The Sun.
London, England, 1825-02-25 00:00:00

CATHOLIC PETITION.

The Earl of DoNOUG H MORE rose and said—" 'My Lords,
I rise to present a petition that hLs been confided to my care—
the value of which confidence I know, and can justly appreciate—
it is a Petition from my Roman Catholic countrymen—men
who are liable to certain restrictions, but who pray for the re-
storation of those rights which they ought to enjoy under the,
common Legislature of the country. I should feel that I was
doing wrong in merely presenting this Petition, and not accom-
panying it with any remarks ; but it is not my intention to
enter into the subject at length at the present moment; and I
now merely call your Lordsnips' attention to the necessity of
appointing a day for giving it your serious and undivided atten-
tion.
I shall then have an opportunity of again openly and
candidly avowing my sentiments to your Lordships. I shall
now only say a few words more. The Petition I have the
hoaour to present to your Lordships is not an ordinary PetitiOn
-- is not a Petition on any .ordinary subject; it is the. Petition of
no less than one hundred thousand subjects, and faithful sub-
jects or his Majesty. I do not exaggerate when I, call them
faithful subjects— say they are as faithful as any other sub-
jects in his Majesty's dominions. Faithful subjects they have
at all times proved themselves to be—and faithful subjects they
will be alwaysready to prove themselves, whenever oceasionmay
call upon them for the proof. The petitioners do not stand
forth for themselves alone, but for no less than seven millions
of persons. I do not overcharge the picture when I inform your
Lordships that those one hundred thousand represent seven
millions of your fellow-subjects. I am sure that there never
was a sentiment at any time so strong or so universal to the
whole population of Ireland, as the sentiment expressed in the
Petition I now bring before your Lordships—a sentiment in
which all are agreed—all, from the Peer to the peasant—of all
religions and all professions. I believe in my soul that there
-never was in any country a sentiment in which so many were
unanimous. But the people are not only so; .they have carried
on their proceedings with that energy and determination natural
to a people when deprived of great national rights; and many
persons have met together to talk of and consider how to provide
the best remedy for their grievances. They have not only
,met
together, but they have been assisted in their meetings by those
of their, countrymen who hare been and are distinguished for
talent and abilities. Never, then, were your Lordships

. • .
upon so strongly 0., now to • take- the gtieva:oces of'etbi.s
people into your serious consideration. / have told yoter
lrjtd-
ships , that the peeitioners represent the feelings and the Opis •
nions of the great bulk of the .population 'of Ireland. -Bl'ot
there is one observation more.. wine! I cannot help bringing
under notice.. The first name I find written down among those
who remain, deprived of their rights and privileges. is that ,of
no less. a personage than the premier Viscount of Ireland—
Lord Gertnatistown—and who is he ? I will tell your 443-
ships who he is. He iathe lineal descendant of a hordDepts-
ty of the same name ; the King's Representative in' ireland.he
betterstimes. I, myself, have .great satisfaCtiort in aticla.ri4
the sentiments—in being, as it were, the proxy of the Nfilsh
Marquis who now represents his Majesty in Ireland n and the.
sentiments of the illustrious personage arc well known to be fa
favour of Catholic. Emancipation. 1 haVe stated thactlie name
of a descendant of a former Lord Deputy is signed to. thislie...• •
tition, and the present Lord Deputy -has allowed me to teli
your Lordships what are his feelings on the aubjecs. I will -qy,
that for that illustrious pdrsonage f have the highest -res;ie.c.i,:
and I believe that his Majesty never had a More faitlife'l sir
more honest Representative in Ireland than he has been duriag
the time he has governed there. "Front the beginning of Isis eas ea
reer he has been determined to do that country all the goOd in' fit4;:e
his power, in every way that good could be done. • 'ln the re-, ••
formation of the magistracy, in particular his Excellency has
been eminently successful ; and in many other instances. of
equal importance, his justice and his liberality have best prov-
ed. An office of great impOrtance was vacant in the Irish:a:ore
,of Exchequer, and on whom did the Lord Lieutenant sont:er
that office ? On a gentleman who was well known in this (Tun;
try, and who- had distinguished himself' at the English bar:---'
Mr. Blake, a Catholic Gentleman, now holds that high office in
the Court of Exchequer—and to. that Court he will add luStre •
and bring equity. livery one whir knows any thing of freltufil,
knows how strong and how incessant haVe been the good r.tel-
ing of the Lord Lieutenant ofthat country; but although I antis
much, it does not follow that I agree in, the policy or pro-
priety of all that has been done under his Government. The'
Noble Lords on the other side of the House know well trat it
is not the fault of the Noble Lords around me if they have not
been informed as to the opinions of that illustribus personage.
They have taken all the pains they ',possibly could to receive
such information, and to procure those,dispatehes from his Ex-
cellency which he alone could give them. I, for my own part,
only know that a measure has been recommended by the Speech
from the Throne, that it has been braught forward by his Ma-
jesty's. Ministers, but I have no reason to know, nothing has
occurred to persuade me, whether or not the'Lord Lieuter-artt
approved of that measure. On this point we have been left tin
perfect ignorance ; the information haS been refused us sonic-.
what uncourteously by the heads of; the Government.. .•I cons
cider, and•l cannot help Saying, that I consider his rxcelk-hcy
as one cause of the present tranquil and improved state of Ire-
land—for lrelarld never was so tranquil or so improved as it
now is. 1 hope most sincerely that it will last.; that no mea-
sure of Parliament will prevent it from lasting. I have said
what I have said in justice to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland,
but I must say that he has been assisted strongly, .ably, and
usefully, in every thing he has done, by the so much calum-
niated Catholic Association, and by that calumniated idol of the.
Catholic Association, Daniel O'Connell. I cannot help era -
pressing the great respect and regard I entertain for. that gen-
tlenvin,—my satisfaction at his conduct, and my gond wishel
for his success. He has the confidence of the Catholic body.
and there is no man more deserving of that confidence. I shalt
now move that the petition be received ; but- with respimt to
the question which it brings before your
.Lordships, I shall-not
ask your Lordships to fix a day fur its;consideration until the
-measure to which I have alluded comes down to your Lortlahips,
as I-have no doubt it will, from the other House. I shall4nova
therefore thit the petition be received and read.
The petition was.then read. • • ..•
I,ord LONGFORD said, that lie felt.it. necessary to 'lake
an observation, which had been made by the Noble jletsrai.
(Donoughmore) : that Noble Lord had nude the petitioners
to represent the sentiments of seven millions ofthe populosiozi
of Ireland. But the Noble Lord had since inftirmed.lons,'that
he did not mean the. Protestants as well as the Catholics.
• -
The Marquis of LANSDOWN said, he rote for the ptirite,,e
of presenting to their LOrdships a petition, which he hoped
might be allowed to say was worthy their Lordships' most.,so-..
oul attention. It was a petition from tIY banketee• merchants,
arid landholdtrs of Dublin, in favOur of CatholiC.Ernariciprifion.
lie should net fe- doing justice to those who lia.d placed:Ate'Ve-
tition in his hands, if he did not call the attention of their Vora-
ships to it. De did riot mean to •go now -into the gerieral.ptiii-
elide, as another and a better opportunity would of coursV-olesity
for so doing. But he was aneious•to impress upon tht _
ships the necessity for attending to this petition, not on ISe
score of numbers, although it contahied Many hundred Mat t-
but because tit' the strength and the-respeetsbility of those sJ,,
signed it—for this reason it was worthy the peculiar attentiori.c.f
their Lordships. Hs would call that attention first, to-some
particular signatures contained in it, and next, to the nature
of the whole. Those Who were acquainted with the charac-
ter and disposition of a Noble Friend of his (the Duke *(1
Leinster) would not be surprised to find his name iii the list.
Immediately following his was the • name of the Earl of
Meath—the petition, therefore, contained the .signattiri•s of
two of the greatest landed proprietors in that part :Of. the
kingdom. In the petition were also the names of DOwnshire,
Westmeath, Kingston, Charlemont, and Limerick, men who
were among the purest and the best that any country has
ever produced. To these were added the names of Forties,
Glengall, Itiversdale, and Castlecoote. After these followed
the names of a family, as respectable, as opulent, and as great
as any in the country—the family of Latouche, the • Protestant
family. of Latouche. Yet if there were any persons who
might be excusable in retaining something of a vindictiie spi-
rit against the Catholics, it was this family of Latouche, for
their ancestors were the victims of an arbitrary arid tyrhnoieal
act, which a Monarch adopted front a pretended motive of sav-
ing the Catholics,—but which act did in reality disserve
as what religion has not been at times disserved, degraded, and
polluted, by the fanatical zeal of those who have allowed them-,
selves to proceed blindly on their way, forgetting the grand pre-
' cepts of Chriatianity.: The ancestors of the gentlemen he had
alluded to bad been the victims of this act; and had been.diiiVen
from this country to seek an asylum under a foreign Ouvirn-
merit. Vet this. they had ftirgotten ; and as the long exercise
of one virtue naturally leads to the performance of another, the
active benevolence of three generations had given that wisdom
which flows from the heart. They had been brought to behold
their Roman Catholic brethren, not with hostile feelings, Mit as
living members of the same body; -as sharing in the same fill=
ficulties, encountering the same dangers, participating in: the
same sufferings' anti performing the same duties, and praying
only to live under the same laws. He (Lord Lanstiown ) might
go farther into•the petition, mind find the names of many of
n t4e nsapme7ts off
e
high rank and importance, but with which lie would not
now trouble their Lordships. He might quote the names
of the many hankers of the city of Dublin who had signtd
thosethe t
petitionii
ro u
g;
horw
whose
em iegxhetr
exertions
sfuar
ntittier,
capita}an d
a state
etv pro
prosperity was opening Co Ireland, and new means of wealth
were daily unfolding to the country, who were engaged in
this noble and truly patriotic pursuit—that of fostering the
industry of the country, and leading Ireland to share in
that prosperity, of which England is so glorious an example.
Those capitalists have come forward, as well as those merchant
and those Noblemen to whom he had alluded. He would leave
their Lordships to judge what degree of importance waseo be
i• attached to the ti stimoriy.of all those different persons; and he
hoped that their Lordships would not believe that thelbhat
sd
done what they had 'done without first duly considerinl,
'they were about. He was sure their Lordships would
ee' -
lieve that these noble landholders timid set their nariLet:.eit_iorre.t.:-,,ti!evi;
tition without well weighting the consequences to r
and their land, in case of the passing of the measo
tnewele:::of
sure
recommended the House to adopt. He was
never faked
ships would believe that the bankers would,
the steps they had taken without well considering
such a Measure as they proposed upon
quently upon, their fortunes and their hopes.
believe that theCApita-
was sure that their Lordships would
not
in enterprizing
lists, who were embarking their fovretru
risked so much on-light
specu-
lations in Ireland, would have.
,need that petition without well
CI
14;1' set
he
was
or would evetha
eveessluiCh an act. lie only asked their
pc:hbolpieco.credAit,boavnel.'.i
signed
. the e.
Lordships to believe that those p
without well considering what 'stepy
weighing the consequence_ •
tition had not done
so'iitiniately it was concerned with alltheir-
were taking, and how 'treated their Lordships to recollect
vital interests. Be en •
Were the tognatures of persons who
Persons who had
those signatures we_ were the
to form a correct
judgment on the tiubject, and
best calculatedresidenee in the Country,
who, frC-n theirthe result of the
,voided be
measure they petitioned
say whatHe was
ri •Ie to grant.. •peculiarly flattered .by the :confl-
the "' • thepetition'
(tepee with which had
been placed in his hails, not

"neve y because it enabled him to gate his full concurrence
.in the sentiments it contained, but because he could declare
that the very words of it were such as he would have wished to
have written himself, if he had been called upon to do so. He
b id always felt that the question was not a theological question,
or even a Catholic question, but that it was an Irish question.
It was not so muca what the Catholic felt on the subject, or
ho.v anxious he was to be admitted to the same, privileges as
his Protestant neighbours, but the real question was—how long
should the religious tranquillity which now reigned among all
countries on the face of the globe, he withheld from Ireland ?
This was a question in which every Protestant, as well as every
t,..atholie, Was interested. It formed the elements out of
The Bi ll which
the prosperity and tranquillity of Ireland had grown.
wl-ieh would give the Catholics of Ireland and Engsomland that
far which they so earnestly pray
or ed, he knew must, e
other,,inevitably pass—it was his fervent hope that it might
be carried. soon. ,He prayed to God that the prosperity of the
country might be the consequences that would, as he was sure
they would, naturally follow the measure when it was passed.,
and thai itroight, pass with the full and perfect assent and con-
e3rrenea-of a-large portion of the Protestant population. He
trusted that when the Bill passed, there would be found multi-
t,.i.les-of Protestants to hold forth the hand of peace to those
r.t,o had entitled themselves to the lasting gratitude of a united
people ,from.having been a divided nation. He hoped that we
shoul4.l',all live to see the time when, though religious differences
might remain, for those he could never expect to see removed,
all the animosities of religion should for ever cease.
The Marquis of DOWNSUIRE said, that it would be of
the utmost advantage to this conntry, as well as to Ireland, to
grant those concessions which the Roman Catholics had for so
many years sought from their Lordships and the legislature of
the country, in order to place them on a footing with the Prat.
teatant 'portion of the community. In signing the petition
now before the House, he had only done. his duty to a very
large portiOn of the population of Ireland. He would say,
that the cause had his best wishes, and he most sincerely prayed
for its success.—The petition was then laid on the table.
Lord GORT said, that he had to present a petition of a very
different nature from that just presented by the Noble Marquis
kLansdown) • it was from the Lord Mayor, Sheriffs, and Com-
mon Council of the City of DeWitt, against Catholic Emancipa-
tion.--Laid on the table.
Lord GO,RT then presented a petition from the Guild of
31crelants of the City of Dublin against Catholic Emancipa-
tion. The Noble Lord observed, that it was signed by 1,200
persons of the highest respectablity in the city of Dublin, many
whom were Noblemen.
lord HOLLAND said, that he understood the Noble 'Lord
(Dort) to say, that the petition included the names of many
Noblemen and Gentlemen. He (Lord H.) felt at a loss to con-
nect this assertion with the title of the petition, " from the
Ou hi of Merchants of the City of Dublin."
Lo:d.GORT—The Merchants are a large body of the city
‘f Dublin, and they have the power of electing any person,
avid they frequently do, who has in any way signalised himself.
The election of a member of their body also elects a freeman
of Dublin. Many Noblemen are therefore members of the
Cluild of Merchants. To go no farther than myself, lam one.
The Duke of LEINST Elt said that he was a Member of
the Guild of Merchants, but he had never heard of the Pe-
tition.
Earl GROSVENOR said, that it had been necessary for the
Noble Lord (Gort) to give the explanation he had given.
The Petition was then laid on the table.
GLEBE LANDS.
Several Members from the House of Commons brought up
- the Glebe Lands Bill, which was read a first time.
The House then adjourned at ELEVEN O'CLOCK.