The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-08-28 00:00:00

COMMENCEMENT OF THE REPEAL AGITATION
IN LIVERPOOL.

Last night a public_ meeting was held in the Queen's
Theatre, Christian-street, for the purpose of forming an
association for the repeal of the legislative union between
Great Britain and Ireland. Mr. Daniel O'Connell was
announced to be present, and of course there was an immense
gathering of the " finest pisantry." It is impossible to con-
vey an adequate idea of the confusion and disorder that
prevailed. On the great agitator entering the Theatre be
found the stage completely crammed and the platform literally
giving way under the weight of those upon it, whereupon he
administered two or three gentle rebukes to the committee
on their want of arrangement. The place was, indeed-, com-
pletely crowded, but amongst the whole batch there was not
a single leading member of the reform party.
A Mr. GEORGE SHERLOCK was called to the chair, and
resolutions declaratory of the justice of repeal were moved
and seconded by Mr. George Smith, Mr. M'Grade Mr.
Fitzpatrick, and Dr. M`Carron. ,
Mr. O'Cos:NELL next came forward, and he was received
with loud cheers. He spoke nearly as follows :—I have felt
no small anxiety to have an opportunity in any part of Eng-
land to make the motive and the mode of my recent agitation
perfectly intelligible. I have no notion whatever that it can
be necessary for me to apologize, or to offer any excuse to
any portion of the British empire for that line of conduct,
which, in the conscientious exercise of public duty, I feel
myself compelled to follow. Let me, therefore, not be mis-
understood. If through the medium of this
.thronged and
crowded meeting, and more especially by the aid of those
paper wings that give sentiment a mode of flying through the
land, I am understood throughout England, my object will
be obtained. I care not for censure ; I look not for praise ;
I look merely to the performance of that which I consider a
sacred duty, and if I satisfy my conscience in that perform-
ance—not by ability or talent, for I do not pretend to them—
but in zeal and energy of purpose, I shall rest quite satisfied,
no matter what verdict public opinion in this country may
pronounce upon me. (Loud cheers.) Yet let no man
think I am insensible to the censure or to the praise
of the good upon that line of conduct I am now adopt-
ing. Those objects which I now cherish are of too high
and too solemn a nature to allow any petty personal feeling
to mingle with my exertions, or to consume any portion of
my energies. I want—l am looking for, as you all know,
the repeal of the union. (Cheers.) lam looking for the re-
peal of an act of Parliament passed forty years ago—which I
opposed in its progress, and which I have ever condemned
from that period to this. (Cheers.) It is but the repeal of
an act of Parliament. Some of the tory hirelings of the
press say it is high treason. I think an English newspaper,
the Snn of Monday last, answered that argument very well ;
for it said, " O'Connell has as good a right to look for the
repeal of the union as Pitt and Castlereagh had to look for its
'enactment." (Hear.) lam not, mind you, comparing my-
self to Pitt or Castlereagh. The one was a knave of the
most hideous dye ; the other was a pretender who having in
herited high and noble principles sacrificed them all to the
foulest ambition of place and power : both found England
triumphant, and they left her involved in a debt that makes
her impotent in the struggles of the powers-of civilized Eu-
rope. (Hear.) No, my friends, there is nothing illegal,
there is nothing seditious, there is nothing unconstitutional
on my part. I am only looking for the repeal of an act of
Parliament. lam not speaking of She effect of that repeal,
but I am contending that I have a right to look
for that repeal. The English tory press—the hideous
villains that manage the Times newspaper, the sanguinary
wretches- who conduct the Standa. d, the drivelling old
ladies that write for the Morning Herald, the ladies' lap-
dogs that scribble in the Morning Post—all these faithless
two-legged animals combine in a cry of treason—in a cry of
separation : they say I want to dismember the empire—to
separate one part of it from the other. Am I here to conde-
scend to explain the cry of repeal to these paltry wretches ?
No. (Cries of "No !") What an echo is here ? The
moment I say " No," a thousand echoes spring up around
me. No ! But there are in England—there must neces-
sarily be—many good and deserving persons, who not know

ing the real state of the question, and not knowing the real
object of repeal, believe it portends separation. To these I
am ready to reply : they are entitled to an answer ; expla-
nation to them is a duty ; and when I treat the sycophants
and scoundrels of the tory press with the contempt they
merit, I have the utmost respect to honesty, whether it be
enthroned, as it is, upon the highest pinnacle of Britain's
glory, or walks abroad in the humblest garb of honest oper-
ative exertion. To these I say, repeal does not mean sepa-
ration. Upon the contrary lam convinced nothing can
preserve the connection between the two countries long ex-
cept the repeal. The repeal is nothing more than restoring
to Ireland what she had during more than 500 years
of her connection with Great Britain ; it is not the
creation of anything new; it is not the formation of any

thing originating in the human imagination ; it is nothing
imaginary or visionary; it is only restoring things as they
were before, and placing them in the position which they
were in at the time I had arrived at manhood—and even after
I was called to the Irish bar, for I was called to the Irish bar
in the year 1798, and the union was not finally adopted till
1800. I want to go back to the time 1 was called to the
bar. (Hear.) A merry fellow 1 was then—(cheers and
laughter)—unknown, unmentioned, without any claith upon
notoriety, the son of a private country gentleman, yet prov-
ing how much an humble individual may do if he is per-
petually honest and perpetually active. (Cheers.) 1 want
only to bring things back to that period. There was no se-
paration in 1799 between England and Ireland, but there was

a connection between them. I want to bring the connection
.to that. I want to know whether there is not an old married
fellow who would not wish to bring back the connection to
that period—who would not wish that if England and Ireland
are to be wedded, it should he a wedding of choice, and not

that of a false connection—like that of the master over the
slave, of the tyrant dominant over the serf? (Cheers.) The
repeal of the union is therefore nothing in the world but the
repeal of an act of parliament, and restoring things to the
condition in which they were. It is a part of Irish history
that no country in the world ever prospered as Ireland did
during her judicial and legislative independence—struggling
with England, sometimes triumphant, and sometimes over-
powered—to have the principle recognised that no power on
earth but that of the king—the monarch—of Great Britain,
the House of Lords of Ireland and the House of Commons of
Ireland, had power and authority to make laws to bind Irish
subjects. To that I want now to bring her. Igo no fur-
ther. Ireland 'prospered under that state of connection. A
solemn bargainfafter the struggle, was made in the year
1782. It was denominated by the British ministry, " a final
adjustment ;" it was recognised by the Irish parliament as
" the final adjustment." England was then at war with
America—with the French, with Spain, and with the Dutch :

all these nations had joined the Ainericans, and for the first
period in English history, the combined fleets of France,
Spain, and Holland, swept the English channel unmolested;

fOrthe first time they saw no British navy in the channel

and the Dutch adiiiiral placed a broom upon the mast
head of his ship to show he would sweep the seas clear
of them. The " final adjustment" took place then. The
moment the Irish parliament got this they voted :36,000 sea-
men and able landsmen to man the fleet, and they took six
months to obtain them. Within three weeks half of the men
were at Portsmouth ; and in three weeks more the whole
were there. Our navy was then quite equal to the French
fleet. Rodney followed them to the West Indies ; he gained
the glorious battle of the 12th of April, 1782, and Ireland was
conciliated as the first fruits of her liberty. (Cheers.) She
thus gave triumph to England and security to the throne.

War menaces now again.- We are threatened with war.
France is arming. England for the first time in history does
not arm as soon as her enemies. John Bull was never squared
at before but he showed fight—(cheers)—or if he did nothing
else he at least kept himself In exercise. France has now
500,000 infantry and cavalry whilst England has not vet added
an

ran to her force; she is beseeching and praying for peace,
Lord Lyndhurst has insulted Ireland and Lord Stanley
; endeavoured to crush Ireland. (Hisses, and some cheers.)
by that applause at his name ? He seems a great favourite

of yours. (Hear.) At this moment the hea-rt of England
chills; her arm is palsied—aye, the arm of Great Britain is
palsied—yet at such a moment as this Ireland will never vio-
late the law. She will acquiesce in every act of parliament
that compels any of her people to arm themselves in her de-
fence. But what I want to get for England is not acquiescence
or mere submission to law—l want to get her the pride, the
high heart of Ireland; I want to give Irish spirit and energy
to the armies of England, and then France and Spain and
Russia and Prussia may attack England if they please.
(Cheers.) Understand me therefore, and let the honest peo-
ple of England understand me, I want no separation. 1 want

no apparent separation. I want no severence of the connec-
tion. I want to make it heart-binding, I want it knit toge-
ther by mutual interest, and by mutual respect. That is what
I am struggling for. In the present form of the connection I
find nothing but points of repulsion, nothing but insult and
aggression, the Times in London and M'Neile in Liver-
pool—for instance, and every blasphemous bigot who can use
the name of Deity and indulge in the most Satanic hate of his
fellow Christians. I want to prevent the operations of these
persons by legislative authority, and that Ireland should have
a parliament which should give her an interest to support the
British connection. I want, in short, to make the connection
one of interest, allegiance, duty, and of a community of poli-
cy. (Cheers.) That is what I want. I offer that explana-
tion to the honest. I laugh to scorn the calumniators and
the miscreants of the tory press. (Cheers.) But it may be

said, that it would be quite right in itself to separate the con-
nection between the parties by the repeal of the union; but
that it is unjust to look for it, as the union was a compact
.between two nations--that it was originally a bargain and a
compact between Ireland and England—and would it not be
unjust in Ireland to violate her part of the bargain and com-
pact? That it would be dishonest, unjust, nay criminal—if
the facts be so—l submit at once. I say, if Ireland made a
bargain in 1800, no matter whether it has turned out to her
benefit or not—if she has made a contract or compact, she
is bound by it, and she cannot in honour, and she ought not
in conscience, to recede. But, then, have you it not pub-
lished that the union .was a bargain or a compact ? Now,'
history—and 1 am a living witness myself=ana hiitory con-
,.

firms my testimony, that it was directly the reverse. The
people of Ireland never countenanced the union. Seven
hundred and seven thousand petitioners prayed the Irish
parliament not to pass the act of union ; less than 6,000
.•.•

petitioners asked parliament, not to pass' the union, but to
take it into consideration. Only conceive these 6,000 people
asking for the union, whilst 707,000 asked parliament not
to grant it! The whole adult population of Ireland—all the
males of Ireland, with a few degiaded exceptions—called
upon parliament not to pass the measure ! Did parliament
pass that union freely? (Hear, hear.) No. The first year
they rejected it. Lord Castlereagh then doubled his bribes :
he expended three millions in direct pecuniary bribery. I
have put upon record in public the names of the men to
whom he gave £1,250,000 of that money, specifying how
much each of them got, from the Earl of Shannon,.who
got £45,000 in one shape or another, down to a man
of the name of Jepson, who got only £1223. (Hear.)
How do I prove that I am accurate ? A public, a parlia-
mentary paper specified every one ; 1 have it, therefore, upon
parliamentary record, but this is not enough. Nothing but
enormous bribery could have accomplished the object. The
first year the Irish parliament rejected the measure. Lord
Castlereagh and Mr. Pitt, finding, then, that they could not
bribe the existing members to vote against Ireland's liberty,
some of the wretches—thirty-two of them—gave up their
seats, and they put in English and Scotch officers, who had
no connection whatever with Ireland, and by their means
the act of union was carried. (Cheers.) Is that a contract?
Will any man tell me that is a compact ? If any man does—
though lam disposed to be civil—l say if any man contradicts
sue and says it is, I tell him to his teeth, that he lies.
(Cheers.) That is plain English ! (Cheers.) They call it
in Irish (we could not catch the word.) (Loud laughter.)
But that was not all. Pitt and Castlereagh filled Ireland
with British troops, with Scotch fencibles—fellows with no
shoes to their feet, with English, Scotch, and Welsh militia.
Yes, there was one of these a Welsh regiment. Sir Wat-
kins Williams Wynn carried 475 squeaking little Welshmen,

upon good horses, to Ireland ;•they committed great cruelties
there ; they committed horrible murders, floggings, and tor-:

tures, and indeed they were not much the better for it.
Only thirty-five of them went home ; the rest of them

got freehold estates in Ireland of their own length and
breadth. Pitt actually augmented tine army in Ireland till

it cost :z4;iilo,W;i4ear: and the Irish people were com-
pelled to pay for•the soldiers who forced the union. That
was what they called " justice." (Hear.) But that is not
all. (Hear.) I will mention the case of two counties in
Ireland. The high sheriff of one county called a meeting of
the nobility, gentry, and freeholders of his bailiwick, to pe-
tition Parliament against the union. The nobility, the
gentry, the freeholders of the county came to the town of
Marlbro' (we believe) to attend the meeting thus legally and

constitutionally called. But were they allowed to petition?
No such thing. Castlereagh sent down a troop of horse
artillery, Castlereagh sent down three regiments of infantry,
Castlereagh sent down four troops of cavalry, and the meeting,
altho' convened by the sheriff, and consisting of the nobility,
gentry, and freeholders of the county, were dispersed by military
violence. The great county of Tipperary was called together
in the same way by the sheriff. The meeting was appointed
to be held at Clonmel. In the same way, horse, foot, and
artillery were sent among them: they were dispersed, and
not allowed to petition. Is that a bargain? (Hear.) Am
I bound in point of honour to that bargain? I say no.
(Cheers.) The first speech I ever made in public was
against the union. It was the first time 1 ever addressed a
public meeting. I had not at that time that flippant as-
surance in addressing public meetings which I have since
acquired ; I first then began to tremble at the sound of my
own voice ; I have heard it so often since that it does not
frighten me at all. My first public speech, I say, was made
against the union ; and. so convinced am I of the value of its
repeal to Ireland that I would consent to-morrow that my
last speech should be pronounced at the close of it, if I could
hear the cry that the repeal was carried. (Loud cheers.) But
that was not all. (Hear.) At that time the habeas corpus
act was suspended. Martial law was proclaimed. No man
had the least protection for his life. The jails were filled with
prisoners who were suspected of being suspicious—with pri-
soners against whom there was no evidence, against whom
there was no charge. A pretty notion of a compact ! If they
had known what sort of a fellow then began his career by
speaking against the union, I think I should have had a dun-
geon for my union. I owed my escape to my insignificance.
I am sure I am very much obliged to my insignificance.
The courts merely were sitting for form ; men were
hanged without judge or jury : even when the Court of
King's Bench were sitting, there were men hung at the bar-
racks, yet the judge had no control to assist or to give the
benefit of the law. It was in that hideous period—in the
period of total absence of law, of pools of blood shed by
mock forms of trial, of myriads put to death by the bayonet,
of villanies, of corruptions, of the worst specie of perjury—
it was in the dark night of that desolating season, when there
was 110 law, no justice, or protection, that the country was
sold, and her best interests trafficked upon by vile peculation.
(Cheers.) I have, however, one comfort, but it is a hideous
one, it is a horrible—a frightful one. The great machinator
of the entire, Lord Castlereagh--was he assassinated ? Oh,
no ! (Great uproar in the pit.) The great machinator
of the entire—the head of the bribery and the corruption—a
fearless man he was, for he feared neither the spirit of justice,
nor the avenging hand of providence or of his fellow-men—
he went to Mr. Keller, the member for the county of Wex-
ford. He found him laid up in his chamber with the gout.
" I am glad, he said to Mr. Keller, " you are come to town—
you are come lam sure to vote for the union." " No,"
Keller, " I am not ; 1 am come to vote against it."
lence," said Lord Castlereagh, " you know the compensa-
tion we make to every man that votes for it—do you wish to
appoint a general officer to a command—a relation to a ship
in the navy, to a bishopric,,, or to.a judgeship. or will
you have £7OOO or a peerage?" Keller said nothing ; but
Lord Castlereagh added, " we have a wish to have your vote,
because you are known to be an honest man." The other
pulled himself up upon his bed, and said, " I hope, my lord,
I shall be strong enough to go to the House of Commons to-
night." " Well," says Lord Castlereagh, " for what—will
you not vote with us ?" " No," says he, " I will not ; but
I will state to the house the offer you have made me."
" Will you," said Lord Castlereagh ? " Yes, I will," was
the. reply. "Then," said Lord Castlereagh, " the moment
you state that to the House of Commons, that this has
occurred, I will get up in my place and protest, upon my
sacred word of honour, that every word you have said is
a lie." There is a fellow for you to cry for the union !
(Loud cheers.) I said that by the blessing of heaven
no Irish assassinating hand doomed him to the fate he de-
served. He was put to death by no tribunal of this earth
—by no verdict of a jury—and by no censures of an
earthly judge,—but he put himself to death. (Hear, hear,
hear.) He bought a threepenny penknife, and put it
into his throat. Oh ! I hope to see the time when on his
tombstone will be inscribed, " Vendidit hic auro patriam sed
unquam tyrannum imposuit"—This man sold his country
for gold, and imposed upon her the heavy tyranny of the
union. Let him have it now for his perfidy. Yes, it was no
bargain ; it was no contract. It was forced and filched, and
taken away from the people—their parliamentary rights
were : all I want is to renew them, as if this crime had never
been committed. lam told it is forty years since the crime
was perpetrated. Does that make any difference ? The
longer the crime has existed, the more imperative becomes
the duty of restitution, and I demand that restitution in the
name of injured Ireland. Igo further ; and here upon En-
glish soil, I proclaim this fact ; and I defy any of the miser-
able writers of the English press, or any man attached to the
oppression of Ireland, to contradict me with the appearance
of truth—l say there has been no union at all. (Loud cheers)
None ! (Cries of " None !") The Irish parliament
has been superseded for a time, but there has been
no union. (Hear.) There has been a piece of parchment—
there have been printing and paper—there have been good
types—there has been proper notation and marginal notes,
but there has ,been no union ; because a union means equa-
lity—it means assimilation—it means amalgamation—it
means identity. (Cheers.) If there was a union, the people
of Ireland would have the same privileges as the people of
England—there would be no difference between them. The
counties of York and Lancaster have a union, because the
people of Lancaster have exactly the same privileges and
franchises as the people of York—(hear, hear); but, on
the other hand, the people of the county Cork have no
privileges and franchises in common with the people of
the county. of Lancaster, and therefore they have no union
with them. (Hear, hear.) I put this to the common sense
of the people of England. Suppose the counties of Cork,
Kerry, and Mayo had franchises and privileges which you
have not, would John Bull be satisfied with that as an union
which left him no equality ? (Cries of " No, no.") I am
disposed to be as surly as John Bull himself upon that point;
I am not satisfied with that ; and though I look in a good
humour now, I am still in a great passion yet. If there
was an union we should have it between both ; we should
have the same privileges and the same franchises, the same
number of representatives, and have the same power of re-
turning members to parliament. We have none of them ;
therefore I say, to his teeth, that that man lies who tells me
there is an union. (Cheers.) lam not, therefore repealing
-the union, I am only tearing a piece of parchment, and
scattering its ashes to the winds, and a very good way it is of
treeing it. (Laughter.) Though for 29 years after that
union the people of Ireland were 'lot admitted into
the constitution of Great Britain at all, and they would
not have been admitted from that day to this if there
had not been certain busy agitators—(laughter)—with an ex-
traordinary fellow of the name of Daniel O'Connell. (Loud
laughter and cheers.) Oh ! oh ! if you speak so loud you
will disturb your honourable representative, Mr. Cresswell
Cresswell. No, let me come back and not think of that
fellow of pediculose motion. There is something better still,
Mr. Peel put into the hands of Lord Fingall a paper, which
he said he was authorized by the King to give, promising
equality of rights to the Catholics if the act of union passed.
I heard of it at the time, and young as 1 was, I said—" I will
not believe a word that that fellow was authorized to bring
the paper." The act of union passed. Lord Fingall then
claimed the performance of the promise. Mr. Pitt went to
George 111., and told his Majesty that he had consented to
the performance of the promise which he (Mr. Pitt) had
given. He (George DI.) was a stupid piece of an old block-
head. He lost America through his stubbornness, and, but
for the fidelity of the Irish people, would have lost Ireland
also. He said, "We have got the act of union ; give us the
paper ; they shall not have equality." (Hear, hear.) Every
body remembers Mr. Pitt's conduct upon that occasion—
that he was out of office for nearly twelve months. There
was at least so much honesty as that; but it was left-handed
honesty. (Loud cheers.) He satisfied his conscience by
merely being out of office. (Hear.) There was then a new
brood of ministers, and Mr. Pitt became prime minister.
For 29 years Ireland struggled for that right which was
promised her, and inherent in the nature of a real union ;
and, at length, we agitated and obtained relief from Peel,
the cunning statesman, and the chivalrous hero of a hundred
fights. (Cheers.) We defeated the one, and we beat the
other; and yet, I am told, we ought to be very thankful to
them. I remember playing when I was a child, when any
body said I was wrong, if I thought I did not deserve it, I
said, " thank you for nothing." I say to Wellington
and Peel, in like manner, "Thank you for nothing."—
They were compelled to it; they were check-mated at
the game of political chess, and we will check-mate
them again if they oppose repeal. (Loud cheers.) Well,
at length we carried civil equality; but I cannot avoid here
reminding you, and I hope there are many of my Christian
Protestant brethren listening to rue, of this—that the year
before we carried our own emancipation—we petitioned for
the emancipation of the Protestant dissenters of England.
(Loud cheers.) There (holding forth his right hand) is the
hand that drew the petition. It was passed three times in
the committee of, and in, the Catholic Association ; it was
moved at an aggregate meeting of the Catholics of Ireland by
•

an estimable friend of mine, gone long since to the peace of
God. He was a Carmelite friar. He petitioned in favour of
the Protestant dissenters of England. It was carried upon
every occasion unanimously. (Loud cheers.) Three weeks
after it was presented to parliament, the protestant
dissenters, in spite of Peel and Wellington, were
emancipated. (Loud cheers.) We assisted them to the
constitution before we opened the doors of it to ourselves.
I wish that fact to be recollected, it is always as well to repeat
the facts of history over and over again ; the memory is so
transitory, that objects and facts easily glide away from it.
At the end of 29 years, we carried that act, which was the
prelude to the repeal of the union. I am the man who led
those who carried it, but I do not thank the English parlia-
ment and government for it ; for it was only an instal-
ment, and we got it. Then there was no excuse for not
making the union perfect. Then you have commenced an
Anti-catholic prejudice ; then your WlsTeile bigotry is de-
feating itself; all your liars and calumniators no longer suc-
ceed against the people of Ireland, but England and Ireland
were put upon the principle of equality. They then said
" wait awhile, or we cannot carry reform for England." Did
we then pressforward upon our own behalf? No. There was a
majority of Scotch memberS against that reform ; there was a
majority of English members against it ; but the majority of
Irish members was so great that it overpowered both, and by
means of the Irish majority the English got their reform bill.
(Loud cheers.) By the same means the Scotch got their re-
form bill; they. have got since corporate reform. Was not
this the time to make up the union ? Was not this a time
when the union ought to be realized ? Yes, it was, if there
had been honour, common sense, or justice; but there was nei-
ther, for Stanley was the secretary. (Hisses and cheers.) Scot-
land with a population of two and-a-half millions only, got

an increase of eight members; whilst Ireland, with a popu-
lation of eight millions got an increase of only five, and_ two

of these were enemies of Ireland, for they represented the
University of Dublin. England continued to have her 40s.

franchise, but they raised the Irish franchise to £2O in-
stead_ of 40s. Ireland is the poorer country, yet the

franchise is ten times higher than in England. (Hear, hear.)
They tell me I ought to be quiet, contented, with this glaring
injustice to Ireland, and thank them for their union !
(Cheers.) Well, I was agitating some eight or ten years ago
for the repeal of the union. At that time honest Englishmen
said to me, " The reform bill is progressing now : wait awhile,
there will soon be a reformed parliament ; the present king
is old, he will be most likely succeeded by a young creature
admirably educated, brought up in the pure principles of
equal justice to all her future subjects, and the English par-
liament will then do you justice." There was one part of
the prophecy true. (Laughter.) The Queen, God bless her •
—(cheers)—she is true to her trust. Oh ! may she lire long,
and be glorious—may her husband love her better than
the husband of any other woman in the British empire, and
may they have more children than my grandmother, who had
two-and-twenty. (Laughter and cheers) No: we have been
deceived. I have applied far an extension of the number of
members for Ireland. How was I answered by an English
reform parliament ? Saving your I was laughed at. I
applied to assimilatethe franchise. How I met? Was it by
Sir James Graham, or Peel, or Stanley,
enemies of Ireland ? No- I was _met of the regular
or any of
Morpeth,6
who refused Inc the assimilation, and 'even' led on the oppo-
sition. Am I to be told, my Irish hearers, as I have been
often done—but it makes my Irish blood, naturally
warm, invigorate my heart, and make me young again
—am Ito be told I am to be the petty vermin that my
Lord Morpeth that Lord Morpeth may spit upon; for when
he sells his country, he throws his foul rheum upon me ; and
the English parliament is to be placed in this position, to give
Ireland the benefit of the union. The minister of the crown
is able, excellent, well-disposed, noble-minded—for there is
not a better human being than Lord Morpeth, who thus op.
posed me ; but the degradation of Ireland is greater because
even that good man would do nothing for her. (Hear, hear.)
Oh ! the people who want others to do good for them will not
have it done at all.—
" Hereditary bondsmen, know ye not,

Who would be free themselve inutlt strike the blow

I returned to Ireland, and formed a Precursor Society—a
significant name. I came back last session to know it we
should get back our ancient franchise and equality—
whether, in fact, there should be an union or not. I
came back to ask that question. No parrot was ever
taught a single phrase more repeatedly than I repeated
that quesion, "is there to be an union or not ?" The
answer was "no." " Will you increase the number
of our representatives ?" " No.'' " Will you redtice the
franchise?" " No." Did it rest there ?" No. There
was Lord Lyndhurst, who got the corporate reform bill into
the House of Lords. If there had been an union, Ireland
would have had the same corporate reform as England and
Scotland had five years ago ; but we have it not yet. Lord
Lyndhurst struck out almost all that was valuable in
the bills, and he threw us back, as a surly mendicant
would a dirty bone to his dog—the bald, jejeurie, and
limited remnant of a stunted reform. Is that an union?
That was not all: our franchise was to be limited vet.
What did Lord Stanley do? (The uproar pervading pre-
vented us hearing this passage distinctly.) That was nut
enough : the injustice of the thing was gross and glaring,
—(hear)—but he (Lord Stanley) determined to exaggerate
injustice, and go the incredible length of diminishing the
number of electors. Had he stood alone ? He had four
times majorities in favour of his measure, each time nearly
half the entire house being with him. I was amused at a
Dublin newspaper reporting me the other day as saying that
Lord Stanley had only majorities of four; the fact is, he had
four distinct majorities upon suffering Ireland. The man
that tells me there is any union between Great Britain and
Ireland, I tell him, to their teeth, there is no union—'
is as much union as there is between black and white, or be-
tween light and darkness : let him take his change' out of
that. I say there is no union between England and Ireland.
Hurrah! now for the parchment. (Hear, and loud cheers.)
I do not know whether I am growing old, but I intend shortly
to spend the rest of my life amongst the mountains of Der-
rynane. (A voice, " College Green.") Yes ; College
Green. Now, I have explained these things, first, that
separation is not any object, let me tell you this ; if this
scene is to continue, if injustice is to be superadded to in-
jury, if insult is to be added to both, if Stanley and
Lyndhurst are to have the sole government of Ireland-,
I will never consent to hays Ireland strong to to

any political advantage, however great, at the expense
of a single drop of blood ; but I shall be driven out of the
field, and the young blood of Ireland, which is not at all like
the ichor which flows through the veins of the insect class,
but it is red and boffin"- and bubbling and generous, and
ready for overflowing—the young blood of Ireland—our young
heroes, those whom the pride of birth has not surrounded,
but who came into the world with the mark of freedom

upon have vowed that Ireland shall be a great and a tree
country. (Cheers.) Yes, there is danger of separation in
leaving things as they are. Let me reply to the parchment.
It is a lying union—it is a monstrous national lie—it is a na-
tional falsehood—it is a legislative contradiction with the
truth. There is no union. Let the present connexion last
but a little longer, and, in spite of me, there will be
no connexion. Do' you not think . that the youth of
Ireland know this fact, that there but three independent
states in Europe—that there are twenty-one states I can rec-
kon. which have within one-third of the population of Ire-
land ? The king of Holland has not one fourth of the popula-
tion of Ireland ; the king of Belgium has very little more
than one-third ; the queen of Portugul has not one-third ; the
queen of Spain has scarcely as much ; the king of Willem-
burg has not one-fourth ; the king of Bavaria has not one-
fourth ; the king of Hanover has not one-fourth ; (hisses)—
Sweden and 'Norway have not one-fourth ; Denmark and
Holstein not one third ; in short, I could detain you halt'-
an-hour on the statistics of Europe, and shew you that out
of 17 sovereign powers, separate independent governments,
and each defending themselves against their enemies in
Europe, not one of them has one third of the popula-
tion of Ireland. (Cheers and hisses.) I claim the
meed of genuine loyalty, I count to bring Ireland to
be the support of the throne of our gracious Queen. I
want her to be the ready right arm in the•battle of England.
I want that we should crush her enemies ; that we should
make victory certain ; that we should hold the battle field
till the enemy Wenches before us, and have the flag of Eng-

land, Scotland, and Ireland float for an entire and a perpe-
tual victory. (Loud cheers.) But I may be bribed. 1 cannot
afford to do it for nothing. You must give me pay, and my
bribe is this, justice to Ireland! (Loud cheers.) Lord Pal.
merston at the present moment finds a fetter upon his eyes
and a chain round his neck in his negociations with Louis
Philippe, by reason of Lord Stanley's conduct in the last
session, and Lord Lyndhurst's daring insult—the most con-
temptible of the human race. He is a political chimney-
sweeper. Lord Palmerston is not able to threaten France as he
would if Ireland was conciliated, but if justice were done to
Ireland, she would ask for nothing but to be led to battle.
Oh ! those are the foul traitors. lam a loyal man, because
lam sincerely attached to the person of the sovereign. I
sometimes think that my affections makes me cease to be
respectful. (Cheers.) Nevertheless 1 love her—l venerate
her. Yes, I will bring Ireland to support her cause and her
throne, but she must conquer first the vile tory party.(Cheers)
That party indulge an anti-national antipathy against Ireland.
I should be glad to know what they would do if we were within
a fortnight of the cannons rattling in-anger. (Hear, hear.)
The first shot fired in anger gives Ireland justice. (Loud
cheers. A voice, " The first shot then !") That moment,
that instant, England is safe, the thront. is secure, our ene-
mies discomfited, we bid defiance to them ; and the longer
the war lasts, after that, the more glorious will be the British
triumph, and the more certain we shall be of pulling down
the enemies of the country and of the throne. That is what
I am struggling for : I am a recruiting officer for the Queen.
(Loud laughter.) Who will he recruits, to listen to our fife and
big drum ? lam looking out for them, to support the throne.
Conciliate Ireland, and you may laugh to scorn the miserable
miscreant Lyndhurst, and the scorpion Stanley. Let liberals
and reformers surround the throne, and we shall have
101,000 Irish to suppor them. (Loud cheers.) You are
boasting of yourselves. Yes, my friends, I have shewn you
my object is not separation, but continuing the con-
nexion. I have shewn you that the union was no bar-

gain—no contract. I have shewn you that there has been
none from that day to this ; that we have cooked forward,
but have obtained no identity. What is the predi-
cament I stand in. Now having made my apology here,
and to my enemies, by telling them what it is I want, and
what I mean. I cannot sit down without expressing two
opinions more. In the first place, I saw upon the placards
to-day, that you mean to have a repeal association. I tell
you you cannot have that in point of law, because you would
,then be corresponding with the repeal association in Dublin,
and the law of England prohibits corresponding societies.
Yon may be single repealer:, but you cannot have repeal
associations. I am not asking you not to be single repealers.
Neat to that, I congratulate you upon the glorious triumph
of those fellows with the vulgar Irish accent. lam told
there are 1250 of them. (A voice, " 1500.") Ay, 1500 ;
say 1250. These will prevent that stuttering, stammering
peg, geff, meg, meg of a lord, and Cresswell Cresswell, a (el-
low with two names, and neither of them good, for misrepre-
senting you. The one will go for what he is fit for, and the
other will take care of the attornies and his clients. (Loud
laughter.) Thus you will triumph over the cunning
of the lawyer and the stupidity of the lord. The speaker then
went on to speak of his own efforts to advance the cause of
repeal, and to recommend his countrymen to join the Pre-
cursor. He next made a ferocious attack upon M`Neile ;
and he concluded by declaring, that if his plans were carried
ont Ireland would be what she ought to,
" Great glorious and free,
First flower of the earth first gem of the sea." (Cheers.)
The meeting then broke up, every one being wall pleased
that he got out of it.

THE RUINS OF POMPEIL—Above thirty streets of Pom-
peii are now restored to light : it is the third part of the town.
The walls of its ancient enclosure have been recognised;
a magnificent amphitheatre, a theatre, a forum, the temple
of Isis, that of Venus, and a number of buildings have been
cleared. The secret stairs by which the priests slily crept up
to prompt the oracles have been detected. On beholding so
many monuments which display in so lively a manner the im-
portance of public and the independence of private life among
the Romans, it is impossible to resist a feeling of sadne*s and
melancholy. •

ODDITIES OF GREAT MEN.—The greatest men are often
affected by the most trivial circumstances, which have no
apparent connection with the effects they produce. An old
gentleman, of whom we knew something, felt secure against
the cramp when he placed his shoes, on going to bed, so that
the right shoe was on the left of the left shoe, and the toe Of
the right next to the heel of the left. If he did not bring the
right shoe round the other side in that way, he was liable to
the cramp. Dr. Johnson used always, in going up Bolt-
court, to put one foot upon each stone of the pavement : if
he failed, he felt certain the day would be unlucky. Buffon,
the celebrated naturalist, never wrote but in full dress. Dr.
Routh, of Oxford, studied in full canonicals. An eminent
living writer can never compose without his slippers on. A
celebrated preacher of the last century could never tnake a
sermon with his garters on. A great German scholar writes
with his braces off: Reiseg, the German critic, wrote his
commentaries on Sophocles with a pot of porter by his side.
Schlegel lectures, at the age of 72, extempore in Latin, with
his snuff-box constantly in his hand: without it he could
not get on.
HARVEST THOUGHTS.—The following quotation is fr.im
one of Bishop Heber's Parish Sermons ;—" When we wit-
ness the many dangers which threaten the springing of the
rising corn ; when we reckon up, in our thought, the oppo-
site dangers of drought or of moisture, of parching heat, or
of pinching untimely cold ; the blights, which may taint the
ear; the worm, which may consume the root; and all the
other alarms which the husbandman feels or tears ; we can-
not but be aware, that something more than the industry of
man is required to make him happy or prosperous, and that
it is with good reason, that, in our daily prayers, we ask our
` daily bread' of God; since no day in the year can be found
in which his blessing is not needed, either to preserve the
seed, or to prosper the tender stalk, or to fill the ear, or to
rebuke the mildew or the storm, by which the mature crop is
endangered. And, even when the food of many days is
waving before our eyes, we cannot choose but feel an anxious
joy, a solemn, and, in ionic degree, a mournful thankfulness,
when we compaee our own unworthy lives with the un-
bounded mercy of God ; when we recollect how little and
bow seldom we have thought of Him who careth for us con-
tinually, and when we tremble, lest, even now, our sins
should interrupt the stream of his mercy, and that the impro-
per use which we toy often make of plenty, should, even
yet, turn our abundance into hunger."
BATHING ON THE CONTINENT.—Bathing abroad is a very
different operation to the mode as practised in England. At
Havre I was amused at observing the process. You enter a
canvas box, and undress, putting on, as a bathing costume, a
blouse, pantaloons, and oil-skin cap, and being thus equipped,
as if for exhibition on a tight rope, with the addition of a pair
of sabots to preserve the feet, you follow the path indicated
by planks, along the shingles for some hundred yards in the
face of all the world, followed by a man, also in a bathing
dress. Arrived at the edge of the water you present your
hand to your companion to enter the wide expanse together.
Thus hand in hand, like lovers resolved to dare fate in each
other's company, the pair commence a promenade, getting
deeper and deeper amongst the waves, till they reach the
hips. This lasts as long as you please—half-an-hour, or for
hours, as it may happen, and according to the society which
may arrive—as a French person must have society every-
where, and then you return to your canvas box in your wet
garments. " But,". I remonstrated to the women who kept
the rooms, "all the world can see you." " Mais certaine-
nga que ce que vela fait
.7" was all the answer.—
AeSummer at cc
among the Bocages and the Vines.
Melancthon, in his answer to Dr. Eck, after laying down
the principles of hermaceutical science, shows that we ought
not to explain the Holy Scriptures by the Fathers, but the
Fathers by the Holy Scriptures. " How often," says lie,
" has not Jerome been mistaken! How often Augustine !
How often AmbroSe ! How often do we not find them dif-
fering in judgment! How often do we not hear them retract.
in their errors! There is but ohe scripture divinely in-
spired and without mixture of error ! Luther does not
adhere to certain dubious expositions of the ancients, say his
adversaries ; and why should we adhere to them ? In his
explanation of the passage of St. Matthew, ' Thou art Peter,
and on this rock will 1 build my Church,' he says the very
same thing as Origen, who in his account is a host, yea, the
very thing that Augustine writes in his Homily, and Ambrose
in his 6th Book on St. Luke, not to mention others. What,
then, you will say, can the Fathers contradict each other !
What is there so surprising in that ? I reverence the Fathers,
because I believe the Holy Scriptures. The sense of Scrip-
ture is one and simple, as heavenly truth itself. We enter
into it by comparing Scripture with Scripture, and deduce it
from the thread and connexion of the whole. There is a phi-
losophy enjoined us with respect to the Scriptures of God :
it is to bring to them all the thoughts and maxims of men, as
to the touchstone by which they are to be tried."—Melanc.
thon contra Eekium. Quoted by M. Merle d'Aubigne in his
" History of the Reformation," vol. ii. p.

In health, with unpretending grace,
In wealth, with meekness and with fear,

Through every season wear one faie,
And be in truth what I appear.
" Then, should affliction's chastening rod
Bruise my frail frame, or break my heart,
Life, a sweet sacrifice to God, •
Outbreathed in incense would depart.

" The Captain of Salvation thus,
When as a lamb to slaughter led,
Was, by the Father's will, for us
Himself through suffering perfected!"

CONTEMPORARY PRESS

CATIONS BETWEEN FRANCE AND ENG-
LAND.—PREPARATIONS FOR WAR.
(From the Oxford Herald.)
lthough the blustering of the French press still
inues unabated, and preparations for war are os-
atiously paraded, as if a rupture with this country
'ith all the world were unavoidable, it fortunately
)ens that Louis Philippe is too prudent a statesman
sk the existence of his own dynasty and the wel-
of his country, in an unnecessary war. The ran-
' of his subjects against England is as fierce as
—they still declare that war alone can vindicate
national honour; but the King, although his part
lifficult one, has declared himself determined to
peace between two countries whose interests
so many points identical. Neither state could
thing by war, and it would have been indeed

a disgrace to both if upon a question almost of mere
etiquette a contest had been commenced, of which the
results would have certainty
_proved most disastrous,

and of which no one could liave foretold the end.—
Negotiation, the great resource of modern diplomacy,
will now probably take the place of arms, and unless
some untoward event, similar, perhaps, to that at Na-
varino, should take place, it seems almost certain that
hostilities will be avoided.

This contingency, however, is one to which many
persons are inclined to fix a high degree of probability;
and should such an event occur, there is no doubt but
that the breach which only a week since looked so for-
midable, and which even now can scarcely be regarded
as completely secured, would be at once rendered irre-
parable. Every one, we believe, knows that the French
fleet in the Mediterranean has been gradually increased,
from time to time, by fresh reinforcements both of
ships and men, so that at present it amounts to nearly
double the force which we possess in that quarter.

h admiral has, of course, instructions from his

respective government—each would be ready to exc.-
cute his orders at whatever risk—and the chance is
certainly not improbable, that in some one of the many
operations upon the coasts of Syria and Egypt which
each is charged to perform, a collision may, take place.
Each officer is inflamed with the spirit of rivalry which

must exist between the fleets of nations which were
so many years opposed—and while the one burns to
show that a French victory at sea is not impossible,
even on the very spot where the flag of France sus-
tained perhaps its most signal defeat, the other will not
be backward to re-assert the naval superiority of Eng-
land, and to show that, spite of every disadvantage, he
ired to defend its honour.
said that a hostile collision is not improba-

still pre
We hay

ble—and when we consider the exciteable cI aracter of
the French people, and the temptation which so vast a
numerical superiority as they possess offers to induce
an attack, no one can help reflecting what would be

number of

pf an engagement to the only fleet nearer
1 which we have at present afloat. The
ships is small—the expense of their arma-

ment would bias nothing compared with that of many
of the frivolous commissions issued during the last one
or two sessions of Parliament—and it would therefore
be obviously, one would think, the duty of a ministry
ke care that nothing should be neglected which
could increase the efficiency of a force to which so much
was to be confided.

our precious Admiralty, a worthy
portion of a worthy. ministry, done on the occasion
carcely be believed, that of these few ships not
one is more than half-manned, that not one has more
than what is called the peace establishment, and that
not one has on board even sufficient arms and ammu-
nition for a full complement of men, if the number
should be increased.

But what hay

This is true whig economy ! This is the economy
which produced such disastrous results in the co atest
with America—and yet with all the experience which
the country should have gained from the reverses of
that period, our fleets are again sent upon a most im-
portant and arduous service in a state which renders
them almost incapable of defence, much less formida-
ble in attack. Of all errors none can be more danger-
ous, none has proved more fatal, than that which ne-
glects due precautions from a contempt of the enemy's
prowess. We rely, indeed, as we have every reason to
do, upon the courage of our seamen, and we are con-
vinced that, few as they are, and acting under every
disadvantage, they will nobly support the character
a long series of victories. But is
i or to the country to expose them
to such ruinous otitis ?

have earned 1

it just either to t

It is painful eve

n to contemplate defeat, but let us
for a moment consider what would be the consequences
if with twenty sail to nine, and those but half-manned,
the French should gain a victory perhaps on the very
scene of Nelson's triumph. The news arrives, war is
niready declared, the prestige of success which had al-
ways hitherto attended our arms has vanished ; even if

seamen could be procured no ships are ready to re-
ceive them, while in twenty-four hours a French fleet
ould ascend the Thames, without a single vessel to
pose its progress, or a single fort except old Tilbury,
rich could fire a shot against it.
We are no alarinists. We trust that no such na-
amity is impending ; but we would ask whe-
fit that England, on the brink of war with
ce, engaged in actual war in India and in China,

at issue with America upon a most important territorial
question, and with large armaments on foot and larger
1 every other kingdom, should remain
legs as she is at present ? Fleets and
hitherto depend upon the chances of
1 fleet of war steamers, such as France has
now in her harbours, could 'pour 100,000 men upon
any point at a few hours' notice; and where, we must
once more ask, is tha force to resist them ? The yeo-
manry, a body of Nen who have done the state good
have been disbanded ; it is not thought safe to
the militia ; and yet although the means of
by land are wanting, our ships are rotting idly
ges, and our coasts are left unprotected

s do not as
wind

it were to t

I an invading power.
s the zesponsibility of those men to
,s of the empire is entrusted, if this

tate of 'thin

WEST INDIAN MAIL STATION

e report of the committee appointed by the Admiralty
quire into the advantages afforded by the different ports
le West Indian ►nails has been published in return to
-of the House of Commons. The principal points
cy WAS directed, were the reasons why
Royal Mail Steam-packet Company had
titpton as the port for embarking and
then they were to examine the claims
,ithe Channel. Having been fur-
- the directors of the company,

to which their
the Chairman of

hed wit

7orth th.

Ages to be derived from the adiCpticin,
of Southampton, they visited that port and also Portsmouth,
Dartmouth, Plymouth, and Devonshire, besides Falmouth
1 Mount's Bay. They preface the result to which their.
'by observing, that it is not unreasonable
railroad may .at some future time be pro-
land's end of England, and that a har-
strut:tea in the neighbourhood, in which
!commend that such harbour and railroad
. The chief requisites of a port for a
• conceive to be adjacent headlands, the
ereon, freedom from outlying dangers,
the entrance and within the harbour, the
rength of its stream, and, above all, the
caters. Bearing in mind these requisi-
: consider Dartmouth the most eligible
nd embarking the West India mails.
t the time which would be occupied in
Is from Dartmouth to and from the two
London, and Birmingham, as compared
find the result not unfavourable to
possesses superior qualifications. In
,roach to that port is rendered easy by
Start (a few miles S.W.) and of
ince N.E.) They admit that the
: Home Stone form obstacles, but
of any importance. The depth of
nd strength of its stream, and the
, offer great advantages. The nar-
-Ith harbour would, it is admitted,
in heavy weather to sailing vessels,

otir migl:

packet station t

with other p
Dartmouth.

,t place. t

140 f

lent to steam navigation.—

k JAVELIN MAN v. DUCKS.—In the Crown
ells Assizes a man was tried for stealing nine
:al jokes were cracked between the counsel and
,witnesses on this duck felony, whereby the risible faculties
If the auditory were much excited, and in vain did the javelin
man cry " silence." At length, however, the laughter ex-
ceeded all bounds, when the ducks were produced in court.
" Quack, quack," excliimed the feathered bipeds. " Si-
lence," vociferated the javelin biped. As if despite of all
rules of order and regulation of courts of law, the confined
ducks again gave vent to " Quack, quack." Exasperated
by this insulting , rejoinder, the crier again shouted as loud as
be could bawl, Silence, I say." This was followed up im-
mediately by the before-heard " Quack, quack," and the
judge, amidst roars of laughter, exemplified the old adage,
" the weakest goes to the wall," by ordering the ducks out
of court. • .

Court at the \
ducks. Sever

• A discovery of some importance was made on Saturday
morning, by ascertaining that the water in the prisoner's
chamber utensil contained a strong solution of alum, and is
supposed to have been used in washing his shirt sleeve and
pocket handkerchief, which he dried again by wrapping it
round his body when in bed, and which was not quite dry
when he was searched. It is said that the solution of alum
is capable of destroying the colouring matter in blood, without
staining the water. The soap used in it curdled and swam at
the top and would not mix with it. You will see by the evi-
dence that a lump of alum was found in his pocket.
The following particulars, relative to Misters, we have re-
ceived from a correspondent : '
BIRMINGHAM, To ESDAY.—Misters is most respectably
connected here. One brother is a maltster, doing a most
extensive trade. Another brother kept the Crown, in Lich-
field-street, here, with whom the prisoner lived for some
time a gentleman's life, previous to which he was in the em-
ployment of Mr. Gooden, of the Nelson Hotel, Bull Ring,
as shopman to the liquor shop belonging to that house. He
has been a trouble to his brothers, and at one time the malt-
ster provided him with means to leave the country, which he
squandered away.
The Birmingham Journal communicates some facts, bear-
ing on this case, which we here append :

it is said that the name of the maker on the razor found at
Ludlow is " Eslin," with the words " east steel," and that
Josiah Misters, the man in custody, is respectably connected
and well known in Birmingham. There had been found in
his lodgings here, by Mr. Sergeant Smith, a portmanteau,
containing duplicates for the following articles, pledged in
Birmingham :—trousers, trousers and waistcoat, coat, suit
of clothes, two pair of drawers, two waistcoats, trousers, two
brooches, and other articles ;. also several letters, addressed
to him in Leominster ; together with a copy of depositions
against him in the case of Thomas Wooding, above referred
to, and which clearly proves that he is the same person whom
the officers of Ludlow supposed him to he. He was charged
on that occasion with having stolen three five-pound notes
and three sovereigns, and was committed, at Leominster, by
Thomas F. Watling, Esq., mayor, and Francis Woodhouse,
Esq. None of the officers here knew whether he was con-
victed on the charge. The woman with whom he lodged in
Canal-street, states that he came to reside with her about
Easter, and remained with her until last Saturday week, when
he left, without giving her any notice. She expected him
home as usual every night, and kept his lodging for him, but
had not heard any thing of him until the officers went to
search the place. Tavern bills to a large amount were found
amongst Misters' papers : one is for twenty-six pound eight
shillings and fivepence halfpenny, together with bills for car-
riage and horse hire. Several articles of wearing apparel,
&c., amongst which was ti white linen apron and some books,
were found in his portmanteau.