Repeal of the Union Author:Daniel O'Connell Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: WEDNESDAY, 23d. On the 23d, Mr. Spring Rice having moved the order of the day for resuming the Adjourned Debate, proceeded to address the House as follows:— ... more » Though fully sensible that upon no other occasion could any Honourable Member have stood more in need of the indulgence of the House than he did at present, yet that conviction should not induce him to trespass on their time by any lengthened prefatory observations, for the purpose of bespeaking that indulgence. He felt deeply the responsibility which he had assumed in taking on himself the duty of replying to the speech of the Learned Member; at the same time it was a responsibility which was connected with the performance of duty ; and even though he should personally fail, he might receive some consolation from a consciousness that he might not shrink from the performance of his duty. [Cheers.] The question which was now before them could not— because it ought not—be met by a simple negative. But before proceeding further, he had to express his regret—he did not make any complaint—that the Learned Member who made this motion was not now in his place. [Loud cries of Hear.] It had been intimated to him that his absence was occasioned by indisposition, and therefore he did not complain of that absence; but he referred to it for the purpose of stating at the outset, that whilst there was no question which he should have thought it necessary to agitate, and no observation which he should have made in his presence, which he should not feel it his duty to agitate or to make in his absence,—so also the Learned Member and his Friends might rest assured that he should not utter one single observation in his absence, which he should not have been perfectly ready to make in his presence. [Loud cheering.] He had said that this ...« less