The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-15 00:00:00

elapsed since I saw the gorgeous spectacle which this
very house presented—when I saw congregated- thou-
sands of the wealthier classes of England, all joining in
ene.sympathetic shout of disapprobation of persecution,
and of abhorl•ence of injustice and partiality—shouts of
determination to haie justice done to Ireland.—(Loud
cheers.) ,i't'g have come to a new era in the history of
the two countries. For the first time the real po-
pular voice of England is raised in favour
of Ireland for the first time the people :of
Ireland have to look with the deepest gratitude upon
the exertions of their English fellow-countrymen. I
wish I possessed high powers of language—oh, .how
I desire the elocution of those talented orators whom I
have often heard and admired—l wish it was
in my, power to give the faintest ides of- the
vital emotions—the burning sentiments of my
soul, and the throbbings of my heart—the cash-
lamacrie:—(Enthusiastic and long continued cheering)—
with which I delight to acknowledge the sympathy and
support that Ireland has had on This. occasion
from all that are wise and from all that, are good
amongst the English people.—(Cheers.) I have
had on my table four invitations from the
north and the south and the midland counties of
England. If I were able to remain in England
longer—but I am wanted back in Ireland now—(A
laugh)—there is scarcely a district in this country in
which I should not have one of our "monster meetings."
—(Cheers.) And I believe I might be indicted for a
conspiracy in England if I remained.—(Cheers and
laughter.) But I would have one thing certain, at all
events, in England, an 'unprejudiced jury and an inipar-
tial judge to decide. Oh, I wish. to dwell longer- than
may suit your present convenience. • Delightful are
the reflections that arise from the proof .of
.English sympathy. Why, I was astounded myself,
when I arrived in the House of Commons, at the repeti-
tion ofeheers from so many English gentlemen of rank
and fortune: I have been astounded too, in the streets'
at the tokens of respect that are paid me from moment
to moment.—(Cheers.) I have been delighted at the
tens of thousands that have cheered me at Birmingham;
and I am grateful beyond expression for the 'splendid
scene that has so lately taken place in this theatre. Think
you not that my heart must throb—that I must rise, as it
were, beyond my natural proportion, at the acclamations
with which I am received in this crowded—this enor-
mous—this powerful assemblage, ofmy fellow-countrymen
and countrywomen.—(Loud cheers.) Whatever becomes
of me, whatever the fate of Ireland, I never will forget
the debt of gratitude that I now owe to the English
people.—(Hear, hear.) One word from my lips shall never
pass taunting them with their prior Submission to our
rulers. Not an accent shall fall from my lips inconsis-
tent with respect and regard for them,—(Hear, hear.)
I for myself here proclaim perpetual amity between the
people of Ilse two countries—perpetual hostility to, the
oppressoffl `of" each—and I do venture to pro-
phesy that the language I use here to-night
shall be re-echoed throughout Ireland—that there shall
not be a public meeting or private social circle in which
the manner that the English people have conducted them-
selves towards Ireland on this occasion, will not be
triumphantly proclaimed with the most grateful and
cordial'acknowledgments.—(Hear, hear.) It is delightful
that it should happen so. When I formed the intention
of addressing the Repealers of London, of course I meant
to give them my advice, and my first advice to them
is to cultivate kindness towards their English fellow-
countrymen.---(Hear, hear.) Let there be no distinction
between Englishmen and Irishmen. Let no one accuse
any of them of religious bigotry, or political turpitude.
To be suae there may be some individuals amongst them,
as emotive ourselves, who are guilty of those crimes ;
but remember you have the heart and soul of England
pledged with you, and I need not bid you show your-
selves worthy of that state of feeling—for when were
Irishmen ungrateful, when were they forgetfulof kind-
ness? They have been very thankful for services ren-
dered on smaller and minor matters ; but here is an
important matter—a concern of national value and of
national, vital importance—and you will' show your
gratitude accordingly, by adhering to the people
of England—by joining them in every movement which
tends to increase their liberties, whatever becomes of
your own.—(Loud cheers,• and cries of " We. will.").
What is my next advice to you? ,It is that you con-
vince the English people with whom you associate—
whom you may casually sneet—eiery Englishman who
discusses the question of repeal with you, of this truth
—that the repeal of the union does not mean separation.
One of the means by which the honest part of the
English people have been kept in hostility to the Irish
struggle for repeal was, by infixing in'their minds that
repeal meant separation from England. It means no such
thing. It means directly the contrary. What are the
ingredients in their condition that would make the Irish
people desire separation? They are misgovernment,
oppression, poverty, and destitution. They are all the
effects of a tyrannical and bigoted sway. These are
the things that would make the Irish people desirous of
separation as the remedy of their grievances. Give
them fair play—give them proper government—give
them equal rights with the people of England—and
why should they wish for separation? The people of
Ireland know full well the advantages to both coun-
tries of the connexion. England is strong, and Ireland
can never suffer by having the connexion continued.
That is a proper connexion upon the basis of mutual
rights, mutual privileges, mutual prosperity, and mutual
liberty. A connexion established on that basis the people
of Ireland would have the most direct interest in continu-
ing. Oh, they calumniate me who say that I wish for separa-
tion. lam striving to make separation impossible--and
to render , the continuation of the connexion certain.
To make it the pride and glory of England to have such
a connection with Ireland—that is what I want. I want
to keep the countries together, and I tell you, with all
the sincerity of an oath, without its profaneness (for an
oath would be profane on such an occasion), that I am
thoroughly convinced that if the union is not repealed
while I am alive and possess influence over the Irish
people—and, oh, I am myself astonished at the extent of
that influence—l say, if the union be not repealed, it
will end in a violent civil war, and in all the horrors of
a sanguinary separation.—(Hear.) I am the link of con-
nexion between the two countries. I am the individual
round whom, to my utter astonishment, the wise and the
good of England have rallied now. Around me, I may
say, the people of Ireland are pleased to rally, and I
stand in the position to make terms for both, equally
advantageous to all, for the prosperity of England would
be only augmenting the prosperity of Ireland, if she had
fair play. As was lately said by an English gentleman,
the comfort and happiness of.the Irish people would be
a great advantage to the people of England, because, it
would be the advantage which arises between the rich
capitalists and the poor customer, in articles of trade
and commerce. Repealers and repeal-wardens of Lon-
don, circulate from us, and from your own common
sense, this fact, that the repeal of the union is but the
repeal of an Act of Parliament. Tell the people of Eng-
land that Ireland was connected with their country 600
years, during which she had a Parliament as well as
England. There was no separation then—no tendency
to separation. No man dreamt of separation, except in
the revolutionary era that followed the French outbreak,
and that overturning of everything sacred and profane
—where the Presbyterian Republicans of the north of
England thought of severing the connexion, but the
great mass of the Irish people were sound and healthy
in their allegiance. Lepend upon it the repeal of
the union, so far from leading to a dismem-
berment of the empire, would be but an additional
link of connection between the two countries, and render
separation impossible. That is my second advice to
you—namely, to show to everybody that repeal does
not mean separation.—(Hear.) Then I call upon you
to be firm in looking for repeal.—(Cheeriig, and cries
of "We will.") Ireland wants the repeal. There is no-
body can doubt the misery that has occurred to Ireland
since the union. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman
then proceeded at considerable length to point 'out the
evil effects to Ireland of the union. He quoted the Poor-
law Commissioners' Report to show that there were
2,300,000 paupers in that country out of a population of
8,000,000 ; and also the late report of Captain Larkom,
who showed that 70 per cent. of the agricultural popula-
tion lived in cabins, consisting of but one room, and 30
per cent. of the town population living in a single room
—sometimes even three or four families living in one
room—and he dilated on the enormous extent to which
destitution and misery must have spread to have pro-
duced such results. He showed that the Repeal
would be advantageous to England also, inasmuch
as it would produce such prosperity in Ireland as would
afford means of employment to the Irish operative at
home, and thus prevent him from cheapening the labour
market in England, and thereby lowering the rate
of a ages to the English operative. He quoted Mr.
Pitt to show that the prosperity which existed in Ireland
under domestic legislation, when she exported three
millions' worth of manufactured goods, and imported
only one million ; and lie pointed out how fallacious
had been the prophecy of that, statesman, when he
undertook to foretell that the union of, England with
Ireland would be productive ' of increasing prosperity
to the latter country. He took occasion
amongst.othersthings, -to condemn the. Irish poor-law,
whic.h ',taxed the already impoverished people for the
piirpose of giving eightpence out of every shilling in the
rate to' the persons engaged in the administration of the
laws while only fourpence was applied to the benefit of the
_poor. He pointed to the anomaly of allowing a domestic
Parliament to each of the dependencies of the empire—
Canada, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Jamaica, Bar-
badoes, and even Botany Bay—(Laughter)—while Ire-
land, the next in importance of all the portions of this
vast empire, to England, was not permitted that privilege
to which he concluded she had an undoubted right.
He accounted for the poverty of Ireland by the annual
withdrawal of six millions of money, in the shape of
absentee rents, and two millions of surplus taxation.
Thus, said he,' in the last ten years not less than
80,000,000/. have been taken out of Ireland, and he
asked them if such would be the case, if they had a
domestic Legislature ? Ho adverted to the injustice of
.the majority of. the Irish people being taxed to support
a Church which was that of the minority, and in the
,tenets of which they did not believe, and he cr sclaimed all
intention or desire of seeking to obtain the revenues of the
Church Establishment for the Roman Catholic Church of
Ireland, and confirined his assertion by referring to the
refusal, on a late occasion, of the Roman Catholic Bishops
of thatziamtry ever to accept any such revenues from i
The Governthent.—(Hear, hear.) 'The Church of Ire-
land was, lie said, the monster grievance, for when they
!sought for any advantage—for increased representation
—for an enlargement of the franchise--for a removal
of the oppression. aid grinding tyranny of the landlords,
or of the cruelty of absenteeism,
by the statement that thoselarnealies would be injurious
to the established Protean-lit Church of' Ireland.-
What admirable supporters of the Church they,
were I They heaped up every grievance upon the
Irish. people, and Abet' said they were requisite
to support their monstrous Church . Establishment.
The population of Ireland was about 8,000,000, and the
population `of Great Britain was not more than
16,000,000. .These 16,000,000 bad 553 represeinatiYesS
While #04.114,had ha 390. z, PIA afAe VelstQt9t4A