The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-02-11

We behold around u.s. in the aspect of our society, IN
our laws in our Federal and State Constitution writ
ten ON the face Of the earth itself ia the air which
we breathe, discover the perry aiding, regeneraDg,
eevatng enn. bling Influences Of civil and religious
liberty. What prophet, no matter how Keen his vi
sion, or plastic bis imagination when the first blow
for freedom struck at Lexington aud Bunkers
Hill could have erected from the supposed feeble
ness Of colonial resistance, and from amid the gloom
which oyershadowed our political sky during the
first days of the revolution, that unsurpassed vision
of glory presented in happy land, more
magnificent than the night-dream OF the enthusiast
And this has been accomplished through the bless
iDgs Of union, OF voluntary uDion In which bond OF
compact the lnaenable rights OF mankind are recog-
Missed in which the natural rights of sovereign go
vernments are acknowledged and IN which by whole
some and uniform provisions affecting all of the
States, and each individual in every State equally
our country has grows up to be the just pride aud
boast of its citizens and ornament to the world
! In our wise constitutional arrangements Of UDion
we have not here arrogance. and pride, and superc
liousness on the side and taxation and oppres-
sion, aud misery, and death on the other. We have
no unhappy spectacle presented in this land Of any
one portion Of il under the mocking cry Of union,
which necessarily in its import implies reciprocity of
rights and privileges trampling with oppressive laws
another portion OF the country to the EARTH and grind
ing il, though il some holiday trick, into dust
and ashes We have here no corrupt power in opera
ton to purchase up the principles of absentee Lords
while the country is made to mourn the ingratitude
of her children Then behold the wonderful con
tast exhibited between two governments, the one the
choice Of the People, the great charter of written
liberty, the delegated powers Of confederated union
of which the rights Of the humbest citizen is part 81
the other anomalous union Of force, extorted by
the dagger and the rack, purchased by the bribery
of traitorous public agents, beginning IN fraud, con-
Quoted in tyranny, aud ending Ia heart-burnlngs and
hatred, and disasters and universal misery.
Are men at this late day to be told that they have
right to seek for happiness in that form OF Gov
eminent most conducive TO their individual and ma
tional prosperity Is time TO be made auxiliary TO
the toning of errors, rather than be permitted
to perform its natural Office of exploding them, and
| stripping dangerous abuses of their keen venom
and sharper fangs' Those who are SO infatuated as
to be willing to take poisons because they are plea
SAINT to the taste' Those who SO dull of vision
not to perceive in the spendors OF arstocratc OPP
preston, the misery of the oppressed; those whose
souls abect to forget the Humiliation OF the
livery, in the golden badges of the menals garb,
such these may be content with slavery, and
with the enjoyment of worlds monopoly OF degra-
dation. But there thousands of noble spirits
who live only in the thoughts of independence, whose
bold minds and resolved hearts, neither station nor
mammon, the cunningest course of politico-meta
physics, deceive, or purchase, or jugge into
moments forgetiulness OF their rights, and the OPP
pressor might well attempt to quench the fires
which burn in the hidden recesses OF the deep EARTH
to endeayor to persuade them to forget,
to compromise the ennoblng instincts OF Their ma
ture.
Why, then should Ireland despair Why, then,
shall nine millions of people, born with the I'M
pulses and energies of freemen, despair OF accom-
plishng their freedom Let it be borne IN mind,
fellow citizens that the march Of the carse OF free
dom ceases, it ever onward-onward. AsWell
may the royal Canutes of these modern days bid the
ocean to cease to flow, to endeayor to curb the
progress of that providentia tide, which, swelling up
from the broad sea of civilization and humanity,
shall bear the human to the accomplishment of
their lofty destiny in the universal recognition OF
free principles and free institutions of governm, MT
Shall the example Of an Emmett and Fitzgerald pc
IRISH and be forgotten2 Shall the blood of slaughter
ed patriots sink into the unfeeug soil, unwept and
unavenged, Never-ths example and that specta-
Gle will only every Irish heart to stronger and
higher exertion. And when the time Of lrelands
need again comes, approach ii must, something
like voice Of prophecy whispers to me that the En-
met who shall then spring to the rescue will lead the
van of her victorious hosts and that the soil Of Ire
land will only drink the wine which proclams her
high festival Of freedom
What have said, fellow-citizens have spoken
on nv own responsibility. III there be any odum at
tached TO for advocating what believe To be the
natural rights of lrishmen, my heart is sufficiently
strong bear it all. ask neither iorbearance nor
quarter All that know, or care to know, is, that
love lrishmen, and hate tyranny IN all and every
form.
The Hon. John McKeon, member of Congress from
New York then came forward To move the next re-
solution, and ssd-Mr. Chairman, when | received
your kind invitation to be present at this meeting,
admit received It with the greatest pleasure, and
respond TO your call with alscrity that feel but
will not attempt TO describe ] claim the right TO
speak on this subject American citizen, Of the
manor born. / claim the right 10 fully can
vass, to fully discuss the action of ndivd-
uals, and above all, the action OF govern
ments. Ii they ask by what right ] iutrude my
opinions upon the conduct of foreign governments,
point them TO the stars and stripes above your head
/ for my charter. Great cheering) | know, from q
careful investigation of history, that serious wrong
has been done by foreign government TO the land Of
nv forefathers and feel that would be craven in
spirit IL did not denounce that wrong as becomes
/ free citizen of Amyica. loud cneers.) Let us
suppose that by the agency Of briberyby the .gency
Of corruption people were despoiled OF theirrghs,
would not the heart be craven and worthy only oil a
slave that did not denoupce that compact Cheers
There be constitutional objection to our meet
ng--there can be moral objection. Let me
glance a, the relative positions Of Ireland and Eng
land immed lately before this Union took place. Pre-
vous the memorable year Of 1898, studied efforts
were made by the British Government TO persuade
the Irish people to give up their independent powers
of legislation and TO merge these powerIby union
in the British Parliament This proposition the peo-
pie scou,ed-their gold applied to purchase up
the votes OF the venal IN the Irish House of Com.
mons, and when the people protested against this IN
iqutous proceeding, their meetings we're dispersed
at the point of the bayonet
The armed bands OF the British Government were
opposed at every meeting to the public yoice-which
was hushed by the Of musketry and the doom OF
slavery was for a moment stamped upon Ireland
But II gentlemen will inquire into the history of that
country they will find recorded the protest of the
Irish members, against this unholy compact, in the
Irish Parliament. The people OF Ireland have now
no representation worthy Of the name-thcir repre-
seniaion in the British Senae IS a srce-a mockery
one hundred Irish members TO vote against five
hundred English members. The population being as
fourteen to nine it is a sheer mockerytbe people of
Ireland are not content with this union, and would
heartily despiso them if they were. Cheering II
they had lost their liberties in the field, there NIGH
then be for this abjec condition to which
they were reduced and now, when we ask some per
sous 10 ioi, in this expression of sympathy towards