body was considered in the north of Ireland so numerous and effective, that the general commanding at the outbreak in 1798* assured the Government, that to these ardent supporters of the constitution the safety of Ulster might be confidently entrusted. At this period, several of the revolutionary leaders were subjected to state prosecutions for sedition. Hamilton Rowan was convicted, fined, imprisoned, but escaped in women's clothes from Newgate; Napper Tandy placed under bail, but fled the kingdom to avoid a trial; Doctor Drennan was tried and acquitted; Tone expatriated himself, and went with his family to America; but Jackson, an English clergyman, and an envoy from the French Government to the Irish revolutionists, was on the 23rd of April, 1795, capitally convicted of high treason. The unhappy man committed suicide, and poisoned himself in the bar, immediately after the foreman had announced him guilty. At this period the recal of Lord Westmorland, and the appointment of Lord Fitzwilliam, raised the sinking confidence of the Catholic party as much as it depressed the hopes of the Orangists. The well-known bias of the Earl's political opinions was warmly in favour of fresh and full concessions, and it was supposed that emancipation was at hand. While the Roman Catholics were buoyant with high expectation, arising from the noble lord's appointment to the Irish lieutenancy, a sudden recal crushed their hopes, and augmented their disaffection. From this period their hostility to any monarchical form of Government appears to have become inveterate-and the first test required of a United Irishman, one in which a reformed Parliament was distinctly recognized, was instantly exchanged for another purely democratical.† 1796 was not fated to enjoy more tranquillity than the stormy era that preceded it. A compulsory increase of military power, under the provisions of the Militia Bill, increased the general discontent, and the public uneasiness was not abated by a discovery that the French Government had undertaken to land an invading army to assist the Irish revolutionists, who, on their part, undertook to pay these auxiliaries, and eventually defray the whole expenses of the expedition. Additional powers were now demanded by the Irish executive, and the Insurrection Act,‡ which had passed in spring, was followed up by a suspension of habeas corpus in October. *General Knox. * †The initiatory oath taken henceforward by the United Irishmen, was thus worded:-"In the awful presence of God, I, * do voluntarily declare that I will persevere in endeavouring to form a brotherhood of affection among Irishmen of every religious persuasion, and that I will also persevere in my endeavours to obtain an equal, full, and adequate representation of all the people of Ireland. I do further declare, that neither hopes, fears, rewards, or punishments, shall ever induce me, directly or indirectly, to inform or give evidence against any member or members of this or similar societies, for any act or expression of theirs, done or made collectively or individually in or out of this society, in pursuance of the spirit of this obligation." This temporary act, which placed very arbitrary power in the hands of the executive, was levelled immediately against an irregular confederacy of men who, under the name of Defenders, infested the counties of Roscommon, Leitrim, Long There is no doubt that these stringent powers were afterwards sadly and frequently abused. Arrests on secret information-districts unnecessarily proclaimed-suspected persons sent, without the shadow of a trial, on board the fleet-military licence-arbitrary impressment of beasts of burden for baggage transport-abuse in billeting a general insolence in the soldiery-all these formed constant subject for complaint and unfortunately, it was seldom made without ample pro vocation. These severities were impolitic-they reacted against the Government-and the feelings of the lower orders became exasperated, but not subdued. The most deeply marked of innate feelings in the human breast is resistance to oppression, whether it be real or imaginary. The peasantry assembled by night to drill or deprive the loyalists of their arms, whilst, by day, they collected in enormous numbers to harvest the crops of persons imprisoned for political offences, or, under the pretext of attending a funeral or a hurling-match, they paraded, in military array, with banners and martial music. If, during their confinement, the disaffected thus evinced a warm sympathy for their imprisoned friends, by reaping their corn and securing the potato crops, they were equally assiduous in shielding them from the penal consequences of their crimes. Bribery and intimidation were the means commonly employed, and should these fail, assassination was not infrequent. This system of terror too frequently sheltered the guilty from the punishment they deserved; for, dreading ford, Meath, and Kildare, despoiling in the night the peaceable inhabitants of their arms, and latterly also of their money and valuable effects. By this act the Lord Lieutenant in council was authorized to proclaim, on the requisition of seven of its magistrates assembled at a sessions of the peace, any county or district thereof, as in a state of disturbance, and thereby to invest the magistrates with an extraordinary power of seizing, imprisoning, and sending aboard his Majesty's fleet, such persons as should be found at unlawful assemblies, or otherwise acting so as to threaten the public tranquillity. *We have hitherto abstained from mentioning the curious circumstance that has repeatedly happened of late, of multitudes of people assembling to cut down the harvest of different persons. As faithful historians of public proceedings, we give the following general view of these matters as far as we have received information of them : "Eldred Pottinger, Esq., of Mount Pottinger, had twelve acres of oats cut down in thirteen minutes and a half. A poor man in the same neighbourhood had two acres cut by the same reapers, during the time he was lighting his pipe. Mr. William Orr, near Antrim, at present in Carrickfergus gaol, had his entire harvest cut down by near six hundred of his neighbours in a few hours. Mr. Rowley Osborne of this town, now in Newgate, had forty ricks of hay stacked in a short time by an immense number of his neighbours, without the formality of a horse or car. Mr. William Weir, of Dunmurry, now in prison, had 2,360 stooks of grain and thirty-eight ricks of hay carried in and completely stacked and thatched in three hours. Mr. Fitzgerald, of Sandy-bay, at present in Carrickfergus gaol, had his crop cut down in a similar manner. Mrs. Clark, of Swatragh, whose son is in prison, had her harvest cut down in two hours: in the evening of the same day they returned and carried all the hay in the meadow to the stack-yard and stacked it.”Belfast News Letter. "About 1,500 people assembled, and in seven minutes dug a field of potatoes belonging to Mr. Samuel Neilson of this town, now in Kilmainham gaol,”—North, ern Star the consequences of conviction, witnesses prevaricated, jurors were afraid to do their duty, and the crimiual escaped. In the spring of 1797, General Lake issued a proclamation, directing that all persons unauthorized to keep arms should surrender them forthwith to the proper authorities. It was declared that secret information where weapons were concealed should be liberally rewarded, and the full value of such arms as might be thus recovered should be given to the informant. That the quantity hidden throughout the kingdom was immense, may be conceived from the fact, that within the year, and in two provinces alone, Ulster and Leinster, 129,583 weapons of various descriptions were seized or surrendered. In this number there were 48,000 firelocks, 70,000 pikes, and 22 pieces of cannon. At this period, it is probable that the United Irishmen, in point of numbers and organization, were almost as formidable as at the moment of the insurrection. In the northern provincial meetings, particular inquiries were made of the delegates assembled, "whether they considered themselves as being sufficiently strong to disarm the military quartered in their respective districts," and with a few exceptions, the question received an affirmative reply. Although too successful in corrupting the soldiers, they appear to have made very erroneous calculations as to the number whose allegiance had been shaken. Many, both of the line and the militia, became pretended converts to republicanism, merely to obtain the money and entertainment offered liberally by the disaffected. Some regiments, however, became seriously tainted with disloyalty; but generally, the active measures to counteract seduction adopted by the commanding officers, defeated the attempt.* While, with the confidence which strength and union give to those who meditate a revolutionary essay, the leaders of the disaffected waited with impatience the assistance promised them through their agents by the French Directory, we will rapidly examine the civil and military organization of that formidable confederacy, whose origin and progress we have summarily described. "The association consisted of a multitude of societies, linked closely together, and ascending in gradation, like the component parts of a pyramid or cone, to a common apex or point of union."+ At its first formation, the inferior societies extended to thirty-six members, but subsequently they were limited to twelve; when any candidates above the latter number presented themselves, after initiation, they were directed to form a fresh society for themselves-an artful and effective means of adding to the strength of the order by persuading men to become revolutionary proselytes, who might otherwise, from political The practice became so common, so general, and so fatal to the military, that the following, among other regiments, offered rewards for discovering and prosecuting any persons concerned in it:-The 9th dragoons, the 1st fencible cavalry, the Angus-shire fencibles, the Kilkenny, Antrim, Longford, Tyrone, Wexford, and Waterford militias."—Musgrave's Memoirs. † Gordon's History. indifference, have held back from joining the society. To each of these small lodges a secretary and treasurer were attached, and the five secretaries of five inferior lodges constituted what was termed a lower baronial committee. These lower baronial committees sent a member to a superior body called the upper. There were again, in counties and great towns, superior committees, composed of delegates from the upper baronial. These were termed district or county committees. From these latter, a few members were selected to form the provincial directory, to whose superintendence the societies of every gradation were confided. By these provincial committees, the grand executive directory was chosen. The members of this controlling body being limited to five, and the election secret and by ballot, the name of the person on whom the appointment fell was concealed, even from those who had elected him, and the provincial secretaries alone possessed a knowledge of the chosen few who exercised an arbitrary and uncontrolled authority over the whole body of the union.* The military organizationt was engrafted on the civil, and was constituted in the following manner:-"The secretary of each subordinate society, composed of twelve, was appointed their petty or non-commissioned officer. The delegate of five societies to a lower baronial committee was commonly appointed captain of a company, consisting of the five societies who had delegated him, and who made the number of sixty privates; and then the delegate of ten lower baronials to the upper or district committee was commonly appointed colonel of a battalion, which was thus composed of six hundred. The colonels of battalions in each county sent in the names of three persons to the executive directory of the union, one of whom was appointed by them adjutant-general of the county, whose duty it was to receive and communicate military orders from the executive to the colonels of battalions, "The adoption of military organization produced such an increase of robbery and assassination in the northern counties, as to induce a necessity of enforcing the insurrection law in them; and accordingly Down and Armagh were proclaimed in November, 1796, Derry and Donegal in February, 1797. "Regular returns were made by the baronial to the county, and by the county to the provincial committee, and by them to the executive, of the quantity of arms and ammunition in their possession; and of the sums of money in their treasurers' hands. "For this, and the manner of making the returns, the reader is referred to the Report of the Secret Committee, Appendix, II. 21. 66 They had a regular chain or gradation of officers, from a general down to a sergeant; and about the latter end of the year 1797, or beginning of 1798, they instituted the office of adjutant-general.-Vide Report of the Secret Committee, Appendix, XVII. 142. "They used unremitted endeavours, and spared no expense in defending the conspirators who were to be tried; for which purpose, a sub-committee attended regularly at every assizes to superintend the appropriation of the money collected for that purpose."-Musgrave's Memoirs. †The organization of the Union was intended to be a complete representative system. It underwent two important changes. In 1794 the Society having been forcibly dissolved, became a secret one the beginning of 1795. Its objects extended beyond reform and emancipation; and members, on admission, were required to take an oath, and in general to act as officer of the revolutionary staff. They were required to inform themselves of, and report the state of the rebel regiments within their respective districts, of the number of mills, the roads, rivers, bridges, and fords, the military positions, the capacity of the towns and villages to receive troops, to communicate to the executive every movement of the enemy (meaning the King's troops), to announce the first appearance of their allies (meaning the French), and immediately to collect their forces."* Besides these, a military committee was specially appointed. Its labours were two-fold; one was to prepare a plan for a general insurrection unsupported by foreign aid; the other, to devise the best means of co-operation with a French army, in the event of the promised descent being effected on the coast of Ireland. On this event the Directory calculated with such certainty in 1797, that a general order "to be ready" was issued through the provincial committees. Those who had the means to obtain them, were exhorted to procure firearms and ammunition-pikes were to be provided by the lower orders— and throughout three provinces the order was promptly obeyed. The organization of Connaught was fortunately still imperfect, and at the outbreak of the insurrection, the western counties were, happily for themselves, quite unprepared for action. Having described the systems, military and political, the next preparatory notice should be directed to the persons who planned and matured a confederacy, which, for the extent to which it reached and the danger it occasioned, stands in British history without a parallel. * Musgrave's Memoirs. Report of the Secret Committee. |