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inquiry into the subject, and was of opi nion that his motion could not be considered in the light of an attack on the king's prerogative. It had been felt very much indeed, that the recent interposition of royal mercy, in the case to which he wished to direct the attention of their lordships, was not so fairly made as it ought to be.

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MENT RELEASE OF MR. ENEAS MACDONNELL.] The Earl of Clancarty rose to make his promised motion, for the production of documents connected with the Release of Mr. Eneas Macdonnell. The noble lord said, he did not intend to trouble their lordships with more than a few words on the subject which he wished to bring under the consideration of the House. No man felt less disposed than No man could rejoice more than he did himself to say or to do any thing calculated at the exercise of the royal clemency, and to interfere with the exercise of the he did not wish to fetter it: still, he thought royal prerogative of mercy. However, he the principle should be resorted to with thought the exercise of that prerogative discretion, and proper caution. The case should always be pure and unimpeachable. to which he alluded related to the mode He had heard it said, that any attempt in which Mr. Eneas Macdonnell-a gen to inquire into the exercise of the king's tleman employed as an agent by the Ro prerogative of mercy was a direct attack man Catholic Association bad been upon that prerogative. Now, what he had released from a punishment to which he to offer upon this occasion for the con- was sentenced. The facts of the case sideration of their lordships, so far from were as follow: In the year 1826, in being meant as an attack upon his ma- the month of October, Mr. Macdonnell jesty's prerogative, was intended to support attended at a great reunion held in a town and astablish it more firmly by affording (Ballinasloe) in the west of Ireland, for an opportunity of shewing the public that the purpose of promoting the cause of it had been properly and fairly exercised. religious knowledge in that county. ProHe denied that an inquiry relative to the bably, Mr. Macdonnell considered that he grounds on which the Royal mercy had might raise himself much in the estima been extended in a particular instance, tion of his employers if, at the time, a disinvolved any attack upon the prerogative turbance could be created, which might of the Crown, inasmuch as the direct ten- obstruct the objects of the meeting, and dency of such an investigation would no interfere with the quiet of the town. doubt be to prove, that it had been purely Accordingly, he went down there, and exercised. Besides, no man in their lord- forced himself into the meeting of a society ships' House would pretend to hold, that of which he was not a member. A riot his majesty's ministers were not responsible ensued; the riot act was read; the police for the exercise of this prerogative of were obliged to be called in; and, through. mercy, as well as for the exercise of their interference the affair fortunately every other prerogative of the Crown. terminated without further mischief. If This responsibility was particularly neces- Mr. Macdonnell's exertions had terminated sary in cases like the present; for per- there, it might have been all well, but haps there could not be any prerogative they did not: within a few days, in the of the Crown which, if completely un-midst of a large congregation assembled shackled, might, in the hands of corrupt in the Roman Catholic chapel of the town, ministers, be more misapplied than the one now in question. Of course he did not intend any allusion to the government of the noble duke near him, to apply these observations to him. If, then, any responsibility existed, it rested upon some individual minister; and, in order to render the responsibility real and complete, it was clear that an examination of the mode in which the prerogative was exercised was absolutely necessary. Parliament must have the means of inquiry into its exercise, otherwise all responsibility was imaginary. On these grounds he thought himself justified in instituting an

this gentleman proceeded, in a violent and intemperate speech, to attack the two excellent magistrates who were engaged in putting down the previous riot: he vilified their characters and attacked their private lives in the grossest way. If matters had stopped there, violent and unprovoked as was the outrage offered to these two respectable gentlemen, still the affair might have been suffered to drop, and their lordships, perhaps, would not now have heard of the subject. But vanity, or a desire to raise himself in the estimation of his employers, induced Mr. Macdonnell to publish the speech which

tificates in releasing Mr. Macdonnell, for his act, and it was desirable to know how far he was justified in adopting the course he did; but this could only be known by an examination of the certificates referred to.

he had so pronounced in the "Dublin | fore the House. The lord lieutenant was Morning Register," the official Roman responsible, who had acted on these cerCatholic journal. A prosecution having been threatened against the proprietors of that paper for the libellous matter contained in the speech, the name of the person who communicated it was given up, and it proving to be that of Mr. Macdonnell himself, a prosecution was instituted against him by the parties libelled. Various expedients were resorted to, to protract the proceedings, and the trial did not take place till January, 1828. The prosecutors, who were the parties libelled, had only their private resources to support them in the suit, while Mr. Macdonnell was defended and sustained by the revenues of that mighty imperium in imperio-the Roman Catholic Association. No evidence was offered on the subject of the truth of the libels, which were directed against the private lives and characters of the complainants. The defendant was found guilty, and sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment, for the libel against archdeacon Trench, and six months' imprisonment for that against Mr. M'Donough, the other magistrate who had interfered to quell the riot excited by Mr. Macdonnell. These prosecutions were carried on at the private expense of the parties injured. The cost of them amounted to a very large sum; which was considerably increased by the legal subterfuges and devises resorted to by the defendant's counsel. However, Mr. Macdonnell, a verdict having been pronounced against him, was brought up for judgment, and sentenced to the punishment of imprisonment for the period before stated. Soon after this, a desire was manifested to procure the prisoner's liberation, and a representation was made with that view. The answer to it was, that the sentence against Mr. Macdonnell was a mitigated sentence; for, in the course of the proceedings, such affidavits were put in as aggravated the offence. Mr. Macdonnell was then voted a martyr. Other matters of greater moment now came on; namely, the Clare election, and applications were renewed for Macdonnell's liberation. These applications, as the world understood, were made on the grounds of the opinion of different medical gentlemen, as to the probable consequences of continued confinement upon the prisoner's health. One of the objects of the present motion was, to procure these opinions to be laid be

He wished to call their lordships' attention to the mode in which the present subject had been brought before the House. The noble marquis (Anglesey) had said, that he had been charged with having encouraged the Catholic Association during the period of his government in Ireland, and that he denied the accusation, and pleaded "not guilty" to the charge. As nothing was more unfair to any man than to bring general charges against him, which, not being of a tangible or specific nature, were difficult to be repelled, he had taken the liberty, in the course of the discussions on the Catholic Relief bill, to put a few questions to the noble marquis, as to matters of a particu lar nature. Upon that occasion the noble marquis, with a promptness and candour which did him the utmost credit, immediately expressed his readiness to meet any charge which might be brought against him, or to answer any questions put to him with respect to any part of his administration in Ireland. At the same time he declared, that he would not enter into the subject at that moment, when a great public measure was before the House; but repeated his willingness, at any time after that question should have been disposed of, to vindicate himself against any charge that might be brought forward. Not so the noble duke at the head of his majesty's government: he adopted a different course. The noble duke immediately set up a supposed case, quoted it as an authority, and reasoned and argued upon it. The noble duke said," the fact was, Mr. Macdonnell had been convicted of a libel and imprisoned, and his liberation before the expiration of his sentence was founded upon a report made to government as to the state of that individual's health. From that report it appeared, that his life must be sacrificed!! if he suffered continued confinement. Thếc noble lord at the head of the governmentTM of Ireland had, he said, stated the cir cumstance, and his majesty's servants would not have done their duty, if they had not advised the course which was

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adopted the release of the prisoner. The matter had no reference whatever to politics, and the thing would have been done, had the state of things in Ireland been twenty times worse than it was at the time. This was the statement of the noble duke, who insinuated that he (the earl of Clancarty) was personally interested in the circumstance referred to. This he denied. It was true he was nearly connected with one of the excellent magistrates so foully libelled, but he had no interest directly personal in the transaction; and as to any public interest, he thought he was not half so much concerned in that way as the noble duke himself. He felt no public interest in the circumstance, except inasmuch as it went to affect the peace and tranquillity of the country. He admitted that there were references to medical men as to the health of Mr. Macdonnell; but it was universally believed, that the utmost the medical men would certify was, that Mr. Macdonnell's health might suffer from further confinement. Why, so might their lordships' health suffer from sitting in that House; there was nothing from which health might not suffer. If such were the nature of the opinions of the medical men-and they had been so represented-he maintained, that they did not contain very good grounds for an abridgment of the term of punishment in this particular case. It would at once go to overturn the main part of the charge, if the opinions of the medical men were of a more decided character, and declared the prisoner's inability to sustain the punishment awarded to him; and not only would this be the effect of such opinions (if produced), but they would at once pass into the shade of disbelief many other charges which had been recently adduced. He thought the opinions of the medical men would be attended with great weight; and, on that ground, he wished for their production. Let their lordships recollect, that prosecutions, conducted as these have been, for libel, partook of a double nature and character. They were intended as indemnities to the parties injured; they went also to affect the public peace, which was endangered by such proceedings; and the public, as well as the individual sufferers, had a right to be vindicated. When an exercise of the high prerogative of mercy was had recourse to on account of ill health, or on any other grounds, be they what they

might, some expiation, some satisfaction, some excuse, was to be expected from the offender towards the injured party. Security also was usually exacted, and the prisoner was obliged to be bound on his own recognizances, and to procure persons to be bound in theirs, for his future good behaviour. That was his notion of what usually attended such a transaction. He might be mistaken, but such was the course that, in his opinion, ought to be taken,-such the feeling that should always operate.

He again contended, that his application could not be considered as an attack on the king's prerogative. He thought he had some right to complain of the case opened by the noble duke at the head of the government, and reasoned on by him, in a manner to excite the compassion of their lordships. At the same time, how ever, the noble duke refused to lay before the House any documents substantiating his statements. God forbid that he should wish to convert a sentence of imprisonment into death! Nothing could be farther from his intentions; but he submitted, that it was not sufficient to make a statement without producing documents in support of it. His experience, in their lordships' House, and in the other House of parliament, confirmed him in this conclusion. The noble earl proceeded to say, in reference to the removal of Roman Catholic disabilities, that it was the interest of every Irishman, now that this matter was concluded, and the bill passed, to make the best of it,-to join hand in hand to promote a state of tranquillity and peace, and if possible to bring things to that state which the noble duke wished to effect by means of the measure just passed into a law. The noble lord, after again pressing for the production of the documents which he required, alluded to the diversion which might be effected in the public mind in Ireland, and conse quently the assistance that might be afforded to the establishment of peace and prosperity in that country, by undertaking such great works, as might bring the national energies into play and afford employment to the public. While upon. this subject, he alluded to the construction of a canal, which some thought a good and others considered a bad measure; but, in as far as it would afford employ ment to the population, and perhaps upon other grounds, it was desirable. Having

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ity in Ireland. At the same time, as far as regarded this particular case (and without reference to the principle he had laid down), he himself had not the smallest objection to the institution of the strictest inquiry: for never was there a case in which more pains were taken, not only by the noble marquis at the head of the government of Ireland, but by the government in this country, to ascertain precisely the state of Mr. Macdonnell's health, and the probable injury he might sustain by continued confinement. He had before him no less than two reports, made in consequence of as many inquiries instituted, within the distance of ten days of each other, to ascertain the exact facts of the case. Before the noble earl proceeded to inquire into the subject, he ought to have shown something more than the fact of his (the duke of Wellington's) mentioning the circumstances of the case in a former debate. The noble earl stated, that the country required, in the exercise of this authority, that the objects of the libel should be satisfied. This gentleman came before the government of Ireland in the state of a person, who absolutely required pardon, and did not ask a remission of his punishment as a favour. If he did ask an abridgment of the term of his imprisonment as a favour, and if the government were disposed to negociate with him upon the granting of that favour, then they might have imposed conditions upon him. But he claimed the pardon as a

observed that we should not allow the education of the Irish people to get too much into the hands of the priest, the noble earl concluded by saying, that he would not trouble their lordships any further, and should only move for copies of the references to surgeons, or other medical men, respecting the health of Mr. Eneas Macdonnell, by order of the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and the reports made by those persons upon that subject. The Duke of Wellington said, it was not necessary to follow his noble friend through the latter part of his address to their lordships. He would confine himself entirely to his noble friend's motion, which was for the production of certain papers connected with the pardon extended by his majesty to a Mr. Eneas Macdonnell, whereby that individual was released from a part of the punishment to which he had been sentenced, under a conviction for libel. He quite concurred in the position laid down by his noble friend, that these cases of the exercise of the king's prerogative of mercy, although not entirely exempt from the inquisition and investigation of parliament, were yet possibly of that description, that of all the prerogatives of his majesty, they ought to be least liable to inquiry. There were cases in which his majesty was frequently called upon to exercise his own judgment: the prerogative was frequently carried into execution under these circumstances; and it would therefore be apparent, that if any investigation at all were to be in-matter of necessity. Government were stituted, the House must be most cautious in the inquiry. In the present case, there was only one ground on which his noble friend could call for the production of the documents required; and that ground consisted in the somewhat irregular statement which he (the duke of Wellington) had made in reference to the subject. This, in fact, was the only ground of any weight which his noble friend had mentioned for the production of these papers. He might have been incautious in what he had said, not being very much accustomed to address their lordships;-he might have been guilty of a breach of order or an infringement on the established practice of debate; but he considered that to constitute no ground whatever for departing from the wholesome practice of not inquiring into the exercise of the prerogative of mercy by his majesty, or by the individual appointed to represent his author

told in terms, "if you do not release this gentleman, he will suffer more than the law imposed on him." With what face, then, with what show of propriety,could government, under these circumstances, require Mr. Macdonnell to ask pardon of his prosecutors, or enter into recognizances by himself or others, that he would not be guilty of a like offence in future? It was the duty of government to grant the mitigation required. He was astonished that his noble friend, considering his legal education and the acute character of his mind, should have expected that the government would have exposed themselves and their whole authority to derision, by adopting such a course as making this application. Let their lordships suppose this gentleman to be at the point of death, and that he declared he would not apologize to his prosecutors, or enter into any recognizance as to his future

conduct. Was he therefore to die in prison? It was impossible to admit of such a thing. The proposition to Mr. Macdonnell to enter into recognizances to be of good behaviour would be as gross as to require him to apologize to the individuals libelled, it would be a further degradation of the government. On these grounds, he thought it the duty of government to stand upon the usual practice in these cases, and not to grant a matter of right and necessity as if it were a favour. He also considered himself justified in opposing the production of the documents required by his noble friend.

The Marquis of Anglesey said, that what had fallen from the noble duke at the head of his majesty's government had so completely anticipated what he meant to address to their lordships on this subject that he had now but little to say with regard to it. He could see perfectly the propriety of his majesty's government refusing to give the papers required, or to institute an inquiry, upon the grounds put forward by the noble earl. He had acted while he was in the government of Ireland, entirely upon that principle. But the same reasons did now exist to render silence on his part necessary. An application was made to him through the noble lord, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, by the noble earl, for the documents which were now asked for. The papers were refused. He would read the noble earl's letter to the Chief Secretary, and the answer which he caused the noble lord (F. L. Gower) to write. These documents would explain the grounds of the noble lord's application, and of the refusal which he considered it his duty to give to that application. With the noble earl's permission, he would read the letter addressed to him by the Irish Secretary. The communication was dated Garbally, 24th Sept., 1828, and was in substance as follows +

sure of the Irish government, and in which my family were necessarily so much in terested, as the (apparently full, free, and unqualified) extension of his majesty's prerogative of mercy to Mr. Æneas Macdon nell, justly and most leniently sentenced for two very atrocious, malicious, and sub sequently aggravated libels, the one upon my brother, the archdeacon of Armagh, the other upon an active and worthy magistrate in this neighbourhood; both of whom are endeavouring in conjunction with myself and others, to preserve this part of the country at least in due allegiance to his majesty's government;

and permit me to observe, in some in stances, as on the present occasion, even (as it should seem) under the heavy opposition of his majesty's servants in Ireland ;-it did, I say, appear to me extraordinary, that without the urbanity of any notification whatever, much less without any previous communication of intention or consultation with us, or any of us,-without any known exaction of apology to the parties aggrieved, or any known demand of security for future good conduct

this person should have been freely set at large, to the unalloyed triumph of the disaffected; and that so soon afterwards I should have been the person selected to execute forms (I will admit) but such as have hitherto been usually perfected by those more in the habits of communication with government. I can well assure your lordship, that the factions and rebellions in this neighbourhood (for where are there not such in Ireland at this time?) in the plenitude of their rejoicing upon this free act of grace accorded to Mr. Macdonnell, in his majesty's name, and on which some damage was riotously and violently done to the Houses in my neighbouring town, blood would likewise have been spilt had it not been for the promptitude and alacrity with which Mr. M'Donogh (one of the gentlemen libelled) called out the military in support of the civil power."

"I had, this morning, the honour of receiving your lordship's letter of yester- He had been anxious to read this letter, day's date. It certainly did appear to me because it showed the feeling by which the somewhat extraordinary, as well for the noble earl was actuated. That he had reason you mention, of a near connexion given undue encouragement to the Roman of my own being a candidate for the vacant Catholics, as the noble earl appeared to representation in the Irish peerage, as for imagine, and particularly to the Catholic other causes, that any application should Association, he utterlydenied. To that charge have been made to me by your lordship, of he had given a distinct denial on a former however formal a nature, upon the occa-occasion-as the noble earl correctly stated sion in question. It did appear to me, he had pleaded "not guilty" and he now that so recently after rather a strong mea- repeated the plea. He felt exceedingly

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