He had no doubt upon
the subject. It is a maxim that all pledges and tests are to be taken in
the sense and in the spirit of the person who gives or proposes the
tests, otherwise they should be refused to be accepted. Now, my father
moved these resolutions this day fortnight, in order to bring back to
men's minds the principles on which this Association is founded--in
order to remove from gentlemen any real ground of complaint, if they
find in this Hall an opposition to their doctrine of physical force, by
shelving them that we don't want to prevent them from expressing such
opinions if they go elsewhere, but that we do object to it in an
Association expressly founded on the exclusion of physical force." Mr.
O'Brien, he continued to say, called the opinion about physical force a
speculative opinion; he, Mr. O'Connell, denied it to be such; for the
moment the loophole which he seeks to establish is admitted, we place
the Association in danger, and it would be the duty of Government to put
it down. He then clearly indicated that, unless the Young Ireland party
acceded to the Peace Resolutions, they could not continue to be members
of the Association. He said: "It is time now to settle this point once
and for ever.
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