the general election—crime in ireland—increased powers granted to the executive—ireland on the verge of rebellion—death of o'connell—viceroyalty of lord clarendon—special commission in clare, limerick, and tipperary—the commission at clonmel—rise of the young ireland party—the nation—meagher and smith o'brien—they try to dispense with the church—the irish confederation—the united irishman—news of the french revolution—panic in dublin—lord clarendon and mr. birch—the deputation to paris—smith o'brien in parliament—preparations for civil war—young and old ireland at blows—arrest and trial of mitchel, smith o'brien, and meagher—transportation of mitchel—lord clarendon's extraordinary powers—smith o'brien in the south—commencement of the insurrection—battle of ballingarry—arrest of smith o'brien—collapse of the rebellion—trial of the conspirators—trials and sentences—the rate in aid—the encumbered estates act—the queen's visit to ireland—cove becomes queenstown—a visit to cork—kingstown and dublin—departure from dublin—an affecting incident—belfast.
the disorganised state of ireland, occasioned by the famine and the enormous system of public relief which fostered idleness and destroyed the customary social restraints that kept the people in order, naturally led to much outrage and crime in that country. at the close of the ordinary session of 1847, the parliament, which had existed six years, was dissolved. the general election excited very little political interest, the minds of all parties being concentrated upon the terrible famine in ireland, and the means necessary to mitigate its effects. the first session of the new parliament commenced on the 18th of november. mr. shaw-lefevre was re-elected speaker without opposition, some leading conservatives expressing their admiration of the impartiality and dignity with which he had presided over the deliberations of the house. the royal speech was delivered by commission. it lamented that in some counties in ireland atrocious crimes had been committed, and a spirit of insubordination had manifested itself, leading to an organised resistance to legal rights. parliament was therefore requested to take further precautions against the perpetration of crime in that country; at the same time recommending the consideration of measures that would advance the social improvement of its people. in the course of the debate on the address the state of ireland was the subject of much discussion; and on the 29th of november sir george grey, then home secretary, brought in a bill for this purpose. in doing so, he gave a full exposition of the disorganised state of the country. he showed that "the number of attempts on life by firing at the person, which was, in six months of 1846, 55, was in the same six months of 1847, 126; the number of robberies of arms, which was, in six months of 1846, 207, in the same six months of 1847 was 530; and the number of firings of dwellings, which in six months of 1846 was 51, was, in the same six months of 1847, 116. even this statement gave an inadequate idea of the increase of those offences in districts which were now particularly infested by crime. the total number of offences of the three classes which he had just mentioned amounted, in the last month, to 195 in the whole of ireland; but the counties of clare, limerick, and tipperary furnished 139 of them—the extent of offences in those counties being 71 per cent. on the total of offences in ireland, and the population being only 13 per cent. on the whole population of ireland." it was principally to those counties that his observations applied; but as the tendency of crime was to spread, they must be applied in some degree also to king's county, roscommon, and part of fermanagh. the crimes which he wished to repress were not directed against the landlord class alone, but against every class and description of landowners. their ordinary object was the commission of wilful and deliberate assassination, not in dark or desolate places, but in broad daylight—of assassination, too, encouraged by the entire impunity with which it was perpetrated; for it was notorious that none but the police would lend a hand to arrest the flight, or capture the person, of the assassin.
the murder of one landlord was sufficient to spread terror throughout the whole class, the most recent and horrible case being used for this purpose in the threatening notices. thus, when major mahon was shot, a letter was sent to the wife of another landed proprietor, warning her that if her husband did not remit all the arrears of rent due by his tenants, two men would be sent to dispatch him as they had dispatched the demon mahon. the lord-lieutenant had increased the[561] constabulary force in the disturbed districts, and called out the military to aid in the execution of the law. but it was the opinion of the magistrates in those districts that the powers of the executive were not sufficient. the object of sir george greys measure was to extend those powers—not to create any new tribunal, for trial by jury had worked satisfactorily. what he proposed was that the lord-lieutenant should have power to "proclaim" disturbed districts, to increase in them the constabulary force to any extent he might think fit out of the reserve of 600 in dublin, to limit the use of firearms, and to establish nocturnal patrols. he thought that by such a measure the government would be able to put down the crimes that were disorganising society in ireland. sir robert peel supported the government measure. mr. feargus o'connor divided the house against it; but was supported by only twenty members. it was soon after read a second time, having been strenuously resisted by some of the irish members. it rapidly went through committee, and was read a third time, when the minority against it was only fourteen. the bill passed through the lords without alteration.
trinity college, dublin. (from a photograph by poulton and son, lee.)
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misery and privation in large masses of people naturally engender disaffection, and predispose to rebellion; and this was the state of things in ireland at the beginning of the memorable year of 1848. o'connell had passed away from the scene. on the 28th of january, 1847, he left ireland, never to return. he went to london for the purpose of attending his parliamentary duties, but shortly after his arrival there he went for benefit of his health to hastings. but a still greater change of scene and climate was found necessary, and he embarked for france, and proceeding to paris, he was received with great consideration by the marquis of normanby, and other distinguished persons. in reply to a complimentary address from the electoral committee, of which montalembert was chairman, o'connell said, "sickness and emotion close my mouth. i would require the eloquence of your president to express to you all my gratitude. but it is impossible for me to say what i feel. know, simply, that i regard this demonstration on your part as one of the most significant events of my life." he went from paris to lyons, where he[562] became much weaker. in all the french churches prayers were offered on behalf of "le célèbre irlandais, et le grand libérateur d'irlande." at marseilles he became rather better; but at genoa death arrested his progress. he expired on the 15th of may (1847), apparently suffering little pain. he was on his way to rome, intending to pay his homage in person to pius ix., but finding this impossible, he ordered that his heart might be sent to rome, and his body to ireland. it has been remarked that o'connell was the victim of the irish famine, and that its progress might have been learnt from the study of his face. the buoyancy had gone out of his step; he had become a stooping and a broken-down man, shuffling along with difficulty, his features betraying despondency and misery. his memory was respected by englishmen, because of the devotion of his life to the service of his country. born of a conquered race and a persecuted religion, conscious of great energies and great talents, he resolved to make every irishman the equal of every englishman. after the labours of a quarter of a century he obtained catholic emancipation.
it was the lot of the earl of clarendon to govern ireland during the most trying period of her history. it was a trying crisis, affording great opportunity to a statesman of pre-eminent ability to lay broad and solid foundations for a better state of society. but though a painstaking and active administrator, clarendon was not a great statesman; he had no originating power to organise a new state of things, nor prescience to forecast the future; but he left no means untried by which he could overcome present difficulties. the population had been thinned with fearful rapidity; large numbers of the gentry had been reduced from affluence to destitution; property was changing hands on all sides; the government had immense funds placed at its command; a vast machinery and an enormous host of officials operating upon society when it was in the most plastic and unresisting state, a high order of statesmanship could have made an impress upon it that would have endured for ages. but lord clarendon's government, instead of putting forth the power that should have guided those mighty resources to beneficial and permanent results, allowed them to be agencies of deterioration. the truth is, he was frightened by a contemptible organisation, existing openly under his eyes in dublin, for the avowed purpose of exciting rebellion and effecting revolution. the conspirators might have been promptly dealt with and extinguished in a summary way; but instead of dealing with it in this manner, clarendon watched over its growth, and allowed it to come to maturity, and then brought to bear upon it a great military force and all the imposing machinery of state trials; the only good result of which was a display of forensic eloquence worthy of the days of flood and grattan.
the opening of the year 1848 was signalised by the appointment of a special commission, which was convened to try those accused of agrarian murders in the counties of tipperary, limerick, and clare. the judges were the chief justice blackburne and the chief baron pigot. the commission was pre-eminently successful. the trials commenced at limerick on the 4th of january. the chief justice, in his charge to the jury, drew a melancholy picture of the demoralised state of the country. he praised the patience and enduring fortitude of the people under the visitation of famine, which were generally in the highest degree exemplary, and he made this remarkable statement:—"i do not find in the calendar before me, nor after the experience of the last two circuits have i been able to find, a single case in which destitution or distress, arising from the visitation of god, has in the remotest degree influenced this illegal confederacy, or stimulated any of those outrages." the first person tried was the notorious william ryan, nicknamed "puck," one of the greatest ruffians ever brought to the bar of justice. he was tried for the murder of a neighbour, named john kelly, into whose house he entered, and shot him dead upon the spot, in the presence of his family. he was found guilty, and hanged on the 8th of february. he was well known to have committed nine murders during the previous year. a man named frewin, a respectable farmer, was transported for life, being found guilty of harbouring ryan, and screening him from justice. the next batch of prisoners consisted of six ill-looking young fellows, all of whom appeared to be about twenty years of age, charged with the abduction of the daughter of a respectable farmer, named maloney, for whom they were in the habit of working, in order that another farmer, named creagh, might marry her.
these cases may serve as illustrations of the state of the country at that time. on the 10th of january between twenty and thirty of the convicts were brought up together for sentence, and it seemed difficult to believe that so ill-looking and desperate a set of villains could be congregated in one place. they had all, with one[563] exception, been found guilty, without any recommendation to mercy from the jury. after an impressive address from the judge, the sentences were pronounced, varying in the amount of punishment assigned. but they heard their doom with the greatest indifference. the commission next adjourned to ennis, the assize town of the county of clare, where the results were equally satisfactory. the judges arrived at clonmel, the chief town of tipperary, on the 24th of january. there they found upwards of four hundred prisoners in gaol, charged with crimes marked by various degrees of atrocity. the trial that excited most attention here was that of john sonergan, for the murder of mr. william roe, a landed proprietor and a magistrate of the county, who was shot in the open day, upon the road near one of his own plantations. the scene which was presented in this court on the 31st of january, was described in the report of the trials as scarcely ever paralleled. five human beings, four of whom were convicted of murder, and one of an attempt to murder, stood in a row at the front of the dock, to receive the dreadful sentence of the law, which consigned them to an ignominious death.
agrarian outrage had thus been effectually put down by the special commission; but a much more formidable difficulty was now to be encountered by the government, which was called upon to suppress a rebellion. in order that its origin may be understood, it will be necessary to sketch briefly the rise and progress of the young ireland party. it had its origin in the establishment of the nation newspaper in 1842, by thomas davis, charles gavan duffy, and john mitchel. davis was a native of the county of cork, a member of the church of england, and a barrister who had devoted himself to literature. he was a man of genius and enthusiastic temperament, combined with habits of study and a love of system. as a member of the repeal association, and as a writer in the nation, he constantly advocated national independence. he was a vigorous writer, and also a poet. he was much respected personally by all classes, and would have exerted a powerful influence, but he was cut off by fever in the midst of his career. his memory received the honour of a public funeral, which was one of the largest and most respectable that had for some time taken place in dublin. mr. duffy, the proprietor and editor of the nation, a roman catholic and a native of monaghan, had been connected with the press in dublin. mr. mitchel, also a northerner and a solicitor by profession, was the son of a unitarian minister in newry. these men were all animated by the same burning love of ireland, and unmitigated hatred of english domination. the nation soon attained a vast circulation; its leading articles were distinguished by an earnestness, a fire, a power, an originality and boldness, till then unknown in the irish press. its columns were filled with the most brilliant productions in literature and poetry, all designed to glorify ireland at the expense of england, and all breathing the spirit of war and defiance against the government. in addition to the nation, they prepared a number of small books, which they issued in a cheap form as an irish library, devoted chiefly to the history of their country, and its struggles for independence. by their exertions, reading-rooms were established throughout the country, and a native literature was extensively cultivated. the orator of the party was thomas meagher, at a later period general in the american army, son of a waterford merchant, who was afterwards member of parliament. he was a brilliant, fluent, ardent, daring speaker; his appearance and manners were those of a gay, reckless, dashing cavalier; and his warlike harangues had won for him the designation, "meagher of the sword." his speeches fired his audience with wild enthusiasm. since 1844, as we have seen, mr. william smith o'brien had become the leader of this party, which differed in spirit and purpose from the old ireland party, of which o'connell had been so long the leader. o'connell's agitation even for repeal was essentially religious. ireland and the roman catholic church were indissolubly associated in his mind. his habits as a nisi prius barrister made him an advocate more than a statesman; and having pleaded the cause of his church for forty years, having been rewarded and retained for so doing by an annual "tribute" collected in the chapels of the kingdom, and having won his unparalleled popularity and almost kingly power by his services in this cause, he could not help regarding himself as the special champion of the irish priests and their people. for them he courted whig alliances, for them he abused the tories, for them he sought repeal, and for their sakes he deprecated war. he knew that the protestants of ireland would never sufficiently trust him or his ecclesiastical clients, to join them in a war against english supremacy, which they disliked far less than roman catholic ascendency. he knew that a war for repeal must be a civil and religious war; and he too well remembered the horrors of 1798, and was too well aware of the[564] power of england, seriously to encourage anything of the kind. he talked indeed about fighting at the monster meetings, but he did so merely to intimidate the government, confident of his power to hold the masses in check, and to prevent breaches of the peace. the state prosecutions and the proceedings of the young ireland party worked in him the painful and almost heart-breaking conviction that he had gone too far. another essential difference existed between the two parties regarding religion. the young irelanders wanted to ignore religion in the national struggle. their object was to unite all irishmen in the great cause, to exorcise the spirit of bigotry, and to cultivate the spirit of religious toleration. but neither the protestants nor the catholics were prepared for this. the peasantry of the south especially would not enter into a contest in which their priests refused to lead and bless them; and these would neither lead nor bless except in the interest of their church. this truth was discovered too late by mr. smith o'brien and mr. meagher. the latter gentleman is said to have remarked in his prison, "we made a fatal mistake in not conciliating the catholic priesthood. the agitation must be baptised in the old holy well."
when the two parties separated in 1846, the young irelanders established the irish confederation, which held its meetings in the music hall, abbey street, and whose platform was occupied by a number of young men, who subsequently figured in the state trials—mr. dillon, a barrister, who had been a moderator in trinity college, mr. doheny, solicitor, mr. o'gorman, and mr. martin, a protestant gentleman of property in the county down. the object of the confederacy was to prepare the country for national independence, "by the force of opinion, by the combination of all classes of irishmen, and the exercise of all the political, social, and moral influence within their reach." they disclaimed any intention of involving the country in civil war, or invading the just rights of any of its people; and they were specially anxious that protestants and roman catholics should be united in the movement. resolutions to this effect were adopted at a great meeting in the rotunda, a revolutionary amendment by mr. mitchel having been rejected, after a stormy debate, which lasted three days, and did not terminate on the last day until one o'clock at night. this led to mitchel's secession from the nation, and the establishment of the united irishman, in which he openly and violently advocated rebellion and revolution. he continually insisted on the adoption of the most diabolical and repulsive measures, with the utmost sang froid. every saturday his journal contained a letter "to the earl of clarendon, her majesty's executioner-general and butcher-general of ireland." plans of insurrection were freely propounded; the nature and efficiency of street fighting were copiously discussed; ladies were invited to throw vitriol from their windows on the queen's troops, and to fling empty bottles before the cavalry that they might stumble and fall. precise instructions were given, week after week, for the erection of barricades, the perforation of walls, and other means of attack and defence in the war against the queen.
such was the state of things in ireland when the news of the french revolution arrived and produced an electric effect throughout the country. the danger of permitting such atrocious incitements to civil war to be circulated among the people was obvious to every one, and yet lord clarendon allowed this propagandism of rebellion and revolution to go on with impunity for months.· mitchel might have been arrested and prosecuted for seditious libels any day; the newsvendors who hawked the united irishman through the streets might have been taken up by the police, but the government still remained inactive. encouraged by this impunity, the revolutionary party had established confederate clubs, by means of which they were rapidly enlisting and organising the artisans of the city, at whose meetings the most treasonable proceedings were adopted.
[565]
muster of the irish at mullinahone. (see p. 568.)
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in the meantime rumours were in circulation, said to have emanated from dublin castle, to the effect that a conspiracy existed to massacre the members of the government and the loyal citizens. however these rumours may have originated, they spread a panic through the city. people expected that when they woke some morning they would find the barricades up in the leading streets, and behold an imitation of the bloody scenes lately enacted in paris. the government seemed to share the alarm. strong bodies of soldiers were posted in different parts of the city. trinity college, the buildings of the royal dublin society, the linen hall, and the custom house were occupied as temporary barracks. the bank of ireland was put in a state of defence, and cannon were placed on the roof in such a way as to command the streets. bullet-proof shutters were furnished for the front of trinity college. the viceroy evidently apprehended some serious work, for he ordered the troops in all these extemporised fortresses to be furnished with rations for several[566] days. these preparations for a siege continued throughout the months of march and april. for more than three months the chambers of the college were turned into barracks; the troops were paraded in the quadrangles every morning. in all the fortified positions the soldiers were kept under arms at unreasonable hours. in fact the whole community was in a state of painful suspense, hourly anticipating the attacks of an imaginary enemy. during all this time there was not a single dep?t of arms seized nor a single rebellious leader arrested. the clubs, indeed, were meeting and plotting, and the government spies were amongst them, but they had made no preparations for insurrection that should have excited alarm. there was much talk of the manufacture of pikes, but the only instance made public was one in which a blacksmith had been asked to make one by a detective policeman.
during this protracted agony of suspense and alarm business was almost at a standstill. nobody seemed to think or talk of anything but the rebellion—the chances of success and the possibility of having to submit to a republic. there could not be a more striking proof of the inability of lord clarendon to cope with this emergency than his dealings with the proprietors of the world, a journal with a weekly circulation of only 500 or 600 copies, which subsisted by levying blackmail for suppressing attacks on private character. it was regarded as a common nuisance, and yet the lord-lieutenant took the editor into his confidence, held private conferences with him on the state of the country, and gave him large sums for writing articles in defence of law and order. these sums amounted to ￡1,700, and he afterwards gave him ￡2,000 to stop an action in the court of queen's bench. mr. birch, the gentleman in question, was not satisfied with this liberal remuneration for his services; the mine was too rich not to be worked out, and he afterwards brought an action against sir william somerville, then chief secretary, for some thousands more, when lord clarendon himself was produced as a witness, and admitted the foregoing facts. the decision of the court was against birch; but when, in february, 1852, the subject was brought before the house of commons by lord naas, the clarendon and birch transactions were sanctioned by a majority of 92.
while the irish government was in this state of miserable trepidation, the dublin confederates carried on their proceedings with the most perfect unconcern and consciousness of impunity. among these proceedings was the sending of a deputation to paris to seek the aid of the republican government on behalf of the "oppressed nationality of ireland." the deputation consisted of messrs. o'brien, meagher, and o'gorman. they were the bearers of three congratulatory addresses, to which lamartine gave a magniloquent reply about the great democratic principle—"this new christianity bursting forth at the opportune moment." the destinies of ireland had always deeply moved the heart of europe. "the children of that glorious isle of erin," whose natural genius and pathetic history were equally symbolic of the poetry and the heroism of the nations of the north, would always find in france under the republic a generous response to all its friendly sentiments. but as regarded intervention, the provisional government gave the same answer that they had given to germany, to belgium, and to italy. "where there is a difference of race—where nations are aliens in blood—intervention is not allowable. we belong to no party in ireland or elsewhere except to that which contends for justice, for liberty, and for the happiness of the irish people. we are at peace," continued lamartine, "and we are desirous of remaining on good terms of equality, not with this or that part of great britain, but with great britain entire. we believe this peace to be useful and honourable, not only to great britain and to the french republic, but to the human race. we will not commit an act, we will not utter a word, we will not breathe an insinuation, at variance with principles of the reciprocal inviolability of nations which we have proclaimed, and of which the continent of europe is already gathering the fruits. the fallen monarchy had treaties and diplomatists. our diplomatists are nations—our treaties are sympathies." the sympathies felt for the irish revolutionists, however, were barren. nevertheless the deputation who were complimented as "aliens in blood" shouted "vive la république," "vive lamartine," who had just declared that the french would be insane were they openly to exchange such sympathy for "unmeaning and partial alliance with even the most legitimate parties in the countries that surrounded them."
mr. smith o'brien returned to london, took his seat in the house of commons, and spoke on the crown and government securities bill, the design of which was to facilitate prosecutions for political offences. he spoke openly of the military strength of the republican party in ireland, and the probable issue of an appeal to arms. but his[567] address produced a scene of indescribable commotion and violence, and he was overwhelmed in a torrent of jeers, groans, and hisses, while sir george grey, in replying to him, was cheered with the utmost enthusiasm.
in the meantime the preparations for civil war went on steadily on both sides in dublin, neither party venturing to interfere with the other. lest the government should not be able to subdue the rebellion with 10,000 troops in the strong points of the city, and artillery commanding the great thoroughfares, with loopholes for sharpshooters in every public building, an association was formed to provide loyal citizens with arms and combine them in self-defence. the committee of this body ordered six hundred stand of arms from the manufacturer, and also some thousands of knots of blue ribbon to be worn by the loyal on the night of the barricades. it was intimated that the government would pay for those things, but as it did not, an action for the cost of the muskets was brought against a gentleman who went to inspect them. circulars were sent round to the principal inhabitants, with directions as to the best means of defending their houses when attacked by the insurgents. there were instances in which the lower parts of houses were furnished with ball-proof shutters, and a month's provisions of salted meat and biscuits actually laid in. the orange-men—regarded with so much coldness by the government in quiet times—were now courted; their leaders were confidentially consulted by the lord-lieutenant; their addresses were gratefully acknowledged; they were supplied with muskets, and the certificate of the master of an orange lodge was recognised by the police authorities as a passport for the importation of arms.
a regrettable episode in this rebellious movement occurred on the 29th of april in the city of limerick. the sarsfield club in that place invited messrs. smith o'brien, mitchell, and meagher to a public soirée. the followers of o'connell, known as the old ireland party, being very indignant at the treatment o'connell had received from the young ireland leaders, resolved to take this opportunity of punishing the men who had broken the heart of the liberator. they began by burning john mitchel in effigy, and, placing the flaming figure against the window where the soirée was held, they set fire to the building. as the company rushed out they were attacked by the mob. mr. smith o'brien, then member for the county of limerick, was roughly handled. he was struck with a stone in the face, with another in the back of the head, and was besides severely hurt by a blow on the side. had it not been for the protection of some friends who gathered round him, he would probably have been killed.
at length, after much mischievous delay, the government ventured to lay hands upon the disseminators of sedition and the organisers of rebellion. on the 13th of may john mitchel was arrested and committed to newgate. on the 15th, mr. smith o'brien, who had been previously arrested and was out on bail, was brought to trial in the queen's bench, and arraigned on ex officio information as being a wicked, seditious, and turbulent person, and having delivered a speech for the purpose of exciting hatred and contempt against the queen in ireland, and inducing the people to rise in rebellion. he was defended by mr. butt, a conservative barrister, who spoke of the ancient lineage and estimable character of the prisoner, concluding thus:—"believe me, gentlemen, all cannot be right in a country in which such a man as william smith o'brien is guilty, if guilty you pronounce him, of sedition." at the conclusion of this sentence the majority of the bar, and of the people in court, rose from their seats and loudly cheered, the ladies in the galleries waving their handkerchiefs. the jury were locked up all night without refreshments, but they could not agree. the next day meagher was tried, with a similar result, and was hailed by a cheering multitude outside, whom he addressed from a window in the nation office. mitchel, however, was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to transportation for fourteen years; he was immediately conveyed in the police prison van to a small steamer which waited in the bay, and then to a man-of-war which conveyed him to bermuda.
but it was not till the end of july that lord clarendon obtained the extraordinary powers which he demanded for putting down rebellion. these were conveyed in an act to empower the lord-lieutenant to apprehend and detain till the 1st day of march, 1849, such persons as he should "suspect" of conspiring against her majesty's person or government. on the 27th of july a despatch from dublin appeared in the late editions of some of the london morning papers, stating that the railway station at thurles had been burned; that for several miles along the lines the rails had been torn up; that dreadful fighting had been going on in clonmel; that the people were armed in masses; that the troops were over-powered; that some refused to act; that the insurrection had also broken out in kilkenny,[568] waterford, and cork, and all through the south. this was pure invention. no such events had occurred. in order to avoid arrest, the leaders fled from dublin, and the clubs were completely dispersed. mr. smith o'brien started on the 22nd by the night mail for wexford. from enniscorthy he crossed the mountains to the county carlow; at graiguemanagh he visited the parish priest, who offered him no encouragement, but gave him to understand that, in the opinion of the priests, those who attempted to raise a rebellion in the county were insane. he passed on to the towns of carlow and kilkenny, where he harangued the people and called upon them to rise. he arrived at carrick-on-suir on the 24th, and thence he went to cashel. leaders had been arrested—namely, duffy, martin, williams, o'doherty, meagher, and doheny. the act, which received the royal assent on the 29th of july, was conveyed by express to dublin, and immediately the lord-lieutenant issued a proclamation ordering the suppression of the conspiracy, which should have been done six months before. in pursuance of this proclamation, the principal cities were occupied by the military. cannon were planted at the ends of the streets, and all but those who had certificates of loyalty were deprived of their arms. the police entered the offices of the nation and felon, seized all the copies of those papers, and scattered the types. twelve counties were proclaimed, and a number of young men arrested having commissions and uniforms for the "irish army of liberation."
a privy council was held at dublin castle, at which it was determined to offer rewards for the arrest of the principal conspirators—￡500 for william smith o'brien, and ￡300 each for meagher, dillon, and o'doherty. the offence charged was, having taken up arms against her majesty. the rewards offered soon brought matters to a crisis. as soon as the proclamations were posted up, sub-inspector trant proceeded from callan, in the county kilkenny, with a body of between fifty and sixty of the constabulary, in the hope of capturing some of the proclaimed rebels. arrived on boulagh common, near ballingarry, on the borders of tipperary and kilkenny, they took possession of a slated farmhouse, belonging to a widow named cormack. this house they hastily fortified, by piling tables, beds, and other articles against the doors and windows. the insurrection actually commenced at a place called mullinahone, where, at the ringing of the chapel bell, large numbers of the peasantry assembled in arms, and hailed smith o'brien as their general. he was armed with a short pike and several pistols, which he had fastened to a belt. on the 26th of july he went to the police barrack, where there were but six men, and endeavoured to persuade them to join him, promising better pay and promotion under the republic, and telling them that they would resist at their peril. they refused. he then demanded their arms, but they answered that they would die rather than surrender them. he gave them an hour to consider, but departed without carrying his threat into execution. on the 29th mr. smith o'brien appeared on boulagh common with increased forces, who surrounded the house in which the constabulary were shut up. he went into the cabbage garden to speak to the police at an open window. he addressed one of the men, and earnestly pressed them to surrender and give up their arms. the constable said he would call mr. trant. that gentleman immediately hastened to the spot; but the rebel chief had taken his departure. apprehending an attack, mr. trant immediately ordered his men to fire, when a battle commenced, which speedily terminated in the defeat of the rebels, of whom two were killed and several wounded. two shots were aimed at smith o'brien without effect; but one of them hit a rebel who was standing by his side brandishing a pike. he was killed on the spot. another party of police under the command of mr. cox, and accompanied by mr. french, the stipendiary magistrate, came up at the instant, and fired on the rebels, after which they fled in the greatest disorder. eighteen were killed, and a large number wounded. the police suffered no loss whatever. a large detachment of the 83rd regiment and about 150 of the constabulary, with inspector blake, hastened to the defence of the besieged party; but when they arrived the danger was over, and the police returned to callan. that evening twenty signal fires blazed on the mountain of slieve-na-mon. next day, being sunday, the military did not attend public worship, and were everywhere kept on the alert. the greatest excitement appeared amongst the peasantry at the roman catholic chapels, who were in hourly expectation of being called upon to act, the most anxious solicitude being painted upon the countenances of the women. there is no doubt, from the temper of the population, that had the priests given the word, there would have been a general rising. but they almost universally condemned the conduct of the leaders as insane, and as certain to involve them and all who joined them in destruction. in the meantime, general[569] macdonald, at the head of his flying column, consisting of 1,700 men, pursued the insurgents, while troops and artillery were poured into clonmel, kilkenny, and thurles. near the latter place general macdonald encamped on the domain of turtulla, the seat of mr. maher, m.p. the butchers of thurles refused to supply the men with meat, and consequently provisions had to be brought from the commissariat stores at limerick, and large quantities of biscuits from dublin, the people having broken into the house of the baker who supplied them with bread at thurles and destroyed his furniture.
by permission, from the picture in the corporation of leicester art gallery.
an irish eviction, 1850.
from the painting by f. goodall, r.a.
[see larger version]
smith o'brien.
[see larger version]
after the flight from ballingarry, and the desertion of his followers, smith o'brien abandoned the cause in despair, and concealed himself for several days among the peasantry in a miserable state of mind. he had none of the qualities of a rebel chief, and he had not at all calculated the exigencies of the position that he had so rashly and criminally assumed, involving the necessity of wholesale plunder and sanguinary civil strife, from which his nature shrank. besides, he soon found that the people would not trust a protestant leader, and that there was, after all, no magic in the name of o'brien for a roman catholic community. but to the honour of the peasantry it should be spoken, that though many of them were then on the verge of starvation, not one of them yielded to the temptation of large rewards to betray him or his fugitive colleagues, and several of them ran the risk of transportation by giving them shelter. in these circumstances, on the 5th of august, mr. o'brien walked from his hiding-place in keeper mountain into thurles, where he arrived about eight o'clock in the evening. he[570] went immediately to the railway station to procure a ticket for limerick. on the platform there were seventeen constables in plain clothes, who did not know him; but a railway guard named hulme, an englishman, recognised him, and tapping him on the shoulder, he presented a pistol at him and said, "you are the queen's prisoner." a strong escort of police was immediately procured, and the prisoner was conveyed in a special train to dublin, where he was lodged in kilmainham gaol.
thus ended the rebellion of 1848, which had so long kept the country in a state of alarm. it is true that some of the leaders headed small bodies of insurgents in the county of waterford, and attacked several police barracks, but in none of the affrays were the insurgents successful. the police, who were not more than one to fifty of the rebels, routed them in every instance without any loss of life on their part. the constabulary were then 10,000 strong in ireland, and smith o'brien confidently counted upon their desertion to his ranks; but though the majority of the force were roman catholics, they were loyal to a man. dillon and o'gorman had escaped to france, but terence mcmanus, a fine young man, who had given up a prosperous business as a broker in liverpool, to become an officer in the "army of liberation," was arrested in an american vessel proceeding from cork to the united states. a special commission for the trial of the prisoners was opened on the 21st of september, at clonmel, high treason having been committed in the county tipperary.
the trial of the chief prisoner lasted nine days. the jury brought in a verdict of guilty, but unanimously and strongly prayed that his life might be spared. it was generally understood that this recommendation would be acted upon, especially as the insurgents had killed none of the queen's subjects, and their leader had done all in his power to dissuade them from the perpetration of crime. mcmanus and meagher were next tried, and also found guilty, with a similar recommendation to mercy. when they were asked why sentence of death should not be passed upon them, smith o'brien answered that he was perfectly satisfied with the consciousness of having performed his duty to his country, and that he had done only what, in his opinion, it was the duty of every irishman to have done. this no doubt would have been very noble language if there had been a certainty or even a likelihood that the sentence of death would be executed, but as no one expected it, there was perhaps a touch of the melodramatic in the tone of defiance adopted by the prisoners. the government acted towards them with the greatest forbearance and humanity. they brought a writ of error before the house of lords on account of objections to the jury panel; but the sentence of the court was confirmed. the sentence of death was commuted to transportation for life; but they protested against this and insisted on their legal right to be either hanged or set free, in consequence of which an act was passed quickly through parliament to remove all doubt about the right of the crown to commute the sentence. the convicts were sent to van diemen's land, where they were allowed to go about freely, on their parole. meagher and mcmanus ultimately escaped to america, and smith o'brien after some years obtained a free pardon, and was permitted to return home to his family, but without feeling the least gratitude to the government, or losing the conviction that he had only done his duty to his country. mr. (afterwards sir) gavan duffy was tried for high treason in dublin, in february, 1849, but the jury disagreed. he was again tried in april following, when the same thing occurred, and mr. duffy gave security to appear again, if required, himself in ￡1,000.
it was not to be expected that the difficulties of ireland would have passed away with the paroxysm of the crisis through which that nation had been working into a better state of existence. the social evils of that country were too deep-rooted and too extensive to be got rid of suddenly. the political disturbances above recorded, coming immediately after the famine, tended to retard the process of recovery. another failure of the potato crop caused severe distress in some parts of the country, while in the poorer districts the pressure upon the rates had a crushing effect upon the owners of land, which was, perhaps, in the majority of cases, heavily encumbered. this led to the passing of a measure for the establishment of a "rate in aid," in the session of 1849, by which the burden of supporting the poor was more equally divided, and a portion of it placed upon the shoulders most able to bear it. in anticipation of this rate the chancellor of the exchequer, sir charles wood, proposed an advance of ￡100,000 to meet the existing pressure. the proposed "rate in aid" was sixpence in the pound, to be levied in every union in ireland, towards a general fund for the relief of the poor, and this was connected with a provision that the maximum rate should not exceed five shillings in the pound in any electoral[571] division. the proposition of the government, with the exception of the maximum rate clause, was agreed to after a good deal of discussion and various amendments. in the house of lords the bill was carried with difficulty, after much discussion and the moving of various amendments.
but at length the legislature adopted a measure which attempted to go to the root of one of the greatest evils that afflicted ireland. this was a bill for facilitating the transfer of encumbered estates, which was passed into law, and is generally known as the encumbered estates act. it was introduced by the solicitor-general, sir samuel romilly, on the 26th of april. nothing could be more unsatisfactory than the state of landed property in that country. many of the estates had been in chancery for a long series of years, under the management of receivers, and periodically let at rack-rents. many others which were not in chancery were so heavily mortgaged that the owners were merely nominal. others again were so tied up by family settlements, or held by such defective titles, that they could not be transferred. consequently, a great portion of the landed property of the country was in such a condition that capital could not be invested in it, or expended on it. the course of proceeding in chancery was so slow, so expensive, so ruinous, and the court was so apparently incapable of reform, that nothing could be expected from that quarter. the government, therefore, proposed to establish a commission, invested with all the powers of that court, and capable of exercising those powers in a summary manner, without delay and without expense, so that an encumbered estate could be at once sold, either wholly or in part, and a parliamentary title given, which should be good against all the world. this important measure met with general approval in both houses. indeed it was hailed with satisfaction by all classes of the community, with the exception of a portion of the irish landed gentry. there were three commissioners appointed, lawyers of eminence and experience in connection with land. by a subsequent enactment in 1849, it was regulated as a permanent institution, under the title of the landed estates court; the three commissioners were styled judges, ranking with the judges of the law courts. the number of petitions or applications for sale made to this court from the 17th of october, 1849, to the 1st of august, 1850, was 1,085, and of this number those by owners amounted to 177—nearly one-sixth of the whole. the rental of the estates thus sought to be sold by the nominal proprietors, anxious to be relieved of their burdens, was ￡195,000 per annum, and the encumbrances affecting them amounted to no less than ￡3,260,000. the rental of the estates included in 1,085 applications, made by others not owners, amounted to ￡655,470 per annum, and the debt upon these amounted to the enormous sum of ￡12,400,348. one of the estates brought before the court had been in chancery for seventy years, the original bill having been filed by lord mansfield in 1781. the estates were broken up into parcels for the convenience of purchasers, many of whom were the occupying tenants, and the great majority were irishmen. generally the properties brought their full value, estimated by the poor-law valuation, not by the rack rents which were set down in the agents' books, but never recovered. the amount of capital that lay dormant in ireland, waiting for investment in land, may be inferred from the fact that in nine years—from 1849 to 1858—the sum of twenty-two millions sterling was paid for 2,380 estates. but in the pacification of ireland the act accomplished far less than was hoped by sir robert peel, who practically forced the measure upon the ministry. men of capital looked for a fair percentage for their investments: many of them were merchants and solicitors, without any of the attachments that subsisted between the old race of landlords and their tenants, and they naturally dealt with land as they did with other matters—in a commercial spirit—and evicted wholesale tenants who were unable to pay.
soon after the prorogation of parliament in the autumn her majesty resolved to pay her first visit to her irish subjects. at cowes a royal squadron was in readiness to convoy the victoria and albert across the channel. the queen was accompanied by prince albert, the prince of wales, prince alfred, the princess royal, and the princess alice. the royal yacht anchored alongside the ganges, her arrival off the irish coast being announced by the booming of artillery on the 2nd of august, which was the signal for the lighting of bonfires upon the hills around the picturesque town of cove. in the morning a deputation went on board, consisting of the marquis of thomond, head of the house of o'brien, the earl of bandon and several of the nobility and gentry of the county, with the mayor of cork, and mr. fagan, m.p. for that city. they were introduced to her majesty by sir george grey, the secretary of state in attendance during the visit. arrangements were then made for the landing, and about three o'clock the queen first set foot upon irish[572] ground, amidst the most enthusiastic demonstrations of loyalty from the multitudes assembled to bid their sovereign welcome, mingling their cheers with the roar of cannon, which reverberated from the hills around. a pavilion had been erected for her majesty's reception, and over it floated a banner, with the word "cove" emblazoned upon it. the queen had consented, at the request of the inhabitants, to change the name of the place and call it "queenstown," and when she left the pavilion the first flag was pulled down and another erected in its stead, with the new name. thus the old name of "cove" was extinguished by the queen's visit, just as the old name of "dunleary" had been extinguished by the visit of george iv.
the royal party then proceeded up the beautiful river lee, to the city of cork, hailed by cheering crowds at every point along the banks where a sight of the queen could be obtained. all the population of the capital of munster seemed to have turned out to do homage to their sovereign. a procession was quickly formed. the queen and the royal family occupied carriages lent for the occasion by lord bandon. the procession passed under several beautiful triumphal arches, erected at different points. the public buildings and many private houses were adorned with banners of every hue, evergreens, and all possible signs of rejoicing. the windows, balconies, and all available positions were crowded by the citizens, cheering and waving their hats and handkerchiefs. when this ceremony had been gone through, the queen returned to the victoria and albert in queenstown harbour. at night the whole of that town was brilliantly illuminated. in cork, also, the public buildings and the principal streets were lit up in honour of her majesty's visit. her majesty, before she departed, was pleased to say to sir thomas deane that "nothing could be more gratifying" than her reception.
about ten o'clock on the morning of the 4th of august the squadron weighed anchor for dublin bay. they passed that night in waterford harbour, and arrived at kingstown on the afternoon of the following day. when the queen appeared on deck there was a tremendous burst of cheering, which was renewed again and again, especially when the victoria and albert amidst salutes from yachts and steamers, swung round at anchor, head to wind. at that time it is calculated that there must have been 40,000 people present. monday, the 6th of august, was an auspicious day for the irish metropolis. it opened with a brilliant sun, and from an early hour all the population of dublin seemed astir. trains began to run to kingstown as early as half-past six, and from that hour to noon the multitudes poured in by sea and land in order to see and welcome their queen. the earl of clarendon (the lord-lieutenant), lady clarendon, prince george of cambridge, the marquis of lansdowne, sir edward blakeney, commander of the forces, the archbishop of dublin, the duke of leinster, the chief judges, and a number of peers and leading gentry, arrived early to welcome the sovereign. there was also a deputation from the county of dublin, consisting of the high sheriff, mr. ennis, lords charlemont, brabazon, howth, monck, roebuck, and others. the queen landed at ten o'clock. the excitement and tumultuous joy at that moment cannot be described. there was a special train in waiting to convey the queen to dublin, which stopped at sandymount station, where the procession was to be formed. in addition to the innumerable carriages waiting to take their places, there was a cavalcade of the gentry of the county and a countless multitude of pedestrians. the procession began to move soon after ten o'clock, passing over ball's bridge and on through baggot street. at baggot street bridge the city gate was erected. all was enthusiasm, exultation, and joy. nobody could then have imagined that only one short year before there had been in this very city bands of rebels arming themselves against the queen's authority. all traces of rebellion, disaffection, discontent and misery were forgotten in that demonstration of loyalty.
on monday night the whole city was brilliantly illuminated. the excitement of the multitude had time to cool next day, for it rained incessantly from morning till night. but the rain did not keep the queen in-doors. she was out early through the city, visiting the bank of ireland, the national model schools, the university, and the royal hospital at kilmainham. there she cheered the hearts of the brave old pensioners by saying, "i am glad indeed to see you all so comfortable." the illuminations were repeated this evening with, if possible, increased splendour, and the streets were filled with people in every direction, all behaving in the most orderly manner. her majesty held a levee in dublin castle on wednesday, which was attended by unprecedented numbers. on thursday she witnessed a grand review in the ph?nix park, and held a drawing-room in her palace in the evening. the queen left dublin on friday evening, followed to the railway station by immense multitudes, cheering and blessing as only[573] enthusiastic celts can cheer and bless. the scene at the embarkation in kingstown harbour was very touching. the whole space and the piers were crowded as when she arrived. the cheering and waving of handkerchiefs seemed to affect her majesty as the royal yacht moved slowly out towards the extremity of the pier near the lighthouse. she left the two ladies-in-waiting with whom she was conversing on deck, ran up to the paddle-box, and, taking her place beside prince albert, she gazed upon the scene before her, graciously waving her hand in response to the parting salutations of her loyal irish subjects. she appeared to give some order to the commander, the paddles immediately ceased to move, and the vessel merely floated on; the royal standard was lowered in courtesy to the cheering thousands on shore; and this stately obeisance was repeated five times. this incident produced a deep impression on the hearts of the people, and it was this picture that dwelt longest on their minds.
after a rough passage the squadron arrived, at three in the morning, in carrickfergus road, about seven miles from belfast. the water in the channel was not deep enough for the victoria and albert, and the royal party went on board the fairy tender, in which they rapidly glided up the lough, and anchored at the quay, where they landed in order to see the town. loyal mottoes told, in every form of expression, the welcome of the inhabitants of the capital of ulster. an arch of grand architectural proportions, richly decorated with floral ornaments and waving banners, spanned the high street. her majesty visited the queen's college and the linen hall. although a flourishing city, belfast had not then much to boast of architecturally, and therefore there was not much to be seen. the numerous mills about the town would remind the queen more of lancashire than of ireland, giving her assurance by that same token that ulster was the most industrious and most prosperous province of the emerald isle. if, in cork, where o'connell had been obeyed almost as sovereign of the country, the queen was hailed with such enthusiastic devotion, how intense must have been the loyal demonstrations in a town out of which the repeal chief was obliged to fly secretly, to avoid being stoned to death.
