The Sun.
London, England, 1838-12-21 00:00:00

THE WORKING MEN'S ASSOCIATION.
Last night there ens a numerous meeting of the members
of this Association at the Hall of Science, Commercial-place,
City-road, for the purpose of taking into consideration the
present state of the country, and to determine upon the most
efficient means of organizing the men of London in support of
the National Convention.
Mr. FEARGCS O'CONNOR was unanimously called to the
chair amid the most enthusiastic cheering. The Learned
Gentleman then proceeded to address the meeting to nearly
the following effect:—Working men and brother Radicals
find, notwithstanding the attempts of a Whig- Radical, sham-
Radical Newspaper, called the Morning Advertiser, to intimi-
date you from attending here this evening, that all their at-
tempts have fallen to the ground harmlessly, fur I see before
me crowds of my brother Radicals—( Cheers)—and in addition,
females, who have such confidence in the peaceableness of our
conduct, that actually many of them have brought their in-
fants in their arms.—(Cheers.) The Morning Advertiser,
according to Whig-Radical parlance, has got a revolutionary
article in this morning's Paper, but, Whig-like—O'Connell
like—it denounces me, and conjures all to:beware of Feargus
O'Connor and his physical-force men, whereas in its article its
the very next article, it justified physical force being re-
sorted to, if it was necessary.—( Great cheering.) I
have ocly seen that Paper since I entered this room,
but I see it asks what this meeting is convened for?
Why the editor of that Paper might have known, if he
had chosen, but as he would seem to be ignorant I will tell
him, and in doing so I wish him to understand, not for
the purposes of the master of the Advertiser.—(Cheers.)
The editor of the Advertiser, ignorant of the object of these
meetings ! Why, he has had two reporters attending the meet-
ings that have hitherto been held, for the purpose of seeing
whether I committed myself or my party, and because I did
not do so, because I recommended the adoption of moral and
not physical force, not a word of either of the meetings has
been reported.—(Cries of " Shame, shame.") These meet-
ings, my Friends, are called to disabuse the minds of the men
of London, and I declare, before you and my God, that we
have been most falsely charged, and most maliciously misre-
presented ; and upon those false charges and malicious misre-
presentations we have been denounced by the 211-rning Adver-
tiser.—( Cries of " Shame !") Now, to show the editor of the
Morning Advertiser, that I do not:shrink, from his attacks,
here I stand ready to defend myself, and to explain the objects
of the present meeting. No doubt the 111,rning Advertiser
finding out that I have not and do not intend to utter treason,
nor commit my own party, no doubt that Paper has not sent
any reporters here to-night.—(Gries of, " Shame.") Except,
indeed, being frightened at its own shadow, some of its myr_
midons are here in the character of spies.—(Great cheering )
The Morning Chronicle has also denounced me, but it now
declares that I have become more moderate than I was when
1 was in the north, that I have spoken in favour of capital_
that I was fur protecting capital—to be sure I am, because it
is in the sinews of the:working man; but these asses when they
get behind a goose quill.—(Great laughter)—seated in their
garrets, it is astonishing what tom-foolery they will indulge in
—(Great laughter)—and that, too, with the utmost compla-
cency, behind the ridiculous andpompous— ll'e.—( Laughter. )
That pompons word signifying probable some conceited fool
stuck up in a garret.—(Laughter.) These men are just like
Barristers—l admit that lam one—(Laughter)—and they
arc all ready, as we all know, to speak according to their
pay.—(Cheers.) These asses think when they write an
article that pleases themselves that they have gratified the
whole world.—(Cheers.) Now you ought, my friends, to
know how to estimate these felloes.—(Cheers.) Why, if
there was a Newspaper in the market to morrow the paltry
sum of 51. would transfer it to Whig. Tory, or Radical.—
(Cheers.) I have termed myself the .National Gazette, be-
cause I do not hesitate to say that if it was not for me the
people, the real people—(Cheers)—would know little or
nothing, and it is because I open your minds to your just
rights that attempts are made to intimidate me. Why don't
they come here if they wish to do so —(Cheers.) I chal-
lenge the whole Press of London to meet me here face to
face, and not up the back-stairs, for that purpose._( Cheers.)
Let them come forward and show that I am acting upon false
foundations—that what lam doing will lead to destruction
and civil war—let them do that, and then I will admit that I
am wrong.—(Cheers.) It is my intention every night to ad-
dress the working classes, and I challenge the Editor of the
Morning Advertiser, and all the Press of London to attend,
to prove if they can the truth and justice of their denuncia-
tions.—(Cheers.) Let them, if they can, prove me to be
the mad demagogue and the fire-brand they have denounced
me to be.—(Cheers.) Let them only prove that, and the
working classes will be justified in abandoning me as their
greatest enemy—as one whose only object has been to involve
them in civil war.—(Great cheering.) It is not my wish,
it never was my wish, to produce such a state of
things.—(Continued cheering.) What has always been my
language to the Northerns ? Why, that moral force in effect
accomplished what others said they sought to effect by physi-
cal force.—(Cheers.) You may depend upon it, my
friends, that the man who recommends you to rush on
with physical violence will be the first man to desert
you.—( Cheers.) I recommend you, then, my friends,
to proceed by moral force, and be assured, if you do,
your objects will be accomplished.—( Cheers ) By moral
force, however, I do not mean the moral power of the Scotch
philosophers—(Cheers)—of their chippings of the Excise, and
of attacks on the tea-pot.—( Great laughter.) The people's
moral power is to make the men who have the cause of the
people at heart spend their last farthing in regenerating the
condition of the people.—(Great cheering.) lam happy, my
friends, to say that there are many men of fortune among us,
but they have all travelled at the expense of the people, with
the exception of myself.—(Cheers.) 1 have travelled at my
own expense—(Great cheering)—and if I had bushels of
money to-morrow, I would spend it all—so help me God I—in
the accomplishment of the great object we have in view, viz.,
Universal Suffrage. Now, what do they mean by physical
force? If you give a child a slap in the face, that is physical
force 1--(Cheers.) L And if a 94-pounder was fired upon the
people, what is that but physical force ?—(Continued cheer-
ing.) I have said to those who are rich Radicals, and who
have advised to strike work—l have said to them, " Strike
work first, in order to set us the example." Let them suspend
the discounting of bills—let them cease from their money
dealings—let them give up their commercial transactions if'
they are sincere—in short, let them, as I have before said,
strike first, and set the working men the example. If they did
so, all the alarm that has been created from physical force
would be rendered unnecessary. According to the Advertiser
as the mass of the people constituted the resisting force, they
were entitled to be heard. Stick those words, my friends, on
your banners, and write underneath " from the Morning Ad-
vertiser."—( Great cheering.) And if after that period you
find that paper in any house not advocating such doctrines, sum-
mon the landlord, and declare to him that his' ale did not
smack of the proper quality, and that his braady is not suffi-
ciently pure.--(Great cheering.) To those houses most of
you go to see the paper, for you cannot well afford sd. a day
for a paper, at least 4d. for the paper and Id. for the stamp.
—(Cheers.) Talk of capital, indeed 1 There was so little
capital there. Now what was the Advertiser? What it is I
can hardly say, but I can tell you what it is going to
be—it is going to be the organ of a sham-Radical
party—the only party that you, my friends have to dread.
—(Loud cheers.) Look with abhorrence upon all the
proceedings of any sham-Radical party. The co-operation
of the Press in such an object has been, and always
will be a fruitful source of revolution in all countries, The
follies of leaders will be pandered to by it, and the worst re-
sults may be expected. Universal Suffrage we are determined
to have, and that by moral force ; but the Whigs would as
soon have it by physical as by moral force. Their object is to
put the physical-force party and the moral-force party against
each other—not for the purpose, my friends, of doing the
people any good, but to get their own burdens reduced.
They seek to resist the claim of Universal Suffrage, but
the people will and must have it.—(Hear, and loud cheer-
ing.) Be, however, upon your guard. Looking to Ireland._
hots
aheretoforendNatruhatih
heGwt
eipoirtzvuh:etvirtl.nridl
omeomdweugnrn.ctre?i Why, rural
police were introduced, and then Ireland was coerced.—
(Great cheering.) What have we now to expect ? What
will Mr. O'Connell say ? Why, he had declared that he would
support the:People's Charter. He would get up in the House
of Commons and say, " True, Sir, I did pledge myself, to
support thelPeople's Charter. I am still prepared to do so.
I have the good of the working-classes of
odest
vfhttai,tynsphcheti
ioeisuenetsisoo,ntufri
nymatintiaritdyet-
heart, but I am afraid bad doctrines are being preached
byho w Fehaardg us she
beO'Connorcn
such being the case, I consider myself freed from the pledges
tloh
Working
jaos,ienmwa
cidtehl
a,
sat:needs .
LIoc(adGlol
riupon
al
able manner in which Mr. O'Connor mimicked the style of
Mr. O'Connell.) And then the Morning Advertiser will be
brought out to forward such objects ; and the Chronicle, and
the other Papers of the same way of thinking; and if I allow the
observations that are made in those Papers to pass by uncontra-
dieted, your cause, my friends, and that of the people, will be lost,
which no exertion (n my part shall be wanting to prevent. I
will neither shrink from trouble nor danger. Where danger
thickens Isvill meet it.._( cheers.)lknow
it
is the opinion
of one class of men—l allude to the money mongers—that we
are going too far ; they will find themselves most woefully de-
ceived•—( Cheers. ) Do you suppose that such men will give
you Universal Suffrage without a strong pourtrayal of your
moral power ? Do you suppose that they will consent to repeal
the Corn-laws ?to resign taxes and pensions? Do you suppose
that they will consent to the repeal of the obnoxious Poor-law
Act?—(Great cheering.) Do yeti suppose that they will
allow the working men to wear Sunday clothes every day ?
No, it was their wish to keep the working man living from
hand to mouth, becauseli)iiig h
by that stbmile bills.—(
( ycleers) T
suld prevent
whole
sy am f thevent
maoppressionnufacturer from
to which the working classes were s
tneua cotfu r
ex-
posed was baseder upon the most infamous principles. There
are many able workmen who, I have no doubt, notwithstand-
ing their abilities, would lose their Christmas dinner if they
did not continue to work up to the eve of that day. Why were
the Irish better agitators than the people of England—why
because they never began to agitate till they bad got their
potato-hole full, and then they could set at defiance the land-
lords and every one else. They never began to agitate till
they had got a six months' supply of potatoes placed in a cor-
ner. The English, however, cannot make such a provision.
Now I have shown you the impottance of the Press. Its im-
portance was indisputable ; and, but for the excellent manner
in ',which the spirited Editor of The Sun has given
reports of our meetings, they would have been ren-
dered worse than useless.—(Hear, and great cheering.)
But for the exertions of that Paper, a man's character might
have been taken away, and justice could not have been done to
us, misrepresented as we have been here, and by Mr. O'Con-
nell in Ireland.—( Cheers.) You little know my friends hoe

matters are managed in Ireland. A friend called upon me,
this day, from Cork, and he told mo that Mr. O'Connell had