gate and contemptible that ever trifled with the peace of the country, is utterly and completely extinguished. We tell you, you have no option. Either you must extinguish it, or it will extinguish you. If the agitator now crawls upon all fours, it is only that he may spring upon you at an advantage. You ought not to be "ignorant of his devices." A little more of determination and vigour, and the eggs of the cockatrice are effectually crushed. A little less, and they will break out into vipers. What is the real question which ministers have to consider? It is not a mere jury question. It is not a question which should for one moment be made dependent upon a technical evasion of the law. It is neither more nor less than this, whether a whole realm is to be convulsed and agitated, and the social peace and the material interests of a fine people destroyed or jeoparded, by a mountebank agitator, who so far from having the semblance of a real grievance to complain of, is obliged to rake up and to misrepresent the records of departed centuries, for the purpose of acting upon the sensibilities of an imaginative people. Is this to be endured? It has been too long endured. Too long have ministers connived at a groundless agitation by which capital has been banished from the country, our social relations embittered, industry paralysed, and life and property rendered insecure. Too long have they suffered, in the eyes of foreign nations, Ireland to be regarded as the weak and the vulnerable part of the British empire. Whatever they may have to answer for to the country for not having earlier interfered to stop, by some determined act of vigour, a course of profligate agita. tion, by which so much positive mischief has been done, and which threatened such fearful evils, assuredly they will not be called to any severe account for venturing at the eleventh hour to awaken to a sense of their own responsibility and their country's danger. Never was there a time when the good and wise throughout the empire at large would exhibit more alacrity in giving a prompt support to an honest minister who would have the courage to denounce the pestilent disturbers. Already it is apparent that the musters at the "monster meetings" have been, to a great extent, compulsory; that the poor people were driven there by spiritual agitators, who converted the house of God into an arena of sedition, and whose commands, it was felt, would be but too well enforced by the secular arm of a midnight police, whose domiciliary visits were powerfully calculated to overcome the scruples of such timid or conscientious recusants as could not, of their own free choice, subscribe to the orthodox and popular creed of repeal. If all this may be remedied by the ordinary operation of the law, well;but if not, the minister who would save the country, must have the courage, in an emergency like the present, to trust to parliament for indemnity, if he should find it necessary to overstep the ordinary limits of the constitution. Assuredly, ample powers would have been given him, had he asked for them at any period during the late session : and his forbearance will only not be accounted as a crime, if, when all ordinary remedies have failed, he boldly has recourse to whatever measure may be necessary-"ne quid respublica detrimenti capiat." THE REPEAL AGITATION AND THE GOVERNMENT PROCLAMATION. THE month of October will be long a month memorable in the "Repeal year," as Mr. O'Connell, before late events, was fond of designating the year 1843. In that month the hitherto triumphant progress of the "peaceful rebellion," (there is no other word to express the movement that the last nine months have witnessed in Ireland,) received its first check; and if the firmness and decision of the govern ment be only equal to the vigour of their first proceeding, we believe the repeal agitation has met with its final overthrow. On the first of October, the monster meeting assembled at Mullaghmast. The province of Leinster-so those who met there impudently chose to term themselves-protested against the union. In numbers, at least, the demonstration was sufficiently imposing. It is not very easy to arrive at any thing like a correct estimate of the numbers that really composed any one of these monster meetings. To dispose of the monstrous exaggerations of the Repeal press, it is sufficient to observe that, according to the accounts of these journals, the monster meetings have been already attended by multitudes amounting to three or four times the entire moveable population of Ireland; and we have, unfortunately, no correct or accurate information, by which to reduce to their proper dimensions these manifestly overcharged estimates. There is nothing upon which an unpractised observer is more incapable of forming a correct judgment, than the numbers in a crowd-and except from persons habitually trained to such calculations, no reliance whatever can be placed on estimates formed on the view. In the open air, in a meeting scattered over a large space of ground -much more resembling a fair than an assembly for business - broken here and there by horsemen, by cars, by stands for refreshments, by the chance movements of stragglers through the crowd-we believe it would be impossible for even the most practised eye The following graphic description of one of those meetings, from the pen of a gentleman who was present, appeared in "The Northern Whig." It is, perhaps, the only description of one of those assemblages that has ever been drawn by an impartial observer : The place selected for the meeting is situated about a mile from Lismore. It is a field, on the side of a hill of gentle declivity; and the platform, for the use of the speakers and of those who chose to pay the sum of two shillings, was erected at the lowest corner of the field. When we arrived on the ground, the prospect was curious and interesting. Here were numbers of carts, from which the horses had been relieved; there were groups of people, chatting and enjoying themselves, as on a holiday; in another place were tents with refreshments; again was to be seen and heard a ballad-singer, "discoursing most eloquent music" in favour of Repeal, or a vender of a prosaic description of the iniquities of the union; and around the platform were congregated a considerable body of men on horseback, who, because they were on horseback, had arrived early on the ground, and seemed determined to make sure of hearing, if they could, what Mr. O'Connell might say. The day was beautiful; and such an assemblage could not fail to be animating and picturesque. We should have stated that the ground rose on the rere of the platform; and that on this quarter groups were scattered, here and there, adding to the general effect. "In order that we might have a favourable view of what was going forward, as well as for the purpose of hearing what might be said, we obtained a place on the platform, by the means prescribed. This erection was calculated to contain three or four hundred people. At the time we went on it, being about the time when the meeting should have commenced, there were not, besides the reporters, more than about a dozen individuals who had purchased admission. As the day advanced, more came on; but, at no period, was the space even one quarter occupied. Among those on the platform, the majority appeared to be respectable; but, as a display, the thing is not to be spoken of. "Mr. O'Connell made his appearance on the ground about four o'clock. We were careful to watch his reception, and it was such as fully confirmed the opinion we had formed, in an earlier portion of the day, of the feelings of the to form any thing like an accurate estimate of the numbers really present. Military men have in some instances surveyed the ground upon which these monster meetings were held, and have said, that upon the utmost calculation of the density of the crowd, the space occupied by the meeting could not have contained the fourth of the numbers stated to have been present. We believe that none of these meetings exceeded in number fifty thousand; and that few, if any, of them came near that amount. Fifty thousand men may have assembled at the rath of Mullaghmast. The month of October opened fair and auspicious for the repeal cause. No meeting appealed more directly to the strength of that cause, whether in the multitude of its followers, or the angry recollection of history, than that of Mullaghmast the very locality selected as the fabled scene of a lying legend of Saxon cruelty. At no meeting was enthusiasm more intense, the courage of the speakers more heroic, or the defiance of the government more proud. O'Connell, in the language of The Nation, appeared "a monarch in all but in name;" and something very like a coronation actually took place. Mr. Hogan, the sculptor, Mr. McManus, the painter, and a depu tation, placed on his head, amid acclamations that rent the air, the national repeal cap, with the significant regret, "that it was not of gold." In the chair, presiding over that mighty assemblage, arrayed in his robes of scarlet,* which at a distance might easily appear the scarlet of kings-crowned by a depu tation respectable for the genius of those who composed it-defying the power of Britain-proclaiming himself viceroy of Ireland-surrounded by tens of thousands of subjects more obedient to him than ever subjects were to monarch before no wonder that in the pride of his h art he imagined himself irresistible. All this taking place in a country that nominally owns the queen of England as its sovereign. This was the acme of his triumph : parties assembled. In the part of the field through which he passed, and more especially near the part of the platform where he approached, there were loud cheers; but in other directions such was not the case. Unquestionably, there was far from that enthusiastic outburst of feeling which might have been expected from the whole assembly. The majority of those present seemed to have mustered as for recreation; but to look upon them, in general, as persons who felt deeply, or even felt at all upon a political question, would be utterly absurd. "The assembled multitude appeared to have no notion of foolishly trying to hear speeches. A display-a demonstration-seemed alone to be the object. They had attended, probably, because they had been directed; and, as soon as they had scen Mr. O'Connell on the ground, they appeared to be of opinion that they should bethink themselves of getting off the ground. In point of fact, they speedily took their departure; and, before Mr. O'Connell had spoken one word, horsemen and footmen, and horsewomen and footwomen, were pouring off, in rapid and dense streams. Indeed, not a score had any chance of hearing him; and, of course, it was prudent to withdraw. "We have now to refer to the numbers present. The assemblage was a vast one-greatly larger than any other that we had before seen. It may have amounted to forty, fifty, or sixty thousand. When we say this, we mean to represent it as a monster meeting,' as it was; but, to say that it consisted of hundreds of thousands would be to talk most foolishly and falsely. We may take occasion to refer to this point, at another time, when we shall have learned what the various repeal authorities may have said on the subject. "Much will be said and written to exaggerate the importance of this meeting. We have briefly described it as we have seen it. To represent it as a muster of hundreds of thousands, or of men of excited feelings, would be gross misrepresentation." Mr. O'Connell took the chair at the Mullaghmast meeting in his robes as an alderman of Dublin. literally came in like a lion, and has gone out like a lamb." The On the 8th of October, another monster meeting was to take place. Another spot, selected for its historical association, Clontarf" the Marathon of Ireland"-was to witness the assemblage of the men of Fingal. In the immediate vicinity of the metropolis another parade of the strength of sedition was to take place. Placards were posted through the city ostentatiously announcing a march of mounted horsemen through the principal streets. The requisition for the meeting, signed exclusively by the priests of the district, as THE Clergy of Fingal, proclaimed the character of the meeting as a religio-political movement. fact, that all the great meetings were held on the Sabbath, was indeed suffi cient to stamp all the proceedings with this character. This was a day on which the feelings of Protestants, whether they were right or wrong, would not permit them to take a part in political affairs. Preparations were every where made for the great demonstration at Clontarf. The men of Meath WERE TO ASSEMBLE OVER NIGHT AT TARA HILL-a fact that never was publicly mentioned until the appearance of the proclamation forced it to light by the sudden dispatch of Mr. Steele to Tara, to disperse them. Organised bands of repealers were brought from England-a procession of repeal cavalry through the city was proclaimed.* It was quite plain that the time was now come when the government must interfere. The language held at the Mullaghmast meeting, coupled with the preparations made for the Clontarf, left the government no choice. The defiance of the government previously was bad enough-the ostentatious organization of physical force for Clontarf, was in itself sufficiently alarming: but neither alone could have forced the government to interfere, although either would have amply justified such interference. But when both were combined-when the very men who defied them at Mullaghmast made such preparations for Clontarf, whether they should interfere was no longer matter of deliberation. If after the language at Mullaghmast they had allowed the assemblage at Clontarf, they succumbed to the agitation. The question was fairly brought to issue between the authority of Queen Victoria and King Daniel. Thanks to the wisdom and prudence of ministers, that question has been determined with a quietness and peacefulness that no one, the week before it was brought to issue, would have dared to predict. On Friday, the 6th of October, the Lord Lieutenant and the Lord Chancellor both returned from England. The same day a private meeting of the persons most in the confidence of government was held; the following day the formal meeting of the Privy Council was convened, and a proclamation, suppressing the Clontarf meeting, was agreed to. We think it right to reprint this document at length, because it clearly, intelligibly, and distinctly places upon record the unanswerable grounds upon which government interfered to vindicate the authority of their Queen :— "DE GREY, "Whereas it has been publicly announced that a meeting is to take place at or near Clontarf, on Sunday, the 8th October instant, for the alleged purpose of petitioning Parliament for a Repeal of the Legislative Union between "Great Britain and Ireland: "And whereas advertisements and placards have been printed and extensively circulated, calling on those persons who propose to attend the said meeting on horseback to meet and form in procession, and to march to the said meeting in military order and array: "And whereas meetings of large numbers of persons have been already held in different parts of Ireland, under the like pretence, at several of which meetings language of a seditious and inflammatory nature has been addressed to the persons there assembled, calculated and intended to excite discontent * It is true that Mr. O'Connell disavowed a proclamation which described this procession too accurately in military terms; but the terms only were quarrelled withthe procession was unaltered, and when afterwards the procession through the city was abandoned, the place of muster was only changed from one side of the city to the other. and disaffection in the minds of her Majesty's subjects, and to bring into hatred and contempt the Government and constitution of the country, as by law established: "And whereas at some of the said meetings, such seditious and inflammatory language has been used by persons who have signified their intention of being present at, and taking part in, the said meeting so announced to be held at or near Clontarf: "And whereas the said Meeting is calculated to excite reasonable and wellgrounded apprehensions that the motives and objects of the persons to be assembled thereat are not the fair legal exercise of constitutional rights and privileges, but to bring into hatred and contempt the Government and Constitution of the United Kingdom as by law esta. blished, and to accomplish alterations in the laws and constitution of the realm, by intimidation and the demonstration of physical force: Now we, the Lord Lieutenant, by and with the advice of her Majesty's Privy Council, being satisfied that the said intended meeting so proposed to be held at or near Clontarf, as aforesaid, can only tend to serve the ends of factious and seditious persons, and to the violation of the public peace, do hereby strictly caution and forewarn all persons whatsoever, that they do abstain from attendance at the said meeting. "And we do hereby give notice that if, in defiance of this our Proclamation, the said meeting shall take place, all persons attending the same shall be proceeded against according to law; and we do hereby order and enjoin all Magistrates and Officers intrusted with the preservation of the public peace, and others whom it may concern, to be aiding and assisting in the execution of the law in preventing the said meeting, and in the effectual dispersion and suppres sion of the same, and in the detection and prosecution of those who, after this notice, shall offend in the respects aforesaid. "Given at the Council Chamber in Dublin, this 7th day of October, 1843. This proclamation places the interference of government upon the right grounds. It boldly grapples with the real question; it shelters the conduct of government behind no technical subterfuge; it puts down the agitation as seditious, and prohibits the meeting at Clontarf upon the double ground that the conduct of previous meetings, and the avowed preparations for this, made it a direct attack upon the conVOL. XXII.-No. 131. stitution of the country and the authority of the Queen. It is clear to our mind that government ought not to have interfered until they could give such reasons for their interference, and until the validity of such reasons would be acknowledged by the world. It is quite true that any one of the repeal meetings might have been legally suppressed by procuring informations to be sworn of apprehended violence, or terror from the multitudinous character of the assemblage; but it is not on such grounds that government-meaning by government the high authorities of the state-should interfere. It might be enough to say that no such informations were ever sworn-no appeal for protection to the local magistracy, the proper guardians of the peace of their neighbourhood was ever made. We How infinitely rejoice that it was not. more dignified, how infinitely more powerful is the interference of gove nment, based on the reasons of state, this proclamation assigns, than if it had been nominally based on reasons of police we say nominally, because there was not one human being who really called for the interference of government from apprehensions of a riot at any one of the meetings. No, the interference of government was demanded in reality because such meetings were politically dangerous. It would have been unmanly and undignified in the government to have interfered on any ground of anticipated riot, when they really interfered for other and graver reasons. They acted wisely and well in waiting until they could assign their true reasonuntil they could proclaim, and emphatically proclaim, from the experience of the past and the preparation for the future, that the intended meeting was dangerous in itself, that its very assemblage was an insult to the law, and that whether it separated peaceably or not, suppose not one single angry word to be spoken, not one single blade of grass improperly trampled on, the very existence of that meeting, let the assembled thousands be as orderly as they might, branded as it was with the attributes of sedition, of intimidation, of contempt of constituted authority, was in itself a VIOLATION OF THE PUBLIC PEACEuntil there was no room for mistake 2 T |