The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-16 00:00:00

IRELAND.
REPEAL ASSOCIATION.

DUBLIN, APRIL 13.—1 n consequence of the return
from London of the principal repeal Members the pro-
ceedings at Conciliation Hall to-day were advertised to
be of more than ordinary importance. The " hall" was
crowded to suffocation—numbers having left despairing
of obtaining even standing room. At one o'clock the
Lord Mayor, in full corporate attire, and attended by his
officers, upon the motion of Mr. O'Connell, took the
chair.
His LORDSHIP said he considered that the honour
conferred on him was one of no ordinary character, as
it was a time when they were threatened with a Coercion
Bill, or rather, he should say, the suspension of the con-
stitution.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) He was happy to
say that he had very little apprehension about this
horrible Bill passing, for they had no less than thirty-
five patriotic Members of Parliament working under that
great and good man Mr. O'Connell, in opposition to it,
who was in himself sufficient to prevent its passing.—
(Hear' Ise ar.) " Separation" was also a cry in the
mouths of the enemies of Ireland; but they never
wanted separation or anything but justice, and he be-
lieved that whilst the Liberator lived—and it should be
the prayer of every man that his life should be prolonged
until at least repeal was obtained—there would not be
separation ; for he believed in his heart that Ireland
would fall back 300 years if ho was lost to her sons.—
(Hear, hear.) With the blessing of God, his precious
life would be protracted until justice was obtained, and
nothing was justice but repeal.—(Load cheers.)
Mr. RAY having read the minutes of last week's pro-
ceedings,
Mr. O'Comenee handed in several sums of money, the
subscriptions of himself, and relatives and friends, after
which,
Mr. J. M. M‘Domeeee, the newly-elected Member for
the county Mayo, rose and addressed the meeting.
Mr. O'CONNELL said he supposed his friends ex.
pected that he would make a speech, and if they did
they would not be disappointed, as he had, in fact,
come from England solely for that purpose—for the
purpose of having his voice echoed in the Irish Na-
tional Hall, and sent through the land—through the
entire nation, which was awaiting the crisis of affairs
(Hear)—at that moment with an anxious eye.—(Cheers).
They had arrived at a period of extraordinary and anti-
cipatory results for either good or evil ; he (Mr. O'Con-
nell) trusted for good.—(Hear.) He came to tell the
Irish people to be peaceable and tranquil—he came not
to check or control the public spirit—he came not to
suggest the insinuations of a desponding spirit, for he
knew of no despair ; as long as the people were true
to themselves so long their country was in a fair way
of success. As long as the people were peaceable
and quiet, justice should be done—for 8,000,000 people
never asked for relief in vain.—(Cheers.) "Peace and
perseverance," and failure was impossible. If the peo-
ple were but true, Irishmen should succeed.—
(Great applause.)
Having made these preliminary ob-
servations, the first topic which presented itself to his
mind was the state of the country as to famine and dis-
ease. There was great difference of opinion on this sub-
ject, which was the subject, above all others, of vital
importance. It was the subject which induced him to
go to London, in order to work, by some means or
other, a remedy, so as to prevent his fellow-country-
men from dying on the roadsides by starvation • to save
them from a visitation which, he hoped, was but short
and transitory ; for he was confident that the all-
powerful Being who watched over Ireland and all the
world would not let a faithful people continue to suffer
beyond their capacity for endurance. He (Mr. O'Con-
nell) brought them before the House ; he showed the
spreading nature of the calamity, and he met a response in
almost every quarter. He found a ready compliance
with his wishes from the Government itself. He gave
Sir R. Peel credit, and he was willing to allow him the
merit he deserved; he gave the Government credit for
their endeavour:; to relieve Ireland at the present crisis.
—(Hear, hear.) He was convinced if Sir R. Peel had
succeeded as he ought, more efficient relief would already
have been given. The famine would have been already
anticipated and prevented; but while he gave the Govern.
ment credit for sincerity in their design in this respect,
he did not consider that they had done all they ought to
have done; but they had done much, and what they had
done would have been more valuable, but for the mode
in which it was administered in this country. He did
not like Lord Heytesbury; he was a most unfit man to
be in this country at that moment. He disliked bins for
his tediousness in giving to the people of Ireland the re-
lief afforded by the Government.—(Hear.) He believed
he would rather issue an ultimatum than a bag of meal
—(Hear, and laughter.) Nothing but relief, permanent
and immediate, would save Ireland, but let not the people
be guilty of any violence whatever in this period of
famine; nothing could be more absurd than the practice
of stopping the transit of provisions.—(Hear.) Let the
people meet and raise their voice too loud to be
misconceived or neglected at the Castle, and if not lis-
tened to there, let them apply at St. James's—(Hear,
hear)—let them send a memorial to the Ministry, and
let them petition the Queen to remove Lord Heytes-
bury, and to send over a man that will work out what
the Ministry intended for the relief of Ireland.—
(Cheers.) The next thing ho had to call the attention
of the meeting to was the Coercion Bill.—(Groans and
hisses.) It deserved to be groaned at. It was exceed-
ingly criminal in its nature. Oaly let them think of the
idea of any Government to make this a perpetual
law. He exclaimed against it.—(Cheers.) Ho de-
nounced it as a permanent law in the newspapers. The Go-
vernment said nothing; but yet they removed the perma-
nent clause, and made it only to endure for a year. But
he did not want it for a year—(Cheers)—and he de-
spised the wretch who consented to endure it for a day,
or even an hour—to be a slave to any law of that kind.
—(Loud cheers.) There was never anything so totally '
mistaken as this Coercion Bill. The fact was, crimes
been
were committed, they all knew ; and they were shocked
at the assassinations and murders that were perpe-
in the accents
trated.—(Hear, hear.) There was no justifying them.
Heaven forbid that any man should be found to jus-
tify them. Man has no right to the blood of his
fellow-man, and he who did so raised the red arm of
committed,
God's vengeance over him, and brought on himself the
punishment of man and the eternal vengeance of God
of— (
horrorH e, ar , ha et art)h —e hhieehspici)akde
and whilst he denounced them as outrages against
everything human and divine, he did not forget that
there were murderers that went unpunished. _
hear)—but
murderswhil s wt
hear.) He alluded to the clearance system —(Hear,
—the turning
out of the naked, the unfed, and unclothed poor
Ire-
land.—(Hear, hear, and hisses.) Oh, he did not
knowof Ire-
what materials they were composed who Could ee
accounts in the newspapers without being _e read those
d
heart such a state of misery—thelittle deprcessed in
wailing in their mother's arms, an saying
don't you take us home 2" Oh, thad t home W " Why
trated around them, and the wretched mothearss phros-
no homy for their beloved children but thaveier
shelterless arms. Oh, they were monsters who could
rejoice at such a scene. He trusted that England was
beginning to understand the true state of Ireland
—(Cheers.) Lord Devon's Committee had put its true
condition on record, and had made a strongs
sion on the House of Commons.—(Cheers.)
now I o'n
that impression would last he (Mr. O'Connell) knew
not, but while he repeated the words of Lord Devon,-
and
when he found in the words of that Connis,ion_
that
the people of Ireland were badly housed, clothed, and
fed, he would raise his voice in their behalf.—(cheers.)
Their sufferings were more than those of any other
nation in the civilized worlds- They had been
Bill, hitherto
successful against the Coercion and the Ministers
had been unable to succeed in the first reading._..
(Hear, and cheers.) Just let them observe
sow the
Coercion Bill was brought into the House of Com-
mons from the House of Lords. The House of Com-
mons, with few exceptions, agreed in the impropriety
Bill, to • •
of introducing such a . inflict coercion
Ireland, instead of • •
on the people ofgiving them
bread.—(Cheers.) They were offering them a stone in
lieu of bread, and for a fish they gave them a serpent.—
(Hear, hear.) They would not, however, receive them
in the language of the serpent ; but if it was true, as he