I Paiirteci by Petrie I'xi^'ly "H/jhn A.0 .N'eJl ^©[BE^TF [ERA M'EITn P.M. Ha.-verty , New "Tori*: , 1856 THE LIFE AND TIMES OP ROBERT EMMET. BY E. E. MADDEN M.D., M.E.I.A. WITH NUMEROUS NOTES AND ADDITIONS. AND A PORTRAIT ON STEEL* ALSO A MEMOIE OF THOMAS ADDIS EMMET. WITH A PORTRAIT ON STEEL, NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY P. M. HA VERT Y, 1 Barclay St. (three doors from Broadway). 1868. Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1856, BY P. M. HAVEKTY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New York. 4273Q Yimoxkt L. Darii, Rtereotyper, 188 Fulton Street, New York. PREFACE. The publisher deems it necessary to state that some liberties have been taken with the original text of Madden's Life of Robert Em met, by leaving out some letters and other matter relating more property to Thomas Addis Emmet, most of which, however, has been introduced in the memoir of the latter. Other slight alterations have been found necessary in order to render the history more clear and connected. Valuable additions have been made to the work, in the shape of notes and extracts, from all recent authorities which could throw light on either the subject of the memoir, his times, or contempo- raries. The memoir of Thomas AdiKs fEmmflfc 3ias been taken almost verbatim from Madden and Haines, with additions from other sources where they could be introduced with advantage to the work I CONTENTS. Preface. - - - - - - - page. CHAPTER L Robert Emmet, his early history. — His career at College — Display at the Historical Society, (Note). — Judge Lefroy, (Note). — Moore's opinion of Robert Emmet. — The late Judge Johnston, (Note). — Refusal to obey the Chancellor's summons, and its re- sults. — Visit to the Continent in 1800. - - - 3 CHAPTER IL Robert Emmet connected with the proceedings of the United Irish- men in Paris. — His stud}' of works on Military Science. — Dow- dall, Despard's agent, connected with Emmet. — Mr. Lewis Gold- smith's account of Despard. — Of his own career. — Of his con- nection with Talleyrand. — Of Messrs. Badini, Beauvoisin, t strongly suspected that such intercourse had existed. Mason certainly took no part in the murders in Thomas-street ; the insurrection in that quarter took place about nine o'clock in the evening, at which time he was in a large company at the house of a very respectable gentleman who resided about ■ miles from town, and from Sea Point. Even this, how- ever, did not tend to exempt him from all suspicion, as it was generally said that the company were surprised at his not coming till eight o'clock, (though a dinner-party) and at his arriving there, not from Sea Point, but from town. On that night Mason lay at Sea Point ; on the next or the following night he lay at an hotel in James-street, almost adjoinging the spot where the insurrection had broken out, and from thence proceeded by various modes of travelling as far as Xenagh, that being the direct way to Kerry, where Mason's connec- tions lay ; there he was arrested (it does not appear on what day) by , a Magistrate of the County, in consequeuce, as he states, of an order for that purpose from the then Under Secretary. In Mason's letter-case were found some letters, particularly one directed to him, concerning which he express- ed considerable anxiety, saying, that it was from a female in Loudon. This letter the magistrate read, aud forwarded with the rest, and the prisoner, to the Castle. It canuot be found, but the magistrate's account of it is, that it purported to be from a woman, but was expressed as if it had some covered meaning ; mentioned a longing till her nails should grow so long as to tear flesh and draw blood, and in more than one 166 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. place expressed a wish to draw blood. On the whole, the magistrate states his opinion to have been at the time, that the letter was written by Emmet. Mr. Mason was transmitted to Dublin, where, on the 9th of August, he was under the Chief Secretary's warrant com- mitted to Kilmainham. [See the Magistrate's Statement, Appendix, No. I.] " In the latter end of August Robert Emmet was taken,: and committed to the same prison. " George Dunn, an Englishman, formerly one of the under- keepers, and a confidential attendant on the state prisoners, and now the chief keeper of Kilmainham, swears, That about the 5th of September, (being at that time one of the under- keepers) he was applied to by Mr. St. John Mason to procure the escape of Emmet, then also a prisoner in Kilmainham jail, for which he promised him the sum of five hundred pounds ; adding, that should Emmet get clear off, he (Dunn) would receive one thousand pounds in all, and that he should be kept harmless. Dunn further swears, that conceiving it his duty to prevent, if possible, the execution of such a plan, and that the best mode of doing so was not immediately to reject Mason's proposal, he promised to consider it ; but in the mean time communicated with his ' superiors in office,' and, in consequence of the directions he received, had another inter- view with Mason, and said he would endeavour to comply with his request ; upon which Mason gave him a note to deliver to Emmet, which note he withheld, but communicated the con- tents to Emmet, and it was ultimately handed to Mr. Wick- ham. " Dunn also swears, that Mason then proposed, with which Dunn seemed to comply, that he should procure the key from Mr. John Dunn, the then keeper, while at dinner, and so let Emmet escape, and inform Emmet thereof, that he might take such steps as he thought necessary, which he accordingly did; that Emmet then gave him a note to Mr. Mason to .procure clothes for the purpose of disguise, which note he was directed to show to Mr. John Dunn the keeper, and afterwards deliv- ered it to Mason, who said * * * would be with him the following day, and would procure what was desired : that Mason gave him (Dunn) several things to carry to .Emmet, which he immediately showed to his superiors, and then deliv MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 167 ered them to Emmet, except some articles which were consid- ered improper to be conveyed to him. " Dunn further swears, that he afterwards informed Mason, that it would be out of his power to effect Emmet's escape, as Mr. John Dunn, the then keeper, remained entirely in that part of the prison ; upon which Mason gave him a guinea note as a reward (which he also handed to his superiors). At the same time, Dunn swears, that Mason requested him to in- struct * * * a person whom he supposed would be produced on Emmet's trial, how to act according to the directions Mason then gave Dunn, for the purpose of preventing her giving evideuce. M Emmet was tried on the 19th, and executed on the 20th of September. After his trial, he wrote a letter to Mr. Wick- ham, tbeu Chief Secretary, evidently not with any hope of pardon or respite, but apparently dictated by a sense of jus- tice, and by that sentiment of magnanimity with which, what- ever his crimes may have been, he certainly conducted himself on that solemn occasion. In that letter he declared, that it had been his intention not only to have acknowledged the de- licacy with which he had been personally treated, but to have done the most public justice to the mildness of the then ad- ministration of his country, and at the same time to have ac- quitted them, as far as rested with him, of any charge of re- missness in not having previously detected a conspiracy, which from its closeness, he knew it was impossible to have done. M That Emmet had Mason then in his thoughts cannot be proved ; but it can scarcely be supposed that he would have unnecessarily used such language if he had been satisfied of the innocence of so near a relative, confined, to his knowledge, in the same prison. ( Signed) 11 J. S. Towhsknd." Xo. L Copy of the Examination of the ^Magistrate, Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle, September 26, 1811. "Arrested Mr. John Mason in 1803, in consequence of a letter from this office from Mr. Marsden, as witness thinks, and thinks he showed Mason the letter brought to him by a yeo- man of the name of , found Mason in an inn at Xenagh, 168 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. and took him ; he appeared at first very much frightened. He searched him, found nothing on his person, nor in his desk or letter-case, which he opened ; but wished much to get one particular letter, which he said was from a girl in London. Witness desired to see it, and on reading thought it a sort of disguise, probably from Emmet, written in too ambiguous a manner ; kept no copy. It purported to be from a woman, and one of the expressions was, of a longing till her nails should grow so long as to tear flesh and draw blood, and re- peated several times, i Oh, how I long to draw blood/ Wit- ness sent it to the Castle with the rest, and observed on it in his letter ; read none of the others, but sent the whole sealed up. He returned witness thanks for his kind treatment in the morning, having passed the night in custody. " Witness asked if he could account why he had been taken up ; he said he had been quizzing some ladies as Sea Point with politics, and supposed they had reported of him ; he said he had lain in a hotel in James-street a night or two after the 23rd 6f July, and had travelled in various ways to Nenagh. " Witness knows he was at Sea Point on the night of 23rd July, 1803. ° He was civil to witness, but, as he has heard, quarrelled with every person in whose custody he was after. " In some time after * * * * told witness that a man from Kerry had informed him, that the people there were ready to rise but for the arrest of their Colonel by witness. " Witness had a relation of his own name who held a place in the Revenues in Kerry, and wrote to witness to get him re- moved, as he expected to be murdered for his name, on ac- count of witness having arrested Mason." No. II. Copy of original Note in the hand-writing of Mr. St. John Mason j — now in the Chief Secretary's Office. " You must relinquish every idea of not going alone, or nothing can be done. I see no reason why G. (George Dunn) should go ; on the contrary, consider it would be most impru- dent and impolitic, and the delay of discovery may be for the hour even by his staying. I have a friend at Booterstown, who will be here to-morrow. If he can, I know he will pro- MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 1G9 cure a blue coat that will do, but it cannot be brought here. Surely you would be less liable to discovery by being alone, wherever you went for two nights. The only possible reason you can have for not having G. stay, is on account of R. and A. In short give up that idea, or the whole will be imprac- ticable. G. will be safe by remaining (not so if he goes) ; it may be unpleasant to him at first ; but he has nothing to do but to persist in his negligence and brave it. " You must go singly ; consider the clue to discovery in G. A. R. and E. wife of one connection, of another, and so on, &c. Prepare, therefore, to go alone. " You say, if you could all be safe for two nights ; suppose I grant all but the 1 iV But I say the difficulty of conceal- ment, even afterwards, would be ten-fold for each person ; once more I conjure you not to think of it. " September, 1803." No. m. Copy of an original note in the handviriting of Mr. R. Emmet, now in the Chief Secretary's Office. " Ask G. at what time Mr. D. dines, and if he leaves any one at the door then. Though it might be a little early, yet, as he is longer away then than at any other time, it would better enable us all to go out, and, with the change of dress, would not be noticed. If it cannot be done then, he must watch the first opportunity after dinner that Mr. D. goes down the house, and let me out immediately ; 1 will be ready at the moment. Don't let him wait till the guards are doubled, if he can avoid it, but, if he cannot do it before, let him be on the watch then, as D. will probably go to give them instruc- tions when placing them in the yards, as he did last night. I am anxious not to defer it till to-morrow, as I heard the offi- cers who came the rounds consulting with him about placing the sentries for better security, and think I heard them men- tion me in the Hall. D. also came in at one o'clock last night, under pretence that he thought he heard me calling. If it is delayed till to-morrow, it must be done at dinner-time. If sentries are placed in the hall by day, the only way will be, wiienever D. goes down, let G. whistle God save the King' in the passage, and I will immediately ask to go to the neces- no MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. sary, and will change my clothes there instantly ; bnt, in this case G. must previously convey them there. Send for a pair of silver spectacles, (No. 5 fits my sight) which will facilitate the disguise ; after I am gone, G. must convey the clothes I wore away. " Sept. 1803." No. IT. Copy of a letter from Mr. Robert Emmet to the Right Hon. William Wickham. " Sept. 10, 1803. " Sir, — Had I been permitted to proceed with my vindica- tion, it was my intention not only to have acknowledged the delicacy which I feel, with gratitude, that I have been person- ally treated, but also to have done the most public justice to the mildness of the present administration of this country, and, at the same time, to have acquitted them, as far as rested with me of any charge of remissness in not having previously detect- ed a conspiracy, which from its closeness, I know it was impos- sible to have done ; I confess that I should have preferred this mode, if it had been permitted, as it would thereby have en- abled me to clear myself from an imputation under which I might, in consequence, lie, and to have stated why such an ad- ministration did not prevent, but, under the peculiar situation of this country, perhaps rather accelerated, my determination to make an effort for the overthrow of a government of which I do not think equally high. " However, as I have been deprived of that opportunity, I think it right now to make an acknowledgement which justice requires of me as a man, and which I do not feel in the least derogatory from my decided principles as an Irishman. " I am, &c, (Signed) " Robert Emmet. " Rt. Hon. W. Wickham, " &c. &c &c." No. Y. Copy of a letter from Mr. George Dunn, to Dr. Trevor ; with Dunnes affidavit annexed. " Sir, — Your having required from me an exact statement of my conduct, relative to the intended escape of Mr. Emmet MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. in and Mr. Russell, prisoners confined in Kilmainham jail, in the yeai 1803, and since executed, I take the liberty of submitting the following facts, the authenticity and accuracy of which I am ready to verify upon oath. " In that year, about the 5th of September, I was applied to by Mr. St. John Mason, a prisoner then confined in Kil- mainham, and since liberated, to procure from prison the escape of Mr. Emmet, for which he promised me the sum of five hund- red pounds ; and if Mr. Emmet should, in consequence, get clear off (meaning his escape from prison) I should receive a thousand pounds in all, and that he would keep me harmless. Conceiving it my duty to prevent, if possible, the execution of such a plan, and that the best mode of doing so was not to immediately reject his proposal (by which I should be preclud- ed from all further information) I told him I would consider upon what he mentioned. I immediately informed you there- of, and received your directions how I should act, in conse- quence of which, I had another interview with Mr. Mason, and said, I would endeavour to comply with the request ; upon which he gave me a note to deliver to Mr. Emmet, which I gave to you, the contents of which I have no doubt but you recollect ; and which, you since informed me, you handed to Mr. Secretary Wickham. Mr. Mason then proposed (with which I seemed to comply) that I should procure the key from Mr. Dunn, the then keeper, while at dinner, and then let Mr. Emmet escape ; and to inform him (Mr. Emmet) thereof, that he might take such steps as he thought necessary, which I accordingly did, and Mr. Emmet gave me a note to Mr. Mason, to procure clothes for the purpose of disguise ; which note I showed, by your directions, to Mr. Dunn, the keeper. I after- wards delivered it to Mr. Mason, who informed me, that * * ***** would be with him the following day, and pro- cure what was desired. In two days after, Mr. Mason gave me several things to carry to Mr. Emmet, which I immediately showed to you, and then delivered them, except some articles which you mentioned to me were improper to be conveyed to him. " I then informed Mr. Mason, that it would be out of my power to effect Emmet's escape, as Mr. John Dunn, the keeper, remained entirely in that part of the prison ; upon which Mr. Mason gave me a guinea note, which I handed to MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. you, and instructed , a person whom he supposed would be produced on Mr. Emmet's trial, how to act according to the directions he then gave on that occasion, for the purpose of preventing her to go, or to give evidence. (Signed) " Geo. Dunn." The parts omitted in this memoir are those portions of the documents which relate to the attempts made to effect Russell's escape, which have been inserted in Russell's memoir. Having inserted the information of the secret informer of the government, which represents Mr. Mason as a person long connected with treasonable proceedings, I think it due to Mr. Mason to insert his petition to the House of Commons, in 1811, and a duty to my countrymeu, thus to show the evident refutation of the foul calumnies against him, and to exhibit a specimen of the information on which the lives and liberties of Irishmen have been taken out of the protection of the law, and made to depend on the fantasies and caprices of a minor functionary of the Irish government. No. VIII. Copy of an Extract in Book from the letter signed Mason has associated much and intimately with the Irish rebels ; he is a native of Kerry ; was in Dublin College, and graduated in 1197. Was one of a Committee then held at a printing-office in Exchequer-street, when he with * * * * of Kerry, and * * * * of Tipperary, were deputed agents to Kerry ; the former was the county representative, the two latter the colonel and adjutant general, by the request of A. O'Connor and Emmet. On the arrest at Oliver Bond's, Mason went to Wales, and lived near Tenby. Mason soon after entered his name on the Inns of Court. In summer, 1800, he made a visit at Fort George. He then went to Hamburgh ; thence to the Hague. * * *, * * * *, * * *, * * * *, * * ^ * % *^ * * * *^ were a £ Liverpool with the crew of the Hoche, disguised as Frenchmen. Mason, at the desire of f went there, supplied them with money, met them in London, contrived to have them first exchanged, and pay their expenses to Dover ; and when it was known- that they were MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. there, but their persons not known, Mason caused some French men to pass for them, who thereupon were sent to Ireland, where the stratagem was discovered too late. Mason has some fortune. From the Hague he went to Coblentz, from thence to Lon- don, by Embden ; there he lodged, first, in Marl borough-street, then iu Kentish town, and last, in Crown-street, Westminister, associating with several disaffected persons, particularly , , , , , , . With the last he was at Cheltenham last summer (1802) ; was a relation of Robert Emmet, and his class-fellow in College ; is cautious and timid. mr. mason's petition", presented by mr. sheridan, 26th June, 1311. The Petition of St. John Mason, Esq., as presented to the House of Commons, May IT, 1811, by the Right Hon. R. B. Sheridan. " To the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled, " The humble Petition of St. John Mason, " Most respectfully sheweth y " That your Petitioner was admitted a member of the Irish Bar, in Trinity Term, 1803. " That, in August thereof, your Petitioner was, when on circuit, arrested at the distance of seventy miles from Dublin, to which he was directly conveyed, and committed to the pri- son, of Kilmainham, where your Petitioner was detained in close and rigid custody, for more than two years. M That the instrument, by virtue of which your Petitioner had been so committed, was a State-warrant, signed by Mr. Wickham, then Chief Secretary for Ireland, under the Earl of HarJwicke's Administration, and by his Excellency's com- mand, containing a sweeping and general charge of treason ; and that said warrant did not specify that said charge was founded on any information given upon oath. " That your Petitioner and his friends have applied to the Irish government, in every shape, both personally and other- MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. wise, respecting its oppressive treatment of your Petitioner ; soliciting Examination, and claiming to be informed of the cause of your Petitioner's having been so deprived of his liberty for more than two years : but, that all such applications have been wholly unavailing, in consequence, as your Petitioner doth firmly, but most respectfully, assert to this honourable House, of the absolute inability of that government to state, with truth, any just cause whatsoever for such rigorous and unjust imprisonment of your Petitioner. " That, as it is impossible for your Petitioner to prove the negative of an undefined and unspecified charge, your Petitioner can, in general terms only, most solemnly declare his inno- cence ; — to establish which, your Petitioner had, also, during his imprisonment, when he was at the mercy of vile and cor- rupt informers, repeatedly, but in vain, demanded from the said government of Ireland, that Right which the Constitution gives to every subject of the land, against whom accusation has been laid, namely, a Trial by the Laws of his country I " That the infringement and suppression of justice, which had been exercised in the case of your Petitioner, not coming within the scope or cognizance of any legal tribunal, your Pe* titioner begs leave, with the most becoming respect, to ap- proach this honourable House for Constitutional redress ; and, as an injured subject of this realm, in whose person the general rights of the community have been violated, humbly appeal against such violation and suppression of justice ; — and, forti- fied as well by the rectitude of his conduct, as by a firm confi- dence in the protecting justice of this honourable House, your Petitioner begs permission to present his complaint against that Officer of the State, under whose government such viola- tion had been committed ; and whom your Petitioner, how- ever elevated might have been the trust and station to which that Officer had been exalted, cannot constitutionally consider as divested of responsibility for the acts of that trust, as exer- cised during his administration in Ireland ; — which said com- plaint your Petitioner most humbly begs to present to this honourable House, as his duty, in the last resort, to society and to himself, challenging all inquiry, and defying all imputa- tion on his probity and honour. " That your Petitioner doth, therefore, distinctly and di- rectly charge the government of the Earl of Hard wick e, when MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 175 that noble Earl was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, with Injus- tice and Oppkession, by having, in the person of your Peti- tioner, abused, to the injury and destruction of the subject, the discretionary powers of that trust, which had been granted for his protection ; and further, that the said Earl of Hardwicke has since continued to deny to your Petitioner that humble measure of justice, an acknowledgment of his innocence, of which your Petitioner cannot but think his Lordship is now con- vinced. And your Petitioner now humbly prays that this honourable House, which your Petitioner looks up to, as the Grand Depositary and Guardian of the Public Rights, ac- cording to the structure of the Constitution, will be graciously pleased to grant to your Petitioner, who is now in humble at- tendance, awaiting the pleasure of this honourable House, such means and opportunities of substantiating his said allegations, as may, in its wisdom, appear best calculated for the attain- ment of such his object, and for the accomplishment of justice ; — your Petitioner so praying, not only for the purpose of vin- dicating his character, but also under the protection of this honourable House, of guarding, by his humble efforts, the rights of the subject against similar infractions ; which rights have been so unconstitutionally violated in the person of the indi- vidual, your humble Petitioner. " And your Petitioner shall, &c, &c. " St. John Mason." CHAPTER XIY. On Monday, September 19, 1803, at the special commis- sion before Lord Norbury, Mr. Baron George, and Mr. Baron Daly, Robert Emmet was put on his trial, on a charge of high treason, under 25 Edward III. The counsel assigned him were Messrs. Ball, Burrowes, and M'Nally. The Attorney-general, Mr. Standish O'Grady, opened the indictment. In the learned gentleman's address to the jury, the establishment of the prisoner's guilt seemed not to be a matter of more importance than the defence of the government 176 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. from the appearance of surprisal, or the suspicion of having suffered a conspiracy, " serious in its unsounded depth and un- known extent," to have assumed a more formidable shape than a double policy and a feeble executive were calculated to deal with. In fact, in the speeches of the Attorney-general, the Solicitor-general, and the King's Counsel, Mr. Plunket, the hearers were perpetually, though, of course, unintentionally, reminded of the squabble between the Governor and the General. The Attorney-general, in the course of his able address, said : — " Perhaps at former periods some allowance might be made for the heated imaginations of enthusiasts ; perhaps an extravagant love of liberty might for a moment supersede a rational understanding, and might be induced, for want of suf- ficient experience or capacity, to look for that liberty in revo- lution. But it is not the road to liberty. It throws the mass of the people into agitation, only to bring the worst and most profligate to the surface. It originates in anarchy, proceeds in bloodshed, and ends in cruel and unrelenting despotism. . . • Gentlemen, I do not wish to undertake to speak in the pro- phetic. But when I consider the vigilance and firmness of his Majesty's Government, the spirit and discipline of his Majes- ty's troops, and that armed valour and loyalty which, from one end of the country to the other, has raised itself for the purpose of crushing domestic treason, and, if necessary, of meeting and repelling a foreign foe, I do not think it unreason- able to indulge a sanguine hope that the continuance of the same conduct upon the part of government, and of the same exertions upon the part of the people, will long preserve the nation free, happy, and independent Gentlemen, upon former occasions, persons were brought to the bar of this court, implicated in the rebellion, in various, though inferior degrees. But if I am rightly instructed, we have now brought to the bar of justice, not a person who had been seduced by othsrs, but a gentleman to whom the rebellion may be traced as the origin, the life, and soul of it I do sincerely lament with him (the prisoner), that some of those who have been hitherto brought to justice, were comparatively speaking, insignificant persons. They were not, I admit, prime movers of this treason ; but I trust the commission may not pass over without some distinguished examples." . . . . MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 171 At the conclusion of a speech of considerable length, tho jury were told to give the prisoner the full benefit of any de- fence he might make, and dispassionately consider the nature of his vindication. " EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES. " Joseph Rawlins, Esq., being sworn, deposed to a know- ledge of the prisoner, and recollected having been in his com pany some time in the month of December last, when he un- derstood from him that he had been to see his brother at Brussels. On his cross-examination, the witness said, that in conversations with him on the subject of continental politics, the prisoner avowed that the inhabitants of the Austrian Netherlands execrated Buonaparte's government ; and, from the whole of the prisoner's conversation, the witness had rea- son to believe that he highly condemned Buonaparte's conduct and government. " Mr. George Tyrrel, an attorney, proved the execution, in the month of June 'last, of the lease of a house in Butterfield- lane, Rathfarnham, from Michael Frayne to the prisoner, who assumed on the occasion the name of Ellis. Mr. Tyrrel was one of the subscribing witnesses to the lease, and a person named William Dowdall was the other. "Michael Frayne, who leased the above-mentioned house to the prisoner, proved also to that fact, and that he gave him possession of it on the 23rd of April preceding, that the pri- soner and Dowdall lived in the most sequestered manner, and apparently anxious of concealment. "John Fleming, a native of the County of Kildare, sworn: deposed that on the 23rd of July, and for the year previous thereto, he had been ostler at the White Bull Inn, Thomas^ street, kept by a person named Dillon. The house was con- venient to Marshal-lane, where the rebel Depot was, and to which the witness had free and constant access — having been in the confidence of the conspirators, and employed to bring them ammunition and other things. He saw the persons there making pike-handles, and heading them with the iron part ; he also saw the blunderbusses, firelocks, and pistols in the De- put : and saw ball-cartridges making there. Here the wit- ness identified the prisoner at the bar, whom he saw in the Depot for the first time on the Tuesday morning after the ex- 178 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. plosion in Patrick-street — (that explosion took place on Satur day, the 16th of July). The witness had opened the gate of the inn-yard, which opened into Marshal-lane, to let out Quig- ley, when he saw the prisoner, accompanied by a person of the name of Palmer ; the latter got some sacks from the witness, to convey ammunition to the stores, and the prisoner went into the Depot, where he continued almost constantly until the evening of the 23rd of July, directing the preparations for the insurrection, and having the chief authority. He heard the prisoner read a little sketch, as the witness called it, purporting that every officer, non-commissioned officer, and private should have equally everything they got, and have the same laws as in France. Being asked what it was they were to share, the prisoner replied, ' what they got when they were to take Ireland or Dublin.' He saw green uniform jackets making in the Depot by different tailors, one of whom was named Colgau. He saw one uniform in particular — a green coat, laced on the sleeves and skirts, &c. and gold epaulets, like a general's dress. He saw the prisoner take it out of a desk one day and show it to all present — (here the witness identified the desk, which was in court) ; he also saw the prisoner, at different times, take out papers, and put papers back into the desk ; there was none other in the store. Quig- ley used, also, sometimes to go to the desk. On the evening of the 23rd July, witness saw the prisoner dressed in the uni- form above described, with white waistcoat and pantaloons, new boots and cocked hat, and white feather. He had also a sash on him, and was armed with a sword and case of pistols. The prisoner called for a big coat, but did not get it, to dis- guise his uniform, as he said, until he went to the party that was to attack the Castle. Quigley and a person named Staf- ford had uniforms like that of Emmet, but had only one epaulet. Quigley had a white feather, and Stafford a green one. Stafford was a baker in Thomas-street. About nine o'clock, the prisoner drew his sword, and called out to 1 Come on, my boys.' He sallied out of the Depot, accompanied by Quigley and Stafford and about fifty men, as well as he could judge, armed with pikes, blunderbusses, pistols, &c. They entered Dirty -lane, and went from thence into Thomas-street The prisoner was in the centre of the party. They began tc fire in Dirty-lane, and also when they got into Thomas-street. MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 179 The witness was with the party. The prisoner went into the stores by the name of Ellis. He was considered by all of them as the general and head of the business ; the witness heard him called by the title of general. In and out of the Depot it was said that they were preparing to assist the French when they should land. Quigley went into the Depot by the name of Graham. " Terence Colgan, the tailor named in the foregoing evi- dence, being sworn, deposed that on the Sunday previous to the insurrection, he came to town from Lucan, where he lived; having met with a friend, they went to Dillon's, the White Bull Inn, in Thomas-street, and drank, until the witness, over- come with liquor, fell asleep, when he was conveyed in this state of insensibility into the Depot in Marshal-lane ; and when he awoke the next morning, he was set to work making green jackets and white pantaloons. He saw the prisoner there, by whose directions everything was done, and who he understood was the chief. He recollected seeing the last wit- ness frequently in the Depot while he was there. He also saw the prisoner often at the desk writing. The witness cor- roborated the general preparations of arms, ammunition, &c, for the insurrection. u Patrick Farrell sworn : deposed that as he was passing through Marshal-lane, between the hours of nine and ten ten o'clock on the evening of Friday, the 22nd of July, he stopped before the malt stores or Depot on hearing a noise therein, which surprised him, as he considered it a waste house. Immediately the door opened, and a man came forth, who caught him, and asked him what he was doing there J The witness w 7 as then brought into the Depot, and again asked what brought him there, or had he been ever there before ! He said he had not. They asked him did he know Graham ! He replied he did not. One of the persons then said that wit- ness was a spy, and called out to ' drop him immediately/ wmich the witness understood that they meant to shoot him. They brought him up stairs, and, after some consultation, they agreed to wait for some person to come in who would decide what should be done with him. That person having arrived, he asked the witness if he knew Graham ? He replied that he did not. A light was brought in at the same time, and the witness having looked about, was asked if he knew any onu 180 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. there ? He replied he knew Quigley. He was asked where ? He replied that he knew him five or six years ago, in the Col- lege of Maynooth, as a bricklayer or mason. The witness un- derstood that Quigley was the person who went by the name of Graham. Here witness identified the prisoner as the per- son who came in and decided he should not be killed, but he should be taken care of and not let out. The witness was de- tained there that night, and the whole of the next day, Satur- day, the 23rd, and was made to assist at the different kinds of work. " He assisted in taking boards from off a car ; the boards, he said, were made into cases, and pikes put into them. These cases the witness described as being made of the outside slabs of a long beam, taken off about an inch or more thick ; four or five inches at each end of the beam was cut off ; the slabs were nailed together, and these pieces put in at the ends — so that it appeared like a rough plank or beam of timber. He saw several such cases, filled with pikes, sent out. The witness stated that on the evening of the 23rd he saw three men dress- ed in green uniforms, richly laced ; one of whom was the pris- oner, who wore two gold epaulets, but the other two only one each. The prisoner had also a cocked hat, sword, and pistols. When the witness was helping out one of the beams prepared for explosion, he contrived to make his escape. " On his cross-examination, in which the interrogatories were suggested by the prisoner, the only thing remarkable in the evidence of the witness was, that he heard a printed paper read, part of which was, " that nineteen counties were ready at the same time, to second the attempt in Dublin/ 7 The witness also heard them say, 1 that they had no idea as to the French relief, but would make it good themselves/ In answer to a question from the Court, the witness said that he gave information of the circumstances deposed iu his evidence, next morning, to Mi*. Ormsby, in Thomas-street, to whom he was steward. " Sergeant Thomas Rice proved the proclamation of the Provisional Government, found in the Depot. !t Colonel Spencer Thomas Vassal being sworn, deposed that he was field officer of the day on the 23rd of July ; that having gone to the Depot in Marshal-lane, he found there several small proclamations, addressed to the citizens of Dublin, and which MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 181 were quite wet. He identified one of them. The witness also identified the desk which the prisoner used in the Depot. Hav- ing remained about a quarter of an hour in the Depot, he com- mitted to Major Greville the care of its contents. " Questioned by the Court — The witness said, that he visit- ed the Depot between three and four o'clock on Sunday morn- ing, it having been much advanced in daylight before he was suffered to go his rounds. " Alderman Frederick Darley, sworn — Proved having found in the Depot, a paper directed to ' Robert Ellis, Butterfield ; ? also a paper entitled, ' A Treatise on the Art of War.' The latter had been handed at the time to Captain Evelyn. " Captain Henry Evelyn sworn — Deposed having been at the rebel Depot the morning of Sunday, the 24th of July, to see the things removed to the barracks, and that he found a paper there (which, being shown to him, he identified.) This paper was a manuscript draft of the greater part of the pro- clamation of the Provisional Government, altered and inter- lined in a great many places. " Robert Lindsay, a soldier, and Michael Clement Frayne, quartermaster-sergeant of the 38th Regiment, proved the con- veyance of the desk (then in court) to the barracks ; and the hitter identified a letter which he found therein. The letter was signed, ' Thomas Addis Emmet/ and directed to ' Mrs. Emmet, Miltown, near Dublin/ and began with 1 My dearest Robert.' It bore a foreign post-mark. " Edward Wilson, Esq., recollected the explosion of gun- powder which took place in Patrick-street, previous to the 23rd of July ; it took place on the 16th. He went there, and found an apparatus for making gunpowder ; was certain that it was gunpowder exploded. Proved the existence of a rebel- lious insurrection ; as did also Lieutenant Brady. The latter added, that on an examination of the pikes, which he found in Thomas-street, four were stained with blood on the iron part, and on one or two of them, the blood extended half way up the handle. " John Doyle, a farmer, being sworn, deposed to the follow- ing effect — That on the morning of the 26th of July last, about two o'clock, a party of people came to his house at Bally- mack, in the parish of Tallaght, seven miles from Dublin. He had been aft^r drinking, and was heavy asleep ; they came tc 182 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. his bedside, and stirred and called him, but he did not awake at once ; when he did, and looked up, he lay closer than be- fore ; they desired him to take some spirits, which he refused ; they then moved him to the middle of the bed ; and two of them lay down, one on each side of him. One of them said, 1 You have a French general and a French colonel beside you, what you never had before.' For some hours the witness lay between them asleep and awake. When he found his com- panions asleep, he stole out of bed, and found in the room some blunderbusses, a gun, and some pistols. The number of blunderbusses, he believed, was equal to the number of per- sons, who, on being collected at breakfast, amounted to four- teen. (Here he identified the prisoner as one of those who were in bed with him.) " The witness then further stated, that the prisoner, on going away in the evening, put on a coat with a great deal of lace and tassels (as he expressed it). There was another person in a similiar dress : they wore on their departure great coats over these. The party left his house between eight and nine o'clock in the evening, and proceeded up the hill. The next morning, the witness found under the table, on which they breakfasted, one of the small printed proclamations, which he gave to John Robinson, the barony constable. " Rose Bagnal, residing at Ballynascorney, about a mile farther up the hill from Doyle's, proved, that, a party of men, fifteen in number, and whom she described similar to that of the preceding witness, came to her house on the night of the, Tuesday immediately after the insurrection. Three of them wore green clothes, ornamented with something yellow : she was so frightened, she could not distinguish exactly. One of them was called a general. She was not enabled to identify any of them. They left her house about nine o'clock the fol- lowing night. " John Robinson, constable of the barony of Upper Cross, corroborated the testimony of the witness Doyle, relative to the small proclamation which he identified. " Joseph Palmer sworn — Deposed that he was clerk to Mr. Col vi lie, and lodged at his mother's house, Harold's Cross. He recollected the apprehension of the prisoner at his mother's house, by Major Sirr ; and that he did lodge there the pre- ceding spring, at which time, and when he was arrested, he MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 183 went by the name of Hewitt, The prisoner came to lodge there the second time, about three weeks before this last time, and was habited in a brown coat, white waistcoat, white pan- taloons, Hessian boots, and a black frock. Those who visited the prisoner inquired for him by the name of Hewitt. At the time he was arrested, there was a label on the door of the house, expressive of its inhabitants ; it was written by the witness, but the name of the prisoner was omitted, at his re- quest, because he said he was afraid government would take him up. " The prisoner, in different conversations with the witness, explained why he feared to be taken up. He acknowledged that he had been in Thomas-street on the night of the 23rd of July, and described the dress he wore on that occasion, part of which was the w T aistcoat, pantaloons, and boots already mentioned, and particularly his coat, which, he said, was a very handsome uniform. The prisoner had also a conversation with the witness about a magazine, and expressed much regret at the loss of the powder in the Depot. The proclamations were likewise mentioned by the prisoner ; and he planned a mode of escape, in the event of any attempt to arrest him, by going through the parlour window into the back house, and from thence into the fields. Here the witness was shown a paper, found upon a chair in the room in which the prisoner lodged, and asked if he knew whose hand-writing it was? He replied that he did not know ; but was certain that it had not been written by any of his family, and there was no lodger in his house besides the prisoner. " The examination of this witness being closed, extracts from the proclamation addressed to the citizens of Dublin, were read. " Major Henry Charles Sirr sworn and examined — Deposed to the arrest of the prisoner, on the evening of the 25th of August, in the house of Palmer, in Harold's Cross. " Mr. M'Xally said, as Mr. Emmet did not intend to call any witness, or to take up the time of the Court by his coun- sel stating any case, or making any observations on the evi- dence. He presumed the trial was now closed on both sides. 14 Mr. Plunket stood up and said — ' It is with extreme re- luctance that, under such circumstances, I do not feel myself 184 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. at liberty to follow the example which has been set me by the counsel for the prisoner. " The Attorney-General said — As the prisoner's declining to go into any case wore the impression that the case on the part of the crown required na answer, it was at his- particular desire that Mr. Plunket rose to address the Court. " Mr. Plunket made a speech, exceeding in length that of the Attorney-General, the former occupying twelve pages of the printed report, the latter only nine. The learned gentle- man commented on the evidence with extraordinary skill and precision, and brought home, at every sentence of it, guilt enough to have convicted twenty men, in the awful situation of the prisoner. He said, 1 With regard to this mass of ac- cumulated evidence, forming irrefragable proof of the guilt of the prisoner, I conceive no man, capable of putting together two ideas, can have a doubt/ " In observing upon the conduct of the prisoner at the bar, and bringing home the evidence of his guilt, Mr. Plunket said, ' I am bringing home guilt to a person, who, I say, is the cen- tre, the life, blood, and soul of this atrocious conspiracy/ The prisoner's aim was, not to reform the abuses of the gov- ernment, but 1 to sever the connection between Great Britain and Ireland/ " Gentlemen, I should feel it a waste of words and of pub- lic time, were I to address you, or any person within the limits of my voice, were I to talk of the frantic desperation of the plan of any man who speculates upon the dissolution of that empire, whose glory and whose happiness depends upon its in- dissoluble connection. But were it practicable to sever that connection, to untie the links which bind us to the British constitution, and to turn us adrift upon the turbulent ocean of revolution, who could answer for the existence of this country, as an independent country, for a year ? God and nature have made the two couutries essential to each other. Let them cling to each other to the end of time ; and then, united affec- tion and loyalty will be proof against the machinations of the world."* * The eloquence of this passage is, perhaps, only inferior to that of one in a speech of Mr. Plunket, delivered in the Irish House of Com- mons, in a debate on the Union, on the 16th January, 1800, (from the *' Parliamentary Debates," p. 8 ( J. Moore, Dublin.) MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 185 Mr. Plunket, in his speech on Emmet's trial, truly said, " If the wisest head that ever lived had framed the wisest system of laws which human ingenuity could devise ; if he were satisfied that the system were exactly fitted to the dis- position of the people for whom he intended it, and that a great portion of the people were anxious for its adoption, he would take leave to say, that under all these circumstances of fitness and disposition, a well-judging mind and a humane heart, would pause awhile, and stop upon the brink of his purpose, be- fore he would hazard the peace of his country, by resorting to force for the establishment of his system." "There are principles of repulsion," said Mr. Plunket; "yes, but there are principles of attraction ; and from these, the enlightened statesman extracts the principle by which the countries are to be har- moniously governed. As soon would I listen to the shallow observer of nature who should say, there is a centrifugal force impressed on our globe, and, therefore, lest she should be hurried into the void of space, let us rush into the centre to be consumed there. No; I say to this rash arraigner of the dispensations of the Almighty, there are impul- ses, from whose wholesome opposition Eternal Wisdom has declared the law by which we revolve in our proper sphere, and at our proper distance. So I say to the political visionary, from the opposite system which you object to, I see the wholesome law of imperial connection derived; I see the two countries preserving their due distance from each other, generating and imparting heat, and light, and life, and health, and vigour ; and I will abide by the wisdom and experience of the ages which are past, in preference to the speculations of an} 7 modern philosophy. See, I warn the ministers of this country against persever- ing in their present system. Let them not proceed to offer violence to the settled principles, or to shake the settled loyalty of the country. Let them not persist in the wicked and desperate doctrine which places British connection in contradistinction to Irish freedom. I revere them both : it has been the habit of my life to do so. For the present con- stitution I am ready to make any sacrifice. I have proved it. For British connection I am ready to lay down my life. My actions have proved it. Why have I done so? Because I consider that connection essential to the freedom of Ireland. Do not, therefore, tear asunder, to oppose each other, these principles which are identified in the minds of loyal Irishmen. For me, I do not hesitate to declare, that if the madness of the revolutionist should tell me, you must sacrifice British connection, I would adhere to that connection in preference to the in- dependence of my country ; but I have as little hesitation in saying, that if the wanton ambition of a minister should assault the freedom of Ireland, and compel me to the alternative, I would fling the con- nection to the winds, and I would clasp the independence of my coun- try to my heart. I trust the virtue and wisdom of the Irish parlia 186 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. Would to God that wise and truly Christian sentiment had tempered the ardour and controlled the enthusiasm of that noble-minded being, whose youth and inexperience had been thrown on such bad times, and were so unfitted to contend with the villany in high places that predominated in them. " The proclamation," Mr. Plunket said, " told the people of Ireland, ' the effort was to be entirely their own, independent of foreign aid.' But out of that proclamation he would con- vict the prisoner of duplicity ; for he tells the government, if they put down the present effort, 1 they would have to crush a greater effort, rendered still greater by foreign alliance.' But while they were introducing their new-fangled French principles, they forget to tell the people whom they address, that they have been enjoying the benefit of equal laws, by which the property, the person, and constitutional rights and privileges of every man were abundantly protected. They have not pointed out a single instance of oppression Did any man presume to invade another in the enjoyment of his property ? If he did, was not the punishment of the law brought down upon him ? What did he want ? What is it that any rational freedom could expect, and that this country were not fully and amply in the possession of T } Three years and six months had passed over since the one thing needful to the happiness of Ireland was to have been clasped to the heart. It had been torn away ; and lo, and behold ! there was not a single instance of oppression, nothing of rational freedom, that the country was not fully and amply in possession of ! ment and people will prevent that dreadful alternative from arising. If it should come, be the guilt of it on the heads of those who make it necessary." "The dreadful alternative" came in a few weeks after the delivery of Mr. Plunket's able speech, and the indignant orator "clasped his" hands with astonishment, outlived the Union, and in three years and a half after its accomplishment, poor Robert Emmet very foolish- ly thought Mr. Plunket had been in earnest in what he so eloquently threatened to do — he unfortunately " flung the connection to the winds" in reality; and Mr. Plunket was one of his prosecutors, who, in the necessary discharge of his duty, had to call on a jury to con- demn the young man, who had done what he himself had vowed to do hypothetically and metaphorically in his place in parliament. Mr. Plunket's appointment to the uffice of Solicitor-General, was gazetted the 17th of November, 1803, MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 18T " "When the prisoner reflected," said Mr. Plunket, " that he had stooped from the honourable situation in which his birth, talents, and education placed him, to debauch the minds of the lower orders of ignorant men, with the phantoms of liberty and equality, he must feel that it was an unworthy use of his talents," &c " It was not for him/' Mr. Plunket, " to say, what were the limits of the mercy of God, what a sincere repentance of those crimes might effect ; but he did say, that if this unfortunate young gentleman retained any of the seeds of humanity in his heart, or possessed any of those qualities which a virtuous education, in a liberal seminary, must have planted in his bosom, he will make an atonement to his God and his country, by employing whatever time remains to him, in warning his deluded countrymen from persevering in their schemes. " Much blood has been shed, and he, the prisoner, would, perhaps, have been immolated by his followers, if he had suc- ceeded. They were a blood-thirsty crew, incapable of listen- ing to the voice of reason, and equally incapable of obtaining rational freedom, if it were wanting in this country, as they are of enjoying it. They imbrue their hands in the most sacred blood of the country ; and yet, they call upon God to prosper their cause, as it is just." Mr. Plunket ended by saying, " But as it is atrocious, wicked, and abominable, I most de- voutly invoke that God to confound and overwhelm it." Lord Xorbury then charged the jury ; and it ought in fair- ness, I will not say to that much injured, but much reprobated man, to be stated, that his speech was as free from rancour, as it was in the nature of things for any speech of Lord Nor- bury's to be, addressed to a prisoner on his trial, or to a plain- tiff in a cause that came before him. The jury, without retiring from the box, brought in a ver- dict of Guilty. The Attorney-General prayed the judgment of the Court. Mr. M'Xally, on the part of the prisoner, stated a request, which, probably, ought to be addressed to the Attorney- General, that judgment might not be made until the following day. The Attorney-General, Mr. Standish O'Grady, said, " It was impossible to comply with the request." The Clerk of the Crown "then, in the usual form, addressed 188 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. the prisoner, concluding in these words, — " What have you, therefore, now to say, why judgment of death and execution should not be awarded against you, according to law ¥' Mr. Emmet, standing forward in the dock, in front of the bench, said, — " My lords, as to why judgment of death and execution should not be passed upon me, according to law, I have nothing to say ; but as to why my character should not be relieved from the imputations and calumnies thrown out against it, I have much to say. I do not imagine that your lordships will give credit to what I am going to utter ; I have no hopes that I can anchor my character in the breast of the court, I only wish your lordships may suffer it to float down your memories until it has found some more hospitable harbour to shelter it from the storms with which it is at present buffet- ed. Was I to suffer only death, after being adjudged guilty, I should bow in silence to the fate which awaits me ; but the sentence of the law which delivers over my body to the execu- tioner, consigns my character to obloquy. A man in my situa- tion has not only to encounter the difficulties of fortune, but also the difficulties of prejudice. Whilst the man dies, his memory lives ; and that mine may not forfeit all claim to the respect of my countrymen, I seize upon this opportunity to vindicate myself from some of the charges alleged against me. I am charged with being an emissary of France : it is false — ■ I am no emissary. 1 did not wish to deliver up my country to a foreign power, and least of all, to France. Never did I entertain the remotest idea of establishing French power in Ireland. From the introductory paragraph of the address of the Provisional Government, it is evident that every hazard attending an independent effort, was deemed preferable, to the more fatal risk of introducing a French army into this country. Small, indeed, would be our claim to patriotism and to sense, and palpable our affectation of the love of liberty, if we were to sell our country to a people, who are not only slaves them- selves, but the unprincipled and abandoned instruments of im- posing slavery on others. And my lords, let me here observe, that I am not the head and life's blood of this rebellion. When I came to Ireland, I found the business ripe for execu- tion. I was asked to join in it. I took time to consider ; and after mature deliberation, I became one of the Provisional Government ; and there then was, my lords, an agent from MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 189 the United Irishmen and Provisional Government of Ireland at Paris, negotiating with the French Government, to obtain from them an aid sufficient to accomplish the separation of Ireland from Great Britain, the preliminary to which assist- ance has been a guarantee to Ireland similar to that which Franklin obtained for America ; but the intimation that I, or the rest of the Provisional Government, meditated to put our country under the dominion of a power which has been the enemy of freedom in every part of the globe, is utterly false and unfounded. Did we entertain any such ideas, how could we speak of giving freedom to our countrymen ? how could we assume such an exalted motive ? If such an inference is drawn from any part of the proclamation of the provisional government, it calumniates their views, and is not warranted by the fact. " Connection with France was, indeed, intended, but only as far as mutual interest would sanction or require. Were they to assume any authority inconsistent with the purest independ- ence, it would be the signal for their destruction. We sought aid, and we sought it — as we had assurance we should obtain it — as auxiliaries in war, and allies in peace. " Were the French to come as invaders or enemies, unin- vited by the wishes of the people, I should oppose them to the utmost of my strength. Yes ! my countrymen, I should ad- vise you to meet them upon the beach, with a sword in one hand, and a torch in the other. I would meet them with all the destructive fury of war. I would animate my countrymen to immolate them in their boats, before they had contaminated the soil of my country. If they succeeded in landing, and, if forced to retire before superior discipline, I would dispute every inch of ground, burn every blade of grass, and the last intrenchment of liberty should be my grave. What I could not do myself, if I should fall, I should leave as a last charge to my countrymen to accomplish : because I should feel con- scious that life, any more than death, is unprofitable, when a foreign nation holds my country in subjection. " Reviewing the conduct of France to other countries, could we expect better towards us ? No ; let not then any man attaint my memory by believing that I could have hoped to give freedom to my country, by betraying the sacred cause of liberty, and committing it to the power of her most determined 190 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. foe. Had I done so, I had not deserved to live ; and, dying with such a weight upon my character, I had merited the hon- est execration of that country which gave me birth, and to which I would give freedom. What has been the conduct of the French towards other countries ? they promised them liberty, and when they got them into their power, they en- slaved them. What has been their conduct towards Switzer- land, where it has been stated that I have been ? had the peo- ple there been desirous of French assistance, I would have sided with the people, I would have stood between them and the French, whose aid they called in, and, to the utmost of my ability, I would have protected them from every attempt at subjugation ; I would, in such case, have fought against the French, and, in the dignity of freedom, I would have ex- pired on the threshold of that country, and they should have entered it only by passing over my lifeless corpse. Is it then to be supposed that I would be slow in making the same sacri- fices for my native land ; and I, who lived but to be of ser- vice to my country, and who would subject myself to the bondage of the grave to give her freedom and independence, am I to be loaded with the foul and grievous calumny of being an emissary of French tyranny and French despotism ? My Lords, it may be part of the system of angry justice, to bow a man's mind by humiliation to meet the ignominy of the scaffold, but worse to me than the scaffold's shame, or the scaffold's terrors, would be the imputation of having been the agent of the despotism and ambition of France ; and, whilst I have breath, I will call upon my countrymen not to believe me guilty of so foul a crime against their liberties, and against their happiness. I would do with the people of Ireland as I would have done with the people of Switzerland, could I be called upon at any future period of time so to do. My ob- ject, and that of the rest of the provisional government, was, to effect a total separation between Great Britain and Ireland, to make Ireland totally independent of Great Britain, but not to let her become a dependant of France. " When my spirit shall have joined those bands of martyred heroes, who have shed their blood on the scaffold, and in the field, in defence of their country, this is my hope, that my memory and name may serve to animate those who survive me. MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 191 " While the destruction of that government which upholds its domiuiou by impiety agaiust the Most High, which dis- plays its power over man as over the beasts of the field, which sets mau upou his brother, and lifts his hands, in religion's name, agaiust the throat of his fellow, who, believes a little more or less than the government standard, which reigns amidst the cries of the orphaus and of the widows it has made." (Here Mr. Emmet was interrupted by Lord Xor- bury.) After a few words on the subject of his objects, purposes, and the final prospect of success, he was again interrupted, when he said — " What I have spoken was not intended for your lordships, whose situation I commiserate rather than envy ; my expres- sions were for my countrymen. If there be a true Irishman preseut, let my last words cheer him in the hour of affliction." Lord Norbury interrupted the prisoner. 14 1 have always understood it to be the duty of a judge, when a prisoner has been convicted, to pronounce the sentence of the law. I have also understood that judges sometimes think it their duty to hear with patience, and to speak with human- ity ; to exhort the victim of the laws, and to offer, with ten- der benignity, his opinions of the motives by which he was ac- tuated, in the crime of which he was adjudged guilty. That a judge has thought it his duty so to have done, I have no doubt ; but where is the boasted freedom of your institutions — where is the vaunted impartiality, clemency, and mildness of your courts of justice, if an unfortunate prisoner, whom your policy, and not justice, is about to deliver into the hands of the executioner, is not suffered to explain his motives, sincerely and truly, and to vindicate the principles by which he was ac- tuated ? M My Lords, it may be a part of the system of angry jus- tice, to bow a man's mind by humiliation, to the purposed ignominy of the scaffold ; but worse to me than the purposed shame, or the scaffold's terrors, would be the tame endurance of such foul and unfounded imputations as have been laid against me in this court. You, my Lord, are a judge. I am the supposed culprit. I am a man — you are a man also. By si revolution of power, we might change places, though we never could change characters. If I stand at the bar of this 192 MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. court, and dare not vindicate my character, what a farce is your justice ! If I stand at this bar, and dare not vindicate my character, how dare you calumniate it ? Does the sentence of death, which your unhallowed policy inflicts on my body, condemn my tongue to silence, and my reputation to reproach ? Your executioner may abridge the period of my existence, but, while I exist, I shall not forbear to vindicate my character and motives from your aspersions ; and, as a man to whom fame is dearer than life, I will make the last use of that life in doing justice to that reputation which is to live after me; and which is the only legacy I can leave to those I honour and love, and for whom I am proud to perish. As men, my Lords, we must appear on the great day at one common tri- bunal ; and it will then remain for the Searcher of all hearts to show a collective universe, who was engaged in the most virtuous actions, or actuated by the purest motives — my country's oppressors, or " (Here be was interrupted, and told to listen to the sentence of the law.) " My Lords, will a dying man be denied the legal privilege of exculpating himself in the eyes of a community from a re- proach thrown upon him during his trial, by charging him with ambition, and attempting to cast away, for a paltry con- sideration, the liberties of his country, why then insult me, or rather, why insult justice, in demanding of me why sentence of death should not be pronounced against me ? I know, my' Lords, that the form prescribes that you should put the ques- tion, the form also confers a right of answering. This, no doubt, may be dispensed with, and so might the whole cere- mony of the trial, since sentence was already pronounced at the Castle before your jury were impanelled. Your Lord- ships are but the priests of the oracle, and I submit, but I in- sist on the whole of the forms." (Here Mr. Emmet paused, and the court desired him to proceed.) " I have been charged with that importance in the efforts to emancipate my country, as to be considered the key-stone of the combination of Irishmen, or, as it has been expressed, ' the life and blood of this conspiracy/ You do me honour over- much ; you have given to the subaltern all the credit of the superior. There are men concerned in this conspiracy, who are MEMOIR OF ROBERT EMMET. 193 not only superior to me, but even to your own conceptions to yourself, my Lord ; men, before the splendour of whose genius and virtues I should bow with respectful deference, and who would not deign to call you friend — who would not disgrace themselves by shaking your blood-stained hand." (Here he was interrupted by Lord Xorbury.) " What, my Lord, shall you tell me on my passage to the scaffold — which that tyranny of which you are only the inter- mediate minister, has erected for my death — that I am ac- countable for all the blood that has and will be shed in this struggle of the oppressed against the oppressor ? Shall you tell me this — and must I be so very a slave as not to repel it ? re than two-thirds of what he had prepared, there was force and eloquence in the sentences which he interpolated, on the ins- tant, in reply and reproof to the judicial scold. Emmet was naturally so eloquent