fast, and several other chiefs, were arrested on the twenty-third of May, and the metropolis was put into a state of perfect security against any attempt. Disappointed in this unexpected manner, they still were determined to execute their project of a general insurrection, though deprived of the leaders in whom they chiefly confided, and scantily provided with arms and necessaries for an enterprize of such a nature. They began their operations on the twentyfourth of May, by attacking Naas, a town fifteen miles distant from Dublin: but they were forced to retire by lord Gostard, the troops under whose command slew and took about two hundred. A body of them had, the same day, taken possession of the heights near Kilcallan; but they were dislodged by general Dundas, and be tween one and two hundred were killed and taken. On the other hand a detachment of the army was surprized at a place called Prosperous, and another at Clare; and both suffered considerably. Some hundreds of the insurgents assembled, on the twenty-fifth, at Rathfarnham, but were attacked by lord Roden, at the head of some cavalry. They were totally routed, and numbers killed and made prisoners: among these, were the two chiefs, Ledwich and Keough, who were both sentenced to die, by a court-martial, though acting, as they alleged in their defence, by compulsion. Another party of them was, on the following day, defeated on its march to Dublin, near Tallang-Hill Between three and four hundred were slain, with their commander, who was a French officer, The town of Carlow had been attempted by them on the twentyfourth, the first day of the insurrec tion; but, by the skilful dispositions of major Dennis, they were repulsed, with the loss of four hundred men. Sir James Duff encountered them on the twenty-ninth, at Kildare, which they were obliged to abandon, with the loss of two hun dred men. They proceeded against Wexford on the twenty-fifth, about fifteen thousand strong. Part of the garrison marched out, to give them battle; but they were surrounded, and entirely defeated. The com manding officer, colonel Foote, and two soldiers, were all that escaped. Three days after, the insurgents marched to Enniscorthy, which they took, with the help of the catholic inhabitants, but with the loss of nearly five hundred men. The town of Wexford, being no longer tenable, in the reduced state of the garrison, surrendered to the insurgents on the thirtieth of May. Some of the protestant inhabitants escaped, with the remains of the garrison, to Duncannon fort, near Waterford, but the majority were left behind; and the insurgents, on taking possession of the town, plun dered their houses, and threw most of them into prison. Here the insurgents found several gentlemen of their party, who had been arrested, and whom they delivered from confinement. Among these was Mr. Bagenhal Harvey, a man of large property, whom they placed at their head. They now advanced against New Ross, a town lying upon the confines of Kilkenny, and guarded by a strong division of the army under major-general Johnson: on the fifth of June they at[M 2] tacked tacked it with much fury and obstinacy, but were driven back with a very great loss of men: nearly three hundred of the army fell upon this occasion; lord Mountjoy, colonel of the Dublin militia, was one. A cruel act of vengeance, for this defeat, was perpetrated by the insurgents upon their protestant prisoners at Wexford, of whom up wards of a hundred were massacred in cold blood. On the first of this month, astrong body of the insurgents made an attempt upon Newtown Barry, from which they compelled colonel Lestrange to withdraw; but being reinforced, he returned to the charge, and expelled them from the town, with the slaughter of five hundred men; a larger number than that under the colonel's command. A reverse was experienced on the fourth; colonel Walpole was slain in the attack of a strong post of the insurgents, and his party defeated and obliged to fall back upon Arklow. They were followed by the enemy, who, after collecting a large force, made a fierce attack upon the place: general Needham, who commanded there, received them with such a fire of cannon and musketry, that, notwithstanding their repeated efforts, they could make no impression, and were totally discomfited, sustaining a heavy loss of their best men. As the insurgents were masters of several strong holds in the south sern counties, it was necessary, for the re-establishment of tranquillity, and the protection of the loyalinhabitants, to reduce them with all speed as soon therefore as the force requisite for this purpose was in readiness, general Lake advanced with it, to attack the principal sta tion of the insurgents, which was on a strong ground called Vinegarhill, in the neighbourhood of Enniscorthy. He made his approaches with great skill, and having nearly surrounded the enemy, assailed him on the twenty-first of June: the resistance was vigorous for some time, but, fearing to be invested on every side, he at last gave way, and fled: the victory was complete: the multitudes that fell, both in the battle and the pursuit, equally weakened and disheartened the whole party. The insurgents at Wexford, hopeless of retaining it, offered to capitulate upon terms of security to their lives and property; but the conditions offered in return were, a general pardon to the common men, provided they returned to their alle giance and delivered up their chiefs. To this last condition they unanimously refused (and this certainly is not to be condemned) to assent. It was not insisted on: and the town was evacuated on the twenty-second, and entered by the army without any opposition. Thus the rebellion was entirely suppressed in the south of Ireland the defeat of the insurgents at Vinegar-hill put an end at once to all their hopes; they dispersed in various directions, and nearly the whole of those multitudes that had joined so eagerly in the revolt now retired quietly to their former occupations, happy to think that they would be permitted to remain un molested in their dwellings, after the enormities of which they had been guilty. Some of the most obstinate still continued in a body, and occasionally attacked those towns and villages that were least upon their defence, and infested those parts where they expected to meet meet with plunder; but they, too, were, in a short space, compelled to desist from those vagrant hostilities, and were glad at last to shelter themselves from punishment, under the amnesty that was proffered to those insurgents, with a very few exceptions, who returned, within a given time, to their allegiance. During these transactions in the south, the north of Ireland had also shared considerably in the rebellion. Both the counties of Down and Antrim joined in this insurrection; and, having mustered a numerous force, ventured to oppose the troops that were sent against them: but on the twelfth of June, after an obstinate engagement near Ballinahinch, they were at length totally defeated. Shortly after, lord Camden was recalled from the lieutenancy of Ireland, and succeeded by lord Cornwallis, who brought over with him a general pardon to all that submit. ted, with a very small number of exceptions. The two Sheares, M Can, and Byrne, conspicuous actors in the conspiracy, were brought to trial and execution. Mr. Bond had also been tried and condemned; but he was given to understand, his life would be spared, provided he made an unreserved disclosure of all he knew respecting the conspiracy. To this he consented, on condition that no information from him should affect the lives of his fellow-prisoners. A commutation of death into banishment was next proffered to these, on their making the like disclosure: the only restraint put upon them was, that they should not choose, for the place of their exile, any country at war with Great Britain. It was stipulated, at the same time, that all prosecutions, relative to the conspiracy and the rebellion, should cease, and that murderers only should be punished. Attempts were still made, by the French, to re-animate the expiring flame of rebellion; but these were neither well-timed, nor of any considerable magnitude, nor, what sometimes sheds an interest and importance even on ill-concerted projects, successful. About 900 men, under the command of general Humbert, landed at Killala, on the twenty-second of August,and proceeded without a moment's loss of time, to Cas tle-Bar, being joined, on theirmarch, by a few of the country people. They repulsed a force, more than" thrice their number, under general Lake, whom they forced to retreat, with the loss of six pieces of cannon. They continued to advance towards Tuam, but, after displaying the most resolute courage, were overpowered, by the superiority of numbers, led on to receive them, by the marquis Cornwallis, and forced to lay down their arms. A French squadron, of one ship. of the line, the Hoche, and eight frigates, with troops and ammunition on board, destined for Ireland, was, on the eleventh of October, taken. or dispersed, by a British squadron, undersir John Borlase Warren. The whole French squadron, with the: exception of two frigates, fell ulti mately into the hands of the English. Among the prisoners taken in the Hoche, was Wolf Tone, who being tried and condemned, hastened out of life by a voluntary death. The famous chieftain, Holt, surrendered himself to the British government: no other leader remained to be subdued: and thus, through the vigi lance, sagacity, and seasonable vigour, of the British administration, of whom it is but justice to say, that their moderation and humanity, on this unfortunate occasion, were equal to their activity and abilities, an end was put to the rebellion. CHAP. XII. Meeting of Parliament.-His Majesty's Speech.-Debates on the Address in Answer to it in the House of Lords.-And in the House of Commons. -Documents relating to the Negociation at Lisle.-Debates there n in the House of Lords.-And in that of the Commons. THE HE British parliament assembled on Thursday, the second of November, 1797. The speech from the throne touched on the inefficacy of the measures that had been taken by his majesty for the restoration of peace; the flourishing state of our revenue, national industry, and commerce; the public spirit of his people; the success s of his navy, and particularly of his fleet under admiral lord Duncan; and the necessity of continuing the most spirited exertions in defence of all that is dear to us, till a more just and pacific spirit should prevail on the part of the enemy. In the house of lords, an address to his majesty, in answer to his speech from the throne, was moved by the earl of Glasgow. The speech, he said, proved to him, and certainly also to their lor ships, that the confidence of government in the object of the present great contest, their resources to carry it on with vigour, and the prospect of bringing it to an honourable conclusion, wis in no respect diminished from what it originally was. For, his maesty's ministers, in the centre of intelligence, embrace, at one glance, the whole complete machinery of our domestic and foreign politics. And this being the case, the people of England could not but rejoice that their situation was not worse, and repose themselves contentedly in a government thus enlightened, as well as happily disposed to do every thing for the best. Our late victories, particularly that obtained by admiral lord Duncan, (which had perfectly annihilated the enemy's fleet) substantiated our competence to extort from the French more eligible terms than they seemed inclined to grant. We never had been successful on any occasion in the commencement of hostilities: which ought to encourage our perseverance. From these and other considerations urged by lord Glasgow, he trusted that their lordships were prepared › to strengthen the hands of government, and would according-y agree with him in moving an address, in answer to his majesty's most gracious speech. Lord Gwyder esteemed it a duty which he owed their lordships and the public, to declare the principles which had hitherto governed his public conduct. He had supported the war from its commencement: every act of the enemy, every event of the war, every consequenc. that had followed, had served to confirm him in the opinion he had at first formed. Thrice had his majesty's ministers gone every length that prudence and honour permitted to terminate the miseries of war in vain: nay, perhaps, farther than honour permitted: honour, which was almost the only rational ground for war. A dispute about feuds or territorial possessions might be easily compromised; but the honour of this country once gone, it would sink from its present rank among nations into derision and contempt. His lordship proceeded to speak of the unprincipled ambition, insolence, and fury of France, and the good faith, the resources, and spirit, of England. "Those, said his lordship, who, in France, supported by public opinion, wished for peace on fair and honourable terms, have been seized and transported like criminals; and with them, all appearance of liberty and justice have vanished also. The jacobin despotism is now at its height: let the powers of Europe, which still retain their independence, look well to its explosion." He concluded by calling on their lordships for their support of the motion. The earl Fitzwilliam said, that his concurrence with the address should not be withheld, on condition of allowing a trivial alteration in a few words. The same lust of universal empire, which poisoned and debased the old French government, seemed the only principle that distinguished the new. Disorganization, in all its extent, had uniformly succeeded every establishment it had been able to overthrow. The French had, indeed, but one character,which discriminated them at the beginning of the revolution; which had never since changed; and in all probability never would; an incompatibility of coalescing with any other power whatever. Wherever they penetrated, by art or arms, the revolutionary mania followed them in its full effects. Had not the object for which, as advanced by his majesty in a former speech, we fought, (order, morality, and religion), the same value in their estimation, and the same claim on their decision or exertion as ever? His lordship concluded by moving as an amendment, to leave out that part of the address which respected "his majesty's endeavours, to procure for his people the blessings of peace," which, in his lordship's opinion, went to acknowledge the justice and legality of the French government. Lord Grenville by no means intended to offer any sentiments in opposition to the well-grounded doctrines thrown out by lord Fitzwilliam with respect to the conduct of the French. It was only by a vigorous resistance of their principles, a manly disregard of their threats, and a zealous maintenance of our own principles,that we could secure to ourselves the blessings of our established government; but, acting on these ideas, and trusting to our own genuine vigour, he differed from the noble earl so far as to believe that even with the French republic, as now constituted, peace on these terms might be both practi cable and permanent. The marquis of Lansdown lamented to see the house deserted by so many noble peers; which, though it did not surprize, afflicted his heart. He did not, however, know whether their secession was not even a wise, salutary, and patriotic measure. [M 4] It was a measure on |