TO TIIE ELECTORS OF THE COENTY OF CARLOW.
Darr) natio Abbey, 6th November 1P35. Darr) natio Abbey, 6th November 1P35.
Fellow Countrymen-1 bog your pardon. I humbly hog your pardon, for having re- conunelaled to sour suffrages that most incomprehensible if all imaginable vagabonds Alexander Raphael. But the truth is he deceived me-he altogether deceived me. There is only one cousolatiou, that he has precluded himself from ever decciviug any one else again. I am bound to acknowledge that I had been cautioned against 11Ln ; that I had been told he was a faithless creature, who never ob..:ervetl any eontract, and with whom no person ever had a dealing without being sorry for it. Wily. then, did I disregaid these cautions? For two reasons. First. I ana in the habit of, perhaps, undervalniug the effect of calumny ; and as to calumny itself, I know by the expetience of a bug life, that the best of actions and purest of motives, cannot, in many eases, ntitigate calumny. 1 therefore treated nude lightly than it now seems I should have done those who cons dimmed him. Secoudly. he had long solicited my support to obtain a seat in Parlia- ment. Ile canvassed me fir assistance, as a Radical, when he avowed himself a can- didate for Westminster. After that speculation was given up. he sought my aid at the last general election ; and, upon my return to London, he assailed nie with professions of purity and patriotism, taking up expressions of mine of my attachment to those us ho were friendly to Ireland, and in his lettersdectaring himself the most ardent friend of our unhappy country. Perhaps I should not have attended to him-I probably was wrong even then in be. lieving him : but this at least is in my favour-that before I recommended him to your notice,! obtained from him a declaration of public principles signed by him, and of w hick I was at liberty to make use publicly, if, as your representative, he swerved from any of them in the slightest degree. Such is my excuse for having at any time been deceived by so very worthless a being as his tate moan and malignant, but at the sante time almost unintelligible at- tack upon me proves him to be. The disclosure of correspondence written in that absence of caution with which men write when they do not foresee the possibility of meeting the public eye, places him in a predicament so deplorable as to be an object of yity rather than of reprobation or mere contempt. This is my apology for having recommended to you so base a man as he now shows himself indeed, at present he is a creature so paltry as to be below reproach. Let me give you just this specimen of this man's mendacity. There is, in his publication, this passage-mark the hypocritical candour " That I should not do him an injustice, it is fair that I should in conclusion observe, that the second sum of 10001. has been accountts1 for by his paying in cash 3501. to Mr. Baker towards the law charges, aunt after repeated applications made for the balance, by giving him a bill for it at a long date, drawn by Mr. 0 Connell himself on the self-same brewers as the 5001. before alluded to was draw n for." Perhaps there never were so many falsehoods stuffed into so small a space. It may amuse to analyze them. 1st. It is false that the second 1000/. was accounted for in the way stated. This is a pure invention, a simple falsehood. 2d. ' Paying in cash 3501. to Mr. Baker, towards law charges." I never paid 3504 or one shilling, to Mr. Baker towards law charges or for any purpose. This is a comp pliosted falsehood. dd. "ALd alter repeated applications made to him tor tire balance. ' Mr. Raker never mule to me any such application ; no person ever applied to sue, or had any oc- casion to apply tome for any balance. This is a multitudinous falselai
4th. " By giving hint a bill at a lung date, drawl, by Mr. O'Connell himself on the selfsame brewers." Aze. I never gave Mr. Baker chill for any sum upon auy brewer or brewers, or any bill at any date. This is a similar falsehood a ith tlw last.
Bib. " As the 8001. before alluded to was drawn upon." Neither the SOU nor any part of it was paid to any person by a bill drawn on any brewer or brewers. I never in my life drew a bill on any brinier. This makes falsehood the MTh and last.
After this specimen. I think it is not going too far to say, in the usual Irish phrase, that you, Alexander Raphael. are " a mighty great liar." I have davit too long on this subject. I cannot conclude, however, without stating that Raphael was aware that not one shilling of the 20001. was, directly or indirectly, for me or for my use; that I received the money merely as the trustee of Mr. Vigor% who was the person liable to all expenses. I having been his surety as between him and Raphael. I have to add, that I paid Mr. Vigors at the time, and as he called for it. the entire 20001. not only to the last farthing. but that I actually made a mistake, and overpaid him by fifteen pounds,—a mistake which he soon discovered, and, of course, repaid me that sum. As Raphael has had the indescribable meanness to publish letters which were cer- tainly not intended for publication, it may be necessary to state, for the sake of the public, why the 20001. were required from him, us the purposes were strictly legal, and beyond reproach ; if Mr. Vigors agrees with me, as I think lie will, in the propriety of that course. I will satisfy the public on these points. In the mean time, felluw countrymen, this incident has taught tne just so much of caution, as never again to hold too lightly representations by honest and cxperieneed men against iudividuals who thrust themselves upon me, and whose character I have myself no personal means of estimating. The baseness in the present cute is at once almost equally incredible and unintelligible. If I could understand the man, he might surpriso;but he could not wound me. After all, I can afford to forgive him this an. noyance. I have the honour to be, Fellow Countrymen,
Your ever faithful servant, DANIEL O'CONNELL.
TO DANIEL O'CONNELL, ESQ., M.P.
Carlow, 3d November 1835.
My Dear O'Connell—having seen, in one of the Dublin papers of yesterday. a letter from Mr. Raphael of London, in which he refers to certain transactions relating to his late election for this county and subsequent petition. I do not delay a moment in stating that the insinuations conveyed against you in that gentleman's letter respecting pecuniary matters, are perfectly unfounded. I make use of the word insinuations, fur I Bee no direct charge; nor, indeed, can I by any means divine the ebject of the publi- cation. The whole of the cum handed to y on by Mr. Raphael, to cover the expenses of the contest in which he was returned for this county, was transmitted by you to the foamy through me to the uttermost fraction. The greater portion of the money being intended to defray expenses incurred in this country was necessarily remitted by bills on Dublin.
If it were not superfluous for me to bear testimony to the people of Ireland in any proceedings in which your honour is involved, I 'would add that all the transactions between Mr. Raphael and this county, in which you acted as the mutual friend of both parties, and to all of which I believe I was privy, your conduct was the most liberal
upright, and honourable. Believe me ever y oars,
N A. VIOORS.
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