The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-03 00:00:00

IRELAND.
REPEAL ASSOCIATION.

Duneree APRIL 1.
The usual weekly meeting of the Association took
place to-day in the Conciliation Hall, which was crowded
in every
.part. Mr. O'Connell entered the building at
one o'clock, and was received with prolonged cheering.
On the motion of the Hon. Gentleman, Mr. W. S.
O'Brien, M.P., was called to the chair.
Mr. O'CONNELL rose and said, there was nothing like
r
beginning well.—(Loud cheers.) He wished they would
erve those cheers for what he was about to hand in to
the Association.• He hail the pleasure of handing in the
sum of GOOL, transmitted to them by the rope filers or
New York.—(Cheers.) He moved that the thanks of
ti?i' Association be given to those parties who had for-
warded this noble subscription.
.The motion having been carried,
Mr. J. O'Coereett said that he had been requested to
read to the meeting a very important and interesting
correspondence which had taken place between the Earl
"f Charlemont and Lord French. The lion. Gentleman
then read the following letter:—
"Charlemont-house, Dublin, March 4.
ht.
ell MY Lord,—We have at this moment a lull in agitation,
effort
i in my mind affords a favourable opportunity for an
n the cause of peace ; under which impression I thus
take the liberty of addressing you upon the subject.
71 have every reason to believe that at the time of the
union Mr. Pitt
was of opinion that an arrangement was, even
then,.ln possible for having
periodical or s of
-t penal Parliament held in Ireland forions suchittings business the
as
might
be most conveniently dispatched's there, if the people of
Ireland desired it
mOreWsoh4ttwa! deemed practical at that time must he still
Present rus, considering the facility and rapidity of the
as inTortatital communicationtoeonbeieitiwateeenDoLpounladronandDublin. It
.is
support to the union
inizlici)faysieitwne.daswith reference to the lasting interests of the
Persuasion that octhen,nasinannadi there appears to be a very general
meat in Dublinwould powerfully tesndatotidleolsT.perial Parlia-
"lt is also.considered that if the attention of the Legisla-
ture was uninterruptedly given from time to time to the
afaira-Pf. Ireland on the spot, they would be better under-
stood than they can ever otherwise be by those who are to
legislate concerning them, and a course
of measures might
thus be looked for which must tend to secure, not to endan-
ger, the general fabric of the empire.
"Some friends with whom I have consulted.on this mo-
ea!nteus subject think it desirable that these views should be
laid before the Throne, and a draught of an address to her
encl
Majesos e a,eopvity hay
ng been prepared for that purpose, I beg leave to
e it
"Allow me to re q to
you.
uiSt your consideration of it, and that
as ma
You will be so
good as to return it to me with as little delay -
ma y suit your convenience, with any observations that
y occur to you upon its subject, and, if you approve, I
should of course claim the advantage of your signature to
the contents.. .
" Believe me to be, my Lord, with respect and regard,T
"Tour obedient servant, " CHARLEMON.
"To the Right lion. Lord French."
Ron. Gentleman having read the draught of the
adirhdee e ss alluded to in the foregoing letter, praying for
it !eholding of periodical sessions of the Imperial Par-
Lament. in Ireland, and representing that the benefit
Would be enhanced by her Majesty's presence from time
otiri time arnon.st her Irish subjects, proceeded to lay. be-
fore themeeting the reply of Lord French, who, in a
very long letter, of which the following is an extract,
stated his reasons for dissenting from the proposition of
Lord Charlemont:—
of
e'' If I have not entirely mistaken the feelings and designs
nly countrymen, with whom I am associated in seeking for
a repeal of the legislative union, they require not an itine-
rant, but a domestic Legislature—not merely a resident, but
a native Parliament. They wish to hays their legislation
committed to men whom the history of their country does
n°t de4eribe as inveterately inimical to their race—as high in
hereditary hatred to their creed. They long for liberation
.fronethe control of a Parliament which, in the short interval
'l'! 44 Years, has, like a sponge, absorbed all the milk and
Tutswith which the land was flowing before the union.
aY 'wish to have their interests entrusted to a Parliament
cululeting amen not born in England, in Sotland, or in Wales
---not seleeeted in habitual contempt of Irishmen—not stran-
gers to the names, the sites, the advantages, the require-
illenta,:and the history of the principal localities of Ireland—
riot trained up• in the belief that Englishmen are by nature
Ireland—
.ti til.ey claim. to be at present—the superiors, the masters,
the slaxe-owners, rather than the co-equals and fellow-sub-
jects of Irishmen—not, in a word, men presuming that, be-
cause`lheY walked a street or two of our metropolis, or
w-hiled,teer some thirty miles on a railroad or a day coach,
tl;heV knsw isiere about Ireland than the men who spent their
Within her limits; and devoted their energies to her
service.. No, my Leal, believe me, an alien ambulatory as-
...."ernblY, though Dublin be the terminus of its ambulacrum,
-`ll never possess the confidence of Irishmen. The Parlia-
thent in which they will confide must be national and sym-
Patheticee-it must be the product of the soil, and composed of
flile,,lnett of Ireland—it must be Irish in blood, in accent and
I ;Piing ;--ao other will suffer the Irish to be for Ireland,i
a -,lllost, assuredly no other will give Ireland to the Irish.'
'"l.*-01CONNELL moved the insertion of these docile-
-eents on the minutes of The Association, and tuhnatLothrd
;oat i*,_ ipeetful thanks of the body be bestowed
fo
—"en, for his admirable letter, and toLiimordonChthairsleonmocna_t
the kindly feeline, manifested by I
3,14'11; hives delightful to them, looking back, as they,.
..,,s'id, with fond admiration to the Charlemont of 82,
'I" find the Charlemont of '44 not sunk in the general
toapafithldilayed by the Irish nobility. It was delightful
fell lilt him thinking of old Ireland ; and, although he
thort of the distance to which they wished him to
rn,
ehe was in the right, road. It was a confession to
eau__ extent, that they (the Repeaters) were right, be-
t, se ne admitted that the present system was had ; and
arrived ill,l._not help regretting that his Lordship had not
of the :countsthe only adequate remedy for the grievances
ar lament --(Cheers
p rY, nanlely, the restoration of their native
) What cared liesithere a Parlia-
ment hostile and-u g . •
such
Ireland might be situated?
--he cared not whenreenial Orkney or Sealy Isles,siu:Loanahouneyor
arliamentini
What they wanted was a P devoted to Irish interests, _nay, eternise the. coanexio
7.__(chiers.)- He wished tin ;septa'
ivawbilhitenot.—hlree(rlHaninedat_rh.e)
and which would maintain,
tioirriurtmy owsotuldn
jowinork, and thiat between the two countries.
the highest in rank were
at the rest of the Irish no-
e,
of his
father
Charlemont. He fell short, it was
aeknowledge
nieriOrit:iji
no r,„ for
a it that Irishmen were
uChhearrletinontof 1782 would
would he dm.
owo affairs.--(ffear, hein
unfitto
hiso cmanageountr y , t
hneoi
rr
Was in -such an 'tr.) Ohl what degradation there
adniissiom I Amid the prevailing torpor
of the 01) r I
the rightP;-actilasbseb,s..it Was refreshing to see a move in
trustedthal t . J "y POrtion of the nobility, and he
_a,. tneir next 'stride would be towards fede-
r hsto. - They should
easily uree_gea. e recollect that the Irish were an
predilection nn,
firie race, and that they had a remarkable
right sprit. ... aristocracy when animated with the
(1 to tie thi
nf
servitude.,
Tvittig
? ap_pealed to the noble house of Caul-
icoliect that
sere.' Lftd now, and he called on them to re-
such a people was the noblest species
sent in_ lay joining their countrymen at the pro-
virtue
ailiert. When it was of importance to have all the
‘roule b , good senile of the nation with them, they
faniii . ring back, all the glory which invested their
..taajtititeln t4e
year 'B2.—(Loud cheers.) After elabo-
znegyrising Lord French's letter, in which he
lion. ere genius of Ireland spoke its true language, the
the , entreman concluded by moving the insertion of
Ivrit:rrresPondenee on the minutes, and thanks to the
s.
The re
kr. „,Aionourable Gentleman next read a letter from
esteu, Neill, of Bunown Castle, in which it was sug-
of till that 'parties should be received into the ranks
pont; e . Aasociation without any inquiry into their
trowel or religion. He (Mr. O'Connell) was ex-
°r relay. or
from any inquisition into either polities
i to joggn; but they could not stiffer any body of men
Vhon ti.lein who were advocates of physical force, and
over "ght to effect their own objects by tyrannising
The and sttempting to coerce the opinions of others.
Chartists had beenguilty of these faults, and the
Association _ _
/ql°lll the would not sutler any person to join them
Raving y knew to be
enu, a Chartist.—(Hear, hear.)
_erated several acts of violence of which
Culeedeedhnists !lave been guilty, the Hon. Gentleman con-
eions I'Y saYing that when they abandoned such opi-
,susseci,atnhdeye,-iot titter leaders than they at present Vs'
'would, wlitiiitM-ght
'4ePealer be allowed to join the ranks of the
t 4 eaters countenanced them now, they
out the :much difficulty, obtain adherents through-
fte a , . y towns of Ireland, and would thus be•
money
of the
to , WWI), or owns
saeeveepr
41,ri
setsdoefi e party; but he would take care
Har, hear.)
Mr. O'CoNNELL a havingbeen handed in,
to ea„ the attention of the rose, and said that be wished
e!lnsiderable import the meeting to some subjects of
t!loied adv.ert
was
oance. The first topic to which he
-lie people of this sun which
was generally interesting. to
litireiage
,question.
Tntry—he meant the Presbyterian
Y--he
question had been raised as he
"liilinift°ssernlre._,(l, in.a very extraordinary manner. It had
,eere deft:n that the expenses of the proceedings
.hereb_ na',`.l._ 01. a dignitary of the Established
net pe'rs"oun' P__P et?uld net help saying that he thought
retter
'After persona
. might have laid out his money much
tester
pia,' - detailing the proceedings which
e in the courts of law. in Ireland, Mr. O'Con-
'4ll
i Proeenesee e
ese eoeee7oieo to state that at length the House of Lords
court
efre:ttof aedeeision 9n the matter, which would have
„nun below onfirming the adverse judgment of the
*llivideci int..L.Tere were four Lords present, who were
~ not =opinicin, and the judement of the court
ersed, wag now final, and these mar-
I'
e 5
Were invalid. In accordance with those principles
11 vquality' fo
!k;nunittee
_,). ofessed,. it
.'",parSong of all creeds which he had ever
ef-'stieuld, move -that it be referred to the
tnew they g_..:_th.e Association to consider in what man-
rt to tb;",lacii bost'adiance
,the interests and give sup-
ms of the Presbyteriangwhen they were
!:ellagullat,bef°Fe-the Rouse of Ckiaimons. Ile next begged
in Ireien'td,entliwto their own prospects in England and
late all all the proCeed.d.bis. insufferable tediousness to go
. ings in Fngland connected with the
Ir Pe°s4eutio 4
TNreseif t h and its results. He was unwilling
,thinc,o,,go theondon. He was led not to expect
ewer lasses Prejudices of the,middle classes—the
cifriu:k thesbsersi,;_tie, , knew'- might be led hy Chartism, but
,i:!onted,
,aillte4 of that political creed he entirely
tiaj!ti ill hoitie,knew that the upper classes were ar-
,whving been
;city to Ireland 'and to her wishes ; but
~Yerrnled by the opinions of those for
ta4atoenlecilloenhad,lne highest respect, he accordingly went
pj other 'a
atild• he had never been so much gratified by
44 his life ; he was most agreeably disap- 1
tiol,ll.ted to 1.
the English people a dispost-
-414-'°B4PPonrt ' itnicTingso of Ireland—an intense and wide-
e_ead ablibrretnile"
.641 great tulx. c 0 of what had occurred in this country
iety for the purity of the administration of
%el le'. and:
Mf,v,cte' .r. a longing. clesii-e to have juries fairly
r h en:fitet he h d been •
'Aft e went in '.- a as well received where-
tiuter heimt,
.„ ralgland as he could be in that hall.
INN. his late'teta.iling,the various occasions upon which
ee et had been visit to England manifestations of re-
tiitled th shoWn to him, the Hon. Gentleman pro-
': a: i 8 thee: a a Y 'nntat his heart was big with gratitude to
Ntihmt. gd, the just, the discriminating people of
1144!" E.'nglitistrn'reillner °"V!Ente. when Ireland was, j.op-
at ti;el:nit they had unhappily -
Vs., r hretlireu‘ • acquiesced in tte milts-
noW taken a manly stand in favour
-"1-e too io In this country, and had proclaimed, in
ud to be misunderstood, that they were dis..

I satisfied with those proceedings. It was unwisely said
by a portion of the press in this country, that the sym-
pathy which had been manifested was merely a Whig
manceuvre ; but the assertion was obviously untrue, and
he emphatically contralicted the newspaner writers who
had given currency to the opinion. At the dinner in
Covent-garden Theatre there were nut 20 Whigs pre-
sent ; and there was nothing therefore more distinctly,
more unhandsomely untrue, than tho assertion that it
was a Whig manifestation, and not a spontaneous popular
movement, unconnected with party, and springing from
a high-minded sense of justice—a wish for fair play and
a horror of oppression.—(hear, and cheers.) At the
sense time he wss bound to say that the Whigs had be-
haved well towards Ireland on this occasion. Could
anything be more honourable than the conduct of Lord
J. Russell after the deba.es were over, and the majority
of 99 declared in favour of the Ministry ?—(1-fear.)
Could anything be more manly and mo_e consistent
with the high station and character of that Noble Lord,
than his coming forward and making a solemn protest,
speaking judicially, that they had not a fair trial in
Ireland ?—(Rear, hear.) It ought nut, therefore, to be
called a Whirs movement, nor ought the Whigs to be
blamed fur what had occurred on this occasion—they
hail done great service to the people of Ireland, and the
Irish ought to feel grateful to them.—(Hear, hear.)
There was a hearty and .cordial spirit amongst a great
many of the English people ; there was a disposition to
see this country done justice to, and there was a great
inclination to consider the repeal question. He found
some persons in England who went further than lie
would go himself, for his violence consisted only in the
expression of a determination never to cease his legal
and constitutional agitation for the procurement of
repeal.—(Hear.) But what benefit were they to derive
from this kindly demonstration of the English people ?
Much of sympathy, much of pleasure, and of gratifica-
tion the human mind must always experience when just
and honest people sympathised. Bat how could those
good wishes serve Ireland while the Parliament was
packed ?—(Hear, hear.) They might, to be sure, cons
trol some few Members of Parliament, but the over-
whelming majority there was ag,aitht them, and there-
fore, while he expressed his gratification at the sympathy
of the English people, still he was bound to exclaim—
" Hereditary bondsmen, know ye not,
Who would be free themselves must strike the blow?"
—(Loud cheering,) What chance had they of the Par-
liament doing anything for them ? They certainly hal
some chance of their doing something against them, but
not the least of anything favourable, unless it might be
some miserable sop in the pan —(Laughter.) This very
day, almost in a few hours after he should have done
speaking, new. measures would be brought into Parlia-
ment.—(Hear, hear.) Lord Eliot had selected to-day—
very, appropriately, as it was the Ist of April—( Laughter)
—to bring in two Bills, one to amend the franchise in
Ireland, the other relating to municipal reforms. The
first of these Bills purported to augment the franchise,
but he (Mr.. O'Connell) had 'reason to know that it
would annihilate the popular franchise in Ireland.—
(Hear, hear.) The principle it went on was that of the
Chandos clause, giving the votes to tenants-at-will. The
English people complained that the Chandos clause had
made the county representation a representation of serfs
—alas ! he (Mr. O'Connell) was bound to say it was ad-
mitted by Lord John, as it was emphatically announced
by Lord Stanley, that the object was to throw the repre-
sentation of the counties into the hands of the aristocracy.
--(Hear, hear.) The other Bill, which related to corpo-
rate reforms might to a certain extent do some good. It
would do away with the payment of the mass of taxes
formerly necessary to . entitle persons to vote, and
they would now have to pay only the poor-rate, the
borough-rate, and grant jury cess ; but many exist•
ing grievances would be increased by it. They should,
therefore, continue to struggle, and should never abate
their exertions until the perseverance of Irishmen in the
expression of their opinions would convince Englishmen
that the Government of the country could not be carried
on in war as well as in peace, unless justice was done to
Ireland.—(Cheers.) He asked the people of Ireland
what did they mean to do? Did they mean to give up
their struggle for repeal?—(Cries of " Never.") Did
they mean to allow him to conduct that struggle as he
pleased ?—(Loud cheers.) If so, he should, in the first
place, tell them that they must observe the most un-
broken tranquillity and obedience to the law —that was
the basis of the struggle.—(Hear, hear.) It might be
said that his enemies were about sending him to prison,
and he believed they were; but that was only an addi
tional reason for peace. Oh! how delighted those who
hated them would be if they could bring the people into
contact with the overwhelming military force at present
in the country! And let them also recollect that they
were accountable beings, and that every one of them
should stand before the judgment-seat of God to answer
for his conduct, and for every violation of the laws of
God committed by him.—(Hetir.) Oh! the virtuous, the
temperate people of Ireland would not, he was confident,
disgrace themselves by resorting to force of any
kind. And if they did, he would not for an hour remain
their leader.(Hear, hear.) After adverting to the suc-
cess of peaceable agitation during the struggle for eman-
cipation, the Hon. Gentleman proceeded to assure the
people that if they persevered in their present peaceable
course for twelve months longer, they would have three-
fourths of the people of England and Scotland with
them, and they would be too strong to be resisted. But
their efforts should be continuous, though tranquil.
Should it be said, that because soiree of them were sent
to prison, the rest were to lie down in apathy ?• For his
own part he had formed the determination of not know-
ing any man who was not a Repealer, or holding any in-
tercourse with him, unless he came to him on inevitable
business.—(Cheers.) Some persons might blame him
for this, but he really considered the man who was not
a Repealer, to be a base creature, and he looked on him
as a coward, if he did not wear some outward mark of
being one.—(Loud cheers.) If every man who was a
Repealer in '43 contributed to their funds in '44, and' if
every man who was not a Repealer then became so now,
the success of their -cause was certain. He bad called
1843 the repeal year, and he now begged leave to name
1844 the " clinching " year.—(Laughter and cheers.)
When they set about praying for him, let them think
not of- him, but of old Ireland ; let them inscribe
"Peace and perseverance" on their walls, and nothing
but their own apathy could prevent their carrying repeal.
—(Cheers.) After a strong appeal to the people of this
country to come forward as liberally with their money
during the present year as they had done during the
past, the lion. Gentleman concluded by expressing his
conviction that the day of Ireland's happiness was not
far distant. He cared not what became of himself if he
could obtain liberty for his native land.
The rent for the week, at the conclusion of the pro-
ceedings, was .announced to be 9281. 18s. 4d., including
6001. from America; and the meeting adjourned to next
Thursday week.