I give the reader the names of fome of the proteftant leaders, with the fate which befel them. Theobald Wolfe Tone convicted, but cut his throat. Honourable Simon Butler, died in extreme poverty in Wales. James Napper Tandy, fled. Archibald H. Rowan. † Oliver Bond, convicted of high treason, but died in prison. Beauchamp B. Harvey. Thomas Ruffel. + Arthur O'Connor. † Henry Jackfon. † Matthew Dowling. t James Reynolds. t Thomas A. Emmet. † John Burke. † Hugh Wilfon. t * Robert Simms, t proprietor of the Northern Star. Edward Hudfon. † + Exiles. * Were hanged. CIVIL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED IRISHMEN. I SHALL now endeavour to give the reader an idea of the organization of their clubs, which, to impofe on the people, were faid to be formed merely for civil purposes; and the better to induce the populace to enter into them, it was falfely and wickedly fuggefted, that it would produce an abolition of tythes, and an equal diftribution of property. The inferior focieties at their firft inftitution confifted of thirty-fix members; they were afterwards, however, reduced to twelve. Whenever they exceeded that number, the excefs was difmiffed, with orders to make profelytes for the foundation of a new fociety. The twelve chofe a fecretary and treasurer; and the fecretaries of five focieties formed what was called a lower baronial committee, which had the immediate direction and fuperintendence of the five focieties, who thus contributed to its inftitution. From each lower baronial committee thus conftituted, one member was delegated to an upper baronial committee, which in like manner affumed and exercised the fuperintendence and direction of all the lower baronial committees in the feveral counties. The next fuperior committees were, in populous towns, diftinguifhed by the name of district committees, and in counties by the name of county committees, and were compofed of members delegated by the upper baronials. Each upper baronial committee delegated one of its members to the diftrict, or county committee, and thefe diftrict or county committees had the fuperintendence and direction of all the upper baronials, who contributed to their inftitution. Having thus organized the feveral countics and populous towns, a fubordinate directory was erected in each of the four provinces, composed of two or three three members, according to the extent and population of the districts which they reprefented, who were delegated to a provincial committee, and had the immediate direction and fuperintendence of the feveral county and district committees in each of the four provinces; and a general executive directory, compofed of five perfons, was elected by the provincial directories; but the election was fo managed, that none but the fecretaries of the provincial knew on whom the election fell. It was made by ballot, but not reported to the electors, the appointment being notified only to thofe on whom the election devolved; and the executive directory, thus compofed, affumed and exercifed the fupreme and uncontroled command of the whole body of the union, The manner of communicating the orders iffued by the executive directory was peculiarly calculated to baffle detection. One member alone of the exe cutive communicated with the fecretary of each provincial committee or directory; the order was tranfmitted by him to the fecretary of each county or district committee in his province; the fecretaries of the county and diftrict committees communicated with the upper baronials in each county; they com municated with the fecretaries of the lower baronial committees, who gave the order to the fecretaries of each fubordinate committee, by whom it was given to the feveral inferior members of the union. In the month of March, 1794, many perfons were convicted at Dundalk of appearing in arms in the night as defenders, and of adminiftering unlawful oaths; thirteen of them were capitally convicted. In the month of May, 1794, the defenders were guilty of infurrections and outrages, little fhort of open rebellion in the counties of Meath and Cavan. At Kilnaleek in the latter, and in the neighbouring country, they were three days under arms. They laid waste a large tract of the bifhop of Meath's eftate, having plundered and burned the houfes of many of his proteftant tenants. The royal Dublin militia, militia, affifted by a number of prefbyterians, purfued them to Ballynaugh, which town they took poffeffion of, and fired on the king's troops from the windows. At laft the militia were obliged to burn the town to dislodge them. About the fame time, at Drumfna in the county of Leitrim, nine police men fled into a houfe from a mob of infurgents, who fet fire to the houfe, and murdered all the police men as they endeavoured to escape from the flames. At In the province of Connaught, particularly in the county of Rofcommon, the defenders were terrifick in the years 1794 and 1795. The mafs of the people were furnished with pikes, and the houfes of proteftants were conftantly plundered of arms. laft, many of the nobility and gentry affembled at Rofcommon in the month of May, and refolved to lower rents, and to raise the wages of labourers, in hopes of allaying the dreadful fpirit of outrage which actuated the people. They adjourned their meeting for a week; but they foon difcovered the folly of compromifing with a mob in a state of infurrection, little fhort of open rebellion. When they were approaching the town, on the day to which they adjourned, they faw numbers of people armed with pikes in all the adjacent fields, who pursued fome of their philanthropick benefactors fo clofely, that they narrowly efcaped into Rof common. While they were fitting in the town-hall, afhamed of their folly and pufillanimity, Mr. Mills of Fairymount, about fix miles off, arrived with an account that a numerous body of pikemen had fet fire to his house, after having plundered it. The reverend Mr. Carey, a magiftrate, having gone there with a party of dragoons, and found the house in flames, attacked a large body of the infurgents, who were armed with pikes, and killed about thirty of them. In In the year 1794, many houfes were plundered of arms in the counties of Meath and Westmeath. At the fpring aflizes for the county of Sligo, much disturbed by the defenders, many of them were convicted of robbing houfes of arms, and administering unlawful oaths. Early in the year 1795, one Cunny, a schoolmaster, was detected near Letterkenny, in the county of Donegal, in the act of adminiftering the defenders oath. He acknowledged his crime, and convicted fome of his accomplices. The purport of the oath was, to emancipate the Roman catholicks; to affift the French, and to extirpate the proteftants; and it inculcated fobriety, fecrefy and obedience to their committees in all things. It contained an oath of allegiance to the king, as long as he lives. Some fuch mental reservation appeared in all oaths adminiftered by the defenders; which was conftrued thus (by Weldon, a defender, executed in the year 1796,) to fuch perfons as he fwore: "If the king's head were off to-morrow, there would be an end of your oath." This mental refervation was couched in the following words in the oaths administered in other places: "As long as I live fubject to the fame government;" which appeared in the oath found upon Sharky, at Drumbanagher, in the county of Armagh, in the year 1789; but they meant to get rid of their oath by renouncing and overturning the government, which appeared afterwards to have been the object of all the defenders. At the foot of the oath found upon Cunny, there was a tree of liberty, and a crofs marked thus, R.+C. meaning Roman catholick. Defenderifm was introduced into the county of Donegal from Connaught, by Leitrim and Rofcommon; and the doctrines of the united Irishmen from Belfast, in the year 1796, by men who appeared in the guise of pedlars. In This ftrongly marked the difcriminating features of the confpiracy, Belfast was the centre of motion in the north, and its inhabitants, |