§ The Earl of Clanricardebegged to be allowed to say a few words on a subject which had previously occupied their Lordships' attention. 726 He knew it was irregular to refer to what had passed in former debates; but he hoped the House would allow him briefly to advert to the charges which had been brought against Mr. M'Dermott, one of the Commissioners of Education in Ireland; and more especially with reference to a speech which it was alleged that Gentleman had some time since made of a very exciting description. He had received a letter from Mr. M'Dermott, distinctly disavowing his ever having used the language which had been imputed to him in that House; and sending him a Report of that speech, taken by a short-hand writer, for the accuracy of which Report, of course, he (Lord Clanricarde) could not vouch; but which certainly did not contain a single word that justified the statement which had been made respecting Mr. M'Dermott in that House. He really was at a loss to conceive the meaning of continued statements of this description, which appeared to have no bearing whatever on their Lordships' proceedings.
The Bishop of Exetersaid, he was happy in being able to support the statement he made on a former evening by some important documents, and as the observations of the noble Marquess gave him an opportunity to present them, he would at once proceed to place them before their Lordships. The circumstances which gave rise to the speech in question were the following:—A Miss Bourke, a lady of twenty-eight years of age, residing at Castlerea, became a convert to the Protestant Church; and dreading violence from the peasantry in consequence, took the advice of a Magistrate (Major Baggot) as to the best means of protecting herself. She was recommended by that gentleman to place herself, until she could arrange to leave the district, under the protection of the police constable of the town, by occupying apartments in the barracks. This advice she followed, and it was in consequence of her doing so that the meeting, at which Mr. M'Dermott spoke the speech in question, took place. Of the temper of that meeting—and it was not sought to be denied that Mr. M'Dermott was present—it would be sufficient for him to say that the reverend Robert Boyd, the Protestant clergymen of the district, chancing to pass by at the same time, was assailed by the mob, and narrowly escaped from their violence. With respect to the speech made by Mr. M'Dermott upon the occasion, he had but this to say, that the accuracy of the 727 Report he (the Bishop of Exeter) referred to on a former evening, did not rest on a single evidence. In the Roscommon and Leitrim Gazette of the day it appeared as a reprint from another journal, and attached to it was not only the name of the reporter, Mr. Thomas Brooks, as vouching for its accuracy, but in a note was appended, in the form of a letter, a certificate, signed by four persons, who attended the meeting, namely, Messrs. Quin, Black, Kelly, and Blundell, in which the parties signing pledged themselves that Mr. Brooks's report contained a true statement of the scurrilous and abusive language used at the meeting. In fact, the report of Mr. Brooks was never doubted until it was mentioned by him (the Bishop of Exeter) on a former evening in that House. Fortunately, a copy of Mr. M'Dermott's speech, as so reported and so vouched for, was now in his hands, and, without further preface, he would read it to their Lordships. It was as follows:—
As soon as he (William M'Dermott, Esq.) took the Chair, he stated, that the reason of their assembling there was to present a memorial to the Lord-lieutenant, in order to get the constabulary police broke for their interference in controversial doctrines, and giving bibles and tracts; and finally for their gallant captain, contrary to his duty, making a police barrack an asylum for perverts, and a prison for illegally detaining children from their parents; therefore we are assembled together in order to adopt measures to tame their fanaticism. Gentlemen, the unhappy wretch, Miss Bourke, who is the occasion of our assembling here to-day, was seduced, or rather perverted, by that nefarious, puny, insignificant legislator of Ballaymor (a magistrate named Baggot). This fiend not only did this, but he goes about with a tract in one hand and money in the other, in order to accomplish his pestiferous ends; he goes farther, for if he miss one of the children from the school, he takes the Bible in one hand and his sword in the other; when he goes in, if he find none in the house, he will pierce his naked sword down through the bed. Gentlemen, he proceeds still further; if this fail him, he will take the sword in one hand and a coal of fire in the other. I say, Gentlemen, should not this man be held up to the contempt of the people? [Deafening sliouts.] But, Gentlemen, one would think that this nefarious wasp had some wisdom in his head; and certainly, if we are to measure brain by the circumference of the skull, he must be possessed of a very extraordinary one. [Shouts and clapping.] But, Gentlemen, this insignificant wretch stood not alone in his endeavours to raise a disunion in the minds of the people; for he has a low, poor, grovelling, ill-coloured, demoniacal, clerical mountebank, who was chased from 728 diocese to diocese for his schism. Gentlemen, this puny, ill-coloured runaway wrote certain letters, in which the Catholic religion is set up to ridicule; and I say, my friends, from the authority of the Attorney-General, that any person ridiculing the religion of the people should be brought to public trial, as a nuisance to society. Gentlemen, this poor little monkey slily and insidiously insinuated himself into the police-barrack, and openly and publicly calumniated the Catholic religion, thinking, poor fiend, that the gallant captain would write a very affectionate letter to his noble cousin (the Archbishop of Tuam) about his vigilance and zeal, and be partly the means of procuring for this arch-hungry fiend some part of the green acres. But, gentlemen, our memorial will be before the Lord-lieutenant in a few days, and as he is a man of candour and honesty, wholly divested of prejudice, we will get a hearing. Thank God, Goulburn is out; if it were not so, I would not stand here this day. While he was in, if we petitioned daily, none of them would be presented; but now we hope to be heard, and are confident that we will bring one of the King's parsons to a sense of his duty [laughter]; and, if possible, to have both captain and police broke. I am sure your great and good clergyman, Mr. Quin, daily warns you against these abominable schools. Dread not their tyranny. What is the Catholic rent for? I hope there is no Protestant who will be so inhuman as to turn any person out of his land for his religion; and if he does, we will be at the necessity of holding him up to the ridicule of the public; and, as great as the authority of the landlord or agent is, perhaps they will ill brook the consequence [shouts, &c.] But, Gentlemen, I did not say that Stoney was that fiend of fanaticism and proselytism who is protected by the police; but we will shortly have him suspended, and if not, we must be necessitated to hold him up to the ridicule of the multitude. [shouts, &c.] Gentlemen, we have funds enough; we will set up schools in opposition to them; we will try all means to rebut their schools; and if we cannot do it by these means, does any one think that seven millions will be held in trammels, and thwarted in their purposes by a handful of men?That speech was reported in The Roscommon Journal, and published also in other Irish newspapers. Now he put it to their Lordships whether a person capable of such feelings and such language was one on whose authority one of the most important, if not the most important legislative measure that had ever been brought forward ought to rest? He had felt it his duty to bring the subject under the consideration of the House; he rejoiced that he had done so; and he had endeavoured to show that the individual in question was utterly unfit for the duty which had been intrusted to him. 729 As to Mr. M'Dermott's denial, on which side the evidence preponderated, he (the Bishop of Exeter) would leave it to their Lordships to determine.
§ The Earl of Clanricarde, in explanation, repeated Mr. M'Dermott's distinct denial, that he had, on the occasion alluded to, used language calculated to excite the people to use violence towards any person whatever.
§ Subject dropped.