The Sun.
London, England, 1837-10-20 00:00:00

WAR OF EXTERMINATION IN

LIMERICK.

The reader, on perusing the following statement, will
perceive that the letter of the " Limerick Exterminator," was
neither a fiction nor an idle theory of Mr. Darby O'Grady.
Before offering comment, we shall give our Correspondent's
communication as we received it :

" Early on Friday last, Mr. Darby O'Grady arrived in
Galbally, from Mooresfort house, and after parading the
village at the head of Lord Guillamore's tenantry, over
whom he is agent, and who were previously summoned to
meet him, he entered the Petty Sessions House at Gal-
bally, and drew from his pocket a draft of a petition
against the County Members, which he called on them to
sign. The substance of it was, that they had proceeded to
Limerick at the election, to vote for Stafford O'Brien, but
were unable to do so, from the riot and intimidation which
prevailed. After reading this petition, he added, we could
make it stronger if we pleased by stating, that many who
went to vote were obliged to hide themselves in the turf
boats on the Shannon.
" When summoned to attend him the tenants were to-
tally ignorant of his intentions, otherwise, it is said, most
of them would not lave attended. The first person he
called was a man named Birrane, one of whose sons Darby
had appointed as guager, and for which situation another
son is an expectant, through the influence of this great 0 !
Notwithstanding these and other favours, on being apprized
of the substance of the document, he refused to sign it, upon
the grounds that it was untrue, as he believed that he could
have voted if be were entitled to do so ; but he was not, in
consequence of not having been registered. On his re-
fusing, the Exterminator deliberately walked over to him,
and placed his hand on his head, declaring that lie never
would allow the young man who was candidate to be ap-
pointed, and that if he possibly could, he would get the son
in the revenue dismissed from the situation. Poor Birrane
got so frightened at this threat, that after having seen
others sign the document, be offered, even craved, to sign it,
which Darby rejected, vowing vengeance and extermination
against Birrane, who holds his ground on a very old lease.
Many others also refused, whom he likewise threatened
with imprecations to annihilate, by canting their stock on
the Bth November, if they had not their rent to the day,
and that as soon as their leases (which had all bad titles)
would expire, he would take care they should never be re-
newed. One or two Protestants were among the number,
and not having been at all in Limerick at the election, they
naturally refused signing to the knowledge of the circum-
stances. Ye. Protestants, indeed ! said the Exterminator,
h—g me, but ye are as great rebels as the worst papist of
them all. He left them, after inducing about eight of them
to sign his petition." . . .

H—g me, but ye are as great rebels as the worst Pa-
pists of them all ! ! Here is language from a "justice of
the peace"—sworn to adjudicate dispassionately between
man and man, regardless of what religion or party they
may be of. Can any thing be conceived more monstrous
than that this individual should be permitted to proceed in
his crusade of extermination against the social and political
existence of the people of this country. We call upon
Government, and upon our County Members, and upon the
County Club, to throw the shield of their protection
over the person of the honest but lowly peasant,
who merely demands the free exercise of what the
law of his country have vested in him. There
is here a palpable and gross infringement on the
liberty of the subject, which admits of most incontro-
vertible grounds for bringing the affair before the Imperial
Legislature ; and we should blush for the name of Eng-
lishmen if measures were not immediately adopted to put a
stop to such wanton and unconstitutional proceedings. On
bringing to recollection the good old times! when Mr.
Darby O'Grady was enabled with impunity, at the same
moment that he gave orders to his groom and his coach-
man—to tender justice to his Majesty's subjects, from the
sill of his parlour window—we confess that his present
extraordinary course strikes us with much less astonish-
ment than we should feel did it emanate from one gene-
rally characterised from the propriety of his conduct.
Nor can it be forgotten that some two years since when
giving orders in the Sessions Court of his neighbourhood,
this same Mr. Darby O'Grady, after reproving the police
for their clemency in firing over the heads of the coun-
try people at riots, told each constable in that Chris,
tianlike and most peculiar manner—which is all his own
—to cover his man and shoot him dead ! ! But it occurs
to us that those immediately connected with the gentle-
man—and who have not heretofore identified themselves
with his political views—would do well to consider that
public opinion more or less holds them responsible for not
checking him in his present unwarrantable and unconsti-
tutional career. The more especially as it is known that
the heir to the noble lord, whose tenantry have been, on
this occasion, the subject of threats and intimidation, un-
hesitatingly tendered his interest to the Liberal candi-
dates at the late election. They are, we say, imperatively
bound to use their authority and influence over him. But
it is not upon individuals or upon families, however power-
ful, that the people should depend. It behoves them at
once to sea that this dangerous conspiracy is crushed before
it has taken root, and we, therefore confidently expect that
many days will not elapse after the assembling of the new
Parliament, when it will be made the subject of just ani-
madversion within its walls.—Lintetick Star.

INGENUITY OF THE BEGGING LETTER LI-
POSTORS.—TIiose who are not in the secret, are at a loss
to understand how the begging-letter writers manage to get
acquainted with such circumstances, either in the cases of
the persons whose names they assume, or in those of the
parties they address, as could impose on the latter. The
way in which the thing is managed is this :—They first of
all ascertain who are the noblemen or gentlemen of the
most benevolent disposition and ample means, and they then
take care to learn what is the most probable way of pro-
curing a favourable hearing to their got-up tale of distress.
This done, their ingenuity is put to the rack, with the view
of trumping-up the most plausible possible case. An in-
stance or two will suffice to explain this more fully. Sup-
pose I take the cases of Sir Peter Durham and Admiral
Curzon, as gentlemen whose names have been already men-
tioned. The begging letter-writers, having in the first place
ascertained that these gentlemen are distinguished for their
benevolence of disposition, and for their strong attachment
to the naval service, they then apply themselves to the
procuring of some particulars respecting particular ships
they commanded, and the men who served under them.
They succeed in this by going down to Greenwich, and
entering, as if itiwere by the merest accident, into conver-
sation with some of the pensioners there, who, over a pot of
porter or a tumbler of grog, are remarkably communicative
on all matters pertaining to the naval service. They at
once mention the day and date of particular engagements,
and particular occurrences. They also learn who were spe-
cial favourites with Sir Peter Durham, or Admiral Curzon,
as the case may be ; and then pretending to be one of
those persons, they refer, with an edifying minuteness, to a
particular occurrence. The imposition is thus in most
cases effectual, and the gentlemen addressed believing the
trumped-up tale of woe, and sympathising with an old sailor
who served under them, naturally put their hands in their
pockets, and send the applicant either one or two sovereigns
to ,administer to his exigencies.—Sketches in London, by the
Author of " Random Recollections."

AN ACCOMPLISHED IMPOSTOR.--Of all the
begging-letter impostors of whom I have heard, Peter Hill
was unequalled in the facility and success with which he
could change his personal appearance. In the course of
one day he could assume and sustain, with admirable effect,
seven or eight different characters ; so that those who saw
him, and were conversing with him,• at ten o'clock in the
morning, might have been in his company at twelve, and
never had the slightest suspicion of the fact. He had a
pair of huge artificial whiskers, which he put on and off
just as he pleased ; and he had also a pair of moveable
mustachios, which a Spanish Don would have looked on
with envious eye. Of wig's, too, he had an abundant sup-
ply, embracing every variety of colour ; while his wardrobe was
so extensive, that you would have thought he had purchased
the entire contents of some Jew clothesman's shop in Holy-
well-street. By these means, coupled with great natural cle-
verness, he was able to assume so many different characters,
and to appear so very unlike himself, if there be not an
Irishism in the expression, that, though the Mendicity So-
ciety had at one time no fewer than three hundred cases of
begging letter importures against him ; and though its of-
ficers had repeatedly seen him in the police-offices, they
passed him day after day in the public streets, without re-
cognising him. I may mention one fact, out of hundreds,
illustrative of the singular adroitness with which he managed
to disguise himself, and to assume different characters ;
namely, that he applied personally one morning to the Earl
of Harrowby, as an unbeneficed Clergyman of the Church
of England, in great distress, when he received a sovereign,
and in the evening in the character of an unfortunate por-
trait-painter, when he again received a sovereign from the
hands of the Noble Earl, after having had a personal inter-
view with his Lordship on both occasions.—Sketches in
London, by the Author of Random Recollections.
The Allgemeine Zeitung of the 13th inst. confirms
the opinion put ,forward by the foul nal des Debats that
the French squadron stated to have appeared before
Naples consisted only of the French ships of war return-
ing from Tunis. An English sloop of war and a French
Government steamer had likewise been in the Bay of Na-
ples, but had both left it again. The steam-boat supposed
to have been sent to Sicily proves to have been despatched
against a pirate who infested the waters of Otranto, where
he had committed numerous acts of violence along the coast.
In proof of the extraordinary mildness of the sea-
son, we may state. that Mr. Lucas, of the King's-road, ex-
berries, cherries, raspberries, currants, and vtoicts, ad grown I
in the open air and from the open ground.--Brighton Paper. I