himself very unpopular. Many gentlemen, whom I know to be men of honour, have often lamented to me the awkwardness of their situation in respect to political relations; being frequently solicited to support jobs, which, if they refused, exposed them to the danger of desertion by those in whom they confided for sup port. They added, that as parliamentary duty is as much as one man can properly discharge, it would be better to confine themselves to their senatorial engagements.

poorer

But a very strong impression rests upon my mind, that the conduct, even of grand juries, is not always immaculate; if so, it is the more to be regretted, as they are the aristocracy of the country, and I much fear that the feeling of honour which governs their conduct to each other, is sometimes relaxed towards the classes of society. Dr. Crump, who wrote his Essay in 1793, since which period, there has been time for amendment, brings a strong accusation against them;* and although I know of no county where there are not just and most respectable men called upon the grand jury, yet it is the general, rather than the individual character to which our attention ought to be directed. Mr. Dutton, a late writer, has also published a fact which deserves to be recorded. "It will scarcely be credited,' says he, but it is not the less true, that a grand juror asked, and was actually paid £30. for using his influence in procuring a presentment. A friend of mine was present, when a poor tenant offered a very high rent for a small farm, "because he knew his honour would get him a bit of a presentment every year ;" and his honour promised to do so.+"

POLICE.

When president Du Harlay inducted M. d'Argenson into the office of lieutenantgeneral of the police of Paris, he addressed him in the following laconic speech; "The king, Sir, requires from you safety, cleanliness, and cheap provisions." These three articles, according to writers on Political Economy, comprehend the whole duty of what is called the police. They are all, indeed, worthy of notice, but the first appears to me to be the most important; and I am sorry to say, it is shamefully neglected in Ireland; although, unhappily, such is the state of the country, that the protection of its peaceful inhabitants ought to be the first care of its government. Wherever the streets of great cities, or the highways in a country, are infested by banditti, it is a sign either that the government is negligent, or that the

"When an unfortunate individual, treated in the harshest manner, finds any justice hardy enough to receive his information, and attempts to punish his oppressor at the General Assizes, I merely ask one sim ple question-Is it not ten to one that the grand jury will throw out the bills of indictment ?"

+ Survey of Clare, p. 208.

Bielfield Instit. Politiques, t. i. p. 168,

people have become too licentious and too daring in villainy, to be checked in their career of pillage and murder by ordinary restraints.

In the year 1811, the Cork mail was stopped in the county of Tipperary, and robbed of arms, and the Derry mail has been lately stopped near Collon. From Judge Day's charge to the grand jury of the county of Kerry, there is reason to believe, that in the northern part of that county, the people are in a state of open resistance to the laws. I am informed, that in the county of Limerick, robberies are still frequently committed by bands of armed men; and I hear, from good authority, that illicit stills are openly working in defiance of all the pains and penalties threatened by the law, in various parts of the north. Can any thing exhibit in a more striking point of view, the want of a well-established system of police.

In 1808, Lord Wellington, then Sir Arthur Wellesley, secretary for Ireland, brought a bill into parliament to establish a police for the city of Dublin. It was opposed by the commonalty of the corporation; for, like all improvements which the ignorant consider as dangerous innovations, it was censured and abused, although approved and warmly supported by the aldermen of the city. These magistrates are in number twenty-three persons, of whom, Mr. John Claudius Beresford is one, but he was no candidate for the office of a police magistrate. I heard him, however, state to the House of Commons, that of the remaining twenty-two, eighteen were candidates for that situation. A police has been established, but it is merely a local one, extending only to the city and its environs. What Ireland requires, and must have, as experience will soon shew, is an enlarged and energetic system of police, extending to the whole kingdom. A system, the leading features of which shall be vigilance and activity to lessen the opportunities of perpetrating crimes, and zeal and exertion to detect them when committed. In a word, a plan which will respect the liberty of the subject, as well as attend to his safety; and which, at the same time, that it protects his life and his property, shall make as little encroachment as possible on any of his natural rights, either religious or civil. Such a system might be conducted without either spies or informers, and I have no doubt, would meet with support from every sensible and well-disposed person in the country. I will even venture to assert, that the tranquillity of Ireland will not be secure until something of this kind be established. If the people must be subject to coercion, it is better to delegate power to men who may be called to account for its abuse, than suffer it to be usurped by an armed banditti, whom the law sometimes cannot reach. And even when overtaken, the punishment of a few desperadoes is but a poor recompense for the loss of parents or other relatives, cut off by the hands of assassins. It is a salutary maxim that it is better to prevent crimes, than to punish

them.

An effective police must have an efficient head. It ought to commence from a common centre, and branch out like the radii of a circle, extending through the the whole country, while a close communication is preserved between all its parts. The first establishment of such an institution might be attended with difficulty as well as inconvenience; but, where life and property are at stake, we ought to submit to temporary privations. Liberty is a valuable possession, but it is sometimes prudent to resign voluntarily a portion of this blessing, to secure the rest. A pow-, erful police, in the hands of gentlemen of approved character and knowledge, could not fail to be a public benefit. Mr. Townsend considers it as an improvement in the police in Ireland, "that it is now possible to convey a prisoner to gaol without a strong military escort."* Can this be a test of local security? The Irish Insurrection bill, that seven years' legacy to their country of the Irish parliament, the Irish Arms' bill-bills which suspended the constitution, and withheld its benefits from the country, were passed from the want of a due system of police.

The following circumstance which occurred towards the end of the year 1811, is a striking proof that a police, even although not established on the best principles, may be the means of saving the property, and the lives of individuals, by discovering and defeating the latent designs of banditti. Mr. Graham, of Ballycooge, agent to Lord Meath, having gone to Dublin, was informed by a friend on his arrival, that Magrath, the police-officer, was desirous of having an interview with him. Mr. Graham immediately went to his house; and on being introduced, Magrath said, that although personally unknown to him, he had written a few days before to acquaint him, that six desperate villains purposed, in the course of that week, to proceed to the county of Wicklow, with an intention of robbing his house. The officer described their appearance, and Mr. Graham remembered to have met on the road, the preceding day, a party exactly answering the description. Magrath then mentioned the number of silver cups and spoons, the quantity of table linen, and every other article which he had in his possession. He stated likewise, that he had a grey mare which grazed in a field on the right side of the avenue leading to his house, and that the robbers meant to employ this mare to carry off the booty.

Mr. Graham being obliged by important business to remain in Dublin, immediately dispatched a messenger with a letter to his sister, who resided with him, to apprize her of the danger; but, unfortunately, she was so terrified, that she sent off immediately to Arklow, for all the assistance she could procure; and by these means spread so much alarm throughout the neighbourhood, that the villains were deterred from attacking the house. No attempt, therefore, was made; and the in

formation of the police-officer, although it saved Mr. Graham's property, terrified Miss Graham to such a degree, that she left the country, the second day after the removal of her valuables to Arklow.

PRISONS.

When I reflect upon the exertions of the philanthropic Howard, who visited the greater part of Europe, for the express purpose of examining the state of the jails, and the manner in which the prisoners were treated, exposing himself to dangers of various kinds, I feel shame and regret not to have paid this subject the attention which it deserved. The truth is, that almost as soon as I landed in Ireland, a gentleman, for whom I have a very sincere respect, and who holds one of the highest judicial situations there, advised me, as His Majesty's judges were at that time commissioned to inquire into the state of the prisons, to leave the subject untouched, and to wait the result of their labours. I gave way to the suggestion without being convinced, and neglected an object of the utmost importance, rendered still more interesting by the state of the country, and the character of those inferior members of the government who are intrusted with the dispensation of the law. In the course of my tour, instances of numerous and flagrant abuses in this department were communicated to me; but I was always assured, that the commission then sitting would listen to every complaint, redress all grievances, and, where necessary, introduce a thorough reform.

On my return to England, I saw the report of a former commission, ordered to be printed by the house of commons.

This document details such a history of vice, negligence, and oppression, as I will not venture to characterize; as no language that I could use would be sufficient to convey an idea of the delinquency it discloses. I shall, therefore, refer the reader to the report itself.

On the 10th of May, 1810, the Right Hon. W. Wellesley Pole stated, in the house of commons, that, " for want of transports, the convicts were frequently kept in prison for five or six years." It has been declared by the judges, that these years formed no part of the time of their exile.* Is not this an evil, disgraceful to the 'country, and to which a remedy should be instantly applied? It is, however, satisfactory to know, that the minister, Mr. Pole, is not only acquainted with this abuse, but that his speech on the subject breathes so much benevolence, and displays so strong a desire to attend to the calls of humanity and justice, as to give every hope

* Cobbett's Parliamentary Debates, vol. xvi. p. 949.

that he will take measures to remove the present cause of complaint, and to prevent the recurrence of a similar circumstance in future.

Having neglected to examine the jails in Ireland, I, perhaps, have little right to make any remarks on the subject. I cannot, however, refrain from adverting to the state of one, the county jail of Kerry; which, according to the description of it by Judge Day, in his charge to the grand jury at the spring assizes, 1811, must be one of the most wretched and obnoxious places to which the children of wretchedness or vice were ever consigned. Humanity dictates that places of confinement should be commodious, dry, and well-aired; it is not necessary that criminals should be lodged in palaces; but, justice requires that the punishment inflicted by the law should not be aggravated by the miseries attendant on cold, damp, noisome cells, or by useless severity; and while this subject presents itself to my observation, I shall call the public attention to the plan proposed to parliament by Jerem. Bentham, Esq., for erecting a penitentiary-house, and to which this benevolent philosopher petitioned to be appointed the jailer. His scheme is detailed by Mr. Colquhoun, in his Treatise on the Police of the Metropolis, and deserves the serious consideration of every friend to justice and virtue. To me it appears so fraught with wisdom, and so well calculated partly to remedy the evils which have hitherto existed in our penal establishments, that I beg to recommend Mr. Bentham's work to the immediate attention of every reader. It is equally honourable to his head as to his heart, and is sufficient to entitle him to the veneration and esteem of every one who regards the welfare of society.

OATHS.

Gondebald, king of Burgundy, authorized in his states the practice of single combat; stating, as an excuse, that it was to prevent his subjects from taking oaths respecting obscure facts, and perjuring themselves respecting facts that were certain.* However we may deprecate the revival of this barbarous custom, it is to be regretted that oaths should be so often administered upon frivolous occasions, and that they are not administered with more solemnity, even in our courts of justice. This sacred call, by which the Almighty is invoked to witness the truth of an assertion, is of too serious a nature and of too great importance to the welfare of society, to be treated with so much inconsiderateness, as, I am afraid, is at present the case. One of the political evils in Ireland, is the unlawful administration of oaths. They are administered by all persons without distinction; by tax-gatherers,

* Montesquieu Esprit des Loix, 1. xxviii. ch. 17, Œuvres, t. iii. p. 275.

+ Pour ce qui est du serment en particulier, son usage lègitime ne s'etend pas à toutes sortes d'affaires et de sujets.