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

► he 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 cooperate 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.—((lear, hear.) Ile only asks for a
measure applicable to district,, 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
touudation of the Bill for which we ask, is confidence in
the discretion of the Lord-Lieutenant.—(llear, 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
believe 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 with him, rather than to place it in the
grasp of any local authorities ; and I ask this
not from any distrust of the local magistracy 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-
tnanagh. The clause goes on to enact that, whenever the
Lord-Lieutenant shall think necessary, a proclamation
may he 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 may 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 lie may think
nee( 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 fall upon the county
at large—(Hear, hear)—while wo 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.—(Hear, 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, hear)— 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 awl of the sums that will
be 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 are 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 teas.—(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 ernes 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 be 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
n
her Majesty's army or navy, in coast-guard service,
in the revenue, in the police, in the constabulary,
licensed
to, killn with' deputations
d
special constables, and those
prsoonsr who
powersm
licensed, as hereinafter mentioned.—
These
rnioenseta.T.--
game—(Murmura and cries of " Oh! oh! oh !"%___a
(Renewodmurmurs.)
discretione,exeeptions already
aydubl;
owsehould have to be
These are all of them,
thosever, that there
existing, as to whom no
exercised. It has been thought,
withe
might be cases in which it is necessary
should be carried still further. If we could exceptionsrely
absolute confidence in the success of this clause—if
could by means of this enactment, disarm all those per-
sonsw 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
compelled to go abroad in the discharge of their duties,
and who must necessarily be excepted. We do not pro-
pose there should be any regular system of licensing
those persons for the purpose of carrying arms abroad
by means of the existing local authorities.—(Hear,
hear.) We do not, as I said before, think it right that
the
,magistrates of disturbed districts should have
imposed on them an invidious duty in deciding
who should carry arms, and in granting those
licenses, the discharge of which might expose them to
increased danger beyond that to which they are already
liable. Here again, Sir, we propose, intending that the
prohibition to carry arms shall be the rule, and the per-
mission to do so the exception, to place the responsibility
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 arias 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 unlawfuliy carrying arms, and that they shall
have power to search all those whom they may suspect
of carrying arms within the meaning of the Act, and
may find about them, which
shalltake ahweay n
forfeited
As an illustration of
the way in which the clause will work, I will recall to
aar
m t
o s Crown.
the recollection of the House the circumstances which
I have already stated with respect to the murder of
Major Mahon. On the day when he was murdered
two men with arms in their possession were seen
lurking about the very spot where the ill- fated gentle-
man met his death. Though they have net been