PROCLAIMING OF KILKENNY. (Hansard, 15 April 1833)

Mr. O'Connell

said, that he saw no person present connected with the Irish Government; but he must, notwithstanding, request some information with respect to the Proclamations lately issued by the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland under the Bill which deprived that country of the Constitution. It had been decidedly intimated on the passing of that Bill, that there was no disposition to carry it into effect. It was indeed expressly said, that it never would be carried into effect, except under the pressure of absolute necessity. In spite of this assurance, a most wanton and outrageous act had been committed under the Bill, which sufficiently showed the truth of what he had often said, that despotic power could not be intrusted in the hands of any man. Possession was itself a temptation to abuse it. The Bill had hardly arrived in Ireland before the county of Kilkenny was put out of the pale of the law. Part of that county was, he acknowledged, in a disturbed state; but there was a considerable part of it perfectly tranquil; yet this was punished indiscriminately with the rest. But what he particularly wished to impress upon the House was, that the county of the city of Kilkenny had also been put under the operation of the Act, although there was not the slightest appearance of insubordination in that city to justify it; for, if he was rightly informed, the offences committed there within the last twelve months amounted only to five, the most serious of which was a petty larceny case. One reason assigned for this wanton outrage was that since the county of Kilkenny was in so disturbed a state as to require proclamation, they must also extend the proclamation to the city, or else the inhabitants of the proclaimed districts would nullify the Proclamation by going into the city. This was a most ridiculously frivolous pretext; they must, on this principle, proclaim the whole country at once. The real state of the case was, that it was considered much more convenient for the members of the military tribunals to remain comfortably in their hotels in the city, than to venture out here and there in the really disturbed parts of the country. This was the real reason why a city which had committed no offence, and which contained a population of 24,000 souls, had been put out of the pale of the law. The hon. Member concluded by moving, that there be laid before the 118 House copies of all proclamations issued by the Lord-lieutenant under the Irish Coercive Bill, the reasons given for the same, and the amount of crime committed within the last twelve months in the city of Kilkenny.