The Statesman.
London, England, 1818-05-05 00:00:00

•
CATHOLIC AFFAIRS.

--sease-
-13TEREATING LETTEfdIR
ORFROM LORD DOROUGH-
.E. •
Dublin, April 30.
There was a very fall Meeting cif the Catholic
Board at D'Arty's yesterday. After Mr. Power, of
pallinakill, had been called to the Chair, the follow-
ing letter was read by Mr. Secretary Hay
Kooalatv, April 21, 1818.
66 DEAR HAY,—]laving been from home nearly
the whole of the day on necessary business, and haw.
jag returned only to a late dinner, I have little time
to reply as I could wish to your letter of the '2sth
bet. which arrived here this morning, as the man-
ors& for Dublin passes this gate at 10 at night.—
Your letter having, however, apprised me that a
Meeting of the Catholic Board is to he held on Wed.
Destiny melt, for the purpose of considering the pro-
priety of petitioning Parliament, I should think my-
self unworthy of any confidence on their part if I
lest a moment in deprecatiug, in the strongest possi-
ble manner, the adoption of such a measure at the
present moment, against which there are many °W-
ilts circumstances of discouragement, and to which'
course there is, in my mind, no one principle or ar-
gument to invite.
" Surely Kis impossible to forget so soon the state
of miserable destitution in which your question was
left last year in the House of Commons, when the
spirit of the inveterate antagerdst of your rights, the
late Learned Doctor of Civil. Law (Duigenan) seemed
to have revived again, and the combined attack was
made, with considerable force and acrimony, against
the Whole Catholic Bosly and their religion ; and
where there ens no refutation of thesecelumities heard
in reply, hut the question of the People of Ireland,
triumphant in argument almost on every former oc-
casion, was nearly kicked out of the Ilifuse.
" After such a defeat, surely the Catholics ought
not to proceed to battle again, without the best con-
certed previous preparation; and without havingi
been well apprised, through the means of such pri.
vate enrnmunicetion, whet sort of suppert t,ey were
to look to hem those whom they were in the habit of
considering as their Parliamentary friends. If such
$ commonlcstion has been had, and the result has
been encouraging, then, indeed, the question might
be committed again to its fate in Parliament. If not,
I should cousider the attempt, and still less so at this
advanced period of the Session, as little better than
absolute insanity.
" With respect to the other House, von certainly
have no cause to complain of any derelictien there.
But see how that House is situated as in the attend-
ance of some of its most permanent Members, and
of your most distinguished supporters. Neither Lord
Grey, Lord Grenville, t;or Lord Wellesley have
been itt attendance during the present Section.
Would you wish to commit your cause to arguments
deprived of such support, as tt.air t.lents and energies
would insure ?
" Such are the arguments against proceeding during
the present Session. Where is there one solitary
argument on the other side of the question'
66 But my time is come, and I must Ounclude.
• " Your's, dear thy, must truly,
sr To Edward tiny, DONOUGHMORE."
This communication gave rise to a very animated
debate. Messrs. Mahon, O'Gorman, M'Donnell,
and Major li'Derroott, were for petitioning during
the present Session. Messrs. O'Connell, Rowley,
and several others, declared themselves disposed to
an opposite cone's of proceeding. Mr. O'Gorman
at length submitted the following Resolutions
Thai an Aggregnie Meeting of the Catholics of Ireland he
eunterwii in Dublin, oo the 91,1 day of Ma, 111111, C•r the pur-
111Pir of comileri,,g of the in-qprirty of inewilti-e a retillibll to
brhalf of the Catholic 4 of Ireland.
This seas negatived on a division.
Thanks were afterwards voted in the following
terms to Lord Donnughmore ;
Resohrea, That the fe,fli grateful Thanks of this Alerting be
transmitted to our Ite.t, rarer Zehltllls. moat manly and rihciea
ndyocale, the Fail of is.,cougtimare, the coththUutCullod of
.entimeuttt ou the present stinn of out cause.
This Resolution pitied with acclamations.

CITY lIIIIIINECS.—Vesterday, the Lord Mayor held
a Court of Common Council wt Guildhall, in conse-
quence of the Order of the House of Commons for
the Returns to be made of the City's Receipts and
Disbursements. The Lord Mayor laid before the
Court the Answers to the several Acidresse: to the
Prince Regent, her Majesty, the Priucess Eliztaeth,
and the Prince of Hesse- liwoburg, which were read,
and ordered to be entered on the Journal:. The se-
veral Orders of the House of Commons, requiring
the production of the City's Accounts were then
read. The Committee to whom the Order of the
House of Commons had been referred, delivered in
a Report, recommending that a respectful Petition
should be presented by the Court to that House,
praying to be heard by their Counsel, *ittiesse,, and
agents, at the Bar of that House, in support of the
said Petition, which being read, and a motion to agree
being made, an amendment was moved to agree with
the Report of the Committee presented at a former
Court, recommending the Accounts to he presented,
which being put, was negatived, and the original
question was put and carried. A Petition was drawn
up accordingly, and ordered to be presented by the
Sueriffs forthwith.
The Earl of DaLuquste, it is said, accepted the
Government of Halifae on the cypress declaration,
that he was to succeed Sir JO/1/4 SHERSitOOK as
Governur•General and Commander in Chief in
Canada. The latter appointment, however, has been''
coriferrei on the Duke of Itrcossoeb, as the reward
of his political services in Ireland, when Viceroy of
that kingdom, with appointments of 30,0001. per
altuuni.
Liveaeoor., MAY 3.—The Hannah, Heatberne,
from Bombay, that arrived yesterday, sailed Bth
imtry, nod touched at St. Helena, March Mond at
Ascension on 28th March ; the Jemima, from Bom-
bay passed St. Helena, on 26th February, and had
received considerable damage ; the Herald, from
Laudon, sailed for Bombay 21st December; his Ms.
jesty's ship, Redpole, arrived at St. Helena, 12'I
March; on 20th April, in lat. 23. It. long. 33.
spoke the Wig Brothers, Stamp, from Calcutta for
Loutiou ; she had spoken the ships Jemima and He-
rald, on the line.—Arrived to-day, off this port, the
Theollocia, Sharptey, from Calcutta; Higginann,
Bill, from Barbadoes ; Ann, Wear, and the Wel.
hokum. —, from Marienkam; Euphrates, De
curt, from New York.