GENERAL HISTORY. 



[93 



proiluctMl showed that the Insur- 

 rection bill was not necessary ; 

 but they certainly proved the j^ro- 

 priety of making some inquiry 

 before the measure was adopted. 

 If a committee were appointed, 

 he should himself be prepared to 

 point out some means for strength- 

 ening the civil power. He con- 

 cluded by moving, " that the bill 

 be committed this day se'nnight." 

 Mr. V. Fitzgerald said he could 

 see no good ground for even a 

 day's delay. The act had been 

 passed by several succes'sive par- 

 liaments, and no gentleman could 

 be supposed ignorant of its con- 

 tents ; and being now near its 

 exjiiration, it was thouglit neces- 

 sary to revive it, lest tlie govern- 

 ment of Ireland should be di- 

 vested of its present ])o\vers. The 

 government proclamation applied 

 only to Louth, but the outrage 

 was to be considered as coupled 

 witii the general state of the coun- 

 try. Every day produced fresh 

 outrages ; and at length there was 

 an unanimous request from the 

 magistrates, and from a county 

 meeting, after which the procla- 

 mation was issued. 



Mr. Peel said, that he was led 

 to attend to the county of Louth 

 more particularly, because tlie 

 disturbances which called for its 

 exercise tliere, were more recently 

 laid before tlie House, and the 

 atrocities with which they were 

 accompanied had made the deep- 

 est impression on the country. 

 His argument wa«, that though 

 the country was generally tian- 

 quil, yet if theie was one part of 

 it so disturbed that the laws could 

 not be executed in their usual 

 course, it was necessary to aim 

 the government with this act, to 



be -exercised on its responsibility 

 when the emergency arose. The 

 hon. baronet proposed that the 

 bill should be suspended till far- 

 ther inquiiy should be made by a 

 committee. For his own part he 

 saw no reason for the ai)point- 

 ment of such a committee. If 

 there was a measure brought 

 before Parliament on which it 

 was competent to decide, without 

 the delay of a committee, it was 

 tiie present. There never came 

 before Parliament a case in which 

 govei'nment had more clearly 

 offered the grounds on which it 

 called for permission to act upon 

 its responsibility, and on which 

 the House had received better 

 means of judging whether it 

 ought to be granted. The hon. 

 baronet had said that the Insvir- 

 rection Act was an evil, in which 

 he (Mr. Peel) fully concuried ; 

 but unhappily there was now only 

 a choice of evils ; and was it bet- 

 ter to give to government the 

 power of preserving tranquillity 

 even by a severe measuie, or to 

 allow the country to be converted 

 into a scene of confusion by with- 

 holding the present act ? 



.Sir ff. Burroughs entered into 

 an examination of the several 

 clauses of the act, and commented 

 in strong terms on its severity. 

 He particularly dwelt upon the 

 great disproportion between the 

 numbers apprehended and the 

 numbers con%'icted in the several 

 counties ; and argued, that as it 

 was to be presumed that the petty 

 ses.*ions had done their duty, 

 therefore all those acquitted had 

 been justly acquitted, and liad 

 consequently been wrongfully ar- 

 rested. 



.\fter some further discussions, 



Sii- 



