known. Some of the persons so arrested were prosecuted for high treason. A grand jury for the county of Middlesex found a bill against Thomas Hardy, the secretary of the London Corresponding Society, and eleven others. Three of the persons so indicted, viz. Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke, and John Thelwall, were tried, and, on their trials, were acquitted of the charge in the indictment. But the evidence given on those trials established, in the clearest manner, the grounds on which the committees of the two Houses of parliament had formed their reports in 1794; and showed, beyond a possibility of doubt, that the views of these persons and their confede rates, were, in their nature, completely hostile to the existing government and constitution of this kingdom, and went directly to the subversion of every established and legitimate authority. After these acquittals, Henry Redhead, alias Yorke, who had been committed at the same time on a charge of high treason, was brought to trial at York, in July 1795, upon an indictment for a seditious conspiracy; in which Joseph Gale, the printer of a news-paper at Sheffield, and Richard Davison, of Sheffield, both of whom had fled from justice, were included. Upon the trial of Yorke on this indictment, he was found guilty, and sentenced to two years imprisonment. Sect. 5.-Farther proceedings subsequent to the Arrests in 1794. The disclosures made upon these trials; the detentions already mentioned; and the pow ers vested in government by the "Act to empower His Majesty to secure and detain such Persons as His Majesty shall suspect are conspiring against His Person and Government," which received the royal assent on the 23rd of May 1794; broke, for a time, all the measures which had bean concerted by the disaffected, and obliged them to proceed with more caution and reserve. But they never appear for a moment to have relinquished their original design; and the nature and constitution of the Corresponding Society, which still subsisted, peculiarly qualified it secretly to continue its machinations, and to extend and diffuse its pernicious principles among the lower orders of the people. The plan of this constitution, as originally proposed, not having been stated in the reports before referred to, is inserted in the Appendix (No. 2.). It is evident that the overthrow of every part of the government and constitution of this kingdom, was in the immediate contemplation of those by whom this plan was formed; and that it was contrived with the view of being applied to the most extensive purposes, if they had succeeded in that object, and of enabling the conspirators, after the overthrow of the existing government, to usurp and exercise an uncontrolled authority over the whole kingdom. It does not appear that this plan was ever formally adopted; but so much of it as led to the establishment of a secret system of direction, resembling that of the United Irishmen, was agreed to, and reduced to practice. Not contented with employing these means gradually to extend their influence through different parts of the kingdom, the leading members of these societies, shortly before the opening of the session of parliament in October 1795, called together an unlawful meeting in a field near the metropolis, evidently with a view of trying the temper of the populace. Under the pretence of Debates,' language of the most seditious and inflammatory nature was held to a large multitude, whom curiosity, or other motives, had assembled there, and the most daring libels were uttered against every part of the constitution of these realms. The public tranquillity appears to your committee to have been greatly endangered by this step; so exactly resembling that which fifteen years before had nearly led to the destruction of the metropolis: and your committee are decidedly of opinion, that the shameful and highly criminal outrages which soon after took place on the first day of the session, are, in a great degree, to be ascribed to the influence of these inflammatory proceedings, and of this public and open violation of the laws. It is not without regret, that your committee feel themselves obliged horrid and sacrilegious attempt against His to recall to the recollection of the House, the Majesty's person, with which those outrages were accompanied. This alarming proof of the dreadful and desperate consequences which meetings and proceedings of such a description naturally tend to produce, made a deep impression on the minds of the public, and necessarily engaged the attention of parliament. On a full consideration of all the circumstances, the legislature, by salutary laws, strengthened the authority of the magistrate for the repression of sedition and tumult; provided fresh checks against meetings of a dangerous tendency, and of a description unknown in the history and constitution of this country; increased the penalties of obstinate and repeated guilt; and added a fresh safeguard to the sacred person of his majesty. One of the immediate effects of these mea sures was, to put a stop to a practice, which had too long been suffered in the metropolis, to the disgrace of all order and governmentthe open and regular delivery of public lectures, inculcating the doctrines of sedition and treason; inciting the hearers to follow the example of France, and animating them to the commission of the most atrocious crimes. This practice has not since been revived in the same shape; but many of the debating societies, which subsist at the present time, appear, to your committee, to be, in a great measure, directed to the same pernicious objects, and to require farther animadversion and correction. Some check was also given of your conduct in the generous missions which you and your fellow deputies now take upon yourselves." to the licentiousness of the press, which had, till then, been in a great measure unrestrain'ed. That licentiousness has furnished, in every part of Europe, one of the most dangerous instruments in the hands of conspirators. The industry with which every species of inflammatory and seditious libels had been disseminated, applying to the various passions and prejudices of every class of society, but particularly of that which is the least informed, and therefore the most open to seduction, is an unanswerable proof, both of the extent and of the zeal of the conspiracy in this country. After the passing of these bills, the London Corresponding Societies sent their delegates into the country, to point out the method of evading them, and for the purpose of feeling the disposition of the people. Two persons, in this character, John Binus and John Gale Jones, were sent, by the London Corresponding Society to Birmingham, where they were arrested. They were found addressinga meeting of persons in that town. Upon the person of Jones were found two papers; one a letter of credence from the Society, signed by John Ashley, their secretary, introducing Binns and Jones as their accredited delegates; and the other, the instruction of the society for the conduct of these delegates; both which papers your committee have inserted in the Appendix (Nos 3 and 4). They wish particularly to notice, that after directions given to the delegates, to persuade the people whom they were to address, that the sole object of the society was parliamentary reform, and that the bills last referred to, need not prevent their continuing to meet; the seventh article of the instructions, is in these words, "The design of the above articles is to remove misapprehensions relative to the safety of our association under the new laws. This part of your mission being effected, you are to strain every power of your mind to awaken the sleeping spirit of liberty; you are to call upon our fellow citizens to he ready with us to pursue our common object, if it must be, to the scaffold, or rather (if our enemies are desperate enough to bar up every avenue to enquiry and discussion) to the field, at the hazard of extermination; convinced that no temper less decided than this, will suffice to regain liberty from a bold usurping faction. But, to the end, that we may succeed by the irresistible voice of the people, you are to excite, in every society, the desire which animates our bosoms to embrace the nation as brethren, and the resolution to bear every repulse from passion and prejudice which fails to deprive us of the sure grounds of argument." And in the 13th article are the following expressions:-"In a word; you are always to reflect, that you are wrestling with the enemies of the human race, not for yourselves merely, for you may not see the full day of liberty, but for the child hanging at the breast; and that the question, whether the next generation shall be free, or not, may greatly depend on the wisdom and integrity [VOL. XXXIV.] Notwithstanding this disposition to resist and evade the effect of these bills, yet the seasonable and effectual check thus, for a second time, given to the progress of sedition and treason, averted immediate danger; and if it did not extinguish the hopes of the conspirators, at least deterred them from the public avowal and pursuit of their projects. But the attempt to poison the minds of the lower orders of the people, and to prepare the means which might be resorted to on any favourable occasion, was pursued with unabating perseverance. During the remainder of the year 1796, the system continued to operate silently and secretly; but, in the beginning of the following year, its contagious influence was found to have extended to a quarter, where it was the least to be suspected, and produced effects, which suddenly threatened the dearest interests and immediate safety of the country with the most imminent danger. The mutiny which took place in the fleet, if considered in all its circumstances, will be traced to an intimate connexion with the principles and practices described by your committee, and furnishes the most alarming proof of the efficacy of those plans of secrecy and concert, so often referred to, and of the facility with which they are applied for inflaming and heightening discontent, from whatever cause it proceeds, and for converting what might otherwise produce only an hasty and inconsiderate breach of subordination and discipline, into the most settled and systematic treason and rebellion. These principles and this concert could alone have produced the wide extent of the mutiny, and the uniformity of its operation, in so many and such distant quarters. The persons principally engaged in it, even in its early stages, were many of them United Irishmen. The mutineers were bound by secret oaths to the perpetration of the greatest crimes. An attempt was made to give to the ships in mutiny, the name of "The Floating Republic," and this attempt was countenanced both by papers published in France, and by a paper here, called " The Courier," which has, on many occasions, appeared almost equally devoted to the French cause. In some instances a disposition was manifested to direct the efforts of the mutineers to the object of compelling the government of this country to conclude a peace with the foreign enemy, and they at length even meditated betraying the ships of his majesty into the hands of that enemy. All these circumstances combine to impress your committee with a firm persuasion, that whatever were the pretences and misrepresentations employed to seduce from their duty a brave and loyal body of men; yet a spirit, in itself so repugnant to the habits and dispositions of British sailors, must have [2 Q] had its origin in those principles of foreign growth, which the societies of the conspirators have industriously introduced into this country, and which they have incessantly laboured to disseminate among all descriptions of men but especially among those whose fidelity and steadiness is most important to the public safety. A striking instance of the desperate extent to which these principles were carried, appears in the proceedings of a court martial, held in the month of June 1797; an abstract | of which your Committee have thought it right to insert in the Appendix (No. 17). The opinion stated by your Committee, will be still more confirmed by the repeated and atrocious attempts (bearing still more evidently the character of those principles in which they originated) which have been made, in a great number of instances, since the general mutiny was suppressed; and of which it will be necessary for your committee hereafter to take notice. At the period now referred to, these systematic attempts made to seduce both the sailors and soldiers from their duty and allegiance, to incite them to mutiny, and to engage them in plans for the subversion of government, had become so apparent and frequent, as to attract the immediate notice of the legislature. Among these attempts, that made by a person of the name of Fellows, convicted at Maidstone, in July 1797, deserves particular attention. The seditious hand-bill, which he was proved to have distributed among the soldiers, is inserted in the Appendix (No. 5); and it appears from a letter (also there inserted) (No. 6), written by him to Evans and Bone, two of the most active members of the London Corresponding Society, and who have successively filled the office of secretary to that society, shortly before his arrest, that he had gone to Maidstone for the purpose of circulating seditious papers, as well as of making reports of the society at Maidstone. Your Committee has thus traced the chief transactions which took place in this country, connected with the general design of the conspiracy nearly to the period when its effects were manifested in their most dreadful and formidable shape in Ireland, by the atrocious and unexampled rebellion which broke out in the beginning of the last summer. About this time, either with a view to that very rebellion, or in consequence of it, the societies in this country entered into still closer connexion with the society of United Irishmen, and assumed a shape, more similar than before to that extraordinary combination, the nature and effects of which have been al ready fully described. It will therefore be necessary for your Committee, in this place, shortly to review the progress of this society, and of the steps by which it gradually prepared the way for all the recent miseries and calamities which have been experienced in Ireland. Sect. 6. Progress of the Society of United Irishmen in Ireland till the period of the Rebellion; its intercourse with France, and with leading Members of Societies in this country. The transactions of the conspirators in that country are so fully detailed in the different reports of the two Houses of the Irish parliament, that your Committee do not think it necessary to state them at length; and will only call the attention of the House to such parts of them as prove, from the subsequent conduct of the conspirators, the falsehood of the early pretences by which they attempted to disguise their real views, as well as the intercourse kept up by them with the French Directory, chiefly through England, and the communication between leading members of the society of United Irishmen, and those of similar societies in Great Britain. As early as in the year 1793, hopes and expectations were held out of French assistance; prayers were publicly offered up, at Belfast, from the pulpit, for the success of the French arms; military associations were entered into without any legal authority; and repeated attempts were made to seduce the soldiery from their duty. In consequence of the prevalence of these dangerous practices, two acts of parliament were passed in the year 1797; one inflicting severe penalties on any person guilty of incit ing any of his majesty's forces by sea or land to mutiny; the other for more effectually preventing the administering or taking of unlawful oaths. The propriety and necessity of both these acts, was farther evinced shortly after. A person of the name of Fuller, was detected two days after the passing the first act, in attempting to seduce a soldier belonging to the Coldstream regiment of guards, was found guilty at the following sessions of the Old Baily and sentenced to death; and one Charles Radcliffe, prosecuted under the second act, at the last court of session held for the county palatine of Chester, was found guilty of administering the oath or test of the Society of United Englishmen. The paper In April 1794 he had many confidentia found upon Fuller, and which formed the and Stone's Trial, and chief ground of his conviction, is inserted in Vide Jackson's and the appendix (No. 7), and deserves parti- Report of Commons in Ireland. cular attention. In February 1794, Jackson, an Irish clergyman, passed from France, through England, into Ireland, for the purpose of carrying on a treasonable correspondence with a view to an invasion of both kingdoms. He was particularly recommended to some of the leading members of the English societies; and he transmitted to the French government, both from London and from Dublin, papers on the subject of his mission, which had been previ ously communicated to other persons in each kingdom* came from Hamburgh, in which further arrangements were made for the intended invasion. conversations at Dublin, on this subject, with Hamilton Rowan, a leader of the United Irishmen, before mentioned; who was then in prison, and since his escape has been attainted for high treason; with Wolfe Tone, also a leading member of the same society, who was lately taken on board the French ship the Hoche, in the actual attempt to invade Ireland; and with Lewins, now the resident envoy from the United Irish at Paris. Although the trials of Jackson and Stone, and the arrest and flight of Hamilton Rowan and Tone, checked these projects for a time, the Society of United Irishmen pursued their measures with unabating activity, the government of Ireland acquired information respecting the conduct of particular persons whom they had even at that time sufficient ground to consider as chiefly engaged in this treasonable conspiracy; particularly Lewins, above referred to; Henry and John Sheares, since convicted of high treason, and executed; Oliver Bond, and Wolfe Tone, convicted of the same crime, and both since dead, the latter by his own hands, to escape the punishment due to his crimes; lord Edward Fitzgerald, who died in prison in consequence of the wounds he received in resisting the officers of justice, and has been since attainted of high treason; and Arthur O'Connor, M'Nevin, and Emmett, whose individual guilt, as well as that of the whole conspiracy, is sufficiently proved by their own confessions. It is stated, in the confessions of the three persons last named, that the first communication which came to their knowledge between the Irish and the French Directories, was an offer made by the latter, in the year 1796, to send a French army to Ireland to the assistance of the republicans; but the committee of the House of Lords in Ireland have stated it as their opinion, that Lewins had been dispatched to France, in the summer of 1795, to request this assistance; and your Committee are convinced, from secret intelligence which has been laid before them, that this opinion was well founded. The invasion of Ireland, which was at tempted in December 1796, was arranged at an interview which took place on the frontier of France between lord Edward Fitzgerald, Arthur O'Connor, and General Hoche, in the summer of that year. After the failure of this attempt, the solicitations of the Irish Directory, were renewed; a proposal, which arrived from France early in 1797 was accepted, and an answer transmitted, through England, by the means of Arthur O'Connor; Lewins was dispatched to Paris in April, and M'Nevin in June. Both were employed in urging the invasion of Ireland; and in counteracting the négociation for peace with the French republic; which his majesty's minister was then carrying on at Lisle. A conference was held in the same summer, in London, between lord Edward Fitzgerald and a French agent who The arrest of several persons in Ireland, and the flight of others: and the memorable defeat, by lord Duncan, of the fleet intended to protect the expedition fitted out from Holland, again disconcerted the projects of the conspirators. After this event, the French government appears to have repeatedly urged the leaders of the Irish Union to immediate insurrection; but the more cautious amongst them were unwilling to act, until the French should actualliy have landed: and their opinion for a time prevailed. The correspondence was in the mean time continued: the projects of rebellion and invasion were ripening; and at this period the hopes of the Irish conspirators derived fresh encouragement from reports of the progress of new societies in Great Britain, formed on the same plan with themselves. A regular communication was kept up between the Irish and English committees, through Arthur O'Connor, who had come from Ireland to England early in January 1798; and in the reports transmitted by the English societies to Ireland, the force of the United Englishmen (a society which had been recently formed on the model of the United Irish, and of which a more particular account will be given hereafter) was represented to be considerable, though your committee have reason to beleive that there was much exaggeration in these reports. Arthur O'Connor *, in a letter to his brother dated London, 13th February 1798, and seized in lord Edward Fitzgerald's apartments at Leinster House, states, "that Scotland is Irish all over; that the people here give no opinion, though it is easy to learn they look for a change." At a provincial meeting in Ireland, held on the first of February 1798, it was stated to the meeting, by a person just arrived from Dublin, that," the French were going on with the expedition, and that it was in a greater state of forwardness than was expected; but what was more flattering, three delegates had been sent from the United Britons to the Irish National Committee, and from that moment the Irish were to consider England, Scotland, and Ireland, all as one people, acting for one common cause." An address was at the same time produced, which it was stated the delegates of Britain had brought with them to the Irish National Committee. It was also stated, that the priest O'Coigly was one of the delegates mentioned to have been lately returned from France; and it was added that he, and another priest who had fled from Ireland, were the principal persons who had opened the communication with the United Britons. At another provincial meeting, held on the 27th February 1798, it appears to have • Vide Trial of O'Connor. been stated, "that a delegate had arrived from France; that the French were using every endeavour to have the expedition for Ireland completed: and that the Irish delegate came home to cause the United Irish to put themselves into a state of organization to join them, as the Directory positively assured the Irish delegates, that the expedition would set out for Ireland the end of April or the beginning of May." It was also stated, that there had been a meeting of all the delegates in England and Scotland held in London; but that their resolutions could not be obtained till the next provincial meeting, to be held on the 25th of March. The address, which the delegates of United Britons were so stated, at the provincial meeting of the 1st of February 1798, to have brought with them to the Irish national committee, your committee have inserted in the Appendix (No. 8). About the same time a most seditious paper, sent from the London Corresponding Society to the Society of United Irishmen, signed J. T. Crossfield, president; · Thomas Evans, secretary; dated 30th January 1798 (also inserted in the Appendix, No. 9). was published in Ireland, in a paper, called "The Press," and the original seized in March 1798, in consequence of the apprehension of Arthur O'Connor in England. The priest O'Coigly, referred to in these transactions, and who has since been convicted and executed at Maidstone, was a native of Ireland, and went from that country to Cuxhaven in 1797 with another Irishman, who was obliged to fly from Ireland, and passed into Holland, at the time when the Dutch fleet, under admiral de Winter was about to sail, with a large body of troops, on an expedition destined against Ireland. When that fleet had sailed without the troops, O'Coigly and his companion went to Paris, where, finding themselves thwarted by the jealousy of the resident envoy from the Irish Union, O'Coigly returned to England about the middle of December 1797, and went to Ireland in January 1798. Whilst in Ireland, he appears to have had interviews and correspondence with lord Edward Fitzgerald, and others of the Irish conspirators; and he returned to England about the middle of February 1798. Intelligence was conveyed to government of this man's designs, and particularly of his intention to pass into France, for the purposes, which afterwards appeared to be the object of his mission; he was therefore narrowly watched; and on the 28th of February 1798, he was, together with Arthur O'Connor, John Binns, Allen and Leary, taken into custody at Margate, in the attempt to obtain a passage to France. The particular circumstances attending these attempts, are detailed in the evidence on his trial. One of the papers, seized by the officers who apprehended him, was an address from "the Secret Committee of Eng. land to the Executive Directory of France," set forth in the Appendix (No. 10); clearly demonstrating the traitorous views of those who formed the address, and were instrumental in the attempt to transmit it to France. It appears also to your committee, both from previous and subsequent information; that Arthur O'Connor, who had been, to the moment of leaving Ireland, one of the mem bers of the Irish Directory, was not only going to France in the confidence that, when there, he should be considered and received as an accredited agent, but was confidentially employed by the remaining members of that Directory, who were at that time dissatisfied with the conduct of Lewins. Sect. 7.-Further intercourse between the United Irishmen, the French Government, and the British Societies; formation of new Societies, and their Proceedings. At the meetings of the London Corresponding Society, for above two years before this time, it had been avowed, that the object of the society was to form a republic, by the assistance of France. Reform in parliament, or even annual elections, or universal suffrage, were therefore no longer mentioned. Your committee have abundant reason to believe, from the information laid before them, that a person of the name of Ashley (one of the persons arrested in 1794) and who had, for a long time, been secretary to this society, was now acting as their agent at Paris, and had recently given them hopes of the succour of a French army. Mectings were held, to contrive the means of procuring armis, to enable them to co-operate with a French force, in case of an invasion. The leading members of the disaffected societies were also in the habit of frequenting an occasional meeting, which was held at a cellar in Furnival's Inn, and was first formed for the purpose of reading the libellous and treasonable publication, called "The Press." This place gradually became the resort of all those who were engaged the most deeply in the conspiracy. It was parti cularly attended by Arthur O'Connor and O'Coigly, previous to their attempt to go over to France; and by the persons chiefly instrumental in carrying on correspondence with the Irish conspirators; and secret consultations were repeatedly held there, with a view to projects, which were thought too danger ous and desperate to be brought forward in any of the larger societies. Among these plans, was that of effecting a general insurrection, at the same moment, in the metropolis and throughout the country, and of directing it to the object of seizing or assassinating the king, the royal family, and many of the members of both Houses of parliament. An officer, of some experience in his majesty's service, was selected as their military leader; and sanguine hopes were entertained, that they could command a sufficient force to effect their desperate purpose, in the first instance, by surprise. But although the apprehension |