Star.
London, England, 1813-02-27 00:00:00

to. receive pay from the GOveroment,. the-People
would immediately -withdraw their cotifid'ence (rims'
them. As friend to the' Catholics, as a friend to
Ireland, as a friend to the Protestants, he should
never consent that they should be paid by the Go-
vernment. He was far from meaning to say arty
thing against the character or the principles of the
.clergy ; but when he saw the manner in which the
preferrrients and Bishoprics in the Prostestant Church
were disposed of, he could not but apprehend, that,
if the Catholic Clergy were to be placed on the same ,
footing as to the distribution of patronage, the Go-
vernment would soon become despotic. His Right
Bon.•Friend had recommended' that the prayer of
the Catholics should, in the first instance, be granted,
und that the House should afterwards. legislate re-
Issecting the securities. But if they were to do so,
N.. hat would it be but to say, " we admit your claims
this day, and tomorrow we shall legislate for pre-
'venting all intercounsetetween them and the Pope,
-and to establish ,such other securities ai may be
Seemed expedient P' His Right Hon. Friend bad
asserted,' that he would grant the veto; but,- in his
mind, if the Catholics should consent to give a veto
ao the King, they would be no longer Catholics ;
they might call them Catholics or veto-men, or by
whatever other name they might please, (and in
the event of their agreeing to the veto, he trusted they'
would be called veto-men,) but they could not call
them Catholics. Upon this peint.his mind was fully
satisfied; and convinced of the iinpoitance of it to the
vital question under ce`hsielei atiOn, he should not
faithfully have performed his duty it'he had not put
the House in possession of his sentiments upon it, by
taking an humble share in the discussion, as he had
upon every former occasion of its being under con-
sideration since he had the honour of a seat in that
House. Conceiving it a duty imposed upon him;
he should leave no stone unturned to attain, an oh-
sect so essentially connected with the prosperity of
his native country, and so h kely to remove all the jea-
kusies and distractions of the empire, as the eman-
cipation -Of his brave, loyal, and gallant Catholic
countrymen. , He esteemed it a wise and liberal po-
licy, Worthy of a great and enlightened Legislature,
to permit every man to make his.peace with the An-
anotire according to his conscience, without suhject-
ing him to any civil disabil.ties or disadvantages; and
to establiih as the rule of universal conduct; thataevery
man's text should be do as you would be done by."
Such a system would attach men to each other, and
promote the happiness of all ; and in his conscience
• he was persuaded, that it would not only be effectual
to secure the prosperity of his native country, Ire-
land, but fully establish the tranquillity, harmony,
and peace cf the whole' empire. The quetaion before
the House, however, had been so often before de-
bated, that he should have contented himself With
giving a silent vote upon the present occasion, if he
had not felt that in these dangerous tines more than
. a silent vote was required of him. The question was
of such vital importance to Ireland and the Empire,
in these critical times, that every Irishman, who was
siotctiminally indifferent to the interests c.f his coun-
try, was bound to state his sentiments upon it with
sincerity and frankness. What, he would ask, was
the amount of the argument of the Honourable
Member for Corte Castle ( Mr. Bankes) against the
:Ironer) of his Right-Honourable Pr iend who brought
forward the subject ? Did it not rest altoge-
ther upon unsupported assertions that the establish-
ments in Church and State were in danger ? Was
that house to be told than upon the support of the bi-
gotry of a few persons who ranged themselves against
the Clalmsof the Catholics, the preservation ot 'their
lives and fortunes depended ! Oh, matchless igno-
rance ! Oh, Matchless intolerance. ! Fortunately,
however, both in this country and more particularly
in Ireland the great mass of the people were of a con-
trary opinion. He could take upon him to assert,
that in Ireland, and especially in the county Tipper
rary, which-he had the honour to represent,. nine-
tenths of the Protestants were friends to Catholic
emancipatiOn. He could take upon him to assert posi-
,
tively every man, whether Dissenter or Protestant in
'the country, with the exception of the contemptible
dependants on theGevernment, told the base satellites
of the Court, was favourable to the emancipation of
the Catholics, and decidedly adverse to the exclusion
of millions of their brave' fellow subjects from their
political and civil rights, to gratify the ambition and
intolerance of a few bigots. There had been re-
cently many discussions in that House,.upon petitions
presented against the Catholics, almost all of which
petitions had been clandestisely procured—but, with
respect to the petitions which bad come from the
South of Ireiand„ particularly from the great, opu-
lent, and powerful county Tipperary, which he had
the honour to represent, they were in favour of the
eathohe Claims, as the bsst means of uniting all
classes of subjects in one common bond ibr a com-
mon object. In this feeling Catholics, Presbyterians,
and Protestants participated—they were anxious that
no religious differences should disturb their harmony,
but that all composing one great family, and contri-
buting equally to the enormous and prodigious taxes
imposed upon theineshould share alike in the blessings
of that Constitution, for the preservation of which
they were all equally ready to make every sacrifice.
The merits of the Roman Catholics, as seamen and
soldiers in the navy and army, might be learned by
refening to the records of the Admiralty, and the
irar-011ice. There were more Catholics in the army
and the navy than there were men of any other reli-
gious persuasion, and, independent of all the other
strung claims they: had upon the justice of that
House and the Legislatt'nee their services in both by
sea and land' amply -entitled. theni to the attainment
vi.all they requited. He hoped, therefore, he should
hear no more of Test Acts or disqualifications on ac-
count of religiuu. Ireldnd supplied a mush larger
number of men to the service of the State than
England--and yet, he was sorry to add, that it
had been the 'practice to rule that beautiful country
with a rod of iron. This system had been persevered
in untostunately contrary to the opinions of all the
ensightened Stasesmen of modern times, and instead
of ailing in the affections of the people, the Govern-
ment maintained its ascendancy by pains, penalties,
, and the bayonet. lii proportion as force Was neces-
satyr to the support of the Government, it must be
obvious that there must be something radically b.al
' in the system neon which it is regulated. The attach-
ment of. the people is a much more effectual founda-
tion of security to a Goverumpt, th,tu any force it,