HL Deb 01 July 1834 vol 24 cc1015-27

Showing the total number of crimes, of every description, committed during that period; also distinguishing those of a political or insurrectionary character; and showing the increase or decrease as compared with the preceding month and the corresponding month of last year.

Province of Leinster.
Crimes of every description—
Committed in April, 1834 302
May, 1834 325
Increase in May, 23
Committed, in May, 1833 265
May, 1834 325
Increase in 1834 60
Crimes of an insurrectionary nature—
Committed in April, 1834 169
May, 1834 117
Decrease in May 52
Committed in May, 1833 143
May, 1834 117
Decrease in 1834 26
The principal decrease since the month of April being in — Attacks on Houses (decrease) 15
Burnings, &c. 14
Illegal Notices 27
Decrease under these three heads 56

The counties of Carlow, Louth, and Wexford, appear almost quite free from crimes of an insurrectionary character. Two cases only being reported during the month of May in the two first, and three in the last; all of a trifling nature.

In Kilkenny (proclaimed), there appears a decrease of crime of every description, from fifty in the month of May, 1833, to thirty-six in the month of April, 1834; and thirty-one in May, 1834. Of these, forty-three are reported in May, 1833, as being of a political character; twenty-six in April, 1834; and only thirteen in May, 1834; being a decrease in crimes of this nature of thirty, since the corresponding month of last year.

In King's County, political offences had decreased from fifteen committed in May, 1833, to five committed in May, 1834. Five baronies of this county are proclaimed.

In Westmeath, the decrease in the number of political crimes since the proclamation of three baronies, on the 5th May last, is very great. The number of such offences reported in April being forty-four; in May (of which five were committed prior to the proclamation), 19; being a decrease on the month of 25.

Queen's County appears in the worst state; there being an increase both of crime in general, and those of a political character. Of the latter, twenty-three are reported in May, 1833; twenty-nine in April, 1834; thirty-four in May, 1834; showing an increase of five in the month, and eleven on the same month of the previous year. Sir S. Harvey thinks (June 7th, 1834), that the provisions of the Act would be usefully extended to this country.

Province of Munster.*
Crimes of every description—
Committed in April, 1834 162
May, 1834 171
Increase in May 9
Committed in May, 1833 54
May, 1834 171
Increase in 1834 117

The principal increase being in assaults and larcenies.

Crimes of an insurrectionary character.—
Committed in April, 1834 56
May, 1834 28
Decrease in May 28
Committed in May, 1833 27
May, 1834 28
Increase in 1834 1

The principal decrease in crimes of this nature since April, is in assaults, attacks upon houses, and burnings, and attempts at ditto.

The county Cork appears quite quiet; no case of an insurrectionary nature being reported during the month. In April, there were seventeen in the county and city. Of the fifty-seven crimes of other descriptions reported from the county and city during the mouth, few appear of a serious nature.

Kerry is also described as in a most satisfactory state; only twenty-eight crimes being reported, and, of these, only one being of a political character.

Limerick and Waterford show a diminution of one-half in the number of political offences since April.

Tipperary is in much the same state as it has A great part of the apparent increase of crime in this province, in the year, 1834, proceeds from the fact, that the county of the city of Cork has been brought, for the first time, under the constabulary system, and is, for the first time, inserted in the Inspector's report. been in for the last year, the number and nature of the political offences varying little. The scene of them is described as changing: some baronies, which were disturbed, having become tranquil; and in others, which were quiet, crimes having become more frequent.

Province if Connaught.
Crimes of every description—
Committed in April, 1834 556
May, 1834 618
Increase in May 62
Committed in May, 1833 534
May, 1834 618
Increase in 1834 84
Crimes of a political nature—
Committed in April, 1834 105
May, 1834 100
Decrease in May 5
Committed in May, 1833 72
May, 1834 100
Increase in 1834 28

Leitrim, Mayo, and Clare, with the exception of two baronies, arc described as being in a tranquil state.

Galway is described as being considerably disturbed, and the crimes of a political nature though showing a decrease of twenty-five since April, are more numerous than in any other county in Ireland, forty-three being reported during the month of May. No great change in this county since last year.

Both Roscommon and Sligo show an increase in the month of May in the former county, crimes of a political nature having increased from ten in the month of April, to fourteen in the month of May, and in the latter from fourteen to twenty-nine; both counties also exhibiting a considerable increase in crimes of tins description over the corresponding month of last year.

Province of Ulster.
Crimes of every description—
Committed in April, 1834 430
May, 1834 488
Increase in May 58
Committed in May, 1833 252
May, 1834 488
Increase in 1834 236

Of this increase, one-half consists of cases of assault, unconnected with Ribandism.

Crimes of a political nature—
Committed in April, 1834 66
May, 1834 60
Decrease in May 6
Committed in May, 1833 33
May, 1834 60
Increase in 1834 27

Attacks upon houses form the principal item of increase since last year.

The counties of Antrim, Down, Tyrone, Londonderry, and Fermanagh appear quite tranquil; in the three former no political outrages being reported during the month of May, and in the two last only three.

Donegal and Armagh are in an improving state, insurrectionary offences having decreased since April; in the former from twenty-four to eight, in the latter from sixteen to three.

Monaghan alone shows an increase in these crimes, the number in April sixteen, in May twenty-four; the increase being in attacks upon houses.

Assault and larcenies form the chief items of the great increase in crimes of every description since last year.

General statement of political and insurrectionary offences during the months of May, 1833 and 1834—

1833 1834 Deer. Incr.
Province of Leinster 143 117 26 0
Munster 27 28 0 1
Connaught 72 100 0 28
Ulster 33 60 0 27
Total Ireland 275 305 30

The total amount of crimes reported officially in Ireland, from the 1st of January, to the 31st of May, 1834—

Ulster 2,083
Leinster 1,866
Connaught 3,038
Munster 882
7,869

Of these 3,296 are cases of assault, unconnected with Ribandism.

Those reported of an insurrectionary, &c., character, amount to, in

Ulster 300
Leinster 963
Connaught 478
Munster 212
1,953

In Ulster little more than one-seventh, in Connaught less than one-seventh; in Munster one-quarter appear differences of an insurrectionary character, while in Leinster upwards of one-half are of that nature.

By a comparison with the reports for the corresponding period in the last year, it appears that in the first five months of the present year, there has, in the provinces of Ulster, Connaught, and Munster, been an increase of crime on the aggregate, and in the province of Leinster a decrease to the following extent, viz.

Increase. Decrease.
Ulster 603 Leinster 1306
Connaught 200
Munster 424
1,227
Making a decrease on the whole of 79

To make the case clear to their Lordships he would state the opinion of the authorities in Ireland, the best qualified to form an opinion as to the renewal of the Act. He had a letter in his hand addressed by the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland to the Secretary of State, dated 18th of April. His Excellency stated, that he enclosed the replies of the inspectors-general of the provinces to queries addressed to them in regard to the renewal of the Coercion Act, and that from them it would be seen that they were unanimously in favour of its being renewed. He added, that it was almost superfluous to say, that he approved of the opinions stated by them, and that he anxiously desired to see the Act renewed. The queries addressed to the Inspectors General were simply: 1st, Whether there was any necessity for the renewal of the Coercion Act? and 2ndly, Whether in their opinion any alteration was required in it? The answer of the Inspector General of the province of Ulster was to the effect, that that province had, previous to the Coercion Act, been unsettled and lawless, that the greatest advantage had been derived from the Act, and more especially from that clause which prevented nocturnal meetings, which he thought had done more to restore tranquillity than any other part of the Bill. The next answer was from Mr. Warburton, the Inspector General of Connaught, who stated, that his opinion was, that the Act should unquestionably be renewed; that it was to nocturnal meetings that most of the disturbances were to be attributed, and that the part of the Act which prevented them was the best in it. He was satisfied, that if the county of Kilkenny had not been proclaimed, the disturbances which had been so prevalent in it would have been spread over all the neighbouring counties, where they could not have been so easily repressed. He thought that the Act ought to be renewed, and that it required no amendment. The next answer was from the Inspector General of Munster, who stated, that from the moment of the introduction of the Bill into Parliament, it was of good in that province, from the moral influence which it had over the people. While the well-affected acquired confidence and security from it, the turbulent were overawed and disheartened; and he thought that Ireland would be in a much worse state if it were not renewed. The next document to which he would refer was a statement made by Inspector General Harvey. He said,. 'The Baronies of Garrycastle, Eglish Ballybrit, and Ballobay, are under the nightly dominion of an illegal anti-social union or combination, in which his Majesty's peaceable subjects are exposed to acts of violence, robbery, savage threats, personal injury, reckless cruelty, and inhumanity, such as are unknown in moral civilized countries, and which it is obviously impossible for the authorities effectually to suppress, without being armed with powers which, in countries where the law is habitually respected, might be deemed an infringement of the liberty of the peaceable subject, but which are here indispensably required for the purpose of maintaining him in the possession of that liberty, and of affording him that protection in his person and his property, which all who submit to the laws have an undoubted right to require from the government by which they were administered. It is for these objects that I respectfully solicit for the civil authorities within the baronies in question the temporary possession of those powers, which can only be conferred upon them by the Bill passed in April, 1833. By the exercise of these powers alone, in the present state of certain parts of this district, can the Government, in my opinion, effectually afford to his Majesty's peaceable subjects that protection which they have a right to claim, or restrain and punish the authors of those excesses by which social order is disturbed, and law and authority set at defiance.' He had now described the general state of Ireland, and the particular state of those districts which had been proclaimed, with the opinions of the magistrates and other authorities in the four provinces of Ireland, as to the necessity of renewing the Act of 1833. When he considered what was the nature of the statements which he had made, he thought he might anticipate their Lordships' unanimous concurrence in the opinion which had been given by various officers, that the renewal of this Act was absolutely necessary, and that, in fact, the powers which it afforded could not be dispensed with. It would be a question, however, whether they might safely withdraw any part of the extraordinary and severe powers of this Act. He deeply lamented the necessity of applying to their Lordships and to Parliament to grant powers of this nature, but it could not be said that those powers were disproportioned to the extent of the evils which afflicted Ireland, and which were so alarming at the time when he first called on their Lordships to adopt this measure. The question would now be whether the Act should be renewed in its present state, or whether any part of those powers should be dispensed with. He could assure their Lordships that this question had been examined with the most anxious attention by his Majesty's Government, with a view of relaxing in some measure the severity of those powers, and he was happy to say, that they had come to the conclusion, confirmed by the opinions of the Lord-lieutenant and other official authorities of Ireland, and also by a communication with some of the most efficient Magistrates in the country, that a part of this Act might be dispensed with. He alluded to that part which gave the Lord-lieutenant the power of subjecting offences committed under the Act in certain places to trial by Court-martial. Their Lordships would recollect that it was stated last Session, that that power was of an extraordinary nature, and that, although it was then expedient to enact it, yet it should not be continued for a longer period than the state of Ireland absolutely required. That part of the Act called forth the greatest opposition, and was considered the most objectionable; and it was, therefore, with great satisfaction, that he proposed to their Lordships the omission of the Court-martial clauses in the act of which he was about to move the renewal. He had stated to their Lordships, that they had sufficient grounds, and the opinions of the best authorities, for the conclusion to which they had come; and their Lordships had heard statements which he thought justified that conclusion. But he would trouble them with another document, a letter written by Lord Oxman-town, on the 9th of April, 1834; and in mentioning that nobleman's name, he could not refrain from observing that the greatest praise was due to him for the excellent manner in which he discharged his magisterial duties, and for his judicious exercise of those powers, which he had not shrunk from recommending, under circumstances of great difficulty and danger. The noble Lord, after giving, in the letter to which he had referred, an account of the state of the districts which had been proclaimed, proceeded as follows:—"Under all the circumstances which I have stated, the measure which I feel it to be my duty to recommend Government to adopt is, to proclaim the barony of Garrycastle under the 3rd William 4th, without delay, and to direct that the misdemeanors thus created should be tried by the ordinary tribunals of the country." As to the power of the Quarter Sessions to try such offences, he had great satisfaction in stating, that the Government had taken the opinions of the Attorney General of Ireland, and the Attorney General of England, who gave it as their distinct opinions, that the Quarter Sessions had such power to try ordinary cases. There were other parts of this letter extremely worth reading, particularly one part, which showed the effect of the proclamations in preventing the spread of offences to districts which lay beyond the bounds of the county to which the proclamation applied; but as he had already trespassed longer than he ought upon their Lordships' attention, he did not think it necessary to quote any more. He had great satisfaction, however, in thus showing, that when he proposed a relaxation of the severity of the law, as it related to trials by Courts-martial, he was proposing a relaxation which was justified by circumstances, and which would not in any degree diminish or impair the general efficiency of the measure. With the single exception he had mentioned, namely, that part of the Act which subjected offences to be tried by Courts-martial, it was his intention to present to their Lordships a Bill which he hoped they would read a first time that night—to renew the Act of last Session, with all its other provisions. Those provisions might be classed under three heads. The first were those that protected property, and went to the preventing of those meetings which might assume a dangerous character, and which it was known were conducted in such a manner as to be injurious to the public peace. The powers for that purpose were contained in the three first clauses of the Act, commonly known as the Proclamation Act, which was passed in 1829, and which it was the intention of his Majesty's Ministers to renew, but which expired in consequence of the sudden dissolution of Parliament. The next head in which the provisions of the Bill were divided consisted of those which related to nocturnal meetings and acts of spoliation and violence; for the effectual control and prevention of which, as was proved by the four districts of Ireland to which the Act had been applied, the powers given by this Bill would be sufficient. He thought he had stated enough to convince their Lordships of the expediency of intrusting the Government with these powers; and, with respect to the provisions included under the first head which had been mentioned by him, it seemed to him that, no difficulty could be experienced in proving the necessity of their re-enactment; for if it were necessary to put down with the strong hand of the law those combinations and excesses which assumed an insurrectionary and almost revolutionary character, surely it was no less indispensable to meet by legislative enactments the causes by which those combinations and excesses were produced. He knew, that a distinction was made between predial outrage and political agitation. He was not ignorant, that it had been contended that the one had no connection with the other; and that, in fact, there existed between them a total distinction. The existence of any such distinction he could not admit: nor did he believe, that any man who had attended to the state of Ireland, and who had watched with an impartial, calm, and philosophical eye the general workings of human nature, could come to the conclusion that a perpetual system of agitation and excitement could be pursued; that the passions of the people could be inflamed, their prejudices courted; that they could be continually reproached as slaves submitting to an oppressive and unjust tyranny, which they ought to oppose—it was impossible, he repeated, for any one to suppose that these political harangues, as they were called, could be addressed to the people without stirring up among them a general spirit of resistance to the constituted authorities, and of disobedience to the laws, which broke out in excesses, such as had been witnessed in Ireland, and which it was the object of the measure he recommended their Lordships to re-enact, to prevent. These excesses might not have been intended by those who, by pursuing a system of agitation, had been the authors of them. They might have exceeded the limits within which those persons desired to see them confined; but they ought to know that having once excited the passions of the people, it was impossible for them to answer for the result. He therefore thought, that it was not the part of a wise legislature, or of a just and humane man, to enact severe laws against such crimes as had unfortunately been witnessed in Ireland, and to neglect taking measures which might in a great degree meet the causes which had produced them. It was true the powers of the Act, in this respect, had not been exercised since it was passed, except in two cases of proclamation on the 10th and 17th of April, 1834—the first against the association of the National Political Trades' Union; and the second against the Association of the Irish Volunteers. It was true, also, that meetings had taken place, and subjects had been discussed, of which their Lordships must disapprove, and particularly one subject which, above all, had been pronounced by Parliament as of a most injurious and fatal tendency—he meant, the Repeal of the Union. Meetings for this purpose had been held, and petitions had issued from them—which was a proof, at least, that the Government did not wish to interfere except in cases of actual necessity. They had let such meetings assemble under the ordinary powers of the Constitution, and suffered them to take their course, so long as they did not assume the character of a formidable combination, threatening the peace of the country. But, although the possession of these extraordinary powers had not induced the Lord-lieutenant to prevent those meetings, which had different purposes in view from those of the associations, which were the objects of the Proclamations of the 10th and 17th of April, he would ask their Lordships whether, looking at the state of Ireland, they would think it safe to suffer such proceedings to be continued? and if not, whether they did not consider it their duty to arm the Government with these extraordinary powers? He asked whether it would be safe to leave the Government unprovided with the means of checking the proceedings of a central association in Dublin, sitting as a Parliament, with all the forms of a Parliament, directing other associations connected with it throughout all parts of the country, and enjoining a general organization for the avowed and undisguised purpose of carrying into effect measures which must be subversive of the security of the country, and destructive of all peace, order, and law? He could not think, that their Lordships would answer in the affirmative to this question. He could not think but that they would see it was necessary the Government should be provided with power to check in time an association which must be dangerous to the public peace; and, from the statements he had made, he hoped he might say, with some degree of confidence on the part of Government, that, if their Lordships intrusted these powers to their hands, their Lordships had a security in their former conduct that it would not be abused. It was not necessary to detain their Lordships much longer; and he hoped that, after what he had stated as to the general condition of Ireland, and as to the effect of this law, where it had been carried into execution, with respect to insurrectionary offences, and that important branch of it which went to prevent political meetings, he might venture to solicit, that the Bill might meet with favour in their Lordships' eyes, so far as that it might be read a first time to-night. There remained only one point to which it was necessary for him to revert, and that was the time for which the law should be renewed. He wished he could judge that, within any very short or given period, the state of Ireland was likely to be such as to remove the necessity of these or similar powers, to strengthen the hands of the Government against the offences contemplated by this Bill. But although he could not hold out such an expectation, yet he certainly thought that, in a case of this nature, when great and extraordinary powers were given to the Government, it should be for a limited and short time, so as to give to the country a security that they must, of necessity, be brought under the revision of Parliament, which should be enabled to examine in what manner those powers had been exercised, so as to form a deliberate judgment as to the necessity of resorting again to any similar measures, according to circumstances. He should, therefore, with this view, propose the extension of this Act only to the 1st of August, 1835, being an additional year from the time when it would expire, and he trusted their Lordships would feel that, while his Majesty's Government were endeavouring to provide against those dangers which called for extraordinary enactments, at the same time they were not inattentive to the principles of the Constitution, but were desirous of bringing the subject under the attention of Parlia- ment at this early period, not only to enable them to consider of the necessity of renewing it, but also to examine into the conduct of those who had carried it into effect. He had detained their Lordships longer than he could have wished, but he was anxious that the conduct of his Majesty's Government and the nature of the measure should be thoroughly explained, particularly as to the point in which this Bill differed from the Act of last Session. The noble Earl concluded by moving, "that the Bill be read a first time."

The Earl of Wicklow

could not withhold his humble meed of approbation from the speech of the noble Earl, not only on account of the clear and satisfactory manner in which the noble Earl had brought the subject before their Lordships, but also for the honest and manly course which he had taken when he thought it his duty again to come forward and perform what must be to him a most disagreeable and painful task. He fully concurred in the Motion of the noble Earl, but he would beg to remind the noble Lord, that the reason given on a former occasion for creating Courts-martial, was the inefficiency of the Juries of the country. If his Majesty's Government had received any information which led them to believe, that the Juries were now prepared to perform their duty in a manner in which they were not able last year to discharge it, he regretted that the noble Earl had not taken an opportunity of stating it.

Earl Grey

had intended, but had forgotten to do so. He had certainly stated that, in the opinion of competent persons, the quarter sessions would be the proper tribunal to investigate offences under the Bill; and he could add, that recent trials had shown, that Juries were not now deterred from doing their duty.

The Earl of Wicklow

said, that the Bill in its mitigated shape must give satisfaction. He would beg leave to observe, however, that it was last year accompanied by a Bill for the change of venue, and when he urged that the latter Bill should he continued for five years, the answer of the noble Earl was, that it would be better it should be enacted only for the same time as the Coercion Bill, and that it should be open for Parliament again to consider it. He hoped the noble Earl had turned his attention to this point. There was one more subject upon which be wished to say a word. It had been trumpeted forth by all the declaimers upon the ills of Ireland, that there was one only cure for the disturbances of that country —namely, the tithes, and that, if that cause were taken away, there would be no occasion for Coercion Bills, nor soldiers to enforce them. Now, it appeared from the noble Earl's statement, that the disturbances had not materially decreased, except where the Bill was in force, and yet the tithes had not, during the whole time, been collected, or demanded in Ireland. This proved that tithes were not the cause of the disturbances.

The Bill was read a first time.