The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-30 00:00:00

THE PRECURSOR SOCIETY.

We yesterday gave a short and hurried sketch of Mr.
O'Connell's speech on Tuesday, at the meeting of the
Precursor Society. The following is a fuller report, for
which we are indebted to t be Freeman's Journal:— _ _

Mr. O'CONNELL then arose, and was received with
the most enthusiastic cheers. The Hon. and Learned
Gentleman hating stood on his scat in order to be more
audible to the dense crowd which filled the room, pro-
ceeded as follows :

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen,.-.-It has been my for-
tune very frequently to rise in this room with impres-
sions of the greatest anxiety and of the deepest solicitude' ,
on my mind. During that long and eventful struggle
which we successfully made for the principle of religious
liberty, established by the Catholic Emancipation Bill,
many incidents occurred of a nature to inspire me with
alarm and solicitude ; but never, in the course of my
eventful life, have I risen with half so deep solicitude
and lillf the anxiety which I feel at this moment. The
reason is obvious. The fate, of Ireland is in the scale.
The battle of the rival parties is to be fought in Ireland.
That battle may seem paliry and insignificant to those
parties themselves, but it is one sihieh-is' of vital impor-,
lance to Ireland.—( Hear.) The word crisis has been
so often abused in its 'acceptation, that it may not, when
employed in its strictest sense, possess the force which
it ought to have ; but I now say a crisis has arisen—
(Hear, bear, hear)—a .crisia of the most ominous and
vital nature• has arrived: 'rite souls of men are to be
tried ; and it is to be proved to the svorld whether Irish-
men deserve liberty or not.—(Loud cheers.)
Hereditary bondsmen, know ye not
Who would be free, themselves must strike the blow ?"
--(Loud and continued cheering.) Look back to the
Session, short as it is, which has now terminated ; it has
not produced a single important or useful measure. The
first question which it presents was My motion for the
equalization of the elective franchise in Ireland with
that of England and Scotland. Let any hears
man who
nice-
me put his hand to his breast and say, could any
sure ,be proposed more just and fair than that ?—( Hear,
hear, and- loud cheers.) Are we not united with
England, and why should we not claim that community
of rights which that union, if it exist, must entitle
us to ?—( Hear, hear hear.) They may call it op-
pression or whatever they please ; but let them not
lie in the face of God and man, by calling it a union.
nothing I ask for nong
—(Loud cheers.) more than what is
due to us. I did not go back and tell
-em of the wrongs
we formerly suffered, of the situation in which we were
placed by the union, when Ireland owed only twenty-eight
million.s, and England four hundred and fifty-millions.
Engla.nd was generous enough to take her share of the
twenty-eight millions ; but the, Oh, shame upon her !
they n lade us take our part of t)the four hundred and
fifty. We don't, Sir, owe one shilling of that sum, and
more, we will never pay it—(Loud
cheers)—.unless
the conduct of England be altered towards us—(Hear,
hear, and cheers.) I brought forward a motion for the
extension of the franchise with a tone and temper
amounting to -bumble submissiveness. There was a
degr€ e of humility in my visage which
bespoke how
humbly I felt. Sergeant Jackson opposed me, a man
on whose conduct I have already animadverted in this
room .and let him take care when he again opens his
mouth in the House of Commons, for if he do, I'll
brand, :him as a liar ; he cannot possibly escape me, for
I have ti'le documents in my possession which will enable
me to d,) so.—( Hear.) Sir, I was opposed, alas! on
that day by Lord Morpeth and the Irish Government,