§ MR. COGANsaid, he rose to ask the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Whether the Government have received information that, from the 1st to the 12th of July, Orange 2263 Flags have been flying from the towers and steeples of a great number of churches in the North of Ireland; and, if so, whether Government intend to propose any legislative enactment to further restrain the public exhibition of Party Banners and Flags in Ireland; and to call the attention of the House to the state of the North of Ireland? It was with much pain that, thirty years after Catholic Emancipation, he felt compelled to draw the attention of the House to atrocities springing from religious fanaticism in the North of Ireland, which could not be equalled in any country in Europe, and were only paralleled by those dreadful events now taking place in Syria. He (Mr. Cogan) had already given notice that he would introduce a Bill to prohibit these irritating displays; but he believed he could show to the House that a necessity existed for such an enactment, which he hoped would induce the Government to take up the matter themselves as it was clearly impossible for a private Member at that period of the Session to be able to carry any such measure. The hon. Member for Armagh (Sir William Verner), the deputy grand master of the Orange Society in Ireland, was last night understood to give his assent to the introduction of some measure to put an end to the public exhibition of party emblems in Ireland; and, doubtless, animated by humane feelings, shocked at the recent outrages, had thus intimated that the exhibition of party banners in Ireland could not but be attended with danger to the public peace. While giving him every credit for so acting, he felt bound to declare, at the same time, that he believed that a deep responsibility rested on the hon. Member and others of station and property in the North of Ireland for assisting to prolong the existence of the Orange Society, by giving the authority of their names and influence to it. He believed he need not then enter into any lengthened argument for the purpose of showing that that society had been productive of considerable mischief in Ireland. So far back as the year 1813 it had been condemned by Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning. It had since that time frequently occupied the attention of the House, and in the year 1832 its proceedings had rendered necessary the Party Processions Act, which had been introduced by the present Earl of Derby, who was severely attacked by Mr. Shaw for saying that the Orangemen of Ireland alone persisted in keeping up religious animosities, and that their 2264 only object in meeting was to insult their Catholic fellow subjects and to defy the Government; also the late Mr. O'Connell, who for many years indulged the vain hope of conciliating the Orange party, and others, strongly opposed the measure as an infringement of the constitutional liberties of the people, and alleged that the Emancipation Act would put an end to the atrocities against which it was directed. Outrage followed outrage, however, in the North of Ireland, and they were doomed to see similar disastrous events as those that occurred in 1840. In 1845 Parliament thought they would give a chance to the Orangemen in Ireland, and they allowed the Act to expire. It was not until other outrages occurred that the attention of Parliament was again awakened to the subject, and all those who, in 1832, were opposed to it were reluctantly compelled to admit that the exceptional circumstances of the North of Ireland rendered its re-enactment a matter of necessity. In 1850, then, the Act was revived by the unanimous vote of the House, including even the hon. Members from the North of Ireland who were Members of the Society. Still the conduct of the Orange body looked so dangerous to the peace and tranquillity of the country as to demand the serious attention of Parliament. A Committee was appointed to inquire into the whole subject, and the result was, three Reports in which it was declared that the existence of the Orange Society was dangerous to the peace and prosperity of the country. Addresses were presented to the Throne by both Houses calling for the suppression of the society. Gentlemen connected with the North of Ireland and in high position, both in this and the other House of Parliament, declared their compliance with the wish expressed by their Sovereign that the body should be dissolved. Again a hope was entertained that a feeling of brotherly love would be established in the country, and that the insults of an old religious ascendancy which had passed away would be abandoned. He regretted to say, however, that again they were disappointed. Men of great influence and ability, and deserving of great respect, yet carried away by religious prejudices, again sought to revive the Orange Society. Lawyers were consulted to advise how or by what means the law could be evaded. The right hon. Joseph Napier, the late Lord Chancellor of Ireland, drew up a code of laws in 1845 for the revival of the Orange Society. He (Mr. 2265 Cogan) did not mean to implicate Mr. Napier with the Orange Society by his doing so. That learned Gentleman, who had been a distinguished and esteemed Member of that House, merely acted on that occasion in his capacity as an eminent lawyer; but he regretted that he did not use his great influence with his party for the purpose of suppressing a body that had done such great mischief. In May, 1849, the Orange Society was again revived, and in July, 1849, just two months afterwards, the dreadful massacre of Dolly's Brae, with the details of which the House was no doubt familiar, took place. The Earl of Derby, in speaking of that affair, in which a village was burned down and many lives lost — condemned in as strong language as possible the atrocities of the Orange party. On a recent occasion unfortunately they had seen all that bad feeling spring again into existence at the unfortunate meeting of Derrymacash, where a number of persons were fired upon by the Orange party. Although he was pleased to hear that the Government intended to frame a provision to check such disturbances by preventing the exhibition of Orange flags and banners upon churches and other places, still the organization of which this outbreak was the outward sign would remain. Until that organization was destroyed, there could be no hope of the permanent re-establishment of peace in Ireland. Now it was in the power of Parliament to destroy that organization. If the law were vigorously put in force, and no magistrate and no Lord or Deputy Lieutenant were allowed to belong to these exclusive and secret societies—and he was ready to prove, if it were considered necessary, from the Report on the Belfast riots, that they were both exclusive and secret— the Government would at once go to the root of the evil. If, however, they were not prepared to take such a step, he would appeal to the good feeling of the gentlemen in the North of Ireland whether there was any practical use in this organization, and whether it did not create more mischief than good. W hat could be a stronger proof of its dangerous character than the letter which the gallant Member for Armagh had lately penned with such good taste, and calling upon the Orangemen to abstain from those riots which usually took place on the 1st and 12th of July of every year? Other measures also should be taken. The Government, for instance, might direct their attention to the jury system in Ireland, with a view of rendering it impossible 2266 for Orange juries to try Orange offenders At present, as Judge Fletcher stated' Catholics in the North of Ireland had no assurance that justice would be done to them when they or when Orangemen were brought for trial before an Orange jury. On one occasion Chief Justice Bushe said, after the acquittal of an Orangeman in the county of Down, "That is your verdict, gentlemen; thank God it is not mine!" Moreover, there could be no proper faith in the administration of justice when Members of the Orange Society were on the bench. No man should be retained in the commission of the peace, or should he allowed to sit on a jury, who belonged to this or to any other secret society, whether they were orange or green. He (Mr. Cogan) would put down both the one and the other; he believed they were the great curse of the country, and at the root of all its evils. He did not wish to speak with harshness of those clergymen who allowed their churches to be decorated with Orange flags and banners when they knew they were calculated to insult and arouse the angry passions of a large portion of their fellow countrymen; he believed many of them were compelled to do so against their will. He should only say that he regarded such a mode of church decorations as a desecration of the house of God, who preached peace and good will to men. Upon a church adjoining the court in Lurgan, where an investigation about the shooting down of sixteen Catholics by the Orange procession at Derrymacash was going on, there were to be seen, long after the 12th of July, four Orange flags flaunting in the breeze. Was not that a desecration of the house of God? Few Gentlemen in that House were aware of the length to which these things were carried in the North of Ireland. There at all times Catholics were exposed to annoyance and insult, "To Hell with the Pope" being a common street cry, which was shouted in the streets at all times. Very recently a Catholic gentleman was chosen sheriff of the county of Fermanagh. He was a man universally respected and esteemed, but he was prevented from dining with the grand jury, because the standing toast was an insult to his religion, it being the "Glorious, pious, and immortal memory." Would or should such a thing be longer tolerated! He (Mr. Cogan) would not object in England to drink the health of William III., whom he considered to have introduced many reforms; but in Ireland that toast was intended as an insult to Ca- 2267 tholics, and as such was distasteful to them; in the one country his name was identified with civil and religious liberty, but in the other it was connected with the most shameful religious persecution and penal laws—and was intended to mean Protestant ascendancy. Sir Robert Peel long ago condemned the practice of observing anniversaries, which were made the occasions of disorder, and why did the Protestant gentlemen of Ireland to this day encourage and permit such baneful practices to continue? Sir Robert Peel had said that that toast was meant to commemorate the battle of the Boyne, and to celebrate the defeat of the Roman Catholics. Mr. Lefroy, the present Lord Chief Justice in Ireland, who was then a Member of that House, said they might as well declare that the battle of Waterloo should no longer be commemorated. Well, they had lived to see the day when, in deference to the feelings of their French Ally, that great event was no longer commemorated; and were the feelings of their own fellow-subjects to be still disregarded? He would only remind the House that in 1857 Belfast was for days the scene of almost civil war, one class of citizens being arrayed in arms against another class. Commissioners were appointed to inquire into the causes of the outbreak, and they reported that the observance of the July anniversary was the main cause of all the disorders. He would not enter at any length into the details of the recent outrage. A riot was provoked by the insulting and irritating conduct of the Orange party. On the morning of the 12th upwards of 5,000 Orangemen with 28 drums and fifes were marching through Lurgan, it being market day—and on the return of some of these in the evening some one of them fired a pistol at the cross on the chapel at Derrymacash—so it began. It is not material who actually commenced the riot, but it was certain that the Orange party alone indulged in firing. Sixteen persons were wounded, two of them dangerously, and the persons who were responsible for that were those who encouraged or took part in such irritating proceedings. One part of the evil was to be dealt with, but he wished to see the Orange Society entirely abolished; he believed there would be no peace in the North of Ireland till that was done. He wished hon. Gentlemen would exert themselves to that end, and if the right hon. Gentleman the Member for Bucks would persuade his followers to abandon and discourage the 2268 society, he would probably obtain a larger number of supporters; for in Ireland the chief ground of objection to a Conservative Government was, that its entering into office was regarded as the signal for a renewal of insults to the Catholics and the assertion of Protestant ascendancy. They had been offended and outraged by some who now sat on the Treasury bench, but they still supported them, because they disliked more the advent of a Government which would lead to Orange ascendancy. They had not forgiven the Durham letter, and never could forgive it; and there were many other things which the Whigs had done not to be forgotten, and if the right hon. Gentlemen opposite were wise, they would take advantage of this, and bid for power in Ireland. He hoped the right hon. Gentleman the present Secretary for Ireland would take warning by this. If he could be instrumental in putting down these party organizations, which had been productive of so much mischief, and could bring all the people of Ireland, of whatever creed or party, to live together as fellow-citizens of one country, he would deserve the gratitude of Ireland.
MR. DAWSONsaid, he had listened with great attention and deep interest to the observations of the hon. Member for Kildare (Mr. Cogan), in which the hon. Member had alluded to a series of events which were greatly to be deplored by every Member of the House. He (Mr. Dawson) was deeply interested in the good name and the prosperity of Ireland, and especially the North of Ireland; and no one could deprecate more than he those useless and insulting displays which invariably accompanied these July anniversaries. He had seen many of these manifestations, but they had always grated on his feelings, he-cause he was aware that they recalled party triumphs which ought to be forgotten, and prefigured the establishment of ascendancy which he never desired to see exercised by any class. So far he agreed with the hon. Member for Kildare in the very able statement which he had made, but he would ask the House not to continue the discussion of an irritating matter, or to use any partisan expression which might tend to widen differences already existing in certain districts in Ireland. He must remind the House that the excitement was confined to certain localities, and did not prevail throughout the whole of Ulster; but leading articles, written on the telegraphic reports of proceedings in 2269 the House, frequently appeared in Irish newspapers, and therefore he would suggest to hon. Members to refrain from any language which would afford ground for articles that would not lead to that good feeling which he was sure it was the wish of the House to promote. He was well acquainted with the town of Lurgan, and he was able to corroborate the statement of the hon. Member that the magistrates had used their utmost exertions to bring the offenders in this matter to justice. He had that morning received a letter from Lord Lurgan, which stated that the magistrates were unanimously determined to sift this deplorable case to the bottom, and that they would spare no pains for the purpose. It was almost unnecessary to say that he had never been a member of an Orange body. Nobody regretted their existence more than he did, and he had always been of opinion that secret societies, of whatever party, had been the curse of Ireland. If the efforts of the local magistracy were seconded by the Government, there was every reason to believe that tranquillity and a spirit of confidence would soon be restored.
§ MR. CARDWELLsaid, he thought that after the able and dispassionate statement of the hon. Gentleman the Member for Kildare, and the candid speech of the hon. Gentleman who had just sat down, it would be better on the whole that the discussion on this subject should not be protracted. He believed that, whatever party was in power, such occurrences as these would be viewed with the deepest regret by the Government, and every Government would view with the liveliest satisfaction the dissolution of the societies which led to such occurrences, and which postponed the day when the people of Ireland would live together as one united and loyal people. Last year he had the pleasure of stating that these anniversaries passed over in the most satisfactory manner, and there was every reason to hope that such would be the case this year. Unhappily, there had occurred riots in Armagh at the beginning of the month. It led to forty-five persons making their appearance at the assizes, and now there was this disturbance. The main cause of these disturbances was a social condition which it was their duty to remove, as far as possible, by social and moral means; but there were also defects in the law which the Government intended to ask Parliament to remedy at once, notwithstanding the short period which re- 2270 mained of the present Session. He might mention, in answer to a question which had been put to him, that the town of Belfast was under proclamation at the time referred to, and still remained in the same condition. The town of Lurgan would be put under proclamation immediately. The defective state of the law had already attracted the attention of Government, but he was glad that their attention had been so early called to it by the hon. Baronet opposite (Sir William Verner). Nothing could exceed the exertions which had been made by the magistrates of Lurgan, but, as their investigation had not yet terminated and he had no official information, therefore, on the subject, it would be right for him to abstain from further dwelling on it. He drew, however, a very favourable augury for the future from the temperate, but forcible observations which had fallen from Gentlemen on both sides of the House. They could not be lost on any part of the community, and he trusted that the generous sentiments which had been elicited by the discussion on these occurrences when conveyed to Ireland would strengthen the efforts which would be made by the Government, not only to put down these disturbances, but to remove the causes of them.
§ MR. WHITESIDEsaid, that though the statement of the hon. Member for Kildare was, in some respects, a proper one, he (Mr. Whiteside) must take issue with him on the picture which he had drawn of the province of Ulster. He said that, to his (Mr. Cogan's) knowledge, justice had not been done by Judges and by juries acting in that part of Ireland. He (Mr. Whiteside) begged to tell the hon. Gentleman that he had been present at many trials in Ulster, at which, without an instant's hesitation, juries brought in a verdict against men for having walked in procession. He had seen one man sent to gaol there for six months for whistling a party tune. It was monstrous to say that the Judges of the land—most of whom were of the same religious persuasion as the hon. Member himself—would not administer the law impartially.
§ MR. COGANin explanation said, that he had made no allusion to the Judges of the land. What he had said was, that it must be injurious to the administration of justice to have men administering the law who were members of an Orange Society.
§ MR. WHITESIDEThe hon. Gentle- 2271 man had asked a very sensible question as to what had led to the reconstruction of the Orange Society. He (Mr. Whiteside) would answer the question for him, although no one could answer it better than the right hon. Baronet the Member for Carlisle. It was as well the whole truth should be spoken. After the dissolution of the Orange Societies Mr. O'Connell commenced the greatest agitation which was ever seen in any country in the world. It appeared that the Orange party at Lurgan, on the occasion referred to, consisted of a number of people, 500 in all, men, women and children, who had gone to church—and he supposed he must regret that they had done so if it gave offence— and who were returning. It was not such numbers Mr. O'Connell brought together. When he was engaged in revolutionizing Ireland, he brought together hundreds of thousands of strong men, and, as he believed, brave men. The right hon. Gentleman the Member for Carlisle (Sir James Graham) was then Secretary for Ireland, and he directed a prosecution against Mr. O'Connell for those meetings and societies, which were very unlike the small affair at Lurgan, because they were well organized by a man of consummate ability as an agitator, and their avowed object was to change the Government of the country. It was a legitimate object in which Garibaldi had succeeded elsewhere. Mr. O'Connell did not admire English administration, and he wished to get rid of it if he could. It was exactly at that time that a body of persons of opposite opinions held meetings and drew up resolutions for the express purpose—it might have been wrong, but for the express purpose of disputing with Mr. O'Connell the possession of the country. That was the short history of the resuscitation of these societies. No one had laboured more in the good and wise attempt to repress the excesses of any body of politicians than Lord Eglinton. There were disturbances at Belfast, but 100 constables were sent down, and on the first occasion of a riot afterwards, they caught the rioters. The rioters were sent to gaol for a month, and they heard no more of riots at Belfast. He was not satisfied with the conduct of the officials on that occasion. If there were any procession which was forbidden by the law, how came it to pass that it was permitted to proceed? He doubted very much whether there was any procession; but, if there were, all the persons were engaged in an 2272 illegal act, and the process of detection was very simple, because it took place in broad day-light. These persons went to church. They left it, and he was told that a man's treading on a match was mistaken for the shot of a pistol. The firing at a cross was a very unlikely thing to take place, and he had heard with great pleasure that it was a fiction, and that nothing of the kind had occurred. What did occur, he was informed, was more natural. A shower of stones came from behind hedges and ditches as these people were proceeding home. He understood that they had no arms, and not even sticks; but, being naturally pugnacious they retired, and got into some house where there were arms. They returned, and, though in a great minority, forced a passage home. It was a very lamentable transaction, and, no matter who were right or who were wrong, he hoped all would be punished. If there were any illegal procession, there was law enough to punish them. But a riot in one corner of Ulster did not justify the description which had been given of a province nearly as large as Scotland. There was no part of Ireland where the Roman Catholics were more comfortable or were better paid, find he trusted they would live happily with those who differed from them; one mode to accomplish which was to repress those feelings to which the hon. Gentleman had directed his observations. It would be far better, in this instance, to have allowed these persons to go home, to have marked them, to have given information, and to have prosecuted them for the procession, if it were an illegal procession. He was very sorry that the transaction had occurred; but, he was sure, there was no spot in Her Majesty's dominions where justice was more efficiently administered than in that part of Ireland.
§ SIR WILLIAM VERNERsaid, the hon. Member for Kildare had endeavoured to make this impression on the House—that the only persons guilty of any outrages in Ireland were those whom the hon. Gentleman might call Orangemen if he liked, but who were the Protestants of Ireland, for it was against them as a body, and not against the Orange Society only, that the objection lay. He asked the hon. Member could he produce a single instance in which the Protestants had ever shot a person in broad daylight, in presence of hundreds of people, without one of them being found to come forward and 2273 give evidence against the murderer? The House was not fully aware of the nature of the society which had caused the remodelling and reforming of the Orange body. He meant the Ribbon Society. He would state a case to show what this society was. A gentleman who succeeded to a property in the North of Ireland appointed an agent to take charge of it. The agent went upon the property, and one of the first things he endeavoured to do was to establish a school. The schoolmaster was a Protestant, and in open daylight a party went to his house, dragged him out, and murdered him in presence of his two daughters, in front of his house. The murderer was taken with his coat covered with blood; the daughters identified him as engaged on the occasion, so that there could be no mistake. He was brought to trial in Armagh; and on two several occasions the jury disagreed and there was no verdict. This was stated to be owing to the presence of Ribbonmen on the juries; for by one of the oaths of the Ribbon Society the members bound themselves to on no account give evidence against a brother Ribbonman, no matter what the offence. The man was brought to trial a third time, the prosecutor having taken especial care to exclude Ribbonmen from the jury. The consequence was that the prisoner was found guilty and hung. In 1848, when Ireland was very disturbed, and the troops were obliged to be sent out of Dublin, the Lord Lieutenant could not find 200 men to depend upon without having recourse to the Orangemen. He accepted the services of 200 of them, and placed arms in their hands.