Conrad, Robert T.
Remarks. . .
Philadelphia, 1841.

YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

1942

REMARKS

HON. ROBERT T. CONRAD,
Ml

CELEBRATION OF THE
ANNIVERSARY of AMERICAN INDEPENDENCE
BY THE
PHILADELPHIA REPEAL ASSOCIATION,
AT THE
ARCH STREET THEATRE,
July 5, 1841.

PUBLISHED BY THE ASSOCIATION.

PHILADELPHIA.-
PRINTED BY CHARLES ALEXANDERj
FBiNKLlN PLACE.
1841.

REMARKS.

The limited time afforded by my official duties for the task
which I arise to perform, has been, by other causes, circum
scribed to a few hours; and I now regret that it was not en
trusted with one of more ability and leisure than myself. Yet
the duty should not be an arduous one. This is a festival
rather of the heart than the head. It is a day that breaks the
seals which close the great deep of hearts, and bids our early,
and world-chilled patriotism burst forth into its original and
exulting freshness. It asks no cold philosophies, no deep dis
quisitions; but the union of virtuous hearts in devout thanks
giving for the blessings which this day hath secured our country.
Such a duty should require no long-drawn note of preparation,
but should spring, in living and palpitating fervor from the heart:
and even if — as is now the case — he who ministers at the altar of
liberty utter the rites but feebly, the deficiency will be over
borne by the truth of the faith and the fervor of the worship.
I am one of those who would cherish our national Sabbaths.
Properly spent, they inspire us with a holy political charity, a
divine brotherhood in the cause of human rights; and teach that
our common country is our common parent — that all' her sons, of
whatever clime or class, are our brethren, and that their happi-

[4]
ness demands the exercise of toleration and liberality between
all sects and parties.
But it is peculiarly the events commemorated by our national
festival, that consecrate them. The traveller who sees the ever-
recurring and court-appointed festivals of some of the despot
isms of Europe, naturally conjectures that their annals must be
"pregnant with celestial fire;" but he finds to his dismay, that
this hollow merriment is to commemorate, probably the birth of
some stupid and profligate royal driveller, or perhaps of some
monarch of sterner stuff, who blessed his realm with glory, blessed
it by sluicing the. veins of his subjects to win a feather that must
flaunt upon their tyrant's brow, making him more their tyrant.
They are trampled to the dust, and groan, and rave, and die, and
rot, by thousands, in their tortured wretchedness: and yet these
people celebrate the birth of their monster-idol as a festival!
The traveller, shocked and disgusted, turns his steps to Ame
rica. He find here but two national festivals. The former is
the birth-day of a being so glorious as to be above the world's
glory; a piece of moral statuary so perfect that the most carp
ing casuistry would not presume to pare or alter it — the nation's
Father! Our other festival celebrates the nation's birth. On this day,
the sun as it rises and throws its beams over thousands of miles
of field and wood and prairie and savannah, is greeted on every
hill-top with the peal of cannon and the shout of joy. The mil
lions of the land are forth, and all is pride and triumph. Here
at least-.— says the stranger — is no counterfeit. But why is all
this? Is it required by the State, or does it celebrate the tri
umph of government over struggling and defeated patriots? And
what is the answer? Look at the wave of the sea, playing with
the morning beam, and careering in the wide expanse uncheck
ed: see the cataract leaping its rocky barrier and shouting its
oy in a voice of everlasting thunder— why do they rejoice? See
the eagle soaring, fetterless, and fearless, in the heavens: why

[5]
does he scream forth his joy, as with his vast wings he winnows
the blue air on which he so proudly floats? Hearken to the an
swer. Sea, and torrent, and eagle, are free, and rejoice in their
freedom! Behold us — a multitudinous people — from the frozen.
St. Lawrence to the torrid Caribean: — we, too, rejoice, for we,
too, are free — free as the wave of the sea or the eagle of the
mountain — free now, and, with the blessing of Heaven, free for
ever! But are we therefore satisfied ? Are we so buried in selfish
ness, that if the sun of freedom but beam upon us, we care not
though all the world beside be darklingin the night of oppression?
Show me the man whose heart beats only within a circle so selfish
and sordid, and I will show you one unworthy this sacred anni
versary — its men, its triumphs and its heritage. He who knows
no sympathy which can be stretched beyond the paltry limits of
his sect, his party, or his clime, is neither a good christian, nor a
good man; but a mindless, heartless, throbless lump of acciden
tal and misnamed humanity. I am sure that no such man is
among us — that of the thousands within the sound of my voice,
there is not one who has not a place in his heart — and a large
place, too, for the wrongs of the island of sorrow — oppressed
and lovely Ireland.
For myself, I own that as a christian man, I cannot see near
ly nine millions of my fellow creatures, of my own race, lan
guage and religion, suffer as does Ireland suffer, without deep
sympathy. As a freeman, I cannot but feel that their cause is
my cause, and the cause of all who love liberty. For, sophisti
cate as we may, liberty is not, any more than truth, confined to
metes and limits; its home is as universal as the home of God's
blessed light. Its foes elsewhere are its foes here; its weakness
is our weakness, its triumph our triumph, the wide world over.
This day is devoted to the celebration of the Independence of
our own cherished America. If the cause is holy here — (and the
very air of America would poison the traitor who would say
1*

C'6 J
it is not,) why is it not holy there? Why should not Ireland, as
well as America, be free and independent? I speak not of a hos
tile independence, but independent as Pennsylvania is indepen-
pendent of New York, as brother is independent of brother, be
side the same cherished hearth and within the same hallowed
circle. Ireland has her natural rights; and even if she were
morally degraded and unlovely— instead of satnding before the
world the incarnation of genius and patriotism — she is entitled
to that liberty which God hath given to all men. He who sup
poses that Providence intended Ireland for her present fate, or
that he sanctions the wrongs which overshadow her, blasphemes
against Eternal Goodness.
Why, then, should not Ireland be independent? Would
England suffer from it? If she did, it would only be because
compelled to drop the spoil of her plundered sister. But she
would not suffer. That which is unjust is never expedient.
The curse of slavery reaches the oppressor as well as the oppress
ed; while it crushes the victim, it palsies and poisons the foot/
¦which treads upon him. England will never sleep soundly until
justice is done to her sister kingdom. Ireland as her friend
will be worth to her fifty Irelandsas her slave, and therefore her
foe. Has not Ireland physical force sufficient for self-main
tenance ? Physically, Ireland is, her extent considered, the
wonder of the world. The number of her population rises like
the swell of the ocean, despite the drains of war, poverty, op
pression and emigration. That population has (since the se
cond St. Patrick, Father Matthew, has passed, like the sprino-
time, over it — making its desolate places green) all the virtues
which render it productive. The industry of Ireland not only
achieves all which English jealousy and oppression will permit
it to achieve at home, but fills the factories, opens the mines
digs the canals, constructs the rail roads, mans the navies and
tills the glebe of half the world that speaks the English Ian-

[7]
guage beside. And this producing power exists on a soil
rich to a marvel, in a land abounding in mineral wealth, and
with "an hundred harbors without a shoal" — a land almost with
out a rival in all (except freedom) that constitutes agricultural,
manufacturing and commercial advantages. What might not
such a country effect with her energies unshorn, her industry
unshackled ? The Atlantean endurance of her world of op
pressions proves her giant strength. What nation, of equal
extent, could live under the evils of absenteeism by which twen
ty millions of dollars per annum are drawn from her, not as the
sun draws the moisture from the earth, to pour it back in fertiliz-
showers upon the soil, but as the torturer opens the veins of his
victim and draws forth the current of life, which lost once is
lost forever. What land could bear the taxes she pays to dis
charge a debt which Ireland does not owe, and to support a
church in which Ireland does not worship ? And with all this,
it must be remembered that she pays ten millions of dollars for
English manufactures, while her own are discouraged. Against
capital, monopoly, opposition and taxation — whither can Ireland
look for relief but to the restoration of her own Parliament and
the protection of her own interests.
1 Has not Ireland the moral requisites of self-government —
courage, intellect and patriotism ? Ask history what people
have won the conquests of England ! Irish valor it is that has
made the English sceptre all powerful ; and English magna
nimity, in grateful requital, makes it a sceptre of iron to crush
and curse her sister. But Ireland needs the intellect neces
sary for self government. Indeed ! In the science of war,
who conquered the world's conqueror but Irish Wellington?
In philosophy, who led the way to the noblest achievements of
science ? Irish Boyle. In statesmanship, Irish politicians have
governed England herself. In eloquence, her orators have
thrown a lustre not only around Britain, but around the whole
race and over all time ; and in poetry and letters, who can for-

[8]
get her Swift, Goldsmith, Moore, and others, countless and
brilliant stars that have shone out from the midnight sky of
Ireland's sorrows? And can it be that Ireland, a luminary
whose efflux of mind has lighted the world, is, in itself, unlit?
Oppression— for it is as blind to the merits of its victim as it is
deaf to his cries — oppression may credit the slander, but whis
per it not in the ears of freemen !
But there are other objections to the independence of Ireland:
she is fiery and turbulent — sudden and quick in quarrel, and
requires the yoke. If this be true, it is, under the circum
stances, most natural. What should a people be who have, for
long ages, been crushed beneath the armed heel of power — who
have been robbed of their national independence — subjected to
famine, fire and sword — driven like wolves into caves, and
when caught, dragged forth and hanged like wolves, by the
way-side ? What should a land do whose sons have heard the
history of these wrongs from mothers widowed by them—
mothers who bore them, when babes, from their fired cottages,
lighted on their flight by the conflagration, and hurried into
wilder terror by the shrieks of relatives dying upon English
bayonets, or reserved for a worse fate upon the gibbet ? Why,
in the name of outraged human nature, what should aland do
whose millions have shed tears of blood under such oppressions
— a land the most favored of God — the most tortured of man —
under heaven ? Would you have her dance in her chains over
the bloody graves of her martyrs, and wreath her wan and
famine-pinched features into the complaisance of meek and
willing suffering? What did we, under wrongs not the tithe
of a tithe of those of Ireland, but draw the sword, fling away
the scabbard and pant through eight years of holy rebellion into
freedom. Such was the course ol as reflecting a people as ever
existed ; — but such — and I rejoice in it — is not the course of
Ireland. Her present position approves her to be law-abiding
and loyal.

[9]
Behold her! Calm, self-possessed, and unresisting, she
stands in her sorrows, with her pale, quiet brow, bared to the
world, and her hand raised in appeal to the monarch's monarch
— opinion. Her motto is, " he who commits a wrong, strength
ens the enemies of his country." Her reliance is in the belief
that the advance of religion and knowledge has brought the
time when truth is mightier than the sword. And have not
such a people claims upon the sympathy of the world ? Has
not an appeal so calm and just, claims upon the truthfulness of
the world ? Is it a crime to think or feel with sufferers so sub
lime in their sorrow ? It cannot be that it is a fault, when we
see our brother stricken to the earth and the steel uplifted to
destroy, to say to the oppressor — " Hold ! hold ! You violate
the laws of God and man !"
Who is it that dares complain of sympathy and interposition
in behalf of Ireland? Is it England ? In enthusiastic admira
tion and esteem for the people of England — their chivalry — their
genius — their moral excellence — I will yield to no man. In
science, the arts and letters, the world owes so large a debt to
English genius, that it is a proud privilege to speak their lan
guage as a mother tongue. Still more is due to the English
people for teaching the world how to assert the rights of man
against a tyrannical government. All time will be lustrous
with the glory of their popular insurrections, especially those
of 1649 and 1688 — the Mount Jlrarats of History — upon which
the Ark of Liberty rested, when all the world beside was sub
merged in the dull and turbid waves of servility and moral de
gradation. For the patriotic and noble people of England, I
cherish the most paternal feelings : why cannot their govern
ment represent their virtues ? Why cannot their haughty and
over-bearing rulers catch the magnanimous and generous spirit
of England's people, and learn justice and humanity ? But
whither will the government of England turn to complain of
the interference of foreign sympathy for Ireland ? To the

[ io ]
world at large ? She will find no spot which her pragmatic
policy has not deranged or oppressed. To Canada? Every
cottage is guarded by an English bayonet. To France ? Eng
land threw the world into convulsion for quarter of a century
by her interference with its government. To Spain ? It is
governed by her armies. To Portugal ? She has given it "such
protection as vultures give to lambs." To other continental
nations ? She has given a king to one, and another to a king.
To the West ? There is scarce a sovereignty — the United
States excepted — which she has not, at one time or another, by
force or machinations, controlled. To the East? Egypt has
but within a few months changed her government under the fire
of English cannon. To India? with her hundred millions of
English slaves — to India, which she made a Phlegithon, running
red and hot with blood — to India, which she covered with ruin
and darkened with smoke — a land where the silence of despair
was only broken by the crack of the whip, the clank of the
chain, or the shriek of the victim ? Immaculate and meek-spi
rited England ! Let her, to complete the cycle, raise her
hand, crimsoned in the blood of every nation under heaven, and
make her appeal to China, too, against foreign interference —
China, which, for the crime of being wealthy, is about to be
made, by just and gentle England, a howling and a desolation.
Well has one of the most gifted of her own sons described her
transgressions : .

We have offended very grievously,
Anil been most tyrannous. From East to West,
A groan of accusation pierces Heaven !
The wretched plead against us; multitudes,
Countless and vehement, the sons of God,
Our brethren ! like a cloud that travels on,
Steam'd up from Cairo's swamps of pestilence ;
Even so, my countrymen ! have we gone forth
And borne to distant tribes slavery and pangs,
And, deadlier far — our vices !

[11]
But let this modern Rome, this moloch of the nations, appeal
whithersoever she may, so that she turn not to us — not to us.
Not to the land, in an effort to enslave which (a fruitless effort,
thanks be to God and our gallant forefathers!) she destroyed an
hundred thousand innocent lives ; not to the country which, in a
later struggle — induced by her most arrogant and oppressive in
terference — witnessed the massacre at the river Raisin, and the
vandal destruction of the Capitol at Washington ; not to the
land whither, in time of peace, she has sent insurrectionary mis
sionaries to encite the ignorant blacks of the south to acts that
would " on horror's head horrors accumulate," to place the knife
and torch in their hands and urge them on to rape and slaughter
— to redden our rivers with the blood of our brethren murdered,
and shock the heavens with the shrieks of violated innocence.
Not to us be her appeal — whose vessels she is daily searching
and insulting, and whose territory she boasts that she recently
invaded, in the commission of a midnight felony, murdering the
unarmed and unoffending, firing the vessel in which they were
found sleeping, and sending that vessel, freighted with the dead
and the living, into the ocean-helj, Niagara ! Not to us be her
appeal ! Her brow is even now knitted, and her arm upraised
against us. Let her come on ; we fear her not. But, should
the struggle come— as come I fear it will — the glorious specta
cle will again be presented, of Irishmen fighting upon the Ame
rican soil for American liberty ; the green and blue will again
be blended ; the harp again shine amid the stripes and stars; and
Irish and American blood again mingle upon the same altar, an
oblation to the common freedom of a common country.
No, let not England complain of interference. Her whole ca
reer is one of dictation. She dictates to the world : let the world,
for once, dictate to her. Our part, at least, shall be done ; and
from the lakes to the gulf, thousands shall raise their voices
against that measure of treachery and wrong, the Union, by which
England hailed Ireland as a sister in order to make her a slave,

[12]
In this country, I cannot presume that any will be found to
echo the senseless objection as to interference; if, indeed, an
expression of sentiment and feeling— 'a right of which no power
on earth can deprive us — be interference. It certainly conflicts
with no national law, nor with the law of that country nor
this ; and it will hardly be pretended, that a manifestation of in
terest in the cause of human liberty, anywhere, is a moral wrong.
It is to this cause— to the reciprocal influence of the minds of
nations—the national interchange of truth — that the advance of
any branch of political and other knowledge, useful to the race,
is to be ascribed. Without this, the fire of civilization and im
provement would burn out in the contracted spot where it was
first kindled. I am in favor of a free trade in truth; and know
no reason why human thought or human sympathy, when virtu
ous and beneficient, should be confined within prescribed limits.
But the objection would come with peculiarly ill-grace from
an American. France, in our darkest era, assisted us : was she
guilty of wrong ? Washington besought that interference, and
the diplomatic skill of Franklin secured it : were they guilty of
moral wrong ? Among those who interfered in our behalf was a
gallant, noble, man, the beloved of Washington, one whose ex
istence was devoted to universal liberty, whose life was a stream
of living glory —
If earth had ever cause for pride,
For joy beyond all joy beside,
'Twas that she bore a son like LaFayette !
Was he, too, guilty ? The doctrine would disrupt the holiest
ties of gratitude which bind us to the past, and cast a shame and
guilt over the noblest and best of our patriots. Kosciusko, Sten-
ban, Montgomery— all— all were guilty I Palsied be the ribald
tongue that speaks, and chilled with the chill of the grave the
ingrate heart that conceives, so foul a wrong against our sainted
and cherished ones !

[ 15]
But I have been speaking of the interference of forte in favor
of our country: who dreams of force in relation to Ireland? No
thing is proposed or sanctioned that is not peaceful, lawful, and
humane. If we be wrong, then were Howard's efforts in favor
of the prisoners in the jails of the continent, wrong; if we be
wrong, then are the holy exertions of our self-sacrificing mis
sionaries, who interfere with the degraded religion of pagan
countries, wrong. When was benevolence not interference?
but is it, therefore, crime ? Such was the doctrine of the stony
pharisee, who, indisposed to interfere to relieve the bleeding suf
ferer, crossed on the other side, leaving him to the mercies of
the good Samaritan ; and such, too, is the doctrine of those who
would now have us gaze, without a heart-throb, upon the suffer
ings and wrongs of our down-trodden brethren of Ireland.
Brethren, indeed ! I stand here surrounded by Ireland's sons
and daughters. If the friends who, in your native isle, send
their souls over the wide waters to embrace you, could look
upon thisgorgeous scene — if the champion of Ireland, O'Connell
himself, your own faithful and fearless, were present, could he
consider himself an exile among strangers? No! no exile —
no stranger. This is your country, and these your brethren.
Come we not from the same womb ? Ireland is the mother
country of America. England gave us charters; Ireland, hearts
and hands. England, it is true, settled America — but how ? by
oppression at home. It was English oppression that crowded
our vallies with high-minded men, the foes of oppression in the
old world, the jewels of liberty, worn in her heart of hearts, here.
Few Americans, out of New England, and those sections ex
clusively German, can speak in derogation of Ireland or her
sons, without shaming the blood that flows in their own veins,
and slandering the dust that moulders in their own family vault.
Are we not then brethren ?
But we are not merely sprung from the same stock, but bap
tised in the same baptism of blood. Look at the muster rolls
2

[14]
of the revolution. In the continental line, a band of heroes who
knew no signal for defeat, nearly every American shoulder was
pressed by that of an Irishman — their hearts beat together —
their arms struck together ; their voices rose to the skies, their
blood fell to the earth together! And, are we not brethren ?
Why, who was it at Quebec Heights, at the head of our army,
rushed on foremost, and foremost fighting, fell ? It was Irish
Montgomery who first reddened that snow with his life's-blood ;
and is that blood forgotten? Has it passed away as did the
snow-wreath which it crimsoned, with "the next sun's ray ?"
If so, then fell that blood for hearts colder than the ice which it
reddened ; if so, then Heaven avert from our country the curse
which avenges ingratitude. But it is not so !
Upwards of sixty years since a gallant soldier fell at Prince
ton. His last glance was at the glorious banner before him —
his last thought for his native clime ! What land did that no
ble spirit adorn ? It was Erin ! What banner floated over
him ? It was the stars and stripes !
Is that martyr forgotten ? But a few days since and moie
than half a century after he was laid in a warrior's grave, we
saw the military of the land for which he died, march in pilgrim
age to his resting place, with the banner for which he so gallantly
fought mantled in crape, and the manly tread of the soldiery
measured into melancholy slowness. The State whose troops
he led into so many fields, claims him as her own, and bears his
remains to rest, as a holy relic, in her bosom. Amid all the
pomp of war his countrymen again surround him— again give
voice to his fame, and again drop a tear into his grave. The
honors done to Haslett prove that the revolutionary services of
gallant Irishmen, are not and cannot be forgotten.
The American public has never withheld its active sympathy
from a people struggling for their rights, and why should it now ?
When the South American States struck for independence,
their ranks were crowded with Americans; and in our national

[ 15]
councils the spirit-stirring and trumpet tones of a Clay boldly
and successfully advocated national sympathy and interposition
in their behalf. Where then was heard the cold and heartless
" hush ."' that would now check us when we speak of the wrongs
of poor Ireland ?
And when Greece too arose— when every American heart flut
tered with sympathy and every American hand was outstretch-
v ed to aid — when legions were mustered upon our own soil, and
vessel after vessel was sent thither freighted with succours for
their army — when Webster spoke in Congress for the land of
Demosthenes, as Demosthenes,, had the grave a voice, would
himself have spoken ; where then was this sickly apprehension
of interference ?
Or shall we forget the unhappy land of Kosciusco ? when
Poland, scarred and pallid, but still eager for the fray, arose
against her Muscovite oppressors, was not young America
by her side ? Our voice cheered her, our arm struck for her ;
and even the banners which fluttered over the heads of the patriots
were wrought by the hands of American ladies. For, though
there are men, the icy portals of whose hearts are closed against
the plea of suffering mankind, "when went there by a time
since the great flood" when in the cause of freedom or humanity,
woman's heart was cold or woman's hand was idle ?
The struggle of Texas with the exterminating and savage horde
of the perfidious Santa Anna, and the part taken in it by the
Americans, are too recent and extraordinary to be forgotten. It
is not strange that we espoused the cause of the oppressed ;
when we do not, we will cease to be Americans—cease to be men ;—
we will dishonor the names of our sires, the soil that drank
their blood, the graves that cherish their ashes. How well and
truly that call was responded to, we all know, many of us but
too well : and when so much was given to Texas, shall a kind
word — all that Ireland asks — shall a kind word be denied her ?
I do not wonder that the cause of Ireland has excited so warm

[ 16]
an interest this side the Atlantic. We are not yet so degene
rate as to regard indifferently a cause that appeals to us in the
sacred name of liberty-a name that we have been taught to
lisp in our childhood with reverence, to cherish in manhood with
devotion, to live with it in our hearts, to die with it upon our
lips ! Liberty ! It is the instinct of an American— a part— a
glorious part of our existence. With others it is a privilege,
with us a passion and a joy. I recently passed through a por
tion of my native State, and viewed it with rapturous exulta
tion. Why did I so regard it ? Was it that her mountains
pillowed the ruddy cheek of the morning, or that her valleys
watered by the noblest rivers, rang with the songs of industry
and gladness ? No, it was not this. It was that these hills and
vallies were crowded with a yeomanry of princes — men whose
brows and whose spirits towered, like their own mountains, to
the heaven — whose hearts were as firm as the rocks that ribbed
those mountains sides, and as free as the breeze that played on
their summits. I am proud of my country for many things, but
for nothing more, for nothing so much, as her devotion to liberty ;
not here only, but any where — every where. Any people will
fight in their own defence — the deer will bend its antlers against
the hunter, and even the earth worm will turn upon the foot that
crushes it; and more cowardly than the deer, more degraded
than the worm, is he who will not bare his right arm against the
oppressor. We have done this, we have achieved freedom for
ourselves ; but let us, whenever we lawfully can, do more — do
more than the Roman or the Spartan ever did — achieve it for
others. We love liberty for herself. Wherever her altar burns,
Americans bend over it — wherever her banner waves, Ameri
cans do battle beneath it — in whatever clime, beneath whatever
sky, they share in her triumphs or in her fall ; their shout an"
nounces her victory — their dust marks the place of her defeat !
It is an American principle that the wide universe is the
home of liberty — every people are her children — every shore her

[in
clime — every mountain-top her throne — every valley her heri
tage. We believe that all men should and will be free ; that
the spirit of freedom will encompass the world, like its atmos
phere, and that the time will come, when, in every clime
" Prone from its seat oppression will be hurled,
Its name, its nature, withered from the world."
The friends of Ireland have done much, but they have much
yet to do. Let them onward. They have no ground for des
pondency, but if they had, it would be a treason. Despair of
your country ! You are a father-rr-you have perhaps seen your
child gasping upon, the pillow and its cheeks whiter than the
linen — its little limbs convulsed — its gentle face clammy. Did
you despair ? No, you clung to life and hope, till the last :
you clasped your fading treasure as with a death-clasp, and
would not, could not let it go ! Even when the angel of death
had spoken, when its feeble gaspings had ceased, and all was
still, and cold, and ghastly — you fyet ventured to hope against
hope ; explored the lustreless eye for some gleam of life, and
felt the stilled pulse for some faint flutter of vitality.
Thus should the patriot love his country, and thus should lie
watch over and cling to it i. He who loves, never relaxes ; he
may die, but never despair; and in the last gush of life, the
prayer which commends his country to his God, is full of the
pride of the patriot and the confidence of the martyr. In this
sacred cause " never say fail." Let us on the contrary indulge
a hope that our next festival will.be the celebration of Irish in
dependence. In that moment of triumph, how full of joy and
gratitude, will be the aspiration that sends to Heaven the blend
ed sentiments of Hail Columbia and Erin Go Bragh!

2*

[From the Truth Teller.]
FOURTH OF JULY— REPEAL— PHILADELPHIA.

We would refer our readers to the proceedings of the " Re
pealers" of Philadelphia, published on our fifth page. They do
credit to the Patriotic Friends of Ireland, in Philadelphia, and
tend to cheer on the Friends of Repeal throughout the Union, to
proceed with vigour in their praiseworthy and hallowed under
taking. We rejoice to observe that Repeal Associations are
raising in all parts of the Union.
The proceedings of the meeting in Buffalo are exceedingly in
teresting, and we regret our limits prevent us from publishing
them. We are pleased to observe that our friend Patrick Mil
ton, Esq., has been chosen one of the Vice-Presidents of the
Association, a better patriot could not be appointed.
In Philadelphia, the Repeal Association, celebrated on Mon
day last, the Anniversary of Independence, in a style far exceed
ing that of any other city. The fine weather presented an ad
mirable opportunity for the grand procession on the occasion 
The splendid oanner and its heautiful decorations excited general
and deserved approbation. The column, whilst on its march,
extended far beyond a mile, and was composed of as noble look
ing men as ever appeared on any public occasion.
A delegation from the city of New-York, among whom were
Messrs. J. W. McKeon, E. J. Derry, L. Langton, M. Gaffney,
Charles M. Nanry, Wm. Denman, and others, attended the
celebration, by invitation. Similar delegations were present
from Harrisburg and Lancastef. After proceeding through the

[ 19 f-
principal streets of the city, they proceeded to the Arch Stree^
Theatre, which was crowded to suffocation by the immense as.
semblage which thronged the building from pit to dome.
We had proceeded with our narrative thus far, when we re
ceived the following excellent account of the day's celebration,
from a highly valued friend and correspondent in Philadelphia.
We willingly give him the preference, having it in our power to
testify to its correctness from personal observation.- We take
pleasure in stating it as our opinion, that the celebration of the
Fourth of July, 1841, was indeed a proud day for the Repealers
of Philadelphia, as well as the Repealers of Ireland — one which
will be long treasured up in the minds of those who witnessed
the imposing procession, and which places the Repeal Associa
tion of Philadelphia in the vanguard of the Repealers of the
United States. May it continue to hold its pre-eminence..

FRIENDS OF IRELAND IN PHILADELPHIA.
" The American Cock crowing at the other side of the At
lantic shall awaken Ireland from her distressing slumbers, and
bid her arise to enjoy a day of light and happiness." — Daniel
O'Connell.
Monday was indeed a proud day for the friends of Ireland!
Never did the American cock crow louder or more cheerfully!
Lively as this great city usually is on the Anniversary of our In
dependence as a Nation, never did it exhibit so much spirit, so
much joy, as on that day on which was celebrated that glorious
event. The whole city seemed to be in movement, all waiting
with anxiety to witness the proceedings of the Repealers. Re
peal! repeal! repeal! flowed from the lips of the old and the
young, the grave and the gay, the native, as well as the adopted
citizen. Long before noon, the hour of meeting at the District Court
Room by the Repeal Association, crowds had assembled round
the building, and when the doors were thrown open there was a
tremendous rush of thousands into the room to obtain seats. One
half, of course, could not get in. Scarce had the President,
Judge Doran, taken his seat, than a motion was made and car-

[20]
ried, to adjourn at once to Independence Square, in order that
all might see and heae. On assembling in the square, the num
ber of persons present was immense, and yet the utmost good
order and decorum prevailed during the whole of the proceed
ings. As the procession was to start precisely at one o'clock,
there was only one hour for business, and yet in the course of
that hour one hundred gentlemen came forward and were elect
ed members, the talented Attorney General, Mr. C, Wallace
Brooke being amongst them. Every one paid his contribution
money. A number of letters were read, including those of the
Boston, Wilmington, Norristown, and New York Repeal As
sociations ; and last, not least, a good letter from our able friend
of the New York Truth-Teller, William Denman,. Esq. At
one o'clock the line of march was formed, and the procession
proceeded up Chesnut street, the Hibernia Greens, commanded
by Lieutenant commanding, Frederick Mullen, the Montgome
ry Hibernia Greens, Captain Robert Flanagan, and a new vo
lunteer company, ununilbrmed, called the Irish volunteers, and
commanded by Myles Tully, Ksq., being in front, with their
fine bands of music playing Hail Columbia, Erin Go Bragh, and
other such soul-stirring airs. Both companies Greens turned
out strong, and marched with a precision worthy of the best dis
ciplined troops. Their whole appearance was extremely beau
tiful. The whole streets were lined with spectators, while
every window was filled with ladies waving their handkerchiefs
as the procession passed by. What Irish heart did not beat with
emotion at the glorious spectacle, and its reception by the fair
daughters of America ? The Lancaster Repealers, to the num
ber of forty-five, under the command of Col. Reah Frazer, with
their beautiful- banner, made a most imposing appearance, and
held a most honorable post in the procession. Judge Doran,.
Judge Conrad, and Alderman Binns, rode in the first barouche,.
the New York Delegation in the second, which was drawn by
four noble horses, and in the third were Dr. Morrison, the Pre
sident of the Buenos Ayres Repeal Society, Ex-Sheriff Strem-
beck,the revolutionary soldier, and Messrs. Benjamin P. Binns
and William McCart, a special delegation from the exiled pa
triots of '98. Mr. Binns was appropriately dressed as a United
Irishman, and Judge Doran, as president of the Association,,
wore a blue and green cockade. Then came, in soldiery move
ment, the Philadelphia Repealers, in sections of four, and. num
bering two thousand well-looking, highly respectable men, all
having their repeal badges on their left breast.
The Chief Marshal, William Doherty, and his aids, John
Killion, Peter Mead, Major Robert F. Christy, Major John
Fegan, and Col. Thomas B. Florence, rode on horseback and

[ 21 )
directed the procession most skilfully, assisted as they were by
the following Marshals on foot :
Col. James Goodman, Thomas Doyle, Col. John Thompson,
Christopher Dunn, William Loughlin, James Doherty, Charles
R. Kay, Joseph Collins, James Cosgrove, Michael Kelly, Rich
ard McCunuey, Joseph A. McDaniels, James Carroll, Thomas
Crilly, Michael Barr, John Divin, Charles McDonough, An
thony Tully, John Lochrey, E. Penrose Jones, Edward Waters.
The Chief Marshal and his aids, as well as the other Mar
shals, wore green and gold sashes surmounted by a bluerosette,
which added much to the effect of the scene. Nothing can be
imagined finer than these sashes. Rich with gold bullion and
spangles, they were admired by all, particularly by the ladies.
The magnificent banner of the Association was borne by Mr.
Thomas Logue, formerly of the county of Tyrone, the whole
distance of the route, for which he deserves great credit ; and
Major John Fegan's splendid flag, which he procured at his
own expense, was there "in all its glory," and commanded
universal praise.
On that day the gallant Major presented it to the Associatian,
and a costly and precious gift it was. The ground of the ban
ner is of a rich green color : it represents America leaning upon
a harp, with her left hand resting upon the Shield of Freedom ;
this figure is clothed in a blue robe, the upper part of which is
studded with gilded bees, emblematical of the industry of the
people of this country — and its lower part with birds, beasts
and serpents, as indicative of the pure and uncultivated times
of the Aborigines. Upon the head of another female is the
" coronna murilis," or the cup of Cybele, mother of heaven and
earth, representing the battlement of the walls ; over these
figures is inscribed in gold letters, '' Erin go bragh."' On the
top of the harp is a profile likeness of the patron Saint of old
Ireland, St. Patrick. On the back of the banner we find the
following motto : " Universal, civilized, religious liberty." The
banner is neatly executed, and gorgeously trimmed. It was
painted by Mr. M'Clelland.
The procession passed through the city, thence to Moyamen-
sing and Southwark, into the city again, thence to Kensington,
and from thence into the Arch Street Theatre. Wherever the
procession went, it was received with a thousand welcomes,
clearly showing how popular the repeal cause is. The boxes
of the Arch Street Theatre were filled with ladies of fashion
and beauty long before the procession arrived there, which was
about 4 o'clock. The pit was reserved for the members. In
Kensington we saw Mr. James Lucas's house beautifully deco
rated with flags, and with a scroll on which was written —

[ 22 ]
" Without the spirit of Democracy, governors are tyrants, and
the people are slaves." — O'Connel'l. At the Theatre, every part
of which was filled, Judge Doran opened the proceedings with
a few remarks, and was followed by Alderman Binns, who
read the Declaration of Independence. Then was delivered
Judge Conrad's masterly oration on Repeal, almost every sen
tence of which was received with rounds of applause. Judge
Doran afterwards called on the very Rev. Dr. Moriarty, and
the doctor responded in an extemporaneous speech of great
beauty «nd eloquence. Judge Conrad's oration, in compliance
with a general request of the members, will be published this
week. Judge Doran spoke of the intense interest shown by the
Lancaster, Harrisburg, and New York Repeal Societies in this
public procession, and moved a vote of thanks to them, which
was unanimously passed with nine cheers to those patriotic
bodies. Thanks were also given to Alderman Binns, Judge
Conrad, Dr. Morrison, and to Dr. Moriarty, and those gentle
men of the Temperance Societies who had joined the proces
sion. At a quarter past 6 o'clock the Association adjourned,
to meet on next Monday evening at the District Court Room,
with nine loud cheers for Old Ireland, O'Connell, and Repeal,
in which all the ladies in the Theatre united most heartily,
waving their handkerchiefs and clapping their hands, speaking,
in language which cannot be misunderstood, the unanimous
voice of America —
Erin ! oh, Erin ! thy winter is past,
And the hope that lived through it shall blossom at last.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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