pears to be not much, now, to and Edwards; the Manchester affair of 16th August; these, and a hundred other things, are not to pass over like a summer cloud: they call, at any rate, for compensation to the sufferers; for I have taken this view of my fight with the instinctive combination, not only because it is just to take such a view, and because it spare. The instinctive combination must perceive, that there are some millions of men now, who have got their eyes open, and who had them closely sealed up only four or five years ago. This cóm-something to mitigate the anguish bination should recollect, that it is that they have endured. now touch and go; that it is now a question brought into a short compass; and that even the base press itself has sounded the alarm, and is ready to desert the combi-is instructive to those young men nation. In short, and in plain lan- that are coming up and are about guage, I say that you must now to act their part upon the stage; issue assignats, or cease to pay but I have taken this view, be the interest of the Debt in full: cause it explains the reasons for you have sworn that you will do the resistance to those salutary neither of these: there we are, measures which I now propose, then, at issue; and a very few and which stand described and months, perhaps, will decide the recorded in the memorable Norquestion between us; and thus folk petition. But, what puzzles will end the efforts of the instinc-me exceedingly is, the grounds tive combination, carried on for upon which you reckon on escapthree-and-twenty years! ing from being compelled, at last, But, though this question will to acknowledge me your master. be decided, our affair does not A stone tossed up in the air will not there end. Our destiny, as I more assuredly find its way to the once before told you, has not yet ground, than your system will done with us. These twenty-find its way to a state of pròstrathree years of most tremendous tion. I must triumph over you. deeds; of wrongs and of sufferings It is not in nature that I should unparalleled in any country upon fail. You can coin your body earth seat-selling, power-of-into sovereigns as easily as you imprisonment bills; dungeon-in-can continue to pay the interest demnities; the revered and rup- of the debt in full in a currency of tured Ogden; Castles, Oliver, gold. Trick after trick, contriv ance after contrivance, may be magogues in Parliament; that put in motion; miserable respites you liked to see them there, bemay be obtained; delusion may cause they soon found their level still do something; but, LAVEN- and became insignificant. Now, DER, the late London thief-taker, Mr. Canning, let me put your and GRIMSHAW, the Mayor of sincerity to the test: you know Preston, can cause victuals and (aye, as well as any man you drink to go in abundance into the know) of my late adventures at dwellings of the unfortunate wea- Preston; you know the infinite vers and spinners of Lancashire, pains that I have taken to get as easily as you and your col-face to face with you; you know leagues can pay the full interest of the debt in a currency of silver and gold. that of right the seat was mine; you know by what means I am, for the present, kept out of it; if, then, you be sincere in your wish to have demagogues in Parliament, and a demagogue you have called me; if you be sincere in this, now is the time to show your sincerity! All the world says that something must be done: I have said, and I still say, that I would not be two months in the House, before I would submit to it a bill, calculated, in my opinion, to make the nation once more happy and free, and particularly to You do not believe this? Is it so? So much the worse for you if it be so; for, your surprise and mortification will be the greater. We are now living amongst the last tricks and contrivances of the system. It is in the very nature of this system to produce, in the end, starvation in the midst of plenty. This is its peculiar attribute. It is now producing this effect; but this is its end; like the viper, which naturalists tell us of, as being of so very poison-sweep away all the present emous a nature all through that it barrassments, dangers, and sufkills itself generally by biting its ferings. My opinions, you know, own tail. So this system, having are opposed to yours upon the first destroyed every thing within subject; I am ready to face you its reach, will finish with the de- in that assembly where you have stroying of itself. at all times a decided majority; In conclusion, Sir, let me re- I am ready and willing to expose mind you that you have frequent-myself to the risk, if such risk ly said that you liked to see de- there be, of being put down, laughed at, rendered the scorn of if you do not give me the seat, you those whom I have hitherto so cordially despised. Come, then, if you and your colleagues have a manly sentiment in your minds; come, I say, GIVE ME A SEAT; place me within reach of the lash that you have in store for demagogues; place me where I shall find my level," and be sunk for ever! Nay, answer me not with a fool-born jest ;" and, above all things, do not use the ridiculously hypocritical pretence, that I am not a man that you wish to demolish. How gladly, alas! would you see that demolition! At any rate, whatever the fact may be, the public belief is, that you and all your colleagues, though you may wish me no harm, would feel much more comfortable than you do now, if you could hear that my bones were as dry as those of old Tommy Paine, who out-lived Pitt, after all the hectoring of the latter, and his threats against the former. No: it is in vain for you to pretend that you would not wish to see me extinguished. That would be nonsense, because nobody would believe you. Not a single creature in the whole kingdom would believe you, if you were to take your oaths of it; therefore, may depend upon it, that the public will believe, that you do not think that you could put me down. This is what the public will think; so that, you secure my triumph over you, by refusing me the seat. What I myself expect upon this score, I will not say. 1 would fain hope for the best; and, a regard for your reputation rather than a regard for my own convenience or advantage, induces me to say that I really do wish that you may act the part which would become that "liberality" of sentiment, which Mr. Brougham and other of the gentlemen opposite ascribe to you, in order to mortify the Lord Chancellor! Be the really liberal man, Sir: be liberal for the sake of fair play, and not for the sake of mortifying the Lord Chancellor. Let me into the House, and you shall see such work amongst rats of all sorts as you never saw before. One thing, I can tell you, and that is, that if you do not let me in, at the opening of the Parliament, or thereabouts, it will not be long before I shall walk in myself in spite of you. This I verily believe. Seeing what you have seen; knowing, as you do, the history of the last twenty-three WM. COBBETT. POOR FORTIES! years; hearing me assert what I stands the question between us : that now assert; knowing that there question, as I have stated it above, are even millions of people in must now be decided in a time this kingdom that firmly believe comparatively short; and, when in my capacity to put all things that time comes, then shall I have to rights; why, were it only to from this long-deluded and longundeceive these millions of peo-suffering people; then shall both ple, it is a duty in you to put me you and I receive full and cominto the Parliament, and let the plete justice for the parts that we people see that I have nothing in have severally acted during the me. If you believe, on the con- last twenty-three years, of the acts trary, that I have something in me, of the first of which years it was if you believe that I really could the principal object of this Letter suggest some great measure that to remind you. a vast majority of the nation would approve of; if you believe this, then to keep me out of the Parliament, or not to put me into the Parliament, would really be a crime, a high crime and misdemeanor committed against the nation. If, indeed, you could compelled to labour like a horse, persuade yourselves, that there is nobody worth speaking of, that has any opinion of my talents or my plans; then there would be no neglect of duty in you to let me remain where I am; but, it is impossible for you to persuade yourselves of this: you may delude yourselves very far; but you cannot carry self-delusion to this point. The truth is, you do not believe this; and, therefore, it is your duty, especially after all your challenges, to bring me face to face with you. There, however, THE readers of the Register will not have forgotten that I was in 1824, to defend the poor Forty Shilling Freeholders against the deadly attempts of Mr. O'Con NELL, and his man, BRIC, and their "able and illustrious friend,” BURDETT; that there was not, under the sky, a name in use, an epithet or term, that is foul and degrading, and infamous, that they, and particularly BRIC, did not apply to the poor Forties; that they asserted, that the right of voting in the forties was injurious to the freedom and happiness of Ireland, and also to the Catho lic cause; that Mr. O'Connell de- " he had made this concession, he "maintained his own private opi"nion. He no longer did so— "that opinion was now totally changed [cheers] He had "formed it upon antecedent state"ments; he had since witnessed clared all this, and a great deal more, even upon his oath; that he and his man, especially, abused“ every one who opposed their project of disfranchisement; that they called " poor JACK LAWLESS an under-growler ;" and that they spared, as far as their noisy tongues could reach, nobody that" religion and their country; he facts that proved to him that he "had been in the wrong. He had "seen the spirit and patriotism " evinced by that portion of the "lower classes in defence of their "had seen them break those fet"ters which he imagined chained "them to the earth, and after witIrish" nessing such a glorious sight, he now declared that he would The "not accept emancipation cou→ not pled with any conditions that and would tend to deprive the fortyshilling freeholders of their "elective franchise [cheers.] This 66 66 opinion was not founded on spe"culative theories-it was the re"sult of facts. He was con opposed this their project for getfing silk gowns on their backs by bartering the rights of the Freeholders for those gowns. Readers of the Register will have forgotten these things, therefore they will be amused with what I am now going to insert. "FROM THE DUBLIN MORNREGISTER. Yesterday, "(about 1st July,) pursuant to firmed in it by the glorious re"sults of the contests in Water"requisition, a very numerous "meeting of Catholic Gentlemen" ford, Louth, Monaghan, West"was held at the Corn Exchange" meath, Armagh, and Dublin. "Hotel. Messrs. O'Connell, Sheil, "No misconduct of any portion of "O'Gorman, and Bric, "them could alter his opinion. "loudly applauded on their en"tering the room. At half-past "three o'clock, upon the motion "of Mr. O'Connell, ING were "JOHN BRIC, Esq. was call 66 He was not enamoured with the "state of the elective franchise in every particular, but the fortyshilling freeholders formed the "best part of it; and if it re 66 "ed to the Chair. "Mr. O'Gorman was appointed "Secretary. "Mr. O'CONNELL said, that" the following 'Resolution:"he would not let a moment pass "till he had "TATION' [cheers.] He had "hitherto allowed it to be entered" "as read, that in supporting the " "Freehold Wing, as it was called, "he had been wrong; but though quired revision, it was for the "purpose, not of curtailing, but "extending its principle. Mr. "O'Connell concluded by moving "That we deem it our duty, 66 READ HIS RECAN- publicly and solemnly to declare, "that we will not accept of Emancipation accompanied by any infringement whatsoever on the Elective Franchise of the Fortyshilling Freeholders. |