On

from Portaferry, but received no answer. this, I requested him to repeat his application, the day following, which he did, to no better purpose. On the third day, he did the same, tho' with reluctance; but, on his return, told me, that he had some hope of good, as the attorney general seemed surprised and agitated by the repetition and peremptoriness of his demand, which was then made for upwards of thirty prisoners, who had determined to follow the example of the other five. That counsellor Curran was not mistaken, respecting the effect of his last application to the attorney general, was rendered probable, by his (the attorney general) being in conclave with the judges, for two or three hours afterwards, and the conséquent dispatch of an express, supposed to be for Dublin, which returned in about forty eight hours -by the judges not coming into court, till twelve o'clock, tho' notice had been given, the day before, that they would enter on crown-business, at nine, or ten-and, by their proclamation, on taking their seats, that persons, in the neighbourhood, summoned to attend as witnesses on trials for treasonable practices, might go home to their harvests, till Friday, as no business, of the kind, would be brought forward before that day. On that day, the express returned; soon after which the attorney general asked Mr. Curran, if his clients, on being liberated, would enter into recognizance to keep the peace, for a given

a given time. As he could not answer this question, without consulting them, he and I left the court, for that purpose. However, all that could be affected was their consent to enter into personal recognizance for their appearance, when called on. This, being reported to the attorney general, were accepted with eagerness, and the whole were turned out, on the day fol lowing. And, as their liberation was, principally, attributed to my intermeddling, the resentment of their prosecutors arose almost to madness. In justice to the gentlemen of the country, I add, that few prosecutions were conducted, with eagerness, except where outrages were committed, which justly deserved the vengeance of the law; and, among these few, that of the people from my neighbourhood was conspicuous. The quarter, from which this proceeded, was suspected, from the zeal and activity of the Rev. John Cleland, who had been private tutor to lord Castlereagh, and then was vicar of Newtown Ards, and agent to earl of Londonderry. This zeal was obvious, both at the Spring and Summer assizes; and presumptions wer so strong, of his having returned packed pannels to the sheriff, that the array was twice challenged, on that account. That he made returns was not denied, so far as I recollect, but the triers determined that they were not partial. That my persecution proceeded from the same quarter I was tempted to believe, for reasons to

be

be mentioned afterwards, as well as from what I have already written; and, from which the public may judge, whether or no, my belief was well founded.

Thus far, I have detailed every part, which I can possibly recollect, of my public conduct, from my first interference in the political concerns of my country. In this detail, I have neither concealed, nor attempted to palliate, either act, or motive. I have even related more than my enemies knew, or all their band of informants could communicate, that the public may be enabled to view my character, in all its bearings, and in every light; and form an impartial judgment of my merits, and demerits, as a member of the state. And I have paused here, because I can prove that, previous to this period, my arrest was frequently in contemplation, which implied that, some parts of that conduct, were politically criminal, or, at least, deemed so to be.*

9

That my conduct, from the Summer assizes, 1797, until the time of my arrest, may be known, as well as that of the period, which I have detailed, I shall now recount every circumstance

* For the reasons of my mentioning the family of Stewart so frequently, and, in some measure, embodying a part of their political history with my own; see appendix, No. 3.

cumstance of it also, so far as would claim any public notice, or be supposed to implicate me in crime.

During the latter end of 1797, and Spring of 1798, I passed unnoticed, being mostly confined by bilious attacks, frequently accompanied with fever. Early in March, I set out for Scotland, to visit an uncle of Mrs. Dickson, who, as I was informed by express, was dangerously ill. His death, and the unsettled state in which he left his affairs, detained me there, till the month of April. On my return, my servant, who brought my luggage from Donaghadee, was stopped in the street of Portaferry, and carried to the guard-house. There, every thing was scrutinized with a minuteness, which excited the ridicule of the officers, who were obliged to perform the task. After every thing, in which dangerous concealments seemed likely to be contained, was tossed, shaken, and turned outside in, to no purpose, a large tobacco-box, which had formerly belonged to a sea-captain, and which I had brought from Scotland, as a curiosity, was eagerly laid hold of. As this box, supposed to be fraught with more evils than that of Pandora, was of steel, and had lain by, time immemorial, it was so rusted that the inquisitors could not force it open. In their hurry, they overlooked the cause of its obstinacy, and, attributing it to a concealed spring, were about

G

to

to demolish it, till captain Marshall, hereafter to be mentioned! having pointed out their error, saved it from destruction. The cause of all this was a first surmise, and, afterwards, an assertion, that my visit to a dying friend, in Scotland, was only a pretext, while my real business was to form and promote united societies there, and a correspondence, between them and those of this country. This being taken for granted, it might be naturally supposed that my common documents were concealed in my luggage, and my diploma in my tobacco-box.

Tho' my bilious complaints were nearly removed, by sea-sickness, change of air, and exercise, during my excursion, yet the symptoms returned soon afterwards; and I was advised, by a medical friend, not to resume my usual sedentary life, but to take exercise on horseback daily, and drink the Ballynahinch waters. The former part of this a lvice I immediately adopted; and, as the sacrament of the Lords supper was administered, in the month of May, not only in my congregation, but in others, where I assisted, the riding from place to place, and the services which I had to perform, afforded exercise in abundance; but, at the same time, prevented me going to Ballynahinch, as soon as I wished. In the third and fourth week of May, I spent several days in Newtown Ards, on sacramental duty; during which, I

rode