oaths, which they exacted, they ill treated individuals and deftroyed houses: and several were guilty of other flagrant acts of inhumanity. Some of them were taken and tried at Carrickfergus; but whether from want of evidence, from fear of incurring the refentment of the populace, or from partiality in the witnesses and the jury, they were acquitted. On this account the legiflature paffed an act, by which all perfons indicted of fuch offences were ordered to be tried in counties different from those, in which the exceffes were committed. In confequence, feveral of the Steel Boys, against whom examinations had been taken, were carried to Dublin and put upon their trial. But fo ftrong was the prejudice conceived against this new law, that no jury there would find any of them guilty. But when the obnoxious act was repealed, reflection took place, and the pernicious * This act 11 and 12 of Geo. III. c. v. was entituled, "An Act for the more effectual Punishing "wicked and diforderly perfons, who have committed, or shall commit violences and do injuries to persons or properties of any of his Majefly's fubjects in the Counties of Antrim, Down, Armagh, City and County of Londonderry, and County of Tyrone, or any of them; or who shall deliver or "publish Threatening Letters, or who refift or oppofe the levying the public Taxes in the faid Counties, or any of them; and for the more effectual bringing to Juftice certain Offenders therein mentioned." And the fixth section of it is to the following effect," and whereas there is great reafon to believe, ** that fuch wicked perfons have been greatly encouraged in the commiffion of such enormous "crimes by their hopes of being acquitted, if to be tried by the petty juries of their respective "counties: for the more impartial trial of all perfons fo as aforefaid offending, be it enacted by "the authority aforefaid, that if any indictment or indictments for offences committed, fince the "first day of January laft, or which fhall be committed against the said acts of the twenty-ninth "reign of his late majefty George the Second and the fifth of his prefent majefty, herein before "mentioned, or either of them, or for high treafon or murder committed fince the first day of January laft, or to be committed hereafter, or for any offence or offences, which shall hereafter be "committed against this act, fhall be found in any of the faid counties, where fuch offences fhall be "committed, the offender or offenders to be mentioned in such indictment or indictments, may be "proceeded against and tried upon indictment or indictments for fuch offences before fuch com"miffioners of oyer and terminer and general gaol delivery, as fhall be affigned by the king's majefty's commiffion under the great feal of this kingdom of Ireland, by the good and lawful men of the body of the county of Dublin, or of the county of the city of Dublin, as refpectively "shall be appointed in fuch commiffion, and at fuch place within the faid counties or either of them "as fhall be appointed in faid commiflion; and such proceeding fhall be valid and effectual in the law, as if the offence had been done within the county, where the same shall be tried; and such "indictment or indictments in such cases, shall be certified unto fuch commiffioners upon his ma"jesty's writ of certiorari, to be issued for that purpose, and that in all such cases no challenge to "the pernicious confequence of the principles and the conduct of the infurgents began to be viewed by the people in the true light. Once more fome of them were tried in their respective counties. The indictments were proved, and they were condemned and executed. Thefe examples, with proper exertions of the military, extinguished the commotion; though the confequences of it produced effects that were permanent, and highly prejudicial to the country. In a fhort time, many thousands of its inhabitants emigrated to America. The great ground of oppofition to Lord Townshend's administration was, that in fupporting the government by unconftitutional means, he deprived the country of that bafis of freedom and happiness, to which by the fair enjoyment of its conftitution it was entitled. When therefore the address of thanks to the king was reported to the houfe by Mr. Fofter, of which the second paragraph began in these words, "We are fully perfuaded, that the "Support of your majesty's government is the great and firm basis of the free"dom and happiness of this country,” an amendment was propofed, that before the word support, the word conftitutional should be inferted; it was negatived by a majority of 88 against 36.* The baneful example of the chief governor's marshalling the ranks of parliament encouraged the already too deeply rooted principle of defpotism throughout the nation. Not only the great lords and real owners of land exercised in general a moft ferocious rule over their inferiors; but that ob. noxious race of felf-created gentlemen, whofe confequence and virtue confifted in not being Papifts, and whofe loyalty was mere luft for perfecuting and oppreffing them, were uncontrolable in their petty tyranny. Even the lord lieutenant was fo fenfible of it, that being refolved to pardon a Catholic gentleman unjustly found guilty, he withdrew the hand of mercy, with this reflection: I fee them refolved upon his blood; fo he may as well go now. The "the array or the polls fhall lye, or be allowed, by reafon that the jurors do not or have not come from "the proper county or place, where the offence was committed, or by reason, that the trial is out of "the county or place, where fuch offence was committed; but nevertheless upon the trials of such "offences the challenge to any juror for want of freehold in the county where the fame shall be tried "by virtue of this act, and all other due challenges to jurors fhall be allowed, any thing in this prefent "act contained to the contrary in any wife notwithstanding." * During this administration we find by the Journals mentioning the tellers upon the different divifions, that three of the most forward and conftant supporters of every government question were The remainder of Lord Townshend's administration went over without any further incident worthy of notice, either from the oppofition of the patriots within, or the disturbance of other perfons out of parliament. It is remarkable, that the whole of this lord's administration should have paffed without any public act, or the agitation of any queftion concerning the Roman Catholics. Lord Townshend's natural humanity and benevolence concurring with the known difpofition of his gracious majesty to lenity and liberality, foftened as much as poffible the rigor and fharpnefs of the exifting laws. His lordfhip could not however retire from a situation, which he had holden for near five years, without having given fome proof of his zeal for promoting the Proteftant religion. Having been fo fuccessful in profelytizing for the state, he recommended to parliament his own fpecific in gaining converts to the church. Such efficacy did he annex even to the smallest penfion, that he conceived an additional 107. per ann. a more powerful lure to bring over the Catholic clergy, than any of the means of rigor or intimidation enacted by former ftatutes. A provifion had been made by the 8th of Ann, that every Popish prieft, who had or fhould become Proteftant, and be approved of as a convert, fhould have 30l, yearly for his maintenance, until provided for by fome ecclefiaftical preferment beyond that amount. But by an act of this feffion it was recited, that it had been found by experience, that the former act had not anfwered the purposes intended, especially as the provifion made as aforefaid for fuch Popish priests is in no respect a fufficient encouragement for Popish priests to become converts; it was therefore enacted, that 407. fhould in future be allowed annually, in lieu of 30l. to every Popish prieft converted from the Popish to the Proteftant religion. The multiplication of these allowances up to the heighth of the most profelytizing zeał could not interfere with the civil lift of penfioners, as thefe fpiritual dou were Mr. Monk Mafon, Mr. Fofter, and Mr. Fitzgibbon and historical juftice obliges us to remark, that the truth or falfity of the propofitions little availed, provided it were made a government queftion. Thus befides the inftances already adduced, we find upon the Journals (8 vol. iii) the following refolution negatived on the 8th of March, 1766: "That it be refolved, that the "office of a commissioner of his majesty's revenue would be better executed by a person refident in "this kingdom, than by an absentee." During this feffion of 1771, died Dr. Lucas, whom, from his firft entrance into political life, no promises or offers could feduce from untainted patriotifim; in this particular he has been more admired than imitated by his countrymen. * 11 and 12 Geo. III. c. xxvii. ceurs ceurs were to be levied on the inhabitants of the district, wherein the convert laft refided.* This act for the encouragement of converts to the Protestant religion was alfo in fome measure deemed neceffary to counterbalance the effects of another act made in the fame feffion, fuppofed to be very favourable to the Catholics, and which in times of lefs liberality had been repeatedly thrown out of parliament, as tending to encourage Popery to the detriment and prejudice of the Proteftant religion. This was An Act to encourage the reclaiming of unprofitable Bogs. This act recites, that there were large tracts of deep bogs in feveral counties of the kingdom, which in their then state were not only unprofitable, but by their damps rendered the air unwholesome; and it had been found by experience, that fuch bogs were capable of improvement, and of being converted into arable or pafture land, if encouragement were given to the lower clafs of people to apply their induftry to the reclaiming of them. It therefore enacted, that, notwithstanding the laws then in force, any Catholic might be at liberty to take a lease of fifty plantation acres of fuch bog, and one half an acre of arable land adjoining thereto, as a fite for a house, or for the purpofe of delving for gravel or limestone, for manure, at fuch rent, as should be agreed upon between him and the owner of the foil, as alfo from ecclefiaftical or bodies corporate; and for further encouragement, the tenant was to be free for the first seven years from all tythes and ceffes; but it was provided, that if half of the bog demifed were not reclaimed at the end of twenty-one years, the leafe should be void; and no bog was to be confidered unprofitable, unless the depth of it from the furface, when reclaimed, were four feet at leaft; and no perfon was to be entitled to the benefit of the act, unless he reclaimed ten plantation acres; and the act was not to extend to any bog within one mile of a city or market town.‡ When The confequence, which by this act appears to have been annexed to the paltry sum of ten pounds per annum, rather justifies the wit of the Irish (they will be witty on the gravest subjects) upon the efficacy of Townshend's golden drops; upon which, fongs, fquibs, toafts, and epigrams were endless. † 11 and 12 Geo. III. c. xxi. I have been rather particular in detailing the fubftance of this act, in order to give legislative proof of the unnatural and unaccountable parfimony, with which the Irish government heretofore dealt When Lord Townshend met the parliament for the last time, after the common place topics of congratulations and thanks for their long and close attention to public bufinefs; he particularly affured the commons, that he should faithfully apply the fupplies granted at the beginning of that feffion to the fupport of his majesty's establishment, and to the advancement of the public fervice. Yet that the arrears incurred before their meeting upon his majesty's establishment civil and military had made it neceffary for him to borrow 100,000l. immediately after the act was paffed; and that that fum not fufficing, he had fince been obliged to raise the remaining 100,000l. being the full extent of the credit entrusted to him by that act. We have feen that fome fruitlefs divifions were made, upon the different conceptions, which the patriots had of the lieutenant's applications of the revenue, to the advancement of the public fervice; they did not confider the public purse liable to any of these appropriations by way of bargain or remuneration, by which they openly charged the lord lieutenant with having obtained a majority of the members, in his fupport, and kept them fteady in their ranks. 66 dealt out justice even to themselves and country. Such extreme bigotry could not be credited, if the public records of the nation, even as late as 1771, did not proclaim it in every line of the abovementioned act. The liberal and philofophical Dr. Campbell has given us a ftriking inftance of the backwardness of government, in earlier days, to encourage or promote the advantages, which nature has lavished on that country. Writing from Cafhel in 1775, he fays, that the firft place he stopped at in the province of Munster, going from Kilkenny, was a little village called Killynaul; there he entered into conversation with his landlord. (P. 120.) "Upon my fuppofing, in my turn, that the "clear fire before me was of Kilkenny coal, his anfwer was fomewhat indignant, yet fraught with "information." "Arrah no! my dear jewel, for by Shafus we have as good coal as Kilkenny "ourselves, ay and better too. The devil an inch you rode to day but upon coal pits. Sure it is we, that ferve all Munfter with coals, and Connaught too. Did not the Dutch boors offer to their "countryman, King William, that, if he would let them live by the laws of Holland, that they "would make meadow ground of the whole bog of Allen, and carry the coals of Killinaul, through "their canals, all over Ireland, ay and England too. For you fee, that our coal is the hottest coal "in the universe, and the only coal for drying malt with, because it has no smoke, and therefore gives the beer neither taste nor smell." He then touched upon the affair of the White Boys, to whom he was no friend. He faid they had been in that town the very night before. You have heard of these banditti. I am not yet in poffeffion of the true state of their cafe. For it is fo variously reprefented in this country, that one muft liften with attention, and affent with caution. But the whole country round Killinaul bears upon the very face of it an evident and sufficient cause for their infurgency; if infurgency it may be called, where each housekeeper difclaims all connection with the wretches concerned. |