THE TRIAL

OF PATRICK FINNEY, FOR HIGH TREASON.

COMMISSION OF OYER AND TERMINER.

ON Tuesday, the 16th of January, 1798, Patrick Finney was put to the bar, and charged with high treason, in compassing the death of the king, and for adhering to the king's enemies, that is, to the persons who exercise the powers of government in France, &c.

ABSTRACT OF THE INDICTMENT.

First count.-That Patrick Finney, yeoman, on the 30th day of April, in the 37th of the king, and divers other days, at the city of Dublin, being a false traitor, did compass and imagine the death of our said lord the king, and did traitorously and feloniously intend our said lord the king to kill, murder, and put to death. To this were added twelve overt acts.

The second count, for "adhering to the king's enemies within the realm," was supported by the same number of

overt acts.

The Attorney-General began, by showing, that the prisoner, Patrick Finney, stood indicted on a charge of high treason, of which there are several species; he stated two as applying to the charge-one was the compassing the death of the king, and the other adhering to the king's enemies.

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On the first of these, compassing the death of the king, he stated the meaning of the law. This species of high treason did not alone consist in a direct attack on the king's person; the preservation of his majesty's life depends much on the tranquillity of the state; any attempt, therefore, to interrupt that must affect the safety of the king; as for instance, if war be levied within these realms, the king, as first magistrate, and engaged in the restoration of public tranquillity, must have his life put in danger, and this inference being equally plain, if a direct attack be not made upon his life, there is nevertheless an indirect one; and thus the law construes such levying of war within the realm, a compassing the death of the king.

Mr. Attorney-General here recapitulated the several overt acts laid in the indictment, observing thereon, that if the jury should find any of them satisfactorily proved against the prisoner, and also in the application of the charge of high treason, they would, in such case, find that verdict which a due sense of duty to their king and country would promptthat the whole of the facts laid in the indictment would be so proved, he was instructed, confidently to expect from the evidence which he would produce; but if, on the contrary, the prisoner should prove innocent, none would participate more in the satisfaction which such an event would excite in the human breast, than the officers of the crown, by whom the pro secution was conducted.

EVIDENCE ON THE PART OF THE CROWN.

James O'Brien deposed, that on the 25th of April last, he met at the door of a public-house in Thomas-street, and in company with the prisoner Finney, a man named Hyland, with whom he was acquainted; that Hyland asked him if he was UP? The witness expressing ignorance of what he meant, Hyland said, "It is a wonder, James, you're not UP," and

Finney explained it to signify a man's being a United Irishman, and advised him to become one, or he might lose his life before he went half the length of the street, and if he went into the house he should know the particulars; witness accordingly went into the public house, and entered a room where there were ten more persons, one of whom, named Buckley, asked the prisoner, Finney, "if he had caught a bird," adding, that he, O'Brien, should never leave that until made a christian of. He was then sworn to secrecy, and also to the constitution oath of the United Irishmen, by Finney and Hyland, in presence and hearing of the prisoner, who told witness that every man rich and poor, who was not a United Irishman, very shortly would lose his life. O'Brien deposed, that he took the oaths from fear of his life. After paying a shilling, said to be for the good of the cause, he was initiated into the signs and words of the society. The Sunday following was appointed to meet at the widow Cochlan's, on the Coombe, where Finney said the witness would be further enlightened. Recollected that there was a printed paper read, which stated among other things, that any placeman, and pensioner, who was not a United Irishman, should lose his life. Being permitted to depart, on his way home, he recollected that persons entering into the societies of defenders, were taken up if discovered; so he determined to inform Mr. Higgins, a magistrate of the Queen's county, of what had passed, and did; he was advised to continue some time in the society; went to the following meeting at Newmarket, on the Coombe, and was admitted on the pass word "Mr. Greene;" at this meeting, much conversation was held about their strength in men and arms-went to the Sheaf of Wheat in Thomas-street, the Sunday after, and was admitted on the word "Mr. Flail ;" there were sixty persons in pass the room, having been counted by the prisoner at the bar, who advised a division of them into splits, each to consist of twelve; that they were accordingly so subdivided, and to each split there was elected a secretary and cashkeeper; after which,

Finney administered to each of the secretaries and treasurers, an official oath; a man named Cooke, helping each, as sworn, to a glass of punch to wash it down. Witness recollects a proposition made at that meeting, for a certain number to go to White's-court, in Ship-street, to No. 48, George's street, and to a stone-cutter's, in the same street, for the purpose of reporting to the next meeting, whether they were suitable places to favour an entrance into the ordnance stores, that the arms and ammunition might be stolen from thence; that the report on this inspection was, an approval of the different places as calculated to facilitate the attempt.

O'Brien deposed, that at the meeting at widow Cochlan's, on the Coombe, it was appointed to attend a funeral from Pimlico, which would be accompanied by 10,000 United Irishmen, who took that method to show government their strength; that at this funeral, Finney was the most active person, and directed the order of marching; that after the funeral much money was collected, and witness saw on the table a great deal of gold, silver, and bank notes, the produce of that collection, and money paid in to Finney from other meetings. At this meeting, Finney read the constitution of the United Irishmen, and a paper, stating, that 111,000 United Irishmen were, in the province of Ulster alone, ready to assist the French on landing in this kingdom. At a meeting in Meath-street, witness deposed, it was proposed to put out the eyes, and cut off the tongues and hands of any person suspected of giving information to government against United Irishmen, and to assassinate those of whom such could be ascertained; that it was at this meeting, the guard arrived, by witness's direction, to arrest the society, but that Finney, having possessed himself of the papers of the meeting, made his escape. Here the witness's direct examination closed.

Mr. Curran cross-examined O'Brien, from which it appeared that he was an informer from the castle, and a man of the most infamous character in every respect. He was soon after tried, condemned, and executed for the murder of John Hoey.

Lord Portarlington (examined by Mr. Townshend) deposed, that about the end of last April, he, for the first time, saw the witness O'Brien, who was introduced to him by Mr. , Higgins, a magistrate of the Queen's county. O'Brien told his lordship, that he had lately been admitted into a society of United Irishmen; and learned, that under pretence of a bu rial, there were to be a vast number of persons collected on the following Sunday for the purpose of insurrection; that he also mentioned something about an intended attack upon the arsenal, and of the seduction of gentlemen's servants; that his lordship brought O'Brien to the speaker's chamber in the house of commons, where an interview was had with Mr. Pelham-that O'Brien came to him a second time, but his lordship said he had nothing more to do with him, and to communicate any thing he had further to say to Mr. Cooke. O'Brien this time communicated nothing of any importance to his lordship.

The evidence on the part of the crown having been closed, Mr. M'Nally then addressed the jury. He remarked upon the testimony that had been adduced on the part of the crown, and contended that it was not such whereby the prisoner could in the language of the statute, "be provably attaint of open deed"-as to the construction of the word provably, he read the following passage from Coke's 3d Inst. 12. "In this branch four things are to be observed, first this word provablement, provably, that is, upon direct and manifest proof, not upon conjectural presumptions, or inferences, or strains of wit; but upon good and sufficient proof-and here again the adverb provablement, provably, hath a great force, and signifieth a direct and plain proof, which word, the king, the lords, and the commons in parliament did use, for that the offence was so heinous, and was so heavily and so severely punished, as none other the like, and therefore the offender must provably be attainted, which words are as forcible as upon direct and manifest proof. Note: the word is not pro