Page:A letter to the Right Hon. Chichester Fortescue, M.P. on the state of Ireland.djvu/46

 of any age, kept the people of Ireland on the verge of insurrection, at once denouncing with furious invective the British Government, and forbidding to the people the use of physical force. He was completely successful, and the measure of Roman Catholic Relief was as much Mr. O'Connell's work, as the Repeal of the Corn Laws was Mr. Cobden's, and the Reform Bill of 1867 was Mr. Bright's.

Some evils were sure to arise from the long delay of justice in regard to the Roman Catholic Relief Act, and from the manner in which it was carried. Mr. O'Connell at once began a new agitation for the Repeal of the Union. That excellent prelate, Archbishop Murray, on the first mention of this subject, observed sensibly to Mr. O'Connell that in Catholic Emancipation he was assisted by half England, whereas, on the question of Repeal, he would have the whole of England strongly opposed to him. Mr. O'Connell's reply was, 'You will see that I shall carry Repeal more easily than Emancipation.' But the Archbishop's foresight was fully justified. Lord Althorp, soon after taking office, declared with emphasis that he would resist to the utmost the dismemberment of the Empire; the whole Whig party followed him in a strenuous and successful opposition to the proposal of Repeal. Yet many years were wasted in this sterile agitation, and the beneficial effects which might have been expected in 1801, did not speedily follow the enactment of 1829. Still, when the benefits which have flowed from that measure are considered, they will be found to have been