The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-26 00:00:00

EVENING EDITION.

IRELAND.

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ENTERTAINMENT TO MR. O'CONNELL AT
TRALEE.

1
We have already given a short notice of this enter-
tainment, but the speech of Mr. O'Connell is so good
that we consider it unfair to curtail it, and we there-
fore give it at length. The first toast was " Our en-
lightened, beloved, and patriotic Queen, and long may
she reign in the hearts of her people," (Drank with
nine times, and all the honours.) Air " God save the
Queen."
The next toasts were " Tne Duchess of Kent, the
Duke of Sussex, and the rest of the Royal Family, and
Prince Albert," which were all received with due ho-
nours.
After the usual toasts, the Chairman, Daniel Cro-
nin, Esq., of the Park, proposed " Their Revered and
distinguished Guest, Daniel O'Connell, Esq., may he
1 live long to witness and rejoice in the result of his
fearless, virtuous, and triumphant patriotism."—( Hear,
Ihear, and tumultuous applause.)
Drunk with nine times nine, and all the honours.
Air " The Dear Irish Boy.'
Mr. O'CONNELL rose, and was received with one
of those thrilling and soul-stirring shouts of welcome
1 which his appearance so invariably draws forth on occa-
sions of this nature. As soon as the applause bad sub-
sided, the Honourable and Learned Gentleman pro-
ceeded :—I do not think that at any time during the
course of my life, I felt less disposed to make a speech
than Ido at present. My acquaintance with those
whom I see around me on the present occasion, is in-
terwoven intimately with those ties of early esteem and
affection, which conduce to soften the heart and melt
the feelings, rather than to excite the mind to displays
of eloquence. I see around me my best—my oldest
friends—the companions and friends of my early
career—the witnesses of my professional struggles
and the sharers in the triumphs of my professional
success.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) lam bound by
those chains that overpower the heart, and deprive us of
the full low of words. When I received your invitation
I was busily engaged in preparations to commence—to
re commence--(Cheers)--that agitation which in my
heart I believe to be all-isnportant to the safety and well-
being of our county.—( Hear, and cheers.) My first
intention was to throw myself on your kindness, by
offering the public business as an apology for my non-
acceptance of the honour you intended me. But I soon
came to the conclusion that as agitation must be re-
newed; the sooner it is renewed the better.—(Hear,
hear.) Here was the origin of my physical, of my pro-
fessional life ; and what place so fitting for the re-opening
of that peaceful, holy, and necessary campaign on which
the maintenance of our liberties, aye, and the safety of
our lives, and our properties, and our families depend ?
But, gentlemen, the time is a fearful and a threatening
mita We have no time for compliments ; and I shall
hest express to you my gratitude for, and appreciation
of, your kindness, by explaining to you our present
position, and offering to you my advice as to the
course to be pursued therein.—( Hear, hear.) In
brief, then, the Tories have made open war upon us
—(Hear)—on the people, the religion, and the liber-
ties of Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) Affectins, an overween-
ing zeal for the forms of religion, they haveb altogether
thrown overboard the substance, the principles, the
genuine sentiments of Christianity—(Cheers)---for they
have done all that in them lay, by fanaticism and ma-
lice, to turn religion into a symbol of blood, and hate,
and horror, instead of one of peace, of concord, and uni-
versal charity.—(Hear.) We see not the sword raised
over our heads ; we feel not the knife of the bigot as-
sassin at our throats ; but we hear the bold declarations
of a wish and an intention to proceed to those atro-
cities. We are not blind to the symptoms which too
plainly indicate that the war of extermination is gather-
ing and preparing, and if we do not arouse ourselves,
will surely and speedily burst upon us.—(Hear, and
cheers.) Our enemies arc powerful ; they are—l
grieve to say it, but these are times when truth must be
told, however stern and unpleasant—they are implac-
able.—(Hear.) No remonstrances,—no petitions,—no
representations, founded merely on justice and reason,
can avail with them. We must be in a position to terrify
the wickedness, to confound the impudence of our foes.
They grow fiercer and fiercer—more and more violent
in their denunciations of us. Last year they raised the
cry of "No Popery." Our country, our clergy, ourselves,
were assailed and maligned by them,through theirspouters
and their scoundrel press. " Surpliced ruffians" was the
mildest term by which they designated the Pastors of our
Church.—(Hear, and cries of " Shame.") But now an
English Member of Parliament is found to carry the
work of slander still further ; he has openly declared
—and his declaration has been listened to and applauded,
that the Catholics of Ireland have the knife ready, and
that they are panting for the opportunity of that which
we believe, as our Priests tells us, would be the highest
point of merit, the application of these knives to the
destruction of all Protestants, wherever, and under what
circumstances soever, they may be found. Is it true
that we think thus, or is it false ?—(Cries of "'Tis
false.") Yes, gentlemen, it is false—foully false—and
be who uttered the falsehood well knew that it was so.
—( Hear.) But they want to treat us just as if it was
true,—(Cries of" They do.') The atrocities of the press
were last year followed up and supported by the lay and
clerical firebrands of Orangeism. But this year the ruf-
fian Bradshaw, in the cathedral and archiespiscopal town
of Canterbury—in the midst of a sanguinary band of
parsons and Kentish landowners—has reached the cli.
max of villany, by branding us, one and all, without let
or exception, as an unnatural assemblage of cut-throats,
murderers, and worse than cannibals—to hunt down
whom is the duty of every honest man.—(Hear, hear.)
Thus has he misrepresented us : and the miscreant
Roby has imittted him ; but this last is a paltry fellow
—one who has the wish but not the courage to
be a traitor ; for every word lie utters he denies or
shuffles out of the instant he is called to account.—(Hear,
and cheers.) I wish not to speak in the language of
exaggeration, and I firmly believe that I am speaking
neither more nor less than she truth, when I express
my conviction that the object of the present cry against
Ireland is to crush, or render nugatory, the popular
branch of the Legislature, to subjugate and trample on
the Throne—to make the Sovereign the crouching slave
of an overbearing oligarchy, and to transfer to that oli-
garchy the whole power and authority of the State, to
the destruction of the hopes, the liberty, and happiness
of the people.—(Cries of Hear, hear.)—l repeat, then,
that we must not pause.—(Cheers.) In another year,
if in the mean time we are apathetic, that which is now
laudable opposition to tyranny and violence, will be
POni' - hable rebellion—a proceeding which I, for one,
can never advocate or countenance.—(Cheers.) We must
arouse then, and before I am a fortnight in Dublin I
I hope t:2at all Ireland will meet for the purpose of offer-
ing ourselves for the protection of the laws and the
throne, at the sacrifice, if necessary, even of our lives—
(Cheers)—and of showing to the world that Toryism
shall not succeed in its exterminating projects, with less
risk to the exterminators than we should incur by tamely
submitting to them. The Tories have resorted to every
manoeuvre and every stratagem for the purpose of car-
rying their purpose at the elections. Bribery, to an
amazing extent, and intimidation to a still greater, have
been resorted to in the towns and in the counties ; and
the national plunder of a century has been brought into
r,-quisition to overwhelm the pure,and peaceful, and ever-
increasing light of constitutional reform.—(Hear.) It
is impossible to avoid being disgusted with England. At
no former period does the history of that country present
features so disgraceful to the character of its inhabitants.
Look at the Lords—the incorrigible assembly of dunces
and dotards--treating the Commons, who are nominally
if not really, the people's representatives, with every spe-
cies of contempt ; rejecting every beneficial proposition ;
perpetuating and extending injustice and corruption of
every kind—especially where Ireland is the party ag-
grieved.—( Hear.) There appears, in the mass of the
people of England at present no wish or notion whatever
of a proper system of representation. Passive slaves
seem to preponderate in a fearful proportion. There
are the " Operative Conservatives" for you, feeling and
professing an unextinguishable hatred for this country,
ond guided by whore ? Why by that very party
which England had heretofore thought it necessary
to hold in check and distrust—the aristocracy of the
country.—( Hear, and loud cheers.) Then there are
the deluded and benighted Chartists.—(Hear.) On
these it is, perhaps, scarcely necessary to dwell long ;
for their weakness has been clearly demonstrated by
1 late events. But setting that aside—is it not
apparent that the working classes must depend mainly
for employment and support on the mercantile interests
--(Applause)—on the men of substance and of capital
--on those whom it was the object of these very Char-
tists to ruin ? If a rebellion were to break out in three
or four extensive manufacturing towns—Birmingham,
and Leeds, and Sheffield, and Manchester, for in-
stance-1,500,000 human beings, at least, would at
I once be thrown out of the means of procuring subsist-
tauee. What could they do but starve ? To be sure
thov could plunder. But how long would this plunder
last 7 For a week—perhaps for two weeks. And al-
lowing dasat they could do a great deal of mischief—that
they could destroy many lives, and incalculable property,
they suould consider that before long they would
most certainl-; be destroyed themselves.—(Cries of
Hear, hear.") 1-19 r the first time in their annals,
' the people of England appear, .as a body, as much op-
posed to common sense as to Justice and humanity.—
(Cheers.) And even amongst us there has been much
torpor.—(Hear, hear.) WI have exhibited too much
of a disposition to look no farther than to-day or to-
morrow. We do not devote sufficieht of our thoughts
to the consideration, what would be our fat. were
the
Peter Thompsons to come into power to-morro- __
(Cheers and laughter.) Ido not allude particularly ta,
the individual, insignificant as he is ; for little people of
this kind exist in every city and every county of Ireland.
1
But I mean the intolerant, persecuting, Orange
party.
I speak it seriously and solemnly, and I fiend it through
1 the press' to be borne to all the people of Ireland—
'k there's a torpor and apathy that must be shaken
toff.—(Hear, hear, hear.) Enjoying, as we do, the
,h leasing of an impartial Government, and glad in
t,tu, hope of an improvement in the condition of
amantry, we do not look, as carefully as we ought,
our a