The Sun.
London, England, 1829-05-05 00:00:00

Int circumstances
haVe.proved to be well-founded.
proved indiiputably'that any appeal to brute force
could not advance their cause, and pointed out to
t
hen% that their only resource was to be found in the
widdoni of the Legislature. Where, then, I would
ask it the mischief of which I have been charged
with producing, by the publication of that letter ?
It has 'been said, however, that I recommended
stritatien.. I would those who make that
charge; to point out to me a single paragraph
Which could be construed into an invitation to
agitation. On the contrary, the whole course of
ipy policy---the whole study of my Government was
to suppress agitation, and to silence agitators. I
must take leave to refer to that letter in illustration
of this assertion, and I shall read the only paragraph
which can bear in the remotest possibility such an
interpretation. I should like, indeed, to take the
letter to pieces, and to read it paragraph by para-
graph; as the best illustration of its tenor; but, as I
have already troubled your Lordships with so many
documents,,_,_ I shall take leave merely to refer to that
winca bears upon this part of the question. I pass
by all which touch upoh the impossibility of carry-
lug the question by force, or of burying it in obli-
vion, and. come at once to that upon which, I pre-
sume, the charge is founded. The words are these,
i‘
What I do recommend is, that the measure should
riot for a moment be lost sight of." Is there any
recorninendation to agitation in that ? " That
anxiety should continue to be manifested; that all
constitutional (in contradistinction to merely legal)
means should be resorted to to forward the cause."
I am told there is a good deal of cavilling at this ex-
preasion. 1 have heard it is asserted that this may
be construed into an incitement to agitation; but I
apprehend it will be at once understood that what
I recommended is an exertion purely within the
bounds of the law, and that the Government was
trot to be satisfied with any thing which was not
Most strictly within legal and constitutional limita-
tion. While, however, lam on that part of the
"'fleet, I must say, that during the whole of
my residence in Ireland, I never recollect
bearing from the mouth of more than one
Person that the Catholic Association was an illegal
assembly ; I never could find any person who, as
the law then stood, could make that assertion. I
Bey again, my recommendation was, " that all purely
Constitutional- means should be resorted to to for-
Ward the cause of the Catholics, but at the same
time, with the most submissive obedience to the
laws." This was the advice contained in that letter,
and it is my confident belief, that if that letter had
not been published, and if that advice had not been
80 implicitly followed, the Noble Duke at the head
of his Majesty's Government would riot have been
in a condition to bring forward that Bill which has
been recently carried so triumphrntly through both
Houses of Parliament. I am confident, indeed, that
the country would not have remained in that state
of peace which would have warranted its introduc-
tion.---(Hear bear.)—lt is not my wish to detain
the House longer; I feel that I have already tres,
passed too much upon its attention. All I have to
`ay is, that your Lordships are now in possession of
the whole of the circumstances connected with my
recall. I leave myself in Your hands, and whatever
may be your opinion of my conduct, I shall bow
with resignation to your decision.—(Hear, hear.)—
The Noble Marquis concluded by moving for a Copy
of the Letter of the Secretary of State for the
Ilome Department, dated February 10, mid ad-
dressed to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, together
With a Copy of the Letter of the 14th February,
aldressed by the Lord Lieutenant to the Home Se-
cretary in reply.
When the motion was read from the Woolsack,
The Duke of WELLINGTON said-1 rise, my
4•ords,.with feelings of no ordinary pain and reluc-
btasce, to reply to the observations with which the
'itohle Marquis has thought proper to prepare the
brought
upon that subject, which he has t his evening
ut,ought under your Lordships' consideration. I
F, indeed my Lords, that the Noble Marquis
Fmk;
have refrained altogether from making such a
°lotion. I think he might have spared me the ee-
eessity of touching upon the subject at this late
Period of the session. I think that during the course
of a session in whiCh the course of policy to be pur-
sued towards Ireland, and the state of the people of I
that kingdom has been so frequently brought under
the consideration of the House— ur
and ding a ses-
sion in which I have had so frequently
to address
your Lordships on these subjects, and in the course
of which I have so invariably refrained from advert-
ing to any part of the conduct of the government
of the Noble Marquis, as influencing the deter-
mination. of his Majesty's Government here—l
say I think, that after I have, on all occasions, ab-
stained from making any personal allusion to the Noble
Lord, or of bringing any charge against his govern-
ment; and when I have, even at all times when the
conduct of that Government was questioned in this
House, taken upon myself the responsibility and the
defence of the Noble Marquis's Government of
Ireland,_ that" the Noble Marquis ought to have
spared his MitjeSty's Government the necessity of
entering into the consideration of the events of that
Government at any time, but more particularly at
this period of the session,and after all that has already
Passed in reference to the question with which it is
Siost intimately connected.—(Hear.)—I confess, my
Lords, that under these circumstances, I must object
to the production of those papers which the Noble
karquis requires. It must be obvious that this
louse has no business to interfere with the dismissal
of his Majesty's servants, except in cases where the
Public may be subjected to injury and incon-
enience, or in cases where Parliament may
,ttfeet it necessary to interfere for the edscharge of
ese Who have been supposed guilty of abuses in
tpoiir. official situations. Then I think the power of
arnaMent may be beneficially employed ; but I be-
lieve •
it •
re
rdi a fact, that except in such cases the Par-
ament ought not to interfere, and that it never can
Par-
do so without great injury and inconvenience to the
public service. In this very case the motion of the
,„?ble Marquis affords an apt exemplification of the
jetury and inconvenience to which I allude of enter-
tw;,'g on the discussion of such questions in this
tto se. The Noble Marquis has moved for one or
o letters of a correspondence; but to elucidate
the correspondence, of which he has read extracts,
we Noble Marquis has not read the half of what
rn" required, and he has even omitted some of the
tiost material portions of the letters, and these por-
:ns, too' without which I think the whole question
irnotbe clearly understood. I also observe that
th° N9l-de Marquis has read extracts from letters
tie rfi°st liecret and most confidential which pos-
-4 could Pass between a Lord Lieutenant of Ire-
nd the Government of this, country—namely,
those letters which contained the sentiments- and the
4initms of the Sovereign.—(Hear.)—The Noble
erquis says he has obtained authority to read these
e
ltters, and to make their contents public. I
tt,rifess I understand that measure differently from
Pleasure to relieveq the Noble Marquis from his Go-
ern
Toent of Ireland, because his Majesty was con-
Pincedefrom the correspondence which had taken
aces that the confidence required between the Go-
merit of of this country and the Lord Lieutenant
}). Ireland ,
,; could not be maintained; and his Majesty
rrtg Nignified it as his pleasure that the Noble
sii-"lnie, one of tire parties to that correspondence,
from the nature of its communication, be re-
ed"' from the Government of Ireland, could not
sII4,OYP, given his consent that the correspondence
thati' mede public. I repeat, lam convinced
t his Alui 6,1114 trot haye advised that corres-
ndenee to be read in- this House,—,( ow, ghat Hear, hear.)
is this correspondence? It is now well
I,,,newn 'ant during the whole of the last autumn and
;011?rner
, had those measures in contemplation
also
n l'ae been since brought into effect. It is
to whitwehll known that my principal object, and that
all my efforts were
.directed, was to prevail
fr On rat person the most interested of all others
tv
situatio,', in the settlement of the Catholic
to give his consent to its being brought
I •r-arm•—•-(Hear, hear.) It was well known, that
vithout that consent, I could not undertake to in-