the evening particularly, a riot is easily excited, and the Ribbonmen are equally willing to commence it with the Orangemen; then the practice has been for the Orangemen to retreat upon their arms, and take their arms and shoot away, and many lives have been lost."-H. C., 1825, p. 71.

Mr. O'Connell further adds,

"The Catholics in the north are, I believe, more organized into Ribbonmen, and the Ribbonmen do not, if I may so say, choose to fritter away their strength in those driftless acts of outrage which the peasantry in the south do. With respect to the stability of the country, if a foreign enemy were to invade it, the north is in greater danger from its Catholic population than the south; they are better organized. We have a great deal more trouble to check Ribbonism than to check Whiteboyism in the south. By we, I mean the Catholic Association, and those who have taken an active part in Catholic politics."-H. C., 1825, p. 71.

Ribbonism has doubtless much more the character of an armed and well-organized association, with religious and political objects, than the local and irregular combinations of the south and west. The Whiteboys act rather from an obscure instinct of self-defence, which prompts them to those scattered and single, but constantly recurring acts of outrage which Mr. O'Connell calls " driftless," and which are deserving of this appellation, if it is assumed that general hostility to the government is necessarily the object of all disturbers of the public peace, but which nevertheless have a very decided and well-defined object, and if that object is rightly understood, are perfectly calculated (as we shall see hereafter) to secure it.

In a more vague sense, however, Ribbonism is sometimes used to comprehend, not only the religious and political party opposed to the Orange lodges, but also

the Whiteboy associations against rent and tithes; and in this sense it is used by Mr. Blackburne, with reference to the counties of Limerick and Clare*.

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"Do not you believe that the Ribbon system is intimately connected with the whole of the insurgent system ?—As far as I am able to know what the Ribbon system is, I believe it is. To what extent do you know what the Ribbon system is?— Its existence is manifested by its acts, by the oaths of secrecy, and by the use of pass words and signs; but what the precise object of it is I cannot tell, but I believe it differs in different places; it accommodates itself to what is considered the local grievance of the county; it is, I believe, generally directed against rent and tithes.

"Are the parties of any particular persuasion?—I believe they are universally Roman Catholics.

"Must a man be a Roman Catholic to be a Ribbonman? -I believe he must.

"Do you understand that any societies, under the name of Ribbon societies, exist in that part of Ireland?—I consider the whole confederacy a Ribbon society.

"Are there any societies, called Ribbon societies, in that county?—I cannot say that there has been evidence of any particular association in any particular part, that has gone by that name but my opinion is, that the whole system is one of Ribbonism, or most intimately connected with it.

"Is not the familiar name by which they are known in the county of Clare, Ribbonmen?-Always.

"Do not you believe that the Ribbonmen prevail in various parts of the country where there have been no disturbances?— I believe they have.

"And do not you believe, that in some cases those persons are rather disappointed at the present disturbances, as interfering with their plans; that they have future plans ?—I should think that those that speculate upon remote events, are disappointed at these occasional irruptions in different parts; they

* See also above p. 74.

feel, that as they one by one present themselves to the power of the law, the whole system is materially weakened.”—H. C., 1824, p. 31.

Major Warburton, however, who, from his position, had a more precise knowledge of the distinctive names assumed by different disturbers of the peace in the west of Ireland, and the minute shades of difference between them, draws a line between the Ribbonmen and the Whiteboys.

"Do you consider that the two systems, the Ribbon system and the system of insurrection against property, were distinct systems from each other?-I think there were a great number of Captain Rocks that were not Ribbonmen at all.

"The insurgents in Galway, as well as Clare, were called Ribbonmen, were they not?—No, I do not think they were.

"Do not you recollect that, in the year 1820, the persons who made the irruption from Galway, went by the common name of Ribbonmen?—Yes; at the time alluded to, they were called Ribbonmen certainly; but when I say that, I do not think they were the Ribbonmen I have been alluding to, I did not know at the time that they were under the same obligation.

"Do you not consider them as distinct systems; the system against property, and the Ribbon system?—I believe I have already said that I thought the Ribbon system was more of a political system than the other.

"Do you consider them as distinct systems?-In so far as that, I think they are; but I think there are a great many Captain Rocks not engaged in the Ribbon system; I think that there are many local outrages that were not connected with the Ribbon system.

"Is the connexion where it takes place an accidental one, or are they one and the same system?—I will mention a circumstance that probably will give a better view of it than I could in explaining: I happen to know one instance of a person who had been ejected from a farm, he was considerably enraged at being so, and that man went to a distance of, I

think, twenty or thirty miles to be sworn, and to get the oath and the password, in order to come back and make a party in his own neighbourhood, to avenge the injury that he felt. "To be sworn as a Ribbonman?—Yes.

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Do you think that the local system arose out of the Ribbon system?—I knew of the local system of my own knowledge, previous to my knowledge of any Ribbon system existing.

"What is the opinion you have formed from your knowledge upon the subject?--I do not know how to draw the distinction. Has the one grown out of the other, or are they distinct in their origin?—I think they are distinct in their origin.

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"Do not you think they are distinct in their object; the one political, for the subversion of government and the Protestant religion, and the other for the subversion of property ?—Yes.

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Then do not you think the introduction of the oath, from the county of Clare, arises from a wish to engraft the one on the other?-Generally speaking, wherever I have found any local system of outrage take place to any extent, it always receives the tinge of a political purpose; they introduced something of that, but I do not think they did to the same extent in Clare.

"Do not you think that wherever any system (whatever its origin) is spread amongst the peasantry and the population of the country, they being almost all Roman Catholics, it must receive a religious tinge?—I think it must.

"Do they not in many instances combine the two systems? -In many.

"Have you not heard that the persons engaged in the Ribbon system have in some instances rather wished to keep back the local system, as interfering with their general plans of insurrection?--I have heard that it was agitated at some of their meetings, that the local disturbances had gone on too fast, and that it was imprudent their having done so, and embarrassed them*.-H. C., 1824, p. 137.

* As an additional proof (if any were needed) of the fundamental difference between Ribbonism and Whiteboyism, it may be mentioned that Ribbonism has continued to exist in opposition to Orangeism among the Irish settled in Glasgow and in Liverpool; whereas Whiteboy crimes are

"Do you consider the Ribbonmen and Captain Rock's men as the same body, or do they differ?—I think there are a great number of Captain Rock's men who are not Ribbonmen; but generally, when any local circumstances occur, they form a local association for some purpose; if that continues at all, they are incorporated with the Ribbon system, by those who have an interest to increase their numbers. I know an instance of one man, who, having been ejected from his farm, went about twenty miles to get the form of an oath, to form a party to avenge himself.

"You think, from being Captain Rock's men, they afterwards became Ribbonmen?-I do, in many cases."-H. L., 1824, p. 92.

The connexion between Ribbonism and Whiteboyism (wherever any subsists) arises in one of the two following ways: either agents are sent from the Ribbon societies to the counties where the Whiteboy combinations exist, in order to raise and extend their objects; or the secret oaths taken by the Ribbonmen are used by the persons who swear in the Whiteboys. An instance of this first kind of connexion (which appears to be of very rare occurrence) is mentioned by Major Warburton; it relates to a person sent from Dublin, who came in a gig from Limerick to the barony of Bunratty, county of Clare, and was therefore of a class higher than those engaged in the Whiteboy unions.

"The manner (he says) in which I obtained this information is rather curious; one of my men, an intelligent person, had been at an out-station, at a place called Six-mile-bridge, in

as utterly unknown among the Irish in Scotland and in England as they are among the Scotch and English themselves. See Report on the State of the Irish Poor in Great Britain, App., p. 105 and 121, for the statements of Bishop Scott and Mr. Whitty on this subject. A Ribbon society among the Irish of Hyde and Stayley Bridge is mentioned by the Rev. Mr. Fisher. ib. p. 83.

M