The Sun.
London, England, 1835-09-19 00:00:00

ever madness like this ? As O'Connell himself said
at the Newcastle dinner, if they had had the least

tact, they would have first tried to discover reasons
against the measures.; if there were valid objections
to them, it was unnecessary to bring forward O'Con-
nell ; putting him thus forward was a proof either
that they had no objection, which amounted to a con-
fession of their own injustice, or of their folly in laying
themselves open to a charge of injustice, if they had
better reasons to urge. The motives by which the
Tory Peers were actuated in the case of Mr. O'Con-
nell, proves how little they are entitled to be called
statesmen. They sought to wound Ministers through
him. But Ministers did not rest on a Court cabal,
but on the nation, and, consequently, could not be in-
jured by their taunts ; and while they failed to injure
Ministers, they pointed out to the nation the peculiar
value of the services rendered to it by O'Connell
equally popular in both islands. May the counsels of
wicked men be always thus confounded.—Morning
Chronicle.

To the EDITOR of the MORNING CHRONICLE.
Sir—The " agitating tour" of O'Connell is stirring Con,
servative bile to a laughable extent ; the smooth and gen
teel, and most Christian Standard, poured on it, or rather
on the man, a column of as rabid abuse as any it is in the
constant habit of shuddering at ; and the shrewd, mean,
and ferocious Times gives the subject scope and verge
enouth in its " leaders"—now deprecating the mischief, now
abusing the actor, and doubtless feeling all the while doubly
assured, that even the " twice-repeated" speeches will work
out more than 'some folks wish for.
At one time I had a most comfortable horror of O'Con-
nell. But when circumstances brought me, occasionally,
within the sound of his voice—when I visited Ireland and
saw a little of the state of society there—when I could re-
flect somewhat upon the manner •in which he has been
compelled, absolutely, to plough and cut his way through
life—battering at and battering upon—spit at, and,' Eke
the wind, blowing the insult back in the insulter's face
—a man of strong feelings, with these feelings ever lace-
rated, laid bare—born, as he justly says, with the brand of
slavery on his brow—his whole education carried on in an
atmosphere polluted with the fumes of party and religious
rancour, I speedily came to the conclusion, that the man
must be.l6s than man—that he 'could not be " the Libe-
rator," and act less calmly, speak more smoothly, or even
avoid things which his enemies seize on, and his friends
wish that he could moderate a little. And I am certain
that his visits to the great towns of England and Scotland
will operate on others in a similar way—that many who yet
regard him with a sort of undefined- fear, will find him a
human being, having human sympathies, ay, and truly hu-
man objects in view=the bettering, first, of his unfortunate
country, and limn of the whole human race.
Firmly attached to Protestantism and the Bible, first, as
the result of ray education, and next of as calm conviction
as that education (a very limited one) would permit, it
required a residence in Ireland rightly to appreciate the
great foundation principle of Protestantism. Well do I
remember the strange excitement I felt, when introduced
into a cirela of Orangemen,- assembled one night in the
house where I lived, sitting over their sixth tumblers or
strong whiskey-punch, the bringing down of a large quarto
Bible, of the contents of which the owner knew almost as
little as the table on which it was placed, and on which the
party (of caurse I must say jocosely) wanted me to swear
in the name of God Almighty, that I would assist, at the
proper time, in driving "all the bloody Papists to hell.:'
I would not willingly exaggerate, yet I do believe that the
mass of the ordinary Orangemen are acthated by such a
spirit. And how they cursed O'Connell ! Oh thought
I, is tlzis Christianity—PrOtestantisin ! By this means is
it sought to uphold the altar and the throne ;—thus that
the 'Divine Redeemer is to be honoured—thus that t:ue
religion is to be spread—Cl:is that peace is to be pocutcd
—thus that ignorant Roman Catholics are to be reclaimed
from "idolatry," and brought within the pale of all that is
holy, and good, and just, and true!
I afterwards lived in a stanch Roman Catholic family.
It was an affectionate family circle. Peace reigned in the
little household, and I never witnessed anything in the.
slightest degree unpleasant to my feelings, except it might
he at a rare time, when over a festive cup with a few friends„
the recollections of ‘. hereditary bondsmen" came across
their minds, and their expressions showed they still heard
the clank of the fetter. Even then I was personally ex-
cepted, apologized to, and frequently the discussion was
clzsAiened, lest it might pain me. At table my religious
kaitudinarzanism was so completely respected, that un-
asked, on fast-days, I enjoyed any luxury, while the rt:st, of
the family were scrupulously regaling themselves on a
meagre herring. Here, said I, is toleration,here is genuine
Protestantism developing itself. Would to God it would
spread among PopiSh Protestants ! One of the children
(these little brats are so inquisitive) asked, on a certain day
(it was towards the end of lent), with exquisite naivete, why
Mr.— always had mate and they only fish ? Confusion
anmtled on the cheeks of the parents ; they seemed to feel that
the question was personally rude ; while the artless simplicity
with which it was asked disarmed their rising resentment; and
the other youngsters, too. old to commit themselves, were
waiting in breathless expectation for a reply. " Mr.
is a Protestant, and we are Catholics," was the reply. The
child could not comprehend this—looked towards me, and
in spite of signs significant from the mother, continued :
" Well, Eliza So-and-so told me that her mamma said that
Protestants were not good people, and why are they allowed
to , eat male " Is Mr.— a bad man ?" quietly asked
the father. The child was a favourite of mine ; she looked
at me for a moment, then springing into my arms, exclaimed,
" No, no, no ; all Protestants are good people, and they
may eat whatever they like !"
-"Yes ; personal intercourse and the interchange of kindly
feelings will do much to break down those old walls of
bigotry which ignorance and passion 'and domination have
reared. It is to me a delightful sign of the times, and a
prognostic of some good, to see O'Connell visiting my native
land. The Times sneeringly says that the Scotch rejected
the Church of England as being too Popish ; and, of course,
why should they receive, with open arms, an arch-Papist—
an arch-agitator ! Then it , gives us one of it's shrewd
guesses, as to the why. and wherefore the canny Scotch
have invited him. But, O'Connell, by his avoived
senti-
ments, and his generous sympathy with the advancing
cause of full, free, perfect toleration, is far beyond the
Church of England as a body, and far beyond many of the
old school of the Church of Scotland. True, he might—
it is within the range of possibility—do as the Times has
done, eat everything he ever uttered which identified him
as an advocate of civil and religious liberty. But, until he
apostatises, an event I do not think very probable, let us
hail bins as one of the pioneers of that better state of
timings, when, equal justice being fully and effectually ren-
dered to all, and the spirit of the Gospel better diffused,
and knowledge and understanding more spread abroad
among the people, it will be a task of some difficulty to
rouse the bigotry of well-meaning but ill-informed masses,
because these masses. will be diminished in bulk, and when
irreligious scribblers and partisans, and hot-headed orators,
will no longer rave about " danger to the Protestant inte-
rest," and talk about hugging the Bible to their hearts, and
covering it with their bodies, because the danger will have
vanished with the disappearance of the " roarers," and
the Bible, instead of being covered by Orange bodies,
will be more generally perused, and its spirit better under-
stood.

One word more. What a state Scotland was in before
the parochial schools were established 1 _ Scotchmeu, the
" Protestant interest" in the House of Lords have refused
to " appropriate" a paltry sum for the education of those
whom they term idolators, though the bishops of the Irish
Church have been " misappropriating" ecclesiastical pro-
perty in various ways for the last hundred years, by leases,
&c., far the aggrandisement of their own flunilies ! Well
might a respected Irish clergyman of the Established Church
there, and who is animated by a good deal of the esprit du
corps, say, in my hearing, " Poor Ireland ; torn to pieces
by her children, and eaten up by her friends !"
I am, Sir, &c.,

A WORKING MAN.

His Majesty, in his speech at the close of the late
session of Parliament, is made to congratulate the Gen-
tlemen of the House of Commons, upon their having
" made some further progress in reducing the burdens
of his people." The constituents of these Gentlemen
might well ask whether this could have been seriously
meant, or whether it was not rather a little piece of
playful irony ? Did not both the subject and the recol-
lection of who are the concoctois of this speech wholly
discountenance any such idea? But we think that when
it is borne in mind what that progress . really has
amounted to, particularly after the professions held forth
by the Whigs and their supporters, even those who have
been long acquainted with the knavery and impudence
of these men will scarcely be able to refrain from
astonishment at the audacity which could have placed
such a sentence in the King's Speech. Is it not
notorious that never since the peace has such a
budget, if so it can be called, been ever laid be-
fore the House of Commons ? With the exception
of lowering the duty on glass (a measure long called for,
and very proper, we admit), what relief, or expectation of
relief, or of the adoption of a-more just system of taxa-
tion was held out by the Chancellor of the Exchequer's
speech, which, as containing nothing, has, we admit,
had the good fortune, as some of the servile supporters
of Government declare, to have called forth less ob-
servation, and afforded fewer topics of attack than any