GENERAL HISTORY. 



[43 



of the crovVn. The first bill being 

 offered for committal, a division 

 took place, in which it was carried 

 by Contents 27 j Non-contents 7- 



IKISH PEACE FKESERVATION BILL. 



On March 11th, Mr. Peel asked 

 for leave to amend an act of the 

 54th of the King, for enabling 

 the lord-lieutenant of Ireland to 

 appoint superintendant magis- 

 trates and constables in those dis- 

 tricts of Ireland which might be- 

 come the scene of disturbance. 

 The object of that bill was to sup- 

 ply a deficiency in the civil power, 

 and to introduce something like 

 an effective police, instead of hav- 

 ing recourse on every occasion to 

 a standing army. In the year 

 1814, when the right hon. gentle- 

 man brought forward the measure 

 which he now wished to amend, 

 he proposed that the lord-lieute- 

 nant in council should have the 

 power of placing in disturbed dis- 

 tricts magistrates specially appoint- 

 ed, and constables to assist them 

 in preserving the peace. This mea- 

 sure met with the almost unani- 

 mous a})probation of the House, 

 and it was in three instances car- 

 ried into execution, where it was 

 found to produce a most beneficial 

 effect. Under this act, the whole 

 expense was to be defrayed by the 

 disturbed districts ; a mode of 

 proceeding which might operate 

 very well in some parts of Ireland ; 

 but others were so poor and ex- 

 hausted, that they were unable to 

 bear this expense, and it was 

 therefore impossible to carry it 

 into effect in those districts. It 

 was to provide against the recur- 

 rence of cases of this kind, and 

 to render it, as far as jjossible, 

 unnecessary to employ the mili- 



tary force, that he now asked for 

 leave to amend the act. As the 

 law at present stood, it was ne- 

 cessary on the appointment of a 

 certain number of peace officers, 

 to create a superintendent magis- 

 trate, who should act as the ma- 

 gistrate of the newly disturbed 

 district. To prevent this accu- 

 mulation of magistrates, he should, 

 propose, that different bodies of 

 constables belonging to different 

 districts, should be alloAved to act 

 under the same magistrate. He 

 should next propose, that the 

 lord-lieutenant and council shovdd 

 have the power of apportioning 

 what part of the expense incurred 

 by a disturbed district should be 

 paid by the inhabitants, and what 

 should come out of the public 

 funds. This last amendment would 

 direct, that in all cases where the 

 act was introduced, an account 

 should be laid before parliament 

 of the expense to be defrayed by 

 the public, and also of the ap- 

 pointments made under it. With 

 respect to the objections relative 

 to expense which might be urged 

 against the bill, if it were said 

 that it would be better not to pay 

 constables to preserve the peace, 

 but to leave it for the population 

 in general to exert themselves to 

 keep the peace, he should answer, 

 that such a system could not at 

 present be effectual ; in which 

 statement he would be borne out 

 by eveiy gentleman connected with 

 Ireland. He had further the sa- 

 tisfaction of being able to state 

 that a considerable reduction was 

 proposed to be made in the army 

 of that country. Instead of 25,000 

 men, it would be reduced to 

 2'2,000; and the seven brigades 

 of ordnance wjiich now consisted 



of 



