It is even as we had fear...
The Times, 1824-12-06T00:00:00

It is even as we had feared for Irelandl. The cause of Catholic Emancipation-that stalking-horse of selfish and iiifuriated partics, but a cause in itself both sousnd anti just, irn the samfe degree in wlhich it is liberal and persuasive- has been once moro brought to the edge .of destruction, by what a sensible correspondent in an Irish newspaper calls the(i " fatality" which has all along pursued it. But what, lat us sisk, is that fatality ? Why, it is notlhing more than tlh fs tal vanity and violence-the fatal shallowness and olupidittty-the inortal arrogance, ambition, and intolcranice, nliAnovort,l unmlorirly at the moment when thv exhibition of ouch qlualtletis rmnt bo most ruinous, by those who prow fered 4 to frel dimlve iAt, intercst in the measure, and to Identify thieir owte fortuncii wilit thic success of it. The logg of thn queptbin of lHinancipation has before been brouglht abotnt by ('athollea tliomnselvcs: if lost again, it will agrsin be owing to Cnatlhollc. The habitual insolence and clamour or the Orange party ha(d but served the cause they sought to overturn, by dlsgtts?tling thel people of Eng- land with their injustice. But thlo Orangemen were re- pressed by the Government, ondi werc declining rapidly. Equal folly on the other Hide, however, has more than trimmed the balance. Fear and anger, mingled with disgust, are the sentitnents now rising every-wlhere throughout Englaud against the Csltholics-their rent- their priesthood-their demagogues-and their pretensions. Whom are they to thank for this? The lypocrites who have betrayed the cause,-not the openl but ineffectual enemies wlho bad for so many years opposed its gradual and reso. lute advances. iVe have said that a serious alarm begins to prevail on the subject of the Catholic proceedings; We do rot partake of tihis alarm. wie see reason enoix;to satisfy our own 2judg-? rnent3 fec 4eipissng -the -hriger at' whiCli9 manfygo'o.linen:- 'tre'mtile2,ittL 6-hwli tsexaggeritste.and bia4 n of-an oppes,ite -stamp '-At~ the 6, ,e -tii,ne,eif -w, cannot. agree withatheitimidated part of the icormunity, we can allo'w. for tem. To. the pains, that have been taken both. to provoke and terrify the Protestants of this country, it is imppssible that we should blinA ourselves or others. Among those phanomena of the present age at which our ancestors, could they have risen to behold them, would have been astonished, was the new arrangement of parties and of sympathies, which had associated in a manner un- known to formertimes, the professors of Popery with the frienids of ciil' freedom, Why was this re-actipn ? Not because of any growing taste for Popery; but because the fears which it once inspired had ceased or dimi- nished. We will venture to assert, that in ninety-nire eases out of an hundred, the Protestant ftiends of Catholic Emancipation were obliged to withdraw their minds altogether from the history and character of the Catholic. religion, beforc they could bring them- selves to take a hearty interest in the grant of power to the laymen of that crced. It was not to increase the inflaence of the Popish priesthodd that any sane member of Parliament in this country could tender his vote for the admission of Catholics to the Legislature. The prevailing sentiment of Englishmen has been, and we trust it will so continue, that a Popish hierarchy in full power, is the natural enemy-of all constituted power but its own. We do not say that a Popish establishment is altogether incon- sistent with civil freedom: but, that its tendency is to en- croach upon that freedom, all history-and no history, in a manner,--tore impressive than that of Europe for the last ten' years-assures us. In our view, therefore, the soutid and rational argument in support of the rata- sure of Catholic" Emancipation was twofold:-first, that it would 'do justice to the Catholic laity; secondly, that by withdrawing that laity from the exclusive influence of the priesthood, it would tend to undermine the pernici- ous power of their Church. *Yhat is now the aspect of the whole question as pre- sented to us by these very claimants for Emancipation ? Why, that instead of strengthening liberty, and weakening Popery, it is to be a step towards Popish supremacy, and an eventual extinguisher of that great cause, ia defence of which the last Popish Monarch was ejected. It is in vain that we shall be told there is no such thig mneditated by the Association of the Catholics. The thing is notorious; the uiiwise and ill-fated leaders ofthat body have, so far as de- pends on them, ideutified their cause with that of the Po- pish Church-in other words, with the subversion of the Protestanit Establishment. In their cruise for political power, they ought to have thrown their priesthood over- board; instead of which, they have taken the reverend per- -sons for their pilots, and given them the command of the ship. That our vote on the question would be disturbed by such inJfifectual folly of tlie Catholic orators and statesmnen, we have already taken a public opportunity to deny; be- cause we are persuaded that the future conduct of the lay Catholics would be in no r-.spect influenced by their recent and ill-considered proceedings. But looking at the conse- quence of those proceedings as they regard the minds of others, nay, of perhaps a large majority of English Protes- tants, let us once more put it to Messrs. O'CONNELL and Co., what sort of politicians have they shown themselves ? With a friendly Goyernment,which has pursued a fair sys. tesn towards Catholic and Protestant, these foolish men have lone their own interests more mischief than the Government had laboured to do them good-they have, by a turbulence which has atudiously outruu and superseded Lord WEL.. 1.ES LaY's conciliatory policy, thrown back their cause to the same point at which it stood in relation to the public feel- ing of Englishmen, when an open insurrection professed to be excited by the inveterate Orange politics of Lord TALBOT. As we said before, let not the Protestants be blamed for this. They are provoked-they are, some of the-n at least, alaaned by the bullying fanaticism of these armed suppliants for power. We, nevertheless, beseech the Government to pause, and let the leaders of the Catho. lies retrace their erring footsteps, before it legislates directly against them-but inevitably and fatally against the general rights of the subject. And we end, by admonishing the lay Catholics themselves, on the au- thority of their owI. Vicar-General, to distrust the sin- cerity of the Romisl& priesthood, in the pursuit of Catholic emancipation. The priestlhood know that their single tic overthe laity is not that of a common creed, but of a common political humiliation. They are well aware that to incorporate the Gentry witii the British Constitution, would be at enee to disunite thera from that hierarchy wvltich never can be a part of the Constitution. We are charged by some of the Irish newspapers with hos. tility to the present Catholic Assembly. The charge is a silly one. Ve have besought the Government to leave it as long as possible unmolested. We bave advised the Association strenuously to abstain from mingling its political interests with those of any other party-with the Radicals, the Anti- unionists, er tl intriguers of its own church. We wish it to conciliate, not to irritate, the people of Englanid. We are just so far its enomies, as it has proved Itself the worst practical enemy of emancipation. Of this last measure we are just so far friends, as we have reason to anticipate that it may help to promote the internal peace of Ireland, and to support in church and state the Protestant empire of Great Britain.