XLVI. CHAP. the invafion, had come into Ireland in the French fleet, and had, as well as the best French officers, used the most active exertions to fave the lives and properties of loyalifts. These were Bartholemew Teeling and Mathew Tone, whofe generous humanity, made evident at their trials, and fteady fortitude under fentence and execution, command our esteem as well as pity. The faving of these men's lives would have given additional honour to the adminiftration of Cornwallis. Tandy. The little army of Humbert had been intended only as a van-guard of a much more formidable force, which was foon to follow. Happily the French government was as tardy in feconding his operations, as it had been thofe of the fouthern Irish rebels. The delay in the equipment of the fecond fleet is afcribed to the want of money. In the interim a brig from France arrived at the little ile of Rutland, near the north-welt coaft of Donegal, on the fixteenth of September, and landed its crew. Among these was James Napper Tandy, already mentioned in this work, now bearing the title of general of brigade in the French fervice. Informed of the furrendry of Humbert's troops, and unable to excite by their manifeftoes, an infurrection in that quarter, they reimbarked and abandoned the fhores of Ireland. Tandy was afterwards arrested at Hamburgh by fome British agents. In this action neutrality was violated; and the influence of the emperor of Ruffia was obtained to intimidate the Hamburghers into an acquiefcence in this violation, which expofed expofed at the fame time these citizens to the refentment of the French. So mighty a bustle about an object fo unimportant confirmed many in an opinion of a puerile weakness in the British miniftry. Tandy was tried at Lifford, at the spring affizes for 1801: he pleaded guilty, was condemned, was pardoned as to life, emigrated to France, and died there foon after. CHAP. XLVI. Second French expedition. The principal French armament at length appeared, on the eleventh of October, near the coast of Donegal, confifting of one fhip of the line, named 1798. the Hoche, and eight frigates, with four or five thousand foldiers. Prevented from landing, pursued, and, on the next day, overtaken, by the British fleet of Sir John Borlafe Warren, the Gallic officers came reluctantly, but with defperate valour, to an engagement. The Hoche was captured, the frigates made fail to escape, but fix were taken in the chase. Another fquadron of three frigates, with two thoufand men for land fervice, deftined to co-operate with the former, anchored in the bay of Killala on the twenty-feventh of the fame month; but, on the appearance of fome hoftile fhips, fet fail with precipitation homeward, and efcaped pursuit. The leaders of this force had orders to fend the bishop of Killala and his family prifoners to France, and, if they should meet with oppofition in landing, to lay the town in afhes. The caufe of this unmerited feverity was an unfounded and abfurd opinion entertained by the French adminiftrators, that this prelate had betrayed the town to the royal troops, together XLVI. Theobald Tone. CHAP. With a depofit of two hundred and eighty barrels of gun-powder buried near his palace by the invaders. Death of Mathew Tone already mentioned was brother to Theobald Wolfe Tone, who had rendered himself fo remarkable by his activity and talents in the united system. The latter was found aboard the Hoche by admiral Warren, and tried by courtmartial in the capital. He rested his defense on his being a denizen of France, an officer in the fervice of that country, and pretended not to deny the charge against him, nor even to excufe his political conduct. Condemned, he requested the indulgence of being shot as a foldier, inftead of being hanged as a felon; and, on the refufal of this requeft, cut his own throat in the prifon. The operation being incompletely performed, hopes were entertained of his recovery. A motion was ably supported for a writ of habeas corpus in his favour by John Philpot Curran, the famous barrister; and the plea was admitted on the ground that "courts-martial have no jurisdiction over subjects not in military fervice while the court of King's Bench is fitting." But, from the condition of Tone, his removal from prison was deemed unfafe, and he died of his wound on the nineteenth of November. Exertions of From the mal-adminiftration of the French comCornwallis 1798. monwealth, and fome other fortunate circumstances, Cornwallis had found means to complete the overthrow of rebellion in a state of the country extremely perilous, a wide-fpread difaffection, which men of the loyalist denomination were ready to exasperate into defperate efforts, and an army, with fome ho nourable XLVI. nourable exceptions, fo licencious as to be terrible CHAP. only to its friends or the defenfelefs, and unfit to encounter a disciplined foe. The flight from Castlebar, the commotion excited by a handful of Frenchmen, are proofs of weakness, their fo long continuance in hostile array, and their march a hundred and fifty-five English miles through the kingdom, in defiance of a hundred thoufand regimented foldiers commanded by a viceroy of prime abilities. Senfible how dangeroufly fituate was the country, the chief governor, on the furrendry of the French, thought an immediate return to the capital ne-< cessary to prevent infurrection in that quarter, which may account for the flowness of the troops left in the west in bringing relief to the loyalists of Killala. On the fuppreffion at home of all armed oppofition to government, the activity of his mind found employment enough in reducing the army under falutary difcipline; in protecting the people from the violence of those, who abused, as far as in their power, the victory of the royal caufe to the indulgence of every bad paffion; in the re-establishment of general order throughout the kingdom; and in forwarding a new and important measure, wifely adopted by the British administration, when opportunity was given by the diftractions of this country, С НА Р. CHAP. XLVII. CHAP. XLVII. Thoughts -Arguments against Thoughts of a legislative union-Public discussion of AN object of wish with feveral perfons of reflexion, who preferred the fubftantial interefts of their counof a legilla- try to private or local advantages, had long been a legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland, or a political incorporation of the two kingdoms into one, an incorporation which might remove the baneful jealoufies of national diftin&tnefs, the danger of a difruption in the political connexion of the two ilands, and the inconvenience of a fyftem in which were two diftin&t legiflatures mutually independent in appearance, and retained in connexion by the pre ponderance |