he intimates that he never was guilty of crueity, and that he is a ran of a very sensitive and tender heart. Mr. M'Donnell states that he was informed by the sub-sheriff of the county of Galway, that in the absence of the common executioner, when the sentence of whipping was to be executed in the town of Loughrea upon two culprits, the archdeacon proposed that he should take the lash into his own hands, and whip the malefactors through the principal streets in the town. It may, perhaps, be said that the thing is incredible-that it is impossiblc that any minister of religion should gratuitously offer to perform such an office. Perhaps will be said that I have no right to state any thing upon the mere hear-ay of Mr. M'Donnell. Well, be it so; but Mr. M'Nevin has made an affidavit. I repest it--the sub-sheriff of the county of Galway has sworn an affidavit in the following words :-

"Daniel M.Nevin, of Middle Gardiner-street, in the county of Dublin, Esquire, maketh oath, and saith, that in the year one thousand eight hundred and ten, deponent was acting sub-sheriff to Peter Blake vi Corbally Castle, in the county of Galway, Esquire, who was high cheriti of said county, for said year; saith, that at the quarter sessions of Loughrea, in the summer of said year, as deponeat best recollects, two tenants of the late Lord Clonbrock's were convicted of stealing a small quantity of wool, and sentenced to be whipped, on a market-day, in the town of Ballinasloe, from one extremity of said town to the other; saith, on the day previous to the one appointed for putting the said sentence into execution, deponent sent a man, accompanied by a railitary party, for the purpose of executing said sentence to Ballinazioe aforesaid, from Loughrea, in said county, where deponent then resided, but said mar absconded in the course of the night out of the guard-house, where he was with the prisoners, and when depenent arrived at Ballinasloe, o:: the morning of the day on which the sentence was to be carried into execution as aforesaid, deponent was much alarmed at finding that he had not any person to perform the duty; deponent saith, he thereupon informed the prosecutor in the cause, of the man's having so absconded, inasmuch as deponent saith the said prosecutor had presided with the barrister on the bench, at the sessions at which the man had been so convicted and sentenced; deponent saith, the said prosecutor was very much displeased at deponent having informed him that deponent ha not then any person to flog the said prisoners, and said prosecutor threatened this deponent with the consequences, alleging, that the said prosecutor would bring deponent's conduct in that instance before the Court of King's Bench, and have deponent fined five hundred pounds; deponent saith, that thereupon deponent informed said prosecutor he was ready and willing to pay any sum that could in reason be demanded by any person for performing such duty, provided he, said prosecutor, who had influence in the town of Ballinasloe, could procure a person to do it, on which the said prosecutor proposed to deponent to accompany him to the colonel of a regiment of cavalry, then quartered at Ballinasloe, who, prosecutor said, he had no doubt would give a man for the purpose; deponent saith, that accordingly deponent did accompany the said prosecutor, to the colonel, when the prosecutor made the applica

6

tion, which said colonel indignantly refused to comply with; deponent saith, that thereupon the said prosecutor was more provoked than before, and he again threatened deponent with the court of King's Bench, and the utmost rigour of the law, and deponent being really afraid that said prosecutor would carry his threats into execution, asked him what he could do to extricate himself from the difficult situation in which deponent was then placed, and that deponent was willing to de any thing that could in reason be expected from him, to which deponent positively saith, the said prosecutor distinctly replied to deponent in the words, we will do the duty between us; I will flog them from Cuff's down to Custom-house-gap, if you will flog them from that to Dr. Kelly's house;' deponent saith, deponent indignantly rejected the proposal so made to him; deponent, with the assistance of a friend, afterwards fortunately procured a person to execute said sentence; saith, the prosecutor accompanied this depouent, and walked after the car to which the criminals were tied, between two files of soldiers, and deponent and said prosecutor had proceeded a very few yards, when prosecutor found fault with the man, for not inflicting the punishment with sufficient severity; and at length said prosecutor became so abusive to deponent on the same account, that deponent was obliged to call in the officer commanding the military attending on said occasion, to put said prosecutor out of the ranks; deponent further saith, that deponent having been at the Earl of Ciantarty's some time previous to the day on which the aforesaid sentence was to be put into execution, that deponent was invited by him, the said earl, to dine at Garbally on said day, but deponent, in consequence of the conduct of the prosecutor, declined going to Garbally on that day, as deponent could not think of dining in company with a man who could treat him as the prosecutor had done." Such is the affidavit of Mr. M'Nevin, and such is the Hon and Rev. Charles Le Poer Trench, Archdeacon of Ardagh, who solicits a special favour at your hands, and complains that the defendant upon whom he caused an outrage to be perpetrated, has represented him as a ruthless man, whose character and whose conduct stand in frightful contrast with the precepts of that gospel, of which he violates the first ordinances, while he preaches its propagation. He was either serious in the proposition made by him to Mr. M'Nevin or he was not. If he intended to perform the part of a public executioner-if it was, indeed, his purpose to take the cat-o'-nine-tails into that hand with which he distributes the sacramental bread, and circulates the consecrated chalice, and to go through the process of bloody laceration, what sort of heart must he carry in his bosom? And if he spoke in jest, what a subject for merri.. ment in a minister of Christ! Two wretched men were to be flogged— they were to undergo a frightful punishment, and upon their anticipated tortures, this teacher of the gospel indulges in the spirit of truculent hilarity and of sanguinary jest. But why should it be imagined that he was not serious in the proposition, made to the sub-sheriff of Galway, who swears to the fact? He gave proof of his sincerity in this tender of his services for the accommodation of the sheriff, for he followed the cart, walked in the procession of agony, gazed on the convulsions of the

writhing culprits, gloated on their tortures, and refreshed himself with their groans. Nor should we marvel at the part which was enacted by him he was the relapsed adjutant-covered with the surplice, while his mind was in regimentals; there was, after all, in this transaction little more than "a revival" of the emotions with which he had presided over the tortures of a woman-had ordered her to be brought forth, guarded by a file of soldiers, and in the presence of the whole regiment, caused her raiment to be torn from her back, and woman as she was ordered her shift to be dragged off, until she stood naked to the waist; saw her bound to the triangle-the scourge laid upon her quivering Besh-beheld her writhing and convulsive motions-heard her shrieks, and did not cry out "hold, hold!" and now, with his hands yet stained with the indelible and " damned spot" which the blood spattered by the Scourge has left upon them, he comes into this court and asks for a criminal information.

My lords, you may condemn the defendant, for having, under the influence of the resentful feelings, produced by the monstrous outrage which was offered to him by the prosecutor, reverted to these incidents in the life of Archdeacon Trench, but you are not to determine merely whether the defendant is to be blamed, but whether the prosecutor has purged himself of the offences imputed to him. I submit to you that in the entire of the transactions out of which this prosecution has arisen, Archdeacon Trench has acted in such a way, that to the special interference of the King's Bench he is without a claim. There is another consideration which I venture to present to you. As it is entirely matter of discretion with your lordships to grant or to withhold the remedy for which the prosecutor has applied: the public interests are not to be excluded from your regard. Is it judicious of your lordships to interfere in the contest which is now waging, not only between these parties, but between two great religious factions in this country You do no wrong to the prosecutor by refusing him relief in a specifie form. He has still a remedy by indictment or by action. On grounds of public policy, it is unwise that you should intermingle in this angry contention, especially where the interposition of your lordships, instead of allaying the popular passions, is calculated to excite them. Let it not be said (as it will be said if you grant the information) that the Court of King's Bench deliberately approved of the dispersion of an assembly convened for the purposes of religion, by a military force--that your lordships unnecessarily interfered in the fierce controversy which is carried on with all the proverbial rancour of theological detestation, and that justice left her lofty seat to rush into the midst of a polemical affray, not in order to separate the disputants, but to renovate the combat.

[The Court made the conditional rule absolute, and afterwards sentenced Mr. M'Donnell to twelve months' imprisonment. He was, however, discharged from prison by order of government sorte MORILE before the expiration of the term of his sentence.

CLARE ELECTION

SPEECH MADE AT THE CLARE ELECTION-PRECEDED BY AN ACCOUNT ON THAT EVENT, WRITTEN BY MR. SHEIL IN SEPTEMBER, 1828.

THE Catholics had passed a resolution to oppose the election of every candidate who should not pledge himself against the Duke of Wellington's administration. This measure lay for some time a dead letter in the registry of the Association, and was gradually passing into oblivion, when an incident occurred which gave it an importance far greater han had originally belonged to it. Lord John Russell, flushed with the victory which had been achieved in the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts, and grateful to the Duke of Wellington for the part which he had taken, wrote a letter to Mr. O'Connell, in which he suggested that the conduct of his Grace had been so fair and manly towards the Dissenters, as to entitle him to their gratitude; and that they would consider the reversal of the resolution which had been passed against his government, as evidence of the interest which was felt in Ireland, not only in the great question peculiarly applicable to that country, but in the assertion of religious freedom through the empire. The authority of Lord John Russell is considerable, and Mr. O'Connell, under the influence of his advice, proposed that the anti-Wellington resolution should be withdrawn. This motion was violently opposed, and Mr. O'Connell perceived that the antipathy to the Great Captain was more deeply rooted than he had originally imagined. After a long and tempestuous debate, he suggested an amendment, in which the principle of his original motion was given up, and the Catholics remained pledged to their hostility to the Duke of Wellington's administration. Mr. O'Connell has reason to rejoice at his failure in carrying this proposition; for if he had succeeded, no ground for opposing the return of Mr. Vesey Fitzgerald would have existed.

The promotion of that gentleman to a seat in the cabinet created a vacancy in the representation of the county of Clare; and an opportunity was afforded to the Roman Catholic body of proving, that the resolution which had been passed against the Duke of Wellington's government was not an idle vaunt, but that it could be carried in a striking instance into effect. It was determined that all the power of the people should be put forth. The Association looked round for a candidate, and without having previously consulted him, selected Major M'Namara. He is a Protestant in religion, a Catholic in politics, and a Milesian in descent. He was called upon to stand. Some days clapsed and no answer was returned by him. The public mind was thrown into suspense, and various conjectures went abroad as to the cause of this singular omission. Some alleged that he was gone to an island off the coast of Clare, where the proceedings of the Association had not reached him; while others suggested that he was only waiting until the clergy of the county should declare themselves more unequi vocally favourable to him. The latter, it was said, had evinced muci

apathy, and it was rumoured that Dean O'Shaughnessy, who is a distant relative of Mr. Fitzgerald, had intimated a determination not to support any anti-ministerial candidate. The major's silence, and the doubts which were entertained with regard to the allegiance of the priests, created a sort of panic at the Association. A meeting was called, and various opinions were delivered as to the propriety of engaging in a contest, the issue of which was considered exceedingly doubtful, and in which, failure would be attended with such disastrous consequences. Mr. O'Connell himself did not appear exceedingly sanguine; and Mr. Purcell O'Gorman, a native of Clare, and who had a minute knowledge of the feelings of the people, expressed apprehensions. There were, however, two gentlemen, (O'Gorman Mahon and Mr. Steele,) who strongly insisted that the people might be roused, and that the priests were not as lukewarm as was imagined. Upon the zeal of Deal O'Shaughnessy, however, a good deal of question was thrown. By a singular coincidence, just as his name was uttered, a gentleman entered, who, but for the peculiar locality, might have been readily mistaken for a clergyman of the Established Church. Between the priesthood of the two religions there are, in aspect and demeanour, as well as in creed and discipline, several points of affinity, and the abstract sacerdotal character is readily perceptible in both. The parson, however, in his attitude and attire, presents the evidences of superiority, and carries the mannerism of ascendancy upon him. A broad-brimmed hat, composed of the smoothest and blackest material, and drawn by two silken threads into a fire-shovel configuration, a felicitous adaptation of his jerkin to the symmetries of his chest and shoulder, stockings of glossy silk, which displayed the happy proportions of a swelling leg, a ruddy cheek, and a bright authoritative eye, suggested, at first view, that the gentleman who had entered the room while the merits of Dean O'Shaughnessy were under discussion, must be a minister of the prosperous Christianity of the Established Church. It was, however, no other than Dean O'Shaughnessy himself. He was received with a burst of applause, which indicated that, whatever surmises with respect to his fidelity had previously gone out, his appearance before that tribunal was considered by the assembly as a proof of his devotion to the public interest. The dean, however, made a very scholastic sort of oration, the gist of which it was by no means easy to arrive at. He denied that he had enlisted himself under Mr. Fitzgerald's banners, but at the same time studiously avoided giving any sort of pledge. He did not state distinctly what his opinion was with respect to the co-operation of the priests with the Association; and when he was pressed, begged to be allowed to withhold his sentiments on the subject. The Association were not, however, dismayed; and it having been conjectured that the chief reason for Major M'Namara having omitted to return an answer was connected with pecuniary considerations, it was decided that so large a sum as five thousand pounds of the Catholic rent should be allocated to the expenses of his election. O'Gorman Mahon and Mr. Steele were directed to proceed at once to Clare, in order that they might have a personal interview with him and they immediately set off.

After au