fortnight, occasioned by a grievous assault of a body of about 500 Orangemen on the person of Mr. Wil-son, who almost murdered him, on their return from a public rejoicing given by Mr. Verner on the acquittal of his two sons. writes to sonby. On the 20th July 1806, Mr. Wilson, who had Mr. Wilson been referred by Mr. Elliott to the Chancellor in- Mr. Ponstead of him, for a commission of the peace for the county of Armagh, apprized his Lordship by letter, that since the disgraceful outrage committed against him on the 12th instant, a second attempt had been made upon him on the preceding evening; but the darkness of the night, and the assassins having had reason to believe, that he had already escaped them, united to save him. Several of them, as well as the Orange outragers of the 12th were known. For his own part, he should not move; but if government were disposed to take up the business in the grave and solemn manner its importance in a national point of view, so imperiously demanded, he was ready to afford all the aid in his power to give effect to its exertions; he was however to hope, that if government entered into an investigation, it would be carried on by persons possessed of vigour, perspicuity, and independence of mind. Five weeks had elapsed since Mr. Elliott replied to Mr. Wilson's information, lamenting that disorderly and tumultuous transaction, and expressing his intention of laying it before the Lord Lieutenant. Mr. Wilson Mr. Wilson in consequence, wrote one more writes again letter to the Secretary, which referred to several to Mr. El liott, 1806. 66 documents of abuses and atrocities committed by Orangemen on the unfortunate Catholics in his neighbourhood, which he had transmitted to go, vernment, but which had remained unnoticed. He thus strongly expressed himself (for the last time) to the Secretary. "I have much important matter, independent of what relates to myself, "that ought to be submitted to grave and delibe "rate consideration. When I perceive govern "ment disposed to afford that to my communications, I will cheerfully, but personally, detail them. In the mean time, I am to observe, that "I am prepared to prove, that the laws (as I in my first letter to you, intimated) are most par"tially and carelessly (I wish to speak mildly) administered with regard to the Roman Catho"lics; that I have instances, within these few days, of robbers, assassins, forgers of bank "notes, and public disturbers being protected; and their prosecutors frightened from following up their complaints; also of examinations being either secreted by those, who ought to have "brought them forward, or withheld from the "clerk of the crown; or, if given to him, his being prevailed upon not to frame bills of indictment upon them. All this, Sir, I am prepared to prove, and call upon government to "put me to the proof." In his letter to the Chancellor, he had hinted, that there was an idea rather too prevalent with a great part of the public, that, government was either unable or unwilling to protect the oppressed. The subject of Mr. Wilson's letters to Mr. Elliott, and the Chancellor, turned evidently upon important (perhaps not gracious) matter. It is however worthy of observation, that his letter to the Chancellor, which bears date the 20th of July, remained unanswered nearly two months, which (including October) are notoriously the months of the most leisure to the Chancellor throughout the year. His Lordship however at last condescended to give him the following answer, "Richard Wilson, Esq. Qwna Lodge. " Sir, "Ely Place, Sept. 6, 1806. "I am very sorry, that a pressure of business, which could not be postponed, has prevented me from sending an earlier answer to the letter you did me the honour of writing to me in July last. That any attempts should be made at assassination must be a subject of the deepest regret; and will, I am sure, excite in the government the most anxious desire to detect and punish those, who are guilty of them, and I hope, that no description of his Majesty's subjects in Ireland will ever have reason to consider those, to whom he may be pleased to delegate his authority, as either unable or unwil ling to protect them. With respect to the admi nistration of the Duke of Bedford, I can most confidently affirm, that there never was and never will be in this country one more sincerely disposed to protect with vigour and impartiality all its inhabitants; and that whoever shall violate the laws, 1806. The Chancellor's letter to Mr. Wilson, 1806. Mr. Wilson will find his Grace both willing and able to vindicate their authority. "The application, which you have been pleased to make for a commission of the peace for the county of Armagh not having been seconded by the recommendation of the governor, or either of the members for that county, or of any resident privy counsellor, I am under the necessity of forbearing to comply with it. This answer of the Chancellor was a dignified is refused insult to Mr. Wilson. His actual commission for a commission for Armagh. Tyrone superseded any call for a recommendation of his fitness to be a magistrate for an adjoining county within some few yards. There was then no resident privy counsellor in the county of Armagh. The governor resided in England, and the members were absent on their military duty. The application was however made through a privy counsellor, the secretary to the Lord Lieutenant*. In order to place the whole conduct and treatment of Mr. Wilson under the reader's eye at one view, we shall anticipate some facts, which will enable him to read most distinctly the identity of spirit, principle and action in the three successive administrations (Hardwicke, Bedford, and Richmond,) under which he acted as a country magistrate. The notoriety of Mr. Pon sonby's refusal to arm Mr. Wilson with a commission for Armagh occasioned more outrages from the Orangemen, than had before, disgraced that neighbourhood. The facility of escape from Tyrone into Armagh, where they were sure of impunity and pro This refusal of the Lord Chancellor to extend Mr. tection, multiplied and emboldened offenders. Soon after the change of ministry, that is, on the 19th of May 1807, Mr. Wilson in consequence of several fresh atrocities having been committed on the Roman Catholics of his district, wrote to the new Chancellor Lord Manners, " to point out the necessity of a strict " enquiry into the abuses and evasions of justice, which existed in that quarter of the kingdom (and he also feared in every "other part of it.") He enclosed authenticated statements of the particular enormities, which remained unpunished and countenanced. On the 2d of July, Mr. Lockwood the Chancellor's Secretary, answered the letter by returning the papers, which, he said, did not call upon his Lordship in his official situation as Chancellor to give any directions about, and that the Chancellor desired to be relieved from any further correspondence on the subject, On the next day, (3d July 1807) Mr. Wilson was formally put out of the commission of the peace for the county of Tyrone by a regular writ of supersedeas. As to the continuance and progress of the system in Tyrone, Mr. Wilson's letter, published in the Evening Herald, so lately as on the 11th of January 1811, will speak with more authentic point, than any collection of intermediate facts, however numerous and atrocious. "TO THE EDITOR OF THE EVENING HERALD, " SIR, "The spirit of impartiality and patriotism, which appeared to govern your paper, induced me, formerly, to give it the preférence of such publications as the infatuated policy of govern, ment compelled me to bring forward. The same opinion, and the same cause, occasion the renewal of my correspondence; yet, I confess, I do so with some little hesitation, having observed, that for more than three years, the wretched state of this part of the kingdom has scarcely ever been the subject of your notice, although it appears to me next to impossible, that the various acts of atrocity, which are almost daily committed in it, should not 1806. |