He reprobated the conduct of a former administration towards the Catholics of the country: the hornets of government were sent out to the different county grand juries, in order to procure addresses and resolutions to wall out the Catholics from the constitution, as the English had formerly walled out the Scotch, and the Chinese the Tartars. He said, that the British cabinet, during the administration of lord Fitzwilliam, had broken faith with Ireland. He reprobated the conduct of lord Westmoreland in granting the reversion of every capital employment in the kngdom, after his successor had been appointed; and that during his administration, fourteen new employments had been created, and thirteen reversions granted away; this system he reprobated in very strong and severe terms he said, that the conduct of the British cabinet towards their country was influenced by false witnesses against Ireland: by bad viceroys, who had acted in their administration unfavourably to Ireland; and if not by bad viceroys, the British cabinet was influenced by clerks, by spies, and by runners.

Having dwelt for some time on the conduct of the British cabinet towards his country, which had drained itself of its men and money for the support of Great Britain, he contrasted the conduct of the British cabinet towards other countries. He concluded a speech of considerable length with moving an amend. ment to the address nearly to the following purport:

"That they should pay the utmost attention to every measure "for the purpose of preserving the peace and good order of the "country, and to amend the condition of the lower description "of the people in this kingdom; with a view to render the con"nexion between the two countries the more endearing, and to "enable them more cheerfully to contribute to such burthens as "should be imposed upon them, they humbly beseeched his ma"jesty, that he would be graciously pleased to recommend to his "parliament in England, to adopt such measures for the admis "sion of the manufactures of that kingdom into the ports of "Great Britain, on terms not less advantageous than what man"ufactures of Great Britain were admitted into the ports of Ire"land."

Mr. Vandeleur seconded the motion.

After Mr. Grattan's amendment had been rejected by a majority of 122 against 14, the attorney general called the attention of gentlemen to the subject of disturbances in some parts of the country; to check those offences, he would introduce a bill, and in that bill perhaps, or in a separate bill, would have a clause to indemnify certain magistrates and others, whe

16 Par. Deb. p. 12.

acted for the public good, though not exactly under the existing laws, in suppressing these disturbances. He had mentioned, upon his return from some prosecutions, which were carried on about three years ago, his intention to bring in a bill to make a conspiracy to murder, felony; he had hoped, that this declaration would in some measure have checked the evil; but he was sorry to say, it had not: conspiracies to murder were still fre quent, and the idea of assassination had become as familiar as that of fowling.

Mr. Curran wished to know the extent and nature of that delinquency, which it was intended to indemnify; when Mr. M. Beresford observed, the word delinquency was not applicable to the persons intended; a part of the country was alarmingly disturbed; the magistrates and others invested with power had, in order to prevent the necessity of proclaiming martial law universally, acted in that particular district, as if martial law were proclaimed: this conduct, so far from being delinquency, was justifiable and laudable, and of happy consequence in the event.

On the 28th of the month, the attorney general adverted to the notice he had given on the first night of the session, of his intention of bringing in two bills: the object of one of them was, for preventing in future insurrections, and tumults, and riots in this kingdom; and the object of the other bill was, to indemnify certain magistrates and others, who, in their exertions for the preservation of the public tranquillity, might have acted against the forms and rules of law; he stated that the bill for the more effectually preventing of insurrections, tumults, and riots, by persons styling themselves Defenders, and other disorderly persons, was however repugnant to his feelings, a bloody penal code.

He said, that the acts then in force for administering unlawful oaths was not sufficiently strong, and the administering of unlawful oaths was the source of all the treasonable actions, which had taken place in the country: the bill proposed, that the adminis tering of unlawful oaths should be felony of death: but he would propose, that that bill should be but a temporary law; there was also a clause in the bill to enable the magistrates, at the quarter sessions, to take up all idle vagrants and persons who had no visible means of earning a livelihood, and send them to serve on board the fleet: he said he did not propose to hurry this bill through the house, but give time for the consideration, as it might be necessary to add much, and make several alterations. He then moved for leave "to bring in a bill for the more effec"tually preventing of insurrections, tumults, and riots, by persons styling themselves Defenders, and other disorderly persons;" and leave was given to bring in the bill. Then he moved for leave "to bring in a bill for indemnifying such ma

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gistrates and others, who might have, since the 1st of January, 1795, exceeded the ordinary forms and rules of law for "the preservation of the public peace, and suppression of insur"rection prevailing in some parts of this kingdom;" which was also given without any opposition.

On the same day Mr. Curran's motion for appointing a committee to inquire into the state of the poor, and the price of labour in that kingdom, after a considerable debate was negatived by the question of adjournment, there being only 16 for going into the committee, and 137 for the adjournment. A proportionate division also took place, by the chancellor of the exchequer's moving the order of the day on Mr. Grattan's motion for equalizing the channel trade between Great Britain and Ireland, by reciprocally admitting the manufactures of either country into the other upon equal rates of duty.*

On the 20th of February, 1796, the attorney general prefaced four resolutions, which he proposed to the house, with an historical detail of the outrageous conduct of the Defenders.The country had been for a series of years disturbed in various parts of it; he should not then enter into the causes of those disturbances, but he should take them up at the period of 1790, when those disturbances chiefly raged in the county of Meath. The Defenders' object then was to plunder the peaceable inhabitants in that county of their fire arms: they associated together, and bound themselves by the solemn tie of an oath. The Defenders, it had since appeared, had their committee men and their captains whom they were bound to obey, and their object was to overthrow the established order of government. Seditious emissaries dispersed themselves among the people; in one place telling the labouring man that his wages would be raised; and in another, working upon their feelings, and enticing them to acts of violence and of outrage. To repress these disturbances, the efforts of government were exerted in 1790, 1791, and 1792; and the consequence was, that a great number were brought to justice, and several were transported: notwithstanding these examples, the disturbances continued and they proceeded from the east to the west, and in three counties in Connaught, these banditti, in open day, made an attack upon the king's forces: the army always routed them, and in one engagement, forty or fifty of these miscreants fell: there were prosecutions in that province, and several were brought to justice, and a great number were transported: that province then was in a state of tranquillity, (thanks to lord Carhampton,) through whose exertions, human

16 Par. Deb. p. 77. This much debated on the 15th of February, 1796. † 16 Par. Deb. p. 102.

ity and good conduct, quiet was restored. Notwithstanding these examples, disturbances continued in other parts of the kingdom. These wretches associated together by night for the purpose of plunder, murder, and devastation. To prevent witnesses appearing against them on trial, they had adopted a system of assassination. He instanced the transaction which took place about ten days before, near Lutrelstown, where the Cormicks, who were to prosecute Defenders the very next day, at the quarter sessions of Kilmainham, were most inhumanly murdered. Another part of their system was to put witnesses to death after trial; and he instanced a case, where a witness who had prosecuted Defenders at the assizes of Dundalk, had been murdered after the trial: he instanced many acts of atrocity committed in the county of Longford, particularly the case of Mr. Harman, one of the representatives for the county, and in the county of Westmeath, Cavan and Meath: under these circumstances, some new scheme was necessary to put an end to such enormities.

His first object was, to prevent these risings in future; in order to do this, it was proper to enable government, on the petition of gentlemen resident in a county where any rising should be, to send a force to that county sufficient to quell such rising : another was, to enable the magistrates at sessions, to take up at unseasonable hours all persons, who could not give a satisfactory account of themselves, and if they could not find bail at assizes, the justices might send them to serve on board the fleet: another was, to enable magistrates to search houses, and if the persons were not found at home, they might be brought to the quarter sessions, and if they could not give a satisfactory account of the cause of their absence from home, they were to be dealt with as persons found abroad at unseasonable hours; but previous to that, proclamation should be made, and public and fair notice given, so that no person should have any excuse to plead another object was, to enable magistrates to search houses for arms and ammunition. It might be spread abroad by evil and disaffected men, that it was the design of government to disarm the people; but there was no such design; it was only to take away arms from improper persons; but, he said, he should introduce a clause in the gunpowder bill, to make every person, both great and small, to register their fire arms: he should propose to make the administering of such oaths, as bound the parties to any treasonable purpose, a capital offence: there was another measure, which was, that in case of a witness being murdered, his written testimony should be competent to go as evidence to the jury. After some further statements, he read the resolutions which he B b

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intended to propose, and he afterwards moved them separately, which were as follow:

1. "Resolved, That the spirit of conspiracy and outrage which "has appeared in certain parts of this kingdom, and has shewn "itself in various attempts to assassinate magistrates, to murder "witnesses, to plunder houses, and seize by force the arms of "his majesty's peaceable subjects, requires, that more effectual 'powers should be given to the magistracy.

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2. "Resolved, That (in such parts of this kingdom, as the "said spirit has shewn itself, or to which there may be cause to apprehend its being extended) it will be necessary, that the magistracy should have enlarged powers of searching for arms, "ammunition, and weapons of offence, and of seizing or secur"ing the same, for the preservation of the peace, and the safety "of the lives and properties of his majesty's peaceable and loyal "subjects.

3. Resolved, That from the many attacks which have been "made on the houses of individuals, by large bodies of armed "insurgents, for the purpose of taking arms and money by force, "and murdering those, who had the spirit to enforce the laws, "or give information against offenders, it will be necessary, that "the magistracy should have enlarged powers, to prevent such "bodies hereafter from assembling or meeting, either to plan or "execute such horrid purposes.

4. "Resolved, That it will be necessary to give the magistracy "further powers with respect to vagabonds, idle and disorderly 66 persons, and to persons liable to be deemed so, or who have no lawful trade, or any honest means to obtain a livelihood."* Mr. Vandeleur perfectly agreed with the attorney general, as to the necessity of adopting some strong measures at that junc

The only person in the house who opposed these resolutions, was lord Edward Fitzgerald. His unfortunate end may affix a retrospective import to his conduct, perhaps, before he had harboured the dreadful designs which tarnished the latter period of his life. (16 Par. Deb p 105.) "Sir," said he, "I shall oppose this resolution, because I think that this resolution will not "prevent the crimes of which the right honourable gentleman complains: the "disturbances of the country, sir, are not to be remedied by any coercive mea"sures, however strong: such measures will tend rather to exasperate, than "to remove the evil. Nothing, sir, can effect this, and restore tranquillity to "the country, but a serious and candid endeavour of government, and of this "house, to redress the grievances of the people. Redress those, and the "people will return to their allegiance and their duty; suffer them to continue, "and neither your resolutions nor your bills will have any effect: I shall, "therefore, sir, oppose, not only this resolution, but all the resolutions, which "the right honourable gentleman has read to you, except, perhaps, one"that which goes to constitute the written testimony of a dying witness, good "evidence. This, I think, is fair, and likely to facilitate the course of justice, without violently infringing, as all the other resolutions seem to do, the liberty of the subject."

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