The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-07 00:00:00

allude to in order to show the fallacy of the doe- ! any kind could be held without first going cap
ts ne that had of late sprung up that the in- lin hand to the Lor,l-
Lieutenant to ask him
surrection was not an insurrectises et sll, and that there whether he thought it was advisablene tit ng they
.that such
se;eueceesity for telaug the pt.:cautions that had 1 a meeting should Lake place. 0
been taken. He would thass over the circumstances must remember, that what they were doing with reamed
that had taken place at several of the trials in Ireland; to Ireland wen equally applicable to England and that if
but there was one document he must shortl allude to, they consi led such a power tof sny man,
es it had been the subject of great discussion else- they might, by the agency. ro a wicked
where, he alluded to the lett r of Mr. MsGhees Minister, he equally subject. in their
inflicting
. country
who took such an active part in the transactions that had to evils similar to those which they were inflicting upon
taken place in Ireland. That letter appeared in the Ireland. Was it because a graceless and disreputable
New York 'limning Herald. (The Right Honourable fellow like Garcy M.Ghee chose to write seditious letters
Gentleman then read several parts of the letter. in America, that the whole country was to be oppressed?
of Mr. IlhCehee, particularly those parts in which the Who was Mr. Darcy MaGhee? and what were his ob-
writer ss i
seee of the revolution that had taken place in jects in publishing that letter on which the Right Hon.
France, the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in July Baronet so much relied as his case for the renewal of the
last year, the harveet in Ireland, the Confederates, the suspension of the constitution in Ireland. He was a
oesn,zetion of the 500 Club, and stated that their object mere " refugee rebel," whose object was to represent
sand determination was to burn down the cities of Ire- himself as a " hero" and a " martyr" in the cause of
land, as the Athenians did Athens, intimidate Irish liberty, and so render himself popular with the
the troops, and render it impossible for them " American sympathisers," his real object being to sell
to do their duty to their country or their Sovereign.) his paper. And it was upon the testimony of such a
Now, after such a letter as that, he must confess that he man as that that the Government called on the British
was astonished that Hon. Gentlemen should get up Parliament to suspend the constitution in Ireland. He
in that House or elsewhere to assert boldy that the might add, that Mr. Dar "y M‘Ghee was believed by
insurrection was a mock insurrection.—(Hear.) He was many to be an auxiliary in carrying out the plans of thef
aware that the authenticity of the letter had been Government; and he thought that on the testimony
o
denied; but he believed it had been clearly proved that such a man the Parliament ought not to be led to give
such was not the case ;he believed that now the most its assent to the proposed measure—a measure the actual
sceptical persons did not doubt its authenticity, indeed necessity for which the Right Hon. Baronet had failed
4r. M`Ghee himself had re- asserted the authorship to make out, and which he confessed there was no new
of it in his answer to a letter that had been conspiracy, no new acts of an insurrectionary
written against the first letter that ho wrote, and character, to warrant him in applying for.—(Hear.)
that answer had been pahlished in the New He now came to the letter of the Lord-Lieutenant, and
York paper of which Mr. M‘Ghee was the editor. he must say that there were a great many statements in
It was towards the close of last session that the Act it which were not quite true. One statement was that
was passed, and its duration was fixed so as to enable the Lord-Lieutenant had not brought the law into opera-
the Government to carry through the recess, and to say tion against personal liberty, unless where it became ab-
when Perrliament met again whether the powers it solutely necessary for the protection of the country.
granted should cease_ or be continued. During Now he knew a case in which this statement was not
the recess they had anxiously considered true, for a gentleman who was opposed to the Young
the subject, and had arrived at the conclusion Ireland party was taken up and put into prison without
which he had already stated to the House. The ques- any proof that he ought to be made subject to this op-
tion was, looking at recent occurrences and the spirit pressive law. The Hon. Gentleman proceeded to com-
and organization which still existed in Ireland, and was ment upon other portions of the letter, and contended in
ready to flame out againwhenever an oppqrtunity was reference to a passage in it that the Goverument was not
aflbrded, whether the House should adopt the same entitled to the love of the people of Ireland, because they
means which were contemplated and sanctioned last had not upheld their promises to give an improved fran-
Bummer. He was not prepared to state that chise to the people of that country, or to give them the
Camepiracy still existed, but he would pledge himself that English principle identified with municipal institutions.
fhb moat anxious devotion had been directed to the sub- If they went into Committee, he would show that
j'eet !`the Lord• Lieutenant and her Majesty's Govern- the Government of _this country had no claims on
ment, who had collected information from every avail- the affections of Irishmen. He denied also that the few
able source, and they had come to the irresistible con- men and boys who met in the wilderness near Clonmel
cJision not to shrink from recommending the con- could be fairly designated as a "renewed attempt at
tumence of the Act. The Right Hon. Gentleman then insurrection." It was also said that the arms were not
referred to a communication which had been received given up. Well, this might be a good reason for a more
from the Lord-Lieutenant, stating, that although the stringent Arms Bill, but it was no reason why they
faildie of past attempts had weakened the confidence of should destroy the constitutional privilefes of the peo-
the disaffected, there still remained a feeling of insubor- pie of Ireland. The principle of agitating for a repeal
dination among them which, unless timely measures of the union was declared by the Judges of the land
were taken by the Government, might again beccme ac- to be a legitimate agitation, and yet the object of this
tire. All the evidence which had been collected tended law was to crush agitation, which had in all periods of
to confirm that opinion. Within the last few days there this country been the safeguard of the constitution.
appeared in Dublin an advertisement in one of the pa- Englishmen were consenting to this law for Ireland,
piers, to the effect that an extraordinary publication which they would not consent to for one moment if it
would appear on the Ist of March next (that date having was proposed for this country. -But Ireland was
of course reference to the expiration of the Act, sus- struck down; her people were prostrate. Those that
pending part of the constitutional liberties of Ire- could leave the country were doing so, and those who
land)—a most extraordinary publication, containing the remained were the sick and the helpless, and the conse
most spirit-stiring effusions, to be dedicated to the quence was that the Government of this country acted
young men of Ireland. It was described to be a publi- as they pleased in respect to Ireland. But this would
cation the richest and most racy of its kind.—(Laughter.) not be borne, and those who were in the habit of evok-
He (Sir George_ Grey) had said nothing to lead ing the opinions of the people of Ireland, would try in
the House to imagine that the Government en- their own persons, whether this law was to be brought
tertnined the least apprehension of the success into operation against the legitimate agitation of a ques-
of any movements of the kind referred to. tion—the agitation respecting which was declared by
He hoped that the events of the last few months would the highest authorities in the land to be legal. The
undeceive the most credulous, and shake the confidence Home Secretary had not, he said, brought this
of those who, from vanity or other motives, took upon law forward in consequence of the personal cha-
themselves to lead the people. Many were impressed with racter of Lord Clarendon, and yet throughout his
the great clemency which the Government had shown speech he constantly referred to the personal conduct of
in the administration of this law, at the same time that Lord Clarendon during the recent disturbances in Ire-
they had vindicated the law, andmaintained thepeace and land. He admitted that in many instances the Noble
tranquillity of the country; and he considered that the Lord had acted wisely and well, but in many other in-
Lord-Lieutenant was entitled to the confidence of all stances he had acted inwnother very different manner.
loyally-disposed persons.—(Hear, hear.) He had now The object of the Government in Ireland was to allow
stated the reasons why the Government were of opinion the disaffection to get such a head, that they would
the Constitution should for a further period be suspended. find it easy to put down every description of agitation
'lle powers which the suspension of the Act had con- in that country. When the trials came on Catholics
ferred upon the Lord-Lieutenant had been exercised, were excluded from the juries. In the Catholic
he was proud to say, in a conciliatory spirit, with the county of Tipperary there were but eighteen Catholics
earnestpurpese of promoting the peace and happiness of the against 300 Protestants on the panel for that county at
country; and the law had been administered in such a way the special commission at Clonmel. The Government
asp prevent any complaint being made in a single in- committed a serious crime in tampering with the jury
stance. No blood had been shed on the scaffold in lists. He would now refer to the circumstances under
pursuance of the sentences that had been passed. The which the Habeas Corpus Act had been suspended in 1
only blood that had been shed was that of the deluded former times. It was suspended in 1805, when they
victims, wham he would not say had been led, were at war with Napoleon. At that time disaffection
but who had been driven to their fall, and in Ireland was not confined to writing articles in news
who had sacrificed their lives in a vain attempt to papers, but employed armed men as emissaries in France
achieve an impracticable purpose.—(Hear, hear.) In formed into a kind of regiment. What he asked for
alluding to the temperate way in which the Lord-Lieu- was a Committee of Inquiry. He thought he was en-
tenant had exercised the powers with which he titled to demand it from, the present Government, for he
was vested, he felt that he should not ren- had as a precedent a resolution proposed by Mr. Fox,
der him all the justice that was due to him if he who might be considered the apostle of Whig princi-
did not read an addresS which had been presented to hiss pies. At the same time he knew it was of no avail to
from the Corporation of Dublin, a body not very likely appeal to the Government. He was satisfied the Minis-
to wish to take away unjustly any of the rights which ter would not come to propose this measure to the
their fellow-subjects possessed. (The Right Hon. House unless he was prepared to go all lengths in sup-
Baronet then read an address, which compli- port of his officer in Ireland ; but he appealed to those
mented the Lord-Lieutenant upon the temperate independent Members whom they had so often supported
spirit with which he had acted in an unpre- in their efforts to obtain Parliamentary reform and
eedeated crisis.) There was one point, however, other measures of amelioration, if they allowed this en
which' he should not omit to mention in stating croachment upon the Constitution it would be vain for
-the grounds on which he was asking the House them to expect a reduction of expenditure or a reform
to continue the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act— in the financial system. They would not be able to
namely, that at farmer periods on which Parliaments withdraw a soldier from Ireland, and would find they
had agreed to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act would hereafter have to pay bitterly for this neglect of
for a given period, severe measures were either in ex- the defence of the Constitution. The Hon. Member
lately(' or were at the same time put in force. For instance, concluded by moving the following amendment :—" That
in 1803, when the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act wag a Committee, consisting of twenty- oue Members, be
renewed, a Bill empowering the proclamation of martial formed by ballot, to examine such documents as may be
law In Ireland was passed at the same time; and again, laid before them; and to report to this House chain
in 1817, the Insurrectionary Act was passed simulase- opinion upon these documents, whether the continuance
otrfly with the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, in of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act be a mea-
order that parties having arms in their possession might sure necessary to the trequillity of Ireland at the pre-
be compelled to give them up without delay. Such an sent time."
Act was not now, however, in force; and, therefore, if Mr. MEAGHER, after a short pause, seconded the
the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act were not amendment.
granted, the Government would not be in pos. Mr. F. O'CONNOR did not feel much surprised that
session of the requisite powers to rely upon the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for
far the preservation of the peace. The Honourable the Home Department should have made such a pro-
Me mber for Limerick alluded last night, with consider- posal to the House as that which was now under consi
able displeasure, to the passage in the letter of the Lord.. deration when he saw the difficulty which the mover of
Lieutenant which dealt with the evils of political agate- the amendment had had in getting a seconder. The Right
tion. He had had, of course, no communication Hon. Gentleman seemed to him to be very much in the
with the Lord-Lieutenant since the speech of the position of a weak and inadequate lawyer, who once said
Honourable Member, but he might observe that that he preferred a subservient jury to the best cause he
he was necesserily in constant communication with that could have in his hands. The Right Hon. Baronet had
Noble Lord, and that the House would agree with him relied upon a subservient House of Commons to help
when he stated that he did not object to political discus- him to destroy the remains of Irish liberty. The
sion, but to that unfair discussion for impracticable reasons which had been urged for the measure were
objects, which was the bane of Ireland the altogether unsatisfactory. It was said to be to
bane of her industry, of her agriculture, and enable the Lord-Lieutenant to carry out his policy;
commerce, and of every ether improvemennand to which but it was not said what that policy was. The
he thought, a , check ought to be given, because he Right Ilononrable Gentleman had also attempted to
thought Irelarial should now enjoy repose from exciting justify it by quoting a letter which had appeared
agitation, and that the minds of the people should be in a New York paper from a man who had been
directed to the pursuance, instead, of mere permanent frighten( dby tyranny cut of his own country; and here
objects on which her future welfare depended. He was he begged to say that it ill became the Hon. Member
anxious to read the reply of the Lord-Lieutenant to the tor Limerick (Mr. J. O'Connell) to attempt to cast a slur
addresses of the Corporation of Dublin. ( the upon a man who had been driven from his country for
Right Hon. Bart. then read the address, which stated, in resisting the tyranny of which he himself complained.—
effect, that there existed on the part of the (Hear.) There never had been such a vague, lame, ire-
Queen's Government, and on his own, a sincere potsnt appeal made to any Assembly as that of the
desire as investigate the causes of the disc .ntent Right Hon. Gentleman to continue the suspension of
of Ireland, and to remedy the evils of which the Habeas Corpus in Ireland, and in making it he relied
else complained, to the best of their ability.) entirely on the subserviency of the House, and not on the
Stab were the sentiments of the Lord-Lieutenant, merits of his case. Let not the House be led away by
and t'..Py are ;sentiments in which he cordially coreperisons between the speeches of different agitators,
concurred. It was on these grounds that the but let them contrast the policy of the different viceroys
Government considered that the limited powers in Ireland. Lord Anglesey taught the people well. Ile
for which they asked should be entrusted to the hands of told them to " Agitate, agitate, agitate !" Lord Claren-
the Lord- Lieutenant, with a view to the preservation of the don used very different language; he said, " Rely entirely
peace and welfare of Ireland. There could only be on me. lam the constitution ;s—
one opinion as to the spirit of the advice of "'I am Sir Oracle;
the Lord-Lieutenant ; not to look to agitation " 'And when I ope my mouth let no clog bark.'"
to cure the evils of that unhappy country, but that If this measure passed no grievance would be redressed
they would come ti the consideration of those
no beneficial measure would be introduced; but Lord,
evils with an earnest
.desire to promote the
Clarendon would become the great gaoler of Ireland,
development of her resources, industry, and, armed with authority to seize upon every one who ven-
in brie, raising her in . the scale of nations,
tured to oppose the Government now in office or agitate
which no one would be more delighted to
to achieve which her Majesty's Govern- upon any useful question. But he would tell the Gu-
see than hi self;vernmeist that they could not put agitation down by such
rnent would render all the assistance in their insists as these. The present measure was not so much
povvee. Thstead of calting blame upon the Governs- to destroy agiuttion in Ireland as in England. When-
meat, and blaming them for not introducing measures of ever fear was to be struck into the hearts of the people
relief, those who really entertained sincere feelings of the latter country, or whenever satisfactionand u
towards Ireland
ought to stimulate each other to-pro- rity were to be affo; se
deel to the landed gentry on thisthe ewpaeso pilule
mote that end. For these reasons he asked the House
iod, the powers which the side of the Channel, the blow was made at the hearts of
poofslsribelleatfido.r
the
eit apuecolpi
iestetpos
rneorawaixnverceonvtaeinnt.
to give, for a limited ptr
forL_ , thethedue
same
de
with the existing state of things, when every foreign
Goverienent believed necessary,
by the Excess-
country had obtained a new Constitution, or for the
easeful administration of which
Noble Lord to hold on any longer in h's resent maud-
live they had the guarantee Ititii.
lie way.
„vile agreed with the Right Honourable Gen-
care would be shown in their exercise for the future
There could be no
sat during the past.—(dear.)
ateubt that the powers now sought would be ex- 1.
L dL. t - t °man (s Sir William Somerville) that it was not to that
House, but to the tan llordsof Ireland, a
cruised in a temperate spirit, for the or - ieu e
that the people
i'll-t had acted in an enlightened manner were to look for protection. There were, however, no
ISO with on earnest desire to promote and con- qmptons that the Government proposed to snake the
le the best interests of the country.—( landlords do their duty, and to force them to incr "
1.,n last yeas the Government had asked for the con- the national resources b 7 reproductive labour, for the
aittiance of the Act for seven months, they had done so landlords were always ready, as the Government well
in advr to afinw a certain time, with a margin knew. to sustain them in any measure against the liber-
for the meeting of Pailiament, in order that the Legis- ties of Ireland. When, on a former occasion, the Go-
latpre might judge whether the Act should expire. vernment had proposed to restrain the expression of
Tile time which they now asked for the continuance public opinion, he prophecied that secret societies would
of the Act was six months, with a view to enable Parlia- spring up, and that assassination and illegal bodies
paent to judge before it again separated whether the Act would prevail over the country, and the result showed
:Await' still be continued, whether this Act should expire he was right. Were the Government prepared to put
ay whether any. other Act should be passed to increase down all agitation whatever? Had the Noble Lord for-
tes mod*, or alter the powers of this Act. He should gotten how the Reform Bill was carried? Had he for-
thOcefore now only move that the Act for the otten the letter of Tom Young of the Home-office to
continuance of the suppression of the Habeas Corpus gotten
Napier, calling upon him to head the Bruns-
Ant should remain in force for a limited period.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL rose to move the amendment of trnhaegersiombleen and pass the B
asill m by
ranch differed I:
te a rand dayß
which )'<© w
o had given notice.—(Hear.) He trusted that ahforc a es? night
he sat on different sides of the House. He
when the House was about to pass a Bill for the continu- (Mr. O'Connor) had been taunted before in that
anon of au Act by which all the powers of the Commons House.
forhis loyalty.—(A laugh.)
Souse of Parliament were to be passed into the hands of a Minister who went every quarter-day to
The loyalty
of the Executive, that they would at least con-
the Tre '
eider what they were about to do, and what „ii asur differed widely from the loyalty of
'ts they were abewat to serve, and whether indeed inblood ,re igson, and a 0 g , bad .
alien
objects but he could tell the Noble Lord he never been a
those objects would tend to any practicable purpose. Republican, and never would be a Re publican, unless
he hadobserved '
arty point whisk in the speech of his mind became greatly altered.—(Laughter.)
The He
t-T n Gentleman was, that if any Member of would tell the House, it was his firm conviction they
the Rig-ht Ll° • isaythat he would do never could tranquillize Ireland till they had destroyed
that House ghoul( presume to
the dominant chur h Church, '
this, that, or the other, that they should not do it, rim lv
ht it was wrong. If the 'Britiaislc —theyrotestant which was
becatise ho thought it
prepared to assent to a badge of conquest and of oppression to the natives of
had they treated the people chitin,
Horse of Ccniamons
would be assenting to that country. How
the late disturbance? They had retained Irishmen in'
they _ g. one
any such principle,
the most tyrannous proceedings that could possibly be • prison,but the instant the American Ambassador in-
ofte
whorfe rbeadd onbe
en behalfar
reosftesdom they were set at liberty. Was
adopted. The only effect indeed of such an Act
plo of all politicale subjects of the United States
that a proof of their strength? They talked of Poland,
was to deprive the Pe°
that House had told
eights. A Gentleman in
and compared her to Ireland; but, when had they ever
him only yesterday that the pr le were altogether pre-
heard of 1,000,000 of Poles dying of fa •
vented from the right of petitioning, for a.meeting hadfamine in the course
within the lastfew days been held, the object of which of a year?—(clear, hear.) Ana this was the country
was to petition the Crown respecting a matter which said by the Noble Lord, and by the Right Ron. Gen-
to be in a state of calm onwhich
,-bad nothing whatever to do with polities ; butsuck :Leman,
_ .
4'irisui the effect of this Bill, that no meeting of