The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-21 00:00:00

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dissolution of the union. If the Government was not pre-
pared to show hoW Ireland could be governed in a state
of peace and prosPerity-if" they "were not prepared to
alter -their policy, then it became most important
that the country ,should • consider what • would
be the. result of such a state of things.—(llear.)
Ile would now refer to such_
which had been touched
upon by gentlemen on-'both sides of the House, which
.wiss, that' the tieople of Ireland did not place coatlenei
in the present Geyernment: He -believed that a large
proportion of those in Ireland who, were .interested most
in the subjects respecting which complaints were niade,
did not'entertain Confidence in the present Government.
They found that large meetings had been-held in -Ireland
which had excited the greatest- alarm. Did the Gover-
nment 'entertain alarm at those meetings? • He presumed
that they did. 'The MM. and Learned Gentleman who*
had been the means,of thoie 'meetings from first
to last; had declaredthat he did not. mean 'to break the
law. In the other House of Parliament those meetings
Were declared to be illegal, and yet what-was the policy
.sir the GOverninent with respect to them? Gould any man j
imagine why they did not interfere to' stop them ? •It
might be asked how were -they to stop them ? Why,
how did they stop them at last ? Why, hewould ask, did
they allow those meetings to continue for nine months ?
The menient the •Govertment'issUed their proclamation,
that moment the meetings ceased—that moment the
individual who had been instrumental in causing those
meetings, felt it to be his duty to use the utmost exertion
.t 4 repair the fault of the Government, and to Make' up
'for their delay, and to prevent public mischief. The
moment the proclamation was issued it was obeyed. What
reason had they to suppose that a similar-proclamation
issued earlier would not have allayed all the anxiety
and alarm that arose from those meetings? Wts it that
•they preferretl destroying an individual to preserVing
the peace of Ireland?—(Cheers.) 'Was it for the par!.
pose of laying a trap - to- catch a political opponent?
They were willing to let the spirit of rebellion grow up.
for many months. They were willing 'to" permit die,
affection to arise, and they made no 'attempt . to arrest
its progress. They • had
_prepared: theniselves with
troops to put down violence when it should break out
into open acts, but they had permitted that 'spirit 'of
disaffection to spread and increase. Had they done
this merely for the purpose of giving their reporters
an opportunity of catching heated and inflammotory sen-
tences that were uttered here and there, and now and
then.? Vas that a 'proper course of policy to ptiraile?:
(Hear, hear.) If the GoVerninent had felt that the
meetings. which , had 'ltem held in Ireland were incon-
sistent with the public interest and public safety, they
ought to have made an effort to repress them ? What,
howeier, did they do ? They permitted the people of
Ireland to suppose that: those meetings were unobjec-
tionable and lawful. -They were not disturbed. '1 hey
were permitted to extend and grow, and the people of
Ireland were. thuS seduced into the idea that these meet-
ings were consistent with the law. This was a serious
charge against the Government.. It had been laid down •
from the Bench that men who had attended the last
meeting could betaken as haring adopted all the seta-
ments promulgated at the other meetings for the pre-
vious.nine months ?; Thus an innocent man who hap-
pened tube 'present 'at the lastineeting found himself in
the, situation of being charged with the adoption of
violent expressiens— expressions which had sub-
jected . the . parties to a very serious prosecution.
It was allowed. upon. all , hands that if Mr.. O'Connell
had not exerted himself to preserve the.peace at Um-
tarf, a crisis would have. arrived, which he could not.ac-
cuse the Government of Contemplating, and he; was cer-
tain that the poor people who crowded there never
anticipated.--(Cheers.) The meeting was to take place
on Sunday, and' the proclamation was issued at three
o'clock on the Seturday.—(Cheers.) Not all the world
could convince him that the course taken by the Govern-
ment was impartial, or that. there was any intention
to show that they were disposed to govern Ireland im-
partially.—(Cheers.). Mr.. 'Connell felt, and, he would
have been wrong if he did not feel, that upon
would rest . the .responsibilitY 'if any evil consequences
lied ensued.—(Hear, hear, from the-Ministerial benches.)
So soon as the Mieisterial proclamation was issued Mr.
'O'COnnell obeYedit, and he did the most difficidt thing
-in the world, he compelled a. discontented and irritable
multitude to be as patient as he was himself.-.-(Cheers.)
There had, been many meetings-, the result ,of which
'was merged in one, which, Might 'have been included in. ,
one count of the indictment,:—(Hear, hear.) The Right
Honourable the- Secretary, for the Dome Depart,
merit had said.. that.. he , did not _stand there
t.Z:•"elefend the •Coercion Bill of the late Government.
He (Sir T. Wilde) Shoidd. have thought that the Bight
.1-l On. Baronet, having been It party to that, was not,
now going to. shrink from the responsibility which at-
tached to it. Deeply as that Bill had to be lamented,
its necessity at the time was undoubted ; and that ne-
cessity had been mainly created by the Tories them-
selves. The Whigs having come into power after a long
series of. Tory: misgovernment, it took a long time to
remedy the wrongs they had inflicted. And he strongly
suspected it would be found a much more easy matter
to defend the Coercion Bill than those prosecutions—
(Cheers.) Such .a law might be called for as a tem-
porary measure, but it formed no part of, the Constitti-
tion:—(Hear, hear.) The evil lasted for a time, but the
Constitution was not hurt.— (Cheers.) But when they
came. to stretch the law,.as the Government had 'done its
the present instance, for the destruction :of public
liberty, they then inflicts 4 a wound-aye, an incurable
wound—upon the Constitution.—(Cheers.) Let them
look at the various Bills, Coercion Bills, Arms Bills, and
others, which necessity required them to pass from time
to time, when the period arrived at which they 'could
allow them to expire, the evil was at an end, and the
general Constitution remained unliurt.---(Cheers.) But
this prosecution would remain as a precedent, and when
added to the many bad ones which already existed in
our history, it would give an example to Ministers to do
that which he, sincerely, believed it was far from the
wish. of:the Right Hon. Gentleman (Sir It. Peel) to at-
tempt. But the precedent was furnished, and most as.'
suredly he (Sir Thos. Wilde) looked upon it as one
most inconsistent with -public liberty. If Mr. O'Connell
had uttered
speeches, published it in his had, -spoken sedition in his
writings, orpractised it in
_sedition—had
'his conduct—or if he had by any other means excited
the people to discontent and disaffection, then, by all
,means, let.the Government indict him for it.—(Hear,
hetir.). If he had by any illegal means attempted to
overawe the Government or disturb the peace and safety
of the empire, let him, he repeated, be indicted. He
was -amenable to the law for his conduct; but
:do , not let them , twist, the. law so •as to make
a charge of conspiracy,' and that under • circum-
stances which might be afterwards used to prevent
agitation by even the most legal means.—(Dear,
hear.) -
citor-G eneral had said something last evening about the
pia Honourable and Learned Friend the Soli,
late Government having, something to de with indict-
ments as well as the present one. Not such indict-
ments as that on.which he was -now to comment. He
put it_to his Hon. and Learned. Friend whether ;it was
was not true that the :forms of indictment; under which
Mr. O'Connell had been tried had never come .under
the consideration of any one who 'had not lamented
it? Throughout Westminster-ball it was detested, and
to such case:sae the one wider consideration was now
never
applied in this country,--(Cheers,) Would his
Hon. and Learned Friend the Attorney-General at-
tempt in England to indict' a man, and get a verdict
against-him, for a speech he had never uttered, or for a
pal agraph m a newspaper which
he had never seen?—
(Loy •d cheers.) t
• asked .his LearnedFrietd the plain
question whether, inliis long experience, be had ever
known that form of indictment even referred to with-
out being stigmatised in the strongest terms of disap-
probution?—(Loud cheers.) Whoever attended to the
form of that indicttrie ,and followed it .np.by a con-
sideration of the law as laid down by the Lord
its character. It .charged
Chief Justice, would readily be able to see and to ap-
preciateconspired to . excite disaffection and hatred, and, by
means of physical-force, endeavoirred to oir_enlrlivee
that the traversers
Legislature. The laW, as laid doe nby the
and
d Chief'
combined
Justice, was, . that if.-persons associated and
itmus, then were
bined to effect Riegel object by illegal
T. Wilde)
did (Sir
they guilty of a breach of the law.
he -did except- to
to effect, by their joint efforts, an illegal object, or coin
did ~not except to that law, but
its application.-(lleac, hear.) Now, be asked, had or
had not the people of Ireland a right to meet to discuss
theirgrievances and obtain a redress of them? He ,pre-
sumed the right to meet and discuss,
.and take measures
for redress was - not. questioned ?--(Marks of assent from
the Treasury benches.) Why, did they ever hear of a
meeting for the discussion of grievances where there.
vas not discontent T. Where there was no
_discontent
what was the object of the meeting?.—(Hear, hear.) Was
it the privilege of the' people 'only to meet to excite con-
tentment or originate affection?—(Cheers and laughter.)
They might excite disaffection in a manner, to make it
unlawful, but it.'required great care in a judge when
showing what ought to excite and what' ought' not to ex-
cite discontent.- But the indictment against Mr. O'Con-
nell' was, in fact, a perfect indictment for 7.llgu,treason.
In the Of Lord George Gordon, the 'very words
in which this indictment was framed Were 'the wards in
'which Lordlftinsfield laid down the law, 'that such M-
t°. raise discontent -and dis-
affection, twas high treason; and. this had been.fbllowed by
()Vert' acts. It therefore was a complete and perfect in-
•dictmett for high treason... But were these traversers
the only-persons iri:theempire who had; by their joint
and, .b)r overawing the Legislature, to
bring the law into con'eurpt ? What had been
or-law?—(Cheers.) What was
efforts,ffoc t i
r,
-endeavoured
done in reference • to the poor4aw.—law,
What answer was to be made by certain Hon:-MeMbers
f that house when questioned as to their Conduct and
I
What of the pa
reference to the
tpst:pueeeebblehi shusleitisestidid:obugyf::llllholierPrg4.llT
tOi.}:na:seitbsPlien:cr:?—(sePeatGP-eiprgresall,t:ll:eers:) Let them
take.the speeches of cert Si- lion. Members when upon
Oastler's speeches and
poor-law.
leadi papers-let them take ttahterli'mr'-f3' ng articles—and
according to the law as administered to Mr. O'Cdtnell,
-there was as clear-a conspirttcy as ever was hatched.—
j e te and another:
(Cheers.) Look at what bad been written. and said of
the slave trade, and of
.and on varionashdottscopnutbelnict
; and lie had aright to say
ty's
lh had right, in order to
He a set ws
eaueirdne s°:-
thenelb3;:ea,n.and Englisho of
lhea.irclilitartnafeesi•it did 'not consider their
that House for a 'repeal' of
interest, that it had no sympathy with them, that it did'
-naihoildt
aegt. itsihlftte tebpeeofobprt hetveoei benefitin
the union, to use those arguments, if he believed the
union to be mischievous. But if be used those argu-
ments'he was guilty of this act of conspiracy and sedi
thin. describing the indictment for conspiring
Oslo these several things, the Learned Judge gives this
direction—" It is true the indictment sets forth certain.
overt acts; but no one of these acts need be proved—
the crime consisted in the agreenient, not the acts."
Therefore though -net 'one j of these acts should be
coded; still the traversers might be guilty of conspiracy.
'4lsavi4g by 'this' mode tendered:the meta 'elimparaticely
unimportant, he says to the jury " you may infer the
agreement from these persons acting in common ; and