precise idea of the ordinary state of a disturbed country, without any very atrocious crimes :

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Garrycastle District, Lieutenant William Henderson, Chief Constable.

"Extracts from Chief Constable's Report.

"1 March. An armed party entered the house of John Low, of Macken, within two miles of the post-town of Ferbane, swore him if he had fire-arms in the house, and searched it, but got none; on their departure they fired a shot.

"A party of six armed men entered the house of James Connor, within one mile and a half of Cloghan town, and ordered him to give up the arms he had in his possession; they searched the house, but got none.

"The same party went to the house of Matthew Killan, of same place, and ordered him to give up land in his possession. " 7 March. The house of P. Donahoe, of Baleitha, within one mile of Banagher, was attacked by a party of men, who beat him, and stabbed his wife with a bayonet, broke all his delf, and swore him to give up his land. Perpetrators unknown.

"Same night the house of Thomas Donahoe, of Clairmount, was attacked by a party of men, who stabbed Donahoe with a bayonet, beat his wife, broke all his windows and delf, and swore him to give up his land.

"9 March.-An armed party went to the house of Mr. Baker, of Bellmount, about one o'clock, while the family were at Divine service; they knocked at the hall-door, and being refused admittance, and resisted by the steward, who fired on them, they fired through one of the windows, broke seven or eight panes of glass, and lodged several slugs in the ceiling of the room. Perpetrators unknown.

"An armed party went to the house of Michael Merrigan, near Shannon-bridge, put him on his knees, and swore him to leave his house in seven days.

"10 March. On this night an armed party went through

the neighbourhood of Bellmount, firing several shots. They went to Mr. Baker's gate-house, and inquired for the steward, apparently for the purpose of shooting him, but they did not find him. This steward defended Mr. Baker's house on the 9th, when it was attacked.

"12 March. The houses of Thomas and Hugh Donelan, of Park, near Banagher, were attacked by a party of men, who swore them to give up that land, and robbed Hugh of 71. in cash.

"Three men, armed with pistols, went to the house of Matthew Hunt, of Cloney, near Banagher. They swore him to give up his land in a week's time, and to give up his house to a man named Galvin.

"17 March. The house of William Doyly, of Toudmore, within two miles of Banagher, was entered by a large party, for the purpose of beating Doyly. Four men are apprehended, who have entered bail to stand their trial at the next quarter-sessions of Birr.

"The house of S. Toaker, of Gurtagown, was maliciously set on fire. Perpetrators unknown.

"20 March. An armed party of six men came to the house of Michael Butler, of Cloononey, within one mile and a half of Cloghan, and swore him to give up his house and land.

"A threatening notice was posted outside the town of Cloghan, warning the labourers not to work for any person for less than 1s. a day.

"23 March.-A house, the property of John Carnevan, of Gloster, near Banagher, was maliciously set on fire.

"25 March.-One man broke into the house of John Rourke, of Cloughail, and warned him not to sow any more for J. Devery.

"The same night a party of men went to the house of John Kilcoe, same place, and warned him to the like effect.

"30 March. At six o'clock this morning the house of John Hinchy, who resides at Newtown, about three miles from Banagher, was entered by two armed men, who desired him to go to the priest, and settle about land he (Hinchy) had in dis

pute with his brother. Two more remained at his door as a watch."-Papers relating to the State of Ireland, 1834, pp. 28, 29.

With reference to the facility of committing the Whiteboy crimes, Mr. Blacker says

"The most usual crimes are burning houses, houghing cattle, and sending threatening notices. Now the misfortune is, that all those crimes are easily committed without detection; the party runs out at night with a coal in a kettle; it is not visible; he puts it into the thatch, and runs away again; so in like manner with houghing cattle and with threatening notices. If there was every disposition on the part of the people, it would be very difficult to prevent those crimes; it would be impossible almost to prevent them; and there are other descriptions of crimes which are capable of detection at the time, such as murder and robbery, and carrying off a distress, flogging and punishing people who are obnoxious to them all these are offences which are not in their nature secret; but unfortunately, from the state of the country, fear prevents the possibility of that detection; persons are afraid to give information when they do see persons engaged in any of those last-mentioned acts of violence."-H. C., 1824, p. 80.

When a country is in the state just described, terror reigns everywhere: the upper classes fortify their houses, and rarely go abroad except with arms; the farmers, and a large part of the poorer classes, unable to protect themselves, except by submission, live in a state of continual apprehension. The following statements will serve to give some idea of this miserable state of insecurity.

Mr. Blacker.

"Have not the gentry of the country suffered much in consequence, by being obliged to remain in-doors after dark ?Certainly; some gentlemen's houses are dark all day almost;

all the houses were barricadoed in some part of the house; the barricadoes being necessarily of a heavy description, it is inconvenient to move them; in some houses, they had but one sitting-room in the house where the light was admissible at all in the day-time, and not all the windows even of that room; the barricadoes, which were bullet-proof, were of course of a considerable thickness.

"Have you known any instances, in the county of Cork, of gentlemen having their houses so barricadoed, and also feeling it necessary to have sentries upon their premises in the daytime?—Yes."-H. C., 1824, p. 75.

Mr. Griffith:-

"Will you describe the general state of the habitations of the middle gentry of that district, with respect to precaution?— The whole of the lower windows of the houses were nearly with stone and lime mortar.

built up

"How were the doors secured ?-Bolted with very large wooden bolts.

"The Catholic, as well as Protestant ?-Just the same.

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Throughout that district?—Yes; particularly that part of the country situated between Mallow and Limerick."-H. C., 1824, p. 232.

Mr. Blacker, in reference to the county of Tipperary in 1822

"Was there at that time, amongst the higher and middling classes, a general apprehension of danger?-Very great, particularly in the parts bordering on the county of Limerick.

"Did this apprehension appear to you to be well founded? -Certainly; I found some of the gentlemen's houses barricadoed, and guards about them during the night, and the greater part of the day; fire-arms in the bed room of every person, and even upon the side-table at breakfast and dinnertime."-H. L., 1824, p. 14.

After what has been said, it is only necessary to state simply, that these crimes are all committed solely

for the purpose of giving pain; that they are meant to be the sanction of a code of unwritten law set by the class of cottiers and agricultural labourers. The following statements of Mr. Justin M'Carty, of the county of Cork, explain this in a few words.

"Were the houses or haggards of many persons of that description attacked during the disturbances?-There were a great many in different parts of the country, and several in that district to which I immediately belong.

"What was the alleged cause of attack in those cases?Their not complying with the orders of the disturbers of the country.

"Of what nature were those orders?-They were of different descriptions ordering them not to take ground, or to give up ground they possessed; ordering them not to turn out labourers, according as it suited, in fact, the individual fancy or the peculiar feeling of the individual."-H. L., 1824, p. 207.

In this respect the Whiteboy outrages differ essentially from ordinary crimes. The object of a common thief is to abstract property, not only without giving pain, but even without attracting notice. He wishes to profit without running the risk of detection; and if the party plundered, not only does not feel, but is not even conscious of his loss, so much the better is it for the thief. The Whiteboy, on the other hand, in most cases reaps no individual gain; and his direct and only purpose (except when he takes arms) is to inflict pain on the party attacked, either in his person or through his property.

Another characteristic of Whiteboy offences is, that they are specially directed against the individual who is the subject of them; an ordinary theft is directed against a man's property, not against himself; whereas a Whiteboy destroys property solely in order to injure