in the representation of their city? Why, but for "their honours," the people of Dublin would not have had to send to Youghal or Kinsale to seek a representative, or to select as their member, a gentleman who, though very amiable in private life, not having succeeded in his profession of barrister, purchased a place. The commercial city of Dublin, as if to give an exemplification of ridicule in the extreme, choses a master in chancery to represent it in parliament. The other corporation member, Sir Robert Shaw, was a worthy man in his own family, but if it were not for the corporation, the citizens of Dublin would have left the worthy baronet in quiet with his family. Again, there was the rotten corporation of the city of Kilkenny. They could not get a gentleman of intelligence in their own county able to represent them in parliament, but were compelled to send all the way to the province of Connaught, where, at length, they found a right honourable—no less a personage than Mr. Denis Browne.

The corporation of the city of Limerick were ably represented, but then it was so actually in despite of and in opposition to the corporation, who had Mr. Spring Rice forced upon them by the voices of the independent citizens. There was also some decency in the representations of the city of Cork, but it was owing to the power and influence of the corporation having been neutralized by the introduction of so many independent freemen. Yet this honest corporation of Cork was at this moment seeking by proceedings in the King's Bench to prevent the people of that great city from purchasing meat or fish out of any other but the corporation markets!-a inonopoly which must, of course, be highly injurious to the consumer. And the worthy corporation of Dublin had exercised their powers to defeat the intentions of the legislature, for although the Catholics were qualified to become freemen during the last thirty-one years, yet not one Catholic had been able to obtain that privilege. Heaven knows, slavish and cringing Catholics enough could have been had if they had been looked for; but even with such, the corporation bigots would have nought to do, for the high crim of being Catholics at all.

The fourth prayer of the Catholic petition was for the removal of the disqualifications to which Catholics are now subject, and in that prayer both Lord Grey and Mr. Brougham agreed. Therefore, in his (Mr. O'Connell's) opinion there was nothing objectionable in the petition, and it was drawn up with great talent and ability, and spoke in such language, that if it had

been used in their petition twenty years ago, would have ob. sained them emancipation. Mr. O'Connell then moved that the secretary be instructed to write to Lord Grey and Mr. Brougham requesting of them to present the petition in its present form ; and if they cannot approve of the whole of its prayer, that they will support as much of it as they can.

Allusion being subsequently made to a statement by Lord Ennismore in parliament, respecting a charge made against him by a clergyman, for seeking to force his tenants to send their children to a bible school

MR. O'CONNELL said, that when so humble an individual as himself felt anxious that what he said should not be misrepresented, it was natural that a gentleman of Lord Ennismore's rank should be desirous of correcting any unfounded imputations on his character and conduct. The word "corresponding" had been added to the name of secretary, for those appointed to manage the collection of the Catholic rent, but as he (Mr O'Connell) was anxious to avoid involving the Association, in the remotest degree, by word or sound, he had been careful not to use any phrase that might be construed under the existing laws against illegal societies; and as there was an express enactment against "Corresponding Societies," he took care not to use the word "corresponding" when naming the secretaries.

He had been also represented as having eulogized Mr. Ensor, by contrasting his services with those of other Irishmen. But he (Mr. O'C.) had too high an opinion of Mr. Ensor's taste and feeling, to think he would receive as a compliment any reflection upon such Irishmen as Lord Cloncurry, Colonel Butler, and others. Mr. Ensor would rather be considered one of their colleagues in the same glorious cause.

Mr. O'Connell then proceeded move, according to his notice, "that the Rev. Messrs. Kirby and Mulcahy should be written to for an explanation of that passage in their letter, alluding to Lord Ennismore's harsh treatment of his twenty-eight tenants, on account of their refusing to send their children to the Protestant school.

MEETING, SATURDAY, MAY 22, 1824.

STEPHEN COPPINGER, Esq., in the Chair

Mr. O'CONNELL rose and said, that as a letter from Letterkenny had been received respecting the education of the Catholics of that town, he could not amit the opportunity of stating an interesting fact that had occurred touchi

the subject. A few assizes since there had occurred a revenue trial in the town of Letterkenny, and Mr. Deane Grady was counsel for the revenue. At the trial, a young man, aged about 18 years, was examined as a witness. He was extremely well dressed and in good circumstances, but it appeared he could neither read nor write; and he was asked by a junior counsel, with an air of triumph, what religion he was of? When to the evident surprise of the questioner, he answered "a Protestant.' The next witness was a young girl, o eight or nine years old, and upon her being asked to put her mark to some paper she immediately said she could write. She was then asked what religion she was of and replied "a Catholic," and added, that "she went to the school in the chapel." Mr. Grady had observed upon the circumstance as a striking instance of the benefits of education, and declared that it was highly creditable to the Catholic clergyman of that town.

HIS GRACE THE ARCHBISHOP OF DUBLIN.

MR. O'CONNELL complained of a gross mis-statement that had appeared in some of the newspapers of this city, but which, he believed, had originated with The Correspondent. He was represented as desiring to excite the people to Assassinate Dr. Magee in the course of some late observations of his on the Burial Bill. Mr. O'Connell expressed his abhorrence of such principles as were attributed to him in The Correspondent, and repeated what he had really said on

the occasion alluded to.

THE LATE FERMANAGH MURDERS.

MR. O'CONNELL gave notice of a motion for the appointment of a committee to prepare a petition to Parliament upon the subject of the recent murders in the rounty Fermanagh by the Orangemen, praying that Parliament would either deprive the Orangemen of their fire-arms, or permit the Catholics to keep them, in order to obtain that protection which the Government does not afford them.

MR. O'CONNELL moved a resolution contradicting a passage in the annual report of the London Hibernian School, which had accused the Catholic priesthood of opposing education.

Mr. O'Connell took a review of the proceedings of the Hibernian Society, and requested most particularly to be understood as separating the Chairman of their meeting, the Marquis of Lansdowne, (who could never be mentioned but with respect,) from any participation in the illiberal opinions and ungentlemanly conduct of those who composed that meeting, at which a hearing or any explanation was rudely refused to Mr. Eneas M'Donnell respecting their calumny on the Catholic priesthood.

The resolution was then put and carried unanimously, as was also a resolu tion of thanks to Mr. Eneas M'Donnell, for his spirited conduct at that meeting

The foregoing will give an instance of the variety of matters with which the almost infant Catholic Association was beginning to have to deal. The allusion to the attempts o the Catholic clergy to spread education, involves a fact very little known to the general public, and indeed often sedulously concealed from them, under the strange impression hat if the real extent of those efforts were known, it would take away from the merits of the existing system of National Education in Ireland, in the minds of those who are disposed to approve of state intermedd.ings in matters of education.

The allusion to Orange outrages in the North is, un.ortunately, one that would not be out of date at this moment. Substituting merely the locality in the county Down that was the scene of the massacre of last July, for that of the county Fermanagh

VOL. 1.

X

The newspaper from which we quote proceeds as follows in ite account of the currenos of this day's meeting

EXTRAORDINARY PROCEEDING.

at may be recollected that at the Meeting of the Association, which took place en the 15th instant, Mr. Shiel was frequently interrupted by a young gentleman; a stranger called out, "No, no," during Mr. S.'s observations on the conduct of the Protestant clergymen of Dublin, with respect to the Burial Bill When Mr. Shiel had concluded on that occasion, Mr. O'Connell invited the young gentleman to state any fact in contradiction to what had fallen from Mr. Shiel, assuring him that he should be heard with attention and courtesy.

The young gentleman on that occasion declired to avail himself of Mr. O'Connell's courtesy, but appeared this day; and after the conversation respecting the Quakers, proceeded to address the meeting in a very solemn tone: accusing them of faction, sedition, desire of inciting the mob to violence, and to the murder of Protestants, &e.; particularly blaming Mr. O'Connell as the most dangerous from his talents. Several gentlemen interrupted him, protesting against his being heard as he was not a member; but Mr. O'Connell insisted on his being allowed to go on and finish, if only for the reason that he was a Protestant, as it should not be said a Protestant was denied a hearing This indulgence disconcerted the orator more than anything else; and he soon sat down.

MR. O'CONNELL rose, and addressing the Chair with great coolness said-I have often wondered how Ireland should be accursed with an atrocious faction of Orange assassins; how the foul fiend of that desperate faction could have acquired so monstrous an ascendancy over the feelings of Irishmen, that no innocency of life, weakness of sex, or infirmity of age, could prevent the daring contempt of the laws of God and nature! But I shall wonder no more! Oh, Heavens! in what society has this young lad been reared, that at his age and with his education he should have acquired opinions and feelings, the mere expression of which makes humanity shudder?

Amongst what other class of men than Orangemen could be have imbibed such unchristian ideas? They could not have been engendered by any thing spoken in this room. He professes to be a Protestant; but did one Christian sentiment drop from his lips during his canting harangue Is h Protestant friendly

to civil and religiour liberty? Th fanatical animosity with which he charges atrocities upoi rish Catholics, without stating one single fact to justify his calumnies, proves that he is not a friend to toleration, and that his shallow mind, perverted intellect, and habitual prejudices, have so overwhelmed common sense that he has been unable to acquire any knowledge of passing events, but from the statements of the minister, the Orange magistrate, and his myrmidons; and from these authentic sources, the people are to learn, spite of daily and woeful expo

rience to the country, that forsooth the laws are impartially administered that the peasant has no grievance or oppression, ecclesiastical, civil, or criminal, to complain of-that the Catholic gentry enjoy all the privileges and benefits of the constitution.

This latter extraordinary assertion reminds me of an anecdote of a French officer, who once observed of an actor, "That fellow 1 mere comedian, has fifty thousand francs a year, whilst I, one of the noblesse, have but fifty francs." "Aye," replied the actor, "but is it not worth the difference to have the privilege of telling ine so?" And may not this young lad say to me, true you are my inferior in birth-(No, no, from the young gentleman and his brother-the descendant of the ancient Irish proprietors of he soil, yourself a proprietor of no inconsiderable portion, you may be at the head of your profession, and to which you arrived solely by your own energies and industry, but you are—a Catholic, and because I came reeking from the drunken orgies of a secret and sworn band of fanatics, I am entitled, without any other qualification or merit than infuriated bigotry, to ascend the highest step of the ladder of ambition or professional promotion, whilst you have the privilege of looking at me there.

This young gentleman may be but the tutored agent of some plodding, hoary miscreant, who, "sick at heart," in seeing the Catholic Association rise to importance, spite of calumny and misrepresentation, dreads its determination to make known to the world the abuses of power, to proclaim the oppression of the task-masters of Ireland, the intrigues and profligacy of a "faction obnoxious to all good men—a faction that has grown old and rich in power, by the basest arts and the most corrupt insinuation-a faction which has lorded it over the land without control, and spread its roots in the dark, even to the basement of the British throne." This may be an expiring effort of tyranny and weakness, or it may be the mere wanton prank of privileged insolence in this young exclusionest, anxious for the exercise of his inherent right to insult an oppressed and degraded people -for he may be a bravo hired by the Orange club to assail my character and motives, in order to furnish materials for some slanderous attack upon me in an Orange journal-perhaps the article is already prepared for one of the morning papers; but, Sir, I have now passed that time of life when mere personal ribaldry can make me forgetful of the obedience I owe my Maker and of my duty to my family, and would to God, Sir, I had ever been guided by the same feeling!

Then let this juvenile intolerant report to his employers, that