of Fuller, (who was detected, two days after the paffing the first act, in attempting to feduce a foldier belonging to the Coldftream regiment of guards, was found guilty, at the following feffions of the Old Bailey, and fentenced to death; and one Charles Radcliffe, profecuted under the second act, at the laft court of feffion, held for the county palatine of Chefter, was found guilty of adminiftering the oath or teft of the fociety of United Irithmen. The paper found upon Fuller, and which formed the chief ground of his conviction, is inferted in the Appendix, (No. 7), and deferves particular at

tention.

Your committee have thus traced the chief tranfactions which took place in this country connected with the general defign of the confpiracy, nearly to the period when its effects were manifefted in their most dreadful and formidable shape in Ireland, by the atrocious and unexampled rebellion, which broke out in the beginning of the laft fummer. About this time, either with a view to that very rebellion, or in confequence of it, the focieties in this country entered into still clofer connection with the fociety of United Irishmen, and affumed a fhape, more fimilar than before, to that extraordinary combination, the nature and effects of which have been already fully defcribed. It will therefore be neceflary for your committee, in this place, fhortly to review the progrefs of this fociety, and of the steps by which it gradually prepared the way for all the recent miferies and calamities which have been experienced in Ireland,

Irifhmen, in Ireland, till the Period of the Rebellion; its Intercourfe with France, and with the leading Members of Societies in this Country.

The tranfactions of the confpirators in that country are fo fully detailed, in the different reports of the two houfes of the Irish parlia-` ment, that your committee do not think it necessary to state them at length; and will only call the attention of the houfe to fuch parts of them as prove, from the fubfequent conduct of the confpirators, the falfehood of the early pretences, by which they attempted to difguife their real views, as well as the intercourfe kept up by them with the French directory, chiefly through England, and the communication between leading members of the fociety of United Irithmen, and thofe of fimilar focieties in Great Britain.

As early as in the year 1795, hopes and expectations were held out of French affiftance; prayers were publicly offered up at Belfast, from the pulpit, for the fuccefs of the French arms; military affociations were entered into without any legal authority; and repeated attempts were made to feduce the foldiery from their duty.

In February, 1794, Jackson, an Irish clergyman, paffed from France through England, into Ireland, for the purpose of carrying on a treafonable correfpondence, with a view to an invafion of both kingdoms. He was particularly recommended to fome of the leading members of the English focieties; and he tranfmitted to the French government,

M 3

both

Jin, papers on the fubject of his miffion, which had been previously communicated to other perfons in each kingdom.*

In April, 1794, he had many confidential converfations, at Dublin, on this fubject, with Hamilton Rowan, a leader of the United Irishmen, before-mentioned, who was then in prifon, and fince his escape has been attainted for high treafon; with Wolfe Tone, also a leading member of the fame fociety, who was lately taken on board the French fhip, 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 Jackfon and Stone, and the arreft and flight of Hamilton Rowan and Tone, checked thefe projects for a time, the fociety of United Irishmen purfued their measures with unabating activity. The government of IreJand 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 juftice, and has been fince attainted of high treason;

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 last named, thaṛ the firft 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 fend a French army to Ireland, to the afliftance of the republicans. But the committee of the houfe of lords, in Ireland, have stated it as their opinion, that Lewins had been dispatched to France, in the fummer of 1795, to request this affiftance; 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 fummer of that year. After the failure of this attempt, the folicitations of the Irish directory were renewed; a proposal, which arrived from France early in 1797, was accepted, and an anfwer tranfmitted, 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 invafion of Ireland, and in counteracting the negociation for peace with. the French republic, which his majefty's minifter was then carrying on at Lifle. A conference was held

in

in the fame fummer, in London, between lord Edward Fitzgerald and a French agent, who came from Hamburgh, in which farther 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 correfpondence 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 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 Englii 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 reafon to believe that there was much ex

aggeration in these reports. Ar

thur O'Connor,* in a letter to his brother, dated London, 13th February, 1798, and feized in lord Edward Fitzgerald's apartments, at Leinfter-house, 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 1ft of February, 1798, it was ftated to the meeting, by a perfon juft 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 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, who had fled from Ireland, were the principal perfons who had opened the communications with the United Britons.

At another provincial meeting, held on the 27th of February, 1798, it appears to have 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 caufe the United Irish to put themselves into a state of organiza

tion to join them, as the directory pofitively affured the Irifh 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 1ft of February, 1798, to have brought with them to the Irish national committee, your committee have inferted, in the Appendix, (No. 8). About the fame time a moft feditious paper, fent from the London Correfponding Society, to the fociety of United Irithmen, figned J. T. Crosfield, prefident; Thomas Evans, fecretary; dated 30th of January, 1798, (alfo inferted in the Appendix, No. 9), was publifhed, in IreJand, in a paper, called "The Prefs," and the original feized, in March, 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 Irishman, who was obliged to Ay from Ireland, and pafled 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 deftined against Ireland. When that fleet had failed without the troops, O'Coigly, and his compa

nion, went to Paris, where, find ing themfelves thwarted by the jealoufy of the refident envoy from the Irifh Union, O'Coigly returned to England about the middle of December, 1797, and went to Ireland in January, 1798.

Whilft in Ireland, he appears to have had interviews and corref pondence with lord Edward Fitzgerald, and others of the Irish confpirators; and he returned to Eng: land about the middle of February, 1798.

Intelligence was conveyed to government of this man's defigns, and particularly of his intention to pass into France, for the purposes which afterwards 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'Con nor, John Binns, Allen, and Leary, taken into cuftody 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 feized by the officers, who apprehended him, was an addrefs from "the fecret committee of England, to the executive directory of France," fet forth in the Appendix, (No. 10); clearly demonftrating the traitorous views of those who formed the addrefs, and were inftrumental in the attempt to tranfinit 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 confi