The Statesman.
London, England, 1810-01-25 00:00:00

TAP -1

771 E CAT'HO LIB GL4LLIS
—wag-
Lt trut FROM WIRY) .OtENVILLE TO THE
LULL .FINGAL.

It4oirndotourset,oistand.d22r.esl: this
10.
MMatheireCtahn: h
letter to your Lordship, in reply to that which I
received from you, respectiteg the Petition with
which you are charged. This form of continunica.
boat I consider as most satisfactory to your Lord.
Chip, It is also best calculated to justice to the
sentiments of some of the most distinguished ad.
Placates of your cause, in concurrence w • ith whom
my decision has been taken.
I must in the first place assure your Lordshit4,l
that my upidinn remains unchanged as to the obe
ject or your petition. It would, I think, be an
act of nudeniable wisdon►.aud jus i • ce to commutii-
rate to oar fellow subjects, prufessieg the Roman
Catholic kalit‘ints, :he full eejoyment of our Civil
Constitution. Saab a measure, acco•npanied by
anitablearcangementi, maturely prepared, and de-
liberately Waisted, would, I fi I * con . above
all othtrs 9 site strength tad union Au the Empire,
aid increased security to its religious and civil es.
tablishments. Your Lordship Is well aware, that
on this 'conviction only have I supported it. To
House seteblkhatents I an unalterablyattached ;
their inviolable maintenance I have ever considered
as essoolial to all the dearest interests of my coon.
try. Het they rest, lam certain, on foundations
much too Orin ; they prelim tee deeply rooted in
the affections of that commonity to which they '
pence the blessing's of religion, foster, and liberty,
to require the adventitious and slaneeroas support
of partial restrictions, fruitful ismiliscontent, but,
fur security, whuliy inefficient. -
With respect to the present application to Par.
Hamm, I knew not, except from public report,
that such a measure was-in contemplation I,or that
it was the wish of the petitioners to place their pc.
tition in my hat ds.
I have twice already, at thetequest of the Ca.
!holies of Ireland, muted the llou,se of Lords to
take this subject into Consideration. I did not, in.
either case, think myself responsible for your do.
termination as to the time of agitating the goes-
determinatioe which, in the lirst instance,
I had not suggested, and which in the last I had in
my place in Parliament publicly dissuaded. Re.
cent events had in both cases imposed upon
me a peculiar duty, not merely for my own
honour, but in justice also to your cause, to
prove, by my conduct, on the earliest OCCa.
sion atrorded by yourselves, that no change of pub.
lie situation, no prejudice, no calumny, no class
mour, could either vary or suppress my opinions
on this great national qiiestion. This duty I wit- ,
tingly performed. Deeply impressed with the im-
portance of the measures which I recommended, I
have spared no sacrifice, omitted no exertion, by
which I could contribute to their accomplishment.
And if I could now deceive myself with a hope,
that a renewal of my weak efforts, in the present
moment, could expedite or facilitate their ulti-
mate success, it would he my highest gratification
once more to stand forward as the chosen mire.
"sate of national conciliation.
. Circumstanced as this questioo now is, both in
England and in Ireland, it ts, tin the contrary, my
deliberate opfhion, that no motion grounded on
your petition could, at this time, in any hands,
certainly not in mine, be brought forward, with.
-out great and pormanent disadvantage to its ob.
j4..ct.
This opinion is founded, not ouly on the pre-
sent known dispositions of Government and Par-
liament, but also on the unexpected difficulties
which have arisen in Ireland, en the impressions
which they may create, and the embarrassments
•which they unavoidably produce.
"It would be an invidious task fur ms to re.
capitulate, in this place, the transactions of the
last three years, or to discuss the temper and spi-
rit, the language and the conduct of his Majesty's!
Ministers towards your Batly • nor would it be-
come mu to censure, thotie,h I may be permitted
to lament, the decisions of the Legislature.
To these two topics it is sufficient briefly to have
adverted. The oastacles which, ice the _present
moment, they oppose to any favourable consider:6
lion of your cause, and the advantages which they
afford to the misrepresentations of your adversa-
ries, are too obvious to require explanation.
Many circumstances compel roe to speak to
your Lordship more at large of the recent pro.
•ceedings in Ireland, with reference bOth to their
origin and to their consequences. Fur this pur-
pose, I must beg leave to recall to your Lordship's
recollection, the grounds on which the considera.
lion of these Petitions has uniformly been recom.i
'mended to Parliament. That which you have
asked, and which has been supported by the
greatest Statesmen of our time, now no more, is
not in its nature a single or unconnected measure.
Its objects are, the peace and happiness of Ire.
land, and the union of the empire, in affection,
as well as in government. Vain, indeed, would
be the hope of accomplishing such purposes,
solely by the repeal of a few remaining disquali.
hrations, which, bv a strange anomaly, are still
left subsisting.amidst the ruins of a whole code of
I proscription. To impute to you this visionary
pretension, has been the artifice. of your two-
pent'. The views of your friends 'have been Inure
I
enlarged.
With the just and salutary extension of civil
rights to your hotly, must be combined, if trait.
guiltily and union be our object, other extensive
emnudocibmeipnbicaadteedfaorrrathnegemineilit.s.
iableA lml (I::teiHtTv
iicism
eitat
the religions and civil establishments of.this
United
Kingdom. Much must be dune f mutual con.
ciliation—much for common safety ; many con-
tending interests must be
sies allayed, many long
rcchreurni.chtlit:paiiiiitianyinjutt.aulaluisy,,
destructive prejuditts eradicated.
such, at least) have always been my own de.
Glared opinions. When this matter was last un-
der the consideration of Parliament, I had °cc"
Sinn to dwell, with particular earnestness, on this
necessity ; I invited the suggestions of others for ;
idi(es it, and I eini mieiraa d tebitl,esnr Tint. rtatile in
cee
sure' which.
ich,
eight
years before
et Govuesicat, conjuuctiun with
rt
temptation