offered as a reward for apprehending the murderers, by the government and by the resident gentry in the county, he believed no evidence whatever was obtained as the result of that offer; such was their fidelity in a bad cause, and such was the abominable system of confederacy upon which they acted. Not a person was found to come forward and make a voluntary disclo sure. He would mention one conclusive proof of the feelings by which they were actuated. One of the mur. derers, who was apprehended, and afterwards hanged for his crime, when in prison, expressed a desire to disclose some particulars. His life was offered as the promised reward for his confession. He accordingly communicated a part; but he afterwards retracted, at the instigation of his wife, who went on her knees to him in the prison, and implored him to be executed rather than divulge the secret. (A laugh, and hear, hear!) The House might probably smile at the conjugal affection of the woman; but he could assure them, there was as much attachment between the husband and the wife as could possibly exist between two persons, and the concern which she felt was, lest her husband should forfeit his character and respectability by betraying his friends. He actually retracted, in consequence of the persuasions of his wife, and was accordingly executed.

"Having thus admitted those melancholy facts, he now came to the statements which had been made by the right honourable baronet. The causes of the evils which afflicted Ireland were complicated in no common degree. They might, he was willing to allow, be traced back to a very remote period in some respects. Sir John Davis, in that invaluable treatise on the State of Ireland, which the right honourable baronet had justly denominated a Golden Book, stated

VOL. IX. Part I.

that the evils originated in the impolicy of the first conquest of Ireland. That conquest was not undertaken by a sovereign at the head of an army; but was accomplished by instalments, if he might so speak. Different parties of adventurers went over to Ireland, subdued detached portions of territory, and as they progressively made those acquisitions, they gradual ly assumed a paramount authority over the native inhabitants. The evils of that kind of conquest were sufficiently proved by the history of Ireland. Other writers also had pointed out the defects of the system adopted towards Ireland. An impartial one (he meant Spencer, who wrote in the reign of Queen Elizabeth) had forcibly stated the impolicy of excluding Ireland from the benefits of the English law. In fact, there were a hundred customs which then existed, though but now operating, which gradually tended to form the character of the people. Sir John Davis observed, that by the ancient laws of the country murder was compounded for by a fine, a rape for a rape, and a robbery for a robbery. When it was proposed by the governor of Ireland to send a sheriff into the county of Fermanagh, the chieftain of that district said the sheriff should be welcome; but desired to know the price which was set upon his head, in order that, if he should be killed, he might know what fine to impose. Such was the deplorable state of the country at that time; but Sir John Davis allowed, that more had been done for the benefit of Ireland during the reign of James I., than during the whole of the preceding four hundred years. Certainly, many of the causes indicated by Sir John Davis and others, as contributing to the injury of Ireland at that time, had ceased to operate; but others had arisen of a different, though not less important character. The animosities of fa

D

milies, the irritation arising from confiscations, and other similar causes, were of a description which no legislative interference could reach. Time alone, the prevalence of a kind and paternal system of government, and the extension of education, were the remedies which must be chiefly relied upon. At a later period of the his tory of Ireland, he was willing to admit the impolicy of imposing commercial restrictions; an impolicy of which, he believed, we were even now reaping all the bitter fruits. By those restrictions we had curtailed the capital of Ireland, and lessened her means of industry; and, paradoxical as it might appear, an increase of population had arisen from those effects. He wished to explain in what manner he conceived that increased population to have taken place. The consequence of the bad policy in imposing the commercial restrictions was, a deprivation to Ireland of a market for her produce, which made land so cheap, that the owners of it were enabled to employ any number of hands in cultivating it. They allotted small portions of it to individuals; and it became the more productive, because all their labour was applied to those small portions. According to the opinion of the most experienced agriculturists, the same quantity of land, so cultivated, would produce nearly three times the quantum of human subsistence, (he meant potatoes, the staple food of the Irish peasant), which it would produce of any other kind of subsistence. Hence, the immediate means of supporting a family were more within the reach of the poorer classes of Ireland than of similar classes in this country. What ever enquiries might be made into the condition of the Irish people, it would be material to ascertain their state as to the supply of food. He had attempted to prosecute that enquiry, and he confined his attempts to those

districts which were disturbed, with a view to discover whether there was any connexion between that and the causes of the disturbances. He believed the poor of Ireland would be found to be in this condition. Almost all of them rented small farms, which they took from the farmer upon certain conditions. Their rent was partly paid by labour. Thus, if a man gave four guineas an acre for his farm, he worked for his landlord at 10d. a day; if he paid three guineas, he received 8d. That 10d., however, commanded a greater proportion of subsistence in the article of food which constituted the sole diet of the Irish peasant, than the same sum would produce in England. He was perfectly aware that the food of the poor in Ireland was inferior, and he sincerely wished that it were possible to find any means of giving him better, and a better place in which to enjoy it. Nothing would be more calculated to seduce them from idle and vicious habits, and to inspire a relish for domestic comforts.

"He should now proceed to examine some of those causes which the right hon. baronet appeared to think still existed, and for which he also seemed to think remedies might be adopted. He could assure him that he felt the strongest disposition to employ any remedies which might be suggested, and which should appear capable of a really practical application. First, as to the appointment of sheriffs, on which a considerable stress had been laid by the right hon. ba. ronet. He was perfectly ready to admit, that that was a point in which material and essential information might be introduced. The subject, however, had been fully and delibe rately discussed in a select committee, which sat during last session for the purpose of inquiring into grand jury presentments. He held in his hand

the evidence of that committee, and according to that evidence it appeared, that some persons saw many evils in the present mode of appointing the sheriffs, and others thought it the best that could be adopted. For himself, though he certainly thought the mode of appointing them might be improved, yet the practical evils of the existing one was not, in his opinion, so great as was imagined. The persons who were examined before that committee were many of them members of that House-Lord Jocelyn, Sir John Newport, Sir Henry Parnell, the Chancellor of the Exchequer for Ireland, Colonel Crosbie, and others. The evidence they gave established the existence of many evils, but it was not so conclusively against the present system of appointing sheriffs as might be imagined. It was generally stated that the evil was not one of the present day. It had long subsisted. But certainly he should be ashamed of himself if he felt any reluctance to change a practice merely because the acquiescence in it on the part of the government, of which he formed a part, might be involved in some degree of censure. It should be remembered, however, when they were drawing a distinction between the magistracy of Ireland and that of England, how great the difference was between the state of society in the two countries. With respect to the nomination of sheriffs, the ancient practice was different from the modern. The judges of the assize required from the outgoing sheriff the names of three persons who were thought most fit to serve the office. These names were afterwards examined by all the judges in the chancellor's chamber, and they selected from them a certain number, according to the circumstances of the recommendation, &c., which they transmitted to the lord lieutenant, who thereupon issued his warrant for the

appointment of such as he finally determined upon. That mode of elect. ing them was certainly preferable to the present; and he had no hesitation in giving a pledge, on the part of the government of Ireland, that that system should henceforward be recurred to.

"As to the general revision of the magistracy of Ireland, he had made every enquiry into the practicability of such a revision, but he apprehended it would be found impossible. In the first place, it was usual for the chancellor of Ireland to have a more arbitrary power in the dismissal of magistrates than was possessed in this coun try, where they were never dismissed but upon the sentence of a court of law, or for some gross irregularity of conduct, which rendered them totally unfit for the office. He was willing to admit that there were many persons placed in those situations who were not qualified for them, either by their property or rank in life. But then, he must again beg the House to remember the great difference in the manner in which society is constituted in Ireland. With respect, however, to the selections generally speaking, he did not recollect more than ten or twelve cases of recommendations ta king place, and he believed they were all of them made from a conscientious impression of what was considered to be the best for the tranquillity and safety of the country. It might be true, that there were persons now in the commission, who were put into it in 1798, on account of their zeal and loyalty to the government; but if the general revision were to apply to them, he did think it would be most unjust to deprive them of their places, without some better ground for such a proceeding. How, in fact, was the ford-lieutenant to judge what persons were fit but from recommendations? And what a tremendous power it

would be giving to leave him to decide what precise degree of character was necessary in order to qualify a man to be a magistrate. What criterion could be adopted for retaining him in office after he had once acquired possession? Would you take the criterion of property? That would be a most fallible one. However plausible or popular the idea might be of effecting what was called a general revision of the magistracy, he was convinced it would be productive of great injustice. That, however, was his opinion, and he knew it was the opinion also of the person at the head of the department which was most con

cerned.

"He now came to that single point, as affecting the grievances of Ireland, in which it was supposed the government was deeply implicated; and he could assure the right hon. baronet, from whatever sources he had derived his information, it was most erroneous. Those societies which he had alluded to, did not exist, generally speaking, in those counties which were disturb ed, and he had never heard them accused as being any part of the causes which produced the present condition of Ireland. But, it was asked, why do you not prevent the celebration of particular days and events? He should like to know how the right hon. baronet himself would do it. He must be aware that it would be impossible to exercise any effectual controul. There were a thousand ways in which the law might be eluded. They might prevent any particular body of persons assembling, who were united for specific purposes, and bound together by illegal oaths but it was impossible to counteract those celebrations of particular occasions to which the right hon. baronet had alluded. He was aware that he himself had been subjected to many imputations, as if he had encouraged the formation and growth

of those societies. He could only say, that for the greater part of those imputations he had the most profound contempt; but if the right hon. baronet believed, for a moment, that any such encouragement was afforded, directly or indirectly, he could only entreat him to dismiss it from his mind, for he was perfectly wrong. He held in his hand proofs to the contrary; proofs, that the government had exerted itself to repress the tumults arising from those causes, and to diminish the operation of the causes themselves. It must be perfectly notorious to every one, that where opposite parties existed, where personal animosities ran high, offence might be conveyed on either side in a thousand different ways, which no legislative interference could reach. But so far as the government could exercise any influence, he would venture to say that it had never neglected the opportunity. It might be easily imagined, for instance, that much inflammation and angry feeling would be excited by playing what were called party tunes. Now, how could that be prevented by law? How could you define the particular sort of tunes which could be considered as party tunes, and therefore not to be played? But even in that respect, the government had been careful to do all that lay in its power. By a general order, issued on the 24th of June, 1814, a kind of circular letter, addressed to the brigade majors of the yeomanry, the lord lieutenant called their attention to a former circular letter of a similar description, issued in 1810, and which he desired should be considered as still in force. The object of that letter was, to prevent any assemblages of the yeomanry, and to forbid them from wearing their military clothes, or carrying their arms, except when on duty. It further stated, that there were some particular tunes which gave offence when play

ed, and it was requested they might be avoided as much as possible. That was the only kind of influence which could be beneficially exerted in such cases, and that influence, it would be found, had never been neglected by the go

vernment.

"Among the other causes which had unquestionably contributed to produce the present disturbances and outrages in Ireland, might be reckoned the press of that country. He was far from meaning to say that the benefits which resulted from a free press, did not greatly, if not wholly, overbalance the evils of its abuse. He would even venture to assert, that what might be called the extreme licentiousness of the press, in a former period of our history, mainly assisted in securing to us invaluable privileges. But what could be said in favour of a press which never sought to enlighten the public mind-which never aimed at the dissemination of truth-which never endeavoured to correct the morals, or improve the happiness of the people? On the contrary, the most studious efforts were made to keep alive and foment discord, and the malignant influence of the worst passions of our nature. Their only object was, to make it be believed, that the very sources of justice were corrupted, that the verdicts of juries were always venal, and the conduct of magistrates always base. By those insinuations, industriously and perseveringly spread, many persons were driven into the commission of some paltry offence, when, in his opinion, they were infinitely less guilty in a moral point of view than those vile and degraded beings by whom they were instigated. The most infamous falsehoods and calumnies were uttered against magis. trates, thus pointing them out to the vengeance of those misguided men whose passions were easily worked

upon. The consequence of such general and indiscriminate abuse as defi led the public press of Ireland, involving every person whose station, rank, or conduct, rendered them at all pub lic, was, that no one dreaded censure, and the force of public opinion, therefore, that great auxiliary to a free press, was utterly destroyed. The House could not form any idea of the licentiousness to which he alluded, by reflecting upon what was called licentiousness in this country. As a specimen, he would read to them a passage from a work which was too contemptible to notice, except as such an illustration: he meant the Irish Magazine. They would see the nature of the poison which was disseminated. Until the present year it had had a wide circulation among the lower orders in Ireland, and they would judge the sort of influence which its infamous and detestable falsehoods were calcu lated to have upon that class of people. As a proof of the motive for circulating it, he would state, that it was generally distributed gratis, or at least at a price so very much below what the mere cost of printing must be, that it was evident profit was not considered, but only the accomplishment of the most pernicious and villainous purposes. In an article, purporting to be upon the persecution of protestants in France, it said, if the pious Britons are so indignant, as by their cant they pretend to be, why do they not exhibit some portion of their humanity in behalf of the ceaseless massacres of the Irish Catholics ? It may be asserted in the face of all Europe, that more Irish Catholics have been murdered since the month of May, 1814, than ever suffered in France during the most bloody persecutions, either before or after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.' That specimen, he apprehended, would