the United Irifhmen, before mentioned, who was then in prifon, and fince his efcape has been attainted for high treafon; with Wolfe Tone, alfo a leading member of the fame fociety, who was lately taken on board the French ship the Hoche, in the actual attempt to invade Ireland; and with Lewins, now the refident 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 thefe projects for a time, the fociety of United Irishmen pursued their meafures with unabating activity. The Government of Ireland acquired information refpecting the conduct of particular perfons, whom they had even at that time fufficient ground to confider as chiefly engaged in this treasonable confpiracy; particularly Lewins, above referred to; Henry and John Sheares, fince convicted of high treafon, and executed; Oliver Bond, and Wolfe Tone, convicted of the fame crime, and both fince dead, the latter by his own hands, to efcape the punishment due to his crimes; Lord Edward Fitzgerald, who died in prifon in confequence of the wounds he received in refifting the officers of justice, and has been fince attainted of high treafon; and Arthur O'Connor, M'Nevin, and Emmet, whofe individual guilt, as well as that of the whole confpiracy, is fufficiently proved by their own confeffions. It is ftated, in the confeffions of the three perfons laft 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 affiftance of the republicans. But the Committee of the Houfe of Lords in Ireland have ftated it as their opinion, that Lewins had been dispatched to France, in the fummer of 1795, to request this affistance; and your Committee are convinced, from fecret intelligence which has been laid before them, that this opinion was well founded. The invafion of Ireland, which was attempted 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 folicitations of the Irish Directory were renewed; a propofal, which arrived from France early in 1797, was accepted, and an answer tranfmitted, through England, by the means of Arthur O'Connor; Lewins was difpatched to Paris in April, and M'Nevin in June, June. Both were employed in urging the invafion of Ireland, and in counteracting the negotiation for peace with the French Republic, which his Majefty's Minister was then. carrying on at Lifle. A conference was held in the fame fummer, in London, between Lord Edward Fitzgerald and a French agent who came from Hamburgh, in which further arrangements were made for the intended invafion. The arreft of feveral perfons 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 difconcerted the projects of the confpirators. After this event, the French government appears to have repeatedly urged the leaders of the Irish Union to immediate infurrection; but the more cautious among them were unwilling to act, until the French fhould actually have landed; and their opinion for a time prevailed. The correspondence was in the mean time continued: the projects of rebellion and invafion were ripening; and at this period the hopes of the Irish confpirators derived fresh encouragement from the reports of the progrefs of new focieties in Great Britain, formed on the fame plan with themfelves. 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 tranfmitted by the English focieties to Ireland, the force of the United Englishmen (a fociety which had been recently formed on the model of the United Irish, and of which a more particular account will be given hereafter) was reprefented to be confiderable, though your Committee have reason to believe that there was much exaggerationin these reports. Arthur O'Connor*, in a letter to his brother, dated London, 13th February 1798, and feized in Lord Edward Fitzgerald's apartments at Leinsterhoufe, ftates, "That Scotland is Irish all over-that the people here give no opinion, though it is eafy to learn they look for a change." At a provincial meeting in Ireland, held on the 1st of February 1798, it was ftated to the meeting, by a perfon just arrived from Dublin, that "The French were going on with the expedition, and that it was in a greater ftate of forwardnefs than was expected; but what was more flattering, three delegates had been fent from the United Britons to the Irish national committee, and from that moment the Irish were * Vide Trial of O'Connor. to 2 to confider England, Scotland, and Ireland, all as one people, acting for one common caufe." An addrefs was at the fame time produced, which it was ftated the delegates of Britain had brought with them to the Irish national committee. It was alfo ftated, that the priest O'Coigly was one of the delegates mentioned to have been then lately returned from France; and it was added, that he, and another prieft whe had fled from Ireland, were the principal perfons who had opened the communication with the United Britons. At another provincial meeting, held on the 27th February 1798, it appears to have been ftated, "that a delegate had arrived from France; that the French were ufing every endeavour to have the expedition for Ireland completed; and that the Irish delegate came home to caufe the United Irish to put themfelves into a state of organization to join them, as the Directory pofitively affured the Irish delegates, that the expedition would fet out for Ireland the end of April or the beginning of May." It was alfo ftated, that there had been a meeting of all the delegates in England and Scotland held in London; but that their refolutions could not be obtained till the next provincial meeting, to be held on the 25th of March. The addrefs, which the delegates of United Britons were fo ftated, at the provincial meeting of the 1st of February 1798, to have brought with them to the Irish national committee, your committee have inferted in the Appendix (Ne. 8.) About the fame time a 'moft feditious paper, fent from the London Correfponding Society to the Society of United Irifhmen, figned J. T. Crosfield, Prefident-Thomas Evans, Secretary-dated 30th January 1798 (alfo inferted in the Appendix, No. 9), was published in Ireland, in a paper called "The Prefs," and the original feized in Mareh 1798, in confequence of the apprehenfion of Arthur O'Connor in England. The priest O'Coigly, referred to in thefe tranfactions, and who has fince been convicted and executed at Maidstone, was a native of Ireland, and went from that country to Cuxhaven in 1797, with another Irifhman, who was obliged to fly from Ireland, and paffed into Holland at the time when the Dutch fleet under Admiral de Winter was about to fail, with a large body of troops, on an expedition destined against Ireland. When that fleet had failed without the troops, O'Coigly and his companion went to Paris, where finding themfelves thwarted by the jealousy of the refident envoy from the Irish Union, Ó'Coigly returned to England about about the middle of December 1797, and went to Ireland in January 1798. Whilft in Ireland, he appears to have had interviews and correfpondence with Lord Edward Fitzgerald, and others of the Irish confpirators; and he returned to England about the middle of February 1798. Intelligence was conveyed to Government of this man's defigns, and particularly of his intention to pafs into France, for the purposes which afterward appeared to be the object of his miffion; 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 paffage to France. The particular circumftances attending these attempts are detailed in the evidence on his trial. One of the papers seized by the officers who apprehended him, was an addrefs from "the Secret Committee of England to the Executive Directory of France," fet forth in the Appendix (No. 10); clearly demonftrating the traitorous views of thofe who formed the addrefs, and were inftrumental in the attempt to tranfmit it to France. It appears alfo to your Committee, both from previous and fubfequent information, that Arthur O'Connor, who had been, to the moment of leaving Ireland, one of the members of the Irish Directory, was not only going to France in the confidence that, when there, he fhould be confidered and received as an accredited agent, but was confidentially employed by the remaining members of that Directory, who were at that time diffatisfied with the conduct of Lewins. SECT. VII. Further Intercourfe between the United Irishmen, the French Government, and the British Societies; Formation of new Societies, and their Proceedings.-At the meetings of the London Correfponding Society, for above two years before this time, it had been avowed, that the object of the fociety was to form a republic, by the affiftance of France. Reform in Parliament, or even annual elections, or univerfal fuffrage, were therefore no longer mentioned. Your Committee have abundant reason to believe, from the information laid before them, that a perfon of the name of Ashley (one of the perfons arrefted in 1794), and who had, for a long time, been fecretary to this fociety, was now acting as their agent at Paris, and had recently given them hopes of the fuccour of a French army. Meetings were held, to contrive the means of procuring arms, to enable No. 31. 7 P them them to co-operate with a French force, in cafe of an invafion. The leading members of the difaffected focieties were alfo in the habit of frequenting an occafional 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 Prefs." This place gradually became the refort-of all those who were engaged the most deeply in the confpiracy. It was particularly attended by Arthur O'Connor and O'Coigly, previous to their attempt to go over to France; and by the perfons chiefly inftrumental in carrying on correfpondence with the Irish confpirators; and fecret confultations were repeatedly held there, with view to projects, which were thought too dangerous and defperate to be brought forward in any of the larger focieties. Among these plans, was that of effecting a general infurrection, at the fame moment, in the metropolis and throughout the country, and of directing it to the object of feizing or affaffinating the King, the Royal Family, and many of the Members of both Houfes of Parliament. An officer, of fome experience in his Majefty's fervice, was felected as their military leader; and fanguine hopes were entertained, that they could command a fufficient force to effect their defperate purpose, in the first inftance, by furprife. But although the apprehenfion that they could not as yet collect fufficient numbers to maintain and fecure their advantage, appears, for the time, to have deterred them from the attempt; yet the general language held among thefe perfons, at this period, proved, that they had brought themfelves to the opinion that matters were nearly ripe for meafures of open violence. Attempts were at the fame time made to form in London, upon the plan of the United Irishmen, the Society of United Englifhmen, or United Britons, before referred to: and O'Coigly and John Binns appear to have been leading perfons in that defign. It was propofed to divide this Society into four diftricts, including a large part of the coafts of this kingdom the most expofed to invafion; and it was alfo in contemplation to combine the operations of this Society with thofe of a Society of United Irishmen; of which your Committee will find it neceffary separately to take notice. Moft of the focieties through England, which had ufed to correfpond with the London Correfponding Society, had alfo about this time adopted the fame plan of forming focieties of United Englifhmen; and finding their communi cations |