HISTOHY OF EUROPE. 



13 



or their necessity. The question 

 ■was not, how his majest)''s ministers 

 would use those extraordinary 

 powers, but v, hether there were a 

 necessity for putting four millions 

 of his majesty's subjects out of his 

 peace. He thought the want of in- 

 formation on the affairs of Ireland, 

 and the different accounts, that mi- 

 nisters themselves gave of the insur- 

 re6iion of the 23d of July, were 

 reasons, abundantly sufficient, to 

 prove the necessity of a general and 

 systematic enquiry into the affairs 

 of Ireland. 



Lord Grenville felt himself under 

 circumstances of peculiar embarrass- 

 ment, in giving an opinion on a 

 subjeta where so little information 

 had been granted. He must agree 

 l^ ith the noble lord, (lord Hawkes- 

 bury) in the general principle which 

 he had laid down, namely, that 

 there were times, when, in confor- 

 mity to the principles of the consti- 

 tution, extraordinary powers must 

 be given to meet extraordinary exi- 

 gencies. When these exigencies were 

 < learly and unequivocally made out, 

 he should never objeCt to extraor- 

 dinary powers being given. It 

 could not be imagined that any no- 

 ble lord would be averse from the 

 measures necessary for the suppres- 

 sion of rel)ellion ; but it was a se- 

 rious matter to vote measures of 

 such magnitude, without any infor- 

 mation. The only official informa- 

 tion of the state of Ireland, was in 

 his majesty's speech ; and in that do- 

 cument parliament was assured, that, 

 since the 23d of July, there had been 

 Ro appearance of iiisurrecftion ; but 

 that, on the contrary, Ireland en- 

 joyed an undisturbed tranquillity ! 

 The language used by ministers was 

 most contradictory : sometimes the 

 insurrectiou was represented as a 



contemptible riot, and, at other 

 times, as a most formidable conspi- 

 racy. How were their lordships to 

 judge between such contradictory 

 statements? The bills were cer- 

 tainly introduced, at present, on 

 grounds very different from what had 

 made them necessary at former pe- 

 riods. Then, there were armies of 

 insurgents in the field, who disputed 

 with his majesty's troops the pos- 

 session of the island. When those 

 bills were afterwards renewed, it 

 was upon the authority of a report 

 from a secret committee of both 

 houses of parliament. As to the 

 habeas corpus suspension bill, he 

 saw no strong objections. The 

 character Of those who were to adt 

 under it, was of importance, and 

 ministers, in every step they took, 

 in consequence of tliis act, would be 

 open to future censure, and (he most 

 direct responsibility ; but the mar- 

 tial-law bill was of a very different 

 nature : the persons who were to 

 put it in execution, were under no 

 such resj)onsibility ; tliey might be 

 supposed to aft from prejudice, or 

 without adequate knowledge. When 

 first he supported the sj'stem of 

 martial law in Ireland, it was, when 

 a rebellion of the most Cormidable 

 nature was raging with the utmost 

 violence. To the system of open 

 rebellion, a system of murder and 

 intimidation succeeded ; magistrates 

 were deterred from performing the 

 duties of their office ; judges were 

 prevented from presiding at trials at 

 the peril of their lives; jurors were 

 deterred from giving true verdifts ; 

 and witnesses from giving their evi- 

 dence. The forms of law were tJius 

 annihilated, and it became necessa- 

 ry to have recourse to extraordi- 

 nary measures. Martial law was, 

 therefore, adopted, and the happiest 



