by this time he had disappeared.1 The book was really much wanted. It was known to contain replies to letters in the hands of the committee on the establishment of Orange lodges in certain regiments at Gibraltar and elsewhere, and must afford information on the proceedings of the Orange missionary, named Uccalli, who had complained of the difficulty of establishing Orange lodges among the troops in the Ionian Islands, from the vigilant resistance of Lord Nugent and the other authorities.2 The committee earnestly desired to have the book; and it was moved that the House should order Colonel Fairman's papers to be searched. It was believed that the House had this power; but, considering the odium of exercising it, and the probability that where Colonel Fairman was secreted, there were all his important papers likewise, it was thought best not to issue the order. Next, it was ascertained, by certain parties determined to carry this matter through, that the case of the Orange Proposed leaders was analogous to that of the Dorsetshire labor- prosecution. ers. They had become liable under the same law; and it was now resolved, that, if evidence could be obtained, the Duke of Cumberland, Lord Kenyon, the Bishop of Salisbury, and others, and Colonel Fairman, should be brought to trial before the Central Criminal Court. The prosecutors got hold of Haywood, the Orangeman who had taken fright at Fairman's incitements to treason, had made them known, and was prosecuted for libel in consequence. It was clear to the committee that the evidence bore out Haywood's statements; and those who were about to prosecute the Orange leaders appointed counsel for Haywood's defence, the counsel retained being Serjeant Wilde, Mr. Charles Austin, and Mr. Charles Buller. For the prosecution, the most eminent counsel were retained: the indictments were drawn, notwithstanding the difficulty of assigning the exact title of the Duke of Cumberland; the evidence was marshalled; the original letters were arranged; and all was prepared, when two events happened which rendered further proceedings unneces sary. 3 Haywood. Poor Haywood died through apprehension. He felt himself the probable victim of the great association whose Death of power he well knew, and whose wrath he had brought upon himself; and he was not yet aware of the powerful protection to be extended over him, when he broke a blood-vessel, through agitation of mind. It was then too late to save him; and he died a few days before the trial was to have come on. The other cause of delay was a request from Mr. Hume, that all 4 1 Hansard, xxx. p. 777. 2 Hansard, xxx. p. 676. proceedings should be stayed till after the debate which he was Postpone- to bring on in the Commons. It was all-important that that debate should take place; and the House would refuse the opportunity, if the subject was at the same time in course of inquiry in a criminal court. ment. Address to On the 23d of February, 1836, Mr. Hume, to whom the country owed more than to any other man in regard to the exposure and annihilation of this great conspiracy, made a complete revelation of the whole matter, ending with a tremendous resolution. This resolution declared the abhorrence of Parliament of all such secret political associations, and proposed an address to the King, requesting him to cause the discharge of all Orangethe King. men, and members of any other secret political associations, from all offices, civil and military, unless they should retire from such societies within one month from the publication of a proclamation to that effect. Lord John Russell, in a speech of as much prudence as manliness, proposed a somewhat milder proceeding, an address to the King, praying that His Majesty would take such measures as should be effectual for the suppression of the societies in question. The Orangemen in the House were prudent, and offered no opposition. Lord John Russell's resolution was unanimously agreed to. Two days Reply. afterwards, the royal reply, echoing the resolution, was received. The Home Secretary transmitted a copy of it to the Duke of Cumberland, as Grand-master of the Orange Association. The Duke of Cumberland immediately sent a reply, intimating that, before the last debate in the Commons, he had Dissolution of recommended the dissolution of Orange societies in Orangeism. Ireland, and that he would immediately proceed to dissolve all such societies elsewhere. In a few days the thing was done; and Orangeism became a matter of history. 3 2 4 The quietness with which it was done at last is one of the most striking features of the case. The prudence of all parties now appears something unsurpassed in our history. It is the strongest possible evidence of the universal sense of danger in the leaders of all parties. The Orange chiefs had at last become aware of what they had subjected themselves to. Yet their forces were so great their physical force, restrained by no principle, no knowledge, and no sense, on the part of the chiefs that it was not safe to drive them to resentment or despair; and the government had also to consider Ireland, and the supreme importance of leaving a fair field there for trial of their new policy of conciliation under Lord Mulgrave and his co-adjutors. The Radical Reformers in Parliament felt this as strongly as the ministers. 1 Hansard, xxxi. p. 810. 2 Hansard, xxxi. p. 832. The great point of the dissolution of Orange societies was gained; and the chiefs of the Radical-reform party contented themselves with holding out emphatic warnings to the humbled conspirators whom they held in their power. They let these revolutionary Peers know that there were rumors afloat of the reconstitution of Orangeism under another name; that the Orangemen were watched; that the evidence against the leaders was held in readiness for use; that the law which had transported the Dorsetshire laborers could any day be brought to bear upon them; and that no mercy was to be expected if the public safety should require - it to be put in operation. As for the people at large, the greatness of the affair was little understood among them, from the quietness with which it was brought to a close. A multitude scarcely heard of it, except as of the ordinary party-conflicts of the day. Many more did not, and could not, fully believe what was before their eyes. It was like a story of a long-past century; and now such persons look upon it, when the facts are revived, as at a new disclosure which fills them with wonder. There were enough, however, sensible and awake to what the kingdom had escaped, to understand the comparative smoothness with which affairs proceeded henceforth in the House of Lords, the sudden silence about reform of that House, and the intense satisfaction with which the departure of the Duke of Cumberland was witnessed, when, in the next year, the accession of a female sovereign to the throne of England sent him away to be King of Hanover. END OF VOL. III. Cambridge: Printed by John Wilson and Sons. |