44 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1S04. 



ing the honourable baronet appear- 

 ed to have taken it as a point con- 

 ceded, that blame must atiacli cither 

 to the one or the other. He also 

 opposed it, because it would be at- 

 tended with the greatest public in- 

 convenience, to bring the first civil 

 and military ofiicers of Ireland, to 

 this country to be exaniinefl, when 

 no sufficient reason was adduced for 

 the measure, and when their ser- 

 x'ices were much wanting in Ireland. 

 Lord Hardwicke had projjosed to 

 goveriunent here, the renewing of 

 the habeas corpus suspension act, 

 before the breaking out of the in- 

 surrection, which shewed he was 

 not so uninformed as some gentle- 

 men supposed, of the state of things 

 in that country. In fact, it was 

 perfectly known to government that 

 the north of Ireland, and the coun- 

 ties of the interior, would take no 

 part in the conspiracy ; and that 

 the garrison of Dublin was abun- 

 dantly strong to drive before them 

 any number of rebels which could 

 be collected in Dublin. The gnr- 

 xison of Dublin amounted to 4000 

 veterans, and as for the castle, be- 

 sides a very strong guard, the G2nd 

 regiment of foot was stationed in a 

 barrack only one hundred yards 

 distant from it. Under such cir- 

 cumstance, the idea of taking the 

 castle was as extravagant a one as 

 ever entered into the head of an en- 

 thusiastic person. Except for the 

 atrocious murder of lord Kilwarden, 

 the insnrreftion really did deserve 

 tlie name of a most contem[)fibio 

 transaftion, which had injured ma- 

 terially the cause and t!ie hopes 

 of rebellion in Ireland. His lord- 

 ship then vindicated, at considerable 

 length, the conduct of the Irish 



government, and conceived no par- ' 

 liamentary grounds had been stated , 

 to make the proposed enquiry ne- 

 cessary. 



Mr. Canning would not allow, that 

 the valuable time of parliament could 

 be better employed than in enquir- 

 ing wliethcr the people were well or 

 ill governed. If the act of union 

 had not taken place, the conduct of 

 the Irish government on this occa- 

 sion must certainly have been amply 

 discussed in the parliament of that 

 country ; and it was but due to the 

 people of Ireland, to shew them 

 that their interests were not neg- 

 lected in the parliament of the united 

 kingdom. If, after the explosion in 

 Patrick-street, on (he 16th of July, 

 government still thought there was 

 no danger, they must have been ex- 

 cessively blind ; and if they appre- 

 hended diiuger, and yet made no 

 preparations to avert it, they were 

 extremely culpable. The statement 

 of the noble lord had been in some 

 respects contradicied by what ap- 

 peared on tJie trial of the conspira- 

 tors ; and lord Redesdale (the Irish 

 chancellor) made it a charge against 

 3-4ths of the people of Ireland, that 

 they had furnished theirquota tothat 

 army, M Inch, according to lordCastle- 

 rcagh, amounted only to SO men. lie 

 then condemned severely the scnti- 

 mei\tswhich had been delivered by the 

 Irish lord chancellor, in the corres- 

 pondence (which had been publish- 

 ed) between his lordship and the 

 earl of Fingall*. and seemed to con- 

 sider that a person entertaining such 

 sentiments ought not to continue in 

 such a high situation under the Irish 

 government. 



Mr. Archdalc thought it by no 

 means necessarily followed, that go- 



vernment 



Vide Apjieudix to Annual Register for 1803. 



