I. 1798. difficulty in making the selection of who should be spared, CHAP. and who left for execution. As usual, the extreme Protestant party urged upon the Lord-Lieutenant the most rigorous measures; and it required all his firmness, supported by Lord Castlereagh, to resist their importunities. He did so, however, and the number of persons executed was, by the humane endeavours of these two, very much diminished; and valuable disclosures were made in return, though, on some occasions, they stood alone of all the persons in the Government on the side of mercy.* 55. Before the State trials at Dublin were ended, however, an event occurred in the west of Ireland, which demon- Landing of strated that the apprehensions of the extreme Tory party in Killala in Dublin were not so unfounded as Lords Cornwallis and Castlereagh seemed to suppose. On the 22d August a small body of French, not more than eleven hundred in number, effected a landing in Killala Bay, in the west of Ireland; and although their number was so inconsiderable that no danger was to be apprehended from them if the A proposition of an extraordinary nature was brought to me on the night of the 24th from a number of the State prisoners, and the greater part of the men of consequence amongst them, offering to make acknowledgment of their offences, and to submit to banishment for life to any country in amity with his Majesty, provided that Byrne and Oliver Bond, who were then under sentence of death, and Neilson, who is not yet tried, but who is likely to be condemned, might be included in the offer, and be allowed to share the same fate with them. I confess that I thought this a question of the greatest importance, and one that deserved the most mature consideration, and Lord Castlereagh was of the same opinion; but we doubted whether it would be possible to find a third man in this place that would agree with us; and I was sensible of the danger of taking a step, without some legal or political support, that would irritate almost to madness the well-affected part of this kingdom. There was but little time for deliberation, as Byrne was to be hanged on the 25th, and Oliver Bond this day. The Chancellor, who, notwithstanding all that is said of him, is by far the most moderate and right-headed man amongst us, was absent. I sent therefore, yesterday morning, as professional men, for Lords Carleton and Kilwarden, the Attorney and Solicitor-General, and the Prime Serjeant, when Lord Castlereagh submitted to them the paper, with the signatures above mentioned." They gave their opinion in the most decided manner against the measure; and as I could not act in opposition to them, though not convinced by their arguments, the transaction, to my concern, is now at an end." Bond was respited, however, in spite of the most vehement resistance, and the confession received.-LORD CORNWALLIS to DUKE OF PORTLAND, July 26, 1798; Cornwallis Correspondence, ii. 370-378. VOL. I. E the French Bay. Aug. 22. I. 1798. CHAP. troops remained steady, yet it soon appeared that they were not all by any means to be depended on, and that a very trifling success on the part of the invaders would soon involve the whole country again in the horrors of rebellion. The expedition was under the command of General Humbert; and as their descent upon the coast was wholly unexpected, they effected their landing without opposition or difficulty. They immediately organised a provisional government, and set about raising troops. They published two proclamations-one from the French General, and another from Napper Tandy, an Irish leader -both well calculated to excite and encourage the peasantry. From the first moment of their appearance the 1 Cornwallis excitement was extreme amongst the country people, who Corresp. ii. flocked to them from all quarters; and, what was much Castlereagh more alarming, the strongest symptoms of disaffection 323. appeared in some of the regiments, especially of militia and yeomanry, sent to oppose them.'† 391-394; Corresp. i. General Humbert's proclamation bore :-" United Irish! The soldiers of the Great Nation have landed on your shores, amply provided with arms, ammunition, and artillery, to aid you in breaking your fetters and recovering your liberties. Napper Tandy is at their head: he has sworn to break your chains or to perish in the attempt. To arms, freemen !-to arms! the trumpet calls you; do not let your brethren perish unrevenged. If it is their des tiny to fall, may their blood cement the glorious fabric of freedom." Napper Tandy's proclamation set forth :-"What do I hear? The British Government talks of concessions; will you accept them? Can you for a moment entertain the thought of entering into terms with a government which leaves you at the mercy of the English soldiery, which massacres inhumanly your best citizens -with a Ministry which is the pest of society and the scourge of the human race. They hold in one hand the olive branch: look well to the other; you will see in it the hidden dagger. No, Irishmen ! you will not be the dupe of such base intrigues. Feeling its inability to subdue your courage, it seeks only to seduce you; but you will frustrate all her efforts. Barbarous crimes have been committed on your country; your friends have fallen victims of their devotion to your cause; their shades surround you; they call aloud for vengeance. Irishmen! declare a war of extermination against your oppressorsthe eternal war of liberty against tyranny."-NAPPER TANDY, see Hardenberg's Memoirs, vi. 223-225. "I think it absolutely necessary to state, for your lordship's information, that it is impossible to manage the militia; their whole conduct has been this day of action most shameful, and I am sorry to say that there is a strong appearance of disaffection, particularly in the Kilkenny, as Lord Ormonde has reported to me. His lordship's conduct has constantly been most meritorious, but his men are not obedient to his orders. The Louth regiment are I. 1798. 56. at Castlebar. No sooner did Government receive intelligence of this CHAP. unexpected invasion, than they made every possible exertion to crush it. Troops were directed as quickly as possible to the menaced district; but, unfortunately, they Defeat of consisted chiefly of Irish militia and volunteers, whose fidel- the British ity, doubtful before, became absolute treachery on the field Aug. 27. of battle. General Hely Hutchinson,* who commanded in the district, by great exertions got together nearly 4000 men and eleven guns, with 1700 of which he took post at Castlebar, near Killala, on the evening of the 26th August. The remainder were detached in two columns, under Sir Thomas Chapman and General Taylor, to cut off the enemy's retreat to Killala and Ballina, where they had landed. At midnight General Lake arrived, and took the command of the army; and at daybreak intelligence was received that the French were advancing. They had only two 4-pounders, and from thirty to forty mounted men, besides the infantry. The result must be given in General Hutchinson's words: Nothing could exceed the misconduct of the troops, with the exceptions of the artillery, which was admirably served, and of Lord Roden's Fencibles, who appeared at all times willing to do their duty. There is too much reason to imagine that two of the regiments had been previously tampered with, the hope of which disaffection induced the French to make the attack, which was certainly one of the most hazardous and desperate ever thought of, against a very superior body of troops, as their retreat both on Killala and Ballina was cut off by Sir Thomas Chapman and General Taylor. When the troops fell into confusion without the possibility of rallying them, there was scarcely any danger. Very few men at that time had fallen on our part; the French, on the contrary, had suffered considerably. They lost six offi 66 well disposed and in good order."- GENERAL LAKE to LORD CORNWALLIS, August 28, 1798; Cornwallis Correspondence, ii. 391. Brother to Lord Donoughmore, and commander of the British army in Egypt after Sir Ralph Abercromby's death. CHAP. I. 1798. Hutchin son to cers and from 70 to 80 men, which was great, con- about 700, having left 100 at Ballina, and 100 at Killala. They had with them about 500 rebels, a great 1 General proportion of whom fled after the first discharge of cannon. . . . I am convinced, had our troops continued Marquess firm for ten minutes longer, the affair must have been Sept. 21, over to our entire advantage; but they fired volleys, Cornwallis without any orders, at a few men before they were within 409, 410. musket-shot. It was impossible to stop them, and they abandoned their ground immediately afterwards.”1* Cornwallis, 1798; Corresp. ii. 57. of the Lord Cornwallis. Whatever faults the Irish may have, want of courage, Surrender beyond all doubt, is not among the number, and therefore invaders to there could be no doubt that this flagrant misconduct was owing to disaffection and a secret concert with the enemy. As such it came like a thunderbolt upon the Government, and revealed the depth of the abyss, on the edge of which they stood. Lord Cornwallis made the most vigor Sept. 8. The account of another witness is still more graphic :-" General Hutchinson was with about 1500 men at Castlebar, and he had settled the ground on which he meant to resist an attack. Between six and seven [in the morning] the French appeared. They came on in three columns of near 800 each, as they had armed many of the country people, and with two curricle guns. They advanced with rapidity, firing their cannon obliquely on all parts of our line. Their fire was returned with much effect by our artillery, which did execution. The French continued advancing, and began a rapid charge with the bayonet in very loose order. At this moment the Galway Volunteers, the Kilkenny and Longford Militia, ran away. Lord Ormonde exerted himself to stop his men. He first begged and beseeched-he then upbraided and swore at them. He ran two of them through the body, and burst into tears. Lord Granard in vain exerted himself with the Longford; they behaved as ill. The 6th Regiment, of 120 men, and the Frasers, behaved well; and had the rest done the same, the day had been completely ours. One of the French columns made for our flank, which, I suppose, first disconcerted the militia. I hear that a person who was prisoner with the French reports that, had our troops sustained the attack for a minute longer, the French would have turned about. A detachment of Lord Roden's behaved gallantly. I fear there was disaffection in the two militia regiments; they are Catholics, and were many, if not most of them, sworn United Irishmen. They are both fine regiments in appearance—fine men, and well drilled-capable in point of body, youth, and agility, and habilité, to face any troops. I am confident treachery will come out.”—EDWARD COOKE, ESQ., to WM. WICKHAM, Esq., August 31, 1798; Cornwallis Correspondence, ii. $92, 393. I. 1798. ous efforts to arrest the danger. He hurried in person to CHAP. the spot, taking with him every disposable man of the regulars and English militia which he could collect. Such was the zeal with which these troops hastened to the front, that some of them, in particular the carbineers, marched eighty miles in twenty-seven hours! By this means Lord Cornwallis was enabled to collect such a force around the invaders, that, seeing the contest hopeless, and their retreat cut off, they surrendered at discretion. This was a most Sept. 8. important advantage in itself, but it became still more so from its consequences. The rebels lost now their last hope, that of succour from France. They became, in consequence, desperate. The leaders were all either in custody or had fled the country:* and their followers, dispersed and dejected, returned to their homes, in their external conduct in general peaceable and submissive. Their deadly feeling of hostility to the Saxon, however, nourished in secret, was noways abated. It led some years after to a fresh attempt at insurrection; and it has in-1 Cornwallis duced that inextinguishable passion for predial outrage Corresp. ii. and murder which has so long been the disgrace of Ireland, Castlereagh and gone so far to render unavailing all the prodigal gifts 323, 339. of nature to that beautiful but unhappy land.1 395; Corresp. i. Another good effect resulted from this abortive attempt 58. at invasion, which, though not so obvious at the beginning, Good effects was not less important in the end. The forces which ar-abortive rived from England soon after the landing at Killala and Napper Tandy was far from realising his promise to conquer or die. "During the action with the Tom, he squatted on the deck, with a pint bottle of brandy, which he emptied twice. The French officers on board, all except General Ray, agreed in accusing Tandy of cowardice, imbecility, and wickedness, and wrote a letter of impeachment against him to the Minister of Marine. The names they gave him were infâme, imbécile, scélérat. To show how the finances of France are, and how they meant to make their Irish friends pay their expenses, their generals went out on that little expedition, and all the money they could muster among them was about twenty or thirty louis-d'ors. One of them, to my own certain knowledge, had but five guineas in all." Napper Tandy escaped into Belgium, from whence he reached Hamburg.-MR WICKHAM to LORD CASTLEREAGH, October 25, 1798; Castlereagh Correspondence, i. 407, 408. of this invasion. |