The Sun.
London, England, 1848-09-06 00:00:00

DINNER TO MR. REYNOLDS, MY,
IN CELEBRATION OF HIS TRIUMPH IN
THE DUBLIN ELECTION COMMITTEE.
On Saturday last a numerous and highly influential
company assembled at the Brunswick Tavern, Black-
wall, for the purpose of testifying their high respect for
the character and political services of Mr. Reynolds,
and also to congratulate that gentleman upon the victory
which ho achieved over his corrupt and vexatious op-
ponents in the recent Dublin Election Committee.
Among the distinguished gentlemen present were,
Lord Dudley Coutts Stuart, M.P., Mr. Wilcocks, M.P.,
Mr. Reynolds, M.P., Mr. George Thompson, M.P., Mr.
Wyld, M.P., the O'Gorman Mahon. M.P., Mr. Turner,
M.P., Mr. Locke, M.P., Mr. Clay, M.P., Mr. Devereux,
M.P., Colonel Tennyson, M.P., Mr. Carpenter Rowe,
the counsel of Mr. Reynolds, and Mr. G. Lewis Smyth,
his Parliamentary agent, Mr. Geeson, Mr. Keating Clay,
Mr. Hooper, &c., &c.
Lord DUDLEY COUTTS STUART, M.P., having been
called to the chair, proposed the usual loyal toasts.
Colonel TENNYSON, M.P., responded to " The Army
and Navy."
The CHAIRMAN then rose and said—Gentlemen, I
now come to the toast of the evening. We have
done honour to her Majesty and the Royal Family, we
have toasted the services which protect her Majesty's
dominions and people, and I confess I am impatient now
to come to what I have called the toast of the evening,
the object which has brought us together on this auspi-
cious occasion. I may be allowed to preface the toast,
by saying, that individually I myself feel the greatest
pleasure in being present at every opportunity where
Irishmen and Englishmen meet together.—(Cheers.) I
am one of those who desire nothing so earnestly or sin-
cerely as to behold a cordial union established between
all Irish and English hearts.—(Renewed cheers.) Ido
wish, and I have always done so, and I would that I
were able to do something more than merely wish, but
still I will wish most earnestly, that there should reign
between the two countries—which I am ashamed to call
two countries, because they ought to be one and the same—
the most perfect unity and good feeling. I think that
things will only be placed on their right and proper foot-
ing when there shall be no difference whatsoever be-
tween the inhabitants of one island and the inhabitants
of another.—(Cheers.) I am of opinion that we ought
all to be one, and all to possess the same privileges and
immunities; and I certainly do consider that we should
also bear the same burdens.—(Hear, hear.) But
at the same time I hold that there is no advantage or
privilege which Englishmen enjoy which ought not to be
enjoyed to as full and complete an extent by every Irish-
man in the sister country.—(Rear, hear.) I trust that
the day will come when that state of things will be rea-
lised. lam quite ready, both here and on every occa-
sion, when I have the opportunity, to do the utmost in
my power freely, cordially, and earnestly, to promote
that object.--e(Cheers.) Now, gentlemen, we are met
here to-day to do honour to an Irishman, who well de-
serves "hat name—to do honour to an Irish patriot, to
one who not only desires, but who has laboured for the
advantage and welfare of Ireland, as well as the entire
kingdom. We are met here this evening in
order to express our feelings of delight, and con-
gratulation, and enthusiasm at the success, after
a long and arduous conflict of our Honourable Friend, at
his triumph over all the difficulties which surrounded
him, at his victory over the devices of corruption and the
efforts of tyranny, at his frustrating the attempt to pre-
vent the largest and most important constituency in Ire-
land from sending as its representative in Parliament
the man of their choice.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I say
that, looking at the great object for which we are as-
sembled together, that this is pre-eminently a proper
occasion for the meeting of English as well as of Irish
patriots. In my judgment, it is ,indeed a great and noble
object which has convened us together, and we ought
to esteem it a privelege to be gathered to-day around
this board; and sure I am, that if this dinner had been
given at a time when gentlemen had been able to attend
who have since been unavoidably called away from
London; if it had been given at a time when it was pos-
sible for Members of Parliament to attend as
they would have wished, I am convinced that this
room would not be occupied, as it is now,
with a company whom I am most I:happy
to meet, a company of most honourable
and distinguished gentlemen, but we should have had
the presence of an immense number of Members of Par-
liament, anxious to testify their respect and admiration
of our Honourable Friend.—(Loud cheers.) I say that
the object for which we are assembled was sufficient to
collect large numbers of liberals of all shades of think-
ing. It would, indeed, have been sufficient to have
called forth a numerous assembly, had the object been
merely confined to the celebration of the defeat by our
Honourable Friend of the attempts of certain parties to
endeavour to prevent the constituency of Dublin from
sending to Parliament the man whom they thought best
fitted to be their representative; but when I look upon
my Honourable Friend and know what his character is,
what his standing in Parliament, and how he is thought
of in that assembly—when I know that he is not only
respected for his high character, but also that his
talents have caused him to be greatly admired—when I
know that there is that about him which, in spite of
some of his peculiar opinions, which I will not now go
further into than to say they are not popular amongst
the majority of the Members of the House of Commons
and the very circumstance of his honestly maintaining
his principles, although they are not popular in that
assembly, only enhances his merit for his fearless advo-
cacy of what ho believes to be right—(Hear, hear)—l
say, that looking at him in all these respects, and know-
ing that there is displayed in him such an amount of
talent, ability, and honesty—of that which I know not
actually how to describe, but something which certainly
has made him one of the most popular men in the Legis-
lature of the country—(Cheers)—l cannot doubt that if
there had been opportunity, this room, or even one twice
as large, would have been filled to' overflowing by his
friends and admirers in the House :of Commons, had
they been in London, for I am sure there is
hardly any Member of that House who would
not have been delighted to do honour to him,
and desire to record his satisfaction at the
termination of the labours of the Dublin Committee;
who would not have been anxious to come here, what-
evey might have been their political opinions, to testify
their admiration of his talents, and their respect for his
personal character.—(Cheers.) Gentlemen, I call upon
you all to join me, with full and flowing bumpers, in
drinking " Good health and prosperity to John Rey•
nolds, Esq., Member for Dublin."
The toast was then drunk with prolonged and most
enthusiastic cheering.
Mr. REYNOLDS, M.P., then rose, and said—My Lord
and Gentlemen, I am quite sure you will readily believe
me when I state that I have not a command of language
that would give you a sufficient idea of how highly I
appreciate the compliment you have paid me. My first
duty, my Lord, is to thank you for the extremely kind
terms in which you have introduced my health, and to
plead not guilty to some of the kind charges you have
brought against me.—(Cries of "No, no.") My Lord, I
ascribe much of the kind obligation and friendly exag-
geration in which you have indulged to that inherent
dispo'sition for which you are so remarkable, to speak
well of all men for whom you entertain a good
opinion. If anything could enhance this compliment
which has been paid me to-day, your presence in that
chair would do so, for, my Lord, I remember that:your
name is identified with every measure that has liberty
for its object, not only in your own country, but in fo-
reign climes, and that your high rank, connected as you
are with the highest order of the peerage, sinks into
perfect insignificance in the estimation of the people of
England :and Ireland, when compared with the full and
affectionate regard which they entertain towards'you as.an
apostle of rational liberty. Before I had the honour of
your acquaintance I had read of you, and I must say,
even at the risk of being charged with that which Icer-
tainly would wish to plead not guilty to—that of praising
a man to his face—that I had strong preposessions in
your favour. I remember your manly and determined
struggles in favour of enslaved Poland.—(Cheers.) I
frequently thought that there was something parallel in
the case of Ireland and that of Poland. lam not sur-
prised, my Lord, that, having patronised the oppressed Poles, you should raise your patriotic voice occasion-
ally in behalf of the oppressed Irish.—(Cheers.)
I am
one of that race—one of that chosen race, certainly ;
perhaps I have been so selected because the class that I
belonged to were formerly oppressed. Thanks be to God,
my Lord, no class in Ireland is oppressed now. If there
is a great deal of misery in Ireland, it is not of a secta-
rian or political character, it is the oppression of po-
verty and long suffering; but at all events the enlightened
march of liberal legislation has struck down political and
religious oppression, and we have now this comfort—that
there is a perfect uniformity in our state of degradation.
—(Laughter.) My Lord, I am to a certain extent ac-
customed
.to compliments of this kind. I have some-
times received from my fellow-citizens marks of their ap-
probationtestimonials
inmy the
ownfestive
na t board.ive cicity;
;and have
uponrectehi received e
Ida
stth oseoc-
casion, when a compliment of this kind was paid:me, we
had about the festive board close upon 1,000 of the elec-
mtDoeruesbtl9linfugDhsuhabdoli,unlw.dithhlaotvuewttaaashn
any
qnou
fi
.pt el aenaturalthose
aaul thatt
ch
tteihe
peopleae ts festivewhich
occuraantds oiinn
intimidation,
me
Jattiein ;on::
achievedt e shape
a great of by.
1 y
upon the principle of purity of election. I was the
humble instrument in their hands, andihaving used me as
thatinstrument, they '
properly celebrated their victory;
but my Lord, highly as I appreciated that triumph,
and festive meeting, it sinks into:perfect insignificance
in my mind, in comparison with the present, because
this is a meeting of English Members of Parliament
and of Englishmen to do honour to an Irish popular
representative.—(Cheers.) When we remember, my
Lord, that you represent probably the largest and most
intelligent—and, if it is a make-weight in the scale in
your favour, the wealthiest constituency in the British
empire—l do feel that your presence in that chair to-
night is another great mark of honour in our favour.
It is something like an attempt on the part of the elec-
tors of Marylebone to shake hands with the electors of
Dublin.—(Loud cheers.) When I recognise, also, my
friend Mr. George Thompson, the Member for the
Tower Hamlets—(Hear, hear)—and. when I observe
other English Members of Parliament here, it seems to
me as though you were stretching out the hand of your
national affection towards my country. My Lord, al-
though no man living has stronger notions of Irish na-
tionality shan I have, I would not give you a fig for