The Sun.
London, England, 1835-11-16 00:00:00

IRELAND.

ONNELL'S SECOND REPLY TO RAPHAEL.
(From the Pilot of Friday.)
TO THE ELECTORS OF THE COUNTY OF CARLOW.
Derrynane Abbey, Nov. 10, 1835.
" Hie niger est, hunc to Romane, caveto !"
FEI.Low COUNTRYMEN,—WhiIst I was waiting for that
Permission from Mr. Vigors which I was certain I should
receive, to publish the entire of ,thd transactions between
.111 r. Ex-Sheriff Raphaeland us, I amused myself with think-
ing of the various shapes in which the enemies of civil and
religious freedom—who are, blessed be God! my enemies,
and ever shall be so—will distort Raphael's emnposition, for
the Purpose of calumniating me. I know how vain it is? as
far as such persons are concerned, to demonstrate that there
Is not one shadow of foundation for such calumny. That is
no inconvenience to them. Be it so. I consent by antici-
pation to every false statement, and to every fraudulent in-
sinuation my calumniators may pour out upon me.
During the civil wars of 1641, and the subsequent years,
When Renuncini, the Pope's nuncio, contrived, with the aid
of a few mistaken men, to obtain a supreme controul over
the " Confederate Catholics" at Kilkenny, the army was
managed by means of ecclesiastical censures. One day the
army were excommunicated for marching without clerical
orders, and the next day they were excommunicated for not
marching. Affairs were thrown into utter confusion. . The
enemy had all the advantage. Nor was there any prospect
of success until General Purcell got together another army,
ready to obey him in all perils, spiritual as Well as temporal,
and Who were, as he expressed it, " excommunication proof."
'For my. part, fsllow-countrymen, I have thus become
calumny proof—l care nothing for calumny ; and, beyond
one momentary flash of indignation, I feel neither surprise
nor anger. All I require is, that the.calumny should be
false, and capable of being shown to be such to any sincere
iquirer into the truth. I should, therefore, pass Ex-She-
ff Raphael and his commentators over without a reply,
Out that I owe it to that estimable Gentleman, Mr. Vigors, -
"d to you, togive such a detail of the facts as will at once
' g
demonstrate to the satisfaction of every just and impartial
rerson, that the lucubrations of Raphael prove nothing but
the tnercenary.and mean malignity of a disappointed miser,
Who expended money for the indulgence of the vanity of
being in Parliament—a vanity which has chanced to be un-
gfatified:
The question is, whether there was anything illegal, im-
proper, or in any respect- unbecoming in that expenditure.
bas
seems to me to be the question which the Ex-Sheriff
nas raised, at least that is the substantial qUestion. If that
question were answered in the affirmative, he would be
equally blameable with us ; that is just the fortunate situa-
tion in which a libeller of his description places himself.
t
u if the question he answered in the negative, as most as-
suredly it ought, and I fearlessly add will be answered in the
negative by every candid man, then Raphael should under-
stand that he has the double turpitude upon him, first, of
falsely traducing others ; and secondly, of blackening him-
self for the purpose of gratifying a sordid, an unprovoked,
but impotent vindictiveness.
Before I enter into the question of whether there was any
'lung illegal, improper, or in any respect unbecoming in the
aPPlication or expenditure of Raphael's money, let me pre-
these two facts touching myself, which are really out of
all controversy :
First—That I had not the slightest pecuniary or per-
sonal interest in Raphael's 2,0001.—n0t to the extent of one
single farthing. I was merely the depositary ; and this
fact results (even without the aid of any assertion of mine)
from the entire letter of the Ex-Sheriff himself. It results
!yen from the false account he gives (out of his own pure
!nvention) of the manner in which, as he alleges, I paid
ft over.
L. Every candid man will carry this undoubted fact with
hi had no pecuniary interest in the money, even to the
amount of half a farthing. Let my calumniators chew the
cod upon that at their good leisure.
Secondly—That I paid over that sum of 2,0001. to the
t,e,rson for whose use it was deposited with me—namely,
A'•
Vigors—precisely as he called for it, and to his entire
".satisfaction. I not only paid him the 2,0001. to the last
thing, but, having in my hurry made a mistake against
myself, I actually paid him 15/. more than I ought. • I got
2,0001. for him. I gave him in all 2,015/. He discovered
the
mistake, and rectified it. I have vouchers for every"
I/ennrof the money.
Every candid man will also carry this second undoubted
fact with him—that I paid over to the last farthing every
P,eurlY I received. The two facts will be recollected by
:-,very just and impartial man. It is material to the die.
embarrassing my mind of all solicitude on this subject that
h.abould repeat them-Ist. I had not the slightest pecu-
niary or personal interest in the, money ; 2d. I paid over
the money to the last farthing to the person entitled to it.
I may be deemed tedious by this repetition, but I prefer
being so to having the possibility of evasion or doubt upon
118 to me important—indeed I think the only important—
Part of the case. I have nothing to vindicate myself from !
and I never will again condescend to say one wdrd upon
there two facts which are thus concluded.
But Ido admit—l readily admit—that, having thus
rescued myself from all possibility of blame thus far, there
remains behind the principal question, touching the pro-
Priety of the expenditure of the money. Were we—for I
at once involve-myself in the question—were we warranted
.e getting two thousand pounds of Raphael's money, and
,IPendino• it in the manner in which it was expended ; and,
o 0
before all, has Raphael any cause of complaint on that
subject ?
Now, in order fully to discuss this question properly, it
Willbe useful to understand these facts relative to the
county of Carlow. They are known to you, my friends,
Waced
ut Raphael has made it necessary that they should be
before the public eye.
First—At the general election, in January last, the
abandoned
of Carlow was relinquished ; and, I will. not say,
°andoned by its former Members, and by all popular can-
didates. Their resignation was not keown until the very
day of the eLction.
Secondly—On that day, the people, feeling themselves
deserted,w started two' unexpepted candidates. The one,
~,7r; Cahill, a young gentleman of talent and respectability,
• ""u of moderate, though independent, property ; the other,
•In3' eldest son, Mr. •Maurice O'Connell, who was not pre-
sent, and had already been returned for the borough of
'ralee. He was proposed as.a popular name.
Thirdly—Under all the disadvantages of want of pre-
Para.tion the popular candidates would have been returned
It there had been time to poll out the county ; but the
agents of Bruen and Kavanagh practised so successfully
el,ay, that these gentlemen were returned.
Fourthly—the expenses of that contest were borne prin-
'Pallv by Mr. Cahill ; the residue fell, of course, on the
most active partisans of the popular party, who were not
it:ieeitliltioalanle to bear it. •
Fifthly—The consequence of the undue election was a
against the Members returned, and the trial of
at Petition ran to great length, and, of course, created
peatl,;‘ expense. 'That expense was borne by Mr. Vigors,
L. 40 succeeded in unseating the members, at a pecuniary
mit js to himself, which can be duly estimated by those only
Who have had the fatal experience of an election Committee.
t. Sixthly—Mr. Vigors had just sustained a contested elec-
um for the town of Carlow, the entire expense of which, of
course, fell upon him, and in that contest he was defeated.
ini3eventhly—The county of Carlow had been represented
the last-Parliament by Reformers. It made a difference
f t four votes to the popular interest in Ireland to have the
,w° Orange Tories, Bruen and Kavanagh, represent that
,°„untY, and the Reform paty in the House of Commons
"11i41 at that time badly afford that numerical loss.
i under these circumstances it was that the writ issued
u2,Mediately on the vacancy being declared., Mr. Vigors,
Course, had exhausted some part of his inclination to
Pend money to vindicate the popular interest, and could
sot
in justice to himself take all the expenses of another
'll'utest• Mr. Cahill refused to stand again. It became
necessary to find somebody who would pledge himself to
.ser°rm, and to the support of the Ministry, who would
bare with Mr. Vigors in the expense.
fo_The time pressed, there were but a few days to lofok out
,; a seen(' Reform candidate. Raphael had been long
Aging me fo assist him in canvassing for a seat in Pasha-
p:,ut,• He bad been making the warmest professions of
Patriotic purity. He assailed me in conversation—he be-
tlred me by letter. Indeed, it would be amusing to con-
trast
his then disgusting flattery with his present con-
me malignity. A friend of his had corresponded with
7, at the general election respecting the county of-Carlow.
j'ender these circumstances I talked with him on the sub-
e,tof the then vacancy for that county. He had an in-
shv`e, w with Mr. Vigors on tlie same subject. But as the
cs-,,etlno approached, Mr. Vigors was under the necessity of
make
off to Ireland, and he gave me full authority to
le any arrangement with Raphael I pleased.
aphael's account of the fact is in every respect inac-
earat e. It is one made up for the senseless purpose of
oroach.
.and Theh natural arrangement would have been that Vigors
0 e should have paid each half of the expenses of the
election and of any subsequent petition. But he had ex-
-Ishrienced already two contested elections ; one for Eve-
am, the other, as I recollect, Pontefract. The complaint
43, I
Qil . now not how truly, that he bad been involved in
Is an'expenditure much beyond what he expected or
a; Promised.
it :s had no notion of meddling IA ith him ; my authority
.Vigors was unlimited ; my time was ever-occupied-
14;te;tled with-him briefly but explicitly ; that be was to risk
I'°oo/. in 'the event of an unsuccessful‘contest—Vigors
in that event to pay all the rest—a second 1,0001. if
ail was returned : in no event was I.e to be bound to pay
fotY Inc". If he paid one shilling b yond the 2,000/., it
If be of his own free will and peife t choice.
Only one of the popular candickte, was to be returned,

O'C