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THE TUT AT,. SEYENTEENTH DAY.
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fjtf ¥ xsjxxs . —AZ the January sessions , 3843 , -ijgjek Charles Bnrnham Blaekwell , aged 24 , a Sjiflfvery respectable connexions , was convicted fSgj . And sentenced to ten years transportation . , jss remained in Newgate 13 months , and daring IjBjHT&Hhe evidence . in . his ease has been the ijej of review and investigation , which terminajfafironi of ihe a censed . On Friday a free par-^ BBflei th-3 Eoyal Seal , arrived at Newgate , ^ gipon the young man was liberated and restored , jj » friends . VniDi , ESSx Sessions , Psidat . —Pet * r Keley , an 3 indicted for
jjBao , wa assaulting Bradley and 2 er policeman , in the execution of their duty , p ihs evidence of the policemen tad been taken , fee prosecution , Mr . leargus O'Connor was £ j a 3 a witness on the part of tha prisoner , j he repeated the account which he gave at , Jolice-ccurt , Marylebone , of the brutal con-^ of the police towards the prisoner after ie ^ in their custody . The Chairman , in gumming - lie evidence , said that the police must be Jjjcted in the execution of their duty . The Jury p the prisoner Guilty , and thei ^ ourt sentenced * to six months imprisonment in the Bouse of
jgx TsrcK Ststeh . —The Leicester Anti-Truck ¦^ snirt ee are indefatigable in bringing to justice wsBscreants who have too long with impunity jjkedihewoTfcngman . At the County Office , on j , s 7 ih ult , Thomas Oswin , hosier , of Sileby , was ^ £ 1 0 for having paid Thomas Bates , one of his ¦ gfcmen , 9 ^ d ., part of his wages , otherwise than in ^ tarrent coin of the realm . Willi am Taylor , j ^ r , of Sjston , was charged with a similar offence . i . Bell , who appeared for the complainant , stated at is soon as defendant knew there was an infor-. ain jiken out against liim , he Trent to Porter ' s
gjier , wishing her to sign a paper saying he had ^ r trucked with her ; and when she said she ^ d not , defendant said he would prosecute hti ifer felony ! And he went over to LoHihborongb l . U © i out a warrant against Porter , evidently $ a view of preventing Porter from being at fester on the ( last ) Saturday when the informaitis being heard . Defendant said this charge ^ brought from malic 8 ; all Syston knew that seven -s ago , he ( defendant ) used to be a truck-master ; t ier a long time he had net had the opportunity i snaking . He was fined £ 10 , for which a distress « mnt was issued .
J 5 col—Tert ! —A person named Catlin , has been gutted to Huntingdon gaol for £ heepstealing , £ nd i&in custody of the police was also accused of yag maliciously damaged about 250 young timber . 0 growing in a plantation belonging to Mr . John ^ tin , of Bury , near Ramsey , for information of gg& a reward of 11 guineas was oSered . The £ Eier , finding that he must go to gaol far sheep flSag , in a very candid manner admitted thai he ^ damaged the trees , and has claimed the reward ileus the informer against Mmself .
( fesEPiSACT to Mxkdkb . —The lAmrick Reporter 0 bin 5 the following ^—On Tuesday nighv last , 5 ^ hy Murphy and hi 3 two step-Bons , Patrick and { iebel SeUy , Jeremiah Coffey , and M'Mahoa Casey « t arrested by Constable Philips ^ of the city of j » erick constabulary , assisted by a party of the Sskeonnell polioe , for conspiring to murder Mi . iggslas BlackaH , of Garden-hill , in this county . ( ftos concerned in the horrible design are on the B . The cause assigned is , that Murphy considered It Blickall would , at the detezmination of a lease £ & vrili not expire for two years to come , either feeise his rent , or dispossess him of a farm which jj&tonader him at Garden-hilL
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BEPEAL ASSOCIATION . —Mokdat . liu weekly meeting of the Association was held fibs d » j-m the Conciliation Hall . The building was 5 »* ted to excess . 0 » the motion of Mr . JLutrice O'Cottell , the BUTTas taken by lard Pse 5 ch , amidst the most rapturous applause . Ha Lordship said , amongst other things , ** that he smfed himself , heart and soul , with Mr .
VOm&H " 5 » meeting was addre ? sed by Mr . Maurice rossadl , iLP ., Mr , Dillon Brown , M . P-, and Mr . iai O'Brien , M . P ., who moved and carried a s&skm to appoint a committee to watch orer the naefogB in Parliament . ' [ Mr . CConnell entered the hall during the pro-EBorap , and was most vociferously cheered . ] ifter the other business was disposed of , Hi . O'Coysnx handed in some more money , and cd » &hough he bad already spoken something moie aa £ re hoars , he could not refuse to address a few Jamiions to the meeting . These were words of pee . His opinion was that matters were going on Bfnsnraily a 3 possible , and he inculcated peace as ieafij means of obtaining the BepeaL He was ifete boast in Court that day that a single crime had
B 5 seen committed by an agitator or arising ont of station . He said the trials would be over in the « a » of ihe week , and that the Crown had comj ! j * $ j proved Ms case . They would allow him to n&nte his advice to preserve tranquillity ; and he a * alluded to the declaration of war by the Go-Taaaent against the anti-Corn Law Xeague , and oa great hopes that good to Ireland would be the salt . He trusted they would excuse him , as he ad already spoken forfive hours . _ & . Rcche , M . P ., then addressed ihe meeting . 2 s eoaplimented Mr . Smith O'Brien on his lumin-* 3 fisplay . He could not allow that opportunity a jas without declaring that he identified himself rasDj with ihe Association . He had no doubt but Ej agitation would terminate in a national triumph , ^ concluded by expressing his determination to V en the committee .
Mr . O'CctfTrBxx . moved the adjournment of the As-¦ canon till Monday next , and announced the rent fc the week to be ^ 550 4 s lOd . Mr . Boche , MJ ., was then moved to the chair , si the thaTiks of the meeting Trere voted to Lord ssach .
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Smi 5 G 0 ^ the Cocbt , Feidat , Feb , 2 . . iX lie atttng of Uie Court this morning , ix . Whiteside resumed . He adverted at great 2 ! $ to lbs Arbitration Courts , and submitted that it ¦* SBOfl £ trons to make them the sulgeet of an indictast , iaasmnch as they were perfeeay in accordance * 4 the spirit of ihe law of the land , and of the Can-Ss&m . With respect to -what bad been charged jgartMi . O'Connell , relative to the army , he said s the sam total of Mr . O ' Conneli ' a observations on S&tesd » aa that sergeautH oagb . % to 1 » promotei to EBnaawm *—a desctrine ¦ which had been propcunded ^ 1 host of military writers—men high in station in j * fflnji colonels and commandiM officers . How .
fta , ie asked , could Mt 0 'ConneH b « indicted as i caaipirator for fltBWTrrfnnting the Tery same docrjfl 2 dMh had been « aid about the use that * been made ol Sacrin ' s words by one of the I ?® eH - " ^ fcy , these words were public property " 2 * 7 Trere tie property of potieriiy , and why sot ttseai as Bnch . It is now rather teo late to pro-^ Mr . O-Coiniea lor qao ting those -w oiSs ; for * a ? the last thirty-four years they had been scarcely * of his monib . On the trial of Mt Magee , the *»_ propri £ toi of the DsbJfn £ venu > r , Pod , for libel in * ¦ K-ug ' s Bench , Mr . G'Connell cited those very ¦* aiu lhe preaence of ilr . Attorney-General Swain **» £ Ssurin listened to the utterance ol his otrn * a , and did he stand up and deny * frM ; he had ever * 3 $ h £ m ? Did he say that he regretted having so Sttned himself , or that such lansnarB on * ht bbtst
f isTe been used ? : No such thing . Mr . Attorney-J * alSiutin s&t by unmoved . The songs knenra as 5 » Spirit of the Nation" had been complained of j **«» cf them , " The Memory of the l > ead , " had been * J * th 6 Eolgect of an indictment . Why thus assail 2 rt *?* ^ ^ ™ P ** sioned outburst of a young * fevid mind in b moment of excitement ? J * 4 » , had snnilar effijsiona not been published "***? Had not Southey and Moore Trritten strong *™« a in Terse ? Conld not the term violent be * p-* to
« some or the effusions of those celebrated men ; r £ w » as a prosecution their reward ? No ; one ires ^ jwet-laareate—the other iras punished with a r * 0111- The Learned Gentleman then made a powei ^? Peal to the jnry to preserve the right of free dis-^ fca » s tiiey iroiild their liyes . J ^ 'holB speech -was magnificent . "Unquestionably *« e most eloquent man at the Bar , and in every ^ Pttbas proved himself equal to the occasion . j ^ SiiihBtBnduig the remaris of ti > e Chief Justice , at T ^ g of the Court , relative to the manifestation ol
? £ « noa , at the conclusion of Mr . Whiteside ' s g * the Bar and the auditory were unable to restrain ^« 62 ngs , and the applauseiorsomB minutes was ^ axSe . » **¦ U'Dosocgh then commecced his adgreis to the ^ w behalf or hia slient , Mr . Babbztt , the pro-?** « &e Pool newspaper , and contended that , if *» £ ?** aiticles Polished in that journal were k ? 9 « i-2 iatter for a prosecution , 2 Ur . Banrett onght ^ b 1 ) 660 prweeuted for libel , and not for con-^ fe ^ late , sid Mt H'JDonough haviDg represented ^^ wnld not conclude on that evening , the Court
EIGHTEENTH DAY . : ^ sg o ? C 0 CBI 3 Satcbdat , Pxb . 3 . VfliS ** fhB Cmizi this morning , S !* *^ 5211 ^ dre ^ sd the Court briefly . He Vw , to BUto t ^ ^ as the Hne to be tafeen by ^ N , to a ° tbe J * 665 * 61 * t ^ at taken by tJie otter i 3 fe 5 ^ a hs *** " tha materials videh Jlr . C ^ Pw ^^ ^^ ironld «« W ti" > Court £ d e ^ «^\ - ^ y ) he iFoald "k ltdr Lordfifaips H »^^ tua ( Mr . O'CoimeU ) on tkat dsy . He ¦ - ¦ *• C « n thai wast ie hM to » y would not
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occupy much time , and he would be enabled still further to condense his observations if he were not called on till Monday next . Chief Justice—Certainly , Mr . O'ConnelL Does Mr . Steele mtan to address the jury ? Mr . O'Connelj , —No , my Lord . Mr . M'Donongh then resumed his address to the Court by commenting on the various " mvnster meeting * . " With respect to the meetings at Baltinglass and Clostibiet , he contented that there wu no evidence to establish anything like a charge of conspiracy , and as to the meeting at Tara , he submitted that the witness , -whose evidence had been chiefly relied on , Captain Dssp&rdx had been'much humbugged much in the same manner as Mr . Trevellyan , the author of the letters
« gned "Philalethes"in the Mominff Chronidt had been humbugged by the carman , who told him that the letters Q . P . O ., marked on the mile stones along the highroads were the initials of the words God preserve O'Connell . In allusion to the last o ! the " monster meetings , " that at Mullaghmast , h « told the jury that Mr . O"Conuell was desirons , and endeavouring to repeal the Act of Union by legal and constitutional means , and he reminded them that there was a large party in this country , and large societies , { the Learned Counsel alluded to the Protestant Operative Society , asd the Conservative Association ) , that were equally anxious to repeal another important measure affecting the public
interest , viz , the Romas Catholic Emancipation Bill ; and though tbe speeches and proceedings of those Societies were published from time to time in Sounders Xetes Letter , there never was any question made of their risht to seek the carrying out of their purposes by legal means . Why , he would ask , were not th * members of those Societies indicted for conspi » racy ? The Learned Gentleman then proceeded at much length to advert to the peaceable nature of all Mr . O'Connell ! proceedings . He pointed out how fre qsecUy Mr . O'Connell had disclaimed everything revolutionary ; and he laboured to impress upon the jury the perfect legality of the course which the Repealers had adopted to effect their purpose .
Mr . Henn next addressed the Court . He said he bad been engaged , with Mr . Shtil as his senior , as oonnstl for Mr . John O'Cennell , but that one of tbe traversere , Mr . Steele , who had appeared first without counsel , had selected him as his advocate ; and hence it was that it became his duty to address the Court and jury—a duty which , until lately , he did not think would have devolved upon him . Tbe question which they ( the jnryi were empanelled to try was , not whether tbe Repeal of -the Union was beneficial or not to the empire—sot whether the discussion cf tbe expediency of Repeal or otherwise was legal or illegal . That was not the question which tbe jury was empanelled to try ; and he thought it necessary to my so , because be knew that tbe Question submitted to their decision had been
already , before tbe trial commenced , prejudged out of Court—because be knew that there was net an honest Rspealer who had not already pronounced a verdict of not guilty ** in his own mind for the traversers , aad because he equally -well knew that there was not an honest Anti-Repealer who had not , in like manner , pronounced a "verdict of " guilty ; " boih being under an erroneous impression of what the question was that was submitted to the Court and jury for txi&L For his own part , be did nst hesitate to say , that he differed in opinion from the tnveneis on the question of Repeal . He was of opinion that the Repeal of the "Onion would be pre ; ad ?< ral to the interests of tha empire at large ; and he claimed the right of holding that opinioH—of enforcing that opinion by every legitimate means ; and if be found any great body of men agreeing with him in that opinion , he claimed the right of making known , by legal means , their sentiments on the question to the Government of the day , and the Minister who directed
that QorernmenL Tbe right which he claimed for himself , he felt that he was bound to concede to others—nay , he claimed that right for tbe traversers now before the Court . The question , then , they were te try was not the legality of discussing tbe question of Repeal ; but they were empanelled to toy whether or sot the traversers were guilty of the charge of conspiracy . The Learned Gentleman then denned what in law constituted a conspiracy , and proceeded to argue that there was no evidence whatever to sustain that charge He went through each of the counts of the indictment seTeially , and contended that neither in law nor by the evidence « osld they be sustained . Tbe Learned Counsel then directed his arguments to the particular charges against his client , Mr . Steele , and conelnded a short but able address , by imploring the 3 my to ihow by their verdict , that in no country on the face of tbe earth might the accused calculate with more certainty of obtaining justice than in Ireland , and at the hands of a Protestant jury . The Court shortly after adjourned at four o'clock till ten oa Monday ,
NINETEENTH DAY . SZTTTXG OP IHE CorjET , MOSDAT , p £ B . 5 . MR . O'CONNELI / S DEFENCE . Their lordships sat shortly after ten o ' clock , but long before that bonr tbe court , and every avenne leading to it , was densely crowded—the announcement of Mr , O'Connell ' s intention to address the jury having excited the greatest anxiety to obtain ingress . The passages to the bench as -well { as tbe galleries were filled with ladies . Mr . O'Connell arrived a short time before the court sat , and took his seat in the side bar . Tbe jnry and travellers having been called over ,
Mr . O'Csnnell rose and said—Gentlemen , I beg your patient attention while I show you , in as few sentences as I possibly can , and in my own plain and prosaic style , the right I have to demand from yon a favourable verdict . I ask it without disrespect and wishout flattery . I ask it on the grounds of common sense and common justice—npoa these grounds I demand your favourable verdict , being thoroughly convinced that I am plainly entitled to it I do not feel that I should kave been warranted in addressing yon at all after the many speeches yon have already heard , and that powerfnl display of talent that so delighted , as well as , I trust , instructed yon ; bat I do not stand here my own client . I have clients of infinitely more importance . My clients in this case are the Irish people—my
client is Ireland—and I stand here the advocate of the rights , and liberties , and constitutional privileges of that people . My only anxiety is lest their sacred ciusttheir right to independent legislation—should be in the slightest degree tarnished or impeded bj anything in which I have been the instrument I am conscious of the integrity of my ' purpose—I am conscious « f tbe purity of my . motives—I am conscious of the inestimable value of the objects I bad in view—the Repeal of the union . I o » n to yon I cannot endure the Union ; It wasifousdad upon the grossest injustice—it was based upon the grossest insult—the intolerance cf Irish prosperity . This was the motive that actuated the malefactors who perpetrated that iniquity ; and I have tbe highest authority—the ornament for many years of t&at bench ,
but now and recently in his honoured grave—that the motive of Chis proceeding was an intolerance of Irish prosperity . Is ' or shall I leave that on his word alone . I have other authorities for it , with which I shall trouble yea in tbe coarse ot a brief—for I am exceedingly anxioUB to make as brief &a address as I possibly can . I sxd not hers to deny anything I have done , or here to palliate anything that I have done . I am ready to re-assert in court all I have said , not tafciog npon myself the clumsy mistakes of reporters—not abiding by the fallibility that necessarily attends the reporting of speeches , and , in particular , where those speeches are zqueeEed up together , as it were , for the purpose of tbe newspapers . I dont hesitate to say there are many , harsh things of individuals and clumsy jokes that I would rather rot have said ; but the snbstanee I have said I avow , and I am here respectfnlly to vindicate it ; and
as to all my actions I am ready not only to avow them , bat to justify them . Tot the entire of what I have done and said Va « done and said in performance of , to me , a Eaared duty—the endeavouring to procure the restoration of the Irish parliament . If I had no other objection to it I would find one in the period in which it was carried . It was a revolutionary period . Tbe nations of Europe were overwhelmed by » military power , inspired as it -was by the Infidel philosophy of France . At that period almost every country in Europe was torn from its legitimate severeignty—people were crushed—princes . were banished—kingdoms and states were altered—it was a revolutionary period ; hut , alas , a day ef retribution and restoration has come for every other conntiy but this . What has since happened has fortunately restored the natural , or at least the political order of things in other countries— every country has had its day of retribution and restoration—rave only Ireland . Ireland alone remains under the influence of the fatal
revolution of that period ; and yon are assembled in that box to prevent justice being done to Ireland M it has been to other countries . It is quite certain there is a considerable discrepancy of opinion between yon and me ; there can be no doubt of that ; there is a discrepancy on one subject , and one of the utmost importance —we differ as to the Repeal of the Union . If yon had not bo differed you would not be in that very box . You also-differ with me on another most important subject , and that is on the subject of religions belief . If you had been of the same faith as me , iiot one of yon won ! d be in that box ; and thes * differences are , perhaps , aggravated by the faet that I am not only a Catholic who was most suBeessfol—and I can say it without boasting , for it is a part of history—in putting down that Protestant ascendancy of -which , perhaps , yon are the champions—certainly you were not the antagoniits— and in establishing that religions equality against
which some of yon contended , and against which : all cf ycur opinions were formed . This is a disadvani tage which does not terrify me from the performance of my duty . I care not what may be the effect as regards I myBelf—I care not what punishment it may bring : down—I glory in what I have done—I boaat of what I did . I am ready to defend all I have succeeded in accomplishing . I know I am , gentlemen of tbe jury , in your power ; but I know 3 am in the power of jurors of honesty and of integrity , aud I appeal to yon as sucb . There are * points on which we essentially differ . Tbe first is , tbe Repeal of tbe Union—and yon are all aware of my former cenduct respecting Catholic emancipation ; bnt you are there to administer justice ^—you are there to do what is right between all parties ; and while I remarked these things , itisnot becaEtel despair of yonr doing me justice . I would , however , prefer not being harassed with the thought that by any possibility , either b v tee Infirmity of human nature , or from soy cause ,
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other ingredients should enter in . Gentlemen , I now have done with yon . I pass on to the consideration of the ease Itself ; I come to the prosecation . It is a curious prosecution—ife is & strange prosecution—it is the strangest prosecution that was ever instituted . It is not one fact , or two facts , or three faots . No ; while that for which our criminal law is most lauded is the simplicity ^ with which a particular faet is tried , so that the jury may be disembarraised from everything else—here It is the history of nine months you arc to go through- —here you have a monstrous accumulation of matter flang before you ; and I defy the most brilliant understanding that ever ornamented a court or jury to disengage what may be of importance from that which may induce an
unfavourable result , bnt which ought not legally to do so . The great difficulty is to bring such & quantity of matter before you . In doing so your memory fails ; and it is worse than a failure , & > it is opt to recollect what may be put strong aad striking , while It may forget that which should make an important consideration— those parts which are explanator 7 and mitigatory . I arraign thia prosecution not in the spirit of hostility or of anger , but on constitutional principles—the impoesibility of any jnry so disengaging that mighty mass of matter now before it as to find out what was really the question to determine . Let me now see whether I can help you in that I will endeavonr to see how much of tbe affirmative there is in this prosecution , and how much there is of negative quality in it—that is , what it is , and
what it is not The entire strength of this prosecution consists in that cabalistic word , " conspiracy . " If I look to any dictionary for its import , or if I ask common sense , I find it means a secret agreement among several to commit a crime . That is the common sense view of it , as well as its dictionary meaning . A private agreement among several to commit a crime ; but this word in recent times was taken under tbe special protection of the bar . They have not only considered it an offence to conspire to commit a crime , but they have put two hooks into a line—so to divide the Bubject us both committal of crime that they spell ont " conspiracy" in such a way as to attain that end . I do not think there is much of jnstice in the second branch , if at all brought into consideration , unless it was bo
clear and so distinct as to substantiate the offence . We will now take tbis conspiracy—let us see whether there are any negative qualities in it as to the evidence produced by the Crown . It is admitted by the Crown itself , in tbis case , that there was no privacy—no secrecy , no definite agreement whatever to bring it about—but , above all , tbere was no private agreement , no secret society , nothing concealed , nothing even privately communicated—there was no private information ; nay , not one private conversation—every thing was open , avowed , proclaimed , published . A conspiracy 1 Where was this agreement made—when made—how was it made ? Was it made in winter or in summer—in spring or in autnmn f When was it attended—on a Sunday or on a week-day 7—Can
you tell me the hour of the day , or the » onth , or the day of tbe month ?— Can you tell me any one of the three quarters ef the sine months ? Who was bywho spoke—who made the arrangements—who moved and seconded the resolutions ? Gentlemen of the Jury , I appeal to your common sense—to your reason . Place yourself for one moment in my position , and you were addressing a Catholic jury ; look for one moment and see—bow ?—with what ?—I will net say with indignation—but with what high feelings of conscious integrity you wonld laugh to scorn any one daring to find you guilty of a conspiracy , under such circumstances . Ton have not , in this case , the slightest shadow of a concoction ; yoo have not one particle of that which should belong to a charge of tbis sort
I do sot even know , from thia proceeding , whether I was present at this conspiracy er agreement , either public or private . Onght I not , then , to have the advantage of as alibi ? If you were to run over the nine months of this conspiracy , it would be a kind of toss up to know whether 1 was there or somebody else —to know who was there—and to find oat whether this agreement was in writing , or whether it was a mere parole agreement Tbe Attorney-General , forsooth , leaves it to you . The agreement ought to be in reality ; it is an imaginary one , and you are to vote that tbe imagination is a reality , and find me guilty because you imagine . I do not wish to speak disparagingly of tbe Attorney-General—no man is less inclined to do so than I am—on the contrary , my Lords , I admit the
ingenuity with which be stated the case . I admit the talent he displayed , the industry he evinced throughout He was eleven hours at it ; eleven mortal hours ; when did he tell you of tbe conspiracy . " O ! " said he , " wait awhile ; wait till I come to tbe close , aud when I do come to the end , go back to the beginning—{ laughter )—and find out tbe conspiracy ; " and allow me to say , that if any gentleman could have found out the conspiracy , it would have been the Attorney-General . Yes , eleven hours in throwing out garbage to the Jury . " There , " said he , "Is The Pilot , The Nation . Here are speeches and publications—now find out the conspiracy . The case is good enough for yon to make out the conspiracy . " O ! it is nonsense—it is criminal nonsense—to call that conspiracy which takes eleven
hours in tbe developement If the case were a good one , depend on it the Attorney-General has talent enough to tell you all in one hour and a half at tha utmost . Ton may remember when this trial waa about to commence , the whole country was full of rumours . It was said that something dark and atrocious would come ont—that there was a clue to everything . Now , I ask , after all tbe rumours which have been afloat , did 70 a sot , ererj one of yon , expect when you came here , to learn something—did you not expect to have soma plot discovered—to hear of some secret Imagintion—to bear some private conversation regarding the traversers given in evidence , icflaecciog and altering the nature of their public acts ? It you were so fortunate as not thus to expect , you certainly have not
been disappointedfbutif you entertained tbe expectation , was ever disappointment so complete and unmitigated ? Go where you please , and you will heat it said , " O t is that b 31 the Attorney-General has done ? has he nothing more to say ? We knew all that before , " A conspiracy ! this a conspiracy ! Aye , Gentlemen , what has become of tha dark designs , the stratagems , the foul conspiracy , tbe Government chimeras dire of the imagination ? What has become of them ? They are vanished . There is nothing new—there is nothing disclosed—there is nothing to be concealed . It wonld have been the duty—I dbnt deny it—it wonld have been the duty of the Government to prove conspiracy , if such a thing existed . Every power , all that iLflaence , and wealth , and authority could do , has
been exerted . The expectation of promotion has been ventured—promotion In the constabulary ; every temptation held out , but all in vain—for one very plain and simple reason—there was nothing to betray , and you know that I ask you what could tempt me , an old lawyer , to enter pnblicly into a conspiracy ? I boasted that I kept the public free from the meshes of the law —I say that I boasted of this . You have heard the statement read at least twenty times . I boasted of preventing men from violating the law . Now , do any of you believe that , af-er this , I conld enter into s public conspiracy ? You might say , if there was something private—something secret , you might then say , " the old lawyer thought he would be aecure of bia co-conspirators ; ' * but there is . nothing secret .
Ah , s& , you do not think I would nave the cruelty , tbe folly , to enter into such a conspiracy . You do not believe I wonld have the absurdity to enter into that conspiracy . As Irish gentlemen , put your hands to your hearts , and say do yon believe it ? I am sure you do not Pardon me It I have made too free , but I will say there is not one of you can spell a conspiracy ont of all that was laid before you during the eleven hours in which the Attorney-General waa rirjging changes on that word , going backwards and forwards from meeting to meeting , and from policeman to policeman , in coloured clothes and out of coloured clothesnot one of you can believe that any such conspiracy ever existed . I proclaim , firmly , you cannot believe it . I know your verdict may imprison me , and shorten tbe
few days yet before me , but it cannot take from me the consciousness that I am entitled to your atqaittal ; and that tbere is not a man of you who would pronounce a verdict of guilty tkat would not himself be conscious of it being a mistake . O , this is a curious invention—this sweeping conspiracy of the Attorney-General it has been so powerfully put to yon already that I shall not repeat it at any leDgth—that there would be an end to every great movement for the amelioration of human institutions if you were to concede to the Attorney-General a conspiracy which has neither been stated nor proved . It is a new invention Bade at this side of the water . Some exceedingly sagacieus person here first dreamed of it ; and yon were to be put as it were into a sleep with this
mcubM—fais imaginary conspiracy—conspiracy resting on your consciences and minds . But why was it not sooner invented ? There was the Blave trade—would that ever be abolished if the Attorney-General's doctrine of conspiracy had been enforced as law ? Would it ever have been abolished if the Judges of the King ' s Bench had given tbis doctrine of conspiracy the sanction of their authority ? The advocates of the abolition of the slave trade had their public meetings—they had their monster meetings—they had their aggregate meetings—they had their private meetings ; they published the guilt of the West India planters , and the cruelty of the slave owners ; they made themselves bitter unrelenting enemies by so doing ; for it is astonishing ho \ r much malignity arises from that inherent , unhappy propensity in man for power and authority . Why was not Wilberforce charged with conspiracy ? That man who wrote his name on pages of the most brilliant history and humanities of men—who will be revered
as long as -worth , generosity , aud piety are in the world . 0 1 he might have stood , as the humble individual before you stands , accused of conspiracy , bscanse be sought to put an end to tbe thraldom of the slave . Ihe venerable Clarkson , who is still alive , might also be charged with conspiracy , and thus Tendered unsafe in bia honoured old age . Ah ! gentlemen , do not pre » snme to interfere between humanity and ite real results . Do not venture to arrest tbe progress of any movement for tbe amelioration of the institutions of the country . Do not attempt to take away from ycur felbw-suhjecta the legitimate mode of tffecting nsefnl purposes bj public meetings , public canvassing— specking bold troths boldly and firmly . Shut not men up in dark corners—drive them not into concealment—send them not back into r-onspiracy , for then they would really conspire , lit toe name of 'VYUbeTloice and Clarkson 1 conjure you to cismiss from your box with , honest aud zealous indig-
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nation every attempt to prevent the millions from seeking peaceably and quietly to obtain an ameUantyMtof existing instlfcnHona . What Would become of Reform in Parliament if such demonstrations of publio opinion had not been made ? Was there a man among the Whig anstocracy that did not approve of it , not jolo In such demonstrations ? Were there not gnat meetings held ! You && <»«* heard of the Birmingham meetings , andhnndreda of other meetings for the purpose of 6 btainlng Parljatnentary Reform . What Reform In Parliament could be obtained without such meetings ? Would the additional Raform promised in tbe Qaeen ' s Speech ever be carried , If England did not asaemble in her countless thousands ? And in Ireland the agitation for Repeal had already extracted
promUes ol good for Ireland , even from those who had been the enemies of the restoration of the Irish Parliament At the time of the agitation for Catholic Emancipation , the most eminent lawyer of that period—and the Attorney-General will not think that I pay him no respect when I say he waa his superior , cerlainly Mb equal . He waa an eminent lawyer , and had atrong , and perhaps conscientious , antipathy to Catholic Emancipation . I do believe there was no more decided or honest opponent of that measure than Mr . Saurin . He thought the law was violated by that agitation . He prosecuted some of those engaged in it He was defeated in one trial , and he succeeded in another . But would he ever dream—would he in fcho very wildnees of imagination think of turning tbe efforts made for Catholic
Emancipation into a conspiracy ? I was prosecuted for words spoken . My friend on my left ( Mr . Shlel ) was prosecnted for words spoken ; but the Attoruy-General never thought of violating the constitution by tnrnlng those efforts for Emancipation into a cons ^ fcaoy . Yet had not wo our county meetings—our simultaneous meetings ? Did not , on the SQth of January , 1829 , all the Catholics of all the parishes iu Ireland meet ? Was that evidence of a conspiracy ? Upon one day every parish in Ireland met . Oa one day they proclaimed a determination to persevere till they obtained religious equality . No man ever dreamed of turning that into a conspiracy . It was reserved for our time—it was reserved for the glory of the present Attorney-General to have found out that which none of
his predecessors could possibly discover . Gentlemen , at the present moment , a very serious question i « In agitation in England , by the Anti-Corn Law League . I care not what your opinions are with regard to that qnestion—I mean no disrespect . They say the object of that League is to obtain cheap bread for tbe poor , and an Increased market for labour . I do not mean to argue the point with you ; we have enough of ® ur own . They kave held many meetings—they have used the boldest language ; and the Revl Mr . Fisher has accused them of Inciting to assassination and incendiarism . We are free from that accusation—we are free from the slightest imputation ; and is tbis case to be sent over to England to put down that glorious struggle ? and ia the attempt to give cheap bread to the poor to be turned
into a conspiracy ? Indeed , it is manifest , if tbe Attorney-General triumphs in this case , no great grievance can be redressed . When authority and power ate interested , it requires a more eagent argument than justice to obtain relief ; and it is only obtained by tbe power of public demonstration , and the accumulated weight of public opinion . A French author says—I do not quote him as an authority , for no man hates French infidelity and French republican opinions moro than I do ; but a French author says that " You cannot make a revolution with rose water . " He would make it with blood —I would make It with public opinion , and I would put a little Irish spirit in it . I told you there were two classes of evidence—if I am not wrong in using the words monster meetings and newspaper
publicationswe will take each of them . I am not here to deny that these meetings took place . I admit that they were held . I admit that tbe people attended them in hundreds and hundreds of thousands ; bat it has been said that the magnitude of those meetings wonld alone make them illegal . I do not discuss that question . I do hot give it weight enough to do so . Bnt I again admit that they took place ; and I will nsk you was any life lost at any of tho « e meetings ? You will answer no f not one 1 Was any man , woman , or child injured ? You will . answer no ! unanimously no ! Did an accident happen to any living thing , so aa to injure It in tbe slightest degree ? Was there a single female , young or old , exposed to the slightest indelicacy ? Was there one shilling ' s worth ef property
destroyed at any one of those meetings ? You answer no , unanimously not O , but I forgotthere was a policeman in coloured olothes who described a ferocious assault made by the people coming in from Carlow , which very nearly overturned the gingerbread and apple stands of the old women—( laughter )—and the amount of violence perpetrated was the overturning of eome gingerbread stands . If there had been any violence committed would we not have heard of it?—would it not have been proved by the policemen or magistrates who attended ? O , gentlemen , It is ridiculous—that is , it is the prosecutions which are so . Now , my Lord , tbere was another feature in these meetings , to which I shall beg to call your attention . There was ho ' , one of those meetings
at which any mandate from authority was disregarded -, no proclamation was disregarded , no magisterial warning resisted in tbe slightest degree-. There was no message or personal intimation from any Justice of Peace treated with disregard—no police inspector , or sub-inspector , or constable disobeyed . Recollect that , my LordB—remember that , gentlemen of tbe jury . There Is not tbe slightest evidence of even the smallest disregard of legal authority . If we were seditious , why did we not get some ¦ warning ? Why was there not a proclamation issued against these meetings ? 0 ! but there Was a proclamation at length . I don't like to enter upon any angry topic ; but that proclamation vraa immediately obeyed . You have no evidence of any conspiracy in any one of them , no evidence of any thine
but a ready submission and obedience to the law . Conspiracy—shame on those who invented such a term , as applied to men labouring as we were in the sacred cause of our country ' s liberty—obeying the laws , committing no violence . No , my lords , no . We have bad many misfortunes in this country , many efllictions , many things to endure . O , gentlemen , your verdict will not be an additional one . It will be such a verdict as will calm the troubled waters . If these meetings were trapquil before , why thero ia no need of it If the language was harsh or violent your verdict will soothe and soften it Even the excuse of violent language they shall nevei have again . Na , gentlemen , they are not illegal meetings ; they were meetings , as I will shew you , suited to the
purpose they had in view . If it had been at one , or two , or three , or ten of them , this tranquility had prevailed it wonld , perhaps , Beem casual ; but at every one of them the behaviour of the people wac the same . Tbe entire thirty-soven included in the indictment come within tbe same catalogue . It could have been by nothing but design , when you accumulate the number , that the same peaceful demeanour prevailed at all of them . The Government knew of them ; why was not illegality previously imputed to them , Jf it existed ? I am not one of those who would insinuate or say that the Attorney-General meant to urge them into criminality , In order tha , t be might pounce upon them . I Bay no snob thing—I would do him more justice . Ho did not previously Interfere , because there
were 00 grounds for a prosecution—there was nothing to warrant biB interference . That ia his defence . And 1 do not attach any ' l criminality to him for not bavin ? interfered with then before . , ( Mr . O'Connell here bad a short conversation with Mr . Shell , after which the Learned Gentleman resumed . ) I am told that I used an tqulvocal word—I Bald that those meetings were quiet by design . I repeat It . The deBign pre-existed long before one of them were held—the design to be quiet and peaceable existed , and it will continue to exist . TheTe was no such arrangement for any particular meeting . That was the education which I spoke of the Irish people having receivedtho education that tbe only certain way to establish their richts , and to obtain valuable amelioration and
free institutions , was by peaceable conduct and obedience to the laws . I ask you , gentlemen , what evidence is there of a conspiracy from what has passed at any of these meetings ? I leave it to your conscience—to your integrity , to answer the question . What care I what your politics are—you'll answer before your Maker for the verdict you pronounce—I leave the responsibility to you . You have heard again and again , of my assertion that the most desirable of all political ameliorations were purchased at too dear a price , if they could only be obtained at tbe expense of human blood . That is the principle of my political career ; and if I stand promt nent amongst men for anything , it is for the fearless and unceasing announcement of that principle . From the day when tint . I entered tbe arena ef politics until
the present hour I nave never neglected an opportunity of impressing upon the minds of my fellow-countrymen tho fact , that I was an apostle of that political sect who held that liberty was only to be attained , under such agencies as were strictly consistent wifch the law and the constitution—that freedom was to be obtained , not by the effusion of human blood , but by the constitutional combination of good and wise menby perseverance in the courses of tranquillity and good order , and by an utter abhorrence of violence and bloodshed . It is my proudest boaBt , that throughout a long and eventful life I have faithfully devoted myBelf to the promulgation of that prlnoiple ; and without vanity , I can assert , that I am the first public man who ever proclaimed it- — Other politicians have said , " win your liberties by peaceable means if you caa ; " but there was a derriere penset in this admonition , nod they always had la contemplation an appeal to physical force , la case other
means should prove abortive . But I am not one of these . I have preached under every contingency , and I have again and again declared 1 my intention to abandon the cause of Repeal if a single drop of human blood were shed by thoae who advocated the measure . I am hers surrounded by my countrymen , who have confided their cause to my management , for no , other reason than that they have the fallest possible reliance on the sincerity with which , during a period of forty years , I have proclaimed the dootrine that tho man who commits a crime injures the cauEe he espouses , and strengthens the hands of those who are its antagonists . My whole life is a refutation of tbe . accusation that I am insincere ; and is the invidious task now to be assigned to you , gentlemen , of branding your countrymen as fools and dotards—men who patronise hypocrisy , and who for near half a century Lave suffered themselves to be befooled and deluded by empty pretences ? No , you cannot for a moment question tbe honest sin-
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cerity with whioh I have ever advocated that glorious principle , the advocating of which was the pride of my vautb , the glory of my manhood , and the comfort of my declining years . I feel I have not done you' justice in pressing this topic at such length upon your consideration . Such prolixity was unnecessary ; for , I am sure , yon are wh # lly incapable of taking such a view of my conduct as that insisted on by the Crown . The only further observation which I will offer upon this branch of the case is merely to state that I doubt whether my sincerity in this respect has ever been questioned , even by the most Implacable of my enemies . I do not think tbsA it was ever publicly impugned ; and certain I am that it ought never to have been impugned either publicly or privately . It
is utterly impossible for me to believe that after having been bo successful in my endeavour to obtain popular rights by means purely consistent with justice , humanity , the law , and the constitution , I could now fl . ng to tbe winds every principle of my by-gone life , and assume the character aud play the part of a conspirator . Nothing in my publio conduct , I must again repeat , could justify such a suspicion . Nay , I fearlesjly aver , there are incidents in my publio life which give the lie to any suspicion . Permit me to instance a few facts : —You must all remember what a frightful combination existed eight years ago amongst the workmen and operatives of the City of Dublin . Lives were lost ia our public Btreet * , or men were assaulted with such brutal violence that , if death did noi ensue , tho
circumstance was to be attributed rather to a happy accident than to any forbearance on the part of the conspirators . The combination had spread to such a dreadful extent , that tbe publio authorities were unable to cope with it It has been frequently alleged against me by my enemies that I am a man who would sacrifice principle to popularity . How stands the fact ? I came forward—I opposed the combination publicly , single banded , and opposed them at tbe peril , not only of my popularity but of my very existence . The fact is nototious in Dublin . At the meeting iu the Exchange the operatives were infuriated against me ; and I owed the preservation of i » y life to { the police . But it waa my duty to oppose the combination and I did not shrink from it It waa my duty to do it—I did
not shrink from it—I persevered iu it , and what occurred ? I persuaded those who bad been most ferocious against me , and from that day to this not a single combination outrage has occurred in Dublin . : I opposed combination at tbe expense of popularity—at the r i sk of life ; and ia it credible , I ask you , that I should have taken that part to play the hypocrite somewhere else ? It was not in that alone that I exhibited my ' abhorrence of violence of any kind ; for don't you fiad throughout those newspapers my perpetual opposition to Ribbonism ? Have they not read , over and over again to you my denunciations of Ribbosistn—my warning to the people—my denunciations of the system to the police , calling » n tbeni in time to stop its progress ? O , if there was any conspiracy would I not be glad to be
assisted by the conspirators ? If my means were iniquitous , would I not have the advantage of that iniquity ? I bad influence—[ had only to countenance the Ribbonmen and Heaven knows how far it would have extended I It n&s been stated t « you over and over again—it is part of the prosecution—my discountenance of these Ribbonmen ; nay more , my resistance to i all secret societies—my constant denunciation of them . O , do but take those things into your consideration , and say in your conscience , If you can , that man is a hypocrite , who , without anything in the woild to move him but adherence to his principles , flung away the instrument that would tarnish his cause , however useful it might be . Another thing in my publia life was , that I opposed , at the risk of my popularity , and loss of
popularity , the present system of Poor Laws . With the influences I possess , could not I have roused the poverty of Ireland against ite property , and insisted that all that trere poor should be fed by the rich , aa others did . No ; I saw the danger of such a proceeding ; I was taunted by many a sincere friend—sneered at by those who have joined me again . No , no ; I consulted my conscience , and that conscience told me that the real nature « f the provision makes more destitute than it relieves—that its machinery mast be the great burthen on the property of the country . But , my Lords , since it became law , I have not given it any opposition . I have allowed the experiment to be tried ; . and those who were most Inimical before have avowed ; that I was right , and they wure wrsng , and I am ready ] to ameliorate it , and assist its working if I can . Gentlemen ,
you also recollect it is given in evidence the manner of my answer to young Mr . Tyler's speech and letteryou saw from that and from tbe speech given in evidence by Mr . Bond Hughes ; and now , my Lords , aa I have mentioned that name , I think it is right to say that as I was one of those convinced that that gentleman had wilfully sworn what was not true , ! I am glad to have mentioned hia name , because it affords me an opportunity I am proud to take of stating that I nevar saw a witness on tho table who gave his evidence more fairly than Mr . Bond Hughes , aad I am thoroughly convinced that the contradiction in hia evidence was a mistake that any honest man might fall into . It is not pait of tki 9 case , but I am sure your Lordships don't think me wrong in making this public avowal . Gentlemen , it appears by his report bow emphatically I Informed the Americans that we were anxious for
sympathy from them ; but tbjt we would take no part , in the slightest degree , disparaging of our allegiance . Bat that Is put still more strongly when you recollect the denunciations I made of the I American slave-ownera . Large sums of money were sent from the American slave-holding states—the remittances were in progress—money waa in progress of { collection in Charleston , Carolina ; but did I mitigate my tene , or moderate my language in condemning the principle of slavery ? Did I not denounce the slave * owners as enemies of God and of man—as culprits and criminals ? Did I not compare association iwith them to association with pickpockets an& felons ? ! Did I nut use the most emphatic language to express my denunciation of tho horrible traffic in humin beings—of all
tbe immorality , and all the frightful horrors that belong to that system ? O , i' I was a hypocrite ; would I not have passed over the topic with a few soft words and have accepted their sympathy . Is there hypocrisy in my public sentiments that no amelioration in any public institution can be worth one drop of blood . Gentlemen , you have it in the newspapers also that the democratic press of France , headed by Monsieur Ledru Rollin offered us sympathy and support It is a considerable party—It is a powerful party—it ia the party that hates tbe English—the party most of all ferocious against England ; a hatred which arose from the blow their vanity got at Waterloo . You ! have my answer to that offer ; did I seek his support , or the support of hia party ? Did I mitigate and ; fram 9 my
answer In a way that I should appear unwilling to accept that support , but really allow it ? No ; I took the firm tone of loyalty—I rejected their support—I refused the offer ; I cautioned him against coming over here , for we would do nothing inconsistent with our loyalty ; and is that the way in which my hypocrisy Is proved ? Gentlemen , it waa not that party in France alone that I defied . Even at tholr present monarch I have hurled my defiance . To be aure , the Attorney-Ganeral , -with great ingenuity , introduced a report of tbe secret committee of the House of Commons in Ireland in 1797 , and he said we were acting on that plan . They were looking for French assistance—they had French emissaries in France—they bad probably persona representing the French here . Acting on the plan ! Imitating tbe
conduct of the United Irishmen in 1797 ! O , gentlemen , it was quite the reverse . It may be said I speculate on the restoration of the elder branch of that family—Henry the Fifth , as he is c ; illed . I would be very sorry to wait for a Repeal of the Union till tbat occurs ( laughter ); not that I disparge his title—for ray opinion ia , that Europe will never bo perfectly sife until that branch of the Bourbon family be restoredrestored under liberal institutions . But I refused any , even tbe slightest assistance from that party . I hurled the indignation of my mind against the man that would force the children of France to be educated ! by infidel professors . I am not entering into the topic further than that you have seen by these reports ] my antagonism to the French government There is another
matter in ay life—my opposition to the , ChartiBts . Recollect , gentlemen , that when the Repeal Association was in full force the Chartists were in insurrection in England—that they were entering in hundreds and thousands into tbe manufacturing towns of England . Recollect , gentlemen , that there la something fascinating to all the poorer classes in Chartism . Ot 1 if I was playing the hypocrite , wonld I not have been mitigated ia my tone resDecting them ? I did denounce them . I kept the Irish * in England from joining them . Tbo very moment a Chartist subscribed to the funds of the association his money was handed back to him , aud his name struck off our list . Now , if my object was popnlar insurrection , good Heaven 1 would not auy man in my situation have wished to have jatrength ?
There waB no oath to be taken—no danger of the penalties of the law—yet I discountenanced j Chartism . And , my lord , I do firmly deolare that it is my conscientious conviction that if I had not interfered Chartism would have spread from one end of Ireland tojthe other . But I opposed that , as I have opposed everything inconsistent with the integrity of my political principles ; and , thank heaven , I necessarily opposed and resisted it ; and while I have a right to make you ft jadge of my actions and motives , by referring to those leading features of my political life , I shall ever rejoice that I kept life and property from the invasion . Qentlemen , there is another point worthy oC your consideration , namely , my consistent , warm allegiance to our Sovereign . You find in all those newspapers j ber name la never mentioned but with respect , and always with enthusiasm and delight . Nay , when a point was
made by ber Majesty ' s Ministers , derogatory to our objects and motives , don't you find me , with the most tedious pertinacity , making a distinction between her Majesty and her iMlnlatera . You have had it fifty times repeated , and at every meeting . I omitted it at none ; and I made in all these cases a constitutional distinction between herself and her Ministers ; and the Attorney-General has no right to say that there was one particle of disloyalty towards her in my observations upon that speech . There ia ouo thing I think the Attorney-General acted unfairly in . He read the Queen's speech , &nd then my newspaper speech , aud the scolding Ministers gave me ; and that I Bald , ' Judy would not let us go on . " He said that I represented the Queen aa a fish-woman . Gentlemen , whatever becomes of tbo cose don't believe tbat . I confess that I feel annoyed and humiliated that Buca a gross charge should be made against me .
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Well , tbe public meetings did take place . I rt «> not deny It . Their object was the Repeal of the Union . Was that a bad object ? I deny that it waa ; on the contrary , it was a most useful object for Ireland ; bo much so , that before I sit down , I hope to demonstrate . to every one in court , tho neutrality of the Bseich of course excepted , the absolute necessity for auch , a measure , and its beneficial effects on tbe prosperity , commerce , and industry of our native land . I hope that many of tb 9 jury whom I address will be induced , from the strength , of the case I shall put before them , to join in calling for a Repe . il—( a laugb .. It ia my duty to put tbe facts before yoa ; and I tv ! 1 be able to show to demonstration , thai th 8 English Parliament haa , from a remote period , governed Ireland with
a narrow jealousy ef Irish properity , and in a grudging spirit of its Independence . I will first refer to the hiatory of our woollen manufactures , and to what happened in the reigu of a monarch whose memory you probably hold in very gieat esteem . 1 will nex - call your attention to tbe transactions of 1782 , which waa looked upon as a final adjustment of tbe relatiov . s between the two countries , and when the existence ¦> ' an Irish Parliament was declared to last for ever . 1 w ? 7 f next direct my observations to prove the great prosperity which followed aa tbe result of legislative independence . 1 will then show you that the measure of the union was forced upon the Irish , people . 1 will demonstrate the wianifold evils flowing from it , aud the bad tffucti oa
our trade and commerce . I will refer you to ti 0 existence of vast distress and misery thraugbou * the land , and I will prove to you that the only reme-. y for its cure , and for avoiding separation from Engb . ud , is to be found in the restoration of our native Parliament . Now , as to the ill treatment of Ireland by England . The fact ia bo confessedly true , that it is scarcely v . <; c 8 Saary for me to adduce any proof of it It is sc ireely necessary to detain you by any remark npon tfai-- part of the case ; yet lam brought here by the AttArney-General because 1 have agitated to bring about the greatest possible blessings to my countrymen . M / defence is , that the Rjpeel of the Union would relieve all the distresses and misery which we behold ; and in the performance of my sacred duty to the Irish penple , I wiil place their case triumphantly before you . I have said that it was ray duty . 1 am bound by gratitude
also . Once I represented the county of Clare , with a population of 250 , 000 inhabitants ; once I had the honour of representing the county of Waterford . with ita 300 , 000 inhabitants ; once again I was returned foe my native county , Karry , with a population of 200 , 000 ; once for Heath , whose people amount to 300 , 000 ; aad I now stand the representative for the county of Cork , with a population of 750 , 000 inhabitants . Besides thia , I have twice had the honour of being tbe member for the city of Dublin , and once for Kilkenny . It is , therefore , my bounden duty , and from mouvea of gratitude to those who have shown me such marks of favour , t « do all I can to promote their comfort and prosperity . I am their hired servant Ialmit it . I am their paid servant ; and though it may take away from the chivalry of my station , I avow ttiat I receive their wages , and 1 am ready now to earn it .
[ The Hon . and Learned Gentleman then entered upon the argument in favour of a Repeal of tbe Uaion , indicated above ; quoting a vast array of " authorities ' ia support of hia several positions . Ho contended that he had made out his case-, that the Union was the result of treachery and forco ; that its effects had been blighting ; and Injurious ; and that he bad a constitutional right to seek for its Repeal . He concluded as follows : —] Gentleman , I now draw to a close , and I recall your attention to the evils- of tbe Union , with a vie w of showing you how necessary it ia that every man should exert himself for ita repeal . I ask you , wenld not Repeal cure hideous evils of absenteeism ? A higbai thority , Mr . Hayes , ol Cork , has calculated fie annual ara > n of reui aud surplus revenue at nine millions . The
Railway Commissioners have reduced the sum to six raillions . Take this calculation , and I ask will you Bi . ffe ? thia hideous drain of six millions annually to eontit . ue ? The money is raieed in the country , but not to fructify in it—not to employ tho people—nofc for the car * of the sick and desolate . It ia created from the fertility of the soil and the industry of the people ; bnt not for the benefit of those who earn or raise the money , but to enable others to wallow ia wealth who have no connection with Ireland . Sixty millions hav « been thus drained away in the last sis years . Can yon , in bononr or conscience , encour ! s ? ea similar drain of tbe eame amount within the next sir years . There is a cant that agitation prevents the in flax of capital . I ask , does not capital come for profit ? bat
the money we thus get ia soon spent , ana tbe burden of interest ia perpetual . We do not want Eaglish capita ' . ; and tbe cry is raided by thosa whose policy , on the &na hand , ia to drain tbe country , and , on the other hand , to pour in capital through tbe instrumentality of agents and solicitors , making the poor man still more poor . The surplus revenue varies . In some yeara it amounts to £ 2 , 000 , 000 ; laafc yeat ii was only £ 700 , 000 ; buts whatever the amount , it is drained away , never , never to return . The Woods and Forests draw nnnually £ 74 , 000 in IriBh rentB , Crown rents , &c . Hjw ia this spent ? Oa the Thames Tunnel and the adornment of Trafalgar-square ; the greater part on t {? g latter . Now , we wont in Dublin an additional bruh ; 9 ; we want to remove an opprassive tax from our great
thoroughfare . Why not thia £ 74 , 000 ba spent here ? Have we not sb good a right as Trafalgar-sqnara ? If she Irish Parliament sat in College-green , would this money be sent ? Have we no equate , no site or ornament , in Dublin ? I ask , will yoo vote , I had almost said foe sending away this money , or will you raise your voices in every way in behalf of those who say that Irish money should be spent in Ireland , and that thia country should have too benefit of her own resources . There are other appalling evilB too , which a resident Parliament would remedy . Arthur Young , who wrote in 1778 , attributed tbe increase of population to tbe plenty of good potatoes —[ laughter ]—all had a bellyfu ! . Is that the case now ? On the contrary , is not a single meal of lumpers and other potatoes , scarcely eatable , a
treat and a treasure ? According to the evidence taken before the Poor Law Commissioners this is the ca » 9 ; and I appeal to yourselves , in not the country degraded ! by periodical famines ? Six or eight havo occurred since the Union ; and during the very time the people were starving by thousands provisions were exported . This report of the" Poor Law Commissioners presents frightful details ; and there ia the report of the popa « lation Commissioners just come out , still more appalling . It is the work of a military officer , Captain Larcom , a man of Bcience , integrity , and honour and be reports that SO per cent of the town aud city population , and 70 per cent , of the rurpl population , are in abject poverty . Hera we see tho advantage of the Union aeeumnlatiBg : 70
per cent , of the' rural population in object poverty ; 30 per cent of tbe remainder breatbiDg the pestiferous air of crowded rooms , huddled together in filth and misery . Is not thia state of things enough to rouso any man to think of some plan for its removal . I will read a few of the awful statement ? made before the Poor L 3 V ? "CommiBsioners , and recollect these statements ' were delivered on oath , before a Commission which reported aix or seven yeara ago . [ The Honourable and Learned Gentleman here read some extracts in respect to the destitution prevailing in Galway and Mayo . ] Gentlemen , I will not further harrow up my own feelings , nor distress you ; the book is full ef such instances of misery , distress and destitution ; and the summing up ia that
2 , 300 , # Q 0 of the people are reduced to the necessity of actual alms-seeking during a considerable portion of every year . Is nothing to be done ? Ia no t ffort to be made to rescne those people ? Even during this trial , a report of the Sick and Indigent Room Keepers' Society hag been adopted , which is well worth your attention . It waa adopted at a meeting held on last Monday week , the Lord Mayor in the chair . [ Here Mr . O'Connell read several extracts . ! There wa 8 a picture of distress In the two union houses there were upwards of 4 , 000 persons ; but what more did Captain Larcom report ?—why , that in fact tho population of Ireland was diminishing by seventy thousand individuals yearly . That was a positive fact ; and that was merely by starvation : the people
had not food to eat , although plenty was transported to England . Was there no remedy for snch s state of things ? Yes , there waa ; and was the manwere those who sought to alter such circumstances to be branded aa conspirators—were tfaey to be prosecuted ! and persecuted becauss , upon public principle , they acted for their country ' s good ? Gentlemen , there is not a Bpot in Ireland more than 30 miles distant from a good harbour . Take the map of Ireland—I say there ia not a Bpot more than thirty miles remote from a good harbour ; and wby is not the country prosperous . Did Z not read to you the magical prosperity which followed upon our legislative independence ? Did I not read from , tho writings of men who were adverse to Ireland ? Have I not read the evidence of increasing prosperity
under our own parliament ? What happened once may happen again . O , gentlemen , this is a struggle to rescue the poor from their poverty , and to give employment to those who are now unoccupied ; to keep the gentry among 3 t us , for at once their parliamentary interests would bring them here . An example has been set by the preaant ministry in the absentee tax . I leave the osbs in your hands . I deny I have done anything to stain me . I reject with contempt the appellation of conspirator . I have acted boldly in tho open day , in the presence of the magistracy—thero has been nothing secret or concealed . I have strnggled for tke restoration of the parliament of my native country . Others have suceeded before me ; bat succeed or fail it is a struggle to make tha fairest land in the world possess thOBe benefits which nature iatended she should
enjoy . The Chief justice—Aro yon going into evidence , Mr . Moore ? * Mr . Moore—We intend bo , my Lord ; trat at tnis late hour there mklit be . a difficulty in getting the witnesses into Court ia ita present crowded state . The Chief JcsTicE—I do not wish to * put you to any inconvenience . Mr . Moore—Jh ^ aiy ! $£ < $ , t think that , as tba case haa clo ^ far aa tbe BjS ' eeeheBWe concerned , we might bridge the etidenco by 4 conference beforo any ot the witnesses are produced . Tho Chief Justice—lb . cn . we will be ready to hear them to-nioivow morning .
_ , The Court v ? as accordingly ad j turned until to-morrow morning at ^ n o ' clock . ^ Wt * " - ^ ( Continued in cur Eig ^ £ ^^^^^^
The Tut At,. Seyenteenth Day.
THE TUT AT ,. SEYENTEENTH DAY .
Untitled Article
flgffiiiABT 10 , 1844 . THE NORTHERN STAR' 7
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 10, 1844, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1251/page/7/
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