26] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



CHAPTER III. 



Catholic Question— Mr. Gratta7i's Motion for a Committee of the ivhole 

 House totakethe Subject into Consideration, carried.— His Resolution 

 carried. — His Bill for the Removal of Disqualifications, Sfc. brought 

 in and debated. — Sir J. C. Hippisley's Motion for a select Committee 

 rejected. — Second Reading of Mr. Grattan's Bill. — Call of the House 

 and thefrst Clause debated. — Rejected, and the Bill abandoned. 



AT the close of the parliamen- 

 tary session in the summer 

 of the last year, the House of 

 Commons, by a majority of more 

 than two to one, had agreed to a 

 resolution for taking into consi- 

 deration the affah-s of the Irish 

 Catholics earlyin thenextsession; 

 whilst the House of Lords had re- 

 jected a motion for a similar reso- 

 lution by a majority of one. From 

 that time great activity had been 

 shown by the different parties in 

 promoting their several views; 

 and it has already been noticed, 

 that the tables of both Houses 

 were crowded with petitions on 

 the subject, from the time of the 

 first meeting of parliament in this 

 year, after the recess. The tenor 

 of the great majority of these 

 petitions was unfavourable to the 

 Catholic claims ; and it soon be- 

 came manifest that the friends to 

 their cause would have a hard 

 battle to sustain. 



The parliamentary discussion of 

 this important subject, so often 

 already discussed that there would 

 seem nothing left for farther ar- 

 gument, recommenced with Mr. 

 Gratt3n"s, motion on Feb. 25th, for 

 a committee on the claims of the 



Roman Catholics. Three of the 

 sections of the Bill of Rights hav- 

 ing been read on the motion of 

 Mr. Yorke, Mr. Grattan rose and 

 said, he was happy that the hon. 

 gentleman had caused those pas- 

 sages to be read from the Bill of 

 Rights, since he was decidedly of 

 opinion that the qualifications enu- 

 merated in them as indispensable 

 accompanimentsof the sovereignty 

 of this empire, ought to form the 

 preamble of any bill introduced 

 into parliament for the relief of 

 the Roman Catholics. After de- 

 claring that his purpose was, to 

 moveforacommitteeof the House 

 in pursuance of the resolution 

 which, though made by a former 

 parliament, he did not think he 

 was guilty of an impropriety in 

 referring to, Mr. G. proceeded to 

 make some observations on the pe- 

 titions which had been presented 

 against the claims of the Catholics. 

 He first objected to the manner in 

 which, particularly in Irelandjthey 

 had been obtained. They had of- i 

 ten been the consequence of a re-^ 

 quisition to the sheriffs of the re- 

 spective counties to call a mcel- 

 ing of the Protestant in/iabitants. 

 Now he thought it exceedingly ob- 



