em well; and I
know, at the same time, that whatever is good in them, they owe to
themselves; whatever is bad in them, they owe to you, and to your bad
government." Mr. Grattan accused the English Tories of "running about
like old women in search of old prejudices; _preferring to buy foreign
allies by subsidies, rather than to subsidize fellow-subjects by
privileges."_ He might have said by justice, for the Irish have never
asked for privileges; they ask simply for the same justice as is shown
to English subjects. Mr. Foster, the last Speaker of the Irish House of
Commons, declared that, "under the Union Act, by compact, the Protestant
boroughs were suppressed, and a compensation of L1,400,000 paid to
Protestant owners, and not one shilling to the Catholics."

O'Connell came prominently forward as a leader of the Catholic party in
1810. A meeting was held in the Royal Exchange, Dublin, to petition for
Repeal of the Union, at which the High Sheriff of that city presided,
and many distinguished men were present--a proof that, however corrupted
Irish Parliaments may have been by English gold, there was still some
advantage to be gained to the country by possessing even a partial
independence. O'Connell's speech was published, and circulated widely.
To give the full details of his career as a leader of the people, would
require a volume the size of the present work; to give even a
sufficiently comprehensive outline, would require several chapters: I
can but hope that some able hand will take up the subject, and with
equal earnestness do I hope that it may be some one really capable of
doing justice to it. One who would write the "Life and Times of
O'Connell" as such a work should be written, would require to bring more
than ordinary abilities to the task, and would deserve, at the hands of
his countrymen, the highest expression of gratitude which they could
give. Such a work would be incomparably the noblest monument which could
be dedicated to his memory.

[Illustration: O'Connell refusing to take the Oath.]

The Clare election is undoubtedly the culminating point in O'Connell's
career. Men stood aghast in amazement at the boldness of the man who
presumed to make such an attempt. Even his friends could scarcely
believe that he was in earnest, or that he was wise. His success was a
splendid example of what the energy and determination of one single man
could accomplish. Well might the Lord Chancellor declare that "this
b