Sept. 28,] 



THE NEWSPAPER. 



[1844 



=r Tranh which was most important, as being the opinion 



Pf'thnt truly patriotic nobleman. It was as follows :— " I 



v lpave to declare my usual sympathy with my country- 



and my joy at the most providential escape from the 



'"t'LtpH massacre at Clontarf, and the projected martyrdom by 



-nipfted massacre at l 



P i ,,* of a fraudulent j ury ." He wished, in the second place, 

 J° e nrotest against something which had fallen from his hon. 

 fpnd the member for Meath, when he spoke of the spy system 

 ! ne employed by Government in procuring the reports of the 

 nceediogs of the Association. During the Catholic Association 

 ?hpv had Government reporters present at their meetings, and 

 vT always found them to act as gentlemen should act. From 

 h- c nwn experience of that branch of Government functionaries 

 hVrould gpeak highly favourably of them. They attended the 

 rnmmittees of the House of Commons, and it was surprising 

 «?th what rapidity and accuracy they took down the often un- 

 connected answering of the different witnesses. He was always 

 lad to see them present, as he was very sure of having his own 

 fn ties accurately taken down. For instance, the report taken 

 hv Mr Ross, at Mullaghmast, was very correct ; but he was not 

 pflually satisfied at seeing policemen taking notes of their pro- 

 ecedings. In the first place, they were standing in the crowd ; 

 cp CO ndlF, reporting was not their profession; and thirdly, if 

 they happened to be dishonest, they might take down the 

 strong phrases and omit the qualifications, whereas both would 

 appear in the notes of the professional reporters. The third sub- 

 iect he wished to mention was some exceedingly strong observa- 

 tions that had been used by a gentleman whom he much 

 esteemed (Dr. Gray), at the dinner on Thursday night. That 

 eentleman spoke very harshly of England, and spoke of hating 

 the English people, and he wished to protest against such lan- 

 guage. He was himself always ready enough to blame the 

 crimes of the people of England, but he could not be silent when 

 such general expressions were made against them— expres- 

 sions that could only be accounted for by the hurry of a tumul- 

 tuous moment. He totally disavowed any participation in those 

 expressions, and the Association could have nothing to do with 

 them. He would next proceed to bring the business of the day 

 before the Association. On the last day of meeting, it had been 

 referred to the committee to report whether it was necessary 

 to hold the great meeting at Clontarf, the suppression of which 

 had been described by Lord Cloncurry in the manner that he had 

 read to them. That meeting would only be necessary for the 

 assertion of a great constitutional principle, which no longer 

 required to be vindicated. They insisted on the right of the 

 Queen's subjects to meet in any numbers, no matter how large, 

 for peaceably petitioning the legislature. Lord Althorp, who 

 said he preferred a civil war to granting Repeal, yet with that 

 constitutional justice which was an ingredient in his mind, said 

 —"I will admit that if the great and overwhelming majority of 

 the people of Ireland demand a repeal of the Union they were 

 entitled to have it." He had tried first a Precursor Society ; 

 but everything they solicited from England was refused. He 

 then commenced the Repeal Association to call out the people 

 and let the universe know that the people of Ireland demanded 

 Repeal. He made that experiment, and it was perfectly suc- 

 cessful, lu no other country but Ireland could he have made it. 

 They committed no breach of the peace. Judge Burton, in 

 passing an illegal sentence on him, admitted that his in- 

 tentions were peaceable, that he bad the power to keep the 

 people peaceable, and that in fact they had remained peaceable ; 

 but stll the Irish judges were unanimously of opinion that 

 those meetings were illegal, though the English judges unani- 

 mously pronounced them to be strictly legal. After that unani- 

 mous opinion, pronounced by the nine English judges, there 

 was no necessity for them to go farther in vindicating the 

 principle of their ri?ht to meet. Were it otherwise, he would 

 be for holding the Clontarf meeting at any risk. He said " at 

 any risk," because though he knew the people would remain 

 peaceable, and go to the meeting unarmed, still if Lord Clon- 

 curry Bpoke the truth in his letter, there might be an attempt to 

 procure a massacre of them by armed soldiery. The committee 

 naa taxeu these matters into their consideration, and had re- 

 queued him to report the following resolution for the adoption 

 ot the Association :-» Friday, Sept. 20, in committee, Mr. 

 5h« k ?? mo / ed ' tna * it is the opinion of this committee, that 

 nrnhiu J 1 ^ of the meeti *>g at Clontarf in lieu of that illegally 

 SitS • "^ necessai T for the maintenance of our consti- 

 K 1 P^ciple, namely, the right of the Queen's subjects to 

 nurnii *? meetings in any numbers, however great, for the 

 SrSr P/titioning the Crown or Parliament for obtaining 

 wShpJ i k 1 or grievances, having been recognised and esta- 

 SecimWi t unanimous opinions of the Euglish judges."— 

 5nun Qa H y , Mr "J V - S - O'Brien, and passed—Mr. O'Cuunell (in 

 conunuation) said that the next topic related to the assembling 



to the V • atlVe Societv » and the question had been referred 

 arriivrt ^.1 e * who nad reported that the time had not yet 

 therrfLn.' au . d had asked leave to "it again. He would 

 wSS?»? 0Ve u t . hat they 8hould have leave to sit again to 

 strucunn £?K 8ubject ' and ^ in * dd iti°n it should be an ta- 

 in the r*m»n f committ ee to avoid introducing anything which 

 proDoS! 1* « Wa £ couJd be c °nstrued into illegah ty . His two 

 to wnl id*, « fore were « ti"* father time should be given 

 thevshnnM tUenatur e of the Preservative Society, and that 

 fcw Furlh av > the least a PProach to any violation of the 

 mast be An h e was uece ssary, because the steps to be taken 

 sociaUon T Y™ and ente red upon most deliberately. The As- 



snch a bodv vva . nt v f d . to satisfy every person of the necessity of 

 assemblap-P \l w ch » in its general substance, would be an 

 who mieh r tliree hundred gentlemen, possessed of 100/. each, 

 tiations with r « themselves iato a society and enter into nego- 

 tfce checking ? mimstr y of the day fur Repeal, and to have 

 Nation ThVi i cont rolling power over all the acts of the Asso- 

 theory itr n H U u h was the general plan of the society in 

 and every «i J greatest caution to carry it into practice, 



Neatest del h t0 * ards **s formation should be taken with the 

 ripen up 0D . the — : '* W - aS ,ight that P eo P le ' 8 minds should 



eal, 



growing miritT" luere was, ne was happy to say, a great 



CaUin & them l nati °n a lity in a large portion of the party 



consider thp ft f s Cuns «vatives. They were beginning to 



11 was therrf?r CS of the restoration of the Irish Parliament. 



m akethem,i ri 6 necessar y to undeceive the public mind, and 



■ad Repealer arb Stand tnat the Association received Federalist 



repeal of So it ■ There could be no Federalist without the 



*° u ekt alike tk 10D Act ' and that Federalists and Repealers 



ad mittea Fed- i - ad accordingly, after much deliberation, 



Catholic Ei h sts > the first of whom had been the Roman 



bers - He w« 0t Clare » and he hoped to augment their num- 



^c-unded n, • • at aU hurt that Mr. Porter had printed his 



Prejudice snm ? 8 of Ca tholicity, for he had been educated in 



he Wa * glad tt °/ Whlcn he had thrown aside, and for himself 



showed how « Mr -. Po 'ter had Protestant prejudices, for it 



Federalist jj! p e nis convictions were when he became a 



now write a hn if ° rter had writ ten a work on draining; he must 



eno «gh. He t h agam8t it» f °r the country had been drained 



assemblage of n, r, more readil y consented to postpone the 



not anticmati It S reservative Society, in order that he might 



J* next Christn* orter » who had promised them his scheme 



S e i"sh peoiS i * a / ld , in the nanie of th e Association, and of 



plaa which rn ,',, de clared his readiness to acquiesce In any 



him from that spot that he agreed with him and would em- P omt he S ave n0 °P ini °n whatever ; but he was delighted 



*•*«« wnich conn i — ^""^ "is reaumess to acquiesce in any 



*°uld do awaJiiK the people self-government, and whicb 

 nt onim^.. .. / "itft the drain of tv>a oi»,..„tn .», „t u n «-oa 



ca u*ed by ilifhSlih 118 ^ ? f the cou ntry," unless hiTabsencewas 

 Jfferred to a n^"" . Th e hon. gentleman then at some length 



XL b J .¥r. £r„ m r 2U!?«^ **>l°*T for Thursda y last 



^ °Pinio n thlr ^o" \ ne drain of the ab^euteement. He was 



tee should be made to bear his 



"Prtaentativl k C , agree<1 with Mr " Crawford 

 ^ ^eniatxve body ior Ireland, competeac to 



manage 



brace any plan to carry out that object. He cared not by what 

 ear-mark or nickname they might distinguish it, so as it gave 

 Ireland to the Irish. They were ready to admit and join Fede- 

 ralists, and to leave that an open question, and he, for one, 

 could not comprehend what kept Mr. Crawford from joining 

 them. What a delightful moment it would be, when they 

 found Protestant fortune and rank, and Roman Catholic 

 moderation, joining them, and when they found the cry for 

 Repeal spread over universal Irelaud. Unanimity, let them 

 remember, was victory-division was defeat. The honourable 

 gentleman having formally moved the resolution for the Pre- 

 servative Society committee, proceeded to say that he had but 

 a few more words to address to them. On Thursday he in- 

 tended to go away to his native mountains. He had the plea- 

 sure of informing them that his pack was in most excellent 

 order (cheers and laughter). Mr. M. O'Connell would attend 

 at the Association in the absence of himself and of Mr. S. 

 O'Brien. The only remaining topic he had to touch upon was 

 the proposed "impeachment" (great cheering). They sneered 

 at his plan in England. It was always the case. He had never 

 proposed anything but in England they first had laughed at him, 

 and then abused him and itj then they vilified the measure, and 

 himself and its supporters, and finally he carried it (great 

 laughter and cheering) . Now he thought it would be impossible 

 for the Biitish Ministry to resist inquiry. They knew it was his 

 intention, if the Association approved of it, to go through Eng- 

 land some time before Parliament met, and to state to the 

 English people the groundwork for the impeachment, and then 

 leave them to act for themselves. He would put them in a posi- 

 tion to act for themselves, and in full possession of the facts. 

 Mr. S. 0*Brien thought that the people of Ireland should not 

 stoop to solicit anything from England, and he (Mr. O'Connell) 

 doubted his own judgment when he found it opposed to that 

 man's, whom he considered one of the greatest blessings ever 

 bestowed on Ireland. He would model his plan to meet his 

 opposition ; indeed there could be no variance between Smith 

 O'Brien and himself, for he (Mr. O'Connell) would sacrifice his 

 opinion Booner than such should be the case, unless where some 

 great principle were staked. He anticipated, therefore, the 

 pleasure of that visit, which the people would be prepared for 

 by the publication of a work now nearly ready, detailing all the 

 events of the trial in language technical, yet plain. He would 

 thus then test the English people, and find out whether they 

 would join the English Government or the Irish people. Having 

 enlarged upon the necessity of the impeachment, and on the 

 advantage of his proposed tour, Mr. O'Connell went on— He 

 had been told more than once that the Ministry would resort to 

 some violent means to prevent impeachment. There must then 

 be some consciousness about them that the Irish Government 

 had misconducted itself, and that it could not bear investiga- 

 tion. He would not be surprised at any act of violence, and he 

 ventured to prophecy that some such measure would be taken ; 

 but whatever it might be, he told them that it would not tire 

 the Irish people of submission to the law, and that, if consonant 

 to law, it would be obeyed. After some further remarks the hon. 

 gentleman moved that the committee appointed to consider the 

 impeachment should have leave to sit again. He would add 

 one word of advice to the Irish people — to persevere (cheers; 

 •' we will"). It waa a time to gain golden opinions, and his 

 ahsenee would be painful if he thought they would relax. 

 They had much to contend against— misstatements and lies. 

 The Globe, for instance, denied that the rebellion of '9$ was 

 fostered by Government In order to effect the Union more easily. 

 He had five witnesses to that fact — Lord Plunkett, Burke, Saurin, 

 Scott, Lord Clonmel, and the fact that Colonel Maquare was in 

 communication for 11 months previously with the Government, 

 and that they knew the abode of every colonel aud captain all 

 the time. They had fanned discontent into rebellion ; the men 

 of Wemford nearly turned rebellion into a revolution. The Irish 

 people were content that their own church should be supported 

 on the voluntary yrLueipie, They had never been guilty of per- 

 secution. They had been three times in power since the Re- 

 formation, and if a single instance could be shown in which 

 they persecuted Protestants, he would give up the Repeal agita- 

 tion for ever, There were but two countries in Eurdpe in which 

 persecution was enforced by law, and neither were Catholic 

 countries. A statement had been made at a recent religious 

 meeting at Glasgow, that a woman had been persecuted in the 

 Island of Madeira for leaving the Catholic faith, but on inquiry 

 it was found to be an utterly unfounded rumour. In Sweden, 

 a Protestant country, an eminent artist was recently banished 

 for life for having become a Catholic, but nothing of thatnature 

 waa witnessed in Catholic countries. There could be no danger, 

 were it even otherwise, of the Catholics persecuting in Ireland, 

 for there would he QQ oQt of 100 of the Irish House of Peers 

 Protestants, and he was convinced that more than half of an 

 Iriah House of Commons would belong to the same persuasion. 

 After again expressing his hopa that during his brief absence in 

 the country the business of the Association would be carried on 

 with as much order and energy as if he had continued present, 

 he concluded by reminding tnem that it was by perseverance 

 and order they could alone expect to succeed, and to see their 

 country again what they all desired her to be, and what Nature 



intended she should be— 



" Great, glorious, and free. 



First flower of the earth, first gem of the sea." 

 The Hon. Mr. Hutchinson bore testimony to the observa- 

 tions of Mr. O'Connell with regard to the Irish rebellion. That 

 rebellion, if not planned, was at least fostered by the English 

 Government, and he could state this fact on the authority of 

 his father and uncle, Lord Hutchinson.— Mr. Steele handed in 

 a sum of money, and said he would take that opportunity of 

 cautioning the executive against receiving reports of meetings 

 furnished by policemen and such characters, which could not 

 by any possibility be correct. If the Government wished for 

 reports let them employ gentlemen, such as his friend Mr. 

 Hodge (the Government reporter), to whose accuracy and fide- 

 lity he could bear the strongest testimony. 



After some further business had been disposed of, Mr. 

 O'Connell announced the rent for the week to be 

 600/. 12s. 6d. 



Meeting of the Corporation. — A special meeting of 

 the Town Council was held on Wednesday, to consider 

 a proposition of Dr. Maunsell, the terms of which were 

 as follow : — "That an humble address be presented to 

 the Queen, praying that Her Majesty be graciously 

 pleased to hold her Court, and to summon an Imperial 

 Parliament, to meet at least once in every three years, 

 in her loyal city of Dublin. Also that she will recom- 

 mend to the consideration of Parliament the propriety of 

 making such provision as shall secure that the same be 

 done in future times." The notice of this discussion 

 excited a great deal of interest. In St. Andrew's Ward 

 on Tuesday there was a meeting of the burgesses to con- 

 sider the question, when, after a great deal of discussion, 

 the proposition was negatived only by the casting vote 

 of the chairman. The assembly-room on Wednesday 

 was well filled at one o'clock. Shortly after that hour 

 Mr. O'Connell made his appearance, and was saluted 

 with a general cheer. The Lord Mayor having taken 

 his seat said he had convened this meeting with great 

 pleasure. He did not mean to say that he approved of 



that such a proposition was brought forward, as it 

 showed that there was a feeling abroad that some change 

 was called for and generally desired. Dr. Maunsell 

 then rose to bring forward his motion. 



He felt that the time was favourable for obtaining from 

 England some moderate measure for the benefit of Ireland. He 

 felt assured that, however strange it might sound in English 

 ears, there never was a period when there was less bitterness 

 of feeling, or more good humour in Ireland, than at present. 

 With that view he ha(i brought forward this motion, and he 

 should avoid drawing comparisons between his proposition and 

 others that might be in agitation. He thought good might be 

 done for Ireland by this proposition. His opinion regarding 

 Repeal was, that it would, if carried, lead to the domination of 

 Popery in Ireland. There were at present in Ireland only two 

 institutions of an exclusively Protestant character— the Church 

 and the University — and, threatened as these were during the 

 last session, no Protestant could consider them safe. Every one 

 has seen the handwriting on the wall against them. A change 

 has been announced in the University, and can any suppose 

 that it will not be one to weaken, not to strengthen, its Pro- 

 testant character? Any man who has observed the character 

 of the present Government, when pressed from without, will 

 feel convinced that another sop is in preparation to be thrown 

 to the monster of agitation. (A laugh, in which Mr. O'Connell 

 joined.) Now, when the University is surrendered, how long will 

 the Church be safe ? There was already a large party of proprie- 

 tors hankering after the remaining three-fourths of its property. 

 The Church, then, he considered, \ in danger— in very great 

 danger. The present Ministry were In the habit of tiding over 

 these dangers, and he had little doubt that if they could tide over 

 but a single session they would, without hesitation, ship both 

 our Protestant University and the Church. He next adverted 

 to the subject of patronage, and asked who were those who 

 now were most favoured bv the patronage of the Government ? 

 Was it the out-and-out Protestauts i or was it not rather the 

 renegade Repealer, or the lukewarm Protestant i These were 

 sops given to the monster of agitation. He hoped Mr. O f Con- 

 nell would excuse him ; but such was the fact. Well, but the 

 time would come when all these sops would be exhausted, 

 and then the time of real struggle for Repeal would have 

 arrived. They might delay the destruction of Protestant in- 

 stitutions, and the consummation of that feeling of dissatisfac- 

 tion which led Protestants, who were regarded as the garrison 

 of Ireland, to expatriate themselves; but assuredly that time 

 would yet arrive. Was it when Protestant strength was 

 weakened that they were to take up a position in self- 

 defence? Certainly not. They had the best chance of suc- 

 cess by now relying on their own resources, and he saw no 

 reason for despair on their part. This was not a Popish 

 country. There were in Ireland the elements of a Protestant 

 nation. The Protestants were in sufficient numbers to arrive 

 at that position, and he trusted they would, confident in 

 their own innate strength aud great resources, endeavour to 

 occupy it. He believed the periodical sittings of the Legisla- 

 ture in this country would go far towards Protestantising Ire- 

 land. Everything would be transacted before the eyes of Pro- 

 testants, and they would have an opportunity for watching 

 over their interests and guarding against attacks on their rights 

 and privileges. The Protestant barrister and physician would 

 derivegrcat benefit from the presence in Dublin of the Imperial 

 Legislature. The speculator in railways and other commercial 

 matters, the tenant, the farmer, and the artisan, would all 

 derive especial benefit from the sitting of the Legislature. 

 (Loud cheers from Mr. O'Connell, in which the whole as- 

 sembly joined.) II was also important to consider what 

 effect the measure would have on the interests of England. 

 Dr. Maunsell then referred to the Rebecca Riots, which he 

 traced to the neglect of their duties by the aristocracy, and 

 quoted the saying of Baron Alderson respecting the in- 

 timacy subsisting in a part of England between the 

 landlords and tenantry. They played at cricket together, 

 and the result was that no incendiarism existed in that part 

 of the country. A similar effect would follow from a ge- 

 neral and agreeable intercourse between the upper and 

 lower classes in other localities. Rome had been destroyed, and 

 Prance revolutionised, by the want of this intercourse. Cen- 

 tralisation and bureauocracy were causing incalculable mis- 

 chiefs in England, which mischiefs the creation of other centres 

 of attraction would effectually cure. There was a plethora of 

 capital at present in England, and moneyed men would, if the 

 Parliament met in Dublin, embark their capital in various Irish 

 commercial speculations. At present the English capitalist 

 was unused to this country, and ignorant of the various ways 

 in which he might profitably invest his capital. Political know- 

 ledge of a country could only be obtained on the spot, and by 

 bringing English Members to Ireland they would become better 

 qualified to legislate for the country. He did not think the 

 number of representatives for Ireland insufficient, but if the 

 number was insufficient let it be increased. He was, however, 

 of opinion that the efficiency ot the present number might be 

 greatly increased. Those who were sent to Parliament from 

 Ireland did not attend to their duties. The lawyers, certainly, 

 attended because they expected promotion. There were 52 

 Scotch Members, who clung together for the promotion of 

 the welfare of their country, but the Irish Members were 

 attracted from their Parliamentary duties by dinners and 

 assemblies given by the Opposition. The Irish Members, in 

 fact, wanted to get their wives and daughters introduced into 

 some third rate society, where, in all probability, they were duly 

 laugbe'd at. Irish Members would have greater weight and 

 respectabihtv, and their services would be far more effectual. 

 The third great object sought was to diminish absenteeism. As 

 to the evils of absenteeism, it was obvious that by his measure 

 the absentee would be brought home, and made to reside, with 

 many others, at least once in three years. The Irish business 

 would be done then, and this, perhaps, would suffice for the 

 country. Besides the absenteeism occasioned by attendance in 

 Parliament, there was another arising from attendance at Court, 

 which would also be cured by his measure. As to territorial 

 absenteeism, this also would be greatly diminished— as such 

 absentees might be induced to build houses, and reside here for 

 some time at least. Another sort of absenteeism which utili- 

 tarians thought important, was the bringing of the shipowners 

 into this country. On that point it was unnecessary to dilate* 

 The bar to the development of our national resources was the 

 want of capitalists. English capitalists had not sufficient 

 knowledge of the resources of Ireland, nor adequate confidence 

 in the country. If the Parliament sat in Dublin, Englishmen 

 would acquire that confidence and information with their own 

 es far better than they possibly could by a commission. An 

 improvement in the economical state of Ireland would lead to 

 an improvement in the social state. A gentleman of his ac- 

 quaintance once asked, u What will quiet Tipperary ?" rt Give 

 the labourers lOtf. a day all round," was the reply- He (Dr, 

 Maunsell) believed that answer contained an important and 

 undeniable truth. The Queen might hold her Court and Par- 

 liament wherever she thought proper. An English Parliament 

 had been held in York and Oxford as well as WesMninster. 

 The Irish Parliament had been held in Kilkenny and Trim, ar f 

 even in the potwalloping borough of Swords. The ™ ut £ inff 

 Merton and Gloucester were not passed in a Pa[»>amen^ J> 

 at Westminster. There was no charm in that wca "/ tion 

 fine the performance of legislative functions to it *™ 

 was treated as a novelty t but he insisted iftw **?**&*** 

 moved repeatedly by a Mr. iii>h in ^^ / )ublin Warder. 

 recommended in Black *T* X*^>** ^ S^a that 

 and several other periodicals and newspapers. He denieu mat 



