The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-19 00:00:00

NO

more to the point to give the account in his own
wotds

" Shortly after my return (from the InSurmant-s), some per.
son told them, as they were dispersing, that a dragoon was
killed by some of their party at the Chapel of Knockacopnil,
two miles to the west of where they were assembled : this news
caused a great sensation amongst them, and prevented them
from dispersing : after a considerable lapse of 'time, Mr.
O'SULLIVAN and family was informed that the man was not
killed, that he turned out not to be a dragoon, but the bearer
of the mail-bag, and that they had him at that moment out-
side Mr. O'S.'s gate • on his hearing this, Mr. O'S. requested
me to go down and endeavour to save the man's life; I instantly
mounted my horse and repaired to the spot; I found Mr.
BRERETON much abused and injured ; 1 intreated and im-
plored them in the most energetic manner to spare the man's
life, and give him up to me ; after a long a' tercation they ac-
quiesced ; I instantly decided on taking him to Inchibeg, dis-
tant about half a mile, where a small party of the 39th regi-
ment was stationed during the winter, for the sole purpose of
protecting the mail-coach establishment there ; I had not pro-
ceedNl far towards this place with BRERETON, when I per-
ceived a violent commotion amongst the multitude, and in a
very short time tnriimnense body of them rushed across the
hills and came before me on the road ; they told me they came
to a resolution of taking BRERETON from me.
" I may now remark, that they acted here consistently with
their usual plan of placing the strangers from the neighbour-
ing parishes in front of me, that they themselves might not be
recognised by me ; it is unnecessary to say, that 1 remon-
strated with, and supplicated the multitude in the most solemn
manner, and with all the earnestness in my power, to spare the
man's life ; the reply of the ,multitude was, that they did not
mean to take his life, but that they shouldkeep him amongst
them as an hostage, and that wherever they marched they
would place him in frOnt. I still persevered in my entreaties,
and the multitude in promising that the man would not be put
to death, when an account came that the military were advanc-
ing within half a mile of them at Rathmore, on their march
from _Killarney, which was nearly correct. On receiving this
news, it may be easily imagined how great was the agitation of
the multitude. At this moment they, with one voice, peremp-
torily ordered me to go oft, saying that my interference should
be respected, and, in an angry tone, desired me to depart. Re-
flecting on the imminent danger in which I was placed, con-
ceiving that the military with the Killarney Gentlemen would
fire on a lawless armed multitude as soon as they should come
up with them and, finding that my exertions could be of no
further avail, I thought it prudent to retire as quickly as pos-
sible, satisfied, however, that the repeated promises' of the
crowd, relative to sparing poor BRERETON'S life, would have
been kept inviolably. It was not for a full hour and half after I
I quitted them that BRERETON was murdered, as is well
known by every one in the country,' from the circumstance
of hearing the report of the pistols by which he was killed.
I may here give the reason why the military did not come tip
immediately with the crowd—and the reason was, . that
when they came to Rathmore they began to pursue some
stragglers across the country, on which occasion they took some
prisoners." _ _

This Priest was summoned to appear before
HARRY WALLis and JEREMIAH E. M'CAnTirr,
Esqrs., Magistrates of the County of Cork, who
held an inquest upon the body of Mr. BRERETON;
but he refused to answer any questions. He was
afterwards served with a Crown-summons to at-
tend in this city, during the /ate Special Com-
mission, for the purpose of giving information as
to the persons who had engaged for the safety of
Mr. BRERETON, which might have led to the dis-
covery of the actual perpetrators of the murder.
The summons, indeed, he obeyed, so far as rela-
ted to his personal attendance ; but he positive-
ly refused, in the office of the Clerk of the Peace,
to give information to Mr. HEDGES, Capt. WHITE,
and another Magistrate ; and while those Gen-
tlemen were examining and remonstrating with
him, a message was delivered from his MAJESTY'S
Attorney-General, desiring they might not fur-
ther question Mr. O'SULLIVAN ; and informing
them, that if they committed him to gaol, (which
they had no intention of doing, although Mr.
HEDGES said that, had he been a Clergyman of
the Established ebtirch,
.he would have thought
it his duty to commit him,) he would discharge
him. Thus this Priest, after setting at defiance
the Laws of the Land, triumphed, in insulting
them, and in screening murderers from justice.
In his Letter already cited, he justifies his
refusal upon two principles ;—The first, inas-
much as Spiritual Peers, as he erroneously states,
are exempted, by the Canon Law, from voting
in cases of Life and Death, so he, as a Priest,
ought not to be required to give information
against murderers, which might bring any of the
said murderers to condign punishment. But this is
fallacious reasoning ;:and I imagine he must have
derived it from the same Theologians who taught
the late learned and pious Dr. LANIGAN the dif-
ference between a serious promise and a solemn
promise; and that it is no breach of moral duty
to violate the former, when convenient so to do.
—The second, that, as the " infatuated multi-
tude admit their Clergymen amongst them, on
the established principle of confidence, which,
from time immemorial, existed between them,
with the same feeling he goes naturally amongst
them, to advise, intreat, and remonstrate with
them on the madness of their proceedings ; in a
word, to move heaven and earth to prevail upon
them to refrain from violating the Laws, and con-
sequently bringing destruction on their own
heads : under these peculiar circumstances, would
it not be hard to push the Priest to the extre-
mity of violating this confidence ; would it mot
be unbecoming to take advantage of the simple,
unguarded, and unreserved confidence, of that
infatuated multitude in their Priest, particularly
when he is perfectly ignorant of the actual per-
petrators of this horrid deed ?" Truly, Sir, I
have heard of " honour among thieves ;" but
this is carrying it to a romantic height unknown
before; and (think he must have acquired the
idea in the school of St. THOMAS AQUINAS,
FILLINERUS, SONCHES, or some of the same fra-
ternity. For myself, I know of no law, divine
or human, that can justify a Priest, or even a
Bishop, for screening murderers from justice :
doubtless, the Crown Lawyers are better in-
formed than I can be, at least as to the latter.—
But I ask, and let those answer that can, had
Priest O'SULLIVAN recognised any Protestants
among " the infatuated multitude, would he
have had any scruple of conscience in giving in-
formation against them ?
As I am opinion that the Insurgents of the pre-
sent day are actuated by religious motives, so I
think that they have secret advisers and abettors,
if not leaders, of a superior rank ; for, however
prone the lower class of Roman Catholics may