No. I is the personal talk of a leader to his followers, here a vast throng. No. IV is also the address of a leader to his people, but on an unusually high plane, on which patriotism becomes one with religion. Nos. II and III are protests-the first made as a duty to oneself, with no hope of changing the set of public feeling; the second made in the hope that a clear, probative, persuasive statement of the reasons why the proposed course of action is unwarranted and unwise may convince the public. I. DANIEL O'CONNELL. On Repeal of the Union. Hill of Tara, August 15th, 1843. [Repeal of the Act of Union of 1800 which established the legislative union of England and Ireland from January 1, 1801 “was spreading like fire before the wind. In order to fan it into a general conflagration, O'Connell announced his intention of holding a public meeting in each 5 county in Ireland in turn. The first was held at Trim, in county Meath, on 19th March. The spectacle of thirty thousand persons meeting in orderly array to protest against the Union, and to petition for its repeal, produced a profound effect on the public mind in Ireland and England. On 21st May there was another monster meeting at IO Cork, at which it was calculated that not less than five hundred thousand persons were present. The meeting was the Association's answer to Peel's threat to uphold the Union even at the risk of civil war. The day following the Cork meeting, the Lord Lieutenant, Earl de Grey, removed O'Connell and Lord French from the magistracy of their 15 respective counties. As a protest against this high-handed and unconstitutional proceeding, prominent Whigs retired from the Commission of the Peace, with the result of swelling the ranks of Repeal with valuable recruits. On 29th May, the Irish Chief Secretary, Lord Eliot, introduced an Arms Bill, or, as it might with more propriety have been 20 called, a Bill for disarming the Catholic peasantry of Ireland, into the House of Commons. Its object was prospective and preventive, rather than retrospective and retaliatory. So far as the condition of the country was concerned, it was absolutely uncalled for. The palpable injustice of it aroused the indignation of the opposition, and so strenuous 25 was the resistance offered to it that August was drawing to a close before it received the royal assent. Encouraged by this unexpected diversion in his favour, O'Connell pushed on the agitation with all his might. Monster meeting succeeded monster meeting in rapid succession, culminating in the ever memorable one at Tara, on 15th August. Tuesday, the 15th of August, the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin in the Roman Catholic calendar, broke warm and bright. The enthusiasm of the people was unbounded: for had not the Libera 30 tor promised that that year should witness the Repeal of the Union, and the restoration of their native Parliament ? For days before the Hill had presented tokens of unwonted activity. In the very centre of the topmost level of it joiners had been at work erecting a mighty platform for the speakers. By consent of the bishop 5 of the diocese, numerous altars had been raised for the celebration of the Mass. Repealers from distant counties-from far-off Clare, from Longford and Galway, bringing their provisions with them-had been bivouacking on it, some of them for nights together, under the open sky. Standing on the top of the Hill, it was a solemn and impressive sight 10 that met the eye that August morning. For miles around the country was black with human beings wending their way to the place of meeting. Close on a million persons, it was calculated, had come together; but calculation was out of the question. As far as the eye could reach, nothing could be seen but compact masses of people moving towards 15 the central point. Not less impressive than the number of them was their orderly demeanour, the perfect confidence reposed by each in the integrity of his neighbour, the absence of rowdyism of every description, the gentle courtesy displayed towards the women and children, of whom there were thousands present. The deep devotion with which, 20 bare headed and on bended knees, they listened to the ministrations of their religion; the savour of incense wafted through the air from a hundred censers; the silence broken only by the silver tinkle of the sacring-bell and the low hum of the priests' voices, added solemness to the scene, and gave to the demonstration the appearance of a reli- 25 gious service. It was high noon before O'Connell's carriage reached the outskirts of the meeting. A burst of music from the assembled temperance bands announced his arrival, and from the whole multitude there went up one tremendous shout of welcome. It was the crowning day of O'Connell's 30 life. Victories he had won before- victories in the Senate House, and in the Law Courts; but before such a demonstration as this all former achievements seemed to dwindle to nothing, and he might well have been forgiven for thinking that they had that day reached a turningpoint in their national history: that after long years of suffering and 35 oppression, Ireland was once more to become a nation. And the means by which the victory had been attained were as important as— ten times more important than the victory itself. All his life long he had been teaching his countrymen that constitutional victories must be won by constitutional means; that for them no political change whatsoever was 40 worth the shedding of a single drop of human blood; and his countrymen seemed to have learned the lesson. If they had, the future was full of hope for them and for their children's children.” — Daniel O'Connell, R. Dunlop, pp. 344-50. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1900]. FELLOW-IRISHMEN: It would be the extreme of affectation in me to suggest that I have not some claim to be the leader of this majestic meeting. It would be worse than affectation; it would be drivelling folly, if I were not to feel 5 the awful responsibility to my country and my Creator which the part I have taken in this mighty movement imposes on me. Yes; I feel the tremendous nature of that responsibility. Ireland is roused from one end to the other. Her multitudinous population has but one expression and Io one wish, and that is for the extinction of the Union and the restoration of her nationality. (A cry of "No compromise !.") Who talks of compromise? I have come here, not for the purpose of making a schoolboy's attempt at declamatory eloquence, not to exaggerate the historical importance of the 15 spot on which we now stand, or to endeavour to revive in your recollection any of those poetic imaginings respecting it which have been as familiar as household words. But this it is impossible to conceal or deny, that Tara is surrounded by historical reminiscences which give it an importance 20 worthy of being considered by everyone who approaches it for political purposes, and an elevation in the public mind which no other part of Ireland possesses. We are standing upon Tara of the Kings; the spot where the monarchs of Ireland were elected, and where the chieftains of Ireland 25 bound themselves, by the most solemn pledges of honour, to protect their native land against the Dane and every stranger. This was emphatically the spot from which emanated every social power and legal authority by which the force of the entire country was concentrated for the purposes of national 30 defence. On this spot I have a most important duty to perform. I here protest, in the name of my country and in the name of my God, against the unfounded and unjust Union. My proposition to Ireland is that the Union is not binding on her 35 people. It is void in conscience and in principle, and as a matter of constitutional law I attest these facts. Yes, I |