close to his head,) he withdrew, and let down the window; that foon after examinant faw the barracks on fire, and heard the foldiers exclaim, "The house is on fire: We shall be burned or fuffocated: We can fight no longer !" That foon after examinant faw the roof of faid barrack fall in. Examinant faith, that the faid rebels, whofe numbers had encreased so much as to fill the streets of Profperous aforefaid, and to cover the adjacent fields, on the falling in of the roof of faid barrack, gave many fhouts, which feemed to rend the skies, and made this examinant and his family thrill with horror; that the faid rebels exclaimed, that the day was their own, and they would then plant the tree of liberty. Examinant faith, that the faid rebels knocked at his door, and defired to have it opened, expecting to find there a party of foldiers, who had been billetted there a fhort time before, and Mr. Stamers, who had lodged therein when he went to receive his rents, as part of the town of Profperous aforefaid belonged to the faid Stamers. Examinant faith, that as the faid rebels approached his house in a large body, fix of them preceded the reft, mounted on fome of the horses which they had taken that morning from the Ancient Britons at Profperous aforefaid; that examinant, as foon as he came out of his door, was furrounded by a party of the faid rebels, who prefented their pikes at him, and who he expected, from the ferocity of their looks, would inftantly have put him to death; that one of said rebels held a mufket at examinant's breaft, with his finger on the trigger; that another of the faid rebels, who was a turf cutter, held a drawn sword over examinant's head; and examinant verily believes, they would have inftantly put him to death, but a young man in the crowd, who feemed to have fome influence, interpofed, beat down the musket which was presented at his breast, and said, they should not kill him. Examinant faith, that he knew many of the faid rebels to whom he and his family had been very kind; that foon after the faid rebels went in queft of the faid Stamers, who lodged at some distance from the faid town; that having feized him, the faid Stamers, they led him through the street, by examinant's houfe, furrounded by a number of pikemen, while a low fellow held a pistol at his head. Examinant faith, that as he paffed by the house of examinant, he, the faid Stamers, caft a melancholy farewell look at examinant and his family; that foon after the faid rebels maffacred the faid Stamers. Examinant faith, that that foon after he went out, with an intention of enquiring for his friend Mr. Norris, an inhabitant of Profperous aforefaid; and that before examinant had gone far, he was again furrounded by the faid rebels, who, he verily believes, would have put him to death but for the interference of the person who had faved him before. Examinant faith, he difcovered foon after that Mr. Brewer, a refpectable manufacturer of faid town, who had employed many of the faid rebels, had been maffacred by them, and that his body had been mangled with favage barbarity. Examinant faith, that they also maffacred a poor old man, of the age of feventy years, and upwards, who ferved as a ferjeant in his majesty's forces, having confidered him as an orangeman, though examinant is convinced in his mind that the only reafon why the faid rebels murdered the faid ferjeant was his being a proteftant. Examinant faith, that when the faid rebels had committed the faid barbarities, they exclaimed with favage joy, "Where are the hereticks now? Shew us the face of an orangeman!" Examinant faith, that many women who were acting with the faid rebels ufed expreflions of that tenor, as often and as loud as the men; and that fome old women who were amongst them, seemed to brighten up on the occafion, and to fhew as much fervent joy as the youngest amongst them: That fome of the faid women kiffed and congratulated their fathers, their husbands, or their brothers, on the victory they gained, and exclaimed with joy, "The kingdom is our own, for Dublin and Naas have been taken, and are in poffeffion of our friends-down with the hercticks down with the orangemen !" Examinant faith, that many of the wretches who had been actors in that bloody scene, had come into the town of Profperous aforefaid the preceding day, and in the prefence of captain Swayne, of the city of Cork militia, (whom with a party of his regiment, they had maffacred that morning, viz. the twentyfourth of May,) and alfo in the prefence of their parish prieft, of the name of Higgins, had declared their contrition for their paft errors, and gave the strongest assurance of their loyalty in future; that many of the faid rebels furrendered their pikes to the faid Swayne; and as fuch fur- . render was confidered as a teft of their repentance, and as neceffary to entitle them to a written protection, numbers of them lamented that they could not obtain fuch protection, as they never had a pike; and that many of them declared, they would fell their cow to purchase a pike, if they VOL. II. knew knew where it could be bought. Examinant faith, that notwithstanding thefe declarations, many of the faid rebels appeared in the rebel ranks, well armed with pikes. Examinant faith, he is convinced in his mind that the faid rebels would have plundered and burned all the other loyal houses of Profperous aforefaid, and would have murdered the remaining proteftant inhabitants thereof, but that a patrol of the Ancient Britons and the city of Cork militia, being a part of the detachment they had murdered that morning, unexpectedly approached the town; and that the faid rebels, on their appearance, fled towards the bogs and moraffes. Examinant faith, he could not refrain from fhedding tears at feeing such scenes of favage barbarity; and that a fervant who continued faithful to him, defired him not to fhew any figns of concern, left he might draw on him the anger and 'vengeance of the rebels. THOMAS DAVIS. Szvorn before me, the 16th of September, 1798, THOMAS FLEMING, lord mayor of the city of Dublin. The affaffination of Mrs. Dale. WHEN the general infurrection took place in the county of Kildare, on the 24th of May, 1798, Patrick Dowling, a rebel captain, having affembled his corps, difpatched a party to bring before him Jofeph Dale, who lived at a short diftance from Dowling's habitation. Dale being a proteftant, and dreading the fate of perfons of the fame perfuafion, came very reluctantly. He was then informed, that he and his wife would be put to death, unless he joined Dowling's party, which he confented to do, on obtaining a promife that his wife fhould fuffer no injury. Dale, on marching by his own door with the rebel party, perceived his wife in tears, which was the last time he saw her alive. Dowling and his party having marched towards Athy, in order to attack it, were fuddenly intimidated, and immediately difperfed, on feeing captain Rawfon and his loyal Athy yeomanry, confifting of proteftants, advancing towards them. Dale, on returning to his own house, found it open, and the floor covered with blood. His fears fuggefted what had happened; for, on going to the garden behind his houfe, he faw the earth newly turned up; and on removing part part of it, he discovered the mangled body of his unfortunate wife. It was proved on the trial of Elizabeth Byrne, James Byrne her fon, Mary Dowling, the wife of captain Dowling, with Winifred and Elizabeth Dowling, her daughters, held at Naas, at the Lent affizes, 1801, for that county, that Mary Dowling had addreffed a number of women who had collected at her house, and informed them, that they must go murder Catherine Dale, the orange whore. Upon which they affembled a number of boys, and, on entering the houfe, found the deceafed with a prayer-book in her hand. James Byrne knocked her down. with the churn-ftaff; on which Elizabeth Byrne dragged her body out of the house into the road, where she was stoned to death by the boys, who were fupplied with ftones for that purpose by the women. These facts were proved by two of the boys, who were thus employed in this barbarous murder. They were, at the time of giving their evidence, not more than fourteen years old; and, confequently, at the time of the murder, they could have been but eleven. They underwent a long and ftrict cross-examination, and yet were perfectly confiftent even in the moft minute circumftances. They were afked by the learned and humane judge Downes, why they joined in murdering Mrs. Dale? and they answered, becaufe fhe was a proteftant. Their evidence was confirmed by a poor proteftant yeoman, who had efcaped from the rebels, and lay concealed behind a hedge, and by another man, whom Elizabeth Byrne compelled to bury the body of the deceased, under a threat of reporting him as a cowardly rafcal to the rebels, if he dared to refufe. These wretches met the fate which their crimes deferved, having been convicted and hanged. No. XVI. 1. The following addrefs to the inhabitants of the county of Wicklow was printed and generally diftributed: WE, the magiftrates of the county of Wicklow, after the most serious deliberation, the moft correct information, and the most cautious delay, have at length considered it as our indifpenfable duty, to have recourfe to the ftrong measure of proclaiming the county to be in a ftate of difturbance, as the only means to crush the feeds of rebellion, to reprefs outrage, and to protect innocence. It is with extreme reluctance that we find ourselves thus compelled to impose a temporary restraint, in some particulars, on the freedom of the inhabitants: But this restraint will ceafe with the occafion; and will, by preventing its abufe, ferve the cause of real liberty. The impartial judg ment of the publick, when the prefent ferment shall be fufficiently fubfided to permit calm and difpaffionate reflection, will bear teftimony to the moderation of our conduct-And we appeal to the Searcher of Hearts for the purity of our intentions. During the course of feveral months, we have held repeated meetings; at which we received too certain proofs that a fpirit of difaffection had been diffufed through the county; that feditious meetings were held, and illegal arms concealed. We held our repeated warnings, that unless thofe arms were furrendered to the magiftrates, and those feditious practices defifted from, it would be incumbent on us to pursue measures of rigour. The event has not been fuch as we had reafon to expect; the fame difloyal conduct has been continued, with the addition of many atrocious inftances of violence and outrage. While any hope remained that thefe outrages were cafual and local, and not the effects of a fyftematick plan of plunder and infurrection, we hefitated-we endeavoured to conciliate-we deferred perhaps beyond the bounds of propriety this act of neceffary feverity: We are now called upon by every motive of prudence and duty to adopt it; and having adopted, we fhall vigorously and fteadily fupport it. But while the arm of justice is thus strengthened, let it be remembered, that it is only ftrengthened to crufh the traitor, to punish the affaffin, to reftrain the plunderer. In no point are the rights of the peaceful and honeft man infringed: No perfon can fall under the cenfure of the infurrection laws, or feel their vengeance, but fuch as difturb the peace of the publick; fuch as confpire the deftruction of the innocent; and fuch as, forgetting their facred duty to the country which gave them birth, endeavour to entail on it all the miferies of civil war, of foreign invafion, of defolation and maffacre; and to proftrate its honour and independence at the feet of an infolent enemy, who have treated with equal tyranny the countries they have conquered, and the countries. they have feduced. Let us therefore implore you by every thing facred, as you refpect religion, as you regard your unhappy country, as you value your domeftick happiness, awake, ere yet |