CHAP. VI.] CASE OF MR. JACKSON. 165 man of the name of Cockayne, from whom he had occasionally borrowed money. He now came over as an envoy from France, deputed from the committee of Salut publique, to enquire into the state of Great Britain and Ireland, and their willingness to accept the aid of French fraternity, and shake off the yoke of their Government. His views being disclosed to Cockayne, the latter revealed them to Mr. Pitt, who employed him as a spy upon Jackson, and allowed both of them to proceed to Ireland in April 1794, under the care, however, of a King's messenger. So little of treasonable practices between Ireland and France existed at that period, that these parties came over without the knowledge of a single partizan, without any political acquaintance, or even without an introduction to any individual of note. One person alone, Mr. Leonard M'Nally, who had been at the English bar, was acquainted with Jackson, and from him he got an introduction to Hamilton Rowan, then in Newgate, and there first commenced this conspiracy, proposed by a person under the surveillance of Mr. Pitt's spy, in concert with a man secured in His Majesty's gaol, and to whom access could only be obtained by the permission of Government. Nothing could be more foolish or absurd than these proceedings-perhaps as ridiculous as they were mischievous: they certainly shewed how little disposed the Irish then were to join the French ; and established the fact, that at this time there was no French party in the country. It was not a conspiracy, but a voyage of discovery in search of treason, under the superintendence of Mr. Pitt, who allowed his emissary to proceed to Ireland, not to detect a conspiracy, but to form one, and thus increase the dupes of one party and the victims of the other-a singular instance of per 166 MR. TONE. [CHAP. VI. fidy and cruelty. It is right, therefore, to say, that as far as the Irish were concerned,* the only document that proved anything against them was the statement of the situation and disposition of the people of Ireland, which was produced at the trial of Mr. Jackson, and which might have been written by any individual without a wicked intent, and in which there was little matter of a treasonable nature, though certainly there were very strong expressions of a high sense of injury, and great imprudence of phrase. In England no one would have been convicted on such a document; however, in Ireland, where one witness only was required, conviction for treason was more easily procured. This paper was drawn up by Mr. Tone,† and copied by Mr. Rowan in Newgate, for the purpose of being sent to France. Tone was applied to, and declined to be the messenger; upon this, Cockayne made the discovery, and Jackson was arrested. He was indicted in June 1794, but was not tried until April 1795, when he was found guilty, and terminated his existence by poisoning himself in the dock. It was on the discovery of the document in question that Mr. Hamilton Rowan thought proper to fly, more from fear than from guilt. Mr. Tone remained, confessed he had written the document, and being supported by the friendship and interest of Mr. Marcus Beresford, a relation of Lord Clare's, and by Mr. George Knox, he effected an arrangement with Government, and remained in the country until Lord Camden's arrival, when in June 1795 he went to America. * Gifford, in his life of Pitt, contends that long before this the Irish, and in particular the Catholics, were in connexion with the French; but he adduces no proof whatever in support of his assertion, as in other of his virulent charges against Ireland. Mr. Tone's son publishes in his work a document much stronger than that proved by the Crown on his father's trial. CHAP. VI.] CONDUCT OF GOVERNMENT. 167 The conduct of the Government on this occasion was singular and deserving of condemnation; they should not have declared Mr. Rowan traitor if they let Mr. Tone pass unpunished, for his offence was the greater of the two; but then Mr. Tone was secretary to the Catholics, and was still connected with the body to which the leading men in the Government were hostile, and whose reputation, as already stated, they had sought to blemish. Thus they left the Catholics exposed to the charge of being connected with seditious characters, knowing that they must suffer thereby in point of reputation, and greatly injure their cause; and though it was incumbent on the Government to prevent the people from involving themselves with bad men and in bad practices, they neglected their duty; hence they were charged with connivance at such machinations, and a desire to let the people commit themselves, and become entangled in a blind species of conspiracy, where there seems to have been more bungling than treason. They did not think Mr. Tone's conduct such as to disentitle him from acting for the Catholics, though they knew he was much more implicated than the man whom they accused of treason and proclaimed, whereas if they had intended to act the part of a sincere and honest Government, they would have cut off all communication between such a man such a man and the Catholic body; but the fact was, they had ulterior objects, and wished the Catholics to dip in sedition. Burke's advice on this subject* was wise and salutary; the conduct of Lord Clare and Mr. Foster was negligent and treacherous; Mr. Grattan's was prudent and judicious: he showed more fairness and foresight with respect to these individuals, though he had less means of acquiring a * See his Letter, page 151, note. 168 MR. TONE'S ARREST, [CHAP. VI. knowledge of their character than the Government: he thought it right to keep the Catholics aloof from that party, as appears from Mr. Tone's private memoirs, where it is stated that Mr. Grattan would not recommend him to Lord Fitzwilliam's administration because he was a United Irishman. Tone was a man of some ability and great liveliness of mind; he had read lightly, not deeply, but amusingly; he possessed some humour, much mirth, a warm and active imagination, and formed on the whole a most agreeable companion; but he was ill suited to lead a party such as he aspired to govern, and probably never would have succeeded in his object. He strove to unite the Defenders with the United Irishmen, but had neither weight nor influence sufficient for the purpose. Educated for the legal profession, he would have lived quietly, and risen with success under British Government, if he had not ventured upon politics, which destroyed all his fortunes, and cost him his life. After Edmund Burke's son ceased to be secretary to the Catholic Convention, he was appointed; he was active in their committees, and received 1,500/. for his services; his fate was tragical ;-forced to leave Ireland, he chose also to leave America and proceed to France, where, with great perseverance, he urged the French Directory to send troops to Ireland, in which he was greatly assisted by Lord Clare, whose violent speeches and misrepresentations of the Irish people, were his credentials to the French Government, and procured for his application what he could not of himself have obtained-not only reception, but success. He accompanied one of the expeditions, and in September, 1798, was captured in the Hoche frigate, which, along with nine other vessels, appeared under Bompart, off the North coast of Ireland, where they were defeated and dis CHAP. VI.] AND CONDEMNATION. 169 persed by Sir John Borlase Warren. Tone was taken prisoner; he was at that time in the French service, and being invited to a breakfast, along with other French officers, by the Earl of Cavan, who commanded in the district of Letterkenny; was recognized by Sir George Hill. Being thus discovered, he was placed in irons, and sent to Dublin, where, although the law courts were sitting he was tried by court martial; he acknowledged that he was found in arms,-in hostility to the Government of the king,-declared that he was an officer in the French service, and acting under the French flag; he proved his rank of adjutantgeneral, and produced his brevet from the Directory, signed by the French minister of war. He was tried on the 10th of November by a court of military officers, and found guilty. He asked to be shot by a platoon of grenadiers; but this was refused by Lord Cornwallis, and his execution was fixed for the 12th of November, on which he attempted to destroy himself by severing the jugular artery. In the mean time Mr. Curran applied to the King's Bench on the affidavit of the father, against the decision of the court martial, which he declared to be illegal. The King's Bench being the supreme criminal court of the land, Lord Kilwarden, who was the chief justice, issued his writ of habeas corpus, but neither the provost marshal, Major Sandes, nor General Craig, would obey it. It was, however, found impossible to move him in consequence of his attempt to commit suicide. The court issued an order suspending the execution, and directing that the provost marshal and Major Sandes should be taken into custody. Tone, however, died on the 19th, in consequence of the wound he had inflicted. We now approach a most important event; one in which Mr. Grattan was personally concerned, |