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CSO/RP/1823/2431

Petition of Samuel Morris, former provost of the borough of Tralee, County Kerry, to William Conyngham Plunket, Attorney General of Ireland, offering a detailed defence of his actions in granting bail to an individual named Daniel Keefe, 'a Wealthy and respectable Farmer', committed to Tralee jail in October 1822, on the basis of information sworn by John Curtain, for an attack on the house of William Harnett in October 1821. Morris details the circumstances of the case, and the proceedings at the subsequent assizes, where neither Harnett nor Curtain lodged a prosecution against Keefe. Emphasises that whilst, legally, he 'might have acted wrong in Bailing Daniel Keefe yet it is evident he had done so from humane and not corrupt motives'. Morris also observes that, 'the writing Clerks, who are mostly of very profligate characters generally employed in Writing Informations for the lower order of people in and about this Country, have almost universally the same mode of drawing them and generally contrive to make even a petty assault a felony in order to gratify the acrimony of the persons employing them, who always give directions that the party accused should not be Bailed and for that purpose frequently state and introduce contrary to the truth that Cash or Bank notes or both have been taken out of their pockets'. He, therefore, defends his actions in granting bail to people thus accused, and asks that as he has since left the office of provost, all proceedings [against his actions] be dropped [December 1823]. With subsequent annotation on reverse by Plunket, dated 24 December 1823, and also by Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle.

[Dec 1823]-24 Dec 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2432

Letter from George John Thicknesse-Touchet, 20th baron Audley, Cork, County Cork, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, referring to news of the imminent resignation of Reverend Robert Morritt, Church of Ireland rector of Castlehaven, in the neighbourhood of Audley's Castlehaven estates, County Cork. Emphasises his right of patronage in nominating a candidate for the post, 20 December 1823; with subsequent annotation overleaf, by Goulburn. Also further letter from Audley, to Goulburn, seeking a reply to his former letter, 1 January 1824. Also further letter from Audley, to Goulburn, detailing his claim to nominate a candidate to the church living, and annexing a copy of an extract from volume 2 of the Irish statutes, of the act of parliament 14 & 15 Chas. 2 chapter 155 [1662], concerning the rights of Audley's ancestor, the Earl of Castlehaven, [1824]; with subsequent annotation by Goulburn.

20 Dec 1823-[1824]

1824

CSO/RP/1823/2433

Letter from George King, 3rd earl of Kingston, Myros [Myross] Wood, Ross Carbery, County Cork, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, reporting that he has completed work on the line of road between the mail coach road and the village Union Hall on the harbour at Glandore, County Cork. States that the road is ready for inspection by a government engineer, and seeks reimbursement of the £140 expended by him on the work, 26 September 1823; with subsequent annotation by Goulburn. Also letter from Richard Griffith, Newmarket, County Cork, to Goulburn, reporting, as requested, on whether Earl Kingston had been authorised to spend £140 on the road, 7 October 1823; with subsequent annotations overleaf, by Goulburn, and by Charles Oldfield Bowles, private secretary to Goulburn.

26 Sep 1823-7 Oct 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2434

File of papers relating to the efforts of the Limerick city Chamber of Commerce, to secure a contractor for the Dublin-Limerick mail coach, operating a reduced journey time. Includes letter from John McNamara, Limerick, County Limerick, president of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, to Alexander Mangin, first clerk in civil department, Chief Secretary's Office, Dublin Castle, 27 November 1823, enclosing, as requested, a copy of an earlier petition, dated 5 February 1823, submitted by the Chamber of Commerce, to the Irish government, requesting that 'no contract may be entered into for conveying the Mails between Dublin and Limerick, in any longer space of time than fourteen hours'; petition originally signed by Thomas Kelly, vice president of the Chamber of Commerce, and dated 5 February 1823. McManon also encloses, for the information of government, copies of all correspondence on the subject of the Dublin-Limerick mail coach contract, from 5 April 1821-20 August 1823. These copies are numbered in red ink from 1-18. They chart, firstly, the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce to secure an undertaking from the Irish Post Office that a new contract would be made with the current mail coach contractor, William Bourne, at an accelerated rate, and secondly, the subsequent reversal of this stance by 1823, on foot of an offer from Liverpool mail coach contractors, Messrs Brotherton and Company, to run the mail coach at an even faster speed. The correspondence contains letters between the Limerick Chamber of Commerce; the Irish Post Office, William H Bourne, mail coach contractor; the Irish government; and Thomas Spring Rice, MP for Limerick city, including: copy letter from John McNamara, Limerick, president of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, to Charles Grant, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, detailing the disadvantages faced by Limerick merchants from the slow pace of the one daily coach conveying mail between Limerick and Dublin. Refers to the Chamber of Commerce's communications with Bourne, the mail coach contractor, and his willigness to accelerate its speed if remunerated for any additional expense, and notes a meeting between the Chamber of Commerce, Bourne, and Laurence Parsons, 2nd Earl Rosse, one of the Irish Post Masters General, at which Rosse 'expressed his willingness to forward to Government a suggested proposal of Mr Bournes [sic] for a new contract at an accelerated rate of travelling', 5 April 1821; also including copy letter from Joseph M Harvey, Limerick, president of the Chamber of Commerce, to Earl of Rosse, emphasising the Chamber's 'anxiety to have the bargain closed with Brotherton & Co. lest they may be tempted….to withdraw their proposal, and thus leave the monopoly of the Limerick road to Bourne & Co.', 15 February 1823; and including copy letter from Harvey, Dublin, to Thomas Spring Rice, detailing the proceedings at the opening of the 2 sealed proposals tendered by Bourne and by Brotherton for the mail coach contract, and stating that as Bourne's was the lowest price, he was selected. Also refers to the complaints of a 3rd party, William Stockley, that his proposal was not even opened at the meeting, 8 April 1823. McManon also encloses a copy of a letter from Harvey, to the parliamentary commissioners of revenue inquiry, referring to the commissioners' investigations of the workings of the Irish Post Office, and enclosing copies of all the above correspondence 1-18, relative to the proposed acceleration of the mail coach '….conceiving that we have cause to complain of treatment from that department very different from what our exertions and expenditure for the public Service entitled us to expect', originally dated 20 August 1823; and accompanied by a copy of a reply from JS Reynolds, office of revenue inquiry, secretary to the parliamentary commissioners, to the Chamber of Commerce, originally dated 27 August 1823. File also contains a letter from John McNamara, Limerick, president of the Limerick Chamber of Commerce, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, reiterating the importance of the operation of a mail coach between Limerick and Dublin in 14 hours, 16 December 1823, and enclosing a copy of a letter from Alan Francis O'Neill, Liverpool, [of Brotherton and Co.], to John Carroll, reporting the opinion of Peter Brotherton on the subject, and stating that, if awarded the Limerick contract, Brotherton would run the mail coach on Wednesdays and Saturdays in 13 hours, 'for the accommodation of the Mercantile interest' 13 December 1823; encloses a copy of a letter from Brotherton, to O'Neill, stating that whilst 'unhandsomely treated' [presumably by the Irish Post Office], he is still prepared to fulfill his original offer, 12 December 1823.

5 Apr 1821-16 Dec 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2435

File of papers containing accounts for stationery supplied to the commissioners of stamps, stamp office, Dublin, by Sir Abraham Bradley King, King's Stationer in Ireland. Includes itemised account of stationery supplied between 5 July 1822-5 April 1823, showing the quantity and prices of various articles including books, files, ink, wax, pencils and blotting paper. Also an itemised account of paper supplied for 3 months ending 5 July 1823, including quantities and prices of various types of paper and parchment. File also contains individual accounts and duplicate accounts, for paper supplied by King to the warehouse of unstamped goods and the stamping room, May 1823-4 October 1823.

5 Jul 1822-4 Oct 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2436

Letter from Dominick Ronayne, Ring Ville [Ringville], near Youghal, County Cork, barrister, to William Gregory, Under Secretary, Dublin Castle, 25 August 1823, enclosing a petition from Michael Walsh, James Collins, and Cornelius Shanahan, convicts on board the convict hulk [holding depot] 'Surprise' at Cove, Cork harbour, to Richard Wellesley, 1st marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, detailing their case, including their conviction at Waterford assizes for administering illegal oaths to John Dwyer, and for levelling Dwyer's house. States that they were sentenced to 7 years transportation. Complains that their conviction was based, 'upon the sole and unsupported testimony' of Dywer, emphasising also, that due to unforseen circumstances, their counsel, Dominick Ronayne, was not able to be present to represent their case at the trial. Claims that following the trial, Dwyer admitted the falsehood of his evidence, resulting in his arrest for perjury. Urges that their sentence may be suspended, pending an investigation of their case. Petition signed on their behalf by Ronayne, 23 August 1823, and certified by 10 magistrates of County Waterford, including Richard Power, also MP for County Waterford, and Richard Musgrave, who testify to the truth of the petition's statements. Ronayne also encloses 2 affidavits by Michael Foley and Patrick Grant, both of County Waterford, sworn before Power, testifying that Dwyer's house was not levelled as claimed; Grant states that the house was levelled by Dwyer himself, both sworn 19 August 1823. Subsequent annotation on the petition, indicates that the papers were sent to the Lord Chief Justice. [Contains list of names not given in this description]

19 Aug 1823-25 Aug 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2437

File of papers relating to proposed alteration to mail coach service between Dublin and Waterford city; in particular, the opposition of Waterford city Chamber of Commerce, at plans to end the direct mail coach service between Dublin and Waterford, instead operating the mail coach as far as Kilkenny, and supplemented with a branch line of the Cork service operating from Kilkenny onwards to Waterford; also concerning the dispute between Laurence Parsons, 2nd earl of Rosse, one of the Irish Post Master Generals - an advocate of the Kilkenny to Waterford branch line proposal - and his colleague, Charles O'Neill, 1st earl O'Neill, joint Post Master General; and also concerning the support of the the inhabitants of Kilkenny city, for the new arrangement. File contains an abstract, prepared by the Chief Secretary's Office, of correspondence received on the subject of the proposed changes, 1821-12 November 1823. These have been numbered 1-14; the original correspondence listed in the abstract is all present in the file. It includes letters, petitions, and reports from the Waterford city Chamber of Commerce; the grand jury of Waterford city; the Irish Post Masters General; Sir Edward Smith Lees, secretary to the Irish Post Masters General; Peter Purcell, contractor operating Dublin-Waterford mail coach; and the Irish government. These include a petition from the Waterford Chamber of Commerce, to Earl Talbot, Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, expressing their opposition to the proposed changes, and emphasising the risks involved in transferring the mail, 'containing Bank notes and Specie to a very considerable amount, which Merchants have been & are obliged to get down from Dublin since the Failures of the Banks in the South of Ireland', in the the early hours of the morning from one coach to another at Kilkenny, [October 1821]. Also includes a letter from William Milward, foreman of the Waterford city grand jury, to William Gregory, Under Secretary, Dublin Castle, 8 July 1823, enclosing a petition from the grand jury, to Richard Wellesley, 1st marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, registering their opposition to the plans of the Irish Post Office, to 'deprive' the city of the benefits of the its direct mail coach service with Dublin, 8 July 1823. File also contains a statement of account of the gross annual postage charges for post towns in Ireland, for the year ending 5 January 1823: lists the names of 42 post towns and the postage charges for each. At the bottom of the account it is stated that, 'The foregoing Forty two towns were dispatched by the Waterford Mail Coach previous to 13 November 1823'; account prepared and signed by George D Mills, first clerk in the Accomptant General's Office, Irish Post Office, and also signed by William Donlevy, president of the inland office of Irish Post Office. File also contains letter from Charles O'Neill, 1st earl O'Neill, General Post Office, Dublin, joint Irish Post Master General, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, referring to the 'urgent remonstrances' which have been received by him from George Beresford, MP for Waterford city, and others, complaining of the recent changes to the Dublin-Waterford mail coach service. O'Neill details the circumstances surrounding the alteration, attributing it to his colleage and fellow Post Master General, Earl Rosse. O'Neill details those complaints, emphasising that many of them are legitimate. File also contains petition of the landed proprietors, gentry, and clergy of County Wicklow, to Marquis Wellesley, urging the completiton of a new line of road between Dublin and Waterford, emphasising its benefits for the inhabitants of County Wicklow; the petition is signed by 109 inidividuals, including Arthur Hill, 3rd marquis of Downshire and Benjamin O'Neale Stratford, 4th earl of Aldborough [November 1823]. File also contains letters from Earl Rosse, Parsonstown [Birr], King's County [County Offaly], to Goulburn, refuting erroneous statements made by Earl O'Neill and Sir Edward Smith Lees, in respect of the changes to the Waterford mail coach service, and to the financial savings envisaged by Rosse, as a result of the alteration; 30 November; 1 December 1823. [Contains list of names not given in this description]

[Oct 1821]-1 Jan 1824

1824

CSO/RP/1823/2438

File of papers relating to reports supplied by the commissary general's department, to government on the state of the harvest across Ireland in 1823. File contains 6 letters from: Thomas Gelston, assistant commissary general in Limerick; William Maturin, assistant commissary general in Cork; James Goldrisk, assistant commissary general at Clonmel, County Tipperary, and Nicholas Malassez, assistant commissary general in Dublin, to Thomas Popham Luscombe, deputy commissary general, Dublin, reporting on their investigations into the quantity, quality, and price of crops of hay, wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes, across parts of counties Clare, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, and Sligo, Longford, and Leitrim, 22 October 1823-25 October 1823. These letters were gathered together by the CSO officials in a covering wrapper stating that 'The enclosed reports as to the State of the Harvest have just been received by me [Henry Goulburn]', and the wrapper bears a subsequent annotation, in reply, from Richard Wellesley, 1st marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, observing that, 'These reports, on the whole view, are not alarming; the state of the Potatoe [sic] crop however requires attention'. The file also contains copies, prepared at the request of Marquis Wellesley, of each of these letters. File also contains 3 letters from Maturin, Gelston, and Malassez, to Luscombe, reporting further information on their investigations into the state of the crops across parts of counties Cork, Limerick, Clare, Mayo, and Galway, 25 September 1823-8 November 1823; these letters were placed together in a wrapper at the CSO under the heading, 'Further reports from Commissariat officers as to the state of Provision in the Country', and bear a subsequent annotation by Wellesley.

25 Sep 1823-8 Nov 1823

1823

CSO/RP/1823/2439

Letter from James Bayly, St. John's, Newfoundland, British North America, to Mr J Dent, expressing surprise at claims made by Mr Harvey [probably R Harvey, custom house, Dublin], in order to injure Bayly's son, by a 'false statement respecting a Bond', which his son entered into prior to his departure to take up employment in England. Bayly explains the circumstances of the matter, 'in order to remove any unfavourable Impression' which may have been created by Harvey's statement; he details his own dealings with Harvey, to whom he became indebted for the sum of £1,000, and as a result entered into a judgement bond with him, 'which led to all the misery I afterwards experienced for many years'. Bayly recounts the details of his indebtedness, and his subsequent departure to Newfoundland; also explains how his son came to be involved in the matter. Emphasises his son's innocence in the matter, noting that, 'he never had any thing to do with Mr. Harvey in any Transaction whatsoever, what he intended to do was for my family', 1 June 1821. Annexed to the letter is a testimony sworn by Bayly, at St. John's, vouching for the truth of the facts stated in his letter; sworn before James Larkin, magistrate, 9 June 1821. With subsequent pencil annotation on reverse of letter, by Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, instructing that the letter be 'Put by with Mr Dent's letter to me'.

1 Jun 1821-9 Jun 1821

1821

CSO/RP/1823/2440

File of papers relating to the application of Timothy Crowley, crown witness, Limerick city, for additional government relief. Includes petition of Crowley, formerly of Newcastle, County Limerick, to Richard Wellesley, 1st marquis Wellesley, Lord Lieutenant, Dublin Castle, detailing his role as the leading witness in the crown's prosecution of Patrick Hennessy and 5 others, who were found guilty of the murder of a crown witness, James Buckley, and executed. Crowley mentions that his brother was also a crown witness in the case of the murder of Thomas Hoskins, son of Alexander Hoskins, former land agent on Lord Courtenay's estates in County Limerick in 1821. Crowley emphasises the inadequacy of the allowance he receives from Thomas Philips Vokes, police magistrate, for his services, and requests a sum of money in order to leave Limerick and find employment elsewhere, 18 September 1823. Also includes letter from Matthew Barrington, Dublin, crown solicitor for Munster circuit, to Henry Goulburn, Chief Secretary, Dublin Castle, responding, as requested, with information on Crowley's case. Also further petition from Crowley, to Marquis Wellesley, seeking an increase of the sum of £30 being offered to him as settlement for his services, [Deecmber 1823], with further 2 letters from Barrington, to Goulburn, on the subject.

18 Sep 1823-6 Jan 1824

1824