Secret Service Under PittFitz-Patrick, William J. (William John)
History
Secret Service Under Pitt
Fitz-Patrick, William J. (William John)
Ireland -- History -- 1760-1820; Pitt, William, 1759-1806; Secret service -- Ireland
[365] Dr. Carpenter preceded Dr. Troy in the see, and by great prudence
guided the suffering Church through the quicksands which in penal days
encompassed it. He deprecated public agitation on the part of his
flock, lest the very clanking of the chains should arouse their keepers
to renewed activity and vigilance.
[366] The brother of Mathias O'Kelly was betrothed to Miss Magan; but
he broke away. Whether the bridal feast had been absolutely spread, is
not stated.
[367] The late Dr. Fleming of Merrion Square, one of the next-of-kin,
sought by legal proceedings to foil this arrangement, but failed. Mr.
H. Fetherston, his attorney after the case had been decided against
his client, said to the gentleman who partly represented Miss Magan:
'According to Canon Law you are now free to keep this money, and none
but a fool would reject it.' Mr. Fetherston was right; but the other
replied that there was also a law of honour and of conscience.
[368] Hartstown being a freehold, it could not go towards the endowment
of the institution, and the executor says that this fee-farm has cost
him more trouble than all the worry attendant on her complicated
affairs.
[369] By a deed, dated December 10, 1797, Lord Carhampton,
commander-in-chief, a leading terrorist of his time, grants to Francis
Higgins part of his estate of Hartstown and Barnageath; but without
mention of trusts or considerations of any kind. During a law suit
which took place in 1802, as Mr. James Curran, great-grandnephew of
Higgins, informs me, it transpired that Higgins, in this transaction,
had been merely trustee for Magan. The freehold conveyed by Carhampton
to Higgins is now in the hands of Magan's legal representative. I
long suspected, but, on full inquiry, have failed to satisfy myself,
that Carhampton's grant to Higgins, in trust for Magan, was part of
an arrangement cunningly devised to baffle suspicion, and meant as an
acknowledgment of private information regarding rebel doings, which
Magan, it is certain, was giving to Higgins; but at least, it proves
Carhampton's friendly wish to promote the interwoven interests of both.
On pursuing the labyrinths of the Registry of Deeds Office, Dublin,
I find that the Magans had connection with the property so far back
as 1780. On February 20, 1793, 1000_l._ was lent by Higgins to Thomas
Magan, the father of Lord Edward's betrayer, charged on Blackstaheny
and Clonsilla, the adjoining lands. Three years later Higgins tightens
his toils, and, as already stated, seeks to further secure this
1000_l._ charged on the same property. 'Shamado,' doubtless, well knew
how to make his creature work. The consent to harbour Lord Edward, and
the whispered information as to place and hour would be an easy way
of wiping out the debt for 1000_l._, and of currying favour with the
lender. I may add that the foregoing note was written long before I had
found the criminatory letters of Higgins and Magan.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account