denied than to the society of United Irishmen. It has been asserted that their ultimate designs were the separation of Ireland from England, and the establishment of a republic, but in fact they advocated these measures, just as many now support the repeal of the Union-as means to an end. The editor conscientiously believes that such means are not the best, nor the most practicable that could be chosen; he is persuaded that the more intimate the connexion between England and Ireland is made, and the closer the bonds of union are drawn, the better will it be for both countries, and especially for the latter; but he cannot say that he would have entertained this opinion when the domination of the Irish parliament, or rather of the Irish oligarchy, in all its rigour, was steadily supported by the English minister and the English people, then slavishly subservient to that minister's will. A large proportion of the United Irishmen believed that parliamentary reform and Catholic emancipation would have brought with them the blessings of good govern ment, as certainly as a separation or a republic, but when they were forced to believe the attainment of the former means hopeless, too many of them became zealous for the latter. Whatever may be thought of their scheme, it was at least as good as the system they laboured to subvert; a system which may be briefly described, as one in which the oligarchy tyrannized over the Protestant population, and, by way of recompense for their submission, allowed the Protestants to tyrannize over the Catholics. But it is useless to dwell longer on the topic, since it is now universally acknowledged that the concession of emancipation and reform would, almost to the last moment, have conciliated the United Irishmen, and prevented all the calamities that make so dark a page in Irish history.

Even so late as 1807 the Rev. Sydney Smyth 'declared, with equal severity and truth, "the moment the very name of Ireland is mentioned, the English seem to bid adieu to common feeling, common prudence, and common sense, and to act with the barbarity of tyrants and the fatuity of idiots."-Plymley's Letters, p. 23.

It is scarcely necessary to add that such a description is no longer applicable, and that the Englishmen of the present day are sincerely desirous to redress the wrongs that their ancestors inflicted on Ireland, and to secure for its inhabitants the blessings of equal laws and impartial justice.

The original obligation of the United Irishmen was-" In the awful presence of God, I declare that I will, so far as in me lies, endeavour to promote a brotherhood of affection and union amongst

Many of the more wealthy or more cautious United Irishmen withdrew from the society when they found that they no longer sought for redress within the limits of the constitution; several others held only an equivocal connexion with its proceedings, seeking earnestly a reconciliation with the government, and eager to avoid the imputation of rebellion. In this latter class was Mr. Sampson. He possessed not the reckless energy and daring spirit that constitutes a conspirator; his was rather the patient courage and peaceful firmness of a consistent reformer. His views may be best explained by the following resolutions, of which he procured the adoption at a reform meeting held in the spirited town of Belfast.

BELFAST RESOLUTIONS.

At a meeting of the inhabitants of Belfast, held by adjournment on the 2d of January, 1797, from the former meeting of the 31st of December, 1796, the committee chosen by the said meeting having agreed to the following resolutions, recommended them to their townsmen for adoption.

Counsellor Sampson in the Chair.

1st. Resolved, That the imperfect state of the representation in the House of Coinmons, is the primary cause of the discontent in this country.

2d. That the public mind would be restored to tranquillity, and every impending danger effectually averted by such a reform in parliament as would secure to population and property their due weight in the scale of government, without distinction on account of religious opinions.

3d. That a determination firmly manifested on the part of government, to comply with the great desires of the people, would be productive of the happiest effect, inasmuch as it would conciliate the affections of the people, whose object is reform alone, and thereby constitute the only rampart of defence, that can bid complete defiance to the efforts of foreign and domestic enemies.

4th. That such a change in the system of government would give to property, law, religion, and the necessary distinction of rank, addi

Irishmen of every religious persuasion; and that I will persevere in my endeavours to procure a full, equal, and adequate representation of all the people in Ireland in parliament."

At a subsequent period the two last words were omitted, and the following clause added: "I do further declare, that neither hopes, fears, rewards, nor punishments shall ever induce me, directly or indirectly, to inform on, or give evidence against any member or members of this or similar societics, for any act or expression of theirs, done or made, collectively or individually, in or out of this society, in pursuance of the spirit of this obligation."

tional stability and weight, and that no opinion can be entertained by the people so dangerous, as the despair of succeeding in their constitutional exertions to obtain the most important objects of their wishes.

5th. That we conceive a constitution by king, lords, and commons, (the commors being then reformed,) when wisely and honestly administered, capable of affording every happiness a nation can enjoy.

6th. That we are ready, if permitted by government, to arm in like manner as the volunteers, whose memory we revere, and whose example we wish to imitate.

Resolved, That the chairman be requested to wait upon the sovereign with a copy of the resolutions, and to request him, in the name of the meeting, to communicate the same to the lord-lieutenant, and solicit permission for the inhabitants of this town to arm themselves agreeably to the same resolutions.

There are few persons who will deny that these resolutions are moderate and constitutional, yet, in animadverting upon them, lord Clare (the chancellor) used the following intemperate expressions: "To say nothing of the affiliated United Irishmen, avowedly associated to support the enemy, I will recall to your lordships' recollections the daring insolence of some of those persons in the great commercial town of Belfast, where a meeting was lately held, at which resolutions of so treasonable a nature were entered into, as to make us amazed at the mildness of government in not punishing the authors."

From this time forward Mr. Sampson became, in the language of the times, a marked man, that is, one whom the governing powers viewed with suspicion and were eager to destroy. It is said that he did not always suppress his feelings of irritation under these circumstances, and, if we credit an anecdote very generally believed in Dublin, his anger, on one occasion at least, led him beyond the bounds of discretion. The story goes, that being once in the gallery of the House of Commons, on the committal of some one or other of the numerous insurrection acts, when the question was put, "That the Speaker do leave the chair," Mr. Sampson shouted out, "Ay, and let the greatest rascal amongst you take it." A scene of some confusion followed, but the gallery happening luckily to be filled by Mr. Sampson's friends, no one would point out the offender, and he thus escaped the custody of the sergeant-at-arms.

The discontent of the Protestant reformers was not however so formidable as that of the Catholics and the peasantry. Though these two latter bodies were in some degree identified, it is necessary to distinguish them, as they had separate

grounds of complaint, and, consequently, sought different objects. Both were certainly disaffected, and both were so from sufficient cause; injudicious defenders of the Catholics have taken abundant pains to prove that they were always affectionately loyal, and thus have pronounced the severest libel on their character. Had they been attached to a government by which they were systematically maligned, insulted, and oppressed, they would have well merited all they suffered. Efforts, however, were made by the Irish government to conciliate the Catholics-several restrictions were removed, several important privileges conceded. But the desired effect was not produced, because, to use the forcible language of lord Plunket, " concession had been followed in every stage by the curse and malediction of those bigots whose prejudices neither time nor circumstances could remove; who, like an unwholesome blight, like a destructive mildew, intercepted every ray of royal power or legislative benevolence." Another and not less efficient cause was, that though the letter of the law preached conciliation, the spirit of the administration practised hostility. Power was continued in the hands of men who were the avowed enemies of the Catholics, and thus the boon lost half its efficacy and all its merit. The wrongs of the peasantry, the exactions of tithe-proctors and rack-rent agents, were of more dangerous consequence than even the disqualifying laws. Mr. Grattan on more than one occasion introduced these important topics in the legislature, and gave them the additional advantage of his unrivalled powers: the government listened to his statements, applauded his eloquence, and did-precisely nothing. It would be too much to say that the ministers of the crown designedly provoked a rebellion, but, beyond all controversy, they acted as if such was their design. Their conduct to the reformers supplied leaders, and their treatment of the peasantry furnished soldiers.

At length there appeared a gleam of consolation for Ireland; earl Fitzwilliam came over as lord-lieutenant, it was believed with full authority to introduce a new system of government. He was too high-spirited to allow a faction to act" as viceroy over him," he attempted to break the triumvirate of Clare, Beresford, and Carhampton; the irritated oli garchy appealed to England, and Mr. Pitt, in an evil hour, issued the mandate for the noble earl's recall. The secret history of this dark transaction has never been fully revealed;

that it was wholly unconnected with the question of Catholic emancipation is perfectly certain; of the justice and expediency of that measure Mr. Pitt was as firmly persuded as any of the other statesmen that so long zealously and vainly advocated the Catholic claims; and the abuse of his name in those Pitt Clubs that used to meet periodically to malign the dead and insult the living, was an acted falsehood. There is, however, strong grounds of suspicion that the question of the Union, about which Mr. Pitt was justly anxious, had a very important effect in this disastrous occurrence. The promise of the powerful support of the Beresfords in carrying his favourite measure was a temptation that Mr. Pitt could not resist, especially as it was impossible for him to foresee the fatal consequences that ensued; and, besides, he probably placed some reliance on the beneficial effects that the late concession of the elective franchise to the Catholics had produced.

But this conciliatory measure from which so much good had been expected, proved a complete failure. On the Catholic it conferred little positive benefit, and it greatly irritated the Protestant, for it materially interfered with his interests. Before the adoption of this measure Protestant tenants were sure to find a preference, in a country where a laudlord as regularly traded on the votes of his tenantry, as a farmer on his stock, or a merchant on his wares; as protestant tenants were not numerous, demand exceeded supply, and, consequently, the price of the article in the market was high; or, to lay aside metaphor, Protestants could obtain leases on more favourable terms than Catholics. But the concession of the elective franchise to the Catholics produced a sudden change; the landlords no longer accounted purity of religion an equivalent for deficiency of rent, and the Protestant farmers, indignant at the sudden liberality of principle displayed in land-letting, determined by some means or other to drive the Catholics out of the market. From these civil, and not from any religious causes, originated the society of the peep-of-dayboys; this was a Protestant banditti formed in the county of Armagh, whose avowed object was the expulsion or extermination of the catholics; they served laconic notices on the different landholders of the obnoxious religion in their neighbourhood, containing the simple words, "To hell or Connaught," and disobedience to the mandate was punished with destruction of property, and not unfrequently with loss of life.