The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-13 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MARCH 13, 1844.

repose, there is not one of you whose case it might
not be to-morrow.—(Hear, hear.) I say not this to
intimidate you, or to warm you in support of the
people of Ireland, for I would be the most mistaken
of human beings, if I was not already aware that it
is owing to no other motive but your own generous
feelings that you sympathise with them. I arraigned
the prosecution against me, and lam just in arraigning
it, for their was nothing of legal form about it; there
was nothing fixed or tangible which you might encoun-
ter. It was a monstrous shadow set up by
the miscreant administrators of the law ; but there
was nothing which could be met but by fair argument
or by legal discrimination.—(Hear, hear.)' I next
arraigned the conduct of the judge, and I have this
consolation, that no human being justifies him. The
usual practice when a man is arraigned for his con-
duct in Parliament, for a Ministerial Member, if hebe
a Ministerial man, or for a Member of the Opposition, if
he belong to that side of the House, is suddenly to get
up and discover him to be a man endowed with
every virtue, and then they eulogise him. This was
the usual course in Parliament, and I appeal to those
who are familiar with its proceedings; but no person
was found to rise up and praise Chief Justice Penne-
father.—(Hear, hear.) It is admitted, since the days
of Scroggs and Jeffries, such a one-handed charge,
such a side-handed charge was never pronounced by
a common-law judge's lips. He has taken you
back to the worst period of our law. Why, I saw
myself that he borrowed a part of the prosecutor's
counsel, and as out of the fullness of the heart the
tongue speaks, he talked of counsel on the other side.
—(Groans.) Let it be proclaimed from the extre-
mity of Cornwall to the highest point of Scotland—
let it go through the length and breadth of the land,
that the conduct of the Chief Justice was not capable
of being defended by any Government or any party.
—(Cheers.) You see how I am coaxing him to
pass a lenient sentence upon me. My next im-
peachment is the omission of the names in the jury
list.—(Hear, hear.) Out of 710 names, 63 slipped
by accident.—(Laughter.) We had a lot of them,
and out of the entire number of names, 63 were
absent. It was said to be an accident—(Laughter)
—but out of the 63 names that were omitted, 27
were Roman Catholics ; perhaps you do not know
that lam of that persuasion. Your esteemed and
excellent friend the Chairman, has told you that the
Roman Catholics were indebted to me for Catholic
Emancipation. He might have added with truth, and
I might say with pride, that I sought it not by the
assertion of any sectarian preference.—(Cheers.)
I always considered that religion was a matter be-
tween a man and his Creator, and that there was no
right or justice in excluding any man, on account of
his religion, from civil rights ; and that every
man was justified in worshipping his God accord-
ing to the dictates of his conscience.—(Cheers.) It
was on that principle I sought and obtained eman-
cipation, and I would not have it on any other ground.
It was on that principle that we petitioned for the Pro-
testants in England, and helped to obtain their eman-
cipation.—(Hear, hear.) Here is the hand that
drew up the petition.—(Cheers.) It was signed by
28,000 Roman Catholics, and it prayed for the
emancipation of the Protestant Dissenters in England.
After that petition was presented, Lord John
Russell succeeded, and Peel was compelled to eman-
cipate the Dissenters.—(Hear, hear.) Pardon me
for the digression, but it is incumbent upon me that
we should understand each other well.—(Hear,
hear.) The Catholics were in power three
times, and :they never persecuted a Protestant
—(Hear, hear.) Oh, let us contend with each other
in good and charitable and benevolent feelings, and
take no credit to ourselves for any particular or sec-
tarian advantage, but in the establishment of liberty
of conscience on a broad and secure basis.—(Cheers.)
But I come back to the trial ; sixty-three name
slipped out of the panel.—(Hear, hear.) Mark me,
for one moment, for there is something technical in
what lam going to tell you, but I think you will
easily comprehend it. We challenged the array, as it
is called, on account of the sixty-three names—(A
voice, " It was villainy ")—certainly it was not acci-
dent.—(Laughter.) We alleged that those names
were fraudulently taken from the list. We alleged
that it was done to the detriment of the traversers.
That plea we put on the record; the Attorney-General
had power to join issue on that allegation, and say
that it was not in fraud. That issue would have
been tried by triers duly sworn. The Attorney..
General declined that issue.(Cries of " Shame,
shame.") He left the allegation to stand uncontra-
dieted, and it stands uncontradicted to this day. He
relied on this, that he had judges who would tell him,
as they told us, that as we did not know
who had committed the fraud, we were
without remedy.—(Laughter and loud cheers.)
It is literally true. lam here talking to the common
sense of Englishmen—their sense of honesty, and above
all things, to that noble adhesion to fair play, which is
the highest and most dignified trait in the English
character.—(Loud cheers.) It is curious that in no
other part of the world can two men fight without the
people who come up taking part with one or with the
other. But in England it is proverbial,
that no people ever come up to see men
so engaged, that they do not immediately
insist on seeing fair play.—(Loud cheers.) I ap-
peal to that sense of fair play.—(Cheers.) There is
no word to express it in any other language, and
it deserves to have a word coined for itself.
The fraud is undenied to the present moment ;
and the only answer we got was, that as we did not
know the name of the person who committed the
fraud, we had no remedy. I suppose that a person
is not robbed if he does not know the name of the
thief who robs him. (Loud laughter.) If
you were to go before Sir Peter Laurie, or any
other of your white witches, and bring a
man before him, saying, "I caught this man stealing
my property, and just escaping from my premises
with the goods," everybody would laugh, more than
they do at Sir Peter Laurie) if it were said " Oh, we
can't listen to your complaint if you don't know the
name of the man." (Laughter.) Yet upon
this most ridiculous assertion, we were told that the
fraud should go unpunished, and that we should be
punished for alleging the fraud. There remains
one impeachment more of these proceedings,
and that is my impeachment of the jury
sworn. In point of law, Catholics and Protestants
had an equal right to be upon that jury.—(Loud
cheers.) In point of justice, it ought to be
so. In fair play, it would be so. Chief Justice
Fair-play will decide it for me at once. —(Loud
laughter.) Yet what was the first step ? Ele •
ven Catholics, who were on the reduced list,
were struck off by the Attorney-General.—(Cries of
" Shame, shame.") They say that they were Re-
pealers. In the first place that was not true. That
is one answer to it. In the next place, if it had been
true, it is no reply—(Hear, hear)—because, though
to be a Repealer may be a great folly, it is not a
crime. It is not a crime that makes a man an out-
law, and if they say that Rep6alers would have been
favourable jurors to me, T ask whether the most vio-
lent anti-Repealers—men who voted against me
three or four times over—could form a fair and
impartial jury against me ?—(Cheers.) I use their
own argument, I convict them out of their own
mouths.—(Cheers.) I appeal to the common sense
of Englishmen to say if Repealers would have
been favourable to me, would not anti- Re-
pealers be favourable to others ? But recol-

lect it was more important to have an impartial
jury on this trial, g the crime was not a definite

one. Had it been murder, or robbery, or forgery,
any human intellect could have judged of
the nature of the crime, and would only
have had to decide on the question of fact ;
but here the crime was imaginary. One partaking
more of identity than of reality. One which empha-
tically required a thoroughly impartial as well as
intelligent jury. From that jury one Protestant
was struck off— an intelligent individual one
of a higher order of intellect than the others—that
intelligent Protestant was sent to keep company with
the eleven Catholics—(Cheers)—and they call that a
fair trial. I call that a persecution rather than a
prosecution. It was not a fair trial ; it
was shifting, scheming management.—(Cheers.)
I
say I am not convicted by due course of law, and
in prison I shall feel that I am a victim—(Loud
a
cries of " Never, never 1") dinr that. prison I shall
have the feeling at heart thatwn
will
the punishment.—(Cheers.) Why' As:vmel superior to
would
dy here to
open my prison doors—(Cheers)—.but .npnd f very
idle to suppose that I am not thoroughly
prepare
_(Cheers.)
event of that kind. But whatever I may suffer for" ayn
country, I shall rejoice in my suffering
Whatever may be the inflictions which I may have
to undergo, I shall bear them cheerfully, for the
sake of my country.—(Loud cheers.) I denounce
the whole of the proceedings against me, and my
words will not be confined to these walls. Wherever
the English language is spoken—and the sun never
sets upon the countries in which that language is
spoken—wherever the accents of the English tongue
are heard, will these my words be borne upon the
wings of the press—(Cheers)—and throughout
America, France, India, throughout every country
in the world, will this my protest go forth against
that which I denounce as a dishonest persecution—
(Loud cheers)—and my contemptuous defiance of
those who have conducted it.—(Loud cheers.)
But I shall be asked, no doubt, what was my
object in holding those meetings. You will say
it is true you ought not to have been convicted of
conspiracy, but you have an account to render to us.
Now, I have been accused of wishing to separate
England and Ireland—l have been accused of unne-
cessarily meddling with an agreement entered into
forty-four years ago, of needlessly reviving old causes of
complaint, and creating new grievances to add to them.
Now I am quite ready to meet that charge, and I should
be utterly unworthy if I were not ready here in the
presence of you Englishmen, to justify everything
that I have done, and to rebut every imputa-
tion which has been cast upon me—(Loud cheers)— ,

and to state to you the reasons why I have held
these meetings. They say there is a union between
the two countries. I utterly deny it.—(Loud
cheers.) There is a parchment compact—(Cheers)
—a parchment enactment—(Cheers)—but there is
no real union.—(Hear, hear, and loud cheers.)
What is the meaning of a real union ? A perfect
identification between the two countries—(Cheers)
—that there should be no difference between Eng-
lishmen and Irishmen, except the accent—(A laugh)
that Englishmen and Irishmen should possess the
same rights, the same privileges, and the same fran-
chises—(Cheers)—that there should be no difference
in respect of rights and franchises between the men
of Kent and the men of Cork—(Cheers)—between
the men of Mayo and the men of Lancashire.—(Re-
newed cheers.) That England and Ireland should
be one nation, possessed of precisely the same rights, the
same franchises, and the same privileges.—(Cheers.)
I appealed to the Parliament to make that parchment
union a real one. The Tories, of course, refused, and
the Whigs were equally complimentary.—(Cheers
and laughter.) Ido not wish to weary this assembly
by entering into the dry details of statistics.
I will, however, draw your attention to one or two
statements. The county of Cork, which I have the
honour to represent, has 713,000 inhabitants in its
agricultural districts, and upwards of 200,000
inhabitants in its cities and towns, so
that the total population of Cork Is equal to
850,000 inhabitants. Now, the inhabitants of
Wales are 800,000, being 50,000 less than the inha-
bitants of the county of Cork. The county of Cork,
with its 850,000 inhabitants, returns just eight Mem-
bers to Parliament ; and how many Members do you
think Wales returns with its 800,000 ? INthy,
just eight-and-twenty.—(Hear, hear.) Well, now,
surely one Welshman is not able to beat five Irish
men.— (Cheers and laughter.) They are a brave
and perhaps a somewhat intemperate race are those
Welshmen—(Cheers and laughter)—but at the same
time, I respectfully submit that one Welshman is not
worth five Irishmen. Man for man, lam willing to
admit their worth, but I cannot
pared with my own countrymen they are worth five
to one.—(Loud cheers and laughter.) I can-
not admit they are entitled to return twenty-
eight Members for the 800,000 inhabitants,
while the county of Cork, with its 850,000
inhabitants is only to return eight Members to Par-
liament.—(Cheers.) Now, ought that to last ?
(Cries of " No! No! ") Is that a thing that
ought to be changed ?—(Cries of " Yes, yes.")
Then again let us look at the question in another
point of view. The Parliamentary returns made
seven years ago on the subject of the registration of
voters, showed that there are 4,000 registered
voters for the county of Cork, with a population of
710,000 inhabitants, while in Wales there are
36,000 registered voters. I was looking over
the Parliamentary returns this morning, and I
find the number of registered voters for Cork
is now I,soo—but 1,500 !—(Hear, hear.) The
votes for the largest county in Ireland are
nearly extinguished by the operation of the Reform
Act, while in Wales the number of voters
has increased by 2,000. There are 38,000 registered
voters in Wales, and 1,800 for the county of Cork.
—(Hear, hear.) Now, is that common sense ?
(" No, no.") Is that justice ?—(" No, no.")
Is that fairness, or is it honesty ? (" No,
no.") I have endeavoured to obtain redress
for the afflictions of my country.—(Hear, hear.)
I have felt how great is the delight of being borne
along, as it were, on the, breath of the people.
—(Loud cheers.) Oh, if you had seen the
stalwart men leaving their work and flocking
to the road-side to see me pass by; if you had seen
their eyes beaming with affection as they looked on
me, and their hands lifted up, which wanted
bat a word from me to strike the blow
—(Hear, hear)—if you had seen the aged
women with children in their arms greeting me as I
passed by, and praying for my health and prosperity
—(Loud cheers) —if you had seen the merry children,
and heard the chirping cry as I went along—(Cheers)
—asking for blessings on the head of him whom
they called the father of their country,—(Loud
cheers)—oh, if you had seen and felt as I
have seen and felt, then your hearts would have
expanded as mine did. You would, like me, here
vow never to relax in your exertions td obtain
equal rights and privileges for the land of your birth.
Those men have been taught the lesson, of which I
have declared myself the apostle, that no political ad-
vantage can be of so much importance as to justify the
shedding of one single drop of human blood.—(Cheers.)
This is the lesson they have been taught.—(Cheers.)
This is the lesson they practise—(Loud cheers)—
and this is the' lesson they will continue to
practise until the triumphant success of their efforts
shall imprint the maxim upon the minds and the
hearts of the wise and good of all nations.— (Cheers.)
The Irish nation is entitled to more than 160 Mem-
bers in your Parliament. It ought to have them.
For the sake of peace we will take less than our
right—we will be content with 160, but that
will not give us one additional. Then with
regard to the municipal franchise. Ire-
land is treated with the greatest injustice.
In England whoever is rated to the poor-rate is a
burgess, and is entitled to vote at municipal elections;
hut in Dublin, in order to be upon the burgess lists,
it is necessary that a man should be rated at
101.—that is, he should occupy a 20/. house, and
that he should have paid no less than nine dif-
ferent rates. The consequence is, that not above
one-third of those who ought to be on the burgess
lists in Dublin are upon it.—(Hear, hear.)
I now come to a subject which I have often alluded
to elsewhere, and which, therefore, I will not shrink
from mentioning even in this assembly—l mean, to
the existence of the English Church in Ireland.
(Loud cheers, and cries of " Down with it.")
Gentlemen I appeal to you whether the Church in
England, that has the State emoluments, is not the
Church of the great majority of the people ?—(Cries
of " No.") So much the worse. It ought to be.—
(Cries of " No, it is not.") Well, that is a disputed
question which I will not argue. The Church of Scot-
land—that is, the Church that has the emoluments
is the Church of the great majority.; but the Church
of Ireland, which has no State emoluments, never
has been the Church of the people.—(Hear, hear.)
I do not want the emoluments of that Church "for my
Church—l would not accept theln. There is not is
priest who would not do anything sooner than accept
thein.—(Hear, hear.) There is no Bishop in the
Irish Catholic Church who would be the vassal
of the State. lam borne out in that by the course
that has been pursued by the Catholic Bishops
in Ireland; my opinion is, that it would be detri-
mental to the state of the Church. The Catholic
Prelates of Ireland have proclaimed, within the last
six weeks, that they will not take a farthing of the
money belonging to State endowments. I do not want
to impute selfish motives to any parties, but can
there be any doubt that the manner in which the
Irish Church has been used is both selfish and unjust ?
do not think that there is a greater crime than that
one man should pay for the religion of another, that
religion being that which he did not believe. Upon
that principle the great oppression of Ireland'.
Established Church was founded. Until this system
is put an end to it will be in vain to expect
tranquillity in Ireland. My Friends, I wish you
had seen the Irish newspapers. A short time

since a very respectable - gentleman, named
Archdeacon De Lacy, died. He was the nephew of a
Bishop, and, according to the advertisement with

respect to the sale of his effects, he was such an ex

eelient man—that he had eleven hunters—anexcelleni

pack of hounds—and, as the advertisement stated,
splendid cellar of wine.— (Laughter.) But it may
be said that these grievances of Ireland are rather
speculative than otherwise. I don't think it will
be said that the last is so.—(Laughter.) It is said
that men might be just and rich without Corporate
Reform. But is Ireland rich ? Let me state what
the condition of the Irish people is. Forty years after
the establishment of the union, the Commissioners

on the Poor-law Inquiry reported that they found two
million three hundred andeighty-five thousand in a state

of destitution, upon a populatiown of 8,000,000, namely,
one fourth of the whole population ; and Captain Lar-
kom has reported that seventy per cent. of the
rural population were living in huts in one room
only—that thirty per cent. of the town popu-
lation families were living in one room, and in some
instances several families were dwelling in one place.
—(hear, hear.) No sign shows greater misery
than a decrease in the population. An increase
in the population shows a favourable sign, but the
retrogression of a population of 70,000 a-year,
is a most convincing proof of misery, dis-
tress, and wretchedness. Now, just to show you
that what I am stating is correct, I will
readpublished
ua you
sblish
been
edtt the descriptionraavbeololikn,g inaloei f Mr.
erhEius rlooc
thep ehl, a
. following
oe
w hasing German, who
lately
state-
ment

" I remember, when I saw the poor Lettes in Livonia, I
used to pity them for having toolive in huts built of the on-
hewn
pipitied
logsed tb
eomf t
er trees, sa,ctcloi
account
nt crevices
theirlow d
being stopped
a , a
and
dp diminutivewith m oss
.
windows, and gladly would I have arranged s
their chimneys
for them in a more suitable manner. Well, beavenpardolneneit);
ignorance. I knew not that I should ever see a
whom Almighty God had imposed yet heavier ppriZions.
Now that I have seen Ireland, it seems to me that the Lettes,
the Esthonians, and the Findlanders, lead a life of comparative'
comfort, and poor Paddy would feel like a king with their
houses, their habiliments, and their daily fare.
" A.wooden house, with moss to stop up its crevices, would
be a palace in the wild regions of Ireland. Paddy's cabin is
built of earth, one shovelful over the other, with a few stones
mingled here and there, till the wall is high enough. But
perhaps you will say, the roof is thatched or covered with
bark. Ay, indeed A few sods of grass cut from a neigh-
bouring ulerasingt,
if
foigt abree
ebnislyonalypataheatocfh.
glassW efilxl,ebdutinatwbeinwdoawo,oerr
thetwo
7
bladder of some animal, or a piece of talc, as may often be
seen in a Wallachian hut ? What idle luxury were this !
There are thousands of cabins in which not a trace of a

window is to be seen; nothing but a little square hole in
front, which doubles the duty of door, window, and chimney;

light, smoke, pigs, and children, all must pass in and out of
the same aperture !
" A French author, Beaumont, who had seen the Irish
peasant in his cabin, and the North American Indian in his
wigwam, has assured us that the savage is better provided
for than the poor man in Ireland. Indeed, the question may
be raised, whether in the whole world a nation is
to be found that is subjected to such physical privations
as the peasantry in some parts of Ireland. This fact cannot
be placed in too strong a light ; for if it can once be shown
that the wretchedness of the Irish population is without a
parallel example on the globe, surely evervfriend of humanity
will feel himself called on to reflect whether means may not
be found for remedying an evil of so astounding a magnitude !"
And, in Ennis, the following statement was made
at a meeting, at which Sir Lucius O'Brien presided :
" At a -meeting of the Guardians of the Ennis Poor-law
Union on Wednesday, Sir Lucius O'Brien in the Chair, Mr.
Butler brought forward the resolutions of which he had given
notice, relative to the exorbitant amount of Grand Jury Cess
now leviable, and which he stated was entirely borne by
the occupiers of land. His object in bringing forward the
resolutions was, to call attention to the matter, in the hope
that the grievance would be redressed by the introduction of
a provision into the grand jury laws, which would render
the landlords liable for a moiety of the tax in the same man-
ner in which they are subject to poor-rates.
" The Chairman and Mr. Carrick supported the landlords,
attributing all their misfortunes to bad seasons, failures in
the crops, &c. ' • while Mr. James Mahon, B. Butler, Mr.
Finucane, Mr. Knox, and nearly the entire Board, were of
opinion, that the major part of the population were in a state
dreadfulof destitution—that pauperism was frightfully on the
increase, and that nothing short of sound remedies should be
considered."
Why do I harrow you with these pictures? Why,
for the purpose of calling upon you to exert your-
selves in the cause of my unhappy country, and to do all
in your power to render her happy once again. Does
this misery that I have pictured to you arise
from the laziness of the people of Ireland ?
No. Do they not travel far and near to obtain
work ? Do they not crowd your streets and your
villages in hopes of obtaining work ?—(Loud
cheers.) But then it may be said that Ireland
is unproductive. Oh, no, 'tis one of the greenest
and the fairest isles of the globe.=(Loud cheers.)
Its crops are abundant, and its produce magnificent.
(Cheers.) It has the best harbours and the finest
estuaries in the world; It has all those ad-
vantages; and, added to this, it has a cheer-
ful, lively, and affectionate people.—(Cheers.)
Then why is it that this misery exists ? From bad
government. It is impossible to give any other
reason for it.—(Great cheering.) Since the union
matters have become worse and worse in Ireland.
They have given us a poor-law, and that poor-law, I
will venture to say, will cause rebellion in Ireland if
it exists for two years longer.—(Hear, hear.) The
poor-law will be the ruin of Ireland, and Minis-
ters are blind for not seeing it. They may send
me to prison if they please, but they may depend
upon it that the consequences of the poor-law will be
awful.—(Hear, hear.) I have trespassed on you long,
but how could I avoid expressing my gratitude
and showing you that I desire at least your good
attention, your kindness, and support.—(Cheers.) I
have never shrunk from standing by you in
any contest—l have always been at your side—
(Cheers)—l have never given a vote that was
calculated to increase the burdens of the English peo-
ple.—(Cheers.) But I have invariably supported every
measure that was calculated to increase the extension
of civil and religious liberty.—(Cheers.) I have ad-
vocated the cause of the slave in America, as well as
the peasant in Ireland. I care not what their creed,
or by what sun their face may have been burned
—I care not what is a man's caste or what his lan-
guage, if I can but procure for him liberty
from all tyranny.—(Cheers.) I stood by you
in the Reform formed one of your majority.
It promised much. It was spoiled in its manage-
ment. Its nursing mother looked unkindly upon
her future child. In another struggle for
freedom I also joined you. I shall al ways be with
you in giving the protection of the vote by ballot,
and for the shortening ct the duration of Parliaments.
recollecting that short accounts make long friends.—
(Cheers.) I owe this statement to you ; and now I
solemnly assure you, that if I was not thoroughly con-
vinced that the establishment of a domestic legisla-
ture was essential to the comfort of Ireland, and
that it was necessary to keep up the connexion
between this country and Ireland, I would advocate
it no longer. I never wish to see Ireland separated
from this country (Cheers)—but to accomplish
so excellent a measure, it is necessary that
something should be done to give to Ireland
what England ha s—a local Legislature. He
wanted for Ireland that the laws passed there should
be passed upon the same principle as in Eng-
land. (Cheers.) Such is the opinion of the
wise and good, and such I hope it ever will be.
Let them do justice to Ireland.—(Cheers.) But do
they show any disposition to do so ? They come
down with the insulting denomination of " convicted
conspirators."—(Cheers) The renegades !—(Cheers.
There is Peel, who has sacrificed every principle)
—the renegade Stanley, who was the principal con-
triver for destroying the Reform Bill—(Groans)—
the reluctant Sir J. Graham—(Groans)--who sat first
on one side of the House and then on the other.—
(Cheers.) I call them conspirators, for they have
conspired against the public.—(Cheers.) But let
those who have desired to adhere to the law, who
desire to have it cheap and intelligible—let those do
all in their power to do justice to Ireland.—(Cheers.)
By adopting that course a union would be rendered
valuable by a domestic Legislature, and by a com-
plete combination of a firm and a loyal people.
the Honourable Member sat down amidst applause,
which lasted for several minutes.
The following glee and chorus was then sung in
excellent style :
Tho' dark are our sorrows, to-day we'll forget them,
And smile thro' our tears like a sunbeam in show'rs,
There never were hearts, if our rulers would let them,
More formed to be tranquil and blest than ours 1
But just when the chain
Has ceas'd to pain,
And hope has enwreath'd it round with flow'rs,
There comes anew link,
Our spirits to sink !
Oh ! the joy of such hearts, like the light of the poles,
Is a flash amid darkness too brilliant to stay :
But though 'twere the last little spark in our souls,
We must light it up now for O'Connell to. day.
Contempt on the minions who call him disloyal !
Though fierce to his foe, to his friends he is true ;
And the tribute most high to a head that is Royal,
Is love from a heart that loves liberty too.
While cowards who blight
Their Sovereign's right,
Would shrink from the blaze of the battle array;
The standard of green,
In front would be seen—
Oh ! my life on his faith ! were he summon'd this minute,
He'd cast ev'ry bitter remembrance away,
And show what the arm of old Erin has in it,
When rous'd to defend her Sovereign's sway.
She loves the green Isle, and her love is recorded
In hearts which have suffer'd too much to forget,
And hope shall be crown'd, and attachment rewarded,
Aud Erin's gay Jubilee shine out yet !
The gem may be broke
By many a stroke,
But nothing can cloud its native ray;
Each fragment will cast
A light to the last !
And then Erin, his country ! though broken thou art.
There's a lustre within thee, that ne'er will decay :

A spirit that beams through each suffering part,
And now smiles through its pain on this happy day.
The Earl of SHREWSBURY was then announced by
the Chairman to propose the next toast, and was re-
ceived with loud cheers. His Lordship said he could not
tell them how extremely he felt the disadvantage he
laboured under, in having so immediately to follow
after the eloquent and instructive speech which
had hoen delivered to them by their illustrious guest;
hut on this, as on tither grounds, he felt he should re-
ceive what he so much needed, their kindest considQ-

ration.—(Hear, hear.) The toast which had
been assigned to him to propose was that of " The
People," and in proposing it he was sure that the first
idea which presented itself to their minds was
the cause of the people of Ireland. That
was a great and generous cause, for it was
the cause of humanity—(Cheers)—the cause of right
as opposed to that of wrong.—(Cheers.) They had
arrived at a new era in the history of that cause, for
they had at length embodied in it the sympathies and
the feelings of the people of England. (Hear,
hear.) The time was when the people of Eng-
land were foolish enough to imagine that their
political rights and their commercial prosperity were
distinct from those of Ireland. This delusion had
been done away with, and they.were now beginning
to see that the way to make their own empire secure
was to make Ireland her happy, her trusted, and
therefore her prosperous ally.—(Hear,
now were beginning to find out hear.) They
that the prosperity of
England would never be stable and deep-seated—
that there never would be security for herself—unless
she shared all her privileges and franchises fairly and
equally with Ireland. Ireland was now universally ac-
knowledged to be
one of the finest countries in the
world, but she had been governed by persons blinded
by prejudice, and thus her great natural advan-
tages had never been fairly developed.—(Cheers.)
Yes, with every natural advantage that the heart of
man could desire, her resources had remained unpro-
ductive, and the great masses of her popu-
lation had been suffering a state of misery
and destitution more deplorable than any people in
Europe—such indeed as they were shocked to con•
template and ashamed to be obliged to acknowledge.
(Loud cheers.)
That that fault was with their
rulers, there could be no question ; for were they not
also the rulers in England, but the difference was this,
they in England were governed by another law and in
another spirit than that which had prevailed in Ireland.
—(Cheers.) They in England were comparatively
prosperous and happy, while the people of Ireland
were doomed to poverty, misery, and distress. And
so they would continue to be till they had equal
laws, equal rights, and equal justice with ourselves.
—(Loud cheers.) But Ireland must no longer
be allowed to
fight her battle for justice single-
handed ; the people of England must rally to her
help as generous, but he must also add, as
interested auxiliaries.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) She I
deserved every assistance that it was possible for
them as Englishmen to afford to her. Her liberties had 1

been invaded.—(Loud cheers.) The weapon with
which the Constitution had armed her for the protec-
tion of her rights, and which, under the guidance of
him whose courage and prowess they had that day
met to do honour to, might have effected so much,
had been just wrested from her grasp —(Hear.)
Did Mr. O'Connell attempt to seek the freedom of his
country by this display of physical force without
a just and paramount necessity ?—(Loud cries of
"No, no," and cheers.) fie spoke of course of that
sort of display which came within the limits of the
law, or rather the spirit of the Con-
stitution, because it had now become neces-
sary to distinguish between legal and constitu-
tional obligations and duties.—(Loud cheering.)
These displays of physical force, compared with
moral power, and subject to moral guidance
were their constitutional and legitimate right
Magna Charta and the Bill of Rights were their
title deeds.—(Loud cheers.) Let Ireland then never
cease to demand, and to struggle for, justice and equality
of rights. And might he (turning to Mr. O'Con-
nell), who had been truly called the Liberator of his
country, who first snapped her bonds asunder—
might
he live to see his dear native land rise
from her present depression and misery—might
he, as the reward of his own untiring energies, live to
see her enjoying her proper share of freedom
and equal rights with the people of England!
—(Great cheering.) The toast of "The People," was
then drank with great cheering.
GLEE AND CHORUS.
Goddess of Freedom, from on high behold us,
While thus we dedicate to thee our lays;
Long in thy cause has principle enroll'd us,
Here to thy name a monument we raise.
Thus then combining,
Hands and hearts joining,
Sing we in harmony to Freedom's praise.
Goddess of Freedom, in thy might f waking,
Spread thy dominion over earth and sea ;
Britons thy blessings giving and partaking,
Own undivided homage still to thee,
Thy spirit guiding,
Thy power presiding,
Britain shall flourish, united, brave, and free.

The Hon. CHARLES LANGDALE proposed the next
toast. Had he been called on at an earlier period of
the evening, he might have been tempted to have oc-
cupied some portion of their time in apologising for
so humble an individual as himself appearing
before them on so great an occasion. But at that
late hour he felt he should be wasting their time by
offering any idle compliment on such a subject. But
he had been called on by the Committee to propose a
toast, and he hoped that neither on this, nor on any other
occasion should he be found wanting in affording his
support to the great cause to which they were met
that evening to do honour.—(Great cheering.)
He appreciated the motives of those who had ad-
dressed them, but he would candidly own, that he
had an interest of a more selfish nature in appearing
before them. He felt that Ireland and her Liberator,
Mr. O'Connell, had claims on his gratitude a a
peculiar nature. If he was now capable of raising
his voice in the midst, of an assembly of free-
men, of being equally entitled to political privileges
with those he had the honour of addressing, he must
attribute it to the exertions of Daniel O'Connell.—

• (Cheers.) A few years ago he was bound in the same
political fetters that oppressed the people of Ireland,
, and if the penal enactments had ceased to affect him,
it was owing to the voice of the millions of Ireland,
aided, directed, guided, and instigated by the great
Liberator, to whom they were doing honour to-night.
It was the meetings then held, and the petitions then
presented, that secured the rights they enjoyed ; and
he believed it was the fear felt by the same gentle,
men who were forced to yield their rights, that led them
to attempt to put down those meetings, which had
before accomplished the objects they had in view.—
(Cheers.) It appeared to him that while they had
not the courage or the honesty to redress the evils of
Ireland, they could not bear the reproaches it cost
them, at seeing the united hundreds and thou-
sands of the people who met together on those
occasions. The toast he had to propose was, " The
Seventy-eight Peers who supported the arquis
of Normanby's motion, and the Two Hundred and
Twenty-seven Members of the House of Com-
mons, who supported the motion of Lord J. Russell."
—(Cheers.) He believed if ever there was an in-
stance when vengeance took the place of justice, it
was on the occasion of the State Trials. The
first portion of the toast which he had to propose
referred to the seventy-eight Members of the House
of Peers who had voted for inquiry. It gave him great
gratification to know that there were in that House
seventy-eight who could be found voting for inquiry ;
for he would not be doing his duty if he did not ac-
knowledge the responsibility which that House
owed to the people for its almost universal
opposition to the welfare of Ireland.—(Hear.)
He rejoiced that some of most noble and ancient
blood in the land was to be fount in the minority.
He rejoiced that his Noble Friend who had pre-
ceded him had appeared there that evening.—
(Cheers.) He knew intimately his habits of life, and
the effort which was required to bring him from his
home; and he rejoiced that the blood of the house
of Talbot was found as the defender of the honour
and reputation of Mr. O'Connell.—(Cheers.) With
reference to the minority in the Howe of Commons,
he must say, that there was a time
when he would willingly have added to their
number—when he would gladly have added one vote
to the too small minority in favour of redressing the
wrongs of Ireland, though even at the risk of
lengthening a protracted debate of nine days' dura-
tion, in favour of his fellow-citizens.—(Cheers.)
The toast was then drank with loud cheers.
GLEE AND CHORES.
And doth not a meeting like this make amends
For all the long years rye been wand'ring away ;
To see thus around me .my youth's early Friends,
As smiling and kind as in that happy day I
Though haply o'er some of your brows, as o'er mine,
The snow. fall of time may be stealing—what then ?
Like Alps in the sunset, thus lighted by wine,
We'll wear the gay tinge of youth's roses again.
But come—the more rare such delights to the heart
The more we should welcome and bless them the more—
They're ours when we meet, they are lost when we part,
Like birds that bring sunset, and fly when 'tis o'er.
Thus circling the cap, hand in hand, ere we drink,
Let sympathy pledge us, through pleasure, through pain
That fast as a feeling but touches one link,
Her magic shall send it direct through the chain.
The CHAIRMAN then read the following letter from
Lord Radnoi

" Grosvenor-street, March, 1, 1844,

" Dear Mr. Duncombe,—l have now for many years de-
clined attending at public dinners. It is for this reason alone
that I have not sent for a ticket for the dinner at which you
are to preside on the 12th instant, to be given to Mr.
O'Connell.

" To all the resolutions voted at No. 3, Cleveland-row, on
Monday the 19th of February, I heartily subscribe ; and to no
part of them more than to the expression of admiration Tor
the constant advocacy by Mr. O'Connell of the rights and
privileges of Irishmen.'
"1 am, dear Mr. Duncombe, your's faithfully,
" RADNOR.
"Thomas Shngsby Duncombe, Esq."
He also read the following letter from Lord Kin-
naird

" March 2, 1844.
" Sir,—l regret extremely that my absence from town will
prevent my being present at the dinner to be given to Mr.
O'Connell, as I should have wished to have had an opportunity
of expressing my abhorrence of the unfairness which has
marked the whole of the proceedings of the Government
towards Mr. O'Connell—a sentiment which lam sure is par-
ticipated in by every liberal-minded man both in England
and Scotland.

" By having permitted these monster meetings to con-
tinue, apparently for the purpose of entrapping the speakers
into some unguarded expression, by the employment of
spies, worthy of the old times of Tory misrule ; by the
quasi packing of the jury, owing to the dropped list, and the
exclusion of Catholics ; and, to crown all, by the speech of the
Lord Chief Justice, more like that of a prosecutor, than an
impartial judge—(which even in the late debates there was
no attempt 'to defend)—the Government must rouse the in-
dignation of the people of Great Britain, in whom the love
of justice is inherent, and who, I hope, will show that they
do not participate in the injustice done to Mr O'Connell, and,
through him, to the Irish people.
" Those •so ingeniously termed 4 convicted conspirators '
have been brought into the grasp of the law by an
undue straining of it. The same principle carried into effect
in this country would annihilate our liberties, by putting
an end to all meetings for the expression of public opinion.
I do sincerely believe that the repeal of the union would
be detrimental to the interests of both countries. Yet,
considering the way Ireland has been and is still governed,
it is not surprising that Irishmen should look to the repeal
as a panacea for the ills of their unhappy country. I trust,
however that the sympathy which has been shown by the
Liberal party towards Mr. O'Connell since his trial, will in-
duCe the Irish to postpone their demands for the
immediate repeal, till another election has given the
Scotch and English constituencies an opportunity of proving
whether they will adopt the enlightened views expressed by
Lord John Russell and others, or support a Government,
content with empty professions of good-will to Ireland, be-
lied by their acts.—Your obedient servant,

KINNAIRD.".

The CHAIRMAN said he had felt it due to the two
Noblemen, from whom these letters emanated, to
read them to the meeting. Having done this justice
to the minority, he hoped the meeting would allow
him to do a little justice to the majority which over-
whelmed them.—(Laughter.) Among the majority
of Peers who voted against the motion of Lord
Normanby were to be found—wise men they must be,
looking at the distance from which they voted—Lord
Ellenborough in India—(Great laughter)—Lord
Saltoun in China—(Laughter)—Lord Tweeddale
in Bombay or AI adras.—(Continued laughter)
—and Lord Sidmouth, who after a long life
of political mischief, had voted against the rights
of Ireland, even from his coffin.—(Great cheering.)
And beyond all this, to the shame of public men, be it
said, among the revilers of Ireland was to be found the
name of Henry Brougham.—(Groans and hisses from
all parts of the theatre.) Yes, he who had been con-
sidered the vile oppressor's foe, he who had been the
esteemed of men, was now sunk into the mere mounte-
bank of faction—(Cheering)--and was absolutely
bringing the very assembly to which he belonged
into well-merited contempt with the people of
this country.—(Laughter and cheers.) Having thus
done justice to the majority of the House of Lords,
he would leave it to his Hon. Friend, Sir Richard

Bulkeley, to acknowledge the compliment on the part
of the minority of the House of Commons.
Lord CAMOYS returned thanks for the minority in
the House of Peers. He owned he was a volunteer
intruder upon the time and arrangements of the even •
ing, having been appointed in the absence of those who
were better qualified to acknowledge the toast. He was
truly proud that he was one of those seventy-eight
Peers who had recorded that vote which had
met with the approbation of the assemblage.
In the minority were to be found the names
of some of the most ancient, some of the
most talented, and some of the most patriotic
Members of the House of Lords, names which
had often been recorded in favour of Ireland, and
which would be again recorded in its favour,
whenever the necessities of that country should de-
mand their services.—(Cheers.) There was one
point to which he could not help alluding. Who was
it that enabled him at that moment to be returning
thanks for the best portion of the House of Lords ?
Who, but the eminent individual whom they had
been delighted to honour on that occasion, to
whom he was indebted for that very emancipation,
which enabled him to fill the position which he then
occupied ?—(Cheers.) There were no persons who felt
so keenly the propriety of extending justice and equa-
lity to Ireland as those who had been in the condition
of those who wanted them. He had come there
as an Englishman anxious to show his sympathy in
favour of Ireland, anxious to express his condemnation
of that mischievous power which ran the risk of
making England weak in order to make Ireland
wretched.—(Loud cheers.) He had come there
to express his indignation at those proceed-
ings which had brought the judicature of Ireland
into contempt, and which had desecrated the
right of trial by jury, not only with regard
to the accused, but with regard to the entire
Roman Catholic population of Ireland.—(Cheers.)
There was a disposition in Englishmen to be
just, and he trusted that such demonstrations
as that would have the effect of removing
that ignorance and prejudice without which it would
be impossible to refuse the redress of grievances.—
(Cheers.) In this conviction he begged to thank
them on behalf of the minority of the House of
Peers.

Sir R. BULKELEY returned thanks on behalf of
the House of Commons. He expressed his
admiration of that illustrious patriot, who
had devoted all his energies to the best interests
of the Irish people. He expressed his opinion that
the Catholic clergy were intended to be
treated on an equality with the Roman Catholic
clergy; and that the Protestant Church Establish-
ment must cease to be in connection with the State.
He gloried in the Revolution of 1688, although he
might, perhaps, by saying so offend some of his
Roman Catholic fellow-countrymen, he still affirmed
it; but while that revolution had brought benefits to
England, he would acknowledge that, as far as re-
garded Ireland, it had been productive of insults
and oppression to the people of that country.
—(Hear.) In Ireland it had produced a religious war.
The conquerors had imposed hard terms upon the
conquered. An experiment had been tried to Pro-
testantise a Catholic country; that experiment
had signally failed, and the sooner it was
desisted from the better.—(Loud cheers.) Many
persons dreaded any interference with the Irish Pro-
testant Church, because they were of opinion
that if the Protestant Church of Ireland were to
fall the Prottstant Church of England would
fall with it. He was a member of the Protestant
Church of England, and was firmly attached to it,
and sorry should he be if the stability of the Pro-
testant Church of England depended upon that of
the Protestant Church of Ireland.—(Cheers.) The
Protestant Church of Ireland had failed in its pur-
pose. It had not promoted either the religion or
the education of the people ; and while they had
clergymen without churches, and churches without
congregations, that Church could conduce to no
earthly good, nor could it answer any religious purpose.
He hoped and believed that the day was not far dis-
tant when justice would be done to Ireland. He
could not but recollect that in 1830 the House of
Commons had, by a majority of 99, rejected a motion
for a reform of that House ; and yet, in two years
after, "the Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the
Bill," had been the rallying cry of the people, and
the measure of Reform had been carried.—(Cheers.)
As one of the Members of the House of Commons
who had voted for Lord John Russell's motion, he
begged to thank them for the toast which they had
drank.—(Great cheering.)
Mr. HENRY BERKELEY, M.P., for Bristol, then
rose to propose a toast to do justice to which the
eloquence of a Sheil or of an O'Connell would be
scarcely adequate. They had testified their approval
of the motions proposed by the Marquis of Normanby
in the House of Lords, and by Lord John Russell in
the House of Commons. He now rose to propose as
a toast the principle upon which those motions were
founded. The toast he had the honour to propose
was " Justice to Ireland."—(Loud cheers.) He,
however, could not say that he had any hope
that that justice would be speedily attained.
When he recollected the majority that supported
those who were now in power, and that if a new
election were to come on that majority would not
be materially diminished—(Cries of " No, no,")—he
could not hope that the wrongs of Ireland would be
speedily redressed. The people of England sympathised
with the wrongs of Ireland, and felt for the Irish
people ; but, in order to assist them, they must have
an increase of the electoral franchise for themselves.
—(lmmense cheering.) There must be an entire
change in the electoral system.—(Loud cheers.)
The electoral system in England at this moment was a
perfect mockery. As long as it • continued they
might sympathise with the people of Ireland, but
they had no power of assisting them.—(Cheers.) Nor
would they be able to assist the people of Ireland until
the House of Lords had less to do with the House of
Commons—(Cheers)—and until the House of Com-
mons had less power over its constituency.—(Cheers.)
There could be no hope for Ireland as long as the pre-
sent party should remain in power ; they were the legi-
timate descendants of those who had introduced
Habeas Corpus Suspension Acts and Gagging Bills,
and what could be expected from them but that they
would consummate their iniquity by the last
act of flagrant tyranny against that man—.
(pointing to Mr. O'Connell).--(Hear and cheers.)
Those who studied in the school of suspended Habeas
Corpus Acts, would not scruple to trifle with trial by
jury. The toast of "Justice to Ireland" had his
warmest sympathy, and he should only be too happy
to hail the time when it should arrive.—(Cheers.)
- GLEE AND CHORUS.
Raise the Song and strike the Harp,
Send round the shouts of joy,
For the Thunder of War is past,
And the Fields of Erin are clad in peace.
Raise, ye hundred Bards, the voice of joy,
For the night shall pass in song;
Till the beams of the morning appear in our halls
Raise, ye hundred Bards, the voice of joy.
Mr. MORGAN J. O'CONNELL acknowledged the toast.
He said that, at short notice, he had consented to
acknowledge the toast ; but, under no circumstances
could he have hesitated to have taken part in the pro-
ceedings, or to acknowledge with pride and gratification
the honour they had done the country to which he
belonged. They had practically shown that sympathy
with Ireland which England had on all occasions
exhibited since the proceedings which originated the
assembly of that evening. He had spent a great part
of hiS life in England, but it was a great gratification
to him to see them throwing off that apathy, which they
would pardon him for saying they had too long felt
with respect to Ireland. This awakened sympathy was
pecul*ly honourable to them, it arose from that
spirit of fair play, which, above all feelings, did them
honour.—(Hear, hear.) The moment they saw a
man or a country ill •used, whatever they
had done before to excite their disapprobation,
that moment they proceeded gererously to take their
part. He hoped that alienation and jealousies on
both sides would cease. They might differ as to
what justice to Ireland consisted in ; they
might think it could not be done without giving
the Irish the control of their own affairs ;
but there was one thing they all agreed in, that
it could not be done without equality of rights
and identity of privileges. Let them go on as
they were doing, and they would have the Irish
people assisting them in removing all the in-
tolerant bigotry and grinding monopoly, and all
the other forms of oligarchical oppression. ,He
felt convinced that the people of Ireland were now
thoroughly enabled to draw the distinction be•
tweet: the people of England and the faction
which, by flattering the prejudices of the people,
or by the more substantial power of bribery, obtained
power over them. The Irish could now draw the
distinction between the people and the oligarchy.
He thanked them for the manner in which they had
received the toast, and hoped the proceedings would
tend to create a good understanding between the
two countries for the preservation of the common
rights and liberties of the two people, and hasten the
downfal of those factious persons, whether Ministers
or in Opposition, who sought to divide the people of
England and Ireland, and, by dividing, to oppress
them both.

Mr. GISBORNE, M.P., proposed the next toast. He
said he had been asked in the House of Commons whe-
ther he was going to this dinner ; when he said he
was, he was told by his questioner that he was going
to a dinner given to a Repealer, and presided over by
a Chartist.—(Cheers.) He cared no more for the
allegation than if he had told him that their guest be-
lieved in witchcraft, and that their chairman was
a believer in mesmerism.--(Loud laughter.) After
nine nights' debate in the House of Commons, after
hearing the Attorney-General of Ireland make an
able, and he was bound to suppose, the best defence of
the prosecution—he was bound to say, that in his
opinion tyranny had been perpetrated in Ireland, not
only under, but through the forms of law.—(At this