making such disposition you are desired to carry such disarming into effect.

His excellency gives you this full authority, in order to give your discretion the greatest latitude, relying at the same time on your prudence and discernment in the exercise of it, so that the peaceable and well-affected may be protected against the evil designs of those who have threatened their lives and property with destruction.

His excellency further authorizes you to employ force against any persons assembled in arms, not legally authorized so to be, to disperse all tumultuous assemblies of persons, though they may not be in arms, without waiting for the sanction and assistance of the civil authority, if in your opinion the peace of the realm, and the safety of his majesty's faithful subjects may be endangered by waiting for such authority.

His excellency further authorizes you to consider those parts of the country, where the outrages before stated have been committed, or where they shall arise, as being in a state that requires all the measures of exertion and precaution, which a country depending upon military force alone for its protection would require : and you are therefore required to station your troops with a view to interrupt communication between those whom you may have reason to suspect of evil designs; to establish patroles on the high roads or other passes, and to stop all persons passing or repassing after certain hours of the night, and in order completely to carry into effect any orders or regulations which, in the circumstances of the case may be considered by you as necessary, your are authorized to issue notices, stating the regulations, and calling upon his majesty's subjects to be aiding and assisting therein.

I have the honour to be, &c. &c.

General Lake's Proclamation.

T. P.

Belfast, March 13th, 1797. WHEREAS the daring and horrid outrages in many parts of this province, evidently perpetrated with a view to supersede the laws and the administration of justice, by an organized system of murder and robbery, have increased to such an alarming degree, as from their atrocity and extent, to bid defiance to the civil power, and to endanger the lives and properties of his majesty's faithful subjects.

And whereas, the better to effect their traitorous purposes, several persons who have been enrolled under the authority of his majesty's commissions, and others have been forcibly and traitor

ously deprived of their arms, it is therefore become indipensably necessary for the safety and protection of the well-disposed, to interpose the king's troops under my command, and I do hereby give notice, that I have received authority and directions to act in such manner as the public safety may require: I therefore hereby enjoin and require all persons in this district (peace officers and those serving in a military capacity excepted) forthwith to bring in and surrender up all arms and ammunition, which they may have in their possession, to the officer commanding the king's troops in their neighbourhood.

I trust that an immediate compliance with this order may render any act of mine to enforce it unnecessary.

Let the people seriously reflect before it is too late on the ruin, into which they are rushing; let them reflect on their present prosperity and the miseries in which they will inevitably be involved by persisting in acts of positive rebellion; let them instantly by surrendering up their arms and by restoring those traitorously taken from the king's forces, rescue themselves from the severity of military authority. Let all the loyal and well-intentioned act together with energy and spirit in enforcing subordination to the laws, and restoring tranquillity in their respective neighbourhoods, and they may be assured of protection and support from me.

And I do hereby invite all persons, who are enabled to give information touching arms and ammunition which may be concealed, immediately to communicate the same to the several officers commanding his majesty's forces in their respective districts; and for their encouragement and reward, I do hereby promise and engage, that strict and inviolable secrecy shall be observed with respect to all persons who shall make communication; and that every person who shall make it shall receive a reward the full value of all such arms and ammunition.

G. LAKE, Lieut. Gen. Commanding the Northern District.

No. CV.

BY THE LORD LIEUTENANT AND COUNCIL OF IRELAND

CAMDEN.

A PROCLAMATION......PAGE 268.

WHEREAS there exists within this kingdom a seditious and traitorous conspiracy, by a number of persons

styling themselves United Irishmen, for the subversion of the authority of his majesty and the parliament, and the destruction of the established constitution and government: and whereas, for the execution of such their wicked designs, they have planned means of open violence, and formed secret arrangements for raising, arming, and paying a disciplined force; and in furtherance of their purposes have frequently assembled in great and unusual numbers, under the colourable pretence of planting or digging potatoes, attending funerals and the like, and have frequently assembled in large armed bodies, and plundered of arms the houses of many of his majesty's loyal subjects in different parts of the kingdom, and cut down and carried away great numbers of trees wherewith to make handles for pikes and other offensive weapons to arm their traitorous associates, and have audaciously attempted to disarm the district or yeomanry corps enrolled under his majesty's commission for the defence of the realm, and even fired upon several bodies of his majesty's forces when attempting to quell their insurrections; and it is therefore now become necessary to use the utmost powers, with which government is by law entrusted for the suppression of such traitorous attempts: and whereas the exertions of the civil power have proved ineffectual for the suppression of the aforesaid traitorous and wicked conspiracy, and for the protection of the lives and properties of his majesty's faithful subjects.

Now we, the lord lieutenant, by and with the advice of the privy council, having determined as far as in us lies to suppress such daring attempts, and at the same time desirous to prevent the well-disposed or misled from falling into the dangers to which ignorance or incaution may expose them, do by this our proclamation forewarn all such to abstain from entering into the said traitorous societies of United Irishmen, or any of them, and from resorting to their meetings, or acting under their directions or influence, or taking or adhering to any of their declarations or engagements, and from suffering them to assemble in their houses, or in any manner harbouring them. And we do strictly charge and command, on their allegiance, all persons having knowledge or information of the meetings of the said societies, or any of them, to give immediate information thereof to some of his ma jesty's justices of the peace, or to some officer of his majesty's forces in the neighbourhood of the place where such meeting is intended. And we do forewarn all persons from tumultuous or unlawful assemblies, or from meeting in unusual numbers, under the plausible or colourable pretence aforesaid, or any other what

soever.

And we caution his majesty's loyal and loving subjects whenever such assemblies shall happen, or that they receive notice from

any magistrate or from the officer commanding any body of his majesty's forces, to keep quietly within their dwellings, to the end that the well-disposed may avoid the mischiefs, which the guilty may bring upon themselves.

And as it has become necessary, from the circumstances before mentioned, to employ the military force, with which we are by law entrusted for the immediate suppression of such rebellious and traitorous attempts now making against the peace and dignity of the crown, and the safety of the lives and properties of his majesty's loyal subjects, we have therefore issued the most direct and effectual orders to all officers commanding his majesty's troops, by the exertions of their utmost force, and with their full power to oppose all such as shall resist them in the execution of their duty.

And we do hereby strictly charge and command all our officers civil and military, and all other his majesty's loving subjects, to use their utmost endeavours to discover all pikes, pike heads, concealed guns and swords, offensive weapons or ammunition of any kind whatsover.

And we do hereby charge and command all persons having in their custody pikes, pike heads, or concealed guns, swords, offensive weapons or ammunition whatsoever, to deliver up the same to some magistrate or officer of his majesty's troops, as they shall answer the contrary at their peril.

And we do hereby strictly charge and command all officers civil and military, and all other his majesty's faithful subjects, to be aiding and assisting in suppressing all traitorous, tumultuous or unlawful assemblies, and in bringing to punishment all persons disturbing or attempting to disturb the public peace.

And whereas we have reason to hope that many of his majes ty's subjects who have joined the said traitorous societies, have done so without having been apprized of the extent of their crime, and others from intimidation, and that such may be willing to return to their allegiance Now we being desirous to extend his majesty's pardon to all such as are sensible of their errors and will return to their allegiance, do hereby promise his majesty's most gracious pardon to all such persons so seduced and intimidated, as have taken an engagement to the said societies, or any of them, who shall on or before the 24th day of June next surrender themselves to any of his majesty's justices of the quorum of the counties, in which they shall respectively reside, and take the oath of allegiance, and enter into sufficient recognizances, with two sufficient securities, if securities shall be required by the magistrate before whom such recognizances shall be acknowledg ed, which recognizance every such magistrate is hereby required to return to the next general session of the peace or assizes to

be holden in and for the county, in which such recognizance shall be taken respectively, to be of the peace and good behaviour for the space of seven years, save and except all such as have been guilty of murder, conspiracy of murder, burglary, burning of houses, corn or hay, stacks of straw or turf, maliciously digging up or injuring or destroying any potatoes, flax or hemp, rape or corn of any kind planted or sowed, or destroying meadows or hay, maiming or houghing of cattle, administering or causing to be administered any unlawful oath or engagement to any of his majesty's forces of any description, or inciting or encouraging any person to commit any of the aforesaid offences respectively, and save and except all persons now in custody.

Given at the Council Chamber in Dublin, the 17th day of May, 1797.

W. Armagh
Clare, C.

W. Tuam
Waterford

Drogheda

Westmeath

Altamont
Glendore

Carleton
Yelverton
J. Foster

Shannon

Gosford, H.

J. Blaquiere

Meath

Denis Brown
T. Pelham
H. Cavendish

Clanbrassie
Theo. Jones
Jos. Cooper
James Cuffe

D. Latouche

J. M. Mason
Arthur Wolfe

H. Langrish
Robert Ross
Isaac Corry
S. Hamilton

Geo. Ogle

MY LORD,

Mr. Pelham's letter to lord Carhampton.

Dublin Castle, 18th May, 1797.

THE lord lieutenant and council having judged it expedient to call upon his majesty's troops to exert their ut most force to suppress a seditious and traitorous conspiracy of persons styling themselves United Irishmen, I am commanded by his excellency to transmit to your lordship a copy of the proclamation issued on this subject, and to desire that your lordship will issue the necessary orders to the troops under your command in consequence thereof; his excellency has directed me to represent to your lordship, that as the traitorous and treasonable designs of these conspirators extend to the subversion of the constitution and government, it will be necessary to have recourse to their exertions. In those parts of the kingdom where these designs have been manifested by acts of open violence, it will be necessary to give the officers of his majesty's troops more precise