The Sun.
London, England, 1839-04-05 00:00:00

to spare when the price of wheat was highest
What then becomes of the assertions of Sir Robert _
Peel, the Duke of Buckingham, Sir James Gra- : THE LORD LIEUTENANT.
ham, the Duke of Richmond, Mr. Cagle 3•' and Durerx, APRIL 2.—Lord Ebrington will arrive toExcellency %sill be welcomed with enthusiasmorn-
, morrow about twelve o'clock, at Kingstown, and his
mensurate in some degree with the
others, who tell us that the high price of corn is ,
erood for the labourers. It is plain from the above
b
table, that Lord Fitzwilliam speaks the honest truth, public feeling. At any time, observes ' the Dublin
anresen illlen intensity of
when he tells the world that the Corn-laws are "a, Evening Post, Lord Ebrington would receive a cordial
system from which the agricultural labourer is suf- greeting. But as he comes at a very critical and
tering more than any other part of the community." anxious period—as he must be regarded as the exponent
t
Since it is quite clear, then, that the labourers do
system is menaced
asPeakflimvih pterial policyinlrelandwilenexisiittes
not pocket the fourteen millions sterling, gained by not only a dominant motive Orangein invasion—there
the public mind for an
somebody from the Corn-laws, let us next see what emphatic display of popular sentiment, but it is an im-
Earl Fitzwilliarn says about the effect they produce perative duty which the citizens of Dublin and the
upon the farmers. people of the vicinity, have to discharge to themselves,
Having considered the effect of high price upon totheierchildren, and to the country, to exhibit to the
the great mass of the agricultural population, con-
whole empire,
thmanifestation
confidence i o
thet h e y
Queen'swill
L
make
ke to-
morrow of ).i
their by
entireieu-
si sting of labourers, let me now call your attention tenant, their invincible determination to resist the dis-
to the situation in which ) our tenantry, the owners grace and ruin with which they are menaced by the
of farming stock, have been placed by, or, at least, Tory desperadoes of the House of Lords.
notwithstanding the successive Corn Bills which This sentiment is not confined to Dublin. It is ge-
were passed since the peace. The object of the law neral. It pervades all ranks, from the Peer to the hum-
of 1815 was to keep the average price of wheat at, bi
theeitwm,h7, ihnobtlii
iet
yl a
onfd .i r e
ilato
dis hbeadehd
DandkouorfeLdoioonstebry
s. a quarter, below
the Earl of Charlemont, the EarlY tof Meath, the Earl of
or as near as possible to, 80
which it was stated by the witnesses, and admitted Miltown, Lord Cloncurry, and other noblemen in the
by the Committee of the House of Commons vicinity of the metropolis. See, in particular, the re-
in 1814, that wheat (supposing the existing port of the proceedings of the county of Kildare yester-
rents to be continued) could not be produced day—the proceedings at the Corn Exchange on the
in England. To this Bill I gave my assent ; same day—and, particularly, the very important speech
and of all the important questions upon which of Mr. O'Connell. There can be no doubt that these
I voted, in the course of twenty-five years demonstrations will be reiterated in every county—in
of Ireland.
during which, with one short interval I have sat in every great town
Parliament, it is the only one upon which I regret the
part that I took. I am and have been for many years
satisfied, that the measure was founded on the most
erroneous principles, and that it has been attended
by the most disastrous consequences. In this case
allow ire to draw your attention solely to the effects
which it produced upon your tenants. Relying
upon the wisdom and power of the Legislature, they
were induced by it to expect those prices for their
produce, which the law and the proceedings that led
to its enactment, held out as the prices of grain
to be maintained. They entered upon and con-
tinued upon farms, the rents of which were
founded upon the prices held out to them by Act of
Parliament. If prices rose to an extravagant height,
as they did in 1817, in consequence of the defi-
cient harvest of 1816, the expectations of the
farmers and land valuers were raised still higher ;
while on the other hand, if they fell below the Par-
liamentary standard, the fall was attributed to some
accidental and transent cause, and was disregarded
in fixing rents, both by the landlord, the valuer,
and the tenant.

During the interval from 1815 to 1822, the
'armor experienced the most extraordinary fluctu-
ations in the price of his merchandize, fluctuations
arising from the variations of the seasons, but
aggravated by the state of the law, which either
rigorously prohibited, or indiscriminately admitted
foreign corn. What, however, lam particularly
anxious to direct your attention to, is, the utter
inefficiency of the law to accomplish either of its
two purposes, of protecting the farmer from too
low, or the consumer from too high a price. In
the spring of 1817, wheat sold at 120 s. a
quarter ; in the winter of 1821-2, it sold at
less than 40s. a quarter ; the average of
the year 1817 being 945., and that of 1822
being 435. The highest price in Oxford, at Lady-
day, 1817, was 1485.; at Michaelmas, 1820, 665. ; at
Michaelmas, 1822, 525. a quarter. The conse-
quence of this state of things cannot have escaped
your recollection. Great difficulties had been felt
by the agricultural interests in 1814, 15, and
1816; but the difficulties of all former years were
surpassed by the distress of the winter of 1821-2.
The insolvency of tenants, at this period, was un-
paralleled in the history of the agricultural classes,
and the inefficiency of the Act of was so uni-
versally acknowledged, that an alteration in the
law was made in the session of 1822 ; but the al-
teration being contingent upon circumstances
which never occurred, no permanent or prac-
tical change took place till the year 1828, when
the present system was adopted. During the period
therefore, from 1815 to 1828, the prohibitory
system of 1815 was in virtual operation. How far
it secured you from a diminution of rental, and your
tenants from insolvency, every landowner in Eng-
land can testify. lam here, however, principally
entreating your consideration of the effects pro-
duced upon the agricultural capital of the country.
Year after year the value of the farmer's produce
had been diminishing, till it fell to little more
than half the price at which Parliament con-
sidered that he could be remunerated for his in-
dustry. Year after year he was deluded by fal-
lacious hopes, excited by the law itself ; his rent
was paid out of his capital and not out of his
profits, till that capital became insufficient for
the proper cultivation of the land, and then
ycu yourselves began to feel the calamity, by
which many of your tenantry had been already
overwhelmed. Compare then the situation of that
tenantry, under the protection of the Corn-law
of 1815, with what it probably would have
been had the trade been avowedly free : or
if you had been contented with the protec-
tion afforded by the law of 1804, under which it
would have been practically free. Prices would,
indeed, have lowered, but no such extravagant hopes
would have been excited—no such erroneous cal-
culations would have been made ; rents would have
fallen to a level corresponding to the price of grain,
the agricultural capital of the country would have
been unimpaired, and the land would have remained
in a better state of cultivation. Your nominal
rentals might hare been diminshed, but your rents
would have been collected with facility, and you
would not have been driven. time after time, to the
wretched expedient of returning a per centage to
tenants at each successive audit, in order to in-
them to remain on their farms—an expedient
proclaims to your fellow-citizens, that those
resort to it are in the habit of demanding
their tenants a larger rent than they are cap-
of paying. Nothing, I must confess, is mare
stressing to me, than to witness these half-yearly
annunciations of this mis-called liberality of certain
portions of the land interest. Has it never struck
you, fellow-citizens, that this is no evidence of li-
berality, but rather of extortion ; that the return of
part of the rent may be proper, when called for by
temporary calamity, by the effects of flood, or storm,
or by some accidental misfortune overwhelming a
particular tenant, or class of tenants ; but that,
when resorted to habitually, it is not to be justified;
that it convicts those who have recourse to it of con-
tinued attempts to extract from their tenantry a rent
not warranted by the value of agricultural produce ;
and that, so far from proving the liberality of the
landlord, it affords testimony of a very different
quality ?
Thus plainly does Earl Fitzwilliam also show
that the farmers profit as little as the labourers
by the Corn-laws. He has proved from experience
that these laws have beeil so many snares to mislead
and ruin the tenants, with the delusive bait of high
Act-of-Parliament prices. So far from their profit-
ing by the Corn-laws, he has shown that farmer
and labourer have been equally injured by the legis-
lation that was pretended to be for their exclusive
advantage ; and at last Lord Fitzwilliam comes to
the candid admission, that, " whichever effect we
consider, whichever branch of the dilemma we take,
the Corn-law is guilty."
The Corn-law cannot be guilty. The Noble
author here falls into a mere form of expression,
that does not properly express his meaning.
The law- makers are guilty. If we search a '
little further we shall, however, find that he
tells us very plainly who the guilty persons are
who have made these laws, and why they have
been made. " The painful confession must be
made," says his Lordship, " that our own bene-
fit is the true object for which this obnoxious
code is established." His Lordship tells his
brother land- owners that they, the landlords, pocket
every farthing of the profit derived from the Corn-
laws—a profit amounting, as we have before said,
upon the very lowest estimate, to fourteen millions
of pounds sterling every year. As a landlord, Earl
Fitzwilliam tells his brother land-owners that they
are guilty of all the evils, crimes, miseries, and
physical and moral deterioration, which are in-
flicted upon the people by the Corn-laws. He
could not have heaped upon the consciences of a
body of men a more terrible responsibility than
this. He ;ells them, moreover, in solemn warning,
that the hour of retribution is certain to arrive.
We shall close our notice of his Lordship's labours
by quoting the most consoling passage in the
pamphlets :
" Laws, based as the Corn-law is, in
injustice and partiality, can never be of long en-
durance. They are only fit for fair weather—they
cannot resist the storm.'

your
duce
that
who

TOM

able

THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY, APRIL 5,1 S

the people were in a situation of the utmost uncertainty
and danger—the Tory party in England were increas-
ing in their opposition and hatred to the people of
Ireland. The Ministry had been struck down by
the House of Lords, and if the House of Com-
mons did not wipe away that vote, he could not
answer for the consequences which he much ap-
prehended. That motion was made by the avowed
enemy of the Irish people—by no other than the deputy
grand master of the Orangemen. Only the grand roas-
ter himself was engaged in breaking up constitutions, be
would, no doubt, have been the mover in person, instead
of his deputy.--(Cheers.) The Duke of Wellington,
when he granted emancipation, was compelled to do so
by the force of public opinion. We, said Mr. O'Connell,
will again raise the same ferment in the public mind, and
there is little likelihood of the Tories enjoying much
comfort, if they even succeed in coming into power. Mr.
O'Connell concluded a brilliant speech by proposing the
following resolution

" That an aggregate meetinr, of the Reformers of Ire-
land of all classes, be held' in Dublin, on Thursday
next, the 11th of April instant, in order to prepare an
address to her most gracious Majesty, and a petition
to Parliament praying for the continuance in office of
her Majesty's present Administration, and for the total
exclusion from power of that party which has always
proved itself the most inveterate and implacable enemy
of the country."
This resolution was warmly seconded by Mr. Ser-
geant Cu/cal', M.P. and passed with general acclamation.
The Earl of Charlersiont having been removed from
the chair, and Sir Thomas Esmonde called thereto, the
marked thanks of the meeting were given to his Lord-
ship for his patriotic conduct on all occasions where
the interests of his country were concerned, after which
the meeting separated.

COUNTY KILDARE.—GREAT MEETING IN
FAVOUR OF THE GOVERNMENT.
In pursuance of a requisition, addressed to the High
Sheriff of this great county, to convene a meeting of
the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, and Freeholders to address
the Most Noble the Marquis of Normanby, on his re-
tirement from the Government of this country, a very
large and most respectable meeting took place on last
Monday at Naas ; every part of the Court-house in
which standing room could be obtained, was occupied.
The nobleman and the peasant were there, vieing with
each other. Amongst the leading personages who took
a part in the proceedings, were the Right Hon. Lord
C:oneurry ; the Earl of Miltown ; the Very Rev. the
Dean of Cloyne ; Richard M. O'Ferrall, Esq., M.P.;
Robert Archbold, Esq , M.P. ; Henry Grattan, Esq.,
M.P. ; O'Connor Henchy, Alexander Mansfield, Peter
Purcell, John 11. Nangle, Esqrs. ; Rev. M. Tierney ;
M. C. C. Roberts, W. Wolstenholme, Esqrs.; Sir
John Kennedy ; Rev. G. Doyle ; the Hon. F. Pon-
sonby ; Rev. Carney ; Rev. -- Tracey, P. P.
Kilcock ; Henry Burgh, William Graydon, of Killeshec,
and John Mansficid, Esqrs.
The High Sheriff took the Chair.
The Dean of CLOYNE proposed, and Mr. A RCII.
LOLD, P., seconded the first resolution.
Lord CLONCURRY moved the second resolution ; and
said he would not say how many requisitions he had
signed, or how many public meetings he had attended
during the forty years which he had been amongst them ;
but he would say this, that a more respectably attended
meeting he had never seen than that which he had the
honor of addressing.—(Hear, hear.) He could assure
the High Sheriff and the gentlemen present that he was
at his post in the House of Lords when that requisition
was set on foot ; and his absence should, therefore, ac-
count for his name not being put to it ; for there never
was a requisition on behalf of his countrymen sent to
him that he did not sign.—(Loud cheers.) But what
made him so anxious to attend this. meeting was the
attacks that he had seen made against the Mar-
quis of Normanby and this country in the Houses of
Lords and Commons.—(Hear, hear.) One objection
against the country was, that a general conspiracy against
the law existed in Ireland. That was a sweeping and a
severe attack against the people of this kingdom. But,
thank God, it was one that, without at all entering into
circumstances, could be defeated—it was an objection
that could not be defended. Oh he forgot, a conspi-
racy does exist, and no man can deny it. In 1829 the
Parliament of England—the Commons and the Lords,
and the King of that day—yielded to the imperative de-
mands of the people of Ireland. They yielded to the de-
mands of the entire people ; for he (Lord C.) might say
that the Catholics of Ireland formed the great body of
the people, seconded by all that was good, by all that was
industrious' and virtuous amongst their Protestant fel-
low countrymen, headed by the first Noblemen of the
land, the Duke of Leinster—(Great cheering)—
whose absence that day was much to be lamented, but
which was caused by the death of one of his family.
Some six or eight Peers headed this virtuous portion of
the Protestant community, amongst whom he (Lord C.)
had the happiness to reckon himself.—(Hear, hear.)
Those Noblemen headed the good and virtuous Protes-
tant people of Ireland in demanding for their fellow-
countrymen equal rights and equal justice—they de-
manded no more, and they would not be satisfied with
less, If the people of Ireland were Protestants and
not Catholics, and if a small portion of the people were
Catholic, and kept the patronage and plunder of the
country to themselves, the Parliament of England would,
very soon have redressed their wrongs, and would not
have permitted them to remain for centuries groaning
under misrule and oppression.—(Hear.) He (Lord C.)
gave credit to the present Ministry, and to those
who preceded them, for the beneficial measures
which they had carried into effect in favour of Ireland—
that system of injustice, hitherto pursued, had been over-
thrown, and the people of this country might hope for
happier days than they had hitherto enjoyed, for he
should say that when lie was a young man be scarcely,
dared to hope that he would ever see equal justice ad-
ministered in his own loved country.—(Hear, and
cheers.) But with respect to the conspiracy to which
he alluded, it was necessary to trace it to its origin,
and to those individuals who concocted to those
men who for centuries had battened on the misfortunes
of Ireland, and who rioted in their luxury at the
expense of those to whom they refused to mete out
even-handed justice.—(Hear, hear.) Those men, in
1829, when emancipation was granted, said, we will con-
spire, and we will prevent those who have been placed
upon a footing with us from becoming members of our
corporations, in either city or town—we will prevent
them from having a fair participation in the rights, pri-
leges, and immunities from which they had been so long
debarred, hut to which they have now been made
eligible. That had been done—( Hear)—and that is
the conspiracy to which he alluded, and it had suc-
ceeded to a great extent—(Hear, hear)—and he (Lord
C.) was sorry for it ; but the fact could not be denied,
for a Committee of the House of Commons had made
an expost's of their system, and by that exposure the
fabricators of that foul conspiracy were placed in such
a predicament as to render it totally impossible for
them to show their faces amongst the honest and
virtuous portion of mankind.—(Hear.) They were
driven to " hide their diminished heads" in holes and
corners, lik the bats and owls. Their deeds were
dark and infamous, and, therefore, they dreaded the
light of reason, truth, and justice. In fact, they literally
conspired against the Sovereign and against her sub-
jects.—( He ar, hear.) It was not necessary for him
(Lord C.) to tresspass at any length upon the time of
' the meeting. His sentiments were well known, not
only to the people of Kildare but to the people of Ire-
land. He would not, therefore, trespass upon the time
of the meeting any longer, as there were men much
younger than he was waiting to addressp the meeting,
wouldmeetlng,
and he was most anxious to hear them. He
conclude by reading the resolution, which it was put
into his hands for the purposo of submitting to the
meeting. The Noble Lord here:read the resolution,
and concluded by saying that he most cordially
concurred in the sentiments contained in it. He
was, he slid, throughly convinced of the propriety of
that resolution. He (Lord C.) had conversed
with the Noble Marquis since his departure from
this country, and his whole anxiety was to serve Ireland,
and to preserve that station which he so justly held in
the hearts and in the affections of Irishmen.—(Hear,
hear.) He (Lord C.) would say one word upon the
subject of mercy, which it was said ho had abused. lie
was not in the habit of intruding himself upon his Lord-
ship,
for he (Lord C.) was now at that time of life which
induced him to prefer the silence .
of retirement to the
bustle and confusion of an active : but he (lid call
upon his Lordship for a remission of a sentence passed
upon an individual whom he thought deseravpepdeaarceodmmmous-t
commu-
tation of his sentence, and his Lordship
anxious to grant the request—but, said he, I will give
you the notes of the Learned Judge,
go
and
hear
what he says, and if he does not satisfy you
that he deserved the punishment inflicted upon
him, I will pardon him.—(Hear, hear, and loud
cheers.)
Baron de RoaEcx seconded the resolution.
The third resolution was proposed by the Hon. F.
PONSONBY, and seconded by MARMADIIKE ROBERTS,

Esq.
Sir JoHN KusNEDY proposed the fourth resolution,
and JOHN H. NANGLE seconded it.
The Earl of MILTOWN said that it was his pleasing
task to propose that an address, which had been pro-
posed by a Committee of gentlemen selected for that
purpose, should be presented to their late most excel,
lent Lord Lieutenant.—(Cheers.) He had not, as
yet, read the address. Of this he was convinced, that
it could not too adequately express what the people of
this country owe to the Noble Lord who so lately held
the reins of Government in this country, but although
he had not read that Address, the Committee to whom
its preparation was intrusted was a sufficient guarantee
to him (Lord M.) that it would be such a one as
would be fit to present to our late Noble Viceroy. He
(Lord M.) should trespass upon the time of the meet-
ing but for a very short period, indeed, as there were
others to follow more adequate 'to address them that he
(Lord M.) was. The Marquis of Normanby was ac-
cused by his enemies and the enemies of the people of
having administered the law with justice and mercy.
That is the only charge brought against him by the
enemies of the people and of good government—that

having seen the Orange mode of administering the law
—that having witnessed a strong system of coercion,
the pitch-cap, the triangle, the riding-house, and, finally,
the gibbet, resorted to in order to render the Orange
regime pleasing to the people—that having seen all
these put into operation in vain, he tried what mercy
might achieve.—(Cheers.) He did that, and no more,
and if his plan has so admirably succeeded in tran-
quillising this country—if mercy and forgiveness could
do so much, must not that system which the enemies
of the country carried into frightful operation be bad ?
And is not its total failure a degrading proof of how
base that mode of governing a generous people must
have been, when, in place of tranquillising the country,
it drove it almost to the brink of ruin ?—(Hear, hear.)
Another great crime brought against the Noble Mar-
quis was this—that he, or his Secretary, ventured to
remind the proprietors of Ireland, " that property had
its duties as well as its rights."—(Hear, hear, and
cheers.) Yes, that truism appeared so strange to every
one of those Noble Lords, who sent forward a very
factious address, that they made it a great charge
against him and his Government, and they were
cheered in the House of Lords when they brought for-
ward this most grave and serious accusation against the
Noble Marquis—but did those " most potent, grave,
and reverend Seignors" believe that they will, every one
of them, have to appear before another tribunal, before
which the peasant and the prince are equal, with whom
the rights of the peasant are as sacred as those of
the prince ? Did they believe that although they may
escape punishment in this life, there is a great and
a terrible account to be rendered hereafter for
the use which they make of the power with which
God's providence has invested them, not for their own
aggrandisement, but for the welfare, the benefit, and
comfort of the poor ?—(Cheers.) And so help him God,
it was his firm belief that they will yet be tried and
brought to account before that awful tribunal, for the
misery they have caused, and not only that, but they
will be held responsible for the crimes that have been
committed, and the blood that has been shed by those
poor creatures whom they have driven to desperation •
and destruction. The crimes of the oppressed will be
visited upon the head of the oppressor.—(Hear, and
cheers.) The Government, like Lord Normanby had
been assailed. He (Lord M.) came not there to defend
any man or set of men. Measures not men had always
been his principle, and although he was not one of
those who looked forward with dread at the
resumption of office by a Tory ministry—oh!
no—he did not dread that, for even if a Tory Ministry
came into power to-morrow, the people of Ireland
were too strong to permit any set of men to rob them
of their rights—(Cheers)—but if a Tory Ministry crept
in upon the shoulders of Lord Roden, the people of
Ireland should rally together—they should become
united as one man—for the appearance of the Tories
once more in power would be the beginning of a despe-
rate struggle in Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) The Noble
Lord concluded a very eloquent and animated speech
by saying, that he had to attend another meeting of his
fellow-countrymen in the county of Dublin, where he
would express his sentiments more at length upon the
subject. He then moved that the address should be
read and adopted.

Mr. O'FERRALL, M.P., was the next speaker. He
was succeeded by Mr. GRATTAN, who concluded a long
and eloquent speech, by stating his intention to move,
when the Sheriff vacated the chair, an address to the
Queen, praying of her not to change her present Mi-
nisters.

At the suggestion of Mr. PONSONBY, Mr. Grattan
afterwards withdrew the address to her Majesty.
Several other gentlemen addressed the meeting,
amongst whorß was a Protestant clergyman, the Rev.
Mr. Hoare, rector of Clunc, who sat down loudly
cheered.

' A vote of thanks to the High Sheriff was then unani-
mously passed, after which the meeting separated.

PRECURSOR SOCIETY—MEETING AT THE
CORN EXCHANGE.
The adjourned meeting of the Precursor Society was
held last Monday at the Corn Exchange. The chair
was taken by T. O'Mearta, Esq.
Mr. O'Connell's arrival was here announced by loud
and continued cheering.
Mr. Ray read the minutes of the last day's proceed-
ings, and the correspondence, including a letter from
Mr. Richard Murphy, Secretary to the Stalybridge
(Manchester) branch of the Precursor Society, enclosing
to Daniel O'Connell, Esq., 2/. is., being second re-
mittance from the patriotic Irish operatives of that
locality.
Mr. O'CONNELL—I have great pleasure, Sir, in
moving that the honest men whose names are mentioned
in that letter he admitted members of the Society ; and
I have still greater pleasure in being enabled to mention
that the Irishmen resident throughout England, how-
ever they may universally and cordially concur with
theni in advocating the principles of Universal Suffrage,
and Triennial Parliaments, and Vote by Ballot, have
kept aloof, with very few exceptions indeed, from the
torch-light and dagger men—( Hear, hear, and cheers)
—and I may go still further, and say that the
number of Chartists themselves who advocate the prin-
ciples of violence and physical force is exceedingly small ;
so that if you take away some eight or ten from the
entire body, you will have a lot of as honest and as ra-
tional men as any in the world.—(Hear, hear.) If,
then, the great mass of the English Reformers be so
sound and healthy a body, why should they not
confine themselves to those just, and reasonable, and
legitimate objects, for which the entire.. people may
co-operate with them ? Let them do so, and the
entire people will come forward as one man, and
hold out to them the hand of fellowship and good
feeling.—(Cheers.) Mr. O'Connell then observed that
he was the advocate of Household Suffrage. It might
be said that Household Suffrage would exclude
some of the worthiest and most intelligent of the com-
munity ; but he would give to every father of a fa-
mily, or married man, or widower, the right of voting,
even although he might only be a lodger. As to Uni-
versal Suffrage, it was not possible that it could exist.
The women are taxed, and yet it is not proposed that
they should have votes. Persons under 21 years of age
are not to have a vote—or those convicted of disgrace-
ful crimes—or those who labour under idiotcy or insa-
nity. There is no such thing as Universal Suffrage.—
( Hear, hear, hear.) The Learned Gentleman then al-
luded to Annual Parliaments, and said that if a person
were only elected for a year, it would not be worth
while making a struggle against him. In the United
States they had not the example of Annual Parlia-
ments. lie would say, let the period be three years
at once. Then he was for the principle of free trade.
—(Hear, hear, hear.) Free trade in everything, for
monopoly could never be any good to a people. The
Corn-laws, notwithstanding that wiseacre, Mr. O'Dowd,
could not be of any use to the people, and, among other
reasons, because they did not give fixed prices ; but
they were of use to the grinding landlords, who, when
there were high prices, ground their tenants to the dust,
and left them to shift for themselves when prices were
low. Mr. O'Connell concluded by referring to the in-
equality in the Parliamentary representation of Ireland
as compared with England.
Several letters were read, inclosing contributions to
the Precursor Society.
Mr. O'CONNELL handed in the subscripton of his
twentieth grandchild—(Daniel John O'Connell). The
motion was received with laughter and acclamation.
The CHAIRMAN—May God make him a better man
than his grandfather.—( Laughter.)
Mr. FITZGERALD rose to move a series of resolutions
calling for returns in the House of Commons of the
tenants who had been dispossessed in Ireland from the
year 1830 to 1839, with the number of their families,
and other particulars relating to them. He moved the
returns as an assistance to the Noble Lords in the in-
quiry which they were about prosecuting so zealously
into the state of Ireland.
Mr. O'CONNELL suggested that, in point of order, Mr.
Fitzgerald could not move those resolutions without
giving previous notice of his motion ; however, if he
thought fit, his present observations might stand as
a notice of motion for next meeting.
Mr. FITZGERALD said that he could not be in town
on the next day of meeting, and the resolutions were
consequently withdrawn.
Mr. O'CoNNELL—Mr. Chairman, I now rise, in pur-
suance of a notice given on the last day of meeting, for
the making of regulations for further extending the Pre-
cursor Society ; but I do not rise, Sir, so much for the
purpose of moving on that notice as for the postponing
any motion founded on it to the next day of meeting.—
(Hear.) The events which have taken place, and the
symptoms which are appearing hourly in the political
world, seem to warn us that we have no necessity to take
any such measures.—(Hear and cheers.) In Dublin the
arrangements for next Sunday are complete, and all pre-
liminary matters perfectly arranged. A preparatory meet-
ing was held in Limerick yesterday, to make similar ar-
rangements, and preparations of alike nature are making
in every part of Ireland. Thus, I hope all Ireland will
arouse itself on this important occasion. All Ireland
will be up and stirring.—(Cheers.) You are aware
that a meeting will be held to-morrow (this day) at a
theatre in Dublin, and you know the object for which
that meeting is called. The circumstance of the sea-
son causes the meeting to be held in such narrow limits
as those of a theatre, although there are names to the
requisition of persons who would be sufficient more
than twice to fill the theatre ; but it will be necessary
to make a demonstration, and after to-morrow we will
show Lord Ebrington what kind of reception is pre-
pared for him in Ireland.—(Loud cheering.) We will
show him how ready Irishmen are to express their
gratitude even before they receive an act of justice, when
they know that the good will and desire to perform
it exists.—(Hear, and loud cheers.) The meeting to-
morrow will be adjourned to this day week, and must
be held in the Coburg Gardens, or on the piece of
eTound which we have inclosed on the northern road
near Glasnevin, or on the green at Harold's-cross, or
in some such place, where the people can show them-
selves in all their numbers ; and then our enemies may
come if they chose and count us.—(Cheers and
laughter.) This other and distinct agitation is got up
for the purpose of merging the entire people in the