THE CONVENTION IN FANEUIL HALL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XI, Issue 21, 14 September 1883, Page 7

THE CONVENTION IN FANEUIL HALL.

(From the Boston Pilot.) FANEUIL Haxl, Boston, " The Cradle of Liberty," presented an. inreresting scene on Thursday, July 12. Within its historic walls were I assembled leading and representative Irishmen from all parts of the State of Massachusetts, together with distinguished visitors from other parts of the United States and Ireland. The assembly representad a Convention of the various Irish-American societies in the State, desirous of becoming; affiliated with the lash National League, in accordance with the constitution adopted by the Philadelphia Convention, April 27. The 6th article of the constitution referred to, in reciting the objects of the League, says : "To abolish sectional feeling, to destroy tho:e baleful animosities of province and creed which have been insidiously handed down by the enemy ; to weave a closer bond of social pride and affection, and to keep alive the holy flame of Irish nationality, while performing faithfully the duties of American citizenship." The selection of July 12 was, therefore, in* significant accordance with the article. That day was, heretofore, only obs?rvei by a section of Irishmen who celebrated the Battle of the Boyne, and in so doing sowed the seeds of rancour, discord, and hatred ; it is, therefore, well that the day should be used by Nationalists as a proper occasion to .abolish sectional feeling and sow seeds that will produce toleration and patriotic unity among Irishmen. The Convention was called by the State executive, Rev. P. A. McKenna, of Marlboro. Mass., and was most successful in its objects as well as harmonious and orderly in its proceedings. Among the prominent visitors on the platform were Messrs. Thomas Brannan, late National Secretary of the Irish National Land League, Mr. Matthew Harris, of Ballinasloe, who arrived recently from Ireland, where he is considered one of the foremost and most pronounced of the National Party ; this attribute of the gentleman being fully recognised by the British Government who told off half a dozen special policemen to keep him under constant sarveillance ; Colonel John Atkins ">n, of Detroit, one of the leaders of the Michigan bar, and Congressman -elect Murphy, of lowa. At 10.45 the Convention was called to order by Mr. John Bo vie O'Reilly. Mr. O'Reilly, who was received with applause, said :— Gentlemen of the Convention : I have been requested to call this Convention to order, and in doing so I feel much the importance of the call issued by the large and representative committee expressing the purpose of the meeting. I shall read so much of the call as will be necessary to make this purpose clear :—: — "The duty of the Irish- American societies now is, to establish and to perfect State League organisations, in order to supplement the work of the national organisation." The signers of this call therefore — at the request of the State Executive — met in conference, and, after mature deliberation, decided to call a State Convention, which should embrace delegates from all the national, Hibernian, benevolent, temperance, patriotic, literary and social Irish ' American societies of the State of Massachusetts. Section 11 of the by-laws of the National League organisation provides that all of these different societies can, while continuing their own special work, also affiliate themselves as local branches of the National League, and are entitled, at the request of ten members, to a charter. I feel particularly honoured in calling to the work before this Convention its assembled delegates. I recognise in this meeting a symbolic and unique purpose. Twelve year 3 ago from this day, in a great American city, about this time in the morning, the militia regiments were called out to protect the peace, because the lives and property of a great city were in danger through an imported Irish abomination and nuisance (great applause). On that day, about this hour, three regiments in New York fired on the people, and ii persons were killed, and 220 men and women wounded. If it be asked in America, what is the national Irish agitation doing or what has it done ? I answer that, for one thing, it has for ever prevented the possibility of the reoccurrence of such a dreadful and disgraceful event as that (great applause). Within a dozen years, the old rancour and evil blood have been obliteiated from our national life ; and whatever we import from Ireland iv the future will not be divided and hateful as it has been in the past (cheer.-). The County Monaghan election the other day saw the men who were opposed to each other in Mew York twelve years ago, go to the polls and vote for the national candidate as brothers (applause 1 ). The selections of this day is symbolic On the 12th of July it used to be the English custom to inflame the religious division invented by themselves ; aud so they ruled us by their differences. For hundreds of years they kept up the inflammation ; but that old wound is cured for ever (applause). It may ba asked why hundreds of business men should leave their own business and come to this great American hall, whose very walls &.re holy with traditions of liberty ; it may be wondered at- that hundreds of busy men should come here to this busy centre, with the markets i oaring outside the windows, to discuss Irish politics. I say that if we only came here for Irish purposes we should have no business in Faueuil Hall — (cheers) — dud we have come here for great American and humanitarian purposes (applause). We have come here to prevent the repetitio i of such a sin and &hame as that which happened in New York on the 12th of July, 1871 ; to prevent such an inquity as that of importing paupers from a British subject country (cheers) ; to destroy one wicked and ruinous di am on the finances of the people of this country which are sent every year to fill the pockets of the rack-renting landlords of Ireland ; and to take such measures as are best calculated to win to our cause our fellow-citizens, and the entire American race (great applause). We can do all this by appealing to the justice and the intelligence of our fellow-citizens It will be our duty to prevent American citizens from misunderstanding the purposes of the Irish National movement, and from believing the misrepresentations of the English papers and their agents in this country. It is our duty to make it known to America

that the National League is based on a reverence for law and order (cheers), and we hope to win for our cause the conscientious conviction of every good maa ia America, no matter of what race (applause). I will not detain you longer, but will proceed at once to regulate the machinery of the Convention.