The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-25 00:00:00

people out of doors the greater necessity for the carrying of
this measure. —(Cheers. ) And the only thing that can pos-
sibly be substituted for the proposition of the Right Hon.
Baronet will be the immediate repeal of the corn-law instead
of the three years' delay which he has proposed.—
( Cheers.) And when I hear the. Noble Lord, the Member
for Lynn (Lord G. Bentinck), talking in the way in which
he does, with all that unconsciousness in using arguments that
have been often refuted, which must arise from his having
given his attention exclusively to other subjects for the
last twenty years—( Hear, hear, and laughter)—and which
has made hint wholly unacquainted with public measures.—
( Continued laughter.) When I hear him talking that way,
and when I hear him boasting of being backed by 240 of the
gentlemen of England—when I hear them cheering when he
talks that way—why, when I see such a grievous and ridi-
culous delusion existing in the minds of Honourable Gentlemen
in this House, and stating that that delusion is the public
opinion on this subject—l do feel anxious that if it were pos-
sible the Right Hon. Baronet could appeal to the country—
(Cheers, and counter-cheers from the protectionists)—with-
out any great inconvenience to the trade of the country—
( Laughter from the protectionists)—without any incon-
venience to the private business of this House, I do say that I
feel anxious that you should appeal to the eountry on this
question. (Loud cheers.) The country will make
such an example of Honourable Gentlemen of the
country party as they do not anticipate.—( Loud cheers )
The proposition of the Hon. Gentleman is to open the ports
for Ireland. Now, has he considered the practical effect of
opening the ports for Ireland, leaving the ports shut in
England?—( Cheers.) Has he not given us the details of a
measure which he has in preparation to be brought in by
himself and the Noble Lord opposite, the Member for Lynn ?
I suppose then he will have some contrivance to prevent the
introduction of provisions from Ireland into England.—
( Hear, hear.) Because, if he is not prepared with some plan
of this sort, -eeing that we have no custom-h ouses between
the two islands, there is no possible means of prevenng the
free circulation of American corn by substituting American
provisions for Irish provisions brought into this country. The
Noble Lord has told us that in Ireland what is wanted is
money, and not provisions, and I have heard the assertion
often repeated both by the Noble Lord and some of his sup-
porters who sat around him. New, if I understand the state
of things in Ireland rightly, there is a positive deficiency in
the necessaries of life ; and has there not been a partial, if not
a total failure, of the potato crop, which forms the staple food
of millions of the people of Ireland ? I presume there is no one
here bold enough to deny that proposition. How, then, will
money supply a deficiency of food? If the people of Ireland
had gold in equal proportion to their perishing potatoes, it
would not supply them with food. Oh, but, it is said, you
have plenty of corn, had you money to purchase it ; and be-
cause you have not that money, this corn is being sent to
England. Now, do I understand the Hon.': Member rightly ?
Has he a proposition for stopping that corn being sent to Eng-
land ? If he has, what are the millions of people. who depend
upon the 10,000,000 of Irish provisions, which the Noble
Lord the Member for Lynn says annually come from Ire-
land, to do for their food ? The Honourable Member
for Limerick leaves the people of England out of the ques-
tion altogether, and is endeavouring to stop the pro-
press of the measure of the Right Honourable Baronet.
He is trying, by a compact with the Noble Lord the Member
for Lynn, to have a bread-tax upon the people of England,
while he opens the ports for Ireland. But I will not detain the
House by going into arguments to show that Ireland, as well
as England, would be benefited by a repeal of the corn-laws.
Whenever I wanted a stronger appeal than another to make to
the people of England, I produce the greatest effect when I
instance the case of Ireland. You say yourselves that those
people are livingupon water-cresses, sea-weed, and turnip-tops,
and is not this sufficient to prove that the corn-laws have been a
curse rather than a benefit to them? I agree with my Hon.
Friend the Member for the county of Cork, that the repeal of
the corn-laws will have the effect of extending manafactures in
Ireland. They had the best possible proof of this.
Establish free-trade in corn, and von open a trade
across the Atlantic, with the United States of
America. A people with these advantages must be idle
indeed not to avail themselves of it. The Irish people, how-
ever, are not idle, they are enterprising, and will avail them-
selves, if the opportunity is given them, of the natural advan-
tages and facilities which their country presents for extending
their commerce and manufacture. Manufactures will spring
up on the west coast of Ireland beside those splendid streams
which abound there, if you only enable them to purchase
their corn from America, and to open an unrestricted trade
across the Atlantic. I feel most anxious not to trespass upon
the time of the House now. I have intruded but seldom in
this debate, for I am anxious not to be a party to any proceed-
ing that may delay the progress either of the Coercion Bill or
the corn-laws. I deeply regret, indeed, that these two measures
should come into competition with each other, and I am quite
sure that the people of England are vexed and distressed at it.
During the recess I was called upon repeatedly to hold great
public meetings in Manchester, and in London, in order to re-
monstrate upon the delay occasioned by this debate, but the
question I asked myself was, " Who shall we remonstrate with ?"
I did not know who to blame, nor do I now I can't blame the
Government, because if I were disposed to do so, I see they are
already blamed so much that I cannot add to the load the
weight of my censure. Then again, I have no right to blame
the Members for Ireland, for it is not for me to judge as to the
extent to which they deem it to be their duty to oppose the first
reading of this Bill. I leave them to be the sole judges, be-
cause I should claim the same right myself, of the course and
policy which they ought to adopt. I deeply regret, never-
theless, that this obstruction has taken place. And I trust
that Honourable Gentlemen, coming from Ireland, will, at all
events, ask the co-operation of Gentlemen on their
own side of the House. who are quite as near
in alliance with them in endeavouring to get good for Ire-
land as the Noble Lord opposite. '1 ney ought not to blame and
dispense censure upon the Liberal Members of the House, in
the hope of seeking and obtaining the confidence of Hon. Gen,
tiemen opposite; and, at all events, I hope that on this side of
the House we may manage to preserve good humour. I do
not despair that on another evening after this we shall be able
to advance towards the corn-law question, in which seriously
Ireland is more deeply interested than in anything else.
Mr. W. MILES was quite ignorant of any compact exist-
ing between the Hon. Member for Limerick and the party
which was so ably heady by the Noble Lord the Member for
Lynn.He believed, according to the customary rules and cour-
tesy, the Hon. Member for Limerick gave his Noble Friend
notice of his intention to put the question he has propounded
this evening, and that was the only compact, if compact it
could be called, which existed between the Hon. Member and
the protectionist party. He had nothing whatever to do with
the long speech whicn the Hon. Member for Limerick had
made in putting his question ; but, of course, he and his
party were pledged by the answer given by his Noble Friend.
It would be remembered, that on the first night of the
debate on the corn-laws, he stated to the Government that they
were ready to throw open the ports, if it were necessary to re-
lieve the suffering of the Irish people, and they were now ready
to take that step, if the Government required them. He was
not sorry that this short debate had taken place, for it enabled
all parties in that House to express their sympathy for Ireland,
and it was gratifying to see that all sides were desirous of doing
something to relieve the suffering of Ireland. Irish Members
would always find the party to which he belonged acting with
sympathy for Ireland, as far as it was possible for them to do
so, and they were now desirous of taking the first step towards
the social improvement of Ireland, namely, improving the lever
orders of society. That was not the time for entering upon
the question of the corn-laws, but he was happy indeed that the
debate had taken place, because it would show the House and
the country that however they might differ upon some points,
they were desirous of seeing some improvement introduced into
the sister kingdom.
Mr. SMITH O'BRIEN said he wished to ask a question
of the Right Hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury.
Sir R. PEEL—I can anticipate the question the Hon. Mem-
ber wished to put to me, and I will answer it without hesita-
tion. I apprehend the question to be whether lam prepared
to accept his proposition to repeal the corn-laws in respect to
Ireland for the period of three months? I say at once lam not
prepared to agree to it.
Mr. S. O'BRIEN was about to make an explanation, but
being called to order he resumed his seat.
Mr. B. DISRAELI—Before we go into a division upon the
question before the House, I cannot help reverting to some of
the observations made by the Hon. Gentleman the Member
for Stockport. He has treated us with a definition which
public men have often indulged in, and has threatened us with
the public indignation, and held up to us the horrors of public
reprobation. He has imitated many great examples by not
shrinking from defining and using a particular term for
the purpose of
street
antteoortld a,
men_ definition
Legislature.—(Hear. )
There is a celebrated of the same
re m
(
connected with three individualswhoLamugehttelin.) W
a
street in Stockport. )—( Hear, and
without the slightest exception, that the people of England are
persons who live in towns ; I think that definition, for I made
a note of it at the time, was loudly cheered by a gentleman,
the expression of whose opinion—of whose feelings, must always
make a great impression on this Hfiorsutsemainnidsteornotfhtehe cocrown,untri.
The Rright Hon. Gentleman, the
the moment the Hon. Member for
orinSdtoigcnkaptoirotn,
ohfeltdheuppewophlaet,
he called, the'. country party to the
indulged in a loud cheer. The moment thecouthnetryßpigahrtty
Hwoenre
threatened with the indignation of the peop e,
Baronet the First Minister of England cheers most lustily; :
i
and let it be remembered, that the threat was followed
.by
.a.
precise definition of what the people consisted of.
The people were defined to be persons living
towns, and this definition met with a very loud
Gies
cheer from the first Minister of the Crown. (
of .. No, no.") Yes, I repeat it ; immediately after the defi-
nition of the term people the Right Hon. Gentleman cheered,
which struck me at the time as rather strange, remembering as
I did that the cheer came from the same Right Hon. individual
who was once so fond of being at the head of the country gene
tleaen of England. The moment the Hon. Gentleman the
Member for Stockport defined the people as being persons
living in towns, and attempted, as he had often done before, to
control public opinion, by holding out a threat of public indig-
nation, saying that this sentiment of indignation would arise
from the people, who, in a most worthy and frank manner, he
defined to be persons who lived in towns, the Prime Minister of
England immediately cheered and accepted that definition.
Sir ROBERT PEEL—I totally deny it.—( Tremendous
cheering. )
Mr. B. DISRAELI—Sir, if the Right Hon. Baronet
totally denies it—if he means to say any thing I have stated is
false, of course I cease.—(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member
then sat down.
_ On the question being put for reading the order of the day
for resuming- the adjourned deb ite on the Coercion Bill,
Mw r. MAURICE O'CONNELL moved that the House do
no
mradjourn. —(Cries of " Oh, oh."
giving .
aSMITH O'BRIEN said he had now an opportunity of
aselptation, which the House had just refused
to hear.
from Ireland, fotalay, from papers which he had received
become so frightfuln that
the distress and suffering there had
some decisive step shouldtb it was imperatively necessary that
.taken to alleviate it. He, there-
fore, wrote the letter to which
Noble Lord the Member foirehLyhnen,hvradithaolrueady alluded to the
the Irish Members, who in trutho were not at
ware consultingo
f his
inten-
tion no!
tion till after the letter had been sent
Mr. NEWD.P. GATE said hewTs.hed to know whether he
Was right in tetienking that the Right Hon. Baronet at the
head of her Maj tat y's Government
that an assertion of his Hon. Friend, few minutes ago declared
the Member for Shrews-
bury, was false ?
Sir ROBERT PEEL—Certainly it
words I used we,se, " I totally deny I believe the
T
Man says I cheers id a particular exp!enmsasionofLee GGeennttllee--
man the Member for Stockport, namely, that persons in
towns had a riglet to dictate to the country party, and thus I
accepted the lb in. Gentleman's construction of the, word
"people." Agr in., I say, I totally deny it.
The Hon.
if lie thinks
Gentleman the AI ember for Coventry is iney
error,h
1 said anything tiled the Hon. Member for
Shrewsbury
had
said was false. I sa.id nothing of the kind.—( Loud
cheers.
NEWDEG. ATE begged to apologise for .havingee re.
m)•
s.
understood the Rig ht Hon. Baronet, but certainly the
im-
pression upon his mind was that the Right Hon. Baronet had
cheered the definition of the lion. Member for Stockport.
Mr. PETER BORTHWICK said, it was evidenttherewas a
misapprehension of the meaning of the Right Hon. Baronet,
but he regretted ehe Right Hon. Baronet did not rise to ex-
plain at the time Ins lion. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury
renewed his seat.----(Cries of " Oh, oh.")
Major MACN AMARA thought the Right Hon. Gentleman
at the head of heir Majesty's Government had already suffi-
ciently explained. He was not responsible for the speech of
the Hon. Gentle:a tan the Member for Stockport, or any other
Hon. Member, be t if he were, that was not the place to call
upon him to enplo in it,—(Laughter.)

Lord GEORGE BENTINCK was not in the House when
the Hon. Member for Stockport made his observations ; but
there certainly was an impression amongst Hon. Members near
him that the Right Hon. Baronet cheered a particular expres-
sion. His Hon. Friend was, therefore, justified in the remarks
he had made, but the Right Hon. Baronet having stated that
they were labouring under an erroneous impression, this dis-
claimer must be taken as perfectly satisfactory.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. H. HINDE said, he certainly thought the Right Hon.
Baronet cheered the definition, and he rose simultaneously
with his Hon. Friend the Member for Shrewsbury to protest
against what he considered very improper conduct.—(Oh, oh.)
Sir JAMES GRAHAM said, that after what had fallen
from his Noble Friend the Member for Lynn, it was very inex-
pedient and unnecessary to prolong the discussion upon this
subject. But as he (Sir J. Graham) had sat next to his Right
Hon. Friend at the head of the Government, he,perhaps was the
person most capable of giving an opinion upon this matter.
He must say that it was somewhat hard to call to account a
particular cheer of any man. He had warmly cheered the very able
speech of the Hon. Member for Stockport, and he had agreed
in many of the sentiments which the Hon. Gentleman
had expressed. He certainly did cheer, and he was not sure
that his Right Hon. Friend did not cheer the declaration that
whatever might be the opinion of that House with respect to
the passing of the measure for the freer importation of corn
into this country, whatever was the opinion of the represen-
tatives of the people, the people themselves had settled the
question long ago. He had certainly demurred from the defi-
nition of the Hon. Member for Stockport, that the inhabitants
of the towns constituted the people of this country. He dif-
fered from that definition when he heard it, and he was quite
sure that his Right Hon. Friend abstained from cheering then.
The Hon. Member for Shrewsbury was labouring under a
great mistake if he supposed that the Right Hon. Baronet at
the head of the Government had used any term which was in
the least degree inconsistent with the rules of that House in
positively denying the accuracy of the Hon. Member's impres-
sion. He had used no term imputing falsehood. He had
stated distinctly and firmly that he totally denied it. Surely
that was not inconsistent with the rules of the Howe when
an erroneous statement had been made.

Mr. MILES begged to corroborate what had fallen from
the Right Hon. Gentleman. He (Mr. Miles) was looking at
the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government at the
time this matter occurred, and he noticed that the Right Hon.
Baronet did not cheer.
Mr. J. S. WORTLEY also corroborated the statement.

Mr. BROTHERTON said his impression was that the
Right Hon. Gentleman did not cheer. He thought the
Hon. Member for Shrewsbury had grossly perverted the
whole matter.

Mr. CORBALLY said he was looking at the Right Hon.
Baronet at the time, arid he could state that the Right
Hon. Baronet did not cheer.

Sir R. PEEL—I totally dissent from the principle. I
do not recognise any right in any class of the people—any
sort of right to dictate to the country. Why then should I
cheer ?

Mr. COBDEN—The language which was used by the
Hon. Member for Shrewsbury is now adopted by the Right
Hon. Gentleman. I never said that the towns could dictate
to the country. In speaking of the people, I spoke of the
majority of the people,- and I apprehend that the majority
of the people of these Islands live in towns. I by no means
wish to say that they should dictate to the country, but in
all constitutional countries, I apprehend, that the majority
governs.
Mr. DISRAELI said he had never anticipated any dis-
cussion upon the subject. Of course he had been mistaken.
The Hon. Member for Stockport had made a speech, and in
the course of that speech he ( Mr. Disraeli) had been given
to understand that the Right Hon. Baronet had cheered a
certain sentiment. He had been told by an Hon. Member
that the Right Hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury
had cheered that sentiment in the most decided manner. He
(Mr. Disraeli) said, " Are you sure of it ?" and he replied
" I have not the slightest doubt of it." Now, so assured, he
(Mr. Disraeli) had a perfect right in debate to refer to such
a matter. Had such a cheer been given by him (Mr. Dis-
raeli) it would certainly have been immediately laid hold of
by the Hon. Baronet. He was therefore surprised at the man-
ner in which the lion. Baronet denied his (Mr. Disraeli's)
assertion ; and he was under the impression that the Right
Hon. Baronet intended to be offensive in the matter. Under
these circumstances he (Mr. Disraeli) of course immediately sat
down. He was perfectly satisfied now that the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman did not cheer, and therefore he (Mr. Disraeli) had la-
boured under an erroneous impression.—( Cheers. )
Sir R. PEEL—I take it for granted that there is an end to
this personal matter. Of course if a Member in my situation
cheer any sentiment, any gentleman is at liberty to comment
upon it. But the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury took this
definition as mine.

Mr. DISRAELI—In consequence of the cheer.
Sir R. PEEL—In consequence of the cheer, and upon that
I immediately rose, and said I totally deny it.
Mr. M. O'CONNELL then withdrew his motion for the
adjournment of the House.
THE ADJOURNED DEBATE.
At ten minutes to ten o'clock the order of the day for re-
suming the adjourned debate was read.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL said he was sorry, after the scene of
recrimination which they had witnessed, to re-open the war.
In addressing himself to the subject before the House he would
first of all turn his attention to the speech of the Honourable
Member for Stroud (Mr. P. Scrope). In the course
of that speech the Honourable Member had used
what he (Mr. O'Connell) could only designate as
unchristian doctrines. The Honourable Member said that
the only way of relieving Ireland was by establishing
a poor-law like the English one ; and the Hon. Member went
on to say that the present system of charity in Ireland was ex-
travagant and useless. Ireland was not in a state to admit of a
poor-law. What would they do with the labourer if they
made his condition equally good as that of the independent
labourer, whose struggle was such a life and death one that it
required a large amount of moral energy to engage
or persevere in it. There was one thing he defied them
to do, and that was, to make the condition of the labourer
under any system affording relief, worse than that of the inde-
pendent labourer.—( Hear, hear.) He would wish to say, with
respect to the observation of the Noble Lord the Member for
Lynn (Lord G. Bentinck), that the Members who advocated a
repeal of the Union, repudiated the idea of a dismemberment of
the empire. The Irish Members had been done great injustice
to by the supposition that they advocated a repeal of the corn-
law in the hopes of benefiting by a side wind the object which
they had in contemplation. But he assured the House that they
would not stain their cause by being guilty of impeding the
cheapening of the bread to the famished people—( Cheers)
and with reference to the charge which had been made
against them of delaying the progress of the measure ; but the
charge did not rest with there—it rested with those who could
dispense with the Coercion Bill. They could not give a
facility for a Bill which was fraught with unmitigated evil to
the country. English Members, and the writers for the Eng-
lish press, talked to them of public opinion ; but they gave
proof of a foregone conclusion—namely, that they had no re-
gard for public opinion in Ireland. That opinion never en-
tered into their consideration. But the time was come, if the
two countries were to go on together, there should be due
regard paid to that public opinion.—(Cries of " Hear,
hear.") The people of England were not enlight-
ened as to the real condition of the Irish people.
He would address himself now to the subject at present under
the consideration of the House, and he would do so with a
deep sense of his inability to deal with it, and, what he felt
more acutely, with a disheartening sense of the effect of any
entreaties or address he would make there. This was no ques.
tion of mere coercion for a particular emergency. Whether
they might think it or not—whether they might will it or not
—in spite of themselves, the whole question of international
relations—the whole question of the mutual position of the
two countries must come under review. Why did he say so?
There they were in the seventh century of the connexion of
the two countries, and whatever might be the impression in this
country on the subject, it could not be denied that it was re-
garded in Ireland with iron hatred. During that lengthened
period he could not light upon a time—he could not lay his
hands upon!a single spot, where the relations of the two coun-
tries presented any other aspect but that of the direst and
most continued oppression. There they were in the 46th year of
the Union—a Union accomplished by treachery and fraud—a
union accomplished when the country was in a state of com-
plete prostration ; and year after year they were going on in a
geometrical progression, the whole country falling into the
most indescribable and increasing misery, approaching occa-
sionally to famine and pestilence. Their minds were so occu-
pied, and properly occupied he would admit, with English mat-
ters, for it was natural that it should be so, that they could
not see the state of Ireland as it really was. Ireland was not
now in the condition she was in some time since. She was
then weak, powerless, and disregarded, she was now fast
growing into importance and power. The people were banded
together as a people were never banded before, animated with
the spirit of one man, and determined to redress themselves
their grievances, if they were not redressed. They were tried
in the fire of affliction, and they were so schooled by systematic
oppression, that he should mock that House if he did not say
tftthehhaaaert the
o teptdeh,ecpyol
enwatooeinfrnenuleeutterly disinclined and detached from this coun-
t r y . He believed it to be for the advantage of both countries
Ireland
were asshetuhlediar cttpoaunelthiiuneyd to auew,abeuthhe nt
aitgewde.
repeal—and
uldnet, he
Firmlythatas
attachment was as strong:as their attachment to life—their desire
was to preserve the connexion between the two countries.
This connexion was the best mode, he sincerely believed, of
advancing their mutnal interests, but he must also say that
England's strength would never be secure if Ireland was dis-
contented. Menacing as Russian despotism must be, and
tyrannical as must be the conduct of the Prussian monarch, a
barrier would be created by this union which the powers of the
world would not be able to overoome. At what period, he
would ask, was this Bill brought in? It was brought forward
at a time when the country was resounding with the intelli-
gence of successes in war—at a moment, also, when
they were going to confer benefits on England—such
was the time when Ireland was threatened with coercion.
By this course of proceeding they were awakening the recol-
lections that a period of success for England was one of op-
pression for Ireland, and that no concession of Irish rights
expected unless England was beset with difficulty
These were dangerous considerations to awaken.
all reminiscences of the bygone history of
ampTnahi
idgeth,idrtaaono be
bgdjeetro avoid
the shouldd rather be to blot out the memory of the
d
oppressions and afflictions which t choeumn tfroiresd;oinbgetiointhsteeatonoefiltihaatitoothHeyand, iiatodwrheaftretshheedy
theth ert
Never
connected with
blamedewcoollection of the
than the Irish people were ; a
land had Ire-
undergoneE
easily conciliated
osgi nl°aPcoePdr.esh e had the
wmeirse
ploef bme
more
or the sound of a
word even, or a promise,
a promise, nor the
that neither a word, nor
They have had too long experi-
encewould conciliate them now.
promise. would have conciliated them ; but
shoeunwdouolfc:latperllomthiesme,
held out were ever anything
was not broken, and what hopes
ere ofp
professions;
sconduct f
for
rf this
what countryw orword
taos pelvaecre
t ful moment,
kaenpyt,dewpheantdpenrocme
promise
m
therefore, to attempt to inflict
article he had recently read in the
was muck struck with an
else but empty delusions?. Iftreswhatsyraannnuynugproane
was said to be a Government
Ireland.. He
Observer newspaper
paper) connected with(wthheieshucces yo:fa
readingtt ende d
the passage for the purpose
their arms in India ; and he would take •
number of the Irish soldiers
passage, which stated that a large _
of connecting sesw hethh
ehlibertyd
betterla t
tehi e remarks
he had to make upon it.—( The Hon. Member here read the
subscribed a large amount of money for thi.
who were at present in India, under Sir Hug.hrelGieofuogfh,thheaidr
suffering countrymen at home, and had handed it
to Sir Hugh Gough for remittance to Ireland.)
They went to the field of battle after doing as this paper stated.
Supposing, then, they were informed of what was preparing
for their unfortunate country - -supposing they were told that a
Coercion Bill was preparing for the further relief of their
starving countrymen, what would have been their feelings then?
—( Hear, hear.) Would they have turned their backs upon
the enemy? No, they would have gone on—they would have
shed their blood—they would have wrung victory from a bold
and daring enemy.—( Cheers.) They were not the men who
would then turn their backs upon a field of battle, where death
stared them in the face. When the remnant of their force, how-
ever, came back, they would hear of what was doing for their
country while they were fighting the battles of England.—
(Hear, hear.) They would be told this—they would be told
that their fathers, who had left their wretched homes
to seek the priest for their dying mothers, to
have the consolation of religon given them on their
dying bed --.(Hear)—they would be told, that while en-
deavouring to seek this consolation, they were seized and trans-
ported under the humane powers of an Dogfish law, termed a
Coercion Bill, and not unjustly so testified. —( Hear, hear.)
What met be their feelings then? He trnuld be NW ix that

wHoooulsde ,
hteh Hat
mat dhei s
iowsoou
such
cnaosetcbe
Ltihtetlec,asier—aleteh,tt
wanereextcheopytioi
in
that House acquainted with the power of the minions of the
law—of the subordinates, the police in that country. Such
results, indeed, would not take place, if the justice of the Mem-
bers of that House was properly carried out.—( Hear, hear. )
And those who knew the police of that country were not
catignorantion of t h
The o thef
eir
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otfh
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it
was
with whirl,
themselves
they wellw ec
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invested ; and they looked for the
a
marked respect of the unfortunate people—(Hear, hear)--in
fact they expected that every man should be ready at all times
i w
to take off their hats to those petty tyrants who were promoted
for acts which very often tended but to the gratification of their
own passions. He would appeal to the Irish Members of that
House, if such was not the character of the Irish police, and if
every word of what he had stated in reference to them was not
true?—( Hear, hear.) He believed that the word of the Irish
Members was worth something upon that head, and yet these
policemen were to have the practical carrying out of this vile
measure. This then would be the situation of the unfortunate
peasantry of Ireland under the present Bill. He would
speak to many other of the dangerous results of'
this measure, but he would also speak to the danger
which would accrue to this country from the effect of the pre-
sent policy of the English Government towards Ireland. They
might think themselves safe, but he would warn them that they
were on the blink of a dangerous precipice. It was a giddy
height, and they looked down upon danger, and it may be
ruin, though in the distance ; but that danger to the connexion
of both countries was not the less certain.—( Hear, hear.)
They might not think so, but he felt bound in his conscience
to warn them, and he now did so, that this subject was a
most dangerous one to this country.—( Hear, hear.) As a
proof that he was not overrating the matter, he found that the
probability of a war was occupying the attention and judgment
of the military men of this country. He found that the mili-
tary engineers, in their anxiety on this question, were
looking at the geographical position. of Ireland, and
made, accordingly, observations upon her coast and harbours
in the event of a foreign war. Would they allow
Ireland to remain in this state—would they allow her to be at
the mercy of such a Bill as the present, while they were hurl-
ing defiance at their foreign enemies ? Well, they might do
so ; but they were mistaken if they wrapped themselves in the
mantle of security, for they were anything but safe, under
such a state of things in that country.—(Hear, hear.) To
prove to the House that this danger was not unlikely, he felt
bound to read an extract from a journal of very high authority
—he meant the United Service Gazette. (The Hen. Member
read at some length to the effect that, in case of a war between
England and any other country, many of the harbours on the
coast of Ireland were accessible to the ships of the enemy, and
recommending that the attention of the Government
should be directed to the defence of those places.) The
Honourable Member continued—When France attempted
a partial invasion of Ireland, General Massena was told that
he could never think of conquering England by such an act of
warfare; but the General replied, that he did not think of
conquering England by such a step. but he was certain that
a successful stand in Ireland would have ruined England, and
that his intention was not to conquer but to ruin her. England,
however, says, we are able to fight the world, and put down
Ireland too. She might be able to do so, but it was not a very
Christian-like boast.—( Hear, hear.) She had been so vic-
torious in battle, that she might not only fancy herself still the
favourite of fortune, but she might in reality be so. He trusted
she would long continue so—(Cheers)—but if she were able to
fight the world and put dowry Ireland, what scenes of blood
would not be shed—what ruin to her manufacturers—
what ruin to her mercantile interests, would not follow
en the heels of such a victory. (Hear, hear%)
With what feelings would this country contemplate so fearful
a result.—( Hear, hear.) The Irish Members in that House
felt that they were bound to oppose this Bill, that they were
charged by the other side of the House with causing unne-
cessary and unwarrantable delay in the passing of such a mea-
sure. Instead, however, of this opposition being unnecessary
and unwarranted, it was an opposition asked for by the ob-
noxious powers contained in it ; and they would be acting con-
trary to the trust reposed in them, and contrary to the dic-
tates and convictions of their own conscience. The Noble
Lord (Morpeth) who stated that, notwithstanding he would
oppose this measure in its future stages, he felt bound to
support its first reading. He (Mr. O'Connell) was really at
a loss to account for this—he really could not find the logic
of it.—(Laughter.) With respect to the Noble Lord who
introduced this Bill, he found it stated in the papers,
purporting to have reported the speech of that
Noble Lord, sentiments which he could not agree with. This
Bill was introduced by Lord St. Germans, who was sponsor to
it. Now he would oppose this Bill, if for no other reason
than because it had been stated by the late Secretary of
State for Ireland.—(Loud laughter.) He recollected when
this Noble Lord came to Ireland in his official capacity, he was
talked of as a moderate man ; but the Irish people had un-
fortunate reasons to know the contrary. He was a man smooth
in speech, but one of fatal contradiction in action. He told
the Irish people that Sir Robert Peel's policy towards Ireland
should be wise and moderate, that he would endeavour to pro-
mote the interests of Ireland by developing her re-
sources, and by combining wisdom with moderation
in every measure affecting that country, and by trying to do
justice to all. And yet, here was this " moderate' man now
introducing a Bill which was calculated to trample on the few
remaining liberties of the Irish people. This moderate man
went to Ireland; and what was his first act? Let him (Mr.
J. O'Connell) point to the election of Dublin, at which the
Noble Lord the Member for Yorkshire was a candidate. In
that case the grossest injustice had been practised. The sheriff
had appointed a creature of his as overseer of a most important
booth, and in which that creature gave every opposition to the
Liberal voters. Appeals were made to the moderation and
the candour and the justice of this moderate man; and yet
what did he do? He gave no answer whatever ; he went
away, left Dublin, and left the whole affair in the hands of Mr.
Breasten, and that was the first slip of this moderate man.—
(H ear, hear.) The next act of this moderate man was to ap-
point to judicial situations on the Bench men who had made
themselves remarkable even in this House by their vehement
opposition to any measure of liberal tendency for Ireland. His
next step was that of the dismissal of the liberal magistrates.
The Hon. Member then called attention to the circumstances
connected with the proclamation that had been issued for the
prevention of the ,meeting that was intended to have been
held at Clontarf. He would contend for it that
that proceeding was one, if not of cold-blooded cruelty, at
least one of cold-blooded heedlessness. And the excuse for
suddenly issuing that proclamation was, that there had not
been time to correct it. He would say that anything more
mocking than this excuse he had never heard. Let the House
look to the conduct of Lord St. Germans, who was a party to
the appointment of O'Driscoll to the magistracy of the county
of Galway, the man who had been dismissed, and was unwor-
thy to be again appointed. The Lord St. Germans was a
party to the appointment of Lord Lucan to the Lord-Lieute-
nancy of Mayo. Lord Lucan was the man who rescinded the
order for allowing the Sisters of Charity to visit the prisons
and hospitals. These ladies had denied themselves every
comfort and luxury of life, and consented to live in po-
verty, to benefit their fellow-creatures. They faced
for that purpose disease and death in their most
terrible forms, and exposed themselves without fear
to contagion. That order—he said so in no sectarian
spirit—that order would have been respected in every man's
heart, and Lord Lucan refused in the most contemptuous man-
ner what would not have been refused in the most Anti-
Catholic part of this country. The Protestants themselves
were so convinced of the utility of these foundations that they
had instituted some of them themselves, and yet Lord Lucan
was rewarded by the Lord-Lieutenancy of Mayo. Throughout
the three or four years that they had the misfortune of having
Lord Lucan as secretary, he sacrificed all his feelings to parti-
zanship. He yielded all his feelings to party purposes, and
supported the Government in all their harsh measures, and
yet that man came forward—as it has been reported in the
newspapers—and spoke feelingly of the crime of Ireland, and
how he felt grieved at the measures of repression which the
Government felt compelled to apply. What were his last words?
That the Government regretted to interfere with the rights of
property to such an extent, but they had no remedy. Of
course they could not do so, as long as the law remained on the
statute-book, but they could remove the law and introduce
measures to make the landlords respect the rights of property
in the tenant, as much as the House respected the rights of
property in the landlord. There were Hon. Gentlemen
in that House who had been such as to call for
a consideration of the measures they had proposed. With
regard to the Right Hon. Baronet the Secretary for the Home
Department, he (Mr. J. O'Connell) referred to him, because
he had not remedied his former acts, but he had declared his
repentance of them. His expressions seemed to hofd out hope
for Ireland, and to promise that some measures of good for
Ireland should be adopted. His sentiments seemed to come
mere from his heart this year, but he was contravening his own
declarations in bringing forward the present Bill. His former
conduct towards the people of Ireland remained bitterly im-
pressed on their memories, and anxious as they were to accept
words of conciliation, yet they must call on him not to leave
them with mere words, but to show by his acts that he felt a
sincere repentance, and conceived a new line of policy better
adapted to the wants of the country. With regard to the
Right Hon. Gentleman the First Lord of the Treasury, he had
not given them these assurances ; he had not held out the same
language. It might be the difference of temperament, that he
was not willing to express those feelings, but kept them
within his own breast. Still the omission was im-
portant, because it related to the offence charged against
him. If the Right Hon. Gentleman would recall to his
memory his conduct towards Ireland, he would find that it
began by an unjust and tyrannical persecution of the press.
He would remember that during his Secretaryship in Ireland,
the Orange system obtained an organization of the most flourish-
ing and permanent description, and that had been attributed to
him. He (Mr. J. O'Connell) did not charge the Right Hon.
Baronet with it, because he (the Right Hon. Gentleman)
was anxious as he was willing to believe he stood well with the
people of Ireland—but it was mainly to his fostering that the
system obtained the ascendency in Ireland ;, so much so, that
every young gentleman of property, and who was of the Pro-
testant persuasion, as soon as he came of age was sworn in as an
Orangeman. The Right Hon. Gentleman had on several occa-
sions shown sympathy towards wrong principles, and had,
in the House, represented these excesses of his party as the
loyalty.
hisTherelifewas
io one
Irel
athing h
he had been
which we
eas
, thatthroughout
leagued with those who were constantly and strongly opposed
to the rights of the people of Ireland, and went with all their
measures. He had opposed unflinchingly, for a series of years,
with the great talent he has known to possess, and always dis-
played, the modification of the restrictions on Catholic liberty
in Ireland, nor did he relent until the progress of the
measure forced him to do so ; and when the bringing in:of the
measure forced him to give up his former opinion, he expressed
his opinion fully against the freedom of his fellow-subjects.
What he gave he gave unwillingly, and the measure of relief he
conceded had not effaced the effect, in the minds of the people
of. Ire an d of the opposition he had made to them while there.
whether in or out of office, was not
His conduct since then,
calculated to improve the impression.—(Hear, 'ear.)
No one
was more ready than he was to urge the Whigs forward
against the people of Ireland in 1833• He recollected the
cheers which he gave that party then, and the old and isolated
facts he raked up and presented with all the dramatic effect
purpose ;
warping and _
and illustration of which he was capable, to serve his pto
effect
misleading the judgment of Isis hearers
that end. The two Right Hon. Baronets opposite had also
done their best to violate the electoral rights of the people of
Ireland, t
assisted by Lord Stanley,. in of wh
vice, to
attempt
they attributed perjury and bribery, and every other
them. The people of Ireland recollected all these deeds, and
knew that, ever since they came into power,
the party that is r,
their object had been to give ascendancy
rightsthe an
of Irishmen. That while they
privileges of the great body
people of England,
had, Janus like, one face of liberality to the
they presented another of injustice, and tyranny, and cruelty
to the people of Ireland. These were the men who were
to administer this law with the assistance of their subordi-
nates. Was it any wonder, then, that the representatives of
Ireland opposed the measure? For himself, if there were
no other objections to the measure than that, it would be
rdministered by such parties, even admitting that it was ne-
cessary, he would strenuously oppose its passing into a law.
He now came to the measure itself, He would ask, had the
Government fairly tried the powers already in their hands?
Had those powers been fairly tried? If they had been, and
failed, however much he might be overwhelmed at the sense
of the hideous crimes committed by his countrymen, he would
feel that he could not mitt the graining of. new powers.