s of intimidation, force,
and violence, whenever they should be attempted, by all the means at their
disposal, cannot use such instruments as those who excite the people to
appear at their head, the lord-lieutenant and lord chancellor have taken
measures to remove them from the commission of the peace, and
deputy-lieutenancies of their several counties. This is the principle,
my lords, on which I conceive the government has acted.

_June 9, 1843._

* * * * *

After what passed in both houses of parliament it became a matter of
notoriety that the opinion of parliament was, that the legislative union
should not be repealed, and that every effort on the part of the
government should be made to resist the attempt to occasion that repeal.
Then, my lords, under these circumstances, the lord chancellor finds
Lord French and other magistrates calling meetings to repeal the union,
assisting at the meetings, presiding at them, and urging all the
proceedings. At this time the opinion of parliament was notorious, yet
meetings consisting of 10,000, 20,000, 100,000, no matter as to the
number of thousands, continued. My lords, I wish to know with what
object they were continued? Was it with a view to address parliament to
repeal the union? No, my lords, they were continued to obtain the
desired repeal of the union,--by terror, if possible,--if not, by force
and violence. And the persons calling these meetings, I beg your
lordships to observe, were the magistrates, the very men who must have
been employed by government to take measures to resist this violence, to
prevent breaches of the peace, to arrest those who should be guilty of
such breaches, and to bring them to justice; and then the noble lord
says, that the government ought not to have removed those magistrates
from their situations, and that they ought not to draw a distinction as
to the time when it became notorious to the whole world what were the
views entertained by parliament and the government on this important
question. My lords, in this and the other house of parliament, no one
would have any idea of repealing the union except in regular course,
like another act of parliament; but with these meetings of 50,000 and
60,000 men, was there any question of discussion? No, my lords, the
question was terror, force, and violence. That was the ground on which
the lord chancellor told these magistrates after the views of the
government had beco