A dinner to Mr. O'CONNELL, this week, at Covent Garden
Theatre, has been boasted as a great demonstration of " English sympathy " with Ireland. English sympathy with Ireland is a better thing. Who were there ? A thousand people, of the two millions of London : many sight-seers, a few Chartists, some Leaguers, two or three excited and not very discreet Catholic Lords, and several of the guerilla-politicians who dabble in every agitation. The Whigs were few : more may have sent their guineas, and dined in posse ; but they were few who, "greatly daring, dined." They have not discountenanced the dinner-Oh no ! it served a double purpose : it collected together for a dramatic Liberal demonstra- tion some scattered elements of the party, who can agree tolerably well about remoter Ireland, though they cannot agree about Eng- lish questions ; and it helped to uphold the chief Irishman against the law,-renewing his allegiance to the English Liberals, and preserving to the conciliating Whigs a ready instrument in Ire- land, to be used as events may favour them. But this is not Eng- lish sympathy. Taught by the trials that he has been relying on miscalculated resources, O'ConsELI., instead of spurning, cajoles "the Saxon " : it is his cue to be " reconciling " the two peoples, English and Irish. Why, they did not need reconciling. It is true that he worked up the Irish into a dreamy hatred of the Eng- lish, as desiring to oppress Ireland ; and what has occurred to alter his conduct since he did so ? what has happened since he pub- lished his bad book ? Nothing but the trial-the sole explanation of his altered mien. Is the English temper altered ? Not at all. When the credulous Irish were in a phrensy of Saxon-hating, the English were just as friendly as the] are now, just as earnest in desiring justice to be done towards Ireland, just as anxious to learn from Irishmen a calm and intelligible explanation how it would be best to begin. And now that O'CoattEnn is under a cloud and the Repeal rent is falling off, the English will be as ready to render justice as when the Repeal rent was rising and O'Colitann paraded his " armies."
However, the Liberator cannot quite keep from his huge equi- vogues. He has had a "monster meeting" in London-a meeting of real Irish Repealers, in Covent Garden Theatre-all prompt and peaceable, submitting dutifully to his advice of peace, ready to meet on Kennington Common if allowed, and meanwhile ordered to help the English people in certain " struggles "-especially the Complete Suffrage struggle. Our English agitators complain (thanks to quieter times) that they cannot rouse "the people." In fact, "the people" only appear occasionally at public meetings in the unwel- come shape of disturbing Chartists. By the help of Mr. O'Coa- tura., however, perhaps the feebler agitators may be supplied, if not with an English, with an Irish "people," to give their meetings the requisite grace of numbers. So it seems we are to have an organized Irish mob in London-one of O'CoNNELL's "armies," a contingent at the service of his allies. It is to be hoped that the Agitator's peaceful tactics will be duly respected on this side the Channel : if not, an Irish mob in our streets might be very un- pleasant, and moreover might itself get hurt somehow.
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