The Statesman.
London, England, 1812-04-21 00:00:00

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corm- meoeure : it is a change to be'well considered by his
ment,mildnstit'eas.4l,4oC7
stthateioColl4:;l
the
ed
viewswelfa reanodf-rotigus
try, . of Maresty's Miuisters, becauseit proves tam the Pro.
foreign fro trPr'4, the English Roman Catholics veld testantsas well as Catholics are now united in the
to no portion of his Majesty's subjects. They Soule. 1 have said that it is signed very numerously;
"
therefore claim, that they may be allowed to parti. but the names are not nearly so numerous Its (boy
cipate in the remaining part of the, privileges which ,mould have been if the Petition had, been circulated
genets' enjoys, that they May ' among the lower classes. The siguatures only of
tmhoe:Be reistlecilrtonaaitilyttt iti
rally
round their Sovereign at this , persons of considerable property are affixed to it, a
period
of pert/liar danger. They throw themselves 1 circumstance very much to he regretted; because, in
On the ivjsdont, thepolicy, the justice, and 1 hope ' a case like the present, it would have beets desirable
on the hearts aud feelings of the Mem- to have ascertained thus unequivocally the Sense of
IrenrlsaYofadtdhis' liouse. [Hew, hear '.] It is not my the middle, as well as the higher order of Protestants.
intention now, more thin to move that the Petition The persons who had the management of it were,do lie upon the table, reserving to myself the right, however, designed to apply only for the signatures
should it he necessary, .Of-adopting any further pro- of persons of landed property, and although it is
swelled by the names of several. thousauds, it is not
.
' The Petition was then brought up aud read, toge. for this reason, of such magnitude as it would other.'
ceedings 'founded upon it."
(her with many of the noble names attached to it.— wise have appeared. I should remark also, that there
It was laid upon the table. are several parts of Ireland to which, from acciden.
Sir F. BURDETT presented a Petition from a tae circumstances, the Petition was not sent, but
perion named Samuel Fletcher, a brewer, complain- I where, had- it been otherwise, it would have met.
ing of having been ruined bye a conspiracy of the . with very extensive support. En some parts many
officers of Excise. It was read and laid on the ta- I signatures have been obtained which have not been
blo. . affixed to this Petition ; for, by letters I have re-
ceived to-day, I find that Since I quitted Ireland,
several copies of it have been signed most respectably
in the County of Down, which is more peculiarly a
Protestant district. Under these circumstances, I
feel myself authorised, not only to beg permission
to.bring this Petition up, that it may be laid upon
the table, but to recommend to the House to receive
it with serious attention, as containing the decided
sentiments of the uninfluenced and independent part
of the Protestant Proprietors of Ireland."—[llcar,
hear !) * . . -

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PIiOTESTANT PETITION. •
Mr. MAURICE FITZGERALD sai4P—g4 I am
charged with a Petitibn which is to be presented to
this House from the persons, whose names are signed
thereto, being protestant, land-owners in Ireland.—
Some circumstances that have occurred regarding it,
render it necessary that I should trouble the'House
with a few words. I would first take the liberty of
stating why it has devolied upon so insignilieant an
individual as myself, to present one of the most im-
portant Petitions that can be brought under the con-

sideration of Parliament. It may bo known that
the MeMber for Dublin, at whose suggestion this
Petition was first set on foot, was immediately idler-
wards obliged to leave Ireland; and it devolved Upon
me to undertake the task he reluctantly resigned,
and to be instrumental in its progress, and I am
consequently in possession of circumstances impor-
tant to be known previous to the approaching dis-
cussion of the Catholic Question. The Petition is

On the question that the Petition be brought up,
Mr. WELLESLEY POLE said, aftel► what had
fallen from the Right Honourable Gentleman, he
thought it necessary to trouble the House with a few
observations. He did not deny the assertion of the
Right Honourable Gentleman, that those who had
signed the Petition constituted the majority or the
Protestants- of property in Ireland ; but he would
say, that it was the first time, he believed, that the

majority of the Protestants had been favourable to
Catholic Emancipation. He strongly denied, how-
ever, that the Irish Government had used any undue
influence, or any influence at all, to prevent that
Petition from being signed.; and he was very certain
that if the Irish Government had chosen to exert it-.
self on the occasion, or had wished to cause any
dissention, Petitions of a Very different nature to
that now presented, would appear on the table. He
(Wellesley Pole) was in Ireland at the time the mea-
sure was suggested, and he remembered the speech
with which it was introduced, at a public dinner, by
the Right Hon. Gentleman himself; but he distinctly
declared, and in the most decided manner, that the
measure was not interfered with, either directly or
indirectly. The object of the Irish Gevernmeot was
to allow Catholics or Protestants to petition the L.
gislature, in any way that was not illegal. The
Right Honourable Gentleman had alluded to the cue
of the appointment of a Sheriff; but he wished tissf.
allusion had been explained; for his own putt, he'
did not believe it had any foundation, ana the best
proof, he thought, was the character of the_porsims,

.411_
who was now Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, liid any
body suppose that the Duke of Richmond woulii
lend himself to such views ? He believed, on the
contrary, and declared his belief, upon the honour
and conscience of a Gentleman, that any person of-
fering such advice to the Duke of Richmond, would
be scorned by him, as one desirous to involve the
country in confusion and distrust. He wished the Pet-
ition to have a full and free discussion ' • but he thought
it was not ezactiy correct in the Right lion. Gentle•