The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-03-13 00:00:00

IRISH CORPORATIONS BILL.

Yesterday a public meeting was held in the Nisi Prius
Court, in the Sessions-house, " for the purpose of consider-
ing the propriety of petitioning the legislature in favour of
the measure of Irish Municipal Reform now before the
Ilouse of Commons." The meeting was called by the
Mayor, in pursuance of a requisition addressed to him for
the purpose.
Precisely at twelve o'clock the doors were opened, and
the public admitted. The Reform Committee entered by
the private doors, and in a few seconds nearly the whole of
the front benches were crowded by their followers. A great
number of conservatives, however, succeeded in obtaining
admission, in spite of the attempts that were made to crowd
the room with the partisans of the other side.
The MAYOR having taken the chair, the TOWN-CLERK
read the requisition in compliance with which the meeting
had been called. There appeared to be about from 70 to 100
names appended to it, at the head of which was Colonel
W ;Mains.

The N 1 Aron said that, in compliance with the requisition
just read, lie had deemed it his duty to call the present
meeting. The only observation he should think necessary
to trouble the meeting with was this, that whatever differ-
ences might arise upon the question- which was the object of
the requisition, the truth would best be elicited by calm and
temperate discussion. (Hear.) More he need not say at a
public meeting convened by the Mayor of Liverpool : less
he ought not to say. (Hear.) He claimed for every person
who wished to address the meeting a patient hearing, and, if
it Was necessary, he would call upon every respectable inha-
bitant of the town to support him in preserving order. He
called upon Mr. Currie to move the first resolution.
Mr. W. W. Corozal: then stood forward but for some
moments was unable to obtain a hearing, owing to the confu-
sion caused by parties endeavouring to obtain places. The
interference of the mayor, however, soon procured order.
Mr. Currie then proceeded to say, that he appeared before
them under different circumstances to thosel'under which he
appeared the last time this subject was brought forward.
And he trusted that the excellent advice just given by the
mayor, which had not been attended to on that occasion as it
ought, would at least be observed this day. The circum-
stances of the question were, be was happy to say, somewhat
different to those four years ago. A very great and power-
ful change had taken place in the public mind in favour of
the settlement of this long • agitated question. When they
perceived in the present session, that the most distinguished
leaders of that party who had hitherto opposed the bill,
when they saw' that those men, distinguished for talent, in.:
fluence, rank and power, had on this occasion given way,
and agreed it was time this question should be settled, he
could not help entertaining a strong hope that the opinion of
of that meeting likewise would be in accordance with those
sentiments. The requisition was addressed to the mayor to
call a meeting to consider the propriety of petitioning the
House of Commons to pass the bill. The bill had since,
however, passed the House of Commons with the largest
majority, numerically, which had ever been known upon this
question. This was the fourth time the Irish Municipal
Reform Bill had been before the House of Commons, and
there were for it—ayes, 192, noes 34. (Cheers and hisses.)
That bill had since been introduced into the House of Lords
read as a matter of form the first time, and it was to be read
a second time the 30th of this month. It could not have
escaped the recollection of those who took an interest in
public affairs, that this time last year Sir Robert Peel, when
called to take upon himself the administration of public
affairs, confessed that under the circumstances by which he
was surrounded he found Ireland the great point of diffi-
culties, and that which made him dread the future. He
(Mr. Currie) fancied that a failing of that kind had influenced
the Right Hon. Baronet, and induced him toexercise his in-
fluence over those who acted with him, and to that change
he must attribute what had occurred. The subject was
really one so obvious that he should consider it almost
absurd to appeal to that meeting with arguments in favour
of the measure ; but he must be allowed to say that if those
persons who had hitherto opposed it were wise in their ge-
neration, their example with regard to the church for in-
stance should be followed : that if they were most anxious as
they professed to be for the property of the church in Ireland,
they should be the more strongly induced to remove any ob-
stacle to the advancement and spread of that church. But,
was the course now pursued, connecting the municipal cor-
porations bill with danger to the Church of Ireland, likely to
remove those obstacles, or advance the spread of protestant-
ism, and get rid of its enemies amongst the Roman Catho-
lics? (Hear.) He should think not. If the Roman Catho-
lics thought that their civil rights were opposed by the parties
who supported that establishment, it was impossible they
could view that establishment with a favourable eye. (Hear,
hear.) Then with regard to the corporations themselves. It
had been said by a very great authority, whose character was
enrolled in the pages of history already—he meant the Duke
of Wellington—(loud cheering)—that he was against them,
and would deprive them of the system of exclusion ; nut that,
as he did not wish in doing away with that system of exclu-
sion in one party to give it to another, he would abolish the
Irish corporations altogether. (Cheers.) Was that fair?
(Cheers, and hisses.) Was it fair to say because we could
not approve of them to sweep them away altogether ? De-
cidedly not. But the meeting would observe religion was
not the point upon which corporation reform was based. It
had nothing to do with it. It was based upon those princi-
ples which had induced the legislature to pass the reform
bill for England and Scotland—(hear) ; but the circum-
stances that gave preponderance in favour of one party did
not alter the principle of justice, for all men duly qualified
by station, property, and character, had a right to share in
the management of the affairs of the community in which
they resided. (Cheers.) The principle was invariable,
although the circumstances might vary. It might so happen
that the preponderance might be on one side to-day, and a
few years hence in another. His opinion was this, that if
this question was settled, so far from being a source of strife
and discord amongst the people, we should have them di-
recting their energies to the improvement of their neigh-
bourhoods ; that we should find religion a matter not to
enter into the management of corporate affairs, but that that
duty must be left to the men, most qualified by their ability
and property, their station and respectability, and who has
been chosen for it. (Hear.) He must be allowed to say,
and he spoke it with great respect, inasmuch as he saw a
member of that corporation present, that if there were any
one circumstance more than another which rendered it desi-
rable that this Irish municipal reform bill should pass it was
this, that it would utterly extinguish in its present form the
corporation of Dublin. (Cheers and hisses.)
A Voice.—Three cheers for the Lord Mayor of
Dublin ! (The cheers were immediately given with great
effect, but mingled with a few hisses.)
Mr. CURRIE said the sentiment he had just expressed was
not one coming from him as a solitary individual—it was one
which had been admitted by the great conservative leader in
parliament ; for if they had read the newspapers they must
recal to mind three distinct occasions on which the conduct
of the corporation of Dublin had been treated in no very
ceremonious terms by the leaders of that party. (" Hear,"
from the whigs.) It might he said there was no necessity
for a change in the corporation of Dublin, because the law
since 1829 had placed all persons upon an equality, and en-
abled them to sit in that corporation. (Hear.) But what
was the fact? Whatever the spirit of that law might be, in
practice it had not been acted upon, for since that period
there had not been a single dissenter elected into the corpo-
ration of Dublin. Was it right that this should be so ? or
ought they to be surprised that men of as great wealth, and
in some instances of ten times greater than those who were
in, should feel annoyed at being excluded from that right ?
Certainly not ; and he could not conceive it possible that
anything like harmony could exist in Dublin, so long as this
festering sore was allowed to continue. (Hear, hear.) From
the corporation of Dublin had sprung all that intolerance,
violence, want of kindness, and want of humanity towards
their fellow-subjects, which must necessarily create a bad
feeling in their minds, and render it impossible that the
peace of Ireland could be permanently preserved. (Hear,
hear.) It was now time that these considerations should
he brought to weigh upon the minds of the House of Lords.
He hoped they would at length see that it was now necessary
to close the wound. Mr. Currie then went on to contend
that owing to the state of our foreign relations it was
necessary to have au united population at home ; and
to express a hope that the House of Lords would now
put an end to the question. If they desired peace and
happiness to reign in a distracted country, if they felt desi-
rous that its natural resources should be called out, if they
wished that the superabundance of capital which was
flowing to foreign countries should be attracted to Ireland,
if they desired to scatter peace and plenty over a smiling
land, he trusted they would feel that they resisted long
enough, and that the time was come when the measure ought
to pass. With that view he begged to move the first reso-
lution. (Cheers and hisses.)
Colonel WILLIAMS rose to second it. He spoke as fol-
lows—l am sorry to find that lam not quite so popular a
character in this meeting as the Lord Mayor of Dublin,
whose cheering I cannot make out. (Hear and laughter.)
I beg you will attend to the Mayor's injunction to be silent.
My name was read at the head of the requisition. lam not
an inhabitant of Liverpool, but I will tell you what I am. I
am brother to a great many of you in the back ground there,
I believe (hear, hear) I am a Liverpool freeman; gentlemen.
(Cheers.) lam one of the old freemen, gentlemen. (Con-
ti's-tied cheering and laughter.) I belong to that virtuous
body of which you have present among you the most con-
spicuous representatives ! (Hear.) Well, gentlemen, are
not we of the old fraternity to call upon the legislature to ex-
tend the blessings which we enjoy to Ireland? And why
not ? What is the opinion of the illustrious Duke ? (Hear.)
The illustrious duke is a great man in his way—a capital
soldier, but as to his politics, I hold them very cheap.
(Cheers.) •
Mr. SIIIIIPHERD.—Three cheers for the Duke ! (Nine
tremendous rounds of applause were the answer to this ap-
peal.)
The Maroa, having found some difficulty in restoring si-
lence, pointed out the disadvantage and interruption created
by calling for cheers in the midst of an address. He put the
question whether they would allow it in future, and the meet-
ing decided by a show olhands that they would not.
Colonel WILLIAMS proceeded. Are you, he asked, pre-
pared to listen to any body but yourselves ? Nothing can
be so inconvenient as this cheering for one man and then
another. It is unworthy of a deliberate assembly, but I shall
say no more upon that point. Let it be recollected that this
is a great question—a question not to be frittered away by
trifling exclamations and cheering. The municipal system is
the system upon which all our freedom and all our wealth has
proceeded ; out of the corporations has arisen the liberty and
the wealth of England, and it is for that reason this country
has taken the lead of all the civilized world. Well; are we
not to grant the same blessing—are we to deny, to Ireland—
that miserable, ill-fated island, so unhappily placed in our
hands that she cannot stir unless we let her—are we, I ask,
to deny to that discontented country the means of raising
herself in wealth and civilization and freedom also ? (Hear,
and cries of " No.'') What is the resistance contemplated
to this measure ? I thought, at least, the opposition would
be confined to what is called in the houses of parliament
"in doors." (Hear, hear.) Who ever expected, before,
the people of England to resist the right and the prin-
ciple of representation? (Hear.) It is the principle of local
representation we are contending for • and that representa-
tion, whether it exists scattered up and down in the island,
or is concentrated in St. Stephen's Chapel, has still the same
influence and the same consequences—to ensure to us our
liberty. Oh, it would be endless to enumerate the blessings
arising out of the system which we derived from our Saxon
ancestors ; and are we to prefer the Normans, who took our
estates from us, who laid four towns waste for the purpose
of making hunting grounds—are we to listen to those Nor-
mans, that refuse to give us the blessings we derived from
the Saxons ? Having mentioned that, I will now call upon
you, when we have :Saxon Prince of some influence among
us, and who knows the blessings derived from his country,
to invite him to co-operate with us in extending the blessings
of freedom, which can only be done by the representative
system when in co-operation with the representative system
of the House of Commons. I will take up no more of your
time • but be it understood, that if the House of Lords
should again reject this bill, it will be because we have not
enough of liberal men in the other house. (Cheers.) I se-
cond the motion.
Mr. NICHOLAS ROBINSON was one of those who, so far
from experiencing the satisfaction described in the motion at
the passing of the bill through the House of Commons, re-
gretted that it had done so—(hear, and some uproar)—for
his opinion was that if it became law, it would throw the
whole of municipal corporations of Ireland into the hands of
the Roman Catholics. (Cheers and hisses.) If there was
to be a petition at all to the House of Lords upon the sub-
ject, he should say, " let us petition the House of Lords to
throw it out." (Great uproar from the whigs.) As Mr.
Currie had very properly and truly said, it would change the
corporation of Dublin. (Hear.) Yes, it would make this
alteration, it would drive out the Protestants and put in the
Roman Catholics. (Cheers.) For this reason he should,
without any further observation, oppose the motion.

Mr. JOHN WRIGHT rose to address the meeting, but the
Whig; created such a clamour that it was impossible for him
to proceed:
The MAYOR claimed an impartial hearing for every one,
whatever his opinions might be, and he earnestly requested
they would keep silence, that they might hear. (Cheers.)
Mr. WRIGHT wished to put his friends in a good humour,
for he had always found in a public meeting truth was much
better dictated-by a good feeling than by calling names.
(Hear.) He was quite sure when he came here to oppose
the propositions of his friend Mr. Currie, seconded by his
gallant friend Colonel Williams, they were both liberal
enough to believe he could have no personal feeling, no un-
kindness in his mind against any individual who might hap-
pen to have different political opinions to himself, (Hear.)
He believed then, that the apprehensions of his friend Mr.
Robinson would be realized—that if the proposed measure
became law the whole of the Protestant members of the
corporations. in Ireland would be ousted and replaced by
Roman Catholics. - (Hear.) In asserting this opinion he
did not by any means wish to cast the slightest reflectiert
upon his Roman Catholic fellow subjects ' • nay snore, he
went further and would most distinctly say that he thought it
would be their duty to attempt it. Mr. Currie, therefore,
he considered, had come to a conclusion rather too hastily
when he stated that religion could have nothing to do with
this question. (Hear.) His (Mr. Wright's) argument was
this—that if the corporations, which were the strong holds of
Protestantism, were swept from the face of Ireland and
they were filled by Roman Catholics, the Roman Catholics
Would have the power to return a greater number of mem-
bers to the House of Commons, by which means they would
have more power to attack the church establishment of
Ireland. (Loud cheers and some interruption.) Then, the
probability that they would so attack it was this. As an indivi-
dual he wished to give every man high and low a conscientious
feeling for the faith in which he had been brought up ; but,
if he understood rightly, one of the tenets of the Roman Ca-
tholic faith was, that they were bound to upset anything
which they called heresy. (Cries of " No," drowned by
those of " Yes.") He considered it their duty to endeavour
to establish their faith, and he cast no reflections upon them
for it whatever. This was one of the reasons for opposing
the motion. The gallant colonel had stated that he was pne
of the old freemen. He (the colonel) had looked towards
him (Mr. Wright) a little cunningly when he talked of the
purity of the old freemen. He did not think the praises of
the gallant colonel came from his heart exactly, although
they proceeded from his lips ; because many were the times
when he had given them severe rebuffs—good advice he (Mr.
Wright) knew, but he did not know that he had ever given
them anything else. (Laughter and cheers.) However, his
gallant friend and himself, though they had taken opposite
parts in politics for many years, had always kept good friends,
and he hoped they should continue so. His gallant friend
had appealed to them, is brother freemen, whether they
should not like to give to Ireland the same benefits as they.
themselves enjoyed. He (Mr. Wright) agreed in that re-
spect with the gallant colonel ; every honest freeman would ;
but the gallant colonel did not know, when he uttered those
words, what this bill contained (hear, hear); he forgot that
in this very bill there was a clause disfranchising every free-
man in every corporation. (Cheers.) He (Mr. Wright) had
always, but he did not mention it as a boast, and it was for
those who were freemen in this meeting to do the same,
stood up whenever he found their franchises and privileges at
stake. (Hear.) He wished them to come forward now,
and when this motion was put to the vote, to show that they
wished those gentlemen to whom the gallant colonel had
appealed, they could not agree in the delight expressed by
the motion, because it destroyed the franchise of the freemen
of Dublin and other plabes. For these reasons he should
oppose the motion. _ _

'the mayor then proceeded to put the motion, and having
twice requested a show of hands, in order to satisfy himself
declared that he had no hesitation in deciding that the ayes
had it.

Mr. JAMES BRANCKE said it was his duty to move the
second resolution, said he should follow the example of his
Friend Mr. Alderman Wright.
Mr. WILIGHT.—" I am not an alderman." (Laughter.)
. _

„
Mr. BRANCKER then read the resolution, and said that
the best way of getting on with business NV,as to make as
short speeches as possible, and therefore he should content
himself with recommending the motion to the favourable
consideration of the meeting. He must, however, say, that
there was no Irishman so degraded as ever to be content with
less than equal rights and privileges to Englishmen. (Hear,
hear.)
Mr. JAME'S MULLENEUX seconded the motion. The
question before the meeting was so plain, so simple, that he
wondered exceedingly how a difference of opinion could exist
upon it, and that it should be ne2essary at this time of day
for them to leave their usual occupations and employments,
to urge upon the legislature the propriety of doing justice to
a large portion of our fellow-citizens, and extending to them
what we had obtained for ourselves. If local self govern-
ments were good as a whole, it was good as applied to every
part of this great empire ; and by it, those who opposed us
and arrogated to themselves a superiority in religion, in which
he was inclined to include a claim to superiority of morals,
they would surely recognize in this great measure the great
principle of one of those divine commandments upon which
hung all the law and the gospel. But if he was astonished
that injustice should be so long perpetrated towards Ireland,
he was still more astonished that it should be so long and so
meekly borne ; and he hoped that his Irish fellow-countrymen
would never rest satisfied, would never desist from agitation,
until all those distinctions that caused discord and strife
amongst all the subjects of this empire should be removed
and destroyed. He seconded the motion.
Mr. T. B. HORSFALL opposed the motion. When first he saw
the placards convening this meeting upon the walls of the
town, he tfetermined to make it his duty to attend it, not only
because he considered this as a question of great and vital
importance, not as a question of party politics, not a question
affecting the mere temporal rights and privileges of the Irish
population, but as a question striking at the very root of our
Protestant institutions. (Loud cheers.) He could only say
that whatever opinions he might give utterance to, nothing
was further from his heart than to hurt the feelings of any
individual in the room. Another feeling which induced him
to attend was the thorough conviction that, at the hands of
the Mayor, every gentleman who wished to address the meet-
ing would receive that impartial attention which he, the
Mayor, had so well endeavoured to obtain. His friend Mr.
Cdrrie had said he objected to corporations being exclusive.
In what way did he object? He objected to their being ex-
clusively Protestant, but not to their being exclusively Ro-
man Catholic. (Loud cries of Hear, hear, and cheering.”)
He always liked to come to figures, and hoped that he should
be able to lay before Mr. Currie and that meeting,: some
facts which would convince him that if this bill passed, the
corporation of Dublin, from being exclusively Protestant,
would become—and he said it in no offensive spirit—exelu-
sively Popish. (Some interruption and cheering, in which
Mr.. Wright and the Mayor interfered, and eventually order
was restored.)

A voice.—Will Mr. Horsfall give his 'authority for that
statement ?

Mr. HORSFALL had been asked for his authority, and be
would endeavour to give it. A calculation had been made
of the householders of the city of Dublin—and they would
bear in mind that the £5O freeholders and the freemen were
disfranchised—and it appeared from that calculation, that of
the £lO householders the Roman Catholics were 9250, whilst
the Protestants numbered only 4832. (Great interruption.)
When his friend Mr. Currie complained that no 'Protestant
dissenter had been admitted into the corporation of Dublin,
lie (Mr. Horsfall) was perfectly willing to appeal to the dis-
senters of Ireland, and by their decision he would will-
ingly abide. If the Protestant dissenters of Ireland would ra-
ther have this municipal reform bill than the corporations as
they now were, he would grant it. (Hear.) But the Pro-
testant Dissenters of Ireland, unlike many of the Protestant
Dissenters in this country, united heart and hand with the
Protestant Church of Ireland, contending against the com-
mon enemy of the Protestant religion and the Protestant
Church. (Loud cheers.) The next point to which he would
allude, was the power which this bill would give to the cor-
porations when so constituted. It was not like the municipal
reform bill for ngland. The municipal reform bill for Eng-
land compelled our corporations, if he mistook not, to light
the streets, and do many other things which were necessary ;
but the proposed bill for Ireland gave the corporation of
Dublin power to raise a sum of £70,000 or £BO,OOO per
annum, to be applied solely to the payment of the corporate
officers ; it did not provide for lighting a single street, nor
for a single paving stone to be put down, nor indeed for any-
thing but the payment of the officers.
.(" Hear, hear," and
a cry of "No, no.") Gentlemen might say " No, no," but
they would have an opportunity of disproving the assertion,
if they could ; let them at the proper time do so, and not
interrupt him in making a statement. (Hear.) He quoted
now the words of a most eminent Protestant in Ireland, when
appealing to this country for aid—and would not the Pro-
testants of England aid their Protestant brethren in Leland ?
(" Yes, yes," and hisses.) He quoted the language of a
distinguished Protestant—

•
.111ity voices—Name, name i (Hisses.)
Mr. HoRsFALL.—It was a name dear to every Protestant
heart—it was Professor Butt. (Immense applause.) Pro-
fessor Butt said, " If this bill should pass, so sure as we
now have a Protestant Lord Mayor presiding over the city
of Dublin, so sure would the arch-demagogue of Ireland
occupy that seat." (Hisses and groans. On this as well
as several other occasions during the meeting, Langan the
prize-tighter made himself very conspicuous, both in hooting
at the top of his own lungs, and exciting others to follow his
example.)

. ,
The MAYOR entreated that there might be no noise.
Every gentleman who wished to speak should be heard, and
he would be much obliged if they would not make any un-
pleasant demonstrations.
Mr. HORSFALL felt it his duty to single out a man who
had interrupted him frequently ; and as he was a professor,
or had been a professor of pugilism, he claimed the mayor's
protection. He was no match for Mr. Langan.
The ex-pugilist replied by a kind of horse-laugh.
Mr. HORSFALL resumed. He had given them the autho-
rity of Professor Butt's speech, wherein he stated, that as a
certain consequence of this bill, the arch-demagogue of Ire-
land would be seated in the lord mayor's chair if it passed.
Professor Butt then went on to say,—" It will be with him
no mere empty honour : the town council will have the power
of awarding him such a salary as they may think reasonable.
And what will they think reasonable for the Great Man who
has done such service to Ireland? Aye, and they will have
the power of taking the Protestant property of the city of
Dublin to pay it." (Cheers.) It appeared further from
this statement that the lord mayor might be elected for life,
and of that O'Connell would be very glad (cheers, hisses,
and laughter) ; for lie would then have in a single sum, from
the corporation of Dublin, what he now wrings from the poor
people of Ireland. (Loud cheers.) Now he (Mr. Horsfall)
begged most distinctly to say, that nothing was further from
his heart than to cast any reflection upon the mayor or ma-
gistrates of this borough, but this bill gave power to the town,
councils, constituted as they would be, to recommend the ma-
gistrates to the lord lieutenant for appointment ; so that we
should not only have Roman Catholic corporations, but a
body of Roman Catholic magistrates. And although he was
not objecting, or going to object, to any magistrates—far
from it—now upon the bench at Liverpool, he would ask what
justice there was in that law which had passed in this country,
and degraded from the bench such men as Mr. Robinson, Mr.
Wright, Mr. Sandbach, Mr. Lawrence, and many others
whom he might name. (Immense uproar and applause.) He
should be sorry to detain the meeting with any lengthened
remarks which this subject might necessarily call forth, but
he could not help saying, that whatever might bethe decision
of that meeting upon the resolution now submitted, lie did
protest against a meeting held in a room capable of contain-
ing only 600, 800, or possibly 1000 people, being considered
an expression of the sentiments of the inhabitants of Liver-
pool. (Great cheering and uproar which lasted several mi-
nutes.) Whatever might be the decision to which he had
alluded, a voice had gone forth from Protestant Liverpool,
that Protestantism should not be put down. (Immense
cheering.) Our legislature should know it. (Great cheer-
ing again.) It should penetrate the cabinet. (Continued
cheering, amidst which a voice cried question,' when the
Mayor called out to order.) It should penetrate the recesses
of the palace. It should rend the veil which hid the mys-
terious workings of Popery. It should tell our beloved and
gracious monarch that the Protestant people of England—
' (uproar drowned the rest of the sentence.)
The MAYOR asked what it was they expected by making
this noise. Let them hear and reply, but not shout and dis-
turb others and keep themselves there all day. (Cheers.)
One gentleman (Langan) had repeatedly shouted, that indi-
vidual, he thought, ought to be ashamed of himself. (Con-
tinued confusion.)
Mr. WRIGHT said that if gentlemen would not help the
mayor it was quite imposlible for him to keep order. He
had hoped that both sides would have kept order. (Hear.)
Mr. HORSFALL.—It should tell our beloved and gracious
monarch that the Protestants of England were determined
to maintain those principles which had seated the house of
Brunswick upon the throne of these realms,—(cheers),—
and it should convey to the Protestants of Ireland the assu.

ranee that the Protestants of England would stand by them
to the last. (Renewed. cheers.) And should that arch de-
magogue, as he had threatened, bring his five hundred thou-
sand fighting men—Gmmense uproar commenced by Langan
and continued by the whits.)
The Mayor again appealed to the mectin7 to keep order.
He did not conceive their case so weak as to oblige them to
put him down by clamour.
Mr. HORSFALL continued—But what was more, it would
convey a word of comfort to the Protestants of Ireland with
the assurance that should the arch demagogue of Ireland
bring his five hundred thousand ribbonmen, as he threatened,
—(hisses and cheers),—the Protestants of England would
stand by them to the last—they would fight with them in the
last battle, and die with them in the last ditch. (Immense
applause minglsd with some disapprobation front the whirs.)
• Mr. SHEPHERD said they had heard many speeches to-day
upon the subject of Irish municipal corporations ; and he
agreed with the mayor that a calm dispassionate discussion
would best suit this case. (Hear.) There were many opi-
nions upon it. We had heard several to-day ; and as there
probably were many Roman Catholics in that assembly, if it
would be pleasing to them and satisfactory to the meeting,
he would read the opinion of a very excellent Roman Catholic
gentleman, a man of large property, in the county of Wex-
ford, on the workings of this bill if passed into a law. He
would afterwards read extracts from a Protestant individual
of high talent, showing his opinions, and the meeting in their
discretion might adopt that which they thought best.
Mr. BOLTON.—Give us the substance of it.
Mr. SHEPHERD.—No, I must go through it entirely.
The MAYou.—Are the notes long ?
Mr. SHEPHERD.—Not very long sir. These are from a
man who received the thanks of the Catholic Association,
and who is possessed of very large estates.
The MAYOR.—Are your notes long?
Mr. SHEPHERD.—Not very long.
The MAYOR.—Be pleased to take up as little time as you
possibly can, for this is a meeting for public discussion, and
not to read books or extracts.

Mr. SIIEPHERD.---We were brought here to adduce evi-
dence for and against the question ; and as the impartial
chief magistrate of Liverpool, we believed when we came
here, and we still believe that you would act patiently and
impartially. (Hear, hear.)
The MAYOR.—When you find me acting otherwise than
patiently and impartially, it will then be time enough to call
me to order. (Cheers.)
Mr. SHEPHERD.—Mr. Mayor, I did not call you to order;
far front it. I said you would act impartially ; that you came
there impartially, and that I believe you will act impartially.
(Cheers.)
Mr. ROBINSON.—I must say Mr. Mayor that I thought
Mr. Shepherd rather paid you a compliment than otherwise.
The MAYOR.—I did not take it as such but lam glad to
find it is so.

Mr. SREPIIERD then proceeded to read the following
document :

" A Petition from James Edward Devereux, of Carigme-
nan, in the county of Wexford, Esq., against the Ministerial
Irish Miiaicipal Corporation Bill presented to the House by
Lord Lyndhurst.—The prayer of the petition is, that their
lordships would take into their serious consideration the
arguments adduced by the petitioner, and that they would
reject the Irish Corporation Bill.' As Mr. Devereux is a
staunch Roman Catholic; as he was one of the five delegates
who, on the 3d of January, 1793, presented the petition of
the Catholics of Ireland to Geo. 111. ; and as his whole life
has been devoted to forwarding the real and substantial inte-
rests of his Catholic brethren ;—his statement ought to have
considerable weight with the respectable part of the Catholic
body in Ireland. In thus openly laying his sentiments before
the Legislature, and thereby exposing himself to the full tide
of party malice and obloquy. he can have no sinister object
in view, he can have had but one cause to serve, that of truth
and justice. To prove that he has been long considered
worthy of the esteem and confidence of the Roman Catholics
of Ireland, the petitioner sets out with stating the fact, that
he had repeatedly received the thanks of the Catholics of the
towns of Wexford and New Ross, and, through their ge-
neral committee, the thanks upon several occasions of the
CatholiCs of Ireland ; which general committee presented
him with a piece of plate of the value of one hundred guineas.
The petitioner observes, that the bill against which he raises
his voice is only calculated to place the Catholics of Ireland
under the absolute dominion of an unprincipled faction,
composed of the Irish Catholic members of the House of
Commons, who, forming one head and one body, have, as it
were, repudiated all indiViduality ;' and, therefore, he thinks
that he had a right to consider the act of any one member
of that body as the act of the whole.' The bill would, he
contends, in the first place, give all the civil power to the
faction ;' and the civil power having at its disposal
the military power under various circumstances,it
must follow as a necessary result that the faction
would enjoy absolute dominion.' These charges the pe-
titioner states are not new. They were made by him
years before the Irish Corporation Bill was brought forward,
or even thought of; and he alludes to a variety of letters and
pamphlets published by him on the subject in the years 1831,
1832, and 1833. The petitioner attributes the misfortunes of
Ireland, for six hundred years, to the melancholy truth that
it had, during all that period, been governed by faction ; and
he adds, that the people gladly consented to the Legisla-
tive Union, in the hope that under its beneficial influence the
reign of faction would cease, and that Ireland would he
henceforward governed only by the Ii perial Parliament.'
That hope, however, was unfortunately disappointed. The
petitioner describes what, in his opinion, would be the pro-
bable effect of these annual municipal elections. The peo-
ple,' he says, would be kept in a state of permanent ex-
citement ; for in each town two parties would immediately be
formed—not a Catholic and a Protestant party, (no, thank
God, that is now over.) but two Catholic parties hating one
another most cordially : the one, the party of the pretended
Catholic faction, with its servile tail ; and the other, the party
of independent Catholics of all ranks, which, of course, the
Protestants, abhorring hypocrisy, would join.' The peti-
tioner then refers to the peaceful situation in which"many or
the towns in Ireland are at this moment placed, and argues
that if the new corporate system were allowed, that peace
could not long continue; since the father of the bill had dis-
tinctly declared, That these corporations are to be normal
schools (not of peace, but) of agitation.' The petitioner justly
infers from this declaration that the baneful fruits of these
corporation struggles would be political strife and rancour
and hatred ! ' The most respectable citizens would, no
doubt, be at first elected, but that would not long satisfy the
incendiary or pretended Catholic faction formed in those
towns, in consequence of the new democratic system of election,
out of a people who had become from what was most docile,
what was most ungovernable, by the facilities which the new
system afforded to the intrigues of agitators, all the manoeu-
vres of the demagogues would be aimed at every man in the
town who presumed to think for himself; respectable citi-
zens would soon he wearied out by the attacks of the fac-
tion ; they would renounce all functions, and these functions
would be instantly occupied by scamps of the pretended Ca-
tholic faction. Having thus ousted the worthy out of all
authority, they would then trample upon them at their
leisure. The worthy tradesman, merchant, Shopkeeper,
mechanic, or labourer, who would have a will of his
own, would be persecuted without mercy, threatened with
exclusive dealing, with a death's head and cross-bones,
&c., and compelled to yield to the very dregs of soci-
ety, so that thos3 towns would soon become pandemo-
niums under demoniac rulers ; a constant goading opposition
would be created, and it would be sufficient that the virtuous
and worthy citizens of all degrees should pursue one line of
conduct, to excite vexatious persecutions from the other
party.'—Such is the picture drawn by an Irish Roman Ca-
tholic of a very ancient house, by one who for many years
laboured in the Roman Catholic cause, whose opinions are
not the offspring of self-interest or disappointed ambition,
and which, therefore, deserve the serious consideration of
such of his fellow-countrymen as are not irrevocably bound
to O'Connell and his faction.' "

[During the reading of the early portions of this document
Mr. Rathbone contended that it was out of order, and on
the question being put the meeting confirmed him. We
have given the document, however, as we conceive it im-
portant to Mr. Shepherd's argument.]
Mr. SHEPHERD proceeded to state that the Roman Ca-
tholic towns of Galway and Clonmel were against the measure.
(No, no.) He stood there as an Irishman ; he -respected
his Roman Catholic countrymen, but he could not consent
to give the cold shoulder to his Protestant countrymen
because they were Protestants. He was as nearly connected
with Ireland, in family connection and estates, as any one
present, and he had never done any act hostile to the inter-
ests of his country. (Hear.) But he claimed from that
meeting the right to discuss fairly, quietly, and dispassion-
ately, the merits of this all-important case. He agreed with
many in that meeting that Sir Robert Peel had been very
erroneously blamed for the part he took in the discussion
upon this bill. The bill had been before the House of
Commons : 243 voted for the abolition of the corporations,
and a majority of the House of Lords also voted for their
abolition. What then was to be done ? Why either to
abolish or reform them ; and he would say, in the sincerity
of his heart, that he hoped the House of Lords would make
it such a bill as would put an end to all party strife and feuds,
and one that would protect Protestants, whilst giving equal
and honest justice to the'Roman catholics. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. MURRAY, an operative, made a long speech in favour
of the motion, in the course of which he replied to a few re-
marks of those who opposed it. He was much cheered by
his own party.
The MAYOR then put the motion, and it was carried.
Mr. RossoN, in moving the next resolution, took occasion
to extol Lord Durham's official report on the Canadas as a
model of wisdom, and descanted on the principle of self
local government therein asserted. He contended that this
question should not be argued on religious or sectarian
grounds, but that it was a question of pure constitutional
liberty. He concluded a conciliatory speech, which was
considerably applauded, by moving the resolution.
Mr. VINCENT HIGGINS seconded the motion.
Mr. ISAAC HOLMES next addressed the meeting amidst
some confusion and frequent interruption, against the motion.
The MAIrOR put it, and it was carried.
Mr. 'BOLTON moved the next resolution, declaring the
right of Ireland to justice. He contended that as England and
Scotland had had the benefit of municipal reform it was most
unjust to deny it to Ireland, and that the arguments of its
opponents, by making it a religious question, were based
upon a false foundation.

^Mr. SHEII. in seconding the motion, ridiculed the idea of
corporate reform being likely to ruin the Protestant esta-
blishment. He contended that reform was absolutely ne-
cessary, and declared that in one instance in Liverpool votes
for the mayoralty had openly been bought and sold.
The MAYOR called the speaker to order.
Mr. SHEIL said he was speaking of the old corporation ;
not of the men but of the system. He had himself seen the
practice, and he was greatly astonished to find it in a country
that pretended to freedom.

Mf. ROBINSON.-All I have to say is this—if Mr. Sheil
alludes to me, I declare upon my honour that no man can
say I ever gave a shilling.
Mr. SHELL had merely alluded to the facts, and to the
contest between Mr. Porter and Mr. Robinson, and he
should constantly expose it.
Mr. ROBINSON.—I can say this individually, I had no-
thing to do with it.
Mr. SIIIEL.—Now for Mr. Horsfall. Mr. Horsfall was a
man that professed extreme religious opinions, and said the
corporations of Ireland were the root of the Protestant insti-
tutions.

Mr. HORSPALL.—What I said implied they were a great
support.
Mr. SHIEL contended that his version of the expression
was correct. Mr. Horsfall had said, whatever might be the
decision of this meeting, he should not take it as the acknow-
ledged voice of the inhabitants of Liverpool. He (Mr.
Sind) was glad to hear that declaration; and he should wish
to ask when did Mr. Horsfall ever meet them in Clayton.
square? (Hear, hear.)
Mr. HORSPALL.—A question has been distinctly put,
which I will distinctly meet. (Cheers.) I will meet Mr.
Shell there to-morrow, if he wishes. (Renewed cheering.)
Mr. SHEII..—The question I asked was when did Mr.
Horsfall ever dare to do it. He tells me he is willing to
meet me there.

Mr. iloH—s7ALL.—The proposition has been repeated in
another form. Never since I took any interest in the dis-
cussions in this town has a meeting been called in Clayton-
sqnare by the authorities. (Cheers.) I wilt never lend
myself to attend meetings called by Mr. Sheil or any other
man in Clayton-square, till he (Mr. Sheil) fills that chair as
mayor of Liverpool. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. SHELL said this matter was getting too personal. Mr.
Horsfall had stated he never had attended any meeting not
called by the mayor in the Square, and therefore he never
had spoken at any public meeting at which the mayor was not
present. (Cries of "He did not say so.")
Mr. HossrALL made some remark which we lost in the
oncludedtlry
prevailing noise.
Mr. SHELL repeated that this discussion becomingwasc
personal, and after a few more observations be
seconding the motion.

Mr. WRlllirr was not going to oppose the resolution; but
Mr. Sheil having spokenof place and family influence being
used, he (Mr. Wrignt) begged to assure him that he had
neither directly nor indirectly disgraced himself by even
thinking of family influence when he. was performing a pub-
lic duty. (Hear, hear.) He was sure that Mr. Currie, who
was in the council at the time he was, would say that he had
ever attempted to do his duty without fear, favour, or affec-
tion in any way. (Hear.)
Mr. SHELL beg distinctly to say, that he had made no per-
sonal allusion to any gentleman except one; and he should
not shrink from it, as he witnessed the proceeding, and
at the time thought it a great violation of every right prin-
ciple. He should never hesitate to bring it forward as a
proof of the necessity of corporate reform, whenever he had
an opportunity. (Cheers.) •
Mr. HORSFALL enquired whether the words " this great
act of equal justice " in this resolution, applied to the present
bill?

Mr. BOLTON replied that they were connected with the
preceding resolutions, and meant that equal justice should he
extended Ireland.

Mr. HAILDY said there bad not been a resolution passed
or proposed in which he had not heartily concurred. He
had heard the sentiments of every gentleman who had sup-
ported the resolutions, likewise of those who opposed them.
EverYgentleman who had opposed the resolutions, had taken
up the question on Le ground that it would affect the Pro-
testant interests of the country ; but he did not see how it
could affect them,. seeing that it was a bill clearly for the mu-
nicipal government of the corporate towns of Ireland. Mr.
Horsfall, who was the great oracle of the opposition, had
mentioned a clause in it, which would disfranchise great num-
bers of the present freemen, and that the great arch-dema-
gogue might be elected the perpetual mayor of Dublin. He
(Mr. Hardy) should like to know what clause in the bill
that was—

The MAYOR.-Mr. Horsfall said there was such a clause
in the bill by which they might do so, but they would not
necessarily do so. (Hear, hear.)

Mr. HARDY repeated his assertion, and called upon Mr.
Horsfall for his authority for the statement. In conclusion
he cordially -eoincided and agreed with every resolution
hitherto put forward, and he hoped they would have their
due effect upon the House of Lords, for he thought they
would not for the fourth time kick the bill out 8(1723 cere-
motile, after the immense majority by which it had passed
the lower house. (Cheers.)
Mr. HORSFALL said his authority for the statement was
Professor Butt (cheers,) and he would say further, that
there was nothing in the EngHMI bill to prevent there being
a perpetual mayor of Liverpool. _ _ •

'The MAYoti.—Only this- one simple thing, that the mayor
has to be re-elected each year ; and I apprehend Mr.
O'Connell or any other person lutist be treated preciy iii
the same way. (Hear.) _ _

Mr. JOHN OWEN strongly objected to the bill, for this
reason that O'Connell had said, " Give me but this bill and
I ask no more," a statement which was sufficient to fill
every true Protestant with alarm. He further objected to
it, because it would deprive theTrotestant gentry, who com-
prised nearly all the intelligence and wealth of the country,
of all participation in local government; and also :because
it would give the ascendancy to Popery in almost every .re-
spect. (Cheers,) He called upon the meeting to oppose it.
A Man.—lf the Protestants of Ireland want the assistance
of the Protestants of England, it is not for military aid, as in
tory times.

The MAYOR then put the motion, and declared it to have
been carried by a large majority.
Mr. HUGH HORNBY rose, amidst general cheering, to
propose the next resolution, the substance of which was that
Ireland being an integral part of the British dominions, was
entitled to participate in all the free institutions of this coun-
try, and that consequently the meeting heartily approved of
the measure which was to give them the benefit of popular
municipalities. He regretted exceedingly that this resolu-
tion had not been confided to the hands of scire gentleman
who had paid greater attention to the subject' than he had
been able to give ; but the object in view was in its inten-
tion so just and reasonable, the proposition involved in
the resolution was so clear and undeniable, that it was
unnecessary for him to occupy the time of the meeting
at any great length in support of it. All they.asked upon
the part of their Irish fellow-subjects was, that they should
be put in possession of those same civil institutions which
we ourselves enjoyed. (Hear.) It was stated in this reso-
' lution that Ireland was an integral part of the British domi-
nions : yes, she was as much an integral part of the British
dominions as the county of Lancaster, and it would be as
unjust to deprive the inhabitants of Ireland of the right and
privilege of municipal institutions, as it would be to exclude
the county of Lancaster from the operation of the law.—
(Cheers.) He should not advert to the argument introduced
improperly he thought, and unwisely he was sure, by which
it bad been attempted to shew the effect which this measure
would have upon the different religious persuasions. (Hear.)
This was not a religious question. It was a question which
regarded the indefeasible right that every British subject
had to select the person who was to manage his own local
concerns. (Hear, hear.) He would, however, observe this
much, that if the Roman Catholics of Ireland exceeded
in numbers and influence the Protestants, then he thought
that it was only fair and just that that greater number
and that more extended influence should have the manage-
ment of their own local affairs. (Cheers.) But there had
been another argument used, not in that room, he admitted,
but by the parties who opposed the measure elsewhere, that
the Irish were an ignorant and uncivilized people, that they
were unfit to be trusted with the exercise of civil rights, and
that they were almost incapable of appreciating duly the be-
nefits and advantages of constitutionalliberty. (Hear.) This
argument seemed to him a gross libel upon a people who were
as highly endowed by nature as any people upon the face of
the earth. (Cheers.) It was very true that the party which
had used this language had done every thing in their power
to confirm the truth of their assertions; it was very true
that they had done all they could, by centuries of misgo-
vernment, to debase the people of Ireland; it was very true
that they had refused them, as long as they dared, those
privileges which every Englishman was accustomed to re-
gard as his inalienable birthright ; and it was very true,
they argued that it would he dangerous to confide to them
civil rights because they had been so long accustomed
to the exercise of them. (Hear.) For his part he was not
aware of any way of rendering the people worthy of enjoying
freedom, and he believed history furnished no example of it,
in any other way than by promoting the exercise of the rights
of freemen. (Cheers.) The Irish were a high-spirited ge-
nerous hearted people, and it was not at all surprising to
him that during long periods of oppression, they should
have exhibited symptoms of turbulence and disaffection ;
but he thought the experience of the last few years had
shewn that they could be as grateful as any other people,
that they could be as orderly, as well conducted, and as obe-
dient to the laws as ourselves, when they had a just, a liberal,
and an impartial government. (Hear, hear, and loud cheers.)
He need not occupy more time in support of the reso-
lution. He believed the measure now before parliament if
passed into a law would be a great boon to Ireland; he be-
lieved, too, that it would be received bfa vast majority there
as a gracious and a conciliatory act ; and as such it would
have a tendency to promote that harmony and good feeling
between the two kingdoms which was so necessary for the
well being and stability of the empire. (Hear.) He be-
lieved, further, that it was, especially desirable, that not only
strict justice required it, but that sound policy and wisdom
required, that we should assimilate the laws and institutions
of this country to every portion of our dominions. Hold-
ing these opinions he had thought it his duty to attend this
meeting, and he had great pleasure in moving this resolution.
(Cheers.)

Mr. BAINES said that at that late hour he should not de-
tain the meeting, but content himself with expressing his
concurrence with the sound, philosophical, and Christian
observations just made by Mr. liornby. He cordially azreed
in the sentiments of the resolution, and begged to second it.
He believed that to extend the institutions of the two coun-
tries, and to place them upon exactly the same footing, would
be the most effectual method to preserve the unity of the
empire, and to make our connection with the sister island of
real benefit to all parties (hear, hear).
The MAY on then put the motion, and it was carried.
Mr. WILLIAM RATIIBONE felt much obliged for the wel-
come cheer with which he had been greeted, and received it
as an assurance that honest and disinterested endeavours,
even if they accomplished little, were appreciated by his fel-
low-townsmen. His object in rising was to read, and then
to request their hearty adoption of a petition founded upon
the resolutions which they had carried by such majorities.
Having read the document, he said it was founded upon
two principles—its expediency and its justice. (Cheers.)
If the principle of it were adopted he believed it would be a
healing measure, and would enable this country to defy all
the world though in arms against us. (Hear.) We knew
what Irishmen had done. The Irish Duke of Wellington
led on his countrymen at Waterloo ; those plains had been
flooded with their blood, and they had fought him on to vic-
tory. Should we refuse, then, to the brave vindicators of our
country's rights, justice ? No ! (Cheers.) When they went
forth to the battle field at Waterloo, who looked whether
they were Protestant or Catholic ? They were subjects of
Great Britain ; they fought for Great Britain, they bled for
the constitutional liberty of Great Britain, and they would
willingly do so again. It had been asserted that a Catholic
population would elect only Catholics ; but only look at Li-
verpool. What was the case there ? There was a population
of 250,000 in Liverpool, 80,000 of whom were Catholics, yet
there were only two Catholic aldermen in the council.

A VOlCE.—the aldermen are not elected. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. RATHBONE only wished, if it were possible. to speak
peace, and he believed that object would be ensured, by the
adoption of this great measure. He was not there now to dis-
cuss the religious part of the question ; for he contended it was
not a religious, but a constitutional question, and that that
ought never to be brought forward by any man who relied
as he did upon the British constitution. One gentleman had
spoken of the evil effects of the poor law in Ireland. It was
at first rejected by the protestant portion of the community,
but now both parties were heartily working it together.
Mr. Currie had a brother-in-law in Ireland, a high church-
man, who Aaassed through Liverpool only last night—the
Rev. Mr. Moore, a name connected with the highest tory
families in Ireland, and a name resrected and beloved every
where where he was known, and this gentleman said, the Irish
poor-law was working very well, and conciliating all parties.
He had great pleasure in moving the adoption of the petition.
Mr. JOHN OWEN explained that he had not, in the re-
marks he had made, objected to the Irish poor law.
Mr. COGLAN had been requested to second the petition.
He cordially concurred in it, and he trusted that the high
parties to whom it was addressed would meet it in that fair
and dispassionate manner necessary for such a great occasion.
Englishmen had much to condemn in the line of policy they
had adopted towards Ireland. There was a black spot upon
the escutcheon of our national honour relative to that coun-
try, and the sooner we retraced our steps, and gave her jus-
tice, the sooner should we do our duty to that integral por-
tion of the empire. After some remarks about the Orange
faction, which it is unnecessary to publish, Mr. Cogjan con-
cluded his address by expressing his hope that the bill would
receive the sanction of the House of Lords.
Mr. SHEPPARD wished it to be known to this meeting,
that " From the year 1641 to the year 1660—the date of the
' Act of Settlement'—the Whigs and Cromwellians, in con-
junction, confiscated twenty-two counties in Ireland ; and of
these twenty-two counties it was calculated the Whigs re-
tained nineteen. What care' the Whigs had to the honour'
of their Sovereign, to the merits of the suffering Irish, or to
the laws of justice, was still remembered by the descendants
of those men who were robbed of their inheritance under the
sanction of a law which the King himself was privately averse
to; and it is equally well remembered by the Duke of De-
vonshire,
the Marquis of Lansdowne, the Marquis of Head-
fort, the Lord Fitzwilliam, the Ponsonbys, Duncannons."
(Hear, hear.)
A PERSON enquired in what work these facts were stated?
Mr. SFIEPPARD replied, in a letter dated Dublin, Feb.
10th, 1836, addressed " to the people of England and Ireland"
by Mr. Thomas Finn, the brother of Mr. O'Connell's bro-
ther-in-law ;—(cheers)—added, that if the querist would
call at his house he might.see it. (Continued cheers.)
Mr. BUSHELL commenced by saying that he had stated
before, when he had occasion to address the mayor upon a
point of order, that it was not his intention to speak upon
the question. But' having now heard the subject fully dis-
cussed pro and con, and feeling that a most important feature
had been lost sight of in the debate, he should not he doing
his duty to himself, or to those principles, both religious and
Political, which he professed, were he to leave the meeting
without stating the points upon which he was at issue with
the supporters of the resolution. The most important fea-
ture in the question, as he conceived, had been almost lost
sight of. If the question were only whether justice should
be done to Ireland—if it were merely whether the inhabi-
tants of Ireland should have the management of their own
local affairs, he should at once say, Yes. (Hear, hear.)
He would deprive Ireland of nothing which she was de-
sirous to have in that way ; but there was this further consi-
deration—how should we be affected by the boon which we
would otherwise most willingly grant ? (Hear.) He was

. .
not intolerant either in spirit or in feeling. ; he v:euld give t
every class of his fellow-subjects' Own? piivileges which he
himself possessed ; he would be just and right towards them,
but at the same time he must be just to himself. (Hear.)
Now if this bill passed, we should be materially affected in
our representation by the parliament. We all knew, and it
had been illustrated in this country already, what had been
the effect of municipal reform here ; we all knew what had
been the influence of the corporations in all parts where they
existed ; we all knew That in nine eases out of ten the
representation went with the influence of the corporation.
Now if the influence of the corporations in Ireland were
thrown into the hands of the• Catholics—and he.would speak
kindly and charitably of them ; he would take them by the
hand in temporal matters, and would serve them and vote
with them where he could--here was a principle he could
not concede (hear). He said, if this bill were adopted the
Roman Catholics would return to the British llouse of Com-
mons almost the whole of the Irish representatives (hear) ;
and they would not only have a vote upon questions of Irish
policy but upon questions of English policy also; they would
not only have a vote upon the education scheme, but upon
matters affecting the established church and our religion.
(Hear, hear.) Taking this view of the matter; having
gleaned the knowledge he possessed from what he had heard
in the debate ; and having found by the debate the probable ef-
fect if the representation of Ireland in the House of Commons
should be in the hands of the Roman Catholics, he must
oppose the motion. (Hisses, and uproar.) He would sug-
gest that Mr. Langan, who seemed to have been in hysterics
for three hours, be taken out, or that if he would not be
quiet, he be entrusted to the care of two or three policemen.
(Cheers.) lie must say, that most of the measures carried
by the present government, had been carried, not by the re-
presentatives of England or Scotland, but by the power they
acquired from Ireland. (Great uproar.)
The MAvort was very sorry the meeting would not hear
Mr. Bushell for a few moments longer, as the last thing he
bad said was one of the greatest compliments that could be
paid to Ireland.

Mr. BUSHELL confirmed. There was this insuperable
difficulty in the way of this bill—that should it pass Ireland
would be certainly represented numerically, but not in her
wealth, station and influence. (Hear.) If they could get
rid of this difficulty be would then become as firm an advo-
cate for municipal reform in Ireland as he must now be from
connection its opponent. (Cheers.)
Mr. TINDAL ATKINSON, in a highly-declamatory address,
contended that Mr. Bushell's remarks were lame and impo-
tent, and that the grand cure for ail the evils of Ireland was
this measure of corporation reform.
Mr. BUSHELL begged to explain. If Mr. Atkinson had
observed, instead of disregarding, his professed intentions of
not indulging in personalities, his conduct would have been
in much better keeping with his conversation. If, instead of
throwing ridicule upon his (Mr. Bushell's) position, he had
attempted to answer it, he would have done much more to
have served his own cause than he had by all the observations
he had thought proper to make. (Hear.)
Mr. RATHDONE would venture to answer his friend Mr.
Bushell, and some other of his good friends on the other
side. We had heard of some gentlemen being degraded from
the magisterial bench; he had sat upon the bench with those
gentlemen, and before many weeks were over he hoped he
should again have the pleasure of sitting with his friends,
Mr. Robinson and Mr. Wright. (Cheers.) Now, as to Mr.
Bushell. The House of Commons was composed of 658
members, of whom one hundred and five were from Ireland,
and of that number from seventy to eighty were the regu-
lar supporters of a liberal ministry. Suppose the whole were
liberals • that would be an addition of somewhere about 2.5
to the liberal ranks. Had his excellent Protestant friend,
being himself (Mr. Rathbone) a Protestant, so little confi-
dence in the stability of Protestantism as to imagine that the
loss of some 25 votes from among the Irish members would
upset the church ?

•Mr. BusnE Rathbone talks of twenty-five as be-
ing of no consequence; but whilst the present ministry are
content with majorities of one, two, three, fifteen, and twen-
ty-five, twenty-five are enough to do all the mischief. (Loud
cheers.)

On the motion of Mr. W. W. CURRIE, seconded by Mr.
RATIIBONE, it was resolved, that the petition should be
signed by the Mayor, on behalf of the Meeting, and for-
warded, for -presentation, to the Earl of Derby and the Mar-
quis of Normanby. _

Mr. WRIGHT moved a vote of thanks to his worship the
mayor, for his able, impartial, and excellent conduct in the
chair. (Loud cheers.)
Mr. ROBINSON heartily seconded the motion, and said
every one must cordially approve of it who had seen the
manner in which the mayor had conducted the proceedings.
Mr. W. W. CUILRIE put the motion, and it was carried by
acclamation.

- -
The MAYmt said it was extremely gratifying to him to
find that he had succeeded in " giving satisfaction to a
meeting like the present, where there had been such a
considerable difference of opinion, and to perceive that
he had carried the thanks of all present. (Hear, hear
Although there had been great difference of opinion, there
had also been great good feeling, and he hoped to see that
prevail at all future meetings.
,(" Hear, hear," and cheers.)
He would just observe, in conclusion, that if any expres-
sion had escaped from the lips of any gentleman which
might be considered personally offensive towards any one,
he trusted, it would be attributed to the right mo-
tive,—namely, the feeling that influenced him to support as
much as possible those principles which he thought right;
that they would not leave that place till all unpleasant feel-
ings had been banished, and that the minority would give
way to the majority, and help them to carry out the great
principle of good will which had just been so triumphantly
manifested.

The meeting then separated, having been occupied from
twelve o'clock until a quarter to tire.

POLICE lIVTELLIGENCE.-WED NE S DAY.

INTERESTING TO SHIPOWNERS.
George Henry Clarke appeared before the stipendiary
magistrate to claim from his brother, Francis Clarke, captain
of the brig Elizabeth, of London, a balance of wages amount-
ing to £7 18s. 2d. Mr. Wardle appeared for th claimant.
The claimant stated that on the 14th of September last, he
signed articles as chief mate of the vessel of which his bro-
ther was master. He was to go to Tampico and back, and
was to receive £4 per month. The vessel arrived here on
the morning of the Bth of February ; but, though he had in
the meantime. applied unsuccessfully for his discharge, he
had not received it up to the present time. He served in the
vessel until the Ist of March, and in the claim now preferred
the wages were calculated up to that day, although he had
received wages at 18s. a week. The mate contended that he
was entitled to both the monthly wages and the weekly
allowance.

To this the captain objected, maintaining th at it was in
direct opposition to the practice of the port, and to confirm
this called Mr. Poole, who stated that it was the custom of
the port to consider the voyage complete on arrival, after
which weekly wages were paid to those of the crew not
discharged.

Mr. Rushton did not consider the voyage complete on the
arrival of the vessel in port. The mate could not then have
left the vessel. If he had done so, he would have been liable
to pay a forfeit of one month's wages.
The claimant urged that he had previously been in the
habit of receiving both the monthly wages and the weekly al-
lowance from other vessels.
Capt. Clarke had himself never heard of such a practice,
nor had any masters of vessels whom he had spoken to on the
subject.

iCir. Wardle contended that the weekly allowance (in this
case 18s) was merely for providing the mate with board and
lodging, instead of being provisioned in the vessel.
Mr. Rushton was of the same opinion. He thought that
the weekly wages were in lieu of provisions. Mr. Poole and
the captain still maintained that the practice of the port was
opposed to the double demand.
Mr. Rushton.—Well, this is quite new to me. Ido not
think it is law. My present impression is, that the man is
entitled to both food and pay until the voyage is legally com-
plete. I will, however, consider the case, and give my deci-
sion to-morrow.

Some further conversation took place, in the course of
which the magistrate advised the parties to settle the matter.
The captain finally agreed to pay the mate his wages up to
the time that the vessel was discharged, which was about ten
days after her arrival.

Mr. Rushton then expressed his opinion that the claimant
was entitled, not only to wages, but an allowance for board
and lodging, up to the time that the vessel was discharged,
and the voyage legally complete.

STEALING MAGAZINES.

Charles Johnson, who had for ten months been in the
service of Shaw Brothers, printers, was placed at the bar,
charged with having robbed his employers.
From the evidence, it appeared, that on the morning of
Tuesday, the prisoner was observed to go into the ware-room
behind the shop of Messrs. Shaw, and take away two parcels,
one of which he put into his hat, and the other into his coat
pocket. He went out through the shop. The prisoner, on
being questioned, denied that he had taken anything away.
The stock was examined, and a deficiency was found to the
extent of 550 magazines, worth about £2. Mr. Shaw stated
that the prisoner had no authority to go into the ware-room,
or to touch the box from which the magazines were taken.
The prisoner, on his voluntary examination, stated that
he had taken away no magazines but what had been counted
out to him on the previous night.
He was committed to take his trial.
YESTERDAY.
PILFERING ABOUT TIIE DOCKS.
The court was occupied for a considerable time in hear-
ing cases, which of late have increased in a very great de-
gree, of pilfering property from the docks. One man was
stopped with fourteen pounds of iron in his hat ; another
with a quantity of rope concealed in some sweepings; and
various other devices were used for carrying off the pro-
perty. Mr. Rushton said the practice arose in a great mea-
sure from giving lads the sweepings—they thought themselves
thus authorised in taking anything they saw. It was a prac-
tice, however, which must be checked ; and, accordingly, he
inflicted summary punishment in each case, varying front
seven days to three months imprisonment, of which latter
only one instance occurred, where the prisoner had been
previously nine times committed and twice discharged.
IMPORTANT TO SIIIP-PASSENGERS.
The following is a case which will serve as a caution to
persons embarking for America or elsewhere, not to put
themselves into the bands of those individuals who skulk
about the docks, subsisting by what they get front ship-
agents, as a commission, for procuring passengers, and what
they can exact from the passengers themselves. It cannot
be expected that such men will stick at trifles • and when
there is a chance of losing their commission or 'letting their
prey slip through their fingers, they will not fail to practise
deception on those persons who are foolish enough to put
faith in them.
Mr. Durandu, ship-agent, whose office is in the Waterloo-
road, appeared under the following circumstances :
A young man named Levi, a Jew, who wished to go to
New 'York, was taken to Mr. Durandu's office by one Wolff
Wolff, also a Jew, and one of the commission-seekers above
referred to. According to Levi's statement, he was there
informed by Mr. Durandu that £3 10s. was the lowest fare
by one of the early packets : but, on his representing that he
could not afford so much, Mr. Durandu accepted £2 155.,
and gave him a ticket to go on board to-morrow (this clay).
He then bought provisions for the voyage, after which he
was told that the .vessel in which he was to sail would not
leave port for a fortnight or more.
Wolff stated that Mr. Durandu took down Levi's name,
and gave him a ticket, for £2 155., but that nothing was said
about the time at which the vessel was to start. .
On being cross-examined, the latter witness said he re-
collected Mr. Durandu telling him that complainant could
not go this week for £2 15s.

Durandu then stated that complainant wanted to go
on board the Memphis. HG informed him that he could not
do so, but that he could go with other vessels for £2 15s.
Wolff, being anxious to get his commission (2s: 6t1.), de-
ceived complainant, and persuaded him to take his passage
in a vessel which would not sail under a fortnight. He (Mr.
Durandu) had no share in the deception, and if the com-
plainant had been inconvenienced, it was by the misrepre-
sentations of Wolff. He had no objection to return the
money to complainant, but he did not see why he should be
at the loss of the 2s. 6d. which Wolff had received.
Wolff having agreed to pay back the 2s. 611., the parties
left the office.

IMPORTANT INTELLIGENCE.—The G/ob,cofl4l(ly a
oanidayev:ecna.-
i ng says :—" The new French ambassador is a Protestant,
being the first on record. His-Excelleney rises every morn-
ing. at six o'clock, and at seven his secretary is in attendance."
What an admirable summary of a statesman's daily
tions! All, however, that we can gather from it is, that M.
Guizot gets up earlier than his secretary. Are we to attri-
bute Lord Palmerston's slumbers during the debates to the
same cause?

y.~~

r.

I

„
cto'

ottni.

ON HEARING THAT A HAD BOASTED
OF NEVER HAVING FELTPERSON A DAY'S GRIEF.

(For the Liverpool Standard.)
Though Falsehood be an inmate of thy heart,
For once thou bast forgot the liar's art ;
Art did I call it ? Such it well may be
To others, but 'tis natural to thee ;
And only in those moments rare, when Truth
Wonders to find an echo in thy mouth,
Art aids thy labour, and, with effort high,
Enables thee to curb the native lie :
The native lie back to thy bosom's core
Returns, and, leaguing with a thousand more,
Too potent for restraint, they utterance gain,
And Falsehood re-asserts her abject reign.
E'en veriest facts, heard from such lips as thine,
Seem but the dross of Fiction's foulest mine;
So lamely dost thou dare the unwonted task—
Such large credulity thy speeches ask!
Yes, I can well believe that thou couldst %iew,
With eyes unmoistencd by the tender dew
Of Nature, scenes that all the tears should claim
Of those who bear a husband's, father's name.
A widower twice, the funerals of thy mates
Pained not thy gaze ; nor could the ruthless fates,
Which gave thy firstborn to an early tomb,
Make thee acquainted with the mourner's gloom ;
And thou couldst witness, with a calm as base,
The same dark portal close o'er all thy race,—
Conscious that scarce a mockery of woe
Can seem to mourn when thou art couched below :
Not he, the touch of whose heaven-gifted wand
Could fountains from the desert rock command,—
Not Israel's chief owned such high potency,
To work a weeping miracle in thee !
Thus, with foul boast, it still is thine to say
Thy life had past without one troubled day ;
Thus bath thy folly, with unmeasured stride,
Somewhat outgone the vileness it could hide.
And blabbed self-satire, that each tongue confirms,
More amply keen, though couched in such brief terms,
Than if all they who scorn thee had combin'd
To paint at fullest length thy murky mind.
But as the surgeon's knife inflicts no pain
Where gangrene is, so shalt thou still retain
Thy loathsome quiet ; armed in proof, secure
In mental rottenness, thou mayst endure
The edge of truth, and thus mankind convince
That all their justice cannot make thee wince.
Then hither turn, 0 rare and signal wretch !
Gaze on the hideous outlines of this sketch,
And, wondering at the mitigated traits,
Half thank the painter for his neutral praise,
While I rejoice that it transcends my art
To shadow forth thy Pharasaic heart.
Who shall achieve what weakly I've essay'd—
Bronze all the lights, and blacken every shade ;
Unmask each semblance of humanity,
Till all the pictur'd horror teems with thee?
Here let some daemon Raphael now display
His sombre talent, for such only may
Feel with congenial mind what they pourtray,
And stamp an image, true in every line,
Not unto human nature, but to thine.
Egerton, March, 1840.

LITERARY NOTICES.

Blackwood's Magazine. March.

N. M. A.

This is a truly brilliant number. The continuation of
" Ten Thousand a Year" more than justifies our previous
commendations of this exquisite picture of life. It abounds
with passages of the most affecting character. The author,
whoever he is, is destined to occupy a prominent position
among the best writers of the age. He has left Dickens and
a host of imitators at an immeasurable distance behind him.
" The Plagiarisms of S. T. Coleridge" is an article which
must have startled the literary public. The charge is abun-
dantly proved. Where, after this exposure, shall we look
for originality ? The " Ode on the Marriage of the Queen
of England" is worthy of the subject. We cannot pronounce
a higher encomium on any composition. The review of
" Leigh Hunt's Legend of Florence" is conceived in a ge-
nerous spirit, and ably executed. " The Nameless Man" is
a capital tale, worthy of a niche in Blackwood, which is
praise enough to satisfy any ordinary mortal. " Literature
in the Jungles" displays a rich vein of poetry and philosophy
combined. The account of " Jerusalem," with its copious
statistical details respecting the Jews, will be found highly-
interesting. "War with China, and the Opium Question,"
is well worth a careful perusal. The " Vote of Confidence
in Ministers" is a slashing political article, of which -Croker
himself need not be ashamed.

Fraser's Magazine. March.
This number opens with an excellent essay upon " Elo-
quence." The illustrative extracts are extremely appropriate,
and are taken from Maillard, Menot, Latimer, Amyot,
Montaigne, Balzac, Bossuet, Thucydides, Milton, Jeremy
Taylor, Hooker, Chrysostom, the respective styles of which
authors are very happily contrasted. We are not sorry that
"My Irish Tutorship" has been brought to a close. Its
specimens of Irish wit are very poor and pointless. In the
" Hints for Biographers" we are furnished with many very
interesting, and not a few original anecdotes of departed
worthies. " Chess without the Chess-board" is a cleverly
written article, from the pen of one who is evidently a master
of that incomparable game. The initials we take to be those
of Walker himself. " Modern Egypt" contains much im-
portant information, conveyed in a pleasing style. The
" Epistles to the Literati" are highly amusing. One of the
best articles in this number is that headed " Scenes in the
Desert." It is fraught with romantic incident. We per-
fectly agree with the views propounded in " The Opium
Question and the Suspended Trade with China." The author
has deeply studied his subject, and handled it with ability.

Dublin University Magazine. March.
We gladly hail the re-appearance of the inimitable Harry
Lorrequer, who has contributed to the present number the
commencement of his " Charles O'Malley, the Irish Dra-
goon." We promise ourselves a rich treat from this fresh
series of sketches of life. Harry has fairly outdone himself.
The account of " The Church of Ireland" is highly valuable,
and embodies much interesting information. Much as we
admire the fidelity of Lord Plunket's portrait, we cannot
conceive how such a fulsome piece of adulation as the accom-
panying memoir could have found its way into the pages of
this truly conservative magazine. The review of " Bulwer's
Dramatic Poetry" is just and discriminating, as all criticisms
ought to be. The article on " Roman Catholic Devotions"
is as ludicrously amusing as it is humiliating to human na-
ture. " A Legend of Ulster in 1641" is an excellent tale,
displaying graphic powers of the highest description. The
poetical contributions in this number are generally far above
mediocrity. The " Curiosities of Law Books " contains
much original information. The paper on " Dr. Cooke, the
Synod of Ulster, and the National Board" is temperately
written, but scarcely strong enough. The continuation of
Dean
Swift's life is full of interest.

Tait's Edinburgh Magazine. March.
Tait's Magazine does not come to hand as we could wish.
We have missed the two preceding numbers this year. The
number before us is rich in excellent matter. We must ex-
clude from this general commendation the " Epithalamium
on the Marriage of Queen Victoria," by Ebenezer Elliott.
..,The author is corn-law mad. He cannot write on any sub-
jai whatever without introducing his stale declamations
against the aristocracy. It cannot be expected that we should
agree with the sentiments avowed in the article on "The
Church of Scotland and the Veto Question." It is, never-
theless, cleverly written. The review of " The Sons of the
Soil," by Mrs. Ellis, is a touching and pathetic article,
though not unmingled with sarcasms against " the Tory
landlords." The " Merchant Prince of Dieppe" is a capital
tale. The " Autobiography of An English Opium Eater" is
as interesting as ever. His descriptions of " Life among the
Lakes" are inimitable, excepting by Christopher North him-
self. The " Memoirs of Jeremy Bentham" are scarcely
worth reading. The " Recollections of Days in Belgium"
furnish much useful information. The tale of "Violet Ha-
milton" will be read with avidity.

The Asiatic Journal. March.
The critical posture of Eastern affairs readers this excel-
lent periodical of the highest value to every British subject.
Its monthly summary of news, its copious correspondence,
its reports, its republication of important despatches respect-
ing the operations and movements of the British troops in
India, and on its frontiers, cannot fail to afford the highest
satisfaction to the statesman and the politician. The literary
articles in the number before us also possess considerable at-
tractions to the scholar as well as to the general reader. The
translation of the `• Hymn to Siva," apart from the idola-
trous nature of the subject, is an admirable specimen of
oriental poetry. The account of " The Life and Services of
Lord Harris" embodies much information of great value.
The " Notes of a Journey through France and Egypt to
Bombay" are written in an agreeable and gossiping style.
The paper on the " Administration of Justice in Penang,
Singapore, and Malacca," is entitled to the gravest consi-
deration. The " Analyses of Eastern Works," and the
miscellaneous articles in the Asiatic Journal considerably
enhance its value.

The Colonial Magazine and Commercial Maritime Journal.

March.

This number is fully equal in interest to its predecessors.
The article on the " Social Effect of Colonies on England"
is remarkable for its sound views and political sagacity. We
81241 take an early opportunity for transferring it to our
columns. The paper on " The Condition of " Upper
Canada" embraces a vast fund of information respecting one
of the most important Colonies which Great Britain pos-
sesses. The history of " The French Colonies" is emi-
nently attractive. Great diligence must have been bestowed
upon the collection and arrangement of the statistical details
with which it abounds. We cannot agree with the remarks
on " Emigration from Africa to the British West Indies."
We think that the author has suffered his judgment to be
over-ruled by his prejudices. There is much sound wisdom
in the remarks on the " Constitution of the Government of
New South Wales." The " Past and Present State of the
British Navy" is an excellent article, elaborate in its details
and correct in its conclusions. The miscellaneous matter in
the Colonial Magazine is highly important.

The Churchman. March, 1840. London :W. E. Painter,

342, Strand.

This number contains several articles of great interest.
The remarks on "Attacks on the Clergy" are very seasona.
ble and appropriate. The commencement of an essay on the
mystery of " The Trinity" displays great ability and logical
acumen. The account of the " Succession of the Arch.