The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-01-22 00:00:00

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proffered combat in a fair and equal arena to the packed
assemblies of his servile myrmidons, for he shows that
in the masculine grip Of Dr. Cooke he would prove to
be "no conjuror.",
• Here then is this impostor who has been going
about Ireland agitating for repeal—" hurraing" for re-
peal, and apparently most anxious to have a fight for
repeal; but the moment a fair challenge is given him
by a man who he knows will keep his word, and who,
though no demagogue, is no flincher in a public assem-
bly; he turns his back, and creeps like asecreant cur
to Tot-ft-Reynolds and the Trades' Union to tell them
why he declines fighting even for repale" and " Ould
Ireland" unless he ,can be sure of victory by playing
the Hector in the midst of his own henchmen, with-
out an enemy to encounter. - •

In this repeal agitati,m, O'Connell has not even the
merit of being an enthusiast. If .4ie were, nothing
would have gratified him more than to have an oppor-
tunity of encountering on fair terms an antagonist like
Dr. Cooke. To vanquish one such enemy would be
of more advantage to his cause than to make a hun-
dred blustering speeches in assemblies of his own fol-
lowers, before or after dinner, dressed in the fawn-
coloured repeal-buttoned coat and velvet collar of an
itinerant mountebank, demonstrating the superiority
of Irish blarney and Irish broad cloth, after having
bestowed the former in abundance on the Manchester
manufacturers, and having received something more
substantial in return.

But O'Connell's repeal agitation is merely the show-
man's trade. It is the cold pretence of a sordid spe-
culator, eager to gather in the pounds, shillings, and
pence, by an attractive absurdity . that takes with the
English multitude. He is, however, quite as honest
in advocating repeal as Lord Ebrington is in opposing
it, notwii hstanding the impression which the Dublin
Evening Mail has endeavoured to make in favour of
the O'Connellite Lord Lieutenant by very pretty sto-
ries about his discountenancing repeal agitation in the
government appointments. The friends of Popish
corporations may very consistently praise Lord Ebring-
ton ; but the conservatives of Ireland must not forget
that in the late election for the county Mayo the whole
weight of government influence was thrown into the
scale of Mr. Blake, O'Connell's praised, puffed, and
patronised "repealer."
The blow which Dr. Cook has struck the agitator
in his rampant 'career, is not likely to obtain him soon
an invitation to the Irish Viceroy's table. He has
made Daniel show " the white feather," and this will
considerably damage his present scheme of seditious
agitation. He may talk as he will of his conflcts with
'such combatants a 4 Spring Rice or SI

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ford on the subject ; but these were Master Shallows :
one of them could indeed fight a long-winded sham-
fight, while the other displayed all the sad simplicity
which just suited O'Connell's buffoonery to turn into
sport. A very different antagonist from those is Dr.
Cooke. O'Connell knows that he has the pitch, and
substance, and courage, and intellect of a powerful
champion of the truth.. He knows that he is neither
to be intimidated or cajoled, and therefore we doubt
if a legion of priests, or even a Pope's bull, could in-
duce him to meet him. He knows that his arm can
deal a strong blow, and therefore he thinks it the
wisest, because the safest course, to keep out of his
reach.