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was, lest her husband should forfeit his character and respectability by betraying his friends. He actually retracted, in consequence of the persuasions of his wife, and was accordingly executed.

MR. PLUNKET.

| he thought it would be a most material benefit conferred upon the people of Ireland, to extend the jurisdiction of the assistant barrister from cases of 201. to 50%.: he certainly should be happy to cooperate in any measure for that purpose.

MR. GRATTAN.

With regard to the financial distress of Ireland, it was undenia

From the highest authority it had been stated, that within the last fifty years the commerce of Ireland had doubled, her agricultural produce had increased four-ble that it was almost beyond confold, and her population had tre- ception. Her expenditure had outbled. Thus it appeared that she shot her means, for she had a debt was capable of becoming the of one hundred and fifty millions, dangerous rival, or the powerful burthened with an interest of seven friend of England: a gigantic form millions, while her revenue did was rising at the side of Great not exceed six millions; so that for Britain, and the question now was, the maintenance of her establishwhether it should be converted in- ments she had absolutely nothing. to a friend or an elemy. Difficult as this situation was, he did not despair of its being relieved. He would suggest, therefore, such a financial arrangement between the two countries as would enable both to contribute to their mutual relief. Thirdly, with regard to the commercial distresses of Ireland, he acknowledged they were great, but he considered them as resulting from the sudden and violent change from war to peace. On that head, therefore, he was not inclined to despond. As the most effectual means of reliev ing those distresses, Ireland should receive a constant preference over foreigners in the British market. Thus it appeared to him that all the three branches of difficulty which he had spoken of might in time be removed. With respect to the agitation which existed in Ireland, by a good administration of the government it might unquestionably be cured. It was of a temporary not of a permanent nature. It was disgraceful, but it was an eruption of the skin, and did not proceed from the blood. It

MR. VESEY FITZGERALD. There was one circumstance which had frequently struck him as a grievance pressing upon the lower classes of the farmers in Ireland, and that was the difficulty which they experienced in recovering the debts due to them. By an act passed in 1796, a power was given to the assistant barristers to try by civil bill, cases of debt to the amount of 201. Great advantages had resulted from it.-Nothing fell more severely upon the lower orders of farmers than the difficulty of thus obtaining justice, the expenses of which before the superior tribunals, were beyond their reach. There could not be a stronger proof of this, than that the number of actions brought amounted to above 30,000, and that the number tried did not exceed 800: the great expense deterred people from prosecuting them. The expense of prosecuting a suit before the assistant barrister did not exceed a few shillings, and

ought to be put down by the law; and although in a free country an effervescence of that nature could not be so speedily subdued as in a despotic country, it would be more effectually so in the end.

LORD CASTLEREAGH. He was fully persuaded that the people of Ireland might be made a well-informed and moral people. Even at present their minds were much better cultivated than those who did not know them appeared disposed to admit; for it was most untrue that the Irish were in such a state of utter ignorance as that in which they had been frequently represented to be. He concurred with the right honourable gentleman opposite in thinking those were wrong who considered the people of Ireland to be generally uneducated. It was not true that they were remarkably deficient in intellectual knowledge. He could take upon himself to say, this was by no means a correct character of them. So far as his experience went, they were rather the reverse of this. He spoke principally of the north of Ireland, where the population, far from being such as had been supposed, was such, that he knew no country in which the inhabitants were more intelligent. The knowledge which he spoke of was not confined to the higher or midding ranks of society, but absolutely pervaded all classes; extending even to the lowest.

IRISH AND SCOTCH DISTILLERIES.

SIR JOHN NEWport. The right honourable gentleman opposite, (Mr. Peel) had formerly drawn a very faithful picture of the state of Ireland; but there could be no doubt whatever that a

great part of the disorganization of the people was occasioned by the immoderate use of spirits. At least one fifth of the country was excited to tumult and disorder from this cause; and he would then ask the house, whether they would consent to surrender up the other four-fifths to drunkenness, by reducing the price of spirits. The petitioners complained of illicit distillation, but not in the district of Dublin. In those parts of the country where the use of beer prevailed instead of spirits, the morals, habits, and health of the people had been most materially improved. It had been shown to the house, by several medical reports from the most eminent practitioners, that since the use of beer had become more general, the mortality in those great districts had decreased in a degree that was almost incredible. The remedy for illicit distillation was not to be sought by these means, but by calling on the nobility and gentry to aid the legislature in giving effect to the established laws. At present they found that they could not collect of their tenants the large rents which they imposed on them, unless they assisted those persons in evading the laws: this, and this only, was the character of their opposition to the existing laws of the country. He must acknowledge, however, that house had in a great degree to thank themselves for the progress of illicit distillation in Ireland. Some counties had transgressed to an enormous extent; because they made that a plea for remitting the penalties, the house had yielded to their petitions, and hereby encouraged hopes that, by transgressing again, they would procure a remission of the penalties. It was impossible to expect good

order, sobriety, or obedience to the | The evil was supported even by laws, so long as the people were kept in a state of intoxication.

GENERAL MAthew. General Mathew said, as he knew very little about the north of Ireland, he could not assert that the gentlemen in that quarter encouraged illicit distillation: but he was very sure, that those in the south, with which he was well acquainted, gave that system every assistance. There was not a gentleman residing on the banks of the Shannon who did not encourage it, by purchasing what was called, in that country, putteen. That was whiskey made in a little iron pot, the Irish for which was putteen, | and thence the liquor derived its name. The gentlemen purchased this spirit-they placed it regularly in their cellars-and there was not one of them who did not regularly ask his guests, "Will you have the putteen, or the legal spirit?" As he (General Mathew) preferred good claret to bad port, he always answered, on such occasions, "give me the putteen instead of the inferior whiskey." (A laugh.) It was almost impossible for them to discover those who were engaged in this trade. They could easily conceal the iron pot which was used in distillation. And what was the consequence? Why, the persons who were sent to destroy this trade, assisted in supporting it: for they could get nothing but putteen to drink. Besides, those who infringed the law, were protected by their landlords. He did not mean to say that it was so in the north; but such was the case in the south, and such was the case in the west. The chancellor of the exchequer for Ireland knew full well that the practice existed in the county of Clare.

the government. Lords-Lieutenant, particularly one nobleman, whom it was not necessary for him to name, preferred this putteen, as every other man of honour did, to the common whiskey. During the last summer, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, Lord Manners, would drink nothing but putteen; and the Marquis of Abercorn pursued the same course. He did not blame them for making use of good spirits, instead of bad. The Irish chancellor, he understood, refused every other spirit, except putteen, for these reasons-he found it extremely useful to his constitution, and the finest diuretic in the world. (A laugh) Neither the lord chancellor of Ireland, nor the secretary for Ireland, could deny that this illicit spirit was thus generally used. He believed that almost every man in the county of Limerick supported illicit distillation. There was but one way to destroy this evil; and that was by revising the magistracy of Ireland, which was at present intolerable. The magistrates of the south were intolerable. They connived at this infraction of the law; they took money as a bribe to suffer it to go on. (No, no!) He could prove it. The guager took a guinea from this person, and guinea from that person, that he might overlook those town-lands which had incurred penalties, and place them on those on which no offence had been committed. The gallant general then contended, that the only effectual remedy for this monstrous evil, was a purification of the magistracy of Ireland, which the government did not seem anxious to commence. The Irish chancellor was not singular in his taste. Other noble lords had shown an equal love for putteen. No man

ever liked it better than the Duke of Rutland. The gallant general concluded by again pointing out the necessity of revising the magistracy of Ireland.

MR. WINDHAM QUIN. Under the present system of high duties, this evil of illicit distillation had greatly increased. He would give one instance: in Liinerick, not more than two years ago, there were one still of 1500 gallons, and two of 500; there was now but one of 500, the others had ceased. The increase of fines for illicit distillation had gone to such an extent, that in the townlands they were so great, that it was impossible to levy them. No persons would take land in those districts, lest they should be liable to those imposts, and the houses most notorious for the sale of this liquor were those in which disorders of every kind had grown to a great extent.

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been in force only twelve or thir teen years, and yet not less than 6000 persons had been prosecuted, so that the prisons were absolutely crowded. It often happened that the person guilty could not pay above ten shillings, and the collector went to those in the townships who could best bear the fine. He would ask whether any man, conscious of his innocence, could bear to be thus unjustly stripped of his property? It was utterly in vain that government made grants for the encouragement of religion in Ireland, when the people were brought up to systematic perjury, in order to save the stills and their produce. Thus the expense of prosecutions was enormous: in 1802 it had been 402/. 128. 5d.; in 1807, 300/.; but in 1814 there was disbursed for boards of council, 14,050., while the expenses of the local solicitorgeneral were 53,8007., and those of the second solicitor 30,5057. The bill of costs for the prosecution of the 6000 individuals he had mentioned was 30,807., and the expenses of one province in fines amounted to 105,057. How could people be patient who had these enormous sums drawn from them for crimes of which they were not guilty?

SCOTCH DISTILLERIES.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer said, that illicit distillation had, of late years, been carried to a most mischievous extent, and that this was very much to be attributed to the bad quality of the spirit produced from the regular distilleries. The plan which he intended to submit to the committee consisted of regulation and reduction of duty. For this purpose he intended to encourage the use of 3 I

small stills of 40 gallons. By this means, especially in the High lands, where illicit distillation chiefly prevailed, a palatable spirit might be produced in the legal way, and illicit distillation effectually prevented. The duty on spirit was at present 8s. 4d. per gallon, and this he should propose to reduce to 68. 4d. per gallon, namely 8d. per gallon on the wash, and 9d. on the spirit.

MR. C. GRANT.

Mr. C. Grant, sen. stated the universal prevalence of illicit distillation, and its lamentable effects on the morals of the people, who, by living in opposition to law, learned to despise it. The legal distiller ought to be encouraged in order to check this evil, and that could only be done by lowering the duty. The gentlemen of Scotland wished to put down this system, but were persuaded the only means was to lower the duty.

MR. W. DUNDAS. Mr. W. Dundas argued in favour of a reduction of the duty to 58. per gallon. He drew a lamentable picture of the deteriorated state of morals in the Highlands, arising from the use of ardent spirits, and contrasted it with the morality, and good order which, prior to the introduction of illicit distillation, had prevailed there.

MR. V. FITZGERALD.

Let it not be too sanguinely expected, however, that low duties alone would be sufficient. He was not paradoxical enough to assert that they would increase the evil; but this he recollected, that in Ireland they had been tried, and had not diminished it. A right honourable friend of his, (Mr. Foster) had been persuaded to

consent to a similar measure in Ireland. The duty was reduced to 2s. 6d. a gallon for the purpose of suppressing illicit distillation; yet it was proved that the practice never prevailed so extensively as at the very time the duty was so lowered.

MR. P. GRANT.

Mr. P. Grant said, that spirits were selling for 68. per gallon in Scotland, being somewhat less than the duty proposed to be levied. How then was it possible to decrease the consumption of illicit spirits, when it was now sold at a price less than the duty which the right honourable gentleman proposed? The morals of the people of Scotland were ruined by the intemperate use of spirits. At one meeting of magistrates no less than 1300 persons were brought up to be fined for carrying on illicit distillation.

BRITISH HOUSE OF COMMONS & CONSTITUTION.

SIR JAMES MACKINTOSH. It is obvious, on the coolest reflection, that the exclusive power of the House of Commons over the public purse is the bulwark of this constitution, and that nothing can be regarded as small or inconsiderable which touches it, which in the slightest degree or by the most remote analogy can endanger, or contract, or bring into question the fundamental principle. It is fit that, in the courts of law, the most subtile distinctions should be respected, and that the authority of precedent should be maintained, because it is thus only that the administration of justice is subjected to certain rules, and that the power of judges is prevented from becoming arbitrary. But this

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