The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-07 00:00:00

the power of practising. There was a great deal of prodial ex-
citement in Ireland, and this had arisen from the system of Go-
vernment adopted towards that country, and they could
never expect that excitement to abate until they removed its
cause. The legislation with respect to Ireland, front the time
of the union, had been for classes, and not for the people.
The different Governments had ranged Protestant against
Catholic ; and such was the rancour of the contending parties,
that they appeared to forget that they had a country. One of
the implied engagements at the time of the union was, that
Catholic Emancipation should be granted; and yet, for nine
and twenty years, the Catholics were excluded from political
rights. The enormities of the monster grievance of Ireland
—the State Chnrch—had been continued without any attempt
at reformation. He said, while they were advancing science
of every description in this country, they were allowing the
science of legislation in Ireland to remain stationery. He now
came to another branch of the subject, namely, the Coercive
Acts passed against Ireland from the time of the union to the
period of Catholic Emancipation. For sixteen or seventeen years
Ireland was under the restraint of coercive laws—large
powers were given to the Lord Lieutenant for the purpose of
keeping the people in forceable subjection, and many offences,
which had previously been looked at in the light of misde-
meanours, were made criminal and transportable offences. The
system, however, proved unsuccessful, and, discontent still
continuing, Catholic Emancipation was tardily conceded, but
years elapsed before even that measure was fully carried
into effect—( Hear, hear)—while other grievances of
a no less extensive and oppressive character were
still permitted to exist. The law of landlord and tenant, for
instance, was no new source of discontent. It existed in the
time of Lord Castlereagh ; and even then the people were
driven to acts of lawless outrage and desperation to protect
themselves from the tyranny of the landlord, or the cruelty of
his agent. A lawless combination, even at this early period,
was formed amongst the people, not to oppose or procure the
downfal of any existing form of religion or legislation, but to
produce a social revolution in the country. It was instituted
for the purpose of compelling the landlords of Ireland to adopt
one particular principle in the letting of their lands. This
grievance, occasioned by the law of landlord and tenant, then,
was of no modern creation ; on the contrary, it haaenxyistdeidspofsoirtio
d
and cruel system. a2"lhelYreanwy
yneators; and yet, up to the present day,
the English Government had taken no steps, nor evinced
tenantry of Ireland. The landlord was all powerful, and
eo
otrhi
ti sy baneful
could crush his humble tenant in a single moment. This
arsemnoedinialeremye assnudr es
et
was acknowledged by the ablest and largest circulat-
ing journal in England, and he for one asked the House
whether it was not high time that some remedial mea-
sures should be applied to this system. The Government
answered that they intended to bring forward remedial
measures, but refused, when called upon, to say what these
remedial measures were.—( Hear, hear.) Well. then, he
could tell them that this Coercion Bill would fail to have the
desired effect. It would in no way stop or reduce the extent
of murder in Ireland; and, like all former measures of a
coercive tendency, they might rely upon it this Protection for
Life Bill, as it was called, would turn out to be utterly useless
in abolishing the system it was directed against. If they
wanted to insure peace and contentment in Ireland, let them
base their Government upon justice, and not attempt to ad-
minister it through coercive measures. That policy had never
succeeded and never would, and Ireland could only be effectu-
ally governed by laws that were strictly in accordance with the
spirit of equity and justice.—( Hear, hear.) There was an-
other diabolical system existing in Ireland, which ought to be
done away with—he alluded to the abominable spy system which
existed to a greater extent in Ireland than in any other country
in Europe.—( Hear.) It was well known that some of the
Government spies had concealed ribbon documents
about the persons of unsuspecting individuals, whom they
decoyed away from their homes, and by this means succeeded
in procuring their conviction for offences which they never
committed, and for which they were punished with transpor-
tation. Again, these spies often resorted to the detestable
devices of concealing arms in or about the premises of inno-
cent and unoffending persons, and afterwards laying informa-
tions against them for unlawfully having arms in their posses-
sion.—( Hear, hear.) Nay, similar devices were often resorted
to to procure the conviction of innocent parties who were un-
justly accused of the crime arson, robbery, or murder.—
( Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord, the Member for Lynn (Lord
G. Bentinck), had the other night turned up the white of his
eyes in pious horror when a statement was made of the mur-
ders in Ireland, but what had that Noble Lord to say in de-
fence of the innumerable and cold-blooded murders that had
been recently committed in England? The Hon. Member
then proceeded to read a list of the murders that had been com-
mitted in England during the year 1845, one of which was the
murder of an old woman by her son, a species of murder which
the Hon. Member remarked was not very prevalent in Ireland.
—(Hear, hear.) The total number of murders committed in
England during the present year was about forty. And yet
that year was, according to English journals, a year of unex-
ampled prosperity. He did not wish to speak offensively of
the English people; he was only answering the statements of
the Noble Lord the Member for Lynn.—(Hear, hear.) But
what would have been the number of murders in England
during the past year, if, instead of having been one of unex-
ampled prosperity, the people had been reduced to the same
depths of poverty and misery as were the Irish people at the
present moment 7—( Hear, hear.) During even the past three
months of the present year, 1846, there had been a long list of
the most diabolical murders committed in England, but if the
list was read in full, he doubted whether Hon. Gentleman op-
posite would appear so horror-stricken as they appeared to be
the other night.— ( Hear, hear.) Perhaps that arose from
their being accustomed to the thing.—( Hear, hear.) Perhaps,
like the grave-digger in Hamlet, who said madness was so
common amongst those beside him that it did not excite any
wonder, murder was so common in England that the English
were not surprised at its alarming prevalence in their own
land. But, as he said before, he did not intend
to use any language of this sort for the pur-
pose of hurting the feelings of the people of this
country. Let the Government give the Irish people institu-
tions equally to those enjoyed by Englishmen and Scotchmen.
Let the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Govern-
ment come down to the House and tell the Irish Members that
he would give them equal franchises.—( Hear, hear.) Let
him came down to the House and tell them that he would not
tolerate the difference which at present existed between Ireland
and England with regard to the church revenues—let him
come down and say, that tie e aunt no longer aufFor (if lt•
could possibly prevent it) the monstrous anomally which ex-
isted in Ireland of all the ecclesiastical revenues of the country
being handed over to the church of the minority. While in
England and Scotland those revenues were appropriated by the
church of the majority.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") He would
entreat the Right Hon. Baronet—and he addressed him with
diffidence and with the greatest respect, and never had ho used
either in that House or elsewhere, as lion. Members on his
side of the House would attest—( Hear )—any but the most
respectful language concerning the political conduct of that
Right lion. Gentleman—he would ask him to look to the
state of Ireland, and reflect within his own mind whether
coercive measures would tend to tranquillise Ireland ?—( Hear.
hear.) Let him look to the anomalous condition of her peo-
ple, whose history was unexampled in the history of any coun-
try, while the abundant contents of her granaries were ex-
ported to this country.—( Hear, hear.) Let him look to the
enormous rents which were extorted from the
people for the
purpose of swelling the absentee tribute, whilst the people
were in a state of starvation for want of food and employment.
Let him look to the houses of her nobility, which had been
desecrated to mean and lowly purposes, her streets
deserted, her shopkeepers bankrupt, her custom-house a
depot for English merchandise—( Hear, hear)—her
exchange a delusion—her bank a monopoly and her very
Castle, under the present state of things, a place of despotism.
—( Hear, hear.) He would repeat, let the Right lion Baronet
look at this state of things, and let bins ask himself whether,
by passing this measure, he was doing what was best calcu-
lated to maintain inviolate the legislative union of England and
Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) Let him, if he wished to bring
peace to Ireland, pursue an opposite course ; let him, like a
great statesman, increase the prosperity rather than irritate the
feelings of the people for whom he was appointed to legislate.
Let him encourage the introduction of such measures as would
form the basis of the peace and prosperity of Ireland. Let him
—to use the expression which he had heard used in that House
on another occasion—let him unite the philosophy of Watt
with the policy of the son of Chatham, and make a Tweed of
the Irish Channel. Let him do that, and he would add another
laurel to those which already graced his brow.—(Cheers. )
Lord MORPETH said that he had listened with consider •
able attention to those lion. Gentlemen who had taken part in
this debate, and he was prompted to do so because he had
been, on a former occasion, called upon to take a part in the
public business of Ireland ; and he would, perhaps, be excused,
if he interposed, for a very short time, in the debate now be-
fore the House,—( Hear, hear.) lie would say for a very
short time for many reasons. In the first place, he had no
wish to say anything with respect to the general
polii.y which he should wish to see pursued to-
wards Ireland. In the next place, the present state
of public business would make him wish to avoid any responsi-
bility for unnecessarily protracting its further progress.—
( Hear, hear.) But, most of all, the reason which induced
him to speak at all on this question was, that he had previously
expressed himself most favourably of the Irish character.
From his own recollections, he was too sensible of the great
difficulties of those who had to administer the government of
Ireland, and the heavy responsibilities under which they lay
with regard to that country ; and he, therefore, naturally
shrank trom impeding the measures which the executive au-
thority at any time, backed by evidence of undeniable effects,
might allege to be necessary for the purpose of furthering the
peace of her people. He could not but depict to himself the
horror which must have possessed the members of the then
Government when intelligence reached them of the murder of
Lord Norbury. He did net state that case for the purpose of
arguing that the rank of the murdered person should make a
difference in our sympathies, bat because it happened at a par-
ticular time, and when he held office under Government. He
was quite willing, and quite anxious, to limit the period and the
penalties of the present measure, and he would always contend
that such measures as these should be strictly in accordance
with the exigencies, but lie must say that he could not con-
scientiously object to this Bill iet .
measures of permanent
tote. He was ready to admit
that it would have been preferable
redressand conciliation had been brought in, either antecedently
to, or concomitant with, measures of harshness and oppres-
sion.—( Hear, hear. ) He reserved to himself the right
of a full discussion of the details of this measure when it had
reached Committee; but he would not take upon himself to
refuse, at least, to entertain the proposition to give, for a very
limited time, the Queen's Government some at least of those
powers which they alleged to be necessary for the safety of
human life.—( Hear, hear.) Upon former occasions he had
not refrained from bearing his testimony to what he considered
himself called
in a way which was not •
many shining qualities in the Irish character--( Hear, hear.)
al of the representatives in
He had not even refrained, when it was even calculated to
give offence—when it differed altogether from the opinions of
many of his own countrymen, and even when he had felt him-
selfut
eiupon to speak in
favourable terms of the character of the Irish people.
iorni called
,hwipt
ehuoppoltnet t e
people—when
he
anti
fdfrvlsote
quite as ready, and more ready, to allow that in
.e was
many points—
in honesty of dealing between man and man, • patience, in
resignation almost intolerable, in want and privation—(llear,
hear)—there was a pre-eminence of Irish virtue,
be-
yond that of any other nation on the faceof probably
Ivor.) And further, his Hon. Friend the earth.—( Hear,
his speech, had dwelt upon the number who had just concluded
crimes committed in England—( Hear )—and
and atrocity of the
Mor-
peth) went with him, and he was ',min).—
to nd he ( Lord
be quite easy to pick out crimes
Englandg
admit that it might
their details to those which had been equally horrid in
and he would go further, and committeds in Ireland
in the Irish murders an absence say that
tiiat there was
wantonness
which characterised the murders committed in this country.—
(Hear, hear ) There appeared to be in the murders ry._
com-
mitted in England an absence of that strong
impulse which
would seem to excite the generality of
the unhappy individuals
that committed murders in Ireland.—(llear, hear.)
was not the number or the guilt of the Irish , But it
rimes much
as the system of the Irish crimes, and the cco,
n
entailed, and the general insecurity which theysa hadqnen to see they
with in legislating for Ireland. In connexion with
this deoalf
the subject, he could not fail to be struck with what had
tbreen
impressively stated by the Right Hon. Gentleman the Seere-
tary-at.War, that what should have most weight with the
House in the consideration of this measure
was the number of
threatening notices, which had increased in Ireland during the
last eighteen months to 2320. Why what were those notices
which stood hangina over the life of a man?
They were notices
of terror, and made hli whole existence a fear and • a misery.—
Hear, hear.) It might be asked where the details of this Bill
calculated to effect their end? He had great doubt whether