obtained them. However, *" after an hour's struggle several of the Proteftants, intimidated by the menaces of the others, returned the armns they had received, and faid they would truft themselves to the protection of the patrole, which put an end for that time to the difturbance. "It was renewed, however, the two following days with unabating violence, till at length the Proteftants, harraffed by domiciliary vifits of armed rebels in fearch of concealed weapons, agreed in a petition to the commandant, that he would call in by proclamation what he had given out, and forbid in future any perfon's appearing in arms, except recruits for the French fervice. The terror of being thus ftripped of the means of defence was exaggerated by the alarming accounts of depredations on every fide of Killala to the distance of feveral miles. Not a night paffed but fome house was rifled; fcarce an hour in the day elapfed, in which the bishop was not importuned to lay fome lamentation before the commandant, or to fend out fome guard for protection. "But if it were doubtful, whether arms might fafely be committed to every inhabitant of Killala, it admitted no difpute at all, that the town could not exift without fome form of civil government. Depredators crouded in hourly from the country, to the equal annoyance and terror of every body that had property, whether Catholic or Proteftant. The French, it was faid, had divided the town and neighbourhood of Caftlebar into districts, appointing over each a municipal officer with a guard at his command, properly armed for the public defence; and the fcheme there had the defired fuccefs. A proclamation was therefore iffued for eftablishing a fimilar form through the canton, over which Charoft prefided. The country was thrown into departments; a magistrate, to be elected by his neighbours, was to take charge of each, with the help of a guard of fixteen or twenty men; arms and ammunition were to be diftributed to thefe, under an exprefs ftipulation, that neither officers nor men fhould be marched out of their refpective departments, nor employed againft their fovereign, nor in any fervice except that of keeping the peace. The town of Killala was committed to the protection of one hundred and fifty men, in three bodies, all to be observant of the orders of Mr. James Devitt, the civil magiftrate, unanimoufly chofen by the people, because he was a fubftantial tradefman, a Roman Catholic, and a man of fenfe *Narrative, p. 52. and and moderation. He had under him two affiftants, of his own religion. The benefits of this regulation were felt immediately in the establishment of tolerable order and quiet, at least in and about the town; and without doubt they would have been felt to a greater extent, if the French power had been firmer. "The example of Killala was prefently copied in the other departments. Magiftrates were elected, always Roman Catholics, but commonly of the better fort among them; perfons who had no defire to take arms against the British government. Some of thefe applied to the bifhop for his opinion, whether they should incur the penalties of treafon by acting under a foreign power, merely for the common fafety, and under the conditions stated above. His answer was, that he was no lawyer; but always having found the law of England to be confonant to reafon, he would take upon him to fay, there could be no law forbidding to do under thefe circumftances what was abfolutely enjoined by the great law of felf-prefervation. It is reported, that when the rebellion was over, feveral perfons muttered against this doctrine it might be conceded, they faid, to the exifting terror, but it was not found, because it might be employed as an excufe for a tame and prompt fubmiffion to any invaders. To fuch tranquil declaimers on the merit of cafting away life and property, in preference to bowing the head to a ftorm, it is obvious to reply, that had they changed fituations with thofe, who actually felt the diftrefs, it is more than probable they would have feen good reafon to adopt the very conduct, which in the fulness of fecurity they took upon them to condemn. To fubmit to a king, de facto, and even to act by a commiffion from fuch a one, to preferve the peace of the community, provided by fo doing you do not preclude yourself from returning under the government of a king de jure, is a practice fanctioned by the authority of our moft equitable law." The court-martial began the day after the battle, and fat in the house of Mr. Morrison. Their proceedings at first appeared extremely flow, confidering the multitudes they had to try, not lefs than feventy-five prifoners at Killala, and a hundred and ten at Ballina, befides thofe, who might be brought in daily. The two firft perfons tried at this tribunal were General Bellew and Mr. Richard Bourke. The trial of thefe two criminals was fhort. They were found guilty on Monday evening, and hanged the next morning in the VOL. II. 5 I park park behind the caftle. Contemptible for drunkenness and vulgar manners, they fell without exciting a fentiment of compaffion. Roger Macguire was found guilty but remanded to prison, and after a long confinement, he was tranfmitted to Caftlebar, where at last he received fentence to be tranfported to Botany Bay. His father, the brewer, was hanged; fome others were executed. Thus ended the rebellion, or, more properly speaking, the various infurgencies in Ireland in the year 1798. Little reliance is to be placed on the official accounts of the killed, wounded, and miffing, in the feveral engagements and rencountres. According to the most probable accounts to be had from the War-Office, the number of the army loft in this rebellion amounts in the whole to 19,700 men; and according to the general government accounts of the total lofs of the rebels, it exceeded 50,000. CHAPTER CHAPTER VII. OF THE UNION OF GREAT BRITAIN WITH IRELAND. OUR remaining task is to trace the confequences and effects of this unfortunate rebellion, and mark the progrefs to that great political event, the incorporate Union of the two kingdoms, which foclofely followed it. Whatever differences of opinion upon this fubject may have exifted in either kingdom, previous to the completion of that work, there can now but be one difpofition and one fentiment of every loyal fubject upon it: an ardent defire, coupled with efficient exertion, to render it preventative of future evils, and accumulative of future bleffings, improvements, and permanent profperity to Ireland and the whole British empire, now politically confolidated for thofe defirable ends. Fierce as was the conteft during this unfortunate warfare, and widely as the mild and firm controul of the law was deviated from, yet did the whole tranfaction form a fingular exception to the adage, inter arma filent leges. The parliament continued to fit and legiflate during the whole time of the rebellion. In the months of Auguft and September the examination of the chiefs of the rebels went forward before the fecret committees of both houfes, and their reports, which have been fo often referred to, were then published. It appears, that government were anxious, that the reports of thefe committees thould gain univerfal eredit with the nation; and the more fo, as an advertifement had appeared in fome of the more popular prints cautioning the public against giving them credit.* On the 6th, therefore, of September, 1798, Mr. Arthur O'Connor in his letter to Lord Caftlereagh gives the following account of this mifunderstanding about the publication of their evidence given before the fecret committees. (P.11.) "Pursuant to this agreement, at the inftance of government, Emmett, M'Nevin, and I drew up a memoir containing thirty-fix pages, giving an account of the origin, principles, conduct, and "views of the union, which we figned and delivered to you on the 4th of Auguft laft. On the 6th, "Mr. Cook came to our prifon, and after acknowledging, that the memoir was a perfect perform"ance of our agreement, he told us that Lord Cornwallis had read it, but, as it was a vindication of the union, and a condemnation of the minifters, the government, and legiflature of Ireland, "he 512 1798, the chancellor made the following further report from the committee of fecrecy. "MY LORDS, "THE lords committees appointed to examine the mat"ters of the fealed up papers received from the commons on the twenty"third of July laft, and to report the fame as they fhall appear to them to "this houfe; having feen an advertisement in the public prints, figned Ar"thur O'Connor, Thomas Addis Emmet, and William James M'Neven, in "the following words: [' Having read in the different news papers publica'tions pretending to be abftracts of the reports of the fecret committee of 'the Houfe of Commons, and of our depofitions before the committees of the lords and commons; we feel ourselves called upon to affure the public, that they are grofs and to us aftonishing misrepresentations, not only unfupported by, but in many inftances directly contradictory to the facts we 'really stated on thofe occafions. We further affure our friends, that in no • inftance did the name of any individual efcape from us; on the contrary, we always refufed anfwering fuch queftions as might tend to implicate any perfon whatever, conformably to the agreement entered into by the 'ftate prisoners with government. 'ARTHUR O CONNOR, "have thought it their duty to examine the faid Arthur O'Connor, Thomas " he could not receive it, and therefore he wifhed we would alter it; we declared we would not "change one letter, it was all true, and it was the truth we ftood pledged to deliver. He then " asked us if government should publish such parts only as might suit them, whether we would re"frain from publishing the memoir entire; we answered, that having ftipulated for the liberty of "publication, we would use that right when, and as we should feel ourselves called on; to which " he added, that if we published, he would have to hire perfons to answer us, that then he supposed we would reply, by which a paper war would be carried on without end between us and the go"vernment. Finding that we would not suffer the memoir to be garbled, and that the literary " contest between us and these hirelings was not likely to turn out to your credit, it was determined "to examine us before the fecret committees, whereby a more compleat selection might be made "out of the memoir, and all the objectionable truths, with which it was obferved it abounded, might be fuppreffed. For the prefent I fhall only remark that of one hundred pages, to which "the whole of the information I gave to the government and to the fecret committees amounts, only one page has been published." " |