Star.
London, England, 1822-06-15 00:00:00

PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS.

HOUSE OF LORDS, Jun 14.
Their Lordships met at ten o'clock, to bear Appeals.
Vans Ammer, Appellant; Dirstre, Respondent.
This was an appeal from the Court of Session, Scotland. The
ATTORNEY-GINEKAL and Mr. Soon= were heard for the appel-
lant ; and Mr. Wirrutraux was heard, in part, for the respondent.
Further hearing postponed to Monday.
The Recognizances Bill was read a third time and passed.
The Marquis of DOWNSHIRE presented a Petition from
an individual complaining of the injury done to him by the Com-
missioners for examining the Public Records in Ireland. The
Noble Marquis hoped that his Majesty's Government would
inquire into the great expenses which the nation had been put
to by the Commissioners in question.--The Petition was or-
dered to lie on the table.
The Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND presented a Petition
from Newcastle, against any alteration in the Navigation Laws.
The Bishop of ST. DAVID'S presented six Petitions against
the Catholic Peers' Bill, from bodies of Clergy in his diocese.
The Annuities Bill was committed.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM and Sir T. ACLAND brought up some BUIs
from the Commons.
The Earl of DARNLEY observed that before he entered
into the discussion of the important question which stood for
that evening, he wished to call the attention of their Lordships
to the subject of the Stationery Office in Ireland ; upon the enor-
mous expenses of which he hoped to receive some information
from the Noble Earl opposite.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, that since the subject had
been last noticed, inquiries had been made respecting the nature
of the contract that hall been entered into by Government,
with an individual in Dublin, and some correspondence had
taken place ; the Noble Lord might Move for the correspond-
ence if he chose.

STATE OF IRELAND.
The Order of the Day for summoning their Lordships being read,
The Marquis of LA NSDOW N rose to bring forward the
motion of which he had given notice. After all the assurances
that had been held out at different times, on the part of Govern-
ment, that the affairs of Ireland shoull be fully considered—
after the faith of Ministers had been pledged to that object—
after the visit of his Majesty to that country, which had held
out promises of immense advantage—after the discussion which
took place on the meeting of Parliament, when the pledges of
Ministers were repeated ; and after the subsequent change of
Adniinistration in Ireland, which held out the most sanguine
hopes of an amelioration in the state of that country ; after all
these things, which bad not as yet been followed by any prac-
tical result, he felt that he should stand acquitted in the eyes
of their Lordships and of the Public, if he called their attention
to this important question; respecting which no plan of amelio-
ration or relief had yet been proposed. In addition to the dis-
tress suffered by the agricultural and manufacturing interests,
Ireland was now suffering unmitigated evils. He should, how-
ever, on this occasion, omit the powerful recital of distresses
which were common to both countries, and conhne himself to
others that were peculiar to the Mate of 'lreland, which were
accompanied by misfortunes that did not belong to any other
country. He could appeal to the Statutes in corroboration of
this statement. During the last twenty years, the Legislature
had repeatedly suspended the Trial by Jury, and in fact, the
whole Constitution of Ireland ; and given a degree of arbi-
trary power to Magistrates which was quite inconsistent with
the happiness of any People. On all the occasions of pan.
ing such laws as these, encomiums were passed on the Con-
stitution, and the Trial by Jury was said to be a very excellent
thing; but still that it could not be suffered to exist in Ireland.
—ln short, the cup which conveyed the salutary draught to
others, was always held to be pernicious to the unfortunate people
of Ireland. When all these things, which must be well known
to their Lordships, were considered, he would ask whether they
did not feel it necessary to go into an inquiry respecting the state
of that country? Would not their Lordships be anxious to as-
certain why it happened that its natives were the most wretched
people in the world? Was that calamitous state of things owing
to her insular situation? Was it owing to her temperate climate,
and to her possessing advantages, in point of navigation, the most
favourable to man? Was it because she was blessed by Paose-
breCti with so many physical advantages that she was miserably
poor in the midst of surrounding wealth?—(Hear, hear). The
people were not only wretched, but they were discontented and
rebellious—while under the sanction of a Constitution whose
boast it was to afford protection and tranquillity to all the sub-
jects. Ile felt that in taking this view of the state ef Ireland, it
would be in vain to throw any stigma upon particular classes of
society ; for the evils could not be attributed to the conduct of
any particular set of persons, however improper their conduct
might have been. In viewing the state of Ireland, the first thing
their Lordships ought to consider was, the rapidly increasing pp-
pul- don, and the consequences resulting from it. In the year
1695, the population of Ireland was no more than 1,0.34,000 per-
sons ; in 1811, it was 5,400,000 ; and in 1821, it was 6,546,000,
an Increase almost unparalleled in thelhistory of any country.—
Out of this enormous amount, it was calculated that no more than
1-14th part were of the Established Church, the rest being Dis-
senters and Catholics. It was not merely for the purpose of
pointing out the physical strength of the country that lie called
theirattention to this increase of population ; but in order to shew
that, contrary to the political maxims that had almost always
prevailed, this vast increase of inhabitants was no indication of
Wealth. On the contrary, it was, in this instance, unhappily
true, that the population of a country might go on increasing,
while its wealth was decreasing. It was owing to that very
circumstance that the people of Ireland, moving on in a state of
perpetual degradation, were forced down to such a wretched
state of existence, that potatoes constituted their principal source
of life throughout the year. Individuals, after being driven
from all the comforts of life, thought themselves justified in
contracting marriages when they had no other than a pre.
carious means of support. It was on account of the state
of degradation into which the peasantry of Ireland had fallen,
that scenes had been witnessed which had been so faithfully an-
ticipated by the Poet :
,t While scourg'd by famine, from the smiling land
The mournful peasant leads his humble band;
And while be sinks, without one arm to save,
The country blooms—a garden and a grave !"
Indeed, all the circumstances which could degrade a people in
their own estimation existed there. In other countries there
existed an artificial bounty on population; but here it became a
source of political slavery—(Hear, hear!). The object of owners
or holders of land had been to encourage the number of wretched
'voters by the mockery of pretended freeholds, and afterwards to
convert them into slaves, in order to answer electioneering pur-
poses. 'This system was adverse to all essential improvements.
A practice, for instance, 'of letting lands in common to several
joint tenants, existed to a degree beycnd all calculation • and tin
object was, that all those persons might swear that they held 405.,
freeholds; and then they were bound to go and vote at elections
as they should be ordered by the persons from whom they held
the lands. He had known an Instance of no less than ninety
persons having freeholds on one farm, and twenty was the com-
mon number on one farm. With all the respect which he enter-
tained for the privilege of the elective franchise, he thought that
the sight of voting should- be confined to one person upon one
farm. lie should next advert to the nature of the buedeas
- which' the population of. Ireland were suffering. Here
Coble Marquis entered intarcalialations ti shew that in pro-
as increased taxes had hag imposed on the people of

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