stration of justice in the different districts throughout the kingdom. The liberal increase of the salaries of the judges, and the alteration of the civil bill jurisdiction, for the convenience of the lower ranks of the people, would ensure the constant and regular attention of his majesty's judges to the civil and criminal business, that would remain to be done on the circuits.

The very wide difference of opinion upon the political system of governing Ireland, was not confined to the division of the treasury and opposition benches in parliament. The warfare of sentiment was wider and more violent out of doors. The numbers which adhered to the different parties were more than proportionally in the inverse ratio of the majority and minority in the House of Commons. An acrimonious and abusive pamphlet was written by one of the secretaries of the castle, though published anonymously, severely reflecting upon Mr. Grattan and earl Fitzwilliam. The notice and indignation, which this pamphlet produced in the opposite parties, gave it notoriety, consequence and effect; and the daily papers teemed with panegyricks and invectives according to the opposite dispositions, or rather the engagements of their proprietors. So much had been said, and not contradicted in parliament concerning the outrageous persecutions of the county of Armagh, that it was found adviseable to endeavour to soften down the public indignation, which had been too unequivocally expressed, not to create alarm at the castle. In the Spring of this year, the public believed, (whether rightly or wrongly, the effect was the same) that about 5000 (some say 7000) Catholics had been forced or burned out of the county of Armagh, and that the ferocious banditti, who had expelled them had been encouraged, connived at, countenanced, instigated, or protected by the government. At the Lent assizes of the year 1796* the sheriff, governor, and grand jury of the county of

* It must appear more than singular to the impartial observer, that this address contains not one syllable of reference to the appropriate outrages of that county, viz. religious feuds and rancour, conflagration, devastation and extermination,

County of Armagb.

At a meeting of the high sheriff, governor, grand jury, and magistrates of the county of Armagh, assembled at the Lent Assizes, 1796, the following address and resolutions were unanimously agreed to:

"To his excellency JOHN JEFFREYS, EARL CAMDEN, lord lieutenant

general, and general governor of Ireland, &c. &c. *The unanimous address of the sheriff, governor, grand jury, and magis"trates of the county of Armagh, assembled at Lent Assizes, 1796. "DEEPLY impressed with the attention which your excellency has been "pleased to shew to this county, and sensible of the readiness with which military aid has been afforded, whenever it has been required, on occasion of "the disturbances that in some places have unfortunately prevailed, we return is your excellency our warmest acknowledgments, and beg leave to express "the firmest confidence in the wisdom and energy of your excellency's government.

Armagh published an address and resolutions, calculated to do away the impressions generally received by the public upon the ferocious outrages of those exterminators. Their annunciation of impartial justice, and a resolution to punish offenders of every denomination, was rather unseasonable, when there remained no longer any of one denomination to commit outrages upon, or to retaliate injuries.

*In the summer of 1796, great numbers of persons, princi pally from the province of Ulster, had inrolled themselves in

"We have seen with the deepest regret the outrages, which for some time "past have disturbed the peace, and interrupted the industry of this prosper"ous county-and as the grand jury of the county have always discharged "their duty with that rigorous and impartial justice, which is calculated to "protect the person and the property of all its inhabitants of every descrip"tion, so we shall continue to use our utmost exertions to punish offenders of every denomination.

"We trust that the peace of the county will in consequence of the proceed"ings at this assizes, be restored universally—but should that unfortunately "not be the case, we beg leave to assure your excellency that we must feel it "to be our duty, and the duty of all the other magistrates of the county, to "resort to immediate proceedings under the law of the present session of par"liament, however much we must lament the unusual rigour, which it will "impose upon offenders, and however much we must deplore the burthens as "well as the disgrace, which such measures must necessarily impose upon the 46 'county.

"JOHN OGLE, sheriff.
"GOSFORD, governor.

"CAULFIELD, foreman, for self and fellow jurors." Resolved, That the thanks of the grand jury be given to our high sheriff, for the care which he has taken in making returns of the very enlightened and dispassionate juries that have attended, and for his very proper conduct throughout this assizes.

Resolved, That the thanks of the grand jury be given to the right honourable the attorney general, for the very able speech in which he addressed the county, for the candour and unwearied exertion with which he has conducted the prosecutions at this assizes, and for his readiness in communicating with the grand jury on every occasion, when applied to.

The above address being presented to his excellency the lord lieutenant, he was pleased to return the following answer:

"I RETURN my most sincere thanks to the sheriff, governor, grand jury "and magistrates of the county of Armagh, for the address which has been "presented to me.

"It gives me the greatest satisfaction to observe the anxious solicitude "that has appeared during the course of the last assizes, amongst all descrip"tions of persons, to endeavour to extinguish that spirit of outrage, which "has existed within your county for some time past. I lament that those en"deavours have not hitherto proved totally successful, but I look forward with "confidence to the expectation that a continuation of that temper and unani"mity which have appeared at the late assizes, may render it unnecessary to "recur to those powers that have been given by the wisdom and energy "of parliament, which powers I trust will be called for with caution, but when “ granted will be used with effect."

Report of Secret Committee Com. Journ. Appendix DCCCXXIX. The above quoted Memoir (p. 5) gives the following detailed account of the pro

that society. About the same period a direct communication had been opened by the heads of the party with the enemy: and French assistance was solicited and promised to be speedily sent to aid the disaffected in that kingdom. It appears sufficiently

gress of the union at this period:-" While they were almost entirely confined to the north, but increasing rapidly there, the insurrection bill was passed "in the beginning of the year 1796, augmenting the penalties upon adminis"tering unlawful oaths, or solemn obligations, even to death: but death had "ceased to alarm men who began to think it was to be encountered in their "country's cause. The statute remained an absolute dead letter, and the "numbers of the body augmented beyond belief.

66

"To the Armagh persecution is the union of Irishmen most exceedingly "indebted. The persons and properties of the wretched Catholics of that "county were exposed to the merciless attacks of an Orange faction, which was certainly in many instances uncontrolled by the justices of peace, and "claimed to be in all supported by government. When these men found that illegal acts of magistrates were indemnified by occasional statutes, and the "courts of justice shut against them by parliamentary barriers, they began to "think they had no refuge but in joining the union. Their dispositions so to "do, were much increased by finding the Presbyterians of Belfast especially, step forward to espouse their cause, and succour their distress. We will "here remark, once for all, what we most solemnly aver, that wherever the "Orange system was introduced, particularly in Catholic counties, it was uni"formly observed, that the numbers of United Irishmen increased most asto"nishingly. The alarm which an Orange lodge excited among the Catholics, "made them look for refuge by joining together in the united system; and as their number was always greater than that of bigotted Protestants, our "harvest was ten-fold. At the same time that we mention this circumstance, "we must confess, and must deeply regret, that it excited a mutual acrimony "and vindictive spirit, which was peculiarly opposite to the interest, and ab "horrent to the feelings of the United Irishmen, and has lately manifested "itself, we hear, into outrages of so much horror.

"About the middle of 1796, a meeting of the executive took place, more "important in its discussions and its consequences, than any that had preced"ed it; as such, we have thought ourselves bound to give an account of it "with the most perfect frankness, and more than ordinary precision. This "meeting took place in consequence of a letter from one of the society, who "had emigrated on account of political opinions: it mentioned, that the state of the country had been represented to the government of France in so fa“vourable a point of view, as to induce them to resolve upon invading Ire"land, for the purpose of enabling it to separate itself from Great Britain. "On this solemn and important occasion, a serious review was taken of the "state of the Irish nation at that period: it was observed, that a desperate "ferment existed in the public mind; a resolution in favour of a parliamen"tary reform had indeed been passed early in 1793, by the House of Com"mons; but after it had been frustrated by several successive adjournments, "all hope of its attainment was vanished, and its friends every where pro"scribed, the volunteers were put down, all power of meeting by delegation "for any political purpose, the mode in which it was most usual and expedi"ent to co-operate on any subject of importance, was taken away at the same "time. The provocations of the year 1794, the recall of lord Fitzwilliam, "and the re-assumption of coercive measures that followed it, were strongly "dwelt on the county of Armagh had been long desolated by two contend"ing factions, agreeing only in one thing, an opinion, that most of the active "magistrates in that county treated one party with the most fostering kind"ness, and the other with the most rigorous persecution. It was stated, that "so marked a partiality exasperated the sufferers, and those who sympathised

clear that some of the heads of the union at this time had fully con ceived the execrable design of attempting to effectuate a total separation from Great Britain, and consequently the necessary overthrow of the existing government. But the extent of these traitorous views was cautiously suppressed from the multitude, whom they hitherto led as the blind instruments of their nefarious project, under the plausible avowal of uniting only for the purposes of obtaining Catholic emancipation, and full and equal representation in parliament. The determination, with which government seemed in the last session of parliament to have extinguished every prospect of attaining either of those two objects, and the system of coercion and rigour which they had now avowed. ly adopted, were used by the designing heads of the union as the most efficient means to propagate disaffection, to ulcerate the popular soreness, to bring into contempt the Protestant ascendancy, and to work up the disappointment, despair and licentiousness of the multitude, into civil and religious enthusiasm for effecting those two great objects, from the want of which they were taught to derive the sum total of their wretchedness. It had been observed in parliament by some of the most respectable country gentlemen, that such a system tended more to inflame than heal. No means of fascination and seduction were omitted to rivet the passions of the multitude to the attainment of emancipation and reform, who all gloried in their efforts to obtain these two points: and thus engaged, they became ductile to the ulterior views of their traitorous conductors. It is, however, to be remarked,

in their misfortunes. It was urged with indignation, that notwithstanding "the greatness of the military establishment in Ireland, and its having been "able to suppress the Defenders in various counties, it was not able, or was "not employed to suppress these outrages in that county, which drove seven "thousand persons from their native dwellings. The magistrates, who took "no steps against the Orange men, were said to have overleaped the bounda"ries of law to pursue and punish the Defenders. The government seemed "to take upon themselves those injuries by the indemnity act, and even ho"noured the violaters; and by the insurrection act, which enabled the same "magistrates, if they chose, under colour of law, to act anew the same abomi"nations. Nothing, it was contended, could more justly excite the spirit of "resistance, and determine men to appeal to arms, than the insurrection act; "it punished with death the administering of oaths, which, in their opinion, "were calculated for the most virtuous and honourable purposes. The power "of proclaiming counties, and quieting them by breaking open the cabins of "the peasants between sun set and sun rise, by seizing the inmates, and sending them on board tenders without the ordinary interposition of a trial by jury, had, it was alleged, irritated beyond endurance the minds of the re"flecting, and the feelings of the unthinking inhabitants of that province. It “was contended, that even according to the constitution and example of 1688, "when the protection of the constituted authorities was drawn from the sub"ject, allegiance, the reciprocal duty ceased to bind; when the people were "not redressed, they had a right to resist, and were free to seek for allies "wherever they were to be found. The English_revolutionists of 1688 called "in the aid of a foreign republic to overthrow their oppressors. There had

that at this time few of the most dangerous of the rebels* were acting with the members of the union.

+ With a view of being prepared as much as possible to cooperate with the enemy then expected, and in order to counteract

1

sprung up in our own time a much more mighty republic, which, by its "offers of assistance to break the chains of slavery, had drawn on itself a war "with the enemies of our freedom, and now particularly tendered us its aid. "These arguments prevailed, and it was resolved to employ the proffered as"sistance for the purpose of separation. We were aware it was suspected "that negotiations between the United Irishmen and the French were carried "on at an earlier period than that now alluded to, but we solemnly declare "such suspicion was ill founded. In consequence of this determination of the "executive, an agent was dispatched to the French Directory, who acquaint"ed them with it, stated the dispositions of the people, and the measures "which caused them: he received fresh assurances that the succours should "be sent, as soon as the armament could be got ready.”

In the memoir of O'Connor, Emmett, and M'Nevin, they say (p. 9) "None of us were members of the united system until September or October "in the year 1796." Mr. T. W. Tone had fled the country in the beginning of 1795, upon suspicion of his being implicated in the treason of the Rev. Mr. Jackson, who was tried for high treason and found guilty on the 23d of April, 1795: and when he was called up to receive sentence on the 30th of April, he died in court of the poison he had previously taken. Mr. Hamilton Rowan about the same time having been tried, convicted, and sentenced to two years imprisonment for sedition, escaped out of prison to the continent: and Mr. Napper Tandy having been indicted for high treason about the same time, was proceeding to take his trial at Dundalk; when he was met about twelve miles from that town by his attorney, who apprising him of the dead weight of evidence against him, he returned to Dublin, and fled also to the continent.

† Report of the Secret Committee XVII. Com. Journ. DCCCXXIX. The following account of the military organization is given in the before mentioned Memoir. "The military organization had no existence until towards the lat" ter end of 1796, and was as near as could be engrafted on the civil: in order "to avoid giving alarm, it continued to conceal itself as much as possible un"der the usual denominations. The secretary of a society of twelve, was "commonly the petty officer; the delegate of five societies to a lower baro"nial, when the population required such an immediate step, was usually the "captain, and the delegates from the lower to the upper baronial was usually "the colonel. All officers to colonels up, were indispensably elected by those "they were to command, but at that point the interference of the societies "ceased, and every higher commission was in the appointment of the execu"tive; only as soon as sufficient numbers of regiments were organized in any "county, the colonels were directed to transmit to the executive the names of "three persons, fit, in their opinion, to act as adjutants general for that county, "of those, the executive chose one; and through this organ all military com"munications were made to the several counties; in consequence of such ar"rangements not more than one of the executive need ever be committed with any county; and that only to a person of his own choice from among the "three. It so happened, that the same member was entitled to hold commu"nications with several adjutants general, which still further diminished the "risk to the executive: we refer to the amended printed constitution, where "the military constitution without being named, is more correctly set forth, "than we can give from memory. As to the manner in which these men were "to be provided with arms and ammunition, every man who could afford it, "was directed to provide himself with a musquet, bayonet, and as much am"munition as he could; every other man with a pike, and if he were able a case "of pistols; but this, we apprehend, was not strictly adhered to. We have