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

This showed that armed men went about the country
firing shots into houses utterly reckless of the conse-
quences, and simply for the purpose of infusing
alarm, and intimidating those who might be
disposed to defend their legal rights.— (Hear.)
The Right Hon. Baronet enumerated other cases—
that of a schoolmaster, who was shot at from a grudge
it appeared some one entertained against him whilst he
was an overseer, and that of a person named Ryan,
whose wife was shot in defending her husband. The
neighbours did not sympathise with her. She was
kind to the tenants, who, though they owed five
years' rent, had only been proceeded against for one.
In the hitherto peaceable county of Fermanagh
crimes had also, he regretted to say, taken place.
In none of the cases, however, had it been possible
to discover the perpetrators of the diabolical deeds.
In the case of Mr. Hassard meetings of the inhabitants
and of the magistracy had been held, denouncing the
conduct of the assassins, and regretting that the
law was not of such a nature as to lead to the dis-
covery of the perpetrators of such crimes
or to the protection of life and property. The Right
Hon. Baronet proceeded to read the resolutions
passed at the meetings in question, and stated that
from the communications which the Govern-
ment had had with the magistrates of
the county, the latter had pledged them-
selves to co-operate with the Government in car-
rying some measure adequate to the repression of
crime. The course of conduct pursued by the Lord
Lieutenant had been such as to give general satisfac-
tion to the parties interested in preserving the peace ;
and resolutions approving of his conduct had been
passed at several meetings held in different parts of
Ireland on the subject of the disturbed state of the
country. (A number of letters and reports from the
constabulary were read by the Right Honourable
Gentleman, all tending to show the fearful state
of the country, and the inadequacy of the 131.1 set
law for the .suppression of these outrages )
The next case, which was on the 17th of November
last, was the murder of Mr. Ralph Row, in the
county of Limerick, the daring atrocity of which
crime was not suspassed by any other crime that
occurred in the county. It appeared that the unfortu-
nate gentleman was murdered, to enable some of the
tenants on his estate to evade paying their rents, but
he was glad to say that the administrator of Mr.
Row had had recourse to the strong arm of the law,
and forced- these lawless tenants to pay their
just! debts, and taught them as well as their
neighbours that the law could not be vio-
lated with impunity. The Right Hon. Baronet then
proceeded to say—The next case is one which was re-
ferred to the other night by the Hon. Member for North-
amptonshire (Mr. Stafford). It is thus described in the
police returns :—" Nenagh, November 14, 1847.—1 t is
my painful duty to report another dreadful crime to add
to the fearful catalogue so recently recorded in this dis-
trict. Last evening, about half-past five o'clock, Mr.
Richard Bayly (one of the most valuable and influential,
and I believe the most esteemed and popular resident
gentleman of the north riding of this county,) left
Nenagh, accompanied by his brother-in-law, Mr. Michael
Head. On their return to Mr. Bayly's residence, about
three miles from Nenagh, they had proceeded about two
miles, when they were fired at behind a wall which
fenced the left of the road. The shot took effect, entering
under Mr. Bayly's left ear, at the angle of the left jaw,
which it shattered in pieces, and all the teeth on that
side were knocked out. I proceeded to Ballinaclough,
taking two surgeons, immediately on hearing of the oc-
currence, and remained until I could ascertain the opi
nion of the surgeons, which, I grieve to say, is very un-
favourable as to any hope of Mr. Bayly's life. An
express was at once sent off to Dublin for the Surgeon-
General. Mr. Head was also slightly wounded in the
head. I need make no comment on this outrage ; it is
but another illustration of the fact, which every infor-
mation we can obtain confirms, that there exists a
secret and diabolical conspiracy against life and pro-
perty. To demand the payment of rent, to take legal
proceedings for the payment of arrears, is to incur
a sentence of death, passed in deliberate convention.
I could name several gentlemen who, I am informed, are
already doomed victims of this fearful combination. No
means within the ordinary course of the law are efficient
against such a system of assassination." Extract from
Constabulary Report, Nov. 16:—" From the police re-
port of the firing at Mr. Bayly, it appears that he had
recently ejected a tenant of his brothe?s, who would
neither till his land nor pay rent; that most liberal terms
were offered to this man, but that he would not accept
anything but a restoration of part of his farm, which
was refused." The next case to which I must refer also
occurred in Tipperary, to a man in the lower ranks of
life, named Quin:—" Nenagh-barracks, Nov. 19, 1847.
—This neighbourhood continues in the same disturbed
and unsettled state; scarcely a day or night passes with-
out some outrage or other act of violence prevailing.
On the evening of the 16th inst., at seven o'clock, not
more than two miles from this town, two men, unknown,
with blackened faces, entered the house of Thomas
Quin, whilst himself and family were at supper; one of
them fired a shot at Quin, which fortunately missed him,
but struck a candle close to him; the villains then went
away. The cause assigned is Quin having paid rent to
his landlord." The next case is a very shocking one;
it occurred in King's county:—" A party of four-
teen or fifteen men attacked the house of Patrick
Larkin on the night of the 17th, at Newton, with
the view of shooting his daughter, the widow M'Neal,
who occupied a farm which her husband's brother en-
deavoured to turn her out of in vain. Larkin and son
having resisted, the assailants fired and wounded them
both. Larkin fell covered with blood, when the mis-
creants fled, thinking they had killed him." Let us
hope, for the sake of human nature, that the suspicions
entertained in this case may prove to be incorrect.—
(Hear, hear.) On the 17th of Navember the following
offence was committed near the city of Limerick. These
aro the facts of this case :—" Limerick, Nov. 19, 1847.
I have to state that about eight o'clock yesterday morn-
ing, as Ralph Hill, under-agent to Mr. David Fitzgerald,
wus proceeding to the lands of Raton, and within one
mile and a half of this city, accompanied by four assistants,
and several carmen, he was fired at and shot dead ; two
of his assistants wounded, one of them dangerously.
The party were about to remove sonic corn and hay sold
on the previous day for rent and arrears due by a man
named Quaine ; the assassins fired from the haggard of
Quaint., close to his dwelling-house. The daring
atrocity of this murder is not surpassed by anything that
has occurred, even in this county. The place was actually
within view of the new infantry and cavalry barracks.
I have placed a large police force in the house of Quaint:,
and propose to leave them there until the corn, &c., are
removed, and this it is intended to do to-morrow. The
state of this county and the part of Clare adjoining
the city of Limerick is most frightful and alarming.
—T. W. Barron, R.M." I must remark with
respect to this ease, that information has been received
by the Government, which shows that, either from
sympathy or terror, such a disinclination to aid in the
carrying out of the law exists, that when some hay was
seized under distraint, not one cart or horse could be
obtained to carry it off, and the consequence was, that
the Lord-Lieutenant ordered the ordnance carts to be
put in requisition, an operation which was attended
with complete success, so that all that was seized was
carried off the fields. This had the effect which it ought
to be the object of all. Administrations to secure, namely,
to convince the misguided people that the objects they
had in view could not be attained by their atrocious acts,
and that in the long run, instead of impeding the en-
forcement of the rights of property, it would only
bring down upon them the strong arm of the law, a law
which would be enforced to the utmost.—(Hear, hear.)
What has been the result of that course ? I have before
me the report of the constable employed on the occa,
sion, from which it appears that a landlord, in applying
to the Government to assist him, knew that the parties
who owed him rent, and refused to pay
it, were able to
pay it. The Lord-Lieutenant accordingly gave him the
assistance of the ordnanee carts, the military, and the
constabulary, and when they succeeded in carrying the
law into effect, and that the other tenants saw all further
resistance was hopeless, when they saw the overpowering
force that was present, not acting, but ready to act it
necessary, not one sheaf of corn was sold, not one beast
was sold, but all the tenants came and paid to the utmost
farthing, and the tenants on other properties in the
neighbourhood also came forward and paid their rents,
thus showing they withheld them, not from poverty but
from a desire to resist by unlawful means the payment
of their just debts. From the lath November, the day
on which Parliament assembled, up to this day, the ac-
counts which we have received, that the avowed inten
tion of the Government to adopt further means for the
a
suppressiondeg r
degree
of
f crime
confidencei n Ireland, t
o t
hhea s
well-disposed had
its
e effect
inw giv-
ingwhich
they had not before, and of striking terror into the
breasts of ill-disposed ; and I sincerely hope that Par
liament will not disappoint the hopes of those well-
disposed persons in Ireland who expect to be protected
in the maintenance of their just rights.—(Hear, hear.)
I hare nothing to complain of with respect to those
Honourable Members who expressed themselves, the
otber night, in favour of a measure for suppressing
crime in Ireland, without pledging themselves to any
particular measure, for I am sure that the unanimity
which has been exhibited on the subject in this
House will have the most important effect in restoring
confidence in the administration of the law, and
I hope that on this occasion Parliament will
not be wanting in its duty, by refusing its assent to
a measure calculated to put an end to crimes fearful in
their character, appalling in their type, and altogether
disgraceful to the country.—(Hear, hear.) I regret to
say that the Government this morning received an ac-
count from the county of Roscommon, stating that a
poor-rate collector was fired at. This is the statement
sent to me:—" As Mr. Kelly, a poor-rate collector, was
returning from
;rom dinner at Woodpark, he was fired at
the slugs passed through his hat ; this
occurred about ten o'clock of the 23d instant. No mo-
tive assigned, save his having enforced payment of the
poor-rates." It was frequently remarked in the debates
on the poor-law during the last session of Parliament,
that all felt it was the administration of that law in
Ireland which was to be looked to alone for its suocessc.
,
At that time we called upon the Irish Gentlemen who
were members of the boards of guardians to assista to
their uttermost in the administration of the p
oliaordlwbeen
we called upon the poor-rate collectors who
withcgluiaarrgdeiadns,
and g
collect
ct of
theduty
rates tott c
toi;
withet thet
and I ask them is it to be tolerated that when one of
those nceeec
(Hear, subjected to an
attack upon his life Hear hear)—that he is to be
rucollectors,
his in obedienceduty ,
he toi s ourto chael 1 ,
—,
fired at because he a
b
he attemptsenerolentto
objectcar ry
?oul
(Hear,
ataw
made with such
h.) I
fur adthnk
opitingl have s
a measuhroewwn uitshallivelenewtly the n
to suppreses: