The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-02-28 00:00:00

vele of human tight, and offered to come forward and prove a n-.
Inee; and it wis this petition which had been spurned from the
itish House of Commons. They had now to appeal to the peo-
pled England for the opportunity to make that vindication which
stir Representatives(some actual, some virtual) had disallowed.
gnus placed, he would first attempt to show the people of England
we pecesAity of the proceedings of the Catholics of Ireland.• Se-
condly, he would explain the nature of the course which they had
taken. In the third place, he would meet and repel the assertions
•hich had been uttered against them ; and fourthly, he Would can-
vass the measure which was levelled at them, while yet there was
,j opportunity, at the bar of public opinion in England, and appeal
to Englishmen through the means of that press, which was destined
obese on the wings of truth the triumph of liberty over despotism
among die nations of tbe weritl. This appeal he made to the jus.
see, the honour, the honesty, nay, the generosity, of the English
p pie. (Hear, hear, hear.) Toiustify the necessity of the ern-
Lobed action of the Irish Oitholics, the Learned Gentleman went
through to detail the prominent parts of Irish history, and the long
oangue of proacriptions and caclnsions that deformed its pages,
et winch the Cathofim were always the victims, and the empire at
large the soMoer—not for any purpose of Englishmen, either in
tss promoting of their policy or their law, but for the support of a
&Terme and profligate faction in Ireland, which wished to main-
tain itself dishonourably upon the spoils of the Eublie. (Hear,
betel From the invasion of Ireland in the year II ‘2, down to the
year ifil2, the terma Irish, subject and British enemy were eynoni-
Inoue ; and the native Irish, who had for centuries petitioned to be
pat under the protection of British law, were hunted down and ex-
terminated like the beasts of the forest. 'fo murder one of theme
Irishmen was nocrime at law except the payment of a small flue ;
saa Sir John Davis, the Irish, Attorney-General of King James the
Fist, reported the cases which occurred in the Courts of law,
where the validity of these brutal laws were admitted to be in full
fem. Sir John Davis reported the ease of the murder of a rims
Mined William Thompson ; and what was the defence of Me mur-
derer ? not that he had not reddened his hands with the blood of the
deceased man, but that William Thompson wae not his right
name, that it was Timothy O'lledrireoll, who was a native Irish-
Marl, and, therefore, out of the pale of the law. (Hear, hear.)
But what said the prosecutor ? Did he demur to this plea ? No;
be admitted such to be the law, but he took a collateral issue on
fact, and said it was true that the deceased was named Timothy
O'Huirisnall at his baptism, but he afterwards came within
the allegiance of the King—was admitted within the pale--and
that he ceased to be mere, Harr odors, and became 1 atbrenicurr
Dement Regis. But the prisoner was sound guilty of the murder,
and what said she Judge on the occasion ? he said, " You shall not
go scot free, but you shell be sentenced to pay a tine of two marks
to the King." This case is reported by Sir John Davis, the Irish
Atiorney.General in the reign of Junta the First. lam not talk-
ing of things that are only to be tound in works of fancy, I am
talking of matter of fact, for this conviction and this puniehment
you will find recorded in a book which, though it be a dull book, is
good and substantial authority—a law book. It was unfortunate
fOr the worthy prisoner that the fact had been proved that O'He-
&neon had actually been admitted within the King's allegiance.
If this fact hod not been brought before the Court, he would have
been sr:milled of the crime—as it was, he was not permitted to go
soar free, but was forced to pay a line of two marks to the King,
and was doubtless confined in prison swill these two marks were
faithfully paid. And this was the sta:e of Ireland down to 1612,
worcely two hundred and thirteen years ago. But anew ingredient
was mixed in the cup of Ireland's wretchealness--a poisonous ingre-
diem was throws into that chalice, out of which every nation should
have drank peace and loving kindness. The distinction between
Irish rebel and English subject, had been put an end to by the Act
dthe bth of James 1. chap. fi, I believe it is; but that other bane-
ful ingredient was mixed in the poisonous cup, and was still offered
to the lips of Irishmen, and still perpetuated the miseries of their
country—that other ingredient was religious dissension. Gahm.
linty had been long the ruling religion of the land. But King!
Berry destroyed all those splendid buildings—those beautiful
abbeys and monasteries, which in Ireland had been raised by the
devotion of her people and her priests. How much we lament this,
we who see the wretched architects who have succeeded those men—
architects who do not deserve the name—how must we regret the
loom we have suffered—we, who behold the places of those noble
specimens of architecture supplied by buildings that resemble
nothingpo much as a pig-sty ctowned by a sentry -box !
Lag Henry, and afterwards Elisabeth, made the Protestant reli-
gion the religion of those realms; but they carried it in the spirit
sf persecution, and in that spit it only, to Ireland. The Plunkett',
the Desmond', and many other noble families adhered with a
desperate resolution to the religion—the persecuted religion of their
sires--adhered to it although their princely honours were struck to
the ground, soul although they daily beheld hundreds of martyred
countrymen perishing to give testimony to the sincerity of their
belief. Those persecutions continued with unabated fury from the
period of the Reformation until Mary ascended the British throne.
'lhe persecuted Catholic religion, the religion that had been so long
trampled on and kept down, became in turn predoniinant. The re•
collections of their persecutions were then fresh in memory of
every Catholic in Ireland—every man remembered that but very
lately he had been scouted and bunted down by his Protestant
neighbours. What was then the conduct of those Catholics ? Did
they return persecution for persecution ? Did they plunge the
sinned into the bosoms of those whom they remembered only as open
and declared enemies ? I, as a Catholic, thank my God that I
am able to say their conduct was eery ditferent—to say that,
although armed with power, although vividly recollecting what
they had recently isibmitted to and stalFered, and although able, if
they had pleased, to deluge the land frith Protestant blood, there
did not occur a single instance which could in any degree tarnish
the character of the Catholics. or make Christianity blush for them.
I do not ask any one to take for granted what 1 have said on my
Authority only. Let him consult the 36th page of Sir Henry
Parnelli History of Ireland, and he will find recorded there the
truths I hare stated. He will find that the Catholics not only did
not return evil for evil, persecution for persecution—not only that
they did net take advantage of their power to retaliate, but that
they embraced the Irish Protestant as the brother of the Irish Ca-
tholic. However, times changed, and Elizabeth and her courtiers
devastated Ireland. She was frugal and thrifty at home, but in
that hapless country the wasteful sword of war was let loose—car.
nage and confiscation followed. The great Fitzgerald, although a
Protestant Nobleman, wan toe rich and powerful is be left un.
touched, and his fate was soon rendered equally certain with that of
his Catholic neighbour, O'Neil, of Clandaboy. I will not recite
to you the innumerable instances of ruthless cruelty which then
occurred in Deland. I will not quote for you the names of the
many thousands, who, surrendering on the faith of treaties, met
the death of felons. 1 will pass oven this melancholy subject; it
dwells deeply in my mind, not, God forbid ! for the purpose of
cresting any feeling of hatred towards this country; but it is
nearly associated with the principle of the measure that excites in
Ireland such universal hatred. Afterwarda came the government of
Cromwell, and involved dm country 3Feir in a state of national hosti-
lity. " The sword of the bard and of Gideon" smote the wild Irish
in their dens, rimmed the land with the blood of fellow-
creature., and spread ruin and desolation through the land. But
fortune gave again the throne to him who was its hereditary
pastime. In the lottery of life, she mice more threw to him
the prise, and deprived lawless ambition of its hopes of suprime
rower. But see the events by which this change was followed.
the Duke .of York, afterwards King James the First, took no
less than 80.000 forfeited acres—forfeited by those very Catholics
who had warred for his tither as long as lie lived, and had
bled to restore to his brother the crown of his ancestors. But James
the First came to the throne of England, and lie continued to
keep those 80,000 acres which were so justly and so truly the
property of his Irish subjects. At length the English rejected
bum but fee was not rejected by the Irish. The Irish did not
make that distinctioa between hereditary right when the pos-
sessor of the Crown was capable of welLgoverning, and here-
ditary right when the 51one-eh was incapable, when the people
were be
in breaking through these ties which could not
then be called "sacred." Iti not making this distinction, the
Irish committed a grievous error : but James the Second fled
to them—they rallied in hi. cause—in his cause they drew the
sword—they conquered, and the Catholics of Ireland became
again triumphant. What was then their conduct? Did they
then persecute the Protestants because of their religiousereeds ?
No; they were the descendants of the men who had before
been possessed of power—in the reign of Queen Mary; and now
that they had it a second time, they never stained that power
with one particle of persecution. But James the Second fled
the field—he quitted the contest, and left a French fleet to be the
protectors of Ireland. But did the Irish approve of this act ?
did they enter heartily into this unnatural union? No—the
French flag was waving over the walls of Athlone, when Irish
hearts were its principal opponents. Then was fought the field
of Aughrim—and there, partly by treachery, but partly, I am
willing to admit, by British valour, the Irish Catholics were
defeated. Limerick was then surrounded, King William and his
troops were beaten off—they returned to the siege, and were again
defeated. That city, with 20,000 men, could have been defended
for centuries against the attacks of congregated millions. But
fair terms were offered to that city, and offered by King lVilliam,
whore word at that time stood high inahe estimation even of Isis
enemies. King William offered the inhabitants of Limerick fair
terns. He said to them :—" Your King bas fled the field ; he
has left you to fight your own battles. He does not deserve
that brave men should shed their blood for him—for he fled when
brave men fought." The Irish, who knew the justice of this ap-
peal, listened to it. They replied that they were willing to give
hits the title for which besought, to call him their King; and all
they allied for in return was for liberty of conscience. %Fell, a
consultation was held—the Eldons, the Liverpool', and the Peels,
who were in tee Cabinet of that day (cheers), took the subject into
their most wise consideration. The horror of this liberty of con-
science made theiu pause, until the good sense of King William
interfered, and overcame the difficulties that lay in their way. He
told the Irish that they should have what they asked for—that they
should have this liberty of conscience—and it was determined upon
accordingly by his wise councillors. The decision was hastened
by the knowledge that a French fleet had doubled Cape Clear, and
were on the seas towards Limerick. Of this, however, the Irish
were in ignorance. The treaty was agreed to—we entered into a
promise. which was, of course, made, and the terms were accepted.
A meeting was appointed for the purpose of drawing up this
treaty ! And Sir Stephen Rice, the ancestor of the present Alm-
bee for Limerick, was the person fixed upon to act on the part of
the Irish. At that moment the French fleet arrived its the Shan-
non, and a message was immediately sent to tine city to say that
succour was at hand. There were many among the Irish Corn-
:menders who were men of fiery spirit, and they said, " We have
not yet signed the treaty. We have now arms in our hands, and
we have assi.tance—let us drive King William back to his noun.
try." W'mat said the Irish General ?—s• No," said he, "we
leave its honour signed the treaty; and it is a sacred point to
ke:p our promise.' He instantly sent a messenger to say to