§ The EARL of ST. GERMANSsaid: I rise for the purpose of asking your Lordships to give your sanction to a measure which nothing but the urgent necessity of the case would, in my opinion, have justified Her Majesty's Government in proposing, or your Lordships in adopting. Of the necessity of the case, it will now be my duty to endeavour to satisfy your Lordships. This Bill proposes to invest the Executive Government in Ireland with powers which no existing law invests it with; and powers with which, under ordinary circumstances, I think it ought not to be invested, It is a matter of notoriety to all, that the crime of murder and outrageous assault in Ireland, has become lamentably frequent. But I should not, I think, be justified in asking your Lordships to give your assent to a measure of this kind, without laying before your Lordships official documents upon the subject. I am not to take for granted that your Lordships are cognizant of the facts. I shall, therefore, be compelled, considering the importance of the subject, to draw upon your Lordships' patience at some length, whilst I read some of the numerous returns and reports which have been received in reference to the state of crime in Ireland. The Return which I now hold in my hand contains an account of all offences that have been committed in Ireland during the last two years; I mean of offences that have been reported to the Government by the Constabulary. It is the practice in Ireland for every crime to be reported by the Superintendent of the Constabulary district in which it occurs, to the Inspector General, and by him to the Government. The offences which I shall now refer to are those against the person and against the public peace. In the year 1844, there were no less than 144 homicides in Ireland; last year there were 136. During the last year the number of cases of firing into houses was 104; during the present year, 1349 138. Of aggravated assault, last year, 504; this year, 544. Of common assault, last year, there were 251 cases; the present year, 242. I will pass by offences against property, which your Lordships are aware are of comparatively rare occurrence in Ireland, as compared with crimes of that kind in England. With respect to offences against the public peace, last year the cases of demand or robbery of fire-arms was 159; the present year, 551. Of unlawfully carrying arms, last year, 79; the present year, 89. Of administering unlawful oaths, last year, 59; the present year, 223. Of sending threatening notices and letters, last year, 362; and, in the present year, these cases have increased to the frightful number of 1,944. The number of cases of attacking houses, last year, were 254; the present year, 483. The number of dwelling-houses fired into, last year, were 77; in the present year, 148. This makes a total of this class of offences of 1,495, last year; and 3,462, in the present year. The grand total of all offences committed in Ireland against the person, against property, and against the public peace was, last year, 3,103; in the present year, 5,281. But, my Lords, I will now proceed to state what I am sure must be, in some degree, consolatory to your Lordships to know, that, in eighteen counties of Ireland, crime has diminished in the last two years, and in four others it has remained stationary. It is only in ten counties that the commission of crime has increased. These counties are Cavan, Fermanagh, King's County, Longford, Westmeath, Clare, Roscommon, Limerick, Tipperary, and Leitrim. The state of crime in these counties, during the last and the present year, is as follows:—
This is the general result of the returns forwarded to the Government as to the number of crimes committed in these counties, during the past and present year. My Lords, it is now my painful duty to 1350 read to your Lordships some of the most remarkable cases of homicide and outrage that have been perpetrated in Ireland during the last year; and I do so the more readily, because I think it is desirable that your Lordships should be able to form correct notions of the circumstances under which those crimes have been committed, and, as far as may be, form some judgment of the nature of the remedy that may be required. I will now proceed to read some account of the outrages which I am in possession of. On the 22nd of July, last year, the house of Andrew Hickey, in South Tipperary, the steward of Mr. Leonard Keating, a justice of the peace, was entered by four men, armed with guns and a bayonet. They inflicted several bayonet wounds on his body, of which he died four days after. The men were disguised. On the 22nd of July, in Limerick, the house of Timothy Mahoney, a farmer, was entered by five men, with their faces blackened, and armed with guns. He was so violently treated that, in two days after, he died of his injuries. It was confidently believed that these men were hired from a distance. On the 5th of October, in Clare, Arthur Gloster, of Moylish, a proprietor, who had lately levied on some of his tenantry for rent, and served several notices to quit, was shot dead in the high road, about five P.M. On the 6th of October, in North Tipperary, David Maxwell, of Clonakenny, the under-agent of Mr. P. D. Latouche, was in the act of retiring to rest for the night, when he was shot through his window, which was without shutter or screen, and died of the wounds he received. The perpetrators of that act have not been discovered. In Limerick, Thomas Macnamara was found dead in the road with the back of his head beaten in, as if with a spade. It seems he had been appointed a bogranger in the place of somebody else, who had been dismissed. In Roscommon, Michael Shiel and his son, carriers, having paid a higher price for corn than the neighbouring carmen, were violently assaulted as they returned home by six men. The elder Shiel's skull was fractured, and he survived but two days. Their assailants were not identified. I mention this case, because it is rather uncommon that persons should be ill treated for having purchased corn at a higher price than their neighbours. On the 30th of September, 1845, at 10 P.M., three men, with faces blackened, entered the house of Michael Hill, at Garraneby, armed with bludgeons, and, not 1351 finding him, went into another house next door, belonging to George Hewitt, whom they found sitting on a chair. They so severely assaulted him on the head with sticks that he died next day. This, my Lords, is the case of a murder intended to have been committed on one person, and, because the perpetrators could not find him, they wreak their vengeance on his next door neighbour. I beg now to call your Lordships' attention to a remarkable notice that was published in the county of Tipperary by the board of directors of the Mining Company of Ireland, giving notice that the company's works at the Earlshill Colliery, on the 20th of December then next, or at the earliest day compatible with existing contracts, would be suspended; and that the board had been compelled to take this step in consequence of the threats and outrages to which their stewards, Martin, Morris, and others, had been subjected, and by the threatening notices subsequently served on those well-disposed workmen who were desirous to work under the company and earn support for themselves and families, but whose lives were too highly valued by the board to be risked by a continuance of the works, until sufficient protection could be afforded to them. This company employ a very large body of persons, and because these men choose to take umbrage at the agents or stewards of the company, they are actually compelled to stop the works, and turn a large body of men out of employment. Another case of outrage to which I will refer is contained in the following report—
County. Cases last Year. Cases present Year. Cavan 109 257 Fermanagh 80 166 King's County 226 301 Longford 205 372 Westmeath 163 313 Clare 279 327 Roscommon 264 716 Limerick 321 416 Tipperary 908 992 Leitrim 328 922 On the 29th of November, about 5 o'clock, as Nicholas Carney, steward to Mr. Richard Dyas, justice of the peace, was returning from his master's house to his own at Dervottstown (situate In the parish of Killua), a distance of half a mile, and midway he was attacked and knocked down by a party of five men armed with loaded bludgeons, who beat him in a most shocking manner, whereby his life is in danger. Being on duty at Mullingar I was unable to visit the scene until to-day, when I requested the attendance of Mr. Dyas to take the man's depositions. On visiting Carney I found him in a most deplorable condition, his head and face being one mass of bruises, not able to see or speak, and all his body frightfully contused. In consequence of the man's state, I was obliged to obtain the necessary information from Mr. Dyas, who had seen him soon after the occurrence, which was to the effect that he knew none of the party, nor could he give a description of any, as he was instantly knocked down and rendered senseless. His assailants never spoke a word during the attack. The only reason Mr. Dyas can assign for so brutal an attack is the extreme confidence with which he treated Carney, in consequence of his zealous attention to his interests and the fidelity 1352 with which he discharged the duties of his situation.Another instance is from the county of Armagh, which is not one of the counties where crime has been on the increase. The following is a communication from a justice of the peace of that county:—Carmagh-house, Sunday, Dec. 14, 1845.Sir—I beg to report to you, for the information of his Excellency the Lord Lieutenant, that at half-past seven o'clock this morning a party calling themselves Molly Macguires attacked a house on my property, which house they had pulled down last month, and was rebuilt by some of my tenants, and in which a man and his family were living. They beat the man very severely, ordered his family out of the house, and then pulled the house down, fired a number of shots, and went off cheering. The noise was so great it awoke me, although the house is about half a mile distant. I sent an alarm to the police, but by the time they were ready the Molly Macguires were too far off for any of them to be captured. Although it was daylight, and the uproar so great, not a creature came to the assistance of the unfortunate man, nor did they alarm the police, which shows how complete their organization is. I beg to say, if some immediate measures are not taken to check these outrages, no person's life in this county will be safe, except he joins the Molly Macguires. Before the party left the house they charged the man they beat to tell me that if they had time they would have paid me a visit, but they would do so when they had time. Reports of the former outrages have been forwarded to the Lieutenant of the county, and reported by the police to the authorities. I have the honour, &c.JOHN ROBERT IRWIN, Justice of the Peace.Another case is from Clare:—Tulla, Jan. 9, 1846.I am sorry to be again obliged to report that an outrage of a very serious nature occurred in this neighbourhood yesterday evening. On my visiting the place this day, I learned the following particulars, namely, that about half-past 6 o'clock on the previous evening, a party of armed men, about nine in number, wearing bonnets, and having their faces blackened, entered the house of a respectable farmer of the name of Murphy, and after discharging a blunderbuss in his face, which fortunately only contained some powder, they in the most savage manner commenced beating Murphy with the butt ends of their guns and clubs, and only left off beating him when they thought he was dead; they broke his leg and left his head in a most frightful state; there are two physicians attending him, who have but slight hopes of his recovery. They also inflicted several wounds on his son and daughter. The latter is also confined to her bed in a bad state. The son several times endeavoured to discharge a blunderbuss at them while beating his father, but unfortunately it would not go off, though heavily loaded. The party then went away, taking with them three guns and a blunderbuss. The family all deny having any knowledge of any of them. The cause assigned for this brutal attack is, that Murphy, about seven years ago, took a farm of land from which some people had been ejected. There is no clue at present that could lead to the apprehension of any of the party.".… "Sub-Inspector Comyns 1353 has succeeded in arresting three of the party, one of whom has been identified as a principal in the outrage by Murphy's servant boy, and as it is feared he will either leave the country or be deterred from prosecuting, I have directed the police to keep him in their barracks for some time.This is communicated by Mr. Thomas Baily, resident magistrate in Clare. Your Lordships will not fail to notice this important fact, that a conviction cannot be procured, in many instances, unless the witnesses are taken up and kept in confinement. From Moate we have the following letter from Mr. Irwine, Manager of the National Bank:—Moate, County of Westmeath, Jan. 9, 1846.Sir—I am manager of the National Bank in this town. My mother, an aged lady, living at Fern-hall, near Castle Plunket, in the county of Roscommon, was, on last Sunday night, at 7 o'clock, visited by a band of armed men (about ten), masked. They broke in the kitchen door, and sent the servants for my poor mother. She and my sister came down. They were most rudely assailed. My poor mother, a feeble widow, was placed on her knees, a loaded pistol put to her breast, and she was then sworn to discharge a herd, and give his place to another. I take the liberty of bringing this matter under your notice, hoping you will have the goodness to instruct the police of Castle Plunket to patrol more frequently (as I apprehend another attack) about my mother's grounds, which are situated within a mile of the barracks. The Government can hardly have an idea of the dreadful state of alarm in which every well-disposed member of the community and of Her Majesty's subjects in these districts are from the wild and savage laws of these midnight legislators, which are now more than ever in the ascendant, and from which neither rank, sex, nor age is exempt.—I have the honour to be, Sir, &c. "P. D. IRWINE.N. B. After leaving the house a volley of heavy stones was thrown at the windows, and glass, sash, and shutters, were scattered about the room; this occurred in the next field to the Roman Catholic chapel of the parish, so early as 7 o'clock in the evening.Mr. Comyns, Sub-Inspector in the county of Clare, district of Tulla, writes as follows:—Tulla, Jan. 9, 1846.I have to report, that on the night of the 8th instant, about 7 o'clock, eight or nine men, unknown, all of whom are supposed to have been armed with guns and blunderbusses, entered the house of Michael Murphy, at Laharden, and fired a shot into the house on entering it, and obliged Murphy's daughter to light a candle, while they searched the rooms and took away the arms noted underneath, and also beat Michael Murphy so severely with the butt end of a gun or a blunderbuss, that his life is in great danger from the wounds on his head. His daughter, Honor Murphy, is also much injured from having been beaten in the same manner; and his son, and two labouring servants, named O'Brien and Boland, but not so severely. The party had their faces blackened, wore women's caps, and had no shoes, as the house 1354 was near a bog, which it appears they crossed. On hearing of the outrage, I proceeded immediately there, with head constable Shaw and party, who searched the neighbourhood promptly, but without effect. I have directed the attendance of the constabulary doctor; and Mr. Bailey, R.M., concurs with me as to the reward. The guns taken were registered and numbered cl. 1784, 1785, 1786, and 1787. I should have added that the cause of this outrage is, that Murphy took the land and house he occupies from Mr. H. Butler, of Castle Erin, on the termination of a lease, and from which some persons were ejected. The party, when beating Murphy, told him to take that for robbing poor people of their land. It is ten years since he took the land. Neither Murphy nor any of the persons in the house knew or even could describe or identify any of that party.Next, as to the county of Tipperary, I will read the following letter:—Nenagh, Feb. 2, 1846.On yesterday, as Mrs. Bennett, of Moneyquil, was driving to Ballinaclough Church, she was stopped on the road by two men, one armed with a pistol and the other with a wattle, and ordered to put away two of her men, Henzy and Fechally: on her asking them what they had done, they snapped the pistol twice at her, and gave her three blows with the wattle, which severely injured her arms. Henzy, whom they ordered to be turned away, has been repeatedly attacked within the last few years, and who is the same man who, a short time since, was fired at through the window at Moneyquil-house, while eating his supper, and wounded in the arm with a ball, although there were two men stationed in the house for his protection. Finding no threats could intimidate him, and that it is difficult to get at him, in consequence of the presence of the police, they have resorted to this cowardly attack on an old lady, nearly blind, and against whom they have no complaint, but for keeping men in her employment whom she considers faithful. I do not particularly mention this case on account of the amount of injury done, as Mrs. Bennett has not received any serious injury; and she thinks herself the pistol was not loaded, and only snapped to intimidate her; but it clearly proves to what a state of in human barbarity many of the people of this country are reduced, when they can thus assault a feeble old lady while on her way to church; with what endless perseverance they follow up their designs when once formed; and another of the numerous instances, that it is not the rights of property they alone attempt to put an end to, but all right to the freedom of action or even judgment. "JAS. TABUTEAU, R. M.This lady is upwards of eighty years of age.—The next document is a letter, dated—Nenagh, Feb. 9, 1846.Between seven and eight o'clock on yesterday morning a party of twelve men, all armed with guns, made a simultaneous rush into the dwelling of Michael Gleeson, who was in bed, as was all his family, with the exception of his daughter Judy, who had opened the door. The armed men dragged Gleeson out of bed and beat him about the body and head with the butt end of their guns, inflicting two wounds (seemingly dangerous) on his head. Gleeson's son, who slept in an opposite room, hearing the uproar, 1355 got out of bed, and was immediately attacked in his attempt to oppose his assailants' ingress to his apartment; one of the villains fired a shot at him, which missed him, the two balls striking the wall in his rear. After a struggle they forced into his room, and treated him in a manner similar to that of his father, inflicting three severe cuts on his head. After breaking twelve panes of glass, and all the delf in the house, and ordering Gleeson to give up the land (9½ acres) to Seymour, or they would pay him another and a more serious visit, they went away. Gleeson came into possession of this land twenty years ago, and out of which Seymour was dispossessed for non-payment of rent. Though there were five of Gleeson's sons in the house, not one of them informed the police of this occurrence; had they done so, there is little doubt but that the Corbally party would have succeeded in tracing out the offenders, as they were seen to pass up the mountains within less than a mile of that barrack (Corbally). Nor would they even describe to me any of this gang, although Gleeson's daughter and one of his sons, from the opportunities they had, could, I am convinced, do so; however, such is the system of terror prevalent in this district, my belief is, that had this gang murdered old Gleeson, not one of his family would come forward to vindicate the law, unless forced to do so. I directed the constable at Corbally to bring into Nenagh on to-morrow the son and daughter of Gleeson, and should their evidence be of any importance I will report accordingly. The resident magistrate approves of the suggested reward.Such is the system of terror in this district that not one of these people would come forward to vindicate the law unless compelled to do so. I now come to notice some of the principal homicides that have taken place in Ireland:—January 27.John Ryan (county of Tipperary), a farmer, was about to propose for land, the property of Mr. Philips, of Mount Rivers. There had, in this case, been no compulsory ejectment, or rigorous exaction of righs. The occupier, it is said, voluntarily resigned one-half of the farm—alleging his inability to hold the entire—and continued to retain the other half. The deceased, represented to be of respectable character, of some substance, and a native of the place, made no secret of his intention to propose for the unoccupied land, and had no apprehension of consequences. On his way, however, to the proprietor, he was assailed by two men (strangers to himself), one of whom pulled him from his horse, and fractured his head with a stone. He survived only a few days. Two persons were taken into custody on strong suspicion, but the injured man, evidently fearing the consequences to his family, would make no disclosures tending to their indentification.The next case is the murder of Captain M'Leod, in the county of Leitrim, a gentleman who had been formerly in the army, and was by all who knew him highly esteemed. He was for some years in the county of Tipperary, where he was eminently successful in calming down the disturbances 1356 which prevailed in that county, and where, by the discharge of his duties, and by the amiability of his disposition, he obtained for himself the esteem of all parties in the district. Captain M'Leod was afterwards removed to Fermanagh, where his services, on account of the disturbed state of that district, were deemed of importance; but when outrages broke out in Leitrim, he was sent to that district as resident magistrate. On all hands he was admitted to be one of the most humane, moderate, and peaceful of men; yet he fell a victim to the spirit of outrage which so unhappily prevails in Ireland. Here is the account of his murder:—January 29.John M'Leod, Esq., R.M. (county of Leitrim).—Towards the close of November, 1844, the peace of the northern part of the county of Cavan, and the adjoining part of Leitrim, had become very seriously disturbed by numerous armed and organized bodies of Whiteboys. To meet these circumstances, the magistracy applied for an increased police force, and an additional stipendiary magistrate. The required police were immediately supplied; and Mr. M'Leod, the resident magistrate stationed at Enniskillen, was selected by the Government, and temporarily placed at Balinamore, in aid of the local authorities in the suppression of the illegal organization referred to. On the day above stated, Mr. M'Leod had been dining with W. Percy, Esq., J. P., of Garadice, and had set out in the evening on his return to his own quarters. Finding Mr. Percy's lodge-gate shut (contrary to practice when company is entertained), Mr. M'Leod was in the act of desiring the driver of his car to get it opened, when he was fired at from behind an opening in the evergreen at the lodge-gate, where the assassin aided by the light of a candle, left (as if designedly) in the lodge, is believed to have deliberately taken his aim. The gunshot penetrated the heart and lungs, and caused instantaneous death. There is no doubt that a conspiracy had been formed; and it is an ascertained fact that a notice of the murder was posted at Enniskillen two days before its perpetration. Some of the circumstances above described strongly implicating the gatekeeper, he, with other suspected individuals, was afterwards taken into custody; but after prolonged and searching inquiries by the magistrates assembled for the purpose, the evidence was not found to be sufficiently conclusive, and the parties were liberated on bail. That this outrage is referable to feelings of revenge prompted by Mr. M'Leod's discharge of his magisterial duty, but one opinion has been expressed; two circumstances have, however, been mentioned as its immediate existing cause: by some it is attributed to his having refused to bail certain individuals in custody on serious offences; by others, to a decision made by Mr. M'Leod, some days previously, at Bawnboy petty sessions.This murder had excited everywhere but one feeling of indignation and regret.Patrick Swift was found dead in the river of the town of Galway: there were several marks of 1357 violence about his body and head. He had come to the town to give evidence in a civic bill case, which was dismissed in his (Swift's) absence. Some threatening expressions were used towards him by some of the relatives of the defendant, who were chiefly interested in the case. One of these was arrested, and from his contradictory evidence and terrified appearance, he was obliged by the coroner to find bail to appear when called on.John Waters (county of Tipperary) had been in the employment of Mr. H. Going, of Riverlawn, and was a stranger at the place. As he was returning to his master's residence, with a man named Corrigan (whose services as ploughman were likely to be superseded by those of Waters), several men armed with bludgeons, according to the statement of Corrigan, leaped off the road into the grove. Corrigan says he ran away, and looking back saw the party strike Waters to the ground, and that on returning shortly after, he found Waters speechless. He did not report the circumstance immediately on his arrival at the house, and his conduct being suspicious he was taken into custody, and committed for examination.Mr. James Gallagher (county of Cavan) was sub-agent to Mr. Enery, of Ballyconnell house. A considerable amount of old arrears was due by the tenantry on Mr. Enery's property, and Mr. Gallagher was supposed to be the only person fully acquainted with the state of affairs, and competent to undertake the recovery of the rents. As he was proceeding from Mr. Enery's residence, accompanied by the gatekeeper, he was followed by two men, one of whom shot him in the back, of which he died within an hour. The occurrence took place before dark, on the confines of the town, and in the presence of several people; but no information could be obtained leading to the identification of the assassins.
§ "Cavan, Monday evening, May 19, 1845.
§ "My dear Sir—I have only just returned from Enniskillen, and write a hurried line to inform you that poor Mrs. Gallagher, wife of the man who was shot at Ballyconnell on Wednesday last, died last night. She was so dreadfully shocked on hearing of her husband's murder, that she scarcely ever spoke a word after.—I have, &c.
§ "Colonel M'Gregor, &c." "J. BATTERSBY.
§ "Cavan, May 22, 1845.
§ "My dear Sir—I wrote to you on Monday last, telling you of the death of poor Mrs. Gallagher, whose husband was murdered on Wednesday night, the 14th inst. I have now another sad piece of information to communicate—his mother died last night. She was a healthy, poor strong old woman; but got such a shock on hearing of her son being shot, that she never after left her bed. I also understand that Gallagher's daughter, fifteen years of age, is quite out of her mind.—I am, &c.,
§ "Colonel M'Gregor, &c." "J. BATTERSBY.
§ "Fanny M'Elhill (Tyrone) was the wife of a woodranger, who had made himself obnoxious by prosecuting trespassers. She had proceeded from her own dwelling, with her little daughter, when she was fired at from a wood by the road side. Some of the charge entered the child's head, and it is feared her brain is injured; the mother was wounded in different parts of the body, and died in a day or two after, having previously given birth to a still-born child. Suspicion rests on the former ranger, who was discharged about a year ago; but there is not sufficient evidence to warrant proceedings."
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There are many more of these cases; but I really think I may close this black catalogue. I think, too, I have said quite enough. I do not wish to harrow the feelings of your Lordships unnecessarily by the recital of these enormities; but there are one or two which I will lay before you, to show the state of the country at this particular time:—
On the 13th inst. a party of about sixteen men came to the house of Thomas Cowan, beat his sons, and, having found him concealed, beat him severely, compelling his wife to hold a candle for them. The cause assigned is having endeavoured to make some cottier tenants pay rents for the houses they have on his land. He denies publicly that he has any knowledge of any of the party; but his eldest son privately informed me that both he and his father knew some of them, and that they will come privately and lodge informations; but not until they first sell their farm and stock, &c., preparatory to their leaving the country, as they consider it unsafe to remain in it much longer; and they are afraid that should they publicly lodge their informations they could not effect the sale of their property. I have communicated this circumstance to the resident magistrate, with whom I have arranged to take their informations privately on the first opportunity.
Two armed men searched three houses, at Canadoan, for arms; they only obtained an old sword. On leaving the house of T. Mullvennin, they discharged some powder into his face, which slightly injured him.
The following outrages took place in the Elphin district on the 11th inst.:—A party of forty or fifty men visited the house of John Watkins, robbed him of a pistol, and swore him to reduce his conacre rent. A party of ten or twelve men attacked the house of James Hogg for his arms; he resisted and fired on them (though eighty years of age); they returned the fire and fled. A party entered the house of John Simpson, and searched it for arms. A dispute took place on this day between P. Healy and four persons named Waters; they beat Healy so that he died on the 15th. Three of the Waterses are in custody. On the same evening, the 11th inst., they visited the house of Mr. Owen Reynolds, and cautioned him not to charge more than half-rent for his conacre.
§ I call the attention of the House to the following letter from three magistrates of the county Tipperary:—
§ "We beg to direct the attention of Her Majesty's Government to the informations we herewith send respecting an agrarian outrage committed in this district on Friday last, as forcibly illustrative of the present state of society in this district, and of the total insufficiency of the law to prevent or punish offences of the kind. A party of five men, two armed with muskets, one with a pistol, another with a wattle, and the fifth with a pitchfork, entered the house of a man of the name of Michael Murray, holding between seventy and eighty acres of land, and brutally assaulted himself and his family. On Monday, sub-inspector Morgan, and a party of six policemen, went to the man's house to inquire into the case. Murray's daughter, Biddy Murray, a young woman over twenty years of age, told the police (see their informations) who the 1359 assailants were, and described the particular acts of individuals of the party. Mr. Morgan and his party immediately went in search of these men, and succeeded in arresting four of them, a duty which occupied them from seven o'clock on Monday evening to nine o'clock on Tuesday morning. We were apprized of the case by the police, and remained investigating it in the barracks of Roscrea from noon till dusk. On Tuesday, Murray's family were brought into Roscrea, under an escort of police. Murray's brother, Martin Murray, a man also of the higher class of farmers, with a crowd of other people, followed the car on which Michael Murray's family were, and, being prevented by the police from coming into immediate contact with them, he called out to his niece Biddy Murray, the principal witness, 'not to be an informer, or to have it said in the country she was one.' This appears by the girl's sworn information, as also by the information of constable Connors; the result of this was, that on the girl's being sworn, she refused to identify the parties (arrested, on her own statement of the previous evening, by the police), and denied that she knew who any of them were. Murray, his wife, his servant man, and his two other children, all of whom we examined on oath, refused equally to give any evidence on the subject which could lead to the conviction of the offenders, and we had no alternative but to liberate the prisoners. Thus the very praiseworthy exertions of Mr. Morgan and his party, and our own anxious endeavours to make the offenders in this case amenable to justice, were of no avail. The system of intimidation established in this country proved an overmatch for the constabulary, the magistrates, and the law.—We have the honour to remain, &c.
§ "J. V. PRETTIE,
§ "W. P. BIRCH,
§ "F. A. JACKSON.
§ "To R. Pennefather, Esq., Under-Secretary."
§
I may refer also to the Shannon Commission and the great works for the improvement of the Shannon navigation, to point out the intimidation of the men there who are willing to go on with the work, if permitted to do so; but I will give only one more case, to show the extent of audacity to which these people go. It is a case that occurred no longer ago than the 18th of February, five days ago, and relates to a person of the name of O'Brien, an excellent officer of the Constabulary:—
I have to report that about eleven o'clock on the night of the 17th, as constable D. O'Brien, of this station, and sub-constables M. Kearney, C. Rohen, W. Ireton, J. Kenna, and W. Donohoe, were on patrol, they heard the sound of voices near them; they stopped a short time and heard a shot fired, at which they proceeded at once in the direction of the shot, and perceived a man armed with a gun, whom they called on to surrender; he replied that he would not; upon which he was arrested by Rohen. His name is Pat Cosheen, from the county of Cork. After securing Cosheen, the police proceeded a short distance, when several shots were fired by a body of men, about fifteen in number, who were in front of the police. At this time, a ball or slug struck Kearney in the temple, which only slightly wounded him and perforated his forage cap; and a bullet passed through the
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watch-coat of Ireton. The police called on the party to surrender, and charged them, at the same time firing upon them. One of said party was at this time secured, named J. Hulan, upon whose person a number of percussion caps were found; he was then handcuffed to Cosheen, upon which several shots were fired at the police; the police returned the fire, and succeeding in arresting a man named Pat Dwyer, who ran off when about to be secured; he was recaptured, and in the effort received a gunshot wound, which, entering near his left breast passed through his body; he also received a bayonet wound in the side; he is in the Bridewell here, and lies in a dangerous state. When Dwyer was recaptured, one of the party came to his aid, and fired a pistol at constable O'Brien, upon which the constable struck him on the breast with his bayonet, and sub-constable Rohen fired at him, and it is supposed wounded him, as he was seen to stagger. He succeeded in making his escape. He is supposed to be Patrick Rufoyle, from the county of Tipperary. At this stage the fellows separated to both sides and rear of the police, and fired several shots at them, which were returned. There was a small cabin, occupied by a man named Gorman, quite close, into which the constable decided to go with his party, as, from the darkness of the night and the manner of the Rockites, he thought his life and those of his men would be endangered by a fire from behind the road ditch. After the police had retired into the house, a shot was fired into it; they did not deem it prudent to go out, but preferred to resist an attack; they remained in the house until morning, when a reinforcement from this joined them, who marched the three men already named into this town; they have been fully committed for trial at the assizes; but Dwyer will not, if at all, be able to move for some time. Messrs. Burke and Russell, justices of the peace, came in here immediately after; they accompanied me to the scene, with fifteen men; we scoured the neighbourhood in the hope of meeting some of the party, several of whom must have been wounded, but did not succeed. I had previously sent to the Altar and Garrysfillane stations to intercept the escape of any of the fellows; the police fired thirty-five rounds of their ammunition.
Your Lordships perceive it was a regular engagement.
The gun found with Cosheen is a very formidable weapon, being a large rifle with an excellent percussion lock. A pistol was found on the place where the attack took place; also the barrel of a gun, and a portion of the brass mounting, which must have exploded during the conflict. The three men in custody are the worst characters in the county, and were looked upon as the leaders of armed gangs, who go about committing assassinations for hire. Cosheen is the person named in my report of the 27th ult., relative to the homicide of James Lynch. About thirty bullets were found at the scene, which the party must have dropped. The wife of the man into whose house the police went, became so alarmed when the shot was fired into it, as to place her life in danger. I sent a doctor to her. I also procured medical aid for the man whom the police wounded. The armed party must at the time have been proceeding to commit some serious outrage; and I am of opinion, that they were going to the neighbourhood of Ballingady, where persons are
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about being evicted; and in reference to which Mr. Coote received a Rockite notice, as reported on the 17th inst.; they possibly were going to attack Mr. Coote. No circumstance has occurred for a long time which, in my opinion, tends more to improve the peace of the country than the one in question.
I am sure it is a most dreadful way of effecting that end.
It has also, I am sure, caused great dismay to those ruffians who are leagued for the pepetration of ruin, and secured for the police, in the opinion of the peasantry, a confidence which, I trust, may induce them to look to the authorities for protection, instead of considering those marauders as necessary evils, to call upon when disputes arise about their private (as they imagine) rights. The bravery and steadiness of the constable is beyond all praise, and he was well supported by the sub-constables of the party. I beg to recommend them to the favourable notice of the Inspector General. I will escort Cosheen and Hulan to Bruff to-morrow. A further search on an extensive scale will be made this night, in the hope of meeting with some of the fellows, who must have been wounded.
This was signed by Mr. T. O'Connell, Sub-Inspector of Constabulary. I have read these documents, my Lords, to show the extent to which the illegal acts of these men are carried; and I think such of your Lordships as have done me the honour to attend to the details I have submitted, will have remarked that the great proportion of these crimes are committed by bands of armed men—of men who, as it is generally believed, belong to secret associations, bound to each other by oaths, and banded together for the purpose of intimidating the well-disposed and peaceable inhabitants. In the list I have read, out of the 137 homicides, and the large number of aggravated assaults, your Lordships will have perceived that five only were committed on the persons of gentlemen. I am far from saying that the position of a gentleman is enviable, who, from a sense of duty, remains at his post in a disturbed district, and performs the obligations of a magistrate and a resident landowner; but still his position is a safe and secure one compared with that of the small farmer and cottier. In a sense, it may be said that "his house is his castle;" it is capable of being defended; he and his servants are armed, and he runs comparatively little risk from the inroads of these bands; in fact, those by whom these descriptions of crimes are committed, dare not venture to make an attack. But your Lordships may imagine what is the position of the unfortunate small farmer or cottier—the man who has, perhaps, been fifteen or twenty years in possession of a particular spot, or is employed
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by a particular person who is obnoxious to these depredators, and who receives a threatening letter. If he obeys the mandate, he sentences himself and family to all but certain ruin; there is no other farm open to him; and he has no alternative, if he leave his holding, but to become an outcast and a wanderer. He has no means, in fact, of obtaining a living for himself and those who are dependent upon him. He is compelled, therefore, to brave the danger and remain. And now, my Lords, mark the consequences! In the dead and silent hour of the night, the fragile door of his cottage is burst open; a band of armed and disguised ruffians rush in, drag him from his bed, and, before the eyes of his trembling wife and children, either murder him outright, or so mutilate him that his life afterwards become a burden. My Lords, in what I have stated I have not said one word which is not fully borne out by the facts I have detailed. The unfortunate man who is the victim of these outrages is either killed on the spot, or is left, if he survives, to drag out a miserable existence, incapable of labour for the rest of his life, or, at all events, for a long time; and yet neither the man himself, if he survive, nor his family who witness the perpetration of the crime, can be induced to come forward to give evidence for the purpose of bringing the perpetrators to justice. I say, then, my Lords, that this measure is necessary and essential for the protection of the lives and limbs of the people. As I have said, the rich man is comparatively safe; but, as the law stands, it affords no protection to the poor man—or at least a most inadequate and inefficient protection—though no means have been left untried by Her Majesty's Government to give full effect to the existing law for that purpose. This, I shall now proceed to show. I have a Return showing the amount of the Constabulary Force in Ireland now as compared with what was in the year 1845:—
| Counties. | Number of Police Constables in 1835. | Present Number. | |
| County Cavan | 169 | 400 | |
| Monaghan | 110 | 181 | |
| King's County | 272 | 319 | |
| Longford | 140 | 191 | |
| Westmeath | 272 | 282 | |
| Clare | 343 | 343 | |
| Leitrim | 170 | 311 | |
| Roscommon | 250 | 459 | |
| Limerick | 250 | 621 | |
| Tipperary | North | 315 | 564 |
| South | 371 | 466 |
§ The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEsaid, that after the very clear, full, and able statement of the noble Earl, which, in many respects, he was sure must have been as painful to him to make, as it was for their Lordships to hear, he did not rise for the purpose of offering the slightest opposition to the second reading of a Bill which he had no doubt was intended, as on the face of it it purported to be, for the preservation of the lives of Her Majesty's subjects 1368 in many parts of Ireland: and so far was he from complaining of the noble Lord, or of the Government whom he represented on that occasion, for bringing forward the measure at so early a period of the Session, that he was ready to admit, that after the declaration of Her Majesty in Her Speech from the Throne—a declaration which was unhappily warranted by facts known to many of their Lordships, and still more warranted by facts known to the Government, and which had been stated by the noble Lord that night—every day after that declaration was, he thought, a day lost, in which an effectual remedy was not at least attempted to put an end to a state of society so horrible, so destructive, and so calculated to impede all advancement and all improvement in the country. It was, therefore, the duty of Government to call the attention of the House, at the earliest possible moment, to this most important subject. In saying this, however, he was anxious not to be understood to admit, and he hoped the noble Lord would not contend, that the Government were, by this necessity, relieved of the duty of considering what other measures—measures of a more satisfactory character, and which would accord better with their Lordships' feelings to adopt—should be proposed for the immediate amelioration and benefit of society in Ireland. But he so far agreed with the noble Earl, that he did consider, however expedient it might be for their Lordships, whether invited by the Government or not, to enter into the consideration at a future, and, he trusted, not far distant period, of measures calculated to give more universal satisfaction to that country than, perhaps, it was possible to expect that this Bill—necessary and urgent as he admitted it to be—could give; that they would be prepared to enter into the consideration of this Bill at the earliest possible period. He quite agreed with the noble Earl, that between this measure and measures of amelioration, there was no necessary connexion. There was, indeed, this much connexion, that, for the purpose of entertaining and accomplishing any measures intended to be conducive to the prosperity of Ireland, the measure which had just been introduced by the noble Earl must be the necessary precursor. He would ask any of their Lordships, anxious as he knew them all to be to see the condition of Ireland improved, and who wished to see measures with that view pressed on the early consideration of 1369 the Legislature, could they imagine any measure which would be attended with any beneficial result, if the system against which the present Bill was directed, had not been previously and completely removed? Of what use would measures be, intended for the benefit of Ireland — measures calculated to stimulate industry, or to extend local improvements; or, if their Lordships would have it, measures conferring additional privileges on the people—of what use would such measures be, if, as had been shown by the cases produced by the noble Earl, and as was well known to many of their Lordships, no man in Ireland could avail himself of their provisions without finding his industry or his enterprise arrested by the hand of the assassin? As things at present stood, no man would be permitted to practise the labour which it was the object of the Legislature to provide, without finding the exercise of that labour a crime in the eyes of those midnight legislators who presume to tell the poor man that his labour was not his property, but was to be exercised by their permission, and with no other sanction than that which might be derived from their midnight deliberations. But even if political privileges were to be extended—if the people were to be enabled to vote where they had not voted before—if they were to be permitted to take part in the municipal and deliberative business of their country—of what use would such privileges be, if there was a secret legislature behind, to dictate to them how their franchise was to be exercised, and inflicting on him the severest penalties of that unknown law which hung over him, if he presumed to exercise his privilege in the manner which he conceived most conducive to his own interests, and in accordance with his own feelings? He, therefore, felt fully justified in admitting that the present Bill was a Bill for the protection of the poor. The noble Earl had truly stated that, aimed as this species of crime was at every improvement, and at every state almost of society in which improvement could exist, the personal effects of this illicit law fell not so much on the rich man, who could guard himself against the consequences, and withdraw from the scene which was afflicted by this dire and systematic species of crime, as on the labouring man; who, answering to the call of the Legislature, which told him to improve, and to the call of his landlord, who, it was to be hoped, encouraged improvement, was, on the other hand, deterred 1370 by these lawless associations, and would be deterred until this system was put down by the law. Unless it was stopped, it would extend from one county to another, and proceed throughout the land, and the conseqences would be death, insecurity, famine, and the absence of capital (which would be repelled from Ireland to the countries whence it had come), the destruction of the mass of the population by the absence of everything like law, order, and security in the country. For these reasons he felt that he should be ill doing his duty to Ireland and their Lordships, if he did not express his concurrence in the necessity of passing such a Bill as the noble Earl had introduced; but, at the same time, he must reserve to himself the right. though he would not enter into the subject at present, of urging the Government at a future and no distant period, or of urging their Lordships, if the conduct of the Government should, render it necessary, to endeavour by other measures to ameliorate the condition of the people of Ireland. These, he admitted, would require caution; but he trusted that the Government were, in a great degree, prepared with them, and that no unnecessary delay would occur in bringing them forward. In the meantime, he thought that their Lordships would do right, if possible, to pass the present Bill; and he could only say that, with no unnecessary delay, he wished it to have all that consideration which the nature of all measures affecting the liberty and independence of the subject always obtained from their Lordships. Into the particular provisions of the Bill it was not his wish to enter at present; he trusted that they would be carefully considered, though he would not pledge himself as to any particular details. With respect to that provision which cast on the locality (and the smallest space possible, he hoped, for the purpose of making it more effectual) all the consequences of crime, in the shape of penalty, he must say that he thought that it would have a most advantageous effect.
LORD BROUGHAMsaid, he so entirely concurred with his noble Friend who had just sat down in thinking that the measure ought not to be delayed for even the very smallest portion of time, which was not absolutely necessary for well considering the provisions of the Act, that he did not mean to act counter to the course of his noble Friend by offering any lengthened observations upon the Bill, reserving any comments which he might have to make for 1371 a future stage. He heartily deplored that such a state of things as that which had been described should exist in any part of the British dominions, but especially in so large a portion, and a portion so nearly situated to ourselves as Ireland—a state of things, topical, he would fain hope, and confined to particular districts; but a condition of society, nevertheless, which, if allowed to continue, and which, if they did not meet by the most vigorous and efficacious measures, it was in vain they might look for the improvement of Ireland, or an amelioration of the condition of her people. But if it were vain to look to the social improvement of Ireland in such circumstances, to look for her legislative improvement under such a state of anarchy was still more vain. Their first and paramount duty, with reference to it, was, in plain and short terms, to make Ireland a habitable country, in order that they might improve her condition. At present Ireland was not a habitable country. He had heard the details which were given in the speech of the noble Lord the Secretary for Ireland with pain; he could not say it surprised him any more than those amongst their Lordships who were, like him, cognizant of the general features of the case, although they might not have been previously acquainted with its hideous details as they now were. They had heard those details from the noble Earl; and he was confident that, having heard them, their Lordships would agree with him that it was impossible to say certain districts in Ireland were not become uninhabitable for the peaceable and quiet subjects of the Crown. Their first duty, then, was to prevent the further growth and progress of crime in those districts; to put an end to a system under which all law was set at defiance in that country, and which had reduced portions of it to such a state that the denizens whom we had planted in the islands of the South Sea might consider that they occupied, by comparison, a far more enviable country. He lamented that the Bill before them was not accompanied by a measure which, in his deliberate opinion, would be found to be highly advantageous, and which he introduced, not yesterday to their Lordships, but in a Bill which he brought forward two years ago, and which he had been induced to withdraw by a noble Duke opposite, the expression of whose wish on such a subject operated upon him (Lord Brougham) as a command. The provision to which he alluded was one that would 1372 have the effect of rendering it possible to obtain convictions for crimes, by allowing the trial to come on in a distant part of the country from the spot where the crime was committed, when such a course was necessary, and where the jury who tried the case, and the witnesses who gave evidence, would not be subjected to the shot of the assassin, for the mere performance of their judicial duties. He did not think that the measure to which he alluded was one that should necessarily be confined to Ireland; and if it appearod less invidious that it should not be so, and that it should be general instead of particular, he would, without hesitation, consent to its general application; and he believed he had the authority of some of the most eminent lawyers of this country, and men of the soundest constitutional principles, of the chief criminal Judge certainly, at his side in that view—namely, in thinking that a power ought to be given in certain cases, at the option of the prosecutor, of trying a prisoner in a different county from that in which the offence was committed—in the capitals of Dublin or London, if necessary. That had been already done in England, when smugglers, could not otherwise be convicted: all revenue cases were tried in London, wherever the offences were charged to have been committed; and it had been the custom in Scotland, time out of mind, to admit of such a course; all offences whatever being triable in Edinburgh as well as in the county where alleged. There could be no greater delusion in general than to suppose that a prisoner obtained an advantage by being tried in a part of the country where he was well known. In nine cases out of ten, it would be better for the prisoner to be tried at a distance, and in ten cases it would be better for justice that such a course were adopted. A jury with their minds impregnated with all the reports and all the gossip of the neighbourhood, did not form the most favourable tribunal for a prisoner any more than for public justice. The old law required a trial in the vicinage; but it was only because the jury were to find a verdict on their own private knowledge. This barbarous practice had long ceased to prevail; and with it had ceased the other consequential practice of summoning juries from the hundred, that is, the neighbourhood. He was glad the Government had brought forward the measure which had been described in detail by the noble Earl; but he felt convinced that, in order to 1373 make it effectual, it ought to be accompanied with the measure which he had described.
§ LORD FARNHAMsaid, that as one who had been for many months recently resident in Ireland, he felt called upon to address a few observations to their Lordships. If he had been asked fourteen months ago which was the most quiet and the best conducted county in Ireland, he would have answered with pride, his own county of Cavan; but a great change had since taken place, he regretted to say, in that county. That change for the worse he dated from the murder of his lamented friend Captain Macleod. At the commencement of the last year, meetings were held in Cavan of a private and illegal nature; threatening notices were served on farmers and labourers; and these were followed by attacks on private houses; the sufferers being principally persons, so far as he could ascertain, of the lowest class in society—the attacks being generally committed for the purpose of taking arms. In the course of the spring a respectable person named James Gallagher, who was an under-agent or bailiff to Mr. Enery, was murdered, in the broad daylight, in the town of Ballyconnell; and no attempt appeared to have been made to prevent the escape of the murderer. In consequence of this disturbed state of the county, he felt it his duty to return home and to use his exertions in concert with the other magistrates, for the restoration of tranquillity. On his arrival at Dublin, the first thing he heard was, that on the day (Sunday) preceding, and on his return from church with two of his young children, a near neighbour of his own, Mr. Bell Booth, had been brutally murdered. There was one circumstance connected with that murder which he ought not to omit to mention, as throwing a light on the state in which the country was at that period. Numbers of persons were present on the occasion of the murder, or close at hand; and notwithstanding that they were so, no attempt was made to arrest the murderer, although he did not fly, but walked deliberately away from the spot after he had committed the deed. Another fact to which he felt it necessary to allude, and which was well worth the attention of their Lordships, was, that the murderer of Mr. Booth had been ever since in the country, and that the houses he visited daily were well known; but that up to that moment he had not been arrested. He (Lord Farnham) arrived in the county of Cavan on the day after Mr. Booth's funeral. The 1374 cause of that gentleman's murder had never been ascertained. He was a gentleman of small property, the whole of which he farmed himself; and his assassination was attributable to no rancorous party feeling, for he had not been a member of the Orange society for the last ten years. Indeed, Mr. Booth rendered him (Lord Farnham) most strenuous assistance in endeavouring to effect the dissolution of the Orange lodges in 1836; and on every occasion since, when he had felt it his duty, on public grounds, to endeavour to prevent party processions, Mr. Bell Booth had most actively co-operated with him in effecting that object. On his (Lord Farnham's) arrival in Cavan he found the public mind in a state of the greatest excitement. Matters had unfortunately begun to assume the appearance of a religious conflict. Mr. Bell Booth was a Protestant, and was very much respected by all the Protestants of the county. He had also formerly been an Orangeman; he was beloved by all the members of that body; and his funeral was attended by thousands of armed Protestants. Thousands of Roman Catholics also assembled, in arms, in various parts of the same portion of the county, and a religious collision was anticipated. The town of Killeshandra was for two days in the possession of the Roman Catholic party. This event occurred a few days before the 1st of July—one of the usual Orange anniversaries—and this circumstance increased the danger. He (Lord Farnham) and other magistrates obtained, however, the most solemn assurance that all individuals who were masters of Orange lodges in the county, would endeavour, as far as they could, to prevent the celebration of that anniversary by proceeding in processions; and he had the satisfaction to state that, with two exceptions, that promise was most faithfully kept. He fully agreed in the statement of the noble Marquess opposite, that the Bill now before them was a measure for the protection of the poor; for although landlords and men of property in Ireland who fulfilled their duties, and practically acknowledged that property had its duties as well as its rights, were threatened and their property destroyed, yet they were in a very different position from the farmers and persons in a lower rank of life; for, if they had reason to apprehend personal injury, they might, though poosibly at great inconvenience, quit the country—a course which the poor man was unable to take. In the county of 1375 Cavan the farmers almost invariably held but small portions of land—they called a holding of twenty acres a large farm. It was evident that a man situated as one of these farmers could not go away when he pleased. A man in such circumstances must sell his furniture and stock, if he wished to leave the country, in order to provide means for doing so. But who was to buy them? Who would dare to purchase them? Any individual who did purchase under such circumstances, would place his life in the greatest jeopardy. He believed that the state of things now existing in Ireland might be traced to the Ribbon societies—associations of the most dangerous character. If any man wished to attack another, those societies would furnish him with the means of effecting his object in every possible way. Those who lived in Ireland were well acquainted with the nature of those associations, though perhaps many noble Lords might not be aware of their constitution and objects. He might, however, be allowed to read the opinions of a noble and learned Friend of his, which, he was sure, would have considerable weight with their Lordships. The noble Lord read a long extract from a charge of Lord Plunket, in which that noble and learned Lord said—
It was most satisfactory to him that no person of any consequence or consideration had been discovered to be connected with the Riband societies; but that they consisted only of men in the humblest classes of society—persons who, while they confined themselves to their proper stations, were entitled to the protection of the law, and were useful and respectable members of the community; but who possessed neither the taste nor the information necessary to qualify them for the conduct of political affairs. When such men madly rushed beyond that boundary which Providence in its wisdom had assigned them, they were utterly incapable of rendering service to their country, though they were unfortunately quite equal to the task of disturbing its peace and endangering its institutions.Lord Plunket then referred to the objects of the Ribbon societies, and after enumerating some of them, observed, that there was nothing revolting to the feelings of human nature to which persons once linked in illegal societies were not liable to lend themselves; and concluded by stating, that it was their duty to those blind and deluded persons to expose their insane attempts, while it was still more important to society at large to prevent the evil from spreading through the heart of the country, and infecting the mass of the population with a relish for mischief and insubordination. Addresses 1376 had been presented to the Lord Lieutenant from numerous counties in Ireland, relative to the disturbed state of the various districts; and these addresses invariably set forth the fact that the laws of the land were insufficient to meet the evil. He was glad, therefore, that the Government had brought forward this measure, and he would give it his most cordial assent, for he thought it calculated to give security to life and property in Ireland, which at present were not secure.
The MARQUESS of CLANRICARDEwould give the same vote on the present measure as the noble Lord who had just sat down. He should not, indeed, have deemed it necessary to address their Lordships on the subject at this stage of the Bill, if the observations made by himself and his noble Friend near him, on a former occasion, had not been made the subject of comment out of doors, and had not he and other noble Lords been made the subject of gross calumny and abuse, because they merely called upon the Government to interfere, and to take some measures for protecting life and property in Ireland. He considered that the Government were bringing forward the present measure on their own responsibility—on their own statement that the law as it stood in Ireland, was insufficient to protect the peaceable inhabitants of that country. If such was the fact, he would give the Bill his ready assent. He did not understand that by passing such a measure the Legislature meant to preclude all inquiry into the evils which affected Ireland, nor that it would stop the endeavours made by the present or any future Ministry to devise means for remedying those evils, but, on the contrary, that it would promote and assist them. The Bill, therefore, in his view, had no connexion with any other measures which might have been in view for promoting the good of Ireland, and he was extremly sorry if anything he had said on a former occasion of this kind had given offence to those who had thought it worth while to notice what had fallen from him. If, however, he had had the misfortune to differ from the great arbiter of the people in Ireland, he had done so in exercise of his own right, and acting upon his own judgment. The individual to whom he referred stated that the Irish people demanded equality in religion, equality in political rights, and equality in social, matters. He (Lord Clanricarde) might also think that the people of Ireland were entitled to these privileges; but that 1377 question had nothing to do with the Bill before their Lordships. Could anything, for instance, be more absurd than to allege such reasons for refusing to pass the measure? According to that reasoning, the Irish farmer might tell them, "I do not possess that franchise to which I am entitled;" and their Lordships were supposed to turn round, and say, "No, we know you don't, and we will take care you shall be still worse off." But the farmer might then say, "If you do not give me those equal rights, at all events protect my life and property, and enable me to follow my calling honestly and securely." To which their Lordships were supposed to reply, "No; because you have not the franchise, you shall not have protection; because you have not those rights to which you think you are entitled, your property shall be exposed, and your life endangered." If the ordinary law was not sufficiently strong to insure tranquillity in Ireland, certainly such a measure as this was necessary before any man in the disturbed districts of that country could venture to exercise these constitutional rights which it was alleged he ought to enjoy. There were, however, some parts of this Bill in which he did not concur. For instance, he understood that this measure was intended to be the permanent law of the county—to such a course he decidedly objected. The noble Earl who introduced the Bill had told them that he hoped at an early period Government would be enabled to call upon Parliament to repeal the measure. Now, he thought it would be far better to limit the operation of the Bill. He should despair of the tranquillity of Ireland if he thought such a measure was always to be in force, for it conferred most arbitrary powers. He did not object to those powers being granted: all that he stipulated was, that they should be given for a stated time. Fix their duration to a certain period, and then if necessary call upon Parliament to renew them. He had also another objection to the provisions of the Bill—namely, to the mode of punishing districts by fines and mulcts. He agreed with noble Lords who had spoken on his own side of the House, that it was most just that some punishment should fall upon those who were indirectly, if not directly, parties to the commission of the grave crimes now perpetrated; and he considered it right that some fine should be imposed on those districts where the crimes were committed. He thought, however, that 1378 there ought to be some relaxation of this punishment where a conviction took place. A lunatic, for instance, might take away a life, or even commit several murders; he would be convicted immediately; but it would be excessively hard that a quiet district, where no combination existed, and where none of the crimes against which this Bill was directed had been committed, should be saddled with compensation in the way of a pension, or a sum of money to the widow or relatives of the deceased. But he would go still further, and would take the case even of a deliberate murder, such as those which had been referred to to-night. Now if, in such a case, the inhabitants of the place rose, detected the criminal, and dragged him to condign punishment, they certainly ought not to be subjected to the penalty which would have been imposed upon them if they had connived at the crime, or at the escape of the offender. It had been proved, over and over again, that this class of offences in Ireland was generally committed by strangers; but he thought that if the people of the district where a crime of this nature was committed gave such information, or used such exertions, as brought the offender to justice, the fine contemplated by this measure ouught not to be enforced. He considered, also, that the punishment of transportation was rather too lightly dealt with in this measure. He thought no man ought to be transported—certainly not sentenced to transportation for life—without the approval of the Lord Lieutenant, after the crime and its punishment had been under the consideration of the Irish Government. He fully agreed in the remarks of his noble and learned Friend (Lord Brougham) as to the change of venue; and he concurred in the correctness of the noble and learned Lord's observation, that it was often a disadvantage to a man to be tried in his own immediate neighbourhood; for, if a man of bad character—although he might not be guilty of the offence with which he was charged—he might be convicted, while by an impartial jury he would probably have been acquitted. These were, however, matters of detail, which might be considered hereafter. He certainly would not oppose the Bill in its present stage, for he considered a great necessity existed for such a measure. Although he considered that the Government had been tardy in doing their duty, and in protecting life and property in Ireland, he would not on this occasion withhold from them his support.
The EARL of WICKLOWwould support the Bill. Its object was to prevent crime; and he thought it well framed for that purpose. There was another object which the Bill did not touch, namely, that of bringing to justice the perpetrators of the outrages committed in Ireland. He thought it just as necessary to devise means for securing the perpetrators of crime as to prevent its commission. As long as trials of criminals continued to be conducted in Ireland as they now were, there was no chance of convicting the guilty parties. In the Coercion Bill of Earl Grey's Government both of these two most essential objects were provided for: not only was crime prevented, but the real criminals were convicted and punished. He hoped the Government would turn its attention to this important subject, and if, by the introduction of some clauses into the present Bill, it could be attained, so much the better; if not, there ought to be a Bill brought in for that special purpose, as it is was the most desirable object that could achieved.
The EARL of CLANCARTYMy Lords, my noble Friend the noble Marquis opposite, who so strongly objects to the power which it is proposed in the Bill to give to magistrates of sentencing to transportation persons convicted of misdemeanours under this Act, seems to forget that magistrates already exercise, at quarter-sessions, a like power for the punishment of offences of a much more venial character than those which have called for the enactment of this Bill. Fully concurring in the necessity of some such measure, I would wish to take the present opportunity of calling the attention of Her Majesty's Government to some of its provisions. The Bill purports to be an Act not only for the better protection of life, but also to facilitate the apprehension and detection of offenders; and for this purpose the first Clause of the Bill confers a power upon the Lord Lieutenant to proclaim any district where a murder shall have been committed or attempted, and to send into it as many stipendiary magistrates and additional constables as he shall think proper. Now, my Lords, however useful in a case of open insurrection such a power might be, I must say it does not appear to me to be a provision exactly the best suited to facilitate the detection and apprehension of the guilty parties who may have committed or attempted to commit a murder. This object I should have thought might 1380 be better promoted by giving to magistrates a greater power than they at present possess, of compelling persons to give evidence. Many of your Lordships may not be aware, that although a magistrate could name twenty different persons who could give evidence, and by their evidence convict a murderer, he has no power of calling upon them to give evidence, unless against some one already charged with the offence. An amendment of the law in this respect might be of great value. Then with respect to the functionaries whom the Lord Lieutenant is to send into the proclaimed districts, I should think that local knowledge rather than numbers would, whether in regard of the magistrates or of the police who are to act under their orders, be the more important consideration. Moreover these stipendiary, or as they are termed in the Bill "resident" magistrates; (why called "resident" it is not very easy to understand, inasmuch as they are liable to be continually moved from place to place;) but these so-called resident magistrates, unless they are to be a permanent burden upon the country (which God forbid!) would, it appears to me, feel it their interest rather to prolong than to put an end to that state of things which occasioned their appointment: their interest would be clearly opposed to their duty. Surely, in such an emergency, it would be more advantageous to rely upon the unpaid magistracy. These could and would, without remuneration or other reward than what they would look for in the restoration of peace and security to the country, act, if called upon, much more efficiently than could any police magistrate necessarily possessed of less knowledge of the district, less interested in its well-being, and of less consideration among its inhabitants. If the police were placed duly in relation with them, none could have so much access to information as the local magistracy; for to none would secret information be so freely afforded as to a resident country gentleman, if looked upon as the accredited officer of the Government for preserving the peace of the country. I do not allude, my Lords, to that hateful species of information—hateful and revolting beyond all things to the feelings of Irishmen—by which a man, for pecuniary reward, betrays his partner in guilt; but I allude to that kind of information which, without any betrayal of confidence, a poor man might, from a sense of duty and of a mutual interest, impart to his landlord, who, as a 1381 magistrate, with the police under his orders, might turn it to account for the prevention—an object in my mind of much greater importance than the punishment—of crime. My views of the greater efficiency of the local than of the paid magistracy, is, I think, justified by the fact, that at no period prior to the institution of the stipendiary magistracy, was the country in so disgraceful and lawless a state as it has since been. Your Lordships have this evening heard from the noble Earl who opened this debate, a catalogue of crime committed within the last year in Ireland, unexampled in number and atrocity at any anterior period, or in any other country; and you have heard the noble Earl compare it with the previous year, as with one of comparative peace and security. Let me ask your Lordships whether the best of these two periods was not such as any Government should take shame to acknowledge. Look also at the official lists of rewards offered for the apprehension and conviction of offenders, and the remarkable paucity of instances in which the law has been vindicated, and all this, notwithstanding a greatly increased expense in the administration of justice, and a police force twice as numerous, much better disciplined, and much more expensive to the country than formerly. I think from these facts it may at leat be questioned, whether the law is better upheld by a paid than by an unpaid magistracy. And consider, my Lords, that the circumstances of the country are in this respect changed; that the penal Statutes on account of religious opinions have been repealed; that Protestants and Roman Catholics enjoy equal civil rights; that there is no longer a struggle for privileges, the privation of which, however it may have been justified in former times, had become a ground, and I must add a very sufficient ground, of discontent. And further, consider that since the Act of 1829, we have now had seventeen years of the policy of conciliation—of continual concessions made for the purpose of giving contentment to the majority of the Irish people; and so far in aid of the civil magistrate for the preservation of the peace. Not to mention the Reform Bill, there have been Protestant municipal corporations abolished, tithes extinguished, and a rent-charge payable in lieu of them by the landlords; vestry cess swept away altogether; all public money withdrawn from the support of Protestant schools under the clergy, and transferred to the 1382 support of schools approved of by the Roman Catholic clergy; the Protestant Church cut down, and a legal recognition given to the foundation of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland; and, though last, not least, Maynooth enlarged, endowed, and perpetuated, upon the nation. My Lords, I certainly do not consider that these concessions were either wise or expedient, even in reference to any temporary object. Many of them were utterly unjustifiable, but they at least indicated the disposition that existed in the Government to give to those said said officers to whom they confided the preservation of the peace, a degree of support that never was given in former years to the local magistracy. Earnestly would I press upon Her Majesty's Government the expediency of recurring to the local magistracy. And I do so, I beg to be understood, without meaning to convey the slightest imputation upon the paid magistrates: they are, I believe, in general, a very respectable, laborious, and deserving body, although for the reasons I have suggested, less efficient than many of the local magistrates. And, in some districts where there are no resident gentry fit to be entrusted with the commission of the peace, stipendiary magistrates would always be required. But looking at the general interests of the country, at the importance of casting upon the upper classes of society the performance of public duties, and of accustoming the occupiers of the soil to look upon their landlords not as mere proprietors, but as persons charged with duties and responsibilities, in which they, the occupiers, have a direct interest, I think the suggestion I have thrown out is not undeserving of the consideration of the Government. The next provision of the Bill to which I would call your Lordships' attention is that contained in the 7th Clause: it empowers the Lord Lieutenant to make compensation to the personal representative, wife, parent, child, or other relative, of any person who shall be murdered within any proclaimed district; but it would appear from the terms of this clause, that the relatives of the person whose murder was the immediate occasion of the district being proclaimed, are excluded from the benefit of that provision. This, I think, would be manifestly an injustice; and I hope the noble Earl who has charge of the Bill, will consider of the propriety of making such alterations in the wording of the clause as will secure a like rule of compensation in both cases. The last provision of the Bill that I will at 1383 present notice is that contained in the 9th Clause, which provides the source from whence the advances made from the Consolidated Fund, under this Act, are to be repaid, viz. the poor rate. Now, I must entreat of the noble Earl to consider that the poor rate is already a very unpopular tax, and that to make it the medium of inflicting a penalty upon a district, would, therefore, be an act most impolitic, and add immeasurably to the danger that already attends the collection of the rate, and to the difficulty of poor-law administration in Ireland. I will not anticipate the result of the inquiry now proceeding into the operation of the Poor Law; but I will, without hesitation, say, that if the poor rate, instead of being turned to the account proposed in this Bill, were applied solely but fully to its legitimate purpose, of relieving the country from a vagrant and mendicant population, it would do much more to remedy the present state of crime in Ireland than would the Bill under your consideration; and I am decidedly of opinion that had the Poor Relief Act been duly carried out, and the masses of the population relieved from the pressure of destitution which leads so much to demoralize, alike by the effect of want, and by the contamination of bad associates, much of that crime which has called for this Bill might have been prevented. But so long as you have infesting the country a number of persons without any stake, without any interest in upholding the law, having nothing to lose and every thing to gain by its destruction—men otherwise destitute, but who prefer the craft of mendicancy, or even the wages of crime, to accepting the relief upon the terms that the State offers it; so long as you have such a vagrant population, and do not dare to meet an evil which, from its very nature, must be one of increasing magnitude—the longer a remedy is postponed, so long will one chief cause of the bloodshed that desolates Ireland continue in full operation, and the punishment of any district in which a crime occurs, may be as little deserved as if it were inflicted upon the most distant part of the country. The Amendment that I would beg to suggest for this clause of the noble Earl's Bill is, that the county cess should be substituted for the poor rate, as the source from whence advances from the Consolidated Fund should be repaid. I shall not at present make any further remarks upon the provisions of the Bill. I confess that upon the whole it does not appear to me quite what is required to meet 1384 the case: however, as it is brought in upon the responsibility of the Government as a measure necessary for the peace of the country, I shall, as a Member of this House, give it my support, but, as an Irishman, I must, at the same time, be permitted to express the pain and mortification with which I find the case of Ireland, year after year, dragged before the public in some manner or other, calculated to give a very unfavourable impression of the Irish character, and one, I must say, the very reverse of what nationally is true concerning my countrymen. The state of the country is indeed undeniable and most lamentable; but that it is referable to anything peculiarly bad in the Irish character I emphatically deny. Frightful as the state of crime is, that has grown up by a continuance of misrule, and by the operation of causes which no steps have been taken to remove. I will, nevertheless, refer even to the organization of disaffection and crime which has been this night described. I will refer to that implicit obedience which is yielded to the mandates of an usurped authority, as in itself conclusive proof that there exists in the Irish population a spirit of subordination, which a Government capable of duly fulfilling its functions should secure on the side of lawful authority. My Lords, I earnestly hope that this Bill may be productive of the good intended; but I also hope that the Government will consider of other measures also for the permanent amelioration of the condition of Ireland. I do not mean such measures as have been this evening hinted at, calculated only to catch a passing popularity by the infliction of some permanent injury to the institutions of the country; but I allude to measures that may be of lasting and essential advantage to the country, and tend to order, civilization, and happiness.
LORD CAMPBELLhad very readily given way to the noble Earl (Clancarty) whose observations, from his great information and his weight in the House, were much more deserving of attention than anything which he could offer. But at the same time he would have been sorry had the debate closed without his having had an opportunity of addressing them. He did not then wish to enter into the merits of the Bill. The state of Ireland was most deplorable: what the proper remedy for the evil might be, it was very difficult to determine; but as those who were more competent to form an opinion than he was, thought that the present was an experiment fit to be tried, he would 1385 not presume to offer it any opposition. He rose more for the purpose of entering a protest against the sentiments which had fallen from his noble and learned Friend (Lord Brougham), with respect to giving a power to the prosecutor in every case to try the defendant at any distance from his place of abode. He agreed that there might be a state of things to render such a power necessary; and if it could be shown that the country was in such a deplorable state that witnesses were deterred from giving their evidence, and the jurors intimidated, he agreed that there wonld be some necessity of abridging the liberties of the people; and a power might be given to the Executive Government to change the place of trial until a better time should be restored to the country. But he had no difficulty in stating, from his study of the law and constitution, that that would be an encroachment on the just rights and privileges of the people of England and of Ireland. He admired, and he should continue to defend, the maxim of the common law of England, that a man was to be tried in the neighbourhood of the place where the offence had been committed. It was both for the advantage of the individual, and for the advantage of the public. If a man was innocent of the crime with which he was charged, he would be much better prepared to establish his innocence amongst his neighbours and those who knew his character and his habits. Besides, the expenses of carrying the witnesses to another place, perhaps at a great distance, were very great; but he said, for the sake of the public, it was most important that the trial, the sentence, and the punishment, should take place on the spot where the crime had been committed; and if a conviction resulted, and there were in the place others who had participated in the crime, it would undoubtedly have much more influence than if it had taken place at a distant part. A man innocently accused in his own neighbourhood, might be moved to a place where opinions, religious or political, contrary to those he himself entertained, were professed; and he might be convicted of the crime which he had not committed. Should they apply that principle to Ireland, would they give a power to move a man to be tried from the north to the south of Ireland, or vice versâ from the south to the north of Ireland? He thought that that was not a power to be given to the Government. He did not mean to insinuate that the power would be 1386 abused by the present Government; but it was a power which ought not to be intrusted to any one; and he would not allow it to exist for a moment in any part of the country, unless a real case of necessity were made out. [Lord BROUGHAM: That is the law of England.] His noble and learned Friend said, and he (Lord Campbell) was surprised to hear him say it, that that was the law of England. He (Lord Campbell) deemed it was not the law of England. The law of England permitted a change in the venue, but it was always subject to the decision of the supreme Court of Queen's Bench, who could change the venue on its being shown that a fair trial could not be had in the county where the offence had been committed, and who, upon that, would change the venue to the next adjoining county, or any other county where a fair trial could be had. [Earl of WICKLOW: It is the law of Scotland.] It was the law of Scotland, certainly; and he regretted to say that the criminal law of his native country was by no means so favourable to liberty as that of England: in Scotland, until lately, the Judges selected the jury; but he thought that would hardly be recommended as an example worthy of imitation. But, further, it had been laid down by the Scotch Judges, that the Court of Justiciary had power to create a new offence, some said short of life, others said capital. He hoped, therefore, the Scotch criminal law would not be urged as a precedent to be followed. If the Government could make out a case of necessity, the measure would be justified; and as their means of information were greater than his, he would not oppose the Bill, but content himself with entering the protest he had done, and saying, that it ought to be confined to two or three years at the most.
LORD BROUGHAMexplained, that he had only said that it was the law of England in cases similar in this respect, that convictions could not be obtained, viz., smuggling cases.
§ EARL GREYsaid, that though he regretted the necessity for this measure, and thought that some of its provisions required modification, yet, in his opinion, the noble Lord who introduced it had sufficiently established a case for arming the executive Government with some additional powers. But, at the same time, he could not think the question of passing this Bill so entirely unconnected with the question of the general policy to be 1387 pursued towards Ireland as several noble Lords seemed to imagine. Let it not be for a moment forgotten that this was not the first Bill of this description which the Imperial Parliament had been called upon to pass. On the contrary, though nearly half a century had elapsed since the Union with Ireland, it would be difficult to point out any consecutive five years in which the ordinary criminal law of the country had been alone in force in Ireland. There had been a series of extraordinary laws called for and passed, giving the Executive additional powers to secure peace and tranquillity to Ireland; with what effect, the dreadful statements made by the noble Earl opposite fully showed. The result, in fact, of all this extraordinary legislation had been merely to put down acts of outrage for the time, leaving the spirit of insubordination still in operation under the surface. So, with regard to the other measure announced in reference to Ireland, and which went to provide pecuniary relief for the immediate and deplorable distress in that country; measures of this kind, also, had been repeatedly passed by the Imperial Parliament, and, as clearly appeared from the statement of the noble Earl, without effecting any permanent improvement in the condition of the Irish people. In his opinion, these very statements of the result of past measures, proved that Parliament ought not now to content itself with merely passing similar measures to those which had been formerly passed under similar emergencies. He approved of passing the required measures under the circumstances; but he held that Parliament would not do its duty to the country unless it immediately followed up these temporary measures by others which should go to the root of the evil. What those ulterior measures ought to be, the second reading of the present Bill, he would fully admit, was not the fitting moment to discuss. But this he would say, at the same time, that if before this Bill left their Lordships' House—if, before its third reading there, they did not hear from Her Majesty's Government some account of their views and intentions on this all-important subject of future Irish policy; if Her Majesty's Government were not by that time prepared to lay before their Lordships some general plan of a comprehensive and statesmanlike policy—of a measure calculated to meet the real evil and go to its very root, then, he would say, it would be, in his opinion, the duty of that 1388 House—not to delay passing the present measure, not to refuse to the Government the powers which it said were necessary, but—to come to some solemn vote which should record their opinion of the necessity of adding to this measure, other measures of a broad and comprehensive description, calculated to prevent a recurrence of the evils now sought to be remedied. So strongly was he impressed with this conviction, that if no noble Lord of longer standing in that House than himself, and with greater claims to its confidence, took the matter up, he himself, unequal as he felt he was to the task, would, on the evening when this Bill should be read a third time, feel it his duty to submit to their Lordships in some shape or other—he was not prepared at the moment to say what—a Resolution or a Motion for an Address to Her Majesty, pledging the House not to rest satisfied with this measure, or with the other measure, however good in itself, for supplying relief to the immediate distress in Ireland, but to proceed further—to look more thoroughly and deeply into the source of the many evils afflicting Ireland, and to apply, with the least possible delay, remedies commensurate with the inveteracy of the malady. With reference to the details of the Bill before them, he highly approved of that part of it which threw on the various districts in which these offences took place the burden of providing for the sufferers or their families and of providing rewards for the apprehension of the offenders. This was a happy application of a part of the social policy of the wisest of our Saxon kings. He considered it, however, most important that a measure of this kind, good and expedient though it might be, should not be passed without a limitation of its duration. With reference to the clause respectng persons being out between sunset and sunrise, he thought that ought to receive some modification.
The MARQUESS of WESTMEATHsaid, in reference to the observations of the noble Marquess (Clanricarde) about the powers of local magistrates, that he was old enough to remember former Coercion Acts. When proposals were made for their renewal, charges were brought against the magistrates of Ireland by the parties who were opposed to the measure, that they availed themselves of the power of transportation conferred by these Acts, to get rid of persons whose lives were in leases, by the dropping of which the magistrates would benefit. Now, he wished to say, on 1389 behalf of the magistrates, that he was certain they would be well pleased to be relieved of these extraordinary powers altogether; and that the power of putting the law in force should be left altogether in the hands of the Lord Lieutenant and the Executive. With these observations he cordially concurred in the provisions of the measure.
§ Bill read 2a.
§ House adjourned.