\ TilE a t- SELECT SPEECHES or DANIEL O'CONNELL, M.P EDITED, WITH HISTORICAL NOTICES. Etc;,, EY HIS SON, JOHN O'CONNELL, ESQ. 3tn duo ^olume^. VOL. T. ^ A1>^ ^^^«^^^^^^^^ HILL, AM8S. DUBLIN: JAMES DUFFY, WELLINGTON QUAY, AND 22, PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON. 1868. V ^ Pattison Jolly, Steam-Press Printer, 22, Esses-st. West, Dublin. PREFA.CE. It being the intention of Mr. James Duffy, the Publisher of this Volume, to bring out, at no very distant period, a *' Life of Daniel O'Connrll,"* written in full detail and with every advantage of access to family documents, correspondences, &c., &c., it is not thought necessary to preface or accompany the present Selection from his Speeches with any biographical sketch or detailed narrative. This Publication will therefore comprise nothing beyond the Selection just mentioned, and a brief statement of such facts and dates as may appear indispensable, By M--S Fitzauuou, hir, «.idest daughter. CONTENTS. Memoir .... Catholic Committee, January, 1808 Aggregate Meeting, September, 1810 Petition for Catholic Emancipation . , The French Party, December, 1810 Catholic Rights, February, 1811 . , Unanimity, February, 18 li Address to the Prince of Wales, March, 1811 The Duke of Richmond Petition to the Prince Regent, April, 1811 AVatty Cox — Libel Vote of Thanks to Earl Grey find Lord Grenville Mr. Yerner Moore The Regent's Pledges Catholic EmancipatiuD, 2nd July, 1812 The No-Popery Cry The Citizens of Dublin v. Police Magistrates Aggregate Meeting, 5th November, 1812 John Philpot Cm-ran Tiiaffe a. Chief Justice of Queen's Bench Vote of Censure Catholic Ascendancy Hugh Fitzpatrick — Libel . , The English Catholics Catholic Rehef Bill . Reply to Mr. Bellew Emancipation — the Regert's Pledge Right Rev. Dr. Milner Doctor Milner 7 11 15 25 89 27 41 43 47 50 ib. 53 63 69 7a Dl 105 107 116 121 132 138 145 151 164 17. 180 un 2tC VI CONTENTS. The Princess of Wales • « . Repeal of the Union . , The King v. John Magee • . ; Henry Grattan . , Irish Manufacture . . • Address to Henry Grattan , The Synod of Ulster Trial of John Magee . , Cork Catholic Meeting, August 30, 1813 Meeting of the Cork Catholic Board, Sept. 3, 1813 Lieutenant O'ConneU The Kilkenny Resolution — Trial of John Magee The Veto Question . . • Reply to Mr. Richard Lalor Shiel Mr. Finlay's Address . . , Catholic Board, December 24, 1813 The King at the Prosecution of the Duke of Richmond Presentation Cup to Mr. O'Connell , • Illegal Societies Address to the People Catholic Board, January S Catholic " Securities" Baron Fletcher's Charge Wexford Meeting at Lord Fingal's The Catholic Association to the Grand Jury of tl V. Magee e County 20S 214 223 233 235 236 238 240 304 319 326 327 344 348 35y 360 378 391 3l»2 402 406 413 431 438 4r6 SELECT SPEECHES OF DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ,, M.r. m^*' ^^^^■^■^ ^^^^^^s^y Daniel 0'Co>ts'ell vr&f Ijorn at Carhen, necur C'ahlrclveen, In the County '-' Kerry, on the 6th of August, 1775. At the age of thirteen he was sent for a time to echoci near Cove, cr as it is now called, " Queenstown ;" a year or two later he was sent for greater educationaV advantages to the Continent, where he studied successively at Louvain, St. Omer, and DouaL Driven from the latter place and from the Continent by the atrocities of the French Revolution and the evident approach of ■\rar, Mr. O'Connell spent the next two or three years in London preparing for the Bar; to which he was eventually called in the sadly memorable year of 1798 When thus fairly entered upon the world's wide stage, he had strong reasons for avoid- ing politics. No lawyer could then hope to rise in his profession, unless willing to be the parasite and slave of the Government ; and it was not even safe, in Ireland at least, for Protestant or Catholic, but especially for the latter, to be found ia opposition For these and other reasons the leading members of Mr. O'Connell's family and circle of friends were very much indisposed to his putting himself forward in any public struggle, and he was himself of course fully aware of the disadvantages and dangers he must incur by so doing. But he could not be silent when he saw the Legislative independence of his country about to be annihilated, and when it had become clear that the minister sought to implicate the Catholics of Ireland in his crime. Overtures had already been made ic private to some of their nominal leaders, and rumour said tliat they had not been unfa- vourably received ; timidity, credulity, or corruption jointly or separately operating to pro- duce this result. There could not indeed be a doubt that the great bulk of the Catholic ix>dy felt as Irishmen should on this occasion, and abhorred the idea of the Union ; bui they were entirely unaccustomed to acting in concert, or coming forward in their aggre- tut« character. ' Some one was wanted to .show them the way. Their "natural leaders," bs the phrase went, hung back, or were inclined to acquiescence in the proposed measure. The minister's designs against the good repute and independence of the Catholic body Bcemed about to bo consummated, when just at the critical moment Daniel O'Connell stepped forward. The first speech of his which we give in this collection— his first public speech of any kind — was that delivered on the occasion we have mentioned. The meeting at which it was delivered — a meeting got up mainly by his efforts — took place on the 13th of January 6 SELECT SFEECHES OF In the year 1800, in the hall of the Royal Exchange, Duhlin. Ere it had well assembled & panic began to spread, at the rumour that the authorities at the Castle had cume to thr detennination of suppressing the meeting, in the exercise of the arbitrary power tliey sti' hesitated not to have recourse to, although the alleged necessity for it had long ceased with the utter extinction, more than a year before, of the last embers of rebellion ' Pre bcntly in confirmation of this rumour, the measured tramp of soldiery became audible aud the redcoats appeared under the main portico of the Exchange, facing to Parliamen': street. The noise of their ajyroach and the sudden halt, Avith the clashing of the muskets as they were grounded on the tiag-stones outside, increased the fast-spreading panic, and occasioned a sensible diminution along the outskirts of the assemblage. However, owing to the exertions and exhortations of Mr. O'Connell and a few other gentlemen, the main boOy stood firm ; and he then advanced to meet and parley with the officer in command of the com bined miUtary and civil array. This was the noted Major Sirr, whose name occurs so fre- quently in the dark records of the internal government of Ireland at that unhappy time. He inquired the objects, eolFered the meeting to proceed. The following was Mr. O'Connell's speech on the interesting occasion ■-- Counsellor O'Connell rose, and in a short speech prefaced the resolutions. He said that the question of Union was con- fessedly one of the first importance and magnitude. Sunk, in- deed, in more than criminal apathy, must that Irishman be, who could feel indifference on the subject. It was a measure, to the consideration cf which we were called by every illumination of the understanding, and every feeling of the heart. There was, therefore, no necessity to apologize for the introducing the dis- cussion of'the question amongst Irishmen. But before he brought forward any resolution, he craved permission to make a few obser- vations on the causes which produced the necessity of meeting as Catholics: as a separate and distinct body. In doing so, he thought he would clearly show that they were justifiable in at length de- viating from a resolution which they had heretofore formed. The enlightened mind of the Catholics had taught them the impolicy, the illiberality, and the injustice of separating them- selves on any occasion from the rest of the people of Ireland. The Catholics had therefore resolved, and they had wisely re- solved, never more to appear before the public as a distinct and separate body; but they did not — they could not then foresee the anfortunately existing circumstances of this moment. They could not then foresee that they would be reduced to the necessity eitljer of submitting to the disgraceful imputation of approving of a measure as detestable to them, as it was ruinous to their country ; or once again, and he trusted for the last time, of coming for- ward as a distinct body. There was no man present but was acquainted with the in- dustry with which it was circulated, that the Catholics were DAXrEL OOOXXELL, ESQ., M.P. » f;iv<»':raMe to the Union. In vain did multitudes of that body, in different capacities, express their disapprobation of the mea sure ; in vain did they concur with others of their fellow-subjects in expressing their abhorrence of it — as freemen or freeholders — electors of counties or inhabitants of cities — still the calumny was repeated ; it was printed in journal after journal ; it wa^- published in pamphlet after pamphlet ; it was circulated with activity in private companies ; it was boldly and loudly pro- claimed in public assemblies. How this clamour was raised, and how it was supported, was manifest — the motives of it were ap- parent. In vain had the Catholics (individually) endeavoured to resist the toiTent. Their future efforts, as individuals, would be equally vain and fruitless ; they must then oppose it collectively. There was another reason why they should come forward as a distinct class — a reason which he confessed had made the gi'eatest impression upon his feelings. Not content with Msely asserting, that the Catholics favoured the extinction of Ireland, this their supposed inclination was attributed to the foulest motives — motives which were most repugnant to their judgments and most abhorrent to their hearts. It was said that the Catholics were ready to sell their country for a price, or, what was still more depraved, to abandon it on account of the unfbrtunate ani- mosities which the wretched temper of the times had produced. Can they remain silent under so horrible a calumny ! This calumny was flung on the whole body — it was incumbent on the whole body to come forward and contradict it ; yes, they will show every friend of Ireland, that the Catholics are incapable oi selling their country ; they will loudly declare, that if their emancipation were offered for their consent to the measiu'e — even were emancipation after the union a benefit — they would reject it with prompt indignation. (This sentiment met with approbation.) " Let us," said he, " show to Ireland that we have nothing in view but her good ; nothing in our hearts but the desire of mutual forgiveness, mutual toleration, and mu- tual affection ; in fine, let every man who feels with me proclaim that if the alternative were offered him of union, or the re-enact ment of the penal code in all its pristine horrors, that he would prefer without hesitation the latter, as the lesser and more suf- ferable evil ; that he would rather confide in the justice of his brethren, the Pr'^testants of Ireland, who have already liberated him, than lay his '^ountry at the feet of foreigners." (This sen- timent was met wi*^h much and marked approbation.) AVilh B J^ 1 SELECT SPEECHES Of regard to the union, so iQuch had been said — so much had beer written on the subject, that it was impossible any man shoula not before now have formed an opinion of it. He would not trespass on their attention in repeating arguments which they had already heard, and topics which they had already considered ; but if there was any man present who could be so far mentally degraded, as to consent to the extinction of the liberty, the con- stitution, and even the name of Ireland, he would call on him not to leave the direction and management of his commerce and property to strangers, over whom he could have no control. He then concluded by moving the resolutions, which being seconded, passed unanimously, and the meeting broke up. The following were the resolutions passed at the meeting. They were drawn up by Mr O'Connell himself: — " Royal Exchange, Dublin, January 13, 1800. " At a numerous and respectable meeting of the Roman Catholics of the City of Dublin, convened pursuant to public notice, Ambrose Moore, Esq., in the chair — " Resohed — 'Theech was delivered: — Mr. O'Connell said he had not intended to address the meet- ing. His anxiety for the Catholic cause alone brought him for- ^vard. He entertained no apprehension about Catholic Eman cipation, but such as might arise from the conduct cf the Catho- lics themselves. He could not aA';oid asking whether the public time was to be wasted by childish and puerile objections — objections that could only manifest a spirit of division, a feeling of pai'ty, and a miserable ambition of leadership. With every faculty of his mind awake to the deploi'^ble consequences of division, he should not cease to exert all the energy of his soul to stimulate their minds to unanimity. When an adjournment was proposed, he expected to hear it supported by some kind of argument ; had any existed, it would certainly have been put forward by the eloquent gentlemen who had already spoken ; that they had not condescended to reason was to him decisive proof that ^lo plausible reason existed. JSTo man was more ready to abando: his o-!:)inion to arg-ument. bnt he could not agree tc . 12 SELECT SPEECHES OF a measure fraught with mischievous consequences, merely because one gentleman made a motion, and another was pleased to second it. He would entreat of gentlemen to take a cautious view of the precipice which opened to them, shou d they suffer their good sense to bo led away by any motives, to the adoption of the sentiments excited industriously ; but for no good purpose excited by those who would divide the Catholic body. Common sense alone ought to be a sufficient protection against the insi- dious attempt. He begged to remind gentlemen of what had taken place at the last meeting. The generous feelings of Catho- lics had gained precedence of their interests, and they had given up the presenting of their petition, in the last session of Parliar ment, to their gratitude towards their political advocates. There was another reason for that sacrifice : a stupid and atrocious spirit of bigotry had been fomented in England, even by mmig- terial authority ; and the Catholics had generously withdi-awn from the struggle, that they might deprive British intolerance of even the shadow of an excuse. He recollected with pleasure the s|)lendid exertions of the ancient advocate of the Catholic cause (John Keogh,) upon that occasion. He it was that had urged the topics just alluded to, with irresistible force ; and had not an illness, now deeply to be deplored, prevented his attend- ance this day, division in the Catholic body could not be feared. His powers of reasoning would have frightened away the captious objections taken to the resolution, and the Catholics of Irelana would have airain to thank their old and useful servant for the preservation of their honour, and the support of their interests. Mr. O'Connell called the attention of the meeting to the resolu- tion which had unanimously passed at the last meeting ; and by which the care of the Catholic petition was entrusted to the noble earl in the chair. It was committed to his sole manage- ment. Neither jealousy could suggest, nor folly express an objection to the resolution which had so committed it. It was unnecessary for him, and indeed he had not the powei*s to put in their proper point of view, the qualities that called for and justified that confidence ; and the presence of the noble lord restrained the effusions of public gratitude for his services, but the impression was the more deeply felt for being cherished omy in the silence of the heart. — [Mr. O'Connell was here inten^upted by loud and repeated acclamations:]— Well, to Lord Fingall you committed the sole management of your petition ; he accepted the office ; he was authorised to act for himself ; and it is attempted to be insinuated to this meeting that he has not acted DANIEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., M.P. J 2 Consistently ; because, when he might have acted upon his own suggestions alone, he anxiously and industriously sought for the advice and assistance of every individual who had heretofore taken part in the Catholic question. This, under the resolution of the last meeting, was an unnecessary condescension ; but assuredly it was the more amiable and the less liable to objec- tion. Yet what was the ground the supporters of an adjourn- ment went upon ? It amounted to this : that Lord Fingall had done, with advice and deliberation, that which he mio^ht have done instantlj'' and alone. Was the calling of the present meet- ing less the act of Lord Fingall, because the opinions and judg- ments of so man^- whom he had consulted concurred with him in its propriety 1 To such absurdity were his opponents diiven, that they must support the affirmative of the proposition. But it was said that there had been no notice given of the present meeting. It was strange to hear this objection urged b}^ gentle- men whose presence seemed to admit that the notice was suffi- cient. However, what was the fact ? Had not that meetiau' Deen announced in all the Dublin papers more than ten davij previously ? It could not bedeni^id that it had been so announced ; still a pretext was left, and they had been gravely told that it was true the announcement of the meeting had been publishcil, but that it was published in form of a paragra}>h, and not of n 'advertisement. Here then it stood admitted that it was not for substance, but mere matter of form, that the Catholij body wats to be divided. One would imagine that division was a pood thing, when so flimsy a pretext was resorted to, to produi'.^ it. Be trusted that the gentlemen themselves would abandon iheir ijpposition, when they saw the question put in this, its pi 3per light. The Catholics of every part of Ireland had been \*.on- sulted : their sentiments as to the propriety of petitioning had been required by letter. Numerous answers had been received from the most respectable persons in all the counties, who au concurred in this one opinion, that the petition should be foi- warded without the smallest delay. In some parts the Catha- iics had already gone further — meetings had been held in th<.' cities of Cork and Waterford, and resolutions to that effect fcatered into ; nay, the petition had not only the good wishes of our liberal and enlightened Protestant brethren of Ireland, but riome of them had expressed their sentiments by a public resolu- tion; he alluded to that of the nobility and gentry of the county of Tipperary. Their conduct, patriotic as it was amiable, useful . £,3 wen as benevolent, was the theme of general admiration. We ( 14 iaoi-EClVSPEECHES OP re^n'etted that lie could not spieak of it in terms accordinj^' with the gratitude of his heart. It reminded him, however, of that afiectionate attention and care for the rights of Irishmen^ warmed though not created, by the benevolent recommendation of our beloved ;iOvereign, which has induced the Irish Protestants of tli? present generation to break the fetters of the Catholic, and totally to emancipate the Presbyterian — ^a wise and magn*T,nimoiis policy, which would have long since restored the Catholic to complete freedom, had their cause and their country been left m the hands of Irish Protestants (loud and repeated applause.) Under those circumstances, nothing but disunion among themselves could ever retard the Catholic cause. Division, while it rendered them the object of disgust to then- friends, would make them the scorn and ridicule of their enemies. He was ready to admit that the present administration were personal enemies of the Catholic eause ; yet, if the Catholics continue loyal, firm, and undivided, ihej had little to fear from the barren petulance of the ex-adv^- eate, Perceval, or the frothy declamations of the poetaster, Can- .iing — they might meet with equal contempt the upstart pride of the Jenkinsons, and with moi-e than contempt the pompous inanity of that Lord Castlereagh, who might well be permit^ ed to hate the country that gave him birth, to her own annihilation. lie was also free to confess that he knew of no statute passed since the Union, which had for its object to increase the trade, or advance the liberties of Ireland ; but he thought it impossible, if the Catholics persevered, with undivided efforts, in thoir loyal and dutiful pui-suit of Emancipation, that any administration could, be found sufficiently daring in guilt to stand between them and the thix^ne ^Jf their father and sovereign ; and most calumniousiy and falsely use his name to raise obstacles in the wav of good subjects seeking to become free citizens. He did therefore, conjure the gentlemen to give up their opposition; ht respected their talents, and however convinced of their mistake, could not doubt the purity of their motives. They must see thp.t their arguments against the resolution were confined to the ridicuious opposition, in fact, against the noble lord, for his liavinf^ condescended to ask advice before he acted " and to the equally frivolous difficulty objected to the form of t^e notice foi calling the meeting. Was it possible that rational beings should govern, their conduct by such arguments in the serious pursuit of freedom] They were sons, and might dearly love the parent.^ •who gave them birth — let them recollect that it was for their rights that the petition was framed ; tliey were brothers, and DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 15 ?liould, if they ielt tne endearing impulses of fraternal affectioL .sacrifice party, and of course mere forms and ceremonies, in a struggle for obtaining the rights of their brethren : they were parents, and all the sweet charities of life, combined in favour of the children who looked up to them for protection. It was tho liberties of those children the present petition sought — would they postpone for an hour that sacred blessing ? Could they, from any motive, thwart the progress of those who sought it ? ¥>e knew that was impossible, and he hcped, therefore, there would be no division. The result of tlie debate was a -withdrawal of the Jimendrocnft. and the unanim^ur- carry* ing of the resolution to petition. AGGREGATE MEETING. JNOT long afterwards, Mr. O'Connell had again an opporfonity, most congenial and accept. • able to his feelings, of coming forward upon a national question, and suspending for tlie time ail mention of the claims and wishes cf a particular class or body, however numerous or important in themselves. A movement was suddenly and most unexpectedly made in the very bosom of the exclusive and deeply-dyed Oranfjc Corporation of Dublin itself, in March of the year 1818, against the Act of Legislative Union between Great Britain and Ireland ; and although the patriotic attempt — headed, we are glad to record, by the name of one of a family known then and ever since as amon^ the best and most considerate employers of labour in the City of Dublin, the Ilutton family— made no progress in 1808, two years later a better success attended it. Upon the 18th of September, 1810, the folic wing meeting took place. The subject being still of such interest, we give, in addition to Mr. O'Connell's speech, some brief prefatory matter desjcriptive of the occurrence, includhig the remarks of some others of the speakersi " At a meeting of the citizens, freemen, and freeholders rf the city of Dublin, at the Uoyal Exchange, on Tuesday, 18th September, 1810, held pursuant to a requisition of several respecfable citizens of Dublin, to the high slieritfs, to consider of a petition to the king's most excel- lent raajesty, and the imperial parliament, praying them to take into tlieir consideration the Repeal of the Act of Union — Sir Jamee; Riddall, Knight, high sherifi' of the city of Dublin, in the chair. " On Sir James Riddall taking the chair, he addressed the most numerous and respectable auditory that ever assembled in the city of Dublin. He recommended to the assembly to maintain the utmost order and regularity in their proceedings ; assuring them he had tiip greatest hopes that if they conducted themselves with propriety, they would finally succeed in carrying their point ; but by manifesting a C(>n- trary disposition, fchey would afford a pretext to their enemies to maligTi their motives. " The requisition, signed by a number of citizens, freemen, and free- holders of the city of Dublin, at the late Quarter Sessions Grand Jury ,16 SELECT SPEECHES OF was read by Mr. Frederick Conway, who was appointed secretary to the meeting, stating, that on account of the depressed state of the manufactures in the county and city of Dubhn, the citizens of Dubhn pointed out as the only mode of radical relief which occurred to them wai5 to present a requisition to the high sheriffs of the city of Dublin, to call a meeting of the citizens, freemen, and freeholders of Dublin, to I'onsider of presenting a petition to his Majesty, praying a Repeal of the Act of Union. " Sir James Riddal then said — In consequence of the requisition, I have called you, gentlemen, together this day. I am determined, im- partially, to hear every one for and against the question ; a patient hearing will be given to every gentlemen who chooses to deliver his opinion on either side. ''INfr. Hutton then rose, and spoke as follows: — Mr. Sheriff, I am called upon to move a resolution, that a committee may be appointed to prepare and draw up a petition to the king's most excellent Majesty, and to the imperial parliament, to take into consideration the Repeal of the Union. I stand forth on this occasion an advocate of the Repeal of the Act of Union, and I claim your candid attention. I am aware of the inadequacy of m}'- abilities on this occasion, but I appeal to your candour and goodne&s, and I appeal to every man that knows me, for the rectitude of my intentions. It has been asserted privately, that this assembly has been convened for improper purposes : the purport of this meeting is, to jDUt down everything like disorder in the state, and pre- sent a petition to his Majesty, stating that we conceive it would be for the benejBt of our common country, and to preserve our connection with England, and testify our loyalty to our king, by having the Act of Union Repealed. This wretched act has prevented our manufactures from having a fair competition in the market, and were it repealed, it would be of the utmost advantage to our manufactures, and o;ive a new iuipulse to our commerce. The repeal of that measure, he contended, ANould tend to the best means to secure the prosperity and happiness of Ireland. At the time the Act of Union was proposed, it was held out to the people of this comitry, that persons possessing great British capi- tal, would come over from England and establish manufactures in Ire- land, an i particularly in Dublin, our trade would be increased — that we should have the education of the poor in Ireland properly attended to. The Roman Catholics were told tliat they had a right to expect more benefits from the interference of the British parhament, thin they could expect to receive from an Irish parliament. Sir, we have now had the experience of ten years^ since the passing of the Act of Union, and let me ask have the Irish manufactures had a fair competition in the British markets ? Have the manufactures of Ireland been protected and encouraged, or have those of Dublin flourished as we were pro- mised ? Let me ask, have the poor of thhts, ever since the passing of the Act of Union, have stood, and do stand at present, just where they began. They have endeavoured to get their claims acknowledg-ed and acquiesced in ; but are they not at this instant precluded from hold- ing^ any superior rank in the army ? I do not, Sir, speak of adminis- tration, but I contend that the welfixre and prosperity of Ireland depend upon the Repeal of the Act of Union. We, therefore, wish the parlia- ment of Ireland to be restored to the same state it was in at the period of 1782. A parliament in Ireland is the only means of restoring the •udependcnce, promoting the happiness of our country, securing its peace and prosperity. Sir, I feel myself inadequate to do ample jus- tice to the business now before us ; I shall only say, I consider that the Repeal of the Act of Union would tend to the advantage of my country. My want of ability to do adequate justice to the great question, and I expect that this business will be fuh^" spoken to by these honourable gentlemen who will take a part in tlie debates of tins day, with whom this business originated. I trust. Sir, that this day's proceedings will show to the world, collectively and individually, our loyalty, zcijl, and attachment to our good king, and prove that oar opinion is universal and unanimous, concerning the Act of Union. I mention, Sir, that it is by such a Repeal only, that the peace and tranquillity of Ireland can be preserved. We should be indissolubly linked to Great Britain by such a Repeal, and by such a one alone ! I move, Sir, that a committee oi nine persons be appointed to prepare and draw up an address to hi" majesty, and to the imperial parliament, praying a Repeal of the Act of Union. '•' Ambrose ]\Iocre, Esq., seconded the motion. " The resolution was read accordingly, and agreed to without one dissenting voice. " A committee of nine gentlemen was then appointed to draw up and ]irepare the said petition. The names were, Mr. Hutton, Mr. Randal M'Donald, Mr. Ashenhurst, Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Moore, jMr. ^'. ISIahon, Ivlr. Abbot, Mr. Harty, Mr. Farrell. The said committee appointed to jirepare and draw up the petition, having prepared the same, they made liieir report to the assembly at large. " The petition to the king was then read and carried unanimously. ' Mr. O'Connell declared that he offered himself tr. the meeting with unfeigned diffidence. He was unable to do justice to his fetdings on the ^.a'eat national subject on which they had met. IJo felt too mach of personal anxiety to allow him to arrange in anything like order, the many topics which rushed upon his liind. now, that after ten years of silence and torpor, Irishmen began again to recollect their enslaved country. It was a melan- choly period, those ten years— a period in which Ireland saw her artificers starved — her tradesmen begging — her merchants become i.iankriipts — her gentry banished — iier nobility degraded. Within that u;eriod domestic turbulence broke from day to day 18 SELEC r SPEECHES OF into open violence a.nd murder — religious dissensions were aggra - vated and embittered — credit and commerce were annihilated — ■ taxation augmented in amount and in vexation. Besides tho ^' hangings-ofT' of the ordinary assizes, we had been disgraced by the necessity that existed for holding two special commissions of death, and had been degi'aded by one rebellion — and, to crown all, we were at length insulted by being told of our groudng pro- sperity.'''' This was not the painting of imagination — it borrowed nothing from fancy — it was, alas, the plain representation of the facts that had occurred — the picture, in sober colours, of the real state of his ill-fated country. There was not a man present but must be convinced that he did not exaggerate a single fact : there was not a man present but must know that more misery existed than he had described. Such being the history of the first ten years of the Union, it would not be difficult to convince any mprejudiced man, that all those calamities had sprung from that measure. Ireland was favoured by Providence with a fertile soil, an excellent situation for commerce, intersected by navigable ri\>ers, indented at every side with safe and commodious har- bours, blessed with a fruitful soil, and with a vigorous, hardy, generous, and brave population; how did it happen then, that the noble qualities of the Irish peoj)le were perverted 1 that tho c>rder of Provide ace was disturbed, and its blessings worse than neglected 1 The fatal cause was obvious — it was the Union. That these deplorable effects would follow from that accm-sed measui'e, was prophesied. Before the Act of Union passed, it had been already proved that the trade of the country and its credit must fail as capital was drawn from it ; that turbulence and vio- lence would increase, when the gentry were removed to residence in another country ; that the taxes should increase in the same proportion as the people became unable to pay them. But nei- ther the argument nor the prophetic fears have ended with our present evils. It has also been demonstrated, that as long as the Union continues, so long must our misfortunes accumulate. The nature of that measure, and the experience of facts which we have now had, leave no doubt of the truth of what has bc;en asserted respecting the future. But, if there be any still incre- dulous, he can only be of those who submit their reason to autho- rity. To such person, the authority of Mr. John Foster, Chan- cellor of the Exchequer for Ireland, would probably be conclu- sive ; and Foster has assured us, that final ruin to our country must be the consequence of the Union. I will not dwell, Tvir rSheriff, on the miseries of my country; I am disgusted with the DANIEL OVONNELL, EgQ., I'.P. 1 5 wretcnednGRs the Union has produced: and I do not dare ta trust myself with the contemplation of the accumulation of sor- row that must overwhelm the land, if the Union be not repealed ; I beg to call the attention of the meeting to another part of the subject. The Union, Sir, was a violation of our national and inherent rights — a flagi-ant injustice. The representatives whom v\e had elected for a short period of eight years, had no autho- rity to dispose of their country for ever. It cannot be pretended that any direct or express authority to that effect was given to them ; and the nature of their delegation excludes all idea of their having any such by implication. They were the servants of the nation, empowered to consult for its good — not its mas- ters, to make traffic and dispose of it at their fantasy or for their l>rokt. I deny that the nation itself had a right to barter its independence, or to commit political suicide; but when our ser- vants destroyed our existence as a nation, they added to the baseness of assassination all the guilt of high treason. The rea- soning upon which those opinions are founded is sufficiently obvious. They require no sanction from the authority of any ?).ime — neither do T pretend to give them any weight, by declar- ing them to be conscientiously my own ; but if you want autho- rity, to induce the conviction that the Union had injustice fol its principle, and a crime for its basis, I appeal to that of his Majesty's present Attorney-General, Mr. Saurin, who, in his place ni tlie Irish parliament, pledged his character as a lawyer and a statesman, that the Union must be a violation of every moral principle, and that it was a mere question of prudence whether it should not be resisted by force. I also aj^peal to the opinions of the late Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, Mr. George Vonsonby — of the present Solicitor-General, Mr. Bushe — and of that splendid lawyer, I\Ir. Plimket. The Union was, therefore, a manifest injustice — and it continues to be unjust at this day ; it was a crime, and must be still criminal, unless it shall be ludicrously pretended that crime, like wine, improves by old age, and that time mollifies injustice into innocence. You may smile at the supposition, but in sober sadness you must be convinced that we daily suffer injustice ; that every succeeding day adds only another sin to the catalogue of British vice ; and that if the Union continues, it will only make crime hereditary, and injustice perpetual. We have been robbed, my countrymen, most foully robbed of our birthright, of our independence — may it n -)t be permitted to us. mournfully to ask how this consummation of evil was perfected i for it was :i">t in any disastrous battle tlkut 20 SELECT SPEECHES OF our lioerties were struck down — ^no foreign invader liad despoiled the land ; we have not forfeited our country by any crimes — nei - ther did we lose it in any domestic insurrection. No, the rebel- lion was completely put down before the Union was accomplished : the Irish militia and the Irish yeomanry had put it down. How, then, have we become enslaved ? Alas ! England, that ought to have been to us as a sister and a friend — England, whom we had Toved, and fought, and bled for — England, whom we have pro- tected, and whom we do protect — England, at a period when out of 100,000 of the seamen in her service, 70,000 were Irish — England stole upon us, like a thief in the night, and robbed us of the precious gem of our Liberty ; she stole from us ' that which in nought enriched her, but made us poor indeed.' Heflect then, my friends, on the means employed to accomplish this dis- astrous measure. I do not speak of the meaner instruments of bribery and corruption — we all know that everything was put to sale — nothing profane or sacred was omitted in the Union mart — offices in the revenue, commands in the army and navy, the sacred ermine of justice, and the holy altars of God were aU profaned and polluted as the rewards of Union services. By a vote in favour of the Union, ignorance, incapacity, and profligacy, obtained certain promotion ; and our ill-fated but beloved country was degraded to her utmost limits, before she was transfixed in slavery. But I do not intend to detain you in the contempla- tion of those vulgar means of parliamentary success — they are within the daily routine of official maTiagement : neither wiU I direct your attention to the frightfid recollection of that avowed fact which is now part of history, that the rebellion itself was fomented and encouraged in order to facilitate the Union. Even the rebellion was an accidental and secondary cause — the real cause of the Union lay deeper, but is quite obvious. It is to be found at once in the religioics dissensions which the enemies of Ireland have created, and continued, and seek to peq^etuate amongst ourselves, by telling us of, and separating us into wretched sections and miserable subdivisions ; they separated the Protestant from the Catholic, and the Presbyterian from both ; they revived every antiquated cause of domestic animo- sity, and they invented new pretexts of rancour ; but above all, my countrymen, they belied and calumniated us to each other — they falsely declared that we hated each other, and they con- tinued to repeat the assertion, until we came to believe it ; they succeeded in producing all the madness of party and ^religious distinctions ; and whilst vre were lest in the stupor of< insanity. DANIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.T. 21 (hey pluiidsre-i us of our country, and left us to recover at our leisure from the horrid delusion into which we had been so art- fully conducted. Such then were the means by which the Union was effectuated. It has stripped us of commerce and wealth ; i^ has degi'aded us, and deprived us not only of our station as a nation, but even of the name of oiu' country ; we are governed by foreigners — foreigTiers make our laws, for were the one hundred members who nominally represent Ireland in what is called the imperial parliament, were (hey really our representatives, what influence could they, al- though unbouo-ht and unanimous, have over the five hundred and fifty-eight English and Scotch members 1 But what is the fact 1 Why that out of the one hundred, such as they are, that sit for this country, more than one-fifth know nothing of us, and are unknown to us. What, for example, do we know about Andrew Strahan, printer to the king 1 ^V^hat can Henry Martin, barrister-at-law, care for the rights or liberties of Irishmen ? — Some of us may, perhaps for om' misfortunes, have been com- pelled to read a verbose pamphlet of James Stevens ; but who knows anything of one Crile, one Hughan, one Cackin, or of a dozen more whose names I could mention, only because I have discovered them for the purpose of speaking to you about them ; what sympathy can we in oui* sufferings, expect from those men 1 What solicitude for ou.' interests ? AVhat are thev to Ireland, or Ireland to them 1 No, Mr. Sheriff, we are not represented — we have no effectual share in the legislation — the thing is a mere mockery ; neither is the imperial parliament competent to legis- late for us — it is too unwieldy a machine to legislate with dis- cernment for England alone ; but with respect to Ireland, it has all the additional inconvenience that arise fi'om want of interest and total ignorance. Sir, when I talk of the utter ignorance, in Irish affairs, of the members of the imperial parliament, I do not exa2:Q;erate or mistake ; the ministers themselves are in absolute darkness with respect to this country. I undertake to demon- strate it. Sir, they have presumed to speak of the growing pro- sperity of Ireland — I know them to be vile and profligate — I cIr. O'Connell drew ap the Petition of that year, to tlie House of Commons, for Catliolic Emancipation. It ran as follows : — '* To the Ilonourahle the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled : " We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, on behalf of our- selves and of others, his Majesty's subjects, professing the Roman Catholic religion in Ireland, humbly beg leave to represent to this Honourable House — "That we, your petitioners, did, in the years 1805 and 1808, humbly petition this honourable house, praying the total aboli- tion of the penal laws, which aggrieve the Catholics of Ireland. " We now feel ourselves obliged, in justice to ourselves, our families, and our country, once more to solicit the attention of this honourable house to the subject of our said petition. " We state, that the Roman Catholics constitute the most numerous and increasing portion of the inhabitants of Ireland, comprising an immense majority of the manufacturing, trading, and agricultural interests, and amounting to at least four-fiftlis of the Irish population ; that they contribute largely to the exigencies of their country, civil and military ; that they pay the far greater part of the public and local taxes ; that they supply the armies and navies of this empire with upwards of one-third part in number of the soldiers and sailors employed in the public s«-rvice ; and that, notwithstanding heavy discouragements, they ^'crm the principal constituent part of the strength, wealth, and •Jidustry of Ireland. " Yet such is the grievous operation of the penal laws of which we complain, that the Roman Catholics are thereby not only set apart, from their fellow-subjects, as aliens in this their native land, but are ignominiously and rigorously proscribed from almost all situations of public trust, honour, or emolument, including every public function and department, from the houses of legislature, d^wn to the most petty corporations. " We state, that whenever the labour of public duty is to be exacted and enforced, the Catholic is sought out and selected » Inhere honours or rewards are to be dispensed, he is neglected and contemned. •' Where the military and naval strength of the empire is to be recruited, the Catholics are eagerly solicited, nay compelled, 28 SELECT SPEECUra OF to bear at least their fall share in the perils of warfare, &iad ia the lowest ranks ; but when preferment oi- promotion (the clear and legitimate prize of successful valour) are to be distributed as rewards of merit, no laurels are destined to grace a Catholic brow, or fit the wearer for command. " We state, thus generally, the grievous condition of the Horn an Catholics of Ireland, occasioned solely by the fatal in- fluence and operation of the penal laws, and though we forbear to enter into greater detail, yet we do not the less trust to the influence of reason and justice (which eventually must prevail) for eSecting a fall and deliberate inquiry into our grievances, and accomnlishino^ our eflectual relief •• We do beg leave, however, most solemnly, to press upon the attention of this honourable house, the imminent public dangers which necessarily result from so inverted an order of things, and so vicious and unnatural a system of legislation — a system whicli has long been the reproach of this nation, and is unparalleled throughout modern Christendom. " And we state it as oiu* fixed opinion, that to restore to the Catholics of Ireland, a full, equal, and unqualified participation of the benefits of the laws and constitution of England, and to withdraw all the privations, restrictions, and vexatious distinc- tions which oppress, injure, and afflict them in their country, is now become a measure not merely expedient, but absolutely necessary — not only a debt of right due to a complaining people, bat perhaps the last remaining resource of this empire, in the preservation of which we take so deep an interest. '• We therefore pray this honourable house to take into their ■luost serious consideration the nature, extent, and operation of the aforesaid penal laws, and by repealing the same altogether, to restore to the Roman Catholics of Ireland those liberties so long witkheld, and their due share in that Constitution, which they, in common with their fellow-subjects of every other de- •scnption, contribute by taxes, arms, and industry, to sustain -jbiui defend. -' And joiiv petitioners will ever pray." DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., Si.r, 27 CATHOLIC RIGHTS. Thb next speech of any length (that we find reported) of Mr O'Connell's, v.-na delivered La the "Catholic Committee," on the -nd of February, 1811, upon the question of again peti- tioning the Legislature for Catholic rights. The immediate occasion, howe^'er, of his rising upon that day, was a squabble that had arisen amongst some of the leading members, during which more than one insinuation Lad been thrown out against himself, of wanting to usuip the (losition of " leader." In answer to this, and to allay the paltry bickerings that were growing more and more froqiient in the meetings of the Committee, and turn tlie general attention to the real business in hand, he is reported to have made the following address, which as usual we copy verbatim from the newspapers of the time : — Mr. O'Connell began bj expressing an anxious hope tliat the discussion of this day would be conducted with good temper, and termiii.ate in harmony. His object was to stifle every senti- ment amongst the Catholic body, that wou'd militate against that cordial spirit of co-operation, which had intherto animated the members of the committee. Hitherto, at their meetings, a difference of opinion did sometimes, as it was quite natural, prevail ; but there was no intention of division — and, from this heartfelt unanimity, he had with delight beheld the dawning certainty of speedy and complete emancipation. The Catholic cause was now too great and irresistible to be destroyed, even by the misconduct of its own advocates. It had, indeed, hoen almost crushed in its infancy, by distrust and dissension. Dis- sension had impeded it in every step of its progress, and was still the drag-chain that encumbered and retarded its movements. By division, the Catholics would be not only weakened, but degraded : if they quaiTelled amongst themselves, they would disgust their friends and delight their enemies. Could anything be imagined more agreeable to the Wellesleys and the Percevals, than to find the Catholics of Ireland involved in a wrangle amongst themselves — than to see them engaged in attacking and vilifying one another, when every faculty of their miuds ought to be directed to concert one combined effort of all the Irish people to put down their enemies, and to procm-e, in a constitutional course, their Emancipation. He did, there- fore, conjure the gentlemen who had brought forward the pre- sent question to revert to that subject, for which the committee had been originally framed, namely, the petition ; and to suffer Ikat to proceed, v/ithout embarking in discussions tliat could not be productive of advantage. He expected fi-om tlio^^e genile- men, that they would, when they contemplated the triumph to our enemies, and the mischief to the Catholics, which must ensue 2S SELECT SPEECIlEh oP ^rom dissension, abandon that species of crimination and attacl:, ^vhich had been that day, for the first time, introduced into the committee. The charges tliat were made, even supposing them founded, could be obviated, if those gentlemen would, themselves, :ake the trouble of attending in future. But he must say, that the irentlemen who did attack the committee, were altoo:ether mistaken. The fact was, that the committee stands high in the public opinion — and that this estimation was founded on impoi*- tant services and pure exertions — upon a painful sacrifice of the time and labour of the individuals — and upon the more painful exposure which they made of themselves, to every shaft of calumny and ridicule, from the mean, mercenary, and malig- nant hirelings of the enemies of the Catholics. With respect to that part of the Irish Catholic bar, which took a part in the labours of the committee, he would not say a word in its vindication : for his own part, he should be most grateful if the bar were altogether to be excluded from ('atholic politics — and it would be easy to exclude them. If the noble lord could spare time fi'om his other avocations, to attend the affairs of the Catholics, he, for one, would rejoice at their being placed in such excellent hands ; and would then think himself justified in devoting himself, exclusively, to his professional pur- suits. All he wished to see was, that gentlemen would jome forward, and take upon themselves the trouble of advancing the Catholic concerns ; but it really was rather severe that gentlemen, who avowed that they themselves had not leisure to attend to the business of the Catholics, should charge those who, with a disinterested zeal, had made, and were ready to make a sacrifice y^f their time and exertions, with being animated with the pitiful ambition of leadership. No — that was a contemptible object; and he had no difiiculty in calling on the all-seeing Deity to attest the truth of his assertion, that the conscientious discharge of duty to an afflicted country, was his leading motive to come forward; and that neither he nor his children should ever 'be reproached, with truth, for having committed the cause of the Catholics into any advantage of a personal nature to himself. Neither did the committee deserve any part, of tlie reproach os cast upon them ; on the contrary, they had done theii duty well. The cause of the Catholic soldiery attracted their attention- they exposed to view the gi-oss violations of the law, which were daily committed with respect to Catholic soldiers — the really T>atrlotic prints of tlie metropolis joined in the cause — and tlie result has been, that even the Wellesley administration iu tiu.s DANIEL (/CORNELL, ESQ., M.P. 2'J country have condescended so far as to recognise the law of ths 'and in their military orders ; and now the Catholic soldiers in Ireland are allowed to serve their king, without being called on for any violation of their consciences. No petty tyrant, dressed in a little brief authority, could now indulge his vile bigotry, by compelling the defenders of their king and country to abandon what they conceived to be their duty to their God. Was this no service 1 Did the committee deserve no thanks for this ? — or rather, was it not an earnest of what the committee lad still to do, and would do, in redressing other oppressions, if «heir cause was not impeded by division and dissension 1 Ax, all events, we had a right to call upon those who impeached the committee, to state in what respect tkev had done even so much for the Catholic cause. Let them state their services, and he woidd return them thanks, and not impeachment. But, Sir, the committee have riot confined their exertions to this single sub- ject. We have framed, in very firm and constitutional language, the petition which has been already signed by thousands : we have already procured illustrious personages in both houses of ptirliament, to take charge of it ; and it is now actually ready for transmission to England. There was another subject which engrossed much of our attention : it was the placing before the empire and the world, the present oppressed and degraded state of the Catholics of Ireland, in all its emaciating details. It appeared to him that the principal cause which had hitherto prevented the emancipation of the Catholics, was tho strange ignorance of our situation, under which our warmest friends laboured. Even our best and brightest advocate, that ornament to Ireland, Henry Grattan himself, laboured under this mistake : Mr. Ponsonby, too, who has exerted himself so strenuously in the Catholic cause, appears to be equally ignoi^ant. It is to me, therefore, not at all surprising, that the Edinburgh reviewers should have fallen into the same error, so that they stated more than once, in their late most admirable essay on the subject, that the Catholics were excluded from only about forty offices, besides the houses of parliament. Notwithstanding this, to them almost inevitable error, their? was a most admirable discussion — it was a specimen of that inestimable logic, that clear arrangement of the subject, and that conclusive display of proofs with which that work abounded ; but what would it have been if they were informed of our rcui situation ; my praise of those reviewers must be allowed to be unoiassed. I differ from them on the subject of the vet';. :\}id 30 FELECT SPEECnCS OF ^A-ould undertake to convince any of them that 1 am riglit. i also easily see myself amongst those whom they s,tj\e -' bombahtir counsellors ;" and I smile to see how happily they have described that fustian and rant, which I am in the habit, as at present, of obtruding upon your meetings. But, notwithstanding this attack, which I admit to be personal, I do most sincerely and cordially thank them for their exertions. It is not in the nature of popidar foelivxg to continue long its gratitude ; but I have no hesitation in saying, that the Catholics of Ireland deserve to be slaves, if they ever fbrget what they owe to the writers of that article. Let me, however, repeat my regret, that its effect should have been weakened by the erroneous view which those writers took of our situation. It is strange enough, that when they contributed so considerably to the repeal of the slave trade, they .vere found to be perfectly conversant with the savage tribes of Raarta and Bambana ; and that they were able to give disserta- tions on the police of the barbaric cities of Sego and Timbuctoo, and yet are so deplorably ignorant of the condition of the white slaves of Ireland. We have another excellent advocate in England — an advocate whom we could bribe only one way, with the justice of our cause — I mean William Cobbett. It is truly important to us that liis exertions should not be paralyzed by ignorance of our wants. The moment we can show him the extent of our oppressions, we furnish him with materials to ensure om- triumph — and it must be admitted that we could not have a more useful advocate. When he is right, he is irresistible — there is a strength and clear- ness in the way he puts every topic ; he is at once so convincing, and yet so familiar, that the dullest can understand, and even tne bigot must be convinced. But what has deservedly raised him hisrh in oublic estimation, is the manlv candour with which he avows and retracts any opinion that he discovers to be erro- neous. I can hardly conceive a greater proof of sound under- standing and perfect honesty than such conduct ; but what has been his fate 1 Why, he has advocated your cause, and is suffer Ing under an atrocious sentence — indeed, in the history of mo- dern times, a sentence so disproportionate with the offence, a? to excite horror and disgust in the mind of every man who heard it — a sentence which actually has the effect of converting the object of it, from being the victim of just law, into tlie maityr of some unpopular, and therefore hated cause. What a besotted, benumbed t eoTDle these Endi^h are ! They heard the sentence i J. ^ " Dronounced tv.o long weary years' imprisuLZ-ient for a libel ou DANlIfL OCONNIiLL, ESQ., Tvl.P, 3} the German legion ! They saw the victim conveyed to his dmi- geon ; the fountain of mercy was there, yet there was no address, ao petition to the throne for its interference — neither has this subject } et been brought before either house of Parharaent, Upon this subject I confess 1 have been led away by my feel- ings ; but as I have wandered, allow me to indulge in relating to you the fate of another public character, A certain k.u'- calf, of the name of Sparke, pronounced and published, some two years ago, a dissertation in bad Latin, in which he strenu- ously advised that Catholics should be turned out of every civil situation ; and that they should be expelled from the army and navy ! Upon what grounds, think you ? Why, as the enemies of everything human and divine ! Here was a libel — a libel most admirably calculated to serve the interests of Bonaparte, by depriving us, at a single blow, of at least three-fourths of our army and navy. You imagine, of course, that he was punished — that the x\ttorney-General prosecuted him, and called for n. vindictive sentence m the name of the army and navy, and that he conjured up the shades of the Catholics who bled at Aboukir and Trafalgar — who bravelv fou^rht and o-reatlv died at Vimiera and Talavera, to scream for veugeance. You suppose that this worthy divine was sentenced to at le.ast one fortnight's impri- sonment. Oh, no, you are mistaken — he was only made a bisho] •, and he will soon have to give his enlightened vote on our peti- tion to the lords. Mr. O'Connell entreated pardon for thus svandering from the subject — his object was to show tlie labours and services of the committee ; and he had pointed out the state of ignorance in wliich our advocates were, with respect to Catho- lic privatioas. It was unnecessary to enlarge on the utility of giving accurate information on the si^Liject. The committee felt that they liad tliis duty to discharge, and they liave, with rio small labour, completed it. He held in liis hand the volume of nea' two hundred pages, which they had compiled on the sub- ject i-ind if the meeting would suffer him, lie would undertake to (^.jmonstrate that the committee had exerted itself with much attention and labour. If he was suffered, he would shortly state an abstract, taken from their report, of the offices of trust, honour, and emolument, from which the Catholics are excluded, and which even our friends estimate so low as about forty, but which, hi truth, amount, when the influence, as well as the positive enactment of the penal code, is considered, to upwards of thirty/ thousand. If it did not weary the meeting, he would now g- into detail.— (A geTi^ral cry '>f 'go on, ^'r". on.') Mr. O'Connoii BfclLECT SPEECHES OF in continuation, said, being encouraged, he would proceec witn the abstract. The first thing that offered itself was the pan la- ment. From seats in both houses the Catholics were exclrc'cd, amounting to 900 ; next came the offices in corporations. We are, in Dublin, excluded from the Offices of Lord Mayor and Aldermen, Sheriffs and Sub-Sheriffs, Sheriff's Peers, Common Council, . Recorder, ..... Treasurer, ..... Town Clerks. .... Masters and Wardens of Guilds, Total 24 3 38 96 1 1 to 238 There are, I think, S6 other corporate cities and towns in Ireland? vi^hich, at the low average rate of 32 officers in each, from which Catholics are by law excluded, amount to 2752 ; giving a total, under positive exclusion of 3083. But if a more accurate view of the other offices in tlie gift of the corporation, or confided tc> them, be taken, it will be found that Catholics are, by the spirit and operation of the law, if not by the letter of it, excluded from those latter offices — as, for example, in Dublin — President of the Court of Conscience, hia Secretary and Clerk, (worth two thousand pounds per annum,) ... 2 Lord Mayor's Secretary ....... 1 Police Justices, Their Secretaries and Clerks, City Officers, as Constables, Sword-bearer, &c , (see Red Book), 27 Cranes, ...... I'ipe-water Board, . Piibhc Money Yards, &c.. Ballast Office, .... Paving Board and Offices, Grand Jury, with very few exceptiojis, and other public boards, offices, and clerks, ..... Amounting to Add to those similar offices in the other 8G corporations or Ireland, averaged at only 32 to each, amounting to . 12 12 4 22 3 16 13 50 162 2752 Total 2914 Thirdly — There are in the profession and administraticn of hpf law-officers, from which we are directly ej^cluded : — DAXIKL OOONNKLL, ESQ., M.P. ^53 Lord Chancellor, .... Master of the llolls, . I Law Judges, .... 12 Sergeants, .... 9 King's Counsel, (now) . 28 Masters in Chancery, 4 Attorney and Solicitor-General, o Counsel to the Commons, . 2 Chairman of Kilmainham, 1 Sheriifs of Counties, . 32 Sub- Sheriffs, .... 32 Advocates in the Spiritual Court, . 20 Proctors in Dublin, . 9 l*roctors in the country, . 40 Notary Public, 56 Law Officers in the Spiritual Courts — tlie jurisdiction of these Courts extend over temporal matters, . . . 109 Total ft • • So8 Add to those a number of Officers under the patronage prin- cipally of the foregoing ; which, although the profession of the law is not unequivocally liberal, yet Catholics are almost uniformly excluded from such as Assistant Barristers of Counties, Assistant Counsel Coroner?, Law Clerks in the Law and Equity Offices in Countie?, (see Red Book,) amounting, at least, to . 700 Total 1058 The next class I shall mention is that of the officers in the army and navy. It is notorious that the Catholics contribute ver}* largely in money and men, to those services. The number of officers may be thus estimated. In the army the regiments are thus : — Life Guards, . Horse Guards, Dragoon Guards, . Dragoons, Foot Guards, ........ 3 Foot, m Artillery, 3 Irish Militia, from several of the commissions in which Ca- ihohcs are absolutely excluded, . . . .23 2 1 7 24 Total vsj >*everal of the regiments have two, three, or more battalions, so .hat the entire may be estimated at 200 battalions., ana imist .vuti.in 7500 commissioned officers, from ^'hich deduct 100 for ^4 SKLECT SPEECHES, OP Catholic officers in the Irish militia, it will leave 7400. And it is quite manifest that the proportion of 100 Catholic officers m the Irish militia, is a great exaggeration. Add the paymasters, couimissariat department, the staff, storekeepers, contractors, ttc. under the same patronage, amounting, at least, to 1600 ; amount ing, in the entire, to 9000. In the navy, the officers may be thus estimated : — There are in commission, about 900 ships. At a Yerj moderate average there are ten officers to a ship, beina 9000 ; admirals, &c., about 200 ; add the dock3\ard establish- ments, the companies of marines, the pursers, and the other officers dependent on tlie naval departments, amounting to 3800 ; amounting, in the entire, to 13,000. There are other offices or trust, honour, and emolument, from which the Catholics are ex- cluded : — Lord Lieutenant, .... Lords of the Treasury, . Governors of Counties, (now) Privy Councillors, including Duigenan, Fellows of Trinity College, Scholars of ditto, .... Postmasters-General, Teller of the Exchequer, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Keeper of the Privy Seal, Vice Treasurer, .... Auditor-General, .... Custodes Rotulorum, Secretary of State, Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant, . Total S 38 90 •28 GO 1 1 1 1 1 16 1 o . 251 I am sure I can be reproached only with having too far dimi- nislied the dependent offices from which the Catholics are ex- cluded under this head, when I state them only at 2060. Catholic? ar2 excluded from the following offices : — Indirectly. . 1829 . 700 . 1600 . souo . 2000 1, Parliament, Directly. . 900 2. 3. Corporations, Law, . 3152 . 358 4. Army, . . 7400 6. 6. Navy, \ Other Offices . 9200 enumerated, 251 Thus ffivins: a total of offices from which CathoL'CS are excluded, by positive cnactracut, of . . . 21,261 DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., iLP. ?>C> And of offices from \\liicli they are almost, with jpqnnl oertainty excluded, by the spirit and operation of the iawj amounting to 9.229 Amounting, in the entire, to , . 30,490 Let it be recollected, thai m giving this statement, we abstain alto- getlier from the situations whicii belong, of right, to the Established Church. "We should be sorry to see any similar law created. for our clergy, and we most assuredly do not seek to disturb those that exist," There is another important branch in the political economy of this country, from which the Catholicfi are almost altogether excluded ; it relates to the collection and distribution of the public money. There are annually about six millions raised on the ]rish people — of these, it is said, that only four millions, or 13s. 4d. in the poiind, reach the treasury. There are, besides, four millions annually borrowed in Englani, for Ireland, and expended in this country ; so that there seems, taken together, a sum, mak- ing altogether ten millions, is collected and managed, almost exclusively by Protestants ; there not being, I dare say, at the ut- most, twenty Catholics emploj^ed in such collection or management. I am sure I should grossly exaggerate it, were I to say there were twenty; amongst other reasons, because I have already shown that the far greater number of the ciEces attached to that coiiec- tion and management, are by the law .sL-.t against the Catholics ; £0 that we have ten millions yearly, the principal of no less than six millions of which are raised from the inhabitants of this land, and the interest of the entire of which is charged upon them and their descendants in perpetuity. We have these ten millions oppressive to all, and emolumentary only to a few of the Pro testants. Let it also be recollected, that the four millions which are paid into the Irish treasury, have a second operation, for of course they are paid out again in discharge of the expenditure of the state ; but the management of such payment is also in the hands of the members of the Established Church ; so that, in fact, we are thus excluded from the management, and all the advan- tages that result from the management of fourteen millions of money annually, taking into consideration the second operation of the four millions raised in Ireland. The commiittee have entered iut^ various details to illustrate and prove their statements : they do not omit to treat often of the insult that the parade of Orange anniversaries, and the commemoration of ancient feuds, excite and perpetuate ; but above all, they have investigated th^ deplorable situation of iho inferior orders of Ca'^holics in the ZG SELECT SPEECHES OP towns, particularly in the north, on those days devoted to the celebration of Orange festivals ; when the lower order of those systematic oppressors meet together for the purpose, according- to the phrase used by some of themselves, at a late trial at Omagh, '' of making Orangemen.''' The committee has remarked, too, on the degrading situation in which the Irish Catholic offi- cers, who go to England with their regiments, are placed. There^ they miist quit the service, or violate their consciences, whilst they see German soldiers ei\joy complete tcleration in the Catho- lic religion ; as if the conscience of a German was declared by law to be worthy of respect, that of the Irish, of none ; why else do the pious Perceval, and holy Wilberforce, consent to allow Popery in the German legion, and pei'secute it amongst the loyal Irish 1 It is oiu- anxious wish that some of the class of hirelings wlio do the dirty work of the Wellesleys and the Percevals, shall have tne audacity to contradict the facts which our statement contains. We challenge them to that contradiction ; all we en- treat is, that they will come to particulars ; but if they do not — if they protect themselves by general denials, we are ready with the proofs of each arnd every assertion. I entreat the in- dulgence of the meeting for this lengthened trespass on their patience. I hope I have shown that the committee has not neglected its duty; it has assisted to relieve the soldiery from the oppressions under which they laboured — it has prepared the petition, and made every arrangement for its presentation — and it has ready for publication, a detailed statement of the penalties and persecutions under which the Catholics suffer ; yet, whilst we do thus suffer — whilst the multiplicity and weight of our chains may affright even our enemies, we, wretched slaves that we are, instead of combining heart and hand to procure redress and relief, are about to engage in a miserable warfare among our- selves. The old curse of the Catholics is, I fear, about to be re- newed ; division, that made us what we are, and keeps us so, is aorain to rear its standard amongst us : but it was thus alwavs with the Irish Catholics. I recollect, that in reading the life of the great Duke of Ormond, as he is called, I was forcibly struck with a d(3spatch of his, transmitted abDut the year 1661, A\.ceu he was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. It was written to viuditiite himself from a charge of having favoured the Papists, and hai'iug given them permission to hold a public meeting in Dubliri. His answer is remarkable. He rejects with disdain the foul cJii'Ojay of being a favourer of Papists ; though he admits he garc them >ave to meet : '' because, said he,. " I knov/ by ej:perienc9, tlist DANIEU OCONNELli, ErfQ., M..t. 37 the Irish Papists never meet, without dividing and degrading thBinselves." I quote the words of the official despatch ; I can lay my finger on the very spot, in " Carte's Life of Ormond." One hundred and fifty years have since elapsed, and we are Btill in thraldom, because no experience can, I fear, cure us of this wretched disposition to divide. He entreated of the respect- able gentlemen who that day attended the committee, to consi- der that their mistakes, if they had made any, ought not to be visited with so grievous a calamity, as that of creating dissension amongst them. But in point of fkct, of what was the committee accused? Why, that they, having been expressly entrusted with the management of Catholic affairs, had thought it prudent and wise to consult, not the citizens of Dublin alone, but the Catho- lic inhabitants of every county in Ireland. Had not the coun- ties of Tipperary, and Kerry, and Clare, and Carlow, and Kil- kenny, as good a right to be consulted with, and heard, as the city of Dublin; and he appealed to the good sense of every man present, whether it must not have the worst effect on the Catho- lic mind, if any gentlemen shall continue to insist, as they did that day, tnat an aggregate meeting in Dublin was all-powerful, that it was " the peopled and that the Catholics ot the different counties had no right to contribute to the foundation of the gene- ral committee. The objection in point of form to encreasing the committee, would have weight but for the state of the law. The managers of the petitions appointed by the counties were not delegates, and could not act in a representative capacity ; but this was only because the law prevented the Catholics fi'om choosing delegates, and holding a representative assembly. It should, however, be recollected, that a precisely similar objection lay against the committee appointed by the aggi-egate meeting for neither were they- delegates or representatives. If they in- sisted on the country, they would only expose themselves to tlie hazard of an indictment, with the certainty of being convicted. This was the distinct answer to the maxim, the trite and quaint maxim which no person disputed, that a deputy could not con- stitute a deputy. The fact was, that there were not, and could not be any deputies in the committee. In the present state of the law, we could only regret that delegation was forbidden — but we should cot be driven, even by this impeachment, to violate the law. *»'id expose the Catholic committee to a prosecution. It ?.,s3U7ed! r could not be the intention of the gentlemen to drive the committor, into that predicament. It was impossible not to be sensible that he had already consumed too much of the time of ^8 fcELECT SPEECHES OF the meeting ; lie should therefore rapidly conclude by moving the order of the day, namely — " That the Catholic petition be forthwith presented to parliament." He was anxious to place tliat out of the way of dissension. Indeed the cry of no petition, like a somewhat similar cry in another quarter, had, it was sup- posed by the country, been the watchword of party in Dublin. It was strongly suspected by many well-meaning persons, that such cry was used for the sole purpose of serving as a rallying word; and this suspicion unfortunately justified in some mea- sure by the change that had taken place in tlie arguments used to oppose the petition. Formerly, gentlemen talked for hours in praise cf " dignified silence," and of " frowning upon their ene- mies," and of " muttering curses deep not loud." Now, indeed, their faces were decked in smiles ; they were smoothing their whiskers, and putting them on the peace establishment ; they talked of delicacy, and with courtly air, entreated that we would not embarrass om* friends of the new administration. Sir, I know but of one embarrassment in this nation — and that arises from the state of weakness and distraction the empire sufi'ers ft'om the political injustice infi^icted on the Catholics. I know but of one embarrassment to the Catholics, and that arises from the state of inferiority and degradation in which the criminal neglect of our just right leaves us. I know too, but of one course to procure emancipation. It is the open, mginly, and constitutional right of petition. If you petition session after session, you take away all pretext for intrigue « nd cabal amongst yourselves ; all rational hope of managing a party amongst us from your enemies, and also from your falsehearted friends ; and Cor my part, my humble opinion is decided, that you should con- tinue to repeat your demands for liberty, until every grievance shall be extinguished, and every trace of religious oppression an- nihilated. It was, however, right to observe that if the country differed with him on this subject, they ought in justice to be heard. It was imperative on the committee to lay the petition before parliament ; but no discussion could take place upon it till after the Easter recess ; in fact, until the middle of next May. In the interim, the managers for each county would be able to ascertain the sentiments of their respective neighbour- hoods ; and should it appear to be the will of the majority of tiie Catholics, that the discussion of our petition should be de- ferred for another year, why the example set by the English Ca- tholics last session may be adopted, and the petition allowed to lie on the table for the present. He must say that he would m^ret any Erucb dcterminativirj, as our claims, if understood, wkich they could be but by discussion in parliament, are really invincible. But lie never would set up his own opinion againf-t that of the majority, or even against that of any considera.b]rt portion of the Catholic body. He then concluded by reminding gentlemen, that every autho- rity, human and divine, spoke trumpet-tongued of the evils of dissension ; and he conjured tlie meeting, as they wished to be true to their country, and to their God, not to divide, and di?* tract fellow-labourers and fellow-slaves. Mr. O'Connell finally prevailed, though not -without a division, on -which, hevever, ther*' M-as a considerable majoritj- against Mr. Clinch's amerdraent. According to a resolution of a previous meeting (on the 29th December, in the preceding year, 1810), the petition was to be entmsled to Mr. Grattan. for presentation in the Com THE FRENCH PARTY. A "^ii- UT spcfeiii ^ ilr. O'Connell's at the meetinj,' just referred to — viz., that of Decetnh«r, 1810, may (without any more extended notice of the meeting itself) be here inscrtcil, as one of the many links of the chain of evidence -we trust this collection of Ids piibljc acrijt will be found to afford, in proof of ho"A- uiule\iatjnclv he always, wliije woiking for Irelnni, looked to and endeavoured to serve tlie best interest of tlie empire at lai-ge. Mr. O'Connell said, that what had fallen from the learned gen- tleman (Nicholas Purcell O'Gorman, Esq.,) who had preceded, him, required some observation. He (Mr. O'Gorman) had sup- posed that the French party, mentioned by Mr. Grattan, was, by our enemies, alleged to exist among the Catholics of Ireland. This was an assertion which he, Mr. O'Connell, said he mus? controvert. There did not exist, even among the mean and miserable herd of the adversaries of the Catholics, any man so shameless as to assert that a French party could be found amongst us. In truth nothing could be mare obvious than that the only genuine and effective (7?2^i-Ga]Iican party in Ireland was that of the Catholics — for their object is to consolidate the- btrengih, and increase the resources of the empire ; not merely to contribute as they do, to every defeat which the enemy meets, but to render it quite impossible that he should ever succeed, bv combinin^: the entire nation in the defence of their kinj; and constitution. Our first desii'C, and the motives which goverii U.S, are to tiikc away from France even: the hope of success by 40 SELECT SPKECHES OF removing those excuses of distrust, and disseiision, and weakness m this country, which, at -present, are really so many teuiytationi, to the enemy to invade us. We -would fain excite a xationai* find Irish party, capable of annihilating any foreign oppressor whatsoever, and devoted to the amelioration of this our nativ<» land. There is, indeed, a French party that does exist in Irelan/^j- — a party most useful to the views and designs of France. It ^ the party of the present ministry — that party which exerts its vt- cious energies to divide, distract, and oppress (he realm — that loads the nation with the weight of ill-judged taxation, and em- ploys the money, wrung from poverty and distress, in fomenting internal dissensions — in calumniating the Irish people to each other — accusing the Catholics of disloyalty, because they seek the rights of the constitution — charging the Protestants with bigotry, and yet encoui'aging them to become intolerant. It is, in fine, this party which desolates the country, and then talks to us of our growing prosperity, Hr. O'Connell then Drocep.ded to speak of Mr Griitten, and pcid him the followinir w^rm ind generous tribute .- He could not sit down without entreating of his learned friend, Mr. O'Gorman, to withdraw his opposition to the present motion. Let not our enemies be able to boast that there was a single dis- senting voice among the Catholics, upon the subject of Ireland's best and last resource, Henry Grattan, Surely that learned gen- tleman cannot be insensible to what that illustrious and genuine jiatriot has done and suffered in the cause of his country. If other evidence were wanting of his love for his devoted country, alas, poor Ireland ! the active hatred of his enemies, which he has so long sustained, would alone demonstrate it. That greatest foe Ireland ever experienced — ^her first and deep- est curse — the late Earl of Clare, honoured Gi-attan with his deadly hate. Can we forget it, how, under Lord Clare's auspices, a committee of the House of Lords turned itself, as it were, into a committee of assassination of Grattan's character, and. with monstrous effronteiy, gave to the public, in their report., what they did not themselves believe, the assertion of a wretched in- former, charging him with treason. They did not themselves believe it^, for if they had, not oniy ^neir duty, but their strong and infuriate inclination required that they should prosecute him even to death. At that melancholy period (and may heaven avert from Ire- laud the recurrence of such another) little evidence was neces- DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., JT.P. 4l sary, when mere accusation could almost supply tlie place of guilt. Let this instance of the vain and impotent malice of the enemies of Ireland show the extent of his offence in serving his country. There was one other consideration which rendered it imperative on the learned gentleman to abandon his opposition. Let him recollect that it was Henry Grattan " that watched over the cradle of Irish independance, and that he walked after its hearse !" Our country is entranced in the death-sleep of the Union ; and I pity that Irishman who does not feel pleasure in repeating with me that Henry Grattan is alone worthy to " sound the glad trumpet of her resurrection !" Surely it will not be said that Catholic ingratitude diminished his ardours. He, Mr. O'Connell, felt that the sin of ingratitude Avas heavy upon the Catholics, while they seemed to hesitate, but for a moment, on this subject. He would not, therefore, detain the meeting from passing, what he trusted would be, an unani- mous vote. UNANIMITY, Ox the 9th of February occurred another of the occasions, now fast multiplying', to test ]\Ir. O'Connell's abilities for leadership, in the important points of conciliating opposing sentiments, obviating the difficulties suggested by the timid, the silly, or the dishonest, and clearing away the obstructions wantonly thrown up to arrest or divert the popular movement. In the cturent of this debate, as in that of the preceding debate of this month, there was strong evidence of a design, on the part of a few individuals in Dublin, to get into their own hands the exclusive management of Catholic affairs. Mr. O'Connell, while he entirely defeated this effort, and kept the Catholic Committee on its liberal and more popular basis, yet so managed matters as to have been appealed to by one of the chief parties in the debate to compose the differences that were agitating the meeting. His speech for this purpose was as follows : — Mr. McDonnell's motion is for an adjournment for a fortnight, and the proposal has been offered on such reasonable grounds, that I give it my most cordial support. Let it not be supposed that I am actuated by any personal felling, or that I secretly indulge a hope of becoming one of the persons who shall be en- trusted with your petition. High as I esteem the honour, I am not endeavouring, by any means, direct or indirect, to obtain it. I think not so highly of myself, and I must declare that it would be to me a most pleasing circumstance if there could not be 42 SELECT SPEECHES OF found a more suitable individual tlian myself. I conjure my countrymen not to suppose tliat I would make tlie cause of m;. native land subservient to any idle or criminal ambition. I re- ject, with scorn, the foul imputation. I seek only for unanimity among Catbolics, and I leave to others the glory of dividing the body. I do not wish to speak harshly ; I have often been mi« taken, but I cannot avoid saying that, unfortunately, I havt wdtnessed in the discussion of this day, more violence than should have entered into the consideration of slaves. I do not suj)po3t that the gentlemen act from base or unworthy motives ; but x say that error has entered their hearts, and I lament its banefid effects in the division which it must inevitably cause among the Catholic body, \^^len are our petty and miserable squabbles to have an end? Are we not allowed to go into open air? But must we decide on the impulse of the moment, with all the evil thoHcs of Ireland were so near emancipation — a moment when the accomplishment of their ardent wishes, the fiilfihnent of their longing expectations, and the reward of their unwearied labours were in view — v/hen their emancipation was considered at hand Let them not fear that in going forward to present the petition with the address they would offend the Prince. Could he suppose such an event ; he (Mr. O'Connell) solemnly declared, from the feelings of genuine loyalty in his heart to the Prince, he would give up any question sooner than incommode his royal highness. But it was not the case. The Prince has shown how he regards the true principles of the con- stitution such a petition would give satisfaction, not displeasure to him, and so he would venture to prophesy; the delegates would find it. "WATTY COX" [libel.] I'liE bigoted and pettifogging liostility of the ministry to the Catholic claims contin-acd to betray them, during the course of this 3'ear, into several of those "mistaivcs" whicli, in matters of state policy, are held by those who assume to be authorities as to states- manship, to be " worse than crimes ;" both designations, however, apply to the acts of the English government in 1811, as unfortunately for poor Ireland, they apply to the acts of her English governors throughout the weary period of her subjugation. Amongst the most ludicrous of those " mistakes" was the prosiccution for libel of the individual who is known to fame in Ireland, as " AVatty Cox," proprietor of a periodical of a strange rollicking character, which he entitled The Irish or Wattij Cox's Magaziiie. One of Mr O'ConneU's speeches in mitigation of punishment, will give the reader some idea of the man and his publication. Cox was found guiity on two indictments, and senteujcd to the pillory dnd to imprlsor.riiejit. DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.T. bl My lords, I am coDipelled to entreat your attention to a few observations, by the particular request of my unfortunate client. Had I merely consulted my own feelings and judgment, I cer- tainly should consider anything from an?/ man unnecessary, after what has been so powerfully submitted to your minds, by the ta- • lents of my eloquent and able colleague. I not only consider it unnecessary, but justly apprehend that it may prove injurious, by diminishing the impressions which liis address must have created on this court. My lords, attempts have been made to blacken my client's character, by describing him as a systematic and common libel- ler ; I trust that insinuations of this description can have no weight on this court, or diminish the claim of my client on its merc5^ If he has been a libeller on any other occasions, he is liable to be tried for such productions, and it be punished if con- victed. It is, in truth, a libel on the law officsrs of the crown, to insinuate that they would suffer to escape from their notice such libels as could affect the safety of the state ; it is, of course, the present duty of the court to dismiss from theii minds every other blameable publication, and confine their attention to the publica- tion immediately before them. This publication is written in a manner which must greatly circumscribe the range of its mis- chief — absurd and unintelligible, extremely vulgar, but extremely obscure — levelled to the language of the common people in its expression, but entirely hid from their undestandings by its incongruity. Thus it is unintelligible to those on whom the mis- chief could operate ; and carries its own antidote to those who have the ingenuity to extricate any meaning from the wretched mass of absurdity. That the production must be quite imintelligible to the com- mon people, clearly appears from this circumstance : — The wri- ter, when speaking of the abominable tjTant of France — I use the words of my client, in which, in his affidavit, he describes the present ruler of that country, I would be understood as incapable of applying such phrases myself to any man — the A^Titer, I say, in speaking of that character, clothes him in trophies, emblems, and various adjuncts, not only very ridiculous but inapplica- ble, and in no place suitable or characteristic, quite unfit to unravel his enigma or develope his allegory, but w^ell adapted to make it inexplicable and impenetrable. For instance, he invests the ruler of France mth those naval characteristics only adapt- able to a resistless naval power that rides on the wave the lord of the ocean ; hoWj whsn, ivhere^ did lis acquire trophies and ho- 52 SELECT SPEECHES OF nours of that kind? Was it at Camperdown, St. Vincent's, Aboukir, or Trafalgar ? Few could understand the character un- der so awkward, so strange a description — few could know the man, when decked in attire so suitable to conceal or to mislead. My lords, as to punishment by considerable fine, strictly speak- ing, punishment of any kind cannot afi"ect him in a pecuniary way. His poverty protects him in a pecuniary way ; but though a considerable fine cannot affect him in a pecuniary manner, it may affect him in a manner particularly severe, because it may, indeed, in effect it must, amount to the punishment of perpetual im2)risonment. Perpetual imprisonment is unkno^vn to our law ; nay, it abhors imprisonment that is measured by years ; and al- though such punishment has been sanctioned by the judicial se- verities of modem times, it was entirely unknown to the merciful \visdom of the law of our fathers — the common law of the land. The common law abhors a lengthened imprisonment, that melan- choly, miserable, emaciating punishment, which shuts a man out from the fniits of industry, the comforts of society, the joys of his fireside. The common law is slow in inflicting such a punishment ; and that high crime of unjustifiable homicide — the highest of all crimes not punished with death — the wantonly sporting mth and destroying the life of another, the common law considers as sufiiciently punished by imprisonment for a single year. Punish- ment by fine in this case cannot operate against income, but may against industry; it cannot reduce competence to poverty, but may reduce poverty to want ; his family are fed by his labour ; exclude him by imprisonment from the opportunities of labour, and you wiU punish the children for the crime of their father, and decree that the innocent should suffer with the guilty. I shall not resume the same line of argument by which my learned colleague has established, that this is the same crime for which he has already suffered, and that by punishing him in this instance you punish him twice for the same offence. The two accusations form one crime or they do not ; if they form one, he should not be punished, because he has been punished aheady : if they form two, the first should not be adduced to aggravate the second, because he has already suffered for the first. I shall not any longer detain your lordships' attention ; I commit my client to the clemency of the court, in the confident hope that you will feel it to be your constitutional duty not merely to punish the incidental licentiousness, but also to preserve a free press : that invaluable blessing: to which we owe the rights we enjoy — y^w DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 53 the dignified stations you fill ; and our king tlie throne on which he is placed ! VOTE OF THANKS TO EARL GREY AND . LORD GRENVILLE. On the 29th of February, in this year, another aggregate meeting of the Catholics took place in the same locality as usual, the theatre in Fishamble-street, to " petition the legislature, and to address his Royal Highness the Prince Regent." The following resolution, amongst others, was passed at this meeting : — Proposed by Mr. Burke, of Glinsk, and seconded by Major Bryan, and resolved unani- mously — " That the General Committee of the Catholics of Ireland, appointed by the aggregate meeting, upon the ninth day of July last, are entitled to our thanks ; and it is requested that they will not meet, until the legality of their doing so is decided.' A resolution, moved and seconded by the same parties, expressing the thanks of the meeting to " our friends in parliament, Earl Grey and Lord Grenviile," was spoken to by Mr. O'Connell. Mr. O'Connell came forward and said he did not mean to op- pose the motion, nor was it necessary to use any argument in its support. Since the commencement of the British constitution to the present hour, no statesmen had ever stood higher than those noble lords in public estimation. They had, with the purest patriotism, refused everything that power could give ; they had rejected all the allurements of office, rather than sacrifice, or even postpone the assertion of principle — a splendid instance of public virtue, more brilliant for its rarity and for the contrast it afl:brded to the subserviency of their adversaries. It was unnecessary to urge the motion. Every Irish heart beat responsive to the liveliest accents of gratitude. But he would avail himself of that opportunity to make some observations on the recent events — on those interesting events which had occured since the last meeting of the Catholics. His observations should certainly be made with the utmost good temper, because, in truth, there was nothing in these occurrences to irritate, or much that afforded unmixed consolation. The first topic that presented itself was the late trial of Mr. Kirwan. That trial had proved only what was already well kno^vn, namely, that it was possible for the Irish administration, vdih all its resources, to find a single jury to take upon itself to swear that pretence means purpose ; and that the man who was admitted, by his prosecutors and judges, to be innocent in act and intention, Avas in law and fact, guilty. 5-1 SELECT SPEECHES OF It, however, proved that one siTch jury was possible, for those "wlio saw that jury must admit, that it was not in human nature to afford such another. Why, the administration had been so diligent in the search of originals, that they had actually found out a Mr. Donovan, who keeps or kept a crockery-ware shop on the quays, and who, until the second day of the trial, never had heard of the subject matter of ih.e trial ! So he declared before he was sworn on the jury. What think you of any man, not ab- solutely deaf, who had been for three preceding months in Dublin, and had never before heard of that prosecution ? But a verdict obtained in the manner that had been, was of no importance. The public mind was in no mse affected by it. It was anticipated from the commencement of the pieces of plain prose with which the prosecution was opened, to the morsel of brilliant hypocrisy with which it was closed. The verdict was of no estimation, even in the opinion of the very prosecutors, who felt the impossibility of obtaining another ; and in that despair relinquished this extraordinary crusade against the right of peti- tion. To this despair alone could be traced the abandonment of the opposition to allow the Catholics the poor privilege of placing themselves in a body upon their knees. Two traces had been left on the memory of the late state trial. The one was ludicrous — the other had in it something; of a more grave nature. The first merely recalled the recollection of the farcical epithets applied by the Solicitor-General to these indivi- duals. Of the Attorney-General he had said " that he was the most learned and wisest of mankind (a very general laugh). Mr. Justice Day he called a magnanimous judge," (much and very general laughter) ; and what was still more ridiculous, he styled himseK " a friend to the Catholics of Ireland" (shouts of laugh- ter). The magnanimous judge, had, indeed, returned the com- pliment, and in a speech which was, with some absurdity, called the passing of sentence on Mr. Kirwan, but which, in fact, was, what it ought to be, an eulogium on that gentleman — an eulo- gium in which all classes would readily join ; the magnanimous judge retorted the compliment, and called the Solicitor-General " the friend of the Catholics.^' Good God ! what a notion those men must have of our stu- pidity ; what dupes and idiots they must take us to be ! I am ready to concede " magnanimity" to the judge ; but that this barrister should be our friend — that he who commenced his po- litical career VTiih. being, whilst yet young, the supporter of the blood-written administration of Lord Camden — that he who can da::iel oconxell, esq., mp. on look at his own children, and then doom ours to be degraded — vdio has shown himself ready to embrace any servitude, in the w;iy of his profession, and to ensure his promotion — that man may continue to persecute us — I consent — but he shall never enjoy the notion of our considering him as a " friend ;" we know him well. The graver recollections which this trial has left behind were suggested by the facts that appeared respecting the interference of Sir Charles Saxton with the jury list. I own I was so far deceived as to expect that all that was so- lemn and sanctified about the Chief Justice would have been roused into the semblance of animation, when he heard that the CroAvn Solicitor and Sir Charles Saxton hunted in couples for the knowledge of the jury. I, in vain, hoped to see the spark of what I should call honest constitutional fire illumine all that ^\'as dark and delightful in the pomp of religious display ; but, no, alas ! no, the interference, whatever it was, of the Chief Secre- tary of the Castle respecting a jury in Dublin, passed off Tvithout arousing one slumbering motion, and precisely as if the Chief Secretary were the accustomed assistant of the attorney for the prosecution. But this is a grave and serious subject. Of what value is pro- perty — of what value is life, if the Chief Secretary of the Castle, V. ith all the power, all the wealth, and all the influence of the crown in his hands, is to take any part, whatsoever, respecting tlij management of a jury 1 If this be once allowed, where, or how is any lino to be dravm, or what can be devised to prevent the next atrocious contrivance ? There was, indeed, a great mistake committed in the defence. I take my full share — the entire, if I am permitted — ^because I never heard any but the worst reasons why we did not examine Sir Charles Saxton. The truth is, we all did expect something from the Court upon a precedent so pregnant with danger ; but the reason was, that our friend, the Solicitor-General, made a riost solemn asseveration, that the counsel for the crown would sift the transaction to the bottom ; those were his words ; we idly believed him, when he compelled Sir Charles to attend. Of coiu'se we were deceived ; but why then did we not ourselves examine the Secretary ? I must confess I cannot tell. It passed ovev, and we all felt our error. Would to God we had examined him ! Would to God we had sifted him on his oath — where, from whom, when he got the jury list 1 — how it happened that 56 SELECT SPEECHES OP the numbers were altered 1 — was it corruption 1 — was it a mi- racle ? I do still fondly hope, for the sake of law and of justice — for the sake of ever}i;hing valuable to Irishmen, that this matter is not at rest ; but that the baronet or knight, or whichever he be, Avill yet have this matter seriously and solemnly discussed and examined by parliament ; that the entire transaction shall yet appear ; and that my lords the Justices of the King's Bench, may possibly, hereafter, think it their duty not to suffer so strange a fact to pass in re\T.ew before them, unexplained and unexplored. Allow me to say one word more, and I conclude, as to the late trial. The prosecutors insulted us, by excluding every Catholic from the jury j they injured us, too, by excluding every Presby- terian. How I thank them for the compliment they paid, on this second trial, to the sterling integrity of the Irish Presby- terians, the very best class of men in any community. To all that is generous and warm in the Irish character, they add a firm- ness and a discretion, which improves every manly \T.rtue. I do greatly admire the friends of religious and civil liberty — the Presbyterians of Ireland. There is now another, and a different topic, to which I would lead you ; it relates to an afflicting circumstance which occurred since our last meeting. You will recollect that I then warned you against the machinations of your enemies ; I said that it was conjectured that there were schemes on foot to involve the lower classes of the people in some idle dream of disaffection ; I cau- tioned my countr}'men against those schemes ; and I added, " that any person who suffered himself to be implicated in them, must be either a miserable dupe, or the hired spy of the Castle." Little did I then imagine, that my prophetic fears would be so soon realised ; little did I then imagine, that I should be so soon placed in that most distressing situation in which I have since stood ; that I should be reduced to the necessity of feeling the abject humiliation of disclosing facts which might be fatal to some of my deluded countrymen, or be obliged to expose them all to the clanger of becoming the victims of secret conspiracy, and to do what you all know to be impossible — ^to Adolate the solemn oath of allegiance, which I have repeatedly taken. Let any man of feeling judge of my situation, I did feel as if I were degraded ; but I felt that I could not be untrue to honour, when I was in the company of your lordship, and my most esti- mable friend, Captain Bryan. DANIEL O'OOXXELL, ESQ., M.P. 57 The affliir was fortunately passed over ; those who were ar- rested have been discharged : "My bosom's lord nits lightly on its tkrone," when I recollect that those men have been restored to their fami- lies-; but I must again indulge in anticipating hope — I must itiU hope to see, in this country, an administration that will offer pardon and reward to the proclaimed conspirator, Fisher, for the disclosures of who were his instigators, and with, or under whom he acted. I may be much mistaken ; but I do expect, then, to find some vile and abominable scheme disclosed ; a scheme to dupe the 'yoor, in order to continue the vassalage of the rich. Let me not be misunderstood. I do not mean to accuse the adminis- ti-ation at the Castle with any such scheme ; it is of a nature too revolting to humanity to allow me to attribute it to civilised beings. The secretary may, indeed, indulge his taste in juries, but he would scorn to deal in blood ; the scheme is confined, if f it exists at all, to some of the inferior agents — to some expectant place-hunter, or, rather perhaps, to seme spy by profession, who, HI the vacation between the terms, happens to be devoid of other' occupation. (Applause.) I ought not, my lord, to detain you longer ; but I am induced to request the attention of the meeting to a publication of a very strange nature : it imports to be a report of a speech in parlia-, luent, and it bears the name of Mr. Wellesley Pole I [Here Mr. O'Connell was interrupted by Mr. Francis Huddleston— by that Francis llud d.eiton -w-ho prc«ecuted the Catholic delegates— who wanted to address the chairman- Mr. Barnewall, Major Bryan, Counsellors Hussey and Finn protested against iliis attempt- with sreat indignation, and were strongly supported by the entire me-iting.] Mr. O'Connell continued his address : — What that j^entleman might have said in parliament, I am quite ignorant of, nor do I ill [iiire ; I have at present no right to reply to him here ; and K entertain little doubt but that anything to our prejudice, or in iiis own praise — his favourite subjects, which he might have brought forward — was sufficiently replied to and exposed ; my business is merely with a newspaper publication — a publication contained in a paper bearing, with a constant contempt for truth as its title, the sacred name of " Patriot." This publication is entitled "the speech of the Bight Honour- able W. W. Pole." I cannot bring myself to believe that any man could pronounce such a discourse : the style is of the poorest order ; it talks of the magistrates having a row with the com- mitt<}e ; and there are a thousand other phrases in it which d«- 58 SELEX'T SfKt-ClIES OF aonstrate that no man of common education could have com posed it. But it would be absurd to waste time in censuring more of this composition ; it is the absence of truth and decency which distinguishes it, and entitles it to some notice amongst our calumnies. Let me be pardoned whilst I delay you to expose its want of veracity. It is by calumny alone that our degradation is con- tinued ; if nothing were told of us falsel3^ if" nought was set down against us in malice," we should long since have been emanci- pated. My lord, I beg leave to confute these calumnies, not be- cause they are talented or skilfid, but simply to oppose the sys- tem of detractioti. I have selected six diiferent assertions, which are either but partially true, or destitute of any the slightest: foundation of fact. The first I shall mention is one, perha,ps, in itself, of little moment ; but it will serve to show how incautious "this speech" is in its assertions. It does, my lord, assert, in speaking of the addition to our former Committee, in the beginning of 1811 — 1st — " That the government intended to stop the elections, and did stop them. The ten persons which (I preserve (he beauty of the original) were ordered to be returned from each county, in point of fact, never did assemble." In point of fact, my lord, we all know that the goTernment never stopped any such election ; that it never did interfere, save by sending forth the slovenly and ludicrous circular ; and that in point of fact, the appointment did take place in most of the counties — every county that pleased — and the assembling of those persons was a matter as public, and as well known to the government, as any other fact which was entrusted to the daily newspapers ; but there is certainly this happy colour for the as- sertion of the speech — that all the counties in Ireland did not appoint to the last Committee. It is also asserted — 2nd — "Th t Lord Ffrench, in consequence of th3 violence of the members of the Committee, selected from them." When shall I find time to express my astonishment at thia assertion — an assertion directly, pointedly, and positively the contrary of the fact. Mr. W. W. Pole could never have said any Buch thing. Why, Lord Ffrench was in the ^hair, when Mr. Pole sent his police-justice to disperse that Committee, Lord Ffrench entered into a correspondence with Mr. Pole to maintain thaL Committee. He lent his character, his rank, and his talents iK> support that Committee; and, in perfect defiance of Mr. W. »AN1EL O COXNTSl-J., ESQ., M.P. 53 AV. Pole, he did support it. What becomes of the audacious: ae^oi'tion of his secession ? I wish my noble friend, for so I am proud to call him, were hUowed by his health to be here this day : how he would refute this calumny. He never seceded or deserted tlie Catholic cause ; nnd I can assure Mr. W. W. Pole, that there breathes not the man who would presume to tell his lordship that he seceded from the Catholic Committee or the Catholic rights. I kno^: the reply which such presumption would meet and merit. The next assertion which I shall notice is — 3rd — " That many of the counties in Ireland could not pro- duce ten respectable persons of the Catholic religion, above the rank of farmers." Where was the creature found who wrote this speech ? Is this ignorance only, or is it unblushing effrontery ? I shall not stoop to refute this foolish untruth ; it may serve a purpose in Eng- land ; in this countrv it is almost beneath ridicule. We soon after find it gravely stated — 4th — " The meetings to appoint the present Committee were held for the most part during the assizes ; but they were ccu- ducted in such a manner, that it \\as almost impossible to thui out what jDassed at the time." Shame, shame upon this profligate speech-writer ! Why, nil Ireland knows that- these meetings were held with even osten- tatious publicity ; that they were crowded by Protestants ; and t^hat he who could make the assertion that I have just quoted, deserves not the trouble of contradiction. It may be supposed that it was impossible to exceed the absurdity of the last mis- statement ; but, my lord, it has been exceeded, for I find in this speech these words — 5th — " The Earl of Fingal had also seceded from the Con^- mittee." No, my lord, calumny more absurd was never invented ; as- h'ertion more destitute of fact was never -"Tritten. [Lord Fingal declared his assent.] Yes, my lord, you are thus calumniated : and the pui'pose of publishing these untruths only aggravates the guilt of him, whoever he be, that invented them. There remains yet one calumny. I do not entreat the mem- bers of the Committee, so manv of them I see about me, to restrain their indigrration whilst I read it. It is this : — 6th — " Mr. Pole said, that if gentlemen would read the debates of this Committee, they would find separation was openly and distinctly recommended^" CO SELECT SPEECHES UK Mr. Pole said no such thing : the man does not live, suffi- ciently audacious to say any such thing. Why, my lord, this is? ft direct accusation of high treason ; and he who would assert it of me, I would brand with the foulest epithets. No ; a writer in a newspaper may be found to compose such a paragraph, but no man in his senses in the world dare to utter it aloud. But if it were said, I care not, while I proclaim it to the world to be unfounded as it.Js injurious — as false as it is foul ; and 1 defy the slightest proof to be given of its veracity. I have trespassed upon you too long, with this miserable pub- lication ; it deserves notice only, because having circulated among the English, who know us not, it may, remaining uncon- tradicted, be believed. In the six assertions which I have noticed, ^lere is but one that has the slightest pretensions to any colour of being othei-wise than being directly and palpably the exact reverse of the fact. I am tempted to give you another instance of the stuff thi^? speech is made of. It treats of the book called " The Statement uf the Penal Law," and, as usual, it flagrantly misrepresents or absurdly replies. I have been done the great honour, by some persons, of hav'ng that book attributed to me. I should be proud to own it if I could, but I am incapable of WTiting su excellent a composition, or of sharing the honour with a gentle- man to whose pen the Catholics of Ireland are deeply indebted, for everything admirable that has emanated from him ; and never were they more obliged than by the address and petition which you have adopted this day. I do not choose to dilate on the resplendent talents of my respected friend ; but in him Ireland possesses a model of clas- sical taste and refined judrment, devoted exclusively to patriotic purposes. His book has been criticised in this speech ; and the law, which is the intervention of the commissioners of charitable donations, precludes the possibility of establishing a Catholic clmrity, with peimanent funds, is palliated by endeavouring to show, that the rigour of the statute is softened by the mildness of the commissioners. It is alleged that they humanely spare many a popish charity, and allow the pious sin to be perpetrated iu quiet. Instances of their forbearance are given ; and amongst them we find the following, under date, 1810 : — "James Baldwin, ^>r Macroom, counry Cork, left all his lands, in reversion, to Doctors Segi'ave and Moylan, in trust, to raise £400 per annum, for ever, to establish a school to instruct poor children in the !'?ncts 'jfthc Church of Homo."' DANIEL 0'f;ONNETJ.-; ESQ., M.T. 61 This is one of the instances of the lenity of the commissioners of charitable donations. Now, let me tell you what the value of tlieir kindness is — Mr. Baldwin was married to a near relatioT^ of mine. I am his executor. It was I proved the will, so that I am authority upon this point. The fact is, that he had eight cliildren, five of whom are married, and have, most of them, large and increasing families. He first devised his estates to his chi]- drcn, successively, and their issue, male and female ; then to two other individuals of his own name, having families, and their issue, male and female ; and after the decease of all those per- sons, between seventy and eighty in being, and all their issue, this X-iOO per annum, is bequeathed to endow a Catholic school, so that the vesting of this bequeath depends on the contingency of about eighty persons dying without issue, an event very little likely to take place in this country. Such is the wonderful forbearance of those commissioners — such is the happy art attributed to Mr. W. W. Pole, of furnishing j^roofs and illustrations. Yes, this article illustrates the active genius of the speech. Unfounded assertion, ridiculous argument, ]>altry self-sufficiency, and ludicrous quotation, distinguished the narrative of the parish clerk, whose situation, exposing hirn to public view, he has mistaken for elevation. I have to apolo- gise for attaching so much importance to matters so insignificant. 1 hasten to conclude by expressing my conviction that the Emancipation is certain, and will be immediate. The generous, the cordial support of our Protestant brethren, in Ireland, assures us of it. The petition — xvhich is exclusively their measure, and with respect to which, every Catholic has scrupulously avoided the least interference — the Protestant petition has, at this moment, more signatures to it than were affixed to any petition of our own. It has been supported in every county by the wealth, talent, and rank of our affectionate countrymen, and I rn-» proud to see amongst us this day, at the head of so many of our Protestant friends, a noble Lord (Glentworth) whose ardenc patriotism entitled him to the gratitude of every class of his fellow subjects ; and whom we shall see met by corresponding patriotic exertions, and proudly placed in the first rank of the representatives of his native country. The voters of Limerick will not be blind to the insults they have received from other quarters, nor to their own interests and dignity, noi to the worth of the noble lord. We have the Protestants of Ireland in our favour — the Pro- testants of England, at least the rational part of thorn, :ire uot 52 SELECT SPEECHES OP opposed to U3. No, m the two last discussions in par!iarae?it, the right and justice of our claims -were conceded, even by those who opposed on the gi'ound of the time ; there was but one soli- tary exception — a single individual. Sir John Nichol, who was sent forward as the scape-goat of English bigotry, to revive ancient calumny, and to add some fresh ones ; he was installed in the enviable office of successor to Dr. Duignan ; but, good Lord ! he is quite unfit for the employment. There was about Duignan, a sturdy, robust, unblushing effrontery, that enabled j)im to assert anything, and prevented the possibility of his retreating. This poor Nichol, however, was no sooner attacked and ridiculed, at every tide, than he explained one passage, softened down another, and gave up a third, until he himself abandoned, piecemeal, the web of intolerance, so that it really appears, that even the futile resource of bigoted calumny is at length exhau-sted. Of the Prince I shall say nothing — uncertainty as to present circumstances — reliance on the past, and the lingering and dutiful affection in a heart devoted to the friend of Ireland, restrain me. To canvass the subject would appear to be the entertaining of a doubt. Oh ! but there is one objection still remains to our emancipa- tion j it is quite novel and most important. Our enemies object to the tone which the Catholics use. This notable objection was stnick out by the Earl of Rosse. He disliked our tone — he might as well have quarrelled with our accent — but that would rather be a strong measure in Lord Rosse (laughter). Seriously, however, the descendant of Sir William Parsons has an here- ditary right to be the enemy of the Catholics upon any pretext, or even without one. I do not believe this lord has fallen intc inconsistency. I have some faint recollection that, under the name of Sir Lawrence Parsons, he once enacted patriotism in Ireland — I may be mistaken, but I do not think he ever sup- ported our claims ; and I am quite sure I wish he never may. But our tone is disliked — yes, my lord, they dislike the tone which men should use who are deeply anxious for the good of their country, and wlio have no other object. We are impressed with the sense of the perils that surround us, and of all the calamities impending on a divided and distracted people. We see our own resources lavishly squandered upon absurd projects, whilst our tottering paper currency is verging fast to bank- -uptcy — the fate of every other paper currency that has as yet '..xis; jd. We see the private ruin that must ensue, the destruc- DAMEL CONNKLL, ESQ., M.P. 63 tion, so prodigally hastened, of the funded system. We see the inost fonnidable military force arrayed on the Continent. Tlir; Emperor of the European world is now busied with some qnarrtl on the Northern P'rontier, which now extends to the suburbs of St. Petersburgh : his fleet augments by the month ; who shall dare to say that we shall not have to fight, on our own shores, for the last refuge of civil liberty, in this eastern world. What blindness, what infatuation, not to prepare for that event I We, my lord, assume the tone which may terrify the invader ; we use the tone of men who appreciate the value of civil liberty, and who would die sooner than exchange it for the iron sv/ay of military rule. We talk as men should, who dread slavery and disgrace, but laugh to scorn the idea of danger. Sl;a]l it be asked, if the invader amved — *• And was tliere none— no Irish arm. In whose veins the native blood runs wavm ? And was there no heart in the trampled land. That spuru'd the oppressor's proud command? Could the wronged realm no arm supply, But the abject tear and the slavish sigh ?" Why, yes, my lord, we are told if we had been servile and base in our language, and dastardly in our conduct, we should be nearer succes,s ; that the "slavish tear," the "abject sigh," would have suited our disnitv ; that had we shown oiu'selves prone to servility and submission, and silent in oppression, wu should advance our emancipation ; and that by proving, by our words and actions, that we deserve to be slaves — we should e;>3ure liberty. MR. VERNEK MOORE. At a meeting of the gentlemen of the bar, held on Saturday. May 30, 1812, Mr. O'Connell delivered the following speecli, as reported in the Dublin Evenmij I'ost of Thm'sday, Juno 4, 1812:— He .said that having had the honour of being called to the chair at the small meeting of the bar which had occm'red in the vacation, he felt it to be his duty to state the object of those who called that meeting, and had adjtnirned to the present day for the convenience of the bar at large. The facts were, simply and without comment, these : — Shortly after the last circuit, Mr. Vcrner Moore had published, in the newspapers, a statement tji SELECT SPEECHES OP ' purporting to detail a transaction which he asserted to Lav.? oc- curred at the last assizes of Omagh. It purported, as far as it went, to be the report of a trial that had taken place in the pub- lic court-house, as personally interested Mr. Moore ; it was ad- dressed to the Irish bar, and for the truth of the statement, Mr. Moore solemnly pledged himself. It appears that, shortly after, the benchers, as they are called, of the King's Inns, had a meet- ing ; they sumnaoned Mr. Moore before them ; they required to know ii" he were the author of the publication in question ; he admitted the fact — he went farther — he admitted that the mode of publication of his complaint, in a newspaper, was an improper one j but he again repeated his solemn assertion of the truth of what he had published, and oflfered to prove, beyond any doubt, its perfect accuracy. He was then dismi-^sed; and the benchers who had, before his personal examination, deliberated in private, i-esumed their private sittings, and the result was, a vote of the severest censure ou Mr. Moore ; and another vote, that the cen- sure should be read publicly in all the courts, on the first da;^ of the present term. Such were the facts. It stood thus : — Mr. Moore had published a report of a trial, or part of a trial ; if what he stated was true, misconduct of no ordinary kind was attributable to one of the benchers in the exercise of his pub- lic duty. The bench, including the personage thus accused, meet. They do not investigate the facts ; thoy are incompetent to investi- gate any facts ; their meeting is held in secret, and they inflict punishment for the publication of that which they do not accuse to be a falsehood. Upon this subject he would not, for the pre- sent, give any opinion ; although he should be sorry any one supposed he had not formed a distinct opinion on it. But ho would, for the present, concede that Mr. Moore was guilty o! some offence that deserved punishment. The question was, whether the benchers had any jurisdiction over the offence. It was a question of great importance to the bar in every point '^f view. Their property, their characters, their honour, were all involved in its consideration. No man could well consider him- self safe in his professional pursuits, if any body of men assem- bled in a private chamber, without power to administer an oath, or examine into a disputed fact ; without form of indictment or mode of pleading ; v/ithout allowing the advantage of counsel, or showing the grounds of decision, were entitled to vote away the profession and the reputation of the Irish gentlemen who bo- iong to the bar. DANIEL CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 65 These were alarming considerations ; he was ready to admit *the respectability of the pei*sons who composed this secret tri- bunal ; it was not against the individuals he complained, it was against the existence of the thing itself. He could not see any the least necessity for its existence. The Irish bar composed, he was convinced, the first profession in the world ; it required no inquisi- torial power to keep it within the bounds of the strictest propriety — nay, it possessed the most certain method of repressing miscon- duct among its own members, by the moral force of its own high character. The man who conducted himself in a manner unbe- coming a gentleman would shrink abashed from then* society, or, if he hau'nted the hall, he would be seen to glide through it de- spised and unnoticed, and solitary in the midst of a crowd ; and if greater delinquency should be found, it would meet with ex- clusion and expulsion from the entire society, who we^'e alone Ci'tpable to exclude, but who could never conspire against an in- dividual. This inquisitorial p<:)wer couid not be necessary for the protec- tion of the judges ; it was ludicrous to suppose that it could ; the judges were armed with abundant power for their own pro- tection — they could commit to the dock, they could fo]'ce, they could imprison at their own discretion, almost at their caprice, for the slightest disrespect. All these powers existed, and weie recognised by the law ; nay more, they were all absolutely ne- cessary for the due administi'ation of justice, To diminish any one of them would be to render it difficult, perhaps impossible to do justice effectually between angry litigants ; but those powers have been, by experience, found amply sufficient for that j'urpose. When, however, there is added to this, the natural effect which the disfavour of the judge must have upon the suc- cess of any individual barrister, it would be seen at once how unnecessaiy fui'ther securities were ; there was even danger of the other extreme, and servility to the bench, to which poor hu- man nature afforded so many temptations, could be guarded against only by the high-mindedness of educated gentlemen, who rather condescended to belong to a profession^ than to be the skives of its emoluments. Without the independence produced by this spirit, it would be impossible to be honest as an advocate ; for that advocate is not honest who, for his own sake, shrinks fi'om the manly asser- tion of his client's rights, whatever may chance to be the ImnrcK- sions of the bench against it ; but at the Irish bar, where the very soul of honour was to be found, there was no danger of anjr 03 SELECT SPEECUE3 OF touo being adopted but that which would dignify individuals and exalt a profession. It may, perhaps, be said, that although it is clear that the judges had sufficient means of making their authority respected in court, yet, that they wanted further grounds for contempts committed out of court, and the case of publication of a false and libellous account of a trial might be sustained. But this he was ready to deny, because there existed already abundant means of punishment for such contempts. There were attachments, informations, ex-officio or by rule of court, indictments, and actions. Now, for example, this Mr. Moore might have been proceeded against in any of these ways if his publication were false. To an action he was liable, but there the truth would be a justifica- tion. An attachment or an information, by rule of court might be obtained against him ; but then an affidavit must be made of the falsehood of his statement, and he who swore the affidavit might be prosecuted in his turn ; so the information ex-officio, render truth or falsehood immaterial ; but in a case of this kind a jury would, in law, as wbii as in fact, be bound to ac-quit, if cue publication were proved to be an exaggerated statement of whcvt had occurred at the former trial. It only remains then to see whether any person will be found ^3ufficiently rash to assert, that this tribunal, called the bench- ers, was calculated to punish for the publication of the truth — of the truth of what occuiTed in the presence of the public — ■ in a public court — at a public trial. It would be grossly to calumniate the respectable personages who composed that body, to assert that such was the jurisdiction they sought to exercise. It was important first to consider of the necessity of this species of tribunal, before any discussion arose as to the legality of its jurisdiction ; because if it could be shown to him that such a jurisdiction was necessary for either the honour of the judges, or the convenience of the suitors, he should not be very scrupu- lous in investigating its origin, on the foundation of its autho- rity. But being deeply impressed with the conviction, that the contrary was the fact — that this tribunal was unnecessary — that, of itself, and placed in the hands of the best of men, it was unconstitutional and dangerous — that its immediate effect must be to crush the spirit and independence of the bar, and to con- vert an honourable and liberal profession into mere retailers of cliicane, and servile slaves of authority. With this impression upon his mind, he must solemnly pro- test against every exercise of power by this tribunal, e ven against; /)AXIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. C7 & cruilty individual, aud conjure the bar, at once to ascertain their rights, and to trace the limits of this jurisdiction, so that it may be either ascertained to be a mere usurpation, or if it have a legal existence, that parliament may be resorted to for its iibclition. For his part, he had pdven the subject all the atten- tion in his power ; he had investigated all the sources of infor- mation on this subject, and he had convinced himself, that the benchers of the King's Inns had no legitimate authority over the Irish bar. As a legal or corporate body, it was clear, upon their own confession, that they had no existence. In the late case which they had instituted in Chanceiy against a Mr. Caldbeck, an objection was taken to their legal capacity to sue ; to this objection they had submitted, and their incapacity to exercise corporate functions was, therefore, matter of record. Prescrij)- tive rights they could claim none ; their history was modern and well known ; charter they had at present none ; about six- teen years ago they obtained one, with an act of parliament to confirm it ; but this act, which had passed sub silentio, having been discovered, the bar remonstrated, and in the ensuing ses- sions the statute and charter were repealed. Such was the short history of this formidable tribunal ; it had no chartered rights, no powers by statute, no claim to prescriptive authority. It was, indeed, mentioned in two more statutes, but merely to qualify it to take land for the arposes of buildings. Statutes that, so far from admitting its general corporate capacity, were direct evidence that none such was in existence. But he might be told, that although the foundation of its authority could not be clearly ascertained, yet that facts proved its existence ; and, in the absence of argument, precedents might be resorted to, a thing not unusual. There were, indeed four instances of interference by the benchers with the bur ; four instances in which men had been struck out of the hamsters' roll upon their recommendation. In the two first, the cases of School and Brody, the profession had been disgraced by the com- mission of the crime, he believed, of perjury. The indignant Irish bar rejoiced at the expulsion of such men, and cared little by whom they were kicked out of the hall. The other two instances were those of Messrs. Arthur O'Connor and Thomas Addis Emmett. Those gentlemen had, in the year 1799, been, upon a similar recommendation, disbarred. But it should be recollected that they first stood convicted, upon their own con- fesaion, of being traitors — that they had forfeited their lives to 68 SELECT SPEECHES OP i, the laws, und had actually, upon an agreement with governmer.t, submitted to perpetual banishment. When he spoke of the crimes of those gentlemen, he could not but express the regret he felt at mentioning the name of one oi them, with whom he had once the pleasure to be personallv acquainted. Whatever might have been the political crimes of Mr. Emmett, those who knew him were bound to say, that a. more worthy gentleman, in private life, never lived. But having' abjured the realm, the benchers exercised the superfluous loyalty of' getting them excluded from the list of Irish barristers. No person was interested to inquire into the authority by which so immaterial a result had been produced. Such are the prece- dents, the only precedents that can be alleged. What do they prove 1 Just nothing. But, perhaps I am mistaken ; perhaps this jurisdiction does exist ; you may not be willing, and you ^mght not to submit to act upon my researches ; yet I hope I have said enough to convince you, that an inquiry ought to be instituted, and that every man at the Irish bar may know upon what footing the preservation of his professional property and personal honour stands. This inquiry should be conducted in the most respected manner ; no offence will be taken where none is intended ; we would be bound to make the inquiiy at ever}' risk ; but, in truth, the benchers themselves are ready to con- cede much to the general feeling of the bar. To this feeling they have already sacrificed the resolution to publish their cen- sure of Mr. Moore. If the bar declares its conviction that no such inquisitorial authority does, in point of law, and that none such, in point of fact, ought to exist, we shall never again hear of the cause of our present alarm. Mr. O'Connell moved, " that a committee, consisting of three of the gentlemen of the bar, be appointed to ascertain the autho- rity of the benchers, either to censure or disbar a barrister." The benchers not only gave no redress in the matter dw elt upon in the foregoing speech, hut were guilty erf the additional arrogance and injustice of not paying eveii so much attei^ I lo 1 the bar -remonstrance, as to acknowledge haviiig received it DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. GO THE REGENT'S PLEDGES. 77« are now come to the first general manifestation of feeling on the part of the Catho lies, upiMi the disappointment of their hopes, after the assassination of Mr. Perceval The extent and nature of that disajipointment ^vill be best gathered from Mr. O'Connell's r.peech. It was at this meeting that the resolutions were passed, known i« the records of Catholic agitation as the " witcheiy" resolutions. In tlie third resolution will be found the allusion that supplied the designation It refers to the shameful entanglement of the Prince Regent with Lady Hertford — an entanglement, by means of which, influence was exerted over him to entirely destroy what remnant of honour and good feeling there was yrjt in his cold and selfish heart. Tlic alhision gave great offence, not only in the quarter for which it was intended, but also to many of the timorous or deceitful " friends," as they called themselves, but gracious patrous, as they in fact assumed, to be, of the Catholics. By them it was strongly repro- bated; but the bold and singularly-able compiler of these resolutions, Denis Scully, cared little for the offence, when seeking to give \"ent and c.xpressi'ju lo the mortified and indig- nant feelings of himself and fellows. The Donoughmore family, then true to Ireland— as one of them has again recently proved himself — wer^ uot amongst those who disapproved of this semi-df^claration of rup- ture with the Prince Regent, and their approbation of it wa« an additional reason for per- sisting. The meeting took.place at Fishamble-^treet Theatre, on Tliursday, June IS, 1812— Lord lingal, as usual, in the chair. After some preliminary matters, Mr. Hussey rose, and ga\ e tt!i account of the proceedings of the gentlemen who had been sent to London on the part of the Catholics. He stated that on applying for a personal interview with his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, they received a blunt refusal, and were informed by Mr. Secretary Ryder, that the address to his Highness, with which they were charged, should be pr6«ented at one of his public levees, " in the usual way." Of course there was no option but to submit ; and, accordingly, the address was so pre- sented, and received, too, " in the usual way" of most addresses presented on such occa- sions, viz. : the announcement of its purport and origin being all that -was allowed to be stated, tnd then the document itself being handed over to the tender care and entire for- gotfulness of one of the lords in waiting. " His Royal Higlmess," said Mr. Hussey, " was not pleased to make any communication on the subject to the Committee. What impression was made upon his mind was not known ; what he felt, what he thought, are left to conjecture (it was not long left a mat- ter of mere conjecture) ; but this melancholy fact is sufficiently understood, that his Royal Highness did not think fit to olfcr any recommendation to Parliament upon the subject; and it is notorious that the minister seemed to have acquired new zeal in propagating his old insinuations against the Catholic people, and in repeating his old experiment against religious liberty." llic resolutions agi-etri upon were brought forward by Mr. O'Connell, moved by Lord Killeen, and seconded by Mr. Bamewall. A very able and excellent speech followed from John Finlay, Esq., (at present Assistant IJarrister for Roscommon county), to whom the cause was much indebted for powerful oratory and useful exertions on many occasions. The reference at the commencement of Mr. O'Connell's speech, which we are about to Igive, is to the gentleman jusc mentioned. I liave, my lord, much to say, but 1 shall say little : I cannot venture to detain you after my eloquent friend — after the bril- liant display you have just witnessed of the talents and powerful eloquence of my learned and excellent friend, Mr. Finlay. Wo 7(.' SELECT SPEECHES OP do, indeed, owe him m\ich : I was about to regret that he was not a Catholic, I was so pleased with him, and so anxious that we might have the credit of such talents ; but when I consider, I think it is better that matters should be as they are ; for it must gratify every Catholic in Ireland to have Protests nt talent such as his come forward to grace and support our assemblies; and it is a new source of unconquerable strength to our cause, to have Protestant and Catholic equally ardent in the struggle in which we are engaged. His are talents which ministerial cor- ruption could not purchase, for they are beyond all price. My duty calls upon me to address you ; I may be mistaken ; but I consider it as my duty — upon a subject, painful in itself, yet as speaking upon it may be beneficial in its consequences, I will not shrink from, nor decline it : I allude my lord, to the public assertion of some of the many pledges which his Royal Highness the Prince Regent was graciously pleased to tender to the Catholics of Ireland, before any part of the executive autho- rity of the state had devolved upon him. I shall state but a few of them : I do it without any breach of confidence, or violating any honorary engagement, either ex- pressed or implied. Without egotism, perhaps I may say, that no person will charge me with being guilty of either — and I defy my enemies, who are mine only because they hate or oppress my poor country, to insinuate the slightest doubt of the veracity of my assertions. I shall bring before the public, for the present, but four of those pledges. I am sorry they were not formerly made gene- i-ally public ; for if they had, no man could have been so profli- gate as to advise the Prince to anything tending towards a viola- tion of them, and much of the anxiety and distrust which now distract the mind of the nation, might have been spared and avoided. The first in rank, though not in order of time, is that com- municated to the Catholics of Ireland, bj his Grace the Duke of Bedford. He lives — my witness lives : what is said here will probably reach him through the public papers ; and I call upon him, publicly to contradict anything I advance, which is not literally warranted by the fact. Thus, then, do I state, that in 1806, about the commencement of the Fox administration, when the Catholics, flushed with hope at seeing their late advocates in power, were about to prepare petitions to parliament, the minis- try used many means to postpone that measure. At that pe-riod, and as one of tliose ineaiis, his Grace the Duke of Bedford, then DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. I(Ord Lieutenant of Ireland, did communicate to the Catholics of Ireland, the wish of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, tliat the question should not then he agitated ; and at the same time, his decided conviction of the justice of our claims, and his decided resolution to admit them whenever he should have power to do so. Perhaps I can state this pledge ; but I see persons before me to whom this langiiage was held ; and I am quite sure that the Duke of Bedford would never, never have conveyed one idea on the subject, if he had not his authority directly from the Prince. Secondly, my lord, we have had in the same year, tlie same pledge repeated to many Catholics, by the Chancellor of Ireland, George Ponsonby. The keeper of his Majesty's Irish conscience must be supposed to have had a kind of reversionary solicitude for that of his Royal Highness, the heir apparent. Mr. Ponsonby do I imderstand, distinctly avow the authority under which he communicated to the Irish Catholics, the promise of emancipation — when, in the fulness of time, he whom we then cherished as the early frieiul of Ireland, and the proudest hope, should have it in his power to rouse the enthusiasm of an elective people roimd his throne. Good God ! what a prodigal wasto has since been committed — not of wealth, for that, comparatively, is no more than trash — ^but of the cheerful and best defence of the monarch, the Irish people's love. The third pledge is a written one, and is in the possession of a Catholic peer, not now present. I have not the honour to be suf- ficiently known to the Earl of Kenmare, to have applied to him for it ; but I entertained hopes o€ being able to procure it through a friend of mine, and of his lordship. It is sufficient to say of that pledge, that it afforded for years consolation to the Irish Catholics ; and the discretion with which it was communicated, enhanced its value. I believe, my lord, I need not state to you how little doubt it could leave of the finn decision of the Prince's mind upon our question. The fourth and last pledge, which, for the present, I shall mention, was that given by his Royal Highness to a noble lord now present. At the conversation I allude to, that noble lord was accompanied by the late Lord Petre, and th.9 present Lord Clifden. After retiring from the presence of his Royal High- iieyg, the declarations which he was so graciously pleased to make, T^ere from a loyal and affectionate impulse of gi*atitude. com- mitted to writing, and signed by the three noble lords. 72 SELECT SPEECHES OF Hig Royal Highness did, I understand, offer something like an apology, for not having taken an active part in proraoting the success of our petition, in 1805. He was pleased to say, that obvious motives of -delicacy resti'ained his interference on poli- tical subjects, but that this delicacy was still more imperative on JUT question. However, he desired it to be understood that hfl had formed his opinion upon it, and would ever ejitertain them unaltered. They were, that concession to the Irish Catholics were required, not only by reasons of expediency and policy, but by the first principles of justice, I will not add — I must not add one word more on this sub- ject. These were the sentiments of his Koyal Highness : we should have proclaimed them last year, and no minister would have been found sufficiently profligate to have disappointed our certain expectations of immediate relief: nor has his Royal Highness, to this hour, by ajiy personal act of his — by any pub- lic declaration, or recommendation to parliament, retracted any part of these sentiments. Let us, then, fondly and respectfully hope that they are unaltered. Sure I am that no base minion will venture to assert, that the air of Manchester-square has in- fected the royal mind with simples^ or that Lord Yarmouth haa inoculated him with the theory or practice of excessive piety, We may still hope, Hope, the last refuge of the wretched, is left us ; and we lately indulged it almost with the pleasures of certainty : a crime, the horrid crime of causeless assassination, had deprived England of her prime minister — for, my lord, everywhere but in Ireland, a»ssassination is admitted to be a, crime. Here, also, it depends on circumstances ; you have but; to combine these circumstances. Let the victim be an Irislx Papist — let the murderer be an Orangeman — and let a legal junta administer the government in the name of the Bute o^ ivichmond. It requires no more to tiu'n murder into merit ! The process in England is different. There they hanged and dissected the murderer, and transferred the advantages of tliQ crime, if I may so express myself, to the victim ; it really and- <:ruly has been -considered a merit in Mr. Perceval to have been murdered. The public men in England seem to think his death constituted uot only an expiation for all his political sins, but turned his offences against his oountry into virtues. For my part, I feel unaffected horror at his fate, and 'all traco of resentment for his crimes is obliterated. But I do not forget that he was a narrow-minded bigot, a paltry statesman, and a oad minister — that every species of public coiTuption and profli- l>AN:r.L CON-NELL, ESQ., M.P. 7;-> gncy liao m him a flippant and pert advocate — that every advance towards retbrui or economy, had in \\\m a decided enemy — and that the liberties of the people were an object of his derision. All this has not been changed by the hand of the assassin; yet I do, from my heart, participate in the grief and anguisii which his premature fall must hav^e excited within his domestio circle. The sorrows of his family have been obtruded on th? public by ill-judging party writers, with something like ostenta- tious affectation ; but I do not love the man — nay, I hate the man who could contemplate, coldly and unmoved, the affecting bpectacle of the wife and children standing in speechless agony round the lifeless body of the murdered husband and father ; it was a scene to make a stoic weep, Uut are all our feelings to be exhausted bv the great? Is there no compassion for the wretched Irish widow, who lost her boy — her hope, her support 1 I shall never forget the pathetic and Irish simplicity with which she told her tale of woe — "My child 5vas but seventeen ; he left me on Sunday morning, quite vrell, and very merry, and he came home a corpse." Are her feelings to be despised and trampled on? Is the murderer o£ her son to remain unpunished, perhaps to be rewarded? Oh, yes ; for Byrne was a Papist, and the assassin, Hall, was an Orangeman, nay, a purple marksman ; and, recollect, that hia Grace the Duke of Richmond did not pardon him until after a most fair and patient trial. Hall was defended by his counsel and attorney; he was tried by a jury of his own selection — I say of his own selection — because he exhausted but few of his peremp- tory challenges; nobody, indeed, would think of accusing honest Sheriff James of packing a jury against an Orangeman. Even had the list been previously submitted to the secretary at the Castle, he would not have altered a single name ; Sir Charles Saxton might have reviewed it with perfect safety to the prisoner After a patient trial, and a full defence. Hall was convicted ; he was convicted before a judge, certainly not unfavourable ta the prisoner ; he w^as convicted of having murdered, with th€ arms entrusted to him for the defence of the public peace, and m the public streets of your city, and in the open day, an inno- cent and unoffending youth. He has been pardoned and set at large — perhaps he has been rewarded ; but can tliis be done with ;mpunity ? is there no vengeance for the blood of the widow's ton ? Alas ! I am not, I trust, inclined to superstition, yet it obtruded itself on my mind, that the head of that government which had allowed the blood of Byrne to flow unrequited, might T4 SELECT SPEECHES 0? I.ave '/iiidlciited the notion of a proTidcntial visitatioD for il.e unpunisLed crime. Mj lord, I have digressed : I meant to speak of Percev^ai's removal by the assassin, merely as that tragic event opened a near prospect of our emancipation : we should have been eman- cipated. At the moment I am speaking, the bill for our relief would have been in its progress through the legislature — we should have been emancipated this very sessions, unconditionally and completely emancipated ; but for what ? — I speak it in no anger, but in the deepest sorrow — but for Lord Moira. Lord Moira is a name that I have never before pronounced without enthusiasm ; I am quite aware of his high honour, his unbounded generosity, his chivalrous spirit ; his heart has ever been without fear, his intentions have ever been, and will ever be, without reproach ; Ireland was justly proud of him ; where could his fellow be met with ? In the disastrous period tliat preceded the Union — at the time that measure was in prepara- tion — when Foster and Clare banished Abercrombie from Ire- land, because he was humane — when murders marked the day, and the burning cottages of the peasantry illumined the dark- ness of the night — when affright and desolation stalked through the land — when it was a crime to love Ireland, and de£ith to defend her ; at that awful moment, Moii-a, the good, the great Moira, tlirew himself between his country and her persecutors ; he exposed their crimes ; he denounced their hoiTors ; he pro- claimed and proved their guilt ; and, although they were too powerful to be beaten down by him, he has left his country the sad consolation of beholding a perpetual record of the infamy of her oppressors. Good God ! if his advice had been taken in 17&7, what inno- cent blood would have been spared ; how many cruel oppressor's would have been punished ; and oh ! om- country would still have a name, and be a nation ! Can these services be fomotten — can these virtues be unre- membered ] No, never : but still the truth must be told. T/ii^ we to believe the word of Castlereagh? My lord, I would not believe his oath. Already has he been deeply pledged. He was an United Irishman, and, as such, must have taken their test. It was then administered, I believe, without the ceremo- nies of an oath, but it had all the solemnity of that obligation. It pledged him to Catholic Emancipation and Parliamentary Reform. Again, my lord, upon the hustings of the Down Elec- tion, he was called upon, and he volunteered a similar declara- tion. It was a bond, solemnly given to his constituents and his country. But how has he redeemed those pledges ? Why, he has emancipated the Catholics by duping some of them at the Union, and uniformly voting upon every question against us ; and he has reformed the parliament by selling it to the Britisli minister. May this Walcheren minister be suitably rewarded in the execration of his country ; and may he have engraved on his tomb for an epitaph — " VendLdit hie auro patriam." No, my lord, from us Castlereagh can obtain no confidence, nor can his colleague, Lord Sidmouth, expect that the friends of toleration can confide in his promises. Lord Sidmouth, who de- clared to parliament that he would prefer the re-enactment of the penal code to the extension of one other privilege to the Ca- tholics ; Lord Sidmouth, who began his absurd career of perse- cution with the Dissenters in England ; that Lord Sidmoutti (liberal and enlightened gentleman) has been selected for the Lome department; he it is who is to regulate the motions of 76 SELECT SPEECHES OF % our provinciiil govenimeut ; Jie it is that is to cheer the droop- ing spirit of persecution in this country ; his natural allies ai e embodied here : the group of " good men," as they fantastically designate themselves, "who manage the legal administration of this country ; digh who have worked themselves into reputation with ancient maidens and decayed matrons, by gTayity of deport- ment and church gardening piety, but who, all their lives, have been discounting religion and the Diety into promotion and the pay and plunder of office — those men, together with ottr friend (the Solicitor-Genoral,) hiive a suitable companion in Lord Sid- mouth, and we should, instead of concessions, be prepared rathti to expect some other persecution, grounded, if possible, upon a pretext still more absurd than that " pretence means purpose ;" that assertion, which I defy an honest man, however credulous, to believe. From this ministry we expect nothing ; let us be on our guard, and cautiously watch their progress. As Lord Moira has been their patron, they will endeavour to deceive him with a show of concession ; but theii* object is to give a change to the question. In its present shape it presses upon them with all the force of present expediency, and all the weight of eternal justice. If they could entrap us into collateral discussions ; if they coulvl entangle us in the chicanery of arrangements and securities, the public attention would be distracted and turned from the prin- cipal object ; time wo:ild be wasted in useless discussions ; ani- mosities would be created upon points of little real importance, and whilst the ministry practised the refinements of bigotry, they would give themselves credit for imbounded liberality. These are not imaginary fears ; the nature of the subject miisf; convince any man, that such was the design of an administration, t'uat had, for its only recommendations, intolerance and incapa- city. Indeed, the indiscretion of the party already betrayed itself. It is not twenty-four hours since a friend of mine had occasion to converse with one of those right honourables, who did the business of the Castle, who are always as ready to pack juries as to obtain pardon for an assassin, or to write paragraphs in the FatrioL My friend said, ''^Vhy, you are going, 1 find, to eman- cipate the Cathohcs at leng-th." "We !" replied the other. "Oh, no ! Canning's motion will entangle the rascals completely ; wc shall easily get rid of them without committing ourselves." Of those men, Lord Donoughmore has advised us to be dls»- tru&tfuJ. I beg leave to say more. Let us utterly disbelieve DANT^L O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 7T them. It is impossible that they can do anything for us ; they would be false to themselves if they were true to Ireland. But we are not without our resources ; we have them in ourselves ; we have them in the liberality of our Irish Protestant brethren ; we have them in the support of such men as the all-accomplished Vernon, son to the Archbishop of York — as the honest and in- dependent Robert Shaw. We have ako a rich resource in the eternal ridicule with which bigotry has lately covered itself in the persons of its chosen apostles, Paddy Duignan and Jack Giffard ; but, above all, we are strong in the justice of our cause and in the unextinguishable right of man, in every soil and cli- mate, to unlimited liberty of conscience. Let us, however, ex- pect nothing from the mere patronage of courts and ministers. The advice given by a noble advocate of ours, to other slaves, ia a poem, that it is impossible to read without delight, is not in- a,2>plicable to our situation : — " Hereditarj' bondsmea ! know yo not, Tv'ho would be free, theraseives must strike the h\o\,' — By their right arms the conqu3st must be wrought j Will Gaul or Muscovite redress you ?— No. True, they may lay your proud despoilers lov/, But not for you will freedcui's altar fliiuie. Shades of the Helots ! triumph o'er your foe — Oi'eece change thy lords, thy state is still the same. Thy glories all are o'er, but not thy years of shame,' Yes, we must, after all, look to ourselves — to a perseverance in a course of temperate, but firm exertion — to that blow which we can strike on Prejudice by the force of Reason, and the un- ceasing exhibition of our meritorious conduct. It is tri>3, that after common sense has overthrown every pre- tence that there is anything in the Catholic religion hostile to .oyalty or liberty ; another ground has been long since taken, and from time to time revived, by the unhappy dulness of one pedant or the other. It consists in an adnission that the Catholic religion is quite innocent, and even laudable in other countries; but that it acquires malignity from the soil on its transplanta- tioii into Ireland. In short that other Papists are innocent or good ; but that Irish Papists are execrable. This precious doctrine has been dressed up anew, in sufficiently bad English, and published in a pamphlet called a " Speech," by that snug little Foster, who rejj.resents Trinity College in Parlia- ment. It is added, too, with most admirable consistency, that the mass of the Irish Papists are quite indifferent to the queslioa 78 SEl.ECT SPEECHES OF of Catholic Emancipation. Bat see what the fact is. Look tr tliC history of the last six months for the contradiction of thost \r)lo assertions. Why, the Protestants of Ireland had only to show theii' wish to relieve us — they could do no more than ex- j^ress their inclination to set us free. The Union deprived thera ot the 2:)ower to give us liberty ; but they declared it was our right, rttid they joined us in demanding it. What followed ? Why, in the first place, a season of unexampled scarcity and distress in both islands. In E:.\>-land there chanced to exist tumult, riot, destruction oi property, murder, insurrection, and almost actual rebellion. In Ireland there was seen tranquillity the most pro- found, obedience the most perfect; pressed by famine and want, goaded by insulting prosecutions, by arranged juries, by the thousand other wrongs which I shall not name, the people of Ireland have found abundant consolation in the single liberality of their countrymen, and they have shown their sense of this libe- rality by dutiful ani unbroken submission at those moments of the greatest peril England has as yet known. Not a feather is ruf- fled on the surface of our island. The Caravat and the Shanavest seem to have forgotten their quarrels ; and every angry tone and turbulent propensity is hushed by the presence of the spirit of universal toleration. In the meantime, the precious hours for peace and conciliation are wasted — the genius of Napoleon, the star of his imperial liouse, prevails. England, under the guidance of the venerated name of Moira, has appointed an administration first rejected, and then approved by parliament, for the appointment of which Napoleon would have given millions. How he must rejoice to B2e the parliament degrade itself by inconsistent votes — to see the Dissenters and Catholics insulted by the nomination of Lord Sidraouth to rule the Home Department — to see Walcheren Castlereagh conducting our war counsels ; and, last and wonder- ful, to see Lord Liverpool prime minister ! ! My lord, securities are wanting ; they are wanting for the List refuge of public liberty- — the only remnant of representative government in Europe, '^hey are wanting for the throne and the people ; they are wanting against the foUy, the incapacity, the intolerance of the ministry — against the power and the talents of the French Emperor. He, . ; be sure, is absent for a season — ■ he is gone to Petersburgh, to receive the submission of a vassal, or to dethrone an enemy. It is absurd to expect any othor re- suit ; he will return with his hundreds of thousands ^o the con • quest of Spain and Port'-igal. What can the unar-.ied bands of DANIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 79 the one coimtry, or cur few companies in tlie other (tliough. braver spirits than our brothers and kinsmen ti.cre never gi-aced a field of fight) — what can they be able to do, overmatched by myriads? And then, my lord— and then, in irhat condition shaU those countries be found to fight the battle of our existence 1 It is to prepare for that dreadful moment, which is so steadily m its progress, that all my anxieties are roused. I should fear it not, if a system of conciliation and mutual tolerance were once adopted — if justice were distributed by the hand of con- fiding generosity — if the persecutions ceased, and that the per- secutors were removed— if Grey were prime minister, and Moira, then restored to the hearts of his countrymen, were lord lieute- nant. Every village would produce a regiment, and every field serve for a redoubt. The Prince would then be safe and orlorious • and the country, combined in its strength, would laugh to scort? the j)ower of every enemy. This is a vision } but it might have been realised. And why has this prospect been closed ? Why ! — to preserve the household ! Oh, most degi-ading recollection ! My feelings overpower me — 1 must be silent. CATHOLIC EMAKCiPATION, On {lie 2nd of July, another aggregate meeting of the Catholici: '^ook place, to agree upon a •t'Ctftion to he presented in the ensuing session. That some change had occurred in their pi'ospects within tlie brief intervaJ sincp their jjreceding meeting, vnM be evident from the extracts we are about to gite from the news- paper reports. Lord Fingal, on taking the chair, congratulated the meeting on their case "being before parliament, under the favourable consideration of the legislature, and certain of being ulti- mately triumphant . . . The bringing of the Tenal Code under notico was ensuring success to the Catholic cause ; because it was imposbible to consider its pro- visions, Ns-ithout having the mind coerced to assent to its repeal. He did not rejoice at their improved prospects because of any peculiar benefit to himself; he did not rejoice r.t it as opening new hopes and expectations to the friends he saw about him, or tc those wlto were now fighting the battles of England in Spain or Portugal ; his giatiflcatiou sprur.g from another source — from his anticipation of seeing the whole empire fee'., in secuhfy and prosperity, the benefits of equal rights and undisturbed tranquillity." His lordship was followed by Randal M'Donnell, who spoke nearly in the .s^one Ftr-iin and stron^y urged the necessity of continued and increased exertion on tiic pirt '^f the Catholics to back up the efforts of tlieir friends in parliament. He was followed by Mr. O'Connell, who is thus reported in the Dublin Evimr,/ I'osi cf the •i'-.h of July, 1812:— Mr. O'Connell commenced by payiuo^ some very appropriate compliments to the merits and exertions of the secretarv to the 80' SELECT SPEECH ES OP Catholics of Ireland, Mr. Hay — a gentleman to whom we owed that tribute, as well from feelings of private friendship as from motives of public gratitude. Mr. Ilaj had devoted his life to the service of the Irish people, and refused to receive any other recom- pense than what was to be found in the barren praises of hi? countrvmen. After a paneg^a-ic on the public virtues of Mr. Hay, Mr. O'Connell proceeded. He said the Catholics were assembled at the most momentous period of their history. We have to con- template a novel scene — the parliament of the United Kingdom, after nearly twelve years of neglect or rejection, had at length undertaken the consideration of our great cause. One branch of the legislature, by a triumphant majority, resolved to investigate the Penal Code of Ireland, with a view to its repeal ; and perhaps before this hour, a similar resolution has been adopted by the House of Lords. The voice of the House of Commons was, at all events, certain. In it the Irish people had a distinct pledge, that the question of their freedom was to be taken into consideration, for the pm'poso of fnial adjustment, at an early period of tiie next session. Tbo House of Commons was unequivocally pledged to some measure of Emancipation. The effect of this vote might perhaps be di- minished, when it was recollected that, during the present ses- sion the same honourable house had, more than once, rejected all inquiry ; but times were altered, and we have now amved at what appears to be the first great step in the progress to com- plete religious liberty. The preliminary to Emancipation is over ; and Emancipation itself, full and entire, is the natural, il not the necessary consequence. Feeling, as I do, the great advance that has been made in this r^ational cause, I cannot avoid declaring that I am happy and j.roud to concur with your lordship in ail those sentiments of conciliation and confidence which you have so powerfully recom- raended. I rejoice, my lord, at our victory — not as the conquest of one party over another, nor with the view to any triumpii over any other denomination of my countrymen, but because I look upon it as a victory obtained by the combined activity of «11 classes of Irishmen over their own prejudices, and over into- lerance and illiberality. It is that species of victory that ought to endear the Irish Protestant to the Irish Catholic, because it has been obtained for the benefit of the latter — principally b} the exertions of the former. 3t i.s doubly dear, because it holds I-ut the prospect of mutual conciliation and mutual affection. DANIEL O'OOXN'ELL, ESQ., II.P. 81 r, too, my lord, am ready to confide — I am ready with you to coufide in the gi'eat and growing liberality of the British nation, iu the pledge of the honourable house, in the promised vote of the lords, in the facility of the administration to abandon all former notions, and to comply with the temper of the times. — But let me conjure the meeting to place its first and principal reliance iu the determined spirit and unalterable resolution to persevere until emancipation shall be complete, never to relax their efforts until religious freedom is established. I may, without any allusion to its military import, whicli T dislike, remind my countrymen of the advice of Cromwell to his soldiers. The night was wet, and they as usual were engaged in prayer. " Confide," said he, "in the Lord — put all yoiu* trust and confidence in the Lord — but he quite sure to sleep upon your matchlocks.'" (Laughter and loud cheering.) Such, my lord, is the confidence we ought to entertain at present. In truth, every circumstance suggests caution — and he knows little of human nature who reposes with too implicit a belief upon the piomises of any administration — and he has read history to little purpose, who does not doubt of the fair professions of newly-converted enemies. It is for this that his- tory is useful. Its lessons may be neglected, and the consequence will be just what we see in the great affaii-s of the nation — dis- tress, embarrassment, and permanent difficulty, produced by the miserable repetition of temporary expedients. The history of the Irish Catholics warns us to be cautious how we shall pro- ceed. Within the last twenty years there were no less tlini three different periods at which the Catholics might have been emancipated, if a combination of exertion had been used. Twenty years, however, have passed away, and we are still slaves. My days, the blossom of my youth and the flower of my manhood have been darkened by the dreariness of servitude. In this my native land — in the land of my sires — I am degraded without fault or crime, as an alien and an outcast. "VVe do not, my lord, deserve this treatment. "We are stamped by the Crea- tor with no inferiority ; and man is guilty of injustice when ho deprives us of our just station in society. I despise him who can timidly and meanly acquiesce in the injustice. Oh, let ua at length seize this opportunity of abolishing the oppression for ever. To avoid failure at present, let us see whether we can disco vef how the Catholics failed before. The first occasion upon which, within these last twenty years, the entire Emancipation might 82 ELECT SPEECHES OF have been obtained, was in the year 17931 In that year gi-eat concessions were certainly made — ^great boons were extorted from an adverse and very nnwilling government ; but the principle of servitude, and many galling and insulting restrictions remained. And why were they suffered to remain 1 Simply, because the Catholics were not sufhcicntly combined amongst themselves, and sufficiently determined. I reproach none of the actors in the Catholic cause at that period ; many names dear to fi-eedom were amongst their popu- lar leaders — treachery there was, I am sure, none — deceit there was, I am convinced, none ; but leaving, as they did, so many v;eighty chains and oppressive restrictions,ithere certainly was a miserable liiilure of the one gi'eat object — the simple repeal of The acts restrictive of religious liberty. The Catholics, then, 'vvere supposed not to seek for the abolition of every penal law ; they were supposed to be ready to consent to something short of that great measure ; they were then, or had lately been,, much divided amongst themselves, and the result was, that dis- traction in their counsels, and that dexterity in their enemies, which have ever since postponed the day of freedom. The second occasion on which the Catholics might have been emancipated was the Union — but at that period, also, the Catho- lics were much divided amongst themselves — the reign of Robes- perian terror still prevailed, and the voice of the Irish people was stilled. We thought and acted differently upon this melan- oholv subject, and, amidst the bitter anguish which the memory of ray extinguished coimtry excites, I have consolations both personal and public. First, because tlte opposition to the Uniort, was, (and I thank my God for it,) the Jirst act of my jwlitical life ; and, secondly, I feel some comfort that the Catholics did not barter the constitution of their native land for advantages to themselves. I blame no person for the failure of emancipa- tion on that occasion ; on the contrary, I proudly rejoice that the Catholics, even those of them who supported that baleful and degi-ading measure, despised any idea of trafficking upon, or profiting by the miseries of Ireland. My lord, all the Catholics are free from- the guilt of having Tvirticipated in the sale of their country ; and this benefit results, tliat they are bound by no contract to continue their thraldom. Xay, iJie existence of the penal code is soothed by the recollection, ihiit in the efforts made to procure redress, a popular spirit is r-jused, wldch, if not soon laid hy the voice of emancipation, may generate a determination to reanimate the fallen conUitntinn ! '; DAXIEL o'cOXNELL, ESQ., M.P. 83 The third, and last period, at which the Catholics might nave »been emancipated, occurred since I had the honour to be an humble lanourer in the Catholic cause ; it was the commence- ment of Mr. Fox's administration. The year preceding, Mr. Fox had most powerfully supported our claims in the House of Commons ; he supported them, not upon any narrow view of sect or party, but upon the great principle of universal toleration — on that principle, which, in our country, would repeal her test and corporations' act, and secure the uncontrolled freedom of religious worship and belief, in every climate, and to every cast and colour. I believe, my lord, you were present at the liberal and manly declarations made by Mr. Fox, at a meeting of our delegates, some days previous to the introduction of our first petition tc the imperial parliament. — [Lord Fingal said he was not present, at that B'leeting.] Well, my lord, Mr. Scully certainly was : we heard him say so no later than yesterday; and when I mention his name, I know I can use no authority more likely to obtain the full belief and confidence of the Irish people. (Loud cheei-i^.) l>Ir. Scully was present as a delegate at those declarations, when Mr. Fox proclaimed the restrictive code as a crime — religious li- berty as a right. " I cannot," said that enlightened man, " 1 cannot consent to become your advocate unles? you are ready to concede to all other sects, the toleration you require for your- selves." " We should be unworthy to obtain it, could we hesi- tate to accede to your terms ; we would gladly bestow ou all mankind what we ask for ourselves," was the reply. Upon this avowed principle, in 1805, Mr. Fox supported the claims of tiie Catholics : in 1806, that very Mr. Fox became minister. What could have prevented that principle from being carried into action ? The Catholics did not call for it ; a mis- taken confidence occasioned them to allow the only decisive mo- ment to elaj>se ; they did not press their claims. If 1 am asked the question, why 1 iilas ! I cannot tell. I was mj'self, one of the actors of the national drama, and yet I am quite ignorant why it was that we did not then insist upon the recent pledge being redeemed. I can only account for it by drawing upon the unsuspecting credulity of the Irish heart. The administration declared itself friendly, and we believed ; they made professions, and they obtained confidence ; the noble generosity of the Irisbi disposition could not bear to doubt where it entertained afiec- tion ; or, perhaps, the very novelty of the voice of kindness a.vd its charms. The Irish had been so long used to obloquy a-d .harshness, that they received as a boon, deserving of g.ratitudei 8 i SELECT SPEECHES Of the mere language of conciliation. The result was, that the fa- vourable moment of compelling that administration either lo emancipate or to resign, was passed by, and our servitude con- tinues to this hour. Let us profit by those lessons — from the errors of tliuso pe- riods ; let our present conduct be free ; our course is plain arui simple. It consists not in relaxing, but in redoubling our efforts — in pressing forward again as a people should do who deserve liberty. Let us enter into no collateral discussions, no dishon- ourable stipulations. Under the banner of " The Simple Ilc- peal," Ireland has already once gloriously triumphed. It is a word of good omen. Perhaps she is fated again to progi'ess in the cause of her freedom, under the same standard. "The Sim- ple Repeal" should be re-echoed fi'om north to south, from cas"^, to west ; and should we again fail, we shall, at least, have the consolation to know, that we deserved success, and that the fail- ure cannot be attributed to us. . But shall w^e fail 1 Think you are we to owe our freedom to Lord Castlereagh and to Lord Sidmouth ? Let us, my lord, be- ware of raising too high the expectations of the country. In Buch a people as the Irish, the effects of disappointment may bo teriific. They are too apt to believe that whicli they wish. They are too prone to rely ; and w^hen the hour of political treachery has come; when the promised "gi-aces" are withdi'awa from light, the sudden violence of disappointed expectation is not likely to be controlled by the influence of reason. Already we have seen the effects of blasting the hopes of the Irish people. In the year 1794, Lord Fitzwilliam arrived in Ireland, with con- ciliation and Emancipation in his train ; he proclaimed our free- dom as at hand ; the Irish parliament sung responsive ; there was not a dissentient voice; unanimity prevailed in both houses ; the Catholic Bill was actually brought in under the most favour- able auspices ; if it had passed, the Union was hopeless. Mr. Pitt, who prepared for that measure from a distance, saw the ne- cessary consequence of abolishing religious dissensions in Irelaud ; the promised liberality was withdraw^n ; Lord Fitzwilliam wa.s recalled ; and, in the space of one shoi't month, that A'ery parlia- ment which bid the Catholics arise to freedom, and the country to concord, declared, that dissensions should be perpetual, and slaveiy eternal. History relates the sequel. In a short time the land was de- Juged by native blood, and rebellion reared its liorrid crest. My Lor-J Castlereagli interposed, and terminated the scene, accord- Daniel O CONN ELL, ESQ., M.P. CJ- in^ to tlio plot of the original projectors, by tlie Union. That same Castlereagh again governs. Is it safe, my lord, is it pru- dent, to exaggerate the people's hopes, to give them anything like a certainty, which may meet nothing but disappointment ? Let us spare our country from the horrid consequences of out- raged feelings. This is the last resort of public liberty in Europe — the only country where the sword alone, the tyrant's law, does not prevail. I, my lord, for one, am determined not to survive the representative system of government in this country. Surely we ought not to endanger it, by rousing those angry passions which must result from betrayed confidence. We should warn the peo- ple not to believe over much those who are hackneyed in dupli- city and treachery. rhe opposition to Catholic Emancipation has assumed a new- shape J bigotry and intolerance have been pat to the blush, or covered with ridicule ; every body laughs at Jack Giftard and Paddy Duignan; and their worthy compeer and colleague in England, Sir William Scott, does no longer venture to meet, witli adverse front, the jubtice of our cause. He may, indeed, talk of setting our question at rest — he may declaim upon the moral inferiority of the Irish Catholics ; but let him rest assured, that so long as his children — if he have any — so long as the swarthy race of his Scotts are placed, by law, on any superiority to the Irish Catholics, so long will it be impossible to put the question to rest. It never can — it never shall rest, save in un- qualified, unconditional Emancipation. As to the moral inferi- ority, I shall not dispute the point with him, but I trust no Catholic judge will evei' bo found in this country with such an accommoduting disposition as to decide the precise same question in two difierent ways, as we are told that learn d gentle jiau has dene, with the question of "paper blockades." Let nim, 1 am sure I consent, direct his sapient opposition, in hia present pru- dent course of retarding the discussion of the right and justice of our claims, by introducing othei topics. The points of delay — the resting places are obvious ; and when the present are ex- hausted, I rely on the malignity of our oppressors to invent new terms for this purpose. First, there was the Veto — thitt, indeed, was soon put down by the ananimous voice of the Catholic people, who„ besid«!s other reasons, really could not see, in the actual selection made by the Irish government of persons to fill the offices belonging of right to them, anything to tempt th m to confer on that government the nomination of upwards o. thirty other offices of 8-6 SELECT SPEECHES Otf emolument and honour. If hostility to the Irish people be a recognized recommendation to ail other employments, is it likely that, in one alone, virtue and moral fitness should obtain the ap- pointment 1 It was too gross and glaring a presumption in an administration, avowing its abhoiTence for every thing Irish, t.n expect to be allowed to interfere with the religious discipline of the Irish Catholic Church. Driven from any chance of the Veto, our enemies next sug- gested "the arrangement," as it was called ; but this half mop,, sure had but few supporters. It was not sufficiently strong for the zealous intolerants ; its advantages were not so obvious to the profligate ; it was met by this plain reply — that we knew of no real inconvenience that could possibly arise from the present system of the government of our church ; but if any existed, it were fitter to be treated of by the venerable prelates of that chvu'ch, who understand the subject best, than by ministers who wished to tm'n every thing into an engine of state policy. " The arrangement" was then soon forgotten, and now, my lord, we have new terms stated — those are " sanctions and securities." We are now told we cannot be emancipated without " sanctions and securities." What are " sanctions ?" They are calculated, I presume, to do a gi*eat deal of mischief, because they are quite unintelligible. A.s to "securities." indeed I can understand that word ; and I am quite ready to admit that securities are necessary ; they are necessary against the effects upon a passive, but high-minded people — of continued insult and prolonged op- pression. They are necessary, in a sinking state, against the domestic disturbances and oi'gauized disaffection which prevail in England — against the enormous and increasing power of the enemy — against dilapidated resoui'ces, expiring commerce, depre- ciated currency, and accumulating expenditure — against the folly, the incapacity, the want of character of the administration — ■ against all those evils of which there is courage to speak — against. that domestic insult, respecting which it is prudent to be silent — against all these, " securities" are necessary, and they are easy to be found — they are to be found in conciliation and emancipa- tion — their rectitude and justice. The brave, the generous, the enthusiastic people of Ireland are ready to place themselves in the breach that has been made in their country; they claim the post of honour, that is, the post of utmost danger ; they are ready to secitre the throne and the constitution, and all they require in return is, to be recognized a-s men and human bcinrrG in ihu (iicir native land. DANIEL O'CONNKLL, ESQ., Sl.P. 87 Do not, then, T would say to any minister— do rot prcsiinio lo insult tliem, by attempting to treat them as aiatiiac-, to be r.ecured only by ropes and chains. Alas ! their only ii^sanity Is their devotion to you. Tell them not that the more they are n-ee the less will tliey be gi-ateful ; tell them not that the less you have to fear from their discontent, the more strictly ^vill you bind them. Oppress them if you please, but hesitate before you deem it prudent thus to insult their first, their finest feelings. Having disposed of " Veto, arrargement, sanctions, and secu- rities," there remains but one resource for intolerance ; the classic Castlerea2:h has struck it out : it consists in — what do you think ? Wh}^, in " hitches." Yes, " hitches" is the elc- g-ant -word which is now destined to protract our degradation. It is in vain that our advocates have increased ; in vain have our foes been converted ; in vain has William Wellesley Pole become our warm admirer. Oh, how beautiful he must liave looked advocating the Catholic cause ! and his conversion, tou, has been so satisfactory — he has accounted for it upon such philosophic principles. Yes, he has gravely informed us that he was all his life a man detesting committees ; you might set Vjv him that the name of a committee discomposed his nerves and excited his most irritable teelings ; at the sound of a com- mittee he was roused to madness. Now, the Catholics had insisted upon acting by a committee. the naughty Papists had ■isea nothing but profane committees, and, of course, he pro- claimed his hostility. But in proportion as he disliked com- mittees, so did he love and approve of aggi-egate meetings — respedahle aggi-egate meetings ! Had there been a chamber ut the Castle large enough for an aggregate meeting he would have given it. Who does not see that it is quite right to doat upon aogi'egate meetings and detest committees, by law, logic, philo- sophy, and science of legislation ? All recommend the one and condemn the other ; and, at length, the Catholics have had the good sense to call their committee a board, to make their aggre- gate meetings more frequent. They, therefore, deserve Eman- cipation ; and, with the blessing of God, he (Mr. Polo) would confer it on them ! (laughter and cheers.) Jiut, seriously, let us rer^ollect that Wellesley Pole is the bro- ther of one of our most excellent friends — of Marquis Welleslcy, who had so gloriously exerted himself in our cause — who haa Tuanfully abandoned one administration because he could not f rccurc our liberty, and rejected power under any other, unlet-s tciroied on the basis of Emancipation ; and who had, before ss SELECT SPEECHES OF this hciir in \vhicli I speak, earned another unfading laurel, and the eternal aftbction of the Irish people, by his motion in the House of Lords. The eloquence and zeal and high character of that noble mar>-juis seemed all that was wanting to ensure, at no remote period, our success. He knows little of the Irish heart who imagines that his disinterested services will ever be forgot- ten ; no, they are graved on the soul of Irish gratitude, and will ever live in the memory of the finest people on the earth. Lord Castlereagh, too, has declared in our favour, with the prvdent reserve of " the hitches j" he is our friend, and has been so these last twenty years — our secret friend — as he says so, upon his honour as a gentleman, we are bound to believe him. If it be a merit in the minister of a great nation to possess profound dis- cretion, this merit Lord Castlereagh possesses in a supereminenf degree. Why, he has preserved this secret with the utmost suc- cess. "Who ever suspected that he had such a secret in his keeping ? The whole tenor of his life, every action of his nega- tived the idea of his being our friend ; he sooke against us — he voted against us — he wi'ote and he published against us ; and it turns out now that he did all this merely to show how well he could keep a secret. Oh, admirable contriver ! oh, most success- ful placeman ! most discreet and confidential of ministers ! But what are his " hitches V They constitute another " secret," I think, however, I understand them. In the morn- ing papers of this day, there appeared a call upon the Protest- ants of the county of Sligo to come forward in support of the Establishment. It looks like the tocsin of intolerance ; the name signed to it is John Irwin. "Who this person is I know not, and I have not had time to inquire. If he be an Irish Protestant gentleman of independence, I respect, whilst I pity his eri'ors and his prejudices ; I would apply no other remedy to him but the voice of mild reasoning and argument, shaped by the spirit of conciliation. If he be an hireling of the adm - nistration, and that this is the first demonstration of the " hitches," I proclaim his miserable attempt to the contempt of the enlightened Protestants of Ireland — its fate is certain ; the government may give it a wretched importance, but they never can afford it strength : they may give it " sanction," but they caunot prociu'e " security" for bigotry. The Protestants, Pres- byterians, and the Quakers of Ireland, have too recently evinced the noble liberality of their sentiments — their sense of our wn-ongs, and their sympathy in the sufferings of their brethren, who are, in their tiirn^ ready to die in their defence. The Irish DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 8'.» Protestants of every clenominatiou are too just and too wise to be duped into the yell of bigotry. The result of the attempt is certain. Even in 1792, when intolerance stood in formidable array, a similar effort to stem our cause only covered the projec- tors and actors with immortal ridicule. Mr. Byrne and Mr. Keogh proceeded then as we shall now proceed ; and we have the advantage of being cheered by the great majority of those very Protestants whom the intolerants seek to dispose against us. I said I understood Castlereagh's " hitches," and I proclaim this as one of them ; I know, too, we shall have new persecu- tions. Our legal persecutors, who hunt us ^vith a keenness only increased by their disappointment, and rendered more rancorous by our prospect of success — good and godly men — are at this moment employed in projecting fresh scenes of persecution. Every part of the press that has dared to be free will surely be punished, and public spirit and liberality will, in every case that can be reached by the arts of state persecution, expiate its offence in a prison. Believe me, my prophetic fears are not vain : I know the managers well, and place no confidence in their holi' seeming. Again, England affords another opportunity of extend- ing the "hitches," under the pretence of making laws to prevent rebellion there ; the administration will suspend the habeas cor- pus, for the purpose of crushing emancipation here ; and thus will illustrate the contrast between the verv words which would require twelve simpletons to swear meant the same thing. The new laws occasioned by English rioters will pass harmless over their heads, and fall only upon you. It would be inconsistent if Castlereagh, the worthy successor of Clare and John Foster, used any other plan towards Ireland. The " hitches," the "hitches," plainly mean all that can be raised of venal outcry against us, and all that can be enacted of arbitrary law, to pre- vent oiu" discussions. Still, still we have resources — we have rich resources in those afTectionate sentiments of toleration which our Irish Protestant brethren have proudly exhibited during the present year. The Irish Protestants will not abandon or neglect their own work ; it is they who have placed us on our present elevation — their sup- port has rendered the common cause of our common country trium- phant. Our oppressors, yieldinganunwillingassent to the request of the Protestants of Ireland, may compensate themselves by abus- mg us in common ; they may style us agitators — Mr. Canning calls us agitators vnth ulterior vieivs — but those Protestant ag'- tators are the host friends to the security and peace of the conn- ed 00 SELECT SPEECHES OP try ; and to us, Popish agitators — for I own it, my lord, I am nil agitator, and wg solemnly promise to continue so, until the period of unqualified emancipation — ^until " the simple repeal." As to us, agitators amongst the Catholics, we are become too much accustomed to calumny to be terrified at it ; but how have we deserved reproach and obloquy 1 How have we merited calumny 1 Of myself, my lord, I shall say nothing — I possess no talents for the office ; but no man shall prevent the assertion of my rigid honesty. I am, it is true, the lowliest of the agitators ; but there are, amongst them, men of the first- rate talents, and of ample fortunes — men of the most ancient families, and of hereditary worth — men of public spirit and of private virtue ; and, above all,, men of perseverin/y, undaunted, and unextinguishable love of theu- country — ci their poor, degraded, insulted country — to that country, will I say of all 'he agitators, with the exception of my humble self — " Boast, Erin, boast them tameless, frank, and free." Out of the hands of those agitators, however, the govern- ment is desirable to take the people, and the government is right. Out of the sphere of your influence, my lord, the people can never be taken, for reasons which, because you are present, 1 shall not mention, but which are recognised by the hearts of the Irish nation. (Loud cheering.) But out of our hands the people may easily be taken. They are bound to us only by the ties of mutual sufferings and mutual sympathies. AVe are the mere straws which are borne upon the toiTent of public wrongs and public griefs. Restore their rights to the people — concili- ate the Irish nation, which is ready to meet you more than half way, and the power of the agitators is gone in an instant. I do certainly feel the alarm expressed at the agitation of the question of Catholic rights as a high compliment ; it clearly points out the course we ought to pursue. Let us rouse the Irish people, from one extreme to the other of the island, in this constitu- tional cause. Let the Catholic combine with the Protestant, and the Protestant with the Catholic, and one generous exertion sets every angry feeling at rest, and banishes, for ever, dissension and division. The temptation to invasion v/ill be taken away from the foreign enemy — the pretext and the means of internal commotion will be snatched from the domestic foe — our country, com billed in one gi'eat phalanx, will defy every assault, and we shall have the happiness of obtaining real security, by that courst of conciliation, which deserves the appr^ibatiou of every sound DANIEL O'COXXELL, ESQ.. M.P. 01 jadgnicnt. and must ensure the applause of every feeling heart—- we bhall confer an honour on ourselves, and ensure the safety- o-" our country. THE " NO-POPERT' CRY. The increased virulence of the "Xo-Poper>'" feeling about this time aroused the Catliolio Board to greater activity, and a resolution was passed to the following effect :^ " Resolved — That the Board do meet on the first and third Saturday of every mouth till November, and that the Secretary do write circidar letters to all the members, announcing their serious apprehensions thai a religious persecution is about to commence in Ireland, apparently sanctioned hy the administration ; and inculcating the necessity of fre- que nt deliberations, and constant activity on the part of the CathoHc body, in obviating the approaching calamity, and in the firm assertion of their rights, at this fearful and important crisis." The propriety of passing such a resolution was much questioned at the time, by those who had Tnstalled themselves as " patroiiS," as it were, of the Catholics ; but there is no doubt that circumstances fully bore out its averments, 3nd not only entirely justrfiea It, but even rendered it necessary, as a means of awakening to their danger, the tlireatened objects of this new persecution. The anticipated danger was not only from the chances of open, undisguised persecution but from the design, now again revived, and confidently spoken of as about to be pushed by the minister, of bringing forward some measure of state-interference witli Catholii ecclesiastical matters, either by the notorious " Veto" proposition, or some other eQnally to be deprecated and resisted. A stout response to the alarm-cry from Dublin was promptly reiurnc J from vailoua parts of the country, but especially from Limerick. On Fridaj', the 24th of July in this year (1812), a large meeting of the Catholics of the city and county was held for the pur- pose, at the Commercial Buildings, George's-street, Limerick, at which Mr. O'ConnelL then upon circuit, attended, and made the speech we are about to give. T. R. Ryan, oi ScArteen, Esq., was in the chair, and the meeting was opened with a speecli from ilr. Wil- liam Roche, the same gentleman who represented the city of Limerick, on Repeal princi- ples, from the passing of the Reform Bill until 1841. After expressing general concurrence with the proceedings of the Catholic Board in Dublin, confident hopes of the success of the cause, in the next session of parliament — gratitude to its friends in that body — and aversion to the idea of Avhat were called " securities," being given in return fbr Cathohc •emancipation, he read the resolutions that had been prepared, and moved their adoption- ^z give the chief among them --^ " Resolved— That however injurious the policy which laboured to sever the Prince from the people, the recent declarations in parKament revive our long-cherished hopes, that that illustrious personage will adhere to those principles, which, by establishing the harmony and happiness of th- subject, would best ensure the stability of the throne, and the prospcri;v of the empire. 02 BELECT SPEECHES OP *' That at a time when continental Europe is yielding her last sigh^ and all the rivulets of rational liberty are nearly lost in the flood of uni- versal domination ; and when these coui^lries, the last refuge of European freedom, are threatened with no less than total annihilation, we coD' sider the continuance of political disabilities as tending to paralyze the tuergies of the state, and to further the views of our implacable enemy. " And we, therefore, consider, that it would be a criminal apathy in us, at this perilous crisis, to cease our earnest application to the legislature, to embrace, within the protection of equal laws, all and every description of his Majesty's subjects. " That having, with regret, observed a design to mar the progress of our just claims, by propositions intended solely to raise alarms against us, we feel called upon to declare to the empire and to the world — " That ice icill enter into no comproinise for our rights, incompatihle with the integrity of our religion. " That the best security we can give, is our attachment to the con- stitution, which we are solemnly and irrevocably sworn to defend — our proved invariable fidelity to the laws, guaranteed by our properties, cur lives, and the very principles of the religion we profess. These, ■with other resolutions, M-ere seconded tiy Mr. A. F. O'Neill, and passed iinaiii- jnously. Counsellor O'Connell then rose, (adds the Limerick Evening Post, -whose report we quote,) and delivered a speech, the most brilliant and argumentative we have ever heard. Tiiis accomplished and powerful orator continued for upwards of an hour to address the i^serahly as follows, and was cheered, almost at the close cf every sentence, with loud and rapturous applause : — T feel it my duty, as a professed agitator, to address the meet- ing. It is merely in the exercise of my office of agitation, that I think it necessary to say a few woitIs. For any purjjose of illustration or arg-ument, further discourse is useless : all the topics which the present period suggested, have been treated of with sound judgment, and a rare felicity of diction, by my re- spected and talented friend (Mr. Roche); all I shall do is, to add a few observations to what has fallen from that gentleman ; and whilst I sincerely admire the bappjy style in which he has treated iiose subjects, I feel deep regret at being unable to imitate his excellent discourse. And, first, let me concur with him in congratulating the Catho- lics of Limerick on the progress our great cause has made sinco we were last assembled. Since that period our cause has not rested for support on the efforts of those alone who were imme- diately interested ; no, our Protestant brethi-en throughout the land have added their zealous exertions for our emancipation. They have, with admirable patriotism, evinced their desire to conciliate bj serving us, and 1 am sure I do but justice to the DANIEL 0*CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. 93 Catholics, when I proclaim our gratitude, as written on our Ijearts, and to be extinguished only with our lives. (Hear, hear.) Nor has the support and the zeal of our Protestant brethren been vain and barren. No, it has been productive of great and solid advantages ; it has procured, for the cause of religious liberty, the respect even of the most bigoted of our opponents ; it has struck down English prejudice ; it has convinced the mis- taken honest ; it has terrified the hypocritical knaves ; and, finally, it has pronounced for us, by a great and triumphant majority, from one of the branches of the legislature, the distinct recognition of the propriety and the necessity of conceding jus- lice to the great body of the Irish people. (Hear, hear, hear.) Let us, therefore, rejoice in our mutual success; let us rejoice in the near approach of freedom ; let us rejoice in the prospect of soon shaking ofi" our chains, and of the speedy extinction of our grievances. But above all, let us rejoice at the means by which these happy effects have been produced ; let us doubly rejoice, because they afford no triumph to any part of the Irish nation over the other — that they are not the result of any con- tention amongst ourselves ; but constitute a victory, obtained for the Catholics by the Protestants — that they prove the libe- rality of the one, and require the eternal gratitude of the other — that they prove and promise the eternal dissolution of ancient animosities and domestic feuds, and afford to every Chi'istian and to every patriot, the cheering certainty of seeing peace, harmony, and benevolence prevail in that country, where a wicked and perverted policy has so long and so fatally propagated and en- couraged dissension, discord, and rancour. (Loud cheering.) We owe it to the liberality of the Irish Protestants — to the zeai of the Irish Presbyterians — to the friendly exertion of the Irish Quakers ; we owe, to the cordial re-union of every sect and de- nomination of Irish Christians, the progress of our cause. They have procured for us the solemn and distinct promise and pledge of the House of Commons — they almost obtained for us a similar declaration from the House of Lords. It was lost by the petty majority of one — it was lost by a majority, not of those who listened to the absurd prosings of Lord Eldon, to the bigoted and turbid declamation of that English Chief Justice, whose senti- ments so forcibly recal the memory of the star-chamber ; not ^f those who were able to compare the vapid or violent folly of the one party, with the statesman-like sentiments, the profound arguments, the splendid eloquence of the Marquis Wellesley. (Hear, hear.) Not of those who heard the reasonings of our 9i SELECT SPEECHES OP ether illustrious advocates ; but by a majority of men -^ho acted. upon preconceived opinions, or, from a distance, carried into effect their bigotry, or, perhaps, worse propensities — who availed themselves of that absurd privilege of the peerage, which enables those to decide who have not heard — which permits men to pronounce upon subjects they have not discussed — and allows a final determination to precede argument. (Hear.) It was not, however, to this privilege alone, that our want oi success was to be attributed. The very principle upon which the present administration has been formed, was brought into immediate action, and with success ; for, in the latter periods of the present reign, every administration has had a distinct prin- ciple unon which it was formed, and which serves the historian to explain all its movements. Thus, the principle of the Pitt administration was — to de2:>rive the people of all share in the government, and to vest all power and authority in the croivn. In short, Pitt's views amounted to unqualified despotism. This great object he steadily pursued through his ill-stared career. It is true he encouraged commerce, but it was for the purposes of taxation ; and he used taxation for the purposes of corruption ; he assisted the merchants, as long as he could, to grow rich, and they lauded him ; he bought the people with their own money, and they praised him. Each succeeding day produced some new inroad on the constitution; and the alarm which he excited, by reason of the bloody workings of the French revolution, en- abled him to rule the land with uncontrolled sway; he had be- queathed to his successor the accumulated power of the crown — a power which must be great, if it can sustain the nonentities of the present administration. (Loud and continued cheering.) The principle of Pitt's administration was despotism — the principle of Perceval's administration was peculating bigotry — bigoted peculation ! In the name of the Lord he plundered the people. (A laugh.) Pious and enlightened statesman ! he would take their money only for the good of their souls. (Biu-sts of laughter.) The principle of the present administration is still more ob- vious. It has unequivocally disclosed itself in all its movements — it is simple and single — it consists in falsehood. Falsehood ia the bond and link that connects this ministry in ofiicc. Some of them pretend to be our friends — you know it is not true— they are only our worse enemies for the hypocrisy. They declare that tlie Catholic question is no longer opposed by the cabinet -tnat it is left to the discretion of eadi individual retainer. DANIEL o'co^■^^ELI, esq., yui\ P5 The ftict is otherwise — and their retainers, though not com vianded, as formerly, are carefully advised to vote against us. (Hear, hear.) The minister, Lord Castlereagh, is reported to have said in the HvDuse of Commons, that in the year 1797 and 1798, there was no torturs in Ireland, to the knowledge of government ! Is it really possible that such an assertion was used ? You hear of it with astonishment. All Ireland must shudder, that anv man could be found thus to assert. Good God ! of what mate- rials must that man be made who could say so ? I restrain my in- dignation — I withhold all expressions of surprise — the simple statement that such an assertion was used, exceeds, in reply, the strongest language of reprobation. But there is no man so stu- pid as not to recognise the principle which I have so justly at- tributed to this administration. What ! No torture ! Great God ! No torture ! Within the walls of your city was there no tortiu-e ? Could not Colonel Vereker have informed Lord Castlereagh, that the lash resounded in the streets even of Limerick, and that the human gi'oan as- sailed the wearied ear of humanity ? Yet, I am ready to give the gallant colonel every credit he deserves ; and, therefore, F recal to your grateful recollection the day when he risked his life to punish one of the instruments of torture. (Hear, hear.) Colonel Vereker can tell whether it be not true, that in the streets of your city, the servant of his relation, Mrs, Rossi ewen, was not tortured — whether he was not tortured first, for the crime of having expressed a single sentiment of compassion, and next because Colonel Vereker interfered for him. (Hear, hear). But there is an additional fact, which is not so generally known, which, perhaps, Colonel Vereker himself does not know, and which I have leariied from a highly respectable clergyman, that this sad victim of the system of torture, which Lord Castlereagh denied, was, at the time he was scourged, in an infirm state of health — that the flogging inflicted on him deprived him of all understand- ing, and that within a few months he died insane, and without having recovered a shadow of reason. (Hear.) But why, out of the mj^riads of victims, do I select a solitaiy instance % Because he was a native of your city, and his only offence an expresJiion of compassion. I might tell you, did you not already know it, that in Dublin there were, for weeks, three permanent triangles, constantly supplied with the victims of a |">rcmi.sccc us choice m.ade bj the army, the yeom.anry, the pulic;; 9G SELECT SVEE^TEiES OF roustables, and tlie Orange lodges ; that the shrieks of the tor- tured must have literally resounded in the state apartments of the Castle; and that along by the gate of the Castle yard, a hu- man being, naked, tarred, feathered, with one ear cut off, and the blood streaming from his lacerated back, has been hunted by a troop of barbarians! Why dc I disgust you with these horrible recollections'? You wsxnt not the proof of the principle of delusion on which the pre- sent administration exists. In your own affairs yoa have abun- dant evidence of it. The fact is, that the proxies m the Lords A70uld never have produced a majority even of one against Lord Wellesley's motion, but for the exertion of the vital principle of the administration. The ministry got the majority of one. The pious Lord Eldon, with all his conscience and his calculations, and that immaculate distributor of criminal justice, Lord Ellen- borough, were in a majority of one. By what holy means think you? Why, by the aid of that which cannot be described in dignified language — by the aid of a lie — a false, positive, palpa- ble LIE ! This manoeuvre was resorted to — a scheme worthy of its authoi-s — they had perceived the eflfects of the manly and dignified reso- lutions of the 18th of June. Thofle resolutions had actually ter- rified our enemies, whilst they cheered those noble and illustrious 'liends who had preferred the wishes and wants of the people of Ireland to the gratification of paltry and disgi*aceful minions. The manoeuvre — the scheme, was calculated to get rid of the efibct of those resoluticas, nay, to tm'n their force against us, and thus was the pious li'aud effected. (Hear.) There is, you have heard, a newspaper, in the permanent pay of peculation and corniption, printed in London, under the name of the Courier, a paper worthy the meridian of Constantinople, at its highest tide of despotism. This paper was directed to as- sert the receipt of a letter from Dublin, from excellent authority^ declaring, I know not how many peers, sons of peers, and baro- nets had retracted the resolutions of the 18th of June; that those resolutions were carried by sm-prise, and that they had been ac • tually rescinded at a subsequent meeting. Never did human baseness invent a more gross untruth ; ne\or did a more unfounded lie fall from the father of falsehood; never did human turpitude submit to become the vehicle of so '-'glaring" a dereliction of truth. But the Courier received its pay, and it was ready to earn the wages of its prostitution. It did so — it published the foul falsehoods, with the fill knowledge of their iklso- DANIEL o'COXNELL, ESQ., M.P. 97 hood; it published them, in two editions, the day before and the iay of the debate^at a period when inquiry was useless — when a contradiction from authority could not arrive ; at that moment this base trick was played, through the intervention of that newspaper, upon the British public ! Will that public go too far, when they charge this impure stratagem on those whose purposes it served 1 AVhy, even ir: this country, the administration deems it necessary to give, for the support of one miserable paper, two places — one of five, and the other of eight hundred a year — the stamp duty remitted — the proclamations paid for as advertisements — and a permanent bonus of one thousand pounds per annum ! If the bribe here be 80 high, what must it be in England, where the toil is so much greater? And, think you, then, that the Courier published, un- sanctioned by its paymasters, this useful lie? I come now to the next stage in the system of delusion ; it is that which my friend, Mr. O'Neil has noticed. He has power- fully exposed to you the absurdity of crediting the ministerial newspapers, when they informed you that the member for Lime- rick had stated in the House of Commons, that the ccnimcrcial interests of Limerick were opposed to the Catholic claims. Sir, for my part, I entirely agree with Mr. O'IS'eil ; I am sure Colo- nel Yereker said no such thing ; he is a brave man, and, there- fore, a man of truth ; he is probably a pleasant friend, and he lias those manly traits about him, which make it not unpleasant to oppose him as an enemy ; I like the candour of his character, and our opposition to him should assume the same frankness, and openness, and perfect determination. He well knows that a great part of the commercial interests of Limerick is in the hands of the Catholics — that the Quakers of Limerick, who pos- sess almost the residue of the trade, are friendly to us, and that, with the exception of the " tag, rag, and bob-tail" of the corpo- ration — (loud laughter) there is not to be found amongst the men who ought to be his constituents, a single exception to li- berality. (Repeated applause.) There remains another delusion ; it is the darling deception of this ministry — that which has reconciled the toleration of Lord Castlereagh with the intolerance of Lord Liverpool ; it is that which has sanctified the connection between both, and the place-procuring, prayer-mumbling Wilberforce ; it consists in sanctions and securities. The Catholics may be emancipated, say ministers in public, but they must give securities; by securities, t^ay the same ministers in private, to their supporting bigots, we 98 s:;lect speeches op mean nothing definite, but something that shall certainly be in- consistent with the Popish religion — nothing shall be a security which they can possibly concede— and we shall deceive them and secure you, whilst we carry the air of liberality and toleration. ^Hear.) And can there be any honest man deceived by the cant and cry for securities ? — is there any man that believes that there is safety in oppression, contumely, and insult, and that security is necessary against protection, liberality, and conciliation ? — does any man really suppose, that there is no danger from the conti- nuance of unjust grievance and exasperating intolerance ; and that security is wanting agamst the eifects of justice and perfect toleration ? Who is it that is idiot enough to believe, that he is quite safe in dissension, disunion, and animosity, and wants a protection against harmony, benevolence, and charity ? — that in hatred there is safety — in atFection, ruin? — that now, that we are excluded from the constitution, we may be lo^^al — but tha-^ if we were entrusted, personally, in its safety, we shall wish to destroy it 1 (Hear, hear.) But this is a pitiful delusion : there was, indeed, a time, when " sanctions and securities" might have been deemed necessai-y — when the Catholic was treated as an enemy to man and to God — when his pi'operty was the prey of legalized plunder — his reli- gion, and its sacred ministers, the object of legalized persecution ! — when, in defiance and contempt of the dictates of justice, and the faith of treaties — and I attest the venerable city, in which I stand, that solemn treaties were basely violated — the .Enf/Ush fac- tion in the land turned the Protestant into an i7itolerant and mur- derous bigot, in order that it might, in security, plunder that very Protestant, and oppress his and our common country ! Poor ne- glected Ireland ! At that period, securities might be supposed wanting; tlie people of Ireland — the Catholic population of Ire- land were then as brave and as strong, comparatively, as they are at present; and the country then afforded advantages for the da- sidtory warfare of a valiant peasantry, which, fortunately, have since been exploded by increasing cultivation. At the period to which I allude, the Stuart family was still in existence ; they possessed a strong claim to the exaggerating al legiance and unbending fidelity of the Irish people. Every right that hereditary descent could give the royal race of Stuart, tlicy possessed — in private life, too, they were endeared to the Irisb, because tliey wtre, even the worst of them, gentlemen. "Put ihev had still stronger claims on the sympathy and generosity DAXIEL O'COXKELL, ESQ.; M.P. 09 0? the Irish : they had been exalted, and were fallen — they had possessed thrones and kingdoms, and were then in poverty and humiliation. All the enthusiastic sympathies of the Irish heart were roused for them — and all the powerful motives of personal interest bore, in the same channel, the restoration of their riglits —the triumph of their religion, the restitution of their ancient inheritances, would then have been the certain and immediate consequences of the success of the Stuart family, in their preten- sions to the throne. At the period to which I allude, the Catholic clergy were bound bv no oath of allecnance ; to be a dimitarv of the Catho- lie church in Ireland, was a transportable felony — and the oath of allegiance was so intermingled with religious tenets, that no clergyman or layman of the Catholic persuasion could possibly take it. At that period, the Catholic clergy were all educated in foreign countries, under the eye of the Pope, and within the insp:3tion of the house of Stuart. From fifty-eight colleges and v-T.nvcnts, on the Continent, did the Catholic clergy repair to meet, for the sake of their God, poverty, persecution, contumely, and, not unfrequently, death, in their native land. (Hear, hear.) They were often hunted like wild b«;asts, and never could claim any protection from the law ! (Hear, hear.) That — that was a period, when securities might well have been necessary — when sanctions and securities might well have been requisite. But, what was the fact 1 — what was the truth which history vouches 1 "Why, that the clergy and laity of the Irish Catholics, having once submitted to the new government — having once plighted their ever unbroken faith to King William and his suc- cessors — having once submitted to that gi'eat constitutional principle, that in extreme cases the will of the people is the sole law — that in extreme cases the people have the clear and im- doubted right to cashier a tyrant, and provide a substitute on the throne — the Irish Catholics, having fought for their legitiroate sovereign, until he, himself, and not they, fled from the strife — adopted, by treaty, his English successor, though not his heir — - transferred to that successor, and the inheritors of his throne, their allegiance. They have preserved their covenant — with all the temptations and powerful motives to disaffection, they f'll- "illed their part of the social contract, even in despite of its "vio- lation by the other party. (Loud and continued applause.) How do I prove the continued loyaltv of the Catholico of Xre land under every persecution ? I do iiot appeal for any prc^jf^ to their own records, however j^enuinc--! aj psal merely to tJic testimony of their rulers and their enemies — (hear, hear) — I appeal to the letters of Primate Boulter — to the state-papers of the humane and patriotic Chesterfield. I have their loyalty through the admissions of every secretary and governor of ire- land, until it is finally and conclusively put on record by the legislature of Ireland itself. The relaxing statutes expressly declare, that the penal laws ought to be repealed — not from motives of policy or growing liberality, but (I quote the words,) " because of the long-continued and iminterrnpted loyalty of the Catholics." This is the consummation of my proof — and I defy the veriest disciple of the doctrine of delusion to overturn it. (Applause.) But as the Catholics were faithful in those dismal and perse- cuting periods — when they were exasperated by the emaciating cruelty of barbarous law and wretched policy — as they were then faithful, notwithstanding every temporal and every religious temptation and excitement to the contrary, is it in human cre- dulity to believe my Lord Castlereagh, when he asserts that securities are now necessary ? Now, that the ill-fated house of Stuart is extinct — and had it not been extinct I should have been silent as to what their claims were — now, that the will of the people, and the right of hereditary succession are not to be j^eparated — now, that the Catholic clergy are educated in Ire- land, and are all bound bv their oaths of alleo;iance to that throne and constitution, which, m the room of persecution, gives them protection and security — noiv, that all claims upon forfeited pro- perty are totally extinguished in the impenetrable night of obscu- rity and oblivion — now, that the Catholic nobility and gentry are in the enjoyment of many privileges and franchises, and that the full participation of the constitution opens upon us in close and cheering prospect — shall we be told that securities are now expedient, though they were heretofore unnecessary 1 Oh ! it is a base and dastardly insult upon our understandings, and ou our principles, and one which each of us would, in private iife^ resent — as in public we proclaim it to the contempt and execra- tion of the universe. (Great applause.) Long as I have trespassed on you, I cannot yet close : I hav3 a word to address to you upon your own conduct. The repre- sciitative for your city. Colonel Vereker, has openly opposed your libcrlies — he has opposed even the consideration of your claims. You are beings, to be sure, with human countenances, and the limbs of men — but vou are not men — the iron has en- ^ered into your souls, and branded the name of slave upon then^. DAMILL. o'cOiSiSiLLl., i:t>«^.; Al. p, 101 if you submit to be thus trampled on ! His opposition to you is decided — meet hira with a similar, and, if possible, a superior hostility. You deserve not freedom, you, citizens of Limerick, "vrith the monuments of the valour of your ancestors around you — you are less than men, if my feeble tongue be requisite to rouse you into activity. (Applause.) Your city is, at present. nearly a close borough — do but will it, and you make it free (Continued applause.) I know legal obstacles have been thi'own in your way — I knov/ tliat, for months past, the Recorder has sat alone at the sessiou-i — that he has not only tried cases, in the absence of any othei magistrate, which he is authorised by law to do, but that ho has solely opened and adjourned the sessions, which, in my opinion, he is clearly unwarranted in doing ; he has, by this means, I know, delayed the registry of your freeholds, because two magis- trates are necessary for that purpose : I have, however, the sat- isfaction to tell you, that the Court of King's Bench will, in the next term, have to determine on the legality of his conduct, and of 'that of the other charter magistrates, who have banished them- selves, I understand, from the Sessions' Court, since the registry has been spoken of ! They shall be served with the regular no- tices ; and, depend upon it, this scheme cannot long retard you (Great applause.) I speak to you on this subject as a lawyer — you can best judge in what estimation my opinion is amongst you — but such as it is, I pledge it to you, that you can easily obviate the present ob- stacles to the registry of your freeholds. I can also assure you that the constitution of yom- city is perfectly free — that the sons of freemen, and all those who have served an apprenticeship to a freeman, are all entitled to their freedom, and to vote for the representation of your city. (Hear, hear, hear.) I can tell you more : that if you bring your candidate to a poll, your adversary will be deprived of any aid from non-resident or occasional freemen ; we will strike off his list the freemen from Gort and from Galway, the freemen from the band, and many from the battalion of the city of Limerick militia. (Loud cries of " hear, hear.") In short, the opening of the borough is a matter of little diiS- culty. If you will but form a committee, and collect funds, 7i your opulent city, you will soon have a representative ready *o obey your voice — you cannot want a candidate. If the emanci- pation bill passes next sessions, as it is so likely to do, and that no ©ther candidate offers, I myself will bring your present nuiiiber 102 SELECT gPEEC3ES Oi* to the poll. (Loud applause.) I, probably, Trili hava lit lie chance of-siiccess — but, I will havo the satisfaction of showing this city and the county, what the freeborn mind miglit achieve if it were properly seconded. (Here the eloquent and patriotic speaker was interrupted for some minutes, by thundering ap- plause.) I conclude by conjuring you to exert yourselves ; waste not your just resentments in idle applaase at the prospect 1 open to vou ; let not the feelinoj of the moment be calumniated as a hasty ebullition of anger; let it not be transitory, as our resentments generally are, but let us remember om'seh'^es, our children, zjx^ our country] (Hear, hear, hear.; Let me not, lowever, close, withoi t obviating any calumny that may be liung upon my motives. I can easily pledge my- self to you that they are disinterested and pm-e — I trust they are more. My object in the attainment of emancipation is in nothing personal, save in the feelings hich parental love inspires and gratifies. I am, I trust, actuated by that sense of Christian- ity which teaches us that the first duty of our religion is beno- voience and universal charity ; I am, I know, actuated by the determination to rescue our common country from the weakne'^:.^, the insecurity, which dissension and religious animosity produce and tend to perpetuate ,• I vvish to see the strength of the island — this unconquered, this unconquerable island — combined to re- sist the mighty foe of freedom, the extmguisher of icivil liberty, who rules the Continent from Petersburgh to the verge oi the Irish )ayonets in Spain. (Loud and repeated applause.) It is h:3 inierest, it is a species of duty he owes to his family — to that powerful house, which he has established on the ruins of the thrones and dominations of Europe — to extinguish, for ever, re- presentative and popular government in these countries ; he has the same direct intent which the Roman general had to invade our beloved country — " Ut libertas veluti et conspectu." His power can be resisted only by combining yo^;r physical force -vvitli vouv enthusiastic and undaunted hearts. (Hear, hear.) There is liberty amongst you still. I could not talk as I do, of the Liverpools and Castlereaghs, of his court, even if he had the folly to employ such things — I wish he had ; you have the procection of many a salutary law — of that ])al]adium of per- isonai iioerty — the trial by jury. I wish to ensure your libor- ties, to measure your interests on the present order of the state, that we may protect the very men that oppress u.s. (LouO applause.) DANIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., ^.I.P 1C3 ^ Yes, if Ireland be fairly roused to the battle of the country and of freedom, all is safe. Britain has been often conquered : the Romans conquered her — the Saxons conquered her — the Kormans conquered her — in short, -whenever she -was invaded, she was conquered. But our country \ras never subdued ; we never lost our liberties in battle, nor did we ever submit to armed conquerors. It is true, the old inhabitants lost their country in piece-meal, by fraud and treachery ; they relied upor the faith of men, who never, never observed a treaty with them, imtil a new and mixed race has spnmg up, in dissension ana discord ; but the Irish iieart and soul still predominate and per- vade the sons of the oppressors themselves. The generosity, ■ the native bravery, the innate fidelity, the enthusiastic love of whatever is great and noble — those splendid characteristics of the Irish mind remain as the imperishable relics of our country's former greatness — of that illustrious period, when she was tho light and the glory of barbarous Europe — when the nations around sought for instruction and example in her numerous seminaries — and when the civilization and religion of all Europe were preserved in her alone. (Continued cheering.) You will, my friends, defend her — you may die, but you can- not yield to any foreign invader. (Hear, hear.) Whatever be my fate, I shall be happy, whilst I live, in reviving amongst you the love and admiration of your native land, and in calling upon Irishmen — no matter how they may worship their common God -to sacrifice every contemptible prejudice on the altar of their common country. (Great applause.) For myself, I shall con- clude, by expressing the sentiment that throbs in my heart — I shall express it in the language of a young bard of Erin,* and my beloved friend, whose delightfLil muse has the sound of tho ancient minstrelsy — " still Shalt thou he my midnight dream— Thy glory still my waking theme ; And ev'ry thought and wish of mine, Unconquered Erin, shall he thine .'" This Gporch procured him from the meeting the fo]lo'v\irig compliment • — ** Resolved — That our sincere thanks are hereby returned to Daniel O'Connell, barrlster-at-law, for his luminous and patriotic speech this day ; as well as for his manly and distinguished exertions at all times, ir the cause of his country. * Charles Thillips. Esq., author of the poem^ entitled "Thfe. Emerald We." then at tho Irish, suhseqrcntly for many years at the English bar, and now one- of the District. Com- mission eis of Banknivtcv in Engl»;nd 104 SELECT SPEECHES 01 Tlie legal opinions delivered by Sfr. O'Connell in this speech vere all verified in the courts of law. The city of Limerick, from being a nomination borough, was, by means of legal decisions, thrown open to the popular control, as Mr. O'Connell had pointed out. The fxpense was enormous, but it wrs clieerfully borne by the patriotic citizens.* The popu- lous triumph was complete, and Mr. O'Connell had the delightful satisfaction to have roused the sleeper and presided over the victory "Various other Catholic meetings were held in counties and towns of Ireland during tV.e summer and autumn of 1812, at which resolutions to the sam.e general effect as those we cave recorded of the Limerick meeting, were unanimously adopted. If in these and otJ cr demonstrations of popular opinion in Ireland, one sentiment more than another was pecu- Jarly marked, it was that of determined hostility to the proposition of giving in exchange for Emancipation any of what were insultingly termed " securities," especially and parti- cularly that of which M-e shall have soon to treat fully, the " veto" proposition. Mr. O'Connell was enabled to attend the Cork " city and comity" meeting, held on tri- day, 21st August, at the North Parish Chapel, William Coppinger, jun., Esq., of BaiTy'§ Court, in the chair; but the Cork paper (the Intelligencer), which contained the proceed- . ings, states that it was unable to report with precision his speech, and so passed it over entirely, with a few complimentary sentences In the list of resolutions here passed we find the foUoAv-ing :— " loth. Resolved — That our cordial thanks are hereby offered lO our patriotic fellow- Catholic Counsellor O'Connell, as the tribute of our ad- miration and applause, for his unceasing and energetic exertions in the common cause ; and for his able and eloquent speech delivered here this day It will thus be seen that the perioi'.oftheparliamentaiy recess in the year 1812, was by no means a season of repose and quiet, either to the Catholics or their opponents. The events of the session just gone by had startled and effectually aroused both parties. At a moment when 4X ministiy, generally known to be adverse to all concession, had, after the double shock ol Hie loss of their head and a vote of want of confidence caiTied against them in the lower house, been suddenly reseated in office, with renewed power, and. as .t was natural to sup- pose, unabated inveteracy. Catholic and anti-Catholic in Ireland had beheld, with equal astonishment, a motion favourable to the former, carried by a large majority in the Com- mons, and only lost in the Lords by a majority of one — a defeat in name, but virtually a tnumph. The probabilities were on the side of an actual and entu •' success in the next session. Tlie gi-aud object therefore, with the one party, M'as to advance this consummatica durirg the. recess by all the means in their power; and, of course, with the other party, to strengthen the old obstructions, and endeaVwoi' to create others anew. The party of the bigots had, however, a fearful advantage in means, and were not detei~ed ♦"rom using them by any scrupulosity. We have already alluded to the efforts at revi\iiig Jie " no Poperj'" cry. But, successful as these were with the stronglj'-prejudiceu public min J ,f England, jt was deteraiined not to tmst to the mere chance of their influence re-acting upor tae parliament. The latter Avas doomed — doomed, because of its one act of liberality — in consideration given to its many acts of an opposite nature, not even to the surprisiug cele. rity with Avhich it had retracted and cancelled the vote of Avant of confidence before men Uoned Accordingly, early in the month of October, 1812, the usual proclamation appeared oi the dissolution of parliament, and writs were immediately issued for a general election. * The. father of the present mayor of Limerick, :\Ir. Edmund Eyan, subscribed £500; find another young gentleman, a ilr. Patrick Creaj;h, a similar sum. The Verekers were ilirown out: lait. alas I the people, in the excess of their enthusiasui, put Spring Kice Ji; iiis place. What a mactical blunder. DAN'IEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., .AI.P. 10-) The st'"'jggle was now transferred to the hustings ; and that it was one of no very crentle CT mCKlerate cliaracter m ly well be supposed. The govemnient and its a:;eats a:i.J sm!>- {'i.rtcrs stoppsd at nothing to secure the return of imen opposed to concession, and tlieir effona were very generally successful. THE CITIZENS OF DUBLIX v. POLICE MAGISTRATES. Br/'ORR coming to an occasion when Mr. O'Connell expressed his sentiment': npo'. the. resales of the general election, there is an incident of his legal avocations to be noted. On Monday, the 19th of October, he and Mr. Finlay appeared as counsel iat the prOoe- cutrtions of an honest and zealous barrister were peculiarly needed to point out the extent of their delinquency, to leave no branch of their crimes unexplored, to allow no one particular of their misdemeanours to romain unrevealed to the world. Besides, it was to be recollected, that those parties themselves enjoyed the advantage of legal aid. There were no less than six of the accused who were tliemselves capable of performing the duty he had undertaken ; and the rest of them possessed the ad- vantage of an acquaintance with the rules of evidence and of an experience and practised dexterity, highly available to them in the conduct of tlieir defence. It would be, therefore, absurd to 'pretend that thev could at all be considered in the light of or- diiiary persons unskilled in legal proceedings and unfamiliar with them. And when they were in possession of such advantages, was it not a palpable injustice to attempt to deprive his clients of wha,t Avould no more than place them upon an equality? It was an absolute and gross injustice so to act. He would most solemnly and energetically pn)T.est against the foul play of not allowing the benefits of legal aid upon the one side as upon the other; and until the commissioners should take it upon themselves to order him to walk oat of court, he would not so much sun-ender his own privileges and his clients' rights as ^o cease his protest for one moment. He appeared in court as the retained counsel of the memorialists ; and if he were to be disbarred, he could not, of course, help it : but this he would most certaiuly do — • conscious of the extent of his professional privileges, the neces- p:ty and entire regularity of his attendance ; if the court should decide against him, he vvould instantly throw up his briex and advise his clients not to attempt going one step further in thi;_. most necessarv, most useful, most solemn, and most desirable investigation. Without legal aid this inquiry would be fruitless — the truth oould not be known, the intentions of the legislature ti iid of the j.ivornment (to wiicnn praise was due for giving that opportu- nity) should be defeated, the country will be disappointed, tho public-spirited individuals who had brouglit that important bub- 'iANiEL o'cov::zLT- v:sQ., M.r. 107 kct before tne nation would have been making only a nugatory ofFort at the attainment of justice — and he should therefore re- peat, that if the court were against him he would instantly and unhesitatingly throw up his brief, and advise those upon whoso behalf he appeared not to proceed any further. Again, he would s;iy, the present inquiry was most important, The criminality it was instituted to examine into, deeply and in-* timately concerned the citizens of Dublin in their lives, liberties, and properties. His instructions authorized him to declare, that delinquency of the most enormous magnitude, perpetrated in the guise and under the pretence of the administration of justice, would be exhibited to the public in all its enormity. Curious instances of imposition would be exposed to view. Penalties — • sometimes with ludicrous whimsicality — sometimes with inveto-' rate cruelty. The investigation of such charges as these was a matter of the most serious and highest importance to the com^ munity at large — they required the most serions pains- taking and solemn attention — they demanded all the consideration of the commissio]iers themselves, and (surely if the assistance of a barrister had ever been found useful in forwarding the ends of jus- tice, in protecting and vindicating the liberty of the subject) they c.rtu:iity of discussinjf tliC icsuiUi of the clcciious jubl concluded, and the conduct oi ] 08 SELECT «PEECnE? OF T'lirtlcHiar parties in various localitfes during those elections ; and, generally, the state pvt. l"ro6peetjt of the Catholic cause. William Gerald Baggott, of Castle Baggott, was callfd to tte 2huir. •Vhen Mr Baggott had concluded iiis si'.cit, address, on tnking th»-. chaij, Randal M'Dnn- rell, Esq., after some remarks in praise of the conduct of the poorer classes of the electors Oaring tl>e late contests, introduced the resolutions that had been prepaj'ed. There were loud calls on every side for " O'Connell, O'Cdinell :" and, as the newspaper reports, " atter a short hesitation, the Man of the people cime forward and spoke to tliG loiiou ii!g effect :" — I could not be an Irishman, if I ciid nof feel grateful, if I a\ti3 Slot overpowered at the manner in which you have received me. Sorry, sunk, and degraded as my country is, I still glory in the "title of Irishman, (Bursts of applh,use.) Even to contend for Ireland's liberties is a delightful duty to me. (Enthusiastic })laudits.) And if anything is wanting in addition to the evi- dence of such humble efforts as I have already been engaged in. for the restoration of our freedom and independence, co evinte my devotion to the cause of my country, I do swear, by the kind- ness you have shown me now — by 'dnj I have ever experienced at .your hands, and by all that I hold valuable, or worthy of desire, that my life is at her service. (Applause.) And may the heavy hand of adversity fall down upon me, and upon all that are dearest to me — the children of my heart — if ever i forsjike the pure pursuit of the liberty of Ireland. (Cheering tor several minutes.) Gentlemen, we are now arrived at a period, when we are not only struggling for the interest of our own reii- ) gion, but for the liberty, security, and peace of our Protestant' brethren, both here and in England. (AppJause.) I We are arrived at an important crisis, when a serious profes- sion has been made, on our behalf, by the English parliament. < This is the first time that a declaration such as that to which f uliude was ever made in the senate. It is the first time that the voice of religious liberty was really heard in the British ■.larliament — the first time that men were allowed to judge for LUemselves, and to obey the divine precept, of treating others aa they themselves would wish to be treated. (Hear, hear.) The period is highly important, and calls for all the watchful- ness, zeal, and a-ssiduity of which we are capable. An adminis- tration (formed, heaven knows how !) have given us a specimen of their acting a neutral part towards us. They have promised that they shaU not interpose their authority to interrupt the good intentions of any man. Some of them have even pledged tho'Ti'splves to support the Catholic question ; and, probably half of them 'lave given some earnest ol'theii* improved liberuiity. l*ANiKL O'CONXELL,, E;S(^., M.P. 100 xvill, however, give them little credit for sincerity ; I believo tliev would not even pretend to lav much claim to our confidence — they have too much modesty to expect t(.> be believed by us — (l.iui^hter, and cries of hear, hear) — we have, 1 b'^lieve, without paying- much attention to the professions of the Cabinet, arrived at a most important crisis. It belioves every man of us to do his duty, and to take care that we shall lose none of the impor- tant acquisitions we have made. This very administration of whom I am speaking, notwithstanding all their fair promises, ha\ e been busily em.ployed in throwing new impediments in our way since last session. But those impediments shall do us little injury if we do our duty. They certainl}'- are our natural ene- mies — they hate liberty — they have an inherent abhorrence to freedom, and their hostility to us is particularly embittered by our contempt for them (loud applause) : yes, gentlemen, sucU are the men whom you, in your resolutions, have justly termed, *' incompetent," and " profligate" — such are the men Aviio now command the destinies of those realms, and, probably the for- tunes of Europe. (Hear Hear.) 1 am afraid, gentlemen, that I shall take up too much, of your time if I advert to some topics that are crowding upon my mind. (Cries of no, no, go on, go on.) The first I should be inclined to allude to is, an address, lately published by a real friend to religious liberty, and printed by I^tr. Cobbett, a distinguished colleague of his, in the exposure of public corruption — I mean Lord Cochrane, one of the members for the citv of Westminster, than whom no man deserves better of every real admirer of political integrit}^ and patriotism. This distinguished member observes, that he was once opnosed to the Catholics, because he disapproved of the slavish doctrines whi.^h prevail " in the Romish Church." It is some consolation, gentlemen, that there is some person who can Jissure ministers, there is no danger in grantmg us emancipation — we are not too Umd of liberty. (Laughter.) But, gentlemen, see the consis- tency and rationality of our calumniators 1 At one time they say •ye are agitating democrats, crying aloud for an unwarrant- able poilion of freedom : the very next moment they turn round and tell us, that we have a marvellous propensity for slavery 1 (Loud cries of hear, hear.) The truth, however, is, that their accusations are false in both instances ; we do not sro to excess on either side ; we are ])artial to a legitimate and wel'.- rtiodelled monarchy in an hereditary line, and we. at the samo time, reverence the majesty of the people, ^\'iiile w«j oe.TX a triio allegiarice to the British constitution, we still say, tliat life u not woi'tli enjo^anent, without the blessings of freedom-. (Reiterated appU'.iise.) Lo)-d Cochrane admits that he is con- verted from his oii_;inal antipathy to Catholics, and he says lie is now ready to grant them all the immunities he himself enjoys^, if, in the fir-st }>lace, they accept the privileges of Englishmen^ and if in the second, they renounce the jurisdiction of the Pope. I say^ we are most anxious to obtain the privileges of English- men. Ijct Lord Cochrane recollect what the first Irishman that ever was born said at Xewrv. [ilcrc the k>:u-n(itl geiitlcma:i was iiitcrruptccl for severa: minutes by the acclamations ijf. the iissciobly.] I am not surprised — continued Mr. O'Connelb when silence wasr.o'ain restored — I am not surprised tiiat you should feel the fjiost ecstatic emotioiis of the Irish iieart, when I but allude? to tlic name of John Philpot Curran. (Renewed clieering.) It re- qals to us everything that is dear or interesting in our history —it pronoujvccs everything tluit we are proud to live with iii this aoc, arid everytlduijr that shall be estimable in the minds of posterity. (Lou«l ai)plause.) I know the name of John Philpot Curran has conducted you back involuntarily to that most awful era in our 'inr.als, when we were deprived of our indei)endcnce, and motan)urphosed into the colony of a j^eopie, who were nor, :uid who are^not, in the least, worthy of l)cing our jiasteiw. ]>iit, my friends, if we are true to ourselves — if Protestants and Catholics bo alive to their commonest and most intimate inte- I'cst, we may, profiting among other aitls, by the assistance of tliis very idol of ours, to whom you have just paid your aflcction- jite tril)ute — we may, I say, become a kingdom once more ! (Thunders of applause.) 1 had adverted to what my most vonerafod friend, John Plul- yot Curi-an, said at Newry. 1 wutild take leave to remind Lord Cochrane of it, assuming it to be the exiu-ession of Catholic feel- ing. TJje Irisli Cicero There observed, that Englishmen love the ]»rTvilege of being governed by ICnglishmen. I would tell my J.ord Cochrane, that Irislimcn fully as highly value the privilege f'- being governed by Irishmen. (Long-continued r.pplause.) The second proviso of Lord Cocin-ane is one merelj of a pole- mical de^criiition. He wislics to destroy the jurisdiction of tlie P(>l)e. - I woidd ask of him in the Jiame uf Ciuistlan chai'ity, ha lip not oiu-sMlemn uivths lu satisfy him I (Heai-, hear, hear.) Wo Ci'c dcradcd, excluded, and insulted, because we regard tluj ul>- DA^•I^:L 0*C0!:\ell, esq., m.p. Ill ligation of an oath. — becanse, for any favour, eartlily power can bestow, we would not violate our consciences ; and still, tliougU this fiict is clear and patent before the world, we are insulted, by being told that our oaths are not a sufficient security for our al- legiance ! It is most amazing how men will presume to play with our feelings. We show them that we would be willingl}' bondsmen to all eternity, sooner than violate our oaths ; ye* they demand, as a security, a breach of the precepts of our reli- ;5Lon — not thinking even an oath from such people sufficient. ^Hear, hear.) In the course of my professional pursuits, I have oeen one hundred times compelled to swear that 1 did not think it lawful to commit murder. (A 1-uigh.) You laugh, gentlemen, but what I tell you is not a greater absurdity than Lord Cochraue's proposed pledge. But see how the imputation which, cuch men would throw upon us, would operate as applied to an individual in private life. They demand a pledge of us, saying^, by implication, that we do not value an oath. Why, if any man in the community had the audacity to tell me directly that I did not value an oath, either he or I should not lono: survive such a flagrant insult. But we are told we have predilections — we do not deny the charge. As for my part, I do not value the man who has not his predilections and resentments ; but at the same time, Lord Cochrane may be as much afraid of our predilection;* for the gi-and lama of Tartary, as for the Pope of Home. (liear^ hear.) Those imputations upon our value for an oath evince only the aiiserable ignorance of our opponents, with regard to our prin- ciiples and our uniform conduct. They bring to my recollection, again, the words of the great Curran at Newry, and serve to con- vince me still more of their entire justice, w^hen he said " that they are unfit to rule us, making laws, like boots and shoes for exportation, to fit us as they ma}'-." (Long-continued applause.) I have taken up much of your time, gentlemen, but I confess I am anxious that the people of England should know us. If Lord Cochrane was here, I do not think that we could fail to con- vi}ice him of the mistakes he has fallen into. We are no de- luders or traitors — we do not make promises to violate them. There is a long tribe of wretches who accuse us of treachery ; if they, indeed, revived their slanders, they should not obtain a re- ply. This junta constitutes the worst and vilest herd of the community. Whenever the in^'ader touches our slu»res the^' will be the first to join him ; while we, tlie insidious and aiiy of Clare, I forgot to say, '.he Chaucf^^lor of the DANIEL o'COXNTXr, rSQv. il P llA K::cliequer is throv/n out. The Catholics of this coniify have covered themselves with eternal boiiour. All the money of the treasury was without influence to seduce them from tlieir duty. Kclinquishing, as was the case with numbers of them, the closest ties of intimacy, friendship, and kindred, tliey nobly told th*^ Chancellor that they had every good wish for his interest, but tliat their country had the first claim upon them and upou their votes. (The loudest applause.) The Ponsonby family have succeeded in tlie north. If the north was disgi-aced by the return of a Yarmouth or a Castle- rcfigh, tlicro is sufficient consolation in the circumstance I have just mentioned, to make us well pleased with our liberal Pro- testant brethren, in that portion of Ireland. In speaking of Lord Castlereagh, I do not knc>w how to select words to ade- quately express my feelings. I should become an old man in foarainj? out the torrent of hatred and indignation with which my bosom teems. He is not here at the present moment ; but I do not feel myself the less authorized to speak of him as an honest and injured Irishman should speak ; becaiise there are people here, I am well persuaded, to convey to him the language I use. Mr. Wclleslej^ Pole boasted of his having people behind the curtain at every Catholic meeting. His successors, I sup- pose, have imitated his wisdom ; and as there is, therefore, some Fpy, in all probability, lurking to apprise Lord Castlereagh cf what goes forward, I have not restrained myself. Let the man who buried thousands of our brave troops in the marslies of Walcheren, and destroyed the springs of his country's liberty, know the feelings which are experienced by an Irishman, when his name is mentioned. (Loud applause.) To counterbalance the gloom that is thrown over the mind when the success of an enemy to the cause of Ireland is contem- plated, I might exhibit the prospects tbcvt %re presented by the residence of the young Duke of Leinster amongst us. (Loud acclamations."! Inheriting such a load of the vu'tues of his ancestry, h!^ promises are great. Indeed there is something in the name of Fitzgerald to cherish and console Ireland under tl e heaviest afflictions. (Loud applause.) Let us hope that tho:e virtues only want an opportunity of action to prove advan- tageous to the empire. Let us hope that he is at this moment at the meeting in Kildare, commencing a career of glory to himself and usefulness to Ireland. (Cheering.) I mTist now advert to tlie disgraceful eflTorts that have been made in the cou: '"s of Sligo, Lcitrim^ lioscommon, and Lon^- 113 SELECT SPEECHES OP fOi"d, by a disgraceful no-Popery faction, to agitate and disturb the public peace. To those, however, is to be opposed that for- midable and imposing document, the Protestant petition, signed by everything of wealth, respectability or talent that was to be found throiighout the country. As to the no-Popery agitators, we have leading them a Mr, Steward Corry, whoever he may be — a Mr. Owen Wynne, who is said to be a great encourager of fat pigs. (Much laughter.) He is also, however, brother to that important dignitary, the caterer-general of the Castle. Then we have a Mr. Counsellor Webber, who was an. assistant-barris- ter, or, in the words of the great Flood, who had availed him- self of the " refuge for tried incapacity." In one county an obscure clergyman was the author of a pompous string of anti- Catholic resolutions. But the h3'pocritical affectation of liberality in those gentlemen was worst of all ! (Hear, hear.) Catholics were their loving Ijrothers ! — everything that was sweet and delightful and sub- lime and affectionate ! ! (Laug-hter.) Tliey love us — oh how deal ly ! —but they desire us to continue slaves ! They desire uy to fight for them and to pay the taxes : — but they keep the re- wards to themselves ! Mr. O'Connell then proceeded, at some length, to descant UDon the necessity of agreement and unanimity of sentiment among all classes at the awful crisis now impending. He said it would be much wiser for ministers, at this juncture, to enter into a treaty of amity with the Catholics of Ireland, than to lavish a subsidy of £80,000 upon Bernadotte — than to build hopes upon the insurrection in Paris — form alliances with a chieftain iri South America — or conclude arrangements with the Dey of Algiers ; and concluded amid loud acclamations. JOHN PHILPOT CURRAN. Upon the 14th of Novemher, 1812, Mr. O'Connell was about to move that a dinner should F>e given by tlie Catholics to their Prctestant supporters, vlien Mr. Lawless introduced a TOt« of censure on cei-tain member tj of the Board, who had acted against the celebro.ted iohn Philpot Curran, at his then recent contest for the borough of Newry. After some oliier gentlemen had spoken, Mr. O'Connell rose and said : — He had very little to offer on the present occasion. He had no noubt, and he believed the Board had no doubt, of the pro- priety of inflicting tlicd a further adjournment until the following Monday, to some larger place of meeting, wheio there would lie room for the imniense crowds which had that day assembled, blocking up the passages, and crov,-ding even the street below. It was, however, determined to rei£>h?n wiicre they were; and the debaUi proceeded on Mr. Lawless's motion, put in the fyliOAing shape : — '•' Tliat such persons as liad deserted the tried friends of tlie Carno'rcs at the last general election, were no longer deserving of their con li- dence." Aft-er several very .'.nimated speeches pre and con, M. O'Gorman (Nicholas Pui cell) moved, by way of amendment, to add a sentence, approving tlie e;'.i*hiiiatious oCfenxl by Mr Lalcr. of Cranach, and some of tlie others originally inculpated. Mr. O'Connell supported the amendment, but not as an addi liou to Mr. Lawless's motion. The original resolution he coasl DAN ILL O'CONNELL, JlSQ., .M.i'. It? dcred to be one of t!l e most unjust, indiscreet, and inconsistent that could possibly have been conceived. It would affect any man and every man. It would 'sacrifice men who had ever evinced the utmost anxiety and zeal for the promotion of the Catholic caase. It would go to divide the body, and interrupt tliat harmony whicli was acknowledged upon all hands to be of the most vital importance. It would carry the broad inconsis- tency upon the face of it, of censui'ing persons who at the same time were held to have satisfied public opinion. One gentleman (Mr. O'Gorman) had told them he supported it on the grounds of its having elicited the satisfactory explana- tion whicli they had that day heard. But, surely, it was unl\\ir, aftei acknowiedging these vindicUions to be so entirel}^ full and complete, to send out to th<=^ v.orld a vague and general ccnr-ure that niif]:ht oe turned against the best me a in the commimity. Another gentleman (Mr. Costigin) had said, "let those tho rap fit wear it ;"' but it was not always the person whom the cap best fitted that it was placed upon by the public. It seldom happened that the itidividual whom the cloak of infamy best buited would of hin^self put it on. Snob a person ^as generally tar more disposed to throw it over the shoulders o^ she innocent, and array himself in the garli of hypocrisy, and eo elude the dis- grace whicli he was so conscious of meriting. It. was, to boiTO\7 an illustration from scenes of horror that had beerj I'ludod to. a pitch-cap of torture, that th&y were about to force down upon" the heads of unoffending men, and not a well-earned mlliction u'j.'on real and fchameful delinquency. It should be borne m mind that that Board was the organ, as it were, of the Catholic peop^le. Being so, its denunciations canie to be considered, and were, in eiTeot, the denunciations of that people. The Catholic Board should not forget those men whose exertions, wliose influen<^e, and whos-je active patriotism had worked up the cause to its present high position and momen- tous importance. It was no small triumph to observe gentle- men of the iirst rank and consideration in the coimtry coming forwrj-d to vindicate themselves to that Board. He well recol- lected a time, when m^en, possesse^l of their fortune, station, and high respectability, cared nothing for any i-ei.'oiutioni: that might be passed by meetings in Dublin. 1 he Catliolic Board, he woidd again beg c-f gentlemen to recollect, had now arrived at such a pitch of influence and importance, that their frown was sufficient to cast dismay around any man they attacked ; but it behoA-'od them to prove that the moderation and justice with which thoy J.2U SJXECT tSPEECHCS 0? exercised tiiat power was commens urate with its niagnitinlev W hatever might be the decision of that day, he woiud take -iipon "himself to assert, that no CathoUc in the land would ventni-e to vote again in a manner that could subject him to their disple?„- Kiu'e. It was evident how unjust] j the resolution mi^iit operate, from the statement which a highly-respectable gentleman (j\Ir, Burke) thought it necessary to make a short time before ; and he begged leave to assure that gentleman, that if he had net "been present to advocate his cause in person, no efforts of Ids (Mr. O'Connell) should have been wanted to ensure the justice vvhich was his desert. lie thougiit individual votes of censure, on every account, highly reprehensible, and certain to be attended with the very worst consequences. It w.'.add be nothing less than transform- ing the Catholic Board — which possessed the dear, invaluable, unbought confidence of the Irish people — into a terrible inquisi- tion. If such a transformation were to take place — if an assem- bly, instituted for the advancement of constitutional freedom, assumed to itself such inquisitorial privileges, there was an end at once to the security of the best men. No one, liowever con- scious of his own innocence — however anxious to do his duty to his country without a thought of personal advantage to himself, could feel or could be safe. Ho claimed for himself sincerity at least ; and he was not conscious of ever having acted otherwi^ie than as he sincerely believed his duty t-o his country required : yet if this system were to be established, he knew not how soon he might be imjustly and summarily condemned. Should a fac- tion who could m.uster twenty or twenty-five votes have it in their power to act in this manner, he knew not how soon they might come forward and say, '' Daniel O'Conneli does not de- serve the confidence of the C'atholic people." He prayed the Board to act with the dispassionate candoiir becoming them as a gretit, deliberative assembly; and concluded hj supporting the amendment, in so far as it expressed apprrval of the explanations that day offered, and confidence in the gentle men who had made them. However the efforts to wliieh Mr. O'Corir.eli fi^Unlefl tMice in the foregoing speech wcr wr reasful. Tlic room had leei' I'uoked in favour of the vote of censure; and. after t»'» civisiona — " one upon the iimendmcnt of approval, and the other on d suhsciivient ataccl n:fcnt to adjourn— the censuiJnt' vote was carrietL" ©\NIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P 12 ^ TAAFFE a. CHIEF JUSTICE OF QUEEN'S BENOIL The case of Taaffe and others acjainst the Chief Justice of the Queen's Bench, caiae i)0\y, November, 1812, again before the courts, after successive adjournments from tlie preceding terms. Our concern is not with a detailed history of its progress ; and we shall therefore give, without further preface, Mr. OCGuneU'a speech in this case, Friday, November 13, 181^ in the Court of Common Pleas. The following 13 the report of the Freeman's Journal, in its number of Satui'day Novem- ber 14 : — "Mr. O'Conndl appeared in court this day to make his reply to the atgnments of Mr. Ponnefather, as delivered on luesday last. The court was excessively crowded, and it ETiay with truth be said, that no person who came for the purpose of enjoyini;; a display ol forensic powers, went away disappointed- My lords (said Mr. O'Connell), I am highly sensible of the in- iulgence I have received from the Court on the present occasion, I feel no small regret at having consumed any portion of your lordship's time, but I shall be as brief as possible, while I en- deavour, in discharging the only duty that now remains to me, to reply to the arguments of the gentlemen on 'el for the i£^ SELECT SPEECHES OP defendant contend that no action lies, and conceding tliat a tres- pass has been committed, tliey say, that this is one of the instances in the law where there is an injury without means of compensa-. t^>n, because the defendant being a judge of a superior court, no action will be against him. It is, my lords, readily admitted, that no action lies against any judge for any judicial act whatsoever j but we insist that it does lie against every judge for ministerial acts. This distinction w^as taken by Mr. Perrin, and sustained with his usual force and ingenuity. It was admitted by Mr, Foster, and though not ex- pressly admitted, it was, as I shall show, distinctly recognised by Mr. Pennefather, who, however, has announced a new propo- sition — namely, that no action lies for any act of a judge of the superior courts, adding, in the meantime, any act done as a judge. Now, if by acts done as a judge he means judicial acts, this is conceded. If he includes ministerial acts, and that the judges of the superior courts are in no wise responsible in actions, al- though for the same acts, and within their jurisdiction, inferior judges would be responsible ; this is not only denied, but the charge of a " bold attempt" to subvert principle recognised in every case he has himself cited, is retorted, and justly retorted on the learned gentleman ; for, in Hammond and Howell (2 Mod. 218) quoted by him, the Court expressly say, "though they, (the judges) were mistaken, yet they acted judicially, and for that reason no action could lie against the defendant." For what reason ? Not because the defendant was judge of any par- ticular court, but because he acted judicially. And in Floyd v. Barker (12th Coke, 23rd) also cited by him, this distinction is expressly taken — '" A judge or justice of the peace . cannot be charged for conspiracy for that which he did or>enly in court, for the causes and reasons aforesaid." The two next causes cited by the learned gentleman, not only confirms the distinction we rely on, but illustrates its appKcation in practice. These cases are Barnardiston ik Soames (2 Liv. 114) and Ashby and White (2 Lord Eaymond, 938). In the first of these cases it was held, that no action would he for falsely and maliciously making a double return to Parliament. Why ? Be- cause the judges were of opinion that the sheriff acted, in that respect, judicially. In Ashby and White it was held, that for rejecting the vote of a person qualified to vote at an election, an action would lie against the sheriff. W^hy ? Becau.se it was held, that the sheriff acted, in that respect, ministerially. And this distinction is further recognised and acted on in the next DAXIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., W.P. 127 case cited by the learned gentleman, of Miller v. Seares (2 Black- stone, 1141), where an action was held to lie against the Com- missioners of Bankruptcy, for improperly committing a man for not answering satisfactorily. It was held to lie, because their office was considered executory and ministerial, and not judicial. Let me add to these authorities the case cited by Mr. Perrin, and commented on by the gentlemen on the other side, in Green- velt V. Benweli (in Salk. 396 ; Lord Raymond, 467; and Cum. 77).) The Court will find the judgment of Lord Plolt given very distinctly in Cummins — " And that no action will lio against any judge for what he does judicially, and of record ; but if a justice of the peace issue a wan-ant, and commit a party without cause, he may be punished, because the act is only mi- nisterial, and the commitment only intended for process and not for punishment ;" and he cites, fi'om 1 2 Coke, Nudigate's case. He was a justice of the peace, and though he recorded a cir- <5umstance falsely, yet, as he acted as a judge, that is, judicially, no action would lie. Now, compare the cases. If Nuiigate had issued a groundless warrant for any act of violence, an actiou would have lain against him, because the act was ministerial ; but when he acted judicially and upon record, no such actiou could be maintained. Thus, my lords, all the cases establish our distinction between judicial and ministerial acts, as well those relied on at the c o- posite side, as those cited by Mr. Penin. But where is the dis- tinction stated by Mr. Pennefather to be found ? I have been unable to trace it in any of the cases ; and if you examine the authorities fi'om which he has endeavoured to infer such a dis- tinction, I think you will join me in considering that his infe- rences are unfounded, and his positions untenable. And now having I trust, established that which is, indeed, a familiar distinction to your lordships, I shall proceed to show you that the issuing of the warrant by the Chief Justice was a ministerial, and not 'c judicial act. I admit that the Judges of the King's Bench are coronei's and conservators of the peaco throughout Ireland, and it is in this capacity of conservators of the peace that the present warrant was issued, or indeeu. couM have been issued. None of your lordships, notwithstanding tho dignity and extent of your judicial authority, could issue such a wan-ant, because none of you is a conservator of the peace throughout the different counties. But the conservator of the peace was, and is, a merely ministerial officer. In page 354, volume 1, Blackf^tone says, that his power consisted "in sup- 128 SELECT SPEECHES OF pressing riots, and taking securities for the peace, and in apprc" hending felons and other malefactors. This would appear to b® the full extent of the common law authority of conservators of the peace. The Court is, of coiurse, fullj aware that the consti- tution of justices of the peace is widely different. The power of electing conservatorr of the peace having been taken from the people, and vested in the crown, by the 34th of Edward the Third, chapter 1, they first got a judicial character, were em- powered to ti-y offences, and obtained the name of justices. — (Blackstone, 350.) The justices of the peace are judges of a court of record — the conservators of the peace are not so. This power of conservator of the peace the Chief Justice of the King's Bench holds in con^mon with the Chancellor, the Master of the Rolls and the other persons whom I have named ; ?.nd if this be a good justification for him, it would be equally so for the Master of the Kolls, for he has closed in him the same authority in his ministerial capacity. Then was the wan-ant issued improperly, as it was,, in itself, a ministerial act. For this I have the express authority of Lord Holt ; his words are, an action will lie for im- properly issuing a warrant, because the act is only ministerial, and intended for process not punishment ; and 1 have the equally explicit authority of all the cases from Windham v. Clue, (Cro. El. 130) to Morgan v. Hughes, (Second Term Report, 225,) and those, cases which occur every day, in which actions are main- tained against justices of the peace for issuing warrants without leg-al gi'ounds, although those justices are judges of the very courts in whicli the offences specified in those warrants are triable, although they have jurisdiction over the offence and the offender, and although for their judicial acts in that very matter no action would lie. This, tlien, is a ministerial act, done by a ministerial ofiicer, for which, whatever be the number and value of his other high dignities, he is responsible to my client. I shall now follow Mr. Pennefather in a few observations upon some of the other points which he has laboured in this case ; and first, where he insists that this must be taken as a judicial act, because it is averred to have been done by the Lord Chief Jus- tice ; and as we have not traversed the fact of its being so done, and in order to sustain this proposition, he cited Eton v. Southly, from Walker. I shall dismiss the case by observing, that all it ]»roves is, that an allegation " that A. B. having been possessed as a tenant at will," is a sufficient averment that be then was tenant at will — but we are not disputing upon avi rments in tliis lifctauce. It is sufficiently averred that the defeiif.ant was Chief DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ-., M.F. 129 Justice, and as such, namely, by virtue of the office of conserva- tor, which that dignity conferred on him, issued this warrant Can it be seriously contended, that issue should have been taken apon the title the defendant chose to style himself by, when he issued this warrant? What would the jury have to try? Cer- tainly something very immaterial — the appellation the defen- dant chose to be addressed by at that moment. But the ques- tion is, whether this be a judicial or a ministerial act. Now, can the nature of the act depend on the name or title of the ac tor? — Is the quality of the fact to be changed with the dignity of the doer ? But, really, it does not appear to me that I should be at all justified in detaining your lordships upon this part of the case. The second point in Mr. Pennefather's argument, to which i have to entreat a few moments of your attention, is that part of the case in which, without admitting the distinction between judicial and ministerial acts, he still acknowledged its authority, by the pains he took to prove the granting of a waiTant to be a judicial act. He first insisted that no action would lie for un- justly issuing a fiat, and then he compared warrants to fiats. Now, it may be conceded that no action would lie in the first case ; but if warrants be fiats as process to bring the party in, then the authorities and cases in which actions have lain asfainst justices of the peace for issuing warrants are all mistaken, and a discovery is made that by comparing warrants to fiats, the de- fendants would have been entitled to non-suit the plaintiffs in those actions — a mighty discovery, truly ! ! ! But if this be a point of non-suit only for a Chief Justice, this absolutely would follow, that if this identical warrant had been issued by my Lord Mayor A. B. King, who is a magistrate of great dignity, and I presume entitled to some veneration from the counsel at the other side — if the Lord Mayor who is also a pr:.siding judge at the sessions bad issued this very waiTant, an action might have lain against him, because it was ministerial, though to the extent df trying and punishiug this crime, he is as fully a judge as the present defendant. It is contended that the superior quality of the Chief Justice alters the act into a judicial one — it becomes a ^at and not a v^arrant, and no action can be maintained ; but there is, really^ no similitude between the two ; a fiat is only aii order to tfie officer to make out a writ or process — a warrant is the process itself ; the writ issued on the fiat, must, of necessity, be return- able in the court out of which it issued — a warrant is not retm*n« 130 8ELECT SPEECHES OF ?»ble at pJl, and it is intended to force in a party to any court having cognizance of the offence, within the territorial limit of the officer who grants it. In Blackstone, 294, are these words : '' The warrant may be either general or special ; general, to bring the offender before any justice — special, to bring him be^)re any individual justice." So that this warrant is part of a case after- wards tried before the defendant, only because he chose not to send the plaintiff to the sessions. It has, therefore, no necessary con- nection with the Court of King's Bench, nor indeed any other con- nection with that court, but what the defendant chose to give it. Next, the case of the King v. White (Cases Temp. Hard. 37) has been relied on. To prevent any controversy I have brought the book to read it. [Here Mr. O'Connell referred to the book, but it was thought unnecessary by the Com't, and passed with* out debate.] Now, what does this case prove] Does it convert any mimsrei'lal act into a judicial act? Does it alter or qualify the authority oi the cases I have mentioned. It proves nothing but what is familiar in eveiy day's practice, namely, that all offi cers of justice are under the control of the King's Bench. Wliere complaints are made to that court of any magistrates or officers, if the fact be admitted, they grant an attachment — if the fact be disputed, they grant an information to have it tried by a jury. Tn the King v. Reilly, (T. T. Rep. 204,) the Kings Bench at- tached Mr. Reilly for calling a meeting of the county. Lord Earlsfort there lays it down, that the Court of King's Bench has a g-^neral control over all inferior com'ts and inferior officers, and uie power of punishing them by attachment for misconduct ; and it clearly follows, that an attachment might, upon these admi'- ted principles, have been granted, if the constable had disobeyed the warrant of any other magistrate. Thus the King v. White proves nothing but what was not denied, viz., the power of the Court of King's Bench to punish the misconduct of inferior offi- cers as for a contempt of that court. The arguments drawn from the cases of fiats do not apply ; and if they did, they vrould prove too much, and are encountered by all the cases in which magistrates have been convicted on actions for issuing warrants. The capacity in wliich the defendant acted is a matter of law not capable of being tried by a jury, and not altering the Uciture of the act. That act was a ministerial act, which is not protected from actions, and not a judicial act, which is protected ; and, lastly, this arrest upon those pleadings is a false imprisonment; for wliich tlje defendant is bound to abide the verdict of a jury. i have now', my lords, argued the case, and have only to add DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. iJt a word or two in reply to some general topics introduced by Mr. Peunefather — 1st, lie said that tliis was one of that class of inju- ries for which there is no remedy. He cited the case of Lecaux V. Eden, but it does not prove, by any means, what he would wish to establish. The aggrieved party here, though he did not get immediate redress, was tokl that an appeal to the Court of Admiralty would be efficacious. Mr. Pennefather talked of a case of felony in which the party had no redress by the recovery of damages, but it could not escape observation, that if he was not remunerated in money, he would in the punishment of the offender. He commented upon the expediency of suffering a private injury for the purpose of effecting a public good ; but though I admit, most cordially, the general principel, yet I deny its application in the present instance. He has bestowed some words upon the necessity that existed for the defendant's inter- ference in the case of the Catholic delegates. I do not see this necessity. There were many persons who could, Tvith the great- est propriety and delicacy, fill his place on such an occasion. But if, as Mr. Pennefather would contend, the Chief Justice acted in his judicial capacity in granting a warrant against my client, see to what a predicament he has been reduced. He has first judged my client ; secondly, resorted to the mockery of a jjrocess to bring him to trial ; and, thirdly, judged him again ! And what would, my lords, be the consequence of suffering this extraordinary and monstrous power in a chief justice 1 Why, my lords, if my Lord Ellenborough, the English Chancellor, or the Master of the Polls, had conceived any malice to any of your lordships to-morrow, they might issue their warrants and drag you from your bench to answer a fictitious charge before them, and do all this, subjecting themselves to no penalty ! Mr. Pennefather has, lastly, told us, that the subject could resort to parliament, in the event of any unwarrantable pro- ceedings on the part of the Chief Justice. Why, my lords, what a mockery this is ! If the Irish peasant has been aggrieved by a chief justice, it is a consolation for him to have the liberty of making a miserable passage to Holyhead, then walking bare- foot to London, and, lastly, stating his wrongs to the imperial parliament, in a language unknown to them. My lords, I anj confident you cannot — from a due consideration of the authori- ties I have cited, and the reasoning that has been advanced on our behaK — decide agair st us. The Court signified that judgroent voiild be given on Tuf s'iay. However, at the sitting of ti*e Court ui-on the iiftxtdr.y, T.o Norhurj- annovinced that 132 BELECT SPEECH L:ii uF himwlt and brother judges were so fai from haA'ing made up tlieir minds ©n the poiiit at issue, that they " required more argument from counsel," and appointed the sucv'eed.nt! Tuesday (that day week) for the hearing. Upon that day judgment was deferred till xoi' next term, and then decided against the Catholics. VOTE OF CENSURE. On ine 5tli of December, 1812, the Catholic Board again met, when Dr. Dromgoole re\ivei' the subject of tfie vote of censure and in an able speech contended against its impolicy, concluding with a motion to the following eifect : — " Resolved — That, in order to meet the public and private calumniee which the enemies of religious liberty have circulated, we feel ourselves- bound to declare, that the resolutions of last spring and sumraer, re- 5-pecting candidates for parliament, could not be, fttid were not intended to enjoin or sanction the violation of promises entered into at any time previous to their adoption/' Hr. O'Gorman recommended the adoption of this resolution^ Mr. O'Coniiell said lie was an:?iGus to second the motion, as- well because he concurred most heartily in every thing that fell from his respectable friend, Dr. Dromgoole, as from his wish to take at length an opportunity of delivering his sentiments dis- tinctly upon the subject which had caused so much of agitation amo'igst the Catholics themselves. One would imagine that we really were at a loss for enemies, so sedulous did we appear to excite them amongst ourselves. One would suppose that Ire- land was not sufficiently divided and distracted already, but that division and dissension in the Catholic Board could be afforded in addition and as a pastime. Indeed, the progress of this unfortunate feud in the Board might have been aiTested at a certain period. Perhaps, I di'aw upon my mere vanity, when I indulge the dream that I could sooner have terminated it ; but lull sm-e I am, that I ought to have sooner endeavoured to do ijo, but I was restrained by motives which, upon reflection, I am unable to justify. It is due to candour to state them : — in the first place, it was impossible not to see, that your resolution, although dignifies' with the appellation of an abstract proposition, was intended Ih'st, and principally, not altogether, for a single individual. 1 do not say that it was the design of the movers to use it as the instrument of particular vengeance ; they have disavowed any QiicL design, and we are bound, as we are ready, to beUeve them. DANIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 133 The effect, however, -was precisely what I have stated with tlie individual thus alluded to. I mean Mr. Lalor ; I am proud to ivow my conviction. I have the pleasure to be his intimate friend ; I have the honour to be his kinsman ; I boast of iiis friendship, because I have long known his worth in all the rela- tions of private life, and in our public cause. I have seen him .n this Board, ever ready to adopt the most manly, spirited, and honourable course ; he never spoke amongst us of entering iuto any timid compromise with our enemies ; he never shrunk from danger. When we were menaced with any persecution, he was of the first to throw himself forward ; his spirit rose with oiu' perils, ay, and his determination increased with our difficulties. I loved him, because I saw that his views were confined to the good of his country — that he had not, and could not have iny personal motive — that, with genercus heart and open hand, ne contributed to all your expenditures, and that his existence was ever at your service. I saw that every vote he gave in your ooard or committee, was precisely that which struck my humble judgment as the best calculated to serve your interests. With those public and private qualifications, I was, and am proud of obtaining the friendship of my respected relative. And I now condemn that species of mistaken delicacy, which pre- vented me at an early stage of this business, from taking an active part in opposition to your resolution ; I imagined that my opposition would be attributed to the zeal of private friend- ship, and not to that which, in truth, suggested it — the firm conviction of my conscience. There was another motive which also contributed to paralyze my resistance to the resolution of last meeting — I am ashamed to have yielded to it for one mo- ment — it was this : Mr. Lalor's vindication, which has appeared in the public papers, was well known to have been \mtten by me ; it was known that I had written it, merely in the exercise of professional skill, and for the ordinary inducements of pro- fessional exertions. I did not feel myself at liberty to refuse drawing it in that capacity, but in none other would I have con- sented to do so, I may be much mistaken, but I thought that I ought not to lend myself personally to any part of that vindi- cation. With all the facts (except a single one of no moment to the general question,) I was a total stranger ; and in the contro- versy as to the then pending election, if I were personally to have interfered at all, it would most certainly have been in favour of the candidates who have succeeded. Having, however, once ficted as Mr. lialor s counsel, I am ashamed that I shi'unk from ■'1.34 SELECT SPEECHKB Ot the base calumny which might have imputed to me the eieu'i- ments of profession, in resisting the general vote of censure- it was unbecoming of me to yield to so paltry and pitiful an in- fluence of delicacy. You well know whether I am a man likely to be influenced in my conduct in this Board, by any other mo- tives than those of honour and of conscience. I speak of myself with all humility, yet I own I entertain the expectation that my countrymen in general require not from me any defence against the imputation of mean or selfish motives ; yet they were these false delicacies that prevented my opposing the resolution of ubstract censure, as ii has been called, determinedly and upon principle. For I could not see what right or authority you had to pass any such resolution. If Mr. Lalor had forfeited the confidence of the Catholics of the county of Tipperaiy, they might have declared that he was no longer to be a manager of their petition, as the Catholics of Newry did with respect to Mr. Jennings, and from that moment he would have ceased to be a member of this Board : but when you passed a vote of censure, you clearly travelled out of your authority, and into the hands of the Attor- ney-General — you abandoned, for a moment, the conduct of your petition, for which alone you are appointed, and you com- mitted yourselves to the tender mercies of joiw friends in the Kinsr's Bench. It is, therefore, fortunate that your resolution passed, as I am ready, if necessary, to show, irregularly, and afler having been, in point of fact, negatived. I do not say this to reflect upon, or to diminish the triumph of those who have succeeded in that vote ; I introduce it simply to show you, that we have a valid defence against any attack of the Attorney- General upon this ground — an attack which, I am convinced, be would have already commenced, but that he and your other en^ mies imagine that you are about to do their work for them, and to destroy yourselves by your own dissensions. There is im unhappy spirit broke out amongst us. It is the inevitable consequence of turning this Board into a species of mock tribunal, and destroying individuals with an axe, which you call " abstract censure." In plain truth, how is it possible we should judge with discretion or discrimination upon the mo- tivjs that may impel private individuals ? Their neighbours in their respective counties maybe able to judge of them, and they certainly are able to punish them by exclusion from this Board. But how are you to summon witnesses or to examine them, to form any estimate of facts ? I will tell you what the witnesses DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 135 are — public report — a liar to a proverb — and anonymous cal- umny — an assassin upon record. I myself, for example, have no less than five anonymous letters lying upon ray table, which charge my estimable friend with every atrocity. I know of my own knowledge, that it is simply impossible that some of them should be true — I am convinced they are all false. Yet, how many members of this Board — how many excellent and truly honest men may not be influenced in their decision of Mr. T^alor's case, by communications which may have reached them in a similar way ! In truth, it would be most dangerous for us to usurp the power of judging of facts, which we want the means to investi- gate. But my great objection must be repeated : the discussion of questions of this nature, affecting particular individuals, must necessarily tend to excite personal animosity amongst us, and to produce irritation and rancour. I appeal to you, whether it lias not alreadv had this effect. Indeed, I need not make the appeal ; there is not a man in the Board who has not seen, with regret, a spirit of violence and of hatred — the very genius of personal malignity s€ttling here, where all was peace, and una- nimity, and cordiality. And have we not enemies enough, and to spare? - Have we not Lord Manners and his Grace of Richmond in front, whik't tl>e Attorney-General and the Dublin Grand Jury hang on our rcre? Have we not en our flank the bigoted Liverpool and that Castlereagh, long exercised in every dark stratagem of i-uin, who would, for emolument, barter a seat in heaven, if he had any interest in that country. At this moment bigotry is awakened from the slimiber into which Protestant liberality, in Ireland, had cast her — bigotry, at the command of power — bigotry, lured 'by the beloved voice of interest, has aroused in ev3ry part of the land. The first in station and in rank set the example of obedience to the command which they themselves issued Every little village bigot in the land is animated with the hope of discounting his despicable malignity into the pay and plunder of some office, Mark the active rancour of their hosti- lity : Hutchinson — the patriot Hutchinson — is opposed in Cork for being your champion. The opposition of the Castle stoops to all the meanness of personal animosity; it disgorges its domes- tics and menials, from the highest to the lowest against him ; the refined amusements of our refined government are suspended ■ — even Cassino stood still, and the tea- table was unattended — everybody was absent — everybody was sent to oppose llutchiu son, becttuse he was the friend of the Catholics. J ^6 -SELECT SPEECHES OP The* clergy, who sometimes have a most admirable instinct in discovering what is for their interest here, as well as hereafter, are many of thera active against us ; they are easily marshalled under the auspices of a right rev. prelate of the Established Church — the son of Popish parents — the brother of a Popish priest, who has published a pompous pamphlet against us, of great promise and pretensions, but of little performance, sav3 what it effects by the very difficult and novel process of repeat- ing calumnies a thousand times refuted, and abjured, and contra- dicted upon oath, by every Catholic in Ireland I should be content if we were at leisure to investigate the worthy prelate's motives, or that we even had an opportunity of printing, in the same shape with his pamphlet, another literary morceau of the learned and pious divine. It was, I believe his first attempt — a farce, called the " Generous Impostor !" — oh, the generous im- postor ! The theatrical dictionary informs us that this farce was damned ; a friend of mine who happened to have seen it, assures us that there was a warmth of expression in it — he woiild not for the world call it an obscenity, which in some quarters would Almost atone for its dulness, but it was too dull even for the vi- cious taste of a London audience to preserve it for its seasoning. But, perhaps, this pamphlet is as great a farce, in the Fitzwil- liam administration, as the silent exertions, if not the pamphlets of the divine were at the other side — oh, the generous impostor! Look to the counties — see how you are calumniated. I have akeady more than once had occasion to remark, the principle cf this adm^inistration is falsehood ; this principle betrays itself in all its acts; it, therefore, unblushingly, circulates its calumnies against us, with the most thorough conviction of their total want of truth. Where it cannot procure the direct assertion of an untruth, it is content with an insinuation containing the same meaning. Thus, for example, a fraction of the county of Dublin Grand Jury could never have dared to charge the Catholics of Ireland plainly and directly with high treason, but they have had the meanness to insinuate it covertly and in bad English. We should thank them little for the prudence which taught them to avoid the direct assertion, when we meet the depravity that allowed them to make this oblique and unmanly attack on our characters. Where is the individual amongst them that would venture to make the foul and false insinuation of disloyalty to any gentleman of this Board? and if there were any individual so rash as to use the insinuation, I know the chastisement 1j(* would meet with and receive. But as a body, we are calumiki- DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 137 tited with safety, because we are idly busied in dissension and di- vision amongst ourselves. Take another example — one of direct falsehood — what Shak- speare calls the "lie direct;" and not, as in the case of the grand jury, the '*lie by equivocation." An advertisement has appeared in the Dublin papers, stating that a meeting of the Protestant freemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of Dublin had taken place. Now, this means, and was intended to mean, a public meeting, at which every such Protestant might have attended. But was there any such meeting] There certainly was not. Everybody knows there was not. It is a falsehood — false as God is true — a falsehood signed with the classic name of Abraham Bradley King, Lord Mayor, but not the less unfounded. The noble, grand Lord Mayor just certifies an untruth. He might and probably had a parlour or dining room meeting, but it was no more what he says — a meeting of the Protestants of Dublin, than it was a meeting of the Jews of Frankfort. This untruth, how- ever, is of advantage to our enemies. Why] Because we have left it uncontradicted — because we have been so busy in quar- relling with one another about Mr. Lawless's abstract censures, that we have not had leisure to mark with our public contempt the scandalous and impudent falsehoods with which we are as- Railed. But let us return to our own affairs. Let us return to the consideration of the state of the Catholics' rights. Let us make peace amongst ourselves and carry on the war of words only with our enemies. All our vigilance, all our zeal, all cur ac- tivity, are necessary for our protection. We cannot afford to squander or exhaust any part of them in a quarrel amongst our- selves. You have passed your vote of censure — be content with it, allow us merely to qualify it, by excluding the possibility of any person being deemed to come within it, who ought nc\ t<> do so. Those are persons whose faith was pledged previous to your resolutions of last spring and summer. You admit that Buch persons are not the object of your censure. All we require is, that you should declare the fact to be so. If your sword af- terwards be wielded by private malignity out of this Board, the declaration we require will serve for a shieia, co-extensive with your censure, to those who are entitled to wear that protection. I can assure you, that my esteemed friend (Mr. Lai or) desires no other, nor would any man be his friend who sought anything; further. All he desires i>s for the honour of the Board itself, that it slioiild not be said that you censured him for obsers'inc; 13S SELECT SPEECHES OP the ptomi.se in 'vv'liicli he had pledged the honour of an Iriah gen- tleman. By this means you will vindicate the Board from a ca- lumny, not less actively circulated for being unfounded^ and you will restore that harmony and good temper amongst us, which are so necessary for our preservation at this perilous junction. 1 do therefore conjure gentlemen, in the name of that afflicted country which has so many ardent and affectionate votaries in this room, to waive all matters of form, and let us now, at once, adopt a resolution of admitted truth and necessary conciliation. Let us think that poor Ireland, goaded and distressed, wants all our attention. Let us sacrifice every angry feeling — turn from the past with the temper of forgiving kindness, and to the future with all the firmness which will result alone from unanimitv in our own body ; continue divided and our cause is lost for ever. This speecli is reported to have made a powerful impression. The result, after some explanatorj' speeches from persons who had supported the vote ol censure, was tlie unauimous carrj-ing of Dr. Dromgoole's resolution. CATHOLIC ASCENDAISTCY. The aggregate mating, of wh^ch Mr. O'Connellhad given notice, waj definitively fixed fix Tuesday, the 15th of December, on which day it accordingly took place in Fishamble street tbe/itre. The first six resolutions here passed bore reference to the preparation and presentation of the Cacholic petition to both houses early in the next session ; and also to the prepara- tion of an address to Mr. Hely Hutchinson, expressive of CathoUc feeling towards him. The seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, and eleventh referred, in indignant terms, and with •trougly worded contradictions, to allegations in recent addresses of grand juries (city of DubUn, &C.) charging the Catholics " with disaffection— with entertaining disguised am secret views, and with an Intention to obtain a Catholic ascendancy." Then followed thanks to Sheriff Harty, for his conduct in his office ; and, as usual, to the Protestants who had attended, in particular to Counsellors Finlay and Walsh, for their speeches. On the resolution respecting Mr. Hutchinson being put from the chair, there was, as the newspapers inform us, *' a loud and general c&il for Mr. O'Connell, and when he came for- ward he was greeted for several minutes with the most enthusiastic plaudits." Mr. O'Connell commenced with a very warm eulogium on Mr. Hutchinson, and dwelt at Bome length upon the loss of his election. We take up the report of his speech, where h« commenced to deal with the recent exhibitions of their enemies. The meetings in some of the counties where resolutions, hos- tile to us, have been passed, cannot properly be called Protestant meetings. I say properly, because, although the parties who Were there prominent assumed the denomination of Protestants, tfiey were, in reality^ of ro religion at all, except, indeed, in sc DANILL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.?. llVj far as might give the means of carrying on a base trafiic, and turning the profession of it into money. I shall not think it necessary to name the people to whom I allude, for I am quite sure you will agree with me that their names are of no very high importance. If one instance might be given, and one as insig- nificant as need be, there was Johu, Earl of Aldborough. (Hear and laughter.) His lordship was very active in defence of the church, and he was by no means to be blamed ; on the contrary, he deserved the c-Teatest commendations for haviufr Cume forward so boldly, and oifered himself as a martyr for the good of the church ! Such men honou':3d the cause they supported (laugh- ter), and the cause, in its turn, honoured them just as much. In Dublin, the sixteen grand jurymen who had signed the re- solutions against the Catholics might have been bought (he was going to say might, perhaps, be sold) by those worthier seven who have refused their signatures. But he was not going to waste time with the men, it was with their resolutions and peti- tions that he had more properly to do, although, in truth, it was little better than a was*,e of time to deal even with them. (Hear, hear.) These resolutions and petitions displayed a glorious continu- ance of the system under which the ministry, which had fostered their rankness, had begiui its career — the same barefaced cud impudent falsehood — the same meanness and cunning. To that cry^em the majority of one, which they had obtained last session in the House of Lords, was solely attributable. (Hear, hear.) They had, in their official paper, in the Mon'deur of the ministry, published a falsehood — a foul and calumnious falsehood — imput- ing to the Catholics a conduct disgi'aceful and mean as their own ; and by this had they operated upon the unsuspecting minds who would otherwise have voted with what turned out to be the minoritv. To the same base svstem recourse was had now. The London Courier, the same paper I have alluded to, has, in its last number, a paragi-aph, stating that the "Third Part of the Statement of the Penal Laws, aggi'ieving the Catho- lics of Ireland," had been received in London ; and that it con- tained a full and faithful account of the views of the Catholic body. They already knew that tliis was a j^m-e and mischievous falsehood ; the so called " Third Part of the Statement, ikc," was a production of some of the hired writers of the Castle, and was only to be found in the shop of Jack Gififard, or some of hi£ compeers in corruption and bigotry. But to retm-n to the resolutions of the meetings. They had 140 SELECT SPEECHES OF bronght fonvard various accusations against the Catholics, and to one of them I, for one, am perfectly ready to plead guilty. They have said that what we once asked as a boon and as a favour, we now demand as a right ; and they say well. We do so. (Hear, hear.) I would take Emancipation in whatever shape it came ; if it was even held out as are the alms of a beggar, I should accept it. But should I for that the less consider it as a right wljich was my due, and which ought to have been obtained by insisting on it as such 1 Certainly not. I am glad from my Boul that they admit this — that they allow we consider it as a right. For when they allow that we demand it as a right for ourselves, do they not likewise allow that we grant it as a right to others 1 .ind they themselves do away with the foul calumny, that our religion leads us to believe that no one should have equal right with professors of it. If religious liberty is right to one, it is a right to all. AVhen we, therefore, say it is a right to us, we allow that the same right belongs to the Quaker, the Presbyterian, the Dissenter. We do not ask it as relying ou our numbers, our strength, or the wealth of our body ; we come forward on the broad principles, that political equality is the right of men of all religions ; and this our enemies allow ; let them not, therefore, shrink from the consequence. But if they have said the truth in this instance, they have amply compensated it in others by the most unblushing false- hoods. They have throw q out imputations in their resolutions which, I am sure, they themselves are conscious of being grossly calumnious, and which they would not dare, even in terms the most distant, to insinuate in private life to any Catholic gentle- man in Ireland. They have said that the Catholics are disaffected. Yet how often have these Catholics sealed their loyalty with their blood ! If the Prince Regent has forgot Ireland in his speech, his ene- mies might remind him of her by the respect which they pay him in consequence of the resources he derives from her. Lid not Vimicra — did not Talavera and Badajoz give proofs of the loyalty of the Catholics 1 at Salamanaca, was it not felt in the tenx-rs of rout and defeat by every flying Frenchman ? It has been amply proved. And if Britain would know the benefit she derives from the proof of it, she may have an idea from but one solitary instance. Before the late removal of part of the Penal Laws, I myself had no less than forty relations in the military Borvice of France, from an inspector-general of infantry do>vn to a lieutenant ; I have now none ; but in every victory whicJ^ DANIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. 141 f^races the military' annals of the British empire, I have to trem- ble in perusing the Gazette, lest I meet among tlie lists of the honourable dead, the name of some dear and respected relative. Sixteen are at this moment serving in the Peninsula. If such be the case only in one instance, and resulting only from the re- moval of a part of those laws, what might not be expected to the interests of Britain, were the same benefit extended to all, and the hopes of our youth allowed, in every instance, to be bound only by their merits ? They accuse us of a wish for Catholic ascendancy. Their in- consistency in the accusation is glaring and ridiculous. They first blame us for asking Emancipation as a right ; and they then say that we are desirous of a Catholic ascendancy. Doec not the demanding Emancipation as a right imply that ac equality of privileges is the right of every citizen, be his religion what it may ? And does not the wish for a Catholic ascendancy imply, that we think no man ought to be on an equal footing with the Catholic? The absurdity is manifest : they accuse us of saying that an equality of civil privileges is the right of every citizen, of whatever persuasion ; then they accuse us of saying, that there should be no such thing as an equality of privileges ; and they condemn us for both. Bat their absurdities shall not be the ground on which we shall defend ourselves. The accusation is contrary to our feelings — to our opinions ; we have already expressed our disapprobation of any connexion subsisting between government and the Catho- lic prelates ; and I am free to say, that there is no event which I should consider more fatal to the liberties of Ireland than what they have called a Catholic ascendancy. Our prelates would no longer be the respectable characters in which we now revere everything that is virtuous or respectable ; they would, at least, have more temptations to become otherwise ; and whenever they should degenerate into the tool of the minister, then should I consider the doom of Ireland as scale I for ever. There is, I am sure, no man of edacation who hears me, that does not join in the opinion tliat 1 have offered; and there is none who, even in the warmest moments of enthusiasm for the pros- perity of those professing the same religion with himself, that cau be charged with having ever uttered a word inconsistent with it. I do not refer our enemies to the resolutions of our meetings ; but lot them go to the most incautious speech that ever was de- livered at any of them — let them scrape together words uttered in the heat of debate, even then I defy them to find a sentence 14-2 SELECT SPEECHES OP that will bear them out in their accusations. It is not necessiiiy for them, after being foiled in the search, to betake themselves to conjecture, and to build a conclusion, on their own supposi- tions, of our wishes ; for well they know, that we have too much of Jrishmen about us to conceal them, did we entertain them. So far, indeed, from wishing for ascendancy, we do not desire that we shall be necessarily taken into any office or political em- ployment whatever ; all that we insist upon is, an enlargement of the prerogative of the crown, by which his Majesty may be billowed a wider range in search of virtue, talent, and respecta- bility, among his subjects, in selecting the offices necessary in his government. There is another circumstance of much importance, which I think it necessary to call your attention to. Every body recol- lects that the last parliament was pledged — solemnly pledged to Ihe serious and immediate consideration of our claims. The present parliament is completely bound by the promise of the ormer ; it is still the imperial parliament, though a few, and very few, indeed, of the persons composing it have been changed ; I should hope it will recollect this ; it would be a most truly gross and miserable chicanery if it were to attempt a recantation, knowing, as we do, that not even the whole of the new members amount to near the majority, which had the wisdom to decide on giving us a hearing. There is a solemn and deliberate treaty — a direct and unequivocal pledge ; it is true, we have known treaties violated ; and it is, unfortunately, full as well attested, and that to our own knowledge, that pledges have been left un- redeemed. Let them recollect the teiTible confusion that ensued when a former pledge was revoked. I shall quote an authority for them, and one which they will be likely to respect, that of Sir Lawi'cnce Parsons, now Lord Ross, as to the probable conse- quences which he thought were likely to result from retracting that pledge — consequences far more dreadful than 1 shall either look for or suppose. When Lord Fitzwilliam came over to this country as chief governor, he gave a pledge for the repeal of the penal laws, when by one of those changes, not unfrequent in the Pitt a-dministra- tion, the pledge was left unredeemed, and that patriotic earl was recalled. When the subject, however, came before the House of Commons, Sir Lawrence Parsons delivered his sentiments, and we have those remarkable expressions in the report of his speech. It is impossible to assert that it gives precisely his words, but if aiiy report be correct, I should suppose this to be, for it seems to bear great marks of care and attention. The report state,s, that Sir Lawrence Parsons said in the House of Commons, " if a resistance to any thing would be productive of evil consequences, it was that against the wishes of the people, and the prospects jrhich have been held out to them ; that if the demon of dark- ness should come from the infernal regions upon earth, and throw vi fire-brand among the people, he could not do more to promote mischief/' I hope some one will remind him of this part of his speech at the King's Count}^ meeting, which I hear he is to at- tend to-morrow. He continues, "he had never heard of a parallel to the infatuation of the minister :" he may see one now ; " and if he persisted, every man must have five or six dragoons in his house." And it was true ; for in many houses it was necessary for the owners to have five or six dragoons, and the whole country was thrown into confusion. I hope and trust that no such conse- quence will ever again occur, though sure I am that such is the desire of the Britivsh minister. He wishes fto make use of the words of Christopher Hely Hutchinson) that you should draw the sword, to afford him an opportuniti/ of throwing away the scabbard. Certain he was, that at this very moment, there was a foul conspiracy to di'aw the warm-hearted, but unthinking people of Ireland into a sham plot, to give an opportunity of wreaking vengeance on her dearest sons. Here he must warn his countrymen to abstain and shun, with the greatest caution, every inducement which might be held out to them for disturbances similar to these he had alluded to. Nothing would more thwart the progress of their cause; nothing, he suspected, could, for that reason, be more satisfactory to the ministry, than just so much of it as would give a pretence for a suspension of the Habeas Corpus act, and some other violences of the same description, together with a total refusal of the claims of the Catholics. Ireland had already been taught to beware ; her lesson had been stamped in lett\jrs of the besf blood of her children, and assuredly now she wou7d avoid the snare which was intended for her. That such was the wish of certain persons in power, he could not doubt. Keegau's plot was not yet to be forgotten ; occur- rences of the same kind had been discovered in Kilkenny and Limerick. "What, too, was the reason that the gamson of Dublin was under orders to be in immediate readiness to march? Why were the matches kept lighted 1 Why preparations made for attack or defence ? Was it not to inspire credulous people with 1 44 SELECT SPEECHES OF fhe idcA that there was danger of an insurrection ; and to indue? others, who thought their wrongs almost called for it, to believe that they might soon hope to be joined by others, as injured and more determined than themselves : keeping alive, on the one side, the fire of hatred, and on the other, the desire aid hope of revenge. But the people of Ireland have too much good sense to be misled by such phantoms, by such paltry contrivances. They see that a pretext is only wanting to crush them and their claims for ever, and cancel the bond in the best blood of their country ; and they despiso the nefarious attempts that are made upon them. They feel, too, that their cause is advancing ; nothing can prevent its progress. Ireland, in the meantime, is tranquil^ and awaits the result with confidence and hope. The Prince Regent, in hig speech from the throne, alluded to the disturbances in England. What a pity that he had not a Professor Von Femaigle to recal to his recollection, that he had five millions of peaceable sutyects in Ireland, who bore their oppressions with fortitude, and who could not be goaded into disloyalty, even by the foul and false calumnies which v/'ere heaped upon them. No ; they had proved, and they would con tinue to prove, that the depraved and contemptible fabricators of those tales had mistaken their aim, and that they could no longer practise upon the credulity of their intended victims, Hov much it is to be lamented, that his Royal Highness had not some person to remind him of Ireland ; and to point out the contrast which so strikingly exists between the quiet and profound peace which reigns in it, and that tumult in the othei island which he thought it proper to notice in his speech. I bhalJ now conclude, entreating your pardon for having trespassed so long upon your time, and returning you my grat^e- fill thanks for the many marks of your favour which you have been pleased to confer upon me ; and particularly for the atten- tion and kindness with which you have heard me this day. I also express my most entire concurrence in the resolutions which you are about to adopt. (The whole of this speech was received with the most marked applause. Mr. O'Counell was frequently interrupted by the cheering, and the acclamations continued long after he had ceased.) PANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.I-. 115 HlTGh fitzpatrick— libel. [application to set asidh verdict.] Mr. Hagh Fitzpatrick, publisher of Scully's " Statement of the Penal Laws/ having, for an Alleged libellous note in that work, been prosecuted and found guilty, Mr» O'Connell, on the sitting of the court the following day (Thursday, February 11, 1812), rose to make ac application to set a.side the verdict which had been obtained in this case, aJ originating from the misdirection of the learned judges who had charged the jury, and as being against kw and evidence. The Attorney-General just came into court, when Mr. O'ConneU had proceeded thus far, and called on Mr. Fitzpatrick to appear in person. Mr. Fltepatrick immediately came into court, and the Attorney-Genera* moved that Jio siiould then stand committed. Mr. O'Connell observed that such a motion on the part of the Eight Hon. Attorne/- General was just what had been expected. The court complied with the Attomey-General's motion, and ordered that Mr Fitzpatric-j nlwuld stand committed. Mr. O'Connell then resumed. He said he made his motion upon the grounds alleged in the iiotice, which had been served on the other side. The first of which "WAS the misdirection of the learned Judgje who had charged the jury ; and the second ground was, that it should not be per- mitted to stand, inasmuch as it was contrary to law, and against evidence. He said that in case this motion should be refused, it was his intention to submit a further one in arrest of judgment, grounded on the pleadings alone; but as the two motions were perfectly distinct, and that the second one would not become necessary unless the first was refused, he should confine himself solely to that which he had for its object — the setting aside the verdict. Beside these two grounds which he had mentioned, there were also two othei's — viz., that the defendant had been deprived of the benefit of a second counsel being permitted to address the jury, although he had produced evidence, which Mr. O'Connell contended was his right ; and that the information charged the defendant with having libelled the Duke of Richmond, and his Majesty's ministers in Ireland, acting under his authority, when, .n fact, if any imputation of the kind could be attributed to the note which formed what was termed the libel at all, it must have been intended to allude tv those who had acted, not those who were nOw acting ; for every person knew that those nondescripts, who were entitled his Majesty's ministers, had been changed both between the execution of Barry, and the publication of the book ; and again, between the publication and the filing of the ex-ojicio information by the Attorney-General. 14G SELECT SPEECHES OF Tlie information had been filed in Micliaelp.as term; it con- tained two counts, the second of which was wholly out of the question. The word /ar;n.er had been omitted; and in a prose- cution of this nature the defendant was fully warranted in taking advantage of anything in his favour ; when the point had been made at the trial, it was not contested. The second count was, therefore, wholly out of the case. This information stated that Hugh Fitzpatrick being a person of a bad, malicious, and wicked disposition, &c., and desiring to stir up and create a rebellion, (fee, did, on the 19th of June last, publish a libel, a false and scandalous libel, of and concerning Jhis Grace the Duke of Richmond, (fee, and of and concerning his Majesty's ministers in Ireland, acting under the authority of the said Lord Lieutenant, (fee. It then recites the libel itself, which is of the following tenor : — "At the summer assizes of Kilkenny, in 1810, one Barry was con- victed of a capital offence, for which he was afterwards executed. Thia man's case was truly tragical — he was wholly innocent — was a respect- able Catholic farmer in the county of Waterford. His innocence was fully established in the interval between his conviction and execution, yet he was hanged, publicly protesting his innocence ! There were some shocking circumstances attending this case, which the Duke of Richmond's administration may yet be invited to explain to parliament." After the libel, close follows the inuendo, "meaning that the said Barry did not obtain pardon, because he was a Catholic, al- though his innocence was fully proved to the knowledge of the said Duke of Richmond, (fee." Such was the information which had been filed by his Ma- jesty's Attorney, upon which a jury returned a verdict of guilty, and in consequence of which Mr. Fitzpatrick then stood in actual custodv. The first of these objections to allowing the verdict to stand, turned upon what was conceived to be the misdirection of the learned judge's charge, which had left it to the jury to decide upon the truth and applicability of the last inuendo, which was described, as the meaning of the passage, that the said Lord Lieu- tenant had been advised by his ministers to refuse pardon to a perjon T/here innocence had been made apparent after his trial and condemnation, and that such pardon had been accordingly refused in the face of a conviction of innocence, and solely becaus«j be was a Catholic. This inuendo contained much new matter which had not been spoken of before. DANIEL p*CONNELL, ESQ., ".r. 147 Of all this, said Mr. O'Connell there had been no previous averment ; the infbrmation contained only an assertion of the intention being to vilify. There was not a word in the libel con- cerning advice received by the Lord Lieutenant, or of any action of his in consequence of it ; yet, that such averment vras necessary there was the strongest authority to prove. In the case of the King against Home, where the opinion of the twelve judges of England was asked by the House of Lords, and was delivered by the Lord Chief Justice De Grey, his lordship states (reported, Cooper, page G83) that where a libel is of such a nature, either from its being ironical, or from having an allusion to circum- stances not generally known, that the words in which iti3o;iven, do not, of themselves, convey all that is meant and understood, it is necessary that the things so understood and not expressed, should be laid before the jury; but that a jury cannot take cog- nizance of them unless they be upon the record, where they can- not be unless by an averment ; so that either the charge of the Court, upon the trial of Mr. Fitzpatrick, must have been wrong, or the opinion of the twelve English judges, expressed by Lord De Grey, must be so. It could not be said that the inuendoes themselves were, in reality, averments ; an authority (2nd Sal- keld, page 315) was perfectly conclusive on this subject; an inu- endo being there defined negatively as not being an averment, but on tb3 contrary, a production, id est, &c. It being thus ruled that a jury could not take cognizance of the matter contained in an inuendo, without there having been ri previous averment, it followed that no evidence in support of the inuendo, in the present case, should have been allowed to go to the jury, or, if it had been so allowed, that the judge should have desired them to discharge it entirely from their minds pre- vious to giving a verdict. This, however, had not been done ; and, on the contrary, the Court had desired the jury to consider the in- formation precisely as if the averments had been regularly made ; it was universally allowed that averments were necessary to let in evidence of meaning, even where such evidence could be pro- duced. But here, in point of fact, the Crown did not go into any evidence to show the meaning, or prove the inuendoes; and, with great respect, he conceived that the jury should have been told, there was no evidence in support of the inuendoes; and direct- ing them to find the truth and applicability of those inuendoes, there bemg no averments, was travelling out of the limits pre- scribed by the la-vN, and recognized by Chief Justice De Grey and the twelve judi?es of England, and, therefore, he conceived that 148 SELECT SPEECHES OP the charge of the learned judge had been erroneouy, and cohttti,ry to law. The next gi-ound to which he should call the attention of the Court was, that there existed a material variation as to a matter cf fact, between the evidence given or admitted, and the infor- mation. The information stated, that the libel had been pub- lished of. and concerning the persons acting as his Majesty's ministers in Ireland ; that is, of the persons so acting at the time of the publication of the libel. Now, it was obvious thftt this was an anachronism of the grossest kind. The circumstance which gave an occasion to the libel had taken place in 1809 ; the book had been published in 1812, and the ministers of these two periods were entirely different. How, then, could the libel be said to regard the ministry existing at the time of its publication? It waa impossible that it could not exist without entirely vitiat- ing the information. He now came to the third ground for the motion, and upon that he should be still more brief than he had been on the other two ; it related to the trifling advantage which he might have derived from being allowed a counsel to speak to evidence. It was very confidently relied upon, that there could not exist any doubt aa to the right of the defendant, evidence having been produced on both sides. The objection upon the trial came from a quarter to which no reply could be made, namely, the Court ; had it been otherwise, it might have been easily and satisfactorily showp. thiit the reason given for this decision did not apply. Formerly, it had been the practice, if the defendant had evi- dence, to allow him the benefit of counsel to speak to that evi- dence. The judges of that court (the King's Bench), however, had thought proper to alter this practice ; they determined that no second counsel should be heard upon the part of the defen- dant, and they gave as the reason for coming to this decision, that the defendant's counsel, in opening his case, speaks to the plaintiff's evidence, and observes upon his own. It was also a part of the rule, that unless the defendant goes into evidence, the plaintiff has no right to be heard by a second counsel ; yet the very Court he was then addressing, and which had made the rule, had heard counsel for the crown twice in the case of the King V. Kirwan, although there had been no evidence produced by the defendant. It must naturally be supposed, that the Court had determined, that in civil cases no second counsel should be heard, but that criminal ones did not come within the rule, otherwise it would be, in £ict, granting to the crown an DANIEL O'rONNBLL, ESQ., M.P. 149 additional and necessary advantage. Lord Kenyon, in the case 0/ the I^iug V. Abbiugtou (1st Espina, 136,) condemns the practice. Considering that the crown had the benefit of the great and unrivalled talents of the Solicitor-General, who was to reply, an advantage which nothing could have procured the defendant, and which nothing within his power could balance, as the learned gentleman who had opened his case could not be heard a second time, and that it would have fallen to his (Mr. O'Connell's) lot to have spoken to evidence, his client, certainly, had lost but a small advantage ; such as it was, however, he had a right to it • but the Court had thought proper to over-rule that right, and in doine: so had referred to the case of the King v. Kirwan. Coupling the decision in the case referred to, with that on the late trial, it came to this, that the rule does apply to take away the advantage from the traverser, and that it does not apply to take it away from the crown. This was a position which he was sure their lordships would not think of establishing, and unless they did so, the right of his client to the benefit of a second counsel was unquestionable ; therefore, the denial of it by the Court rendered the trial faulty, in respect to the manner in which it had been conducted, and consequently the result of it nugatory. He had now arrived at the fourth objection, and one of much importance ; it was, that the jury had, upon the most material part of the information, found the verdict without evidence, and even contrary to evidence. Mr. O'Connell here read over the paragraph forming the libel, and contended that there had not been sufficient evidence to connect any part of it as a libel with the name of the Duke of Richmond. This had been attempted, indeed, by connecting the circumstance mentioned in the libel- lous note, with passages in the text to which a construction had been given favourable to the inference wished to be drawn from the whole. It was first said that the passages thus read, stated that government was influenced in granting pardon to criminals, or in denying it by their religious persuasions ; and it was then concluded that the note was intended to give an instance of the partiality alluded to in the text ; and had the text been examined more clearly, it would have appeared that the thing expressed was, that Protestant criminals had a greater facility in procuring attestations of previous good character, or of other circumstances, such as usually entitle to pardon, than Catholics, and, conse- quently, that the Lord Lieutenant, so far from having been ac- cused, was justified for gi*aij ling pardon more frequently to the cne l..")0 SELECT SPEECnES OP than the other ; tha note, then, being an instance of what was asserted in the text, could not reflect, by any means, upon the Lord Lieutenant. As to the concluding part of the note, which stated that the Duke of Richmond's administration might yet be invited to explain certain circumstances to parliament, it only meant that the documents for regular investigation, being in possession of the ministry, could not be procured without in- , viting its aid. Had the trial been had before an unbiassed juiy, it was very probable that the result would have been very different. It was very likely that they would not have been content with the mere (tsserCion of the Attorney-General, that the note which formed the subject of the libel was intended to vilify the Lord Lieutenant and his Majesty's ministers in Ireland, acting under his authority ; they might possibly require an explanation of who those persons, called ministers, actually/ were, before they convicted a icspeotable and honest man of libelling them, merely because the Attorney- General had thought fit to say they were . libeJlad. It was matter of Irish history, that when these state prosecutions were carrying on against a Catholic of this country, not one man of his own religion was suffered to remain upon the panel. This had been stated by the respectable and learned gentle- man who had opened Fitzpatrick's case, and was not attempted to be denied. It was observed, indeed, that one Catholic name had happened to be put upon the panel through mistake ; this fault, however, was not intentional; it had occurred by accident, and no doubt the apology which such a trespass required was made. He was not now stating anything improbable or unwar- ranted, for it was a well-known fact that the persons who had the appointment of the jury, had given a solemn and deliberate pledge of their dislike and hatred of Catholics ; and that it was to this avowed hostility to so numerous and loyal a class of his Majesty's people, that they owed their election. Thus, in a case where a Catholic is tried upon a charge of asserting, that the Catholic subjects of this country have not equal justice done them, special care is taken that not more than one Catholic shall be put upon the panel, and that he shall not be of the jury, but that the accused shall be tried by twelve men. of a different per- suasion from himself, and some of them, perhaps, strongly im- bued with prejudices unfavourable to himself and his religion. Had the question been one of property, such a disgraceful cir CuniBtance woxild not havQ taken place in the city of Dublin, danip:l o'coxxell, esq,, m.p. 1j1 where as many upright, wealthy, and respectable Catholics were to be found, as could be selected from the ranks of their Pro- testant fellow- subjects. Mr. O'Ccnnell now shortly recapitulated his arguments, and submitted to the court that he had made out a case suflEicieut to induce their lordships to set aside the rerdict ; and if llr. Attorney-General thought it prudent to file a fresh information, that a new investiga- tion should be entered into. The Chief Justice said, that Mr. O'Connell had made much more of the argument than. in the beginning, he thought could be done. Motion refused. A suggestion was made that it should remain over till next term. Mr. O'Ccnnell — " But, my lord, Mr. Fitzpatiick is in actual custody, and itM'Ould be very oppressive that he shoulc" remain in confinement the whole of the vacation, when it is strongly relied upon that there are sufficient grounds tc arrest judgment." Mr. O'Connell prayed the Court that Mr. Fitzpatrick's recognizance might be immedi- ktely taken, in order to avoid his remainmg in custody all night. He said that Mr. Fitz- patrick was a respectable man, and there was no danger but he would be forthcoming. U^ therefore presumed that his own recognizance would be sufficient. Security — himself in £1000, and two others in £500 each— required. Mr. O'Connell — '' You were already ofifered to have that requisition complied with upon fair terms. The bail shall be immediately produced." THE ENGLISH CATHOLICS. The conduct of the English Catholics came under discussion for the second time this year, in the Dublin Board, on the 13th of Februarj-. On this occasion — LIr. O'Connell rose to propose a resolution, on which he be- lieved there would be but one feeling in the Board. It related to the gratuitous interference of a gentleman in England^ and a Catholic, too. The Catholics had before suffered from the offi- 3lous and unauthorized interference of persons, who had under ^ taken to act for them with, perhaps, the very best intentions in the world ; and it had, therefore, become necessary for them to pay close attention to anything of the kind which was attempted, no matter from what quarter it came. If, as he had just stated, that individual interference, though accompanied by excellent intention, had produced unpleasant consequences, how much toore likely was such conduct to cause ill effects, if it were the offspring of a contrary disposition ? Whether the intentions of Mr. Charles Butler were of this lat- ter description or not, he should not then take upon him to de- side ; but this much was certain, that he had echoed the despi- cable and unfounded cant which the enemies of the body had been at such pains to propagate; he liad complained of the in- 152 SELECT SPEECHES OF temperance with •which the just demands of so many mllhons of loyal though oppressed people were urged. He had even gene farther; he had attempted to prove that the Board had been guilty of intemperance; but he (Mr. O'Connell) denied that ne had proved any such thing; he utterly dissented from the charge and assertion. It was not intemperance for men, who knew they deserved to bo free, to wish for freedom; it was not intemperance for men, whom the gifts of nature and the advantages of rank and fortune, had combined to render eminent ; it was not for such men to be charged with intemperance, because they panted to enjoy those common rights, which are the inheritance of every man in this community. When my Lord Aldborough, and my Lord Jliltai-ton, and such holy Apostles, assisted by others, whom motives of personal delicacy induced him to refrain from men- tioning, wished to drown the Catholics in their inferiority — to force them to continue Helots — slaves — when they saw men en- deavouring to perpetuate and sustain every sort of political pro- fligacy, and to clothe that profligacy in the sacred mantle of Christianity — it was not to be wondered at if those who were the sufferers, should apsert, with a manly, but constitutional firm- ness, the impolicy and injustice of perpetuating their degi'adation. And was it for this that they were to be charged with intem- perance, by such men as he had described? And how could Mr. Charles Butler satisfactorily account for lending himself to such a charge? He (Mr. O'Connell) proclaimed the charge to be a foul and malignant stratagem, invented by the enemies of the cause of Ireland and of the empire. Thank God! they could not say that the Catholics prostrated themselves at the foot of the minister, for the purpose of advancing their interest, or that they sacrificed themselves on the altar of dishonour, and bartered to become the slaves of corruption, instead of being the slaves of an imjust and impolitic penal code. Slavery, in the first instance would be infamy in themselves ; in the other (although acutely fell by the victim), it reflected disgrace only on their oppressors! He moved the following resolution : — "Resolved — That from receut information, we deem it necessarj' to state, that no person has been, or is authorised to hold any communi- cation with any members of the administration on behalf of the Catho- Jics of Ireland as respecting their affair:*, our confidence being reposed in tlie noblemen and gentlemen compo^iing; the delegation, and acting under the directions of the Board.** The resolution BMsed uiiaiJmr uslj-. AJSIEL O'CONNELL, EtsQ., Jl.T. l[)6 NO POPERY PETITIONS, On 8th the of May, 1813, Mr. O'Connell addressed the Catholic Board on the siil)jecl o: Ko Popery Petitions. Mr. O'Connell rose, and stated that it was his intention to move for the appointment of a committee to consider in what manner most consistent with that delicacy which it was desir- able to observe towards the real Protestant petitioners, the im- mense number of forged and lictitious names which had been ufiixed to the petition, st}ded that of the '- Freeholders, Freemen, and Inhabitants of the city of Dublin," and which had been pre- sented with such ludicrous pomp and ceremony, might be brought before the imperial parliament. He requested permission to take that opportunity of return- ing his thanks for the high honour conferred upon him, on the last day of meeting, in his appointment as one of the Catholic delegates. He entreated also leave to excuse himself from the apparent neglect of his duties as such. Those who voted for him ought to have recollected how entirely impossible it was for him, at this period of term, to leave Dublin. He was ready to make every sacrifice for the common caase ; he was ready to sacrifico nis life to advance civil or religious liberty in his native land. But he could not tamper with the interasts of other persons at that moment confided to his hands. He, therefore, very grate- fully and very respectfully tendered his resignation of the ofiie;; of delegate. As to the plan which he should recommend for the exposure of the forgeries, he could not have thought necessary to suggest it at all, had the Catholic bill been rejected. He was little dis- posed to desire the Catholics to alter their tone at any time ; but when the legislature evinced so decided a disposition to grant and to conciliate, he did not think a corresponding spirit should be wanted on their part. The Catholics had at length arrived at that important stage of their history, that a bill, intended to give them relief, was ac- tually making progress in parliament. The good intentions of their friends in parliament were obvious ; they intended to ex- tend eligibility — all that was required — with considerable libe- rality. What a deplorable circumstance it was, that, with such excellent dispositions, they have not taken the trouble of acquir- ing such information as would enable them to carry their good Jcitentioiis into practical effect ! The bill they had brought in 154 SELECT SPEECHES OP was a 'well-intentioned bill, but it was a slovenly bill! Slovenly ii its recitals — slovenly and inaccurate in its details. Before proceeding further, he wished the tenor and object of his remarks to be distinctly understood. There were clauses purely civil, and clauses that had reference to ecclesiastical mat- ters in this bill. Upon the nature of the latter he should observe a total silence. The discussion of them was too well calculated to produce heats which it was his object to avoid. He should confine himself closely to the subject of civil rights ; the Board was not called upon to entertain the question of religious secu- rity at all, nor, in fact, was it necessary to be introduced any- where for the present. AVhen it was seen that the legislature would grant civil liberty, then it would be time to let those whose province it was, consider of religious securitt/. As he had bestowed much attention upon the bill, and as he was anxious to serve his countrymen at home, when he did not perceive how he could do it by going to England, he had felt it his duty to lay before the Board the frame and plan of a bill for civil liberty, such as he conceived could not fail to satisfy the people. In submitting this frame, he would again repeat, that he gave the persons who had prepared and brought the bill nuw before parliament, the most perfect credit for the purity of their intentions. His objections to the frame of the bill, were, per- haps, but technical, still he thought them entitled to attention. There were phrases in the recital and enactment which were new and unknown to the constitution and law. Catholics were to be made participators in what was called ''Free Government.'''' What was the legal meaning of the word government 1 It was a term, the legal meaning of which was unknown and undefined. It would apply equally well to the government of Constantino- ple as to that of England. In the coinmon meaning of the word here, we are apt to think of the government of the Duke of Pdch- mond when the words were used, and the Catholics did not de- sire to have it understood that they wished to participate in his Grace's government. They felt no such inclination; their wisli was to participate in the constitution — in the free constitution that had been framed by Catholics — ^by rigid Catholics — all of whose grand, but now neglected principles of popular power and popular representation, had been established before Protestant- ism had a being or a name. It might be deemed trivial to criticise verbal inaccuracies ; but let it be borne in mind, that these were the words of an instru- ment purporting to be a great state bond and compact between DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.T. lo5 two nations, united in name, but kept separate by impolicy and injustice. (Hear, hear.) In this important act every word was of moment, for, upon every word would depend the liberties of living, and of yet unborn millions ! (Hear, hear, hear.) And sorry he was to say, that to defective recitals,' still more defective enactments were attached. True it would, upon the condition of taking this vile oath, open the House of Commons and the House of Peers, and many an important office and hon- ourable rank, and serve as a stage in the natural progress to the complete establishment of an equalization of civil rights. But it was slovenly as far as related to the peerage ; it was defective as far as related to judicial offices; it was useless with respect to corporations ; and it did nothing at all for charities, educatio]i, maiTiage, or landed property ; and this was but a brief and ami- cable summary of its defects. Such was the bill which was at that moment before the house. How different from what it ought to be — how different fi-om what it might have been, if our excellent liberators had but conde- scended to consult the parties most interested. (Hear, hear.) A draft of a bill has been prepared by my friend, to whose pen and to whose services the Catholics are so mach indebted (Mr. Finlay). It has my warm approbation, because it is com- prehensive in its principles — ample in its relief. It would abolish all civil and lay distinctions for cause of conscience, and open to every faithful subject a career unfettered by the trammels of pei-- secuting laws. It would leave for merit what is now conceded to creed, and destroy jealousies and religious animosities by re- moving their causes. Su€h was the bill which, he trusted, would yet be brought before parliament. He begged permission, as it was short, to read it Upon this Mr. O'Connell -was called to order by Mr. Baggot, Jlr. Costigan. fiTid Counsel- .cr Bcllew, who spoke at considerable length to show that the merits of the bill, or of any substitute for it, could not be relevant to the object of tha motion before the Board. After a good deal of discussion upon the point of order, in which Mr. O'Gorman an 1 Counsellor Finn also took part, the chairman decided that Mr. O'Connell was certainly out if l~der and that the draft of the proposed bill should not be read. Mr. O'Connell immediately submitted to the decision of the cliairman, although he said he could show that what he had been i^aying bore directly upon the question then before the Board ; before he proceeded, however, to the more immediate discussion of "that question, he gave notice of his intention to submit, next Saturday, a brief abstract and skeleton of such a bill as he con- ceived was calculated to gi-ant real and complete Emancipation, ^56 SELECT SPEECHIlS OF (Cheers.) I am now come (said he) to that part of the question which is inchided iu the veiy terms of my motion. I am not confined to the history of the fraud and forgery of which I now complain. I shall not, I tinist, be inteiTupted whilst I observe shortly upon its clauses. I allude not to the hostility — the ran- corous but ineffectual hostility of the Richmond administration, in this country, to the rights of the Irish Catholics. That is scarcely worthy of investigation, and deserves little more than to be mentioned for the purpose, simply, of reprobation. The causes I advert to lie deeper; they are to be found in the great and con- 'iinued success of which falsehood — unblushing falsehood — has A,lreadv had ao-ainst the Irish Catliolics ! It was not in the field of battle that our liberties wero cloven down ! (Hear, hear.) No ! Our ancestors when they fought, if they did not advance as victors, surrendered upon the faith of an honourable capitulation ; but tluit faith was violated, and its violation was justified by calumny! (Hear, hear, hear.) The Catholics were accused of entertaining opinions which they have ever detested — of adopting positions and principles which they have ever abhorred. Charges were brought forward and repeated against them which could be aptly contradicted only in the broad \ ai_;unty of Lord EUenborough's language — "'^ Charges false as Jlell /" Charges — the fidsehood of which wa-^ known to the verv accusers themselves — w'^'e repeated, until the credulous wero convinced, and the we?ii: j^ielded. From the Press, the Stage, the Bar, the Bench, and the Pulpit, were opinions charged upon the Catholics directly the reverse of what they entertained, and articles of belief asserted to be theirs, which they alwEiys rejected and abjured. Those who were violators of their own faith with the Catholics in fact, accused the Catholics of being violators of faith in theory ; and those men who persecuted the Catholics in I'oality, accused their victims of being persecutors in imagination and design ! (Hear, hear.) The accusation you feel and know to be utterly false, but it was repeated until it was believed, and the Catholic suffered the punishment, not of any crime of which he could, by any possi- bility be proved guilty, but of offences fabricated in the malicious fancies of enemies, and which were not only unfounded, but im- possible. They wero impossible, because so utterly repugnaiy- to human nature, and contradicted by the stamp of his own di^ vine image, which the Diety had infixed upon the human soul. (Cheering.) Yet, it was bv the assertion and re-assertion of those calum- DANIEL O'COXXELL. ESQ., M.T. 1^7 iiies — it was by attributing to us opiuions which, if they exirsted, I should be soity a sin2:le Cathohc remained in Ireland — I am quite sure I should not be one. It was by those false and foul imputations that we were degraded in public opinion, and then reduced to slavery, and since continued in bondage. It was vain to protest against the untruths ; for near a cen- tury they maintained their sway, and new generations sprung up ■)efore the appeal of calumniated millions was heard, or their wror.gs investigated. (Hear, hear.) Falsehood having been so long successful, it suited well to the mischievous and malignant activity of the management of the llichmond administration to resort to its resources. Accordingly, the most impure and corrupt Press that ever disgraced any ago was set at work, with plenty of present pay and of future ex- pectation, to traduce, to calumniate, and to vilify the Catholics collectively and individually. (Hear.) Accordingly, all the ancient calumnies were revived, and every new calumny brought forward that could be invented by a very malignant disposition, but a very miserable intellect. The seven-times-sold apostate from every principle was purchased and arrayed against us, until all the force that malicious dulness could collect was brought into action, and commanded by a general better versed in the quibbles of the law, than in the tactics of the field. It was in pursuance of this government plan of imposition, that the '-Third part of the Statement of the Penal Laws" made its appearance — that it was circulated in England as genuine, and given to the world as the sentiments of men, who held its contents and its authors in equal contempt ! Perhaps, so scandalous and impudent an imposition never dis- graced the annals of bigotry. But the fabricators — have they been punished \ Oh, no ! Mr. Attorney-General has no terrors for men who would divide and distract ; he prudently reserves all his vengeance for those who dare to preach harmony and con- ciliatioUp and to call oppression and bigotry by their right names. Next in order followed this petition, the signatures to vdiich are the object of my present motion. It commenced in talse- hood, it was conducted by fraud, and it was consummated by forgery. Yes, its commencement was in falsehood, for it was alleged to have been voted at a meeting of " the freemen, free- holders, and inhabitants of the citv of Dublin." This alleo;atiou was printed in several of the Dublin newspapers for near three months, and to the assertion was affixed the name " Abraham Bradley King," and yet a more unfounded assertion was never 153 SELECT SFEECJHES OF made — au allegation more destitute of truth, never insulted the patience of public credulity, than that signed and repeated for three months, under the signature of "Abraham Bradley King." I need not ask, when this meeting was called, or where, or hy whom ? I need not remind you, that there was no theatre sufB. ciently large to contain such a meeting, if it ever took place ; nor need I revive the indignation which the miserable excuse excited, that, really, the exhausted remnant of a supper table at the Mayor's house, did vote itself, being full half a dozen in number, into the freemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of the city of Dublin, and then passed this petition ! And yet, in sober sadness it must be admitted that no better justification existed for the Lord Mayor's assertion of a public meeting. I said that it was conducted by fraud ; for this fraud, we are told by the uncontradicted report of the public papers, was re- sorted to. Tlie mayor procured himself to be deputed — nobody knows by whom — to take the petition to London. Arrived there, he presented, we are told, the no-Popery petition, as the authorized delegate of the Corporation of Dublin. Yet, he had no such authority ; he was the simple messenger of a simple party of obsciu-e individuals who, as this petition originated at a supper, sent him off from a dinner, after which the Duke of Richmond ludicrousl}- gi-aced him with a troop of horse to accompany his mock loi'dship thence to the Pigeon-house. His very journey to London was a fraud, because it held out to the English people the appearance of the first magistrate of a great city despatched by the constituted authorities of that city on public business. Under that pretence he presented himself in London, whilst it is shrewdly whispered that he attended for the purpose of en- deavouring to traffic upon the importance of his official station, in order to get the name of his son inserted into an appoint- ment connected with his lucrative employment. In short, ttr farce was just worthy of the legal managers that are at tl.e bottom of every work of bigotry and persecution in Ireland, and of the inflated buifoon who was the principal actor. The consummation of the petition was forgery, in the ordi- nary sense of the word, consisting of the affixing the names of individuals without their authority or consent; forgery, equally, if not more culpable, in writing hundreds of imaginary names, and affixing them to this petition from a multitude. The Pro- testants of Ireland petitioned last year on our behalf. The wr;alth, the worth, the talent of the Irish Protestants — every tLing that was noble, and dignified, and iiiteiligeDt. and iiule- DANIEL O'CONNHELU ESQ., 3i.r. l.'-j reii'.Ienl; u.moDiist our rrotestant brethrcu united in that reti- tir»n; their names have been printed, and it is with pride and with pleasure that we see those names constitute a large book, wliilst every name speaks a volume of mutual affection and re- ciprocal charity. This is, indeed, a proud display for Ireland , this was all she wanted from man, that her children should combine in concilia- tion and harmonv. It would, really, have afforded a curious incident in the histor}'' of human frailty, if those who had come forward last year, under the banners of liberality and justice, had been seduced this year to join the blood-stained flag of Orange intolerance. (Hear, hear.) The experiment had been made ; everything that the wealth and power of the state — that the in- genuity of the advocates, or the authority of the judges — that the exertions of the writer, or the intrigues of the courtier could supply, was brought into action, to seduce, to convince, to inti- midate, to control, to cajole, and to deceive the Irish Protestants. But all these resources failed ; the drunken orgies and the morn- ing preaching intemperance of abuse, and the hypocritical lamen- tations of pretended friendship were tried, and tried without effect. The independent and enlightened Protestants of Ireland remained true to the liberality which they had professed, and rejected every attempt to bring them over to the ranks of our (.ipponents. (Hear, hear.) It was a matter, therefore, of much curiosity to discover who tliC 2,800 " freemen, freeholders, and inhabitants of Dublin" could possibly be : public curiosity has been gi'atified — gratified by the inspection of the names — gratified by the discovery that the dagger is air-drawn and imaginary, by which it was sought to assassinate Protestant character and Catholic liberty ! (Hear, bear.) I have seen an authentic copy of this formidable petition, and I rejoice to be able to assure you, that it affords decisive evi- dence of the low state of intolerance. I have read this list, and, after the most minute inquiry, added to my own knowledge in this city, it does appear i<:> me that there are not twenty names to this petition of persons of fortune and independence of mind, who signed it from mere motives of conscientious bigotry. This class of persons are certainly to be treated with the most re- spectful deference : they labour under a mistake, but thev act from pure intentions, and I respect whilst I pity them. They had an undoubted right to petition against conceding, upon aL.y teniiB, anything to the Papists ; they had a clear light to j^ray the legislature to continue to be indiscrimiiiate in laying on uhe 1 fiO SELECT SPEECHES OF burdens of the state^ but partial in conferring its benefits. I admit their perfect right to sign this petition, and I request it may be understood, that I am incapable of applying any harsh expression to them, as I certainly also am of feeling any resent- ment against them. But, undoubtedlj'-, in the number of twenty, I have given abundant room for the uninfluenced signatures. I blush to tell you that this list contains three or four of the Irish bar, (Hear, hear.) I am ashamed to say that there are so many certainly as three — I fear four. The Irish people, long accustomed to find in the Irish bar the friends of every freedom, will hear it with astonishment, notwithstanding the acrimony, the native and the imported acrimony, towards the Catholics, cherished by the head of the law department. It will scarcely be believed that our profession, proudly distinguished, as it formerly was, for liberality and love of country, has so fallen as to afford even three signatures to an anti-Catholic petition. I regret, from my soul, the discovery. (Hear, hear.) The number of clergymen of the Established Church who signed this petition is, I am happy to say, few ; nor, when we re- collect what excellent and accomplished gentlemen those clergy- ]aen in general are, will it excite any surprise in tlie minds of the bigots of any sect, that the number of their signatures should be few. Of attorne^-s, there are, at least, eight or ten — I ex- pected to find twice the numlier ; of placemen, thei e are many ; of pensioners, several ; many fi'om the offices of the castle ; many from the police offices ; several from the custom-house : almost all the hired constables; the judge, the registrar, and the proctors of the prerogative court, and as many of the wretched watchmen of Dublin as are, or pretended to be, Protestants ; there has been so much liberality exercised, as to admit poor Papists to the dig- nity of the Slightly watch. (A laugh.) To these are to be added the "tag, rag, and bob-tail" of the corporation — numbers of those who hold its principal stations — all those who hold its lower offices, and are appointed and removable at pleasure. Add to these, ?^riting clerks, dependents, and a small, but hungry group of expectants, and you have the entire catalogue of genuine sig- natures. But there will remain near two thousand signatures to be still accounted for — near two thousand signatures will remain, for whom no owner can be found. (Hear, hear.) Of those there are some hundreds which purport to belong to individuals who have indignantly disclaimed them. There are, in short, some hundreds of forgeries. (Hear, hear.) Need we give a more KA-NIEL O CON*NELL, ESQ., M.P. I Cj striking instance than that of Mr. Stephens 1 Ke discovcrel that his name had been forged to this petition, and immediately wrote to tlie Mayor, to inform him of the circumstance ; vhc^ Mayor did not condescend to give any reply, but took the knov/!i forgery to England, and presented it to the House a, genuine. (Hear, hear.) When forgery was exhausted mere fiction w.t> resorted to. There was danger in givina: names which, being in common use, might be disavowed by individuals bearing them. The fabricators of this petition set disavowal at defiance ; they produced names which no man ever bore or will bear^(Hear, hear) ; they invented John Hedpath, and coupled him with John Pcidpath — they attached James Hedpath to James Ridpath ; tliey united the noble families of the Feddlies to the illustrious race of Fiddlies ; thev created the Jouneybones, and added the M'Coo- bens to the Muldongs ; to tlie uncleanly Rottens is annexc-d the musical name of Navasora — -the Sours and the Soars — the Dan- dys and the Feakens — the Gilbasleys and tlie Werriilas — five Ladds and five Palks — the Leups and the Zealthams — the Huzie::i and the Hozies — the Sparlings anH the Sporlings — the Fitzgetta and th'^ Fibgetts — the Hoffins and the Phantons, and the Oiri- trows, and the ITocklej^s and Breakleys, the Russinghams, and the Favuses, and the Sellhews, and the Mogratts and Calyeils — all, poor innocents, are made to combine against us, and to chimo with the Pitliams and Padd^ms — the Chimnicks, and Rimnicks, ind Clumnicks. and the Rowings and Riotters ; they threw in the vulgar Bawns, and after a multitude of fantastic denomina- tions, they concluded with Zachariah Diamond. (Great laughter.) In short, a more tasteless group of imaginary beings was never conjured up by the delusions of magic. To the tune of " Jonny Armstrong," — they gave us five-and-twenty Armstrongs, and placed eighteen Taylors on the list — it ought to have been "four- and-twenty tailors all in a row," there would have been some pleasantry in it. In short, by these means, by the force of mere invention, upwards of one thousand names have been added to this petition, and one thousand children of the brain of those worthy managers of intolerance aj^peared in formidable array Against us, at the bar of the House of Commons, covered with the mantle of the Mayor for swaddling clothes. (Laagiiter.) It is incumbent on us to bring these f^.cts before the public and the legislature ; we owe it to oursolves and to our chiLiren. to get rid of an ob'.stacle to ourliberty and theirs ; we owe it to the legislature to detect the imposition which has been practised upon them ; and chiefly it is due to the liberal Protestants of 1 02 SELECT GPEECHES OF Ireland to rescue the Protestant name from this additional im- putation of bigotry which their enemies, no less than ours, would cast upon it. (Hear, hear.) There is, too, another motive, which, 1 confess, influences mo powerfully. The very men who have been guilty of those base forgeries have, in a recent instance, foully tarnished the Irish cha- racter; an innocent person was accused — an innocent female was accused — perjury the most foul — subornation the plainest and most palpable, were used against her life, and, still more, against her honour. We, Irish, often feel (it is part of the real character of Irishmen) pity for the accused, it is said, even for the guilty ; but accused innocence excites our warmest sympathies ; but when female innocence stood accused, I thought for the honour of my country. I thought that, without any pc-etical fiction, thousands of Irish swords would start from their scabbards, and that the wretch would be driven from society who checked our manly, our virtuous indignation. But a set of beings, I will not call them men, have been found, who, under the auspices of the persecuting Castle, the pious and no-Popery forgers have been found to refuse the poor and pitiful tribute of their approbation to exalted virtue and dignified purity, escaped from calumny, from subornation of perjury. These loyalists — these creatures who call themselves exclusively loyal, because they are the ready e3'Cophants of every tool of power — (Hear, hear) — these exem- plary loyalists, have refused to address the niece and the daugh- ter-in-law of their King — the wife of the Piegent — their future Queen — (Hear, hear) — the mother of their future Sovereign, though the triumph which her unassisted innocence obtained over the vilest conspiracy ever disclosed, powerfully demanded the expression of congTatulation. And what excuse did they give for this refusal ? Wh3% they scorned ail mockery and delusion, and insisted that to address the Princess was to insult the Prince ; and would the Prince feel insulted at such an address 1 I should hope two things of him — first, that he means, hereafter, to redeem the pledge he has so often repeated to the Irish Catholics (Hear, hear) ; and, secondly, that he does not feel insulted when the triumph of the Princess over her peijured and her suborned traducers is celebrated. — (Hear, hear.) But who are the men who have refused to address her Hoyal Highness? Who are they who have no sense of justice — no ab-. horrence of calumny — no enthusiasm in defence of female inno- ccDce? They are our enemies ; they are the fabricators of every DANIEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., M.T. 1G3 falsehood, and of every forgery that could injure or impede our cause ; they are men who degrade the Irish name — the character of manhood. (Hear.) We are hound by every consideration dear to men, and sacred to Irishmen, to expose to the empire those wretches — to show them as they are — poor, paltry, and profligate — the ready slaves of every secretary — secretary's clerk. We are bound to show the British empire that it was not the Irish — not the mercantile inhabitants of Dublin — but the dregs of the fabricators of its frauds and its forgeries, that could refuse, under the pretext of not wishing to displease the Prince, an ad- dress of congi'atulation to his once persecuted, but now trium- phant consort. (Hear, hear.) In short, I desire to succeed in my present motion, for this first and principal reason, that the meanness of the open enemies of the Princess amongst us, and of their titled and legal instiga- tors and prompters, may be put on record for ever. That will be done by bringing the question of those forgeries and fictitious signatures before the House of Commons. (Hear, hear.) To impose upon that House is, I presume, a breach of its privileges. (Heai'.) Let us demand inquiry and investigation. Our asser- tion will be, that two-thirds of the signatures to this petition were forged, or simply fictitious ; but we will not require an as- sertion to be credited without proof; we will challenge inquiry ; we will show five hundred names without an owner (hear) ; and we will then point out the fabricators of this mean and dishon- ourable scheme to retard the progress of Emancipation. If we are mistaken, our enemies can easily confute us ; they have only to produce the individual. Mr. Riotter may head their party. I should be glad to see the gentleman. If he doe« not live in the city, this Pdotter, I presume he is to be found ii» the liberties. After him our enemies can show off Mr. Wevilla, hand in hand with Mr. Navasora, and Johnny Bones, Esq., may appear with Fibgetts, gent., and even Mr. Knowing can be sum- moned to come forward in company with Mr. Dandy. (Cheers and laughter.) But why should I fatigue with the ridiculous catalogue. If those men exist — pardon my supposition — if they exist, they live for our enemies ; if they do not exist, then what is to become, in public estimation, of .those our enemies — of those worthy allies of the traducers of her Royal Highness ? Perhaps their spirit of loyalty may save them in parliament from punishment, but their fraud and forgery will consign them to the execration and con- tempt of posterity. 164 SEl^iCCT SPEECHES OF Mr. O'Connell concluded, amid great cheering, bj moving tl*.e following resolution : — " Resolved — That a sub-coramittee of twenty-one members be ap- pointed to take into consideration the most proper method of investi- g-ating', and respectfully submiitiug tG parliament, the alleged for SELECT SPEECHES OP ''(■leir ever vigriarit and Kealons attention to the interests of tlie Ciitliolic churcli In Irrv land •• Counsellor Bellew seoonded and supported the motion, in a long and able, tut most dis- creditable speecli EEPLY TO MK BELLEW. Ys. O'Connell rose and spoke as foUo-ws : — At this late hour, and in the exhausted state of the meeting, it requires all the impulse of duty to overcome my determina- tion to allow the debate to be closed without any reply ; but a speech has been delivered by the learned gentleman (Mr. Beilewy, which I cannot suffer to pass without further answer. My eloquent friend, Mr. O'GormaUj has already powerfhlly exposed some of its fallacies ; but there were topics involved in that speech which he has not touched upon, and which, it seems to me, I owe it to the Catholics and to Ireland to attempt to refute. It was a speech of much talent, and much labour and pre- paration. Mr. Bellew declared that he had spoken extempore. Well, (said Llr. O'Connell,) it was, certainly, an able speech, ■Md we shall see whether this extempore effort of the learned gentleman will appear in the newspapers to-morrow, in the pre- cise words in which it was uttered this day. I have no skill in ])rophecy, if it does not happen ; and if it does so happen, it will, certainly be a greater miracle, than that the learned gentlemau should have made an artful and ingenuous, though, I confess, Z think a very mischievous speech, without preparation. I beg to say, that, in replying to him and to the other sup- porters of the amendment, 1 mean to speak with gi'cat personal respect of them ; but that I feel myself bound to treat their arguments with no small degree of reprehension. The learned gentleman naturally claims the greater part of my attention. The ingenuity with which he has, I trust, gratuitously advocated our bigoted enemies, -and the abundance in which he has dealt out insinuations against the Catholics of Ireland, entitle his dis- course to the first place in my reprobation. Yet 1 shall take the liberty of saying a passing word of the other speakers, be- fore I arrive at him ; he sliall be last, but I promise him, not least in my consideration. DAXIEL O'COXNELL. ESQ., M.P. 171 Tlio opposition to the general vote of tlianks to the bislions ^as led by my friend Mr. Hussoy. I attended to his speech with that regard which I always feel for anything that cornea from him ; I attended to it in the expectation of hearing from his shrewd and distinct mind sonietliing like argnment or rea- soning against this expression of gratitude to onr prelates. But, my lord, I was entirely disappointed ; argnment there was not any — reasoning there was none ; the sum and substance of hi? discourse was literally this, that he (Mr. Ilussey) is a man o£ a prudent and economical turn of mind, that he sets a great value on everything that is good, tha,t praise is excellent, and, therefore, he is disposed to be even stingy and niggard of it ; that my motion contains four times too much of that excellent article, and he, therefore, desires to strike off three parts of my motion, and thinks that one quarter of his praise is full enougli for any bishops, and this the learned gentleman calls an amend- ment. (Hear, hear, and a laugh.) Mr. Bagot came next, and he told us that he had made, a speech but a fortnight ago, which we did not understand, an I he has now added another which is urdntelligible ; and so, be- cause he was misunderstood before, and cannot be comprehended at present, he concludes, most logically, that the bishops arc WTong, and that he and Mr. Hussey are right. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Sir Edward Bellew was the next advocate of censure on the V:ishops ; he entertained us with a sad specimen of minor polem- ''CiS, and drew a learned and lengthened distinction between essen- tial and non-essential discipline ; and he insisted, that by virtue of this distinction, that which was called schism by the Catholic prelates, could be changed into orthodoxy by an Irish baronet. This distinction between essential and non-essential, must, there- fore, be very beautiful and beautifying. It must be very sub- lime, as it is very senseless, unless, indeed, he means to tell us, that it contains some secret allusion to our enemies. For ex- ample, that the Duke of Richmond affords an instance of the essential, whilst my Lord Manners is plainly non-essential ; that Paddy Duigenan is essential in perfection, and the foppish Peel is, in nature, without essence ; that Jack Giffard i^, surely, of the essential breed, whilst Mr. Willy Saurin is a dog of a diflei- ont colour. (Hear, and laughter.) Such, I presume, is the plain English of the worthy baronet's dissertation. Ti'anslated thus, it clearly enough alludes to tni^ new commission ; but it would be more diffjcu]* :o show how xt 172 SELECT SPEECHES OF applied iii argument against my motion. I really did not expect so whimsical an opposition from the honourable baronet. If there be any feeling of disappointment about him for the rejec- tion of the double Veto bill, he certainly ought not to take re- venge on the Board, by bestowing on us all the tediousness of incomprehensible and insane theology. I altogether disclaim reasoning with him, and I freely consent that those who relish his authority as a theologian, should vote against the prelates. And, now, I address myself to the learned brother of the theo- logical baronet. He began by taking gi'eat merit to himself, and demanding gi'eat attention from you, becou&e Le roys that he has BO rarely addressed you. You should yield to him, he says, because he so seldom requires your assent. It reminds me of the prayer of the English offi, er before battle : " Great Lord, said he, during the forty years I have lived, I never troubled you before with a single prayer. I have, therefore, a right, that you should gi'aiit me one request, and do just as I desire, for this once." (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Such was the mannei in which the learned gentleman addressed us ; he begs you wil confide in his zeal for vour interests, because he has hitherto con fined that zeal to his own (loud and continued cries of hear, hear. He desires that you Tyill rely upon his attention to your affair? because he has been heretofore inattentive to them ; and tha you may depend on his anxiety for Catholic Emancipation, inas much as he has abstained fi*om taking any step to attain tha measure. (Hear,) Quite different are my Imm-ie claims on your notice — quite different are the demands I make on your confidence. I humbly soMcit it, because I have sacrificed, and do, and ever will sacri- fice, my interest to yours — because I have attended to the vary- ing posture of your affairs, and sought for Catholic Emancipa- tion, with an activity and energy proportioned to the great ob- ject of our pursuit. I do, therefore, entreat your attention, whilst 1 ivnravel the spider-web of sophistry with which tho learned gentleman has this day soug'lit to embarrass and dis- figure vour cause. His discourse was divided into three principal heads, i^ irst, he charged the Catholic prelates with indiscretion. Secondly he charged them with error. And lastly, he charged the Catho- lics with bigotry ; and with the zeal and anxiety of an hired advocate, he gi'atnitously vindicated the intolerance of our op- j)ressors. I beg your patience, whilst 1 follow the learned gentleman through tliis threefold arrangement of. his subject. 1 shall, how«-:ver, invert the order of his arra gement, and begia With his third topic. His argument, in support of the ir.tolerants, runs thus. First, he alleges that the Catholics are attached to their religion witii a bigoted zeal. 1 admit the zeal but I utterly deny the bigotry. He seems to think I overcharge his statement ; perhaps I do ; but T feel confident that, in substance, this accusation amouiitcd to a direct charge of bigotry. Well, having charged the Catho- lics with a bigoted attachment to their church, and having truly stated our repugnance to any interference on the part of the secretaries of the Castle with our prelates, he proceeded to insisc that those feelings on our part justified the apprehensions of the Protestants. The Catholics (said Mr. Bellew) are alarmed foi their church ; why should not the Protestants be alarmed als for theirs 1 The Catholic (said he) desires safety for his rel: gioa ; why should not the Protestant require security for his : \Vhen you. Catholics, express your anxiety for the purity of youi faith (adds the learned advocate), you demonstrate the necessity there is for the Protestant to be vij]:ilant for the nresei-vation of liis belief; and hence, Mr. Bellew concludes, that it is quite natural, and quite justifiable in the Liverpools and El dons of the Cabinet, to invent and insist upon guards and securities, vetoes, and double vetoes, boards of control, and commissions for loyalty. Before 1 i*eply to this attack upon us, and vindication of our enemies, let me observe, that, however groundless the learned gentleman may be in argument, his friends at the Castle will, at least, have the benefit of boasting, that such assertions have been made by a Catholic, at the Catholic Board. And, now, see how futile and unfounded his reasoning is : he says, that our dislike to the proposed commission justifies the suspicion in which the plan of such commission originated ; that our anxiety for the presei'vation of our church vindiea*"es those who deem the proposed arrangement necessary for the protection of theirs — a mode of reasoning perfectly true, and perfectly ap- plicable, if we sought any interference with, or control over, the Protestant Church. If we desired to form any board or com- mission to control or to regulate the appointment of their bishops, deans, archdeacons, rectors, or curates ; if we asked or requirevi that a single Catholic should be consulted upon the management of the Protestant Church, or of its revenues or privileges ; then, indeed, would the learned gentleman be right in his ai'gimient, and then would he have, by our example, vindicated our enemif>s. 174- SELECT .SPEECH KS OP But tlie fact does not bear him out ; for we do not seek, nor desire, nor would we accept of, any kind of interference with the Protestant Chm'ch. We disclaim and disavow any kind of con- trol over it. We ask not, nor would we allow, P.ny Catholic authority over the mode of appointment of their clergy. Nay^ ^e are quite content to be excluded for ever from even ad- vising his Majesty, with respect to any matter relating to or concerning the Protestant Church — its rights, its properties, or its privileges. I will, for my own part, go much further ; and I do declare, most solemnly, that I would feel and express equal, if not stronger, repugnance to the interference of a Catholic with the Protestant Church, than that I have expressed and do feel to any Protestant interference with ours. In opposing their inter- ference with us, I content myself with the mere war of words. P)Ut if the case were revereed — if the Catholic sought this control over the religion of the Protestant, the Protestant should com- mand m.y heart, my tongue, my arm, in opposition to so unjust and insulting a measure. So help me God ! I would in that case not only feel for the Protestant and speak for him, but 1 would fight for him, and cheerfully sacrifice my life in the de- fence of the great principle for which I have ever contended — the principle of universal and complete religious liberty. (Loud and repeated cheers.) Then, can any thing be more absm-d and untenable than the argument of the learned gentleman, when you see it t^tripped of the false colouring he has given it ? It is absuni to say, that merely because the Catholic desires to keep his religion free, the Pro- testant is thereby justified in seeking to enslave it. Reverse the position, and see whether the learned gentleman will adopt or enforce it. Tlie Protestant desires to preserve his religion fi-ee ; Yv^ould that justify the Catholic in any attempt to enslave it ? I will take the learned advocate of intolerance to the bigoted court of Spain or Portugal, and ask him, would he, in the supposed case, insist that the Catholic was justifiable. No, my lord, he will not venture to assert that the Catholic would be so; and 1 ])oldly tell him, that in such a case, the Protestant would be unquestionably right, the Catholic, certainly, an insolent bigot. (Hear, hear.) ]>ut the learned gentleman has invited me to a discussion of the question of securities, and I cheerfully follow him. And I do, my lord, ussert, that the Catholic is warranted in the most scrupulous and timid jealousy of any English, for I will not call it Protestant, (for it is T^olitical, and not, in truth, religious) in- DANIEL o'CO^■^•LLL. PJSQ., M.P. 175 Icrferenco with his church. And I -will also assert, and am readv to prove, that the Enghsh have no sohd or rational pretext for requiring anj of those guards, absurdly called secui'ities, over us or our rehgion. My lord, the Irish Catholics never, never broke their faith — they never violated their plighted promise to the English. I appeal to history for the truth of my assertion. My lord, the English never, never observed their faith with us, they never performed their plighted promise ; the history of the last six hundred years proves the accuracy of my assertion. I will leave the older periods, and fix myself at the Revolution. More than one hundred and twenty years have elapsed since the treaty of Limerick ; that treaty has been honourably and faithfully per- formed by the Irish Catholics ; it has been foully, disgracefully, and directly violated by the English. (Hear, hear, hear.) Eng- lish oaths and solemn engagements bound them to its per- formance ; It remains still of force and unperformed ; and the ruffian yell of English treachery which accompanied its first vio- lation, has, it seems, been repeated even in the senate house at the last repetition of the violation of that treaty. They rejoiced and they shouted at the perjuries of their ancestors — at their o'.vn want of good faith or common sense. Xay, are there not present men who can tell us, of their own knowledge, of another instance of English treachery 1 Was .not the assent of many of the Catholics to the fatal — oh ! the fatal measure of the Union purchased by the express and written pro- mise of Catholic Emancipation, made fi'om authority by Lord Cornwallis, and confirmed by the prime minister, ilr. Pitt ? And has that promise been performed ? or has Irish credulity afforded onlv another instance of Enscent could give was vested in that family Let me not be misunder- stood. I admit they had nc right; I admit that their right was taken away by the people, 1 freely admit that, on the contrary tiie people have the clear right to cashier base and profligate princes. (Hear, hear.) What security had the English from our bishops when England was invaded, and that the unfortunate . but gallant Prince Charles advanced into the heart of England, guided by valour, and accompanied by a handful of brave men, who had, under his command, obtained more than one victory i He was a man likely to excite and gratify Irish enthusiasm ; he was chivalrous and brave ; he was a man of honour, and a gen- tleman ; no violator of his word ; he spent not his time in mak- ing his soldiers ridiculous, with horse-tails and white feathers ; he did not consume his mornings in tasting curious drams, ami evenings in gallanting old women. What security had the English then 1 What security had they against our bishop.'=? c>v our laity, when America nobly flung ofl" the yoke that had be- come too heavy to be borne, and sought her independence at the risk of her being ] What security had they then ] I will tell you, my lord. Their security at all those periods was perfect and complete, because it existed in the conscientious allegiance of the Catholics ; it consisted in the duty of allegiance which the Irisli Catholics have ever held, and will, I trust, ever hold sacred ; it consisted in the conscientious submission to legitimate authoritv, however oppressive, which our bishops have always preached, and our laity have always practised. (Cheers.) And now, my lord, they have the additional security of our oaths, of our ever-inviolated oaths of allegiance ; and if they had emancipated us, they would have had the additional security of our gratitude and of our personal and immediate interests. We have gone through persecution and sorrow ; we have experienced oppression and afiliction, and yet we have continued faithful. How absurd to think that additional security could be necessary to guard against conciliation and kindness ! But it is not bigotry that requires those concessions ; they were not invented by mere intolerance. The English do not dis- like us as Catiiolics — they simply hate us as Irish; they exhaust their blood and treasure for the Papists of Spain ; they have long observed and cherished a close and aflectionate alliance with the ignorant and bigoted Papists of Portugal; and now they exert every sinew to preserve thoh'o P;it i>ts from the ho:rors of n DANIEL O'CONNELL ESQ., M.l'. ]V7 foreign yoke. They emancipated the French Papists in Cana-ia, and a German Papist is allowed to rise to the first rank in his profession — the army ; he can command not only Irish but even English Protestants. Let us, therefore, be just; there is no such horror of Popery in England as is supposed ; they have a great dislike to Irish Papists ; but separate the qualities — put the filthy whiskers and foreign visage of a German on the animal, and the Papist is entitled to high favour from t?ie just and discriminating English. We fight their battles ; we beat their enemies ; we pay their taxes, and we are degraded, oppressed, and insulted — (loud applause), whilst the Spanish, the Portuguese, the French, and the German Papists are courted, cherished and promoted. I revert now to the learned gentleman's accusation of the btshops. He has accused them of eiTor in doctrine and of indis- cretion in practice. He tells us that he is counsel to the college of Maynooth, and, in that cay^acity, he seems to arrogate to him- sexJ" much theological and legal knowledge. I concede the law. but I deny the divinity; neither can I admit the accuracy of the eulogium which he has pronounced on that institution, with its mongrel board of control — half Papist and half Protestant. I was, indeed, at a loss to account for the strange want of talent ■ — for the silence of Irish genius which has been remarked within tjie college. I now see it easily explained. The incubus of jea- lous and rival intolerance sits upon its walls, and genius, and taste, and talent fly from the sad dormitory, where sleeps the spirit of dulness. I have heard, indeed, of their Crawleys and these converts, but where, or when, will that college produce a I\Iagee or a Sandes, a McDonnell, or a Griffin? When will the warm heart of Irish genius exhibit in Maynooth such bright ex • amples of worth and talent as those men disclose? It is true, that the bigot may rule in Trinity College ; the highest station in it may be the reward of writing an extremely bigoted and more foolish pamphlet ; but still there is no conflicting principle of hostile jealousy in his rulers; and, therefore, Irish genius does not slumber there, nor is it smothered as at Maynooth. The accusation of error brought against the bishops hy the learned gentleman, is sustained simply upon his opinion and authority. The matter stands thus : — at the one side, we have ':he most rev. and right rev. the Catholic prelates of Ireland, who assert that there is schi^sm in the proposed arrangement; on thf^ other side, we have the very rev. the counsel for the college v{ Maynooth, who asserts that there is no schism in that arran;ie- 178 SELECT SPEECHES OP ment. These are the con&icting authorities. The rev. prelates assert the one ; he, the couusellor, asserts the other ; and, as we have not leisure to examine the point here doetrinally, we aro reduced to the sad dilemma of choosing between the prelates and the lawyer. (Laughter and cheers.) There may be a want of taste in the choice which I make, but I confess I cannot but prefer the bishops. I shall, therefore, say with them, there would be schism in the arrangement, and deny the assertion of the rev. counsel, that it would not be schism. But suppose his reverence, the counsel for Maynooth, was right, and the bishops wrong;, and that in the new arranirement there would be no schism, I then say, there would be worse ; there would be cor- ruption, and profligacy, and subserviency to the Castle in it, and its degrading effects would soon extend themselves to every rank and class of the Catholics. I now come to the second charge which the learned gentleman, in his capacity of counsel to the college of Maynooth, has broughi against the bishops. It consists of the high crime of " indiscre- tion." They were indiscreet, said he, in coming forward so soon and so boldly. What, when they found that a plan had been formed which they knew to be schismatic and degrading — when they found that this plan was matured, and printed, and brought 'nto parliament, and embodied in a bill, and read twice in the House of Commons, without any consultation with, and, as it were, in contempt of the Catholics of Ireland — shall it be said, that it was either premature or indiscreet, solemnly and loudly to protest against such plan ! If it w^ere indiscreet, it was an indiscretion which I love and admire — a necessary indiscretion, unless, perhaps, the learned counsel for Maynooth may imagine that the proper time would not arrive for this protest until the oill had actually passed, and all protest should be unavailing. No, my lord, I cannot admire this thing called Catholic dis- cretion, which would manage our affairs in secret, and declare our opinions, when it was too late to give them any importance. Catholic discretion may be of value at the Castle ; a Catholic secret may be carried, to be discounted there for prompt pay- ment. The learned gentleman may also tell us the price that Catholic discretion bears at the Castle, whether it be worth a place, a peerage, or a pension. (Loud cheering.) But, if it have value and a price for individuals, it is of no worth to the Catho- lic people. I reject and abjure it as applicable to public officers. Our opinions ought to be formed deliberately, but they should |.)P aniujimced manfully and distinctly. AYe should be dci:pi- DANIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. 17D cable, and deserve to continue in fslaverv. if we cor.ld equivocate or disguise our sentiments on those subjects of vital importance, and I call upon you to thank the Cathoiic prelates, precisely be- cause they had not the learned gentleman's quality of discretion, and that they had the real and genuine discretion, which made tliem publish resolutions consistent with their exalted rank and reverend character, and most consonant to the wishes and view? of the Catholic people of Ireland. (Hear, hear.) I novj- draw to a close, and I conjure you not to come to any division. Let the amendment be withdrawn by my learned friend, and let our ap^irobation of our amiable and excellent, our dignified and independent prelates, be, as it ought to be, unanimous. "We want unanimity ; wo require to combine in the constitutional pursuit of Catholic ]^]mancipation ; every class and rank of the Catholics — the jjrelate and the peer, the countiy gentleman and the farmer, the peasant and his priest ; our ca- reer is to begin again ; let our watchword be unanimity, and our object be plain and undisguised, as it has been, namely, simple Eepeal, (Loud applause.) Lot us not involve or em- barrass ourselves with vetoes, and an-angements, and securities, and guards, and pretexts of divisions, and all the implements for ministerial coriuption, and Castfc dominion ; let our cry be simple liepeal. (Applause.) It is well — it is very well that the late bill has been rejected. I rejoice that it has been scouted. Our sapient friends at Cork called it a " Ch.arter of Emancipation." You, my lord, called it so ; but, with much respect, you and they are greatly mis- taken. In truth, it was no charter at all, nor like a charter ; and it would not have emancij^ated. This charter of emancina- tion was no charter ; and would give no emancipation. As a plain, prose-like expression, it was unsupported ; and, as a figure and fiction, it made very bad poetry. No, my lord, the bill vv'ould have insulted vour relicrion, and done almost nothinsr fur your liberties ; it would have done nothing at all for the people ■ — (loud and repeated cries of hear, hear) ; it would send a fcvv- of our discreet Catholics, with their Castle-discretion, into the House of Commons, but it would not have enabled Catholic peers in Ireland to vote for the representative peers ; and thus the blunder arose, because those friends, who, I am told, took ?o much trouble for you, examined the act of Union only, and did not to.ke the trouble of examining the act regulating tlie mode of voting for the representative peers. (Loud cries of ii(':\r, hear.) ISO SELECT SPEECHES OF The bill would have done nothing for the Catholic bar, save the paltry dignity of silk gowns ; and it would have actually deprived that bar of the places of assistant-barrister, which as the law stands, they may enjoy. It would have done nothing in corporations — literally nothing at all ; and when I pressed this on Mr. Plunket, and pointed out to him the obstacles to cor- porate rights, in a conference with which, since his return to Ire- land, he honoured me, he informed me — and informed me. of course, truly — that the reason why the corporations could not be further opened, or oven the Bank of Ireland mentioned, was, because the English would not listen to any violation of char- tered rights ; and this bill, my lord — this inefficient, useless, and insulting bill — must be dignified with the appellation of a *' Charter of Emancipation." I do most respectfully entreat, my lord, that the expression may be well considered before it is used again. And now let me entreat, let me conjure the meeting to ban •Ish every angry emotion, every sensation of rivalship or oppo sition; let us recollect that Ave owe this vote to the unimpeached character of our worthy prelates. Even our enemies respect them ; and, in the fui-y of religious and political calumny, the breath even of hostile and polemical slander has aot reached them. Shall Catholics, then, be found to expresS; or even to imply censure ? Recollect, too, that your country requires your unanimous support. Poor, degraded, and flillen Ireland ! has you, and, I may almost say, you alone to cheer and sustain her. Her friends have been luke-warm and faint-hearted ) her enemies are vigil- ant, active, yelling, and insulting. In the name of your coun- try, I call on you not to divide, but to consecrate your unani- mous eiforts to her support, till bigotry shall be put to flight, and oppression banished this land for ever. (Hear, hear, and loud cheering.) EMANCIPATION— THE REGENT'S PLEDGE. At a meeting of the Catholic Board, on the 20th of May, 1813, Mr. O'Connell spoke as fo lows, upon the Regent's pled^'e relative to Catholic Emancipation :— He said, he rose to make the motion of which he had given notice on Saturday last, relative to the recorded opinion of hih I DANIEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., 31. P. ibl Ptoyal Highness the Prince Piegent, upoi the subject of the Catholic claims. It was a duty which he felt imposed on him by the present posture of Catholic aliliirs, to place beyond the reach of contro- versy, presf^nt or future, the various motives which had encou- raged the Catholics of Ireland to persevere in pressing their wants on the cor.Mderation of jDarliament. Desirous to obtain Eman- cipation through the legitimate channels of the constitution, and I would not accept it through any other, I wish to demcsstrate to tne world, that we have had, and still ought to retain, the highest possible personal encouragement to persevere in the demand of our rights — to show that those rights have been distinctly and unequivocally, deliberately and repeatedly recognized by the very first personage in the state. This is one gi'eat object of m} present motion. There is an- other, and one of some personal and national interest. I wish to justify to the world the enthusiastic eifusion of affection with which the first approach to power of his Koyai Highness the Prince Pegent was greeted by so humble an individual as myself — effusions which were congenial to the sentiments, as they were freely adopted by the deliberate assent of the people of Ireland. I desire to prove, that we were not actuated by the mere delusion of loyalty, nor by the expectations of royal patriotism, originating in our own warmth of hope, or created by the fertility of our own fancy. Our hopes may have been delusive, but they were not iiTational. Allegiance to the sovereign has been long the pride and boast of the Catholic people of Ireland — an allegiance not created by personal kindness, but sustained by a rigid sense of duty. The Catholics were loyal to the ill-fated and oppressive ho^'ise of Stuart. Even amidst the crimes of that unfortunate faaiily— -and towards the Irish they were very criminal — even amidst the crimes and oppressions of that family, the Irish continued faithful ; and, in the season of their distress, when the Stuarts deprived them- selves of all other friends, the Irish Catholics served them with a zeal and a bravery proportioned only to the wants of their for- mer oppressors. Allegiance then, perhaps, ceased to be a duty, and was certainly imprudent ; but the Irish heart was not cold or calculating, and it cheerfully spilled its dearest blood in the protection of those very princes, who, in the hour of their pro- sperity, had insulted and plundered them. Carried too far, it •vas a mistaken and an absurd principle of action ; but the spring ).S3 SELECT SPEFCIltd OF has not lost all its elasticity, and what our fathers had been, the Catholics of the present day were inclined to be. The Prince of Wales certainly appeared to justify this over • weening propensity to loyalty, and had been brought up in the school of the most manly and honest statesman of the age — Charles James Fox — a man who inherited so much of fervour of liberty, that it glowed in his heart amidst the chilling scenes of parliamentary profligacy, and was never extinguished, even by the cold damps of ministerial coiTuption. The Prince had been long dear to Ireland. When upon his Majesty's first illness in 1788, Mr. Pitt, that greatest curse that ever providence, in its wrath, had inflicted on England — when Mr. Pitt, in 1788, re- solved to alter the constitution, and, in point of fact, disinherited the Prince of his due succession to the regal power, he was ap- plauded by the corrupt tribe of borough-mongers, whose applause he paid for with the public money, and he was supported by, what was then called, the monied interest, with whom he had bartered and sol-d his country. Mr. Pitt accomplished his pur- pose in England, and bequeathed his example as no unproductive legacy to the late pious Perceval. But the Irish parliament judged more rightly; there were borough-mongers in it in abundance. There were corrupt and bribed men in it ; but there was an Irish heart in that parlia- ment, that more than once triumphed over all the influence of the minister, and over all the powers of corruption. The Irish parliament decided — and decided justly — that, as upon the per- sonal demise of the King, the regal authority would belong, of unquestionable right to the Prince ; so, upon the political and moral decease of the reigning sovereign — for loss of reason is surely moral and political decease — the authority of the crown ought, by the closest and clearest analogy, belong to the same prince. In the one case, George the Third was, for any of the pur- poses of the constitution, as much, dead as in the other; and the commensurate consequences ought to have followed in one case as in the other. It was thus the parliament of Ireland deter- mined ; and the Irish people, with one voice, confirmed that de- cision. Who can forget the answers of his Royal Highness — who can forget How he talked of his "aflection and gratitude to the gene- rous people of Ireland 1" — how he promised to devote his life " to the preservation Q'i their -iberties — to the establishment of tiieu' happiness I" DANlEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., -MP. Ib'.^ When, after a silence of more than twelve years, the Catholic qnestion was revived and hrought before parliament in I'^iOo, we had the meanness (pardon me the expression, it is extorted by truths to apply to Mr. Pitt to present our petition. Mr. Pitt, whose Avritten pledge in favoni of Catholic Emancipation, »vas in our hands — Mr. Pitt, ever consistent in abandoning any principle that might injure his interests, refused to interfere on our behalf, or to perform his promise. Hovr different was the conduct of Mr. Fox. He well kne^v that by assisting us, he would increase the number of his eub mies in England, and the difficulty of his attaining power. But he did not hesitate to become cur advocate ; he presented the jictifion, and supported it by one of those powerful bursts of eloquence, the effects of which upon the English mind, still ope- rate in our favour. At that period, Mr. Fox was the intimate — the particular friend of the Prince. It required little power of association to combine the wishes of the one with the senti- ments of the other. And although the Prince did not attend the House of Peers, wdien our question was debated — though he neither spoke in the house, nor voted for us, yet his opinions were not concealed. Shortly after that debate, a letter was WTitten, by the late Earl of Kenmare, to a goitleman still in this town, stating the substance of a communication made to him by the Prince of Wales on the subject of our claims, in which the Prince most distinctly recognized the justice and the expediency of conces- sion to us ; excused himself for yielding to the obvious motives of delicacy, which prevented him at that period from taking any public part on our behalf, but added the solemn declaration of his determination to forward our relief so soon as he might have it in his power constitutionally to do so. Such, Mr, Chairman, was the substance of the Prince's pledge, as stated in the letter of the Earl ot Kenmare. It contained a request, that the gentleman to whom it was written (a Catholic barrister of family and fortune, and of eminence in his profession.) should show \z to many of the Catholic noblemen and gentlemen in Ireland, so as to give it as much publicity as possible, without inserting it in the newspapers. And, here, I beg leave to correct an eiTor into which I was led on this subject by the perusal of Lord Kenmare's letter. I certainly did understand his lordship to have stated, that the Piince's sentiments were coumiuii.icated in writing, and were transmitted to the noble earl, by Colonel M^Mahon, at Chelten- 181 s;:leot srEECHES OK Lam. How I could have been mistaken I know not, but it is quite certain that I was under a mistake ; for, having at a pub- h'c meeting asserted the existence of such written pledge in the hands of Lord Kenmare, his lordship wrote to me shortly after to say, that he had no written pledge from the Prince — that the declaration made to him by his Roval Highness was not in writing, but was merely verbal. 1 did then press upon his lord- ship to allow me to put before the public, in an authentic shape, the particulars of such verbal declaration, and declared, if he would do so, my readiness to contradict; the existence of the pledge in writing. But I could not succeed in obtaining from him the publication under his direct sanction, of the precise nature and of the particulars of a communication in which mil- lions are .interested. Since that period the noble lord is no more. With his vir- tues, his secret, if I may so call it, is buried. Nothing remains of it but the fading recollection of persons who have heard the language of the Prince only from the report of the noble earl. There lives, however, another noble earl, and long may he live for Ireland — the Earl of Fingal (hear, hear,) to whom a similar communication was made by the Prince of Wales. It was not made in any confidence, but expressly for the purpose of being circulated amongst the people of Ireland, and to serve as a scoth - ing balm to assuage the fever of a disappointment created by a rejection of their petition. This declaration of his Royal High- ness to the Earl of Fino^al contained the same assertion of his having been prevented by motives of delicacy and respect from giving us public support, and of his conviction of the justice of our claims, and his determination to assist, wherever he might be able to afford constitutional assistance. I am enabled to be thus minute, because the particulars of his communication have been preserved with an accuracy suit- itble to their importance. The Earl of Fingal, who is placed at the head of the Catholics of Ireland, much more by the unfading lustre of his virtues, than by his exalted rank and ancient hon- ours — Lord Fingal, on the veiy day of his communication, put the particulars upon paper ; and as Lord Clifden, and the late Lord Petre, were present at the conversation, the paper was shown to them on the same day, and they declared the perfect accm-acy of its contents. This it is that I am desirous shoula come before the public, and remain for ever as an authentic document of the free and unbiassed opinion and judgment of his ra>\-al Hiizhne.ss the Prince of AYales in oar favour. DANII;L O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.f. 1^,1 I repeat that no delicacy is violated by the disclostiro of thin fact ; it -vs-as communicated to mo without any circumstancij betokening confidence. I heard it from tlie noble earl in Fitz- patrick's shop ; there were three or four other.s present — one or' whom was my I'cspccted friend Captain Bryan ; and indeed, from ks nature, it could not have been intended for any secrecy. But this was not the only authentic proof we had of tlie soii- Jmentsof his Koyal lliower was a trust ^uv the people, the Catholics of Ireland viewed his accession to pov>-er with the most ardent, the most ailectionate demonstrations of loyalty. Tliat loyalty does, and will ever remain unshaken; but subse- quent events have damped the ardour of our affections, and turned into the cold observances of duty, those feelings of en' thusiastic aLtacliment with which we were prepared to support a prince who should rule for the good of the people. If thos- feclin^js had been encouraged — if their o-rowth had been fostered, wliat a different scene would Ireland at this day present I In- stead of detaining an arniy in her barracks, her entire population, her instinctively martial po[iulation, would have furnished ten armies for tlie public service, and the tranquillity of the land would be secured by an unarmed police constable. Would to God I could contribute to produce such a state of the public mind 1 ]jut, if we cannot revive those hopes, let us, at least, ^eavc tlie grounds upon w'hich they stoo;! as an imperishable re- cord of our right to freedom. Our cliildrcn will, in addition to the arguments in favour of their liberty, bo able to adduce the Authority of, first, nea,rly a majority of the House of Lords ; se- ..^ondiy, of repeated majorities in the House of Commons; and thu-dlv, of his Roval Highness the Prince Kejrent. Besides, tlie authentication of this pledge may serve as a check upon the favourites and ministers of his lloyal Highness With the knowledge of the existence of these pledges, that pious and very exemplary character, Lord Yarmouth, may cease to infuse N l^G SELECT Sl'EUCHES OF scruples into the mind of the Prince. Nothing can be more ad- Tfirable than Lord Yarmouth's zeal for the Protestant religion ; he is an ornament to the Protestant church, and it is certainly a consolation to the people of Ireland to be able to attribute their j^afferings to the hallowed source of that noble lord's piety. But he will not, zealot though he be, he will not adviy3 his royal master to leave those his solemn pledges unredeemed ; neithei' ■\vill any minister attempt to advise the Prince to violate his word, cr to enter into an unconstitutional and unbecoming canvass against us, or to hold out promotion in the army os a reward for betraying our rights; neither will any prime minii.ter of the Regent dare to suggest the holding up of any office, such, for ex- ample, as that lately held by Lord Ormonde, to auction, tc as- certain who could bid most parliamentary interest against the Catholics, as the price of such a place. Nothinof of that kind can occur to the mind of a minister who beholds how solemnly his Royal Highness has promised to us his countenance and protection. I think, therefore, you will not hesitate to accede to my motion. My object is, that it should be carried into effect in the manner most respectful to the Earl of Fingal ; I feel for that noble lord the most profound respect, llio Irish people owe him and they cherish for him, the most unbounded gi-atitude. I shall deeply regret if my motion gives him one unpleasant sensation ; I think it is not calculated, as it certainly is not intended to do so. And should his lordship think that this is not the moment to give to the public the docu- ment in question, I shall respect the delicacy that may suggest a decision, which in itself I would consider unfavourable to tho just hopes of the Catholics. }>ir O'Connell concluded by moving — " That the secretary be directed to write to the Earl of Finga., ia the most respectful manner, to request of him to communicate to the Board the contents of the paper, containing the declaration of bis Ex)yal High- ness the Print-e of Wales on the Catholic ciaims, made to his Lordship, ::: the presence of Viscount Clifden and Lord Petre." Major Brj'an bore testimonv to the accuracy of Mr. O'Connell in the statement he had made relative to Lord Fingal. He (Major Bryan) had oeen present, ps was also Sir Francii Goo.d. when the noble earl i elated the entire orcumstances.of tha declaration of the Regent Mr. Bagot said he was happy that the result of th? learned gentleman's oration was sucb M 10 save him the trouble of going over the numerous topics he had introduced, and tc render it only necessary for him to give a short opinioi. upon the expediency of his motion as it respected the i>ersonal feelings of Lord Fingal. And as it regardsd his lordship's pri- vate jtentiment he bad no hesitation in avowing thdl ii met with his most decided limp' Daniel o'connell, esq.^ m.p. 187 rrobation. lie know Lord Fincral would not consent to the request that was about to be 3jade to him — naj-, he had autliority for avowhig the fact. U'hy should he then be placed in an invidious and disapi'ceable position ? Mr. Bagot (in the words cf the report we quote — viz., the Dublin Evening Post) con- cluded a very di^jnitied and animated speech, by deprecating a warfare with the first magistrate of tliese realms, who could do service, and might do injury. Some gentlemen seemed to consider such d warfare extremely useful in promoting the success of the cau.se of Ireland. Mr. O'Connell said ho had but one word to reply to that as- sertion of Mr. Bagot's, which attributed to the violence and dis- respectful conduct of the Catholics, the opposition they had to encounter fi om a certain quarter. That gentleman was strangely mistaken. It was surprising how he could be so very much mistaken. It was long before the resolutions he alluded to, that the opposition to the Catholics commenced. Nay, long before those resolutions, and while the CathoJics were in the midst of their praises of the Regent, and full of the'" hopes from him, while they were calling his Royal Highness theii early friend — their best and proudest hope- — it was then, even then, in the full tide of their warm affections that they had been met by a state prosecution — that they were handed over to the Attorney-General, and to the Duke of Richmond, and to Lord Manners, that their delegates were arrested, and their meeting-, dispersed ! It was at that period of confidence and affection that the com- mon police justices were sent to an^est the noble earl at their head ! The resolutions to which Mr. Bagot had alluded were not the causes of the ojj;position to us; they were, on the contrary, the consequences of that very opposition. They followed as the effect of that opposition ; they did not precede nor create it. 1 1 was after the prosecution against us had commenced, long after, that we publicly mourned the " unworthy witchery'' which had, with magic touch, blasted our fervent hopes, and blighted our tiiirest projects I It would, seem, too, that Mr. Bagot threatens us with the alienation of the mind of his Royal Highness from us and from o.ii- cause. He forgets that the Prince is of a very forgiving dis- Tiosition. Before he attained power, his royal brother, the Duke .'i' Cumberland, gave him, it is said, no great cause for ardent affection. They were supposed to be Upon no very good terms, yet he has become, and most deservedly, a prime favourite, so that, although that royal duke is valiantly serving his country, and putting down the French, one is surprised he can be spare*' at liume ! (Cheers and laughter.) la 8 SELECT SPEECnEa OF Again was there ever so decided an enemy to the Prince a* the man whom he selected as his first and favourite prime mi- nister, the god-like Perceval? What is it, too, that has attached him to Lord Yarmouth? But I need not press the subject. Can it be otherwise than clear that his Royal Highness is not actuated by mere low and selfish motives. He has neither pre- dilection nor resentments ! Mr. Bagot made a brief I'eply, chiefly in explanation, and the Board tlien divided : — For Mr. O'Connell's motion (tliat Lord Fingal sliould be ^v^itten to respecting the written account of the Kegent's declaration to him in favour of the Cathohcs) ----_._. -36 Agair.st the motion -----.. ..(; Majority in favour - - - - - - 30 Major Bryan then moved, pursuant to notice : — " That the Right Honourable the Earl of Donoughmore be requested to present the Catholic petition, which had been some time since handed to him, forthwith, to the House of Lords." Mr. Hussey suggested some preliminary communication with his lordship. Some diffi- culty might arise as to the precisely proper coui-se of preferring the application to the House of Lords. He did not, however, press his opposition. Mr. O'Connell said that the motion had his hearty concur- rence, and he rose merely to express the full confidence of the Irish people, in the Earl of Donoughmore. In his family, the Catholics had found their first and their best advocates — their sincerest friends. That noble earl would support their cause, as the cauje of a great people ought to be supported. He would rest it upon the basis of right and justice, and give to every class of Dissenters the benefit of the principle for which the Catholics contended — the principle of universal liberty of conscience. Lord Donoughmore would enter into no compromises unbe- coming so gi'eat a principle, lie would not seek to buy oA-er one enemy by bartering for his vote part of our liberties ; nor would he seek to purchase another enemy by discounting with him part of our relision. The Catholics could confide in the Earl of Donoughmore ; in his talents, his integrity, his manliness, and his devotion to his country, they must repose unlimited confi- dence. It was in the expression of that confidence, and of their gratitude, that they might fail ; because language was inadequate to express the fulness of the Irish heart, towards that friend who had never been even mistaken in his advocacy of their cause. It was deeply to be regi-ettod that our other friends did not r.->ntate that noble lord. It ^ftas deeply to be deplored that they DANIBL O'CONNELL, ESQ., ILP 189 had SO widely mistaken the proper course. No man could be iibsui'd enough to doubt for one moment the sincerity or tho pure patriotism of Grattan. But it was tlie misfortune of Ire- land that his eye, rolling in the fine frenzy of poetic eloquence, was so filled with its own light as to be quite insufficient for tho minute details of practical drudgery. No man admires Mr. Grattan more — few admire hiia so much as I do; and I respect, with bitter sorrow, the errors of his judgment — his heart was never wron--::. I may (said Mr. O'Connell,) be calumniated for speaking the truth to you ; but I owe it to my country to express — to express with great respect for our friends — to express my entire disap- probation of the manner in which they have lately conducted our cause. They imagined, perhaps, that they showed impar- tiality in their scorn of our assistance; or, perhaps, they still entertain — -justly perhaps — the notion, that there is in Protest- ant intellect a natural and moral superiority over that of Papists, at least of Irish Papists, which cannot be surrendered ! But see what the facts are, Mr. Grattan, I understand, took over with him to England a draft of a bill for our relief, drawn in Dublin, last winter, by, I believe, Mr. Wallace, Mr. Em-ton, and Mr. Burroughs. Not a single Catholic — lay or ecclesiastical — merchant, lawyer, or priest was consulted upon it. Surely we are not quite so dull as not to know what have served us ; but no — not one Catholic was consulted. This bill arrived in England, but there, I have heard, was altogether abandoned, and a new bill got up by some worthy English gentleman, who would, I presume, feel something like an insult, if it were suggested to him that we could assist him. Our delegates were in London they were never consulted; they almost obtruded their advice ; they were received with courtesy, but all confidence was withheld from them. Well, this bill is at last produced, and it turns out to be just what our enemies could have wished. It is narrow and limited in principle, or rather, it asserts no principle. It is slovenly and untechnical in its laiv ;uage. It is inoperative as to any substantial relief It is introduced, to be sure, with all the pride, pomp, and circumstance of eloquence, more than hu- man ; but the very person who introduced it was only the first victim to it delusion. There never lived a man less capable of practising any decep- tion than Mr. Grattan ; but the very generosity and nobleness of his mind exposes him to the delusions of others. In the meantime an attempt is made to stifle the sentiment of tho 190 SELECT SPEECHES OP Board. We were to have been silenced, lest we should di«- tnrb the course of this further relief; and, in the interval, a se- cret agency was known to be on foot in many quarters amongst us. They thought of sharing the spoils before they could be certain of the victory. Silence was the order of the day: and Mr. Grattau was left in his error, because some amougst us con- ceived they had an interest in carrying any bill. I have even seen a letter from a Whig baronet in parliament, in which li>; suggested the Whiggish idea of forming a party in tlie Board va favour of this bill. Part of that letter was published in tiie newspapers; but this pntriotic idea was suppressed : at length, however, our dissatisfaction began to appear; spite of ever}- re- straint, it burst forth; and to close the curious history of this further relief bill, the Right Hon. Mr. Plunkett cam.e over with the assent and approbation of my Lord Viscount Castlereagli, to reconcile all parties to this bill ! Strano-e mission! What! to reconcile the Catholics to a bill for their relief! What! to entreat of the Catholics to be eman- cipated? He came over to reconcile everybody — he reconciled nobody ; and, in the meantime, this bill met the fiite it deserved, and all Ireland rejoiced in its extinction. I do, therefore, solemnly protest against the course that has been adopted upon this occasion. Grattan, the patriot — Grattan needs but to be informed of your wishes to comply with them. Surely Canning, though a powerful framer of jests, is not the Catholic cause; nor is Castlereagh, though a speeching man, the representative of the Irish sentiment. Let us, of all things, get rid of secret negotiation: our friends are deceived, constantly deceived, by private information. Let us, also, take cure to dis- entangle our cause from the jobbing of the English Catholics; they have just thought fit to signalize their English magnani- mity, by sacrificing to their enemies the first of their bishops; and they have humanely attempted to bring the gray head of that venerable prelate in sorrow and disgrace to his gi-ave. They remind one of a band of negro slaves, who, upon the promise of a half holiday, celebrate their-joy, by crushing with tljeir chains some unfortunate fellow-slave who presumed to think that black was as good as white, and that colour wau no justification of slavery ! Well, be it so. They have censured the agent of our bishops ; but, in recompense, they have thanked Lord Castlereagh ! Did they never hear that the Irish people were scourged, and pick- etted, and tortured ? Did they never hear that the lash smacked. UAMEL OCO^'NELL, ESQ., M.P. 191 and the sliriek resounded, and the cry of agi ny was Iieard, ar.Anct;s, lb suiilcient to excite mercy, much less to afibrd protection .^ ' 202 SKLECr SPEECHES Vt *♦ The only crime wliicli the wretched objects of this mthless perse- ciifjoii are charged with, is a crime, indeed, of easy proof; it is simply H profession of the Roman Catholic faith, or an intimate connection with a person professing this faith. A lawless banditti have constituted themselves judges of this new species of delinquency, and the sentence they have denounced is equally concise and terrible. It is nothing less than a confiscation of all property, and an immediate banishment. It would be extremely painful, and surely unnecessary, to detail the hor- rors that are attendant on the execution of so rude and tremendous a proscription — one that certainly exceeds in the comparative number of those it consigns to ruin and misery, every example that ancient and modern history can supply ; for wlicre have we heard, or in what story of human cruelties liave we read, of half the inliabitants of a populous conntry deprived, at one blow, of the means as well as the fruits of their industry, and driven, in the midst of an incleraent season, to seek a shelter for themselves, and their helpless families, where chance may guide them ^ " This is no exaggerated picture of the horrid scenes that are now acting in this country " Here is the first fact in the history of the Orange-men. They commenced their course by a persecution with every circum- stance of ferocious cruelty. This lawless banditti, as Lord Gos- for.d called them, showed no mercy to age, nor sex, nor acknow- ledged innocence. And this is not the testimony of a man favour- able to tho rights of those persecuted Catholics ; he avows his intolerance in the very address of which I have read you a part ; and thorgh shocked at these Orange enormities, he still exults in his hostility to emancipation. After this damning iact from the early history of the Orange- men, who can think with patience on the revival of extension of this murderous association ? It is not, it ought not, it cannot be endured, that such an association should be restored to its power of mischief by abandoned and unprincipled courtiers. But I have got in my possession a document which demonstrates the vulgar and lowly origin, as well as the traitorous and protli- gate purpose of this Orange society. It has been repeatedly sworn to in judicial proceedings, that the oj-iginal oath of an Orangeman was an oath to exterminate the Catholics. In some vears after the society was formed, men of a higher class of society became members of it, and, being too well educated to cn^lure the plain declaration to exterminate, they changed the form of the oath to its present shape, but carefully retained all the persecuting spirit of the Armagh exterminators. The docu- ment 1 allude to, was printed for the use of the Orange lodges ; H was uev;-!' intended for any eye but that of the initiated, and DANIEL O'CONXELL. EbQ.^ M.P. 203 I owe it to something better than chance that I got a copy o it ; it was printed by William M'Kenzie, printer to the (irand Oiit'jge Lodge, in ISIO, and is entitled, "Rules and Kegulations for the use of all Orange Societies, revised and corrected by a Committee of the Grand Orange Lodge of L'eland, and adopted by the Grand Orange Lodge, January 10th, 1810." I can de- monstrixte from this document that the Orange is a vulgar, a profligate, and a treasonable association. To prove it treason- able, f read the following, wliich is given as the first of theii secret articles : — " That we will bear true allegiance to his Majesty^ his heirs and successors, so long as he or they support the Protestant ascendancv. fHear, hear.) The meaning is obvious, the Orangeman will be loyal just sc long as he pleases. The traitor puts a limit to his allegiance, suited to what he shall ftmcy to be meant by the words " Pro- testant ascendancy." If the legislature presumes to alter the law for the Irish Catholics as it did for the Hanoverian Catholics, then is the Orangeman clearly discharged from his allegiance, find allowed, at the first convenient opportunity, to raise a civil war; and this is what is called a loyal association, (Hear, hear.) Oh ! how different from the unconditional, the ample, the con- scientious oath of allegiance of the Irish Catholic. I pass over the second secret article, as it contains nothing worthy of ob- servation ; but from the third I shall at once demonstrate what pitiful and vulgar dogs the original Orangemen were. Mark tho third secret article, I pray you — '• That we will not see a brother offended for sixpence or one shilling, (a laugh,) or more if con- venient, (a laugh,) which must be returned next meeting if pos- sible." (Much laughter.) Such is the third of the secret Orange articles, I j)resume even Lord Yarmouth will go with them the full length of their liberality of sixpence or one shilling, but further his convenience may prevent him. The fourth secret article is quite characteristic — " That we must not give the first assault to any person whatsoever, that viaii bring a brother into trouble.'''' (Laughter.) You perceive tlio limitation. Thsy are entitled to give the first asscult in all cases, but that in which it may not be quite prudent ; they are 2-estricted from commencing their career of aggression, unless they are, I presume, ten to one — unless they are armed and the Catholics disarmed — unless their superiority in numbers and ])reparation is marked and manifest. See the natural alliance uf cowardice with cruelty. They are ready to assault you, when uo brother of theirs can be injured ; but if there be danger of 204 SELECT SPEECHES OF injury to one of their brotherhood, they are bound to restiTiiri. for that time, their hatred of the Catholics, and to allow them to pass unattacked. This fourth article proves, better than a volume, the agg]'essive spirit of the institution, and accounts for many a riot, and many a recent murder. (Hear, hear.) The fifth secret article exhibits the rule of Orangemen, with respect to robbery. " 5th. We are not to carry away money, goods, or anything, from any person whatever, except arms and ammuni- tion, and those only fro/i an enemy." The rule allows them to commit felony to this extent — namely, the arms and ammunition of any Catholic, or enemy ; and I have heard of a Catholic who was disarmed of some excellent silver spoons, and a silver cup, by a detachment of this banditti. Yes, Lord Gosford was right, when he called them a lawless banditti ; for here is such a regu- lation as could be framed only for those whose object was plun- der — whose means were murder. The sixth and seventh secret articles relate to the attendance and enrolling of members ; but the eighth is of gi-eat importance — it is this • — " 8th secret article ■ — An Orangeman is to keep a brother's secrets as his own, unless in case of murder, treason, and perjury, and that of his own free will." See what an abundant crop of crimes the Orangeman is bound to conceal for his brother Orangeman. Killing a Papist ma}^, in his eyes, be no murder, and he might be bound to con- ceal that ; but he is certainly bound to conceal all cases of riot, maiming, wounding, stabbing, theft, robbing, rape, house-break- ing, house-burning, and every other human villany, save mur- der, treason, and perjury. These are the good, the faithful, the loyal subjects. They may, without provocation or excuse, attack and assault — give the first assault, mind, when they are certain no brother can be brought to trouble. They may feloniously and bm-glariously break into dwellings, and steal, take, and carry away whatever they will please to call arms and ammunition. And, if the loj'^alty of a brother tempts him to go a little further, and to plunder any other articles, or to burn the house, or to violate female honour, his brother spectators of his crime are bound by their oaths to screen it for ever from detection and justice. (Hear, hear.) I know some men of better minds have been, in their horror of revolutionary fury, seduced into these lodges, or have unthinkingly become members of them ; but the spirit, the object, and the consequences of this murderous and plundering association, are not the less manifest. I do not calumniate them; for I prove the history of -heir foundation and origin by < he unimpeachable t-cstimcnv of Vis DANIEL CORNELL, ESQ., M.P. -05 count Gosford, an(i I prove their principles by tlieir ovm Hecref articles, the genuineness of which no Orangeman can or "will deny. If it were denied, I have the means of proving it beyond a doubt. And when such principles are avowed, when so much is acknowledged and printed, oh, it requires but little knowledge of human nature to ascertain the enormities which must appear in the practice of those who liave confessed so much of the cri- minal nature of their principles. There is, however, one conso- lation. It is to be found in tlieir ninth secret article — " No Iloman Catholic can be admitted on anv account." I thank them for it, I rejoice at it ; no Roman Catholic deserves to l)o admitted : no Raman Catholic would desire to belonir voa sooietv permitting aggression and violence, when safe and prudent, per- mitting robbery to a certain extent, and authorising treason upon a given contingency. (Hear, hear.) And now let me ask, what safety, what security can the minions of the court promise to themselves from the encouragement of this association ? The>' do want secnritv, and from the Catholics thcv can readilv have it ; and you, my friends, may want security, not from the open attacks of the Orangemen — for against those the law and your ov/n courage will protect 3'ou ; but of their secret machinations you ought to be warned. They will endeavour, nay, I am most cre- dibly assured, tliat at this moment their secret emissaries a;T endeavouring to seduce you into acts of sedition and treason, that they may betray and destroy you. Recollect what hap- pened little more than twelve months ago, when the Board de- tected a,nd exposed a similar delusion in Dublin. Recollect the unpunished conspiracy which was discovered at Limerick ; un- punished and unprosecuted was the author. Recollect the Mayor's Constable of Kilkenny, and he is still in office, though he administered an oath of secrecy, and gave money to his spy to treat the country people to liquor and seduce them to treason. I do most earnestly conjure you to be on your guard, no matter in what shape any man may approach, who suggests disloyalty to you — no matter of what religion he may affect to be — ao mat- ter what compassion he may express for your sufferings, wh;it promises he may make ; believe me, that any man who may at- tempt to seduce you into an}'- secret association or combination whatsoever, that suggests to you any violation of the Liw ^ hat- soever, that dares to utter in yoiu' presence the language of sedi- tion or of treason, depend upon it — take my word for it. and I •tm ycur sincere friend — that every such man is the liircd emis- j-ary and the spy of your Oi'ange enemies — that his rc;d ui^ject us 20o SET.ECT SPEECHES OF to betray you, to murder you under the forms of a judicial trial, and to ruin your countiy for your guilt. If, on ihe contrary, you continue at this trying moment peaceful, obedient and loyal; if you avoid every secret association, and every incitement to turbulence ; if you persevere in your obedience to the laws, and in fidelity to the Crown and Constitution, your Emancipation is certain, and not distant, and yom' country will be restored to you ; your natural friends and protectors will seek the redress of your grievances in and from parliament, and Ireland will be again free and happy. If you suffjr yourself to be seduced by these Orange betrayers, the members of the' Board will not be bound to resist your crimes with their lives ; you will bring dis- grace and ruin on our cause •; you will destroy yourself and your families, and perpetuate the degradation and disgrace of your native land. But my fears are vain. I know yoiu- good sense ; I rely on your fidelity; you will continue to baffle your enemies; you will continue faithful and peaceable ; and thus shall you preserve yourselves, promote your cause, and give security to the empire. This speech was rao'iived througtiut, and greeted at its conclusion, with warm and gene- ral applause. ilr. O'Connell again rose suortly after, and said that there was a matter of very pressing importance, respecting which he had to move a resolution. Uis motion would have rule: ence to the important business of the subscriptions. He said — That it had now become extrem^sly necessary to call upon the people for procuring aid to counteract the effects of Orange jjer- sec'.ition, and to meet the indispensable expenses attendant on the prosecution of the Petitions. A resolution like the present had been passed, on a former oc- casion ; but means had not been taken to render it extensively useful. The Board found themselves, in the month of October last, indebted in a sum of £3,000. He was at that time called to the management of its financial concerns, and was happy to say, that the debt he mentioned had been paid oft^ and a surplus remained at the present in bank. It was the object of the Board to create a fund, by canymg into effect which should be sufficient to provide for the attain- ment of justice for the Catholic, and which should be equal to the legal protection of every Catholic peasant in the land from Orange atrocities. That such a provision had been necessary, recent ev^ents, (particularly those in the county of i\Ioii.',ghaT i clearly prove ; and that nclcher legal protection nor even justice itself couM bo obtained free of expense was i\ fact well known. i^ANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M,P. 20 V He thought it but justice, however, to gentlemen oi tnac profes- sion to which he had the honour to belong, to say, that Catholic advocates were no expense to the hod)/. (Loud applause.) That money was wanted would not be C3uied ; and ho knew the Board had only to call upon the people and be supplied. The Catholics of Ireland were always found willing to grant niore than was required of them ; and would be particularly willing when they knew it was to protect their honest bre- thren in remote parts of the country from the persecutions of Orangeism. He ^vouid recommend a general subscription throughout every parish in Ireland ; but he would wish every man to subscribe only what he would not miss : and in this way, witliout bearing heavy on any individual, would a fund be collected, sufficient to obtain the objects desired upon any occasion which might hap- pen unexpectedly to call for pecuniary sacrifices. As he had other subjects of more exciting interest, though not surpassing that he was now alluding to in practical impor- tance, he would not detain his auditory longer upon it at pre- sent, but content himself with moving — " Resolved — ^ That tlie expenses unavoidably attendant upon the con- duct of Catholic petitions, and the defpT.te of the invaded rights of pe- litiouing, can for the liberal aid of our fellow-countrymen. *' And that we conf.de in the public spirit and zeal of the Catholic body throughout Irelana f:. ample pecuniary support." Tliis resolution was carried with the greatest unanimity DOCTOR MILNER, Mr. OConneli rose to propose the resolution of which lie had giver, nottca, respecting Dr AfiiiiiCr He said tl-ere certainly had been some difference of opinion, with regard :uments of the propriety of adopting it. The proposal is for an address to her lioyal Highness the Princess of Wales. Loud cheering followed— the entire meeting, as if by an electrical impulse, rose— the ladies waved their handkchiefs, the men waved their hats, and three distinct shoutb Oi applause ensued. We have never witnessed such enthusiasm. Oti, no, (said Mr. O'Connell,) I will not argue the point at all ; I will not enter into any reasoning on the subject: indeed. I will not. I leave it to your hearts — to your Irish hearts — to regulate your conduct. (Loud applause.) it was, my countrymen, a foal conspiracy; subornation ot perjury, the meanest and most abominable of crimes, and per- jury itself, at all times foul and unnatural, but in this, most foul and most unnatural. These atrocities were levelled against a stranerer, friendless and alone, in a land of strans-ers — aaainst a female, at a distance from her parents, and deprived of her na- tural protector. Good God ! where is the thing, in human shape, that can read of these horrors and not join in the shout of exe- cration ! — that can behold the triumph of the innocence of this illustrious lady, and not offer the feeble tribute of applauF3! Yet, there have been such beings — there are such monsters! The Giffards of the Dublin Corporation — and there are manv (jiffards, differing in degree, but combining in principle — the Giffards of the Corporation have refused to say that perjury is a crime — that persecuted virtue deserves countenance and sup- ])ort. They have refused to say so, because they do not think peijury a crme, when employed against an enemy; they do not deem virtue an object of any admiration; money is their god — • to that they are devoted. 1 sjiid I would not enter into any detail or i-jasoning iipvR 'ilO FKLECT SrEECHES OF thl? subject, and I will keep my promise; but allow me to tg- mark upon one circumstance, in the case of this ilhistrious lady. Sh.e becomes a widowed wife soon after her marriage, but by whose default 1 I do not stop to acc\ise any person ; but this F must say, that even her envenomed and unprincipled enemies have not dared to attribute to her any blame for the separation fi*om her husband. She has never been accused of any fault to cause or justify that separation, and she stands, perhaps, the solitary instan?«? in dome::!tic, or, indeed, in any other quarrel, where one party was confessedly and altogether innocent. This, I own, has made a strong impression on my mind, and I cannot help thinking that there must have been great purity and great delicacy in the conduct of the lady, who upon such, an occasion as this, escaped with her honour not only untouched by any wound, but unsuilied by any stain, even in the imagina- tion of calumny itself. For tiie credit of her sex — for the dig- nity of human nature, I rejoiced that she so escaped, and the less wonder at the subsequent triumph which the miraculous force of her innocence afforded her, against the vilest and most artful conspiracv that was ever formed against life and honour. I cannot avoid also taking notice of the absurd pretext which has been lately set up, to cover the real delinquents in this atro- cious conspii'acy against her Royal Highness. It is saiH she owes it all -^o her indiscreet friendship for Lady Dougias; but see how the fact contradicts that assertion; for, in 1804, the year before Lady Dougia^ gave in her statement, we have seen that the apothecaries were examined, and that Lord Moira — why — oh ! why, is poor L-eland doomed to blush at that name, too, — we "have seen Lord Moira condescend to shrug and wink at the ani- mated honesty of Esmeade : that scene took place before this miserable Lady Douglas became an actor in the conspiracy: she therefore cannot be considered as the prime mover of the con- spi racy : you must go further back to reach at the real author. Permit me also to remark upon one other circumstance, in the case of this injured and innocent lady. By the testimony of her servants, it now appears that they were placed about her in the double capacity of attendants and of spies. For years she was surrounded with persons employed and anxious to discover in rier some fault or some crime. She was quite unconscious of being surrounded by those spies ; but she T\'as perfectly snii? under the protection of her innocence. She has not been ac- quitted for the want of evidence. If crime existed, the witnesses £tcod readv to note it down ; nay, so anxious were they to -sujj- DAXIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ.. M.P. 211 p A'idence against lier, that we find theiu torturing trivial, un- iia})-">rtant circumstances into evidence of guilt, and directly in- venting falsehoods, to give a colour to the conspiracy. She is therefore enaoled proudly to feel that she owes her acquittal to her innocence alone ; had she been guilty, she must have been 3onvicted. I close these few observations on this momentous case, by en- tering my solemn pretest as 3 la"svyer, against the species of tri- bunal before which she was tried, and which, unable, though clearly not unwilling, to convict, aared to censure her whom they had not heard, and could not hear in her defence. A more inquisi- torial or unjust proceeding never disgTacec the dungeon^ cf the Inquisitions. It is " as false as hell." Permit me to quote one of her judges — •"' It is as false as hell to pretend that this tribunal was warranted or justified in taking cognizance of the matter u*" all ; it was a tribunal illegal in its formation, and shamefully dis- gi'aceful in its result !" i repeat it, how dare they to inflict the punishment, the dread- ful punishment of censure on the honour of a woman who ha^. not been heard to explain or to defend 1 (Hear, hear.) There is, however, another view of this subject which presses strongly on my mind. The Orange lodges are about to be estab- lished in England. By this, more may be meant than meets the hearing. "We have heard that some Orange lodges in this conn try had taken an oath of fidelity to the Duke of York. It is about foujt' years since three soldiers were brought up froi i Bel- fast, charged, as the newspapers informed us, with swearii-'C' in Orangemen to join the Diike of York against the Prince of Wales These men were not punished — they were, probably, privatel} reprimanded for their indiscretion. I know not, 7ior do 1 care if they have been subsequently promoted or rewarded. But it presses very strongly upon my mind, that we are not the sole objects of the English. Orange lodges. The Jaeger t is far from being of an active or penetrating disposition. He, of course, would never consent to the disinheriting of his child. Yet how do tve know hut that in the secrecy of the Orange association, somt plan may he devised and matured to alttr succession, audio jjve vei't a female reign 2 I'erhaps it is for this that Orangeism, with its conditional al Icgiance, is now adopted. If it be — if there be any ^D-lan for altcr- ijjg the succession in agitation, there is no harm in saying that J am against the Duke, and for the Pnncess. (Hear, hear.'' Fpcdc not to boastj but I nave enough of property to make rac 212 SELECT SPEECHLS 0? independent ; if I had no property, I have a profession, -v^hich, in the kindness of my countrymen, would make me independent, even if I had no property. 1 easily yield to the delicacy which forbids me to speak of matters of a domestic nature, but I mav be permitted to say, that I have those domestic charities about me, which make the cup of life sweet. Oh, sweet, indeed! But 1 am ready to sacrifice property, and profession, and existence, in the cause of the legitimate successor to the throne ; and if they shall attempt to alter the succession, I will fight against the traitors, and for the young Princess, at your head, or by your side. (Loud clieers.) Let not these traitors be enabled hereafter to revive these ca- • lumnies against her mother ; let them, at least, be met in any such attempts, by the verdict of acquittal pronounced by Catho- lic Ireland, and recorded in this vour address. The fashion of cutting the throats of wives is gone by. Henry the Eighth, the English apostle of the Reformation, had a speedy method of get- ting rid of a disagi'eeable wife. He it was that first discovered the errors of the Church of Rome in the fair face of a young lady. In the present day, it is said, that the crimes of the Catholics have been detected in the bloated visage of an ancient matron. This taste of Henry was more correct, but not more laudable. The attempt to destroy female honour, wherever it originated, is, however, as foul, nay, perhaps, more foul, than to take away tho femal-e life. The Irish were disgusted by the first experiment ; they cannot refrain from horror at the second; nor can any pal- try consideration of personal interest restrain them from express- ing that abhorrence. Our first interest is to be honest, just, and manly. Our first duty is to discountenance and condemn the perjurers and their employers. Our proudest and best feelings are to exalt and praise persecuted innocence. (Loud bursts of applause.) We cannot command success for ourselves : we cannot coax the Prince Re- gent, nor bribe the parliament; but it is in our power to deserve to be successful ; to show that we are men— that we are Irishmen, to whom nothing is alien which pai'takes of justice, dignity, and generosity. (Cheers.) Yes, let this address injure oiu* cause^ yet I would recommend it to your adoption upon that account; because, thus you would have some sacrifice to ofier upon the altar of justice and of pei*- sccuted innocence. (Loud and repeated applause.) 1 do therefore, move that the following address be adopted : — DAVITCr. OCOXXELL, ZSQ., M.P. 11 i 3 " Xl.p y\tlJrc<.^ of tlie Koman Catholics of Ireliind. (o her Royal ll'i:h- aess the Princess of Wales, on her escape from the Conspiracy *•' May it please your Royal Highness. *' We, the Roman Catholic people of Ireland, be^ leave to offer our unfeij^ned congratulations on your providential escape from the conspi- racy which so lately endangered both your life and honour — a conspiracy, unmanly in its motives, unnatural in its objects, and unworthy in its means — a conspiracy, combining- so monstrous an union of turpitude and treason, that it is difficult to say, whether royalty would have suf- fered more from its success, than human nature has from its conception. " Our allegiance is not less shocked at the infernal spirit which would sully the diadem, by breathing on its most precious ornament the vu'- tue of Its wearer, than our best feelings are wounded at the inhospi- table baseness which would betray the innocence of a female in a land of strangers ! ! " Deem it not ^.isrespectful, illustrious lady, that, from a people pro- verbially ardent in the cause of the defenceless, the shout of vu'tuous congratulation should receive a feeble echo. Our harp has been Ion"- unused to tones of gladness, and our hills but faintly answer the unusuiil accent. Your heart, however, can appreciate the silence inflicted by SUFFERING ; and ours, alas ! feel, but too acutely, that the commisera- tion is sincere which flows from sympathy. " Let us hope that, when congratulating virtue in your royal person, on her signal triumph over the perjin-ed, the profligate, and the corrupt, we may also rejoice in the completion of its consequences. Let us hope, that the society of your only child again solaces your dignified retire- ment ; and that, to the misfortune of being a widowed wife, is not added the pang of being a childless mother. " But if, madam, our hopes are not fulfilled — if, indeed, the cry of an indignant and unanimous people is disregarded, console yourself with th.e reflection that, though your exiled daughter may not hear the pre- cepts of VIRTUE from your lips, she may, at least, study the practice of it in your example." (Cheers.) Tlie following resolutions were then passed unanimously : — " Resolved — That the address to her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales, now read, be adopted, and that the individuals composino- the general board of the Catholics of Ireland, be requested to procure sig- natures thereto. " Resolved — That the Catholic delegates, now in London, be re- quested to present the said address, in the most respectftd macuer, to ber Rova! Highness the Princess of Wales." 2ii -SCi^fciCT S?ELCii£S Of REPEAL OF THE UNIOI^. ' At trie meeting of the 29tli of Juno, in tliis ^ ear, Jlr. O'Connell spoke as follows : — I return you the thanks of m}'" heart for the kindness ^ith which you have this clay received me. 1 am proud of the kind- ness of my fellow-countrymen. It is the only reward I would accept, as it is the only one I seek ; but it is a rich recompense I It consoles and compensates me for the slanders and malignity of those who are my enemies, only because they are your oppres- sors ! Nay, in their enmity, too, I feel comfort and delight. I re- joice to have earned their hostility ; and I shall deem lightly of myself — most lightly, if the hour shall ever arrive, when tne men who enrich themselves and fatten themselves by the degra- dation and enslavement of Ireland, shall treat me with favour, or even with neutrality. I complain not of their calumnies; I exult in them. I have lashed the bigot and the tyrant ; I have exposed the infamy of those hypocritical pretenders to sanctity, who, in the name of God, plunder and oppress unhappy Ireland ! — the men who dis- count their consciences and obtain money by their pretensions to piety— Ti^en, whom I need not name, because you know them at once by description. These men calumniate me, when it is quite safe so to do, in my absence. I exult in deserving their hatred; I rejoice at their exertions, which only jjrove that I have, in some measure, re- venged my country upon them. I court their bitterest hostility; all I deprecate is, their forbearance or their favour. Your enemies say — and let them say it — that I wish for a se- paration between England and Ireland. The charge is false; it is, to use a modern quotation, as "false as hell!" And the men who originated, and those who seek to inculcate it, know it to be a falsehood. There lives not a man less desirous of a separa- tion between the two countries — there lives not a man more deeply convinced, that the connection between them, established upon the basis of one king and separate parliaments, would bo of the utmost value to the peace and happiness of both coun- tries, and to the liberties of the civilized world. Next, your enemies accuse me of a desire for the independence of Ireland. I admit the charge, and let them make the most of it. i have seen Ireland a kingdom; I reproach mytelf with hav- '.nir lived to behold her a province ! Yes, I con. ess it — I ^il' DANIEL O'COXNELL. ESQ., 51.?, Iil5 ever be candid upou the subject — 1 have an ulterior object — • The Repeal of the Union, and the restoration to old Ire- land OF HER Independence. (Loud and repeated cheering, and acclamations for several minutes.) I am told that it is indiscreet to avow this intention. It may be so; but in public affairs, discretion may easily pass into dis- simulation, and I will not be guilty of it. And if to repeal the Union be -he first service that can be rendered to Ireland, as it clearly is, I for one, most readily and hea' ::ily offer to postpone our Emancipation, in order to promote the cause of our coun- try. (Loud cheering.) But lei. me not be mistaken. It is true, as I declare, that I desire thu restoration of our Irish parliament ; I would sacrifice my existence to restore to Ireland her independent legislature; but I do not desire to restore precisely such a parliament as she had before. No : the act of restoration necessarily implies a re- formation, which would for ever abolish the ridiculous, but most criminal traffic in the representative privileges. The new Irish legislature would, of course, be purged of all the close boroughs. The right to nominate to parliament should no longer be a mat- ter of traffic, or of family arrangement; it should not be, as it is at present, private property ; so much so, that I could name to you a borough in which a seat in parliament is vested by regular mari'iafre settlement. I could tell vou the date and number of the registry, in which a judge of the land and a country gentle- man, are trustees to raise money upon it, for the benefit of the younger children of a baronet ; this traffic — this most odious and disgusting traffic, should be abolished at once and for ever, were our parliament restored to us. (Cheers.) Desiring as I do the Repeal of the Union, I rejoice to see how our enemies promote that great object. Yes, they promote its inevitable success by their very hostility to Ireland ; thrj delay the liberties of the Catholic, but they compensate us most amply, because they advance the restoration of Ireland ; by leaving one cause of agitation, they have created and they ivill embody and give shape and form, to a pjublic mind and a public spirit. Ireland lay in torpor till roused by the call for religious liberty. 'She would, I fear and I am convinced, have relapsed into apathy if liberty of conscience had been speedily conceded. Let them delay Emancipation but yet a little while, and they will find tliat they have roused the sleeping lion of Ireland to awaking activity, which will not permit our further slumber till Ireland is heiseif ' again. i^Loud applause.) They may still, perchance, think of ad- ^216 SELECT SPEECHES Or nriiuistering the narcotic of religions freedom, vrhicli may tenc "tore-establish political lethargy; but only let them allov/ oui discussions to continue, let them suffer our aG:itators to pre """ i — let the love of country and even the desire of notoriety b'^. per- mitted to excite fresh agitators, and, above all, let the popular , mind become accustomed to the consideration of public cuijeci.s and to the vehemence of political contest, and they know n jthing of human nature who imagine that they can, witii a breath, still the tempest that they shall have thus excited, or be^abL to quiet a people whom they shall have roused to a sense of their w—.ng-s, and to a knowledge of their own strength and importance ! I repeat it 1 The delay of Emancipation I hear 2vith pleasure, hecaitse in that delay is included tlieoidy 2^yospect of obtain ir^j my yreat, my tdtimate object — the Legislative Tndejjendence of mxt 7uaive land ! I have wandered from my subject; but I have not forsaken vour cause. The very calumnies of your enemies and n:hie lead us to the discussion of topics which it is for their own inter -st to bury, if they can, in eternal oblivion ! The maimer in which I shall refute their calumnies is, by endeavouring to serve you. I can- not do that better than by tendering to you my humble, but my honest advice. The present period peculiarly calls for that ad- vice. Emissaries are abroad, agents have been employed, abun- dance of money and great encouragements are held out to iJiose who may seduce you from your allegiance. Your enemies tan- not put you down, unless you yourselves lend them assi&cance. Your cause must triumph, unless you yourselves crush it. You have the fate of Ireland in your hands — upon you, and upon you alone does it depend. Alas ! for poor Ireland ! Her liberties depend upon the prudence of a people of the most infiammabie passions, goaded almost to madness on the one hand by Orarge insults and oppressions, and exposed at the same time to tl.e secret seductions of the agents and emissaries of those verv Orange oppressors ! Do you wish to gratify the Orangemen ? If you do the way is before you. You have only to enter into seme illegal or trai- torous association ; you have only to break out into turbulence or violence, and the Orangemen will be delighted, bccaLse it \v\{[ afford them the wished-for opportunity of rioting in your b.ood! Do yoir desire to afflict and disgust your friends ? If you dc, the way is open to you. You need only form illegal or seditioij^ societies. You have only to lommit some outrages against thi DANIEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., M. 217 public peace, and against your sworn allegiance, and your friends must abandon your cause with contempt and abhorrence. In short, your enemies are on the alert. They throw out the language of irritation, and they adopt every measure of oppres- sion to goad you to a violation of the law — to a departui-e from your loyalty and peaceable demeanour. Ikki it does not rest there. They send round their agents witn money, and w^th par- don for themselves, to preach in private circles the doctrine of iasurrection— to form secret knots and associations — to seduce you into crime and then betray you. These miscreants endea- vour to obtain your confidence, that they may sell your lives ! In the meantime, the Orangemen stand to their arms, ready pre- pared, primed, and loaded ; they stand with the triangle and the gibbet, to torture, to plunder, and to massacre ! Alas ! alas ! my countrymen, see you not the fatal snare ? Do you not comprehend the ciniel purposes of your betrayers? Yes ! my countrymen were never deficient in intellect — they never wanted ready comprehension. They do, and they must perceive that if a single parish — if a single village — nay, if a single indi- vidual, exhibits the symptoms of political crime — if a single wish, inconsistent with loyalty, allegiance, peace, be expressed, our enemies will liave an excuse, and a justification for their crimes and oppressions ! The Habeas Corpus Act will again be sus- pended — the reign of torture and of terror will again be renewed, and the cause of Ireland will be lost, and lost for ever. I am deeply anxious to impress upon those "rrho hear me, or may chance to read a report of what I utter — I am most deeply p.nxious to impress upon the minds and understandings of every ♦".rue Irishman, that disloyalty to his sovereign would be double /reason to his country ; it would be perjiu-y, aggravated by folly, and followed by the eternal extinction of the liberties of Ireland. And what prospect could there possibly be of aught besides de- struction ? You would have no friends — no supporters. We, who now join you in bearing down upon our oppressors — we, who expose the hypocrites that cover their bigotry in the stolen gar- ments of religion — we, who are ready to run every danger, to sus- tain every calumny, and every loss and personal inconvenience in your cause, so long as you conduct that cause within tha limits of the constitution — we, in whom you confide, would, and 77Luct, be found, if you violate the law, in the ranks of your ene- mies, and in arms ! For myself, I will tell you honestly, that if ever that fatal day p*rrive, you will find me an\ayed against you. There will not be 218 SELECT SPEECHES OP SO heavy a lieart ; but there will not be a more ready hand tc sustain the constitution against every enemy ! Think you that I should thus consume your patience in re- peating my cautions, did I not know that at this moment nc means are left untried to seduce the population of this country'? Our' enemies have long duped the people of England — indeed, that was not difficult ; so dishonest and besotted a people as the English never lived. (Loud cheers.) Yes ; they are dishonest and besotted ! Individuals — many individuals, and classes' amongst them, I respect and reverence ; but as a nation, I must say, and I can prove it, that they are most profligate and quilr lost in folly. Eor a specimen of their morality, take a few transactions of this war — a war carried on for the preservation of justice, social order, and religion ! Well, in this just and religious war, the English attack, plunder, murder a people with whom they are then a"^' peace ! Without a shadow of any provocation, they, in the midst of peace, steal the Danish fleet, burn the Danish capi- tal, and massacre, even to the infants in her foundling hospital ! \ Pat this is not all. This atrocious crime, for which England "^^ ill be ever execrated, and will, probably, be punished — this ' trocious crime is now followed by a formal treaty with Sweden, by which England sanctions the robbery of an entire kingdom. Sweden has no more right to Norway than Napoleon to London ; yet the English give her Norway ! What would they say if Napoleon were now to make a present of Ireland ? Sweden is the good ally of England. Such good friends ought to make near neighbours ; and Ireland would, I think, suit Swedish pur- poses as well as Norway. Such is the morality of England, that she has afforded the example that would justify the transfer of her own dominions to foreigners. As to English stupidity, it is really become proverbial ; it is trrated by her rulers with too little ceremony. The mercenary Press which they pay does exhibit, I think, a little too much contempt for the English understanding. The Courier, for ex- ample, begins the week with some egregious lie or other ; the writers are aware that its falsehood will be discovered by Thurs- day ; but on Thursday they are prepared with a second lie, which A'nll last till Saturday, when lie the third is coined ; and the English — the most thinking English — swallow, with the same unabating credulity, the first, second, and third of theae DANIEL O'COKNELL, ESQ., iJ.P. 2l9 lies, and are prepared to commence the ensuing week -with an unabated appetite for falsehood ! (Cheers and laughter.) To descend from the nation to an individual. Can anything be more beastly stupid than the conduct of Lord Kenyon, wh(j is now organizing Orange lodges 1 Why does not the animal see that the principle of religious exclusion might have prevented him from being a lord ? — that he has escaped into sinecure places, property, and a peerage, by tne accident of hie father's creed ^ For example — if his fatr/ir, who was a common writing clerk to rich the bigots of England, and we leave our own manufacturers starving, and then we talk of our patriotism ! I n fact, the clothing districts in England are the most bigoted portions of it. The no-Popery cry commenced last year in the very centre of the cloth manufactory. It commenced with the dealers iu cloth, at Pontefract, in Yorkshire ; and I need only appeal to the Leeds newspaper, for the absurd virulence with which perse- cution is advocated in that town. Why, in that very paper I read about a fortnight ago an ac- count of a fresh rebellion in Ireland — nay, in Dublin ! ! As none of you heard of it, let me inform you, that it actually took place. (Loud laughter.) I forget the day, but that is not ma- terial. It took place in Exchequer-street. The Nottingham regiment covered it with glory ! They fought the Popish rebels for two hours ; the rebels ascended the houses, fired out of the windows, threw brickbats and large stones from the roofs ! Twc regiments of horse, three regiments of foot, the Flying Artillery from Island-bridge, and the regiment of Artillery from Chapel- izod, all shared in the honour of the day ! and, at length, the main body of the rebels retired to the Wicklow mountains, and the residue of them went to bed in town ; fortunately no person was killed or wounded, and tranquillity was restored by a mir- icle. (Loud laughter.) Do you imagine I jest with you ? No ; I solemnly assure you that the story is gravely told in the Leeds newspaper. Some »>f the London journals have copied it, even to the scrap of bad Latin with which Yorkshire dulness has adorned it ; and there is not a maker of woollen cloth at Leeds that would not swear to the truth of every sentence, and every word of it ! And are these the men for whom you are making fortunes? Are there not, perhaps, hundreds that have been clothed in tho " fabric of these dullest of all malignant bigots ?" Probably tho v;retch who fabricated the lie is himself engaged in the woolleTi u'ade, and that Irish Catholics are his customers and consumers. Let us teach these drivellers and dotards that they cannot insult iLS with impunity. The most sensitive part of an Englishmau 13 his pur^e j let us apply ourselves to this his orgnn of sensi- DANIEL o'CONxNTELL, ESQ., M.P. "22] tiveness, and make him feel in his tenderest part, the absur'Iity of rousing an anti-AngUcan spirit amongst us ; by this will you punish your enemies ; but what is still more delightful, by this will you encourage and stimulate the industry of your own poor countrymen. (Cheering.) Let us leave to the Orangemen the produce of England. Tlie Orangemen are the sworn enemies of Ireland, and naturally enough have ratified their alliance ^v^ith England. But let us recollect that om' own tradesmen are starving ; that it is in vain to preach loyalty and obedience to the laws, if we leave our people \7ith0ut employment, if we encourage English industry, and thereby promote idleness in Ireland. (Hear, hear.) For my own part, I have long made it a scrupulous duty, not to wear anything that was not Irish ; and if you will sanction so humble an example by your imitation, you will confer wealth and content upon those who, in their turn, will powerfully aid you in the pursuit of your liberties. I shall move, and I am confident you will adopt a resolution to this effect. (Hear, hear, hear.) I have also one resolution more to propose. It is suggested to me by my anxiety to obtain an adequate counterpoise from the law against the weight of misery which the revival of thd Orange system threatens. 1 mean to move — ii That the Board should prepare a second petition to the legislature, to take into consideration the judicial system in Ireland — the adminife- iration or the law amonsfst us." o^ We all know — and by sad experience we feel — how it is ad • ministered. It has been more than once said, quaintly and not untruly, that voting for the Union did not make a man a goo'l lawyer. We all know that it did not, but it made many men judges ; and some it made judges who had never held a brief. But this is not what I complain of at present ; it is something more immediately injurious ; it is the profligac}" that is induced bv the present state of the law in the mode of selecting juries ! [ need not remind you of the care with which every Catholic is excluded from the panel — or at least from the jury — when any question interesting to us is to be tried. How carefully every envenomed bigot is congregated, to pronounce a verdict of con- viction by anticipation. Our petition must state these facts, and we will ofier to prove them in their details. For example — • VI' will offer to prove, that a man in the class of bank directui 222 SELECT SPEECH L:s Oh Las been heard to declare in public company, that he wanted no money — not he, from government — all he asked was, that when they should have a Papist to try, that they should put him on the jury ! ! (Cries of shame.) I tell you that this is a fact — a fact which we are able dis^ linctly to prove — nay, more, that his request was complied with, or, at least, that he was put on a Papist's jury ! ! ! We will also furnish the instance of the present sheriffs of Dublin — Morgan and Studdart ; they were elected for no other "reason but for their hostility to the Catholics. The facts are public — Mr. Warner was entitled by the cour- tesy usually adopted in the corporation, to be sheriff. He was called on by Giffard (what a sense of justice this being must have !) — he was called on by Giffard to pledge himself against the Catholics. Mr. Warner who is a man that does honour tu your city, finally refused to give any such pledge. Messrs. Mor- gan and Studdart cheerfully gave it. What was the consequence ? Why, Mr. Warner was instantly rejected — Morgan and Studdart instantly appointed. The tenure of their of&ce was a pledge against us — they have faithfully redeemed that pledge. How many gentlemen, too, have been refused the office of sheriff, for signing a petition in our favour ? I need not go to Carlow for instances! How many have been appointed for their hostility to us ? I need not go to Kilkenny for instances ! In short, my object is simply this : at present the law treats the Catholics as aliens and strangers in their native land. All Ire- quire is, that if we are to continue aliens and strangers in Ire- land, we may have the privilege of aliens and strangers ; not only tlie Frenchman, but the Turk, the Jew, and the negro, are en- titled to this privilege, that if they are indicted for robbery, cr killing an Irishman, the jury shall not be all Triah, but that one- half must be foreisrners. The privilege of the Jew, cr the Turk, or the barbarous negro, is all I ask for the Catholic. Let not Mr. Attorney-General be -;uabled to get up a mocking of a trial, and array his bigots in support of the falling cause of bigotry. I will conclude with a motion to this effect : but let me first recal to your recollection the situation of one of your earliest advocates, the Rev. Steel Dickson. He dared to be honest and independent, when it had ceased to be a fashion. At one time, the Presbyterians of Ireland stood the very foremost amongst her children. They it was who principally forced a free trade from riiNjlaiid. in 1778— thej it was who, in 1782, insisted in arms Di^IEL 0*CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 22o that Ireland should have a free constitution ; and a free consti- tution she instantly obtained — they it was who were the enthu- siastic friends of every liberty. But, alas, how fallen ! Lord Cas- tlereagh, Doctor Black, and the 7'egiuvi donum. have converted them into Orangemen. As Orangemen, they brought about the Union ; and now they are persecuting this Chi'istian priest, this preacher of the Most High God, because, forsooth, he has pre- sumed to preach peace, and charity, and good-will to all men. Allow me to say one word of myself I want to read my re- cantation. (A laugh.) I have been accused by the public papers of having spoken slightingly of Grattan. I do not think I did so ; but if I did, I shall only say, that I retract and renounce my error. Grattan if he be mistaken, must ever be beloved by, and a pride to, every Irish heart. (Cheering.) Mr. O'Connell concluded by moving the resolution respecting Irish manufacture, and also that for adopting and forwarding a second Catholic petition, during the cuiTcnt session of parliament," THE KING V. JOHX MAGEE. The long remembered case of the government prosecution of Mr. John Magee, proprietor of the Dublin Evening Post, furnished occasion for Mr. O'ConneU's next speech ; as ■vvel; as for another which we shall presently give, and which was perhaps the most powerful of all his forensic efforts. On this occasion Mr. Magee was being prosecuted for an alleged libel upon the Duke Oj Richmond, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. On Wednesday, the 8th of July, 1813, the case was called on, ^^-hen Mr. Finlay applied for a postponement until some day in the following ilichaelmas term ; on the ground ot the absence of several parties, without %\liose attendance the defendant was advised that he could not safely proceed to trial, viz. — Sir Charles SaxtOL, late Under-Secretary at the Castle, Right Houble. William WoUcsley Pole, late Secretary for Ireiand, Robert Peel lor Peele, as then spelled), then Secretary for Ireland ; and Right Hon. William Fitzgerald (since Lord Fitzgerald and Vesci), Chancellor of tiiC Irish Exchequer With Mr. Finlay were Messrs. O'Connell, Wallace, Hamilton, and Charles Phillips. The counsel against Magee were— Saurin, the Attorney-General, Bushe, tJie Solicitor- General (late Chief Justice Queen's Bench), Sergeants Moore Gate Judge Moore), Ball anc". il-Mahon Gate Sir William M'Mahon, blaster of the Rolls). The Attorney- General stronKly resiotecl the application, which he characte '^ed as "idl-» and silly." After a good deal ol personal invective ai.;ainst the defendant, he said — " My lords, yoa will be shocked to hear that the defendant is indicted and charged, by this indictment, N\ iMi charging his Grace of Richmond \nih being a murderer." liv O'Connell— I must, my lords, interrupt Mr. Attorney-General, intending him .^o dis 224 SELECT SPEECHES OP respect. lie noT7 purports to state matter which is contained in the indictment, but he has not given any notice of using it upon this motion. So that we are not prepared to cor- rect, by the attested copy, any misstatements that he may choose to make of its contents. The Chief Justice allowed the Attorney-General to proceed. The latter m-ged that it was idle to expect Sir Charles Saxton and Mr. W'ellesley Pole to return to Ireland, they having no private afifairs, nor fixed residence here, and being out tif ofiBce. That if Mr. Peele and Mr. Fitzgerald were not arrived on the day he had fixed for the trial, he would consent to a postponement until the 20th instant ; and if they were not m J re'.and even by that day, it would, of course, be in the hands of the^Court to postpone until November. Mr. O'Connell said, that as leading counsel for ^ir. Magee, it was his duty to reply to the Attorney-General. I am, indeed, said he, at a loss to discover what it is I am tc reply to ! I have heard from him abundance of confident and unfounded assertion, but a total want of anything resembling reason or ar- gument ; with his style, it is beneath me to quarrel ; but with the manner in which he has treated my client and the Coui't, I have just reason to be dissatisfied. Against every principle of law and reason he pronounces my client guilty before trial ; he anticipates conviction, and exults in the prospect of inflicting punishment with as much gratifica- tion as if he were, at the moment, in the actual enjoyment of so doing. And he has dictated to the Court that which involves a direct contradiction of its former decisions. I did interrupt him, my lords, and I was right to interrupt— first, because he made use of a document, namely, the indictment, of which, in point of form, he could make no use on this motion, because of not having given any notice of using it. Secondly, because he wilfully misstated and misrepresented that indict- ment. He has told me that my assertion is absurd. It is not a polite mode of reply, but he does say that my assertion is absurd. I wish to be lenient to him, but I am compelled to prove that his assertions are disgi'aceful to him, because directly contrary to the fact ! He has told you that Mr. Magee is indicted as the printer of ti newspaper. My lords, the fact is otherwise. Mr. Magee is riot indicted as the printer of any newspaper. He has told you that Mr. Magee is indicted as the proprietor of a newspaper. My lords, the fact is otherwise. Mr. Magee is not indicted as the proprietor of any newspaper. And the Attorney-General has also told you that Mr. Magee is indicted for charging the Duke of Richmond with being a murderer. The truth is not so — the truth is other- DAXIEL O'COJT.VELL, ESQ., M.P. 225 wise. Mr. Magee is not indicted for charging the Duke of Rich - nn/nd with being a murderer. Will it then be said, that it is absurd to endeavour, by inter- ruption, to prevent the Court from being imposed upon by so glaring and disgraceful a misrepresentation of the facts ? If so, this is an absurdity which I am proud of committing. After this preface, extorted from me by the arrogant manner of the Attorcey-General, I beg to call the attention of the Court to the motion. It is really a motion of course, if the documents be sufficient. Now, upon the 13th of ]\[a}' last, the Court decided upon debate; and, notwithstanding the opposition of the Attorney-General, that those documents ivei^e sufficient. That determination was founded upon good sense, ana upon admitted principles of law. The ingi'edients of a motion to postpone a trial are these : — ■ First, that it be sworn that witnesses are material and necessarv; secondly, that they have been served with process to compel their attendance ; thirdly, that they are prevented from attending by reasons of a temporary nature ; and, fourthly, that there is a rea- Ronable expectation and a prospect of their attending upon a future day. All these ingredients belong to the present motion. 1. It is sworn that the four witnesses are material and neces- Eary. 2. That they have been served vdth. process. 3. That they are detained in England by parliamentary duty, and appear to be protected in their absence by their parliamen- tary privilege. 4. And that there is every reason to expect their attendanco by the first day of next term. Upon these gi'ounds, common sense tells you that a trial ought to be postponed ; and upon these grounds the law says it must be postponed. Has any man denied that this is the law 1 "Will any man presume to deny that this is the law ? if he do, my lords, I will cite a case directly in point to sustain my allegation. I will not search for it in the blue-paper books of stupid reports, which every packet brings us — the English Court of King's Bench contradicting their Court of Common Pleas, and each of those courts most impartially contradicting itself — reports that involve present litigants in an inextricable maze of controversy, and will entail upon posterity the curse of still more uncertain and more interminable litigation. I cite not any of these cases» i cite the case of the King against Magee. The identical case 226 Sl^LECT SPEI^CHES OF decided by your lordsliips on the last day of last term. Upon the very documents which 1 use now, you then decided that it was the duty of the Court, and the right of the party, to have the trial postponed. Then, as now, the Attorney-General ex- erted himself to have Mr. Magee tried in the absence of his witnesses — then, as now, he gave you assertion instead of argu- ment — abuse instead of logic. Does he expect that this Court will contradict itself? Sliall it be said, that the highest criminal court of justice in the laud has decided the same question in two different ways 1 — that on the 31st of May, they decided on the same documents and be- tween the same parties, that the trial should be postponed ; and on the 7th of July, upon those very documents and between those very parties, that it should 7iot be postponed 1 Does the Attorney- General expect that the Court will involve itself in this plain and manifest contradiction — tliat it will this day decide one thing, and to-morrow decide exactly the reverse ? In his unfeeling, unjust, and unconstitutional anxiety to try Mr. Magee at a time when his witnesses are absent, the Altorne \ - General cares little for the character and dignity of the CoMrt, His only object is the gratification of a malignant spirit of re- venge, which the Court will, as it ought, feel a pleasure in coun- teracting, when at the same time it vindicates its ov/i; con.sis- tency. But, my lords, there is, in fact, a difference between the pre- sent application and the last, precisely because our case is stronger in the present instance than in the former. Then, my lovus, we could have made but one attempt to procure the attendance of those witnesses. Now we show you many exertions to procure their attendance. Our diligence was less on the former occasion — it is now greater ; and is it possible to conceive anything more absurd than to expect that the Court will, at the request or upon the dictation of the Attorney-General, now refuse that to a strono-er case, which the Court, on the last occasion, conceded to a weaker and less powerful case. The administration ot justice would fall into great disrepute, and the law would be a mockery, if that which was deliberately decided on the 21st of May should, by the same judges, upon a stronger and a better case, be re- versed on the 7th of July. 1 feel, my lords, that it is impossible that such an example of inconsistG>icy and want of principle in decision, can be sanctioned for one moment by the Court, Ijowever ardently sought for by the Attorney-General. Thus stands the case upon our aiSdiivits. DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 227 You decided with us before ; wc only require a repetition of your decision. But, it is said the case is different now — that there is now an affidavit made on the part of the Crown, which will warrant tlie Court in departi ng from its former rule. This I must altogether deny ; and I am prepared to show you, first, that you cannot read that affidavit-- at all ; secondly, that even if it were read, it would furnish no grounds for resisting our motion. This afd- davit cannot be read, because the person who makes it shows no connection with the court or the parties. He furnishes no de- scription of himself — no reason to account why he should throw an affidavit on your files ; he calls himself James Murphy, ol the city of Dublin , but which of the thousands of Jemmy ^furphys who people Dublin, you have no means to ascertain ; whether he belong to Channel-row or Kildare-street, you cannot conjecture ; if he be gentleman, esquire, knight, or baronet, attorney, doctor, gi'ocer, or merchant — all this is concealed from the Court : he states himself to be " James Mm'phy," of the city of Dublin, and no more. This affidavit has been made delibe- rately and advisedly. It has been filed by the active and intel- ligent Solicitor for the Crown. It has been advised, of course, by some or all of the wise, grave, and learned phalanx of counsel for the prosecution. Why, then, is the swearer concealed'? Let them give us a reason for introducing a nondescript to the court. Oh ! he is safe — this James Murphy is ! How can we detect — how can we punish him for perjury 1 Where shall we look for him 1 How shall we identify him 1 If the Court receives this affidavit, it holds out an indemnity to perjury — a protection against discovery, to fabrication and forgery. The prosecutors have not, however, the merit of invention ; they only imitate. The original example of setting at defiance waS given them by the contrivers of a public d,.3cument, presented to an honourable assembly, subscribed in many a forged and fic- titious name, by rendering detection difficult by its uncertainty : to that document were affixed four-and-tw^enty Armstrongs, all *•' of the city of Dublin." Thus may every species of imposition, of peijury, and of forgery be committed, if not without disgrace, at least without punishment. This affidavit cannot be read, be- cause it is the affidavit of a nondescript. The rules of the court require the particular description of every man who comes for- v/ard to give his wi'itten testimony on oath. Here is no descrip- tion ; you must, therefore, reject this affidavit. Again, it is a ruled case that no affidavit can be read, unless lJ28 SELECT SPEECHES OP the person sliows some acknowledged connection witli tlie court or the cause. Thus, in the case of Sullivan v. Margill, reported in 1st Hen., Black. 637, an aC&davit was made to postpone a trial. The afl&davit stated quite a sufficient case for that pur- pose, and the trial would have been postponed accordingly, but that it was discovered to have been made by the clerk of the de- fendant's attorney, describing himself as such. My lords, the affidavit was rejected, and the motion refused on that account. It was rejected and refused, because the Court would not recog- nise any connection between the attorney's clerk and the court, or the cause entitling him to make an affidavit in the cause. See how much a stronger case the present is for rejecting this affidavit. There the man who made the affidavit was an ascer- tained person, and actually employed as the assistant of the at- tornev of the defendant. Here the affidavit-maker is unknown, and does not appear to have any connection whatsoever, even with the attorney. If the Court in that case, w^hich has ever since been recognised as law, refused to hear a person who cer- tainly had some, though a remote connection with the cause v.nd the parties, how can you hear a mere volunteer, who has no connection, remote or otherwise, either with the court or the narties 1 It follows, in point of convenience, good sense, precedent, jus- tice, and law, that this affidavit must be rejected. But let me concede that notwithstanding all those, it may be read. What advantages can it afford? What difference can it make in the case? You may, then, see what it is that James Murphy, who- ever he be, and I care not who he be, swears. He tells you, upon his oath, that he believes that Saxton, who has sought and won the unpurchaseable suffrages of the ancient and loyal corporation of Cashel, does not intend to grace Ireland again with his pre sence ; that Mr. Wellesley Pole, the representative of the Queen's County, does not, as this worthy Jemmy Murphy believes, pos- sess any residence in Ireland, nor does he intend, as the said Mur- phy believes, to return here ; and he then swears that he believes Mr. Robert Peele intends to come back, and that Mr. William Fitzgerald intends to revisit Ireland shortly. And can this lu- dicrous — this nonsensical affidavit — this affidavit, that in every re-statement of it excites the laughter and contempt of every jDerson who hears it — can it be gravely urged, as affording a shadow of excuse for requiring of you to change your pronounced and solemn opinion on the subject of this trial? U is, my lords, worse than no excuse; it tends to render tlie DA.VIEL O'CUNXELL, ESQ., M.P. 22[) administration of justico ridicalous, to urge it, or to argue upon it. But the Attorney-General is so very desirous to have this trial take place before the witnesses for Mr. Magee can attend, that I must be induk-ed in a short comment on this affidavit. One can easily perceive that it is a bungling and slovenly at- tempt to produce some similarity between his case and the case of the King v. the Chevalier D'Eon, the 3rd Bur. 1514; and as, in that case, the Court refused to postpone the trial, althouglv the witnesses were absent; so it is hoped that your lordshipi will, on the authority of it, refuse to postpone this trial. But examine the facts, and you will see that case cannot furnish any rule to fjovern this. In D'Eon's case the witnesses were natives of France, and resident there ; they were in the service of the crown, and as the French court was interested in the prosecu- tion, they would not even be permitted, if they were willing, to come over. There was no probability, therefore, of their future attendance; on the contrary, there was a certainty that post- ponement of the trial must be useless, as those witnesses could never attend. One regrets, indeed, that Lord Mansfield suffered himself to be swayed even by so plain an argument, when the case afforded a principle upon which the trial might, and ought to have been postponed. It was this : The French king was, in fact, the pro- secutor ; it was at his instance the prosecution was instituted ; yet he it was who detained the witnesses. It seems that it would have required but little of the indignant spirit of liberty, which The constitution requires from its judges, to have enabled Lord Mansfield to have decided that he who prosecuted should not be permitted to prevent a fair trial ; that if he detained the wit- nesses, the Court would postpone the trial, so as to attain justice — not as our Attorney-General desires to go on, merely to pro- cure punishment. No ; Lord Mansfield was not a man calcu- lated to disappoint power of its prey, and he refused to postpone the trial. Let the Attorney-General, then, make the most of his precedent. D*Eon's case does not resemble ours — the witnesses were in France, out of the jurisdiction; ours are in England, within the jurisdiction of the authority of your process. His witnesses were beyond the reach of punishment for any disobedience of the pro- cess of the English courts ; our witneases are liable to punish- ment if they disobey your process. His witnesses could not be compelled to attend ; our witnesses can, and when parliament vises, will be compelled to attend. His witnesses would not be 230 SELECT SPEECHES OP permitted to leave France ; no man can prevent our witnesses trom leaving England and coming here. The Duke of Richmond, who, one may venture to hope, has no anxiety to prevent a fair trial, and Mr. Attorney- General, who clearly does wish to prevent a fair trial, cannot exclude our witnesses from Ireland, nor detain them iu England. In D'Eon's case, the postponement he re- quired would have been nugatory ; he had no prospect of pro- curing his witnesses, even if the time he asked had been granted. In oiir case, the postponement gives us a certainty of procuring the attendance of our witnesses. D'Eon's case can, therefore, fui nish no rule to regulate this case ; which, so far from being like D'Eon's. is precisely the reverse. Mr, Justice Day— The cases, certainly, are not alike, as you put them ; and your distinc- tion is founded, if you can show us how you can compel tlie attendance of English wit- nesses here. Mr. O'Connell. — There is no difficulty in that, my lord. Their attendance can be compelled, under the provisions of the 4:5th of the King, c. 84. An act passed for the amendment of Judge Johnson's Act. In Judge Johnson's case, the gross and glaring inconvenience and injustice which would manifestly arise from taking a man from the place where he had really done any act to a place where he had offended only constructively — to a place where, though he might be transported himself, he could not compel the attendance of his witnesses. This injustice was so forcibly felt, that the legislature interfered, and softened, in some deo-ree, the injustice of the first statute, by the act of the 45th of the King, which gives a power to the Irish and English courts of criminal justice reciprocally to enforce the attendance of wit- nesses from one kingdom into the other. The provisions of the statute are express, and include all cases. And thus, my lords, by your lordship's confession, I have dis- tinguished this case from the authority of D'Eon's case. There IS, therefore, not a shadow of reason, authority, or law for refus- ing this postponement, until we can procure our witnesses. Even the Attorney- General admits it, when he concedes that the trial shall stand over until Mr. Peele and Mr. Fitzgerald shall arrive. So far he cannot controvert our request. But, as to Sir Charles Saxton and Mr. Pole, he says the case is different. In what is the case different 1 Simply and singly in this, that the Attorney says so — in nothing else. Oh ! but, perhaps Mr. Peele is a man after Mr. Attorney-General's own heaii, and that Mr. Pole is not. I know of no other difference ;. DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 231 and I really disdain to argue a topic in which I have not a par- ticle of common sense to contend against, and nothing to oppose but the ipse dixit of the Attorney- General. Mark the sapient, the admirable distinction of this wise and grave personage. He tells the Court that the trial ought to be postponed till Mr. Peele and Mr. Fitzgerald arrive ; but that it ought not to be postponed till Sir Chai'les and Mr. Pole arrive. What am I to combat ? Upon what is the Court to act ? — Upon the high will and plea- sure of the Attorney- General 1 Really, my lords, I should fear to insult your understandings by detaining you in exposing the ?dle and extravagant nonsense which attempts to distinguish be- tween two of the witnesses, for whom it J^ admitted the trial must wait, and for two others of them for whom it is insisted that it shall not wait. It would be better to decide upon avowed caprice, or the hazard of a die, than upon this wretched distinc- tion, without the shadow of difference. I conclude, my lords, by merely stating to the Court what it is we want. It is merely to postpone the trial until the termi- nation of the session of parliament shall have deprived our wit-" nesses of all excuse for non-attendance. It is not suggested, even upon fhe faith or the credulity of this James Murphy, that Mr. Magee has any intention of eluding a trial or of preventing the due course of justice. Murphy's paltry affidavit does not pre- sume to suggest tliat which is so manifestly contrary to truth. Mr. Attorney- General, indeed, of his own authority, tells us that we desire to postpone the trial under the pretence of wanting witnesses, whilst m fact we do not want them. I tell him he mistakes or misrepresents. We do not seek to put off the trial under any pretence. We desire to put it off for the purj^tose of procuring a fair and impartial trial, and a full investigation of all the facts of our defence. We desire a fair trial ; the A ttoi'ney- Gene- ral requires a ti'ial in the absence of our witnesses. The Court will decide between us ; it will decide as it has already done ; and, perceiving that as great injustice and oppression must fol- low from complying with the Attorney- General's request, whik!: no unfair advantage can be obtamed by our motion, it will again decide that the trial shall be postponed, until the cause of the absence of our witnesses is removed. 'fhe Solicitor-General rose and said, that it was possible all the witnesses might be able to attend on the 20th; that he did not desire any order inconsistent with a full, fair, and impartial investigation of the merits — God forbid he should ! lie would, therefore, pro- pose that the trial should now stand postponed generally till the 20th ; and if then it Bhould appear that any of the witnesses were prevented from attending, the Judge at N'sl Prlufi would, and he admitted ou^i»t to, postpone the trial till the next term. 232 SELECT SPEECHES OP Srr. O'Connell declared his perfect satisfaction at what had fallen from the learned 5?o!I- citor-General, and a rule was pronounced accordingly. Thus has the object of the motion been completely obtained. PERSONAL ATTACKS. Ojf the 10th of July, in the Catholic Board, letters were handed in from certain absent nr,embers, which were understood to contain personal attacks On this ground, Mr. Mahon objected to their being publicly read. Mr. O'Connell said, that if the fact was as had been stated (but he was very loth to believe that these letters of Sir Francis Goold and Mr. James O'Gorman contained attacks upon indivi- duals), they ought not to be published without having under- gone a previous inquiiy. For Mr. O'Gorman he had a very sincere regard, and claimed his friendship ; but on a general principle he made this objection. The principle was this, that if any per- son were at liberty to attack others by letter, it might be done with impunity. A person in India, for example, might thus assail either of those gentlemen, the learned baronet or Mr. O'Gorman, or any other member of the Board. The individuals thus attacked would have no opportunity of righting themselves hj inflicting that chastisement which an unfounded and insolent letter might merit. (Applause.) It was on this principle, and without any allusion to the present letters, that he would sup- port Mr. Mahon's motion. Mr. O'Connell took the present opportunity to state a fact which had just come to his knowledge. The question of religious liberty had been debated in the Presbyterian Synod of Ulster a few days back ; it was introduced by that venerable and enlight- ened advocate of liberty of conscience, the Rev. Steele Dixon ; and, after a full and ample discussion, it was carried with the most perfect triumph. One hundred and thirty of the clergy and elders of the Pres- byterian Church, loudly and unanimously declared themselves in favour of extending religious freedom to every man ; eight only opposed it, and those eight have since expressed their regret, that motives of respect and deference for the opinions of some noble lords, &c., (motives with them) had been the occasion of their opposition, but that in sentiment they fully accorded with the majority. Therefore, the transactions of that day must be considered a great and signal triumph, not simply for tlio cause . » _ DANIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 133 of the Catholics, but for that of all those who sufier for a cuu- scientious adherence to the creed they believe best. He would prefer giving notice of a motion of thanks to the Synod to be passed next Saturday, to proposing it at the present moment, though he was certain if he were to do so, it would 1)C carried with acclamation, and no person found to enforce the standing order ; but he chose to postpone it till next meeting, that it might come with that dignity and weight, which a regular notice and a week's deliberation would bestow upon it, (This notice was received vrith the loudest approbation.) HEXRY GRATTAX. Mr. M'Donnell brought forward au address to Henry Grattaii. Mr. O'Connell fully agreed in the principle of gratitude to !Mi-. Grattan which the address conveyed; but at this moment above all others, it was necessarj^ that they should be distinctly understood. He said it cr*ine highly recommended when offered by the most respectable gentleman who had proposed it, but still there were some phrases in it which, he was bound to say, he could wish to see altered. "We could not (he continued) be sufficiently profuse in the ex- pressions of gratitude and veneration for that distinguished cha- racter. It was impossible to do justice to a name which was the boast and glory of every Irishman. (Hear, hear.) The splendour of Grattan's talents had been eclipsed by the noble integrity of his heart; and he was the brightest ornament of his native land, which he had so eminently served. If she had fallen again, and had again to commence the career of na- tional freedom, no fault could be attributed to Henrv Grattan, who had waked her first to independence, and fought the manly and the good fight for her liberties. His eloquence could never have been equalled; but if the other anti-Unionists had equalled liim in other points — if they had caught one spark of his valour, Ireland would not now be a province, nor would stupidity and heavy ignorance have battled their way to judicial station, and profited by the extinction of our country! With these sentiments warm and glowing in my breast, I have at the same time another duty — a more sacred duty — the duty 1 owe to Ireland. Q 254 SELECT SPEECHES OP It consists in baving her cJiuse — ^for the cause of religious li- berty is her cause — brought forward in the only manner that can be deemed compatible with our interest, and with our ho nour. T do, therefore, with great respect, beg leave entirely to controvert the assertion of my fnend Mr. McDonnell. 1 beg leave to denp that Mr. Grattan has done the best he could for us, during the present session. Was it the best to a^-ree to the double Yeto? Was it the best to consent, that the secretarv's^ clerk at the Castle should have the nomination of the hitherto, ane now venerated and venera- ble prelacy of Ireland ? Was it the best to talk of secm-ities ? To countenance that insult alike to our understandings, and to our hearts — that insult which says, that in subjection and in de- gradation, the Catholics will continue faithful, but that from participation in the benefits of the constitution, disloyalty is to ensue — and hence, that " securities'* are requisite ! I I will not follow this exasperatmg topic; but I will say, that the sacred duty that I owe to this ''mine own, my native land^'' impels me to say, that Heniy Grattan was greatly and grievously mistaken in this session of parliament. I only require that we should reconcile these concurrent dutie??. Let us thank Grattan with all the veins of our hearts, but let us not use a smgle expression which ea,n, by any construction what- soever, be tortured into any approbation of the late very mis- taken and mischievous bill. I do not require, nor would I con- sent, that any trace of ill-humour or reproach should be found in our address; but I would wish that you should suggest to him his former glories in the cause of ''simple repeal,"* and entreat of him again to adopt for the motto of his country, and lier watchword in the war of parliament, "simple repeal!" (Cheers.) I am anxious to infix this truth on the minds of all our par- liamentary fi'iends, that it is for the gi-eat principle of religious li- berty that we contend, and not for individual advantages to tho Catliolic body. Let the sentiment be the main idea of every address, as well as of every petition ; and though we may be de- feated, we shall never again be disgraced ! * Alluding to the discngsions of 1732, when the question Tvas, •vrhether the Irish parlia- ment woald consider its independeiiee sufficiently ^'i^(licilted, and asserted by the mera repeal of the Act of the English parliament in the sixth year of the reign of George ths First, by which the latter claimed and usmred legislative authority over Ireland, or who ther an er press renunciation of this usurped legislative authority should be insisted on. Grattan was for ^^ simple Eep--.al" Flood for the express rtnunciafion. The first wa? fhtelned in 1782, and the second the year after, viz., 1783, by the 23d George III., chapter 98» declaring our logislative and judicial independence "establisheo for evebI" ^. DANIEL 0*OONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 235 I would, under these circumstances, earnestly press upori my esteemed friend to postpone the address to Mr. Grattan for tlio present ; to consent to have it referred to the sub-committee, iu order to have it modelled upon the principle and in the manner that I suggest. It will not be the less complimentary to Mr Grattan for being the work of deliberation, and it clearly will be more useful and more honourable to ourselves. Upon this subject let us not have — I trust we shall not havo — any division. Oui- country has suffered for centuries from degradation and oppression, brought on her, and perpetuated by her internal divisions. First, the Irish were divided amongst themselves ; then the English were divided from the Irish; tlien followed the lonsi-cherished divisions between the Catholics and the Protestants ; and now yet another division is encouraged l)y the government. Every individual in the Catholic body, whom the administration can influence, either directly or indirectly, is separated from the Catholic prelates and the people. An en- deavour was made to control us ; it failed, and now the plan is secession. For my part, I rejoice at the secession of those who desire to gi'atify themselves, and not to serve their country. But whom do we miss ? I do not perceive the deficiency. Our meetings, as it appears to me, have never been so crowded with the health, and strength, and independence of the body, as since the last and poorest attempt to stay our majestic onward course towards the temple of concord and freedom, (Cheers.) Let us, then, concur in the two leading features of this address — gi'atitude — eternal gratitude to Grattan ; fidelity — unalterable fidelity to our country. To combine both, I move that the ad- dress which has been this day brought forward and read by Mr. M'Donnell, be referred to the sub-committee to report upon this day week. IRISH MANUFACTURE. Mr. O'Connell tronght forward his promised motions on this subject. The tirst resoUition is, tl)at no member be allowed to speak or vote at the Board, after the 1st of August, wlio shall not be clothed in Irish manufacture. The second, that the ladies of Ireland be entreated to encourage the wear of tlieir native manufacture, and not to introduce any other. The third, that a committee of seven be appointed, for tlie purpose of calling upon the Protestant gentlemen of tlie countiy t<; form " An Association for the encouragement of con- fumption of Irish Manufacturt." The resolutions ■were ail received with ioud applauee, a nd were passed by acclamation." 236 SELECT SPEECHES OF i'iiC follo^ving gentlemen were then appointed upon this committee : — Mr. OXonnell, CounseUors OGorman and Mr. Richard O'Gorman, Finn, and Doctor Sheridan, R. O'Bryan, Esq. E, Cox, Esq. lir. O'Connell then moved that his resolutions should be printed in the liberal papers oi r>al,lin, and in the liberal prints of Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Kilkenny, and Clojimel, and in a Belfast paper. This was also agreed to, and the meeting adjourned. On Tuesday, the 20th July, Mr. Samin moved the Court of King's Bench, " that the case rf the King against Magee, ir consequence of the continued absence of Messrs. FitzgoruJil, Pole, Peele, and Sir Cliailes Saxton, witnesses for the defendant, should stand ovej- to Monday, the 26th," which was accordingly granted. ADDEESS TO HENRY GRATTAN. Os the preceding Saturday, the 17th of Julj', the address to Mr. Grattan was reported to the Catholic Board, by its original proposer, Mr. M'DonnelL In the course of his speech on this occasion, he alluded to the continued absence of seve- ral members of the Board, who had formeily been constant attendants, and had taken an active part in its proceedings. This allusion had reference chiefly to the parties who had made themselves prominent in opposing the vote of thanks to the Catholic bishops, and who, since the triumphant carrying of that motion in aggregate meeting, had secluded themselves in high dudgeon at their well-merited discomfiture. The adoption of the address, which had been altered, as agreed upon, at the preceding metling. and, therefore, while highly complimentary to Mr. Grattan, contained notlilng tnac could be held to invohe any species of tolerance towards the *' securities" of his '• lielief " Bill, was seconded by Mr. O'ConnelL He said, that in seconding this address, he did not think it necessary to take up one moment in recommending it to the Board. He relied upon its being carried with the most perfect unanimity ; and when he rose to second it, he only meant to give it all the strength which his individual expression of the gratitude due by Ireland to Mr. Grattan could impart. No man in the community felt more sensibly the great debt which we all owe to Mr. Grattan than he did ; and he was happy that he could make ample acknowledgment of its justice and magnitude, without concediug either his religion or the steady principle of simple repeal, upon which alone the Catholics v/ere determined to stand. The clauses, the arraDgements, the details, the provisions, the enactments, the restrictions, which would de- prive the Irish people of the one, and which were totally incon- sistent with the other, were not of Mr. Grattan's invention. These subjects were not now touched upon with any retrospective DANIEL O'COXNSLL, ESQ., M.P! 237 view. The address speaks prophetically. It tells Mr. Grattan that he has always had the hearts of the Irish people and that in future he shall have their full judgments. It was immaterial whether their petition should succeed in the next session or not ; the cause was proceeding with a rapid and steady pace, gaining daily additional strength as it went alone:. He was sorrv that he could not aijree with his most re- spectable friend, Mr. M'Donnell, in any part of the late bill. It was unnecessary, after the very powerful manner in which that gentleman had condemned the interference with the clergy, to say anything upon that part of the bill ; the sentiments ex- pressed by Mr. M'Donnell were only those of the public in gene- •al, and any feeble cry that has been attempted to be raised in '^avour of the clauses, only made the expression of this feeling . he more marked. But he was bound to say, that none, even of „he political enactments of the bill, deserved approbation. He entreated his respected friend to permit tho legal men 3f the Board, merely as barristers (if not lawyers), to declare their opinion upon it, as upon mat^-er of law. And this opinion he unpqui vocally declared was, that the bill, had it passed into law, would have been totally inefficient — would have done no- thing. In the House of Commons and in the higher ranks uf the army, some trifling benefit might have accrued from it to a few ambitious Catholics, but in respect to the great mass of the people, they would have gained nothing by it. Taxation without representaiion, and the numerous other crying gxievances which they endure, would have been left wholly unaffected by its ope- ration. This he asssrted as the opinion of the barristers of the Catholic Board, and if it shall be contradicted by anything like argument in the public papers, he pledged himself to support the assertion. Th^re \.as now upon the 'able an abstract of the bill, which had been prepared by Mr. Charles Butler for the emancipation of the Catholics : and he felt himself bound to say, that he had never me*- anything which appeared to have been drawn up in more complete ignorance of the penal laws which aggrieve the •Jatholics of Ireland, and that if it had passed into a law, it would have been totally useless. Mr. Butler (he said) is an ex- pert penman, who wiites a great deal, and if he shall contradict .11 print his (Mr. O'Conne.ll's) assertion, he will, for the infor- ination of the gentleman and the public, quote the statutes which would render his bill a nullity. He (Mr. O'Connell) spoke this that the people might know 233 SELECT SPEEHES OP that bad bills had been prepared ; and for the purpose of inform- ing any known person who took an interest in the aflfairs of. tba Catholics, that if a bill for their emancipation was wanted, and the Board were to be called upon to produce one, the frame oi such a bill was ready, and should be instantly produced. THE SYNOD OF ULSTER. The pressure of prior business at the meeting of the 17th of July, compelled a postpone^ ment of the motion of Mr. O'Connell, relativ e to the Presbyterian Sj'nod of Ulster. On the succeeding Saturday, he, however, brought it forward. He said he had to call on the Board to carry out their inten- tion of thanking that very important body, the Synod of Ulster, for the late vote of the members composing it, in favour of reli- gious liberty. The learned gentleman (say the reports of the J^ost etnd Freeman,) prefaced the motion by a speech of some length, and delivered it with his wonted eloquence. He touched upon a variety of topics, having reference to or bearing u pon the subject matter of his motion. The late decision of the Synod of Ulster he considered perfectly unanimous, for the eight indi- viduak who had opposed, have since that time declared, that in sentimant and feeling, they were in perfect accordance with the majority. He looked upon it cs one of the most important, auspicious, and gratifying events which had occured for a considerable period. Divisions had ever been the ruin of Ireland ; they yet pursued and scourged her; but the declaration of the Synod of Ulster, in favour of religious liberty, was an earnest he hoped, tbr the banishment of them from amongst us in future. It was not to be expected, however, that an evil, which had not only been suffered to exist, but had actually been encouraged, and, in consequence, had grown to a melancholy extent indeed, should bs all at once overcome. The Synod of Ulster had done their part. They had set a noble example ; let it be met by a corresponding spirit, and be imi^yatsd throughout the country. The enemies of Ireland having had long experience of the efficacy of divisions in forwarding their purposes, had never lost sight of promoting them. There were two sorts of division^ w iiich were peculiarly fatah and should be guarded against with Daniel o'con^tell, esq., m.p, 23U tlio utmost care. One — the lesser kind — was, divisions amongst the Catholics themselves ; the other — and the gi'eater — was, that which would separate the Presbyterian, the Quaker, and all the other numerous classes of Dissenters fix)m the Catholics, and from each other. With respect to the first kind of division, he was proud to say, that the great body of the Irish Catholics were unanimous in their determination to knock at the gate Ol the temple of liberty, and temperately, but firmly, and with the port of men, demand admittance. Knowing this to be the spirit which animated tha body, he was prepared to say, that if any Catholic, no matter what were his rank and property, seceded from them, he only made an outlaw of himself, and inflicted no injury upon the cause. And with respect to the second kind of division, the declara- tion of the Synod of Ulster was a gmtifying proof, that good sense, reason, and patriotism were beginning to triumph over the distractions which had so long disfigured Ireland. It was with pain he found himself compelled to say that many of the clergy of the Established Church were ver^'' hostile to the just claims of their fellow-countrymen and fellow-Christians, who sought liberty to worship God according to the dictates of their consciences. This was particularly observable during the late elections. Wheresoever a gentleman, whose principles were tolerant, appeared as a candidate, he was sure to be encountered by a host of the votes of the clergy. Dr. St. Lawrence and that galloping, preaching gentleman, his son, were proofs of this when, at Cork, they strenuously opiX)sed Mr. Hely Hutchinson. It was true, there were many illustrious exceptions which only proved the general rule. It was gratifying, however, to remark, that this illiberality was confined to the clei-gy, and even amongst them to the beneficed :>nes. The laity — the respectable and uninfluenced laity — were all favourable to the rights of their fellow -men and fellow-sub- jects ; but, while this aflbrded matter for w^arm congratulation, it was impossible to avoid regretting, that the practice of the Established clergy should be so widely different from those doc- trines of peace and charity which they are so liberally paid for teaching. He was willing to hope, notwithstanding all that could be done, their efibrts and the efforts of those who set them in motion, would prove ineffectual ; that every odious distinction would be obliterated : and that everv man in this countrv would be ambitious for one title, and one title only, that of Ielshuen! (Loud cheering.) 2'-10 SELECT SPEKCEES OP The Synod of Ulster talks of the constitution. He perfectly agreed with the Synod, in what it had said in that respect. All he required, all the Catholics required, was ETnancipaiion to the extent of the constitution ! — Emancipation agreeable to the prin- ciples of the revolution ! Those principles were plain, indisput- able, and well understood — they were liberty to the people to •hoose their own religion and their £,overnors. The Catholics merely seek religious freedom. The revolutionist'^ changed their khig, because he was not of the religion of the people, and re- fused to be governed by any person who would not adopt that religion. The Catholics, however, seek no such change, and no- thing beyond what he had said. He had but one observation more. The great object of hi=; life, and that which he had in view at present, was to defeat and put down any man who should attempt to excite discontent, or disloyalty, or disunion amongst the people. Union and har- mony were the great and healing balsams which he wished and uoped to see applied to the wounds of his country. TRIAL OF JOHN MAGEK. On' Monday, the 26th of July, the case of the King i? _ilagee was again called on. hlr. O'Connell addressed the Court at its sitting. TRIAL OF JOHN MAGEE, I'roprietor of the Dublin Evening Post, for a libel against his Grace the Duke of RichincniV King's Bench, July 2G, 1813. Tlie court of King's Dench was yesterday morning crowded at an early hour, hy the inte- rest e.\.cite ius. Attorney-General — If there be any error on the recor^l, this is not the place to amend it ILi. Wdiiace— We contend for it; we aje not to be tried by the second jury £44 SELF^CT sPEEcars OP The Clerk of the Crown then read from the record, the objections put in by tlie traver s M-'s counsel ; they were put in as pleas, and were substantially : in the first place, that tlie panel was returned by the sheriffs, under the denominations (nominations) o( the •orr ey-General ; that the panel did not contain truth ; and that a distrmge did nof issue ■"n the first venire. The Attorney-General then, ore tonus, joined issue on the firs*, and second p'ea, and demurred to the third. Triers were then appointed — Messrs. Ue>1arid and Hamilton. William GbFF, Esq., examined by Mr. O'ConnelL '^o you know Joseph Goff ? I do. Is he not one of the persons returned on this panel? 1 believe so 3]r. O'Connell — My lord, we are going to prove that this person, not having any other farour to ask of the government, expressed a wish to be always employed as a jurDrin cases where the Crown was a party ; such expressions would warrant a conclusion that hi» name cow appeared on the panel in consequence of his own wishes, and in violation, there- fore, of the impartiality necessary in tne formation of juries. The reason why we did not produce the person himself, is upon the general principle that no man is bound to crimi- nate himself. If Crown influence be proved, it will affect the Attorney-General, as identi- fied with the oflScers of the Crown. This challenge was, after some discussion, disallowed, as the Court would not admit hear- SHy evidence on the point Tiic following were the jury, as fln.Viiy sworr- Leland CrosthwaiUJ, Martin Keene, Thomas Andrews, Benjamin Darley, Bladen Swiney, William Watson, Richard Palmer, V*'illiam Walsh, Thomas Rochfort, Ri?liard Cooke, Alexander Montgomery, Edward Clibbome. Mr. Kemmis then cpened the indictment, and the Attorney-General followed. The nfvture of his speech will be readily gathered from Mr. O'Connell's reply, which has been generally considered one of his greatest bar etforts. and which we now proceed to give. It was on Tuesday, 27th July, the second day of the proceeuings. that he was called upon tr speak. We quote the ample report of the Evening Post. At eleven o'clock, the Chief Justice took hii* seat in the court, which was crowded from aa early hour, pubUc expectation being much excited and interested, with respect tc tr.o proceedings and iss;.e of ths day. Mr. O'Connell rose and spoke as fodows : — I consented to the adjournment yesterday, gentlemen of the jury, from that impulse of nature which compels us to postpone pain; it is, indeed, painful to me to address you; it is a cheer- less, a hopelesb task to address you — a task which would require all the animation and interest to be derived fi-om the working of a mind fully fraught with the resentment and disgust created in mine yesterday, by that fan-ago of helpless absurdity with which Mr. Attorney-General regaled you. But I am now not sorry for the delay. Whatever I may have lost in vivacity, I trust I shall compensate for in discretion. That which yesterday excited my anger, now appears to me to D\N1EL O'CONNELL, ESQ., V.V. 245 be an object- of pity; and that "which thon roused my indigna- lion, now only moves to contempt. I can now address you witli feelings softened, and, I trust, subdued; and I do, from my soil, declare, that I now cherish no other sensations than those which enable me to bestow or the Attorney- General and on his dis- course, pure and unmixed compassion. It was a discourse in w^hich you could not discover either «rder, or method, or eloquence; it contained very little logic, and no poetry at all; violent and virulent, it was a confused and disjointed tissue of bigotry, amalgamated with congenial vulgarity. He accused my client of using Billingsgate, and he accused him of it in language suited exclusively for that m'^ii- dian. He descended even to the calling of names: he called *his young gentleman a '' malefactor," a "Jacobin," and a "ruf- fiiu." gentlemen of the jury; he called him "abominable," and "seditious," and "revolutionary," and "infamous," and a "ruf- fian" again, gentlemen of the jury; he called him a "brothe^ keeper," a "pander," "a kind of bawd in breeches," and a "ruf- fian" a third time, gentlemen of the jury. 1 cannot repress my astonishment, how Mr. Attorney- General v'-ould have preserved this dialect in its native purity; he has been now for nearly thirty years in the class of polished society ; he has, for some years, mixed amongst the highest orders in tho state ; he has had the honour to belong for thirty years to the aiience and with temper — listen now to our vindication I I ask, what is it we seek 1 A^liat is it we incessantly and, if you please, clamorously petition for ? Why, to be allowed to partake of the advantages of the constitution. We are earne .,tly anxious to share the benefits of the constitution. We look to the pai-ticipation in the constitution as om- greatest political blessing. If we desired to destroy it, would we seek to share it 1 If we wished to overturn it, would we oxert ourselves through calumny, and in peril, to obtam a portion of its blessings ? Strange, inconsistent voice of calumny ! You charge us with intemperance in cur exertions for a participation in the constitution, and you charge us at the same time^ almost in the same sentence, with a design to overturn that constitution. The dupes of your hypo- crisy may believe you ; but base calumniators, you do not, you cannot believe yourselves ! The Attorney-General — " this ivisest and best of men,'' as his colleague, the Solicitor-General; called him. in his presence — the i.M\!EL O'COXXELL, L^q., M.I'. -M l> ^Vttoruey-General next boaste.T of his triump]\ over Pope and ropory — " I put down the Catholic Committee ; 1 will put down, at my good time, the Catholic Board." This boast is partly his- torical, partly prophetical. He was wrong in his history — ne ih quite mistaken in his prophecy. He did not put down the Ca- tholic Committee — we gave up that name the moment that it was confessedly avowed, that this sapient Attorney-General's po- lemica-legal controversy dwindled into a mere dispute about words. He told us that in the English language " pretence" means purpose ;" had it been French and not English, we might have been inclined to respect his judgment, but in p oint of Eng- lish \re venture to differ with him; we told him " purpo.se," good Mr. Attorney-General, is just the reverse of "pretence." The quarrel grew warm and animited ; we appealed to common sense, to the grammar, and to the dictionary ; common sense, grammar, and the dictionary decided in our favour. He brought his aj)- peal to this court, your lordship, and your brethren, unanimous] v decided that, in point of of law — mark, mark, gentlemen of thi jury, the sublime wisdom of law — the court decided that, in point of law, " pretence''' docs mccin ^^ jjurposc r Fully contented with this xerj reasonable and more satisfactory decision, there still remained a matter of fact between us : tho Attorney-General charged us with being representatives ; we de- nied all representation. He had two witnesses to prove the fact for him ; they swore to it one way at one trial, and directly the other way at the next. An honourable, intelligent, and eniight- oned jury disbelieved those witnesses at the first trial — matters were better managed at the second trial — the jury were better arranged. I speak delicately, gentlemen ; the jury were better arranged, as the witnesses were better informed ; and, accordingly, there was one verdict for us on the representative question, and one verdict against us. You know the iurv that found for us ; a'ou know that it was Sir Charles Saxton's Castle-list jury that found against us. Well, the consequence was, that, thus encouraged, Mr. Attorney-Gene- tal proceeded to force. We abhorred tumult, and were weary Oi litigation ; we new-modelled the agents and managers of the Ca- tholic petitions ; we formed an assembly, respecting which there could not be a shadow of pretext for calling it a representative- body. We disclaimed representation ; and we rendered it im- possible, even for the virulence of the most malignant law-otii- cer living, to employ the Convention Act against us — that, even I'.pou the Attorney-General's own construction, requires represent 2'*'> SF.LUCT SrEECQES OP wui.'n ns an ii'gredieiit in the offence it prohibits. He cannot [..•sHibly call US representatives ; we are the individual servanta nf the public, whose business we do gratuitously bat zealously. Our cause has advanced even from his persecution — and this he (^uils putting down the Catholic Committee ! jSText, he glorifies himself in his prospect of putting dowli the Catholic Board. For the present, he, indeed, tells you, that much as he hates the Papists, it is unnecessary for him to crush our P')ard, because we injure our own cause so much. He says that Y,3 are very criminal, but we are so foolish that our follv serves as a compensation for our -wdckedness. We are very wicke^. and very mischievous, but then we are such foolish little criminals, that we deserve his indulgence. Thus he tolerates .'ffences, because of their being committed sillily : and, indeed, u-e give him so much pleasure and gratification by the injury we do our own cause, that he is spared the superfluous labour of im - peding -^ur petition by his prosecutions, fines, or imprisonments. He expresses the very idea of the Roman Domitian, of whom pome of you possibly may have read ; he amused his days in tor- turing men— his evenings he relaxed in the humble cruelty of impaling flies. A courtier caught a fly for his imperial amuse- ment — "Fool," said the emperor, "fool, to give thyself the trouble of torturing an animal that was about to burn itself to death in the candle !" Such is the spirit of the Attorney-Generars com- mentary on our Board. Oh, rare Attorney-General ! — Oh, best and wisest of men ' ! ! But, to be serious. Let me pledge myself to you that he im- poses on you, when he threatens to crush the Catholic Board, illegal violence may do it — force may effectuate it; Ikut your hopes and his will be defeated, if he attempts it by any course of law. I am, if not a lawyer, at least, a barrister. On this subject I ought to know something, and I do not hesitate to con- tradict the Attorney-General on this point, and to proclaim to vou and to the country that the Catholic Board is perfectly a leiral assembly — that it not only does not violate the law, but that it is entitled to the protection of the law, and in the very jn-oudest tone of firmness, I hurl defiance at the Attorney- General ! I defy him to allege a law or a statute, or even a proclamation that is violated by the Catholic Board. No, gentlemen^ no ; his religious prejudices — if the absence of every charity can btj called anything religious — his religious prejudices really obscure •jtiii reason, his bigoted intolerance has totally darkened hi& \lw- DANIEL O'CONNELT;, ESQ., M.P. 25 i derstanding, and he mistakes the plainest facts and misquotes tiie cl«»arest law, in the ardour and vehemence of his rancour. I disdain his moderation — I scorn his forbearance — I tell him he Xnows not the law if he thinks as he says ; and if he thinks so, I tell him to his beard, that he is not honest in not having sooner prosecuted us, and I challenge him to that prosecution. It is strange — it is melancholy, to reflect on tlie miserable and mistaken pride that must inflate him to talk as he does of the Catholic Board, The Catholic Board is composed of men — 1 include not myself — of course, I always except myself — every v/ay his superiors, in birth, in fortune, in talents, in rank. What 1 is he to talk of the Catholic Board lightly ? At their head is the Earl of Fingal, a nobleman whose exalted rank stoops be- neath the superior station of his virtues — whom even the venal minions of power must respect. We are engaged, patiently and perseveringly engaged, in a struggle through the open channels of the constitution for our liberties. The son of the ancient earl whom I have mentioned caniwt in his native land attain any /lonourable distinction of the state, and yet Mr. Attorney- Gene- ral knows that they are open to every son of every bigoted and intemperate stranger that may settle amongst us. But this system cannot last ; he may insult, he may calum- niate, he may prosecute ; but the Catholic cause is on its ma- jestic march ; its progress is rapid and obvious ; it is cheered in its advance, and aided by all that is dignified and dispassionate — by everything that is patriotic — by all the honour, all the integrity of the empire ; and its success is just as certain as the return of to-morrow's sun, and the close of to-morrow's eve. •' We will — we must soon he emancipated, in despite of the Attorney- General, aided as he is by his august allies, the alder- men of Skinner's-alley. In despite of the Attorney- General and the aldermen of Skinner's-alley, our emancipation is certain, and not distant. I have no difliculty in perceiving the motive of the Attorney- General, in devoting so much of his medley oration to the Catholic question, and to the expression of his bitter hatred to us, and of his determination to ruin our hopes. It had, to be sure, no connection with the cause, but it had a direct and natural connection with you. He has been, all his life, reckoned a man of consummate cunning and dexterity j and whilst one wonders that he has so much exposed himself upon those prosecutions, 'and accounts for it by the proverbial blindness of religious zeal, it is still easy to discover much of his native cunning and dex- 252 SELECT SPEiiiOHES OF terity. Gentlemerij he thinks he knows his men — he knows you ; many of you signed the no-Popery petition ; he heard one of you boast of it ; he knows you would not have been sum- moned on this jury, if you had entertained liberal sentiments ; he Icnows all this, and, therefore, it is that he, with the artifice and cunning of an experienced nisi jjrius advocate, endeavours to win your confidence, and command your afiections by the display of his congenial illiberality and bigotry. You are all, of course, Protestants ; see what a compliment he pays to your religion and his own, when he endeavours thus to procure n, verdict on your oaths ; when he endeavours to seduce you to what, if you were so seduced, would be perjury, by in- dulging your prejudices, and flattering you by the coincidence of his sentiments and wishes. AVill he succeed, gentlemen? Will you allow him to draw you into a perjury out uf zeal for your religion? And will you violate the pledge you have given to jouY God to do justice, in order to gratify your anxiety for the ascendancy of what you believe to be his church? Gentlemen, reflect on the strange and monstrous inconsistency of this con- duct, and do not commit, if you can avoid it, the pious crime of violating your solemn oaths, in aid of the pious designs of the Attorney- General against Popery. Oh, gentlemen ! it is not in any lightness of heart I thus ad- dress you — it is rather in bittern&ss and sorrow: you did not expect flattery from me, and my client was little disposed to offer it to you ; besides, of what avail would it be to flatter, if you came here pre-determined, and it is too plain that you are not selected for this jury from any notion of 3^our impartiality? But when I talk to you of youi' oaths and of your religion, I would full fain I could impress you with a respect for both the one and the other. I, who do not flatter, tell yuu, that though- I do not join with you in belief, I have the most unfeigned re- spect for the form of Christian faith which you profess. Would that its substance, not its forms and temporal advantages, were deeply impressed on your minds ! then should I not address you in the cheerless and hopeless despondency that crowds on my mind, and drives me to taunt you with the air of ridicule 1 do. Gentlemen, I sincerely respect and venerate your religion, but I despise and I now apprehend your prejudices, in the same pro- portion as the Attorney- General has cultivated them. In plain truth, every religion is good — every religion is true to him who, in his due caution and 'onscience, believes it. There is but one bad religion, that of a an "-ho professes a faith which he dees I DANIEL O'CONNELL. ESQ., M.P. 2o3 not believe ; but the good religion may be, and often is, cor- rupted by the wretched and wicked prejudices which admit a difference of opinion as a cause of hatred. The Attorney- General, defective in argument — weak in his cause, has artfully roused your prejudices at his side. I have, on the contrary, met your prejudices boldly. If your verdict shall be for me, you will be certain that it has been produced by nothing but unwilhng conviction resulting from sober and satisfied judgment. If your verdict be bestowed upon the arti- fices of the Attorney-General, you may happen to be right ; but do you not see the danger of its being produced by an admixture of passion and prejudice with your reason? How difficult is it to separate prejudice from reason, when they run in the same direction. If you be men of conscience, then I call on you to listen to me, that your consciences may be safe, and your reason alone be the guardian of your oath, and the sole monitor of your decision. I now bring you to the immediate subject of this indictment. Mr. Magee is charged with publishing a libel in his paper called the Dublin Evening Post. His lordship has decided thot there is legal proof of the publication, and I would be sorry you thought «»f acquitting Mr. Magee under the pretence of not believing that evidence. I will not, therefore, trouble you on that part of the case; I will tell you, gentlemen, presently, what this publication IS ; but suffer me first to inform you what it is not — for this I consider to be very important to the strong, and in truth, trium- phant defence which my client has to this indictment. Gentlemen, this is not a libel on Charles Lennox, Duke of Richmond, in his private or individual capacity. It does not interfere with the privacy of his domestic life. It is free from any reproach upon his domestic habits or conduct ; it is perfectly pure from any attempt to traduce his personal honour or inte- grity. Towards the man, there is not the least taint of malig- nity ; nay, the thing is still stronger. Of Charles Duke of Eich- mond, personally, and as disconnected with the administration vf public affairs, it speaks in terms of civility and even respect. It contains this passage which I read from the indictment : — " Had he remained what he first came over, or what he after- v.'ards professed to be, he would have retained his reputation for honest open hostility, defending his political principles with firm- ness, perhaps with warmth, but without rancour; the supporter and not the tool of an administration ; a mistaken politician, perhaps, but an honourable man and a re:>pectable soldier." 254 SBLliOT SPEECHES OP The Duke is here in this libel, my lords — in this libel, gentle men of the jury, the Duke of Richmond is called an honourabk man and a respectable soldier ! Could more flattering expres- sions be invented ? Has the most mercenary Press that ever yet existed, the mercenary Press of this metropolis, contained in return for all the money it has received, any praise which ought to be so pleasing — " an honourable man and a respect- able soldiei' ■?" I do, therefore, beg of you, gentlemen, iis yon value your honesty, to carry with you in your distinct recollec- tion, this fact, that whatever of evil this publication may con- tain, it does not involve any reproach against the Duke of Rich- mond, ii. any other than in his public and official character. I have, gentlemen, next to require you to take notice, that this publication is not indicted as a seditious libel. The word seditious is, indeed, used as a kind of make-weight in the intro- ductory part of the indictment. But mark, and recollect, that this is not an indictment for sedition. It is not, then, for pri- vate slander, nor for any offence against the constitution, that Mr. Maoree now stands arraicrned before vou. In the third place, gentlemen, there is this singular feature in this case, namely — that this libel, as the prosecutor calls it, is not charged in this indictment to be " false." The indictment has this singular difference from any other I have ever seen, that the assertions of the publications are not even stated to be false. They have not had the courtesy to you, to state upon record, that these charges, such as they are, were contrary to the truth. This I believe to be the first instance in which the allegation of falsehood has been omitted. To what is this omission to be at- tributed 1 Is it that an experiment is to be made, how much further the doctrine of the criminality of truth can be drawn ? Does the prosecutor wish to make another bad precedent ? or is it in contempt of any distinction between truth and falsehood, that this charge is thus framed ; or does he fear that you would scruple to convict, if the indictment charged that to be false, which you all know to be true ? However that may be, I will have you to remember, that you are now to pronounce upon a publication, the truth of zvhich is not controverted. Attend to the case, and you will find you are not to try Mr. Magee for sedition which may endanger the state, or for private defamation which may nress sorely upon the heart, auci blast the prospects o :i pri u.e amily; and tha' the subject r PANICL O'COXNFXL, ESQ., >r.P. 25^} matter lor your decision is not cliaractenzod as false, or described ti3 untrue. Such are the circumstances which accompany this publicatio^i, on whicli you are to pronounce a verdict of guilt or innocence. Tiie case is with you ; it belongs to you exclusively to decide it. His lorship may advise, but he cannot control your decision, and it belongs to you a]one to say whether or not, upon the entire matter, you conceive it to be evidence of guilt, and deserving of piuiishment. The statute law gives or recognises this your right, and, therefore, imposes this on you as your duty. The legis- lative has precluded any lawyer from being able to dictate t- ycu. The Solicitor-General cannot now venture to promulgato the slavisn doctrine which he addressed to Doctor Sheridan's jury, when he told them, " riot to presume to differ from tliu Court in matter of law." The lav\^ and the fact are lieie the same, namely — the guilty or innocent design of the publication. ■ Indeed, in any criminal case, the doctrine of the Solicitor- General is intolerable. I enter my solemn protest against it. The verdict which is required from a jury in any criminal case has nothing special in it — it is not the finding of the fact in tho affirmative or negative — it is not, as in Scotland, that the charge is proved or not proved. No ; the jury is to say whether the prisoner be guilty or not; and could a juror find a true verdict, who declared a man guilty upon evidence of some act, perhap.« praiseworthy, but clearly void of evil design or bad consequences ] I do, therefore, deny the doctrine of the learned gentlem.an ; rt is not constitutional, and it would be frightful if it were. Xo judge can dictate to a jury — no jury ought to allow itself to be dictated to. If the Solicitor-General's doctrine were established, see'wl^at oppiessive consequences might result. At some future period, some man may attain the first place on the bench, by the repu- tation which is so easily acquired by a certain degree of church- wardening piety, added to a gi'eat gravity, and maidenly deco- rum of manners. Such a man may reach the bench — for I am putting a mere imaainarv case — HE may be a man without PAS- SiOiSS, and THEREFORE without VICES; lie may, my lord, be a man sunerlluously RICH, and, therefore, not to be BRIBE!) with MONEV, but rendered PARTIAL by his BIGOTRY, and CORRUPTED by his PREJUDICES; such a man, INFLATED by FLATTERY, and 1U.0ATED in his dignitv, mav hereafter uao that character for SANCTITY which has served to promote hiuQ, as a sworn, to hew dcwn the struggling hb'-^vties of his 2r>(y SEL?:CT SPEECHES OF eoiiniry ; sr.ch a judge may interfere before trial I and at IIlo trial be a PAKTISAN ! Gentlemen, should an honest jury — could an honest jury (if an honest jury were again found) listen with safety to the dic- tates of such a judge 1 1 repeat it. therefore, that the Solicitor- < General is mistaken — that the law does not, and cannot, require such a submission as he preached ; and at all events, gentlemen, it cannot be controverted, that in the present instance, that of an alleged libel, the decision of all law and fact belongs to t/ov. 1 am then warranted in directing to you some observations on the law of libel, and in doing so, 1 disclaim any apology for the consumption of the time necessary for my purpose. Gentlemen, my intention is to lay before you a short and rapid view of the causes which have introduced into courts the monstrous assertion — thai truth is crime ! it is to be deeply lamented, that the art of printing was un- knov\'n at the earlier periods of our history. If, at the time the barons wrung the simple but sublime charter of liberty from a timid, perfidious sovereign, from a violator of his word, from :i man covered with disgrace, and sunk in infamy — if at the time when that charter was confirmed and renewed, the Press iiad existed, it would, I think, have been the first care of those fjiends of freedom to have established a principle of libert}'- for it to rest upon, which might resist every future assault. Their simple and unsophisticated understandings could never be brought to comprehend the legal subtleties by which it is now argued, that falsehood is useful and innocent, and truth, the emanation nnd the type of heaven, a crime. They would have cut with their swords the cobweb links of sophistry in which truth is en- tangled ; and they would have rendered it impossible to re-?s tablish this injustice without violating the principle of the con- st itution. But in the ignorance of the blessing of a/y^e Press, they couLi not have provided for its security. There remains, however, an expression of their sentiments on our statute books. The ancient parliament did pass a law against the spreaders of false rumours This Jaw proves two things — first, that before this statute, it was not considered a crime in law to spread even a false rumour otherwise the statute would have been unnecessary ; and, secondly,. that in their notion of crime, falsehood was a necessary ingre licnt. But here I havo to remark upon, and regret the strange propensity of judges, to construe the law in favour of tyranny, ',\.i\(\ a.<-;ainst liberty ; for servile and corrupt judg«^ soon decided, DANIEL o'cONXKLIi, ESQ., -AI.P. 2oT that upon tlio construction of this \ci\t, it was immaterial \7hethGr the rumours were true or false, and tiiat a law made to punisl* fiilse rumours, tvas equaUu ^'pplicablc to the true. This, grentlemen, is called construction; it is just that which in more recent times, and of ine\utable consequence, from purer motives, has converted " pyeleiice'' into " pui-pose.'" When the art of printing was invented, its value to every sufferer — its terror to every oppressor, was soon obvious, and )>ieans were speedily adopted to prevent its salutary effects. The Star-Chamber — the odious Star-Chamber, was either created, or, at least, enlarged and brought into activity. Its proceedings vrere arbitrary — -its decisions were oppressive, and injusti -e and tyranny were formed into a svstem. To describe it to you in one sentence, it WAS A PREMATURELY PACKED JURY. Perhaps that description does not shock you much. Let me report one of its decisions which will, I think, make its horrors more sensible to you — it is a ludicrous as well as a raelancholy instance. A tradesman — a ruffian, I presume, he was styled — in an altercation with a nobleman's servant, called the swan, which was worn on the servant's arm for a badge, a goose. For this offence — the calling a nobleman's badge of a swan, a goose, he was brought before the Star-Cham.ber — he was, of course, convicted; he lost, as I recollect, one of his ears on the pillory — was sen- tenced to two years' imprisonment, and a fine of c£500 ; and ail this to teach him to distinguish swans from geese. I now ask 3'ou, to what is it you tradesmen and merohanta are indebted for the safety and respect j^ou can 3njoy in society? What is it which has rescued you from the slavery in whicii per- sons who are engaged in trade were held by tlie iron barons of former days? I will tell you; it is the light, the reason, and the liberty which have been created, and will, in despite of every oj^position, be perpetuated by the exertion of the Press. Gentlemen, the Star-Chamber was particularly vigilant over the infant struggles of the Press. A code of laws became neces- sary to govern the new enemy to prejudice and oppression — the Press. The Star-Chamber adopted, for this purpose, the civil law, as it is called — the law of Rome — not the law at the neriods L)f licr liberty and her glory, but the law which was promulgated vvhen s!ie fell into slaver}' and disgi^ace, and recognised this la-inciplo, that the will of the prince was the rule of the law. The civil law was adopted by the Star-Chamber as its giiide iu prucjcdings against, and in punishing libcijers^ but. unfortu- 2o8 SELECT SPEECHES Or uatdy, only part of it was adopted, and that, of course, was the part least favourable to freedom. So much of the civil law as assisted to discover the concealed libeller, and to punish hin: when discovered, was carefully selected ; but the civil law allowed truth to be a defence, and that part was carefully rejected. The Star-Cliamber was soon after abolished. It was suppressed by the hatred and vengeance of an outraged people, and it has since, and until our days, lived only in the recollection of abhor- rence and contempt. But we have fallen upon bad days and evil times ; and in our days we have seen a lawyer, long of the prostrate and degraded bar of England, presume to suggest an high eulo2:ium on the Star-Chamber, and reoiret its downfal : and he has done this in a book dedicated, by permission, to Lord Ellenborough. This is, perhaps, an ominous circumstance ; and as Star-Chamber punishments have been revived — as two years of imprisonment has become familiar, I know not how soon the useless lumber of even well-selected juries maybe abolished, and a new Star-Chamber created. From the Star-Chamber, gentlemen, the prevention and pun- ishment of libels descended to the courts of common law. and with the power they seem to have inherited much of the spirit of that tribunal. Servility at the bar, and profligacy on the bench, have not been wanting to aid every construction un- favourable to freedom, and at length it is taken as granted and us clear law. that truth or falsehood are quite immaterial cir- cumstances, constituting no part of either guilt or innocence I would wish to examine this revolting doctrine, and, in doing so, I am proud to tell you, that it has no other foundation tlian in the oft-repeated assertions of lawyers and judges. Its autho- rity depends on what are technically called the dicta of thti judges and writers, and not upon solemn or regular adjudications on the point. One servile lawyer has repeated this doctrine, from time to time, after another — and one overbearing judge hni re-echoed the assertion of a time-serving predecessor, and tbo public have, at length, submitted. I do, therefore, feel, not only gratified in having the occasion, .out bound to express my opinion upon the real law of this sub- ject. I know that opinion is but of little weight. I have no professional rank, or station, or talents to give it importance, but it is an honest and conscientious opinion, and it is this — that in the discussion of public subjects, and of the administra- tion o? public m€n, truth is a duty and not a crime. You can. at least, under j. nd my description of tho liberty of DANIEL O'COXNELL. ESQ., M.P. -.VJ the Press. That of the Attorney- General is as unintelligible IS contradictory. He tells yon, in a very odd and quaint phrase, that the liberty of the Press consists in there being no previo\is restraint upon the tongue or the pen. How any previous re- straint could be imposed on the tongue it is for this wisest of raen to tell you, unless, indeed, he resorts to Doctor Lad's pre- scription with respect to the toothache eradication. Neither can the absence of previous restraint constitute a free Press, un- less, indeed, it shall be distinctly ascertained, and clearly de- fined, what shall be subsequently called a crime. H the crime of libel be undefined, or uncertain, or capricious, then, instead of the absence of restraint before publication being an advantage, it is an injury; instead of its being a blessing, it is a curse — it is nothing more than a pitfall and snare for the unwary. This liberty of the Press is only an opportunity and a temptation offered by the law to the commission of crime — it is a trap laid to catch men for punishment — it is not the liberty of discussing truth or discountenancing oppression, but a mode of rearing up victims for prosecution, and of seducing men into imp'risonment. Yet, can any gentleman concerned for the Crown give me a definition of the crime of libel ? Is it not uncertain and unde- fined ; and, in truth, is it not, at this moment, quite subject to the caprice and whim of the judge and of the jury 1 Is the Attorney- General — is the Solicitor-General disposed to say other- wise ? If he do, he must contradict his own doctrine, and adopt mine. But no, gentlemen, they must leave you in uncertainty ana doubt, and ask you to give a verdict, on your oath, without fur- nishing you with any rational materials to judge whethei vuu be right or wrong. Indeed, to such a wild extent of caprice has Lord Ellenborough carried the doctrine of crime in libel, that he appears to have gravely ruled, that it was a crime to call one lord " a stout-built, special pleader," although, in point of fact, that lord was stout-built, and had been very many yeai-s a special pleader. And that it was a crime to call another lord " a slieep-feeder from Cambridgeshire," although that lord was right glad to have a few sheep in that county. These are the extravagant vagaries of the Crown lawyers and prerogative judges ; you wifl find it impossible to discover any rational rule for your conduct, and can never rest upon any satisfactory view of the subject, unless you are pleased to adopt my description. "Eeason and justice equally recognise it, and believe me, that genuine law is much, m.ore closely connected with justice aiid -Qoson than soiup perpons will avow. 200 SELECT SPEECHES Oi' Gentlemen, you are now apprised of the nature of the alleireJ libel ; it is a discussion upon the administration of public men. 1 have also submitted to you my view of the law applicable in such a publication; we are, therefore, prepared to go into the consideration of every sentence in the newspaper in question. But before I do so, just allow me to point your attention to the motives of this young gentleman. The Attorney-General lias threatened' him with fine and a dungeon; he has told Mr. Magee that he should suffer in his purse and in his person. Mr. Magee knew his danger well. Mr. Magee, before he published this paper, was quite apprised that he ran the risk of fine and of imprisonment. He knew also that if he changed his tone — that if he became merely neutml, but especially, if he went over to the other side and praised the Duke of Richmond — if he had sufficient gi'avity to talk, without a smile, of the sorrow of the I>eople of Ireland at his Grace's departure — if he had a visage sufficiently lugubrious, to say sO; without laughing, to cry out '•'mournfujl}^, oh! mournfully!" for the departure of the Duke of Riciiinond — if at a period when the people of Ireland, from Magherafelt to Dingiedecouch, are rejoicing at that departure, Mr. Magee could put on a solemn countenance and pick up a grave and narcotic accent, and have the resolution to assert the sorrow of the people for losing so sweet and civil a Lord Lieu- tenant — why, in that case, gentlemen, you know the conse- quences. They are obvious. He might libel certain classes of his Majesty's subjects with impunity; he would get abundance of money, a place, and a pension — you know he would. The proclamations would be inserted his paper. The widc-streot ad- vertisements, the ordnance, the ban-ack-board notices, and the advertisements of all the other public boards and offiLces — you can scarcely calculate how much money he sacrifices to his priu- ^iples. I am greatly within bounds when I say, at least, ^5,000 per annum, of the public money, would reach him if he was to t\\tev his tone, and abandon his opinions. Has he instructed me to boast of the sacrifices he thus makes? No, gentlemen, no, no ; he deems it no sacrifice, biErcause he de- sii-es no share in the public plunder ; but I introduce this topic to demonstrate to you the purity of his intentions. He canno*: be actuated, in the part lie takes, by mean or mercenary motives ; it is not the base lucre of gain that leads him astray. If he bo mistaken, he is, at least, disinterested and sincere. You m?,y dislike his political opinions, but you cannot avoid respecting the independence of his principles. DANIEL O'CO.VNELL, ESQ., M.P. 261 "Behold, now, the publication which this man of pure princi- ples is calloi to answer for as a libel. It commences thus; — "DUKE OF RICHMOND. " As the Duke of Richmond will shortly retire from tlie government rf Ireland, it has been deemed necessary to take such a review of hii administration, as may at least, warn his successor from pursuing the errors of his Grace's conduct. " The review shall contain joany anecdotes of the Irish court which were never published, and which v/ere so secret, that his Grace will noi fail to be surprised at the sig-ht of them in a newspaper." In thi." paragraph there is nothing libellous; it talks of the errors, indeed, of his Grace's administration; but I do not think the Attornev-General will venture to suggest, that the gentle expression of "errors," is a libe-l. To orr, gentlemen, is human : and his Grace is admitted, by the Attorney- General, to be but a man; I shall waste none of your time in proving, that we may, without offence, treat of his "errors." But, this is not even the errors of the man, but of his administration ; it was not infallible, I humbly presume. I call your particular attention to the second paragraph ; it runs thus : — '• If the administration of the Duke of Richmond had been conducted with more than ordinary talent, its errors might, in some degree have been atoned for by its ability, and the people of Ireland though they might have nuich to regret, yet, would have something to admire ; buc truly after the gravest consideration, they must find themselves at a loss to discover any striking feature in his Grace's administration, that makes it superior to the worst of his predecessors." The Attorney- General dwelt much upon this paragraph, gen- tlemen, and the importance which he attached to it furnishes a strong illustration of his own consciousness of the weakness of his case. What is the meaning of this paragraph 1 I appeal to you whether it be more than this — that there has been nothing admirable in this administration — that there has not been much ability displayed by it. So far, gentlemen, there is, indeed, no flattery, but still less of libel, unless you are prepared to say, that to withhold praise from any administration deserves pun- ishment. Is it an indictable offence not to perceive its occult talents 'I Why, if it be, find my client guilty of not being a sycophant and a flatterer, and send him to prison for two years, to gratify the Attorney- General; who tells you that the Duke of Richmond is the best chief governor Ireland ever saw. 263 FliLBCT SPEECHES OP But the mischief, I am told, lies in the art of tlie sentence. V/iiy^ all that it says is, that it is difhcult to discover the strik- ins: featm'es that distino-uish this from bad administrations. It vloes not, gentlemen, assert that no such striking features exist, much less, does it assert that no features of that kind exist, or that such features, although not striking are not easily discerni- "ble. So that, really, you are here again required to convict a man for not flattering. He thinks an administration untalented and silly ; that is no crime ; he says, it has not been marked with talent or ability — that it has no striking features ; all this may be mistaken and false, yet there is nothing in it that resem- bles a crime. And, gentlemen, if it be true — if this he a foolish administra- tion, can it be an offence to say so? If it has had no striking features to distinguish it from bad administrations, can it be criminal to say so I Are you prepared to say, that not one word of truth can be told under no less a penalty than years of a dun- geon and heavy fines? EecoUect, that the Attorney-General told you that the Press was the protection of the people against the government. Good Heaven ! g-jntlemen, how can it protect the people against the govern ment, if it be a crime to say of that government that it has committed errors, displays little talent, and has no striking features? Did the prosecutor mock you, when he talked of the protection the Press afforded to the people? If he did not insult you by the admission of that upon which he will not allow you to act, let me ask, against what is the Press to protect the peo- ple ? When do the people want protection ? — when the govern- ment is engaged in delinquencies, oppression, and crimes. It is against these that the people want the protection of the Press. iSTow, I put it to your plain sense, whether the Press can afford such protection, if it be punished for treating of these crimes? Still more, can a shadow of protection be given by a Press tliat is not permitted to mention the errors, the talents, and the strikino: features of an administration ? Here is a watchman ad- raitted by the Attorney-General to be at his post to warn the people of their danger, and the first thing that is done to this ^vatchman is to knock him down and bring him to a dungeon, for announcing the danger he is bound to disclose. I agree with the Attorney- General, the Press is a protection, but it is not in its silence or in its voice of flattery. It can protect only by speaking out when there is danger, or error, or want of ability. If the harshness of this tone be comnlained of, I ask, wliat is it O i' •■» DAXIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 1'03 the Attorney-General would have? Does he wish that this pro- tectiun should sjDcak so as not to be understood ; or, I again re- peat it, does he mean to delude us with the name and the mock- pry of protection? Upon this ground, I defy you to find a ver- dict for the prosecutor, without declaring that he has been guilty of an attempt to deceive, when he talked of the protection of the Press against errors, ignorance, and incapacity, which it is not to dare even to name. Gentlemen, upon this second paragraph, I am entitled to your verdict, upon the Attorney - General's own admission. He, indeed, passed on to the next sentence with an air of tri- umph, with the apparent certainty of its producing a conviction , 1 meet him upon it — I read it boldly — I will discuss it with you manfully — it is this : — " They insulted, they oppressed, they murdered, and they de- c'iived." The Attorney-General told us, rather ludicrously, that they, meaning the Duke's ^predecessors, included, of course, himself. How a mar could be included amongst his predecessors, it would be difficu] , to discover. It seems to be that mode of expression which would indicate, that the Attorney-General, notwithstand- ing his foreign descent, has imbibed some of the language of the native Irish. But our blunders arise not like this, from a con- fusion of idea ; they are generally caused by too great condensti- tion of thought; they are, indeed, frequently of the head, but never — never of the heart. Would I could say so much for the Attorney-General ; his blunder is not to be attributed to his cool and cautious head ; it sprung, I much fear, from the misguided bitterness of the bigotry of his heart. Well, gentlemen, this sentence does, in broad and distinct terms, 3harge the predecessors of the Duke, but not the Duke himself, with insult, oppression, murder, and deceit. But it is history, gentlemen : are you prepared to silence the voice of history ? Are you disposed to suppress the recital of facts — the story of the events of former days ? Is the historian, and the publisher of history, to be exposed to indictment and punish- /nent ? Let me read for you two passages from Doctor Leland's His- tory of Ireland. I choose a remote period, to avoid shocking vour prejudices, by the recital of the more modem crimes of the ("action to which most of you belong. Attend to this passage, i,'entlemen. "Anno 1574. — A solemn Dcnce an-'' concord was made between 2G4- SKLECT SPEECHES the Earl of Essex and Fe-lim O'Nial. Hov/cver, at a feast, wherein the Earl entertained that chieftain, and at the end of their good cheer, O'Niah with his wife, were seized ; their friends, who attended, were put to the sword before their faces. Felim, together with his wife and brother, were conveyed to Dublin, where they were cut up in quarters," How would you have this fact described ? In what lady-like terms is the future historian to mention this savage and brutal massacre. Yet Essex was an English nobleman — a predecessor of his Grace ; he was accomplished, gallant, and gay ; the envied paramour of the virgin queen ; and, if he afterwards fell on the scaffold, one of the race of the ancient Irish may be permitted to indulge the fond superstition that would avenge the royal blood of the O'Nial and of his consort, on their perfidious English murderer. But my soul fills with bitterness, and I will read of no more Irish murders. I turn, however, to another page, and I will ]n- troduce to your notice another predecessor of his Grace the Duke of Richmond. It is Grey, who, after the recal of Essex, commanded the English forces in Munster. The fort of Smer- wick, in Keny, surrendered to Grey at discretion. It contained some Irish troops, and more than 700 Spaniards. The historian ghall tell you the rest : — " That mercy for which they sued was rigidly denied them. Wingfield was commissioned to disarm them, and when this ser- vice was performed, an English company was sent into the fort. " The Irish rebels found they were reser^^ed for execution by martial law. " The Italian general and some officers were made prisoners of war : but the garrison was butchered in cold blood : nor is it with- out pain, that we find a service so horrid and detestable, com- mitted to Sir Walter Raleioh." " The garrison was butchered in cold blood," says the historian. Furnish us, Mr, Attorney-General, with gentle accents and sweet words, to speak of this savage atrocity ; or will you indict the author? Alas ! he is dead, full of years and respect — as faithful an historian as the prejudices of his day would allow, and a bene- ficed clergyman of your church. Gentlemen of the jury, what is the mild language of tlris paper .compared with the indignant language of history? Ilaleigh — the ill-starred Raleigh — fell a victim to a tyrant mar.ter, a corruD^ or overawed jury, and a virnJent Attorney-General; he was baited '.y'VKir.L O'COXNELL, L'.ili., M.P. 2C) .'» nt the bar Trith language more scurrilous and more foul than that YOU heard yesterday poured upon my client. Yit, what atonement to civilization could his death afford for the horrors I have mentioned 1 Decide, now, gentlemen, between those libels — between that defiimer's history and my client. He calls those predeccssorG < f his Grace, murderers. History has left the living records of their ci'imes from che O'Nial, treacherously slaughtered, to the cruel cold butchery of the defenceless prisoners. Until I shall see the publishers of Leland and of Hume brought to your bar, I defy yon to convict my client. To show you that my client has treated these predecessors of of his Grace with great lenity, I will introduce to your notice one itnd only one more of them ; and he, too, fell on the scxffold — the unfortunate Strafford, the best servant a despotic king could desire. Amongst the means taken to raise money in Ireland, for James the First, and his son Charles, a proceeding called " a commis- gion to inquire into defective titles," was invented. It "wa:: a sche*aie, gentlemen, to inquire of every man what right he hr.d ''o his own property, and to have it solemnly and legally detei- mined that he had none. To effectuate this scheme required gi'eat management, discretion, and integrity. First, there wer<* 4,000 excellent horse raised for the purpose of being, as Strafford liimself said ''good lookers-on." The rest of the arrangement I would recommend to modern practice ; it would save mucii '.rouble. I will shortly abstract it from two of Strafford's owii jetters. The one appears to have been written by him to the Lord Treasurer; it is dated the 3rd December, 1634. He begins with an apology for not having been more expeditious in this wo^k of plunder, for his employers were, it seems, impatient at the melancholy waste of time. He then says — '•' Howbeit, I will redeem the time as much as 1 can, with such as may give furtherance to the king's title, and will inquire diU FIT WEN TO SERVE UPOX THE JURIES," Take notice of that, gentlemen, I pray you ; perhaps you thought that the "packing of juries" was a modern invention — a new discovery. You see how greatly mistaken you were ; the thing has example and precedent to support it, and the autho- rity of both are, in our law, quite conclusive. The next step was to corrupt — oh, no, to interest the wi^e nnd learned iudse^'i. But commentai'v becomes vmneces&arv, when i S 2GG SLLliCT SPEECHES OP iv:id for yo'i this passage from a letter of his to tlie King, date.i the 9th of December, 1G36 : — '•' Your Majesty was graciously pleased, upon my humble advice, to />estow four shillings in the pound upon your Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chief Baron in this kingdom, fourth of the first yearly rent raised upon the commission of defective title, which, upon observation. IJind io be the best given that ever icas. For now tliey do intend it, with a care and diligence, such as if it were their own private, and most cer- tain gaining to themselves ; every four shillings once paid, shall better your revenue for ever after, at least five pounds." Thus, gentlemen of the jury, all was ready for the mockeiy of law and justice, called a trial. Now, let me take any one of you ; let me place him here, where Mr. Magee stands ; let him have his property at stake ,■ let it be of less value, I pray you, than a compensation for two years' imprisonment ; it will, however, be of sufficient value to interest and rouse all your agony and anxiety. If you were so placed here, you would see before you the well-paid Attorney- General, perhaps, malignantly delighted to pour his rancour upon you ; on the bench would sit the corrupt and partisan judge, and before you, on that seat which you now occupy, would be placed the packed and predetermined j ary, I beg, sir, to know what would be your feelings, your honour, your rage ; would you not compare the Attorney-General to tho gambler who played with a loaded die, and then you would heai him talk, in solemn and monotonous tones, of his conscience 1 Uh, his conscience, gentlemen of the jury ! But the times are altered. The Press, the Press, gentlemen, has efitectuated a salutary revolution ; a commission of defective titles would no longer be tolerated : the judges can no longer be bribed with money, and juries can no longer be I must not say it. Yes, they can, you know — we all know they can bo ttill inquired out, and " packed," as the technical phrase is. But T^ou, who are not packed, you, who have been fairly selected, v/ill see that the language of the publication before us is mild- ness itself, compared with that which the truth of history re- quires — compared with that which history has already used. 1 proceed with this alleged libel. The next sentence is this — '•' The profligate, unprincipled Westmoreland." I throw down tho paper and address myself in particular to some of yon. There arc, I see, amongst you some of our Bible distributerp, •• cvod of our suppro.s.soi.s of vice." Il istributer? c.*" Bibles. 5ui»- DAXIEL CORNELL, LSQ., LI P 267 rressors of vice — -what call you profligacy ? What is it yoii \vo\ild call profligacy ? Suppose the peerage ^vas exposed to sale — set up at open auction — it ^vas at that time a judicifu office — suppose that its price, tlie exact price of this judicial uffice, was accurately ascertained by daily experience — would you call that profligacy 1 If pensions were multiplied beyond rx'unds and beyond example — if places were augmented until invention was exhausted, and then were subdivided and split into halves, so that two might take the emoluments of each, and no person do the duty — if these acts were resorted to in order to corrupt your representatives — would you, gentle suppressors of vice, call that profligacy ? If the father of children selected in the open day his adulterous paramour — if the wedded mother of children displaj-ed her crime unblushinglv — if the assent of the titled or untitled wittol to his own shame was purchased with the people's money — if this scene — if these were enacted in the open day, would you call that profligacy, sweet distributers of Bibles ? The women of Ireland have always been beauteous to a proverb ; they were, without an exception, chaste beyond the terseness of a proverb to express ; they are still as chaste as in former days, but the de- praved example of a depraved court has furnished some excep- tions, and the action or criminal conversation, before the time of AVestmoreland unknown, has since become more familiar to our courts of justice. Call you the sad example which produced those exceptions — call you that profligacy, suppressors of vice and Bible distri- buters ? The vices of the poor are within the reach of control ; to suppress them, you can call in aid the clnuxhwarden and the constable ; the justice of the peace will readily aid you, for he is a gentleman — the Court of Sessions will punish those vices for you by fine, by imprisonment, and, if you are urgent, by whip- ping. But suppressors of vice, who shall aid j'ou to suppress the vices of the gi'cat 1 Are you sincere, or are you, to use your own phraseology, whitewashed tombs — painted charnel-houses ? Be ye hypocrites ? If you arc not — if you be sincere — (and, oh, how I wish that you were) — if you be sincere, I will steadily re- quire to know of you, what aid you expect, to suppress the vior^ of the rich and great 1 Who will assist you to suppress those vices 1 The churchwarden ! — why he, I believe, handed them into the best pew in one of your cathedrals, that the}' miglit lovingly hear Divine service cogether. The coustable ! ! — absurd. The ju5t:cG cf the peace 1 — no, upon his honoTir. As to the Coui-t of Ses- 2G8 SELECT SPEECHES OF sions, you cannot expect it to interfere ; and my lords the judges are really so busy at tlie assizes, in hurrying the grand juries through the presentments, that there is no leisure to lo<. k o.fter the scandalous faults of the great. Who, then, sincere and candid L\ippresBors of vice, can aid you 1 — The Press ; the Press alone talks of the profligacy of the great ; and, at least, shames into decency those whom it may fail to coiTect. The Press is your, but your only assistant. Go, then, men of conscience, men of religion — go, then, and convict John Magee, because he published that Westmoreland was profligate and unprincipled as a lord lieutenant — do, convict, and then return to your distribution of Bibles and to your attacks upon the recreations of tae poor, under the name of vices ! Do, convict the only aid which virtue has, and distribute your Bibles that you may have the name of being religious ; upon your sincerity depends my client's prospect of a verdict. Does lie lean upon a broken reed ? I pass on from the sanctified portion of the jury which I havo latterly addressed, and I call the attention of you all to the next member of the sentence — " The cold-hearted and cruel Camden." Here I have your prejudices all armed against me. 7a the administration of Camden, vour , faction was cherished and tri- umphant. Will you pvsvent him to be called cold and cruel ? Alas ! to-day, why have I not men to address who worJd listen to me for the sake of impartial justice ! But even with you the Kise is too powerful to allow me to despair. Well, / do say, the cold and cruel Camden. AVhy, on one cir- cuit, during his administration, there were ONE HUNDRED INDIVIDUALS TRIED BEFORE ONE JUDGE; OF THESE NINETY-EIGHT WERE CAPITALLY CON- VICTED, AND NINETY-SEVEN HANGED ! I imderstand one escaped ; but he was a soldier who murdered a peasant, or something of that trivial nature — NINETY-SEVEN victims in one circuit ! ! ! In the meantime, it was necessary, for the purposes of the Union, that the flame of rebellion should be fed. The rr.f-etings of the rebel colonels in the north were, for a length of time, regularly reported to government ; but the rebellion wls not then ripe enough ; and whilst the fruit was coming to maturity, luider the fostering hand of the administration, the wretched dupes atoned on the gallows for allowing themselves to be de- ceived. DANIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P, 1I6D In the meantime the soldiery were turned in at free quarters amongst the wives and daughters of the peasantry ! ! 1 Have you heard of Abercrombie, the valiant and the good — he who, mortally wounded, neglected his wound until victory was ascertained — ho vzho allowed his life's stream to flow ujino- liced because his country's battle was in suspense — he who died the martyr of victory — he who commenced the career of glory on the land, and taught French insolence, than which there i'* nothing so permanent — even transplanted, it exhibits itself to the third and fourth generation — he taught French insolence, that the British and Irish soldier was as much his superior by land, as the sailor was confessedly by sea — he, in sbort, who commenced that career which has since placed the Insh Wel- lington on the highest pinnacle of glory. Abercrombie and Moore >vere in Ireland under Camden. Moore, too, has since fallen at the moment of triumph — Moore, the best of sons, of brothers, of friends, of men — the soldier and the scholar — the soul of reason and the heart of pity — Moore has, in documents of which you may plead ignorance, left his opinions upon record with re- spect to the cruelty of Camden's administration. But you all have heard of Abercrombie's proclamation, for it amounted to that ; he proclaimed that cruelty in terms the most unequivocal ; he stated to the soldiery and to the nation, that the conduct of the Camden administration had rendered '-'the soldiery formi- dable to all but the enemy." Was there no cruelty in thus degrading the British soldier ? And say, was not the process by which that degradation was effectuated cruelty ? Do, then, contradict Abercrombie, upon your oaths, if you dare ; but, by doing so, it is rot my client alone you will convict — you will also convict yourselves of the foul crime of perjury. I now come to the third branch of this sentence ; and here I have an easy task. All, gentlemen, that is said of the artificer and superintendent of the Union is this — "the artful and treacherous Cornwallis." Is it necessary to prove that the Union was effectuated by artifice and treachery ? For my part, it makes my blood boil when I think of the unhappy period which was contrived and seized on to carry it into effect ; one year sooner, and it would have made a revolution — one year later, and it would have been for ever impossible to carry it. The moment was artfully and treacherously seized on, and our Country, that was a nation for countless ages, has dwindled into a province, and her name and her glory are extinct for ever. ^70 ^^TuZ'V srKi^ciibis ^- I should iiDt wast3 a moment upon this part of the case, but that the gentlemen at the other side who opposed thar. measure have furnished me with some topics which I may not, caniiu:' omit. Indeed Mr. Magee deserves no verdict from any Irish jury, who can hesitate to think that the contriver of the Uniou is treated with too muc^i lenity in this sentence ; he fears yoni disapprobation for speaking with so little animosity of the art: ficer of the Union. There was one piece of treachery committed at that period, at which both yon and I equally rejoice ; it was the breach of faith towards the leading Catholics ; the written promises made them .at that period have been since printed ; I rejoice with you that they were not fulfilled ; when the Catholic trafficked for his own advantage upon his country's miseries, be deserved to be deceived. For this mockery, I thank the Cornwallis administration. / re- ioice, also, that lay first introduction to the stage of public life, was in the opposition to thai measure. In humble and obscure distance, I followed the footsteps of my present adversaries. What their sentiments were then of the authors of the Union, I beg to read to you ; I will read them from a newspaper set up for the mere purpose of opposing the Union, and conducted under the control of these gentlemen. It their editor should be gravely denied, I shall only reply — " on cease your funning."* The charge of being a Jacobin, was at that time made against the present Attorney-General — him, plain William Saurin — iii the very terms, and with just as much truth as he now applies it to my client. His reply shall serve for that of Mr, Magee. I take it from the anti-Union of the 22nd March, 1800. " To the charge of Jacobin, Mr. Saurin said he knew not what t meant, as applied to him, except it ivas an opposition to the will of the British minister.''- So says Mr. Magee ; but, gentlemen, my e;ye lights upon an- other passage of Mr. Saurin's, in the same speech from which L have quoted the above. It was in these words : — " Mr. Saurin admitted, that debates might sometimes product agitations, but that was the price necessarily paid for liberty.'''' Oh, how I thaiik this good Jew for the word. Yes, agitation is, as Mr, Saurin well remarked, the price necessarily paid for liberty. We have paid the price, gentlemen, and the honest inan refuses to give us the goods. (Much laughing.) • A jT-mj-hlet anJvT :tJi ti'.'.c .^:.s i'ublislied ijy tL.e Solicitor-General ; it was full of wit ati/italeuu DANIEL 0<.t.;.\NEI.L, L^.Q.. Vi.P. 271 Xo"U', gciitlomcn, of this Mr. Saurin, then n,n agitator, I hei^ leave to read the opinion upon tliis Union, the o-uthor of wliicli w£! have only called artful and trcaclicrons. From tliis spcecli of the 13th ^larch, 1800; I select those passages : " Mr. Sanrin said lie felt it his duty to the croTvn, to the country, and to his family, to M'arn the ministei* of the dreadful consequences of persevering in a measure Avhich the people of Ireland almost unanimoudy disliked" And again — 'He, for one, would assert the j^i'inciplcs of the glorious revo- Iritiou, and boldly declare in the face of the nation, that "when the Sovereign power dissolved the compact that existed betwoeu the government and the people, that moment the rigiit of resis- tance accrues. ''"Whether it would be pnidont in the people to avail them- Kelves of that riglit, would be anoth.er question. But if a legis- lative union were forced on the countrv, against the will of its inhabitants, it would be a tndlity, and resistance to it would be V, struggle against usurpation, and not a resista)K€ agaiiist law." !May I be permitted just to observe, how much more violent this agitator of the year 1800, than we poor and timid agitaiors of the year 1813. When did we talk of resistance being a question of prudence 1 Shame upon the men who call us in- temperate, and yet remember their own violence. But, gentlemen, is the Attorney" -General at liberty to change the nature of things with his own official and professional pro- rjpeets ? I am ready to admit that he receives thousands of pounds by the year of the public monies, in his office of Attor- ney-General — thousands from the Crown-Solicitor — thousands, for doing little work, from riie Custom-house ; but does all tJiis i)ui)lic booty witli which he is loaded, alter the nature of things, r prevent tl^at from being a deceitful measure, brought about oy artful and treacherous means, against which Mr. Saurin, iu 1600, preached the ho'iy doctrine oi insurrection, soiuided tlie tocsin of resistance, and summoned the people of the land to battle airainst it, as against iisurpaiion ? hi 1800, he absolves the subjects from their allegiance — if the usurpation, styled Ihe Union, will be earned — and he, this iden- licr.l agitator, iu 1S"J 3, indicts a man, and calls him a ruffian, for .'tpeaking of the contrivers of the Union, not as usurpers, but as anful. treacherous men. Gentlemen, nitv tlie situation in which hi- has plnof'd liimself; and pray, do not think of inflicting p-in . ii'.i'vol: wy.Oi n>v client 'or his oxtrtTiic moderation. 1:7- SEL2CT SPEECHES OF It has been coarsely urged, and it will, 1 know, be urged in the .splendid misrepresentations with which the Solicitor-General can 60 well distort the argument he is unable to meet — it will, I know, be urged by him, that having established the right to use thib last paragraph — having proved that the predecessors of the Duke were oppressors and murderers, and profligate, and treacherous, that the libel is only aggi'avated thereby, as the first paragraph compares and combines the Duke of Richmond with the woriji of his predecessors. This is a most fallacious assertion ; and here it is that I could wish I had to address a dispassionate and an enlightened jury. You are not, you know you are not, of the selection of my client. Had he the poor privilege of the sheep-stealer, there are, at least, ten of you who should never have been on his jury. But the jury he" would select is not such a jury in his favour, as has been impanelled against him ; he desires no favour ; he would desire only that the most respectable and unprejudiced of your city should be selected for his trial ; his only ambition wo-uld be per- fect impartiality ; he would desire, and I should desire for him, a jury whose verdict of conviction, if they did convict Km, would produce a sense of error and ■% feeling more painful to his mind of being wrong than a star-charnber sentence. If I had to address such a jury, how easily could I show them that there is no comparison — no attempt at similitude. On thu contrary, the object of the writer is clearly to make a contrast. Grej murdered ; but he was an able statesman ; his massacre was a crime in itself, but eminently useiul *o his employers; it contributed mainly to secure the forfeiture of the overgrown te]- ritorica of the House of Desmond. Essex was a murderer, but iiis extreme of vico was accompanied ])y great military services; he was piir.oipa]ay instrumental in ciTectuating the conquest oc Ireland — even Ms crimes served the cause of his royal mistress, and the territory of the slaughtered O'Nial became shire land ; lie had terrific cruelty to answer for, but he could give it some answer in the splendour and solidity of his services. So of Strafford — he was an eminent oppressor, but he was also eminently Tiseful to his royal master. As to the Duke of Kichmond, the contrast is intended to be ion';;_»Jete — he has neither great crimes nor great virtues. He did not murder, like Essex and Grey, but he did not render any splendid services. In shprt, his administration has been directly the reverse of these. It has been marked by errors and not crirces. Jt has not displayed talents as they did ; 5».Tid it has liC OT'X Daniel o'coxnkll, esq., m.I'. I'/o •striking features as they had. Such is the fair, the rational, an^l tiie just construction which a fair, rational, and just jury would put upon it. Jndcied, the Attorney- General seems to feel it was necessary for idm to resort to other topics, in order to induce you to con- vict upon this part of the case. He tells you that this is the second time that the Duke of .Richmond has been called a mur- derer. Gentlemen, in this indictment there is no allegation that the Duke is styled a murderer by this publication ; if there had, he should be readily acquitted, even for the variance ; and when the Attorney- General resorts to Barry's case, he does it to inflaiae youi* passions, and mislead your understandings — and then what ha.s the Irish Magazine to do with this trial? Walter Cox, with his Irish Magazine, is as good a Protestant as the king's Attorney- General, and probably quite as sincere in the profession of that religion, though by no means as much dis- posed to persecute those who differ from him in religious belief Indeed, if he were a perseoator of his countrymen, he would not be where he is — in prison ; he would probably enjoy a full share of the public plunder, and which is now lavished on the stupia journals in the pay of the Castle — from the versatile, venal, and verbose correspondent, to the equally dull and corrupt Buhlin Journal. It is, however, not true, that he is in jiaol because he published what is called a libel. The Attorney-General talked with a gloat- ing pleasure of the miseries poor AVatty Cox endures in gaol- miseries that seem to give poignancy and zest to the enjoyments .')i his prosecutor. I will make him happy ; let him return from this court to his luxuries, and when he finds himself at his table, surrounded with every delicacy, and every profusion, remember tiiat his prisoner Walter Cox is starving. I envy him not this relish, but I cannot suffer him to mislead you. Cox is not iu goal because he published a libel ; he is there because he is poor. His time of imprisonment expired last February, but he was con- demned to pay a fine of .£300, and having no money, he has .sinc€ remained in goal. It is his poverty, therefore, and not his crime, that detains him within the fangs of the Attorney- General — -if, indeed, there be any greater crime in society than being poor. And, next, the Attorney-General makes a beautiful eulogium on Magna Charta. There we agree. I should, indeed, prefer s'.^eing the principles of that great charter called into practical flfect, to hearing any palinode however beautiful, said or sun^> 274: SELECT SPEECHES OP on its merits. But what recommendation can T^fagna Charla liave for poor Cox 1 That charter of liberty expi»esslj provides, that no man shall be fined beyond what he can pay. A rery iimple and natural provision against political severity. But Cox is fined <£300, when he is not worth a single shilling. He appealed to this court for relief, and quotes Magna Charta. Your lordship was not pleased to give him any relief. He applies to the Court of Exchequer, and that Court, after hearing the Attorney-Gene- ral ao^ainst him, finds itself unable to give any relief; and, after all this, the unfortunate man is to be tantalized with hearing that the Attorney- General contrived to couple his case with the praise of the great charter of liberty — a most unlucky coincidence — almost enough to drive him, in whose person that charter is vio- lated, into a state of insanity. Poor "Watty Cox is a coarse fellow, and, I think, he would be apt to reply to that j^i'^-ise in the profane and contemptuous rhyme of Cromwell ; most assuredly he has no reason to treat this useless law with great reverence. It would, indeed, appear as if the prosecutor eulogized Magna Charta only to give more brilliancy to his triumph, which he has obtained in the persoi: 01 poor Cox over it. The next topic of the Attorney-General's triumphant abuse was the book entitled, "The Statement of the Penal laws." Hc called it a convicted book. He exulted that the publisher was in prison ; he traduced the author, and he distorted and misre- presented the spirit and meaning of that book. As to the pub- dsher, he is, I admit, in prison. The Attorney-General has had the pleasure of tearing a respectable citizen, of irreproachable character and conduct, from his wife and the little children v/ho were rendered comfortable by his honest, persevering industry, and he has immured him in a dungeon. I only congratulate him C'U his victory. As to the author, he is just the reverse of what the Attorney- General would wish him to be ; he is a man of fortune ; he is an able lawyer — a pi'ofessional scholar, an accomplished gentleman — a sincere friend to his countrv, which he has ornamented aiul I.' ' {^erved. As to the book, it is really ludicrous to an extreme do- ^••)*ee of comicality to call it a convicted book. There are about 400 pages in the work : it contains an elaborate, unexaggeratevl, and, I think, softened detail of the laws which aggrieve the Ca- i IkmIcs of Ireland, and of the practical results of tliuse laws, Sv-.ch .; i-vstem. to which the Attornev-General is wedded, as much tvS t^- Ids usvn emolumoLit. must have excited no small share ?i Irr.i 1)axii;l oVoxxrj.L, unQ., a.v. 2V5 tation in his mind. It produced a powerful sensation on the entire part}'- to which he belongs. Abundant attempts were made to answer it : they were paid for out of the public money ; they totally failed, and yet if the book liad been erroneous, there could be nothing easier than its confutation. ] f that book had been mistaken in matter of law, or exagge- rated in matter of fact, its refutation would have been found, where we have found and proved its perfect accuracy, in the statute book and in the daily experience of every individual ii. Ireland. IVuth, you are told by the prosecutor, is no defence in case of libel ; but certainly this book was much the more pro- voking for being true ; and yet, gentlemen, with the m.ost power- ful incentives to prosecute this book, the Attorney-General has fceen compelled, most reluctantly, to space every word of the 400 pages of text and margin, and has been unable to find any pre- text for an indictment, save in a paltry note containing eight lines and a half, and three marks of admiration. My lords, 1 address your lordships particularly on the three notes of admiration, because they formed a prominent gTound in your lordship's learned argument, wlien you decided that the passage was a libel jpf ?' se. Yes, gentlemen, admire again, I pray vou, the soliditv and brilliancv of our law, in which three marks of admiration are of wonderful efficacy in sending a man to pri- son. But with the exception of the note of eight and a half lines, the book has borne the severest criticism of fact and cf law. It has defied, and continues to defy, the present Attorney- General and his well-assorted juries ; and, as to the note whicii he indicted, it contained only a remark on the execution of .% man who, whether innocent or guilty, was tried in such a man- ner, that a gentleman of the Irish bar, his counsel, threw up hi*^ nrief in disgust ; and when the judge who presided at the trial ordered the counsel to remain and defend Barry, that counsel swore, in this court, that he rejected the judge's mandate witli contempt. AVhat a mighty triumph was the conviction proved agjdnst this note on Ban-y's case ! And may one be permitted mourn fully to ask, whether the indignation, which might have pro- duced indiscretion in speaking of Barry's fate, was a very cnh pable quality in a feeling mind, prone to detest tl)o horrors wit ii which human blood is sometimes shed under the forms and mockery of trial ? But that conviction, although it will erase tlio note, will not stay the demand which I'l iiittHiPcnt public make for this valuable work. Already h.avc two \u.'uable civ "76 SELL'cr sriiiEciiES of lions of it been sold, and a third edition is loudly called for, and about to app'^ar. What, in the meantime, has been the fate of the ansAvcrs 1 I sec two booksellers amongst you ; they will tell you that the answers are recollected only by the loss they have produced to Ihcra, and by the cumbering of their shelves. Sucli is the re- sult of the loval triumph of his (^race the Du.ke of Kichmond's administration. l\Jay such in every age be the fruits of every prosecutor of free discussion, and of the assertion of politiciil truth ! I have followed the Attorney-General through his discussion Tipoii Walter Cox. and '• The Statement of the Penal laws," with- out being able exactly to conjecture his motives for introducinu them. As to Cox, it appears to be the mere gTatification of his ilelijiht at the miserv to which that unfortunate man is reduced. As to " the book," I can only conjecture that his wish is to in- sinuate to 3-0U that tlie author of "the book" and of this publi- cation is the sanie. If that were his design, it may be enough to say, t]iat he has not proved the fact, and, therefore, iu fair- ness, it ought not at all to influence your decision. I go further arid tell him, that the fiiot is not so ; that the author is a dif- fc-:-ent person ; that the wi'Iter of this alleged libel is a Protestant — a man of fortune — a man of that rank and estimation, that even the Attorney-General, were I to announce his name, which my client will never do, or suffer his advocate to do, that name wo;; Id extort respect, even from the Attorney-General himself. }fe has, in his usual fashion, calumniated the spirit and object of "The Statement of the Penal Laws." He says it imputes murder and every other crime to persons in high stations, as re- sulting from their being Protestants. He says that it attributes to the Lord Lieutenant the committing murder on a Catholic, because he himself is a Protestant. Gentlemen, I wish you had read tnat book ; if }"ou did, it would be quite unnecessary for me to contradict those assertions of the Attorney-General. In fact, there never were assertions more unfounded : that ])ook con- • ains nothing that could warrant his description of it ; on the contrary, the book seeks to establish this position, that the grie- vances which the Irish Catholics suffer, are not attributable to the Protestant religion — that they are repugnanc to the spirit of tliat religion, and are attributable, simply and singly, to the spirit of monopoly, and tone of superiority, generated and fos- tered by the r^ystcm of exclusion, upon which the Penal Codj. res! J. Daniel ocon^ell, esq., :.i.p. :l'77 'Hie author of that book is confessedlv a Catholic ; vet the i.aok states, and the Attoniey-General heard the passage twice read in this court, that "if Roman Catholics were placed, by unjust i:iws, in the situation in which the Irish Protestants now are placed, they would oppress and exclude precisely as the Protestants nms do." In short, his statement and reasonings are founded on this, that it is unjust to give any religion exclusive political ad- vantages ; because, whatever that religion may be, the result will necessarily prove oppressive and insulting towards the less favoured sect. He argues not exclusively against any particular religion, but from natural causes operating on human beings. His book mav be a libel on human nature, but it is no more .1 libel on the Protestant than on the Catholic religion. It draws no other inference than this, that Catholics and Protestants, under similar circumstances, would act precisely in the same way. Having followed the prosecutor through this weary digression, I return to the next sentence of this publication. Yet I cannot — I must detain you still a little longer from it^ whilst I suppli- cate your honest indignation, if in your resentments there be Hught of honesty, against tlic mode in which the Attorney-Gene- ral has introduced the name of our po-ed and afflicted sovereif^/i. lie says, this is a libel on the king, because it imputes to him a selection of improper and criminal chief governors. Gentlemen, this is the verv acme of servile doctrine. It is the most uncon- stitutional doctrine that could be uttered : it supposes that the sovereign is responsible for the acts of his servants, whilst the con- stitution declares that the king can do no wrong, and that even for his personal acts, his servants shall be personally responsible. Thus, the Attorney-General reverses for you the constitution in theory ; and, in point of fact, where can be found, in this publi- cation, any, even the slightest allusion to his Majesty. The theory is against the Attorney- General, and yet, contrary to Xha fact, and against the theory, he seeks to enlist another prejudice of yours against Mr. Magee. Prejudice did I call it % oh, no ! it is n© prejudice ; that sen- timent which combines respect with affection for my aged sove- reign, suffering under a calamity with which heaven has willed to visit him, but which is not due to any default of his. There never was a sentiment that I should wish to see more cherished — more honoured. To you the king may appear an object of respect ; to his Catholic subjects he is one of veneration ; t.( them he has been a bountifal benefactor. To the utter disregard of your aldermen of Skinner's-alley, and the more pompous raa^'- 278 b::i,E(jt si'HMcirKS ok nets of William-streat, his Majesty procured, at his earnest soli- citation from parliament, the restoration of much of our liberties. He disregarded your anti-Popery petitions. lie treated with cahn indifference the ebullitions of your bigotry ; and I owe to him that I have the honour of standing in the proud situation from wliich I am able, if not to protect my client, at least to pour the indio-nant torrent of my discourse against his enemies, and those of his country. The publication to which I now recal you, goes to describe the elTocts of the facts which I have shown you to have been drawr from the undisputed and authentic history of former times. I have, I hope, convinced you, that neither Leland nor Hume could have been indicted for stating those facts, and it would bo a verv strange perversion of principle, which would allow you to convict Mr. Magee for that which has been stated by otlier writers, hot only without punishment, but with applausa. That part of the paragraph which relates to tlie present day is in these words : — " Since that period the complexion of the times has change 1 — the country has advanced — it has outgrown submission, and some forms, at least, must now hs observed towards the i^eojdey The system, however, is still the same ; it is the old play with new decorations, presented in an age somewhat more en lightened ; the principle of government remains unaltered — a principle of exclusion which debars the majority of the people from the enjoyment of those privileges that are possessed by tht minority, and which must, therefore, maintain itself by all those measures necessary for a government founded on injustice." The prosecutor insists that this is the most libellous part of the entire publication. I am glad he does so ; because if there be amongst you a single particle of discrimination, you cannot fail to perceive that this is not a libel — that this paragraph can- aot constitute any crime. It states that the present is a system of exclusion. Surely, it is no crime to say so ; it is what you all say. It is what the Attorney-General himself gloried in. This is, said he, exclusively a Protestant government. Mr. Magee and he are agreed. Mr. Magee addSj that a principle of exclu- sion, on account of religion, is founded on injustice. • Gentlemen, if a Protestant were to be excluded from any temporal advan- tages upon the score of his religi on, would not you say that the principle upon which he was excluded was unjust? That is pre- cisely what Mr. Magee says; for the principle which excludes the Catholic iu Ireland, would exclude the Protestant in Spaii) DANIEL o'CON>"ELL, ESQ., il.P. 279 ind in Portugal, and then you clearly admit its justice. So that, really, you -^'oula condemn yourselves, and your own opinions, uvA the right to be a Protestant in Spain and Portugal, if you condemn this sentiment. But I would have you further observe that this is no moi'O than the discussion of an abstract principle of government ; il irraigns not the conduct of any individual, or of any adminis- tration ; it only discusses and decides upon the moral fitness of A certain theorj^, on which the management of the aftairs of Ire laud has been conducted. Jf this be a crime, we are all crimi- nals; for this question, whether it be just or not to exclude from power and office a class of the people for religion, is the subject uf daily — of hourly discussion. The Attorney-General says it is quite just; I proclaim it to be unjust — obviously unjust. At ;ill public meetings, in all private companies, this point is de- cided different ways, according to the temper and the interest of individuals. Indeed, it is but too much the topic of every man's discoui'se ; and the gaols and the barracks of the country would not contain the hundredth part of those whom the Attorney- General would have to crowd them, if it be penal to call the principle of exclusion unjust. In this court, without the least danger of interruption or reproof, I proclaim the injustice of that principle. I will then ask whether it be lawful to print that which it is not unlawful to proclaim in the face of a court of justice 1 And above all, I will ask whether it can be criminal to discuss the ab- stract principles of government 1 Is the theory of the law a prohibited sul^ject ? I had understood that there was no right bO clear and undoubted as that of discussing abstract and theo- retic principles, and their applicability to practicable purposes. For the first time do I hear this disputed ; and now see what it is the Attorney-General prohibits. He insists upon punishing Mr. Magee; first, because he accuses his administration of " er- rors;" secondly, because he charges them with not being distin- guished for " talents ;" thirdly, because he cannot discover thei} " striking features;" and fourthly, because he discusses an "ab stract principle 1" This is quite intelligible — this is quite tangible. 1 begin to understand what the Attorney- General means by the liberty of the Press ; it means a prohibition of printing anything except praise, respecting "the errors, the talents, or the striking featurei^ of any administration, and of discussing any abstract principle if government. Thus the forbidden sulgocts ai'e errors, talents, 280 SELECT SPEECHES OF striking features, and principles. [Neither the theory of the government nor its practices are to be discussed ; you ciay, in- deed, praise them ; you may call the Attorney- General " t'ae best and wisest of men ;" you may call his lordship the most learned and impartial of all possible chief justices ; you may, if you have powers of visage sufficient, call the Lord Lieutenant the besC of all imaginable governors. That, gentlemen, is the boasted liberty of the Press — the liberty that exists in Constantinople — ilie lilDcrty of applying the most fulsome and unfounded flatoerj'; but not one word of censure or reproof Here is an idol worthy of the veneration of the Attorney- General. Yes ; he talked of his veneration for the liberty of the Press ; he also talked of its being a protection to the people against the government. Protection ! not against errors- — not against the want of talents or striking features — nor against the effort of any unjust principle — protection ! against what is it to protect ? Did he not mock you ? Did he not plainly and pal- ])ably delude you, when he talked of the protection of the Press ? Yes. To his inconsistencies and contradictions he calls on you to sacrifice your consciences ; and because you are no-Poperj men, and distributers of Bibles, and aldermen of Skinner's-alley. and Protestant petitioners, he requires of you to brand yoiu' souls with perjury. You cannot escape it ; it is, it must be per- jury to find a verdict for a man who gravely admits that the liberty of the Press is recognized by law, and that it is a vene- rable object, and yet calls for your verdict upon the ground that there is no such thing in existence as that which he has admitted, that the law recognises, and that he himself venerates. Clinging to the fond but faint hope that you are not capable of sanctioning, by your oaths, so monstrous an '.^consistency, I lead you to the next sentence upon this record. " Although his Grace does not appear to know what are the qualities necessary for a judge in Canada, or for an aid-de-eamp in waiting at a court, he surely cannot be ignorant what are requisites for a lord lieu- tenant." This appears to be a very Innocent sentence; yet the Attorney- General, the venerator of that protection of the people against a bad government — the liberty of the Press — tells you that it is a gross libel to impute so much ignorance to hif^ Grace. As to the aid-de-camp, gentlemen, whether he be selected for the brilliancy of his spurs, the polish of his boots, or the precise angle of his cocked hat, are grave considerations which I refer to you. De- ciJe upon these atrocities, 1 pray jou. But as to the judge in DANIEL O'CONl-IELL, ESQ., M.P. 281 Canada, it cannot be any reproach to his Grace to be ignorant of his qualifications. The old French law prevails in Canada, and there is not a lawyer at the Irish bar, except, perhaps, the At- torney-General, who is sufficiently acquainted with that law to know how £xr any man may be fit for the station of judge iu Canada. If this be an ignorance without reproach in Irish lawyers, and if there be any reproach in it, I feel it not, whilst I avow thai ignorance — yet, surely it is absurd to torture it into a calumu}; against the Lord Lieutenant — a military man, and no lawyer I doubt whether it would be a libel if my client had said, i/uu his Grace was ignorant of the qualities necessary for a jittlfje in Ireland — ^ov 2i. chief jadgeyVaj \oYdi. He has not said so, how- ever, gentlemen, and true or false, that is not now the question under consideration. We are in Canada at present, gentlemen, in a ludicrous search for a libel m a sentence of no great point ^r meaning. If you are sapient enough to suspect that il: con- tains a libel, your doubt can only arise from not comprehending it ; and that, I own, is a doubt difficult to remove. But 1 mock you when I talk of this insignificant sentence. I shall read the next paragi*aph at full length. It is connected with the Canadian sentence : — " Tlierefore, were an appeal to be made to him in a dispassionate aud sober moment, we might candidly confess that the Irish woukl nort bfc disappointed in their hopes of a successor, though they would behold the same smiles, experience the same sincerity, and witness the Siimc disposition towards conciliatioi. " Wliat, though they were deceived in 1795, and found the 'nildness of a Fitzvfiliiam a false omen of concord ; though tliey were duped iu 1800, and found that tlie privileges of the Catholics did not follow th« extinction of the parliament, yet, at his departure, he will, no doul)t., tU;ate good grounds for future expectation ; that his administration was not the time for Emancipation, but that the season is fast approaclung; that tliere were "existing circumstances," but that now the people raav rely upon the virtues even of an hereditary Prince ; that they should continue to worship the false idol ■, that their cries, must, at least, be heard ; and that, if he has not complied, it is only because he has !iot spoken. In short, his Grace will in no way vary from the uniform con- duct observed by most of his predecessors, first preaching to tlie conii- dence of the people, then playing upon their credulity. He caKe over Ignorant — he soon became prejudiced, and then he be- came intemperate. He takes from the people their money ; he e;u3 or their bread, atid drinks of their wine ; iu return, he gives them a bad j-overnraent, and, at liis departure, leaves them more distracted than ever. His Grace commeuced his reign by flatter)', he coutij^ued \i la T 282 SELECT SPEECUES OP foUv, lie accompanied it with violence, and he v/ill conclude it witb falsehood." There is one part cf this sentence, for wliich I most respect- fully solicit your indulgence and pardon. Be not exasperated w'ith us for talking of the mildness of Lord Fitzwilliam, or of his administration. But, notwithstanding the violence any j)raise of him has excited amongst you, come dispassi<3nately, I pray you, to the consideration of the paragraph. Let us ab- stract the meaning of it from the superfluous words. It cer- tainly does tell you, that his Grace came over ignorant of Irish affairs, and he acquired prejudices upon those subjects, and he has become intemperate. Let us discuss this part separately from the other matter suggested by the paragTaph in question. That the Duke of Richmond came over to Ireland ignorant of the details of our domestic policy cannot be matter either of siu'prise or of any reproach. A military man engaged in these pursuits which otherwise occupy persons of his rank, altogether unconnected with Ireland, he could not have had any induce- ment to make himself acquainted with the c stalls of our barbarous wrongs, of our senseless party quarrels, and criminal feuds ; he was not stimulated to examine them by any interest, nor could any man be attracted to study them by taste. It is, therefore, no censure to talk of his igTiorance — of that with which it would be absurd to expect that he should be acquainted ; and the knowledge of which would neither have served, nor exalted, nor amused him. Then, gentlemen, it is said he became "prejudiced." Preju- diced may sound harsh in your ears ; but you are not, at least you ought not, to decide upon the sound — it is the sense of the word that should determine you. Now what is the sense of tlic word "prejudice" here ? It means the having adopted precisely the opinions which every one cf you entertam. By "prejudice" the writer means, and can mean, nothing but such sentiments as you cherish. When he talks of prejudice, ha intends to convey the idea that the Duke tookiip the opinion, that the few ought to govern the many in Ireland ; that there ought to be a favoured, and an excluded class in Ireland ; that the burdens of the state ought to be shared equally, but its benefits conferred on a few. Such are the ideas conveyed by the word prejudice ; and I fear- lessly ask you, is it a crime to impute to his Grace these notion? cvhich you yourselves entertain 1 Is he calumniated — is he iibeiled, when he is charged with concurring with you, gentle- men of the jury? Wiii you, by a verdict of conviction, slarj^p 1 DANIEL O'CONNELL, EiJQ., M.P. 283 your own political sentiments with the seal of reprobation ? If you convict my client, you do this ; you decide that it is a libel to charge any man with those doctrines which are so useful to you individually, and of which you boast ; or, you think the opinions just, and yet that it is criminal to charge a man with those just opinions. For the sake, therefore, of consistency, and as an approval of your own opinions, I c-all on you for a verdict of acquittal. I need not detain you long on the expression "intemperate f jt does not mean any charge of excess of indulgence in any en- joyment ; it is not, as the Attorney-General suggested, an ac- cusation of indulging beyond due bounds in the pleasures of the fable, or of the bottle ; it does not allude, as the Attorney-Gene- ral says, to midnight orgies, or to morning revels. I admit — I freely admit — that an allusion of that kind would savour of libel^ as it would certainly be unnecessary for any purpose of political discussion. But the intemperance here spoken of is mere poli- tical intemperance ; it is that violence which every man of a fervid disposition feels in support of his political opinions. Nay the more pure and honest any man may be in the adoption o his opinions, the more likely, and the more justifiable will he b' in that ardent support of them, which goes by the name of in temperance. In short, although political intemperance cannot be deemed by cold calculators as a virtue, yet it has its source in the purest virtues of the human heart, and it frequently produces the gi'eatest advantages to the public. How would it be possible to overcome the many obstacles which self-interest, and ignorance, and passion throw in the way of improvement, without some oi that ardour of temper and disposition which grave men call in- temperance 1 And, gentlemen, are not your opinions as deserv- ing of warm support as the opinion of other men ; or do you feel any inherent depravity in the political sentiments which the Duke of Richmond has r^dopted from you, that would render him depraved or degraded by any violence in their support 1 You have no alternative. If you convict my client, you condemn, upon your oaths, your own political creed ; and declare it to be a libel to charge any man wdth energy in your cause. If you are not disposed to go this length of political inconsis- iency, and if you have determined to avoid the religious incon- sistency of perjuring yourselves for the good and glory of the Protestant religion, do, I pray you, examine the rest of this para- gi'aph, and see whether you can, by anv ingenuity, detect that 284 SELECT SPEECHES OF nondescript a libel in it. Jt states in substance this : that this administration, treading in the steps of former administrations, nreached to the conj&dence of the people, and played on their uredulity , and that it will end, as those administrations have done, in some flattering prophecy, paying present disappoint- ment with the coinage of delusive hope. That this administra- tion commenced, as usual, with preaching to the confidence of the people, was neither criminal in the fact, nor can it be unple^isant in the recital. It is the immemorial usage of all administrations and of all stations, to commence with those civil professions of future ex- cellence of conduct which are called, and not unaptly, ''preach- ing to the confidence of the people''' The very actors are generally sincere at this stage of the political farce ; and it is not insinu- ated that this administration was not as candid on this subject as the best of its predecessors. The playing on the credulity 0/ the pjeople is the ordinary state trick. You recollect how angry many of you were with his Grace for his Munster tour, shortly after his arrival here. You recollect how he checked the Mayor of* Cork for proposing the new favourite Orange toast ; what liberality he displayed to Popish traders and bankers in Limerick; and how he returned to the capital, leaving behind him the im- pression that the no-Popery men had been mistaken in their choice, and that the Duke of Richmond was the enemy of every bigotry — the friend to every liberality ! Was he sincere, gentle- men of the jury, or was this one of those innocent devices which are called — playing on the people's credulity ? Was he sincere % Ask his subsequent conduct. Have there been since that time any other or different toasts cheered in his presence % Has the name of Ireland and of Irishmen been profaned by becoming the sport of the warmth excited by the accompaniment to these toasts ? Some individuals of you could inform me. I see another dignitary of your corporation here (said Mr. O'Connell, turning round pointedly to the lord mayor) — I see a civic dignitary here, who could tell of the toasts of these days or nights, and would not be at a loss to apply the right name — if he were not too prudent as well as too polite to do so — to that innocent affectation of liberality which distinguished his Grace's visit to the south of Ireland. It was, indeed, a play upon our credulity, but it can be no libel to speak of it as such ; for see the situation in which you would place his Grace ; you know he affected concijiation and perfect neutrality between our parties at first ; you kiio^ he has since taken a mai'ked and decided j^art with vqil DANIEL O'CONNELL, KSQ., M.P. 285 Surely you are not disposed to call this a crime, as it were, to convict his Grace of duplicity, and of a vile hypocrisy. No gentlemen, 1 entreat of you not to calumniate the Duke ; cal^ this conduct a mere play on the credulity of a people ep« descends ; he mixes with the throng ; he Decomes personally enga^Jid, aud having Jost his temper, calls forth 'lis private passions to support his pabhc principles : he is no longer an indifferent viceroy, but r. frightful partisan of an KngHsh ministry, •j/hose base passions lie mdulges — whose unworthy resentments he gra- t'Pes, and on whose behalf he at present canvasses." Well, gentlemen, and did he not canvass on behalf of the mi- nistrA^? Was there a titled or untitled servant of the Castle who was not c'espatched to the south to vote against the pof a- ]ar, and for the ministerial candidates? Was there a single in- dividual within the reach of his Grace that did not vote against Prittie and Matthew, in Tipperary, aud against Hutchinson, in Cork. I have brought w^ith me some of the newspapers of tbe day, in w^hich this partisanship in the Lord Lieutenant is treated by Mr. Hutchinson in language so strong and so pointed, that the words of this publication are mildness and softness itself Khen C4>mpared with that language. I shall not read thew for DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 289 you, because I should fear that you may imagine 1 unneccs- Htirily identified my cUcnt with the violent but the merited re- l)robation poured upon the scandalous interference of our go-, vernment with those elections. I need not, I am sure, tell' you that any interference by the Lord Lieutenant with the purity of the election of members tc serve in Parliament, is highly unconstitutional, and highly cri- minal ; he is doubly bound to the most strict neutrality ; first, as a peej-, the lav/ prohiuits his interference ; secondly, as repre- sentative of the crown, his interfereuot in elections is an usur- pation of the people's rights ; it is, in .«ubstauce and effect, higri treason against the people, and its mischiefs are not the less by reason of there being no punishment affixed by the law to thi3 treason. If this offence, gentlemen, be of daily occurrence — if it be fre- quently committed, it is upon that account only the more de- structive to our liberties, and, therefore, requires the more loud, direct, and frequent condemnation : indeed, if such practices be permitted to prevail, there is an end ot every remnant of fi-ee- dom ; our boasted constitution becomes a mockery and an ob- ject of ridicule, and we ought to desire the manly simplicity of unmixed despotism. Will the Attorney-General — will his col- league, the Solicitor-General, deny that 1 have desci'ibed this offence in its true colours ? Will they attempt to deny the in- terference of the Duke of Richmond in the late elections ? I would almost venture to put your verdict upon this, and to con- sent to a conviction, if any person shall be found so stocked with audacity, as to presume publicly to deny the interference of his Gi'ace in the late elections, and his partisanship in favour of the ministerial candidates. Gentlemen, if that be denied, what will you, what can you think of the veracity of the man who denies it ? I fearlessly refer the fact to you ; on that fact I build. This interference is as notorious as the sun at noon day ; and who shall venture to deny that such interference is described by a soft term when it is called partisanship ? He who uses the influence of the executive to control the choice of the represen- tatives of the people, violates the first principles of the constitu- tion, is guilty of political sacrilege, and profanes the very sanc- tuary of the people's rights and liberties ; and if he should no*; be called a partisan, it is only because some harsher and more appropriate term ought to be applied to his delinquency. 1 will.recal to your minds an instance of violation of the con- btitution, wliich will illustrate the situation of m}-- client, an, you will decide that nothing ought to be said against that want of honesty, or of attention, or of understanding ; the more ne- cessary will the protection of the Press become, the more un- safe will it be to publish the truth ; and in the exact proportion la which tiie Press might be useful, will it become liable to pun ifhrnent. In short, according to the Attorney- General's doctrine 292 «!ELECT SPKKCHES Or when the Press is " best employed and wanted most/' it will be most dangerous to use it. And thus, the more corrupt and profligate any administration nuiy bo, the more clearly can the public prosecutor ascertain the eacriticc of his selected victim. And call you this protection ? Is this a protector who must be disarmed the moment danger threatens, and is bound a prisoner the instant the fight has commenced ? Here I should close the case — here I should shortly recapitu- late my client's defence, and leave him to your consideration ; but I have been already too tedious, and shall do no more than recal to your recollection the purity, the integrity, the entire disinterestedness of Mr. Magee's motives. If money were his object, he could easily procure himself to be patronised and sala- ried ; but he prefers to be persecuted and discountenanced by the great and powerful, because they cannot deprive him of the cer- tain expectation, that his exertions are useful to his long-suffer- ing, ill-requitted country. He is disinterested, gentlemen : he is honest ; the Attorney- General admitted it, and actually took the trouble of adminis- tering to him advice how to amend his fortune and save his per- son. But the advice only made his youthful blood mantle in that ingenious countenance, and his reply was painted in the indignant look, that told the Attorney-General he might offer wealth, but he could not bribe — that he might torture, but he could not terrify ! Yes, gentlemen, firm in his honesty, and Btronj; in the fervom' of his love of Ireland, he feai'lessly awaits your verdict, convinced that even you must respect the man whom you are called upon to condemn. Look to it, gentlemen ; consider whether an honest, disinterested man shall be prohibited from discussing public affairs ; consider whether all but flattery is to be silent — whether the discussion of the errors and the ca- pacities of the ministers is to be closed for ever. Whether we are to be silent as to the crimes of former periods — the follies of tlie present, and the credulity of the future ; and, above all, re- flect upon the demand that is made on you to punish the canvass- ing of abstract principles. Has the Attorney-General succeeded ? Has he procured a jury so fitted to his object, as to be ready to bury in oblivion every fault and every crime, every error and every imperfection of public men, past, present, and future — and who shall, in ad- dition, silence any dissertation on the theoiy or principle of legislation. Do, gentlemen, {50 this length with the prosecutor, and then venture on vrir '-itliis, I charge vou to venture to r.CwiiL UCUXNELL, ESQ., M.P. 293 talk to your families of the venerable liberty of the Press — the protection of the people against the vices of the government. I should conclude, but the Attorney-General compels me to follow him through another subject ; he has told you, and told you truly, that besides the matter set out in the indictment — the entire of which, gentlemen, we have already gone through — this publication contains severe strictures upon tho alleged inde- licacy in the Chief Justice issuing a ministerial warrant, in vere the mere puppets ef the Attorney- General, moved by his wires, and performing under his control. It is in vain tc look for safety to person or property, whilst this system is allowed to pervade our courts; the very fountain of justice may be corrupted at its source, and those waters which should confer health and vigour throughout the land, can then diffuse nought but mephitic and pestilential vapours to disgust and to destroy. If honesty, if justice be silent, yet prudence ought to check these practices, We live in a new era — a melancholy era, in which perfidy and profligacy are sanctioned by high authority ; the base violation of plighted faith, the deep stain of dishonour, infidelity in love, treachery iri friendr^hip, the abandonment of every j^rinciple, and the adoption of every frivolity and of every vice that can excite hatred combined with ridicule — all — aU this, and more, may be seen around us ; and yet it is believed, it is expected, that this system is fated to be eternal. Gentlemen, we shall all weep the insane delusion ; and in the terrific moments of aller( uticn you know not, you cannot know, how soon or how iiOG SELECT SPEECHES OF bitterly the ingredients of your own poisoned chalice may be Commended to yoiu' own lips. With these views around us — with these horrible prospects lying obscurely before us — in sadness and in sorrow psirty feelings may fird a solitary consolation. My heart feels a species of re- lief when I recollect that not one single Roman Catholic has been foimd suited to the Attorney- General's purpose. With what an affectation of liberality would he have placed, at least, one Roman Catholic on his juries, if he could have found one Roman Catholic gentleman in this city capable of being managed into fitno^s for those juries. You well know that the very first mer- chants of this city, in wealth as well as in character, are Catho- licc. Some of you serve occasionally on special juries in impor- tant cases of private property. Have you ever seen one of those special juries without many Catholics 1 — frequently a majority — seldom less than one-half of Catholics. Why are Catholics excluded from these state juries 1 Wlio shall venture to avov the reason ] Oh, for the partisan indiscretion, that would blindly avow the reason! It is, in truth, a high compliment, which persecution, in spite of itself, pays to independent integrity. It IS, in fact, a compliment. It is intended for a reproach, for a libel. It is meant to insinuate that such a man, for ex- amjJe, as Randal M'Donnell — the pride and boast of commerce — one of the first contributors to the revenues of the state, and the first in all the sweet charities of social life — would refuse to do justice, upon his oath, to the Crown, and perjure himself iu a state trial, because he is a Roman Catholic. You, even you, would be shocked, if any man were so audacious as to assert, in words, so foul a libel, so false a calumny ; and yet what does the conduct of the Attorney-General amount to? Why, practi- cally, to just such a libel, to precisely such a calumny. He acts a part which he would not venture to speak, and endeavours silently to inflict a censure which no man could be found so devoid of shame as to assert in words. And here, gentlemen, is a libel for which there is no punishment ; here^is a profligate calumny for which the law furnishes no redress ; he can continue to ca lumniate us by his rejection. See whether he does not offer you a gi'eater insult by his selection ; lay your hands to your hearts, and in private communion with yourselves, ask the reason why you have been sought for and selected for this jury — will you discover that you have been selected because of admitted impar tiality ? bAXtEL OCONNELL, ESQ , M.P. 297 Would to God you could make that discovery ! It would bt one on which my client might buivd the certain expectation of a triumphant acquittal. Let me transport you from the heat and fury of domestic politics ; let me place you in a foreign land ; you are Protestants, with your good leave, you shall, for a moment, be Portuguese, and Portuguese is now an honourable name, for right well have the people of Portugal fought for their country, against the foreign invader. Oh ! how easy to procure a similar spirit, and more of bravery, amongst the people of Ireland ! The slight purchase of good words, and a kindly disposition, would convert them into an impenetrable guard for the safety of the Throne and the State. But advice and regret are equally unavailing, and they are doomed to calumny and oppression, the reality of persecution, and the mockery of justice, until some fatal hour shall arrive, which may preach wisdom to the dupes, and menace with punishment the oppressor. In the meantime I must place you in Portugal. Let us sup- pose for an instant that the Protestant religion is that of the people of Portugal — the Catholic, that of the government — that the house of Braganza has not reigned, but that Portugal is still governed by the viceroy of a foreign nation, from whom no kind- ness, no favour has ever flowed, and from whom justice has rarely been obtained, and upon those unfrequent occasions, not conceded generously, but extorted by force, or wrung from dis- tress by terror and apprehension, in a stinted measure and un- gracious manner ; you, Protestants, shall form, not as with us in Ireland, nine-tenths, but some lesser number, you shall be only four-fifths of the population ; and all the persecution which you have yourselves practised here upon Papists, whilst you, at the Bame time, accused the Papists of the crime of being persecutors, shall glow around ; your native land shall be to you the country of strangers : you shall be aliens in the soil that gave you birth, and whilst every foreigner may, in the land of your forefathers, attain rank, station, emolument, honours, you alone shall be ex- cluded ; and you shall be excluded for no other reason but a conscientious abhorrence to the religion of your ancestors. Only think, gentlemen, of the scandalous injustice of punishing you because you are Protestants, With what scorn — with what contempt do you not listen to the stale pretences — to the mise- rable excuses by which, under the name of state reasons and political arguments, your exclusion and degradation are sought to be justified. Your reply is ready — "perform your iniquity u 293 SELECT SPEi^CHES OF — men of crimes (you exclaim) be unjust — punish us for oui fidelity and honest adherence to truth, but insult us not by sup- posing that your reasoning can impose upon a single individual tither of us or of yourselves." In this situation let me give you a viceroy ; he shall be a man who may be styled — by some per- son disposed to exaggerate, beyond bounds, his merits, and to flatter him more than enough — " an honourable man and a re- spectable soldier," but, in point of fact, he shall be of that little- minded class of beings who are suited to be the plaything of knavea — one of those men who imagine they govern a nation, whilst, in reality they are but the instruments upon which the crafty play with safety and with profit. Take such a man for your viceroy — Protestant Portuguese. We shall begin with making this tour from Tralos Montes to the kingdom of Algesiras — as one amongst us should say, from the Giant's Causeway to the king- *iom of Kerry. Upon his tour he shall affect great candour and good-will to the poor suffering Protestants. The bloody anni- versaries of the inquisitorial triumphs of former days shall be for a season abandoned, and over our inherent hostility the garb ot hypocrisy shall, for a season, be thrown. Enmity to the Protest-' ants shall become, for a moment, less apparent ; but it will bo only the more odious for the transitory disguise. The delusion of the hour having served its purpose, your viceroy shows himself in his native colours ; he selects for office., and prefers for his pension-list, the men miserable in 'utellectj if they be but virulent against tlie Protestants ; to rail against the Protestant religion — to turn its holiest rites into ridicule — to slander the individual Protestants, are the surest, the only means to obtain his favour and patronage. He selects from hi.s Fopisli bigots some being more canine than human, who, not having talents to sell, brings to the market of bigotry his impu- dence — who, with no quality under heaven, but gross, vulgar, acrimonious, disgustful, and shameless abuse of Protestantism to recommend him shall bo promoted to some accountant-gene- Kflship, and shall riot in the spoils of the people he traduces, as it were to crowD with insult the severest injuries. This viceroy selects for his favourite privy councillor some learned doctor, half lawyer, half divine, ojr entire brute, distinguished by the un- blushing repetition cf calumnies against the Protestants. This man has asserted that Protestants are perjurers and murderers IT. principle — th&,i they keep no faith with Papists, but hold it lu'^'ful and merii:orious to violate every engagement, and commit tvCJ}^ atrocity towards any person who happens to differ with DANIEL O'CCNKELI,, ESQ., M.T. 1^00 rrotestants in religious belief. This man raves tiiuR; in public, against the Protestants, and has turned his ravings into large per- sonal emoluments. But whilst he is the oracle cf minor bigots, he does not believe himself, he has selected for the partner Oi his tenderest joys, of his most ecstatic moments — he has chosen for the intended mother of his children, for the sweetener and solace of his every care, a Protestant, gentlemen of the jury. Next to the vile instruments of bigotry, his accountant-gene- ral and privy councillor, wc will place his acts. The Protestants of Portugal shall be exposed to insult and slaughter ; an Orango party — a party of Popish Orangemen, shall be supposed to exist ; they shall have liberty to slaughter the unarmed and defenceless Protestants, and as they sit peaceably at their firesides. They shall be let loose in some Portuguese district, called Monaghan ; they shall cover the streets of some Portuguese town of i^elfast with human gore ; and in the metropolis of Lisbon, the Protes- tant widow shall have her harmless child murdered in the noon day, and his blood shall have flowed unrequited, because his as- sassin was very loyal when he was drunk, and had an iiTesisti- ble propensity to signalise his loyalty by killing Protestants. Behol'd, gentlemen, this viceroy depriving of command, and stay- ing the promotion of, every military man who shall dare to think Protestants men, or who shall presume to suggest that they ought not to be prosecuted. Behold this viceroy proipoting and rewardiug the men who insulted and attempted to degrade the first of your Protestant nobility. Behold him in public, the man I have described. In his personal concerns he receives an enormous revenue from the people he thus misgoverns. See in his management of that revenue a parsimony at which even his enemies blush. See the paltry sum of a single joe refused to any Protestant charity, whilst his bounty is unknown even at the Popish institutions for benevolent purposes. See the most wasteful expenditure of the public money — ev^ery job patronised — every profl.igacy ^- couraged. See the resources of Portugal diminished. See liei discords and her internal feuds increased. And, lastly, behold the courso of justice perverted and corrupted. It is thus, gentleman, the Protestant Portuguese seek to ob- tain relief by humble petition and supplication. There can be- no crime surely for a Protestant oppressed, because he follows u religion which is, in his opinion, true, to endeavour to obtain relief by mildly representing to his Popish oppressors, that it is the right of every man to worship tlie Deity according to th*.- rjf.'O SELECT SPEECHiiS OP dictates of his own conscience; to state respectfully to the go verning powers that it is nnjiist, and may be highly impolitic to punish men^ merely because they do not profess Popery, which they do not believe ; and to submit, with all hiimility, that to lay the burdens of the state equally, and distribute its bene- fits partially, is not justice, but, although sanctioned by the pre- tence of religious zeal, is, in truth, iniquity, and palpably crimi- nal. Well, gentlemen, for daring thus to remonstrate, the Pro- testants are persecuted. The first step in the persecution is to T>ervert the plain meaning of the Portuguese language, and n law prohibiting any disguise in apparel, shall be applied to the ordinary di^ess of the individual ; it reminds one af pretence and piirpose. To carry on these persecutions, the viceroy chooses for his first inquisitor th€ descendant of some Popish refugee — some man with an hereditary hatred to Protestants; he is not the fc-.on of an Irishmarj, this refugee inquisitor — no, for the fact ia notorious, that the Irish refugee Papists were ever distinguished for their liberality, as well as for their gallantry in the field and talent in the cabinet. This inquisitor shall be, gentlemen, a descendant fi'om one of those English Papists, who was the dup'3 or contriver of the Gunpowder Plot! With such a chief inquisi- tor, can you conceive anything more calculated to rouse you to agony than the solemn mockery of your trial. This chief inqui- sitor begins by influencing the judges out of court : he proceeds to inquire out fit men for his interior tribunal, which, for brevit} ^ we will call a jury. He selects his juries from the most violent of the Popish Orangemen of the city, and procures a conviction against law and common sense, and without evidence. Have you followed me, gentlemen? Do you enter into the feelings of Prf>- testants thus insulted, thus oppressed, thus persecuted — their enemies and traducers promoted, and encouraged, and richly re- warded — their friends discountenanced and displaced — their per- fc^ons unprotected, and their characters assailed by hired calum- niators — their blood shed with impunity — their revenues parsi- moniously spared ^to accumulate for the individual, wastefully squandered for the state — the emblems of discord, the war-ci-y of disunion, sanctioned by the highest authority, and Justice herself converted from an impartial arbitrator into a frightful partisan? Yes, gentlemen, place yourselves as Protestants under such a persecution. Behold before you this chief inquisitor, with his ^»n^udiced tribunal — this gambler, with a loaded die • and now DANIEL OCONNELL, EbQ.. M.P. 301 sriy what are your feelings — what are your sensations of disgust, abhorrence, affright? But if at such a moment some ardent and ■Mithusiastic Papist, regardless of his interests, and roused by tha crimes that were thus committed against you, should describe, in measured, and cautious, and cold language, scenes of oppres- sion and iniquit}'- — if he were to describe them, not as 1 havo 'lone, but in feeble and mild language, and simply state the facts for your benefit and the instruction of the public — if this liberal Papist, for this, were dragged to the Inquisition, as for a crime, and menaced with a dungeon for years, good and gracious God ! how would you revolt at and abominate the men who could con- sign him to that dungeon ! With what an eye of contempt, and hatred, and despair, would you not look at the packed and pro- fligate tribunal, which could direct punishment against him who deserved rewards ! W hat pity would you not feel for the advo- cate who heavily, and without hope, laboured in his defence ! and with what agonized and frenzied despair would you not look 10 the future destinies of a land in which perjury waa or^anizevl and irom which humanity and justice had been for ever banished ! With this picture of yourselves in Portugal, come home to u:i in Ireland, say is that a crime, when applied to Protestants, which is a virtue and a merit when applied to Papists 1 Beholl how we suffer here ; and then reflect, that is is principally by rea- son of your prejudices against us that the Attorney- General liopes for your verdict. The good man has talked of his impar- tiality ; he will suppress, he says, the licentiousness of the Press. I have, I hope, shown you the right of my client to discuss th!3 public subjects which he has discussed in the manner they are treated of in the publication before you, yet he is prosecuted. Let me read for you a paragraph which the Attorney- General has not prosecuted — which he has refused to prosecute : <' Ballybay, July 4, 1813. " A meeting of the Orange Lodires was agreed on, in coTiseqiience of the manner in which the Catholics wished to have persecuted the loyalists In this county last year, ivhen they even murdered some of them for no other reason than their being yeomen and Protestants.'" And, again — " It was at Ballybay that the Catholics murdered one Hughes, a yeo- man sergeant lor being a Protestant, as was given in evidence at the assizes by a Catholic witness." I have read this passage from the Hibernian Journal of the 7th of this month. I know not whether voi» oan hear, unmoved. ?r2 BELECT SPEECHES OP »M <1» a par? JTaph which raakes my blood boil to i^ad ; but I shall oniy tell you, that the Attorney-General refused to prosecute this libeller. Gentlemen, there have been several murders com- mitted in the county of Monaghan, in which Bally bay lies. The persons killed happened to be Roman Catliolics ; their murder- ers are Orangemen. Several of the persons accused of these mur- dei'S are to be tried at the ensuing assizes. The agent a»p plied to me personally, with this newspaper ; he stated that the ob- vious intention was to create a prejudice upon the approaching trials favourable to the murderers, and against the prosecutors. He stated what you — even you — will easily believe, that thero never was a falsehood more flagitiously destitute of truth than the entire paragraph. I advised him, gentlemen, to wait on the Attorney-Genei-al in the most respectful manner possible ; to show him this paragraph, then to retjuest to be allowed to satisfy him as to the utter falsehood of the assertions which this para- graph contained, which could be more easily done, as the judges who went that circuit could prove part of it to be Mse ; and I directed him to entreat that the Attorney- General, when fully satisfied of the falsehood, would prosecute the publisher of this, which, I think, I may call an atrocious libel. Gentlemen, the Attorney- General was accordingly waited on; he was respectfully requested to prosecute upon the terms of having the falsehood of these assertions first proved to him. I need not tell you ne refused. These are not the libellers lie pro- secutes. Gentlemen, this not being a libel on any individual, 110 private individual can prosecute for it ; and the Attorney- General turns his Press loose on the Catholics of the county of Monaghan, whilst he virulently assails Mr. Magee for what must be admitted to be comparatively mild and inofiensive. No, gentlemen, he does not prosecute this libel. On the con- trary, this paper is paid enormous sums of the public money. There are no less than five proclamations in the paper containing this libel ; and, it was proved in my presence, in a court of jus- tice, that, besides the proclamations a)id public advertisements, the two proprietors of the paper had each a pension of £400 per annum, for supporting government, as it was called. Since that period one of those proprietors has got an office worth, at least, £800 a year ; and the son of the other, a place of upwards of £400 per annum : so that, as it is likely that the original pen- sions continue, here may be an annual income of £2,000 paid for this paper, besides the thousands of pounds annually, wiiich the insertion of the proclamations and public advertisements T^A^'lKL O'CONNiilLL, LSQ., -M.r. TO.". cost. It is a paper of the very lowest and most paltry scale of Talent, and its circulation is, fortunately, very limited ; but ic receives several thousands of pounds of the money of the men uhom it foully and falsely calumtMates. Would I could see the man who pays this proclamation money and these pensions at the Castle. [Here Mr. O'Connell turned i-ound to where ^Ir. Peele* sat.] Would I could see the man who, against the fact, asserted that the proclamations were in- serted in all the papers, save in those w^hose pr^^prietors were convicted of a libel. I would ask him whether this be a paper that ought to receive the moDey of the Irish people ? — whether this be the legitimate use of the public purse ? And ^vhen you find this calumniator salaried and rewarded, where is the impar- tiality, the justice, or even the decency of prosecuting Mr. Magee for "a libel, merely because he has not praised public men, and has discussed public affairs in the spirit of freedom and of the constitution. Contrast the situation of Mr. Magee with the pro- prietor of the Hibernian Journal ; the one is prosecuted with all the weight and influence of the crown, the other pensioned by the ministers of the crown ; the one dmgged to your bar for the sober discussion of political topics, the other hired to dis- seminate the most horrid calumnies ! Let the Attornev-Genei-al now boast of his impartiality; can you credit him on your oaths ► Let him talk of his veneration for the liberty of the Press ; can you believe him in your consciences ? Let him call the Press the protection of the people against the government. Yes, gen- tlemen, believe him when he says so. Let the Press be the pro- tection of the people ; he admits that it ought to be so. Will you find a verdict for him, that shall contradict the only asser- tion upon which he and I, however, are both agreed ? Gentlemen, the Attorney-General is bound by this admission ; It is part of his case, and he is the prosecutor here ; it is a part of the evidence before you, for he is the prosecutor. Then, gentle- men, it is your duty to act upon that evidence, and to allow the Press to afford some protection to the people. Is there amongst you any one friend to freedom? Is there amongst you one man, who esteems equal and impartial justice, who values the people's rights as the foundation of private happi- nes, and who considers life as no boon without libertv? Is there amonsrst vou one friend to the constitution — one man who hates oppression? If there be, Mr. Magee appeals to his kindred mind. and confidently expects an acquittal. * Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieuteniint. 304 SELECT SPEECHES OP There are amongst 3-011 men of great religious zeal — of mnch jmblic piety. Are you sincere 1 Do you believe what you pro- fess ? With all this zeal — with all this piety, is there any con- science amongst you 1 Is there any terror of violating your oaths? Be ye hypocrites, or does genuine religion inspire ye? Lf you be sincere — if a'ou have conscience — if your oaths can v-ontrol your interests, then Mr. Magee confidently expects an acquittal. If amongst you there be cherished one ray of pure religion — if amongst you there glow a single spark of liberty — if I have alarmed religion, or roused the. spirit of freedom in one breast amongst you, Mr. Magee is safe, and hii3 country is served ; but if there be none — if you be slaves and hypocrites, he will await vour verdict, and despise it. And slaves, hypocrites, and bigots they proved themselves, by finding a verdict for the Crown CORK CATHOLIC MEETING. August SO, 1813. \\ E now approach the period when the noted " Veto" controversy began to rage in TrelantL 'I'be next speech of Jlr. O'Connell's was delivered during the progress of a species of agit. iio crowded to tbe meeting, ga\ e rise to a general cry of adjournment, wliicli no exertions ' f the gentlemen near the chair could induce the meeting to suppress. At length James 15ochc, Esq., proposed John Galway, of Lota, to fill the chair: and Mr. Galvtay havinj" Inuxcdiately complied with this invitation, a general outcry was raised against the propri Cty of placmg that gentleman in tlie cliair. He, however, persistcl in holding his place, Dkl tLc opposition of the meeting continued equally deteiininad. Mr. Roche frequently DANIEL. O'CONNELL, ESQ., 51. F. OQ,') tndeavoiired to satisfy the meeting of the fitness of Mr. Galway to f.ll that station, an rc..on:.inende(l them at least to tiy him, but the general complaint against the vote given l>y that gentleman at the General Board in Dnblin, in opi^osition to the motion of thanlts to tlie p''elates, was repeated in several charges, as replies to Mr IJoche's request. In tlic midst of this confusion, Counsellor O'llegan took out from his pocket a sheet of paper with some writing; upon it, which, as well as we could collect, contained the resolutions intended to be proposed by the Board for the adoption of the meeting, and whs proceeding to reaj them, -ft hen he was interrupted by Counsellor Mac Donnell, who called upon him not U. endeavour lo pass his resolutions in such a manner, and at such a moment. Mr. O'Regan did not then proceed, but Mr. Roohe again renewed his endea\ ours to reconcile the meet- ing to Mr. Gahvay as their chairman, but they would not consent ; and the opposition hav- ing continued unabated for a very considerable period of time, Mi*. Mac Donneil suggested to the Board the prudence of substituting anotlier chairman. No answer being given t<> this, Mr. Mac Donnell addressed the chair, and moved that Mr. Rocha should take tlie chair. This motion was sanctioned by almost the unanimous voice of the meeting, but the qucsticn ■was not put, and consequently the confusion continued. Mr. Mac Donnell then proceeded to the place where the Board were assembled, and after Bome conversation between Mr. Roche and other members of the Board with that gentle- man, ilr. Roche again addressed the meeting, and begged they would allow the Board to consider among themselves for a few minutes, and that he could assure them all their ica- sonable desii'es should be complied with. This proposition of Mr. Roche Avas loudly cheered and the Board proceeded to deliberate for about ten minutes, w lien Richard Bany, of Barry's Lodge, Esq., one of the Board, exclaimed, in a very loud voice, " Will you suffer the proceedings of the day to go on ?" Some persons from the crowd replied, " No ; not UT'.til you have another chainnan ;" upon which the Board retired from the meeting. This secession excited great agitation and disgust. Mr. Mac Donnell entreated the gentlemen jiresent to observe strict temperance, as he assiiretl them they could not more gratify tht enemies, than by a violation of good order. He suggested the propriety of appointing an- r)ther chairman at once, as the members of tto Board had thought proper to withdra\< He reconmiended for tieu' choice a gentleman who had done more for their city than any- one of those Mho had then left them — Mr. Timothy Mahony, of Bhickpool. This proposi ticu Axas recei\ed v.ith icud plaudits, and in the meantime Counsellor O'Connell made his appearance, and vas immediately cheered by the greetings and benedictions of the meet- ii;g. He was conducted to the chair, and when the uproar of patriotic exultation which his presence had created had somewhat subsided he addressed the meeting. He told then: that the success of their cause depended on the imanimity of their body ; and illustrated in a most happy strain of eloquence, the advantages of union, and the evils of di\ision These propositions were cheered by unanimous applause, and Mr. O'Connell then finding fie public feeling tg be so well disposed, he quitted the room for the pui-pose of seeing the Board. When Mr. 0"Connell had retired, Mr. Mac Donnell again proposed Mr. Mahony as chairman, and the cry for Mr. Mahony became general ; but owing to the pressure of the crowd in the room, that respectable gentleman had found it necessary to retire. On this bemg ascertained, Counsellor O'Leary was proposed by Mr, .Mac Donnell, and called to the chair by the unanimous voice of the meeting, and, being conducted thereto, the most per- fLct order prevailed. By this time the heat and pressui-e in the room became insupport- a' Ic, and several thousands, who could not gain admittance, became clamorous for an adjournment, which was agreed to unanimously ; and the meeting adjourned, according]}-, *o an extensive open plain, innnediately adjoining the School room. When Counsellor O'Leary had taken the chair at this adjom-ned place of meeting, Timothy Mahony, Esq., addressed him and the meeting, stating that in declining the very high honour they were kind enough to offer him, he was not influenced by any unwillingness to contribute his humble mite to the support of the great cau^e they were assembled to advance ; but, con ■ sc'ious of Ills own feeble abilities to fill so exalted a station, lie willingly and gi-atef-ally re.si.gned the chair to the highly able and respectable ^.'eutleman wiio had >o properly f e«n called to It 3('6 SELECT SFEECHES OF bevera] most ivspoctablc Protestant gentieniea oeing o^iserved at a distaniy, thftre wem a Rcueral expression of wishes for their accomracdation, when Counsellor Dennis a(lvv.:eeii. to the chair, and addressea the meeting to the foil )win'» C fleet :— *'Mr. Chairman find Gentlemen — I beg to make one ohservatiom : I am at this moment lionoured with being the mouth-piece of those good and worthy Protestant gentlemen who have assembled here to sanction by their presence, and assist by their voices, the great^ the glorious, and the just cause in which ye and ourselves are embarked. Gentlemen, wo are distinctly and deservedly your friends — the friends of justice and of truth, because wo are the friends of the Irish people, of Irish Catholics, the best and the most virtuous men upon the face of the earth. But, gentlemen, we lament to behold anything like a division between you ; your great object should be conciliation ; it is the desire of your Protestant friends ; they have no wish to indulge in any but that of general conciliation, because they know that if you do not draw together, you give the triumph to your bitter and irrecon- rileable enemies. But when I look round and behold this immense and respectable meet- ing, there can be no doubt of success. Gentlemen, as your dissenting party were retiring from you, they entreated of us, your Protestant friends, to accompany them, but we efused, because we would not identify ourselves with any party in the Catholic body ; you must allow us to act in the same manner towards you. No, those steady and long-tried friends to your cause — Stawell, Beamish, Crawford — will not attach themselves 1" y party, but go with the unanimous voice of the Irish Catholics. Having stated thus, allow me to mention the resolution we have come to ; we will retire for the present in the hope of an arrangement between yourselves. Allow me, for the present, to depart; accept my wann and ardent feeling— be firm, be united, be unanimous amongst yourselves and your enlightened, liberal, and patriotic friends will be at their post." Counsellor Mac Doimell then addressed the meeting : — "Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen — We have lieard the statement of Counsellor Ueruis — the statement of that good and amiable friend. It is true we have a division, but we have no right to complain of the principle which occasions this division. Gentlemen, under our circumstances, our Protestant friends have taken a high and an exalted stand ; they have not descended to connect themr-elves with that feeble party which have occasioned this' internal division ; but the verj- circumstance of their explanation proves the respect they \iear to you ; as they would not condescend to any explanation with you, if they did not espcct you, and they arc entitled to our wannest thanks. Bat, gentlemen, without obser- Ting upon the conduct of those persons who have deserted your great cause ; yet it .s a 3aty we owe to ourselves, pointedly to mark the conduct which brought about this di\'i- )ion. We are called unanimously to pronounce upon the conZuct of those arrogant men rho win not condescend to act ■with us, unless suffered to lead and drive the people as iiiey may choose ; but yet, under all these circumstances, 1 will call upon you to give up resentment— to forget the injuries they have done you, and I would even still reach out the tlive, rather than flourish the laurel. Would they were no'gs for the next Aggregate MEETrKG. " ' Meeting to be held in the North or South Chapel ; the keys to be delivered to James Uoche, Esq., previous to the meeting. '' ' IVtermination to petition for unconditional Emancipation. " 'Direct condemnation of ecclesiastical arrangements in the late bill. " ' Approval of, and gratitude to the prelates for their general conduct, and particular!} fcr their late address and resolutions. " ' Thanks to Dr. Jlilner for his opposition to the late ill, and faithful discharge of his cuties as agent to the Irish bishops. " ' Tlianks to the members of the Church of Scotland and Synod of Ulster " 'Approbation of the conduct of the General Board. " 'Declaration of the expiration of the term for which the Cork Board was appointed nnd appoint'.ug persons who shall co-operate in Dublin with the General Board in present iiig the petition, 8 SELF.C:2 SPEECH KS OF iions, I have a proposal to make, which, if it meets your sanction, may, under Pi evidence, ha\e the full effect of bringing about a general reconciliation. Gentlemen, nothing can be of more benefit to us than unanimity ; and therefore it is I would pro- pose, that before 3'ou proceed to establish a new Board, or what- ever other mode 3'ou may think proper to pursue, that you give the seceders another opportunity of retui-ning to their post and their duty. Do not conceive that I mean to insinuate that their presence is necessary to establish the justness of your proceeding, - — No, no, gentlemen, I insinuate no such matter ; on the con> trary, it is a fact, a strong fact, that the moment the aggregate meeting assembled, their power was dissolved — you have not again elected them, and they are as nothing without your sup- port. But I am induced to this, that I might be the happy means of effecting unanimity in this great county and city ; my only hope is that of doing good for my poor country^ It is this feeling for the good of old Ireland that is forcing me forward in this instance — and also, because I think we shall be successful. I think those gentlemen have seen their error ; they begin to find they are nothing. I saw them a few moments back, a few .scattered individuals, in a corner of a yard. 1 addressed them, because, though small, very small indeed in their numbers, yet, as -individuals, they are respectable, and I wished to undeceive them of their errors. I asked them if they were Roman Catho- lics, and could they talk about securities 1 I told them to leave securities to the minions of the Castle — to the pensioned hire- lings of the state — aye, and to the Orange Papists too ; but let not them, as honest, honourable, worthy Roman Catholics, insult the public ears with so discordant a sound. I told them, that we had only one security to offer, and that we were willing to surrender our heart's blood, our lives, our properties, our per- sons, in the front of the battle. Away, then, with faction, with party and division — ^give us Emancipation, and we, in return, will give every security in our persons, lives, and properties. Then let faction raise its head, V7e will put it down, spring from what quarter it may. Then let the foreign foe pollute our shores, and we will prove our sincerity and our attachment to that con- stitution, which we are now seeking to receive the benefits of, by driving them before us. At present how are we treated ? Some- thmg m the nature of mad dogs, which they will not let loose without first tying up one of their legs ; so by us, they will give us Emancipation, after we give them security that we .will be skves. Let us then go after those peojjlf^ — let us endeavour to 1)anii;l o'connell, esq.^ m.p. 309 clTect, if possible, an understanding between the anti-vetoists tiad tJie Board. We will endeavour to find out the sound and the perfect. Send your independent and honourable chairman, C/Ounsellor O'Leary, for one of the deputation — let my esteemed and worthy honest friend, Counsellor Mac Donnell, be another — let the Rev. Mr. England be a third ; he is too sincere, upon a good cause, to deny his aid. Fill up the list to the number of ten. I promise you, if we gain no honour in this affair, we shall lose none, I do therefore move. Sir, that a deputation of ten persons be appointed to wait upon the committee, and commune with them on the present differences ; and that they do return in one hour with their reply. After some discussion, Mr. O'ConneH's motion was acceded to and he, with the follow Mg jrentlemen, were deputed to communicate with the Board :- Counsellor O'Leary, Timothy Maliony, Esq. Counsellor Mac Donnell, Nicholas Murphy, Esq. Eev. ^Ir. England (the late much Edmond OFlaherty, Esq. esteemed Right Rev. Dr England, Jamos N. Mahon. Esq. Catholic Bishop of Charleston, Maurice Hoare, Esq. South Carolina,^ Jeremiah Murphy, Esq. Francis J. Moloney, Esq. This deputation accordingly proceedsd, and were admitted to an interview with thi> Board in a bed-chamber ! To this dignified fmU of council the body in question had to re tire, from the hootings of the people, who were becoming exceedingly dissatisfied witli their proceedings. After two hours' delay the deputation returned, and Counsellor O'Ccn- nell addressed the meeting. He informed them that there had been an unanimous agree- ment come to on resolutions perfectly without qualification of any kind, and unequivocally demanding " siinple repeal" as it was phrased — that is, the unconditional abrogation of the penal code. He further stated, that the same unanimity had prevailed with regard to a vote of thanks to the Catholic bishops — and similar votes to Grattan, Donoughmore, and the Dukes of Kent and Sussex. He added that the Board, obedient to the manifestations of popular feeling that day witnessed, would now consider their office at an end ; and their body, as hitherto constituted, entirely dissolved; but that they offered themselves for re-election as members of a Board to consist of double the number of that to which they had belonged ; the latter having been 34, the new Board would therefore, of course, be GS. He thus concluded : — These gentlemen are now coming back repentant, and seeking 310 • SEF.ECT SPEECHES OF your favour; will you refuse it to persons repenting theii errors ? " No," said some persons in the crowd; ^^ we forgive them, and mai/ heaven forgive them /" Aye, you follow that — the pure feeling of our Irish Catholics ! How I love to hear such sentiments — the effusions of honesty bursting from the heart ! Oh, that such sentiments perviided the country — then had we no need of meetings ! But prove your forgiveness. The Board ])ring with them the chairman, whom you, this day, would not allow to preside — but he now comes like the prodigal child ! Oh, Tv'ill you not receive him into your bosoms, and prove yourselves Christians % Is it because he has once done wrong, that you should spuru him throuo'li life? If he did vote against the motion of thanks to our bishops, still he IS now sorry for it ; no doubt it was the error of his judgment; but he sees this error in common with others ; re- ceive him !?nd them cordially, then ; let Mr. Galwey take the chair, and we shall have unanimity, that most desirable of all objects under heaven. As Counsellor O'Coniiell was speaking (says tlie Cork Mercantile Chronicle, from whicL .TC quote), the Board made its appearance, and Mi\ Galwey addressed the meeting. He congratulated the meeting on their prospects of unanimity, and announced that a set of JTosolutions were now to be proposed —twelve certainly, Vr'ith the full concurrence of those with whom ho acted— liut tliat any beyond that number should be dealt with as mei'e individual suggestions open to discussion and opposition. The following resolutions were accordin;^!/ r'ji„u Uy Jame.'' Roche, Esq., who acted as secretary upon the occasion ; — " Resolved — That Iiavin;^ confidently anfcicipated that the beneficenc .tnterpositiou of the legislature v;o;ii.i have, ere now, relieved us from the necessity of a further expres.sion of our complaints, we cannot but lament the disappointment of our just and reasonable expectations. *•' Yet, however acutely we may feel even the temporary postponement of our success, we consider it a matter of real consolation to have found (hat uD actual j^iajority of the 658 memoers, who compose the House ot Co'nYLioiisi, have declared themselves favourable to our relief. '•' llesolved — Tliat nrmly relying en (.he irjimutable justice of our cause, .-•n the v\-i£clora of the legislatuic, and on tlia distinguished liherality of our Protestant bretkrcn, we will persevere in- every constitutional en- deavour to obtain the repeal of those oppressive and impolitic laws by which we are aggrieved. " And that wc do, therefore, in concert with our feliOW-citizeii;= throughout the kingdom, renevr our earnest apphcatious for their total AND UNQPALUiTED REMOV.Vb. " Resolved — That we do adopt the petition of the Catholics of Irelai ul. and that it be referred to the gentlemen now composing the Catholic J)AN1EL o'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 311 Board for this county and city (in conjunction witli the followinj^ namos which are added to the Board), to prepare and forward it at such time, and iu such manner, as shall seem lo them moat conducive to theii success : — Thomas Coppingcr, Luke Shea, Counsellor O'Leary, Edward Reardon, Philip Harding', Bartholomew Foley, Pierce Nagle, jun., John Morrogh, Dr. Pigott, Nicholas ]\Iurphy, Jeremiah M'Carthy, Dr. Donegan, Daniel Clanchy, Denis Ricliard IVIayland, John Shinier, Francis Molony, Anthony O'Connor, Frederick Shanahan, Counsellor Mackey, Alexander M'Carthy, Garrett Nagle, Timothy Mahony, Timothy Donovan, Francis Molony, Dr. Balwin, Jeremiah O'Leary Michael Callag-han, John Cremin, jun., Patrick Russell, James Nicholas Mahon, Maurice O'Connell (of Darryiiane,) Edmond Hore. " Resolved — That the said Board does not consist of any representa- tives of the people, or of any part of the people, and that their sitthigs be open and public. "Resolved — That reposing the most mipi.cit confidence in our revered prelates, a grateful confidence to which their pastoral and personal vir- tues so eminently entitle them, we can never accept of any legislative relief, however unlimited in its political operation, encumbered as on >\ late occasion, with restrictions which they shall declare contrary to the doctrines or discipline of our Church. " Resolved — That among the many able supporters of our cause in parliament, pre-eminent and unrivalled stands the immortal name of Henry Grattan. The splendour of his talents, the extent of his services, and the unabated ardour of his zeal, in the advocacy of our cause, have justly exalted tliis illustriwus patriot lo the foremost place in our esti- mation and gratitude. '•' Resolved — That their Royal Highnesses tlie Dukes of Kent and Sussex, by their zealous and honourable exertions in our behalf, have proved themselves the true supporters of those principles which placed the House of Hanover on the throne, and have received our attachment and gratitude. "Resolved — That the most lively thanks of the Catholics of the county and city of Cork are eminently due, and hereby given to the Right Honourable Earl Donoughmore,and the illustrious family of Hutchinson, for their uniform, manly, and hereditary support of our rightful cause. "Resolved — That we are deeply indebted to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland as well as to the Synod of Ulster, for the libe- rality witli which they have respectively declared themselvec on the subject of our claims. " Resolved — That the zealous and unwearied exertions of the Earl o£ 312 ^ SELECT SPEECHES OF Fingal and the General Board of Ireland, in the cause of Catholir liberty, claim our cordial thanks. "Resolved — That it is a primary and indispensable duty to obtam ior ourselves that constitutional weight wliicb the elective franchise con- fers, and to acquire f^.r our parliamentary friends, that legiclative im- portance which can best ensure the success of our cause. " And we trust our body will carry this into effect. " Resolved —That to relieve the necessities, and increase the industry of a numerous class' of our distressed fellow-countrymen, we most earnestly recommend to our countrymen, the exclusive use of Irish Manufacture." The foregoing resolutions were proposed hy the Board. Here follow t'up lesolirtions partly objected to . — "Resolved — That the warmest expression of our gratitude is due, and hereby offered, to that venerable and indefatigable Catholic prelate, the Right Rev. Dr. Milner, as well for those mighty labours whiiJh his greac mind has suggested, as for that faithful discharge of the high trusi reposed in him, as agent for the prelates of Ireland, who have sanctioned his struggles by their public and grateful approval. " And, that we confidently trust he will proceed in his exertions for our religious preservation and political redemption, unshaken by tlu* hostility of false friends, or false brethren, who have not the good sense to estimate, or the spirit to approve, his generous attachment to our cause and our country. " And, that we feel particularly indebted to that excellent prelate, for his manly, upright, and conscientious opposition tc the ecclesiastic! il arrangements, submitted to parliament during the last session, in the bill purporting to provide for the further relief of his majet>ty's Roman Catholic subjects. "Resolved — That our most grateful thanks are imperatively due. ai;d cheerfully offered to that invaluable Irishman, John Magee, Esq, pro- prietor of the Dublin Evening Post, for his undeviating support of our cause, and manly exposure of the bigotry and profligacy of our enemies of every rank and degree. "Resolved — That the Roman Catholics of the county and city of Cork most gratefully admire the merits, and approve the worth of :hat great and good Irishman, the strong pillar of our cause, and the pride o.'our land. Counsellor O'ConncU — who, in the spirit of constitutional i^ide- peudence, often has undauntedly stood foremost in the fight, whenever the interests of Ireland wert to be defended, her rights demanded, or her enemies confounded. " And that we consider him particularly entitled to our most glow- ing gratitude as Catholic Irishmen, for his virtuous motion in suppoit of our hierarchy, proposed in the General Board on the 29th day (;f May last, and triumphantly carried by a glorious and patriotic majority. "Resolved — That Counsellor Mac Donnell, the patriotic editor of the Mei'vaniile Chronicle, the vigilant sentinel of our rights, the undaunt«\' aud iucorruptible advo'^at^* <'f ( atholic claims anr' religious freed >jh, DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. " 313 has well merited, and continues to. obtain the entire confidence, sincere gratitude, and cordial thanks of this meeting, and that he be appointed a member of the Board. "Resolved — That tlie cordial thanks of the meeting are eminently due, and hereby given to Messrs Stawells, Beamish, senior and junior, Craw- ford, Cuthbert, Blennerhasset, Yates, and many other Protestant gentlemen whose presence, and Major Torrens, Counsellor Dennis, and Mr. Jackson Reid, whose eloquence have slied so bright a lustre on the proceedings of this day. "John Galwey, jun., Chairman. '•' William J. Shkkhy, Secretary." •' As chairman and secretary of the meeting of the Roman Catholics of the county and city of Cork, assembled yesterday, we have considered it our duty to authenticate the proceedings by our signatures. But lest it should be thence inferred that they had received our approbation, v/e do hereby declare our utter dissent from, and do protest against the proceedings there adopted. "J. Galwey, jun.. Chairman. '•William J. Siieehy, Secretary." V e have given the resolutions in their advertised. form, Avith the Chairman and Secie- Ip.ry's protest ajjpended ; and now revert to the period of the meeting when they weru bjought forward, to give in detail the proceedings which were had upon them, and wlu.l gaixriseto this protest, as Avell as to other occurreaces which shall be noticed in due ordsr. After the Chairman's announcement that the Board had "sanctioned" only the first twel/e of these resolutions, and after the three which related to llight Rev. Dr. Milner, to Jo on Magee, and Mr. O'Connell, had been brought forward, read, and proposed by ^;r. HfiC DonneU Mr. K. Moylan tame forward. He protested against the resolutions just proposed hy :.fr. Mac Donnell— dealing thus vith tlie three: — " My first objection is to Dr. .Milner ! "* His tergioersalion is known. He deceived and disappointed our friends in England, and deceived us all ; and his tergiversation is known and acknowledged bj aU .' — (Loud cries of disapprobation.) "And upon the second i)oint I fear not to express my disapprobation of any Vote af thanks to Mr. Magee— a man generally known and acknowledged to stand a convictbd tiiJELLEU ! : !" At this moment, (says the newspaper report,) the shouting against Mr. Mojlan becamis very gi'eat ; and several Protestant gentlemen, who were near the Chairman, were seen to be witlidrawing. Order, however, was restored, with some difficulty; and Mr. Moylan was allowed to pro- ceed. '• AVith respect to the third motion, viz., that of thanks to Counsellor O'Connell— no ncaii respects his private worth more than I do — but if I grant him a vote of thanks, it will t« approving his public conduct ; therefore I cannot give my consent to any vote of thank* t« him. " As an amendment to Mr. Mac Donnell's motion, I therefore move the following, whlob I am. about to read : — '' Resoived — That no spirit of conciliation Lns been, or ever shall be X 31-1' SELECT SPEECHES OF wantiug' on our part ; and that we are ready to make every concessToa to oui* Protestant brethren, consistent with the safety, integrity, anii essential discipline of our Church." Mr. Eugene M'Sweeney, of Mary-street, seconded Jlr JIoy)an's amendment. counsellor Dennis remonstrated, as a Protestant, against this proceeding of Mr. Moylan's »n particular against the use of such epithets to sucii a person as that gentleman had ap- plied to John Ma pee. " Is he, for his virtuous consistency, to have his character profaned, and Mmself termed a convicted libeller '.I Have you never heard of juries being packed, and truth being made a libel ? Oh, reflect ! beware ! — remember the times you live in, and tk . scenes you have lately passed through ! Feel as Irishmen should feel Ljv in your hearts the hero who gloriously falls in a great public cause !" ' . . . . A ter an eloquent address in this strain, he concluded with an exhortation to temper inodorotion ^'c, and the meeting was then addressed by— Co'JXSELLOR O'CoNNii'LL — Ml*. Chairman and Gentlemen, otfer myself to your notice this moment with feelings it is impos- sible to assume. I offer myself in support of two resolutions and most decidedly adverse to the third. It is wrong of you to think of bestowing thanks to one o yourselves, who, in his exertion in common with yourselves, can do no more than merely his duty — to fight and struggle in a good cause. But besides all this, there is no man worthy of v.'^hat is said in that resolution — no man alive could deserve the warmth of approbation so expressed ; and, therefore, I do entreat ofyou, as it entirely regards my person, to dismiss it from your notice as one unworthy of occupying your attention. (No, nc, pass the resolution.) But, gentlemen, it is objected to that enlightened prelate. Dr. Milner, that he at one time agreed to the veto, but that after he changed his opinion ! Oh ! would to God that any man who finds himself in error •MTOuld act thus nobly, and that, believing he might be wrong, would not go about misleading others, but, like the great and good divine, whom they charge with tergiversation, renounce their errors and permit the public mind to repose in peace. Who are those men who charge tergiversation ? Why, they are persons who change hourly — such among them who have opinions to change; for the majority of them possess no opinion at all. Who are those independents, who have so lately started up amongst you ? or what is their title to the character of inde- pendent 'i For my part, I declare 1 do not know in what their independence can exist, except it be that no person can depend on there, (Excessive laughter for a long time.) But yet, these are the persons to come forward and charge lipon an high-minded and deeply-respected divine, " ter^i versa- I DANIEL OCON'XELL, ESQ., M.P. 315 tioii," because upon a point of vital and most essential impor- tance, where his great mind was awakened to a sense of the threatening danger by tlie honest remonstrance of his virtuous brethren, he calmly listens to the dictates of conscience — re- considers, and finding his error, open':y, honestly, and manfully avows it ! He did not allow his illumined mmd to be obscured by the doctrines of this world. No selfish vanity, no worldly pride, prevented him jfrom retracting his errors : he did so ; and like a man, whose kingdom was not of this world, as publicly as ne had erred, were his sorrow and his regret. And, gentlemen, wJiat is Doctor Milner after all but a man 1 Can you expect more of him than you will allow to all other men 1 It is the lot of hu- man nature to err ; but it is only in the greatness of virtue to retract and feel regret. (Cheers.) But look at the erudite politicians ; it is really surprising how modest, meek, and humble those enlightened independents are ; the population of Ireland declare against all vetoism, under all and eveiy shape and form, and these two youths came forward, the one to propose, the other to second a resolution, for what 1 For provisional securities ! That is, you have declared against vetoism ; now under the other name o^ provisional secuvitiec, grant it ; and thus yoi» become tergiversators ? They come forward to give one proposition, which they turn into an adjective, and the other into a substantive, and which substantive cannot support the adjective ; and this is the doc- trine and precious argument upon which you are called upon to defiime the character and wound the feelings of one of the most learned and able men in England ! A prelate who is now op- posed in England by a vile faction, more disgraceful, and pos- sessing wCTse passions, than the infuriated anarchial faction whicli desolated and laid waste the happiness of society in France. The latter were a faction which have brought their country under a wicked militaiy despotism that has ended in subverting the liberties and privileges of mankind. But the faction in England are still more wicked, because thev are the determined enemies of everything virtuous, liberal, honest, and enlightened ! And this is the vile faction which would seek to bow his gray head in sorrow to the grave. They endeavoured to cast him down ; but Ireland met him in his fall, and upheld him. (Cheers.) How glad I sliould be to know those people who are here dis- posed to act against reason and good sense ! How gladly would I labour to convince them of their error. But why shoidd I jlG JSELECT SIEECHES OF jose time '? "Who are thev ? What are they 1 Where are theif numbers ? Is there another man in this immense meeting to join these two youths? Oh, that they could count our numbers this day 1 Will they call for a division ? Oh, for tellers to enumerate our majority ? Oh, -^-hat an appearance those dis- senters would exhibit ! What ! a minority of two or four to countless thousands % And what do they dissent from 1 From ihc very principle now laid down by the Board itself. Mr, Koche just told us, the simple repeal was the defined intention of the Board ; nay, it is one of the resolutions which you have just now carried ; yet those dissenters talk of an amendment of the secuintus. Mr. Eoche is the identical gentleman who has se- conded this motion of thanks introduced by Mr. Mac Donnell, to Dr. Milner, yet, this youug gentleman would tell you to reject it. They talk of securities ; some of the Board were satisfied with the late bill, and voted against your bishop in Dublin ; and upon this it is, perhaps, that those gentlemen dare to talk of security : but your Board have retracted from that conduct, and they have found favour. We will make no charges of tergiversation, nor will we blame those unreflecting young gentlemen, if they now retract their errors. But I will tell those people that are satisfied with the late bill, that so far as being a bill of relief, it was anything else than a charter for emancipation. Oh ! how proud I am of the unanimity I perceive upon this great point j it will be a delight- fnl consolation to the already tortured feelings of the good old prelate ! He has broken no faith with you ; there has been no i)reach of contract ; he has watched with a guardian's care over our interests ; he is too honest, too sincere, too virtuous to de- ceive Ireland ; ho possesses a combination of all the qualities, and all the excellences which should compose the aged prelate, and amongst all these great qualifications and virtues, there is but one thing bad about him, he has for us, perhaps, too much of the Englishman about him. But, gentlemen, when I turn my thoughts on the other branch of Mr. Moylan's speech, what are my feelings ? Oh ! for the pensioned minions of the Castle ! Oh ! for the Attorney-Gene- ral and the prosecutors of Catholics to stand up here to-day and behold a Catholic rise up in a Catholic Assembly, and pronounce JOHN MAGEE a convicted libeller ! ! ! If you would reflect upon the thousands of which you are daily deprived, to bestow upon the wretched hireling prints of the day ; if you could know the sums lavished upon the dull and stupid Patriot — upon the J DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.T. 317 vile and proverbially profligate Correspondent, to abuse, revile. and condemn the people — to blazon forth a bigoted ministry- - you would soon discover that the enlightened and patriotic writer of the Dublin Evening Post, which has the confidence of the people, and a circulation throughout the empire, would have been gladly and eagerly purchased up ! How might then such a young gentleman, so educated, so enlightened, be received at the Castle! how he might have made his way among the minions of a court, instead of his being calumniated as a convicted libeller ' Oh, for a packed jury in soK-.e trying case, where Mr. Moylana fbelinsi's or interests were concerned, to make him know the effect?. 5f courtly influence ! If this Mr, Moylan had seen the masters of Orange lodges sit- ting upon the jury o^ John Magee, he could not long have hesi- tated to decide that John Magjee would have been declared a convicted libeller. If Mr. Moylan had been placed under suci» circumstances, however innocent his conduct, he -too would have been declared a convicted libeller. But of what was he con- victed? Tliat he truly described the character of the Duke of Richmoiid's administration. Is it not in all your recollections, t.aat this great duke dined at tlie mayor's feast in this very city? — that he on. that occasion refused to drink the toast proposed of " the glorious and immortal memory V — and yet, is it not a fact, that this great duke did actually pardon Hall, the Orange- man, the murderer of the only son, and only support of a poor aged widow? Did this noble duke bring to punishment the murderers of the Ctitholics at Curruginsheega? ¥o. And yet this noble duke, with the Attorney-General at his elbow, brings a prosecution bravely into a court of law, to defend the purity of his administration in Ireland ; a iurv of Orano-emcn are em- panaelled ; they find truth is a libel ; ?.nd they find that John Maoree is the libeller. Let this noble duke enjoy the fame he has reaped in this great exploit. I tell him, John Magee is happier in his mind, confined within the dungeon of a prison, than that lord duke is new in his palace, and that when the memory of that lord duko shall 1>3 forgotten in our land, or only recollected with disgust and liorror, the name of Magee, the independent proprietor of the Dublin Evening Post, shall be hailed as the proud and stern ad- vocate of a nation's rights, and the glorious victim of persecution and proscription. To be sure he is now in Kilmainham prison , but he feels no pain for liimself j he only feels for his country — ■ for yo'"" rny Catholio r-ountrvmen j but yea, he will f<^el pair. ^18 SELECT SPEECHES OF when he hoars that at a meeting of the Catholics at Cork, a Catholic Irishman rose uj a-iid sailed him ^- ronvicted libeller!! Bat I call on this young man, not to discredit his name and his family by this transaction ; I call upon him to retract ; it i? tiie only means left him. [Mr. Moylan liere said he ^^t)lrl(i not, a:iC o;ie person sa.d he could not, as Tie was pledged to persevere in it.] Well then, there is no way left but to divide upon it ; lut how can it be accomplished'? Well, is it not provoking that we can- not see what majority they will have against a vote of thanks to John Mogee? There he is in Kilniainham, in the bloom of youth, with a head clear aid intelligent, his genuis bright and brilliant, his heart virtuous and incorruptible. Yes, my country- men, his head is as clear as his heart is honest ; he is a trup Irishman, and I pride myself in calling him my friend. He is ardently, really, honestly attached to his country; he has cause to be so ; he is deeply interested in her peace, tranquillity and glory. He would call oat to her aid, and to the aid of the state, an unbought army of Irishmen, and for these virtues he is ser.- tenced to linfrer out two years in a dungeon ! When it will be imparted to Mr, Magee that this vote of thanks passed this meeting, his honest heart will rejoice ; but what will be his pleasure when he is informed, that if there were an objection he will see that it only called out the greater spirit in the people, he will see that it gave more gravity, more weight, more consequence to the measure. (Cheering.) My good friends, guard yourselves against division ; be watch- ful of those that seek to divide you ; these divisions have put down Ireland — a continuance of them will destroy the finest and fairest country in the world. We have no intense heat in sum- mer to dry up the earth ; we have no chilling colds in winter tc freeze us; we are the most light-hearted people upon anysliore; for seven hundred years our spirit has continued unsubdued. We were never beaten in any battle ; on one occasion we sub- mitted to an agreement, a compact, and that compact was broken not by us, but by those who pledged themselves solemnly to its faifilment. Why, then, should we be abused? Why insulted f Why doubted in our honour, in our integrity? At all events, why quarrel among ourselves? (Cheers.) rf it were not for these cursed divisions, Ireland would be the paradise of the world. (Cheers.) With vespect to the third motion before you, I shall be short DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.F. 319 particularly as it regards myself. Wlien I direct my attention to the great cause I am engaged in, I could not but anticipate the assaults which would be made against me : yet, I set out with a fixed determination, that though I may be deprived of abilities to serve, yet, I knew I had a heart to feel, and thus em- boldened, I trusted more to the excellence of our good cause, than the talent of the advocate ; and if I have in any degree been conducive to the great interests of Catholic Ireland, I re- joice ; nor shall the slanders, or the vile malignities of my ene- mies deter me. I WILL GO ON, and tJie more I am maligned, the more loill I he pleased, and hope for the jjrospect of success, nor ivill I ever doubt myself, v.ntil I slicdl hear those wretched hirelings of corruijtion teem forth odious praise to me I Th^.n doubt me, but not till then. Externally and internally I will fight the enemies of us all; they are sometimes to be found nearer to us than we can sus- pect, and they are the more dangerous for that. I have conti- nued to labour, and will continue so to do. But, adopt not this exaggerated praise offered to me here to-day ; it is not possible I could, or any man could be deserving of it. I give up this point to Mr. Moylan ; I make Mr. Moylan a preseuo :f his mo- tion, and let him give us the rest. (Loud, and pcrsevermg cries of no, no ! we will not, we will not !) Then, beforehand, I thank you, sincerely and honestly I thank }'ou j it entourages, it cheers me on ; I here want language to ♦express my feelings ; / will stand hy you while I live; I WILL NEVER FORSAKE POOR IRELAND. "When the enthusiasm of the auditor}^ after the foregoing speech, subsided enough t<' givo Mm a hearing, Mr. James Roche again came fonvard and seconded ill-. O'Conneirs pro- test against Moylan's amendment. After s me further speaking, Mr. Moylan's amendment to Mr. Mac Donnell's three reso .ntions was put, with the following result, according to the calculations of the newsf>aper8 ; - For the amendment For the votes of thanks to the Right Rev. Dr Milner J^jhn Magee, and Daniel O'Connell, Escirs.. 10 000 MEETING OF THE CORK CATHOLIC BOARF September Srd, 1813. Thjj report of the above meeting, which is from the Cork Mercantile Chronicle, sthl.i that a mistake Laving delayed the attendance of the press, they found Mr. O'Connel- fepeaking. Be proceeded to say that in whatever point of view he ccj> 320 SELECT SPEECHES OF sidered the ^^I'otest, signed by several of the Roman Catholics o. the county and city, ti^e resignation of several members of the Board, and the consequent division between them and the body at large, he would say it was to him. a source of regret, because he was well assured, and well convinced, that unanimity wa;*. strength, and division weakness. Ireland would never have fallen from the pinnacle of gxandeur "apon which she stood as a nation, but for the division of hei children ; and it was often said — ^he hoped, not truly — that if any Irishman were put to the torture, another would be found to iurn the wheel. H> iid not, even upon reviewing these divi sions and distractions, and the steps taken by the protestors, yet give up the idea of beholding a spirit of conciliation pervade the Catholics of the county and city of Cork ; he sincerely hoped they would see jhe necessity of union and harmony, and that every man vrould discharge his duty by his country ; and if the seceders obstinately refused to return to their post, he knew the gentlemen composing the present Board, having the confidence and support of the people, would transact the affairs of the great body of the Catholics, and discharge the gi-eat trust reposed in them, with honour, dignity, and integrity; and the public would not ultimately have to regret either the secession of supposed frieids or real enemies. ,rimong3t the signatures .to the requisition of the Board, and to those of the protest he was alluding to, he sew those of several of the most respectable and enlightened men of the county and city; and why those characters h^-ve seceded from the general wish was yet to be ascertained. Was it because they objected to the 13th resolution, passed at the aggregate meeting ? ISTo, it could not be ; because this re- solution, which was one of thanks to Doctor Milner, was seconded by James Roche, one of the most independent members of the late Board. "Was it, then, on account of the 14th resolution, which was one of thanks to Mr. John Magee, the independent proprietor of the Dublin Evening Post, and offering himself the consolation of the public sympathy % No ! for this resolution met the support of several members of the Board. Thev could not refuse their sympathy to the sufferings of a man who had, for a series of years, devoted his talents and his fortune in fighting their bat- tles, and supporting their right to freedom — a man who had ein- barked his fame on the success of their cause, and for which he altimately brought upon himself the vengeance of the goveni UANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., il.P, 321 raect. The smallest opposition to such a resolution from one of that body would afford him more real pain than the imprison- ment of two years, to which he has been consigned. Was it, then, in consequence of the loth resolution, adopted at Monday's meeting ? He could not conceive it was. That re- solution was seconded bv Mr. T. Dcnehy, one of the Board, and supported by several other members of that body. This vote was one of compliment to himself He considered that indeed it should be flattering that his poor exertions in the cause of his country met the approbation of the meeting ; but much as he valued that sentiment, he would freely forego the pleasure it af- forded him, if it tended in the smallest degree to create any di- vision or disunion among the Catholic body. For himself, he wished for freedom much ; for his children, he wished for it more ; but he sought and wished for that blessing much more for his enslaved and afflicted country. For this gi-and object he fought unceasingly and unremittingly, and encountered obstacles and difficulties that could, most probably, have dismayed a man of a less ardent or sanguine mind. (Great cheering.) He would ask, was it to the 16th resolution the Board and protestors so strongly objected] This certainly was one of the reasons that induced the resignation cf the Board ; and. he would not have presumed to say so, but that it was publicly avowed by the majority of that body. They declared they would not act with Counsellor Mac Donnell. He, as well as the other members of the Board, was appointed by the only legitimate authority — that is, by the voice of the people, at the aggregate meeting ; and they had no right to question that appointment ; neither h:^d they the power to resign that authority with which they were invested, until they did so to the people at the next aggregate assembly. Therefore there was no legal resignation of the Board : they were still in existence as members of that body ; and he still entertained the fond hope that they would surrender any irritated, disappointed, paltry feeling, at the shrine of concilia- tion, and as men of honour, give credit to the public voice, and return to the post they would appear to have deserted. He would like to meet the meiabers among the protestors who were security-men, and those who considered themselves not Becurity-men, and who might have signed that document from other causes, in fair reasoning and argument. He would wish to give any man credit for the purity and honesty of his motives and as a diversity of opinion existed among them, it was per fectly catural, among men exercising their own free judgment* 322 SELECT SPEECHES Of upon gi*eat uatioual and political questions, in which all were equally interested ; while he would pay his tribute of respect to their opinions, even though erroneous, he would endeavour to correct, by calm discussion and plain truths, the fallacy of their judgments and opinions. He hoped there was some person present that would convey to those security-men the reasons why those securities cannot be complied with ; because it would be entrusting to the hands of men who were no j iidges of their religion — either of its tenets or discipline— and who could feel no anxiety in its support or pre- servation, but tlie contrary, the management of its affairs, and the appointment of its hierarchy ; and even though we were disposed to join the Orangemen in giving up oiu' religion into such hands, we would not do so without the previous consent of the Pope. This the Bishops have unanimously declared ; and it is out of the nature of things that the Pope could be consulted at present — and when he could, it was impossible to tell. tlufortunately the Pope is under the power of Bonaparte. It is the interest of that military despot that the divisions and ani- mosities existing in the empire should be kept alive and conti- nued. He is proud that the Roman Catholic millions of this country should be kept in slavery, knowing that the power of England is thereby weakened ; and though we did offer the se- cm'ities required, we cannot, from Bonaparte's conduct hitherto, suppose him the dupe of such extreme absurdity and folly as to suffer any communication with the Pope which would tend to heal the divisions amongst the people of the empire. It was absurd to think of the idea ; and it was equally absurd to press those securities (which could not be given, though we were satisfied to do so) as a bar to the freedom of a brave, loyal, aod suffering people. There are (said Mr. O'Connell) fourteen Ptoman Catholic dio- ceses ac present vrcant in this country ; and it is impossible to appoint bishops to them, because there can be no communica- tion had with the Pope. His approbation is absolutely neces- sary ; and will it be contended that those bishoprics would be continued thus vacant, if the Pope's approbation in the appoint- ment could be dispensed with ? It is a part of the discipline of the Catholic Church that cannot be given up ; and however those security-men may pant for freedom, the g^eac body of the Catholics would not accept it in barter for their religion. " But," say those who clamour for those securitiec, " 'f the present Pope died, Bonaparte would undoubtedly raise lo the DANIEL OXONXELL, ESQ., M.P. 32o Papal chair his nnclc, Cardinal Fcsch." Be it so. Tie was willing to meet them, upon every fliir ground. They say, it Cardinal Fesch was the Pope, he would be the creature of Bona- parte, and subject to his control ; and having the nomination o^ the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, he would only appoint such men to that dignity as would be disaffected to the 13ritish go- vernment, and who would best suit the views of Bonaparte Cardinal Fesch i who is in disgrace with his nephew, and in exile, because he ojjposcd, and would not saiution his rr^arviage with his present wije / AVas the man who thus opposed Bonaparte, and refused to lend himself to his ambitious or capricious views, likely to degrade and disgrace the Papal chair, by submitting to his will in the appointment of bishops for this country ? In time of war, he could not be at all consulted for that purpose ; and if peace were brought about previous to Catholic emancipa«tion, who would expect the attainment of that measure from the British ministry? There were thirty-four bishoprics vacant in France at present, because, that same Cardinal Fesch ivould not siihmit that his nrphexv skoidd have the least control in their appointincnt. He would not suffer that one of them should be filled by any of his creatures ; and if this be the principle by which the cardinal is governed in the country where BonajDarte rules with despotic sway, is it to bo supposed that when ttiis country shall be at peace with France, he will act upon a different principle in the appointment of bishops for this country, in which Bonaparte can have then no interest whatever ? Yet the British ministry demand those securities which were attached to the bill almost passed in the house of parliament — and these prepared by men who did not imderstand our religion ; yet they undertook to regulate that which they knew nothing about, without coy.sulting one Roman Catholic prelate, clergy- man, or layman. And this was called, in this city, a charter of Emancipation ! ! AVe cannot surrender our religion into the hands of such men. If we were disposed, we could not do so. We will give them se- curity, however. We will share vith them our prosperity and our blood ; and if they want a precedent for enacting a charter of Emancipation, and for their redeeming their brethren and country fr"»m slavery and bondage, we will give them the pre- cedent of the Diet of Hungary, who were exclusively Poman Catholic. That independent bod'/, in 1791, granted, without veto or eccuri'/ies, the privileges of the state \o Protestants, and 324 SELECT SPEECHES 0.' tjveiT other relif^ionists, and embraced their coimtrvrr.eii as bro- tbren. This passed only twenty years ago, and it was a noble example set to other nations. Let the British act towards Irish- men with the same spirit of freedom and conciliation, and they would be found to live in the hearts of a proud, brave, and en- thusiastic nation. It was remarkable that amidst all the agitation of the Catho- lic question tliroughout Ireland— and he felt pride in stating it — no spirit of disaffection was to be traced amongst its people ; that though they called aloud for Emancipation, they pursued their legitimate object loyally and constitutionally. At the dif- ferent assizes throughout the country for the last circuit, not an individual was charged with being disaffected to the government. No; not a single person was even tried upon the AVhiteboy Act, and this argued the quiet and undisturbed state of the country ; and this fact he would throw in the face of the hirelings who would attempt to charge the agitators of the Catholic question with disaffection. The people of the country caught at the sym- pathy ofiered them by their agitators, and in this sympathy was peace and harmony preserved. He would again revert to the protestors. He could not well divine their meaning ; and amongst the rest, there was one pro- testor who stood alone — he meant, Mr. John Boyle. Neither could he well tell what was intended by his protest. All he would say of him was, that he considered him a man endowed with talent ; and if he had a little ballast with the sail, he thought he would prove a respectable and useful Irishman. If those protestors succeeded to the utmost, they might form a body of one, or two, or three hundred persons — they were cer- tainly, in point of prosperity, men of consequence and respecta- bilit}', but in point of numbers, insignificant indeed; if they continue their desertion of the popular feeling, they will be opposed to five millions of their fellow-slaves — and they will be spoken of through Ireland with contempt — they will appear as if fighting against their country. At one period, Lord Fingal. and several of the most respectable persons seceded from the general and popular feeling, and in a very short time they found they had a sacred duty to perform, and they returned. He did hope that the seceders in Cork would be found to act with the like good sense — that they would return ; the present members of the Board invited them to join in the sacred cause in which all were alike interested, and have pointed out the bane- ful effects of disunion upon the countrv, at other periods of her history. DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 32 V If, however, they persevered in the desertion, he said he was convinced that tlie Board would hereafter be governed by tb spirit' of harmony towards all their brethren, that was breathed throughout the resolutions then passed ; that they would watch the interests of their cause, aided by the voice of the people by ^hom they were chosen, with firmness and temper, and that the protestors would be found only as flies on the wheel in its motiorj . Mr. O'Connell then read the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth resolutions, wli'.c'i *cre put by the chair and carried unanimously. On the sixth being put, Mr. O'Connell said he hoped he would be excused saying a few words. It was not necessary to arou?e the people of Cork to a sense of the obligations they owed, in unison with every Irishman, to the illustrious family of tho Hutchinsons ; the last elections called their particular attention to the registry of freeholders, and they have acted upon it ; the resolutions then read would still operate as a further stimulud upon them for exertion. If the late Board had made or adopted proper arrangements previous to the election, and if a spirit of apathy had not seized them, this great and commercial city would not be represented by Dumley Longfield — nor robbed, as it was now, of its true and honest representative, the patriotic Christ ci- pher Hely Hutchinson. (Cheers.) 3Ir. T. S. Coppinger and Counsellor Mac Donnell spoke strongly on the subject of irhh Manufacture; and the latter suggested that the preference of everything Irish to English should he urged on those parents who sent their sons to England for educa:^n. Counsellor O'Connell thought that would be doing much; the sure way of doing business was to do a little at a time. He did condemn, as much as his learned friend, the absurd practice of sending children to be educated in England. Since the Union he knew, out of fifteen young gentlemen who had got an English education, one only to be a man of talent ; seven broke their fortunes, and others were engaged in every species of dissipation and folly. So much for the advantage of an English education. He would not have this topic form part of the re- solution, as in a very short time he was convinced the evil must remedy itself. There was another branch of trade that deserved the notice ard encouragement of the Board — he meant the cotton trade. A^ one period it fi.nirished, and it was now as much depressed as any ether branch of trade. The English sent over some cords 5Ljid velveteens, and undersold the Irish manufacturer ; the fact was, that though the Irish goods were sold at a higher price, it 32 G SELECT SPEECHES OP was by no means clearer than the English. It was fc und at the end, to be more lasting, and give much m^re wear than the other, yet the people were led away by the appearance of the English article and the smaller price, and therefore gave it the preference ; thus this branch of trade was completely ruined. It only required a proper spirit amongst the people to put an end to this monopoly; let them be taught what was of real ad- vantage to their country, and it must flourish. It was the finest country under heaven — indented with the finest harbours, and inhabited by the bravest men in the world — and it only required the cordial co-operation of all her sons to make it the happiest country in the globe, (Cheers.) He concluded by reminding the Board, that the day-notca would inform them who it was that imported goods from England. This was one of the many occasions in Mr. O'Connell's life, when he laboured in the good cause of the deserving, hard-working, and most skilful artizans of Ireland. We shall have, unfortunately, to note the failure \.f several such efforts— as all such must fail, till the vitality of industrj' he restored with the money and rich consumers of the country, by the repeal of the eriiaciating Act of Union LIEUTENANT O'CONNELL. Ari we have been spealdng of relatives of Mr. O'Connell, the following brief notice of one towards whom he cherished a strong affection, will find an appropriate place here, from tiie Dublin Evening Post of Saturday, September 25, 1813 : — " The successful storming of St. Sebastian (31st August), from the nature of the obstacles opposed by a scientific enemy, confessedly ranks first, in point of military achievement on the part of the allies. Many of our countrymen distinguished themselves most conspicu- ously upon that memorable occasion. The relatives of the fallen heroes, though under the influence of national or Spartan pride, must notwithstanding feel heart-rending grief, ' not loud but deep,' for the irreparable loss sustained in their domestic society. " In no instance, perhaps, will this adversity be more poignantly felt than in the famaily of Lieutenant John O'Connell, of the 43rd Regiment, a near relative of the Counsellor of that name, a brave and promising youth, whose talents as a soldier would indubitably, on« day or other, do honour to his couutry, when those disabihties imder which the greater part of his Majesty's Irish subjects labour should have been removed. " He volunteered on the forlorn hope at the ever-memorable siege of Badajoz, M-here ha v.-as severely wounded ; and on the attack on St. Sebastian, he sought a post of danger where he gloriously fell in the arms of victory, " The meritorious death of this young officer leads the writer of this to tSKC notice cf a circumstance well worthy of remark in the Irish character— that although a difference of political principles at home may prevail for a time, yet when their country demands thei| aid, every sentiment is abandoned but those of loyalty and union. Party is regarded as eubordinate, or as the 'reverie of an idle dream ;' all pi-ciudicft is abandoned, and nothing appears but a desire to defend the king, the country, ana 'ha scrtsritution—tLcs refuting 8be btvsc calaainies of some, who would shv that a diffftunoe of rolisious npiuioca constl- TDAXIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., JI.T. 32? tiites a differencft of loyalty ; and who ■would cloud tlie imagination of tlic young solriicr \rith mistaken ideas, tending on)y to mislead his opinions, and tlirow an insupei-able bar- rier in the path of his military career." Mr. O'Connell's afl'ection for this gallant young man, which had hsen manifested in move 5hur. words— having extended to the equipping and furnishing him with all necessary mat- ters, v.hen joining the army— was most fervidly and devotedly reciprocated by its object. What a condition was that of the Irish Catholic soldier at the time in question ! He might fight; naj-, he did tight, bleed, die for England— in England's wars; and the chains of liis fellow-Catholics, and of his country, were all the more firmly rivetted by his sacri- ticesl During the progress of the autumn. Catholic meetings were held in vaiious parts of Iro- l.-uid besides those already noticed ; and resolutions similar in substance to what had bcuc passed elsev,-here, were vmiversally adopted. Mr. O'Connell's conduct, therefore, in respect of the Veto question, at the trial of Magee, r.nd all other occasions that he had come before the public, was stamped Avith the seal cf general approbation and concurrence. Late in October he returned to Dublin, in time to attend the second meeting of the Catholic Board, after its re assembling for the winter '''■campaign. ' On Saturday, October 20, 1S13, Mr. Connell proposed a resolution for general adoption by the Catholics of Ireland, declaring against the introduction of any measure into Parlia- ment, affecting in any way Catholic discipline, without previous examination and approval of it by the Catholic prelates. His object was to endeavour to smoothen the y;Sky to the mistaken " security"-mGa to return to Catholic agitation ; and so to effect a restoration of entire harmony in the Catho- lic body. But a violent opposition having arisen to the resolittion, en the ground that it icight be interpreted as an indirect approval of some fona of " securities," Mr. O'Connell, though imconvinced of it-s having any such tendency, withdrew it, and so had to abandon tor a season the hope of restoring unanimity to the popular councils. THE KILKENNY RESOLUTIONS. TRIAL OF JOHN JOlGEE. Ox the 19th of Novemoei, the imfortunate John Magee was brought up in custody to plead in the King's Bench to an indictment for publishing the resolutions of the Kilkenny Catho lies, in which, while complimenting him and his counsel, they assailed the Duke of Rich- mond, The Attorney-General strongly opposed Mr. O'Connell's motion to the court, that llr. Magee, who had entered his plea of "not guilty," should be allowed to "traverse in prox," in the usual way. Mr. Justice Day ineffectually suggested to the Attorney-General the fitness of acoeding, if for no other reason than the advanced state of the term, and pressure of business. Attorney-General (Saurin) — My lord, I certainly will not consent If cotmsel foj tha traverser can show, that in point of law he has the right, I shall bow with submission ; but if not, I consider it most material, aa well to the public justice of this country as to the administration of the law, that the trial be proceeded on as speedily as possible. Mr. O'Connell— It is clearly the right of the subject, in cases C'f misdemeanour, to traverse in prox ; and Mr. Justice Day will 32 S SELECT SPEECHES OF please to recollect that at the last summer assizes cf the county of Monaghan, where he presided as judge, several persons who had been indicted for a riot and assault, availed themselves of the right we now contend for, and had their trials postponed till the next assizes. The case of " the King v. M. O'Connor," indicted for a misde- meanour, before the Chief Baron, was another recent instance where the practice was recognised and adopted. It is laid down in the 4th vol. of " Blackstone's Commen- taries," that it is usual to try all felons immediately, or soon after their arraignment ; but it is not customary, nor agreeable to the general course of proceedings — unless by consent, or where the defendant is actually in gaol — to try persons indicted for smaller misdemeanours at the same court in which they have pleaded not guilty, or traversed the indictment. Mr. Justice Blackstone does not say that it may not be done — but he declares that it was not customary nor agreeable to the . course of legal proceedings. It is for the counsel for the crown to show that there exists a legtil distinction in the practice be- tween the term and the assizes — both being, in contemplation of law, considered only as one day. • Xr. Perrin, in support, cited the " great Anglesea case," in -which one of the witnesses taving been indicted for perjury, Baron Mountenay held that thougli justice required ac Immediate trial, vet the traverser, being indicted for a misdemeanour, had a right to i':>st pone I'r. O'Connell — It would be impossible foi his client to be prepared. Mr. Townshend had said the Court oiight issue its precipe, and order a jury to be returned in five minutt•.^■ Mr. Townshcnd begged t}ie learned gentleman's pardon— Ae said no such tldng. AVhat he had said Mas, that the Court might issue its precipe, and direct a jury to "be returned insianter .'" Mr. O'Connell would not argUe the point of distinction between the great space of tiine oii7istanter and Jive minutes ; but he would contend that the crime of iciljul and cormpt perjury was more atiocious than that of a supposed libel for publishing resolutions, which he presumed tlie traverser'-had never seen until they were in print. Mr. Justice Day and Jlr. Justice Osborne considered that the practice applied only t« assi7.es or quarter sessions : and the Attcraey-General then piessed that Wednesday, the 24th of the month, sliould be fixed. Mr. OCciniell — Tliere are no less tlian eleven counis contained in the indictment — eleven distinct offences charged in it. The transaction arising in Kilkenny, at a considerable dis- tance from town, it will be quite impossible for Mr. Magee to be prepared on so short a notice. Kemonstrunce. however, was useless — the Attorney-General persisting in his appobit- ment. Mr. -^jagee's appearance the day on which the foregoing proceedings took placC; "s^ nuch remaiJjed upon. His confinement had jvidently impaired his health; and irisih'' have induced some feeling of mercy in the breast even of an ordinarily herd-hejirted wtv\. But they were tigers tliat m.anaged Irish affairs then, and nothing but liunting tiioir .'u" tlnid (i.owu to the Ucat'i could allay their savage appetites. DANIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. "29 We postpone Catholic meetings, proceedinfrs, Ac, to follow out the history ol the hunt. On Wednesday, the 24th November, the traveiser was duly brought up again, for U.e parpose of taking his trial for the allerred libel on the Duke of Richmond, in the K!'.kern7 resolutions of the 4th of August ; and also •' To hear the judgment of the. Court on the motion made to set aside the ver Jict 3n liis former prosecution :" The latter scent was first harked upon ; and the leading blood-hound, the Chief Justice, delivered, at considerable length, the opinion of the Court — that the verdict ought to stand; and ordered the traverser (who had been in Kilmainham since the preceding terir.) to be brought up on the next Saturday, to receive sentence. A conversation then occurred as to affidavits in mitigation, on the one side, and aggra- ^■ation on the other, of the impending sentence ; and the Attoi'iiey-General, " Still cheering on the prey,'' strongly urged that the veiy next day should be fixed for bringing his victim up. Some glimmerings of humanity, or more likely of shame, awoke in the Chief Justics's breast, at the earnest appeal of Mr. O'Connell, against the unfairness of not allowing somo little time to the prisoner to answer the affidavit of the pi-oseeution ; and the greai iiidist- gence was conceded of ttpo days for that pui-pose. Mr. O'Connell then addressed himself to the argument respectmg the traverser's r7g^r f o traverse in prox in the matter of the indictment for the Kilkenny resolutions. The court of King's Bench, he said, had, from the earliest period recognised the practice as the right of the subject — a rio-ht never violated but once, during the reign of James II. ; and re- Rtored again early in the reign of his successor, Wil'iam III. The instance he alluded to was the celebrated case of the seven bishops. The Clilef Justice intarposed, that if theCmirt had decided the question t 'e previo.i.^ day, it ought not now to be re-opened. , Mr. Justice Osborne set him right as to the fact of its not having been decided am'. your lordships will find it thus laid down. This was plainly the ancient practice ; because tliere vv'as no continuance from the appearance day to the time of declarii^f,', there being no precedent of lihertas narrandi ; therefore th-i declaration must be of the same term. But in the Kino-'s Bench, when a defendant comes in on a criminal process, which is sud- posed to issue on a complaint to, and by examination of, the Chief Justice, the defendant is not discharged till the second term after Ids appearance ; for in the first term, all parties con- cerned might possibly not have notice. When a man comes in on criminal process, he had liberty tx; traverse in prox (it is strange said Mr. O'Couuell, here pausing' in his reading — it is strange how Lord Chief Baron Gilbert ccdvl Y 330 SELECT SPEECHES OP have used this phrase, "which the Attorney- General lately siig- matised as so mdgar!) on all bailable offences, because he might not be prepared for trial with his witnesses ; but it was otherwise in capital cases, because there was oath of the orime, (fee, kt. He (Mr. O'Connell) admitted that the case of the seven bishops was contrary to these principles ; but even then one of the judges, Mr. Justice Powel, differed with the rest of the court and preserved his integrity duiing that infamous and de- praved reign, when every case between the king and the subject was decided by the other three judges against the liberty of tlie subject. There was another case, in 2nd Salkeld, page 515, to which he would call their lordships' attention : — "King's Bench, Michael- mas Term, 1st of William and Mary. — If a man be bound b}- recognizance to appear on the first day of term, and is charged on his appearance with an information, in case the information be laid in Middlesex, the party has time to plead during all that term, so that it cannot come to trial in the term ; but in case it be laid in any other county, the party shall have time to ulead till the next term ; for he is as much concerned to defend himself in those cases as in any civil action ; and since the law allows him counsel, the law likewise allows him time to consult with them : for not to allow the means of defence, is to take away the subject's defence. Otherwise it is in capital cases ; but note — in these cases there are no counsel, &c., &c. (Decided pe^' curiam, contrary to the case 3f the seven bishops.) Mr. O'Connell then cited the 37th Geo. III. c. 30, to the same point; and concluded by observing that both the common and the statute law " had recognized the right of the subject, in vulgar epiiAe<5— according to the Attorney-General — to traverse inprox." f The Attorney-General replied, citing cases in support of his position. He failed, however, even with that court ; and the trial was ordered to stand over to Monday, the 31st day of January, 1814. But the victim was not to escape. The other matter came on at the appointed t:me- The following is a brief account : — The Attorney-General commenced with referring in strong terms to the whole course ol the defence of Mr. ]\Iagee, since the beginning of the prosecutions— or rather fetsecuinma — most particularly Sir. O'Connell's spcec^ies in defence, which he characterised in the most violent terms. He urged in aggravation of sentence ilr. Magee's publication of tha f^ech in question, and declaration of approval of it. The Attorney General did his utmost also to enlist the personal feelings of the Chief Justice, by drawing his attention to 5Ii. O'Connell's scarcely-indirect charges against hir; TO the occasion mentioned. The. following was Mr. O'Ccnnell's reply ;— DANIEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., M.P. 33l COURT OF KING'S BENCH. Saturday, 27th Nov., 1813. Tiu: Attorney-GeneraV s Motion in Aggravation of Sentence on Mr. Magee, for Publishing a Report of the Trial of The Kino at the Prosecution of Fis Grace the Duke op Richmond against John Magee, Proprietor of tlie " Dichlin Euening Postr Mr. O'Connell. — I am sure, my lords, that every gentleman present will sympathise in the emotions I now experience. I am sure no gentleman can avoid feeling the deepest interest in a situation in which it is extremely difficult to check the strongest resentment, but quite impossible to give that resentment utter- ance in the severity of language suited to its cause and proro cation. Yet, even here, do I yield in nothing to the Attorney- General. I deny, in the strongest terms, his unfounded and ab- surd claim to superiority. I am his equal, at least, in birth — • his equal in fortune — his equal, certainly, in education ; and as to talent, I should not add that, but there is little vanity in claiming equality. And thus meeting him on the firm footing of undoubted equality. I do rejoice, my lords — I do most sin- cerely rejoice — that the Attorney-General has prudently treasured up his resentment since July last, and ventured to address me in this court in the unhandsome language he has used ; becauso my profound respect for this temple of the law enables me here to overcome the infirmity of my nature, and to listen with patience to an attack which, had it been made elsewhere, would have met merited chastisement. Justice Daly — Eh ! What is that yon say f Justice Osborne, with much apparent emotion — I at once declare, I wiU not sit here tt listen to such a speech as I have seen reported. Take care of what you say, sir. Mr. O'Connell — My lord, what I say is, that I am delighted at the prudence of the Attorney-General, in having made that foul assault upon me here, and not elsewhere, be- cause my profound respect for the bench overcomes now those feelings which, elsewhere» ATould lead me to do what I should regret — to break the peace in chastising him. Justice Daly — Chastising! The Attorney-General ! If a criminal information were ap- plied for on that word, we should be bound to grant it. Mr. O'Connell— I meant, my lords, that elsewhere thus assailed, I should be carried away by my feelings to do that which I should regret— to go beyond the law— to inflict corporal punishment for that offence, which I am here ready, out of consideration for the Court, to pardon. Justice.Osbocne— 1 will take the opinion of the Court whether jou shall not he com- xiitted. Chief Justice- If you pursue that line of language, we must call upon some other of tK ■counsel at the same side to proceed. Justice Day— Now, Mr. O'Connell, do not you pciccive that, while you talk of suppres-sms? those feelings, j-ou arc actually indulging tiiem? me Attorney -General could not moa:; 3o2 SELECT SPEECHES OF you offence in the lino, of argument he pursued to ennanoc tlie punishment, in every vay, of your client. It is unnecessary for you to throw off, or to repel, aspersions that are n%n made on you. Mr. O'Connell — My lord, I thank tou — I sincerely thank you. It reheves my mind from a load of Imputation when I hear such high authority as that of your lordship kindly de- claring that it did not apply to me. And yet, my lord, what did the Attorney-Genera* mean when he called a question a senseless and shameless question ? . AVhat did he mean when he — he, my lord — talked of low and vulgar mind ? What did he mean when he Im- pa-*! to the advocate participation in the crime of the client ? This he distinctly charged me with. All I require from the Court is the same liberty to repiy with which the At- torney-General has been indulged in attack. All I ask is, to be suffered to answer and rcs pcl the calumnies with which I have been assailed. Justice Daly — You shall have the same liberty that he had ; but tlie Court did not un- derstand him to have made any personal attack upon you. Justice Osborne — We did not understand that the Attorney -General meant you, when lie talked of a participator in the crime of your client. Attorney-General — I did not, my lords. I certainly did not mean the gentleman. To •state that I did would be to misrepiesent my meaning, which had nothing to do with him. Mr. O'Connell — Well, my lords, be it so ; I rejoice, however, that this charge is thus publicly disavowed, and disavowed in the presence of those who heard his words originally, and who liave heard me repel any attack made upon me. I rejoice to find that your lordships have interposed your opinion that no ] »ersonal attack has been made upon me, and thus have rendered unnecessary any further comment on what had flowed from the Attorney-General. I am, therefore, enabled at once to go into the discussion of the merits of my client's case. And now let me first solemnly and seriously protest against the manner in which the Attorney- General seeks to aggravate the punishment. It is by introducing into the affidavit of the attorney for the prosecution, passages from the speech of counsel at the trial. These, perhaps, are times in which it may be de- sired by him, as it certainly is safe for him, to make bad pre- cedents. But against this precedent I enter my earnest, my .lonest, my independent protest. My protest may, for the pre- sent, be disregarded ; but it will accompany the precedent in future times, and if not destroy, perhaps mitigate, its evil effects. I therefore do protest against it, on behalf of the bar, and on behalf of the public. What ! is the Bar of Ireland to be thus degraded, that it shall be permitted to the inferior branches of the profession, to every attorney in the hall, to drag into affidavits the names of counsel, and their discourses for their clients? If it be permitted against a defendant in a criminal case, it must be equally, or rather more liberally, allowed to civil suits. There will, in future, be no mo- tion for a new trial without introducmir the rarne of counsel. Daniel o connell, esq., m.p. 33 o dTid his exertions for his client, and perhaps his politics — per- chance his religion ! We shall be subject to a commentary upo!\ the Oath of Attorneys. The debate on motions will not bo what the pleadings state, or what the witnesses swore, or what law was laid down by the judge ; but the discussion will turn upon the sp-eech of the counsel, what it was he said, what he thought. A meaning will be afiSxed, by an attorney's swearing, upon every sentence of the counsel, and he shall not dare to describe crime, or to portray criminality, lest the general description of oftence may be transmuted by the oath of an attorney into particular and powerful individuals ; and whilst he ought to have his mind at complete liberty to look for all the topics to serve the cause of his clients, and to confute the arguments of his adversary, he will in future be fettered and encumbered by the dread of ex- posing himself to the imputations of the adverse attorney, and the compliments of the bench. I do not think any gentleman ought to condescend to advocate a cause under such circumstances, or that he could continue highrminded and worthy of his rank in society, if he "were to submit to snoh degi*adation. Against this practice now, for tJae first time, attempted to be introduced — against the first but mighty stride to lessen the dignity of an honourable profession, I proclaim my distinct, une- quivocal, and solemn dissent. But the privileges of th^ bar, howover interesting to a numerous and respectable class of men, sink into insignificance when contrasted with the rights of ibe public. The public have a right to the free, unbiassed, and un- intimidated exertions of the profession. If the bar be controlled — if the bar be subjugated — if the profane hand of the Attorney- General may drag the barrister from the high station of respon- sibility in which he is at present placed, and call for censm-e on the client for the conduct of the barrister, then indeed will it be quite safe for power to oppress and to plunder the inhabitants of the land; in vain shall the subject look for a manly advocate, if he is to be exposed to the insolent mockery of a trial of him- self in the shape of an attack upon his client. How [ire the powerful to be resisted? How are the great to be opposed when they menace injustice ? Certainly not by the advocate who fears that whilst he endeavours to serve his client he shall injure himself; certainly not by the barrister who has reason to appre- hend that his language, being distorted in an attorney's affi- davit, will expose him to censure from those to whom he cannot reply. It is the first interest of the piiblic that th3 bar shall be left oC^-i SELECT SPEECHES OF free. No inconvenience can result from this freedom, becaass it is always subject to the discretion of the judge who presides at the trial. He has it in his power to stop any proceeding in- consistent with pronrietv • bn-^ iC iie does not interfere at the trial when tli>.' advocate coiild defend himbelf and assert his right, wiiat authority has l^een foand to warrant an appeal to a future courc, m oraer to punish that whicli ought not to have been prevented ? In short, the public are deeply interested iu our independence ; their properties, their lives, their honours, are entrusted to 'uS; and if we, in whom such a guardianship is confided, be degraded, how can we afford protection to others ^ Lessened in our own esteem^ habituated to insult, we shall dwin- dle in talent as in character ; and, if the talent may remain, it will be simply useless to the oppressed, greatly serviceable to the oppressor. For the public, therefore, who may easily be en- slaved, if the bar be debased, I again enter my solemn protest against this bad precedent. For myself, I have scarce a word to say ; talents I do not possess, but I never will yield the freedom of thought and of language — I never will barter or abandon the independence of the profession. It may injure me ; I know it will injure me, and I care not ; but as long as I belong to the Irish bar, I will be foynd open, decided, manly, independent. Unawcd by the threats or frowns of power, holding in sovereign cor.tempt the vile solicitations of venality, and determined to do my duty in de- spite of every risk, personal and public — the enemy of every op- •■vression and fraud — the unalterable friend to freedom. I have a fault — I know it well — in the eyes of the Attorney-General. The spirit that invented the inquisition exists in human nature ; that there was an inquisition proves the existence in nature of an inquisitorial spirit. Nature is not calumniated when she is charged with all the atrocity of bigotry in design and action ; and towards me that design has an object that is easily under- stood. To check the Popish advocate may, in the eyes of the Attorney- General, be a work equally pious and prudent ; but he proudest feelings of contempt may defeat his intention and place me above the reach of malevolence. From myself and from this strange precedent, I come to the case of my client. It is my duty to show your lordship that the matters stated for aggravation ought not to affect my client; It would be unjust — it would be cruel — it would be atrocious ti punish him by reason o^ the controversy into which I have been driven ; that, I am sure, tho court ought not, and therefore wiU DAKIEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. 335 not do. Neither can you punish him for jjuhlishing his trial, J: is admitted that his report is a true report of the trial ; the truth of the report is not even controverted ; and having this fact admitted, that he has given a true report, the law is clear ; it is clear no indictroent or information, nor any criminal pro- cess can be maintained against a person who publishes a true report of our proceedings in our courts, nor does any civil action iie for such report. It is laid down in 2 Hawk. 354, that nothing is a libel, or can become the subject matter of a criminal prosecution as such, which occurs in the course of proceeding in a court of justice : and the case of Astley v. Young in 2 Burr, has settled that no civil action will lie for anything that so occurs ; there is but one case in the books where a contrary doctrine was held, and that case is just one of those bad precedents which, though trium- phantly established at the time, are soon rendered obsolete and unavailing by the abhorrence of every rational man. It is the -case of the King v. Williams in 2 Show. It was an indictment against Sir William Williams, for having published, by order of the House of Commons, ^^ Dangerfieldh Narrative of the Meal- Tub Plot" Such was the horror which the wise people of Eng- land entertained of the Pope in his proper person ; or at least some conspiracy to re-establish his authority had been discovered close concealed in a rneal-tub, and the House of Commons catch :ng and propagating the delusion, ordered the narrative of this terrific plot to be printed and circulated throughout the country. It was for this publication that Sir William Williams, the speaker of the Commons, was indicted in the first year of King James. If your lordships take the trouble of looking into the report, you will find that the counsel for the defendant, Mr. Pollexfen, a man who deserves the admiration of posterity, for he, at that despotic period, had the courage to attempt to stem the torrent of unre- lenting persecution at the bar, and overbearing and iniquitous intolerance of the bench ; he, the counsel for the defendant, was inteiTupted by the bench, and net suffered to defend his client as his case merited to be defended. I admit that the case of Sir William Williams determined that the high court of parliament itself had no right to sanction the publication of any part of its proceedings which contained matter iu itself libellous. But fortunately the authority of that case ..as been completely exploded, even by the modern Court of King's Bench in the time of Lord Kcnyon, in the case of The King v. T. Wright, in S Icrm Reports, 293: it was a favourabie 33(5 SELFXT SPEECHES 07 • ctrcumstance ; that was au application on belialf of the late Mr. Home Tooko. Mr, Tooke, in 1794, had been acquitted of high treason, and yet, in 1799, the House of Commons adopted the report of a committee, and ordered it to be printed, stating in substance, that although Mr. Tooke had been acquitted, yet that the evidence adduced at his trial showed him to he guilty. The order of the house, however, was, that the report should be printed for the use of the members. Wright, the defendant, printed it for public circulation, and he therefore had no protec- tion from the order of the house but the general protection which every man has, to publish the written documents laid before that house. For this publication, grossly reflecting on Mr. Tooke, and accusing him of a crime, of which a juiy of his country ac- quitted him, he applied to the King's Bench for a criminal in- formation, relying on the case of The King v. Williams, as only not in point, because much stronger. The court refused the in- formation, and declared the case of The King and AYilliams not to he law. Judge Grose, upon that occasion, said these words : — " TikC case of "Williams occurred in the worst of times, and is a disgrace to a court of justice ;" and Judge Laurence declared, "that no information could be granted for publishing a true statement of the proceedings in a court of justice, although it may in itself contain a libel — and no matter of law, for," said he, "it is of vast importance to the public that the proceedings of a court of justice shouli be universally known. The general ad- vantage to the country in having those proceedings made public more than counterbalances the inconvenience to individuals." Such is the law — such is the doctrine laid down by a court which could not be reproached with any overweening propensity to l»opular rights or popular opinions. Nor is this case shook, or its authority weakened by the case before Lord Ellenborough, reported in 7th East, 493, under the fictitious names of lYoA-es v. Styles ; on the contrary, the principle is distinctly recognised and admitted, and that case was de- cided as an exception, by being beyond the principle, and not a true report of judicial proceedings. I do, therefore, lay it down as clear law, that no indictment or information, or action could be sustained for publishing this report of the trial ; which re- port the Attorney- General seeks to convert into an aggravation of punishment, that is, of course, an increase of punishment — that is, a double punishment : punishment for the original libel, for which xae defendant has been found guilty, and punishment for this report, of which not only hns the defendant not bteu DANIEL; o'CONNELL, ESQ., Ji.P. 33? fouu- *ves of the people and the hereditary counsellors of the crown." Mr. O'Conneil at a meeting of the 20ch of November remarked, that these letters gave the opportunity to explain the real views and motives of tiie Board; and "to show that Their conduct was sanctioned by the constitution, and warranted by necessity— that it was temperate and respectful: but always firm and dignified." He then referred to the previous meeting to show that the tenor of the resolutions had teen mistaken by the noble and right honoui-able writers of the letters just read— that from a desire to obviate every objection, no matter how little weighty in their eyes, they laJ DA.MEL 0'CONNEL.L. ESQ., M.l\ 315> ptven w!> the intention of submitting a dra/l of a bill, confining themselves to mere siii^ccfl lions, unci that they did not wish in the least to interfere with the dignity, or control tli* ^^udgment of those whom they addressed. lie thus continued : — Bat I beg Mr. Chairman, to go one step further, and to con- tend that there is ?io dictation implied in the drawing up of a bill to be afterwards submitted to the consideration of a member of parliament. Who spoke of dictation when Mr. Charles Butler, last year, prepared the frame of a bill ? Lord Castlereagh, who now pro- fesses to be our ardent friend, did not call that dictation. No ; he called for the draft of a bill, and I believe acted upon it. Is the privilege reserved for Mr. Butler, and are the Catholics of Ireland to be excluded 1 Who spoke of dictation when Mr. Grattan procured the frame of a bill to be prepared by Mr. Burrowes, by Mr. Burton, and by Mr. AVallace ? If the frame of a bill carry dictation in its tram, why did our illustrious advocate risk our cause jy getting that draft prepared in Ireland ? Or am I, in sober sadness, to inquire whether it be the Irish Popish touch that pollutes the deed, and renders that which was ianded by the minister in England, and practised by the Protes- tant patriot in Ireland, an act of dictation and crime in us ! Mr. O'Connell concluded witli a motion for another communication to be addressed tc riie noble lord anc'. Mr. Grattan, respectfully pointing out to them their mistake as to the intentions of tJie Board- Mr. O'Gorman (after two or three speakers had been heard to the same effect as yir. O'Connell) opposed the motion ; and in deference to a coint of form, it was withdraAvn for the day, notice being given that it would be brought forward again at the next meeting. On that occasion (27th November) Mr. O'Connell accordingly moved it, in an altered and moditied shape — namely as "for a committee to prepare answers" to the letters in ques- ilim. He alluded to some of his former arguments ; and cited the cases of Lord Melville and Mr. Pitt's conduct towards the Catholic delegates on two occasions, to sliow that there wuu'id be nothing derogatory in their behig listened to by private members of either house. It was not to be expected (he continued), that any one should be able so well to unravel the labyrinth, whose intricacy iiad caused the defects of former bills, as men whose interests and feelings had led them to make it the study of a great part of their lives, and who had been continually in the habit of answering, as <>:>unsel, the applications of persons aggrieved by these compli- cated laws. In short, a recurrence to the information in the hands ot Catholics wa« the only means to prevent the same unhappy catas- trophe which destroyed the tiiits of last yea.r's exertions. z 34 G" SELECT SPEECHES OF How lamentable if the Irish people should be deprived of results almost within their grasp, by internal dissension, or by a secession from each other, which, if it were not really dissension, inflicted all the consequences of such a calamity ! What ! shall an attorney-general be able to boast, as he did to me this day (Mr. O'Connell had just come from the scene of Mr. Magee's renewed persecution) that there is a party of the Catho- lics of Ireland attached to him ! To him — their continual, their unwearied persecutor ! ! ! And have there been appearances iu our behaviour to each other which could give the colour of truth to such an assertion ; and shall we continue to authorize it ? — Shall we not rather sacrifice every difference of opinion, every individual prejudice, and unite at once to spurn away the con- tumely with which it stains us ? For my own part, I have heard that some gentlemen are l^ept away by a fear that I may recur to the subject of an alleged promise to the Prince Regent. I utterly disclaim such an inten- tjon. I never will recur to it. In the name of my esteemed ^nd patriot friend, George Brj^an, I can also state, that he never again will mention it. Let every Irishman offer up his sacrifice on the altar of unanimity; her omnipotent spirit will receive our incense with gladness, and will guide us irresistibly through every danger, to the goal of triumph and success 1 • ••••••••••* There are but two causes that can retard our success — disunion ond distrust among ourselves ; and the continuance of that un- worthy prejudice among others, which degrades the Catholic to comparative insignificance in the scale of intelligent beings. . . . Is it not thought high insolence in a Popish writer £0 be talented ? — in a Popish mechanic to exercise his profession with ingenuity % And from what other source could it arise were Catholic assistance to be refused in the formation of a bill to relie^^us ? Did not Mr. Wilberforce consult with the Negi'oea on the subject of their slavery, receive information fi'om them, and bring the answers of the African to the bar of the House o Commons ? And is the Catholic alone to labour under the stigma of mental degradation, without asserting the rights of hii nature ? The motion was canied -with some discussion, but no opposition ; and Lord Ffrcncli, who was in the chair, :Mr. O'Connell himself, and Messrs. Dromgoole, Mahon, Bryan, Scully Finn, Owen O'Connor, Finlay, and Sir T. Esmonde appointed of the committee. On Wednesday, December 1st, after some general business, Mr. O'Gorman called Mr- attention of the Boaid to the attacks on Mr. O'Coanell, for bU conduct as counsel foi tl:e DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 347 Nicholas Slalion wannly concurred In the opinion of Mr. O'Gorman, that it was tlie duty of the Catholics to come forward and repel the attacks made upon Mr. O'Connell, "by some Holid and lasting memorial, which he could hand do\vn to his latest posterity." He further styled him the " host and dearest friend of his coimtry." Mr. Plunkett had so imperatively felt that every Catholic in the land was bound to come forward and support the undaunted, incorruptible, and inflexible supporter of the Catholir people ; that, although not a member of the Board, he had attended that day for the soH purpose of declaring his determination to support him at the hazard of his life and fortune He felt that upon this subject his powers of expression were altogether inadequate to du justice to his feelings ; but h« would venture to assert, without fear of contradiction, tha. the man of whom he spoke was the first of Irishmen — that he lives more in the affectioiii of the people than any other who could be named ! And it would be wonderful indeed o. the fact were otherwise, for it had been his imceasing ambition to expose, at the risk of his person and fortune, the erroi-s and corruptions of the enemies of Ireland, and to rally a genuine spirit, which had long lain dormant in this countrj', and v.hich he had at lengtli so effectually accomplished, that it would take the minister, with all his power, and the treasury at his back, full fifty years to overcome it, even if the glorious career of its fiiftt mover were at this m- -ment to be stopped. lUs object had ever been to rally men of ftlT persuasions, parties, and Iiablts, imder ono tttle— that of Irishmen ; and Mr. Plunkett thought the Board should come to some Immo- iste resolution indicative of their conviction of his merits. 3Ir. O'Conor (the chairman) regretted that it should be thought necessary to delay euch ft measure. Counsellor O'Gorman wished to give every member an opportunity of doing justice to transcendant desert. Mr. Scully pronounced, a speech in which he dwelt upon the many claims of Mr. O'Coa- nell on the gratitude of his country, the total failure of any attempts to injure him in hie vrcfession, Of indeed such attempts were m.cn of opinion between Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Slicil. The Board met at tlie Shakspcare Gallery, in Exchequer now VVicklow-slreet — a yh'cc given for the pui-pose by, strange to say, one of the old corporation, a good-humonred, well- »jatured individual, of somewhat eccentric character, named Stephenson. Lord Ffreneh Txas ip the Chair. The proceedings commenced with a notice by Mr. O'Connell, of an intended address to ►be Northern Catholics, warning them from joining Ribbon Societies, or suffering thcni- telves in any way to be betrayed into criminality by the provocations of the Orangemen. Doctor Dromgoolc next brought forward a motion, for some time on the books, and )X)st- poned from meeting to meeting, for a positive and unqualified declaration on the part of lire Catholic body against " securilies" oi any kind, description, or degree; and against even entertaining any propositJon.iuider any circumstances, which couid be at all coLstrned into a suggestion of them. Tlie motion was ably seconded by Dr. Sheridfin. Mr. Shcil then rose in opposition. Tiie Evening Post thus treats of his speech : — " We shall not pronounce upon certainly one of tlie most brilliant harangues ever dell vered in a public assembly. Mr. Shell nas taken a part contrary to that recommended bj ts. and finally contraiy to that adopted by tlie Catholic Board; but we feel gi-eat satisfac- tion In giving circulation to a con-ect and faithful copy of his speech. It is an honour to liis couztiy, although we cannot be'r thnikiutc it direc'.ed against his coimtry's dearest ittrfists." DANIEL 0*CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 34S Mr. Shell concluded amid vcr.' warm cheering. Sir O'Conuell rose immediately in reply : — My lord, whilst the meeting is yet dazzled and warmed with the brilliant and glowing language — "the thoughts that breathe, and words that burn" — of my young friend, I rashly offer myself to your consideration. I rashly interpose the cold, dull jargon of the courts — the un- animated and rough dialect of the pleader ; but the cause of freedom and of my country will enable me, even me, to unravel the flimsy web of sophistry which is hid beneath the tinsel <::lare of meretricious ornament. Unsound reasoning may be so adorned by the flowers of the imagination, and the corruscation of fancy, as to dazzle for a moment and mislead, but it requires only the sober voice of plain sense — it asks only the sacred name of liberty and our native land, to break the spell, to dissolve the enchantment, and to expose the genuine deformity of the unpa- triotic advocacy. Let me not be misunderstood ; I admire, no man can more admire, the splendid talents of my young friend ; I appreciate them at their full value — 1 hold them higher than he does him- self They were bestowed on him for the highest purposes — they are suited to the greatest and best purposes — to relieve and adorn his country. He does not do justice to his own genius when he confines it to the advocacy of a sect or party. Let it never be reproach that- * Bom for the universe, he narrowed his mind, And to party gave up what was meant for mankind.' Oh, no ! Let him raise his soul to the elevation of his talents, and not take the puny and pigmy gi'ound of party or division. Lot him devote himself to his country ! God and nature have been bountiful to him. Let him, in recompense, as bountifully give, by consecrating to the service of liberty and Ireland all the fascinations of his fancy, and all the brilliant glories of his genius. See how mistaken he must be, when I can exhibit my- self his superior. I own I am his inferior in talent, but the cause I advocate sustains mc. and my eloquent young friend sinks be- neath the cause which he has espoused. I must regret that he has given utterance to sentiments which every sense of duty commands me to condemn. The doctrines of slavery, which he has preached, I must censure. He has told us that the Catholics have nothing to do with questions of freo- doui or the constitutior* — that their object sliould be to plaoo 330 SELECT SPEECHES OF themselves on a level witli the Protestants, and he is indifferent whether this equality be obtained by pulling down tha Protes- tant or elevating the Catholic. In direct terms he has preferred the dead level of despotism to our present situation of compara- tive inferiority. ^ly lord, I object to those assertions, I protest against those principles of action. Many of the topics which have beou urged by the eloquent gentleman do not bear on the present subject of debate. It is unnecessary to reply to them. To much more of his discourse it is needless to reply, because he did himself give the most powerful and the best answer to the arguments that might be used against the motion of Dr. Dromgoole. But it is incumbent on overj'- friend to freedom, and to the constitatioa, to confute the slavish doctrine we have just heard. I am ready to meet him on this topic plainly, directly, and unequivocally. The proposed resolution goes to declare that either as Irish- men, or as Catholics, we never will consent to allow to the crown, or the servants of the crown, any interference in the appcint- TJient of cur bishops ! I support this motion upon both grounds : — First, as an Irishman, that this interference v/ould be injurious to public liberty. Secondly, as a Catholic, that it would be de- st/uciive of the Catholic religion. The manners of societv — tho state of the public press, fettered and in chains though it be — the decency and decorum of modern habits, the progress of the human mind, and many other causes, render the constitution secure from open and direct attack. Absolute power is not likely to be obtained, nor even sought after by direct force and plain violence. But who is there so blind as not to see the mroads that have been maile upon our rights and liberties by the effect cf corroding influence ? Who is so sunk in apathy — who is sc degi-aded in stupidity, as not to perceive how unconditional and unlimited the power is that may be obtained indirectly and by corruption ? in truth, the only danger that menaces the con- stitution, tlf? only chance of rendering that constitution a mere name, aviso-; from the spread o*" influence and corruption, which, like a cnncjr on a fair face, disfigures and destroys the beautiful fabric of public freedom! He is tjo friend to liberty — lie knows not how to appreciate freedom — he is fitted for slavery, who can behold unmoved the progi'ess of tliis terrific disease in the state — influence ! I sup- port the present motion becauec I dread and dotest that influ- ence, and should deem myeeif unworthy to seek for any liberty, «ould I consent to increase the influence of tho servants of the Daniel o'connell. esq., m.p. oHl crown. The voud^ p;entlemau has arooied, that this influence is ah'eady so great, that the appointment of our bishops would not add to the evil, and he has underrated much the value, even in a pecuniary point of view, of the office of Catholic bishops. Let the servants of the crown then be content with the patronage they have It is sufficient for their purpose, and if this addition be but small, let them leave us this small independence, for this little is our all — and great it is in fact. The state is secure already of the allegiance of the Catholic bisiiop, he is bound to the state by his repeated and {^olemn oaths; but, not content with this, the ministers want to have him become their polititjal agent — they want to have him in the suV)- servient management of electioneering politics : if they succeearish priest wili i-ansack the different districts of the county, and you will have a Vereker, or a Bagwell borne on the shouldei's of a duped people, in the room of a Glentworth or a Matthew. I do, therefore, meet the eloquent 3'oung gentleman upon this ground first, and insist that we should be unworthy of emanci- ■ pation should we adopt his doctrines. Emancipation ! My lord, ?:he word would cease to have its appropriate meaning — the thin-^ would cease to have any value. By emancipation I mean a par- ticipation in the free constitution of this country — not a chance of sharing in the public plunder. By emancipation I understand a right as a freeman to constitutional liberty, not a participation m the servitude of slaves — not a share in the authority of :i despot. Besides, I beg to bring your minds to the second motive for adopting this resolution : — ^The injury your religion must sustain if the minister of the day appoint our prelates. The minister ia and will continue a Protestant as far as a minister of state may be said to have any religion. If he be sincere, as a Protestant his choice of a bishop will be governed by his sincerity, and he will appoint as Catholic bishop the man least likely to ser\'e tho Catholic religion — most likely to injure and degrade that religion. But suppose him insincere, as a Protestant, there will be vy doubt of his attachment to power as a statesman. As a states- man, then, who will he appoint as l.)ishop ? The man who can purchase the situation — perhaps for money — c.^iiainly for ^'.t- 3^>2 SELECT SPEECHES OF vice. And dees anv man imagine that the Catholic relivns, from the splendid romance of the unbelieving Hume to t'ue stupid and malignant fictions of the credulous Musgrave. It 13 by misvepresentation that the English have become preju- diced ; facts have been distorted and falsified ; truth has been \4ioiatcd ; individuals have been calumniated ; tenets abhorrent fi\;m our judgment, our reason, and our religion have been im- [uite-l io us, and continue to be imputed to us! - ilouco this prejudice — hence this evil ; and here also is the rcnisdy to be found. It is by constant and unwearied applica- tion to rbe causes of disease. It is by explaining away misre- present-ition ; by vindicating the truth of history ; by demon- Hticitiiii: the falsehood of calumnies ; by the public rejection of tle lias advanced during the last seven years of agitiv tion ; I do rot ask of him the sacrifice of admitting that it hns advanced by thnt ag-^^tion ; bi-.t it comforts my own mind, and DAN'IILt, O'COXNELL, ESQ., 357 cheers my secret soul to sse the natural effect result fi-om the plaiu, manly,, imcompromising course we have steered. I return one moment to English prejudice, so happily describea by Mr. Shell ; and I ask him whether this very alteration be- tween the opinions of the English in 1807 and in 1813 does not prove to demonstration that prejudice is best met by reason and argrument. Durino: the last seven years we made no degradin"' sacrifice ; and yet the repetition of our arguments, and the dis- play of truth have advanced our ca,use. Let my young friend meditate on these facts, before he again envelopes in poetry the cause of despotism, and the triumph of prejudice ! My lord, 1 have combated this eloquence advocating the in- fluence of the crown — I have ventured to oppose it supporting the prejudices of England ; I will now briefly allude to another argument, or rather assertion, of his ; he says the present reso- lution implies a censure on our prelates ! What, my lord, can it be censure to declare that we are so pleased and proud of our prelates, who have been appointed svithout any interference of the crown, that we never will consent to any such interference 1 The Board censure the bishops 1 The Board, my lord, has always expressed its respect, its veneration for the bishops. Our enemies, indeed, would be delighted, if they could establish any division between the Board and the Catholic hierarchy. But, no ; that is impossible. Instead of the present resolution implying censiu*e, it directly and justly speaks praise and approbation. We approve and applaud — and it would be difficult, indeed, not to approve and applaud our prelates as they are. We seek no change — nor will we consent to any change that would be likely to place different men in high offices. The prelates, too, I may venture to add, approve of tho course pursued by the Board : they see, they easily see that however anxious we are for freedom, we are still more anxious for the purity of our religion — they know that though we are desirous not to remain slaves, we are determined to continue Catholics ; and that ardently as we love libert}^ we will not purchase it as the price of sch'sm. It is, therefore, im.possible, to separate the prelates from the Board, or the Board from the prelates. We interfere only upon subjects belonging to our province. Any connexion between th6 crown and the Catholic hierarchy in Ireland must, of course, be of a political nature ; and against such, we have a right to pro test, and do protest ; but if the revered and venerable prelates o*^ car Church, exercising their discretion as to that which belon£?s '^5S SELECT srEE::iiKS ok to them exclusively — the details of discipline — sliall deem it right to establish a system of domestic nomination, purely and ex- clusively Irish ; if, I repeat, our prelates deem it right to estab- lish a system of domestic nomination — of a nomination purely and exclusively Irish ; if our prelates deem it right, in their wis- dom and piety, to establish any such arrangement, the Board, my lord, will not interfere with such arrangement, because it haa no right whatsoever to interfere with it ; but it will certainly ap- plaud and grateful -y receive any such decision. Before I conclude, let mo avow the pleasure I feel that my reso- lution on this subject was negatived — not because I think it was an improper resolution in the sense I meant it — but because it >/as, I find, so capable of being misunderstood, i never com- plained of its being rejected — all I complained r.f was, that it ',vas not understood. I attributed the fault to ethers, I now see it was my own ; for the sense which Mr. Sheil has put on that resolution convinces me that there was an ambiguity in it which alone merited condemnation. I do, therefore, myself condemn it as mischievous, because equivocal, and cheerfully submit myself to the censure that may follow the man who uses, on a delicate sub- ject, ambiguous language. This great question is now fairly before the Board. "We, who support the resolution, call for emancipation, without making our bishops the slaves or the instruments of the ministry — and require our liberties, to which we are entitled as our birthright, without any sacrifice of the doctrine or discipline of our Church. We humbly petition parliament to assure us freedom, but we ask it as Catholics — we respectfully require of them liberty, but we wish for it with perfect safety to our religion. We have gi/eu them the security of our allegiance — we have sealed their since- rity with our oaths, and confirmed it with our blood ; all we re- quire in return is the privilege of worshipping God as our fore- lathers worshipped him. We are ready to ensure, with our dearest interests, the integrity of the state — all we ask in return i% the integrity of our religion ! Those who agree with me, that we are entitled to emancipation, without compromise, will support this resolution ; ail who agrea ^^dth my eloquent friend, that our emancipation should be pur- chased by some undefined concessions of doctrine, or, at least, of iiacipline, to absurd prejudice — for so he proved it ; ail those who think they can barg-ain with absard prejudice, upon ch«i Ctpital of their faith, will reject the present resolution vjith Mr. Shcil. 0\'^ BANiEL O CORNELL, EtiQ,, o50 He has, indeed, been unfortunate in the side he hi.z ^ohoted ; he lias not been lucky in his allusion. It was not the Catholic baro7is of the reign of John that crouched beneath Papal usur- pation. It was a profligate, faithless, unprincipled prince, who ussd the Pope's then authority to enable him to enslave a Cath(v- lic people. 1 am of the faith of the Catholic barons, who with their swords extorted the great charter of liberty ; I am of the religion of the Catholic parliament that passed the statute of proviscrs ; firm in my attachment to her ancient faith, ardent in the pursuit Oi. liberty. Let my young friend join this standard, and soon shall he become a leader. To the superiority of his talent we shall easily cheerfully yield, and give him that station in his country's cause to which his high genius entitles him. Let him devote himseh to tlie uncompavmising advocacy of Ireland — glory will await him, and the sweeter satisfaction of serving his country ! Let him reject party and adopt Ireland, who, in her widowhood, wants liim ; and in her service let his motto be — " God, and our native laud." TiiG tone of tlie meeting -was takei; from this speech, and Dr Promgoole's motion crt- rifd with iicclamation. MR. FINLAY'S ADDRESS. O.v tl;e 11th December a meeting of the Board occuiTed, at -which, in Mr. O'CcnneU'e absence of course, a splendid tribute of Catholic feeling was paid to him for his exertions in the Catholic and national cause. The tribute ^vas not confined to words, warm and kindly even to enthusiasm as they were ; but a service of plate was voted, and shortly afterwards given to him, under the following resolution, mo^■ed in a most kind speech by Nicholas Purcell O'Gorman, Esq., the present assistant-barrister for the county of Kilkenny " At a meeting of the General Board of the Catholics of IrelamI, held at the Shakespeare Gallery, Exchequer-street, Duhlin, on Satur- day, the 11th December, 1813 — Owen O'Conor, Esq., in the Cliair. " Resolved — That a service of plate, value one thousand guineas, be presented to Daniel O'Connell, Esq., on the part of the Catholic peo- ple of Ireland, as a small tribute of their gratitude for the unshaken intrepidity, matchless ability, and unwearied perseverance, with which :n despite of power and intolerance, he has uniformly a.sserted cwd rights, and vindicated the calumniated character of his Catholic fellow cojintrymen. " That the following noblemen and gentlemen do compose a com- H'.ittee for tiie purpose of carrying the above resolution into effect, viz.. the Viscount Netterville, the Lord Ffrench, IS^ichoias Purceii O'Qor- *^^" ' SELECT SPEECHES OP pan, Ovren O'Conor, George Bryan, Henry Edmond TaafFe, 'NiclioJx'^ «lahon, Randal M'Donnell, Esqrs. " Owen 0'Co>'or, Chairman. " Edward Hay, Secretary." "^here was one speech made upon this occasion, which, although it cannot ri^hily he con- sin^Tcd as coming within the scope of the present collection, we cannot forbear to give. It V as that of an old, fast friend of Daniel O'Connell's — a man most estimable in eveiy relation of life, and one who is yet living, and likely to live many a day yet, encircled «:* he deserves by "a troop of friends." We speak of Mr. Finlay, or, as he is best known, of honest John Finlay — true and honest in the worst of times, when there was every tempta lion for a young struggling barrister of the dominant persuasion (Mr. Finlay is a Protes tant) to ally himself with the oppressors of the people and the assailants of their advocates Between him and Daniel O'Connell there was ever an old and warm friendship. A con geniality of mind first produced it, and closer acquaintance fast ripened it into the wann est and most enduring vigour. Most truly indeed may it be said that no sincerer friend Mr. O'Connell ever had ; and none did he more sincerely recognize and endeavour to repay the attachment. Mr. Finlay's speech bears strong evidence of that talent and power of intellect which, if natiire had given him the same taste for the agitator's life of unceasing activity and toit tliat animated his friend, would ha've rendered him "■ facile princeps" at least of far the greater number of those who have been prominent in the struggle for Irish rights. Ihe following was his address on this occasion : — " When a man steps forth from the ranks of tranquil life, and devotes his time to public interests, he avovs that he employs himself in that which is equally the business of all. Thus the public, in whose service he starts a volunteer, are placed in censorship over his words and actions ; and the members of the community protect themselves from self-re- proach of civic inexertion, by scrutinizing his motives with all possible doubt, and accounting for his acts with the least possible charity. " This caution, though sometimes unfair, is seldom unreasonable ; it is frequently justified by the event, and always allowable, under the prin- ciple that no class of men should be more suspected than patriots, be- cause no class has produced more impostors. "But this suspicion, like everything else, should have its limits ; and there is a length of time — a quantity of fidelity beyond which jealousy or suspicion cannot exist without injustice to its object. Time is the ordeal of patriotism. To preserve a patriot's purity, it is not expected that he should be always right, because he cannot be always wise ; but it is necessary that his acts should be always vrell-intended, because he may be always honest. " Therefore when time has assayed and established the fairness, not of his acts, but of his intentions, his exertions, his talents, and his pur- pose, it then becomes the duty of the people to repay, by an increased portion of their gratitude, for those doubts which their caution com- pelled them to entertain. " Ten years have tried the fidelity of O'Connell ; and you stand now indebted to him in the article of jj.rutit'ado, not only for the quantity of service conferred, but the tiir;e during wluch the trial has been pro- tracted, and the ex^iresBion of your collective gratitude deferred. ** Tliis line oC r^s^ecing nnplics to every free country, but it applies T)-iNIEL OCOXNELL, ESQ., 5t.P. 35i in a more particular manner to Ireland. In Ireland tliero is one simple divisioii of its inhabitants — Catholic and Protestant; relijjion, in trutli, makes no part in the political results which flow from this distinction Protestant is another word for the possessor or expectant of place ; Ca- tholic, another word designating; whom the law excludes. Thus power, place, patronage, and a large portion of franchise being, in fact, denied to the great majority, and confined to a few, they become real property in the hands of their possessors; and, unless their possessors be endowe^. with no common portion of disinterestedness, they have every motive derivable from self to examine with severity, and interpret without charity, the motives and conduct of those men who would destroy that property, by the generality of its diffusion. " Therefore, the advocate of Catholic emancipation appears in greater or less degree of hostility to every Protestant in this country who has not the virtue to dismiss the calculations of self ; therefore, the advocate most efficient, prominent, and persevering presents an aspect of political hostility, varying its phase coQveution act, enacted many years before, was called into liciion agamst the people. DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 3G3 "The next atlomptwas against the Press. The Press -vwia atttic"ked by every mode of attachment, information, and indictment. The most objectionable mode was first resorted to — attachment. The cry became .oud ; and the less olyectionable mode of information was next resorted iO ; and as the cry became louder still, this usual and more constitu- uioual mode of indictment was finally fixed upon. "Mr. Saurin, ambitious of a character for lenity, has lately declared, in his motion for an aggravation of punishment, that he had not prose- cuted more than tliree. Of his Majesty's Attorney-General I should not wish to ppeak without deliberation. It might be unbecoming — it might be unsafe. I am not inclined to speak disrespectfully, or othei'- tdse. I must not, in politeness or in prudence, contradict ; but when he states as a fact, that of the Press he never yet prosecuted but three, I may be permitted to say, without offence, that this is an assertion ^hich, consistently with a g»ood conscience, I dare not to aflSrm. " It is certainly true that he did prosecute the Irish Magazine for the article called 'The Fainter Cut:' secondly, Mr. Fitzpatrick, for the Statement of the Penal Laws ;' and, thirdly, Mr. Magee, for the arti- cle against the Duke of Richmond : these are three. But it is equally true that he did prosecute the proprietor of the Freeman's Journal, by that most objectionable mode of prosecution, ar attachment, and that he did obtain that attachment ; and that Mr. Hai vey, under the appre- hension of its execution, was for a year confined to his 0"\vn house. I can say this is true, for I was present at these motions. This reckons four. " It is equally true that he moved for another attachment against each of two proprietors of the Evening Herald, and although the Court of King's Bench unanimously pronounced the libel to be nonsense, they, however, granted him the attachment, with their opinion that he ought not to execute it. This I know, for I was counsel in the cause. Then reckoning this prosecution against two as but one prosecution, I say this makes^re prosecutions. "It is equally true that he at the same time filed an ex-cfficio against the Herald. This I know, for I was counsel in the cause. This reck- ons six. It will not be denied that he also issued ex-officio informations Against the Correspondent and Freeman. These make eight. He aiso issued, of late, two ex-officio informations against two Kilkenny papers for publishing the resolutions of public bodies. These make ten. He says three — I say ten. Does he mean to say that he only prosecuted three to conviction? The fewer he prosecuted to conviction compared with the number that he did prosecute, shows his want of ability rather than of ^vill, and gives no claim to the character of lenity ; but even reckoning those that he prosecuted to conviction, he does not reckon, fairly. He only reckons, even in thw sense of prosecuting, Cox for one. I say he prosecuted Cox for three, and obtained conviction for two. Thus, taking prosecutions for convictions, he is not right, and taking prosecutions in its proper sense, he should have said TWELVE instead of THREE. " In addition to this, I am informed that he issued ex-ojhcio infcnna- o6i &KLEOT SPEECHES OP lions a^aiiist almost all of tlic publishers of Dublin, on trie si^Tect r.l Ihe ' Stj'-tement of the Penal Laws.' Then where is the ground of hi? Doast of lenity? Finally, the Irish Attorney-General, after having pro- duced one sleeping statute against the Press, brought forth anothei against the people — the Convention Act against the people — the Stamp Act against the Press — both enacted in bad times : neither of them yere enacted in England — neither of them before used in Ireland. The operation of this Stamp Act was to extinguish the property itself, or at least wrest it from the owner's hand. Mr. Magee was obliged to part with his property ; but though an unprecedented act of power tore his property from him, he took care that it should not be torn from the service of the country. " Mr. Sauriu having so far succeeded, by every usual and unusual mode of prosecution against Press and people, finally attacked the advo- cate of both. His speech for his client was the ground of complaint An attempt was made, by the partizans of power, to injure his profes- sional character, by insinuating that he had injured his client by hi:, defence ; and the unbecoming rumour was snread abroad, that the man- ner of the counsel should be the measure of mercy — that had iVIr, O'Connell been more merciful to ]\Ir, Saurin^ ]Mr. Saurin would have been more merciful to Mr, Magee \ but this insinuation lost its force — ^it was very well known to every one, and to no one better than to Mr. Magee, that tenderness was not among the weakne^es of bis pro- secutor. '' The object of the motion in aggravation was, in truth, to punish the advocate for the defence. Llr. Saurin insinuated ulterior proceed- ing's, and the benchers were sounded on the subject of stripping the advocate of his gown ! Many severe philippics iiad been pronounced at the bar before. Such a measure was never attempted. Lord Clare has been compelled to look at a portraiture of hi.- owq vices, presented (o his eye by an immortal advocate, but he never dreamt of punishing the advocate by law. He has spoken in the severest terras in the House i€ Lords respecting the philipnic on the trial of Finney*y ; but be never thought of any proceeding or this description. The Solicitor-General udmitted it was a most extraordinary proceeding ; and his apology for iliis most extraordinary proceeding was, that it was an extraordinary fc-ueech : but what was the amount of blame imputable to the speech ? ] omit the appeal to the passions of the Chief-Justice — an appeal which in decency should not have been made, and which never could be made with decency. This being omitted, what is the amount ? The compo- .^ition of that jury, and the distribution of justice in this country. As to the distribution of justice, I shall be very cautious in speaking on that subject: it appears to give particular offence. I do not wish to .ose my gown : I cannot afford it as well as O'Connell : but I hope I may say this much without losing my gown — that a considerable pre- juiiice exists on the subject. " I lately heard a peasant say — * Oh, Sir, it requires a great deal of i^TFRKST in this country for a j^oor man to get a litti.p: jistick f* llxis prejudice is very widely spread 1 d« not boiist oi* a pajLicuUa DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 305 slTenj^th of mind, and, therefore, plead guilty to the infirmity of being occasionally affected by this prejudice myself. " As to the business of selected juries, the fact cannot be denied, that eM As50ciatic.i), some months afler Daniel O'Connell's de&th, by poor — poor — " Tom Stctie 1" T?ie effect was //!«» most thrilling; what the effect would be if now cited in a popular cssembly, and whether the prediction it embodies would be held to have come true, it is QOt for the editor of these speeches to say. Ifr. O'Connell's acknowledgment of the great ccanpliment paid him at; the meeting of the.Catholic Boaril, last mentioned, was made on the succeeding Saturday, iSth December, 1813, at their next meeting — Owen O'Conor, Esq., again in the chair. To you personally, Sir (said Mr. O'Connell to the chairman), I trust I need not apologize for not having answered your com- munication. I have the honour of calling you my friend ; and I hope the high value which you know I entertain for youi- pub- lic and private worth, will convince you that I could not have intended anything disrespectful to you personally, by net ac- knowledging your letter. With respect to the public, my reason for not answering the communication is either the best or the worst in the world. It is literally this — I was unable to do it ! I did frequently attempt to commit to paper the expression of my feelings, but my powers of language sunk beneath the effort. I was utterly unacquainted with any form of words that could give utterance to the sensa- tion which throbbed at my heart. I could guess at no terms which could even impart an idea of the gi'atitude which swelled in my bosom for so unmerited an honour, conferred by such a people, and on so humble an individual. The feelings to which this unexampled kindness gave rise, were not to be expressed in any form of words. My gratitude ia too big for language, and I leave it to kindred spirits to recogniee and appreciate sentiments too ecstatic and too refined for ut- terance. But should I not have seized this opportunity to make prcr- fessions of attachment, of zeal, of affection for the ill-starred land C)f my birth 1 Should I not endeavour to repay your exceeding kindness, by declaring that your approbation would increase that attachment — enliven that zeal, animate that affection 1 No, -Sir, 1 will not make any such profession. They would be untrue, and I scorn them. No, Sir, even your applause — and who can describe how much I value your applause — even yom- ap- plause will not, because it cannot, increase the devotion with which I have consecrated my existence to Ireland. I have al- 368 SELECT SPEECHES OF ready devoted all the faculties of my soul to the pursuit of tlie liberties of my country; and humble as my capabilities are, 1 Lad already given them all to my native land. Alas ! the gift was small, but it included certainly purity ot design, sincerity of intention, perseverance of exertion, contempt of personal danger, neglect of personal advantage, and finally, incoiTuptible integrity and truth. You cannot increase my zeal — my devotion, but you have re- compensed them beyond measure, and beyond reason. I have been unable to serve my country — I am a zealous but a uselesir servant ; and you have thrown away upon mere zeal that high recompense of your approbation which ought to be reserved for actual services. However flattering to myself, still I cannot but blame the prodigality of your kindness. I know I owe much of it to private friendship, and I avow I have been delighted and e:i-atified beyond measure by the proofs of friendship which your resolution has been the means of calling forth. It has satisfied me that I may rank amongst my friends those persons whose virtues and patriotism must render their favourable opinion an object of the highest consideration to every man, and whose fi'iendship must reflect honour upon any individual whom they shall distinguish by it ! I am glad that it was introduced, because it elicited those proofs of friendship ; and I am grateful to my enemies, who gave occasion for an exhibition of the feeling which was that day wit- nessed here. I am glad that the enemies of my country, whu are my enemies because they are hers, have so completely iden- tified me with the Catholic cause, and have proved that they at- tack me only when they commit still gi-eater attacks upon Ireland. But there is another and a higher consideration — a considera- tion which gives me pure and unmixed pleasure — it is that af- forded by the stimulus you hold out to the patriotism of others, wiien you bestow honours thus liberally upon plain and unser- viceable honesty. The man who dedicates himself to the cause of his country must calculate on meeting the hostility and ca- lumny of her enemies — the envy and falseheartedness even of her friends. He must reckon on the hatred and active malignity of every idolator of bigotry — of every minion of power — of every agent of corruption. But that is little ; he will have to en- counter the hollow and treacherous support of pretended friends — of those interested friends res}>ecting whom he will in vain exclaim — "God protect me from mj friends, I can guai'd myst-lf from mine enemies f DANIEL O'OONNELL, ESQ., M.P. SGH vYhat is to clieer and to recompense him in his exertions ? — • The richest and best of rewards — your applause ! You have, then, done wisely to grant that precious recompense to one so little deserving as myself, because you have thereby held out a prospect to higher minds of what they may expect from you. You have fanned the flame of pure patriotism, and I trust enlisted in your service the juvenile patriots of the land with talents superior — oh ! beyond comparison — to my preten- sions. (Mr. O'Connell here turned to Mr. Shell who sat near him.) [Hear, hear.] And he and others will be roused to serve and adorn their widowed country. Of your traducer I shall say nothing. You have refuted his calumnies. For myself I need not tell you that, in the struggle for the liberties of Ireland, every peril, personal or political, is to me a source of pleasure and gratification. For myself I can only once more repeat that any language I am acquainted with sinks beneath the sensations with which a reward so dispropor- tioned to the only merit I can lay claim to (that of good inten- tion) inspires me. I have heretofore loved my country for herself — I am now her* bribed servant, and no other master can possibly temp!, \ie to neglect, forsake, or betray her interests ! Forty years have elapsed since this protestation ; nearly seven since the death ot him ■nho made it. , Let Ireland now calmly review bis life and acts, and say did he notl^eep .us Avord At the meetmg of the 18th, at which Mr. O'Connell thus spoke, there were read preTi- mmary to the business of the day, communications from the Earl of Donoughmore uivl Henrj' Grattan, in answer to the explanatory address of the Board, passed some meeting- previous. The tone of these letters was not improved, continuing to savour rery much of captious ruperciliousness ; bat the ground which the writers took at the beginnhig o' the corres- rond^iuce was so far lowered, that they consented to receive, as suggestions, the statement of Cathoiic opinion which they had before co stiffly refused, and endeavoured to stigm.i'.Ke fti an attempt at dictation. Ailer a few words from Mi'. O'Connell and others, the consideration of thorn was post coed to a future day CATHOLIC BOARD. Saturday, December 24:th, 1813. Edward Blake, of Frenchfort, in the Chair. W'.K e\ose th6 record of Catholic proceedings in the eventful year 1813, with thdrmce'inf ft S.-.tnrday, December 24tli, on a matter that had given rise to considerable oxcitomcn'. r.ac Jue■a^s^^Jr^— it was the speech of Dr Dromgoole, when proposing his motion of eutiic 370 SELECT SPEECHES OP repudiation of sb.iirities ; and the whole afifair can be best explained by a briif account of iome of the occurrences at it. On tlie chair being taken, Dr. Dromgoole rose and said he had, on the last day of mfceting, iiitiniated that it \vas his intention to take an early opportunity of replying to the animad- I'ersions made on his speech. It had borrowed its importance, not so much from anything to be found in the speecli, as from the mutilation of the paragraphs. As he meant to hav« it printed in a correct form, accompanied with a >indication of his statements and opimoa\ he trusted the Catliolic Board would, until then, give him a short respite of opinion. Mr. O'Gorman ijnraediately got up, with the Dublin Evening Postm his hand, containing Dt'. Dromgoole's speech, and a &neet of paper, containing the heads of the objectiona whicli he (ilr. O'G.) intended to urge. Ilr. O'Connell and otLers urged the propriety ot granting the delay desired. After some discussion, Mr. O'Gorman being called upon proceeded : — "Sir, this is a question of too vital and important a nature to be stifled or suppressed. It resolves itself, in fact, to this point : whether the Catholics of Ireland shall silently submit to have themselves considered as participators in the foUy and guilt of a speech wliicti tmounts to a complete verification of all the calumnies imputed to us by Dr. Duigenan, Mr Giffard. or Sir Richard Musgrave — for silence is, in this instance, acquiescence. "The objectionable passages of that speech which were heard, were rebuked on the spoi joth by my learned friend (Mr. O'Connell) and myself; those were the passages in which lie described different descriptions of sectaries, as nestling under the wings of Protestantism ; and in which he alluded to the improbable, nay, almost impossible case of a Catholic be- coming the king of those realms." Mr. O'Gorman then went on to review the speech, seriatim, and concluded thus : — '• I have felt it a paramoimt duty to disclaim, both on my own part and that of the body, doctrines so imwise, so ininrious, so dangerous, so unjust, and so unchristianUke ; and I tru.^t the disclaimer will be adopted by this meeting.' Mr. Finn followed, and entered his solemn protest against the doctrines contained lii, the .f. Dromgoole ."ooke. and tlie resolution laaaed- •1 B ?,78 SELECT SPEECHES OP COURT OF KING'S BENCH. The King at the Prosecution of the Duke of Richmond v. Mages. Te revert once more to the year 1813, to give another act of the Magee melo-orama Mr. O'Connell said he was instructed to move the Court to set aside the verdict of conviction obtained by the prosecutor against Mr. Magee. These were the reasons assigned by the de- fendant, upon which the verdict ought to be set aside : — " First — That the jury v/as not regularly empaniielied, ballotted. and sworn. " Second — That the jury was unduly returned upon a second venire, :Itev a former venire had been issued and returned. " Third — That there was not evidence to go to the jury of a publica- cation of the alleged libel in the county of the city of Dublin, and for the misdirection, in that particular, of the learned judge." To raise these objections in law, it would be necessary to ex- amine the facts, and these facts were brought before the court by the affidavit of Mr. Magee, which stated that notice of trial had been served on him on the 17 th of May last ; that a wi-it cf venire facias had issued, tested the 5th of May, and returnable on the Monday next after the Morrow of the Ascension, which had been returned with a panel annexed ; that he heard aud believed that a writ of distringas had issued, grounded on that venire. The affidavit further stated, that the trial having been post- poned, it did not take place till the 2Gth of July; that a new writ of venire facias, bearing test the 31st of May, and returnable in three weeks from the Holy Trinity, had issued und was re- turned with a panel annexed ; and that in the panel annexed to the S3cnnd ^'(??^ ire, there were some names different from those in the panel annexed to the first venire. Such were the facts disclosed by Mr. Magee's affidavit. There had been abundant time given to the crown-solicitor to answer this affidavit, and to rectify any mistake or misapprehension ; no answer had been given, and, therefore, for the purposes of die present motion, it must be taken for granted that the facts were as Mr. Magee stated them to be ; in other words, the defendant's affidavit must be taken to be true. Chief Justice— We -vill not look to any affidavit — these are matters of record. We win c;iisult the officer of the court upon them- this ia the time t'< liave the fucts ascertained «/y him. .Mr. Bourne, how i-s the fact? ^» DAXIEL OOONXELL, ESQ., M.P. diV Mr. Boume, the ck;rk of tlie crowii, said that on the 5tli of May a veiiire issued retum- Khie on the 31st, beii.g the last day of term, on which day the court had postponed tlic trial. The vmire, however, had been returned in tlie usual way, with the panel annexed bj- the sheriff, on the 30th of "May, but no distringas issued on that venire. On the 31st (• May R u>cond venin issued, returnable on th« morrow of three week* of the Holy Trinity f 'itl on this venire a distringas issued, and the trial was had. Mr. O'Connell asked if the names inserted in the second panel were not different from Lliose inserted in tlic first ? Jlr. Bourne said tliat there were some of them different. Jlr. O'Connell— Now, my lords, we are agreed as to all the fact.s except one. "We are agreed that two venires issued, and were returned Avith a panel annexed to each, and that tho-se panels were different from each other. The only fact we can dispute about is the issuingof the aisirinrfas on the first venire. Now the affidavit states that such distrinyaf- issued. The crown-solicitor, who must know the fact positively, as it belonged to him alone to issue it, is silent. The fact being uncontradicted by him. who alone could posi- tively contradict it, must be taken for admitted, because not denied. I am, therefore, at liberty to assume, for the purposes of my argument, that there were two writs of distritnjas as well as two writs of venire. Chief Justice — No such thing. The officer declares that there was but ovlq distringas^ and we will take his certificate as conclusive. Mr. O'Connell — My lord, the officer cannot certify any such thing. He does, I admit, declare it, but he cannot certify it, because a iiegative certificate to that effect would be ifl the nature of an alibi, lasting from the 5th to the 31st of May. If the officer was for om* moment out of tlie office during that period, the distringas might have issued without his knowing "nythiiig about the matter; for it is not to be supposed that he can possibly recollect all the writs he signs for a month. Now the practice is to issue the venire and distringas together. You will find it so laid down in TIdd's Book of Practice, 5th edition, page 795. The assertion of the officer is therefore of no weight in the matter. The only way to contradict our affidavit would be by the affidavit of the crown-solicitor, who rriust know the fact, or a negative certificate out of the seal-book. Justice Day — If the distringas had issued, it would have been returned to the office, and we should find it with the officer, along with the venire. Mr. O'Connell — No, my lord, you could not find it with the officer; it is never returned to the office ; it cannot be returned to the office, because it is not a returnable writ ; ncr is it ever brought in, unless there be a trial, and then it comes to the officer, together wit!; the postca. Justice Day — Why, it is impossible that distringas could have issued. The ventre wai returnable on the 31st of May, th.e distringas could not is.sue until the next day, and upos the 31st the court postponed the trial. Mr. O'Connell — Is it your lordship's opinion that the venire being returnable the 31st May, the distringas could not be tested or issue until the 1st of June ? Justice Day — Certainly; that is my opinion. I am quite clear that the venire bein* Veturned on the 31st of ilay, the distringas must bear test next day. Mr. O'Connell — Then, my lord, that would be en-or ; that precisely would make tlie Record erroneous. The identical point was determined in Tutchin's CAse, 2nd Lord Pvaym. 1061, and 14th Cobbett's State Trials, 1095. There the venire was returnable tlie 23rd of October — the distringas bore test the 24th, and it was held to be a discontinuance, and the judgment was arrested. Chief Justice -Well, Sir,\ee are all of opinion that the report of the officer must be taken as conclusive; and you are boui>' to argue the case as if no distringas had issued. We xcil*. not hear the matter debated after the declaration of the officer. Mr. O'Connell — "Well, my lords, I must take it so; and really it does not weaken the case of my client. The law is as clearlj- in his favour as if it was admitted that the distringas had issued ; 380 SELECT SPEECHEto OF fillhough, until controlled by the court, I did not feel at liberty to give up even a point of no great importance. Let me, before I go into the argument of the case, take the precaution (probably a superfluous precaution) of showing that the court can, and may set aside verdicts had against any person charged with a crime. When the party accused is acquitted, then, indeed, the court cannot set aside the verdict ; but it is otherwise when a verdict of conviction was given. In 2 Haw- kins, 628, it is said to be settled, that '-'the court cannot set aside a verdict which acquits a prisoner, but they may a verdict that convicts, as contrary to evidence, or the directions of the learned judge, or any other verdict whatsoever for a mis-trial." This authority is express, that a verdict of conviction may be set aside ; so it seems may any verdict, which I understand to mean even a verdict of acquittal in the case of a mis-trial. Now, my lords, this is an application to set aside a verdict of conviction, and in the strongest possible case — a case of mis- trial. There was, I contend, a mis-trial for two reasons : — First, because the jury was not regularly empannelled and balloted for according to the provisions of the act, called the Bai • ioting Act ; and Secondly, by reason of the second venire. The third point — the want of legal evidence — belongs rather to the class of cases upon improper verdicts, than as a ground of mis- trial. Upon the first point, the fact appears on the record that there were but twenty- four jurors returned. If the case be within the Balloting Act there should have been at least thirty-six. The fact also is, that the jury were sworn as they appeared ; but if the case be within the Balloting Act, they should have been drawn by lot. Now I contend for it that this case is within the Balloting Act. That act is the 20 Geo. II. c. 6. It is entitled " An Act for the better regulating Juries." The recital of this act is general, that many evil practices had been used in cor- rupting of jurors returned to try issues before justices of assize, or at nisi prius, and expressly to prevent the like practice the remedy is applied by the legislature. The first section prescribes the amount of property, which shall be a necessary qualification for jurors, for the trial of issues between party and party before justices of assize or nisi prius, save upon trials per medietatem linguce. I entreat of the court to carry the exception in its recollection, as trials 2^^^ medietatem, can occur only in criminal cases. The 3rd and 4th sections of DAJS'lEL OCOXXELL, ESQ., M.P. 381 the statute are those the construction of which is now in contro- versy; they enact that, after the 1st of May, 1756, every sheriff or other officer, to whom the return of the venire, or other pro- 0C3S, for trial of causes before the justices of assize or nisi prius, doth belong, shall annex a panel thereto containing not less than thirty-six, nor above sixty names of jurors, and that those name? need not be entered in the distringas, but the panel referred to ; and the statute then enacts, that those names shall be written on separate slips of paper or parchment, and put into a box or glass, and drawn out by some person appointed by the court for that purpose ; rxid that the first twelve names so drawn shall constitute the jury, unless in case any person be set aside on a challenge when another name is to be drawn, and so on in every case of challenge until the jury is complete. My lord, if the case of Mr. Magee come within this statute, there has been a mis-trial, because the proper number thirty-six were not returned, and because there was no ballot, or drawing of the names. But it will be contended for, on the other side, that this act of parliament is applicable solely to civil causes, and does not extend to criminal causes ; and this position is sus- tained upon the legal rule that the king is bound by no act of parliament, unless specially named or necessarily implied. I admit, my lords, the fact, that the king is not express!}'' named in this act. I admit also the rule, as a general rule, but it has exceptions, and I think I shall be able to demonstrate that this act binds the king, and extends to criminal cases. I shall estab- lish that this act includes criminal as well as civil causes upon three grounds : — First — Upon the ground that this is one of those acts of par- liament which, upon general principles, bind the king without his being specially named. Secondly — Upon the construction of the act itself taken sepi. rately. Thirdly — Upon the construction of this act, as induced and forfeited by a comparison with otlier statutes made in pa7'i ma- teria. I have admitted the rule, that the king is not bound by any statute unless specially named. I insist there are exceptions' to that rule. The very first authorities in the law prove those exceptions. The words of Lord Coke, in the 2nd Inst., G81, are these — "^\^lenever a statute is intended to remedy a wrong, as the statute 32 Henry VIII., to prevent a discontinuance by the husband of his wife's estate, the king is boundby it, though not oS2 SELECT SPEECHES OP ^pc'^'ally named/' I beg also to refer the court to 5th Co., 14 — • letters A and B, called the "Case of Ecclesiastical Pdrsons." Ic IS expressly laid down " that all statutes to suppress wrong — to take away fraud — to prevent the decay of religion — ^bind the king, though not named in them." And in the case of the king against the Archbishop of Armagh, reported in 1st Stra. 516, it is decided, that the king is bound, without being named, by all statutes for the advancement of religion or of learning. Thus, then, we have exceptions to the rule that the king is not bound by a statute unless expressly named. The king is bound, though not named by all the statutes made to remedy wrong, to sup- press wrong, to take away fraud, to prevent the decay of religion, to advance religion, to advance learning. Does the statute in question come within any of those excep- tions, is the only remaining question. It is an " act expressly to prevent the evil practices of corrupting jurors, and to pro- cure a fair and impartial trial." Is not that to remedy wrong? 7s not the suppression of the corrupting of jurors a suppression of a wrong? Is it not a fraud to corrupt jurors, and does not this act take away a fraud! I may go further and say, that it is an •act to prevent the decay of religion, because in the corruption of jurors peijury is necessarily implied, and surely, where perjury ])reva^^s reli;;ion must decay. But this maybe a forced construc- tion, anJ I need not rely on it. It is quite plain, that this is a statute which remedies a wrong, suppresses a wrong, and takes away a fraud ; it suppresses and gives a remedy for a wrong of the most grievous, scandalous, and abominable kind, the cor- rupting of jurors; it takes away a fraud of the most mischievous and daugerous description, the corrupting of jurors. Is the court prepared solemnly to determine that to corrupt jurors is no wrong, nor any fraud ? Look at the instance put by Lord Coke of a wrong, for the suppression of which the king is boand without being named. A discontinuance by the husband of the wife's estate — ^a mere inquirer to individual property ; and can it be imagined that the corrupting of jurors, which renders all property, life, and honour insecure— the corrupting of jurors, which destroys the very foundation of our laws, and renders civilized society worse than barbarism — the corruption of jurors, including judicial robbery and murder ; that all this is so ligtr and trivial a nature as to be no wrong, no fraud, and not to be compared in importance with the invasion by a husband of tlie rights of his wife to her freehold estates. [ feel that I consume time unnecessarily when I press this D^\MEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. £>83 point. It is impossible that this evil should not be admitted tc bo a -wrong and a fraud ; as the authorities which I have cited cannot be overturned, I look with confidence to you: decision, that this statute of the 29th of George II. is one which binds the crown, although not specially named; but the case is still stronger, because even if the Court decided the question against me on the general principle, yet this particular statute is so framed as to bind the king. He is bound by the first section. That section enacts, that in the trial of all issues joined between party and party in the courts above oi* at Nisi Prius, no person shall be a juror unless he have a certain property, except on trials j^^f niedietatem linguce, and also except in counties of cities and towns. Now, if ever the exception proved the rule, this is a case where it does so. The exception is of a trial ^^e?- medieta- tem ; but that trial can be had in criminal cases only. It can be had in the one case alone where the king is a party. The legislature have excepted this species of trial. If they had not expressly excepted it, it would have been included, or this ab- surdity must follow, that the legislature, by express words, ex- cepted that which was not included at all in the enactment. To this dilemma is the Court reduced, it must decide either that the general enactment of the first section includes criminal cases, and then this exception is sensible and rational, or that the first section does not include criminal cases, and then this exception, introduced by the legislature, is absurd and nonsen- sical. Either my construction of the statute is the right one, or the legislature has enacted gross and childish nonsense. Which construction will the Court adopt ? Assuredly that construction which I put on the statute, and which gives to the entire of it good sense and plain meaning, and the Court will at once reject that interpretation which converts the act into a jumble of absurdities and contradictions. Having thus established upon the constitution of the first sec- tion of the statute that criminal cases are included in it as well as civil, I come to the third and fourth sections ; and here the matters appear quite plain : those sections speak of any sherifi'i or other officer having the return of the venire or other process, for the trial of causes (those qre the words of the act), before justices of assize or Nisi Prius in any county. The words are general, they apply to all sheriffs and officers, to all jury process, to all causes, and to all counties. There is no exception here as in the first section of trials per medietatem. There is no ex- ception here as in the first section of counties, And cities^ ami 584 RELKCT SPEECHES OP towns. Let ;t be n collected that I have established that tee first section applies to criminal as well as civil cases, and then have only to contend for it, that the other sec>,i»ori.s, which arc more extensive in the words of enactment, are at least equally extensive in meaning. The state of the argument is this ; I have proved th».t the first section, though more limited in phrase and language, extends, to criminal as well as civil cases, and all that remains is to show that the third and fourth sections, which are more extensive in phrase and language, are equally extensive in meaning. But the ver}^ terms of the pr«:»Dosition are self-evident, otherv/ise this absurdity would follow, ,hat when the legislature said less it meant more, and when it said -^lore it meant less. And now, my lords, to decide the construction of the statute against my client will be to introduce inextricable confusion and absurdity into cur statute law, and render language of no avail but to confound all meaning and understanding. It may, perhaps, be answered as I have before heard the assertion made, that the king is never included under the description of a party to a cause. My answer will be the words of the 10th Charles I. c. 13, an act which I will have again to refer to. It enacts : — " That in all cases where a full jury does not appear, then either party may pray a tales, as well where the kiii^ is a fuHy as otherwise." I cite this act to show that the legislature, under the descrij^- tion Df party to a cause, has included the king, thus giving n legislative meaning to the word which precludes the necessity of any argument to show its legal meaning. 1 have thus obviated the only objection that I conceive can be raised to my con- siruction of this statute. I have thus I hope successfully con tended, that this statute should be construed to extend to crimx nal as well as civil cases, but I deem it right to confirm this con- stiTiction, by pointing the attention of the Court to statutes made for the same purposes — the procuring of fair and impartial jurors. Statutes made in aid of the same purj^ose have been al- ways used to aid the construction of each. The courts consider the entire as one system of law, each part of which should serve to support and illustrate the rest. Let us see then how the present statute can be best considered to form part of the same system, with the 10th Charles L j it is the 13th chapter of the 2nd session of that year. The section I would particularly call the attention of the Court fo is the third ; it is entitled : — I DANIEL 0'*CONNF.LL, ESQ., il.P. 38 '> "All Act conceruing the Appearance of Jurors at Nisi Prius.** Tl.e first section relates to the qualification of jurors and re- alates the venire ; the second regulates the distringas ; and the hird provides for the appointment of a tales, for default of the jurors named in the panel "in all actions as •well where the king is a party as where he is not." Now take those two statutes together, vou will find the kincr included in the first, which purports to regulate the jurors at Nisi Prius ; you will find him included as a party, and you will find criminal cases (for none other can be meant) comprised in the words " all actions." See, then, whether " it be possible to exclude the king from the second statute. That statute is part of the same system with the first, and both are made with the same object ; the intention of the legislature is the »::5me in both — to procure a fair and impartial trial. As '-f"^ the third section of the statute of the 10th of Charlp~ I,, so in the first section of the 29th of George II., criminal cases are plainly included. Can the Court perceive all this, and not feel the monstrous absurdity of attempting to disjoint the two statutes — to break up the system of law into fragments, by giving to one statute a different construction from the other ? And why should this be done ! Why should the Court make the legislature thus capri- cious and contradictory ? Why should it make the first statute differ from the second % Why should the Court make the first section of the second statute contradict the third and fourth sections of the very same statute % Surely the mischief Avhich the legislature desired to remedy is as great in criminal as in civil cases. It is . as easy to corrupt jurors in criminal as in civil causes. Nay, it is more likely to be done. The temptation to corrupt — the temptations to be corrupted are much stronger ill criminal than in civil causes. The evil consequences are as great, really much greater, in the criminal causes. ^Vhy then shall the Court adopt a construction of the statute, which, against the words and plain intention of the legislature, must confine the remedy and relief intended by parliament to crimes of minor mis- chief and more difl&cult perpetration, and exclude the cases of greater evil and more easy commission. My lords, I confess I am anxious to succeed upon tnia |^&.o of the case. If the Court will give my construction to the act, they will go far to prevent any odious and atrocious attempt to pack a jury. The subjects of the land will have the same chance of fair and impartial juries in criminal oases tried at Nisi Prius, iSG SELECT SPEECHES 0»- as they have in civil suits, and the law upon this subject will be consistent with itself, and conducive to justice. Let it not be said tiiat the practice of returning but twenty- fuur jurors has fixed a judicial construction upon this act. 1 deny that any practice can alter the law, and besides practice in civil cases (and the practice has been confined merely to civil cases) cannot have been considered as of any importance. It is a pi-actice that could not be controlled by the parties, because, under the statutes of Isofailes, the error is cured by verdict, and, therefore, there has been no person interested in civil cases to bring this practice in review before the court. It would be of no avail to a party in a civil suit to go to the expense of calling on the court to decide upon the construction of this act after verdict, when he was stopped from taking any advantage of the error. 1 do, therefore, firmly rely on it, that the practice in civil cases cannot afford any assistance in construing this statute. The statute itself must decide the question, and to that I with con- fidence appeal. If this statute, the 29th George II., be held to extend to cri rainal cases, there is an end to all question, and the verdict mus^ be set aside. If, on the contrary, the court shall decide that thir statute does not extend to criminal cases, then our second objec tion must prevail — that of the two venires ; because it is onl} that statute which allows a second venire after the first is re- turned. The prosecutor is reduced to this dilemma — either the 29th of George II. c. 6, extends to criminal cases (and tiien there has been a mis-trial for want of suflScient return of jurors, and of a ballot), or that act does not extend to criminal cases, and then there has been a mis-trial, because of the second venire. M.y lords, neither at common law, nor under any other statute could a second venire issue after the return of the first ; even in civil cases no second venire could issue at common law. The case of Pretious v. Robinson, 2 Vent. 173, proves that there could be no second venire at common law. It was an action in which issue was joined in Hilary Term, in the second year of William and Mary; the venire was awarded and issued in that term. In Easter Term a second venire issued, upon which a trial and verdict were had ; the jury returned was lyrecisely the same upon both venires, yet the verdict was set aside upon the grounds of its being a mis-trial. The court said all the proceedings were void, there being no authority for the second venire. This, my lords, IS a case in point, though a weaker case than ours j for the jui-^; DANIEL O'C'^ITNTILL, ESQ., M.P. 387 III that was the same — in ours, different. The case of Pretious V. Ibobinson appears, however, to have been the cause of the in- terference of the legislature. The inconvenience of continuing the same jurors from term to term, until it should suit the con- venience of the parties to go to trial ; to continue the jury for years in attendance, was felt, in civil cases, to be a great inconve- nience to suitors as well as to jurors themselves, and therefore Uie legislature interfered. But you see from the case I have cited, that at common law there could have been but one venire, even in civil cases ; and the practice was to continue the jury by issuing a distringas, then an alias, and then a pluries distrin- gas, and so on until the case was tried, see Tidd's Prac. 789. The first statute in England that altered the law in this respect was the 7th and 8th of Will. III. c. 32, which was amended and ex- tended bv the 3rd Geo. II. c. 25. In Ireland, the statutes that relate to the venire are, first, the act of the 10th Chas. I., st. 2, c. 12 ; it enacts, that any mis-awarding of a venire, or defect in its return, shall be cured by verdict ; but in this act thtre is an ex- press exception of criminal cases. Second — The act of 7 Will. III. c. 25 ; it enacts, that want of fifteen davs between the test and the return of the writ of venire shall not be deemed error ; but in this act there is also an ex- press exception of criminal cases. Tliird — The act of the 6th of Anne, c. 10 ; it enacts, that a venire may be directed to the body of the county, and not to any par- ticular ville, but criminal cases are excepted. These, my lords, are the only statutes in Ireland which altered the common law, with respect to the writs of venire facias, before the act of the 29th Geo. II. c. 6. But in the three former acts criminal cases were excepted, so that unless the last act, the 29ih of Geo. II. applies to criminal cases, the writ of venire in those cases must be regulated by the common law, and then the autho- rity of Pretious v. Robinson is in point to show that there could not have been a second venire. But this doctrine does not rest upon the authority of that soli- tary case. The law is distinctly laid down in the case of the King v. Franklin — a case which occurred in the 5th of Geo. II., the year 1731, and of which a full report is given in 5th T. Rep. 453, in the case of the King v. Perry. In Franklin's case it was material for his counsel to show that there ought to have bee?" a second jury under the English Special Jury Act; but they failed upon the construction of that act, and they were compelled to admit that at common law there could not have been a venire d,i 388 SELECT SPEECHES OF novo. Lord Raymond, then Chief Justice, is indeed express npo-n the point. " The statute of William and Mary," said he, " does not extend to criminal cases : and, therefore, in criminal cases there cannot be a necond venire.'''' Such is the express decision of the court in Franklin's case, in 1731 ; and that case is adopted as clear law in 1793, by the unanimous opinion of tlie Court of King's Bench, in the King \. Perry. The same law that, after one venire returned, there could not issue at common law a se- cond venire, is expressly laid down by all the books of practice; you will find it in Tidd, 5th Ed. 1792, in Gilb. Comm. Pleas, 92, and laid down very distinctly in the case of the K'mg v. Haire and Mann, in 1st Stra. 267. In that case there was a scire facias, at the suit of the crown, to repeal letters patent. One of the defendants pleaded to the facts — the other demurred in law. The Attorney- General applied for a trial at bar. It was resisted until after the argument of the demurrer ; because if that were determined against the crown, any trial of the fact would be superfluous. The Attorney-General, however, said that the venire was returned and filed, so that if the trial was put off, there would be a discontinuance. But the court said, " there is no danger of a discontinuance if the venire, be filed, the proper entry is that the jury ponitur in respectu ; if it be not filed, you may enter a vice comes, not misit breve, and cither will prevent a discontinuance." So that upon all . these authorities — Pretious v. Robinson, The King v. Franklin, The King v. Perry, The King v. Ilaire aiid Mann, and from all the books of practice, I draw this undeniable conclusion, that after one venire is returned and filed, there can- not be a second venire without a discontinuance and a mis-trial, unless under the authority of the statute of the 39th of Geo. II. But the prosecutor, in the present case, cannot rely on that act, because if this case be within its provisions, then there was a mis- trial for the other reasons adduced. Perhaps some flimsy attempts may be made to distinguish this ease from those I have cited, upon the idle allegation that the first venire was not filed. My lord, this distinction would be so very senseless, that I conjecture it would be resorted to only be- cause there is no other possible mode of escaping from the di- lemma to which the prosecution is reduced. But I disdiiin to argue upon so unfounded a distinction. The venire is produced in court from amongst your records ; it is produced, together with the rest of the record, and as part of the entire. Nothing is filed unless this venire be filed; and 1 believe it would he. im DANIEL OCONNELL, Eii:i., M.l'. 38U possible to show any authority to distinguish between records that are filed and records that are not, I dismiss the objectio.. with the perfect conviction that it cannot be seriously attende^l to, and does not deserve a serious reply. Thus, then, stands the case ; there are two venires, both re- turned and filed. The first is totally abandoned, and, although in the office, yet a false suggestion entered of vice comes not misit breve. There was, therefore, a discontinuance, there was. therefore, a mis-trial. There was a discontinuance because the first venire was not followed up in regular course. The entry should have been u respite o^ t\iQ ^wvy—ponitur in rt jpcrty, and then evict him from the land. 'fo resrtore the common law in these particulars would mucli tend to quiet the country ; but no efficient remedy will ever he adapted by a distant, and ill-informed and mis-informed legisla- ture ; and these evils will continue until Ireland shall have a resident parliament, instructed in the facts, and interested in the results. Perhaps the period of such a parliament is remote, but in it are centred all my hopes of permanent tranquillity for Iivlaiid. Th(? class of combinators on the score or under the pretence of religion is that which should engage our attention at present ; the^{ religious animosities are ten-ible and degrading, but they bi-iiig with them this consolation, that they are easy of remedy. They exist only at the pleasure of the administration : the go- vern luent, when it pleases, can terminate their course, and it will r-imain at the discretion of the ministry to put a period to religious dissensions, unless, indeed, the Orange faction shall be so lons^ fostered as to grow too strong for the persons who have nourished it, and to become too powerful for the legitimate au- thorities of the state. That period is still distant ; and now by the expression of a single wish, the government could extinguish religious factions in Ireland for ever. The Orange system exists only because it has the countenance of the administration, and :f that system ceased, religious animosities would vanish. To understand the nature of the associations on the score of religious diiForences, it is necessary to recur briefly to their history. The " Hearts of Steel" and " Peep-o'-Day Boys" were Protes- tant associations fur the oppression of the Roman Catholics. They existed only in the northern province. The " Peep-o'-Day Boys" associated principally in the county of AiToagh; their first ol)jeot was to prevent the Roman Catholics from having j..nTis. They attacked the houses of Roman Catholics early in the morning — taking name from this circumstance — and deprived the Catholics of arms. When the arms were quietly surren- deied, the asspilants usually did no further injury, but any re- sistance provoi<"td vengeance ; and resistance was natural, and, being sometir.iej successful, became frequent ; thence bloodshed, aj';d the repetition of attacks and outrages. The Roman Catholics, assailed by the " Peep-o'-Day Boys," without the slightest colour of law, and without any original provocation on their partS; formed themselves into counter as- DANIEti O'COrTNELL, ESQ., M.P. SO 5 sooiations, under the descriptive name of " Defenders ;" and from the year 1791 to the year 1795, a village warfare, a feud of un- mitigated barbarity, pervaded a great part of Ulster, between the two rival and illegal parties — the " Peep-o'-Day Boys" and the " Defenders." In the year 1795 a material alteration took place in one ol the parties. Several battles had taken place in that year, in which the "Peep-o'-Day-Boys," though inferior in numbers, were infinitely superior in discipline and arms, and were consequently successful. Their views enlarged : the total extirpation of the Catholics from Armagh, if not from Ulster, became a probable expectation ; and the name of " Peep-o'-Day-Boys" yielded its place to the system, regularity, and superior station of "Orange- men." A regular organization was planned and effectuated by bigots of a superior rank and order. A feeble imitation of free- masonry lent sometliing of mysticism, and much of regularity, to the Orange lodges. 1 had from a militia officer, a friend of mine, the detail of tlie initiation of an Orangeman. The gentleman 1 allude to was allowed, by mistake, to be present in an Orange lodge, in the county of Wexford, when two Orangemen were made. The cere- mony contained an analogy to the facts related in the seventii and eighth chapters of Judges, and the password was, "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon !" The Orangemen were the 300 selected by divine inspiration from the immense multitude — the 32,000 who originally formed the camp of the Israelites ; and as those 300 were composed, by the directions of the Most High, of the men who lapped water cut of their hands, without kneeling to drink at the running stream, so this chosen few of the Orangemen were designated as, " the men who lap and do not kneel !" And distinct allusions were made to a different liquor for Orangemen than water — a liquor to be furnished by the kneeling and superstitious Papists ! The oaths were administered with much solemnity, and the secret eigns communicated : and the newly-initiated were reminded that, 'vith so small a number, Gideon had brought confusion and de- struction on the numerous host of the Midianites ! The Orange men became thus the chosen of the Lord, and the Papists we)e the Midianites doomed to destruction. 1 have, I confess, sometimes been amused at the happy apti- tude of the hideous allegory. The chosen few, with Gideon, vrero successful, not by force or bravery, but because they intro- duced discord and '.li.sbeTision in the camn of their enemies. The r>(ic* 93 SELECT SPEECOES OP JNUdianites turned against each other their o^Tn swords, and thiis the Orangemen excite strife and dissension among the Catholics, ajid place their best hopes of success in our wretched dijferences. and squabbles ! And there are some Catholics^, perhaps, who would co-operate in the hateful purpose ; but the number is few, and the Orange- men must be disappointed, because there never was a period in •Irish history when so much congenialty of sentiment prevailed amongst the Irish Catholics. The first design of the Orangemen was the extirpation of the Catholics from Ulster : nor was this design confined to mere speculation. Out of the county of Armagh alone, more than seven hundred families were banished by the Orangemen ; — their properties were destroyed; their houses levelled or biu-ned; the lives of all endangered ; some of them murdered, and the sui'vivors driven from their farms, and compelled to quit the province. Had they committed any crime 1 Had they been guilty of any oiFence 1 Yes, they had : they were Roman Ca- tholics. Nothing more ; but that was sufficient : they were Koman Catholics. This is the first grand fact in the history of the Orangemen. In the audacity of falsehood, this fact may be denied, and tho person who asserts it may be treated as a calumniator. But this is a fact of which there is, fortunately, the most unquestion- able evidence. There is the testimony of Lord Gosford, the governor of the county of Armagh — testimony given publicly at a meeting of the magisti*ates of that county, convened by him on the 28th of December, 1795. He there stated, "that this ban- ditti," as he called them, ^"had commenced and carried on a per- secution of atrocious cruelty ; that they spared neither age, nor sex, nor innocence ; that neither ancient nor modern history could supply an example of the ruin and misery inflicted by the Orangemen ; and he added — let this, I pray, be marked well — '^ that the only crime of the wretched objects of this ruthless per- secution was, a profession of the Roman Catholic faith, or an in- timate connexion with a person of that faith !" Such was the testimony of a Protestant nobleman, resident on the spot, an eye-witness of what he described ; and he, too, a man of strong anti- Catholic feelings. The evidence of Mr. Grattau, also, at the same period, may be adduced. In parliament, he painted tlie origin of Orangeism — he detailed the first persecution of the Catholics bv the Oransremen — " Those insurerents/'said Mr. Orattan, "call thomHcives Orangemen, or Protestant Boys — that DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 397 is, a banditti of murderers, committing massacre in the name of God /" Such was thelans-uao-e of Mr. Grattan — such was the evi- dence of Lord Gosford ; and thus is the cardinal flict of the com- mencement of Omngeism, and its mischievous and murderous origin, placed beyond a doubt. From such a beginning the spirit of the Orange institution may be easily collected. Its history in Ireland is written in letters of blood, from its first murders in Armagh to its innocent and almost praiseworthy manslaughter of the present year in tha streets of Belfast. It is said that the original plan of extermination was aoon abandoned — that it was softened down to perpetual slavery and degradation ; that Catholics are to be allowed to live, provided they are quiet and tractable slaves. The rebellion in which the United Irishmen had engaged drove some men of a milder tone and temper into the Orange associations, and they are sa,id to have assumed something less of persecution; but the living prin- ciple of exclusion and reproach still remains, and cannot but bring forth fruits of bitterness and oppression. In 1800, anew organization of the Orange lodges took place, and, with more regularity, less zeal was exhibited. The system languished after the Union, and was decaying fast, and strong hopes were entertained that it would sink into oblivion, when, in an ill-starred hour, Ireland was handed over to the legal ad- visers of the secretaries to the Duke of Richmond, and in the year 1808, Orangeism, patronised and revived again, displayed its horrid front, to affright and desolate the land. The great patron of this revival was made a privy councillor — the Orange processions, insults, tumults, and murders ensued. I need not remind you of the unpunished massacre of Caharnashegagh; need not recal to recollection the introduction of this system into the county of Donegal, where it had been theretofore unknown. But I am compelled to lead you to that fact, because it is there that the origin of the Bibbonmen is to be found. The county of Donegal is one of the most Catholic counties in Ireland : almost all the peasantry in that county are Catholics. Like the other two greatest Catholic counties, Gal way and Kerry, neither disaffection nor disturbance were found there durius: the rebellion ; and, as in the latter counties, so in Donegal, the Orange institution was unknown until the year 1809, when, in the Richmond administration, it was introduced into that countv. one scarcely knows why, unless as part of a gf^neral plan. Orange processions were established ; the people^ insulted and 3i)S SELECT SPEECHES OP outraged, were easily induced to apprehend greater evils : they saw no reason why, during a prufound and long-continued tran- quillity, their religion should bo vilified and insulted, and their persons exposed to danger and outrage. They imagined that the Orange Society was sanctioned by the law, as they saw it re- main unrestrained and unpunished. They resolved to form a counter-association, similar in plan and form to the Orange As- sociation, to be exclusively of Roman Catholics, and to be confined merely to the purposes of defence against the attacks of the Orangemen. The Roman CathoUcs of the county of Donegal did therefore associate under the denomination of Ribbonmen ; and several anti-Orange or Ribbon Societies were soon formed. The Ribbonmen, like the Orangemen, were bound toLrether bv oaths of se^Tccy and co-operation. Like the Orangemen, they had their secret articles annexed to their oaths; like the Orange- men, they were organized in lodges, having a master and a de- puty-master, a secretary, and three committee men to each lodge. The Orangemen, have, indeed, five committee men to each regular lodge — the Ribbonmen were content with three. As the Orange violences in the counties neighbouring to Donegal became more frequent, the Ribbon Societies extended. About two years ago they formed a regular Grand Lodge, still imitating the Orangemen, which was composed of nine grand officers, and held its sittings in Derry. From this Grand Lodge, there were, I am told, more than ninety lodges affiliated ; and it is said that in the space of six months upwards of twenty thousand men between the ages of eighteen and forty, had been sworn in as members of this association ! Such was, as I am informed, the state of the Ribbon Society in the month of June, and it was then rapidly extending itselfinto the more southern counties of Ulster. I have great pleasure in adding, that the address published by the Catholic Board, in June last, had the most powerful efiect in putting a stop to the meeting, and, I am assured, it induced the Grand Lodge of the Ribbonmen to resign its functions. Those who were before the most active partizans of the system have since exerted themselves with energy and success to suppresf its lodges. The system has been broken up, and unless the re- novated activity of Orangeism shall give it new life (of which there is much reason to be apprehensive), the Ribbon Society will shortly be at an end for ever. I have not stated the oaths by which this society was bound Those oaths were, I understand, three times uttoyed. At first DAJblEl C'CONXELL, ESQ., M.P. 30 '3 the Ptibboiimen's oath commenced with a dh-ect, positive; and unconditioDal oath of allegiance. They also swore to assist in the defence of the Catholic clergy and laity against the attacks of Orangemen, and an oath of secrecy as to what was to be pri- vately communicated to them was added. This oath was soon altered j and in its place was substituted an oath resembling almost exactly the Orange oath. It began with an oath of alle- giance to the king, his heirs and successors, so long as he ana they should protect the Catholic clergy and laity of Ireland from the illegal violence of schismatics, heretics, and Orangemen ; and it then continued and concluded as the former oath. The third oath and that latterly adopted, was diflerent from the former in nothing else, as I am infoi-med, than in omitting altogether the part that related to allegiance to the king. Such, according to my infoiTnation, is the short history of tl e Society of Ribboumen. This society owed its origin to the Orangemen. Its decay was the work of the Board. But tiie Orangemen are again on the alert. The resemblance in coldur and name, for in UDthing else are they like to the patriots in Hol- land, has filled the Irish bigots with fresh hopes and renovated fury. In the north, they indulge in excesses almost as ridiculous as they are illegal. A festival of three days, an Orange boven of half a week, has been lately celebrated in Derry. Under the ludicrous pretence that it was necessary to bless, with the Orange flag, the first stone of a new court-house, a three-days' festival 'was celebrated, sufficient to remind the poor Catholics of Deny of the Spartan solemnities, during which it was permitted to in- flict e\ :rj cruelty on the wretched helots. The consequences of this most absurd carnival, at which baro- nets and bishops, sheriffs and clergymen, magiistrates and mobs joined in revelry, may be a revival of the Piibbon ledges. At- tempts have been made, I am told, to revive tl.iem, even before this festival; and unless a strong impression be now made of tliC illegality and impolicy of those lodges, there is reason to appre- hend that they will once more multiply. The people will readily listen, however, to us, as they have done before. They know we are actuated by no moti\ e but the pure and disinterested desire to obtain for them relief, in the only way that relief can or ought to be obtained — according to the constitution. We wLo are honoured with popular cju- tidence, only because we have desen'cd it- — we will easily per- suade the people to avoid \ iolating the law, or exposing them- Eelves, as thej must do, if they continue in 'hose associations, 400 SELECT SPEECHES OP *o the treacLery of their pretended friends, and to the persecu- tions of their open enemies. We will point out to the people that these illegal societies expose them to certain punishment ; that no useful result can possibly arise from them ; that the individuals who belong to them will be prosecuted, and the Catholic body disgraced by their continuance, whilst the very existence of those societies will serve as a pretext and excuse for the Orangemen to continue their outrages. It will gratify their appetite for vengeance, and disappoint the hopes and wishes of the individuals of this Board, who are looking for Emancipation through the legitimate channels of the constitution. In short, the Orangemen will be gratified and delighted by the continu- ance of those associations ; whilst the real friends of Ireland, who, amidst danger and calumny, have continued to advocate the Catholic cause, must retire in disgust and des]Dair, if the people will not abandon all illegal societies. That the Ribbon Society is illegal is easily proved by a refer- ence to the statute book. The statute of the 50th of the King, chapter 102, includes almost every possible case of an associa- tion bound together by any solemn oath or engagement. The oath is illegal, if the person taking it be bound to any associa- tion, brotherhood, committee, society, or confederacy whatsoever, formed, or to be formed, for any seditious purpose, or to disturb the peace, or to injure persons or property, or to obey any com- mander, officer, or leader, or to obey any committee, or the or- ders, rules, or commands of any committee, or other body of men, or to assemble at the desire or command of any such per- son or persons, or not to give evidence against any brother asso- ciate, or for various other purposes mentioned in the statute. Now, it is very clear that an organised association such as the Pdbbonmen, must be bound, by import of its engagement, to as- semble at the command of some superior, and to obey some rulea or orders. The Ribbonmen are, therefore, liable to punishment under this statute. The Orangemen by the sixth rule in their secret articles, are bound to assemble at any time when sum- moned by the master, getting ten hours' notice, or, if possible, at any other time. They are also bound to obey all the rules contained in the ten secret articles. It is, therefore, equally clear that the Orangemen are within the statute of the 50th of the King. A.nd upon an indictment, properly framed under that statute, if the evidence of the facts that realjv e::cist could be given, there is no doubt that for every Ribbonman and Orango- man s\v()i-n siucfj the year 18 '..0, the person who administerc-ii tho LAMhL OCOXNELL, IJSQ., M.P. 401 oath could be transported for life, and the Orangeman or Ribbon- man who took it could be transported for seven years. I am aware that the Orangemen run no great risk of being pro- secuted. But the impunity of the Orangeman affords no great protection to the unfortunate Ribbonman. Tlie Ribbonman will be only the more certainly prosecuted because of the indulgence held out to the Orangemen. Would to God I could see an ad- ministration in Ireland that would equally and impartially hold out protection and ])unishment, according to law and not other- V7ise, to both parties. I am very ready to believe ; nay, it is the conviction of my Eoul, and I loudly proclaim it, that if Lord Whitworth was ap- prised of the real state of those fgicts, he would fulfil the pledge lie has so distinctly given — of an equal and impartial adminis- tration of justice. But Lord Whitworth is surrounded by men who are deeply interested in deceiving him. The facts are con- cealed from him. The truth is disguised. The Catholics arc represented as desiring the overthrow of the constitution — the Orangemen as its supporters. But the truth is, that the Catbo- lics most anxiously wish to see the constitution placed beyond the possibility of danger ; they are, to a man ready to die for the integrity of the empire and of the constitution. The Orange- men, on the other hand, seek to control the legislature, and to oppress their fellow-subjects, and perpetuate their slavery; they would continue Irishmen as slaves, in the name of a constitution that iC'^^ve us freedom as a birthrioht. To return to the illegality of these associations. The Ribbon- raen are liable to be indicted under another statute, by the loth and 16th of the King, chap. 21, it is declared to be a high mis- demeanour, punishable by fine, by imprisonment, by whipping, for any persons to assemble, by day or night, with any unusiial badge, or to assume any particular name or denomination. The Ribbonmen are liable to punishment under this statute ; they assemble with a badge — a green ribbon : thev assume the deno- raination of Ribbonmen. For either offence they may be in- dicted and punished. It is true that the Orangemen come ex- pressly within the provisions of the same statute — they assemble with bridges of orange — they assume a particular denomination — Omngemen. Under this statute they may and ought to be indicted ; nay, I can answer for it they will be indicted, if the Oatliolics enable us, as 1 am sure they will enable us^ to put to- gf-.ihcr the funds necessary for carrying on those prosecutions, ii.it even the impunity of tl\e Orancfomeu afford.o no prospect (.v** 4'»i} SEi/KC'J; SfEECUtS Ot" tiafety for tlio itibbonmeu. The Ribbonmon of tbe Nortb, like the AVliitcboys of the South., will cxpe;cieDce tlie rigour of the statute, :viihough the Oianoenicn maybe allor/ed to escape without puu- ishment, notwithstanding the plain violation of the Liw ! The duty of the Board, under those circumstances, is to expose to the Catholics of Ulster the criminality and the folly of engag- ing in any secr'jt adsociatiou. It inay be suggested that tho people are driven, in their own defence and by persecution, into those combinations. The answer is ready — the people need not be driven to anv such extremitv, because for the outrao^es of the Oi-angemen legal redress may be obtained ; and if the indivi- duals attacked be too poor to procure that redress for themselves, the Board will readily enable them to bring their cases before the public and the courts of justice. We will enable them to seek for and obtain all the redress that the law can give in such cise ; but no man shall partake of our assistance who will con- tinue any longer a member of any illegal confederacy whatsoever. Let what will become of the Kibbonmen, fr©m us they can never expect countenance or support. But the poor Catholics who have the good sense to avoid any such association shall be certain of meeting pecuniary and professional assistance. Wo will not go to war with the Orangemen, however able and willing we may be to do so ; but we will go to law with them, and ex- pose their absurd pretensions and atrocious cruelties to contempt and punishment. By adopting my motion for another address to the people, you will have an opportunity of again cautioning them against being the dupes of their own passions, or of the artifices of their onemies. You will call upon them to confide in the laws, and you will enable them to secure all the protection that law can give. _ _ • Mr. O'Connell concluded by moving — That a committee should be appointed to prepare an address to the people cautioning Ihom ao-ainst illecj^al associations. ilotioii agreed to and the meeting adjourned. •^ADDRESS TO THE PEOPLE. "Fellow Couxtrymen axd Fellow Sufferers !-— llie Generdt Board of the Catholics of Ireland, to whom you have confided your petitions to the legislature, once more address you. They DANIEL o'CONKELL, ESQ., JI.P. 40 o claim the continuance of your confidence only Iv^causo they feal that they deserve it by the zeal and purity of their intcnticns and exertions in the cause of your religion and your country, " Fellow- Countrymen, the object of your petitions is sanc- tioned by justice; it is enforced by wisdom; it must be attained, unless the artifices of your enemies shall triumph over justice and wisdom ! "We say their artifices, because their arguments ) have failed, and their calumnies are forgotten or despised. " Amongst their artifices we dread but one — it is that which has been tried with success on former occasions — it is one to which you are exposed by your situation, your sufiierings, and your feelings. Your enemies luish to hetray you into illegal asso^ ciations and comljinations ! They wish to bring upon yon pun- ishment, aggi-avated by its being merited ; and they still mere ejiruestly desire to ruin your cause and that of Ireland ! "Their emissaries, become more cautious from former detec- tion, are likely to assume deeper disguise. It is our duty to expose to you the evils which must ensue to yourselves and the Catholic cause if you enter into any illegal or secret combination. " Kopeated acts of parliament have pronoimced associations and combinations, for almost any imaginable purpose, to be ille- gal. A recent statute, called the 50th of Geo. III. chap. 102, besides more associations which are plainly criminal, as for sedi- tious piu-poses, or to disturb the public peace, has declared every association, brotherhood, committee, or society whatsoever, to be unlawful, if formed to injure any person, or the property of any person — or to comjjel any persooi to do, or omit, or refuse to do, any act ivhatsoever. That statute has also declared any oath or engagement to be illegal, which imports to bind any pers-vn tc obey the rules, or orders, or commands of any committee or body of men not lawfully constituted ; or of any captain, leader, or commander not appointed by the king ; or binding any persons to assemble at the command of any such captain, leader, com- mander, or committee, or of any person not having lawful autho- rity ; or binding any person not to inform nor give evidence ; or not to reveal nor discover having taken any illegal oath, or hav- ing done any illegal act, or to conceal any illegal oath hereafter to be taken. " For inducing or procuring, by any means, the takmg of any Buch oath or engagement, the punishment is transportation for life. He who takes any such oath is liable to transportation for eeven years ; and it will not be received as an excuse that the party has been compelled, by force or menace, to take such oath, 404 SELECT SPEECHES OF unless he make full discover j to a magistrate within seve-i days. " By another act of parliament, called the loth and IGth of the King, chap. 21, it is made a high misdemeanour, punishable by pillory or whipping, to wear any particular badge or dress, or to assume any particular name or denomination of party. " Recollect, too, we en-treat of you, that not only is it unlawful and punishable to assume the name, or wear the colours orbadgo of such an association, or to take or induce any person to enter into engagement or oath to belong thereto : but that almost every act, in pursuance of such oath or engagement, is made by various acts felony of deatii. Even to assault a dwelling house (strangely as the phrase may sound), is a capital felony in Ire- land. And to raise the arm, even without a blow, is an assault 1:1 law. '• So that he who, in pursuance of the plans of any such asso- ciation, raises his unarmed hand against a dwelling house, may, for that offence, be capitally convicted and suffer death ! " We select this instance to show you the extent to which capital punishments are applicable by law to the consequences of illegal associations. '•' Transportation for seven yeai's is the doom of him who en- ters into any illegal association. •'' Transportation for life is visited upon him who induces an- other to enter into an illegal association. "^ And finally — death is the punishment of him who does any one act in pursuance of the designs of an illegal association. "Such, fellow-countrymen, are the punishments which the law denounces against illegal associations — whether they be called White Boys or Right Boys, Thrashers or Carders, Ribbon- rnen or Orangemen, they all are liable to punishment, and all de- serve condemnation. '- It is quite true that some delinquents may esca]'0 ; but do not flatter yourselves that you can be of the fortunate number. I f you transgi'ess the law, you will meet, as you will deserve, all the zeal and activity of prosecution. '■' Reflect upon these serious subjects for your consideration. If y(*u offend against the laws, what favour can you hope for ? what favour have you unj grounds for expecting ? " Reflect, also, upon the inutility of these associations. What utility — what advantage of any description has ever been da- 'ived from them 1 None — none whatsoever ! No redress ha."? <;ver been obtained by their mean« They have been quite uso- DAiN^IEL O'CONXELL, ESQ., 31.1'. 4:U6 les^! Nay, worse, they have always proclucea crimes ! — robbery, outrage, murder ! ! ! " And they have uniformly been followed by numerous execu- tions, in which the innocent have been often taken for and con- founded with the ouiltv ! " Do you require any other arguments to induce you to refrain from these associations ? Perhaps you are careless of your own lives ? You cannot be insensible to the blood of the innocent ! " There is. however, another inducement to refrain : your ene- mies — the men who would deny you the poor privilege of wor- shipping your God as your forefathers have worshipped — these men, all these men, anxiously desire that you should form cri- minal combinations and confederations ; they want but a pre- text for framing laws still stronger and more sanguinary ; they want but a pretext to lay the heavy hand of power upon your country and your religion ! " Your enemies seek to seduce or to drive you into illegal as- sociations. Your fi'iends, the Catholic Board, ardently desire to prevent your forming any such association". They conjure you, if you confide in them, to hearken to advice which can be dic- tated only by their affectionate attachment to you. They con- jure you to respect the laws — to live in peace — to offer no outrage nor injury to any man — to seek legal redress alone fcr eveiy injury and outrage inflicted on- you. " That redress is and shall he, within your reach. " They beseech you to look for relief from your gi'ievanccs only through the lawful channel of petitioning parliament. " And they confidently promise you, that the wisdom of par- liament will speedily extend that relief, if you continue, by peaceable and dutiful conduct, to deserve it ; to gratify your friends, and disappoint your enemies. " So will you afford us the happiness of seeing your religion rescued from the calumnies and inflictions of centuries of perse- cution, and jour countrymen of all classes and persuasions re- conciled, coherent, and finally fv<}0 l" 405 SELECT SPEECHES OP CATHOLIC BOARD. Saturday, January 8 snAKESPEAKE GALLERY, EXCHEQUER-STREET, Mr. Sukklock in the Cliair. Secretary read proceedings of former meeting. Mr. O'Connell, from the committee appointed to prepare an adaress'to the northcrtt Catl:olics concerning illegal societies, stated the address was not I'eady, and, on uiotion. got Iwive 10 sit again till the next Saturday. ^Ir. La^^■less asked the secretary if the resolution for printing Mr, Lidwell's speech !iaJ been acted on. Secretary replied it had not llr. Lawless having said he would move for the printing. Mr. Mahon saw no necessity for the motion. Kr. O'Connell suggested to Mr. Lawless the appointment of a committee to have tLe ?-pcech printed. It was the best speech he had ever heard, and a copy ought to be in tlio lunds of ever)' member of parliament before the end of the long adjournment. Suggestion adopted, and a committee of five named. Lird Donoughmore and Mr. Grattan s letters having, on Mr. O'ConneL's motion, been, read .— Mr. O'Connell said, he trusted those letters haa made, and would continue to make, a deep impression on the minds of the Catholics of Ireland. He should judge of the moral fitness of the Catholic population of the land for freedom, by the sensation those letters had created. and should continue to create. Deep, but not loud, should be the feelings of men deserving liberty. It belonged to the spirit of philosophic inquiry to trace out the causes of which the tem- per and tone of those letters were the natural results : but it belonged to the dignity of philosophic patriotism to bear with this temper and tone in patient, and, he may add, unrelenting calmness. For my part (said he) I may, perhaps with the greatest justice, be denied the praise of either philosophy or patriotism ; but in treating of the subject of those letters, and especially of that of the Earl ot Donoughmore, I have another guide ; it consists in perfect respect for the purity of his intentions, and gi-eat gi-ati- tude for his manly, uncompromising, unconditional, unqualiiied advocacy of emancipation. He did not talk of entering into any traffic between a portion of the liberty of the constitution and a fra,gment of the discipline of our Church. He did not insult his enslaved countrymen by supposing or admitting, that though we were quiet whilst we were kept in thraldom, we should become riotous, and ought to be put upon "our securities" the moment Daniel o'conneli,, ksq., m.p 107 wo were liberated. No, Sir j the advocacy of Lord Donough* more was precisely that which the great people whose cause ho was to support, wished and wanted. It took right and justice for its lofty ground, and scorned traffic, and barter, and compro- mise. I repeat, therefore, that Lord Donoughmore so entirely com- mands my respect and gratitude, that I am in no danger of sug- gesting any course respecting his letter inconsistent with those feelings. As to the other letter — that of Mr. Grattan — -it is not my intention to introduce, with respect to it, any proceedings for the present ; and I am the more inclined to refrain, lest what I have said of Lord Donoughmore should suggest any unpleasant contrast. If such contrast arises, let me not be accused for it — I make no comparisons ; and if, in the nature of the facts, any contrast arise, let the blame be flung on the facts, and not on me, who am bound by every argument supplied by my judgment, and by every affection of my soul, to prefer — greatly to prefer, and to praise, indeed to praise exclusively, the unconditional, unqualified, uncompromising advocacy of our rights. S'ich has been the support given to the Irish people by tho Earl of Donoughmore, and for that he deserves and possesses our warmest hearts. • With these sentiments towards our advocates we are "not to forget ourselves. Indeed those letters not only make it impos- sible to forget, but they open a new view of the state of tho Catholics of Ireland ; they have led me to a discovery of some magnitude — -they have shown me distinctly the cause of many appearances that I reckoned most monstrous and unnatural ; they I av3 reconciled me to Duigenan, to Musgrave, and to Gifiiird ; they have disclosed to me the source and secret of their abuse. Vulgar it is, and coarse ; but then vulgarity and coarseness are scarcely the fault of the individuals ; it is to be attributed to their education, and habits, and tempers. Had they the education and temper of gentlemen they would treat us differently ; we should have a better style and more courtly condescension in their re- proach, and even in the calumny of their advice ; but the prin- ciple would not be different from that which they act on at pre- sent. It is a principle discoverable and discovered by me, for the first time, in those letters. It consists simply in the natural and moral superiority which the law imposes upon the Protectant over t!ic Irish Catholic. It is to be fnund in the natiu-al and moi*>i.l in- (f\)S SELECT SPK1WHEX3 Otf reriority to the Protestant, which the law iuillcts on the IrifeVi Catholic. A century of persecution comnaenced by the grossest violation of the faith of treaties that ever disgraced the page of history, authentic or fictitious. A century of legal degradation has so lessened and brought down the Irish Catholics in the eyes of their Protestant neighbours, that we are in the scale of humanity but dwarfs compared with those social giants. I was long aware that such was the estimate of us in which our enemies indulged j but this correspondence was necessary in order to convince me that the same prejudice lurked in the minds of our fi'iends. I flattered myself that wc had risen in their esti- mation ; I did imagine we had ceased to be whitewashed negroes, and had thrown off for them all traces of the colour of servitude ; but this correspondence has, 1 confess, done away the delusion. Perhaps they are themselves unconscious of this claimed su- jjeriority — indeed I believe that they perceive it not — being a matter of habit, and having arisen before reflection, and unaided by reasoning, it may well happen, and I believe it does happen, that our friends are themselves unaware of the judgment of in- feriority which has been tacitly passed upon us ; and that when they announce, as those letters announce, a plain superiority — • a superiority not as of any assumption but as of clear right, our friends are themselves ignorant of the assertion of any such su- periority. In short, my conviction now is, that the inferiority of the Irish Catholic resembles a species of innate idea in the minds of our Protestant friends, which remains there unaccom- panied by any distinct consciousness of its existence. Do the Catholics really deserve this opinion of inferiority? I think not — I think both their enemies and their friends will soon ucknowledge their just claims to equality, if the Catholics con- tinue to look to themselves and to their own exertions, for their ■^rst and best claim of success. Conceding this superiority for the present, and cautiously fivoiding to hurt its national pride, or to provoke any other ex- hibition of its inherent dignity, there is yet one passage in the letter of the Earl of Donoughmore which requires a reply fi'om the Soard, and one passage only. It is that which relates to representation — it is that in which the noble lord seems to charge upon us having assumed or exercised a representative ca- pacity. I feel at once that this charge could have originated simply and singly in the mistake or misapprehension of the noble lord. It cannot have any other soui*ce whatsoever than from DANIEL O'COXNELL, ESQ., M.P. 409 (somo misrepresentation of the mode of our association, or of our conduct when associated. But, admitting and proclaiming the purity of the motive of making this charge ; it is, however, even upon that account, the more imperative upon us to set his lordship right upon the sub- ject. We owe it to him to afford him accurate infoiTQation on this interesting subject. We owe it to ourselves to prevent the possibility of the continuance of mistake or misapprehension or this important subject. I am confident I need use no other argument to induce the Board to adopt my motion for giving the noble lord precise nformation with respect to our association, than the manifest propriety of giving our advocate a true view of oiu- situation. We have too much respect for him to allow him to remain in, 3rror. But there is another and a pressing motive for disclaiming the imputed representation. It is to be found in the construc- tion put on the convention act by our adversaries. They have procured, by their arguments, the decision that " pretence" and " purpose" are synonymous, and that any persons who meet, no matter under what " pretence" — no matter for what " purpose" — commit a crime if they really be, or assume to be, representa- tives. This decision establishes that the crime prohibited by the statute, consists in " representation," but in " representa- tion" alone. The pretence or purpose is immaterial. The only thing, said the Attorney-General, and say the judges of the King's Bench, to be inquired into is, representative or not. This decision suited the purposes of the prosecutor at the time it ^as pronounced, but it has now become inconvenient to him, and is certainly at this moment the protection of the Board from his attacks. Our construction of the statute would have limited the Catholic committee to the exclusive consideration of a peti- tion. The only purpose should, according to our construction, have been petition, leaving us, perhaps, the empty honour of claiming an useless and almost ridiculous title to a representa- tive capacity ; and then, upon our own showing, and with our own assent, the Attorney- General would have a right to put down the committee the moment it departed from the strict lino of mere patitioners. But our construction was overruled ; the Attorney-General was too wise to adopt it, though it was manifestly the most ccn- vcaient, as well as the most constitutional view of the subiecf. 2 D 410 SELECT SPEECHES OF He did not foresee that we would divest the select meeting of the Catholics of all representative capacity, and that getting rid of representation, we should, upon the Attorney- General's own showing, and upon the authority of the Court of King's Bench, be entitled to discuss other subjects with as full and strong a right as that of petition. The result of the prosecution of Doctor Sheridan and ^Mr. Kirwan, has, therefore, been highly beneficial to us. It has been infinitely more useful to the Catholic body than if we had succeeded in obtaining a judgTaent of the court. Then our com- mittee must have been confined within the narrowest limits of ■preparing and forwarding petitions, but now we run no risk Oi any indictment on the Convention Act. whatever extent our de- iiberatioiib may have. There is, however, one precaution— ^it is simply this, that we are not to be, nor pretend to be, representatives. Allow me here to protest against being understood to say that, as a lawyer, I conceive the construction put on the statute by the Court of King's Bench right. No ; I certainly think the court was mistaken ; and I hope the first possible opportunity of bringing that construction in review before a superior tribunal will be taken ; but, until it is reviewed, until it is altered, it is cur duty to submit to it, and to acquiesce in it. I do, there- fore, cheerfully submit to the decision, although not convinccal of its accuracy : as the court has no claim to infallibility, it is liable to error. But, submitting to its present opinion, it became necessary to :.void not only the reality, but all appearance of representation. We are not constituted upon any scheme of representation. We never claimed any representative capacity ; on the contrary, we always disclaimed it ; and having it now charged upon us oy the Earl of Donoughmore, we are bound again to disclaim it, because our silence, under such a charge, might be construed into an admission of its justice. Yes, upon legal principlet>- lilence would now be an admission of this legal crime ; and it is scarcely necessary to remind the meeting that the same law offi- cer who plunged the Richmond administration into a warfare of litigation — nor a very wise one, I imagine, with the Catholic people — has. every motive of resentment, of passion, of prejudice, and even of interest to induce him, if he can, to involve the pre- ^sent administration in a similar silly contest. _ The historian of human nature has admirably described his State physician as presenting similar^r-^medies for all diseases. DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 41 \ TTo prescribed bleeding and wM-m water for all Ins patients, ^^ith uniform success. They all died. The Sangrado of tlid law is as uniform in his prescription : it is simply a state pro- secution, as a remed}' for all evils. Prosecute, prosecute, is evei on his lips. fle has not, indeed, been uniformly successful ; nor has the learned and grave doctor effected any great political cures. But ho is as sanguine as ever in his opinion of the efficacy of his prescriptions ; and if this letter of Lord Donoughmore remain unanswered, it will aftord the Attorney- General a fair pretext for what he delights in — a new prosecution. He will be able to read, as part of his speech, two paragraphs from the letter; and we should have the mortification of finding the language of our friend and advocate rendered useful to the most bitter and unrelenting of our enemies — the only one of our enemies, indeed, who actively, and zealously, and from his heart opposes us — the single individual whose passions and whose conscience — such is the force of early and hereditary pre- judice — drive him to seek for any prosecutions that may impede our progress. It would be melancholy — it would be deplora^-le, that such a man should be furnished with arguments against us by the Earl of Donoughmore ! The authority of that noble lord ought to have great weight with any jury ; and it is pos- sible — recollect that I only say it is possible — that the Attorney- General may find in the city of Dublin a jury sufficiently dis- posed to convict us on the authority of Lord Donoughmore. I speak with great reverence of Dublin juries. It is boasted that they do their duty gratuitously ; but duty is done as well and as zealously for love as for money ; and we ought to avoid giving them gratuitous trouble. For the ease of these juries, and for our own protection, let us respectfull}^ but distinctly, disclaim the imputation of representation v.'hich the noble lord has, by mistake, cast upon us. I conclude by again referring this correspondence to the seri- ous consideration of the people of Ireland, Let them weigh it well. If it meet disapprobation amongst us, it has had more than enough of praise from our enemies. There is not a public writer enlisted against the Catholics, that has not been decided in his approbation of it. It is certainly our duty to reply to this para- graph. There our epistolary intercourse will end, for our sug- gestions ought to be so framed as not to require any reply. Would to God that I could revive in the mind of Mr. Grattan liis former feelings for the Catholics of Ireland ! — that I could 412 SELECT SPEECHES OP rouse him to that energy with which he formerly advocated oiir cause. What securities did he ever speak of in the Irish Parliament 1 What apprehension was about him for the Established Church, •n the year 1793, when he obtained so much for us? Where were his alarms then ? and yet that, if ever, was the period in which the Established Church might have been in danger. What is there in the English air to alter the mental vision, so that it shall behold gorgons, and hydras, and chimeras dire, where before it saw nothing but the pleasant prospect of amity, strength, and social security 1 Would I could conjure up the ghosts of the illustrious dead who so often aided him in his battle for ids then own Ireland ; and amid the group I would call up the phantom of departed Ire- land herself to remind him of what he was, and what he ought to be, unsophisticated by the delusions of English politics. In the sacred names of the mighty dead, I would conjure him, to return to the grand and simple principle of the right to perfect liberty of conscience I Whether he succeed or fail in that pursuit his ancient glories will brighten in the rays of these his later lionours ; and he will singly sustain, in degenerate days, the con- ristency, as well as the splendour of the first models of Grccian and Koman virtue ! An incident occurred just after the termination of this speed, that, trifling in itself would yet supply tht key, were such wanting, to the policy that has pervaded and marked Ihfi public life of the subject of this work. One of the members of the Board present, Mr. B. Coyle, drew Mr. O'Connell's attention to a person who was taking notes of the proceedings, at a place different from the usuax ;.eats of the reporters ; being below the kind of " bar" formed by a railing at the end of the room. This person Mr. Coyle said he believed to belong to the police-office. The mdividual thus made the object of general attention, admitted that he was em- ployed by the police authorities, and said " that he acted selely by the command of hij '■uperiors, and sincerely hooed he should not be held to have thereby forfeited tlie regard of others." "Mr. O'Conncll," continues the report, "said that was all periectly fair, and that he ex- pected by the next meeting to have a desk or table, at which two or three, or as many more as the police should think fit, might be accommodated comfortably." Thirty or forty times at least, during the course of his agitation, similar occasions have arisen for similar steps upon his part— greatly to the disappointment and discomfiture of the authorities, he shewed such readiness to oblige. It would have been the most agreecible news at the Castle, during any period of that long coarse of agitation, to htve word brought that Mr. O'Conneil had caused to be turned out. f r obstructed, or even shown a disinclination to the attendance of the police reporters, at "ny of his thousand-fold meetings. Wlien in a few years lifter the period at which our sketch has arrived, the Catholic Association arose, and almost from its birtli began to give symptoms of how far it wouid sr>:»-pass all former popular gatherings in its gii»nt matmi/, two reporters, and of a cla-v ?u'x\x suienor to the nolicf news cwrin;* wiao had hitherto been u::';r.]lj tn,i,ioyed ui the DAMEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 4lS (Vvilic'S of watching and cominiinicating all proceedings oftlie Catliollcs at tTicir meetings wore delegated to attend. Roth acknowledged subsequently that tliey had come to Ireliu.a U^iey were English by birth) with the most rueful and despondent feelings, fully impresso.l ■yith the conviction that they were doomed men, in being selected not only to go to that larbulent and throat-cutting countrj-, Ireland, but to attend the consultations of tlieterri- bjo confederacy acting under the orders of the arch-rebel, O'Connell ! Being fair-minded and well-disposed men, they very soon learned to laugh at their fan- cied terrors, and freely acknowledged the highly favourable impressions they received from ihc gene)-al tone of tlie proceedings at the Association. One of them indeed became quile fiery in his partizanship in favour of Mr. O'Connell and his Association. Mr. O'Connell was ever careful, as his words already quoted indicate, to provide the fulle-t and the amplest accommodation to parties thus sent; and their generally inoffensive, auii highly creditable conduct made him the more anxious to convenience and oblige them. Ihero have been but two or three instances in which his attention has been at all badly rc-pai J ; niid these are scarcely of moment sufficient to be mentioned at all CATHOLIC "SECUPJTIES." TfTE year 1814, with which we have now to occupy ourselves, was one of a very eventful nature. The '^ veto" or '' securities'' discussion was hottest in that year, and the oppo j tion to it tlie most earnest, and in its results the most eflTective. Some vantage ground had been given to the advocates of the "veto" by the gcncr.il pio. Kuilgation of the fact that, in 1799, a portion— but a very small one, being not one-thlvd— of the Irish Catholic hierarchj% had, under the extreme pressure of the sad and difficult tircums-.ii.ces of that time of terror, and with great limitations and reservations, in some degree entertained the proposition of " securities.'" Making the most, however, of the concessions which they were at all inclined to consider lliey amounted to no more than an expression of readiness to allow of some species of guarantee being held out against the possible appointment to 'ligh ecclesiastical office in Ireland of persons who might be known to be inimical to the connexion between Grc.it Britain and Ireland. This was the entire effect and purport of the document which was said, and with trat.'j, to have been drawn up in 1799. This document (according to the account afterwards given of it by the celebrated Dr Milner, the distinguished and most learned vicar apostolic of the Midland District i-i England, and for several years the agent of the Irish Catholic bishops) was signed by the V mall proportion mentioned of the Irish hierarchy, while under a delusion as to the fair jitentions of the government, but was soon after attempted to be suppressed by themselves f^ far as possible, when they began to see througli their delusion. Such a document, however, was far too precious to the enemies of the Catholics, anu of iheir religious independence, not to be preserved ; and indeed undue pains were taken to t'reserve it by the parties to whom it would have appeared strange to apply tlia*; esignation. The English Catholics procured copies of it to be printed and privately circu- ited ; and when in 1808, the question of veto was first distinctly taken up by the Govern -cnent, some of these copies were found in the ministers' liands. Catholics on this side of the water were also found to involve themselves in this terrici.: 'ristake. The honoured name of Lord Fingal was unfortunately to be reckoned iimongst them ; and the part he took was sufficiently active. It procured for him the dS'inctiiii, Kjch as it was, of a special letter from Led GrenviUe, cxplainiiu- t.Uf views of the Uiito-'J <.al)iri.:t in j ropcsing the ' sKcvhiriFs." 41-4 SCLECT SrEECHES OF " Srinisters," said the letter, "must have an effectual control over the appointment of Catholic priests, for the security of the religions establishments of this country." That was to say, that in order to preserve the temporalities of the Protestant Church In Lngland (and of course in Ireland,) it was necessaiy that Catholic priests should if possi- .;le, be made the creatures and tools of the government. A strange inducement and recommendation to Catholics of the proposed measures ! Dr. Milner was summoned to an interview with Mr. Ponsonby, on Saturday, 21st of May. !S08 ; when being introduced by Lord Fingal, he M-a^ questioned as tc what likelihood thsre was of inducing "his constituents," the Irish bishops, to favour the " veto/' or some equiva- It nt security. L) is reply (as stated by himself in a letter of February 13th, 1811, to the Freeman t Journal, answering and commenting on some statements with regard to his conduct in the -.matter, made in an article in the thirty-third number of the £dinturgh Review, was to tV.-. t\ ILowing eifect : — " Thfut he had no instructions from the Irish prelates relative to their udmitting of a regnl interference in the appointment of their future colleagues; and that, therefore, be covla ■jive no pledge whatever on their behalf: that he well knew they could not admit of o»j' ivsiiive interference in this business on the part of the uncaDtolic govemmeni ; — nevertheless, that he himself v/as persuaded there was a disposition in them to admit of such a limited ;:tgative interference as might give the proposed additional pledge with respect to the loy. alh- of episcopal candidates. Finally, that in consequence of his undecisive answer, he was t'.iiccted by the right honourable gentleman to v/rite to Ireland for instructions, which l"-c .lid, in letters to five different prelates." The answers which he receivea to these commimications were, nowever, of such a nature, i.1 the majority of inst,ances, as to make evident to him his mistake; and he accordingly took immedi-ate steps to make it known cquallj- to al! wliom it concerned. The rest of the discussion, so far as oiir sketch lias to do with it, will be noticed as v:n proceed. On the 3rd of February, the persecution of Magee recommenced in tne Queen s Eencb V'ith the indictment against him for the Kilkenny resolutions of August last. It is quite enough to say that the Attorney-General had, in this case as in all others lio rieased, his own pet picked jurymen in the box ; and the fact of tlie traverser having been lound guilty follows as an inference of course. The sentence was, a fine of £1000. with imprisonment for six months from expiration ol ) u<; former sentence. Subsequent securities for the peace to be given, in £1000 for himseJf, and two sureties of £500 each However desirous to avoid, henceforward, delays of any length upon particular years, we. cannot omit a speech of Mr. O'Connell's, towards the end of March, at a Catholic meetiiigi)i tliu county Clare, on the noted subject of the " securities, " as mixed up with the differences between. the Catholic Board and Lord Donoughmore and Mr. Grattau. Mr. Woulfe, the late Chief Baron, a man of singular inteUect and ability, made a splendjl cratoiical effort on this occasion, to induce tha Catholics to falter and hesitate in their l;itherto decided course of open oppositiom to tne fraudulent and niinous schemes of the government, relative to Catholic matters. His talents enabled him to make a powerful •aipression upon tlie meeting, and it was necessary for jSIt. OConuell to leave no stone unturned to reinova that imprsssion. i<'or this purpose he made use, in the beginning of his speech, of the fair party weapoc Of ridicule, protesting that the proceedings of the day had strongly brought to his meraorv jne of the old fables he had learned in cliildhood— that of the sheep consulting whether fhoy should not manifest their faith in the good words of their ancient enemies, by getting nd of the guardianship of the dogs who usually attended thee x\fter amusing his auditory for some time by his description of the sage counsels of an oh' patriarch of the flock, who warned them again.st the course they were abr ut to adopt, Mt. O'Conaeil, pciceiving that he had tuned the raseting up to the proper pitch, suddenly -ni.71EL o'cOXXhLL, ESQ., r.T.P. 4] 5 " At this critical moment, Avlien the voice of prudence was beojinning to be heard, a •n-oi.r '■'A'oulfe) came forward to the front of the gallery" &c. iVs he spoke the words, he pointed to Mr. Woulfi, and an uproarious and universal .shon': rf laughter did more than fifty long speeches could hare done to destroy the effect ofth.it gentleman's eloquent hara^/gue. The rest of Jlr. O'Connell's address was in a graver spirit, and ef'jctually carried with W th.fi meeting. Mr. O'CoN'Nisrji said that he did noo rise to oppose the motion, as it was now modified by Mr, Woulfe. He did not, and never nhould resist any tribute of Catholic respect and Catholic gra- titude to the Earl of Donougbmors. He should never forget how much the Catholics owed tu that noble lord. In his illus- trious family they had found their best supporters. The Hutch- insons of the present day had their fathers' and their own claims upon our gratitude. At a time when liberality to Papists was little short of crime, their revered father broke the bondage of bigotry, and stood forth, single and alone, the advocate of his en- slaved country. The cause which he espoused was zealously and foithfully pursued by his sons. The Earl of Donoughmore ha-^ unremittingly pursued it upon e^erv occasion ; in every discus- sion he stood prominent in oar cause. No enemy of religious liberty was too humble to escape his contempt ; no profligate deserter of religious freedom would be too exalted to escape his dignified reprobation. (Loud applause for many minutes.) And then he had a brother, too — the very first of patriots — the most disinterested, the bravest, the truest Irishman livina ; — a man who could be described, in the language of truth, only by adopting a familiar phrase, but certainly not a disrespectful one, and calling him the finest fellow that breathes — CnRisTOPHER Hely Hutchixsox. (Shouts of applause.) To his flimily more was due than ever could be repaid ; but alas for poor fallen Ire- land! — when, instead of combining in the expression of thosf» sentiments, attempts were made to use the name of one of that i^.ouse as an instrument of dissension. But Mr. Woulfe is mis- taken ; there cannot be any dissensions conjured up under tne auspices of that name. The learned gentleman, Mr. Woulfe, has indeed endeavoured to excuse liimself from an attempt to convert his motion into a tocsin of discord. He says that he has been unfairly dealt with — • that your resolution to confine the business of this (lay to the peti- tion itself has unjustly deprived him. of other opportunities ol dissension, and that he is, therefore, driven to this effort, in cr- ier to diiiturb, if he can, your unanimity 41 G SELECT SPEECHES OP \Vhat, Sir, will the gentleman then avow that discord and dis sousion are of themselves such mighty blessings that their absence is to be regretted 1 Is he in love with disorder and disunion ? Does he think unanimity an evil, and cordial combination a curse? If such be his opinions — if those be the sentiments of the gentlemen with whom he says he acts, and who have taken tlie names of seceders — ohl long may they secede from Ca- tliolic counsels, and never may they return ! But what is the justice of Mr. Woulfe's complaint 1 A select meeting held before we came here, consisting of a large numbei of that respectable class of Catholic gentry in your county, wh^ have hitherto been most active in your cause, concurred in this sentiment, that irritation and division amongst the Catholics ought now particularly to be avoided, and therefore, they agreed to submit to this assembly that resolution which Mr. Mahon has moved, and you have adopted. At the select meeting, division had at length but one sup- porter : with the exception of one, the meeting agreed to forbear from all discordant topics. Here, indeed, Mr. Woulfe has had two persons to vote with him aj^ainst Mr. Mahon's motion. [Here a gentlemun exclaimed that there were three tesides Mr. Woulfe, for he. too. l;ad voied -with him.] Well, said Mr. O'Connell, there were three — might ij.>)iorityl — there were just three in this assembly — three against the hun- dreds here met ; and if the twenties and thirties of thousands of Catholics whom your county contains were all here assembled, the minority would not be increased by a single individual. ( Ap- plause.) Well, with this glorious minority of three, the learned gentleman proceeds. He first moves that the name of the EarJ of Donoughmore be substituted for that of Earl Conyngham. Sir, however we respect the former, that was a motion which could not be acceded to. Earl Conyngham, even if he did not support your claims, possesses a species of affectionate popularity in this country which would protect his name from any sligho. The best reward of that rare character in Ireland — an excellent landlord and a steady friend — Earl Conyngham deservedly pos- sesses in the respectful affections of his countrymen. There never was a more vain attempt than that to displace him amongst the Catholics of the county of Clare. (Applause.) This difficulty was felt by Mr. Woulfe. He felt that he could not succeed in erasing the name of Lord Conyngham from your resolution, He, therefore, substituted a motion confined to a coirpliineut to Lord Dci o...ghmore. This luotion was instantly DANIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P 411 accedeil to. ETCiy individual present cheerfully, readily, cor- dially agi-eed to it. The resolution must pass unanimously. Was Mr. Woulfe satisfied? His motion met unanimous sup- port. "Was he content 1 No, Sir, he was not satisfied — he Tvas discontented. Unanimity even upon his own proposition dis- pleased him. The motion was a pretence; his purpose was dis- union and discord ; and accordingly, without an assignable m.o- tive, or rational cause — quite apropos des bottes, as the French say — he pronounced a long harangue against the Catholic Board, full of sound and fury, but in plain truth signifying little if any- thing. In good set terms he railed at the Board. I regret that the points of accusation were so indistinct that it is difficult to follow or understand them. But as far as I could comprehend them, this volunteer harangue of accusation shall not pass with- out reply. Yet I first must proclaim my delight at the manner in which fliis attack was received. I am glad he made it. I am glad that a " seceder" should thus have had ocular demonstration oi the unpopularity of his own opinions. You first heard him in silence. The disapprobation which soon followed marked your sen- timents, and amidst the expressions of your decided disapproba- tion, which accompapied. the close of iiis speech, he has learned how justly you prize tlie honest exertions of your General Board. (Loud and continued applause.) Yet an object has been attained. One purpose is effectuated. The philippic you have heard will appear in print ; it will grace the columns of the hireling press — the vile, the scandalous cor- ruption, the base-born slaves of venality will rejoice to publish it, and some shallow and false friends will give it double circula- tion. It will appear uncontradicted and unaccompanied by that indignant reproof which you have poured upon it ; and the se- ceders, joined in an holy alliance with the Orange Bovens of Perry, and with the paltry persecutors of Wicklow, with the AN'ingfields and Stratfords, conscientious supporters of religion ! (^od bless the mark ! Yes, the " seceders" and the persecutors will rejoice in chorus, for the Catholic Board has been attacked "•ly both ; and the speech you have heard this day will be quoted with equal delight by Protestant and Papist Orangemen. (Ap- plause. Let me, however, here, where I can be heard, proudly vindi- cate the Catholic Board from the aspersions of the learned gen- tleman. I am, indeed, proud to be the advocate of the Board — doubly proud, bccaMso such advocacy requires nothing but (lie 4 i S SELECT SPEECHES OF simple statement of facts to make it trinmphai'i t. For of wliat docs he accuse us ? — of what do his four charges consist? I sljall separate the four counts in his indictment, to speak technically, and you will soon perceive how idle and absurd is the accusation. It charges the Board — First — With acting in such a manner as enables our enemies to misrepresent our actions. Secondly — With this, that the Earl of Fingal and Sir Edward Bellew, by name, and the learned gentleman himself, and several other important persons, calling themselves " SGceders/' have se- parated from the Board. Thirdly — With having made an unnecessary and virulent at- tack on Lord Donoughmore and Mr, Grattan ; and — Fourthly — With having been guilty of a pun, (Laughter,) Such, Mr. Chairman, are the grave and portentous charges brought by Mr. Woulfe against the Board. I shall plead to them, but reversing the order and continuing the phrase of my ])rofession, I shnll i^lead not guilty to the two latter counts, and tender a justification to the two former. The last charge is that with which I begin, namely, that the Board has committed a pun. This has the merit of comicality and of novelty. It has been gravely stated by Mr. Woulfe; but 1 am unable to attempt, with gravity, to refute the charge, other- wise than by denying the fact, and regretting that some worthy seceder has not furnished the Board with a collection of approved jests and moderate witticisms, that could suggest nothing bold or dangerous. A public bod}^ accused of a joke! a public body charged with being miserably witty ! Oh ! most wise, most sa- pient accusers ! But, let the fact be known. One gentleman of the Board, Mr. Lawless, used the unfortunate witticism now repro- bated. He, Mr. Lawless, talked of the ^^ knocMoftinesi'' of the (Style of a certain letter ; but besides, that the Board is scarcely responsible for the jests of an individual, the fact is, that the one .n question did not originate with him ; he found it in "The Belfast Magazine''' and retailed it to the Board at second hand. Let " The Belfast Magazint,"' and not the Board, bear the blame; and there never was a woik that could better sustain an :ittack ; it is a work that does honour to Irish genius, taste, and talent ; it is a work consecrated to Irish liberty ; it glows with every noble sentiment of religious and civil freedom ; and dull must be the understanding, and cold must be the hear^^ 't could tail to enlighten and to warm in the cause of Ii eland. The con- d;i';U'-£ of it are Pro':estants and Presbyterians ; would to God DANIEL O'OONNELL. ESQ., M.P. 4 b) the Catholic Board contained many — ^ould that it contain o J any such men. To return from the digression which a very silly charge against the Board bid me indulge, I now take up the next proposition to wliich I have, for the Board, pleaded not guilty. It is, Sir, the solemn accusation, " that the Board has made an unnecessary and violent attack on Lord Donoudimore and Mr. Grattan !" This charge I totally and entirely deny. The gentleman has not supported it with a single proof; but as it involves us in the base sin of ingratitude, I shall reply to an improved charge ; and by merely stating the facts, demonstrate the plain injustice of the accusation. The facts are these ; attend to them I j)ray you ; they are of importance to every Irishman, no matter what may be his mode or form of faith. Last year a bill was brought into parliament, purporting to be for the relief of the Roman Catholic body. There was no deli- Deration on that bill. Lord Donoughmore was scarcely con- •j-ulted with at all ; but it was prepared principally under the auspices of !Mr. Canning, one of the foremost in that class of statesmen who raise their own interests whilst they despise pub- lic liberty and political principle, and laugh in private at the dupes, by whose confidence they ris3 to wealth and power. Mr. Canning was the chief fi'amer of the bill, and it was quite suited to a patriot of his description. It was the duty of the members of the Catholic Board dili- gently and carefully to examine the principle and contents of a i^roposed law, in which, as Catholics and as Irishmen, we were all so deeply interested. We found it to be erroneous in principle ; defective, and almost entirely useless in its details respecting our ••eligion ; indeed, it miglit have been said to contain no principlo at all ; or, rather, it contained a direct negative of the great object of our pursuit — the principle that would declare conscience free, and religion a question between man and his Creator. (Ap- j)iause). Then, with respect to our religion, it went to place our Church, the appointment of our bishops, and the consequent control over our clergy, in the hands of three privy councillors, to consist per- haps, of Dr. Duigenan, Sir Richard Musgrave, and the acting clerk or secretary at the Castle, generally some conceited and ignorant ]']nglish coxcomb. Such were the men who were to preside over our Church ; to whose fostering care our religion was to have been confided ; to whose tender mercies the holiness of our faitl was to be entrusted. Is there in the Catholic body any man so 42 ) SELECT SFEEO IE3 OF stupid a?; to imagine, that the Catholic religion could exist fifly years under such control ? It has survived persecution ; built upon a rock, it has de;i3;l the storms of force and violence. But this Emancipation Bill would have undermined the Church, and the rock on which it is founded ; and in the fall of both, the credulous people wo.ild be crushed to death and destruction. This to you is enough. Canning's Emancipation Bill would have destroyed your religion. No man could expect to be ap- pointed a bishop after it passed, for any other reason than because he did not deserve that sacred office. Piety and learning, and holy zeal, and blessed charity, which we now see so often combined in our venerated prelates, would all be passed over and carefully rejec- ted j andintheirroomthemen would be selected, who were subser- vient, and subtle, and flattering ; the men who co.uld sacrifice their consciences to the interest of their patrons. A good electioneering agent would deserve a mitre by ardency in the bribery and cor ruption of a contested election ; and the patronage of the Catholic Church would become a constant, as it would be a valuable article of mmisterial traffic and barter. Add to this the hereditary hatred which so many cherish against the Irish Catholics ; and when you have placed the Irish Catholic Church under the combined control of bigotry and inter- ested profligacy, I would fain learn whether there be any seceder so confident as to assert, that the Catholic religion in Ireland could survive under that domination. But this is not all : the last ray, the remaining spark of liberty in Ireland would have been extinguished by tlie same process which had put out your religion. The quantity of influence which the minister would have procured by means of Mr. Can- ning's bill is obvious : there would be placed in every diocese, and then in every parish in Ireland, a ministerial dependant, obliged to support the minister by the tenure of his ecclesiastical office ; and then the expectants of the offices would, as is usual, be under the necessity of using double diligence in the service of the friends of the ministry. Thus Canning's bill would have given a more extensive and formidable patronage and support to every succeeding administration ; it would have brought more numerous, better disciplined, and more efiective recruits into the ranks of corruption than any one political measure ever yet in- vented or even imagined. 1 repeat it, that then, pi]"''>lic liberty would be a shadow, and the DANIEL CONNELL, ESQ., M. P. 121 simple and the unpretending despotism of a Turkish province vould be a subject for admiration and regret. (Applause.) See what has already occurred in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. The Irish Presbyterians were remarked and admired for their love of liberty; their hatred of oppression ; their manly and noble spirit of independence. The republican portion of o-ur mixed constitution ; that part of our constitution which is essen- tially necessary for the preservation of the liberties of the people, had, in the Irish Presbyterians, vigilant guardians, active, zealous, informed, and enlightened supporters. The Presbyterians first felt that the true interests of Ireland required a cordial co-oper- ation of all the Irish people ; and demanded the extinction of religious animosities, and the glow of mutual benevolence. The Irish Presbyterians, accordingly, sacrificed their prejudices on the altar of Ireland ; they made the first advances to conciliation ; and met even the half-way advances of the Catholics, to a cordial combination of effort in the cause of freedom. They wei-e always the friends of civil liberty ; and, for the sake of that darling object, they became the friends of religious liberty also. But in an evil hour, when the clergy accepted salaries from the state, the " Eegium DonuTrC was introduced ; their clergy' became familiar with the Castle ; the natural consequences fol- lowed : their leading gentry fell off, and joined the more courtly and fashionable worship of the Established Church ; their lower classes deserted, and joined the ranks of the Methodists, and sought untried preachers amongst other sectarians ; and there remains now to remind us of the ancient glories and worth of the Irish Presbyterians, only just such a residue as must convince us what they would have been, and what she would have done for Ireland, if the Church had not been corroded and almost anni- hilated by the blighting breath of ministerial influence and cor- ruption. With this example before us of a religion almost destroyed, and a watchfire of liberty almost extinguished, could we feel otherwise than indignant at Canning's attempt to destroy the Irish Catholic Church % "VVe are attached to the Catholic Church firmly and conscientiously; we are attached to liberty ardently and devotedly; and we could not behold with indifference our religion and our liberties devoted, under the name of relief, to decay and ruin. We had not, we confess, sufiicient coldness and discretion to see those prospects, and remain unmoved. Our venerable prelates joined in our fears ; they condemned Can- uiiig's clauses ; v/e expressed our gratitude ; and here secession 422 SELKCT SPEECHES OF Legan. The "seceders" thought the bill right, and the bisho]*i wrong ; and from the day on which we thanked our prelates for their care of the Catholic Church — from that day the great era of secession is dated, and the party of whom, for the first time, a boast is made at a public meeting, commenced its history ; but of this uarty I shall say more presently. The relief bill, I have told you, was defective in its details. After having pointed out its natural and necessary tendency to destroy religion and liberty, it may be deemed quite superfluous, or worse, to notice its details ; but I cannot avoid pointing out a few of its most prominent defects. At present it is said that the Catholics of Ireland cannot found any school, nor establish any charity for Catholics. Catholic schools and Catholic chari- ties are, they say, forbidden by law ; nay, the law is much worse ; for there is a commission, consisting principally of Protestant bishops, with Dr. Duigenan at their head, whose duty it is to look for illegal — that is, Catholic — charities ; then to employ au attorney, who, in all events, is to be paid out of the cha- ritable fund attacked. "Whether they succeed or not, their attorney is entitled to his plunder — his full costs from the de- fendants ; and it is the duty of those commissioners, thus amused with litigation, at the expense of their adversaries, to lay hold of all propert}'^ destined for Catholic schools and charities, and tr- convert it to the purposes of Protestant charities and schools ! All charitable bequests for Catholic purposes, the executors are bound to divulge, under severe penalties. Besides, conceal- ment is impossible ; for the wills must remain in the Ecclesias- tical Court, and thus a complete inquisition is established over every source of charitable relief, and every fund for the education of Catholics. Besides, the very collections of your charit}'- ser- mons may be swept away by any common informer, but that such species of profligacy is restrained and controlled, in despite of the law, by the execration of mankind. Perhaps you imagine that the late relief bill would have re- duced those evils, and rescued your schools and charities from ■*,he Protestant inquisition. You are mistaken if you think so. The bill would have left the inquisition precisely as it found it. I shall particularise but one more defect. A Catholic priest is at present subjected by law to capital punishment if he hap- pens to marry a Catholic to a Protestant, or to a person who was a Protestant at any time within twelve months before the maiTiage. It is immaterial whether the priest know the fact, or be ignoj'ant of it. Let it be so studiously concealed from him n 'i DANIKL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.'\ 'i:! that he cannot possibly discover it, still he is guilty of a capital felony ; and I will venture to assert that there is not a single priest in any of the large towns in Ireland who has not repeatedly been rendered liable to the punishment of that offence. But tlje law is not content with directing the priest to be hanged, even for a mistake; the cruel folly of the penal code went further; and lest the priest should be unreasonable enough not to be con- tented with hanging, another statute has, in addition, imposed a penalty of £500. Thus, a priest may, by law, be first hanged, and secondly fined £500 for one and the same offence ; and the construction was, in the year 1802, expressly admitted, in my Iiearing, by the late Lord Kilwarden, pronouncing the unanimous opinion of the Court of King's Bench. The relief bill would have left the law, in this particular also, as it found it ; and if the charter of emancipation, as it was lu- dicrously called in Cork, had passed, the priests of that city would have continued liable, for a mere mistake, to death, with a super- added fine. < I will not delay you to particularise many other defects in the relief bill ; I will not point out to you the omission to give votes to Catholic peers at the election of Irish representative peers ; of the insertion of civil and military oflScers, without adding navai and judicial, although the distinction between naval and military officers is pointedly recognized by the statute law, and the dif- ference between naval and military officers has already been effectually relied on to exclude the Catholic from the latter. Neither shall I detain you with pointing out the insufficiency of the relief bill to procure the Catholics their rights in corpo- rations. You well know the advantages derived from the fi^ee- dom of corporate cities ; you know by experience what vexations freemen of cities escape. Corporate rights are now become of inestimable value in the neighbouring city of Limerick ; and if there be spirit and independence amongst you, they may also soon become valuable in the town of Ennis. All these, and many more wants were in the relief bill of last year. The Catholic Board would have ill-deserved the con- r.dence of their oppressed countrymen, if they had not sagacity to discover, and manliness to expose those defects. The course tc be pursued appeared plain and simple. Lord Donoughmor. v/as certainly in no manner responsible for the relief bill ; anJ Mr. Grattan, who had supported its civil enactments, was, wo aie convinced, unacquainted with the particulars in which that bill was defective. Under these circumstances, the Board sw 424 sELEcrr siEEcnEs op licited respectfully a communication with those illustricus per- sonages. Something like offence appears to have been taken at our solicitation ; we were replied to in a style of superiority, better suited, perhaps, to periods when the Catholics were more depressed, the Protestants more elevated. What was the cause or reason of the error — for so I must pronounce it — into which these, our great advocates, fell 1 The Board treated it with per- fect respect, and replied to it in terms of perfect civility. The rejoinder was, perhaps, more unbending than the first answer. Lord Donoughmore did not think it right to descend from his lofty attitude. ^Ii*. Grattan took the same ground, and even condescended to lecture the Board. But the Board never swerved from its determined respect. It was the prototype of humility personified ; aiid it did not, for one instant, forget what it owed to the former services of the noble lord and right honourable gentleman. It did not even enter into any expostulation, much less into any reproof. But it submitted in silence to a claim oi superiority which the law conferred, and, perhaps, nature had confirmed ; nor was that silence the less meritorious for the thousand heart-breaking recollections which lega^ superiority rouses and perpetuates. (Loud and continued applause.) Such are the facts ; 1 defy Mr. Woulfe, or any other gentle- n^an to contradict any one of them. Where, then, is the attack on Lord Donoughmore 1 Where, then, is the violence or intem- perance of the Board ? For my part, I felt and found blame, for another and a very different reason. I apprehended that the Board would have met censure and reprobation for the excess of its tameness and submission. "Bold measure men," as the hire- lings of the administration call us, would have acted otherwise. " Bold measure men," if such there really were, would have put an earlier period to the correspondence, by respectfully, but firmy, declining future support. But we thought and judged differently ; and therefore can securely laugh to scorn those who would accuse us of intemperance, or disrespect to Lord Donough- more or Mr Grattan. (Much applause.) Little must be said on the other topics of accusation. It is rather ludicrous to charge us with the course that Lord Fingal, and Sir Edward Bellew, and the learned gentlemen have seceded or that our enemies misrepresent us. I cheerfully admit the private worth ami high rank of the noble lord; I readily concede the great wealth and respectability of the worthy baronet ; but '.ifter all, what are they when put in contact with the people ot Ireland ? Lord Fingal is not the Catholic cause, nor is Mr DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 425 Edward Bollew the Catholic strength. That cause may proceed in its native and inherent strength without them. Whilst I la- ment their absence, and should rejoice at their exertions, I can- aot consent to think that the liberty of the people depends on their presence or secession. The seceders of 1792 were as high in rank, and were sixty-eight in number; yet the people pressed on their cause, and were eminently successful. I say this ta show you, that even if Mr. Woulfe be right, and that this se« cession has taken place, yet the people may, if they please, again triumph. Let Mr. Woulfe too, recollect, that the Board contains other noble lords and honourable baronets, who have not seceded ; and that the families of those who remain are as free from the intercourse of placemen and pensioners as those who are alleged to have seceded. One word, then, as to the charge that we give room for mis- representation. My answer is ready : — If our actions were mis- chievous or improper, our enemies would have no occasion to misrepresent. They pay a compliment to our integrity when they resort to misrepresentation ; they tacitly admit that the fact would not serve their purposes, when they distort it, in order to injure us. And, after all, who can stay the progi'ess of misrepresentation^ We have open and avowed enemies. We have equally tried enemiee, who pretend to be our friends ; for their daily pay they must calumniate and misrepresent ; and for my own part, I should as soon be angry with the winds for shifting to an un- pleasant point, as I would with any of those pitiful creatures, -whose rancour is paid by the day, and who, perhaps, for smaller pay, certainly for greater, would calumniate the subjects of their present eulogies. But while the people of Ireland listen to the dissemination of discord and dissension, does Mr, Woulfe and his "seceders" imagine that the people will never learn the wis- dom of union and concord ? Have seven centuries of misery and misfortune not taught Ireland the source of her woes 1 — is she now to learn that it was by division she was first conquered ] — that it was by the dissension of her sons she was often plun- dered — and that it was by their discord she was finally erased from the rank of nations, and reduced to the form of a province] Yes, Mr. Chairman ; our enemies did, our enemies can at all times succeed in Ireland. The curse of the country is in that "Spirit which leads Irishmen to prefer a contest wdth one and the another, to the attack of the foey of their religion and liberty. It is quite characteristic of this ill-fated land to have Mr. Woulfe 2 E 426 SELECT SPEECH PS OP exhaust thatelo quence in a sally against the Catholic Boanl, which might be better employed upon the opponents of his laith and country. AVhy does he play the Roman fool, and turn his sword upon his fe.Uow-slayeSy whilst oppressors are allowed by him to escape with impunity ? Let him expose one bigot — let him desert and reprobate one prejudice, and then, perhaps, he may be entitled to war with his fellow-labourers ; but if he prefei to take the same side with the persecutors, and to strike at those who strike at them, let him not wonder if he be mentioned amongst the enemies of his country. How often has Ireland been taken to the market, and sold by the corruption of her own children ! — how often has she been be- trayed by the folly of her own sons ! But a better day opens, I trust, to her Tiew. Her Catholic Board will remain firm at its post until religious liberty is attained. It is cheered and rewarded by your confidence ; and the " seceders" themselves will, I trust, soon learn, that unqualified emancipation is our undoubted right, as the active pursuit of it is our first duty j and in that sacred cause let the watchword be — unanij^iity foh Old I relays d !" Well was it that tne Catholic nund was thus again excited against the detestable " secu rities ;" as in a very few Aveeks after, the afflicting intelligence was announced, tliat tJie prelates appointed to administer ecclesiastical aflairs at Rome, during 'the captivity ox the Pope, had not only absented to, but approved of the" " securities" in the parliamentary bill the preceding year. Tie document itself which conveyed this disastrous assent, and which bore the signature 'Monsignor Qaarantotti, Vice-Prefect of Rome," was immediately published, tw extensor by all the journals of the United Kingdom ; and exceeding was the jubilee of the enemies cf the religion of the Catholics— friends of their poUtical claims, as many of them were. Corresponding was the grief and dismay of every Catholic of sound judgment and soxind heart ; but in an equal measure was their determination not even yet to abandon theii opposition to the ruin of their religious independence. A very few brief extracts from the letter of " An Irish Priest," which appeared in tlie Dublin Evening Post the day after Quarantotti's document had been given, will bhow tng spirit in which the latter was met at once . — "The ferment spread like wildfire through every gradation of society; and the very .owest order of people felt its influence. Some cursed — others moaned — all complained Early this morning my old servant-maid, without waiting for any commands of mine, ac- costed me abruptly with these words : — ' Oh- sir! what shall we do ? Is it — can it be ti-uci i/iat the Pope lias turned Orangeman ? ! V " •' I must beg to correct two material mistakes of yours The document li not from his Holiness Pia» VII Nor is there a word to indicate ai.y sort of consent or approbation from him, or any one of his cardinals. Quaraniotti refers to no authority but his owti A clerk to the Congregation of Propagan^ . presumes to decide on a subject of the greatest magnitude, and which would requi: e the deliberation not only of the whole Congregation and of the Pope himself, with his whcie College of Cardinals, but of an entire (Ecumenical Council. Kay, as it appertains to local discipline, tnat (Ecumenical Council itself could not compel us to submit — much lesa an underitrappcr of Propaganda !" After severe criticism on tb« Latmiiu of the doctuncut, the 'HTiter thus pi-oceeded tc DANIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 427 fjlitther point ot attack — the channel through which an annonnce-nent of snch in.poi'tan'^i' to Ireland wajs made: through an English Vicar Apostolic! instead of, at least, beii't; addressed to tl>e Irish regularly constituted Hierarchy. We pass over this and other uointa strongly and warmly put and expressed, to give the concluding sentence, applicublt; to the circumstances of the present day, with the single alteration of substituting the words *• self-styled liberal Catholics" for the last word here given :— " Every attempt to weaken the Catholic Church in Ireland shall, in the end. prove fruit- less ; and as long as the shamrock shall adorn our island, so long shall the faith delivered to ufl by St Patrick prevail ; in despite of kings, parliaments, Orangemen, imd Quur- antottis." Almost the next new.spaper contained a stin-ing pr.otest and address of clergymen aeainst this rescript by Quarantotti (or '' MUter Forty Eight" as the irrepressible tendency to jesting, in the Irish Catholic, had already christened him, in allusion to a wild storv about the dervation of his patronymic, said to have been from the number of a luckv lottery, ticket that had made his father's fortunes). As the first clerical move we give it in fua v/ith the names annexed ; foremost among them, as our readers will gladly reoocrnize. the honoured name of the revered and admirable present Bishop of Dromcre, the Right Rev. Dr. Blake. Others too, names of dearly loved and respected members ot the priest,!ic<.\i rf Dublin &t the present day, will also be gladly and warmly recognised— and affectionate r^gret.i will be again awakened at seeing the names of others who have, at various periods of the long interval since this act of true-hearted patriotism and imerring religious fidelity, gCEO to receive the reward of their virtues. 'RESOLUTIONS "of the parish PRIKSTS and clergymen of the archdiocese of DUBLIN, "bridge-street chapel, THURSDAY, MAY l2 We, the undersigned parish priests and clergymen of the archdiocese of Dublin teel ic as a duty that we owe to God, and to our flocks, to make the following public declaration : — " Resolved- -' That we consider the document or rescript, signed " QtiarantoUi" as non- obligalori, upon the Catholic Church in Ireland, particularly as it wants those authori- taUve marks, whereby the mandates of the Holt See are known and recognized and espb- CIaLLV the Signature of the Pope. "That wc consider the granting to an anti-Catholic government any power, either direct cr indirect, with regard to the appointment and nomination of the Catholic bishops in Ire- land, as at all times inexpedient. " That, circumstanced as we are in this country, we consider the granting of such a power not only inexpedient, but Ingiily detrimental to tlie best and dearest interests of religicm, and pregnant with incalculable mischief to the cause of Catholicity in Ireland. •' T'4it such arrangements of domestitr nomination can be made among the .:-orgy oi Ire- .and, as will preclude that foreign influence against which those securities, so destructive to religion, are called for by the parliament. " We, therefore, most humbly and .espectfully do hereby supplicate our venerable arch- bishop, and we do hope that the Catholic dergy and laity of all Ireland will join us in praying, that he and the other Irisli prehstes will, without delay, remonstrate against this Qocoment, and represent to his holiness and the sacred college of cardinals, now ha])p!!y re-instated at Rome, the peculiar situatio»i of the Catliolic Church in Ireland, and the tre- mendous evils which we apprehend would inevitably flow from the adoption of the prin- ciples laid down in the said document. 'Michael Blake, P.P., and President of tlis Meeting. Miles Mac Pharian, P.P. Andrew Lube, P.P. Morgan D'Arc}', P.P. John Joseph Sinytli, P.P. Jo.seph Ham, P.P. Barnaby Murpliyi Econome of Towrsend- street Parish. John Fitz Harris, Townsend-street. John Barret, Fran '•is-street Chapel. Patrick Corcorau, Superior of Chmxh- street ChapeL C G. O'Rielly, Provincial O.D.C. j'atrick Doyle, Liifev-sti tcr Chai)?!. G. Staunton, Ex-Proviucia! O..S.A., S.T.M Edward Annstrong, Liftey-street Ciiaj»eL Denis Farrell, O.S.D. L. S. Phelan, Curate of St. James Patrick Brady, Meath-s"treet Chapel. — Prendergast, Curate of St. Audcou'c J. Pearson, Curate of SS. Michael it Jobn'i J. J. Callan, Curate of St. James". Miles O'Connor, Curate ui St. Audcon';*. Joseph Jcy Dc.ao, Pri'u-iDal of Blancher? towM AeaUeiay i2S SELECT SPEECHES Of Wi'Uam Yore, Curate of St. James'. John Martin O'Donovan, Cmrp.-ain to the J. iCavanagh, Curate of Francis-st. CliapeL House of Industry. James Reynolds, O.S.F. Michael P. Kinsela, O.S.F. Patrick Purcell, Curate of St. Audeon's. Peter Wade, Mary's-Lane Chapel. M. Doyle, Curate of SS. Michael & John's. John Madden, John's-lane Chapel. Alexander Roche, do. do. John Devereiix, Church-street Chapel. Thomas Coleman, do. do. Andrew Ennis, Litt'ey- street ChapeL M. Keogh, Curate of Meath-st. Chapel. John Francis Roche, Clarendon st. Chapel Patrick Corr, Mar>-'s-lane. John Murray, Swords. M. B. Corr, do. Anthony Guilfoyle, O.S.A. Adam and Eve. John C. Kearney Francis- street Chapel. L. Plunkett, O.S.D. Stephen Dowdail, O.S.F. James Carey, P.P. Swords. Francis Joseph L"Estrange, O.D C, Claren- James P. Kenny. Church-street. don-street Chapel. J- Leonard, O.C.E., Church-street. Joseph O'Hanlon, do. do. John Grace, Townsend street Chape.. Charles Boyle, Curate, Clontarf. Simon M'Carthy, French-street Chapel. Joseph Sheridan, Church-street Chapel. Denis M'Feeley, Portmamock. Alichael Nowlan, James'-street Chapel. Patrick Caffrey, Church -street Chapel. Nicholas Malone, Church-street Chapel. Patrick Callaghan, do. do. Walter Miler, Curate of Liffej'-st, ChapeL B. J. M'Dermott, S. Ord. Prsedm. Curate of Hugh Daly, SS. Michael & John's. Francis-street Chapel. James Campbell, Meath-street Chapel. Joseph Glinn, LilTey-street Chapel. Richard Fannin, John's-lane Chapel. James M'Keon, P.P., Finagh. Daniel Costigan, Litfey-street Chapel. Denis Gahan, O.S.A., Curate St. Catherine's." The Evening Post announced that the names thus appended included all the clergj-men -Rt that moment in tlie city of Dublin, and ends its remarks upon the address with "DEO IN EXCELSIS!' Meantime the Catholic and liberal newspapers, with but o e exception, were blaznig out in indignation against the scheme, and all connected with it ; and their own articles were accompanied and, as it were, sanctioned by letters from c ergymen, &c., full of the same denunciations and protests. The venerable Dr. Coppinger, Catholic Bishop of Cloyne, was first in the fields of liis order, at this crisis. In a letter of his that appears in the Dublin Evening Post, of May 14' he styled "J/r. Qnarantotti's decree" a " very mischievous document" and added :— "In common with every real friend to the integiity of the Catholic religion in Ireland, .1 read it with feelings of disgust and indignation ! " •In similar strong terms the Catholic Bishop of Dromore, the Right Rev. Dr. Deny, fol- lowed a few days later. Right Rev. Dr. O'Shaughnessy : — "The result of this pernicious document, if acted upon, would be fatal to the Catl:olic religion ; therefore I hasten to protest against it, and while I have breath in my body will continue to do so." \Vliat we have given were the first — ^almost instantaneous demonstrations. It would be utterly impossible to give even a summary of those which rapidly and in overwhelming numbers and increasing strength followed them. On Thursday, May 19th, an aggregate meeting took place at the Farmiog Repository, Stephen's-green, Thomas Wyse, jun., Esq., in the Chair (the present member lorWaterford :ity), to consider the rescript of Quarantotti, and other Catholic business. The following were the pith and marrow of the resolutions which were unanimously passed on tliis occasion : — " Resolved — That we deem it a duty to ourselves and to our country, solemnly and distinctly to declare, that any decree, mandate, rescript, OR DECISION WHATSOEVER OF ANY FOREIGN POWER OR AUTHORITY, RE- LIGIOUS OR CIVIL, ought not, and cannot of right, assume any dominion or control over the political concerns of the Catholics of Ireland. " Resolved — That the venerable and venerated the Catholic priests of the arch-diocese of Dublin have deserved our most marked and cor- dial gratitude, as well for the uniform tenor of their sanctified lives, as LFAJMiiL o cox?;ell, £SQ., M.T. '129 in particular for the holt zeal A^'D alacrity with wliich at the pre- sent period of general alarm and consternation, they have consoled the people of Ireland, by the public declaration of their sentiments respect- ing the mischievous document, signed B. Quarantotti, and dispose them to await with confidence the decision of our revered prelates at the ap- proaching synod. " Resolved — That we do most earnestly and respectfully beseech our revered prelates to take into consideration, at the approaching synod, tlie propriety of for ever precluding any public danger either of MINIS- TERIAL or FOREIGN influence in the appointment of our prelates. Mr. O'Connell's speech at the aggregate meeting is glTen in evidently a very impei-fect shape indeed. It had three chief points : — first, a protest against the recent steps taken in favour of the veto ; next, a vindication of the confluct of the clergy of the archdiocese of Dublin, who had so nobly come forward against that measure, and an expression of confi- dence that the hierarchy would soon fulminate against it ; and finally, a contemptuous and indignant comment upon some peculiarly bigoted and peculiarly absurd anti-Catho- lic resolutions of several county grand juries. The bishops' protest was as follows, agreed to c:: tlie 27th of May, after two days' coni.r- ence at Maynooth : — " Resolved — That a congratulatory letter be addressed to his Holiness Pius YIL, on his happy liberation from captivity. " Resolved — That having taken into our mature consideration the late UESCKiPTofthe VICE-PREFECT of the Pkopagainda, we are fully convinced that it is not mandatory. "Resolved — That we do now open a communication with the Holy See on the subject of this document ; and that, for this purpose, two prelates be forthwith deputed to convoy our unanimous and well-known senti- ments to the chief pastor, from whose wisdom, zeal, and tried mag- nanimity, we have reason to expect such decision as will give general satisfaction. " Resolved — That the two last resolutions be respectfully communi- cated to the Right Honourable the Earl of Donolghmore, and to the Right Honourable Henry Grattan, with an earnest entreaty, that when the question of Catholic Emancipation shall be discussed in Parliament, they will exert their powerfid talent in excluding from the bill intended for our relief, those clauses which we have already deprecated as severely oenal to us, and highly injurious to our religion. " We must hurry on our summary of the fast-crowding events of this stirring year, witli as little of comment as is possible, consistent with preserving the slender thread of oul narrative. The unsatisfactory correspondence between the Catholic Board and Lord Donoughmcrf! and Mr. Grattan continued in the same mixed style of compliment and remonstrance until early in June, when, without Marning to those who had entrusted him with the Catholiv: petition to tlie lower House, and without consultation with any one, Mr. Giattan, when pre. senting the petition, announced that it v^as not his intention to bring forward the CatloUc cJaims that session. The Catholic Board was instantly summoned to consider this unexpected event, ai.'il decide on what steps it might be proDcrto tah.e under the circumstances, when suddenly ilie following proclamatioD made its appearance. 4 ."50 b UlCT tPCECHKS OF '* WiiiTWOIlTlI. '• Whereas an assembly, under the denomination of the Catliolic Board lias for a considerable time existed in this part of the United Kingdom, liii'ler pretence of preparing petitions to parliament on behalf of the Ca- thc'.ics cf Ireland. "And whereas, under the provisions of an act made in the parliament { f Ireland, in the thirty-third year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled — ' An act to prevent the Election or Appointment of Unlawful A.ssemblies, under the pretence of preparing public petitions or other addresses to liis Majesty, or to the parliament' — The said assembly is an uiJawful assembly. " And Y/hereas, great artifice has been employed in order to persuade the public generally and his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects in Ire- land in particular, that such an assembly is lawful and necessary to the exercise of the right of petitioning. " And whereas, the law hath hitherto not been enforced against the said assembly, in the expectation that those who had been misled by such arti- fice would become sensible of their error ; and in the hope that the said assembly would be discontinued without the necessity of legal interpo- sition. ' Now we, the LordLieutenant, by and with the advice and consent of his Majesty's Frivy Council, being yatisfied that the permanence, or the further continuance of the said assembly can only tend to serve the ends of factious and seditious persons, and to the violation of the public peace, "Do uereby strictly caution and forewarn all such of his ]\Iajesty's sub- jects as are members of the said assembly, that they do hencetorward abstain from any further attendance at or in the said assembly "And do hereby yive notice : '•' That if, in defiance of this our proclamation, the said assembly shall again meet after the date hereof, the said assembly and all persons act- ing as members of the same, shall be proceeded against according to law. Given at the Council Chamber in Dublin, this third day of June, 1814. Charles Manners, (Lord Chancellor). Frajskfokt. Charles Cashel. J. M'Mahon. Drogheda. G. Hewett. Westmeath. ' G. Knox. Mayo. J. Ormsby Vandeleub. Erne. William Saurln. Charles Kildare. S. Hamilton." Castle Coote. lu ^11 thus be seen that the Catholics had their hands pretty full ! The unauthorised zapiivlation with the British Government as to Irish ecclesiastical indepenLlence, by Quar- flinotti ; the folly and treachery that were backing him in Ireland ; the extraordinary abandonment (as, at least for the current session of parliament, it was) of their cause by its old parliamentary advocates; and now the renewed acti^dty of hoor/.iUy on the part ol the government— all this might mcII have been expected to dismay the fiiat-hearted, and chill the hopes of the brave. But the cause v.-as not under the guidance of a faint heart ; or of one <7hcsc Voider concep- tions r.ccded tai' skies and summer weather to ripen them into actioa. A meeting wa.5 DANIEL OCONNELL, ESQ., il.f. 4oi jTTiTDcdiately held in ^fr. O'Conneirs honse, in Merrion rtrfunre, at which it was resolved, of course, to submit to the government, in so far as tiie abstaining from assemtling at that moment the Catholic Board ; but at the same time to summon at once another aggregate Catholic meeting, to consider the most advisable course to be pursued at so important and difficult a juncture. As any work dealing with the public life of Daniel O'Connell, must necessarily partake, more or less, of the character of a political history of Ireland during his time, we cannot rhink it out of place to insert here a " charge" made by the late Baron Fletcher, to the c'lunty "Wexford grand jury in the /ear 1S13 — a charge which astonished erery one br the boldness and directness with -frhich it went to the very roots of the social evils of treland ; and wliich to this day Is applicable in many parts, and deeply interesting in all. The learned judge said : — " In rav circuits tbrouf::li other parts of the kinf^dom, I have seen the (ower orders of the people disturbed by many causes, not peculiar to any particular counties; operating witli more effect in some, but to a greater or less extent in all. I have seen them operating with extended effect ill the north-west circuit — in the counties of Mayo, Donegal, Derry, Roscommon. &c., &c. "Tliese effects have made a deep impression on my mind. My ob- ^iervations certainly, have been those of an individual ; but of an indi- vidual seeing the same fiicts coming before him, judicially, time after time ; and I do now publicly state that never, during the entire period of my judicial experience (comprising sixteen circuits), have I discovered or observed any serious purpose, or settled scheme, of assailing his M-\;esty's government, or any conspiracy connected with internal rebels or forei'ho assume the name of Orange yeomen, 432 SELECT SPEECHES OP frequent the fairs and markets, with arms in their hands, under the pretence of self-defence or of protecting the public peace, but with the lurking view of inviting the attacks from the Ribbonmen confident that, armed as they are, they must overcome defenceless opponents, and put them down. Murders have been repeatedly perpetrated upon such occa- sions; and though legal prosecutions have ensued, yet such have beeii the baneful consequences of those factious associations, that, under their influence, petty juries have declined (upon some occasions) to do their duty. " Gentlemen, that moderate pittance which the high rents leave to the poor peasantry, the large county assessments nearly take from them. Roads are frequently planned and made, not for the general advantage of the county, but to suit the particular views of a neighbouring land- holder, at the public expense. Such abuses shake the very foundation of the law ; they ought to be checked. " Superadded to these mischiefs are the permanent and occasional absentee landlords, residing in another country, not known to their tenantry, but by their agents, who extracu the utmost penny of the value of the lands. If a lease happens to Jail in, they set the farm by public auction to the highest bidder. J\o gratitude for past services; no preference of the fair oj^er ; no predilection for the ancient tenantry ; be they ever so deserving ; but ij the highest price be not acceded to, the depopulation of an entire tract of country ensues. ^'What, then, is the wretched peasant to dof Chased from the spot where he had first drawn his breath, where he had first seen theligki. of heaven, incapable of procuring any other means oj existence, vexed ivith those exactions I have enumerated, and harassed by tlie payment oj tithes, can we be surprised that a peasant of unenlightened mind, of uneducated habits, should rush upon the perpetration of crimes, fol- lowed by the punishment of the rope and the gibbet f "Nothing, as the peasantry imagine, remains for them, thus harassed, and thus destitute, but with strong hand to d>3ter the stranger from in- truding upon their farms ; and to extort from the weakness and terror of their landlords, {from whose gratitude or good feelings they have bailed to win it) a kind of preference for their ancient tenantry." The learned judge next turned to the evils not even yet quite abated — the jury laws. M is to be recollected that the grand juries were entirely (and are still, in manv instunceh) in the hands of the ascendancy faction. , " Gentlemen, another deep-rooted cause of immorality has been the operation of the county prescntmetd code of Ireland — abused as it has been for the purpose oJ fraud and peculation, will you not be astonished when I assure you that I have had information judicially from an up- right country gentleman and grand juror, of unquestionable veracity, in a western county, that in the general practice, not one in ten of the accounting affidavits was actually sworn at all ! jMauistratts have signed and given away printed forms of such affidavits in blank, to be tilled Daniel o connell, esq., ii.r. • 433 np at the pleasure of the party. This abuse produced a strong repre- sentation from me to the grand jury ; and had I known the fact in time, 1 would have made an example of those raaoistrates who were guilty of so scandalous a dereliction of duty. Another source of immorality may be traced in the registry of freeholders. The tenantry are driven to the hustings, and there, collected like sheep in a pen, they must poll for the great undertaker, who has purchased them by his jobs, and this is frequently done with little regard to conscience or duty, or reul value •of the alleged freehold. "Another source of immorality lay in the hasty mode of pronouncing «' remote date; instead of, as the recital of words ut- tered in a time barely -within the memory of the present generation. "But, gentlemen, is there no method of allaying those disconit-iits of the people, and preventing them from flying in the face of the laws? Is there no remedy but act of parliament after act of parliament, in quick succession, framed for coercing and punishing ? Is there no cor- rective but the rope and the gibbet ? Yes, gentlemen ; the removal of those causes of disturbance which I have mentioned to you will ope- rate as the remedy ! " I should imagine that the permanent absentees ought to see the policy (if no better motive can influence them) of appropriating' liberally some part of those splendid revenues which they draw from this coun- try — which pay no land-tax or poor's rate, and of which not a sliilling i.s expended in this country ! Is it not high time for those permanent absentees to offer some assistance, originating from themselves, out of their own private purses, towards improving and ameliorating the con. dition of the lower orders of the peasantry upon their great domains, and rendering their lives more comfortable. Indeed, I believe that some of them do not set up their lands to auction. I know that the Earl Fitzwilliam, in one county (Wicklow), and the Marquis of Hertford, in another (Antrim), act upon enlightened and liberal principles ; for although their leases generally are only leases for one life, and twenty- one years, the tenant in possession well knows that, upon a reasonable advance, merely proportionate to the general rise of the times, he will • get his form without rack-rent or extortion. But I say that the per- manent abeentees ought to know that it is their interest to contribute every thing in their power, and within the sphere of their extensive in- fluence, towards the improvement of a country froir whence they de- \ rive such ample revenue and solid benefits. Instead of doing so, how do many of them act ? Tliey often depute their manager upon the grand jury of the county. This manager gets his jobs done without 43i SELECT SPEECHES OP question or mterruption ; his roads, and his bridges, and his park walla — all are conceded. " For my part, I am wholly at a loss to conceive how those perma- nent absentees can reconcile it to their feelings or their interests tc remain silent spectators of such a state of things, or how they can forbear to raise their voices in behalf of their unhappy country, and attempt to open the eyes of our English neighbours, who, generally speaking, know about as much of the Irish as they do of the Hindoos Does a visitor come to Ireland to compile a book of travels ? What is his course? He is handed about from one country gentleman to another, all interested in concealing from him the true state of the country; lie passes from squire to squire, each rivalling the other in entertaining their guest — all busy in pouring falsehoods into his ears touching the disturbed state of the country and the vicious habits of the people. "Such is the crusade of information which the English traveller sets forward, and hei^eturns to his country with all his unfortunate pj^eju- dices doubled and confirmed, in a kind of moral despair of the welfare of such a tvicked race, having made up his mind that nothing ought to be done for this lawless and degraded country. And, indeed, such an extravagant excess have those intolerant opinions of the state of Ireland attained, that I shall not be surprised to hear of some political projector coming forward, and renovating the obsolete ignorance and the prejudices of a Harrington, who, in his • Oceana,' calls the people of Ireland an untameable race, declaring that they ought to be exter- minated, and the country colonized by Jews ; that thus the state of this island would be bettered, and the commerce of England extended and improved. " Gentlemen, I will tell you what these absentees ought particularly to do. They ought to promote the establishment of houses of refuge, Uouses of industry, and schoolhouses, and set the example, upon their own estates, of building decent cottages, so that the Irish peasant may have at least the comfort of an * English sow;' for an English farmer would refuse to eat the flesh of a hog so lodged and fed as an Irish peasant is. "Are the farms of an English landliolder out of lease, or his cottages m a state of dilapidation ? He rebuilds every one of them for his ten- ants, or he covenants to supply them with materials for the purpose. But how are matters conducted in this country ? Why, if there is a house likely to fall into ruins upon an expiring lease, the new rack-rent tenant must rebuild it himself; and can you wonder if your plantations are visited for the purpose, if your young trees are turned into plough handles, spade handles, or roofs for their cabins ? They are more than Egyptian task-masters, who call for bricks without furnishing a supply af straw. Again, I say, that those occasional absentees ought to come home, and not remain abroad, resting upon the local manager, a species of ' locum tenens' upon the grand jury. They should reside upon their own estates, and come forward with every possible improvement for the country. "I do not suppose that you should expect any immediate amendment DANIEL o'cONIiELL, ESQ., M.P. 435 or public benefit from the pUuis suggested for the education of the poor. It is in vain to flatter yourselves that you can improve their minds if you neglect their bodies. Where have you ever heard of a people de- sirous of education, who had not clothes to cover them, or bread to eat? 1 I'lave never knov/n that any people, under such circumstances, had any appetite for moral instruction. "So much, gentlemen, for landlords, permanent and occasional ab- sentees. You should begin the necessary reformation. You now enjoy ^raforts and tranquillity, after seasons of storm, and fever, and distur- oance. The comparative blessings of this contrast should make you anxious to keep your county tranquil. Tf your farms fall out of lease, set them not up to be let by public auction — encourage your tenantrj to build comfortable dwellings for themselves — give them a property in their farms, and an interest in the peace of the county. These are the remedies for the discontents of the people ; they will be found much l.etter than the cord and the gibbet. " Gentlemen, this subject brings me to a consideration of the magis- tracy of the county. Of these I must say that some are over zealous ; others too supine. Distracted into parties, they are too often governed by their private passions, to the disgrace of public justice, and the fre- quent disturbance of the country. " Here let me solicit your particular attention to some of the grievous mischiefs flowing from the misconduct of certain magistrates ; one is occasioned by an excessive eagerness to crowd the jails with prisoners, and to swell the calendars ivith crimes. Hence, the amazing dispro- portion between the number of the committals and of the convictions — between accusation and evidence — between hasty suspicion and actual guLlt. Committals have been too frequently made out, in other coun- tiea, upon light and trivial grounds, without reflecting upon the ev'l consequences of wresting a peasant (probably innocent) from the bosom of his family — immuring him for weeks or months in a noisome jail, amongst vicious companions. He is afterwards acquitted, or not pro- secuted, and returns a lost man in health and morals, to his ruined and beggared family. This is a hideous but common pkture. " Again, fines and forfeited recognizances are multiplied, through the misconduct of a magistrate. He binds over a prosecutor, under a heavy recognizance, to attend at a distant assizes, where it is probable that the man's poverty or private necessities must prevent his attendinfr. The man makes default ; his recognizance is forfeited ; he is committed to the county jail upon a green-wax process; and, after long confine- ment, he is finally discliarged at the assizes, pursuant to the statute ; and from an industrious cottier, he is degraded, from thenceforth, into a beggar and a vagrant. " Other magistrates presume to make out vague committals, without specifying the day of the offence charged, the ])lace, or any other parti- cular, from which the unfortunate prisoner could have notice to prepare his defence. This su])pre6sion is highly indecorous, unfeeling and unjust; and it deserves upor» esQry occasion, a severe reprobation of the 430 SELECT srEEcnf:« op mar^istrate, who thus deprives his fellow- subject of his rightful oppor- tunity of defence. '• There are parts of Ireland, where, from the absence of the gentle- iren of the county, a race of magistrates has sprung up, who ought /sever have borne the king's commission. The vast powers entrusted lo those officers, call for an upright, zealous, and conscientious discharge cf their duty. 5 * * ***** " Gentlemen, the judge whose duty it is to pass the presentments can be of little service towards detecting a 'job.' He has no local know- ledge ; he knows not the distances, the rates, the state of repairs, or the views of the parties. He may, indeed, suspect the job, and tear the suspected presentment ; but he may tear inadvertently that which is useful, and let the job pass. Therefore for the sake of the county, do as Mr. Bagwell did at Cloumel. Begin the reformation, and discoun- tenance firmly all parcelling of 'jobs.' " Gentlemen, when I visited the House of Industry at Clonmel, which is liberally and conscientiously conducted by an association, consisting of persons of every religious persuasion, with the Protestant parson and the Catliolic priest at their head, never did my eyes witness a more blessed sight. I immediately asked: 'What do you pay to the matron and to the manager?' The sum was mentioned: it was small. ' I sup- pose,' said I, 'it is no object of a county job?' Mr. Grubb — the bene- volent IVir. Grubb — smiled, and said, ' You have hit it, my lord — that is the fact!' ''But there is one remedy that would, in my estimation, more than any other, esjjecioJly contribute to soothe the minds of the discontented peasantry, and thereby to enable thejn patiently to suffer the pressure of those burthens which cannot, under existing circumstances, be effectu- ally removed — I mean the equal and impartial administration of jus tice — of that justice which the rich man can pursue until it be attained but which, that it may benefit the cottager, should be brought home to his door. Such an administration of justice would greatly reconcile the lower orders of the p)eople U'ith the go:ernmeut under tchich the?, Jive; and at no very distant period, I hoj^e, attach them to the law, by imparting its benejits and extending its protection to them in actual and uniform experience. " Gentlemen, if you ask me, ' How may this be accomplished ?' I answer, ' By a vigilant superintendence of the administratioji of justice at quarter sessions, and an anxious observance of the conduct of all nistices of peace.* Perhaps the commission of tlie peace in every county iu the kingdom should be examined. In seasons of popular commotion, under chief governors, all acting, unquestionably, with good intentions, but upon various principles and difterent views, it is no^ improbable that many men have crept into the commission, who, however useful they might occasionally have been, ought not to remain. The needy adventvn'cr ; the hunter for preferment ; the intemperate zealot ; the trader in false loyalty ; the jobbers of absentees ; — if any of these various descriptions of individuals aie now to be found, theii- names DANIEL O'OONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 437 should be expunged from the commission ; and if such a mode of pro ceeding-s should thin the commission, vacancies might be supplied, hj soliciting every gentleman of property and consideration to discharge some part of that debt of duty, which he owes to himself and the coun- try, by accepting the office of justice of peace. Should their number be inadequate to supply the deficiency, clergymen long resident on their benefices — more inclined to follow the precepts of their divine Master, by feeding the hungry and clothing the naked Catholic (although adher- ing to the communion of his fathers, he should conscientiously decline to receive from him spiritual consolation) ; not harassing and vexing him by a new mode of tithing, and an increase of tithes ; not seeking to compensate the dissentients from the communion for the income he derives from their labour by showing a regard for their temporal wel- fare ; attached to their Protestant flocks by a mutual interchange of good offices, by affection and by habit. Such a man, anxiously endea- vouring not to distract and divide, but to conciliate and reconcile all sects and parties, would from his education, his leisure, his local know- ledge, be a splendid acquisition to the magistracy, and a pubhc blessing to the district committed to iiis care. Men of this description are retired and unobtrusive ; but I trust, if sought after, many such may be found. " Persons there have been of a sort differing widehj from those I have described. These men identify their preferment with the loelfare of the Church; and if you had believed them, whatever advanced the one, necessarily promoted the other. Some clergymen there may have been, who, in a period of distraction, perusing the Old Testament with more attention than the New : and, admiring the glories of Joshua, the sou of ISMW, fancied they perceived in the Catholics the Canaanites of old ; and, at the head of militia and armed yeomanry, icished to conquer from them the promised glebe. Such men, I hope, are not now to be found in that most respectable order ; and if they are, I need scarcely jidd, they should no longer remain in the commission." * * * * **** Tlie necessity of hastening with our task compels the omission of several details of the anti-veto agitation, and reduces us to the summary statement of the proceedings on this subject. In July, an address, pompously annoimced as from the Catholics of England, to His Holi- ness the Pope, made its appearance in the public papers. Its tenor was unhappy and unworthy, containing, as it did, unequivocal manifestations of the spirit of compromise and surrender, ani lauding, in unmeasured rescripts, the spirit of Quarantotti. Almost at the same moment came the intelligence of the disclaimer of the rescript ty the authorities in Rome. Cardinal Gonsalvi, deputed by the Pope, drew up and published this disclaimer, denying the authority of Monsignor Quarantotti to issue it ; and anuoun ring his dismissal, and that of his colleagues in the act. The late venerab'e and much-beloved Archbishop of Dublin, Doctor Murray — then coad- 'iitor to his predecessor in the see, the Most Reveiend Doctor Troy — was at the time upon a mission in Rome, on matters relative to this subject, in company with the Right RevereinJ Doctor Miliier. The latter justly-eminent prelate had, as we have ?een, both by word and deed, loi'.g before made the iuo.st amii** Had abundant amende f.ir the temporary mistake into which 438 SELECT SPEECHES OP he had been led by the surreptitiously- published resolves of the terrified little meeting of Irish prelates in 1799. He had, as we have also seen, carried his anxiety to make repara- tion so far as to have brought upon himself the bitter and scandalously-irreverent hostility of the English vetoistii, buL did not consider he had yet done enouglL Accordingly, he had joyfully assented to the joint mission to Eome ; and, when there, laboured indefatigably lo undo the miserable intrigues of which some of the. high ecclesiastical dignitaries in that C'ty had become the victims, Meantime, whatever differences haa at first existed among the prelates at horns, as to the terms in which their rejection of Quarantotti's rescript, and the " arrangements'" it jnvolved, should be finally made known, were fast disappearing, as the Cathohc body, led tiy the clergy, protested more and more energetically against the observance of any mea- mre in dealing with the obnoxious and detestable propositions. The year 1815, on which tre are now entering, saw an end for the time to the base hopes entertained by the bitter tuemies of Irish ecclesiastical independence. MEETING AT LOKD FINGAL'S. Tujs year 1814 closed amid considerable gloom, in so far as related :o the political prospects of the Catholics. The Board had been put down; and though some rash heads had sng- gested resistance to the illegal and imconstitutional act of the Lord Lieutenant In pro- claiming against it, the wiser leaders declined entering into what could be at best only a bcctless struggle -with an imscrupulous and powerful government, and might easily become one of sad disaster and bloodshed. .\i thing, however, was farther from their minds than • D desist from all exertion ; and the autumn and winter Vicre passed by them in attending .Tieetings in the pro\Tnces, and half-private consultations on Catholic affairs in Dublin. Their firmness was, however, sorely tested by the faint- heartedness of many, and the false-heartedness of some, amongst the men who had hitherto been prominent with them in Catholic affairs. Nor did the conduct of those who had taken on themselves to be the patrons af the Cacholics in parliament by any means tend to lighten thehea\y pressm-e of impend- ing difficulties. The unworthy quibblings and cavillings of these parties— the undeserved and somewhat arrogant taunts and reproaches in which they indulged— and, finally, their miser- able coquetting for popular applause, after first wantonly affronting popular opinion, made the Catholics consider any assisUnce derived from them as deaiiy and sorely- pmxhased indeed. The'Dublm meetings were but of a few persons in a drawing-Toom of Lord FingalsTesi- dence in Dublin. . The press not being admitted, nor, indeed, anj^hing like general access given, they speedily received a nickname, being designated as the " Catholic Livan." Air. O'Connell, however, succeeded in procuring a mitigation of the rule of exclusion, during the brief period that the " Divan" survived his return to town for the winter season. On the 10th January, 1815, at one of these Uttle snug meetings Mr. Shiel brought forward a long, and, so far as language went, a well-written form of petition to be adopted by the Catholics. Mr. O'Connell, however, took several objections to it, and an animated and iomewhat sharp discussion ensued. Mr. O'ConneU's objections began with the verj' first paragraph, in which there was much ^udation of the " generosity and liberality" of the British parliament. The exhibition, or jxistence of these attiibutes, he totally and entirely denied ; and would oppose the petition 4f on tliis ground alone. But far weightier reasons for objection, remained behindL In a subsequent paragraph, Mr. Shiel would have made the Catholics declare that, " in seeking capabilities lor constitu- tional distinctions, they must proportionally come within the sphere of constitutional influ- toice and contrd," and when pressed for explai.atiou of his esact meaning, admitted tha DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P. 439 ^^J meant to allude to the power the government might acquire by distrihution of patronago arr." 'g the Catholics. This paragraph was indignantly scouted at by Mr. O'Connell and others present Another, equally objectionable, met the same fate. Its tenor was confessed by Mr. Shell to have been directed towards the leaving of a loophole open ; for the proposal, at sonje future time, of "security" mensures of one kind or another. A statement that Pitt had been favourable to Catholic claims, was flatly contradicteu , and. finally, the petition as a whole being put to the vote, was negatived, and Mr. O'Con- nell and some others requested to act on a committee to provide a substitute fit for general adoption. On the 17th there was another meeting at Lord Fingal's. Mr. O'Connell said that it was his duty to report to the sub- committee, to whom the various petitions had been submitted. It was easy. matter to make the report, as it consisted in the simple statement, that they had rejected all the petitions, and were un- able to agree on any other. Indeed, there appeared to be a radical and decisive difference of sentiment between the members of the sub-committee, which evinced itself upon a point of vital importance. It was one upon which, for his part, he never could make any concession. Having failed in coming to any agreement on the subject of a petition, the sub-committee directed its attention to the other part of their duty — the preparing resolutions to be submitted to the aggregate meeting ; but here, in the very first step, dissension was introduced ; although, for my part (said Mr. O'Connell), I have taken every possible precaution to obviate the cause of any difference of opinion. The first resolution which I have to propose is one that has been already four times adopted ; it is — " That we do renew our earnest petitions to the legislature for the total and unqualified repeal of the penal statutes, which aggrieve and degrade the Catholics of Ireland." I now offer this resolution to this meeting, and I should merely state, that it is one in which every individual present, including you, my lord, has publicly and repeatedly concurred — that it has been the preface to all our petitions since 1808. I should content myself with this statement, but that my friend, Mr, Shell, has already announced his intention of opposing this resolution, unless the word " unqualified" be omitted, and has announced, as if with effectual authority, that a new secession will take place, unless we agree to alter the language of our petition and resolutions. This object is plain and undisguised. It is by changing our language we evince to the legislature that our sen- timents are altered, and thus most significantly call on them to euac* for our religion, I know not what vetoistioal ari-angements. 440 SELECT SPEECHES OF If ^vo refuse, and refuse we certainly shall, he has pronounced JUT punishment, a new secession. Allow me, therefore, to justify the gentlemen with whom I have acted, and let me show that, if this resolution creates a ne^vi secession, it will only betray the inconsistency of those whc secede. In our endeavour to promote conciliation, and procure unanimity, it became necessaiy to ascertain the causes of the secession. I found, my lord, that the Catholics had acted toge- ther until the summer of 1813. It was then the secession com- menced. The cause of that secession was alleged to be the in- troduction of extraneous topics — topics unconnected with our petition. I have your express authority, my lord, in stating this to be the cause of secession. We had all gone together to a certain point ; — that point was the introduction of extraneous topics in 1813. Taking, then, this open and only avowed cause of secession, it seemed easy to produce unanimity. The seceders had agreed with us upon certain subjects. We readily consented to confine ail our present proceedings to those subjects on which all parties had before agi'eed. To this we have pledged oiu- faith : let us see whether a similar fidelity will be observed towards us. The resolution which I propose was adopted in substance in 1809. In 1810 we unanimously agi'eed — all parties agreed, and published the resolution — " That, as Irishraen and as Catholics, we never would consent to auj interference on the part of the Crown, or the servants of the Crown, with the nomination of our bishops." You, my lord, and all the seceders, went with us in 1809 and in 1810. la 1811, the identical resolution which I now propose was passed at an aggi'egate meeting. You, my lord, were in the chair. It has the sanction of your approbation. You and the seceders continued to act with us. In 1812 this resolution was ^gain passed. You, my lord, and the seceders continued to act with us. This resolution passed again in 1813. You, my lord, xnd the seceders continued to act with us for many months af- terwards; and until the memorable vote of thanks to the bishops. At all those times this resolution passed unanimously; and now. because we wish to repeat the usual form ; because we repeat a resolution so often unanimously adopted ; there is to be a seces- sion again ; — that is, you will all secede because we use your own language for the fifth time — you having already used it four times ! It is better to be manlv at once. Let the truth be told : the DANIEL O'CJNXSLL, ES'J., .MP. 4il Beceders were not candid when they resolved on unqualiijevl emancipation. They then desired the veto : they still desire it. Let the pretences of extraneous topics and of intemperance of language be laid aside ; let the fact be avowed : we will meet it boldly. AVe are ready to give up every matter of form ; we are ready to sacrifice every thing except principle. We most ardently desire unanimity; but if the late seceders will retract their words for the sake of the veto, and claim only a qualified emancipation, the sooner they secede again the better, and the division must be perpetual ; for we, at least, will be consistent ; AXD NOW, AND FOR EVER, SHALL REJECT ANY PARLIAMENTARY BOON FOR THE SACRIFICE OF OUR RELIGION AND LIBERTY ! I do therefore move the resolution as unanimouslv adopted — ft) ^ the Earl of Fingal in the chair — on the 9th of July, 1811. Mr. Powkk, of county Waterford— " Do you mean to say tliat you will not accede to any ecclesiastical arrangements ?" Mr. O'Coxnell— " Certainly. I mean to ask for our emancipation •vrithout any qualifi- cation of our religious opinions/' Mr. Power — " Then I -vrill not agree with* your resolution." Earl FiNGAt — "I agreed to these meetings oil the supposition of an honourable unde standing between ns, that no religious subjects should be introduced, but that we should confine oiirselves solely to a petition for our civil immunities." Mk. O'CoNNEtL — " My lord, that is exactly what I wish. I desire that we shall receive emancipation \\'ithout reference to oui religious opinion^, and without subjecting our reli- gion to the control of a Protestant parliament** After some general observations from several gentlemen on this part of the subject, Mr. SnEiL addressed the meeting at considerable length against the introduction of the words " unqualified emancipation." His views, which may be gathered from the statement we have given of the nature oi the leading paragraphs in the petition he had seen rejected at the preceding meeting, were supported eagerly by some, and as warmly opposed by others. Some of those who agreed with Mr. O'Connell having repeated his exhortations to end these unpleasant and irritating discussions by some steps towards that union of sentiment, the want of which would paralyse their efforts in the cause, MPw Shkil said it rested with Mr. O'Connell and his friends to procure that union. Would they give up that solitarj' word, " unqualified," and then there would b? a certainty of union ? Mk, O'Connell — "So, then, the only chance the gentlemen would give us for obtaining union rests upon our abandoning a word which has been used at ever>' Catholic meeting in Ireland. ■• He accordingly entirely refused to omit thq word so obnoxious to Mr. Shell, and, soon after, the meeting came to a division, when there appeared nine for Mr. O'ConnelVs vieT of the case — Messrs. Segrave, N. Mahon, M'Manos, O'Brien, O'llara, Blake, and Lyon&, with himself, and three against it, viz., Messrs. Shiel, R. M'Donnell, and Lube. Another committee was then named, and the meeting adjourned. On the 21st of January, Mr. O'Connell reported to a meeting at Fitrpatrick's in Capel- street, that all that had been done was to pass a resolution, that a petition should be pre- seat«d, leaving it open to discussion what that petition should b^ and also the point at to who should be called upon to present it to parliament. Considerable discussion ensued upon the latter point, some being for agtun entrustttg i*, to Lord Donou.,hmore in the Peers, and Mr. Grattan in the Commons, while othera agrcerd Fingal departed from the afisembly, and the O'Conor Don remained, therefore, he chair. A letter was read from Lord Donoughmore, the tone and sentiments of wloch high approbation. ime other gentlemen having spoken, Mr. Lidwill (before mentioned) rose and dell^-cred ry able gpeech, entirely acquiescing in Mr. O'ConneU's views. When he had concluded, latter came forward to speak again : — le began by declaring, that he never addressed any auditory DANIEL O'COKXELL, ESQ., M.P. 44 mth SO much depression of heart. He felt chilled to the very isoul at the mournful contrast this day exhibited between the Protestant and the Catholic. The Protestant gentleman who had just spoken, the Protestant nobleman whose letter had been read, were both deeply anxious for the character and liberty oi the Catholics — whilst the Catholic nobleman coldly departed from the cause of*his children and his country, because his fel- low-labourers would not consent to that which Lord Donou'^i- more so gently called a degrading stipulation! But the mental inferiority of the Catholics was easily ac- counted for — they are slaves. The Protestant superiority was easily tracod to the share which he had in the British constitu- cion. Whilst the Catholic crouched in thraldom, the Protestant tasted the air of ^-eedou., and his mind acquired the energy and elevation which liberty alone can bestow ! This was a source of many a bitter reflection ; the scene that had taken place there that day, the new dissension announced and carried into effect, the war proclaimed against Ireland and her people — all conspired to weigh him down with sorrow. Yet, there does (said he) exist some consolation , I derive some com- fort from these m.elancholy events. One of the two great objects I had in view has . ompletely succeeded ; the cause of Catholic division is now manifest. My first object was to procure una- nimity ; that indeed has failed, after I had made every effort to attain it, except the sacrifice of principles. My second great ob- ject was, that if we were to remain divided, the cause of our di- vision should be plain, clear, and simple. The division, the secession has been attributed to our violence yonr committee, his grace stated, that his holiness had been put in full possession of the feelings of the Catholic clergy and laity of Ireland relative to the rescript, and that copies of all the documents considered well calculated to communicate infoiina tion of those proceiidings, were laid before his holiness and the congregation, to whom tha whole matters were reierred. " Your committee inquired whether any deputation from the English Catholic Board, or any other portion of the English Catholics had reached Rome ? To which his grace wai pleased to reply, that Dr. Macpherson had presented a memorial to the Pope from scmie por- tion of the English Catholic body, whicfi he inclined to believe was the English Catholic Board. This memorial prayed his holiness -o v.'ould be influenced in that decision solely by spiritual considerations, which would r.ot 1)6 affected by any opinions or desires of the British minister, or by any other temporal " Yjot committee expressed unaffeciea reiuctance in mtrading so long upon his grace, •^^ho WHS pleased to assure your committee, in the most gracious and confidential terms, t::it he felt sincere pleasure in communicating any information in his power to the Ca*holic'body ; and the more particularly as it was not probable that there would be a meeting of the prelates at an early period. His grace concluded by assuring your com - Tnittee that he would be ahyays ready to communicate such information as he may pos- sess on any other subject upon which the Catholic body would please to consult him. " Your committee tannot conclude their report without recording their testimony of the very kind and courteous language and deportment of his grace during the ■« hole of their interview ; and further, they deem it their duty humbly to suggest, that his grace is pre- eminently entitled to the thanks and gratitude of his Catholic countrymen, for the readi- ness which he evinced in meeting the desires of this Association." " Ttursdiy, 16th Juiie, thiero was au adjourned meeting of the Catholics of Ireland held qt Clarendon-street chapeL At one o'clock the chair was taken, at the universal call cf the meeting, by Owen 0"Conor, Esq. The chairman opened the proceedings of the day; by stating, that in consequence of the resolution to that effect passed at the late aggregate meeting, he had solicited an answer from Lord Donoughmore and Mr. Grattan, to the question accompanjing the petition of the Catholics of Ireland." The letter of Lord Donoughmore Avas couched in tenns that demonstrated a great anxiety to meet the wishes and forward the views of the Catholics. Mr. Grattan's letter was, unfortunately, not of the same tenor, as will be gathered from the speech we are about to give. No circumstance could have given Mr. O'Connell more severe pain than to find himself compelled to speak with censure of such a man as Henry Grattan. But the Catholic body should be vindicated at all hazards and all cost Me. 0'CoN^^:LL rose, and begged leave to read to the meeting a second time, the letter from the chairman to Mr. Grattan, and the reply of !Mr. Grattan. He then spoke to the following effect : — I have, said he, a painful duty to perform ; but it is my duty and I shall not shrink from the performance of it, however pain- ful. The course to be pursued is sufficiently obvious ; and it is necessary to recapitulate the facts, merely to place beyond any cavil the propriety of those measures which the honour as well as the interests of the Catholic body demand. Mr. Grattan took charge of our petition last year ; he presented it to the house, but he refused to discuss its merits. No reason was given for this ref\isal, other than the reason that silences, though.it cannot siatisfy, the slaves of despots. It consisted singly of the phrase " Stetpro ratione voluntas." "We were deeply impressed with the conviction that the discussion of oui' griev- ances and claims in the last session— indeed, every session, could produce nothing but advantages. Our cause is founded on eter- nal justice and plaih right ; therefore, so long as there remains Daniel d'oon^tell, esq., m.p. "'•CG one particle of common sense amongst men, discussion must ad- vance that cause. The Catholic Board called on Mr. Grattan to bring forward our question ; he again refused. The Board a second time entreated of him to do so ; he once more refused. We then called another aggi:e;gate meeting, and that meeting re- quested from Mr. Grattan a discussion. Strange to say, he stilj persevered in his refusal — a perseverance unexampled in the his- tory of parliament. It must be recollected that this unrelenting refusal on the part of Mr. Grattan to move on our petition, was one adopted \Tlt^- out any consultation or concert with our best friends. Lord Donoughmore was in London, and yet he was not consulted. It was determined by Mr. Grattan to postpone, as long as he could, for one session, any chance of relieif ; and he came to this reso- lution without the advice, or even the knowledge of our other ciiosen advocate Lord Donoughmore. Thus, without concert, without co-operation, we were doomed by Mr. Grattan to another year of slavery, and also without the poor pleasure of rattling our chains in the hearing of our oppressors. Allow me here, as an humble freeholder of the city of Dublin, solemnly to protest against this refusal. I do not dispute nor question the integrity of Mr. Grattan nor his high honour ; but I dispute his judg- ment ; and, humble as I am in talents and in station when com- pared with him, yet I am ready to demonstrate that he is mis- taken. I am ready to show that a member of the House of Commons is, by the constitution, bound to receive and attend to the in- structions of the constituents, I can show precedents where this duty has been recognized even by the bitterest enemies, as it has been always hitherto asserted by the best friends of liberty. I mean not to dispute the right of the representative to exercise his judgment respecting the instructions of his constituents ; but I can prove that those instructions have been hitherto received And attended to as tJieir acknowledged duty, by the members of the House of Commons. Thus, then, has Mr. Grattan, finally rejected you. You offered him your petition upon this condition, that he would agree to discuss your grievances this session. He refuses to enter into any such agreement. He therefore rejects your petition. You may, indeed cringe and fall before him. The Catholic people may submit and, with Christian meekness, seek another blow. The thousands who hear me, and who were riglit in demand- ing this condition, may retract and degrade themselves ; but tha*e is no other course, if you would have Mr. Grattan to pro- 454 SELECT SPEECHES OF sent your petition. He has taken his nigh station ; lie will neither descend nor bend. It remains for us to seek another advocate — an advocate less brilliant in eloquence, but more suited to our views and wishes. At this period it is doubly incumbent on us to make a prudent choice. Mr. Grattan differs from us on the veto. He assented to Canning's clauses, though he did not introduce them. If he had accepted our petition, it would have been necessary to give him information of the disgust and abhorrence produced by those clauses. We should owe to ourselves and our religion, emphati- cally to announce the detestation in which we hold any inter- meddling with our Church. This and more would be necessary, had Grattan been our advocate ; but if this meeting were now to retract, and to abandon their own judgment, and to select Mr. Grattan, notwithstanding his letter, the consequences are obvious. He would refuse to receive any suggestions whatsoever ; and then you who desire unqualified emancipation, would have your advocate calling, in your name, for an emancipation which^ in your judgment, would only increase your slavery. Good God ! ca:; any man imagine that Mr. Grattan would find it possible to dsten to us upon these matters of importance, when he declares it impossible to answer us upon a mere ques- tion of time ? The question we put to him was as simple as, " What is it o'clock V — his reply, '^ It is impossible for me to answer !" Well, if he cannot condescend to answea: as to the hour of the day, what prospect is their of his being able to reply to more weighty questions 1 In short, he has taken his stand ; he will answer no questions ; he will receive no instructions ; he rejects all stipulations ; and he disclaims the condition upon which you offered, and the Earl of Donoughmore accepted, your petition. There cannot, therefore, be found in this crowded assembly any Catholic sufficiently hardy to propose that we should retract, and again offer our petition without a condition. (A general cry of " no, no !" for many minutes.) I know that no person would hazard such a proposition, whatever powers of effrontery he may possess ; nor do I accuse any man of entertaining such an idea. You must have a new selection made ; you must have a man selected who will consent to lay your grievances before parlia ment this session ; who will consent to receive your instructions; tt-ho, in short, will seek to obtain for the Catholics of Ireland that which the Catholics of Ireland deserve, and not get up a DANIKL o'CON'NELXi ESQ., M.P. 455 J)!an of his own, in which he may be the principal figure, and the Catholics secondary objects. The advocate we want is a man who will require from parlia- ment an emancipation that would quiet and content the people of Ireland, and extinguish the heart-burnings and animosities which at present rage in this country — not an emancipation which would create more jealousy and disaffection, and embitter our feuds, and increase our rancorous hostility to each other : — an advocate, in fine, who would, from his heart prefer the eman- cipation of Ireland to the emancipation of !Mr. Grattan and Mr. Canning. Such is the advocate we want ; and such an advocatt may, I know, be found ; but alas ! we must, I much fear, go to England to seek for him. We must seek for an Englishman, for I know of no Irish member to whom you can now commit your petition. Let me not be taunted with this preference, I do not prefer an Englishman as such. Oh, no ! My preference and my pre- judices are altogether Irish. My heart, my soul, my feelings are all — all Irish. My patriotism is almost exclusively Irish ; and I remember the wi'ongs England has inflicted on my wretched country, with a hatred doomed to be immortal and unrelenting. But there is now no choice. Ireland was, in the last session, abandoned by all the Irish members. She was flung at the feet of Peel, to insult and to trample upon her as he, in his majestic forbearance and wisdom, should think fit ; and, lastly, our Irish patriots have found out that he is an Alfred — nothing less I (Much laughing.) Oh, it is sorrowful mirth ; but this is true ; Ireland was defended only by Englishmen. There remained amongst them the still unextinguishable flame of liberty, and they made a generous effort to protect Ireland. May the best blessings of heaven be poured upon them. Whit bread, and Hemer, and Romilly, and Grant, and others, fought for Ireland. We will find amongst them an advocate suited to our purpose ; the cause and the principle of civil and religious liberty will never be scorned by them. I cannot conclude without deprecating any declamation on tne merits of Mr. Grattan. No man can be more sensible :f those merits than I am. / recal to mind his early and his glorious struggles for Ireland. I hioiD he raised her from degradation, and exalted her to her rank as a nation. I recollect, too, that if she be now a pitiful -province, Grattan struggled and fought for her whilst life or hope 456 SELECT SPEECHES OP DANIEL O'COMIELL, ESQ., 31. P. remained. I know all this, and more : and my gratitude and enthusiasm for those services will never be extinguished. But I know, too, that, to use his own phrase of another, '• he fras an oak of the forest, too old to be transplanted." I see with regret, that except his services in our cause, he has, sfnce the Union, made no exertions worthy of his name and of his strength. Since ho has inhaled the foul and corrupt atmo- sphere that fills some of the avenues to Westminster, there have not been the same health and vigour about him. Ke seems to have forgotten his ancient adorations. He supported the Insur- rection Bill, and every future Peel has the authority of his name to aid in outlawing Ii?eland. He accused his fallen coun- trymen of cherishing a French party. Alas ! he ought to have distinguished between the strong anti- Anglican spirit which cen- turies of oppressive government created and fostered, and any attachment to the enemy of freedom. The very party whom he was induced to traduce, hated despotism as much in France as in Russia or in England ; and it assuredly had nothing French about it. But above all, Mr. Grattan has mingled the support of our cause with the procuring for a Protestant ministry the patronage of our Church. These recollections mitigate the sorrow I feel at his having now disclaimed our petition. I feel for him un- feigned respect ; but he has refused to accept the petition upon our terms. I shall, therefore, move — -, *•' That the Catholic Association be requested to send a delegation to Loudon, in order to procure a member of the House of Commons to Dresent our j^etition, and apply for unqualified Emancipation." Some memlDers having mferfered to request a postponement of the resolution, on varioua grounds, but chiefly in order to have more time for considering it, Mr. O'ConneU withdrew Ills resolution, on the grounds of an onwillingness to create a difference of opinion, and the sincere wish that he had for unanimity ; hut he would wish that if it should be givca iats the hands of the Association, thatthev should report to an aggregate CKtiqg, tc I* lc»C on Thursday, the 23rd instant A. resoiatioa was then put and carried to that effect znn or VOu I. i-uTTXSOs JorxT, Stcam-preM Printsr, 22, Es ex-st West Dublin. 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