Star.
London, England, 1811-03-08 00:00:00

•

. `r

- ,
•
dbuhty, the whole i, would make a greater !lumber ! matt entatentf, that the pmeeediegt adopted by dui
To
he had ever seen in any aggregate meeting."-e Irish Government had produced beneficial effects s•
To protieetnhowever,with thehistoryoftheCommittee. the country had remained perfectly tranquil ; , and he
tit adjourned from week to week, tinder pretence of trusted that these of the Catholics who were at all mis.
An-ding assiatance to Lord Fingal in the conveyance guided had returned to a sense of their duty. Being in-
of the Cathnlic Petition ; but at every meeting a vio.: formed that the Committee was to meet in the way that
lent and inflarnmatory debate was sure to take place. yes proposed in their circiii.tr, Government resolved to
He was persuaded that at that period the principal take measures for dispersing it, if possible, by mild inn-
Catholics of Ireland were extremely dissatisfied with mations. Much ridicule hid beeti thrown upon the
the Committee, as abusing the lenity of Government, proceedings of Alderman Darley ; but he would ask,
and as injuring by the intemperance of their conduct whether any other proceedings could have been justly
the cause which they were assetnhled to support. On taken under an the circumstances ? That Magistrate
the 2d of February, the Committee agreed unani- returned to the Government which had sent him, and
mously to a Resolutiott, that the Petition of the informed them that the meeting had declared them-
Catholics of Ireland should be then transmitted to selves only a number of Catholic gentlemen assembled
Parliament. On the same day another Resolution for the purpose of considering thou petition to Parlia.
Was proposed, that the Committee should proceed to meet. He put the cities:ice to Lord Ffreneh, who
augment their number by the appointment of ten told him, on his honour, they were no Committee,
Members for each County of Ireland. This Resolu. but merely a set of gentlemen met about a Petition.
tion was rejected ; but before the rejection, there was On receiving this information front tee Aiderman, he
a considerable debate, in which Lord Ffrench (the had consulted with the Lord Chancellor and the At.
Chairman) used the following expressions : " You torney-General for Ireland, who all said. " Lord
were appointed for a specific purpose ; your mission i Ffrench is a man of honour and a gentleman, and
is ended. lam sick of this business. Do you mean we will take him at his word." The magistrate was'
to erect yourselves into a perpetual Parliament ?" therefore desired to return,• and inform the meeting,
The Committee, however, would not acknowledge that they should not be molested. Certain lie was,
that their powers had terminated ; and, instead of end- , that had the Right Honourable Gentleman himself
ing the business altogether, adjourned until the 9th ' been in the same situation with the Lord Chan-
of
February. Still the Lord Lieutenant forbore to cellor, he would have given precisely Cie same ad.
interpose the authority of Government, satisfied that vice, and acted as they had done. Those who coro-
nae crisis of the transaction was approaching. At posed the Irish Government were not to be consie
the meeting of the Committee on the 9th February, dered as drivellers and blockheads, because they took
several of the Members indulged in the most violent the word of Gentlemen. He felt convinced in his own
and intemperate language. One Gentleman in par. mind, that the great body of the people of Ireland,
titular professed re defend Lord Fingal—one of the ! though irritated at firss by the circul re letter of Go..
most loyal of the Catholic body—a Nobleman in vernment, would ultimately applaud the measnree
every way highly estimable, and whom no one could which Government had resorted to. The Right Hon. '
know without admiring. Lord Fingal had been ac. ; Gentleman then adverted to the resolutions which were '''
cnsed of supporting the Veto and concurring in the ! entered into by the last Catholic Meeting which had
U Mon. The defence was the most libellous accusation. i very lately taken place in Dublin. This Meeting had
He (Mr. Pole) read a paper, in which, amidst much I said before, that they had complete power over all
inflammatory matter, the Speaker, in 3:wines:ion of 'i Catholic affairs. • This was their claim, and that
Lord Fingal for having opposed the rebellion in which excited the jealousy of Government: But on the
Ireland, observes, that " if his Lordship assumed the Ist of March, the very dayon which hr left Irelandehie
livery of the oppressors, it was for the purpose of , meeting passed a resolution to this effect, "That the .
interceding for, aad saving the oppressed." This object of the Committee's appointment, was to pre-
!
speech was to be found in the Dublin 'mina Herald, a pare a petition to Parliament." The purport of theiv..,
paper immediately under the protection of the Cabo. second resolution west "That the Committee bevies •
lic Committee. Up to this time the Government of no other object in its appointment, they felt -strongly i
Ireland had cherished the expectation that any inter- that their proceedings did not come tinder any thin
ference on their part would be unnecessary ; but the like the Convention Act." The Meeting whichpassed
fallacy of thzt hope began to manifest itself. He these Resolutions was not at all molested, and he was .
trusted that in the tedious detail he had gone through very happy it was not. The net meeting of the Corn-
lie had sufficiently contradistinguished the Committee mittee was on the 2d of March; on which occasion also
of 1809 and the Committee of 1810. The conduct of their Resolutions were remarkable. A Major Bryan,
the latter did unquecienably occasion great uneasi- who was in the chair,said,that he had meant to propose
ness and anxiety to the Government of Ireland, and a petition to the Regentfor removing theDukeof Rich.
representations began to pour in trpm the loyal and mond from the Vice-regal Government; loot he nevi
well-disposed in all parts of the Island, of the mis- found that such a petition could be properly proposes' ,
chiefs which would arise from permitting a continu- onlyat an aggregate meeting. In this, the Major was
ante of such proceedings. The lenity of the Lord Lieu- perfectly right; and he ( Mr.?. )had no manner of object
tenant was blamed ; and thus it appeared, that the non to such a motion. But hemustparticularlycall the
conduct of the Irish Government was censured by one attention of the House to the first resolution which
set of men for severity, and by another for its forbear- they had actually adopted. It was, that their peti-
ance. He submitted to the candour of the House tions be engrossed, and sent to Lord Donoughmore
whether the Lord Lieutenant had acted towards and Mr. Grattan, for the purpose of being presented
the Catholics with rigour, or whether he had taken to the two Houses of Parliament. Thus ended the
any measures whatever to prevent them from ex- i labours of that Committee, at which termination he
ercising the just right which they possessed of pe- for one certainly felt extremely happy (Hear, bear.)
titioning Parliament, or the Regent, or his Majesty, He then begged leave shortly to advert to some els
on the subject of their claims.—(He.ar, hear, hear.)— lusions that had been made to him on a formenocee.
He was apprehensive that the Lord Lieutenant was sion. He understood that an Hon. Gentlemen (Mr.
liable rather to the contrary imputation. It might : Whitbread) had said, that he ( Mr. Pole) seemed
be so. In his conscience, however, he believed that ;on all occasions, to assume to himself all the powers
his Excellency had acted right, and the advice which of the Irish Government. lie hoped that no such
he felt it his duty to give the Lord Lieutenant on the i observation had fallen from the Hon. .Gentleman, and
occasion, he had the satisfaction of knowing, was particularly in his absence ; ,and that the Hon. Gen•
seconded by the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney- tleman had too much candour to say, that he had
General of Ireland. Many had been the consulta- been guilty of any such criminal act. He wished
tions of the Irish Cabinet, with respect to the pro- also to say, though in perfect good humour, that he
priety of calling on the British Government for their hoped the Hon. Gentleman would not crack jokes on
assistance, but the result of their deliberations had his character in his absence. He had also seen a re-
always been, that it was better to go as tar as the port of its having been stated in another place, that
public peace would permit, without any interference the Irish Government had acted like incendiaries, and
of authority. He did not know, then, whether the had set fire to the house which they thought they .
Government -of Ireland were to be attacked for were to leave. This was a pretty serious charge
their lenity or for their harshness. Some Honoura- against such men as the Duke of Richmond and the
ble Gentlemen seem inclined to abuse them for both. Lord Chancellor of Ireland; but.it the Howse looked
They had not thought it necessary to apply to the at the dates, they would see that nothing could be
Chief Justice, from a motive of delicacy, lest in case more unjust ; for they would find 'thee when the or-
any thing should happen which might render it ne- der was issued by the Irish Government, they were
cessary to bring persons before him for trial, he must, aware no change would take place. (Hear, hear.)
by being called to the Council, be put in possession of . lie must say that such charges as these had produ-
evidence which might afterwards operate in the way , ced the most painful impressions on the Irish Gomez-
of prepossession against those who were to take their ' meat, and he was most sorry they-had been so lightly
trials. After these great and learned men had ma. hazarded. He begged pardon of the House for •
turely consideMi the subject, it was thought necessary i having detained them so long. ( Hear, hear) ; but
by the Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General that', he trusted that the statement he had given would afa
the latter should draw up the letter, which was issuedin ' ford satisfaction to the House, and that they would ,
his ( Mr.Fole's) name, and frame it in such a manner as
.I see no necessity tor the production of the papers that
to bring clearly before the eyes of the Catholic Celts- were moved for.
mittee, the nature of their' proceedings, and the ten- I Mr. WHITBREAD only rose in consequence of
dency they, had to violate all the provisions of the Con- 1 the obset rations which the Right Hon. Gentleman
vention act. The letter thus drawn up by this high an- had personally directed to him. The H. Gentle-
thority was issued; and he was happy to say, that not man said, that they were meant in good humour, and
one person had been taken up and held to bail in con- yet he had accompanied them with a little threat for •
sequence of it, except the printer of the Galway paper, the future, and castigation for the past. But he must
who had inserted an advertisement, calling a meeting beg to remind the Right Honourable Gentleman, that
directly in the teeth of it. The Lord Lieutenant and he was in no way responsible for any thing contained
Council had, from the beginning to the end, acted in in a newspaper • and if the words were privately re-
a spirit of the greatest lenity towards the Catholics. ported, he begged the person who did so, if in that
They supposed this letter would have the desired ef- House, would repeat the words he had said. The
feet ; and it was positively determined at the time it Right Hon. Gentleman being exceedingly warm,
was issued, not to act farther upon it. It had been and lie (Mr.Whitbread) not -being v.-ry cool, hard
said, that it was very eettaordinary the Irish Govern- words might at times have passed between there ;---
' then call the Catholic) Committee illegal. but he did not feel conscious of having transgressed

ment should . 5...
This point had not escaped the acute sagacity of Lord
Chancellor Manners and Mr. Saurin, but they were
welt convinced, that although the Catholic Com-
mittee, merely as a Catholic Committee, was not
illegal, yet from their having constitutued them-
selves into a Committee of Grievances, in which
the most violent language had been held, and from
the secret information they had received, they
were determined to call it so. As to the charge of his
presuming to take such a step upon his own responsi-
bility, he was surprised it should be imputed to him,
for he was no lawyer ; and he assured the House, that
whatever degree of arrogance might be imputed to
him, he never entertained an idea of taking upon him-
self an act of such magnitude and importance. 'lle
Honourable Member then proceeded to &serve, that
the Irish Government could not Wait for instructions
from this country, because this self-constituted Parlia-
ment would have had one meeting, which might have
4 a very disagreegile and dangerous effect. He

the proper decorum of peiliamtintary language. He
must also add, that even the absence of the Right
Honourable Gentleman should not preclude him from
making observations on his public conduct, and the
more, as he had friend* to defend him, if they thought
proper.
Mr. POLE observed, in explanation, that he really
meant to convey his remarks in perfect good humour
towards the 'Honourable Gentleman. He had seen
the observations in a newspaper, and they were so
much in the • Honourable Gentleman's manner, that
he really believed them pretty correct.— (it laugh.)
Mr. WHITBREAD would only say, that he
thought it the incumbent duty of every Member never
to say one word of any parliamentary report.
Mr. PARNELL should wait till a future °ppm+
milky to deliver his opinion on the policy of the Irish
Government. He contended that the motives of the
' Catholics could be fairly judged of only from the Re.
*shalom titer had come to, and not from the simians

'maw;^Mar

oe