The Sun.
London, England, 1833-07-12 00:00:00

might lose their estates, and the military force of 22, 000
men would fail to preserve am. The Irish, like all un-
civilized people, were vindictive, and no one knew the
moment at which a crisis might arrive. The Hon. M( :ti-
tter below him (Mr. Sheil) had a motion relative to a tax
on absentees, and he would not interfere with that subject,
nor even pronounce an opinion upon it. The remedy be
would propose was the having local bodies to legislate on
local subjects, and (as we understood) that these local Par-
liaments should sit for three months in Ireland and three
months in Scotland, while the Imperial Legislature should
go on here. In conclusion, the Hon. Gentleman moved
for a Select Committee to inquire into the various forms
of absentee expenditure by which Ireland is afflicted, to
ascertain its effects on the prosperity of that country, and
on the happiness of the people, and to discover a remedy,
;f possible, for the evils it occasions.

The motion having been put,
Dr. BALDWIN said it was not his wish to press his
motion at present, hut he wished to record his own senti-
ments on the subject.—(Cries of "Divide.")
Mr. S. RICE suggested whether it would not be better
for the Hon. Gentleman to give a notice for next session.
Mr. O'DWYER said that Hon. Members who brought
forward Irish questions were not to be laughed a'.
Mr. S. RICE said that to a Committee on absenteeism
lie should have have no objection, as he was not one of
those political economists who did not consider it an evil,
and above all, an evil in a country circumstanced like
Ireland.—(Hear, hear.) This he admitted, but how was
it possible to remedy it ? That could not be done without
destro}ing the right of property, as well as degrading the
people of Ireland, by leaving them without the power of
free agency—mere adscripti glebcc—without the liberty
of leaving their country. There was only one way to
bring the absentees back to Ireland ; that was, to make
the country happy, and to put an end to all feelings of
irritation and division. The Hon. Gentleman said there
could not be any thing more exaggerated than the state-
ments made as to the rental withdrawn from Scotland,
and concluded by 'quoting the following passage of a letter
from Burke to Sir C. Bingham A man may have
property in more than two parts of this empire ; he may
have property in Jamaica, and in North America, as well
as in England and Ireland. What shall we say to this
case? After the poor distracted citizen of the whole empire
has, in compliance with your partial law, removed his
family, bid adieu to his connections, and settled himself
quietly and snug in a pretty box by the Liffey, he hears
that the Parliament of Great Britain is of opinion that all
English estates ought to be spent in England, and that
they will tax him double if he does not return. Suppose
him then (if the nature of the two laws will permit it)
providing a flying camp, and dividing his year as well as
be can between England and Ireland, and at the charge of
two town houses and two country houses ; in this situa-
tion he receives an account that a law is transmitted from
Jamaica and another from Canada to tax absentees from
those provinces which are impoverished by the European
resid.nce of the possessors of their lands. How is he to
escape from this ricochet cross-firing of so many opposite
batteries of police and regulation ? If he attempts to
comply, he is likely to be more a citizen of the Atlantic
Ocean than of any of these countries. The matter is
aheurd and ridiculous, and while ever the idea of mutual
marriages, inheritances, purchases, and privileges, subsist,
it can never be carried into execution with common sense
or common justice. I do not know how gentlemen of
Ireland reconcile such an idea to their own liberties or to
the natural use and enjoyment of their estates."
%Ir. G. ROBINSON said there could not be a greater
calumny than that of saying English Members were
indifferent to Irish questions, and he was surprised at the
injeetice of the complaints on this head.
Mr. O'DWYER did not wonder at the lecture given
by the Hon. Member for Worcester, as he bad himself,
although an English Member, given proof that be was as
Able to depopulate the House as any Irish Member could
possibly be.
Lord ALTHORP believed that a person, whether in
England, Ireland, or Scotland, not living on his property
• was an evil. Both the Hon. Members for Drogheda and
Cork had said that the great object was to improve pro-
erty in Ireland. The Hon. Gentleman suggested, that
is order to prevent absenteeism, it would be expedient to
impose restrictions on property in Ireland. He, however,
did not think that the adoption of such a proceeding
would be beneficial to that country ; its only effect, in his
opinion, would be to deter individuals from purchasing or
iirproving landed property in Ireland.—(Hear.) It was
hie moat' anxious `desire to promote the interest of Ireland
.—.(Hear, hear)—but he believed that many of the mea-
sures suggested by the Hon. and Learned Mover, instead
of proving beneficial, would be productive of the greatest
evils to that country.--(Hear, hear.)
Mr. SHEIL admitted • that absenteeism existed with
regard to Scotland ; but in that country no ill effect
resulted from it, because, in the first place, there were no
large confiscated estates possessed by Englishmen, and in
the next,hecause Scotland was a tranquil country.—(Loud
,cries of 1$ Hear.") He was sorry to see that the grant of
pecuniary aid to Ireland was diminishing in amount every
year. Ireland was a witness of the splendid munificence
with which that House had acted towards the West Indian
proprietors. Ireland did not complain of this; but she
eosdal not help contrasting it with the parsimony which
t-,ad elways been displayed when her interests were con-
cerned.
Mr. HUME said the want of employment was, after
ell, the great evil of Ireland, and that could only be cured
by the introduction of capital.
slft. FINN contended that one of the greatest evils with
which Ireland was afflicted was absenteeism, and said a
proof of the correctness of his assertion was to be found
in the flourishing state of that country in the period be-
tween VTR and 1196, when it enjoyed an independent
Legislature.
Mr. LITTLETON bad never been able to comprehend
thew it was possible for an absentee tax to be advantageous
go Ireland. If such a tax should be imposed, no pet son,
not even aut Irishman, would invest his surplus capital in
Web property, but would bring it over to England, where
he might enjoy it without restriction.—(Hear.)
Dr. BALDWIN having replied, the motion was re-
Cetl,opel EVANS obtained leave to introduce a Bill to
amend eb,e Act 56 Geo. lIL cap. 69, for regulating parish
vestries, in se far as the introduction of a clause, affording
Westminster, acid the parishes within the bills of morta-
lity, the same exemption from the operation of the said
Act as is enjoyed by London and Southwark.
Mr. C. BULLER postponed his motion respecting the
?rope. i.ety of making extensive reductions in the public
expendilnre, until the first supply day.
CASE OF CAPTAIN ROBISON.
pr. LUSHINGTPN rose to move for the production
of the rniputes of the ,courtmartial on Captain Robison.
In 18:25 Captain Robison, who had been appointed to the
command of three veteran companies, which had been
raised in this country for the purpose of being sent out to
New South Wales, to serve there as mounted police, was
brought to a c,iurtmartial at the instance of General Dar-
ling, the Governor of that colony. General Darling, who
was at that time exercising all the powers of the Crown,
acted as prosecutor of Captain Robison. General
Darling had the selection of the courtmartial that was to
fry Captain Robison, and he mentioned this to induce the
inae to consider the odds which this officer bed
to combat in contending with the tremendous powers
With which the governors of our colonies were armed.
Knowing those powers, the House would ace that,
If it shut its ears against complaints of the mis-
use of those powers, it would leave to the aibitrary
,r*je of our colonial governors all who served under
phero either in a civil or a military eapacity,,a4 Hear.)
ire the eportmartial thus selected by General Darling an
officer eves spat to act as judge-advocate, who had been
previously a uremlaer of the court of inquiry which sat
Ppon Captain Robison. lie had read the evidence
of the witnesses who had been examined on the
the courtmartial, and from that evidence it clearly appeared
that the judge-advocate to the courtmartial bad also been
judge-advocate to the court of inquiry. Now he under-
stood that it was not only contrary to military I iw, but
also to military practice, that the same officer should
act as jedge•advocate both before the courtmartial and
the court of inquiry. Tie court of inquiry lasted three
weeks ; the courtmartial lasted from the 11th of July to
the 15th September. His first complaint was that an
attempt bad been made on the part of the proi.ecution to
tamper with the witnesses. Before, however, lie ploceeded
to that part of the subject, be must state to the House
that one of the charges against Captain Robison was that
he had sent to England • complaints against General
Darling without having communicated copies of them to
General Darling. During the inquiry General Darling
addressed a letter to Captain Robison, desiring him to
state whether be bad sent home any such complaints, and
on receiving an answer from Captain Robison, made that
answer evidence against that officer. Another of the
charges against Captain Rubicon was of a most extra
ordinary' nature. Captain Robison was accused of having
improperly made use of a letter written by the governor's
military secretary, Captain Strutt, to Lieutenant Sweeney,
who was summoned to give evidence against him. To
support that accusation, Lieutenant Sweeney teas called
as a witness. Now, what would the House think wheat
he read to them the contents of two letters, which he held
in his hand, and which were written by Captain Strutt to
Lieutenant Sweeney pending this inquiry ? Strutt
sent an repress to Lieutenant Sweeney with au official