48 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1804 



wished to have it thought, that the 

 insurre6tion •»vas a thing of their own 

 choice ; that they wished the disor- 

 der to get to a head, and that they 

 did not like to use repellants. Those 

 ■who called this insurrc/tion, and 

 that iu 1798, " contemptible," 

 should have the answer of the duke 

 of Marlborough parodied. " If 

 the rioters were contemptible, how 

 much more so were those, who had 

 nearly been beaten by them." Lord 

 Redesdale asserted, that near three 

 fourths of the people were concern- 

 ed in that insurrection, and what- 

 ever might be said of the impro- 

 priety of publishing such letters, he 

 thought there was a much greater 

 impropriety in writing them. No- 

 thing could be more absurd in the- 

 ology, or in politics, than to see a 

 lord chancellor raking up the ex- 

 ploded controversies of more than 

 two centuries ago, for the purpose 

 of persecution. The letters to Dr. 

 Coppinger were still worse than 

 those to lord Fingall. There was no 

 pretence that they were confiden- 

 tial, and it appeared, that a person 

 who could write and speak as he 

 did of the case of Father O'Ncil, 

 must have been lost to every legal 

 idea or feeling. What Avill be 

 thought of a person, who Mas the 

 first law oiTicer in that country, who, 

 instead of being shocked at the hor- 

 rors of that case,' and its illegality, 

 as well as its cruelty, should only 

 find fault at the audacity of the suf- 

 ferer, for daring to complain!!! 



Mr. Hawthorne spoke to order, 

 as thinking this matter irrelevant to 

 the subjedl. 



A long desultory conversation 

 took place on the (.ucstion, whether 

 Mr.Windham was in order or not. 



Mr. Windham concluded, by ex- 

 pressing his opinion that a very se- 



rious case had been made out for en. ^ 

 quiry. I 



Mr. Tierney said, the only ob- ' 

 je<5tion he should have expected to 

 hear from Mr. Windham, on tho 

 subject of the Irish government, 

 was, that the traitors had been pu- 

 nished with a " vigour," within 

 " the law," instead of " a vigour 

 beyond the law." He considered 

 this question as one, that had been 

 chosen for the purpose of bringing 

 together parties, that could agree 

 on no other subjeft; and to give an 

 appearance of unanimity against the 

 ministers. As for the late insur* 

 re6tion, as it was called, he consi- 

 dered it a petty tumult, which acci- 

 dent had made of more importance 

 than it would otherwise have been. 



Mr. Grey was surprised at the 

 lefture which Mr. Tierney had 

 given to Mr. Windham, on deco- 

 rum and consistency. He (Mr. 

 Tierney) certainly thought it quite 

 decorous for members to quit the 

 opposition side of the house, but a 

 strange indecorum to relinquish the 

 sweets of office. He concluded by 

 supporting the motion. 



The Chancellor of the Exchequer 

 contended, that the Irish govern- 

 ment Mere sufficiently apprised "of 

 a spirit of disaifection still lurking in 

 that country ; but that they Mere 

 also confident, that the general dis.^ 

 position Mas to tranquillity and loy- 

 alty. The deaths of lord Kihvarden 

 and colonel BroMn, Mhich were the 

 prominent features of the late insur- 

 rection, must certainly be consider-* 

 ed accidental. 



After some explanations between 

 general Tarleton, Mr. Dent, and 

 Mr. Tierney, 



Colonel Hutchinson said, he could i 

 not apjirove of any motion, whose 

 object Mils to employ censure upon i 



lord 



