The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-09-25 00:00:00

TUESDAY MORNING, SEPT. 25, 1838.

The Publication of the STANDARD commenced this
morning at 5 o'clock.

THE PRECURSOR AGITATION.—The arch-agitator
has addressed a third lengthy epistle to the " heredi-
, Lary bondsmen" of Ireland, in which he deals as largely
as ever in lying abuse, hypocritical professions, and
gross exaggerations. After the example of his pre-
%lons objurgations, he deprecates the ascendancy of
the Conservatives, and lavishes the most profuse com-
mendations upon his Whig allies. In this he displays
at once his prudence and his gratitude. He hasevery
reason to dread the advent of the Conservatives to
power, as with that event would terminate his power
and his career of successful agitation : on the other
hand he has every reason to feel grateful to the Whigs,
who have showered benefits innumerable upon himself
and his family connexions—gratified, as far as lay in
their power, his most ambitious expectations—and sig-
nalised their own disgrace by consolidating the autho-
rity of the rabid factions who acknowledge O'Connell
as their leader and dictator. The "compact alliance"
has been of the utmost service to the Popish party, as
it has placed at their disposal all the patronage of the
Irish government, and enabled them to insult over and
to trample upon the Protestant interest. O'Connell,
therefore, strives with might and main to support the
tottering administration of Lord Melbourne and his
pliable associates. It is amusing to witness the soli-
citude which O'Connell and the Popish priests conti-
nue to evince for the perpetuity of Lord Normanby's
"paternal sway" over the destinies of Ireland. Pa-
ternal it has been with a .vengeance in reference to the
Popish party. But have the persecuted Protestants of
that country any reason for congratulating themselves
upon the continuance of this partial paternity, which,
while it hugs the plotting and rebellious to its bosom,
repels the loyal and obedient from its embraces ? We
think not ; and we believe the time is not far distant
when the pseudo-Protestants of England—those who
have basely aided O'Connell in his triumphs over their
brethren—who have committed actual treason against
their Sovereign—will be compelled to acknowledge
that they pave been led into the most grievous error.
It is to the supineness of English professing Protes-
tants, to their connivance at the traitorous objects of
O'Connell and his rabble and priet-ridden crew, and
to their support of that ministry over whom O'Connell
exerts the most despotic sway, that the present tri-
umph of Popery in Ireland is to be mainly attributed.
There is no element in the composition of the Irish
agitation which could secure for it the slightest degree
of success. The parties who are attached to O'Con-
nell are destitute of every species of influence except
that which is derived from preponderating physical
power They are poor, ignorant, and besotted in the
highest degree. They do not consist numerically of
one half of.the bona fide constituency of Ireland ; and
were it not for the brutal intimidation of the ferocious
priests, and for the base and multiplied acts of perjury
committed by the pauper voters of that country, the
"Precursors" of Ireland would not be able to return
a moiety of the members for its cities and counties.
How then do we account for the ascendancy which
O'Connell has obtained over the destinies of Ireland?
How do we account for the subjection of the Cabinet
to his will ? Is it not palpably owing to the treacher-
ous alliance which English nominal Protestants have
entered into with this blatant demagogue? Is it not
owing to the yielding temerity of those members of
the Established Church of England who have sacri-
ficed their consistency at the shrine of false liberality
—of those who, dreading to be stigmatised as bigots,
have not hesitated to become traitors to the best in-
terests of their country ? It is to these individuals
that we wish to recommend the attentive perusal of
O'Connell's letters "to the People of Ireland." In
these epistles they will see developed, in language the
purport of which cannot be mistaken, the real designs,
the " ulterior" objects, of the Popish party in Ireland,
and to the advancement and attainment of which the
present agitation is literally "precursory."

In his Third letter O'Connell states that "the time
for action is come"—and that " the period for acqui-
escence is past." What do these terms mean in plain
English ? Do they not amount to an incitement to
rebellion ? Do they not point significantly to the ne-
cessity for physical exertion ? Is not this made more
evident still by the following terms :—" At all events
the time is come when we must either bow to Orange
domination, or rouse ourselves into salutary exer-
tion Y" It is a well-known fact—a fact loudly trum-
peted by the Popish press of Ireland—that the
" Orange factions," as the Protestants of Ireland are
denominated, are already sufficiently humbled. They
have no influence over the government—they are ex-
cluded from all share in the patronage of the adminis-
tration—they are treated with the utmost contumely
by the very menials of the Castle—they are persecuted
with impunity—they are marked out as the victims of
every species of obloquy and misrepresentation—their
gentry and clergy have been superseded in the com-
mission of the peace by the most zealous of the Popish
bigots of the country. What, then, does Mr. O'Con-
nell want further ? What is the "salutary exertion"
on which be so strongly insists? Has it not reference
to the general confiscation of the property of Protest-
ants Does it not imply a demand for the total de-
struction of the Established Church of Ireland ? It is
obvious that O'Connell cannot simply allude to the
necessity of acquiring a party ascendancy in Ireland.
He has obtained that object already. His aim roust
be at something ulterior—something not yet attained.
We have already indicated what that object is : we
shall presently have an opportunity of demonstrating
the correctness of our suspicions.
The word "action," or some equivalent term, is
emphatically reiterated throughout the whole of this
letter of O'Connell's. He says, "Ireland once before,
and only once since the Union, roused herself simul-
taneously into action." Again, "One thing is clear,
that at present the man is an 'enemy to Ireland, who
suggests to the Irish people apathy or acquiescence."
Again, " We should make our enemies strong if we
were torpid." All these terms plainly indicate the
necessity for a physical organisation of the " people of
Ireland." As to O'Connell's hypocritical dissuasives
from "any criminal course," we can only say that we
can best appreciate their value by .looking to the
effects which have resulted from the whole course of
his agitation. On all occasions he has deprecated the
shedding of blood, and ostensibly advised his hearers
to desist from actual violence. Is it not singular, in
the face of all this parade of his aversion to any cri-
minal course, that crimes of the blackest dye have kept
pace with the progress of his agitation ? is as clear
as day-light that the advice of O'Connell is intended
to be construed per contra. if it were not so, we
should not have had so many murderous attacks upon
the persons of ❑nofl'ending Protestants recorded in the
bloody page of Irish agitation.

O'Connell's definition of the best " mode of agita-
tion" at the present time is somewhat novel and laugh-
able. After stating that "patriotic, men may diffw as