The Earl of Limericksaid, that he should take that opportunity of calling the attention 350 of their Lordships to an article which had appeared in one of the public prints of this country, and which had most severely and most unjustly reflected upon his character. He alluded to The Morning Herald of the 7th inst., which contained in a leading article the remarks of which he now complained. The observations which the editor of that print chose to make were ushered in with the most solemn introduction in the following manner:—"We entreat the attention of the Legislature and the public to the following article, which we copy from The Star Irish newspaper." The noble Earl then read the article which was in the following terms:—"We beg to call the attention of our readers to a most important article, copied into our columns from the London Morning Herald, relating to the state of the starving poor upon the Earl of Limerick's property. We can bear witness to the truth of the heart-rending description given by the London editor of the state of the poor in St. Mary's parish; and further the very last human being that died in that parish, from absolute starvation, was a tenant of the Earl of Limerick." It was quite true that he happened to be in possession of a considerable portion of ground on which the city of Limerick was built, but his property there was leased out to a number of persons, and by these persons had again been leased out to others, for whose conduct or condition it was impossible that he should be answerable. He knew nothing of the particular instance here referred to, but supposing it true, he asked whether any one imputed blame to the person who happened to be the proprietor of St. Giles's for the poverty or misery or the deaths that might happen there? The paragraph thus proceeded: "To that Nobleman who so recently stated in Parliament that there was no real case of distress in Ireland that did not meet instant relief." He had stated no such thing. He did not believe that in any country whatever was instant relief afforded in all cases of distress. He said, and he now repeated, that notwithstanding all the horrors sometimes exhibited in Ireland, there was no country in which there existed among the people more kindly and charitable feelings, greater attachment to their families and children, and greater readiness to relieve the wants of the poor. "This occurred within a few weeks, and as our object is at present to confine ourselves to this one fact, though hundreds of similar 351 instances might be adduced, we shall, if its correctness be for a moment doubted, give the name of the unhappy sufferer. It may be asked, why allow such scenes to occur on his property without applying to the Earl of Limerick, who it might be supposed would relieve this case of real distress?—we answer, that whenever such applications were made to the humane Earl," (a very complimentary phrase, as their Lordships would see) "he has not had the condescension even to answer the letters however respectable the medium might have been through which such applications were made." Now, the only real fact in all this was, that he did receive one letter from the parish priest, of so atrocious and daring a nature, that he treated it with the contempt it deserved. He should now proceed with The Morning Herald. "Can this, we ask, be true of the Nobleman who would have us believe that no case of real distress occurs in Ireland that is not immediately relieved? We will at once place the noble Lord on the horns of a dilemma from which there is no escape. He either is or is not aware of the state of things on his own estate. If he is aware of it, we can only hope, looking at his conduct as a landlord and a legislator, that in the whole dominions of his Majesty, an imitator, or defender, or even apologist for it, cannot be found." On his word, the public press was a most tyrannical tribunal. There was a time when such an imputation on a Member of their Lordships' illustrious House would have been severely punished. "If he be not aware of it—if he be not thus totally ignorant even of the situation of his own estate, wilful though that ignorance be—if the article which we quote be correct, how can he rise in his place in the House of Lords to speak from actual knowledge, derived from years of residence, as to the state of Ireland generally? We give him the choice of these positions, and we cannot envy him the opinions which the world will form of the course he has pursued towards his unfortunate and deserted countrymen. If he imagine, however, that he can persuade the people of England to let their fellow subjects in Ireland starve unpitied, without an arm stretched forth to save them, he is mistaken. Through the medium of the press public opinion shall force their oppressors to do them justice, and our most strenuous exertions shall not be wanting in a cause which we have long looked upon as sanctified by every feeling 352 of humanity and religion." Here was a stroke made at the freedom of debate in their Lordships' House. Their Lordships' were not to be allowed to utter their opinions in that House, without being called to a severe account by the public press of this country. He was no enemy, but a friend of it, in restraining it from making these wanton attacks on the characters of individuals. It was not his wish to close his observations by moving to call to the Bar of the House the printer of the paper; he should pursue another course. He had applied to his legal advisers to inform him whether these paragraphs were really libellous; and if they should inform him that the paragraphs were so, he could assure their Lordships that neither trouble nor expense should prevent him from prosecuting these libellers of his character.
§ Subject dropped.