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TRUTH (S POWERFUL,
AND WILL PREVAIL.
“WOR. EMR
WEBBAIND.
ADDRESS .TO THE PEOPLE OF IRELAND.’
After.an eloquent and able speech Mr. O'Connell introduced
the following address to the people of Ireland :-—
Friexps anp Fertow Countrymex,
Attend for two reasons to the advice we now give you—first,
it comes from your mast sincere friends; secondly, it is intend-
ed and calculated solely ‘or your good.
Not only liste to this advice, but coolly and deliberately con
sider it, and weigh it wellin your minds, ‘ We address your
common sense and your understandings; and we address them
for your own benefit — 4
* Our advice to you is to avoid all secret societies and cembi-
“* nations whatsoever—we also earnestly conjure you to abstain
‘+ from all outrages an: illegal acts whatsoever.”
You ought to listen attentively to this advice—it comes from.
men who agree with you in religion—who kneel before the same
‘altars, aud join with you in the amcient and pure form of wor-
ship which our fathers, in despite of persecution and seduc-
tion, held to the great and eternal_God.
' We not only join with you in the same faith and hope for
eternity, but we also sympathise with your sufferings, We
know the evils you endure—we are, like yourselves, victims of
one and the same system of injustice and degradation—we en-
tertain the same hostility with you, to oppression, and moreover
active and persevering iu our endeavours te procure the re-,
dress of our and your wrongs, by the only means by which they
can or ought to be redressed, namely the constitutional means
of argument, petition, end remonstrance,
Listen, therefore, to the advice we give you, Do not belong
io any society whatever, whether Ribbon, Whiteboy, or Right-
boy societies, or by whatever. name they may be called. “We
most earnestly advise you not to join any of them; or if any o|
you have joined any such society, we conjure you immediately
aud for ever to abandon and give them up.,
. We still more earnestly implore of you, not: to participate,
directly or indirectly, in any outrages or crimes whatsoever.
Remember that this advice comes to you from men who bate
the vile system Which has caused so much misery to Ireland as
much as they love and desire to serve you; and to render you
and your children free, contented and happy.
Keeping in mind that this advice is addressed to you by your
very sincere friends, we next beg of you to attend to the rea-
sons why yeu should not belong to auy secret society what-
soever. °° irae : ’
First—Every secret society is in its nature, and from its
gS
secrecy, illegal ;" and it is acrime punishable by law to become |:
or be a member thereof. You may imagine that unless an oath
of some kind he taken, there is no legal crime in belonging to
a secret society. You are mistaken, It is a crime to belong to
such a society, although no oath whatever is taken.
The punishment for belonging to a secret society is, at least,
‘TRANSPORTATION j and in almost all cases it is neaTH. In fact, it
is not possible to do any one act in obedience to any secret so-
ciety, without its being a capital felony, punishable with death.
_ See now what your danger is if you continue to belong to
any secret society, you. may be transported—you — may be
. banged. © :
But, SECONDLY, your danger of being punished is exceeding
‘ great, because any one member of a secret society can swear,
_with success,any thing he pleases against all or any of the
other members, without the least danger of his being contra-
dicted. Sothat if you belong to any secret society you may
easily be convicted, and transported, or hanged, for a crime of
which yon were perfectly innocent. :
Understand this distinctly, See; it is this: Suppose you
“belong to a secret society, in which there is a. spy or infor-
mer, (and believe us when we tell, that there is scarcely any
“secret society without a spy or informer.) . Now, suppose such
. spy or informer, for a bribe or out of malice, swears that on
any night of meeting you and others couspired to murder any
person, \ You could have no witnesses to contradict such spy
or informer, inasmuch as the moment your witness swore that |:
_ he was present at the meeting alluded to, that moment he would
be sent to the dock as an accomplice in your crime. ;
Whoever, therefore, belongs to any secret society, lays him-
self completely open to the testimony of spies and informers
—the basest and most depraved ef human beings. Avoid,
therefore, these societies, in which spies and informers neces-
sarily abound, — ran wo
The Trnp reason why you should abandon all secret soci-
eties is, because your Clergy advise you to avoid them, - Need
we, or indeed could we, possibly urge a stroviger argument to
‘. juduce you to abstain trom secret societies? You ail know that
. your Clergy are almost the only sincere and constant friends
you have in the world—you ali know that your Clergy in cau-
tioning you against secret societies have no motive under Hea-
ven but to do you good—you know that their constant occupa:
Hionand stady are to serve youwin this world, and to Gt you for
. 1
WEwWeYORK, SATU BDAY,
WAY
another and better life, where the poor man will cease to labour,
and the afflicted man will no longer mourn—you know that
your spiritual guides, your esteemed and vénerable clergy, give
you that advice—to avoid secret societies, only because you
ought to avuid them—and because the belonging to them is an
unmized and most pernicious evil, ”
Attend, therefore to our advice, and tothat of your estima-
ble Clergy, and avoid all secret societies, all outrages, and
crimes whatever,
The Fourth reason why you should avoid secret societies is,
because your enemies wish that you should belong to them.
They wish it so mach, that they. frequently employ people to
seduce you to belong to secret societies. All the Orangemen,
aud some of the Police, are desirous that you should be mem-
bers of secret societies. You could not gratify or please the
Orangemen in any way more agreeable to them, ‘than by be-
coming members of a secret society. «They want to have you
in their power, and you most effectually put your liberty, pro
perty, and life in the power of the Orangemen, the instant you
become members of avy secret society,
The Fifth reason for avoiding secret societies is, that they
must be essentially bad in their nature—because if they were
good, there would be no occasion for secrecy. People do not
conceal good motives, or good actions.: On the contrary,
there is always rather an ostentatious display of: every, thing
tending to what is good or useful, It is only what is vicious and
criminal that hides itself from public view: and this is precise-
ly the cause why secrecy and concealment are introduced into
wicked and bad societies. So strongly is this principle exem-
plified, that even if the intention or desiga of any such society
were in itself proper or harinless, the intreductioa of seerecy
would pervert it, and soon produce-qnischievous and wicked
results, . ; r pen ON AST
The Sixth reason why secret societies should be avoided is,
because our objections to them are not merely theoretic or spe-
culative—they are founded on melancholy but certain facts. —
‘There have been already many secret socicties ia [reland. But
they have never produced any good to the people. We ask you,
are the people in any, even in the slightest degree, the Letter
or any or all these aecret societies? Nay, nre not the people
much the worse for all the secret societies which have hitherto
existed in Ireland. They have caused many, very many men
tobe transported. They have caused thousands upon, thou-
sands to be hanged, They have been the.means, not unfre-
quently, of having the innocent punished in the place of the
guilty—they have converted many deserving mothers and com-
fortable families into wretched widows: and desolate orphans.
In’ short, secret societies in Ireland have hitherto produced
great afiliction, wretchedness, and misery, and they. have not
done one particle of good. No advantage whatsoever has ever
been derived from them, seb a .
The Last and most powerful reason which we address you
is in order to induce you to avoid all secret societies, nocturnal
outrages, and Whiteboy offences, is, that they are detestable
in the eyes of every good man, and criminal in the sight of
that great God who will judge you all for eternity, - 1
Why should you then indulge in that from which we dissuade
you. : Your clergy join with us in this advice., ‘The Laws pro-
hibit and punish with severity and death these crimes, » They
never did any good. They afilict your sincere and affectionate
friends... They please your malignant and implacable enemies.
hey produce nothing hut evil. They strengthen the power of
the Orange faction, They dimmish and nearly destroy the
constitutional force which ought to belong to us, who are look-
ing for your rights and liberties, by Jegal, open, and virtuous
means, . 5 . at,
Surely none of you can be so silly and absard,, as to imagine
that you are or can be strong enough to cope with the Govern-
1 you are unarni are undisciplined—you have no
officers—no ammunition—no system. .The Government has
police and yeomanry enough to put you down. It has besides
cavalry, infantry, and artillery in-abundauee. | It could com-
mand one hundred thousand of the finest tanps and of the
bravest in the world, to Uevastate your families and extinguish
yourselves in your blood. » You cavnet be mad enaugh to ima-
gine that yeu have the power to combat as even to affright the
Py 1
Government. i a
Aad now beloved friends—dearest countrymen, attend to us:
listen to, consider well, and obey our advice.” It comes warn
rom our bearts—it is intended disinterested)y and honestly
for your good. We are struggling for you—do not join our
and your enemies, - Obey our call. sive up now, aud for ever,
all secret societies—all Rubbonism, Whiteboyism, and all other
illegal assemblies. “Abstain from al! participation, direct or
indirect, in cocturnal outrages und tumetinous offences: Obey
the lawsfand“assist us in an open, hold-imanty, legal, and cop-
stitutional way to obtain redress aud permanent relief. .
_ Show charity and good will to all men, but cling with hearts
of affection to all literal and friendly Protestants. Combine
with them’ in the public and open exclusion of all bigots and
intolerant oppression—violate no law—disappoint your ene-
mies by taking our advice.. Gratify your friends by avoiding
all secret societies, and all outrages and offences whatseever;
U9, USTs * WO. 20.
struggle more powerfully to procure you relief from your eve-
mies, and to make this lovely and fertile land what our beloved
Ireland ought to be—
~~ Great, glorious, and free,
First flower of the earth, and first gem of the sex.” .
DANIEL O'CONNELL, Chairman of Committee.
O’GORMAN MAHON, Secretgry.
Catholic Rooms, Dublin, 5th March, 1827.
THE LATE VOTE,
What can be the occasion of this defeat? The excesses, we
are told, of the Irish demagogues. This, we are afraid, is buc
too thoroughly true. But while we admit its truth, we must
deny, completely, both its generosity and its wisdom. We
should be glad tobe informed, whether, if Catholic Emanci-
pation had been granted half'a century ago, such men as Sheil
or O'Connell, politically speaking, could ever have existed ?—
and whether, if it be not grarited now, we can ever. expect to
be without them?) Ob, but it has been said, the domination of
the Catholic’ Priesthood is. inconipatible with every idea of
ipation! This is too p E ipation could
not possibly make that dominion greater than it is; but on the
contrary, would, ef necessity, make itless. Again weare told,
the Catholics cannot be emancipated, because they hate the
Established Church! It may be very. possible and very natus
ral that they should hate it, But how are they different, in this
from many thousand Protestants? And we should like to know-
whether a difference from the Establistied Church is really to
exclude from Parliament? . Whether Hume, for example, is to
be surned out pf the House! because he has happened Vd stig?
matize the Church of ireland as a huge monster of avarice,
intolerance, and uselessness 7? ‘
ber, is to be visited with penal in@ictions, because he may have
thought right to bring in a billto abelish bishops or clip away :
tythes? It may be avery wrong thing, beyond a doubt, to
show the slightest hostihty 10 the Established Church, But;
bad as it may be,.it is athing over which the law can bave no |. °
centroul. [tis a thing in particular, which, even in Parliament >
itself, bas never been considered to infer either disability or ire
regularity ; otherwise along catalogue of motions which have
been formally debated, should have been scored out for cone
tempt—some thousands of petitions which have been received
and printed should have been Quang to the other side of the bar:
—and at leasta hundred members now quietly in their seats,
should have been excommunicated along with them, But the
Catholics, it would seem, not only hate the Church, but the
Constitution { “Tris rather an odd way, we think, to show one’s
hatred of any thing, to make a great noise about obtaining it.
We deny, however, that the Catholics hate the Constitution.—
Bat suppose that they did, Have they experienced any thing
but its curses? | And suppose, now, that we want them to ad-
mire it. Is not our best way to make them acquainted with its
biessings? But hatred to the Constitution is no ground of ex-.
clusion from Parliament. Hunt hates the Constitution; but he
has stood more than one election; and his voters have been
received. Cobbett hates the Constitution; yet he has done the
same thing. Jew, Mussalman, or Infidel, may vote, and may
be elected; monarchist or democrat may do and be 80 too pall
politics, and all religions. but those of a Papist, are freeas the
winds of Heaven—but Ae is not; not because he has no religion
but because he has too much: not because he is in the least
refractory or republican, but because he has a somewhat too
liberal allowance of faith, loyalty, and submission! But the
Catholic Priesthood interfere at elections, So, too, does the
Establishment. ‘The Catholic Priesthood contrive to have the ”
returning of members. So have the Protestanis; and, as the
result of this debate has: demonstrated, with a much greater *
effect. The Catholic Bishops are appointed by the Pope; their
Sovereign head. | So are the Protestant Kisbops by the King,
who is their’s.: The Catholics wii! not allow the Protestants te
appoint any Catholic pastors. Nor will the Protestants permit
Catholics to present to a single Protestant parish, though the
right of presenting isa right of property. The Catholics abuse
and hate the Protesiants as heretics, usurpers, and oppressors.
So do the Protestants abuse and hate the Catholics,’ as slaves
despots, and drivellers, Catholic politicians, it seems must be
kept out of Parliament, because they would be dangerous” Bu
Catholic politicians are already in Parliament; and so far frock :
being dnogerons, they are the best men in it. “Catholies wish
to make proselytes, So do Metodists, Rauters, Unitarians.—.
Catholics grudge the tythes.’ So does every body but those
who eat them.: Catholics want to have power,
body who can get atit—Lainburgh Observer,
ABBEY OF MAYO~SUBSCRIPTION IN LONDON.
+t (From the Western Luminary.) *
The publicof Mayo, we are confident, ‘will leam with pleas
sing satisfaction, by the acknowledgment of the Mest Rev. Dr,
Kelly, that a subscription bas already commenced among the
earning but truly patriotic class of Ivish operatives in Leadon,’
to assist in erectinga Chapel on the site of the famed Abbe
Whether he, or any other mem-
So does every
of Mayo. We regret our space does not permit us toingert |”
and depend npon it that we, your friends, will thus be able ta! the accompanying fetter, written by C; M, Dillon, one of the
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