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TRUTH IS POWERFUL,
VOL. IT. NEW-YORK, SATURDAY, JUNE 10,
IRELAND. under the protection of a fair, resident, Parliamentary repre-
IN : sentation. Asto the Insurrection Act, lo say, that it is one
INDEPENDENCE OF Tee TY AND CITY OF of the very worst of the penal laws inflicted upon the Catholics
fet ot Neiens Ti Yas of Ireland!! In this view of the subject, I am fully borne out
The friends of Civil and Religious Liberty dined together at by its operation in the County of Kilkenny, for in this county
the Rose Inn, in the City of Kilkenny, on Tuesday, the 28th of | there was not a single Protestant taken up under it; conse-
March. Much praise was given to Mr, Huetson, the proprie- | quently, none could have been convicted or traisported. Gen-
tor of the establishment, for the style in which he furnished the
entertainment on the occasion. At half past six, the company,
which was numerous and highly respectable, sat down to din-
tlemen, it is unnecessary for me to trouble you at any length
upon ‘the subject of Parliamentary Reform; you have acted
upon the only principle by which it can ever be effected; it
AND WILL PREVAIL.
NO.23.
nomination by the free and independent electors of Kilkenny,
[ have neglected no opportunity of protesting against all mea-
sures hostile to the equalization of civil and religious liberty. —
On one occasion, there existed a slight discrepancy of opinion
amongst my friends ; it regarded a question upon which Irish-
men are now united: reduced upon that subject to consult my
own judgment—reasoaing upon the principle that the people
are entitled to a share in making those laws by which they are
governed—lI protested against the disfranchisement of the 40s.
freeholders. (Cheering.) When I take these things into con-
ices Which was—
ner. .The Hon, Pierce Butler was called to the Chair, and | must emanate from the people themselves, and you have shown,
Peter Ryan, Esq. was requested to act as Vice President. After | both in the County and City of Kilkenny, a noble and disin-
the cloth was removed, and that grace had been said by the | terested example to the rest of Ireland, by calling upon two
Rev. Mr, Mallins, the Chairman announced the first toast, | men to assert your rights, whose only claim to your support is
S : . the good opinion you entertain of their honesty and zeal in ad-
‘The King, and a speedy recovery to him.—Three times vancing your cause. - (Hear, hear.) Tam not the wild entha-
three, ana much applause, siast, who would recommend my felluw-countrymeri to assem-
times three. .
. The Duke of Sussex, the enlightened advocate of civil and
religious liberty.—Three times three.
The Marquis Wellesley, and may his honest endeavours to
administer the faws impartially be crowned with success.—
‘Tbree times three. ©
The Vice President here rose, and, after some prefatory re-
marks, proposed the health of «
The Hon. Pierce Butler, and the Independence of the Coun-
ty Kilkenny. '
This toast was received with deafening acclamations, which
Jasted for several minutes.’ When the applause partly sub-
sided, the gallant Chairman rose, and addressed the Meeting
as follows :—
Gentlemen, I thank’ you sincerely for the very flattering
inanner in which you have received my health. I thank you
for the confidence you repose in my political integrity, by
coupling my nate with the independence of your County.
‘That confidence it’shall always be my study to deserve. On
‘this occasion, Gentlefien, 1 feel myself called upon to explain
‘some of the reasons by which 'I have been, guided in my politi-
‘cal conduct, in’ giving opinions relative to certain measures
hat Jately vccasioned much discussion, not only in our county,
jut through the kingdom at large. In enumerating the evils
f Ireland, I must give’ precedence to the greatest and most
* ‘unjustifi her gris the want o qualified eman-
‘cipation; but on that subject it is unnecessary for me to say
‘snore, than that I shall always, in whatever situation I may be
placed, continue to identify myself with the cause of Ireland,
which [ consider to be the cause of my Catholic countrymen.
(Cheers.) ‘The nest on the list is a ruinous and (so far as the
interest of religion in many parishes is concerned) a totally
sinnecessary system of tithe. On this subject, Gentlemen, I
have taken a decided part; on one or two occasions I have
joined in County Petitions to Parliament for the progressive
abolition of this evil. Tosome of you this may appear to have
deen tdo strong a line of politics to adopt—(No, no)—but in
doing so I merely acted according to the dictates of my con-
science, conceiving that the Church lands of this country were
‘alone, if properly managed, fully adequate for the ample sup-
port of the Clergy of the Established Religion. I was not in-
fluenced by any unworthy motives of hostility towards the
Clergy of my own religious persuasion, or disrespect for the
sacred duties they have toperform. No, thank God! I havea
heart to love and respect the Clergy and Religion of both ou
Churches. (Much cheering.) My chief objections to tithes is
not because perhaps they have, but because they might, from
ihe immense patronage they afford, become a great political
‘machine in the bands of a corrupt minister, to enable him to
trample upon the rights of the people. I object to them at their
present enormous rate, as a tax out of all proportion to the
means of an impoverished people, even were we all of the Pro-
testant persuasion. What is the fact ? . Why, owing to the in-
crease of tillage, the exactions of the tithe speculator, and the
decisions of the Ecclesiastical Courts, tithes are now, at the
least, four times the amount of what they were thirty or five
and thirty years ago. And what has been the only remedy
applied to the evil? Why, when it was found that the poor
were no longer able to bear almost the entire of this heavy
burden, the Irish Secretary brings forward his Tithe Compo-
sition Act, under the plausible pretext'of relieving the poorer
class, but, in point of fact, to secure the Clergy in the prompt
payment of their tithes, and that at the very highest rate,
‘This act, however, isso fraught with insult and injustice to the
great landed proprietors and landholders, that [ fear it will
~“operate as a firebrand in the country to disunite all classes, and
the poor, consequently, become the sufferers in the end; un-
‘Jess, indeed, the host of enemies that this impolitic bill will
raise up against the unparalleled expenditure of the Establish-
“eq Church, may be the cause of its immediate teform. (Con-
“tinued cheering.) Gentlemen, excuse my having dwelt so long
“on the subject of tithes; we now come to the Peace Preserva-
” ‘tion, the Constabulary, and the Insurrection Acts; they are so
*', closely allied, that one opinion will nearly serve for all; they
“are unconstitutional measures, and, in my opinion, were in
eople, the only source of legitimate power.—Three | ple in great multitudes, and march to Kilkenny in different di-
rections, with colours flying and drums beating, for the absurd
purpose of petitioning: Parliament to adopt a constitational re-
form, that would probably close the doors of that House for
ever against three-fourths of its present members; the folly of
such a proceeding has been already too fatally proved in the
sister kingdom, by the melancholy and sanguinary massacre at
Manchester. (Cheers.) No, I am the decided opponent of all
tumultuous proceedings—(hear, hear)—there is uo necessity
open violation of that detestable Act, the Legislative Union; at
all. events; they would not be tolerated ia any Country (hat was
for them, The regeneration of our country is in the hands of
the people; and all that is wanted is a great national effort to
accomplish it, by an honest use of the elective franchise. _(Ap-
plause.) Gentlemen, I have trespassed too long on your time,
by a tedious detail of my own opinions—(No, no.) It now only
remains for me to tell you, that,-should { have the honour to
be returned as your Representative at the next election, my
future political conduct shall be guided in all mafters of im-
portance by the superior wisdom and greatly superior discre-
tion of my constiuents. (Bursts of Applause.)
Colonel Butler concluded by proposing the health of the Vice-
President, whereupon Mr. Ryan briefly returned thanks.
William F. Finn, Esq, and the independent electors of the
county of Kilkenny. Three times three.
Counsellor FINN returned thanks with much eloquence and
energy, in a speech to which it would be difiicult to do ample
justice. He denounced the exclusionist system by which the
county of Kilkenny had been hitherto divided between two no-
ble families, and had been made merely instramental to their
advancement. He declared that, as far as his influence had
any weight in the scale of public importance, it should be devot-
ed to the establishment of a popular representation in the coun-
ty Kilkenny.
Here T. C, DUFFY, Esq. rose and said, tuat he felt himself
called upon to sét Mr. Finn right upon one point; it was this—
Mr, Finn had made some allusions to a coalition between the
Ormond and Bessborough families. Now he (Mr. Duffy) could
assure him, from the best authority, that the Ponsonbys denied
the existence of any such compact in toto. (Hear, hear.
Mr. FINN resumed—He drew a wide line of distinction be-
tween the political conduct of both families; he had merely
stated a fact, which was, that the representation of the county
had been, for more than half a century in the hands of two no-
ble families,” But the Ponsonbys had, indeed, advocated the
rights of the people; they had not supported the Union; neither
did they vote for the suppression of that useful body, the Catho-
lic Association. * (Cheers.) That Associaticn which united all
that was estimable, all that was patriotic, ail that was dear to
Irishmen. (Great applause.) Mr, Finn proceeded at conside-
rable length, to draw a contrast between the political conduct
of the two families of Ormond and Bessborough, and concluded
by declaring, that he never would support the interest of an
man who would merely vote for emancipating the Catholics,
but prevent them from giving constitutional utterance to their
feelings, and who would go still further, by supporting the go-
vernment on every other measure that tenced to abridge and
invade the rights of the people. " °
R. SULLIVAN, . Esq. rose and said, that the degrec of near
relationship between their honourable chairman, and the young
gentleman whose health he was about to pre pose, had prompt-
ed him to offer himself to the notice of the company, . (ear,
hear.) -Mr. S, dwelt with much animation on the merits and
pretensions of the juvenile candidate, and concluded an able
panegyric on his qualifications, by proposing the health of—
Pierce Somerset Butler, Esq. and the independence of the
in the course of which he assured the meeting that the fondest
wishes of the clergy were concentrated inthe hopes of esta.
city of Kilkenny.
he most deafening plaudits here followed.
so long continued,
sideration; when I reflect, that not only within these walls, but
at all those national and political entertainments where I have
had the honour of being present, my name has been uniformly
associated with your independence; when I reflect that [ am not
act the part ofan honest man, I find that I may return you my
sincere and warmest thanks, without fearing that I have at any
time violated that confidence which it is my pride to uphold,—.
‘There was one point more upon which Mr. Butler begged leave
to remark. He understood an idea had been entertained by a
few (he did not say it was any longer entertained,) that the
independence of the county Kilkenny was incompatible with
the independence of the City. He was at a loss to discover
any such opposition—and declared he could not see why.a pos
pular Representative in the one should preclude the establish-
ment of a popular Representative in the other. It was oflittle
consequence to the electors, that in this instance there happens
to be so near a relationship between the popular Candidates as
that which subsists between a father and his son.. We are all,
said Mr. Butler, the advocates of principles, and not of indivi-
duals. Kilkenny was the first county to raise the war-cry of
liberty in the south of Ireland. Our praises, to use an expres-
sion of Mr, O'Connell's, “ resounded from Carrickfergus to
Cape Clear;" and if we now fail, it will be said of us, as it
was said by the Historian of the lonians, who perished in their
contest with a tyrant, “that we failed because we had not vir-
tue enough to go through with the sacred cause in which we
were embarked.” | There are but two ways to rescue Ireland
from her present state of misery and desolation; the first is by
a revolution—the second by a representation founded upon the
sentiments of the people.’ Religion, experience, and humanity
forbid the former; every honest Irishman is bound to support
the latter, (Great cheering.) Mr, Butler declared, that high.
ly as he valued the honour of being returned for the city of Kil-
kenny, (and surely its representation would be an object of le-
gitimate ambition to any man) sti!l would he spurn the idea of
being the mere creature of compromise, disgraceful to himself,
to his family, and to the country, (Loud and cdntinued cheer-
ing.) Ifthere be any man to whom the paths of patriotism may
seem difficult, because they are not strewed with flowers; who
dreads that every little obstacle that he meets, will impede his
footsteps in the road to triumph; who at the first alarm is ready .
to exclaim with the despairing Manfred, that “the spirits he
has raised abandon him; the spells which he has studied baffle
im.” To him would I address those lines of the first of modern
poets—of the man who presented us with the rare and felicitous
combination of nobility, exalted patriotism, and unbounded gee
nius—yes, to such a man would I address these lines, even if we
should fail (which is not likely) in establishing a popular repre-
sentation both in the county and city—
“That freedoms battle once begun,
Requenthed by dying sire to son,
Though often lost, is ever won.”
After again thanking the company for the honour conferred
upon him, and apologising for having trespassed so long upon
their attention, Mr, B. proposed the health o
John Smithwick, Esq. and the Independent Electors of Kil-
enny,
Mr, Smithwick, jun. returned thanks for the honour done his
father, who, he assured the company, coincided in every senti-
ment and feeling that pervaded their body, and was onl. pre-
vented from being present to participate in the festivities of the
evening by the advanced period of his life? still he entertain-
ed the most sanguine hopes, that when the day of trial arrived
his father would be epabled to attend his post, and assist inre-
lieving his native city from the state of thraldom in which it has
(Cheers.) .
The Right Rev. Dr. Marum, and the Clergy of his diocese,—
(Great applause.)
The Rev. Mr. Mallins reurrned thanks in an animated speech,
After they had subsided, Mr. BUTLER rose, and was receive blisn the independence of both the city and county,
ed with renewed cheers. In rising to express the high sense
which he entertained of the honour just conferred upon him,
Captain Bryan, of Jenkinstown, Three times three.
Inthe absence of this distinguished gentleman, J. P. Ryan’
he felt that he would be acting a disingenuous part, were he to Esq. returned thanks, and bore testimony to the patriotic sea-
declare that it was wholly anexpected.
B.) were [ conscious of having deviated, in thought, from those |“ Wm. Colles, Esq.
principles of public integrity; from those national feelings which
first recommended me to your notice, as a fit and proper person
to represent the feclings of the people, the bare suggestions of
Gentlemen, (said Mr. | timents of his friend Mr. Bryan,
Three times three. ,
Mr. Colles briefly returned thanks,
Daniel O'Connell, Esq, Three times three. .. ‘
Counsellor Finn returned thanks for the honour done his re-
aguilty conscience might possibly have prevented me from an- lative. There might be a few subjects upon which th i
ticipating a reiteration of your confidence, But, gentlemen, [ | ed—conscientiously differed: but this he would say thet heat
feel and rejoice in the recollection that sikce L was first putin’ not believe there ever existed a maa more sincerely deroted to
t
guilty of egotism in saying, that I have at least endeavoured to |