The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-08 00:00:00

praying that the House would cvithout delay introduce such
measures as might be expedient to put down such atro
cities, and brine the instigators and perpetrators to
punishment whatever their situation or rank in life mat
be.—(Hear, hear, especially from Mr. O'Connell.)
Mr. FERGUS O'CONNOR presented petitions from
Kilworth, Killaloe. Skihereen, and several other place•
in the county of Cork against the Irish Coercive Bill.
The Hon. Memher then presented a petition, very nume-
rously signed, from the inhabitants and landowners 04
Miteheitown, and another place, in the county of Cork
The petitioners stated that they had heard, with feelings
of bitter distress, that martial lair was to be the firs,
boon offered by a reformed House of Parliament to a
people who had been chiefly instrumental in passing the
Reform Bill.—(Hear, heir, hear.) They were suprised
at the credulity of the Irish Government, and of the
British Ministry, in believing the statements which
had been foisted upon then,.—(Hear.) They stated tha-
those statements have chiefly, if not entirely, proceeded
from the Conservative Societies, which bad already done
their utmost to prove that the late reform measures oi
the present Ministry were purely revolutionary; and the,
it was their aim now to bring his Majesty's Ministers into
disrepute.—(Hear, hear.) The petitioners further stated
that the county (Cork) was in an extremely tranquil state,
of which. as the principal inhabitants of the West hiding
of that county they were competent to judge and speak
The petition alas stated, that at a recent assizes in the
county Cork, the perfect tranquillity of that district had
been alluded to by the E irl of Bantry, in the presence or
many Magistrates and other persons of influence. And
that, in the came month, January last, at a very lacer
meeting of Magistrates, Catholic priests, and others, eon
versant with the real state of the country, held at Skihe
reen, the same statements as to the peaceful state of the
county of Cork, were made and confirmed.—(Hear )
This, then, was the opinion of the well informed inhabi•
tints of the baronies of Taimore, Orrery, and Kellock,
Protestants as well as Catholics. The last petition to
which he had to call the attention of the House, was from
Duskane, in the same county, and which struck at the
root of the evil—namely, at the Arch-Agitator himself.—
(Hear, hear.) The petitioners, in common with him-
self (Mr. Fergus O'Connor), and with the great ma-
jority of the inhabitants of Ireland, considered that the
Right Hon. Secretary for Ireland had occasioned
more ruin and destruction to Ireland than any other evil
that had visited the country.—(Hear, hear.) It mattered
not to the inhabitants of Ireland, whether the acts of that
Minister proceeded from gross ignorance, or from a spirit
of the deepest hostility against Irishmen, hut by these acts
he continued to add insult to injury.—(Hear, hear.) And
he joined most emphatically in the prayer of the petitioners,
that the Right Hon. Secretary for Ireland might he itnire-
diately removed from the administration of affairs in Ireland.
He had now presented several petitions on the subject of
the coercive measure now passing through that House.
He bad presented them all from the county of Cork.
This was a circumstance which was very important, espe-
cially after the statement which had been Made in another
place, that the state of that county (Cork) was such as
to demand the immediate passing of this Bill into a
law. If, therefore, no disturbance existed in that
county, and he could bear testimony to the fact that there
was none concurrently with the statements contained in
those petitions, as he could also prove from various letters
he had received from magistrates in different parts of the
county ; if, be repeated, Government had failed in proving
that disturbances existed in the county of Cork, it was
the imperative duty of that House to look minutely, and
with much jealousy, into the evidence which
his Majesty's Ministers had produced before them,
He did assert, without fear of contradiction, that that
county was never in a more tranquil state than at present,
and with regard to an observation made by an Hon.
Member this morning, be must say if his constituents
had not by their petitions repudiated the imputation
which hail been thrown upon them, by stating the exact
situation of the country, he should have immediately
delivered up the trust they had confided to him, and
cease to be their representative in that House. He
would not now enter in shier into this question, as he
would have other opportunities of giving his opinions on
the Bill. He would, however, strenuously oppose it in
every stage of its progress. He would merely now state,
in the middle of the day, when not inflamed—(A laugh)—
that his opinion of the Bill was, that it should be riven
over into the hands of the common hangman.—(Renewed
laughter.) It established to his mind, most com-
pletely, the melancholy, truth of an observation of Lord
Chancellor Burleigh, that the people could never be ru-
ined but by Parliaments. The present measure was an
instance of it, and he had no hesitation in saying, that
the Ministers who bad advised his Majesty to propose this
measure, and had brought it into that House for adoption,
deserved impeachment at the Bar of the House, and if
found guilty under that impeachment, deserved to suffer
the extreme penalties of the law„—(Loud cries of " Hear,"
and " Oh, oh
Mr. O'CONNELL and Mr. G. S. BARRY supported
the prayer of the petitions, and bore testimony to the
peaceable state of the county of Cork.
Mr. BUCKINGHAM presented a petition from the
inhabitants of Sheffield in the county of York, being
members of the Political Union in that town. The pe-
titioners expressed their knowledge that Ireland had long
been afflicted by misrule and numerous grievances, and
they therefore were glad to learn that measures of relief
were contemplated by his Majesty's Government,
but they also stated that they witnessed with
much pain and indignation that a Bill for the
adoption of severe measures towards Ireland, which
nothing but imperious necessity could justify,—a ne.
cessi,y which they could not see at present existed.
The petitioners prayed that the remedial measures might
speedily be passed into law, and that the coercive measure
might be postponed three months, in order that its neces-
sity might be satisfactorily established before it was
finally adopted by the House. The Hon. Member
concurred heartily in the views and desires
of the petitioners. Ile approved highly of the
remedial measures proposed by his Majesty's Ministers,
deprecated the speedy progress of the coercive measures,
and hoped the latter would be postponed until the effect
of the former being passed into a law had been ascertained.
—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. PARKER craved the indulgence of the House,
while he stated shortly the reason which induced him not
to support the prayer of this petition. He considered
that the eirettinst,nces of imperious necessity which
the petitioners said would justify the measure,
had already arisen. In his judgment, if a Bill similar
to !his had not been brought in by Ministers, very son
one still more severe in its provisions would have b come
necessary. Government would have deserved the indigo
nation of the country if they bad not etept in arid
met the necessity of the ease by endeavouring to proud
the peaceable subjects of the King in the midst of that
state of anarchy, deprivation, and outrage, which
be was sorry to see pervaded the sister kingdom.—
(Hear, hear.) This was the sole reason why he
could not support the prayer of this petition. He had a
perfect right to say that he did not concur with it, and
he protested against the imputations thrown out by
Members on the opposition side of the House, as if they
were the sole guardians of the Constitution, and monopo-
lized all regard to the liberties, and peace, and happiness
of Ireland.
Mr. O'CONNELL denied that the Hon. Gentleman
who had just sat down had a sincere desire to protect the
Constitution. The Hon. Gentleman seemed on all occa•
sions to be ready to adept assertion for proof, and he now
set himself up in favour of courtsmartial.—(No, no, from
Mr. Parker.) That was a part oh the Bill, however, but
as the Hon. Gentleman repudiated it, it was to be hoped
that he would give him (Mr. O'Connell) his support.
Whoa assertions were to be made evidence, it was too
much for those to reproach the Irish Members, who were
actually taking away protection from innocence under the
pretence of punishing the guilty.
Lord ALTHORP did not wish to interfere in the dis-
cussion of petitions, but he could not sit still and hear an
attack made on a gentleman who bad as full a right to
state his reasons for supporting a measure as those who had
opposed it... 4 Hear, hear.)
Mr. RICHARDS, in supporting the prayer of the pe-
tition, begged to set himself Eighties to what he had stated
on a former night, which had been denied by the Hon.
Member for Roscommon, on the authority of a private
letter. He (Mr. R.) had since found out the clergyman
to whom he then alluded, and he had seen both him and
his wife.—(Laughter.) What he then stated bad been
grossly misrepresented in a newspaper. That clergymen
was now perfectly ready to prove his statement at the bar
of the House.—(" Name, name," from Mr. O'Connell,
followed by " No, no.") Ho had no objection to girt