POSTSCRIPT.
SATURDAY NIGHT.
In the House of Commons last night, the adjourned debate on the Irish Arms Bill, though again adjourned, and though no practical result was attained of any kind, derived interest from more than usual plain-speaking on the state of Ireland and the policy to be pursued. For some time, however, the discussion proceeded with only the en- forcement of views already advanced ; the bill being opposed by Mr. SHARMAN CRAWFORD, who urged his well-known opinions on the law of landlord and tenant ; by Mr. BARING WALL, Mr. PHILIP HOWARD, Mr. REDINGTON, Sergeant MURPHY, and Mr. TUITE; advocated by Mr. LEFROY, Mr. VILLIERS STUART, Mr. BICKHAM ESCOTT, and CO- lonel CONOLLY.
Mr. Murphy had alluded to a case, which Sir ROBERT PEEL used as an effective illustration of the necessity for an Arms Bill— A woman in whose house, during her husband's absence, a pistol had been found in a pail of milk, Lad been transported for its concealment: her hus- band, in revenge,murdered the Magistrate by whom her conviction was caused, and was hanged for that murder. -This event had occurred when he himself was Chief Secretary for Ireland. The murder of the Magistrate, Mr. Baker, was committed by five persons, who shot him on his way home from the Ses- sions. A large reward was offered, and it was claimed and received by the very man who had organized the murder, but who had not himself fired the shot. It was in evidence that there were three different roads by which the Magis- trate might have returned, and on each of those roads were stationed five men, all provided with fire-arms, none of whom had any personal ill-will to him. Surely it was not unfit to take precautions against such deeds as this. The recent case of Mr. Scully was nearly as bad ; but he was now proposing to legislate, not on one or two, nor on ten cases, but on a general habit and ten- dency, which it behoved the British Parliament to repress.
To that closing argument Mr. ROEBUCK replied, on broad grounds— He imputed to the present Ministers no intention of doing any thing dero- gatory to Ireland : be believed them governed by the former habits of the people, and by the practice of successive Administrations, for fifty years. He admitted that the case related by Sir Robert Peel showed a state of society very different from that in England: but, as there was an Arms Bill when that case oc- curred, it was not to be inferred that an Arms Bill was security against such cases : it might as reasonably be supposed, cum hoc prepter hoe, that the bill was the cause of the offences. When a law was temporary, the reason for it ought to be as clearly shown on each occasion of its renewal as on its first enactment. Every man's house ought to be free from intrusion except on the plainest necessity, and each man ought to have the power of possessing arms for his own defence : those were the broad principles; and now what ground was laid for deviating from them ? It was said that the discussion which had been raised upon Irish grievances was irrelevant. Not so ; for the defence of the bill was put upon the state of society ; and the state of society was refer- able to those grievances. He bad no hesitation in saying, that the Church of Ireland was the cancerous sore from which sprung the disease which went through all the veins of the Government, and carried its foulness through all its horrid and putrescent carcass. (Cheers, and cries of "Oh, oh ! ") The conduct of the landlords and the dependence of the people on land for :,-..i'esist- ence, were the other main cause of disturbance, chiefly agrr.z,an. But would the brand upon arms put a stop to that ? If a Matt wanted to commit a mur- der, he would never use a gun with his own brand upon it; and to place the high powers of the law in the bands of a common constable, was to destroy its efficacy. The Repeal agitators promise power to the priests, and land to the people : he could not see his way to quiet the latter demand ; but detach the priesthood from the agitation, and it would not be kept up by the people alone. Pay the priesthood fairly, and in a few years Ireland would cease to be what she is now.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM followed— Passing over the amendment as futile in its purpose, he addressed himself to the higher grounds taken by Mr. 3irried and Mr. Roebuck ; demanding that the exciting and important topics which theyraised should not be discussed in- cidentally on an Arms Bill, but be as speedily as possible and specifically, sub- mitted to the House, in order to a distinct judgment. He had been a friend to Catholic Emancipation : he had believed the declarations, the anticipations, and the oaths of the noblemen, gentlemen, and clergy of the Roman Catholic 'faith; Oho, however, now appeared to have greatly deceived themselves in their recorded Statement, that if equality as citizens were given to them, they would rest satisfied with the terms of the Union, and that the Protestant Church in that country should be safe from attack." Catholic Emancipation hadbeen carried ; conciliation had been carried out in Ireland to the extreme extent (" No, no ! ") No! then there he joined issue ; and let those who thought so bring forward further conciliatory measures. Unless the fatal day had come, however, when such dangerous concessions were to be made, he must think•the withdrawal of legal precautions against the use of Ere-arms madness. Lord Joint RUSSELL partially responded to that challenge— He began by stating, however, that he should not withhold his vote from the bill. Sir James Graham accused the Catholics of not being grateful, and of encroaching in their demand for further concessions; a course which forced Lord John into a discussion of the state of Ireland, and that which it was most important for a Minister to consider. When the Government of 1806 con- tinued the Arms Bill, they were contemplating measures of a conciliatory cha- racter to accompany it, one respecting tithes, and one respecting education ; but not so the present Ministry. Lord Melbourne's Government had endea- voured to give an unrestricted municipal franchise—but the Tories effected a restriction. An extension of the Parliamentary franchise had been proposed— the Tories bad successfully resisted it ; but since their accession to office they had improved on the doctrines which they had held on that subject when they were in Opposition. They bad, however, postponed their Poor-law bill, to make way for an Arms Bill—such their regard for the welfare of Irelandi For the " wild justice " and indiscriminate "midnight legislation," which confounds the innocent with the faulty in retaliating for the system of ejectments with Mr. Roebuck, he did not see the immediate remedy. As to the Church, he would not destroy the Establishment, as that would endanger all the Establish- ments of the Three Kingdoms : but had the course recommended in 1834 been pursued, and the revenues of the Church been partly used to educate the com- munity, it might have made peace. He believed that the Roman Catholic clergy would not now accept a state endowment ; but their condition might be elevated, and every thing might be done in respect to the foundations of their colleges, the dignity of their high church offices, and the comfort of the parish- priests. Ireland had been unsettled since the fiction of the law had been esta- blished which recognized only Protestants and affected not to know the ex- istence of Roman Catholics in Ireland ; but the present state of the clergy cannot continue. These were the considerations for Ministers : but they wanted cordiality in concession and firmness in resistance.
Lord STANLEY indignantly replied to Lord John Russell's " invec- tives, not arguments"— He accused him of dealing in topics of excitement, and dilating on dif- ficulties, without suggesting remedies ; contrasting his conduct with the bolder avowals of Mr. Ward and Mr. Roebuck. He retorted that Lord John Russell was a party to the contemned Irish Reform Bill : but at the same time con- tended that the English Reform Bill itself, if applied in Ireland as it is is England, would not give a more extensive constituency. Let gentlemen speak plainly, and avow that the only things to conciliate the Irish are the confiscation of the land and the destruction of the Church. It might be true that the present GovernMent did not possess the confidence of the numerical majority in Ireland ; but it did possess the majority not only of numbers but
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also of intellect and property in the United Empire taken throughout. He vindicated the appointments of Government, and challenged proof of any charge against them.
Mr. MORE O'Fmtne.m. and Captain BERKELEY, having opposed the bill ; and Mr. MORGAN JOHN O'CoNNELL complained of a personal al- lusion to himself as connected with Mr. O'Connell, by Lord Stanley ; Mr. PHILLIP HOWARD, Sir HENRY BARRON, and other Members, an- grily called Sir James Graham to account for his remarks about the oaths of Roman Catholics. Sir JAMES explained, that he ascribed their departure from their original ground to the inevitable tendency of human nature, not to dishonourable intention ; and the O'CoNoR Dort declared himself satisfied. The debate was then adjourned, at three o'clock.
Earlier in the evening, the Princess Augusta's Annuity Bill was car- ried, on its second reading, by 141 to 37. Lord HOWICK urged Minis- ters to provide for the Duke of Sussex's family.
Mr. GLADSTONE told Dr. Bowamq, that there were great doubts whether the negotiations respecting the Stade-tolls would be brought to any satisfactory conclusion. Sir ROBERT PEEL said that Hanover had broken off the negotiations, but they would be renewed.
The business in the House of Lords was unimportant.
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