I once, joined with Mr. Emmet, now in Fort George, had the satisfaction of procuring an apparent sign of justice in the conviction of a magistrate, who, for his partiality and wanton cruelty, was sentenced to six months' imprisonment in Newgate, which he underwent. But as the plot took consistency, this show of justice was revoked; juries were altogether discontinued, and lest any more criminals should be disquieted for their deeds, or any censure or scandal should follow injustice, bills of indemnity were passed, the magistrate in question was rewarded with place, soldiers were set to do the work of jurors, terror and butchery were organ ized, and at length the people were driven into the project of arming for their defence, and that alliance was finally formed, of which it is not my concern to say anything further; but which, had there been com mon justice in the country, never would have happened.

LETTER VI.
Treachery.

Ir would be going too far to say, without proofs, that the governing faction wished for this alliance with the French, which, however lightly it may be now treated, was capable, but for some accidents of a precarious nature, of wresting this country from the dominion of the British monarch. But either upon the ground of intention or misconduct, they certainly are responsible for it. However, the miscarriage of that scheme gave them such power, that it was in vain any longer to make head against them. The most barbarous crimes they committed were sanctioned by the name of loyalty; and as they were masters of every organ

of the public voice, and their opposers dumb, it is not wonderful that not only those of foreign countries are ignorant of their cruelties, but that the people of Great Britain are likewise so. And what is more, the very actors in these scenes are yet to learn the arts by which they were duped into deeds, whereupon hereafter they will look back with remorse; unless, indeed, that catastrophe, that union which they were ignorantly promoting, has at length, though late, opened their eyes and awakened their judgments.

I know that as often as the cruelties are mentioned, the excesses committed by the people in rebellion will be cited to justify them. I think it is a poor whitewash of men's reputation that others have committed crimes; nor will any reasonable being expect that where the example of dissoluteness and cruelty is set by those who hold the greatest advantages in society; when they, to whom the laws have guaranteed riches and power, are imprudent, as well as wicked enough, to set those laws at defiance; it is too much to expect with such an example before them, the virtue of angels or the meekness of lambs, from the ignorant and oppressed. It is true the founder of the best religion has ordered his disciples, when smitten on one cheek to turn the other; but from the day that he said so until this that I now write to you, I never heard of any people that conformed to that injunction. At all events I am happily a stranger to all the crimes committed on one side and the other, and in this respect can speak with impartiality. And now, before I quit these points, which it was necessary to explain, I shall state a profligate breach of honour, which stands naked and unexcused by any pretext of reason, policy, or prudence, and for which no man living, I should suppose, will pretend to offer an excuse; a perfidy of which I clearly have a right to speak most boldly, having been myself the dupe and the victim of it.

The agreement which I signed in common with the other prisoners, from the pure, and I think I may,

1

without vanity, say, the generous motives above stated imported in express terms, that we, the subscribers, should emigrate, such was the word, to such country not at war with Great Britain as should be agreed upon, taking with us our families and our property. The prisoners, to use lord Castlereagh's words to doctor M'Nevin, had honourably fulfilled their part of this agreement, and this lord assured them the government would religiously fulfil its part. Lord Clare also used these emphatical words to Mr. O'Connor: "Mr. O'Connor," says he, "it comes to this, either the government must trust you, or you must trust it; and the government that could violate an engagement so solemnly entered into, could neither stand nor deserve to stand!" In this, certainly, lord Clare said truly; but never were more true words followed by more treacherous actions. This agreement was violated, and these gentlemen are still in prison.*

For my part, it was upon the honour of lord Cornwallis that I relied, and not upon the assertions of this junto. They never, I must confess, deceived me, for I never trusted them. How far the sequel will remain a blot upon the name of Cornwallis I leave to his own feelings to decide.

It only rested for me, after the voluntary sacrifice I had made, to act with fortitude, and, without asking any favour, to leave my ill-fated country, where atrocity led to honour, and virtue to the scaffold, and to fix upon some other where I could retire in peace and safety. But what was my surprise when I was informed that I should be allowed to go to no country in Europe. Some time before it was asserted that the minister of the United States had declared that the prisoners would not be admitted to take refuge in America. Thomas Jefferson had not then pronounced those words, honourable to himself and to his country: "Shall there be nowhere an asylum on the earth for

*At the time when these letters were written.

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persecuted humanity, and shall we refuse to the children of oppression that shelter which the natives of the woods accorded to our fathers?"

It had been recommended to me to go to Portugal, on account of my ruined health, and that country being governed by England, seemed least liable of any to objection from the government, and my own intentions were to abide faithfully by the agreement I had consented to; so I could not even in imagination figure to myself the possibility of the disgraceful proceedings which have since taken place. I therefore asked permission to go to Portugal, and this reasonable request was no sooner made than refused. Happily I had a friend whose heart was warm and honest, and whose courage and firmness in the cause of honour were well known in his youth, and seemed but to increase with his years. This was Mr. Montgomery, the member' for the county of which I was a native. He was an old friend and fellow-soldier of lord Cornwallis, and brother of Montgomery, the hero of Quebec. He took upon him to stem this torrent of persecution, and after much difficulty made his way to the viceroy, through the phalanx of lords and bishops that besieged him. He represented to him the dangerous state of my health, the sacred manner in which his honour was pledged to me, the cruel denial of justice or trial, the torture of my servant, and my secret imprisonment. All this he represented with so much effect, that I was immediately favoured with the following letter:

"To Counsellor Sampson, Bridewell.

"LORD CASTLEREAGH presents his compliments to Mr. Sampson. He has the lord lieutenant's directions to acquaint him that he may go to Portugal, as his health is said to require it, on condition of giving security to remain there during the war, unless ordered away by that government.

"Castle, Tuesday."

I think, my dear friend, I cannot now do better than finish this letter, and give you and myself an opportunity of reposing. For though you might suppose the malice of my enemies by this time pretty nearly exhausted, yet you will find on the contrary, that my persecution was but beginning, and you will have need of all your patience to listen to the rest. Farewell.

LETTER VII.

Chicane-Lie by Act of Parliament-Lord Castlereagh.

ONE would have hoped that all difficulty was now over. One might have supposed that rancour itself had been now assuaged. But on the contrary, every artifice of delay, and every refinement of chicanery was again put in practice, as if to torment me in revenge for the justice I had obtained from lord Cornwallis, and the part I had had in rescuing so many victims from the fury of their pursuers. Weeks and months passed away, so great a difficulty was made of drawing up a simple form of recognisance pursuant to lord Cornwallis's order; a thing so easy, had good faith been intended, that the meanest clerk of an attorney was as capable of doing it as the first judge of the land. My brother and my brother-in-law, both fathers of families in remote parts of the country, were all this time detained in the capital, and the reason given for this vexation was, that this famous instrument was to be a precedent for the cases of all the other prisoners, and yet a principal part of those prisoners are now, at the distance of four years, in gaol; another instance of that complicated perfidy to which I have been subjected.

At length every trick of malicious pettifogging ex