ed for years on the vitals
of the country, but had been for some time kept at bay by the universal
energy of the public mind, were again hallooed into action. In addition
to these were introduced new forces from every quarter, but principally
from the old aristocratic families, who had monopolized for a century
the power and wealth of the country. On the memorable night when Mr.
Flood presented to the House the petition of the Convention, was made
the grand effort which was to decide whether the will of the nation or
that of the old faction should govern. The latter was victorious. The
people, with the characteristic levity of their nation, repulsed in this
great effort, for the present, at least, shrunk back from the contest.
The victorious party, possessing means of the most extensive and
corrupting influence, strained them to the utmost; and gaining ground
from that moment on the sense of the nation on that main point, have
continued triumphantly and insolently to prostrate the people of
Ireland. Every thinking and steady Irishman, however, retained his
opinion as to the necessity of reform, and continued by the few means in
his power, to promote it. At this point, then, commenced the separation
between the Irish administration with their partisans in Parliament and
the Irish people, and from that time they have gone in directly opposite
directions.

Such, Englishmen, is another of the crimes with which we are charged,
and for which the highest law authority in our country has declared we
merit to be deprived of all the benefits of the British constitution!
For this we have been called a sottish, an insatiable, and tumultuous
people--and to punish us for this offence the world has been told we
deserve all those horrible calamities which, year after year, since that
time have been inflicted on us!

I have already said, that the people and the parliamentary supporters of
administration separated from the moment when the Irish House of Commons
extinguished the public hope on the important measure of parliamentary
reform. The grand argument urged by the House of Commons against a
reform at that time was, that it would be a surrender of the dignity and
independence of the legislature to adopt a measure proposed to it on the
point of a bayonet. The Convention proved the malice of the argument by
the manner in which they bore the insulting rejection of their petition:
having discharged the duty which they were created to p