The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-29 00:00:00

THE DINNER.

This event came off in a capacious pavilion. It was deco-
rated in the interior with evergreens and flowers. It was
supported by sixteen pillars inside, which were also hung
with evergreens. The building, which is about seventy yards
long by thirty wide, had a raised dais for the cross table at the
head of the room, at which the chairman and guests sat, and
at the opposite end was a commodious gallery far ladies.
Covers were laid for between 800 and 900 persons, but there
could not have been less thank 1,200 or 1,300 persons present
at the dinner in the course of the night, exclusive of the
ladies in the galleries, which, together with all parts of the
extensive edifice, were completely filled.
About half-past seven o'clock Mr. O'Connell, attired in the
uniform of the • 'B2 Club, entered the building, and was re-
ceived with loud cheering.
The chair was taken by Nicholas Maher, Esq., M.P.
Amongst the company and guests present were the Mayors
of Clonmel, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Limerick, all dressed in
their robes of office; Caleb Powell, Esq., M.P. ; James Kelly,
Esq., M.P. ; M. J. O'Connell, Esq., M.P. ; Dr. Gray, &c.
. After dinner the CHAIRMAN gave as toasts " The Queen,"
" The Prince of Wales, and the rest of the Royal Family re-
sident in England."
:The CHAIRMAN said the nest toast on his list was " The
People."—(Cheers.)
The CHAIRMAN then gave, after one or two complimentary
and introductory remarks, the toast of the night—namely,
" The Health of Mr. O'Connell and the Repeal of the Union."
—(Loud cheering for several minutes.)
Mr. O'CoeneEra. said, as soon as the cheering had subsided,
it had been truly observed that this was a glorious day for
Tipperary.—(Hear.) What a magnificent spectacle had the
meeting of that day presented. So many human beings con-
gregated with the tranquillity of infantine moments, but with
the firm resolve of manhood—so many of the buoyant youth,
the stalwart prime, and the hale old age! So many, too, of
that portion of the creation without whom life would be worse
than 'a blank.—(Cheers.) He had entered into an engagement
for Tipperary. which it had not disappointed.—(Hear.) Oh !
the sight of that day was a sight worth looking at.—(Cheers.)
It was a noble scene—it was a noble purpose.—(Cheers.)
And he pledged himself for Tipperary that it would not be
one day alone it would act, but that it would determinately
pursue this peaceably tranquil course of obtaining their
liberties by moral force alone—of achieving their freedom in
a manner that would do honour to human nature.—(Cheers.)
But if their object was transcendantly great and useful, it
still became them to look to their present position—to con-
trast that condition with what it had been, and by drawing
lessons from the past, see how far, by prudent management,
they might advance that position in future. They ought to
see, as they went on, whether they could not make their
position even better than it was at present. Four years ago
what had the repeal cause been?—(Hear, and cheers) It
had been in its infancy. A few scores of Repealers met in
Dublin ; that was all, and they were laughed at.—( Herr,
and cheer's.) Were they laughed at now ?—(Cheers.) The
Whigs thought they were tainted if the Repealers " came
betwixt the wind and their nobility."—(Laughter. )
Even in the House of Commons he had been scoffed
at for dreaming of such a thing.—(Hear.) But then,
that day, he had 300,000 or 400,000 men declaring they
should have repeal and nothing else.—(Loud cheers.)
What the people wanted was the application to them of that
principle without which no man's private business could go
on well or prosperously. They wanted to be allowed to
manage their own affairs. That which was applicable to the
purposes of private life in this respect was equally so in a
national point of view. It was impossible for any foreign
power to manage successfully the domestic government of a
nation with which it was not well acquainted, or with which
it had no sympathies. Now, that was what the English
nation proposed to do with regard to them, but they would
act as schoolmasters to England. He (Mr. O'Connell) had
pointed out a plan by which men might redress their grie-
vances, through the means of powerful but peaceful agitation,
and that plan they would pursue. The wise perseverance in
that plan had already burst the bonds by which they had
formerly been surrounded, and had compelled the English
nation to listen to their demands. The English minister was
now only waiting to pass such measures as might be pleasing
to the Irish people. It now became necessary to appease the
people, instead of endeavouring to govern the country by
soldiers, as was the old plan. They had tried that plan,
and it had failed. The people of Ireland never intended
to fight with England, but they weuld conquer her
without. fighting.—( Loud cheering) Well, seeing that
they had failed in putting down repeal by force, they then
tried the law.—(Hear, laughter, and cheers.) Every art of
legal ingenuity was put forth against the Repealers. But
while in the Court it always ever so happened that the Re-
' peelers were in the wrong and the Attorney-General right.
It was still " head, I win; harp, you lose."—(Laughter.) Bow-
ever, it subsequently turned out that justice was stronger
than the' law. They had exhausted force and the law in
endeavouring to put down repeal ; what would be tried
next ? Bribery and corruption.—(Cheers.) Their plan now
was to purchase the Roman Catholic clergy.—(Cries of "Oh,"
and growling.) lie would ask though, had the English
Minister purchased a single clergyman by the grant to May-
nooth?—(Cheers and cries of "\o.") Had one Catholic
curate deserted his country on that account ?—(Loud cries
' of "No.") No ! nor could they purchase the Roman
Catholic clergy of Ireland, if they transferred to Maynooth
all the property of Trinity Cdllege, Dublin.—(Cheers.) He
would say nothing then of the Charitable Bequets Bill ;
and as to the education scheme and the Colleges Bill, he
would leave that to the condemnation which the Roman
Catholic Bishops had passed on it. The people of Ireland
had, already beaten down force and fraud ; and corrup-
tion would equally fail in subduing them.—(Loud
cheers.) When the present Ministry came in, it ems
said that concessian to Ireland had reached its limits. But
' now, even with a majority of 100 at their back, that Ministry
must adopt a different principle, because they find the people
of Ireland cannot be crushed.-e(Cheers.) The Minister was
now prepared to do something for Ireland. Now, he would
ask, what was it which made this great difference between
1841 and 1845 ? He would tell them. It was a great secret
which should go no farther.—(Laughtee.) A little bird had
whispered it to him. What was it? Conciliation Hall.—
. (Loud cheering.) The Quarterly Review, however, had one
great plan in store for settling the question about Ireland.
That was, by pensioning the Roman Catholic clergy of Ire-
land.—(Cries of " Oh, oh.") He would like to know where
they were to get the money for that project?—(Hear.) It
' would take one million at least to make anything like a de-
cent provision of this sort. But he scouted at such an idea.
The Roman Catholic clergy were too honest, too conscien-
tious to sell their people thus.—(Loud cheers.) The
people of Ireland had attained their present position
in tranquil times—when England was at peace with
the world, when ,her operatives were contented because
employed, and her mercantile and agricultural inte-
rests in the most flourishing condition. Udder such
circumstances he would call upon them to pursue
steadily and peaceably the course which they were following,
and he would venture to prophecy that they would eventually
succeed. But, stood the case alone so? What security was
there that this prosperity of England was to be continuous?
She was at peace now with France and America, but who
could answer for a continuance of that peace?—(Hear.) Who
could answer for it that England might not have her seasons
again, as she had before, of agricultural, commercial distress?
Let that time conic and Ireland would have her own, and
England would be glad to make that -alliance which t he people
of Ireland were now anxious to make with her—an alliance upon
the principle of a separate system of legislation under the
same Monarch—((sheers)—and with their own Parliament
to make laws for them.—(Cheers.) For the fulfilment of
this object they had only to pursue the course they were
now pursuing. Let them wait for the time that Englau
wanted them; bu!-, meantime, he called upon them to perse-
vere, persevere, persevere.—(Cheering.) This country was
beginning to take up its proper position. Its claims to con-
sideration were now better acknowledged than before. Even
in little things this change was perceptible. He remembered
when the Times newspaper had no words too bad for the
Irish peopJe, or for the abuse of their clergy. It held a dif-
ferent language now. They had sent over a commissioner
here to inquiry into what they might have found out by re-

T '_"