The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-20 00:00:00

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Bement? Virhye§ir James Graham sai arse year -that con- ---- -
cession to Ireland had already gone a sufficient extent
and that it could not proceed further. Concession to Ire-
land! Why, that is just as if a robber took away your
money from you forcibly, and would not etoncede to give
you back one farthing of it.—(Cheers.) row, if in the
last Parliament it was declared by a member of the Go-
vernment that concession had gone its fuil length, what
hopes can-Ireland have of justice ? But there has been
brought in this session a Bill, for the pur pose of laying
the foundation of the robbery of our rep mining rights,
small as they are—a Bill for the purpose of extinguish-
ing the franchise in Ireland. It is true they do not call
it by that name—they do rot say that they have intro-
duced it for that purpose—they call it a 13i11 for the im-
provement of the franchise ; and—but, as I wish to
call a spade a spade—(A laugh)—l denounce that Bill to
the people of England as a gross injustice to the Irish
people.—(Hear.) I will show you that it is an injustice
to Ireland. It proposes that no man shall hav,i, a vote in
Ireland who is not rated for the poor-rates at 10 . a year.
Now, the Irish tenant who is rated at 101. for the
poor-rate pays at least 201. a year; and when it is _recol-
lected that in Ireland the landlord pays half the poor-
rate, it will be seen that the tenants rated at 10/4for ti.‘e
poor-law would include those, generally speaking, who*
have an interest with 40/. a year, thus depriving the im-
mense number of small holders in Ireland of all chance
of the franchise. Why, by this Bill no less than two -
thirds of the inhabitants of Tipperary, that is, all the
small holders, will not have a single vote.—(Shame,
shame.) Those who brought in this Bill, and wish to
destroy the franchise in Ireland, were afraid, however,
that the high rating would not be sufficient to answer
that purpose, and accordingly they have introduced the
principle of what is called the Chandos clause, which
allows tenants-at-will to vote. Now, the effect of
that will be to hand over the representation of the people
of Ireland to the Orange landlords. That is the pur- •
pose, and that will be the effect of this Bill, and I an-
nounce it as my reply to those who will tell me to
wait and sec what an English Parliament will do for
Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) This is the first time in my
lifd that I have been enabled to announce to the people
of Ireland that there is sympathy for them felt by the
people of England.—(Cheers.) I have already informed
them of that sympathy—l have announced to them the
receptions which I met at Birmingham 'and in London,
and I will have the gratification of announcing to them
that at Coventry also there was a similar display of sym
pathy with their sufferings and deterMination to sup-
port them.—(Cheers.) I will be able to announce to
them that whatever feelings tending to cause itritation
formerly existed, they are now at an end, and that the
people of Coventry are amongst those who will not par-
ticipate in any iniquitous design against the liberties
of the Irish people.—(Loud cheers.) Am I not right
in looking for a repeal of the union, to put an end to the
injustice which Ireland has suffered?—(Cheers). If, by
looking for a repeal of the union, I sought a separation
of the two countries, then, indeed, I would be wrong in
seeking it—but a repeal of the union would not produce a
separation—it would unite the countries more closely.
Why, Ireland had her own Parliament for 600 years
without separating from England ; and although it be-
came more valuable towards the latter period of its con-
tinuation, yet it never caused any separation. Ido not,
therefore, seek any separation from England in looking
for a repeal of the union-1 do not seek any other King
or Queen—l am satisfied with the dear little lady, that
rules over us.—(Cheers and laughter,) Ido not want
to establish any peculiar religion. I only wish that
Ireland should have a Parliament to manage hes' own
affairs—l wish to put an end to that system of centralisa-
tion which injures every country where it is applied; and
in order to do so, I wish to have in Ireland it local Par-
liament for local purposes.—(Loud cheers.) Why
should we not be allowed to manage our oWn "affairs
by a local Parliament ? There is not a small deisendent
province belonging to Britain that has not a local 'legis-
lature. Canada has a Parliament of her own, Nova
Scotia has a Parliament of her own, Newfoundland has
a Parliament of her own, Jamaica has a Parliament of
her own, Barbadoes has a Parliament of her own—even
Botany Bay has her own Parliament—(A laugh)—and
why, then, I ask, should Ireland not have her own Le-
gislature ?—(Cheers.) lam seeking to restore it to her:
that is what I am struggling for, and nothing else._; and
if I thought a repeal of the union would lead to a sepa-
ration, I here solemnly assure you that I would take
no part in the struggle.—(Cheers.) Is it from a want
of a fruitful country, or from any other deficiency
of natural resources, that the Irish people are in
this state of misery which I have described ? Oh,
no, there is no country in the world which Possesses a
more abundant soil, or produces more plentifully all the
means of human subsistenoe—there is no part of the
globe that furnishes in such abundance all the prime ne-
cessaries of life—no country on the earth has greater ad-
vantages in a commercial point of view. Her geogra-
phical position, at the extreme west of the European
world, and open to all the produce of America; ought to
make her the entrepot of commerce ; her noble harbours,
her magnificent estuaries, render her, fitted beyond al-
most any other other nation for commerce ; and her fa-
cilities of water communication are so great that their is
not a portion of her whole extent thirty miles removed
from the advantages of maritime transit.—(Hear.) If I
see her, then, possessing all those natural advantages,
and if, notwithstanding all this, I find her people suf-
fering extreme misery and destitution, am I not
bound to raise my voice against it, and call upon
you to assist me in putting an end to this state of things?
Oh, it was not God that inflicted this misery 1 No.
Providence has given her advantages with a bountiful
hand. God blessed the land, but the wicked work of
man has produced this affliction, and has trampled on
those blessings. It may be said, however, to me, that
the Irish are an idle people, tut(' that they do not Suffi-
c'ently cultivate the fertile soil with whiah their country
has been blessed. Oh, give them protection in the cul-
tivation of their land, and you will find them no idlers.
—(Cheers.) Idle ! Why what town in England has
not her streets crowded with them in search of employ-
ment. Idlers ! Why, do they not throng in vast
numbers to the manufacturing districts to obtain Work,
and thus make the union the greatest curse which
can befal the English people, by reducing their wages—
by enabling a griping disposition to reduce wages, or by
enabling the master manufacturers, in the natural and
fair pursuit of their profits, to lower the wages that are
given to English workmen, by sending so large an amount
of labour into the market ? Bad government the real
evil of Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) The people are deprived
of their just privileges and franchises.—(Hear, 'hear.)
Even the people of England have not a fair share of the
privileges to which they are entitled. The man is a
slave who cannot vote for a representative. You have a
slave class in England; but yet you are, with all that
deprivation, as free again compared with the peeple of
Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) I saw a picture of Charles I.
somewhere in this hall to-day.—(Laughter and cliqrs.)
I'll tell you what you would do; you would not commit any
act of disloyalty—you would not do anything by which
you would forfeit that allegiance and fidelity which y ono we
to our beloved Queen—(Cheers)—but the old spirit which
was roused in the days of Charles L would be rowed
again in the breasts of the men of England—swords
would tremble at the sides of the civilians, and you would
put down this injustice—without bloodshed, it is true, but
Kith infallible success, for England would not bear it.
England ought not to bear it, and Ireland ought not to
bear it. I have protested against this injustice, and, in
answer, I have been accused of conspiracy. Let them
send me to prison ; but will they, by so doing, lessen
the desire of the people of Ireland to have a Parliament
of their own ? Will they remove the sense of injus-
tice ? Will they, by sending me to a dungeon, diminish
the influence which I have over the people of Ireland—
that influence over their affections which is astonishing
to myself? They may immure me in a dungeon, but
the affections of the people will smooth my mattrass of
straw, and I shall lay down my head on that mattrass with
happier feelings than the Ministers, who, by trickery and
injustice, and partiality, sent me there.—(Great cheering.)
This is the last crime they have committed against
Ireland. In former times, when these crimes were
committed against Ireland, the people of England, either
unhappily were active agents in the injustice, or they
stood by and looked on its perpetration with indiffe- •
rence. Thank God, the case is altered now—(Cheers)
—and a day has come when all good Englishmen Qf
every class and persuasion are coining forward to evince
their strong sympathy for the peop!e of Ireland, and
their determination to have justice done to her. Oh,
it is delightful to see such a sight as that which I now
witness ; it is delightful to see such men as your res-
pected Mayor coming fore and to express his sympathy
for Ireland. I was gratified beyond measure when he was
forced to speak of himself, to hear all the qualities that
characterise the Christian and the gentleman conceded to
him by your universal acclamation ; and I could not re-
frain from saying, Thank God, such men are the sup-
porters and friends of Old Ireland.—(Cheers.) I have long
struggled for the rights of the people, and I am delighted
now to find such sympathy and support. I struggled for
and obtained emancipation, not on any sectarian prin-
ciple, but on the broad principle that every man ought
to be allowed to worship God according to his con-
science. It was. on that principle we carried emancipa-
tion; and here let me boast of the support which I gave
the Protestant Dissenters of England. They were not
active enough in seeking their own emancipation; but
we showed the example, and they followed it; and there
is the hand which drew up and presented a petition,
signed by 28,000 Catholics, praying for emancipation for
the Protestant Dissenters, and that petition reached
Parliament very shortly before the gates were thrown
open to the Protestant Dissenters.—(Cheers.) lyre-
sented that petition on the same principles as those
on which I sought for emancipation for the Roman
Catholics of Ireland—the principles of civil and re-
ligious liberty for all—(Cheers)—of a perfect equality
of rights. It was with a view to obtain that equality
of rights that I sought for emancipation ; but has
emancipation given us an equality of rights in Ireland ?
No such thing. If wo had an equality of rights, would
the Catholics have been struck off the jury, as they had
been at the late trials ? After pointing out the unfair-:.
ness of the late Irish trials, he thus concluded :—I have
detained you too long, perhaps—(No, no)—but I have
left the monster grievance of Ireland untouched. I
mean the Church Establishment in Ireland. In Eng-
land the Established Church is the Church of the ma-
jority ; in Scotland it is also the case ; but in Ireland,
the Church of 500,000 or 600,000 persons is the Esta-
blished Church, which 6,000,000 of Catholics are bound
to maintain. Is it not too bad that 6,000,000 of Ca-
tholics should be forced to pay for the Church of
600,000 ; but the Established Church in Ireland pro-
duces other evils in that country—it is the Shib-
boleth of a party which stimulates the gentry who are
looking for future promotion for their sons and sons-in-
' law, thrdugh the means of that Church ; therefore,
I say; that the monster grievance of Ireland is the Esta-
blished Church; and when I say so, do I want to gain
advantage for, or to injure any particular religion? Do
I want to injure the interests of any of my Protestant
fellow-countrymen? Oh! God forbid. _No' .if any one
proposed the introduction of a law that woulkhavolor
its object the slightest restriction of the Protestant reli-
gion, or the least interference with the rights of any