The Sun.
London, England, 1825-02-11 00:00:00

horrence could be too strong for them. Now there was no elt.,
hortation to war here, but to peace. He regretted the passage'
because many persons thought it tended to injure the Catholic
cause. He did not understand it in the same obnoxious sense .
himself, and even if he did, what was the fact ? Why, that
Parliament, by its own measures, had engendered these fright.
ful animosities, and lot tiger ught eoe legislate against those
titilba
who gave way to then\ In no cr elmstances could such a
phrase be made the ground of legis ion. If the Catholics
of Ireland
.were really anxious to the ends of legiti-
etnaee.vOtion,twere ethey'eo -be pr 'oiled from turningt°
eateeetheir pAteelx•Perience? og da two great boOns
which had heretofore been granted to Ireland, one had been
granted when the Government was almost under duress, and
the other was at the time of the Union, for the purpose of eee
citing a feeling favourable to that measure. The Convention,
as every body knew, was animated by the genius of Mr. Grat-
tan, and guided by the judgment of Lo.d Charlemont, and yet
that Convention affected less than might have been imagined.
The Catholic Association, as he had before said, never woula
have existed if it had not some solid grievances to complain of,
and, he would add, that it could not have existed so long if it
had outraged the good sense of the co tntry. The Convention,
so long as it had such grievances to complain of, and so long as
it acted prudently, possessed the confidence of the people, but
as soon as it diverged from this rah, it excited the dislike of the
people, and was destroyed. At present the only wise method of
destroying the Catholic Association was to grant Catholic
Emancipation. Without emancipation the measures now before
the House were useless and absurd. The Right Hon. Gentleman
had contended that the most formidable part of the Association
was the collection of the Rent. If what had been urged We/
true—that the Rent was collected in a manner amounting nearli
to compulsion, it was easy to foresee its speedy termination!
This very argument of the Right Honourable Gentleman Wag
a strong reason for leaving the Association alone. One of the.
two alternatives the Government must choose ; to let it alone,
or to put it down by violence. The Catholic Association e%'
isted on the principle of enthusiasm, and as that enthusiast!'
could not be permanent, the Association would necessarily dll
with it. But if it were put down by violence the spirit wont
°
not die • it would increase daily and hourly. He was eon'
vinced that the effect of the present Bill would be to make the
Catholic feelings ten times stronger than ever. The Association'
had united the affections of the greet body of the Catholics. .1-;
might have bt en formerly doubt( d whether it were possible fo'
the Catholic i op nation of Ireland to be so united and brought
forward to act on one object. This doubt had been complete]t
reselved by the Catholic Association. Ministers had said the;
the Association should not endure any longer. With resPe,c,
to the time (the argument of the Right Hon. Gentleman, 3'11:
Canning) of its dissolution, this was certainly the worst the
could be chosen, because it was clear that the Association
stood well with the people, and that its leaders, if they Wel
now comp:lied to retire, would retire with the peopled
confidence. The Catholic body ftlt itself raised and elevateei
by the Association, and so long as the Association existed
they would proceed with more steadiness and good sense °v.'
wards the great end of Catholic Emancipefon. Some person
seemed to think that Emancipation had been thrown back b;
the proceedings of the Catholic Association. He did not thing
so ; for in spite of all the vituperations against that Body, a'•
in spite of the charge that it h; d assumed the power of 6(?;
vernment, and even a greater power, yet the people of tin!,
country were convinced that things could not remain rotle4
longer in their present state, and that the only way fb rector
tranquillity was to grant Catholic Emancipation. He bad ilea"-
with great astonishment the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Ce;
ning) say, th it the country was greatly opposed to it. NoW A,
did not believe this. The Catholic question was of vital imP°
ante to the safety and interest of the empire. Under all circt:
stances—under "good report and evil report," without any We
ference to time, be would hold by the Catholic question• ete,
would speak his sentiments upon it boldly, plainly, and hones
The truth must and would sink into the public mind, and shoe
itself in the public conduct. This was his conviction, and i
would always express it, without crouching or trucking to le
one. Whenever the Catholic question wits brought forward, .
should pursue this straight forward co ire The system e.
nounced this night appeared to him as most dangerolle•n,
If Emancipation had been granted at the time of the Uni°e,
it would have been no doubt better ; but could he have f°l.o
seen the broken promises of Mr. Pitt, he should even b!e
preferred the present time as the fittest for conferring be'pe
boon, because the measure would carry so many advantels
to Ireland in its train. The abandant capital of England would
follow it to Ireland, and the people of both kingdoms 10°Peo
be knit and united in the closest bonds. Even now he fibe
not certain that the question of Emancipation would 13°'.e.
carried during the year 1825, in some new and unheard of meet.
ner. He should not be surprised if, when the Hon. Menwoe
for Westminster should present the Catholic petition, 6° to,
Orange Member should rise, and by anticipation, oiler. eS
grant Emancipation on the condition that the forty
freeholders be abolish& d. But let not any one believe that 'pp
was the way in which Catholic Emancipation ought to be 01, lie
ed. He always believed that the great objection to Catue,eo
Emancipation was Protestant monopoly. The Otangeel;et
finding that the Catholics were beginning to think, fe.l, and 0.
for themselves, would try to enter into someting like a comfit
Wi hoot examining the bargain thoroughly he would go so ni,
to say that thie was not the hest way to grant Catholic Eleei
pat on. Experience justified him in saying that such a met eet
would never do. With respect to, the present Irish Governll46.
he would say, that he approved of many parts of Lord We'oe
ley administration ; but, on the whole, it appeared to him tveS
a total failure. When Lord Wellesley with his known opin' of
accepted that Government, he placed himself in a situation„,
great hazard. For himself, he (Mr. Abercromby) had ale ht
wished that Lord Wellesley might have fair play, and 014•
not be made a victim to the Orangemen. The Right Hon. Gent,
(Mr. Goulhurn) had eulogized the Noble Lord's Governor pt'
and claimed for it almost " absolute wisdom ;" but in eaeiti
tion as he praised that Government, in the same proportion ee.
it appear to be a total failure ; for if the present violent 11100,
sures were necessary under a Government of absolute seis'aere
it was clear that that wisdom had been insufficient to pr° ,he
and preserve public order. There was another inferenc"iP
would draw from this fact—that every Government mustiees
until Catholic Emancipation be granted. As he had the Aimee
experience of the failure of all attempts at legislatinVpee
other Associations; as he had seen the failure of Lord 1 ',guilt
ley's Government ; as he had heard the assertion of the Raid
shilling:o
Hon. Gentleman that this was but one of a series of mo°4o
intended to keep pace with the ingenuity of the Irish pecroil
as he felt convinced that justice had never yet been donee., se
never could be done to the Catholics until Emancipation de'
conceded to them ; he, for one, should express in the mast tee
tided manner his disapprobation of the measures which
Riet Hon. Gentleman has just stated to the House. r 0
Sir H. PARNELL. rose.—[ln consequence of the comne- et
tree ed by Members leaving their seats, and the low Tilt!:
which the Hon. Baronet spoke, his speech was very ern old
hotly heard in the Gallery.]—He said that the arguments Ce
by the Right Hon. Secretary for Foreign Affairs, that wet-0
tholic Association was not identified with the great bode' ° oto
Catholics, had been completely overthrown by the statelndoe
of the Right Hon. Secretary for Ireland. 'the Right Kid
Gentleman said that the Irish Nobility had been intitalunio
by the Association. Had he read the letter of Lord Keinea to
in which the greatest confidence and praise was award o 0
them. General charges of this sort ought to be bottorne'etel
some specific facts. No one could fairly estimate the charlltee
and conduct of the Association who did not take into eel&
the previous sufferings and the present injuries of the Cathecre
The objects of the Association were neither secret nor di: eol
ditable. They consisted in the petitioning of Parliamen' ell
redress—the better administration of justice by protectingdeel
poor and oppressed—the establishment of an indepeneoee
Catholic press—and the circulating good and cheap uore
among tire Catholic schools. Surely no one could clued
with any of these objects. The Right Honourable Secretap
stating his law cases had acted rather unfairly, inasmuch .1101,
had given but two out of a great number. The Honour 101
Baronet proceeded to describe at some length, and in toe
tone of voice, the facts of the trials at limiskillen, New,e`it 0
and Cavan. He eulogised the temperate and able con°,"oo
the Barristers sent down by the Catholic Association, and f tll
tended that the interference of the Association had been 0 e„
greatest service in securing a purer administration of justic
He denied that the Catholic Rent was not applied to till • b
that were defined and known, as had been stated by the age
Hon. Secretary. Every thing showed that the money was ete
for public and well-known-objects. Its chief applicatiego I
directed to the attainment of Catholic Emancipation. Pi tl,
was said that the Association excited alarm, and disturbed be
order of society. Up to August and September, no alarTo
been created ; and the Association was at that time scare nil
subject of general conversation. The alarm which subsetltay
arose he attributed to the conduct of the London HibP" 0
School Society in sending over delegates to convert the ti
tholics, and carry on a system of proselytism. It was L..
discussions which they excited, and not to the Catholic etreiii
tion that the alarm of the country was owing. If the Ce,ruel'
of Ireland were deprived of just rights, they were blitl' •00
claim redress thrpugh the medium of popular representatl4
and he contended that it was unfair to notice the ungir: el
expressions of intemperance when men were excited by t" "ft
plause of their hearers. He denied that the Conventionotl
could be taken for such a precedent as the Right Hon. Gteei
man wished to make it. 'rite Convention in 1793 was fus
with a different object and under different circumstances. beel
Orangemen of that day were as violent against the Lass'ti
Convention as those of the present time were now agaioto
Catholic Associations. Yet if their acts were looked net
would be found that in consequence of the representations of 0
delegates, Lord Westmoreland assembled the Parliarnent Al
reconeenended that the condition of kis Majesty's Catho i''