The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-03-05 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD.

otof putting down the press--to extinguishing the functions
in-
effectual, changing the venue ; but all would be in-
'4g: Non me us hie sermo. This was not his opinion
subsea Was the °Pinion of all who thotight rightly on the
aubJe
44- S -
lost Aajt*kx Sai4 whatever the hon. gentleman who had
6„ ly.s., . own might think of the character of gentlemen
, this side the house—however the hon. member might de-
uoik,... ~_ , ,6., .
‘-` then as adverse to liberty, and inclined towards arbi-
;;lf,nl.4.
orCtces, he thought he might safely appeal to the testi-
r ~ °tier aud better keown political lives than his own,
frieialatA upon the house to say whether his noble and hon.
1.1 were likely; on right or trivial grounds, rashly or need-
r to interfere with the liberty of the subject. (Cheers.)
they night, week after week, month after month, had
Pitewilerie.;'°l-s' importunities, taunts, and appeals of gentle-
te4ssteildQ them to adopt measures beyond the ordinary
it kaw with a view to repress disturbance in that
centitrsc,'f
Clue ''.. "se asked it in the eases of Clare, Galway, or
.the •ill; County, ministers had shown any desire to go beyond
viitii_ its of the law, so long as there appeared a possibility of
al`rtl4' the authority of the law by ordinary means ?
lbs jar k Clare and Galwav they had attempted to enforce
eeed:r Vaalout calling for additional powers, and they sue-
courtet; 4141 here he wished to give the gentlemen of those
assi,tlees credit for the Manner in which they came forward and
bee d the government in the enforcement of the law: as
of tael: flier' they put themselves at the head of the population
fronqet;tr counties, and met the cry pet intimidation with a bold
Juries, arid took npon themselves the invidious task of aiding
04,r •flniinistration of justice at a moment when the lower
at :ot persons shrunk frOm the performance of their duty—
the pa„oin,vnt when hut for the exertions of these gentlemen
opentlayw eould not have been enforced. . (Hear.) He here said
4tio , without regarding whom he might offend by the declar-
tiutn, that the gentlemen of Kilkenny had shrunk from their
bail; hat thgy had not placed themselves iu the front of the
ire_ e, nor displa.yed that degree of zeal and energy that might
outsetll.°u aeeb
112 Y
have been expected from them. He did not cast
the't4ust imputation on those gentleman, when he said that if
have 4,41 acted with more promptitude and vigour, there would
a better chance of repressing the disturbances in the
oosuet, ' ear.) But when those disturbances had arrived at
era pitch as they had now reached, and when the ordinary
IlitatiOns of the law, though applied in the most unflinching
trarnner, bad failed of effect, there was no reason, but the con-
e, Y, when the King's government should not step in and
ay, , 4
for d whatever be the mischief of establishing a precedent
te /ling powers beyond the law, it is our paramount duty
cuiParteerse the adoption of such a course as we considered cal-
py,
atnodrestore and reinforce the law to protect life and pro-
re,rt
give 13eace to a distracted country." (Cheers.)
jaae.,ieture which he should have to draw, of the state of crime
con:Ljeland, he allowed was not universally applicable to the
ii„',llion of the country at large. On the contrary, he con-
t Lea his statement of its applicability, with few exceptions, to
r, extent of the province of Leinster; not that he meant to
b)r
that
did not exist partial disturbances in other parts, but
of I,Fsted
at the government's claim to further powers On the state
province; and as in asking for extraordinary powers
reofitiisters did not rest their case on the condition of the whole
did retand, but on the state of a particular portion of it, so they
, not seek to apply the required remedy to the country at
jar, but only to that part which seemed to demand its appli-
on ea. He feared it would be necessary for him to trespass
titlzturza tteaundtihoyn of the house, bv reading extracts from the
ceorrespoudetice of many individuals in various parts of the
detailing the paticulars of several acts of in-
trite t outrage, involving
.peculiarly atrocious shades of
attentione.The first cOmmunication to which he should call their
co was'contained in a letter from a magistrate of Qiieen's
rait.itutY• According to the writer's humble view of true Jibe-
of 1 Y and wise policy of government, he placed the principle
WithlnguirY into grievances with a view to redress them along
was the ~4
-4sh and determination to resist a tyranny that
a misnamedmany-headed
liberty, and which involved. the despotism of
I,,,a—t:nY-headed monster, thus combining the opposite disad-
The Ps the Government of an autocrat and of a democrat.
tirs, Picture which this gentleman gave of then tate of things in
eira., Part of Ireland was extremely melanchol He stated the
iittlL'ltstences of one or two outrages that had been committed
kid 11,(,),1",1', neighbourhood, which clearly showed that ordinary
lews,„--"Atiai exertion, with a view to the repression of vio-
hsC-,,' was now futile, if not foolhardy. He stated that outrages
tieu.vl,ceeded to the height of an almost generatdisorganizar
securirat a participation in crime alone appeared to confer
teat, Y among the humbler classes; that such being the case,
few ,Yriv'ere eouipelled to join the lawless disturbers, while the
sions in) refused to unite in or ventured to resist their aggres-
qt% ' were left unaided by any tangible law, unprotected by the .
deli power. The right hon. gentleman then proceeded to
(144inte
e a series of outrages, with which the public is well ac
wtts , and said that this statement, strong and striking as it,
axid'r'ldveyed only a partial exhibition of tote facts of the case,
disor,' not bring under review the utter demoralization and
tter 'ea'lization of society which prevailed. The Attorney-Ge7
tht:i said that he did not find, in 150 cases which he had gone
iustav,gh; 4 single one 'connected with tithes, (hear,) I,iur any,
Obje-e-,e'e,Of the Person or property of a gentleman b,emg tile
1a1,0,,-- 'l' aggression ; but the Weak, the destitute, the poor=
huCrers, widows, humble families-,---in a ward, the most 47
we_eiess and unprotected classes, were the victims. There
Ithleil)arties who were exposed to acts Of violence. and outrage,
leilL,,, t4de the bloud run cold when they were recounted.
tom:eLs.) If this was the liberty for which gentlemen opposite
ittfrin',ed—the liberty which the. government was charged with
other 7gimp—the liberty not of doing what was most injurious to
fence' but of injuring and wronging those who were most de7
'er,of.esB anti.. tinprotected—the liberty of assassination, of inur. -
a • u'idnight burglary and outrage, of deteraitilled:c.93lsl"!3cY,
io4fart,44t ale. laws of the land and the Well-being PI society—if o_t
he 4getuent on this species of liberty ministers were accused,.
t „'' °lfitted that they were indeed most guilty (cheers) ; but it
I":evt,r°teet and ensure the liberty of the well4spesell and the
tho4j,f to inaintain the public peace—if to. vindicate the au-
tie-1 of the law—if to guard the pour man's hearth from ont-
-14 , ae the dnty of a government, call this a coercive,. despotic,
wia.onstitutional, and arbitrary bill if you will,--tiesignate it by
le4t,t,erut of reproach you please ; but he.coutended, neverthe-
' Ote'Lit't it was a bill which, far from inittring or destroying,
iao3t airectly to preserve and perpetuate liberty in its truest and
cilltr 6enuine character. His noble friend had stated details of
ajto,a+ge,s.sufficient to justify ministers in the course they had
rnailteen, but he had stated them in the plainest and simplest
ot iu-,kr ; and if he (Mr. Stanley) found any thing to complain
liutt she speech of his noble friend, it was that he had rather
det erstated the case and had not dwelt on all the horrible
cili4ails of those atrocious offences with sufficient fulness and ac-
' 1101;e3r. His noble friend had mentioned the murder of Mr.
by ;!t4,111, which Was attempted to be—could he say?—palliated
th -,': ['colourable and learned gentleman opposite, who stated
the4",...,r(161' not to be an act of a deliberate nature, but merely_
`qUari;]
of labourer, and arising out of an accidental
the 01' the moment. Let' the house look at the account of
414,..InUrder as' given by a person on the spot. . This gentleman
r. ticis'cl, that, an express having arrived informing. him that Al_ r.
• itoe,J.„4)ll had been shot, he hastened to the, spot, and found the
nicea„ , Ulan already dead; he added,. that the deceased was an
Olii-a-i';Lve, quiet man, guilty of no crime except the collection.
Dearly lies, which were his only support. Air. HoustoniNas
etkui,,,'•`"',Years of age. This atrocious murder, which had been.
Igtic;4tt" ii 4 inid-day, was no. act of drunken irritation or yio-
to a4i =after he had been murdered, no one could be prevailel on
1161iist' .'a carrYink the cOrpse into 'the house, and. when Mrs.
tre,ii 911, readerecr frantie by the smile, iveut on her knees, en-
'tati4 the people present to assist the narratoi of the circum-
Iplest hand the irthicii in Viinging'the body in, they met the re-
ki-41.-`,),t only with a tefusai,lant with 4eers and mockery.
is ~,.s'atalti;„`L!er.) Was he to g 6 ;tern by itein through this tong
:.4enf',,le of crimes or need he do more 'than ens, that of alit
,sit.ln limu-lerS recOun'tedthis niglit'up 'l6 the present hour, I_lo _ I
riNr - to"een tattsl fact which earned with it.a.h.rand of,l
I ti 4, 4e-
a •4sociicy el#irning to be One of civilization.
ala-_:
.ch.c9ntli.:itetniilifer for Kiltnn.thz liaf6dmstearidythaaarta
:thhearde
the
hon.now
~ -ikee,e„ a s compare wit
, Wt pr.s; °him, that there Wasi'also compai.atively littl9 crituuet.
IY4eif 'l4, It would ha.x6 b,e,pli. a siibiciel for congratulation but
It was increased'Ontrages the opitiiittals were. diminished,
these 'Proof that laid ai it stood was not sufficient to check
041ofis f;r°110. (War, lieii.) ' He was told that at
didthe late ses,
L q)e .f, 1. Killienny, there- was nobs sing case;
I tli, e,?,,:oni cf the county ryas
ciiitTae.e ? No: but it preir d,
;• fqtc /1,144.,5 at ioriiiiidatron; tbi "want of confidence in the en-
I- .tkeliPirc Of the 'lair' diia the executiqu of justice, which mu-
' lik „tt,,riecess;.rY f'illie7inliired to Stiffer in silence, lest death
14,4,t 9e theii:diican° ' Altar:). Mr. S. after Speaking of the
..tit4;'"itse of crime in: this pi ovine Of Leinster said, that such
he ,-,;.•e rein. Of terror aiicrintiiiiidition that persons could not
(14'ev4iled upon to eonie-fiiii-ardeither as jurors or witnesses..
hi', l'•)' There were cdies. of fainilies 'who dared not give evi-
Vql.?• ' 4e had 'a list f tie s ni'Who had acted as jurors and
....; ;••ritiests,es, and' that list° Ca4,°the narnes'Of fourteen persons,
r, ~, been compelled to, leave their hopes, or to place them-
-4'
.Mender constabulary protection. In the case. of the our-
Itteari.aa' Peroll'll. arucclio yee,'so very few persons attended to
~hla.e coronet's jury that it was necessary to get policemen to
~z, 9 uP the number required. . He' was borne out in his
Was
hystatement of respectable magiStrates, that such
' was the state of-terioi which existed in Ireland, that the gentry

were afraid of the notices served on them, dreading attacks on
their houses when these notices were served, and in some cases,
he understood; aims were actually kept in their houses in order
Co be delivered to the Whitefeet, to gain their goodwill. (Hear.)
He would now proceed to address .himself to the question as
to the necessity of introducing some strong powers, beyond
those given by the present law of the land, for the purpose of
establishing the tranquillity of Ireland, and without entering
into the particular details of the measure proposed,—which
they (His Majesty's Ministers) were not called upon to do,
and which they would not be able to do at such a stage of it,
without entering into the minutiae of a bill thus rather un-
usually subjected to a discussion upon its first reading, of
which discussion, however, he did not, looking at the character
and the importance of the measure, complain,—without doing
that, he should proceed to discuss the expediency and necessity
of adopting such a measure at the present moment. The select
committee of last year, in their report upon the state of Ire-
land, recommended undoubtedly that the Insurrection Act
should be so far, put in force as to prohibit persons being out at
night, and to tender it an offence to be so out, and they also
recommended the establishment, to the fullest extent, of that
system of domiciliary visits which it was now proposed to
establish : they recommended the establishment of it, undoubt-
edly subject to certain checks, -and he (Mr. Stanley) was not
the person to object to such checks, but he would maintain that
the establishment of such a system was absolutely necessary to
enforce the practice of keeping persons at home in their
houses at night in the disturbed districts. But what was the
tribunal before which the committee of last year proposed that
those offences should be tried ? Before a tribunal consisting of
the magistrates of the neighbourhood, sitting at quarter sessions,
and that Court, it suggested, should be empowered to sit from
time to time, by adjournment, until tranquillity had been
restored. Now, if he (Mr. Stanley) knew any one tribunal
more than another against which charges had been made, it
was such a one. If he knew any one thing more than another
that was objected to and opposed at former periods, it was the
proposition to confide the administration of such a law to the
local magistracy. It was not for him to repel the charges made
by the hon. member for the city of London against military
tribunals,—it was unnecessary for him to do so, for they had no
solid foundation, and they were contradicted by the experience
of all those who had known most of such tribunals. (Hear.)
Such were the grounds on which this measure was brought
forward by His Majesty's ministers, and he would say that this
bill came particularly recommended to his mind, inasmuch as
it was so pointedly and so openly such a marked deviation
from the ordinary course of the law, that it would afford here-
after no temptation or justification in the way of a precedent
to be resorted to upon another occasion. (Hear, hear.)
Admitting that he should wish to see criminal offences tried
before a civil judge, yet he, saw infinite danger in constitut-
ing the tribunal proposed to be established under this bill of
barristers. However well disposed they would be to do their
duty, they would be open to the suspicion of seeking to please
the government in their decisions, and they would be the more
especially exposed to the popular suspicion, owing to the fact
that a great many of the members of the Irish bar entertained
a political bias (and lie did not blame them for doing so,) op-
posed to that of the people at large. Ile did not mean to say
that they would be at all swayed in the performance of their
duty by such a bias ; he was sure that such would not be the
case, but then their verdicts and their decisions, if they did not
please the popular party, would be exposed to such an impu-
tation from the popular side. Was,it possible that the free ,
expression and the free discussion of opinion could exist in
Ireland under the tyranny of a society, one of the many that
had been founded by the hon. and learned gentleman, that
altogether controlled the public voice—that put under its ban
any man that dared to differ from its decisions—that, in short,
endeavoured " to wield the fierce democracy" of Ireland, and
that had so contrived to usurp to itself all the forms of the
government that it seemed made not to perpetuate the liberty,
but to perpetuate the political slavery of that country ? (Loud
cheers.) The learned gentleman (the member for the city of
Dublin) saw no connection between what he called by the
gentle leriai of "prudial agitation" and that political agitation
which he seemed to consider so salutary to the country, and in
that opinion it now appeared that lie was joined by the hon.
meniberl'or the city of London. He could most gladly state
that that hon.-and learned gentleman (the member Mr the city
of Dublin,) and those who acted with him in exciting that
political agitation, were not to be accused as having directly
recommended any acts of outrage any more than lie had
directly recommended a run upon the Bank for gold (loud cries
of " Hear;") on the contrary, let him do justice to the hon. and
learned 'gentleman, and let him just read to the house the
excellent advice which the hon. and learned gentleman had in
one of his late letters given to the people of Ireland. In a letter
recently addressed to a paper in Dublin the learned gentleman
says:— Let me implore of you not td. injure commercial credit
by calling fora run on the Bank for gold." Excellent advice
this, but why entreat the people not to run on the Bank for
gold ? *Let the house but hear the next sentence of the lion.
and learned gentleman's letter—" That run will take place of
itself, to:the 'last bank-note' if the atrocious Algerine code be
enacted." (Loud cries Of "Hear, hear.") That was the advice
of the hon. and Aeatned gentleman. tie might by such a run
of the Bank frir.gold seek to embarrass the government, and, no
doubt, by. iiiihring the commercial credit of the country cause
great distress; but the hon. and learned gentleman seemed to,
keep altogether out of sight that the adoption of such a measure
would be the ruin of hundreds of his poorer countrymen.
The hon. gentleman then read a ballad that was sung about
the streets of Kilkenny immediately after the affair at Carrick-
slugla, in which all praise was given to "glorious Dan," and
which embodied several of Mr. O'C'ounell's declarations against
foreign domination and Saxon rule. Ile would ask if thiS,
ballad did not re-echo the deminciation of the learned gentle-
man againit "the Sassenah ;" (bear) and whether, whatever
might he the intentions of the lion. and learned gentleman, it
was not quite clear that an ignorant and deluded peasantry
interpreted them as culogiums upon the outrages, they had com-
mitted, and as incentives to a continuance of like barbarities, to
free themselves from what was called a foreign yoke. (Cheers.)
After 'animadverting at considerable length, and with great
severity, upon the conduct of Mr. O'Connell in addressing
inflammatory letters, the right hon. gentleman concluded a ,
most eloquent speech by saying that he hoped he had not ex-
tended his remarks beyond the length which the occasion re-
quired. The object the government had in view in framing_
this enactment was the protection of constitutional right, of _
legal privilege, of property,—nay, of life itself, against the ef-
fects of a system of lawless violence and outrage. In effecting
that object they would respect constitutional rights and guard
their exercise; and if, in doing so, they were compelled' to sanc-
tion an infringement for a little time upon the law, it would be
preferable to allowing all law to be abused and trampled under
loot, as it must be, unless the authority of Parliament interfered
to rescue Ireland from its present state of anarchy and tyranny.
(Leud and long-continued rounds of cheering followed this
speech.)'
Mr. SHIEL next rose, but he attempted in vain to obtain a
hearing. For some minutes every part of the house rung with
cries ot " Ah, ah !" "Mr. O'Connell !" " Explain—explain !"
The SPEAKER called " Order !" and

Mr. SHIEL again tried to address the house, but again the
cries of "Mr. O'Connell, explain—explain!" resounded on all
sides, and it was not without considerable difficulty that Mr.
§hielcould make it understood that he rose to move the adjourn-
ment of the debate. No sooner had the hon. and learned mem-
ber made this announcement, than the cry for Mr. O'Connell's
explanation was again raised. .
Mr. O'CONNELL seconded the motion, and expressed a hope
that the house would afford him an opportunity of freeing him-
self from at least one impression which had been made against
him. (Hear!) All he desired was fair play. He had read
three reports of the speech to which the right hon. gentleman
had alluded, and in only one of them was the exceedingly of-
fenSive passage: that had been referred to to, be found. :When
he read the report, the first sensation which came over him was
one of ridicule; it struck him as exceedingly ludicrous that
such a thing should have been attributed to him. (Cries of
"Qh, oh !" and laughter.) He was stating a fact to the house :
if he had done wroug they could condemn him, but let them
hear what the fact was, He meant not to mitigate one word of
what he had said—he ureantnet to disguise one word that he had
uttered. ' He, would begin by telling the house what he did say.
ie:x6s not surprised at the mistake whiCh the reporters had
en into, for. he thought that he had,, said enough to lead
;nir into.fhe iFinitake. (Cries of Oh! and laughter.) He,
pin,..g.the coercive tills in his. mind when eyeing on the sub-
' jeer oniniverstinuffrage, spoke of the injustice, on constituti-
onal principles, of any man who was unrepresented being taxed
—he said that the robbery committed by. a 6uglg. iudivi4ual
could be punished by law, but that injustice was not the less
so if effected by six hundred individuals. It was true that he
had that house in his mind when he said that. By the six
hiindred individnals he certainly meant the house. (Hear!),
Then, as was natural in speaking, another idea came into his
mind relative to physical force. He said that one scoundrel
might be resisted by physical force, but that it was impossible.
to resist 690,by the same means. ("Oh, oh !" and strong marks
of disapprobation.) The house might condemn him if they
pleased: In his cool moments he would have taken care not to
have fallen into the mistake which, in the heat of speaking, he
liadcomrnitted„ (" qh, oh !") In that house he re-asserted. both
the things,which he said at the meetings. They might resist
one person, they might punish one person- who kOUglit to rob

them, but they could not resist and punish a legislature that
robbed them. (Oh, oh !" and general marks of strong disap-
probation.) He did not know after the manner in which he
had been received by the house, that he should express any
regret for what he had said. If he felt any regret, it was for his
own sake, for be would certainly be included amongst. the 60U
members to whom he had alluded. (General cries of "Oh !"
and laughter.) Again he said that the report was quite excusa-
ble. He solemnly assured the house that he had not the
slightest intention to apply a derogatory phrase to the house.
(The hon. and learned member sat down amidst stronger marks
of disapprobation than we ever before recollect to have wit-
nessed in. the House of Commons.)
The motion for the-adjournment of the debate was then
agreed to, and the other orders of the. day having been disposed
of, the house adjourned at a quarter to '2 o'clock.
THURSDAY.

The house met at four o'clock, pursuant to adjournment, when
a committee was ballotted for on the Bath election. At half-
past four the gallery was opened to the public, when
Mr. LITTLETON brought up the report of the committee ap-
pointed to arrange and classify petitions, which was ordered to
be printed.
Mr. FiNcn-presented petitions from Stoney-Stratford, Fe-
versham, and several other places, against the infringement of
the sanctity of the Sabbath.

Mr. GROTE presented a petition from a place in Sussex, pray-
ing the house to adopt measures for securing the rights of Bri-
tish seamen in the merchant service ; also a petition praying
for an alteration in the law of arbitration; also a petition from
(we understood) the Dissenters of London, and persons who en-
tertained religious scruples with regard. to the taking of oaths.
They prayed, the hon. gent. observed, that the house would al-
low them to stand upon the same footing as the Quakers. He
was happy to understand that the hon. member for Cambridge
was about to introduce a bill to relieve persons situated similarly
to the petitioners from the disabilities under which they la-
boured. When he did so, he (Mr. Grote) could assure him the
bill should have his cordial support. He also presented a peti-
tion flora 490 of the electors and inhabitants of Chatham, com-
plaining of the exercise of undue influence and intimidation du-
ring the late election for that town; and a petition from a hull-
- red in Carmarthenshire, signed by 200 persons, likewise com-
plaining of influence and intimidation at the last election; and
another from an individual residing in Regent's-park, praying
for an alteration in the law of patents.
Mr. HARDY presented a petition, signed by. a considerable
number of master-manufacturers of Bradford, in favour of the
measure in contemplation for limiting the hours of labour in
factories.
Mr. COBBETT said, it was remarkable that on the occasion of
presenting such petitions as the present, no person attempted to
assign the real cause of the evil of which they complained. When
even the legislature proceeded to make laws between master and
servant, the evil which called for the interference should be
clearly defined. It must, at first sight, appear that this was a
matierwhich might safely be left to be settled between the master
and the parents of the children. The children were under the
control of their parents, and the house was called upon to. pass a
law, not to prevent the masters from doing what was wrong, but
to compel parents to desist from doing what was wrong. To do
so would be to declare to the whole world that English parents
were so cruel and unnatural that it was found necessary to pass
an act to protect their children from the effects of their anxiety
to obtain their earnings. Some persons said that it was in the
power of the masters to put an end to the evil, but that was not
the case. What, then, was the cause—how happened it that the
country, which was called the most humane in the world, should
produce parents so cruel that the legislature was compelled to
pass laws to prevent them from rendering their children miser-
able to the end of their lives? He truste.d that the house would
never consent to the passing of a law such as that now prayed
for (although he wished it to pass) until they had entered into a
solemn inquiry into the cause which induced parents to disregard
the feelings natural to the human breast, and to drive their chil-
dren into misery and wretchedness. Let the house always keep
in view that this law, was required not to restrain the masters,
but parents from being cruel to their own children, and that they
were driven to be thus cruel by the heavy burden of taxes which
pressed upon them,
,of which the rich bore hardly any share.
Mr. METHUEN (as we understood) said, that if he were not
bound to give. every member of that house credit for acting from
just and pure motives, he should really be inclined to believe that
the only object which the hon. member for Oldham had in view
was tfs, excite the poor against the rich, and create animosity be-
tween, the different classes of society. (Hear.) The language
whiclahe hon. member had just addressed to the houso was not
then for the first time heard. It was certainly no novelty. It
was such language as had been vomited forth in political-regis-
ters and "twopenny trash." Night after night, upon question
after question, and sometimes when there was no question at all
before the house, the hon. member for Oldham endeavoured to
prove that it was the object of the rich to grind the poor to the
earth, If his'argument meant anything, it meant that perhaps
the hqn. member would admit it. The petition was ordered to
lie on the table.

Mr, SHELL said that the Secretary for Ireland had closed the
debate of last night with a speech which, even from a dissent-
ing audience, would have won high praise, but whieh, recordedby the sympathies (he should be forgiven for saying the British
sympathies) of the assembly, was naturally hailed with vehe-
ment plaudits. Although an intecval had elapsed sufficient to,
allow their minds to cool, he would not disguise his apprehen-
sions that there existed a predisposition unfavourable to the
cause, which he had risen to plead. The majority of Englishmen
were, by their natural consciousness of superior dominion,
inclined to regard Ireland with an imperiousness which was
analogous to the feelings of the great republicans of antiquity,
who were as careless of the liberties of their dependents as they,
wereijealous of their own. The bill was divisible into two parts,
for although it gathered a number of.penalties together, and it
was a sheaf of rods, yet it was easy to reduce them to a separate
classification. The statute was directed against political socie-
ties and agrarian ruffianism. It embraced the insurrection act,
and the proclamation act, with various additions from other,
penal statutes, with other original en.actutettts,bnt it might be
considered under the two. heads of political and agrarian.
Why were statutes hitherto separately 'passed, and having no
affinity, now eouthiued together. Even now it, is announced
that a separate act is intended for, the change of venue. Why
is not this measure associated vith the present, or else why is
the present made to comprehend matters which are wholly
distinct? But let us take this act tip in its several parts. The
former proclamation act gave the )Lord Lieutenant power to,
dissolve certain assemblies; so does this ; but if the Lord-Lieu-
tenant thinks proper' to proclaim the city of Dublin, which he
is empowered to do, no meeting whatever can take place—the.
right of petition is at an end—the habeas. corpus is suspended—
* liberty of the press is gone—any. obnoxious speaker or,
writer may be incarcerated, without injunction and without .
trial, and. may
offences committed before the proclamation,
(for the act has the peculiar merit of being retrospective) are:
to be Cognizable.in the city of Dublin by a court-martial sub-
sequently established. (Hear, hear.). Are the English mem-
bers aware Of this,—are the men who shouted with laughter, in
testimony to a vile ballad. readlost night by the Irish secretary
in imposing despotism on Ireland, aware of what this act contains.
The gevernmeut should not complain of any strong phrases ap-
plied to this enactment, for they themselves Confessed that it
was an outrage on the constitution, and, indeed, the secretary
for Ireland had insisted that one. of the. chief perfections of the
bill was, that it was so peeuliarly detestable that it never could
be selected as a model, and what the whigs did iu 18.33 the to-,
ries would be ashamed to imitate for a century to come. But,
putting all mockery aside, and returning in sober sadness to the
bill, see what it provides., Not contented with establishing
courts-martial amidst the scenes of outrage and of horror, they
erect {,hem in the city of Dublin, where they have juries at their
command, and not very stubborn judges; and where a convic-
tion is as easy as au accusation. Are cities to be included?
To be sure they are, in order to strangle complaint and tread
every spark of liberty out. Instead of taking this course, you
permit discontent to ripen into what you consider excess, and
you then, avail }ourseyes of the fragments of oratory which
you last night produced, and. a ballad, written, perhaps, in a
police-barrack, in order to degrade us into slaves, and, by
playing the part of tyrants, equally to degrade youiselves.
Here, then, in the first section of your act of parliament your
design is manifest; it is not to crush insubordination, and
check the barbarities perpetrated in the south, it is to extin-
guiSh all the rights of British citizenship in the metropolis
'that vou demand this frightful authority to lie put into yoni
hands. Let any. man who thinks this exaggeration not con-
tent himself with saying so, but examine the statute. Here it
is; the proclamation goes forth, it appears on the castle. gates,;
that instantdiscussion, personal freedom, trial by pry, liberty
of the press, all vanish in a moment. Does the-exigency of
case ,call forr 0413. Is it beca,,,u,,le_ his friend Mr. Stecle had
addressed the peasantry in strong language, that every man's
freedom in the city.of Dublin was M. be at the diseretion.of the
Irish Secretary ? Mr. Steele had. already given the govern-
ment some evidence that he did not shrink from responsibility.
He, had sent a speech on a former occasion to.the Attorney-
General with his compliments. lie was a man, without. fear.
Did the Attorney-General prosecute that speech.? No; be-.
causeit was deemed far more advisable. to wait for.an opportu-
nity to establish a despotism, and: to. resort to the harangues, of
a generons and chivalrous.man: as a preteuce.fOr-this infliction.
A c,oninuttee. is namfd,, by_ Sir. IL Parnell! in the midst of an
emergency in May last, to consider the state.of. Ireland; the

.
secretary declareath#censinittee to be mostimportant, his name
is the secend, enthe fit, the commander of- the forces is ex-
amined, and the hon. gentleman does not, condescend, or is too
much pressed by occupation rather, to attend. (Loud cheers.)
This is a precious mode of managing Irish business, - And what
does he tell the house ? Having neglected to attend himself on
the inquiry, he tellS the house not to inspire, But the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer says neither juries will do their duty,nor
- witnesses attend. The onus of proof, like the smoke signal men-
tioned,in the act, lies on him. by-the-by, that is a curious clause.
It was recommended in another place, by a lay lord, one of those
friends who would embrace.the ministers so close as to hug them'
to death. (Loud cheers.) He recommended a clause making
- the peasant prove that the smoke of his cabinwas not a telegraph
of insurrection. It is far more equitable to put on the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer the burden of proof as to juries. What
his first admission?—that no single juror has been injured.
(Loud cries of " Hear.") No, not one. His next statement is,
that every jury but. one aid its duty. Why, is-this a reason for
abolishing all juries? But the. Carrickshaugh jury did perform
its duty. Who can venture, to say it 'did not who was not pre-
sent ? Who can judge of awituess withoht seeing him undergo
the scrutiny of cross-examination ? A look, a quiver, a faltering
of the utterance, may decide ajury;. the glance of an eye may
save a human being, But let us come to the statute. What
powers does it give; and to what tribunal-' It compresses the
Whiteboy acts, and the Ist and 2d of William IV., and the 50th
of George 111., and the 27th of George 111., together; in one
word, it transfers almost the entire criminal codefroM a jun.—
,to whom ? To a judge ? No ; the ermine might be spotted --
scarlet cannot. To barristers? No; their eyes are fixed one a
golden perspective, and the castle is at the end of every vista.
(Cheers.) No, but to a set of inen who are aliiive-aTinfluenee to whom the word "promotion" is unintelligible; enlightened,; impartial, calm in decision, cautious m inquiry ; who have con-
tracted, of course, no habits of rigour fromthe guardhouse, and
by whom justice and mercy will be fortunately tempered. We
shall have no magistrates, no ;furors, no. judges,, mo.barristers.
We shall have—what? Captains, forsooth. (Cheers.) The
wig, the gown, the hand, must give way to the sash, the sword,
the epatuet, and then all the evils of the administratiohof
Irish jukice' will be at an eedl, for ever. (Loud cheers.)'—
' The Chancellor of the Exchequer declarea that he does not
mean to apply the act to the tithes. hie does not mean it?
Look at the act. - The Irish Seeretery contradicts the Chancel-
lor of the Exchequer, and says that off.4nces connected with
tithes shall be punished by the court-ma-rtial. (Hear. hear.)
The Irish Secretary appealed, to the 'house for confidence,
founded on the past lives of the ministry. His potiticatlife has
been brief. He started the champion of the church, is. stilllits
advocate, took office under Mr. Canning, and accomplished
great things in carrying reform. There are others whose past
lives do indeed stand in a melancholy contrast with their pre-
sent opinions. How. will they ever be able again to raise their
voices against coercion in this. country ? When the wheel of
official fortune, which is subject to such rotations, shall have
gone round, and these who are now on its-giddy top shall. iis-
cupy a different position,—when these who now occupy the
Treasury bench with so much dignity shall return to. the
bench which they once filled with so much honour, if it shall. be
deemed necessary, in the midst of any disturbances which May
arise even in this prosperous island, to have recourse to niea-
sures in abridgement of genuine freedom, what can they say ?
Should they venture to expostulate, may not the new minister,
with that sarcastic gentleness in which he so, accomplished.
an adept, open this statute, and wills an impressive gravity
read the court-martial clause ? (Loud cheers.) And may not
others, wi'di less effect but greater vehemence exclaim, "Hew
can you presume to stand upas the advocate of the people here?
Did you not abandon all your former opinions ? you not
fling your recorded protests to the winds ? Did you not aban-
don the principles on which your entire political conduct was
so long founded? Did you not suppress discussioh, beat liberty
to the earth, suspend the Habeas. Cerphs act, destroy, the I:ste-
dom of the press in Ireland?,overthrow all justice, hurl down
the ordinary tribunals, and raison. their ruins the legislation
of the Horse-guards and the judicathse. of the camp ? (Loud.
cheers.) Forbear! while there is time, forbear! With the carne
stab with which you strike at our libel ties to the core you will
commit suicide upon your own. (Continued cheers.)
Mr. Al &CAUL AY confessed that the apprehensions entertained
by the hon. and learned gentleman who had just sat down did
nor appear to him to be in auv degree well-grounded; nor (lift
lie think that the speech of that lion. and learned gentleman,
however much it had been cheered at that side of the house,
would at all weaken the lasting impression. made. by the a•-in-
rable address delivered by his right hon. friend (Mr. Stanley)
yesterday evening. (Hear, hear.) That speech had produced.
an impression which he was convinced would not easily be re-
moved from the minds of these who heard it. (Hear, hear.)
For his own part, he had never risen in that house under more
painfld feelings than those which now oppressed him. He had
never thought that it would have become necessary for him to
stand up and defend the suspension of the Habeas 'Corpus act
and the suspension of trial by jury. (Hear, hear.) 'they were
those great bulwarks of freedom for which our ancestors had
bra,velyjand successfully struggled,—to preserve which dynasties
had been changed,—for which whole armies of martyrs bad
bled;—those sacred, bulwarks, he admitted, ought to be ap-
proached with awe, and never touched or disturbed but in case
of the greatest necessity; but, that necessity: nce made out, he
would not stop to inquire how fir or how short he was to go la -
fond them. When once, therefore, ne had made up his menuthat,:ssaaspension of the abeas Corpus. and of the trial by jury
had beconse"necessary, it was to him of little importance to go
into dismission-as to its details, and in that feeling he would net
inquire. which Would be the best substitute for the trial by jury,
—the trial by one judge, or three barristers, or by courts-mar-
tial,—for though he was not without an opinion as to which was
the best, he would not stop to choose between them, but as be
had mentioned them, he must say that, in his opinion, any Li'
them would- be preferable to that substitute suggested by the
hon. and learned gentleman who had just addressed the house.
That hon. and learned gentleman seemed to think that thetrials
under the bill before them ought to be by a jury, but a jury chosen
from the aristocracy. Now, it seemedto be generahy admitted,
at least he had not yet heard any hon. member who controverted
the opinion, that the very worst hands to which the administra-
tion of strong measures like the present could be confided were
the local gentry .Or magistracy. Yet, to something like this, to
a sort of special jury of the aristocracy, would the hon. and
learned member confide the administration of these strong mea-
sures. He would have a jury of the Protestant gentry to try
the Catholic peasantry ; could anything. be. less likely to create
irritation, when the passions and the prejudices and supersti-
tions of the great mass of the people. would he olipesed to it.
Mr..T. ROMILLY said there was no man more ready than lie was to
admit that some of the laws which ministers had in contemplation
would do much good to the people of Ireland; but there were some
evils by which they were oppressed that would not, he was on-
' vinced, be touched by this measure. (Hear, hear.) In his opinion,
the state of Ireland was different from that conteniplated the.frant-
, ers of this bill, and, before they passed it, they ought to examine earg_
fully whether it was a measure worthy.bf being entertained. This
was the more imperative on them, knowing, as they did, the immense
benefit which was derived from laws rightly defined and properly ad-
ministered. It could not be doubted that this measure it 'Was
iii-
tended to interfere most extensively with thelaw as it at present stood.
Now, he had no' objection whatever that the power of the law should;
be increased, for the more effectual. soppression. of murder, house-
breaking' burning, and other atrneious crimes ; and if he were con-
vinced that this bill would.he effectual for that purpose, he, fat
should, not ofiVr any oppoSition to it: But he could not consider it in..
that light ;• because, SQ far from possessing a principle of diserifnina-
lion, it did by some of- its provisions, involve in a very general.pr().-
seription persons both innocent and guilty. (Rear, hear.) Ile item=
alluded to the system of domicilary vi: it.;, at all times and at all hours,
which the bill authorised.. Such a provocation he co;n•eived to been,-
neoessary ; 'nay, more, it seemed: him to be mischievous. The or-
derly as well as.the disorderly portions of the community were alike.
open to the operations of this cause ; and it might he made us 'e• of to
serve the endS of pen,: jealousy or revenge. With respect to the,
- proposition of the righilion. member for Lambeth, laeutaii- notet4l
inclined to support it. lie saw no benefit that could be derived from
postponing the bill for a• fortnight, If it were really called for, let
- evidence he adduced•to prove that it was, and.then let itbe passechat
once ; but until ample evidence were adduced, he never could agree
.to it. If the objet of, the right lion. member were to defeat the hot
altogether, then the best way to. meet. that object wouldbe, 'to move
that the second reading be postponed to this day six months. That-
would be a. much better and plainer mode of proceeding than calling
for the delay of- a fortnight. lie meant to make no observations gift
the. distinctness which. had. be, drawn between praalial, and nolititial
dlistlixirai;u des •. he would not enter. into a discussion with refeience tt
their connexion • butlieJalalithe allowed to offer a passing obseiii-
tion the attacks Whin That been made onithe hon, and learned
member forDuhlin,to whom until within the last half-hour he had been'
utterly unkaown--even, he believed hy,sight. Whatever the conduct
of that hou. and learned g.4lntlexuan might be, it ought not to' infin-
.ence the tone of this disciocsion. (Hear, hear.) Tint great queitit'll
ought not to be discu4sed on a party, or private feeling. (Hear, hear.).
No ; it. should, he distu.sscd as a measure affecting the lives and liber.
of; one:41411 entire conommits., of this gin mire, akar,
hear.) Such a question passion ; it
should, be viewed calmly ands estesiderately. (Bear, hear,s • They
ought to reflect upon many peit.M.-Vvlictiter, for instance, a fegg extes,
sive measure might net dO,—it-liether they were justified-in carrying.
the whole of these coereive.meattures once?. The real object and
. the end and aim of: all their.eem,uitations on this subject ought tote,
'not to enforce the law by harshness-and-severity, by-the introduction
of courts-martial, or by 'other arbitrary prneeetlings,
but to induce
the p9ople to love the legislature and the government, to enthrone
.1;0h' in the hearts of the cononunity by acts. of kindness end benefi,
6erce. (Hear, hear.)
• lord MAHON Said that, connected- as be.was by property with •Ire--
land, he hoped the horse would7allow- him to state his sentiments on
the question then before them. The.questionmas, whether he.shOuld
support 'a meaimre brought forward by ministers, in whom he co.-
fessed that-he d:tinot place eonfidenee, or, on the otherhand,
Conetnded on page 237..