No. III.-PAGE 46...

Speech of Theobald Wolfe Tone,

To the Court-Martial, assembled to pass sentence on his life.

Saturday, Nov. 10, 1798.

Mr. Tone was made prisoner on board the French ship of war the Hoche. A former Court-Martial had been named, but was dissolved by the lord-lieutenant, as there were several officers appointed, whose regiment were under sailing orders, On the day of the trial, the doors of the Dublin Barracks, where the court met, were at a very early hour beset by an immense crowd of all descriptions of persons, who, as soon as they were open, rushed in,

TONE appeared in the uniform of a chief of brigade. The firmness and serenity of his deportment, made even his bitterest enemies feel the greatness of his mind.

The judge advocate informed the prisoner, that the lord lieutenant had established this court-martial, to try whether he had acted traitorously and hostilely against his majesty, to whom, as a natural-born subject, he owed allegiance. And he was called upon to plead guilty or not guilty.

Tone.-I shall not give the court any useless trouble, I admit the facts alleged, and only ask leave to read an address which I have prepared for this occasion.

Colonel Daly-Warned the prisoner, that in admitting the facts, he necessarily admitted, to his own prejudice, the having acted treasonably against the king.

Tone-Stripping this charge of its technical forms, it

means, I presume, that I have been taken in arms against the soldiers of the king in my native country. I admit the accusation in its utmost extent, and desire nothing further than to give my reasons.

The Court-Was willing to hear him, provided he confined himself within the limits of moderation.

Tone.-Mr. President and gentlemen of the court-martial, I do not mean that you should waste your time in proving, according to law, that I have borne arms against the king's government in Ireland; I admit the fact. From my tenderest youth I have considered the union of Ireland with Great-Britain as the scourge of the Irish nation. And that the people of this country can have neither happiness nor freedom whilst that connection endures. Every day's experience, and every fact that arose, convinced me of this truth; and I resolved, if I could, to separate the two countries. But as I knew Ireland could not of herself, throw off the yoke, I sought for help wherever I could find it.

Content in honorable poverty, I have refused offers, which to one in my circumstances, might seem magnificent. I remained faithful to the cause of my country, and looked for an ally in the French Republic, to free three millions of my countrymen from

Here he was interrupted by the President and Judge Advocate, who observed that this discourse tended not to justify himself so much as to inflame the minds of certain men (United Irishmen) of whom doubtless numbers were present.

Tone.-Unconnected with every party in the republic, without protector, money or intrigue, the frankness and integrity of my views soon raised me to a distinguished

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rank in the French army. I enjoyed the confidence of the government, the approbation of my general, and I dare assert it, the esteem of my brave comrades. Reflecting upon these circumstances, I feel a confidence, of which no reverse of fortune, nor the sentence which you are so shortly to pronounce, can rob me. If I enrolled myself under the banners of France, it was with the hope of contributing to the salvation of my native land. From that same and single motive, I encountered the dangers of war In a country not my own, and on seas which I knew to be covered with the triumphant fleets of a government whom it was my glory to resist.

I have courted poverty; I have left without a protector a beloved wife; and without a father, children whom I adored. To such and to so many sacrifices, in a cause which my conscience still tells me was a just one, I have little difficulty now to add that of my life.

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I hear it said that this country has been a prey to horrors. I lament it, if it is so. But I have been four years absent, and cannot be responsible for individual sufferings. It was by a frank and open war that I proposed to separate the countries. It is unfortunate, that private vengeance on one side or on the other, should have considered itself authorised to mingle its fury in the contest. grieve for it as much as any other, but I am innocent of all these calamities; and to all those who know any thing of my sentiments or character, justification on that head would be very useless. But in vulgar eyes, the merit of the cause is judged by its success. WASHINGTON CONQUERED-KOSKIUSKO FAILED!

After a combat nobly sustained, which would have inspired a sentiment of interest in a generous enemy, to the

eternal shame of those who gave the order, I have been dragged hither in chains. I speak not for myself in this. I know my fate right well. But the tone of supplication

is beneath me. I repeat it again. I admit all that is alleged againt me, touching the separation of Ireland from Great-Britain. Words, writings, actions, I avow them all. I have spoken and I have acted with reflection and on principle; and now with a firm heart I await the consequences. The members who compose this court, will doubtless do their duty, and I shall take care not to be wanting to mine.

This discourse was pronounced with an accent so dignified, as deeply affected every hearer, the members of the tribunal not excepted. A silent pause ensued, which Tone first interrupted, by asking if it was usual to assign an interval between the sentence and the execution? The judge advocate answered, that the members would immediately give their opinions, the result of which would be. forthwith laid before the lord-lieutenant. If the prisoner therefore had any further observations to make, it was now the moment.

Tone. I have a few words to say relative to the mode of punishment. In France, the emigrants who stand in the same situation as I do now before you, are condemned to be shot. I ask, then, that the court should adjudge me to die the death of a soldier, and that I may be shot by a platoon of grenadiers.. I ask this, more in right of my situation as chief of brigade in the French army, than for my own sake. It is a respect due to the coat I wear. And I shall therefore beg of the court to read my commission and letters of service, by which it will appear that I do not

avail myself of any deception or subterfuge, but that I have been long and bona fide a French officer.

The Judge Advocate.-You must feel, sir, that the papers you allude to, are undeniable proofs against you,

Tone.-Oh I know it well, and I admit the facts, and I admit the papers as proofs of full conviction!

[The papers were then read. They were, a brevet of Chief of Brigade from the Directory, and signed by the Minister of War; a letter of service, giving to Tone the rank of Adjutant-General, and a passport.] General Loftus.-By these papers you are designated as serving in the army of England (l'Armee d'Angleterre.)

Tone.—I did serve in that army, when it was commanded by Bonaparte, by Dessaix, and by Kilmaine, who is, as I am, an Irishman; but I have also served elsewhere.

General Loftus.-The court will not fail to submit to the Lord Lieutenant the address which has been read by the prisoner, and also the object of his last demands. His lordship, however, took care to efface a great part of it, namely, that which Tone was prevented from reading.

The sequel is well known. Mr. Tone, finding that he was to be executed in the same savage manner as his brother had been a few days before, found means to disappoint his enemies, and chose the manner of his death.

[And thus perished Theobald Wolfe Tone, a man of unquestioned personal honor, of heroical courage, of the most amiable character, and of talents, which, for the same reason that they drew upon him the sentence of a traitor in Ireland, would, in any other country, have raised him to the highest distinction.] For some account of his wife and children, see Appendix No. 16.