Sayfadaki görseller
PDF
ePub

obey, the wishes, and clearly understand the wants of all their Catholic fellow-subjects.

"This is the more requisite at the present moment, when there appears to be so near a prospect of complete emancipation; and the Committee are convinced, that their emancipation can now be retarded only by criminal apathy or neglect amongst the Catholics themselves.

"They beg leave to suggest to you the propriety of appointing ten managers of the petition in your county. There are now survivors of the persons who were delegates in the year 1793: these persons are already constituent members of the committee, and, as such, managers of the petition; so that you have to appoint only additional managers.

The committee desire to add, that, by the law, as it now stands, no species of delegation or representation can be suffered to take place, nor can any person, without a gross violation of the law, be a representative or delegate, or act under any name as representative or delegate. Engaged, as we are, in a struggle for legal and constitutional rights, it is our duty, as well as our inclination, and decided determination, not to violate the spirit, nor even the letter of the law. It is, at the same time, to be observed, that the law to which we allude, does not interfere with the subject's undoubted right to petition Parliament, nor, of course, with the only method by which so large a body as the Catholics of Ireland could concur in forwarding a petition, namely, by leaving the management of it in the hands of a few persons, who deserve and possess their confidence.

"And the committee cannot refrain, on this occasion, from calling to your recollection, the words of that celebrated champion of loyalty and religion, Edmund Burke, relative to the Irish Catholics: Your enemies are embodied; what becomes of you if you are only individuals ?'

"The committee does not presume to interfere with the mode in which you shall think fit to nominate those managers of the petition; save that it must not be by any election or appointment to represent any person or persons, or any district or place whatsoever. They moreover beg leave to suggest the propriety of expedition, and request that you will have the goodness to reply to this letter, and to state your sentiments on this subject, adding, if it shall so please you, the names of persons, whom you conceive most fit to manage the petition in your county. "In appointing those managers, the committee respectfully solicit your particular attention to the many advantages to be derived from naming managers, whose avocations require, or leisure permits their permanent or occasional residence in Dublin, where the ultimate arrangements, as to the petition, can best be made. I have further to observe to you, that all the noble lords who constitute the Catholic peerage, are already managers of the petition. "I have the honour to be your's, &c.

[ocr errors]

66

(Signed) EDWARD HAY, Secretary. Dublin, No. 4. Capel-street, "January 1. 1811."

In consequence of this letter, Mr. Pole (the Irish Secretary), by the direction of the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland (Duke of Richmond), issued to the sheriffs and magistrates of the different chief towns throughout Ireland, the following circular letter :

“SIR,

"It being reported that the Roman Catholics in the county of are to be called together, or have been called together, to nominate or appoint persons as representatives, delegates, or managers, to act on their behalf, as members of an unlawful assembly, sitting in Dublin, and calling itself, The Catholic Committee,' you are required, in pursuance of the provisions of an act of the 33d of the King, chap. 29. to cause to be arrested, and to commit to prison, (unless bail shall be given) all persons within your jurisdiction who shall be guilty of giving or having given, or of publishing or having published, or of causing or having caused to be given, or published any written or other notice of the election and appointment, in any manner, of such representative, delegate, or manager as aforesaid; or of attending, voting, or acting, or of having attended, voted, or acted in any manner, in the choice or appointment of such representative, delegate, or manager:. And you are to communicate these directions, as far as lies in your power, forthwith, to the several magistrates of the county of

"N. B. Sheriffs are to act under the warrant of magistrates, in cases where the crime has been committed.

66 By command of His Grace the Lord-lieutenant,

"(Signed) W. W. POLE."

This letter, the proceedings taken by the Catholics in consequence thereof; the severity of enforcing, for the first time, a law which had lain dormant for fourteen years, more especially in a case where the rights of so great a body as the Catholics were concerned, whose object was but to petition, in the most general and effectual manner, naturally excited much irritation in Ireland. The unconstitutional tendency of this hasty measure, abridging the subject's right to petition, was the foundation of just complaint. Notice, therefore, was given in Parliament, of a motion on the subject. And on this day (the 22d), Mr. J. W. Ward rose in pursuance thereof. He stated, that the letter of Mr. Hay (the Catholic Secretary) did not warrant a measure of such severity. The govern ment in Ireland had made no communication to the ministers in England. They had suffered six weeks to elapse before they had taken any steps on the subject of Mr. Hay's letter. Under the government of the present minister (Mr. Percival), which had now lasted four years, the state of Ireland was growing worse and worse, and therefore it became the House to show some anxiety for the fate of that country. He concluded by moving,

"That an humble address be presented to His Royal Highness the Prince Regent, that he will be pleased to give directions that there be laid before this House, copies or extracts of such dispatches from the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland to the Secretary of

State for the Home Department, and from the Secretary of State for the Home Department to the Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, as relate to the letter of the Right Honourable Wellesley Pole, to the sheriffs and chief magistrates of the principal towns throughout Ireland, on the subject thereof."

The motion was supported by Mr. Parnell, Sir John Newport, Mr. Whitbread, Mr. C. Hutchinson, and Mr. Ponsonby. They censured the conduct of the Irish government, in resorting to the convention act, an act which had not hitherto been enforced; which had been passed in the time of Mr. Pitt and Lord Clare, and which was the result of a splenetic and intolerant government. The letter of Mr. Pole was, in every respect, unjustifiable; it denominated the Catholic committee an unlawful assembly, before a single person had been elected in the manner specified by the act. It directed the arrest of individuals, and their commitment, unless bail was given. The legality of such a proceeding was much to be questioned. They condemned the system of insult that was offered to the Catholics; and recommended government to adopt a system of conciliation.

Mr. GRATTAN said: he could not suffer this question to be decided, without briefly delivering his sentiments upon it. The tranquillity and interests of Ireland, were so intimately connected with the subject in discussion, that he could not reconcile it to himself to give a silent vote on this occasion. He agreed with the right honourable gentleman, in thinking that the Catholics must be in that House a frequent subject of debate; he agreed with him also in thinking that every debate on that subject, should be conducted with a peculiar measure of temper and moderation; that the Catholics should ever be spoken of, particularly in Parliament, with great deference and affection. Sir, you must not forget that they are necessary to the existence of your empire, as the existence of that empire is to them; that the two countries must go on in harmony, to go on with the chance of either force or security. In this idea I must suggest to you, that the House of Commons should act as the guardian of the Catholic interest, and if you do not comply with the prayer of its petition, and give the Catholics the whole of their privileges, you should take care at least that they possess, without interruption, what the laws have left them; you should take care that the communication between this House and the Catholics should be free and open, so as to enable them to express not the sentiment of a particular part, but of the whole community.

It is a fundamental principle of British and imperial policy, that the communication between the Catholics of Ireland, and the Parliament, should be free and unembarrassed; therefore, I condemn a measure, which tends to obstruct that communi

cation, by recurring to an act generated in spleen; and which, if not repealed, should at least be resorted to as rarely as possible. If that act were at all to be recurred to in the present times, it ought to be so construed as to leave the utmost facility of communication between the great body of Irish Catholics, and Parliament. If rigidly and bitterly construed, it would cut off all communication of that nature, between the Parliament and the people. This was particularly the case with regard to Ireland, since the union; for many chan-nels of communication, which were then open, between the people of that country and the legislature, were now almost shut up. It was the more incumbent, therefore, upon that House, to take care that Parliament should not be deprived. of the means of ascertaining the sentiments, not merely of a small portion, but of the whole body of the Catholics in Ireland; and of allowing for that purpose, the right of petitioning in the fullest and freest manner. What had occurred

on former occasions? When he presented a former petition from the Irish Catholics, it had been said, that the petition might contain the sentiments of the individuals by whom it was signed, but that the great body of Irish Catholics were indifferent to the subject. You have heard gentlemen deny in this House, that such applications or objects are the desire of the Catholic body; you should therefore adopt the only method by which that question can be decided, to suffer the Catholic body to speak for itself; and therefore it is not sufficient to save to them the forced construction of the convention bill, (the right of petition), but you should allow that right in such an extensive mode and manner, as to enable them to present to you their general and authenticated desire, and so you must construe the saving clause in the bill. Accordingly, I beg further to say, that in questions touching the breach of law, you are not to consider merely whether the law has been departed from, by any of the Catholics, but whether it has been vindicated by the government without unnecessary severity; whether the government has, in asserting the law, fallen into the character of partisans, and in suppressing a particular excess, wounded the general sense and great body of the Catholics.

Having said this much with regard to the state of the Catholics of Ireland, and the nature of the convention act, I would ask if the letters produced established any necessity for having recourse to those measures; which unless under very imperious circumstances, it was the duty of the government never to adopt. The papers produced by ministers would go but a certain length: as far as they did go, they certainly did

not make out their case. But as they had refused the produc→ tion of all further papers calculated to throw a light on the subject, it became the duty of the House to decide whether the papers upon the table did not contain all the information which ministers could produce in favour of the Irish government, and whether they did not fall very far short of any justification of the recent conduct of that government.

On these principles, I beg to consider the letter of the Irish secretary, dated the 12th of February, and the letter of Mr. Hay, on which the former is alleged to be founded. This letter of Mr. Hay, is charged to purport an invitation to the Catholics of Ireland to send from each county certain deputies, under the name of managers, to form a national convention in Dublin. The other letter, namely, that of Mr. Pole, orders the magistrates to arrest such persons as shall meet to appoint that delegation to an illegal assembly sitting in Dublin. This letter consists of two parts, the first prospective, or going to prevent what it calls a delegation; the other retrospective, or denouncing an existing assembly, namely, the old Catholic committee, as an illegal body. As to the prospective part of the letter, I do allow that a national or general convention, such as Mr. Pole's letter describes, would be an illegal assembly. Such is the act of Parliament. I will I will go farther, and say, that government could not avoid taking measures to prevent such a general convention; it would be illadvised; it would be illegal. Whether the meeting of managers, convened by Mr. Hay's letter, would be such an assembly as Mr. Pole sets forth, is a question of law, which the lawyer must decide; as also, whether the order of the letter was such as the magistrates could by law carry into execution; but whatever the law may be as to this part of the letter, I think that it had been better to have adopted a milder and more soothing expression.

I would not recommend the rigorous execution of a rigorous law, for the purpose of allaying the discontent, or appeasing the exasperated temper of a people, who complained of injuries. I should be inclined rather to soften the severity of the law, to take away as much of its sting as possible, and certainly not to sharpen its edge against an aggrieved and complaining body. I would not, in endeavouring to prevent any unlawful or tumultuous meeting, have ushered in the measure by a direct and positive charge against that meeting, of entertaining improper or mischievous designs. There was this difference between the two modes of conduct, that the one bore an adverse and hostile character towards His Majesty's subjects; the other, indicated a friendly and parental

« ÖncekiDevam »