The Sun.
London, England, 1807-04-10 00:00:00

dettityStion rif Use '.olnuth :Establishment. But
this 'was to suppose every.ind.ii a•High Churchman,
i• which was-not human nature. TheZight Hon. Gen-.
'tlernan Mistook huMan nature, and made every man
a causist in order to establish his own casuistry.. it
was not, however, to be -supposed, •t'ait ciu cenls:.
lie 'would .expose his,famity, for wh t in :order u,
have Priests ! no, for he already had them ; iu
prder to have Bishops"! no, for he' had them alsO;
bdt tly have magnificent Bishops, end that by
the:aid of the French, who had inadeellisitups
poor in their own country.—The Catholics were
satisfied with the concessions already .made to
them when. their Govertirneete was mild ;• they
Were not satisfted• when their' Government was
,otherwise : •in 1793, 'when
~the last]conces•sions
were made to them, the very Minister who proposed
these 'concessions represented them as still b.irbarous,
and said it was an ad of insanity to' grant them the
fraitchise. Two. persons of the name of
Hamilton, who signed the Catholic. Petition, were
afterwards prosecuted -as defenders,
,:by means of
witnesses so infamous, that ,the Julge from the
Bench said those witnesses themselves ought to lie
the objets of prosecutione To give the Catholics•
the pride, pomp, and • circuaistanceof glorious war,
,was some ground ofrattachment, giftssas con-
ferred M a proper shape. The various Acts the Irish
'Parliament since the 14th Geo. 111. had done ju st ice, to
the loyalty of the Catholics, and had truly charac—
•teriled the hardships with, which they. had been
:treated. The Irish Roman Catholics, were as much •
the constituents of this House as any,subjects of
,England; and when any 'Member stigmatized tine
catholics-of Ireland, he stigmatized his: own• con-
stituents. The Universities' of Oxford, and Cam-
bridge,' on addressing-his Majesty against the 1.311, •
strove to weaken the •strength of thel4'4lnpire, and to
endanger the ChurehEstablishment, br.endan,•cring
that, empire in whoSe security,thegnu cheata et;ery
thing else we held:dear, was eompreheodede Here
the the Right Hon. Gentleman: detailed the proceed-
MO on the: Officers' Bill, ,and the references to
his MajeStys upon it, and argued that; the;re was
no intention ;to surprise. his. Majesty. Then as to
the pledges required of his ;Majesty's late :Mialeets, '
they must have forfeited their, Stations a/ Ministers
if they had given such•.a pledge, and have consti-
tuted themselves the. tool 4 ofplace, and • tne'tnere.
hirelings of salary. To what part of the duty, of a
Minister may not such .a pled:::.o be extended' if th 6
precedent Was once established. .It was very ne-
cessary that Ministers should hold themselves iree to
advise, according to circumstances.. Circunistauces.
may .be such as, in a short space of time, • to .render
a different policy necessacy. In 179'2., the Catholic
Petition was rejeaed in Ireland ; and in 1793, the.
same grants were made. So it was .with all
the concessions Made ; what_ !acl been .granted
subsequentiy, had been thought daugerous :to be."
granted in the first instance. If a French force were
in the country, it would be terrible to have the hands
of Ministers tied up from what the most esetttial pns
licy would ditState. His Majesty's late Ministers
Would h.ve t-orfeited their duty,as Privy Councillors •
by agreeing to 'such a pledge, and would have eove-
Panted against one-fifto of his Majesty's subjeas, , He
commended the late GoVerninent for its care in
putting an end to the religioes dissentions in-Ireland.
He stated the lanieutable coosequences that had been
produced a,eoittrary systetn, when Government,
desirous to promote dissention, had encouraged
Poisoned paragraphs, the tendency and consequence
of which Was to drive God out of his attributes,
and Parliament out of the. Constitution, so that tiss•
Country was at last{ 'reduced to the lowest step of
human calamity. He wished the Imperial peo-
ple to be, idtntitied, and not to be at issue one part
with :another. He wished the, people of Lug,-
land ,to be impressed with a spirit-of Moderation
and charity; and he was proud to see so honour-
able a Specimen of that moderation in the City
of London. He dwelt upon the' importance -of Ire-
land in a commercialets well as its a 'military poiot
of view. He -recommended to treat the -Irish
people with softness, gentleness . and a'ifeet
—He -applauded the Government of. the, Duke
of Bedford, and that of Lord Hardwicke,
for their beneficent charaaer. He recominpnded
to those who had been -lately in Administration
still to pursue the same plan. And as,theirprinci-
pies would preserve their authority, and that autho.-
rity'would.probablybelstrenethened by the
of this night, which wotild.at the same time sliew
the Catholics that their cadse ha,d deep 'NM id the
-House, he recommended them to use that authority
to' promote • peace; union, and concord. :If the cry
Of • the Church being in dander was "raised; both
:Catholics and ProtOstatts, and all parts of the Ern-
'Fire ...would be ruined. He gave-- his' sdpport Ao•the
original 'Motion, as tending- to- rumintain the Con-
stitution, and the integrity and independence of the

Empire. • •
• •
Dr. .bUIGENA N went into a retrospective ex, •
amination of the principles.and .cotiduat of the,ll6-
man Catholies'of Ireland, and controverted most
the facts Which had been adVanced by the Gentle-
Men oppoSite to him in support of -their claims.
The amount of the number of the Catholics, and Of
the. property they posSessed, \vas greatly
.exaggerated.
At the period.of the last census, the whole of the
inhabitants of Ireland were net computed at more,
than three millions and a; half ; two of 'which
were said to be Catholics. ' But subsequent and
more accurate surveys stated the relative number
of Protestants and Catholics as two to three; and 'in,
respeia to
.property, as fifty 'to one: The Catho-
lics already enjoyed every thing by, law, still they
are not content 5, nor will they ever be satisfied
until you give up. the whole of' the klifgdom
to. them. AS to means and consequence', they
bear no proportion to the Protestants ; for it is
well known that the Protestants put down the re•
hellion in a fortnight. It is equally well knc:4n
that they will not take the oath of supremacy ; for ,
they look to the Pope as the Supreme in, spirituals ;
and if.you grant them what was proposed by' the
late Bill, they would aspire 'to the same power in
temporals also. There are-already in the Arng
Navy A 3 Many Catholics as you can procure to serve.
The'granting of any further clahr,S to the Catholic
Gentry would • not advance any-Object of that kind.
There are not, perhaps,, thirty Catholic families in
Ireland of any antiquity; nor dues the whole of
their property, taken together, exceed 50,0001. per
annum. One Merchant in this country could eon-
tribute more to the State than the whole 'sift' of them.
Is it then to grailly them that you woull ,le stray