid the clanking of his own fetters." 
 
 Sir, if we act with strict integrity — if we prove ourselves the 
 friends of truth, and, in every sense, the friends of freedom — I 
 cherish no faint hope that the union, we so much desire, will be at 
 length accomplished — the union of the Irish Protestant with the 
 Irish Catholic, the Irish Radical with the Irish Conservative — the 
 former differing on religious doctrines, the latter on legislative 
 principles — yet all recognizing the claim of this country to be free, 
 and its ability to be great. 
 
 In demanding an independent legislature for this country, we 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTION. 31 
 
 demand the power wliich a wise policy suggests, and to whicli a 
 generous ambition must aspire. 
 
 In acquiring it, we do not revolutionize — we restore. Ireland 
 insists that she shall be independent of the parliament of England, 
 and she insists upon a relation with that country, for which there 
 is a memorable precedent and an imperishable principle. 
 
 Insisting upon her freedom, she is sustained by the spirit of the 
 age and the examples of the day. In the name of freedom, 
 Circassia guards her mountain passes — Italy organizes — Poland 
 strikes ! 
 
 Sir, we weep no more for Poland, for Poland is in arms ! The 
 spirit of Kosciusko sleeps no more in the Cathedral of Cracow ! 
 It walks the Carpathian heights, and is heard in the cry — there is 
 hope for Poland, whilst in Poland there is a life to lose ! 
 
 From those heights, I trust, there will yet be preached a lesson 
 of vengeance, sure and smiting, to the sceptred robbers of old 
 Sarmatia. The descendants of John Sobieski — in this their third 
 hard struggle with the triple despotism that has beaten them to 
 the earth — have the passionate sympathy of a people, who, like 
 them, have lost their liberty, and, like them, have sworn to 
 restore it. 
 
 Would to God that our sympathy could be active ! "Would to 
 God, that, whilst we cheer the patriots of Poland with our sympa- 
 thies, we could back them with our swords ! "Would to God that 
 the glowing prophecy of one, whom the anticipation of Irish free- 
 dom has inspired, could be now fulfilled ! Would to God that on 
 this day were heard, without the walls of the Irish senate-house, 
 the bugles of the Irish volunteers whom this young poet has pre- 
 dicted, and that their departure for the red plains of Poland could 
 this night be sung in those strains which his impassioned genius 
 has breathed forth : — 
 
 " Ten thousand Irish soldiers 
 To-morrow cross the main ; 
 
32 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Bj Dneiper shall their carbines ring, 
 Their charge cleave open Russia's wing, 
 On leaguered Warsaw's plain ; 
 
 " For we, who felt oppression's heel. 
 Aid struggling Freedom's powers ; 
 And long as aid us arm and steel, 
 Whilst Irish waters float a keel, 
 Shall Poland's fight be ours." 
 
 Sir, we have been called upon to make a less severe sacrifice 
 than the patriots of Poland have been, for the country it is our 
 ambition to emancipate. They have to confront a military des- 
 potism — we have to resist a legislative domination. Swords alone 
 can subvert the one — opinion will, in time, work down the other. 
 Our agencies are dissimilar, but our cause is the same, and let our 
 spirit be identical. 
 
 The aim of Austria and Prussia has been to Germanize — the 
 aim of Russia has been to annihilate — the Polish race. In past 
 years, England employed, in this country, the exterminating vio- 
 lence of the latter — now she would pursue the denationalizing 
 policy of the former. She no longer strives to exterminate — she 
 strives to Saxonize. 
 
 In vain ! 
 
 From the Irish mind, the inspiring thought that there was once 
 an Irish nation, self-chartered and self-ruled, can never be effaced. 
 The burning hope that there will be one again, can never be extin- 
 guished. 
 
 The evidences of a distinct nationality are marked upon our 
 scenery, our climate, and our character. In the traditions of our 
 country, in its records, in its ancient relics, in the songs, the lan- 
 guage, the genius, the spirit of our people, we recognize the ele- 
 ments of a distinctive destiny. 
 
 Regardless of the liberty of this country — solicitous only, as is 
 
ARMS ACT POLISH INSURRECTION. 33 
 
 most natural, for the predominance of their own — our rulers will 
 in vain employ their arts, and exercise their powers, to assimilate 
 the two countries. Legislation will never effect what nature has 
 forbidden. 
 
 The ambition which lifts the individual above the crowd, and 
 gives to him ennobling peculiarities of position and of character, 
 the same inspires the nation, and bids it stand alone ! 
 
POLITICAL ECONOMY— MORALITY OF SELF-GOVERN- 
 MENT. 
 
 Conciliation Hall, Dublin, 6th April, 1846. 
 
 [Ix Jan. 1846, Isaac Butt, LL.D., formerly Professor of Political Economy, 
 published two lectures, delivered before the Dublin University, in 1840, 
 with an appendix, suggested by the crisis, entitled '^Protection to Home 
 Industry : some cases of its advantage co7isidered." Mr. Butt dwelt on the 
 subject of non-exportation and home-manufacture, as a question of right 
 and national necessity, without reference to any particular measures or 
 time ; but his work was so apposite to the exigencies of the day, that it 
 created universal attention. "It is said that this exportation is the dis- 
 posal of our surplus produce, and, as such, is an advantage to the country. 
 I know of no surplus produce, until all our own people are fed — there 
 can be no such thiog as a surplus, until the wants of all classes are 
 supplied." Following, then, in the path of Dean Swift and Bishop 
 Berkeley, Mr. Butt strenuously advocated the encouragement of native 
 artisans, as the true system of national economy. The annual exporta- 
 tion of provisions abroad, he termed "a subsidy to pay the rent of 
 absentee landlords." The llepeal Association distributed this work through 
 their reading rooms. Mr. Mitehel made it the subject of an able speech 
 m the Association. "It is not for the sake," said he, "of anything of 
 Mr. Butt's, as a political economist, either in favor of protective duties 
 or against them, that the Committee have come to the resolution of circu- 
 lating his book. The book deals in a highly national spirit with the 
 relations of Ireland towards England." He characterized it as " a very 
 admirable Repeal essay, potent to convince any Irishman (except, perhaps, 
 the author of it), that Ireland's only hope is in the restoration of a 
 domestic legislature. He is obliged to sustain his position before the 
 University of Dublin, by the arguments and the very language of Con- 
 ciliation Hall." Enquiry into the state of Ireland. — In a speech in 
 
 the House of Lords (March 23), on moving an inquiry iuto the state 
 
POLIIICAL ECONOMY MORALITY OF SELF-GOVEKNMEXT. 35 
 
 of Ireland, Earl Grey insisted on the utter inadequacy of the measures 
 taken "to cure the social evils" of Ireland, and called upon the House 
 to declare, by a solemn vote, that they were only temporary. "The 
 evils of that unhappy country are not accidental, not transitory, but 
 chronic and habitual. Ireland is our weak place — the one deep blot upon 
 the briglitness of Britain — our disgrace. It is the reproach, the standing 
 disgrace of this eountrjy, that Ireland remains in the condition she is. It is 
 so regarded throughout the civilized world. The mere fact, that Ireland is 
 in so deplorable and wretched a condition, saves whole volumes of argu- 
 ment, and is, of itself, a complete and irrefutable proof of misgovernment. 
 I^or can we lay to our souls the flattering unction, that this misgovernment 
 has not been of our creation. The Secretary of State for the Home Depart- 
 ment, two years ago, asserted that Ireland was occupied, not governed, like 
 England; and now, my Lords, I ask you, is that a state of thiogs which 
 ought to continue ?" After reviewing the subject from the time of the 
 "Union" to the Repeal movement, Earl Grey continued — "My Lords, I 
 think you must look to something more effectual than such laws. You 
 cannot gain men's hearts by force (referring to the Arms act). It is 
 impossible to grant Repeal, 'tis true, but let us try the effect of legislating 
 as an Irish Parliament might be expected to do." The Duke of "Wellington 
 refused to concur in the motion, as the latter part of Lord Grey's speech 
 tended towards the extinction of the Church of England in Ireland. His 
 Grace also believed that, " there never was a country which advanced," as 
 Ireland had, since the "Union," He, therefore, cautioned the house 
 against agreeing with "the noble Earl's motion." Earl Fortescue said, 
 " When a measure had been passed which denied a man the right of eo-ress 
 or ingress to his home. Parliament was bound to look into the causes which 
 made such a law necessary."] 
 
 I take the liberty of referring to the work which was brought 
 before the Association, on the last day of meeting, by my friend, 
 Mr. Mitchel. 
 
 From the distribution of this work I anticipate the best results. 
 I do not confine my view to the information it will afford. Exten- 
 sive as this may be, I look further on, and foresee the new sym- 
 pathies it will awaken. From this work, the people will learn to 
 esteem the abilities of an honest man, though he be their oppo- 
 
36 - ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 iient on many questions, and to appreciate the industrial lessons he 
 has taught, though from his political tenets they may have reason 
 to dissent. 
 
 The impression, I conceive, has too long prevailed, in Ireland, 
 that men of conservative principles, without exception, were faith- 
 less teachers, cherishing no affection for their country, inculcating 
 no truths which the public might accept with confidence and act 
 upon with success. Here is a conservative gentleman, an accom- 
 plished scholar, an honorable citizen, sympathizing with the work- 
 ing classes of this country, asserting the rights of labor, and 
 claiming, for Lish industry, the protection it requires ! 
 
 With the permission of the meeting, I will read an extract 
 illustrative of what I have now stated, in which the benevolence 
 of the philanthropist derives a new lustre from the eloquence of 
 the scholar : — 
 
 " Every man in this country is born a member of a great and 
 powerful society ; and we never hesitate to act towards him on 
 the supposition that his being born so gives that society rights to 
 be enforced against him. Equally true is it that he has a birth- 
 right by being born a member of society. One pennyworth of 
 property he may not inherit ; his parents may not leave him one 
 foot of the earth on which he may freely walk ; one chattel arti- 
 cle that the conventional laws of society may permit him to call 
 his own ; all that he sees may be appropriated to others' use ; but 
 yet, as a member of our community, born by God's ordinance, 
 subject to its laws, and owing, independently of any choice of his 
 own, an allegiance to its authority, he has a birthright, as sacred 
 and indefeasible as the right by which the sovereign inherits the 
 crown, the peer his privilege, or the lord of broad acres his estate. 
 In the words of the greatest of political philosophers, he has ' a 
 right to all that society, with all its combinations of skill and capi- 
 tal, can do in his favor.' In the words of one greater than man — 
 the words in which is recorded the primeval sentence of our race 
 — a sentence which contains at once the hard lot of the laboring 
 
POLITICAL ECONOMY MORALITY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 37 
 
 man, and the great charter of his rights — a charter prior to the 
 authority of states or the rights of property — he has a right ' in 
 the sweat of his brow to eat bread.' That society has forgotten 
 its duties in which such a claim as this is not answered ; in the 
 social or economic system of that country in which men are wal- 
 ling to work and cannot earn their bread, there is something radi- 
 cally wrong. The right of every man in the land is, to the 
 utmost of all the power of the society that claims him as a mem- 
 ber, to have the power of earning a livelihood secured to him. 
 This is the first, the elder duty of society. It is vain to speak of 
 the blessings of increasing national wealth, if to this you sacrifice 
 the comforts of the poor. Better, far better for the country, would 
 be the state of things which would give to every working man 
 in the country the assurance that his industry would command, 
 for its reasonable exertion, the means of livelihood, than the most 
 brilliant prospects which could be opened of wealth to our mer- 
 chants, of magnificence to our nobles, or aggrandizement to our 
 manufacturers." * 
 
 Sir, this work will efface, I trust, a serious prejudice, convincing 
 us that the name of an opponent is no index to the merits of his 
 book. It will teach us, from henceforth, to act irrespective of the 
 partialities of sect or party, and to cherish great truths from what- 
 ever source they emanate. On the other hand, I trust that the 
 distribution of this work will convince our opponents of the impar- 
 tiality of this Association, and win from them a confidence in our 
 acts, which, as yet, they have been reluctant to concede. 
 
 It is thus that political discussions will in time assume a new 
 feature in this country, and an interchange of sound opinion and 
 generous sentiment, between the diff'erent political schools, will 
 supersede, I trust, that rude conflict in which the passions, more 
 than the intellect, of those schools have been heretofore enofacred. 
 
 There is one passage on absenteeism, to which, for a moment, I 
 wish to direct the attention of the meetino-. 
 
 In page 94, Mj-. Butt writes : — " In two ways we have clearly 
 
38 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 seen that abseuteeism is injurious to this country. It withdraws 
 from a country where the people are ill fed, the food that is raised 
 in it, and forces us to export that produce at a disadvantage." 
 
 He then refutes the argument of Mr. McCuUoch ; and, in page 
 95, having given it as his opinion — and in this opinion I think we 
 must all concur — that the exportation of Irish agricultural produce 
 is now an evil, because it is so grievously wanted at home, and 
 that the encouragement of our home industry, or any other pro- 
 cess which would retain it at home, would be a blessing to the 
 land — having given this opinion, he thus concludes this part of 
 his second lecture : — 
 
 " But we do not disguise from ourselves, that, while we assert 
 these propositions as true of the particular case, they involve prin- 
 ciples that are capable of a far wider application ; and that, palpa- 
 ble and manifest as is the evil in the case of a country export- 
 ing produce, while its people have not food at home, that evil is, 
 that foreign trade is, in this instance, made the instrument of the 
 monopoly of wealth ; and, equally with absenteeism, enables those, 
 who have riches, to spend the resources of the country upon them- 
 selves, and, at the same time, escape the effect of the compen- 
 sating principle of being obliged to resort to the employment 
 of home labor for that end, a principle which would oblige them 
 to share those resources with others, in the very process by which 
 they spend them upon themselves." 
 
 Sir, it is perfectly useless to state grievances, unless we propose 
 their redress. And here, whilst we must admire the intelligence 
 with which the cardinal evil of this country is discussed, we can- 
 not fail to express our regret, that, in his public capacity — not as a 
 professor of the national University, but as an Irish citizen, and as 
 a distinguished member of your Corporation — Mr. Butt has not 
 been the advocate of that measure by which alone you can 
 diminish, to a great extent, if you do not wholly eradicate, this 
 exhausting evil. 
 
POLITICAL ECONOMY MORALITY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 39 
 
 Absenteeism, it is true, is an evil from which Ireland has always 
 suffered, and severely suffered. " It is a calamity," writes Mr. 
 Staunton, in his able essay on the Union, " peculiarly Irish." But 
 if, as it has been frequently urged, absenteeism existed before the 
 Union, the Union has magnified the evil. In fact, the Union 
 enforces absenteeism, and renders it incumbent. If we are to 
 have attentive legislators, as I have often said, we must have per- 
 manent absentees. 
 
 The imposition of an absentee-tax is advised by some, with a 
 view to counteract this evil. I should hesitate to urge this mea- 
 sure, for, in the first instance, it is a direct interference with indi- 
 vidual liberty. 
 
 There is but one just measure, I conceive, which will countervail 
 this evil. Let this city become the seat of legislation, and it will 
 become the seat of opulence. National obligations, the privileges 
 of rank, private interests, personal ambition, every motive that can 
 actuate the man, will then enforce a residence in this country of 
 those who, by their position in society, their education and 
 resources, are qualified to be the efficient guardians of its interests. 
 Till then, absenteeism will prevail, and you must suffer. 
 
 Before I turn to other subjects, I wish to allude to a circum- 
 stance which occurred here on the last day of meeting. From 
 this work, Mr. Mitchel, in the course of his remarks, cited an 
 extract, in which this country is likened to " an island of slaves 
 toiling under the lash of task-masters in another country, and 
 retaining for themselves but what the regulation of the driver 
 allows them." 
 
 The similitude was denied. It met with an indignant contra- 
 diction, and you received the contradiction with enthusiasm. You 
 were not slaves, you were freemen — this was the exulting cry ! 
 
 I ask you, are you freemen ? 
 
 It is true you possess the spirit, but do you possess the authority 
 
40 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 of freemen ? I ask you for your senate — it has been sold ! Your 
 flag — it is proscribed ! Your commerce — it is wrecked ! 
 
 Who governs you ? An English minister — the nominee of the 
 English Commons. Whence come the laws to which you must 
 submit ? From an English parliament — a parliament responsible 
 to English constituencies, independent of the Irish. 
 
 Your Castle — is there a national guard at the gate ? Who 
 holds his court there ? Is it a peer, with the blood of the Geral- 
 dines in his veins ? Is Butler there ? Is St. Lawrence there, who 
 bears a sainted name in virtue of a battle-vow, plighted on the 
 Irish Marathon ? Is Clanricarde there ? Is O'Neill there, on 
 whose shield gleams the red hand of Tyrone ? Is Charlemont, 
 the son of the armed patriot of '82, the Irish Viceroy ? 
 
 Who is the Secretary ? An Irish conservative ? A gentleman 
 with an interest in the country, and linked to it by native sympa- 
 thies ? No. A stranger. An English nobleman — sent over 
 here, to go through his official novitiate in Dublin, before he is 
 professed as a cabinet minister in London. 
 
 " The Archbishop of Dublin is an Englishman " — writes the 
 Evening Mail — *' the chief administrator of the Irish poor law is 
 an Englishman ; the paymaster of the Irish civil services is a 
 Scotchman ; the chief commissioner of the Irish pubhc works is 
 an Englishman ; the teller of the Exchequer is an Englishman ; 
 the chief officer of the Irish post-office is an Englishman ; the col- 
 lector of excise is a Scotchman ; the head of the revenue police is 
 an Enghshman ; the second in command is a Scotchman ; the 
 persons employed in the collection of the customs, &c., are English 
 or Scotch, in proportion of thirty-five to one." 
 
 Thus, you see, that, whilst the Irish belong to Ireland, Ireland 
 does not belong to the Irish. The fate of Venice is your fate. 
 Your country has passed from your hands. The curse of Faliero 
 has crossed from the Adriatic — it is here fulfilled : — 
 
POLITICAL ECONOMY MORALITY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 41 
 
 " She shall be bought 
 And sold, and be an appanage to those 
 Who shall despise her." 
 
 Sir, we must not deceive ourselves. We have yet to win the title 
 of free citizens. That title can only be conferred by that Senate 
 which we have vowed shall yet hold council in this the Irish capital. 
 Till then, we occupy no European position ; our country remains a 
 powerless tributary, a reproach to ourselves — more so than to 
 England. 
 
 The Earl Grey, in prefacing his motion for inquiry in the House 
 of Lords, a few days since, is reported to have said, that the con- 
 dition of Ireland was a disgrace and a reproach to England. For 
 once, let us acquit England and blame ourselves. 
 
 The fact is unquestionable — we lost faith in our own powers, 
 and looked to England for redress. We asked for justice, with- 
 drawing our demand for independence. What then ? We sub- 
 mitted to the Union — we recognized the English parliament as the 
 trustee of Irish interests, and we must now submit to the conse- 
 quences of that recognition — national discomfiture, national dis- 
 honor. 
 
 But, Sir, I forget that I speak to men who, warned by the past, 
 stand pledged to redeem the national honor. I forget that I speak 
 to men, who will not consent to the Union, even on the most 
 profitable terms that can be proposed, and who, if the debasing 
 alternative is suggested, will not accept the remedial measures 
 they require, for the stately independence they ambition. 
 
 Our rulers are indeed mistaken, if they suppose that this 
 Association will conclude its labors, when the wrongs, from which 
 it sprung, have been redressed. 
 
 I myself believe, that the redress of those wrongs will not pre- 
 cede, but follow, the Repeal. The question of redress, however, 
 does not afiect the question of Repeal. The true nationalist 
 aspires to legislative independence, and will not stop short at legis- 
 
42 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 lative amelioration. The mission, to which he consecrates the 
 energies of his mind, will not be accomplished, until the indi- 
 viduality of this nation shall have been fully recognized. He will 
 not desist when he repairs, for he has been inspired to regenerate. 
 To be distinct — our object is Irish independence, not Whig reform. 
 
 This alone can justify the sacrifices of the people, and authorize 
 the claims that have been made upon their resources. An object 
 less exalted would be incommensurate with the generosity of the 
 people, as it would be unworthy the genius of their leaders. 
 
 It is well to state our purpose thus distinctly, for English poli- 
 ticians, treating on Ireland, now propose equality. 
 
 Sir, we will not be satisfied with what they call equality. It is 
 a disguise for subjection. 
 
 Equality ! What is the English signification of that term ? 
 Provincialism improved. Extended franchises, additional repre- 
 sentatives, municipal privileges — what are these ? They are rights. 
 How do they come ? They come as indulgences. For what do 
 they come ? They come to bribe and pacify the province. 
 
 Look to the game of the imperialists. There was an Arms-Act 
 last week — there is a sympathetic motion for inquiry in the 
 present. This week the English Lords study to make us amenable 
 to English rule by concession, having in the last set us against 
 English rule by coercion. This week they would affiliate — last 
 week they repelled. To-day they enact Mark Anthony, and read 
 their dismal orations — yesterday they signed a death-warrant, and 
 stabbed like Brutus. 
 
 They are anxious, at last, to benefit the country, it is said. Sir, 
 they would legislate to save the Union, not to benefit the country. 
 
 But granting that their intentions are the best, and their acts 
 the most advisable, their legislation, however beneficial, will but 
 improve the province — it will not reinstate the nation. Legislation 
 like this may give to us the franchises of an English county ; it 
 will not restore to us the prerogatives of the Irish Kingdom. 
 
POLITICAL ECONOMY MORALITY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 43 
 
 Again, wliilst it corrects the political system, whilst it improves 
 the material condition, it will destroy the spiritual elements of the 
 people, from which elements the people derive their true nobility. 
 Deprive a people of the faculties of legislation ; transfer them, or 
 rather, I should say, after fifty years of disastrous experiment, 
 ratify the usurpation of them ; and you take away from that peo- 
 ple every generous incentive to action, you enervate the public 
 spirit, you exonerate that people from their just responsibilities, 
 and you generate amongst them an indiiference to the condition 
 of their country. If that condition deteriorates, this unprivileged 
 people will not hold themselves responsible — they are not respon- 
 sible. If it improves, the credit is not theirs. They may partake 
 in the advantage, they do not participate in the honor. To pre- 
 serve that condition, therefore, they will not be solicitous. If they 
 be solicitous, mere interest will prompt them, national pride will 
 not. Thus you call all the meaner instincts into play, and sup- 
 press the dictates of public virtue. Where these do not operate 
 the community degenerates. It ceases to be honest — it becomes 
 corrupt. Becoming corrupt, the crown cannot calculate upon its 
 loyalty, nor the priesthood upon its faith. To govern a commu- 
 nity like this, you must institute the spy system of Paris. The 
 minister will require the abilities of a Fouche, and a secret police 
 will constitute his most efficient cabinet. ^ 
 
 But let this people exercise the faculties of legislation, and 
 become, as they ought to be, responsible for the condition of their 
 country — the scene alters. National pride exists where national 
 power resides. Where a serious responsibility is imposed, an 
 earnest solicitude will inspire. Public virtue will have its incentive 
 and reward. Conscious of the trust they hold — conscious that its 
 abuse will be their reproach, if not their downfall — conscious that 
 its preservation will prove their advantage, if not their glory — the 
 people will guard it with integrity, and, justly feeling that the 
 national character is ennobled by the legislative trust, they will be 
 
44 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 ever anxious to avoid a course that may degrade the one and vio- 
 late the other. 
 
 Sir, it has been well observed by Mr. Barry, in his Prize Essay 
 on Repeal, that there are many things in independence, besides 
 laws, that raise a people. " Self-control," he writes, " begets self- 
 reliance — national pride begets personal dignity. The rivalry of 
 the state with other states, in industry, frugality, and enterprise, 
 creates a like rivalry amongst her citizens. Liberty is not only 
 herself a blessing, but, like charity, has a breast to nurse a thou- 
 sand virtues." 
 
 This is the eloquent sentiment of one with whose name you are 
 well familiar — one who has dedicated the energies of his accom- 
 plished mind to the service of that country — the expanding free- 
 dom, not less than the reviving literature of which has acquired 
 an impulse from his spirit, and a lustre from his genius. In this 
 sentiment we all concur ; and, Sir, inspired by this sentiment, we 
 here repudiate provincialism, and insist on nationhood. 
 
 As our claim is great, our struggle may be long. Our most 
 serious difficulty, however, lies at home. From the divisions of 
 Irish society, the chief obstacles to Irish freedom arise. Our 
 strongest effort, then, must be to confederate. There are impres- 
 sions which we must remove, before we are enabled to confederate. 
 Our oonduct, more than our professions, will efface these impres- 
 sions. 
 
 To be candid with you, many independent men, men of edu- 
 cated minds and manly principles, who serve their country in the 
 silent walks of literature and science, would join us, did they not 
 conceive, that we here exact too strict a conformity of opinion upon 
 the various political subjects of the day. We will remove this 
 impression, if we prove ourselves upon every occasion the friends 
 of independent opinion, and the free assertion of that opinion. 
 
 Why should it not be so ? Freedom of thought is a right pre- 
 scribed by no human authority. It is older than the sceptre of the 
 
POLITICAL ECONOMY MORALITY OF SELF-GOVERNMENT. 45 
 
 king, or the mitre of tlie prelate. It comes from tlie hand that 
 moulded an image of the Divinity, from the clay of the young 
 world ; and kindling therein a soul as indestructible as that hand 
 itself, gave to it the universe for a home, and an eternity for its 
 career. It is the first right of man. As it is the first right of 
 man, so governments should guard, and society assert it. It is the 
 great right on which the institutions of a country must be based, 
 so that society may not be a servitude, nor government a despo- 
 tism. 
 
 Respecting the opinion of others, let us firmly inculcate our 
 own. Thus shall we, I trust, in time, originate in this country one 
 sentiment — common to all creeds, all grades, all parties — a 
 national sentiment. When that sentiment shall have become the 
 grand sentiment of the country, the revolution is accomplished. 
 
 That it will develope, and become the sentiment of the country, 
 I sincerely believe. In many instances, I know that it exists where 
 it does not act. In many instances, I have known it to break out 
 w^here the partizan heart for a moment forgot its prejudices, and 
 swelled beyond them. It is the most enduring sentiment of nature 
 — it is the first sentiment that awakes in the heart — it is the last 
 that dies within it. It is the sentiment of the child, when his 
 bright eyes scan, for the first time, the grand and beautiful image 
 of his native^land — it is the sentiment of the old man, when he is 
 told, that, in a few days, he will be a portion of its soil. 
 
 Various influences, I admit, will suppress it for a time. In their 
 career through life, men will be influenced by the less generous 
 passions of the heart, and may be taught to separate themselves 
 from the country for whose service they were born, and dedicate 
 their energies to the service of a class. Others, devoting them- 
 selves to a less honorable mission, may wholly isolate their 
 thoughts, and seek personal preferment at the sacrifice both of 
 class and country. But if they do, they have their moments of 
 remorse, and in the loftiest position to which their genius or their 
 
46 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 wealth may elevate them, tlie spirit of childhood — which accom- 
 panies the oldest even to the grave — will awahe within them, and 
 chide them with the abandonment of that country, which, when 
 their affections were free and pure, they loved with enthusiasm, 
 and to guard the liberties of which, in a soldier's garb, was once 
 the prayer of their generous boyhood. 
 
 ISTo, Sir, this love of country never becomes wholly extinct. 
 Here it has lingered, I believe, in every heart. For years it has 
 lingered through ruins, and gleamed over a mournful history. 
 Now it acts through many^ and we would have it become the reli- 
 gion of all. There is nothing true, nothing generous, nothing 
 great, without it. Poetry has no inspiration, society no charm, 
 the song no melody, the arts no impulse, eloquence no fire, indus- 
 try no nerve, where the national sentiment is weak. In every 
 country, save our own, it has been the guiding sentiment. 
 
 But here, at last, it has come to life. The first fact of the pre- 
 dicted regeneration has taken place — a soul hath come into Ire- 
 land — and that soul will burn on, until the last vestige of the 
 province is consumed, and, from the ashes, a new nation ascends, 
 which man shall learn to respect, and heaven shall consecrate ! 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF MR. SMITH O'BRIEN BY THE HOUSE 
 
 OF COMMONS. 
 
 Conciliation Hall, Dublin, 10th May, 1846. 
 
 [In May, 1845, the London Standard was of opinion, that there would 
 be "no difficulty in framing a statute, giving force to the Speaker's warrant, 
 to justify arrest and cautionary imprisonment, for such specific delinquen- 
 cies as refusing to attend a summons duly issued and served." The atten- 
 tion of the Standard was drawn to this subject, by a letter addressed to the 
 editor, which asserted, on "pretty good authority," that Mr. Joseph Hume's 
 notice of motion, on Monday, May 5th, for a " call " of the House on the 
 Friday following, was preconcerted with Mr. O'Connell, for the purpose of 
 allowing the latter an opportunity of refusing to attend, and testing the 
 compulsory powers of the Commons. The Standard, though, "not highly 
 estimating " the character of Mr. Hume, " could not think so badly" of him, 
 as to believe him concerned in the "vile scheme" intimated by its corres- 
 pondent. It was of opinion, however, that, in the state of the law at the 
 time, " an attempt to enforce the threatened call of the house would be, at 
 the least, extremely indiscreet." It had " considerable doubt " in the 
 power of the Commons to " coerce the persons of its members beyond the 
 sea." "Before the Union, the British House of Commons had no such 
 power," nor did they see " anything in the Union Act to confer it." Mr. 
 O'Connell declared the "vile scheme" a falsehood, and also, that, if the 
 Speaker of the House of Commons issued a warrant, and sent it to 
 Ireland, " to try and enforce the attendance of such Irish members as 
 remained away from Parliament," he, for one, would " refuse to obey it.'' 
 In June, 1845, Mr. Smith O'Brien and Mr. John O'Connell refused to serve 
 on any committee of the House of Commons, unless the business before it 
 had particular reference to Ireland. In reply to a circular from the Chair- 
 man of " Selection of Eailway Committees " — informing him that his name 
 was on the list to supply members for the Railway Committees, and that 
 
48 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 his attendance would be necessary from July the 14th, for the purpose of 
 serving, if required — Mr. O'Brien wrote the following letter : — 
 
 " London, Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall, June 30. 
 
 '* Sir, — I had the honor of receiving, on Saturday afternoon, a letter 
 dated 28th June, and signed 'Henry Creed,' to the following effect : — ' I am 
 directed by the Committee of Selection to inform you that your name is on 
 the list from which members will be selected to serve on Railway Com- 
 mittees, which will commence their sittings in the week beginning Monday 
 the 14th July, during which week it will be necessary for you to be in 
 attendance, for the purpose of serving, if required, on a Railway com- 
 mittee.' 
 
 " I trust that the Committee of Selection will not think that I am 
 prompted by any feeling of disrespect towards them, or towards the House 
 of Commons, when I inform them that it is my intention not to serve on 
 any committees, except such as may be appointed with reference to the 
 affairs of Ireland. 
 
 "I accepted a seat in the House of Commons, in the hope of being 
 thereb}^ enabled to assist in improving the condition of the land of my 
 birth. So long as I continued to believe that I could serve Ireland 
 effectually in the House of Commons, I shrank from none of the labors 
 which are connected with the varied functions of that assembly. During 
 twelve years I attended Parliament with an assiduity of which I might feel 
 disposed to boast, if the time so consumed by the House, and by myself, 
 had been productive of results useful to my native country. 
 
 " Experience and observation at length forced upon my mind the convic- 
 tion, that the British parliament is incompetent, through want of know- 
 ledge, if not through want of inclination, to legislate wisely for Ireland, 
 and that our national interests can be protected and fostered only through 
 the instrumentality of an Irish legislature. 
 
 " Since this conviction has established itself in my mind, I have felt per- 
 suaded that the labors of the Irish members, though of little avail in the 
 British Parliament, might, if applied in Ireland with prudence and energy, 
 be effectual in obtaining for the Irish people their national rights. 
 
 "I have reason to believe, that in this opinion a very large majority of 
 my constituents concur. To them alone I hold myself responsible for the 
 performance of my parliamentary duties. If they had disapproved of my 
 continued absence from the House of Commons, I should have felt it my 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 49 
 
 duty to liave withdrawn from the representation of the County Limerick ; 
 but I liave the satisfaction of thinking that I not only consult the interests, 
 but also comply with the wishes, of my constituents, in declining to engage 
 in the struggles of English party ; or to involve myself in the details of 
 English legislation. 
 
 "While such have been the general impressions under which I have 
 absented myself during nearly two years from the House of Commons, I 
 yet do not feel myself at liberty to forego whatever power of resistance, to 
 the progress of pernicious legislation, my office of representative may con- 
 fer upon me. Upon the present occasion, I have come to London for the 
 purpose of endeavoring to induce the House of Commons, or rather the 
 government, who appear to command the opinions of a large majority of 
 the House, to modify some of the Irish measures now before parliament, 
 in such a manner as to render them beneficial, instead of injurious, to 
 Ireland. 
 
 "Desiring that none but the representatives of the Irish nation should 
 legislate for Ireland, we have no wish to intermeddle with the affairs of 
 England or Scotland, except in so far as they may be connected with the 
 interests of Ireland, or with the general policy of the Empire. 
 
 " In obedience to this principle, I have abstained from voting on English 
 and Scotch questions of a local nature ; and the same motive now induces 
 me to decline attendance on committees on any private hills, except such 
 as relate to Ireland. 
 
 " I am prepared to abide with cheerfulness the personal consequences 
 which may result from the course of conduct which I feel it my duty to 
 adopt. 
 
 " I speak with great diffidence upon any question of a legal kind, but I 
 am supported by very high professional authority, when I suggest to the 
 committee, that no power was delegated to the House of Commons, by the 
 Act of Union, or by subsequent statutes, to compel the attendance of Irish 
 members on the deliberation of the British Parliament. 
 
 " Neither do I find that any authority has been given by statutory enact- 
 ment to the House (except in the case of election petitions,) to enforce the 
 attendance of members upon committees. 
 
 " I refrain, however, from arguing legal questions which may be raised 
 before another tribunal, in ease it should become necessary and advisable 
 to appeal from the decision of the House of Commons to the courts of 
 judicature, and conclude by assuring the committee that I take the coui'se 
 
 3 
 
50 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 •wliich I propose to adopt, not from any desire to defy the just authority of 
 the House of Commons, but in obedience to my sense of the duty which I 
 owe to my constituents and to my country. 
 
 "I have the honor to be, your obedient servant, 
 
 " WILLIA3I S. O'Brien. 
 " To the Chairman of the Committee of Selection, &c" 
 
 Mr. J. O'Connell intimated his refusal in the following letter : — • 
 
 " British Hotel, Jermtn Street. 
 " Sir — I liave to acknowledge the receipt of a notification by order of 
 your committee, to the effect, that my attendance in parliament will be 
 required during the week beginning Monday, 14th July, for the purpose of 
 serving, if chosen, on a railway committee. 
 
 " Yv'ith every respect to you. Sir, and the gentlemen of the committee, I 
 absolutely decline attending. 
 
 " I, like some others, came to London, the first time this session, about a 
 fortnight ago, to remonstrate against, and endeavor to resist the plan of 
 infidel education which the government are forcing upon Ireland. We had 
 not, nor for some years have had, the slightest hope of obtaining any mea- 
 sure of good from a foreign parliament; but we came against our better 
 judgments, that it might not be said we had not gone all lengths to endea- 
 vor to deter the government from a scheme so redolent of political corrup- 
 tion, social profligacy, and religious infidelity. 
 
 " We came armed with multitudinous petitions of the people, and the 
 strong, unanimous, and most decided protest of our revered prelacy and 
 clergy. 
 
 " We were, of course, mocked at, derided, and refused ; but what is of 
 infinitely more consequence, the voices of our prelates, and of the faithful 
 people of Ireland, have been treated with utter contempt — even Irish 
 Catholics (yielding to the unwholesome atmosphere around them,) joining 
 in the contemptuous refusal. 
 
 " Under these circumstances, Sir, I certainly will not suff"er that portion 
 of the people of Ireland who have entrusted their representation to my 
 charge, to be further mocked at and insulted in my person. I go to where 
 I can best discharge my duty to them and to Ireland (m Ireland,) there to 
 struggle with doubtless as little ability, but with ^pore energ}^, and if jiossi- 
 ble, more whole-hearted devotion than ever, to put an end to the present 
 
IMPRISOKMENT OF MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 51 
 
 degradation of my country, and obtain for her that which can alone ensure 
 protection to her interests, relief to her many wants, and peace, freedom, 
 and happiness to her long oppressed and long-enduring people. 
 " I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 " Your yery faithful servant, 
 
 "John O'Connell. 
 "The Chairman of the Committee of Selection of Railways." 
 
 These letters were inserted on the minutes of the Committee of Selec- 
 tion and no further notice taken of them at the time. Concurring in their 
 views, the rest of the Repeal members came to the determination not to 
 attend on any of the English or Scotch railway committees. An oppor- 
 tunity soon occurred, to test the sincerity of that resolution. On April 
 3d, 1846, Mr. O'Brien received a circular, similar to the former one, from 
 the " Committee of Selection," stating that his presence was necessary on 
 the 2'7th inst. In sending a reply, Mr. O'Brien enclosed a copy of his pre- 
 vious communication, and, in allusion to it, writes : — 
 
 " I have not seen any reason, since that letter was written, to change the 
 determination therein expressed. Indeed, the circumstances, under which 
 I attend parliament during the present session, are such as to render adhe- 
 rence to that determination an imperative duty. 
 
 " I have been called over from Ireland at a period when the deplorable 
 situation of that country requires the presence of all whose duties connect 
 them with it, for the purpose of resisting a measure by which it is projjosed 
 to invade the personal freedom and to suspend the constitutional liberties 
 of the Irish people. In offering resistance to that measure it will be neces- 
 sary for me to assist in exposing the systematic raisgovernment which has 
 produced those results, w^hich furnish a pretext for this renewed attempt to 
 coerce Ireland, The time and facilities at my command being limited, I do 
 not feel myself at liberty to allow my attention to be diverted, from sub- 
 jects of higher import, to matters of local concern, which do not affect the 
 interests of my country. 
 
 "I must, therefore, respectfully decline to serve on the committees on 
 private bills, except such as relate to Ireland. 
 
 "I am aware that the House has the power to deprive my constituents 
 of such humble services as I can render to them, by imprisoning my per« 
 son, contrary to law. 
 
 "I have fully considered and am prepared to abide that alternative." 
 
52 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 House of Commons, Committee of Selection, 
 
 Monday, April 6, 1846. 
 
 "Sir— Having had the honor to receive, on Friday Last, your letter of 
 that day's date — * * * I this day availed myself of the first sitting of the 
 Committee of Selection since the receipt of your letter to submit its con- 
 tents to them ; and I am instructed to inform you that the committee can- 
 not, in the reasons which you allege for not serving, recognize such an 
 excuse, as (in accordance with the spirit of the resolutions agreed to by the 
 House, on the 12th of last February,) would justify their "deeming it suf- 
 ficient " to exempt you from serving, should you be selected for that pur- 
 pose from the list of members whose attendance is required in the week 
 commencing on Monday, the 2Yth of April. 
 
 " But as it appears from your letter, that, at this particular jimcture, 
 your time and attention are engrossed by a subject of primary importance 
 to Ireland, I am further instructed by the Committee of Selection to state 
 that, adhering to their usual practice of consulting, as far as may be con- 
 sistent with a faithful and impartial discharge of their duty, the conve- 
 nience of the several members whom they may find it incumbent upon them 
 to select, it will afi"ord them great satisfaction to avail themselves of this 
 timely communication with you, to make an arrangement by which your 
 attendance may be postponed to a later period, should your convenience 
 be thereby accommodated, provided you will have the goodness to give 
 them an early intimation of any week during the month of May when it 
 may be less inconvenient to you to be in attendance. 
 
 " In the event, however, of their receiving from jow no such intimation, 
 the Committee of Selection will presume that no accommodation would be 
 afforded to jow by such a postponement as I have alluded to, and will con- 
 sider it tlieir duty to abide by the arrangement which will be announced 
 in the votes of Wednesday. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, Sir, 
 
 " Your obedient, humble servant, 
 
 " T. G. BUCKNALL ESTCOURT, 
 
 " Chairman of the Committee of Selection. 
 "William S. O'Brien, Esq." 
 
 " Oxford and Cambridge Club, Pall Mall, Ajyril Y. 
 « SxR — I have had the honor of receiving your obliging letter, of yester- 
 day's date, in answer to mine, of the 3d instant. 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 53 
 
 * I feel exceedingly indebted for the courtesy and consideration evinced 
 by the Committee of Selection in suggesting the arrangement proposed in 
 your letter ; but since my objection to serve upon committees on English 
 and Scotch private bills is founded upon the relations at present existing 
 between my country and Great Britain, and not upon a regard for my own 
 personal convenience, I must refer to my former communication, as 
 announcing my final determination. 
 
 " I have the honor to be, your obedient, faithful servant, 
 
 " William S. O'Brien. 
 
 "To the Chairman of the Committee of Selection." 
 
 Monday, April 2Y, on the motion of Mr. Estcourt, the House of Com- 
 mons ordered Mr. Smith O'Brien to attend the railway committee, on Group 
 II. After the passing of the " order," he immediately rose and said — 
 " that he had understood the motion put by the Speaker to be merely a 
 request that he would attend ; he was willing, as he -before stated, to do so, 
 in discharge of his general duty to his constituents, under protest against 
 any right in the House to enforce his attendance, as an Irish member. But 
 understanding that the motion put and carried was, that he be * ordered 
 by the House to attend the Committee,' he begged at once, with all respect, 
 to state that it was his intention not to attend, and he would not attend 
 the committee on Group II." On the 28th, Mr. Estcourt reviewed the 
 whole correspondence, and feeling the duty which devolved on him to be one 
 of a "very painful nature," — " because nothing could have been more obliging 
 or more considerate than the whole conduct of the honorable member for 
 Limerick " — moved 
 
 '' That William Smith O'Brien, Esq., having disobeyed an order of the 
 House, by refusing to attend the committee to which the railway group jSTo, 
 XI. was referred, has been guilty of a contempt of this House." 
 
 The motion was received with loud cheers. After a pause Mr. O'Connell 
 said : — " He (Mr. O'Brien) has acted from a strong sense of duty, and I am 
 sorry to say that it is a sense of duty he is not likely to give up." He ques- 
 tioned the constitutionality of the proceedings and declared : — " Tlie House 
 had no jurisdiction by common law to compel the attendance of members." 
 The Attorney General for England expressed " great regret " that such a 
 resolution was necessary, but thought it " impossible that the House could 
 submit to allow the honorable member for Limerick to persevere in his 
 resistance to its authority." Mr. E, B. Roche " foresaw that the ultimate 
 
64 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 result would be tlie compelling of the Irish members to concur with the 
 member for Limerick." Mr. Warburtoa was willing to express strong dis- 
 approval, but when he knew that the next motion would be to commit Mr. 
 O'Brien to the Tower, or to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arras, he would 
 not consent to support the resolution. Sir George Grey had not a shadow 
 of doubt upon his mind as to the course which the House ought to pursue, 
 and voted for the motion. " It appeared " to Sir Robert Peel " that it was 
 essential that the House should vindicate its authority." Mr. John O'Con- 
 nell thought that Mr. O'Brien " was perfectly justified in having done so," 
 but " deplored the course which his honorable friend had taken as it 
 deprived them of his aid in opposing the coercion biU." Mr. Hume 
 " approved highly " of the sentiments of Mr. J. O'Connell, but agreed with 
 Sir Robert Peel, on the course to be taken. Sir T. Wilde agreed with the 
 motion, as he was satisfied that a " morbid love of popularity and noto- 
 riety " induced him (Mr. Smith O'Brien) to act as he did. Mr. D'Israeli said 
 " it was admitted that the technical notice to attend was not served, and 
 they might delay action until the case was technically complete. Besides 
 a point of law had been raised, which at least showed that the subject was 
 debateable. Was it politic, under the circumstances to come forward in a 
 vindictive spirit. They wanted evidence on the point. He wanted time, 
 before they would enforce a rule of novel introduction which he hoped 
 they were not prepared to make permanent." Mr. Buller concurred in 
 the vote of " an act of contempt." Mr. Brotherton did not want to elevate 
 him by sending the honorable member to the Tower — by making a martyr 
 of him. Sir R. Inglis considered it his " absolute duty to support the 
 motion." Mr. Fitzgerald was quite sure " that Mr. O'Brien adopted his 
 present course not with a view of making himself a martyr, but in order to 
 serve his country. As for popularity, it was impossible to make him more 
 popular than he now was in Ireland." On the division of the House, the 
 motion was carried by a vote of 133 for, and 13 against it. On the 30th, 
 Mr. O'Brien was committed to the custody of the Sergeant-at-Arms, and 
 confined in an apartment of the House of Commons called the " cellar." 
 On the next evening, Mr. Roche read the following letter to the House : — 
 
 House of Commons Prison, 3fay \st, 1846. 
 My Dear Roche — I shall feel much obliged if you will explain to the 
 House, this evening, that you were under a misconception when you stated 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 55 
 
 yesterday that I complained that no opportunity had been afforded to me 
 of speaking in my own defence. 
 
 " On the contrary I cheerfully acknowledge that such an opportunity 
 was offered, and that I declined to avail myself of it. 
 
 "I Wi:s very anxious to have spoken yesterday, because I do not think 
 my case was fairly stated to the House by the chairman of the Committee 
 of Selection. I referred to my letters to the Committee, as stating the 
 grounds upon which I had refused to serve upon committees on English 
 and Scotch railway bills. If those letters had been read in extenso, I 
 should have been contented to abide by the opinion of the House upon 
 them ; but the chairman of the Committee read only such portions of them 
 as tended to produce an impression on the House unfavorable to my con- 
 duct. 
 
 "I wish it also to be known that, until the closing sentence of !&Ir. 
 Estcourt's speech reached me, I did not know what was the nature of the 
 motion which he intended to submit ; so that I was unprepared to form an 
 opinion as to the course which it v>^ould be most advisable for me to adopt. 
 I did not know whether I was to be imprisoned or reprimanded, or whe- 
 ther a committee might not be appointed to take the case into consideration 
 before any final motion should be proposed to the House. As mine is a 
 new case, arising out of resolutions adopted without notice, without dis- 
 cussion, not founded on long established practice, not supported by any 
 authority derived from statute or from prescription, it seemed to me that 
 the appointment of a committee to dehberate on the subject, was not only 
 the wisest and most natural mode of dealing with the case, but also that 
 which would have been most conformable to former precedents. I need 
 not say that my decision with respect to the propriety of addressing the 
 House on my own behalf, or of remaining silent, might have been affected 
 by a knowledge of the motion which was to be proposed to the House. 
 Undoubtedly, if I had foreseen that vay views would have been so much 
 misrepresented in debate as they have been, I should not have declined to 
 state them fully to the House. 
 
 " In all proceedings in Parliament, it is customary to give due notice to 
 the parties affected by such proceedings — such notice, therefore, may be 
 considered as a ' right ' rather than as a ' courtesy.' With reference to the 
 preliminary motion made on Monday night, I was left in such entire 
 ignorance with regard to the terms of that motion, that I absolutely mis- 
 took the question when put from the chair, and imagined that it was an 
 
56 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 order to attend the House on Tuesday, whereas I afterwards learned that 
 it was an order to attend the Committee. 
 
 " On last Friday, I stated to Mr. Estcourt, in private, that I should feel 
 much obliged to him if he would intimate to me the terms of the motion 
 which he intended to make in my case, as soon as his own determination 
 was formed. I subsequently received no communication from him. 
 
 "I do not wish you to reveal to the House what an Irishman thinks of 
 such a mode of proceeding. Suifering from injustice of the British House 
 of Commons, I expect nothing from its generosity. 
 
 "I shall make no further appeal to the House. Yesterday I was 
 extremely anxious to have been allowed to speak, on my own behalf, 
 before my committal to prison as a culprit. I shall not again condescend 
 to solicit even this trifling favor. 
 
 "In concluding, I beg most anxiously and earnestly to request you to 
 inform the House that I am no party to any motion for my discharge. 
 "I remain, my dear Roche, 
 
 " Very sincerely yours, 
 
 "William 3. O'Brien. 
 
 "E. B. EocHE, Esq., M.P." 
 
 In the mean time, the Irish members, who, in the previous year, had 
 been loud in the condemnation of such attendance, and in approval of the 
 principle on which Mr. O'Brien's refusal was founded, did exactly what 
 Mr. O'Brien did not — attend. Mr. Estcourt, in moving the " contempt " 
 resolution, adverted to the Irish members, than whom " none discharged 
 this duty more cheerfully, more kindly, more ably." He was unwilling to 
 particularize, but he " could not help adverting to the conduct of the 
 honorable and learned member for Cork (Mr. O'Connell)." And Sir T. 
 Wilde, in the same spirit, asked, " Did he (Mr. O'Biien) imagine that he 
 was not doing an injustice to Ireland by not attending to duties which the 
 member for Cork had no objection to attend to ;" and further, wished to 
 know " if he was a more competent judge than that honorable and learned 
 gentleman." Mr. John O'Connell — differing with Mr. Warburton on some 
 remarks of the latter relative to unwilling members — stated, that " he had 
 been a member of a railway committee for the last three weeks and pro- 
 bably should be for two months to come." May 2d, a vote of " undimi- 
 nished confidence in the integrity, patriotism, and personal courage " of Mr. 
 Smith O'Brien, and " in admiration of the high sense of duty and purity of 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 67 
 
 purpose which prompted him to risk his personal liberty in the assertion 
 of a principle which he believed to be inherent in the constitution of his 
 country," was, by acclamation, "awarded the precedence of all other busi- 
 ness in Conciliation Hall. Mr. O'Brien wrote (May 2) an explanation of 
 his course to his constituents, but previous to his doing so, the Corporation 
 of Limerick had passed a vote of confidence in, and an address of approval 
 to him. Meetings of the City and County of Limerick were also held, 
 approving the step which Mr. O'Brien had taken. Addresses of approval 
 and confidence were also moved to him, at meetings held in Waterford, 
 Galway, Athlone, N"ewry, Ennis, Kilkenny, Cashel, Cork, Tuam, Ballin- 
 garry, Kilrush, and other places. A deputation from the '82 Club presented 
 an address to him in prison, xi deputation from the Liverpool Repealers 
 did the same. The Liberal press of Ireland were unanimous in approving 
 of his conduct. A few quotations will show with what a unanimity of 
 feeling his countrymen spoke. 
 
 "It is determined that we unhesitatingly approve of, and avow the 
 manly, fearless, and consistent course adopted by "VVilKam Smith O'Brien." 
 
 "That having expressed our entire approbation of the conduct of 
 William Smith O'Brien on all occasions, we not only request, but respect- 
 fully demand, that he continue to be our representative, leaving him fully 
 at liberty, from our entire reliance upon him, to discharge that duty 
 according to the dictates of his own wisdom." 
 
 "Declining to act on committees with which the Irish people have no 
 connexion, meets our warmest approval." {^Limerick Resolutions.) 
 
 " It would be idle and out of place to offer condolence to you, confined 
 in an English prison for such an ofi"ence. We congratulate you that you 
 have made yourself the champion of your country's rights, and submitted 
 to ignominy for a cause which you and we know shall one day triumph." 
 {Address of '82 CluK) 
 
 " The manly, dignified, and intrepid stand he has made in vindication 
 of a principle deeply important to the liberties of Ireland." {Cashel 
 Resolutions.) 
 
 "Ability to serve Ireland, courage to act on your own convictions, and 
 fortitude to endure any penalty, are the prominent qualities which adorn 
 and exalt your patriotism." {Kilkenny Address.) 
 
 3-* 
 
58 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 "Sir, — In 1843, tlie Loyal ISTational Repeal Association published the 
 opinion, that the Irish representatives could better serve their country in 
 Conciliation Hall than by attendance in Parliament. We recognise in this 
 position a great and most important principle, and consider your steadfast 
 and consistent assertion of it deserving the unmeasured thanks of the Irish 
 nation. "We rely with full and undiminished confidence in your wisdom, 
 discretion, and courage, and resolve to sustain you by all means." {Liver- 
 pool Address.) 
 
 " Loving order — worshipping justice and national unity — recognising to 
 the fullest extent a consistent, wholesome, and seasonable jexercise of pru- 
 dence — we still feel convinced that the time for pursuing a mincing or 
 Protean policy has passed away. Our aspirations for nationality — our 
 hope for the future — our manhood, require a different course, and we are 
 gratified that you have adopted it." {Limerick Address of Weicome.) 
 
 May 2oth, Mr. Shaw, moving the discharge of Mr. Smith O'Brien from 
 custody, remarked that, " the authority of the House had been vindicated 
 by his imprisonment for twenty-five days." In justice to Mr. O'Brien, he 
 said, this motion was made without that gentleman's acquiescence, " but it 
 better became the House to decide the question." The motion being put, 
 it was carried nem. con., — shortly after which, Mr. O'Brien took his seat 
 " on the front opposition bench." His return to Ireland was signalized 
 by an extraordinarily brilliant public procession and banquet, given him 
 by his constituents, June 11th,] 
 
 Sir, I take this opportunity of referring to the resolution adopted 
 by the Association on the last day of meeting. I do not apologize 
 for doing so, for, I conceive, it is a subject upon which the mem- 
 bers of this Association should not cease to comment for a long 
 time. 
 
 It is true, that resolution might have been more expressive of 
 our sentiments — might have been framed in stronger terras. 
 Being so, it might have been less judicious — less legal. That is 
 the best excuse for it. I am glad, however, to tell the meeting 
 tnat a more decisive tone was assumed and maintained elsewhere. 
 
IMPRISONMENT OF MR. SMITH o'bRIEN. 59 
 
 Feeble as tlie resolution of last Monday was, I trust, however, 
 that it somewhat cheered the noble heart to the stern truth of 
 which it was offered as a tribute. Hemmed in by the walls of an 
 English prison — breathing not the air of his own country, but of 
 that city in which our nobles are dishonored, and our representa- 
 tives, if true, receive but insult — scoffed at by the rude writers of 
 the English press — derided as his remonstrances have been by the 
 English Commons — his proud heart must have swelled with joy — 
 his hopes have risen — and his determination have been nerved for 
 a yet more stern destiny — when he was told, that the people of 
 this country, to whose service he has pledged his fortune and his 
 life, and for whom he has made sacrifices the most severe that a 
 man of feeling could ever make — that the people of this country 
 did not desert him in this his day of trial — but, rallying round 
 him — witk the same enthusiasm as they did when he stood here, 
 during the hundred days' imprisonment, the fearless champion of 
 their cause — gave to him, that which every honest man must love 
 — the sympathy of true hearts, the approbation of free minds. 
 " Sir, a man guided by truth alone, with a heart to brave the 
 worst of perils, whilst he follows out the great purpose of his soul, 
 will not be influenced by the public passions. He will rise above 
 them, and whether they flatter or condemn, will pursue his chosen 
 course — firm, fearless, and invincible — mindful only of his own 
 integrity. 
 
 Such a man do I conceive Mr. Smith O'Brien to be. You have 
 recognised him in that light, and have borne testimony to his 
 nobility of mind — to his integrity of heart. 
 
 As he has often said, the desire of popular applause was to him 
 no motive for action, though the acquisition of it might be an 
 agreeable reward. ~ To those, then, who ascribe this late act of his 
 to an anxiety to acquire popular favor, his character is, indeed, 
 unknown — it is strangely misconceived, if it is not grossly misre- 
 presented. 
 
60 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Were lie to be actuated by such a motive, he would bave sur- 
 rendered bis opinions, two montbs since, in tbis Hall, and bave 
 here avowed bimself bostile to the corn laws. In declaring him- 
 self adverse to the repeal of those laws, in announcing himself a 
 protectionist from this place, in taking a different view, and 
 expressing a contrary opinion to that of Mr. O'Connell and the 
 majority of the Repeal members, he risked his popularity — he 
 risked it, but he did not lose it. He did not lose it, for you saw 
 there was truth in the man — and whilst you regretted bis opinion, 
 you admired bis principle. 
 
 Upon this question of the corn laws, be acted with the same 
 thorough independence as he now does, regardless of all personal 
 considerations. 
 
 Sir, in these days, when public virtue is for the most part sacri- 
 ficed to personal interest — when consistency seems every; where to 
 yield to expediency — when public men appear to take their com- 
 plexion from the accidents of the day, instead of stamping their 
 own inherent character upon the events of the age — when the very 
 government, to use the language of a brilliant satirist, becomes 
 " an organised hypocrisy " — when society, as a bold thinker has 
 described it, is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one 
 of its members — when the virtue in most request is conformity, 
 and self-reliance an aversion — in these days, Sir, it is a goodly, as 
 it is a strange sight, to see a public man, true to his convictions, 
 true in the assertion of those convictions, bearing proudly up 
 against the most depressing influences, and defying that which has 
 heretofore brought down many a soaring mind to bite the dust — • 
 defying the coward sarcasm of the English press ! 
 
 From the first day of his imprisonment, dov>^n to the present 
 moment, that press has not ceased to sneer, to scoff at, to malign 
 the Irish prisoner. Coarse jestings, dastard witticisms, sordid jeers 
 — these have the English people, through their press, flung upon 
 
61 
 
 that man, who, I will admit, has well earned their enmity, for 
 he hates their domination. 
 
 Sir, I am not one of those who wantonly would run down the 
 English name. Educated in England, I have learned to respect 
 that country for many fine virtues, for many great deeds. With 
 few exceptions, her conduct towards other countries has always 
 been just, generous, and magnanimous. She is, in truth, a great 
 nation, and, from a dazzling height, teaches the poorest people 
 how to plant and how to guard their native flag. But towards 
 Ireland, her infatuate ally in many a struggle, her conduct, as Mr. 
 MacNevin observed upon the last day of meeting, has ever been 
 mean, unjust, and contemptuous. 
 
 In the present instance, I allude. Sir, not to the English Com- 
 mons — I allude to the English people, represented by their press. 
 
 The conduct of England has, indeed, been mean, unjust, and 
 contemptuous — more than contemptuous, it has been cowardly. 
 
 Till now I thought it was un-English to strike a man when 
 he was down. Till now, I thought that, whether in the grave or 
 in the prison, the foe of England was safe from insult. Till now, 
 I thought the vanquished ever claimed her sympathy, and that, in 
 the flush of triumph, her spirit was great because it was for- 
 bearing. 
 
 Sir, the conduct of England in this instance does not remind me 
 of that country, which an old history of some centuries lias taught 
 me to admire. It does not remind me of that England, with the 
 arms and letters of which the names of the Alfreds, the Edwards, 
 the Russells, the Miltons, and the Hampdens are associated. It 
 does not remind me of that England by whose sword Spain was 
 rescued, and Portugal was set free. It does not remind me of that 
 England whose guns at Navarino gave succor to the Greek, and on 
 whose soil the Polish insurrectionist has found a refuge. 
 
 But I am reminded of that England, whose flag was planted iu 
 this country by a Went worth, a Carhampton, a Ludlow, and a 
 
62 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Cromwell, — that flag, in which the dead liberties of our country, 
 as in a red shroud, have been bound up. I am reminded of that 
 England, w^hose assassin blade massacred at Mullaghmast, and 
 whose traitor heart broke faith at Limerick. I am reminded of 
 that England, by whom the Irish noble has been dishonored, and 
 the Irish peasant has been starved. 
 
 Yet to these coward insults our illustrious friend will be insensi- 
 ble — against them he will bear up — if, in that cell, to which the 
 English Commons have consigned him, he is told that the Irish 
 people will not abandon, but support him to the last — that the 
 insults he has received, have outraged them — and that this country, 
 insulted in his person, has vowed to resent these insults in her own 
 2"ood time. 
 
 Did we abandon him, we were a craven race, unfit for freedom ! 
 Did we abandon him, we deserved chains — not a free Senate ! 
 Did we abandon him, America might well deride our invocations 
 to liberty, and France retaliate with justice our taunts upon her 
 Guizot pohcy ! Did we abandon him, every honest man should 
 look upon this Association as a junta of heartless and irresolute 
 declaimers, and the sooner those doors were locked, after that 
 abandonment, the better, say I, for the cause of truth, of man- 
 hood, and of freedom ! 
 
 But you have acted as became you. 
 
 I look not to the resolution of last Monday — I look to your 
 hearts, and from those large volumes, I learn that you feel as men 
 — as men of generous sentiment and courageous purpose. 
 
 You did not abandon — you will not abandon in the worst 
 extremity — that man, who, in the hour of danger—" when the des- 
 tinies of Ireland hung quivering in the balance " — when ten thou- 
 sand British soldiers stood upon that plain, where once his scep- 
 tred forefather beat back the Dane — hastened to your ranks, and 
 brought to the national cause the prestige of a royal name. You 
 did not abandon— you will not abandon, come what may — that 
 
63 
 
 man, who, wlien your leader was in prison, stood here to fill up 
 the gap — and who — inspiring you by his enthusiasm, guiding you 
 by his wisdom — sustained your hopes, directed your energies, and 
 converted that period which government and faction had ordained 
 to be a period of discomfiture, into a period of active patriotism 
 and bold success. 
 
 The men in the provinces have done their duty — have done it 
 unequivocally — have done it generously — have done it fearlessly. 
 Limerick has spoken out, and spoken out in no disguised or muf- 
 fled tone. Waterford, my native city, has spoken out, and I honor 
 my birthplace for its spirit and its truth. 
 
 For this imprisonment, our illustrious friend shall receive the 
 love and homage of the Irish people. On his release from that 
 dungeon — when he " treads once more the land that bore him " 
 — he shall here be welcomed, as the patriot descendant of a 
 patriot king should alone be welcomed. And hereafter, when 
 the history of this struggle shall have been written, the free nation 
 that is now growing up here will be told, that he, William Smith 
 O'Brien, was amongst those who struggled most and suffered most 
 to give her life, to give her character, to give her power. 
 
ACCESSION OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. 
 Conciliation Hall, Dublin, 15th June, 1846. 
 
 [From the first day of the session, the return of the Whigs to power 
 appeared inevitable. The defection created among the followers of Sir 
 Robert Peel, had left him almost powerless. The Protectionists, under the 
 leadership of Lord George Bentinck and Mr. D'Israeli, were determined to 
 avail themselves of the first opportunity to avenge themselves upon the 
 Minister, for his declaration respecting the repeal of the Corn-laws and the 
 opening of the Ports. The introduction of the Arms Act into the Com- 
 mons, ultimately gave them this opportunity. Agreeing in the principle 
 of the bill, nearly all parties in the House, with the exception of the Irish 
 Repeal Members, voted for the first reading. — Monday, March 30th, Sir 
 James Graham moved the suspension of the standing orders of the House, 
 in order that the Coercion bill be read the first time. Sir Williara 
 Somerville moved an amendment, to the effect, that the orders of the day 
 be not postponed. In the first place, he did not desire to postpone the 
 Corn bill, on which the hopes of the whole empire were set ; and secondly, 
 he wished to observe the form and etiquette of the House. At this period, 
 it would produce an exciting and exasperating debate, which was needless ; 
 for, " after all," said he, " it is not the intention of ministers to pursue the 
 Irish Coercion biU beyond its earliest stage. It is so admitted on aU sides 
 — by nobody more than by the members of government, and of those mem- 
 bers, by nobody more than by the right honorable baronet at the head cf 
 it. If they were sincere in their apprehensions of danger to life, why 
 did they lose a day in laying a bill upon the table of the House of Lords, 
 attention having been directed to the question in the Queen's Speech, as far 
 back as January 22nd." Sir James Graham, on the part of the Govern- 
 ment, stated, that the Corn bill was "the measure of primary importance," 
 but he attached " immense importance " to having the opinion of the House 
 on the Coercion bill. For the "inestimable value" of the "moral eifect" 
 of its adoption, " even on a first reading," he desired to proceed with it. 
 
ACCESSIOlSr OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. 65 
 
 Mr, Shaw, Eecorder of Dublin, supporting Government, distrusted the 
 present scheme for the pacification of Ireland. To succeed, " it was neces- 
 sary," he said, "that the Government, by which it was introduced, should 
 • have a moral prestige." jS'oticing an imputation, made by Sir James 
 ^ Graham in a preceding debate, Mr. Shaw admitted that the present 
 Government was " a falling Government ;" and, amid loud cheers, pointed 
 to Sir James as " the evil genius to whom such instability was attributable." 
 Mr. O'Connell believed that the Government wanted to get rid of the Corn 
 bill for the present, by introducing the Coercion bill, as he did not believe 
 they would get a first reading before Easter. Lord George Bentinek stated 
 that, *' if the day should come (which was to be anticipated) when they 
 (the Protectionists) should be responsible for the government of Ireland, 
 theii' principles of protection would not be extended to the assassin." He 
 concurred with the Marguis of Lansdowne, that this measure should pre- 
 > cede any other for the unprovement of Ireland. Sir George Grey earnestly 
 hoped that the- Irish members would allow the first reading of the bill sub 
 silentio, that the Corn bill might be taken up immediately, and recom- 
 mended the postponement of all debate on the Coercion bill to the second 
 reading. Mr. Sidney Herbert hoped that the measure for the admission of 
 corn might pass pari passu with the Coercion bill. Lord John Eussell 
 thought that ample reasons had been given for postponing this bill, and for 
 proceeding with the Corn bill. He voted for the amendment. Mr. Cobden 
 expressed sincere regret at the course of the Ministers. The men who led 
 public opinion in Ireland, were opposed to the Coercion bill — there were 
 petitions from the manufacturing districts every day, prajdng for the Corn 
 bill, and he would vote against the Government motion. The original 
 motion had a majority of 39. April 11, Sir J. Graham moved, that the 
 order of the day for the first reading of the bill be read. The "^Tiigs 
 voted for the first reading. " Some of the English members have 
 supported us," said Mr. John O'Connell ; " I regret, however, that 
 Lord John Russell and Lord Morpeth have allowed themselves to be 
 entangled in the cobweb machinery of Parliamentary customs and 
 precedent. They tell us, that whatever opposition they give to the 
 Coercion bill, they will support it in its first and second reading." 
 On the second reading (June 5th) of the bill, however, the Protectionists, 
 as well as the leading Whigs, each on different grounds, announced their 
 opposition to the government measure. On the part of the former, Lord 
 George Bentinek said, " I gave due notice to Her Majesty's government, 
 
QQ ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 tliat I and my friends could be disposed to support the measure before tbe 
 House, provided the government, by their earnestness in pressing it for- 
 ward with all haste, proved their sincerity and desire to carry it — that if, 
 on the contrary, it should appear, from the conduct of Her Majesty's 
 ministers, in permitting all other measures of less immediate necessity to 
 be carried through in preference to this, we should not then be of opinion 
 that such a necessity existed for carrying a measure so unconstitutional as 
 this, as would justify any party in supporting it." He proceeded to show 
 that, from the information recently obtained, offences in Ireland had lessened 
 twenty per cent., and that the chief secretary for Ireland did not give the 
 House very accurate accounts concerning that country — in fact " he does not 
 appear," said the noble Lord, "to have bestowed much attention on Ireland " 
 — " so that for this measure, which the government introduced as a tempo- 
 rary bill, to meet a temporary emergency — and wlych has been postponed 
 from the month of January to the middle of the month of June — there has 
 been produced but poor evidence of the necessity of now meeting an 
 emergency which occurred five months ago. * * * — It is a mockery 
 and an insult to both parties in Ireland, to brandish before their eyes this 
 measure, which it is never intended to carry into effect. I, for one, will do 
 my best to prevent this mockery from being perpetrated. Is there a man 
 in the country fool enough to believe that Her Majesty's ministers are in 
 earnest ? Believing that there is not, the sooner, I say, we kick out the 
 bill, and Her Majesty's ministers with it, the better. "We used to be told 
 by the right honorable baronet (Sir R. Peel) that he would never consent 
 to be a minister on sufferance. He must be deaf, indeed, if by this time 
 he has not learned that he is nothing but a minister on sufferance." Mon- 
 day, June 15th, Mr. D'Israeli supported Lord George Bentinck, and charged 
 Sir Robert Peel with having got into power by professing opinions contrary 
 to those which he now sought to force on the country. " The right honor- 
 able gentleman," he concluded, " had once said that Ireland was his great- 
 est difficulty. He must be reminded of that by his present position. He 
 must feel that it was Nemesis who regulated that division, and was then 
 about to stamp with the seal of parliamentary reprobation, the catastrophe 
 of a sinister career." Lord John Russell having shown, in a long speech, 
 that the " outrages " in Ireland grew out of the unsettled state of the land 
 question, concluded thus : — " If you wish, as I do, to maintain the Union, 
 and to make it a source of happiness, of increased rights and blessings to 
 Ireland as well as England, and of increased strength in future times to 
 
ACCESSION OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. 67 
 
 the United Empire, beware lest you in any way weaken that link which 
 connects the two countries. Do not set so far apart, the governor and the 
 governed. Do not let the people of Ireland believe, that you have no sym- 
 pathy with their afflictions — no care for their wrongs — that you are inte- 
 rested only in other measures in which they have no share." The Whigs, 
 in a word, strained every nerve to form a coalition with the Irish Repeal 
 members. A meeting of Liberal members of ParHament was held at the 
 residence of Lord John Russell, at which he avowed himself as "distinctly 
 opposed to the Coercion bill " and suggested, that the "best course which 
 could be taken, would be to propose the second reading of that bill for 
 "that day six months." Mr. O'Connell felt "deeply gratified" that "Lord 
 John Russell and the honorable gentlemen who usually acted with him " were 
 willing to adopt such a course. Sir Charles Lemon suggested, that Lord 
 John Russell himself should move the amendment, but the noble Lord 
 " thought it would come better from an Irish member." Lord Morpeth 
 was called on to move it, but, for the same reason, considerately declined.] 
 
 We are told, Sir, by the London papers, that the days of the 
 Conservative ministry are numbered. The seals of office, it is said, 
 will soon be held by a Whig Premier, and with the change of 
 power, it is surmised, that a change of policy with regard to 
 Ireland will take place. 
 
 Whether that surmise be true or false, I know not. But this. I 
 know, that whatever statesmen rule the empire, whatever policy 
 prevails, the principles of this Association are immutable, and, 
 amid the clash and shiftings of the imperial factions, will remain 
 unshaken.^ 
 
 Sir, I state this boldly, for the suspicion is abroad, that the 
 national cause will be sacrificed to the Whigs, and that the 
 people, who are now striding on to freedom, will be purchased 
 back into factious vassalage. The Whigs themselves calculate 
 upon your apostasy — the Conservatives predict it. They cannot 
 believe that you are in earnest — at least, it seems difficult to con- 
 vince them of your truth. On the hustings you will dispel their 
 incredulity, read them an honest lesson, and vindicate yoiu* 
 
68 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 characters. On their return to power, the Whigs shall find, that 
 in their absence, you have become a reformed people — that you 
 have abjured the errors of faction, and have been instructed in the 
 truths of patriotism. They shall find, I trust, that a new era has 
 here commenced — that you have been roused to a sense of your 
 inherent power, and, with the conviction that you possess an 
 ability equal to the sustainment of a high position, you have 
 vowed never more to act the Sepoy for English faction. 
 
 To their reproach, Sir, it must be said, that the people of this 
 country have been too long the credulous menials of English 
 liberalism — dedicating to foreign partisanship those fine energies 
 which should have been exclusively reserved for the duties of Irish 
 citizenship. Till now, you had no faith in the faculties of your 
 country. You implored from Reform clubs in London, that which 
 a free senate in this your old capital could alone confer. Upon 
 the hustings, your tone was English, not Irish. You stood by the 
 promises of Russell — you forswore the principles of Grattan. You 
 shouted for municipal reform — you forgot your manufactures. 
 You cried out for free trade — having no very important exchange 
 of commodities to promote. You petitioned for an additional 
 supply of franchises — that Irish Radicalism might grow strong — 
 when you should have demanded back those rights, which would 
 have made the Irish nation great. The aristocrat of Bedford 
 marshalled you against the plebeian of Tamworth, when, lifting 
 up a distinct flag, you should have marched and struck against 
 them both ! 
 
 Sir, it was full time that this should cease, and that the spirit 
 of the country should manifest itself in an independent policy. 
 
 Let me not be told that the Whigs were our benefactors, and 
 deserve our gratitude. They were, indeed, the benefactors of 
 " moderate " Catholics and " liberal " Protestants, but the Catholic 
 democracy and the Protestant aristocracy were alike neglected and 
 insulted by them. ^ 
 
ACCESSION OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. 69 
 
 What memorial, may I ask, have they left behind them that 
 claims our respect, and should win us to their ranks ? 
 
 It is true, their appointments were, for the most part, judicious. 
 There were honorable men elevated to the bench during their admi- 
 nistration — honorable men, I grant you — but men "whose overtop- 
 ping eminence," as Thomas Davis has written, " was such as made 
 their acceptance of a judgeship no promotion." I believe, moreover, 
 there are few, if any, instances on record of partisan prejudices 
 mingling with the dispensation of justice whilst they held office. 
 
 Upon this question, however, I shall not dwell, for it is a 
 debateable question, and, if discussed, might revive the antipathies 
 of party. 
 
 But I look beyond the Queen's Bench — beyond the court of 
 petty sessions — beyond the police barrack — beyond the glebe 
 house — and I demand, what was the condition of the people — 
 what was the condition of the country — during the reign of the 
 late Whig government ? Your commerce — did that thrive ? Your 
 manufactures — were they encouraged ? Your fisheries — were they 
 protected ? Your waste lands — they are 2,000,000 acres — were 
 they reclaimed ? How fared the Irish artisan — how fared the 
 Irish peasant ? The one pined, as he yet pines, in your beggared 
 cities — the other starved, as he yet starves, upon your fruitful 
 soil. 
 
 Catholic barristers, who made Reform speeches at Morpeth 
 dinners, and quoted Earl Grey and the Edinburgh Heview, at 
 anti-Tory demonstrations — these gentlemen came in for silk 
 gowns, and other genteel perquisites. But you — you, the sons of 
 toil — " the men of horny hand and melting heart " — you, the 
 thousands, knew • no change. Poor-law commissioners were ap- 
 pointed — they were Englishmen and Scotchmen, for the most 
 part. They came in for large salaries, and grew opulent upon 
 their mission of charity. In this case, the indigence of Lazarus 
 was the very making of Dives. The poorhouses were built, and 
 
VO ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 were soon stocked with vermined rags, and broken hearts — with 
 orphaned childhood, fevered manhood, and desolate old age. 
 Whilst these coarse specimens of the Tudor Gothic were being 
 thus filled, jour Custom-house was drained — and now it stands 
 upon your silent quay, like one of those noble merchant houses 
 that crumble to the dull waters of the Adriatic, telling us that 
 
 " Venice lost and won, 
 Her thirteen-hundred years of freedom done, 
 Sinks, like a sea-weed, into whence she rose." 
 
 Sir, I have been told that the Marquis of ISTormanby was a true 
 nobleman. I have been told that he was a man of enlightened 
 views and generous impulses — that he was just, benevolent, and 
 chivalrous. Were we English, I might, perhaps, desire no other 
 viceroy. We being Irish — this land being Ireland — I demand an 
 Irish viceroy for the Irish court. The Geraldines have an older 
 title to the Castle than the House of Phipps. 
 
 Associated with the name of N'ormanby, I know there are many 
 brilliant reminiscences. Beauty and fashion — deputy-lieutenants 
 who propose Whig candidates at county elections — a swarm of 
 expectant barristers — perhaps a solicitor or two — men of " mode- 
 rate " politics and " enlightened " tendencies — would vote him 
 back again. In his time, there were gala days at the Castle — 
 many a gay carnival — many a dazzling dance in St. Patrick's Hall. 
 But were there bright eyes, and happy hearts, and busy hands, in 
 the tenements of the Liberty ? 
 
 Society — the perfumed society of your squares ! — was happy in 
 those days, and loved the amiable Whig government, and would, 
 no doubt, in gratitude for the viceregal balls at which it flounced 
 and whirled, vote for Whig candidates to-morrow. But, Sir, the 
 society that is not exempted from the primeval curse — the society 
 that wears out strong sinews to earn the privilege of bread — the 
 society that knows no day of rest, no day of joy, but God's own 
 
ACCESSION OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. Vl 
 
 holiday — tliat day on -whicli lie bids tlie toiler go forth, and soothe 
 his sorrows amid the glories of his creation — that day on which 
 many a worn hand may wreathe a garland of flowers, that has 
 been weaving a crown of thorns the live-long week — the society 
 that decks out fashion, that rears up the mansions of the rich, and 
 by which alone, if there was danger on the coast to-morrow, this 
 land could be furnished with a stalwart guard for her defence — 
 this, the elder, the stronger, the nobler society, has no such 
 memories — no such incentives to subserviency. Roused from the 
 slumber, into which the insidious eloquence of English liberalism 
 had lulled them, the people have started up ; and now, for the 
 first time, see before them a country of which they had not dreamt, 
 and a new destiny revealing itself to them, like the sun from 
 behind their old hills, and that destiny expanding into glory, as it 
 mounts the heaven, and settles high above the Island ! 
 
 No, Sir, the people of Ireland can never more be duped into 
 subserviency by assurances of sympathy and promises of redress. 
 We have become incredulous of every party in the Senate and the 
 State. We distrust, we repudiate, we reprobate them. We recog- 
 nise, at last, the truth of a maxim uttered many years ago by Swift 
 — that " party is the madness of the many for the gain of the few " 
 — a maxim singularly applicable to the people of this country agi- 
 tating for the ascendancy of the Whigs — the result of the agitation 
 invariably being, that, whilst the great mass remained precisely as 
 they were, a select minority came in for silk gowns, commissioner- 
 ships, constabulary promotions, and colonial appointments. In a 
 word, we have learned to regard a Whig government in Ireland, 
 as little else than a state Relief-Committee for the beggarly poli- 
 ticians that beset the country. 
 
 Nor can we forget the Ebrington manifesto — that advertisement 
 from the Castle tradesmen — worded so temptingly, and addressed 
 so considerately to all repentant Radicals and apostate Nationalists. 
 
 To the manhood of the country, that was an insult which 
 
72 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 provokes and justifies the severest resentment. We must resent 
 it, then — resent it by being honest — for honesty is the heaviest 
 vengeance we can inflict upon the Whigs. '^ 
 
 It is impossible we could forget — it is impossible we could for- 
 give — that attempt of theirs, to purchase up, in the venal market 
 of the Castle, the fresh strength, the glowing genius, the bold 
 enthusiasm of the island. Not to the old men of Ireland — not to 
 those whose faltering footsteps were waking the echoes of the grave, 
 and who, in a few years at most, it was natural to expect, would be 
 laid down to rest among their fathers — did they address them- 
 selves. No ; they addressed the youth of Ireland, knowing that 
 the youth of a country are the trustees of her prosperity. To 
 them, they held out the golden chalice of the Treasury ; that so 
 the young free soul of Ireland might drink, and, having drunk, 
 sink down for ever, a diseased and pensioned slave ! 
 
 " Young men," said they, " a long life is before you, and in our 
 hands are placed the means most conducive to its happiness. A 
 generation is passing from the world whilst we speak, and leaving 
 in the several departments of the State, whole fortunes at our 
 disposal. To these, you have a natural and immediate claim. 
 They are yours by inheiitance, and, to the full enjoyment of them, 
 one condition only has been annexed. To possess them, you have 
 but to qualify by recreancy, and befit yourselves by servitude. It 
 is a sensible and temperate condition — an easy test of loyalty, 
 sobriety, and prudence. Renounce, then, the duties of citizenship 
 — cease to be the unpaid servants of the public — become the 
 stipendiaries of faction. You are young Irishmen, and have read 
 the history of your country. Abjure, then, the doctrines of 
 Molyneaux and Grattan — disclaim their work — disown their 
 glory — accept the teachings, emulate the perfidies of Castlereagh 
 and Fitzgibbon. You are young scholars, and have lately read 
 the histories of Greece and Rome. From the story of Sparta, be 
 taught the patience, submissiveness, and drudgery of the Helots. 
 
ACCESSION OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. ^3 
 
 From the more splendid chronicles of Rome, learn the imperial 
 science of the Csesars, but he taught to shun the vulgar vices of the 
 Gracchi. Thus will you climb to power, gain access to the viceregal 
 table, and be invited to masquerades at Windsor. Thus, if your 
 ambition be parliamentary, will you qualify for Melbourne-Port, 
 or some other convenient Whig borough. And when, at length, 
 removed from that country, whose wretchedness would have been 
 to you a constant pang, and whose politics would have been an 
 incessant drain upon your resources, and when mingling in the 
 lordly society of London, or sitting on the Treasury bench beside 
 your patrician benefactors — oh ! you will bless the government 
 that patronized servility, and thank your God that you had a 
 country to betray !" 
 
 But we are told, that, since the date of this appeal, the Whigs 
 have undergone a thorough conversion. 
 
 Believe it — and forget that, in the House of Commons, Lord 
 John Russell and his colleagues have voted for the first reading 
 of the Coercion bill — have voted against the liberty of Ireland — 
 to comply, as they delicately excused themselves, with the usual 
 custom of the House. Believe it — and forget that, this time last 
 year, their most eloquent confederate announced from his seat in 
 Parliament, that the price of your independence should be a civil 
 war. Believe it — and forget the letter which Viscount Melbourne, 
 a few weeks since, addressed to the Secretary of this Association. 
 
 Forget the sentiments of that letter, if you can — forgive them if 
 you like — breathing, as they do, a spirit of the most dogged des- 
 potism — and then believe, that the rumored conversion of the 
 Whigs is sincere. 
 
 But, Sir, I have to apologize. After all, this is not the tone in 
 which I should address a people who have vowed, before man and 
 God, to raise up a nation, here in these western waters, and to 
 make that nation as free, as the freest that now bears a flag upon 
 the sea, and guards a senate upon the land ! 
 
 4 
 
14: ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 It was not to recede, tliat you advanced so far. It was not to 
 apostatize, tliat you professed your belief in a new fate, and spoke 
 of martyrdom in testimony of your faitli. It was not for this that 
 you evoked the memories of a great event — that you hastened 
 back to the church of Dungannon, and embraced the principles, 
 though you could not unsheath the swords, of the patriot soldiers 
 of '82. It was not for this, that you gathered in thousands round 
 the hill of Tara, and hailed your leader upon the rath of Mullagh- 
 mast, as the Romans did Rienzi in the Palace of the Capitol. 
 There you swore that Ireland should be once more a sovereign 
 State — that she should have a senate to guide, a commerce to 
 enrich, civic arms to protect, and a virtuous fame to crown her. 
 
 After this, name your terms to the Whigs — strike a bargain with 
 
 them — lease them your votes for another experimental session — 
 
 lend them your voices — " your most sweet voices " — cut down your 
 
 demands to their crippled powers of concession — unite with them 
 
 in their oppression of the Orangemen, who are your brothers 
 
 — give over your notions about self-government — go back to 
 
 " precursorship " — speak no more about the encouragement of 
 
 Irish genius, the rearing up of Irish art, the planting of an Irish 
 
 flag — back the Poor-law Commissioners, and sustain the new 
 
 Police — be practical, that is, be partisan — be sensible, that is, 
 
 cease to be honest — be rational, that is, conceive the poorest 
 
 possible opinion of your country — fall ! — fall, as Athens fell, whose 
 
 soul 
 
 "JSTo foreign foe could quell, 
 
 Till from itself it fell- 
 Till self-abasement paA^ed the way 
 To villain bonds and despot sway." 
 
 Thus will your country win the eloquent sympathies of Whig 
 orators, and, " when the times improve," the kind consideration 
 of Whig statesmen. But, mind you, America will indict her as a 
 swindler, and France placard her as a coward ! 
 
ACCESSION OF THE WHIGS TO OFFICE. T5 
 
 As I said before, I should not pursue this strain, knowing, as I 
 do, your determination — knowing that you would repel the man 
 who, in this Hall, would vote a compromise, and beat down the 
 traitor, whoever he might be. I should not have done so. But 
 the report was abroad, that our demands would moderate with the 
 advent of the Whigs to office, and that the spirit of this Associa- 
 tion would be affected, by the transition of patronage from one 
 English faction to another. Our future acts, I have no doubt, will 
 teach our opponents the error of this report, and prove to them 
 that we are in earnest — that we mean what we say — and that out 
 of this contest we shall not back, come what may. The next 
 elections will prove to them, that we have gone into this struggle 
 with a firm purpose to fight it out to the last, and make a good 
 end of it, with the help of God. The cry upon the hustings shall 
 be " Repeal " and nothing else. The members of this Association, 
 the people of Ireland, are pledged to nothing else — and from those 
 hustings will be heard many an honest shout of — " down with the 
 Whigs — down with corruption !" 
 
 Let the people look out, then, select their representatives in 
 time, and be assured they are true men. They have been deceived 
 before. -At former elections, men have not hesitated to take 
 pledges which they had no intention to redeem — men who, even 
 in the English Commons, have been the eloquent advocates of that 
 very measure, which now they do not blush to designate a 
 " splendid phantom." 
 
 Beware of Whig candidates ! Accept no man in whose 
 integrity you do not place fall reliance, and whose heart, you may 
 have reason to suspect, is not thoroughly in the cause which he 
 professes to uphold. Demand from the gentlemen, wdio solicit 
 your votes, the most explicit declarations — plain, straightforward, 
 conclusive declarations. Vote for no man, who is not an enrolled 
 member of this Association, and who will not pledge himself to 
 you, to work here in this Hall^ and vote hei-eafter iu the English 
 
76 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Commons, for tlie unconditional Repeal of the Legislative 
 Union. 
 
 I know, Sir, tliat to pursue this line of conduct manfully, a 
 sacrifice of personal interest — more than all, a sacrifice of private 
 feelino* — may be required from some of us. But the cause is 
 worthy of the most severe sacrifice which men could undergo. 
 It is better that the hearts of a few should be pained, than 
 the o-reat heart of the nation should be broken. Hereafter, 
 for whatever we may endure — and as yet we have suffered 
 nothing — we shall receive an ample recompense.x^ 
 
 For myself, and for those with whom I most associate, I can 
 answer to the country. 
 
 If we — who have been suspected for our honesty and censured 
 for our zeal — we, who will love the country, though the country 
 may not love us — if we be not called away in the morning of life, 
 like our illustrious friend, Thomas Davis, our prophet and our 
 guide — he whose integrity we shall ever strive to emulate, though 
 his labors we may not equal — he whom it is but just to number 
 amongst those of whom a glorious poet has written — 
 
 "That as soon 
 As they had touched the earth with living flame, 
 Fled back like eagles to their native noon " — 
 
 if we be not called away as he has been — if it be our fate to 
 live and witness the triumph, toiling for which he died — then 
 shall we receive our recompense — a free young nation will look 
 upon us in her glory, and bid us be glad of heart amongst her 
 free sons — and when, at length, our time hath come, we shall 
 sleep, not in the Desert, but in the Promised Land ! 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION— MORALITY OF WAR. 
 
 Conciliation Hall, Dublin, 28th July, 1846. 
 
 [The debate in the English Commons on the Irish Coercion bill was 
 designedly prolonged, imtil the Corn and Tariff Bills received the assent of 
 the Lords. The division on the second reading of the former (Tliursdav, 
 June 25th,) out of a house of 511 members, gave a majority of 'FS against 
 the Ministers. Sir Robert Peel left the House immediately after the 
 announcement of the vote. Monday 29th, in the House of Lords, after 
 some explanation relative to the Oregon Territory, by the Earl of Aber- 
 deen, the Duke of Wellington announced the resignation of the Ministers. 
 On the same evening, Sir Robert Peel announced the resignation in 
 the Commons. In his speech on the occasion, he said that it was " espe- 
 ,cially in consequence of that vote to which the House came, on the 
 Coercion bill, that the ministers felt it their duty to resign." " We were 
 defeated," he said, " on a question connected with Ireland, but not merely 
 because it was an Irish question." Alluding to the weakness of the ministry 
 consequent on the opposition of the Protectionists, he observed : — " It is 
 not for the public interest that a government should remain in office when 
 it is unable to give practical effect to the measures they believe necessary 
 for the national welfare ; and I do think it probable, in the position in 
 which Her Majesty's government were placed by the withdrawal, perhaps 
 the natural withdrawal, of the confidence of many of those who hereto- 
 fore had given them support, that even if the late vote had been in our 
 favor, ministers would not have been able, with credit to themselves, to con- 
 tinue the administration of public affairs," He concluded — "I shall. I fear, 
 leave office with a name severely censured by many honorable men who, 
 on pviblic principle, deeply regret the severance of parties — who doej)]y 
 regret that severance, not from any interested or personal motives, but 
 because they believe fidelity to party, the existence of a great party, and 
 the maintenance of a great party, to be powerful instruments of govern- 
 
T8 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 ment. I shall surrender power, severely censured, I fear, by many honor- 
 able men, who, from no interested motives, have adhered to the principles 
 of protection, but because they looked upon it as important to the welfare 
 and interests of the country. I shall leave a name execrated by every 
 monopolist — who, professing honorable opinions, would maintain protec- 
 tion for his own individual benefit — but it may be that I shall be some- 
 times remembered with expressions of good will in those places v,'hich are 
 the abodes of men, whose lot is to labor and earn their bread by the sweat 
 of their brow." July 3d, the official list of the Whig Administration was 
 published — Premier, Lord John Russell ; Home Department, Sir George 
 Grey; Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Earl of Besborough ; Commander in 
 Chief, Duke of Wellington. July 16th, the Premier, giving notice of the 
 general ministerial policy, with regard to Ireland, said "that the govern- 
 ment were prepared to propose measures, which, though perhaps they 
 might not remedy the immediate grievances of that country, would pro- 
 duce beneficial effects, so that, in the course of ten years, Ireland would be 
 greatly improved," and was " prepared to propose for the people of Ireland 
 an enjoyment of the franchise equal to that possessed by the people of 
 England." The Whig government, moreover, came to the determination of 
 reinstating the magistrates who had been dismissed from the commission 
 of the peace, in consequence of their Repeal principles by the late adminis- 
 tration. Mr. O'Connell considered this " another title in gratitude " to the 
 Whigs. Mr. Richard Lalor Shiel, was appointed Master of the Mint, and 
 consequently, had to resign his seat for the borough of Dungarvan, to ena- 
 ble him to sit again. Contrary to public expectation, and to the disap- 
 pointment and dismay of all friends of the national cause, he was per- 
 mitted to resume his seat, under the auspices of Mr. O'Connell, though 
 candidates on the Repeal interest were willing to come forward, and 
 a deputation from Dungarvan, had, some days previous to the elec- 
 tion, urged upon the committee of the Repeal Association the necessity of 
 a contest. July 13th, Mr. O'Connell, in the Repeal Association, liaving 
 explained the proceeding of the Committee, relative to the return of Mr. 
 Shiel, (to the complete satisfaction of his adherents,) proceeded to move the 
 adoption of a series of resolutions, generally known as the " Peace Resolu- 
 tions." These resolutions re-stated the original principles of the Association, 
 but fui-; her declared "abhorrence of all attempts to improve and augment 
 constitutional liberty by means of force, or violence, or bloodshed — that to 
 promote political amelioration, peaceable means alone should be used, to the 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION MORALITY OF WAR. ^9 
 
 exclusion of all others." Mr. O'Connell had no ostensible reason for intro- 
 ducing these resolutions, unless it was the statement of Lord John Russell 
 (June 15th) in the House of Commons to the following effect : — " There is a 
 numerous body in Ireland — numerous even among her representatives — 
 which says that no legislation of a united parliament can de\'ise fit reme- 
 dies for Irish grievances, and that it is in a domestic parliament alone, that 
 fit and wise legislation can be looked for. Tliere are others, I fear, who, 
 if I read rightly their sentiments, as expressed in a newspaper — I will name 
 it — called the Nation, which has great circulation in Ireland, Avho go 
 beyond tliat question of the legislative Union — who would write, not 
 merely to have such a parliament as that which it was the boast of Grat- 
 tan to found, and which legislated under the sceptre of the same Sovereign 
 as the parliament of Great Britain, but a party which exerts every species 
 of violence, which looks to disturbance as its means, and regards separation 
 from England as its end." In fact, Mr. O'Connell, having cited this pas- 
 sage, (31st August) frankly admitted as much. " He (Lord J.) was not 
 the man to put anything forward to serve a party purpose, and was 
 it not time for him (Mr. O'C.) to take up the subject when he found 
 his lordship saying that the Nation had a tendency to separation ?" The 
 tone, however, of the " Young Irelanders " — as the younger members of 
 the Association were styled — with regard to the Whigs, and the tempo- 
 rising policy of the Repeal Association had become somewhat inconvenient 
 to Mr. O'Connell. They were in his way — that was evident. Tliey must 
 be got rid of — that was equally clear. Yet it would not look well 
 to exclude them on account of their opposition to the Whigs, and their 
 efforts to maintain the integrity and independence of the Association. 
 On the strength, therefore, of Lord John Russell's fictitious announcement 
 of June 15th — without one word or act being cited against them to sustain 
 the charge — they were accused of a design to introduce revolutionary 
 ideas into the Repeal Association. They were perfectly ready to subscribe 
 to the original principles of the Association, and to abide by all its rules 
 and regulations ; but, refused to concur in the abstract principle, " that the 
 amelioration of political institutions ought not to be sought for by any 
 other means than those Avhich are perfectly peaceable, legal, and constitu- 
 tional." Mr. O'Connell had foreseen this, and consequently, brought in 
 these "Peace Resolutions," for the distinct piu'pose, as he himself avowed 
 on the 13th July, of drawing "a marked line between Young Ireland and 
 Old Ireland." After an angry discussion, which almost exclusively referred to 
 
80 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 the election of Mr. Shell, these resolutions were carried by an overwhelming 
 majority. The members who dissented from them, however, did not feel 
 called upon to retire, and consequently attended in their usual places on 
 Monday, July 20th. Mr. O'Connell had returned to London with the 
 belief, " that he had effectually composed all differences ;" but finding, fi-om 
 the nev/spapers, that the "Young Irelanders" — whom he considered 
 "virtually expelled" — were still in attendance at the meetings of the' 
 Association, he instructed his son, Mr. John O'Connell, to re-open the dis- 
 cussion on the " Peace Resolutions," with the view, in the first place, of 
 clearly ascertaining, once for all, who were for them ; and, in the second, 
 of expelling all those who appeared opposed to them. On Monday, 27 th 
 July, the Lord Mayor of Dublin in the chair, the resolutions in question 
 were again submitted to the Association. Mr. John O'Connell delivered a 
 long and laborious speech in support of them. Some other members 
 followed. The debate was resumed the following day. Mr. Mitchel 
 replied to !Mr. John O'Connell. The following speech was interrupted by 
 the latter gentleman, because, " it was the strongest conviction on his (Mr. 
 John O'C.'s) soul, that it would not be safe for the Association to allow 
 him (Mr. Meagher) to proceed. He had no puzzle whatever, in saying, that 
 the language of Mr. Meagher, was not language that could be safely listened 
 to by the Association — that the sentiments he had avowed, were sentiments 
 directly and diametrically opposed to the sentiments of that Association — 
 and that, therefore, the Association must cease to exist, or Mr. Meagher 
 cease to be a member of it." Mr. Smith O'Brien said, that " he could not 
 allow the meeting to come to such a conclusion, without expressing his 
 opinion, that the course of argument adopted by 'Mr. Meagher was per- 
 fectly fair and legitimate. He understood, they were invited to come 
 there that day, for the purpose of considering deliberately whether any 
 gentleman could continue to be a member of the Association, who enter- 
 tained the opinion, conscientiously, that there were occasions which 
 justified a nation in resorting to the sword for the vindication of its 
 liberties. Mr. Meagher had distinctly stated, that he joined the Association 
 for the purpose of obtaining Repeal by peaceful and moral means alone. 
 But he does not consider, nor did he (Mr. O'B.) consider that, when they 
 were invited to a discussion of that description, they were precluded from 
 asserting the opinion which, after all, was involved in the discussion ; and 
 from submitting such reasons, as they felt themselves at liberty to submit 
 to their fellow countrymen, in vindication of the opinions which had been 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION MORALITY OF WAR. 81 
 
 arraignerl." Mr, John O'Connell stili insisted, "that the language held 
 by Mr. Meagher was most dangerous." A scene of great confusion took 
 place, during which Mr. Smith O'Brien and several other gentlemen — con- 
 ■vineed. there was no longer any hope that freedom of opinion would 
 be respected in the Association — left the meeting. Thus the " Secession " 
 occurred.] 
 
 My Lord Mayor, I will commence as Mr. Mitchel concluded, by 
 an allusion to the Whigs. 
 
 I fully concur with my friend, that the most comprehensive 
 measures which the Whig minister may propose, will fail to lift 
 this country up to that position which she has the right to occupy, 
 and the power to maintain. A Whig minister, I admit, may 
 improve the province — he will not restore the nation. Franchises, 
 tenant-compensation bills, liberal appointments, may ameliorate — 
 they will not exalt. They may meet the necessities — they will 
 not call forth the abilities of the country. The errors of the past 
 may be repaired — the hopes of the future will not be fulfilled. 
 With a vote in one pocket, a lease in the other, and " full justice " 
 before him at the petty sessions — in the shape of a " restored 
 magistrate" — the humblest peasant may be told that he is free ; 
 but, my Lord, he will not have the character of a freeman — his 
 spirit to dare, his energy to act. From the stateliest mansion, 
 down to the poorest cottage in the land, the inactivity, the mean- 
 ness, the debasement, which provincialism engenders, will be 
 perceptible. 
 
 These are not the crude sentiments of youth, though the mere 
 commercial politician, who has deduced his ideas of self-govern- 
 ment from the table of imports and exports, may satirize them as 
 such. Age has uttered them, my Lord, and the experience of 
 eighty years has preached them to the people. 
 
 A few weeks since, and there stood up in the Court of Queen's 
 Bench an old and venerable man, to teach the country the 
 lessons he had learned in his youth beneath the portico of the 
 
 4* 
 
82 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Irish Senate House, and which, during a long hfe, he had treasured 
 in his heart, as the costliest legacy a true citizen could bequeath 
 the land that gave him birth. 
 
 What aaid this aged orator ? 
 
 " jSTational independence does not necessarily lead to national 
 virtue and happiness ; but reason and experience demonstrate, that 
 public spirit and general happiness are looked for in vain under 
 the withering influence of provincial subjection. The very con- 
 sciousness of being dependent on another power, for advancement 
 in the scale of national being, weighs down the spirit of a people, 
 manacles the eftbrts of genius, depresses the energies of virtue, 
 blunts the sense of common glory and common good, and produces 
 an insulated selfishness of character, the surest mark of debase- 
 ment in the individual, and mortality in the State." 
 
 My Lord, it was once said by an eminent citizen of Rome, the 
 elder Pliny, that " we owe our youth and manhood to our country, 
 but our declining age to ourselves." This may have been the max- 
 im of the Roman — it is not the maxim of the Irish patriot. One 
 might have thought, that the anxieties, the labors, the vicissitudes 
 of a long career, had dimmed the fire which burned in the heart 
 of the illustrious old man, whose words I have cited ; but now, 
 almost from the shadow of death, he comes forth with the vigor 
 of youth and the authority of age, to serve the country — in the 
 defence of which he once bore arms — by an example, my Lord, 
 that must shame the coward, rouse the sluggard, and stimulate 
 the bold. These sentiments have sunk deep into the public mind. 
 The}^ are recited as the national creed. Whilst these sentiments 
 inspire the people, I have no fear for the national cause — I do not 
 dread the venal influence of the Whigs. 
 
 Inspired by such sentiments, the people of this country will look 
 beyond the mere redress of existing wrongs, and strive for the 
 attainment of future power. 
 
 A good government may, indeed, redress the grievances of an 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION MORALITY OF WAR. 83 
 
 injured people ; but a strong- people alone can build up a great 
 nation. To be strong, a people must be self-relianit, self-ruled, 
 self-sustained. The dependence of one people upon another, even 
 for the benefits of legislation, is the deepest source of national 
 weakness. By an unnatural law it exempts a people from tlieir 
 just duties — tlieir just responsibilities. When you exempt a 
 people from these duties, from these responsibilities, you generate 
 in them a distrust in tlieir own powers. Thus you enervate, if 
 you do not utterly destroy, that spirit which a sense of these 
 responsibilities is sure to inspire, and which the fulfilment of these 
 duties never ftiils to invigorate. Where this spirit does not actu- 
 ate, the country may be tranquil — it will not be prosperous. It 
 may exist — it will not thrive. It may hold together — it will not 
 advance. Peace it may enjoy — for peace and serfdom are com- 
 patible. But, my Lord, it will neither accumulate wealth, nor win 
 a character. It will neither benefit mankind by the enterprise of 
 its merchants, nor instruct mankind by the examples of its states- 
 men. 
 
 I make these observations, for it is the custom of some moderate 
 politicians to say, that when the Whigs have accomplished the 
 " pacification " of the country, there wdll be little or no necessity 
 for Repeal. My Lord, there is something else, there is everything 
 else, to be done when the work of " pacification " has been 
 accomplished — and here it is hardly necessary to observe, that the 
 prosperity of a country is, perhaps, the sole guarantee for its 
 tranquillity, and that the more universal the prosperity, the more 
 permanent will be the repose. 
 
 But the Whigs will enrich as w^ell as pacify ! 
 
 Grant it, my Lord. Then do I conceive that the necessity for 
 Repeal will augment. Great interests demand great safeguards. 
 The prosperity of a nation requires the protection of a senate. 
 Hereafter a national senate may require the protection of a national 
 army. 
 
84 ENGLISH LEGISLATIOlSr. 
 
 So much for the extraordinary affluence v/ith which we are 
 threatened ; and which, it is said by gentlemen on the opposite 
 shore of the Irish feea, will crush this Association, and bury the 
 enthusiasts, who clamor for Irish nationality, in a sepulchre of 
 gold. This prediction, however, is feebly sustained by the minis- 
 terial programme that has lately appeared. 
 
 On the evening of the 16th, the Whig premier, in answer to a 
 question that was put to him by the member for Finsbury, Mr. 
 Duncombe, is reported to have made this consolatory announce- 
 ment : — 
 
 " We consider that the social grievances of Ireland are those 
 which are most prominent — and to which it is most likely to be 
 in our pov/er to afford, not a complete and immediate remedy, but 
 some remedy, some kind of improvement, so that some kind of 
 hope may be entertained that, some ten or twelve years hence, the 
 country will, by the measures we undertake, be in a far better state 
 with respect to the frightful destitution and misery which now 
 prevails in that country. We have that practical object in view." 
 
 After that most consolatory announcement, my Lord, let those 
 w^ho have the patience of Job and the poverty of Lazarus, continue 
 in good faith " to wait on Providence and the Whigs " — continue 
 to entertain " some kind of hope " that if not " a complete and 
 immediate remedy," at least " some remedy," " some improve- 
 ment," will place this country in " a far better state " than it is at 
 present, " some ten or twelve years hence." After that, let those 
 who prefer the periodical boons of a Whig government to that 
 which would be the abiding blessing of an Irish parliament — let 
 those who deny to Ireland what they assert for Poland — let those 
 who would inflict, as Henry Grattan said, an eternal disability 
 upon this country, to which Providence has assigned the lai-gest 
 facihties for power — let those who would ratify the " base swap," 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION MORALITY OF WAR. 85 
 
 as Mr. Sheil once stigmatised the Act of Union, and who would 
 stamp jperfection upon that deed of perfidy — let such men 
 
 " Plod on in sluggish misery, 
 Rotting from sire to son, from age to age, 
 Proud of their trampled nature." 
 
 But we, my Lord, who are assembled in this Hall, and in whose 
 hearts the Union has not bred the slave's disease — we who have 
 not been imperialized — we are here, with the hope to undo that 
 work, which, forty-six years ago, dishonored the ancient peerage, 
 and subjugated the people of our country. 
 
 My Lord, to assist the people of L'eland to undo that work, I 
 came to this hall. I came here to repeal the Act of Union — I 
 came here for nothing else. Upon every other question, I feel 
 myself at perfect liberty to differ from each and every one of you. 
 Upon questions of finance — -questions of a religious character — 
 questions of an educational character — questions of municipal 
 policy — questions that may arise from the proceedings of the 
 legislature — upon all these questions, I feel myself at perfect 
 liberty to differ from each and every one of you. Yet more, my 
 Lord, I maintain that it is my right to express my opinion upon 
 each of these questions, if necessary. The right of free discussion 
 I have here upheld. In the exercise of that right I have differed, 
 sometimes, from the leader of this Association, and would do so 
 again. That right I will not abandon — I shall maintain it to the 
 last. 
 
 In doing so, let me not be told that I seek to undermine the 
 influence of the leader of this Association, and am insensible to 
 his services. My Lord, I am grateful for his services, and will 
 uphold his just influence. 
 
 This is the first time I have spoken in these terms of that 
 illustrious Irishman, in this hall. I did not do so before — I felt 
 
86 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 it was unnecessary. I hate unnecessary praise — I scorn to receive 
 it — I scorn to bestow it. / 
 
 ISTo, my Lord, I am not ungrateful to the man "who struck the 
 fetters off my arms, whilst I was yet a child, and by whose 
 influence, my father — the first Catholic who did so for two 
 hundred years — sat, for the last two years, in the civic chair of an 
 ancient city. But, my Lord, the same God who gave to that great 
 man the j^ower to strike down an odious ascendancy in this 
 country, and enabled him to institute in this land the glorious 
 law of religious equality — the same God gave to me a mind that 
 is my own — a mind that has not been mortgaged to the oj^inions 
 of any man or any set of men — a mind that I was to use, and not 
 surrender. 
 
 My Lord, in the exercise of that right, which I have here 
 endeavored to uphold — a right which this Association should 
 preserve inviolate, if it desires not to become a despotism — in the 
 exercise of that right, I have differed from Mr. O'Connell on pre- 
 vious occasions, and differ from him now. I do not agree with 
 him in the opinion he entertains of my friend, Charles Gavan 
 Duffy — that man whom I am proud, indeed, to call my friend — 
 though he is a "convicted conspirator," and suffered for you in 
 Richmond prison. I do not think he is a " maligner." I do not 
 think he has lost, or deserves to lose, the public favor. 
 
 I have no more connexion with the Nation than I have with 
 the Times. I, therefore, feel no delicacy in appearing here this 
 day in defence of its principles, with which I avow myself identi- 
 fied. 
 
 My Lord, it is to me a source of true delight and honest pride 
 to speak this day in defence of that great journal. I do not fear 
 to assume the position. Exalted though it be, it is easy to main- 
 tain it. The character of that journal is above reproach. The 
 abihty that sustains it, has won a European fame. The genius of 
 which it is the offspring, the truth of which it is the oracle, have 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION MORALITY OF WAR. 87 
 
 been recognized, my Lord, by friends and foes. I care not bow it 
 may be ass«iiled — I care not bowsoever great may be tbe talent, 
 howsoever bigb may be tbe position of tbose who now consider it 
 their duty to impeach its writings — I do tbink that it has won 
 too splendid a reputation, to lose tbe influence it has acquired. 
 Tbe people, whose enthusiasm has been kindled by tbe impetuous 
 fire of its verse, and whose sentiments have been ennobled by tbe 
 earnest purity of its teaching, will not ratify the censure that has 
 been pronounced upon it in this Hall. Truth will have its day of 
 triumph, as well as its day of trial ; and I foresee that the fearless 
 patriotism which, in those pages, has braved tbe prejudices of tbe 
 day, to enunciate grand truths, will triumph in tbe end. 
 
 My Lord, such do I believe to be tbe character, such do I anti- 
 cipate will be the fate, of tbe principles that are now impeached. 
 
 This brings me to what may be called the " question of the 
 day." 
 
 Before I enter upon that question, how^ever, I will allude to one 
 observation which fell from the honorable member for Kilkenny, 
 and which may be said to refer to tbose who expressed an opinion 
 that has been construed into a declaration of war. 
 
 Tbe honorable gentleman said — in reference, I presume, to those 
 who dissented from tbe resolutions of Monday — that tbose Avho 
 were loudest in their declarations of war, were usually the most 
 backward in acting up to those declarations. My Lord, I do not 
 find fault with the honorable gentleman for giving expression to a 
 very ordinary saying, but this I will say, that I did not volunteer 
 the opinion he condemns — to the declaration of that opinion I 
 was forced. You left me no alternative — I should compromise my 
 opinion, or avow it. To be honest, I avowed it. I did not do so 
 to brag, as they say. AVe have had too much of that "bragging" 
 in Ireland. I would be tbe last to imitate tbe custom. 
 
 Well, I dissented from those " peace resolutions " — as they are 
 called. 
 
83 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Why so ? 
 
 In the first place, my Lord, I conceive there was not the least 
 necessity for them. 
 
 No member of this Association suggested an appeal to arms. 
 No member of this Association advised it. No member of this 
 Association would be so infatuated as to do so. In the existing 
 circumstances of the country, an excitement to arms would be 
 senseless — and wicked, because irrational. To talk, now-a-days, 
 of repealing the Act of Union by force of arms, would be to 
 rhapsodize. If the attempt were made, it would be a decided 
 failure. There might be riot in the street — there would be no 
 revolution in the country. 
 
 The Secretary, Mr-. Crean, will far more effectively promote the 
 cause of Repeal, by registering votes in Green-street, than register- 
 ing fire-arms in the Head police-oflSce. Conciliation Hall, on 
 Burgh-quay, is more impregnable than a rebel camp, on Vinegar 
 Hill. The Hustings, at Dundalk, will be more successfully 
 stormed, -than the Magazine in the Park. The registry club, the 
 reading-room, the polling-booth, these are the only positions in 
 the country we can occupy. Voters' certificates, books, pamphlets, 
 newspapers, these are the only weapons we can employ. 
 
 Therefore, my Lord, I cast my vote in favour of the peaceful 
 policy of this Association. It is the only policy we can adopt. If 
 that policy be pursued Avith truth, with courage, with fixed deter- 
 mination of purpose, I firmly believe it will succeed. 
 
 But, my Lord, I dissented from the resolutions before us, for 
 other reasons. I stated the first — I now come to the second. 
 
 I dissented from them, for I felt, that, by assenting to them, I 
 should have pledged myself to the unqualified repudiation of 
 physical force in all countries, at all times, and under every 
 circumstance. This I could not do. For, my Lord, I do not 
 abhor the use of arms in the vindication of national rights. There 
 are times, when arms will alone suffice, and when political amelio- 
 
FREEDOM OF OPINION MORALITY OF WAR. 89 
 
 rations call for a drop of blood, and many thousand drops of 
 blood. 
 
 Opinion, I admit, will operate against opinion. But, as the 
 honourable member for Kilkenny has observed, force must be 
 used against force. The soldier is proof against an argument — 
 but he is not proof against a bullet. The man that will listen to 
 reason — let him be reasoned with. But it is the weaponed arm 
 of the patriot that can alone prevail against battalioned despotism. 
 
 Then, my Lord, I do not condemn the use of arms as immoral, 
 nor do I conceive it profane to say, that the King of Heaven — 
 the Lord of Hosts ! the God of Battles ! — bestows his benediction 
 upon those who unsheath the sword in the hour of a nation's 
 peril. 
 
 From that evening, on which, in the valley of Bethulia, he 
 nerved the arm of the Jewish girl to smite the drunken tyrant in 
 his tent, down to this our day, in which he has blessed the 
 insurgent chivalry of the Belgian priest, His Almighty hand hath 
 ever been stretched forth from His throne of Light, to consecrate 
 the flag of freedom — to bless the patriot's sword ! Be it in the 
 defence, or be it in the assertion of a people's liberty, I hail the 
 sword as a sacred weapon ; and if, my Lord, it has sometimes 
 taken the shape of the serpent and reddened the shroud of the 
 oppressor with too deep a dye, like the anointed rod of the High 
 Priest, it has at other times, and as often, blossomed into celestial 
 flowers to deck the freeman's brow. 
 
 Abhor the sword — stigmatize the sword ? IsTo, my Lord, for, 
 in the passes of the Tyrol, it cut to pieces the banner of the 
 Bavarian, and, through those cragged passes, struck a path to 
 fame for the peasant insurrectionist of Inspruck ! 
 
 Abhor the sw^ord — stigmatize the sword ? No, my Lord, for at 
 its blow, a giant nation started from the waters of the Atlantic, 
 and by its redeeming magic, and in the quivering of its crimson 
 
90 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 liglit, tlie crippled Colony sprang into tlie attitude of a proud 
 Republic — prosperous, limitless, and invincible ! 
 
 Abhor tbe sword — stigmatize tlie sword ? No, my Lord, for it 
 swept the Dutch marauders out of the fine old towns of Belgium 
 — scourged them back to their own phlegmatic swamps — and 
 knocked their flag and sceptre, their laws and bayonets into the 
 sluggish waters of the Scheldt. 
 
 My Lord, I learned that it was the right of a nation to govern 
 herself — not in this Hall, but upon the ramparts of Antwerp. 
 This, the first article of a nation's creed, I learned upon those 
 ramparts, where freedom was justly estimated, and the possession 
 of the precious gift was purchased by the efl'usion of generous 
 blood. 
 
 My Lord, I honour the Belgians, I admire the Belgians, I love 
 the Belgians for their enthusiasm, their courage, their success, and 
 I, for one, will not stigmatize, for I do not abhor, the means by 
 which they obtained a Citizen King, a Chamber of Deputies. 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION— NATIONAL UNION. 
 Rotunda, Dublin, IStk January, 1847. 
 
 [The Repealers who refused to be bound by the resolutions of July 18th, 
 and who considered that the Repeal Association was not favorable to the 
 free expression of opinion, had so increased in numbers that they held 
 a meeting on the 13th of January, 1847> in the Rotunda, Dublin, and 
 established the Irish Coxfederation, "for the purpose of protecting the 
 national interests and obtaining the Legislative Independence of Ireland, 
 by the force of opinion, by the combination of all classes of Irishmen, and 
 by the exercise of all the political, social, and moral influences within their 
 reach." Tiie Confederates " disclaimed all antagonism v/ith the Repeal 
 Association " and only desired to make for themselves " a separate sphere 
 of activity " in which they would strive for independence " in the way that 
 seemed to them best suited to attain it." They were opposed to office-seek- 
 ing on the part of persons professing nationality. Mr. O'Connell had 
 cncoiiraged this practice in the Repeal Association. So late as the 3d of 
 August, 1846, he said: — "There were a great many young men of talent — 
 Repealers in principle — who were afraid to join the Association lest they 
 should thereby deprive themselves of the chance of obtaining the honors 
 and dignities of their professions, I am happy to be able to say that I 
 have reason to know it is the opinion of Lord Besborough" (the new Whig 
 Lord Lieutenant,) " that the fact of a man's being a Repealer is no reason 
 at all for excluding him from office. Young Ireland," continued Mr. O'C, 
 " stands up, and opposes those who take office under the government by 
 calling them ' apostates.' " At the inauguration of the Irish Confederation, 
 the Council of that body embodied, in the following resolution, their oppo- 
 sition to place-hunting: — "That the basis and essence of ' The Irish Confe- 
 deration ' shall be absolute independence of all English parties ; and that 
 any member of the Council accepting or soliciting, for himself or others, 
 an office of emolument under any government, not pledged to effect the 
 Repeal of the Union, shall thereupon be removed from the council." 
 
92 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Progress of Famine : — In August, the ravages of the second blight were felt 
 in every county of Ireland. The potato fields looked as withei'ed as if in 
 ISTovember, and the esculents were nearly all past man's use. The people 
 of the Barony of Burrishoole (Co. Mayo,) were in actual starvation — from 
 Sligo deplorable accounts of the blight were daily heard — in Galway, the 
 potato was not only stunted, but quite black — in the Loughrea Market, with 
 a moderate supply, potatoes, selling at 6d. in the morning, went at 4^d. in 
 the evening, for they could not be kept — in Erne potatoes were selling for 
 Id. per stone. Pigs refused to eat them. In Tipperary serious fears were 
 entertained that there would be a greater scarcity than last year. In Cork 
 the potato crop was considered as literally annihilated. The journals in 
 Limerick, Ciare, and Waterford, continued to receive the most alarming 
 accounts of the blight. It was considered more destructive than in I 845. 
 In some districts of Clare the steneli from the potato was " most sickening." 
 In the latter county, fields, which at night appeared healthy, were 
 withered before dawn. In Wexford, the renewed calamity was every- 
 where visible. In Belfast, the fields were either partially or totally 
 blasted — in Derry, few fields were found without the indications of 
 disease. In Tyrone, Donegal, Antrim, total destruction was anticipated. 
 Occurrences like the following were not confined to any one locality. It 
 is given by Eev. Richard Henry, Islandeady, county Mayo. "Patrick 
 McLaughlin, of Knockbawn, in this parish, was ordered by the relief com- 
 mittee, on the 22d October, a labor ticket, in consequence of my earnest 
 representations of his starving condition. By some untoward neglect upon 
 the part of those whose duty it was to issue it, the ticket was withheld 
 from the 22d to the 26th or 27th — the man and his wife and five young 
 children not having a morsel to put in their mouths in the interval. On 
 the morning of Friday, the 28th, the poor man produced his ticket, and 
 went to labor on the public works. He got no pay for the first three days' 
 labor, and in the n:ieantime his wife died from actual starvation. Unable to 
 purchase a coffin, the husband held over the remains of his wife for 
 upwards of forty-eight hours, but, yet anxious to procure food for the 
 children, he went the two days to work, and spent the night in sorrowing 
 over the dead. The heart-rending tale at length reaching the ears of the 
 clergy an interment took place by night, in order that the children might 
 not suffer by their father's absence from work in the day-time." The same 
 clergyman stated, that at least 3,000 persons in his parish "subsisted almost 
 entirely on cabbage, chicken weed, and other noxious substitutes for food." 
 
*■ IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 93. 
 
 December 2d, a large bodj of people, consisting of about five or six thou- 
 sand, entered Listowel, in the county Kerry, shouting out "bread or 
 blood," and proceeded in great excitement to attack the workhouse. The 
 parish priest threw himself into the midst of the multitude, but failing in 
 his endeavors to quiet the starving people, he fainted, overcome with exer- 
 tion and nervous apprehension. An immediate appeal from the spectators 
 to the hungry rioters, of "did they mean to kill the priest,"seconded by the 
 sight of the exhausted pastor, suddenly calmed them, and they departed 
 quietly. In December, relief meetings were held in various parts of the 
 country. The attention of the public mind had been drawn for some 
 time to the dreadful state of Skibbereen, in the county Cork. Among 
 the very many letters which, coming from persons of property and posi- 
 tion, attracted attention, none created a more painful interest and alarm 
 than the following, written by one of the county justices of Cork : 
 
 To His Grace, Field Marshal the Duke of Wellington : 
 
 " My Lord Duke —Without apology or preface, I presume so far as to 
 trespass on Your Grace to state to you, and by the use of your illustrious 
 name, to present to the British public the following statement of what I 
 have myself seen loithin the last three days. 
 
 " Having for many years been intimately connected with the western 
 portion of the county Cork, and possessing some small property there, I 
 thought it right personally to investigate the truth of the several lament- 
 able accounts which had reached me of the appalling state of misery to 
 which that part of the country was reduced. 
 
 "I accordingly went, on the 15th inst., to Skibbereen, and to give the 
 instance of one townland which I visited, as an example of the state of the 
 entire coast district, I shall state simply what I there saw. It is situate 
 on the eastern side of Castlehaven Hai'bor, and is named South Reen, in 
 the parish of Myross. Being aware that I should have to witness scenes 
 of frightful hunger, I provided myself with as much bread as five men 
 could carry, and on reaching the spot I was surprised to find the wretched 
 hamlets apparently deserted. I entered some of the hovels to ascertain the 
 cause, and the scenes that presented themselves were such as no tongue or 
 pen can convey the slightest idea of. In the first, six famished and ghastly 
 slieletons, to all appearance dead, were huddled on some filthy straw, their 
 sole covering what seemed a ragged horse cloth, their wretched legs hang- 
 ing about, naked above the knees. I approached in horror, and found, by 
 
94 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 a low moaning, tliat they were alive — they were in fever ; four children, a 
 woman, and what had once been a man. It is impossible to go through 
 the detail ; suffice it to say, that in a few minutes I was surrounded by at 
 least two hundred of such phantoms, such frightful spectres as no words 
 can describe. By far the greater number were delirious, either from 
 famine or from fever. Their demoniac yells are still ringing in my ears, 
 and their horrible images are fixed upon my brain. My heart sickens at 
 the recital, but I must go on. 
 
 " In another case, decency would forbid what follows, but it must be 
 told. My clothes were nearly torn off in my endeavor to escape from the 
 throng of pestilence around, when my neckcloth was seized from behind 
 by a gripe which compelled me to turn. I found myself grasped by a 
 woman, with an infant apparently Jwsf horn in her arms, and the remains 
 of a filthy sack across her loins — the sole covering of herself and babe. 
 The same morning, the police opened a house on the adjoining lands, 
 which was observed shut for many days, and two frozen corpses were 
 found, lying upon the mud floor, half devoured by the rats. 
 
 "A mother, herself in fever, was seen the same day to drag out the 
 corpse of her child, a girl about 12, perfectl}/ naked, and leave it half- 
 covered with stones. In another house, within 500 yards of the cavalry 
 station at Skibbereen, the dispensaxy doctor found seven wretches lying, 
 unable to move, under the same cloak. One had been dead many hours, but 
 the others were unable to reynove either themselves or the corpse. 
 
 " To what purpose should I multiply such cases ? If these be not 
 sufficient, neither would they hear who have the power to send relief, and 
 do not, even 'though one came from the dead.' Let them, however, 
 believe, and tremble, that they shall one day hear the Judge of all the 
 earth pronounce their tremendous doom, with the addition, ' I was an 
 hungered, and ye gave me no meat, thirsty, and ye gave me no drink, 
 naked, and ye clothed me not.' 
 
 "Once more, my Lord Duke, in the name of starving thousands, I 
 implore you to break the flimsy chain of official etiquette, and save the 
 land of your birth, the kindred of that gallant Irish blood which you have 
 so often seen lavished to support the honor of the British name, and let 
 there be inscribed upon your tomb — ' Servata Hiheriiia^ 
 
 " I have the honor to be, my Lord Duke, your Grace's obedient, humble 
 servant, " K M. Cummins, J. P. 
 
 "Arm Mount, Cork, Dec. 17, 1846. 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 95 
 
 While the country was in this deplorable and startling condition, the 
 exports from Ireland into Great Britain, for the quarter ending July 5th, 
 1846, by two returns made to the House of Commons, were : — Of the first 
 account, wheat, 59,478 quarters ; barley, 18,417 ditto; oats, 245,067 ditto ; 
 flour, 242,257 cwts. ; oatmeal, 138,241 ditto. The second gave — oxen, bulls, 
 and cows, 33,850 ; calves, 1,923 ; sheep and lambs, 56,669 ; swine, 124,762. 
 14,639 barrels of oats were exported from Limerick to London and Glasgow, 
 the third week of November, at the same time that £210 duty was paid on 
 the importation of Indian corn. From the same port, 47,000 firkins of but- 
 ter were shipped from 1st May. Extraordinary presentment sessions were 
 held in October to create works to employ the poor. In Galway, £48,642 
 was voted for this purpose; in Taghmon, county Wexford, £10,500; in 
 Gorey, same county, £13,439; in Monaghan, £16,000 ; in Killarny, county 
 Kerry, £45,000 ; Kenmare, same county, £30,000 ; in Castletown Roche, 
 county Cork, £46,846 ; Buttevant, same county, £12,000 ; in Kilkenny, 
 £8,630 2s. 4d.; Kilmaganagh, county Tipperary, £4,000 ; in Innis, county 
 Clare, £3,500 ; Connello Lower, -county Limerick, £40,000; in the Town 
 of Galway, £30,000 ; in Inniscarthy, county Wexford, £20,000 ; Middle- 
 third, county Tipperary, £20,000; Sneem, county Kerry, £20,000 ; in Bally 
 Adams, county Meath, £3,270. In other places, larger or smaller sums of 
 money were voted. As far back as August, there was a very general move- 
 ment amongst the Irish landed proprietors, to press on government the neces- 
 sity of applying this money to the development of the resources of the land 
 rather than to public works of an unproductive nature — a suggestion which 
 originated with Mr. William Monsell, Deputy Lieutenant of the county Lime- 
 rick. About thirty Irish Peers — including the Marquis of Sligo, Lords West- 
 meath, Mountcashel, and Cloncurry — and a considerable number of gentry 
 had already signed a requisition calling a meeting in the city of Dublin 
 for the purpose. Meetings of the landholders, magistrates, clergy, <fcc., 
 were held in Kerry and Westmeath seconding the proposed movement. 
 January 14th, 1847, a meeting of Irish Peers, Commoners, and landed 
 proprietors, of all creeds and parties, convened by the requisition alluded 
 to, took place in the Rotunda, Dublin. Fifteen peers attended, twenty six 
 members of Parliament, thirty-one baronets and knights, sixty-six deputy 
 lieutenants of counties, fifty-two justices of the peace. Letters apjn-ov- 
 ing of the purpose of the meeting, and of apology for non-attend- 
 ance, were read from the Marquis of Couyngham, Lord Glcugall, Lord 
 
96 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Kilmaine, the Hon. Fred, Shaw, Sir E. Hares, Sir Gerald Aylmer, General 
 Conyngham, and othez's. The Marquis of Ormonde presided. In opening 
 the meeting, referring to the peculiar construction of the assemblage, where 
 all shades of politics were blended, he said — " the exertion of every man 
 would be required to meet the crisis, and consider some plan to feed their 
 starving countrymen." Sir Montagu Chapman, Bart., placing before the 
 meeting the reasons of the "Reproductive Committee" for issuing their 
 circular, said that — " the present system of supplying food having been a 
 complete failure, the awful condition of the people called for more ener- 
 getic measures than those which had been adopted, and that those 
 measures should be laid before the Legislature, with the authority of that 
 meeting, to have them adopted. They believed that the shipping of the 
 country should be employed in bringing food to its shores, and that the 
 rules of commerce should be interrupted in some degree, and made 
 auxiliary to the means of saving the people. Sugar should be substituted 
 for grain in the distilleries — the present means of employment were quite 
 inadequate to provide for the extent of destitution — the evil was of 
 greater magnitude, when it was considered that the employment given on 
 the internal communications of the country, for some time in progress, 
 were the means of wasting the national resources ; and they called for an 
 immediate stoppage of such a course of employment. The committee 
 pointed attention to the want of seed, and the neglect of agriculture." 
 Mr. George Alexander Hamilton, M.P., said, that " they would permit no 
 minister — whatever his politics — to try a crude experiment of legislation 
 on Irish interests — the people bear their sufferings with extraordinary 
 patience." Mr. O'Connell followed, and agreed with every word spoken by 
 the previous speaker. " "Work," said he, " can be had by many of the people, 
 but what do the wages given for labor signify, if the people cannot pro- 
 cure food even for money ? In one district, upwards of £6000 had been paid 
 in wages, but there was not two pence worth of provisions in that district." 
 Mr. Dillon Croker, D.L., dwelt on the extreme destitution of the country. 
 Mr. Bernal Osborne, M. P., wished to know "if the government adhered to 
 their notions of political economy, were the Irish members prepared to 
 declare their want of confidence in the government. JSTothing could make 
 him support any government which should persevere in maintaining such 
 unsound and cruel doctrines as those enunciated and carried into effect by 
 that now in office." The Earl of Erne referring to the Irish landlords, 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. '97 
 
 described their position as not being on the edge of a precipice, but half 
 down it." He proposed a resolution to the effect "that before and beyond 
 all other considerations is the salvation of the lives of the people ; and we 
 therefore deem it our solemn duty, the present system having signally 
 failed, to call upon the government in the most imperative terms to take 
 such measures as will secure local supplies of food sufficient to keep the 
 pe(>ple alive ; and to sacrifice any quantity of money that may be necessary 
 to attain that object, declaring, as we do, that any neglect or delay in that 
 matter will render the government responsible for the safety of the people 
 of Ireland, who must perish in multitudes unless supplied with food. We 
 further call upon the government to remove all artificial impediments 
 to the supply, by the temporary suspension of the Navigation laws and the 
 duties on the importation of corn : and also to facilitate that importation 
 by permitting such vessels of her Majesty's navy, as can be spared, to be 
 employed in the transport of provisions. That we recommend that Relief 
 Committees should be allowed to sell food under first cost to destitute." 
 Mr. Charles A. Walker, D.L., Co. Wexford, regretted to state, that Wexford, 
 " which hitherto had been the * model county' of Ireland, was in similar 
 destitution. He did not believe that there was one month's provisions in 
 that county." In a resolution moved by Lord Bernard, the meeting 
 though entirely acquiescing in the justice of imposing upon the land the 
 repayment of all money advanced for reproductive purposes, solemnly 
 protested, in the name of the owners and occupiers of land in Ireland, 
 against the principle of charging exclusively on their property the money 
 which they had been forced to waste on unproductive works. They could 
 not look upon the destruction of the people's staple food in any other light, 
 than as an "imperial calamity," and claimed as a right, "that the burden 
 of it should fall on the Empire, and not on Ireland alone." Lord Farnham 
 felt great pleasure in taking a part at the present meeting. He alluded to 
 the distress in Cavan, and moved that "depots for the sale of seeds be 
 opened by government, as they had heard that much land lay unprepared 
 owing to the poverty of the occupants." It was the opinion of Major 
 Blackall that the paramount object, was the sowing of the land. Resolu- 
 tions were moved by the Earl of Milltown, Lord Milton, Hon. Robert 
 Tighe, Mr. B. Osborne, Sir George Hudson, Mr. Bourke of Hayes, and 
 others, setting forth at length the following proposition: — That the 
 whole energies of the State should be applied to the absorption of surplus 
 labor ; to the affording facilities for private employment. That to absorb 
 
 5 
 
98 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 surplus labor, and, at tlie same time, to increase the food of the country, 
 piers and harbors for fishing purposes, and model curing-houses, with salt 
 depdts attached, should be established along the coast. That with the like 
 object of absorbing labor, and increasing our food stipplies, a systematic 
 plan be adopted for the reclamation of waste lands throughout the country. 
 That in every such system an option should be given to the proprietors of 
 waste land. That the Drainage act should be simplified and consolidated. 
 That tenants for life, and other proprietors, should be allowed to obtain 
 public loans for other permanent improvements besides drainage. That 
 
 the laws which regulate the management of estates should be revised. 
 
 Allusion is made at the close of the accompanying speech to the celebrated 
 statue of O'Connell, by Hogan. It stands with those of Henry Grattan, Lucas, 
 and Drummond, under the dome of the Royal Exchange, Dublin. Eev. Fran- 
 cis Mahoney (Father Front) writing to the London Daily Neios, from Rome, 
 April 18, 1845, thus describes this noble work of art: "John Hogan's 
 colossal' statue of Mr. O'Connell is a tremendous figure, twelve feet in 
 vertical height, carved from a spotless block of white Serravezza marble ; it 
 produces an effect of unmixed and unaffected grandeur. Dignity of atti- 
 tude, consciousness of power, and indomitable energy, are in the extended 
 arm and protruded leg of the orator. There is a slight shadow of sadness, 
 with a half-suppressed twinkle of roguery perceptible in the countenance. 
 It is the very image of the man. The gigantic folds of the broadly-flung 
 mantle are in the boldest style of masterly art, and there stands no pedestal 
 in the British islands bearing a statue in marble of such dimensions, at all 
 
 approaching the merit of this work." An interesting incident occurred 
 
 during the procession of the Pope to the church of St. John Lateran in 
 Rome, 8th November, 1846. At the church of St. Clement's, memorable on 
 many accounts, and now possessed by a few Irish friars, considerable sur- 
 prise was felt by the crowd, and expressed by the Papal cavalcade, on 
 seeing a large green banner flying from the portico, bearing a harp 
 uncrowned. This circumstance is also noticed.] 
 
 Sir, tliefe was a levee at the Castle this morning". Gentlemen 
 went there to pay their respects to the representative of royalty. 
 "We have met here this night, to testify om* allegiance to liberty. 
 
 I will not inquire which is the more honorable act, but I think 
 t' e latter the more useful. "Where a court resides, a parliament 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 99 
 
 should sit. A court without a senate, can do Httle for the public 
 good — it may do much to the public detriment. The court of the 
 province may distribute favors, and teach a propriety of demeanor. 
 The senate of the free nation distributes blessings, and inspires the 
 community with virtue. 
 
 Little did the poet-hero of Missolonghi, when he passionately 
 rebuked the homage that was paid a sceptred profligate in this 
 city, twenty-live y6ars since — little did he imagine that, at this 
 day, his words would be so disastrously fulfilled — 
 
 " The Castle still stands, though the Senate's no more, 
 And the famine, which dwelt on her freedomless crags, 
 
 Is extending its steps to her desolate shore. 
 To her desolate shore — where the emigrant stands 
 
 For a moment to gaze ere he flies from her hearth ; 
 Tears fall on his chain, though it drops from his hands. 
 
 For the dungeon he quits is the place of his birth," 
 
 Sir, the Castle has been preserved whilst the Senate has been 
 destroyed, and the blood and poison, in which it was destroyed, 
 have given birth to a hideous famine. 
 
 When the English minister introduced the Act of Union into 
 the English Commons, he did not venture to justify his scheme 
 upon the inability of a domestic parliament to legislate beneficially 
 for Ireland. The prosperity of the nation — to which Lord Clare, 
 Mr. Plunkett, Mr. Grattan, and several other members, bore testi- 
 mony in the Irish Commons — and to which Mr. Sheridan and 
 Mr. Burdett bore testimony in the English Commons — this pros- 
 perity was so obvious, and so distinctly traceable to the efiicient 
 legislation of the Irish parliament, that some other argument, 
 besides that of incapacity, should be urged for its destruction. 
 
 The minister admitted the good that had been done — admitted 
 the commerce that had thriven, the arts that had flourished, the 
 eminent position that had been attained by the country, with the 
 
100 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 ■wise assistance of her parliament. He did not charge that parlia- 
 ment with incapacity, for the evidences of capacity met him in 
 the face. He did not charge that parliament with the corruption 
 of its last moments, for his was the hand that planted death, 
 where once the sword of the Volunteer had infused vitality. He 
 did not charge that parliament w^ith those grievous defects which 
 impaired its character, but which, w^e must assert, were rather the 
 defects of the age than the defects of the institution. No ; he 
 advanced a more serious charge, and appealed from the virtue to 
 the avarice of the peoj^le. 
 
 The Irish parliament was arraigned for standing between the 
 people of Ireland and the blessings of English connexion. 
 
 " You have prospered," said the minister, " under a native 
 parliament. Accept a foreign parliament, and your prosperity 
 will amaze. Incorporate the countries, and you incorporate their 
 interests. Participate in the imperial labors, and you participate 
 in the imperial profits. Recognise London as your chief city, and 
 your nobihty will be identified with the proudest patricians in 
 Europe. Consolidate the exchequers, and in the periods of distress 
 which, through the dispensations of heaven, await all nations, you 
 will experience the munificence of the empire. Consolidate the 
 exchequers, and you will revel in the treasures of the colonies. 
 Consolidate the exchequers, and you will feast with us upon the 
 spoils of India. You now stand alone — you require a guardian. The 
 ambition of France will drive her bayonets against your shore, and 
 the island will be gazetted as the property of the stranger. Unite 
 with us, and you may defy the Corsican — unite with us, and you 
 may defy the world — unite with us, and as we ascend a height 
 on which the Roman soldier never trod, from which the Spanish 
 merchant never gazed, you will accompany us in our march, and 
 the statiss that will bend in recognition of our power, will admire 
 your wisdom, and be dazzled with your wealth !" 
 
 Sir, in what year, since the enactment of the Union, will the 
 disciples of AVilliam Pitt find the fulfilment of that promise ? 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 101 
 
 In 1801, when the English parliament visited this country with 
 an insurrection act? In 1803, when that parliament imposed 
 martial law? In 1807, when the insurrection act of 1801 is 
 renewed, continuing in force until 1810 ? In 1814, when, for a 
 third time, the insurrection act of 1801 is renewed, and inflicted 
 up to 1824 ? In 1836, when the Chancellor of England spurns 
 you as aliens in language, in religion, and in blood ? In 1839, 
 when you claimed equal franchises with the people of England, and 
 were denied them by the Whig secretary for Ireland ? In 1843, 
 when a minister of the Crown declares, that concession has reached 
 its limits, and an assassin proclamation proscribes your right of 
 petition ? In 1846, when the coercion bill is levelled against your 
 liberties, and the arms act is re-introduced by the Whigs ? In 
 1847, when the Treasury confiscates the island, and famine piles 
 upon it a pyramid of coffins ? 
 
 A lie ! exclaims the broken manufacturer. A lie ! protests the 
 swindled landlord. A lie ! shouts the haggard tenant of the 
 Liberties. A lie ! a lie ! shrieks the skeleton from the hovels of 
 Skibbereen. 
 
 " Depend upon it," said Mr. Bushe, speaking on the Act of 
 Union, in the Irish Commons — " depend upon it, a day of reckon- 
 ing will come — posterity will overhaul this transaction." 
 
 Sir, the day of reckoning has come — posterity overhauls th-e 
 base transaction ! The right which national pride had not the 
 virtue to assert — the right which national enterprise had not the 
 spirit to demand — a national calamity has now the fortimate terror 
 to enforce. Heretofore, the right of self-government was claimed 
 as an instrument to ameliorate. Now it is claimed as an instru- 
 ment to save. Heretofore, it was claimed that the people might 
 be gifted with the franchise. Now it is claimed that the people 
 may have the- privilege of bread. 
 
 We demand from England this right. We demand the restora- 
 tion of our parliament, and w^e demand it, not as a remote, but as 
 
102 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 an immediate measure. It is tlie only true measure of relief. 
 The pestilence came from Heaven, but the inability of the country 
 to mitigate that pestilence, we ascribe to the cupidity of man. 
 
 England, in her lust of empire, has deprived us of those large 
 means, that social wealth, that manufacturing capital, which 
 would have enabled our country to meet the necessities of this 
 dark crisis. The Union, as you have been often told, has wrought 
 the ruin of your trade, your manufactures, your arts. It has 
 sanctioned, if it has not compelled, absenteeism. It has beggared 
 the mechanic. It now starves the j)easant. It has destroyed 
 your home market. It has taken from you the power to devote 
 the resources of the country to the wants of the people. You have 
 no control over those resources. They are forbidden fruit. You 
 dare not touch them. 
 
 If this be not so, why is your export trade so flourishing, whilst 
 your import trade expires ? If this be not so, how comes it that 
 the absentee crams his coffer, whilst the sexton fills the church- 
 yard ? If this be not so, how comes it that your city quays are 
 thronged, whilst the village street is desolate ? If this be not so, 
 how comes it that whilst the merchant ship bears away the 
 harvest from your shore, the parish bier conveys the reaper to his 
 grave ? 
 
 Sir, England has bound this island hand and foot. The island 
 is her slave. She robs the island of its food, for it has not the 
 power to guard it. If the island does not break its fetter — 
 England will write its epitaph. 
 
 I hold in my hand a statement of Irish exports from the 1st of 
 August to the 1st of January. From this statement you will 
 perceive that England seizes on our food, whilst death seizes on 
 our people : — 
 
 Total export of provisions fi-om the ports of Waterford, Cork, 
 Limerick, and Belfast, from the 1st of August, 1846, to the 1st of 
 January, 1847 : Pork, barrels, 37,123 ; bacon, flitches, 222,608 ; 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 103 
 
 butter, firkins, 388,455 ; haras, hMs., 1,971 ; beef, tierces, 2,555 ; 
 wheat, barrels, 48,526 ; oats, barrels, 443,232 ; barley, barrels, 
 12,029; oatmeal, cwts., 7,210; flour, cwts., 144,185; pigs, 
 44,659 ; cows, 9,007 ; sheep, hhds., 10,288. 
 
 Yet, this is what the English economist would designate the 
 prosperity of Ireland. From this table. Lord Monteagle would 
 expatiate for nights upon the benefits of English connexion. 
 From this table, Mr. Montgomery Martin would prove, with the 
 keenest precision, the advantages to Ireland of the legislative 
 Union. From this table, Mr. Macaulay — who threatened us with 
 a civil war in the name of the Whigs, and was answered by the 
 honorable member for Limerick, as a man who threatened military 
 despotism should be always answered — from this table, IVIr. 
 Macaulay would surely conclude that Irish opulence was a sound 
 reality — that Irish famine was a factious metaphor. 
 
 But, Sir, I shall dwell no longer upon the dismal theme. For 
 a moment, let us forget the famine — " if possible, let the bitter cup 
 pass away." 
 
 It is difficult, indeed, to close our eyes to the horror. Go where 
 you will, and you must face it. Go to the church — in the pulpit 
 it stands beside the priest, and recounts to him its havoc. Go to 
 the social board, and there it sits, and chills the current of the soul. 
 Amid the radiant scenery of my native South its shadow falls, and 
 scares you from the mountain and the glen. 
 
 But you have vowed to win the freedom of your country, and 
 you must wail no more. The voice of Ireland has been too sad. 
 Had it been more stern, it would have been obeyed long since. 
 For the future we must not supplicate, but demand — we must not 
 entreat, but enforce. We must insist upon the right of this 
 country to govern herself, with the firmness which the importance 
 of the right demands, and which the power of our opponent 
 necessitates. 
 
104 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Urge that right, then, on higher grounds than those on which 
 it has been hitherto implored. Demand it, not merely to 
 redress wrongs, but to acquire power. Demand it, as the right 
 which a nation must possess if it ambitions fortune, and aspires 
 to station. 
 
 Deprived of this right, the nation is destitute of self-reliance. 
 Destitute of this fine virtue, the nation has no inward strength, no 
 inherent influence. Through the bounty of the ruling state it may 
 exist, but a nation thus sustained, is sustained by a hand from 
 without, not by a soul from within. Should it derive prosperity 
 from this source, the nation, I maintain, is yet more enslaved. It 
 loses all faith in its own faculties, and is soothed and pampered 
 into debasement. The spirit of the freeman no longer acts — the 
 gratitude of the slave destroys it. Sustained by the bounty — 
 participating in the minor rights of the predominant country — it 
 may become a useful appendage to that country — waste its blood 
 for the supremacy of a Union Flag — gild an Imperial Senate with 
 its purchased genius — be visited by the Sovereign — be flattered by 
 the minister — be eulogised in the journals of the Empire — but, 
 Sir, such a country will have no true prosperity — will occupy no 
 high position — will exhibit no great virtues — will accomplish no 
 great acts — it may fatten in its fetters — it will write no name in 
 history ! 
 
 To depend upon the honor of another country, is to depend upon 
 her will ; and to depend upon the will of another country, is the 
 definition of slavery. 
 
 This was the doctrine of Henry Grattan. Let it be our motto. 
 Union with England for no purpose — union with England for no 
 price — union with England on no terms ! 
 
 Let them extend the franchise — reclaim the waste lands — pro- 
 mote the coast fisheries — improve their drainage acts — ay ! let 
 them vote their millions to check the starvation with which we 
 charge them — the Union Act must be repealed. No foreign hand 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 105 
 
 can bestow the prosperity which a national soul has the power 
 to create. No gift can compensate a nation for its liberty. 
 
 This was the sentiment of Mr. Foster, who declared, that if 
 England could give up all her revenue, and all her trade to 
 Ireland, he would not barter for them the free constitution of his 
 country. This was the sentiment of Mr. Plunket, when he 
 denounced the Union as a barter of liberty for money, and 
 pronounced the nation that would enter into such a traffic, for any 
 advantage whatsoever, to be criminal and besotted. This was the 
 sentiment of Mr. O'Connell, in 1800, when, speaking for the 
 Catholics, he declared, that if emancipation was offered for their 
 consent to the measure, they would reject it with prompt indigna- 
 tion — that if the alternative were offered them, of the Union, or 
 the re-enactment of the Penal Code in all its pristine horrors, they 
 would prefer the latter, without hesitation, as the lesser and more 
 sufferable evil. 
 
 Sir, we must act in the spirit of these sentiments. We must 
 rescue the country from the control of every English minister. It 
 was our boast, in 1843, that Ireland was the difficulty of Sir 
 Robert Peel. Let us be just in 1847, and make it the difficulty 
 of Lord John Russell. 
 
 It is time for us to prefer the freedom of our country to the 
 patronage of the crown. Ireland has suffered more from the 
 subserviency of her sons than from the dictation of her foes. 
 " Liberal appointments " have pleased us too much. Amongst us, 
 the Tapers and the Tadpoles have been too numerous a class — the 
 patriots who believe that the country will be saved if they receive 
 from £600 to £1,200 a year. 
 
 Give me a resident nobility, a resident gentry, an industrious 
 population. Give me a commerce to enrich the country, and a 
 navy to protect that commerce. Give me a national flag, to 
 inspire the country with a proper pride, and a national militia to 
 defend that flag. Give me, for my country, these great faculties, 
 
 5* 
 
106 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 these great attributes, and I care not wlio wears the ermine in the 
 Queen's Bench — I care not who officiates in the Castle-yard — I 
 care not who adjudicates in the Police Office — I care not who the 
 high sheriff of the county may be — I care not who the beadle of 
 the parish may be. If there exist social evils in the country, there 
 will be a national legislature to correct them ; and even if that 
 legislature has not the power to correct those evils, the blessings, 
 which it is sure to confer, will more than counteract them. 
 
 The resolution I propose will pledge us to an absolute indepen- 
 dence of all English parties, and exclude from the Irish Confedera- 
 tion any member of the Council who will accept or solicit an 
 office of emolument under any government not pledged to Repeal. 
 
 It gives me sincere delight to move this resolution. I know you 
 will adopt it — I am confident you will act up to it boldly. 
 
 Public men have said, the cause of Repeal is strengthened by 
 Repealers taking places. I maintain that the cause is weakened. 
 The system decimates the ranks. In 1843, where were the 
 Repealers who assumed the official garb after the movement of 
 1834? 
 
 Repealers, occupying office, may not abandon their opinions, 
 but they withdraw their services. It is impossible to serve two 
 masters. You cannot serve the minister who is pledged to main- 
 tain the Union, and serve the people who are pledged to repeal it. 
 Will a report on the financial grievances, inflicted by the Union, 
 accompany a Treasury minute from London ? Will you get a 
 farthing a week, a penny a month, a shilling a year, from the Mint ? 
 Will a Repeal pamphlet issue from the Board of Works ? The 
 Trojans fought the Greeks, through the streets of Troy, in Grecian 
 armour. Will the Repealers fight the Whigs, upon the hustings, 
 with Whig favors in their pockets ? Recollect, the Union was 
 carried by Irishmen receiving English gold. Depend upon it, the 
 same system will not accelerate its repeal. 
 
 Sir, we must have an end of this place-begging. Tlie task we 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. 107 
 
 have assumed is a serious one. To accomplish it well, our ener- 
 gies must have full play. The trappings of the Treasury will 
 restrict them more than the shackles of the prison. State liveries 
 usually encumber men, and detain them at the Castle gates. Not 
 a doubt of it, we shall work the freer when we wear no royal 
 harness. 
 
 To the accomplishment of this great task, we earnestly invite all 
 ranks and parties in the country. It is not the cause of Eadical- 
 ism. It is not the cause of Sectarianism. It is the cause of 
 Ireland — a noble cause — a cause in which the Irish peer should 
 feel as deeply interested as the Irish peasant — in which the Irish 
 Protestant should join hands with the Irish Catholic — in which the 
 Irish Conservative should link himself with the Irish Radical. 
 
 Sir, I will not appeal to the Irish peer, for I am not his equal. 
 Yet I will tell him, that to act as the hereditary peer of this 
 ancient kingdom, would be a more honorable distinction than to 
 serve as an elected peer in the parliament of that country, which 
 has usurped his ancestral right. In England, where there resides 
 the proudest nobility in the world — a nobility that would not 
 yield to the Contarini of Venice, to the Colonna of Rome, to 
 the Montmorenci of France — the Irish peer is a powerless 
 subordinate. In Ireland, his native land, he would have no 
 superior in rank. Had he virtue and ability, he would have no 
 superior in power. 
 
 I will not appeal to the Irish landlord, for I have no land. 
 Yet I will tell him, that he has too lonof sacrificed the interests of 
 Ireland, little knowing, that, by so doing, he sacrificed his own, 
 and that now, to save his property, he must save the country — to 
 save the country, he must assert her freedom. 
 
 But, Sir, I will appeal to the Irish Protestant who keeps aloof, 
 for I am his brother. Let not the altar stand between us and our 
 freedom. Let not the history of the past be the prophecy of the 
 future. 
 
108 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Even in that history, his eye will glance on brighter chapters 
 than those which chronicle the defence of Derry, or the triumph 
 of Aughrim. 
 
 On the 4th day of November, 111 9, the Protestant Volunteers 
 of this city and county met in College-green, and piled their arms 
 round the statue of King William. They met round the statue 
 of that King — whom the Irish Protestant has been vainly taught 
 to worship and the L-ish Catholic wantonly to execrate — they met 
 round that statue, not to revive the factions of the Boyne — not 
 that the waters of that river should sweep away again the shattered 
 banner of the Catholic — but that those waters might float for ever 
 the commerce of a free nation. 
 
 Protestant citizens ! cultivate the fine virtues of that period — 
 embrace the faith of which Molyneux was the bold apostle — 
 renounce the supremacy of England — abjure the errors of pro- 
 vincialism. Let not the dread of Catholic ascendancy deter you. 
 If such an ascendancy were preached, here is one hand that would 
 be clenched against it. Yes, here are four thousand arms to give 
 it battle ! 
 
 And now I will appeal to the young men of Ireland — for I am 
 one of that proscribed class. A noble mission is open to them — 
 let them accept it with enthusiasm, and fulfil it with integrity. 
 If they do so, the independence of the nation will be restored, 
 and they themselves shall win a righteous fame. A free nation 
 will vote them to her senate in their maturer years, and 
 when they die, upon their tombs will be inscribed that nation's 
 gratitude. 
 
 Let not the sneers of those, in whose hearts no generous im- 
 pulse throbs, in whose minds no lofty purpose dwells, deter them 
 from the task. Men who have grown selfish amid the insinceri- 
 ties of society, who have grown harsh from the buftets of the 
 world, will bid them mind their business — their profession. Sir, our 
 country is our dearest object— to win its freedom is our first duty. 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION — NATIONAL UNION. 109 
 
 It is not the decree of heaven, I believe, that the sympathies 
 of the young heart, the abilities with which most young minds are 
 gifted, should be narrowed to the trade we follow, the profession 
 we pursue. These sympathies are too large, these abilities too 
 strong, to be narrowed to the purposes of a sordid egotism. They 
 were so conferred, that they might embrace the island, and be the 
 ramparts of its liberty. To us, the God of heaven has thus been 
 good, not that we should " crawl from the cradle to the grave " — 
 doing nothing for mankind — but that we should so act, as to 
 leave a memory behind us, for the good to bless, and the free to 
 glorify. 
 
 Sir, were I to rely upon the effect which my words might have, 
 I should indeed despair. Youth, which brings with it an energy 
 to act, seldom confers authority ; and if the appeals, which its 
 enthusiasm dictates, sometimes have the fortune to move, it more 
 frequently happens that the rashness, of which it is susceptible, 
 has the effect to deter. But the revolution of opinion, which now 
 shakes society in Ireland, gives me true hope. 
 
 " I believe that Ireland will soon be called upon to govern 
 herself," said Mr. Delmege in the Music Hall. " Ireland shall 
 govern herself" — so insists the people. 
 
 Sir, you who are the descendant of an Irish king — go to the 
 English Commons, and tell the Enghsh Commons what you have 
 seen this night. Tell the English Commons, that in this Hall — a 
 spot sacred to the people of Ireland, for here, in 1793, the Con- 
 vention sat, with a mitred reformer at its head — sacred to them, 
 for here, in 1845, their civic chiefs made solemn oath, that the 
 Independence of the country should be restored — sacred to them, 
 for here, in 1847, has been consecrated the sanctuary of free 
 opinion — tell the English Commons, Sir, that here four thousand 
 citizens assembled on this night, to decide the destiny of the Union. 
 Tell the English Commons, that these citizens decide that the 
 destiny of the Union shall be the destruction of the Union. 
 
110 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Should tlie minister ask you wliy is tliis, tell the minister tliat tlie 
 Union sentences the country to ruin, and that the country will not 
 submit to be ruined. Should the minister assure you, that, for 
 the future, there shall be a fair Union and not a false Union — "a 
 real Union and not a parchment Union " — tell the minister that 
 we shall have no Union, be it for better or for worse. Tell the 
 minister. Sir, that a new race of men now act in Ireland — men 
 who will neither starve as the victims, nor serve as the vassals of 
 the Empire. 
 
 Have I spoken your sentiments — have I announced your deter- 
 mination truly ? 
 
 Yes, the spirit that nerved the Red Hand of Ulster — the spirit 
 that made the walls of Limerick impregnable, and forced the 
 conquerors of the Boyne to negotiate by the waters of the Shannon 
 — the spirit that dictated the letters of Swift and the instructions 
 of Lucas — the spirit that summoned the armed missionaries of 
 freedom to the altar of Dungannon, and gave to Charlemont 
 a dignity his accomplishments would never have attained — ■ 
 the spirit that touched with fire the tongue of Grattan, and 
 endowed his words with the magic of the sword — the spirit that 
 sanctified the scafi'old of the Geraldine, and bade the lyre of Moore 
 vibrate through the world — the spirit that called forth the genius 
 of Davis from the cloisters of Old Trinity, and which consecrates 
 his grave — the spirit that at this day, in the city of the Pontiff, 
 unfurls the flag of Sarsfield, and animates the Irish sculptor as he 
 bids the marble speak the passion of the Irish Tribune — this spirit 
 — which the bayonet could not drive back — which the bribe could 
 not satiate — which misfortune could not quell — is moving vividly 
 through the land. The ruins that ennoble, the scenes that 
 beautify, the memories that illuminate, the music that inspires our 
 native land, have preserved it pure amid the vicious factions of the 
 past, and the venal baro;ains of later years. The visitation that now 
 storms upon the land has startled it into a generous activity. Did 
 
IRISH CONFEDERATION NATIONAL UNION. Ill 
 
 public virtue cease to animate, tlie Senate House which, even in 
 its desecrated state, lends an Italian glory to this metropolis, would 
 forbid it to expire. The temple is there — the creed has been 
 announced — the priests will enter and officiate. 
 
 It shall be so. The spirit of Nationality, rooted in our hearts, 
 is as immoveable as the altar of the Druid, pillared in our soil. 
 
GAL WAY ELECTION— STRUGGLE AGAINST ENGLAND. 
 
 In the Theatre Royal^ Galway, 6th Feb., 1846. 
 
 • [In January, Sir Valentine Blate, Bart., member for Galway, accepted 
 the Chiltern Hundreds. Two candidates for the vacant seat immediately 
 took the field — Mr. Anthony O'Flaherty, of Knockbane, Co. Galway, and 
 Mr. James Henry Monaghan, Solicitor-General for Ireland. The former 
 gentleman was supported by the Archbishop of Tuam and the Catholic 
 Clergy, and by the " Old Ireland " as well as the " Young Ireland " parties. 
 The Whig candidate was supported by the "Whig and Conservative gentry, 
 who compelled their tenantry to vote with them. At a meeting of the 
 Galway Electors, February 5th, a resolution was passed, to the eflfect — 
 " That this Committee, having undoubted information that Captain Thomas 
 Burke, of Marble-hill, has come to this town, and used threats towards the 
 tenantry of Lord Clanricarde, to compel them to vote, against their will, 
 for the Government candidate, at the approaching election for this town — 
 we instruct our Secretary to respectfully request of the high-minded W. S. 
 O'Brien, to ask the Premier, or some other member of the Government, 
 of which Lord Clanricarde is one, whether it was with his Lordship's 
 sanction such coercion was used towards the tenantry." Mr. O'Brien wrote 
 on the subject to Lord Clanricarde, and mentioned that, as he intended to 
 put the required question to Lord John Russell, he (Lord Clanricarde) 
 would enable the Premier to disclaim such measures. To his note, he 
 received a formal reply — no denial of the fact — nor was the minister 
 authorized to give one. The bailiffs of Lord Clanricarde, and several land- 
 lords, went about threatening the starving tenantry with immediate 
 extermination, if they did not vote for the Government candidate. The 
 voters engaged on the public works were threatened with dismissal, by the 
 Government officer. The contest lasted several days, and ended in the 
 return of Mr. Monaghan by a majority of Y.J 
 
GALWAY ELECTION STRUGGLE AGAINST ENGLAND. 113 
 
 Gentlemen, I have come liere to protest against the Government 
 of England, for which Government you have been solicited to vote 
 this day. 
 
 The struggle, begun this morning upon the hustings of your 
 old town, is not a struggle between two men — it is a struggle 
 between two countries. 
 
 On the one side — the side of the Whig candidate — hangs the 
 red banner, beneath which your senate has been sacked, your 
 commerce has been wrecked, your nobility have been dishonored, 
 your peasants have been starved. On the other side — the side of 
 the Repeal candidate — floats the green flag, for whicb the artillery 
 of 1782 won a legitimate respect — beneath which your senate sat, 
 your commerce thrived, your nobility were honored, your peasants 
 prospered. 
 
 Until the last three years, that flag has been deserted by us. 
 With the tameness of slaves, we submitted to its proscription. 
 We saw it torn from our merchant ships, and whilst we lacked the 
 ability to guard it upon the seas, we had not the virtue to plant it 
 on the hustings. Everywhere, the supremacy of the red flag was 
 recognised by us — recognised by us, w^hether it was borne by the 
 military or the political agent of England. 
 
 W^hat diff'erence, I ask, did it make, that it was sometimes 
 decorated with the insignia of the Whigs ? Decorated with the 
 blue ribbon of the Pit, or the buff ribbon of the Fox school, it was 
 still the same cursed testimony of foreign mastership — still the 
 same crimson scroll on which our incapacity for business was set 
 forth, and the terms of our base apprenticeship were engrossed. 
 
 Year after year, were we content to be the sutlers of English, 
 faction — content to echo back the cant and clamor of English 
 Radicalism. At one time, blessing a Reform Bill, as if it gave us 
 political power. At another time, rushing after the glittering 
 equipage of a Whig viceroy, as if his smiles were productive of 
 manufactures, and his liberal appointments had been the pre- 
 
114 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 cursors of national institutions. All this time we forgot, that, for 
 the nation to exist, the nation should have its arts, its fisheries, its 
 manufactures, its commerce ; and that a franchise bill, corporate 
 reform acts, liberal appointments, and so forth, were of very little 
 importance compared to bread for the million. 
 
 Doubtless, there were some excellent innovations at the Castle 
 about this time, for St. Patrick's Hall was no longer shut to the 
 Catholic barrister. The ermine, too, had ceased to be the sacred 
 monopoly of Protestantism. The Catholic and Protestant became 
 equally entitled to it, and, with the police uniform, it was made 
 common to both. The hall of the Four Courts rang with the 
 praises of Normanby, and the statue of Justice, which decorates 
 that hall, was pronounced by the best judges to be the very image 
 of Russell. Public dinners were frequently held, and the people 
 of Ireland were congratulated on the tranquillity of the country, 
 and the promotion of able demagogues to power. 
 
 The people heard the toasts that were shouted at those dinners 
 — heard the selfish canticles of faction — heard that the salvation 
 of Ireland would be accomplished by means of a liberal disposal 
 of silk gowns — heard that the elevation of Ireland would be 
 secured by the elevation of noisy democrats to oflSce — the people 
 heard these things, and believed that their freedom was at hand. 
 They believed so, for they had not as yet looked well into the 
 country, and felt what was really wanting there. 
 
 But 1843 came, and a voice from Tara bade the people organize 
 for liberty. On the site of the Irish monarchy, the spell of a fac- 
 tious servitude was broken — provincialism was abjured — nation- 
 ality was vowed. 
 
 In that year, you, the citizens of Gal way, pledged yourselves to 
 devote every effort to the attainment of Irish independence. You 
 organized — and in your foremost rank shone the coronet of the 
 Ffrenches, with the mitre of St. Jarlath's. You contributed to the 
 exchequer of the movement ; your merchants opened their coffers ; 
 
GALWAY ELECTIOlir STRUGGLE AGAINST ENGLAND. 115 
 
 your artisans — and I see many of tliem here to-night — coined the 
 sweat of their brows into gold, and offered it up as the ransom of 
 our Hberties. 
 
 Then came the 30th of May, 1845, and you sent your Towm 
 Commissioners to the Rotunda, where the chiefs of the national 
 movement received the homage of the people. That was no false 
 homage — it was sincere — for the men who offered it aspired to 
 freedom. On that day your representatives pledged themselves 
 on your behalf — now mark the words ! — that corruption should 
 not seduce, nor deceit cajole, nor intimidation deter you from 
 seekinor the attainment of a national lemslature. 
 
 Gentlemen, the time has come to redeem that vow. This strugf- 
 gle will test your truth, your purity, your heroism. Your honor 
 is at stake — your integrity is in question — your character is on 
 trial. Vows can be easily made. Expediency may advise them 
 — enthusiasm may dicfate them. The difficulty and the virtue is 
 to fulfil them. 
 
 When that vow was made, did you not hear the jeering pro- 
 phecy, that it would eventuate in a solemn falsehood ? Did you 
 not hear it said, that you had iTeither the intention nor the 
 integrity to redeem that vow — that you might threaten, but dare 
 not strike ? 
 
 It was said so in London — it was said so in Chesham Place — it 
 was said so in Dublin — let me tell you, it is so written in the pre- 
 dictions of the Castle. 
 
 Will you vilely verify the anticipations of Chesham Place ? 
 Will you basely authenticate the predictions of the Castle? 
 Renounced by Cashel — threatened in Wexford — supplanted in 
 Dundalk — routed from Mayo — what ! shall the refugees of Whig- 
 gcry find in Galway a spot where, at last, the gold of the Cabinet 
 will contaminate the virtue of the people ? 
 
 I ask you, what will be the result of this election ? Shall Gal- 
 way be a slave market? Shall this ancient Irish town be 
 
116 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 degraded into an Engllsli borough — and will you, its citizens, 
 sacrifice your principles and your name, embrace provincialism, and 
 henceforth exult in the title of West Britons ? 
 
 I should apologise for thus addressing you — or rather, you 
 should bid me cease, and indignantly assert that, come what may, 
 no Whig official shall ever bear witness to your recreancy in the 
 Senate House of Englasd. 
 
 Why should it be otherwise ? Since 1845, your opinions, surely, 
 have not changed ? 
 
 If so, what has changed them ? The famine ? The prompt 
 benevolence of the English Government ? The generosity of the 
 English Commons ? What imperial proselytizer has seduced you 
 from the cause, in the defence of which, in 1843, you would have 
 passionately bled ? 
 
 The prompt benevolence of the English Government ? How has 
 this been manifested ? In the timely susj)ension of the ]!!^avigation 
 laws ? In the establishment of corn depots ? In the prohibition 
 of the export of L-ish produce ? By the summoning of Parlia- 
 ment in November ? 
 
 Bear this in mind — whilst the peasants have perished, without 
 leaving a coin to purchase a winding-sheet, the merchants have 
 bought their purple and fine linen with their famine prices, for the 
 English market should be protected — thus, the English economists 
 have ruled it. In the blasted field, beneath the putrid crop, the 
 merchant has sunk a shaft and found a gold mine, for the English 
 minister would not inconvenience the trade of Liverpool and 
 London. 
 
 And is it the servant of this minister whom you will support ? 
 If you prefer a bribe to freedom — if you prefer to be the Swiss 
 guard of a foreign minister, rather than be the National guard of 
 a free kingdom — vote for him, and be dishonest and debased. 
 
 Vote for the Whig candidate, and vote for provincialism ! 
 Vote for the Whig candidate, and vote for alien laws ! Vote for 
 
GALWAY ELECTION STRUGGLE AGAINST ENGLAND. 11 7 
 
 the Whig candidate, and vote for a civil war before Repeal — for 
 that is the Whig alternative ! Vote for the Whig candidate, and 
 vote for economy and starvation ! Vote for him — vote for him — 
 and then cringe back to your homes, and there thank God that 
 you have had a country to sell ! 
 
 Have you nerved your souls for this crime ? 
 
 Beware of it ! I will not tell you that the eyes of the nation — 
 that the eyes of Europe are upon you. That is the cant of every 
 hustings. But this I tell you, there are a few men yet breathing 
 in Skibbereen, and their death-glance is upon you. Vote for the 
 Whig candidate, and their last shriek will proclaim that you 
 have voted for the pensioned misers who refused them bread. 
 
 There is a place, too, called Skull, in the county Cork, the 
 churchyard of which place — as a tenant told his landlord the 
 other day — is the only " red field " in the wide, wide county. 
 There are eyes, wild with the agonies of hunger, looking out from 
 that fell spot upon you, and if you vote against your native land, 
 the burning tongue of the starving peasant will froth its curse upon 
 you, and upon your children. 
 
 Gentlemen, I have now done, and I fear not for you, nor for 
 the country. I believe there is in Gal way the virtue to preserve 
 the honor of its citizens — the virtue to assert the liberty of the 
 country. 
 
 What, though it cost you a serious sacrifice — what, though you 
 gain nothing, at this moment, by your honest votes, save the 
 blessing of a tranquil conscience and a proud heart — still be true 
 to the faith and glory of Henry Grattan. Fling aside — trample 
 under foot — the bribes and promises of Russell. Be true to the 
 principles of 1*782 — be true to the resolutions of 1843 — be true 
 to the vow of 1845 — and with pure hands — with hands unstained 
 by the glittering poison of the English treasury — amid the graves 
 and desolation of 1847, lay the foundations of a future nation ! 
 
LANDLORD COERCION— GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION. 
 Theatre Royal, Galway, \4:th February, 1847. 
 
 Gentlemen : — You saw the men who voted for the Whig 
 candidate on Saturday. Did they advance to the hustings hke 
 men who felt they had a country, and were conscious that their 
 votes would be recorded for her liberty ? 
 
 No, they went there like slaves — insensible to the dictates of 
 patriotism — insensible to the crushing calamities of their country — 
 insensible to its thrilling invocations for redress. 
 
 The troops, under the armed guardianship of which they were 
 driven to utter sentence against the independence of their country, 
 proclaimed the cause for which their venal franchise was compelled. 
 Did not the proud escort that attended the tenants of Lord 
 Clanricarde to the Court-house proclaim, that to the supremacy 
 of Eno-land those venal tenants sacrificed their souls? 
 
 The troops that were arrayed against your right to petition 
 upon the field of Clontarf, were fit companions, indeed, for the 
 slaves who were herded together to vote against your right to 
 lefi'islate. 
 
 Those men might as well have voted in manacles. But if their 
 hands were free, their souls were fettered ; and if they wore not 
 the garb of convicts, they exhibited all the debasement of 
 criminals. 
 
 Yet these men had illustrious models of depravity — models 
 selected from the brightest page in Irish history, as some 
 Whig orator would designate the narrative of the Union. 
 They had Fitzgibbon — they had Castlereagh — the titled recreants 
 
LANDLORD COERCION GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION. 119 
 
 who purchased English coronets by the destruction of the Irish 
 Senate. 
 
 Castlereagh purchased something else — an English grave. 
 This, at least, was a privilege to Ireland — to be exempt from the 
 contamination of the dust, which, when breathing, had drenched 
 our Senate with corruption, and our land with blood. 
 
 Let England still claim such treasures, and let no Irish traitor — 
 no tenant of Clanricarde — rot beneath the soil in which the bones 
 of Swift, of Tone, and Davis, have been laid to rest. 
 
 Turn from this soiled and revolting picture, and contemplate 
 the reverse. 
 
 You saw the men who voted for the Repeal candidate. Did 
 they register their votes under the sabres of husstirs? No; they 
 voted for their country, and were, therefore, under no obligations 
 to the liveried champions of the English flag. They went up to 
 the hustings like honest citizens, and were protected, not by the 
 musket of the soldier, but by the arm of the God of Hosts. Their 
 souls were as untrammelled as their limbs, and, recording their 
 votes, they were distinguished for the manliness which men who 
 love freedom can alone exhibit. They voted like men who knew 
 well, that the scheme of the Whigs is to soothe this country into 
 degradation, and they looked like men who scorned to be soothed 
 for that purpose — scorned the vile scheme that would prostrate 
 this country by patronage — scorned the vile scheme that would 
 perpetuate the Union by making it prolific in small boons. 
 
 Men of Galway, to the hustings on the morrow, in the same 
 gallant spirit. Show no mercy to these Whigs ! Swamp them 
 before the sun sets — and let the night ftill upon the broken flag- 
 staff and baffled cohorts of the English minister ! 
 
 Let the minister hear of his defeat on Wednesday morning, and 
 curse the virtue that had no price. 
 
 There must be no jubilee in Chesham-place at the expense of 
 Irish liberty. There must be no delegate from Galway, author- 
 
120 EXGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 ised to sustain the dictation of the English Commons — authorised 
 to sustain the dictation that has been assumed to coerce, to enslave, 
 to starve this country. 
 
 "What will the Commons say when the Solicitor-General for 
 Ireland takes his seat on the Treasury Bench, as the Whig member 
 of this borough ? Will they say that the threat uttered by the 
 Paymaster of the Forces has forced you to capitulate ? 
 
 'No ; I do not think they will charge you with cowardice, but I 
 am sure they will arraign you for corruption. They will say that 
 venality has accomplished what battalions could not achieve, and 
 that the money-bags of the Mint can do more for the English 
 interest in Ireland than all the batteries of Woolwich. 
 
 And, let me tell, these money-bags have been flung across the 
 channel into Galway. 
 
 Trust me, the Whig government will fight this battle to the 
 last farthing. This I sincerely believe — this I deliberately avow. 
 I am justified in this belief, for it is notorious that the favorite 
 weapon of the Whig government is corruption. 
 
 It is the boast of these Whigs that they alone can govern 
 Ireland — that they alone can mesmerise the Irish beggars ! Prove 
 to them that this boast is a falsehood — prove to them that you 
 will not be governed by them, and that Ireland shall be their 
 difficulty and their scourge. 
 
 What claims have these Whigs upon us ? ISTone, save what 
 corruption constitutes. 
 
 Their liberal appointments ? How do these appointments serve 
 the country ? How much wealth flows into Ireland by the 
 member for Dungarvan being Master of the Mint ? 
 
 Recollect this, the Whigs voted twenty millions to emancipate 
 the Africans — they refuse to sanction a loan of sixteen millions to 
 employ the Irish. Vote for their nominee, and you will vote 
 against the noble proposition of the Protectionist leader. 
 
 And has it come to this, that you will vote for non-employment 
 
LANDLORD COERCIOX — GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION. 121 
 
 — for starvation — for deaths Ly tlie minute, and inquests by tlie 
 hour. Will you vote for this government of economists — this 
 government of misers — this government of grave-diggers ? Before 
 you do so, read the advertisement on the walls of the Treasury — 
 " Funerals supplied to all parts of the country." 
 
 That is the true way to tranquillize the country ! That is the 
 true way to hush the tumult of sedition ! That is the true way to 
 incorporate the countries, and mate the Union binding ! 
 
 If we do not beat those Whigs out of Galway — if we do not 
 fight them for every inch of Irish ground — if we do not drive 
 them across the Channel — they will starve this country into a 
 wilderness, and, at the opening of the next session, they will bid 
 their royal mistress congratulate her assembled parliament upon 
 their successful government, and the peace of Ireland. 
 
 And they insist, too, that the executive of this wilderness shall 
 be a chief of police, a poor-law Commissioner, and a Commissary 
 General. 
 
 Will you submit to this ? Do you prefer a soup kitchen to a 
 custom-house ? Do you prefer grave-yards to corn-fields ? Do 
 you prefer the Board of Works to a national Senate ? Do you 
 prefer the insolent rule of Scotch and English ofiicials to the benifi- 
 cent legislation of Irish Peers and Irish Commoners ? 
 
 Heaven forbid, that the blight which putrified your food should 
 infect your souls ! Heaven forbid, that the famine should tame 
 you into debasement, and that the spirit which has triumphed. 
 over the prison and the scafi'old, should surrender to the corrup- 
 tionist at last ! 
 
 I asked you a moment since, how much wealth flows into 
 Ireland by the member for Dungarvan being Master of the Mint ? 
 
 I must tell you • this, there is a little stream of it always 
 dropping through the Castle-yard— but sometimes there are extra- 
 ordinary spring-tides — ^just about election times — and then that tide 
 swells and deepens, and rises so high, aud rushes so rapidly, that 
 
 6 
 
122 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 it frequently sweeps away the votes of the people — sweeps away 
 then* placards — sweeps away their banners — sweeps away their 
 Committee rooms — and, in the end, throws up a Whig official 
 upon the white shore of England ! 
 
 Beware of this spring tide — it is sweeping through Gal way this 
 moment — through lane and street. Its glittering waters intoxicate 
 and debase. The wretches who drink them fall into the current 
 and are whirled away — the drenched and battered spoils of 
 England. 
 
 And is this the end of all you have vowed and done ? And 
 has it come to this, that after the defiances, the resolutions, the 
 organization of 1843, England shall plant her foot upon the neck 
 of Ireland, and exclaim — " behold my bribed and drunken slave !" 
 
 I do not exaggerate. The battle of Ireland is being fought in 
 Galway. If the Whigs take Galway — Ireland falls. 
 
 Shall Ireland fall ? 
 
 Incur defeat, and you shall have her bitter curse. Win the 
 battle, and you shall have her proud blessing. Your virtue and 
 your victory will fire the coward and regenerate the venal — your 
 example will be followed — the Whigs will be driven from 
 Wexford, from Waterford, from Mallow, from Dungarvan — their 
 bribes will be trampled in the dust — their strongest citadels 
 be stormed — the integrity of the people shall prevail against the 
 venality of the faction — the Union act shall share the fate of the 
 Penal code — and mankind shall hail the birth, the career, the 
 glory of an Irish Nation. 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM— OUT- DOOR RELIEF. 
 Music Hall^ Dublin^ 1th April, 1847. 
 
 [In the kitchen of the London Eeform Club, the "Whig government 
 Bought out a panacea for the Irish famine. M. Soyer, the chief cook of that 
 establishment, had made certain discoveries in soup, and informed the 
 government that " a belly -full of his soup once a day, with a biscuit, was 
 more than sufficient to sustain the strength of a strong and healthy man." 
 He could easily supply one meal per day to all the poor in Ireland. His 
 plans were examined by the Admiralty and Board of Works, and after 
 "mature deliberation," were pronounced "quite capable of answering the 
 object sought." The best judges " of the noble art of gastronomy " in 
 London considered it " not a soup for the poor, but for the Reform Club." 
 Lord Litchfield and Mr. O'Connell declared it "excellent," after which it 
 was confidently hoped that " no more deaths by starvation would take 
 place in Ireland." Great preparations were made for transporting M. 
 Soyer and his cooking apparatus to Ireland. The London Lancet, speaking 
 of this " soup quackery," at the time, remarks on the estimate formed of it 
 by the " talented, but eccentric, self-deceived originator." " M. Soyer (says 
 the Lancet) proposes to make soup of the following proportions : — Leg of 
 beef, four ounces ; dripping fat, two ounces ; flour, eight ounces ; brown 
 sugar, half an ounce ; water, two gallons. These items are exclusive of the 
 onions, a few turnip parings, celery tops, and a little salt, which can 
 hardly be considered under the head of food. The above proportions give 
 less than airee ounces of solid nutriment to each quart d la Soyer. Is^o 
 culinary digestion, or stewing, or boiling, can convert four ounces into 
 twelve, unless, indeed, the laws of animal physiology can be unwritten, 
 and some magical power be made to reside in the cap and apron of the 
 cook for substituting fluids in the place of solids, and aqua pur a in place of 
 solids in the animal economy." On the 5th of April, (Easter Monday) with 
 much parade, in presence of the Lord Lieutenant, the viceregal Court, and 
 a host of " distinguished personages," the great soup kitchen was inaugu- 
 
124 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 rated in the Parade Ground, fronting the Royal Barracks, Dublin. In the 
 interior of the pavilion, M. Sojer received his " noble " and " distinguished " 
 visitors, who filed in at one door, partook of the soup from a chained 
 spoon, and, with many ejaculations in praise of the inventor's genius, made 
 their exit at another. These judges from " high society " pronounced it 
 "good!" Fifty men, and fifty women — model beggars — weak, ragged, 
 and hungry — "attended by policemen" — tottered in, to the air of "St. 
 Patrick's Day" — swallowed their rations from the chained spoons, and, 
 passing in front of the effigy of her " most Gracious Majesty Victoria," 
 tottered out at the other door. Then the laurels rustled, the trumpets 
 sounded, the banners waved, the arms glittered — and the Union Flag 
 shook lazily over all. Count Rum.ford's Essay on Food was edited by 
 Sir Richard Musgrave, as being likely to contain some valuable hints for the 
 poor. It recommended the people, who had not even potatoes, "to mix 
 salted jDork, or bacon, or smoked beef with their soup," and satirically 
 hinted that the "best cooks also put fried bread in their soup." Within 
 a week the "deaths from starvation" in small towns were, Boorisoleigh, 
 6; Mayo, 19; Killury and Ratoo, 60; Leitrim, 18; Castlebar, 18; Clare, 
 20, (fee. In Dungarvan the priests administered consolation to from 
 fifteen to eighteen daily. Several of these victims, or members of their 
 families, were employed on public works, but did not receive their wages 
 in time to prevent starvation. Rev. Dominic Noon gave an account of 
 sixty-five cases of starvation in Ahamlish. In Sligo, the coroner published 
 eight inquests in three days. The newspapers complained that they 
 were not able to get the coroner's full returns. ' Rev. Mr. Fahey recounted 
 fifteen stai-vations in Moycullen, county Gal way. At Coolavin the people 
 died on the waysides in scores ; the police officials refused to send for the 
 coroner, stating it was not necessary, as the people died from starvation. 
 Tralee workhouse, 23 died; Roscommon, of 1,100 inmates, 600 in fever; 
 in the Cork poorhouse, 171 deaths ; in Newry, 42; in Belfast, .S3. The 
 Sligo Chajnpion gave the following fearful picture : — " What f'lmine may 
 leave undone, pestilence will finish. The poor-house is now a pe?t,-house; 
 The guardians have abandoned it. The medical officer declared it no 
 longer safe to meet in the board room. The nurses are all ill ; the 
 master and his assistants are dying ; and out of eleven hundred inmates, 
 six hundred are on the sick list. The fever is not malignant, but 
 the dysentery frightfully fatal." Commander Caffi.n, R. K, in one of 
 the London journals, detailed the horrors which came under his own 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM OUT -DOOR RELIEF. 125 
 
 observation, while visiting Skull with a cargo of meal. His letter is dated 
 February 15th, in the course of which he says: — "In the village of Skull 
 three-fourths of the inhabitants you meet carry the tale of woe in their 
 features and persons, as they are reduced to mere skeletons ; the men in 
 particular, all their physical strength is wasted away." Having a desire to 
 see with his own eyes the misery said to exist, Dr. Traill, the rector, took 
 him through a portion of his parish. He says : — " The doctor drove me 
 five or six miles, and in no house that I entered was there not to be found 
 the dead and the dying." After recounting several fearful scenes, he 
 proceeds: — "I could tell you also of that which I can vouch for the 
 truth of, but which I did not see myself, such as bodies half eaten by the 
 rats; of two dogs last Wednesday being shot by Mr. O'Callaghan whilst 
 tearing a body to pieces ; of his mother-in-law stopping a poor woman and 
 asking her what she had on her back, and, being replied that it was her 
 son, telling her she would smother it ; but the poor emaciated woman said 
 it was dead already, and she was going to dig a hole in the churchyard 
 for it." Towards the close of February the police received ilistructions 
 to make returns. Imperfect as these wei-e, fifty thousand was given 
 in to the office in Dublin as the number of deaths from starvation. 
 Rev. James O'Driscoll, Parish Priest of Kilmichael, declared the " destitution 
 in his parish of so appalling a nature as to bafiie description. Famine and 
 fever raged in it. From February to March 27, eighty-five victims had 
 fallen. The dogs preyed on them ; the corpses being left unburied for 
 several days, through fear of catching the disease." Speaking of the 
 "Relief Works," he said, "the employment of the laboring classes was 
 entirely confined to them, but owing to the exorbitant price of food and the 
 low rate of wages, an able-bodied laborer could barely support himself." 
 He speaks of " a young man who had to be visited at Cooldorahy. He 
 was found in a dying state, without one to attend him. His sister and 
 brothers lay dead quite close to him in the same room. The sister was 
 dead for five days, the brothers, two, for three days. The sick man was 
 the only survivor of a large family. The father and the children died from 
 want." In the meantime not one person died of actual destitution in 
 England, Scotland, or Wales. 16th March, a very influential meeting was 
 held in the Music Hall, Dublin, at wliich the Lord Mayor presided, for the 
 purpose of petitioning Parliament upon the unparalleled depreciation 
 of trade, the privations and losses of the citizens which had become insup- 
 portable, and to pray that means be taken to save the eounti'v from 
 
126 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 depopulation. Mr. Henry Fitzgibbon, brother to the eminent Queen's 
 Counsel, referring to the meeting, said, "They were men who had never 
 mixed in politics — who devoted their time to their respective business. 
 The working men intended calling a meeting, but were prevented by the 
 attendant expense. The employers he then thought should do it, for the 
 same cause which deprived the tradesman of bread deprived the employer 
 of business. It was a matter of indifference to him whether they had a 
 "Whig or Tory government. He had merely to do with the measures that 
 had brought desolation and death upon the people. The government, he 
 said, founded their policy upon their assertion that if they interfered to 
 bring food into the country it would prevent merchants from importing 
 grain. Who was it that merchants supplied ? "Was it not the people who 
 had money to purchase food ? Did any one ever hear of merchants bring- 
 ing food to men who had no money to purchase it? He would suppose the 
 case of an island, which was unable to produce anything beyond what v/as 
 necessary for the consumption of its population, and he should like to 
 know if mediants would bring food to that population when there was no 
 prospect of getting any return? The sole subsistence of five millions of 
 the country was the potato, and that being cut off, Ireland was placed in 
 the condition of that country, which only produced enough for the support 
 of its own inhabitants, and to say that such a population should be left to 
 be supplied by merchants, was tantamount to passing sentence of death 
 upon them. He could show an easy and practical plan whereby the 
 government at one-fourth the expense already gone to, would supply the 
 wants of the people. He made a calculation to support five millions for 
 one year. It would take 3,802,083 quarters of Indian corn to give lib. per 
 day to five millions for one year, which, at the 'New Orleans price, on 
 19th December, would cost £2,914,929, which, if brought by the ships of 
 the state, and given at cost price, would supply the food of a family of 
 seven persons for 24d. per day. He found that so late as the 19th Decem- 
 ber last. Wheat and Indian corn were respectively 32s. and 15s. 4d. per 
 quarter in New Orleans, while they were '73s. and 60s. in London. In the 
 former, oats were 7 d. per stone; in the latter Is. 7d. A million of money 
 laid out in New Orleans at that time would buy 650,000 quarters of wheat ; 
 in London it would only buy 273,9*72 quarters; which would give of the 
 million laid out in London £692,307 to the merchant, and £307,693 for the 
 food of the poor. So, in the ratio with the other commodities. He read 
 with astonishment the speeches in Parliament by members of the govern- 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM OUT DOOR RELIEF. 127 
 
 ment. and was surprised at the extreme silliness of the Chancellor of the 
 Exchequer. The Americans were teaching the English government what 
 they ought to do. *Send food,' say they, 'to Ireland, but not money.' 
 That was Yankee sagacity. There were no resolutions this year issuing 
 from the Mansion-house calling on government to supply the people with 
 food. What was the reason ? He was not afraid to tell it. They had a 
 friendly (Whig) government this year."] 
 
 The proceedings of this night, Sir, will, no doubt, incur the 
 censure of those gentlemen who maintain that politics hare 
 nothing to do with the state of the country. It will be said by 
 them, that it is heartless to talk about Repeal when the people 
 require relief. It will be said by them, that lessons of nationality 
 should not be preached whilst the nation is on its knees, begging 
 for its bread. 
 
 Sir, these gentlemen would adjourn the question of Irish 
 independence, to criticise the " boil and bubble " of a French cook. 
 Turning their backs upon the old parliament house in College- 
 green, they would dive into the mysteries of the soup-kitchen at 
 King's-bridge. 
 
 Yet, Sir, I agree with these gentlemen to a certain extent. 
 Party politics have nothing to do with the state of the country. 
 " Who is in, and who is out — who has this, and who has that ?" — 
 these questions have nothing to do with the state of the country. 
 But national politics have everything to do with the state of the 
 country, and these we shall adhere to and propagate. 
 
 Gentlemen who tell us to postpone the question of Repeal, 
 whilst the famine is on the wing, dictate a course that would 
 perpetuate the disease and beggary of the land. They advise a 
 step that would make the Union Act, in truth, " a final settle- 
 ment." They recommend a policy that would violate our vow, 
 disband our forces, and let in the enemy. Once down — England 
 would keep us down. 
 
 Sir, there must be no pause, no adjournment, no truce. Repeal 
 
128 ElffGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 is now a question, not so much of political power, as of actual 
 physical existence. Self-government has become a question of 
 self-preservation. A national parliament is the only efficient 
 relief-committee that can be organized — the only one that can 
 have the wisdom to devise, and the power to carry out, any 
 measures calculated to save the life and improve the prospects of 
 the country. 
 
 The famine has already done enough for England. It shall not 
 do more. It shall not do its worst — it shall not force us to 
 capitulate. 
 
 What has the famine done for England ? The famine has been 
 her best recruiting sergeant — it has purchased thousands into her 
 brilliant and licentious legions. The famine has been her best 
 miner — it has discovered gold mines for her merchants in bankrupt 
 cities and depopulated villages. The famine has been her best 
 swordsman — it has cut down thousands of her peasant foes. 
 
 But there is one spot where this powerful agent of English lust 
 must halt — one spot where it shall purchase no recruits — one spot 
 where it shall •plsmt no cypress and rear no trophy — one spot 
 where it shall cease to do the business and the butchery of 
 England. It shall halt — it shall be powerless and paralysed — 
 where the Confederation sits. 
 
 What say they in England now ? What says the Times — the 
 great organ of English opinion ? 
 
 " Ireland is now at the mercy of England. For the first time in 
 the course of centuries, England may rule Ireland, and treat her 
 as a thoroughly conquered country." 
 
 Ay, Ireland is now at the mercy of England ! Ireland is now a 
 thoroughly conquered country ! England has won her crowning 
 victory ! The war of centuries is at a close ! The archers of 
 Stronofbow have failed — the Ironsides of Cromwell have failed — 
 the spies and yeomen of Castlereagh have failed — the patronage 
 and proscriptions of Ebrington have failed — the proclamations and 
 
• IRISH PAUPERISM OUT DOOR RELIEF. 129 
 
 state prosecutions of De Grey have failed — tlie procrastination and 
 economy of Russell have triumphed ! Let a thanksgiving be 
 preached from the pulpit of St. Paul's — let the Lords and Com- 
 mons of England vote their gratitude to the victorious economist — 
 let the guns of London Tower proclaim the triumph which has 
 cost, in past years, coffers of gold and torrents of blood, and, in 
 this year, a wholesale system of starvation to achieve ! 
 
 England ! your gallant and impetuous enemy is dead — your 
 *' great difficulty " is at an end. L-eland, or rather the remains of 
 Ireland, are yours at last. Your red ensign flies — not from the 
 Rath of Mullaghmast, where you played the cut-throat — not from 
 Limerick wall, where you played the perjurer — not from the 
 Senate-house, where you played the swindler — not from the Cus- 
 tom-house, where you played the robber — but it flies from her 
 thousand graveyards, where the titled niggards of your Cabinet 
 have won the battle your soldiers could not terminate. 
 
 Celebrate your victory ! Bid your Scourge steamer, from the 
 western coast, convey some memorial of your conquest ; and, in 
 the hall, where the flags and cannons you have captured from a 
 world of foes are grouped together, let a shroud, stripped from 
 some privileged corpse — for few have them now — be for its proper 
 price displayed. 
 
 Stop not here ! Change your war-crest. America has her 
 eagle — let England have her vulture ! What emblem more fit for 
 the rapacious power, whose statesmanship depopulates, and whose 
 commerce is gorged with, famine prices ? That is her proper 
 signal. It will commemorate a greater victory than that of 
 Agincourt, than that of Blenheim, than that of Moodkee. It will 
 commemorate the victories of Skull, of Skibbereen, of Bantry. 
 
 But, Sir, this is a false alarm. "Whatever the monarch journalist 
 of Europe may say, Ireland, thank God ! is not down yet. She 
 is on her knees — but her withered hand is clenched against the 
 giant, and she has yet the power to strike ! 
 
 6* 
 
130 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Last year, from tlie Carpathian heights, we heard the shout of 
 the Pohsh insurrectionist — " there is hope for Poland whilst in 
 Poland there is a life to lose." Sir, there is hope for Ireland, 
 whilst in Ireland there is a life to lose. 
 
 True it is, thousands upon thousands of our people have been 
 swept down, but thousands upon thousands still survive, arid the 
 fate of the dead should quicken the purpose of the living. The 
 stakes are too high for us to give up the game, until the last 
 card has been played — too high for us, to fling ourselves ^ u despair 
 upon the coffins of our starved and swindled partners. 
 
 A peasant population, generous and heroic, is at stake. A me- 
 chanic population, intelligent and upright, is at stake. These great 
 classes — that form the very nerve and marrow of a nation — without 
 which a nation cannot be saved — without which, there is, in fact, 
 no nation to be saved — without which, a professional class is so 
 much parchment and powdered horsehair — and a nobility a mere 
 glittering spectre — these great primary classes are at stake. Shall 
 these, too, be the spoils of England ? 
 
 Has she not won enough already ? Has she not pocketed 
 enough of your money ? And what she has got, is she not 
 determined to keep ? 
 
 You have seen a letter from Mr. Grogan, a few weeks since, to 
 the Lord Mayor. It appears that England will ship off the Irish 
 beggars from Liverpool — she will not ship off the Irish absentees 
 from London. 
 
 And, tell me, has she not eaten enough of your food — broken 
 down enough of your manufactures — buried enough of your 
 people ? Recount for a moment, a few of your losses. 
 
 The cotton manufacture of Dublin, which employed 14,000 
 operatives, has been destroyed. The 3,400 silk-looms of the 
 Liberty have been destroyed. The stuff and serge manufacture, 
 which employed 1,491 operatives, has been destroyed. The 
 calico-looms of Balbriggan have been destroyed. The flannel 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM — OUT DOOR RELIEF. 131 
 
 manufacture of Kathdrum lias been destroyed. The blanket 
 manufacture of Kilkenny has been destroyed. The camlet trade 
 of Bandon, which produced £100,000 a year, has been destroyed. 
 The worsted and stuff manufactures of Waterford have been 
 destroyed. The rateen and frieze manufactures of Carrick-on-Suir 
 have been destroyed. One business, alone, survives ! One busi- 
 ness, alone, thrives and flourishes, and dreads no bankruptcy ! 
 
 That fortunate business — which the Union Act has not struck 
 down, but which the Union Act has stood by — which the absentee 
 drain has not slackened, but has stimulated — which the drainage 
 acts and navigation law^s of the Imperial Senate have not deadened, 
 but invigorated — that favored, and privileged, and patronised 
 business, is the Irish coflSn-maker's. He, alone, of our thousand 
 tradesmen and mechanics, has benefited by the Union — he, alone, 
 is safe from the general insolvency — he, alone, has reason to be 
 gi'ateful to the Imperial Senate — he, alone, is justified in voting, 
 at the next election, for the accomplices of the Whig minister of 
 England ! 
 
 Sir, the fate which the prophet of the Lamentations announced, 
 three thousand years ago, to the people of Israel, has come to pass 
 this year, in this island of faith, of genius, and of sorrow : 
 
 " And I will bring a nation upon you from far — an ancient 
 nation — a nation of mighty men, whose quiver is like to an open 
 sepulchre ; and they shall eat up thine harvest and thy bread, 
 which thy sons and daughters should eat ; and thy vines and fig 
 trees ; and they shall eat up thy flocks and thine herds, which thy 
 sons and daughters should eat ; and they shall impoverish thy 
 fenced cities, wherein thou trusted." 
 
 Yet, Sir, out of this tribulation and this woe, there is a path to 
 a brighter fate and a happier land. 
 
 The God of Israel and of Ireland never yet sent a scourge, that 
 he did not send the means whereby its evils might be alleviated. The 
 same voice that bid the fiery serpents to the desert, ordained that 
 
132 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 an image should be erected there for the chastised to look to, and 
 be saved ; and the same tongue that uttered the prophecy I have 
 recited to you, promised that "the city should be built up — that 
 the vines should grow again upon the mountains of Samaria — that 
 the sono- should be heard once more from the height of Zion — and 
 they who were in captivity and mourning should sing again with 
 gladness, and shout among the chief of the nations." 
 
 Sir, out of our captivity and mourning we shall surely go forth, 
 if we truly love this land, and act with the courage which true 
 love inspires. 
 
 We must have nothing to do with these whining counsellors, 
 who bid us sound a truce, retire from the field, visit the sick, and 
 bury the dead. The minister has committed too many crimes 
 against this country, to have an hour's repose. In this very Hall, 
 a few days since, an honest and able fellow-citizen of yours, Mr. 
 Fitzgibbon, distinctly proved, in a speech of great argumentative 
 power, and great statistical research, that the present desperate 
 condition of the country w-as to be ascribed, not to the ignorance, 
 not to the negligence, not to the mistake of the minister, but to a 
 downright and deliberate compact of his with the mercantile inte- 
 rest of England, by which the lives of the Irish people were merci- 
 lessly surrendered to the cupidity of the British merchants. 
 
 Sir, I know not when or where the scourge, inflicted by this 
 minister, will cease to devastate. Those whom the famine has 
 spared are flying to the emigrant ships, and rushing, panic-struck, 
 from the land where England has lodged the foundations of her 
 despotism in the graves of the people. 
 
 I hold in my hand returns of the number of emigrants from the 
 ports of Dublin, Waterford, Limerick, and Cork, for the present 
 season. Now, it appears from these returns, that, although the 
 season has only just commenced — that although, in fact, one 
 month only of the emigration season has expired — the number of 
 emigrants, from the above-mentioned ports, is nearly treble the 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM OUT DOOR RELIEF. 133 
 
 number tliat left during the entire season in 1846. Again, I must 
 observe that these returns are imperfect — the emigrants that have 
 sailed from Liverpool and other English ports, not being included 
 in them. And the worst "»f it all is, that it is not mere bone and 
 sinew we are losing in this way, but the only current capital of 
 the country. 
 
 Yet, sir, it is selfish to deplore this emigration. Why should 
 we grudge our generous and heroic peasantry a better home, in a 
 new country ? Why should we grudge them their emancipation 
 li'om English rule? Why should we grudge them their life, their 
 bread, their liberty ? The sun, each evening, as he passes over 
 the graves of their fallen brothers, beckons them to follow him, in 
 his golden track, across the waves, to a land of freedom. Let 
 them go ! For a while, at least, let them leave this island, where 
 England has planted her own beggars, in the shape of chief secre- 
 taries, and poor-law commissioners, and archbishops. Let them 
 go to the land where English law was flung, to the four winds — 
 where a young stripling of a colony sprang up, and dashed an old 
 and sturdy empire to the earth. There they will be safe from 
 English law, and, therefore, safe from beggary, from starvation, 
 and from pestilence. 
 
 But, sir, we have vowed to remain here, and meet whatever 
 fate is coming. And now, that thousands have rotted into the 
 earth which gave them birth — now, that thousands are flying 
 from our shores, that they may not tempt the scourge to strike 
 them — we are bound to work the harder — to do double duty — 
 that, at least, the remnant of an old and honorable nation may be 
 saved. 
 
 Sir, we must adopt a policy suited to the times. We have now 
 to struggle, not merely against adverse opinions, but against death 
 itself. The desperate condition of the country demands a bold 
 and decisive policy. From this hour, let us have done with the 
 English parliament — on thia very night, let us resolve to close our 
 
134 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 accounts with that parliament. Send no more petitions across the 
 Channel. For fifty years you have petitioned, and the result has 
 been 500,000 deaths ! 
 
 Henceforth, be that parliament accr -sed ! Spurn it as a fraud, 
 a nullity, a usurpation. Spurn it <,s such on the authority of 
 Saurin, who declared that the Union Act was not obligatory on 
 conscience ; that, in the abstract, resistance to it was a duty ; and 
 the exhibition of that resistance a mere question of prudence. 
 . Spurn it as such on the authority of Plunket, who declared the 
 incompetency of Parliament to pass the Act of Union— declared 
 that if such an act should pass it would be a nullity, and no man 
 in Ireland would be bound to obey it. Spurn it as such on the 
 authority of Grattan, who declared that the competency of parlia- 
 ment to pass the Act of Union, was the competency of delinquency, 
 the competency of abdication, the competency of treason. 
 
 Confederates of Dublin ! you know that this Imperial Parlia- 
 ment is a fraud — a nullity — a usurpation. You know it is worse 
 than all this. You know that it is a curse — a penalty — a plague. 
 You are knaves if you do not speak your convictions — you are 
 cowards if you do not act as your convictions bid you act. 
 
 If you adopt petitions, send them to the Queen. She has a 
 right to wear an Irish crown. We shall assert that right. She 
 has a right to summon her Irish Parliament to sit in this city ; 
 and, spite of the disloyal and defrauding minister — spite of the 
 disloyal and defrauding Commons, who would suspend the royal 
 functions — we shall boldly and loyally assert that right. 
 
 The Irish crown must no longer be a cipher. The Irish sceptre 
 and the Irish flag must cease to be mere figures of speech — they 
 must become empowered and recognized realities. 
 
 The members of your Council have determined, by a recent 
 resolution, to support at the hustings no candidate for representa- 
 tive honors, who will not pledge himself to an absolute indepen- 
 dence of all English parties — who will not pledge himself against 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM OUT DOOR RELIEF. 135 
 
 taking or soliciting, for himself or others, any office of emolument, 
 under any English government whatsoever. 
 
 Some gentlemen may say, this is going too far. I contend it 
 does not go half far enough. The fact is, we must go much far- 
 ther. 
 
 At our next meeting — I am speaking my own sentiments very 
 frankly to you, and, of course, no one is responsible for them but 
 myself — at our next meeting, I think it would be most advisable 
 for us to adopt a resolution to this effect — that the members of 
 the Irish Confederation shall support, at the hustings, no candi- 
 dates for representative honors who will not pledge themselves to 
 stay at home and deliberate in this city, and in no place else, upon 
 the best means to save this kingdom. 
 
 One circumstance, at least, is favorable to our policy, and 
 assures us of success — the power of the Whigs is at an end in 
 L*eland. 
 
 No man dare now stand up, in an assembly of Irish citizens, to 
 recommend the " paternal Whigs" to the fihal confidence of the 
 Irish people. The country, thank God ! is done with them for 
 ever. Their patronage will no longer save them with the people. 
 Their jail deliveries will no longer save them with the people. 
 Nothing, sir, will save them with the Irish people. 
 
 They may have their " command nights" at the theatre, and may 
 bow and kiss hands to an enchanted dress circle, and a gazing pit 
 — they may dine at the Mansion House — take wine all round, with" 
 the Sword Bearer, the Water Bailiff, the Town Councillors and 
 Aldermen of the reformed Corporation, and drink the " Prosperity 
 of Ireland" to the tune of " Rule Britannia" — on the same day that 
 the new docks at Birkenhead are opened by Lord Morpeth, they 
 may graciously inaugurate, on the Irish side of the Channel, a 
 grand, metropolitan, head soup-kitchen — they may furnish a select 
 party of the blind, the crippled, and the dumb of the Mendicity, 
 with a " guard of honor" during their experimental repast — they 
 
136 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 may embellisli the beggary of tlie nation with all the elegance of 
 the Castle, and all the pageantry of the barrack — they may make 
 a glittering display of our sickening degradation, and the bugles 
 of their garrison may summon the fashion of the squares, and the 
 aristocracy of the clubs, to the coronation of Irish pauperism, and 
 the final consummation of the Union — naught will avail them. 
 Their fate is decided. There is a sentence written against them 
 in the blood of the people upon the walls of their Council cham- 
 ^ ber, and many other inquests, besides that of Galway, have found 
 them guilty of the murder of the people. 
 
 And now that we are done with these Whigs — now that we 
 fully understand what their " comprehensive measures" mean — 
 what their " ameliorations" mean — what their " political economy" 
 leads to — what their " reductions of 20 per cent." accomplish — 
 now that we are fully convinced that they are the most compli- 
 mentary and the most conscienceless — the most promising and the 
 most prevaricating — the most patronizing and the most perfidious 
 of our English enemies — now that we have broken, from hence- 
 forth and for ever, from all English parties — now that we shall pest 
 them no longer with our petitions, nor rack them with our prayers 
 — now that we hold their Commons, as far as we are concerned, 
 to be a fraud, a nullity, and a usurpation — now that we scout it 
 as a penalty, and loathe it as a plague — now, indeed, that in our 
 souls, we firmly and passionately believe, that 
 
 " Our hope, oui' strength is in ourselves alone," 
 
 let us look, with all the anxiety and earnestness which a last 
 struggle should inspire, into our own country, and see what power 
 we have there to save its Hfe and win its freedom. Let us see if 
 we cannot give a few practical answers to a few of Bishop Berke- 
 ly's queries. Let us see, in fact, if we cannot devise some mode 
 by which the quiver of this mighty foe, that has come upon us, 
 fthall cease to be lika to an open sepulchre ; by which this nation 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM OUT DOOR RELIEF. 137 
 
 shall keep to itself tlie harvest, and the bread, and the flocks, and 
 the herds, which her sons and daughters should eat, and by which 
 our fenced cities shall not be impoverished. 
 
 Sir, I desire to have this done, not by the isolated power of one 
 great section, but by the aggregate power of all sections, of the 
 Irish community. I desire that the Irish nation should act, not in 
 divisions, but in one solid square. 
 
 I am one of the people, but I am no democrat. I am for an 
 equality of civil rights — but I am no republican. I am for vesting 
 the responsibilities and the duties of government in three estates. 
 I think that, in a free state, an aristocracy is a wise, an ennobling 
 institution. Like all human institutions, it has its evil susceptibili- 
 ties ; and the history of aristocracy, like all other histories, has its 
 chapters of crime and folly. But I can conceive no state complete 
 without it. It is the graceful and pictured architrave of the great 
 temple, sacred to law and freedom, of which the people are the 
 enduring foundations and the sustaining pillars. 
 
 Whilst the peasant tills the land, in which the law should recog- 
 nize his right of proprietorship, as it is in France, as it is in Prus- 
 sia — whilst the mechanic plies his craft, from which the law 
 should keep aloof the crushing influences of foreign competition, 
 as it is in Germany, as it is in Belgium— whilst the merchant sup- 
 plies the deficiencies of the soil with the superfluities of other 
 lands, and drives a princely trade beneath the auspices of a native 
 flag — whilst the priest protects the purity of the altar, and the 
 scholar vindicates the reputation of the schools — let the noble — • 
 residing amongst those who enrich his inheritance by their toil, or 
 contribute to his luxury by their skill — be the patron of those 
 pursuits in which the purer genius of a nation lives — pursuits 
 which chasten and expand a nation's soul — which lift it to what is 
 high, and prompt it to what is daring — which infuse the spirit of 
 immortality into the very ruins of a nation, and which, even when 
 the labors of a nation are at a close — when its commercial ener- 
 
138 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 gies are dead — wlien its meclianic faculties have ceased to act, bids 
 it live — as Athens lives, as Florence lives, as Venice lives — in the 
 lessons of the historian, and the raptures of the poet. 
 
 Thus, Sir, with each of the several classes of the community- 
 fulfilling its distinct mission, and, in a separate sphere, contributing 
 to the peace, and wealth, and vigor of the entire state, do I desire 
 this Island to advance in a righteous and an eminent career — sus- 
 tained by its inherent strength — governed by its native wisdom — 
 ennobled by its native genius — thankful for its sustenance to no 
 foreign sympathizer — thankful for its security to no foreign soldier 
 — a model, rather than a warning, a blessing, rather than a bur- 
 den, to the nations that surround her — no longer exciting their 
 pity by the spectacle of its infirmities, but commanding their 
 respect by the exhibition of its powers. 
 
 But, Sir, a time comes when the people can wait no longer for 
 the aristocracy. There is a time when the titles of the nobility 
 must give way to the charter of the people. There is a time 
 when the established laws of the land forfeit their sanctity and 
 become a curse. 
 
 The time when these titles of the nobility must give way — when 
 these " estabhshed laAvs of the land " must cease to act — is when 
 a nation's life is quivering on its lip. 
 
 Standing in this assembly of the people, I, who have sprung 
 from the people — I, who have no honors to boast of, save those 
 honors which the people have conferred upon my father — I, who 
 never sat at the table of a lord, and am as thoroughly indifferent 
 to the compliments of the order as I am thoroughly anxious for 
 their co-operation in this struggle — standing in this assembly of 
 the people, in the name of the people, I now make this last appeal 
 to the aristocracy of Ireland. I do so, that in our day of triumph, 
 we may lead no fellow-countryman in chains, nor scout him as an 
 alien from our ranks. 
 
 There is not an hour — no, not an instant to be lost. Every 
 
IRISH PAUPERISM OUT DOOR RELIEF. 139 
 
 grave that opens to receive a victim of English rule, widens and 
 deepens the chasm that has*, for years, divided the two great 
 classes of the country. 
 
 Sir, it is useless to argue it. The people, without the aristocracy, 
 when driven to the last extremity, have the power to win their 
 freedom. One thing, at least, is certain — the people will not con- 
 sent to live another year in a wilderness and a graveyard. 
 
 I alone do not say so. The historian of the crimes and vic- 
 tories of Cromwell has said so. Lords and Commons of Ireland ! 
 hear his words, and be instructed by them : — 
 
 " And when the general result has come to the length of peren- 
 nial, wholesale starvation, argument, extenuation, logic, pity, and 
 patience on that subject may be considered as drawing to a close. 
 All just men, of what outward color soever in politics or other- 
 wise, will say — ' This cannot last. Heaven disowns it — Earth is 
 against it. Ireland will be burnt into one black, unpeopled field 
 of ashes rather than this should last ! ' " 
 
AMERICAN BENEVOLENCE— IRISH GRATITUDE. 
 
 Rotunda^ Dublin^ 4:tk May, 184Y. 
 
 [Among the earliest ships which arrived, freighted with corn by cer- 
 tain benevolent parties in America, for the poor in Ireland, was the 
 Victor, Captain Clarke, from New York. Shortly after his arrival, several 
 of the most respectable citizens, of the merchant and professional classes, 
 invited him and his chief officers to a public dinner, May 4th, 1847, which 
 took place in the pillar room of the Rotunda. Upon this occasion, Captain 
 Clarke was presented with a flag, commemorative of his charitable 
 mission to Ireland. "It was composed of Irish poplin, of the national 
 color. On the one side, it bore a medallion surrounded by laurel. On 
 the medallion was depicted the Eagle of America, bearing in its talons 
 a sheaf of corn, and flying across the sea toward Ireland, typified by 
 its harp and cross. A wreath of shamrock encircled the whole. On the 
 obverse, appeared the Shield of America, with the stripes and stars, 
 surrounded by the inscription — 'To the Ladies of America, from the 
 Citizens of Dublin.' "] 
 
 Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, I almost hesitate to thank you 
 for the high honor you have conferred upon me, in requesting me 
 to speak to the health of the Ladies of America, for, in doing so, 
 you have imposed upon me a very serious task. This I sincerely 
 feel. 
 
 Not, indeed, that this toast is suggestive of no inspiring inci- 
 dents, but that the character of this assembly is such as to induce 
 the fear, that I may clash with the opinions of some who are pre- 
 sent here this evening, in giving full expression to the feelings 
 which the sentiment inspires. 
 
 In this assembly, every political school has its teachers — every 
 creed has its adherents — and, I may safely say, that this banquet 
 
AMERICAN BENEVOLENCE IRISH GRATITUDE. 141 
 
 is the tribute of united Ireland to the representative of American 
 benevolence. 
 
 Being such, I am at once reminded of the dinner, which took 
 place after the battle of Saratoga, at which Gates and Burgoyne 
 — the rival soldiers — sat together. 
 
 Strange scene ! Ireland, the beaten and the bankrupt, enter- 
 tains America, the victorious and the prosperous ! 
 
 Stranger still ! The flag of the Victor decorates this hall — 
 decorates our harbor — not, indeed, in triumph, but in sympathy 
 — not to commemorate the defeat, but to predict the resurrection, 
 of a fallen people! 
 
 One thing is certain — we are sincere upon this occasion. 
 There is truth in this compliment. 'For the first time in her 
 career, Ireland has reason to be grateful to a foreign power. 
 
 Foreign power, sir ! AVhy should I designate that country a 
 " foreign power," which has proved itself our sister country ? 
 
 England, they sometimes say, is our sister country. We deny 
 the relationship — we discard it. "We claim America as our sister, 
 and claiming her as such, we have assembled here this night. 
 
 Should a stranger, viewing this brilliant scene, inquire of me^ 
 why it is that, amid the desolation of this day — whilst famine is 
 in the land — whilst the hearse plumes darken the summer scenery 
 of the island — whilst death sows his harvest, and the earth teems 
 not with the seeds of life, but with the seeds of corruption — ^should 
 he inquire of me, why it is, that, amid this desolation, we hold 
 high festival, hang out our banners,' and thus carouse — I should 
 reply, " Sir, the citizens of Dublin have met to pay a compliment 
 to a plain citizen of America, which they would not pay — ' no, 
 not for all the gold in Venice ' — to the minister of England." 
 
 Pursuing his inquiries, should he ask, why is this ? I should 
 reply, " Sir, there is a country lying beneath that crimson canopy- 
 on which we gaze in these bright evenings — a country exulting in 
 a vigorous and victorious youth — a country with which we are 
 
142 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 incorporated by no Union Act — a country from which we are 
 separated, not by a little channel, but by a mighty ocean — and 
 this distant country, finding that our island, after an affiliation for 
 centuries with the most opulent kingdom on earth, has been 
 plunged into the deepest excesses of destitution and disease — and 
 believing that those fine ships which, a few years since, were the 
 avenging angels of freedom, and guarded its domain with a sword 
 of fire, might be intrusted with a kindlier mission, and be the mes- 
 sengers of life as they had been the messengers of death — guided 
 not by the principles of political economy, but impelled by the 
 holiest passions of humanity — this young nation has come to our 
 rescue, and thus we behold the eagle — which, by the banks of the 
 Delaware, scared away the spoiler from its offspring — we behold 
 this eagle speeding across the wave, to chase from the shores of 
 Old Dunleary, the vulture of the Famine. 
 
 Sir, it is not that this is an assembly in which all religious sects 
 and political schools associate — it is not that this is a festive occa- 
 sion in which we forget our differences, and mingle our sympathies 
 for a common country — it is not for these reasons that this 
 assembly is so pleasing to me. 
 
 I do not urge my opinions upon any one. I speak them freely, 
 it is true, but I trust without ofi*ence. But I tell you, gentlemen, 
 this assembly is»pleasing to me, because it is instructive. 
 
 Sir, in the presence of the American citizens, we are reminded by 
 what means a nation may cease to be poor, and how it may 
 become great. In the presence of the American citizens, we are 
 taught, that a nation achieving its liberty acquires the power that 
 enables it to be a benefactor to the distressed communities of the 
 earth. 
 
 If the right of taxation had not been legally disputed in the 
 village of Lexington — if the Stamp Act had not been constitu- 
 tionally repealed on the plains of Saratoga — America would not 
 
AMERICAN BENEVOLENCE IRISH GRATITUDE. 143 
 
 now possess the wealtli out of whicli slie relieves tlie indigence of 
 Ireland. 
 
 The toast, moreover, to which you have invited me to speak, 
 dictates a noble lesson to this country. The ladies of America 
 refused to wear English manufacture. The ladies of America 
 refused to drink the tea that came taxed from England. If you 
 honor these illustrious ladies, imitate their virtue, and be their 
 rivals in heroic citizenship. 
 
 If their example be imitated here, I think the day will come 
 when the Irish flag will be hailed in the port of Boston. But if, 
 in the vicissitudes to which all nations are exposed, danger should 
 fall upon the great Republic, and if the choice be made to us to 
 desert or befriend the land of Washington and Franklin, I, for 
 one, will prefer to be grateful to the Samaritan, rather than be 
 loyal to the Levite. 
 
PLACE BEGGING— SELF-RELIANCE. 
 Music ITall, Dublin, ^th July, 1847. 
 
 [A GENERAL election approaching, the Irish Confederation determined, as 
 far as they were able, to place the Repeal Candidates on a more national 
 footing than had previously been required. One of their fundamental 
 principles, indeed the chief one, was their opposition to place-hunting, and 
 the time was approaching which would afford an opportunity to apply that 
 principle. The Confederation insisted that no Repeal Candidate should be 
 supported who did not take the anti-place -hunting pledge. To such as took 
 it the Confederation promised their heartiest support. A long and painful 
 experience had proved to them the denationalizing effect of office-seeking. 
 Many — and even some leading Repeal Members had fettered themselves 
 — put themselves under obligations to the government by soliciting, for 
 themselves or their friends, places of emolument ; thereby rendering their 
 opposition hypocritical and ineffective. It was impossible they could be 
 the means of serving two such antagonistic ends — the crown and their 
 country — at the same time. The Confederation believed the " first qualifi- 
 cation for an Irish representative was, that he should be zealously devoted 
 to Irish independence ; and second, that he should be of personal integrity 
 — one who would not accept or solicit office." In Cork, the Repealers held 
 a meeting, seconding the Confederate recommendation and denouncing 
 place-hunting. Mr. Fagan, one of the candidates for that city, stooc^on this 
 platform. Some other candidates, but very few, followed his example. 
 From the beginning of the year, the health of Mr. O'Connell had been 
 declining. Early in March, he sought a change of air in Hastings, when 
 he revived a little. For a short time, hopes were entertained that a 
 few months in the south of Europe, whither his medical attendants 
 advised him immediately to repair, would so far restore his health that 
 he might be enabled to return to his labors in the autumn. On -the 21st, 
 accompanied by his chaplain, Rev. Dr. IVliley, he set out for Rome, the 
 
PLACE BEGGING SELF-HELIANCE. 145 
 
 hopes for his recoyery being of a yerj uncertain nature. In Paris, however, 
 the Thing's physician, Dr. Chomel, considered Mr, O'Connell's ultimate reco- 
 very as certain, and advised him to refrain from all political excitement and 
 mental anxiety. The Archbishop of Paris, Count de Montalembert, Marquis 
 de Laroche Jaquelin, Lord Holland, the Marquis of JS'ormanby, and other 
 leading personages in Paris, called daily at Mr. O'Connell's hotel. The 
 British Ambassador invited Mr. O'Connell and suite to dinner, but the state 
 of his health prevented the invitation ' being accepted. The members of 
 the electoral committee for the defence of religious freedom, consisting of 
 the Marquis de Barthelemy, Viscount de Falloux, Count Buetrebarbes, 
 MM. Chappier and Du Rotier, deputies, the Marquis de Dampierre, INDI. 
 Lenormant and Mauvais, members of the Institute, Baron de Mont^ny, 
 judge of the Royal Court, Viscount de Bonneuill, President of the Petition 
 Committee, MM, Decous and Oeuillot, editors of the Univers, &c,, offered 
 their congratulations and sympathy to Mr. O'Connell. On the 29th, Mr. 
 O'Connell pursued his route to Rome accompanied by his youngest son, 
 and Dr. Miley, via Orleans and Lyons. At the latter place, the treatment 
 of the eminent physicians Bounet and Verieel, promised to be very 
 successful. The rumors which had gained circulation, intimating that a 
 softening of the brain and a swelling of the limbs had taken place, were 
 contradicted, A letter of the 2'7th April stated that "his intellectual 
 faculties had never been interrupted." On his arrival and departure 
 from the various towns on his route, Mr. O'Connell was surrounded by 
 enthusiastic multitudes. On the 5th May, he embarted in the Lombard 
 steam-packet, at Marseilles, for Civita Vecchia, taking with him, in addi- 
 tion to his son, chaplain, and private physician. Dr. Oliffe, of Paris, Dr. 
 Lacour, of Lyons. He was so much improved as to pay a visit to the 
 Botanical Gardens, at Marseilles, the day previous. His illness returning- 
 ■wath increased severity, he was forced, however, to stop at Genoa, where 
 he expired at half past nine o'clock on the night of the 15th May.] 
 
 I have the honor, Sir, to second the resolution proposed by 
 Mr. O'Gorman. The advice to which it refers, and which this 
 meeting is called upon to sanction, has been censured. I am 
 prepared to defend it, and, I trust, this meeting will have reason 
 to declare that it is wise, just, and expedient. 
 
 Reviewing the political movements that have taken place in 
 
146 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Ireland for some years past, it seems to me, Sir, that in this 
 country those principles of public virtue have been systematically 
 decried, which give to a people their truest dignity and their 
 surest strength. 
 
 At different times, in other countries, when the people found 
 it necessary to recover or augment their rights, we have seen 
 the finest attributes of the heart and mind called forth, and 
 society present the most brilliant instances of morality and 
 heroism. In such countries, the progress of liberty has been the 
 progress of virtue. Thus has the history of freedom become the 
 selbnd gospel of humanity — an inspiration to those who sufi"er — an 
 instruction to those who struggle. 
 
 True it is, there have been faults, there have been errors, there 
 have been crimes, in the revolutions to which I now refer, which 
 fling a shadow across the epitaph of many an honored grave. But, 
 high above these errors and these crimes, ascend the genius and 
 the virtue of these revolutions — pure, brilliant, and imperishable 1 
 
 Let us consult the star. If we read not the destiny of our 
 country in its glory, in its purity we read the virtues that qualify 
 for freedom, and ennoble the citizen even in his chains. We read 
 that truth, generosity, self-sacrifice, have been the virtues of the 
 true patriot, and the strongest weapons of his success. 
 
 It has not been so in Ireland for many years. Truth has been 
 frittered away by expediency — generosity has been supplanted by 
 selfishness— self-sacrifice has been lampooned as an ancient folly, 
 which, in these less classic, but more philosophic times, it would 
 be downright insanity to imitate. 
 
 But what is the character of our cause ? 
 
 It is wise, generous, and heroic. Wise, for the necessities and 
 interests of our country dictate it. Generous, for it includes the 
 rights of all — the rights of the democracy, the priesthood, the 
 nobility. Heroic, for it inspires the loftiest ambition — suggesting 
 schemes the boldest that the courage of a nation could attempt — 
 
PLACE BEGGING — SELF-RELIANCE. 14*7 
 
 tte grandest that tlie ability of a nation could accomplish. The 
 genius of Ireland has been its apostle — the chivalry of Ireland has 
 been its champion. Triumphant in the brightest period of our 
 history — encircled with the dazzling memories of an Irish senate, 
 an Irish commerce, an Irish army — it is the noblest cause, Sir, in 
 which an Irish citizen could have the ambition to serve, or the 
 fortitude to suffer. 
 
 Forty-seven years have passed by since that cause was sold for 
 place and pension, and in the very hall where Henry Grattan 
 impeached the corruption of the minister, and the perfidy of the 
 placeman, we hear this day the clank of gold, which bids us still 
 remember the base bargain that was ratified within its walls. Let 
 it clank and glitter still ! It will be a warning to the people. It 
 will remind them of the vice that led to vassalage, and which — 
 still prevailing, still greedy, still rapacious — degrades the character 
 of the country, effeminates its power, and repels its liberty. 
 
 Not by the perpetuation of this vice, but by its utter extinction, 
 will the national cause — the cause of Swift, of Charlemont, and of 
 Grattan — advance and triumph. 
 
 This doctrine, we are told, is exceedingly erroneous. To Repeal 
 the Union, it is essential that Repealers should take places — that 
 is the correct doctrine ! To give the minister a decisive stroke, it 
 is expedient to equip the patriot hand with gold ! Strenuously to 
 oppose the minister, you must, first of all, beg of the minister, then 
 be his very humble, and, if possible, conclude with being his much 
 obliged servant ! The financial statement between the two 
 countries cannot be properly made out, until some Repeal 
 accountant has had a friendly intercourse wdth the Treasury, and 
 a propitious acquaintance with the Mint ! Absenteeism has been 
 enormously increased by the Union, and, therefore, it is that our 
 peaceful Repealer procures a colonial appointment, and, exemplify- 
 ing in his person all the evils of the system, administers British 
 law, beyond the seas, upon strictly Repeal principles ! Impove- 
 
148 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 rished by tlie Union — beggared by the Union — driven to the last 
 extremity of destitution by the Union — it is advisable that we 
 should prove all this to the minister and the parliament, with our 
 pockets full of salaries, and our family circumstances in full bloom ! 
 Denouncing the rapacity of England, we are to share her spoils ! 
 Impeaching the minister, we are to become his hirehngs ! Claim- 
 ing independence, shouting for independence, foaming for inde- 
 pendence — we are to crawl to the Castle, and there crave the 
 luxuries and the shackles of the slave ! Thus we are told to 
 act ! Thus we are implored to agitate ! This is the great, peace- 
 ful, moral, and constitutional doctrine ! This, the true way to 
 make us the noblest people on the face of the globe, and restore 
 Ireland to her place amongst the nations of the earth ! 
 
 Mean, venal, and destructive doctrine! — teaching the tongue to 
 cool and compliment that has burned and denounced. Mean, 
 venal, and destructive doctrine ! — teaching the people, on their 
 march to freedom, to kneel and dance before the golden idol in 
 the desert. Mean, venal, and destructive doctrine! — teaching 
 whining, teaching flattery, teaching falsehood. Scout it, spurn it, 
 fling it back to the Castle from whence it came — there let it lie 
 amongst the treasured instructions of tyranny, and the precious 
 revelations of treason I 
 
 Sir, we oppose Mr. John O'Connell because he is the abettor of 
 this system. We oppose him, because he has positively declared 
 that he will solicit places from the English government for his 
 friends. We oppose him, because we conscientiously believe that 
 he sustains a system which enervates the national strength, and 
 therefore imperils the national cause. This we sincerely believe, 
 and experience justifies the belief. 
 
 Look back to the year 1833 — note the conspicuous Repealers 
 of that year. Mark down those amongst them who took place 
 after the memorable debate in April, 1834. Run through the 
 newspapers of the last ten or thirteen years, and tell me, in what 
 
PLACE BEGGING SELF-RELIANCE. 149 
 
 political position do you detect these priceless patriots ? In the 
 chair of Conciliation Hall ? In the committee box ? In the 
 reserved seats for strangers ? On Tara, with the gallant peasantry 
 of Kildare and Meath ? On the Green of Donnybrook, with the 
 bannered and battalioned trades of Dublin ? In the Rotunda, on 
 the 30th of May, 1845, where citizenship received the honors of 
 monarchy, and was invested with more than its legitimate 
 authority ? 
 
 Why, Sir, you might as well inquire if these gentlemen had 
 left a card in the moon, or had been at a pic-nic in the crater of 
 Vesuvius. 
 
 The porter outside the Chief Secretary's in the Upper Castle- 
 yard, will tell you where they have been. The butlers in the 
 Viceregal Lodge, will tell you where they have been. The 
 policeman on the beat at Chesham-place, will tell you where they 
 have been. The coiflers in the Mint, will tell you where they 
 have been. The clerks of the Board of Trade, may let you know 
 something concerning their mercantile anxieties. 
 
 I hold in my hand a book, entitled " The Voice of the ISTation." 
 I bes: leave to read the following extract from it : — 
 
 " When the last agony of the Whigs was approaching, great 
 was the desire to conciliate and make friends. Notice had 
 been taken at the Castle of the immense number of applications 
 pressing in from those who, throughout various localities in Ire- 
 land, had been 'leaders of the people' in former agitations. 
 These applications were carefully registered and noted ; and when 
 the list was found to contain the names of a large majority of such 
 persons, the ' declaration ' was made as a proclamation and 
 warning to them, and made with only too shameful success. 
 Nearly all those leaders were silenced. They did, indeed, 
 
 "Fall down 
 And foul corruption triumphed over them !" 
 
 Corruption, that other arm of England, w^henever she seeks to 
 
150 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 strike down tlie rising liberties of Ireland ! Force, when we give 
 her the excuse for using it 1 Corruption, when she cannot provoke 
 us to give her that excuse !" 
 
 Who wrote this ? A jealous and embittered Conservative ? 
 An insatiable revolutionist ? A discarded Orangeman ? A flip- 
 jDant and sarcastic infidel ? A Chartist Repealer, gentlemen ? No 
 — it was the honorable member for Kilkenny — he who, in the 
 very death-chamber of his father, snatches at the vacant crown, 
 and strives to balance, in his little hand, the massive sceptre which 
 the colossal king alone could wield ! 
 
 Out of his own mouth do we condemn the apologist of place- 
 begging. We arm ourselves with his sentence against corruj^tion, 
 and with that sentence we give him battle on the hustings. We 
 have seen the result of this system in the first agitation for 
 Repeal, and, whatever it may cost, we shell oppose it in the 
 second. 
 
 Sanction this system, and you set the seeds of venality in that 
 body, which, to be formidable, must be exempt from all impurities. 
 Sanction this system, and you entice men to the national lists, 
 who, but for the golden apples scattered along the course, would 
 never join you in the race to freedom. Thus it is that gentlemen 
 will appear upon the hustings, as Repeal candidates, who do not 
 in truth ambition the independence of the country, but avail 
 themselves of the cry, to extort from the minister a compensation 
 for their presumed apostasy. 
 
 Lamartine, in his History of the Girondists, has said of Danton 
 that " he merely threatened the court to make the court desirous 
 of buying him — that he only opened his mouth to have it stuffed 
 with gold." 
 
 Sir, there have been, there are, and there will be, hundreds of 
 Repealers to whom this description will precisely apply, and, if we 
 do not utterly break up the system that produces them, we will 
 
PLACE BEGGING SELF-RELIANCE. 151 
 
 propagate the contaminating race, until the whole manhood of the 
 country has become diseased and powerless. 
 
 But, with God's blessing, whilst we have nerve and voice, we 
 will urge this war against corruption, and the people will back us, 
 I am confident. They must be heartily sick of the system that 
 has exacted so many sacrifices from them, whilst it has contributed 
 exclusively to the benefit of their leaders. 
 
 Cork has done its duty in this respect. The citizens of the 
 southern capital have met, and they declare, that this venality 
 shall cease. I trust sincerely that the example will be followed, 
 and that the pledge which was exacted in Cork, will be exacted 
 in Limerick, in Mayo, in Dundalk, in Kilkenny, in Dungarvan, in 
 every borough, and in every county, where a Repeal candidate 
 presents himself. 
 
 As to Waterford, my father is one of the Repeal candidates for 
 that city. 
 
 Now, proud as I would be to see my father represent his native 
 city — proud as I would be to share with him the fatigue and vex- 
 ation of the contest — proud as I would be to see him triumph over 
 the ministerialist who at present represents that city — proud as I 
 would be to stand by him on the hustings, when the people hailed 
 him as the successful opponent of an insolent imperialism — proud 
 as, I know, I would then feel, with the thought that I had done 
 my best to level the Whig power at the feet of my fellow-citizens 
 — yet I sincerely tell you, that if he does not subscribe to the 
 pledge of the Confederation — though I know he would scorn to 
 ask the slightest favor of any faction — yet I will feel bound in 
 conscience not to vote for him. 
 
 But, Sir, we are told, that soliciting places for others is quite a 
 difi'erent thing from the representative sohciting place or pension 
 for himself. 
 
 I admit there is a difference. To my mind, however, the differ- 
 ence consists, in the latter being the more injurious and discredita- 
 
152 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 ble case. For, in the former case, tlie rejDresentative gets his place, 
 or whatever else it may be, and we are sm'e to have done with 
 him. Like the great Athenian, he is seized with an excessive 
 hoarseness the moment he grasps the cup of Harpalus, and, owing 
 to the bandage round his neck, cannot possibly harangue against 
 the Macedonian ! But, in the former case, the representative 
 remains amongst us — day after day multiplying his obligations to 
 the government — day after day binding the people to the govern- 
 ment by a series of golden links — day after day stimulating 
 amongst the people a gross appetite for the dregs and droppings 
 of a foreign court — when he should expand their ambition, and 
 bid them seek in the prosperity of their country, and in that alone, 
 the purest and most unfailing source of private happiness. 
 
 Sir, once for all, we must have an end of this money-making in 
 the public forum. The pursuit of liberty must cease to be a traf- 
 fic. Let it resume amongst us its ancient glory — let it be with us 
 an active heroism. 
 
 Fear not dissension. Dissension is good where truth is to be 
 saved. Eepeal does not triumph, I contend, where the repeal prin- 
 ciples of Concihation Hall prevail. Repeal does not incur defeat, 
 where those principles are swamped by Whiggery or Conservatism. 
 In the former case, it is Whiggery, masked and muffled, that suc- 
 ceeds — in the latter, it is Whiggery, masked and muffled, that is 
 beaten. 
 
 Disdaining, then, the calumnies of the public writer, and the 
 invectives of the public orator ; however bitterly society may 
 sneer ; however coarsely a section of the multitude may curse ; 
 assert this righteous principle. Rescue the cause of Ireland from 
 the profanation of those who beg, and the control of those who 
 bribe. Ennoble the strife for liberty, and be it here, as it has 
 been in other countries, a gallant sacrifice — not a vulgar game. 
 
 Conform to one precept of the English parliament — depend 
 upon your own resources. Demanding independence, be tho- 
 
PLACE BEGGING SELF-RELIANCE. 153 
 
 rouglily independent. Be as independent of tLis Paissell, tlie 
 Englisli minister, as of Metternich of Vienna, or Guizot of Paris. 
 Cherish in its full integrity, this fine virtue, without which there 
 will be no true liberty amongst you, whatever be your institutions. 
 Bereft of it, the heart of the nation will be cold, and cramped, and 
 sordid. Bereft of it, the arts will have no enduring impulse, and 
 commerce no invigorating soul. Bereft of it, society degenerates, 
 and the mean, the frivolous, and the vicious triumph. 
 
 The idler, the miser, and the coward, may laugh at these senti- 
 ments. The worms of the Castle, I know, would eat them from 
 the hearts of the young, the generous, and the gifted. The old 
 champions of faction — in whose withered souls all that is pure and 
 generous in our nature has rotted out — may drive their poisoned 
 pens, and ply their tainted tongues, in their profane crusade 
 against them. Then, too, may come the dull philosopher of the 
 age, to rebuke our folly, our want of sense, our indiscretion ; and 
 proclaim that patriotism, a wild and glittering passion, has died 
 out — that it could not coincide with civilization, the steam- 
 engine, and free-trade. 
 
 It is false ! 
 
 The virtue that gave to Paganism its dazzling lustre — to Bar- 
 barism its redeeming, trait — to Christianity its heroic form, is not 
 dead. It still lives to preserve, to console, to sanctify humanity. 
 It has its altar in every clime — its worship and festivities. 
 
 On the heathered hills of Scotland, the sword of Wallace is yet 
 a bright tradition. 
 
 The genius of France, in* the brilliant literature of the day, pays 
 its high homage to the piety and heroism of the young maid of 
 Orleans. 
 
 In her new Senate Hall, England bids her sculptor place, among 
 the eifigies of her greatest sons, the images of Hampden and of 
 Russell. 
 
 In the gay and graceful capital of Belgium, the daring hand of 
 
154 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Geefs has reared a monument, full of glorious meaning, to tlie 
 three hundred martyrs of the revolution. 
 
 By the soft blue waters of Lake Lucerne, stands the chapel of 
 William Tell. On the anniversary of his revolt and victory, across 
 those waters, as they glitter in the July sun, shim the light boats 
 of the allied cantons. From the prows hang the banners of the 
 republic, and as they near the sacred spot, the daughters of Lucerne 
 chaunt the hymns of their old, poetic land. Then bursts forth 
 the glad Te Deum, and Heaven hears again the voice of that wild 
 chivalry of the mountains which, five centuries since, pierced the 
 white eagle of Vienna, and flung it bleeding on the rocks of Uri. 
 
 At Innspruck, in the black aisle of the old cathedral, the peasant 
 of the Tyrol kneels before the statue of Andreas Hofer. In the 
 defiles and valleys of the Tyrol, who forgets the day on which he 
 fell within the walls of Mantua ? It is a festive day all through 
 his quiet, noble land. In that old cathedral, his inspiring memory 
 is recalled amid the pageantries of the altar — his image appears 
 in every house — his victories and virtues are proclaimed in the 
 songs of the people — and when the sun goes down, a chain of 
 fires, in the deep red ligbt of v/hich the eagle spreads his wings 
 and holds his giddy revelry, proclaims the glory of the chief, 
 whose blood has made his native land a sainted spot in Europe. 
 
 Sir, shall we not join in this glorious worship, and here in this 
 island — anointed by the blood of many a good and gallant man 
 — shall we not have the faith, the duties, the festivities of 
 patriotism ? 
 
 You discard the weapons of these heroic men — do not discard 
 their virtues. Elevate the national character, and serve the 
 national cause with generous hearts and stainless hands. You 
 have pledged yourselves to strive for the independence of your 
 country, within the limits of the Constitution. Keep within the 
 Constitution, but do not compromise the virtue of the state. 
 Confront corruption wherever it appears — scourge it from the 
 
PLACE BEGGING SELF-RELIANCE. 155 
 
 hustings — scourge it from the public forum — and whilst proceed- 
 ing with the noble task, to which you have vowed your lives and 
 fortunes, let this proud thought enrapture and invigorate your 
 hearts — that, in seeking the independence of your country, you 
 have preserved her virtue from the seductions of a powerful minis- 
 ter, and the infidelity of bad citizens. 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS— RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 
 Victoria Theatre, Cork, 20th September, 1847. 
 
 [The citizens of Cork, whose opinions were in unison with the Confede- 
 rates, held a meeting at the Theatre, in order to form a branch of the Con- 
 federation in that citj. There was at first considerable annoyance and 
 tumult, arising from the preconcerted arrangements of some dissentient 
 parties, which was, however, after a little time suppressed. The general 
 elections were now completely over, and though, so far as Ireland was con- 
 cerned, they did not yield as satisfactory a result as might haye been 
 desired, yet, it was sufficiently so to indicate the fidelity with which the 
 
 people still adhered to the j)roject of IS'ational independence. The state 
 
 of Italy, at this time, was the subject of universal attention. In Ireland, 
 it excited the highest enthusiasm. June 1st, 1846, Pope Gregory XVI. 
 died. He was succeeded by Cardinal John Maria Mastei Ferretti, under 
 the title of Pius IX. The occupation of the Papal throne by Pio K"ono 
 was looked upon with general satisfaction, and with more than usual 
 hope, from the acclamation by which he was elected — the conclave of 
 the Sacred College sitting but two days — from his reputation of having a 
 mild and conciliating disposition, and from his youth — being but fifty -four 
 years old, and one of the youngest Popes ever elected. The coronation took 
 place June 21st. Letters from Rome, as early as the 28th of that month, 
 stated that he was seriously occupied with the question of a political amnesty, 
 and that his benevolent intentions had already won public confidence. Peti- 
 tions were submitted to him, signed on the part of the people, by the chief 
 magistrates, municipal councillors, and principal inhabitants of the Roman 
 cities, praying the execution of the Memorandum of 1831, addressed to the 
 then Pontifi", by France, Prussia, Austria, and Russia. July 1st, the six 
 cardinals — Lambruschini, Bernetti, Amat,.Gizzi, Mattel, and Machi, met to 
 deliberate, when the Pope submitted the following questions for examina- 
 tion : First — Plow and in what manner should an amnesty be granted ? 
 Second — In what way can the public debt be paid off ? Third — Would it 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 15 7 
 
 be pru(3ent to discharge the foreign troops ? Fourth — Would it be better 
 for the administration, to possess one or two Secretaries of State ? He dis- 
 pensed with much of the State pageantry, and, to the great surprise of the 
 Roman inhabitants, went on foot through the streets, accompanied only by 
 a few prelates and some Swiss soldiers — a circumstance not witnessed since 
 the days of Ganganelli. The people received him with great enthusiasm, 
 and the acclamations of the crowd increased when he " condescended to 
 receive a petition presented to him by a poor man." It was stated, that 
 the system of Public Instruction would be modified, and the censorship in 
 future less severe, especially on science ; that the scientific men of Eome 
 would be " permitted " to be present at the scientific congress at Genoa, and 
 that the congress would be celebrated at Rome the ensuing year. The fol- 
 lowing anecdote was received as a guarantee of that toleration for which 
 Pius had repute. Some sonnets and satires, reflecting upon the Papal 
 government, having been found in the trunks of some young men in 
 Bologna, they were ordered to return to the city. Upon receiving the 
 information, the Pope desired the order to be revoked, and "expressed 
 great anger at this infringement of personal liberty for so slight a cause." 
 The amnesty was received with the liveliest gratitude throughout the 
 Papal states. The popularity of the Pope was further enhanced by his 
 giving audiences to persons of all classes of society, who had complaints or 
 demands to make of him, in the gardens of the Quirinal. " My people may 
 expect justice and mercy from me, for my only guide is this book," said he, 
 laying his hand on the N"ew Testament. In order to remove *' all suspicion 
 and appearance of nepotism," he sent into the provinces such of his rela- 
 tions as held public offices. The upper nobility seemed anxious to 
 assist in the reforms proposed by the Pope and Cardinal Gizzi, though 
 the Sacred College opposed those measures by every possible means. 
 "If you do not alter your system, the people will demand a Constitu- 
 tion," said one of the cardinals to the Pope. "And why should I not 
 accede to their desire, if a Constitution is necessary to the welfare of 
 my subjects?" was the reply. The Austrian Ambassador — to whom a 
 programme of the proposed civil and political reforms was communicated — 
 in vain remonstrated against its publication. To all appearance, Pius IX 
 was not to be deterred from his purpose. August 4th, a circular was 
 addressed to the governors of the Roman states, calling on them to adopt 
 measures calculated to improve the religious and temporal condition of the 
 poorer classes. In addition to the general dissemination of education and 
 
158 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 industrial habits, the circular stated, the Pope's intention of founding, with- 
 out delay, an establishment at Kome for the instruction of a number 
 of the sons of the working classes throughout the States, and the forming 
 of a nucleus of well-educated non-commissioned officers, calculated to 
 suffice for the army required by the State. In October, the Congregation 
 of Cardinals, continuing systematically to oppose the reform movements of 
 Gizzi, the Pope replaced that body by a Consulta di Stato, of the under 
 secretaries of state, the highest prelates at Rome, and several distinguished 
 laymen. He had also made some overtures to the Italian governments, for 
 the formation of a federative union in Italy. The proposition met favor ia 
 Sardinia, but the Neapolitan Court was disinclined to the proposal, unless 
 it obtained the presidency of the Confederation. From the accession of 
 Pius IX., to November, crime had diminished ninety per cent. The buying 
 and selling of the upper grades in the Pontifical army was abolished, 
 giving opportunities for the advancement of men of capacity, without 
 fortune. The superior officers, whose capabilities were not equal to their 
 position, were placed on the retired list, or employed in civil service. On 
 the 3d November, the citizens were permitted to form themselves into 
 patrols for the suppression of nightly disturbances. Tliis measure, which 
 was looked on as a sure step towards the formation of a civic guard, was 
 received with great delight — the people, in gratitude, at the theatre and 
 public places, shouting, " Long live Pio Nono !" " Long live Cardinal Gizzi !" 
 Each day but inqyeased the popular enthusiasm. On the 10th, a memora- 
 ble banquet — memorable as being the movement of the middle classes, 
 rarely heard of in the affairs of Rome — took place at the magnificent Aliberti 
 Theatre. Eight hundred Roman citizens met to celebrate the return of the 
 political exiles. The committee deserve record : they were — Orioli, son of 
 an exiled professor ; Nattali, a bookseller ; Delfrate, an artist ; Thomasson, 
 a man of letters ; and De Andreis, a printer. Chechetelli, a well known 
 writer, appeared for the first time as a speaker, warning them how they 
 would best defeat any attempt to stay the on-rolling tide of Roman freedom. 
 Professor Sejani, late an exile in Malta, the author of several tragedies, and 
 who had been engaged in many conspiracies, proposed the health of 
 Pius IX. ELis energetic speech was enthusiastically applauded, and, amid 
 the loud vociferations of the assembly, a colossal bust of the Pope v/as 
 crowned with laurel. A distinguished physician, Dr. De Dominieis, whose 
 brother had but lately died in prison for political offences, exhorted his 
 hearers not to thwart the beneficial measures of the Pontiff with any 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS — RESURRECTION OF ITALY". 159 
 
 unreasonable desire for change. Sterbini, late an exile from Marseilles, 
 followed in prose for some time, till expanding with his subject, he burst 
 forth with poetry, or that measured recitative so peculiar to the Italian 
 improvisator — the whole gathering, as if lifted into an ecstasy of song, rising 
 in a chorus. Several tickets had been purchased by members of the Casina 
 del Nobili^ and their places were kept unoccupied until a late hour. Some 
 inquiry being made as to their absence, it transpired that they were at an 
 entertainment given by the Prince Borghese. This was deemed a preme- 
 ditated insult to the popular feeling and to the Pope, whereupon, at the 
 close of the proceedings, several hundred of the young men bent their steps 
 to the Palazzo Borghese, and loudly demanded an illumination in honor of 
 Pio IX. "Lumi fuori! lumi fuori! vivi Pio K^ono!" The inmates com- 
 menced closing the shutters, instead of restoring good feeling, by complying 
 with the request; Avhich so augmented the popular rage that a storm 
 of execrations on Borghese and his guests followed. The Prince was pro- 
 ceeding to address the mob from the balcony when he was, " luckily for 
 himself," pulled back by Vincenzo Colonna, and some of the graver citi- 
 zens arriving, they appeased the crowd, convinced that the nobles of the 
 Casino and the Prince would make an apology next day. In December, 
 the Cabinet of Turin paid a decided mark of sympathy with the liberal 
 movements of the Pope. Charles Albert, not only recalled Count Broglia, 
 his Envoy at the Eternal City, who had been remarkable there for 
 allowing himself to be made the tool of the Austrian, Neapolitan, and 
 Gregorian league — but dismissed him with the smallest retiring pension 
 ever allowed to ministers, as a mark of his displeasure. The indications of 
 the growing revolutionary spirit in Italy were unmistakable. On the 
 hundredth anniversary of the expulsion of the Austrians from Genoa, the 
 heights of the Apennines were radiant with fires; balloons with the 
 national colors, ascended from the various villas ; in the streets young men 
 paraded, shouting, "long live ]S"ational Independence!" — "death to the 
 Austrians!" A proclamation secretly printed, was displayed upon the 
 walls, and eagerly read by the excited Genoese. Reminding the Italians 
 that it was on the 5th December, 1746, that the Genoese rose against the 
 Austrian troops which devastated and insulted Italy and her people, it says, 
 "That for a hundred years Italy has been eagerly awaiting the hour to 
 extend the triumph of the Genoese to the plains of Lombardy, to drive 
 their foreign domiuators beyond the Alps," and concludes : — " Italians ! a 
 victory similar to that carried by the valorous Genoese may be renewed. 
 
160 ENGLISH LEGISLATION, 
 
 But to-daj let us weep together— let us Treep, old and voung, people and 
 nobles, of every faction, of every province! Let us weep that we are 
 obliged, with suppressed voices, and arms, weighed down with chains, 
 to celebrate the hundredth anniversary of so noble an act. May our pious 
 tears engender in every heart the sacred duty of regaining our indepen- 
 dence." The Tuscan authorities were on the alert: the nights of the 
 5th and 6th, the police tore down the proclamation; and seventeen 
 persons were arrested. The following day, however, the greater 
 number of them were set at liberty ; the authorities fearing that the 
 popular excitement might give rise to some dangerous proceedings. 
 In the Romagna the enthusiasm was equally great. At Forli, Rimini, and 
 Ravenna, the houses were illuminated and the streets echoed with the cry 
 of "Death to the Strangers !" 8th February, the Pope received the Irish 
 Committee formed in Rome for the purpose of collecting subscriptions for the 
 famine in Ireland. At the end of February, on the arrival at Pisa, of the 
 Archduke Ferdinand d'Este, nephew of the Emperor of Austria, Avho had 
 been civil and military governor of Gallicia during the massacres of the pre« 
 viousyear, a political movement took place there which created much agita-^ 
 tion. In the course of the day, crowds assembled in front of the palace where 
 he was staying, for the purpose of manifesting their disapprobation whenever 
 he might ajjpear in public. The gendarmerie were called out, and dispersed 
 the crowd. At midnight a petard which had been placed in the cellar of 
 the palace was discharged by a train. The explosion shook the building, 
 breaking the windows, and those of the adjacent houses. The town was 
 excited to a high pitch. Placards were issued, and posted daily, full of 
 invective against the Austrians. Several arrests followed, and the Grand 
 Duke commenced increasing the troops of the line. In Rome, the Board 
 of Censorship, up to the time arbitrary in its decisions, was placed under 
 the direction and control of a tribunal, laymen being substituted for clergy- 
 men. The tribunal was composed of the master of the palace, its presi- 
 dent, the Marquis Antici, Abbe Coppi, M. Salvator Cetti, and M. Vannu- 
 telli. These were all men of literary distinction and liberal opinions, save 
 the president. In May, a French vice-consul was established (and received 
 the Pope's exequatur) in the frontier town of Ferrara. This movement in 
 the very teeth of Austria, was regarded as very significant. On the 6th 
 July, the edict organizing the national guard was issued. Ten thousand 
 men sprang into the attitude of citizen soldiers, and both banks of the Tiber 
 shook with the jubilee. The banker Torloni^ Prince Corsini, Prince Piora- 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 161 
 
 bino, Campana, the celebrated archeologist, Duke Salviati, were higb in 
 command of the civic militia. A distinguished writer at the time wrote : — 
 " Once arms in the hands of every Roman, adieu, a long adieu, to the hope 
 of even undoing what -Pius has done. The volunteers of Dungannon are 
 BOW reproduced in this capital, and as Grattan then gloried, ' there is not 
 a man that washes his firelock to-night that is not pledged to the redemp- 
 tion of his native land, and the sustainment of her freedom.' This last 
 blow has come like a thunderbolt on the Austrian ambassador, and he is 
 fairly at his wits' end. His latest card was to try and persuade the corres- 
 pondents (there are four or five,) of the German gazettes to circulate a 
 report that the Pope is mad." Meantime the Austrians, counting on the 
 opposition which the Pope met with from the cardinals and nobility, entered 
 some of the towns within the Roman States. On the same day, 17th July, 
 a dangerous and desperate plot, no doubt intended to act simultaneously 
 with the Austrian movement, was discovered on the eve of exploding at 
 Rome. Cardinal Freddi, the chief conspirator, Chevalier Minardi, (who 
 subsequently disclosed the facts of the conspiracy,) and eighty of their 
 accomplices, were imprisoned and ironed in the Castle of San Angelo. And 
 Cardinal Ferreti, the Pope's minister, ofiicially protested against the occu- 
 pation of Ferrara. He exhorted the Italians to " rely upon themselves " 
 notwithstanding there were twenty -five thousand Austi'ians concentrated in 
 the north of Italy. He also afforded protection to the Jews resident in the 
 city. The iS'ational Guard was nightly reviewed. " We must show Europe 
 that we can protect ourselves," says Pio IsTono as he passed the enthusiastic 
 lines. Reinforcements of the Austrian troops continued on the march, while 
 those who occupied Ferrara, by every means essayed to goad the people 
 into a tumult. They insulted the statue of the popular Pio, quarreled with 
 the soldiers in his service, waylaid the physician on his Vv^ay to the dying, 
 and, all these failing, outraged a lady in the public streets. Proclamations 
 were posted, bidding the people to " Watch ! suffer ! listen !" for " they stood 
 more in need of firmness than ever " — "in supporting, for the time being, 
 the insults of the foreigner, we shall give a proof of the greatest courage 
 and of the purest love for our country, and for our sovereign. Be firm, 
 and full of confidence, and remember that our only watchword must ever 
 be Pius IX! Religion! Italy'." These proclamations the Austrians tore down, 
 as the spirit of them was in direct opposition to their orders and endeavoi*s, 
 which were to irritate tlie people, and massacre without mercy on the 
 slightest manifestation of disorder. The National Guard, however, con- 
 
162 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 tinned to be enrolled and drilled nightly. On the 1st August, Ferreti, by his 
 energy, subdued an attempt that was to have been made to throw the 
 Trastevere quarter into confusion. The Austrian General, who had marched 
 into Ferrara with two thousand men, came to Rome, on the plea of com- 
 plaining of the Cardinal Legate, Ciacchi, for not allowing his soldiers free 
 quarter, protesting that he had the late Secretary Gizzi's invitation, and 
 demanding satisfaction. In Ferrara, the Austrians, impatient at the delay 
 and fearful of the gathering strength, raised a pretence that one of their 
 officers was arrested by the National Guard, and made it the opportunity 
 of overrunning the town. Patrols of Austrians, with a carte blanche of 
 action, and free orders to fire, traversed the public ways. The Cardinal 
 Legate made a formal protest, which was dispatched to Rome, Verona, 
 Milan, and the Governor of the fortress of Ferrara, The Pope, in oppo- 
 sition to the remonstrances of the French and Austrian ambassadors, ordered 
 Ciacchi's protest to be published in the Diario di Roma. It produced 
 an intense sensation. On the 13th, the Austrians suddenly possessed them- 
 selves of all the barriers and principal buildings in Ferrara. In the public 
 squares, their cannon were effectually disposed and their patrols crowded 
 the thoroughfares. Bridges of boats were formed across the Po, ammu- 
 nition arrived, and troops were on the march for the occupied city. The 
 Cardinal Legate could only issue a second protest. An attempt was made 
 to commit or bewilder the popular champion, Cicerouacchio, He was 
 deluged with letters from all quarters ; addressed as Excellenza and prayed 
 to intercede for the people, and to take every advantage in public and 
 private for that end. He escaped the net laid for him by the intriguing 
 ]3arty. He knew the people too well — was too long of them. He exposed 
 these proceedings, by protesting against them in the Speranza ; and declined 
 all claim to the title heaped on him by his various unknown correspondents. 
 On the 16th, the already excited state of Rome was lieightened by the 
 arrival of the courier from Ferrara, with the news that Count Auersperg 
 had taken measures of a more hostile nature, which had elicited a third 
 protest from the Legate. Romagna could wath difficulty be kept quiet. To 
 resist Austrian aggression was the sole preparation of the entire people. 
 Cardinal Ferreti intimated to the Austrian government that, if it did not 
 withdraw its troops within fifteen days from Ferrara, and keep them 
 within the citadel, the Court of Rome would recall the nuncio from 
 Vienna, and deliver his passport to their ambassador. All the available 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 163 
 
 troops were dispatched by the government to the Legations. A camp 
 was established at Forli : and altogether the greatest aetivitj pre- 
 vailed among the Italians. The Capuchin Friars of Perugia, issued an 
 indignant manifesto, and declared themselves ready to take up arms. 
 Charles Albert protested against the Austrian aggression ; sent his pro- 
 test to all the courts of Europe ; and placed at the disposal of the Pope 
 both his army and navy, should the independence of the Papal dominions 
 be menaced. Piedmont pronounced in favor of the Pope. This important 
 step caused extraordinary excitement. The peasants of Bologna enlisted 
 eagerly. National guards were springing into active existence in Pisa and 
 Florence. The Pope had now acceded to the universal desire of the 
 citizens and prepared for defence. Various battalions were in motion for 
 Ferrara. The Swiss in the Pope's pay had taken up all the strong points on 
 Ihe road from Ferrara to Ravenna and Bologna. The Austrian outposts 
 stretched to a radius of six miles outside the walls of Ferrara and Commacchio. 
 At Ponto Lagoscuro, 800 Tyrolese crossed the river, and another body at a 
 distance of twelve miles from Ferrara quartered at Polesella. 2Sth, the 
 government had received from Vienna an answer to the protest of Cardinal 
 Ciacchi. The cabinet expressed regret for the occupation of Ferrara, but 
 maintained its right to have a garrison there. The Emperor of Austria 
 declared that Radetzky acted on his own judgment, and that he alone 
 ordered the occupation.] 
 
 Notwithstanding the slight interruption tbat has taken place, it 
 is not to comply with the etiquette usually observed upon occasions 
 like the present that I assure you, I most gratefully appreciate the 
 reception you have given me. For that reception I sincerely thank 
 you. 
 
 Yet, I will not hesitate to tell you, there is something else I 
 more highly estimate. 
 
 Upon your accession to the ranks of the Irish Confederation, 
 your adoption of its principles, and your concurrence in its policy, 
 I set a much higher value. And it is just that I should estimate 
 more highly than any personal compliment you could pay me, 
 the sanction you have given to that Confederation, through the 
 
164 ENGLISH LEGISLATION". 
 
 instrumentality of which, I believe in my inmost soul, the inde- 
 pendence of this country will be accomplished. 
 
 From the Secession, the Confederation originates. It is the 
 offspring of the Repeal Association — it is, I trust, the precursor of 
 the Irish Senate. 
 
 As to the Secession — the circumstances that preceded, and 
 those that have followed it — I think it unnecessary to say one 
 word. If you did not approve of that Secession, you would not 
 have assembled here this nio'ht — of this I am certain, vou would 
 not have passed the resolution that has been just put from the 
 chair. 
 
 Besides, it is now an old story. It has been told a thousand 
 times — it has gone through a thousand editions — as many editions 
 as the " Seven Champions of Christendom" — it has lost its novelty 
 — it can no longer interest the public mind, though it might irri- 
 tate the public passions. We must go back no more, to fret and 
 squabble. 
 
 There is a fresh grave in the cemetery of Glasnevin which 
 marks the conclusion of one era, and the commencement of ano- 
 ther. The achievement of Catholic Emancipation illustrates the 
 past — the achievement of Irish Independence must illustrate the 
 future. 
 
 To repeal the Act of Union — to rescue this country from the 
 control of English statesmen — to restore to it its ancient form of 
 government — to revive within it the power to develop and apply 
 its own resources — the power that will enable it to acquire a large 
 prosperity and attain an eminent position — this is the righteous 
 task which a new generation is summoned to assume, and which, 
 I trust, it will have the glory to accomplish. 
 
 To argue the question of Repeal — the right of Ireland to be 
 governed by its own citizens — the invahdity of the Union Act — 
 the evils of Imperial legislation — would be unnecessary, I pre- 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 165 
 
 sume. But tlie question at which we must pause — for it is the 
 question at which old heads shake, and young heads grow impa- 
 tient—is, how will you get Repeal ? 
 
 That's the rub, they say. 
 
 Sir, it is a serious question ; and I, for one, do candidly confess, 
 that before I can answer it, I must put as serious a question to 
 those from whom it proceeds. 
 
 Does the Government — the Crown — the Parliament of England 
 — recognise the public opinion of this country ? Does the Govern- 
 ment — the Crown — the Parliament of Eno;land — admit the ex- 
 pressed opinion of this country to be a just basis for legislation? 
 Will the Government — the Crown — the Parliament of England — 
 act in defiance of that opinion, or shall that opinion inspire their 
 councils and direct their measures ? Will the Government — the 
 Crown — the Parliament of England — be deaf to the citizens of 
 Ireland, claiming to be self-taxed and self-protected, as the govern- 
 ment of Lord North was deaf to the petitioners of Boston ? Over 
 this country will that government preside as a despotism, circled 
 with its gibbets and its bayonets, defending the flag of usurpation, 
 where it should sign the code of liberty ? In one word. Sir, must 
 the people of this country despair of establishing their right to 
 make their own laws, within the limits of the Constitution, and be 
 driven to organize beyond them ? 
 
 Let it not be said that, in using this language, I preach sedition, 
 and invoke to an armed crusade the precipitate passions of the 
 people. That which I now declare in public, I have stated fre- 
 quently in private. I believe — it is my deep conviction — that the 
 opinion of this country, expressed through the legitimate organs 
 of the press, the public tribune, and the Parliament, can effect 
 that change in the relationship between two countries which our 
 interest necessitates, and to which our ambition prompts. And 
 this opinion I will not renounce until the government of England 
 
166 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 shall declare — shall positively, definitively declare — that, in defiance 
 of this opinion, the Union shall be maintained. 
 
 When this declaration has been made to the people of Ireland, 
 two alternatives will yet remain. 
 
 The first — to slink back from the Parliament that has scouted 
 their opinion — that has cuff"ed them for half a century — to hoard 
 up their flesh and blood — to patch their rags — to dress their sores 
 as best they may — to hug their chains, and die. The last — to 
 make good the words of Henry Grattan — -" perish the connexion, 
 let Ireland live !" — to go out, like men, and serve the Act of Union 
 as the Belgians served the Treaty of Vienna. 
 
 But now, Sir, that we have determined to test the eflScacy of 
 public opinion — determined to appeal to reason, and not to mea- 
 sure swords — determined to approach the throne, not with pikes, 
 but with petitions — now that we have determined upon this course 
 of action, it is reasonable to enquire if an opinion — such an opinion 
 as should influence the government of England — exists at present 
 in this country. 
 
 I may be wrong, but I do not think that such an opinion exists 
 at present. I mean, Sir, that such an opmion has not an active 
 evident existence. 
 
 It is quite true that the heart of Ireland is right. The result of 
 the late elections proves decisively that the heart of Ireland is bent 
 upon Repeal, and that the spirit which, in 1843, was heard — like 
 the voice which spoke from Sinai, dictating laws to a trampled 
 tribe — is still throbbing through that noble heart, though famine 
 has preyed upon it in the desert. 
 
 A French historian has written, that after the terrific eruption 
 of Vesuvius, in 1794 — w^hich swept away vilkiges, and flocks, and 
 palaces, and vineyards — the olive trees that grew at the base of 
 the mountain were found, amidst the wilderness of ashes, fresh, 
 and green, and vigorous. 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. IQl 
 
 Thus, after the visitation which, through the whole bleak win- 
 ter, swept across this island, strewing those fields with thousands 
 of our people, where a precious harvest, a few weeks before, waved 
 and glittered like a golden banner — spreading desolation from the 
 hills of Innishowen to the shore of Bantry, ghastlier than that 
 with which the swarthy Scythian, rushing from the black 
 waters of the Danube, scourged the plains of Lombardy — 
 ghastlier than that through which the fiery Schismatic of Arabia, 
 propagating his dazzling and voluptuous gospel, burned his way 
 from the valley of Zeder to the gates of Mecca — ghastlier than 
 that which the Venetian renegade gazed upon by Lepanto's gulf, 
 when -he watched 
 
 " the lean dog;s beneath the wall 
 
 Hold o'er the dead their carnival." — 
 
 thus, after this tremendous visitation, which men had said would 
 sink this country for ever in despair, the fine old spirit is found 
 still living in the land — pure, active, brilliant — brighter from the 
 torture through which it passed — stronger from the calamity 
 with which it struggled. 
 
 Thus, Sir, we find that the heart of Ireland is proof against the 
 worst. 
 
 But for a struggle like this — a struggle that must of necessity 
 continue for some time before it terminates in triumph — something 
 else is requisite. 
 
 "Whilst the heart is brave, I would have the mind enlio-htened. 
 I would combine intellect with enthusiasm, and have the people 
 subordinate their energies to the sustainment of a strong con- 
 viction. Repeal should cease to be a vague shout; it should 
 become a deliberate study. Enthusiasm may drive a people 
 through the squadrons of the tyrant, and impel them up those 
 steeps from which, with flushed and crimsoned arms, they may 
 fling out the rescued flag of freedom; but a strong convic- 
 
1G8 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 tion of its necessity, can alone sustain the people through this 
 struggle, reconciling them to, the time it will take, the efforts it 
 will require, the sacrifices it may exact. 
 
 Besides, Sir, the effect of this opinion upon the government of 
 England will depend, to a very great extent, upon the estimate 
 which they are taught to form of its strength and tendency. 
 
 If they see that it has no depth, no intensity, no positive 
 purpose, no distinct direction, they will laugh at your Repeal 
 pledges, your public meetings, your Confederate clubs, and lecture 
 you upon the propriety of being practical. 
 
 Convince them to the contrary, however — convince them, as 
 the anti-Corn Law league convinced them, that you thoroughly 
 understand the question of which you demand the settlement — 
 that you are well instructed in the wants, the grievances, the 
 capabilities of your country — that you know by heart the 
 history of their fatal legislation — ihat you are determined, 
 with your whole mind, your whole soul, to put an end to 
 that legislation — determined to tolerate it no longer — deter- 
 mined to shape out a new career for your country, without the 
 assistance of their relief-inspectors, their Reform cooks; their 
 soup kitchens, their ten million loans — determined to begin 
 a new life — to set up in the world once more and do for your- 
 selves — convince them that this is your intelligent and inflexible 
 determination, and, depend upon it, a time will come when a wise 
 minister, backed by the high authority of parliament, will be found 
 to declare that, to stay a revolution, to save the empire, the Union 
 must be repealed. 
 
 Then the question comes, how will the government ascertain 
 this opinion — its nature and extent ? 
 
 By a Commission, empowered like the Devon Commission, to dr>ve 
 from town to town — to examine Repealers in Molyneux's Case of 
 Ireland, the Mihtary Memoirs, and Kane's Industrial Resources, and 
 then, at the end of each quarter, to report progress ? By an invita- 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. 169 
 
 tion to the Secretary for Foreign Affairs to steam up tlie pleasant 
 waters of the river Lee — as the Lords of the Admiralty did the 
 other day — to inspect the Desmond Club — to lunch with the 
 President — to dine with the Treasurer — and take tea with the 
 Secretary ? Is that the mode in which I suggest that the Repeal 
 opinion of the country should be ascertained ? 
 
 JSTo, sir, let the country speak out as it did in 1782. Let the 
 Grand Juries, the Orange Lodges, the Corporations speak out, as 
 they did in 1*782. And, sir, if the people cannot declare for inde- 
 pendence, as they did declare in 1782, drawn up in battalions, 
 80,000 strong, officered by the nobles and the gentry of the land, 
 and flanked by 400 cannon — let them declare for independence 
 through their representatives, on the floor of the English Com- 
 mons, in the presence of the minister, and in the hearing of the 
 throne. 
 
 The opinion of L'eland thus announced, what pensioned recu- 
 sant, dazzled with the treasures of the Mint, would satirize the 
 cause of freedom as " a splendid phantom ?" The opinion of 
 Ireland thus announced, what daring orator, amid the huzzas of 
 the Imperial Commons, would then decree that the sword should 
 enforce what gold and ignorance would no longer perpetuate ? 
 
 To create in this city a sound, a vigorous, an independent 
 opinion in favor of legislative freedom — to propagate that opinion 
 through all classes of the community — to impregnate your local 
 institutions with it, and make them the practical exponents of it — 
 that so it may acquire authority, and be uttered witli eftect — this 
 is the task to which we summon you to devote your energies. 
 
 Disseminate that opinion through the country — let it sink deep 
 into the public mind — and, in time, the representatives of the 
 people will be men calculated to command respect — competent to 
 enforce the national claim. 
 
 If the constituencies be honest, the representatives will be 
 honest. If the constituencies be informed, the representatives will 
 
 8 
 
170 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 not be dolts. If tlie constituencies be virtuous, tlie representatives 
 will not be place-beggars. 
 
 Upon this point, sir, I beg leave to say that any movement for 
 independence will be perfectly useless — contemptuously aud ruin- 
 ously absurd — unless the people, to a man, pronounce against the 
 acceptance or solicitation of place or pension from the English 
 governments. 
 
 You, the citizens of Cork, have protested against this system ; 
 and when the other constituencies of Ireland shall have protested 
 against it with the same firmness as you. have done, the English 
 2)ower, within this island, must quail and stagger, for corruption 
 shall have ceased. 
 
 After all, the main question comes, will the gentry of Ireland con- 
 sent to confiscation to maintain the Union ? I do not believe so. I 
 do not believe that they are so utterly bereft of the instincts of 
 our common nature. I believe they will, without much further 
 delay, put themselves at the head of the people. I, am confident 
 the people will follow them ; and, between them both, they* will 
 keep the country, they are now called upon to give up. 
 
 What restrains them ? 
 
 It is said that a dread of Catholic ascendancy— the persecution, 
 the disfranchisement of Protestantism — deters them. It is a false 
 fear, sir. 
 
 How this ascendancy could be eff'ected — by what process — by 
 what penal institution in the state this ascendancy could be 
 efiected — I have never yet been able to ascertain. 
 
 But, supposing that it should take the form of a j)enal code — 
 statutes of disabilities, acts prohibitory of education, civic privi- 
 leges, the possession of property — supposing that it was much 
 worse — that it grew into an Inquisition, and menaced us with the 
 tragedies of Smithfield — would there be no virtuous heroism 
 to arm against it, and drive it, maimed and cowering, from the 
 island ? 
 
DECLARATION OF RIGHTS RESURRECTION OF ITALY. l7l 
 
 Are not the gentry of Ireland by this time convinced, that 
 a spirit has sprung up amongst the young CathoKcs of Ireland, 
 which, tolerating all things else, will tolerate no sectarianism ? 
 Do not the gentry of Ireland recognise amongst the young 
 Catholics of this country a spirit that will bend to no clerical 
 authority beyond the sanctuary — a spirit that spurns the texts and 
 sermons of the bigot — a spirit that would preserve the altar from 
 the profanation of politics, as it would protect politics from the 
 influence of the altar ? 
 
 Ah ! is there nothing, at this day, at this very hour, to stir the blood 
 within you ? Do you not hear it ? Does it not ring through the 
 soul, and quiver through the brain ? Beyond the Alps a trumpet 
 calls the dead nations of Europe from their shrouds ! 
 
 Italy ! at whose tombs the poets of the Christian world have 
 knelt and received their inspiration — Italy ! amid the ruins of whose 
 forum the orators of the world have learned to sway the souls of 
 men, and guide them, like the coursers of the sun, through all 
 climes and seasons, changing darkness into light, and giving heat 
 to the coldest clay — Italy ! from whose radiant skies the sculptor 
 draws down the fire that quickens the marble into life, and bids it 
 take those wondrous forms, which shall perish only when the stars 
 change into drops of blood, and fall to earth — Italy ! where 
 religion, claiming the noblest genius as her handmaid, has reared 
 the loftiest temples to the Divinity, and with a pomp, which in the 
 palaces of the Caesars never shone, attracts the proudest children 
 of the earth to the ceremonies of her immortal faith — Italy ! — the 
 beautiful, the brilliant, and the gifted — -Italy ! Italy is in arms ! 
 
 Down for centuries, amid the dust of heroes wasting silently 
 away, she has started from her swoon, for the vestal fire could not 
 be extinguished. Austria — old, decrepid, haggard thief — clotted 
 with the costly blood of Poland — trembles as she sheathes her 
 sword, and plays the penitent within Ferrara's walls. 
 
 Glory ! Glory ! to the citizens of Rome, patricians and plebeians, 
 
172 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 who think that liberty is worth a drop of blood, and will not stint 
 the treasure to befriend in other lands a sluggish, false morality ! 
 
 Glory ! Glory ! to the maids and matrons of Rome — descendants 
 of Cornelia — inheritors of the pride and lovehness of Nina di Rasseli 
 — who, working scarfs of gold and purple for the keenest marks- 
 men, bid the chivalry of their houses go forth and bring the 
 vulture, shadowing their sunny skies, reeking to the earth ! 
 
 Glory ! Glory ! to the High Priest, who, within the circle of the 
 Seven Hills — whose summits glitter with ten thousand virgin 
 bayonets — plants the banner of the Cross, and, in that sign, com- 
 mands the civic guard to strike and conquer ! 
 
 And what can Ireland do, to aid this brilliant nation iu her 
 struo-o-le? In rags, in hunger, and in sickness — sitting, like a 
 widowed queen, amid the shadows of her pillar towers and the 
 grey altars of a forgotten creed— with two millions of her sons 
 and daughters lying slain and shroudless at her feet — what can 
 this poor island do ? 
 
 Weak, sorrowful, treasureless as she is, I believe there are still 
 a few rich drops within her heart that she can spare. 
 
 Perish the law that forbids her to give more ! Perish the law 
 that, having drained her of her wealth, forbids her to be the 
 boldest spirit in the fight ! Perish the law which, in the language 
 of our young apostle — " our prophet and our guide" — compels 
 her sons to perish in a climate soft as a mother's smile — fruitful as 
 God's love ! Perish the law which, in the language of one whose 
 genius I admire, but whose apostasy I shall never imitate, 
 "converts the island, which ought to be the most fortunate in the 
 world, into a receptacle of suffering and degradation — counteract- 
 ing the magnificent arrangement of Providence — frustrating the 
 beneficent designs of God." 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH— EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 
 
 Music Hall ^ Belfast, 19th November, 1847. 
 
 [A deputation from the Confederation arrived in Belfast, for tlie purpose 
 of explaining the yiews of that body to the inhabitants generally of the 
 town. A meeting was convened at the Music Hall. For a considerable time, 
 until the police appeared with fixed bayonets, the utmost confusion and 
 violence prevailed. After several efforts, however, it was finally suppressed, 
 and the members of the deputation were enabled to state the principles 
 and policy of the Confederation. The opposition proceeded from the 
 adherents of Mr. O'Connell.] 
 
 Citizens of Belfast, I appear before you in favor of those princi- 
 ples, with the resolute assertion of which the proudest reminiscences 
 of Ulster have been identified. I appear before you as the disciple 
 of that creed which, a few years since, was preached from the 
 pulpit of Dnngannon Church, and which the armed apostles that 
 issued from it delivered to the nation. 
 
 If I am wrong, blame your fathers — blot their names from the 
 records of the North — burn their banners, on which " free trade " 
 was written — brand their arms, which saved the nation and 
 restored the senate. Blame them — they have taught me the 
 principles you impeach as treason. Blame them — they have 
 taught me the creed you anathematize as heresy. Blame them — 
 they have taught me to love the frank, bold vice of freedom — to 
 shun .the lazy sanctity of servitude. 
 
 The sentiments they cherished, I would labor to diffuse. The 
 attitude they assumed, I would have their sons assume. The 
 position to which they raised this kingdom, I would urge this 
 
174 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 kingdom to regain. Therefore, I demand tlie Repeal of the Act 
 of the Union ; and that this act may be repealed, I invoke the 
 spirit of the IS'orth. 
 
 'Not for vote by ballot — not for an extension of the franchise — • 
 not for corporate reform amendment acts — not for eleven compre- 
 hensive measures — do I demand Repeal. These are not the 
 grounds upon which an Irish citizen should claim for his country 
 the restitution of her legislative power. The grievances of a class, 
 the defects of an institution, may be, in time, removed by that 
 parhament, the legislation of which has, for so long a period, been 
 conservative of error and abuse. Political reform is a question 
 common to both countries ; and you must bear this in mind, that 
 many politicians in England believe, that an assimilation of the 
 franchises and various Dolitical institutions of the two countries, 
 will confirm, rather than disturb, the control which England 
 maintains at present over the taxes, the produce, and the energies 
 of Ireland. 
 
 On higher grounds — on grounds that are immutable — on 
 grounds that are common to all j^arties in the state — I take my 
 stand, and beckon the nation to a new career. 
 
 That the taxes of this island may be levied and applied, by its 
 own decrees, for its own particular use and benefit ; that the 
 produce of the soil may be at our own free and full disposal, and 
 be dealt with precisely as the national necessities require ; that the 
 commerce of the island, protected by native laws, may spring into 
 a strenuous activity, and cease to be a mere channel trade ; that 
 the manufactures of our towns, encouraged by the premiums 
 which a native parliament would not hesitate to grant, may revive, 
 and, with a generous supply, meet the demand which a resident 
 gentry, and all the public offices connected w^ith the seat of 
 legislation, would be sure to create ; that, in fact, the whole 
 property of this island — the food that sustains — the skill that 
 clothes — the enterprise that enriches — the genius that adorns — 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH — EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 1 < 5 
 
 may belong, permanently and absolutely, to itself, and cease to be 
 the property of any other people ; on these grounds, Sir, we insist 
 that Ireland shall be exempt from foreign rule. 
 
 Against this project, what objection have you to urge ? Is it 
 tainted with sectarianism ? Is it distempered with Whiggery ? 
 Does it predict the fall of Protestantism ? Does it threaten the 
 rights of property ? 
 
 I know that many of you are the enemies of Repeal. I know 
 full well, that, in the North, Repeal has been identified with 
 Popery, whilst the Union has been identified with Protestantism. 
 I know full well, that, on this side of the Boyne, it has been 
 declared antagonistic to Orangeism, and that, with the principles 
 of 1688, a legislative disconnexion from England has been judged 
 incompatible. 
 
 Your fathers did not say so. On the first of July, IVZO, the 
 Volunteer companies of Belfast held a diflferent opinion. On that 
 day, the' Orange cockades were glittering in their hats, and the 
 same guns that backed the declaration of Irish rights, poured 
 forth their volleys in commemoration of the great victory you still 
 so vehemently celebrate. Why have you forsworn the faith, of 
 which your fathers were the intrepid missionaries ? 
 
 I will not urge this question deceitfully. You are frank, blunt 
 men in Ulster, and speak your opinions boldly. You like to hear 
 the plain truth, and you shall have it. 
 
 That there have been circumstances, connected with the Repeal 
 movement, which justify in great measure your hostility to Repeal, 
 I candidly admit. Until very lately, the movement has worn the 
 features of the Catholic movement of 1827. Exclusion of Catho- 
 lics from the jury-box — exclusion of CathoHcs from government 
 offices — Infidel Colleges — Propaganda rescripts — Bequest acts — 
 Maynooth grants — questions which could not be discussed without 
 provoking sectarian strife, and which could not be decided without 
 originating factions — these, and similar questions, were frequently 
 
176 ENGLISH LEGISLATION, 
 
 introduced at Repeal meetings, giving to them the complexion of 
 the meetings that i^receded the Act of 1829. Instead of keeping 
 to the one plain cjuestion — the question upon which, in 1*782, the 
 advocate of Catholic claims and the advocate of Catholic disabili- 
 ties concurred — the question upon which, in 1799, the Catholic 
 Committee and the Orange Lodge pronounced the same opinion — 
 instead of keeping to this one plain question, the leaders of the 
 movement constantly diverged into those topics, upon which, as 
 I have just said, division was inevitable, and from the discussion 
 of which, in a poj)ular assembly, I conceive, the fiercest antipathies 
 must arise. 
 
 Besides, Sir, it seems to me, that a predominance in the move- 
 ment was conceded to the Catholic priests, which the Protestant 
 portion of the community could not recognise, and which, I main- 
 tain, it would be an abdication of their civil liberty for Protestants 
 to tolerate. 
 
 " The Priests and the People " — that was the motto of the 
 Repeal Association. 
 
 • " The Citizens of Ireland " — this is the motto of the Irish Con- 
 federation. And by this we mean, the peer, the priest, the 
 merchant, the peasant, the mechanic — every class, trade, creed, race, 
 profession — all the elements that move and act within this island — - 
 sustaining its existence, and directing its career. 
 
 Will you adopt that motto ? 
 
 But, first of all, tell me, do you believe the Union is essential to 
 Irish interests ? Do you believe that we cannot get on through 
 life, unless we are bound by an act of parliament to England ? 
 Do you believe that we have been gifted with no inherent strength, 
 and that, without the help of a neighboring state, we must limp 
 and stagger through the world ? Is that your faith ? If it .be, 
 whence comes it ? Is it the result of inspiration, or the result of 
 teachinof ? 
 
 Inspiration ! What — the secret tutorship of God ! What — 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 177 
 
 the instruction wliich the soul receives amid the mj'steries of 
 nature — which comes to it, borne upon the black pinion of the 
 wave, and bids it go forth and bring a new world into contact 
 with the old — which comes to it along the burning pathways of 
 the stars, and bids it utter those mio-htv thouofhts which shall echo 
 through all ages — which comes to it, even at this day, across the 
 waste and desolation of the desert — wakes an outcast tribe into 
 brilliant heroism, and gives them strength and skill to cope with 
 the cross and sword of the Christian civilizer ! 
 
 Inspiration ! Utter not the word. No craven faith ever came 
 from thence. Taught from thence, you would spurn the menial's 
 garb, and snap the vassal's fetter. Taught from thence, you would 
 boldly dare, and nobly consummate. Taught from thence, you 
 would find no enterprise too perilous, no eminence too giddy, for 
 your ambition to attempt. Taught from thence, you would step 
 from height to height, bearing aloft your country's flag, until you 
 had reached the summit, from whence your voice would be heard, 
 and your glory witnessed, from the furthest confine of the earth ? 
 
 From false teaching your timid faith has come. Look to it, 
 and see if it be not false. 
 
 You cannot do without the aid of Eno-land — the Union Act is 
 your stoutest main-stay. This you have been taught to say. 
 And how is this sustained ? 
 
 Mr. Pitt assured you that the Union was essential to the local 
 interests of Ireland. In his speech, on the 31st of January, 1799, 
 he declared, that the measure " was designed and calculated to 
 increase the prosperity, and insure the safety of Ireland." He 
 declared, moreover, that he wished for it " with a view of giving 
 to Ireland the means of improving all its great national resources, 
 and of giving to it its due weight and importance, as a great 
 member of the empire." 
 
 The landlord swamped — the tradesman bankrupt — the former 
 
 in the poorhouse — are these the evidences of increased prosperity ? 
 
 8* 
 
178 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 And tell me, is it by the scourge of famine tliat the safety of 
 Ireland has been ensured ? 
 
 I do not enter into the details of ruin which the history of the 
 Union contains. Were I to do so, I should have to detain you 
 for many hours. Besides, it is an inquiry that can be more 
 instructively pursued in private than in public. The Council of 
 the Confederation will take care to have pamphlets and tracts dis- 
 tributed throughout the country, in which these details will be 
 fully given ; for we desire, that from a conviction of its necessity, 
 and from that alone, you should unite with us in the demand for 
 self-government. / 
 
 An intelligent concurrence of opinion is the only sure basis for 
 a firm political combination. The accession to a political society 
 of men who do not understand its object — who have not been 
 convinced of the utility of that object, and the practicability of its 
 attainment — such an accession, to my mind, is utterly worthless. 
 
 Hence, I say, that the meetings of 1843 failed to promote Repeal. 
 There was no mind at work within those gigantic masses. There 
 was faith, trust, heroism. But that which outlives the tumult of a 
 meeting — that which dies not with the passion the orator has 
 evoked — that which survives, though the arm may shrivel and the 
 heart grow cold — a free, intelligent opinion — was wanting. 
 
 What, then, do we propose ? 
 
 Nothing more than this — that the question of Repeal should be 
 honestly considered by the country, and that if the result of this 
 consideration be a conviction of its necessity, the country should 
 demand Repeal as the condition of its allegiance. 
 
 That the country will be in time, and in a very short time, con- 
 vinced of the necessity of Repeal, I entertain no doubt. That it 
 is already the growing conviction of many minds, hitherto opposed 
 most decisively to the measure, I firmly believe. 
 
 What is the meaning of the Irish Council, sitting in the Rotunda, 
 if it be not this — that the affairs of Ireland having been mis- 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 1*79 
 
 managed by the parliament of England, tlie citizens of Ireland 
 liave been, at lengtli, compelled to assemble, as an Irisli parlia- 
 ment would do, to overlook those affairs, and advise upon them ? 
 
 In that Council many of our best citizens deliberate. What do 
 they report? That the Union must be repealed ? No ; but that 
 the Union has been an experiment, of which the utter prostration 
 of the national interests attests the terrible fatality. Do you refuse 
 to authenticate this report ? 
 
 Doctor Boyton must be esteemed an authority in the North. 
 He was a zealous opponent of Catholic claims, and a powerful 
 champion of ultra-Conservatism. In 1835, there was a great 
 Protestant meeting at Morrisson's Hotel, Dublin, and at\hat meet- 
 ing. Doctor Boyton delivered an anti-Union speech, from which I 
 will read to vou the following extract : — 
 
 " The exports and imports, as far as they are a test of a decay 
 of profitable occupation — so far as the exports and imports are 
 supplied from the parliamentary returns — exhibit extraordinary 
 evidences of the condition of the laboring classes. The importa- 
 tion of flaxseed, an evidence of the extent of a most important 
 source of employment, was — In 1790, 339,V45 barrels; 1800, 
 3 2 7, 7 21 barrels; 1836, 460,458 barrels. The importation of silk, 
 raw and thpown, w^as— In 1790, 92,091 lbs.; 1800, 79,060 lbs. ; 
 1830, 3,190 lbs. Of unwrought iron— In 1790, 2,271 tons; in 
 1800, 10,241 tons; in 1830, 871 tons. Formerly we spun all 
 our own woollen and worsted yarn. We imported in 1790, only 
 2,294 lbs. ; in IBOO, 1,880 lbs.; in 1826, 662,750 lbs.— an enor- 
 mous increase. There were, I understand, upwards of thirty per- 
 sons eno^ao'ed in the woollen trade in Dublin, who have become 
 bankrupts since 1821. There has been, doubtless, an increase in 
 the exports of cottons. The exports were — in 1800, 9,147 yards; 
 1826, 7,793,873. The exports of cotton from Gre«it Britain were 
 —In 1829, 402,517,196 yards, value £12,516,247, which will 
 give the value of our cotton exports at something less than a quar- 
 ter of a milKon — poor substitute for our linens, which the province 
 
180 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 of Ulster alone exceeded in value two millions two hundred thou- 
 sand pounds. In fact, every other return affords unequivocal proof 
 that the main sources of occupation are decisively cut ofl' from the 
 main body of the population of this country. The export of live 
 cattle and of corn has gTeatly increased, but these are raw mate- 
 rial; there is little more labor in the production of an ox than the 
 occupation of him who herds and houses him ; his value is the 
 rent of the land, the price of the grass that feeds him,' while an 
 equal value of cotton, or linen, or pottery, will require for its pro- 
 duction the labor of many people for money. Thus the exports 
 of the country now are somewhat under the value of the exports 
 thirty years since, but they employ nothing like the number of 
 people for their production ; employment is immensely reduced — 
 population increased three-eighths. Thus, in this transition from 
 the state of a manufacturing population to an agricultural, a mass 
 of misery, poverty, and discontent is created." 
 
 Thus have Mr. Pitt's predictions been verified ; thus has the pros- 
 perity of Ireland increased ; thus have its local interests been pro- 
 tected ; and thus its due weight and importance, as a great mem- 
 ber of the empire, has been established ! 
 
 Mr. Staunton, in his able essay — an essay which, for its statis- 
 tical information, I know would be highly prized in the North 
 — has quoted an opinion of the late O'Connor Don, in which the 
 weight and importance of Ireland, as a great member of the 
 empire, is very respectfully set forth. The opinion is simply this — 
 that " any five British merchants waiting upon the minister, to urge 
 on his -attention any public subject, would have more weight than 
 the whole body of Irish representatives." 
 
 In this opinion is it erroneous to coincide ? Do you really 
 believe that Ireland is a great member of the British empire ? 
 
 You might as v/ell say that the boy Jones was a great member 
 of the Royal family. He had no right to the privy purse, and you 
 have no claim to the Imperial exchequer. So you may boast of 
 your English connection, but you'll get nothing by it. 
 
SPIRIT or THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 181 
 
 Get notliing by it! No ; but depend upon it, you will lose every- 
 thing you have to lose. See what you have lost already. 
 
 You have lost your manufactures. You have lost your foreign 
 trade. You have lost several public institutions. The Board of 
 Customs has been transferred to London. So have the Revenue 
 and Excise Boards. The Board of Ordnance, within the last few 
 weeks, has been ordered off. And is it not the fashionable news 
 of the day, that Lord Clarendon will be the last of the English 
 Proconsuls, and that the Castle will be given up to the Board of 
 Works, of whose genius for mischief, there have been deposited, 
 upon every road in the country, the most embarrassing expositions ? 
 
 Depend upon this — the English people love old England, and, to 
 make her rich and powerful, they will exact from you every treasure 
 you possess, and then commit you, most piously, to Providence and 
 your own resources. Like proper men of business, they mind their 
 own affairs, and will not intrust them to the Diet of Hungary, or 
 the French Chamber of Deputies. And, in doing so, of course, 
 they will pay very little attention to the affairs of Ireland, or any 
 other despicable province. 
 
 Thus it is, that the grant in aid of your linen manufacture has 
 been withdrawn. Thus it is, that the grant in aid of the deep sea 
 fisheries has been withdrawn. Thus it is, that the protective duties 
 have been repealed, in spite of the remonstrance of the principal 
 manufacturers of Ireland. Thus it is, that for the reclamation of 
 your five million acres of waste land, they have refused to vote an 
 adequate advance. Thus it is, as Mr. Grey Porter has stated, in 
 the first pamphlet which he published, that, since the Union Act 
 came into operation, only fifteen local acts have passed for Ireland, 
 whilst four hundred and forty-five local acts have passed for Great 
 Britain. 
 
 I might proceed with these facts, if you did not interrupt me 
 with the exclamation — " look to Belfast, if you please — we have 
 thriven here in spite of England — the industry of the people can 
 
182 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 thwart tlie injustice of the parliament — cease your spouting — go 
 to work — leave the old parliament house with the bankers — the 
 cashier's office is just as good as a Treasury bench — build the fac- 
 tory — build the warehouse — learn this, that industry is true patriot- 
 ism, and that for a nation to be prosperous it must cease to be 
 indolent." 
 
 ]^ow. Sir, this is excellent advice, and I congratulate Belfast 
 upon its miraculous exemption from the ruin in which every other 
 town in Ireland has been imbedded. Your fate has been as singfu- 
 lar as that of Robinson Crusoe ; and your ingenuity, in making 
 the most of a desert island, has been no less remarkable. 
 
 But, in ascribing the indigence of the country to the indolence 
 with which you charge it, how do you explain this fact, that, pre- 
 vious to the enactment of the Union, in thousands of factories now 
 closed up, there were so many evidences of an industrious dispo- 
 sition ? '- " 
 
 I cannot run through them all — but take one or two. 
 
 Dublin, with its ninety-one master manufacturers in the woollen 
 trade, employing 4, 9"3 8 hands; Cork, with its forty-one employ- 
 ers in the same trade, giving employment to 2,500 hands ; Ban- 
 don, your old southern ally, with its camlet trade, producing 
 upwards of £100,000 a-year; were these no proofs of an active 
 spirit, seeking, in the rugged paths of labor, for that gold out of 
 which a nation weaves its purple robe, and moulds its sceptre ? 
 
 I cite those towns — I could cite a hundred other towns — Lime- 
 rick, Eoscrea, Carrick-on-Suir, Kilkenny — I cite them against the 
 Union. You cite Belfast, and because Belfast has prospered, the 
 Union must be maintained. Is that your argument ? 
 
 I do not deny, that whilst Belfast has been industrious, the 
 other places I have mentioned have been inert. But how does 
 this admission serve the Unionist ? He admits the existence of an 
 industrious energy, prevailing all through the country, previous to 
 the Union. In the English Commons, it was asserted by Mr. 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 183 
 
 Sheridan, Mr. Burclett, and, I believe, also Mr. Tierney. Mr. Pitt 
 himself bore testimony to it, but said there was room for improve- 
 ment. What then ? The indolence of the country dates from the 
 passing of the Union ; and the fact is indisf)utable, that whilst the 
 Union has grown old, the country has grown decrepid. How 
 could it be otherwise ? 
 
 In the history of all nations, you will find that, with the decline 
 of freedom, the decay of virtue has been contemporaneous. Re- 
 strict the powers — restrict the functions of a nation — and you check 
 the passions that prompt it to what is noble. The nation that 
 does not possess the power to shape its own course, will have no 
 heart, no courage, no ambition. Like the soul in which a sense 
 of immortality has been suppressed, it will not look beyond to-day 
 — it will do nothing for the morrow. All its acts will be little, 
 and, for the future, it will have no generous aspiration, and, there- 
 fore, no heroic efi'ort. 
 
 Argue as you please, the plain fact is this — a nation will be 
 indolent, sluggish, slothful, unless it has a security for its outlay, 
 and this security exists solely in the power to protect, by laws and 
 arms, the riches which its industry may accumulate. 
 
 Do you dispute the fact ? Have you no faith in freedom ? 
 
 If so, let the Northern Whig supplant the gospel of Dungan- 
 non. Go into the churchyard — write " fool" upon every tombstone 
 that commemorates a Volunteer — and thank your God that you 
 live in an age of common sense, Whig philosophy, and starvation. 
 
 Ay, write the sarcasm upon the tombstone of the Volunteer, 
 It may be sacrilege — but it is common sense. The citizen soldier 
 of 1782 was a fool! 
 
 He did not sign petitions for out-door relief, but labelled his 
 gun with " free trade." He did not drive to the Castle to beg 
 "justice for Ireland," but drew his sword in College-green under 
 the statue of King William, took the oath of independence, and 
 compelled the Castle to do homage to the Senate. He insisted 
 
184 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 upon a final settlement between tlie two countries— declared tliat 
 Ireland should not be an integral portion of a monopolizing empire 
 — declared that Ireland should be an independent sovereignty — 
 and, until that settlement was concluded, he " put his trust in 
 God, and kept his powder dry." 
 
 I am much mistaken if you do not ambition to imitate this 
 " fool." I believe that you desire to have this country occupy an 
 honorable position, and that, of its abilities to be great, you have 
 formed no mean conception. 
 
 But as I have already said, you dread Repeal, which means the 
 restoration of the Constitution of 1782, and you chng to the Union, 
 which is an abdication of that Constitution — an abdication by 
 the country of all control over her resources, her revenue, her 
 existence. 
 
 The Union Act, you say, is the great charter of Irish Protestant- 
 ism. But has that charter been held inviolate? Have those 
 ancient privileges been preserved, which, a few years since, gave 
 to Irish Protestantism an authority so supreme ? 
 
 The corporations — once the citadels of the Williamites — have 
 been surrendered to the Radicals ; and though, as yet, the civic 
 chain has never shone as a trophy upon the altar of the Catholic, 
 how often, let me ask you, does it glitter in the Protestant pew, 
 for which its brilliancy has been so fastidiously reserved ? 
 
 The Castle, too, has slipped from your hands. The sleek 
 Catholic slave is a greater favorite in that quarter now-a-days, 
 than an alderman of Skinner's-alley. The Orange flag is desig- 
 nated by a Conservative minister the symbol of vagabondism — 
 your processions are prohibited — and, when you declaim against 
 the spread of Popery, and pray for the repeal of the Emancipation 
 Act, they knock ten mitres of the Established Church into " king- 
 dom come," and vote £20,000 a-year to Maynooth. 
 
 What say you now to the great charter of Protestant suprema- 
 cy ? What said Dr. Mamisell, in the Dublin Corporation, in 1844, 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 185 
 
 when his motion in favor of rotatory parliaments was under discus- 
 sion ? Speaking upon this very subject, he asked the following 
 question : — 
 
 " What is now the position, and what may be the reasonable 
 expectations of Irish Protestants ? Two institutions — and two 
 only — in which they have a special interest, have been suffered to 
 remain — the University and the Church. Now I ask any reflect- 
 ^ing man will he engage that the Protestant University will not, 
 within a year, be thrown as a sop to the monster of agitation ? 
 On this matter, the handwriting of the Premier has but recently 
 appeared upon the wall. The question is no longer a mooted one : 
 •the days of the University of Dublin, as an exclusively or special 
 Protestant institution, are numbered ; and I will again ask, when 
 the University shall have been sacrificed, how long do Irish Pro- 
 testants suppose their Church, as a national Establishment, will 
 survive ? Surely, if the history of the last fifteen years be remem- 
 bered, no one, not the most sanguine truster in statesmen, can in 
 his sober moments fail to see that this Establishment is already 
 doomed — that the purses of the great English proprietors of Irish 
 soil gape for the remnant of the patrimony of the Church, to the 
 appropriation of which they have" already made a first step, by 
 converting it from an actual property in the land to a stipendiary 
 rent-charge ? No ; let no one hope that a minister whose mind 
 is trained in manoeuvres for tiding over political shoals will hesi- 
 tate to slip these the two only remaining anchors of Irish Protes- 
 tantism, as a national Establishment, if doing so will enable -him 
 to escape oflicial wreck, even if it were but for a session." 
 
 Such were the prospects of Protestantism in 1844; and, since 
 then, have those prospects been improved ? 
 
 Alderman Butt is an authority upon this subject, and wherever 
 integrity is prized, his opinion must have weight. At the second 
 meeting of the Irish Council he delivered a most powerful speech 
 upon the condition of Ireland, and in alluding to that establish- 
 ment, of which he has been for so many years the gifted cham- 
 pion, he made the following remarks : — 
 
186 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 " Take any of those interests for wliicli party has contended. 
 Where will they be when the country is gone ? Let us tahe the 
 question of the church establishment — a question, perhaps, which 
 has excited much of angry discussion. I am one of those who 
 thouo'ht — I still think — that the Protestant establishment of Ire- 
 land ought to be maintained. I see gentlemeij in this room who 
 have differed with me honestly and sincerely, I am sure, upon this 
 question. We have contended about this, and what is the result ? 
 The question will be settled without the decision of our disputes. 
 The poor-rate has swallowed up the income of the clergy ; and in. 
 many districts the Protestant Church has suffered that which you, 
 its most determined opponents, never proposed. The present 
 incumbents will be left, by the operation of the present pauperism 
 of Ireland, without the means of actual support. Thus, while we 
 have been contending about the church, the church is sharing the 
 ruin of the country. Need I refer to other instances to prove that, 
 struggle as we will for party interests, no party interest can survive 
 our country ? There are gentlemen here who have been advocates 
 of the voluntary system — who have applauded that system, as car- 
 ried out in Ireland, in the support of the clergy of the Church of 
 Rome. I inquire not now into the reasonableness of your opi- 
 nions ; but are not these clergy now in many districts reduced to 
 actual destitution with the misery of their flocks ? What interest, 
 I ask again, for which party was intended, can outlive the ruins of 
 our native land ?" 
 
 This is the declaration of one of the most eminent of the Irish 
 Protestants. Is this declaration false, and do you still maintain 
 that the Union Act is your great charter ? Beggary, insult, the 
 sneers of English prelates, tithe reductions of twenty per cent. — are 
 these your ancient j)rivileges ? 
 
 If so, stand to the Union, and kiss the hand that has given you 
 gall and wormwood to drink ! If so, stand to the Union, and be 
 the history of Irish Protestantism henceforth the history of debase- 
 ment ! If so, stand to the Union, and let the spires of your 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 187 
 
 cliurches mark tlie way by whicli slaves may crawl, like bruised 
 and bleeding worms, to the grave ! 
 
 In the summer of 1845 there was a purer blood rushing through, 
 your veins ; and, from the hills of the South, there were eyes that 
 strained and glistened — day after day, from the rising to the setting 
 of the sun — as they looked towards that river, into which your fore- 
 fathers knocked the crown of a craven king, for there a splendid 
 spectacle had been predicted. 
 
 Do you forget the prediction ? Do you forget the menace which 
 the Evening Mail flung in the face of England, when her Prime 
 Minister was warned that " a hundred thousand Orangemen, with 
 their colors flying, might yet meet a hundred thousand Repealers 
 on the banks of the Boyne, and, on a field presenting so many 
 solemn reminiscences to all, sign the Magna Charta of Ireland's 
 independence ?" Why has that rapturous menace been with- 
 drawn ? 
 
 Repeal would deliver you into the hands of the priests — a penal 
 code would exclude the Protestant from the privileges of the citi- 
 zen — the Union has made him a beggar, but Repeal would make 
 him a slave. You might as well predict, that there will be a 
 Smithfield fire in College-green, and a Spanish Inquisition in the 
 House of Lords, where your victories of Aughrim and the Boyne 
 are worked in gorgeous tapestry upon the walls. 
 
 I say here, what I said, in Cork — and I am the more anxious to 
 repeat it, because it has been censured — I say, that there is a spirit 
 growing up, amongst the young Catholics of Ireland, which will 
 not bend to any clerical authority beyond the sanctuary — a spirit 
 which will not permit the priesthood of any rehgion to hold a 
 political power greater than that which any other. class of citizens 
 possess — a spirit which would raise the banner of revolt against 
 the pulpit, if the pulpit preached intolerance to the people — a spirit 
 which would level the altar to the dust, before the bigot had stained 
 it with the sacrifices of the scaftbld. 
 
188 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Catliolic ascendancy ! It is a gliost that frightens you, and, 
 whilst you stand trembhng before it, the Union, which is no ghost, 
 is playing the thief behind your back. The Unionist tells you not 
 to trust the Catholic, and, in your panic, you forget who robbed 
 you of the ten mitres and the corporations. 
 
 Away with the evil counsellor ! In Kome, the Jew and Chris- 
 tian have embraced. There is a creed which includes all other 
 creeds — a creed common to the synagogue, the cathedral, and the 
 mosque. The genius of the poor weaver of Belfast, whose lyrics 
 are the brightest treasures you possess, has announced it to you — 
 
 " And though ten thousand altars bear 
 On each for Heaven a different prayer, 
 By light of moon, or light of sun. 
 At Freedom's we must all be one." 
 
 This is the creed we profess. The place-beggar calls it " infi- 
 delity." The place-beggar — that figure with two faces — like the 
 Marquis of Rockingham, described by Grattan — one face turned 
 towards the Treasury, and the other presented to the people, and, 
 with a double tongue, speaking contradictory languages. 
 
 You disapprove of place-begging, I understand. And why not ? 
 This country can never be independent, whilst it is a recruiting 
 depot for the English Whigs, or any other English faction, that 
 frets and fights for salary behind the benches of St. Stephen's. 
 
 Orangemen of Ireland ! — stand to your colors — keep up your 
 anniversaries — but do not damn the Pope at the skirts of England. 
 Burn Guy Fawkes, but in the flames let not the writings of Moly- 
 neaux be consumed. 
 
 Radicals of Ireland ! — claim the ballot — claim household suffrage 
 — claim annual or triennial parliaments — but claim them from a 
 native parliament. Of the House of Russell scorn to be the sup- 
 pliants. Imitate, in this respect, that nation from whose corn-law 
 majorities, sugar bill majorities, coercion-bill majorities, we struggle 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 189 
 
 to emancipate ourselves.- Be antagonists in religion — be antago- 
 nists in the science of legislation — but combine for the common 
 right — combine for self-government. 
 
 Is this absurd ? Is this impracticable ? 
 
 Consult the oracles of Exeter Hall — consult the oracles of the 
 Catholic. Institute. High above them both flies the ensign of St. 
 George, and though the war of sects — the battle of the Bible — is 
 waged beneath, no hand is ever raised to tear it down, and fling it 
 to a foreio;n foe. Interrosrate the cotton lord of Manchester — inter- 
 rogate the corn monopolist of Newport Pagnell — and see if they 
 would not link their forces — artisans and farmers— if a camp, like 
 that of 1803, threatening an invasion, were descried from the clifls 
 of Dover. 
 
 A union of parties, then, in the name of national independence, 
 is not impracticable. But the acquisition of indeiDcndence is 
 impossible. 
 
 What — the public opinion of Ireland a feather in the scales of 
 the British Constitution ? Is that the conclusion you have come 
 to? Have you tried your weight at all? You have not, and 
 before you assert that you are not up to the mark, you are bound 
 to make the experiment. 
 
 In God's name, then, let the experiment be made ! 
 
 To raise this kingdom to the position of an independent state, 
 should be the ambition of all its citizens. Gifted, as she has been, 
 with fine capacities for power, it is a crime to tolerate the influence 
 by which those capacities are restrained. In the profusion of its 
 resources, the will of Heaven, that this land should be blessed with 
 affluence, has been nobly signified. Nor have the intimations of 
 that will been less distinctly traced iti the character of its people. 
 The generous passion, the vivid intellect, the rapturous faith, are 
 visible through all their vicissitudes, their errors, and their vices. 
 For a destination the most exalted, we behold, in every arrange- 
 ment, facilities the most adequate. 
 
190 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Sliall the dispensations of Providence be contravened, tlirougli 
 tlie timorous inactivity of man ? In a sluggish acquiescence to 
 the sword of conquest and the law of rapine, are we to witness the 
 profane rejection of that charter, which, through these dispensa- 
 tions, instructs us to be free, and empowers us to be great ? 
 
 A right noble philosophy has taught us, that God has divided 
 the world into those beautiful systems, called nations, each of 
 which, fulfilling its separate mission, becomes an essential benefit 
 to the rest. To this Divine arrangement will you alone refuse to 
 conform, surrendering the position, renouncing the responsibility, 
 ■which you have been assigned ? Other nations, with abilities far 
 less eminent than those which you possess, having great difiiculties 
 to encounter, have obeyed with heroism the commandment from 
 which you have swerved, maintaining that noble order of existence, 
 through which even the poorest state becomes an instructive 
 chapter in the great history of the world. 
 
 Shame upon you ! Switzerland — without a colony, without a 
 gun upon the seas, without a helping hand from any court in 
 Europe — has held, for centuries, her footing on the Alps — spite of 
 the avalanche, has bid her little territory sustain, in peace and 
 plenty, the children to whom she has given birth — has trained 
 those children up in the arts that contribute most to the security, 
 the joy, the dignity of life — has taught them to depend upon 
 themselves, and for their fortune to be thankful to no officious 
 stranger — and, though a blood-red cloud is breaking, even whilst 
 I speak, over one of her brightest lakes, whatever plague it may 
 portend, be assured of this — the cap of foreign despotism will never 
 gleam again in the market-place of Altorff"! 
 
 Shame upon you ! Norway — with her scanty population, scarce 
 a million strong — has kept her flag upon the Categat — has reared 
 a race of gallant sailors to guard her frozen soil — 3'ear after year, 
 has nursed upon that soil a harvest to which the Swede can lay 
 no claim — has saved her ancient laws, and, to the spirit of her 
 
SPIRIT OF THE NORTH EUROPEAN EXAMPLES. 191 
 
 frank and hardy sons, commits the freedom which she rescued 
 from the alHed swords, when they hacked her crown at Frederick- 
 stadt ! 
 
 Shame upon you ! Greece — " whom the Goth, nor Turk, nor 
 Time, hath spared not " — has flung the crescent from the Acropo- 
 hs — has crowned a king in Athens, whom she calls her own — has 
 taught you that a nation should never die — that not for an idle 
 pageant has the blood of heroes flowed — that not to vex a school- 
 boy's brain, nor smoulder in a heap of learned dust, has the fire 
 of heaven issued from the tribune's tongue ! 
 
 Shame upon you ! Holland — with the ocean as her foe — from 
 the swamp, in which you would have sunk your graves, has bid 
 the palace, and the warehouse, costlier than the palace, rear their 
 ponderous shapes above the waves that battle at their base — has 
 outstripped the merchant of the Rialto — has threatened England 
 in the Thames — has swept the channel with her broom — and 
 though, for a day, she reeled before the bayonets of Dumouriez, 
 she sprang to her feet again, and with the cry — " up, up with the 
 House of Orange !" — struck the Tri-color from her dykes ! 
 
 And you — you, who are eight millions strong — you, who boast 
 at every meeting, that this island is the finest which the sun looks 
 down upon — you, who have no threatening sea to stem, no 
 avalanche to dread — you, who say that you could shield along 
 your coast a thousand sail, and be the princes of a mighty com- 
 merce — you, who by the magic of an honest hand, beneath each 
 summer sky, might cull a plenteous harvest from your soil, and 
 with the sickle strike away the scythe of death — you, who have 
 no vulgar history to read — you, who can trace, from field to field, 
 the evidences of a civilization older than the conquest, the relics 
 of a religion more ancient than the gospel — you, who have thus 
 been blessed, thus been gifted, thus been prompted to what is 
 wise, and generous, and great — you will make no effort — you will 
 whine, and beg, and skulk, in sores and rags, upon this favored 
 
192 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 land — you will congregate in dro^Ysy councils, and, when tlie very 
 earth is loosening beneath your feet, respectfully suggest new 
 clauses and amendments to some blundering bill — you will strike the 
 poor-rate — ay, fifteen shillings in the pound ! — you will mortgage 
 the last acre of your estates — you will bid a prosperous voyage to 
 your last grain of corn — you will be beggared by the million — you 
 will perish by the thousand — and the finest island which the sun 
 looks down upon, amid the jeers and hootings of the world, will 
 blacken into a plague-spot, a wilderness, a sepulchre ! 
 
 God of Heaven ! shall these things come to pass ? What say 
 you, yeomen of the North ? Has the Red Hand withered ? 
 Shall the question be always^ asked at Ihnishowen — " has the time 
 come ?" — and shall no heroic voice reply — " it has, arise ?" 
 
 Swear it, that the time has come ! Swear it, that the rule of 
 England is unjust, illegal, and a grievance ! Swear it, that, hence- 
 forth, you shall have no lawgivers, save the Queen, the Lords, and 
 Commons of the kingdom ! Swear it, that, as you have been the 
 garrison of England for years, from this out you will be the 
 garrison of Ireland! Swear it, that the flag which floats next 
 summer from the battlements of Deny shall bear the inscription 
 of Dungannon ! Swear it, that you shall have another anniversary 
 to celebrate — that another obelisk shall cast its shadow on the 
 Boyne — that, hereafter, your children, descending to that river, 
 may say — " this is to the memory of our fathers ; they wei-e proud 
 of the victory which their grandsires won upon these banks, but 
 they ambitioned to achieve a victory of their own — their grand- 
 sires fought and conquered for a king — our fathers fought and 
 conquered for a nation — be their memories pious, glorious, and 
 immortal !" 
 
OPENING OF THE GRATTAN CLUB, DUBLIN. 
 Cluh-room, Cumberland st., Sd November^ 1847. 
 
 Gentlemen — You have been pleased to appoint me President of 
 your Club, and, in that capacity, I have now, for the first time, the 
 honor to address you. 
 
 I will not say that I am grateful for the distinction you have 
 conferred upon me. The phrase is almost worn out, and, I believe, 
 that with its true meaning it has long since lost its real value. A 
 faithful performance of the duties which the distinction imposes 
 will prove, much more effectually, the gratitude I feel. 
 
 Whatever be the issue, I shall, at least, endeavor to discharge 
 these duties well. An anxiety to promote the cause, to which you 
 have been so long devoted, will influence me no less strongly than 
 a desire to repay the kindness that has placed me in this very 
 honorable position. 
 
 That cause is useful, generous, and great. Prompted by those 
 passions, from which the noblest acts have sprung, we aspire to be 
 citizens of a free state, the prosperity of which shall be the result 
 of its inherent strength, awakened by a sense of freedom. Forced 
 from its natural position — driven back from the course in which it 
 was inspired to move — compelled to work within the narrow sphere 
 in which its energies have been cramped — crippled beneath the 
 weight of a formidable power, whose will it must obey, and for 
 whose service alone it seems privileged to exist — we ambition to 
 restore this island to its original destination. 
 
 To succeed, we require the truth, the ictelligence, the heroism of 
 the island. These are the elements from which proceeds the moral 
 
 9 
 
194 ENGLISH LEGISLATIOX. 
 
 power of a people. Linked togetlier by one great thought, tliey 
 constitute a force so pure, so sacred, so divine, that despotism 
 itself becomes its worshipper — shrinking from the decree that would 
 compel it to assume another shape — and drive it, stung and fren- 
 zied, throuo'h the currents of a crimson sea. 
 
 That the freedom of our country is worth the highest price 
 which we could give — that it is worth the blood we have been 
 taught to grudge — I do not hesitate to say. But, whilst we have 
 reason to believe that, without this sacrifice, the same object can 
 be attained, it would not be just to spurn these newer w^eapons, in 
 the power of which, by the wisest reformers of our day, we have 
 been instructed to confide. 
 
 The work, in which we are now engaged, appears to me a serious 
 experiment, the result of which will determine the precise charac- 
 ter of the P'overnment under which we live. Such beino- the nature 
 of the experiment, we are bound to conduct it with patience, indus- 
 try, and zeal, that we may not have to blame ourselves, if in the 
 perfect realization of our hopes it fails to terminate. 
 
 If you have faith in it, patience will not be wanting, l^^either 
 shall industry nor zeal be deficient. If you have no faith in it — 
 drop the experiment at once ! It will be an idle pastime, for which 
 a score or two of dupes will pay their gold, and, in the end, behold 
 a bubble. 
 
 Il^ow, I do not know how this experiment can be fairly tried, if 
 you do not carry out the system that has been laid down in the 
 report on Organization, adopted by the Council. I allude, of course, 
 to the system of the Clubs. 
 
 With what view do we propose the formation of these Clubs ? 
 Simply this, that we may originate, in Ireland, a public opinion in 
 favor of national independence. 
 
 Create that opinion — let that opinion act — the English province 
 dies — the Irish kingdom reappears ! Foreign laws, foreign insti- 
 tutions, may, for a time, survive. They cannot last. The soul has 
 
OPENING OF THE GRATTAN CLUB. 195 
 
 vanished. The opinion tliat sustained them here — of which they 
 were the evidences — of whicli they were the agents — has expired. 
 It has been succeeded by another, that demands native laws, native 
 institutions, through which to act. They must come. In no coun- 
 try will laws prevail, will institutions flourish, that conflict with the 
 opinion of the country. 
 
 The question then suggests itself — does such an opinion act in 
 Ireland ? Yes, my friends, it has begun to act. 
 
 A winter whose snow was purpled with a tide of fevered blood 
 — a spring whose flowers and blossoms were tainted with the 
 vapors of that tide — a summer whose sun beheld the putrid tide 
 subside, and along its channels nursed a wondrous harvest into 
 bloom — these three seasons have passed away since, in this city, a 
 voice, that issued from the people, was heard to say — " not by 
 slaves can the work of tyranny be undone — the arm that strikes 
 for freedom must wear no chain !" 
 
 The day that witnessed the rejection of your remonstrance will 
 be solemnized as a festival by the future. To the birth of a fi-ee 
 mind it will be for ever sacred. 
 
 The creed of liberty is seldom preached from the high places of 
 the land. The apostle, commissioned to announce it, descends not 
 from the palace steps, in velvet vestments, fragrant with mvrrh 
 and frankincense, glittering with gold and precious stones. Issuing 
 from the workshop, the hut, the field — he goes forth, arrayed in the 
 rough garb of labor, speaking, not from books and parchment, but 
 uttering the thoughts that stir his soul within — uttering them with 
 the tongue which the hand of God has loosened. 
 
 The tame society he comes to waken into heroism, for a day 
 will scout him as an idiot — in dismal synagogues will curse him as 
 a fiend — from rude tribunals will call him " murderer." The sneer, 
 the curse, the lie, are all in vain. The fire which the idiot, in his 
 ravings, flung across the island, has lit a thousand fires — his mad- 
 ness has been contagious — and they who would check the desperate 
 
196 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 insanity, must have tlie power whicli the crowned blasphemer con- 
 fessed he had not. when he smote the waters of the Hellespont. 
 
 Such has been, in every land, the history of freedom, and in 
 ours it will not be written otherwise. 
 
 Men will exclaim, wdiat ! has freedom been withheld from you 
 so long ? Do twelve moons only mark its progress here ? What 
 of him who died in Genoa ? What say you of that stormy year 
 in which the citizen of Paris foretold a July brighter than his own ? 
 
 This we say, that until now the people moved not from convic- 
 tion, but from credulity. Blind and dumb, they saw not, neither 
 did they speak. Freedom was to them a mystery. They wor- 
 shipped — but they did not understand. They were ready for 
 everything — anything — nothing. Hurl the defiance — they bounded 
 to the brink of destruction ! Court the alliance of the Whigs — ^*' 
 they shrunk back to Federalism ! 
 
 Such a people have no true power, and whatever spell-word glit- 
 ters on their banner — be it Justice — be it Freedom — they are 
 slaves — their toil is drudgery — their destiny ignoble. Mind alone 
 gives power. Mind alone ennobles toil. Mind alone can free a 
 nation, and give it greatness. 
 
 " Thought makes man to dust superior, 
 And he, alone, is thoughtful souled, 
 Who ponders, in his heart's interior, 
 Whatever shape his hand maj mould." / 
 
 / 
 Faith should be reserved for God. Should a mortal seek it,: say 
 to him — " when you stay the torrent with a threat — when you 
 drive the lightning back to its prison in the cloud — when you set 
 another star in Heaven — you shall have our faith, but not till then 
 — no man shall have the tribute which God alone can claim." 
 
 Had this been our language long since, we would not now 
 reveal the weakness that compels us to starve and shiver in thp 
 face of Europe. 
 
OPENING OF THE GRATTAN CLUB. 197 
 
 See the cause of it. 
 
 We believed one man omnipotent. The belief seduced us into 
 indolence, ignorance, cowardice. We left that one strong man to 
 think, to act, to dare. We folded our arms — indulged in gossip — 
 waited for the issue. Thus the country lost its vitality, and became, 
 what we now behold it, an unresisting prey to famine. A people 
 whose trust is in the labors of a single life, will not survive that 
 life. The same tomb chronicles the decease of both. 
 
 " Mr. Pitt, the only man to save the country " — this was the 
 exclamation of Sheridan in the debate upon the French war — " Mr. 
 Pitt, the only man to save the country ! No one man can save 
 the country. The nation that depends for its safety upon one man, 
 cannot, and, I will add, ought, not to be saved." 
 
 This is the doctrine to which we cling, and, knowing it to be the 
 truth, we are opposed to the centralization of political power. No 
 leadership, by inheritance or otherwise. No tribunitian dynasty. 
 No despotism by committee. Equality in the Forum ! That is 
 our (decree. It condemns the old system of Irish politics — a sys- 
 tem of monopoly and dictatorship. 
 
 What say we ? 
 
 This we say — D'Olier street shall have no absolute command — 
 D'Olier street shall not rule Dublin. Every vote, act, project of 
 the Council, must be canvassed by the people. Organized into 
 sections, sitting in your respective Clubs, it will be easy for you to 
 do so. Hence the Council will be held responsible to the people. 
 Hence, while the Council advise, the people will ratify. Hence 
 the Council will become, what the head department of every 
 political association should be, the exponent of the public mind — 
 the executor of the public will. When the Corn Exchange was 
 the Tuilleries of Ireland, we had the old French system here which 
 Lamartine describes — " nothing mounted from the people, every 
 thing descended from the king." This system must be completely 
 
198 ENaLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 upset. " The source of all legitimate power " must be something 
 more than a toast at five-shilHng banquets, for the future. 
 
 In speaking thus, of course, you do not imagine that I confine 
 my view to Dublin. As D'Olier street must not rule Dublin, so 
 Dublin must not rule Ireland. By.this I mean, that the opinion 
 of Cork, of Limerick, of Belfast — the opinion of every town where 
 a Confederate Club has been established — must have the same 
 weight with the Council as that of Dublin. 
 
 What will be the result ? Each locality will then feel that it 
 has an equal interest in the movement — proudly feel that it is not 
 the mere tributary of a central power, but an independent ally, 
 acting of its own free will, and acting with authority. 
 
 Accomplish this — see the force you bring to bear against the 
 Union. In every division of the kingdom, municipal, parochial, 
 or otherwise, you plant a garrison sw^orn to its destruction. Dis- 
 cij^lined in those schools, the young mind of the kingdom will 
 become an active enemy to foreign rule — be taught the rights of 
 citizernship, its duties, its capacities — be taught those arts, those 
 virtues, those ideas, from the cultivation of which an inferior peo- 
 ple become great, and a great people become supreme. 
 
 Thus, at last, will the country recover its vitality. " Instead of 
 a determination of political power to the head " — as the editor of 
 the Limei'ick Re^porter w^ell and eloquently remarks — " the circu- 
 lation W'ill be distributed, and the vital action, thus equalized and 
 balanced, will diffuse health and vigor through every limb." This 
 city will cease to be the solitary index of the national spirit. Not 
 one, but a thousand flags, will indicate its progress and its power. 
 
 The national cause will then, indeed, be safe. The Secession 
 will have become a Victory. The independence of the country 
 will be guaranteed by the independence of its mind. 
 
 The names of those who have done most to serve our country 
 have been given to the Confederate Clubs. When every artifice 
 
OPENING OF THE GRATTAN CLUB. 199 
 
 has been in play to reconcile us to debasement, it is well to recall, 
 by these vivid outlines of our history, the memories that bid us, in 
 spite of all its errors and disasters, be proud of Ireland. 
 
 Whilst these English uniforms glitter in our streets, our concert- 
 rooms, our theatre — vt^hilst the Irish green is banned, and every 
 slave that sculls a boat for English pay may call it a seditious rag 
 — whilst, in this city, a class of scented idlers exist, who have been 
 taught at Castle-balls, in barrack mess-rooms, and elsewhere, to 
 sneer at Irish liberty, and say good things about our beggary — it 
 is wise and virtuous to revive, as we do by the title of this Club, 
 the recollection of that period when a more accomplished, a 
 wealthier, a prouder society than that which now sips its sweets 
 and flaunts its fashions in the Irish Capital, disdained to play the 
 sycophant to English power — the period when, in the highest, the 
 very highest circles, to be an Irish gentleman was to be an Irish 
 patriot. 
 
 Gentlemen of the Grattan Club, I congratulate you upon the 
 name you bear. In our changeful sky — where so many glories, at 
 sudden intervals, succeed the eclipse and the storm — where crim- 
 son clouds, for years and years, float over a wilderness of martyrs' 
 graves, and from the red grass catch their fearful hue — where sun- 
 shine comes, by fits and starts, chasing those clouds away, and, for 
 a season, warms the shivering soil below into fruitfulness and joy 
 — in this, our changeful sky, we call that name " our brightest 
 star." 
 
 In the morning of that day, when our cathedral bells, amid 
 the roar of cannon, proclaimed the birth of Irish Freedom, that 
 jstar was burning high above the Senate house. A nation in arms 
 halted, looked up, and blessed the beautiful prediction of a glo- 
 rious day. 
 
 It was a glorious day ! — a day in which centuries of shame and 
 ruin were blotted out — a day in which, with a rapid energy, a 
 wretched colony sprung into the proportions of a nation — becoming, 
 
200 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 in the lano-uaofe of its orator, the rival of the ancient common 
 wealths. 
 
 A day of a few hours only ! 
 
 A night — darker than that which fell upon the land of Egypt, 
 when the Israelite stretched forth his hand to heaven, and no man 
 knew his brother — came quickly down. Yet high above the 
 Senate house, the star still shone — keeping there its appointed 
 watch — looking down upon the island of whose deliverance it had 
 been the herald — " faithful to her freedom, faithful to her fall." 
 
 In that Hall — where, in the presence of the students of our 
 ancient University — in the presence of the peers and peeresses of 
 the Kingdom — the Irish Commoners, with swords upon their 
 thighs, had pledged their fortunes and their lives that no English 
 law should be obeyed in Ireland — the solemn oath, the splendid 
 ceremony, the faith, the chivalry, the genius of the Revolution, 
 were that night forsworn. 
 
 Noble and learned highwaymen, called ministers — right-honor- 
 able and learned slaves, barristers and red-coats by profession — 
 perjurers by trade — these, with a retinue of " ayes," — amongst 
 whom, when the Senate House was sacked, a heap of coronets and 
 borough prices would be parcelled out — these criminals entered 
 there that night, to do the work of conquest, and they did it with 
 impunity. An English regiment lined the colonnade — Napper 
 Tandy was in exile — the guns of the Leinster Volunteers were 
 spiked — Wolfe Tone had bled to death in shackles — in vain did 
 Curran, leaning against one of the stately pillars of the portico, 
 ask the " rebel" who stood beside him — " where are now your 
 300,000 men?" 
 
 The brilliant pen that traced the rise and fall of the Irish na- 
 tion, has left us the following description of that niglit : — 
 
 " At length the expected moment arrived ; the order of the day 
 for the third reading of the bill for a Legislative Union between 
 Great Britain and Ireland, was moved by Lord Castlereagh ; 
 
OrENING or THE GRATTAN CLUB. 201 
 
 unvaried, tame, cold-blooded, the words seemed broken as tliey 
 issued from his lips ; and, as if a simple citizen of the world, he 
 seemed to have no sensation on the subject. 
 
 " At that moment, he had no country ; no god but his ambition ; 
 he made his motion, and resumed his seat, with the utmost com- 
 posure and indifference. 
 
 " The speaker rose slowly from that chair which had been the 
 proud source of his honors and of his high character ; for a mo- 
 ment he resumed his seat, but the strength of his mind sustained 
 him in his duty, though his struggle was apparent. With that 
 dignity which never failed to signalize his official actions, he held up 
 the bill for a moment in silence, and looked steadily around him on 
 the last agony of the expiring parliament. He at length repeated, 
 in an emphatic tone, ' as many as are of opinion that this bill do 
 pass, say Aye.' The affirmative was languid, but indisputable ; 
 another momentary pause ensued, again his lips seemed to decline 
 their office ; at length, with an eye averted from the object he 
 hated, he proclaimed with a subdued voice , — ' the Ayes have it P 
 The fatal sentence was now pronounced — for an instant he stood 
 statue-like ; then indignant, and with disgust, flung the bill upon 
 the table, and sunk into the chair, with an exhausted spirit. An 
 independent country was thus degraded into a province. Ireland 
 as a nation was thus extinguished !" 
 
 Extinguished — not for ever ! 
 
 To the Abbey of Westminster, on the Yth June, 1820, the sena- 
 tors and statesmen of England bore the remains of Henry Grattan, 
 and there — amidst the princes, the poets, the warriors of the 
 empire, of w^hich, in the prime of manhood, he had been the con- 
 queror — they solemnly repose. 
 
 Not so with the truths of which he had been the mighty oracle. 
 Handed down from generation to generation — coming to us 
 through a crowd of perils — the war of creeds, the intrigues of 
 party, the pangs of famine — they have become the testament, the 
 instruction, the inspiration of the Present. 
 
 AVho have sworn to defend these truths, and build for them a 
 
 9* 
 
202 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 tabernacle, round which all creeds may worship ? Citizens whose 
 greatest crime is youth, who, scorning the vulgarities and vices of 
 a jDolitical system that is based upon ignorance and submission, 
 would have the nation resume the prerogative of free will, and 
 advance to greatness by the power of intellect. 
 
 I stand here amongst the boldest of them, and I say — be bolder 
 still ! Keep the name of " infidels." Keep the name of " anar- 
 chists." Keep the name of " murderers." Exult in the infamy 
 your love of truth has won. Scorn to explain away the guilt 
 your fidelity to freedom has incurred. Disdain to crave security 
 from the vengeance which your disloyalty to despotism has 
 provoked. Go out amongst people, and say to them — " now 
 our day has come — now will we live — live for ourselves — not 
 as the pall-bearers of a funeral, but as the upholders of our age 
 — now are we come, and w^e shall put our own interpretation 
 upon acts, and, moreover, our own acts for interpretation." 
 
POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION. 
 
 Pillar Room^ Rotunda, Dublin, ith February, 1848. 
 
 [On the ^th January, 1848, Mr. John Mitchel addressed the following 
 letter to the Editor of the Nation, 
 
 ** 8 Ontario Terrace, Eathmines, 'Zth Jan. 1848. 
 
 "Dear Duffy, — If the public has any curiosity (of which I have seen no 
 syraptom) to know why I renounced connexion with the Nation — or if you 
 desire, on your own account, that a statement of my reasons and motives 
 should appear — I will make the statement shortly, and you can do as you 
 please with it. 
 
 " Our differences of opinion, as you well know, are not a matter of 
 yesterday. For some months past, I have found myself preelvided from 
 speaking to the public through the Nation, with that full freedom and 
 boldness which I had formerly used, by objections and remonstrances from 
 you, to the effect, that what I wrote was ' seditious ' or ' impolitic' This 
 kind of restriction, slight and casual at first, became gradually more con- 
 stant and annoying ; and that, while the times demanded, in my opinion, 
 more and more unmitigated plain speaking, as to the actual relation of 
 Ireland towards the English government, and the real designs of that 
 Government against the lives and properties of Irishmen. 
 
 "The failure of the 'Irish Council,' the hurried calling together of the 
 English Parliament, the bill for disarming the Irish people, and the horrid 
 delight with which that bill was hailed by the landlords of this country — 
 these things rapidly brought our differences to an issue. The effect 
 wrought upon me by all the events I saw passing, was a thorough convic- 
 tion that Irish landlords had finally taken their side against the people, 
 and /or the foreign enemy — that all the symptoms of landlord 'nationality,' 
 which had deluded us into the 'Irish Council,' and had kept us so long 
 vainly wooing the aristocracy into the ranks of their countrymen, were a 
 deliberate fraud — were, in fact, a demonstration intended to act iipon the 
 
204 " ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 English — and that the disarming bill was the first fruit of a new and more 
 strict alliance between traitors at home and foes abroad. 
 
 "I desired to saj all this to the people plainly. I desired to point out 
 to them that this infamous bill, falsely entitled — ' for the Prevention of 
 Crime,' was merely an engine to crush Tenant Eight, and all other popular 
 right, and to enable the landlords to eject, distrain, and exterminate in 
 peace and security. I desired to preach to them, that every farmer in 
 Ireland has a right to his land in perpetuity (let 'Law' say as it will) — that 
 no landlord who denies that right ought to receive any rent — that Tenant- 
 Right, however, though the universal right of all Irish farmers, never had 
 been, and never would be recognised or secured by English law — that 
 there was and will be no other way of establishing and securing that right, 
 except, as in Ulster, by successful intimidation, that is to say, by the deter- 
 mined public opinion of armed men — that, therefore, the power calling itself 
 a ' Government,' which called on the people of Ireland to dehver up their 
 arms, under any pretext, must be the mortal enemy of that people, their 
 rights, their liberties, and their lives. I desired to warn my countrymen 
 accordingly, that if they should carry their guns to the police stations, 
 T/hen ordered by Lord Clarendon, they would be putting weapons into the 
 hands of their deadly foes, and committing virtual suicide. I desired to 
 preach to them that the country is actually in a state of war — a war of 
 ' property ' against poverty — a war of ' law ' against life ; and that their 
 safety l&y, not in trusting to any laws or legislation of the enemies' Par- 
 liament, but solely in their determination to stand upon their own indi- 
 vidual rights, defend those to the last, and sell their lives and lands as dear 
 as they could. 
 
 '"I desired also to show that the neWPoor Law, enacted under pretence 
 of relieving the destitute, was really intended, and is calculated to increase 
 and deepen the pauperism of the country — to break down the farmers, as 
 well as the landlords, by degrees, and uproot them gradually from the soil, 
 so as to make the lands of Ireland pass (unencumbered by excessive popu- 
 lation) into the hands of English capitalists, and under the more absolute 
 sway of English government. In short, I wished to make them recognise 
 in the Poor Law, what it really is — an elaborate machinery for making 
 final conquest of Ireland by ' laAV.' I therefore urged, from the first, that 
 this law ought to be resisted and defeated — that Guardians ought not to 
 act under it, but in defiance of it — that Pv.ate payers ought to offer steady 
 and deliberate passive resistance to it — and that every district ought to 
 
POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION. 205 
 
 organize some voluntary mode of relieving its own poor ; and for this pur- 
 pose, as well as to stop the traffic with England, that the people should 
 determine to suffer no grain or cattle to leave the country. 
 
 ** With reference to the future direction which should be given to the 
 energies of the country, and of the Irish Confederation, I desired, in the 
 first place, once for all, to turn men's minds away from the English Parlia- 
 ment, and from parliamentary and constitutional agitation of all kinds. I 
 have made up my mind that, inasmuch as the mass of the people have no 
 franchises, and are not likely to get any ; and inasmuch as the constituen- 
 cies, being very small, very poor, and growing smaller and poorer continu- 
 ally, are so easily gained over by corruption and bribery ; and inasmuch as 
 any combination of the 'gentry' with the people is now and henceforth 
 impossible — that, for all these reasons, any organization for parliamentary 
 or constitutional action, v/ould be merely throwing away time and strength, 
 and ensuring our own perpetual defeat. Therefore, I desired that the 
 Nation and the Confederation should rather employ themselves in promul- 
 gating sound instruction upon military affairs — upon the natural lines of 
 defence which make the island so strong, and the method of making those 
 available — upon the construction and defence of field-works, and especially 
 upon the use of proper arms — not with a view to any immediate insurrec- 
 tion, but in order that the stupid 'legal and constitutional ' shouting, voticsr, 
 and ' agitating ' that have made our country an abomination to the whole 
 earth, should be changed into a deliberate study of the theory and 
 practice of guerilla warfare ; and that the true and only method of 
 regenerating Ireland, might, in course of time, recommend itself to a 
 nation so long abused and deluded by ' legal ' humbug. 
 
 " These are my doctrines — and these are what I wished to enforce in the 
 Nation. I knew that it would be ' illegal ' to do so. I knew that it would 
 subject you, as proprietor of that paper, to prosecutions for 'sedition,' &q. 
 I knew, besides, that your own views did not at all agree with mine ; and 
 I could not assuredly expect you to incur legal risks for the sake of pro- 
 mulgating another man's opinions. Therefore, when I found — wliich I did 
 during the progress of the Coercion bill — that no one journal could possibly 
 represent two sets of opinions so very incompatible as yours and mine ; 
 and when you informed me that the columns of the Nation should no 
 longer be open even to such a modified and subdued exposition of my 
 doctrines as they had heretofore been, I at once removed all difficulty, 
 
206 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 hj ending the connexion which had subsisted between us more than two 
 years. 
 
 " I have not entered into any details of the difficulties and disagreements 
 that preceded this final step ; but I cannot avoid mentioning the circum- 
 stance that, during the last week of my connexion with the Nation, you 
 felt it necessary to suppress a portion of a speech delivered by me in the 
 Irish Confederation, which you considered seditious and impolitic. I do 
 not impugn your motives for this ; but, if there had been no oLlier I'eason 
 urging me to the course I have taken, this alone would have been enough 
 to make me resolve on never writing another line in the Nation. I am 
 bound to add, that I did not discover the fact of this suppression until the 
 next morning after I had closed my connexion with the Nation ; so that it 
 did not actually influence me, though it fvilly justifies me in what I have 
 done. 
 
 " In this letter, you will obseiwe that I have not attempted to describe 
 or characterize your opinions. I leave that to yourself. You have the 
 Nation at your command, and have had five opportunities of expounding 
 your own policy since I had one. It is enough to say, that the present 
 policy of the Nation does not suit me. If you pubHsh this, I hope there 
 will be no possibility of any future misrepresentations and vague rumors 
 about the causes of our differences, such as you say are current. 
 " I remain, faithfully yours, 
 
 "John Mitchel." 
 
 As will be seen from this letter, Mr. Mitchel had for some time been 
 strongly impressed with the inutility of the endeavors of the Confederation, 
 to effect a combination of classes ; that is, a union of the landlords with 
 the tenants, the aristocracy with the trading class ; and had become con- 
 vinced that, such being the case, it was worse than useless to seek for 
 the establishment of a native Legislature by means understood to be 
 purely legal. He was one of those who had generously and confidingly 
 anticipated great things from the meeting held in January, 1847, by the 
 nobility and landlords of Ireland. The Irish Council, which, after an 
 interval of a few months, succeeded this meeting, and might be considered 
 its permanent representative, received from Mr. Mitchel the heartiest 
 support. The first meeting of the Irish Council was held on the 1st of 
 June, ISi*?. The leading persons attending represented all shades 
 
POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION. 207 
 
 of politics. Sir Colman O'Loghlen brought tip a report of the com- 
 mittee, which, nftev- alluding to the meeting of "Peers, Commoners, 
 and landed proprietors," in January, and the confident hope that 
 the Irish representatives in Parliament would take advantage of 
 that authoritative exposition of the sense of the nation, and by their 
 zeal, ability, and unanimity, force upon the attention of the Legislature the 
 calamity under which the country suffered, said — " That hope has been 
 totally disappointed." The Irish Council was formed on a more extensive 
 plan than the Reproductive Employment Committee, " to combine Irish- 
 men of every grade and section of opinion — to watch over and assert the 
 rights and interests of our common country — to mirror its wants and 
 wishes — to create, foster and develope, a sound Irish public opinion." 
 They recognised the ''fullest freedom of discussion" — no member being 
 compromised by the expressions of another. The condition and ameliora- 
 tion of the laboring classes, Native Industry, and the encouragement of 
 Irish Manufacture, the Relief Measures, Tenant-right, and other topics of 
 national interest were considered by the Irish Council — in the discussion of 
 all of which, Mr. Mitehel entered warmly, and on the last named was 
 especially prominent. He condemned, as useless, the system of " report- 
 ing " incessantly to the British parliament. "Let those who have great 
 faith," said Mr. Mitehel, (Irish Council, June 15th) "go on making these 
 demands, and urging these claims, session after session, realizing nothing by 
 their urgency except insult and gross vituperation. To any one who has 
 read the debates in parliament, and read any English newspapers for some 
 months back, it must appear almost ridiculous to find an assembly of 
 Irishmen now, in the summer of 1847, once more submitting to parliament 
 its views about making the famine an imperial question — about voting 
 more grants and loans of what is called in England British money. * * * 
 Does any human being suppose that if you made the justice of Ireland's 
 claim as clear as the sun, that parliament would acknowledge it? * * * If 
 the maxim that the property of Ireland must support the poverty of Ire- 
 land is indeed to be acted on for the future, as assuredly it wiU be, as I 
 think it ought to be, why then it is high time for us to see what property 
 we have, to take account of our national resources, to consider well how 
 they may be made available, economised, and distributed." In a disciission 
 arising out of the Poor Law, 29th of June, Mr. Mitehel expressed himself 
 as convinced, that in order to feed a people — all the people — and that well, 
 they need not develope any new resources — they had only to use those 
 
208 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 already developed, instead of suffering others to e them. *'A member 
 of the Council, Mr. Butt, in his lectures at Trinity College, said that 
 Ireland sends every year to England a subsidy — that was the word — 
 a subsidy of certain millions of money in the shape of food, * * * and 
 surely before we discuss measures to develope our resources of wealth still 
 further, it was reasonable to begin considering how we were to use the 
 wealth we had already." On the Tenant-right question, Mr. Mitchel took 
 a deep interest and prominent position. He expounded that measure 
 clearly and ably in the Irish Council (Nov. 6th), but the resolution he 
 introduced relative to the establishment of that system, was defeated 
 by a majority of two. In all the proceedings of this body he took 
 a most active and earnest part, but to no purpose. He found they 
 would not go beyond a certain distance, and, in fact, hardly do anything 
 except comment on the bills passing through Parliament. More than 
 this, here they were, as a body, opposed to the only measure which would 
 confer on the Irish people stability of happiness and prosperity — the 
 Tenant-right. All this time, the effect of a two years famine — the 
 callous demeanor of the government during its progress, and the threaten- 
 ing horror of affairs close at hand, forced upon Mr. Mitchel the strong 
 conviction, that whatever was to be done to save the people should be 
 speedily done. Any further attempts . at " conciliation " he considered a 
 criminal waste of time. To confirm these convictions, came the coercion 
 bill. On the 29th November, Sir George Grey's'motion in the House of 
 Commons for leave to bring in this bill was carried by a vote of 224 ayes, 
 against 18 noes. In making this motion. Sir George Grey said "it was 
 not enough to eradicate the disease (Agrarian crime), they should 
 apply themselves to the symptoms. The disorders of Ireland were 
 deep-rooted, and required the application of measures to meet the exigency 
 to which they gave rise. In applying the remedies called for, he never 
 could consent to transfer, as some proposed, the rights of the landlord to 
 the tenant." Lord Barnard would have preferred a stronger measure, 
 believing that it would be better temporarily to outrage the constitution, 
 should that be necessary, than to permit the present state of things in 
 Ireland to continue. Mr. "Wakley proposing an amendment to the effect — 
 "That it was not just to the people of Ireland to enact any coercive law, 
 without at the same time enacting measures for their permanent relief;" 
 Mr. M. J, O'Connell desired that Mr. Wakley should withdraw his amend- 
 ment, and voted for Sir G. Grey's motion. In the Lords, the Duke of 
 
rOLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION. 209 
 
 Riclimond "hoped that the government, if they found their powers not 
 strong enough, would, without hesitation, ask for roore." On the second 
 reading, Mr. Grattan gave it his " strongest support." Mr. R. Dillon Browne 
 "supported it because it did not go too far." On the 13th of December 
 the bill passed. It was notoriously brought in on the strongest recommenda- 
 tion of, as it was notoriously supported by, the Irish landlords. Mr. Mitchel, 
 ill the Confederation (Dec. 1st), speaking on this bill, reminded the 
 "sham-Repeal orators" of their faith in the Whigs, who promised on 
 coming into power their " twelve beneficial measures — extended franchise — 
 reformed corporations — ^generous landlord and tenant-right, <fec., for Ire- 
 land, &c." "There has been nothing," said Mr. Mitchel, "to prevent or 
 delay all that beneficial legislation we heard so much of. There has been 
 DO lack of patience and quietness — far too much patience and quietness — 
 unmanly, unchristian, inhuman patience and quietness. * * * From one 
 end of the island to the other they (tlie Whig Ministers), have dug the 
 public highways into trenches and pit-falls. They have looked on at 
 landlord exterminations, far more sweeping than which scandalised them 
 while in opposition — they have helped the extermination themselves by 
 their mode of administering relief in the famine — they have swept the 
 small farmers by tens of thousands off their farms to the public works ; 
 and then, upon a signal from London, those said public worlds have 
 ^isgorged in one day seventy thousand, in another day a hundred and 
 twenty thousand famishing and homeless men, and cast them forth upon 
 the wide world to beg, or rob, or perish, as they might. And now men 
 are amazed that the land is stained with crime. But that was not all : for 
 all this time landlords were enforcing what are called in parliament their 
 legal rights — that is to say, making the land, notwithstanding the blight 
 upon its produce, pay them their rents as usual, ay, though the tenant 
 should go home that night to his family with no provision between him 
 and death but a stamped receipt — and the liberal ministers, the enlightened, 
 well-intentioned ministers, looked on at all this for eighteen weary mouths, 
 pretending they were governing the country; until now, when one-eighth of 
 our people have perished by the most hideous of deaths, and most of the 
 survivors are in a life-and-death struggle for the residue of the food that 
 English greediness has spared them — when tlie poor rates and tlfc land- 
 lords together are engaged in clearing, as Ireland was never cleared before; 
 and there are hundreds of thousands of wretched paupers who have not 
 where to lay their heads; it seems there is crime, and outrage, and blood-. 
 
210 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 sL.ed ; some few of the able-bodied paupers have turned out able-bodied 
 robbers — red-handed murderers, as might have been expected; and these 
 amiable Whig statesmen, in this age of what they call enlightenment and 
 human progress ; these men, so profound in sanitary condition of towns, 
 so far before the rest of the world in political economy, and general 
 benevolism, have jiothing to propose for the good government of Ireland 
 but the old and well-known remedies of the bayonet, the jail, and the 
 gibbet." On the 15th of December, a resolution denunciatory of the 
 coercion bill was passed in the Irish Confederation. Mr. Mitchel's letter 
 of January 'Zth, as well might be imagined, excited the strongest 
 interest. In the views expressed in that letter, Mr. Devin Reilly, who had 
 been one of the principal writers of the Nation, concurred, and in a letter 
 to the Freeman^ s Journal, put his sentiments on record. Mr. Reilly, in two 
 letters to the Irish Council, had expressed himself boldly on the effects of 
 inaction during the crisis, and pointed out the necessity which these 
 results entailed. In one of those letters (Sept. 29th), he says — " xind while 
 the landlords make their first attempts on life and property, see you not 
 even now the tenantry and laboring classes gathering themselves* up for 
 defence ? These disjointed and spasmodic movements in the Iforth, South, 
 and centre — in Cork, Derry, Monaghan, and Ti2:)perary — have other things 
 in them than senseless jabber, or 'legal' and 'constitutional' resolutions. 
 That is not their meaning or their purpose. You know it is not, though 
 they cannot rightly tell what is. It is «,nything but their meaning. Some 
 thought is in them, swaying them, tossing them, which as yet they cannot 
 utter. Indistinct notions of rights, duties, powers, are agitating the tenantry 
 of Ireland. For a time they may be foiled, as at Holycross — they may 
 again essay to speak what is in them, to give their thoughts shape, to give 
 their purpose action, and may fail again. But if these seizures and 
 evictions continue much longer, they, the persecuted, the exacted, the 
 robbed, loill find a mouthpiece. Some man will lift the curtain from their 
 souls, and show them there what they really think and mean. And the 
 thought and purpose will find an utterance there which will make you 
 and the very island tremble." Pointing out the iindetermined position, or 
 want of position, rather, of the Irish Council, he said — " If the landlords 
 of Irelaiid make their existence incomj)atible with the lives of the people, 
 every one of us must choose either to fall with the landlords or live with 
 the people. When it comes to that you can take no medium course — you 
 cannot continue silent and inactive — you cannot stand between parties. 
 
POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATIOX. 211 
 
 Thej will crush jou in the collision — ay ! crush you into dust, -were you 
 a bulwarli of adamant." Recapitulating his belief, he came to this con- 
 clusion, that — " Unless you (the Irish Council), or some body or man in 
 your stead, or this people itself, make some great self-exertion for its own 
 protection, during the coming year, another famine is inevitable." Mr. 
 Reilly, for the same reasons as Mr. Mitchel, also withdrew from the Nation. 
 Upon the publication . of their letters, Mr. Smith O'Brien deemed it 
 advisable that it should be clearly ascertained and made known, whether 
 the Confederation, as a body, adopted their sentiments or not ; for one, he 
 (Mr. O'Brien) had not abandoned the hope of seeing all classes united, and 
 under these circumstances he submitted the following resolution which 
 had already been sanctioned by a majority of the Council of Confedera- 
 tion : — "That inasmuch as letters published by two members of this 
 Council have brought into question the principles of the Irish Confedera- 
 tion, and have given rise to an imputation that we are desirous to produce 
 a general disorganization of society in this country and to overthrow social 
 order, we deem it right again to place before the public the following 
 fundamental rule as that which constitutes the basis of action proposed to 
 our fellow-countrymen by the Irish Confederation : — Rule, That a society 
 be now formed under the title of " The Irish Confederation," for the 
 purpose of protecting our national interests, and obtaining the legislative 
 independence of Ireland, by the force of opinion, by the combination of all 
 classes of Irishmen, and the exercise of all the political, social, and moral 
 influences within our reach." A debate ensued which lasted three nights, 
 and terminated in the adoption of the resolution,] 
 
 Sir, I beg leave to say a few words upon the question before the 
 chair. 
 
 They shall be very few, for I find myself engaged in this debate 
 •quite unexpectedly. I arrived from England at a late hour this 
 morning, and it was not until my arrival here that I was made 
 acquainted with the proceedings of the last two evenings. Such 
 being the case, I now speak under very unfavorable circumstances, 
 for I speak without that preparation which the importance of the 
 question requires. 
 
 Previous to my going into the question at issue, however, I beo- 
 
212 ' ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 to express — and I do so sincerely — the same sentiment as that to 
 whicli Mr. Eeilly, in the commencement of bis speech, gave utter- 
 ance. I trust that we who are about to conclude this discussion, 
 may not, by any mishap, disturb the good feelings that have pre- 
 vailed all through it ; and I fervently pray, that, in this conflict of 
 opinions, we shall preserve those feelings which have so long 
 united us in a sincere and devoted companionship. 
 
 Now, as to the question before us, I think that Mr. Mitch el has 
 brought it, most conveniently for me, into the smallest possible 
 space. The real question, he says, we have to decide is, whether 
 we are to keep to the old system of agitation or not. 
 
 Precisely so. We have to decide nothing less, and nothing 
 more than this — whether " constitutional agitation" is to be given 
 up, or to be sustained. This is the one, simple point that we are to 
 determine ; for, upon all other points, connected with the policy 
 and action of the Confederation, there appears to be, amongst us 
 all, the most perfect concurrence of opinion. 
 
 At all events — whatever decision you may come to — with regard 
 to the utility of our pursuing, any further, what is commonly 
 understood to be a constitutional course of action — I believe that, 
 by this time, we have become quite agreed, that all this vague 
 talk about a " crisis is at hand" — " shouts of defiance" — " Louis 
 Philippe is upwards of seventy" — " France remembers Waterloo" 
 — " the first gun fired in Europe" — all this obscure babble — all this 
 meaningless mysticism — must be swept away. Ten thousand 
 guns fired in Europe, would announce no glad tidings to you, if 
 their lightning flashed upon you in a state of disorganization and 
 incertitude. 
 
 Sir, I knaw of no nation that has won its independence by 
 an accident. 
 
 Trust blindly to the future — wait for the tide in the afl^airs of 
 men, which, taken at the flood, may lead to fortune — envelope 
 yourselves in mist — leave everything to chance — and be assured 
 
POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION". 213 
 
 of this, tlie most propitious opportunities will rise and pass away, 
 leaving you still to chance — masters of no weapons — scholars of 
 no science — incompetent to decide — irresolute to act — powerless 
 to achieve. 
 
 This was the great error of the Repeal Association. From a 
 labyrinth, of difficulties, there was no avenue opened to success. 
 The people were kept within this labyrinth — tliey moved round 
 and round — backward and forward — there was perpetual motion, 
 but no advance. 
 
 In the like bewilderment are you content to wander, until a sign 
 appears in heaven, and the mystery is disentangled by a miracle ? 
 Have you no clear intelligence to direct you to the right path, and 
 do you fear to trust your footsteps to the guidance of that mind 
 with, which you have been gifted ? Do you prefer to substitute a 
 driftless superstition, instead of a determined system — groping and 
 fumbling after possibilities, in place of seizing the positive agencies 
 within your reach ? This, indeed, would be a blind renunciation 
 of your powers, and thus, indeed, the virtue you prize so justly — 
 the virtue of self-reliance — would be extinguished in you. 
 
 To this you will not consent. You have too sure a confidence 
 in the resources you possess, to leave to cliance what you can 
 accomplish by design. 
 
 A deliberate plan of action is, then, essential — something posi- 
 tive — something definite. 
 
 Now, there are but two plans for our consideration — the one, 
 within the law — the other, without the law. 
 
 Let us take the latter. I will, then, ask you — is an insurrection 
 practicable ? Prove to me that it is, and I, for one, will vote for 
 it this very night. 
 
 You know well, my friends, tliat I am not one of those tame 
 moralists who say that liberty is not worth a drop of blood. Men 
 who subscribe to such a maxim are fit for out-door relief, and for 
 nothing better. Against this miserable maxim, the noblest virtue, 
 
214 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 that has served and sanctified humanity, appears in judgment. 
 From the blue waters of the bay of Salamis — from the valley, over 
 which the sun stood still, and lit the Israelite to victory — from the 
 cathedral, in which the sword of Poland has been sheathed in the 
 shroud of Kosciusko — from the convent of St. Isidore, where the 
 fiery hand, that rent the ensign of St. George upon the plains of 
 Ulster, has crumbled into dust — from the sands of the desert, 
 where the wild genius of the Algerine so long has scared the 
 eagle of the Pryenees- — from the ducal palace in this kingdom, 
 where the memory of the gallant Geraldine enhances, more than 
 royal favor, the nobility of his race — from the solitary grave 
 which, within this mute^ city, a dying request has left without an 
 epitaph — oh ! from every spot where heroism has had a sacrifice 
 or a triumph, a voice breaks in upon the cringing crowd that 
 cheers this wretched maxim, crying out — " away with it, away 
 with it !" 
 
 Would to God that we could take every barrack in the island 
 this night, and with our blood purchase back the independence of 
 our country ! 
 
 It is not, then, a pedantic reverence for common law — it is not 
 a senseless devotion to a diadem and sceptre — it is not a whining 
 solicitude for the ^^reservation of the species — that dictates the vote 
 I give this night in favor of a strictly legal movement. I do so, 
 not from choice, but from necessit}^ 
 
 I support this policy, not from choice, but from necessity. My 
 strongest feelings are in favor of the policy advised by Mr. Mitchel. 
 It is a policy which calls forth the noblest passions — kindles 
 genius, generosity, heroism — is far removed from the tricks and 
 crimes of politics — for the young, the gallant, and the good, it has 
 the most powerful attractions. 
 
 In the history of this kingdom, the names that burn above the 
 dust and desolation of the past — like the lamps in the old sepul- 
 chres of Rome — shed their glory round the principles, of which a 
 
POLICY OF THE CONFEDERATION, 215 
 
 deep conviction of our weakness compels me this night to he the 
 Opponent. And in being their opponent, I almost blush to think, 
 that the voice of one whose influence is felt through this struggle 
 more powerfully than any other, and whose noble lyrics will bid 
 our cause to live for ever — I almost blush to think, that this voice, 
 which speaks to us in these glorious lines — 
 
 "And the beckoning angels win you on, with many a radiant vision, 
 Up the thorny path to glory, where man receives his crown — " 
 
 should be disobeyed, and that, for a time at least, we must plod 
 on in the old course, until we acquire strength, and discipline, and 
 skill — discipline to steady, skill to direct, strength to enforce the 
 will of a united nation. 
 
 Just look, for a moment, to our position. To an insurrectionary 
 movement, the priesthood are opposed. To an insurrectionary 
 movement, the middle classes are opposed. To an insurrectionary 
 movement, the aristocracy are opposed. To give eflect to this 
 opposition, 50,000 men, equipped and paid by England, occupy 
 the country at this moment. 
 
 Who, then, are for it ? 
 
 The mechanic and the peasant classes, we are told. These 
 classes, you tell us, have lost all faith in legal agencies, and, 
 through suck agencies, despair of the slightest exemption from 
 their suflering. Stung to madness — day from day gazing upon 
 the wreck and devastation that surround them, until the brain 
 whirls like a ball of fire — they see but one red pathway, lined 
 with gibbets and hedged with bayonets, leading to deliverance. 
 
 But will that pathway lead them to deliverance ? Have these 
 classes, upon whom alone you now rely, the power to sweep, like 
 a torrent, through that pathway, dashing aside the tremendous 
 obstacles which confront them ? 
 
 You know they have not. Without discipline, without arms, 
 without food — beggared by the law, starved by the law, diseased 
 
216 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 by the law, demoralized by. the law — opposed to tbe migbt of 
 England, they would have the weakness of a vapor. 
 
 This you admit. For what do you maintain ? You maintain 
 that an immediate insurrection is not designed. Well, then, you 
 confess your weakness ; and, then, let me ask you, what becomes 
 of the objection you urge against the policy we propose ? 
 
 The country cannot afford to wait until legal means have been 
 fully tested — that is your objection. And yet, you yourselves will 
 not urge an immediate movement — you will not deal with the 
 disease upon the spot — you will permit it to take its course — your 
 remedy is remote. Thus, it appears, there is delay in both cases— 
 so, upon this question of time, we are entitled to pair off. 
 
 But, at no time, you assert, will legal means prevail — public 
 opinion is nonsense — constitutional agitation is a downright 
 delusion. 
 
 Tell me, then, was it an understanding, when we founded the 
 Irish Confederation this time twelvemonth, that if public opinion 
 failed to Repeal the Act of Union in a year, at the end of the year 
 " public opinion " should be scouted as a " humbug ?" "When 
 you established this Confederation in January, 1847 — when you 
 set up for yourselves — did you agree with " public opinion " for a 
 year only ? Was that the agreement, and will you now serve it 
 with a notice to quit ? 
 
 If so, take my advice and break up your establishment at once. 
 You have no other alternative, for the house will fall to pieces with 
 a servant of more unruly propensities. 
 
 After all, look to your great argument against the continuance 
 of a parliamentary or constitutional movement. The constituencies 
 are corrupt — they will not return virtuous representatives — the 
 tree shall be known by its fruits ! The constituencies are knaves, 
 perjurers, cowards, on the hustings — they will be chevaliers, sans 
 jyeur et sans rei^roclie^ within the trenches. The Thersites of the 
 polling-booth, will be the Achilles of the bivouac ! 
 
POLICY OF THE. CONFEDERATION-. 2l7 
 
 Your argument comes to tliis, that the constituencies of Ireland 
 will be saved " so as by fire " — tliey will acquire morality in the 
 shooting gallery — and in the art of fortification, they will learn 
 the path to paradise. 
 
 These constituencies constitute the elite of the aemocracy ; and 
 is it 3^ou, who stand up for the democracy, that urge this argu- 
 ment ? To be purified and saved, do you decree that the nation 
 must writhe in the agonies of a desperate circumcision ? Has it 
 not felt the knife long since ? And if its salvation depended upon 
 the flow of blood, has it not poured out torrents, deep enough 
 and swift enough, to earn the blessing long before our day ? 
 Spend no more until you are certain of the purchase. 
 
 Nor do I w^ish that this movement should be a mere democratic 
 movement. I desire that it should continue to be, what it has 
 been, a national movement — a movement not of any one class, 
 but of all classes. Narrow it to one class — decide that it shall be 
 a democratic movement, and nothing else — what then ? You 
 augment the power that is opposed to you — the revolution will 
 provoke a counter-revolution. — Paris will be attacked by the 
 Emigrants, as well as by the Austrians. 
 
 You attach little importance to the instance cited by Mr. Ross — 
 Poland is no warning to you. The Polish peasants cut the throats 
 of the Polish nobles, and before the Vistula had washed away the 
 blood, the free city of Cracow was proclaimed a dungeon. So 
 much for the war of classes. 
 
 But, there is the French revolution — the revolution of Mirabeau, 
 of La Fayette, of Vergniaud. There, you say, is democracy, tri- 
 umphant against the aristocracy, winning the libei-ty of the nation. 
 
 How long did that triumph last ? 
 
 Madame de Genlis took the present King of France, when he 
 was only eighteen years of age, to see the ruins of the Bastile. 
 Did the son of Philippe Egalite learn the law of liberty from 
 those great fragments, upon which the fierce hand of the French 
 
 10 
 
218 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 democracy had left its curse ? He learnt a very different lesson — 
 lie learnt to rebuild tlie prison — be learnt to plant bis throne 
 within the circle of a hundred bastiles — and it is thus that the 
 democracy of the revolution has triumphed. 
 
 No ; I am not for a democratic, I am for a national movement — 
 not for a movement like that of Paris in 17 93, but for a move- 
 ment like that of Brussels in 1830 — like that of Palermo in 1848. 
 
 Should you think differently, say so. 
 
 If you are weary of this " constitutional movement " — if you 
 despair of this " combination of classes " — declare so boldh^, and 
 let this night terminate the career of the Irish Confederation. 
 
 Do not spare the Confederation, if you have lost all hope in 
 constitutional exertion. If you despair of the middle classes and 
 the aristocracy, vote its extinction — renounce the principles you 
 have so long maintained — precipitate yourselves into an abyss, the 
 depth of which you know not — and let the world witness the 
 spectacle of your death — a death which shall be ignominious, for 
 it shall have been self-designed and self-inflicted. 
 
 Yet, upon the brink of this abyss, listen, for a moment, to the 
 voice which speaks to you from the vaults of Mount Saint Jerome ; 
 and if you distrust the advice of the friend who now addresses 
 you — one who has done something to assist you, and who, I 
 believe, has not been unfaithful to you in some moments of diffi- 
 culty, and, perhaps, of danger — if you distrust him, listen, at least, 
 to the voice of one who has been carried to his grave amid the 
 tears and prayers of all classes of his countrymen, and of whose 
 courage and whose truth there has never yet been uttered the 
 slightest doubt : — 
 
 "Be bold, but wise — be brave, but sober — patient, earnest, 
 striving, and untiring. You have sworn to be temperate for your 
 comfort here and your well-being hereafter. Be temperate now 
 for the honor, the hap] iness, the immortality of your country — 
 act trustfully and truthfully one to another — watch, wait, and 
 leave the rest to God." 
 
WATERFORD ELECTION. 
 
 Court House ^ Waterford^ 2^th February^ 1848. 
 
 [A vacanej occurred in the representation of Waterford — Mr. Daniel 
 O'Connell, junior, one of the members returned at the last general election, 
 having resigned his seat, " Three candidates appeared. Mr. Patrick 
 Costello, as the nominee of Conciliation Hall, was supported by the priests, 
 the great majority of the Corporation, and their numerous dependents and 
 admirers. Sir Henry Winston Barron, Bart., a Whig-Liberal, was 
 supported by the Whigs, the Conservatives, and a miscellaneous collection 
 of neutrals. Mr. Meagher published the following Address : — 
 
 "to the electors of the city of wateeford. 
 
 "Fellow-Citizens: — I ask you to select me as the representative of your 
 opinions, in the British Parliament. 
 
 "The grounds upon which I seek the trust are these : I shall not meddle 
 with English affairs — I shall take no part in the strife of parties — all 
 factions are alike to me. I shall go to the English House of Commons, to 
 insist upon the right of this country to be held, governed, and defended by 
 its own citizens, and by them alone. 
 
 "Whilst I live, 1 shall never rest satisfied until the kingdom of Ireland 
 has won a Parliament, an Army, and a Navy of her own. These institu- 
 tions are the surest sources of prosperity, as they are the sole guarantees 
 of freedom. At all times, and at all risks, I shall be prepared to assert 
 this right. 
 
 "I shall strive to command respect for my country, not more by my 
 votes and services, than by my independence. I shall neither be the slave 
 nor the partisan of any English government. If any one expect through 
 me a personal favor from such a Government, let him not vote for me. I 
 never shall have to blush for an obligation to the enemies of my country. 
 
 "As I maintain that the chief end of our struggle should be the perfect 
 independence of our country, so I feel that Irish liberty must be for all the 
 
220 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Irish people, undistinguished from one another, each sect and class unfet- 
 tered, and all equal. I shall mahe no pledge for equality hereafter. I 
 insist upon it now. Let us be brothers in the struggle, as we hope to be 
 brothers in the triumph. Let us practise toleration, instead of preach- 
 ing it. 
 
 " Of other things, I shall not speak — petty ameliorations — instalments 
 of justice — scraps of government patronage. If these things mingle in the 
 burnino- hopes of the nation, the day for Ireland has not yet arrived, and 
 I shall wait for other men and other times. 
 
 "But if your thirst be, what I hope it is, for the pure and living waters, 
 and if you think that my youth and strength, my glory here and hope 
 hereafter, would inspire my efforts to realize your wishes, every personal 
 objection to me will disappear. You will pledge your trust to my truth, 
 and that obligation will, by its own holiness, compel me to fulfil it. 
 " I remain your devoted servant and fellow-citizen, 
 
 " Thomas Francis Meagher." 
 
 Mr. Meagher was supported by a minority of the electors, but had tlie 
 enthusiastic sympathy and co-operation of the great unfranchised body of 
 his fellow citizens. The contest terminated in the return of Sir Henry 
 Winston Barron.J 
 
 Mr. Sheriff and Gentlemen, electors of the city of Waterford — 
 I stand before you convicted of a most serious crime. I have 
 claimed the representation of my native city; and, my opponents 
 tell me, I have claimed it with an effrontery which can never be 
 forgiven. 
 
 I, who have stretched out my hand to the Orangemen of Ulster, 
 and from that spot, where the banner of King James was rent by 
 the sword of William, have passionately prayed for the extinction 
 of those feuds which have been transmitted to us throuc^h the ran- 
 corous blood of five generations — I, who have presumed to say, 
 that the God, by w^hose will I breathe, has given to me a mind 
 that should not cringe and crawl along the earth, but should expand 
 and soar, and, in the rapture of its free will, exultingly pursue its 
 own career — I, who have dared to assert the sovereignty of this 
 
WATERFORD ELECTION. 221 
 
 mind, and, ambitious to preserve in it the inheritance I had from 
 Heaven, disdained to be the slave of one, whom, were it not an 
 impious perversion of the noblest gift of God, it might have been 
 no ignominy to serve — I, who have been spurned from the hearse 
 of the Catholic Emancipator, and am stained with the blood which 
 his retinue, with such a decent resentment, have filched from his 
 coffin, and dashed in my face — I, who have rushed through this 
 career of infamy, and have thus been soiled and branded, dare 
 to stand here this day, and claim, through your suffrages, an 
 admission to the senate of Empire ! 
 
 This act of mine is without a parallel in the records of the most 
 intemperate presumption — has been so described by those eminent 
 politicians of our city, who so long have swayed its destinies to 
 their own account. 
 
 Should their censure fail to extinguish me, is there not, in other 
 quarters, an envious ability at work with which I have not strength 
 sufficient to compete ? Has not the Loyal, National, Repeal Asso- 
 ciation declared against me ? And is it possible — possible ! — that 
 you will be so seditious as to spurn this attempt to tamper with 
 your votes ? 
 
 What, then, inspires me to proceed ? 
 
 Against this .sea of troubles, what strength have I to beat my 
 way towards that bold headland, upon which I have sworn to 
 plant the flag I have rescued from the wreck ? 
 
 Weak, reckless, bewildered youth ! — with those clouds breaking 
 above my head — with those cries of vengeance ringing in my ears 
 — what sign of hope glitters along the waters ? 
 
 There is a sign of hope — the people are standing on that head- 
 land, and they beckon me to advance ! 
 
 Yes, the people are with me in this struggle, and it is this that 
 gives nerve to my arm, and passion to my heart. Whilst they are 
 with me, I will face the worst — I can defy the boldest — I may 
 despise the proudest. 
 
222 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 You who oppose me, look to the generous and impetuous crowd, 
 in the heart of which I w^as borne to the steps of this hall ; and 
 tell me — in that crowd, do you not find something more than an 
 apology for the crime of which, in your impartial judgments, I 
 stand convicted ? Does not that honest thrift, that bold integrity, 
 that precipitate enthusiasm, plead in my defence, and by the decree 
 of the people has not ray crime become a virtue ? By this decree, 
 has not the sentence against the anarchist, the infidel, the mur- 
 derer, been reversed ? By this decree, I say, have not these infa- 
 mous designations been sw^ept aw^ay ; and here, asserting the inde- 
 pendence of the island, shall I not recognise, in the justice of the 
 people, their title to accept an eminent responsibility — their ability 
 to attain an exalted destination ? 
 
 You say " no " to all this — you gentlemen of the Corporation 
 and the Repeal news-room. You are driving the old coach still. 
 Your cry is still the hacknied cry — " you have diff'ered with 
 O'Connell — you have maligned O'Connell." 
 
 You meet me, gentlemen, with these two accusations, and to 
 these accusations you require an answer. The answer shall be 
 concise and blunt. 
 
 The first accusation, that I have differed with O'Connell, is honor- 
 ably true. The second accusation, that I have maligned O'Connell, 
 is maliofnantlv false. 
 
 It is true that I diff'ered with Mr. O'Connell, and I glory in the 
 act by which I forfeited the confidence of slaves, and won the 
 sanction of honest citizens. I diff'ered with him, for I was con- 
 scious of a free soul, and felt that it would be an abdication of 
 existence to consign it to captivity. 
 
 Was this a crime ? Do you curse the man who will not barter 
 the priceless jewel of his soul ? To be your fiworite — to win your 
 honors — must I be a slave ? 
 
 What! was it for this you were called forth from the dust 
 upon which you trample ? What ! was it for this you were gifted 
 
WATERFORD ELECTION. 223 
 
 "witli that eternal strengtli, by wliicli 3^ou can triumph over the 
 obscurity of a plebeian birth — by which you can break through 
 the conceits and laws of fashion — by which you can cope with the 
 craft of the thief and the genius of the tyrant — by which you can 
 defy the exactions of penury, and rear a golden prosperity amid 
 the gloom of the garret, and the pestilence of the poorhouse— by 
 which you can step from height to height, and shine far above the 
 calamities with which you struggled, and from which you sprung 
 — by which you can traverse the giddy seas, and be a light and 
 glory to the tribes that sit in darkness, and the shadow of death — • 
 by which you can mount beyond the clouds, and sweep the silver 
 fields, where the stars fulfil their mysterious missions — by which 
 you can serenely gaze upon the scythe and shroud of death, and, 
 seeing the grave opened at your feet, can look exultingly beyond it, 
 and feel that it is but the narrow passage to a luminous immortality 
 — what ! was it to cramp, to sell, to play the trickster or the 
 trifler with this eternal strength, you were called forth to walk this 
 sphere — to be, for a time, the guest of its bounty, and the idolater 
 of its glory ? 
 
 Gentlemen, from this ground I shall not descend, to seek, in lit- 
 tle details, the vindication of my difference with Mr. O'Connell. It 
 was my right to differ with him, if I thought him wrong ; and 
 upon that right, in the name of truth and freedom, I take my 
 stand. Let no man gainsay that right. It is stamped upon the 
 throne of the everlasting hills, and the hand that strives to blot it 
 out conspires against the dignity of man and the goodness of God. 
 
 And yet, were it my desire to play a petty part upon this day — 
 my desire to vindicate the conduct, in which I glor}-, upon low and 
 shifting grounds — I might tell you, gentlemen of the .old school, 
 that in the career of Mr. O'Connell himself it is easy for me to 
 find a justification of the " insubordination " you impugn. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. O'Shea — who I am very happy to perceive in the 
 " omnibus box " on my right — insisted at the meeting in the Town 
 
224 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Hall, on last Monday week, that I liad just as mncli riglit to differ 
 with Mr. O'Connell, as Mr. O'Connell had to differ with Mr. Grattan. 
 
 The difference between Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Grattan occurred 
 in July, 1813. 
 
 What was Mr. O'Connell at that time ? He was a young man 
 — a man who had done little or no service for his country, and 
 had certainly advanced a very short way towards that command- 
 ing position, in which we beheld him a few months since. 
 
 But what of Henry Grattan ? Henry Grattan, at that time, was 
 venerable for his years and services. His gray hairs were circled 
 with a crown of glory, and, as he sat in the Senate Hall of 
 England, men gazed upon him with a noble pity ; for in his weak, 
 and pale, and shrivelled form, they beheld the shadow of that 
 power by which, in 1782, the dead came forth and the sepulchre 
 was filled with hght — by which the province became a kingdom, 
 and, stirred by his rushing genius, rose from her bed in the ocean, 
 and got nearer to the sun ! 
 
 And did the young O'Connell blast his prospects by his differ- 
 ence with the great Irish citizen ? On this account did vulgar 
 tongues — did poisoned pens assail the daring Catholic ? For this, 
 was he scoffed at as an infidel — hooted as a traitor to his country 
 — outlawed as the murderer of her deliverer ? 
 
 I tell you, gentlemen — you, who are in that inconvenient corner 
 there, and think you represent the city — I tell you this, that public 
 men were more just and chivalrous in the days of Grattan than 
 they are in yours ; and if in the war of parties there might have 
 been a keener enmity, there was assuredly less falsehood, and less 
 cant. 
 
 I am now done with this accusation, and being done with it, I 
 beg leave to tell you, that this is the last time I shall apologize for 
 having refused to be a slave. Call it vanity — call it ingratitude — 
 call it treachery — call it, as your prototype. Justice Dogberry, 
 would have called it — call it house-breaking or flat perjury — call 
 
WATERFORD ELECTION. 225 
 
 it by any name you please — from liencefortli I sliall but smile at 
 the intolerant dictation that will utter, and the mischievous credu- 
 lity that will cheer, an accusation so fictitious. 
 
 JSTor is it my intention to touch, in the slightest degree, upon the 
 other counts in the indictment that has been preferred against me. 
 The first count is the only one for which I entertain the least 
 respect, so that I deeply sympathize with the reverend gentleman 
 who has taken such profane and profitless trouble to provoke me. 
 However, if he really desires that I should satisfy him upon those 
 points to which, with such priestly decorum, he has so vehemently 
 referred — I may, perhaps, console him by the assurance, that, in 
 the statement of the grounds upon which I seek the representation 
 of this city, that satisfaction may be gained. 
 
 This statement wil'l be very brief. 
 
 I am an enemy of the Legislative Union — an enemy of that 
 Union in every shape and form that it may assume — an enemy of 
 that Union whatever blessing it may bring — an enemy of that 
 Union whatever sacrifice its extinction may require. 
 
 Maintain the Union, gentlemen, and maintain your beggary. 
 Maintain the Union, and maintain your bankruptcy. Maintain 
 the Union, and maintain your famine. Tolerate the usurpation 
 which the English parliament has achieved, and you tolerate the 
 power ia which your resources, your energies, your institutions are 
 absorbed. Tolerate the rigor of the English Conservatives — their 
 proclamations and state prosecutions — tolerate the English Whigs 
 — their smiles and compliments — their liberal appointments and 
 modified coercion bills — and you tolerate the two policies through 
 which the statesmen of England have alternately managed, ruled, 
 and robbed this country. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th of October, in the year 11*72, upon 
 the broad waters of our native Suir, the spears and banners of a 
 royal pirate were glittering in the sun. Did the city of the Ost- 
 men send forth a shout of defiance as the pageant moved up the 
 
 10* 
 
226 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 stream, and flung its radiance on our walls ? No ; from tliose 
 walls no challenge was hurled at the foe ; but, from the tower of 
 Reginald, the gray eye of a stately soldier glistened as they came, 
 and whilst he waved his hand, and showed them the keys of the 
 city he had won, the name of Strongbow was heard amid the 
 storm of shouts that rocked the galleys to and fro. He was the 
 first adventurer that set his heel on Irish soil in the name of 
 England ; and he — the sleek, the cautious, and the gallant Strong- 
 bow — was the type and herald of that plague with which this 
 island has been cursed for seven desol°ating centuries. 
 
 The historian Holinshed has said of him, that " what he could 
 not compass by deeds, he won by good works and gentle speeches." 
 
 Do you not find in this short sentence an exact description of 
 the power which has held this island from the days of Strongbow 
 to the days of Clarendon ? 
 
 By force or fraud — by steel or gold — by threat or smile — by 
 liberal appointments or speedy executions — by general jail deliveries 
 or special commissions — by dinners in the Park or projected 
 massacres at Clontarf — by the craft of the thief or the genius of 
 the tyrant — they have held this island ever since that morning in 
 October, 1172 — seducing those whom they could not terrify — 
 slaying those whom they could neither allure nor intimidate. 
 
 Thus may the history of the English connexion be told — a 
 black, a boisterous night, in which there shone but one brief 
 interval of peace and lustre. 
 
 Friends and foes ! — you who cheer, and you who curse me — sons 
 of the one soil — inheritors of the one destiny — look back to that 
 interval, and, for an instant, contemplate its glory. 
 
 An accomplished scholar has left us,' in the passage I will read 
 to you from the book which I hold in my hand, a vivid descrip- 
 tion of the one " great day" — the only one — which Ireland has 
 had : — 
 
WATERFORD ELECTION-. 227 
 
 " It was on Tuesday the 16tli day of x\pril, 1782, that the august 
 spectacle of a nation throwing off her chains was presented to the 
 assembled senate of Ireland, and thence to the world. Early on 
 the morning of that day, the great spaces in front of the House of 
 Parliament — its classic colonnades and pillared porticoes, and the 
 open entrance of the University adjoining — were thronged by 
 thousands, who had hurried from all parts of the country to wit- 
 ness the restoration of her rights, and the proclamation of her 
 freedom. The streets of the metropolis were paraded by armed 
 regiments of the Volunteers in uniform — scarlet, and blue, and 
 green, with silver facings — marshalled by men, the noblest and 
 bravest in the land, and bearing on their glittering bannere of 
 azure, white, and purple, mottoes and exhortations that might have 
 breathed on the field of Marathon, or amid the mountain passes 
 of Thermopylae. No man stood there who had not pledged him- 
 self to risk life and fortune in the cause of Ireland, and who did 
 not feel that upon the issue of that day depended her eternal des- 
 tiny. She was about irrevocably to commit herself with England. 
 The question agitated between the two countries was liberty or 
 revolution — there was no alternative. Had the former been 
 refused — had the demand for it been even coldly received, 
 the sun would have gone down that evening for the last time on 
 an enslaved people, and the morrow's dawn would have beheld 
 them rising up with giant force, rushing out upon the plains and 
 hills with fire and sword, and rending, as if they had been withes 
 of straw, the ties that had so long connected them with England. 
 The example of America encouraged and inspired all ; they were 
 irresistible ; and England knew that they were determined. 
 
 " Nor was the sio-ht exhibited in the interior of the House of 
 Commons less imposing than that which was seen outside its walls. 
 A rotunda of magnificent proportions and great architectural ele- 
 gance, lighted from a lofty dome, on which sculpture had lavished 
 many an ornament — a capacious gallery, supported by Tuscan pil- 
 lars, surrounding the entire apartment, and filled with four hun- 
 dred ladies, radiant with beauty and jewelled robes ; the greatest 
 body of the peerage in stars, and orders, and swords — all filled 
 with anxiety about the approaching scene ; here and there some 
 
228 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 gay officers of the Volunteers conversing with the students of the 
 University in their gowns of black silk and velvet ; on the marble 
 floors the representatives of the 2:>eople, several of whom appeared 
 in military dress, talking together in little groups, and venturing 
 many a surmise on the course which government might take on 
 this momentous question — such was the scene which a spectator of 
 that day would have beheld as he entered the Irish House of Com- 
 mons through one of the many tesselated corridors by which it is 
 approached." 
 
 Now, you who quake and quiver when I insist upon the right 
 of this country to be held, governed, and defended by its own citi- 
 zens, and by them alone — you who are so exclusively industrial 
 in your projects and so constitutional in your efforts — what do you 
 say to your fathers, the actors in that scene ? 
 
 Conservatives of Waterford ! — who were the officers in the 
 Irish army that occupied our island on the 16th of April, 1*782 ? 
 Call the muster-roll, and at the head of the regiments levied in 
 Waterford, the Alcocks, the Carews, the Boltons^ the Eeresfords, 
 will appear. 
 
 And will you, gentlemen — the grand jurors of the city and the 
 county — forswear the right of which they were the champions ? 
 Will that which was loyalty in the fathers be sedition in the sons ? 
 
 Time does not change virtue into vice. Do not scruple, then, 
 to revive the sentiments of those whose names you bear, and to 
 w^hose principles — if you have any pride of ancestry — you should 
 ambitiously adhere. You have stood aloof too long from the 
 people, of whose integrity in this contest you hare had so startling 
 an attestation ; and deterred by vague fears and vaguer prejudices, 
 you have leant most cringingly upon England, instead of trusting 
 manfully to yourselves. Identify yourselves with the hopes, the 
 ideas, the labors of your country ; make the country your own, 
 and make it worthy of your pride. Form for the future no mean. 
 
WATERFORD ELECTION. 229 
 
 estimate of its powers ; assign to it no narrow space for its career ; 
 open to it the widest field — conceive for it the highest destiny. 
 
 The enmity I bear the Legislative Union is not more bitter 
 than the enmity I bear those practices and passions, from which 
 that Union derives its ruinous vitality. Impatient for the inde- 
 pendence of my country — intolerant of every evil that averts the 
 blessing — I detest the bigot, and despise the place-beggar. 
 
 Who stands here to bless the bigot or to cheer the place-beggar ? 
 
 They are the worst enemies of Ireland. The rancor of the one, 
 and the venality of the other, constitute the strongest forces by 
 which the island is held in subjection. 
 
 Down with the bigot ! He would sacrifice the nation to the 
 supremacy of his sect. Down with the bigot ! He would perse- 
 cute the courage which had truth for its inspiration, and hu- 
 manity for its cause. Down with the bigot ! He would banish 
 the genius which, in the distribution of its fruits, was generous to 
 all creeds ; and in the circle of its light, would embrace every altar 
 in the land. 
 
 Down with the place-beggar ! He would traiBc on a noble 
 cause, and beg a bribe in the name of liberty. Down with the 
 place-beggar ! He would fawn in private on the men whom he 
 scourged in public, and with his services sustain the usurpation his 
 invectives had assailed. Down with the place-beggar ! He would 
 thrive by traitorism, and, in the enjoyment of his salary, would 
 spurn the people upon whose shoulders he had mounted to that 
 eminence, from whence he had beckoned to the minister, and said 
 — " look here — a slave for hire — a slave of consequence — a valu- 
 able slave — the people have confided in me !" 
 
 You have now some notion of the principles upon which I stand. 
 Do you reject those principles ? Do you think them intolerant, 
 profane, impure ? 
 
 * Declare your opinion, and decide my fate. If you declare 
 against my principles, you declare ngainst the claim I have this 
 
230 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 day urged. I can borrow no great name to hide ray own insigni- 
 ficance. I have been the servant of no government — the follower 
 of no great house. Without any of those influences to assist me 
 upon which public men usually depend, I flung myself into this 
 struo-gle, trusting to the power of truth and the enthusiasm of the 
 people. 
 
 It was a daring act, yet there is wisdom sometimes in audacity. 
 There was a bold spirit slumbering amongst you — it required but 
 one bold act to startle it into a resolute activity. 
 
 I am guilty of that act, and await the penalty. 
 
 Punish me, if you desire to retain your past character! Preserve 
 the famous motto of your ancient municipality free from stain. 
 As it was won by a slavish loyalty, so maintain it by a sordid 
 patriotism. 
 
 Spurn me ! I have been jealous of my freedom, and, in the 
 pursuit of Hberty, have scorned to work in shackles. Spurn me ! 
 I have fought my own way through the storm of politics, and have 
 played, I think, no coward's part upon the way. Spurn me ! I 
 loathe the gold of England, and deem them slaves who would 
 accept it. Spurn me ! I will not beg a bribe for any of you — I 
 will strike no pedlar's bargain between the minister and the people. 
 Spurn me ! I have raised my voice against the tricks and vices 
 of Irish politics, and have preached the attainment of a noble end 
 by noble means. Spurn me ! I have claimed for my country the 
 position and the powers which none amongst you, save the tame 
 and venal, will refuse to claim, and, in doing this, I have acted 
 as became a free, unpensioned citizen. 
 
LETTER 
 TO THE COUNCIL OF THE IRISH CONFEDERATION. 
 
 Waterford, March *lth, 1848. 
 
 Gentlemen : — I deeply regret my inability to attend the 
 meeting on tlie evening of tlie 9tli instant. 
 
 Having learned from your Secretary, that an address to the 
 citizens of Paris will be moved at the meeting, I feel much 
 annoyed, that it will not be in my power to join in the congratula- 
 tions you will offer to these brave men. 
 
 Your congratulations, I trust, will be worthy of the revolution 
 which the citizens of Paris have won and dignified. Commemo- 
 rate it in no lame and stinted language. The panegyric of such 
 a triumph should be written in letters of fire, and the enthusiasm 
 with which you celebrate it, should be as generous as the heroism 
 that achieved it. 
 
 Nor should that revolution be a mere spectacle at which we 
 should gaze with wonder, and clap our hands with joy. Let us 
 derive some instruction from it. By the flames in which the 
 throne is consumed at the foot of the column of July, let us read 
 the lessons of freedom — the way to win the blessing, and the way 
 to keep it. 
 
 The Tricolor is once more seen above the red horizon ! In its 
 blended glories, may we, the citizens of Ireland, behold the type 
 and picture of that national unanimity, upon which the event of 
 our independence absolutely depends. 
 
 If we have differences to settle, let us settle them when we have 
 
232 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 settled the common foe. And if we, gentlemen, are to make the 
 first advance — let us make it — and let it be generously and 
 promptly made. 
 
 " You and I," said Aristides to Themistocles, before the battle 
 of Salamis, " if we are wise, shall now bid adieu to our vain and 
 childish disputes, and enter upon a nobler and more salutary 
 contention, striving which of us shall contribute most to the 
 preservation of Greece." 
 
 More than this — the present crisis, as it is called, dictates some- 
 thing beyond the adjustment of our differences. It dictates bold 
 steps, and the boldest that can be taken. As to the old routine 
 of petitions, reports, getting men into Parliament, and all that sort 
 of work — I am heartily sick of it since my defeat. 
 
 The contest, in which I was recently engaged, has clearly proved 
 to me that the will of the people has no effect, whilst we appeal to 
 the weapons of the franchise. Besides, I think it would be a 
 crime in me to waste, any further, in obscure election squabbles, 
 that fine enthusiasm by which I was sustained, and which, surging 
 and swaying round me to the last moment — strong and pas- 
 sionate even when the cloud had lowered upon it — convinced me 
 it was an element destined to give life to a nobler struggle, upon 
 a wider field. 
 
 The moment I can stir — that moment I shall be with you. In 
 my absence, however, you may assign me any place, any duty, 
 you think fit. I shall proudly obey the orders of the Irish Con- 
 federation. 
 
 Whatever be the consequences, I shall attend the meeting of the 
 iVth instant. The Citizens of Dublin do well to dedicate the 
 national holiday to the honor of France. I do not wish to urge 
 any suggestion, but I think that a proclamation should be issued 
 on that morning, calling upon the people to give over their 
 slavish custom of dancing attendance in the Castle Yard to the 
 
LETTER TO THE COUIn^CIL OF THE IRISH CONFEDERATION. 233 
 
 fifes and drums of some English regiment, and the nods and 
 smiles of his Excellency in the balcony. 
 
 From this out, the deepest and blackest line should be drawn 
 between the people of Ireland and the ministers of England — 
 their soldiers and their lawyers — their bullies and their beggars. 
 God grant it ! that in a few months, at furthest, the Irish Sea may 
 flow between them, and for ever ! 
 * I am, Gentlemen, 
 
 Your sincere friend, 
 
 Thomas Francis Meagher. 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION— APPEAL TO ARMS. 
 
 Music Hall, Dublm, 15tk March, 1848. 
 
 [In France, at the close of 1847, the Ministerialists, led by M. Guizot, and 
 the Reform party, headed by M. Odillon Barrot, were drawn up in hostile 
 attitudes. The banquets of the latter, held in various parts of France, 
 were objects of anxiety, suspicion, and condemnation on the part of the 
 former. At Paris, Chdlons sur Saone, Grenoble, Roanne, Vienne, Lille, 
 Dijon, Autun, Ma9on, and other places, those banquets were generously 
 subscribed for — in some places the reform and dynastic agitators uniting. 
 They grew formidable. The King's address to the new Chamber — in con- 
 sequence of some phrases insulting to the managers of those reform ban- 
 quets — led to a long and angry debate, and the great majority of the 
 Chamber demanded the presentation of a law on the right of meeting. 
 Even the Conservatives, moved by the prolonged defiance of the Ministers to 
 the Representatives, joined in the demand, M. Guizot, in opposition to 
 MM, Barrot and Duvergier de Hauranne, maintained the right of govern- 
 ment. M. Hebert, Keeper of the Seals, advocated the revival of the laws 
 of 1791 — the legal repression of those dangerous meetings — and by his 
 arbitrary notions on the question, gave rise to much heated and violent 
 feeling. "M. Ledru Rollin," says Lamartine, "replied with a fire and 
 vigor which placed him in the front rank of the opposition orators." On 
 the 2nd February, a number of students of the Paris colleges presented a 
 petition for the liberty of speech in the University, and that the courses of 
 MM. Quinet and Michelet should be resumed. The 12th arrondissement 
 of Paris had arranged to hold a banquet on the 20th February, 1848, and 
 the Reformers signified their intention of being present, to ratify their 
 opinion of the right of assembly. They could muster no inconsiderable force 
 — consisting, as they did, of more than two hundred deputies, two hundred 
 and fifty officers of the National Guard, nearly all the municipal officers, and 
 the great mass of the citizens. This circumstance, concurring with the exciting 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 235 
 
 intelligence of the movement in Italy, hurried Louis Philippe and his ministers 
 to the adoption of " precautionary " measures. The Ministry did not intend 
 to oppose the banquet by force, but subject the issue between them and the 
 popular party to the decision of the courts of law, to which decision the 
 Opposition were satisfied to submit. But on the 19th — the Reformers having 
 invited the N'ational Guard — the Ministry revoked their intention, and 
 declared they would disperse the meeting by force. The banquet was coun- 
 termanded. On Monday the 21st, proclamations were issued, forbidding the 
 banquet — all assemblages of the people — and prohibiting the National Guard 
 from appearing in uniform, unless ordered by their chiefs. In the meantime, 
 an army of fifty thousand men was concentrated upon Paris. A numerous 
 garrison were already on the road to St. Cloud, for the fort of Mont 
 Valerien. Thirty-seven battalions of infantry, a battalion of Chasseicrs 
 (T Orleans, three companies of sappers and miners, four thousand men 
 of the Municipal guard and veterans, and five batteries of artillery, 
 garrisoned the capital. All the points of poj)ular strength were covered 
 by the military. The night of Monday was silent. On Tuesday, crowds 
 moved — gathering force and passion as they moved — along the Boulevards, 
 and from the upper Faubourgs of Paris. Anxiety sat on every face, and 
 each seemed to ask his neighbor why he came, knowing well what brought 
 himself. The students, with the fearless animation of yoath, appeared upon 
 the Place de la Madeleine, singing the Marseillaise. Still swelling, the 
 column measured the Place de la Concorde, crossed the Port Royal, and, by' 
 noon, thirty thousand men knocked at the Chamber of Deputies. The 
 railings and walls were surmounted, the gates forced— but thousands of 
 cavalry, infantry, and artillery, rapidly converging upon the Chambers, 
 dispersed the populace. The Boulevard Italien and the Rue Lepelletier 
 swarmed with students, who brought to the ofiice of the National — " the 
 touchstone of the Revolution," as M. de Lamartine called that journal — a 
 copy of their petition to the Chambers, praying for the impeachment of the 
 ministry. An apparently harmless crowd followed them ; but the Mourir 
 pour la Patrie mingling with the Marseillaise, had the effect of closing 
 up the shops on the Boulevard. Throughout the day, the collisions 
 between the people and the soldiers were frequent. On the quays, and 
 in the streets, single regiments dispersed whole multitudes. This, 
 however, had no bad effect. Towards evening, barricades grejv 
 suddenly from the paved ways. The people — no doubt remembering the 
 surrender of Switzerland and Italy, and the counter-revolutionary and anti- 
 
236 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 national policy of the government — attacked, but in vain, the hotel of the 
 Minister of Foreign Affairs. It was filled with troops. Nevertheless, the 
 determination was evident, for, in every direction, voice answered voice — 
 " Down with Guizot !"— "The head of Guizot!" The position of the Hotel 
 des Affaires Estrangeres reminds old revolutionists of July, 1830, and this 
 does not at all make them fear the soldiers. For instance, near the gate, 
 a horse-soldier ordered a man to move on, or he would cut him down. 
 Folding his arms, and looking sternly at the soldier, the man replied, 
 "Would you, coward ?" The trooper rode off. Around the Madeleine and 
 the Port Royale, the dense crowds, to the order of "disperse !" give a 
 reply more ominous than blows — " Vive la Reforme I Vive la Ligne /" — 
 and burst into the Girondins' chant — "3Iou7-ir j^our la Patrie .'" In 
 the afternoon, the aspect of the Chamber of Deputies was gloomy. M. 
 Guizot, pale but confident, awaited the storm that was gathering. The 
 appearance of M. 0. Barrot, accompanied by De Hauranne, Marie, 
 Thiers, Garnier Pages, and others, produced some sensation — the more 
 visible, because of the thinly filled benches. M. Barrot laid on the table an 
 act signed by fifty-three Deputies, impeaching the Ministry as guilty of 
 having betrayed the honor of France abroad — attacked the rights of the 
 people at home — falsified the Constitution — violated the guarantees of 
 liberty — of systematic corruption and perversion of the representative 
 government — traffic in public offices — waste of the state finances — of 
 violent despoliation of tlie right of citizenship under a free Constitution — 
 and of placing in question all the conquests of two revolutions, by a policy 
 that was openly and absolutely counter-revolutionary. M. Genoude, in 
 his own name impeached the " President of the Council and his 
 colleagues." M. Guizot, " whose soul loved its grand dramas," took up 
 M. Barrot's impeachment, perused it, and " laughed immoderately." A 
 division took place in the Opposition, seventeen — including Count Dalton 
 Shee, Due D'Hareourt, and de Boissy, of the Chamber of Peers — being in 
 favor of holding the banquet on that evening (22d), and the majority 
 against it. The revolutionary organs violently attacked M. Barrot and his 
 colleagues for retreating before the ministry. News of the movement 
 spread rapidly through the provinces, and from Chartres and Amiens, 
 addresses, signed by all classes of society, reached the deputies, 
 encouraging resistance. Similar addresses were despatched from Blois, 
 Tours, Rouen, Havre, Arras, Lille, and deputations were travelling to 
 the banquet. The excitement increased on Wednesday. The people with 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 237 
 
 a noble perseverance continued to maintain their attitude of passive 
 resistance, and addressed the soldiers with every phrase of fraternity, at 
 the same time that they took every "precautionary" means of self-defence. 
 Dispersed from one street, they gather in another, covering their retreat 
 with broken bottles, and demolishing railings for weapons — overthrowing 
 vehicles, tearing up the pavements, and erecting barricades. At the 
 Filles du Cabraires, however, there was more serious opposition. Cannon 
 was fired, and the slaughter becoming general, thii'ty or forty persons were 
 killed. General Peyronnet Sebastian! fell here. As the day advanced, 
 it became evident that the National Guards acted unwillingly against the 
 "insurgents." At the Mairie of the third Arrondissement, the third legion, 
 taking the initiative, declared for Reform. The Municipal Guard, with 
 fixed bayonets, advanced on them. The National Guard received them 
 firmly — their bayonets crossed — "Respect the people!" exclaimed M. 
 Tetorix — and raising their arms in token of respect, the Municipals marched 
 off. The effect was electric. Presently, the rest of the legion declared for 
 the people, and by noon they numbered three thousand men. In the 
 rue Lepelletier, the N'ationals of the second legion followed the example. 
 " Long live the National Guard !" — " Down with Guizot !" — frantically rose 
 from the delighted people ; and in their ebullition of joy, they attacked a 
 guard-house, overpowered the soldiers, fired off their muskets, freed the 
 prisoners, and capturing the colors, presented them, amid thundering viva!!, 
 as a trophy to the third legion of the JSTationals. The officers of the 
 third legion demanded the dismissal of ministers, and deputed their 
 colonel to wait on the King. The city continued in a tremulous fever 
 during the afternoon. At tliree o'clock, Louis Philippe was informed of the 
 decision of the Municipal Council — the dismissal of ministers. The King 
 hastily calls a council, and the ministers resign. So far the people 
 triumphed, and here Louis Philippe, imagining he had appeased the 
 people, concluded that the "riot" would have an end. Tlie conflict recom- 
 menced with the night. In a fit of satiric exultation, the people resolved 
 on making M. Guizot illuminate for his own downfall. On some slight 
 pretence — or rather, from a very urgent necessity, as the better informed 
 have confidently assured us — the soldiers on guard replied to the proposal 
 by a volley, killing fifty-two persons. This discharge was the tocsin of 
 war. Presently the hum of an approaching multitude — a hum, in which 
 the rumbUng noise of wheels broke through the solemn swell of the death 
 
238 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 cliant — fell lieavilj upon the ear. The crowd slowly advanced from the 
 Boulevard des Capucineo. In the light of the flaring torches, which 
 the foremost carried, the dark mass moved like the sea before the 
 coming storm. As the head of the column reached the Rue Lepelletier, 
 the chant gave way to a burst of fury, and, at the office of the National, 
 changed into a tumultuous shriek of " Vengeance." Round the bier — for 
 it was the funeral procession of those who fell at the Hotel of Foreign 
 Affairs — the sensation was terrible, as the people showed the bloody 
 bodies to the journalists, that they might be recorded. "They are 
 assassins Y:ho have slain them — give us arms ! we will avenge them I 
 Arms — arms !" The torches, casting their light upon the sweltering 
 corses and upon the frenzied faces of the multitude, disclosed an apj^alling 
 scene. M. Garnier Pages addressed them in words of promise, and 
 they moved on with the bodies. Aux armes ! a has les assasshm ! 
 a has Louis Philippe ! aux Barricades ! — and they wildly went to the 
 barricades again. Everything was sacrificed to the barricade. All through 
 the nigbt, rich men and poor men, shopkeepers, clerks, and workmen, 
 labored with an earnestness beyond description. In the Boulevard des 
 Italiens, three regiments of the line, armed to the teeth, and a regiment 
 of Cuirassiers, having three field-pieces and three caissons of ammunition 
 yfWh. them, fraternized with the National guards and the people, amid the 
 greatest enthusiasm. Paris bivouacked in the streets, and welcomed liberty 
 by the watch-fires. There were no outrages. Women were politely conducted 
 to their homes. Armed parties went their rounds. " Have you arras ?" ask 
 the people. " Yes." " Then give them ;" and receiving them they mark the 
 door, with a scrap of chalk, thus — " On a donne les armes." Late this night, 
 Thiers, at the solicitation of the King, promised to submit a new ministry, 
 on the proviso that M. Odillon Barrot should be included. Such was tlie 
 disposition of the characters on the revolutionary stage on the night of 
 "Wednesday, the 23d of February. Early on the morning of Thursday, it 
 was announced the ministry was formed. Vive la reforme ! shout the 
 people — "you shall have it," answered M. Thiers, who with several oppo- 
 sition members were traversing the streets. "Yes — yes," was the ans\^er 
 to every demand of the people, and shortly afterwards, this proclamation 
 was posted on the walls : — 
 
 " Orders have been given to cease firing everywhere. We have just 
 been charged by the King to form a ministry. The Chamber will be 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 239 
 
 dissoivod, and an appeal made to the country. General Lamoriciere has 
 
 been apj)ointed Commandant of the National Guards. 
 
 " Thiers, 
 " OoiLLON Barrot, 
 
 "DUVERGIER DE HaURAXNE, 
 
 " Lamoricieke." 
 
 Bitter disappointment aiid indignation followed. The placards were torn 
 down. The JSTational Guard refused to fire on the people. Before 11 o'clock 
 — at which time Marshal Bugeaud threw down his baton and disappeared — 
 two regiments of the line, and the five companies of the Pompeurs of Paris 
 fraternized with, and gave up their arms and ammunition, to the people. 
 The excitement grew violent, and the *' insui-gents " multiplied enormously. 
 The troops, tired of street-fighting, had been drawn off to the Tuilleries. Tri- 
 color flags became visible, with the word "Republique" displayed thereon. 
 The Abbaye and Conseils de Guerre prisons were unbarred, and the iumates 
 unchained. " Aux Tuilleries — a potence Louis Philippe — Vengeance .'" — and 
 springing over their barricades, the people sweep on to the Palais Royal. 
 OjDposite the latter was a guard-house, which being summoned to surrender 
 poured out volley after volley. Up flew a barricade on either side of it, 
 as if by magic, and the citizens returned the fire, which was kept uj) for 
 hours. General Lamoriciere attempted to restore order — it was useless. 
 A couple of coaches were overturned and fired opposite the port. Amid 
 the yell of "vengeance" — the guard-house yielded to the flames, and buried 
 its defenders in its ruins. M. Etienne Arago led the insurgents in this 
 desperate encounter. The Palais Royal was then attacked, and after much 
 slaughter, taken by the people. The Tuilleries was next visited, the clamo- 
 rous voices of outraged citizens, disturbing the privacy of Louis Philippe with 
 a fore-knowledge of his doom. He immediately abdicated in favor of his 
 grand-son, the Count de Paris. It was noon, and by one o'clock, the palace 
 was the property of the citizens. It was gutted. The furniture of royalty 
 was flung into an immense bon-fire. The throne was cari'ied about the 
 streets in triumph, amid the loud choruses of the Marseillaise. On cap- 
 turing the palace, the people found a magnificent image of our Saviour in 
 white marble. " My friends," cried a student of the Ecole Polytechnique, 
 "this is the master of us all!" They took the figure and bore it solemnly 
 to the church of St. Roch. " Citizens, off with your hats ! Salute Christ !" 
 said the people, and all bowed low in reverence. The King escaped in 
 disguise, his flight from the city being materially precipitated by the cries 
 
240 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 of Vive la Repuhliqiic, whicli haunted his ears. At half-past one, there 
 were three hundred Dei3uties in the Chnmber. The Duchess of Orleans 
 and. her sons were announced. The Count de Paris, led bj a Deputy 
 and the Duchess and her other son, accompanied by the Dukes de 
 Nemours and Montpensier, entered. The National Guards and the 
 people forcibly intruded, and took possession of the seats under the 
 tribune. The uproar subsiding, M. Dupin announced, that the King, 
 on abdicating in favor of the young Count of Paris, appointed tho 
 Duchess of Orleans regent. Cries of " it is too late," interrupted the 
 speaker. M. Marie and Cremieux urged the necessity of establishing a 
 provisional government. M. Barrot proposed, as most fitting for the 
 occasion — " the regency of the Duchess, a ministry chosen from the most 
 tried opinions, and an appeal to the country." Great agitation followed, 
 and the speaker was cut short by the descent of a greater crowd. 
 Dressed in the most heterogeneous manner — men in blouses, transformed 
 into soldiers, with helmets and cross-belts — they presented a most exciting 
 spectacle. All were armed with swords, lances, spears, muskets, and 
 several carried tri-color flags. They threw themselves into the empty 
 seats of the deputies, and some even took possession of the tribune. 
 The president, as a mark of disapprobation at the disorder, put on his 
 hat. In a moment several muhkets were levelled at him, and loud 
 cries of " off with your hat, president," angrily proceeded from the new- 
 comers. Tlie Duchess of Orleans and her sons became the objects of the 
 deepest anxiety on the part of the deputies. She sat calm amid the storm. 
 In the uproar, M. Ledni Eollin sprang to his feet, and, after strenuous 
 exertions, produced a comparative silence. " In the name of the people I 
 protest against the kind of government which has just been proposed. I 
 protest against it in the name of the citizens whom I see before me — who 
 for the last two days have been fighting, and who will, if necessary, combat 
 again this evening." Deafening cries of "yes — yes," accompanied with the 
 brandishing of weapons, interrupted him. He proposed a provisional 
 government. M. Lamartine was also in favor of a provisional govern- 
 ment. At the close of his remarks, a third crowd of citizens, fresh 
 from the combat — bandaged, bleeding, and ferocious — rushed into the 
 upper tribune, and forcing their way to the front seats, levelled their 
 guns on the deputies below. Yielding to the energetic persuasions 
 of some persons near her, the Duchess of Orleans and her party with^ 
 drew. At the same moment, M. Sauvet left the president's chair, and 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 241 
 
 nearly all the deputies quitted their places. The disorder and excitement 
 had now risen to its greatest height. Ledru Rollin rose again and proposed 
 the provisional government — MM. Dupont (de I'Eure), Arago, de Lamar- 
 tine, Ledru Rollin, Garnier Pages, Marie, and Cremieux — all of which were 
 received with acclamations. After which, cries of "To the Hotel de Ville — 
 no civil list — no king — Vive la Rcpublique !" arose. The provisional 
 government was installed at four o'clock at the Hotel de Ville. This was 
 Thursday, the 24th. The first act was to proclaim a Republic. Early on 
 Friday morning, the following proclamation was issued : 
 
 "proclamation of the FRENCH GOVERNMENT TO TH? FRENCH PEOPLE. 
 
 " A retrograde government has been overturned by the heroism of the 
 people of Paris. 
 
 " This government has fled, leaving behind it traces of blood, which will 
 for ever forbid its return. 
 
 " The blood of the people has flowed as in July ; but, happily, it has not 
 been shed in vain. It has secured a national and popular government, in 
 accordance with the rights, the progress, and the will of this great and 
 generous people. 
 
 "A provisional government, at the call of the people and some deputies, 
 in the sitting of the 24th of February, is for the moment invested with the 
 care of organizing and securing the National victcry. It is composed of 
 MM. Dupont (de I'Eure), Lamartine, Cremieux, Arago, Ledru Rollin, and 
 Garnier Pages. The secretaries to this government, are IVIM. Armand 
 Marrast, Louis Blanc, and Ferdinand Flocon. 
 
 " These citizens have not hesitated for an instant, to accept the patriotic 
 mission which has been imposed upon them by the urgency of the 
 occasion. 
 
 " Frenchmen, give to the world the example Paris has given to France. 
 Prepare yourselves, by order and confidence in yourselves, for the institu- 
 tions which are about to be given you. 
 
 " The provisional government desires a Republic, pending the ratifica- 
 tion of the French people, who are immediately to be consulted. 
 
 " Neither the people of Paris nor the provisional government desire to 
 substitute their opinion for the opinions of the citizens at large, upon the 
 definite form of government which the National sovereignty shall proclaim. 
 
 " The unity of the Nation, formed henceforth of all classes of the people 
 which compose it. 
 
 " The government of the Nation by itself. 
 
 " Liberty, Equality, Fraternity, for its principles. 
 
 "The people to devise, and to maintain order. 
 
 11 
 
242 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 "Such is the Democratic government which France owes to herself, and 
 which our efforts will ensure to her. 
 
 " Such are the first acts of the provisional government." 
 
 (Signed) 
 
 The departments " followed in the sublime movement at Paris." Rouen 
 and Havre especially, which sent 3,000 men, with arms and provisions to 
 the Parisians. The Castle of Vincennes surrendered after a slight resist- 
 ance. All the other forts round Paris also surrendered to the Republic. 
 Paris was tranquil, but the English were flying from the city. A procla- 
 mation which appeared on Saturday, declared the Chamber of Peers, 
 "which only represented the interests of the aristocracy," suppressed; 
 the Chamber of Deputies, "the mere representative of privileges, monopoly, 
 and corruption," dissolved, and says : — 
 
 " The K"atlon, from the present moment, is constituted a Republic. 
 
 "All citizens should remain in arms, and defend the barricades, until 
 they have acquired the enjoyment of all their rights, as citizens and as 
 operatives. 
 
 " Every citizen who has attained his majority is a national guard. 
 
 " Every citizen is an elector. 
 
 " Absolute freedom of thought and liberty of the press, right of political 
 and industrial association, is sacred to all. 
 
 " As the government of the future can only respect the wishes and the 
 interests of all classes, all Frenchmen should assemble together in the 
 respective communes, in deliberative assemblies, in order to elect new and 
 real representatives of the country. 
 
 "Until the nation has formally declared its will on this head, every 
 attempt to restore obsolete powers must be deemed an usurpation ; and it 
 is the duty of every citizen to resist any such attempt by force." 
 
 The French Admirals gave in their adhesion- to the Republic. 
 Political prisoners were set at liberty on Saturday. Paris presented 
 the appearance of a festival. A proclamation was extensively placarded 
 by the editors of the Democratie Pacifique which professed to give authori- 
 tatively the ideas of M. de Lamar tine ; it says : — ■ 
 
 " Union and fraternal association between the heads of trading estab- 
 lishments and the operatives. Equality of rights, by education given to 
 all ; asylums, places of refuge, rural schools, and civic (or urban) schools. 
 No more oppression or working of children. Absolute freedom of religion. 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUIIOX APPEAL TO ARMS. 243 
 
 Absolute independence of conscience. The church to be independent of 
 the state. 
 
 " Protection to all the weak, and to women and children. Peace and 
 holy alliance amongst all nations. Abolition of war, in which the people 
 serve as a gun carriage. 
 
 " Independence of all nationalities. 
 
 " France the Protectress of the Rights of Weak Nations. 
 
 " Order founded on liberty. Universal fraternity." 
 
 To this there is added a postscript thus : — 
 
 "There is a man in France who accepts these principles, and who has 
 already proclaimed them — namely M. de Lamartine." 
 
 On Sunday, Mr. Rush, the Minister of the United States, visited the 
 Hotel de Ville, and recognised the Provisional government with warm con- 
 gratulations. The Archbishop of Paris ordered a solemn service for the 
 
 slain in all the churches of the city. In Sicily, the rigorous measures of 
 
 the govwnment against the former insurrectionists — the wholesale incarce- 
 rations, and the numerous and indiscriminate executions, produced their 
 usual consequences. Early in December, Sicily rose "as one man, and 
 the soldiers refused to act against the exasperated population." The 
 popular demonstrations continued. On the 14th of that month, a 
 body of several hundred citizens paraded the town, shouting in favor 
 of the Pope, the Italian League, and Reform, l^ear the Palace, a serious 
 collision took place with the military and police. At Messina, Marshal 
 Landi, obnoxious from his former acts, had to fly his residence, and 
 shut himself up with the garrison in the fortress. On the 9th of 
 January, Prince Fiorenza, the Chancellor Amari, Francis Ferrari, and 
 twenty others were arrested, at Palermo, on suspicion of being popular, 
 having restored order during the warm demonstrations of JNTovember, 
 when the police could not. Patriotic manifestoes were privately dis- 
 patched throughout the island, and revolutionary parties organized in 
 silence. On the morning of the 12th, as the artillery announced the anni« 
 versary of the king's birthday, the population spread in masses through the 
 city. Detachments of the people were attended by armed men, who pro- 
 tected them whilst they piled the barricades. The police gave way before 
 this imposing movement. A portion of the army left the town and took 
 up a position at the foot of Mont Pellegrino. About noon, some of the 
 
244 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 cavalrj appearing in tlie streets to disperse the people, were hailed with 
 cries of fraternity and friendship ; but they fired on the citizens, killing 
 one man and wounding many. Loud cries of vengeance rose from the 
 crowd. The " insurgents," now numbering thirty thousand, became mas- 
 ters of the city, and occupied themselves in strengthening their position. 
 The clergy mingled with the people, giving utterance to sentiments of the 
 loftiest patriotism, exhorting them not to desist, and encouraging them 
 at the barricades. Tlie women hurled boiling water and furniture on 
 the cavalry as they charged. The greatest unanimity prevailed, and the 
 infantry again refused to act against the people. At Xaples, placards were 
 posted, calling on the citizens to imitate Palermo. At Trapani, a rising took 
 place no less decisive than that of the Palermians. The royal troops were 
 repelled and the castle captured by the people. The packet, Giglio delle 
 Onde, was seized by the insurgents for their own use, and at Messina the 
 people possessed themselves of the forts surrounding the town. Catania, 
 Syracuse, and Melazza followed the example, and everywhere success 
 crowned the " insurgents." At Palermo, the citizens formed a provisional 
 government of the first men in Sicily. The town was bombarded by 
 eio"ht royal steamers sent by the king from Naples. The bombardment 
 continued for two days. The foreign consuls protested against the bom- 
 bardment. When near the palace, the deputation was fired on. At last, 
 gaining the presence of the Due de Majo, Lieutenant General of Sicily, a 
 long discussion ensued, at the close of which the firing was ordered to be 
 suspended for twenty-four hours. The deputation then proceeded through 
 various barricades to the palace of the senate, in the centre of the town, 
 where the council of the people sat, but failed to induce them to suspend 
 hostilities. From this moment the " insurrection " took greater consistency 
 and strength. The people made incessant attacks on the troops. On the 
 19th, the consuls met and protested against the renewal of the bombard- 
 ment, and the same evening a despatch was sent to Naples with the 
 demands of the people for the constitution of 1812, and the convoca- 
 tion of a Sicilian Parliament at Palermo. On the 20th, decrees of 
 concession were brought to Palermo, but matters had gone so far 
 that the Sicilians would not accept less than they demanded. A 
 junta of two sections — one for administration, one for defence — was 
 formed at Palermo. The strictest discipline was observed. Addresses were 
 issued to the clergy, in which they say — " Let the Evangelical j^ulpit again 
 proclaim the words of truth, to make known to our citizens that the love 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 245 
 
 of our native land is one of the great principles of our religion. Let the 
 people be taught by the Holy Word to respect property, persons, and the 
 movements which have for aim to promote civilization." In the beginning 
 of February, the King granted a new Constitution — that of 1812 — which 
 was accepted on condition that the Prince Royal (twelve years old) should 
 reside at Palermo, and that a separate parliament should be established at 
 the same place. Several ladies of distinction had sympathised in thought 
 and action with the people. The Princess Scordia and the Duchesses de 
 Monteleone and G-ualtieri tended the wounded. Special mention is due to 
 Maria Testa di Lana, who, disguising her noble figure in man's attire, headed 
 
 a detachment, and fought and won for her country. In Ireland, the 
 
 terrible condition of the country, together with the examples of the European 
 revolutions, entirely changed the policy of the Confederation. To such a, 
 pitch of excitement were the Nationalists wrought by the revolutionary 
 spirit, that an outbreak was confidently expected by the Government on 
 the iVth of March. Acting on this expectation, they made formidable 
 preparations for the massacre of the people. The Bank of Ireland, 
 Custom House, Trinity College, the Royal Dublin Society, Royal Hibernian 
 Academy, Linen Hall, Holmes's Hotel, the Rotunda, the Veterinary Stables, 
 and, in fact, all the Institutions, literary, artistic, or commercial, in and 
 about the city of Dublin, were strongly garrisoned. Gun boats were 
 hastily built, to be thrown upon the Liffey. The barracks were pro- 
 visioned, as for a siege. The horses of the cavalry were shod with 
 plates of steel, to prevent their being injured and thrown into disorder by 
 broken bottles, and any other missiles which might be flung from the 
 parapets and windows. The horsemen were busily engaged sharpening 
 their sabres on grinding stones in the barrack squares, whilst the infantry 
 were occupied in familiarizing themselves with the art of fusilading foot- 
 paths and thoroughfares. The Confederation, convinced that the people 
 were ill prepared to eifect a rising at the time, and determined, so far 
 as they could guide the popular passions, that there should not be a 
 fruitless attempt, anticipated the provocations which the people might 
 receive on the l7th, and issued the following proclamation : — 
 
 " TO THE CITIZENS OF DUBLIN". 
 
 "Fellow-Countrymen, — A slander has gone forth against you. It is 
 rumored, by your enemies, that the blind and anarchical riots, which have 
 disgraced the great towns of England and Scotland, are to be imitated 
 amongst us. 
 
246 ENGLISH LEGISLATION". 
 
 ""Wilfully confounding your passionate ardor for the deliverance of your 
 country, with these sordid offences against property and order, they dare 
 to atErni that your aggregate meeting puts in peril the safety of your 
 fellow-citizens. 
 
 "i^nd the English Government, which rules this island, ignorant of your 
 character, or indifferent to it, have thronged the metropolis with troops, 
 aud sworn in their English soldiers as magistrates of the city, to overawe 
 and dishonor the native citizens. 
 
 "Fellow-countrymen, we must disappoint the malice of our enemies. 
 "We must guard our sacred cause against surprise or stratagem. 
 
 "The Council of the Irish Confederation appeal to you, in the name of 
 our coming liberty, to watch over social order. They admonish you to be 
 alive to the designs of your enemies, and to permit no provocation to 
 tempt you into the most trifling disorder. 
 
 " Riot and rashness are the vices of slaves ; free men, or men worthy of 
 freedom, are calm, orderly, and resolute. Let us be so. Let every good 
 citizen regard himself as one of a future National Guard, bound to watch 
 over the order and tranquillity of the metropolis. 
 
 " It is not to the vicious excesses of a mob, but to the heroic struggles 
 which illumine the Continent, that your eyes are turned. It is there you 
 look for examples of how liberty may be won, without outrage upon 
 religion, property, or order. 
 
 "A majority of all the European States have exacted native independ- 
 ence, or free institutions, from their rulers, while we have been struggling 
 in the agony of famine. Many of thera conquered by the mere aspect 
 of the angry people, before which tyranny trembled and gave way ; some 
 of them seized their rights with armed hands; but all have attained their 
 demands. It is beside them, we ambition to take our place. 
 
 "For Ireland, too, has a great part to play — if she do not prove 
 unworthy of it. Of all the nations, none has suffered so deeply — none 
 has made out so clearly her charter to independence, by the multitude of 
 her wrongs, and the hopelessness of all other remedies. Fellow-country- 
 men, it will be some criminal blunder of our own, if Ireland is not free as 
 Sicily, and tranquil as France, before a single year has passed away. 
 
 "But we do not labor for the elevation of class or creed, but for all 
 Irishmen ; and our countrymen must be made to feel universally that no 
 just interest is perilled by our success. This is all that remains to be done. 
 Death has raged among us like an invading army — emigration has drained 
 our land of wealth and strength; we are justified before God and man in 
 refusing to endure our wrongs any longer. Our sole duty is to assure and 
 unite all our own people who desire the independence of our country. 
 That done, we can resume our ancient constitution, though all the foreign 
 nations of \^e earth forbid it. And we shall. 
 
 "But we must prove we are worthy of liberty. By forbearance, by 
 
THE PREXCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 247 
 
 Belf-control, by respect for property and order, we must combine witb us 
 all the good men of Ireland, who desire independence unsullied by crimes 
 or excesses. 
 
 *' Riot or tumult at this moment would disgrace our cause and deliver it 
 into the hands of our enemies. Be peaceful, then, fellow-countrymen, and 
 patient. Trust to the Confederation to point the time and the way to 
 liberty. Day by day we shall advance toward it, and step by step. Give 
 our enemies no advantage by rashness, and there shall be no backward 
 step in the face of any peril, till our end is attained."] 
 
 Citizens of Dublin, I move tbe adoption of that address. In 
 doing so, I will follow the advice of my friend, Mr. M'Gee. This 
 is not the time for long speeches. Everything we say here, just 
 now, should be short, sharp, and decisive. 
 
 I move the adoption of that address, for this reason — the 
 instruction it gives you, if obeyed, will keep you in possession of 
 the opportunity which the revolution of Paris has created. The 
 game is in your hands, at last ; and you have a partner in the 
 play upon whom you may depend. 
 
 Look towards the southern wave, and do you not find it crim- 
 soned with the flame in which the throne of the Tuileries has been 
 consumed — and, borne upon that wave, do you not hail the rain- 
 bow flag, which, a few years since, glittered above the rocks of Ban- 
 try ? Has not France proclaimed herself the protectress of weak 
 nations, and is not the sword of the Republic pledged to the 
 oppressed nationalities which, in Europe, and elsewhere, desire to 
 reconstruct themselves ?• 
 
 The feet that liave trampled upon the sceptre of July, have 
 trampled upon the treaty of Vienna. Henceforth the convenience 
 of kings will be slightly consulted by France, where the necessi- 
 ties of a people manifest themselves. 
 
 But do not wait for France. Do not beg the blood which, on 
 the altar of the Madeline, she consecrates to the service of 
 humanity. Do not purchase your independence at the expense of 
 those poor workmen, whose heroism has been so impetuous, so 
 
248 ENGLISH LEGISLATION". 
 
 generous, so tolerant. It is sufficient for us, tliat tlie Eepublic — to 
 use the language of Lamartine — shines from its j)lace upon the 
 horizon of nations, to instruct and guide them. Listen to these 
 instructions — accept this guidance — and be confident of success. 
 
 Fraternize ! — I will use the word, though the critics of the Castle 
 reject it as the cant of the day — I will use it, for it is the spell- 
 word of weak nations — fi-aternize ! — as the citizens of Paris have 
 done — and in the clasped hands which arch the colossal car in that 
 great funeral procession of the 4th of March, beliold the sign in 
 which your victory shall be won ! 
 
 Do you not redden at the thought of jour contemptible factions 
 — their follies — and their crimes ? Do you not see, that every 
 nation with a sensible head and an upright heart, laughs at the 
 poor profligate passion which frets and fights for a straw in this 
 parish — a feather in that barony — a bubble on that river ? Have 
 you not learned by this, that, whilst you have been fighting for 
 these straws and bubbles, the country has been wrenched from 
 beneath your feet, and made over to the brigands of the Castle ? 
 
 And what enables these sleek and silken brigands to hold your 
 country ? Have you fought them ? Have you struck blow for 
 blow, and been worsted in the fight ? 
 
 Think of it — you marched against them a few years back, and 
 when you drew up before the Castle gates, you cursed and cuffed 
 each other — and then withdrew. 
 
 Withdrew ! 
 
 For what ? To repair the evil ? To reunite the forces ? Ah, I 
 will not sting you with these questions. I will not sting myself. 
 
 Let no L'ishman look into the past. He will be scared at the 
 evidences of his guilt — evidences which spring up, like weeds and 
 briars, in that bleak waste of ruins. Between us and the past, let 
 a wall arise, and, as if this day was the first of our existence, let 
 us advance together towards that destiny, in the light of which 
 this old island shall renew itself. 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 249 
 
 Citizens — I use anotlier of tlie " cant phrases " of tlie day, for 
 tMs, too, is a spell-word with weak nations — I speak thus, in spite 
 of circumstances which, within the last few days — I allude to the 
 addresses from the University and the Orange Lodges — have dark- 
 ened the prospect of a national union. I speak thus, in spite of 
 that squeamish morality which decries the inspiration of the time, 
 and would check the lofty passion which desires to manifest itself 
 in arms. 
 
 But, I will not despair of this union, whoever may play the fac- 
 tionist. The people will act for themselves, and in their hands, the 
 liberty of the country will not be compromised. 
 
 At this startling moment — when your fortunes are swinging in 
 the balance — let no man dictate to you. Trust to your own intelli- 
 gence, sincerity, and power. Do not place your prerogatives in 
 commission — the sovereign people should neither lend nor abdicate 
 the sceptre. 
 
 As to the upper classes— respectable circles of society — genteel 
 nobodies — nervous aristocrats — friends of order and starvation — 
 of pestilence and peace — of speedy hangings and green-cropping 
 — as to these conspirators against the life and dignity of the island, 
 they must be no longer courted. They are cowards, and when 
 they know your strength, they will cling to you for protection. 
 
 Do I tell you to refuse this protection ? "Were I base enough 
 to do so, you would remind me that the revolution of Paris has 
 been immortalized by the clemency of the people. 
 
 In my letter, last week, to the Council of the Confederation, I 
 stated it was net my wish to urge any suggestion as to the course 
 we should now pursue. Upon reflection, however, I think I am 
 called upon to declare to you my opinion upon this question, for it 
 would not be honorable, I conceive, for any prominent member of 
 the Confederation to shield himself at this crisis. And I am the 
 more anxious to declare my opinion upon this question of ways 
 and means, since I had not the good fortune of being present at 
 
250 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 your two previous meetings, and, perhaps, my absence may have 
 occasioned some suspicion. 
 
 I think, then, that from a meeting — constituted, as the Repeal- 
 ers of Kilkenny have suggested, of delegates from the chief towns 
 and parishes — a deputation should proceed to London, and, in the 
 name of the Irish people, demand an interview with the Queen. 
 
 Should the demand be refused, let the Irish deputies pack up 
 their court dresses — as Benjamin Franklin did, when repulsed from 
 the court of George III. — and let them, then and there, make 
 solemn oath, that when they next demand admission to the throne- 
 room of St. James's, it shall be through the accredited ambassador 
 of the Irish Republic. 
 
 Should the demand be conceded, let the deputies approach the 
 throne, and, in firm and respectful terms, call upon the Queen to 
 exercise the royal prerogative, and summon her Irish parliament to 
 sit, and advise her, in the city of Dubhn. 
 
 Should the call be obeyed — should the sceptre touch the bier, 
 and she " who is not dead, but sleepeth " start, at its touch, into a 
 fresh and luminous existence — then, indeed, may we bless the 
 Constitution we have been taught to curse ; and Irish loyalty, 
 ceasing to be a mere ceremonious affectation, become with us, a 
 sincere devotion to the just ruler of an independent State. 
 
 Should the claim be rejected — should the throne stand as a 
 barrier between the Irish people and their supreme right — then 
 loyalty will be a crime, and obedience to the executive will be 
 treason to the country. I say it calmly, seriously, and deliberately 
 — it will then be our duty to fight, and desperately fight. 
 
 The opinions of Whig statesmen have been quoted here to-night 
 — I beg to remind you of Lord Palmerston's language in reference 
 to the insurrection at Lisbon, last September — " I say that the 
 people were justified in saying to the government, if you do not 
 give us a parliament in which to state our wrongs and grievances, 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 251 
 
 we shall state them by arms and by force." I adopt those words, 
 and call upon you to adopt them likewise. 
 
 Citizens of Dublin, I know well what I may incur by the 
 expression of these sentiments — I know it well — therefore, let no 
 man indulgently ascribe them to ignorance, or to idiotcy. 
 
 Were I more moderate — as some Whig sympathizer would say 
 — more sensible, as he might add, without meaning anything 
 personal, of course — more practical, as he would further beg 
 leave to remark, without at all meaning to deny that I possessed 
 some excellent points — in fact, and in truth, were I a temperate 
 trifler, a polished knave, a scientific dodger — I might promise 
 myself a pleasant life, many gay scenes, perhaps no few privileges. 
 
 Moderate, sensible, practical men, are sure to obtain privileges 
 just now. Paid poor-law guardianships are plentiful, now-a-days, 
 and the invitations to the Castle are indiscriminate and 
 innumerable. But, I desire to be neither moderate nor sensible, 
 neither sensible nor practical, in the sense attached to these 
 words by the polite and slavish circle, of which his Excellency is 
 the centre. 
 
 It is the renunciation of truth, of manhood, and of country — 
 the renunciation of the noblest lessons with which the stately 
 genius of antiquity has crowned the hills of Rome and sanctified 
 the dust of Greece — the renunciation of all that is frank, and 
 chivalrous, and inspiring — it is the renunciation of all this which 
 makes you acceptable in the eyes of that meagre, spectral 
 royalty, which keeps " open house " for reduced gentlemen upon 
 the summit of Cork hill. 
 
 Better to swing from the gibbet, than live and fatten on such 
 terms as these. Better to rot within the precincts of the 
 common jail — when the law has curbed your haughty neck, 
 young traitor ! — than be the moderate, sensible, practical villain, 
 which these Chesterfields of the Dublin promenades and salaons 
 
EXGLISII LEGISLATION. 
 
 would entreat you to be, for the sake of society, and tlie success 
 of tlie Whigs. 
 
 But the hour is on the stroke, when these conceits and 
 mockeries shall be trampled in the ^dust. The storm which 
 dashed the crown of Orleans against the column of July, has 
 rocked the foundations of the Castle. They have no longer a 
 safe bedding: in the Irish soil. To the first breeze which shakes 
 the banners of the European rivals they must give way. Be upon 
 the watch, and catch the breeze ! 
 
 When the world is in arms — when the silence, which, for two 
 and thirty years, has reigned upon the plain of Waterloo, at last 
 is broken — then be prepared to grasp your freedom with an 
 armed hand, and hold it with the same. 
 
 In the meantime, take warning from this address — "do not 
 suffer your sacred cause to be ruined by stratagem or surprise." 
 Beware of the ingenuity, the black art, of those who hold your 
 country. By your sagacious conduct, keep them prisoners in 
 their barracks on the l7th. There must be no bloody joke at 
 your expense, amongst the jesters and buftbons in St. Patrick's 
 Hall upon that night. 
 
 Citizens of Dublin, you have heard my opinions. These 
 opinions may be very rash, but it would not be honest to 
 conceal them. 
 
 The time has come for every Irishman to speak out. The 
 address of the University declares, that it is the duty of every 
 man in the kingdom to say, whether he be the friend, or the foe, 
 of the government. I think so, too, and I declare myself the 
 enemy of the government. 
 
 But if I am rash — it was Rome, it was Palermo, it was Paris, 
 that made me rash. Vexed by the indiscretion — the fanaticism 
 — of these cities, who can keep his temper — dole out placid law — 
 and play the gentle demagogue ? 
 
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION APPEAL TO ARMS. 253 
 
 When tlie sections of Paris were thickening round the 
 Tuilleries, in 1793, Louis XVI. put on his court dress, and, in 
 his ruffles and silk stockings, waited for the thunderbolt. Is it 
 thus that you will wait for the storm now gathering over 
 Europe ? Shall the language of the nation be the language 
 of the Four Courts ? Will the revolution be made with rose- 
 water ? 
 
 Look up ! — look up ! — behold the incentives of the hour ! 
 
 By the waves of the Mediterranean, the Sicilian noble stands, 
 and presents to you the flag of freedom. From the steps of the 
 Capitol, the keeper of the Sacred Keys unfurls the banner that 
 was buried in the grave of the Bandieras, and invites you to 
 accept it. From the tribune of the French Repubhc, where that 
 gallant workman exclaims — " respect the public monuments — 
 respect the rights of property — the people have shown that they 
 will not be ill-governed — let them prove they know how to use 
 properly the victory they have won " — from this tribune, where 
 these noble words are uttered, the hand of labor — the strong hand 
 of God's nobility — proffers you the flag of liberty. 
 
 Will you refuse to take it ? Will you sneak away from the 
 noble, the pontiflP, and the workman ? Will you shut your eyes 
 to the splendors that surround you, and grope your way in 
 darkness to the grave ? 
 
 Ah, pardon me this language — it is not the language which 
 the awakening spirit of the country justifies. 
 
 Taught by the examples of Italy, of France, of Sicily, the 
 citizens of Ireland shall, at last, unite. To the enmities that have 
 snapped the ties of citizenship, there shall be a wise and generous 
 termination. Henceforth, the power of the island shall be lodged 
 in one head, one heart, one arm. One thought shall animate, one 
 passion shall inflame, one effort concentrate, the genius, the 
 enthusiasm, the heroism of the people. 
 
 Thus united^^to repeat vdiat I have said before — let the 
 
254 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 demand for the reconstruction of the nationality of Ireland be 
 constitutionally made. Dej^ute your worthiest citizens to 
 approach the throne, and, before that throne, let the will of the 
 Irish people be uttered with dignity and decision. 
 
 If nothing comes of this — if the constitution opens to us no 
 path to freedom — if the Union must be maintained in spite of the 
 will of the Irish people — if the government of Ireland insists upon 
 being a government of dragoons and bombardiers, of detectives 
 and light infantry — then, up with the barricades, and invoke the 
 God of Battles ! 
 
 Should we succeed — oh ! think of the joy, the ecstacy, the glory 
 of this old Irish nation, which, in that hour, will grow young and 
 strong again. 
 
 Should we fail — the country will not be worse than it is now — 
 the sword of famine is less sparing than the bayonet of the 
 soldier. 
 
 And if we, who have spoken to you in this language, should 
 fall with you — or if, reserved for a less glorious death, we be 
 flung to the vultures of the law — then shall we recollect the 
 words of France — recollect the promise she has given to weak 
 nations— and standing upon the scaffold, within one heart's 
 beat of eternity, our last cry upon this earth shall be — " France ! 
 France ! avenge us !" 
 
SYMPATHY OF FRANCE. 
 
 Hotel La Milarie^ Paris^ 3rd A2ml, 1848. 
 
 [March 15th, the following Address to the citizens of the French Republic 
 was adopted hj the Confederation : — 
 
 " Illustrious Citizexs — Permit us to offer to jou such congratulations, 
 as a people, still suffering under servitude, may without reproach testify to 
 a nation which has nobly vindicated its own liberties. 
 
 "We congratulate you upon the downfall of a tyranny elaborately con- 
 structed with consummate art, but which has been prostrated in a moment 
 by your chivalrous enthusiasm. 
 
 " We know not whether most to admire your fiery valor in the hour of 
 trial, or your sublime forbearance in the moment of success. 
 
 "You have respected religion, and God has, therefore, blessed your 
 work. 
 
 " Your heroism has taught enslaved nations that emancipation ever 
 awaits those who dare to achieve it by their own intrepidity. 
 
 "By your firm maintenance of public order you have proved that true 
 liberty claims no kindred with spoliation and anarchy. 
 
 "We hail you henceforth as arbiters of the destinies of mankind, as 
 deliverers of the oppressed members of the great human family. 
 
 "We, whose nationality was extinguished by the basest arts — we, who 
 daily experience the countless evils which result from that unspeakable 
 loss — we, the inhabitants of Ireland, now claiai your sympathy. 
 
 " We have firmly resolved that this ancient kingdom shall once again be 
 free and independent. 
 
 "In imitation of your example we propose to exhaust all the resources 
 of constitutional action before we resort to other efforts for redress. 
 
 " Time will unfold our projects, but we hesitate not to tell you, in antici- 
 pation of the future, that your friendship may increase their efiicacy, and 
 accelerate their success. 
 
 "Our claims to fraternity with you rest upon the proudest traditions of 
 your history. 
 
 " In other times, in the hour of Ireland's extreraest need, your forefathers 
 tendered shelter and hospitality to our exiled warriors ; and Fontenoy can 
 
256 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 testify how well tliat hospitality was requited by the cheerful effusion of 
 Irish blood in maintenance of the glory of France. 
 
 " On our own account as well as upon yours, we shall watch with intense 
 interest the development of your republican constitution. 
 
 " We augur the happiest results to yourselves and to mankind from your 
 determination to found your institutions upon the broadest basis — to place 
 them no longer upon privileged classes, but upon the whole French 
 nation. 
 
 " Consolidate the great work which you have begun. Guarantee the 
 rights of property, by securing the rights of industry. Indulge not the 
 lust of conquest, but be ever ready to succour the oppressed. Kender 
 France the <;entre of European progress, as well in the march of freedom 
 as in the advance of civilisation and of the arts. Continue to present to 
 mankind a magnanimous example of manly virtue, and be assured that 
 among those who will greet you with applause and admiration, you will 
 find no more affectionate ally than the people of Ireland." 
 
 Messrs. O'Brien, O'Gorman, Meagher, and Hollywood, were deputed to 
 present this address to the Provisional Government, on the 3rd of April. 
 It was formally read and handed, at the Hotel de Ville, to M. de Lamartine, 
 as principal member of the government. His reply was looked for with the 
 greatest anxiety in England and Ireland. For several days it had been the 
 subject of considerable gossip and conjecture in the English Papers. 
 The correspondent of the London Times, writing from Paris, stated that 
 " The Irish deputation seem to have placed the Provisional Government 
 in a very awkward predicament. The Address of Lamartine seemed 
 to invite the nations of the earth to come to France for assistance 
 against real or supposed oppressors. Under these circumstances the 
 deputation of Irish rebels came to Paris, and were to have been 
 received on Saturday, but the question caused a division in the Provisional 
 government. Ledru Rollin was for risking all consequences, and giving 
 arms and aid to the Irish ; but Lamartine desired to give the same answer 
 as was given to the Poles. To give time for the discussion of what should 
 be the answer, the deputation was put oflf to Monday, and the French 
 government are to sit in council to decide what is, in fact, a question of 
 peace or war with England. There cannot be a doubt about the answer. 
 M. de Lamartine will either resign, or give a reply which will cool the 
 courage of the Irish Confederation. As the majority of the Provisional 
 government have hitherto always been with Lamartine against Rollin, I 
 conceive the alternative is certain to be the continuance of Lamartine in 
 office. Lamartine, while very glad to see the mass of Irish, Belgian, 
 
SYMPATHY OF FRAXCE. 25*7 
 
 German, and Italian workmen leaving Paris, and thus removing a heavy 
 difficulty off the hands of the executive, is determined neither to assist nor 
 countenance any scheme of armed propagandism. Most of the Ifish in 
 Paris are leaving for Ireland in the hope of. an insurrection," The Times 
 writer was not wrongly advised, as the reply to the deputation proved. 
 M. de Lamartine's reply was not an answer to the Irish Confedera- 
 tion, but an explanation to the English press. It was not meant for tlie 
 Irish people, but for the English Ambassador, the Marquis of Normanby, 
 under whose influence it was dictated. He fabricated a case for the 
 occasion, the more fully to depart from the one presented, and the more 
 easily to hide the true spirit under which he acted. The Irish deputation 
 went to Paris, solely to convey the congratulations of the Irish Con- 
 federation to the citizens of Paris, on the achievement of their liberty 
 and the establishment of the Republic. The press of England accused 
 them of going to solicit military aid, and on this accusation, and not on 
 the address presented, did M. de Lamartine base his reply. Sir George 
 Grey, echoing the falsehoods of the London Press, and adapting his 
 speeching to M. de Lamartine's views, on the 'Zth April, in the English 
 Commons, charged the deputation with soliciting French aid for the Irish 
 struggle. On the 10th, Mr. O'Brien explained, clearly and boldly, the exact 
 
 nature of his visit to France. " It has been stated," said he, " that I went 
 
 to France for the purpose of enlisting Freacli aid — that is to say, armed 
 aid and succor for my countrymen in the struggle in which they are 
 engaged. Tliat is a misapprehension. If I had gone to France asking for 
 aid of an armed kind, believe me I should have come back accompanied 
 by a toler|ibly large legion of troops. You may believe what I say, I only 
 wish you had been in France during the last fortnight. The language I 
 have held in Ireland and in France to my countrymen has been this — 
 that Irish freedom must be won by Irish courage and by Irish firmness. 
 I have no desire to impose upon ray country one description of servitude 
 in the place of another — for I believe that if the liberty of Ireland, and 
 its redemption from its present position were won by foreign bayonets, its 
 permanent position could be retained only by foreign bayonets; and, 
 therefore, it is not my desire or my intention to place my country under 
 foreign dominion. What I did, however, I will boldly avow in this house. 
 I went on behalf of a large portion of my countrymen as one of a deputa- 
 tion to congratulate the French nation, upon the overthrow of a dynasty 
 which had forfeited all claim to continue in possession of the throne of 
 
258 ENGLISH LKGISLATION. 
 
 FrjiiK'c ; u])oii liaving sliown to ilu> n.-ilioiis of tlic world (and tlieir example 
 Ims (o a coriiiin oxtoiitulroudy luid thai. cfrect)]»ow other nations wore to wini 
 their •]i))ortie3 ; and to tliaiik them for hnvinijj given an impulse to tlio 
 cause of freedom, wiiieh we hope will reaet benelieially upon our own 
 (X)uniry ; but 1 liave no hesitation whatever in iiHiriuiug, and with pleasure 
 1 avow, that, 1 did tind ou the part of the Freueh ])e()p!e a great amount 
 of intense sympathy with Ireland." The conduct of M. de Lamartine did 
 iiot, however, appear so very discreditable xintil the appearance of his 
 " //i.sfori/ of the FrcneJi. lie volution, of 1818." In book XII. of that strange 
 and theatrical j)ublication, the autlior writes as follows — 'ICngland did not 
 wait willi less solicitude for the reeei)tion Lanuirtine would give the Irisli 
 insurgents, who had set out from I)ul)lin to come and demand encourage- 
 mcut, and arms of the French llepublie. The old national hatred between 
 ]*'ranee and j^jigland favored their cause; the pai't.y of the demagogues, the 
 militai-y and the Catholic party, muted in France in considering the Irish 
 insurrection the cause of liberty, the churcli, and France. Lamartine was 
 ^\o[, blind to the clamors thes(^ three j)arties would raise against him, if he 
 dared refuse the aid of the republic to a civil war in England. ITe dared 
 to do so nevertheless, resting on the loyalty of the republic, lie did not 
 consider all weapons fair to fight with against a rival but friendly power, 
 with which he wished to strengthen the ties of liberated France." In the 
 announcement thus made of the "Irish insurgents" demanding "encourage- 
 ment and arms," M. de Lamartine ccmtradicted himself, and his written state- 
 ment,. And his "strengthening the ties of liberated France" with England, 
 is an explanation of the treachery of which he was guilty. On arriving 
 at Paris, tlie deputation, after the usual courtesy, left a copy of their address 
 at his bvu-eau, and desired an audience. A distant day was ai>j)ointed, when, 
 on the morning of that very day, his answer — refusing what was not 
 solicited — was placarded by the jioliee through Ireland ! It is sufficiently 
 obvious that Lord Normanby virtually received the Irish deputies and 
 answered \h(^ Irish Confederation. Again as to the "aid." During the 
 trial of Mr. O'Brien in Clonmel for high treason, Mr. John Leonard, of the 
 National Guards, wrote to M. de Lamartine, respecting the visit of the 
 Irish deputation to Paris, stating that his testimony might be useful on the 
 trial. M. de Lamartine replied, e^lphatieally stating that, neither directly 
 nor indirectly, did the Irish l)e|mties demand aid for the Irish insur- 
 rection ; and further stating, thsit he was ready to swear before the 
 "tribunal of justice" to the truth of the statement he then made before 
 
SYMPATHY OF FRAKCE. 259 
 
 God — "according to his conscience and liis memory." Tliis letter was 
 sent to Clonmel, and afterwards printed in the English and Irish 
 Papers, Yet, as if still owing a greater debt to the "rival but friendly 
 power," he wrote the following words in his Pamphlet on Emjlandin 1850 — 
 "When Ireland, then in a state of eruption, came after February to demand 
 arms of France against England." — And in his History of the Revolution, 
 speaking of his answer to the deputation, he says "Cries of 'Long live the 
 Republic!' and 'Long live Lamartine!' from the immense multitude that 
 surrounded the Irish, welcomed these words. These shouts showed them, 
 that the refusal of the minister on these grounds was even more popular 
 than their cause." This is a fine piece of imagination, brought in 
 chiefly to strengthen his position by falsifying the French people, in 
 regard to their sympathy with his English " ties." The case is simply 
 this — the deputies were not attended by a crowd at the delivery of the 
 reply, which was made in one of the innermost chambers of the Hotel de 
 Ville — the number of rooms and corridors passed in reaching it, placing 
 the streets, and all noise therefrom, completely beyond hearing. It was 
 perfectly still, and none were present but the Deputies, four of the Council 
 of the Confederation then sojourning in Paris, and two or three corres- 
 pondents of the London Press. The subsequent knowledge of these facts 
 accounts for the discrepancy between the tenor of this note and certain 
 passages in the speech which follows.] 
 
 I feel most happy, Mr. President and citizens, in meeting you 
 this evening. We meet in the chief city of France — the centre of 
 European freedom — the source from which the oppressed national- 
 ities of the age derive their hope, their passion, their vitality. 
 
 The pride of Ireland is not insulted here by the flag of England. 
 In the Hotel des Invalides I have beheld it in captivity — and, as 
 men desiring freedom, we recognize no flag but that which pro- 
 claims the liberty of nations. 
 
 Beneath the shadow with which it beautifies and brightens 
 every spot upon which it waves, we may for a time forget the 
 mean position of our country — forget our patience, our humility, 
 our debasement — forget that we are behind all other nations — the 
 most complaining and the least heroic. In the splendor that 
 
260 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 encircles the Tricolor of tlie Republic, we lose sight of the dark 
 images that crowd the shores from which we have arrived, and 
 in the extasy it inspires, we forget the wrongs of which we are the 
 inheritors — and the enemies. 
 
 Citizens, you have met to do honor to the people of whom we 
 are the representatives in this city. We have fulfilled our mission. 
 We have presented our congratulations to the citizens of Paris 
 upon the triumph they have won — we return to excite another 
 people to the achievement of a triumph equally virtuous and 
 essential. 
 
 The scenes we have visited encourage us to the task. We 
 leave France never to return to it, but as the citizens of a free 
 state — a state of which we shall not be ashamed — and which 
 France shall have authority officially to recognize. 
 
 You heard the sentiments of Mons. de Lamartine this morning. 
 They were the sentiments of a great intellect. In his presence, we 
 felt that it was an ignominy to be alive, and without a country 
 which we could call our own. 
 
 And yet, it was not what he expressed, but what he conveyed — 
 not what he uttered, but what he signified — that gave us hope. 
 He told us " his lips were sealed." His lips were sealed, because 
 his heart was full. 
 
 The lips of France, however, are not sealed. France will speak 
 in spite of diplomatists — in spite of courts. She will defend the 
 flag of freedom against every sword and sceptre. This I know, 
 there are around me this evening many gallant men, who will not 
 permit the flag they have placed in the Hotel de Ville to remain 
 there as an idle ornament, emblematic of no power. 
 
 Gentlemen, you who wear the uniform of the National Guard, 
 you have fought upon the barricades for the liberty of France. 
 The throne of July was reared upon the barricades — you have 
 upset those barricades, and made them the foundations not of a 
 court, but of a people. 
 
SYMPATHY OF FRANCE. 261 
 
 We, too, have cauglit the fever with which the brain and arm 
 of every nation burns at this hour. There must be a " crisis " in 
 our disease, and that " crisis" shall result in a glorious resuscitation 
 or a glorious death. 
 
 What ! of all the nations that form the map of Europe, shall 
 we alone respect the law that imposes servitude — stifling the dic- 
 tates of nature — of God — to pay our homage to the whims and 
 maxims of privy councillors, law agents — the mean, the timid, and 
 the vicious ? 
 
 Every nation, save our own, has rent its shroud, and upon the 
 fragments of its sepulchre, through which it has burst like a flame 
 from the centre of the earth, the Angel sits, and says to those who 
 seek the dead — " He is not here — he hath arisen I" 
 
 That island, too, from the dust of which we have sprung, has 
 been touched with a miraculous hand — there, too, the dead moves 
 within the sepulchre — and the arm, that was worn and wasted, 
 shall strike against the stones until the sepulchre gives way — to 
 free or crush us ! 
 
PRESENTATION OF THE IRISH TRICOLOR. 
 
 Music Hall^ Dublin^ \ith April^ 1848. 
 
 [The return of the Deputation from France was celebrated by a banquet, 
 at which two thousand of the ISTationalists of Dublin attended. Several 
 members of the '82 Club were also present in their uniform. One of the 
 regimental colors of the old Dublin Volunteers was presented to Mr. Smith 
 O'Brien. Mr. Meagher presented a Tricolor, through the President of the 
 banquet, to the citizens of Dublin.] 
 
 I went to France animated with a love of freedom, and glorying 
 in its service. I have returned from France with this love deep- 
 ened in my soul — worshipping no other object on this earth save 
 that one radiant and stately image, to which, in Paris, in Vienna, 
 in Palermo, the breath of the people has imparted life, vigor, and 
 immortal beauty. 
 
 For any fate to which this love and worship may impel me, I 
 am not only willing but ambitious. 
 
 Mingling in the crowds that gathered round the trees of liberty, 
 which the brave hands that built the barricades have planted, to 
 commemorate the virtue, the invincibility of the people — contem- 
 plating those simple ceremonies, in which the enthusiasm of the 
 most gifted and gallant nation in the world displays itself so 
 gently and so grandly — turning from these scenes, and lookino- 
 upon the wounded of the 24th of February — sufferers over whose 
 features the consciousness of having played a glorious part had 
 diffused a glow of health and rapture, and from whose lips there 
 escaped no selfish penitence for the blood which their hearts had 
 offered up — finding those sick-beds resorted to by the fairest and 
 
PRESENTATION OF THE IRISH TRICOLOR. 2G3 
 
 liigliest of the land, and the sufferers honored more loyally than 
 ever kings were honored — following, then, the coffin of some poor 
 fellow who had died of his sacred wounds, and round whose pall 
 the waving palm-leaf mingled with, and mellowed, the glittering 
 of the bayonet and the golden cross — beholding there the holy 
 homage which a free state is sure to render those whose blood has 
 made her free — a witness of all these scenes, I have become reck- 
 less of that life which cautious legal men — grand jurors of the city 
 — Attorney Generals of the English Crown — solemn judges in red 
 cloth and ermine — men of withered hearts and cunninor brain — 
 would exhort you to preserve, for the sake of peace and place, the 
 gold dust of the Crown, and all the other perquisites of enlightened 
 slavery. 
 
 From Paris, the city of the tricolor and the barricade, this flag 
 has been proudly borne. I present it to my native land, and I 
 trust that the old country will not refuse this symbol of a new life 
 from one of her youngest children. 
 
 I need not explain its meaning. The quick and passionate 
 intellect of the generation now springing into arms will catch it 
 at a glance. 
 
 The white in the centre signifies a lasting truce between the 
 " orange" and the " green " — and I trust that beneath its folds, the 
 hands of the Irish Protestant and the Irish Catholic may be 
 clasped in generous and heroic brotherhood. 
 
 Should this flag be destined to fan the flames of war, let Eng- 
 land behold once more, upon that white centre, the Red Hand 
 that struck her down from the hills of Ulster — and I pray that 
 Heaven may bless the vengeance it is sure to kindle ! 
 
VINDICATION OF SEDITION. 
 Limericic, 29th April, 1848. 
 
 [On the evening of March 21st, Messrs. O'Brien, Mitchel, and Meagher, 
 were arrested on a charge of sedition. The next day, bail was accepted for 
 their appearance before the Court of Queen's Bench, on the first day of 
 the approaching term. The nationalists of nearly every town in Ireland 
 availed themselves of the opportunity to express their approval of the 
 condiict of the arrested parties. In Limerick, the members of the Con- 
 federate Clubs invited them to a banquet. In consequence of ^an article in 
 the United Irishman reflecting on Mr. O'Connell, " certain parties " made it 
 the pretext of creating a disturbance and assailing the meeting. A very 
 violent attack was directed against the house, and a scene of the most dis- 
 graceful and tumultuous uproar ensued. It was not until some shots were 
 fired from the interior of the building that the mob desisted. The mayor, 
 arriving with the police and military, the mob was finally dispersed.] 
 
 Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen — The occurrences of this 
 evening do not dishearten me. I am encouraged by your sympa- 
 thy, and can, therefore, forgive the rudeness of the rabble. 
 
 Nor do I conceive that our cause is injured by these manifesta- 
 tions of ignorance and immorality. The mists from the marshes 
 obscure the sun — they do not taint — they do not extinguish it. 
 
 Enough of this. The wrongs and perils of the country must 
 exclude from our minds every other subject of consideration. 
 
 From the summer of 1846, to the winter of 1848, the wing of 
 an avenging angel swept our soil and sky. The fruits of the earth 
 died as the shadow passed, and they who had nursed them into 
 life, read in the withered leaves that they, too, should die ; and, 
 dying, swell the red catalogue of carnage in which the sins and 
 
 \ 
 
VINDICATION OF SEDITION. 265 
 
 splendors of tliat empire — of which we are the prosecuted foes — 
 have been immortahzed. And, whilst death thus counted in his 
 spoils by the score, we, who should have stood up between the 
 destroyer and the doomed — we, who should have prayed together, 
 marched together, fought together, to save the people — we w^ere in 
 arms — drilled and disciplined into factions — striking each other 
 across the graves that each day opened at our feet, instead of join- 
 ing hands above them, and snatching victory from death. 
 
 The cry of famine was lost in the cry of faction, and many a 
 brave heart, flying from the scene, bled as it looked back upon 
 the riotous profanation in w^hich the worst passions of the country 
 "were ena'ao^ed. 
 
 You know the rest — you know the occurrences of the last i^w 
 weeks. At the very hour when the feud was hottest, a voice from 
 the banks of the Seine summoned us to desist. That voice has 
 been obeyed— ^we have trampled upon the whims and prejudices 
 that divided us — and it is this event that explains the sedition in 
 which we glory. The sudden reconstruction of the regenerative 
 power which, in 1843, menaced the integrity of the empire, and 
 promised liberty to this island, dictated the language which has 
 entitled us to the vengeance of the minister, and the confidence of 
 the people. 
 
 Nor this alone. It is not in the language of the lawyer, or the 
 police magistrate, that the wrongs and aspirations of an oppressed 
 nation should be stated. For the pang with which it writhes — for 
 the passion wdth which it heaves — for the chafed heart — the burn- 
 ing brain — the quickening pulse — the soaring soul — there is a lan- 
 guage quite at variance with the grammar and the syntax of a 
 government. It is generous, bold, and passionate. It often glows 
 with the fire of genius — it sometimes thunders with the spirit of 
 the prophet. It is tainted with no falsehood — it is polished with 
 no flattery. In the desert — on the mountain — within the city — 
 everywhere — it has been spoken, throughout all ages. It requires 
 
 12 
 
266 ENGLISH LEGISLATIOX. 
 
 no teaching — it is tlie inherent and imperishable language of 
 humanity. Kings, soldiers, judges, hangmen, have proclaimed it. 
 In pools of blood they have sought to cool and quench this fiery 
 tongue. They have built the prison — they have launched the con- 
 vict-ship — they have planted the gallows tree — to warn it to be 
 still. The sword, the sceptre, the black mask, the guillotine — all 
 have failed. Sedition wears the crown in Europe on this day, and 
 the scaffold, on which the poor scribes of royalty had scrawled her 
 death-sentence, is the throne upon which she receives the homage 
 of humanity, and guarantees its glory. 
 
 Therefore it is, I do not blush for the crime with which I have 
 been charged. Therefore it is, you have invited a traitorous trium- 
 virate to your ancient and gallant city, and have honored them this 
 evening. 
 
 In doing so, you have taken your stand against the government 
 of England, and I know of no sj)ot in Ireland where a braver stand 
 should be made than here, by the waters of the Shannon, wheue 
 the sword of Sarsfield flashed. Whilst that old Treaty stone, 
 without the Thomond gate, attests the courage and the honor of 
 your fathers, the nerve and faith of Limerick shall never be mis- 
 trusted. 
 
 'No, there could be no coward born within those walls, which, in 
 their old age, instruct so thrillingly the young hearts that gaze 
 upon them with reverence — whispering to them, as they do, memo- 
 ries that drive the blood, in boiling currents, through the veins — 
 telling those young hearts, not to doubt, not to falter, not to fear 
 ■ — that in a sunnier hour the Wild Geese shall yet return from 
 France ! 
 
 These sentiments are, no doubt, seditious, and the expression of 
 them may bring me within the provisions of this new felony bill 
 — the bill, mind you, that is to strike the nation dumb. 
 
 Yes, from this day out, you must lie down, and eat your words ! 
 Yes, you — you starved wretch, lying naked in that ditch, with 
 
VINDICATION OF SEDITION. 267 
 
 clenched teeth and starting eye, gazing on the clouds that redden 
 with the flames in which your hovel is consumed — what matters it 
 that the claw of hunger is fastening in your heart — what matters 
 it that the hot poison of the fever is shooting through your brain 
 — what matters it that the tooth of the lean dog is cutting through 
 the bone of that dead child, of which you were once the guardian 
 — what matters it that the lips of that spectre there, once the 
 pride and beauty of the village, when you wooed and won her as 
 your bride, are blackened with the blood of the youngest to whom 
 she has given birth — what matters it that the golden grain, which 
 sprung from the sweat you squandered on the soil, has been torn 
 from your grasp, and Heaven's first decree to fallen man be con- 
 travened by human law — what matters it that you are thus pained 
 and stung — thus lashed and maddened — hush ! — beat back the 
 passion that rushes from your heart — check the curse that gurgles 
 in your throat — die ! — die without a groan ! — die without a strug- 
 gle ! — die without a cry ! — for the government which starves you, 
 desires to live in peace ! 
 
 Shall this be so ? 
 
 Shall the conquest of Ireland be this year completed ? Shall 
 the spirit which has survived the pains and penalties of centuries 
 — which has never ceased to stir the heart of Ireland with the 
 hope of a better day — which has defied the sword of famine and 
 the sword of law — which has lived through the desolation of the 
 last year, and kept the old flag flying, spite of the storm which 
 rent its folds — what ! shall this spirit sink down at last — tamed and 
 crippled by the blow with which it has been struck — muttering no 
 sentiment that is not loyal, legal, slavish, and corrupt ? 
 
 Why should I put this question ? 
 
 Have I not been already answered by that flash of arms, which 
 purifies the air where the pestilence has been ? Have I not already 
 caught the quick beating of that heart, which many men had said 
 was cold and dull, and, in its strong pulsation, have we not heard 
 
268 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 the rushing of that current, which, for a time, may overflov/ the 
 land — overflow it, to fertilize, restore, and beautify ? 
 
 The mind of Ireland no longer wavers. It has acquired the 
 faith, the constancy, the heroism of a predestined martyr. It 
 foresees the worst — prepares for the worst. The cross — as in 
 Milan — glitters in the haze of battle, and points to eternity ! 
 
 "We shall no longer seek for liberty in the bye-ways. On the 
 broad field, in front of the foreign swords, the soul of this nation, 
 grown young and chivalrous again, shall clothe herself, like the 
 Angel of the Resurrection, in the white robe, and point to the 
 sepulchre that is void ; or shall mount the scaffold — that eminence 
 on which many a radiant transfiguration has taken place — and 
 bequeath to the crowd below, a lesson for their instruction, and an 
 idol for their worship ! 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 
 Music Hall^ Dublin^ 6tli of June, 1848. 
 
 [On Friday, April 10th, Sir George Grey introduced the "Treason-Felony 
 bill" into the House of Commons, for the "security of the crown and govern- 
 ment of the United Kingdom." On the 25th, it passed the Lords. The 
 nature of the bill was to visit sedition with the responsibility of treason, 
 and to make treasonable acts, mere felony. "At present," said Sir G. 
 Grey, "it is held by persons in Ireland, that addressing inflammatory 
 speeches from platforms in Dublin, or in any portion of the country, in a 
 strain to lead those who are addressed into acts of violence, is not treason, 
 but sedition. I think the House will agree with me in thinking that we 
 are right in not allowing such persons a loop-hole to escape an ignominious 
 punishment." Lord J. Eussell said — " My honorable friend is right in 
 saying that we propose to mitigate the punishment in some cases, and 
 rendering that which is now felony, an offence subject only to the punish- 
 ment of felony. Some of the act is new, but as regards compassing the 
 death of, or levying war, or encouraging foreign nations to levy war 
 against her Majesty, if done openly and advisedly, it does amount to 
 felony." Mr. W. J. Fox considered the bill an infringement upon the liberty 
 of the subject. " Once let it be the law of the land," said he, " that 
 spoken words may subject the speaker to transportation for seven years, 
 or life, and no man would be safe in addressing a meeting in times of 
 political excitement. In such times it was morally impossible to weigh and 
 measure every word and syllable so as to stand secure against the misre- 
 presentation of an ignorant reporter, or the perversion of a malignant spy. 
 'Spoken language tended to overawe the deliberations of either House 
 of Parliament.' "What indignant attack on a corrupt or profligate min- 
 ister — what honest opposition to an unconstitutional legislature could 
 escape such language as this ? He had heard, in the times of the reform 
 agitation over and over again, language from gentlemen who had become 
 honorable members of the House on account of the boldness of their 
 
270 -~ ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 expressing their opinions, which might well have been set down as tending 
 to overawe the Houses of Parliament." The bill enacted, that whoever 
 should levy war against the Queen, compass, imagine, devise, or endeavor 
 to deprive her of her style, title, and dignity, or who should, by open and 
 advised speaking, printing or publishing, incite others to do so, was guilty 
 of felony, and was liable to transportation beyond sea for the term of his 
 or her natural life, or for a period not less than seven years. This enact- 
 ment also embodied an act of the 25th Edward III., by which every prin- 
 cipal in the second degree and every accessary before the fact came under 
 the liabilities of the principal, and every accessary after the fact was made 
 punishable by imprisonment — with or without hard labor for two years. 
 On the evening of Saturday, May 13th, Mr. Mitch el was arrested and 
 committed to Newgate on two charges of " felony " under the provisions 
 of the new act. He was brought to trial on the 26th, and at seven o'clock 
 in the evening a verdict of "guilty" was returned. On the next morning 
 sentence was pronounced — fourteen years transportation. Immediately, he 
 was hurried off in irons to a steamer in waiting, and before the echo of the 
 sentence had died in the court-house, he was on the waters bound for his 
 destination. At a meeting of the Confederation, June 6th, the following 
 statement in reference to the jury -packing system, by which Mr. Mitchel 
 was convicted, was brought up by Mr. John B. Dillon. 
 
 "trial by JUPwY I>f IRELAND. 
 
 " Let those who would learn the true value of British institutions in 
 Ireland read and digest the following facts: — 
 
 "John Mitchel, an open and powerful enemy of British government in 
 Ireland, being put upon his trial for inciting his fellow-countrymen to 
 resist and eradicate that government, has been convicted of that offence, 
 and transported for fourteen years. 
 
 *' His holy hatred of British tyranny being manifestly shared in by an 
 overwhelming majority of the citizens ot Dublin, it became necessary for 
 the servants of the government to exercise extreme care that none but an 
 ENEMY OF ms PRINCIPLES should be found upon his jury. 
 
 " With that view there was a panel or list of hostile jurors carefully 
 selected from the jurors' book by the sheriff, who is an officer ap]3ointed 
 by the government. 
 
 " That the sheriff selected chiefly the names of persons hostile to the 
 prisoner, from the jurors' book, is evidenced by the following facts ; — 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 27l 
 
 " 1st. Before Mr. Mitchel's arrest, and therefore before the sheriff knew 
 that he would be tried at* the late commission, several jurors had been 
 sumbaoned to serve at that commission. Several of those who had been thus 
 summoned, previous to the arrest, did not afterwards appear on the panel. 
 Mr. Mitchel was arrested on the thirteenth. Two persons swore at the 
 trial that they had been summoned as jurors, one on the 11th, the other on 
 the 13th, and produced the summonses signed by the sheriflPs officer. On 
 reference to the panel it was found that their names had been omitted. 
 They were both Roman Catholics. From this fact, it is plain that the 
 sheriff changed the panel subsequently to the arrest. 
 
 *' The purpose for which he made that change is evident from the panel 
 itself as compared with the general list of jurors from which it was 
 selected. 
 
 " The list (which is called the Jurors' Book), contains in all, 4,5Y0 names, 
 of which number, 2,935 are Catholics, and 1,635 are Protestants. 
 
 *' Out of this list the sheriff selected 150 persons to serve as jurors at the 
 commission, and amongst those 150, there were only 28 Catholics. 
 
 '* On the Jurors' Book there are nearly two Catholics to one Protestant. 
 
 *' On the panel selected from that book there is not one Catholic to 
 every four Protestants, 
 
 " If further evidence were wanting of the sheriff's guilt, the position 
 "which the Catholics held upon the panel would supply that evidence. 
 
 "Amongst the first twenty-eight names, there appears but one Catho- 
 lic — viz., Mr. Nicholas Walsh, of 42 Lower Sackville street; and it is 
 notorious of him that he always declined to attend when summoned as 
 a juror. 
 
 " Amongst the first eighty names, there are, in all, only eight Catholics. 
 
 "All the remaining Catholics, amounting to tiventy, were distributed 
 amongst the last seventy names. 
 
 "The sheriff, no doubt, calculated that the jury would probably be 
 formed out of the first twenty-eight names, amongst which there was only 
 ONE Catholic who never served ; or, if not, that it would certainly be formed 
 out of the first eighty, so that at the worst there would be ten chances to 
 one that no Catholic would turn up on the jury. 
 
 " One fact ie worthy of remark. There are two gentlemen of the name 
 of Moore on the panel. They are both silk mercers, both residing in the 
 same street, and almost next door neighbors, one living 24, the other at 
 
272 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 26 Dame street. One is a Protestant, the other a Catholic. The Protestant 
 stands number 12 upon the panel, the Catholic number 126. 
 
 " There is not the slightest pretence for alleging that the Protestant was 
 placed higher on the panel on account of his superior * respectability.' 
 
 " The sheriff and his agent, Mr. Hamilton, were examined at the trial. 
 The former swore that he himself framed the panel from the juroFs' book, 
 with the assistance of Mr. Hamilton, having regard, in the selection of 
 names, to the respectability of the j^arties alone. Mr. Hamilton, on his 
 cross-examination, admitted that 100 names out of the 150 upon the panel, 
 were furnished by a person of the name of Wheeler, a clerk in the sheriffs 
 office, and a notorious partisan. 
 
 " The agent for the prisoner desired to have this Wheeler examined on 
 the trial, with respect to the construction of the jury — as also a Mr. 
 Stephen Monahan, who is a clerk in the Attorney General's office. Imme- 
 diately after a day had been fixed for the trial, subpoenas were issued for 
 both these parties ; but, on inquiry, it was found that both had simultaneously 
 disappeared. An application for a postponement of the trial was made, 
 grounded on the absence of the last mentioned person, who, by the affi- 
 davit of the prisoner's agent, was stated to be an indispensable witness in 
 the case. This application was refused, by the Court. 
 
 "It was not enough that a panel should be packed by a partisan sheriff 
 and. his subordinates — the jury was further packed from the panel. The 
 Crown Solicitor, in open court, and with the sanction of the Attorney 
 Genera], excluded from the jury every man about whose hostility towards 
 the principles of the prisoner there was the slightest doubt. The num- 
 ber of those so excluded amounted to 39, being more than half of the 
 jurors who answered. And of the thirty-nine so excluded, nineteen 
 were Catholics — there being only nine remaining Catholics on the whole 
 panel. 
 
 " It is hardly necessary to add, that amongst the jurors sworn there was 
 not a single Catholic. 
 
 " Such are the expedients on which British power has ever relied, and 
 does still rely for its maintenance in Ireland. Such the expedients by 
 which John Mitchel, a brave and true patriot, has been torn, a chained 
 captive, from his country and his home. And by the same expedients, 
 any Irishman may be cut off, whenever it pleases an Attorney General and 
 a Sheriff to conspire for his destruction." 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 273 
 
 The illegality and infamj of the Government proceedings against Mr. 
 Mitchel, may be inferred not only from the foregoing document, but the 
 following opinions of the English press. 
 
 " It is utterly intolerable, that we should go on, from year to year, 
 alternately feeding and coercing Ireland, and having nothing for our pains 
 but a load of debt, a discontented people, and a government upheld by 
 sheer force — the whole finished off by an occasional snatched conviction, 
 degrading to law, and offensive to justice," — Manchester Examiner. 
 
 "But when from an ill-balanced list of 150, the jury to try Mr. Mitchel 
 came to be struck, it would have been but decent and seemly that every 
 care should be taken — we "do not say to make amends for the inequality 
 which on all sides was felt to bear hard against the prisoner — but at all 
 events, to repel the insinuation that such inequality was the result of any 
 suggestion or design. After three or four Protestants had been successively 
 sworn as jurors, the name of one of the Catholics on the panel was called 
 — ' here ' — and the copy of the New Testament was placed in hi-s hand. 
 At this moment, the Crown Solicitor pronounced the ominous veto, and the 
 sacred volume was transferred to the next orthodox hand that appeared ; 
 and this revolting process was repeated again, and again, and again, imtil 
 — we record it with pain — until every Catholic juror on the panel was set 
 aside," — London Daily News. 
 
 "By what marvellous chance was it that Catholics being to Protestants 
 on the Dublin jury list as 3 to 1, the former were to the latter on the panel 
 as 1 to 5, and upon the jury, Otol2? * * * But substantial justice has 
 been done, albeit by the help of jugglery, it will be said ; but is there not 
 much discredit in such a recourse ? and should we be more reconciled to it 
 in the case of Mr, Mitchel, than we were in that of Mr, O'Connell ? We 
 think not. The sentence, which the judge prefaced with some remarks 
 preparing us for mildness on the ground of the first offence under a new 
 law, is of a severity which we deem adverse to the true policy of justice." 
 — London Examiner. 
 
 " An Irish jury, in such a case, is not for judgment, but for condemna- 
 tion, and the formal legal process is altogether the surplusage, that might 
 as well be reduced to the fiat of a despot. The jury law never contem- 
 plated Protestantism against Catholicism, or Anti-Repeal against Repeal. 
 This may be Toryism, or Whiggism, or both, but it is not trial by jury in 
 its integrity." — Bath Joicrnal.'\ 
 
 12* 
 
■ *. ~-.. ■ 1^. 
 
 274 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 Citizens of Dublin, since we last assembled in tliis Hall, an 
 event has occurred which decides our fate. 
 
 We are no longer masters of our lives. - They belong to our 
 country — to liberty — to vengeance. Upon the walls of Newgate 
 a fettered hand has inscribed this destiny. We shall be the 
 martyrs or the rulers of a revolution. 
 
 " One, two, three — ay, hundreds shall follow me !" exclaimed 
 the noble citizen who was sentenced to exile and 'immortality 
 upon the morning of the 29th of May. 
 
 Such was his prophecy, and his children will live to say it has 
 been fulfilled. 
 
 Let no man mistrust these words. Whilst I speak them, I am 
 fully sensible of the obligation they impose. It is an obligation 
 from which there is no exemption but through infamy. 
 
 Claiming your trust, however, I well know the feelings that 
 prevail amongst you — doubt — depression — shame. Doubt, as to 
 the truth of those whose advice restrained your daring. De- 
 pression, inspired by the loss of the ablest and the boldest man 
 amongst us. Shame, excited by the ease, the insolence, the 
 impunity with which he was hurried in chains from the island to 
 whose service he had sacrificed all that he had on earth — all that 
 made life dear, and honorable, and glorious to him — his home, 
 his genius, and his liberty. 
 
 In those feelings of depression and shame I deeply share ; and 
 from the mistrust. with which some of you, at least, may regard 
 the members of the late Council, I shall not 'hold myself exempt. 
 If they are to blame, so am I. Between the hearts of the people 
 and the bayonets of the government, I took my stand, with the 
 members of the Council, and warned back the precipitate devotion 
 which scoffed at prudence as a crime. I am here to answer for 
 that act. If you believe it to have been the act of a dastard, treat 
 me with no delicacy — treat me with no respect. Vindicate your 
 courage in the impeachment of the coward. The necessities and 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 27o 
 
 perils of the cause forbid tlie interchange of courtesies. Civilities 
 are out of place in the whirl and tumult of the tempest. 
 
 Do not fear that the forfeiture of your confidence will induce in 
 me the renunciation of the cause. In the ranks — by the side of 
 the poorest mechanic — I shall proudly act, under any executive 
 you may decree. Summon the intellect and heroism of the 
 democracy, from the work-shop, the field, the garret — bind the 
 brow of labor with the crown of sovereignty — place the sceptre in 
 the rough and blistered hand — and, to the death, I shall be the 
 subject and the soldier of the plebeian king ! 
 
 The address of the Council to the people of Ireland — the address 
 signed by William Smith O'Brien — bears witness to your deter- 
 mination. It states that thousands of Confederates had pledged 
 themselves that John Mitchel should not leave these shores but 
 through their blood. We were bound to make this statement — 
 bound in justice to you — bound in honor to the country. What- 
 ever odium may flow from that scene of victorious defiance, in 
 which the government played its part without a stammer or a 
 check, none falls on you. You would have fought, had we not 
 seized your hands, and bound them. 
 
 Let no foul tongue, then, spit its sarcasms upon the people. 
 They were ready for the sacrifice ; and had the word been given, 
 the stars would burn this nio-ht above a thousand crimsoned 
 graves. The guilt is ours — let the sarcasms fall upon our heads. 
 
 We told you in the Clubs, four days previous to the trial, the 
 reasons that compelled us to oppose the project of a rescue. The 
 concentration of 10,000 troops upon the city — the incomplete 
 organization of the people — the insufiiciency of food, in case of a 
 sustained resistance — the uncertainty as to how far the the country 
 districts were prepared to support us — these were the chief reasons 
 that forced us into an antagonism with your generosity, your 
 devotion, your intrepidity. Night after night we visited the Clubs, 
 to know your sentiments, your determination — and to the course 
 
276 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 we instructed you to adopt, you gave, at length, a reluctant 
 sanction. 
 
 Now, I do not think it would be candid in me to conceal the 
 fact, that the day subsequent to the arrest of John Mitchel, I gave 
 expression to sentiments having a tendency quite opposite to the 
 advice I have mentioned. At a meeting of the Grattan Club, I 
 said that the Confederation ought to come to the resolution to 
 resist by force the transportation of John Mitchel, and if the worst 
 befel us, the ship that carried him away should sail upon a sea 
 of blood. 
 
 I said this, and I shall not now conceal it. I said this, and I 
 sliall not shrink from the reproach of having acted otherwise. 
 
 Upon consideration, I became convinced they were sentiments 
 which, if acted upon, would associate my name with the ruin of 
 the cause. I felt it my duty, therefore, to retract them — not to 
 disown, but to condemn them — not to shrink from the responsi- 
 bility which the avowal of them might entail, but to avert the 
 disaster which the enforcement of them would insure. 
 
 You have now heard all I have to say on that point, and with 
 a conscience happy in the thought that it has concealed nothing, 
 I shall exultingly look forward to an event — the shadow of which 
 already encompasses us — for the vindication of my conduct, and 
 the attestation of my truth. 
 
 Call me coward — call me renegade. I will accept these titles 
 as the penalties which a fidelity to my convictions has imposed. 
 It will be so for a short time only. To the end I see the path I 
 have been ordained to walk, and upon the grave which closes in 
 that path, I can read, no coward's epitaph. 
 
 Bitterly, indeed, might the wife and children of our illustrious 
 friend lament the loss they have sustained, if his example failed to 
 excite amongst us that defiant spirit which, in spite of pains and 
 penalties, will boldly soar to freedom, and from the dust, where it 
 has fretted for a time, return in rapturous flight to ihe source from 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 277 
 
 whence it came. ISTot till then — not till the cowardice of the 
 country has been made manifest — let there be tears and mourning 
 round that hearth, of which the pride and chivalry have passed 
 away. 
 
 I said, that in the depression which his loss inspired, I deeply 
 shared. I should not have said so. I feel no depression. His 
 example — his fortitude — his courage — forbid the feeling. All 
 that was perishable in him — his flesh and blood — are in the 
 keeping of the privileged felons who won his liberty with their 
 loaded dice. But, his genius, his truth, his heroism — to what 
 penal settlement have these immortal influences been condemned ? 
 
 Oh ! to have checked the evil promptly — to have secured their 
 crown and government against him and his teachings — to have 
 done their treacherous business well — they should have read his 
 mission and his power, in the star which presided at his birth, and 
 have stabbed him in his cradle. They seized him thirty years too 
 late — they seized him when his steady hand had lit the sacred 
 fire, and the flame had passed from soul to soul. 
 
 Who speaks of depression, then ? 
 
 Banish it ! Let not the banners droop — let not the battalions 
 reel — when the young chief is down ! 
 
 You have to avenge that fall. Until that fall shall have been 
 avenged, a sin blackens the soul of the nation, and repels from our 
 cause the sympathies of every gallant people. 
 
 For one, I am pledged to follow him. Once again they shall 
 have to pack their jury box — once again, exhibit to the world the 
 frauds and mockeries — the tricks and perjuries — uj^on which their 
 power is based. In this island, the English never — never, shall 
 have rest. The work, begun by the Norman, never shall be 
 completed. 
 
 Generation transmits to generation the holy passion which 
 pants for liberty — which frets against oppression. From the blood 
 
278 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 whicli drenched tlie scaffolds of 1798, tlie "felons" of this year 
 have sprung. 
 
 Should their blood flow — peace, and loyalty, and debasement 
 may here, for a time, resume their reign — the snows of a winter, 
 the flowers of a summer, may clothe the proscribed graves — but 
 from those graves there shall hereafter, be an armed resurrection. 
 
 Peace, loyalty, and debasement, forsooth ! A stagnant 
 society — breeding in its bosom, slimy, sluggish things, which to 
 the surface make their way by stealth, and there, for a season, 
 creep, cringe, and glitter in the glare of a provincial royalty ! 
 Peace, loyalty, and debasement ! A mass of pauperism — shovelled 
 off the land, stocked in fever sheds and poorhouses, shipped to 
 tIJanadian swamps — rags, and pestilence, and vermin ! Behold 
 the rule of England — and in that rule, behold humanity dethroned, 
 and Providence blasphemed ! 
 
 To keep up this abomination, they enact their laws of felony. 
 To sweep away the abomination, we must break through their 
 laws. 
 
 Should the laws fail, they will hedge in the abomination with 
 their bayonets and their gibbets. These, too, shall give way 
 before the torrent of fire which gathers in the soul of the people. 
 The question so long debated — debated, years ago, on fields of 
 blood — debated latterly in a venal senate, amid the jeers and yells 
 of faction — the question, as to who shall be the owners of this 
 island, must be this year determined. The end is at hand, and so, 
 unite and arm ! 
 
 A truce to cheers — to speeches — to banquets — to "important 
 resolutions " that resolve nothing, and " magnificent displays," 
 that are little else than preposterous deceptions. Ascertain your 
 resources in each locality — consolidate, arrange them — substitute 
 defined action for driftless passion — and, in the intelligent distribu- 
 tion and disciplined exercise of your powers, let the mind of the 
 
TRANSPORTATION OF MITCHEL. 279 
 
 country manifest its purpose, and give permanent effect to its 
 ambition. 
 
 In carrying out this plan, the country shall have the services of 
 the leading members of the Council, and from this great task — 
 the organization of the country — we shall not desist, until it has 
 been thoroughly accomplished. When it is accomplished, the 
 country shall resume its freedom and its sovereignty. To the 
 work, then, with high hope and impassioned vigor ! 
 
 There is a black ship upon the southern sea this night. Far 
 from his own, old land — far from the sea, and soil, and sky, which, 
 standing here, he used to claim for you with all the pride of a 
 true Irish prince — far from that circle of fresh, young hearts, in 
 whose light, and joyousness, and warmth, his own drank in each 
 evening new life and vigor — far from that young wife, in whose 
 heart the kind hand of Heaven has kindled a gentle heroism — sus- 
 tained by which she looks with serenity and pride upon her 
 widowed house, and in the children that girdle her with beauty, be- 
 holds but the inheritors of a name which, to their last breath,' will 
 secure to them the love, the honor, the blessing of their country 
 — far from these scenes and joys, clothed and fettered as a felon, 
 he is borne to an island, whereon the rich, and brilliant, and rapa- 
 cious power of which he was the foe, has doomed him to a dark 
 existence. That sentence must be reversed— reversed by the 
 decree of a nation, arrayed in arms and in glory ! 
 
 Till then, in the love of the country, let the wife and children of 
 the illustrious exile be shielded from adversity. 
 
 True — when he stood before the judge, and with the voice and 
 bearing of a Roman, told him, that three hundred were prepared 
 to follow him — true it is, that, at that moment, he spoke not of 
 his home and children — he thought only of his country — and, to 
 the^ honor of her sons, bequeathed the cause for which he was con- 
 demned to suffer. But in that one thought, all other thoughts 
 were embraced. Girt by the arms and banners of a free people, 
 
trj*''^- --' •^•'■^ — - - •>r«a» < ' ^^» *.v>i 
 
 280 ENGLISH LEGISLATION. 
 
 he saw his home secure — his wife joyous — his children prosperous 
 and ennobled. 
 
 This was the thought which forbade his heart to blench when 
 he left these shores — this the thought which calls up to-night, as 
 he sleeps within that prison-ship, dreams full of light and raptur- 
 ous joy — this the thought which will lighten the drudgery, and 
 reconcile his proud heart to the odious conditions of his exile. 
 
 Think ! — oh, think ! of that exile — the hopes, the longings, 
 which will grow each day more anxious and impatient ! 
 
 Think ! — oh, think ! of how, with throbbing heart and kindling 
 eye, he will look out across the waters that imprison him, search- 
 ing in the eastern sky for the flag that will announce to him his 
 liberty, and the triumph of sedition ! 
 
 Think ! — oh, think ! of that day, when thousands and tens of 
 thousands will rush down to the water's edge, as a distant gun 
 proclaims his return — mark the ship as it dashes through the 
 waves and nears the shore — behold him standing there upon the 
 deck — the same calm, intrepid, noble heart — his clear, quick eye 
 runs along the shore, and fills with the light which flashes from 
 the bayonets of the people — a moment's pause ! and then — amid 
 the roar of cannon, the fluttering of a thousand flags, the pealing 
 of the cathedral bells — the triumphant felon sets his foot once more 
 upon his native soil — hailed, and blessed, and worshipped as the 
 first citizen of our free and sovereign state ! 
 
LETTERS ON THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 
 
 -»^->- 
 
 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY — THE BELGIAN 
 
 REVOLUTION. 
 
 [These papers were published in the Dublin Nation, at different dates, 
 between December '46 and March '4*7. The following letter explains the 
 object with which thej were written : — 
 
 TO THE EDITOR OF THE EVENING PACKET. 
 
 Reform Chch, 20th Jan., 1848. 
 
 Sir — In the last number of your paper, I find it stated that I hare 
 endeavored, in my letters on the Belgian Revolution, "to perpetuate 
 and embitter the dissensions which have so long been the bane of this 
 country ;" and further on, that I have sought to enlist the " warmest 
 sympathies throughout in behalf of the Romanists — the strongest indig- 
 nation, against the Protestants." 
 
 I read this statement with sincere regret. 
 
 In writing the letters to which you have alluded, nothing was ' more 
 distant from my intentions, than to excite sectarian passions. I hate the 
 strife of religionists, and have felt it to be the severest curse with which 
 tliis country has been visited. Had that strife ceased some years since, the 
 fate of Ireland would be bright to-day. She would now possess the strength 
 that would raise her equally above the scourge of famine and the charity 
 of England. 
 
 Holding these opinions, it would, indeed, be strange in me to seek the 
 perpetuation of our religious feuds. If, for an instant, I thought that 
 my letters on the Belgian Revolution had such a vicious tendency, I should 
 cease to write them. 
 
 I wrote those letters, not to preach up an odious ascendancy. I had a 
 
 V Si. 
 
282 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 worthier object in view — to preach down the supremacy of England over 
 Ireland. 
 
 The Belgian Revolution was not a Catholic movement. De Potter, 
 the giriding spirit of the revolution, was a Protestant ; and no one feature 
 in that splendid movement is more striking — no one feature pleased me 
 more — than the junction, in 1818, of the ultra-Protestants with the ultra- 
 Catholics. 
 
 This union of sects planted a power, that could not be shaken, in the 
 arms of the revolutionists. Thus Belgium ceased to be an "integral 
 portion " of Holland, and became a distinct European State. Let there be 
 a similar union in Ireland, and, I think, the English Channel would soon 
 divide two free nations. 
 
 To bring about this union I have written, and will continue to write, 
 the letters on the Belgian Revolution. You maj call me a "rebel," if you 
 please. Many bright memories have given a nobility to that title. But 
 to be styled a " bigot," is a deep disgrace ; and, in this country, to act 
 as one, is to perpetuate misrule, and be the steadiest supporter of the 
 Union. 
 
 I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 Thomas F. Meagher.] 
 
 PART I. 
 
 The History of Revolutions is a fit study for a nation in the 
 progress of revolution. 
 
 There are virtues, essential to success, common to the revolu- 
 tions of opinion and the revolutions of arms. Truth, perseverance, 
 industry, liberality, endurance, courage — these are the agents of a 
 revolution — directed by genius, they become the weapons of 
 liberty. 
 
 From the military revolutions of Europe, we, in this our unarmed 
 struggle, may learn many of those fine virtues which give strength 
 to public men, and freedom to communities. 
 
 A second reason — in the struggles of other nations, we find the 
 justification of our own, and learning that even the vengeance of 
 the sword has been called forth by grievances less severe than 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 283 
 
 those whicb we endure, we are encouraged to proceed boldly in a 
 contest that demands neither the destruction of institutions nor 
 the sacrifice of life. 
 
 With these views before me, I undertake to write something 
 concerning the Belgian Revolution of 1830. 
 
 At the conference of the AlHed Powers, held at Chaumont, 
 March ^Ist, 1814, the union of Belgium with Holland was first 
 arranged. 
 
 Francis II., Emperor of Austria, at once surrendered his claims 
 to the country. Their eflforts to tranquillize it into a sensible 
 Austrian province, had cost his predecessors too much blood and 
 gold, and he had no desire to incur a like expense by a fresh 
 attempt at the imperial scheme. To unite it with Prussia, would 
 surely give the cabinet of Berlin too serious a preponderance in 
 European councils. To cut it up between the neighboring powers 
 — giving one portion to Holland, a second to Prussia, and a third 
 to France — is incompatible with the interests of England : for, 
 by such an arrangement, the bayonets of France might bristle 
 too near the citadel of Antwerp — and England requires certain 
 securities against the encroachments of France. 
 
 To incorporate it with Holland seems, therefore, the best thing 
 to be done ; and it is arranged, that " an intimate fusion" of the 
 two countries shall take place forthwith. 
 
 Intimate fusion of the two countries ! Belgium must become 
 an " integral portion " of the Dutch swamps — Utrecht and 
 Brabant shall have equal laws and franchises, for the conference 
 of Chaumont, and the congress of Vienna, and the treaty of 
 London have so arranged it, and national prejudices, traditions, 
 instincts, will surely conform to the arrangement. 
 
 A rebel against Spain, a rebel against Austria, a rebel against 
 France, Belgium will, no doubt, become a most loyal subject of 
 Holland. Forgetful that the merchant of Antwerp was once the 
 rival of the Venetian, when the Venetian was the king-merchant 
 
284 ■ LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 of Europe — or, looking upon tlie history of its ancient commerce 
 merely as a dazzling legend — the new province will consider it 
 an advantage to be subject to the Custom-house of The Hague. 
 Forgetful of its ancient chivalry, the service it rendered to Spain, 
 the power it contributed to the Italian States, the conscripts it 
 devoted to the " Grand Army " — of necessity it will rest satisfied, 
 that it has been gifted with no military resources, and must seek 
 protection for its interests in the extinction of its name. 
 
 We will soon perceive in what manner the Dutch ministers 
 applied themselves to the task of incorporation, and how wisely 
 they sought to accomplish this " intimate fusion." Spain, as M. 
 Nothumb writes, in his Essai Historique et Politique sur la 
 Uevolution JBel^e, having failed to convert the Belgians into 
 Spaniards, Austria having failed to convert them into Austrians, 
 France having failed to convert them into Frenchmen, it will be 
 instructive to all Unionists to learn by what means Holland 
 attempts to convert them into Dutch. 
 
 The two people must speak the same language. An edict — 
 " a simple cabinet order" — is issued on the 15th September, 1815, 
 to this effect. The Dutch language has the royal preference. 
 The Antwerp merchant lays aside his ledger, and takes to the 
 Dutch grammar ; the hotel-keepers of Brussels set forth their bills- 
 of-fare in Dutch ; the Belgian lawyers, too, must plead in Dutch ; 
 and in the barracks of Ghent, and Liege, and all other towns, 
 guards mount at the Dutch word of command. 
 
 The question is now very seriously asked, — why should four 
 millions of Belgians change their old tongue for the sake of an 
 " intimate fusion ?" For centuries their good fathers had trans- 
 acted business extremely well in that old tongue, and whatever 
 
 » 
 
 might, in centuries to come, eventuate from the adoption of a 
 new one, they now saw that, by this change, they were virtually 
 excluded from the courts of law, the public offices, and, in every 
 way, from the government of the Union. 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 285 
 
 Their old tongue ! It is the last treasure that a people consents 
 to part with. 
 
 Their commerce they may yield. The deep river and the 
 mighty sea will roll on until the earth is summoned to destruc- 
 tion. The oak will grow, and the iron will be forged, and as nerve, 
 and spirit, and power dwells ever in the heart of man, that com- 
 merce may be won back in coming days, and in better times be 
 bravely guarded. 
 
 And so with other treasures. Cities can be built up, and ancient 
 laws restored, and national arms resumed. 
 
 But the language of a people, once effaced, will never be 
 revived. On the broken monument it may be found, or dimly 
 traced on'treasured scrolls. In the traditional song, it may awake 
 for an hour, to die away again ; but once surrendered by the 
 people, it ceases for ever to be the language of the people, the 
 language of their shops, their fields, their schools and courts. 
 
 Right nobly, then, did the Belgian patriot protest against the 
 forfeiture of his native tongue. It was God's precious gift to 
 him, and God alone should take it from him. 
 
 The next step taken to make this Union a real Union, and not 
 a parchment Union, was to patronise the Dutch and disqualify the 
 Belgians. 
 
 And therefore it was, that, of the seven cabinet ministers, five 
 were Dutch, and two were Belgian ; of the forty-five privy coun- 
 cillors, twenty-seven were Dutch, eighteen were Belgian ; of thirty- 
 nine diplomatists, nine were Belgian. In the home department, 
 one hundred and six were Dutch, eleven were Belgian. In the 
 finance department, fifty-four were Dutch, four were Belgian. In 
 the war department, ninety-nine were Dutch, three were Belgian. 
 In the army, the Dutch commissioned officers were six to one 
 over the Belgian officers. 
 
 And thus it was that Dutch ministers gave Belgium to the 
 Belgians and Holland to the Dutch. 
 
286 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 Belgium, thus sliaring in tlie patronage of the Crown, mus 
 hkewise participate in the responsibilities of the State ; and the 
 Dutch Minister of the Interior, Van Gobleschroy, determines upon 
 a consolidated fund. Belgium forthwith contributes to the pay- 
 ment of Dutch debts incurred before the Union. And not 
 without a precedent, truly — for Ireland was equally generous to 
 England, in 1816. 
 
 The consolidated fund, however, appears not to consolidate the 
 Union. Something else must be done. 
 
 The government impose the most oppressive taxes upon distil- 
 leries and other sources of Belgian industry — they refuse to place 
 high duties on coffee, tea, and tobacco, lest these duties might 
 interfere with Dutch commerce. 
 
 Then came the moutre and the ahhatage taxes A bread tax, 
 producing 5,500,000 florins per annum — a meat tax, producing 
 2,500,000 per annum. The first was a most distressing tax upon 
 the Belgians, inasmuch as the food of the great mass of the 
 Belgians consisted chiefly of bread, whilst the Dutch lived prin- 
 cipally on potatoes and other cheap vegetables. 
 
 Two further steps are still necessary to secure this "intimate 
 fusion " of the two countries — an event so much desired by the 
 Friendly Powers, and "the paternal government" — as the Dutch 
 King cordially designates his ministers. 
 
 The Supreme Court of Justice is established at The Hague, and 
 in all cases of appeal, Belgian htigants must leave Belgium to get 
 justice done them in the Dutch capital. 
 
 It is found, after a little experience, not very convenient to get 
 justice done at such a distance, and Belgian litigants begin to 
 think that it might be as cheaply done at home. The market is 
 somewhat dearer at The Hague than Brussels ; and Belgian 
 lawyers, juniors and seniors, find that these trials of appeal draw 
 largely on their fees. 
 
 Of two fates they have their choice — they must either remove 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION-. 287 
 
 to Holland, or stay at home altogether. Tliey stop at home, 
 and the Dutch lawyers monopolise the practice of the Supreme 
 Court. 
 
 Catholic seminaries are now suppressed — the ministerial journals 
 calumniate the Catholic laity, and satirise the Catholic clergy — the 
 enlightened Abbe de Foere is sentenced to imprisonment, for an 
 alleged libel, by a " special extraordinary court " — the Prince De 
 Broglie and his vicars-general are " absolved " from their spiritual 
 jurisdiction — religious festivals and processions are prohibited — 
 the Philosophic College is established at Louvain — in a word, 
 religious persecution is declared essential to the prosperity of 
 Protestantism, and the maintenance of the Union. 
 
 These were the principal measures talc en by the Government of 
 Holland to realize the project of the Chaumont conference, and 
 these the chief grievances that woke the spirit of resistance in the 
 beautiful cities of Old Flanders, and bade the trammelled Province 
 arm, and be a Nation. 
 
LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY— THE BELGIAN 
 
 REVOLUTION. 
 
 PART II. 
 
 Fifteen years of pains and penalties, of loyalty and debasement, 
 had gone by. The Union had been fairly tried. The Govern- 
 ment had experienced the toleration of the people — the people 
 must now experience the liberality of the Government. If not, 
 the Government shall learn, at much expense, the power of the 
 people. 
 
 There must be petitions against this Supreme Court at the 
 Hague — petitions against these gross taxes that make the common 
 food so costly — petitions against these bigot laws that fetter the 
 Priesthood and insult religion — petitions against these swarms of 
 Dutch stipendiaries that eat the Belgians out of house and home 
 — petitions, above all, against this suppression of the native 
 tongue. 
 
 The 161st section of the Fundamental Law guarantees the 
 right of Petition, and the Belgians will stand by the Fundamental 
 Law until they lose all faith in the utility of public petitions. 
 When this has come to pass, it will be necessary for them to write 
 their demands upon an insurgent flag, and address themselves no 
 longer to Dutch deputies, but to Dutch battalions. 
 
 The Leaders of the people, MM. Bartels, De Potter, Rodenback, 
 the Abbe de Haerne, the Barons Secus and Stassart, draw up 
 these petitions. They are left for signature at the offices of the 
 Spectateur and the Courrier de la Muse — at the offices of the 
 Catholique and Politique — likewise in the Clubs and Cafes. 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 289 
 
 In a few weeks, a mass of petitions, containing several hundred 
 thousand signatures, covers the table of the States-General. Like 
 most petitions, they are httle else than dead-letters, and might as 
 well have never been signed, sealed, and delivered. 
 
 If petitions avail not, something else will. 
 
 The National Press speaks out — speaks the true dialect of 
 freedom — arraigns the Government — defies the Law. 
 
 This splendid press is edited, for the most part, by young 
 lawyers. They are mere newspaper scribblers, these young men. 
 In a short time it appears, however, that the compositors' room is 
 somewhat stronger than the States-General — nay, somewhat 
 stronger than the Antwerp Citadel — with its six bastions and 
 ditches by Paciotti — with all its great modern improvements by 
 Carnot. 
 
 Pamphlets, letters, reports, addresses in every shape, fly in 
 swift succession through the towns and villages — teaching the people 
 the crimes of Government, the necessity of reform — t6::*vhing 
 them the venality of submission, the virtue of resistance. 
 
 This is the true way to revolutionise. 
 
 The English Democracy won Free Trade by this laborious 
 tract system. The passionate appeals of the political speaker may 
 influence the actions of the hour — the deliberate lessens of the 
 political writer will influence the movements of the age. Facts 
 will operate upon the public mind long after its fiery impulses 
 have sunk to rest, and in good time will work out, deeply and 
 thoroughly, the wisest changes in the ideas, the resolves, the 
 destinies of a people. 
 
 Nor did the Catholic Clergy forget the duties of citizenship — 
 from the carved pulpits of the glorious old churches of Bruges, 
 and Liege, and Brussels, they called upon the people to sign the 
 demand for national redress. Within those stately Gothic aisles 
 the Gospel of Liberty was preached by holy tongues. The grand 
 
 13 
 
290 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 mission has been fulfilled — the free Flag of Belgium flies this day 
 from the towers of St. Gudule ! 
 
 Meanwhile, it is no easy task to rouse the Belgian masses — the 
 workmen, the merchants of the nation. The " million of industry " 
 is a strong preservative of " order " Vithin the factories and ware- 
 houses, and thought to be a fair price for the loyalty of commer- 
 cial men. Thus it is that neither Ghent nor Antwerp mingle much 
 in the politics of the day. They have " business " to attend to. 
 Likewise, the Nobihty. 
 
 The patricians shrink from public meetings, preferring to discuss 
 Belgian grievances in the fine mansions of the Rue de la JRoi and 
 the Rue Royale. 
 
 Yet, the Nobility is not altogether ignoble. The Prince Auguste 
 d'Aremberg, the Prince de Ligne, the Duke d'Ursel, the Counts 
 Robiano, De Merode, and D'Aerschot, assert the dignity of their 
 order by an association with the friends of Liberty. 
 
 Despite all diiBculties, the end is at hand. The cloud thickens 
 over the palace of the Hague. M. Van Gobelschroy becomes 
 alarmed, and justly so. He has been told, very distinctly indeed, 
 that " an era of liberty and justice in Belgium is assured, or to 
 speak the language of office, is inevitable.'''' The prophet of Revo- 
 lution and Liberty is M. de Potter, and thus he prophesied on the 
 15th of November, 1829. 
 
 Dutch Ministers will surely be swamped if they make not some 
 strong effort. They establish a press to defend their characters — 
 they institute state prosecutions to enforce their authority, and 
 maintain the Union. 
 
 An Italian slave, christened Libry Bagnano, is hired to conduct 
 the leading Ministerial paper, and this paper is called Le National ; 
 for the same reason, we must conclude, that the Government was 
 styled " the paternal." The Italian resides in Brussels, at the 
 Polymathick Library, and makes money by his fetters. The 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 291 
 
 gifted villain grows rich in the service of despotism. In successive 
 instalments he receives 100,000 florins, and this sum is thieved by 
 the Government from the " million of industry.*" 
 
 The edict of April, 1815, is now in full play. The liberty of the 
 press is violently assailed, and De Potter, Tielmans, Ducpetiaux, 
 and the Abbe de Foere, experience fully the rigor of Dutch justice. 
 The Italian scribe recommends the Government " to muzzle the 
 malcontents, and scourge them like dogs." Government seems 
 disposed to act upon the recommendation of the National. But, 
 Liberty, though it may be scourged, cannot be muzzled. Liberty 
 is no dog. Of this fact MM. Van Gobelschroy and Van Maanen, 
 in a little time, had conclusive proof. 
 
 The prosecutions, as Government measures, were sad failures. 
 They swelled the torrent they were designed to check. The trials 
 were published — the libels, of course, reprinted — the accused were 
 worshipped as Martyrs — the State prison became the temple of 
 Liberty, and won the homage of the people. 
 
 A Royal Message issues from the Hague on the 11th December, 
 1829. In this Message the malconterits, as M. Libry Bagnano 
 calls them, are described as " a few misguided men," whose crime, 
 the Message states, has been " to forget the benefits they enjoyed," 
 and who, reckless of all future perils, as they have been insensible 
 to all past favors, had " risen up in an alarming and scandalous 
 manner against a paternal Government." 
 
 Strange it is, the patriots of every struggling country have 
 been " a few misguided men." Strange it is, that every distressed 
 country has been blessed with " a paternal Government" — even 
 to this day. 
 
 Further on, the Message denounces the Petitioners as "fanatics" 
 — the national press as the organ of "religious hatred and factious 
 revolt." 
 
 * The " million of industry " was annually voted by the States-General for the purpose 
 of assisting distressed manufacturers, encouraging- commercial speculations, &c., &c. 
 
292 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 On that llth day of December, 1829, the Independence of 
 Belgium was secm-ed. The Koyal Message contained the death- 
 sentence of the Union. The scheme of the Chaumont Conference 
 is doomed. Be assured of it, there shall be no "intimate fusion" 
 — save that of Dutch and Belgian blood in the streets of Brussels 
 and the ditches of Antwerp. 
 
 A ministerial circular accompanies the Message, announcing that 
 all Government officers, servants, sutlers, (fee, who had been in any 
 way connected with the " Petitioners,'' shall be dismissed. The 
 result is, many functionaries are dismissed, being quite satisfied 
 that the redress of Belgian grievances is no " open question^ 
 
 So far for royal coercion. ISTow for royal nonsense. 
 
 The Dutch King is advised to make a tour through his Belgian 
 province. His gracious presence will rally the popular sympathies 
 in favor of the Union ; and " the few misguided men " will have 
 to capitulate on bended knees. 
 
 Festivities at Brussels will banish the grim idea of grievances. 
 Fireworks in the Park, balls in the Hotel de Ville, will enchant 
 society and tranquillize the province. MM. Bartels, De Potter, 
 Ducpetiaux, and Tielmans, will sink very low in public opinion — 
 weighed down by the prancing Aides-de-camp, the laced and 
 feathered Chasseurs, the amiable private secretaries, and the rest 
 of the Palace furniture, with all its scent, and gold, and purple. 
 The sceptre of the Hague, like the golden branch of Avernus, will 
 conduct the king — so the Sibyls of the Cabinet predict — through 
 many troubles, into the most tranquil Elysium. 
 
 The King arrives at Liege. The utmost respect is paid him by 
 the authorities — M. le Maire is very busy, pompous, and loyal. 
 Were it not for one circumstance, the visit to Liege would be truly 
 delightful. 
 
 Amid the sunshine of royal pageantries there appears a cloud 
 of petitions. The Guards of Honor do their duty — the excellent 
 Mayor improves his activity, and becomes indefatigably loyal. 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 293 
 
 To no purpose. ^ 
 
 The petitions still sweep on. Egyptian locusts could not possibly^ 
 give the Dutch King more annoyance than these petitions do. 
 He seizes one — reads it rapidly — throws it from him — exclaiming 
 rashly, " it is infamous ! " 
 
 The " Petitioners " treasure up this yojbI sentiment, and forth- 
 with resolve themselves into " The Order of Infamy." 
 
 Glorious thought ! "When tyrants fling a nickname on the 
 oppressed, the oppressed should ever sanctify it as their battle 
 cry. 
 
LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY— THE BELGIAN 
 
 REVOLUTION. 
 
 PART III. 
 
 The Silversmitlis are busy at Liege. Medals are being struck to 
 decorate the " Order of Infamy." The motto on these medals is 
 a noble one — " Fideles jusqu'a Vinfamiey 
 
 The patriot of our day should adopt that motto. He should 
 act as that motto bids him act. To his country he should be 
 faithful — even unto infamy. 
 
 Let the hired journalist ply his stinging pen — the vassal orator 
 his venomed tongue — let the vipers of society hiss their falsehoods 
 round the social board — let the populace shout their curses in the 
 public forum — still, faithful even unto infamy, let the patriot perse- 
 vere — " Fidele jusqu^a Vinfamier 
 
 A little while, and this infamy will be his glory. The scaffold 
 is a sordid piece of mechanism — it is infamous — until a Russell 
 or an Emmet dies upon it. It is then the honored altar on which 
 a costly sacrifice is offered up, and from which a Spirit ascends 
 and becomes a star in Heaven. 
 
 In a few weeks the Order spread widely through the country, 
 and did efficient service in the day of struggle. 
 
 Public dinners take place. In Bruges, the Count Villain XIV. 
 and M. de Menlenaere are sumptuously entertained by the patriot 
 citizens — the Government party having thrown them out of the 
 representation in 1829. 
 
 At this dinner, plans are laid down, for an effective movement 
 against the Ministry. The result is, a strong opposition in the 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 295 
 
 States-General during tlie session of '29 and '30. Moreover, a 
 great popular demonstration in Brussels is announced. 
 
 The announcement is followed by a change of ministerial policy. 
 Parties are not now what they used to be — there's a tertium quid 
 in power — a crisis has arrived — "something will be done." In 
 fact, the Ministers have alreadv found that " concession has not 
 reached its limits," and that it is well to rescind the edicts 
 relating to public education and the imposition of the Dutch 
 tongue. 
 
 These concessions come too late — fortunately for the independ- 
 ence of Belgium. The Belgians have ceased to be petitioners — 
 they no longer whine about "justice to Belgium" — they insist 
 upon one simple right — they have sworn that the Dutch province 
 shall be a European state. 
 
 The prosecution of the press, still continuing, confirms the oath 
 of Liberty. 
 
 It is the month of August. The last days of July had wit- 
 nessed a crimson pageant in the streets of Paris — the Tricolor 
 had been planted on the parapet of the Tuilleries — across the 
 frontier came the shout, " France has crowned a Citizen Kjng " — 
 they heard that shout in Brussels, and bold hearts panted to 
 exclaim, " Belgium, too, has given her sceptre to a Citizen." 
 
 And with that shout came many of the young heroes of July — 
 the beardless boys of the ^cole de Droit and the Ecole Poly- 
 technique — proud of having usurped the privileges of age, and led 
 the people to victory. On the Promenade du Boulevard^ in these 
 bright evenings of August, is heard the Marseillaise ; and, in the 
 theatres and cafes, tongues are eloquent on the triumph of Demo- 
 cracy. 
 
 There is a Swiss Guard in this beautiful old city of Brussels 
 ■which must be speedily swept out — there is a Flag on that square 
 tower of St. Gudule which must share the fate of the Fleur-de-lis 
 — this is the prevailing sentiment. 
 
296 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 The cloud we spoke of, a short time since, is thicker and 
 darker to-day. It is, therefore, necessary to illuminate. Besides, 
 it is the King's birthday, and people should manifest their loyalty. 
 And so there are festivities on the 24th instant — towards evening, 
 much singing in the streets, the songs being somewhat more 
 patriotic than loyal — and later, enthusiastic cries of " Vive la 
 Liberte^^ — " Vive la Belgique.^'' A few windows- are broken, 
 and the fact is notified by a vehement cry of — " down with the 
 Dutch !" 
 
 Next evening there is a political manifestation in the Theatre. 
 The Muette de Portici suggests many liberal sentiments, and, by 
 midnight, the Polymathic Library, the residence of M. Libry Bag- 
 nano, is a complete wreck. 
 
 Now for the Minister of Justice. 
 
 The mansion of this gentleman shares the fate of the Polyma- 
 thic Library, and, subsequently, the house of Mr. Knyff, the 
 superintendent of police, is added to the list of casualties. A 
 gunsmith's shop is ransacked, and supplies the insun-ectionists 
 with arms. The authorities appear nowhere. Not till the morn- 
 ing breaks, is there an, arm raised to assert the supremacy of 
 Holland. 
 
 Even then, the people yield rather to the counsels of their 
 friends than to the bayonets of their foes. A Burgher Guard is 
 organized — a proclamation is issued, announcing the dismissal 
 of M. Van Maanen, the abolition of the moutre tax, the with- 
 drawal of the troops from the city. 
 
 Public order is somewhat restored by this public lie. 
 
 The leaders of the people have not as yet made up their minds 
 for the worst. They still adhere to their peace policy — they will 
 make another experiment at The Hague. With this view, a 
 deputation of five citizens is appointed to wait upon the King with 
 a respectful statement of grievances. 
 
 People in Louvain, and Bruges, and Mons, murmur about 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 297 
 
 this — ^being strongly of opinion that a deputation of five citizens, 
 however respectable, is an awkward instrument for the achieve- 
 ment of Liberty. 
 
 Be that as it may, the deputation arrives at The Hague. 
 
 The Prince of Orange takes offence at that tricolored ribbon of 
 Brabant, which the Count D'Hoogvorst exhibits in his coat. He 
 calls it the emblem of Revolt. The Count D'Hoogvorst replies 
 that it is the emblem of his country. 
 
 Tyrants hate these emblems — they dread them — they send 
 their sea-captains to tear them from the ships of the province — 
 they proclaim them seditious, for they incite to Liberty. 
 
 This interview perfectly satisfies the deputation that justice will 
 not be done to Belgium — otherwise than by herself. 
 
 Another Royal visit ! 
 
 The Prince of Orange will visit Brussels at once. They are 
 sensible men in that city — men who prefer the smiles of a prince 
 to the blessings of freedom. A few viceregal compliments will 
 change the policy of the popular leaders, and ratify the Union. 
 Assurances of a fair distribution of patronage, will conciliate the 
 scribblers of the Courrier de la Meuse ; and these young gentle- 
 men, satisfied of the benevolent intentions of government, will 
 " throw away the sword." We shall see. 
 
 Arriving at the Laaken gate, his Royal Highness, William, 
 Prince of Orange, is saluted by a patriot corps of 5,000 citizens — 
 well equipped with scythes, long knives, pikes, and rusty muskets. 
 He is anxious to proceed to the Royal Palace. The Life Guards, 
 with which he is honored, direct him in a peremptory tone of 
 voice — " To the Palace of the People — to the Hotel de Ville." 
 
 " Cursed be this Liberty," exclaims the Prince, " that will not 
 permit a man to go to his own house." 
 
 In a few weeks, his Royal Highness will have to curse the 
 Liberty that drives him out of Belgium — back to his legitimate 
 residence in the Swamps. 
 
 13* 
 
298 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 On the tliird clay of September, tlie leaders of the people have 
 an interview with the Prince — he has requested them to state 
 their opinions frankly. M. Moyard, very frankly, tells him that 
 there is but one thing that will satisfy all parties — a separation. 
 The Prince desires M. Moyard to explain. 
 
 " Separation " is an offensive word to Royal ears, and requires 
 an explanation. 
 
 It is thus M. Moyard explains — " I mean, sir, such a separation 
 as exists between Norway and Sweden." M. Moyard seems to 
 have read an instructive lesson from Foreign History. 
 
 Having received this explanation, the Prince informs the Leaders 
 of the people that he is not his own master — cannot satisfy 
 their demands — will communicate them to the King — is sure the 
 King will do all in his power for his excellent people of Belgium. 
 Next day, he bids farewell to Brussels. 
 
 Liege, Mons, Ath, Namurs, Louvain, now loudly call for 
 " separation," and will be content with nothing less. Ghent and 
 Antwerp are still attending to their " business." The nobles are 
 still idling in their chateaux. 
 
 It matters not. Coronets contribute something to the embel- 
 lishment of a State — they contribute little to its power. 
 
 Let not a people, in battle for their freedom, despair of triumph 
 because no gentle blood mingles with their own upon the field. 
 
 True it is, the noble lends a grace and lustre to the struggle 
 in which he serves as the confederate of the people. Should he be 
 the inheritor of an ancient name — a name that is written in the 
 annals, marked on the battle-sites, treasured in the traditions 
 of the people — his title is a spell that wins the gay, the gifted, 
 and the gallant to the banner of Revolution — communicating to 
 the people the chivalry by which that title was won in former 
 days. 
 
 But genius, thrift, truth, heroism, belong not to a class. These 
 gifts are distributed through society at large — for the most part 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 299 
 
 are found amongst those whom the court has not favored, the 
 rich caressed, or the schools informed — and these are the agencies 
 through which a nation wins its freedom, and mounts to power. 
 
 Yet, let no nation, winning its freedom by the rough but mighty 
 arm of Democracy, revenge the sloth or recreancy of the Nobility 
 by the destruction of the order. In every state where they exist, 
 the titled are the patrons of the arts, the sciences, the amusements, 
 of the people. Their tastes, accomplishments, and resources render 
 them the fit guardians of the sculptor, the poet, and the painter. 
 To-day we recognise them as the graceful missionaries of educa- 
 tion in the Athenaeums of the manufacturers — we find them the 
 kindly companions of the laborer in the old games and pastimes 
 of the field. 
 
 A manly people will hail, with just respect, the noble to their 
 ranks — a craven people will despair of liberty when the noble 
 stands aloof. A wise and virtuous people will preserve the 
 aristocracy of the country — a vulgar and a vicious people will 
 destroy it. 
 
 In Belgium, the People won the independence of the nation — 
 preserving the Nobility from the ruin, which they themselves were 
 too fastidious or too servile to avert. 
 
LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY— THE BELGIAN 
 
 REVOLUTION. 
 
 PART IV. , 
 
 The holiest cause round wliicli the truth, the genius, the heroism 
 of a nation may be called upon to minister, is sure to be soiled, in 
 its progress amongst men, by the contact of the coarse, the false, 
 and vicious. More than once, indeed, have unclean hands pro- 
 faned the Arh that held the laws and hberties of a pilgrim tribe, 
 as that tribe marched on to found a nation ; but once only have 
 these hands been withered by the Power, whose wings protect the 
 tents and tabernacles of the People. 
 
 From this evil the Belgian revolution was not exempt. 
 
 Robbers, poachers, outcasts of every class swept through the 
 country on their crusade of plunder and incendiarism — laying siege 
 to the chateaux of the nobility — hewing down the most valuable 
 timber on the estates of the gentry — shooting the most approved 
 game — and doing all this in the name of Liberty, and for the 
 greater glory of Belgium. Houses are plunged in flames — trees 
 come crashing down — pheasants are bagged, and family plate 
 packed up — amid the most amazing shouts of " Vive la Liberie.''^ 
 
 Yet, who would say that these sins had blotted out from history 
 the generous virtues of the Revolution — smearing the ancient tri- 
 color of Brabant with a vulgar guilt which nothing could efface ? 
 
 Vices, like those I have mentioned, should be scouted down by 
 every true Patriot, and it is the sacred duty of the Revolutionist 
 to punish with a bold hand the excesses of the people whose ener- 
 gies he demands for freedom. But, doubtless, it is a grievous 
 
,• 
 
 THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 301 
 
 error to denounce a Revolution for the accidents of a Revolution, 
 and to protest against a great effort for good government, because 
 that effort may disturb the gross passions of the community — 
 driving them, for a while, to froth and whirl upon the surface. 
 
 No Revolution can be wholly pure — as all the world knows — 
 and yet, shall I not assert that Freedom, as she treads down the 
 laws, and weapons, and citadels of Despotism, and makes her 
 stately march through the arms, and banners, and laurels of her 
 chosen people — to open a new Senate and consecrate a new 
 Throne — is not the less brilliant, the less beautiful, the less noble 
 for those stains which, here and there, some ruffian hand has flung 
 upon her battle-robe ? 
 
 Freedom must suffer from within and from without her camp — 
 as well from those who cry out, "plant her flag, and guard it, 
 citizens I" — as from those who cry out, "down with her flag, and 
 trample on it, soldiers !" The good citizen will stand by that Flag 
 through all trials — stand by it spite of the vices that creep and 
 sting beneath its shadow — stand by it in spite of the penalties and 
 perils that thicken round it. In no conceit of piety will he aban- 
 don the public cause, to reprove the public crimes. 
 
 There was none of this conceit — this hypocrisy in Belgium. 
 No citizen of Brussels threw down his scythe or musket in the 
 Grande'Place — disgusted, as they say, with public life- — because 
 there were a score or two of villains in the direction of Hainault, 
 feasting sumptuously, and making money, by the movement. 
 Beside, there was no time to be fastidious — the enemy was up ! 
 
 The Arnheim Journal insists upon the "rebels" being "put 
 down," and begs leave to inform the government — lest it might 
 have any scruples upon the subject — that " blood of rebels is not 
 brothers' blood." The Nederlanche Gedachten writes in the same 
 excellent and forcible strain — insisting upon " war to the rebels — 
 war to the knife." 
 
 The people, however, are in very good spirits ; and since it is 
 
302 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 evident to them that a change is at hand, they consider it advis- 
 able to appoint a " Committee of Public Surety." A very admir- 
 able move in truth, for in Brussels, at this precise moment, affairs 
 wore a frowning aspect — bank notes were checked in circulation 
 — volunteer drums gave much annoyance in the streets — pikes 
 and rusty muskets were on the increase. 
 
 iSTor did the reception of the Belgian Deputies at the Hague, 
 on the 13th of September, tend, in the least degree, to diminish 
 the responsibility of this Committee of Public Surety. What 
 was still more fortunate for Belgium, it did not, in the remotest 
 way, conduce to the peaceful adjustment of the differences between 
 the two countries ; on the contrary, very forcibly tended towards 
 the utter destruction of that Chaumont scheme — " the intimate 
 fusion." 
 
 The most patient, drowsy, constitutional Deputy from the 
 " sister country," finds it a moral impossibility to dream any 
 longer of " justice " from the States-General, amid those vehe- 
 ment cries that ring from the galleries and all parts of the 
 House — cries of " down with the Eebels ! — down with the incendi- 
 aries ! " 
 
 Then the King's speech to his " Noble and Puissant Sirs " has 
 nothing new in it — nothing at all suited to the times. It is the 
 old formula used upon all such occasions — the common property 
 and commonplace of all thrones, insular and continental. 
 
 The Dutch Deputies, it must be confessed, speak out much 
 more frankly than their King — insisting that "justice to Belgium" 
 shall consist in a profuse supply of shot and steel. 
 
 Indeed, this visit to the Hague — positively the last ! — is any- 
 thing but agreeable to the Deputies of the disaffected province. 
 The police have frequently to protect them in the streets, and 
 some of them have found it exceedingly difficult to procure lodg- 
 ings. It is impossible, therefore, as we said before, for the most 
 
THE BELGIAN REVOLUTION. 303 
 
 patient, the most drowsy, tlie most constitutional amongst them, 
 to dream any longer of "justice to Belgium." 
 
 Everything taken into consideration, it was full time for one 
 of these outcast Deputies to write a letter to Brussels, calling 
 upon the Belgians to prepare themselves for " combat or slavery." 
 
 A letter to this effect was written and published in the national 
 papers. The advice was zealously obeyed. The King's speech 
 was torn to pieces in Brussels. In other places it met with a like 
 fate, or was burned to ashes. 
 
 Daring and desperate men now started up from every quarter — 
 from the collieries of Hainault — from the foundries of Liege. 
 The pick, the loom, the plough, were flung away. Belgium 
 needed now some sharper tools, and she received, for her protec- 
 tion and her glory, the scythe, the pike, the musket. Emanuel 
 d'Hoogoorst — a man of sound sense and bold honesty — devoid of 
 genius and ambition — is elected chief of the Insurrectionists. 
 
 I think it well to pass by the scenes of blood, through which 
 the old Flag of Flanders was borne to the tower of St. Gudule. 
 There is little to be learned from the mere fighting-chapters of a 
 Eevolution. Blows are struck by nations for theu- freedom, much 
 in the same style all over the world. 
 
 In a mihtary nation, certainly, these blows are struck less 
 awkwardly than elsewhere. Yet, I do believe, that where a people 
 have not acquired a military attitude and spirit from the laws 
 and duties of the State, God himself will direct their untutored 
 blow for Freedom ; and a passionate heroism — kindled by his 
 hand — will supply the place, and work the wonders of deliberate 
 skill. 
 
 For us, it will be more useful to turn to the less dazzling and 
 exciting chapters — to contemplate the morality of the Revolution 
 — to follow these armed citizens in their resolute resistance to all 
 compromise — in their bold fight against all the sympathies, bribes, 
 and factions of the foreign government. 
 
304 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 This is the more heroic fight. When the strugghng nation is 
 poor, and hungry, and in rags, it is the noblest fight of all. 
 
 Before the 2 2d of October, the Orange flag had been burned in 
 the citadels of Namour, Liege, Ghent, Ypres, and Menin. From 
 Antwerp citadel it was flying still. Everywhere — everywhere — 
 these Dutch Unionists were struck and levelled — though the law, 
 the sceptre, and the Vienna treaty were on their side — struck and 
 levelled, spite of their seventy-seven battalions of infantry, their 
 seventy-two squadrons of cavalry, their sixty troops of artillery, 
 their pontoon brigade, their sappers, and miners, and gensdarmes, 
 with the dukes and princes at their head. 
 
 And now, it being quite evident that the " malcontents could 
 not be whipped and muzzled like dogs " — quite evident that con- 
 siderably more thap " a few misguided men had risen up in an 
 alarming manner against a paternal government " — quite evident 
 that the rebels could not be "put down" — quite evident that 
 Royal visits were utterly useless — quite evident that the Belgians 
 had a firm grasp of Belgium, and were likely to retain it — all this 
 being quite evident, the Government decided that " concession had 
 not reached its limits." 
 
 So, there is a Royal decree issued forthwith, in which William, 
 King of the United Kingdoms of Holland and Belgium, informs 
 his loyal subjects of the " Southern provinces " that his " well- 
 beloved son, the Prince of Orange, will fix his residence at 
 Antwerp " — furthermore, " that he will second and support, as 
 far as possible, by conciliatory means, the efibrts of the well- 
 disposed inhabitants to re-establish order, wherever it may be 
 troubled." 
 
 Cabinets are most "conciliatory," when the people convince 
 them they are in earnest about their freedom. 
 
 This decree is immediately followed by a proclamation, dated 
 from Antwerp, signed by " our well-beloved son," William 
 Frederick, Prince of Orange. 
 
THE BELGIAN REYOLUTION. 305 
 
 This proclamation is worth reading. 
 
 In the first place, the " inhabitants of the southern provinces of 
 the Netherlands Kingdom " are assured that his Royal Highness" 
 has arrived in Antwerp, with a view to " conciliate " — which means, 
 to enslave — and to "ameliorate" — which means, to debase. In 
 the next place, they are told that the royal heart " bleeds at the 
 ills they have endured." This is a very affectionate assurance. 
 
 But, it appears, the people think proper to inquire, how it came 
 to pass that the royal heart was so long without bleeding — why, 
 in fact, it did not bleed before the Brabant Flag was planted on 
 that square, black tower of St. Gudule — why it did not bleed 
 before the Dutch sceptre was splintered in those stout citadels of 
 Namour, and Liege, and Ghent. 
 
 Let us proceed. 
 
 There will be a "distinct administration accorded to the southern 
 provinces — to be composed entirely of Belgians." Furthermore, 
 " affairs will be discussed in the language of the country — all 
 places in the gift of the government will be given to those 
 Belgians who have been most distinguished for their patriotism — 
 and then the utmost liberty will be left to the instruction of 
 youth." 
 
 The " infamous petitions " of Liege are about to be complied 
 with. The " Order of Infamy " is now in high repute. 
 
 Besides these conciliatory means — thus distinctly specified — for 
 restoring order and happiness to the country, there will be " other 
 ameliorations that will accord with the views of the nation and 
 the exigencies of the times." The Proclamation concludes — 
 " Belgians ! it is by these means that we hope to concur with you 
 in saving this beautiful country that is so dear to us." 
 
 Assuredly they must have had rare merriment in Brussels, in 
 Namour, in Liege — in every place that had been purified from 
 Dutch asthma — reading this proclamation. And how wisely and 
 how manfully these " inhabitants of the southern provinces " look- 
 
308 LESSONS FROM FOREIGN HISTORY. 
 
 ing up to tlieir fine old flag — flying proudly and brilliantly from 
 barrack-wall and catbedral-spire — bow wisely and manfully must 
 tbey not bave said, one to anotber — " tbis beautiful country is 
 most dear to us, and since we bave won it back witbout tbeir 
 conciliatory means — witbout tbeir Royal decrees and Proclama- 
 tions — witbout tbeir places "in tbe gift of government " — witbout 
 tbeir kindly beart-bleeding — witbout tbeir well-beloved son, and 
 all otber ameliorations — so, witbout tbem, and spite of tbem — let 
 Us keep it — now and for ever. Amen ! " 
 
 Concession migbt not bave reacbed its limits, but endurance bad, 
 and tbe day of reckoning was come. 
 
 jN"otbing could tempt tbe nation back to a new experiment for 
 "justice." Royal decrees and proclamations — all tbese soft and 
 seductive romances of a despairing government — were spurned by 
 tbe people — spurned passionately, proudly — and, on tbe 25tb of 
 October, tbe Prince of Orange embarked for Rotterdam — bis pre- 
 cious beart bleeding, no doubt, at tbe tbougbt tbat be was 
 " unable to attain tbe noble object towards wbicb all bis efforts 
 tended — tbe pacification of tbe beautiful province." 
 
 Wise and glorious lesson ! Instructive and inspiring lesson ! 
 No cancerous credulity — eating away tbe firm purpose of tbe 
 beart — bere bade a nation bait, and give ber beaten foe anotber 
 trial. No scullion craving for tbe dregs and droppings of a foreign 
 court bere lulled tbe voice tbat bad once defied, or tamed tbe 
 spirit tbat bad stormed. 
 
 Still tbe same loud voice ! Still tbe same proud spirit ! — 
 neitber to be bougbt nor sabred into peace — mounting step by 
 step, to a New Destiny — breaking tbrougb tbe migbty mecbanism 
 of war — breaking tbrougb tbe more costly and crafty mecbanism 
 of a capitulating court — beeding neitber compliments nor curses — 
 sworn to be grateful for ber freedom, from bencefortb, to no King 
 save Him, wbose kingdom lies above tbe cedars and tbe stars ! 
 
"THE RED ABOVE THE GREEN." 
 [Tms paper "was published in the Nation, as an editorial, in April, 184Y.] 
 
 On last Good Friday, the English flag was flying from the 
 balustrade of Nelson's Pillar. It was the anniversary of the 
 battle of Copenhagen. 
 
 An agreeable sight, no doubt, to the English garrison — to the 
 English Archbishop — to the English Chief Secretary — to the Eng- 
 lish Poor Law Commissioner — to all Englishmen who make out 
 their living here, and hold the Irish capital for the great Northern 
 Austria, called England. 
 
 And, no doubt, it was a pleasing sight to some of our Irish 
 citizens likewise. 
 
 All those accomplished and sensitive people who think the Irish 
 tongue a vulgar jargon — who consider Ireland a most wretched 
 place to live in, and imagine it the " height of respectability " 
 to have a pair of English epaulettes glittering in their ball-rooms 
 — who so loyally stand up in the theatre when " God save the 
 Queen" is being played, and so fashionably sit down when " Patrick's 
 Day " begins — who are enchanted, beyond measure, with Cum- 
 berland Lakes, and Welsh Mountains, and Leamington Spas, 
 and know nothing, and care less, about Killarney Punch-bowls, 
 and Blackwater Castles, and Holycross Ruins — all who, on levee- 
 days or audience-days, take a view of Ireland from the windows 
 of the Castle, or learn the state of the country from the cashier 
 of the Treasury — all these well-aflfected people were, no doubt, 
 highly pleased with the commemoration aforesaid. 
 
308 THE RED ABOVE THE GREEN. 
 
 N'ot SO with others. Thousands passed beneath the ensign of 
 St. George, and cursed it as they passed. 
 
 The ragged and breadless mechanic from the Coombe passed 
 by, and, looking up, cursed it as he passed. 
 
 The outcast peasant, from the rich fields of Roscommon and of 
 Meath, hurrying to the emigrant ship at Eden quay, passed by, 
 and, looking up, cursed it as he passed. 
 
 The broken shop-keeper, whose bankruptcy was that day pla- 
 carded on his window-shutter, passed by, and looking up, cursed 
 it as he passed. 
 
 And then came the old citizen, who had seen the Irish cannon — 
 labelled with " Free Trade or speedy Revolution," — mounted in 
 College-green, and had stood beside them with sword and musket, 
 commissioned by the country — ^he, too, passed by, and, looking 
 up, cursed the Union-flag, and went his way. 
 
 What was that flag to them, or the victories of which it was the 
 crimson title-page ? What cared they for the sailor-chief, from 
 whose stately monument it was flying ? 
 
 True, he had swept the Italian waters with that flag — had fixed 
 it on the walls of Bastia — had drubbed the Spaniard at Cape St. 
 Vincent — had drubbed the Frenchman at the Nile — had clipped 
 the raven wing of Denmark under the guns of Cronenburgh — yet, 
 what was all this to Ireland ? 
 
 East India Companies voted him their thanks in bags of gold — • 
 Turkish Companies their jewelled swords and massive plate — 
 and London Common Councils the freedom of their ancient city. 
 They did well. Horatio Nelson was a generous, gallant English 
 sailor, and did brave service for Old England. 
 
 But what was this, and more than this, to Ireland ? Was not 
 Sarsfield nearer to her heart ? Was not Hugh O'Neill her own 
 heroic son ? Was not the epitaph of Emmet still unwritten ? 
 And where, in her public places, were the sculptured recollections 
 of the old Brigade i 
 
THE RED ABOVE THE GREEN. 309 
 
 Yesterday, the ICth of April, was the anniversary of an Irish 
 victory — the Declaration of Irish Rights. 
 
 And yesterday there was no flag flying above the city. You 
 walked through the streets yesterday, and there was not a sound, 
 not a sign, to tell you, that precisely that day, sixty-five years ago, 
 there was an Irish Parliament sitting in Dublin, renouncing the 
 supremacy of England — with an Irish soldiery outside, oflScered by 
 the nobles and the gentry of the land, prepared to back the 
 declarations of the Senate. 
 
 Where was his Irish Excellency yesterday ? Where were his 
 Aides-de-camp, his brilliant retinue, his secretaries — all the ladies 
 and gentlemen — who so lately figured in the new version of the 
 Beggars' Opera, on the banks of the Lifiey ? 
 
 There was a time when there were other sights and festivals for 
 the citizens of Dublin. 
 
 There was a time when the ladies of our city went forth to 
 grace a nobler spectacle than the poverty of their country — when, 
 from the balconies of Dame street, they looked with flushed and 
 exulting beauty upon the battalions of Charlemont, and waved 
 their kerchiefs as the artillery of Napper Tandy echoed through 
 the city the sublime defiances of Grattan. 
 
 There was a time when, from the galleries of the Irish Commons, 
 they looked down upon the Senators of the island, and, beholding 
 there, its genius, its chivalry, and its heroism, proudly felt that it 
 was a noble privilege to be the daughters of such a land. 
 
 And shall they look upon those scenes no more ? Shall the 
 memory of those scenes be efiaced for ever ? Shall the anniver- 
 saries of the island come, and pass away, without a festival ? Shall 
 the solemn feasts and sabbaths be forgotten in Zion ? 
 
 What say you, citizens ! — shall we have no national holidays ? 
 No national monuments ? Shall these drowsy eflSgies of the royal 
 fools of Brunswick be sacred here — and, in the public squares, 
 shall we have no enduring testimonials of our statesmen, our 
 
310 THE RED ABOVE THE GREEN. 
 
 soldiers, and our martyrs ? What brings that Enghsh sailor up 
 there, when the Irish Charlemagne has no monument on his native 
 soil ? Shall Copenhagen be remembered here, and Clontarf be 
 forgotten ? 
 
 Aye, whilst our municipal government is without its civic guard 
 — whilst their Woolwich batteries and field-pieces encumber Irish 
 soil — whilst Irishmen are disunited — the victories and the lessons 
 of our fathers will be forgotten — and the Red will fly above the 
 Green ! 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 ■♦* » ■ 
 
 REPLY TO THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OP 
 
 NEW YORK. 
 
 Astor House, lOih June, 1852. 
 
 [On the 7th of June — the first night of the monthly session — the 
 Common Council of the City of New York passed the following 
 resolutions : — 
 
 " Whereas, — Thomas Francis Meagher, the intrepid, eloquent, and 
 faithful champion of freedom, having happily escaped to the United 
 States from the imprisonment inflicted upon him and other illustrious 
 patriots, for their devoted exertions to effect the independence of their 
 native land — therefore, 
 
 ^^ Resolved — That, sympathizing with the people of Ireland in the 
 wrongs inflicted by the British government, and highly estimating the 
 eloquence and devotion of its patriotic son, we cordially tender to him a 
 Public reception, the hospitalities of the City, and offer for his use the 
 Governor's room. 
 
 " Resolved — That a committee of five be appointed to carry these 
 resolutions into effect, and that they be directed to present him with a 
 copy of the preamble and resolutions, duly authenticated." 
 
 The above resolutions passed unanimously both Boards of the Com- 
 mon Council. In the Board of Assistant Aldermen, the followmg 
 additional resolutions were offered by Assistant Aldermen Breadan, 
 Bouton, and Wheelan : — 
 
312 APPENDIX. 
 
 •' Whereas, information having been received in this city, that the dis- 
 tinguished patriot, Thomas Francis Meagher, has, after nearly four years 
 of banishment, fortunately escaped from a forced abode, in a den of 
 murderers and thieves, in her Britannic Majesty's penal colony of Van 
 Diemen's Land, and that he comes tO' us v^^ith the view to make his 
 future home in this country; and whereas, this illustrious man has 
 perilled his life, property, home, freedom, and all that is dear and sacred, 
 for the purpose of giving liberty to his country, and elevating the Irish 
 people in the scale of nations — to rid them from the abominable tyranny 
 under which they have labored, and by which they have been, for seven 
 centuries, borne down, and avowedly to establish in Ireland a free 
 and independent government, similar to our own — and whereas, it is 
 eminently proper that the City of New York, the chief city of the 
 Republic, should extend to Thomas Francis Meagher a kind and 
 hospitable welcome to this city, in order to show to the world our 
 admiration of the man, and of the ennobling principles for which he 
 struggled ; — therefore, 
 
 " Resolved — That his Honor the Mayor, Ambrose C. Kingsland, be, 
 and he is hereby requested to tender to Thomas Francis Meagher, the 
 hospitalities of the City ; and that he be received by the Common 
 Council in a manner worthy of the man, and of the cause he espoused ; 
 and that the day of his public reception should, if possible, be fixed for 
 Thursday, the 10th of June, instant. Also — 
 
 " Resolved — That, if the Board of Aldermen concur, a committee of 
 five be appointed to carry out that part of the preamble and resolutions 
 relating to the public reception of Thomas Francis Meagher, as far as 
 it refers to the Common Council. 
 
 " Whereas, the sympathy of the American people is deeply enlisted 
 in the cause of all who have sought, on our shores, a safe refuge from 
 persecution ; and Whereas, the illustrious" exile, Thomas Francis 
 Meagher, having escaped from the prison in which he was -confined for 
 his devotion to the cause of liberty in Ireland, has come among us to 
 participate in the blessings of our free institutions ; therefore — 
 
 " Resolved — If the Board of Aldermen coucur, that a committee of 
 three be appointed by the President of each Board, to wait upon Thomas 
 Francis Meagher, to congratulate him upon his arrival, and to extend to 
 him the hospitalities of the city. 
 
 " Whereas, one of Ireland's noblest sons, and Freedom's boldest 
 champions, is now in our midst, it becomes us to manifest the will and 
 
APPENDIX. 313 
 
 express the sentiments of our patriotic people, by making- suitable 
 arrangements to give, at an early day, a public welcome to Thomas 
 Francis Meagher ; therefore — 
 
 " Resolved — That, if the Board of Aldermen concur, a committee of 
 five be appointed by this Board to make suitable arrangements for 
 tendering a public reception to the exiled patriot and apostle of liberty, 
 Thomas Francis Meagher ; and that said committee of arrangements be 
 instructed to invite a concert of action among the various Military and 
 Civic organizations of this city." 
 
 Next evening, the committees of the Civic and Military bodies met 
 the committees of the Common Council and of the Irish Directory, to 
 make the necessary arrangements for a public procession and banquet. 
 
 On Thursday afternoon, June 10th, Aldermen Oakley, Cornell, Rogers, 
 Ring, Barr, Mabbett, Sturtevant, and O'Brien, waited upon Mr. Meagher, 
 at the Astor House, and presented him with the joint resolutions adopted 
 by the Boards of Aldermen and Assistant Aldermen, on the 7th of June. 
 Alderman Oakley, Chairman of the joint Committee of the two Boards, 
 was formally introduced to Mr. Meagher, and handed him a copy of 
 the Resolutions, with the Seal of the City attached thereto. He 
 accompanied the presentation with the following remarks : — 
 
 " Sir — The pleasing duty has been assigned to me, as Chairman of 
 the Committee of the Common Council of the City of New York, to 
 congratulate you cordially upon your arrival in this country, and libera- 
 tion from the tyranny and thraldom to which you were doomed. 
 
 "We recognise in you, sir, the young, fearless, and eloquent 
 expounder of the principles of civil and religious liberty. Sympathizing, 
 as we do, with the people of Ireland, in the struggles which they have 
 made to achieve their independence, we are proud, under all circum- 
 stances and upon all occasions, to testify our respect and admiration for 
 her sons, who have been ready to sacrifice their liberties and their lives, 
 to remove the oppressive yoke of despotism which has for centuries held 
 them in subjection. 
 
 " Therefore, in behalf of the Corporation of the City of New York, I 
 tender to you a certified copy of their Resolutions, with the Seal of our 
 City attached, and solicit you most respectfully to accept a public 
 reception, and the hospitalities of our City."] 
 
 14 
 
S14 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mr. Meagher replied : — 
 
 Gentlemen : — Had the effort in which I lost my freedom been suc- 
 cessful, the honors now tendered would not surprise me. 
 
 But it was otherwise. Far from realizing, it obscured the hopes 
 which accompanied and inspired it — ending suddenly in discouragement 
 and defeat. 
 
 This the wide world knows. This you yourselves must inwardly 
 admit, though the goodness of your nature will seal your lips to the 
 admission, being fearful of the disparagement it would imply. 
 
 The gratitude of a people is most bounteous. It is quick to appre- 
 ciate, to encourage, to reward. Never slow or stinted in the measure it 
 pours out, its fault is to be too precipitate and profuse. Estimating 
 merit not by the severe standard of success, it takes motives into con- 
 sideration, regardless of the fortune which attends them ; and for what- 
 ever sacrifices they have entailed, awards a great equivalent. 
 
 In this, the gratitude of a people differs from the gratitude of kings. 
 
 With the latter, success is an essential condition of excellence. 
 Pensions, knightly decorations, orders of nobility, these are given by 
 kings in exchange only for the trophies which decorate their halls, or the 
 acquisitions which widen the surface of their dominion. 
 
 Not so with the people, as I have said. They do not barter and 
 economize their gifts. 
 
 Whatever the result, be the motive upright, be the deed honorable, 
 and their favors are forthcoming. Moreover it sometimes happens that 
 where disaster has most grievously befallen, there their sympathies are 
 most evoked, and their treasures most plenteously bestowed. 
 
 This it is which explains the proceedings, in my regard, of the noble 
 city you represent. 
 
 I have sought to serve my country, and been anxious to contribute 
 to her freedom. This, I shall not assume the modesty to deny. Long 
 before I mingled in the strife of politics, it was my ambition to be 
 identified with the destiny of my country — to share her glory, if glory 
 were decreed to her — to share her suffering and humiliation, if such 
 should be her portion. 
 
APPENDIX. 315 
 
 For the little I have done and suffered, I have had my reward in the 
 penalty assigned me. 
 
 To be the last and humblest name in the litany which contains the 
 names of Tone, Emmet, and Fitzgerald — ^names which waken notes 
 of heroism in the coldest heart, and stir to lofty purposes the most 
 sluggish mind — is an honor which compensates me fully for the priva- 
 tions I have endured. Any recompense of a more joyous nature, it 
 would ill become me to receive. 
 
 Whilst my country remains in sorrow and subjection, it would be 
 indelicate of me to participate in the festivities you propose. When she 
 lifts her head, and nerves her arm for a bolder struggle — when she goes 
 forth, like Miriam, with song and timbrel to celebrate her victory — I, too, 
 shall lift up my head, and join in the hymn of freedom. Till then, the 
 retirement I seek, will best accord with the love I bear her, and the 
 sadness which her present fate inspires. 
 
 Nor do I forget the companions of my exile. The freedom that has 
 been restored to me is embittered by the recollection of their captivity. 
 My heart is with them at this hour, and shares the solitude in which they 
 dwell. Whilst they are in prison, a shadow rests upon my spirit, and 
 the thoughts that otherwise might be free, throb heavily within me. It 
 is painful for me to speak. I should feel happy in being permitted to 
 be silent. 
 
 For these reasons, you will not feel displeased with me for declining 
 the honors you solicit me to accept. 
 
 Did I esteem them less, I should not consider myself so unworfliy, 
 nor decline so conclusively, to enjoy them. The privileges of so emi- 
 nent a city should be sacred to those who personify a great and li\ing 
 cause — a past full of fame, and a future full of hope — and whose names 
 are prominent and imperishable. 
 
 It pains me deeply to make this reply, being sensible of the enthu- 
 siasm which glows around me, and the eagerness with which a public 
 opportunity of meeting me has been awaited, I know it will disappoint 
 a generous anxiety, but the propriety of the determination I have come 
 to, is proved by the inefficiency even of this consideration to overcome 
 me. 
 
 I know, too, that as it gi-ieves me, it will grieve others, and that, 
 
316 APPENDIX. 
 
 perhaps, the motives that have led to it may be misunderstood, mis- 
 construed, and censured. But I am confident that, after a little while, 
 the public judgment will sanction the act, which a due regard to what I 
 owe my country, my companions, and myself, seriously dictates. 
 
 Yet, so far as your invitation recognises the fidelity with which I 
 adhered, and still adhere, to a good and glorious cause, be assured that 
 it has not been exaggerated or misplaced. The feelings and convictions 
 which influenced my career in Ireland, have undergone no change. Still, 
 as ever, I perceive within my country the faculties that fit her for a 
 useful and honorable position, and believing that they require only to be 
 set in motion to prove successful, I still would prompt her to put them 
 forth. 
 
 Besides, there is within me a pride that cannot be subdued — there is 
 within me an ambition that cannot be appeased. 
 
 I desire to have a country which shall work out a fortune of her 
 own, and depend no longer for subsistence on the charity of other 
 nations. I desire to have a country which I can point to with exulta- 
 tion — whose prosperity shall be my life — whose glory shall be my 
 guerdon. I desire to have a country which shall occupy a beneficent 
 position in the world, and by her industry, intellect, integrity, and 
 courage, shall contribute, in community with all free nations, to the com- 
 mon happiness and grandeur of humanity. Hopes may have darkened, 
 but the destiny, to which I would see my country lifted, is before me 
 still — a height, like that of Tabor, crowned with an eternal sun ! 
 
 It is a bold ambition, but in this fine country I could have none 
 other. 
 
 The moment we set our foot upon her shore, we behold the oflfspring 
 of Freedom — the energy, the thrift, the opulence to which she has given 
 "bii'th — and, at a glance, we comprehend her fruitfulness, utility, and 
 splendor. We behold the wonders she has wrought — the deformed 
 transformed — ^the crippled colony springing into the robust proportions 
 of an empire, which Alexander might well have sighed to conquer — the 
 adventurous spirit of her sons compensating by its rapidity, in little more 
 than half a century, for the thousands of years in which the land lay still 
 in the shadow of the ancient forests — we behold all this, and the wor- 
 ship of our youth becomes more impassioned and profound. 
 
APPENDIX. 317 
 
 To this land I have come as an outcast, to seek an honorable home 
 — as an outlaw, to claim the protection of a flag that is inviolable. 
 
 By one of the wisest and mildest of the ancient legislators, it was 
 decreed, that all those who were driven for ever from their own country, 
 should be admitted into the citizenship of Athens. On the same ground, 
 in virtue of the sentence of perpetual banishment which excludes me 
 from my native land, I seek a quiet sanctuary in the home of Washing- 
 ton. To no other land could the heart, which has felt the rude hand of 
 tyranny, so confidently turn for a serene repose. 
 
 Long may she prosper — continuing faithful to the inheritance left 
 her by the fathers of the Republic ! Long may she prosper — gathering 
 into the bosom of her great family the children of all nations — adding to 
 her territory, not by the sword of the soldier, or the subtlety of the 
 statesman, but by the diffusion of her principles, and the consonance of 
 her simple laws and institutions with the good sense and purer aspira- 
 tions of mankind ! Long may she prosper — each year adding to her 
 stock of strength, and dignity, and wisdom — and high above her count- 
 less fleets and cities, even to the last generation, may the monument of 
 her liberty be descried ! In the darkest storm which shakes the thrones 
 and dynasties of the old world, may it stand unscathed! In the 
 darkest night which falls upon the arms of a struggling people, may it 
 shine forth like the cross in the wilderness, and be to them an emblem 
 of hope and a signal of salvation ! 
 
J. S. REDFIELD, 
 
 110 km 112 NASSAU STREET, NEW YORK, 
 
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 " They bring the past days of old England vividly before the reader, and impress upon 
 the mind with indelible force, the living images of the puritans as well as the cavaliers, 
 whose earnest character and noble deeds lend such a hvely interest to the legends of 
 the times in which they lived and fought, loved and hated, prayed and revelled."— iVeTV 
 ark Daily. 
 
REDFIELD S NEW AND POPULAR PUBLICATIONS, 
 
 CLOVERNOOK; 
 
 Or, Recollections of our Neighborhood in the West. By Alicb 
 Caret. Illustrated by Darlet. One vol., 12mo., price $1.00. 
 (Third edition.) 
 
 •' In this volume there is a freshness which perpetually charms the reader. You seem 
 to be made free of western homes at once." — Old Colony Memorial. 
 
 " They bear the true stamp of genius— simple, natural, truthful — and evince a keen 
 sense of the humor and pathos, of the comedy and tragedy, of life in the country.**— -J 
 Q WhUtier. 
 
 DREAM-LAND BY DAY-LIGHT: 
 
 A Panorama of Romance. By Caroline Chesebro'. Illustrated 
 by Darlet. One vol., 12mo., price $1.25. (Second edition.) 
 
 " These simple and beautiful stories are all highly endued with an exquisite percep- 
 tion of natural beauty, with which is combined an appreciative sense of its relation to 
 the highest moral emotions." — Albany State Register. 
 
 " Gladly do we greet this floweret in the field of our literature, for it is fragrant with 
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 Enquirer. 
 
 " There is a depth of sentiment and feeling not ordinarily met with, and some of the 
 noblest faculties and afiections of man's nature are depicted and illustrated by the skfl* 
 fol pen of the authoress." — Churchman. 
 
 LAYS OF THE SCOTTISH CAVALIERS. 
 
 By William E. Attoun, Professor of Literature and Belles-Let- 
 tres in the University of Edinburgh and Editor of Blackwood's 
 Magazine. One vol., 12mo. cloth, price $1.00. 
 
 " Since Lockhart and Macaulay's ballads, we have had no metrical work to be com- 
 pared in spirit, vigor, and rhythm with this. These ballads imbody and embalm the 
 chief historical incidents of Scottish history— literally in ' thoughts that breathe and 
 words that burn.' They are full of lyiic energy, graphic description, and genuine feel 
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 " The fine ballad of ' Montrose' in this collection is alone worth the price of the book.* 
 Boston Transcript. 
 
 Q/^^ 
 
 THE BOOK OF BALLADS. 
 By Bon Gaultier. One volume, 12mo., cloth, price 75 cents. 
 
 "Here is a book for everybody who loves classic fun. It is made up of ballads of 
 all sorts, each a capital parody upon the style of some one of the best^yric writers of 
 the time, from the thundering versification of Lockhart and Macaulay to the sweetest 
 and simplest strains of Wordsworth and Tennyson. The author is one of the first 
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 frolic of his genius in play-time " — Courier and Enquirer. 
 
 " We do not know to whom belongs this nam de plume, but he is certainly a humorist 
 of no common power." — Providence Journal. 
 
CONTEMPORARY BIOGRAPHY. 
 
 METoFraF™ 
 
 OE SKETCHES OF LIYHSTG NOTABLES, 
 
 AUTHORS ENGINEERS PHILANTHROPISTS 
 
 ARCHITECTS JOURNALISTS PREACHERS 
 
 ARTISTS MINISTERS SAVANS 
 
 COMPOSERS MONARCHS STATESMEN 
 
 DEMAGOGUES NOVELISTS TRAVELLERS 
 
 DIVINES POLITICIANS VOYAGERS 
 
 DRAMATISTS POETS WARRIORS 
 
 In One Vol., 12mo, containing nearly Niiie Hundred Biograph- 
 ical Sketches — Price $1.50. 
 
 " I am glad to learn that you are publishing this work. *It is precisely that kind of 
 Information that every public and intelligent man desires to see, especially in reference 
 to the distinguished men of Europe, but which I have found it extremely difficult to 
 obtain." — Extract from a Letter of the President of the United States to the publisher. 
 
 " In its practical usefulness this work will supply a most important desideratum." — 
 Courier 4- Enquirer. 
 
 " It forms a valuable manual for reference, especially in the American department, 
 which we can not well do without ; we commend it to the attention of our ' reading 
 public' "—T7-ibu?ie. 
 
 *' Just the book we have desired a hundred times, brief, statistical and biographical 
 sketches of men now living, in Europe and America." — New York Observer. 
 
 " It is a book of reference which every newspaper reader should have at his elbow- 
 as indispensable as a map or a dictionary — and from which the best-informed will de- 
 rive instruction and Y)\ea.s\iYc."—Eva7igelist. 
 
 " This book therefore fills a place in litei-ature ; and once published, we do not see 
 how any one could do without it." — Albany Express. 
 
 "It is evidently compiled with great care and labor, and every possible means seems 
 to have been used to secure the highest degree of correctness. It contains a great deal 
 of valuable information, and is admii-able as a book of reference." — Albany Argus. 
 
 "It is, to our notion, the most valuable collection of contemporary biographies yet 
 made in this or any other country. The author acknowledges that its compilation was 
 a 'labor of care and responsibility.' We believe him, and we give him credit for hav 
 ing executed that labor after a fashion that will command general and lasting approv- 
 al." — Sunday Times, and Noah's Weekly Messenger. 
 
 " This is one of the most valuable works lately issued— valuable not only for general 
 reading and study, but as a book of reference. It is certainly the fullest collection of 
 contemporary Biographies yet made in this country." — Troy Daily Times. 
 
 " This is emphatically a book worthy of the name, and v;ill secure an extended pop- 
 ularity." — Detroit Daily Advertiser. 
 
 "A book of reference unequalled in either value or interest. It is indeed a grand sup- 
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 —a book which a man anxious to be regarded as intelligent and well-informed, can no 
 more do without than a churchman can do without his prayer book, a sailor his navi- 
 gator, or a Wall street man his almanac and interest tables." — Neio York Day Book. 
 
 " The volume once known will be found indispensable, and will prove a constant 
 Gource of information to readers at large." — N. Y. Reveille. 
 
 " For a book of reference, this volume will recommend itself as an invaluable com- 
 panion in the library, office, and studio*." — Northern Budget. 
 
 " It is a living breathing epitome of the day, a directory to that wide phantasmagoria 
 we call the world." — Wall Street Journal. 
 
 "We know of no more valuable book to authors, editors, statemen, and all who 
 would be 'up wjth the time,' than this." — Spirit of the Times. 
 
 "Men of all nations, creeds and parties, appear to be treated in a kindly spirit. The 
 work will be found a useful supplement to the ordinary biographical dictionaries." — 
 Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 " The value of such a work can scarcely be over-estimated. To the statesman and 
 philanthropist, as well as the scholar and business man, it will be found of gi'eat con- 
 venience as a refei-ence book, and must soon be considered as indispensable to a library 
 as Webster's Dictionary." — Lockport Courier. 
 
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