The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-03 00:00:00

ports, Mr. COCIIRANE sought to extract from the
Secretary for the Home Department, whether,
by the words " extraordinary necessity," the Noble
Lord, his colleague, designed that numerous meetings
should be assembled, as in such case he undertook to
have one, to the amount of fifty thousand persons, in
Palace-yard, within eight days. Sir GEORGE GRIT}
replied with statesmanlike felicity. Ile could only
answer for himself. It was not for him to constire
the expression used by the Prime Minister ; but he
conceived that such a meeting as suggested by Mr.
COCHRANE would not constitute the " necessity" re-
ferred to by Lord JOHN, but rather " a certain class
of statistical facts bearing on the condition and the
circumstances of the country." The proposition of
Mr. COCHRANE might amount to nothing more
than a demonstration of physical force, whereas moral
force alone would govern any advice which Sir G.
GREY, and, no doubt, Lord JOHN RUSSELL, would
tender to the QUEEN for opening the ports. Num-
bers alone would never suffice; they must be joined
to a sound and comprehensive view of all existing
circumstances. One of the most obvious of these
would be, what seems to be entirely forgotten by
Mr. COCHRANE, that since Lord JOHN addressed his
electors in November, 1845, the whole question I f
import duties affecting grain has undergone solemn
deliberation in the Legislatwre, and given birth to an
Act which, for the magnitude of the interests it dealt
with, cannot be lightly superseded by an order in
Council ; and the emergency must be " extraor-
dinary" indeed which could justify a Minister in
dispensing with its enactments. Another circum•
stance is, that Parliament will now be shortly assem-
bling, and certainly there is no paramount pressure,
arising either from want of food or employment, that
imperiously calls upon us to urge the Minister to the
serious and responsible step of removing off-
hand the slight remaining and terminable
duties upon foreign corn. Practically, it is
a constitutional privilege which we enjoy of express-
ing to the Government, freely and unreservedly, our
feelings and views upon any public question, but we
are not clear that, in the present instance, the privi-
lege has been resorted to with due consideration.

The want of unity of action, of a cordial co-
operation amongst her more favoured children, for:
the benefit of their common country, has long been
one of the chief causes of the unhappy condition of
our sister kingdom. The civil and religious differ-
ences that so long prevailed, the party dissensions,
the rancorous hOstility with which the professors of
different political principles regarded each other,
were the sad results of long years of misgovernment
and oppression, during which the ruling powers
prf;ctised with too fatal a success the vile expedient of
fostering the animosities and exciting the prejudices,.
of the people. "Divide et impera" was the rule of
government. To one class every encouragement was
afforded; they were placed in the enjoyment of ex-
clusive rights and exclusive privileges ; they
were taught to regard their brethren as
their inferiors, to believe that they were
entitled to an ascendancy over them, that
they were beings of a superior creation,
and that they might with impunity insult and domi-
neer over the vast majority of the people, whom they
looked upon as

" Born for their:use."

Party processions were encourages; the exhibition of
the most hostile feelings, the most inveterate preju-
dices, were sanctioned and approved of. All the
honours and emoluments of office were distributed
amongst the favoured few, while the many were
ground down by harsh laws and oppression, and sub-
jected to penal restrictions and to civil and religious
disabilities. Is it to be wondered at that a wide line
of demarcation separated the different sections, that
no cordial or friendly feelings existed between the
oppressors and the oppressed, that one party should
struggle hard to maintain the position they once
had occupied, while the other, awakened to a
knowledge of their real strength, should persevere
in their exertions until they obtained a full and per-
fect equality, and the enjoyment of entire liberty of
conscience— that each defeat should more deeply em-
bitter the feelings on the one side, and cheer the
other with the anticipations of further victories and
successes. Neutrality was impossible. The adage
of " those who are not with us are against us" was
never more strictly true than in Ireland—there could
be no halting between two opinions : the man who
hesitated about going the extreme length with his
party was looked upon as a traitor, and regarded with
greater dislike and hatred than an avowed opponent.
Such was the state of things in Ireland towards
the close of the first quarter of the present century.
There was, however, an improved feeling beginning
to manifest itself throughout both kingdoms; anti-
quated prejudices were exploded, more liberal and
enlightened views of government prevailed. It was
felt in high places that men should not be sufferers
for conscience sake, that every man should be per-
mitted to worship his CREATOR in the manner which
he believed to be most proper, that there should be no
interference between him and his GOD.
Catholic Emancipation became an open questior,
as it is termed in the Cabinet, and several of the
Ministry joined in the demand for.freedom to their
Roman Catholic brethren. The then Premier died,
and CANNING succeeded to the vacant office, but he
had not sufficient power to carry the' great question.
He was cut off in the pride and vigour of intellect,
at a time when the public mind and public hope was
excited to the highest pitch, when all liberal-minded
men were looking forward with intense interest to the
ameliorations that were expected, His principles,
however, died not with him ; the good "seed had been
sown, and fresh converts flocked daily to the side of
freedom of conscience. His successor said that it
was in vain to attempt to stem the torrent, to resist
the popular will, firmly and deliberately expressed ;
he yielded, and carried the great measure of Catholic
Emancipation. But his victory was fatal to his
Ministry, and he speedily was compelled to surrender
power into the hands of his great competitors.
It is to be regretted that the measure so carried
was not as full and perfect as the friends of liberty
could have desired. It was clogged with conditions,
and certain regulations, which, though of no practical
value, and affording no additional securities, took
greatly away from the grace of the boon, which tended
to show the existence of suspicion and distrust, and
plainly testified that the measure was conceded not on
grounds of natural justice, but simply because there
was not sufficient strength to render further resis-
tance safe for practicable. Obsolete laws were still
suffered to disgrace the statute-book, which, though
never attempted to be put in force or brought into
operation, were yet looked upon as badges of infe-
riority, as marks of reproach, to seven-eighths of the
Irish nation. It could scarcely, how ever, be hoped
that every vestige of bigotry and intolerance could be
swept away at a moment's notice, that ancient
prejudices would be removed without some
interval elapsing. It is unnecessary to trace
the various ameliorations brought forward by Lords
GREY and MELBOURNE, and subsequently by Sir
ROBERT PEEL and Lord JOHN RUSSELL, until the
last remnant of the atrocious penal code was, with all
but unanimity, expunged from our laws during the
past session. The heads of the two great parties who
could alone hope to be placed at the head of affairs,
to rule the helm of the vessel of the State, have now
cordially agreed on the principle by which Ireland is
henceforward to be governed, viz., that she is to be
placed on a footing of full and perfect equality with
England in her civil, political, and municipal institu-
tions. It may be hoped that when this great doc-
trine is fully carried out that jealousies will cease,
and that as there is nothing to be lost on the one side
or gained on the other, there will no longer be any
reason for those ridiculous antipathies, those absurd
quarrels, that have proved so injurious to the national
interests, that have impeded and interposed obstacles
to the attainment of every measure calculated to im-
prove the condition of the country. What is now
required by Ireland is, that all Irishmen should
lay aside their petty disputes and differences, and
labour zealously in the common cause ; the great
l
nwefa nosf
wd'iistthre sasll
thepar ctioens s isdheortal ltdi o nb be
by which the people may be fed, and famine averted
ofthtehere
from their shores. There is a glorious field for emu-
otibiejeeextinstoh"ig.
lation, for the exhibition of zeal and activity; let

us hope that it may be taken advantage
of, and that none will hang back, or refuse to avail
themselves of beneficial suggestions, because they
may happen to emanate from those who have bet n