The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-16 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

In answer to a question from Mr. Cobbett,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that it
was the intention of Government to bring the subject of the
present state of the Agricultural interest under the notice of
the House without delay. It the Honourable Gentleman
would look into the Orders, he would see that there
was more than one specific motion for the purpose of
it under the discussion of the House, with a view to measures
of relief. He thought, therefore, that the Hon. Gentleman
would see that he ought rather to reserve himself until the
time of discussion, than to seek to extract any premature
announcement which might excite his aeprehension, and conk
be of no real service. If there were no notices on the vette,
he should be bound to give an explicit answer, but 110 Y; as
there were notices, he should rather receive any explanatio
until the motions were discussed.
The Marquis of C H AND 0 S gave notice, that o❑ the 25th
instant, he should move a resolution upon the present state (,f
agricultural distress, Cabing upon the House to redeem ant
interest by the reduction of local or general texation.—( Hear. )
The CHANCELLOR of the. EXCHEQUER could I),j

but thank the Noble Lord for his kindness in postponing thi
question during the absence of his Noble Friend, who
not be long now before he was present to take up the questicn.

KERRY ELECTION.

Mr. SHAW, seeing the Hon. and Learned Member for
Dublin in his place, would take that opportunity of alluding
to a contradiction he had made of a statement of his shartiy
before the recess. It would be in the recollection of the House
that the Hon. and Learned Member had challenged him to
adduce
Mr. O'CONNELL rose to order. He wished to know
whether the Hon. and Learned Gentleman was going to unite
a motion, or only asking a question, because, in the one cao,
the House allowed him to make a speech, in the other it did
not.--(Cheers.)
Mr. SHAW said that he wished to snake an eNplanation in

a matter personal to Unself.--(Chnerq from the Opposition
It would be in the recollection of the House that the tion.

Learned Member for Dublin had challenged him to adduce

a. single instance of violence or breach 01 the peace
that had taken place at the Kerry election.—( Cheers. )
On that occasion he had stated that he had received informa-
tion that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had sent a Rome
Catholic Priest to an elector of the name of Murphy, to m!r
him whether he intended to vote for the Knight of Kerry, m'ri
threatening him if he did, that he would put a mark upon his
doors which he would dread the consequences of.—( Cheers. )
In a few days afterwards, the man's house TAIS attacked and
plundered by a mob.—( Cheers.) The House would not fer-
get the manner in Which the Hon. and Learned Gentlemen
had contradicted that statement. In order that no mistake
might take place, he (Mr. Shaw) had taken the trouble of
copying the words made use of by the lion. and Learned
Member upon that occasion, Aom the report in the Mirror (..1
Parliament. The words were—" Mr. O'Connell rose and
proceeded to the table"—
Mr. COBBETT rose to order, as did also Mr. O'Connell,
which caused considerable confusion in the House.
Mr. O'CONNELL, with considerable warmth, said thr.t
if the Hon. and Learned Gentleman wished to say anything
of himself, well and good, but he could not allow him, under
that disguise, to make an attack upon him.—(Cheers.) It
was a pretence, and not a very justifiable one, of vindicating
himself by attacking him, Mr. O'Connell.—(Cheers.)
Mr. SHAW said that he had been positively contradicted
by the Hon. and Learned Member, and, with the permission
of the House, he would read the words of that contradiction.
The Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman had said, " I de-
clare most solemnly, in the- presence of that God who is to
judge me, that the whole story is totally false."—( Cheers. )
He felt it his duty to refer, after this contradiction, to Lord
Kenmare, in order that he might have an opportunity of with-
drawing his statement or confirming it. The result was, that
his statement received the fullest confirmation. He would
read to the House a letter from Mr. Murphy himself. in con-
firmation of what he said. The Hon. and Learned Member

then read the letter, in which Mr. Murphy stated that
Mr. O'Connell, in the presence of many of his friends
and relatives, after asking him (Murphy) for whom he meant
to vote, and hearing that he meant to vote for the Knight of
Kerry, told him that he should have a black cross painted over
his door, and made use of other threats of a like nature. On
the evening of the last day of the election for Tralee, a violent
attack was made upon the house of Murphy, and if it were not
for the interference of the Magistrates, the mob would
have gone to extremities. Among the persons who made the
attack was one with a bundle of lighted straw. The Earl of
Kenmare assured him ( Mr. Shaw) that Mr. Murphy was a
man of high respectability. If this statement, authenticated
as it was by Lord Kenmare, required corroboration, he (Mr.
Shaw) had received several letters from gentlemen who had
seen the attack spoken of, and who s;nke of the facts as quite
notorious.—( Hear, hear.) He hoped that he had justified
his original statement, and he left to the Hon. and Learned
Member for Dublin to justify his unqualified and solemn asser-
tion that every word of what be (Mr. Shaw) had said was
false.—(The Hon. and Learned Member sat down amidst loud
cheers from the Opposition side of the House.)
Mr. O'CONNEL L rose amidst ironical cheers from the Op-

position. He was right. They were always ready to cheer on an
attack made upon him..—( Loud cheers from the Irish Member?,
renewed cheering from the Opposition.) What was that cheer?
It was a party cheer—a prejudiced party cheer. If they would
listen to him he would vindicate every word he had spoken.
It was now stated that David Murphy was the name of the
man to whom allusion had been made. In the speech of
the Hon. and Learned Member, the name of Murphy alone
was mentioned. He asked the Honourable and Learned
Member in that House what person he particularly alluded to,
but he was not able to learn ; at that period he had never
heard a word of this attack. He thought the Hon. and Learned
Member had alluded to a man of the name of Murphy, who was
a tenant under him (Mr. O'Connell); who rented under him,
and whose brother was the leading agent, or attorney, to
his (Mr. O'Connell's) nephew, against the Knight. The Hon.
and Learned Member alluded to the individual by the name of
Murphy alone, but in the Mirror of Parliament he
was called David Murphy ; and the name of his
(Mr. O'Connell's) tenant was David Murphy.—( Hear. )
Now, it appeared that the venue was changed, and the matter
had assumed a different aspect. Instead of his ( Mr. O'Con-
nell's) going to the house of Murphy, it appeared that Mur-
phy had come to him. If it had been stated that the person
alluded to was his friend Murphy, he would have laughed at
the story, for the fact was, he was not in Kerry for ten days
before the attack—he had gone to Youghall, and thence to
Killarney. He recollected that Murphy had had a
conversation with him, in the course of which he stated
that the Knight of Kerry's father had died in
his debt, and that unless the debt was paid he (Murphy) would
not vote for the Knight of Kerry. He ( Mr. O'C.) recollected
saying that if the debt was paid, and that Murphy voted for the
Knight of Kerry, he would be bribed. The conversation
was altogether a jocular one, and be had no idea
that any such consequences would ensue ; for at the time tlr
statement had been made by the Right Hon. Gentleman oppo-
site, he was not aware that any attcck had been made on
Murphy's house. Since then he had procured a Kerry
newspaper, containing a report of the trial, by which it
appeared that a little girl had passed by Murphy's house,
crying out " No Knight"—that Murphy came out and slapped
her cheeks and knocked her down, upon which some of 61'
friends had attacked Murphy's house, and broken two
panes of glass. So far was Murphy from supposing that
he (Mr. O'C.) had said anything of a menacious or threatening

nature, that on his examination at the trial lie bad said, that •
if the contest had been merely between the Knight of Kerry
and the nephew of his old friend, he would certainly have
voted for the nephew of his old friend. He was aware that
much of this had originated with Lord Kenmare—there was
no man in existence who was more indebted to him
than that Noble Lord, as he had saved him a sum of 40,0001.
and he had repaid him with unqualified ingratitude. He
had first promised to vote for his (Mr. O'Connell's) nephew,
and then had turned round and coerced his tenants to •ote
for the Knight of Kerry. Diappointed in his electioneering,
the Noble Lord had entered into a holy alliance with the Right
Hon. Gentleman opposite—(a laugh)—to assail him, Mr.
O'Connell, and to do that he had been charged with a
totally different transaction. He had then denied it with vehe-
mence—he did so now. The transaction was a totally different
one from that which had been stated on the former occasion by
the Right Hon. Gentleman. He begged to apologise for trespass-
ing so long upon the time of the House, and he wished the
Right Hon. Gentleman joy of his new occupation and of his
party cheer.—(Loud cheering from the Ministerial Benches.)
Mr. F. SHAW denied that he had any connection with the
Mirror of Parliament—he never had. He had the authority
of Lord Kenmare now to say most distinctly that the
Noble Lord had never at any time, or in any terms, made a
promise that he would not interfere with the election of the
lion. and Learned Member's nephew.—( Cheers.) So also
was the statement of the cross-examination of the witnesses,
for the fact was there could be no cross-examination, the pri-
soners having pleaded guilty.—( Cheers.)
Mr. O'CONNELL—Then I have to say that I can pro-
duce the most positive proof of my statement as respects the
Noble Lord's promise.—( Cheers.) It seems that there can be
found no shadow of a denial to my statement that the Noble
Lord is indebted to me for services in the amount of forty thou-
sand pounds.—( Cheers.) As to the denial of his statement
respecting the cross-examination, that had as little foundation
as the other—for it was not till Murphy and the other two
witnesses were examined that the prisoners pleaded guilty.
Three witnesses were examined, and most severely cross-exa-
mined ; so that in fact the denial the House had just heard
was true in sound, but not in fact. He appealed now to the
House whether the Right Hon. Member had defended himself,
or had he not intended to attack him?
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL said that he had in his posses-
sion, though not on him, a letter from Lord Kenmare, in
which he stated most distinctly that he would take no part
- against his election.—( Cheers.)