CH. X.] REASONS FOR SECESSION OF OPPOSITION. 345

in which you inform me that you request me to accept your resignation of the King's County Regiment of Militia. I lament extremely that you have been induced to take this step in consequence of observations from the general officers upon some relaxation of discipline in that regiment, which, I am convinced, you would easily have corrected; but since this is your determination, I cannot decline to accept that resignation you have transmitted to me. I have the honour to be, with perfect truth,

Sir, your obedient humble Servant,

CAMDEN.

It might be supposed that the leading members of the Opposition would have had some influence with Government, sufficient at least to induce them to interfere and restrain the military, and prevent their excesses. The cause of their absence from Parliament, therefore, requires to be examined. When Sir Jonah Barrington was writing the History of the Irish Union, he applied to me, in 1817, to ascertain from Mr. Grattan the cause of the secession of his party from the Irish Parliament; and in accordance with his wishes, Mr. Grattan gave the following account; which, though it goes beyond the period of the secession, is not the less interesting:

"The reason why we seceded was, that we did not approve of the conduct of the United Men, and we could not approve of the conduct of the Government. We were afraid of encouraging the former by making speeches against the latter, and we thought it better in such a case, as we could support neither, to withdraw from both.

of

"After the summer of 1795, and the return to power the old men and the old system, coupled with the subsequent measures of sending troops into the country, on the petitions to the King, and transporting the common people without trial,-after that, the quarrel between the Government and the people became irreconcileable, and it did not avail what Opposition did in Parliament one way or another-the Minister that day broke_with_the_country-he answered its petitions by troops. The people in general looked to France, and the Government to arms: both were,

346

MR. GRATTAN'S REASONS FOR [CHAP. X.

from the close of 1795, in a state of war-the people in rebellion against the King, and the Minister against the Constitution. The success of the former, a French alliance or a French Government; the success of the latter a tyranny with Parliament. And in case of an unsuccessful rebellion, the tyranny with Parliament would have soon ended, like the other, in a tyranny without one. In either case the people would have been completely put down; for though the excesses of the United Men and their objects were indefensible and absurd, yet if vanquished by the ministry, there would have been no popular influence nor effect in Ireland, it would have been the tyranny of Government, through an Irish Parliament, as it was before, through an English one. The object of the opposition was and should have been to prevent the victory of either party-so to have used the terror excited by the approaches of the French and of rebellion, as to have gotten for the country an improvement in the representation of the people, and an amelioration in the administration of her Government, and, under those circumstances, to have set rebellion at defiance: thus there would have been a victory of the Constitution, and no other whatever. If the Opposition had supported the violence of Government in its system of coercion, they would have had no effect in restraining the system of torture, no more than those who supported both had afterwards in opposing the Union.

Our error was in not having seceded sooner; for the Opposition, I fear, encouraged the United Men by their speeches against the Government. The Government were so abominable-their measures were so violent that no man would sanction them. There was high treason certainly, but these were measures that no high treason--that no crimes could warrant. Nothing could excuse the torture-the whippings-the half-hanging-it was impossible to act with them; and in such cases it is always better that a neutral party should retire. We could do no goodwe could not join the disaffected party, and we could not support the Government. We would not torture-we would not hold the lash-we would not flagellate.

I had written a letter to the citizens of Dublin that was considered imprudent-it was true-it was well writtenbut it tended to inflame. I had also written strongly to the Catholicks-I had just returned from England, and we smarted under the disappointment of Lord Fitzwilliam's

CHAP. X.]

SECESSION OF THE OPPOSITION.

347

recall. Pitt had behaved ill-he jockied Lord Fitzwilliam -he did not jockey me-he was playing tricks: he treated Lord Fitzwilliam very ill. I regret the proceedings-we were angry it was not wise-but there is no man who in a long public life will not be guilty of some political errors. The Government behaved shockingly. There was treason, no doubt;-but treason was no excuse for their conductthey punished the poor creatures that were deluded, and permitted to live, those who had deluded them. They did not treat the people as if they were Christians-they treated them not like rebel Christians, but like rebel dogs; and afterwards, when these men who had thus acted came to be tried at the Union, they sold themselves and their country-it was infamous! The question men should have asked was not, Why was Mr. Sheares upon the gallows?" but, Why was not Lord Clare along with him?"

The Government attacked me. I knew they hated me. They attacked me with all the bitterness they possessed. They were malignant and rancorous-they had nothing against me-they forged something-they produced a report in which I was accused of having had an interview with Neilson-and so negligent and so rancorous were they in their attack, that they contradicted themselves on the face of it. They made me hold an interview with Neilson at the very time I was attending a trial at Maidstone-that was notorious-and this they sent to the King. I told them I defied them ;-they said they had papers. I called on them to produce them-I bid them do all they could-I told them I would neither give nor receive quarter-I asked how could such men dare to question any man?—they who were criminals, and who were in rebellion against the constitution of their country. was not necessary for me to apologize for not having joined them;-it might be necessary perhaps to offer some reason to posterity why I had not joined the rebels. I would do neither;-the one was a rebel to his King— the other, to his country. In the conscientious sense of the word rebel, there should have been a gallows for the rebel, and there should have been a gallows for the ministers. These men were endeavouring for a long series of years to undo what had been done, and destroy that freedom which the country had obtained ;-they were, by corruption, restoring that power which had been abandoned, and which had formerly been obtained by usurpa

It

348

DUPLICITY OF GOVERNMENT.

[CHAP. X. tion. I defied them. My reply to Corry produced great effect;-Berwick was there, and he can tell the effect it produced. These men could say nothing in defence of themselves. It might be necessary to say why we had not rebelled- -a rebellion may be necessary-in some cases it ought to take place; but no man would rebel with O'Connor. Men will make the distinction, and will say, "Why did they not join O'Connor?" The conduct of the Government will be detested. O'Connor may have been a man of honour-Clare could not. Men will be more blamed in history for having joined the Government, than they would if they had joined the rebels.

Such was the statement of Mr. Grattan to Barrington.

By their spies and informers,* Government were apprised of the meetings of the United Irishmen, and could, if they thought proper, have prevented them; but they allowed them to go on, and thus fermented the Rebellion. They knew they had lost the affections of the people. They wanted the Union, just as Parsons and the Government in 1640 wanted confiscations, and they were determined on effecting, by these means, their favourite object. This appears from the facts related by Lord Clonmell, as stated in the Second Volume of these memoirs, p. 145, from which it is manifest that they could have crushed the conspiracy at the outset, and have prevented the insurrection. Lord Clonmell actually informed one of the conspirators, for whom he entertained some regard, that he knew where he had attended their meetings, and with whom, and advised him to leave the kingdom immediately, or that he would be apprehended, as Government knew all about him ;-this person left Ireland that night, and thus Lord Clonmell probably saved his life, as they sent to arrest him next

* In addition to Lord Moira's list may be added the notorious Jemmy O'Brien (who was hanged at last); Hughes, the spy sent to Tinnehinch; Reynolds, who gave the information as to Lord Edward Fitzgerald and the Leinster Delegates; and Armstrong, who betrayed the Sheares.

CHAP. X.] ARREST OF LEINSTER DELEGATES.

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349

day. The dying declarations of Lord Clonmell to his nephew, Dean Scott, (a relation of Mr. Grattan,*) the destruction of the letter which he thought exposed the duplicity of Government, and his remarks at that awful period, (his death,) THAT THEY ALLOWED THE UNITED MEN TO GO ON, IN ORDER TO CARRY THE UNION, AND THAT SUCH WAS THEIR DESIGN, must remove all further doubt upon the subject. This attaches a heavy charge against the Irish ministers, and affixes to their memories a disgrace that is indelible.

Lord Clonmell was at that time displeased with the Government, but in his convivial as in his confidential moments was communicative, and apt to tell truths. An instance may be mentioned in the advice he gave to Mr. Lawless (Lord Cloncurry); he said that he entertained a sincere regard for him; that troublesome times were arising; that his spirit would cause him to take a part in them, and that it would be a wise plan to get his father to send him away from Ireland :-" As to myself," added Lord Clonmell, "if I were to begin life again, I would rather be a chimney-sweeper than be connected with the Irish Government." These were his words. This was Lord Clonmell's opinion of the men who composed the ministry in Ireland, and whose conduct appeared to him so indefensible and dishonest. Let us now turn to

their opponents, the United Irishmen.

About the 22nd or 23rd of February, 1798, one of the United party, a person of the name of Reynolds, a silk mercer, disclosed to a Mr. Cope the proceedings of his associates; and on the 12th of March, in consequence of his information, fourteen of the Leinster delegates, forming

*He was married to Miss Bushe, a niece of Mr. Grattan's.

+ Cope, it was said, got 5,000l. and 1,500l. a-year pension. Reynolds bargained for 500/., the price of his information, but he so connected himself with Lord Castlereagh, then appointed secretary, that he forced the