The Sun.
London, England, 1824-06-16 00:00:00

MR. OWEN

TO THE
BRITISH NATION.

On Monday night I made a last appeal to the
British Legislature on the subject of the appoint-
ment of a Committee to examine the measures
which I have been for some time preparing to
give relief to the Inhabitants of Ireland.
The offer was rejected, and my Lord LAUDER-
DALE added, that the proposal ought to be treat-
ed with contempt. Fortunately for those, who
are now in poverty, in ignorance, and in misery,
and no less fortunately for his Lordship and his
compeers, his Lordship's wishes are not likely to
be gratified.
I have a high and important duty to perform
for my fellow-creatures, and I deem no efforts
which I can make, no cost which I can support,
too great, in obtaining the object before me in the
most legitimate and best manner. The present
Session of Parliament, now about to expire, has
been occupied by me in various attempts to
ascertain whether the executive Goverment
and the Legislature could be induced to
enter fairly and honestly on measures that would
give to the people the advantages which the late
improvements in science, and the rapid advance
in general knowledge, ought to afford them ; and
I purposely carried these applications to the ut-
most extent that I thought the Cabinet and
Parliament would bear, without my being deemed
offensively rude to both. I have likewise at-
tended the RICARDO Lectures, delivered by Mr.
M'CuLLocn, with the view of ascertaining what
practical knowledge could be obtained from the
theories of the modern Political Economists,
which are known to govern the opinions of many,
who are considered among the most liberal and
enlightened of our Legislators. And I have also
mixed freely with individuals, who form part of
the great public, to learn whether the governing
powers, or the mass of the people, were the
more advanced in the acquirements requisite for
the general improvement of Society.
These inquiries and proceedings have led me to
conclude, that no parties are satisfied with what
has been done, and is doing ; that a strong con-
viction exists in the minds of the members of
the Legislature and' of the Public, that, with the
enormous powers at the command of this empire,
Ireland ought not to be in the condition it is,
nor the mass of the people in this and in other
countries in the ignorance, poverty, and degra-
dation in which they are; that a very general
desire pervades all ranks to adopt some measures
for the improvement of Ireland, and of the work-
ing classes generally; but that in consequence of
the previous education of the world confining the
attention of each individual to his own imme-
diat interest, and to his own limited circle,
few minds have yet been formed to comprehend
the general interests of mankind, and still fewer
to acquire the experience by which individual
and general interests can be united in practice
for the benefit of all.
On this account there is a mental and moral
dissatisfaction between the Governors and the
Governed, an universal agitation in the minds of
all, and a general expectation that some great
change, some contest between error and truth,
between ignorance and intelligence, between
despotism and rational liberty, is before us, and is
fast approaching.
These are the impressions which, according to
my ideas, at present pervade the civilized world.
What is there now to be done ? What mea-
sures can relieve from this dilemma ? Has not
the Legislature virtually proclaimed its inability
to adopt any practical proceedings for an imme-
diate effectual relief ? Have not Ministers reite-
rated, in almost every debate in both Houses of
Parliament, during this and the last session, that
they ardently desire to relieve the inhabitants of
Ireland from their sufferings, but that the causes
of the evils are of such long standing, and so
deep-rooted, that they know not how to remove
them ?

The truth is, that the Legislature is so in-
volved in the errors of the system by which all
these sufferings have been engendered and perpetu-
ated that they cannot of themselves proceed one
step further in advance ; and it is through the
public voice alone that they can be enabled
to move forward in a right direction. The
practical measures which can alone relieve
Ireland from its ignorance, its poverty, its
irritations and its miseries, are to be found
in a well digested and comprehensive plan which
shall give perpetual advantageous employment to
her people, secure them, not a nominal, but a
substantial, useful education, and which shall
supersede her present violent and uncharitable
religions, by one of real charity and genuine
kindness.

Want of employment, want of education, and
want of religious freedom, are the palpable causes
of the present state of things. For Government
any longer to occupy themselves in useless attempts
to discover any other cause of Ireland's degradation
and of their own disgrace, is a waste of time and a
mockery of the public feelings. All perceive the
causes of the evils, but they want sufficient moral
courage to express what they know ; it is a
remedy for these evils that must be found and
applied, before any substantial relief can be ef-
fected for that country or for society.
But can that relief be looked for from Legis-
lators, who have been trained to speak, bat who
are too fettered to act ; or, if not too fettered,
are too inexperienced to know how to act under
the new circumstances in which society is now
placed ? No. The next advance for the benefit
of mankind must be effected by a union of in-
telligent, scientific, and practical men, who, out
of the chaos and clashing interests of existing
society, shall coolly and dispassionately select
the invaluable and inexhaustible materials, which
the arts and sciences can now so richly supply,
and form a new arrangement of those materials,
which shall be purposely devised to create
union throughout society, and to secure to each
individual the greatest attainable advantages,
mental and moral.

My experience leads me to know that this is
the course which must be pursued ; and, in con-
sequence, with the aid of several benevolent in-
dividuals, I have prepared, as a preliminary mea-