The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-30 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY _EVENING, NOVEMBER BU, 1847.

those which Parliament may adopt, still, that in a limited
area, at all events, there does exist a system of terror
kept alive by the constant recurrence of crimes of fearful
atrocity, by which individuals in the discharge of their
duties as landlords, by residing upon their properties,
are exposed to the continued dangers of assassination,
a system which must lead to the disorganization of all
society, and which must present an insurmountable bar-
rier to every attempt permanently to improve the condi-
tion of the people.—(bear.) The House will have
remarked what constitutes, in every item of the long and
lamentable catalogue of murder which I have read, a
remarkable characteristic of the crimes now being com-
mitted. They have all been perpetrated with fire-arms.
—(Hear, hear.) Leaving, however, this part of the
subject, I now proceed to another, which I think the
House has a right to expect that I should not altogether
pass by—l mean the powers now possessed by Govern-
ment for dealing with the difficulties which present
themselves; in other words, the actual state of the law,
and the manner in which that law is administered.—
(Hear.) And I think I may appeal to every gentleman
conversant with Ireland, and who may have recently
returned from that country, to boar testimony to the
vigour and efficiency with which the Lord-Lieutenant
has administered those powers which the law has given
to him.—(Hear, hear.) It is gratifying to find, in the
resolutions of the magistrates which I have already re-
ferred to—resolutions adopted under circumstances of
unusual terror and dismay—that no charge is brought
against the Executive Government, of having neglected
any means which could be adopted for their protection,
or of showing the least decree of indifference towards
the crimes which have been perpetrated—(Hear, hear.)
I may then take credit at least for the rigour and
efficiency of my Noble Friend in discharging his
functions for the repression of crime—the protection
of life, and the encouragement of those—and I am
glad to say that there are many such—who are dis-
posed to co-operate with Government for the main-
tenance of order and the repression of outrage.—(Hear,
hear.) The Lord-Lieutenant has made what use he
was able of the military and police force at his disposal
in all the cases in which, in his opinion, the appearance
of an overwhelming force might overawe the offenders,
or convince them of the fruitlessness of their attempts to
gain the advantages they seek for from the commission
of crime.—(hear, hear.) I have adverted to the pro-
ceedings in the case of Mr. Roe, and also to those in
the case of Mr. Hill, who was shot near Limerick, in
both of which all the powers which could be exercised
by the Lord-Lieutenant were rigidly enforced. With
the view, however, of pointing out to the deluded perpe-
trators of these outrages, and all others who were aiding
and abetting in keeping up that system of terror and in-
timidation now prevalent in certain parts of Ireland, the
Lord-Lieutenant has issued a proclamation which cer-
tainly appears to me to comprise very much of what a
document of the sort ought to set forth. In that pro-
clamation, the Lord-Lieutenant, while sympathising
with the sufferings of great bodies of the people, is at
pains to point out that the outrages do not generally
occur in those districts in which the most severe desti-
tution exists.—(Hear, hear.) Although undoubtedly
outrages have been committed npon the pressure of
severe distress, yet the night attacks in Limerick and
Clare, and the assassinations in Tipperary, the King's
County, and in Roscommon, have not been induced by
want. His Excellency then proceeds as follows:—" The
Lord-Lieutennat, while affiarding the well-disposed the
protection of the law and the support of the Executive
Government in their efforts to maintain order, earnestly
asks for their co-operation in suppressing such violations
of the public peace as have recently occurred in the
county of Limerick, and in other places, and in endea
vouring to detect and convict those who are engaged in
the commission of similar crimes. There is no class,
save the guilty themselves, which is not interested in
bringing to punishment the highwayman, the burglar,
and the assassin, and the Lord-Lieutenant hopes that a
vigorous and energetic co-operation on the part of those
whose properties and lives may be sacrificed at the hands
of these offenders, will enable the authorities to carry
out successfully the endeavours of the Executive Govern-
ment to vindicate the law and protect her Majesty's
peaeeful subjects. The Lord-Lieutenant, therefore,
confidently appeals not to the gentry alone, but to the
well-disposed farmers and industrious peasantry who
seek to earn their livelihood by honest labour, to aid
his efforts in suppressing a system of terror, which
be feels satisfied is exercised by the few, but which
may be overcome by the energy and determination
of the many, whom it is intended to overawe. His Ex-
cellency hopes thet the misguided people, who are often
led into crime by a few wicked men, may be persuaded
to listen to better advice, and shun the companionship of
the felon and the murdelser, whose course through life
can often be traced by the misery which he has drawn
down upon those who have unwarily joined them in a
career of crime. His Excellency is resolved by every
meaus in his power to suppress the wicked spirit which
now disturbs the public peace, and retards the social
improvement and the prosperity of the country. The
Constabulary will be increased in all disturbed districts
(whereby an additional burden will be thrown upon the
rates), military detachments will be stationed wherever
necessary, in aid of the civil authorities, and efficient
patrols maintained ; liberal rewards will be given for
information leading to the arrest of offenders, and
ample protection to all who come forward and prosecute
them; in short, no exertion shall be spared for rigor-
ously enforcing the law against those by whom it is vio-
• listed. The Lord-Lieutenant, therefore, warns all who
engage, either in resistance to legal authority, or in
attacks upon life and property, to abstain from such
crimes, which will be followed by the severest punish-
ment—he cautions the people not to join with the ha-
bitual perpetrators of outrage, nor listen to the evil
counselstor of men who encourage opposition to the law
their
own ends, and will leave those they have de-
luded into crime to suffer its punishment—above all, he
thinks it his duty to make known the penalties that will
be incurred by accessores to crime, and that all persons
are by law considered ;
• 1
accessories who protect criminals
against their pursuers, who afford them the means to
escape, who aid in their disguise, who mislead those who
may be in search of them, or who harbour offenders in
their houses." The Right lion. Gentleman continued—
Perhaps I may here mention that a case recently came
before the Court of Queen's
Bench, in Ireland, which is
connected with the last paragraph of the proclamation,
and the decision in which will, I trust, have- no slight'
effect in enforcing the solemn warning of my Noble
Friend, and in leading the people to see that his are no
unmeaning words:—Two persons were suspected of
having harboured a man accused of an atrocious crime.
They were arrested, but unconscious, as it would tip-
pear, of the gravity of the offence which they had
Committed, they applied to be admitted to bail. The
Chief Justice, in an elaborate judgment, pointed
out the enormity of the offence and the severity
of the punishment which would await it, and
decidedly refused to entertain the application for bail.
I trust, Sir, this decision, coupled with the language of
the proclamation, will have a great effect in checking
rthe sympathy which has been unhappily tenni.
tested with the perpetrators of crime in Ireland, and of
preventing that aid and countenance being shown to-
Wards those which we have in too many instances had
reason to regret.---(Hear, hear.) Allusion was made
the other night to a special commission. Now, I am not
ins position to state that a special commission has
Issued for the trial of offences; but let me remind the
Ilouse that the cases that would be so tried have all
come on us within the last few weeks. The first case
in the sad catalogue which I read occurred only two
Executive ago. Since that time every exertion of the
Government has been made to detect the
offenders—to trace them to their hiding-places; and, not-
withstanding the many difficulties and obstacles which
have b sea thrown in the way, I rejoice to say, although
e
ome Of the perpetrators of these outrages are still at
large, and although no clue can be obtained to their
lurking-places, yet that several of the perpetrators of
the m oat daring crimes have been apprehended, and will
no doubt be brought to justice.—(Hear, hear.) With
respect, however, to the special commission, the Lord •
Leto utr,nant, in the frequent correspondence which he
coma
sins with us, states that the issuing of such a
o ission is the cones° which he is prepared
to lopt the moment that the Attorney-General
infornis him—as he will very shortly—that there are
sufficienta number of c
hear.) And this laesaesd to justify such a step.—
(Hear ,
I no a
t. :a, med t totroc aoo nif
co
et h
to
o portionfi Ireland,n d
a nsrn
eoe the subject. Infinredvievvine
spects
showing that juries are ditsnpfosed to wink at crime.—
(ileau, hear. ) What may
Bututifure be the case, I will
not vs mture to anticipate.
fe.turca by the past, then I find thatwhittetohanthejuldagstegoufarttheer
aessio ns the judges have reported
t of juries—
ask the
reaso a to be dissatisfied with the verdicts
oeehave had no
e
to
(Hese% hear)—and I- therefore do not
House to suspend the ordinary forms of legal procedure,
or ti) erect tribunals of another character; feeling,
do, firmly assured that the ordinary course of la as.l
be found sufficient Ste -bring offenders, against whom
will
awlyse information may be lodged, to conviction and
pun ishment.—(Hear, hear.) But in the meantime crime
is still being perpetrated. Persons are seen lurking
about, by day and night, armed with guns and blunder-
buss;es loaded—as a military officer writes—with such
ChVargeS as that which was extracted from the body of a
reeont victim—namely, one bullet and thirteen swan-
tbo t. The: persons using fire-arms, too, are in the
batsit of practising at a mark. Now, by the Constabu-
lary Act, passed a year and a half ago, the Lord-Lieu-
tert ant is empowered to proclaim districts as being in a
stat;e of disturbance. There are also Whiteboy Acts,
ens sting severe penalties against crimes—now common
in Tipperary and Roscommon such as sending
tihnsatening notices. These districts, however, cannot
"staid to be in a state of disturbance, because their
ccoaxlition does not answer the conditions of the detini-
twn of " disturbance," as given in the Acts in
question. The power vested in the Lord-Lieutenant '
e shns in sending to disturbed districts, such as Lime-
rick,Tipperary, and part of Clare, a limited number of
Police, in addition to the ordinary constabulary force,
charging the expense on the county, but only, however,
to be collected at distant periods, when its amount
would probably be lost sight of in the general amount
of the grand jury presentment, of which it would form
only part. The Lord-Lieutenant having, then, at present
power of increasing the police force in those districts
in which the prevailing crimes aro principally corn-
mitt ed, has felt it to be his duty to avail himself of that
Power—so far as by Act of Parliament he was
enabled so to do. He has hitherto, however, thought
proclaim themin a
it most prudent not to
'e, when he was unable to do anythingdisturbans
more than send small bodies of police hither—for the
reserved for ce at his command in Dublin amounts, I may
here state, merely to 400 men. It
was at first proposeds
in the Constabulary Bill that the Lord-Lieutenant
should be et npowered to send to any disturbed district
any portion of the reserved force. Considerable objec-
tion was, how© ver, raised in this House as to that power,
principally with reference to the charge to be thus im-
wPoetreedsoitnuatthe,
edeoaunta an ities in which the disturbed districts
amendment was carried by which

the Lord-Lieutenant's power to send down additional
, police was limited to the dispatch on this service of 100
men. Such, then, was the actual power committed by
the present law to the Lord-Lieutenant's hands, and that
power he has efficiently and vigorously exerted. Deter-
mined, too, to proceed with, if possible, still greater
energy, he has represented to the Government his con-
currence with the sentiment set forth in the resolutions
which I have read emanating from magistrates in differ-
ent parts of the country—to the effect that the powers
which he at present possesses are insufficient to enable
him to afford that protection to life which it is the duty
of every Government to afford to those who, in the dis-
charge of their duty, reside upon their properties and are
anxious to co-operate with the authorities in the sup-
pression of crime and the promotion of the security of
life and property. But the Lord-Lieutenant, Sir, does
not ask for any general measure to be applied to the
whole of Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) He only asks for a
measure applicable to districts, in which crimes of the
same nature may be found to exist, at his discretion.—
(Hear, hear.) Indeed, Sir, I may say at once that the
foundation of the Bill for which we ask, is confidence in
the discretion of the Lord-Lieutenant.—(Hear, hear.)
Confidence in his administration of the powers to be
intrusted to him.—(Hear, hear.) If you believe the
amendment of the present law to be necessary—if you
be lieve that some further powers vested in the hands
of the Lord-Lieutenant are essential to enable him to
maintain and vindicate the supremacy of the law—
I ask you to leave the discretion of exercising these
powers wi•k him, rather than to place it in the
grasp of any leeel authorities ; and I ask this
not from any dittrust of the keel u.sgistracy of Ire.
land, who, I must say, have shown in the trying cir-
circumstances under which they have been placed, an
amount of spirit and energy well worthy the commenda-
tions of their countrymen—but, because I think these
magistrates ought not to have imposed upon them, in
addition to the onerous and hazardous task which they
at present discharge, that most difficult and invidious
duty of deciding upon the districts in which the special
power shall be exercised, and upon those from which -it
is to be withheld.—(Hear, hear.) I shall now shortly
state the outlines of the measure which we propose. The
Bill, in its first clause, having recited that, in consequence
of the prevalence of crime and outrage, it has been found
necessary to make certain provisions for their suppres-
sion—the first clause will, I say, give power to the Lord-
Lieutenant, with the advice of his Privy Council, wher-
ever it shall be necessary for the prevention of crime and
outrage, to declare that district to be in a state of dis-
turbance--for if we limit this power to the districts at
present technically in a state of disturbance we would
not be able to apply it to districts such as parts of Fer-
managh. The clause goes on to enact that, whenever the
Lord- Lieutenant shall think necessary, a proclamation
may be issued setting forth that from and after a given
day the provisions of this Act shall apply to the district
so proclaimed. In settling what shall be the extent of
such districts we have followed the words of the exist-
ing Constabulary Force Act. In that Act it is provided
that the Lord-Lieutenant may proclaim any county and
city, or any county or town, or any barony of half-
barony, or any district of less extent in any barony or
half-barony through all Ireland. Thus it is evident
that the proclamation ma) be confined to very limited
districts—a most desirable arrangement—in order that
the pressure of the Act may be only felt in those parts
of the country, however small, where crime is actually
encouraged or harboured.—(Hear, hear.) The second
clause merely provides for the proclamation being ex-
tensively posted through the disturbed district, together
with copious extracts from the provisions of the Act, so
as to give full notice to the population so proclaimed. The
Lord-Lieutenant is then empowered, without respect to
present limitation, to increase the constabulary force
in any proclaimed district to any extent he may think
nett ssary limited, however, as by the nature of
things that extent must be—by the amount of the police
reserved force placed at his disposal. The constables
so sent from Dublin will be ruled by the provisions of
the Constabulary Force Act, to which they are at pre-
sent subjected. We propose, however, that as the pre-
sent reserve force amounts only to 400 men, to give the
Lord-Lieutenant power to increase it to 600 men, so as
to augment to this extent the available force—the
necessary expense attending this increase to be pro-
vided for from the Consolidated Fund. When, however,
it becomes necessary to send any additional police into a
county, the expense of their maintenance whilst there is
at present defrayed by that county, and such amounts
are collected as county cess, by means of grand jury
presentments. We have, however, thought it desirable,
and the Lord Lieutenant considers the provisions to be
most important. to introduce two alterations as to the
mode of repayment by counties. We propose that where
an extraordinary number of police are required, that the
whole expense of the maintenance of such police, during
the time they are stationed in any district, shall be
borne by that district, and shall not tall upon the county
at large—(llear, hear)—while we also propose, and
this other alteration in the present law is suggested by
the Lord-Lieutenant himself, that such payments shall
not be postponed until remote periods.—(llear, hear.)
—for, Sir, we look upon it in the nature of a penalty
to be imposed immediately, not to be repaid in a year
after or when order shall be restored, but at once—
(Hear, bear)— for the Lord-Lieutenant would prefer
that even one- half of it should be repaid immediately
rather than the whole at a later period —(hear, hear.)
We think also that it is desirable that the district or
districts which shall be thus proclaimed shall pay the
whole of the sum necessary for the increased establish-
ment of constabulary.— (Cheers.) And with that view,
Sir, there shall be provisions in the Bill for an estimate
to be framed of these expenses aud of the sums that will
he necessary, and the money to be spent in maintaining
the police force in each district for three months; and
steps will be immediately taken to levy the amount of
the estimate by the same means as the county rate, as
soon as any district shall be placed under the operation
of this Act. This estimate, as I have said, will be levied
for the three months as soon as the increased force shall
be sent down; and if they arc detained longer than three
months, then, at the expiration of that period, the
same process shall be repeated for other three months,
and provisions made for local payments ; but if
it should happen that the police were withdrawn at
an earlier period than was anticipated, and before
the expiration of the first or the second period of three
months, then provision was made for the repayment of
the balance which would thus remain over the original
estimate to the county coss.—(Cheers.) I now proceed
to the clauses of the Bill, and to the police regulations
which we think necessary in order to restrain within
the proclaimed districts the present unrestricted posses-
sion of arms by persons who have, by their deeds of vio-
lence, proved themselves unworthy of having them, and
by the use they have made of them have shown that
they are not fit to be entrusted with them. The first
provision we propose with respect to this subject is, that
there should be a general prohibition within the district
or districts so proclaimed, from the day of proclamation
of all persons, irrespective of rank or amount of rate—
(Cheers)—with certain exceptions enumerated in the
Bill, and still further exceptions, to which I shall pre-
sently allude, carrying or having, within the districts
specified, elsewhere than in his or her dwelling-house,
any arms—[and here follows a long enumeration
of the various descriptions of arms which it
has been thought necessary to insert, in order
to prevent the evasion of the Act that might
otherwise take place]—and we propose that any
person who shall, contrary to the provisions of this Act,
be found with arms in his possession, shall be held
guilty of a misdemeanour, and liable to imprisonment,
with or without hard labour, for any time not exceeding
two years.—(Hear, hear.) And here let me remind the
House that in the penalties of this Act there is no dis-
cretion allowed to the Lord-Lieutenant. The issuing of
the proclamation, if he thinks it necessary, will depend
on him, and it will then apply to the district so pro-
claimed, irrespective of any other or further Act, so
that it shall be no longer lawful for persons in such
district to go about with arms in their possession to
terrify the peaceable inhabitants, and to use them in
the execution of their sanguinary purposes, in the com-
mission of those crimes which are a disgrace to the
country.—(Hear, hear.) I now come to the exception
which it will he necessary to make in the operation of
this clause, for it is absolutely impossible that the dis-
armament should be universal all over the district. The
exceptions are—justices of the peace, persons employed
in her Majesty's army or navy, in coast-guard service,
in the revenue, in the police, in the constabulary,
special constables, and those persons who may be
licensed to kill game—(Murmurs, and cries of "Ohl
oh! oh!")--and with deputations or powers duly
licensed, as hereinafter mentioned.—(Henewed murmurs.)
These are all of them, let me state, exceptions already
existing, as to whom no discretion should have to be
exercised. It has been thought, however, that there
might he cases in which it is necessary those exceptions
should be carried still further. If we could rely with
absolute confidence in the success of this clause—if we
could by means of this enactment, disarm all those per-
sons who use arms to the terror and intimidation of others,
it might be unnecessary to allow the persons, who are
the objects of these attacks, to carry arms for their self-
defence. But, independently of those exceptions, there
are persons peculiarly exposed to outrage. There are
the collectors of the poor-rates, for example, who are
peculiarly the objects of those deadly attacks.—(hear,
hear.) There are also the poor-law guardians, who are
tpchooosmsepeetplheleerrdseotnoh go abroad in the discharge of their duties,
and who must necessarily be excepted. We do not pro-
shohijirldthbee any regular sysintegmarmof
arms abroad
We do not, as I existingsael b7faolre
purpose of carrying
by means of the hear.) authorities.— He ,
• g 1(1 t thatar
onthe
them
carry arms,an
isrmhpoosesdhohol
,magistrates of disturbed districts shouldrl have ,
invidious duty in deciding
and inht granting those
licenses, the discharge of hich
liable. Here again, Sir, we propose, intendingthe to
increased danger beyond that to whichmg theyalready
prohibition to carry arms shall be the rule, and the ey are
that "thye
per-
mission to do so the exception, to place thOresponsibility
on the executive of Ireland, in the person of the Lord-
Lieutenant ; and accordingly the Act provides that
persons nominated by him, and holding high offices in
the constabulary, shall, at places assigned, and at a time
named, within certain restrictions, attend for the pur-
pose of granting licenses to carry arms within the dis-
turbed districts, in cases wherein they may think it fit
to grant them to persons who may be exposed to those
lawless attacks. It shall be provided, in addition to this,
that it shall be lawful for the police to apprehend all
persons unlawfuliv carrying arms, and that they shall
s within the meaning of the Act, and
of carrying arm
have power to search those whom they may suspect
take away
yerown. As an illustration of
shall be forfeited to
et
clause will work, I will recall to
any arms thhee may find about them, which
the way in which th
I have already stated with respect to the murder of
d
the recollection of the House the circumstances which
two men with arms in their possession were seen
Major Mahon. On the ay when he was murdered
lurking about the very spot where the ill-fated gentle-
man met his death. Thougk they hey. not ben

i arrested, there is no reason, at least no moral reason, to
) ' doubt that they were the persons by whom the fatal aci,
was committed.—(Bear, hear.) If the police had been
armed with the power which this clause confers these
persons might have been arrested, have been deprived
• of their fatal weapons, committed to prison, and ren
dered amenable to punishment for carrying arms, or if
it were proved that arms were found un them or near
them, as there is no doubt would have been the case in
this instance. 'rids provision does not extend to per-
sons with arms in their houses. We are not of opinion
that the same absolute prohibition to retain arms now
in the possession of persons in districts under proclama-
tion should be enacted by Parliament as is necessary
with respect to persons carrying arms abroad.—(hear.)
There is no doubt the possession of fire-arms has been
sought for and obtained, and may be so in those pro-
claimed districts with perfectly lawful purposes by many
persons. Many of the small farmers, for instance,
have obtained arms for the purpose of defending their
houses against midnight attacks, and there were
several cases in which these attacks had been
successfully defeated by means of the gallant
use of these fire-arms.—(Hear, hear.) We, at the
same time, think the indiscriminate possession of
arms, even in houses, in the proclaimed districts, where
a suspicion exists that the parties who have theta intend
to use them in the furtherance of crime, and in tire pur-
suittof their murderous conspiracies, is not to be sane-
tioned.—(Hear, hear.) We propose, therefore, to give
the Lord-Lieutenant the power, at his own discretion,
to issue a further proclamation or notice, to rifer either
to the whole or a limited pirtion of the disrur be d dis-
tricts, to call on all persons, not within thost, enume-
rated exceptions to which I formerly refersed, to apply
for licenses to retain their arms, and to order that any
persons not so licensed shall deliver up their arms by a
day to be named in the notice so issued by the Lord-
Lieutenant, at the nearest police-station within the dis-
turbed district, or at some police-station adjoining. He
proposed to enact that after such notice, all persons
knowingly retaining arms within their own houses and
not being within the excepted clauses, who shall not
have a license so to retain them, shall be guilty of a
misdemeanour. We further propose that the Lord-
Lieutenant shall hare power, by a warrant under the
hand of the Chief, or of the Under-Secretary for Ireland,
to order a search to be made by the police
in the houses comprised within the the proclaimed dis-
tricts, which have been included in the notice, or in other
parts of the country if necessary, and to authorise a
seizure of all arms found in such districts by the police,
and their forfeiture to the Crown.—(Hear, hear.) Such,
Sir, are the main provisions we propose that this House
should enact with respect to the possession of arms in
those districts of Ireland in which crime prevails, and
such are the provisions which I am authorised to state
the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland considers will enable
him, with the additional police force which Parliament
may place at his disposal, and with the efficient aid
which the military authorities, in concert with them,
are prepared to afford, as well as with the assistance of
the well-disposed inhabitants of the country, on which
he confidently relies, effectually to suppress the state of
crime and outrage to put an end to the
system of intimidation and to the reign of terror which
are paralysing the energies of the eovernment in that
country, and disorganising the whole condition of
society.—(Hear, hear.) There are farther provisions
in the Bill, without reference to the state of disturbance
in the districts, and without the necessity of proof
which is required to make a person answerable to the
provisions of the White Boy Act, which render persons
guilty of offences not strictly within the meaning
of that Act, such as writing threatening letters and
notices, amenable to the operation of that Act, and liable
to the infliction of its penalties.—<Hear, hear.) There
'is one other clause which, though it does nothing more
than recite the existing law, increases its stringency, and
subjects parties transgressing it to the full penalties of
' their offence, will I trust be found successful in prevent-
ing the commission and impunity of crime, and in check-
ing that disposition on the part of the p( ople to side
with the criminal, and to refuse assistance to the police,
to which I have already had occasion to allude. We
propose by this clause that justices of the peace, or con-
I stables in any district where any murder has been
committed, or attempt to murder made, or reasonable
F ground for believing that it will be made, shall be em-
powered to call on all persons between the ages of sixteen
and twenty, residing or being in the district, to assist in
the search and pursuit of persons either charged with the
' commission of crime, and in case of an attempt to com-
mit it, to discover them, and to require theta to join in
the pursuit, and investigation of the concealment of the
criminal. It goes on to enact, that it shall be the duty
of every one so called upon to join in the pursuit, acid to
do his utmost to assist in the search ; and that every one
refusing to join in and assist, when so called upon, shall
be guilty of a misdemeanour, and liable to be impri-
soned, with or without bard labour, for any
period not exceeding two years.—(Hear.) Such,
Sir, are the main provisions of the Bill which I am
anxious to obtain the leave of the House to lay upon the
table. Whatever opinion may be entertained with re-
spect to its adaptation to check those frightful evils
which it has been my painful duty to lay before the
Rouse, I hope, Sir, the House will allow me to put Upon
the table a Bill framed with the object rather of prevent-
ing the commission of crime than of subjecting the
whole kingdom, for the crimes and outrages of a few, to '
the penalties of a harsh and vexatious law.—(Hear,
hear.) We do not ask you for the suspension of the law,
or to erect any other than the ordinary tribunals of the
country, but we ask you to pass this Bill as a means of
dispelling the well-grounded terror, which, grounded
ou the force of arms and intimidation, is stalking
through the districts in which those crimes exist. W hat-
ever opinion may be entertained of its efficiency for
these purposes, Parliament will at once agree a ith me
in saying that it is the duty of the Government and of
the Legislature to endeavour, by the existing law if they
can—if not, by an amendment of it—to prevent the re-
petition and frequent recurrence of crimes to which the
attention of the House has been so painfully called. I
trust, Sir, that the Bill which is now ready to be brought
in may be laid on the table of the House to-night, that
it may be printed and placed in the hands of Honeurable
Members as soon as possible. I hope that an early day
may be fixed for its discussion, and that no protracted
debate may take place on this occasion, but that any
observations which may arise respecting the Bill may
be referred to a future stage in its progress through the
House. The Right Hon. Baronet concluded by moving
for leave to bring in the Bill.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL then rose, on the question being
put, but his opening remarks were inaudible, in conse-
quence of the noise made by the Members leaving the
House. Ho was understood to observe, that he was
agreeably disappointed, after the rumours he had heard
out of doors with respect to the intentions of Govern- I
ment, at the provisions of the Bill now sought to be in-
troduced. Ile certainly had been prepared for a more
severe measure from what he had heard, and his expec-
tations had not been met, he was glad to say, by the
measure which they had just heard described by the
Right Hon. Baronet. He for one felt bound to say he
did not consider there was any reason for violating in
this instance the usual courtesy of the House by op-
posing the introduction of the Bill; and he was not pre-
pared to say " No" to the motion for a first reading of
it..—(Loud cries of " Hear, heay.") The Government
ought to have the Bill printed as speedily as possible to
send it over to Ireland, that they might collect the
opinions of the country there before the discussion
came on. The Irish Members were prepared to make
every concession to Government consistently with the
discharge of their duty in the suppression of outrage.—
(Hear, hear.) He was not by any means con-
vioced that the powers of the law as it stood at present
were not perfectly equal to the repression of outrage ;
but it would be a very grave thing, considering the re-
sponsibility that rested upon the Government, to refuse
them leave to bring in this Bill. During its progress
through the House he implored them, however, to put
in force all the force of the existing laws, and to issue
special commissions, to see if it were not adequate for
the prevention of these outrages without having recourse
to any measure of coercion. The Hon. Member con-
troverted the statements of Mr. Hawley, the assistant
barrister, that no person could go through the county of
Tipperary without danger, and remarked that the very
fact of the Learned Gentleman, whose unfortunate lot it
had been to have transported more men than any assist- I
ant barrister in Ireland, being able to attend to his
duties without hindrance, was a contradiction to his
own report. One part of the Right Honourable Ba-
ronet's speech had filled him with regret. lie had
in the course of his remarks spoken very strongly
against the outrages of the people, and the enor-
mity of the crimes committed by them—he had
lauded highly the character and conduct of the
county magistrates, but he had not said one word
of the crimes committed by the landlord against
the tenant, and he (Mr. O'Connell) thought that where
the outrages of the poor were so strongly reprobated, it
would have been only justice to have held up those of the
rich to equal censure.—(Hear, hear.) The crime, he
could assure the House, was not all on one side. The
relations of landlord and tenant were marked with it
both ways. They were told that Government intended
to bring in measures of relief, but where were they ?
They did not see them, nor did they know what they
were. He could assure Hon. Gentlemen on the Treasury
benches it was a bad way of beginning the session to
open it with harshness and severity. The moral effect
of their coercive measure would be far greater if it were
preceded by substantial efforts of good-will. He trusted
they should hear some of the Ministry stating the nature
of the measure they intended to bring in, and the time
at which it would be ready for the House. If the ob-
jections he now entertained to the present measure were
to be removed by discussion, he would still feel it his duty
to give every opposition to it in its latest stages, unless
some progress were made in the Bill which was to estab.
lish the, peace of Ireland by the removal of the un-
settled relations between landlord and tenant. The
Government depended too much on the effect of a poor-
law. It would be found inadequate to the emergency.
Human beings were perishing daily, and such resources
as the country possessed could not be developed in time
to save them. A large amount of the rates collected
lately were arrears, and when these rates were expended
he wished to know what would be left for out-door relief. ,
Something should be done to assist the people at once.
It was said there was some corn to aid the local rates in
feeding and maintaining 500,000 men, but ho believed
they would have in the ensuing year to give relief to
between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 of souls. By the
papers, as far as ho was able to see, there did not appear
to have been more than 1,600,0001. given by way of loan
and grant to the unions in Ireland—about 1.500,000/.
had been devoted to the improvement of land, and
500,000/. to railway companies ; but, on the whole,
out of the 8,000,0001. which had been granted by Par-
liament, there must be 4,000,000/. unemployed,
which he implored them to use in saving the
lives of the people, or another million of' them
would perish within the next six months. He
would bring this subject gala and man before the
Houtz* till he bad ascertained what they would do for

the people. It was not creditable for this country to
attempt to remedy the evils of Ireland by mere " stop-
gap" measures. If they bad some great plan for the
profound and complete amelioration of Ireland, why not
announce it at once, end satisfy the minds of her re-
presentatives that they were considering her state, and
preparing to meet it with substantial measures? The
Hon Member read a letter of the late Mr. O'Colllll 11.
The writer looked upon it as a matter of the most mo •
mentous importance to imprint on the mind of Lord
Devon and the Government the necessity of taking im
mediate steps to remedy the evils of the relations be-
tween landlord and tenant, and prophecied that the
peoplewould be driven by delay to pass out of the hands
of those who kept air m in submission to the laws! That
warning had been almost fulfilled. The people were
passing out of the hands of those who lived to restrain
them; the clergy acre losing their held over them, and
to the bishops and priests that was the most terrible
fear in their hearts. He implored them to prevent the
completion of the prophecy, and to win for themselves
the bright crown of statemanship in removing the cause
that had deluged Ireland in oceans of blood, and in re-
stoi ing her people to I•eace and prosperity.
Mr. F. O'CONNOR said it was because he re-
cognised in this measure the foundation and pretence of
more cruelty than it was intended to put down that he
gave it his most determined opposition in the outset,
and after the experience of the Hon. Member for Kil-
kenny fur 11233 and 1834, he was astonished that the
lion. Member should place any reliance on the equivocal
promises of the Gentlemen opposite. If he re-
eleircd a strong rsasou fur opposing this Bill on prin-
ciple, it had b,:eii furnished by the Right non. Baronet
who iniiodueed it, be cause from the beginning to the
close of his speech every sentence went to prove that,
with the present exertions of the Lord-Lieutenant, all
that could be done by law to repress clime and outrage
was doing, and was successful. What had the Right
Hon. Gentleman told them in the outset? That crime
had diminished one-third. Wherever the ordinary
powers of the law were tried, the Right Honourable
Baronet had shown that in every instance com-
plete success was attained. The Right Honourable
Baronet said, let it not be told to foreign countries
that Ireland was in this disturbed state ; but
with his (Mr. O'Connor's) consent, it should not
be told to foreign countries that Ireland was to have
coercion, when her people were starving for want of
food. Though the Right Honourable Baronet might
attempt to give a mild character to this measure, was it
not attempting to create a Brehon police, wbo were to
have the power of searching houses for arms, and under
this colour of legality, of doing just what they pleased?
But it was agreeable to the whole system of English
rule in Ireland—it was a sop to the landlords—it was
another little bit of compensation for the repeal of the
corn. laws. He was not for a temporizing policy; and
he would tell the Government that the most insidious
and dangerous support they could receive was support
of this kind; whilst his (Mr. O'Connor's) opposition
was avowed and determined. The Noble Lord and his
Government had applied fur coercion after coercion,
with the promise of propounding remedial measures;
but nut one remedial measure had they ever proposed.
The system of the Government from first to last had
been to create patronage, and to arrest the progress of
oi bf I yEcnocul ladn. d Whatunder wasth the
tptutbhl
ai ct oppri
on
di oune
eads
iliafar atrsatnsuheyillPioty"
existence of distress? It was not any stretching or
straining of the laws, but the mild administration of the
law by the judges of the land. The Right Hon. Gen •
tleman the late Secretary for the Home Depart-
ment had attempted not only to strain the
ordinary law, but to give the whole law into the
hands of the police, and to make them the
judges of crime. What was the result ? That the law
was despised and disregarded until the Government sent
down a just judge to try the persons accused in 1842.
In consequence of the mild administration of the law,
and the mannnr in which the present Chief Baron pro-
secuted when Attorney• General, there had not been one
violation of the law so far as public peace was con-
cerned from that year to this. Let them take care,
then, how they strained the law, for the inevitable con-
sequence would be to create suspicion, jealousy, and out-
rage. It was the duty of Government to employ the
means in their hands to restore tranquillity to Ireland.
But what had been their system ?
o sow the seeds of
dissension amongst all parties. The landlords managed
their estates, not according to the signs of agriculture,
but according to the signs of polities. They no longer
required the political support of their tenants, and were
disinheriting them. It was one of the strongest re-
marks of the Right Honourable Baronet that Govern-
ment could do little for the landed interest. He would
tell the Right Honourable Baronet that the
Goverment could du nothing for the landed
interest, whilst the landed interest could do everything
for themselves. As he was told that that they were to
wait for the missive from Ireland to see what would be
the effect on Irish fee'ii.g of being ones more bludgeoned,
dragooned, and coerced, he should reserve until then
the remaining portion of his remarks. If he stood
alone he would divide the House upon every single op-
portunity against this measure, and every other which
he considered injurious to the interests of the country.
Mr.IIOIISMAN said although he should support the
measure Stow proposed, because he thought it calculated
to promote tranquillity and the security of life in Ire-
land, he was not prepared to support it either on the
ground stated by his Right Hon. Friend who introduced
it, or on that to which the observations of the Hon. Mem-
ber for Kilkenny applied. His Right Hon. Friend had
dwelt particularly on the present prevalence of outrage
and crime in Ireland. That was not to him (Mr. Hors-
wan) satisfactory, because crime and outrage in Ire-
land were very familiar to us, as familiar to us as Coer-
cion Bills ; and we knew that in former periods mea-
sures of coercion had failed. Neither could he support
the measure because it was a milder measure than Mi.
nisters were expected to introduce, for he considered that
he was not to look at a measure, where so much was at
stake, to ask if it were mild or severe; his duty, as a
Member of Parliament, was to ask if it was a suitable
and effective measure. When the preservation of human
life was the object to be attained, he feared that a falling
off on the side of leniency might be little less pernicious
than an excess of severity. The question he asked him-
self was, was the measure founded on right principles,
or was it, as had been predicted by those who threatened
opposition to it, founded on the old mistaken principle, a
mere isolated expedient to meet a temporary emergency,
another in that series of violent makeshifts by which our
past legislation in Ireland had been disgraced? Was it
founded on that better principle which Parliament esta-
blished not long ago, that our Irish legislation should
henceforth proceed on a system, that such enactments
should be part and parcel of a great and comprehensive
policy—(Hear, hear)—links in a great chain of intelli-
gible measures, each intended to support the other, and
all having the same object—the improvement and tran-
quillity of Ireland f—(Elear.) That was a question which
on this occasion they were bound to ask, and especially
those who sat in the last Parliament. And they
were more bound to do so now than at any former
period, because now they were in different circumstances
from any which had ever existed when measures of
coercion were introduced.—(Hear, hear.) He wished
not to give Offence or hurt the feelings of any one, but
he could not forget that a few nights past the Honour-
able Member for Marylebono (Sir Benjamin Hull) had
stated, in a speech with which the House generally
seemed to concur, that great blame was to be attached
to certain associations in Ireland, the whole end and
object of whose existence was to excite aversion and
hostility to this country, and to hold up the law to the
poor man as his enemy and oppressor. According to
the descriptions they had heard, the poor man was kept
for a long time on the verge of insurrection, on the
brink of crime, by the exciting language addressed to
him, until at length he plunged in. The law seized him
and made an example of him, but those who were re-
presented to be the poor man's instigators, those who
really were the causes of the crimes he committed—did
the provisions of the law attach to them?—(Hear, hear.)
Again, an Hon. Gentleman whom he saw opposite, and
who had addressed them in a short and impressive speech
which rivotted the attention of the house, alluded to
another subject—the priests of Ireland. He wished
again to avoid raising any angry feeling; he, as an
Englishman, took the Irish system as he heard it de-
scribed by those who were more familiar with it than
himself. He was told that a priest denounced from the
altar by name some gentleman who he said was the
poor man's enemy. The poor man took aim and shot
the person pointed out ; you hanged the criminal who
fired the shot, but the not less culpable instigator of the
assassin escaped.--(Hear, bear.) He who charged the
weapon, who directed the aim, did the provisions of this
law threaten him ?—(Hear, hear.) Again, they had
heard and read, and they knew from official statements,
that the facts were true, that wholesale ejectments went
on in Ireland. A whole village was turned out in the
road, the infant and the aged, the hale and the sick were
thrust out; their cottage was fired over their heads; they
took refuge in the nearest ditch, without a roof to shel-
ter, or a crumb to feed them.
The wretched outcast,
feeling that the law gave him no protection, took the
law into his own bands, and avenged himself. The pro-
visions of this law applied to him—he would be taken,
tried, and executed. Well, the rich man, who by one
despotic command, might at any moment jeopardise the
lives of his fellow-men, did the provisions of this law
affect him? He had alluded to agitators in Ireland, but
he hoped that in doing so he should be acquitted of
wishing unnecessarily to throw a stain on any of those
gentlemen by whom agitation was practised in that
country. He had read the history of Ireland with some
attention, and he could not disguise from himself,
nor was he ashamed or afraid to avow his conviction,
that every act of justice which Ireland had obtained
from the British Legislature had been obtained by
agitation. They had heard gentlemen in that
House, and holding high official station, declare that if
they had been Irishmen, they would not merely have
been agitators, but repealers; and he himself felt that if
in England one hundredth part of the injustice done to
Ireland since the union had been committed, he did not
believe the English:Government would be in existence at
the present moment. These were facts which they all
knew, and therefore although he could not approve of
the exaggerations which they were accustomed to hear
called forth, or of the proceedings to which those who
took the lead in Ireland lent themselves, still he must say,
that those men being lovers of their country, and seeing
the miseries which she had been made to endure from
the policy pursued towards her— miseries which, accord-
ing to Lord Devon's report, were borne with unexam-
pled patience, and submission—were to be excused, and
that he would not criticise their behaviour at all times;
nor ask thorn to restrain their language any more than
to repress their feelings. The grounds on which the
Bill had been introduced referred to the state of crime
now so prevalent. But appalling as were many of the
statements which his Right Hon. Friend submitted to
the House,•s
it
was not the murderers themselves that to
him formed the most horrible part of the picture; nor
the fact, though it was a most painful ono, that you
could not get the inhabitants of the district to appro•
hend the assassins; to him the most horrible consider-

anion was that we had allowed this system to go on ever
since we had known Ireland, and that up to this moment
I we had made no progress in remedying le—(llean)
After referring to oft-repeated demands for coercion
Bills, by Sir James Graham, Lord Althorp, Sir Robert
Peel, and Mr. Goulburn, he went on to say that,
the Earl of Clare stated—" Happy would he be if he
could go to his bed-chamber at borne without enceun-
tering an enemy, and could close his eyes without ap-
prehensions of having his throat cut before morning, and
seeing his wife and children butchered before his face ;
he should be extremely happy if he could ride or
walk abroad unguarded, for it was a curious fact
but that when he went out his Irish servant brought him
his arms as regularly as his hat;" and he concluded his
speech by offering a villa and six acres of land to i.ny
Englishman who would go and reside there for six
months, being perfectly cealain that the terms would
never be complied with. Ile (Mr. Horsman) begged to
observe that if any Hon. Gentleman would refer to that
speech, it would repay him the perusal, and would, per-
hapsisurprise him to see that
Low, 33 years later, Ire-
land was precisely in the same state as it was then ; that
they were still deploring the sa-ne crimes, and tracing
them to the same source—not political, not religious, but
all agrarian—and listening to the member of Govern-
'richt whose duty it is to bring forward the tale of horror,
as if they bad heard it for the first time, and unless other
measure; were to accompany the one now before the
House, they were following the perniciot.s example of
former Parliaments, and devoting their energies to the
eradication of sybsptoms, leaving- the malady untouched.
He had stated thus much,' not mere_y in vindication
of the course he had pursued, and the vote he had
given last year, but for a better reason—viz., that he
was perfectly prepared to place all the powers asked for
in the hand; of the Adminis:ration—and greater if ne-
cessary ; and if the statements of crime were to be
relied on, he thought greater.powers were necessary; he
was ready, he repeated, with perfect confidence, to give
them those powers, provided he saw an equivalent in the
shape of remedial measures. He wished to see the re-
medial measures going hand-in•hand with the coercive
measure. He wished to show the people of England
that they (the Parliament) were in earnest on the sub-
ject of Ireland—that now was the time to put an end to
the system hitherto employed in governing Ireland—
feeding the people one year and coercing them the
next—both foolish and costly operations—the burden of
which fell on their unhappy constituents, who, as the
revenue tables showed, were called to bear it with di-
minished means ; and, as the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer would; no; doubt tell them by and bye, with in-
creased taxation. He felt that this was not a time to
trifle in regard to Ireland. For 33 years we had been at
peace with every people in Europe except the Irish;
who could tell how long the peace of Europe would con-
tinue, or when the Irish war would be brought to a ter-
mination ? He felt that they were standing on a vol-
cano. They had hitherto, by Heaven's mercy, escaped
the judgments they deserved for the enormities that had
been committed by the Government in Ireland. Let
them not attempt to go further in that direction. Let
them retrace their steps, and, by entering upon a new
course, show that their repentance was sincere although
long delayed. He sincerely trusted that her Majesty's
Ministers, by their remedial measures, were prepared to
show that they were equal to the emergency. The
Noble Lord at the head of the Government had the other
evening sketched some of these measures. He told them
that ho had an important measure in progress, one
which he (Mr. Horsman) saw with immense satisfaction
—he meant a measure for the sale of encumbered estates.
He thought this a measure—he would not say the first
in importance, but it was certainly one of the most im-
portant they could possibly introduce. The Noble Lord
had also said that he contemplated introducing a mea-
sure for the improvement of the jury laws. He presumed
that measures for amending the franchise and the muni-
cipal corporations would follow as a matter of course.
He regretted, however, to have heard the Noble Lord
speak with so much doubt with respect to the Landlord
and Tenant Bill. lie (Mr. Horsman) admitted that
there were difficulties on the subject ; but in his
opinion there were no difficulties in the government of
Ireland but what would be aggravated by delay.—
(Hear, hear.) He admitted there was danger in Ire-
land, but ho believed the danger would be greatly in-
creased by half measures. He felt that the present
Government had, with respect to Ireland, an unsual load
of responsibility; first, because of the manner in which
they had succeeded to office—pledging themselves pro-
perly and manfully, and he was sure sincerely, to a re-
medial in opposition to a coercive policy—and next
because they had entered upon their legislation for Ire-
land with an advantage which no Government had ever
possessed before, and ho doubted whether in our time
any Government would ever possess again—he meant a
perfect absence of party feeling. The government of
Ireland had been placed unreservedly in their hands.
Upon that point there was a complete unanimity both in
and out of doors. Parliament had given them absolute
power. The courage and capacity to turn that power
to the best account Parliament could not give them, but
these were qualities which neither time nor Parliament
would suffer to be dispensed with.—(Cheers.)
Mr. W. FAGAN felt that these crimes called to
Heaven for vengeance, and would sooner or later call
down on the perpetrators a just retribution. He ad-
mitted that they paralysed the efforts of the best
friends of the country, and made them turn with disgust
from the political arena; and he would say, honestly and
fearlessly, that if he thought a Coercion Bill, or Curfew
Bill, or an Arms Bill would prevent the perpetration of
a single crime of that nature, he would be satisfied, as
an Irishman, to live for the rest of his life without the
pale of the constitution in order to effect that object; but
he had a strong conviction that the proposed measure
would have an opposite effect to that anticipated by the
Government—that instead of going to Ireland as a mes-
senger of peace, it would have the effect of increasing
the discontent, and consequently crime. Remedial
measures would alone cure the evils of Ireland, and he
understood that last year a kind of pledge had been
given by the gentlemen who now had the Government
in their hands, that this was the policy which they
would adopt.—(Hear, hear.) The House had been told
this evening that therre had been nineteen murders
committed in one month in Ireland. At the very period
when the late Ministry brought forward their Bill
there had been fifty murders in one month, and that
had been one of the grounds put forward by the Right
Hon. Baronet in support of his Bill. If the present
Government thought, upon that occasion, that a
Coercion Bill was Not necessary when fifty murders
were committed in a month, where was the necessity for
one now, when only nineteen were committed? Ile
(Mr. Fagan) was convinced that the ordinary laws were
sufficient. It had been said, and said truly, by the
Right lion. Baronet (Sir G. Grey), that the peasantry
and farmers armed themselves because the law allowed
them to do so; it was for self-protection. He knew it
was for self-protection, and he asked if the possession
of arms by the farmers in the five counties could be the
cause of these crimes if, instead of fifty murders a
month, there were only nineteen? lie asked whether.
if this was the case when the possession of arms was
permitted, the House could think that the possession of
arms was the cause of these crimes? No; the cause
lay deeper than the Government were disposed to
look at. Let them not imagine that a Coercion Bill, an
Arms Bill, or a measure of this kind, would be an effec-
tual remedy, or prevent the commission of these crimes.
The remedy lay deeper; the remedy had been pointed
out the other night by the Hon. Member for Rochdale
(Mr. S. Crawford.) In Mayo the people had been dying
500 at a time, and had there been a single murmur of
discontent? Go to Clare, where the starving people
explored the rocks for sea-weed to support existence,
and where the whole rental of the place was not suffi-
aient to support the thousands of paupers. And what
had been the conduct of the population towards
the shipwrecked passengers of the Stephen
Whitney? The starving people gave the little
food they had to sustain persons who, for the moment,
were in a worse situation than themselves. The question
was, why is it that, in three or five counties, these crimes
were annually committed? Let the House look back for
centuries, and they would find this singular fact, that al-
most for centuries there had been a struggle going on in
particular localities; and the question was, why in these
particular localities these crimes should exist? There
was an unceasing, an almost permanent struggle between
the proprietors of the soil and the occupiers of the soil.
It appeared from the evidence taken by Lord Devon's
commission, that eight acres of land were considered
sufficient for a family of five persons, and that there
were a great number of farms in Ireland not exceeding
eight acres each. It had been recommended that the
small farms should be consolidated, and the consequence
would be that 15,000 families, of five persons in each,
or 71,000 persons, would have to be ejected in order to
consolidate the farms, as suggested. A consolidation had
been going on in Tipperary, and that was quite sufficient
to account for the crimes committed there. The Go-
vernment should come forward to prevent this, instead
of suggesting a coercion Act,which, so far from:preventing
crime would have an opposite effect. Two great causes
existed in Ireland to account for this state of things;
namely, the undue competition for land, and the en-
cumbered condition of the proprietors of land. The
rental of Ireland had been said to be 14,000,0001., and
by some even 20,000,0001; but it was, in fact, only
12,000,000 L a year, and from this must be abstracted
4,000,0001. for mortgages, leaving only 8,000,0001., out
of which the landlords of Ireland had to meet and grap•
ple with the difficulties which beset them, and he, there-
fore, would advocate a measure which would enable
them to get rid of their burthens. The other cause. the
undue competition for land, could be met in no other
way than by a system of public valuation. The Bill
which had been prepared by the Hon. Member for
Rochdale would be a means of tranquillizing Ireland
and introducing something like peace there. Perhaps
he might be told that he ought to have confidence in the
administration of the Noble Lord, seeing that the Chief
Secretary for Irelaad had told them that a Bill in favour
of tenant right would be introduced for Ireland. But
even if he had such confidence, ho would say the Noble
Lord was bound to introduce that Bill prior to any mea-
sure of coercion. The House ought, as its first step, to
conciliate the people of Irieland. He admitted that the
House deserved the gratitude of the Irish people for
what it did lastyear ; the people of England also deserved
the gratitude of the Irish people for their extraor-
dinary exertions in subscribing a sum of not less than
700,0004; and he had fondly hoped that the days of co-
ercion were over; that after these signal acts of kindness
mndu?st belfehs:.igled
to that House. The Home Secretary expected
no further measures of coercion would have been intro-
ducedmuch good from the New Poor-law; but ho
would inform him that the New Poor-law
would disappoint his expectations. Did he think that
tsystem
o f cultivationt he pe o people lien
Ireland
e arne Ireland: the quarter-sore 'clause in the New Poor-law Act
would find himself mistaken.—(Hear.) A free-trade
measure had been passed, the consequence of which was
that the 1 tdh e tranquillizesys
before any benefits could be derived by the farme • e r, but
no such change would be effected l un ess the tenant
obtained a deeper interest in the soil than he now pos.

sensed. A good deal had been said in the previous de-
bate about expressions used by the Catholic clergy.
Those clergy, he believed in his conscience, to be the
link that bound this country to Ireland. By their in-
structions they kept the people of Ireland tranquil and
submissive to the law, and he did not think it became
any Member of the British Legislature to bring charges
against those men. Reference had been made to lan-
guage used by a 'venerable Archdeacon (Laffan). He
believed, however, that that venerable individual only
wished to draw a distinction between the sturdy charac-
ter of the English people and the more excitable people
of Ireland, and that it was ne intention of his to incite
to the commission of crime. He was incapable of such
a thing. He was a religious man, teaching the highest
morality to the people; and no man that knew him
would for a moment attribute to him any intention of
the kind imputed to him.—(Hes.r, hear.) In conclusion,
the Hon. Gentleman said he should consider it his duty
to divide with the Hon. Member for Nottingham (Mr.
O'Connor), but he had felt that he could nut do so with-
out stating to the House his reasons.
Lord JOCELYN expressed his regret that the mea-
sure was not of a more stringent and efficacious nature
than it appeared to him to be. He much feared that the
measure which her Majesty's Government had laid upon
the table of the House would not be found sufficient to
enable them to cope with the state of society now exist-
ing in Ireland, or to put down that monstrous crime and
that system of assassination that had disgraced the cha-
racter of Ireland in the eyes of all civilized nations.—
(Hear.) He was sure that there was no body of mcn
embus,' with the common feelings of humanity Hho
would really have opposed any requisition which tha
Government might have made to enable them to crude
the cruel and dastard conspiracy which had been so long
in operation ; a conspiracy working silently but effec-
tually for the destruction of a class in Ireland, who,
were their faults even as hideous as they had been fre-
quently pourtrayed in that House (which, as a general
fact he denied), had yet a right to the protection fir life
and property which every well ordered state was bound
to provide for its citizens. He held it to be an implied
compact between the State and the citizen that this
security should be made sure. The State was bound
to the citizen, and the citizen to the State. This was
the groundwork, the foundation of all government ;
it was for this purpose, mainly, they admitted the con-
trol, the interference of the law in their daily actions.
If the State failed in this compact, see the position in
which the member of the State was placed. The law
rendered each citizen powerless to increase its own
power, but if the law was itself powerless then he was
in a worse position then when no law existed. The law
as it existed in this country was the terror of the evil-
doer, and regarded with affection by the well-conducted.
The law had had on its side individual exertion to carry-
into effect its ends. It had had the feeling of the great
mass of the people, which accompanied it. Here, then,
it might be strong enough to meet any emergency. But
bow different was the picture in Ireland ? There they
found in certain districts the law neither regarded with
reverence by the well-disposed, nor with fear by the
wicked. It was neither a protector nor an avenger—
paralysed, powerless—giving no encouragement to in-
dividual exertion. In certain districts another law was
in force ; a most mysterious and bloody one, carrying
out its dictates with certainty, and revenging with blood
the trangression of its ediets.—(Hear, hear.) But
although such had been the result of the struggle, al-
though the law as it existed might be momentarily
defeated, it was in the power of the Gouernment
of this country to cope successfully with its anta-
gonist ; a vigorous determination and a bold front,
and the ultimate supremacy was certain.—(Hear.)
The Government had a reserve at their command ; on
them must rest the responsibility whether the power
they demand is sufficient for the purpose ; they are
responsible for the lives of the people of reland. If
they asked not for sufficient powers, on them would rest
the responsibility for the future ; if such powers were
asked for and refused by the House, then on them be
the responsibility. In seeking a remedy they would not
fail to investigate the causes of the disease, and there
were circumstances connected with these agrarian con-
spiracies well worthy of consideration. To want and po-
verty. too often the parent of crime,these agrarian outrages
could not be attributed. Such was the opinion of Chief
Justice Bushe in 1832. Crime was not greatest in the
localities where the sufferings were most intense. They
found amongst the most striking features this law of
agrarian outrage passively admitted. The districts in
which these atrocities took place evince no horror of
the deed, and no effort for the apprehension of the
murderer ; ready emissaries were found to carry into
effect its behests ; in the broad day, on the
public road, within a few yards of the police
barrack, without fear, shame, or remorse, the
doomster carried his bloody orders into effect ; he com-
mitted the murder and walked quietly away. Although
men with arms in their hands were sitting within hear-
ing of the cries of the victim they remained unmoved.
This showed a state of moral depravity, indifference, or
cowardly fear, in which the very character of human
nature itself seemed changed, and every man must seek
for a solution of such a state. These were not singular
features in these atrocities —es uno disce Quarles ;
but it was impossible to believe that even in these dis-
tricts the milk of human nature had entirely ceased to
flow; it was the inefficacy of the law, as it existed, to
meet the difficulty. And who were the victims? Were
they composed alone of the bigot, the harsh, tyrannical
landlords—men, who had justly earned for themselves
an unfavourable notoriety? Were they men of penu-
rious habits, careless of the wellbeing of those about
them? No; the kind, the gentle, the liberal and open-
handed, alie fell victims under this reign of terror. It
might be said the sins of the father were visited upon
the children. Heavy indeed was the chastisement they
now bore. Parliament had a right to compel the land-
lords of Ireland to the performance of their duties. But
whilst these duties were rendered imperative let not the
Government be unmindful of its first obligation; the
landlord had a right to demand from them that his life
and property should be secure. The Government had
on their side men who knew Ireland well. Did they
believe that a paltry Arms Act would be sufficient
to meet this frightful system? Did the Right Hon.
Member for Dungarvan (Mr. Sheil) believe that such
a measure as this would meet the difficulty? Did be
believe that the murderer would find no other and us sure
a weapon to carry out his design ? Did he believe that
the evidence for prosecution would be more easily in-
duced to come forward ? Did he believe that conviction
would be more readily obtained by a jury ? Publishing
proclamations and writing letters from the Castle, how-
ever able the documents might be, were not sufficient,
Active and vigorous steps could alone meet the evil. He
admitted the energy of the Noble Lord at the head of
the Government in Ireland. But they acted unfairly to
one who understood the position of that country, in not
enabling him to carry out his view. He approved of that
part of the measure by which a locality would have a
pecuniary interest in bringing criminals to justice ; but
let the power be given of making domiciliary visits not
only by day but by night.
Sir G. GREY—For what purpose?
Lord JOCELYN—Let a right be given to search for
arms. But, above all, let an inducement be given to
men to come forward in support of the law. If by tenant
right was meant the claim of an outgoing tenant to re-
muneration for capital invested in the permanent im-
provement of the land its justice must be acknowledged,
and the moral obligation of the landlord God forbid that
any one should deny. But could any one really believe
that the legal acknowledgment of such a claim would be
sufficient to satisfy a secret council whose laws were written
in blood, and if tenant right meant what misguided
men had been taught too often to believe—if it meant to
give the tenant a vested interest, not in the capital which
he had laid out on the land, but in the soil, such a pro-
position was no other than open and avowed robbery.
It was a proposition which required no argument to re-
fute it, because directly opposed to the rights of property,
which were held so dear and so jealously guarded by
every member of that and every well ordered State.
Should the time come when that right might be regarded
with less respect, he did not believe the authors of the
change would be more prosperous, more happy, or more
secure. Every commission which had been appointed,
every individual who had turned his attention ro Ireland,
had wound up his opinion by stating that until life and
property were made secure, no means could be successful
to advance the state or to improve the condition of Ire-
land. Should the measures which the Gavernment
proposed be adequate, should it be their lot to give
security to life and property in Ireland, they would have
thrown a bridge over an abyss which had hitherto kept
Ireland back in the scale of civilisation and improvement
—they would have thrown the first plank upon which
might pass with security, and upon which would pass,
he had no doubt, with rapidity and energy, capital and
enterprise, diffusing life and vigour through that hitherto
paralysed country.
Mr. R. M. FOX (as we understood) thought that
unless such a tenant right as would permit the sale
of the whole tenancy to the tenant were admitted,
Parliament would not at all succeed in doing away
with the cause of agrarian distui hence. It was to the
unsettled state of the law of landlord and tenant that
the crimes which disgraced Ireland were mainly owing.
Lord BERNARD believed that he would be wanting
in duty if ho did not urge upon her Majesty's Go-
vernment to press forward this measure, and for him-
self he should have preferred a far stronger measure of
coercion.—(Ironical cries of " Hear" from the Irish
Members.) It was better to outrage the Constitutiona
e
at the present moment, if they could tliieraerbygovre)pen
prosperity, and security to Ireland.—(f
lie
had received from a gentleman. residing
addressed to e in the county
of Cork a copy of a threatening notice
and received by him, in which he was told to take
timely notice that " ho and his vagabond (meaning the
would be made an example to the
gwehnotlieemcoeunn'e agent)tryift heydid not mind and behave better
to their tenants." That threatening notice was ad-
dressed to one of the best landlords in the country,—
(Hear, hear.) lie was able to bear his personal testi-
mony to the manner in which the peasantry of the
most distressed districts of the country had borne their
sufferings.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. P. SCROPE said ho believed the time had now
come when the general opinion was that the condition
of Ireland was also the question of the condition of Eng-
land, for the condition of Ireland now came back upon
us, in the shape of heavy mulcts upon
country. We could not allow Ireland
toerceampaiitnalof
in tthhee
state in which she had been for the last twenty or thirty
years without England being dragged down to the same
miserable and distressed condition by the invasion of
Irish poverty and the example of Irish crime. He had
opposed former coercion Bills for Ireland, on every oc-
casion, on the ground that Parliament was not justified
in passing any law
of increased severity for the punish-
ment of Irish crime unless they at the same time took
into consideration the causes of those crimes—(Hear)—
security to the occupying tenant against harsh eject-
ments—(Hear)—security to the honest and industrious
tenant that he would enjoy the fruits of his industry, and
removing the fear of that destitution which was the pre-
vailing source of crime in Ireland.--(Bear, hear.) He