SELECT COMMITTEE ON FICTITIOUS VOTES, IRELAND. A 1 ft ? 219 11857. Have you ever taken notice, from your altar, of any of your flock who Rev. E. M'Gaver had gone against your advice in voting at the elections ?— Yes ; if I ever found — a man voted contrary to his conscience, and for the sake of a bribe, I always did. 2 5 May 1838. 11858. Did you ever take notice of any man who voted against your advice and directions ?— I did. 11859. From your altar ?— From my altar. 11860. Was the consequence of that, in any instance, that that man was treated with violence or his seat in the chapel injured ?— I never knew an instance of any of my people being treated with violence, or injured in consequence of their votes; and if I spoke of them, it was not for the purpose of having them injured ; 011 the contrary, I always preached peace, and they generally, I must say, obeyed me; but to discourage men from taking anything like a bribe, whenever I saw that occur, I always thought it my duty to discountenance such a practice. 11861. It was simply to discourage them from taking bribes?— Of course it was. 11 862. Simply ?— Simply. 11863. You never advised them how to vote ?— I did advise them how they were to vote, but I am satisfied if they did not take a bribe they would vote for the men who would do their business best in Parliament. 11864. Then if that be so, why should you advise them how to vote ?— I must submit that human nature is frail, and the more a man is impoverished the more likely he will be to yield to the frailties of human nature. 11865. You stated you found persons always willing to go as you advised them, except in particular cases which you have specified, where their landlords were of different politics r— Yes. 11866. In those cases how did you act ?— I advised them to stay at home. 11867. Always?— On all occasions I endeavoured to calm the people; if I saw a great sacrifice was likely to be made I advised the people not to ask them, it would be too much. In the parish of Cashell there were four men who went without my asking them; they had an old life, on which their title de- pended ; unfortunately, that same year, the life dropped; it was the property of Lady Ross, and 42 families were ejected in consequence of these four persons having voted against the interests of Lady Ross, or of her party. 11868. But you advised them, in all those cases, to stay at home ?— In all the cases you refer to I did. 11869. You never advised them to vote against their landlords?— I always did when I thought the landlord was wrong, and lie differed from me in politics. 11870. Then when the landlord differed from you in politics, you uniformly advised the tenant to vote against the landlord ?— I did, when 1 thought the landlord was wrong. 11871. Of course, whenever the landlord differed from you in politics, you thought he was wrong ?— In the county of Longford, whenever he differed from me, I thought he was wrong. 11872. You stated to us that in several instances Roman- catholic tenants had been put out, in order to put in Protestant tenants ?— Yes. 11873. Was not that a necessary consequence of the proceeding which the tenants were thus encouraged to take against their landlords ?— I suppose those who put them out thought so. 11874. Then the result of your advice to your flock to go against their land- lords was, that those men were dispossessed of their farms ?— In some instances it might; I know that some of them were put out before the priests took any part in politics. 11875. But the tendency of your advice was to lead to that consequence?— Yes, lately they might have that apology, but I knew them do it before the priest interfered. Upon Lord Lorton's estate I knew a whole townland laid waste. 11876. Where was that?— In the parish of Edgeworth's Town. 11877. Be so good as to tell me in or about what time that occurred?— I cannot very well recollect, it is a good many years ago. 11878. What opportunity had you for knowing that fact?— I lived at that time in the parish of Ardagh, the next parish to that, and some of the persons who lived there I had an acquaintance with. 11879. With how many ?— One family of the name of Kane. f F 2 11880. A