Page:A letter to the Right Hon. Chichester Fortescue, M.P. on the state of Ireland.djvu/86



now given an outline of the history of the Imperial Policy towards Ireland for the last forty years, of the grievances which yet remain—the broken links of a chain which galled the Irish people for more than two centuries—and of the remedial measures which, in my opinion, are still required to give to Ireland the equality promised by Mr. Pitt when he gave her the semblance of a union with Great Britain.

But there are two things required to carry measures, even of the utmost importance and the greatest public benefit, in Parliament. The one of these is a tide of public opinion sufficiently strong to bear along with it to the ocean of oblivion the old prejudices, the traditional stock of arguments, and the private interests which block up the river, and convert the wholesome current of legislation into a stagnant pool. The other requisite is a man or men fit to take the lead to direct the course to be pursued in Parliament, to digest the information received, and to frame the measures to be recommended.

In regard to the first requisite, it may be remarked, that public opinion in this country is apt to be long quiescent and suddenly impetuous. From 1820 to 1830, there was scarcely any apparent movement on