Irish Coercion Act

Between 1801 and 1922, the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed over 100 acts of emergency law in an attempt to establish law and order in Ireland. [cite web|url=http://www.hks.harvard.edu/taubmancenter/pdfs/working_papers/donohue_00_civillib.pdf|title=Civil Liberties, Terrorism, and Liberal Democracy: Lessons from the United Kingdom|accessdate=2008-06-15] These are often referred to as "Coercion Acts", some of the more notable of which were "An Act for the more effectual Suppression of Local Disturbances and Dangerous Associations in Ireland", [1833, 3 Will. IV, c. 4.] "The Protection of Life and Property in Certain Parts of Ireland Act", [ 1871, 34 & 35 Vict., c. 25.] and the Protection of Person and Property Act 1881. [44 & 45 Vict., c. 4.]

1881 Act

The 1881 Act was passed by parliament ["United Kingdom."Encyclopædia Britannica. 2008. Encyclopædia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD 10 June 2008.] in 1881. This act, introduced by Gladstone, allowed persons to be imprisoned without trial. [ [http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/gladstone_and_ireland.htm ::Gladstone and Ireland:: ] ]

Events leading to the act

In December 1816, a mass meeting took place at Spa Fields near London due to the discontent of the sans-culottes. The Coercion Act of 1817 was an act of Parliament that suspended Habeas Corpus and extended existing laws against seditious gatherings in Britain. The Coercion Act was the result of this mass meeting.

An Irish Coercion Bill was proposed by Sir Robert Peel to calm the increasing difficult situation in Ireland as a result of the potato famine 1844-47. The Bill was blocked and this led to Peel's retirement as Prime Minister. Later attempts to introduce Irish coercion acts were blocked by the filibustering of Joseph Biggar.

During the Irish Land War a Coercion Act was enacted in 1881. In reaction to a 41 hour long obstruction in the House of Commons, instigated by the Home Rule leagueAs a response to the Plan of Campaign of the mid 1880s the new Chief Secretary for Ireland Arthur Balfour secured a tough Perpetual Crimes Act (1887) (or Coercion Act) aimed at the prevention of boycotting, intimidation, unlawful assembly and the organisation of conspiracies against the payment of agreed rents. The Act resulted in the imprisonment of hundreds of people including over twenty MPs, all of whom had done no more than help evicted tenants.

The so-called "Crimes Act" (or "Coercion" Act) was condemned by the Catholic hierarchy since it was to become a permanent part of the law and did not have to be renewed annually by parliament, but the Papacy issued the bull [http://www.newadvent.org/library/docs_le13sn.htm "Saepe Nos"] in 1888 which was uncritical of the Acts. Trial by jury was abolished.

An influential analysis of the pros and cons of the Act was published in 1888 by WH Hurlbert, a Catholic Irish-American author. [ [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14510 Hurlbert W., "Ireland under Coercion" vol. 1 online] [http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/14511 vol.2 online] ]

Notable persons affected

Many hundreds were imprisoned at times under the Acts, including many prominent agrarian agitators, Charles Stewart Parnell, William O'Brien, Michael Davitt, John Dillon, Willie Redmond, Pat O'Brien, Joseph Biggar, Alexander Blane, Patrick Guiney, James Gilhooly, Matthew Harris, John Hayden, J. E. Kenny, James O'Kelly, Timothy Sullivan.

References