The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-14 00:00:00

IRELAND.

DUBLIN, OCT. 12.—Conciliation Hall was again thinly
attended, at the meeting held this afternoon. Mr. Cos-
tello, barrister, was called to the chair, Mr. Ray read
the minutes of last day's proceedings, and ,
Mr. Jour; O'CoNNELL immediatelf:, announced a
"letter from his father"—(Cheers)—wbah he proceeded
to read, as follows :
" Derrynane Abbey, CahirciveeUct. 9, 1846.
"My dear Ray,—The objections Made (though I
think in many instances unwisely and unfoundedly
made) against the Labour-rate Act, seemed to render
necessary the meeting of Parliament to give additional
power to the Irish Government ; but the Lord •Liente-
nant has wisely, and I would add bravely, determined
not to wait for the tedious process of assembling Parlia-
ment and debating a new Bill, but to take upon himself
the risk and responsibility of making use of powers
sufficient to obviate every objection and conciliate
every interest, so as to be able to prectid with increased
and increasing rapidity in procuring wbges and food for
the people.
" It is quite true that an indemnity ,Bill may be re-
fused when Parliament assembles, btO he is ready to
incur the hazard, and to meet the tille .r, his anxiety
to obviate the immediate peril in wifeb the country is
involved. FF
Irmv:aig taken this responsibilittn himself, and

assuming every species of necessary , .torship, there's
no fear that he will stop short in 10s good work, or
adopt any half measurewhatsoover ; fully committed as
he is that his course lies straight Lefore him, it would
be a confession of error to hesitate or delay in taking
that course.

" We have, therefore, every righl to expect prompt
and efficacious measures—measures the most efficAcious
because the most proMpl.
" The people want two things::—the first—food, food,
food ; and next—wages to enable them to buy that
food. . .

" Food must be stored in depots In every convenient
locality. Bread stuffs of every kind must be poured in.
Every one who can afford it shoat purchase foreign
provisions of every kind.
"We must one and all co-operste with the Lord-
Lieutenant. I have no hesitation in saying that all parties
admit that he is a wise and bold flan, and everybody
expects from him energy, promptlude, anti decision,
to set the people at work, and to bring food within their
reach.
" I shall be asked whether I still think that a Na-
tional Committee' should meet in bublin. My answer
is ready—l decidedly think so. lio think that a Na-
tional Committee in Dublin would Ise most useful in en-
abling the Lord-Lieutenant to carryout his views, and I
am happy to see that the formation of such a committee
has become the object of avowed c3nsideration by men
of rank and large forturie, who are not connected with
me by any influences, or by any community of political
opinions.
" The emergency in which the co try is involved has
compelled them to see that the cotabined energy and
wisdom of the :lauded proprietors of` Ireland are abso•
lutely necessary to enable the 'People to escape from the
horrible evils which surround us, tu:d to make arrange-
ments for the incalculable dangers that menace us in
the apprehension of another and another year of pesti-
lence and famino.
,h--- tt of ti ter- times, 13' the

If there were a prospect of Lee.—
amelioration of the seasons in one, two, three, five, or
many months, then, indeed, matters might be allowed to
take their course without any special; intervention of the
landed gentry. But one year must, and many years
may, perhaps, elapse before we have arrived at anything
like the position of ordinary safety er security.
"It seems, therefore, the height ,of absurdity not to
make arrangements for the coming together of those
landed proprietors who are most interested in the wel-
fare of the agricultural population of Ireland. Men
should meet without distinction of party or religious dif-
ferences—all points of dissension should be buried in
oblivion—we should confine onratilves to discovering
remedies for the present position of affairs, fearful as
they are.
" All the meetings that have lately taken place on
the subject of the public distress have been perfectly
free from the taint of any political or sectarian dif-
ferences.
" There is one topic upon which it will be totally un-
necessary to deliberate, at least such is my humble but
strong opinion—l mean the calling for a speedy session
of Parliament. Such a measure at present, instead of
facilitating, would only serve to retard the modes of re-
lief which we have a right to look to from the energy
and promptitude of the Lord-Lieutenant. But there are
abundant topics for the consideration of the National
Committee exclusive of calling for a session of Parlia-
ment—topics that involve the imminent danger of the
lives of the entire agricultural population.
" It may be said that my taking so persevering a part
in suggesting the formationof a National Committee may
rather prevent than promote the meeting of such an as-
sembly; but it has not done so hitherto. Many, very
many landed proprietors have already taken up the
matter as their own, nor have they waited for the sug-
gestion of Mr. Bernal Osborne in order to show that
they did not shrink from a participation in my views on
the subject of the calamitous distress, by reason of my
difference of opinion with them upon important subjects
of a different nature.
" Mr. Bernal Osborne, indeed, has endeavoured to
coax them with a scrap of Latin to enter into my
plans. He has done me an essential injury by his un-
classic, because hackneyed quotation—' Fas est ab haste
doceri.'
" Yes, he does me great wrong. lam not the enemy
of the landed proprietors of Ireland: on the contrary,
I conscientiously believe myself to be their sincerest
friend. I believe that my counsels would most essen-
tially serve them.
" As to hostility, Mr. Osborne himself is a greater
adept in that quality than I am, as witness his snappish
attacks upon the Whigs—attacks which evince more
of piety than of sound policy. He may be quite sure
that with all his good qualities, and he has
many, he will not obtain any respect from the Irish
people by indulging in any under-current of animosity.
" Much better, indeed, would it be for him to join
with those who recollect that neither Whigs nor Tories
can ever permanently cure the heartsore of Ireland so
long as the Irish people are precluded from legislating
for their own country. From domestic legislation alone
is a permanent and perfect cure for the evils of Ireland
to be expected.
" There is one thing certain—that no Parliament
could possibly render the people of Ireland more miser-
able, more wretched, or less able to struggle against the
combinethe to assist the se pressing moments
of
pressure of even a casual calamity.
"Let us, then, never lose sight of the persevering
struggle for the restoration of the Irish Parliament, by
the repeal of the union.
horror, In
letthe meantime,
us
o and and
Lord-
Lieutenant in working out his plans of relief. Let us
combine heartily, readily, and perseveringly.
ne
" There is.one notion that should be corrected—it is,
all during
that the Labour-rate Act, as it passed into law, sanctions
no other than unprofitable works. There never was a
more absurd blunder committed by our newspapers than
such an assertion. It is true that in particular baronies,
such as that with which Mr. Monsell of Tervoe is con-
nected, where there is already a full sufficiency of roads
and bridges, the Labour-rate Act has those defects
which the Lord-Lieutenant is about, on his own autho-
rity, to correct. But that is the exception; the general
rule is otherwise.
" For example, in those western baronies in the county
of Kerry the good roads are scant and bridges few.
Here the roads and bridges, as presented at the special
sessions, are all productive works—that is, productive of
the greatest advantige to the occupiers and ratepayers ;
I repeat, they are emphatically productive works.
" I cannot conclude without regretting that the as-
tounding misery by which we are surrounded deprives
us of leisure even to remark how impossible it is for the
moral force principle to allow us to amalgamate in the
Repeal Association with the men of the sword. We do
not want to be banged ourselves, or to allow the people
to be hanged, to gratify the puerile vanity of insane de-
claimers ; but we will only persevere the more deter-
minedly to look for the repeal by means that will involve
no man in guilt or in danger—by means which can never
allow the sacrifice of property, or the shedding of one
drop of blood, With such principles and practice every
virtuous and wise msn rUay join us iTI the shout—Hurra
for the repeal !—Very respectfully you Ors,
" DANIEL 'CONNELL.
" T. M. Ray, En."