The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1843-06-02 00:00:00

THE REPEAL AGITATION.

By neither Charleville or Mullingar has Longford been
left behind in the race for repeal-agitation notoriety. Over
" 250,000 men " graced the gathering, it is asserted, on Sun-
day last. From the hour of eight o'clock in the morning,
large bodies of the peasantry, headed by the parish priests of
the various districts, and in many instances preceded by
musicians, dressed in military costumes, continued to pour
into the town throughout the day. Mass was celebrated at
so early an hour as four o'clock in the morning, and imme-
diately afterwards the several congregations, headed by their
clergymen, commenced their progress to the scene of meet-
ing. Notwithstanding the vast area of ground thus occupied,
every window and house-top from which a glimpse of the
meeting could be obtained had its occupants also. At the
lowest computation there were 250,000 persons present when
the meeting commenced'; and the pressure in this enormous
mass of people was so great that there were scarcely any
females among the crowd.
Mr. O'Connell, who slept in Mullingar, arrived in town
about two o'clock, and was received in the most enthusiastic
manner by the thousands assembled. He was accompanied
by Dr. Higgins, Dr. Cantwell, R. C., bishop of Meath, and
Mr. Steel, and attended by a numerous escort of respectably
dressed persons on horseback. After passing through the
streets of the town, he proceeded to the platform, which was
ornamented with banners, having on them such inscriptions
as " Ireland for the Irish, and the Irish for Ireland," Sre.
The principal platform, and several smaller ones erected near
it, were crowded by the clergy and farmers of the surround-
ing districts.

The several movers and seconders of the resolutions spoke
to them at considerable length, and the substance of their ob-
servations was, briefly, that they would never rest content
until repeal was achieved—no matter how great and exten-
sive the other concessions might be which the government
should choose to make.
Dr. Higgins, in returning thanks, said that his rev. friend
Mr. M' Aver had given utterance to a sentiment which might,
by possibility, be liable to misconstruction. The language
which his rev. friend had used was strong, but he was, at the
same time, honest in his purpose; yet proud as he (Dr. H.)
was of possessing the confidence and love of the people, he
would forfeit them, and lay down his unworthy life also, ra-
ther than that it should be for a moment supposed that he
entertained any but sentiments of veneration for the charac-
ter of the pious, learned, and revered Archbishop Murray ;
and although in his own wisdom (and who would dare to
dictate to him) he thought proper sometimes to frequent the
castle, he (Dr. H.) knew that he went there in pursuance of
the most noble and charitab:e purposes. lie (Dr. H.) never
went to the castle himself, and boasted only of being the
humble chief of an humble priesthood, who, however hum-
ble, at least possessed the confidence of the people. (Cheers.)
. He felt that, although he was not an old roan the grave was
not many years distant from him, and that that day would
soon arrive when he should render to his God an account of
all his acts, and in that holy presence he now pledged him-
self that while he had an idertin his head, or a drop of blood
in his veins. he would be at. the command of his beloved
country. (Cheers.) He would avail himself of the oppor-
tunity which that glorious spectacle, of nearly half a million
of human beings assembled together, afforded him to admi-
nister another pledge, to which no man should respond with-
out putting his hand to his heart and swearing to observe it
in the presence of his Creator. (Cries of "We will.") Let
all promise to co-operate with the libt rator. (Cries of "We
do promise.") He took his leave of them, then, and hum-
ble as he was, they might believe him when he said that he
was able to take their part in England and his own .too.
(Loud cheers.)

Mr. O'Connell next addressed the meeting at great length.
In England they could not understand the people of this
country resisting the terror of their landlords, and the tempt-
ation of bribery. There never had been a parliament in
which bribery was so extensively used as the present, andle
proudly contrasted it with the conduct of the independent
men of Longford. (Cheers). One of his reasons for com-
ing there was to help them to repeal that union ; and another
was the obligation he owed to their venerated bishop, who
lived iu the hearts of his people. What a paltry thing for
any miserable mongrel English Catholic to assail such a man.
Mr. O'Connell then proceeded to describe the various meet-
ings he had lately attended, and went on to say that it had
been asserted there would be a civil war, if they persevered
in their present course. If there was to be a civil war, they
would at least put their enemies in the wrong, for it should
be of the making of their enemies, and if they attacked the
people, in the name of the people be defied them. (Great
cheering.) He was not a slave, nor would ever consent to be
one. If they passed an act of parliafnent he would obey it,
but probably he would find means of .unning a coach and six
through it. (Cheers.) He promised them that whatever
law was passed, they should be protected, and when that was
done in the name bf the Queen and the constitution, he Set
their enemies at defiance. (Cheers.)'. He then proceeded to
advert to his deprivation of the office of magistrate by the
Lord Chancellor, who, he said, was breaking the law by in-
terfering with the right to petition. In two days the com-
mission of the peace would he taken from their chairman ;
and for what ? Because he attended a meeting to petition
parliament. ( Hear, hear.)
The nsual petition to parliament having been adopted, the
meeting separated.