subject; the
press, whether quarterly, monthly, weekly, or daily, of all classes
and shades of political opinions, is unanimous upon the subject; in
society, whether high or low, the subject is never broached, except to
enquire whether any one can, for one moment, seriously believe the
Repeal of the Union to be possible. In Ireland itself, the vast
majority of the intellect, wealth, and respectability of the island,
without distinction of religion or politics, entertains the same
opinion and determination which prevail in Great Britain. Is Mr
O'Connell ignorant of all this? He knows it as certainly as he knows
that Queen Victoria occupies the throne of these realms; and yet, down
to his very last appearance in public, he has solemnly and
perseveringly asseverated that the Repeal of the Union is an
absolutely certain and inevitable event, and one that will happen
within a few months! _Is he in his senses?_ If so, he is speaking from
his knowledge of some vast and dreadful conspiracy, which he has
organized himself, which has hitherto escaped detection. The idea is
too monstrous to be entertained for a moment. What, then, can Mr
O'Connell be about? Our opinion is, that his sole object in setting on
foot the Repeal agitation, was to increase his pecuniary resources,
and at the same time overthrow Sir Robert Peel's Government, by
showing the Queen and the nation that his admitted "_chief_
difficulty"--Ireland--was one _insuperable_; and that he must
consequently retire. We believe, moreover, that he is, to a certain
extent, acting upon a secret understanding with the party of the late
Government, who, however, never contemplated matters being carried to
their present pitch; but that the Ministry would long ago have
retired, terrified before the tremendous "demonstration" in Ireland.
We feel as certain as if it were a past event, that, had the desperate
experiment succeeded so far as to replace the present by the late
Government, Mr O'Connell's intention was to have announced his
determination to "_give England_ ONE MORE trial"--to place Repeal once
more in abeyance--in order to see whether England would really, at
length, do "_justice_ to _Ireland_;" in other words, restore the
halcyon days of Lord Normanby's nominal, and Mr O'Connell's real, rule
in Ireland, and enable him, by these means, to provide for himself,
his family, and dependents; for old age is creeping rapidly upon
him--his physical powers are no longer equal t