The Sun.
London, England, 1844-07-16 00:00:00

support it? It was the duty of the Government to restore
that confidence in the law which had been shaken. He
knew that such a change could not be effected suddenly,
but a first step might be taken. Indeed, that first step
bad been taken by the Right Hon. Baronet in 1829, by
placing the Roman Catholics on a level with their Pro-
testant fellow-subjects. The Marquis of Wellesley also
bad done much to improve the administration of justice,
and to restore the confidence of the people in the inferior
tribunals by substituting petty sessions for the secret
administration of the law by the magistrates which had
before prevailed. Another step towards the restoration of
confidence in the inferior tribunals was the association of
Roman Catholics with Protestants in the magistracy.
That measure had tended greatly to restore the confi-
dence of the people in the law and to lead them to con-
eider that it was better to trust to the law than to
their own attempts at revenge. It was well known that
until lately the higher tribunals had been held in
disrespect. As a proof of this he would refer to the evi-
dence given in 1825, by one who was now a sufferer from
that system, he meant Mr. O'Connell. (The Hon.
Gentleman here read an extract from the evidence of
Mr. O'Connell before a Committee of the Muse of
Commons in 1825, in which that Hon. and Learned
Gentleman stated that as none but a high Protestant
party man could be sheriff of Dublin, Roman Catholics
were prevented serving on juries, and that a Roman Ca-
tholic would rather submit to great wrongs than risk a
trial in Dublin.) A Bill had been introduced to remedy
that grievance but it had not passed. At length the
Act under which the jury in question had been struck
was passed. It was supposed that it would remedy this
state of things. But what had taken place ?
Why, either through fraud or through accident, they
had actually returned to the old state of things, and
every Catholic had been struck off the jury?—(Hear,
hear.) Surely they were not going beyond. their duty
in pointing out the ill effects of this system.—(Cheers.)
Another step had been taken by Sir Michael O'Loghlin,
'who had ordered that no person should be rejected on
account of his religion. No wiser step could have been
taken to restore the confidence of the people than that,
but surely when they found that those regulations were not
fairly carried out, it was right that they should appeal
to the House on the subject. No one could say but that
the best effects had followed these regulations. In ge-
neral, verdicts had been given fairly under that system,
and it could not be denied but that a better feeling had
been established in Ireland.— (Hear, hear.) The Irish
were fend of.justice—(Hear, hear)—and if the law were
properly administered, they would have confidence in it,
and would resort to the law.—(Hear, hear.) -He knew
that horrible crimes had been corn nitted, and that the
parties committing them had not been brought to justice.
But too often, he believed, that had arisen from a belief
in the minds of the people that the persons committing
those crimes had suffered grievous wrongs, for which
the It'suse would afford them no-relief, and this secured
them their sympathy. Considering the importance of
the propemdministration of justice, he thought it of the
utmost importance that the House should endeavour b‘
every means to restore the confidence of the people in
the administration of 'the law. The petitioners brought
a charge of fraud in relation to the forma-
tion of the jury list. Surely nothing could be more
reasonable than to give them an opportunity of proving
their allegation before aCommittee of that House.' II
they failed in their proof, or 'if Government could dis-
prove the allegation, then it would be impossible to dis-
turb the country on the subjct. But if they shOuld
prove those facts, surely. the Ho* would not alloy%
such a state of• things to exist without attempting to de
vise some reftredy. He felt -strongly the necessity o'
Inquiring what would be the feelings of the
people of England if, when aft Englishman
were tried, every Protestant ' ,
struck off the jury? But in England a man could never
be placed in such circumstances as in Ireland; becau-e
in this country, fortunately, religlous and political ques
Lions were not so mixed up together. They had not had
in England a Church question as they had iu Ireland,
He would say, that Mr. O'Connell could not have a fair
trial in Dublin, with a jury. exclusively ProteStant. He
.Aitl not mean to cast any imputation npon the jury, but
.11r. O'Conpell had been known for years for his at-
tempts to pull down the ascendancy of the l'rotestant
church. The members of the joys on the other hand.
had always endeavoured to support it. Each believed the
other to be the enemy of Ireland. How could he have e
fair trial under such circumstanceS?• The Member for
the city of Dublin would not deny that party feelin;,
existed to a great extent among the Protestants. Of that
city. He did not mean to say that the jury would not
endeavour to do justice: He did net mean to 'say but
that they would act according to their oaths:, But they
would be biased by their prejudices; and it should be
rece ilee-t,d that this was a political trial. 'lt Wap the
duty eat' the house to inquire: He felt strongly. oh the
subject, and he besought the Muse not to refuSe lbt
motion. They were told they might obtain redresS bylaw,
What satisfaelion, he would ask, would it be to timer'
who had suffered their imprisonment, if the officers
should be fined- 1002 ? He should like to know how the
wrong was to be remedied, and if there were no means
in similar case-t, by which parties aggrieved might It
enabled to restore the omitted names to the list imme-
diately, it was the duty of Parliament to devote its im
mediate attention to the subject, in order to remedy such
a crying evil.—(Cheers.)
Mr. GROGA N., said that the evils compla;ned of be
Mr. O'Connell in 1825 had been remedied by Act of Par-
liament. With regard to the case before the House,
had, on three different occasions, been brought before
the courts at Dab'in ; every fact had been deposer'
to on oath, and it was usel-ss to go into Com-
mittee, as no further evidence could he elicited
One circumstance had given him pain, that Hon. Meru;
hers had said the jury had not done justice to the partie
—and this because they were Protestants. He theugh,
that was not fair, and Hon. Members should have con:
fined themselves to the facts and justice of the Case.
without impugning the motives by which respectable
furors were actuated. The lion. Member then defendei,
the conduct of Mr. M‘Grath and Mr. Kemmis,' and tht.'
other Crown officials, from the charge of evincing M.
unfair and disobliging disposition towards the accused,
and sat down by protesting against the motion.
Mr. J. O'BRIEN said, justice had been withheld
not only from a popUlar leader in these trials, 'tut fron
the whole people, of Ireland. That people had at all
times evinced the Most loyal disposition even in their
monster meetings and did they not show &ready obe
dience to the law 'in regard, to the Clontarf.proclama-
tion? Mr. O'Connell was only the mouth-piece of the
people—he only gave utterance to their sentiments—and'
the prosecution-of him; only made the people who loved.
him, cherish the morethe cause for which he suffered.
Mr. O'Connell had always been the .advocate of p-ea Ce.
and the greater portion of his life had been engaged in
struggling for the same objects as many Hon. Members
in that House-L-Catholic emancipation, reform, and an
extension of the. franchise. It could not be:denied- that
Ireland was treated on a different principle froni that of
Englands—inefficient representation—a Church, the
Church of the 'minority, obliged to be supported by; the
majority—a Church, the ministers of which had, in
many instances rendered themselves odious to the,
people. But why need he recapitulate, those
grievances which ha 1 been so often and 'un-
availingly discussed? • Justice . had not been dime
in the recent trials—that was admitted by every man not
blinded by party; suppressed lists, a Protestant jury, end,
less obstructions to the solicitors for the traversers in
preparing the defence, and every. unfair and unworthy
advantage taken by the Crown lawyers and by the
Crown officials. Those alone were responsible- for the
result, who brought a peaceable and kind people nearly
to the condition of rebellion. The Catholic hierarchy'
had appointed a day of prayer for the release of the
traversers. Look to the dominant Church, which was
the great evil of Ireland. The whole feeling of England
was anti-national to Ireland. The people of Ireland
were confederated by a bOnd which no Act of.the Legis-
lature could dissolve. They asked for justice, and no-
thing short of,;ustice would meet the emergencies of the
case.

The House then divided, when there appeared—
For the Co:nmittee 73
Against it 9l

31n.jority —lB
CHURCH ENDOWMENT ACT.
Sir R. PEEL, in moving for leave to bring in a Bil
to amend the Church Endowment Act of last session,

said that a sum of 600,0001 had acc-rieifroni—the-Kii7l:

rendered available for the purposes of the Act, and that
there had been 246 applications for the building of
churches in now districts. Thirty-four new dis-
_
_

tricts had a lready been formed, and engage-
ments had beet/, entered into for a hundred more.

In the districts al ready formCd there was a populatiot.
of 130,000 persons,. aid in the districts which they had
engaged to form v,ras a population of 344,000 persons ;
so that, under this. Bill, spiritual consolation__would be

provided for no less a number than half a million_of Our

Countrymen. As ..Uch had been the effect in so short a

time, he was not. ,he thought, too Sanguine in hopiw.
that stql•greatter_benefits would arise from it. One of
the le t..lii, g pr. visions in the prOposed Bill was to exemp
the der:*u n app”inted under it froth certain charg:t.
upon ihfir stipends on account of the smallness of their

amount. as 'bey did not exceed 1501 per year. Witt,
the ex eptior- these clauses the Bin wis merely formal
in its proki,h .ns, and he would not, therefore,- up:)rt that
occasion, trot.'hl.- the house further 'Upon the sulject,
but merely ablc: It are to bring'it in.--Leave given.
DUCHY OF CO,RN WALL.
Sir R..lTEL..having -moved .the, second reading of
this Bill,

Captain Ir.LUMI. tIDGE said there were_ several
Members absent from the House at that moment Whe
that took a deep inter( Ist in at Bill, anti who could not have
suppol,e(l it would come on at that. Vein. of the night, if
at all. He trusted that, under these circumstances, the
second reading woe .1d not be then pressed. There was no
doubt the Bill was a. :very favourable Bill to the county,'
and that it would be, very acceptable, but there were
some clauses in it which would have a very injurious
tendency in certain quarteiN. For instance, there was
a lessee who would IN: most seriously affected, and who
bad as much right to his lease as the Duke of Curnivili
to his title. The Bill, too, contained no lea than ninety-
two clauses, thirty oe which had' been aided to it t‘o
late as Saturday last.. The,Bill itself-had only been be-
fore them since June, so that, in fact, there had not
been fair time allowed for its consideration. He (Cap-
tain Plumridge) certainly believed' that the Duchy was
favourable to the Bill i bat int Were postponed for
further consideration it would be better, ina,rnsielt,
however advantageous it might be, in some points, it.
would bring certain rain ort one,individual. This person
hid gi,en 18;5001. for his lease, and now, when he was
going to derive some benefit from
.his outlay, he was to be
totally- ruined by his Bill. Ile dab* the Right lion.
Baronet would consent to postpone the Bill, or he
(Captain Plunaxidge) would feel it to hehis duty to move
that it be read n second time tliat day six months.
Sir It. PEEL said, one reason, why they never made.
any progress wati,because when a mea-sure was brought on
it wits alat‘st alv. iys wade ;as an. excase or delay, that
lion.: Z,Lqinbers ilacply intqcktetiqu;A:l_rrnattpr were un- I
fortunately absent from the douse. It Vas really bard