The Sun.
London, England, 1837-02-09 00:00:00

THE SUN, Lib-1'41)0N, THURSDAY,: FEBRUARY 9, 1837.

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Blackburne, not Mr. O'Loghlen, was Attorney-Generals—
(6‘ Hear," from the Ministerial benches.) Now he was assursed
it was neither—( Hear, hear)—that it was Mr. Perri o.—
(Laughter.) But was it of the slightest consequence to the
case which it was ?—( Cheers.) The objection was thi'.: that
by the innovations in doctrine and practice by the present Go-
vernment a horrible crime had escaped detection, raid punish-
ment, and a notorious convict was not prevented, 'from placing
himself upon the Jury at the second trial, str,d that by that
means no verdict was had. And lastly, what answer was
given respecting the novel practice of di'asharging the gaols ?
Au appeal to the character of Hon. G.e.ntlemen at his ( Me.
West's) side of the House, to know -"healer, as men of feel-
ing, they could find fault with Lord, Mulgrave for an excess of
clemency ?—(Laughter and (;seera.) The Noble Lord (Cle-
ments) here again took a Different ground of defence, and
seemed to justify the prac dee, inasmuch as the offences were
insignificant, and the me•seure itself had, in fact, acted bene-
ficially.—( Laughter.) Ciut there were some gentlemen in
Ireland who certainly thought very differently both of the
motives and the re sults of a proceeding unparalleled in
the history of ciaril proceedings in these countries.—
(Loud cheering.) He would read two letters upon the sub-
ject, written froirs different counties by gentlemen of honour
and respectabil'asy, with whom he was acquainted.—The Hon-
ourable awl -.Learned Gentleman then read the letter. His
Excellency spent two hours in Mullingar ; before he departed
he discharged nineteen prisoners. Suppose he had given the
ailaole of the two hours to that alone—what sort of examina-
tion could he have to make into the merits and details of nine-
teen cases where there had been convictions? —( Loud cheers. )
But to the Judges this conduct was worst of all. Hitherto
it had been deemed of some consequence in Ireland to pre-
serve in the minds of the lower classes a reverence and
respect for those who administered the law and presided
in its Courts of Justice.—( Hear, hear, hear. )—lt was a
beneficial thing that it should be believed and known, as it was,
that mercy as well as justice was to reach the offender through
their interference. Bound by their sense of duty, with such
men an obligation as sacred as their oath, to do that which
was right, and to do it mercifully, they had awarded the sen-
tences and punishments assigned by the law to such offences ;,
but the Lord Lieutenant not only gave the impression that
they were wrong—that in the exercise of their office they amt.°
tyrannical, but he appeared to add the flagitious insult which
he (Mr. West) could never believe was intentional by any
British nobleman, of substituting for the bearer of the King's
commission in the administration of justice as well as mercy—
(Loud cheering)—the keeper of the common gaol—( Great
cheering)—to be the medium through which the merits of
these malefactors were to be ascertained, and the prerogative
of mercy to be administered.—(Great and continued cheer-
ing.) Did he exaggerate ? Look to Colonel Yorke's letter
to the gaoler of Lifford—to another respecting Meath gaol,
from which 21 persons were discharged. It was the same at
Cork, the same at Tralee ; and the only impartiality and jus-
tice which ho (Mr. West) could see in the transaction was,
that every county was to have its due proportion of vagabonds
scattered over it—(Tremendous cheers)—and that there
should be no county in which the Judges should not be impar-
tially insulted.—(Cheering from the Opposition.) And
with respect to the prisoners themselves, if entitled to a par-
don they ought to have bad it properly. There was no man
who was not bound by many obligations to society, and it
might not only he important to the prisoner to have the legal
consequences of his conviction completely removed, but there
were many cases in which the public might have an interest in
it. Take him as a witness, for example. The public might
have an interest in his testimony—the conviction rendered him
incompetent. At common law his pardon must have been
under the Great Seal ; but a late statute had given a shorter
process of restoring the competency by warrant, under the sign
manual of the Lord Lieutenant, backed by his Secretary.—
( Hear, bear.) Now he (Mr. West) should feel exceedingly
glad to know in what manner any of the very able lawyers of
the Association would set about pleading such a pardon as this,
given in the many cases of felony and misdemeanor with which
the several lists abounded.—( Laughter and cheers.) That
the Earl of Alulgrave being the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
came upon such a day, in a very handsome cap and feather—
( Laughter and cheering)—presented himself at the door
of the gaol of Sligo—( Loud laughter)—and then ,and there
ordered the gaoler, who neither knew the Lord Lieutenant,
nor had any business to know him—(Laughter)—to let loose
the particular offender-4 Laughter)-- which the gaoler did
accordingly, without anv further warraut.—(Cheers.) There
were precedents enough to be found of proper warrants for the
purpose. One, and not a very distant one, in po'nt of time
would be mentioned by a Learned and Hon. Friend ; but be
( Mr. West) would venture to furnish another to the official and
Hon. Gentleman at the other side, which might be useful
hereafter. In the list of malefactors discharged from Sligo
gaol he perceived the name of one who had been sentenced to
nine months' imprisonment for an assault, with intent to commit
a rape. Something of a similar offence occurred in the reign
of James 1., and a pardon was granted; and the form of the
warrant conveying the pardon was preserved ; it would be found
in the 21 vol. State Trials, 739, and a portion of it was in
these terms :

" THE PARDON OF SIR ECSTACE METE'.

" James Rex.—Omnibus ad quos do salutem—Seiatis, quod
nos de gratia more spcciali, ac excerta scientia-et mero motu
nostris, pardonavimus, reraisimus, et rclaxavimirs, ac per pro',
sentes, pro nobis, limredibus et suceessoribus nostris pardons-
mus, remittimus et relaxarnus, Eustatio Harte, de villa do
Southampton, militi, omnia, et singula crirnina et offensas
adulterii, fornicationis, et incontinentim, quoscunque, per
ipsum Eustatium liarte cum aliqua muliere, sive aliquibus
mulierihna, ante datam presentiurn. nieunque, quando-
eunque, quornodocunque, et qualitereunque, facts commissa,
vel perpetrata."
—(The reading of this passage excited a continued and un-
controllable laughter in the House.) But, as the law allows
the King to annex any condition to his grant of a pardon,
King James took care to annex a condition here. It will be
found, on a reference to the warrant, that Sir E. Harte was
to commit no more offences of the same kind.--.( Continued
laughter.) But times were changed. The Lord Lieutenant
of Ireland took no such precaution—(Great laughter and
cheers)—and the Sligo effendcr had gene back to society in-
capacitated in his civil rights—incompetent to give testimony
in a court of j:istiee—and, through the excessive clemency of
Lord Alulgrave, competent to nothing but the unlimited com-
mission of such offences as it might be his will and pleasure
hereafter to indulge in.—( Continued laughter and cheers.)
The Hon. Gentleman then adverted to the appointment of
Mr. Pigott, of whose talents he spoke very highly, and al-
luded to the fact of his office having been filled by Mr. Ser-
rTeant Greene, on whom he pronounced a warm culogium.
rHe said that there was no man of his profession whose ta-
lents, learning, and character could give the dcci.ions of the
Government a greater weight, or ensure more confidence
amongst the gentleman of the country. He had been
promoted by the Whigs therwelves, and by their ap-
pointment held his present rank. Yet this man was re-
moved from his uflice, and ?dr. Pigott now succeeded him.
This involved the question of the legality of this Association.
His opinion concurred with that expressed by his Friend.;
who had gone before ; but he could give an opinion on this
point which the House would hear with more pleasure than
anything he could present—the.opinion of Mr. Canning upon
an Association the same in everything but the name. The
Hon. and Learned Gentleman then read Mr. Canning's opinion
on the illegality of the Catholic Association.--( Loud cheers.)
One power this new Association possessed was not known to
the old—the power of appointing magistrates.—( Loud
cheers.) He then adverted to the dismissal of Colonel
Butler and other gentlemen, by Lord Plunket, from
the magistracy, for presiding at anti-tithe meetings, and
the disinclination of his Lordship to reinstate them. But
the Association was formed, and an lion. Member of this
House expressed himself strongly upon that subject. It was
enough for him to say that Colonel Butler was now reinstated
and in the Commission of the Peace. The result of all this
was natural enough. The Gazelle of last year contained 290
proclamations for great outrages, 71 of which were cases of
murder; in the first month of the present year, 28 proclama-
tions and 12 cases of murder. This was the diminution of

strerely direceed that the Cr own solicitor should not set aside a
juror merely on account of lily religious or political opinions."
Sir, I 'can easily imagine aat this general rule (like all ge-
neral rules) may be attenz.,aid with partial and occasional in-
convenience. But it is a matte rof great gratification to
find that upon the whole Chia rirl.e is not only right in prin-
ciple, but has been successful 'in practice. Another promi-
nent ground of complaint on tb a part of the Honourable and
Learned Sergeant, met a wine Hon. Members who followed
him, is the manner in which t 1 le prerogative of mercy has been
exercised by the Lord Lieutet tant of Ireland, on the occasion
of his inspecting the gaols of that country. Sir, it is an in-
convenience that when .any ,ecific charge of such a nature is
suddenly made, I have not the means of immediately laying
my hands upon the docunter its which would enable me to
answer it, when I am not accurately informed of the circum-
stances of the case. I do not complain of this : it is the in-
evitable consequence of the discussion, which I admit we on
this side of the House ha Pe provoked and compelled.—( Hear,
hear.) However, I will snake a. few statements with respect
to the rule which I believe has guided the Noble Earl at the
head of his Majesty's Gosserntnent on this point ; and if it
should be objected to theni that they are not satisfactory, I
can easily obtain the meaarn of affording a fall explanation
on the subject. Since his. first visit of inspection to the gaols
it has been his invariable. practice also to inspect all institu-
tions supported by the 'public money.—( Hear, hear.) On
his visits to the prisor my
of Noble Friend is in the habit
receiving reports
on three distinct points. From the
local authorities he r eceives a report on the conduct of the
prisoners during the;.r confinement : from the medical men he
receives a report 'ef the state of their health : from the
neighbouring gen'clemen he receives a report of their previ-
ous character, ?Aid of the probability of their amended con-
duct.—(llcesr,) In the county of Tipperary, last summer, the
Noble Ee:rl'vent further on this subject than he had previously
gone_ It is well known that that county has the bad emi•
nestee of being distinguished by outrage and disturbance. It
has been intimated that the feuds and factions of the Goya.;
.and the Poleens in that county have not met with sufficient
discouragement from the surrounding magistrates, who have
been influenced by the mistaken logic, that when parties fall
upon one another they will refrain from falling on any third
party.—( A laugh.) Such a supposition exhibits a great ig-
norance of human nature—a great ignorance of the fact that
when men are accustomed to acts of violence and steeped in
blood, their fury is easily turned into any new direction.
Tho inhabitants of the county of Tipperary responded in a
remarkable manner to an urgent admonition which the
Lord-Lieutenant addressed to them on the subject ; several
thousand copies of which were distribeted in the county.
An Association was formed in the county for the express
purpose of suppressing the outrages and disturbances com-
plained of. At the sessions for the county the law was
administered with great vigour by Mr. lowly, the able
assistant-barrister for the county. Mr. Howly absolutely
rejected the system of compromise which had before been so
prevalent, when the parties came before the Grand Jury. Did
any improvement in the state of the county of Tipperary take
place? Let the following extract from a subsequent charge
of Mr.: Howly answer:—" That a great improvement has
been thus brought about, appears by the official returns, which
extend over a period of the last four months, during rshich
the principal fairs in this county have been held, and which
formed heretofore the battle-ground of the several factions.—
[ Here the Learned Chairman read a return from Captain
Nangle, chief Magistrate to the Cashel district, stating that
26 fairs had taken place from the 7th of January to the 26th
of June, and no riots or fights occurred at them. Another
return was read from the Chief Magistrate in the Nenagh dis-
trict, Major Carter, stating that nine principal fairs had taken
place since the first of April, and no faction fights had taken
place at them. .1 think I may here observe, that the law,
as it at present stands, is quite sufficient to repress outrage,
and punish crime, without having recourse to any new or
more coercive enactments.—( Hear.) It is much better to
work with those laws which are familiar and constitutional,
and see whether they cannot prevail, than, without a great
necessity, rely upon the application of any Act which_
although it may punish crime—yet will want that full accor-
/Nance and assent which yield to laws their best influence and
power." I will also read a letter addressed to Mr. lowly by Mr.
Yadlin, the clerk of the peace for the county of Tipperary :_
" Clonmel, Dec. 19, 1836.
" My Dear Sir,—Your letter of the 16th I have been
unable to answer until this day. I now forward you a return
of the convictions at quarter sessions for the last three 3 ears,
in which you will perceive very little difference, except in eases
of bodily injury inflicted between man and man, a great in-
crease in larceny cases, but the affrays or riots have decreased
most wonderfully, as the number of convictions for the last
year do not amount to the total of either of the two preceding
years, although the greater part of the convictions under this
bead were of persons who ought to have been brought to trial
before your appointment. I may safely say faction fights are
at an end, never to revive in this county. The only way to
judge of the real state of the county is by the convictions;
these speak facts not subject to newspaper misrepresentation.
On looking over the informations for next Cashel and Nenagh
general quarter sessions, I do not find one single instance of se-
rious This justifies my assertion, and will, 1 hope, con-
vince you of the very improved state we arc now in.
" Should you wish for convictions at assizes, t can procure
you copies of the different rules of court for any period you
wish, on my hearing frem you.
" I have the honour to be, my dear Sir, your most faithful
servant, " YADLIN.
" John lowly, Esq., &c."
Now the lion. Member fur Dublin has made an attempt to re-
fute the convincing part of my Noble Friend's statement, by
taking the state of crime at one period only, without giving a
comparative view of that subject in reference to a former
period. Sir, we do say that the government of the Earl of
Mulgrave in Ireland, is conducted upon upright and impartial
principles, but we do not pretend, we have not the folly to
imagine, that we have converted Ireland to a perfect Ireland,
or to a Garden of Eden ! What is the state of the returns of
the principal ounces tried at Tipperary, at Nenagh, and
Cashel quarter sessions? Let the House refer to them, be-
cause whereas in the case quoted the returns were made up
to the Ist of July I.lst, the returns to which I will now refer are
made up to last December and even January. I find by the
returns made by the clerk of the peace for Tipperary of the
numbers of indictments in the years ending Ist Jan., 1836, and
Ist Jan., 1837, that the following is the result. I will im-
prove upon the principle of the Hon. Member for Dublin, and
I will take tic two corresponding periods. It appears, then,
there were—

Year ending Year ending
Jan. 1, 1636. Jan. 1, 1837.
For Riot 3 26 63
Assaults 194 123
Rescues. 153 57
Grievous Assaults
Forcible possession .. 24 l5
_ _

I is ill now refer Co oee other county, namely, that of Kilkenny—
the county the alarming state of which was the direct and im-
mediate cause of the Coercion Bill. Now I beg to read to the
House an extract from the charge of the chairman who pre-
sided at the last Quarter Sessions at Kilkenny, in which he
says : Gentlemen of the Grand Jury—The few observa-
tions which I shall have the honour to address to you, on the
great and signal diminution of crime, and the improvement of
the state of this county, are as gratifying to me as the facts are
creditable to the county, itself. Since I had the honour to be
appointed Chairman of this county, I have had, at each suc-
ceeding session, to congratulate you upon a sensible diminution
of crime and the improvement of your social condition. On
the last occasion I had the satisfaction to notice, that although
the number of indictments was apparently large, amounting
to one hundred and twenty-nine, yet the offences were in point
of quality very trivial, and might for the most part have been
disposed of at petty sessions, and not, unnecessarily, sent
here for trial. But cheering as the condition of the county
of Kilkenny then was, its present state is still more so ;
crime having not only been diminished, but almost extin-
guished. In conclusion, I have again to congratulate you,
gentlemen, on the peaceful state of your county, and the
pleasing prospects which that state presents." It was during
this progress of improvement and transition that the Lord-
Lieutenant visited Tipperary gaol, and after making the most
complete and diligent inquiry from the governor and deputy-
governor of the prison, by whom he was attended, with refe-
rence to the cases of these who had been convicted of light
offences, and more especially of those who had been convicted
of sharing in those long feuds, which bore best their confine-
ment ; as to the case of those whose sentences were nearest
expiration, and those who came from that part of the country
where the fewest commotions prevailed ; to these cases the
attention of the Lord- Lieutenant, I say, was particularly di-
rected, he acting upon the charges of the judges in passing the
original sentences, and with reference to the effect of the exam-
ple to be shown, and his judgment being always dependent upon
the consideration of what result a vigorous administration of
justice might have on the improved state of the country. But
this mode of proceeding on the part of my Noble Friend the
Lord Lieutenant has either been attended with success, or it
las not ; and let the House decide that point. I say, how-
ever, do not trust to my representations alone, but allow me to
refer you to documents. I have here two letters which were
intended to be private, but they are addressed to me in my
official capacity, and therefore I consider myself at perfect
liberty to put the House in possession of their contents. One
of these letters is from Mr. Howl}', bearing date the 27th of
January, and I could not well have better testimony than this
document. He observes, " The civil business of the present
Session I never recollect to be so heavy, nor the Crown busi-
ness so light. The mercy extended by his Excellency, during
his visit to this county, has fallen with a softening influence
upon the popular mind, and has contributed much to the tran-
quillity which prevails." I lately chanced to receive a commu-
nication on another subject from the county surgeon O. f
,ppe_
rare, dated Clonmel, Feb. 3, 1837. He says, " My Lord,_
Having lately seen some attacks on the Government, in conse-
quence of the liberation of
.prisoners by his Excellency the
Lord Lieutenant last summer, I take the liberty of inform-
ing your Lordship, that out of fifty-seven prisoners dis-
charged from our county gaol, by the Lord Lieutenant's com-
mands, only one has been recommitted, though the interval
that has elapsed is nearly six months. This solitary case is
that of an idiot."—( Hear and laughter.) I certainly thought
myself, when I first read this preliminary passage, that it did
not tell much in favour of the selection of cases which had
been made. But the writer adds, " This information your
Lordship may rely on, as I have taken care to ascertain its ac-
curacy ; and, further, it has scarcely ever occurred that any
such number of persons has left the gaol without some of them
having been recommitted, even within a much shorter period.
It is therefore quite certain that in this county his Excellency's
clemency has been attended with the best effects. I have the
honour to be,
" Your Lordship's very obedient humble servant,
" DENNIS PHELAN,
" Surgeon to the County of Tipperary Gaol."
Now I do not say that we have cured the evils of Ireland, but

I contend that we have very much improved her social condi-
tion. I have here, too, another letter from a person at Tip-
perary (addressed to the head Commissioner of the Police)
who it seems had made an application in favour of a person in
whose welfare he was interested, and ho says " that the signa-
tures to the certificates sent might be confirmed, and that no
doubt the party would prove an acquisition to the establish-
ment, and that the grievance of the applicant was of a new
character, Tipperary being so quiet that the police had no
business to do there." Now, Sir, the same causes and cir-
cumstances which have been so observable in the county of Tip-
perary have all operated in other parts of Ireland, and have led
to a corresponding exercise of the prerogative of mercy on the
part of the Lord Lieutenant.—( Hear, hear.) Sir, the Hon.
and Learned Sergeant, the Member for Bandonbridge, quoted
a case from Sligo, in which the sentence was commuted from
that of death to nine months' imprisonment. This fact goes
to show the circumstances under which that commutation of
punishment was made, or it speaks little for the state of the
law in Ireland. The Hon. and Learned Member for
Dublin University stated that this case was gone through
in two hours, and that it was decided upon instinct of
course. This was certainly a very candid and libe-
ral suggestion on the part of the Learned Gentleman.
I have already spoken of the laborious pains which
the Lord-Lieutenant took under the circumstances; and it
must be remembered that the memorials in each case were
laid before him, and formed the subject of very grave delibe-
ration.__( Hear, hear.) The Hon. and Learned Sergeant has
quoted a correspondence which took place between the private
secretary of the Lord-Lieutenant and the local inspector at
Lifford. The Learned Sergeant chose to put me down when
I referred to this part of the subject on a former occasion ;
but I hold copies of the correspondence in my land, namely,
of a letter from Colonel Yorke, the Private Secretary to the
Lord-Lieutenant, to the Rev. Mr. Clark, the Local Inspector
at Lifford.—( Hear.) And I must here declare, that with re-
spect to the discharge of the duties of local inspectors by the
Protestant clergy, the Protestant clergy do discharge them
with perfect fidelity, with great discretion, and with unremit-
ting zeal.—( Cries of " Hear, hear," from both sides of the
House.) The Learned Sergeant has reflected with some as-
perity on the circumstance of the Lord-Lieutenant having
desired that the proper authorities should furnish him with
some of the names of the persons entitled to mercy in Lifford
gaol, a gaol which is much celebrated for the excellent ma-
nagement which pervades its internal arrangements. In pas-
sing through the town on his tour it did happen that it was
not in the power of the Lord-Lieutenant to visit the gaol, but
he thought that he should be wanting in respect to those whose
skill was so manifest, if he did not give them some opportu-
nity to point out such persons as they might think proper ob-
jects for the exercise of clemency. Now the Learned Ser-
geant quoted only the beginning of the correspondence in ques-
on, but I must carry his attention and that of the House a
,tle further. Mr. Clark says—

" Lifford, Aug. 13, 1836.
" Sir—Agreeably to your wish, expressed in your letter to
the Governor, I have with him selected such cases as we feel
ustified in recommending to his Excellency's humane consi-
deration.
" With reference to those convicted of assault, I have not
recommended any case in which there was waylaying proved,
or any other circumstance of an aggravated nature. In all
cases recommended, I have been influenced by a feeling of com-
miseration for the innocent families of those confined.
" I have the honour to be, &c. &c. &c.
(Signed) " E. M. CLARKE,
" Loc..al Inspector and Chaplain.

" Lieut.-Colonel Yorke."
Colonel Yorke, in his reply, states that these cases will be
considered by those to whom such cases were referred. I
believe that in every case except one the list of persons
committed to gaol has been forwarded to the Castle by the
High Sheriff. This, however, did not occur in the case of
Meath, owing to a mistake on the part of the High .She-
riff, which irregularity, nevertheless, has not been conti-
nued. Colonel Yorke says, " That the Lord Lieutenant
felt himself, in cases where individuals had been accused
of breaches of the Revenue-laws, strongly impressed with
the conviction of enforcing the full punishment." This
then led to a further correspondence, which Mr. Clarke
thought it better should be published in the papers of the
country,. and this was accordingly done, and the letters so
published led to some severe animadversions and reflections
in the Epening Mail. I will now only quote ono more docu-
ment, it being an answer which was written to the / ondon-
Jerry Sentinel, i❑ consequence of what had appeared in the
Evening Mail, which article certainly afforded and evinced a
good sample of that system of misrepresemation which has
obtruded itself into the Mansion-house of Dublin, and has
even found its way into the Commons' House of Parliament.
The article to which I refer is this :
" Copy of a letter from the Rev. F. M. Clarke, Local
Inspector of the gaol at Liff3rd, county Donegal, to the Edi-
tor of the Londonderry Sentinel:—
" Six persons convicted of assault, sentenced some to six
months, one to four, and four to three months' imprisonment,
with ten convicted of a breach of the revenue laws, were re-
commended on the ground that their offences were not of an
aggravated nature, that each had a large family depending on
him for support, which in no degree participated in his guilt;
and his absence from which, at this particular season, might
prove ruinous. Of these so recommended his Excellency
liberated six confined for assault, and two for illicit distillation.

" The correspondent of The Mail, in his letter to which
the caustic remarks on mine are appended, asks, How many.
Protestants his Excellency has discharged?' and answers his
own question by saying, not one.'
" On this point I have to observe that, of the sixteen re-
commended here, three were members of the Established
Church, 13 were Roman Catholics.
" Of the nine discharged, four were members of the Esta-
blished Church, five were Roman Catholics.

" I remain, &c.,
(Signed) "E. M. CLARKE.
" Lifford, Sent. 16, 1836."
Now, this, I uilsl say, is a good sample of stating facts spe-
cifically ; and with some truth the Hon. and Learned Member ,
for Dubliu declared he did not like adverting to facts. lam
now about to speak to this dearest and most valuable exer-
cise of the prerogative. Ido not mean to contend, and lam
sure no lion. Gentleman would, that the exercise of this
privilege would establish a good system for permanent prac-
tical operation ; but under the peculiar circumstances of time
and country I believe it to be perfectly justifilble; and I be-
lieve that its exercise under the circumstances which pervaded
this case was of considerable use, and that much benefit
has resulted therefrom. But, Sir, severe strictures
have been made upon the use which the Noble
Hari, the Lord-Lieutenant, has made of the same pre-
rogative in former cases which have been brought before him,
of prisoners who have been sentenced, and whose sentences he
interfered with, the Lord-Lieutenant not having first taken
the opinion of the judges. Now, I take upon myself to say,
that the present Lord-Lieutenant has not been surpassed by
any of his predecessors in that most laborious consideration
which lie has bestowed on all the criminal cases which have
been brought under his notice, and which has formed the most
onerous part of his duties. I will also take upon myself to
say, that it is, and always has been, his rule and practice to
refer to all cases to the judge who may have presided at the
trial of the prisoners, when the point turns upon the circum-
stances connected with the trial itself. As an instance of
the way in which the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland has
shown his want of respect for the authority of the judges-
-( I should he the last man to impugn the respect due to the
character of a judge ; but I must hint that that respect
ought to be reciprocal to the respect due to the representa-
tive of the Sovereign)—the Learned Sergeant has brought
forward a case which was tried before the Chief Baron, and I
owe an apology, perhaps, to the Learned Gentleman for the
exclamation I made on that occasion, when I said the case had
occurred last year. I did not, however, do justice to my ex-
clamation, because I should have said the year before last,
though I do not mean to say that this would be a justification
if it had occurred three years ago. But, Sir, what led to my
exclamation was the fact that this charge had been already
served up to us in July, 1835, on the motion of the lion.
Member for Londonderry, and I thought the matter had been
fully disposed of. I must say, that when I found the Learned
Sergeant had bottled up this story of the Chief Baron, I was
surprised. The opinion of the Lord-Lieutenant had been
given to the Earl of Haddington. The Protestants, who were
supposed to be the parties aggrieved, had the lighter punish-
ment allotted to them, whilst the Roman Catholics had the
heavier. But it was after the expiration of the period of con-
finement extended to the Protestants that the jury unanimously
came forward to petition that a similar exercise of mercy might
be manifested to the Roman Catholics, they having been al-
ready a longer time imprisoned than the Protestants.—( Hear,
hear, hear.) His Excellency took an opportunity of looking
at the original notes of the case, and of considering
the judge's opinion, and, thinking that a sufficient period
of confinement had been allotted to both parties, he assented
to the enlargement of the Roman Catholics.—( Hear, hear.)
Upon that occasion, in 1835, I remember the name of the
Countess of Mulgrave was brought forward for having obeyed
the impulse of her gentle and charitable nature, and expressed
a wish in favour of a prisoner from whose wife she had re-
ceived a letter--(Hear, hear, hear); and I really had hoped
that her name would not again have been brought forward
even to appease the dignity of my Lord Chief Barot.—
( Cheers.) But we have not yet done with the misconduct of
the Government in the last year. The Hon. and Gallant
Member for Donegal says that the liberation of Mr. Reynolds
was a most unjustifiable step. He stated further, that not
only had we committed the enormity of acting upon that oc-
casion without the concurrence of the Learned Judge by whom
Mr. Reynolds was tried, but that we acted in direct opposition
to his opinion, after it had been asked and obtained. The
Hon. and Gallant Member is mistaken. We did not ask the
Learned Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for his opinion as
to the propriety of mitigating the sentence passed upon Mr.
Reynolds ; but from what transpired through the ordinary
channels of information the Lord Lieutenant felt himself called
upon to ask for the notes of the trial, for the evidence taken
upon the trial, and for the charge delivered by the Learned
Chief Justice to the Jury. These documents, when obtained,
he immediately submitted to the legal advisers of the Crown,
the Attorney-General, the Solicitor-General, and the Lord
Chancellor, and it was in consequence of their unanimous opi.
nion, as expressed after an inspection of these documents, that
the Lord Lieutenant ordered the immediate liberation of Mr.
Reynolds.—( Cheers.) This happened in November, or, at
the latest, December, 1835 ; yet upon this grossly unjusti-
able step until last night not one word has been said in either
House of Parliament, either in the way of reproach to the Go-
vernment, or vindication of the offended dignity of the Lord
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.—(Cheers.)
Colonel CONOLLY—I beg the Noble Lord's pardon. I
alluded to the subject myself not long after the transaction took
place.
Lord AIORPETII : I am reminded of what I had certainly
at the moment forgotten. I remember that the subject was