Star.
London, England, 1807-03-27 00:00:00

•
were well know,; but, %ware of the cbfiaeles 'which
prevented their attainment, they hoped, by a prudent
and conciliating fyllem of Government, to reconcile
the Catholics, and to keep the Catholic queilion at tell.
They did, however, refolve, immediately upon their
introduaion to power, to turn their attention, in a very
peculiar degree, to the affairs of Irtland ; and events
occurred, towards the clofe of the latt year, which
ferved to augment their refolution., 1 he slate of that
moil valuable, and, lam afraid, n: iii vulnerable pat t
of the Empire, engaged our moll ferious conlidera-
tion; and the diaurbanees which noto: ioully prevailed
in the %vefi.eril part of that country natora.ly operated
toinereafe our folicitude. The cracquen-le rt. there

deliberations was a determination to aopt immediate
means of tranquilizirg and concsiiating the people of
Ireland; and although urged by a Right Ho.
nom-able Gentleman (Mr. Perceval), mod' fonder
of the policy of force nom I am, to retort to urea
lures of extraordinary f.!verity—a4o hough urged
by fuch intemperate adeil:r., rather eagerly as I
remember, at a very early period of the difturbances,
to have recourfe to rigour, we dete. ni;ned to abßain
horn all feverity not warranted by the fpirit of the
conibtution, and, thank Cir u, we focceetted in reflor-
ing tranquillity by reforting only to the jut °pet ation
of the law (hear, hear!). Among the meafures which
appeared to us as expedient to be adopted for the
reconciliation of Ireland, the admillion of Catholics
to hold commiflions in the army and navy fuggetled
WI as one of the firft. This we conceived not only
fafe but proper to propofe without delay. In addition
to the other reafons which prefented themfelves in its
favour, it Itruck us, in the prefent Hate of the empire,
as particularly material to be attended to, promifing,
as it did, to augment the means of recruiting our
public force by the introdu&iun of men into the fer-
vice,who by the ill underftood policy of the prefent fyf
tem had been altogether excluded. It was agreed, as
I before alerted, that the Catholics !Imola, at 'call, I
have the fame privilege with regard to the holding of
commiftions in this country as was granted to them by
the law of Ireland. After much dilcuffion it w.ts the
unanimous opinion of his Majzfty's hlinifters, that this
conceffion fhould be promptly made, as it appeared I
calculated to contribute t, the tranquillity of It eland;
by holding out an encouragement to the gentlemen
of that country to enter into the army and navy, in
the hope of advancement •by taking off for the in-
creafe of the public force erom what teemed a fuper-
abundant population ; by drawing, as it were, even
from the very fources of dilcontent, the means of
our ftrength. Such was our view of the lobjed.
We looked to the concellion, which I ba7e not allu•
ded to as an ad likely to injure or ever, to alarm the
interefts of the efiablithed Church, but as one mate.
rially tending to fortify that intereft, becaufe mate.
rially tending to the general interell of the empire.
For is not the ftrength of the country the means of
fecurity to the eflablifhed Church ? Can the one be
fafe if the other be in danger ? If Ireland were
alienated from its connation with this country, where
would be the fecurity of the empire ? If fuch an alie.
nation were to take place, what, in Gon's name,
would become of the eftablifhed Church? Upon what
ground then can this meafure be oppofed, which has
fuch an obvious tendency to add to our ftrergth, by
fecuring the attachment of a great proportion of our
people (hear ! hear !) The late Minißers were, as I
have faid, clearly engaged in confideting the affairs of
Ireland, and had arrived at a certain refult when they
received difpatches from his Excellency the Lord
Lien;. ant, ant, Rating, that the Catholics had manifefted
a ref usi• a: to prefs their claims upon the attention of
,p !It, With the opinions that I hold..and the
:hat i kit upon the fubjed, I have no hefi•
tatiorr r ''.rving, that I did by every means in my
power, •as private advice could extend, endea-
vour to di iilradc the Catholics from fuch a proceeding.
The knowledge however of their intention was an
additional inducement with my colleagues to prefs
forward the mt afore of conceflion I have already del-
cribed. We had a hope that if promptly acceded t,t, it
might have the elle& of induciog the cattiolics to ahan•
don the purfuit of an °hied which, from certain cir-
cumftances, they could not be arra ware there was little
reafon to hope for ; while, at the fame time we felt that
both from principle and policy, the conceffion ought
to be made. We had little appreheniion of encounter
ing any obje&ion in our endeavours to procure for the
Catholics the fame privilege which was granted to
them in Ireland by the ad of 1793. For to this concef-
fion we recolleded that the Secretary of State for Ire-
land, and the Lord Chancellor cf that country alfo,
flood fpecifically pledged at the time the law was
enacted. This pledge, indeed, was en record in a
difpatch from Lord Buckingham, then Mr. Hobart,
in which the promife of this conceflion to the Irith
Catholics was diftindly made. Confidering the mea-
fure, therefore, not more as an at of policy than as
a neceffary evidence of confillency, honour, and
good faith, we determined to bring it forward. We
did hope, indeed, that fuch reafons as 1 have Rated
would have operated fo powerfully as to obviate any
oppofition whatever. On thole grounds, therefore,
it was propofed to lay before his Majefly a detailed
difpatch, which we thought it expedient to tranfmit
to the Lord Lieutenant, Rating the nature of the
meafure we had in contemplation to propofe to Par-
liament, in order that it fhould be communicated to
the Catholics. This difpatch was fent to his Majefty
by a Cabinet Minifter, and his Majefty returned it
with an expreflion of repugnance to. the meafure.—
But, upon receiving this intelligence, Minifters drew
up a refpedful reprefentarion, containing all the
reafons which operated in their minds to recommend
the conceffion propofed, and this reprefentarion was
forwarded to his Majefty, who after fome delibera-
tion, and I admit with an appearance of reludance,
was gracioutly pleafed to communicate his confent
to the meafure. Under this authority the otiginal
difpatch was rent to the Duke of Bedford, and upon
receipt of it Its Dublin, a meeting took place between
the Lord Chancellor, Mr. Elliot, his Grace's Score.
tary, and Come dillingnifhed Members of the Catho-
lic Body—to whom Mr. Elliot, in addition, Rated,
that this Bill was not propofed to them as an induce-
ment to any conipromife of their claimt for total
emancipation, but offered to them as an ad of juflice.
When the fubßance of the difpatch was Rated to thefe
Gentlemen, one of them, Mr. O'Connor,' alked Mr.
Elliot, whether it was meant by the propofed meafure
that all offices, including chofe on the Raff, fhould be
acceflible to Catholics ? To this Mr. Eliot replied,
that the difpatch mentioned all offices whatever ; but
et baying Come doubt, he could not give a decided