The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-14 00:00:00

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1,14 rd-to the pttition of a single individual.—( Hear.)
/13,k this Bill the petitions were not to be published—the
,sleaaons of petitioning not made known ; because, if two
persons assembled together for the purpose of petitioning,
it would be a meeting, and the aptborities would be at
liberty to disperse it. lii:siatM; tisb•guestion was, whe-
ther any right of petitioning remained. This right of
petitioning remained, that no individual might petition ;
he would ask, whether the fair and constitutional wax.isf
submitting grievances to the Legislature, his Majesty's MT:-
jeers ought to have taken away ? Every body knew ,
that in order to have a petition brought forward of any
wasp upon
endeavouringshnee odpo
value at all, it was necessary to have it signed numerously
groundedm em br u
and respectably. How were petitions treated by the House
that were got up in a hole-and-corner manner, and not
numerously signed ? They were treated, as every person
knew, with great disrespect. Bpt, no doubt, this wee
ecnunmetseosn tacnoodnr v
fairnession tcliee r
t,h
box or other, kept from the party. The Honourable
the importance of the right to petition was just to
he estimated by
ceded the act of petitioning. The House was not to for-
ienwHclO.)iulnshse thatprreed.
e,et that the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland had the power to
declare any past of Ireland in a state of disturbance. He
had the power, by proclamation, and any person whom he
chose to appoint had the power, to proclainsany part in
a state of disturbance. If any two or Nitre petauns,
therefore, met together, they were at once liable lei
he proscribed. It was said that the power would he
vested in discreet persons ; hut what confidence could
there be even in his Majesty's Ministers, who would pro-
duce and carry through the House of Lords a Bill of this
description ? This Bill necessarily gave encouragement to
spies and informers—the basest of the human race—ne-
cessary instruments to discover guilt sometimes, but instru-
ments that ought never to be used, if possible to be avoided.
Let the people hold meetings, for the purpose of peti.
tinning to Parliament, and they put themselves at once
into the hands of informers. If a private meeting ever
was held, for the purpose of petitioning, an informer
would only have to go before a courtmsrtial—say he was
at that meeting—say that treason had been spoken, atol
the parties attinding the meeting would be committer'„
The Bill, therefore, was a trap to encourage informera, and
a trap to lead unwary persons into a state of proscrit tion.
It was a mockery t . supper that there could be any
freedom of petitioning without the public et ttlon of theft
right. Was it not a desirable thing to have a publits die=
cussion on that subject ? If there was misrepresentation if
could then be corrected—if there was exaggeration it might
he met—if there was falsehood it might he detected. He
believed there was not a single right enjoyed by the British
subject that was of more importance than the right of
petitioning. Sure he was there was none that the English
people would more unwillingly part with. The denial
or that right had formed one of the ingredients of the
revolution, and when he looked to the Bill of Flights; he
saw it with much solemnify, recognised and enforced it 4
these words, " That it is the right of the subject to
petition the King, and all comtnitments and
orosecutions for such petitions are illegal."—(Hear.)
That was part of the character of the Revolution, that
was part of the titie of the Royal Family to sir on the
throne. It was the most sacred right that tf e people
could enjoy. Without that right oppression might pass
with impunity, without that right public crimes could
be committed with great safety, even in ordinary times,
but when they armed the magistracy, the constabulary,
and the soldiery of Ireland with the frightful powers of
this Bill, they ought to mitigate them, by throwing
the doors of petitioning wide op-n, and by giving to
the Irish people the power at least of complaint. He
had heard many Hon. Gentlemen, on the other side
of the House declare that they would grant the extraordi-
nary powers now sought by Government, because they
had confidence in Ministers, founded on their respenaibia
lity to a Reformed Parliament. He admitted the respntl
sibility of Ministers, but if the Ministers were responsible
to a Reformed Parliament, what became of responsibility, if
they denied to the people of Ireland the legitimate consti-
tutional mode of bringing their complaints, by petition,
before the House ? He wished to direct particularly the
attention of the House to this part of the Bill. The
House would recollect that he confined himself
entirely to peaceable and orderly petitioning for redress
of grievances. He was not at present contend-
ing for the continued existence of any association—he was
not contending for the existence of Political Unions. Po-
litical Unions had been very popular last year—they had
obtained protection and praise, but it seemed they bad served
their purpose, and they were new to be thrown overboard.
He, howeve', was not at present contending for the exist-
ence of those political bodies—he confined himself to fairly
assembled meetings, to petition for a redress of their
grievances. All he required was, that when grievances
were felt by persons, they should have the countenance of
their more influential neighbours in coming together,
discussing their grievances, and petitioning the Legislature.
This was all he was contending for—it was a miserable
remnant, a rag, of the British Constitution. It might
be said that he ought to be voted against on account of
the smallness of his demand ; but he could tike it, because
if that right existed, despotism would not be complete. It
had been said, if a free press were est iblished
in Constantinople, an end would be put to the tyranny
that reigned there; so, if the right of petition was
still continued, the constitution of Constantinople would
not be diffused into Ireland, and the steel of his Majes-
ty's Ministers would be blunted. Pandora's red box had
been opened, but leave Ireland the right of petitioning,
and hope would still remain. If the right of petitioning
was taken away from England, could any one doubt that
the breasts of Englishmen would flash with indignation at
the adoption of such a course ? What cause, he would
ask, bad been made out against the right of peti ioning?
It was true that Whitefeet outrages had taken place,—that
those outrages were continuing in consequence of the
despair which the rumour of the Bill had produced ; but
what had that to do with the right of petitioning ?
Hots' were those cases connected with the right
of petitioning ? The Whitefeet were not deprived of
that right. There was, therefore, no case made against
it. In the last summer there were many large meetings,
one of the objects of which was to petition against the
payment of tithes. Was that, he would ask, the case that
was intended to be made nut against the right of petitioning?
Hit was, he prayed the House to listen to a few statements.
Not a single assault or violence of any nature had taken
place at those meetings, and the moment a letter was sent
from the Castle, signed by Wm. Cusack, that moment the
meeting ceased. How stood the case ? All the persons
who had attended there meetings bad been pros, cuted.
What was more, every gentleman who had been prosecuted
was convicted, with the exception, indeed, of those gentle-
men who traversed for the aasie of the county of Mayo.
When they presented themselves in the dock, to take their
trial, the Counsel for the Crown, addressing his Lord-hip;
said, " We will swear no jury ; we will i ffer no evidence;
but let those gentlemen now depart from the Dock,
that county, that province, being in a state of tranquil-
hey. But by this Bill the entire of that province
was put upon the same level as those the most disturbed.
If facts with respect to Ireland had any effect in that
House, he would cite the case of a judge charging the
jury upon the lightness of the calendar, where, in a
county with 300,000 inhabitants, there were only seven-
teen prisoners for trial upon criminal cases. He would
instance the case of a person, going about swearing the
peasantry to join illegal societies, who was taken up by these
very calumniated peasantry, and prosecuted by them.
There was the county of Cork also in the same state of
peace and quietude ; yet those four counties were to
be deprived of the right of petitioning that House at
the nod or caprice of the Lord Lieutenant. N iy, more ;
a proclamation was not even necessary. An order
might be issued in Dublin one day to prohibit a meet-
ing in Kerry, which might have taken place before
the order arrived; yet every person who attended that
meeting was to be guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing
like it had ever taken place even in Algiers. What was
the Lord Lieutenant's order ? Who could define it ? He
could comprehend proclamations, because he had seen such
a thing. He would respectfully ask, what bad taken place
at any meeting in the county of Clare, that that county
should be put out of the pale of the law? Or what had
taken place at any meeting in the counties of Limerick,
Kerry, or Cork, that they should be put nut of the pale of
the law ? Tee object`, in fact, was to create a Basher',
and place the country under his military. He wished to
know if a Reformed House of Commons would sanc•ion
such a state of things? But it would lie sail that intim •
matory language might be used. He would not attempt
to defend himself from calumny, though calumnies had
been heaped upon him from every quarter. If those ca-
lumnies tie true, they would doubtless have their proper
effect; but if they were false, as he declared they were,
they would have no effect whatever. Instead of o
thu
de-
priving him of the confidence and affection of the Irish
people, those feelings would be increased. But the exisiing
laws were strong enough to punish all infionmatorysee.
lan-
guage. At all events, the Government took care to d
fol with
two of their own reporters, who were alwayirDset
ra ely.
sufficient.
person who used it, the present laws
instructions be •
civility,E itler
as andreg
arded affordedth e thepu b
IT
reaatinosnwo.f.fw,rue:cr:h.raitamnpviymagT,
given
He concluded, by moving, that t e
•ich he had given notice.
to the Committee of .ve
Ilr. F. O'CONNOR seconded the an endment.
Lord ALTHORP was not quite sure whether, according
to the ordinary practice of the House, the Hon. and