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HOUSE OF COMMONS—MONDAY. [From tie lVezford Independent. flpril 20.] IRISH DISTURBANCE BILL.

0n the question that the house do resolve itselfinto a committee of supply.

Mr. O’CONNELL said that he saw no person present connected with the Irish government, but he wished to have infor- mation,which he could not help moving for, with respect to the proclamations late- lyissued by the Lord Lieutenant of Ire- land under the bill which deprived that county ofthe constitution. It was strong- lyintimated on the passing of that bill that there was no disposition to carry it into efl‘ect, so that it never could be carried into etI'cct, except under the pressure of absolute necessity. In spite of this assu- rance a most wanton outrageous act has been committed under the bill, which sutlicientiy showed the truth of what he had often said, that despotic power could not be entrusted in the hands of anmean. Possession was itself a temptation to abuse it. The bill had hardly arrived in Ireland before the county of Kilkenny was out of the pale of the law. Part of that coun- ty was, he acknowledged, ina disturbed state; but there was a considerable part of it perfectly tranquil, and which was punished indiscrimately with the rest. What he principally relied on was, that the county of the city of Kilkenny had also been put under the Operation of the act, although there was not the slighest appear- ance of insubordination in that part of the country to justify the doing so; for, it” he were rightly informed, the crimes commit- ted there within the last 1‘). months amount- ed only to 5 the most serious ofwhich was a petty larceney case. The reasons given for this were ludicrous; one was that the officers who were to form the courts martial could have better acommodation in the hotels ofthe city of Kilkenny, than they could in any disturbed part ofthe county. For this reason it was, a city which had committed no offence, and which contained a population of 24,000 souls, had been put out of the pale ofthe law. He concluded by moving that there be laid before the house copies of all proclamations issued by the Lordliieutenant underthelrish eoercn'e bill; the reasons given for the same, and the amount of crime committed within the last twelve months in the city of Kilkenny.

Lord ALTHOR P begged to suggest to the honourable member the expediency of his withdrawing his motion till the right honourable the secretary of Ireland took a his seat to morrow. He fully cancurred in he observation of the hon. and learned ntleman, that the house, having granted se extraordinary powers to the govern- t, was bound to keep a jealous eye the exercise of them. O’CONNELL withdrew his motion OI'I‘OW.

THE BRITISH AMERICAN

Wenncsoav.—Mr. O’CONNELL rose to call the attention of the House to the proceedings which had already taken place under the Act recently passed, authori- zing the Lord Lieutenant in Council to suspend the Constitution in any county in Ireland which he might please to declare in astate of insurrection. It was known thataproclamation had been recently is- sued by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland declaring two counties to be in a state of insuhordination. The one was the county of Kilkenny, part of which only was disturbed; and the other the county of the city including the city of Kilkenny. In the city of Kilkenny it was not pretended that any disturbance had taken place. There had been some \Vhitefeet outrages in the suburbs of that city, but the city itselfwas perfectly quiet. The city con- tained a population of 25,000 inhabitants. The number of commitments in it during the last year was Only five, and the highest offence of these five was petty larceny Yet this tranquil city had been selected by the Lord Lieutenant as a place tit for the operation of this Act. The night before the proclamation was to take etI'ect, being the lastnight of freedom in the city the people met; and with a sort of melancholy merriment, in which they indulge in that country under its most s -vere inflictions, they paraded the towu with bands of mu- sic playing the most melancholy airs, and taking, as it were, their leave of the pri- vilege of walking out of their houses after sunset. The next night all was still, by the effect of, what he must call, this brutal pro- clamation. But what were the reusens as- signed for the proclamation of the city of Kilkenny? They would he found in the two Dublin papers—the Jlbnilcurs ofthe Castle; the writers of which—ot'oue at least were in the pay of the Castle. One of those alleged reasons was, that the parties who had committed or who might commit, out- rage in the county might find shelter in the City, if it were not proclaimed also: as if they could only by law be sheltered in any unproclaimed district for Offences committed in one which was proclaimed.- The real reason for including the city of Kilkenny was to give the military otlicers an opportunity of fixing their quarters in a place where there were good hotels to resort to; and he behcved that if the dispatch was produced that reason would be found stated on the face of it. The Hon and Learned Member then moved for the following papers:—-Copies of all pro- clamations and orders issued by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland under the Statute of William IV. Chap. 4; return of the num- ber of persons committed to the gaol of the county of the city of Kilkenny, for the last twelve months, specifying the crimes or ofl'ences for which each person

i was committed,—the time and place where

committed,— how many were indicted tried, and the result of each trial-

,. : copy 'mt‘ every cispatch or letter from the L efi‘c‘ Lieutenant ofIreland, or his Secretar hi stating the reasons for proclaiming thecm ot’fe ty of the city of Kilkenny to be in a st of] ofinsubordination or disturbance, pnrsu in“i to the Act of thq3d \V. IV. . tior did not anticipate that any objection won the be made to the production of any of the the returns, except the last, and in that ca aft the cause of the objection must be th prc the reason of proolaiming the city ofKilke of ny would appear in the dispatch to be ‘u an as he had stated. J on SirJ. HUBHOUSE said he had proo

before him ofthe melanchon state in whic hi‘ the county ofKilkenny had been, not 1‘ Fl the last two orthree months only but 1” re the last year. During the last twelv tb months there had been more offences con th mitted in the county of Kilkenny than i ti the whole province of Leinster put to« a ther; and from the lst to the 14th” e< March, there had been no less than 114 on ti rages committed in that county : This, the r wasajustitication for proclaimingthe count

but, he asked the House, what would bar t been the use of this application of th \ powers ofthe Act it‘the city of Kilkenny t which was situated in the very heart 0 l the county, was exempted from the pro t

clamation? l.’nderstanding, soon after h accepted the office he had now the bane to hold, that it was in contemplation t proclaim the county of Kilkenny, he los no time in writing to Ireland to recom mend that the city should not, if possible beincluded in the proclamation, and th answer he received was to the followin effect—that the Irish Government had a tirst entertained the wish not to includ the city, but that it was found that a grea number of those persons who were not on] suspectelltbut known to be inplicated in th \Vhitefoot ontrages, were known to be inha bit-ants of Kilkenny and its suburbs; an therefore it'the town was not included i the proclamation it would become a refug for these individuals, and there would exis no means of putting a step to thos outiages which it was the object of th Act to repress. The last return which the Hon. and Learned Member had moved fo was not in his power to grant; and he hoped he would not press the matter to a division' He could assure the Hon. and Learned gentleman that the reasons which induced the Irish Government to include the city of Kilkenny in the proclamation, were such as he had stated to the House, and in no cmnmunication proceeding from the Irish Government would be any thing which could lead to the supposition that the city was proclaimed in order that the military officers might be accommodated with good quarters. Il'the Hon. and Learned mem- ber wished to put down Whitefeet outrages,

he could do nothing which would more de—