The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1844-03-17
SPEECH
AT THE
IRISH STATE TRIALS.

u
(cosrINuRp)
Mr.. O'CoNNELr., having read these extracts, con-
tnued-Are you, gentlemen, prepared TO say that
your countrymYn are not qualified to exercise the
elective franchise Are YOU prepared to say that
they are unfit 10 be represented am sure Won are
not am insisting that the union is mockery;
that II is not a union, bur serviude, on the part
of Ireland; that II Is a compact entered into by
England tor the purpose Of holding greater power
over Us; OF thwarDg our prosperity for their own
advantage, and OF converting the property of Ire
land TO their own uses. ANOTHER complaint has
been made, and justly made, of the inadequacy of
the representation OF Ireland Ireland, as you are
aware, has only los members in the House of
Commons, and am prepared to show that upon
Lord Castlereagh's own calculations we ought TO
have $50 members al least The want Of legisla-
tive protection-s sufficiently demonstrated in the
ruiz of our trade-in the downfall Of all our com
mercial prosperity. Lord Casereagh, in making
his calculations 10 the number of representatives
to which lrelanya was entitled, used these ingre-
and he settled ii that Ireland should have los mem
bers; and with that 1Os what did he do! Why, he
he cut of the Sbecause IT pleased HIM, and because
Ireland was IN his power He committed that in
Justice knowing 1t to be one. Mr. Newenham
corrected many of Lord Casereagh's statements,
and showed that his calculations In reference to
the proportion of revenue We're fallacies. Mr..
Newenham took rental in making his calculations.
If you lock to the finance report OF 1881, you will
see that The revenue of England was 1926 ,2I5,
and the revenue of Ireland E6000,OOO, and upon
that calculation the proportion of members Ireland
ought to have Is l76. Thus II s demonstrated that
Ireland has been defrauded IN heI franchise--de-
frauded in her -defrauded even in
the details OF her finances, and detrauded 10 every
one of the details OF the union There is manifest
Inconvenience and injury inflicted by the union as it
stands Is II not great inconvenience to have dis
tan legisatue' Is that not observation-disclosures to
commercial pursuits, to agricultural prosperity, and
to manufacturing purposesl Is there single trade
that does not suffer from distant legislation! Not
one. ! have many particulars of the state OF the
different trades in Dublin, showing how they have
been affected by the total neglect of the English
parliament. | will take the coal trade tor exam
pie. The learned gentleman then read reports of
the committee OF the Commercial Buildings In re-
ference to the oppressive nature of the coal duty,
and continued to say For eight years the mer.
chants OF Dublin and of Ireland comp aned of this
burden. The tories were IN ofilce-the wings sue
ceeded-the violation OF the union was papable
The merchants had no redress from the wings nor
from the tories AT length, the agitation for repeal
took place-the discussion coming on, the law was
repealed by the wings He asked them was it not
nconvenient and unnecessarily expensive, that no
private bill respecting any property, railway
or otherwise, could be passed without the enor-
nous loss of time and money consequent upon 60
ing t0LOndon to attend a parliamentary committee?
What had happened In their very neighborhood
No less a sum than iwenty-eight thousand pounds
had been expended on the bill for the Dublin and
Drogheda Railway; whereas if the parliament were
in College-green, ElO00 Is as much as would have
carrying bill in the British House Of Commons
without some unhoped for accession of funds if any
oppositlonlwere offered Can anything be more
fearful than the expense attendant on election
committees? Every witness, It an Irish election
be the question at issue, is taken to England, and
kept there for considerable time. If the witness
is let to go for an hour, and new matter is started
the point probably will be decided in his absence,
and yoa will lose your money and possibly your
seat Would it not be jus. to the Irish bar, that
these expenses should be circulated amongst then
while the fact is, not single Irish lawyer profits
by the matter-every shilling goes into the pockets
considerable mitigation of the taxation Of the
country resulted from the different revenue boards
existing in Irelandl Are they here now! VIVA,
has become OF the treasury board? 1t has been
'ranspanted to England. The customs and board
of excise? Transpanted to England. The stamp
Office and other Offices, which have been greatly
diminished in numbers, and are near extinction
The entire expenditure which rlitlgated the taxa
ton of Ireland has been all centered in England
even the Old Mans Hospital is expiring. ] ask you
is it fair reasonable to the country to have cen
razation operating against us and IN favor of Eng
land! Mr.. OConne read returns to show that an
unfair proportion of Engllshmen and Scotchmen
nave been appointed to situations in Ireland over
The heads of lrlshmen, and that the exports and
imports to and from Ireland had diminished since
the union. Recolect, gentlemen, added Mr.. o.
Cornell, the infinite difference between The export
Of live cattle and provisions When you have pro-
visions, you not only employ labor, but you have
food AT cheap rate; while, on the other hand the
aborcrs idle and food dear; by the one trade
Ireland showed her prosperity, and by the other her
poverty. The celebrated DR.. Boyton in 1888
shows the advantage oil "A close research upon
those subjects. the learned gentleman then read
some extracts from work published about ten
years back by Or. Boyton, to show the diminution
IN the expectation OF fiax-seed, silk, cotton, &c.
IN which he also mentioned that the Liberties OF
Dublin had degeneraed from being inhabited BY
opulent merchants into habltatlons of the greatest
wretchedness | have before me melancholy
detail of the different tradesmen employed al the
union and at this moment Mr.. O'Connell then
read "A document to show the number of looms
working, and workmen employed IN the Liberty
which had decreased To great extent and pro-
ceeded Ia say-Ihere Is no trade OF which I could
not read you similar lists, showing the decrease OF
employment, and of master manufacturers who
were reduced TO poverty, together with their FAM
lies, by the union SIxty;;eighl thousand trades
men were fully employed IN Dublin before the
union, and there were not more than -four thousand
IN II at that moment, and they had not always
enough to do. ! know those statements to be lite
rally correct, for ! have made enquiries into the
state OF the Liberty and upon the 30lh of January
II was described 10 be in ruins. AT the time of the
union there were nlnety-fOur master manufacturers
residing IN lt-and seventy eight silk manufacturers
alone, and how few were IN II then. House pro-
perty had fallen TO a most melancholy pitch for In
the best and most fashionable streets In Dublin the
the finest house could be purchased for very in.
considerable sum There was Lord Powerscourts
and what was 1t then! 1t was inhabited by his
lordshp at the union, but since then II became "A
stamp office, and was aterly the warehouse of re-
spectacle import merchants What was NORA
house The Mendcty! Where was Belvidere
house, which cost E3S, 900 to buld1 1t has passed
INTO the hands OF few Jesnlts who keep school,
for ElI00-and are those things to meet Us every
hour without making effort for the restoration
OF the country IL Is not the want Of materials that
prevents M going further into this detail but there
Is no necessity for 1t; for you can see Yourselves,
gentlemen, these minsons where wealth and splen-
dor formerly resided, and was concentrated, ruined
and neglected and the question is, will you en-
deavor to lnterpose between those who are strug
cling to make a change IN this state of affairs
have now gone through the documents to show Won
the prosperity that existed in ireland before the
union-the advantages that she derived from her
parliament, and the violence Of the means by
which it was taken from her-of its injustice and
inequality; and now ask you'll appeal 10 you-
whether ! have not presented picture which
would make 1t the duty of every honest man to rally