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

laws which will Itsrass and oppress the innocent without re-
straining the gui to and which, beioi restrictive of oulTO
liberty, cannot fail to augment national discontent." There
was no doubt that great murders had been c vmmitted, but. the
question was would that Bill have the ele,ct of d'teini-hing
them ? He consiereel that it would not ; if he thought
otherwise he would vote for it.—( Hear, hear.) And he del
solemnly declare, in the words o! the revolution, that it would
augment considerably the crimes which it is intended to di •
zninish Look to the Bill itself, and see how little it ii
applicable to the ceuniry or the crisis. The first feature of
the Bill is to give the Lord Lieutenant absolute power to pro-
claim any part of the country he may please, without even
assigning a eason. No human evidence of the truth of an
&Legation of that proclamation is neetts,ary to be received ; it is
a matter completely artsitrary, si ro'o sic j'rbeo proceeding.
The Liird Lieutenant had the eoiser mks any sum or
money he pleased as cempensa,ion under the powers of the
present enactment—en unlimited puce—not such as the
grand juries at present exercise The next newer he had,
was that of giving rewards to any extent he pleased ; and there
was no species of serviee or misc-nduct that he h d net the
power to reward. The next power he had, was that csf pa-
tronage. In a proalaim d district, he had the power of Ap-
pointing as many stipendi try magistrates, chief constables,
head constables, and suloconstablss, at he pie use.}, uncon-
trolled or unchecked. Now, he ( lir. 0 Connell) did not
mean to accuse any Government in the o'oervetien lie was
about to make, as, in doing so, he would only be accusing
what was human nature ; but, lie would ask, what was easier
than for a person, auxious of being appointed, to have his
emissaries, and thus fabricate as rainy eutrages as might
answer his purpose?—( Hear, hear.) N•iis- he shred,' observe
on the mode in which the money was to be levied. The money
was to be assessed by a person appointed by the Lord
Lieutenant, and no ju-tice or judge of the land, or
rate-paver, had a power of control. —( Hear. hear. )
One of the notions whi. h the Right Hon. Baronet seemed to
entertain was that no grand jury had the rower of levying a
tax. They did, however, possess this power in an inireie way.
Lieutenant,
who were entirely at the disposal of the Lord
who makes his taxing master travel about the country, in order
to find out localities where taxes may be levied on the poor.
How will he improve the cyst ,m? The working men is as poor
as poor can be. When a rate is levied, he refuses to pay, because
he has not the means of meeting the stemand. The amount is then
levied on his goods, and, if necessary, the stipendiary magistrate
has the power of calling the military to his assistance, and thus
furnish him with irresistible power to make the levy. Look
what a wide difference there is between the poor man and his
landlord; the tenant is ground to the earth by the enormous
burden of taxation imposed upon him. Wnat security has he
against the proceedings of an arbitrary landlord? He is exposed
every moment of his life to be levied upon for some tax.
This is a state of thine tablet) has lung existed
in Ireland, and which ought no longer to be allowed
to find a place there. The next clause to which I
wish to draw the attention of the House is that which
renders any person except a traveller liable to a sentence of
transportation, if he be found out after dark in a public-horse
in a prohibited district. This is ra'her an ambiguously worded
clause, and presents reties.- a curious anomaly, for it would
appear that for a person to drink even water after dark in one
of these houses rendered him liable to the penalty of this Act.
Every room in the houses of prohibited districts would he ex-
posed to the visits of the police, who will have power at all
times to institute a search ; and the poor man will be powerless
to oppose these visits. This 11,11 is a new plan of coercion, but
it would be found to be impossible in principle, and mischievous
in practice. He declared it to be his sincere belief, if the
provisions of this BM were carried into effect. that it would be
aluvest impossible to prevent an inserrection from breaking out.
—( Hear, hear.) The people of Ireland are weak, and you
are strong, but you never can succeed in pacifying them by
any measure so unjust and impolitic as that now proposed.
Make it their real interest to be contented, and you will
find them tractable and easily led. The Houourable
and Learned Gentleman then alluded to the Act.
of Henry 11., which gave right to the Crown of challeneine an
indefinite number of the jury, contrary to common sense and
justice. The next clause to which he would direct the atten-
tion of the House was, that which made it transportation, nuless
the accused person can preive his innocence. By the statute of
1835, the prisoner was cleared by his name being, emitted in a pre-
sentation to the grand jury. By the statutes of 183.1 and 1815,
the accused was bound to have his guilt proved before he
could bit punished. By this feature the aceus. d is compelled
to prove his innocence or suffer transportation. He ( Mr.
O'Connell) had done more to allay the disturbances in Ireland
than any other man, and those who best knew him would bear
testimony to his efforts to allay an appearance of outrage. It
is true there were disturbinces in 'reload, and only pro.
pose the proper means of suppressing their, and no one
would be found more ready to ca• operate than myself.
—( Hear, hear. ) Now, these night. clauses, it appeared to
hint, were altogether useless. The greater number of murders
that were committed were perpetrated in the day time,
therefore, it would appear, that no precautions were
to be taken to pr, vent the commission of crimes
during the day. He confessed that nothing grieved him more
than the title which had been given to this Bill It was en-
titled " A Bill for the Proteetion of Life," hut how he would
ask could it protect life, if it sti.l left crime unpunished. un-
diminished, and unmitigated. What he ealled upon the House
to do, was to investigate the causes of the outrages which had
been committed, and to endeavour to eradicate by removing
the causes. He would contend that the punishment which the
present law awarded to persons found armed after dark was
sufficiently severe. It was made a misdemeanour, and was
punished by imprisonment, fine, and by whipping, and he had
known many men who would rather suffer transportation than
the putnshment of whipping. The present law had been found
effective in former times, and what had been done before
might be done again. He wanted this House not to place
these awful powers, that. the proposed Bill contalned, its the
hands of any Government. The experiment of a Coercion
Bill had been tried, and had proved to be ineffectual. It had
not only been tried once or twice, but it has been applied several
times without having any beneficial effect. The Hon.
Gentleman then gave a review of the various Coercion Acts
which had been passed from the years 1831 to 1833. It had all
proved unavailing, yet now they were required to pass a he h
Coercion Bill. The first thing done after the pawing of Lord
Stanley's Act was to vote a million sterling for the necessities
of the poor in Ireland, The Right Hon. Baronet opposite,
if he remembered aright, had called this gift a " voluntary ex-
periment." It was found to have a considerable effect in al-
laying their irritated feelings. Tne moment the present Go-
vernment came into power, they said that concession to Ire-
land had gained its utmost limits. He did not now complain
of their having said that—they had manfully anti fearlessly
stated their intentions, and they had carried out those inten-
tions. They had done a great duty—a great justice to Eng-
land; in the name of Heaven, then, he called upon them to
de their ditty to Ireland.—( Hear, hear.) He was not now
about to state the cruelty and oppression practised by this coon
try upon Ireland—he only said to that House, come fo-ward
and do something for Ireland. —( Hear, hear.) And if they
would nobly and manfully set about it, they would find that in-
stead of ceersive measures being required—for the evidence was
all the other way—that conciliatory measures alone could alter
the state of things in that unfortunate country. There was a great
difference between the present Ministry and the Whigs. See
what had passed in Ireland at the period of the Whig Admi-
nistration. Instead of eoercion being continued, it was done
away with, and. mild conciliation spread its blessings around ;
and the country, though it was not in a state of prosperity, was
less all cted, because the policy pursued towards it was humane.
—(Hear, hear.) He saw statements in the newspapers, at-
tached to which was the name of one illustrious pet son. He
found these statements, with regard to Ireland. so much the
opposite to the fact, that he could not help thinking it must
have beeen a calumny upon his name to have it so appended.
This noble gentleman was made to say that the sta'e of Ireland
was prosperous; and. as a proof of it, he said that she had gloat
exp ,its. That, indeed, was true, for she was always exporting
to other countries that produce which she was not able to par-
take of herself.—( Hear, hear.) That was one way iif proving
the prosperity of Ireland, but he (,Mr. O'Connell) could state
the true conditi in of the country. What was the fact? Why,
there was net a too e miserable people in the world.—( Hear,
hear.) There were seven mildons of a purely agricultural po-
pulation, out of eight million;' two hundred thousand, which
wawas
the whole population of the coustry, and what
condition?
He would take the reports
of the Comrross
ler, which had been
appointed by the Legis-
lature at different periods, to prove the abject want, sufferinca
and misery ofthroepeeoeple of Ireland. The Hon. and Learned
proceeded Member then dtol read the various reports, and the
details created
constierahfifonpression Olson the feelings of
the House. The Hon. and
as he went on. Was this, he arned Gentleman commented
said,
of what the people of Ireland
deserved ? The Government a
murder, but was rot
veil likes this murdermurderof the worst description.
from the slowness, but the
no less certain result, of the oeera-
con.— ( Hear, hear.) These reports eo-
proved the p p
thus t.V. He
murders
land to be badly housed, badly clothed, and loon le of
„tient
re-
membered the Right Hon. Baronet stating
in Ireland were blots upon the character of the and a
disgrace to civilization. Buc what was it caused ' them
He did not ask them not to punish clime. Wa,
to clods
murder that he addressed them ? Oh, no I What he are',.,t
them was, to put an end to this misery which was proved to
exist, and thereby put down crime.—(Hear, hear.) These
was an Attorney-General who said tkat the people of Ireian
he d
vernment said they
.
were a patient, suffering people. T
wished to put an end to the misery in Ireland. He
knew they wished it ; but it was not by wishing such a
thing that it was to be done. It required the exertions of
the overnment, to turn this state of thin !s into a state of
prosperity. The Hon. and Learned Member, after reading
the various reports at great length, proceeded to say :—Such
were the people the House had to deal whh—such were the
people they had to legislate for. But alien they asked for
a change of their condition, when they asked
for relief—when they asked them for bread, let it not be said
that instead of food, they should be met with stones.—( Hear,
hear.) He had occupied the House some time, but it was
necessary for him to state the cause of the disturbances in
Ireland.— In doing this it would be necessary for him to
read the opinions of those who were beyond all suspicion of
partiality. With regard to the distress in that country, which
Was well known to be the worst of all her crime, what said
a Lewd Chief Justice of Ireland? It was said by him,
that so great was the distress of that country, that he was
sure the people of England had nothing like an idea of it.
The Hon. and Learned Gentleman then proem-sled to another
portion of the entrant, in which was stated a list of the number
of tenants evicted in each year of five years in the district he
had named, and which gave, he said, the enormous number of
120,000 tenants evicted in that short period of five years, and
was it then to be wondered at, he would ask, that murders
should have followed ? And how many murders were the con-
sequence of that eviction—how mint' of the evicted died a
premature death? These were plain facts which he was now
laying before the Government, and which he contended exhi-
bited the real sourct sof the crime complained of. Anti now
he would address himself to what he conceived was the remedy
for this state of things, and what would be the real means by
which to dry upft e sources of these crimes. He had stated
o
several cases a f great hardship to the tenant, and now he
would refer to
7e7'h' ore• e would contend for it, that from
the mode in shirr the lawti was administered in Ireland the
people of that country could have no confidence in
n. He would appeal
to
the Government itself, and he
would ask, had they
judicial and other offices honWtere appointed men mteonhavtoe t
ahkitterth
an active part against wi
majority of the Irish
that
political anti religious feelings of
the great
},cords?—(Hear. hear.) It was
not upon him
theselreland, af.aricdtswahsactit made
ee
aznit7rreetsisiaotn
upon the people of
they had made that imp, thatti
be-
lieve that the peorle of Ireland were Did the Government
fidence in the law, or their re were lik-ly tn have their con-
increased by the apreantacensteeett, for the adni inis,rattirs of it
Lefroy, or of Mr. Jackson,
or
of
Mrs
judicial bench of NI.
father, or of Blackburn ?—(
upar, -iLitton, or of %Ir. Penile-
that was not remarkab'e feLthe part laot one of those
the religious and political feelings of as
had taken against
hear.) Perhaps he had not done well to laveeoPle Hear,
names, but he would men'ion no tnoree mentioned hose
w told ask what did this Hose think yea,
v,oe :hem. But lie
upon the Irish people by the conduct of ?fir. Chant mad''
Sugden. That getleman had said that unless
the Chatieell, r
of
Ireland had full confidence in the law, it could not be peopleaci
tered effectually. Let him ask were the people of
rebind
likely to have their confidence in the law increased
by the dismissal from the commission of the peace of nerea'ed
seventy_
four magistrves b.cause of their pitiitioal o iirtion
heir.) i hey hal cemmitted no crime or 4. ffsnce of any ear,
sort
against the law—they had d d
one uothiag to 'space the bench,
or derogatory to the d con uct ut gentleman, and ne would ask was
this Coercion Bill to be pissed to the exclusion of those gen-
tlemen from the beech oljustice ?...(Hear, hear.) if it were,