The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-05 00:00:00

IRELAND.
DUBLIN, SEPT. 2.—The weekly meeting of the Re-
peAl Association was held to-day in the Conciliation
Hail, which presented a crowded appearance. Robert
Dillon Browne, Esq., M.P., for Mayo, discharged the
duties of leader with great ability, in the absence of John
Smith O'Brien, Esq., M.P., and Henry Grattan, Esq.,
M.P. for Wicklow. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman.
who was greeted with loud and rapturous applause on
taking his seat next to Mr. O'Connell's chair, moved that
James O'Hea, Esq., barrister-at-law, and one of the
junior counsel for the traversers in the Irish State trials,

do preside.
The Learned CHAIRMAN called the attention of the
meeting to the fact, that since the incarceration of Mr.
O'Connell and his fellow-martyrs, the chair had been ii-
variably filled by Members of Parliament—men of rank
and station ; but the Committee had, on the present oc-
casion, deviated from the principles which regulated
the selection of chairman, and selected so humble an in-
dividual as himself to hold that h;g11 and Important
position, for the purpose of showing to the lowliest mem-
bers of the Association that the h►ghest honours which
the Association could bestow were as open to them as
to their superiors in rank and wealth. Mr. O'Hea then
alluded to the fact, that while they (the Repeal-
ers) were holding thtir great national weekly as-
sembly on that day, the House of Lords were pro-
nouncing judgment on the writ of error in the
great State cause of the Queen v. O'Connell. He was
perfectly aware that if that legal decision should be ad-
verse to the Repeal meetings, it would be turned to an
improper and unjustifiable use. The Premier of Eng-
land had said, in his place in Parliament, that Mr.
O'Connell and his compatriots had had a fair trial—
(Loud cries of " No, no")—and if the decision of the
English Judges and Law Lords on the record proved un-
favourable to the men who were suffering incarceration
for their country, he had no doubt on his mind but that
the Tory press and the Tory speakers would assert that
' such decision was corroborative testimony that the pri-
soners were fairly and impartially tried. The Chairman
then argued at great length and with considerable
ability, that even in deciding adversely to the prisoners
the House of Lords would make no pronouncement
whatever as to the fairness or unfairness of the Judge's

charge to the jury empannelled for Mr. O'Connell's trial.
He forewarned the public mind not to be led away by the
arguments of the Tory press. They should remember
that it was upon the proceedings on the record that the
House of Lords was to decide, and not on the merits of
the case.—(Hear.) Alluding to the present state and.
present
.prospects of the great national cause, the Chair-
man said that he saw no reason for despair, much less
for despondency, but every reason for cheerfulness.
War was impending, and it seemed unavoidable—it was
all but proclaimed. In such an event occurring Sir
Robert Peel said he relied upon the loyalty of the Irish
people.—(Laughter, and ironical cheers.) He was
right, however, and he might rely that the Irish would
be found like a wall of fire around their Sovereign. But
he asked, had the Minister any right to oppress, to liar-
rass the Irish people, and to strain their loyalty too
far ? Was it reasonable to expect that they would
bear the brunt of the battle, and reap no advantages
from the victory ? The Tangiers pepper would perhaps
season some agreeable condiment, of which the Irish
people would be called upon to partake. It was their
(the Repealers') time to make their own terms. As he
before said, it was unwise to press and strain too much
upon the well-known and proverbial loyalty of the Irish
people, more especially as it had ever been in time of
war and danger that their rights had been partly con-
ceded to them. In conclusion, he stated that he felt sa-

tisfied in his own mind that the day was not far distant
when the mighty shadow of a coming event would be
lost in the bright reality of an Irish rarliament.
Several contributions from different parts of England
and Ireland having been handed in,
Mr. R. D. BROWNE rose and stated that he appeared
there as the representative of Mr. W. S. O'Brien, from
whom he would read a letter addressed to the Secretary
of the Association. After the Hon. Gentleman had con-

eluded reading the letter of Mr. O'Brien, he proceeded
to compliment the Chairman upon the speech with which
he had opened the day's proceedings. He next dw,it
upon foreign affairs—upon the French fleet and army
located on the north coast of Africa, and then touched
upon the intended visit of her Majesty to Ireland. The
first, indeed, deeply affected the interests of Ireland.
With respect to the other, there were perspective con-
siderations as to the demeanour of the Irish people upon
that occasion when the eyes of the world would be upon
them, but it sank into insignifance when compared

with the former topic. A French fleet was now sreep,
ing through the Mediterranean. Now, it was a melan
choly fact that the political aphorism, " That England's
weakness was Ireland's opportunity"—(Loud cheers)—
was only too true.—(Renewed cheering.) With one so-
litary exception, Ireland had never gained a concession
except by the arms of France—(Applause)—by the
arms of America—(Great cheering)—or by some intes-
tinal tumult. The present time was the hour of Eng-
land's weakness.-('• No, no," and cries of Hear, hear.")
The Learned Member then proceeded at great length to
c,,nsider the present state of the Mediterranean, which in
his opinion was most perilous to the interests of Eng-
land. He praised the Prince de Joinville and the French
navy. Suppose the armies of England were occupied in
the Oregon territory, or in Canada, where the French
habitues sympathise with their European ancestors--or
on the heights of Caubul, contending with the stardy
Affghans—or in suppressing monster meetings in Ire-
land—or, what is still more formidable, in stifling the
cries of the hungry artisans of England for bread, who
are beginning to feel that it is as Nvell to die by the
sword as by famine. If England's army was thus en-
gaged what was to prevent the Prince do Joinville, who
had already seized upon one of the pillars of Hercules,
from ascertaining whether Calpe's boasted rock was in-
deed inaccessible. Whom would England have to sup-
port her in such a contest ?—(llear, hear.) Would the
Russians tender their assistance ? Would Mehemet
Ali feel grateful to England for her past conduct ?
Would the Pope coincide with the people of England
against Catholic France ?—(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
Would the Sultan join his forces to those of England
while an avalanche was in the act of gathering in the
North which might roll down and crush the minarets
of Constantinople ? The English had applied the
term cowards to the gallant navy of France. The noble
spirit of Condi leaped into life at the word in the youth-
ful presence of the Prince de Joinville, who had an-
swered it with the thunder of his cannons against Tan-
giers.—(Loud and long-continued applause.) The con-
duct of England had been marked by weakness and
indecision, and reminded him of a story which he had
heard of a man who said to an assailant of his, " You
have called me a rascal and a liar. You have kicked
me too, but beware! If you insult me again, you will
rouse the British lion within me."—(Applause and laugh-
ter.) Now, he came to the royal visit to this country,
the people of Irelani were attached to the person of
their Sovereign; they would even be ambitious to shed
their blood in the defence of the glory of her empire, if
justice were done to Ireland.—(Cheers.) They would
welcome their Sovereign in their hearts, but he would
say, it was an ill-timed visit.—(Hear.) If O'Connell
was liberated it would be an ill-timed visit, because he
would not, nor would the people of Ireland take it as a
boon; injustice had been done them, and they did nct
come crouching either before a Sovereign or a Minister.
—(Hear.) But if she came this year, he for one would
not shout in her train; and while O'Connell was in pri-
son, let it be recollected that Ireland was a house of
mourning, and no idle and ostentatious pageant should
intrude upon the soil.—(Cheers.) But if she
_e
county;
came to
op-
portunitylreland ,
and
hetrusleteadrnshoeie Nsr,oeualldeotna(kiietionof:
advantage
r o f th
that she would not.take Dublin as what it might appear
then for the moment, but that she would inquire and
hear of its deserted Custom-house—its deserted Hall
of Trade—its deserted shops—its deserted streets in
ordinary hear)—the houses of its
nobilityucni miruchutibsittaend
c—est—he of its gentry crumbling
to ruins—its Exchange a mockery—its Bank a monopoly,
or
peoplefae contemplateaxccr
and its Castle the seat of their Government—a despotism.
--(Hear, hear.) Let her Majesty travel to the interior
of the country, and see the almost naked peasant—a
its liquid streams,
hapless, shoeless human being and her subject, the
proud Victoria.—(hear, hear.) Let her see its spacious
harbours—let her behold its rapid,
capable of turning a great portion of the manufactories of
oea
condition
aift
n‘i
,odinisrch uncultivatedoep
Aune country
setehre,ea.,
England and floating the armada, rolling on in their
peace-
able,
enal jncedeii.
circumstanced
intelligent,
nacellkl
slcourseeittagaorei
:nhc tee, through hsLoltr
oeboi
tiue
Ministry,
sieat
rrmni
yndi
at
ei
loyal
let her
Ihte
eople so blessed by Providence
to be reduced to such
dangerous despair a state of ineffable misery, of d •
air ?"
Mr. D. O'CONNELL, jun. , read a communication from
a private source in London, bearing
date Saturday even-
ing, and detailing some particulars connected with the
consultation of the
Judges
on the writ of error question,
wbo, it was stated, had assembled on that morning at
the residence of Sir N. C. Tindal, the Lord Chief Justice
Of the Court of Common Pleas, to consider in private,
and interpret the law bearing on the most material points
u: ged in objection on the part of the traver6ere.