what must be the character of his mind? If all the alleged crimes and cruelties committed during the rebellion, had been proclaimed by such an authority, and therefore investigated with so much care, the most of them would be found, no doubt, equally true with Lord Moira's "tales of terror." The government were perfectly aware, that from the year 1796, the United Irishmen awaited but a favourable opportunity to rebel; that they were fully armed, and to some extent disciplined; that they reckoned among their numbers many distinguished civilians and several able soldiers, that they had opened a successful negotiation with France, and hourly expected from thence a subsidiary army. Will even Mr. Godkin assert that the government ought to have awaited, in supine indifference, the breaking out of a servile war-a war in which might be expected (as actually occurred) to unite all the motives that singly influenced the perpetrators of the St. Bartholomew massacre, the Sicilian vespers, and the Jacquerie horrors-a rebellion in which, as might be anticipated would be displayed at once the antipathies of religion, caste, and race, all the feelings of bigotry, hatred, and revenge. It was a duty which the government owed to society and humanity, to their country and their God, to the peaceable subject as well as to the deluded traitor, to disarm the conspirators at any cost, and to destroy, if possible, the organization of the union. Two proclamations were issued by Lord Camden, then the lord lieutenant, one in May and another in June, 1798, in which he offered pardon to such United Irishmen of Ulster as would surrender their arms. Those proclamations, and the subsequent seizure of arms by General Lake, detached, to a great extent, the North from the Union. In April, 1798, General Abercrombie published a proclamation, promising to pardon such of the conspirators as would give up their arms within ten days. As this proclamation had little effect, the government were reduced to the necessity of either supinely awaiting the advent of rebellion and invasion, or of disarming the United Irishmen by force. They adopted-wisely and humanely adopted, the latter alternative; and so successful were their efforts, that "the exhortations of the chiefs to bear their evils with steady patience, until an opportunity of successful insurrection should occur, proved vain with the lower classes. Such numbers of these in the months of April and May were surrendering their arms, and taking the oath of allegiance, and giving information against their officers and seducers, particularly in the counties of Kildare and Tipperary, which were in a great measure disorganized, that the chiefs of the union, fearing a total derangement of their schemes, and destruction of their forces, before a favourable opportunity of revolt arose, came to the determination to try their strength against government, without the assistance of their French allies.' So far from the government having caused the rebellion to explode, the facts demonstrate, that if they had been allowed time by the executive directory of the union to pardon, protect, and disarm the spirators, they would have rendered an explosion impossible. If the go con vernment attempted to cause a premature rebellion, the means they would have adopted, doubtless, would have been to produce a succession of petty outbreaks, capable of being subdued in detail; but, on the contrary, it might be expected, that the executive directory would have made the rebellion as widely extended as possible. In three days after the 23rd of May, the time appointed for the commencement of the insurrection, six counties in Leinster, and on the 7th of June, the county Antrim were in open rebellion. Here chronology lends a valuable aid to the truth of history. Now, we do not intend to dispute that many dreadful crimes and innumerable wanton atrocities were perpetrated by the agent, necessarily of the lowest description, to whom government were forced to entrust the duty of seizing arms. So far from disputing the alleged cruelties, that, a priori, we would be most firmly per Gordon's History of the Irish Rebellion, pp. 65, 66. silence the insinuated falsehood of this passage; for it is not worth the labour to unravel this tangled skein of untruth. The government in England had not a proof of any crime against Jackson; for the conversations he had with Cockayne, were not evidence, consequently, the ministry could not have prevented him from returning to Ireland; and as to permitting him to aid in spreading the conspiracy through the country, the assertion is wholly, totally false, and with all our charity, both for the reverend gentleman's ignorance and understanding, we cannot persuade ourselves, but that he knows it to be so. When Jackson opened a treasonable correspondence with Tone and Rowan, the parties, only, with whom he had intercourse, he was immediately arrested; when sufficient evidence was obtained against him he was at once tried, found guilty and poisoned himself in the dock, before sentence could be passed upon him. The as sertion that he was suffered to aid in spreading the conspiracy is, there Alas! fore, a pure falsehood, if it be not something worse. But, perhaps, when Tone and Rowan were inoculated by Jackson, they were permitted to propagate the virus. for the reverend gentleman's theory, they were not-well they were hanged by the cruel and Machiavellian government, even this is not a fact. Tone was permitted to depart from Ireland, from whence he went to America, and, subsequently to France, where he acted, as comically as Power himself, the part of "the Irish Ambassador." ** Rowan was warned, by a government officer, of the charge about to be preferred against him, and his escape connived at. "Indeed, we are met at every turn by triple treason, in this melancholy chapter of our history." This assertion is true, though not in the sense the Rev. Mr. Godkin apprehends it. History scarcely presents a more emphatic instance of the debasing effects produced by democratic agitation; fraud, deceit, treachery, perjury, and assassination meet us everywhere. Preston, who held a profitable appointment under government, wrote some of the most inflammatory articles in the Press. Hughes, who held a situation in the Crown Solicitor's Office, regularly informed the United Irishmen of the charges to be preferred against the state prisoners, and thus enabled them to neutralise evidence by perjury. Bird was employed by the conspirators to give false information to the government, in order to prevent them obtaining a real knowledge of the Union. Indeed, this fellow, the Garrick of traitors, acted his part with such consummate skill, that he received large sums from the government; induced them to indict several prisoners; absconded at the time of trial; and concluded the farce by ridiculing his dupes in a series of letters.† "From the year 1796," the Rev. *The annals of pantomime records nothing more grotesquely absurd, than Tone attempting to negotiate in Paris, without even understanding the French language, the scenes between him and Clarke (who evidently knew more of Irish parties and feelings than Tone himself) must have been exceedingly humorous. Wolfe Tone, as pantaloon, and Napper Tandy, as clown, must have afforded a rich treat to the Parisians. In Sirr's collection, there is an amusing paper relative to the table expenses of this worthy, who it appears was at once an epicure and a glutton. The United Irish a Mr. Godkin goes on to state, 66 regular system of espionage was established by the government; sustained by a profuse expenditure of secret service money. Colonel Maguane, or Magin of Saintfield, a member of the provincial and county committees, and also a colonel of the United Irishmen, enjoying their full confidence, and attending their secret meetings, regularly, during the whole of '97, and on to June '98, as regularly reported the proceedings to the Rev. John Cleland, the agent and chaplain of Lord Londonderry, through whom the intelligence was conveyed to Lord Castlereagh. The leaders, therefore, could have been arrested at any time, and a rising of the people effectually prevented, had it suited the policy of the men whom God, in his anger, entrusted with a power over this country." The assertions in this paragraph, are to some extent true, the government might have arrested the provincial committee of Ulster, (that is, provided they could have relied on Maguane not having been of the "Bird" species ;) but, the inference is false, "the rising of the people could not have been effectually prevented." On the 12th of March, the Leinster provincial, including almost every member of the executive directory, were arrested at the house of Oliver Bond. Now, if the apprehension of a few Ulster chiefs could have crushed the conspiracy and prevented the rebellion, the apprehension of almost every distinguished man in the Union, should have done so ; but the arrest of the executive directory, neither destroyed the system of the Union, nor stayed the progress of the conspiracy. In five days after the arrest, on the 17th of March, a rebel proclamation was issued by the new executive directory, stating, and truly, that the organisation of the capital was perfect, and no vacancies existing, and, indeed, so perfect was the organisation of the Union, that not the defeats of the rebels in battle, nor the subsequent military executions, nor years of martial law and police vigiÏance, were able to destroy it. The unhappy enthusiast Emmet, worthy of a brighter destiny, and a better cause, found it in existence, and applied to insurrection, for an hour, in 1803. It is true, in 1797, the government might have arrested, and, perhaps, have executed the Ulster provincials. We can now see, that to have sent them to the gibbet, would have been a useless waste of human life, that their places would, instantly, have been supplied by new elections, and the government left in profound ignorance of the conspirators' designs. Yet, this farseeing clemency is made a matter of accusation against the ministry; they are charged with crime, because they did not cause the scaffold to reek with carnage, and the hulks to groan with prisoners, even before there was an overt act of rebellion. So true it is, that revolutionists identify forbearance with feebleness, and consider a display of mercy, either as a want of energy, or a proof of treason. The fusillades at Lyons-the noyades at Nantes-the guillotine at Paris-the pike at Wexford, are deemed by them, the only tests of a strong and sincere government. Even, their instinct of safety cannot neutralise their craving for blood; the repealers endeavour to establish a doctrine of death to-day, which might be applied to themselves to-morrow. If some spiritual firebrand, some reverend incendiary, like the Rev. Sinclair Kilburn* during men had to pay three guineas a day (if we recollect aright) for his diet. The unfortunate wretch was, in all probability murdered, when his work was done, as Newell, who evidently acted a similar part, certainly was. And, indeed, we are firmly persuaded that Maguane also, was delegated by the Union to deceive the government, because, on no other hypothesis can we account for him being, in safety, allowed to live so long in that part of Ireland, where even a suspicion of treachery was punished by assassination. Now, we do not intend to insinuate a comparison between the Rev. Mr. Godkin and that excited enthusiast, but honest politician, the Rev. Sinclair Kilburn. He, at least, was sincere. He did not turn the phrensy of a nation to the advantage of a seet, nor propose to make separation the means of spoliation, nor a pretended horror of British connection the modus operandi for advancing the voluntary principle'; he did not fight the battle of dissent under false colours. VOL. XXVII.-No. 157. the latter part of the last century, should arise hereafter, the government must, according to the dicta of the repealers, instantly consign him to the executioner, if they would avoid the imputation of fomenting rebellion. "Eheu Quàm temerè in nosmet legem sancimus iniquam !" But, when the government had an opportunity, to act effectively, were they undecided or negligent? On 25th February, 1798, Reynolds informed Cope of his knowledge of the conspiracy and subsequently, through him, the government; on the 12th of March following, the executive directory and Leinster provincials were arrested; there was not the postponement of a day, nor the delay of an hour. Those facts, these dates, the skill with which they availed themselves of the information, the speed with which they apprehended the traitors, demonstrate the kind of encouragement the government gave to treason. We now turn from the essay of the reverend gentleman with that feeling of relief, which a demonstrator experiences in quitting a putrid subject of morbid anatomy, the corruption of which has disgusted his audience, the effluvium from which has sickened his class. We shall shortly return to the subject again. THE PRODIGY OF SALZBURG. IT may be in the memory of some of our readers, that a few years ago we offered some observations on the connexion between music as a science, and music as a sentiment.* Deeming it necessary to vindicate, to a certain extent, the great and advancing physico-mathematical science of Harmony from the disparagement of those able men, who at that time sought once again to recommend to public favour the indigenous melody of our country, we laboured to show that an anxiety for the careful preservation and rigid restoration of original national.airs, might co-exist with a due appreciation of the progress of music, both as an art and a science, and ought, in fact, to be accompanied by a knowledge as well as a love of instructed harmony. Some there were, who were not, by any means, ready to listen to us when we spoke thus. feeling bordering on contempt seemed to linger amongst those who had made our national melodies their study, for the intricate, and, as they argued, unintelligible complexity of modern music; and it was urged that what was gained in the adventitious effects attainable by deep study and long practice, was lost in strength, truth, A and purity-the high and commanding characteristics of early song. Many, on the other hand, who went with us in our opinions then expressed, were inclined to go still further, and retaliate the contempt of the nationalists upon their favourite pursuit; laughing at the care with which it was sought to conserve a few bare and barren types, long since appropriated and worked into higher effects by educated and gifted artists; and pitying the misdirection of labour, as if it were expended on preserving obsolete relics of barbarism, at the expense of the Grand and the Beautiful. But the lapse of ten years has done much to correct and adjust conflicting prejudices. Of the many departments into which rising enlightenment has poured its ray, none, perhaps, has derived speedier illumination, from without as well as from within, than that which combines melody and harmony, like surface and depth, into one substantial whole, to form the temple of sound. Whether the opinions we hazarded, opposed as they were to much that was then popular, might have had any influence in accelerating or directing this movement, it is not for us to judge; suffice it to * An Apology for Harmony, No. 101, May, 1841. observe, that the advance has actually taken place in the line we pointed out; the diagonal, we mean, between the two distracting forces. An approach is made by each to the other. Something is given up, and something. retained on either side; and the result is progress a progress which it is equally impossible for either party to say is not in the desired direction. The most refined and instructed taste now candidly admits, that in all its materials, with all its advantages, and through all its combinations, it cannot get beyond the simple and sublime element contained in an original air; and that all those wondrous complexities that science has invented, are but variations on primitive melody, and are ultimately resolvable into it. While, on the other hand, there are few who can boast of superior education and intelligence, sufficiently staunch to the "old school," to shut their ears against that great diapason of scientific harmony, which, whether they will it or not, fills the world around them, and is ready to burst in the moment the hand of truth touches the lock, and unbars the door of prejudice. We have to deal with more willing hearers, therefore, when we direct some remarks to the circumstances, elicited by the biography before us, of the great, though scarcely then appreciable change, which the overwhelming genius of one man worked during the last century upon the science and practise of music, making it an exponent of the mind and feelings of man-an elevating and ennobling power, co-operating with its beauteous sister to bless the homes of reality with the sunshine and flowers of the imagination. on one stem, and one on another; and thus find immortality: but, above, the interlacing branches unite together, and form a single grove, tinged with the same light of heaven, musical with its birds, and offering, by their union, the blessings of shade to the wanderers beneath. The diminutive scale of our capacities, indeed, prevents our each embracing the united beauties of allthe leafy blending is above our heads, and beyond our reach; but it is all the happier for us that the luxuriant curtain of foliage is gathered up, and drawn close below, around the pillars of its life, for we are thus afforded room to pass along the path of our pilgrimage, It will, alas! come out in the course of our observations, that the change, which for others--for the world at large -wrought such incalculable benefits, for him who was the originator and communicator of it all, proved unhappily unavailing for any good purpose beyond the intense gratification of his own inner spirit. The history of the great revolution of music is, in his case who was its hero, that of unrealized hopes, overtasked energies, unappreciated efforts, poverty, profligacy, delirium, and death. But as the foremost horseman by the breach his fall has made, opens the way for the field behind him, thus it was that Mozart, too fatally forward for his time, burst through the barriers of antiquated modes, and with his sensitive spirit, bleeding and lacerated from the effort, revealed to others, what he was not doomed substantially to enjoy himself, the full beauties till then walled up within the shrine of harmony.* He it was, in fact, who first rescued the world from the dull depths of For none will now dare to degrade counterpoint, and taught it to consimusic any more than painting, to the der music rather as the language of level of an art. If they rise, neither of the heart and imagination, than the them, to the poetry of articulate lan- noisy outlet of physical ingenuity. guage, they are inferior only as the For, into such a condition had the art younger sister wants the height of fallen, after it had quitted the simpliher elder. Poetry is no doubt as much city of the early Trouveres, those poetgrander in stature than music, as music bards, who, while they elevated the is than painting. But they own a com- ballad into romance, had not daredmon parentage, they acknowledge com- or rather, perhaps, from good taste mon relationship, and claim as kindred avoided-to obscure their melodies spirits all whose hearts are attuned to behind the half-mathematical difficulthe harmony of truth and beauty. ties of scientific harmony. The music men walk amongst the trees of life and if the earlier part of the last century, knowledge, one may carve his name as it was known in the instructed As * Life of Mozart. London: Chapman and Hall. 1845, |