COUNTY WExford, to WIT.

EDWARD WARD ROCHE* of Garrilough, who acted as a rebel chief in the late rebellion, voluntarily maketh oath that the rebels vowed vengeance against Mr. Edward Hay, for aiding and assisting the late Edward Turner, Esq. who was a magistrate for said county, on the surrender of their arms and pikes at Newpark, on Saturday, the 26th of May, 1798, thereby supposing him their enemy. Deponent saith, that the rebels constantly during the rebellion, called for Mr. Edward Hay, to go out to their camps, and take the command; and if said Edward would not, he should be put to death by them. Deponent saith, that from the hate and violence of the rebels, and their threats against said Edward, his personal safety became uncertain and precarious: and the more so, as frequent representations were made to the rebels by certain persons that had influence among them, that said Edward was inimical to them. Deponent saith, that said Edward never carried arms, attended the rebel camps, or did any thing to conciliate the rebels. Deponent saith, he was in Wexford on the 20th of June 1798, being the day of the massacre on the bridge, where

* The deposition of the Rev. Mr. Roche, the rebel chief, and the letter of Lord Kingston, are inserted that the reader may be able to appreciate the means Mr. Hay possessed to furnish a faithful statement of the county of Wexford insurrection.

It will be difficult to suppose, that Mr. Hay, after we have read the sentiments expressed in his history, did not favour, at least with good wishes, the insurrection. But he might have justly considered it inadequate to its object. He must easily have discovered it must fail from a want of concert with other parts of the kingdom-from defect of disciplinefrom the inhuman and bloody spirit which refused all controul, and which manifested itself at Vinegar-Hill, and the bloody bridge at Wexford-from the want of resourcesfrom the abandonment of all order after success-and, more than all, from that lethargic temper, which, when life and fortune were thus depending on the issue, slept in the lap of victory, until roused and overwhelmed in a few days afterwards by an active and recruited enemy.

deponent saw Mr. Edward Hay exert himself with zeal and activity, in preventing the wicked and bloodthirsty designs of the rebels; and saith, that the said Edward in doing so, exposed himself to almost inevitable destruction. Deponent saith, that the rebels loudly declared Mr. Hay to be their enemy, that his whole designs were to protect their enemies the orangemen; and if he was not one himself, he would not oppose them, (the rebels) and exert himself for the protection of orangemen.

Sworn before me this 18th day of April, 1799,
EBEN JACOB.

EDWARD ROCHE.

SIR,

Colney, December 14th, 1799.

FROM what I saw of your conduct whilst I was at Wexford a prisoner, I am convinced that you did all in your power to save the people whom the rebels wished to murder, and myself among that number; and it was through you that the town of Wexford was given up to me, which circumstance I believe, saved the lives of many; and by what I have heard from you of your trial, do think you have been very unjustly persecuted.

I am your most obedient humble servant,

To EDWARD HAY, Esq.

KINGSTON.

DIL..

Further account of the massacre at Wexford by the Insurgents, instigated by Captain Dixon, connect

I, HOWEVER, Continued still unwearied in my exertions, particularly endeavouring to preserve my dear and beloved friend, Mr. Turner, whose death, and that of a Mr. Gainfort, the populace declared indispensable to their satisfaction, as they had led out the army against them on Whitsunday, and had burnt their houses. Although I knew that my friend had burned a house,' (of which he most sincerely and heartily repented) yet, I appealed to the multitude, if any one could prove the fact alleged against him, and no one appearing to come forward for that purpose, I seized on the glimpse of hope I now entertained of his safety, thinking that his life might be preserved by demanding a trial, on which if no proof of criminality could be adduced, it was natural to conclude, that his safety must be certain. I then made the experiment; but was answered by this universal cry, what trial did we or our friends and relations obtain when some were hanged or shot, and others whipped or otherwise tortured; our houses, and properties burnt and destroyed, and ourselves hunted like mad dogs?" But, I rejoined with some veffect: "do you mean to compare yourselves to the perpetrators of such deeds, or would you disgrace your conduct by such barbarous acts?" This appeal to their principles produced the consequence; providentially, as I fondly hoped, of their consenting to a trial, but on the express condition, that I should retire and be present on no account. At this critical moment, I perceived a person near me whom I had induced to return from the Three-rocks, and who, true to his promise of every assistance in his power, after a variety of difficulty, had got close by me, together with some others of the like benevolent dispositions, to whom I stooped down from on horseback to listen to the arguments they hamanely sug

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gested; and I must declare, that I derived great courage from their presence and advice to persist in my entreaties in the course of which, I find, on cool reflection, that I underwent great danger, of which I was by no means so sensible at the time, until afterward informed by many, who were kind enough to hold me in regard, while they prevented different persons from shooting me. I entreated the particular person before mentioned, to procure men whose humanity could not be doubted to try the prisoners, and when he should have succeeded to give me notice, as I would endeavour in the mean time to delay the people who were insisting that I should retire, "as," they declared," I would go to the devil to save Turner." I did promise to retire as soon as I could have proper persons appointed to sit in trial over the prisoners, when my humane friend beckoned to me, signifying that he was ready. I then went into the committee-house where although capt. Dixon, and Morgan Byrne, whose sanguinary disposition I was well aware of, insisted that they should be on the trial, I could not oppose their appointment; but, however, four out of seven, which was the number chosen, humanely offered themselves, having previously promised me that they would not consent to put any one to death. I made use of another stratagem, by proposing an oath, that in their proceedings they would not be guided by public prejudice, but by justice and the evidence before them. This was

with a view, if possible, to secure the assistance and co-operation even of the most sanguinary, and the seven were accordingly sworn to that effect. By this contrivance, and the solemn assurance of the four persons, that they would not consent to the condemnation of any one, I fondly hoped I had secured the life of my friend from danger; and being fully confident of the success of my plan, I left its subsequent management to a person on whose sincerity I could rely, and to whose worth I am sorry at not having the liberty to do justice by naming him; and having

made sure of such a friend to humanity, I thought it most prudent to retire, in order to please the people, the inclinations of many of whom I had now thwarted for hours; and I had good reason to suppose they would then be more inclined to listen to a

THE seven persons appointed to sit on the trial proceeded from the committee-house to the goal, where they went into a small bed-chamber, inside the goaler's kitchen, in which Captain Dixon had left five prisoners whom he had doomed as the first victims for condemnation; but he here met with an opposition of which he was not until that moment at all aware. The members of this kind of popular tribunal divided; three were for death; but the other four true to their promise, and unwarped in their humane inclinations, firmly declared, that they considered themselves merely appointed to prevent massacre, and to save the lives of the prisoners, and would not attend or listen to any representation from Dixon or his fellows. This produced a very violent altercation, and great danger was to be apprehended by the friends of humanity, as Peter Byrne actually rushed into the room, and threatened them with instant destruction, if they did not agree to the death of the prisoners. Some others of Dixon's blood thirsty associates had got into the goal and were selecting such of the prisoners as they pleased to doom fit objects of destruction; but although Dixon's own designs cannot be doubted of ravening for blood, and that he was willing and eager to attempt any thing to gain his object; yet as the four men resolutely persevered in refusing to agree to the death of any man at such a crazy and phrensical moment, he was going to retire from a place, where his sanguinary views and cruel sentiments were opposed and overruled, and it is more than probable, that the sanguinary, retarded for hours in the onset, would have cooled in their fury, and have recovered sentiments of humanity sufficient to prevent them from putting Τ