nents is more powerful than the prayers of such a people, we would still proceed in the course which practice and persecution have tried and proved.

"We will not, however, anticipate so calamitous and so portentous a determination on the part of your Holiness ; we will rather cherish our accustomed confidence in the Holy See, and resting on the benign Providence of the Divine Founder of our faith, we will look forward to such a determination on the part of your Holiness, as will allay our religious anxieties; preserve, undisturbed, the peace of a Church enthusiastically devoted to its spiritual chief; and thereby perpetuate, by indissoluble bonds, the spiritual connexion which has been so long maintained between the See of Rome and the Roman Catholics of Ireland.

"For these purposes, and with these views, we lay this our humble address and remonstrance at the feet of your Holiness, praying a favourable consideration; and again imploring the apostolical benediction.

"THOMAS ESMONDE, Chairman. "EDWARD HAY, Secretary.

"I certify that the above address and remonstrance was framed by the Association of the Roman Catholics of Ireland, pursuant to the directions of the aggregate meeting, held on Tuesday, the 29th day of August last.

"NICHOLAS MAHON,

"Chairman of the Association.

"Dublin, September 16th, 1815."

The foregoing address was duly forwarded to Rome; but after a period of vexatious delays and inconclusive negociations, the fact came to be known that it would not be received there officially; as that would be taken to be a formal recognition of the right of lay interference in a matter held by many authorities to be exclusively of an ecclesiastical nature. There is nothing that need delay us in the records of the popular struggle during the remainder of 1815, or the early part of the succeeding year.

In January, indeed, of that year, the "seceders," as the soi-disant aristocratic party of the Catholics were generally designated, showed some activity in giving trouble; and in that and the following month, the strange and discouraging spectacle was more than once presented to the Irish public, of two distinct meetings of Catholics in the metropolis; th seceders at Lord Trimleston's house; and the "Catholic Association," at Fitzpatrick's, in Capel street; the first resolving to entrust their "emancipation-with-securities” petition to Mr. Grattan in the Commons; the other equally resolving to entrust their "unconditional emancipation" petition to Sir H. Parnell. Both chose the same person in the LordsLord Donoughmore-to present their respective petitions in the upper house.

On Tuesday, 5th March, 1816, an aggregate meeting of the Catholics took place in the present Church of St. Teresa, Clarendon-street. The following resolutions passed.

"RESOLVED―That the Most Rev. and Right Rev. the Catholic prelates of Ireland, at a meeting held by them in the city of Dublin,

on the 23rd and 24th of August, 1815, did unanimously enter into a resolution in the following words ::

"That it is our decided and conscientious conviction that any power granted to the government of Great Britain, of interfering, directly or indirectly, in the appointment of Bishops for the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland, must essentially injure, and may eventually subvert the Roman Catholic religion in this country."

"RESOLVED That with the conviction deeply and unalterably impressed upon our minds of the purity and sincerity of the venerated prelates who adopted the foregoing resolution, and of the plain truth and certainty of the conclusion which they have thus announced, we should consider ourselves as betraying the dearest interests of our religion, and of our country, did we not most unequivocally declare, that we will, AT ALL TIMES, AND UNDER ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, deprecate and oppose, by every means that the laws have left us, any such interference as the Catholic prelates and people have so often and so emphatically condemned.

"RESOLVED That the sole pursuit of the Catholic people of Ireland being liberty-civil as well as religious-we should deem ourselves base and degraded, were we to purchase any advantages for ourselves, by consenting to any arrangement, which, by increasing the undue influence of his majesty's ministers, must injure the civil liberty of our fellow-subjects, of every religious denomination.

"RESOLVED—That we re-adopt the resolution of the 13th March, 1806, that the holdings of meetings at any private house, for the general concerns of the Catholic body, is unfavourable to the freedom of discussion, and inadequate to the collection of public sentiment.

"That any meeting convened for the consideration of Catholic affairs, and involving the interests of the body at large, brought about by private invitation and partial selection, must be injurious to the interests of the Catholics of Ireland."

The Chairman opened the proceedings by lamenting the conduct of the seceders, and condemning the vetoistical tendency of the petition which emanated from them. He expressed a hope that they would see the error of their ways, and that the division among the Catholics being healed, all would once more unite their efforts in the cause. He also recommended immediate endeavours to conciliate the Protestants.

MR. O'CONNELL said that he was prepared to do every thing for conciliation, except surrendering the venerable religion of his fathers and of his country.

It was not his wish to attack the private feelings of the seceders, nor his desire to say anything of them as individuals. But he would denounce them as a body, and would prove them the enemies of their roligion, their country, and their God!

He then read several resolutions of the Catholic Board, and of various aggregate Catholic meetings, at which the Earl of Fingal and several others of the "seceders" had presided and attended-resolutions strongly declaring their hostility to the

measure of the veto. He drew attention to one in particular, noved by Lord Killeen, and seconded by Lord Trimleston (then Mr. Barnewall), which declared that they could not offer, in sincerity, any species whatsoever of "security," nor admit any arangement or interference of the crown in matters touching their religion, such interference being, in their opinions, only an exchange of one species of servitude for another.

Yet (said he), these noble lords now tender the veto to the legislature !

What is the meaning or interpretation to be put upon this resolution, other than that given by the plain and obvious signification of the words? Were these noble lords then sincere, or are they sincere now? Do they mean to gladden the hearts of our enemies and persecutors, by fostering, in their shameful inconsistency, the belief that there is mental reservation in the minds of Catholics!

So far as to the people-but how do they stand with regard to the prelates?

The prelates have declared, that any interference of the Crown must injure, and might subvert their religion. This is their solemn and emphatic declaration. And now the seceders presume to assert that our venerated prelates are insincere! and that, in the name of the HOLY GHOST, they have published ▲ FALSEHOOD to the world!!!

I restrain my feelings, my natural feelings at this most daring presumption of theirs, and I limit myself to the tame and measured phrase that they, these seceders, are thus clearly acting inconsistently with the declaration of the hierarchy, and what is of infinitely less importance, with their own conduct!

I oppose the measures of the seceders, because they are pregnant with the worst mischief. I would wish to hear any man explain their conduct, and justify, if it can be justified, the disgraceful and slavish sentiment which they have avowed.

The speaker then proceeded to comment, in considerable detail, upon all the circum stances connected with the getting up of the petition of the seceding party, and upon various other matters having relation to the subject of his preceding observations.

Before concluding, he further took occasion to withdraw, with many terms of respect and compliment, all the expressions which had fallen from him at a former meeting, with reference to the Right Rev. Dr. Milner, declaring that he had since learned that his lordship was steadily adverse to the veto, and had lately opposed it at the Court of Rome, with: all his well-known energy and ability.

The year 1816 ciosed, without any formal condemnation of the veto by the head of the Catholic church, and indeed, with not a few indications of a disposition at the court of Rome, to treat the proposition with more tolerance than had been dreamed of. The friendship and support of England were then held to be matters of too great value not to have

every possible effort and sacrifice made to retain them. Like the high irregular waves of the sea, prevailing after the tempest has subsided, the surface of European society yet upheaved ominously and wildly upon every side, distracting the timid mind with a thousand fears and gloomy imaginings, and impelling it to any expedient that gave a chance of tem. porary safety.

At home, the voice of Ireland had, indeed, spoken out by the mouths of the majority of her hierarchy, and the entire of the second order of clergy, with the unanimous concurrence of the people. So far the question might have been considered closed and deter-, mined. But the resolves of a nation, ruled and legislated for by strangers, have their strength and effect only in the momentary strength and concentration of the popular mind and any of the thousand influences that can be brought to bear on the latter for the pur pose of division and distraction, will, if successful, neutralize and destroy the value of what has been previously accomplished.

And there were sadly depressing causes at work in Ireland! The miserable policy of England (policy, alas! little departed from to this present hour) had long before established the conviction that any concession, any grace from her, was only to be won under the pressure of adverse circumstances. Hope of any spontaneons justice, or free-will "benevolence" on her part, there was none. The vicissitudes of the sanguinary war, which had been for so many years waging, appeared to offer the only substantial chance for a real alleviation of Irish miseries, a real attention to Irish claims. So long, then, as war existed, so long there appeared some chance for Ireland.

The Irish were not to blame for this state of things. It was not their fault that the interests and mutual feelings of two islands, neighbouring each other, forming parts of the same empire, and apparently designed by nature to be in friendly alliance, were in antagonism. Supplications without number, couched in the most pacific, most calmly reasoning, most conciliatory language, had gone forth from them, to the controllers of their destinies in England. The answers had been in insulting words of refusal, and acts of flagitious tyranny. Little wonder then, that England's difficulties should have been looked to with a gloomy hope.

But the Irish looked for nothing more than the inevitable concessions of just claims by England in her difficulty. In the sound heart of the nation there was no desire for French alliance. France, still reeking with the filthy mire of her infidelity, and darkly crimsoned with the stale and unexpiated blood of her revolutionary massacres, was not the companion to whom enfranchised Ireland would have held out the hand. Religion and morality -the only sure groundwork for social order and national prosperity- must have suffered from the connexion and therefore, Ireland would have none of it-utterly abhorred it even in idea!

Where the Catholic party hoped, the Orange party feared and trembled. They were, of course, equally aware of the unfailing coincidence of English difficulty and concession, and had alternated between extravagant joy and extravagant trepidation, according as the arms of the allies, or those of the French emperor, had prospered in the progress of the struggle. Their exultation at Napoleon's fall, in 1814, had been violent, but speedily dashed and reversed by his sudden astounding recovery of his throne and power, in the beginning of the succeeding year. Where they exulted, the Catholics grieved; where they desponded the Catholics began to hope.

At length the final reversal came to the hopes of the Catholics, that England might be compelled by disaster at length to listen to the voice of justice, and concede their rights. Waterloo was fought, Napoleon a prisoner, France subdued, and the alliance most blasphemously styled "Holy !" was let loose upon civilization, and mankind's rights, to work its devilish will. England was in her palmiest hour of triumph, and, as a necessary consequence, her heart was harder than ever towards poor Ireland.

The delight and triumph of the Irish Orangemen may be imagined, bat could scarcely De described in words. All danger seemed over-all hope, all chance shut to the Catholics. Toryism-cruel, strong-hearted, insolent Toryism, was rampant, not only in those countries, tut all over prostrate Europe. Their ascendancy they believed to have got a new lease

a lease most likely for another century-full licence to plunder, oppress and trample upon their unhappy fellow-Christians, and fellow-countrymen.

As their scale went up, that of the Catholics, of course, went down-down to the very ground. Spirit, hope, life-all seemed quenched-gone out for ever among the so lately well organised and energetic Catholic body.

Mr. O'Connell always spoke of this period as one of the most trying of his eventful life' By no kind of means, by nó manner of exertion, and he did look about for means, and did use a thousand exertions, could he arouse the Catholics to action, or even to a defensive position. For more than two years a moral lethargy, a faint-hearted and hopeless apathy hung over the country, and, with the exception of himself, scarce any one was in the field for Ireland.

To such an extent did this helplessness and inactivity prevail, that even the rent of the rooms in Capel-street, tenanted by the Catholics for the purres of their meetings, was unpaid, until Mr. O'Connell put his hand in his own pocket for the purpose. Resigning them as too expensive, he took smaller rooms in Crow-street, and for a long time discharged all expenses connected with them, and with all that remained of the "working" of the Catholic cause.

During this period of depression, had the fell designs of the British minister against the independence of the Catholic church in Ireland, boen actively pushed, there is much reason to believe they would have been successful. But where human help failed, Divine Providence interposed to save us. In the high flushed pride of her extraordinary successes England, as it were, forgot Ireland, and the schemes for corrupting, the Irish mind and heart, which had seemed so important, while a chance remained of foreign interference. Or, if she remembered these matters, the idea appeared ridiculous of going to any trouble to delude and seduce a people absolutely, and as she thought hopelessly and irremediably

beneath her feet.

The "veto" was therefore abandoned-abandoned at the moment when the chances of forcing it on Ireland were strongest-abandoned when the Catholicism for which our fathers suffered and died, seemed vast human help, and "the gates of hell" for a moment seemed about to "prevail."

Why should we then despond in this our present crisis of Catholicism?

We have not alluded to Mr. O'Connell's professional career as yet 'n this volume, as no reports, except of the most meagre and scanty description, are to be found of his bar speeches, during the interval it embraces. His advance in the profession was great, and his income, term after term, and circuit after circuit, greatly increasing, with a rapidity entirely unprecedented. Unfortunately, however, for this work, the reports of many and many a powerful law argument, and many an effective address to juries, are so meagre and imperfect, that it would be only a waste of the reader's time to give them in the present collection. Such of his forensic efforts, however, as have been recorded with any appearance of accuracy or due care, will, as heretofore, be found in our pages.

COLLISION WITH THE VETOISTS.

In January, 1817, Mr. O'Connell gave every assistance in his power to an abortive attempt made in Dublin to get up a society of "Friends of Reform in Parliament." It was composed of Protestants and Catholics, and, though its numbers were very limited, and its duration did not extend beyond a few meetings and dinners, it was so far valuable as being the first occasion since the Union, when Irishmen of different creeds had associated en something like terms of equality in one body.

Early in February occurred a collision with the vetoists, or "seceders. "Profiting by the genera, apathy we have mentioned as prevailing in the popular mind, this miserable little