Star.
London, England, 1814-08-26 00:00:00

• • •
JUDOS PLY4rNSI'S CRAGS
TO.TILS alt AND JURY -97 TRY, COUNTY OP Nyman,
,tiNT THE SUIIMSR AISSULI, 11314

.
•

Nosciosap vspit OUR PAPR,R pi TarriaDA73. •

' se There was a:second conviction at Cleatiseteht a
ease of a rap/wild forcible abduction. The Wise.
unfit was hb prineikal witness in supver :rhk;
convict-. •n ; fhlt. the credit due to her testimony has
been so' materially affected by facts .ince didelosed,
that I thought it my duty to name a distant day fhr
the execritibrrof the- sentence; in order to affofd ecne
for the resketable Gentlemen, who have interfere)
on behalf of the Prisoner, to bring his case fairly and
satisfactorily under the consideration of hit Majesty's
Government-.
44 But, although those two convictions involved
• gross violations of the laws, yet what was there of
political disturbance, or of factious contrivances. in
either case ? I could not see any thing of the kind.
" Next, the Commission proceeded to Waterford,
which was represented to us as being in a most dis-
;urbed state. But in no one part of the county did
it appear that there was that frequency of crime.l
from which any systematic hostility to the Coital-
toted Authorities could be inferred.
" There was one conviction for an abominable
conspiracy to poison ; but the actuating motive ap-
peared to be, not of e public nature, but mere indi.
futerest. It was the case of a miscreant from
the county of Cork,•hired and sent for the particular
purpose of getting rid of an aged man, whose life
.was the surviving.-life in an old lease, and which
lease the vile contriver was Materially interested
in extinguishing. This, was the real history
this crime.
Another conviction was for the murder of Mr,
Smyth. in the month of October last. 1 most ob.
serve, that this Gentleman was a Roman Catholic.
What the cause ol this murder may have been, is at
present only matter of private mulnise• But no per
has even whispered, that it proceeded from poi!.
tical or party feelings of any kind.
There was a third capital conviction at Water-
ford—it was that of, two two, for burglary in a
dwelling•honse. This was the only transaction that
was, in its nature, of a public description. It ap-
peated in evidence,. that a body of armed men
planned and executed an attack upon the house, but
the ably discoverable motive was, that " the owner
had besstptevioosly an inhabitant of the county of
.Cork; and had veutured to take the farm. in ques-
tion." - Here, indeed, we see those public outrages
.proceeding to a degree mischievous in the extreme,'
and deeply to be lamented. • •
" Those unfortunatelemtches.will imagine,
Lurie a stranger to the county has the audacity to
interfere between them sad their landlord, they are
..110 violate the law*, assemble in arms, and make-an
example of the intruder, who shall settle in this
' country. These are terrible delusions, pregnant with
.violence, bloodshed, and anarchy. The peasantry
,cannot too soon reject and abhor them, as ruiuous
and absurd. •
. .
" Gentlemen, Zeintit allude- to your county:
hope the-, system. at- setting lands by anctiondikof
squeezing from she vitals of-tbe tenantry more titan
the actual value of the prodtice of the land, does
• not exist in this county. I hope and. believe no .se
systcrn prevails one—because like causes produce'
like effects ; and, in that case, the calendar now be..
fore ewe atould.bave -exhibited a-very different picture.
At present: its contents amount to one charge' of
murder, one of rape, and one against a woman for
the supposed murder of a bastard child. These are.
mimes of a high and serious nature,yet of ordinary
occarrence in every county. But I can descry no
- trace of say system et general dissatisfactiok-aref
• political Mischief I. therefore, am utterly at siege
: to secesint for dhow alarming assertions cireelatted
htiougbout the empire by those advertisementsk life
- 'Wexford Journals of March and April last, imptist-i
ism to be Resolutions, deelaiing the county tobt in'
a state of disturbencw—Wast, on the contrary side,
we have the advertimments of respectable Magi-
strates, affirminf that there was no colour for those
alarming assertions, and- that the loamy was in a
state of profound tranittillity. This subject affords
matter of serious reflect/ma indeed. •

of

44 Gentlemen, these facts, peculiar to your county,
have induced me to-travel at length into this subject,
iu order to guard you against being affected by simi,
lar alarms, originating in other counties. I hope,
. that by Tour steady conduct in your own county, you
prevent the ninligners of this country from as-
serting soy whet?, that the ALMIGHTY has poured
aA e hill phials of his wrath upon this land, so favour-
- ell by nature with her richest.gifts ; or that he has
Cursed it. by . implanting in it a race of nun of so
:vicious and depraved a nature az is not elsewhere
to be found. _ _

" Gentlemen, I say it is incumbent upon you
to vindicate she stele of ycnir county—you bare
ample materials for so doing—you know the roots
of those evils which-distract the country—they sae
to be found en these crass, which I have now stated.
w Buts Gentleme4 is deem no ,nitthod of atißy.
in those discontents of the pro* and preventing,
them from flying in the fate of the laws ? Is there
no remedy but Act of Parliament after Act of Par.:
Vainest, as quick succession, framed for coercing
and punishing ? Is there ao corrective, but the rope
And the gibbet ?

" Yes, Gentlemen tL! removal of those causes of
.disturbance which I have mentioned to you, will ope-
rate as the remedy. I should imagine, that the per-
manent absentees ought to see the policy (if nobetter
motive can influence them) of appropriating, liberally,
some past of those splendid revenues which they
draw from this country—which pay no Land Tax or'
Poor's rate—and of which not a shilling is expended
in this country Is it not high time -for those per-
manent absentees to offer some assistance, originating
from themselves, out of their own private parses, to-
wards improving and ameliorating the condition of
the lower orders of the peasantry upon their great
domains and rendering their lives more comfortable?
indeed, I believe that some of them do not sat up
their lands to auction. I know that the Earl Fits-
williarn, in one county (Wicklow), and the Marquis
of Hertford, in another (Antrim), act upon ettlstets-
oned and liberal principles;far although their
generally are only leases foram life and twenty-one
years, the tenant in possessiost wellissows, that upon
a reasonable advance (meroliroportionoti to the

general 'rise oUthe tintesY be*Wilt get Mr farm with-
out rack rent or extortiel... iihtt, I say; that the per-
manent abtentees,ought to _know,. that it is th.eir4n-
terest to contribute enathingtn.their.power, and
within the sphere of ilieletxtettSive infTnence, towards
the ItfiprOvement of S eglifittt; from Whente they-de-
rive such ample reventWandlsolid ,benetits. Anstead
of doing scr, how do -Many oC them sOt ?They-often
depute- their mavgers. upon the trend Jur/ of Cie
county. This manager gls jobs doise withlut
qoestion or interttißtmo'f. tilskioacht and his bridges,
and his park 'ire itio'&det.
" rot my pa,: I suttWholly .at ..
rt to conceive
how those permatieht Shier:tees
.can reconcile jt,Pli
C•eir feelings or their interlsis, to remain silent. spe4•
tater& of such a state. of thin .—or how they can for-
bear to raise their *Okes. behalf of their unhappy
cotuttry,.and attempt to bp'en'the eyes of our English
neighbours; who, generally- speaking, know about
as,rptirb.of they do of the Hindoos.—
Does a viiitOr come to Ireland, to compile a Book
oe Travels,. What is his course? He is handed about
froin one -country Gentleman to another, all interest-
ed in concealing from him the true state of the coun
try s he passes from Squire to Squire, each rivalling
the other in entertaining their guest—..all busy, in
pouring falsehoods into his ears, touching, the dis-
turbed state 6f the eountrj,"iiadltsl4iciona balks of
••• • •
the people. • ' :
Such is the crusade of information, upon Which
the English .traveller sets Ird and. he returns

fOrwai
to,his.ciwn coantCy withaplaisunfkitaanate prejudices
doubled and Ciistllanied.—m4lsind of moral despair
of the welfare of such a ricked racer having made
up his mind, that nooing ought to be done for this
lawless and degraded Country. And, indeed, such
an extravagant excess have those intolerant Opinions
of the state of Ireland attained, that I shall not be
surprised to hear of sonic political projector coming
forward, and renovating the obsolete ignorance and
the prejudices of a Harrington, who; in his Oceana,
calls the people of Ireland an 'untameable race ; de.
daring, that they ought to be exterminated, and the
country colonized by Jews,.; that thus the state ot
this island would be bettered, and the commerce of
England extended and improved.
‘‘ Gentlemen, 1 will tell yoU 'what those absentees,
ought particularly to dti—they ought to promote the'
establiehment.of hotiseibf refuge, houses Of industry!
school houses; and set the example upon their own
estates, of building decent cottages, so that the Iriih
peasant may have, at least, the i.omforts of an
" English sow ;" for.. an English Littler' would re•
fuie to eat the flibh:OT •a hog, so lodged andled as
ati Irish peasant is. AK the tarts of an' English
bindlietder nut of leap:;' of-his.cottages in a state if,
dilapidation ?he rebuilds every, one of them for hie
,tenants,, cr. covenaosip, supply. them with mate.
IcAs.,fo.r the porpose. Buellow aresmarters conduct.
this eottlitry if there is a house likelg
tofilt into ruins; upon `':.n expiring lease, the new
*.rent tenant toner rebuild it himself and ea,
you setander if your pLuirations are visited for the
-PllrlSrlet, or if your young trees are turned into
plough bandies, spade handles, or roofs for their
cabins? They are moire than Egyptian taskmasters,
who call for pricks Without furnishing a supply of
straw. Again, I say, that thole occasional .ssenteei
ought toCome. home,. and:not remain abroad, resting
up9;.thaiOcal.inaufger-4 species of " loam toms?
Upon the Grand Jarry! %hey should reside upon
their estates, and Come forward with every possible
iisorliainent for the country.
.0 I do not propose Chit you should expect any
immediate amendment or ;while benefit from the
plans suggested for the education of the poor.• It is
In vain to flatter yourselves that you can improve
their minds if you neglect Their bodies. Where have
...a ever heard of a petPle desirotis of education.
Ito had not clothes to coffer them or bread to eat t
I have never known that any people, under such dr!
cumstances, had any Appetite for moral instruction.,
", *So much, Gentlemen, for landlords, permanent
antoccasional absentees. You should begin the ne-
cessary reformation. You now enjoy comforts and
tranquillity, after lessens of storms, and fever, and
disturbance. The comparative blessings of this con-
trast should make you anxious to keep your country
tranquil. If your farms fail out of lease, set them
not up to be let by public auction—encourage your
tenantry Co build comfortable dwellings for them-
selves—give them a property in their farms, and an
interest in the peace of the country. These are the
remedies for the discontents of the peoele—they will
be found much better than the cord and the gibbet.
—There may be other causes of discontent in other
counties. ' Those I have mentioned may not apply
to your county. If they did apply, I would not
shrink.from exposing them--I would not now, when
advanced in lite, acid uninfluenced by any hopes or
fears ; for, whilst I was young I wasequally careless
of the smiles and frowns of men in power.
44. Gentlemen—l had in opportunity of urging
sonic of these topics upon the attention of a distitt•
guished persanage—l mean Lord Redesdale, who
tilted the high of ce of I.9rd Chancellor here some
years ago. I was then at'the Bar. His Lordship
did me the bmsonr of at after I had returned
from Circuit, at a tin?a adm many, alarms of one
kind or another floated lit this country'. He was
'pleased to require my apinicia of the state of the
country : I averred; that I thought it• was as tranquil
as ever it had been; but I did ask his permissiOn to
suggest certain mcasures,wbich, in my opinion, would
allay the discontents of the people. One of these
measures was a reform of the Magistracy in Ireland ;
another was, a commutation of tythes, if it could be.
satisfactorily effected ; a third was, the suppression
of the home consumption of whiskey. and the insti-
tution of a wholesome malt liquor in its stead. I re-
quested his Lordship to recollect, that Hogarth's
, print of " Gin Miceli an unerring witness to testi-
fy what the English people would now be, if they
hadnothing but a pernicious spirituous liquor to drink.
A man who drinks to excess of a malt liquor becomes
only stupified, and he sleeps it off; but he whose in-
toxication arises from spirits (which we know
are too often adulterated by the most poisonous in-
gredients) adds only fever to his strength. Thus the
unfortunate peasant of Ireland is maddened, instead
of being invigorated; mid he starts out into acts of
riot and disturbance, like a furious wild beast let loose
upon the community'. • took the freedom to add..."
'44 kcforin the Magistracy of 'lreland, my Lord : you
have the power to do this; and until you do it, in
vain • will you espect tratmuillity or content in the

moutltry." was &Mishits was pleased to lend pour-
Moe mitentiteb . to thesaapiniOnk; and I do inileve
.0111.hikown initiatel judr_nerft acrd good inclilStroe
woo iiii hive prolnokst hiaf to measures
isci belt.
,efttifil: 10,
Ireland, And surabli-to his fanfte. ''' ' - '
• " Gentletneti.osTiiiii'subject bringg meth a Ansi:
duration of the Magistracy of the. couritrY..Of Oen,
4.,.npust,say. that: lone. 'are over7zealopt—others too
!lupine. Distrietokinto parties, tftee,are too often
governed by their lotkritcpasslons,.. to the. disgrace
4111111-Ade ful 41a1it4044.44.961"afk of ,the
titian . y. . ; 1 . ' • !' .!.. ' ' . ~ ,
uide Herilegriclilri iirectlar: attention! to
Pt
reSte OCtlse . odes tblsehigi flowing, from the tnis.
00 ,duct Of Certain Magistralot Oise is occasioned
by au eicessi*c eageroess to crowd the J.dls witli...pri.
amen, and , to swell the calisdars.with crimes.—
Hence the amazing dispropeirtioii between the num-
ber of the committals and of the convictions—be-
tween accusation and evidence—between hasty vas-
picion and actual guilt. Com:flat:its have been too
frequently been made out. ( iu other counties)
upon slight and trivial grounds, without reflecting
upon the evil consequences of wresting a peasant,
probably innocent, from the bosom of his family—
immuring him for weeks or months in a loathsome
, amongst vicious companions. He is afterwards
acquitted, or not prosecuted; and returns a lost man,
in health and morals, to his ruined and beggared fa-
mily. This isa hideous, but common picture.
.iraol
a Again : fines and forfeited recognizances are
.multiplied, through the misconduct of a Magistrate.
He binds over a prosecutor, under a heavyrecogniz.
*nee, to attend at a distant Assines, where It is pro-
bable that the man's poverty tir private necessities
Must prevent his attending. The. man makes de-
fault—his recogniiance is forfeited—he is committed
to the county gaol upon &green wax process—and,
after long confinement, he is finally discharged at the
Assizes, pursuant to the statute; and from an intim..
trious cotter, he is degraded from thenceforth into a
beggar and a vagrant.
is Other Magistrates presume to make out vague
committals, without specifying the day of the .of-
fence charged, the place, or any other particular,
from which the unfortunate prisoner could have no-
sier to prepare his defence. This suppression is highly
aidecoroits, Unfeeling, and unjust;,and it deserves,
~
upon every occasion, a severe reprobation of the Ma-
gistrate, whO thus deprives his fellow-subject of his
rightful opportunity of defence. . . .
4' There are parts of Ireland, where, from the, ab-
sence of the Gentlemen of the county, a race of ga-
gibuites heti sprung up, who ought never to have
borne the King':: commission. , The vast powers en•
trusted to these officers call for an upright, zealous,
land conscientious discharge of their duty.
" Gentlemen—As to Tythes, tbey are generally
complained of as a great grievance. In the times in
which we live, they are a tax upon industry, upon
enterprize, and upon agricultural skill. Is a man in-
telligent and industrious—does he by agriculture re-
claim a track of land, and make it productive of corn?
he is visited and harassed by the Tythe Procter; does
his neighbour, through want of inclination or ofskill,
keep his farm in pasture, and unimproved ? he is exo-
nerated from the burthen of Tythes, and from the
I visitations of any Clergy not belonging to his own
church. Far be it from me to say, that Tythes are
not due to the Clergy. By the laW of the laud, thee
have as good a title to their Tythes as any of yon:
have to yr,itr Estates; and I am convinced that the
Clergyman does not in any instance exact what he is
strictly entitled 'to. But this iaode of assessment
has been much complained of; and it is particularly
felt in this country, because the Catholic receives no
spiritual comfoit. from his Protestant Rector. He
knows him only through the Tythe Proctor; and he
has, moreover, his own Pastor to pay. This is the
reason why he thinks it a grievance; and I must ad-
mit, that although the Clergyman does not receive
all that he is entitled to, and although it may not be
a grievance in another country. yet the tythe sygena
is a painful system for Ireland.
is Gentlemen—You have in your power anothek
remedy for public commotions—l allude to the asseea
ment of the presentment money upon your county.—
It seems that the sum of 49000 is now demanded to
be levied : whether this sum is, or is not, an exorbi-
tant one, for this county, I know not. It is a tax of
which you will impose the greater part, or, perhaps
the whole, upon your county—and it falls wholly.
upon the occupying tenants or farmers; pray,keep
this circumstance constantly in your minds—the be-
nefit of this tax is your own. By its operation you
have your farms well divided and improved—good
roads made round your estates—useful bridges and
walls erected : indeed, I hive known counties which
have been parcelled out to' undertakers by baronies,
and where no man could get a job without the con-
sent of the baronial undertaker—they met and corn-
muted—and it was thus agreed—ii I give. yob your
job here, and you give me my job There." I may he
asked why do I mention those things? The Grand
hay know them very well—but then they ought to
bt concealed.
• a Miserable, infatuated notion. I These things are
not conceeled : there is not a Grand Jury job in the
country ;which is not known and commented upon
by the peasantry. Every 'mischief and every enor-
mity I have this day stated, is as thoroughly well
known to the peasantry as .to theaentry throughout
Ireland. The affected apprehension of exciting and
exasperating them, by a reprobation of those enor-
mities, is puerile and contemptible. It cannot do
mischief—it cannot add to the poignancy of their
feelings—it may allay or soothe them—already those
exactions are the sobject of discussion, and of mi.
nute scrutiny, in every cabin ; what are the conse-
quences ?' Dreadftil heart-burnings and deep murH
murs—the visit of the constable who collects the'
cess, is a day of general mourning, and distress, and
tribulation. I spoke freely of those things to the
Grand Jury of the county of Tipperary—what was
the beneficial result ? The Foreman (Mr. Bagwell)
came forward soon afterwards from the Grand Jury
room, and stated publicly in Court. that, in conse-
quence of my charge, he and his fellow Jurors had
thrown out applications for presentments to the
amount of £9600. These may be presumed to be
jobs, under pretence of building walls and bridges,
filling hollows, lowering hills, Ste. Here, indeed,
was some good done by this sudden impulse of eco-
nomy—here,were the fruits of a lies and candid ex-
hortion before the public eye.
" Gentler n--The Judge, whole air it+ to Pau

the pt rashers:, -venire of little striice-NridiMe-
tecting," a job"—he has, so local knnwledmt—he
knows not the distances—the rates—the gate of ie-
.
pairs...or the views of the partied. -lie mays indeed.
suspect, the job, and tear the sespeetid prenrovnent ;
but he May tear, inadverteatly, Unit ,whichie.isseret,
and let. the job pass..
county, dh as, Mr. &Newe11. Jiff at donmel. !Begin
the refPrM4oll;. aiuttlesoottPtineilces ,f reply,
cellists of 44 jobs:" '
. ...-.••
: ~.' Gentlemen. .wheal vlsisect-the-liousernt lad'''.
try, at Clonmel (which is liberally and conscientioolle`
coadtscted by anaisecietion, consisting at persons of
every religious persuaeion,•eratir the Protestent Parsen
and 'the Catholic-Priest at Ilene head), never did my
eyes wittiest, a more blessed sight—l , immediately
asked, "what do. yo pay to the Matrun *who the
Manager 1" The.seas; Wee mentioned—it was small
--0. I :oppose," said I, Ta k is no object a a county
job."—Mr. Grubbee(the benevolent Mr. Grubb),
smiled, and.said, ".You have hit it, my Lord—that
is•the fact."
-la- But there is onelethedyse. that svnuld, in My esti.
relation, more than any other, especially contribute
to soothe the minds of the discontinued peasantry,
and, thereby, to enable them patiently to suffer the
pressure of those burthens, which cannot, under exist-
ire cireumstances, be effectitally remwed • I mean
the 4 Equal and impartial Administration 4 Juetice,'
of Oat Justice sanich the rich can pursutigintil it be •
attained; hut which, that it may benefit the cotta.
ger, should be brought home to his door. Snch an
administration-uf justice w uld greatly reconcile the
lower orders of the: people, with the Gnvernment
under which they Heel- and, at no very distant period,
I hope, attach Menet?, the 1a.., brintpArting its he.
nefits, and extending its protectiati to them, in ac.
..•
tual and uniform experience.
" Gentlemen, if you ask meheW this may be at.
complished ? I answer, by a vigilaiii. etiperinteit donee
of the administration of justice in..qoarter Sessions,
and an anxious observance of the iiiaduct of.all Jus.
tices of Peace.
..
a Perhaps, the Commission of the, peace, in every
county in the kingdom, should be examined. During
a long.war, in seasons of popular, commotion, under
Chief. Governors (all acting, unquestineably, with
good intentions, but upon various principles, and dif-
ferent views), it is not improbable, that many men -
have crept into the Commission, who, however useful
ibey might occasionally" have been, ought not to re.
main. The needynaventurert the hunter for pre-
ferment, the iitemlierate . zealot, the trader in false
loyalty, the jobbers of absentee, ;if any of these various
doscriptiont. of individuals arc now to be found,
4wir names should be exannged from the Commis-
sion; and if such a mode of proceeding 6hould thin
the Commission, vacancies might be supplied, by
soliciting every Gentleman of property and censider-
,uion to discharge some part of that debt of duty
which he owes to himself and the country, by accept.
ing the office of Justice of Peace. .
" Should their number be. inadequate to supply the
deficiency, clergymes• long resident on their benefices,
more inclined to follow the precepts of their Divred
Masten, by feeding the hungry and cinthitig the naked
Catholic (although adhering to the communion of his
fathers, he should conscientiuusly decline to receive
frem him spiritual censoletien), -oat - harassing and Apt
vexing him by a new mode ot tything, and an in.
crease of tythes ; but seeking to compensate the di..
sentient from his communion for the income he de.
rives horn their labour, by sliewittg a regard for their
temporal welfare—attached to their Protestant flocks
by a mutual imerchitoge of good offices, by a eon,
and by habit. Such a man, anxiously std: ring,
not to distract and divide, but to cuticilie nd re.
concile all sects and p lain, would, from educe. •
lion, his leisure, his loc il knowledge, be a splendid
acquisition to the magistracy, and a public blessing
to the district commeted to his care. Men .f this .• •
aeaceptiee are retired and unobtrusive; butt, I trust,
If sought after, many' such may be found. Persons ;
t-eere haie been of a sort differing widely tram those •
I have described. These men identity their prefer.
meat with the welfare of the Church; and it you had
believed theni, whatever advanced the one necessarily F
promoted the other. Some Clergymen there may have •
been, who, in a period of distraction. peruse g the.
Old Testament with more attention then the New,
and admiring the glories of Joshua (the son of Nun),;
fancied they perceived in the Catholics the C.ansiailites
of old ; and, at the head of militia and armed yeo-
manry, wished to co:iquer from them the promised
glebe. Such men, I hope, arc not now to be found
in that most respectable order; and it they am, I need
scarcely add, they should no longer remain in the
Commission. . . .
" Gentlemen, I must further admanislsoypu, if your
am infested-with any of the Orange or 4teeu"sli.ssoci.
ations in, this county, to discharge them—iliscliarge
all the precessions and commemorations connected
with, them.-and you will promote ;he ia•ace and eels.
cord of.the country ; but sac er them to prevail, and
licisit can justice be administered ?•-;i" I am a loyal
man;' says a witness—that is, Gentlemen of the
Pettyy Jury, believe me. let me swear What I wt11."—...
'When he iwears he is a loyal man, lie means, a Gen.
alemen.nf the Jury, terget your oaths and act air the
.Orangeman." A•truly loyal man is one wide is at.
tached to the Constitution under which ave live, and
who respects and is governed by the laws, wh;ch im.
part more per what ;recce:rm. when 'prTopheiirityrualdynisiotynat.l
tered, than any other code of laws in existence. If
there are disturbance% in the ceentry, the truiy feyal
man endeavours to appease them.....
man is peaceful and quiet—he does his utmost to
prevent commotion ; • and. if he cannot prevent it, he
is at his post, ready to perform his duty in the day of •
peril. But what says the loyal man of another des.
cription—the mere pretender to loyalty I ,‘ I am a
loyal man in times of tranquillity —.I am attached to
the present order of things. as far as I can get any
good by it—l malign every man or a different opi.
nion from those whom I serve—l bring my loyalty
to market," Such loyalty has borne higher or lower
prices, according to the different periods. of modern
times—he exposes it to sale in open ntark.a at all times
—seeking continually for a purchaser.—Such are the
pretenders to loyalty, many of whom I have seen;
and incalculable miachiets they perpetrate. It is not
their interest that their country should be peaceful--
their loyalty is a " sea of troubled waters."
" Gentlemen, I have had a long professional ex-
, perience ot the state of this conatly, travelling two

circuits every year—and I have spoken the result of
my pmfessional observations and judicial knowledge
—perhaps the sincerity with which I haVe put for-
ward these observations may excite some displeasure.
But I hope the) may do some good, and I am pretty
indifferent whether they ere f lend disagreable or
not —living a great part of my life• in the hurry of
professional pursuits, I bevy itteplopeil the moments
of any leisure in literary retirement. :Aittactedtolo
party, I have never nil:Westin& the zeialoti.of: either
'—l •—I have been assailed and calcite:sailed by loth:
Such is, the lot of the man, endeavouring Ala* his
duty With firmness andysincerity. •,
44. etentlein re if anywif you be did to think
that this address would be better suited to another
place and another occasion—to such I answer, that I
have emir aced the opportunity thus afforded to me,
of..eildressing 1011, in order to state what have ap-
peared to me the causes of popular totrimotions, and
,pe remedies likely to assuage and prevent them, in
those-several 'counties, where, within these last five
years, I Wee borne the Xing's Commission. I con-
eider the present occasion a peculiarly seasonable one
for such an address. We approach towards the
close of a Circuit, whose usual order bad been in-
verted for the purpose of delivering the crowded
seals ; and bringing to speedy trial those man with
whom tbex e.cre filled, and who stood charged with
the perptgation of almost every crime known to. the
criminal code. It seemed .to
,me ezpedient,-if such
subjects as I have brought
,belpete you were touched
*upon, to do to in a county profoundly tranquil, where
no danger could be apprehended, even by the most
timid and fastidious, of agititing the minds of the
peasantry, by a public discussion.
" Gentlemen, two Bills, of importance to the pub-
lic peace of Leland, have recently passed both Houses
of Parliament, almost, as I believe, without observe.
Bev; and, certainly withont public 'inquiry into the
state of the country. Having
.fornieil an opinion
upon the causes of popular die Contents, and public
commotions, in those counties, which I have, within
these five years, visited, I thought it expedient, openly
from this place, to state this opiniCii-; hoping that my
judgment being-founded not upon secret whisperings
or private communications, but upon the solemnity of
public trials and the authenticity of criminal records,
may hive some weight towards suggesting the cape.
diency of resorting to other means of tranquilizing
Ireland than those hitherto resorted to—banishment,
the rope, and the gibbet. These expedients have
been repeatedly tried ; and haie, by the acknowledg-
ment of those who have used theta, hitherto proved
kieffectoal. And here. I must intreat, that I may not'
wilfully be mistaken and purposely Misunderstood by
any man or clastelinen. • rmean not to question, in
the slightest degree, the prudence of the Iyisir Go-
vernment in introducing, est the wisdom of the Le-
gislature in enacting, those lots ; they may be
sbaable {tor any thing I know to the contraty) -to
the existing state of thing( in some of these counties,
where the discharge • of my public duty has out yet
stalled ate. Ie others, although it may net be imme-
diately neorssary to put them into active operation,
she notoriety of their existence in the Statute Book,
may be a wholesome warning to the turbulent and
audacious. But having, in addressing you, taken oc-
casion to give yothniy opinions upon different sub-
jects (the statement of which, however erroneous
those opinions should appear to be, may produce
some good, by soliciting the attention of the enlight-
ened men in both countries to the same subjects) I
feel myself more especially called upon by a sense of
public duty, to say a few words to -you upon the
'cope and object of these say more especially
galled upon, by reason of those -important, though
tcmtradistory publications, in the Wexford Journals
.now laid before me, and to which I have already ad-
-vetted: -Whence that contradiction of sentiment could
originate, between persons resident in the same coun-
try, an having (ranee would imagine) equal opportu-
nities of information, it is not for me to conjecture ;
but its indisputable existence in the months of March
and April last (subsequently to your last Assizes),,
-cAls npnn me briefly to explain to you the purport of:
those Acts which some of you may deem it expedient:
to 'call into active op( ration. With one of those Acts'
you have had a former acquaintance. It is the old
• Insurrectiiin Act, which, after having perished, is
.now revived and re-enacted for Ireland. The other

is called the Peace Preservation Bill. The Insurrec-i
Lion Act consists, as you ail know, of a complete ans.; •
'pension of t.Fe English Constitution —of- English Laws
.—af the Trial by Jury. Under these new laws, taken
together, any seven Magistrates may meet, and re-.
commend the county or district to be proclaimed byi
the Lord Lit utenant as being in a state of diNturbance..
When the Proclamation has once issued, every per
son must stay at home after a certain hour. You art
to have the assistance of a Learned Serje:,nt prom
town, who may send abroad! offenders in a suinmary
way..— Gentlemen, I hive sein times, when person.,
who thii.king the lives named in their tenants' leases
were Listing somewhat too long, have, by•tbe aid of:
suck a law, found means to recommend a nip across.
the Atlantic, to the persons thus-unreasonably at
tached to life ; and thus achieved the downfil of 'a,
beneficial lease, and a comfortable rise of their hi.
come in consequence. Such things.have occurred—
. I have known the Elec.—Gentlemen, I may be told,
that the state of the country requires its re-enactment.
It m be so—l am not in possession of the secrets of
the Castle. A desperate state of things calls for des-
perate remedies.
G:•ntlemen—The other Act of Parliament is the
Peace Preservation Bill. It is a wholesome mode of
administering the old powers, already vested by law
in the Magistrates. Any seven Magistrates may re-
commend the application of this remedy; and either
for the county at large, or any particular barony or
(Us's. ct in the county. If their recommendation should
be acceded to by the Lord Lieutenant, this Bill comes
hew immediate operation. Now, you are to meet—
. a Head Magistrate is to be appointed, at a salary of
£7OO a year.—a house rind offsces--his clerk is to get
a salary of £l5O a year—the constables are to get
4100 a year each—any seven of your Magistrates
. may get all this done. But listen to one thing more
—the disturbed district is to pay the expense of the
whole.
" Gentlemen—l have trespassed long spot; your
attention ; but I hope, from the tranquil state of your
county, that I have not unaptly chosen the present
season for making those observations. See the ne.
cessity of some, public discussion: of ibOle-Stibiettig Ia

. • ••.r
..r . ,
order to extinguish all extlflVO meeispresen
tatiOn. I need not travel err gr a curter in-
stance. I have seen to ing iptillin one Qv fwo
of the London newspapers, aviory iifi myeelf. It is
so very abort that I shall read it :—..4, Such is the
d Eurbed state of Ireland, that one uf ,the Judges,of
4ssize, upon the LeinsterCircuit, Mr:Justice Fiera*
hi coming from Kilkenny to Cloaestel, was pelted 1
1
&ones in the town of Callatt, andoligyed itif safety ti.
the dragoons that escorradhim." g: it_ , ,:z:. ,
" When I reached Waterford, T was Stitt &ore
surprised to see one Newspeper lazpentio& th4t I bed
been . shot at;' but 4nOtber protestid that it was all,
$ gross falsehood. Now , what was the truth? As.'!
prukd through Callanan escort 'of a few dragoons
Mended me. This escort, by the bye, is one of the
mischiefs of those alarms, a mischief which neve;
occurs in England. T4fre, the Gentlemen of conik.
deration in the county Lome out to meet the Judge,
with led horses and pquipages, aad with every suit-
llie mark of respect and attention—not, indeed, paid
rip the Judge individually, nor desired by him, but an
l'attention and respect dui to the law, which the Judge
comes to administer. But what was the case in Kit-
kenny ? The 'High Sheriff not appearing at all ; per-
haps as a duty beneath him, or for some other reason
—the Sub-Sheriff unwilling enough to be burdened
with the trouble, and anxious to get rid of us—two
or three miserable Bailiffs, mounted upon wretched
little horses, brandishing an enormcus length cf hal-
bert, resembling so many Cossacks in every thing but
etility—and Stranded by an escort of four or five dra-
pons—(for the. Sheriff is not at the expense of pay-
tog the dragoons)—lndeed, where needy or pentiri.
ens High Sheriffs are nominated, and where the office
lof Sub-Sheriff becomes an affair of indirect manage-
Ment, an improper and ihefficient attendance up. n
she Circuit Judges is generally to be expected. How-
ever, thus attended t&rither unattended), we drove
through Callan; when a boy, about seven years old,
flung a stone idly, either at the Sub-Sheriff, or at the
dragoons, or both. This was the entire outrage. I
did not hear of it, until Tong afterwards, when the
newspaper paragraphs led me to the inquiry; but my
servants are ready to vouch the fact upon oath. This
story, with prodigious exaggeration, has been since
officiously circulated throughout the empire, in order
WS shew, that this country is in such a state of dis-
turbance, that the going Judge of Assize was pelted
*nth stones-, or shot at, and in imminent danger of his
life. Can any instance more strongly illustrate the
propriety, nay, even the nececsity, of a full and un-
reserved statement of the true and actual condition of
Ireland, than the extraordinary currency which this
paltry fabrication has received, and the avidity with
which it has been magnified into a momentous and
alarming event ?
44 Gentletnea--/ may, perhaps, be warranted in
feeling a personal indignation at the mischievous
abuse of my name, thus• attempted, for the purpose
of vilifying the country ; and.. possibly, this inspres7
sic* may, have partly led me to enter into the copious
details and observations, with svOichlbave this daY
tronbied you.
“ Gentlemen—lf you should feel thet,any of these
aservations are founded in truth and reason, you sit
sizeme, at least, the credit of upright motives for
, from which you may differ.. I can hive no
other motive, indeed, than a hope of doing some
good, by inching other persons to useful and merits
riots actions. Other Judges have very frequently,
and with great propriety, charged various Grand
Juries upon the general state of this country, its dis-
turbances, and the cause of its commotion—and some
of them have ascribed those disturbances and commo-
tions to a general spirit of disaffection and sedition.
If' I have a very different and far more consolatory
view of the same subject. it cannot be improper or
unbecoming my functions, to take the like opportunity
of stating my judicial opinions, of enumerating the
severtl causes, which, in my fixed judgment, have ge-
nerated those distuibances, and have retarded peace
and prosperity in this country—and distinctly point-
ing out the remedies and correctives proper for ter-
minating all those mischiefs, and allaying all, dis-
contents. These considerations will, I trust, vindi-
cate as well the motives as the propriety of my con-
duct in this respect, through every scrutiny, and.
ag•tinst every cavil.
" Gentlemen--You will now retire to your Jury-
room, and there dispose of such bills; and other offi-
cial business, as shall come before you. Let all your
private affAirs, your settlements with tenants, your
cativas,ing of freeholders, and such occupations, be
postponed to,andiser opportunity. Be punctual and
diligent—rakes., indeed, for your own sakes, than for I
mine. You will be the sooner released from duty—A
but as for me. I must, at All events, remain here der•
ing the allotted period of time. I have addressed
you very much at large, with great sincerity of heart,
.vith an earnest desire for your interests, and those
of the public; and, may I hope, not wholly without
effect."

The lawyers complain of a Ld brad in most of
the Citsuitsi
If any mat; who his twenty thousand pounds a
.year for his labour, can be an object of compassion,
thk:Lotto CHANCELLOR is such—sitting in London,
governing bgnerupts and lunatics in August
• A foolishlanatic, at Taunton, having publicly de.
glared that Joaona Southcote had been cfivied.yrsekd,
Aye," cried a Liwyer, 66 staled, but not. delivered!"
• A SubscriptiGn commenced at the late Assizes for
Norfolk, for the purpose of• erecting a monument to
the memory of Lord Nes.sos, in his native County.
At the Newcastle Assizes, William Gibson Whit-
field, accused of stealing twenty-six promissory notes,
each of the value of £5, and one of the value of £lO,
' from the office of Mr. Davidson, of Newcastle, was,
after a long trial, found guilty, and received sentence
of death. The prisoner was recommended to mercy,
and the Judge gave him hopes of a commutation of
his sentence...-Sentences of the other prisoners at these
Assizes: James Crawford, Rosa Stewart, and John
Hutchinson, for counterfeiting the current coin—
Jeath ; James and Mary Hasty, charged with the same
crime—Hasty acquitted, Mary Hasty 4uilty, death;
Thomas Davies, for uttering counterfeit coin, to be
imprisoned a year in the jail, and to find sureties for
• two years afterwards ; Catherine MsPoil, charged with
having counterfeit coin in her possession, to be impti.
sorted a year, and fined Is.; Elizabeth Taylor, and
Mary Oates, for pocket-picking, guilty, death; John
Turnbull, for sheep-stealing, guilty, death. •