THE VETO DISCUSSED UPON ITS TRUE PRINCIPLE; THE ARGUMENTS ADVANCED BY LORD GRENVILLE REFUTED ; AND THE CONDUCT OF THE \ IRISH CATHOLIC BISHOPS IN REJECTING THE VETO COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED. IN A SERIES OF LETTERS. BY FELIX MCCARTHY. DEDICATED, BY PERMISSION, TO THE MOST NOBLE THE MARQUIS OF DOWNSHIRE, " Licet omnibus licet etiam mihi, dignitatem palrice tueri; Potestas modo *' veniendi in publicum sit, dicendi periculum non recuso" Cicero, Phi Hi pic 1st. " It is the right of every man, and it is also mine, to endeavour to snp- *' port and vindicate the honour and dignity of his Country ; and while I " have the power of appearing before the public, / decline not the " DANGER OF DELIVERING MY SENTIMENTS BOLDLY AND OPENLY." LONDON : PRINTED FOR BUDD, BOOKSELLER, PALL-MALL; AND TO BE HAD OF ALL BOOKSELLERS. 1810. (Price 3s, Qd.) BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. JV". Mitchell, Prh'Ur, ^ERRATA. Title. The motto, after Licet omnibus inseri a comma. Page vi, Note,yor Magregor, read Macgregor. * Page vi, Note, for Ghost of Sandys, read Ghost of Sandy. Page vii, Fourth paragraph, /or Her triumphs over Lord Castle- reagh the increase, read Her triumphs over Lord Castlereagh evince the one, whilst the increase, &c. Page viii, Third paragraph, for by his ignominious, read in his ig- nominious. Page viii, Last line butone,yor instantus, read msta.nt\s. Page xiii, Ninth line, for Lez Majeste, read Lsze Majeste. Page xiii. Eleventh line, read This is a sad and deplorable state of things. Insulated as we are, (with all Europe in hostility against us) to shut the door of perfect conciliation against so large a portion of our very limited population as the Cathohcs of Ireland, is downright insanity. Page 8, line 5, for Percolax, read Pervicax. Page 20, TweU'i'.i line,/or CathoHc Bishop, >-f<7(f Catholic Bishops. Page 26, Tenth l'ne,/er a slight review, read that a slight review. Page 26, Elevenil y.ne,for all the usurping, ?-^ao, read were not so. Page 70, line 'A, for their prejudices are not, read \X\^\t prejudices shall not be continually. Page 70, Note, line 12, for raised as the wall states, nrai raised as high as the wall plates. Page 74, line 25. for left prostrate, r^-arf laid prostrate. Page 75, Note, line 1,/or and behold the present, dele and. Page-81-^-At^the«Hd of the seeond paragraph oitght t© come this Page S8, line 2, for animated, r^aa' animates. Through the book./.-r Giflbrd. mii/Giffard. ^ •" 9 "^ '5 7 .DEDICATIOK TO THE MARQUIS OF DOWNSHIRE, MY LORP, Singe the days of Dfvden, dedi- cations have been generally, and it is to be feared, with too naucb justice^ suspected to proceed from interested^raotives; and amid the various modes of applying the miction of flattery;, the bold and the rough style has been frequently employed in- stead of the fawning and gratulatory. But in ac- knowledging the high honour your Lordship has done me by patronizing my humble efforts to promote the common good of my country, I hope I shall not offend in either. In return for your condescension^ I will not insult you by a pom- pous enumeration of all your virtues and great qualities. I shall content myself with laying be- fore you a short narrative of facts, v/hich exhi- bits the truest model of the virtues and great qua- lities which are set before i/ou; and to which, from the specimen you have already given of vour du- posit ion, (all that can be expected at your age) a2 n IV DEDICATIOX. there is every reason to hope you will faithfully adhere. For this precious narrative (in v>'hich I alter not even a letter) I am indebted to as re- spectiible and honourable a Character (the per- sonal friend of the truly noble personage alluded to) as the County of Down or any other County in Ireland can boast. I shall only add, that with such a Model before you, no young Roman Patrician or British Nobleman has ever en- tered upon the career of life with more respqnsi- bility attached to him. That your Lordship will justify that responsibility, and increase your here- ditary claim, to the gratitude of your Country, and the respect of the \yorldj I entertain no doubt. " Earl Hillsborough, fir$t Marquis of Down- " shire, during the course of along life, w^as un- " remitting in bis exertions to promote the iii- '" terests of Ireland. " To him that Country is principally indebted *' for its Inland Navigation; and solely for that ^' Act of Parliament, called the Brown ^eal Act, *' obtained about the year 1766 ; and which has " been the chief cause of the Linen Manufacture '' rising to that unrivalled pitch of excellence it " has attained. To the blindness and prejudice '' of the Weavers, he had however, nearly fallen a " sacrifice, in the first moment ; for, whilst on a *' market-day at Lisburuj he was endeavouring DEDICATION. Y *' to point out the advantages that would result "' from it, he \v'ill you, to the utmost of your power, ~ " maintain the laws of the gospel, and the Pro- " test ant reformed religion established hy lav:f " And will vou preserve unto the bishops and " clergy of this realm, and to the churches com- " mitted to their charge, all such rigths and pri- . '' vileges as by law do, or shall appertain unto '* them, or any of them r" " To this division of the oath administered by the Archbishop, the King answers—? " All this I promise to do."' CORONATION OATH. XVU " Upon this clause^ which forms that branch of the engagement^ which has lately been supposed to have suggested important scruples, the lawyers and divines have been at work, and have twisted and explained it over and over, with all the technical subtlety of the one, and all the casuis- tical refinement of the other. For my own part> I am neither disposed nor qualified to involve myself in such endless and inextricable laby- rinths. His Majesty, any more than myself, cannot be supposed very conversant with all the windings and intricacies of forensic disputation : and an oath should be so framed as to be easily comprehended by the person, whoever he may be, to whom it is to be administered, and who must not be expected to consult professional opinions respecting the duties which it imposes on him. Speaking, therefore, on the same ground as any other man possessed of suflScient reason to judge of the obligations of an oath, in my ap- prehension the first and most material point to be considered is, whether this solemn agreement was meant to bind the King in his executive, or in his legislative capacity. If it be admitted, that it only binds him in his executive, then all argu- ments founded upon conscientious scruples fall to the ground ; and yet I am greatly deceived, if it be capable of any other explanation. For surely c XVIU CORONATION OATH. it will not be contended, that any parliament re- presenting the three estates of the kingdom, could act so preposterously as to make it a condition that previously to the King's being entitled to wear the crown, he should be compelled to swear against themselves. Many years have elapsed since it was thought necessary to stipulate for the due performance of the legislative functio*ns of the crown, and since the province of the other branches has been defined with more precision and accuracy than heretofore, and the principle having been fully established that the King can- not originate or alter an act of parliament, nor indeed constitutionally take any other part in the process but that of rejecting or giving it his con- sent, his coronation oath therefore can only re- gard his executive capacity. The peculiarity of the moment when this conscientious scruple burst forth, or has at least been suggested to the public, is far from being auspicious. There remains only one indulgence to be accorded to the Ro- man Catholics (those of Ireland particularly) and that can, less than any other, affect the safe- ty or stability of the established church ; and yet these qualms are now summoned sero sed serid to disappoint the hopes of an expectant people, %;j " to hold the word of promise to the ear, and break it to the sense." Where did they sleep CORONATION OATH. XIX when the government of Canada was regulated, and the people left in the unlimited ongngomcnt er, submitted to the discussion of a British Parliament) has been uni- formly treated in the Morning Chronicle, with a liberality that has disarmed prejudice on onehand^ ■while it has called forth the most generous ebulli- tions of gratitude, on the part of those honourable and virtuous characters, whose proscribed and unworthy coiulition you have advocated in a man- ner equally creditable to your own talents, and to the fair and just claims of your clients. That you have been successful to a great de^ grce is not to be denied. By those strenuous efforts which jou, and a few otber liberal conductors of the Press, made against the base and wicked cry of '" No Popery" fnav mugitus Idbyrintlii raised hj the most profligate poliiical adventurers that ever disgraced the page - of English hi story, and supported by th^-t vile pe- dis ; that hase prostitute vulgar herd, who, wor- shipping Mammon only, would forswear their Godj as they do their former principles—^or lucre^ the nation has been rescued from the stigma attempted to be imposed on it by his Ma- jesty's present advisers. Having expressed myself thus freely, may I hope that you will justify my opinion of your candor^ by allowing me to arraign yourself be- fore the Bar of the PuUic, through the mediurai of your own journal, for the harsh, violent y and hasty censure which you have this day pro- nounced upon the Catholic Prelacy of Ireland, When a nation has submitted for centuries to every pain and privation, from the pure and noble impulse of religion; when those whom poverty and persecution have assailed in vain ; who have resorted to forests and caverns to preserve unde- filed the worship of their God, according to their oxvn ritual, are criminated at such a moment as this, for resolving to adhere to those very princi- ples, and to keep their Church, for which so w.'M^y martyrs have bled, undefiled by any novel 6 interference,* I should. Sir, have expected to have read this accusation in some other Paper than the Morning Chronicle. How far Dit. Mil- 3VER mistook his instructions, or to what an ex- tent, those instructions went, I will not now dis- cuss ; but I will holdljj and ah^olutdi/ pledge my honor for that meek, virtuous, and forbearitig hodi/, the Catholic Prelacy of Ireland ; that, as they have hitherto been distinguished for the most unbounded sacrifices of every personal feeling, to the paramount sense of their duty, so will they be now found to have acted with consistency. No man can respect the character of Dr. Mil- ner more than I do. It would indeed argue an utter disregard of those attributes which tend to the amelioraiioa of society, not to respect his attainments. But, however much I may differ with you on the main * Vide Curry's Historical Memoirs of the Civil Wars in Ire- land, where will be found recorded, atrocities, even more horrid than those perpetrated by the vile myrmidons of the Corsican Tyrant, against the brave Spaniards, by an English Soldiery, under the orders of an EtigUsh Gniernment, against the Catholics of Ireland, whose Priests and Prelates suffered hardships scarcely to be credited, and who were obliged to dispossess the wild beasts of their recesses in woods and forests to practise their religion. — How much Englishmen of the pre- sent day nmst shudder at the recital of such horrors, it is unnc" cessarv to ds^-ell on. subject of my letter, I hope we shall agree in one point, viz. that Dr. Milner is not infallible. Is it not then. Sir, fair to presume, that there has been some mistake in this business ? And would it not have been worthy of that character for ho- nour and liberality, which you have maintained in the most trying times, to have ascertained this fact before you "fulminated your anathema" against a dignitied and long suffering class of your f el- luxv subjects, against whom the barbed arrows '' of the cowardly, the base, and mercenary hire- *' lings of the Press, have been recently pointed ?" What then are we to expect from them., when the half extinguished embers of their malice are fanned into flame, by those observations on which I most reluctantly animadvert ? Is it a crime in the Catholic Prelacy of Ireland, when tLe xlead of their Church is prostrated to the dust, by the Corsican Usurper, to display those virtues which they have ever exhibited, and which characterize the primitive Martyrs of that church ? Were I to look back to the pages of the JMorn- ing Chronicle, in what glowing terms should I find the degradation of the Pope's authority de- precated ? What then has changed the nature of the question ? Caprice, and Caprice alone, I hope, Mr. Editor, for 1 wish not to impute a worse motive. Keverenc ing- that venerable body as I do, I V 8 feel jirm in my faith, and hold in the asievtion that as they arc not tempted by those mercenary motives which perhaps may influence another Episcopacy, I ma}' saj of them in the language of Tacitus, " Opum contemptor, recti percolax, *' consta?is adversiis metus/' hence it is impossi- ble they should have receded from a principle once laid down. Could they at any time have reconciled their mitids to recantation, they might ixiear their lawn sleeves, occupy the soft cushions in the House of Lords, and enjoy the produce- of their benefices undisturbed at all times^ except when the Minister might happen to be hard run for a vote. I will then, for the present, take my leave of you, in the full confidence .that those grave and virtuous characters, whose advocate ^'ou have so long been, will come forward, and with that dig- nity which has ever distinguished them, vindicate themselves. The religion of an O' Carrol, of a Blake, of an O'Donnel, and of all those glorious heroes who are now asserting the pride of man in Spain, and in the most effectual manner fighting the battles, and promoting the commercial interests of Eng- land, ought not to be treated with disrespect; and though its professors in Irehmd are ground to dust, and subjected to every species of exaction and servitude, let us indulge the pleasing, pa- triotic hope,, that a wiser and more liberal policy 9 will influence his ?vlajestj's Ministers^ who in- deed have the grace to disavozv the principles which introduced them into office. Never since that memorable sera did those Mi- nisters find any thing like a vindication of their illiberal principles until your article appeared. Now indeed may they rejoice and sing to triumphc. However^ Sir, I will not press my complaint fur- ther, but act upon the good principle, that old friends should not quarrel upon slight grounds. I therefore shall look forward to a satisfactory ex- planation of this apparent difference between the Catholic Prelates of Ireland and their best friends, among whom I hope ever to recognize the Editor of the Morning Chronicle. PUBLICOLA. Saturday, October 15th, 180S. %* The Editor is sensible of the kindness of Pdblicola in the open^, manly, and candid re- monstrance which he has made on the Article that appeared in this paper of Friday last. He presumes to think, however, that it does not merit the severity of reprehension it has met with from him. The declaration of the Synod of Ro- man Catholic Prelates of Ireland, so totally at va- riance with the authority given by some person, ia their namC;, to the Duke of Norfolk and Mr, so Grattan, requires to be explainedyvfor the lidnoar of that venerable bodj^ whose unblemished truth, consistency and forbearance have been at all times so creditable to the doctrines they profess. The integrity of these distinguished Senators is also involved in the mystery of this transaction. And surely, when the Editor observed in private society, the deep impression which the apparent contradiction has made on the minds of the best and most enlightened men in this kingdom, it was a fit topic to submit to public discussion for the purpose of having it cleared up. He will not yield to the most zealous devotee to papacy, in ardent wishes for the deliverance of that commu- nity from all the restraints upon conscience, •which still remain on our books, and which are a reproach and an injury to the realm ; and he will never cease to exert his faculties and opportuni- ties in their cause, but he cannot shut his eyes to i;vhat appears to be disingenuous ; and he will not be silent v>'hcn he thinks the public entitled to explanation. A Ministerial paper of last night, takes up the declaration of the Prelates, as a justification of the refusal on the part of Government to accede to their claims. Now this we utterly deny. Grant that the Declaration was impolitic, and that, un- accompanied by any explanation, it was inde- corous, still that which is in itself right and just 11 for the Government to do, could not be influ- enced by a misunderstanding of this sort. We shall presume to think the Declaration in- discreet, and we speak of it the more freely, be- cause it is not a point of doctrinal faith, involv- ing conscientious scruples, upon svhich it would have been easy to have forgiven any degree of warmth and pertinacity in maintaining it ; but merely a subordinate question of Church Govern- ment, which in fact, is altogether foreign to the Roman Catholic lidigioii. The Roman Catho- lic Bishops must be aware that this very question has been the subject of much discussion between the Gaiiican Church and the Papal See ; and that the Kings of France have been constantly in the practice of nominating all the l>i hops within their dominions. Do the Catholic Bishops of Ireland mean to pass a censure of heterodoxy upon the Gaiiican Church ? do they mean to say, that they would shed the last drop of their blood rather than agree to the Kings of England exer^ cising, mider modifications, a right which the Kings of France have been in the habit of exer- cising xiinwut any modification ? For, let it be observed, that it was not proposed to give his majesty a positive right of appointing the Roman Catholic Bishops in Ireland, but merely a power of imposing a veto upon the election of what he might consider an improper person. They will^ 12 perhaps^ plead that the Kings of France were Catholic, whereas the King of England is an j4c-Catholic Sovereign. But every one knows that it was not as Roman Catholics, but as tem- poral Princes that the Sovereigns of France ex- ercised this right, and the respectable members of the Catholic Sjnod of Ireland have surel}' too much sense to expect the King of England to adopt their religious faith, for the sake of-fc^uir- ing a right to appoint their Bishops. 13 MORNING CHRONICLE, SUh October 1808 To the Editor of the Morning Chronicle. You have, I acknowledge, acquitted joiirscif in a manner creditable to me, and honourable to your own feelings, in the answer which vou have this day made to my observations, on what appeared to me an extraordinary article in The Morning Chronicle, of Friday last, respecting the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, whose conduct you arraigned with a severity irreconcilable with the language uniformly held towards them in that paper. Those who are acquainted with the state of the Press, when you first entered upon your Edi- torial duties, must be glad to see the principles, which then marked the conduct of its Conduct- ors, thus fairly and liberally revived. At the period 1 allude to, which was one of the most critical in the History of England — towards the conclusion of the American War ; and when " a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull alto- gether," was the order of the day, a newspaper was considered as an Arena, in w hich the lite- rary Champions of both parties were allowed to 14 measure weapons against each oilier, even in those points most tinged with piirtj partiality ; since that time^, the Press has fallen into such hands, as have found its abuse the best source of their fortune, and with \ery few exceptions, has been devoted to private, instead of public inte- rest — hence does it prove in the hands of the base, and corrupt, such a pernicious engine of public mischief. Among those who have adopted your liberal plan, there is one conspicuous indi- vidual, who has had the sagacity of perceiving the henefit of conducting a paper on the princi- ples I have stated. I need scarcely mention Mr. Cobbett. He has profited of the secret, and made his Political Register a field of combat for all parties; thus prudently extending the circle of his cor- respondence, and saving himself a great deal of time and trouble, in fact-tasking those to con- tribute to his paper, who were occasionally the objects of his attacks, which have, it must be confessed, been freely made upon all parties, and all sorts of persons, acting perhaps upon the old principle Tros Tyriusve milii nullo discri- mine agetur. You will, I hope, pardon these preliminary observations, of which your own mind will admit the justice, but in return for the freedom I take ia making thera, I shall occupy but briefly your 15 time, on which I have very reluctantly intruded. I have read your reply with the attention due to the character of the paper under your controul, and to those just and candid principles on which you have always acted, towards the most aggrieved class of his majesty's subjects — The Catholics of Ireland. I must then in all candour attack your strong hold, which though it may not, like the walls of Jericho, fall down at the sound of my feeble voice, must surrender to the force of argument, and to the conviction which will flash on your own mind, as well as on the mind of every rational man, who examines the question as it really stands. You ask in a tone of confidence, which appears to be decisive on the subject, '' Do the Catholic *' Bishops of Ireland mean to pass a censure of " heterodoxy on the Gallican Church ; do they *' mean to say, that they -would shed the last drop *' of their hlood, ratlicr than agree to the King of " England exercising under modifications," — -a right which the Kings of France have been in the habit of exercising without any modifica- tion ? &c. Not having an opportunity of consult- ing the opinions of those venerable Prelates, any more than 1 had of ascertaining the fiature and extent of Doctor Milner's instructions, upon which, however, / happened^, to he strictly cor' red, for Dr. Milner has formally contradicted bis having given such instructions, though I 16 reasoned onlj from my knowledge of that con- duct, which lias iitiiformlv marked the Calho- lie Prelates of Irelaml, who have hy sacrifices not desirable to be exhibited on the canvass at this moment, preserved their Hierarchy whole and ENTIRE, while their English Brethren suf- fered it to be frittered av.ay, and to become a mere shadow — a name without a substance. Corpus sine pectorc, I cannot take upon me to state their opinions upon the question. But I will take the liberty of putting a question to you in return, the answer to which I shall be equally diffident in anticipating. Let me then, Sir, ask you, ivheiher or not the Cnbu^N already possesses sufficient iufinence to keep tliis goodlij Cosstitu- TioN on its equilibrium? I am old enough to recollect a celebrated reso- lution of the House of Commons, viz. that " The *' injluence of the Crown had increased, leas in- creasing, and ought to be diminished ;" and I re- collect that YOU at that period most strenuously employed your abilities in impressing upon the people of England the necessity of acting up to the spirit of that resolution ; but pcrliapa vou may be now of opinion that the Crown has not sufficient influence in Ireland, and therefore think it a wise and necessary measure to transfer the nomination of the Catholic Bi- shops from that authority, (the iiniti/ and in- tegrity of which they must alone acknowledge. 17 \vhile they continue to profess their religion) into the hands of a power^ which, in a spi- ritual sense, they can never recognize. Should this be your opinion, I must add, that the in- stance you adduce to illustrate your argument, and on which you seem to rely with so much confidence, will not bear you out. Let us look then at the misery inflicted upon France, and not only upon France, but upon the whole civilized, world, by the abuse of that power you quote. What, but the prostitution of that power, has cursed the world with a Bishop of Autun (with- out alluding to a thousand others, who owed their preferment to the ravenous cuyidity of some strum- 2iet c^f fashion, or the corruption and profiigaci/ of some mercenary Minister) ? What, but the shame- ful and unprincipled distribution of Ecclesiastical patronage, of which Talleyrand Perigord, is such a signal instance, tended to bring the Galiican Church into disrepute, and the Christian Reli- gion itself into such disgrace, that the followers of the Court were at last ashamed to profess it, and openly boasted of Atheism ?* Atheists they * " Si vous voulez une Revolution, ilfaiit commencer par de- c-'\tholiser la France," was the sentiment of Mirabeau, and the principle to which He, Condorctt, and their criminal confe = derates, chiefly directed their attention. How well they snc- ceeJed, and what were the jirccious effects of their pious la- bours to bring; the Catholic church into disgrace it is unneces- BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HILL, MASS. 18 might have been in their professions, but much worse than Atheists has Europe found them in their practices; witness the horrible progress of their own revolution, and their still more flagi- tious tjranny in Portugal and Spain. Are jou then. Sir, of opinion, that it would argue sound discretion in the Catholic Prelacy of Ireland, who seek no benefit by the change, to remove that Episcopal nomination, sanctioned by ages, and from which no sort of danger had arisen, nor from the legitimate Head of their own Church, surely can any be apprehended at this moment, plundered and persecuted as he is, sary to state. Do those redoubted heroes who t\ow wish to ke«p the Professors of the Catholic Religion in disgrace?, look forward to a similar result of their Anti-Catholic and Revolu- tionary system ? Does the Conclave alluded to, with that MIGHTY WARRIOR the DuJce of Cumberland at their head, and every dirty interested scoundrel in the kingdom at their tail, imagine the high-minded Catholic nobility and gentry of Ireland will for ever submit to their vulgar and vile yoke ? Forbid it pride and honour; forbid it national safety j and still, O still, forbid it genuine loyalty to the Sovereign, so woefully misled by such unworthy counsellors, who seek nothing but the gratitication of their own individual corrupt interests. But above all, defend us, O God ! from the horrors of that revolution, which those pseudo loyalists affect to deprecate, but has proved to them a fertile source of honors and fortune, while it has involved almost every throne and state in Europe in ruin, and deluged the world in blood. May the spirit of national con- cord, the general feeling of the av/ful aspect of the times, and the wisdom of parliament, defeat their pernicious system ! ! ! 19 for liis attachment to the Head of the Church of England ?* To the King as their Sovereign, they are ready to yield. Among all his subjects it has been repeatedly acknowledged, that none surpass them in zeal and devotion to his person ai;d government. You perhaps will answer rae, as many others have done, that the Bishops possess political as well as spi- ritual power ; but giving this answer its full force, permit me to ask you, if the Portlands, the Cas- llereaghs, the Haivkesburt/s, the Forsters, and the Beresfords, are likelv to make a better use of that influence than the Choiseuls, the Vergennes, the Breteiiils, and those other profligate Minis- ters, whose corrupt and base practices brought the Monarchy of France to ruin, and the Mo- narch to the scaffold! From EVILS such as these — from scenes so DREADFUL, and heart-ken DING, may God pre- serve the Monarchy of England! ! ! Really Mr. Editor, these subjects generate such gloomy ideas, that I can scarcely bring my mind to discuss them. In a few words then, my fervent wish and most earnest hope is, that those same Irish Bishops may be allowed to follow their ancient modes, * Vide Buonaparte's Prodamatipn, and his reasops for de- posing the Pope. 20 wliiclihave never yet produced the smallest harm either to Church or State, and to leave that virtuous incorrupt Government tinder which they exist, (for, in truth, they have hut a hare exist- ence) to the full enjoyment of all their other official influence, which I am disposed to think, yoxj will consider to he fully adequate to their merits. Should the Members of that Government ever renounce those pernicious and unconstitutional principles, on which they came into office, I have no objection that the Catholic Bishop should extend the rites of the Church towards them and give them absolution as repentatit sinners* PUBLICOLA. * It is to be feared that the absolution of such characters must run in the words of Erasmus, to the hypocritical sinner : " Absolvo te ab omnibus benefactis quorum nulla in te invenio talemque dimitto qualem accept. n SUNQAY REVIEW, 18th Feb. 1810. THE PROPOSED CATHOLIC VETOo " Veritas a quocumque dicitur a Deo est," ^' Truth, by Avhomsoever spoken, comes from God." To the Editor of the Sunday Review. Sir, The unexpected revival of this question, which I was induced to hope had received its final quietus, when it was so amply discussed in the horning Chronicle last October twelve- monthj induces me to claim that indulgence which you so liberally grant to all fair and can- did literary discussion. I confess. Sir, I feel no little surprize at the ap- pearance of the new champion, who at present has come forward to enforce the infamous Veto, the adoption of which, he states, as a preliminary measure to his supporting the just claims of the Catholic Laity to their civil rights. Formidable as such an adversary must be at all times, yet iwssf that ^je has received the honnef from the 22 University of Oxp'ord, he must be doubly so, since whatever opinion he pronounces may be regarded as pronounced ex Cathedra* To Lord Grenville's talents and knowledge I am as ready as yourself to pay all due deference^ believing him to be, what Mr. Burke once de- scribed hinij " a vigorous and enlightened States- " man." But I hope to shew, in this short essay, that it is possible even for Lord Grenville to he 'ivrong; and (to borrow a phrase from the pro- fession to which he was originally bred ) that in his letter on this subject he has travelled out of the Record. His Lordship, speaking of the mea- sures necessary to the accomplishment of this ob- ject, says, *' Among these measures I pointed out *' the proposal of vesting in the crown an cffcc- '■^ In order to avoid misrepresentation, I beg distinctly to state, that few persons more sincerely rejoice in Lord Gren- ville's snccess on this occasion than I do. I think the Univer- sity of Oxford, in electing his Lordship as Chancellor, has set a glorious example of liberality and independence ; and by ex- hibiting, in broad day-light, certain characters, who, : ke ovch tind bats, skulk in the dark, has established a fair claim to the respect and gratitude of the ^^•hcle empire. We understand that an ingeni u; Caricaturist is about en- tertaining the Public with a striking likeness of the Lord Chan- cellor, whose countenance so exactly resembles the Bird of jrjsdom, and a lew of his most zealous supporters — of course CiUTRCu AHD KiNGj and No PoperY; will be the label. 23 '■ tual negative on the appointment of jour " Bishops. That suggestion had previously been " brought forward in the House of Commons, " to meet the just expectations^ not of any bigot- " ed or interested champions of intolerance, but *' men of the purest intentions and most enlight- " ened judgment. Men, willing to do all justice " to the loyalty of your present Bishops, yet not '' unreasonably alarmed at the possibility hi) vjhich ''functions of such extensive influence might here- " after he connected zdth a foreign iiitej^est, hos~ " tile to the tranquillity of your country. — A " danger recently very much increased by the *'' captivity and deposition of the Head of vour " Church, by the seizure of his dominions, and *' by the declared intention of that hostile govern- " ment to assume, in future, the exclusive no- " mination of his successors."* Thus o-round- ing the introduction of this novel and unheard- of Veto on the present unhappy condition of the Head of the Church, from which he infers tho^e * This idea was, for \.\\q first time, started by Mr. Grattan i:i the House of Commons, and hy the Duke of Norfolk in the House of Lords, on the last discussion of the subject. It was this unauthorized suggestion tliat led to the unanimous resolu- tion of the Bishops, and the controversy in the Morning Chro- nicle, which, according to all appearance, disposed of the Vsro lor ever. 24 ' future dangers to the tranquillity of the coun- try. Now^ Sir^ I appeal to your own understand- ing, as well as to that of every liberal man at all acquainted with Ecclesiastical Historj-j whether this is not a most unjust^ unfair, and uncandid conclusion ? Had I been told that this Noble Lord, who possesses so clear, so accurate, and discriminating an intellect, had formed such a conclusion, I should not have believed it, if I had not such an authentic document as his own letter before me. But with this document I can only observe, with sorrow and humiliation, on the peculiarly hard fate of my Catholic countrymen^ who seem, on all occasions, to be made the ludi- hrium of every class of politicians, whether friends or foes. Well might a French author say, that " of all '' people the Catholics of Ireland were the most ''hardly dealt with; — that the English, who ^' profess so much good faith in all their Trea- '' ties, have never observed one with them from " the capitulation of Limerick down to the mc- '' morable sera of the Union, when Lord Corn- *' wallis issued an official proclamation, promis- " ing, in the event of their concurring in thai " measure, that their civil rights should be re- '' stored." I appeal to yourself, Mr. Editor, for the truth of this statement, thosjgh made for obvious pur- p^^^es by an enemy. Lord Cornwallisj unquestionably, held out complete and unconditional emancipation to theCa- tholirs, as the reward of their acquiescence in the Union. And we find, upon Mr. Pitt's resigna- tion, this Treaty acknowledged and ratified in the following forcible expressions: — '"Should '^ the Catholics be sensible of the benefits they *' possess, by having so many characters of cmi- ^' nence, (viz. Pitt and Co.) pledged NOT TO '' EMBARK IN TilE SERVICE OF GO- " YERNMENT, EXCEPT ON THE TERMS '' OF CATHOLIC PRIVILEGES BEING "OBTAINED; it is to be hoped, that on ba- *"' lancing the advantages and disadvantages of **" their situation, they would prefer a quiet and ' peaceable demeanour to any line of conduct of *''■ an opposite description." — ( Vide Lord Coru- wallis's Address, or rather Froclamaiion, to the Catholics of Ireland.) Lord Grenville was at that time a leading Member of the Administration, and, of coarse, a party to this engagement:- — but he has since accepted ofHce, along with other of the contract- ing parties, without insisting upon this as a jrre- limmarij measure. I appeal with confidence, to ihat Noble Lord's sandor, if, at that period, it D 26 Iiad ever occurred to his mind, or that of any of his seceding colleagues, to trmnuiel the CathoUc Prelacy of Ireland ivitli any such condition as this accursed Veto, ^vhich seems now to be thrown out, like the apple of discord^ as if v,e were never to be cordial!)/ united? But, Sir, to return to Lord Grenville's alarms as to the danger to the State from the Pope's pre- sent situation : I beg leave to inform his Lordship, a slight review of the history of the Catholic Church may satisfy him, that even all the usurping power of the person who now holds the Pope in captivity, can effect no essential change in its constitution. I can assure you. Sir, that no man ■well acquainted with that constitution, xdiich is ilie freest in the iscorld, can entertain this argument for a moment.— The Catholic Church has suifered all those persecutions foretold by its founder, and yet sustained its unitij unbroken, under greater tyrants than even Bonaparte. But without enter- ing into the history of the cruelties inflicted on the primitive Christians by the Roman Emperors, suffice it, that when, by art and intrigue, and those violent contentions to which human infir- mity will always give rise, the Pastors of that Church appeared to be most depressed, they arose with renovated energy; and having approved themselves worthy to tread in the steps of HIM, 27 who declared, that "Ids kingdom ivas not of this '* xcorld," they have left a solemn lesson to those who may succeed them. Of this description I know not, in the history of Europe, any nation that has suffered in the same degree with the Catholics of Ireland. Surely, then. Sir, it is too much to expect that they should he called upon now to violate their principle<>after having, with the most exemplary patience and fortitude, home up against the most rigorous per- secution for more than two centuries^ during which they have literally verified the observations of the learned Thuanus, viz. "^ That fire and " sword, exile and proscription, rather irritate " than heal the distemper which has its place "' in the mind. These only affect the body ; but " judicious and edifying doctrine, gently in- *' stilled, enters into the heart. Other things are *' i-es-ulated at the discretion of the civil Maoris- ** trate, and consccnicntlvf of the Sovereign. Reli- " gion alone is not subject to command, but is " infused iiiio well prepared minds, from a prc- *' conceived opinion of the truth with the con- ^' currencc of divine grace. — Tortures have no *' influence on her. In fact, they rather tend t<» *' make men obstinate, than to subdue or pcr- ^' suade them. What the Stoicks boasted with *' so much parade of their wisdom, applies witji 2S *'■ far more justice to reliction. AfFiictioii and '" pain have no power over the religious. All " misfortunes vanish before the virtuous rosolu- " tion wliicli that preconceived opinion inspires. " Confiding in the support of God's grace, the '' religious man is content to suffer, and the ills, •■^ to which mortality is liable, lie takes to himself *' NPvithout compUint. The best elucidation of those principles will be found in the conduct of the Catholic Clergy of Ireland, which I slightly glanced at, when this question was first mooted in the Morning; Chro- vide, in the month of October, ISOS. Is it, then, to be tolerated, that after having resisted " The emaciating cruelly of barbarous hrd's," during the long period already stated^ the Catholic Church of Iheland shall dis- grace ITS CHARACTER AND BECOME SCHISMATIC, in order to give half-a-dozen Peers the cliance of cin elective seat in the House of Lords, and a fcvv Gcntlcnicn an o; portunity of heing returned to the House of Commons. Lord Gienville seems apprehensive that the captivity of the Pope, and the declared hostility of Bonaparte, might bring about a change in tlie constitution of the Catholic Church of Ire- ][\i]d, injurious in its consequence to the State. Those fears remind me of an old observation. 29 Aiz. " Uhi Papa Ibi JRoma.'"^ Now, Sir/thc pag^ of liistory tells us, that this is the most absurd of all fancies, as the constitution of the Church was never influenced by such accidental circumstan- ces. We have seen two Popes at one tireie with- out at all influencing that f Constitution; and should Bonaparte carry liis vengeance so far as to treat Ihe Pope as he has done Toussaint and the Duke of Enghien, that cannot influence the doctrine and discipline of ihe Catholic Church, which admits of no accommodation to time or cir- cumstances, much less to the political pnrposes^of Statesmen. The Catholic Bishops of Ireland^ {consistent in all times) fullif and ea-jV/a/Z^/ promulgated those truths at their Synod in Dublin, J which has * The Writer observes, with the greatest satisfaction, that in the interval between the writing and publishing this Letter, the Catholic Committee in Dublin have, in a manner that re- jects immortal honour on them, rejected this Veto.— Remote from all communication, the Writer (both on the former oc- casion already alluded to, as well as on the present) consulted only his own judgment, wliich, he is happy to find confirmed by the unanimous sentiments of hi-s Catholic countrymen, as the annexed document so fully proves. Indeed, without run- ning into downright schism at once, the decision could not be otherwise. It may appear a smooth and easy course in the opinion of Lord Grenville to grant the control of the Veto to llie King, but there is still a much smoother, shorter, and f MachivaL X Voltaire says three. 30 drawn from the Noble Lord the following casti- gating reflections: — -" I learnt, however, with easier course to reconcile all differences on this subject, viz. to acknowledge the King at once Heao of the Catholic, AS HE IS OF THE Pkotestant Church. This will make .short work of it — and will put it out of the reach of the Eldons, the Redesdales, the Percevals, the Forslers, the Duigenans, (Oh nomen execfabUe!) et id genus omne, to abuse the confi- dence of their sovereign, and to erect fortunes on the degrada- tion of their Catholic countrymen. But this is a measure which will scarcely be adopted even by the Cisalpine Ciitb, and the protesting Catholics of England, with my friend Hakrv Cliffokd at their head. Extract. — At a meeting of the Catholics of the County of Donegal, held at X'etterkenny, on Thursday "the 25th day of January, 1810, Resolved.—" That it is with infinite surprize we observe the subject of the Veto again agitated in the public prints, which we conceived had been finally decided by our Bishops. After thelapse of so many years, during which our respected pre- lates conducted the spiritual affairs otour church with patience, under many trying circumstances, with zeal in the faithful dis- cbarge of their duty as clergymen, and with unimpeached loy- alty to his Majety's person and goveniment, we cannot admit any pretended necessity of safety in the state (in the event of our emancipation), should authorize the conveying a power, so vitally affecting the safety of the Catholic religion in this coun- try. If considered as a compromise, it would, in our humble apprehension, be most ungracious, and would brand, with irai- plied disaffection, a body of men, who for their learning, vir- tues, and sufferings, stand, perhaps, unparalleled in Europe." Sentiments re-echoed through the whole kingdom. SI " deep and heart-felt regret, the subsequent pro- *' ceedings ^vhich took ph^cc in Irehind in conse- " quence of tliis suggestion. To discuss the *' grounds of those proceedings would be foreign " from my present purpose. Their effect obvi- " ously must he, not only to revive expiring prc- " judices, but to clog with fresh embarrassment "every futiue consideration of any of the mea- '* sures connected with your petitions. To my- " self, unquestionably, the difficulty of originat- *' ing at this time any fresh discussion of those *' measures, does, in such circumstances, appear " almost impossible." It appears, then, from the dictum of the Noble Lord, that unless the Catholic Bishops retract their solemn act he will not present the Petitions of the Catholic Laitij. Now, Sir, give me leave to ask that Noble Lord, what necessary connex- ion exists between this exacted change in the an- cient sijstem of the Catholic Church, zvhich we have seen, during so many ages, and under such dreadful circumstances, preserving its unity, and the restoration of tiie Civil Rights of the Catholic Nobility and Gentry, for which the faith of Go- vernment has been so solemnly pledged ? Real- ly, Sir, as my friend Partridge says, this is a '^ non sequittir." Not one word relating to the affairs of the Church has been introduced in all the Pe^ 32 titicns presented on this subject to both Houses of Parliament. That some regulations relating to the state of the Catholic Clergy should follow a com.pliance with the prayer of those Petitions^ I think per- fectly right and natural ; but (hat 'Awy such iwc- xioiis stipulation should be tacked as a condition with that compliance, I consider as rank an act of injustice as any of those v/e so loudly and justly reprobate in Sonaparte; and which, I confidently hope, will be unanimously scouted by the Catholic Bisliops, whose virtue, fidelity, and enduring patience, have commanded the ad- miration of tiie Christian world. Surely, Sir, after having so long, and in so sig- nal a manner, withstood persecution in all its worst shapes, they will hardly be tempted to give in at the eleventh hour. The period of their complete emancipation is marked — that \vhich I have, in the following words, already indicated, in the dedication of the late Lord Petre's excel- lent and unanswerable tract, on this subject^ to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. " But the day when their sufferings shall cease " is not far distant: that day which (confound- " ing their enemies) will give your Royal High- " ncss your proper influence in the administration ** of that empire, over which^ in the due course 33 ^' of things, you will be called to rule.— To your *' Royal Highness's wisdom and avowed princi- ^' pies they look up with the fullest assurance of *' redress, and a restoration to the ranJi: of Sub' "jects and Gentlemen, in the land of their fa- " thers! PUBLICOLA; 26th January, 1810. E SI- SUNDAY REVJEWj MARCH 11, 1810. THE VETO— THE OBNOXIOUS VETO ! i I ASSURE vou, with great truth, Mr. Editor, that I never read this most hateful word without f?!iK)(ion, as it recalls to my mind how much it served as a /oc6i« in the mouths of the sanguinary revolutionists of France, to kindle the rage of that infuriated nation against one of the best monarchg tliat ever swajed a sceptre. I need scarcely name Louis XVI, or Louis Ic hon* who Iiad the hap- piness of his people so much at heart, that he was heard to say, '' Jils JMinider, Tiirgot, and he, zvcre " the onhj persons in the country who had am/ re- " gard for tJicrn ;" and v/hose mind was so en- tirely untaliiicd with any nations of exercising * Louis was a good, bat a weak Frince; his constant study -a-a^ tlie happiness of his people; and yielding to the spurious v'loctrines of the Economists and Enuplapcedists, he became a party to his own ruin. Turgot was a disciple of the Economists, which commenGed about 176O, and attained to great celebrity in 1 76s. Their object was foreseen at that early period by the Author of La Gazette Literaire de I'Europe, and openly de- nounced in L'Obsei\'ateur Anglais flu CorresponJance entre Milord All Eye, et Milord All Far; but Ixjuis, without guile, himself, could not be brought (o suspect it in others ; a scnU- ment that proi'ed futal to hini5Hr.:in before petitions icere presented, or Committees dared to meet, it must appear very extraordinary that any other person should ever have been thought of* * The writer was misinformed on (.his point, the Earl of Donoghmore, to whose spirited conduct and patriotic zeal hrs country is so much indebted, having since presented the peti- tion. But in every other respect, what relates to Lord Moira is correctly stated, and the writer hopes he will be pardoned for republishing the letter he wrote on the occasion of his Lord- ship's announcing his intention of proposing the measure of Catholic Emancipation in the Irish House of Lords, together with two or three others not immediately relative to the question of the Veto, but which he fee Is to be necessary for the purpose of she«'ing the People of England the absolute necessity of removing at once those vile restrictions upon Catholic courage' and loyalty. 45 It is still in our recollection under what cir- cumstances of intimidation that nobleman went to Ireland, and proposed this measure in his place, in the House of Lords, at a time when the murderous fury of the Patricidal faction was at its height; and Lord Clare threw out pretty broad hints here that his Lordship might repent of his rashness. Undeterred by such menaces, although his mansion-house was ransacked, or rather gut- ted* by the Government forces, and would have been levelled with the ground, if the artillery officer had not, much to his honour, refused to obey the orders he received, "His Lordship, with the true spirit of a Patriot, urged the necessity of embracing the Catholics within the pale of the Constitution, and I believe stood alone on the oc- casion. Should the hour of danger arrive, when the Mas- ter of Europe may attempt to make himself Jlfasfer of Ireland (for which his Majesty's Ministers are diligently preparing every facility), then will the * It will appear extraordinary, but so the fact is, that the Rebels, as they vcere called, were for many days, I believe about twenty, in possession of Lord Moira's house, wiLhoat doing the slightest injury in the world ; and what may appear incredible, that they never even touched the cellar ; but the instant the King's troops and the Loyal Yeomanrj' Corps en- tered it, they plundered it from top to bottom, tore the cellar doors open, and destroyed all they could not consume. 46 Talue of bis conduct be appreciated, and the in- fluence of his name be felt in rallying his Catho- lic countrymen around the standard of their So- vereign ; and surely it is not too much to say, in the animating words of the sublime poet— " Quo non prestantior alter. " -'Ere cierc viros Martemque accendere Cantu." PUBLICOLA. IMarcb 7, !810. 47 MISfcELLANEOUS LETTERS. MORNING CHRONICLE, Dec. 25, 1797. To the Marquis of Lansdowne. My Lord, In a great crisis great men are always looked up to by those inferior beings who are not capa- citated to vindicate their own rights. Of this class I confess myself, and therefore take the liberty of addressing you upon the most critical and eventful period that has ever occur- red in the History of England. The subject on which I would wish to fix your attention is one in which your personal interests so nearly coincide with those sentiments of ge- neral liberty which have characterized your whole political life, that I have only to fear ray appeal to the expanded principles of the Pa- triot Statesman may be narrowed into a mere regard to the particular and local concerns of the interested individual. But higher considerations than those which attach to any individual prompt me to address your Lordship. The present oppressed and horrible state of your Parent Country has been described in such 48 glowing colours bj the Earl of Moira as to leave jou no alternative between an utter dereliction both of your Duties and Rights (whtch, like al- legiance and protection, are reciprocal), and an immediate and active exertion of those faculties with which you are so eminently endowed, to- wards the salvation of Ireland. To attempt any rhetorical flourishes with the view of exciting your horror against the cruel, cowardUj, and despotic system now practised in that devoted land, or to create a more lively de- gree of indignation against the abandoned, ig noranf, and wicked junto, wider whose ill-omened auspices that system is attempted to be carried into effect, is as abhorrent from my mind as I am persuaded it is unnecessary to my purpose. The picture is too hideous for any but a cannibal to dwell on, and except to the .Man-eating Sa- vage, or the more detestable JSJan-slaying JMi- nister, by whose sanguinary orders such deeds are perpetrated, can only punish the most afflict- ing sensations. I shall therefore limit myself simply to the object of my address, which is to call you to the performance of your duties as a Peer of Ireland. Kow urgent, how impor- tunate these duties are, not only for the salvation of Ireland but of the whole British Empire, it needs not my feeble pen to describe, after the solemn and heart-rending statement so recently 49 brought forward by one of (he iftost exalted cha- racters that ever adorned, not only that Country but human rjature itself. So to speak of the Earl of Moira is but to re- echo the general voice of mankind, for, however various and adverse our opinions are of other men, he stands alone an unimpeaclied example of Beneficence, Patriotism, and Loyalty. This Nobleman has, my Lord, intimated his intention of agitating the present state of Ire- land in his place as a Peer of that coimtry ; and frOTii the complexion of affairs there is too much reason to fear that he will be as languidly sup- ported on that occasion as he has been here when endeavouring to meliorate the condition of his unjustly oppressed, incarcerated fellow creature. The voice of corruption will be raised against him. Interested, servile and unprincipled Beings, \vho have by the most profligate courses made their way to the Peerage, will range themselves in battle array, and contending for their ill-gotten places and pensions, bear down by the forc« of numbers the unanswerable argument of this en- lightened and Philanthropic Patriot. Should such a man, rhy Lord, be left alone in such a conflict ? A conflrict in which, as reason and justice can have ik> influence,- he' rausineces* BOSTON COLLEGE LIBKAHY CHESTNUT HILL, MAS8. so sarily be defeated^ Forbid it honour, forbid it virtue, and even forbid it National Pride. Man V, too many of the Peers of Ireland reside in this country, wholly neglecting their legisla- tive functions. But, my Lord, you^ whose poli- tical sagacity cannot be disputed even by that misguided and infatuated, I may also add, un- grateful Minister who, lamentdbile dictu, now hold the reins of Government, and who owes his po- litical existence chiefly to your ill placed patro- nage, must be well aware of th« storm which is brooding in a foreign hemisphere, and which ■without precautions timely, vigorous, and ^ectu- aU must eventually burst upon and carry cer- tain devastation through your native Land. In order to suppress tliose horrid scenes which :the noble Lord, whom I have already mentioned, (whose name cannot too often recur to the ad- piirers of valour, genius and virtue) hath so feel- ingly described, and to g;uard against those horrors fquos Dens avertat) with which the present sys- tem is so abundantly pregnant, it is, that I pre- iume to summon your Lordship to the discharge ofihe most sacred duty you have ever yet fulfilled —namely, that which devolves upon you at this important crisis as a peer of Ireland. : We live, my Lord, in a revolutionary period. • , ,>yhat may be the effect of the massacres and SI ©ppressions daily committed in tliaf iinliapp^ country no man can presume to calculate — There it may be truly said that " Each new " morn new ividoxvs howl, new orphans cry, new *' sorrows strike Heaven, on the face, that it re- -sounds as if it felt with Ireland, and yelled out "like syllaUe of dolour :" And, my Lord, 1 be- lieve the exDcrience of all history unequivocally proves that, on such occasions, *' To end one - doubt by death revives two greater in the heirs of "lifer At this rate Ireland bids fair to produce the richest crop, not only of doubt but disaffection, that was ever yet reaped by the despoiling hands of an improvident and merciless government, not even excepting that of Roberspierre. What then, ray Lord, becomes of your immense property ? What becomes of those Orders, for the preser- vation of which we have been plunged into this blessed crusade, which is likely to terminate in our utter annihilation as an Imperial People ! ! ! Notwithstanding ail the declamatory libels vo-- ciferated by Ministers, and their venal hirelings against tiie imputed rapacity of the French Go- vernment, yet it is an absolute truth that their conduct towards those very countries they con- quered by force of arms is lenity itself when com- pared with the present system in Ireland. — And *^ when lenity and gruclty play for a Kingdom it ^' will he nl%i;aijs found that the gentle gamester is '' the soonest winner." This then my Lordj is the moment to step forward and boldly assert your Country's rights, now so flagrantly outraged. If that ca- reer of cruelty and wickedness which theGovern- iisent of that country is now running can be at all checked, it is only by the presence and the most energetic opposition of those great names who derive an influence, not only from large property, but from the hereditary respect attached to their families. You, my Lord, stand amongst the foremost of the ancient nobles of that country, and besides this advantage you enjoy others which cannot fail to give effect to your exertions. The respect and influence which ever accompany splendid talents, profound knowledge, long experience, and those eminent stations you have filled in the service of your Sovereign. Ireland has hitherto been considered as too humble a scene for the display of those abilities which so particularly distinguish such numbers <0f her ungrateful sons. But this is not a moment for trifling.— Your stake in that Country is too great to be looked on with indifference. Should the property attached to the Earldom of Shel- BURNE be transferred by any public convulsion into other hands, I submit to your Lordship that 53 the Mauquisate of Lansdowne would be little more than a '' Feather in your Cap" you are, therefore bound as much by interest as by prin- ciple to take the most active part in the affairs of your afflicted Country at this awful and ominous crisis. The illustrious Nobleman to whom I have al- ready alluded;, has held out a laudable example to you and all the Peers of Ireland. Many of those, however, are neither connected with the Country by the ties of property, kindred or na- tional feelings; yet even to them the crisis so ra- pidly approaching is deeply interesting, in as ipuch as they wish to preserve those iitles for which they have bartered ihtiv proper tij and their consciences. But to you, my Lord, and to those other Noblemen, who possess immense Estates in that Country, the appeal comes with double force. — That your Lordship may feel the appeal and exert your acknowledged abilities in vindi- cation of" my poor Country;" that the voice of reason and justice may at length be heard, and the crying grievances of a miseraUe Nation" speedily redressed, is the earnest prayer of Your Lordship's Respectful servant, HIBERNUS/ tgndeu, Dec, 17, ifQ^, 54 SUNDAY REVIEW, 27th April, 1806. To the Catholics of Ireland, residing in and near the Metropolis* " Esse nonnullos quorum auctoiitas apud plebem plurimum *^ valeat, c^mprivati, plus possint, quam ipsi magistratus." LiSCUS AD CjESAUEM. The present crisis appeals with more force to the feelings of the Catholic Body of Ireland than any other period in our history since the com- mencement of their political thraldrom, and the infliction of the persecuting Statutes. The changes which have taken place in the Councils of iiheir Sovereign^ ofl'eiing^ as they do, the only hope of salvation to the empire at large, present to this class of subjects motives for congTatulation peculiar to them ^^ive?. Degraded, libelled , and most falsely represented as they hate been during the whole period of the Hanoverian succession, to his present Majesty alone- are they indebted for a relaxation of that cruel couc which recognized them as subjects/ only to expose them to persecution, 55 To his Majesty's clemency the Catholics of Ire- land feel and acknowledge obligations, the weight and importance of which can only be appreciated by generous minds, released from an ignominious servitude inflicted by the oppressive hand of power, which, in every stage and gradation of society, not only promoted but endeavoured to perpetuate the severest aggravation of their suf- ferings. Such, in a few words, has been the con- dition of the Irish Catholics, wofully despoiled and basely trampled upon, since the flagrant vio- lation of the capitulation of Limerick until the year 1778. Then the first liiik in the chain of their slavery sna^ t, and the clemency of their Sovereign, keeping pace with the progress of human improvement, released them from the galling severity of that pressure under which they had so long, so unjustifiably, but so pa- tiently suffered. Since that memorable and auspicious period, the penal code h-as, under various circumstances^ and from motives not now to be considered, di- mioished so much as scarce ^' to leave a wreck *' behijul" It is to remove that remaining stigma upon the assured loyalty of the Catholics of Ireland — to expose to the view of their Sovereign the secret recesses of their hearts, and to convince him, in the most unequivocal naanoer, of the sentiments of devotion which they entertain for his Person and Government, sentiments emanating as well from the precepts of their religious faith as from a principle of gratitude for those gracious and be- nign marks of the Royal Favour which they have experienced — that the Irish Catholics residing in and near this metropolis feel it their particular doty, at this awful crisis, to approach the Throne tv'ith an Address, expressive of their sentiments and hopes. When, in the unadulterated language of the heart, those genuine feelings of loyalty and pa- triotism with which they are animated are fairly stated, THEN will the Catholics of Ireland, with a manly and becoming confidence, have reason to expect, that as the glorious work of their de- liverance began with his Majesty's reign, they will, under the advice of those distinguished Characters he has lately called to his Councils, be enabled to hail him as a Father, dispensing, without distinction or preference, his paternal re- gard to them, as well as to the rest of his People; AND THEN may be called forth into action that enthusiastic energy which the times require, and which the Irish Catholics so ardently cherish in their breasts, but which, during the continuance of any one Statute of Catholic disqualification^ must he paralyzed ! ! ! 5T This is a state of things which ought not, cannot long endure. That illustrious Stateman, against whom the same unfortunate prejudices had long prevailed in the Royal Mind, as the Catholics are told, but, it is to be hoped, falsely told, prevail against the measure of their final and complete emancipation, has openly declared in the House of Commons, '' That if the affections *' of Ireland he properlt/ cultivated^ there is a '' fund of security in its population of irave men " that no Sovereign in the -ivorld possesses in any " country of the same number of acres " That great Statesman well knows and duly appreciates the Irish temper and disposition. — Perhaps the history of the world does not exhibit an instance of a people enduring, as the Irish have done, six hundred years of incessant tyranny (a tyranny so mean and vile as to aim at vitiating every tie of moral and social intercourse), yet still retaining all the original traits of their national character. Let us then justify the proud panegyric Mr. Fox has passed upon us; let us, at this great and AWFUL CRISIS, shew ourselves worthy the manlj character of our forefathers, and put to shame that fell race of tyrants and libellers, that have crimsoned Ireland ivith the hluod of its best and bravest sons. Let us at once boldly and gene- rously stand forward^ and give an example to all H 58 the rest of his Majestj's subjects of the purity of our principles,, and the ardour of our zeal. A dutiful Address, couched in such plain and honest terms as befit our condition and character, cannot fail to have its due influence on the Royal Mind. Upon a partial redress of our gTievances in the year 1782;, we furnished the British Navy with 4iO,000 brave volunteers. Our national pride and spirit are not diminished. The full and complete restoration of our civil rights being conceded, we may, without presumption^ hope, that, as the venerable O'Leary observed, " half " disciplined hy the nature of our sports and " exercises," we shall, at this eventful period, furnish such a gallant band of volunteers, in aid of our common country, as will satisfy our gracious Sovereign, that in his whole dominions he has not subjects more zealous and devoted than his Catholic subjects of Ireland. In order to afford an opportunity of ascertain- ing every man's sentiments on this subject, and that no distinction should prevail on the score of tvealth, or other circumstances mereli/ accidental, a General Meeting will be held at a convenient place, of which due notice will be giveu, and where the most respectful attention will be paid to the opinion of every man, be his rank or station in life what it may. It may appear pedantic to introduce Latin 59 quotations in an address of this sort ; but thei'e is one so apposite that it cannot well be omitted, and it is among tlie peculiar traits of character which distinguish the Catholics of Ireland, that many of those now submitting to offices of the basest drudger\L,in the metropolis, verifying the character givenihem bj the classic Poet — '' Gens *' ratione potens^ et mentem pasta camoenis/' will readily understand it — "' Rex vel Pkinceps prout '^aetis cui que prout nobilitas, prout facundia est, '' audiuntur, auctoritate enadendi raagis quam jubendi potestate." For a becoming conduct at this Meeting, let every Irish Catholic in or near the metropolis prepare. The importance of the occasion demands the most scrupulous attention to propriety and decorum. Every man must come impressed with the idea that, by any improper conduct, he may essentially injure the interests of his Country and his Religion, HIBERNUS, April 23, 1806. 60 SUNDAY REVIEW, 17th April, 1808. THE CATHOLIC PETITION. A PETITION;, from nearly four millions of Bri- tish Subjects, for the simple exercise of their Civil Rights, at this datj, and with all surrounding cir- cmnstances, is one of those extraordinary events, that, when related by the historian of future ages^ will appear incredible !— -Can it be supposed by those who will hereafter read the page of English History, that after such a lavish expenditure of blood and treasure to restore the Catholic Reli- gion in France^ (and we may now, 1810, add in Spain) which was uniformly, declared to be an absolute preliminary to the permanent peace of the civilized world, an idea so gross and mon- strous could be entertained, as that of withhold- ing from our own fellow-subjects and brethren those very privileges, to restore which to our in- veterate enemy we had olfered up such heca- tombs — to restore which so many children had been left fatherless, so many blooming brides sud- denly deprived of their husbands, and so many be- trothed maidens left to deplore the cruel and un- timely fate of their best beloved— of those gallant men, who^ whether impelled by necessity, or tempted by the noblerimpulses of ambition, glory. 61 and patriotism^ have shed their blood in restoring the Throne and the Altar in France — a country in all times, under every dynasty, and under all forms of Government, uniformly hostile to Eng- land. Yetsuch,to the eternal disgrace of those M^ho administer public affairs, is the melancholy fact ; and what is still more melancholy and disgraceful, the prayer of tbss Pe/Z/Zan will not be granted, and even every cavil, which the knavish casuistry of legal subtlety could invent, has been employed to prevent its being presented. Presented, how- ever, it will be ; and if sent back for fresh signa- tures, there never yet was presented to a Legisla- ture a Petition with such a host of names attach- ed to it; and perhaps those who can onlif make their marks are the most to he dreaded. Let every naval and military man, who has ever commanded the persons I allude to, say, if it is in nature to display more manly and noble qualities, than those uniformly exhibited in every scene of danger, whether by sea or land, by the Catholic Peasantry of Ireland ? The answer is easily anticipated, that nothing can exceed their ardor and courage in the field, but their docility and submission to their superiors in every point of strict discipline. If such be the true character of what we are accustomed to denominate the lower orders, what may not be expected from the nobler feelings, from the honourable pride, from 63 the dignified sentiments of those who are stimu- lated to glorious deeds, by the example of their forefathers, and who are actuated by every feeling and sentiment that can influence generous minds, to vindicate their hereditary virtues, and to assert their just claims to an equality of rank with their fellow-countrymen of every denomination ? This is a question which admits of no speculation. England has felt m its most vital interests the fact, and our last gallant Monarch ( ever be his name revered by every man who values true cou- rage, candour, and sincerity ! ) with sorrow and indignation acknowledged it, when he found, after victory appeared to hover over his brow at the battle of Fountenoy, the fortune of the day was turned on a sudden by his Irish Catholic subjects in the bitterness of his heart cursed those laws which drove such men from his service. Let those conversant with the history of the various wars of Louis XIV. declare what the conduct of those exiled Irish Catlwlics was in Italy at the siege of Cremona : in Germany at the battle* of Malplaquet and Lawfelt, and in every other signal engagement in which they were employed, and in which they gave such proofs of valor, as to excite the jealousy of those whose battles they were fighting, as much as they did the admiration of those against whom they were opposed. 63 Let us turn from the wars of Louis XiV. to those of the Empress Queen Maria Theresa, and what a proud array of exiled Irish Catholics presents itself on that great theatre of military contention ? Not fewer than three and thirty General Officers, at one time holding the highest and most important postS;, whose conduct shed lustre on the military annals of the time in which their virtue and valor were called into action^ and met with their appropriate rewards. If we quit the confines of Germany and extend <^ur view to Russia, who shall we find command- ing and reducing from barbarismthe savage hordes of Peter the Great, and capacitating them to subdue the Alexander of his day, and the most formidable army then in Europe ? Could the spirit of Charles XII. revisit the earth, how readily would he acknowledge, that all his glory was eclipsed, and all his schemes of universal do- minion blasted by the superior bravery and dis-- cipline o^ Irish Catholic Commanders. Proceeding from the North to, South, let any man conversant with the military history of Spain declare, who held the most military commands and trained and formed the loose and undisci- plined rabble, miscalled aiu army in that country? No man of common candour can deny this proud distinction to the Irish Catholic Officers in that f»4 service. The same truth applies equally to Na- p]e». The share which they had in the Eman- cipation of America is too recent and too well known to need being mentioned. If these tben^ Mr. Editor^ be incontrovertible truths, and that they are, I defy Patrick Diiige- nan, or any of his filthy hireling libellers to deny, accustomed as he and they are to the foulest and most barefaced calumnies^ how monstrous must the conduct of that Government appear in the eye of Reason, Justice, and sound Policy, which, after the lapse of such a period of time, when passion and prejudice have so generally subsided, except, indeed, in the vilest, vulgarest, and basest minds (such as I have just alluded to); — when the bugbear of the Pope, the Devil, and the Pre- tender are gone to sleep for ever — when the un- founded calumny of keeping no faith with here- tics (a doctrine detested by every Roman Catho- lic, and attributed to them from the wickedest motives, by such as Duigenan and Gilford), when the Light of Reason has shed its benign influence on man through so many new channels — when the condition of Europe is comj)letely altered, and its fate at the disposal of the most extraordinary character that has ever jet appeared, and who never can fill up the measure of his ambition until he has accomplished the annihilation of this 65 Empirej* I leave to every man possessed of com- mon sense to jud^e. At such a moment, and under tlie pressure of such novel arid extraordi- nary circumstances, to shut the door, or rather insuUingly and wantonly ous, sing lullabij to the Royal ear ; and while, as the immortal Roscoe says, (may honour and glory ever attach to his revered name ! ) the " Catholics of every nation " around us are shedding their blood in defence " of (heir liberties, our fellow subjects of that " persuasion are denied their civil rights, merely " because they will not be hypocrites, and pro " fcss a mode of faith which they are taught to *' believe erroneous," Oh ! w hat casuists are our Ministers! what a pity they did not live in those times when General Councils were held for the regulation of all those matters ! What a pitv, indeed, for the happiness and preservation of the British Empire, they did not exist in any other times than these, when their contracted views of national policy, their proscribing prin- ciples, their utter incapacity and daring ambi- tion prompt them to adopt measures, the certain tendency of which involves the ruin of their country! ! ! Are the People of England pre- pared for this sacrifice? If they are, which I cannot for a moment believe, I can assure thesn that their Caiholic fcllo\Y-subjects in Ireland are 88 not so passive ; and that, with the same tioble spirit which animated a Blake and an O'Donnel, thcrj will assert their constitutional rights — Couic qui coute. PUBLICOLA. IV. Mitihdl, Printer, Little Shire- Lane. Date Due f OCTU%0 H^) 22 ■^:? ^.Ic '< 'O f) BOSTON COLLEGE / >h » n i Boston College Library Chestnut Hill 67, Mass. Books may be kept for two weeks unless a shorter period is specified. 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