The Sun. — London, England, 1844-02-22 00:00:00

j .-tt aide d , ;Islv , ;ra n, , etea his JP, A II id= Ilcr,j 3 hoe e 6f OP Ole Pre° 3 - , :ase 4m -- ;Tr , he; le ore' for d ence - us Wl° he r i ch . 0 1 t°. :1:113.°11 • 2i4, • t ; 1 :tufa I` t he 0111 ; rec° 6, 4 . 01 0 4 . re, s ' tte t o :, ;6 1 te adoiluistration ofustice, and who adopted a course which he should not condescend to desiznate as it de served to be desig,nated.(Cheers.) The text step in the proceedings was when th e bill s were f oun d, on or about Bth November. The bills of indictment having • been brought down, the defendants required copies of - theta ; and, under the 60th of G eorge t h e Thi r d, th e y w ere entitled to them free of expense. Fortunately for him (Mr. Smith), the first step of the defendants in the proceedings had put him upon his guard, and he antici pated that every attempt at delay would be made ; and - 4 _ as he proce e d e d h e would prove to the House how de l'rtuinedly this intention had been carried out.— (Cheers.) The defendants applied for eight c,o- Pies ; to their surprise, if not to their annoy ance, the e i g h t copies were ready prepared for the m ,_ (Cheers.) B u t th e y were intatled to certified Copies, and the slightest clerical error might have been productive of the greatest evil. The consequences had been foreseen, and the greatest portion of the enactment --nearly all of it—had been printed, and, fortunately, t he eight copies turned out perfeAly correct. The next el ) of the def en d ants was to give nine-notices; of mo tenri , the obj ect b e i ng to avoid being forced during the to pltad th e genera l i ssue, an d t h us again to ' cause some more delay.— (Hear, hear.) Next 7.the application to the Court on the ground of the Ituees names not being indorsed on the back of the . ..I.ldiennent, and th e - application of three of the parties !ourse being stoply for a copy of the names of the witnesses—the thus varied by the traversors in order the it ?etter to ensure delay.—(Hear, hear.) He considered e , y k n essary, knowing as he did well, the motive for too„ proceedings, to oppose vigorously all these e dens thus brought before the Court, and . h so successfully, the whole Court being -.a.. • ~uuaously in his favour. Another application was a us on the same day to set aside the rule to plead, be . use the Caption of the indictment w as n o t annexe d t o u t -' agtin wsa he successful in his opposition. s '''llt.nded for was to abide in thee, is in other pro. ceetlini for,; 18, by what, as he thought, had been the uni Practice of the Court. Here and here alone the pL e rt was not unanimous in his favour. Mr. Justice hi r 4 nn took a different view of the law and the th ree to what he (Mr. Smith) did, but the The others coincided with him.—(Loud cheers.) ',ne Lie next step taken to create delay, was to tender pleas in abatement to the indictment This was on ' 34uesdav the 14th of November. Then they tried to aash indietment because the witnesses whose, evi- T e b 4e , e was to support it had - not been sworn in Court. "lese two matters he resisted, and successfully. The sich fsndants had taken five days to prepare their ialeas, to he put. n a demurrer, and on the 20th of Novem f„" • he (Mr. Smith) applied to have the demurrer fixed • ar gument on the following morning. Wh en h e a p- Vied edfor this, he was encountered by the argument that :efiiknelants were entitled to another four day s rule. i t - ul the C ase was argue d on t h e 21st o f N ovem b er, and in as • decided unanimously by the Court that the pleas 444 Winent were inValid, and that the demurrers taken :hues part of the Crown must be allowed.—(Leud • r rs•) So that, at length, after ever effort for delay. irk N e Very plan had been resorted t o , h e h a d ex t or t e d the defendants a . lea _that they were not -guilty,. ho wish e d th e House to recollect that he was a ;',•„" of that 'iii all that he did herein he performing: punctually and . , faithfully the func zelit-'s ttee'ti an d he protested d'iO:lus p ublic situation ; p t in thus., resisting the successive and never-ending ~-°tiens for delay.; he'was actuated by no personal feel whatever; but-solely by. a sense of public duty.-- ~,4 4 cheers.) Notice of the time for trial being given t's . t ue .,_ e l'ovrn the defendants opposed it on two grounds ; from ' the magnitude of the cause, they had e..toprepare.fue trial; secondly, that the special that + for theyear-1843, contained only 388 names---- of thes e names b etween fif ty an d s i xty only were tr er e Au Catholics ; and that of these fifty or sixty there , ( Ally •about. twenty-five that could be made avtel- Iri,iatut that they could not have a fair and' impartial e te - ',i . it Were to take - place, as originally intended, on eQ llth.. of • December: Ile had enforced a plea th 11 .,.. ci t .. :guiltyr"ftifd"" he could lave . rejected 14 1 , w est fDs.. a . trial by another jury list, chdr thought. peuper.-- , -(Hear, hear.) He - had been tkrhY the 'Him. and Learned Member for Worces ta with desiring. to procure a conviction per fas cut ° ll o . te b . eliev ed:th,e ground on wllich the re- Pine , ..iiiit.7might he postponed until the jury as (if 1844 was prepared—he said he looked upon it theZ2,es:sotable -. dile, - and ..he Acceded -to it.—(Loud h ars ' What...became,. then, of the heavy and Ge,,`o:lotputationa- which the Honourable and Learned the it ;fel, au had chat ' • upon him.—(Loud - Ministerial The triathaxing then, with his consent, been do? -e ', 1 ,,, e noti to the lath of January; what did the traversers „of p e 'r„,..eY sought to have' it skein deferred until the Ist rltle., - ‘7arY, that he. ould not consent:--(Hear, copi. O n the 29th ofDecember, the - 11sts`having been , th,;" to.the furore' book by the Clerk of the -Peace, Ivitfii„ wer e . handed•t6 the Sheriff. • His duty then was, to Intl • days •to make' out a special - jurors' * January. the Sheriff waited 444:-! e. Proper 'officer with the jury list for wda thAt One of the charges . brObght. against the Crown, hd4 Mr. Mahoney,. or one of his assistants, ooli,-L" 4 ted th a t h e h a d- app li e d to the Crown Of ti:lk)r, th at. he.clerk:Utthe peace should give copies- dad e e t jt;_ry list both - to traversers and the Crown, kr i t .4 : Mr,. Would - not 'consent. The reason ~has this. He was in -total ignorance of the jury itat nine o'clock of -the night of, the 3d January *ere rainsidered they were not com pl e t e un til t h ey they n; the sheriff's hands. Had they consented to this have 'consented to"give a copy of a jury the m'ch, fiCi, had: no existence in point of law. e eat, Ihould 23d cf b November, it was agreed upon that the e tried by the jury-list as revised I . :T the enrcler. What the nature of that revision ? 4 ° eePles had been served by the attorneys for He ed . irsteversers on all those citizens who were qua- At the same s erve as jurors, and who were Re tie/Attlee"' attend before the Recorder. re a notice w as , „ r , red b y th e same party on every to b e bt:alae Eonservative who was considered as likely n ostile to the torstrav telling them that if they I: l9Pear in court s u ppo rt their claim, although claim w as perfectlyyd, application would be nad a IN? have their names struck off. This was the act :I_ne of, those who declaimed so much about liberty, ,110:bout the purity of the administratien of justice. Leo liter pick and cram the ,j u ry b ox w ith sti n i i.o lu mg repeal opinions.--(hear, hear, from, the Ireeiclrial benches.) He (the Attorney:General for th At ) consented to the revision", - of ',the jury,:in order ahoythe,.'en traversers might have no iexcuse for saying h5ll not unfairly and impartially dealt:with ; and Per 4 . i a had btated by Hon. Gentlemen , ..-oppbsite, e v , 43 aut seftu, to obtain a conviction. What was the , thorelliecce of the new, revision. In 1833, only - 188 Ca r 1 41 L weie .ctualified to ,appear. 'on the jury lists. ri e „ •e'elitY-ilve Roman. • Catholics : were so Oalified.--r eub t Iloar, heir," burnt the 'seine quarter.) No fit,, d ,ould be entertained but the traversers Bast bene their "Y the revision of these lists, and in the manner of rk t its r t 7 ja ion, and the circumstances attaching to it,' as Afid"e o fficers of th e C rown ' were :concerne d, he felt ettt t hat a British-public would refurn a verdict of 1 4 4, 1 Irt notwithstanding the numerous charges that had a tielt: d e against them The copy of the special jury 541 41 .. : applied 34. to th e . attbrneys for the traversers the t6 ti vi . l .‘. was ready. Mr. Kenna:us hadm ade an that up to nine 'O'clock on the night of they ,of . 11s ° , 11 : January the Crown* had not seen a Ptrie, - 'e special jury lists. The attorneys • for J 44 ersers, Messrs. Cantwell and Ford, pro les, to draw 48 names from the list so framed. L t weu llae lpes were drawn, and then an adjourtunent : y n our ho urs took place to allow each party , „ q . !l at. ec ide what names the should strike off from great deal o f m isapprehension had been tha 41%.', an g .respect to ch a ll eng i ng t h e j ury. I n point t t , ae : b in point of fact, h e d en i e d th a t striking off si a ,ge 4 au. 7 both parties was i n th e na t ure o f a chal qtke4 su h --(C heers.) The Legislature never contem t. 4 a thing when it passed the Act 'of Parlia .lt • et tu rt i - eight names were drawn from the list of not f l _these, each p ar t y h a d to strike off twelve. izac qt tb 4 s tue intention of the Legislature, when it tali m t ha u j e etal Jury Act, that the parties who struck upon from the special jury list should be i„t 1 (1 01 4 to state their reasons for so do i ng.— tem e oafid.,, e „ e i rlng from the Ministerial benches.) ..tir,.te t T,V i asserted, in the presence of the-members t de ' 4 tatir s " Oar, that itnever was the intention of the t'Pecw. )ar t persons, in striking off the names from f t ., °a- *hi 7-list, should be callown to state the to 14 t he A/ 9 '. Influenced them ing.—(Cheers l litt eseb sitlialsterial benches.) It was a privilege given tvrei'Prose ett e ;, =- (llear, heir.) The traversers in the • e,,, k „"°os had the privilege of striking off 540,;gear, e a i and they availed themselves of . Why, then, should they claizn,to 1,1,,,--ei2ittio'n--!;;;40e.s. which. influenced the persons for the i4r C an r ,strliting ciT the other twelve names ? On t• Cknt anuar Jun welt t Y a notice of mo ti on - was serve d b y b • th quash the dlik special jury panel, on AC 4810n of certain names. The Hen. and ci,t7Y.Getlereber fur 'Worcester said that, if the At 'lll.4 te ' sal for England had been called upon to k 4 Net l a aelh th t • g . It Jur y panel, he would have had- a t4 e t to th e '°r his honour and his character to have e,pplication. (Cheers, and • ease to ne (Mr - Sm•th) thought that - hi had (Li to co . • 1 itplam of the H on, and Learned Gen de 'tot Th e • k ti e ro t e Hon. and Learned Gentleman '" a r the to tell the House what was to be 14 9 a id the m ini ° Pine' haA be en quashed.— (Loud _cheers * g ave' L e allhti s toste,r,l4l,__benches.) Now he (Mr. Smith . ) . leta d l i 'eli t h e eue, /douse and the country what would T4attiae thi s e°eonsequence of that proceeding. He cons queues for although the Hon. and t l r cka t vi Was . con ;." 1 setized to think that all honour and 1, 1 4 4 'et h e ___ ) ",?ed to the English law-ofticors of the ifel ita tam the ' re , Ind tell that lion. and Learned Gen= ac as much honour and honesty in Jttr'te "nit th h eer 110 would now explain to the four e tkli i t . and Learned Member for Wor k • e D 6 t ,tould no t umeat to explain. The special est th, " 1 . 41 Ve been quashed except upon the anus Y. eh e kt r niu ft o R o P:c . la a ljuri list for the year 1844 was knq " tri ed 4 renle m b e r kl Learned Member for Wor t-J,„ _ r that there were other eases trh k.:9llten Ireland besides that" of the Queen ik ° f 4 tb c ,7: Wh kt *( he 9wheers from the Ministerial benches.) Weal_ wouldg not meet the views I ,i t ; A ttin ett tile Memb er '.'or office with whom the Hon. ki l :k'll ' til at e ' rll4l ; but". Worcester might gossip in e this he 'would state, and he be litutte tried niuly list wirited Fo g g assented to by every person at have taw, that he could not legally or to the addition of one eitt i , p d to h a ve reland -n the effecting every other case adlg r take n Vumhed the .e Year 1844" ' Tad he con sate tw e i e pan e l, •PrrY panel, then be must have i es.) „ve oath s test year, or postponed the hea 'sup s•—(Cheers from %114 talc% se he h.., the Ministerial then 1 1/ the t ot .. 11 4opted the former course, 4 4,e bee„ said . 9 f the pieeeding year, what by Hon. Pentlemen opposite, STT Ikr ; L - ',.130r4, T r S _Yi - AFI R seeing that in ihataiar the propOrtion of Roman Cathoz lies was much smaller in the list than this year ?—(Hear.) Now, what was the nature of the imputation which had been 'cast upon the persons conducting the prosecutions in Ireland? It was founded upon an affidavit of Mr. Mahoney, which had been adverted to by the Hon. and Learned Member for - Worcester, which affidavit was of so extraordinary a character, that he (Mr. Smith) ventured to assert that no Court in Westminster. Hall, and he spoke in the presence of his Hon. and Learned Friends the Law Officers of the Crown—no Court in Westminster Hall would have acted upon a statement which imputed fraud, but which failed to state how, and by whom, that fraud had been committed. The affidavit stated that in the belief of the deponent, a wilful and corrupt sup pression of the names of persons qualified to be on the special jury list had been made. Now the singularity of this swearing was, that it did not assert by whoth this fraud had been committed. Might not, then, the imputation just as , well attach to those.persons who were connected with the defence ?—(Loud cheers• from the Ministerial benches.) What was the course pursued by Mr. M•Grath, the deputy clerk of the peace, who was himself a Roman Catholic? What was the course he bad pursued ? Why he,had actually furnished Mr. Mahoney with the revised lista of the special jurors, while he re fused the same indulgence to the persons conducting the prosecutions, although frequently applied to. This, had been stated in an affidavit by Mr. Kemmis. Mr. SHEIL--There was no such affidavit made. Mr. SDIITII • could confidently assert, on his ows knowkdge, that such was the fact. Mr. Kemrnis had told him over and over again that he was unable to get any information froM Mr. M'Grath. Mr. SHEIL--Ife did not swear it. Mr. SMITH continued—He held that it would have been inconsistent with-his dutyto the country for him to have consented to the quashing-of the jury panel. whereby a postponement of the trial would have resulted. Con. sidering the state of Ireland, it was impossible for- hiM, consistently with - his duty, to consent to anything which would lead to a postponement. He contended that most of the grounds upon which the affidavits of the attorney for the traversers :rested were only derived from mere hearsay, and he (the Attorney-General for ,Ireland)thought that such- evidence was not worth one farthing. That affidavit, mentioned the names of only two individuals out of the eleven who were stated to be the excluded Catholics, but he had documents which would prove that most, if not all, of those persons, were members of the Repeal Association, and had taken an active part in that agitation, and some of whom-had attended at and signed the requisition; calling the great Mullaghtnset and others of the monster - meetings.— (Cries of Name.") He should not enable the opposite party to place their fingers upon him.—(Tory cheers.) Mr. Kemmis. had filed an affidavit, stating that he believed the names of about ten Catholics only had been omitted, and he had good reason tolinow that all those were attached to the Repeal Association. He would ask whether he was to blame, under those circumstances, for not quashing a panel, and thereby' causing con siderable delay in those trials.=(Tory cheers.) He could assert that, in a particular case in this country, when parties were tried for . rioting, several jurors had been set aside, on the ground of their belonging to the disturbed district ; and he contended that the Crown had a legitimate right to challenge : those who were connected with the Repeal Association. The Hon. 'and Learned Member for Worcester 'had charged him with not selecting a common jury, -for if he had done so, - he dared not to have' set aside the ju rors as he had done ; but this he (the Attorney-General for Ireland) denied, and would state to the Hon. and Learned Member, that shortly after- his appointment, to his present office, he-had, without the slightest recom mendation from the Government, written circulars to the different crown solicitors; on the mode of forming com mon juries, giving them directions in accordance with the directions of Chief Baron O'Grady, and those direc tions had been also issued by the Hon. and Learned Member for Clonmel, who had held the same office which he did. He should now allude to the conduct of those who: had criticised' his conduct. He was pre sent on the occasion to which he was about to allude— he was present, and certainly a- more extraordinary proceeding -he had never witnessed. A regiment of soldiers marched-into the town of Carrick.on-Suir, in the county of Tipperary, and an altercation ensued between them and'another detachment of soldiers stationed there, The townspeople took part with One body of the Mili tary, and Mr. Pearse, the chief constable, a gentleman of high character; finding the riot becoming most alarm ing, ordered the picket to fire, when a boy was shot. The Right Hon. and Learned Member -for Dungarron prosecuted Mr. Pearce in that case, who was indicted for wilful murder. What was the course pursued by the Right Hon. an d L earne d G en tl eman .? H e set as id e 36 jurors, and of the first 30 so challenged 29 were Pro testanta.--(Tory cheers.) He (the Attorney-General for Ireland) would ask, was 'not that something very much resembling a packed jury?—(Renewed cheers) — and those were the parties who set upon him, and said he dared not set aside the jurors from a- common jury. A charge had been brought against him by the Honourable Member for Cork during this debate, and he felt sure that Honourable and Learned Gen tleman would retract it when he knew the facts. Ho had said that he (the Attorney-General for Ireland) had been in the • habit of compelling the attendance of the traversers every day in court. He would state what he did ; and what he would do again under similar circum stances. He believed that, with the exception of the day on which Mr. O'Connell stated his case to the jury, and that on which the Right Hon. Member for Dungar von also addressed the jury, Mr. O'Connell was not In the court, on an average, any day for more than ten minutes ; and he (the Attorney-General for Ireland) never inquired whether he was or was not, and would have thought it tuineeessarily harsh and ungenerous if he had done so. Again, with respect to Mr. Duffy, when that gentleman was Unwell, he was informed that he might suit his own convenience as to his hours of attendance.. What the Hon. and Learned Mem ber for • Cork had stated, in one instance, with respect to the trial being stopped to com pel the attendance of the traversers, was true. They were present at the swearing in of the jury, in order to prevent any legal technicality from being raised by counsel. On another occasion, where the Hon. Member for Limerick took the chair at the Repeal • Association, where the subject of discussion was avowedly the State trials then pending, Mr. O'Connell left the Court for the purpose of • being present there, and he (the Attorney-Generai) Would appeal to English practice, ifa traverser would be allowed to leave the Court to attend at the meeting of an Association which formed one of the principal features in the indietment?—(Tory cheers.) The Hon. and Learned Member for Worcester had complained that the Government had not sooner put down this agitation, and said ihat the Government had been laying a trap to ensnare the traversers, But in her Majesty's speech in the,House of Lords on the 24th of August, the repeal agitation and the state of Ireland was the subject of strong remark ;' and, lie would ask, was this a sufficient intimation of the intentions of her Ma- Majesty's Government, given many months before the ClOntarf meeting? ' How was the determination received by the repeal party when it reached Dublin ? Why, there was a 'meeting of the Association, and a kind of counter-speech emanated from that body, and the people were told That they bad no one to depend upon except themselves, and that they had nothing- to expect from the linperial Parliament. Monster meetings were held, and the people were told that the Governmentwere abOut to go to law with them, that they'bid the - Government defiance, and that " old birds were not to be caught with chaff:"—(Hear, and laughter.) 'They set the law at defiance, and carried on the agitation in the very teeth of the speech frorn,the Throne; and yet he, - was told-that the Government de layed giving an intimation of the• course they would pursue. The Honi and Learned Member for -Worcester had _alluded to the indictment being one' for misde meanour and not for treason, and wondered that this dictment had not been framed in a - similar manner to that against Lord George Gordon that then Lord George Gordon had gone to the door of the House to overawe the Legislature by his personal intimida tion, at the very door of the House, and that con sequently his crime deserved to be indicted in a different manner. He (ihe Attorney-General) thought the - Honourable and Learned Member's law would not meet with much approbation in Westminster Hall. It was of no consequence whether those monster meetings were held in Palace-yard or 60 miles, from the House of Commons. Some of the most eminent Judges of the English Courts had decided this point. The Hon. and Learned Member had also allnded to the count of the indictment charging. the travel-sem with conspiracy, but he (the Attorney-General) would tell him where he found that count.. Why; he got it froin Mr. Mauls of the Home-office, and it was the one framed by the law officer of the late Government in the trial of Frost and Edwards in Wales—(Laughter from the Tory benches) — and he had the original document in his possession now, if the' Hon. and Learned Member wished to see it. Now, he (the Attorney-General for Ireland) was charged with straining the law, becaus.e he Adopted a line of policy which he considered to be bad, and that was copying everything which had • emanated from the Hon. and Learned Member for Worcester.—(Cheers, and laughter.) It was rather too bad to accuse • him of- straining the law,' when it was nothing' more • than a transcript emir a Whig straining of the law. The Hon: and Learned Gentleman attempted 'to convey the imputation that the Irish Government had sought to prosecute the' press, and that they made a point of doing so. They did no such thing. But he held, and .would continue to hold, the opinion that those Connected with the press should not be 'exempted from punishment, merely because they'were so connect; d. Dr. Gray and Mr. Barlett; proprietors of the'Frerman's Journal and Pilot newspapers, had attended a' variety of meetingii, and took an active part in them. With respect to' the reading of ,newspayei-s "on the tri a l, an d t h e i r , misi;ibility as evidence, he contended that the newspaper evidence tendered on the trial was perfectly legal and }:roper, and the Right lion. and Learned Gentleman the Solicitor-General for England, whom he consulted, ass -entirely of. his •opinion. Those newa= papers had been identified as having ,been 'circulated by the Repeal Association—by the -printer for that body, who swore to the printed regulationg: ., of the Repeal Association—a copy of which 'was ,produced on - the trial. , With a view to carrying out the "organization in every cityitown and village, the repeal_. wardens were directed to circulate the evening Freeman and Pilot newspapers through every district which had subscribed 201., and it was further the duty of those repeal wardens to circulate the Notion, - a weekly newspaper, in every district which had subscribed lOL It was the duty, of those repeal wardens to - take care that the. -papers were circulated in' such a manner that every person in the neighbourhood might have an opportunity of reading them. Every man thus became a publisher of repeal opinions, and by the circulation of the most inflammatory articles, the minds of the people-were poisede l d,`and rendered' hostile to theipeCple, of this country. The system or sieilltrinf had been mainly worked out by the instrumentality of newspapers. Two: of the editors were in the constant habit of. •attendinfY these monster meeting,s, and was he to be told that the editors of newspapers were to be exempted from the consequences of the commission o 2 crime? With respect to an absent and respected individual, whom he held; • and would always continue to hold, in the greatest respect, but who had been treated in a `very harsh manner, he must say a few words—the Lord Chief Justice of the Queen's 'Bench in Ireland had, in common with the Crown lawyers and the jury, been maligned in the grossest manner. The Lord Chief Justice had the concurrence of his brethren on the bench in the manner in which he laid down the law to the jury. It should be recollected that one of his coadjutors was Mr. Justice Perrin, who had been Attorney-Generalunder the Whig Government. —(Hear, hear.) But he, too, agreed in the manner in which the law had been laid down by the Lord Chief .Tustice ; and if he differed from that exposition, he would have been guilty , of a gross dereliction of duty if he did not state why he so differed. The Hon. and Learned Member had alluded to the manner in which the Solicitor-General had sent the documents to the jury. He said they were disjointed scraps, here and there pasted on pieces of paper, and•that the whole documents had not been sent. He (Mr. Smith) most emphatically de nied this. The newspapers from which the extracts were made were sent up, except, indeed, in the case of the leading articles, which-had been printed together, for the greater convenience - of the Crown lawyers. With respect to the charge of the Lord Chief Justice, he ad mitted that it was not the habit of persons tried for offences to be in love with the Judge's charge.—(A laugh, and cries of " Hear, hear.") The accused often thought that material portions ,of their defence had been omitted by the Judge, and no person in Court thought so but themselves. In the course of the trial the tra versers had called a mass =of evidence - for the defence which, properly• speaking, was wholly inadmissible. For instance, the speeches of Mr. O'Connell in 1800 and 1810, which had nothing whatever to do with the trial, but were yet not objected to by the Crown. • Mr. SHEIL—You objected to them. The ATTORNEY-GENERAL---I did not, Mr. SHEIL—You did. , • • , The ATTORNEY-GENhRALL:(in a warm and ex cited manner repeated that he had not done so)—He positively stated that he did not. Charges had been brought against him personally, which he did not think he deserved. He , had abstained from going into the meritslofrthe: case, because it could not be said to have been yet concluded, as it must receive some future con sideration in the Courts in Ireland ; but what he wished ' to refer to was of a personal nature, A complaint had been made against him, and he thoughtwith justice, of an act committed in the course of the proceedings ; he had been misled by feelings of irritation, which he ought not to have yielded to. The Court having adjourned, he permitted himself, after language of a very irritating nature, to take a step which he deeply regretted.—(Cheers, from both sides of the House.) lie was sure there was not a gentleman in that House who would not make allimance for his feelings under the circumstances.— (Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") He did not wish to say a• word about Mr. Fitzgibbon—he was absent, and hebe lieved the language which had escaped from him, and which-had irritated him (the Attorney-General for Ire land) had escaped from hini 'inadvertently. Enter taining these views, he should not say a single word to inculpate him—he thought it would be base and un generous to do so: - He - (the Attorney-General for Ire land) considered that he had received a gross insult-- that personal • disbonour had been imputed to him— whether right or wrong he would not then determine. Those who knew him would say that he had always main tained a character forhonourand honesty', In a moment of excitation the occurrence took place, and had it not been that the Court unfortunately adjourned, it would not have happened, for he would have had time to cool.— (A laugh.) He did not urge it as a justification, but he was willing to go the whole length, and say that he acted With impropriety. He thought that a generous and manly allowance would be made for such feelings under such circumstances. He had explained this matter the more fully, lest it might be. thought he was unwilling to admit he had been in the wrong. A charge had been made against him by the Hon. Member for Dungarvon in Ireland—that he had at one time made a speech containing language very offensive to Roman Catho lics.: New, .he (the: Attorney-General for Ireland) went to Mr.- Millikin's, the bookseller's, in Dublin, who had published his speech in a pamphlet fornt, and by much the fullest report of: it; and in that speech, though there was strong language regarding the appro priation clause, he did not believe anything could be found offensive to Roman CathOcs. If, however, there was. any sentiment which gave .pain..to individuals of that persuasion,. all he could say was, that he sincerely regretted it. • • The Right Hon. Gentleman knew that he (the 'Attorney-General for Ireland) had been friendly to the claims.of the Irish Roman Catholics ; at a period when it was not fashionable to be so; he had been fa- Vourable to Catholic' emancipation - . • He' would not longer detain.the House. He felt that he had intruded a great deal -upon their patieeee—(Hear.) He must own that he had hitherto felt somewhat awkward, and that he did not feel so - much at home as When addressing a court of law ; but the kind. Manner in which he had beeureceited by both-sides of the House would relieve him- in future from much of that' embarrassment in addressing them; though he would not trespass so grie vously on their patience as he felt constrained to do upon• that night.—(Loud and - long continued cheering from the Ministerial benches.) Mr. DILLON . BROWNE moved the adjournment of the debate, amid loud cries of " Sheil, Sheil."--The adjournment was agreed to. A few orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House adjourned at Ten minutes to Twelve o'Clock. ' t GRAND WEEKLY ANTI-CORN-LAW LEAGUE MEETING AT COVENT-GARDEN THEATRE ENTHUSIASTIC. RECEPTION OF mn: O'CONNELL The usual weekly meeting of the Anti-Corn-law League was held last evening, -at Covent-garden 'Theatre, and never, since first the League commenced holding these metropolitan gather ings, do we remember any meeting which could be at all ME pared ' with the' meeting of last light, either for the members congregated together or for theenthusiasm exhibited,' As early as five o'clock in the afternoon Bow-stieet and Vert street, a ere crowded to excess, and as soon as the doors were opened the rush was terrific—boxes, pit, gallery, orchestra, and stage were crammed to suffocation within file, minutes after the doors were opened, while the crowd in' the street did not seem in the least diminished. •It was koewn that Mr. O'Connell would visit the' meeting during the course of the evening, eh& in spite of the unfavourable state of the Weather (the night was cold and rainy), the streets leading to the theatre continued to be crowded, • notwithstanding the announcement by plaeard that the theatre was full, and that no one could be admitted. The majority of the pensons who th us wa i te d to show their respect for, and sym pathy with, thi H on . an d L earned G ent leman, were evideatl i , from their appear ance , a respectable class in sooiety, and nothing could exceed the propriety and peaceableness of their condnet. Shortly. : before seven o'clock, James Harmer, Esq (the late Alderman), entered the, theatre, and took his seat at the table. He was loudly cheered by the audience.. James Pattison, Esq., •M. Ps for , made his the City of London, next ' • appear ance, and was greeted with repeated rounds of applause. -Dr. Bowring, M.P., General Sir De Licy_ Evans, Colonel Peron. net Thompson, R. Cobden, Esq., M.P., J. Bright; Esq., M.P., and W. J. Fox; Esq., followed Mr. -Poetises, and were all loudly applauded, ' There were also preseat—Daniel 'O'Connell, Esq., M.P., Hen. Charles Pelham Villiers, M.P., John O'Connell, Esse, M.P., William Ord, Lig., M.P., Sir-David RoChe, M.P.,J.orcl Charles Fitzroy, M.P., W. Williams, Esq., M.P., Edmund Burke Roche, Esq., M.P., Lord Demeanors, Edward Ellice, Esq., jun., - M.P., H o n. R. P. Bouverie, Joseph Hume, Esq., N.P., W. D. Pti.P., T. Milner Gibson, Esq. , M.P., Sharman' Crawford, Esq., M.P., Edward Herman, Esq., M.P., Sir -Valentine Blake,. Bart., M: P., Thomas Wakley, • Esq.; M.P., John Evans, Esq., Jelin Travers, Esq., C. T. Crowley, Esq., &wpm Esq., Rev. Dr.-Jenkyn, Christopher Temple, Esq., Q. Q., D. C. Mayhem, Esq., Summers flarford, Esq.. J. Wynn, Esq., the Very Rev. Dr. Magee, Dr. Sheridan, Dr. Edwin Lawliester, Chas. Crogis, Esq., G. Barrett, Esq. ( Southarapton),Wy one Ellis, Esq. P., C, F.: Tagart, Esq., W..A. Maybury, Esq., R. T. Hamptop, Esq., Henry Fenner, Esq.,, William Edgar, Esq., W. H. Hobhouse, Esq., George Crawford Heath, Esq., Capt. Ridout, C. J. Spurrier, Esq., Dr. Nugent, John M'Leod, Esq., J. Cox; Esq., William Joseph Amherst, Esq.,- Wm. Thomson, Esq., P. H. Le Breton, Esq., - Robert Hope, Esq., George Vaughan, Esq., Alexander Bell, Esq., Ff. Chateret (Paris), Samuel Coleby, Esq., George Ridout, Esq., Samuel• Clark., Esq., John Hunter, Esq., John. Bickers, .Esq , Martin Thackeray, Dr. Blandford, Punehard, Esq., W. Drew, Esq., Henry Askworth, Esq. (Bolton), William Evans, Esq. (Manchester), Thomas Harbottle, Esq. (Manchester), W. J. Scott, Esq. (Manchester), C. 0. Boyse, East.; Henry Jervis, Esq. (Exeter), Thomas Latimer,' Esq.' (Wheathempitead), R. Rothwell,T Esq., W. Thornborrow, Esq., E. T. Granger, Esq., Genial Bayard (United States), James Harmer, Esq., William Loaf, Esq., and Robert Carrick, Esq. (Carlisle). G. WstrioN, Esq., Chairmen of the League, took the Chair at seven o'clock, amidst loud cheers., The Sicexraax read the minutes of the proceedings of the last meeting, which, on the motion of -Mr. Cobden ; se conded by Mr. Bright, were confirmed. The CHA I RMAN then proceeded to address the meeting as follows have seen many great Meetings 'of the National Anti-Corn-law League both hers and in the Fiee-Trade Hall in Manchester, the only two. places in- the kingdom which are sufficiently large to accommodate even a - small portion of our friends, but I never before saw any meeting which equalled in tnimber, in respectability, and is intelligence that which is 'assembled here this evening._(Laud cheers.) This , is as it should be.—(Cheers.) We are here for no party object—(Cheers)—for no political• ohject—( &mid cbeers)—and we seek no party triumph—(Load •cheera) and we desire to accomplish no party victory.—( Cheers.) We desire to'aecure the union and ep-operation of men of , every shade of political o pi n i on on b e h a lf o f thi s esovesaerit, the greatest that has ever enlisted the .sympathiee of the people of this country. It is 'right that we should meet in such numbers if it were only for the purpose of contrasting oar meetings with the small meetings which the monopolists are holding in the agricultural districts—(Cheeri)—and in some holes and corners in Loadon.—( Cheers.) I could tell you much about those meetings. We know much more of the nature of those meet ings than you could possibly collect from the reports in the monopolist journals. I could tell you of 'meetings af two hundred, held in little smoky rooms, which - when full could not possibly accommodate ifty—(Cheers)—of eloquent speeches which have never been spoken, although they have been reported—(Cheers)—of yesolutioes, which have , been passed without ever having heen . proposed 7 :.(Cheers)—and of subscription' pat down, which have never hems promised and will'never be paid.—(Cheers and laughter.) At one of these meetings a Neble Earl, whose station would induce us to ex pect from him at least an equal amount of good breeding with Noble Earl hick waroneeziOfibtihtedese m by eet t i h n e gs ii;snibreeperritae.sitheit'olehaegeneedea sigintedthe Anti-Cora-law League as one of the most bloody, revalutioaary, and nuconativation associations that had ever disgraced the coantry.—(Nime, name. : ) You ask for his -name—it: is- the Earl of • Winchilseti.—( Cries of " Oh, oh," laughter, groans, and hisses.) I will state; for the in formation of the Noble Earl, that the League is not unconstiti tionel.—( Cheers.) It is not opposed in the slightest degree to the Constitution of the country.---( Cheers.) We admire the piovisions made by that Constitution in order to procure for the country the services of such pre-eminent 'individuals as tb Noble Earl, by securing to them a seat in the - higher House of the Legislature.—( Loud laughter.) We repudiate the terra bloody.—( Cheers.) It belongs not to us. --(Cheers.) We seek for an alteration in the corn-laws by peaceable and consti tutional means alone.—(Cheers.) The Corn-laws were im posed amidst the sacrifice of human lifi—(Cheers)...aud they will be repealed amidst the rejoicings of millions Of ear 'fellow countrymen, who are watching the struggle in which we are engaged with an interest superior even to that which Nye our selves feel.—(Loud cheers.) It would be unbecoming in me to waste your time by making any lengthened address to you. I will, therefore, at once proceed to the business of the even ing, and call upon James Wilson, Esq., of London, to address you. Cheers.) Ws. Mr. JAMES I . B QN then came forwArd, and.said that he thought all present would 'be ready to ailow that if .ever any individu a l h a d stoo d in nee d o f the indul gence of those whom h e was a b out to a ddress, it was one occupying the situ at i on we l c h h e did. t hat night.— (Cheers.) He had t o a dd ress. an au di ence labouring under' peculiar excit e m ent , der i ve d - per h a ps from the expected visit of the illuArious -man—(l m mense cheer ing)—whom he hoped G eo l . to, se e amongst them-- ; (Continued cheering)—aa a witness of their determina tion to support those doctrines which were held not by the manufacturing and commercial body only; but by a consi derable portion of th e agr i cultura l b o dy also. . They were assembled for the purpose of discussieg_ questions of great national importanCe—to Consider whether it nation,,With a population which Was increasing at the -rate of 1,000 a-day, which Was equal to 365,000 a-year, should be restricted in its food and in its .ti'ade,—. (Cheers.) He besought them, therefore, to subdue somewhat of their enthusiasm, as he was desirous - that the present Occasion should be made, enes not only of interest, but of instruction.—(Cheer.) 'The Chairman had told them most properly that t h ey were met for no party purpoee-:--they were met to promo te _ cause in which all were generally and equally interested . _ —(Cheers.) ,-They were met to advocate freedom • of industry and of intellect as applied to the industrial pur suits of the country.—(Here Mr. Wakley entered the theatre, and was much cheered.) . They were met to dis cuss 'whether it was better for the interests of the country —whether the.4lTorta of. her sons could lie best brought o e d t n c t g s out • by competition or by protection—delusive protection. He called the principle of protection delusive, for it was was to rob one por tion for an Act of Parliainent to add wealth-to any one class, without abstracting it from some other class.—(Cheers.) All that -these Acta of Tarliament, another. He at the late • ltural meetings, and he had not seen a, single agricultural argument pro ve that t put forward to he corn-laws were not injurious to the coun try—{Cheers) — an d as eluoidating that part of the ,subtect, - m ould Allude to ihtinisodP:oasintt'tteghneptirer community ti w uven a i tc td ie tii d :So, t r h cd e oeurld p t r od oi which had recently been de use of by a an argument •Noble Lord at a meeti n g in Scotland, who had endea 4ioured .to prove that, as thecOrn•laws bad been made more stringent,, commerce an d manufactures h a d in creased sin prosperity, by .sh olving _t_ _ hat aims, 1 815 the exports Of the country had regularly i ncreased. 1 (Ifear, hear.) That oh e Lord. had- stated that in the year 1815, the value of- the t_ he exports amounted to .only forty-two millions, and t y hail gone on gra dually increasing, until n tba ow hey -amount e d to 100 mil lions annually.. Now that Nob le Lord had either for gotten or had never been aware of the fact,, that goods entered . for -exportation at the Custom 7 h ouxe were declared according to their official value, and also' according .t o their real value. Now, the • -difference between the official - and the real value was _ this : . the official.. !value of goods was calculated upon a certain fixed rule, which had been its existence for 50 years, and consequently it gave what would have been the value of 'the goods s 0 years ago, while the real value represented the actual value of the goods at the present Moment. Now, it so happened that in the year 1815 the official value, of the, goods exported amounted to forty-two millions, while the real value •of those, goods was fifty-one Millions. On t'ho ether hand, in the year 1842- - the `-61ficial ' of the goods exported amounted 'to 100 4, 1 1 111 . 0n5, while the real or declared valo, which-amounted to 0 mil lions in 1015, , amoll'ited to oily 47 millions in 1842. (ciieers.) Now front thia it lIP)PNA that while more than double the quantity of manufautured go w stxpo io in 1815 had been exported in 1842, yet)the value .Of those • manufactures, and that labour of •which those manufactures had been produced, had been :reduced' in - value by orie beifs Elope 1131 . 5, Did he Complain of that ? HP sg,y, glat . it (*Wit tp be considered 'as - one of the proudest boasts of this .countrY-tbstvhe WO' enabled, by, hiyi—i n tem ett ioil by her industry, and by competition, so .to Were the cost of goods as to be able to secure to herself the mar keta. of the world, and give employment to het' Own people.—(Cheers.) Now how could she give employ ment to her own people, except by increasing her manufactures ?—(Loud cheering.) It should be re collected that not. • a single additional pair of hands had been, employed in agriculture. It was in manufacturei alohe that the increased population could be employed.—(Cheers.) At another meeting. which had been held last week, an agrieulturiSt had said that he could see no reason for their complaining of the corn-lawa, because at the present time corn was not higher in price than it had been at the commencement of the present century. But it should be recollected that_ while the price of corn had continued the same, the price of manufactured goods had been lowered one half.- Then let them '"inquire what became of the fund produced by this difference between the relative value of agricultural and- manufacturing-produce. - Was the • state- of 'the labourer improved? . Certainly not. His wages at that time were 125., las., or 18s. a week. They. were now Bs., 95., or perhaps les. Were the farmers more prosperous than- they had been ? On - the contrary, they were ruined. It they found that the farmers were ruined, and the wages of labourers lessened, what had become of the residue ?—(Cheers.) Why, it simply re solved-itself into rent.---:(Cheers.) It was obvious, therefore, that thelandlord'pbssessed two pre-eminent ad vantages ; ,in the first place it was increasing. his rent ; and in the second place he was profiting by the dimin ished price of all the commodities which he bad to pur chase.—(Cheera.) The labouring population were un der two- disadvantages ; their wages were diminished, while the agriculturist claimed to fix for them the price of the necessaries of life.--{Cheers.) What he con tended for -was, that if agriculture were exposed to the same principle as - manufactures=if it- were exposed to fair and • open 'competition- . -they would see the same improvement taking place in agriculture which had- already taken place in manufactures.— (Cheers.) He contended that without free competition they could never have that improvement in agriculture which they had a right to expect ; and it was only by adopting the principle of free exchange and open compe tition that they could ever. hope for a complete deve lopment Of the resources of that country.—(Cheers.) It was most fallacious to contend that an increased import of food would not be attended by an increased export of menufeetureclarticles, the productef the indus ty of the:people. What would they be the better; it was asked, for - importing'their food, - if they could not sell their labour? Governments of other countrie s , it had been said, had met us with hostile tariffs, and such would continue' to be the case, even were the importa tion of food from other countries permitted. Now ho contended that it was impossible for us to deal with any country without that country dealing with us., , Here the speaker was interrupted for some minutes by the shouts of the , people without, announcing the ap proach- of Mr. O'Connell.. The Cheering, which lasted some minutes, was distinctly heard within the theatre. The tudichee caught the enthusiasm, and commenced cheering, when . . The CHAIRMAN came forward and said—l have to announce that Mr. O'Connell will be here a little before eight o'clock. . , . Mr. J'. WILSON then continued his address. Th e y were told that if they did import food from foreign eountries, those countr ies would not take their produce in return. Now, the facts which hid occurred during the last five years completely disproved this as sertion. We had relaxed many of the heavy duties which had previously been imposed on French produce, while France had ,continued to: maintain the 'most stringent tariff *ith regard to the produce of 14:ngland. We had greatly modified our tariff with regard to French goods. We had lowered the duties on silks, we had permitted the importation of raw silk, duty free, we had placed the wines of France on the same footing as_the wines of Portugal, and yet, in spite of the_ hostile tariff of France, our exports to that country had in creased chitin the last twelve years from half a-million annually to five, millions, while- our , exports to . all the re s t - o f the world, had diminished. Then, on the other hand, let them look' at the Brazils ; we had with that country a most favonrable treaty of commerce—aone-sided treaty, in fact—and yet while our exports to France 'had increased; in spite of the hostile tariff, our exports -to Brazil had diminished, notwith standing the favourable treaty. Our exports to Brazil had diminished one-half ; and why-? Bemuse we re fused to take the produce of Brazil in exchange—that produce being the article next to corn the !nest necessary to the comfort of the labouring classes--he meant sugar. The supply of sugar was the same now that it was in 1811, while our population had increased. While the im portation of tea had increased by twenty-two niilliOns of pounds annually, -while the importation of coffee had in creased by twenty-four millions of pounds annually, the supply of sugar was the same as it had been in 1811. It was' singular" enough that the nierchants of London and Liverpool, the. persons who upheld the sugar monopoly, should at this moment be petitioning the Parlia ment to reduce the duties upon tea—(Hear, hear) — in order to. increase the consumption of it. , Did.,they wish the people to drink, their tea without sugar, or did they suppose , the ingenuity of. the ladies was to have no end ?—(Cheers.) Their ing enuity had already been sufficiently taxed ; and he would advise the 'gentlemen of Mincing-lane 'and Liverpool, before they petitioned the Government to reduce the duty on tea, 'to pass a re solution that itwould be also expedient to adopt measures to secure an additional supply of sugar.—(Cheers,) It. Was necessary_ for two purposes,—to procure forms a supply' of sugar—to our ,manufacturing industry, the largest and the best market in the world. The excuse made by the Government for the exclusion of sugar was singular. That party which, during fifty years, while the whole philanthropy of the corn-growers was engaged in efforts to shake of the shackles ofthe slave, had uniformly opposed those efforts—(Cheers}—that party, at length, when anti-slavery-could be made the excuse for mono poly, raised the anti-slavery cry.—(Cheers.) He did not contend that any man was precluded from changing his opinion.—(Cheers.) He had looked over the re cords of the House of Commons, and bad found that the present Premier of the country had uni formly recorded his vote in favour of slavery.—(Cheers.) If the Right Hon. Baronet chose to change his opinion, he (Mr. Wilson) could have no objection; but when those changes became so frequent, he could not con sider the opinion of the Right Hon. Gentleman as enti tled to be considered of much value.—(Cheers.) When he considered this subject he could not but feel disgusted at the delusive hypocrisy which had been practised on it. But, after all, we did purchase the Brazil sugar. We had sent out 114 ships to Brazils last. year; 21 of them had returned with cargoes to this country; the others had taken cargoes of cheap sugar and cheap coffee to foreign countries. English ships, loaded with cheap Brazilian sugar and cheap Brazilian coffee had arrived at Trieste, at Antwerp, at St. Petersburgh, and other neutral markets, thus supplying cheap produce to the labourers of those countries who were to come into competition with our own. If it was a sin to buy equally the sugar of the Brazil s , it was equally a sin to supply the m w i t h t h e means of selling it. It was a sin to refine it, to bring it to London and Li verpool and Bristol, to Iceep it there in bond, and to re export it to other parts of the world. But coffee was equally a prochict of slavery, and yet they had reduced the duty on coffee by the tariff, They had also reduced the duty , on copper ore; 'that was the a product a slavery, and nothing could exceed the cruelties which were practi se d in Cuba on the slaves .employed in the copper mines. At this moment Mr. O'Connell entered the theatre, and never did the walls of Covent-garden re-echo to such an enthusiastic cheering as that which greeted the Hon. and Learned Gentleman the instant he made his appearance. The whole house rose en masse, and; amidst the waving of hats and handkerchiefs, commenced cheering. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman, who looked exceedingly well, came forward and bowed re peatedly. After the lapse, perhaps, of five minutes,' he took his seat. The cheering, however, continued as enthu siastically as ever from every part of the house. Nearly a quarter of an hour had elapsed, and still the' cheering continued, when, at length— The CuAIXDIAN then announced that, on the conclu • sion of Mr. Wilson's -speech, Mr. O'Connell would address them.—(Loud cheers.) Mr. Wiisox then continued.—He would detain them only a few moments longer. He would only impress on them the huge importance of the subject they- were that, night met to discuss.—(Hear, hear.).. He only wished to. crave their attention once more to the efforts that - were making to introduce these great principles into the legislation of this country. Unfortunately for' this country, they had hitherto found • that -its' trading and commercial interests had not been al-• together agreeable to the bulk of those to whom the legislation of this country was entrusted. In many other countries the pursuit of commerce was considered an honourable calling ; in other countries, not only princes and rulers, but nobles, fostered trade, commerce, and manufactures ; her e , and perhaps it was , lucky for them that it was so, trade and commerce had been left to foster themselies.—(Hear, hear.) 'Had trade and commerce be en agreea bl e to ;be Legislature, it would have been difficult to have found among 656 men, any who would have supported any Prime Mi nister in any proposition so absurd as that relative to the Brazilian trade, ' which they had just con sidered.—(Hear, hear.) It would be difficult to Conceive that so many men should have been elected to Parlia ment as 'the fittest for it, who could have aupported such a proposition. ' He should not be able to find a better illustration of the position he had stated, than by tracing the history of, a pound of. that little, pure, white plant, which was held by the owners or land in this country in such Contempt, &OM its grawth to its final destination.- Though it was nurtured and plucked by the hands of slares—a circumstance he was sure every individual present would as much regret as the Eight Hon. Premier himself—yet the uses to which it was -turned were not the less on that ac count a. series of . benefits to the great human family. When they considered, in the first. instance the magnifi cent navy employed in conveying it across the ocean ; next the "merchant princei " _engaged in disposing. of it hare ; then the number of persons it employed in its manufacture,. casting comfort around. the • hearths of millions, till again converted into rags, ,and, again into paper, they must, confess its ,importance. That paper again stamped by the hind of 'intellect with the chit• ratters of religion and civilisation; was again by' the aid of ships. and commerce (lifted orer the Whole world. The CITAIRNAW said, before tho Hou.'and Learned Member for Cork addressed- the meeting, they would permit him to say that the appearance of that Hon, Gentleman among them-was by no means a new feature Qn the pialfgrul th*Anti.C4nria,w League, , k- , ;(eiteers.) hey 41 1 0 floor 410 an aggregate meeting of the League, at Manchester at which Mr. O'Connell - was not present. —(Cheers.) They had occasion to - thank him for the consistent support he gave in the House of Commons to Mr, Villiers' motion_ every _session that it was ftlrlY4Pd i 4114 *Pr IllflilPf 141 ihaak hitui, because, haapcHpied first 111auicipal chair of pithlin- 7 (Oh eers) , --a (14;putation frahrthe Auti-earh:Law - Lettio, (Insisting of Afr. Bright, Mr. George Thompson—who he was glad W see was then present—(Loud cheers)— and Mr. , Moore, went to Dublin for the purpose of holding an anti-corn-law meeting; and that meeting being held, Mr. O'Connell, then the Lord Mayor o Dublin, presided over it.—(Cheers.) He begged, in the name of the League, to thank him for his consistent support of the principles of free-trade, and had now the pleasure of introducing him to them.—(Cheers.) Mr. O'CoxsrELL, M.P., came forward. His appear, ance'at the table was the signal for a burst of enthusiasm we never saw approached, much less equalled. The whole audience rose, and, standing, continued to cheer for several minutes. Having at last obtained silence he said—lt was my intention when I came here 'to-night to have made a very eloquent speech, but I find that that part of the oratory belongs, to another. I there• fore begin my speech by presenting to the League, from a friend of mine who wishes to subscribe him self " X lover of jtistice"—one hundred pounds.--(Im• 'mense cheering, again and again renewed.) There is sterling eloquence in that, and if you only get nine hundred and ninety-nine others to do the same, there is your hundred thousand pounds at once.--(Loud cheers.) With giving the money I am afraid my oratory ceases. —(Cheers and laughter.) For how is any human tongue to give utterance to the sentiments of gratitude and thankfulness with which my heart and soul are filled at the present. moment ?—(Loud -cheers.). It is said that my native Irish abounds with endearing phrases that 'best express the sentiment of gratitude, but it would be impossible for the language even of the • most ‘aeraphic affection to detail or describe the pride—the exultation and pride— with which I witness my reception here to-night.— (Cheers ) It is a generous thing, and therefore you have dune it.--(Cheers.) If I have ever felt proud in my life I feel truly proud of such: a reception. There are circumstances at the present period, which, without alluding further to them, I may say enhance my gratification.—(Great cheering.)• I have come here resolved strictly to observe that neutrality in politics which belongs to this .struggle.-.-(Hear.) But I may be permitted to say, because it relates to the corn-laws, that the Duke of Buckingham and the Duke of Richmond have begun to suspect that they may be conspirators too.—(Cheers and laughter.) The Noble Dukes have been to consult a sort of " white witch" in the Temple, Mr. Platt, they call him, saying—" Good Sir, pray tell us, are we conspirators or not ?" (Laughter and cheers.) " No," says Mr. Platt, "you are not."—(Laughter.) And I will tell you why they are not ; they are not conspirators, because conspirators always have a leaning to the popular party, and they aro protection men.—(Hear, hear.) " No," says Mr. Platt, "you are not conspirators."—(Laughter.) I would not advise them to try that question on the other side of the Channel.--(Great cheering and laughter.) Yes ; lam truly delighted with the recep tion I have met with— " My bosom's lord sits lightly on his throne"— and my heart exults at seeing such sympathy manifested between the English and the Irish. I have told you that I am delighted with your generosity towards me ; and if there be one natural quality which excels the manly generosity of Englishmen, it is to be found only in Irish gratitude.—(Great cheer ing.) I compare the depth of one to the noble manli ness of the other. Your highly respected Chairman has been good enough to introduce me to you by a short reference, and he did me bit justice in saying that I have been the perpetual friend of the Anti-Cum-law League. I am a friend to it, not from preju dice or mere predilection—but from a thorough and conscientious conviction that it is for the good of the people. I was elected to the present Parliament by two counties in Ireland, containing 1,100,000 inhabi tants—the counties of Meath and Cork. I represent in Parliament 750,000 of an agricultural population. Now I had no means of purchasing their votes—l had no power of intimidating them—l had no landlord interest to overawe their consciences. My election cost me not a shilling ; and yet 1,100,000 people returned me to Parliament.—(Cheers.) They all knew my senti ments with respect to the corn-laws. They all knew I was the determined enemy of the heavy tax on the bread of the people.—(Loud cheers.) Knowing I have not only announced such to be my opinion, but that I have given my reasons for it so often, so convinced are all those people of the truth of that opinion that this has been the result. They have not attempted to hold a single corn-law meeting in Ireland.—(Cheers.) Yes, they did attempt one meet ing, and they were defeated.—(Cheers.) Lord Mount eashel was there, poor gentleman—he was there, and really he made out a most piteous case of it. Ho said "We, the nobility, owe debts—we owe moneys—we have mortgages on our estates—we:owe family charges." Well, one of the crowd said, "Why don't you pay them ?" (Cheers and laughter.) What was his answer ? Why, " No, I thank you"—(Great laughter)—" I will not pay them, but the working-classes of Englishmen shall. I will maintain protection, and get a higher price for my corn. lam disposed to be a good landlord, it I could afford it ; but as I ewe money I must keep up my rents, and sell my corn whore it must be bought at my own price ; and by the high price thus extorted from the working-classes, I'll pay my debts—when I choose, There was only one proposition in his speech perfectl ' certain—that he would extort the highest price for kis corn ; the other, the payment of his debts, remained what the scholars call a paulo post futurum—a thing that might happen at some time or other.—(Cheers and laughter.) But, no later than yesterday, out comes the Duke of Northumberland, and he says, in a proclamation —(Laughter)--to his tenants, you must get up leagues in favour of the corn•laws; for, says he, those exceed ingly conspiring wretches of the Anti-Corn-law League tell you that if the corn-laws are abolished, you will have cheap bread. Don't believe a word that they say. Now, I don't believe him—(Cheers and laughter)— and more, I think I can prove that ho don't believe him self.—(Cheers and laughter.) And would it not be a mighty pretty thing to see a Noble Duke put upon the table, and obliged to say he did not believe a word of what he said himself ?—(Cheers.) And I will show you he does not. Ile wants protection for corn—what is the meaning of that ? Protection means the addition of 6d. to the price of every loaf—that is the Irish of it.— (Cheers and laughter.) If he had not protection for the loaf that sells at Is., it might be bought for 6d.---(Loud cheers.) Protection, then, is the English for sixpence.—(Great laughter, and cheers.) But it is worse than this—it is the English for an ex ' torted sixpence. The real meaning of protection there fore is robbery.—(Great cheers.) It is a robbery by the rich of the poor, for what signifies the quantity of loaves that may be consumed in the Duke of Northum berland's establishment ; to be sure he pays the addi tional sixpence ; but not a thousandth part of the Duke of Northumberland's expenditure consists of bread. But the working mai with a family of children, or the widow, pay nine-tenths of their means for bread. They pay tenpence for every sixpence expended by him; and he pockets the difference.—(Hear, hear.) But then he is one of the mighty aristocracy of the land. He is an exceeding great man—one whose shadow scarcely dares to follow him.—(Laughter and cheers.) But there might come another Leaguer--a man of a League for making bread dear.--another protection man—another robbery' man, and he says, " Oh, don't make bread cheap—that would be horrible. It would cause less em ployment, and that would cause less wages." Well, let us see how that is? If we had bread cheap we would get it cheaper by getting corn from foreign countries, where it is grown at a less rate. That corn cannot be imported now. If it could be imported, for every pound's worth of corn imported a pound's worth of mum- factored goods would be sent to pay for it, and thoie nations who had not the means of taking our manufactured goods, then would have the means of purchasing them. Thus, instead of lessening wages, free-trade would in- crease employment, and whenever you increase that, it is as plain as that two and two make four, that it must increase wages. The . argument then totally fails. I speak, as a representative of Ireland; if the corn-law is of use anywhere it would 'be of use in Ireland', the agri cultural country--if it raised wages anywhere it would raise them in Ireland, which is. a purely agricultural country. Are wages raised ..in Ireland ? Unhappily you can get a man to work there for 4d. a-day.—(Hear, hear, and shame.) He thinks . him a beautiful benefactor who pays 6d. a7day.—(Hear r hear.) .He is delighted if he gets 8d..--:-(1 - lear, hear.) There is a corn law for you. It is in full force in Ireland. It is doing all that it'eau do for tiri? country in ,ithd sutfi is the rate of wages, and what, is worse, there is even very little employment at that. Ireland, therefore, will not throw any impediment in your way in this parti cular. With Ireland you will have zo'difattlty. You have Ireland heart and so u l ,at yotir eide47(lmmense cheering, the Whole of the audience rising, and continu ing the applause for some time)- r --and have I not another example I can adduce to you at the present moment .We have present, the Honourable Meraber. for Rochdale, lir. Sharman Crawford, -a • very considerable Irish landed proprietor, N!eho, before he re' , presented an English :borough, represented part of his native country, and who.was-a thorough Anti - Corn-law Ikaguer long before he was Parlininent at Yoii have, therefore the•good sense - and the spirit of lfreland with you, and it Will feel no : small share of my gratitude when it hears how you , have received nie (Immense cheering.) The. sound nof that' shot: ivpi tick s u o ,p u l d . . ,t di h e ro a ug u h y ou7 ith th i i n s t4 m e e7rOpo wil l i i i st-i ( t C w h i ee ll co it nteyed *will: the easterly wind to the coast of Ireland7(C_heers):— it will be heard re-echoing along the sunny banks of the PARLIAMENTARY DIVISIONS. (From the Yoke nod Proceedings ethe Howe oi Coogolons.) WZDNEADAT, FHB. 21. HORSE RACING PENALTIES BILL. (IN THE COMMITTEE.) Amendment proposed to the Preamble, to leave out the words " not intending to offend, nor being aware that they were offending against the said recited provisions of . the said Acts, or any or either of them :”—Question p u t, " That the worth proposed to be left out stand part of the Preamble :" The Committee divided:— MINORITY_AYES, 27. • Barnard, E. G., Hindley Charles Powell, C a l e b Bellew, R. M. flume,. Joseph Rotas. Captain - Bet nal, Captain Kemble, Henry Tancred, H. W Brother ton, Joseph Langston, J. H. Thornely, Thomas Busfield W. Maher, Nicholas W a ll , Charles E. Butler, Colonel blunts, G. F. Wiiliams, W. Butler, P. S. O'Connell, Maurice Yorke., Hen. E. T. Colrile,_ C. R. Pechell, Captain ratans Easthope, Sir John Peel, Jonathan Duncombe, T. 3. Feihlen, J. Phillpotts, J. . - Watson, W. H AIAJORI . TY-: 7 NOES, 81. . . r Arundel, Lord Gaikell , J. M. O'Ceunell, M. J. Baillie, Colonel Gibeon. T. M Packe, C. Wm. Baring.'W. 'IL Gill; Thomas . ' Pakiagton, John S. Baring, F. r. Cisborne, Thomas '' Pad, Hon. Sir It Barrington, Viscount Goulburn, Henry* Pollock, F. • Bernal, It. . Graham, Sir donna Pringle. Alexander BlackburneJJ.lreland Grimsciateh, T. Rice, E. R. - Borthwick, Peter Hawes, B. Richards, Richard Bruce, C. L. C. Hayter ' W. G.' • Roebuck J. A. Buckley, Edmund Hinde,J. H. Round, John Chetwode, Sir John ' Hodgson, Richard Rumbold, C. E.- Christie. W. D. Hope, Charles Rushbrooke. Colonel Darby, (4eorge Horsman, E. Russell, Lord Joku Davies, D. A. S. Houldsworth. T: Seymour, Lord . , Denison, John Evelyn Howard, E. G. Smith, T. B. C. • • Dickinson, F. H.. Humphery. J. Smith, B. . . Douglas, iir C. * Hussey, Thomas • Somers, J. P. _ Duncombe,'A. Inglis, Sir rt. IL , Staunton, Sir G. T. Dundas, F. ' Jones, Captain • Stuart . , W. Villiers Ebrington, Viscount Knatchbull, Sir. E. Sutton, Hon. H. M. Eliot, Lord Lincoln, Earl of Trotter, John,., Elphinstone, HoWard Lockhart, William Walker, tt; ':vans, W. Manners, Lord J. Walsh, Sir John Flower, Sir James Marjoribanks, S. , Weilesley, Lord C. Follett, Sir W. W. Marsland, H Wood, Colonel Forester, G. C. W. Martin, C. Wyk ehami TZLLERS. Fremantle Sir T. Morris, David Mackenzie, W. F. Puller, A.-E., '.• ' O'Brien, .A.-S • Wortley; 4. ttuart LITERXTURE. TRIAL ofPEDRO _ph; ZULUETA;.theaCHARGE OF SLAVE-TRADING. Wood, L ondo n, 1844. • • In this thick,: closely printed octavo volume, we have a full, and circumstantial account of a triaj which took place some months since, and occasioned no slight public sensation. The trial was that of M. Zulueta," an eminent Spanish merchant, who was charged with trafficing in slaves,_ and, - after &length ened investigation, Was acquitted pytlie jury; at the October session of the Central Criminal Court, Old Bailey. The report of this trial is taken froni the short. hand notes of Mr. Gurney,, and is, therefore, strictly authentic in its details. WHITEFRIARS. 3 Vuls. Colburn,. London, 1844. There is considerable talent in this novel, which treats of an exciting period in English history—the Popish plot and its unprincipled manufacturers, Oates and. Dangerfield---and brings us into the company of Charles the Second and his merry, profligate Court, the patriotic Sidney, the wily Shaftesbury, and many: of the most celebrated charaeters of that inglorious age. The hero of the story is a young orphan named Mervyn, who is afterwards discovered to be the ion, n.f a nobleman of high rank and influence... Many of the scenes in which he is engaged are pourtrayecl with singular spirit ; end among them we may men tion his first interview and subiequent connexion with the_ notorious Titus Oates—of whim Scott, it may be remembered; has given us such a striking ,sketch Peverit of ,Peak"—his introduction toColonel Blood, and to Charles the S econd,a nd Roches ter, and Buckingham, while carousing in disguise at a IoW publie-house in Whitefriars ; and :his connexion with the notorious highwayman, Claude Duval, who cuts no unimportant figure in the narrative. The author excels in description, and ,nowhere is this fa culty tUrned . to,better account than in his details of the great fire of London._ • [ADVERTISEMENT:]--A WONDERYUL CURE Of :A BM) LEG BT HOLLOWAT'S PILLS AND OLVII I IENT 1 7 -L , Ed ward Turner, by trade a carpenter, and residing at Ex mouth, do solemnly declare that for a very long period . I Waefearftilly afflicted with a bad leg and foot,.acconspanted with seven dreadful ulcers and much inflammation;.. indeed my case was so desperate that for weeks I could not even put my feet to the ground. I lastly declare; that after every other means failed, I was radically cured in a short space of time by the use alone of Holloway's Pills and Ointment. Dated Exmouth, 30th October ; 1843.—501 d at Professor Holloway't Establishment, 244, Strand (where advice niay be had gratis) ; and by almost all respectable venders of mixii oine throughout the civilised world. In Pote and Boxes; at la. lid., '2a..9d., 4e. 641, lle. 225., and Mc' ROCHDALE FLANNEL iIAREET MONDAY, FEB. 19. —There his been a very brisk market to-day, and pieces have met with ready Sale at last week's prices. STATE Or TRADE.--,There was no change in the. market yesterelaYi `the Vio - inUss - bOth - in goods and Yaiar being - moderate, but at very steady prices, for nearly itll'de ecription.s.—Monchester Guardian. . . _ Shannon, the Nore, and the Suir ;4thlnt-raw4kines your affectionate kindness, and all ', V itit that the people of England shall n 6 sW-veet-by the 0 4 the law of the aristocracy. I declare heittliutt I am ceseiroome ' 4 with a horror and loathing lam tenable - to---describe -to- describe o f ''.7"/ the injustice and iniquity of that ilc:istocracy. Why, if no corn-law were in- existence, no tthistry wouldelare , bring forward a tax upon the people's \ breacV- - Ir k 0 15 WII B '',' done in some countries, they placed a haiiettis the - deer of every baker's shop to insist on one-third of the price of every loaf as • it. came out; is there a man in the country who would endure a tax of suelre. kind. ? —(" No, no," and cheers.) If the Minister said he wanted it . for his financial purposes—that be could not maintain the public faith without it, John Bull would soar out an universal—No. Tax anything else, but you shall not tax bread. Yet, by a swindling scheme of protection, they do the very same thing. Not fur the ood of the State in which yotewould all participate-- not for protection against foreign enemies, or the pre servation of domestic peace—but-for the benefit of ono particular class—the rest of the community is taxed ; not for ' the benefit of the public, but to go into the private pockets of private individuals.—(Loud cheers.) Why, really, it is too bad that you should be called a sensible people if you submit to it. Of course I mean you no disrespect, but there is wthick-headedtiess about it I cannot understand. —(Cheers and laughter.) Duke of Northumberland, you are not my King, I owe you no allegiance—l will pay you no tax.—(Cheers.) Duke of Richmond—to be sure there have been Richmonds before you, and you may be connected with Royalty, but you are not King yet—l owe you no allegiance ; I will pay you no tax.— (Cheers.) Take you all, we owe you no allegiance ; and against them we are bound to stand . together, peaceable in conduct, but strong in ,determination —in tranquility—but with firmness to toll them we will not be cheated, we will. not lee robbed, we will not be humbugged.—(Cheers and laughter) Oh, I should like to see one of these great Dukes levying his tax in kind. I should like to see him going into one of the lanes of one of our wanufacturing towns, entering the house of some poor and wretched family, the father of which, after his day's fatigue, is affecting not to have an appetite, in order to leave a few more mouthfuls of bread for his children'; when the wretched mother, while endeavouring to give nourishment to one babe, leaves another screaming by her aide for want of food.—(Hear, hear.) I should like to see a Noble Duke, hung round with his stars and garters, lay hold of the biggest hUnch of the loaf, levying ' his tax in that manner. If he were so to levy it the tax would be in tolerable. Yet that is precisely what he does in another shape. I should have expected better from the anoient nobility of England. I should have expected something higher than this from them—for they are not conspire tors—:they are not combined together, for that crime is punished only in the poor—than their meeting toge ther and determining that any one shall pay more money than otherwise he should have to give for food. I repeat it in the identical terms, for I want to impress on every man the nature of this plunder and robbery. I tell you, do not mind their pretences, their assertions, that these laws increase wages. Ireland is an instance of how they increase wages. If I chose to open the, books of political eco nomy, and to give the dates and calculations you have had before from others, I could show you that, when ever bread was cheap, wages were higher, and doubly higher, because of the comparative value that money bore to provisions, and, therefore, doubly useful to the labourers themselves. Ves, and I dwell npon this, be cause it is as clear as the sun at noon day, that though you are opposed by ani mals with two legs, and apparently no heads, as they certainly have no hearts—this must be put an end to. Why, was not the Parliament itself packed by these bread-taxers, who sent into the House two thirds of the whole body, by means of their Chaados clause, and their purchase in the counties? Two sessions ago, I heard both from one side of the House and the other, that there never had been so much bribery in Parliament as at the last election. Mr. Roebuck affirmed it on one side, and Sir Robert Peel confirmed it on the other. They disagreed on everything else, but they concurred as to the enormity at' the bribery.-- (Cheers.) Yet they are your models of virtue and piety— men who are advocates of church establishments, who are ready to fine the poor wretch who on the Sabbath may not stray from the high road, if he were not going to some place of worship, while they enjoy their own car riage -drives unscathed and free. Yes, these great examples for the morality of the country, turn up the whites of their eyes to Heaven at the enormity of ether men's ini quities, while they, at the same time, are putting their hands into the pocket of the poor wretch to rob him of the pence that would feed his family.—(Cheering.) It is too bad. It ough to be proclaimed.—(Loud cheers.) It is just what ought to be proclaimed throughout the country. The good and the wise ought to congregate to brand it with suspicion and distrust —aye, with dis gust. If these men will stand by the poor and hUmble, may every blessing Heaven has in store be poured upon them ; but if they make the poor man poorer—if they make the wretched suffer more—if they make destitu tion augment and poverty increase by the means of this tax on human food, I say, shame upon them for prise_ Using such misconduct, and shame upon those who do not lift' up their voices, till the human voice sounds like thunder, and affright the culprits, and act the laudand the people free l—(Great cheering.) Yen, you are mustering well, and I am convinced that their attempts to counteract the exertions of the League will have the directly contrary effect. We are ready to argue with them, for bring them once to reasoning, and you have them surely defeated. We are ready to meet them foot to foot, and point to point, in debate with them; and the more they bring forward at these meet ings the greater chance is there that truth Will spread. The intellect of the farmer class can ne longer be de luded. If they had the interest of that class at heart, would they notmake leases, and enable them to live and to feed their labourers, and to assist in any charitable act in their neighbourhood? But uo. They must overawe everybody. Their name is Behemoth. They must swallow all. You are engaged in a glorious struggle, and I am proud to be allowed to take part in it.—(Cheers.) It is a de light to me to lend my talents, feeble as 'they are, and the sound of my voice, which ought to be pretty nearly worn out by this time ; but such as they are I lend may venture heartily to your sacred cause.— (Cheers.) I venture to say for myself that I have been found upon the side of liberty on every question which has been agi tated since .I entered public life.—(Cheers.) I oare not of what creed, or caste, or colour, any human being is, I claim for him the rights of ,a man—l claim for him the privileges of a man—the suffrage of a man, and the protection clue to a man i not the pro tection of robbery and spoliation, but protection agaiust every iniquity, however high its position.—(Cheers.) I come therefore, humble as I am, to cheer you on what ever be my own fate—whether it be a dungeon or even the scaffold. (Here the vest assemblage—pit, boxes, and galleries —rose, and the theatre rang again with cries of "No, no, never," and when the excitement had somewhat abated, the cheers and Cries of " Never." burst forth anew and were continued, accompanied by the waving,of handkerchiefs from the ladies, for several minutes, till hands and lungs at length became at rest from exhaustion.) - The Hon. and Learned. Gentleman proceeded. lam quite convinced, int were left to your votes, how you would decide it. But whatever my fate, it is no reason why the natural merriment of my temper —(Here the Hon. and Learned Gentleman was inter. rupted by an exclamation from the boxes, -the purport of which we were unable to catch. Mr. O'Connell re plied " I hope you're honest."—He then went on.) It gratifies me that I am engaged in this struggle with yon. I know all the bearings of the question. I know all its value. I know how- its success would increase your oommerce; by giving you 'consumer! that are unable to buy from , you —it ' would ' increase your comforts by giving y=ou ,emplOymeirt on the one hand, and food on theother.—(lear, hear.) I know hew it would take down the iniquity of . class-legislation.—(Hear, hear.) , For the great and weightz reason why class-legislation - exists to - the prejudice of the poor and humble itt this country is this very eoia-law. Itjsthe. grouni of all the evil, and stimulates its attherentst9;vorerz iniquity. They know the injustice of thfkir pesitieui . . and they want to fence it round with all gre• foratalities of the law and, the powers of the Legislature. tura wept do. —(Cheers.) The publie eyes are liecomink::open--;the pnblic mind is aroused. and England never willed and willed in vain. —(Cheers.) She had the folly to go extraordinary lengths formerly 'in ' working out her will. She brought to' the scaffold the bead of a foolish Monarch. . That was a foolish as welt as a wicked thing, for it scared away the mild disposition of the law, and resulted in violence, which ended, as violence always does, injuriously- to freedom. That nun's' son optraged the rights and liberties of the people - of 'England, but the ' - t people of England got wiser , arid - did ,no cut off his , head, but they sent him, abeetid, 7 4Heir, hear)_ lt_?s_ . a folly, therefore, to trespassespou.thSt rights of English English men. . Those violent remedies are bO' longer necessary ' ; they are net suited to the tin? es-:..ilut P._ l ' lbli , e' open "Ins bination is necessary— th e electricity of men's opinions— yes, that electricity of opinion shall spread through all * a velends'as well is' England.. The manufacturing classes are already all arrayed, and the labouring classes find that their interest is identified with the • question. The farmer+ understand the chieuheil of - the" great . pro prietors, and tho great proprietors are making that -kind of bustling mist) which rats make when the stack is