The Sun.
London, England, 1827-03-30 00:00:00

General for Yreland. On the next day, the 12th of July
arrived, and along with the usual parade and riot in the
town of Lisburne, thousands of Orangemen were as-
sembled. The four magistrates to whom he had before
alluded, went up to them, told them that they were an
illegal body, and Warned them that if they did not disperse
they would bring down Upon their heads the penalties of
the law. Whilst this was gone, en, the Rev. Mr. Johnston
came up and said to his brother magistrates, " What are
you doing ?" One of them replied, "We are dispersing
an illegal body and bidding them go home, lest they
make themselves amenable to the punishment of the
law." " Ah," said Mr. Johnston, who was himself
bedizened with all the insignia of an Orangeman, " that
is as you think—my opinion, however, is very different."
A thousand hats were then flung up into the air for
Mr. Johnston, loud buzzes followed, and the town of
Lisburne for the remainder of the day, was one continued
scene of confusion and riot. On the 13th the magis-
trates met to take informations against the rioters, and
to receive affidavits as to the conduct of the clerical magis-
trate, Mr. Johnston. After they were taken, the whole of
fhe informations and affidavits were transmitted by the ma-
gistratei to the Lord Lieutenant, and by the Lord Lieute-
nant to the Lord Chancellor, as involving the character of
a magistrate. The Lord Chancellor took some days to
consider the documents, and shortly afterwards sent a letter
down to Mr. Johnston, congratulating him upon his con-
duct, and on the satisfactory explanation which he had
given of it. Mr. Johnston showed that letter to his brother
magistrates ; and when they first saw it, they could hardly
believe their eyes. They said, "We are called upon to
take measures against the 12th of July, and we took the
very steps recommended lay Government. This letter must
' therefore be a base fabrication ; for it is impossible that you,
who marshalled the Orangemen the way in which they
were going, can have received a letter from the Lord Chan-
cellor, approving of your conduct." One of the magis-
trates, a Mr. O'Shaugh, said that it was barely possible
that one opinion might be held by one member of the Ca-
binet and another opinion by another member. He there_
fore wrote a letter to the Chief Secretary of the Govern-
ment, stating that, as Mr. Johnston's conduct on the 12th
of July had met with the approbation of the Lord Chan-
cellor, he was anxious to know in what light his own con-
duct, which was diametrically opposed to it, was to be
viewed. He received a letter from the Chief Secretary,
which with the permission of the House he would read to it.
The Hon. Member here read a letter from the Irish Secretary
of which the substance appeared to be that " he had no diffi-
culty in assuring Mr. O'Shaugh, that his Excellency the
Lord Lieutenant approved of the exertions which belied made
to prevent the continuance of the Orange processions." Some
further correspondence (theHornMember stated the nature of
it, but it was inaudible in the gallery) took place between
the Government and the local magistracy, which was con-
cluded by the magistracy receiving a letter from the Se-
cretary to the Lord-Lieutenant to the same effect as that
which he had Just read to the House. Mr. Johnston, how-
ever, still relied on the letter of congratulation which he
received from the Lord Chancellor; and, in consequence,
the magistrates sent in a memorial to the Government,
with a view of getting a definitive answer as to which of
them was right and which wrong, to which no answer had
hitherto been returned. The Hon. Member here read the
memorial in question, but in a tone of voice which pre-
vented us from hearing it distinctly. Ile contended that
all that Junius had ever written was mere milk and water
to the burning words of scorn and contempt which this
memorial fixed upon the Irish Government. He asked,
was such a state of things as that which he had just sta-
ted to the House to be designated Government? Was it
government to sow dissensions among the magistracy, and
to array one gentleman in the commission of the peace
against another ? Was the country to be the victim of
each man's individual interpretation of the law in his
dreaming and dozing moments, or was it to he regelaSed
by one general and universal code of law equally applicable
to every member in it? He did not bring forward his mo-
tion as a motion against Orange societies; no such thing—
he had himself once been an Orangeman, and should never
be ashamed to own it. He believed that his Majesty did
not possess in his whole dominions a more public-spirited
set of men than the Orangemen of the North of Ireland.—
Thiie however, he was- obliged to state—that if one elan
of the' community was permitted -to make one triumphal
procession on certain days in the year, the other ought not
to be prevented from doing so too—and if such party pro-
cessions were permitted, collisions could not be avoided,
rjete would ensue, life would be lost, and the green fields
6f _eland would be stained with blood.- Thence confu-
sion, and insubordination and anarchy would ensue ;
thence want of employment, of food, and of all necessary
contributions to the exigencies of the State ; thence Ire-
land would become one vast mad-house of demoniac spirits
hear)—of which one party would range them-
selves under the banner of any friend of ascendancy high
in office, and the other would form the willing soldiers of
any desperate chieftain, who had the heart to lead them
into revolution and bloodshed.- The Hon. Member, after
expatiating for some time open the necessity of putting a
stop to these divisions, if the House wished to save Ireland
from the dangers and miseries of civil contention, con-
cluded by moving for " copies of the correspondence that
took place between Philip Johnston, Robert Williams,
and two other Justices of the Peace for the county of An-
trim, and the Right Hon. Henry Goulburn, relative to the
marching of a body of Orangemen in Lisburne, on the 12th
of July, 182 ; also for copies of the correspondence that
took place between the
.aforesaid. Magistrates and the Lord
Chancellor of Ireland, on the same subject; and likewise
for a copy of the opinions of the Law Officers of the Crown
in Ireland on the same subject."
Mr. GOULBURN commenced by observing, that in
the case which the Hon. Member had brought before the
House, the several Members of the Irish Government had
concurred in the opinion which had been pronounced upon
it. He would take theliberty of stating very shortly to the
House the real facts of the Case. Previously to the 12th
of July, 1825, the Government of Ireland took every means
in their power to prevent any expression of feeling which
might create public disturbance. With this view they
caused to be circulated the opinions gieen by the Attorney
and Solicitor-General of the illegality of Orange associa-
tions. On the 11th of Jnly the Magistrates of Lisburne
had a private meeting to decide upon the measures most
fitting to be adopted to give effect to the wish expressed by
the Government. Five Magistrates were present at this
meeting, four of whom were of the opinion which the Hon.
Member had stated. The fifth, Mr. Philip Johnston,
differed from them, but not to the extent stated. He ex-
pressed his doubts-whether the bill which Parliament had
passed for putting down Orange associations at all affected
Orange processions.. He, however, at the same time ex-
pressed his perfect willingnen to co-operate with hie brother
Magistrates in endeavouring to stop those processions ; but
recommended that fore 4 should not be resorted to in the first
instance, nor, indeed, until all means of persuasion had failed.
When it was considered that Mr. Johnstone was a clergy-
man, this attempt to temper the execution of the laws
with humanity, so far from being thought blameable,
would reflect credit upon him. On the next day (to
use the words of the Honourable Member) the 12th of
July arrived, and in the early part of that day a riot took
place in Lisburne. The Hon. Member had stated, that in
order to excite disturbance, Mr. Johnston had cir-
culated his opinion of the legality of Orange proces-
sions. That was denied upon affidavit ; and in the same
manner it was distinctly proved that he did not appear in
Lisburne until after the riot had taken place. He then
exerted his influence to induce the multitude to disperse,
and succeeded, and no farther disturbance took place that
day. The Hon. Member had stated that the Lord Chan-
cellor of Ireland had written a letter approving of Mr.
Johnston's conduct. It was not a little curious that the
Hon. Member had not seen that letter, and that -he had
not was evident from the manner in which he had described
it, if, as he said, it had been generally circulated. The Lord
Chancellor received two letters from Mr. Johnston, the
first containing merely a statement of his own, and the
second recapitulating that statement, supporting it by affi-
davits, and calling for a decision upon his conduct. The
letter written by the Lord Chancellor to Mr. Johnston was
as follows :—" Sir—l received your second letter on the
eve of my departure from Ireland, otherwise I would
have acknowledged it sooner. Be assured it gives me
mach gratification to find that a gentleman of your re-
spectable character has not by any inadvertency rendered
yourself obnoxious to censure. The explanation given of
your conduct is quite satisfactory. I certainly, however,
cannot agree with you as to the construetion of the law;
for, undoubtedly, if Orange societies be illegal, any ems-
re equally e
tionfrom tehe,m, or procession representing them, must
independently of the tendency which
such procession must have to produce irritation in the
minds of the people," The Hon. Member might, per-
haps, object to the opinion of the Lord Chancellor, because
he was opposed to Catholic emancipation. He would,
therefore, read the opinion of the Attorney-General, who
could not be liable to the Same objection. That opinion,
which was formed upon a careful examination of theostato-
flints and - evidence. on both sides, RUIN fallerf!!i'LjeL
thial the magistrate has given an explanationSUim—
Ciellt to do away with any necessity. for his ietnoval."—
Mr. Johnston then applied to the Lord-Lieutenant for
copies of the statements which had been made against him,
in order to make them the subject of judicial investigation.
however, refused the application,

The Lord-Lieutenant.