in which O'Connor exploited this intense loyalty. That this exploitation did not exhaust the sources of affection is a witness alike to the intensity of the feeling and the blind ignorance of the followers. O'Connor had that rare commercial instinct which enabled him to derive profit from the most unlikely sources. Nothing escaped his notice—the Northern Star, his imprisonment in York Gaol (though only remotely connected with Chartism), and the bad memories of his followers, were alike sources of profit and power. A few samples may be given.
On the eve of his commitment to York Castle O'Connor penned an article of Napoleonic arrogance[1] to his followers. It is a farewell message:
Before we part, let us commune fairly together. See how I met you, what I found you, how I part from you, and what I leave you. I found you a weak and unconnected party, having no character except when tied to the chariot wheel of Whiggery to grace the triumphs of the Whigs. I found you weak as the mountain heather bending before the gentle breeze. I am leaving you strong as the oak that stands the raging storms. I found you knowing your country but on the map. I leave you with its position engraven upon your hearts. I found you split up into local sections. I have levelled all those pigmy fences and thrown you into an imperial union.…
Early in 1841 he produced a long recital of his political career and addressed it to the English People.[2] It culminates in the amazing assertion:
Now attend to me while I state simple facts. From September 1835 to February 1839 I led you single-handed and alone.
In this way O'Connor, in true Napoleonic fashion, succeeded in throwing a haze of legendary magnificence about the early dubious venturings of his post-Parliamentary career. The last statement was a master-stroke. When he wrote, February 1839 was but two years past and memories reached back to it; it was not safe to allegorise the career of the Convention. Nor was it expedient, for by giving up his leadership at that moment, O'Connor divested himself of responsibility for the futilities which followed. He followed up this bold step a week later by presenting a version of his career as a Conventional. He had always opposed physical force. In fact, in the Convention he had alone opposed the idea of a Sacred Month, and had succeeded in putting a stop to it. He had always
