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Northern Star (1837-1852), 11th December 1847, Edition 2 of 3, Page 6, Kama a Daughter.—Last week, in Netherton...

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      Ii ¦¦Mtf^.W^Miimn^Lsatw December 11, -Iy

      ii ¦¦ mtf ^ . w ^ MiiMN ^ lSatW December 11 , -iy

      Iklfttti)

      iKlfttti )

      (Rom Our Own (Zmretpondent) Dobliar. Dxc...

      ( Rom our own ( Zmretpondent ) DoBLiar . Dxc 6 . TiTHB COTCTOW BIIX— . MfoJnjrjjjj of BjgAWniKS naaa rEisatmr . — the o ' csmkllb aw > khjiic oh-M » 0 * — oxowiho r . romm OF k * o ' coraoa—HCBc Hoaxoas or I 1 U » ah © rESTOEKCE—GtOOHY -1 T 1 TE OF TBS C 1 FIUT , — SOWGS OF THE WEALTH ! KUUBS TR THE CAPITAL . 1 ^ No more need we inquire , vffl there be another " O / Oircion Bill for Ireland f Vo longer Jare we to wpope that the good sense of English members of pariaiiamentjOr the stern , unflinching , dogged resolution uf if Irishmen would be brought to bear against those sasanguinary tyrants who . instead of exerting their

      oopoweis to remove the causes ef crime in Ireland , wnrould afford additlonalfaeilities for the utter annihi-Satation of the Irish people in the land which' God Redesigned for them ; but , in which , all fair and fertile b » s it is , the bigotry and rapacity of the heartless few fcshave for long centuries made them poor , and paltry , suand miserable . The Coercion Bill has passed its Jfifirst stage swimmingly , and it will pass every other Ktst & ge until it finally becomes law . The Coercion BBfll I Oh no;—The' Prevention of Crime' Bill ! BBxh ! Never was there a more flagrant piece of fflfo ly . Never was there a more glaring blander than tfcto suppose that this measure will even tend to the Bisnppression of crime , or reconcile the starving milu ' iTo a of exaperated Irish peasantry to the misrule

      ; a and oppression under which they groan , and which Slthey have too long borne with crawling , blind sub-: n mission to the humbug tutelage of those who would £ fa n persuade them that the redemption of Ireland a and her wretched people from the bondage ofcent tones , were too'dearly purchased at the price of one ddrop of human blood ! But blood has flowed , and b blood will continue to Bow , aud Irish earth will s smoke with the scattered . goreef our tyrants , and the c coercive plans of our enemies , though even approved ( of and hailed by oar ' moral force' leaders ! will not C check the assassin in his wild yearnings for veng seance , nor secure the exterminator in his career of t tynnny and persecution . They will draft over more i Dili a-y , rod they wil ; increase the police or

      coni statukuy auxiliaries in aHth ^ se districts where such : aid ma « be considered lec ^ sary . Let them . Were i every soldier beneath the British banner quartered i in Monster to-morrow , with fifty thousand addi-< tional policemen at their back , murders will still be : rife *; ever—and houses will be fired—and cattle will 11 «' houghed '—and bailiffs and agents shot at—and ' Rickite nation be issaed—and crime increase , and : anarchy prevail—until Ireland become a howling wili derness , oramplejustice be adaunisteredto her trod-< den-down and maddened population . They will dist sum the peasantry ! Pshaw ! to those who areac-< quainted with the way they ' manage these things ' i in Ireland , the vet ; notion is ridiculous . Disarm 1 millions of men wh # have always kept arm * , despite

      < of law , aad who are determined not only to ieep them ' bit to use them too , whenever and wherever opportunity may serve , or revenge , or desperation dictate . Dh-armBS , forsooth ! It is impossible to do so . In many cases , no doubt , several stands ef arms maybe wrested away ; but I scarcely ever knew an Irish peasant , who kept arms at all , who had not made prevision against the recurrence of Coercion Bills and duuurmingprocesses . Paddy , when he deigns to register an old gun or pistol , always makes sure to have a 'fancy-bit , 'in the shape of an elegant fowling-piece , or effective blunderbuss , or carbine , secured high and dry , in the thatch of his cabin , or behind the hob , ' or * nnder & scr & w , ' or in some other place of seccrity , where the prying eye of the

      informers c-nno * . detectit—and where , in the event oi * a search' beipg militated , the peeler would' never dream' of finding contraband fire-arms . Oh , no ; the feasant cannot and will not be disarmed!—he cannot anl will not be coerced ! He may be crushed and trodden on , but be will never again tamely submit to the enemy ; and I fearlessly say , that Coercion will only arouse his worst passions and add fresh innetas to his thirsting ! for bloodshed and revenge . In DabKn , and all over Ireland generally , however , th- ; Coercion Bill , its effects , and consequences , are almost entirely forgotten in the disquisitions and discussions to which its progress through parliament has given birth . John O'Connell , indeed , may well hang bis head and blush for the moment in which he

      pledged himself to die on the floor of St Stephens before another Coercion Bill should be passed for his country ! It isimposdble todewrile the indignation ofthe Irish people at his abject , slavish , conduct on thatmsmsrable night . He—the « w £ » antIeaderofa nation . Oh 1 tell it not in G * th!—to lick the hand that laid new stripes on his bleeding-land , and beslaver with vile adulation the very men whom he had sworn to obstruct , acd oppote , and defeat in their wicked career . Verily , we had little confidence in John O'Connell , but nobody was prepared for such cowardice and meanness as this . He , indeed , a leader!—a leader of a nation struggling for life and death with sworn and inveterate foes . Alas , alas , luck ess Ireland , when will it please Heaven to give

      thee a wades—a leader who will not desert thee for filthy pelf , er barter , for place . and patronage , every feeling of manhood , and honour , and - patriotism f How different from the paltry prevarications of John O'Connell . was the brave conduct of Feargus O'Connor . And yet the latter gentleman has been ettamniaied and abased , and represented before the Menhghtened classes of Irishmen , as a wicked polltioaa , and a foe to the hopes and prospects ef Ireland ! But time , which proves the truth or fallacy of all things , has given Mr O'Connor an opportunity of showing off before . Ireland and the world , how far he was deserving of the opprobrium so iodngtrious ' y poured out on his character aad name .. As I said in my bit letter , the more respectable i ortion of

      Irisamen , who were not interested in keeping up that BTstem of BxcLTjaiO-V so long practised by Irish Jeadeis , never gaveeredit to any accusation against Mr O'Ccnoor . On the contrary , ttey looked on him as oEe of the most active , energetic , and manly mindedlrishmen alive and they now rejoice to find thtm * lves confirmed in their opinions . Mr O'Connoi ' sno'deEtan ^ againstthenew Coercion Bill , has earned golien opinions of his countrymen ; and even those whohailthisatncioismea > ur-asaboon , cannot ( wbvlstaaeering at the shufflUg poUraonery of John O'Connell ) refuse the fall meed of their appro hatin to the unflinching opposition offered to its progress by Mr O'Connor . There are many here who Btill none that the Irish members may yet pluck a

      up biSe resolution , and oppose , creditably , the further processor ihiabilL . But the majority have no reliance on thelarter section ot Irish Repeal members in the present parliament . That there are a , few gool men and true' in the 'Irish brigade , ' we have no doubt , but the fact is , the greater number of those who obtained seats on Repeal principles at the fate , election , do aot enjoy the confidence of the well-informedand right-flunking classes of Irish to iticiars . The . lower orders , too , are : learning to view matters in their trae . colours . They begin to bx that they have been duped and betrayed , and th s feeling tends , { ay , probably in'a greater degree than their poverty ) to render them hopeless of the future , and recklets of crime , and the punishments and

      mi-eri-s which it brings on their heads . Bnt whether the Coercion Bill passes in its present , or under a mitigated form , or not , or whether it be accompanied by ' remedial measures / or otherwise , certain itis . thatit will fail in its ostensible object ; and equally certain is it , that more crime will be comm tted and more blood spilled in Ireland , during the present winter , than has been in any otheryear , at least since the sanguiaary IT 98 . In the meantime , whilst our enemies are forging Hew fetters for our unfortunate laud ; and whilst our pseado friends and . 'leaders * sit 'carelessly BrnOing * —if not ' at fame , ' at something more tangible , the woes of the country are increasing , and the miseries of the peasantry , particularly iu the

      wraw ana west , exceed belief . The most harrowing details are every hour being made public , and each mceeediog d < y witnesses new scenes ofhorrifying destitution smoigst the people . Pestilence rages fiercely as ever rfuuuer is striking down ? new viotuns ; the weather , tUUflate , mild 'and genial , g rows dreary and bitter ; aud one . thousand ofthe la ' Marirg classes roam » bout , . idle and half-starving *» the one who can find temporary employment , ine small farmera are even worse than the mere eotfcersor labourew . They owe rents , which will mi - I ? 010 thenl & m & the life-blood should lorn . w . £ te tax-man ' * call must be responded to , or ! Tf e ^ 0 iSt p ay- or blankck « Mlst the poor ™ t ?^ tor ' flai * ad round by a flitterine series of

      ? % aS ? * * »*» inexorable « Shylock himself . And to meet those numerous and nressint ? cWhe ^ ortanate f , ™^ the sky . Everything * gone ;; I ^ harv ^ a crop ^ disposed of longago . Sheep , « cow , or pfg , ^ a not one . His fomdy dragoon a miserable-exist eneeon oat or barley-meal , ' mingled with ' tuminsand when these means ' are < exhausted , they must either die or go seek refuge to the poorhousei already redolent of pestilence from excessive ; pognU tion . Aad yet the Whigs will coerce such , a people ! . But no . There is pleaaare-r-a dark and terrific pleasure , probably—in the reflecUon tlutt Coercionin Ireland is a' mockery' and a 'delusion , ' and that the Irish pauper will notdie without »' struggle for vengeitt en those who look on his desolation' without

      offering any other remedy than newly-modifed Coercion Bids , additional police , and-increased taxation on those who are this moment nearly as destitute of earthly means as were our primeval parents when driven naked and helpless from Eden . The condition of . Dublin is not more cheering than that of the rural districts . - Everything looks sadly . Buin ' s wheel is driving o ' er us ; onr merchants and men of business are dwindling into hucksters , or on the threshold of insolvency , whilst thousands of artisans , and persons who , a year or two ago , were in good circumstances , now prowl about the streets , heartless , hungry , and in tatters . Business is at a standstill . Trade and labour ein scarcely be said to exist ; apd none appear actively employed except the shivering beggars who crowd the thorough / ares ' , or the policemen who drag them away to the station-houses , that the sheets may not becomeimpassablefrem their numbers and

      (Rom Our Own (Zmretpondent) Dobliar. Dxc...

      their importunity . Such is Dublin atthe present moment ; andVhat must be her condition a year or twohenoe ! But I grow sick at the gloomy thoughts which press on my fancy ; let us > eek some gayer scene—some oasis in this onr Irish wast * , on which we may dwell amoment in tranquillity , and summon op onr still remaining fortitude , to meet the evils which press around and about our cheerless way . Seldom has therejbeen a more magnificent concern in DoMn than the Lady Mayoress's ball which' came off atthe Mansion-house , on the night of Tuesday , 30 th ult . The comuany ( including : tbe Lord

      Lieutenant , the Countess Clarendon , and all the members of the Vice-Regal Court ) consisted of upwards of 1 , 000 ot the elite of Dublin society , with many a high and haughty name'from distant parts of the country . The arrangements were of the most princely and profuse style , and the whole affair reflects the highest credit on the Lord Mayor , his worthy lady , and our eity in general . 'Tis many a year since Dublin aw such a reunion of Irish fashion and beauty . It was a perfect fairy scene , and forcibly reminded the spectator of some ofthe most daalingspectacles described in Oriental story .

      Another * great night for Dublin , ' or , at all events , for those concerned in the Theatre Royal , was the evening of Thursday , the 2 nd inst . It wai a' command night' at that theatre , and for a period of ton or a dozen years , there was not so full or brilliant a 'house' in Hawkins-street . The Earl and Countess of Clarendon , with a gallant cortege , were there at an early hour . His Excellency was pretty well received , although there were many a' hiss' and many a cheer far ' Ireland' and 'Repeal , ' as the noble earl and suite proceeded to their seats . The piece chosen for

      the occasion was' Much Ado about Nothing , ' in which Mr and Mrs Eean appeared , with mnch credit to themselves , and much satisfaction to the vast audience which g > eeted their appearance . It was altogether the * talk' of the play-goers of Dublin during the week , and it is probable that for many a day to come , Mr Calcraft will not attract such another house to the Theatre Royal ; though , indeed , none can be more deserving of support from the admirers ofthe drama , than that very spirited and enterprising gentleman .

      It appears that our Corporation at its next meeting is to rescind an arrangement made some months ago , the object of which was to reduce the Lord Mayor ' s salary from £ 2 . 000 to £ 1 . 000 annually . Tbisisas it should ( be . The office of Lord Mayor is one attended with considerable , expense and : outlay , and could not be respectably or efficiently sustained with such a paltry sum as £ 1 , 000 a year . . Though ns advocate for prodigal expenditure , lam glad ef this resolution of the Dublin Corporation . With the present year , Mr Staunton , the proprietor of the Register , retires from the Mayoralty , and is to be succeeded by Mr Jeremiah Dunne , a native of the Queen ' s county , a gent'eman ef wealth and high respectability . Though pretty considerably advanced in years , be is

      still living in ' single blessedness , 'but fame has it , that he is very shortly to lead to the altar one of the fairest and most accomplished of our metropolitan damsels . Mr Stannton , who retires , was deservedly papular during his year of office . He performed his duties entirely to the satisfaction of every class and section of his fellow citizens , and his decisions were always looked on as upright and impartial . Our new repeal member , Mr John Reynolds , appears resolved to defend the laurels which he won at the late election . He will not be bullied by threats , nor frightened from the proud position he occupies , though his opponents bring gold , and bribes , and corruption to their aid . He is no craven , and we wish over here that those who affect to be

      themouthpiece oi Ireland , had only half the energy and spirit of John Reynolds . If they had the Whigs would ' not go on so smoothly with their Irish coercion project , nor would Mr O'Connor's minority be confined to the ' faithful few' who constituted the glorious eighteen dissentients . A petition against the returns at the recent Dublin Election has been forwarded to the House of Commons , on the 3 rd inst ., resting chiefly on the grounds that the returning officer acted illegally in not commencing the poll atthehonrnamed by law . There are several other objections , but this is the principal . The petitioners are , John Mc Kenna , town-councillor ; Andrew Cohill , Richard Russell , and James Smith , freeholders of this city ; and the due recognizances for the prosecution of the

      petition were entered into on the 3 rd , 'Jbefore F . T . Porter . Esq , at the Head Police-office , by N . V . Maher , Esq . M . P ., and J . H . Thomas . Esq ., in the snm of £ 500 each . A highly respectable requisition has also been placed before the Lord Mayor , requesting him to convene a meeting of the electors and citizens of Dublin , to devise means for the support of Mr Reynolds in his contest with his antagonists . The meeting : I understand is to be held on Friday , the 10 th instant , at the Royal Exchange . It is said Mr Reynolds is resolved to stand to tbe last moment against his enemy , andfhas availed himself of the first professional talent in Ireland , for the struggle . Much interest is excited by this affair , for it is expected that the contest will be unusually expensive and protracted . The meeting of Young Icelanders' at the Rotunda , on Wednesday evening , was very thinly attended , There was the usual quantity ot'

      speeching , ' bnt the day is now arrived when deeds must be the test of sincerity , for Heaven knows we have had oratory until we are drenched with it . The great obstacle in the wayof Tonng Irelandisnr' is , the want of some vigorous-minded energetic man , to direct its operations , and guide its progress through the many difficulties with which it has to contend . Many of the principles of the Irish Confederation are sound and wholesome , but the misfortune is , that likegeod materials in the hands of unskilful or ignorant workmen , those sound [ and wholesome political principles remain a dead letter for the want of some master-mind competent to reduce theory into practice , and control | the errors and absurdities into which the present ' ruling spirits' of 'Young Irelandism'too ' often precipitate themselves ; thus making themselves odious to , and their principles distrusted by , the great bulk of Irishmen .

      Kama A Daughter.—Last Week, In Netherton...

      Kama a Daughter . —Last week , in Netherton village , near Dudley , a mother killed her daughter , seventeen years of age , by stabbing her in the side with & red hot iron . On the day in question , deceased , whose name was Caroline Favell , and her mother , who bears an excellent name in the village for her industrious habits , were at work in a shop making up nails . Deceased was careless of her parent ' s advice , and had been detected stealing pieces of iron to procure sweatmeats . About two o ' clock she was at her work , when her mother accused her of pilfering . Mote iron was missed , and she had something in her mouth which she was sucking . They both became greatly excited , and she told her parent' that it was a lie . ' This exasperated the latter to such an . extent , that she threw a piece of red hot iron at her , and unfortunately it penetrated the daughter ' s side to a fatal extent . The girl was

      immediately carried away in excruciating agony to an adjoining shop , and in the course of an hour she expired . At the inquest held on Thursday , Henry Smithman said he apprehended the mother by the bedside on which the deceased was lying dead . She was in great distress of mind , and on being charged with the crime she said , ' Yes , I did it ; but I'll tell you all about it . My daughter is a very bad girl . We were at work at the shop , and I found she had been making away with the iron , and oncomplaini ing of her conduct , she used bad language to me . I was making a nail at the moment , and being in a great passion I threw the piece of hot iron at . her . I had not the remotest idea of hurting her tothe ex * tent I did . '—Mr Mainwaring , a surgeon , said the iron entered under the right arm , and penetrated the lung . —Verdict , 'Manslaughter * against the mother , who was sent for trial

      Mi-vesESTFE . —Guott but Ac 4 otttbd .- ~ -A singular circumstance occarred at the sessions . An indictment had been sent up to the grand jury against a woman for stealing music , but deeming the evidence insufficient , they found no bLl against her . Instead , however , of cutting the bill , as is the usual practice at this court , the words ' ho' bill' were written upon the indictment ,-and it ' was sent down uncut . The clerk of the peace did not observe the words' no bill , ' and the woman beingealled up'in her turn was arraigned , pleaded guilty , and was sentenced by the recorder to six months' hard labour ! Shortly after she had been sent down to the New Bailey prison , Mr Beswick , the chief superintendent , remarked toamember of the grand jury that there ,

      had not been a single case yet in which they had not founds bill The reply was , 'Yes , there has been one / and the case of this woman was mentioned . This led to further inquiry , and the facts having been stated to the recorder , the learned gentleman immediately sent an order for the discharge of the woman , whowaa so much affected on the intelligence , that she was immediately seized with hysterics , from which , however , she seedily recovered , and was , no less to her surprise than delight , allowed to leave the prison at once . .. Two PbbsoxsBvrkt toDkath . —A shocking case occurred before day-break on Saturday morning last , at a house in St Mary-street , in which an elderly and wall-known Jewess , Mrs Yoel , and her son , Henry YoeL resided : the latter having been discovered lyineon the flooor of the bedroom burnt to

      death ; and the former crouched down in a corner of the same room incapable of leaving it from the effects of the bums she had received . She was afterwards removed to the residence of her son in Queen-street , but she died on Sunday afternoon . This sad catastrophe is supposed to have arisen from a candle having by some accident ignited theeurtains ofthe bed in which Henry Yoel , sixty years of age , a cripple , and bed-ridden , was lying ; and that the injuries sustained by Mrs Yoel , who is eighty-four years old , was caused by her efforts to rescue her son . Attention was attracted to the room by smoke being seen to Issue from the window , about seven o ' clock in the morning ; the window , it is surmised , having been opened by Mis Yoel to prevent suffocation . Man , says the Cleveland ( U . S . ) Herald , is a reasoning animal , who paints with the sunbeams , travels by steam , and talks by lightning , " ¦ ¦ i

      Taptnai ^Atuammu

      taptnai ^ atuammu

      Monday Die. ¦ House Of Lords.— Dcnuncuti...

      MONDAY Die . ¦ HOUSE OF LORDS . — DcNUNcuTioas vboh m Altak w IK ** " * . —Lord Fa « miaic called the attention of the House to the denunciation in Ireland of certain persons from the altar , whose assassination shortly afterwards followed ; and aiked the government If they had submitted to the law officers of tbe crown the queltion as to the liability of the prleits go denouncingthese unfortunate individual ? , and whether their opinion was that they were amenable to the criminal law ; and if so whether tt was the intention it the government to Institute criminal proceedings against them t

      The Marquii of Lahidowne said that the Lord-Lieutenant had baea in communication with the lawoffiters of the crown in Ireland , but he was then unable to say with what result . The Lord-Lieutenant did not think that any powers would be necessary to enable him to check the outrages which took place In Ireland but thote sought for by tbe bill introduced Into tbe Home of Commons by the government . He had every confidence that juries would do their duty , and did not anticipate that government would feel itself necessitated to ask f « r any greater powers than those already demanded from parliament . The Earl of MiLMKaBOET thought the government were culpable In not at once . demanding such powers as would place the speedy restoration of tranquillity beyond all doubt .

      Lord Stahkt . complained ofthe indistinct character of the answers given by Lord Lamdowne . The questions were plain and definite ; the direct Incitements to murder held out from the altar and elsewhere , and the aiiaisinations consequent on them , were alto clear ; and it would be most satisfactory if the noble marqoit had been able to say that these cases had been reported to the law officers ef the crown , and that prosecutions would be Instituted on the part ef the government . If themean * of repression of such incitement were sot to be obtained under the present state of the law , then he hoped the government would not trust to the existing tribunals fer insuring : justice , and that the government would not heiltate to take such steps as , even if they « houM appear to violate constitutional liberty , would provide for what was of far greater importancs—the security of the lives of the Queen ' s subjects in Ireland ,

      Lord Cahtbeil observed that it would be indliereet to give specific answer to the question at present . The Irish . government would do ita duty ; ' and he thought It inconvenient to ^ embarrass it -in the performance of that duty by questions prematurely asked . Tbe law , as it now stood was ample , enough to reach all persons implicated iu the crime of murder , and their lordships might rely upon it that the law would beenforced . . ' Lord Bbotjqhah and Earl Gbet followed briefly in the same strain , ' when the subject dropped , and their lordships adjourned . HOUSE OF COMMONS . —The Spsahb took the thairat the usual hour . ¦ .-Mr Feasors O'Coshob presented petitions from Chariton , Broughborougb , Vottingham , Norwich , and other places , praying for immediate measures of relief for Ireland , instead of a Coercion BiU .

      Cohmebcial Cams . —Major BsuxeroKD gave notice ; on the part of the hon . member for Stsmford ( Mr Hetties ) , that on au early day he would move the following resolution : —• That looking at the state of distress which had prevailed some time , aad the general feeling of distrust and alarm by which tbe embarrass , meats of trade had been aggravated , it was the opinion of the house that ministers were justified durlne tbe re-Cf « s of parliament in recommending the Bank of England to restore confidence by a coursa of proceeding at variance with the restrictions imposed by the 7 th and 8 th Vict ., cap . % 2 . That tbis house will resolve itself into a committee on the Tth and Sth Vict ., cap , 82 , Resolution to be moved in committee : —' That it is expedient that the limitations imposed by the 7 th and Sth Vict , on the Bank ef Eaglaad , in relation to the issue of notes payable on demand , be suspended , subject to such conditions as may be provided by any act to be passed hereafter for that purpose . '

      Accideht at WioiM . —Mr FsABSOs O'CoNNOB asked the Secretary | of State for the Home Department whether government had taken any measures to relieve a number of persons who had been in a perilous situation in a colliery at Wigan , caused by the overflowing of the Douglas , Sir Q . Saw said , that he had seen a report in the newspapers of the breaking in of the river , and it was supposed that there were . six persons whose lives had been sacrificed , bnt no representations had reached him fiora the owners ofthe colliery , or an ; of the workmen employed , or from any of their friends . He had called for an immediate report of this circumstance , in order to ascertain whether there was any necessity to Institute an investigation into tbe case alluded to—whether it had been eaueed by accident , or the want of proper precaution . As to the immediate measures for rescuing those persons he believed that every measure had been taken v . hich it was in the power of human beings to adopt .

      MsniAtioM ik SwiTamAH » . —Mr Osseins inquired whether government had received 'information which would prevent , or render nnnecejsary , any mediation , on the part of this country , between the contending par . ties in Switzerland ! YiecouatPALKSKSTOW replied that information bad been received which showed that the civil war iu Switzerland was In point of fact at an end . ( Hear , hear . ) Now , as mediation meant an interposition between two contending parties , it was evident that when there was an end of contention there must also be an end of mediation . ( Hear , and a laagb . ) Scottish Schooi , kaste « i—• Mr Baillib Cocbbabb gave notice of his intention shortly to move for a select committee to Inquire Into the duties , emoluments and present condition of ichoolmatters iu Scotland ,

      Apfoihtjcext op Amutant Babbishbs ( Ibbunb . }—Mr Fbabuos O'Comrob begged to ask the right hon . gentleman , tbe Secretary for Ireland , if the law offiters of the crown ha < been consulted in the appointment of Mr French and another gentleman , whose name w « did not catch , to tha office of assistant barristers Sir W . Sombbvulb said that , not having had notice of the question , he was not able to give a distinct answer When Mr French was appointed he wa * not in office , Wt he presumed the lord-lieutenant could make such ap . pointments without reference to the law officers of the

      crown . Cbihe aud Ootbage nr Ibelarb ,--On the motion for the order ot the day for the second reading of this WH , Mr J . O'Conheix said that , in the absence ofthe hen . member for Limerick , owing to severe Indisposition , he rote to more the amendment of which the hon . member had given notice—yIe-that the other orders of the day bsread . He felt It to be hit inevitable duty to offer to this bill , lu this and every other stage , bis determined opposition . Even if it were not that he had Rejections to several clauses of tbe bill , be should feel obliged to oppose it , as government bad not carried out their declarations of bringing measures for the distressed state of Ireland hand in hand with those of severity and coercion .

      He did not see how the government could escape the charge of inconsistency , when their present policy was cempared with that which they panned In ISIS iu refe . reuce to Sir Robert Feel ' s coercion measure . The government had no decent pretext for pushing this measure at present . They might have delayed its introduction till the regular session , and have , in the meantime , stretched the ordinary law in Ireland to its utmost ex . tent for the preservation of the public peace . The hon . gentleman then dwelt at some length upon the subject of Irish grievances , taunted the government with their fair professions and broken promises , warned them against listening to the insidious councils of Sir 'Robert Peel , denied that the remedial measures which they had foreshadowed were measures of radical relief , charged

      upon the land system of Ireland the origin of all its die . turbaueee , ! read to the house elaborate statements of- distress in Ireland , and warmly apostrophised repeal as his only hope . He implored the house at last to show some sense of the injury dene to Ireland by depriving her of her ownparUament . ThstBtephadbeencruellyandcrimin & Uv taken . Some members would not defend the way in which the Union was carried , but held that it ooght to be regarded as un fait accompli , and that they mustmske the best they could of it , and he ( Mr J ; O'Connell ) therefore asked the legislature to discharge the duties it bad usurped , He put this question : Hon was it possible fer Ireland to support her paupers ! In 1836 the government commissioners stated that in that year there were 3 , 000 , 000 people de > .

      iitutt ; bat what was the case now ! On the one hand , the capital of Ireland bad been materially diminished , and on the other hand pauperism had materially increased ; and yet , though the capital was Insufficient in 18 S 6 to support 1 , 080 , 080 , Ireland was now called upon , with a diminished capital , to support the 4 , 000 , 001 of paupers which now existed iu that country . The net loss of capital by failure of the potato crop had been ad . mltted to be not less than £ 13 , 098 , 000 . That amount had been increased by the loss of stock , cows , and pigs so that the deficiency of working capital could not be less than from £ 17 , 000 , 001 to £ 18 , 010 , 810 . How , then , in heaven ' s name , was It possible fer Ireland to support 4 , 119 , 800 paupers at the present time ! He asked this coaatry for money , thoogh he might be taunted for It ,

      ( Laughter . ) He asked the government for money , and let them after wards charge Ireland for it what they chose . He had never yet seen is that house any thought or consideration for Irish interests , ( Cries of < 0 h , oh . ' ) He repeated that assertion coolly and deliberately , and declared that ' the interests of Ireland had always been sacrificed to the interests of England . He had been taunted with not bringing forward the question of tbe Repeal of the Union by bis Nemesis in that house , Sir B . Hall , He was glad that that question was to be brought forward to-morrow night by an English member ( Mr T . O'Connor ) , and pledged himself to prove , when it was

      broaght forward , that England owed to Ireland mors money than she had yet given to that country , and that in common justice , it ought to make to Ireland large ad ' vances . Irishmen ought net to be allowed to perish whea an advance of £ 2 , 100 , 080 or £ l , f 00 , 018 would save them from destruction . He did not wish to parley with the guilty man , but he called on the government to do justica to the innocent " men of Ireland , who were in dan . ger of perishing by starvation , and , if proper precautious were aot speedily taken , by fever and cholera . It had been said that the gsntlemen , who had fallen victims to these outbursts of revenge had b » en in general good landlords and men of benevolent character . He denied

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      It . and , a * an instance to the contrary , read a letter from . person whom a number on the Opposition beuchaa d « - elartd to be now In prison aa an accomplice In the mur . < ter ef Mr Rowe , accusing that gentleman ef very fcwrt conduct towards some of Ms tenantry . Sir O . Grey , in the « er « ise of what he deemed his duty , ; hod on * former evening blackened the character of the peasantry of Ireland . He , therefow , thought that It was Msduty to describe the crimes perpetrated by those in high estate la Ireland , and to contrast Ihem with those perpetrated fey those in low estate . As they had heard ofthe nSerlagt of the victims of Irish outrage , it was only right that which had

      they should hear something of the hardships led to that otitrage . After many details on thatsubject , he objected to this bill , because it was not accompaned bv foed relief ; because it was sot accompanied by a settlement of the question between landlord and tenant - and because It rendered the Lord-Lleutenant a dictator in Ireland . He concluded . by defending the Reman Catholic clergy of Ireland from the calumnies which had been recently cast upon themi and by assertloir that if It had not been for their pious ex « f tions that country would have been , what it was not at present , ¦ n A celdama of blood .

      Mr Powbb condemned a coercion bill for Ireland , un . less accompanied by rameflial measures . He wished to see crime put down by the strong arm of the law , but he thought the existing law was amply sufficient for the purpose . If extraordinary powers were to be created for the purpose , he implored the government to look at the character of the men who would have to carry those powers Into effect . Were they not the Irish landlords and magistrates , who generally had been taught to look u pon their Celtic brethren as an inferior race ! Surely they were dangerous persons to be Intrusted with such au thority . The hon . gentleman then defended the Irish priests from the calumnies which he said had been heapedupon them , and declared that they were active in their endeavour to prevent erlme , rather than to encourage It . He proceeded to contend that tbe Romaa Catholic religion was not incompatible with constitutional liberty , instancing Spain , Portugal , a part ef the United States of America , and , finally , the efforts of Pius IX . to give freedom to Italy , in preof of the

      assertion . Mr Gkaccak said- he would support the measure of the government , because be thought tbe time had come when humanity required support in Ireland . ( Hear ; bear . ) He weuld support tbe bill for the honour ofthe Irish nation , which was tarnished iby cowardly murders . ( Hear , hear . ) His hon ; Mend the member fer Limerick introduced a great deal . that was irrelevant into tbe discussion . He talked of the want et assistance on the part of the government to relieve the distress and misery of Ireland . That was all very right , but the present was not the time for that question . ( Hear , hear . ) The question of distress had nothing to do with the question of crime and outrage . A man starving would come to ask for bread but not to take away life . ( Hear ,

      hear , ) If a man wanted to go to a relief committee he did not go with a pistol or a blunderbuss , but with a can for his soup , He thought that his hon . friend had taken away from himself all ground fer opposition to the measure , because be did not support the amendment proposed in the . address , on the ground that the right hon . gentleman , the Secretary for the Home Department , and the right hon . gentleman-the Secretary for Ireland , declared that the people would be kept from starvation . He saw very-little coercion in tbe present bill . ( Hear , bear ;) -When compared with the measures of 1814 , 1822 , aad 1885 , it seemed to him to be a mitigated and a wretched—be would not abnse the bill he was going to support— ( langhter)—buthe was surprised that his hon . friend did not see the almost invisibility of the coercion

      it contained , This could not be called an Arms bill , for it would only affect those who would be likely to use them tn the destruction ef human life . He thought it right , when a murder was committed , that the people should pursue the guilty parties . ( Hear , bear . ) But be would go further than tbe bill for he would make tbe rich man go out in pursuit as well as the poor man . ( Hear , hear . ) If a man had property he ought to defend it , as was done by Lord De Freyne and Mr Grace , who armed their tenants for that purpose . His hon , friend alluded to many points which deserved the serious attention of the government , espe . dally that which related U an amendment of tbe landlord aud tenant law . Tbe aoble lord at tbe head of tbe government declared , on the 2 nd of April , 1846 , that no

      person could contend that tbe relations between landlord aud tenant in Ireland were in a satisfactory state , and that such of tha evils of the law as could be remedied by legislation ought to be so remedied without delay , for , by so doing , they would remeve one ofthe great causes of crime In Ireland . ( Hear , hear . ) That was a question which ought to be let at rest ; and , if the noble lord did not redeem his pledge , he would be prepared to join his cos . friend in a vote of censure on the government . He thought the appointment of the Devon com mission was most mischievous , if the measures and recommendations it held forth were not realised . ( Hear , hear . ) The boh . gentleman them referred to the accusations which had been made against the Rom & n Catholic clergy , which he pronounce ! ' to be unfounded

      and calumnious . He knew of instances where theclergymia of that church were most active im dissuading from crime ; andhaibuld shew some threatening notices which had been sent to Roman Catholic priests , and even to Roman Catholic bishops . He hoped that the Lord Lieutenant would not wait for tbe present measure but that , he would pour police into the disturbed districts , which he had the power of doing at present . The formers of Ireland were themselves most anxious for this MIL ( Hear , hear . ) He was prepared to meet those cowardly assassins , not by . an order te prime and load , but to present and fire . ( Laughter . ) Those were the orders he had given , and which enabled him to be there . He had received notices , and thia was the way he would mesit them . It was due to the honour

      of the country—it was their duty as " men , ai citizens , and as christians , to support the present bill . ( Hear . ) Sir 6 . Obet said that the speech of the hon ; gentle , man who addressed the house confirmed the opinion witbhvhich he rose , namely , that it would be unnecessary for him to appeal to the house to reject the motion proposed by the hon . member for Limerick . He felt convinced not only that a majority of that bouse but that a majority of the Irish members would hot lend themselves to a measure tbe effect of which would be—he would not say to obstruct the further progress of the bill—but to obstruct tbe government when they came to discuss Us principle and provisions . He rose principally to express his hope that those gentlemen who felt the importance—an importance which he could net himself

      too strongly imprest upon the house—of promptitude ia passing the measure , would not be led by the speech of the hon , member fer Limerick and tbe hon gentlemen who seconded his motion into that wide field of discussion to which they had invited the house . He asked of them to abstain from that discussion not because he disagreed from the views ef the hon . gentleman , many of which were deserving of the consideration ofthe house , but because the present was not the time or the occasion for discussing them . He , therefore , hoped the house would allow the order ofthe day to be read , and on the motion for the second reading the objections against the bill and the opinions of members upon itmfchtbe urged ; and at that stage of it he would address a few words to the house in explanation of some of Its provisions , aud

      to remove misconceptions which might exist respecting ft . With regard tothe feeling against Ireland entertained in this country , to which he referred , he totally denied that any such feelingexisted . ( Hear , hear . ) He believed that the desire ef England and of every Englishman was , that Ireland should be virtuous , happy , prosperous , and contented , ( Hear , hear . ) But there was a feeling , a deep-seated feeling , in the minds of thepeopleof this country against the unchecked progiess of crime , and the foul and dastardly assassinations which occurcd in Ireland . ( Hear , hear . ) That opinion was echoed by members on both sides of . the house , from whatever portion of theemplto they mighteome . They asked the house to consent to a bill to check the crime of this dastardly , cruel , and secret assassination , which

      was a disgrace to any country calling itself christian' ! arid professing to be civilised . ( Cheers . ) He'Would ' not eater into a defence of the proceedings of the last parlia meut , nor refer to that series sf acts of , parliament , which were conceived in a spirit of- generosity , and he weuld add of justice for the relief of Ireland , nor of the days , weeks , and months , which had been spent , with a view to mitigate her distress . Neither would be enter into a , defence et the conduct of the government ! If tfcehon . gentleman thought thorn reprehensible , lot him bring forward a substantial motion , fairly , ' openly ) " and honestly impugning their administration 1 to ' wards Ireland . He would then meet it in the same spirit , and would be prepared te abide by the opinion of the house . But whatever opinion might be entertained cf the

      conduct of the government ,, let it not . prevent them from considering a measure Immediately necessary for checking the progress of crime in Ireland . ( Hear . ) Mr Feargus O'Connob , said , that if he had the slightest notion that this bill of the right honourable baronet , as he could wish , would lead to a restoration of peace in Ireland , he would be the last mem . berin that house to nestpono the object which the right honourable gentleman had in view for a single moment , He was sure that the right honourable gentleman must have frequently . said to himself whilst listening to the support of the honourable memberfor Meath ( MrGrattan ) , 'Defend me from my friends . It had been the misfortune of Ireland that those persons who undertook to represent her distresses , and her erievances never could agree among themselves . He would say of this House of Commons that which he could not sav of th * l ™™

      , in 1833 , 1834 , and 1835 , that if the Irish people owe it no further favour than this , it was a great onethere never was a more patient hearing , at all events , afforded than had bee n given to this bill , and that probably would be misrepresented by some gentlemen in that house ., Let it hot be supposed that he was defending assassination while he was merelv nn posing a measure which he conscientiously believed " would lead to farther assassination . TheVt Sle gentleman , the member for Meath , had csncladed 1 his speech by telling them that he would not wait fo prime aha load , but he would fire first and DrEJS load afterwards . ( Laughter . ) TheFlmnnnrA ? . ? nd ber for Meath had hhl ^ imS ^ S ^ v ™ had been guilty of the most scandalous direlE « f duty ^ towards the people of Ireland . AndlKth » spirit ofperverseness which to all rationalmet appear utterly unaccountable , he now cam ? forward to declare his determination to RupportS in their

      Monday Die. ¦ House Of Lords.— Dcnuncuti...

      present measure , simply because he had implicit reliance on their good intentions . ( Hear , hear . ) . Anything more anomalous , more irrational , more contradictory , than this he had never heard . What did the honourable gentleman tell the honse ? he told them that a noble friend of his and an acquaintance of his had armed their tenantry , as under the provivisions of the-ordinary law they were entitled to do , and that this manifestation ef resistance was in itself sufficient to render recourse to extraordinary Jaw unnecessary . ( Hear , hear . ) He told you that the manwho went to the guardian for relief , went with his car . for soup , his bottle for milk , and his bag for Indian meal , but that he did not go with a pistol in bia hand to demand those provisions . True , he did

      not , as he only held a pistol in his hand when the spoiler came to deprive him of those provisions , ( hear , hear ) -and yet , though he has characterised this bill as a mean , dirty , paltry , insignificant , rubbishy measure , and , although he has shown the efficacy of tho ordinary law , yet , nevertheless , he has that confidence in the good intention of the minister to induce him to give it his hearty support . Well now , let ns see what those good intentions , or rather the expectation of them is based upon . The honourable gentleman tells you , that on the 4 lh of April , 1846 , that is twenty months ago , the presentministerspromised remedial measures for Ireland , and yet , though they have never seen the light , the honourable gentleman will vote for this measure from reliance upon those

      good intentions . It was easy to inveigh against the Irish people—it was easy to impute to a whole nation the shame and criminality which , was properly attaobableonly to the proceedings of a few ; but let those who slandered Ireland turn over the page of history , and say what other country presented such an instance ^ of patience and long suffering as she did . Last year alone , one million of her children fell victims to pestilence and famine , and sank into their cold grave without , * murmur , almost without a groan . Some of the members of his own immediate family were amongst the most extensive landholders in Ireland . They were landlords , magistrates , aid grand jurors , and were . not . afraid to walk through the emmtrv at all hours of , the day and night ,

      Whence arose this confidence ? Simply . from the consciousness that they had discharged their dnty . and had done nothing to place them within the range of the red - arm of the assassin . ( Hear , . hear . ) , K all , other . landlords .. and magistrates : acted with equal , propriety , there would be security for life , in every district of Ireland without exce » tibu ,. ahd therefore he would resist this scandalous . Coercion Bill to the , last ... It was unnecessary , and it was difgracefully tyrannical . There could be no excuse for , introducing such a measure unless , the ordinary , resources . of ! . the law had been taxed to the attermoBt , and taxed in vain , and unless measures , of a , remedial and conciliatory character had been found . to , be ! inefficient in establishifig

      good order . The hon . < and , learned member , for Meath admitted that the , bill , was a . paltry , pitiful , despicable abortiohj-an ' d yet he was prepared to give it his warmest support . Would he be so ii the late ministry were now in office , and , if it , were brought forward nnder , their paJrohage ? Would he dare to dosoif they . were ? on the eye of a general election ? He ( Mr O'Connor ) did not hesitate to predict that the effect of the present bill would be to bring the ordinary law into disrespect . Such had ever been the operation of penal enactments . The Lord-Lieutenant had not ( it was idle to say he had ) put the ordinary resources ofthe law into full play . He had power to order a- special commission when and where he pleased , he had power to change the

      venueto select his own judge—a most invaluable privilege when there was question of carrying the law beyond its proper bearing—to appoint juries , and to command the written evidence of a policeman in cases of criminal prosecution , where the case of the Crown broke down . All these great powers were vested in the Irish executive ia order tothe repression of crime and the assertion of . the majesty ofthe law , Was it not the duty of theLord-Lieoienint totake care that they had . aU been tried , and tried in vain , before the Irish people were to be given to understand that they must regard themselves as outlaws who were put beyond the pale of the constitution ? The right hon . baronet , the member for Tarn worth , had declared with a good deal of virtuous

      indignation that he would not stop to parley with assassins ; but was it not worth his while to pause , and inquire into theseejia of those crimes which so excited hit horror ? He had told the house how he had paid a reward of £ 2 , 000- to the person who gave evidence to lead to the detection of those who were engaged in a conspiracy to murder , a respectable gentleman in the county of Tipperary some years ago , but it was the very system which was [ thus fos ' ercd and nurtured throughout Ireland that he ( Mr O'Connor ) now regarded with feelings ot such terror and alarm . He feared that , the operation of the present bill would be simply this , that the cowardly man would suborn some desperate villain to commit a murder , and would then betray him and fly tothe Lord-Lieu *

      tenant for his reward , making treachery his qualification . ( Hear , hear . ) A contrast had been drawn between the landlords of England and those of Ireland . The two classes were not to be compared . The good landlord . was the exception in Ireland , whereas there was scarcely such a thing known as a bad landlord in England . In Ireland , the tenants , subordinates , and dependants were all compelled to be subsidiary to the folly , the insolence , and the piofligaoy of the landlord ; whereas in England , let the landlord be ever so much distressed , the rights of / the tenant were still maintained inviolate . In England , if there arose a necessity for selling the landlord ' s estate , it passed into the hands of others before the tenants

      had been sacked and reduced to beggary . The very reverse was the case in Ireland . The landlords , taken as a body , were heartless and . profligate . The English Parliament had , by its legislation , encouraged them ia their heartlessness and profligacy , and from that seed sprang the briars and thorns which now infested the land . All these agrarian crimes grew out of and were , perpetuated by the . vicious principle on which was based the relation between landlord and tenant in . Ireland . ( Hear , hear . } This may be taken as the truest picture of Irish society , —the landlord was poor and proud , too proud to work , and too poor to live without labour , and fearful of showing the decline in his position at home , he absconded from his country , abandoned his

      duties , and made sonra heartless middleman the medium of communication between him and the occupying tenant . This middleman was a kind of land " shopkeeper , who subdivided the large estate into portions , suiting the wants of „ a . needyj agricultural population ! resorting to frequent oust Jugs as a means of frequent lettings , to extract , fresh capital from the incoming tenant . This system exhausts the soil , impoverishes the landlord , enriches the middleman , disorganises society , and makes the Irish people a burden upon English taxation . ( Hear , hear . ) This spurious landlord becomes a magistrate , and has an interest in the absence cf the chief lord ,, whose agent is a solicitor . Now , what has this system led to ? . To this , that the attornics who have . mortgages upon all

      the estates in Ireland , induced by . the prospect of a larger amount of interest in railway speculation , have called in their monies , and rather than submit to the penalty of . their own folly , the landlords take vengeance upon their unoffending tenants . ( Hear , hear . ) But the most singular circumstance connected with this discussion , has been the total absence of consideration of the condition of the labourer . Will this house tell me what the feelings ofthe fond father mustbe , who loves his child , ay , more ' thah the higher orders , because he looks to his child as bis comfort and solace , and the prop of his old ' age ? and what ' mustbe the feelings ' of that man , who rises freih . his loathsome bed of straw , strong , able , and willihgto work , with his native soil demanding his industry , and yet' dig .

      inherited by the tyrant lord , branded as a criminal by the law , and now to be hunted to death by a brigand police that he may ' starve submissively without a murmur . ( Hear , hear . ) . lei , y \ r , this is my prin cipal objection to this mild measure , it makes the aggrieved and the injured bear injustice submissively lest complaint should be construed into crime ; thus stranglingUberty and sanctioning despotism . ( Hear , hear . ) Sir , I presume that . most hon . members in this house have seen the cartoon of the rickburner in Pohch , . where the disconsolate father with his attenuated arm clasps the wasting frame of his loved child , while the devil tempts him with the torch to destroy , in the , hope of receiving through fear what has been denied . tojuetiee or refiised te charity . In

      England there did not exist the same inducement to commit those offences , and they therefore were unheard of . In England the people were fostered and cared Tor , in Ireland , they were disinherited and trampled on . . There had been a long debate in that house on commercial affairs and the monetary pressure , but not one word had been aaid with respeet to the disastrous effect which the tightness in the money market had had upon the fortunes of Ireland And yet there was no part ofthe empire which had suffered so cruelly . Almost all the estates in Ireland were now mortgaged . His , only surprise was that Ireland was so calm as she was . The right hon . bah ^ Jt . Wi * ! the Bome Wrt aent had made an elaborate speech on bringing up his indictment against tne Irish people , but hn , 2 Lh m /^ Ai his dut y > « he was bound to have done , to give a faithful representatioB ot the state of things in that countryHe

      . had nob enumerated the wrongs and sufferings of the Irish people , he had not told the house of their piteous poverty , nor had he , while the financial question was under consideration , taken occasion to illuatrate its bearing en Ireland by mentioning this fact , that the solicitor ofthe Provincial Bank of Ireland had entered no less than 800 declarations on behalf of that establishment . But , to revert to the bill under discussion ,. he resisted . it not so much because it was unconstitutionally stringent , as because the highest authorities who had written on such subjects had been unanimous in declaring it as their opinion , that the effect of such penal enactments had ever beer , and must ever be , eminently prejudicial to the character of the community for whom they were enacted . To illustrate this position , and to show that laws of too great severity defeated their own object by'direoting men ' s minds to the desire of revo-

      Monday Die. ¦ House Of Lords.— Dcnuncuti...

      ution rather than to the love and practice of vlrtn » , the honourable and learned gentleman read the for lowing extracts . — . .. . Wl * Bbccama ;—On Crimes and Punishments . 5 th . j ; tion , 1804 . e < Crimes are more effectually prevented by the tertabto th'in the severity ot punishment . Hence , in a magistral * the necssllty ef vigilance , and in a judge , of Imp lacabC lity , which , that it may become an useful virtue , shouM be joined to amlld legislation . - c . 27 , n . 9 * . m * The countries and times most notorious for severity of punishments were always those in which the most bloodv and inhuman notions , and the most atrocious crimes were committed : forthe hand ofthe legislator and the assassin were directed by the same spirit of ferocit r whichon the throne , dictated laws of iron to slaves and

      , savages , and in private instigated the subject to sacrifice one tyrant to make room for another . In proportion as punishments become more cruel , the minds of men as a fluid rises to the same height as that which surrounds it , grow hardened and insensible j and the force of the passions stiil continuing , in the space of a hundred years , the wheel terrifies no more than formerly the prison , That a punishment may , produce the ) effect required , it is sufficient that the ' foil it occasions should exceed the good expected from the crime ; including in the calcula . tion the certainty of the punishment , and the privation of the expected advantage . All severity beyond this fa superfluous , and therefore tyrannical . —c . 27 , pp . 95 , $ e . The punishment of a crime cannot be just ( that ia ne . cesjary ) , if the laws have not endeavoured to preterit that crime by the best means which times and circumstances would allow .-c . 81 , p . 126 ,

      Would you prevent crimes ? Let the laws be clear and simple ; let the entire force of tbe nation be united ia their defence ; let them be intended rather to favour every individual , than any particular classes of men let the laws be feared , and the laws only . The fear of the laws is is salutary , but the fear of men is a fruitful aud fatal source of crimes . —c . 41 , p . 157 . He deduces the following general theorem : — A punishment may not be an act of violence of one or of many against a private member of society , it should ho public , immediate , and necessary ; the least possible in the case given ; proportioned to the crime , and deter , mined by the laws .-e . tl , p . 179 . MoNiEsquiEu . —Spirit of Laws . 1823 .

      The severity of punishments is fitter for despotic governments , whoseprincipleis terror , than for a monarch y or a republic , whose spring is honour and virtue His a constant remark of the Chinese authors , that the more the penal laws were increased in their empire , the nearer they drew towards a revolution It would be an easy matter to prove that in ail , or almost all the governments of Europe , penalties have increased or diminished in proportion as those governments favoured or discouraged liberty . —c . 9 , p . 79 . If an iBOonvenlency or abuse arises in the state , a violent government endeavours suddenly to redress it , and instead of putting the old laws In execution , it establishes some cruel punishment , which instantly puts a stop to the evil . But the spring of government hereby loses ita elasticity ; the imagination grows accustomed te the severe , as well as tbe milder , punishment , and as the fear of the latter diminishes , they are soon obliged in every case to have recourse to the farmer' Mankind must not-be governed with too much severity ; we ought to

      make a prudent ' use ofthe awns which nature has given us to conduct them .. If we inquire into the cause of all human corruptions , ' we shall find that they proceed from the impunity of criminals and not from the modera . tion of punishment ......... If there are some-countries where men are deterred only by-cruel punishments , we may be sure that this must in a great measure arise from the violence of the government , which had used such penalties for slight transgressions . It often happens that a legislator desirous of remedying an abuse , thinks of nothing else ; bis eyes are open to this object and shut to its inconvenience .. When the abuse is redressed you see only the severity ofthe legislator ; yet there remains an evil in the s tate , ; that has sprung from this severity ; the minds of the people are corrupted and become habituated to despotism . —Book C , c . 12 , pp . 81 , 83 . There ere two sorts of corruption ; one when the people do not observe the laws ; the other , when they are cor . rupted by the laws ; an incurable evil , because it is in the very remedy itself . —Ibid , p . 83 . Blackstonh ' s Commentaries—P . 17 .

      Sangninnry laws are a bad symptom of tho distemper of any state or at least of its weak constitution . The laws ofthe Roman kings , and the twelve tables were full of cruel punishments . The Porclaa law , which exempted all citizens from sentence of death , silently abrogated them all . In this piriod the republic flourished ; under the Emperors severe punishments were revived ; and then the empire fell . —Vol . i , p , 17 . Jerekt . Bkhthau on the Rationale of Punishment ,

      1830 . An error on the maximnm side of punishment , is that to which legislators and men in general are natually in . clined—antipathy , —or a want of compassion for individuals , who are represented as dangerous and vile , pushes them onward to an undue severity . It is on this side , therefore , that we should take the most precautions , as on tbis side , there has been shown thegreatest disposition to err . —F . 38 , B . 1 , c . 6 . The legislator should not introduce without a cogent reason , any mode or lot of punishment towards which any violent aversion is entertained by thebsdy ofthe people , since it would be productive of useless sufferingsuffering borne not by the guilty , but the innocent ; and among the innocent by the most amiable , by those whose sensibility would he shocked , whose opinions would be outraged by the punishment , which would appear to them

      violent and tyrannical . The effect ' of such injudicious conduct on the part of a legislator would be to turn the tide of popular opinion against himself ; he would lose the ' . assistance which individuals voluntarily lend to the execution of the laws , which they appreve ; the people would not be his allies , but his enemies . Some would favour the escape of the delinquent ; the injured would hesitate to prosecute , and witnesses to bear testimony against him . By degrees a stigma would attach to those who assisted in the execution of the laws . Public dissatisfaction would not always stop nere ; H would sometimes break out into open resistance to the officers of justice , and tho execution of such laws . Successful resistance would be considered a victory , and tbe unpunished delinquent would rejoice [ over tbe weakness of the laws disgraced by his triumph . The unpopularity of particular punishments , almost always depends upon their improper selection . —B . 1 , c . 7 , pp . SO , 51 .

      . Colfcctine punishment , that is the punishment of large bodies of men for the delinquencies of a part of them , is justifiable only on tbe score of necessity , Now , to prove this necessity , two matters of fact must be made to appear ; one is , that tho guilty could not be punished with * out the innocent ; the other is , that the suffering ofthe innocent , when added to that ofthe guilty , will not , in the whole , compose a mass of evil more than equivalent to tho benefit ofthe punishment . —B . 4 , s . 6 , p . 302 . Tho monarch , little affected bysheep-stealimr and petty pilfering , does not legislate till he has received general tcomplaints , and then does it with calmness and impariallty . But a merchant or squire goas into the House of Commons , exasperated by the loss of his broad-cloth , or the robbery of his fish , and immediately endeavours to it

      restrain the crime ^ by severe penalties . Hence is , that every man judging that to be the most deadly offence by which he is himself a sufferer , the parliament has permitted the statute book to be loaded with the penalty of death tor upwards of two hundred offences . Notwithstanding this well-known disposition of human nature , so accustomed are we to rely on the efficacy of severe punishments , that in any discussion on repealing a criminal law , the question in many men ' s minds always is , not whether the offence is actually prevented by * hatlaw , but whether tho offence is sufficiently grave to deserve that it should be prevented by so severe a method , Tho members of both Houses of Parliament still censult their own sense of this matter , instead of looking to that of jurymen .

      The question of secondary punishments is the most difficult of any . Tho words oflfr llarmer , afford , perhaps , the best rule shortly expressed on this subject . 'If I were asked'snid this gentleman , in an examina . tfon before a committee of tbe House of Commons , ' what description of . punishment would , in my opinion , be productive of benefit , I would answer , such as might force the delinquent into a course of discipline wholly opposite to his habits , tfdleness is assuredly a part of his character , which industry would counteract . Set him to labonr . He is probably debauched , and abstinence would be advantageous to both his mind and bis body ; apply it . He has been accustomed to dissolute companions , separation from whom vi onld essentially ameliorate him . '

      With the written sentiments of the author of the last-named work he entirely concurred ; but vast , indeed , was the difference between Russell out of office , courting the favour and co-operation ofthe Irish members , and the same persenageseated on the throne of office , and totally regardless both of Ireland and her representatives . The evidence adduced before tho committee of that house , which was appointed to consider the question of introducing alterations in the criminal codei eloquently demonstrated the evil effect of even constraining the ordinary law ; and was it humane—was it wise—at a moment when the Irish were again about to petition , not for bullets but for alms—was it wise at such a moment , after one million of them had gone down to the cold grave , unpitied victims of pestilence and faminewas it wise , be asked , at such a moment , lor a

      ministry , with professions of liberality © n their lips , to come down and ask tbe assent ofthe house to a bill bo vicious in principle , so inadequate in operation—a bill which thehonourableand learned member for Meath denounced , while he supported it , as pitiful , paltry , rubbishy , and" despicable ? But was it to be wondered at that Ireland should be lost and forsaken , powerless and friendless as she was , when a gentleman sent to that house to represent , not to coerce her , betrayed his trust , and turned round to invoke the good intentions of a government who he admitted had invaribly deceived , invariably betrayed him ? It was true that one ofthe banes of Ireland was a poor and proud aristocracy , who were content to appeal to the bounty of England rather than put their shoulders tothe wheel , and workout their own salvation . But English legislation had made them what they were ; England had sown the seed—she now must reap the harvest . English laws and English persecution were the causo of tbe vices ol the Irish people—their virtues only were their own .

      The Irish peasant , when he left his home and passed to a foreign land , was remarkable everywhere for his industry , intelligence , and zeal . He took the lion ' s share of the toil whatever he might be cast . He was industrious in all lands but his own . Why was he not so in his own ? Because there was a tyrant who ruled over him with a rod of iron , and would not permit him toenjoy tho fruit of his labour . The moment one of the peasant class bacanie industrious in Ireland , that moment he sealed as it were his own fate , and ruined his prospects . He soon found to his cost that it was for another he was toil * ing , and not forhimself . Until this anomalous state of things was remedied , it was in vain to hope for grod order or tranquillity in Ireland . Tbe ministry who would seek to rule Ireland ) should take their stand upon-Some settled principle of right . The present ministry did not seek to do that . They did not hold power on any settled principle . They vrere indebted for it to the mere accident that certain parties who ought to be combined were disunited . The moment there was a prospect of those parties being reconciled and co-operating , farewell for ever to the

  • Citation
    • Northern Star (1837-1852), Dec. 11, 1847, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_11121847/page/6/