. The Precursors met on Monday, at the Corn Exchange.
Mr. O'Connell's twentieth grandchild was elected a member of the Society ; on which the Chairman, Mr. Ray, exclaimed, piously if not courteously, "God Almighty make him a better man than his father!" Mr. O'Con- nell observed, that was easily done." In the course of a long speech on the necessity of preventing the return of the Tories to office, Mr. O'Connell adverted to the prospect of extending the Precursor Society, and an agitation which was going on among certain parties who had not joined them— "Those who would not join our society, for some reason or other, are in fact agitating at the same time with us ; and I hope that all those individuals now thoroughly see the necessity for exertion, and that, in order to make their efforts the more powerful, they will form themselves into some great .Reform Society, in which all shades of Reformers will be joined, and which will be so powerful as to show the Imperial Parliament that we are not to be put down, and that we must have justice. I will postpone my motion till the next day of meeting, in order to see what those Reformers are about to do. I wish to see if they will form themselves into an association, which will not be of Precursor promise, but of iinmediate performance. I think they will, and I urn sure they will act wisely if they do. However, I am not the man to give up the one till I have got the other; and if they do not think proper to bind themselves together for the sake of Ohl Ireland, why then, hurrah for my Precursors. I invite all who have kept back at last to come and join heart and hand to drive the Tories from their present position, to keep them from power, and to secure the present Liberal Government in their places, that they .may have an opportunity of longer continuing their excellent government of our much-persecuted COPilltra. It must be our wish to be as strong aswe can become; and therefore a union with the other Reformers is very desirable. We will hold out to them a prospect of uniting with us; and even if they do not, we can only say that we will join them.
Mr. O'Connell also spoke respectflilly of the English Chartists. Be believed that the persons who talked of torches and daggers were only about twelve, whom he could name. There was therefore a sound body of Reformers among the Chartists ; and he thought the hand might be held out to them.
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