The Sun.
London, England, 1834-07-04 00:00:00

e 4/971
men'toisf eio :-/
me--I not tor
oroffensi deluded me, and obta.-
.;cided advanta for t party to which he belongs.
conversations etween gentlemen are in their nature confi-
dential, b e confidence is limited by circumstances, and
here there was the practice of a deceit, in order to obtain
an advantage by the communication. One of the first
things he said was, that he had seen my letter to the elec-
tors of Wexford, and he said it very significantly. He al-
luded to other communications with me, reminding me
that they had been confidential, and he particularly men-
tioned one with which I was honoured by the Marquis of
Anglesea, when he observed that I was the only person on
whom he could repose confidence. Nothing more was said
about confidence ; but it turned out the Right Hon. Gen-
tleman had invited me to see him confidentially, in order
that he might make use of it. He told me that the Irish
Government was opposed to the renewal of the Coercion
Bill ; that it was not called for by them, and that his own
opinion was against it. For this reason, he added that I
was in the wrong to proceed as I had done with the Wex-
ford election. I thought it enough, since he assured
me distinctly that the Irish Government had not called
for the renewal of the Coercion Bill—that the Lord
Lieutenant was opposed to it, and that he himself was
against it. Having heard this satisfactory communication,
I was going away very cheerfully, having resolved to regu-
late my own conduct accordingly, and to act upon the in-
fdrmation in the only way I could act upon it, by communi-
cating without going into details, that the renewed Coercion
Bill was to contain nothing but measures to suppress
agrarian disturbances, in which I heartily concurred, and I
was ready to lend my assistance in carrying the law into
effect. The Right Hon. Gentleman, I recollect, added, as
I was going out of the room, that I might be certain, who-
ever brought the Bill into the House, he would not be the
person. I then made my bow and retired, but what was
the consequence ? Let the House mark the advantage
thus gained over me. The candidate in whose favour I had
written declined the contest, and another gentleman, by no
means popular, started on the same interest. He wrote to
me, beseeching me, if I could not come myself, to send one
of my family, to go through the county with him, to solicit
the votes of the freeholders. I sent nobody over, and on
the first day the Whig candidate had a majority 114 ; but
I will venture to assert, that if any person known to be con-
nected with me had gone through the county, the majority
would have been decidedly the other way. The next day,
indeed, the majority was struck down, and when the post
came away it was only eighteen ; but if the Whig candi-
date should carry the election, he will carry it by the Right
Honourable Gentleman having shut my mouth by decep-
tion. What right had lie to interfere with me, and with
what I did in the county of Wexford election ? After
having gained a member to his side, is he to come into
this House and carry forward that bill which he said he
heartily disapproved ? I feel that I have been deceived.
What I speak of occurred more than a fortnight ago, and
in that interval I would have called on the reformers of
England, and would have endeavoured to rouse them. It
did not follow that the Coercion Bill was to be carried
merely because the Government wished it. In that inter-
val half a million of petitions might have been poured into
the House from Ireland, praying that the measure might
not be renewed. The Right Hon. Gentleman thus gained
a whole fortnight ?
Mr. LITTLETON—It is not a fortnight ago.
Mr. O'CONNELL—It is a full fortnight ; it will be
more than a fortnight before the account reaches Ireland.
Hence it is quite manifest that he gained an advantage
by deceiving me. He precluded me from making exer-
tions in England, in opposition to the bill—aye, and in
Scotland too, for I believe the people of Scotland are
not so entirely dead to liberty, but that such a project
would make an impression even there. After what the
Right Honourable Gentleman had stated to me, I told
many Members that there was no occasion for a call of
the House—that the Coercion Bill in its objectionable
clauses, was not to be revived—that the measure would
only be such a one as every man could support, and
that we should soon see the Session at an end. This is
what I said, and in all this I have been deceived ; I have
been deceived by the Right Hon. Gentleman ; he conveyed
to me that which was not the fact, for the Government had
determined otherwise, and he has now declared that he
means to support the Bill in this House. An advantage,
and an important advantage, has thus been gained. I will
not make degrading comparisons ; but no man has a right
to call upon me to-go to him, and after stating one thing, to
turn round and take a diametrically opposite line of con-
duct. I make him a present of his advantage ;he is sur-
rounded by many friends ; he belongs to a Government
powerful to a considerable extent ; but what would his
opinion of me have been, if I had sent for him to my house,
and told him of a particular line of conduct I intended to
adopt, and had afterwards followed a directly different
course ? He did not tell me that Government bad deter-
mined not to re-enact the Coercion Bill in its objectionable
parts, but there was every reasonable probability of it, and if
it were otherwise, why did he send for me ? He talks of indis-
cretion, but he is not so young as not to be able to understand
what he is about. He sent for me with a view to regulate
my conduct, and he did regulate it h 4 deceived me, and
he has reaped the advantage of his deception. But it is
going a great deal too far to obtain an advantage, under
the seal of secrecy. Ido not assert that he said what he
did for the purpose of deception ; but let me ask who has
had the benefit of the deception ? Let it be remarked,
that we are not much at variance as to the nature of the
conversation between us ; but I leave it to the House and
to the country to decide upon the merits of that species of
government which is so unsteady and unfixed in its notions,
as to make one thing to be believed, and afterwards to act
upon the very contrary decision. I wish the Right Hon.
Gentleman joy of his determination not to communicate
with me privately in future ; perhaps he may change his
mind upon this point also, but I am quite sure that he shall
never deceive me again.—(Cheers.)
Mr. LITTLETON—It is not necessary for me to add
much to what I before said, for the Hon. and Learned
Member has not attempted to impugn my statement. He
has endeavoured to show, and it was the only course left
to him, that I took the step of requesting an interview for
the purpose of deceiving him. He admitted, what he was
obliged tc admit, that I entertained no such design ; and
the House, I hope, will be of opinion that I am utterly
incapable of being actuated by such a motive. (Continued
cheers.) Neverteless, the whole course and tenor of his
speech has been to justify his breach of confidence, by
making the House believe that I tricked him, and that
therefore lie was warranted in betraying what had been
intrusted to him under the seal of secrecy. I maintain
that there never was a more glaring breach of confidence
(cheers, and cries of " No, no!") I imposed upon him
the strictest caution and the strongest injunction of secrecy,
and he was bound at least to communicate with me be-
fore he mentioned what had passed between us to others,
merely because he fancied, or stated that he had been
tricked.—(Cheers.) Had he communicated with me, I
might have succeeded in convincing him that the course he
proposed could not be justified by the rules of honour or
propriety. I admit, to the fullest extent, all that he says
passed between us, with some variation of expression, per-
haps, but in substance Ido not deny it. He speaks of a
fortnight ; but I think it was last Monday week ; but as I
never dreamed it would be questioned, I was not very ac-
curate as to dates: There was a question at that time
with the Government, whether the Coercion Bill should
be renewed, and that question was, I believe, unanimously
decided in the affirmative. The fullest reasons were seen
to satisfy every Minister with that decision, and the mo-
ment I was acquainted with the fact, I lost not an instant
in imparting a knowledge of the change to a friend, who
communicated it to the Hon. and Learned Member for
Dublin.—(Cries of " No, no.") I allude to the Hon.
Member for Bridport.
Mr. O'CONNELL—That was on Friday last.
Mr. LITTLETON—On Thursday I saw the Hon.
Alember for Bridport, and asked him to become the me-
dium of the communication. The Tithe Bill was then
about to come under discussion, and so far from being
anxious to secure a smooth conciliatory speech from the
Hon. and Learned Gentleman, I stepped across the House
in order to ask him the question, and to be quite sure that
he had seen the Hon. Member for Bridport. Tnese are
the facts ; they are before the House, and the House will
form its own judgment.
Mr. O'CONNELL—There is one fact not before the
House, and which I may be permitted to state, viz., that
I told the Right Hon. Gentleman that I was about to
move the printing of Sir Henry Parnell's plan for putting
down Agrarian disturbances, and his remark to me was,
that there was no occasion for it. The Right Honourable
Gentleman has also omitted my answer to him when ho
came across the House ; it was, " Then you have but one
course left, and that is to resign, after what has occurred
and the deception practised upon me." He slipped away,
adding, " Say nothing of that to-day."—(Confusion.)
Mr. LITTLETON—He came to me and said that it
was his intention to move the printing of Sir H. Parnell's
Report of 1825
Mr. O'CONNELL—Of 1832.
Mr. LITTLETON—I mean Sir Henry Parnell's Re-
portmuch of 1832, and he asserts that my remark was " There
is no occasion for it." I declare, upon my honour as a gentle-
man,d that I said no such
he
id u
thing.—(Cheers, (
thelohs
Mr. O'CONNEL L.—And I declare, upon my honour
continued.)
natingeunetdl.
)em an, that
Mr. LITTLETON.-1 repeat most solemnly upon
my 'honour as a gentleman that I never did say so.—
(Cries of " Chair, chair,,, and great disturbance on both
sides of the House. The Speaker rose from his seat.)
Mr. O'CON N ELL.—Does he mean to deny that I
spoke of the necessity for his resignation ? •
Mr. LlTTLETON.—Something was said about print- •