vincial meeting of last August; and frequently answered with the finger on the mouth, and a significant smile and wink from the by-standers.' Thus collected, and thus disposed, one hundred and forty thousand men accompanied Mr. Lawless to the town of Ballibay; and a large military force, headed by a general whom Sir Robert Peel styled the bravest of the brave,' and who may be said to deserve that epithet, when discretion is not the better part of valour, waited on this mighty multitude. It has been even said that the brave commander (I mean of his majesty's forces) solicited that the great army of the Association should have free passage. Three thousand Orangemen, whose numbers were increased to five thousand, resolved to contest the passage. They had fears which brave men may entertain, but a resolution which was not to be overcome, so long as they could maintain it. I pass from the subject, because it is one on which there is a difficulty of speaking, with the necessary calmness; but I cannot leave it without affirming, that if Mr. Samuel Gray, the civilian who directed the course which the Orangemen pursued on that most eventful occasion, had not been possessed of more wisdom than the gallant general who undertook to give him advice; and if he had not, relying on the heroic resolution of the little band that assembled to guard their homes from pillage and profanation, denied any passage to a barbarous multitude, except such as they could make in the face of Protestant resistance, and over Protestant carcasses, that day would have been the beginning of evils in the north; and ferocious excesses would be, perhaps, for long years after, the curse of Ulster. Whatever there was of bad or vindictive feeling would be called into action, by the communications of those whose terror had been felt in the southern districts; and as

the resistance would have been spirited, the destruction would have been incalculable. Better than the general, Mr. Gray knew this; and he is well entitled to the praise he has received for having stopped the progress of insurrection, and for having effected his great object without the commission of a single excess by which his triumph could be tarnished.

The expedition of Mr. Lawless failed; the North was not to be terrified; perhaps it might be agitated. An agitator was announced to enact his part in Dungannon. The Orange lodges assembled to form a portion of the audience, and he found it expedient to depart. No performance.

He appeared in Armagh; but the Orangemen also appeared; another disappointment. Did any excess mar their triumphs? Not the slightest. No, nor the slightest ill-will; not even personal dislike to the learned individual whose operations were thus peacefully impeded. On the contrary, he is well esteemed by many Orangemen, and has, on more than one occasion, successfully, and to their great satisfaction, been employed as counsel on their behalf. But they knew the perilous consequences of agitation; they saw them in the state of the south; and while they never interfered to prevent assemblages, or processions, or commemorations of the Roman Catholics amongst whom they lived, they were resolved that the spirit of Munster disturbances should not be free to introduce its sanguinary code, and its discipline of assassination."

Thus it was that the spirit of the Orange system prevented a catastrophe which would, I venture to assert, have converted the North into a sea of blood. Had the system not been at that time in active operation, the Protestants would not have had that sense of conscious strength which enabled them to present a bold front to the audacious invaders; nor could those invaders have been inspired with the salutary dread and terror that laid hold upon them, by any thing short of the spirit and the determination which animated the gallant band who were resolved to dispute with them the Thermopyle of Protestant Ireland. Mr. Lawless and his multitude, accordingly, retired, and the North was left in peace. He rage, and I am sure he does not want is, himself, a man full of personal coufore I am ready to believe that he is its usual concomitant, humanity. Therehimself rejoiced at the issue of that expedition, and would have been one of the first to deplore the excesses to which it might have led; but for their prevention he is indebted not more to his own prudence, than to the vigilance and the valour of the Orangemen of Ireland.

Nor was the firmness of this body more remarkable than their moderation. They were well content with their peaceful triumph. The assailants were suffered to go their way, unmolested by even a menace or an insult. The brave Orangemen were satisfied with acting the part of faithful and steady

sentinels, and retired quietly to their domestic avocations, as soon as they had witnessed the departure of the myriads whose insulting approach threatened them with so much danger. They were mindful of the end of their organization, which was defence and not aggression; and while they felt additional cause for glorying in the bond of brotherhood, by which they were then enabled to withstand such formidable assailants, they also felt that their character might be compromised, and their triumph tarnished, if they indulged in any reprisals. It is, therefore, to their organization, and the peculiar constitution of their society, we must ascribe not only the energy and the courage which enabled them to resist popish aggression, but also the wisdom and the forbearance which limited their resistance to self-defence, and reconciled their feelings as Orangemen, when in a state of the very highest excitement, with their duty as good subjects.

The truth is, that the state of the country caused a vast accession of the loyalty, the wealth, and the respectability of the country to the Orange Institution. The very humblest of its members felt proud of a bond of connection by which they were brought into brotherly union with the very highest and the noblest in the land; and there was a natural anxiety on their part not to prove unworthy of such a distinction. They were, therefore, cautious, not only for their own sakes, but for the sake of the order to which they belonged, to avoid every act of intemperance which might cause their body to be "evil spoken of;" and it may be safely affirmed, that many of them might, as individuals, have been led into a violence of opposition to Roman Catholics, from which, as Orangemen, they were restrained. Their enemies (whose insulting and savage malevolence has been manifested almost in the same degree in which it was without the shadow of excuse) have often imputed to them crimes and atrocities which were alike abhorrent to their principles and feelings; but it has almost invariably turned out, not only that these were not the work of Orangemen, but that, had the individuals engaged in them been Orangemen, they never would

have been committed. It has, however, suited the purposes of a desperate and dangerous faction to accumulate upon the heads of this constitutional body a load of imputations, which, if the truth were known, should have been shared between themselves and such unorganized Protestants as were liable to be provoked by their violence, or wrought upon by their delusions.

It is a well known fact, that, in many instances, threatening notices have been served upon individuals, as if by Orangemen, which were only intended to bring that body into suspicion and disesteem, and which, in reality, proceeded from the opposite party.

At Lord Mulgrave's first visit to the theatre, a vast number of letters were despatched to individual Protestants and Orangemen, calling upon them to attend, and make a public demonstration of their hostility to the present government. But the forgeries were, almost in every instance detected, and this "weak invention of the enemy" failed to produce any other effect than that of putting the loyal party on their guard against them.

The late affair at Belfast, on the twelfth of July, is another case in point. A triumphal arch was erected by a few poor women and boys, with whom the Orangemen were wholly unconnected. Our gallant soldiery were ordered to fire upon them, and the blood that was shed was said to have been occasioned by Orange infatuation and violence. But the charge has been triumphantly refuted by the published resolutions of the Orangemen of Belfast, who had resolved not to commemorate the festival in any manner that could be construed into a violation of the law, and who defied their enemies to fasten upon any member of their body any participation in the proceedings which led to such a lamentable result. Alas! that an innocent demonstration of joy for our deliverance by King William, should have been the signal for legal murder!

I must, however, say, that in one respect, the Orangemen have been greatly wanting to themselves. They are without any authorised and responsible organ, by which their proceedings might be vindicated, and their principles defended. In this country they

owe great obligations to the Warder and Mail; both of which papers have ever exhibited a promptitude and an ability in their cause, which should excite their gratitude and admiration. This has been done, notwithstanding that these papers have had to encounter the reproach to which the Orange system was exposed, without that degree of support from the Orangemen, as a body, to which, for such valuable assistance, they were so well entitled, The Protestant community, in general, are the patrons of our conservative journals, and the aid which they have given to the Orangemen, in particular, has often been at the risque of compromising themselves with the general reader; and while this should enhance such services in the estimation of those for whom they were wrought, it should also impress upon them the necessity of providing, in some more certain, efficacious, and permanent manner, for the only species of advocacy by which they can now hope to defeat the malice and to triumph over the wickedness of their enemies.

Nothing can now withstand a general conspiracy of the press; and Orangemen may be well convinced that the wounds which their institution has received can only be healed by a weapon somewhat similar to that by which they have been inflicted.

But there are many who may say, the Orange Institution was certainly necessary in its origin, and has been justified by its effects. It neutralized the virus of rebellion in 1798, and counteracted the machinations of treason in 1803. But is it, at present, necessary? Has not the time arrived when it may do more harm than good, or when, at least, its organization may be dispensed with?

I must, in candour, answer-no. The very same spirit now exists which necessitated its origin, and the very same practices are now to be opposed, by which its principles were justified, and its organization rendered indispensible. Indeed, the only difference is, that the disloyal party have now got more power, and ostentatiously identify themselves with the government of the country.

When John Knox was accused, before the Scottish council, of recommending what was called an extraor

dinary meeting of the brethren, he defended his conduct by former prece dents, by which, if he were then guilty, the conduct of his judges and accusers could not be justified. Nay," said Secretary Maitland, then was then, and now is now." "I see no differ ence," rejoined the intrepid reformer, "between then and now, except that now the devil has got a visor upon his face. Before he came in open tyranny, and then, I think that you will allow, the brethren rightfully assembled themselves in defence of their lives. Now he comes after another manner, seeking by cunning and artifice to do that which he could not accomplish in his own strength." The effect was electrical; the council were struck dumb; the people were excited to an active resistance to meditated oppression, and they never put off the harness until they accomplished the Scottish reformation.

The case is somewhat different with us. When the Orange Institution arose, the wolf wore sheep's clothing, and it was under this disguise that he hoped to be able to ravage the flock. He was defeated and humbled; and in his defeat and humiliation there were some who saw grounds for expecting such a mitigation of his ferocity as should render him no longer dangerous. He was too cunning not to encourage this delusion, and is now fain to expect credit for the tenderest concern for those whom he meditates to make his victims. But he has thrown off disguise-he appears in his native character-and, whoever else may be deceived, the Orangemen do not believe that he has changed his nature. Shall they, therefore, remit precaution because he has thrown off disguise, and is now, in some sort, a favourite with those who ought to be their natural protectors. Forbid it, common sense! They must know full well that his hostility is still as unmitigated as ever, and that when they before contended with him, they contended for supremacy; but the contest now is a contest for existence.

No one can be blind to the coming contest. Popery is again struggling for ascendency in this country, and that with greater advantages than she possessed at any former time. How is she to be resisted? By pulverising

the Protestant union? By disuniting and dispersing her adversaries, so that individually they can be of no avail? No; but by reinvigorating their combination, by holding before them the adage of the bundle of sticks, and thus eausing them to be consolidated into impregnable bodies, and scattered like masses of granite over the surface of the country, instead of existing like so many heaps of sand.

And small must be his knowledge of human nature who does not know that, if they be not formed into combinations of one kind, they will be formed into combinations of another; that if they be not zealously for the institutions of the country, they will be zealously against them. Politically, as well as physically, large masses attract in proportion to their magnitude; and nothing but the Orange confederacy prevents a vast number of Protestants being absorbed with that portentous conspiracy which, under the pretence of a repeal of the union, meditates the dismemberment of the empire. There are many considerations lying upon the surface which would be quite sufficient to swell the ranks of O'Connell's followers, if a counteracting agency had not been brought into play, which more than suffices to impair their influence. The repeal of the union is a national object, and might, upon that ground alone, be made to assume a most plausible aspect. England has abandoned her garrison; and there are many who might say, and some who might think, that it is no longer either wise or patriotic to keep up the cry of "No Surrender." The church has been all but deposed-she has been rifled and mutilated, and that under the direction of a British parliament, bound by the most sacred obligations to cherish and preserve her. These are topics upon which the advocates of repeal might loudly expatiate. They might point to her murdered clergy-her desecrated churches-her proscribed and persecuted people, some of them in exile, others preparing to follow, while those whose destiny condemns them still to linger in their native land, at evening say, would to God it were morning; and at morning, would to God it were evening, for very weariness of a persecuted existence. Such being the blessings of British

connexion and British rule, and there being no such thing as Orange organization, what answer could they make to those who might tempt them by the bait of repeal? I know of none. The repeal project would act upon them with the fascination of the rattlesnake, and they would be either drawn by the plausibilities of the demagogue, or driven by the very recklessness of their own condition to be the pledged adherents of the worst enemies of the prosperity of Ireland and the wellbeing of the empire.

But Orangeism is an anti-septic to all such contagious insinuations. The Orangem in knows well, that by falling in with the views of O'Connell, he would not only be acting against the weal of England, but contributing to the establishment of a domestic des potism the most galling and ruthless that could be imposed upon his native land; and therefore he bears up under all the oppressions which he at present endures, and resists all the temptations that can be presented to him with a view to seduce him from his allegiance. This he could never do in his own strength alone. As a solitary individual, he must sink under the power, or be drawn away by the alluring plausibilities of his adversaries. But, as a member of a great and powerful confederacy, comprising in it much of the wealth, the worth, and the nobility of the land, he bids them a proud defi ance; and, strong in the consciousness of a good cause, he is prepared to abide the issue without fear, "until this tyranny be overpast.” He cannot believe that England will always, or much longer, continue deaf to the claims, or insensible to the sufferings of her afflicted brethren in this country. Her honor and interest are both too deeply concerned, to permit, much longer, a desperate faction to practise their wicked devices for our undoing ; and he is thus encouraged to persevere in a righteous resistance to the oppres sors, in the sure and certain hope that, however they may be defeated for a time, his constitutional exertions must be ultimately successful. But let Orangeism be put down-let its lodges be broken up, and its members scattered abroad, and nothing remains to give him confidence and courage in the contest in which he is called upon

to engage, while every thing must tend to deceive or to dishearten him, until he insensibly becomes either the victim or the accomplice of the enemies of Protestantism and of the constitution. From this consummation, so devoutly to be deprecated, he is saved by the protective influence of this much-calumniated institution. It operates like a species of political vaccination, and supersedes, by a mild and wholesome constitutional excitement, a malady which might otherwise prove dangerous, if not deadly. Let it be dispensed with, and the virus of the political poison will soon manifest itself with a force and a malignity that cannot be resisted.

The great offence of the Orange Institution, in the eyes of those who desire its overthrow, is, that it affords a purchase, as it were, to the maintainers of sound, conservative principles, by which the throne and the altar have hitherto been preserved against the daring assaults of unscrupulous assailants. It gives a unity and consistency, a steadiness and a force, to the efforts of the friends of social order, similar to that which political unions and reform associations have given to its enemies. Therefore they wish it destroyed, that they may proceed in their work of demolition without disturb ance; for they can apprehend but little interruption from the isolated efforts of scattered individuals. Now, when it is considered that the reform mania is as natural to politicians in their nonage, as the teething fever is to children of two or three years old, it is scarcely necessary to employ any artificial stimulants for its production. It is inevitably incidental to the crude state of their political knowledge, however it may be modified by the peculiarity of their tempers, or the character of their minds. A jealousy of rank, an apprehension of tyranny, a love of popular distinction, a disposition to spy out defects and to exaggerate evils in the existing order of things; these all belong to that restless, busy, meddling race of men who constitute the class denominated reformers. There needs no especial pains to excite the elements of discontent, which are always found in sufficient abundance, amidst an ignorant and an indigent population; but the contrary of all this, namely, a love of order, a respect for dignities, a

veneration for established institutions, a clear perception of the difference between change and improvement, and a lively horror of the proceedings of those who, under the pretext of reform, would destroy; these are not feelings or sentiments to which men in general are naturally prone; and therefore it is the more necessary that they should be embodied in clubs and associations, having for their object the propagation of that sound political knowledge by which the machinations of the demagogue and the incendiary might be defeated. There being, then, a natural tendency to such combinations as are unconstitutional, and which may be productive of evil, and a natural indisposition to such combinations as are constitutional, and which may be productive of good, upon what plea of policy can we discourage the latter while we encourage the former; and why should Orangeism be repressed; while political unions are promoted?

It is very easy to understand why the destructives are opposed to an institution which must offer to their designs such serious obstructions; it is very easy to understand why papists should hate an institution which, as long as it exists, will not suffer the love of Protestantism to wax cold; it is very easy to understand why Orangemen should incur the peculiar detestation of the advocates of a repeal of the union. All these classes must be possessed by an instinctive antipathy towards them, as the great, if not the only obstacle to the attainment of the ends upon which they are severally bent. But, that loyal and enlightened men should so far fall in with the views of their enemies as to entertain distrust or aversion towards a body of individuals, associated as the Orangemen are, upon the strictest principles of self-defence, and for the maintenance of social order, argues, in my mind, a kind of mental alienation. It resembles the conduct of the idiot traveller who put the drag on his carriage when it was going up the hill, and took it off when it was going down. Conservative feelings and principles are, as it were, hot-bed plants which require to be cherished; their opposites resemble weeds which require to be repressed. And there are those who call themselves conservative statesmen at the present day, who seem bent upon destroying the best nurseries of the former,