The Sun.
London, England, 1829-02-13 00:00:00

AILRES3 TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND.

Mr. CosrELLoE proposed that the Address to the Pi:o-
pie of Ireland should be pm-area and drawn up by Mr.
('onwa a Protestant gentleman, who had adhered to thim
from tl e commencement of their labours to the present
momen,.—(Cheers.)

Mr. ;fizu. seconded the motion.
Lord KILLEEN was then called is ene Chair, and thanlia
having ven returned to James O'Connell, Esq. the Meet-
ing adjt urned to Thurst..... next.

SPIRIT OF THt. LONIJON JOURNALS.

We his day public" the Act brought in by Mr. Pee
for suporessing the C: die Associatiou. Tbet ;in Act so
sweepire, so seatching, and so penal, could be introduced
by any modern Ministry, and acceded to nenzine contra
dicente by any House of Commons in this tree country,
proves no tnearor; a waritoo or reprehensible desire io
either them to extend the privet, itive. or eticroach
on
the lib( -ty of the subject ; hut it does prove, undoubtedly,
the ex .- cue—and, we must add, the just—alarm, both
of the r.'.xecutier Government :Intl of the Parliament, at
the gr( 'ti of a power unknown to English history, and,
in its r :nits, inaccessible to human conjecture—the natu-
ral offootiros. nevertheless, of obstinate ;
grievances ote'
of des •rooted poolocation. d on and telt :•,;
whole :people for the sake of their rcleerieu. Ti..• Act
for suporessing this terrible power, therefore, ought o. ite
regorde I, it its outreg etas Out unavoidable despotism,
as not ing more than t'ot meaanre of the evil whence
it sprit to—of that grand and eir:g;nal mischief, the degra-
dation seven millions of brave and loyal Catholics. The
Act to he said to rontemplate, formally, the Catholic
Aasoci -.ion alone ; but it is so framed as to invest the
Lord -O.iciatenant with powers to disperse and put down
all ho(: es whatsoever, though of a political character the
most (-posits to that of the Associciation, which may ap-
pear it- mical to the public peace, from their tendency to
prodto or prolong the spirit of triumph or mortification
on sit er side. The new Bill begins with the present or
late Association, which it severely denounces. It newt al-
ludes o the various shifts' and devices by which former
statutes of simile: intent have been evaded, and gives the
Lord Lieutenant authority—first, by proclamation to pro-
hibit all and every meeting " which he shall deem danger-
ous to the public peace or safety,"—a power which applies
likewise to all meetings, adjourned, renewed, or otherwise
continued, under any pretence whatever ; secondly, to
disperse such meetings through the medium of two justices
of the peace. The rent is the subject of peculiar penalties
and clauses: those paying it under any name or pretence
are to forfeit, not only the sums subscribed by them, but
treble he amount in the nature of a penalty, to the Crown,
and the party Acting as receiver of any rent is to be con-
sidered as a debtor to the King for the amount, besides
being liable to a fine of 5001. By a clause of singular pun-
gency and rigour, any person receiving such contributions
is compellable, by examination on oath, to discover his
own delinquency. The act, as against the Catholic As-
sociation, isperpetrol ; against other assemblies it is in
force but for a single year from the passing of the Act, and
to the end of the then next Session of Parliament.
This distinaion, however, has been explained by
Mr. Peel: the Act is perpetual as to its abolrtion of the
existing Association; as to all future meetings, tempo-
rary. Now that we have detailed the mechanism of this
coercive instrument, unexampled in rigour, even with re-
ference to the Six Acts, it becomes our more pleasing
duty to add, that the law will, according to all human ap-
pearance, been:tie as unnecessary as it is novel. Tile
Dub-
lettere and newspapers acquaint us, that in an open
Committee, where about 100 of the leading members of
the Association met on Monday evening, the majority—
and t 1: et majority composed of the first Catholic gentlemen
for rattle and character—were, decidedly in favour of an im-
mediate and simple dissolution ; that the whole bench of
Catlinie Bishops joined in recommending that course, full
of wisalem and of kindly confidence in the honour of the
King's Government, and in the beneficence of the Legisla-
tore ; that Mr. Sheil, strong in his own judgment, and for-
tified by the concurrence of the Catholic Church, had
given notice of a motion to dissolve the Association instan-
ter, which. no man could doubt that be would carry.
After the above sentences were written, we had the heart-
felt gratification of learning, through our Parliamentary
reporters, that Mr. Spring Rice announced, as it were
efficial.Ty, to the House of Commons, the dissolution of
the res. subtable Association. We never heard intelligence
more siasonoble or grateful than this. There seemed in-
deed to be an instinct in both countries, pervading sirmil-
taneously the minds of ail honest friends of the policy now
adopted by Government, and of the sufferers whom it
is destined to relieve, that the Association bad no fur-
ther duty to perform than to reinforce its friends and
paralyze its foes by an immediate and spontaneous disso-
lution. We predicted this euthanasia of Catholic party
spirit. on hearing the King's Speech read, and cordially do
we rejoice at its expiring in a manner so honourable to it- I
self, and too generous towards the faithful advocates and
supporters of Catholic freedom. If means the most
triumphant had been sought, for striking dumb or dead
the fierce cainmoiators of our Catholic fellow-subjects,
what Walla could have been devised more potent or more