GENERAL HISTORY. 



[161 



with a power to be exercised in 

 case of emergency of a nature more 

 decisive than that of which it 

 was already possessed ; and the 

 proposition he should make for 

 this purpose was the revival of a 

 measure which had received the 

 sanction of parliament in 1807. 

 It was contained in a clause of the 

 Insurrection Act, providing, that 

 in case any part of the country 

 should be disturbed, or in danger 

 of being so, two justices of the 

 peace should be empowered to 

 summon an extraordinary sessions 

 of the county, which should consist 

 of seven magistrates, who were to 

 make a report to the lord-lieute- 

 nant that the district was in a 

 state of disturbance, and that the 

 ordinary law was inadequate to 

 the preservation of the peace ; 

 the lord-lieutenant, by the advice 

 of his privy-council, was there- 

 upon empowered to issue a pro- 

 clamation, commanding all resi- 

 dents within the said district to 

 keep within their houses from sun- 

 set to sun-rise, and that no per- 

 sons should be suffered to be drink- 

 ing in a public-house after nine 

 o'clock at night ; and further, if 

 any should be detected out of their 

 houses at the prohibited times 

 without being able to shew good 

 cause, they should be liable to 

 transportation for the term of se- 

 ven years. It was also required 

 that the lord-lieutenant should 

 order a special sessions of the 

 peace to be held* at which these 

 persons should be tried, and, if 

 necessary, that trial by jury should 

 be dispensed with. Other provi- 

 sions sanctioned the employment 

 of the mttitary on occasion, ena- 

 bled the magistrates to pay domi- 

 ciliary visits, and break open doors 

 if denied admission, &c. The 

 Vol. LVI. 



right honourable gentleman allow- 

 ed these measures to be evils, 

 but the house was to decide upon 

 comparative evils. It was by no 

 means the intention of govern- 

 ment to have recourse to this act, 

 if it should pass, on ordinary oc- 

 casions, but only when all other 

 means of quelling disturbance 

 should fail. He then referred to 

 the information that had been re- 

 ceived of the outrages that were 

 going on in different parts. In 

 Queen's county the Caravats were 

 levying contributions from the lit- 

 tle farmers every night, and seiz- 

 ing arras and ammunition wher- 

 ever they could be found. A set of 

 savages, called Carders, were active 

 in the county of Westmeath, and 

 kept the poor inhabitants in con- 

 stant dread of assassination, or of 

 having their cabins burnt ovet their 

 heads. Thes* men derived their 

 name from the operation of applj'- 

 ing wool cards, with which they 

 tore the flesh from the bones of 

 the objects of their inhumanity, 

 whose offence was perhaps no mc-e 

 than giving a higher rent to their 

 landlords than others, or refusing 

 to join their lawless bands. These 

 atrocities were not practised by one 

 sect against another, but Catholics 

 and Protestants were alike exposed 

 to them. Mr. P., in conclusion, 

 moved, " That leave be given to 

 bring in a bill to provide for the 

 preserving and restoring of peace 

 in such parts of Ireland as may at 

 any time be disturbed by seditious 

 persons entering into unlawful 

 combinations or conspiracies." 



Mr. Abercromhy said, he was 

 far from accusing the Irish govern- 

 ment of a desire to grasp at too 

 much power, but he thought the 

 present application had not been 

 made in a parliamentarv manner. 



