JB/109/136/001

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1820 March
Collectanea

From the Morning Chronicle, of Saturday, 11th March, 1820.

"We are happy to learn," says an Irish paper, "that the military
force of this country (Galway) will be increased to 5000 men, on Tuesday
next. Every village, of any note, will have a party of the Army
stationed in it; so that we may now hope to see the return of
peace, order and confidence, to our afflicted county." In the present
disturbed state of that part of Ireland, the introduction of a large
military force into it, for the purpose of completely overawing
the disaffected, is perhaps, under all the circumstances of the
case, the wisest course which would be adopted. The filling every village
with soldiers may arrest the course of outrage, and this is as
much as can be expected from such a measure. Alas! peace, order and
confidence, can never be restored at the point of the bayonet! Are
we to make every village of that country a garrison? for nothing
short of this, it would seem, will keep down the population.
Thus it always is where coercion is resorted to instead of conciliation.
The moment an overpowering force is withdrawn, the
scenes of violence are renewed; and where one district is restored to
a state of sullen tranquillity, signs of disaffection immediately begin
to appear in another.

In most countries peace and order are the ordinary state of
things, and disturbance only the exception to the rule; but in Ireland
the case seems to be reversed. There can be no doubt, however, that
when any country remains year after year in a state of disturbance,
the fault lies altogether with its Government. We presume no
one will maintain that the Irish are not to be influenced by the motives
which influence all other men. In other countries, the people
have an interest in upholding the laws, and they willingly obey
them; in Ireland the people are lawless, because the laws are too
often converted into an engine of their oppression. All manner of party
divisions & animosities have been carefully kept up in that unfortunate
country: one half of the population has been constantly arrayed
against the other half. Under such a system, we are not
to wonder that so great a portion of Ireland is almost always in a
disturbed state. It would, indeed, be a miracle were such a system
of misrule to produce any other result.

We trust, however, the men to whom so much of the melancholy
condition of our sister island is fairly to be attributed, will never succeed
in alienating the affections of the people of this country from the
laws. Conspiracies are a new feature in our society, & seem yet to be
very lamely gone about. Thank God, we have hitherto been able to seal ourselves
in confidence by our hearths, and lay down our heads on the
pillow without apprehension of violence; but Ministers seemed determined
to do all they can to put an end to this stage of things; – they
have sown the seeds of disturbance plentifully among us, and if the
harvest has yet been scanty the fault is not with them.

Identifier: | JB/109/136/001 "JB/" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 109.
Date_1	1820-03	Marginal Summary Numbering
Box	109	Main Headings	Parliamentary Reform
Folio number	136	Info in main headings field	Collectanea Galway Disturbances
Image	001	Titles	From the Morning Chronicle, of Saturday, March 11th, 1820
Category	Collectanea	Number of Pages	1
Recto/Verso	recto	Page Numbering
Penner		Watermarks
Marginals		Paper Producer
Corrections		Paper Produced in Year
Notes public		ID Number	35791
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