blies. To be sure eloquence is by no means an exotic in Ireland: indeed it is supposed to grow spontaneously on the Suire as well as on the Shannon; among the hills of Kerry, as well as in the plains of Leinster. But, though the multitude, like certain noisy animals, will generally follow him who gives most tongue, there is something else necessary to guide them beside fine tropes and beautiful metaphors. Sheil is decidedly the most eloquent man in Ireland. As an orator he stands deservedly high; but then he is so deficient in judgment-is such an avowed Vetoist-that he never can be a lead er. Who then is qualified to supply Daniel O'Connell's place? I pause for a reply, but none answer.' The truth is, there is no one. Do then, my friend, continue in your post. Say no more about the wings. Collect the Rent-no matter what becomes of the money-and make as many speeches as possible. Nothing like keeping up the ball; inquiry will thereby be provoked; England must listen and, once John Bull is made to lend an attentive ear, depend upon his sympathy. Fanatics and intolerants may rave: but John is a calculating man. He will soon estimate the amount of Irish grievances; and, though he may continue to hate Pope and Popery, he will never consent to be a party to injustice. You have very properly, but, considering your former éulogies, not quite consistently, reproached the English people with national vanity. Vain they certainly are; and, if this be a fault, I know no people who are not subject to the same charge, without, perhaps, having Bull's apology. This egotism -this boasting, however, is all in your favour. The English people pride themselves on being liberal; on being the friends of civil liberty; and on being the enemies of oppression wherever it is inflicted. Consistently with this they cannot be-in fact, they are not the enemies of Ireland. Every one of them, who knows any thing of your affairs, sympathizes with you; and, to insure their united cooperation, you have only to put them in possession of facts. None but a madman, or an editor of a newspaper, would talk about the re-enact ment of the Penal Code. Sir Thomas Lethbridge, himself, would feel indignation at such a proposal; and be assured that John Bull would be the last man in the world who would lend it his support. No, no; limited as his information is at present, enough is known of Ireland to convince him, that she stands in need of no additional grievance. My friends in Dublin are in the constant habit of reproaching John Bull with his ignorance of Ireland; but give me leave to say that he knows much more of Paddy than Paddy knows of him. In fact, I must confess, that my countrymen are, in general, profoundly ignorant of Engfishmen, English habits, and English manners. John Bull is not quite so superior an animal to Paddy as has been generally supposed; and Ireland is not quite so inferior to her sister as she has been represented. The 'Dublin and London Magazine,' to which I am a worthy contributor, has thrown some light on this subject; and has been rapidly doing what the Catholic Association ought to have done. It has been disabusing the English mind of its absurd prejudices and mistaken notions respecting Ireland; while it has been telling.my countrymen some wholesome and important truths. Yet I do not find, from the proceedings of the Catholic Association, that this publication has been ordered for the use of members. A hint is enough, &c. A free press you have promised to support; but hitherto you have paid very little, if any, attention to this powerful instrument. You published a very queer address to the people of this country; but, though fourteen thousand pounds of the Rent lay inoperative, you never thought of expending a single thousand of it in placing most important documents in the hands of the English people. I allude to the evidence of Drs. Doyle and Murray before the Select Committees. Your own evidence, indeed, might probably remain where it is; but the testimony of these Prelates should have been laid before the public. With about one thousand pounds I would engage to put a copy into the hands of every man in England; and, were this done, the benefit would have been incalculable. It is not yet too late. Efforts (vain ones, it is true-are making to awaken the nopopery yell; and what so likely to counteract this species of seduction, as the mild, candid, and Christian testimony of our venerable bishops? The English Catholic Association, to be sure, have a Defence Committee: but they want that clue to energy which you possess; and, though their Tracts are calculated to do much good, they do not excite the attention which Irish Tracts would command. Do therefore, my friend, take my suggestion into consideration. Be no longer content with talking about the press-make use of it. If not, the Association will betray its trust, disappoint the public, and do but little good. Speeches are very useful in their way; but the publication of facts, in a popular and permanent form, is what England requires. Disposed, however, as the English mind is to view Ireland with candour, we have yet much to encounter, much to overcome, before we can expect the completion of our object. A mass of ignorance is opposed to us, and a band of interested intolerants are arrayed against us. These obstacles, however, will yield to perseverance. Men may be intimidated as well as persuaded; and I would, therefore, recommend, that you make as little boast as possible of your loyalty. Irish Catholics-degraded and insulted-cannot be loyal; and, were they to continue in a state of quiescence, though hopeless of Emancipation, the event would demonstrate that, in refusing redress, the English government acted with wisdom. The time is gone, thank God! when loyalty was a sentiment. It is now a commodity which nations will give you an estimate of, and tell you that men may be at the same time loyal to their king, and traitors to their country. Foreign influence you well to disclaim. Tell the Courier' that the time is not arrived, and pray do God it may never arrive, when foreign influence would be useful to Ireland. Events, however, might render it necessary, might render it imperative; but these events can never take place if England do you justice; and I feel quite confident that she will do you justice, because it will be her interest to do so. Without Ireland she is nothing: and Ireland she will lose, unless she conciliates her. Keep this in mind, and take care that your enemies shall not forget it. It is a warning voice, and the oftener it is heard the better. It may be disagreeable to the bigots, but, like physic, its nauseousness will not prevent its producing very beneficial effects. 6 6 Once more I must call on you to appeal to the press of this country. In Ireland your cause is understood and supported by nine-tenths of the people; but here, an inert mass of intolerance is opposed to you. You must force the people of England into a thinking attitude before you can expect them to yield to reason. Your apparent friends are every moment ready to betray you. The Morning Chronicle' does you quite as much harm as good; and, as for the Times,' nothing is to be expected from it. 'It fights,' as the Edinburgh Review' says, no up-hill battle; while it was never yet known to support the weaker side. • It runs with the hare, and holds with the hound,' as we say in Ireland; and is ever ready to pounce upon the prostrate. This accounts for its vacillating conduct lately; and furnishes a powerful proof of the progress our cause has made; for, were not the editor of the Times' in doubt, respecting the popularity of the Catholic question, he would have had no hesitation from the beginning to support the no-popery cry. As it is, he knows not distinctly which side is the most popular. 6 Yours, &c. Bedford Square. RORY O'ROURke. VOL. I.-No. 10. 3 P INDEX. ABSENTEEISM, by Lady Morgan, 267. A Midsummer Day's Dream, 437. Black Rock, Hermit at, 308. British Museum, 47. Burial Scene, by the Hermit, 107. Burke, Sir John, character of, 327. Campbell and Byron, 96. Campbell, Thomas, Esq. memoirs of, 190. Catholic Association, the, 43. Catholic Orators, 324. Church of Ireland, 218. City in the Sea, 133. The English and Irish peasantry com- Ensor v. Absenteeism, 374. Fairy Legends and Traditions, 79. Fancy, by the author of Plagues of Ire- Father of the Fortescues, 337-403. Furlong and Sir Walter Scott, 285. Glean-Dalach, or the Culdee's Cairn, 131. Greenwich Hospital, review of, 228. Clinton's Life and Writings of Lord Hermit in Ireland, No. i. The Dublin Byron, 297. Clontarf, 274. opinions respecting, 2. Their cause and Trade and Manufactures of, 241. Trish Christmas, forty years since, 443. Irish Novels, remarks on, 285. 1 Junius, Lord Sackville author of, 285. Lawless, Mr. character of, 251. Letters on England, review of, 424. London Student, Letter from, No. i. 26. Lord Chancellor of England, 345. Love of Life, a fragment, 68. Loughliagh, 352. Luprechaun, the, 193. Lyon's, Captain, narrative, 43. Mechanics' Institution, 431. Memoir of, Thomas Moore, 35. Of Rich- Mineral Waters of Ireland, 285. My Grandmother's Guests and their Tales, Napoleon, statue of, 47. National melodies, 157. New Island, 47. O'Connell, Mr. character of, 253. Trial of, 354. -Memoir of, 301. Poetry, Impromptu on quitting the Pier 329. Boulevards, 440. History of a bottle, 442. Pepy's memoir, 285. Phooka, 463. Precocious learning, 47. Ode on the burial of Sir John Moore, 383. Reviews, a sketch of Ireland in 1824, by Letters Sir William Hillary, Bart. 2. Popish Question, by the Rev. G. Croly, Remains of Ninety-eight, 547. Rice, Spring, Esq. memoir of, 273. Sunday stroll, by the Hermit, 134. Tales of Irish Life, review of, 36. Cha- Rowan, Archibald Hamilton, memoir of, To-day in Ireland, review of, 177. 466. Scott, Sir Walter, 285. Scotch peasantry. An inn, 362. Clean- Sheil, Richard, Esq. memoir of, 70. character of, 252. Sheridan, Rt. Hon. R. B. memoir of, 385. To the men of Milan, 328. Trial of Daniel O'Connell, review of, 384. Veteran Legioneer, No. i. 84, No. ii. 111, White, Blanco's, Evidence against the Ca- Woes of War, 166. Wood-cutter and Death, 459. |