Star.
London, England, 1822-04-15 00:00:00

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rams TAX DUBLIN JOURWAL COP MONDAY.
On the night of Friday, the Bth inst. William Nash,
Esq. Chief Officer of the. Police, stationed at Roscrea,
having heard some shots near that town, proceeded
immediately with a party to the quarter whence they
were fired. At a distance of about a mile from Ros-
crea he met two men on one horse, and arrested them.
In the breeches pocket of one, the son of a very re-
spectable man, was found a manuscript book written
with great clearness, emblazoned with various de-
vices, and containing the oath, pass.word, and a com-
plete system of insurrectionary organization, the ob-
ject of which is truly diabolical. It would appear
from this document, that a general union and conso-
lidation of the several systems which have for years
back distracted various parts of Ireland, have been
effected. The prisoner was forwarded on Saturday
to Captain Wilson, the Magistrate, at Thurles, to wait
the decision of Government relative to him. The fol-
lowing is a copy of this extraordinary document,
which is signed by the Delegate to Captain Rock:
Ist. I do voluntarily swear to keep secret the test of my oath,
which I made before my Committee. •
2d. Never to come as evidence against my Committee, or the
man who brought me in, or any of my brother Unitedman, on
any account whatever, through spite or malice, or at the persua-
sion of any persons. •
3d. Any man who turns out contrary to his oath to be brought
to trial, and, if found guilty, to be either hanged, drowned, or
burned, dead or alive. •
4th. Not to stand by and see my brother Unitedman struck
or ill used, without assisting him hi some manlier; and not to
hear him ridiculed or run upon without letting him know; and
not to hear anything concerning United business, or our bro-
therly combination, without reporting to your Committee. •
sth. To contribute to the support of my brother Unitedman
when in prison or sickness ; in that case not to have one shilling
without dividing it with him, if he wants It, and to know him
to be in the United bonds; and to lodge the money in the hands
of the Treasurer or Committee.•

Gth. Not to have carnal knowledge of my brother United-
nun's wife, sister, or mother, without lawful permission.°
7th. Not to rob, or steal, or keep company with a robber,
and know him to be one, without liberty of your Committee.•
Bth. To rise out upon all lawful siocasions, when called upon,
by getting proper notice, as by letter, or word of mouth, from
the Committee; and, also, not to commit any act concerning
United business, without liberty; and, also, to be upright to all
regulations issued out try your Committee.",
9th. To fight knee-deep in Orange blood—the crying of chil-
dren, the moaning of women, or the groaning of men, net to
daunt me, for the restoration and continuation of the long-pro-
mised liberty to the Catholic Church.
Signed by the Delegate, X IN.

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• ".; 7.13,114PT1FL • UGENaiI.
IngingligllV KANO'S BENCH, AP. RIL 15.
21100114ntlitT ASSOCIATION.
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thangoarashn as At an early bow ;in anuessioir tb. CoArt was
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King v. Mont/ and sullen" wag called -on by The
King
ABBOTT. Nine 4beial JUrori answered totheir names,
but one wag excused by consent of both parties, on
the ground of argent business. A tales was prayed
on behalf of the prosecution, and four common Jurors
introduced into the box. The Special Jurors were,
John Leach, Edward Hughes, William Whitworth, Thomas
Fenn, John Scott, Thomas Todd, and Thomas Parker • the
common Jurors—James Pumniell, Thomas Illchardsoc, Richard
Wilson, and John Thu. •
The Jury being sworn, Mr. EVANS stated the sub-
stance of the charge. The indictment alleged that
the defendants, being evil-disposed persons, and de-
signing to usurp several of the prerogatives of the
King, and to bring them into contempt, to subvert
public justice and the liberties of the realm, and to
oppress certain individuals, and to extort from them
money, goods, and chattels, did conspire to threaten to
indict, and did indict, divers of the King'sisubjects for
publishing pretended seditious and treasonable libels,
they (the defendants) not being personally aggrieved
by the pretended libels;. nor being required to give
evidence respecting them, nor holding any affice under
the Crown and also, that they conspired to extort
money, goods, and Chattels from certain persons,
under colour and pretence of abstaining from further
proceedings against them, and for so abstaining to
proceed. There were various overt acts of the con-
spiracy laid in several counts. There was also a
count for administering an unlawful oath ; counts
for extortion without laying the conspiracy : and a
count for improperly compounding prosecutions, to
the prejudice of public justice.
Mr. SCARLET? rose to open the case for the prose-
cution to the Jury. They had heard, he said, the
nature of the charge against the defendants, which
divided itself into several branches. Before, however,
he proceeded to state the general principles on which
the accusation was made, he must premise that it was
promoted by no one concerned in the publication of
libels, or desirous to support them. For his own part,,
he never would be ashamed or afraid of avowing,
that those who assailed personal character and private
worth, or who attempted to bring the Constitution
into contempt by seditious writings, deserved to be
punished by law, and to be execrated by the world.
Let no one, therefore, suppose that this prosecution
was intended to protect such persons, or was dictated
by any feeling of tenderness or compassion towards
them. But it was apprehended that the conduct of
those who were the defendants on this record—con-•
duct far different from the* professions—brought
them within the lash of the criminal law of the realm,
and entitled those who had an anxious feeling for the
Constitution of their country, and especially for the
pure administration of justice, which was its soul and
vital essence, to call on them to answer the charges
on which they were now indicted. The Jury were,
doubtless, aware that the defendants had formed, or
at least were members of, a very extensive body, call-
ing itself the " Constitutional Association." Of what
numbers it consisted, and what objects it ostensibly
sought, would be of little importance to the present
inquiry. In this country it was scarcely possible for
a projector to propose a subscription for a public ob-
ject of captivating sound, without finding many who
would advance their money without much regard to
the character of its agents or the practicability of its
ends. Some individuals were sure to profit by the
credulity of the subscribers; because nothing, cf
course, could be done without properly constituted
officers. There were, first, the Treasurer; next, the
Secretary ; and third, and most important of all, the
Attorney. A house was then taken, the parties were
installed in office; and, so long as the subscription
lasted, they at least were the gainers. It must not,
therefore, be taken for granted that because public
benefit was proposed, there were no private ends to
answer, or that the conduct of the managers was
right because the motives of the subscribers were ho-
nourable. Most of the individuals whose names were
published to the world as subscribers to the Associa-
tion (whether truly or falsely, he had no means of
ascertaining) might be divided into three classes :
The first class consisted of those who, having abun-
dant means, were ready to subscribe to any object
prima facie for the public advantage, without nicely
scrutinizing the purpose of the scheme, or caring for
the administration of the fund. The second class
consisted of those who were desirous of giving a
public pledge of their political opinions ; for which
he did not blame them, as every man had a right
thus to declare his loyalty to the whole world.—
The third (and he feared the most numerous class)
consisted of those who thought that the administra-
tion of our Government was incapable of sustaining
its most important faculty ; that the functions of cri-
minal justice—that power, the exertion of which
brought the Government in direct contact with the
People, which produced the deepest sensation of re-
verence and of fear, which was the most delicate and
sensible part of the social system, and which required
the nicest discretion to wield—had been unworthily
directed, and that the Attorney and Solicitor-General
were inadequate to the discharge of their high and
momentous dude,. With this view they associated
for the purpose of quickening the course of the cri-
minal jurisprudence of the realm. Regarded in
this light, the institution was pregnant with dan-
ger—not because it was a crime to entertain an
opinion of the inefficiency of any public officers, but
because it was fearful to think of a voluntary Asso-
ciation usurping to itself functions of this delicate,
and awful kind. The Jury were aware that the
crimes punishable by law were divided into two lead-
ing classes—those immediately affecting individuals,
and in the punishment of which individuals were im-
mediately interested, as assault, robbery, and subtrac-
tion of property ; and those which, like treason and
sedition, did not affect any particular individual, but
were directed against that political fabric which em-
braced all social relations. In some count; ies an in-
dividual was not allowed to prosecute either of these
classes of offence. In England it was otherwise ;
and he (Mr. Scarlett) would not now discuss which
course wa. preferable in a case where all honest pre-
judice would lead us to prefer our awn. In the