The Sun.
London, England, 1813-12-24 00:00:00

rus nftt; DONOUGUNIORL'S nkm,y.

To iiu:

SECOND LETTER OF THE CATHOLICK 110-11tD.

Knoalofiy,eilk- 8,15 i 3:
. " the letter which I had the.honour
of receiving under your signatore,,by last night's
post, three distinct propositions are advanced on
the part of the Catholic Board ; under the influ-
ence of which they appear to consider themselves
still bound to persevere in those expectations which
were already communicated to my Right Hon.
Colleague and to myself; and to which we thought
it our duty to express—With whatever reluctance
—our inability to accede.
" T 6 the first of these propositions I answer,
with great respect, that I cannot recognize the
utility, notch less necessity, of receiving instruc-
tious from the Petitioners themselves, for the di-
rection of my Parliamentary conduct, in this ad-
vanced periOd of the discussion, upon a subject
which has so repeatedly engaged the attention of
both !louses, and in the progress of which I have
fought the best battles 1 amid, for the last 20
years, again and again, for the complete removal
of
,all existing disabilities.
"With respect to th'e secondgeound o*: argument
which: has been relied upon,,l answer, that, in the
mere circumstance of the preparation of a Bill, by
one Ur more distinguished members of the Catho-
lic Board, in exclusion of their ParliaMentary ad-
vocates, to whom has•been reserved, according to
the norm:Aimed ,mode of proceeding in all other
similar cases, the province of effectuating, by
suitable provisions, the principles and the details
.•of their • own measures, I cannot discover that
quality, thef powerful, ratency which ap-
pearetreo have been attributed to it, which are to
gratify and to enlighten their jelloW subjects in
Great Britain, and to remove, even front the minds
of their opponents themselves, all injurious jea-
loosies 'and groundless alarms.
" Still less ant I enabled to acquiesce in the
soundness of that reasoning which would estab-
lish the necessity of an intermediate Deliberative
'Body between the Catholics of Ireland and the
two Houses of Parliament, to avoid, as 'the Ca-
tholic BOMA is pleased to express itself, in the
do~:iiiiic ifs t 0 altielt I am now endeavouring to
reply, that perplexity and general disaprointment
which are therein awed to hav&marked the pro-
ceedings of the Lower House; 'during the late
Sessioo.
An acquiescence in such a doctrine as this
would seem to sanction that, than which nothing
can he, in my maim!, more unconstitutional, the
notion of a Representation of the Catholic
niunity, separate and distinct front that of the
Protestant part 'of the State—whereas it is to the
Lower House' of Parliament, as representing his
Majesty's subjects of all descriptions and religions
persitasions, and to the Hereditary Counsellors of
the Crown, that all deliberative powers are con-
fided by the Constitution of these realms, to
whom it accordingly belongs exclusively, to regu-
late. and adjust all those details which will be.
come necessary, whenever the wisdom and jus•
tice of Parliainent shall incorporate into one
compact mass of loyalty and good citizenship the'
subjects of the sane Sovereign—the inheritors of
the same rights, capacities and privileges.
'' Your authorised disclaimer of the authenticity
of those reports—Which have been, notwithstand-
ing, so widely circulated, us the 'proceedings of the
Catholic Board—necessarily .closes that subject
against all. further observations on my part. May
I not, however, be permitted to express my regret,
that the same great consideration for the feelings
of those, who ,were not themselves present, to
repel. aggression—(which then, us at all times,
marked the conduct of that distinguished Mem-
Iser—the energies of whose talent and mind,
entitle him to so great a lead in illy popular as-
sembly) had not repressed some observations in the
late debate, or' rather the publication of them,'as
they must necessarily contain gross misconcep-
tions of what is supposed to have fallen from the
person into whose mouth they have been pat—
inasinneh as they are', so far as they afict to al-
lude to me, 'not less unjustifiable iat the insinna-
riot's they would seem to'convey, than unfounded
in fact. I am not a cold composer of libels, or
fabricator of injurious seggestions, against any
man or number of men. My former feply to
the Catholic Board, was the , creation,. of :that.
day, at , the close of which it was dispatched,
through toy Right Honourable Friend. To
state it, in any other point of view, or to attri-
bute to it, any political motive, of any, aort or
kind,, would be a cruel. mistepreseosation of the
conduct pod the feelings of as old and as true a
friend of the cause of any Catholic coniArymen, as
any other now in existence, and such a calumny as
this would pass throligh the lips of any Member of
that_eiumunity partieelarly bad glace. If
such is, then,
!
the sort of authority which we are
to a Seribe from henceforth;
to the detailed pro-
ceedings of the Cathialie Board, to what, let me
ask, does the Itublication of those proceedings
tend, but to; lead!ttstray the public mind to lower
,and degrade, as far as in them lies, the motives
and the conduct of alt those who daye to thir( for
themselves ; and to disseminate, ntoun'gst a warm;
tit jealous, and an irritable population, error and.
mrsrepres'entation, in place of sound reasoning,
temperance, and truth ?
" If, however,-it is not true that any Bill was
ever prepared, as the specific measure for he re-
moval of religious disabilities, and to be pre-
sen;,eil •as such to your Parliamentary advo-
cates, It the communication- to which I have
been invited, was not to be considered in the
nature of an instruction, accorling to which
should be expected to. regulate my conduct in
Parliament, there no longer exists any difference
of opinion, thus far between Myself and any
Member of the Catholic Board--7t heir sentiments,
on thole of any individual' or body of Men, of
whatever' religious persuasioo. I shall, always
feel it my ditty to receive, with all due.atteotion
Pod respect', upon all questions, of a public no-,
titre.; more especially upon a subject, of which
ant fully aware of the great magnitude and
portance, tired which, oo that,aecount, demands,:
in a peculiar degree, the deliberate, uncontrouled
consideration of the High Court of Parliament,
wherein oloae the principle and the details of so