The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-02-11 00:00:00

onsets' Orangemen. Thom parsons were tried for murder, and
fiend gooey et manslaughter. A great deal had boon said of
• toe of stating that Orangemen committed violence on
injus •
and such statements trete charged upon the Association
Lobelia' ;
es. But what said the Judge who presided at the trial of
"Jim horn be had alluded ? Judge Moore, in hie ad.
persons to w
eu the prisoners. was reported to have said, " You owe the
rvation of your lives to the lenity of the Jury ;" strong ex-
nore.'s falling front die lips of a Judge, and one which incon-
nsoPT:proved his opinion as to the extent of the prisoner's guilt.
Inn „noon case, representations were made to the Association of
dennismoduct of a chief constable of police. at New Koss. The
nournment very properly instituted an inquiry ; the ease under-
west ponest•gation ; by the assistance of a Catholic lawyer it was
wile pat, and the chief constablewas dismissed. There was
coon, instance at the Quarter Sessions in the county of
damn, A great number of Catholics were beaten by a party of
• noneemen, and some wteerely wounded. Bills were sent before
;,nininon Jury, many of which were found. Wnen the trial came
00.: the Association sent down a lawyer, and after it had condo.
tied, he received the thanks of the Magistrates for his conduct. In
„other case, somewhat shindy to that which he had last stated, at
nt suggestion of the Magistrates, and in the true spirit of mode.
aerat'on, the lawyer, who was sent down by the Association, at-
,eded to their 'sites and gave up the prosecution. Now those
wens sets of the Catholic Association, in which they had manifested
nodisposiiion to obstruct the administration of justice • on die
m
trary, these acts were beneficial and salutary. defore the
Right Honourable Gentleman charged the Association with such
:gentians, he should have referred to recorded cases and to public
nocuments, as he (Sir H. Parnell) had done. (Hear. hear.) The
Right Honourable Gentleman should have done this before he
called upon the House to legislate for the suppression of a right
which had hitherto existed unquestioned, and which hod been ex-
ercised in the particular cam alluded to in the moat salut try man-
ine. As to the Catholic Rent, this rent had not been applied to
p.orposes which were undefined, as had been improperly stated by
-the Right Honourable Gentleman. The purposes to which it was
applied were accurately defined and generally known. The state-
ment, with respect to the part which the Catholic Clergy took in
ere collection of the Rent, rested or. no better foundation. The in-
faience of the Catholic Clergy was not used to force the people to
onteibute to this exaction ; but the several parishes held voluntary
ineesings, and passed resolutions approving of the principle and ap.
nication of the Rent. They also appointed Collectors and a Tree-
serr, and in no instance which came to his knowledge, had a
Priest been appointed the Treasurer. It was satisfactory thnt the
Rouse Mould understand the meaning of this rent, which had ex.
clod so much alarm. The rent had been established, not toe the
;inmost of amassing large Mine of money, but the Catholics con.
Wood that by this means they should refute the assertion which
lord Liverpool made in the Ifoinee of fiords' that the Catholics of
Ireland were indifferent upon the question of Emancipation. (Hear,
bar.) The Right Honourable Gentleman alluded to the strong
mitation which bad been excited in Ireland upon religious topics,
sad had lately prevailedto a lamentable extent :of course, this
toil was attributed to the diseuesions of the Catholic Association.
He would now state to the House bow this irritation bed really been
P •
oduned. The London Hibernian School Society had denoted
tvo gentlemen to visit the sister country and attend at public
meetings. Lieutenant Gordon and the Honourable Mr. Nee' were
the ge d.nten appointed to undertake this mission. A public
meeting was held in Cork, at which they. attended. Mr. O'Con-
nell and Mt. Sited happened to be in Cork at this tune,
aad they went to the meeting. and made such speeches SS
met hare been expected from gentlemen professing their re-
ligious opinions After this, die gentlemen he had tamed
held public meetings for religious commeeray. in Waterford, Kil-
kenny, Carlow, and various other parts of Ireland. It was under-
stood that they came for the purpose of carrying on a system
of proselytism, and the greatest possible ferment was excited
throughout the country. To these meetings, and these alone,
should the recent irritation lee attributed, and not to the discus-
sions of the Catholic Asauc.Ution. The petition from the Catholic
Association presented last Session, by the Hon. Member for West-
moister, remained an able refutation of the charges brought
against the Ca h die Association. put petition was line for line,
an answer to the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman. It was
stated as a ground for alarm that there was no rivalship in the Ca-
tholic Association. He did not me that that proved any thing. The
orators were warmly applauded because they spoke the feelings of
the people; the applause winch they received accounted for the
warmth of their expression, as well as the extent of their orations.
When the intemperance of the Catholic' was urged, it was only.
fair to consider the violence of the party opposed to them. The
Right Hon. Gentleman Jou. dui the proposed measure upon the
Act for 'orienting the system of delegation. This Act had not
been acted rip in tonere the year 1793; and he (Sir 11. P.) eon-
. mired that the Right Hon. Gentleman could not apply its pro.
visions to the Catholic Association. This Act was made to stop
the piozress of revolutionary principles, which prevailed at this
due is Ireland. The Soci•ty of United Ins mien was then es.
swished ; and here h., might be allowed to remark, in answer to
what had fallen from the Secretary to Ireland, that the Society of
Inman Irishmen was composed wholly of Protestants. He be-
lated they were, at this time, to a man, Protestants. This Society
wan not formed for the purpose of procuring Catholic Ernesto-
pstion, but for the purpose of procuring a reform in Parliament.
'fro mhtr object was assumed, and held our, in order to induce
Ile Ciao:ice to join with them. Tot Rebellion may he easily
traced ti this Society, but he could show that the Catholic*
were not connected with it in 1793, nor until a much later
period-1796 or 1797. The Catholics, finding their petition
found fault aids. as not conveying the ukinion of the whole
body, then thooght proper to so mint delegates from each
county, who not in full coon laths in Dublin. Exactly tie
same outcry was they raised by die Una ge party agaionc this Ma-
chiaielian Convention as is now raised by the same party against
nne Catholic Association. Accordingly, the delegates considered
it nemswiry to visit this country; they explained their objects acid'
views to Mr. Pitt. and were introduced 'id his Majesty by Alr. Se-
cretary Dundee. The delegates were graciously received by the
king, and when Lord Westmorland opened the Parliament of Ire-
land, in the Kir g's name, lie recommended diem to ohm into their
consideration the condition of their Catholic fellow-subjects. ''his
recommendation was followed by concessions to the Catholics,
ocre important than any which had preceded. The Conven.
no: Act pissed, aid the Convention was heard of no morn.—
Ile was fully pre lard to defend the principle of delenation age I at
any objections which might be raised against it by Gentlemen on
the other side of the House. It was clearly a Constitutional prin:i-
pie, and in no case was it more beneficially reduced 'o practice than
lathe preen: instance. Who i i the hands of the Catholic Ago.
c'sdon.it had allayed the angry and excited feelings of the Roman
Citholic popuLtion, and materially checked the progress of dis-
content. The gets aid spirit of the Association were capable of
being justified upon the broadest and soundest principle of a li-
berate:ll enlightened policy. Sir. Burke, whose : entiments ought
entainly to meet with respect from Gentlemen on the other side of
the House, and for whom great powers no man could entertain a
stronger feeling of trim iratio,i than himself, had openly doclored his
opinion upon the nubj.nt, and, on prudential grounds, asserted, that
the expression of p_opular feel:et was attended with wholesome
consequences. " IVhe .seer (said Mr. Burke) the honour, of so.
ciety are afloat, they will din Marge themselves „into the emcee on to.
boa of jaeobinian. It eroded him no pleandre to hear of coer.
rive measures being admits-if Inwards the Committee of delegates in
his time, for he was of opininn Mai the popular feeling, if not
and urged too far, trieht be made beneficial in its effects.
he Ilea nimble Mee b r was himself 1 r •pared to go in equal
length, atil maintain that th..se feelings should be 'ermined to
give them elv s vent. He was fortified in those sentiments by the
opinion or ano.he- celebrated Statesman, whose name was identi.
fled with Iris Aral s,,n I Oen whom no noon better knew Ireland,
he nut rat me late Ale Gowan, who, on the occasion of the su ppres.
stun of the Catholic Convention in 1811, declared in that House his
conviction of the inexpediency of that ;Demme, and maintained
not pouter freli-g should be allowed to evaponite through the me-
dun of feet discussing. And should not the authority of such an
cause the Hcuse to pause and consider before they p used
t e 811 before them ? With respect to the present Chief
Governor of Ireland, nn man existed inner cap Ole and wil.
lung to text a vat and I. sting impose. meet in t`tt t coin ry
than Lord Wellesley. Ile smoke this tenni personal know.
l•ltre, and a sincere ertnvicti in of the fact. But unhappily no two
dh net were more unlike than his Lordship and what he would tall
the Cabinet of 'retard; no measures or rren, he was convinced,
could be more opposite or eordradistinguiehtd. lie repeated. that,
in the Cahiret of Ireland, six to four were opposed to Lord Wel-
lesley's principles of Government. The present state of Ireland
arose out of this. and the Catholic Association would not have
existed hid not the hada of the Lord Lieutenant been tied up,
and his mcsantes tendered abortive by the divisions existing in the
Cabinet. It might be noressary to remind the House—and it was
certainly worthy of recollection—that they were not legislating for
the Association, tut for the Catholic body. This was the fact,
however it might be attentred to be disguised ; and they might
rely upon it, that were the wiser course of not iiiterfering with the
ntholie Association ad, med, to evil, but, on the contrary, great
loootit to the country at large, would certainly be the result.
'rue apprehensions not Honourable Gentlemen with regard to the
13.0,:iation and its objects were mere illusion. The Assneiatioo
had succeeded in drawn '. the attention of the Irish nation to
;111101it Emancipation, and uniting all of that persuasion in an
.divided effort for the attainment of that object. tither purposes
:night be attributed or aesuined for them ; but calumny, which
rained its own co .fmation, could do little harm. The state of
Ireland must become known to this country by mittens of such die.
nuntions, and that in itself formed an important object in the
tcitide of the well.wishers to thie• prosperity of that country. The
Lading Members of the Assucistion had been shamefully vilified
mud calumniated, and none had been more misrepresented than Mr.
It'Connell; the attacks it ads on that Gentleman in the Orange
Press of Ireland were mini lent to make a man mad. lie did not
desire to become the apologist of the Catholic leaders, and in his
••;miinn they did nut stand in need of it; but he would say, that
11. it they were men of great talent, and high and undoubted character.
Mr. O C. had shown every it isposition to consult and coalesce with
iy Protestant fellow subjects. lie would nay, let the Association
and put down Bible Socie•ies and Orange Associations.
e conjured the House not to be carried away by a hasty decision.
and he entertainsd Do doubt, if Honourable blerobere divested
themselves of party feeling, and t:-.34:1 seed the question with the
calm consideration bimonlisig tin importance, they would see reason
to refrain from making an inroad on the existing law by passing
this Act. The lion. Secretary for Ireland says the Bill is of a
temporary nature. In other words, it is to operate only against the
Catholic Association--that, and the rent once put down, it is to be
permitted to sink into disuse. But has the Hon. Gentleman contem-
plated the possibility of the Catholics nut acquiescing in the en.
aeuneet, and the consequences of their resistance? What will he do
,tt the aunt of dub tut *obi:tit:Mg to this Bill ? Would be be able