not in one part of Ireland, nor of one priest, but as the general character of the system-and Englishmen will then form some notion of our meaning, when we hinted that the rule of the priest was a reign of terror.

But this is not all. We have supposed hitherto that this spiritual tyranny is confined to purely spiritual offences. It is one of the delusions of the day that a determinate line can be drawn between spiritual things and temporal; and this delusion of ours enables the Pope to tolerate the Romish priests in taking the oath of allegiance. Their line is very different from ours. But even were it otherwise, it would be a question for a government whether it is not bound to interfere, as Christian states have interfered before, to prevent the abuse of such denunciations and excommunications, by confining them to cases where, in some legitimate court, some spiritual and sufficient offence had been proved.

'I know,' says Lord Grenville, arguing on the Roman Catholic Question, May 27, 1808, that the Catholic practice of excommunication is objected. But this practice can be applied to spiritual matters only. Have there been attempts to extend it further? Permit no such interference with the temporal interests of your people: prohibit it by your laws; and if prohibition be found ineffectual, punish it.'

What would Lord Grenville have said if he could have known the use made, every Sunday, in Ireland, not perhaps of absolute excommunication-for this curse is felt to be too awful to be generally tolerated by the people * as a common thing-but by threats and

*We have before us one instance in which, when the priest was about to commence the ceremony by ringing the bell, the congregation protested against it, because (we are quoting the words) the harvest was not gathered; and ringing the bell would bring bad fuck on the parish. In others, to show that it is considered not as a spiritual discipline, but a curse, it is practised on Protestants. In another case before us, the victim was a poor woman excommunicated for allowing her children to go to a Scripture School. The examination was taken down in order to be laid before the Committee of the House of Lords, on oath. We will give a part of it, as illustrative of the state of things.— Q. Were you in the chapel on the day of the cursing? A. I was.-Q. Did you hear it? A. I did.-Q. What did the priest say? A. I'll be bound he cursed her well. "I asked," says the writer, " some more questions, but the man seemed disinclined to answer, and I did not press him." The next witness came, promising to tell all about it, to oblige Mr. ; but evincing the greatest dislike to be known to have done so. ( Q. Were you in chapel the day the woman was cursed? A. I was.-Q. Did you hear it? A. I did.-Q. At what mass? A. At second mass.- -Q. Did the priest give a reason for cursing the woman? A. He said it was for going here and there.Q. What did he mean by that? A. Because he said she was to and fro, going sometimes to mass and sometimes to church.-Q. What did he say to her? 4. He said enough, I'll be bound.-Q. What did he say? A. He cursed every inch of her carcass.-Q. Did he bid the people not to speak to her? A. He desired them not to speak to her, or deal with her, or have anything to do with her.-Q. Did he curse her child? [the poor creature was pregnant at the time.] A. He cursed everything that would spring from her.-Q. Did he say anything about the child she was carryingdid he curse the fruit of her womb? 4. I did not hear him say that: he cursed everything that would spring from her.-Q. How was he dressed? A. He threw off the

clothes

and denunciations, in which individuals are either mentioned by name* or accurately pointed out; appeals are made to the people as the proper executioners of the threat; and a social persecution is set on foot, which scarcely any one, least of all an Irishman, with his gregarious habits and dependence upon others, can resist. And here let us pause again.

How are statements like these, which unsubstantiated by facts are valueless, to be brought home to the minds of Englishmen? It must be by an accumulation of them in every shape and from every part of Ireland. And it would be well if those who are most interested in opening the eyes of the country would take steps to place on record, upon authentic information, and supported by such witnesses as can be procured under this system of intimidation, every occurrence of the kind—and to preserve them ready when called for-if not from time to time to lay them before the public through some regular channels. Something at least inay be done in this way to overcome the almost hopeless apathy and incredulity which at present prevails. Mr. Colquhoun has made one collection from the Reports of Parliamentary Comclothes he had on, and put on a black dress.-Q. Did he do anything with candles? A. 'Tis the way: the clerk quenched all the candles but one, and himself put out that, and said, "So the light of heaven was quenched upon her soul;" and he shut a book, and said, the gates of heaven were shut upon her that day.-Q. What do you mean by saying "he cursed every inch of her carcass?" A. He cursed her eyes, and her ears, and her legs, and so on every bit of her.-Q. What did you think of such doings? A. I wished myself at Carminole [a proverbial expression]. Q: What do you mean by that? A. I wished myself a thousand miles off from such a thing.-Q. Did the rest of the people in the chapel seem to like it? 4. How could they like it? They all disliked it: some were crying, some women fainted.-Q. Did any one speak to the priest about it? A. I'll be bound they did not; they left him to himself they would be in dread of their lives to stir.-Another witness, having deposed to the same effect, used these remarkable expressions, to be borne in mind when à demand is made for the names of witnesses, and such evidence as in England would be required before a jury. "Now, sir," said the man, after stating these circumstances, "I would go up to my neck in that sea there to serve the gentleman you are with-I would do anything short of my life, in fact-but it would be better for me to be dead a thousand times than to have my name brought in question about this business. Five hundred could tell you the same story, but what could a man do standing alone? for God's sake don't expose me.' The whole examination is too long to extract. It may be enough to add, that the neighbours of the poor woman withdrew from intercourse with her. Shopkeepers refused to sell even bread to her. Her own children were included in the curse, except one, who was in the service of a Roman Catholic lady, and was prohibited from speaking to his mother. The poor woman with whom they lodged was so tormented by the neighbours that they were obliged to quit the house, and must have perished in the street had they not been received into the house of a Protestant: and when the poor creature's confinement approached, a Roman Catholic lady prohibited the usual person from attending her, under threat of losing her support; and no one could be found to attend until the wife of the clergyman of the parish (from whom we heard this ourselves) interested herself to obtain from the priest a reluctant permission.

*The evidence bearing on the fact that Lord Norbury was denounced, or held up to popular indignation, before he was murdered, may be found in the Report of the Committee on Crime: 3671 to 3703: 6539 to 6553: 10155: 14180 to 14192.

mittees,

mittees, chiefly that on Intimidation at Elections-and we pause to extract a portion of it, not as the foundation of our own statements, which were made before we met with his volume, but as specimens and illustrations only which may help to awaken attention. And as the eye runs over them, we entreat the reader to transfer them for a moment to England-to imagine the English clergy, the natural ministers of loyalty, and order, and peace, coming forward simultaneously at elections, under the sanction of their bishops, to co-operate with the most turbulent and seditious demagogues-standing at the communion-table, and prohibiting from approach all who did not vote as they directed-denouncing them by name or description to a ferocious mob, as enemies and traitors -themselves heading that mob in acts of violence and outrage— enjoining exclusive dealing-allowing the walls of their churches to be placarded with incentives to murder, and turning their pulpits, and altars, and churchyards, into political platforms. Imagine them prostituting the most solemn mysteries of religion, the sanctity of the sacraments, and the awful threat of a sinner's death-bed, to the extortion of votes. Let them know that on every word of encouragement they uttered blood has flowed already, and will flow again; and let them still speak on! Let all this be done to exasperate the people against their natural superiors-tenants against landlords, and subjects against governors. Let it break forth not at a time of persecution, when past sufferings might be thought some extenuation for revenge, but in profound peace, when every day was heaping on them fresh acts of conciliation and kindness. Let these acts be known and proved, and the parties named, and yet let the heads of the English Church take no cognisance of such offences. Would it be a calumny to say that such acts might fairly be assumed as a representation of a general system; or, as in the real instance of Ireland, to assert that what takes place during an election will take place whenever it is the interest of the priests to employ similar instruments of power; and that their interest is inseparably connected, by their own confession, with the principles which in England are acknowledged to be destructive of law and of the country?

For what purposes then is this spiritual power exercised?

'Priest Falvery threatened that he would neither baptize, nor christen, nor perform the rites of the church to a man named Connor, who had promised to vote for the Knight of Kerry. (11852.) Father Walsh said at Borris chapel, "that any one who voted for Kavanagh and Bruen should be refused all religious rites, and so run the risk of everlasting punishment." (11094.) Father John O'Sullivan said at the altar "that any one who would vote for the Knight of Kerry he would not prepare him for death, but he would let him die like a beast, neither

would

would he baptize his children. (11990.) In every chapel in County Kerry, except three, the priests warned the people to vote for the popular candidate, on pain of being held as enemies to their religion. (4659.) At Cashel the priest threatened Mr. Pennefather's tenants "with the deprivation of the rites of their religion; that he would melt them off the face of the earth; that he would put the sickness on them; that they should not dare to vote as they liked, but as he liked-that if they did, the grass should grow at their door-wiping his boots there at the same time." (5451.) At Clonmel, "not only," says Mr. Willcock, “did the priests of the town interfere, but all the priests from the adjacent parishes one of them stated that he would turn any of his flock who voted for Mr. Bagwell into a serpent." (5525.) Priest Kehoe addressed the people from the altar of his chapel-said every man who did not vote with them he should denounce " as a renegade and apostate"-held up one who voted against them as a "hypocritical apostate seduced by Satan, who had bartered his soul, his country, and his God for money told them not to do this, but to be true to their souls, their country, and their God." (11315.) In Kilkenny the constable of Bownyarrow reports to Mr. Green " that on the 18th of January, 1835, (Sunday,) Mr., priest of, stated to his congregation in the chapel that he would give his curse to any one that would vote against his country -that any one that would give his vote should be marked, and that he would mark them himself." "The parish priest of Y, County Kerry, (4877,) told his parishioners in the chapel that every one who voted against his country should be marked out of the flock." (p. 282.) In County Carlow Father Maher said "he and the priest would mark them to their graves."

But with this spiritual denunciation is coupled something of a more temporal nature.

'In Borris chapel a meeting took place, with Father Walsh in the chair. Father Walsh said "that any person who voted for Mr. Kavanagh had ceased to be a member of his church, and was delivered over to Satan. Such as were present he called on them to quit the chapel, for fear of polluting the people, who should not eat, drink, or sleep with them. The curse of the Almighty would fall on them in this world, while, with the mark of Cain on their foreheads, they would go down to the grave, for betraying their religion and country. Any man who voted for Kavanagh and Bruen should be refused all religious rites, and would run the risk of everlasting punishment."

'In Tipperary, Mr. Fitzgerald states (6219) that "the priests declared, with respect to two tradesmen, that a cross should be placed opposite their doors, and that neither of them should sell a bit of bread." At Tralee a proprietor of public cars between Tralee and Dingle was informed that if he voted for Mr. Denny he should be compelled to take his cars off the road. (p. 282.) Another person dissolved his partnership immediately with a marked man who had agreed to vote for Mr. Denny. (p. 282.) After the elections the usual course was to make up a list of those who voted against the priest's order, printed and headed

as

as follows-we take the case of Queen's County-"The List of the Tithe Supporters who voted for Coote and Vesey, and against the people; for the sake of your country forget not your friends, but particularly remember your foes." The object of this, lest any should misunderstand it, Mr. O'Connell explained in a placard issued in Kerry: "Let them take down, and publish in their parishes, the names of any traitors to Ireland-put up the names of the traitors-let no man deal with them-let no woman speak to them-let the children laugh them to scorn." (4379.)

M

At Navan the notices were more pointed. "Take notice not to deal with your enemy, while you can either buy or sell with your friends. James Morgan voted for Randall Plunket; the shoemaker did the same; N-, sell bread, who would eat it? JY- MN-, sell boots and shoes, who would wear them?" (5882.) Lest these should be called idle threats, we turn to their application. Here is Mr. Coghlan's report from Navan. "Yesterday, and until late last night, a number of the peasantry congregated in front of- -'s shop, threatening persons not to dare to purchase bread or meat from him. Two women, Protestants, who purchased flour in

's shop, were severely beaten on their way home." (5888.) From Stradbally, Queen's county, the official report is, "such freeholders as did not vote by the direction of the priests, for Messrs. Cassidy and Lalor, are in the utmost state of fear, and no means are left to hold them up to the odium of the people throughout the country. In addition to their names having been posted and the lists printed, I send you the Maryborough Independent newspaper, which publishes their names, and calls on the public not to hold intercourse with them." (4861.) At Rosenallis the constable took down two notices on the chapel walls "threatening severe punishment on any who should deal with -, of Rosenallis, shopkeeper, because he refused to vote for Mr. Lalor." (4871.)

At Kells, County Meath, there was a little relaxing in the popular feeling. Out came, on the 16th February, a notice warning all to avoid the marked shops, and if they did not know them to ask others:-"They put up hand-bills begging of you to go back to them; but who dare attempt to cross their door, let them mark the consequences." (5916.) In the country, near Kells, some persons had taken conacres from a marked proprietor; they were immediately visited by a party of men, "who told them if they did not give them up, they would be under the clay before the corn could be over it; and in consequence each of these persons gave up the acres." (5916.) Nay, so late as the middle of April, long after the election heats were over, at Kilshier, a person intended to take some potato-ground from a marked proprietor; he found on the chapel wall a notice addressed to him, warning him that he should do so at the peril of his life. (5916.) At Kells, in July, the exclusive dealing is still continued, and "no Protestant whatever is dealt with there." (5919.) One placard is mentioned, "H—, you are a Rathcormac supporter-exclusive dealing will totter your establishment to the ground." (5830.) On the 11th of May a notice was