The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1819-01-06 00:00:00

For, and we hoped to ettloy—for it NU one, Us the exercise
of which we fondly thought we needed not the permission or
the concurrence of a Corporation. Yet even THIS, the spirit
of Corporate monopoly and exclusion envied us, and in the
practical developenteut of that fatal watchword PROTESTANT
ASCENDANCY,' the Elective Franchise itself is unjustly
sought to be wrested from our bands!—Strangers to us and
aliens to our tows' are admitted to Corporate Freedom, fur
the avowed and boasted purpose uf annulling our privilege—
thus teaching us the bitter lesson, that whatever the Legisla-
tare may iu its wisdom enact in our favour, the • Laws
shall not, iu any sense, flow from ourselves, loot shall be
enacted by ' men not only differing from us In manures,
'satins, and religion,' but men whom we personally &sap-
prove of, and shunt we are male by this contrivaace nod
confederacy, vainly to oppose. Why is it, may we nut ask,
that we are thos doomed to suffer? It is nut that we are
disloyal; uo man can imorach our loyalty—it is not that we
are inferior in any moral quality towns. fellow subjects—that
we are not as iudnatriuus, as anitusble to the Laws, and as
faithful in on. discharge of all the relative ditties uf life—it
is only because we arc Caviinuirs! It is because the Law
has set a mark of IIft.SCIIIIIiOII npfin our forehead, sod there-
fore every mosupalist, every Ingot, every man who hates
ur who envies, thinks he finds a sanction in the Law itself
fur their *ma contrivance of persecution, exclusiou, and
wrong ! •
" This, Sir, is • very short abstract of the complicated
evils which the present system of Penalties and Exclusion
inflicts Num is. Your appointment to the 6igli office, which
you tmour, we hail as auspicious, leading to a better
order of things. If it lead not directly to the neat object of
our wisliesoor pi•rfect and full poiciession of a Constitution,
alone folendallnlll. were I .141 by CATUOSIVI, •...1 of which
the sublime superstructure was criiiented by the blood of
mail- of them; at least we shall hope, that it will establi•lt
anion` its that spirit of unlit and impartial jut it ice,
operating iu full vigour in the Seat of Goveiiiinent,inay es•
tend its protecting influeoce even to us; n. it that we shall
be safe, at least doling the administration of his Exc. Henry,
whose virtues we know and reVeee. from that abu.e Aa-
ceitilancy: that vi ornious anil ultimo ..•rrrme of Corporate
Power, which offsets to vitriol. r it LOYALTY I. coot:wows
and frustrate the I..sw sit Ihr Lined itself, alieliever that Law
breathes Toleration or Liberality, and re-admits our suffer-
ing Class to even a portion of its :indent rights!
" Sir, we buys troulited you with these observation,, be-
cause our hearts are swelling with the intlituant feelings
whirls retrial and continued wrongs inevitably excite ; *nil
because, iu your littera?, anliglateoed, mid constitutional
mind, we are sure of meeting a manly and an holiest sym-
pathy. But let its not be misunderstood in thus lay,na our
gratitude and our sorrows lac re you. Let tie not be mil-
understood, as usigeocrotooly intendiug it, embarrass your
official career, by recut riug to former services rendered to
us, in order to found upon them a &mend of measures
I which many conceivable causes may render it impossible,
even fur taleots or virtue. like yours, to obt lin fir us. No,
Sir! we mean simply to iatoress to you that /cathode which
we have long fi It, butt which the event of your press itt ap-
pool nient gives us 1141 W, for the first time, an opportunity
of expressing. IVe ale confident, that, hossi•vir circum-
stances may control offirial ruidutt, and even render you
fur a tune unable to give effect to the lortiefitilit,
just, and constitutional principles *bids you have avowed
and acted upon as a Senator, yet, as those principles. found-
ed kr ETIRN•I. TRUTH, are incapable of change, they will
eautinue to govern your ii.emiurco as a Statesman—subject
to those qualifications and delays to which human councils
must ever be liable. la this conviction we gise you, Sir,
our GRATITUDE and our CONEIDENCE. Had we CORE°.
NATE lamours to bestow, we would confer them ; soil we
reckon it nut among the least of our misfortunes, that tin
unjust exclusiou Gum Corporate Power leaves us unable
ilfrel to give a Vote in conferring that mask of cote Vent.
ration and esteem tru one who possesses both by as high a
title.

(Signed) "JAMES GERNON, Chairman.
" THt►H:"S BRODIGAN, S. cretary."
Dr. SKELTON said, in the situation in which he felt him-
self placed, he trusted he should nut be consider...l pre.
sumptuous or intrusive by Wining a few uhserf3llollt, on
the present very iuteresting occasion. " I feel convinced,"
he said, " that the Gentlemen whom 1 now addiese, will
give me full credit when 1 naive them, its whatever situa-
tion i■ life chant e or circumstances may place me—where-
ever Catholic feeling or Catholic opi gg iiii , grounded, as I do
conceive it is in the present instance, on a pure principle
of gratitude, makes a stand, it is them, and there wily,
that I shall take toy station. The liberal and enlightened
Secretary, so much the object of out present atte•uion, has
supported our claims in PaelllMlCili by our of the mot
able, eluqueut, and impressive Freda's, that ever was deli.
erred in the British Semite during the Parliamentary discus-
sione ou the Catholic Question. We caunot but be grateful
fur this signal service. l hope our liberal friends will al.
ways find Catholic gratitude in every point of com-
mensurate with Protestant liberality. Though we feel, as
we really should do, sincerely grateful fur the many impor-
tant p.ivilegcs conferred on the Catholics of Ireland during
his present Majesty'a reign, yet it must be acknow ledgctl much
remains lobe (lone to put wit on a fair, equal, and constitu-
tional footing with the remainder of our fellow-subjects. Is
it nut reasonable to suppose—is it nut natural to expect,
e should be anxious—nay, that we should be ambitious,
in aspirin to au equal participation with our Dissenting
Brethren, in the rights and privileges of that Constitution,
the foundation of which was laid by Catholic bands The
enlightened spirit of the age w e live in—the growing hbera•
lily of our times—die condom and practice of most of the
European Governments towards their subjects, must be
more or lays (avowable to our hopes a per( et
Lion. A great and respectable portion of our Protestant Bre-
thren have already petitioned its our behalf—the- Prese, the
unlarught Pins of both countries, the *my life-blaid of
public liberty, generally speaking, manifests a warm at.
tachment to our Cause—use of the must justly ohstinguished
of the Irish public prints, The Dublin Escallop Post, has
steadily advocated our Chow, upon that broad sod constitu.
Donal ground of right and expediency combined, upon whirls
alone those claims cats safely test. Wiltll this general feel.
iag, barked, us it has been, by the cu•operaliun of our
Meads in Parliament, supports our pretensions to a further
communication uf Constitutional right, we may justly look
forward, at nes distant day, to be placed in the full possession
of the rights of /Rai subjec ts, on the only emotion which they
should be granted to Free Men—ALLEGtaSce. and IAVALTY.
Those alone, in every civilised Government, constitute the
true price of Civil Freedom. More ought riot, and, 1 min per-
suaded, when men like 31r. Grant assume high stations in
the State, will ulcer,' be demanded futon us. We hate paid
the price—we are ready to continue to pay it. We have
tendered our allegiance to our Sovereign, confirmed by the
sacred obligations of au oath—we have been and we shall
be loyal, and therefute we may surely, without presiimp.
lion, justly claim the reward which allegiance sod loyalty
are entitled to tinder vitae and free roves-melds, however
we may differ in religious tlemuminations from the religion
of the State. Nuier, perhaps, was there a period in the
History of the British Empire when it rosier behoved the
State, that that GREAT RIGHT of the Subject slitml4l be freely'
exercised by all who are entitled to exercise it, Its•it
at
the present moment—.l mean the EI.FITIVE FRAN-
CIUM. At present, thong!) the Catholic appears to have,
he has not really Ow foil use of that great privilege.—
Su much the Ins likelihood is there eertatuly, that Parlta•
mint will possess all the talent, patriotism, and public spirit,
which under other ciectiolss:lllo.o it would have, to extend
the blessings of Civil and Religions liberty, and of wive,
and good, and eyetat Government to every Stet, sod to every
class in the commend:ly. I cannot conclude withow express-
ing my must hearty assent to the prineiplts which pervade
the Address you have losiel read, and which arc, in fact, the
principles of Mr Grant himself ; and my most ardent lupe
that Ullf upytmenu, both in and out of Parliarno sit, will, at
no very dishiest day, he deeply convinced of the policy, as
well as justice, of receiving olio the hosion of the Courtrai-
lotion four millions and ■ half of as brave, as loyal, soil
as useful a booty of subjects as the Illustrious Sovereign of
the British Empire can boast of Allies, all the ciretinistances
connected with our present situation is csoisiolerd, I think wills
my eloquent (timid, Mr Hanoi!, we may Niels tulip-mulatto
our country and ourselves, that the long and dreary ought of
intolvrange has passed away, and that at last ao suspicious
mar ' g dawns upon us—a bright star (mom the North in-
troduces it to our view—auur politiral horizon brightens,