REPEAL OF THE UNION. Speech of Mr. O'Connell at a Repeal Dinner at Mellow.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume I, Issue 31, 18 November 1843, Page 4

REPEAL OF THE UNION. Speech of Mr. O'Connell at a Repeal Dinner at Mellow.

Mr. O'Connell rose, and w"as received with most tremendous bursts of applause, which were repeated at least a dozen times. After a lapse of some minutes, when order had been restored, the learned gentleman proceeded to speak as follows : — The time is I come when we must be doing. (Cheers.) Gentlemen, you may soon learn the alternative to live as slaves or to die as freemen. (Hear, and tremendous cries of "we'll die as freemen" mingled with cheers.) No, you will not be freemen if you be" not perfectly in the right, and your enemies in the wrong. (Cries of " So they are.") I think I perceive a fixed disposition on the part of some of our Saxon traducers to put us to the test. (Cheers.) The efforts already made by them have been most abortive and ridiculous. (Hear.) In the midst' of peace and tranquility they are covering over our land with troops. (Hear.) Yes, I speak with the awful determination with which I commenced my address in consequence of news received this day. There -was no House of Commons on Thursday, for the Cabinet was considering what they should do, not for Ireland, but against her. (Cheers.) But, gentlemen, as long as they leave us a rag of the constitution we will stand on it. (Tremendous cheer-

and beauty and virtue of Wexford were slaughtered by the English ruffians — sacred Heaven ! [Tremendous sensation, and cries of "Oh ! oh !' ? ] lam not at all imaginative when I talk of the possibility of such- occurrences anew [hear, hear] ; but yet I assert there \s no danger of the women, for the men of Ireland would die to the last in their defence. [Here the entire company rose and cheered for several minutes. We were a paltry remnant then, we are millions nw, [Renewed cheering.] Let no man tell me that, if the Government take one step, they will not take another, [hear, hear.] Our great and incumbent duty then is, and nothing could be more incumbent on us, to inculcate the violation of no law, [hear, hear.] j I heard a story in 1822, that when the police went at night in search of the Whiteboys, the village curs barked at them, though they did not mind the Whiteboys themselves. [Laughter and cheers.] You see there is even a tact in the animal. In that spirit I warn you, keep yourselves free from the enemy [hear, hear], let not their curs lap their tongues in your blood (cheers, and cries of " Never fear"] ; be prudent [hear] ; let there be no crime — no violation of the law ["No, no"], and let Peel, the Cromwell of the present day, commence his murder if he dare,! [" Hear, hear," and vigorous cheering], I have been called in the House of Commons " a coward" — it is a hard name to bear with. [Hear, hear.] Mr. B\ Barry .^— Mr. Roche cowed them in return. [Cheers.] Mr. O'Connell. — It is a hard name, but they were safe in calling it to me, for it was a punishment that I deserved. [" No, no."] Oh, fie ! say not so ; do not stand between me and my punishment — would to God that it may be in this world and not after death, for then I should tremble to meet it. [" No, no,"] Oh, yes, for I violated the law of the great God, and I do deserve punishment; but the enemies of Ireland are mistaken if they imagine that I would do so, would tremble before my Creator when yielding up my life in so righteous a cause as that of my country. [Prolonged cheering.] Perhaps the Saxon consultation will break up without .daring to attack us. [Cries of " Never fear they will."] I hope they will [hear], for if they be not mad they will. Is there so weak a power on the face of the globe as England is at present ? [hear, hear.] How could Wellington, talking of Waterloo, threaten France I He would be told that there were 3G,000 Irishmen there, and he could have these 36,000 Irishmen' and as many more, if necessary, if he did us justice. (Cheera.) How could he threaten the great power of America, or what could he say to the mighty despot of Russia, whose vast territories run along one side of the mighty Danube, and who will certainly one day march across to invade its opposite bank ? .Can he trample on the French power in Spain, when Louis Philippe, with an ability for which he is proverbial, watches over the interests of that country ? (Hear.) No ! Wellington has his armed steamers sent to Ireland, but ready at a momont for the coast of Spain. (Hear, hear.) Ireland is the pretence : oh, how that word sticks in their Saxon throats. I have thrown my whole heart and soul} before you, and I wish you all to understand your state, that I might frighten Wellington and Peel from their attempt to trample on the liberties of Ireland. (Cheers.) I tell them [ we will keep within the law and commit no | crime, that we will stand within the cohsti- [ tution ; and let them not dare attempt to try our patience beyond what it will endure. for it is not safe to drive even cowards to madness ; and oh, it is much less safe to drive those who are not cowards.' (Tremendous cheering.) I feel it now my duty to warn you against these Saxons ; perhaps a few days will tell us what they mean to do (hear, hear) : but recollect, old bucaneering Wellington, and the maniac disposition of Stanley, and the bigoted prejudices and disposition of Sir J. Graham are in operation in the Cabinet, and the result may be adverse to us. If so, be prepared, I tell you, for the worst. (" Hear," and cheers.") Take care, of all things, to listen to the communicatien? that will be made to you — for if they do not gag my mouth and manacle my hands you will hear me pointing out the course of conduct most wise to be adopted, and though that course may not strike you as being the most wise, yet I hope you will give me credit for my intention. (Tremendous and pro- : longed* cheering.) I hope my dream of con- r flict will never be realized, that it is an , ! empty vision, but let none of us be to blam^ let us stand shoulder to shoulder on the con- - stitution, and let not Ireland be abandoned to her foes by the folly, the passions, or the * treachery of her children. (The learned gen- ? tleman resumed his seat amid the most en- ■ thusiastic and prolonged cheering, waving °» ; handkerchiefs from the ladies, &c.) I ii — — a— — — w* I*^1 *^ 'i

ing.) We will violate no law, we will assail no enemy, but you are much mistaken if you think others will not assail you. (A voice — "We are ready to meet them.") To be sure i you are. Do you think that I suppose you to bo coward or fools ? (Cheers.) lam speaking of our being assailed. (Hear, hear.) •Thursday was spent in an endeavour to discover whether or not they should use coercive measures. (Hear, hear, and hisses.) Yes, coercive measures, and on what pretext ? (Cheering.) Was Ireland ever in such a state of profound tranquility? (Cries of "Never.") They sent their armed steamers to Waterford the other day, and when the army arrived they found the key of the gaol missing, because the door was not locked, there not being a single prisoner for trial in it. (Laughter and cheers.) But, gentlemen, | to leave this subject, I hold that I would not |be deserving of the station I hold amongst 1 you if I disguised for a moment the magnitude of the peril in which we are placed. (Hear, hear, and cheers.) Why were the troops sent over here ? Why, from misinformation (hear, hear,) given to them by the low, vile Orangemen of former tyranny, (groans,) and it is through the agency of the same materials that they now seek to coerce us. (Cries of " Never," and cheers.) They spent Thursday in consulting whether they should deprive us of our rights, and I know not what the result of that Council may be ; but this I know, there was not an Irishman in the Council. (Hear, hear.) I may be told that the Duke of Wellington was there. ("Oh, oh!" and groans.) Who calls him an Irishman ? (Hisses and groans.) If a tiger's cub were dropped in a fold would it be a lamb? ("Hear, hear," and cheers.) But perhaps I am wrong in anticipating, perhaps I am mistaken in warning you ("No, no") ; but is there not reason to caution you ? [Cheers.] The Council sat for an entire day, and even then did not conclude its deliberations, but adjourned to the next day, while the business of the country was allowed to stand still. [Hear.] What had they to deliberate about? The Repealers were peaceable, loyal, and attached, affectionately attached to the Queen, and determined to stand between her and her enemies. If they assailed us to-morrow, and that we conquered them, as conquer them we will one day [cheering], the first use of the victory which we would make would be to place the sceptre in the hands of her who has ever showed its favour, and whose conduct has ever been full of sympathy and emotion for our sufferings. [" Hear," and cheering.] What I want you and them to understand is that we are sensible of the position in which we are placed [cheers], that we have our apprehensions — by apprehensions I do not mean fears [loud cheers] — but they are threatening us Irishmen, peaceful and tranquil, and for what offence ? [Hear.] An act of Parliament binding two countries together, is insisted to be repealed by the Irish people. [Hear, hear.] Have we not the ordinary courage of Englishmen? [Tremendous cries of " hear, hear."] Are we to be called slaves? ["No, no."] Are we to be trampled under foot? [No, no ! and cheering.] Oh,' they never shall trample me at least. [Tremendous cheering, that lasted several minutes.] I was wrong, they may trample me under foot, [Cries of " No, no! they never shall."] I say they may trample me, but it will be my dead body they will trample on, not the living man, [" Hear," and most tremendous cheering.] They have taken one step of coercion, and may I not ask what is to prevent them from taking another ? [Hear, hear.] If they take this step without a pretext before man, and certainly without one before the Almighty [hear], if, I say, they take this step of coercion to deprive us of our liberties for asking for a repeal of an act, ought they not at once to make us their serfs ? [hear.] Yes, and Peel and Wellington may be second Cromwells [" hear," and hisses] ; they may get his- blunted truncheon, and they may, oh, sacred Heaven ! enact on the fair occupants of that gallery [pointing to the ladies' gallery] the murder of the Wexford ladies. [Oh! oh!] But I am wrong— they never shall. [Tremendous cheering and waving of handkerchiefs-] What alarms me is the progress of injustice, [hear.] That ruffianly Saxon paper, the Times [loud groans], the number received by me this day presumes to threaten us with such a fate [" Oh ! oh!"]; but let it not be supposed that I made this appeal to the ladies as a flight of my imagination, [hear, hear.] No, the number of 300 ladies, the beauty and loveliness of Wexford, the young and old, the maid and the matron, when Cromwell entered the town by treachery, 300 inoffensive women, of all ages and classes, were^ collected round the cross of Christ, erected in a part of the town called the "Bull-ring," they prayed to Heaven for mercy, and I hope they found it [hear, hear] ; they prayed to the English for humanity, and Cromwell slaughtered them. ["Oh! oh!" and great sensation.] I tell you this, 300 of the grace