Directory to make the feparation of Ireland from the kingdom of Great Britain an indifpenfable condition of any treaty of peace which might be concluded in confequence of the negotiation which then depended at Lifle. The better to imprefs his arguments, a fecond written memoir was prefented by the faid M Nevin, enforcing as ftrongly as he could every thing which he had theretofore urged to encourage the invafion of this kingdom by a French. force, and to induce the Directory of the French republic to continue the war with Great Britain, until Ireland fhould be feparated from the British Crown: and it appears to your Committee, that M'Nevin was further inftructed to negotiate a loan of half a million in France or Spain for the Irish Directory, on the fecurity of the revolution which they meditated, but that in this object of his miffion he failed altogether. It appears to your Committee that immediately after the negotiation at Lifle was broken off, information of it was fent from France to the Irish Directory, with affurances that the French government would never abandon the cause of the Irish Union, nor make peace with Great Britain, until the feparation of Ireland from the British Crown was effected; and with fresh affurances of a Speedy invafion, which have frequently been renewed fince that period. It appears to your Committee that the faid M'Nevin returned to this kingdom in October 1797, when he made his report to the Irish Directory of the refult of his miffion, and that they might rely with confidence on the promised fuccours from France; and it has alfo appeared to your Committee that in July or August 1797, the Irish Directory received a dispatch from their minifter at Paris, announcing the Dutch armament in the Texel intended against this kingdom, which was baffled and difcomfited by the ever memorable and perfevering valour of the British fleet commanded by Lord Duncan. It appears to your Committee that three feveral difpatches have been received by the Irish Directory from their minifter at Paris fince October 1797; the two first contained a renewal generally of the former affurances of friendship and fupport given by the Directory of the French republic; the laft announced that the projected invafion of Ireland would be made in the month of April 1708. And it appears to your Committee that a difpatch for the Directory of the French republic, earnestly preffing for the promised fuccours, was made up by the Irish Directory, late in December 1797, or early in January 1798, which one of them undertook to have conveyed to France; but that the attempt failed. It has been stated to your Committee by one of the rebel Directory of Ireland who was privy to this act of treafon, that the dispatch was not to be fent through Great Britain; but he did not explain to your Committee any reafon on which this affertion was founded, nor any other route VOL. VII.

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by which the meffenger was to make his way to France. The feveral perfons aforefaid who have fo confeffed themselves to have been members of the Executive revolutionary Directory of the Irish rebels, and acknowledged their traitorous correfpondence and connexion with the Directory of the French republic, have endeavoured to palliate this branch of their treafon by afcribing it, first to their disapprobation of an act of Parliament paffed in the year 1796 to prevent infurrection, next to their disappointment in obtaining a parliamentary reform, and lastly by representing their difinclination to negotiate with France for a greater force than might enable them to fubvert the monarchy, and retain the government of this country in their own hands.

The falfehood and abfurdity of these pretences are fo manifeft, that your Committee would have thought it unbecoming to advert to them in their Report, if these avowed traitors to their King and country had not in part learned thus to palliate their treafon from perfons of a very different defcription in Great Britain and Ireland, who, fatally for the peace of this kingdom and the fecurity of the British empire, have during the progrefs of this most foul and unnatural rebellion, from utter ignorance and mifinformation an the fubject, as your Committee must prefume, publicly and repeatedly palliated, if not juftified, that fyftem of treason which had well nigh involved this once happy and flourishing kingdom in all the miferies of the French revolution. With refpect to the Infurrection Act, your Committee have only to obferve, that it paffed into a law on the 24th of March 1796, and was not put into execution before the 14th of November 1796, on which day the first proclamation which iffued under the provisions of it bears date, and that the introduction of it into the Houfe of Commons was long fubfequent to the period when it appears that the connexion and correfpondence of the Irish Union with the Directory of the French republic first commenced; and that it was enacted in confequence of a fyftem of midnight murder, robbery, and outrage, which began in 1792, and was fo matured in 1796, under the influence and direction of the Irish Union, as nearly to depopulate a very confiderable district in two of the provinces, of every loyal and peaceable inhabitant of it. With refpect to parliamentary reform, your Committee have to obferve, that it was diftin&tly acknowledged by the perfons, who, in their own phrafe, have taken upon them to think for the people, that no reform of Parliament will fatisfy them which does not neceffarily involve in it the fubverfion of all ecclefiaftical establishments Proteftant and Popifh, and the gradual feparation of this kingdom from the British Crown; and that no plan of reform will fatisfy them fhort of an Houfe of Commons purely democratic. It was further alleged by the feveral perfons who lo acknowledged

ledged their traitorous connexion with France, that the immé diate caufe of their eftablishing a refident agent at Paris, was the rejection of a plan of reform which was propofed in 1797 in the Houfe of Commons, which plan they faid would have fatisfied the people. But the palpable falfehood of this affertion appears by the Journals of the Houfe of Commons; for these perfons have all confeffed that their refident agent was dispatched by them to Paris in April 1797, with inftructions to negotiate a treaty with the Directory of France; and the propofition for parlia mentary reform, to the rejection of which they pretend to afcribe the miffion of Lewins, was not made till the 15th of May 1797. As to Catholic emancipation (as it is called), it was admitted by them all to have been a mere pretence from the first establishment of the Irish Union, and that if they had been enabled to fucceed in their plan of reform and revolution, it would have involved in it equally the deftruction of the Proteftant and Popish religion→→ the faid M'Nevin having diftinctly acknowledged that the intention was to abolish all church establishment, and not to have any eftablished religion, and that, for his own part, he would as foon eftablish the Mahometan as the Popish religion, though he was himself a Roman Catholic.

With refpect to their difinclination to negotiate for a French force to be fent into this kingdom of fufficient magnitude to conquer it-the idea of fetting bounds to the ambition and rapacity of that power, if once enabled to establish itself here, is too abfurd to deferve any notice; but it appears to your Committee, that the Directory of France have therefore declined to fend any force to this country which will not enable them to dictate fuch terms to it as they may think fit, although it appears to have been urged to them, on the part of the Irish rebels, particularly by Lord Ed ward Fitzgerald, that the beft expedient for accomplishing a revolution here would be, to dispatch faft-failing frigates to the coaft with small bodies of troops, and confiderable fupplies of arms and military ftores, together with officers qualified to difcipline the Irish peafantry; but from a letter fuppofed to be written from Paris by Lewins, the Irish agent, to the faid Lord Edward Fitzgerald, which he read, fhortly before his arreft, to John Cormick, a colonel in the rebel army of Dublin, it appears that the Directory of France difapproved of any fuch plan of carrying their object-the terms of the letter are: "The trustees have refused to advance the 5000l. on the fecurity; they will not make any partial advance till they have the whole fum ready."

Upon a review of this fubject, of the evidence which has been. collected, and of all those facts of notoriety which have taken place in this kingdom for the last eight years, your Committee feel themselves fully warranted to ftate, that there has been, during

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the whole of that period, a feditious and treasonable faction in this country, whofe object has been to fubvert the conftitution in church and state, and to separate Ireland from the British Crown, by inculcating the principles, and adopting the means which were fuccefsfully employed to abolish the religion, extirpate the nobility, and fubvert the monarchy of France.

Your Committee here allude to the addreffes which were forwarded at an early period, from this faction to the French National Affembly, to their commemorations of French festivals, particularly the 14th of July, to their attempts made to pervert the loyal inftitution of volunteers to the purposes of rebellion, by reviving it on the fyftem of the French national guards; to the inftitution of the original focieties of United Irifhmen, their various feditious and treasonable publications in favour of the French and republican fyftem, vilifying and degrading the Government and Parliament of their own country, particularly by reprefenting the Houfe of Commons, as it is conftituted, not to be a legitimate branch of the Legiflature; that it was in its original formation a violation of the rights of the people, and has continued to be an ufurpation on them; to their perfevering industry in iffuing and circulating thefe and all other publications at the cheapest rate amongst the lower orders of the people, which could alienate their minds from the duty of allegiance, and incul cate the principles of infubordination, revolt, and irreligion; and to their attempts, in imitation of the French revolutionists, to form a national convention.

Your Committee further allude to the fyftem of organization which they have already detailed, which appears to them to have been formed by this faction when their open attempts to fubvert the conftitution were fruftrated by the Convention Act; and to the fecret obligations which they impofed upon their affociates, to elude detection and punishment.

Your Committee farther allude to the measures which were purfued by the fame faction to intimidate the refident gentlemen of the country by midnight attacks, in order to drive them from their houfes, or to enforce their connivance or fupport-a course which your Committee underftand was purfued with fatal fuccefs in France; and to the impudent falfehoods and calumnies propagated with fimilar induftry by the fame faction, and by their partisans, reprefenting the means to which the Government and Parliament were compelled to refort, for the fuppreflion of midnight robbery and murder, and for the difcomfiture of rebellion, as the fource of thefe complicated evils.

Your Committee farther allude to the infidious addrefs used by the fame faction, in turning to their purposes the religious feuds, prejudices, and diftinctions of the country, which were revived prin

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cipally by their wicked machinations; at one time flattering the paffions and hopes of the higher order of the Catholics, at the moment in which they meditated their deftruction, and at another, ftimulating the lower ranks to indifcriminate acts of outrage and vengeance against their loyal fellow-fubjects.

Your Committee farther allude to the plan formed by the fame faction, of arraying and regimenting the whole mafs of the people, of fupplying them with arms and ammunition forced from the loyal, and of eftablishing in every part of the country manufactories of pikes to be diftributed amongst the lowest ranks of the people.

Your Committee farther allude to the early difpofition which appeared in the leaders of the fame faction to correfpond with the ruling powers of France, to obtain French affiftance in their revolutionary projects, and to the regular fyftem which they afterwards eftablished, for connecting themfelves with the Executive Directory of the French republic, wherein they appear to have acted as the ruling powers of the country, negotiating treaties and loans of money with foreign ftates.

Your Committee farther allude to the repeated attempts which have been made by the fame faction to feduce the King's troops of all defcriptions from their allegiance, and their attempts to deter his Majefty's loyal fubjects from enrolling themselves in the yeomanry corps; to their plans of infurrection, maffacre, and confifcation, which have been clearly proved against fome of their leaders, who have been convicted of treafon by due course of law, and have been confeffed by others of them before your Committee; and above all, to the defperate project of the fame faction to corrupt the youth of the country, by introducing their organized fyftem of treafon into the university; which attempt was happily fruftrated by the timely interpofition of the vifitors of Trinity College, and by the high spirit of honour and loyalty of the great body of ftudents in that learned feminary.

Your Committee farther allude to the various infurrections which were meditated, as well as thofe which have actually taken place; to the late deftructive rebellion, and the prefent invafion by a French force, which your Committee feel themselves warranted in ftating accurately to correfpond with the plan of revolutionizing this country, which was recommended by Lord Edward Fitzgerald.

It appears to your Committee, that the Government and Legiflature being fenfible of the defigns thus meditated against the conftitution of this kingdom, felt themselves bound to refift every demand which was made upon them by the fame faction, with a view to effect their traitorous purposes; and as it appears from the confeffion of fome of the most leading and notorious traitors engaged in thisconfpiracy,

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