deepest regret, he had to call their Lordships' attention to the fubject now brought, before. them. It was with deep and heartfelt forrow he reflected on the violent and difgraceful outrages lately committed in Ireland; and if there was in thofe proceedings any one act of atrocity more horrible than another, it was that of the barbarous murder of a moft diftinguifhed and meritorious character, who, one would fuppofe, should have been the last perfon to fall a facrifice to the brutal and ferocious fpirit with which those milcreants who destroyed him had been actuated. If ever there was a man whofe conduct was more blameless than that of another, it was the noble perfon to whom he alluded. Never was there any man who merited lefs the refentments of others. In private life he was peculiarly distinguished for his virtues; and in public he was eminently useful. He knew the excellent qualities of that noble perfon: he knew him as a private and public character--As Lord Hobart was preceeding, he was fo overcome with grief, that for fome moments he could not utter a word; he at length apologised to the Houfe, and trufted their Lord/hips would excuse him for an irregularity which was occafioned by his feelings on a melancholy fubject, in which he was fo perfonally interested.-(A general cry of bear! hear!) His Lordship then obferved, that befides the addrefs which he thould move to his Majefty, the Houfe would probably on that day have occafion to adopt fome meatures of very great importance. He expected that certain bills would be paffed in the Commons, and fent to that House. One of these would be a bill for enabling the Government in Ireland to try perfons, charged with rebellious practices, by courts martial. In confequence of what had already paffed in Ireland, his Majelly had the power to proclaim martial law there; but if that was done it would extend univerfally over the country; but by the meafure now intended to be brought forward, the operation of martial law would extend only to perfons actually concerned in the rebellion. The next measure would be a fufpenfion of the habeas corpus act, by which the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland would be enabled to detain all perfons fufpected of treason. These measures it would be neceffary to carry into effect without delay. With respect to the nature and extent of the infurrection which had broke out in Ireland, he was not able at prefent to give fo much information as he could with; but from the accounts Government had received, it appeared,

713.

that except in the city of Dublin the rebellion had not broken out to any great extent in Ireland. He understood, that befides the outrages committed in Dublin, there had been an infurrection in the county of Kildare. Every noble Lord who heard him muft agree, that the most prompt, effectual, and expeditious fteps must be taken to put a stop to those difgraceful and horrible proceedings. For the present he fhould content himself with moving an humble addrefs to his Majesty, thanking him for his moft gracious communication; and affuring his Majesty, that the Houfe would cheerfully concur in any measures which could tend to reftore general tranquillity in Ireland.

t

The Earl of Limerick faid, that as one of the representative Peers of Ireland, and the only one of them who now attended in that House, he felt it his duty to deliver his fentiments on this occafion, and affign his reafons for the vote he fhould give. He lamented as much as any man could do, the fate of that truly virtuous and useful character, who had been moft barbarously murdered. The act was one of the most atrocious that had been perpetrated for many years; and he fully agreed in the fentiments expreffed by the noble Secretary of State, as to the excellent qualities of that noble Lord. The horrible affaflination of fuch a perfon was a proof that there existed in Ireland a spirit of that diabolical and dangerous nature, as to require fuch meafures for its fuppreffion as thofe intended to be brought forward, and fuch as perfectly juftified all the measures that had hitherto been adopted for the fuppreflion of rebellion there. He had already had occafion in that Houfe to defend the measures adopted for Ireland. He was again ready to defend them; he was ready to take his fhare of the reproaches that had been thrown out against those who had fupported the ftrong meafures put in practice there, for the fuppreffion of infurrection and rebellion, and he would never alter the opinion he had formed on the fubject. He highly approved of the bill for extending the operations of martial law to certain descriptions of perfons in Ireland, because the difference between that and the proclamation of martial law by his Majesty would be, that this would reach only the guilty; whereas the other would include within its operation all descriptions of people, whether they were difaffected or loyal: He therefore confidered it as a proof of the tender regard which the Government paid to his loyal countryman, that the means taken to fupprefs rebellion came in fuch a fhape. There

would

would not now be any interruption to the civil tribunals of the country, which must be all fufpended if martial law was proclaimed. The loyal inhabitants of Ireland would now derive the full benefit of the Courts of Justice; whereas none but rebels would be fubjected to military tribunals. He equally approved of the plan for the fufpenfion of the habeas corpus act. The aftonishment and indignation which he felt on learning these fresh inftances of atrocity were greater then he could defcribe. But he had the fulleft reliance on the firmnefs, the patriotifm, and courage, of a large portion of the people of Ireland; and he entertained no. doubt, but that thofe atrocious wretches who disturbed the public tranquillity would be defeated in all their schemes: would meet with ruin and difgrace. Before he fat down," there was one point on which he would take the liberty of throwing out a fuggeftion to his Majefty's Minifters. On a former occafion he had obferved, that there fhould be no distinction between the militia of England and the militia of Ireland, and that a fmall fea fhould not prevent the militia of one country from paffing into another country. If it was proper at that time to adopt his recommendation, how much more fo muft it be now, for reasons which he would explain to the House. There were about 18,000 militia soldiers in Ireland at this time. With regard to the courage, and the loyalty of those men, he entertained no kind of doubt whatever. But he muft affure their Lordships, and he spoke from pofitive knowledge and experience, that every art. would be used, as had been used hitherto, to withdraw them from their duty and allegiance; and from the close connection that exifted between them and thofe people who might be in a state of rebellion-from the fuperftitious attachment: they generally had for each other, and the influence which their priests had over them, it was impoffible to fay how far their loyalty might be fhaken. He mult, therefore, again strongly recommend it to his Majesty's Minifters, to remove the militia regiments from Ireland to Great-Britain, not by any compulsory law, not by giving them an opportunity of volunteering their fervices, and when they came to this country they would be found as powerful and efficacious troops as any in his Majefty's fervice. He hoped he should be excused for throwing out this hint, but he did it from a real conviction that it would be highly beneficial in the prefent flate of the country.

The

715

The address to his Majesty was then moved and carried nemine coneradicente....

PRINCE OF ORANGE.

Lord Hobart moved, that his Majefty's meffage, relative to granting a provifion to the Prince of Orange, be read. His Lordthip then moved an addrefs to his Majefty, affuring his Majesty that the Houfe would cheerfully concur in any measure that would promote the object of the meffage,

Lord Harrowby expreffed his furprise that the noble Lord had not explained the grounds of his motion.

Lord Hobart replied, that explanation was unneceffary, until the Houfe fhould have before it the meafure, itfelf for granting a provifion to the illuftrious Prince in question. The addrefs was then agreed to.

The Houfe, then, on the motion of the Lord Chancellor, adjourned until eight o'clock.

MARTIAL LAW.

Between nine and ten o'clock, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, accompanied by feveral Members of the Commons, brought up two bills, one for trying rebels by martial Jaw in Ireland, and the other for fufpending the habeas corpus act in Ireland. They were both read a first time. On the motion of Lord Hobart, the proclamation iffued by the Lord Lieutenant and Council of Ireland, on the 24th, was read, and ordered to lie on the table.

Lord Hobart then faid, that as it would be neceffary to pafs the two bills on that night, there must be a fufpenfion of the standing orders of the Houfe, which prevented the reading of any bill more than once on the fame day. He moved, "That as it was neceflary for the public fafety thefe bills fhould be paffed with the utmoft difpatch, the Houfe forthwith proceed to read them in their feveral ftages, notwithstanding any standing orders of the House."

The Lord Chancellor faid, the Houfe had fometimes, in cafes of great emergency, broken through their ftanding orders. They had done fo at the time of the mutiny at the Nore, when a bill of the utmost neceffity was read through all its ftages in one day. But although this had fometimes been done, the Houfe ought to come to fome regulation with regard to its standing orders, and endeavour to avoid the inconvenience of breaking through thofe rules by which

its proceedings had been regulated. As Speaker of that Houfe he was bound to adhere to its orders: and if he fhould now, in oppofition to an exprefs order on their journals, put the queftion for reading a bill more than once, he hoped theHoufe would relieve him from the refponfibility he muft incur by doing fo; particularly when he did it by the order of the Houfe. He trufted their Lordships would on fome future occafion come to a determination relative to the standing orders. His Lordship then entered into the merits of the bill before the Houfe; and fully concurred in the fentiments of the noble Lord who was reprefentative for Ireland, as to the propriety of extending martial law only to thofe who were properly the objects of it; and with regard to fufpending the habeas corpus act, he confidered it an act of mercy, inftead of an act of feverity, towards thofe perfons who might fall under the operation of that law. For, by removing them at once, and detaining them in cuftody, they might be prevented from committing acts for which their lives would become forfeited. His Lordship then lamented the unhappy ftate of Ireland, and congratulated the Houle and the country on the extirpation from Great-Britain of thofe pernicious principles, with which a great portion of the people were once in danger of being infected, and on the fpirit of patriotifm with which the whole nation now feemed to be roused; a fpirit that he was confident would carry us fafely through the great ftruggle we were engaged in and if unfortunately we thould fail in that ftruggle, we fhould perish with the confolatory reflection, that we had done our duty to our-` felves, our King, and our country.

The Earl of Roslyn made fome obfervations on the standing orders, which he did not confider to be of a nature fo obligatory as to preclude the Houfe from breaking through them on fuch an occafiou as the prefent: nor could be conceive that any refponfibility attached to the Speaker of that Houfe, for acting in conformity to the orders of the Houfe, if he fhould put the question, contrary to those orders.

The two bills were then read through all their stages, and paffed. Adjourned.

HOUSE