feet? Yes, indiscriminately; more Roman Catholics have suffered than Protestants.

"In proportion to the number, is that your opinion ?—I cannot answer that, unless I can recollect their proportionate numbers; but there appears to me to be no distinction made between them."-H. C., 1832, Nos. 2365-6.

Mr. John Cahill.

"Have you found these attacks have been made indiscriminately on the Catholics as well as the Protestants?—They have much the same, I think, in my neighbourhood.

"The Whitefeet do not appear, then, to have any predilection or hostility more to one religion than the other?-I should think not indeed; I found by experience, that, in fact, the Protestants were more spared than the Catholics; a good deal more.

66

How do you account for that?—I cannot say; I found it so in my neighbourhood; I found that not one of them was abused; it was not the same with the Catholics; they were seriously abused.

"Do you, then, consider that this disturbance or insurrection had anything whatever of a religious character about it? I do not consider that it had the slightest."-H. C., 1832, Nos. 7441-4.

It might be conjectured, that the difference here stated arises from the feeling that there ought to be good brotherhood among Catholics, and therefore, if a Catholic transgresses, he ought to be more closely watched, and more severely punished: the more probable reason, however, is, that most of the small tenants who are concerned in dealings with land are Catholics, and therefore that they fall under the Whiteboy ban; in other words, that takers of land are threatened, not because they are Catholics, but Catholics are threatened because they are takers of land.

Major Warburton.

"Were the outrages that were committed equally levelled against Catholics and Protestants?—Equally, I think.

"Were they levelled chiefly against landlords, or against persons who came to occupy tenements from which the previous tenants had been expelled?—I think they were levelled against both; that they were levelled against the parties acting under the arrangement with the landlord, and against the landlord for making the arrangements, in many cases that occurred.

"Were many of the outrages directed against the clergy, or against the collectors of tithes ?-Many of them against tithe proctors; there were not many of them against the clergy, I think."-H. L., 1824, p. 78.

Mr. Serjeant Lloyd.

"Were the outrages levelled equally against Catholics and Protestants?-I heard of no distinction; I think where a Catholic endeavoured to redress himself by those means, by distraining or ejecting a tenant, he was just as much the object of their anger.

“Where a Catholic tenant had taken a tenement from which another Catholic tenant had been ejected, was he equally the subject of attack?—I think he was."-H. L., 1824, p. 112. Major Willcocks.

"Should not you think that, naturally, the Catholic proprietor would have an influence over his Catholic tenantry?— I think he would have an influence, if he chose to exercise it, to get them to do wrong; but I do not think he would have much influence over them, to get them to do right.

"Then you think that the Catholic laity are at this moment without that natural influence over the Catholic tenantry which in a sound state of society they would have?—I am of that opinion.

"And in order to maintain any influence over their tenantry, they are obliged to use the intervention of the priest?-I think that if they wanted to have an influence over them, the priest

would be the means; and I do not think that for some purposes even the influence of the priest would have any effect; but if they were organized for any purpose that met the wishes of the peasantry, I think they might have an influence themselves; but certainly they would have a much greater influence through the clergy; I have known many Catholic gentlemen endeavour to assist me in getting information, but I believe they were very little attended to, less probably that even I was myself, so that I never found much good result from the influence of the laity over the Catholic peasantry.

"Have you not found that the attacks of the insurgents have been equally directed against the respectable part of the Catholic gentry as against the Protestants?-Certainly."H. C., 1824, p. 117.

Daniel O'Connell, Esq.

"In the late disturbances in the counties of Cork and Limerick, and in parts of Tipperary, were not the attacks as generally directed against Roman Catholic gentlemen as against Protestants?-Certainly they were; and in many instances, the people that were murdered were Catholics; in most of the instances.

"Do you think that any more apprehension prevails in the minds of those Protestants than in the minds of the respectable part of the Catholics, as to any consequences that may arise from disturbances in the country ?-Certainly not; the Catholics of property have been equally anxious to put down those disturbances, and, where I have known of it, to say the least, equally efficient."-H. C., 1825, p. 128.

Colonel John S. Rochfort.

"Were there any distinctions made as to the religion of the farmers attacked ?-No, I do not think there was.

"And the Catholics were attacked as well as the Protestants? Yes.

"The greater part of the farmers are Catholies?—Yes, except the larger farmers.

"There was a person of the name of Dunn attacked ?— Yes.

"What was the case there?—He was not at home; his wife was, and she was ordered to give a better treatment to the labourers; that meant, better diet and higher wages." 1832, Nos. 1075-9.

C.

Rev. James Delaney, speaking of the Whitefeet in the parish of Ballynakill, Queen's County.

"Did they make any distinction in the religion of the persons attacked?—No; in my parish the population is almost entirely Catholic.

"The farmers as well as the lower orders?—Yes, they attacked any man suspected of having arms: they visited them indiscriminately, whether Protestant or Catholic."H. C., 1832, Nos. 4354, 5.

W. W. Despard, Esq.

"Do you believe there is a rage among the Whitefeet to murder Protestants?-I think there is a strong feeling against Protestants.

"Have the attacks of the Whitefeet been directed against the houses of the Protestants and Catholics?-There have been many houses attacked belonging to Catholics; there were several attacks for arms.

"The Protestants are much less numerous than the Catholics? Yes, most certainly.

"Is the land principally occupied by Catholics or Protestants? There are very large Protestant landowners, but the general population are Catholic.

"You say that the Catholic farmers have been robbed and ill treated equally with the Protestants?—Yes; and I know they are much frightened now; and I also know that they have submitted in every respect to the system of intimidation going on, and if they had not done so, our county would have been much more quiet than it is. I have a letter in my pocket written by a man, a very large landowner; he mentions the attacks in his neighbourhood, and upon himself, and he says,

I have just ploughed up seven acres of good land, which I have given to the boys, (the Whitefeet,) and I am on the best terms with these new legislators.'

"Then the attacks are made indiscriminately?—Yes.

"Have the Catholic farmers universally submitted to the orders that they have received?—Yes, I think they all have; they have been very cowardly; I must say that class of society have submitted to them and given out their arms.

"Have you any reason to believe there are Protestants in this conspiracy?-Certainly not.

"Are you satisfied it is not general among all Roman Catholics? It is general among the lower orders.

"But not among the farmers ?-No."-H. C., 1832, Nos. 562-571.

Matthew Singleton, Esq.

"In the county of Galway the majority of the attacks must have been made on Roman Catholics by the Terry Alts?— Yes, inasmuch as the majority of the people are Roman Catholics; with respect to any discrimination between persons attacked for land, there is none shown.

"There is no difference of religion?—No.”—H. C., Nos. 4118, 19.

1832,

As the Catholics are the chief takers of small holdings, so the Protestants are the chief possessors of arms for this latter reason their houses are often visited by the Whiteboys; whence it sometimes appears as if the proceeding had a religious complexion : whereas it is not the creed of the Protestants but their guns and pistols which are the real objects of attack. This is explained in the following evidence of Mr. H. Smyth, a resident magistrate of the Queen's County.

"Are you able to say whether or not, in the common opinion and feeling of the country, that the crimes to be tried at that special commission had any reference to religion or religious party feeling?-The fact is, that in my neighbourhood the Rockite outrages that had been committed had