Sir J. Blaquiere arose to order; he said, that in his humble apprehension, the hon. member ought not to be restrained, and that even if it were matter of indulgence, which he was not perfectly satisfied of, the hon. member should have that liberty extended to him, which had been extended to every gentleman who had spoken on the subject the whole evening. Mr. Dobbs having been desired to proceed, he continued. Sir, if I had found that other gentlemen had confined themselves to a particular point, I should have done so too; indeed I have nearly said all which I had to say. I do repeat, that it is a novelty in the law, that a case should be laid before a jury for their decision, and then after a solemn verdict of twelve men on their oaths, a judge is at liberty to annul their decision; it is a monstrous novelty, against law, and against constitution, and I hope the Irish Commons will never disgrace itself by enact. ing such a law. With respect to the clause, making it special with the jury, to find a malicious intention, it has been said, that it means no thing more, nor lays any other obligation on the jury, than would be done by the judge in his charge; if so, I will ask, why resort to this Bill? Is it to be supposed, are the gentlemen of this House such simpletons as to believe, that this Bill would have been brought in, if its operation was not intended to be different from that of the Bill already acting as a law? No! Sir, the true motive is to distract the judgment of the juror, and to render it useless for him to find the facts, which it is in his power to arrive at, because he cannot find the malicious intent, of which it is impossible he can have a knowledge. never apply the torture to your fellow-crea ture! remember that however bad men may make to themselves gods in this world, and sacrifice every principle of justice, humanity, and virtue to the idol, you have a God, who is the God of peace, of love, of justice, and of mercy, and whose all-seeing eye marks the minutest actions of his creatures. Prefer his service to that of the world. Be just, and fear not. Sir J. Blaquiere arose, he said, to combat some observations, that had been applied in the course of the debate, to Mr. Fitzgerald's conduct, not only generally, but particularly in the case of Mr. Wright. He did not doubt those observations were the result of a conviction, that they were just, but he was pretty sure, that if the gentlemen who spoke thus freely of the conduct of Mr. Fitzgerald, were possessed of the information which he had derived on the subject, their sentiments would suffer a very great revolution. Sir John then begged the attention of the Cornmittee, to a letter which he received that, day from London, addressed to him by an officer of high rank, character, and honour, who had been down in Clonmell at the time Mr. Wright was punished. This letter the right hon. bart. then read, and the substance of it was, that it bore testimony to the humanity and services of Mr. Fitzgerald, and that in a conversation which the officer had with Mr. Wright, the latter had concurred in the same opinion of Mr. Fitzgerald's humanity and honest motives, for the severities which he reluctantly, but of absolute necessity exercised. [Here there was a loud cry of Name! name! from the other side of the House, but Sir John declined naming the person aloud, although he was willing to put the letter into the hands of any gentleman who desired it.] Mr. Martin generally supported the Bill, but his particular argument we were unable to collect with sufficient accuracy. Sir, you have passed bills of pardon to rebels, and bills of indemnity to loyalists, but not in one of them, have you taken care of the loyal man who has been punished. But as often as any indemnity bill comes before this House, I will remind you of the justice Mr. Rochfort said, that if the Bill of Inof making atonement to the loyal man, who demnity, brought in under lord Camden's has suffered through mistake. Sir, after the administration, had been amended with perfirst resolution, I would move an amendment, haps very slight alteration, all this difference directing the jury to find if the plaintiff was a of opinion might have been obviated. The loyalist, and after affirming the quantum of Bill then before the House he considered to damages, his claim under the verdict should be inefficient in every part, except as to the be referred to the commissioners appointed time limited for bringing actions. He lafor liquidating the claims of suffering loyal-mented that any thing personal should seem ists, who should discharge the sum awarded him, in the same proportions with other allowed claimants. A gentleman has talked of leaving a legacy to his child: I do not love to deal in the figurative, but I will tell you what I would leave to my child, if I were quitting a world which I find has not been much mended by its age; I would lay this injunction on him-my child, never do a wrong to any man, from political, or private motive; never commit evil, that good may come of it; never, my child, as you hope to be accepted in the eyes of the God of mercy, VOL. XXVII. to govern the Bill, it was the duty of parliament to soar higher; it would be more consonant to his ideas of state, justice, and policy, if the Bill were to be one involving in oblivion, all acts from the 23rd of May to the 22nd of August, murder excepted. If it were possible for a man to be seated on the throne of France, what should be his first act of government, certainly to shut out the remembrance of every action connected with the revolution and the republic; and the same policy will apply with equal force in this country. 3 G J 1 819] 39 GEORGE III. Wright v. Fitzgerald.—Assault and Battery. [820, Mr. O'Donnell said, he would not take up the time of the Committee at that advanced hour, but, however he felt inclined to notice the Tipperary voluntary contributions, and the new way of paying his majesty's troops, he would pass them over, and come to the subject at once. He said, any bill should have his hearty concurrence, which could tend to bury in oblivion all causes of animosity, between those whom the state of the times had set in array against each other. Any bill which could bring the people of Ireland back to their secure, friendly, and constitutional ground, and disarm the petty tyrants of the land, should have his most zealous support, and if the administration could effect such a measure, he would throw himself at its feet, and devote to it his services. It had been said in favour of the clause, obliging the jury to find malicious intention a part of their verdict, that it was no more than what had always been an inference of finding the facts; but he differed widely in this opinion-it applied only in a criminal case, and had nothing to do with an action of damages. The friends of the Bill in the form in which it then stood, had urged, that it would be a cruel thing for men of zealous loyalty to be subject to persecution; but was it not at least equally hard, that the injured should not be compensated? His idea, however, was, that the injured should receive compensation, but not at the expense of those who had acted from a loyal zeal, and submitted, whether it was not better to give the Bill the more collected consideration of another night, and let it go from the Committee a bill of public utility. for the Ayes, Col. Uniacke, for the Noes, Ayes, 65; Noes, 14; Majority 51.-Teller Hon. F. Hutchinson. ness of the hour, and the exhausted feelings Mr. Dawson then, on account of the lateof the Ilouse, moved, that the chairman report progress-but the motion was negatived. the second paragraph, which was agreed to, Mr. French then moved an amendment to and which paragraph, thus amended, passed the Committee.-Mr. French also moved, that when a verdict shall be set aside by the certificate of a judge, the plaintiff shall not be subject to double costs.-Agreed to. the House was resumed, and after ordering All the clauses of the Bill having passed, the report to be received the next day.Adjourned. Mr. Fitzgerald, in the Court of Exchequer, An application was made, on the part of by Mr. Wright, which was dismissed with to set aside the verdict obtained against him full costs. * Mr. Fitzgerald, the defendant in this case afterwards received a considerable pension for his active services in quelling the rebellion; he was also created a baronet of the United Kingdom. As to him see Gordon's Irish Rebellions The question having been put on Mr. Lee's xi; Plowden's Hist. of Ireland, vol. 2, p. 60, 61; Musgrave's Irish Reb. Appendix, No. amendment, it was negatived without a divi-678, and vol. 3, p. 816. See also Hansard's sion, and on the original paragraph standing Parliamentary Debates, vol. 36, pp. 1391, part of the Bill, a division took place, et seq. 640. The whole Proceedings upon an Information exhibited ExOfficio, by his Majesty's Attorney General, against the Right Honourable SACKVILLE, Earl of Thanet; ROBERT FERGUSSON, Esq. Barrister at Law; GUNTER BROWNE, Esq.; DENNIS O'BRIEN, Esq.; and THOMAS THOMPSON, Esq.; for a Riot and other Misdemeanours; tried at the Bar of the Court of King's Bench, on the 25th day of April: 39 GEORGE III. A. D. 1799. Court of King's-Benck, April 25, 1799. JURY. James Leigh Joynes, of Milton, near Gravesend, Esquire; Nicholas Gilbee, of Chalk and Denton, Richard Carew, of Orpington, Esquire; William Savary, of Greenwich, Esquire. Counsel for the Crown. Mr. Attorney General [Sir John Scott, afterwards Lord Chancellor Eldon]; Mr. Law [afterwards Lord Ellenborough, and Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench]; Mr. Garrow [afterwards a Baron of the Exchequer]; Mr. Adam [afterwards Lord Chief Commissioner of the Jury Court, and a Baron of the Exchequer of Scotland]; Mr. Wood [afterwards a Baron of the chequer]; Mr. Fielding; Ex Mr. Abbott [afterwards Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King's Bench]. Solicitor-Mr. White, Solicitor for the affairs of his Majesty's Treasury. Counsel for the Defendants, the Earl of Thanet, Mr. Ferguson, and Mr. O'Brien : Counsel for the Defendant, Mr. Browne— Mr. Rous. Solicitor-Mr. Foulkes. Counsel for the Defendant, Mr. ThompsonMr. Rayne. Solicitor-Mr. Bonney. THE Information was opened by Mr. Abbott, and is as follows: Kent to wit Be it remembered that sir John Scott knight attorney general of our present sovereign lord the king who for our said lord the king in this behalf prosecuteth in his proper person cometh here into the Court of our said lord the king before the king himself at Westminster on Wednesday next after three weeks of the Holy Trinity in this same term and for our said lord the king giveth the Court here to understand and be informed that heretofore to wit on Monday the twenty-first day of May in the thirtyeighth year of the reign of our sovereign lord George the third now king of Great Britain and so forth a special session of oyer and terminer and gaol delivery was holden by adjournment in and for the county of Kent at Maidstone in the said county before sir Francis Buller baronet one of the justices of our said lord the king of his court of Common Pleas John Heath esquire one other of the justices of our said lord the king of his court of Common Pleas sir Soulden Lawrence knight one of the justices of our said lord the king assigned to hold pleas before the king himself Samuel Shepherd esquire one of the serjeants of our said lord the king learned in the law and others their fellows justices and commissioners of our said lord the king assigned by letters patent of our said lord the The Honourable Thomas Erskine [after-king under the great seal of Great Britain to wards Lord Chancellor Erskine]; Mr. Gibbs [afterwards Lord Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas]; Mr. Best [afterwards a Judge of the Court of King's Bench]; Mr. Mac Kintosh [afterwards Recorder of Bombay]. Solicitor-Mr. Lowten. inquire by the oath of good and lawful men of the said county of Kent of all high treasons and misprisions of high treason other than such as relate to the coin of our said lord the king within the county aforesaid done committed or perpetrated and the said treasons and misprisions of treason according to the laws and customs of England for that time to hear and determine and also |