thefe Defenders, but entered into affociations for apprehending and profecuting them. Yet could they not do away the fufpicion thrown upon them by fome persons interested in keeping up the delufion who had, as Mr. Burke fays, *"a difpofition "to carry the imputation of crimes from perfons to deferiptions, and wholly to alter the character and "quality of the offences themselves."

A Committee of the Lords had been appointed to enquire into the causes of the diforders and difturbances which prevailed in feveral parts of the kingdom, and the Lord Chancellor was appointed by the Lords Committees to make the report on the 7th of the month; the first part of which confifted of an apology for bringing it forward fo early; although they had not had time to make full enquiries (the Roman Catholic Bill was now pending in the Houfe of Lords). They proceeded to ftate, that from what the Committee could difcover, thefe Defenders were all of the Roman Catholic perfuafion, poor and ignorant and fworn to fecrecy; not appearing to have any distinct object in view, and yet that their measures appeared to have been concerted and conducted with the utmost fecrecy, and a degree of regularity and fyftem not ufual in people in fuch mean condition, as if directed by men of fuperior rank. That fums of money had been and continued to be levied upon the * Letter to Sir Hercules Langrishe, p. 19.

Roman

Roman Catholics at their chapels and elsewhere throughout the kingdom; and a circular letter was annexed to the report, which enclosed a plan for a general fubfcription, which had for its object the raifing a fund for defraying the heavy and growing expences incurred by the General Committee in conducting the affairs of the Catholics of Ireland. They annexed alfo another letter from a Mr. Sweetman to a perfon at Dundalk, concerning a relation of Mr. Nugent's confined there under an indictment; and that it appeared that this person to whom the letter was written had employed an agent and counsel to act for perfons accused of being Defenders. Yet after all this infinuation of Roman Catholic guilt, levying money, and giving affiftance to the accufed, the Committee thought it their duty to ftate, That nothing appeared before them which could lead them to believe that the Body of the Roman Catholics were concerned in promoting or countenancing thefe difturbances. They further stated several facts of meetings both armed and unarmed at Belfaft and Newry; that feditious pamphlets were conflantly published, extolling the example of France; that prayers were made from pulpits for the fuccefs of the French arms; that armed bodies had uniforms in imitation of the French, with harps on the buttons under a cap of liberty instead of a crown; that more gunpowder had been fent to thefe places than

could be wanted for ordinary purposes; all which circumstances were intended to overawe the legiflature and procuré a parliamentary reform. The Committee forbore mentioning the names of feveral perfons, left it should in any manner affect a criminal profecution. The Parliament proceeded in the Roman Catholic Bill, though nothing more was hitherto done upon the refolution to examine into the state of the popular reprefentation in parliament, This fyftem of alarming by infinuation and mifrepresentation, and calumniating a whole people by criminating no individual, feems not to have been confined to one fide of the channel.

СНАР

CHAPTER XIII.

APRIL, 1793.

CONTENTS.

Proceedings on the Traitorous Correfpondence BillPower in the Crown to prohibit British subjects from returning into their country -Mr. Sheridan's motion to addrefs his Majesty to disavow Lord Auckland's Memorial to the States General-Five Millions Exchequer Bills ifjued to fupport Commercial Credit

General Faft-Vote of Credit for 1,500,000l.Dumourier fends the Commiffioners prisoners to Clairfait-His Addrefs to his Army - Cobourg's Proclamation in favour of the Constitution of 1789 -Dumourier narrowly escapes and goes over to the Auftrians-Congress of Antwerp-Cobourg's first Proclamation revoked by a fecond-The war reJumed-The Roman Catholic Bill passes in IrelandThe State of that Body, and their method of procuring r.lief

R 3

relief-Mr. Keogh's Speech to the Catholic Convention-The Bill with its exceptions-The Chancellor against it-Owns that he yields to neceffity in confenting-Public rejoicings for its paffing.

THE

HE domeftic occurrences of this month were chiefly confequences of those measures which had been adopted in the preceding. Strong oppofition was made in the Commons to the Traitorous Correfpondence Bill, and to most of the new claufes and amendments which were introduced into it for fince its first introduction by the Attorney General, it had nearly changed both its form and fubftance before it even paffed that Houfe. On the third reading Mr. Fox was very emphatic in his condemnation of it: he faid, "It "was a Bill which without one exception was the "most unjust in its principles, inadequate in its

provifion, and tyrannical in its effects, that ever "paffed that Houfe-one for which there was "nothing like a precedent either in policy, juf

tice or humanity." In the course of the debates

upon this Bill, a queftion was put to the Solicitor General by Mr. Grey, Whether the Crown was empowered by law to iffue any proclamation forbidding the entry into this country of a British fubject not convicted of a crime?-To which the Solicitor General anfwered affirmatively-for regulating the general policy of the country. At this answer

Mr.