It is worthy of notice, that one of the committee, concerned in the murder, was impanelled on the inqueft jury which fat on the body when difcovered, and the verdict was, of courfe, fuicide. A foldier from Blaris camp was likewife drowned in a river near Holywood, by the fame committee; and a man was fhot on Peter's-hill, Belfast, at the early hour of feven o'clock in the evening. Many other perfons were murdered in the fame manner, on a bare fufpicion of being informers.

It feems to have been a maxim with the united confpirators of Down and Antrim, adopted from the illuminati of Germany, and the philofophifts of France, that the end juftified the means; and that no motives, human or divine, fhould check them in the accomplishment of their main defign. Hence the most unblufhing calumnies were propagated against those who oppofed them; and committees of assassination were conftantly fitting to condemn fuch perfons as were fufpected of doing fo, or of giving information against them.

Nothing forwarded the progrefs of the union fo much as that vehicle of fedition, immorality and irreligion, the Northern Star, established by Robert Simms, the fecretary of the firft fociety of united Irifhmen, which fat at Belfast in 1791. He was a wealthy merchant of that town, and has been tranfported to Fort George in Scotland, with a number of his confederates.

The conductors of that infamous print, which goaded the people to madness, had the flagitiousnes's and audacity to recommend in it, in the year 1794, the perufal of Paine's Age of Reafon.

It is worthy of obfervation, that Simms, in the name of his fociety, wrote letters in the years 1792 and 1793, to fome of the moft confiderable members of the Roman catholick committee and Roman catholick fociety in Dublin, inviting them to be enrolled in his corps; and they, proud of the honour, embraced

embraced it with alacrity; and fome of them published the letters of invitation and their anfwers.

Some of the infidel leaders of the North were fo fuccessful in rousing the people to a state of frenzy, by copious infufions of their intoxicating doctrines, that partial insurrections, earlier than they wished or expected, were on the point of baffling their defigns, and involving them in ruin; like a chymift, whofe experiment is defeated, and whofe perfon runs a rifk of being injured, by a premature and unexpected. explosion of his retort, in confequence of having furcharged it with gas. On fome occafions, the conductors were under a neceffity of endeavouring to check the intemperate ardour of their adherents. An attempt was made near Rathfriland in July, 1797, to begin hoftilities, but it was overruled. About a thousand united Irifhmen affembled in that retired and mountainous part of the county of Down, to difcufs the expediency of a general rifing; and the question was agitated a confiderable time. At length it was propofed to decide it by votes, and a divifion took place, when upwards of three hundred declared themfelves averfe to open hoftility at that time. Though the majority were for it, the fchifm was fo confiderable, that it was thought prudent to poftpone it to a more favourable opportunity.

A Mr. John Magennis, who had married a fifter of the famous Bartholomew Teeling, took the prin cipal lead in urging an immediate refiftance. The. decifion of that important queftion was haftened by an account, that a party of the Antient Britons were approaching to difperfe the affembly; and they actually parfued Magennis ten miles, but were not fortunate enough to apprehend him.

It may be proper to obferve, that the majority, on that occafion, confifted chiefly of Roman catholicks; and the minority of prefbyterians, and a few proteftants of the established church, who were not then fufficiently enlightened to countenance a general maffacre.

I think

I think it right to obferve, that the exertions of the united Irifhmen, and Catholick committee of Dublin, to encourage union and fraternity among the prefbyterians and papifts of the North, were confined to thofe very parts of Down, Armagh and Antrim, where the former fhowed a decided hoftility against the defenders, which was done merely to lull them into a ftate of indolent and fatal fecurity; as they knew that their fpirit, their knowledge of the ufe of arms, and their antipathy to the papifts, would form a material obftacle to the progress of the union; but the determination which the Roman catholicks fhewed, on the explosion of the rebellion, to extirpate proteftants of every denomination, proved that they were not fincere in their invitations to the prefbyterians to fraternize with them.

ORIGIN

ORIGIN OF THE YEOMANRY.

IN the autumn of the year 1796, government having propofed to all loyal fubjects to embody themfelves as yeomen corps, fimilar to thofe in England, and fubject to the control of government, the propofal was embraced with alacrity in many parts of the kingdom.

On the seventh of October, the lord mayor, the fheriffs, and the church-wardens of the different parishes in Dublin, affembled at the manfion-house, and refolved that a regiment of infantry, and, a troop of horse, fhould be raised in each of the four wards of the city.

This wife and falutary measure, which proved the falvation of the kingdom, was oppofed by many of the leading Romanifts of Dublin, and by all the active members of the Catholick committee; for when the church-wardens and magiftrates attended at the different veftry-rooms, for the purpose of carrying this excellent fyftem into execution, one or other of these leaders, attended by a mob of the popish rabble, attempted to overpower them by vociferation and numbers.

When their malignant efforts to prevent this falutary inftitution failed, they waited on Mr. Pelham, the lord lieutenant's fecretary, and asked leave to raise a corps of their own fect exclufively; but received. for answer, that they might join their proteftant fellow fubjects, if they wifhed to ferve their king and

country.

*

They then entered into refolutions against it, and published them in the jacobin prints, which teemed. with invectives against government for having inftiVOL. I. tuted

*On the 6th of October, a letter, with the fignature of a Lookeron, recommending to the Roman catholicks not to enrol themfelves, appeared in the Hibernian Journal; and, from the pecu liar connections of that paper, it was confidered as an official - figual.

tuted it; and for the fame reason they calumniated the orange focieties.

On the fourteenth of October, the corporation of Dublin, duly affembled, entered into strong refolutions, and expressed their abhorrence of their vile calumnies, and refolutions, published by certain pretended parish meetings against the yeomen corps, and against government, and the feditious means ufed to prevent the loyal fubjects from forming themfelves into fuch.

Notwithstanding the decided oppofition which the Romanifts gave to this very excellent inftitution, which faved the kingdom from impending deftruction, the first eftimate laid before parliament for twenty thousand men was filled up immediately. In the course of fix months it rofe to thirty-feven thoufand; and, during the rebellion, the yeomanry force exceeded fifty thoufand, and they were all to be depended on; for as very great difaffection appeared. among the popish yeomen, the different corps were quickly purged of fuch of them as were known to be difloyal.

In order to encourage the difaffected to perfift in their treasonable practices, it was boasted at this time, in the Northern Star, that the populace, in and about Belfast, had faved the harvest of all fuch perfons as had been committed to the gaols of Dublin or Carrickfergus, on charges of high treafon; and that feven thousand perfons often affembled for that purpose.

In the month of October, the reverend Philip Johnson was fired at and wounded, in the night, at Lifburn.

November the first, a party of traitors broke open the king's ftores at Belfast, and ftole thereout a large quantity of gunpowder.

The rebellious inhabitants of Belfast, who were prefbyterians, opposed the establishment of the yeo-manry, with as much vehemence as the Romanifts.

Report of the fecret committee of 1798, page 5.