The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-22 00:00:00

it up—certainly not.---(Laughter.) It was the business of.
a Government to get all the strength it could.—( Laughter.
But he was sure many persons would not support his Go- .
vernment because that Hon. and Learned Gentleman was
groundlessly said to be connected with it.---( Hoar.) He
would oppose the motion for a Committee, because he could
see no necessity for it. If it passed it would be a cen-
sure upon the Government, and would be followed by no
light consequences. He would never like to call into
question the prerogative of mercy.—( Hear, hear. )
He considered that the. granting of this Committee would
be an interference with the exercise of the prerogative of
mercy, and on that ground he should oppose the motion.
Lord BROUGHAM said, that although he bad re-
mained in that House ever since 10 o'clock, he should have
felt it necessary to offer their Lordships a few observations
even had the speech of the Noble Viscount not placed
the question on the basis on which it had placed it, he
should have felt himself bound as a duty he owed to him-
self and his country, to state his reasons for voting against
those with whom he usually voted on Jrish affairs, and
giving his vote to those with whom he in
general differed. In stating these grounds shortly and
simply in order to get at the essence of the question, he
should at once proceed to consider the statement
given by the Noble Viscount, of the object of the
motion of the Noble Earl. Nothing could be more
different from its real object than the one ascribed
to it by the Noble Viscount; it was not for a vague
inquiry, without object and endless voyage, without com-
pass or chart over the vast ocean of Irish affairs, but a
Committee of Inquiry as to the state of crime in Ireland.
in which there was nothing vague or indeterminate; end
he would do the speakers on the other side the
justice to say, that however much he might dill. r
from them, yet in their speeches they bad strictly
confined themselves to the terms of the motion.
He would not shelter himself behind the base
pretext that he did not impute blame to the Noble
Marquis. Certain accusations had been made—
those accusations had been denied—the denial had nut
been made out satisfactorily, and the case was one demand-
ing further inquiry; they would not at once proceed to a
vote of censure without further evidence, and to that .'x-
tent, and to that extent only, the vote he was about
to give imputed blame to the Noble illarquis.—( r. )
The impression be (Lord B.) had from the returns which
had been referred to, was that crime in Ireland had in-
creased. At the same time he acknowledged it was much
more easy to misunderstand than to comprehend Irish
returns.—(Hear, near, and laughter.) He was not
one of those who called out for new laws; he
did not think that the present laws having been
executed with vigour, had failed in their object,
and that new laws were therefore required. Neither
did he think that the Precursor Society should be
put down. That Society might be a foolish—or a mis-
chievous, or a beneficial Society—but it was a legal Societe.
Still he was an enemy to that Society, because its
name implied that it was precursory to the repeal
of the Union.—( Hear, hear.) Whether the chry-
salis Society might hereafter expand into the
mature vermin--(Laughter)—whether what was now
merely ridiculous, might become offensive—was to be
learnt from the conditions on which the Society was to act.
To endeavour to obtain 50 or 60 new Members for Ireland,
and take away an equal number from Great Britain, was in
fact less feasible than a repeal of the Union. Disap-
proving of the Society, however, he would not attempt to
foster it into importance by an unconstitutional law to put
it down. Now the Noble Marquis (Normanby) had in his
defence candidly admitted—what was no more than just—
the
excellence of the administrations of Lords Anglesea
and Wellesley. But such was not the way in which the
Noble Marquis had been defended in the House of Cnm-
mons. It had been represented that till the Noble
Marquis took the Government of Ireland the country had
been in a state of uncivilised barbarity—which was a very
odious, and false, and unfounded imputation on preceding
Governments of Ireland. He (Lord Brougham) could
not consider anything more disgusting to his mind than
the support received by the Administration of the Noble
Viscount by a certain Honourable and Learned individual,
on the ground—the professed, the alleged ground__
that the party which was headed by that
individual—
which had exerted their utmost poWer to oust Lord Grey's
Government from office, and at last succeeded by a Court
intrigue—that this party found the present Government 1
more incapable and inefficient.—(Hear, and cheers e)
Their Lordships were the highest Court of Justice
in the kingdom, and was it not fittest that
this question respecting the Government of Ireland should
be decided in their Lordships' House—for the prerogative
of mercy was inseparably mingled with the administr,:tion
of justice—both being alike the great duties of sovereignty.
What was the case which had been brought fori4urd ?
That great numbers of persons who had been
tried, convicted, and sentenced, bad been C-
lieved from their sentences—in many cases without
any communication with the Judges who tried the
offenders. With whom the communication was laid it ,vas
not for him (Lord Wougham) to say, but it was for their
Lordships to inqure.—( Hear, hear.) The Judges
of Ireland looked with anxiety for that inquiry„
from which it was utterly impossible to flinch.—( Hear.)
The Noble Marquis (Normanby) bad, in his progress
though Ireland, liberated some hundreds of convicts.
Now he (Lord Brougham) would admit, that in every
one of those cases the Noble Marquis made the rquiete
inquiries at the proper quarter—that the Judges were ap-
plied to—that the officers of justice were examined—my,
he would admit that in every one of those cases it was
right that, on the proper inquiries, mercyss,onicis
be extended. He had made ample admit
which lie believed to be altogether opposedt it be asserted
__(Laughter, and hear, hear)—admissions,
(Hear, hear.) Let it be proved ; n
prisoner ally
oPnl utnhkee authorityt) tha tfe
his
mitigation Of
gaol through Ireland who deservedhr)
wNaosblueoanodthLoaer3a.,rnaed Friend (Lord
For, if Mercy was
sentence.—( Laughter, and Hear,
surely havo been ascertained that
es :nerited the indulgence ,
not made as blind as Justice was represented t tloreblea,aidt
tint
were no other prisoners whosecas
As
prerogative of
friend
admi-
nistration cf justice—as a
a friend to' of the Crown.—( Hear, hear.)
ofa ftrhieend of the
admit
would
mercy— the brightest jewel in the Crown—as
of no exercise of the mercy of )rown, on any
the Monarchy itself—he ( Lord
oßfrotuhgehamc
(Cheers.) Let not the brightest jewelrice of a Viceroy,
other than full inquiry and careful
oifnvtietseticgartoiwenn.--he
of mercy was
worse, taunted to make a part in the pagan
abused, degraded, prostituted, attrythoef
was dammed un
caprice
aapcountry
by
( C
thehe e r
exercises. theof prerogativeurbitary
—eraoteicelescehdeert'sl.l)
indignation on the
lfpower, or,
longerl ' the
toi flexueisitie—eit ebfecaemorere
sHuet.iheriodt,shared by every honest
corruption, mercy
Hvee considered there was a prima
givenvt hi e IN:chile
mind in the country.
id as their Lordships' House was 1
btoolifeeelidrigosolfheieheonest
facie ease for inquiry,
a'
the proper Court for that investigation, he trusted it wOlll
be allowed to take place.
bore testimony to
the good end.,
A N0131.E LORD
which had resulted from the government of the Marquis of
Normanby to Ireland.
Lord PLUNKET would revert to the admissions
by his Noble and Learned Friend in the outset of
made
his argument. He would claim those admissions, although
his Noble and Learned Friend had almost in the next
breath sought to retract them. He would call the attention
of the Noble Earl and of the Noble Duke, who said they did
not mean this as a vote of censure, to the situation in which
they were placed by the support of his Noble and Learned
Frit nd, who supported the motion on the
ground el its
being a vote of censure. It weeild not be creditabie to
this House if this motion ehould be carried by a coalition,
acting together for such opposite reasons. It seemed that