The Sun.
London, England, 1812-04-24 00:00:00

ward to Cali for the relief or their Cii aula.
while the voice of the people was loud .in their
favour. They had before them a Petition from WI
every of London, End there they found that priCtes
lar prejudice was neither against Irish liberty, nor
English honour;‘ and this was another proof of tiro
humane feeling and good sense of the people of
England. They had
,before them Petinens from
all parts of. Ireland. , Petitions had bee., poured in
from North to South, from East to West, so that
he might say, they were by almost •the whole po-
pulation of Ireland. • Among the names that a I), .
peered would be• seen that of Latouche. This Gen-
tleman had formerly opposed the granting of the•
concessions required by the Catholks, and now mark.
the change—brought
,round to. a sense of tbejus-
tice of their claims, and of the necessity of attend-
ing to them, he -came forward to sign a petition io
their favour. He, independent of the King, and
attached to nothing but the good of his country, had
thus given the great authority of his name in their
-behelf. They were supported by the g4at names
of Leinster and Ormond, and others of Great im-
portance, by a great number of Protestant Proprie-
tors, of Protestant Merchants, and of Preabyteri-
anS-, and other-religious sects. He congratulated
the Protestant interest on the meekness and beee-
voience which they had displayed, on toe true
spirit of Christian charity by which they appeared
to be (titillated in thus coming forward to solicit for
the Catholics a participation in their civil liberties.
He congratulated them on the warning voice which
they had raised. If after that any ill should ensue,
they unquestionably would be exposed to the dan-
ger, but still they would have the satisfai..-bon of
having done their best to avett the storm. He wish-
ed the (louse to consider who was their petitioner.
.Who was a; It, was the Kingdom of Ireland. •
They had taken from her !lei Parliament, 'and she
now came to petition them in person. It was a
petitioner who, in various ways, contributed little
less than 20,000,0001. annually to the support of
the Empire. Had they increased her taxes, taken
from her her Parliament, and would they now send
heri.from their bar without granii-ng that for which
she prayed,• and on which the interests of' three-
fourths of her people depended ? Surely they could
not do so.- The inetinet of their nation would not
edlow them to do so---their sense of justice would
no: let them. He was not afraid of Court indu- •
ence—he had encountered it, in
.1782, altd he had
beat it down. It was in vain to think the Church
Could be employed. in favour of proscription and bi-
gotry, as' 'it was known that theme a very different
feeling isedsted. He called upon the House to took,
if they DOW rejected hi.; proposition to take the,
-claims of the Catholics into their consideiatiosi, and
dins determined on continuing their disabnit:es tot
ever, of what breaches of engagements they would
be They would give him leave to• tell
them, how much the honour of the Nation and of
Government was concerned ? He could not forget
the services the Catholics had rendeted the Stateitis
178 g, and their hearty and cordial support at other
periods ; nor wield he forget that they nad been led
to hope that a time would arrive, I ween, fur those_
exertions, they might confidently ask what tliv re
queed, of the grateful recollection of Et:giant!,
He could not forget how they had been taught to
hope, that " a great coming was on its way," to •
end. their ; nor could he forget hew
like the lsraelites of old they had followed
faint and needy to the wilderness, and charms
ed with the prospect hope displayed before
them, • blessed the barren soil they trod, while
thair eyes were fixed on the promised (and.---
He could not forget the disappeintment they had
met with when on the verge of that promised I, ;
)et still he could not think a Pritieely prom aid
been -made to be broken ; that the misfortie• s of
their forefathers shoul t be entailed upon them, aad
ah3o upon th'sir innocent posterity. He woul:1 re-
Mind the House rif the promise held out at the tine
it the Union, that all civil disabilities should be re-
Moved. The Union e•ould never have b.:en pbtain-
ed but for the expeolitiens of this nature, which
ware excited at Wat period. If such an engagement
was not ptotedeto have been made.aecoroing- to the
letter of the law, he would say; that in-spirit, .a pro-
mise had been given. He did not come to ask it as
that to which he was entitled from the letter of the
bootie but as that to which he was entitled from its
spit it. Confidence in the English name, made hint
hove this appeal would' be attended to, but if it
were not, -why then he would say that, in rehishig
to do so, they might depend upon it, they repealed
the Union. Doing this, they would tell England
and Ireland they were no longer one, but two na.
lions. They would not oulr say this, but they would
do it ;--they would make England and Ireland iwo
nations.. They would destroy their incorporation ;
it would be dissolVed by despair. They would not
only make them two nations, they would rredses
them two nations with different, nay, with hostile~.
interests, and engage each in ads ehat would tend
to injure the other. An Union should.consist of two
parts ; the one should be the union of the Parlia-
. merit ; the other the union of the people. He saw
the union of the Parliament, he saw We utnou of
the power, but where was be to look for the union
of the people ; Where was he to look for that con-
solidation which united their interests ; where -for
that spark which should animate the whole; and
where for that gigantic whole which should ne ready
to s:retch out its hundred arms for the service and
support of the empire ? There existed no such ,hing;
and that there did exist no such thing, was io be
traced to the circumstance to which he had alluded ;
to that of our not having realised the expectat.oes
which were entertained, at the time Of the pas ing
of the Union Adt,by the Catholics of Ireland.= The
Catholics now called on them to give those rights in
which they were then led to believe they would ba
allowed to participate; and the Protestants called en
them also to listen to the Catholic Claims r.t,