The dinner took place in the hall of the Portable
Gas Company, The appearance of the ball, with its triple roof supported by two rowsof slender pillars, festooned with evergreens, and it pleasant light .chf- fused over all by numerous pendant lamps of the chastest fashion, with the O'Connell heraldry blazoned over the chair, was both. striking and beautiful. A gallery was fitted up at the north end. of the room, for the accommodation of one hundred and fifty ladies and on each side of it were galleries for those who were unable bo. obtain dinner-tickets. About fourteen hundred persons sat dowix to table. Although none of the leading Edinburgh Whigs were present, the Scotsman states that about half the company consists:Li of gentlemen of the -Whig party. Mr. Aytoun took the chair at id on either side of him were Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Morgan 0. Con- nell, Dr. Bowring, Mr. Ruthven, Mr. Kinloch of Kinloch, Mr. Gillon, the Reverend Messrs. Nisbett and Halley, Dr. E.vps of London, Dr. Browne, and many known Reformers ircirnU Asgow, Dundee, and other places in Scotland. The usual loyal toasts were received with loud cheers, as were also 4' The People' and " His Majesty's Ministers." Mr. Aytoun, in a temperate end judicious speech, then proposed " The health of their bonoured and distinguished guest, the Liberator of Ireland, the champion of the People's rights, the friend of the oppressed in every clime and country." After the cheering had subsided, Mr. O'Connell addressed the company. He said- " I do not rise to make a speech ; I rise rather to ask a question—' What brought you all here ?' It seems a triv:al question, yet it is not unimportant in the history of nations at the present moment—what brought you here? Cu- riosity, sure? I have been too much at used and too much praised not to be the object of some curiosity ; but when did curiosity ever bring together 1500 Scotchmen before ? If curiosity be the cause, why that very curiosity bespeaks a foregone conclusion in the many who come not from curiosity alone, but from a sympathy in my opinions, and from a consentaneous disposition to cooperate in my exertions, humble as they may have been, in the cause of civil and religious freedom ; and those who come to evince that their principle of action and mind are identified (being of course the overwhelming majority of those whom I have the honour to address), indicate by their presence here some- thing that statestneu may well ponder upon ; and to those who fancy they govern the destinies of the nation, matter for deep consideration. h may be said that this is arrogance in me. How can that man be arrogant who has 1500 of the Scotch people coming to meet hint ? It may be said that it is presumption. I have travelled through England ; I have passed through her great manufacturing communities ; I have seen her wealth, and all the intelli- gence and energy of mind which have produced and accumulated her wealth ; and I have been cheered on my passsge as if I wete a son or a brother, announcing to them a mission of peace; but at the same time expressing a determination to improve their political being, and to put an end to our oli- garchical House of Lords, who would endeavour to stifle liberty and to termi- nate the progress of political improvement. ( Cheers.) The thought which animated the men of England, and the thought which animated me, was the absolute necessity of doing away with the obstacle to peaceable improvement— of abolishing the body whose existence threatened revolution to Ireland, to Scotland, ay, and even to England itself. And even the exaggerated eulo- giums which you have heard passed upon me in the eloquent speech of your excellent Chairman, violent and unmerited as those eulogiums were—(" No, no ! ")—are symptomatic of the state of the public mind ; and your very en- durance of that over-measure of praise proves that you are deeply convinced that the humble individual who stands before you is an instrument, feeble and insignificant in himself, but powerful and irresistible in your hands to achieve good for England, Scotland, and Ireland. Let our statesmen read the lesson. We have made great progress in social and political improvement within the last few years—from the time that Wellington was hurled from the Admi- nistration, after the celebrated declaration that the British Parliament, as then constituted, was the acme of perfection. Ile declared, that if he were called upon to model what, in his opinion, should be a perfect Legislature, he should not have had the wit, pour man, to discover any thing so excellent as the system of representation which at that time existed in England : so good did it appear in his eyes, that he thought it must actually have been Providence who framed it. 1 believe he meant a Providence of a very dark colour. For- tunately, by the course of events there had been framed in this country so exquisite a system of legislation, that huniau intelligence and human ingenuity, a priori, could never have dreamed of it. Am I speaking in the spirit of ridi- cule? am I stating what is not true? The Duke of Wellington said every word of it—not quite so flippantly, or in such good and plain English as I have repeated it, perhaps, but not tire less doggedly, determinedly, and distinctly. Be said he could nut dream of any sucli per-feet form of legislation as that which existed under the rotten-borough system. You do not agree with him. Lord Grey's Government—honour to them for it—did not agree with him. The Reform Bill was carried, and the British nation stood agaiu in its first rank among the nations of the earth, as it always ought, and, as I venture to prophesy, always will. The effects of the Reform Bill were melancholy, no doubt, to the thirty-three gentlemen who formerly returned your Representatives for the city of Edinburgh—melauchuly enough for them, and more melancholy still for the masters under whose directions they were wont to act. What non tears must have run down their cheeks !"
He would not now dwell on his quarrel with the Whigs ; be did not forget their contluct towards Ireland, but he heartily forgave it. 'The Irish Members had held out their hands to the Melbourne Ministry, and were rewarded by the excellent conduct of that Administration-
" They have discountenanced party spirit, put down faction, and promoted the prosperity of Ireland by the selection of proper men for all the offices they had It in their power to bestow. A new mra has appeared for Ireland. The dawn of a new day has commenced. But the Tories have determined to stop
the progress of those benefits to Ireland and the British empire ; for we in Ireland cannot be tranquil, peaceable, and prosperous without diffusing that prosperity and giving the benetit of that tranquillity in all its strength to the British em- pire. I am naturally led away to Ireland. I had risen to speak of these mat-
ters as evincing the symptomatic determination of the Tories, for we have come to a great political crisis. The Commons are with the People. They echo the voice of the People, and obey their wishes but their fidelity is vain SO long as one hunthed and seventy of the House oeLords are enabled to stop every amendment. I call this meeting a decisive evidence that you are not prepared to submit to it—that you are not inclined to bow your necks to the flagon of aristocratic domination. The Reform Bill made this a necessary and infallible consequence. Before it the Commons were but another chamber —another instalment of the House of Lords. The House of Lords recognized the workin,g of the House of Commons, but it was a working in a community of mischief., and involved this nation in bloody and horrible wars, and left a load of 1000 millions of debt. Having got rid of this connexion between the two Houses, you find tire Lords have taken their position. They are dictating to the country. But are you prepared to submit ? Your presence here is sufficient evidence without the expression of your voices, to show you are not ; for here am 1, a missionary to preach down the House of Lords. While the House of Lords exists in its present state, it is impossible to have honesty and justice. I repeat it, if suffered to exist in its present state, it drives us to revolution ; and this country is not to be driven to revolution by any thing but the most extreme and inevitable causes."
Mr. O'Connell then recapitulated the useful measures which the Lords had
'Church Bill
rejected or laid aside, and especially adverted to the Irish — 'Now the principle of that bill was that Protestantism should be kept up in Ireland as long as Protestants remained,—the pastors being paid out of the funds of the State. Now, for my own part, I candidly tell you, I am for a Voluntary principle. ( Cheers.) Mith those who differ from me on that subject—and those who differ have an equal right to their opinions as I have to mine, and I do not mean here to impugn their opinions—but I say, those who differ from me ought to be content with this, that so far as you find a Protestant in Ireland lie shall be provided with spiritual instruction out of the funds of the State. M e did nut go the length of your sturdy ancestors, who insisted on having the
creed of the Established Church of the same colour with that of the People.
There are about 800,000 Protestants in Ireland, while there are six millions of Catholics. But we offered cheerfully to pay for the religious instruction of the 800,000; and only waked that the surplus funds should be appropriated—but to whom? To the six millions? No; but to the purposes of religious and moral instruction. ' Oh ! but, ' you say, ' the Catholics of Ireland do not become Protestants because they (the Catholics) are ignorant, benighted, and uninstructed.' If that be so,—if there be such ignorance and tlarkness,—the way to dispel it is surely to spread the light of education. Well, I don't think, after all, we were very unreasonable; we only, as I have already said, wanted. the surplus for the purpose of religious and moral education.. But what do the Lords do? Why, the call for religious and moral education was totally unfit for the House of Lords, pensioned Bishops, and all; because, if therewas edu- cation, there would be no longer Toryism. There really could not, and my own opinion is that there will not be Toryism much longer ; as I think that Toryism is really and essentially dishonest. I will tell you why : strip Toryisi. of the delusion, and what is it but that my uncle or my cousin should get a place or emolument ? Some Tories are foolish enough to be content with a bow from a great man ; but those are silly Tildes : the real Tory is quite a different animal ; he likes corruption, because something will come from it ; but it will soon vanish, and the time will speedily conic when a man will shrink from the appellation of Tory as much as if he were called a rogue. They now, to be sure, attempt to style themselves by the inunaculate name of Conservatives; but shorten that title, and call them rogues in future. To return-to the Irish Church Bill: the Lords thought differently this session from what they did last. This session they agreed to reduce the incomes of the Protestant Clergy to 72/. 15s. per cent. ' - although last session we offered them, and I myself drew up the clause, 771. 10s. per cent., which they rejected. Why Paddy in determined not to pay tithes ; and there is no determination in which a man can be so fixed as not to pay. (Laughter.) If he were cited to an eccleeiasteal court be would not pay ; if he were sued in Exchequer he would not pay ; if he were sued at common law he would not pay ; if called on by the Police be would not pay. (Laughter.) They brought out horse, foot, and artillery, still not a doit would he pay ; but as if to make religion more Christian in his eyes, they shot as many Ptuldies as possible. There they lay—nine of them in one slaughtered heap; but still he would not pay. Then the Lords offered to take the 72/. 15s. per cent. ; but Paddy would not give it to them—they most swallow the bill entire : you must either take the moral and religious instrua tion, or take nothing at all. The pill was, however, too bitter for them ; and.* there wasan end of it in the House of Lords."
Other bills were thrown out solely because they had been supported by Daniel O'Connell ! With respect to the English Corporation Bill, the Commons had gone the extreme length of conciliation- " 1, for one, thought we had gone to an extreme length, but they, notwith- standing, sent us back the bill, adhering to two most mischievous provisions. It then became a question whether the mischief of the Lords was such that we could accept the bill as a small instalment, or entirely abandon it, and com- mence a new agitation to niake them do us justice next session. We, however, at last performed a compromise' and took 10s. Gd. on the national debt. Wg have got that from a fraudulent debtor, but we have given no acquittance—no discharge. On the contrary, we have the pledge of the Ministry and the voice/ of the llouss of Commons to back us next session in a louder demand. Having in the mean time availed ourselves of the instalment, we shall be better able to secure the rest, and to unite the force of a great nation. I was myself afraid. that there would be a division in the camp of the Reformers, and it is manifest front the speech of Peel at Tamworth that he relied more on your divisions than on his own strength. That man, to be sure, is one of the most complete hundniggers that ever lived. At Tamworth he said, How was it possible that Reformers who said so and so of each other at a former period could now concur in action ? Why, what was he that he had as one of his own Cabinet—I mean Sir Edward Koatchbull—the man who opposed him on the Catholic Emancipa- tion, saying that there was never such a mixture of depravity and profligacy of public principle, and that all confidence in public men had fled for ever—net- pram tuta fides ; for after ransacking the English language for terms of abuse, Sir Edward Knatchbull found it was not enough, and was compelled to resort to Latin. (Laughter.) We Reformers must now form a phalanx, and our motto must be, 'Down with Toryism and up with the standard of Reform.' In England we will have the corporations, although levas afraid they would be angry with us for our concessions ; but I am delighted to tell you the bill has been excellently well received in all the corporate towns of England. And why? —Because it turns out the thirty-three that elected themselves, and all the old burgesses—the capital calves, as Shakspeate has it ; and they certainly took capital care to put all the charity and all the other good things into their own pockets, those tunds being of too domestic a nature to wander away horn them- selves. But all that is gone; and, men in their stead will be elected by the People." Mr. O'Connell then pointed out tire blunders in Sir Robert PeePa political career ; and ridiculed his pretension to the title of being a friend to the Dissenters, or in any respect an honest Reformer. He particu- larly wished his praise of Louis Philip to be held in remembrance— re " He praises Louis Philip, the tyrant of France ; he praises him for having put down free discussion ; for having made intellect useless ; for having stop the progress of thought ; and in all the relations of life for having put an en to immovement, because improvement exposes fraud and error. He has put down that without which Edinburgh would be as barbarous as Constantinople ; nay., more, while in Paris, the centre of civilization, the King of the French IIII crushing the press, in Constantinople the Sultan is establishing and encouraging newspapers. But what care I for either despot ? I care for Peel, who wad& be the despot of this country, and who has praised Louis Philip for having pet jail ies under control l—a most atrocious law, and no Briton would deserve to wear the nature of man if he allowed it to pass. It is not important to us that such a law exists in France ; but it is important that a man who was Prime Minister of this country, and who tells us that he is again looking forward to the same situation, should have the audacity to praise it."
But he bad almost forgotten the main object of his speech, which was to enforce the necessity of placing a check on the House of Lords.—
" What shall we do? Are we to meet and eat, drink, and shout, and talk idly ? No, let us determine as men. I trust that during the recess petitions will be got up in every town and village in Scotland, calling upon the House of Commons to consider whether it be not necessary for the public liberty that the principle of representation should be introduced to the House of Lords. I have always been for two houses of legislature, to prevent crude measures from beiog passed into laws, under the passions which might influence or the faction which might govern a single house. Yes, I am for two houses of legislature ; but I am not for one subjected to the popular control, while the other is left to act according to the sinister influence of the majority in that house. I plainly seethat it is impossible to work out good for England or Scotland, and, alas, there is no mitigation of the evils in Ireland, till this grievance is remedied. Let open combinations be formed everywhere, and let the petitions be signed by every man who has a heart and hand. I naturally plead for Ireland—and who can blame me? I have already done my country some service ; and I do ima- itme mat I I were to deseen1 to my grave to-morrow, I should do so with this consolation, that I left my country better at my death than I found her. It.has been said that England mud Scotland are opposed to a repeal of the Como. Why, so am I, if justice is done to Ireland. ( Tremendous cheerirg.). My object in this mission is to excite the People of England and Scotland in favour of my country, and so to render the repeal of the Union unnecessary, by making it a real union, instead of a parchment union. Why should not the people of Ireland have the franchise the same as England and Scotland have Why should they not have corporate rights, as England and Scotland have ? Why should they not be freed from the domination of a paltry faction, as England and Scotland are ? Why should not the consciences of the Irish People be as free and unfettered as, thank God for it, the People of England and Scotland are? Answer these questions in the negative, and I tell you that, though the garne may be hopeless, you drive me to become a Repealer again. Answer them in the affirmative, and Ireland will join you heart and hand, and will be ready to fight your battles. England and Ireland have too long answered to the fable of the dwarf and the giant, where the dwarf gets all the blows and the wounds, and the giant comes in: for the honour and the plunder. Now I tell you, we will not endure that Ireland shall be the dwarf by the side of such a giant power as England ; but raise her political stature to the standard of England and Scotland, and then—hurrah for the Union !"
Mr. O'Connell concluded his speech by saying- " I shall carry back to my own country a tale of joy. I shall tell my country- men that I read in the countenances of the manly, shrewd, and &seeming People of Scotland, a determination to join us in struggling for our rights. I shall tell them that a nation, never exceeded in the arts of war and in the bravery of her sons—I shall tell them that a country which in the winds of one of your countrymen, who was an orator, soars in the full blaze of the arts and sciences, with an eye that never winks, and a wing that never the,: that you have vowed, and I now vow for you—Ireland shall be free." (Prolonyed *leering.)
Speeches were delivered by Mr. Gillon, Mr. Morgan O'Connell, Dr. Bowring. Dr. Browne, Mr. Jameson, and Mr. Ruthven. 1/r. Bowring and Mr. Gillon were particularly well received. The healths of " Lord Durham," " Mr. Abercromby," " Sir John Campbell," " The Liberal Members for Ireland," "The Liberal Members for Scotland," "Mr. Hume and Cheap Government," "A speedy and effectual Reform of the house of Lords," "Mr. O'Connell and the Roof-tree of Darrynane," "Mr. Tait and the Diffusion of Know. ledge," were drunk with much applause, and the company separated.
Previous page
