eir
appearance. A gentleman had been murdered in sight of his own gate in
consequence of some dispute in connection with tithes. The answer of his
son-in-law, summoned by the coroner to give evidence against the
supposed murderer, was this: "That he would submit to any penalty the
crown or the law would impose upon him, but he would not appear at the
trial, because he knew that if he stood forward as a witness his life
would inevitably be forfeited." The Irish Government received a notice
from Kilkenny "that many gentlemen who had always" most conscientiously
discharged their duties, "would not attend at the next assizes. They
cared not what penalty was imposed upon them. They refused to attend,
because they knew that death" awaited them if they dared to do their
duty. "It is the boast of the prisoners," continued this document, "that
they cannot under existing circumstances be found guilty." Under such a
disgraceful state of things, outrage had become of course triumphant.
The sickening catalogue of Irish cruelty and crime during the previous
year comprised 172 homicides, 465 robberies, 568 burglaries, 455 _acts
of houghing of cattle_, 2,095 illegal notices, 425 illegal meetings, 796
_malicious injuries to property_, 753 _attacks on houses_, 280 arsons,
3,156 serious assaults, making an aggregate of crimes of every
description during the year, connected with the disturbed state of the
country, exceeding 9,000 in number, and the number was evidently still
on the increase.

EFFECT OF THE IRISH COERCION BILL OF 1833.

The third reading of the Coercion Bill was carried in the Commons on the
29th of March, by 345 to 86, and the Act was to continue in force till
the 1st of August, 1834. It led of course to many scenes in the House
between English and Irish members, although the Irish members of that
day, to do them simple justice, had not graduated in the aggravated
system of obstruction they have since developed, and thereby earned for
themselves the character of political nuisances. One of these scenes led
to the sketch entitled _Prisoners of War_, which has reference to a
serio-comic interlude, in which the principal performers were Lord
Althorp and Mr. Shiel, member for Tipperary. On the 5th of February,
1834, Lord Althorp charged (without naming them) certain Irish members
who had particularly distinguished themselves by violent opposition to
the Bill in the House, with using very different language in reference
t