GOVERNMENT BILL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF CRIME IN IRELAND.

HOUSE OF COMMONS—MONDAY, NOVEMBER 29.

Sir GEORGE GREY began by moving that so much of her Majesty's Speech as related to Ireland be read by the Clerk at the table. This was done, as follows—

"Her Majesty laments that in some counties of Ireland atrocious crimes have been committ4 and a spirit of insubordination has manifested itself, leading to an organized resistance to legal rights. " The Lord-Lieutenant has employed with vigour and energy the means which the law places at his disposal to detect offenders, and to prevent the repetition of offences. Her Majesty feels it, however, to be her duty to her peaceable and well- disposed subjects, to ask the assistance of Parliament in taking further precau- tions against the perpetration of crime in certain counties and districts in Ireland." Sir GEORGE GREY then rose to move for leave to bring in a bill for the better prevention of crime and outrage in certain districts of Ireland. He commenced his explanatory statement by recapitulating the measures which the late and the present Government had taken to mitigate the pres- sure of destitution. He briefly touched on the necessity of permanent mea- sures to develop the resources of Ireland; and invoked the cooperation of all classes for that purpose. " I had ventured to hope that the calamity by which Ireland had been visited might not prove an unmingled evil. I had ventured to hope that, from the period of extreme distress which has passed over Ireland, a new mra might have been dated; and that one result, at least, of that severe distress, and of the measures taken for its relief, would have been to draw together in bonds of mutual goodwill, founded, if upon no better motive, at least upon a sense of their common interest, the different classes of society. I am not yet prepared to abandon the hope that my expectations may be realized: for the case it will be my duty to lay before Parliament tonight will apply, I rejoice to say, to only a small portion of Ireland. I am glad to take this opportunity of repeating what I said on the first night of the session, that in the greater part of Ireland crime has diminished; that I be- lieve life and property are as safe in a great portion of that country as in any part of her Majesty's dominions; and that the crimes which have stained and blackened some districts, and which unjustly bring down shame upon Ireland, were held in detestation and abhorrence by tilt inhabitants of by far the greater portion of the country."

"The aggregate offences of all kinds reported by the Constabulary have con- siderably diminished. Taking even the month of October, during which the crimes to which I shall presently feel it my painful duty to allude more in detail were.perpetrated in rapid and frightful succession, the gross returns of the amount of crime for 1847, as compared with 1846, show a diminution of nearly one-third. The gross amounts of crimes of all kinds—I allude to those crimes which are enu- merated in the Constabulary reports—committed in October 1847, was 1,035; in October 1846 it amounted to 1,483. There has been a still more remarkable de- crease since January last; for at that time crime had reached its maximum, and the number was 2,885. I wish therefore distinctly to state, that it is no general bac& indictment which I am about to prefer against the people of Ireland. I do not come here to use the language which has been imputed to some one—I know not whom—by the honourable Member for Cork, when he said that the whole country had been stigmatized as a country of assassins. Any one who has the slightest knowledge of the existing state of things in that country, would know that such an accusation was wholly, totally groundless. But I am prepared to say that there are districts in Ireland in which there is a concentration of crime—in which, within the last few weeks, the records of crime have been of a frightful and appalling nature—in which there have been instances of assassination, apparently the results of a secret conspiracy against the rights of property, whether it be pro- party held in small portions, or by individuals whose lands are to be counted by thousands of acres,—a secret conspiracy which has led to men being doomed on account of their exercising, and in the fairest manner, the rights which are ordi- narily held to be attached to property; and these crimes, concentrated as they have

i been in such narrow limits, have spread the utmost terror, consternation, and dis- may, among all the peaceable and orderly inhabitants of those districts." "There is not a shadow of pretext for these crimes. I do not say that there could be an excuse under any circumstances, but there is not a shadow of pretence for the assertion that men are driven to desperation and madness by the pressure

of want and distress. These crimes are committed in districts in which there is money to pay rent, and in which, when the strong arm of the law comes upon the defaulters, they are found to have the money, and when they see resistance to the law to be unavailing the money has been forthcoming; and there is no pretence for saying that there is any difficulty in meeting the demands made upon them, or that it is the attempt to enforce those demands which drives men to the perpetra- tion of these crimes."

Sir George disclaimed all pretence that a bill of this kind, limited in its duration and partial in its character, can be any panacea for the evils of Ireland— "Far be from me any such idea. It is the duty of a wise Government, and of a wise Legislature, to look to the causes of evils, rather than to their symptoms. But I am not prepared to say that the symptoms are to be neglected, or that we are to wait for that slow curative process which may be effected by measures with regard to the law of landlord and tenant, the disposal of encumbered estates, the grand jury laws, or any other measures whatever: I cannot hold, I say, that we are to disregard the symptoms of the disease while that slow curative process is in progress. I must also say, that I am not one of those who think that it is in the power of Parliament to do all that is attributed to it by some. I believe that Parliament may do much in the way of wise and judicious legislation. It may, and I trust it will, be able to establish a better system to govern the relation of landlord and tenant than that which now subsists; though I altogether disclaim any participation in the Utopian views of those who think it an easy thing to grant perpetuity of tenure to a man and his descendants, (as an honourable Mem- ber said the other night,) though he is now tenant-at-will; and I also protest strongly against being supposed to concur in the significant expression which was used about 'taking the idlers off the land.' No; I cannot think that this House will ever sanction any system by which the rights of landlords shall be transferred to tenants; though I believe much may be done to place the relation between those two classes of society upon a better footing, and to remove some of those causes of heartbarnings and mistrust, and jealousies, and litigation, which have been the fertile sources of crime in many parts of Ireland. I believe, how- ever, that the real cure of the state of stagy in Ireland is to be found in the faithfal, zealous, efficient discharge of their duties by all classes of society, the humblest as well as the highest; and that the neglect by any class of those duties which Providence has assigned to it is sure to produce a derangement Lin the social system, and retard effectually any beneficial result from the wisest and most wholesome legislation. Sir George proceeded to lay before the House some statements with re- gard to the four classes of crimes which have in the aggregate been mate- rially increased.

" I hold in my hand a comparison of the outrage returns for the six months ending October 1847, compared with those of the same period in the year 1846; and they show the following results for the whole of Ireland—

In In 1846. In 1847. GS ... 96

Attempts on life by firing at the person

55 ... 126 Robberies of arms Firing Into dwellings 207 • • . 530 51 ... 116 But even this would give a very inadequate idea of the fearful increase in these classes of crimes which has taken place in the districts of Ireland to which it will now be my duty to call the particular attention of the House. The whole of Ire- land is not implicated in the shame and disgrace of the fearful increase in the ag- gregate of these serious offences, all of them affecting human life, and many of them leading to the actual loss of life. I look at the Police returns, and take the month of October 1847, because it was about the beginning of September that these crimes began to increase, and since then they have advanced with frightful rapidity." Painful as the accounts were which he received last year, as Home Secretary, respecting the destitution, it is infinitely more distressing to receive these records of mime—of an evil which is not a visitation of Providence, but of acts resulting from depravity of heart. " The total number of homicides through- out Ireland in October was 19; firing at the person, 32; firing into dwellings, 26; robberies of arms, 118; total, 195. But, on examining the returns, I find that of these 195 crimes, 139 were committed in Clam, Limerick, or Tipperary; being 71 per cent of the whole number, though thei population of those three counties is

only 13 cent nt of the population of Ireland. Of the 19 homicides, 3 were com-

mitted in Clare, 2 in Limerick, and 5 in Tipperary; of the 32 cases of firing at the person, 9 were in Clare, 5 in Limerick, and 6 in Tipperary; of the 26 came of firing into dwellings, 1 was in Clare, 9 in Limerick, 10 in Tipperary; and of the 118 robberies of arms, 20 were in Clare, 50 in Limerick, and 19 in Tipperary The robberies of arms in these 3 counties are .75 per cent of all the robberies of arms in Ireland; in Limerick they :tr. 42 per cent, with a population of only 4 per cent of the whole population of Ireland. It is chiefly to these counties of Clare, Limerick, and Tipperary, that the observations I shall have to make will apply: it is chiefly from these counties that the records of crime are taken, to some of which I shall have to call the attention of the House; though I am aware that the tendency of crime is to spread, and in King's County and Roscommon, and, I regret to say, the hitherto orderly and peaceable county of Fermanagh, the peaceable residents and possessors of property have been struck with terror and dismay by the threats of similar outrages, and the impunity with which those threats are executed or attempted to be executed. I shall begin about the middle of September; for it was about that period that these crimes assumed their present type and frequency and became remarkable." Sir George proceeded to recite a number of cases, all or nearly all of which have already been related in our own columns: in place, therefore, of reproducing this part of the Home Secretary's speech, we only enume- rate the cases so as to recall them to the reader's mind.

September 16. (Limerick.) Michael Connell, a tenant of Mr. Holland, in the town of Showreth, barony of Glenquiu, is shot dead, in broad daylight, while working In a meadow. The landlord, having dlstralned some goods on his tenants, returned some cat- tle to Connell : hence, it is supposed, the murder. A man at work within a few yards denied that he had heard the shot.

September 18. (Limerick.) Michael Kelly, walking in company with Edward Ryan, meets a man who discharges at him a loaded pistol, and runs off. Kelly bad taken a farm of which the assassin had been dispossessed.

September 19. Kelly's house being watched, the assassin takes his revenge by shooting Michael's brother. John, through the heart. The assassin, having several re- lations in different parts of the country, eludes a wide and Incessant pursuit.

October 2. (Tipperary.) Mr. W. Roe, Justice of the Peace, Rockwell, Is fired at from a plantation on his own grounds, and mortally wounded : his supposed assassin, John Lenergan, who had been ejected by Mr. Roe, was reported to have fled.

October 4. (Limerick.) John M'Enery dies from the effects of a gunshot wound Inflicted by a party who attacked his house.

October 8. (Tipperary.) Timothy Hardy, wood-ranger to Mrs. Otway Cave, Is shot dead, by a person unknown.

October 11. (Limerick.) Peter Nash, of Gardenhill, passing through a lane, Is shot in the back, and dies in half an hour : two men with him " did not see any person run off."

October 18. (King's County.) Mr. William Lucas, of Minna, walking from the house of his ploughman, a sub-constable by his side, is shot, and dies In half an hour,: the assassin is undiscovered. Mr. Lucas had ejected twelve or fourteen refractory tenants for non-payment of rent.

October 24. (Tipperary.) Patrick Ryan, steward to Mr. Kellett, of Clonacody, is shot dead, and Michael Cummins is wounded, by some person unknown.

October 30. (Clare.) Michael Walsh, steward to Mr. Charles O' Callaghan, is shut dead, and robbed of 171. November 2. (Roscommon.) Major Denis Mahon, of Strokestown, is shot dead while returning from the Board of Guardians : several persons are arrested, but the as- sassin is not discovered. The Justices of Roscommon memorialize the Government on the subject, testifying to Major Mahon's humanity, and asserting the evident existence of an organized conspiracy against rents and the legal rights of property. November 3. (Limerick.) In Ballyvagna, three guns are forcibly taken from Mr. Meade and a party of four gentlemen, in a small house occupied by them for the sport of shooting : they resist, but their guns miss fire—evidently having been tampered with [by servants]. November 5. (King's County.) Constable Dobbyn Is wounded by a shot intended for Mr. Garvey, Justice of the Peace, with whom he was: the assassins, two men whom the Magistrate and Constable saw in a plantation, escaped. November 21. (Limerick.) Patrick Cleary dies of a pistol-shot, inflicted probably because Cleary had prosecuted two Tipperary men "for swearing him to leave his residence."

November 7. (Tipperary.) Edward Devitt is killed in defending a neighbour against a party in search of arms.

November 14. Mrs. Ryan, a young woman, Is killed by a pasty who attack her hus- band, a bailiff, in his house.

November 13. (Fermanagh.) Mr. William Hansard, of Garden Hill, Treasurer of the County, is mortally wounded with slugs. A meeting of the County Magistracy de- precate the unlimited licence to possess fire-arms. November 14. (Tipperary.) Mr. Richard Bayley Is wounded, near Nenagh, his Jaw being shattered, and his life endangered. He had lately ejected a tenant on his brother's property.

November 19. (Tipperary.) Thomas Quin Is shot at in his own house, but missed. He had paid his rent.

November 17. (King's County.) Patrick Larkin and his eon are seriously wounded, defending their house against a party who seek to kill Larkin's daughter, a widow ; of which house Larkin's brother wished to dispossess her.

November 19. (Limerick.) Sir. Ralph Hill, sub-agent to Mr. David Fitzgerald, going to " the lands of Raton," Is shot dead ; two of four assistants are wounded, one dangerously. He was going with several men to remove hay and corn seized for rent due by one Qualm. November 23. Report received by Sir George Grey on Monday morning. (Roscom- mon.) Mr. Kelly, a poor-rate collector, is fired at in passing Braghbazon, and shots passed through his hat. He had enforced the payment of rates.

In reciting these cases, Sir George Grey made divers comments as he proceeded. Touching on the case of John Kelly, he contrasted the general

disposition to conceal assassin in Ireland with the opposite spirit in England.

" My honourable friend (Dr. Bowring) cheers me, and it reminds me of one in stance a few weeks ago, of a most serious character. He and his brother were driving along a road in Wales with a large sum of money for the payment of workmen; and, after a true Irish fashion—or rather, if some of my honourable friends will allow me to say so, after the fashion of Clare, Limerick, and Tippe- rary—two men presented loaded horse-pistols at them, and threatened them with death if they refa.d to deliver up the money. There was no resisting an appeal of that kind; my honourable friend immediately held out the 1,0001.; and directly they had obtained the money, one of the men, that there might be no mistake about the pistols being loaded, or to stop immediate pursuit, shot the horse dead upon the spot. But what followed? One of the gentlemen, procuring a horse from a neighbouring cottage, galloped to the Police-station; my honourable friend, relying on the well-known disposition of the people of England and Wales, made known the outrage as widely as he mild; the whole population was on foot, the escape of the criminals was impossible, and before midnight they were secured. Would that the same spirit existed in Ireland! would that the people there were as prompt to display a willingness to aid in the detection of wrongdoers as were the people of Wales! "

He added some striking particulars respecting Lenergan, the supposed assassin of Mr. Roe--

"I fear there is much reason to suspect that this person has not fled, but is protected by persons who ought, for their own sakes, to lend their aid to discover the offender and bring him to justice. It is not stated in the Police report, but I have been informed, that the party suspected of having committed this crime was formerly a tenant of Mr. Roe, and that he owed several years' rent to that gentleman, but refused to pay a single farthing, although only one year's rent was demanded of him. In fact he was determined to hold the land in defi- ance of the landlord without paying rent, although nothing was alleged to show his inability to pay it. A writ of ejectment was then enforced, and the result was that the landlord was shot within a few yards of his own house." Sir George stated the course which the Lord-Lieutenant pursued in connexion with the case of Mr. Roe. " The trustees of an estate in which some property had been taken in distress applied to the Lord-Lieutenant for a force to protect the agents of the law in carrying it into execution. In answer to this appeal, his Excellency sent a party of military and constabulary to protect the officers of the law; but when thelleople saw that the force was too powerful for them to resist, not a single

of cattle or sheaf of corn was sold, for the tenants distrained upon at once came forward and paid every farthing that was owing. The proceeding also pro- duced a beneficial effect on the tenants of an adjoining property; who, anticipa- ting that a similar process would be applied to them, voluntarily made a merit of necessity by coming forward and paying their rents, although they were not quite due at the time. It was evident that in this case it was not poverty which prevented the tenants from paying their rents." "After the murder of Mr. Hill, the Government received information that, owing to the sympathy with crime in the town, which was inspired by its frequent commission, no carts could be obtained in that part of the country for conveying away the corn which had been seized. When this came to the knowledge of the Lord-Lieutenant, he issued orders that Ordnance carts should be supplied for the purpose of carrying away the property which had been seized, and that a suffi- cient military force should attend to cover the operation. In consequence of that decisive step being taken, not a hand was raised against the officers of the law engaged in the business. I am happy to say that the law was carried into execu- tion with complete success and without the slightest obstruction. Examples of this nature will convince the misguided people that, in the long run, their object cannot succeed; and that, whatever immediate advantage they may in some in- stances obtain by murders, intended to deter persons from enforcing their rights, the system of terror and intimidation is sure in the end to be put down by the strong arm of the law."

After the murder of Major Mahon, threatening letters were received by several of the gentry; among others, two were sent to Mr. Marcus M'Caus- land, of Fruithill, and his wife: this is the copy of the one to Mrs. M'Caus- land— " Madam—as a token of gratitude, I write to you these few lines, apprising you of your approaching fate, I am to inform you, that, unless Mr. M'Causland becomes a bet- ter landlord in this country, he will share the same fate as the demon Major Mahon did ; there are resolutions made in this country to take down all the tyrannizing landlords; he, Mr. 3rCausland, is numbered amongst them unless he changes, and give a full remit- tance of all the arrears that is due to him, and begin in the new with his tenants, as to think that he is far from the rath of this country it is useless, the Conought men are determined, and perhaps meet him in his own demeuse; there is two men appoIntid for the expedition, they are to begin their journey on the I ith instant. I hope that you will not suffer yourself to be a widdow, the same as Mrs. Mahon. As to Ross Mahon the cries of the starved and desolated have reached the Heavens, and, after shooting him, he Is to be hanged and quartered, unless he quits Ireland, there is a fund at present in this country, the subscribers chiefly in America, for shooting oppressors. I take the liberty of informing you of the fate of the oppressors."

Addressed on the outside—" To Mrs. 31•Causland, Fruithill, Newtown Limavady post-office, County Londonderry." Postmarks. Strokestown, Nov. 12, 1847; Longford, Nov. 12, 1847; Dublin, Nov. 13, 1847; Newtown Limavady, Nov. 14, 1847.

Sir George read several passages from a letter by Mr. Sergeant Howley, the Assistant Barrister of Tipperary. " The acquisition and possession of arms," Bays Mr. Howley, "by persons of the worst character, is the subject of general remark and general reprobation; a general fear appears to pervade all; no person, if he would avoid it, would travel after nightfall. Some of the gentlemen sum- moned as grand jurors made private statements, which I had grounds for believing to be correct, that their lives would be in danger if they attempted to return home after the business of the day concluded, and earnestly sought exemption on this ground—they had received threatening notices." In another part of the letter he says—" But it is not alone over the better or wealthier classes that servile tyranny now prevails; the humble, the weak, the defenceless, are subjected alike to its relentless rule. Many examples of this come before me. I was sorry to observe that the repeated acts of assassination and murder which are now occurring in Tipperary tend in some measure to insure the impunity of the perpetrators, not

i only by operating on the fears of the well-disposed, but in some degree by deaden- ing the moral sense. There was a time when the felonious taking of human life was a saddening and painful surprise to those who heard it, shocking the feelings, rousing up the general indignation, and exciting an unusual activity to apprehend the criminal. I have latterly observed the accounts of the murder of the best men heard without much emotion, and referred to as topics of conversation with- out any strong movement of the feelings. The sensibilities of the heart, which under other circumstances lessen the chances of impunity to the offender, and are, in a well-regulated state of things, no mean assistance towards the prevention of greater offences, are in danger of being deadened into inactivity unless the progress of unpunished crime be speedily checked." It was stated in one of the Sub-Inspectors' reports, that, in former times when shots were heard in any locality, the attention of the Police was attracted by them, and they turned out immediately; there being then some chance, from their presence on the ground, of discovering the perpetrator of any crime that might have been committed with fire-arms. Now, however, owing to the indiscriminate possession of fire-arms, shots are fired at all hours of the day and night; and the report states, that, " the mere fact of a shot being fired, frequently within sight and hearing of the Police-station, consequently affords no information to the Po- lice, who would be running about all day, to the complete destruction of their efficiency, if they turned out on every occasion when they heard shots." " The Police-constable, to., whose report I have already alluded, says, that after the

murder of the man Hill, in Limerick, be coasted within a very limited distriet fewer than forty shots, which were fired off by different persons as a sort of bra- vado, and with tha view, I fear, of thereby expressing their satisfaction at what had occurred, and at the same trip of distracting the attention of the Police.* With reference to this subject, Mr. Sergeant Howley says—" When I was lately in Tipperary, passing along the high road between Clonmel and Caber, at one o'clock in the day, that day Sunday, I observed a person, accompanied by two others, present a large horse-pistol across the road and fire. He then passed across to see the effect of his shot, and was reloading for another trial, just as I drove up opposite to where he stood. I must say, he obligingly allowed me to pass before he renewed his practice. Every half-hour shots may be heard in the fields, on the roads, in the streets of the towns, in the suburbs, and this by day and by night. Formerly, when the report of a gun was heard, it at once attracted the attention of the Police, and was some warning, if at an unseasonable hour, that some act of violence or outrage was being committed. But the noise of fire-arms no longer gives any notice, or, at least, operates as such. The Police would be constantly running backward and forward if they attended to every report of arms."

Sir George recounted the steps taken by Lord Clarendon to enforce the law. No charge has been brought against the Executive Government of neglect or in- activity. "I believe I may state, that the Lord-Lieutenant has used all the means at present in his power for the repressing of crime and the protection of life and the encouragement of all those who are disposed to cooperate with the Government in its endeavours for the repression of offences against the law. Re has made use of the military and police in all cases in which he thought that the presence of an overwhelming force might either intimidate offenders or indispose others to give them aid or assistance." Sir George referred to Lord Clarendon's proclamation against the harbouring of offenders, Sic.; and to the recent case in the Dublin Court of Queen's Bench, in which bail on behalf of a person charged with harbouring an assassin had been refused. Allusions had been made to the issue of a special commission. "I am not in a condition to say that a special commission has been issued ; but let it be recollected that all these things have come upon us in a few weeks. Of the cases which have assumed the type which I have described, the first occurred only two months ago; and since that time every exertion has been made by the Executive Government and the Police to detect the parties who have committed the outrages; and notwithstanding the obstacles which have been placed in their way (though some of the perpetrators are still at large) many of those on whom suspicion rested have been made ame- nable to justice. I am sure that the Lord-Lieutenant, without any communica- tion with her Majesty's Government, would be prepared to adopt the course of issuing a special commission if necessary; and in fact he informs me, that he was prepared to adopt that coarse whenever the Attorney-General told him that there were cases numerous enough—which there soon will be—to justify the issuing of a special commission into the disturbed districts, and that he was prepared with sufficient evidence to bring home the charges made against the parties who have been committed."

" This induces me to refer to one circumstance which has occurred with refer- ence to the state of Ireland, as it respects crime, namely, that I have no fact to lay before the House, and I rejoice that I have none, showing that juries are dis- posed to shrink from their duty. I do not venture to anticipate what may be the conduct of the juries in those cases in which parties will be brought to trial for the crimes which have lately been perpetrated. We can only judge of the future by the past; and I rejoice that at the last Quarter-Sessions the parties who are charged with the conduct of the criminal prosecutions reported that they were satisfied with the results. I therefore do not ask the House to change the ordinary tribunals; feeling as I do that the ordinary course of the law will be sufficient to bring offenders to a prompt trial and speedy punishment.

"In the mean time, however, these crimes have been committed. Persons have been seen going about by day and night with guns loaded; and an officer has lately sent me some shot of the same size and description as those with which Mr. Bee was killed. It appears, that the parties load their weapons with 12 or 13 swan shot; and, practising as they do at a mark, it is hardly possible that some one of the shot so fired can fail of effect.

"By the last Constabulary Act, passed a year and a half ago, the Lord-Lieute- nant has the power of proclaiming certain districts to be in a state of disturb- ance; and there are some other acts which contain severe penalties against the same character of crime as that which is now being committed in various parts of Ireland out of the counties of Tipperary, Roscommon, and Limerick, as in Fer- managh and other places, such as the sending of threatening letters and offences of that kind, but which districts cannot be called technically in a state of dis- turbance, because the general character of them does not conform to the preamble of the Whiteboy Acts, and therefore they are not subject to the consequences of the offences which those acts were intended to prevent: but when the Constabu lary Act was passed we did not anticipate the frequency of this crime of assassi- nation, and therefore did not give to the Lord-Lieutenant powers to meet these cases. The only power given to the Lord-Lieutenant is confined to disturbed districts. That power might undoubtedly be exercised as regards Limerick, Tip- perary, and Roscommon, and I might almost say the whole, certainly a part of Clare, and possibly in some other districts. By that act a power was conferred upon the Lord-Lieutenant of sending into any district so proclaimed to be In a state of disturbance a limited number of Police, in addition to the ordinary num- ber of the Constabulary of the county; and of charging the expense of that ad- ditional Police on the county; that expense being collected at a distant period by a county cess, to be raised by means of a grand jury presentment. The Lord-Lieu- tenant has felt, that having that power now, without any show of a demonstration of force, of increasing the Police in those districts in which these crimes are com- mitted, so far as the available reserved force provided by that act was concerned, it was more prudent not to proclaim those districts to be in a state of disturb- ance, when he was unable to exercise any other power than that of so proclaiming them, and of sending into those districts a small body of Police to augment the Con stabulary of the county. I may say now, that the whole reserved force which. the Lord-Lieutenant is able to maintain in Dublin, in addition to the ordinary Constabulary force required in the counties of Ireland, is 400. It was originally proposed by the Constabulary Bill, that of that 400 the Lord-Lieutenant might send out any portion to meet an extreme case; but considerable objection was raised in this House to that power, chiefly owing, I believe, to the charge that might be imposed on a county by the will of the Lord-Lieutenant in cases which might require an augmentation of the Constabulary force; and an amendment was made in the bill, by which the power of the Lord-Lieutenant was restricted to sending 100 of those 400 to any disturbed district. I may now state, that the Lord-Lieutenant has represented to her Majesty's Government his concurrence in opinion with those resolutions which I have read from the Magistrates in different parts of the country in those disturbed districts, that the powers he at present possesses are insufficient to afford that protection to life, which he feels, and which the Government feel, it to be the duty of every Government to afford those who, in the discharge of their duty and residing on their property in Ireland, are anx- ious to cooperate with the Government in the permanent improvement of that country, and which thoserrsons are most justly entitled to demand. " But we now come to Parliament, not to ask for any general bill applicable to the whole of Ireland, but for a bill applicable to every part of the country. In which crime of the same kind may be found to exist, applicable at the discretion of the Lord-Lieutenant. I say applicable at the discretion of the Lord-Lieute- nant; for if you have confidence in the administration of the law—if you believe, -in the first instance, that some amendment of the law is necessary—that some great further powers than those which he now possesses are essential in order to enable the Lord-Lieutenant to maintain the supremacy of the law in the dia- turbed districts of Ireland,—I ask you to leave that discretion to him rather than place it in the hands of any local authority; not from any distrust, as I here state, with regard to the local Magistracy of Ireland—who, I must say, have shown a wirit well worthy of imitation on the part of their countrymen—but because I think that they ought not to have thrown upon them, in addition to their present responsible duties, that invidious and often hazardous discretion of determining whether any special powers should or should not be exercised. "I will therefore now proceed to state to the House the nature of the bill we pro- pose to introduce. The bill, after stating that in consequence of the prevalence of crime and outrage in certain parts of Ireland, it is necessary to make better provision for the prevention thereof, will in its first clause empower the Lord-Lieu- tenant, by a proclamation, whenever, in his opinion, it may be necessary for the repression of crime and outrage, to aeclare—not that the district is in a state of disturbance, because, as I have shown before, if we limit it to those parts, he might not be enabled to apply it to the remote districts of Fermanagh and other counties where crimes have been committed—but that from and after a given day the provisions of this act shall apply to a particular district; and in considering the extent of the district to which the proclamation should apply, we have fol- lowed the precise words in the existing Constabulary Act, by which the Lord- Lieutenant will have the power of proclaiming the extension of this act to any county, town, or barony, or to any half-barony in any county at large, or any district of less extent than any barony or half-barony. The second clause of the bill merely provides, that copies of the proclamation shall be posted throughout the districts named therein, in order to give persons notice of it. to- gether with an abstract of the provisions of the act for the information of all per- sons that may be affected by those provisions. We then propose, as one conse- quence of that proclamation, that the Lord-Lieutenant shall be empowered, without any limitation as to number—the present number being 100 which he may throw into any disturbed district—to increase the Constabulary force in any such pro- claimed district to any extent he may think necessary; that of course being limited, in the nature of things, to the number of the reserved force to be placed by Parliament at his disposal, as the present reserved force is; such increased force to be subject to the provisions of the present Constabulary Act, and to the same control as the present Constabulary force. The bill then proposes, that as the present reserved force is only 400, and is largely drawn upon by the draughts which the Lord-Lieutenant has sent into these disturbed districts already, he shall be empowered to increase it to 600, so as to place at his disposal a greater avail- able force to draw upon with regard to the disturbed districts than he has at present "Then, certain provisions will be necessary for the payment out of the Consoli- dated Fund, as in the existing law, of the maintenance of that reserved force. But by the present Constabulary Act it is provided, that when in consequence of a proclamation being issued any additional Police are sent into any county, half the expense of the additional Police shall be paid by the county or district in which the force serves; that expense of half of the maintenance of the force being ascer- tained and collected ultimately, at a distant period, as part of the county cess, by means of a grand jury presentment and collection of that cess. We, however, have thought it desirable, and to this provision in the bill the Lord-Lieutenant attaches great importance, that two alterations should be made as to this provision of repayment: the first is, that when in consequence of crime an extraordinary number of Police are required for the repression of crime, for the apprehension of offenders' and the protection of the peaceable and loyal inhabitants, the whole ex- pense of the Police, during the time they are in the district, should be borne by the district, and not by the whole county at large. And, although the Consoli- dated Fund might be charged, in the that instance, with the payment of those men, we propose that the whole expense incurred shall be repaid by the district in which they are called upon to serve. But another and material alteration, which at the suggestion of the Lord-Lieutenant her Majesty's Government have thought it right to make' is this, that that payment ought not to be postponed to a remote period, but to be looked at in the light of a penalty, payable at once, for the crimes which may have given rise to the necessity for the employment of the additional Police. The Lord-Lieutenant thinks that the payment ought to be made imme- diately. We agree with him; and we think it desirable that by the provisions of this bill there should be a direction, authorizing the Lord-Lieutenant—though I will not not now go into the details—that when any Police force shall be sent to any district, an estimate of their expenses for three months shall be made, and that means shall be taken in the same way as with the county cess, which falls upon the occupiers, for the payment of such expenses, and that they shall be forth- with repaid. If their presence is required for a longer period, at the expiration of the first three months the same process may be repeated, and provision may be made for any broken period, and for repayment to the county cess if the Police are withdrawn at an earlier time.

" I now proceed to another clause. It contains regulations which we think are necessary to be established in order to restrain in these districts the present un- restricted possession and use of fire-arms by persons who by the use they have made of those arms have proved themselves unworthy of this privilege, and not fit to be trusted with them. The first provision we propose with regard to this subject, is that there shall be a general prohibition, on the districts so proclaimed, and from a day to be named, on which the proclamation should apply—a prohibi- tion on all persons irrespective of their right or amount of rating, with certain ex- ceptions which I will presently explain—to carry or have within the district spe- cified within any such proclamation, elsewhere than in their own dwelling-house, certain fire-arms, which are enumerated at length in the bill—that enumeration being necessarily inserted to prevent any evasion of the clause; and any person who shall carry or have arms contrary to this act shall be declared to be guilty of a misdemeanour, and upon conviction shall be liable to imprisonment and hard la- bour for a term not exceeding two years. In this clause no discretion is left to the Lord-Lieutenant His sole discretion will be issuing the proclamation; and if he thinks it necessary that a proclamation should issue, these provisions will follow without any farther act on his part- and it will no longer be lawful for any person to go about carrying arms, and making use of them in the execution of their sanguinary purposes, which disturb the district to which the proclamation will apply. "But I now come to the exceptions which are necessary; for it is absolutely impossible that this disarmament should be universal. The first exceptions, there- fore, will be Justices of the Peace, persons in her Majesty's Naval or Military service, or in the Coast Guard, or in the service of the Revenue, or in the Police or Constabulary force, or Special Constables, or persons duly licensed to kill game— ("Hear! " and a iaugh)—or persons duly licensed as thereinafter specified. That hrst list of enumerated exceptions are exceptions that already exist, and in which no licence will have to be applied for; but it has been thought that there might be cases in which it was necessary that the exception should be carried further. If we could rely at once with absolute confidence upon this clause of the bill effecting the object for which it is framed, and that by a mere enactment of Par- liament we could disarm all persons who improperly carried abroad and used their fire-arms, it might not be necessary to make any other exception; but, in- dependently of those persons included in the first exception, it has appeared that there may be persons, such as Collectors of Poor-rates, who are objects of these deadly attacks, or Poor-law Guardians, or persons absolutely obliged to go abroad in the discharge of their duty; and it may be necessary that they should be ex- empted from the operation of this bill. " We do not propose any local system of licensing—I mean any, system of li- censing for the purpose of carrying arms abroad in any district by means of local authority in the existing Magistrates. We do not think that the Magistrates of the disturbed districts should have imposed on them the duty of licensing per- sons to carry arms, when it might expose them to greater danger than that which they already incur in the discharge of their duty. We intend that this second class of exceptions shall be few in number; that prohibition shall be the rule and licensing the exception: and in granting that licence, we propose here again to place the responsibility on the Executive—on the Lord-Lientenant; and to pro- vide that persons to be named by him, connected with high office in the Consta- bulary, shall have the power, at certain times, and under certain restrictions to be issued by him, of granting licences in those cases in which for the purpose of self- defence persons may have the privilege of carrying arms. There will then be power given for the apprehension of all persona unlawfully carrying arms con- trary to the provisions of this act, and power for the Constabulary to search all persons whom they may suspect as persons coining within the provisions of the act and offending against it, and to take away their arms, which will then be forfeited to the Crown.

" As an illustration of the working of this bill, I will only recall to the recol- lection of the House the fact I stated from the report, and which I have stated more in detail from another document, that upon the day on which Major Mahon was murdered two persons were seen larking about the very spot where he was afterwards murder; and there is no moral reason to doubt, although the assas- sin has not yet been discovered, that they were the persons by whom that fatal act was committed. If the Police had at that time been armed with the powers provided by this bill, those persons would have been arrested, the fatal weapon by which Major Mahon was murdered taken away, and the carriers of those anus would have been taken to prison and made amenable to the punishment provided by this bill.

" The provisions of this bill, as far as I have stated them, do not extend to persons retaining the possession of arms in their houses; and if we are not of opinion that some absolute prohibition to retain arms, now in the possession of persons in those districts which will be under this prohibition, ought to be enacted by Parliament, we think it ought to be enacted as to carrying arms abroad. There is no doubt that the possession of arms has been sought for and obtained in many of these disturbed districts, for perhaps lawful objects, by many small farmers and others, for the purpose of defending their houses against midnight attacks; and in many cases those attacks have been successfully defeated by the gallant use of their fire-arms by those persona. But, at the same time, the indiscriminate pos- session by persons, under all circumstances, of arms within these proclaimed dis- tricts--persons, perhaps, against whom suspicions are entertained of being con- cerned in these murderous conspiracies, if not in the actual murders—ought not to be sanctioned. We therefore propose that the Lord-Lieutenant shall be em- powered to call upon all persons not within the enumerated exceptions, and who have not also obtained by that means, and from the persons to whom I have already referred, a licence to retain arms in their own houses, to deliver up their arms by a day to be named in a notice to be issued by the Lord-Lieutenant at some Police station in the district proclaimed. And we propose to enact, that after such no- tice any person knowingly retaining arms in their possession in their house, not being within the exceptions or duly licensed—which exceptions will be limited— after the day named in that notice, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour; and the Lord-Lieutenant shall have then the power, by warrant under his hand or that of his Secretary, to search by the Police in the day-time for arms in those districts, and to authorize the seizure of all arms by the Police in those districts, and their forfeiture to the Crown, if found after notice in the possession of any person.

"Such are the provisions we propose with regard to the indiscriminate pos- session of arms; and they are provisions which I am authorized by the Lord- Lieutenant to state will enable him, with the additional Police force he will be empowered by this bill to throw into the disturbed districts, aided by the support the military will be able to afford him, effectually to prevent the frequent recur- rence of crime, and to repress the system of assassination which paralyzes the efforts of the Government and disorganizes society in Ireland. " There are some other provisions of the bill, and to these I will now in con- clusion briefly allude. With reference to certain of the provisions of the Whiteboy Acts, regarding the state of disturbance in counties or districts, and in which the necessity of the proof of these disturbances is now required before persons can be prosecuted, it will hereafter be provided, that, in any district in which prow- cutions are enforced, the proof of disturbance shall be rendered unnecessary; and that it becomes in the opinion of the Lord-Lieutenant expedient to apply the pro- visions of those acts to limited districts not marked by agrarian outrages, and not coming within the ordinary definitions, persona writing threatening letters, or ap- pearing in any way in arms to the terror of her Majesty's subjects, shall be amenable to the provisions of the Whiteboy Acts, and shall be liable also to penalties imposed by those acts for the commission of every such crime. There is one other clause, which I believe is rather a novel one, and which perhaps may be thought by some gentlemen to do little more than declare the existing law. It not

only, however, declares, but it increases and enforces the stringency of the exist- ing law, subjects parties to penalties for any violation of it, and will, I sin- cerely trust, have the effect of removing that apathy and indifference to the com- mission of crime which now prevails, and, at the same time, of checking that dis- position to refuse assistance to the Police in the apprehension of offenders to which I have more than once adverted in the observations I have made to the House this night. We now propose that Justices and Constables, where any murder has been committed, or where there has been any attempt to commit murder, or where there is reasonable ground for fearing a murder to have been committed, shall have power to call on all male persons within the ages of sixteen and sixty, residing or being within the district in which that murder has been committed, to assist in the search for and pursuit of the parties charged with the commission of the crime, and that in any effort that may be made to discover and detect the real offenders, such Justices and Constables shall be entitled to call on all such persons to join in such pursuit and investigation; and thereupon every person refusing to join in such pursuit shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and shall be liable, upon convio- lion, to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding two years. "Stich, Sir, are the main provisions of the bill which I am anxious to obtain the leave of the House to lay upon the table this night: and, whatever the opinions which may be entertained with regard to its adaptation to check the evils which it has been my painful duty to lay before the House as existing in various parts of Ireland in a greater or less degree, I still hope that this House will allow me to lay at once upon the table a bill framed with the object rather of preventing the commission of crime and facilitating the detection of criminals, than of subject- ing a whole people, for the offences of the minority, to the penalties of a severe and vexatious law. As I said before, in explaining the reasons for introducing the bill, I do not require the suspension of the ordinary form of the law or the abolition of the ordinary tribunals; but I do ask from you the means of dis- pelling that terror—that natural and well-grounded terror—which does exist in all classes of society in Ireland in consequence of the atrocities which I have already detailed. I trust that, whatever opinion may be entertained as to the efficiency of the proposed measure, Parliament will at least not delay in acknowledging the principle, that it is the duty of the Government and of the Legislature to endeavour, by the existing law if you can, and if not, by an amend- ment of that law, to prevent the repetition and frequent occurrence of crimes of that atrocity to which the attention of the House has been so painfully trust that no objection will be offered from any quarter to laying the table—the bill being now quite ready to be placed in the hands- f. that, in fixing an early day for taking the second stage, the delg which doubt be protracted, will be until then postponed. I think it ki this arrangement be made; and I do hope there will go forth from this House this night, in agreeing to the motion I have made for leave to bring in 'a bill for the better prevention of crime and outrage in certain parts of Ireland,' a resolution, that Parliament is not prepared to withhold from us those powers which we on our responsibility demand, and which we firmly believe to be indispensably ne- cessary to the due accomplishment of those ends at which we venture to aim." (Sir George Grey resumed his seat, apparently much exhausted, amid cheers from both sides of the House.) Mr. JOHN O'CONNELL stated that he should not oppose the first reading Of the bill; but he regretted that no mention was made of the "crimes" committed by some of the gentry. Care should be taken, not only that the landlords should not be shot, but that the unfortunate wretches who are unable to find either employment or food should not perish of hunger. Go- vernment estimates the amount of the destitute at 500,000; but he insisted that there would be two or three millions to provide for. Whilst punish- ing outrage, Government must not leave out of consideration the provoca- tion to guilt. He should call attention to this subject; and if Ministers did not take measures for the settlement of the landlord-and-tenant ques- tion, endeavouring to pass a bill of amelioration with at least as much speed as their bill of coercion, be should oppose them at every stage of the latter.

Mr. FEARGUS O'Corrwox contended, that Sir George Grey himself had demonstrated the complete success of the ordinary law. This measure was evidently designed as a sop for landlords—a bit of patronage, a sort of com- pensation for the repeal of the Corn-laws. He warned Government against straining the law; as that leads to resistance and sympathy with the ac- cused. English Ministers never consider Ireland excepting with regard to the political support that they can obtain from her; and he could not agree to the delay of better measures, to which Mr. John O'Connell con- sented: though he should walk out alone, he would divide the House against the bill.

Mr. Honsmaw was prepared to support the bill, if it were necessary for the protection of life and the preservation of tranquillity in Ireland. He could not, however, support it simply as a coercive measure, although it might be milder than similar measures which had preceded it. His duty as a Member of Parliament was to consider how it stood as part and par- cel of some large and comprehensive scheme of policy for Ireland; and in that respect he desiderated further information. He could not forget the vote which he had given against Sir Robert Peel's Coercion Bill; which was resisted, not because the Opposition of that time wanted confidence in Sir Robert Peel, nor because they quarrelled with his particular measure, but because they wished to give a deathblow to the coercive system.

He must say, that to his mind the most dreadful, horrible, and appalling part of the many statements of the Home Secretary, was, not the murders which he had recounted—not even the still more painful tact that they could not get the in- habitants of the country, who saw the murders committed, to assist in appre- hending the assassin: these were two bad features of the case; but to his mind the most horrible part of the story was, that we had allowed this system to go on ever since we knew Ireland, and that up to this moment we had made no progress in remedying it. He remembered hearing an honourable Member say with a sneer, that the budget of Irish horrors came round as regularly with the long nights of winter as the Christmas pantomime. Last year, Sir James Graham produced the same sad tale that Sir George Grey had now done; so did Lord Althorp in 1834; Mr. Secretary Goulburn in 1825; and even in 1814, when Mr. Secretary Peel made the blood of the House run cold on the same subject, it was a thrice-told tale. From the commencement of the present century—ever since the Union, indeed, up to the present time—Ireland bad been in the same state. In a speech made by Lord Clare in his place in Parliament soon after the Union, his Lordship stated that he should be happy if he could go to his bed at night without the apprehension of having his throat cut before the morning, or seeing his wife and children butchered before his eyes; that he should be happy if he could ride out unarmed, but that when he went out his Irish servant brought him his arms as regularly as his hat; and he concluded his speech by offering a villa and six acres of land to any Englishman who would go and reside there for six months, being perfectly certain that the terms would never be complied with. If any gentleman would refer to that speech, it would repay him the perusal, and would perhaps surprise him to see that now, thirty-three years later, Ireland was precisely in the same state as it was then; that they were still deploring the same crimes, and tracing them to the same source—not political, not religious, but all agrarian—and listen- ing to the member of Government whose duty it is to bring forward the tale of horror, as if they had heard it for the first time: and unless other measures were to accompany the one now before the House, they were following the pernicious example of former Parliaments, and devoting their energies to the eradication of symptoms, leaving the malady untouched. It was time to put an end to this sys- tem of feeding the people one year and coercing them the next—both foolish and costly expedients. He wished to see remedial measures go hand in hand with coercive measures. He felt that this was not a time to trifle in regard to Ireland. For thirty-three years we had been at peace with every people in Europe except the Irish: who could tell how long the peace of Europe would continue, or when the Irish war would be brought to a termination? He felt that they were stand- ing on a volcano. They had hitherto, by Heaven's mercy, escaped the judgments they deserved for the enormities that had been committed by the Government in Ireland: let them not attempt to go further in that direction.

Mr. FAGAN insisted on the sufficiency of the ordinary law; wholly con- demned coercion; denounced the present system, which gives property rights without being accompanied by duties, and provokes a struggle between starvation on the one hand and the rights of property on the other. He asserted that the peasantry and farmers arm themselves for self-pro- tection. Instead of nineteen murders a month, as at present, there were fifty murders at the time the late Ministry brought for ward their bill, which the House rejected.

Lord JOCELYN supported the bill at considerable length; only regretting that it was not more stringent.

Mr. R. M. Fox argued that the establishment of tenant-right was neces- sary to do away with the causes of agrarian disturbance. Lord BERNARD only desired a stronger measure of coercion.

Mr. Porn-Err Scuoru did not oppose the bill, because it was of a much milder character than he had anticipated; still he feared that it would be wholly ineffective for its object of giving increased security to life and property. The great object should be to give protection to the rights of the occupying tenants; as it is the dread of losing land, the sole means of sup- port, which incites these outrages. Sir ROBERT PEEL gave the Government measure a cordial support, but suggested several points for further consideration.

"I should be unwilling," he said, "to let the first night of the debate on the l of her Majesty's Government to pass without taking the opportunity of ruMay declaring that it is my intention to give a cordial support to that pro- posal. I cannot resist the force of the appeal which the right honourable gen- tleman has made to the House. The right honourable gentleman has justly said, that this House, without committing itself to the details of any particular measure, has, in an unanimous address to the Throne, conveyed to her Majesty an as- surance that it will take this subject into its immediate consideration. The right honourable gentleman has also truly said, that the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland and her Majesty's Government, charged with the heavy responsibility of giving protection to the subjects of the Queen, in return for the allegiance which the law exacts from them, consider the state of the law to be imperfect, and that on their responsibility they must demand additional powers. The right honourable gentleman has fortified that claim, first made solely on the responsibility of those charged with the Executive Government, by reciting details of crimes which can leave no doubt on the mind of any man that it is our duty at once to attempt, at, least, to arrest the progress of what I believe to be one of the most sangui tyrannies that ever existed in any country having a claim to be called will zed I assure the right honourable gentleman that I cannot resist the force of that appeal, because it is precisely the same appeal which some twoyears since I my- self made in vain. (Loud cheers from the Opposition benches.) " Now, Sir, let me not be mistaken. 1 most frilly admit that I think measures of this nature are no remedy for the social evils that prevail in Ireland. I admit the justice of the observation, that they are no remedy for the evils in the social state of that country. Nay—for I will conceal none of the objections—it is al- ways with great reluctance that I have consented to propose, or that I consent to support them; because there is this evil attending them, even with reference merely to the peace and tranquillity of the country, that it is impossible to pro- pose them without in some degree diminishing confidence in the efficacy of the ordinary law, and paralyzing its operation. But still, when I hear, upon the an- thority of the Government, and when I find the statement confirmed by evidence, that there exists in Ireland a conspiracy—for the right honourable gentleman told us he has the best grounds for believing a conspiracy does exist—for the purpole of employing assassins, in order, without reference to age, sex, property, or con- dition, to deprive of their lives the faithful and tmoffending subjects of her Ma- jesty,—I say the permission of this practice is such a scandal, that none of the objections that may apply worth consideration, compared

to the measure appear

with the evil of conniving at or permitting that scandal to exist. And although I think this is no permanent remedy for the state of Ireland, yet I for one will not wait, I will not postpone my consent to this measure till I hear what are the other

measures, what are the more permanent remedies the Government has to propose.I will enter into no parley or negotiation with these assassins. limy it is our duty,

if we wish to lay a foundation for the permanent improvement of Ireland, to do all we can to preserve the lives of her Majesty's faithful and loyal subjects in that country; it is our duty, without ulterior considerations, to endeavour to paralyze the arm of the assassin. I will not wait for other measures, though I think other measures are necessary. I hope the House will apply its deliberate consideration to the present proposition; though I feel that Ireland, as a part of the empire, ought to be as dear to Englishmen as England itself, and requires the same con- sideration. I feel strongly that no evil can afflict the state of Ireland that will not react on this country: whether it be want of employment, misery, or poverty, de- pend on it, the evil effects of these causes will not be limited to the soil of Ire- land; they will react on the state of society here, on the position of the labourer, and the remuneration he gets for his toiL I feel all these things strongly and acutely; yet I am bound to say, that any one who expects immediate results from any measures which are to be permanent in their operation, well intentioned as they may be, takes too sanguine a view of the power of legislation to remedy evils of long endurance. The length of their endurance is no doubt a reason for the immediate consideration of them; but that is a reason which should make us cautious lest, with the best intentions, we might, in endeavouring to correct them, fall, by hasty proceedings, into the worst legislation. "Take the remedies generally proposed. One is emigration. At first sight, it seems a simple matter to transfer the superabundant population of one part of the empire to a colony in want of additional labour; but when you come to address yourselves to the subject, you feel all the difficulties of it—you find how difficult it is to transfer any portion of the population of Ireland to a colony so as to make the abstraction of that population tell on the state of Ireland, without great ex- pense and without great trouble. Then there is the measure on which the ho- nourable gentleman (Mr. Serape) has dwelt so much—namely, the improvement of the relations between landlord and tenant. The honourable gentleman has laudably directed much of his attention to that subject, and has adverted to the good effect of the tenant-right in Ulster, as compared with the state of things in Connaught and Munster: but there may be other causes for that distinction which prevails in those provinces, and therefore I would advise the honourable gentle- man not to rash too suddenly to the conclusion that the legislative introduction of the same usage as exists in Ulster into Connaught and Minister would at once produce there the same effect. There is another honourable gentleman who is equally entitled to commendation for the attention which he has given to this subject, I allude to the honourable Member for Rochdale, (Mr. Sharman Craw- ford,) who has in his own case set an example which many landlords might well imitate. I assent to the justice of the principle which I understand him to con- tend for: I do think that the tenant—particularly in Ireland, who has there to bear expenses which the tenant in this country does not bear, such as, probably, the expense of the erection of the place in which he is to live—I do admit that the tenant who has improved his property ought to have some claim against the owners of the land. I think that a principle of justice. But I have heard it con- tended that the application of the tenant-right of Ulster is no remedy for the evils of Ireland, but that you must go further—that you must give the tenant a right (against the adverse right of the landlord well founded in law) to sell the occu- pancy, without any reference to any improvements he may have made. I must say, that any law of such a kind, so far from having any tendency to improve the condition of the occupying tenant, though it might produce a temporary lull or quiet for some two months on the part of those immediately benefited by it, would be cal- culated more than anything else to shake the confidence, to diminish the stimulus to improvement, and to lead to confiscation, and would be as fatal to the well-under- stood interest of the tenantry as of the proprietors. I for one think that there ought to be no distinction in principle between the law of property in England and the law of property in Ireland with respect to this tenant-right. We admit here the justice of the principle that the tenant improving his land ought not to be dispossessed of it, and made to forfeit the money he has laid out in improvements, at the mere caprice of the landlord. I think that to be a principle of justice in England, and I think it also a principle of justice with respect to Ireland: but no man who considers this subject and desires to make it the subject of direct legislation can enter on the discussion without being soon aware of the very formidable difficul- ties in the way. Only last session, or in the preceding session, there being a ge- neral concurrence in the principle acted upon in Lincolnshire, namely, the principle by which the tenant, being dispossessed of his farm, has a right (not recog- nized by the law, I believe, but recognized by the landlords) to the value of the unexhausted improvements he has made on his land, when an attempt was made to introduce by law that principle throughout England, we know how great were the difficulties of the subject, even while we did not at the same time contest the justice of the principle. So it is with respect to Ireland, and even with respect to the limited view of tenant-right taken by the honourable gentleman who spoke last, namely, that the tenant should have the right to recover for improvements made by him on the soiL Speaking of bona fide improvements, I admit that to be just; and though I should cordially rejoice to see the principle giving each se- curity to the tenant embodied in a law, yet, having considered the subject, I am fully aware of the difficulties of it-difficulties which ought not to make us des- pair, but ought, at any rate, to render us not too sanguine. So with respect to many other matters deeply connected with the social state of Ireland. Feeling as I do, the vast importance of giving them early consideration' I am yet not san- guine enough to hope that, great as the effects of the proper treatment of them may be ultimately, it would tell immediately on the present condition of Ireland; and, as I said before, I will on no account wait. I will take an immediate step with respect to assassination, conspiracy, and assassins; and will enter into no negotiation or capitulation with them. (Cheers.) -4 It is not my intention, in giving my support to the Government, to make any reference to the bygone transactions of 1846. It has been said by an honourable

gentleman, that it is due to the late Government that you should resist this mea-

sure because you defeated a similar measure when they were in office. The best reparation you can make to the late Government is to pass this law. (Cheers.)

As for reparation in any party sense—I speak for myself—so far from wishing to

see the passing of this measure in any way urged against the Government as a triumph in reference to any prc_ipwal made at another time I utterly disclaim en-

tertaining such sentiments. The state of society in Ireland is the paramount

consideration, and all party disputes and squabbles are utterly unworthy of con- sideration. (Cheers.) The right honourable gentleman opposite has proposed a

measure, which on the responsibility of the Government he thinks adequate for the purpose. I think we must regard the decision of the Government as almost final in this respect. I think that a popular assembly representing the people ought to be most unwilling to force on the Government any measures which they do not think necessary; and they being of opinion that with the proposed measure they will be able to cope with the existing evil, I think we should be unwilling to suggest proceedings departing in a more extraordinary degree from the esta- blished law.

"I wish to-ebeetwe, however, that there are parts of the proposed measure which I do not understand. I do not understand what is to be the nature of the tribunal before which, in a proclaimed district, offenders are to be carried. I un- derstand the right honourable gentleman to say that the Lord-Lieutenant of Ire- land should have unlimited power to proclaim districts in Ireland, corresponding with the limits of counties or smaller divisions. Then I understand that the Lord-Lieutenant is to have a doable discretionary power in respect to the posses- sion of arms—namely, a power to interdict the carrying of arms except by parties named in the act or specially authorized." Sir G. GREY—" That would necessarily follow from the proclamation." Sir It PEEL—" I will take the case of a witness called on to attend a trial, in a district where the sympathy is with the murderer and not with the murdered man. I take it for granted that the Lord-Lieutenant would allow that witness the possession of fire-arms--that that was a case where he would exercise his dis elution. Then I understand that there might be cases where the peace was threatened in a higher degree, in which the Lord-Lieutenant would have, by ad- ditional proclamation, the power to prevent the possession of arms even in the houses of persons holding them, as well as on the highway. But the right ho- nourable gentleman has not said whether this offence IS to be tried by the ordi- narp by special tribunals."

Sir G. GREY—" Precisely as Whiteboy offences are now tried."

Sir R. PEEL—" I am also bound to say, that I think the state of the law with respect to the possession of arms, after this bill has been passed, will be unsatis- factory. In instances named by the Lord-Lieutenant the population may be dis- armed, either partially or totally ; there will be a power of domiciliary visits, and of depriving all parties of the possession of arms, except those who are specially permitted to retain them: but I am afraid that, unless the exceptions are very wide,

you may create great insecurity in some of the disturbed districts by almost in- discriminately disarming the.population ; because, with the exception of magistrates,

of persons in the public service, or of persons who are specially excepted from the

operation of the act by the Lord-Lieutenant, all parties without distinction will be required to deliver up their arms, retaining none for their defence. There

can be no doubt that many persons in the lower ranks of society are now in the possession of arms for no dishonest or illegal purpose, but bona fide for the pur- pose of offering that resistance which is the most effectual check upon the invader of the public peace; for I believe that the shooting of one man, by the brave deter- mined occupier of a house, has more effect in repressing outrage than half-a-dozen executions. But, if the intention of the bill should be to disarm, indiscriminately, all persons but those who are excepted from its operation, I am afraid the effect of the measure will not be such as 1 am sure the right honourable Baronet is de- sirous that it should be—to afford additional protection to life and property. In certain districts proclaimed by the Lord-Lieutenant, there will be a general dis- arming of the people. In the adjoining districts there will be no prohibition, no restriction whatever, as to the indiscriminate possession of arms by all persons. Now I must say, that although the Arms Act has been given up, there are many

districts of Ireland in which repeated murders do not occur, yet in which I think there is no justification whatever for permitting the perfectly unrestricted pos-

session of arms. The Lord-Lieutenant will have the power of issuing his pro- clamation to disarm certain persons; but I think it would be infinitely better to have a general act regulating the possession of arms, applicable to the whole country, rather than to provide that in certain districts, to be named at the dis- cretion of the Lord-Lieutenant, arms are to be totally prohibited, while in other districts, almost as bad, and immediately adjoining the prohibited districts, the peo- ple will not only have the power to keep arms in their houses, but to parade those arms in the face of the authorities at mid-day, and to carry on those shooting operations to which the Police-constable of whom we have heard referred. I think the state of the law in this respect, under the bill before the House, would be very imperfect and unsatisfactory; and I hope the right honourable Baronet will not abandon altogether the notion of having some Arms Act, which, with as little vex- ation as possible, may regulate generally the possession of arms throughout the country. " What will be exactly the state of the law with respect to Whiteboy offences under the proclamation, it is impossible to say, and I do not think that this is the occasion for entering into those details. I consider that the right honourable Ba- ronet has offered a full vindication of this measure. He has proved that there exists in Ireland a degree of insecurity which ought not to be permitted to con- tinue. I cannot say whether the bill he proposes will be efficacious or not; but I earnestly hope, that if before Parliament may separate there should be reason to believe that it will not be efficacious, no fear of taunt will prevent him from ap- pealing to Parliament to strengthen the hands of the Government. My firm be- lief is, speaking from the experience of thirty or forty years, that there are cer- tain districts in Ireland subject to all those great causes which lead to the disor- ganization of society and that there are some districts, for instance; in Tipperary, where crime is inveterate and almost ineradicable. In 1814, I detailed cases of organized conspiracies to murder, directed against gentlemen of the highest re- spectability, exactly similar to those which have been laid before the House by the right honourable Baronet. I recollect perfectly well a case in which, on each of three different roads approaching the town of Clonmel, five assassins, hired by a Party of considerable wealth, were stationed in order to insure the murder of a magistrate of the highest respectability. By one of those roads this magistrate travelled, and by the live assassins stationed on that road he was murdered. It appeared that the assassins had been hired at two guineas a piece to commit the deed. A reward of 1,000/ was offered to any person but those who actually fired the shots for the conviction of each of the assassins. The person by whom they engaged laid open the whole plot, and claimed the reward. Two of the assassins whom he employed were convicted; and, in consequence of the assurance given by the Government, I paid that man 2,0001. "But it is quite unfair to impute to Ireland crimes of this nature; it is most unjust to judge of the general disposition of Ireland from the iniquity of these particular districts. I declare, with respect to the great towns of Ireland—far instance, Dublin, Limerick, and Cork—where the people are collected together in large bodies, that they seem to be almost more submissive to the laws, more obe- dient to the authorities, than they are in this country; and the same may be said of the inhabitants of Wicklow, and other counties. In many districts of Ire- land, I think the people are more peaceable, more resigned and patient under privation, than the people of this country, and they are quite as obedient to the laws; and I conceive that nothing can be more unjust than to judge of the gene- ral character of the people of Ireland from those plague-spots which have beefs mentioned.

"But, if these crimes are so inveterate in certain districts, I greatly mistrust the efficacy of any mere temporary law for their suppression. 1 greatly doubt whether it is not absolutely necessary to subject some districts to a permanent discipline. I do not think it would be necessary to have enormous penal ties or unconstitutional powers; but I would have new police districts; I would have the strictest registry of every person within them; and I would subject those districts, as the right honourable Baronet proposes, to the expense entailed by such measures,—though when the people are suffering, as is at mm:- nt the case, from extreme poverty, I do not know whether this step would afford any very effectual remedy. I would also have a detective police as well as a protective police. I consider that this is what you want in Ireland. You have an excellent police for defeating powerful combinations; but I think you are wanting in a detective police.

I think you ought to have a police especially engaged in the detection of these offenders. I think you should also give some assurance to witnesses, that if they

aid you in carrying the laws into effect, they shall have valid protection. 1 know how difficult it is to deal with this question. You must take care not to hold out inducements which might lead to unfounded accusations; but when a man who comes forward to give his evidence in aid of the operation of the law ill doomed, if not to murder, at least to certain rain, it is a discouragement to the due administration of the law for which it is almost impossible to find a remedy.. And, even if you sent such a witness to Canada, or to some of our other Colonise, I fear that, with the great facilities of communication which now exist, you could not give him the protection he needs. I much fear that he would be a marked man in the Colonies, and that those facilities of communication which now exist would be employed for defeating the due administration of the law. " These subjects, as it appears to me, deserve the serious consideration of the Government. As 1 said befbre, I think the necessity for the immediate passing of a law directed against murder and conspiracy to murder in Ireland m most

urgent. I will quarrel with none of the details of this measure. I will give it my cordial support; and I trust that those who opposed the measure brought for- ward in 1846, if they have any consideration for the feelings of the late Govern- ment, will not withhold their support from the bill now before the House." (Cheers.) Mr. Mkrutms O'Comistr. demanded a landlord and tenant bill to pro- ceed pan passe with this coercion bill.

Mr. CALLAGHAN would support the bill, as being not really a coercion bill, but one intended for the defence of life and property. On the whole, its provisions were unobjectionable.

Mr. DISRAELI explained, that the bill proposed by the late Government was resisted because Members took exception to the provisions of that

particular bill, which was very different from the present measure; and also because it was delayed till the month of June, creating a strong impres- sion that the Minister was not in earnest. He applauded the present Ministers for having brought forward their measure so early.

In reply, Sir GEORGE GREY stated a few farther particulars respecting the bill. It was proposed that it should continue in force until the 1st of December 1849 and to the then next session of Parliament. A detective force had been suggested by the late Lord Besborough, and its organization has been carried out by the present Lord-Lieutenant. Government hail no intention to propose a revival of the former Arms Act; but some re- gulation with regard to indiscriminate possession of arms as applicable to all Ireland is under the consideration of the Lord-Lieutenant. The present bill contained powers more stringent than would be suitable for that measure; which, however, Government would not be precluded from proposing if circumstances should render it necessary, the vexations parts of former Arms Acts being avoided. If this measure should fail, Sir Robert Peel was right in presuming that no taunts would deter Government from coming to Parliament and asking for further powers.

Mr. WAHLEY proposed the following amendment on Sir George Grey's motion-

" That it is not just to the people of Ireland to enact any bill of a coercive cha- racter without at the same time enacting measures with a view to give permanent relief."

He made some sarcastic remarks on the conduct of the Irish Members in neglecting Mr. Sharman Crawford's landlord and tenant bill, even when Government seemed to approve of the principle. At the same time, the landlord and tenant question had been a puzzling one to him: he used to think that what was called "tenant right" appeared to be land- lord robbery—but gentlemen seemed to like it, and if they were pleased with it, why should they not have it? So with this bill: it was a matter of shooting Irishmen in Ireland, and if that was an amusement which they relished why should not they have it ? (A laugh.) Occasionally, however, mistakes were commit- ted, and Irish women were shot; so that, as a matter of gallantry, he was bound to protect them from any such inflictions for the future. He did not understani what was going on in Ireland; but the Government were in possession of all necessary information to enable them to bring forward some well-defined and clearly un- derstood measures. But as this has not been done, he did not choose to give his vote for a bill which he did not altogether approve. The bill might, under the circumstances stated by the Government, be perfectly justifiable. Crimes in Ireland appeared to be of so horrible a character that there was scarcely any power which Government could ask for that he would not support, provided he saw at the same time propositions laid before the House in the shape of bills that would strike at the very root of the evils in that country, and which would place society upon a perfectly new footing. In the absence of any such measure, he felt bound to press his amendment.

Mr. Susi:maw CRAWFORD seconded the amendment.

Mr. BROTHERTON observed, that however necessary measures of im- provement may be, they could not be introduced until there should be se- curity for life and property.

Mr. REYNOLDS moved the adjournment of the debate; but at the request of Lord JOHN Russets., he withdrew his motion, reserving to himself the right of opposing the bill at future stages. Mr. WAILLEY, though urged to the same course by Mr. MORGAN JOHN O'CONNELL, Sir GEORGE GREY, and Mr. M.auaica O'CoNNELL, insisted on dividing the House; and his amendment was negatived, by 224 to 18.

The House then divided on the main question; and Sir George Grey's motion for leave to bring in a bill was carried by 233 to 20.

The bill was accordingly brought in.