STATE OF IRELAND.

HL Deb 03 August 1848 vol 100 cc1098-112

LORD BROUGHAM

Said, that in pursuance of the notice which he had given, although it was not in the Notice-paper, he rose to move— That humble to Address be presented to Her Majesty for Copy of any proclamation issued by The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, for the Apprehension of Persons charged with treasonable Offences. There was no opposition to this Motion; but, in moving it, he wished to take the opportunity, before the Session closed, of offering a few observations on a subject of the highest importance, namely, the present disturbed state of the sister country. He thought that this most preposterous movement—this most unjustifiable breach of the law—this outrage upon the public peace—dictated, to all appearance, by misguided enthusiasm on the part of some misled people, but by personal vanity on the part of others—that this rebellion, for the first time become not merely detestable, but oven more contemptible than detestable, because it seemed to have arisen, not from ambition, but from more personal vanity—that this most monstrous violation of social order had reached its end for the present, and that the vigorous exertions of the law by the lawful authorities of that country would prevent it from breaking out again, at least for a season. And if any one thing could give more confidence than another of this happy result being attained, it would be the appointment, the wise and judicious appointment, of Sir Henry Hardinge. [A Noble LORD: Lord Hardinge.] He begged pardon—Lord Hardinge; but it was very natural to refer to the name which had been illustrated by deeds of such transcendent excellence as that which had marked the career of that eminent person, rather than to the title by which he had been in some small degree compensated for those illustrious achievements. And when he (Lord Brougham) said that great commendation was due to his noble Friend (the Duke of Wellington) for having made so judicious a selection, and to the Government for having adopted it, he ought to add that great commendation was also due to that great captain for having undertaken the service; for, coming as it were from under the shade of those laurels under which he was seeking the blessing of that repose he had so well earned, and putting himself in a position which must be anything rather than gratifying to a British soldier to fill. Lord Hardinge had shown another instance of that self-denial which had marked his whole course, and had afforded a marvellous contrast and a memorable example to those wretched persons against whom he had to act; for, not consulting his personal glory, his ambition, or his love of fame, he had taken a secondary command under an excellent officer, Sir Edward Blakeney, now in chief command of the forces in Ireland; he had shown that he belonged to the school of his noble and illustrious Friend; and, in imitation of his noble Friend's example, he looked not who was leader on his right or on his left when he had a public duty to discharge, but at once and instantly sacrificed all personal considerations for the good of his country. Of him it might be justly said, as had been said of another great man in ancient times—Plurimum audaciœ ad capessenda pericula, plurimum in ipsis periculis constantiœ et concilii. He (Lord Brougham) had a right to consider it of the greatest consequence that Lord Hardinge would give the advantage of his assistance in council to the head of the Irish Government; so that the noble Lord would not have gone over to that country in vain, although matters might have been decided before his arrival there. But, though the disturbance was over for the present, he (Lord Brougham) was by no means prepared to be lulled into a state of absolute security in respect to the future. He did not see reason to believe that all this mass of wickedness and folly and discontent which had for so long a time been suffered to collect and ultimately ferment till it had broken out into something like a flame, could all of a sudden be extinguished and reduced to order; or that the parties to it could be speedily reckoned among the peaceful population of the country. Circumstances might still require the continuance of a firm administration of those new powers which had been conferred upon the Irish Government; and he confidently believed that neither their Lordships nor the country would have reason to complain of the manner in which those powers would be used. Though he did not wish to reflect upon the past, yet, with a view to the future, and to gather from the past a guide for their future conduct, he could not avoid casting his eye back a little to what was said to be the cause of this incipient rebellion. No doubt one could not erase from one's memory all the events of latter years, as one might, as it were, the figures from a slate, after the balance had been cast up and the account finally settled. He feared that the accounts were as yet not finally settled; and it was that fear which placed him under the necessity, for a minute or two of referring to the figures which had led to the present unhappy result. Now, he would say nothing of the long series of misgovernment under which Ireland, by all Administrations, had been suffered to linger, and by which its march towards prosperity had been retarded. He would say nothing of its religious dissensions, or of the peculiar circumstances of the landowners, or of the peasantry of Ireland, though he owned he had heard with the greatest satisfaction the result of the Committee which had been presided over by his noble Friend opposite (Lord Monteagle)—he meant the Colonisation Committee. He believed that their Lordships could not better employ themselves during the ensuing vacation than in studying the evidence and the reports of that Committee. They would find in those reports suggestions of a practical nature. The subject of colonisation was not new to him (Lord Brougham), for he believed that forty-eight years had elapsed since he had first given his attention to it. Although he had been a Member of the Committee, and felt a very deep interest in the subject, he had been unable to attend more than once or twice, as he had other business of importance to attend to; but, if he had been able to have been present, he should have found presented to his mind very important suggestions on the subject of emigration. This subject of colonisation, as the noble Lord opposite (Lord Monteagle) well knew had occupied his attention, not merely of late years, but long since he had carefully considered the matter. They proposed to deal with one of the most important parts of colonisation. The question was not as to mere emigration, but as to the proper' course to be taken by the mother country to people the colonies. He thought that the labours of the Committee would throw great light on the path they ought to pursue, and would enable them to proceed to a safe and practical end. He would refer to one difficulty with which they would have to contend. This country had colonies with immense resources, and fertile regions in Australia, and all but boundless regions of the finest land in North America, with a most scanty and inefficient population; and, as was said by his lamented friend the former Governor of our possessions in that part of the world, he meant the late Earl of Durham, who said in his report that the unoccupied lands in Canada were far more fertile than the fertile lands adjacent to them in the United States. To cultivate and to turn to account all these boundless regions, and to take advantage of rich domains which were hardly limited in extent, and by numerous rivers and harbours most admirably adapted for the purposes of commerce—to take advantage of all these resources, the bad a most scanty and insufficient population. He would merely refer to one fact which had come; out before the Committee, and with which I his noble Friend opposite must be well acquainted. What would the House think when he stated that it had been found on undoubted evidence that in Australia 900,000 sheep, or somewhere near a million of sheep, had been obliged to be sacrificed and put to death, in consequence of the impossibility of the inhabitants to find; a sufficient number of shepherds to tend their flocks. If he had wished for an illustration to show the wants of the colonies in this respect, and if he spoke for hours on the subject, he could not give a more striking proof of the necessity of his proposition, namely, that every safe and proper means should be taken for increasing the population of the colonies. It was clear to demonstration that the influx of labour into the colonies would not only make them flourish, but it would also be attended with the influx of capital into them; for where there was a want of labour it was impossible that capital to any considerable extent could flow thereto. But do not let it for a moment be imagined that there were not difficulties in connexion with the question of emigration; on the contrary there were very great difficulties to be contended with. He would mention one or two of them. They wanted to remove from the mother country a portion of the excess of population to the colonies, in order to do good both to the mother country and the colonies; but, unhappily, it did so chance that the very sort of people whom the colonies most wanted, were the very sort of people whom the mother country wished the least to spare. It was not the desire of the mother country to send out to the colonies a number of dissolute, lazy, and idle persons, who nevertheless really formed the excess of her population; she did not wish to send out criminals, that they might repeat their offences in the colonies. No such thing. On the other hand, the mother country did not want to send away the industrious and the honest; for it was the bad she wanted to get rid of, and not the good. Here, then, was the difficulty; but he could not help expressing his fervent hope that a real remedy for the evils under which Ireland had long laboured, would be found in a judicious application, as far as was possible, of those principles of colonisation which had been, at length recommended by a Committee of their Lordships' House, He would not dwell further upon this point; but he could not dismiss the subject on which he had been addressing their Lordships without saying that there were evils in the present unnatural state of ire-land—a state now becoming, he feared, habitual to the people—which he apprehended they had treated too mildly in the beginning. They had allowed things to go on under the notion—and a very laudable notion—of not interfering with the right of the people to meet in public and discuss their grievances. They were afraid to trespass upon the right of discussion, or what was now called, by a new technology, agitation, which he (Lord Brougham) understood in a mocker and milder sense to mean only discussion, but which in the stronger and major sense meant something like resistance. Constant meetings were held, and addresses made to large popular assemblies in different places, varying only in character as to their days of meeting, but forming in reality only one body, and all agreeing in one bad spirit. These things were allowed to go on, week after week, and year after year, as if there were so many Parliaments sitting in Dublin, Cork, and Limerick, at the same time. The meetings were held under various pretences; sometimes electioneering, and at other times for discussion, but at all times for agitation. Their Lordships had allowed all this to go on until it had come to pass that there was now one Parliament sitting hero by law in London, and another Parliament sitting in Dublin, if not contrary to law, certainly in such a way as to lead to, and tending, peradventure, to a breach of the law. That was what had been going on year after year, for purposes of agitation and organisation. Then, again, a revenue had been raised by these popular bodies. He would remind them of what occurred with respect to some of the Whig leaders in the years 1794, 1795, and 1796, at the time Mr. Pitt was Minister. A loyal subscription was raised for the purpose of aiding the Government in carrying on the war, when his much-lamented friend, the late Lord Grey, and Mr. Fox, moved resolutions in the other House, that it was con tray to law and the constitution to raise money for such purposes without the consent of Parliament. What would Mr. Fox have said, when he declared that it was illegal to raise funds for the purpose of aiding the Government, if he had found that money, under the name of rent, was raised, not to aid the Government, but to put it down; not to preserve the peace of the country, but to break it; not to suppress the French Revolution, but to produce a revolution nearer home? Those arguments against raising money by such means would have derived very considerable weight from the nature of the purposes for which it was raised. This illegal Parliament in Ireland, then, had gone on borrowing money, not for the purpose of giving alms or relieving distress, but for purposes the most dangerous to the peace of society. These proceedings had been allowed to be carried on against the constituted authority of Parliament, and the authors of this agitation had been permitted to carry on these proceedings to the extent of open rebellion. When they suffered men to sow such dangerous seeds, such must they expect they would reap. The result had been that the whole country—at least, if not universally yet topically all over the country, had talked of open rebellion. They had proceeded to make the peasantry soldiers to war against the Government, and they had openly discussed the right to resist the Government with arms. These proceedings had been allowed to go on to a most dangerous extent. On this point he felt bound to observe that he had never, in the whole course of his life, read with more unfeigned and unmixed astonishment any document which had emanated from any public servant, than he read the letter of Mr. Labouchere, telling the Irish people that it was their right to carry arras under the circumstances which he mentioned. Their right to carry arms! Who doubted it? Not only was it the right of every subject to carry arms, but even resistance was their right, and might in some cases become their duty. But who would preach that doctrine in a country full of agitation? Who would give advice that resistance was a right, to a people who were all but arrayed in rebellion against the Government? Who but a driveller or a madman? Led away by his own feelings in admiration of that maxim, the right hon. Gentleman had suffered himself to use language most ill-timed and most ill-placed. Well, having come to this state of things, what was to be done? He did not suppose the spirit of insurrection was yet put down. It was hot enough that the leaders had for a time been subdued. The rebel chief might be prosecuted for horse-stealing, and might suffer for it as others had done, for aught he (Lord Brougham) knew. He might be held up to that ridicule which he had brought upon himself and upon his cause. But that ridicule he (Lord Brougham) must look over— —Hi joci seria ducunt In mala. He must look to what might come from abler chiefs. Their Lordships might hear of no more outrage; but the agitators would not be quiet. They would have recourse to secret meeting, and to a system of clubs. Such was his entire belief; and he, therefore, tendered that suggestion respectfully and in a friendly spirit to the Government; and earnestly advised them to consider the propriety of speedily taking stops by legislation, if the law was not at present sufficient, but, if sufficient, then by executing the law to prevent those secret meetings and that system of clubs. When he saw that fifteen proclamations had been issued—that eight counties and parts of seven other counties, comprising the most important portion of Ireland, had been proclaimed, he could not help considering how much the existence of clubs had contributed to bringing about this state of disturbance. The measure which had received their Lordships' sanction, and which was commonly called the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, was, in his opinion a most important preventive measure; but, as Burke had observed long ago, it was a necessary evil of all preventive measures that, although of all others the best, ah though of all others the most beneficial, they always lacked somewhat of evidence in their justification; that, just in proportion to their being effectual for their object, the mischief they were intended to prevent never rose to our sight—we never saw the cause which justified them. On this side of the water he felt convinced that no objection would be urged against this enactment, and he was sure that it would be found most beneficial in aiding in the restoration of tranquillity. Even if no such measure had passed, he did not expect that anything like a convulsion hading to a dismemberment of the empire would have taken place; but still there could be no doubt but that a great deal of bloodshed and a great deal of misery would have resulted, above all to innocent persons, not merely to the dupes of the traitorous parties, but to others who would have no share whatever in the disturbances that would take place. He had thrown out a suggestion the other day to his noble Friend, which he hoped would be taken into consideration by the Government, with respect to the inconvenience of a long prorogation of Parliament at such a period as the present. He bad made the suggestion, because he knew what the effect would be of Parliament sitting, and of those evil-minded persons knowing that a few hours Could only pass over before the Legislature interposed, with whatever powers might be necessary to put down any attempt at disturbances that they might perpetrate, Before sitting down, he wished to say one word as to what had taken place with respect to the passing of the last measure of coercion. Their Lordships had a Standing Order which prevented any measure from going though more than one stage in a single day. That Standing Order might he dispensed with; but that they had unfortunately the Standing Order, No. 104, which required that no Standing Order of their Lordships' House could be dispensed with without one day's notice. The resolution which their Lordships had come to on Monday week was, therefore, in effect, that whereas one Standing Order provided that no Bill be passed through more than one stage in any day, and another Standing Order provided that no Standing Order of the House be rescinded without twenty-four hours' notice; be it therefore ordered that the Lord Chancellor shall put the question three or four times over in one sitting. He thought that a rather absurd non sequitur to arrive at; and as there could be no doubt but that it might he necessary to pass to measure through all its stages at a single sitting, he was of opinion that the Standing Order No. 104 ought not to be continued. In 1794 Mr. Pitt passed his measure through all its stages in a single day; and again, when the mutiny broke out in 1798, a similar course was adopted. Again, in 1803, when the news arrived of the massacre of Lord Kilwarden in Dublin, a Bill similar to that lately adopted by their Lordships was passed through all its stages, in both Houses of Parliament, in a single night. If the Government had asked their Lordships to adjourn for one hour on Saturday, until the Bill had passed through the other House of Parliament, and if they had adopted the Precaution of having the Court in town, the measure might have been sent over to Dublin on Saturday night, and thus certain disaffected persons might have been arrested before they could have had time to leave the city. Having thus directed the attention of their Lordships and of the Government to those topics, and more especially to the necessity of suppressing the club organisation, and with a cordial hope that they would hear no move for the present of rebellion in Ireland, he would beg to move for the production of the papers to which he had already alluded.

The EARL of WICKLOW

said, that as his noble and learned Friend had alluded to the fact of seven or eight counties in Ireland having been recently proclaimed, be wished to offer a few words of explanation with respect to one of these counties (Wicklow), with which he was more immediately connected. It was quite true that there were several counties in Ireland guilty of rebellion and disaffection; but he could answer for that county, that it was not from any danger of disturbances there that the Government had found it necessary to proclaim it. The accounts which he had received from various quarters convinced him that the county of Wicklow was perfectly free from all disturbance; but from the circumstance of its being adjacent to the county of Dublin, the Government found it necessary to place the whole or a portion of it under proclamation, in order to prevent arms from being removed there from Dublin. He agreed with his noble and learned Friend, that the insurrection had been suppressed in Ireland. In common with every person who resided in that country, he rejoiced at that circumstance; but what gave him the greatest gratification was, to find that the disturbances had been put down by the people of that country themselves. If the insurrection had been put down by the military force, if one of Her Majesty's regiments had come into contact with the rebels, and put them to flight, the inference would prevail here that the people of Ireland were not able to compote with the Saxon; but now they had the gratification of knowing that the insurgents had been put down by the people of Ireland themselves—by people of the same country and of the same religion as those who were arrayed against them. He had always regarded the police force of Ireland as one of the most useful and best organised bodies in existence; and he had again to congratulate their Lordships on this additional and striking instance of their fidelity and efficiency.

The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNE

It is not my intention to offer any objection to the Motion of my noble and learned Friend, or to follow him into any of the details or incidental remarks with which he has introduced it to the House; but still I feel it to be necessary to make some few observations, after what has fallen from him on this occasion. In the first place, although I am enabled, from all the information that has reached mc on the subject, decidedly to concur in the opinion of my noble and learned Friend, that this insurrection—if it deserves that name—is practically at an end; and that, whether owing to the incapacity or the cowardice of the leaders, the attempt to excite the people to violence has signally failed—although I concur fully in that opinion, still I feel bound to say that I do not on that account think that there ought to be an entire cessation of that apprehension or that alarm which the atrocious attempts of these parties were calculated to create, or a return to that confident assurance on the part of the Government which would warrant a suspension of the precautionary measures that have been recently adopted. These measures, which every circumstance connected with the safety and welfare of this country has for some time called for, are in my opinion necessary now as much as ever. Let it not be supposed that because the means—the atrocious means—adopted to foment this insurrection have shown themselves to be powerless for any effectual result, or for any good which these promoters of rebellion might have proposed to themselves, by establishing a republic in that country—let it not therefore be supposed that they may not have had, and may not still have, a power to effect an amount of mischief calculated to create alarm—that these means, although insufficient to accomplish the ends which the promoters had in view, may not still be sufficient to disturb and unsettle the country. I therefore, think that my noble and learned Friend has taken a correct view of the state of public affairs in Ireland when he has admonished Her Majesty's Government, and admonished Parlialiament, not to relax in their attention to the condition of that country. I take this opportunity of stating that while, as my noble and learned Friend well knows, Her Majesty's Government have at this moment been enabled, by an Act of extraordinary character—but not more extraordinary than the nature of the occasion fully called for—to exorcise a great power in controlling dangerous individuals in that country, that still—and more on this subject I will not, however, now say—it may become necessary, oven before the close of this Session of Parliament, to renew an Act which my noble and learned Friend is perhaps aware expires about this time, and which it has been customary to renew from time to time for a certain number of years, for the purpose of putting down unlawful associations and secret oaths in Ireland. I will venture to assert that not one of your Lordships will doubt the expediency of renewing that Act at its expiration towards the close of this Session; and I am likewise inclined to the opinion that when it is submitted for your approval it may be a question deserving the consideration of this and of the other House of Parliament whether some addition and amendment may not be made to it. I do not know that it is necessary for me, on the present occasion, to say more as to what has passed in Ireland. My Lords, there is now a pause in the opposition to Her Majesty's Government in that country; but as the insurrection has come to a sort of head within the last fort-night, I confess that I feel some satisfaction in feeling that it has manifested itself with sufficient distinctness to prove in the minds, not only of the people of this country, but of all mankind—the utter, the abominable falsehood of the reports circulated in that country, and which made a part of the stock of policy made use of by these rebels, in endeavouring to bring their guilty desires to pass—that nut only Her Majesty's soldiery were affected with a disloyal spirit, and were not to be depended upon in the event of a conflict, but also that the police in that country were similarly disaffected. The unfounded nature of that charge has been very properly referred to by my noble Friend behind me (the Earl of Wicklow). I perfectly concur in what he has stated; and I know that from those best acquainted practically with the character of that body, the assertion that the police force was in the slightest degree affected by a spirit of disloyalty met from the first with the most decisive refutation. No man who considers every act done by that body, individually or collectively—for there have been instances of individual loyalty, and judgment, and devotion, as remarkable as those which have distinguished the force when acting together—but must admit, that on every occasion when they have been brought into action, the most unequivocal proof has been afforded that on that body—composed as it is of Protestants and Catholics, and persons of all denominations and parties—the fullest reliance can be placed—that they are conscious of the duty which they have to perform, and are determined to adhere to it. With regard to the observations which my noble and learned Friend has made as to the expediency of not proroguing Parliament, or at all events of keeping parliament within reach, in the event of these unfortunate affairs taking a different turn from what we hope and have justly reason to expect will be the result, I may say, that it is not the intention of Her Majesty's Government to prorogue Parliament for more than a short time in the first instance; for although it is probable that no state of things may arise which would require that Parliament should be assembled in any short time, I think it necessary that we should have an opportunity of calling Parliament together if occasion requires, My noble and learned Friend has alluded to causes affecting the state of the population of Ireland, and to the necessity of promoting emigration. I entirely agree with my noble and learned Friend as to the importance of this subject. It is one that is surrounded by difficulties; but these difficulties ought to be considered with a view of their being partially, if not entirely got rid of; and the subject, I can assure my noble and learned Friend, is one that will engage the attention of Her Majesty's Government.

The EARL of DESART

said, that if it had not been for the treason-mongers connected with the Irish press, and the dissemination of treasonable speeches and writings, the present dangerous state of things would never have arisen; and he could not but help thinking that the Government ought to have adopted some steps to prevent these practices at an earlier period. He had seen, in March last, that one of these treasonable meetings had been held in Kilkenny, at which three of the principal speakers were magistrates, and one of these persons, Dr. Cane, declared that he was ready to head the rebels; and if he fell in battle, he demanded that the city of Kilkenny should feed and clothe his family. These persons all still held Her Majesty's commission of the peace; and Dr. Cane presented the anomaly of having that commission while he was at the same time lying as a felon in a prison, He thought that if proper steps had been taken in time, the rebellion would not have assumed the importance which would seem to have attached to it from the fact of the late Governor General of India having been sent over to take the command of the troops engaged in putting it down.

The DUKE of WELLINGTON

Al-though it appears to me to be agreed upon on all sides on this occasion, from what has fallen from your Lordships, that the danger which has occurred in Ireland is not likely to occur again, and that there is no probability of an immediate outbreak, or indeed of any outbreak at all, in consequence of the measures that have been taken by the authorities, and in consequence of the good conduct of those bodies that have been referred to by my noble Friend who spoke from the second bench (the Earl of Wick-low), and which is certainly beyond all praise; although, I say, it appears that there is no probability of any other outrage taking place at any period, still I think it appears to be agreed by all your Lordships who have spoken on this occasion—and I entreat of all your Lordships to reflect on this state of things—that a conspiracy still exists throughout Ireland—that bodies secretly formed, bodies among whom there is a secret combination, bodies trained in some degree in arms, bodies bound together by a description of organisation that can be turned to military purposes—that these bodies do exist in the country, that they require the anxious observation and attention of the Government, and that Government must still continue in a state of preparation to resist all the consequences that may result from the existence of such bodies in that country, under the management and direction of those who have already occasioned this outbreak, which we all rejoice has been so easily put down. My Lords, I am happy to learn that Her Majesty's Government will continue to attend to the existence of these bodies, and that they intend to consider the propriety of introducing further measures to prevent the recurrence of such evils as have taken place in future; and if possible to guard against a repetition of such conspiracies and combinations throughout that country as have obliged this country to make such efforts in order to put down these evil consequences. My Lords, in this contest I am convinced your Lordships will trust to Her Majesty's Government to do everything that is called for, and that you will agree in the adoption of such measures as they may think necessary until the evils of which we complain disappear altogether.

LORD MONTEAGLE

said, that he would offer a very few words on this question; but he wished to observe, in reference to what had been said by the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Desart), that if any complaint was to be made of the conduct of the Government, for having confined themselves within legitimate bounds, they were only entitled now to greater confidence in the measures that they thought necessary to recommend to Parliament. But the measure of proclaiming the county Wicklow and other peaceable places, in order to prevent their being made receptacles for the arms removed from disturbed districts, proved the inefficiency of the law. Every one at all acquainted with Ireland knew that the arming of the peasantry had been going on during the last two years as regularly as the arming of the dockyard battalions. And the consequence of the mode of operation of the Act had been, that the respectable classes had been deprived of their arms by the turbulent; whilst those who ought not to have been allowed to be possessed of arms, could not be interfered with by the authorities, except in the proclaimed districts. In his (Lord Monteagle's) own district, he did not know one person of respectable position in life, who was entitled to have arms, who had not been despoiled of them by the turbulent peasantry. But surely, if they allowed the house of every well-disposed person to be broken into by the turbulent, whilst they deprived the magistrates of the power of examining the houses of the disaffected, it was a great anomaly in their legislation. Now, whilst they had military possession of Ireland, the work most required to be done was to get possession of all the arms in Ireland. They should not bring in an Arms Act of a temporary nature. They should not have discussions upon the subject every second or third year. They should at once make the deprivation of arms, or at least the restricted possession of arms, in Ireland, a permanent Act. Before he sat down, he should say that be entirely concurred in the observations made by his noble and learned Friend (Lord Brougham) upon the subject of colonisation; and he should also say, that, although they had beard from the highest authority that the rebellion was at an end, and that it had been put down by the noble conduct of the constabulary, he yet thought they should not treat the outbreak too lightly. They might feel assured that it had been prevented from exhibiting any great force by the means that had been adopted to put it down; for surely no one would venture to say that it could have been suppressed by the constabulary alone, without the strong military force that had been prepared to assist them. His noble and learned Friend had alleged on a former occasion to the alleged sympathy exhibited in the United States for the Irish insurgents; and had stated, the addition of some of those rebel orators might add much to the excitement in their favour. But he (Lord Monteagle) had reason to know, that at the time of the prevention of the apprehended outbreak in London, in April last, there was no nation on the face of the earth that felt greater delight at the manner in which it had been put down than the soundest portion of the citizens of the United States.

Motion agreed to.

House adjourned.