CHAPTER XXX.

Influence of Toryism on the Repeal-O'Connell's Remarks on Religion in Ireland and France-Respective Influences of Democracy and Absolute Monarchy upon Religion-Catholicity in Scotland-Troops by Steam-O'Connell's Reply to the Threat-Paul Jones-O'Connell on Religious Persecution.

It was not easy to create any lasting depression of O'Connell's spirits. When defeated in the contest for Dublin, he said, "I fretted away all my fretting last night I've got rid of it now." And he declared in Cork (for which county, as well as for Meath, he was forthwith returned), that so far from being discouraged by the Tory victories at the hustings, his "Tu ne cede malis, sed contra audentior ito." We often conversed on our political prospects. His hopes of ultimate success were sanguine. He would not despond for one moment. It was his constitutional impulse, as well as his policy, to look at the sunny side of things.

motto was,

"This resumption of power by the Tories," said

he, "will help on the Repeal. We will now have many good recruits."

"I rather think not," said I. "Men will stand aloof. They will be afraid to join us. The Tories will put Orangemen upon the Bench, and the fears and self-interest of timid men will make them shrink from agitation."

"You are quite mistaken," said he. "There is no law against our agitation."

an Algerine Act to put down the Repealers."

"Bah! The rules of the House would enable me for one session to defend Ireland against any such attempt."

"But not for two sessions," said I.

"By the end of the first," rejoined O'Connell, "the iniquity of the attempt would have accumulated around me such a strong reinforcement of the friends of freedom, that they could not dare to pass such an act."

"I doubt that very much," said I. "Our Irish agitation will be such a formidable obstruction to Peel, that he will try to put it down at all hazards. And as the friends of freedom, I place no reliance at all upon the English portion of them. They will look on with great composure at an effort to gag us, in which a great many of them will secretly sym

pathise. Do not you remember their conduct in 1833?"

that

Now," said O'Connell, "my view of what is probable is so different from yours, that I dare say Peel won't even try coercion. I do assure you I fear his affectation of liberality and moderation much more than his direct hostility."

"His supporters will make him try coercion."

"Oh, he will try the appearance of candour and liberality. But even if an Algerine Act were passed, I could agitate under it. We could have constant separate meetings. And under the Coercion Bill of 1833, I got up an association for charitable purposes. Peel's great Irish difficulty will be to restrain the excesses of his hot-brained Orange friends here."

One day I met at O'Connell's house M. l'Abbé Le Grand, a Parisian clergyman, who called on him to solicit hissupport to a Catholic journal. The state of religion in France and in Ireland was talked of. O'Connell said that the agitation of the Irish Liberal party had long been looked on with great suspicion at Rome, where the word "liberal" was held to be akin to "atheist."

"I do not wonder at their mistake," he continued. "In France, the party who called themselves 'liberal,' openly assailed Christianity, and laboured to

uproot all religion. But the Pope is now convinced that there is no similarity in this respect between the liberals of Ireland and those of the French Revolution. His Holiness knows there are not in the world Catholics more attached to their religion, than are those who in Ireland are struggling for political liberty. In fact, the democratic spirit is more favourable to the cause of morality and religion, than the monarchical. In a democratic state, where electoral power belongs to the people, success in the objects of public ambition necessarily becomes, in a great measure, a question of personal preference. The public at large will rather commit their interests to the keeping of a man whom they believe to be under the influence of honest moral principle, than to a notorious vagabond, or scoffer at religion. A candidate for public favour in a democratic state would have little or no chance of success, if it could be established that he was a blackleg, a seducer, or in any way notoriously immoral. But this is not the case in a monarchy. Look at your Louis Quartorze. Look at the pre-eminently infamous reign of Louis XV! Why, not only was morality of no advantage to the candidate for court favour and patronage, but, in point of fact, it was a positive disadvantage! The aspirant for place and power

throve all the better for openly trampling under foot all religion and all moral principle. His chance of success was enhanced in proportion to the greatness of his profligacy. The court was thoroughly and perfectly corrupt. They laughed at religion, and set at nought its precepts. They gave the same evil tone to society. The Church, being burdened with the smothering alliance of a corrupt state, was unable to check the torrent of licentiousness and infidelity."

O'Connell then said that religion had made considerable progress in Ireland.

"I remember," said he, "that twenty-five or thirty years ago, you did not see more than, perhaps, twenty male communicants twice a year. How changed are these things now! Every Sunday you will see many more than you then saw at Easter or Christmas; and this is, at all events, an evidence that the persons who communicate, intend, at least, that they will not live in sin."

Speaking of the Tory organs who threatened Ireland with their implacable hostility, O'Connell said : "What greater insanity can there be, than to enlist against themselves the hatred of Ireland-the right arm of the empire-the nursery for sailors and soldiers! And, moreover, there is scarcely a large town in Great Britain, where there is not a