The Sun.
London, England, 1828-10-21 00:00:00

BRUNSWICK CLUBS.

s DAY')

isEA frols

Itttit
pt;ctrßo3l I.OBT, NUGENT TO HIS CONlttrk/Y.NTS, THE
" °RS or AyLEsßully, ON TA k'oF. UATIoN OF THE
'UN,S,VH2X CLUBS.

Lillies, Oct. 17.
-rived the qentlemen—l bave not been in the habit of
Wir'l64 obtattding upon you any opinions of my,
es„r"Pi,-tting the conduct of others on either keel
edeJ YWlcral polities. My duty is limited to the laying
tee
~„ eel( public principles before you, and to the
, ‘s't-nfee orion them to the heel of my power in Perna-
spiral e,!lt trs which you have sent me ;it is yours to form
with ail' t(t,,
utitown conclusions on the events that are passing
( you, fund to give effect to those conclusions by
ie,:pealls which the Constitution has placed in your
e front tilt; You will also do me the justice to feel, that
ritele,„e anyn ce act of tonic that I am now forced to
tee- that sile which many consideiations live
made a consp ired to impose up
stil on inc.
Sussol" e° my return, after a short aleseeeee from my
iretttYtit,,and from England, I find that, during that
ettletit new and extraerdinary appeal has been
tit
DO) 'NI, you by the formation of a private sot iety In
f wits of tt sort which, for some reasons, I should
s XPected to see made at this time in
leis sls"oltighaershire. It is an appeal} not only against
tit
town opinions on the subject of religious liberty,
, who beitil'n against that political *tranquillity and neigh-
her._,,)n_o.st of us, iole te 41Y tspirit which I believe it to be the dispositioN
alklys and I know it to be the duty of all,
weer' I,4flitdeavour to preserve throughout the utmost op-
:eiy in 1,
do ot opinions on public matters. lam happy
tw off t„tr, wbat I might well have expected from the
kly, te the desien,
n that the execution of it is in a
test of tot 414,iteNitse of failure, But the attempt having been
lames, "9 lot (With, however, little success or applause),
and coif 11147 to decline the earliest opportunity of meet-
Atter, eti!' \rould be to shrink hem the duty I owe you,
'ix)in, the rnin the duty I OWe to the peace of this part of
11l het P 0 let°llntry in which I bear so deep an interest.
la not my intention at this time to trouble you
hulkly (r,e,; tele,l'hY argument on- the right or wrong of what is
9n in s eolt
the ssatnonc question. I have done so often
rte gn already, and by all those public means which
y were it tiet pen to us. t's
soy opinions on that question arc
,I,4nanged ; but, as far as they could be strength-
re &fell e ket,,tl)ey are strengthened. That question must
lame, or- pro ine left to work its own way with the English
et vets° iSi)e) wills are given to reflection, and fond of jue-
hat isti wherever they do not allow prejudice and pas-
)itilt° gatard the avenues of the public. mind
I the l'ied '7 reflection and justice. I would wily
irge, l;tee°e'nr'e you fairly the alternative in which the
retie er: Ltttyment and people of this empire have been
wintle‘°: eti`tt)o with reference to that question, by the ope-
the jet, aft °of that very system of club law, which it is
the wh°' I)ol.°lited, pow for the first time here, to graft
he 41,1 tile good old stock of public opinion.
duced short visit to Ireland, in the course of which I
ley there' te: todeavoured, with as much impartiality as is
Tertrible with strong preconceived opinions, to
ht by observation any inaccurate notions into
114 e I may have fallen, gives me more right than
'fectquid otherwise have had to state to you the ef-
betsbwbiele have been produced and matured there
lest-,;:4t system. The body called the Catholic As-
N-`4", but, in fact, containing a great number of
ft)i !estant members, derived its origin from the club
ettr!t which had been cultivated by the Orange
I,,etti°n• The Orange faction was the cause of the
Ih'°!it Association, which, though late, caught
spirit, and the result is, that four-fifths of Ire-
e
thll-11°W look to no other Government but that of
1: Association. It now governs four-fifths of Ire-
htt the power of reward
rompunt
d 11 b •im ness It has not
Irnp.y an so e y y
tii,Y the power of excitement and organization ; fair
egis easily obtained with a people labouring, under
Rise of injury. It has not only the power, if its
'-`lewicked now to exert
ors were wild and enough
stl 9fraising four-fifths of Ireland in 48 hours to any
lion combined combined violence; but it has shown that it
,it ,'esses also the much greater power of controlling,
and dissolving meetings of thousands by' a
sel4 of advice. Is this a state of things that should
tt;nue ? Is this a fit power to subsist under any well-
e.inated government ? Certainly quite the reverse.
it.t the Government of Ireland is not a well-regu-
iiite4 government ; for it has for many years been in
Ish,einds of clubs. The Osaugemen had long rtio-
er'litd all that the Government could give to cor-
o;tti" to enjoy, or could permit to violence to ex;
Net. Of 'late the Government has been in wise
Nitester hands ; never, I think, as far as one may
th,_
those ofie from a very short experience' in wiser or juster
te
Lord Ang 1
these
But this abridgment
!tiortolerated r power is not by the Orange clubs.
I,'" Ways, anti in all places, and, I lament to say,
lql tom under every garb, even the sacred sad peace-
()" of the Christian Ministry, the Orangemen
I,t'"%v crying out for blood, and avowing their wish
l'
ilt leer g
to
eit flow: The Association has been successful
itotviti the Catholics that to do acts of vio-
would be to play the game of their ad-
tl;ei"s. It has succeeded in putting the Ca-
t • les, o I• • guard against the Orange
iq Ass en t 'ell
allof Ireland
the w"o are over the south
le • friends led Catholics, endea-
sse guFse of
JtisCrig to excite them to acts which would
it ift;Y the calling in the troops. The triumph will
11e be
given by the Catholics to the Orangemen.
whitings.of a very dangerous sort (if not illegal,
lieu", I am not lawyer enough to determine), but
ings of many thousands of Catholics were held,
(Drew weeks ago, it, different parts of the south,—not
' eienrposes of violence, but for purposes out of
4 cli, ho •
sfs however ptatea e, blviolence might, by the
eijot the Orangemen, at any moment have been
y`e to arise. The Association saw this, and in
(rloours, by a mere witness, every assembly of this
' of t io Ireland was dispersed, and its recurrence
pre'rented, A week after followed the proclamation
kipt.lte Government. A mild and wise one, to the
qo
effect as that of the Association by which the
I\4;4' of tranquillisation bad been already done. Then
tell Must I conclude? Do I approve of every act
the No. Do I think it a fit form
Association
thi ,
k°VernMent for Ireland ? Far from it. But I
that it has arisen out of the club spirit of its
ill'ersaries. I think that it is now maintaining the
fe.khlie peace in Ireland, which no other power
seild do.think that, justiceshall
le effectually ien
.ee been done Ireland, it should
frr4olved instantly; but that, till then, it neither can
letually, nor ought.
'toml the remotest times of our occupation of
\t11(1 to the present, we have not- discovered the
is tat of governing that island ; nor have we tips
%egehed, nearer to that desirable discovery by
qiYing the club system. We have laboured to
Hytt bli lied faith; we have not
et, Ireland to our es a -
ykedour means well to that end. We began
' lisrnantancient churches. The copse-
lett their
liee is, that Ireland is beset with monuments of
elviineient religion, which form an appeal as me an-
-IYand • as can be imagined. Small
°Pt as exciting
6,1 ruins, some with the marks of violence still on
walls, and all bearing tokens of systematic
'ie-7triution, surrounded by burying grounds also in
e-%
overgrown with I.:lnk grass, and open to the
.ouIR'Y. Yet these contain the tombs of some of
thehoblest names of Ireland—of men who have
unk, and sons are still clinging, to the desire
tria,, whose
insulted and v'ts-
t„,,,,lng their remains close by the
e'" graves of their forefathers. Recordst of a
i;arte error in a proselyting government . But to
emPlete the picture, the eye of the Catholic, while
tn these sad memorials of what his faith and
latnily have suffered from the Protestant, is met,
alrnost the same glance, by the neighbouring
newt, Protestant spire, every where rendering themf
,';.ore striking by the contrast. And this is one o
subjects of feeling which it is proposed to subdue
the generalising of Orange Clubs.
The tithes, very unequal and
e.evere as they arc,
e generally collected, in Catholic parishes, by pros:-
to be transmitted to the Protestant clergyman,
Jett residing in London or Bath : and non-residence
iltoften the better ministry of the two, in this re-
, that at least the Catholic is not further irri-
t"ti
by the view of an incumbent having no duties
k,
'1
'eel to h but th receiving his s wages
Personsim, who have already contributed largely,

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out of their poverty, to support their own pastor in
the duties of their religion. Ido not say this in
disparagement of the persons of the Itilh Pretestant
clergy, but of the system ttlidel• Which they_ re
Tided for f taro this is anothel.- of the subjects
which it is 'Orofi'ased t 6 by inviting
this very clergy to b.e. iiiiiiners in Orange Clubs!

T6rt are two classes of opinions which I have
heard offered as to the state of public feeling in Ire-
land. One, that the lower orders of Irish feel no
interest in what is called emancipation: no other,
that they are led blindly by their priests. Now of
these propositions the first is quite untrue; and the
second is not true in the sense or the e:atent in
which it is generally stated, to the first of these
notions the result of 50111 C of the late elections surely
seems sofkient answer. That many an Irish Ca-
tholits who shouts for emancipation knows as little
what the term means as does many an English Pro-
testant who shouts against it, is quite true; but
they all understand that it is to relieve them from
the intolerable usurpation of Orange ascendancy.—
They understand that it is something that will pre-
vent their being hereafter daily told, in ways that
make their blood boil, that they are a subordinate
caste ; and they understand that it is something that
will limit the Orangeman in the enjoyment of his an-
cient monopoly of personal insolence. Will the lower
orders, it is asked, gain any solid advantage by Ca-
tholle emancipation ? :None that I know of, but
this. But this I should feel, if I were a Catholic, to
be a very solid advantage. Are the lower orders
substantially sufferers under the Catholic disabilities
The infliction by regimen of a kick per diem would
not, I dare say, be productive of any serious bodily
injury ; and yet these is an opinion prevalent among
gentlemen, that it is a regimen which one ought
rather to risk one's life than submit to the first dose
of. I think some gentleman, not long ago, said, in
some public assemble, that he believed that, if you
were to go through Ireland with a pound sterling in
one hand, and emancipation in the other, the Catho-
lic would prefer the pound. Surely this was tried
by the landlords at the late election, who offered,
not a pound only, but all that could keep the poor
40s. freeholder from beggary for the rest of his life,
if he would but abstain fro* supporting the candi-
date who supported Catholic emancipation. And
the choice was made by the Catholic voter, instantly,
and almost universally, for emancipation. This was
a great triumph over corruption. Enthusiasm, if
you will ; fanaticism, if you will ; but it was too
strong for corruption.
But it is said they are led blindly by their priests.
Not quite so blindly as some imagine. I grant that
the power of the priests, through auricular confes-
sion, and through many of what we Protestants hold
to be the abuses of their church, is very great. But
I am convinced that the priests are now, politically,
only instruments in the hands of the Association,
and subordinate to their power. Powerful instru-
ments themselves, but instruments still. And here
is the proof of it. At the great contested elections
of Waterford and Clare, there were several instances
of priests who canvassed their flocks for the landlords
and against the popular candidates. The parishio-
ners, in spite of the spiritual influence, stood fast for
the political question. They told their priests to
begone with their advice, and in some instances the
influence of those priests has, in consequence, so de-
creased, thqt they have been obliged to abandon their
cures. If any thing could bring the priests and the
Association generally into conflict with each other,
while this great question is pending, I am convinced
that the Association would prevail. Now they are
united, and the Association works generally through
the influence of the priests.
What then confirms the power of the priests, of
which we are complaining? The Orange-club sys-
tem, which has given power to the Association, and
identifies its interests with those of the priests.
Now, it is most important to look soberly at the
following question, and not to deceive ourselves.
What is the price at which we are content to pur-
chase die delaying for it few years longer to give to
the Catholics of Ireland, not political power, as is
falsely represented, (for that they already have en-
tire, in the elective franchise,) but the incitement to
use their political power in friendship, instead of in
conflict, with the mother state ? I wish, as I said
at the begiening, to avoid arguing the Catholic
question. I wish merely to put before you the terms
of the alternative. It will not be a struggle of a day
or a year, in which a great national eflbrt will be
made against the Pope and all his works,and after Mr.
Lawless shall have been sabred, and Mr. O'Connell
gagged, and Dr. Doyle converted, the work will be
done, and our heroes return with all the glory that
will belong to such an achievement. Oh, no;—it
will be a dogged, endless, hopeless disaffection in
Ireland, and an agreeable garrison duty for England,
during the joint lives of the to u parties ; through-
out which period Irish property will not be very se-
em e, and the rents of Irish landlords, and the tithes
of the Church of Ireland, will have less of regularity
and more of adventure in the collection than will be
pleasant to the collectors. It is said here by sundry
members of Brunswick Associations (as far as one
may collect of their lucubrations front what is allowed
to meet the public ear), " We will not be bullied."
Who bullies them ? ksk yourselves fairly what de-
mand would be made on their personal valour if all
Ireland were to be in flames to-morrow. None. It
requires no effort of courage to read at one's break-
fast table of the progress of a massacre in another
island. And therefore, though the talking here of
wading up to our owe proper knees in blood be to
some tastes a very affecting figure of speech, it is,
nevertheless one which, when well considered, is
neither evidence of accurate calculation nor of heroic
self-devotion. Nothing is more certain than this, that
there is a salutary fear of states, which it is a vulgar
fallacy to confound with personal pusillanimity, as
there is a thirst for requiring martial renown by
proxy which does not necessarily argue an over-
flowing of personal courage. No man ought to fear
danger for himself, but every man ought to fear
danger for his country. The inconvenience which
we shall all suffer till the great question shall be set
at rest is simply this—we shall have to bleed in a
very different and more metaphorical way. So long
as we are at peace with all foreign states, andsayish
to torment Ireland, we must be content to pay the
tax-gatherer pretty highly twice a year for that gra-
tification. We shall find Orange Ascendancy a lux-
ury charged high to us all in the schedule; and, in
return for these regular payments, we shall hear of
thousands of additional hoops being sent to keep our
victims quiet under an operation performed for the
recreation of others, which we shall not even have
the amusement of witnessing. We must also make
up our minds to be at peace for the time to come
with all the rest of the world ; and to be bullied
with impunity by second and third-rate powers,
who, when they look at Ireland, do not fail to see
why it is that we dare not hold to them the tone
which we once held, and which we ought to hold
now. The first shot that is fired between us and
any foreign power, in good serious warfare, will be
the signal for the emancipation of many millions of
our subjects either by an act of our own, which will
be then thankless, or by an act of theirs, which will
be their final separation from our empire. Meanwhile
we must continue to resemble the man, as I saw it
somewhere well described, who is bullied and
laughed at by all his neighbours, but comforts him-
self at home by beating his wife.
I will say no more of Catholic emancipationd
if itthola)inee
beforetis— aasml aasmsttihreatthltitetlitihned thing
not done. I am at the same time front my soul con-
vinced, that whatever difficulty there may be of
tranquillizing Ireland now, it will be multiplied in
compound proportion every year that the Act is de.
layed. At the Union the Act would have been
easy, and its tranquillizing effects complete. In
1907 less so, but more than now. In 1825, less so
still, but more than now by the " wings," the loss
of which the very Orangemen now bewail. Year
after year, as the difficulties increase and the imme-
diate advantages diminish, the necessity will become
more and more urgent and indispensable. I will
leave this part of the subject, only entreating gen-

tlemen who still have opinion; against panting the
political relief) (altd I resrct constientiont opin:t;
of every sott;) alnsider it
deeply. tlil slil n of argument; all tIiQ
it'CW edikc;ssiim, tiitiy
the time not arrive when it will become a mere
choice between two dangers, which may not only
justify, but call upon, a prudent man to embrace the
lesser in order to avoid a much greater and a much
more immittent Imploring gentlemen to lay this
question to their hearts, and to ponder it well
before it be too late; let file asi( in concliition by
what • has 'Maud 'Men brought into the peril
and distraction in which we all agree that she is now
placed ? Why, by this odious and tut-English
system of endeavouring to govern by clubs. The
Irish Brunswick Clubs, which are formed for a
practical purpose—that of exciting civil \var in order
to restore the w'uning ascendancy of an illegal faction)
I view with alarm and detestation. Those of Eng-
land, which ate formed for no purpose at all, but
that of inciting people to address to each other
speeches and letters of (lull detraction, and to mix
up a little of their own acid humour in the compo-
sition of every society within their influence, I can
only view with another feeling not less deep, but of
a much less ardent sort, to which I will not give a
name. These are they who talk, in their weakness,
of fettering the Government ; who, by dint of the
proffer of some rotten borough influence, which a
Government fit to rule this country ought sufficiently
to feel its own popularity to be able to toss back to
the profferers with disdain, think themselves strong
enough to proclaim to the Duke of Wellington that
he, whom they lately setup as their idol, must now
be content to he moved as their puppet. These
are they who, at the very moment when a lucky ex-
perience is demonstrating to them their own inabi-
lity to stand up as a party in the State, would
throw the shield of their impotence before the in-
sulted majesty of the English Constitution and the
Protestant faith. " Non tali auxilio," indeed "nee
defenvoribus istis."
I would only ask my constituents to recollect that

this very party is the same who unsuccessfully re-
sisted the repeal of the disabilities of the Protestant
Dissenters, and who are row claiming that glorious
triumph of policy, justice, and Christian charity, to
have been a " fatal stab" to the Constitution of our
country. _ _ _

For certain of the members of this strange so-
ciety, just formed, I have sincere personal regard
and respect which nothing is ever likely to dimi-
nish. I know them to be men of honour and huma-
nity. I would appeal to them, as individuals, by
every feeling of their own hearts, against the flagi-
tious passions and the bloody acts which they are
now banding themselves unknowingly to counte-
nance. On this point, when the excitement which
now rages shall have been cooled, I am as sure that
we shall hereafter and at no very distant period agree,
as I am that they are at this moment innocent of
all conception of the mischief of the work to
which they are lending themselves. It has been
proposed to me to assist in rais•ng the standard of
an opposite association here, to rally the friends of
religious liberty. My answer is, that I will not pro-
pose, and will consider well before I join in, any
such project ; bring quite content to leave the
Brunswickers to profit, unopposed, by the mortify-
ing lesson which I am persuaded they will receive.—
Should they ever face the public, in public I will
meet them. But in the meanwhile it appears to me
that I should ill perform my duties as a citizen, and
still worse those of a magistrate, with which the
King's commission has invested me, if, without
strong necessity, I were to assist in any way in di-
viding this county into two fictions, such as have
distracted the unhappy country from which I have
lately returned.
I am, Gentlemen, ever your faithful friend and
servant,