The Sun.
London, England, 1837-01-09 00:00:00

intrinsic merit.—( Hear.) Another object for they ha I
net was to declare their determination to support the pre-
,ent administration.—( Loud cheers.) They should ghe that
upport generously; and with determination, like freemcn
who know their rights, and knowing, will maintain them.—
(Loud cheers.) It was; in his opinion, only by supporting
the Government on the gfotimi that they meant to satisfy the
wants of the people. that popular support could he of service
to them.—( Hear.) Support given on any other ground would
be unworthy of freemen.—( Hear.) How were the Govern-
ment brought to their present position? By the voice of the
witi9nt.-=-Otters.) Why were they brought to it? In order
to maintain the, the mttion,—(Cheers.) How
were they kept iri it ? By the support
(Loud cheere.) H& would say th,at be, did not expect
my Government to premle t:lr4uititi in effecting
reforms.—(.Hear;w bear.) He oUhl see public opinidtt gen-
tly compelling theth to,plirStie rii dirWafd course:—(Cheers.)
He wanted to see public opinion lelAlng the Ministry on.
What the people demanded is neither tintieeegsttf liar im-
possible. They do' not ask the Commons to carry trne.t.
sures with the Lnt•ds apinst them i but they do ask them
if they cannot do them good, to rePictiti fro,ii dtlitiz them
injury.—(Hear.) We ask. them (said he) not to coniltltte
against us, and if they cannot give us what we want, we
ask them not to pledge themselves, for tire peeaervation of
their existence in office, to measures which will gratify the
designs of the Tories.—(Heat,) We ask them not to fet-
ter public opinion, but to give full scope to its working, and
on its moral power we rely for ultimate, and not far distant
success. What danger can await the present Ministry ?
Danger awaits them if they desert their present principles.
—( Hear.) The consequence of such desertion would be
that the Tories would outbid them in the extent of re-
forms ; but the Whigs should so far throw themselves on
public opinion, they should so far identify themselves with
the people, that if they should unfortunately be turned out
of office, the people would see that there was something
material and substantial between Whig and Tory which
was worth contending for.—(Cheers.) If the Ministry
trifled with the public feeling, they were in danger. If they
rested boldly and unhesitatingly on public confidence, they
would have nothing to fear.—(Cheers.) Nay, even, if they
should be for a time replaced, they would, as before, speedi-
ly return in power and triumph.—(Loud cheers.) It was
on the organization and moral strength of public opinion
that he relied. When Wellington, in the arrogance of power,
made his declaration against the people, what but public
opinion drove him from office ?—(Hear.) What forced an
unwilling House of Commons to grant Reform ?—(Hear.)
What was it but public opinion ? What but public opinion
carried that Reform Bill through the Lords, who had gained
so unconstitutional a supremacy over tire rights of the
people ?—(Loud cheers.) Public opiuion, in its moral
power, is omnipotent—(Cheers)—.and he cared not for
Lords or Commons so long as he saw public opinion in fa-
vour of the great cause of freedom.—(Cheers.) The
greatest evili would result to Ireland from the return of the
Tories to power.—(Hear.) Those evils he was anxious to
avoid ; but they must be careful lest in seeking to avoid
one evil they fall into another and a greater.—(Hear.)
They must take care lest in seeking to prevent the return
of the Tories, and in endeavouring to avoid embarrassing
the Government, they sacrificed any portion of that charac-
ter which it was essential to uphold.—(Cheers.) If the
people of England did not pull with them in their designs,
they would, when the day of difficulty came, see that Irish-
men had sacrificed all ground of respect, and the claims of
Ireland would again be despised.—(Hear.) He cared not
who was in office if the Commons of the people of Eng-
land were with Ireland. Give him the people of England,
and he despised the Tories.—(Loud cheers.) With a
British House of Commons against them, the Tories dare
not attempt their teal-practices.—(Cheers.) The way
in which Ireland was to secure her rights, was by securing
the respect of the people of England.—(Cries of " Hear,
hear.") With them they must make common cause,—
(Cheers.) If they were not identified with them, there was
no hope of justice for Ireland.—(Hear.) He wished to
have a united Legislature ; he hoped they should long have
one. He was ready to do his best to support it ; but if it
did not secure justice to Ireland, there was no step which
he would not take to secure for Ireland a separate legisla-
ture.—(Great applause.) He could not approve of test-
ing the sincerity of Englishmen in their opinions regard-
ing Ireland, by the support they gave to certain men.
His test would rather be how far they advocated mea-
sures calculated to benefit the country.—(Cheers.) He
would never say Englishmen were unfavourable to Ire-
land, because they did not support this or that plan.—
(Hear.) He would nct, as some had done, cast an
imputation upon the Tory-Radicals of England, which
was calculated to create disunion. He would rather say
to Englishmen, support us, and we will support you, and
you should support us.—(Cheers.) He would say to them,
make common cause with us, and we will do so with you.
—(Cheers.) That is what he would say to England, and
that was the way to gain respect and redress for Ireland.—
(Cheers.) That which a country should be most anxious
to preserve, was character.—(Cheers.) If it had not that, it
would not—it could not—it ought not to enjoy liberty.—
(Cheers.) But, if it kept up, it would be respected, and
would respect itself.—(Cheers.) He would rely for success
on the moral power of public opinion.—(Cheers.) Its force
had already been shown. It had been shown by him who
had achiered the emancipation of the country. Yes, it was
first shown by Daniel O'Connell.—(Cheers.) England
had profited by the lesson, and if O'Connell had never
done anything else for the good of Ireland, he would have
deserved her everlasting gratitude for that one act.—
(Cheers.) It had formerly been thought that liberty only
could be procured for Ireland by the sword ; that impres-
sion had often defeated the hopes of Ireland.—( Hear.)
Even many of the best of the volunteers had laid down
their arms because they thought that nothing but the sword
could secure freedom.—( Hear.) O'Connell was the first
to teach the Irish people that the moral power of public
opinion could accomplish their liberation.—(Hear.) It was
by the same power that England obtained Reform, and by,
the same menns the Reform of the Lords would be se-
cured.—(Cheers.) He had often heard the small numbCr
of Members of certain opinions in the House of Commons
advanced as a reason for not pressing certain measures. He
always laughed these calculations to scorn. If public opinion
was roused to force reluctant votes to be recorded in favour
of popular liberty, he cared not for the calculations he had al-
luded to. If measures were based on justice, and on the broad
foundation of public opinion, they must finally, in spite of
every obstacle, be obtained.—(Cheers.) The Honourable
Member then referred to the necessity of Corporate Reform
for Ireland. It was necessary first, because it had been
given to England and Scotland, and the same principles of
legislation must be extended to Ireland. It had not only
been refused to Ireland, but it had been refused with in-
sult -.vhich had outraged the national honour.—{Cheers.)
That alone was enough to make them demand it.—(Cheers.)
They should demand it also from its own value, because it
would place their local institutions under popular controul.
—( Hear.) The Tories said the 9th George IV. was suf-
ficient, and rendered corporations unnecessary. It was
true that that Act provided for the lighting and watching
of towns, and that was all. Did it give them a Chief
Magistrate chosen by popular election ? Was it of no
importance that they should have such an officer in Bel-
fast ?—(Hear.) Was it of no importance that they should
have a returning officer chosen by the people?—(Cheers.)
Was it of no importance they should have an officer,
chosen by the people, to call pUblic meetings when they
wished to express their sentiments ? None of these great
privileges were conferred by the 9th George IV. He did
not recognise the principle of appointing public officers by
popular election, and hence the praise of it by the Tories.
—(Loud cheers.) He wished to see popular election
and controul carried further than merely the corporate
towns.—( Hear.) He wished to see it carried into the
counties and baronies. He wished to see it everywhere
controuling the fiscal policy of the country.—(Cheers.)
Often as the Grand Jury-laws had been changed, they had
only been rendered worse.—(Hear.) He _would extend
the management of the county cess to persons chosen by
the people. This would give confidence, and it would re-
move the anomaly and inefficiency of the present system,
which could not be satisfactory, for one part of Ireland re-
quired legislation totally different from other portiory of it.
—(Cheers.) This was the more material now, when it was
to be hoped they would soon haee a system of Poor-laws
for Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) He would give the adminis-
tration of relief to Boards popularly chosen—(hear) ; and
he would, at the same time, vest in them the disposal of the
funds of the Board of Public Works, in order that the latter
might be made instrumental to the lessening of the burden
of the former, and at the same time useful to the country.
(Hear, bear.) He would also remark, that in certain towns
in England the Sheriffs were chosen by popular election,
a privilege which was not enjoyed by Ireland.—( Hear.)
He mentioned this in order that in their petitions to Par-
liament they might allude to it, and endeavour to procure
an alteration of it.----(Hear, hear.) It was a degradation
to Ireland to be legislated for otherwise than England.—
(Hear, hear.) They ought to demand an equality in legis-
lation, and to be satisfied with nothing less.—(Loud cheers.)
He knew that their desire for religious liberty was equal
to their wish for 'civil freedom.—(Hear, hear.) They
might differ in minor points, but he trusted they all agreed
on the grand principle that man should not control man
on account of his creed.—(Cheers.) He was delighted
that that meeting proved to him that a town so important
as Belfast was determined to support that great principle.
—(Cheers.) This fact would sustain him in his advocacy
of Irish liberty—(Cheers)—and he trusted that the day
was near when that town would be represented in a more
efficient manner.—(Long continued cheering.) He trusted
they would soon send to Parliament men worthy and
competent to represent them.—(Cheers.) The Chairman
had alluded to his efforts in Parliament on behalf of Bel-
fast.—(Cheers.) Until it was properly represented he