BOOK XIII. to be found only in the exertions of the upper classes. He had often heard it sneeringly obRAF. VI. served of the Irish character, that, contrary to all other countries, they had become more barbarous 1814. as they increased in that wealth and those comforts which tended to civilize all the rest of the world. How the system of outrage which took place among the lower orders here was to be accounted for he did not know. It could not be extenuated or justified any where; but in other places, with which he was familiar, there were many natural causes to which this unfortunate spirit of insubordination could naturally be referred. The severe and heavy burthens to which the peasantry were liable excited that irritation and ferocity, against which the state of ignorance they were suffered to grovel in, without care or education, offered little correction to prevent a deluded people from exposing themselves to the punishment of those laws which they set at defiance. Much, also, was to be attributed to the enormous rise of land, occasioned by the deluge of paper money, "which," said his lordship, "has generated a new crime, now prominent upon the list, in every calendar, the crime of making and uttering forged bank-notes. In every province, we have seen private banks failing, and ruining multitudes: and thus have fresh mischiefs flowed from this paper circulation. In the next place, the country has seen a magistracy, over-active in some instances, and quite supine in others. This circumstance has materially affected the adminis tration of the laws in Ireland. In this respect I have found that those societies called Orange societies, have produced most mischievous effects; and particularly in the north of Ireland. They poison the very fountains of justice; and even some magistrates, under their influence, have, in too many instances, violated their duty and their oaths. I do not hesitate to say, that all associations of every description, in this country, whether of orangemer or ribbonmen, whether distinguished by the colour of orange or of green, all combinations of persons, bound to each other (by the obligation of an oath) in a league for a common purpose, endangering the peace of the country, I pronounce them to be contrary to law. And should it ever come before me to decide upon the question, I shall not hesitate to send up bills of indictment to a grand jury against the individuals, members of such an association, wherever I can find the charge properly sustained. Of this I am certain, that, so long as those associations are permitted to act in the lawless manner they do, there will be no tranquillity in this country; and particularly in the north of Ireland. There, those disturbers of the public peace, who assume the name of orange yeomen, frequent the fairs and markets, with arms in their hands, under the pretence of self-defence, or of protecting the public peace, but with the lurking view of inviting at tacks from the ribbonmen, confident that, armed as they are, they must overcome defenceless opponents, and put them down. Murders have been repeatedly perpetrated upon such occasions; and, though legal prosecutions have ensued, yet, such have been the baneful consequences of those fac tious associations, that, under their influence, petty juries have declined (upon some occasions) to do their duty. These facts have fallen under my own view. It was sufficient to say, such a man displayed such a colour, to produce an utter disbelief of his testimony; or, when another bas stood with his hand at the bar, the display of his party badge has mitigated the murder into manslaughter. "Gentlemen, I do repeat, that these are my sentiments, not merely as an individual, but as a man discharging his judicial duty, I hope with firmness and integrity. With these orange associations I connect all commemorations and processions, producing embittering recollections, and inflicting wounds upon the feelings of others; and I do emphatically state it as my settled opinion, that, until those associations are effectually put down, and the arms taken from their hands, in vain will the north of Ireland expect tranquil· lity or peace.. No grati "Gentlemen, that moderate pittance which the high rents leave to the poor peasantry, the large country assessments nearly take from them; roads are frequently planned and made, not for the general advantage of the country, but to suit the particular views of a neighbouring landholder, at the public expense. Such abuses shake the very foundation of the law: they ought to be checked. Superadded to these mischiefs, are the permanent and occasional absentee landlords, residing in another country, not known to their tenantry, but by their agents, who extract the uttermost penny of the value of the lands. If a lease happens to fall in, they set the farm by public auction to the highest bidder. tude for past services, no preference of the fair offer, no predilection for the ancient tenantry, (be they ever so deserving;) but, if the highest price be not acceded to, the depopulation of an entire tract of country ensues. What then is the wretched peasant to do? Chased from the spot where he had first drawn his breath, where he had first seen the light of heaven, incapable of procuring any other means of existence. Vexed with those exactions I have enumerated, and harassed by the payment of tythes, can we be surprised that a peasant, of unenlightened mind, of uneducated habits, should rush upon the perpetration of crimes, followed by the punishment of the rope and the gibbet? Nothing (as the peasantry imagine) remains for them, thus harassed and thus destitute, but with strong hand to deter the stranger from intruding upon their farms; and to extort from the weakness and terrors of their landlords (from whose gratitude or good feelings they have failed to win it), a kind of preference for their ancient tenantry. "Such, gentlemen, have been the causes which I have seen thus operating in the north of Ireland, and in part of the south and west. I have observed, too, as the consequences of those Orange combinations and confederacies, men, ferocious in their habits, uneducated, not knowing what remedy to resort to, in their despair flying in the face of the law; entering into dangerous and criminal counter-associations, and endeavouring to procure arms, in order to meet, upon equal terms, their range assailants." His lordship observed, that the prosperity of the country brought mischief to the peasant; after his land lord and his taxes, he had the clergyman and the proctor; the latter, who was paid, with execrations, for an agency that was odious; and the former paid with reluctance by those to whom, as a pastor, they looked for no spiritual comfort. It was not, his lordship emphatically said, to be understood, that in any case the established clergyman, got the full value of his tithes; but it was not to be wondered at that much dissatisfaction should be excited by the tithes farmer, who kept to himself so great a portion of what he exacted from the poor under the title of the clergyman. This latter class, his lordship said, ought, for their own sakes, to establish a system as moderate as consisted with their situation; for, surely, in point of personal interest, it was wise in them to secure a certain income by encouraging tillage under moderate charges, rather than drive the farmer to a system of pasturage, by which, under the agistment law, the tithes would be lost altogether. From this countenance and kindness, from a wise liberality in the landlords, the tenantry would naturally be led, during the present state of depression, in the value of their produce, to look for assistance and encouragement; and the landlords could not well set up any argument to resist this appeal to their consideration, when they reflected on the failure of the corn-bill, to the protection of which the farmer, had looked with so much hope and anxiety. But, no man on these accounts, or any of them, was to violate the laws; and it was only by the exertions of such men as he, then addressed, that the advantages and blessings of that peace and obedience were to be expected, in the improvement of which they had no excuse for apathy or relaxation. In other counties, his lordship said, he found also that murmurs and discontent arose from the conduct of the clergy, not of the established church, looking for an increase of those voluntary contributions from which they derived their only support; and 4 1814. been refrained from acts of violence to prevent BOOK XIN. exactions, But if every man in the higher ranks of life would individually exert himself, it would CHAP. VII. be easy to come at the root of all those evils of which we complained. To effect this, the great and opulent landholder, instead of standing at his post ready at all times to support the laws of his country and to promote its peace and prosperity, should not desert that country to spend its produce in another, and leave his tenantry to the management of a griping agent, whose only object was by misrepresentation and deception to grasp all he could for the gratification of his own avarice. "I should imagine," continued his lordship, "that the permanent absentees ought to see the policy (if no better motive can influence them) of appropriating, liberally, some part of those splendid revenues which they draw from this country, which pay no land-tax or poor's-rate, and of which not a shilling is expended in this country! Is it not high time for those permanent absentees to offer some assistance, originating from themselves, out of their own private purses, towards improving and ameliorating the condition of the lower orders of the peasantry upon their great domains, and rendering their lives more comfortable? Indeed, I believe that some of them do not set up their lands to auction. I know that the Earl Fitzwilliam, in one county (Wicklow), and the Marquis of Hertford, in another (Antrim), act upon enlightened and liberal principles; for, although their leases, generally, are only leases for one life and twentyone years, the tenant in possession well knows, that upon a reasonable advance (merely proportionate to the general rise of the times), he will get his farm without rack-rent or extortion. But, I say, that the permanent absentees ought to know that it is their interest to contribute every thing in their power, and within the sphere of their extensive influence towards the improvement of a country, from whence they derive such ample revenue and solid benefits. Instead of doing so, how do many of them act? They often depute their managers upon the grand jury of the county. This manager gets his jobs done without question or interruption; his roads, and his bridges, and his park-walls, all are conceded. "For my part, I am wholly at a loss to conceive how those permanent absentees can reconcile it to their feelings, or to their interests, to remaiu silent spectators of such a state of things, or how they can forbear to raise their voices in behalf of their unhappy country, and attempt to open the eyes of our English neighbours; who, generally speaking, know about as much of the Irish as they do of the Hindoos., Does a visitor come to Ireland, to compile a book of travels, what is his course! He is handed about from one country 1814. BOOK XIII. from him the true state of the country; he passes from squire to squire, each rivalling the other in CRAP. VII. entertaining their guest, all busy in pouring falsehoods into his ears, touching the disturbed state of the country, and the vicious habits of the people. Such is the crusade of information upon which the English traveller sets forward; and he returns to his own country with all his unfortunate prejudices doubled and confirmed, in a kind of moral despair of the welfare of such a wicked race, having made up his mind that nothing ought to be done for this lawless and degraded country. And, indeed, such an extravagant excess have those intolerant opinions of the state of Ireland attained, that I shall not be surprised to hear of some political projector coming forward, and renovating the obsolete ignorance and the prejudices of a Harrington, who, in his Oceana, calls the people of Ireland an untameable race; declaring, that they ought to be exterminated, and the country colonized by Jews; that thus the state of this island would be bettered, and the commerce of England extended and improved. former became baneful only when it brought an over-vigilance of power into action to administer to some private purpose; when men cram the gaols with their miserable fellow-creatures, merely to show the extravagance of their loyalty. Nothing, said his lordship, could beget amongst the multitude a proper respect for the laws, more than the observation that the scales of justice were too steadily and firmly placed to be warped by any little feelings of cabal or party. But of the two descriptions of men to whom he alluded, he did not know whether the apathy of the one, or the vigilance of the other, was more criminal or mischievous. His lordship earnestly recommended a strict frugality in the admeasuring of those public burdens which it was compulsory for them to lay upon the country; and not a shilling which was not imperiously called for, would, he hoped, be imposed by them: he trusted that not a single pound would be raised upon the country to gra tify that vile spirit of jobbing, which he had wit nessed in other counties; but, on the contrary, that the gentlemen whom he addressed would be "Gentlemen, I will tell you what those absen- governed by the most conscientious scruple in tees ought particularly to do; they ought to pro- levying the public money, and by the minutest mote the establishment of houses of refuge, houses scrutiny in inquiring into its fair and just expenof industry, school-houses, and set the example diture. This part of their duty was one, his upon their own estates, of building decent cot- lordship said, in which the capacity even of the tages, so that the Irish peasant may have, at least, peasant was capable of forming a proper estimate; the comforts of an English sow; for an Eng- and every man's reason would point out to him lish farmer would refuse to eat the flesh of a hog where grants were made for the purpose of public so lodged and fed as an Irish peasant is. Are convenience and accommodation, or to put money the farms of an English landholder out of lease, into the private pockets of individuals; for it was or his cottages in a state of dilapidation, he impossible that the peasant should not feel at rebuilds every one of them for his tenants, or he the means which should administer to the hunger covenants to supply them with materials for the and nakedness of his children, being diverted to purpose. But how are matters conducted in this any of those improper purposes, or submit to the country? Why, if there is a house likely to fall discontented sentiment, that all law was made into ruins, upon an expiring lease, the new rack- against him, and no law for him. Let him, said rent tenant must rebuild it himself: and can you his lordship, have, from bodies such as you, the wonder if your plantations are visited for the protection he claims at your hands, and no such purpose, or if your young trees are turned into unworthy idea will ever arise in his mind. Let plough-handles, spade-handles, or roofs for their him see that all public grants are for public cabies? They are more than Egyptian task- purposes, and to promote general intercourse, masters, who call for bricks without furnishing a and you encourage him to bear up against his supply of straw. Again, I say, that those occa- burdens. His lordship was glad to bear testimony, sional absentees ought to come home, and not that he no where found, accompanying the most remain abroad, resting upon the local manager, disgraceful outrages, any thing like a conspiracy a species of locum tenens' upon the grand jury. against the government, or a correspondence They should reside upon their estates, and come with that great bad power whose state was fallen, forward with every possible improvement for the he hoped, never to rise again. His lordship dicountry." His lordship then proceeded to ob- rected the most particular attention of the grand serve, that, it was to men such as he was address- jury to the subject of private distillation.ing that it particularly belonged to have a close "From this source, a dreadful torrent of evils and watchful eye on the conduct of the magis- and crimes has flowed upon our land. The extracy, in the exercise of those powers which, in cessive increase of rents had induced many per fact, superseded the old constitution. They were sons to bid rents for their farms, which they knew on the spot, and could trace every mischief that they could not fairly or properly discharge; but arose from zeal or supineness. The latter was, they flattered themselves, that, in the course of in all cases, reprehensible and disgraceful: the years, the value of those farms would `rise still higher, and that thus they might ultimately acquire beneficial interests. In the mean time, they have had recourse to illicit distillation, as the means of making good their rents. Hence the public revenue has been defrauded to the amount of millions. Nay, it is a fact, that at one period not far back, there was not a single licensed distillery in an entire province, namely, the northwest circuit, where the consumption of spirituous liquors is, perhaps, called for by the coldness and humidity of the climate. The old powers of the law having proved unavailing, the legislature was compelled to enact new laws, which, though clashing with the very first principles of evidence under our happy constitution, were yet called for by the exigency of the times,-laws, which qualify a prosecutor to be as a witness in bis own cause. If he feared not the consequences of perjury, he gained the suit, and put the money into his pocket. Hence, a kind of bounty was uecessarily tendered to false-swearing; and we all know the revenue-folk are not very remarkable for a scrupulous feeling in such cases. These oaths were answered again by the oaths of the parties charged, who, in order to avoid the fine, denied the existence of any still upon their lands. Thus have I witnessed trials, where, in my judgment, the revenue-officer, who came to impose the fine, was perjured, the witnesses who came to avert it, perjured, and the petty jury, who tried the cause, perjured, for they declined to do their duty, because they were, or might be, interested in the event; or because the easy procurement of those 1814. illicit spirits produced an increased consumption BOOK XIII. of grain for their benefit. The resident gentry of the county, generally, winked with both their CHAP. VII. eyes at this practice, and why? because it brought home to the doors of their tenantry a market for their corn; and consequently increased the rents of their lands; besides, they were themselves consumers of those liquors, and in every town and village there was an unlicensed house for retailing them. This consumption of spirits produced such pernicious effects, that at length the executive powers deemed it high time to put an end to the system. The consequence was, that the people, rendered ferocious by the use of those liquors, and accustomed to lawless habits, resorted to force, resisted the laws, opposed the military, and hence have resulted riots, assaults, and murders." His lordship again adverted to the situation of the lower orders, and the ample means possessed by the higher classes of ameliorating their condition; and of rendering them at home as valuable for the domestic virtues of peace and industry, as they were eminent and exemplary in every other country for their bravery, their generosity, and their talent. Unfortunately, said his lordship, hitherto there had been a concurrence of too many causes to brutalize the Irish character, and we think ourselves justified in treating them as brutes. Instead of feeling surprise at finding them so wild, so thoughtless, and so ungovernable as they were, the wonder seemed to be that their character was not worse. CHAPTER VIII. - American War.-Preliminary Remarks.-Correspondence between the British and American Governments.-Governor Strong's Speech in Massachusets.-Retreat of the American Army from Lower Canada.-Pursued by the British.-Defeat of the Americans at Odell-town.-Repeal of the Embargo and Non-importation Acts.-Extension of the Blockade of the American Coasts by the British.-Capture of the American Frigate Essex.-Fort Oswego stormed by the British.Repulse of the British at Sandy Creek.—Capture of the Reindeer by the Americans.-State of the American Navy.-Remarks.-President's Proclamation respecting Neutral Vessels.—Admiralty Official Paper.—Preparations of the British for carrying on the War with Vigour.-Part of Lord Wellington's Army sent to Canada.-Invasion of that Country by the Americans.-Battle near Fort Erie, which is taken by them.-Defeat of the Americans near the Falls of Niagara, by General Drummond. Capture of the Islands in Passamaquoddy Bay.-Hostages for Retaliation mutually exchanged. We must turn our attention from Europe to the United States of America. While the contest with Bonaparte continued, the warfare between that country and Great Britain was little thought of; and was not viewed with that degree of importance which it deserved. The continuance of the war, however, was of serious injury to both countries, and particularly to Great Britain. In the United States 1814. BOOK XIII. many classes, who at its commencement had been hostile to it, became reconciled to its continuance; CHAP. VIII. the merchants and ship-owners, whose interests had been cut up by the interruption of commerce, received an adequate compensation by the richness and number of the captures which they made; and in consequence of the interruption of trade with Britain, many new manufactures were set on foot, and old ones improved, which afforded employment and wealth to a great number who suffered at the commencement of the war. The American government was aware, however, that if the contest was carried on much longer, it would entail on the United States burdens which the inhabitants in their stage of society would neither be disposed nor able to bear. For this reason, and being conscious of the inferiority of their military force to the British, they began to think of making peace, and for that purpose proposed the mediation of the Emperor of Russia, which we have noticed in Book XI.; but which was objected to by the British government. The correspondence which took place on this occasion between the British secretary of state, Lord Castlereagh, and the American secretary, Mr. Monroe, was laid before Congress by the president, on the 7th of January. Lord Castlereagh's letter enclosed a note from Lord Cathcart, British ambassador to the Emperor of Russia, addressed to the Count de Nesselrode, in which he mentioned that the prince-regent had been informed of the arrival of the American commissioners in Russia, and though he found reason to decline the mediation of the Emperor of Russia in the discussions with the United States, yet being sincerely desirous of terminating the war between Great Britain and America, he was ready to nominate plenipotentiaries for treating directly with them, and would prefer that the conferences should be held in London, but if that were objected to, he would consent to substitute Gottenburgh. Lord Castlereagh then said, that the American commissioners having declared their readiness to treat in London, he had transmitted this proposal by a flag of truce, and that the British admiral on the American station would be ready to give the necessary protection to any persons sent by the United States in furtherance of the overture. The reply of Mr. Monroe, after expressing the president's regret at the new obstacle which had arisen to the negociations for peace, and giving reasons why the mediation of the Emperor of Russia had been thought advisable, finally conveyed the president's consent to the proposal, and made election of Gottenburgh for the place of conference. At this period, the war was still very unpopular in some parts of the United States. The speech made by Governor Strong to the legislature of 66 Massachusets on the 12th of January, distinctly expressed the desire for peace, and the disappro bation of the reasons for war alleged by the government of the United States, which from the first were the prevailing sentiments in this part of America. "The friends of peace," said the governor, are accused of being under British influence, but their accusers ought to reflect whe ther partialities of an opposite kind have not produced the evils we suffer; and whether, if our conduct towards both belligerents had been im partial, a war with either would have been thought necessary. We had assumed the character of a neutral nation; but had we not violated the du ties imposed by that character? Had not every subject of complaint against one belligerent been amply displayed, and those against the other con cealed or palliated? It has indeed been sug gested, that we have no connection with France in regard to the war; but when France and England were engaged in a most arduous struggle, and we interfered and assaulted one of them, will any mau doubt our intention to assist the other ?" Intelligence of the battle of Leipsic, and the evacuation of Germany by the French army, ar. rived in America in the beginning of this year, and caused a wonderful sensation amongst the republicans. It was celebrated by the federalists, however, in almost every town throughout the Union. The following notice appeared in the Annapolis paper: "The deliverance of Germany is effectedthe emancipation of Europe is secured-national independence is established-we are saved from the chains prepared for us, which the sinister views of some among us, and the infatuation of many, were ready to rivet. These auspicious events ought to fill the hearts of all true patriots and philanthropists with joy and exultation. They ought to be celebrated by the friends of freedom, as the second birth of our independence-as the final coming of that day which dawned in Russia. For the performance of this duty, equally sacred and delight ful, it has been resolved by some of the friends of national independence and American liberty, now at Annapolis, where the glad tidings were first received, to assemble at that place, on Tuesday, the 18th of January next, and celebrate, by a public expression of their joy and thankfulness, this sig nal, and, as it may be justly hoped, final triumph of the cause of mankind. All who partake of the sentiments which give rise to this celebration are invited to join in it. Suitable arrangements will be made by a committee appointed for the pur pose." The American army, under Gereral Wilkinson, continued to occupy its position in the beginning of February on the frontier of Lower Canada, a |