Whately’s Poor Inquiry
The coercion act was the year’s clearest assertion of executive force. Its formal title, An Act for the more effectual Suppression of local Disturbances and dangerous Associations in Ireland, reflected official claims that ordinary law could not contain agrarian violence, intimidation and illegal combinations. It gave the lord lieutenant wide authority to prohibit meetings considered dangerous to public safety and, in proclaimed districts, imposed exceptional restrictions upon movement and assembly. A person found outside home under suspicious circumstances between an hour after sunset and sunrise could be detained and required to establish a lawful reason for being abroad. Justices and authorised officers could demand that male inhabitants of houses present themselves at night. The act also made provision for trials before courts martial in specified circumstances.