GENERAL HISTORY. 



[101 



two unanimous resolutions were 

 passed ; the first, returning tlianks 

 to those members of the House of 

 Commons who supported the bill 

 for their relief, and directing a 

 deputation to convey their acknow- 

 ledgments to some of the principal 

 of them by name^ the second, in 

 the following words : " That, al- 

 though the Roman Catholics of 

 Great Britain feel, as they neces- 

 sarily must, the most bitter and 

 poignant regret, that hopes so 

 nearly realized are still to be de- 

 ierred: nevertheless, their long and 

 patient sufferings have taught them 

 not to sink under the present dis- 

 appointment ; and, confiding fully 

 in the wisdom of the legislature, 

 the increasing liberality of their 

 countrymen, and the justice of 

 their cause, they are sensible that 

 they would be unworthy of the 

 name of Britons, if, for a moment, 

 they relaxed their efforts to pro- 

 cure relief from the penalties and 

 disabilities under which they suf- 

 fer ; trusting and hoping, as they 

 most anxiously do, that the day is 

 near at hand, when every jealousy 



1 and every animosity on account of 

 opinions purely religious, will be 

 buried in eternal oblivion, and that 



I in the present and most rapidly 

 increasing danger of the empire, 

 every subject of this united king- 

 dom may have an equal interest, 

 by enjoying an equal participation, 

 in the privileges, immunities, and 

 glories of their common coun- 

 try." 



By a further resolution, they 

 express their marked disapproba- 

 tion of a paper intituled, " A brief 

 memorial on the Catholic Bill," 



, and signed John Milner, D. D., 



I highly injurious to the political 



integrity and wisdom of the fra- 

 mers of the bill; and they republish 

 a formei' resolution by which Dr. 

 Milner, in consequence of a calum- 

 nious accusation against Mr. But- 

 ler, was discharged from being a 

 member of the private board of 

 the Britsh Catholics. It is ob- 

 servable that a vote of thanks to 

 the same gentleman was carried in 

 the Irish Catholic board, though 

 by a small majority. 



' The Irish Caiholic prelates fol- 

 lowed up their private resolutions 

 against the principles of the bill 

 by a pastoral address to the clergy 

 and laity of their flocks, dated 

 May 26th, in which, after repeat- 

 ing the substance of their two reso- 

 lutions, they add a third, to the 

 following purpose, "That we 

 would willingly swear, if required 

 by the legislature, that we will 

 never concur in the appointment 

 or consecration of any bishop 

 whom we do not conscientiously 

 believe to be of unimpeaciiable 

 loyalty and peaceable conduct ;" 

 and further " that we have not, 

 and that we will not have, any 

 correspondence or communication 

 with the chief pastor of our church, 

 or with any person authorized to 

 act in his name, for the purpose of 

 overthrowing or disturbing the 

 Protestant government, or the Pro- 

 testant church of Great Britain and 

 Ireland, or the Protestant church 

 of Scotland, as by law estab- 

 lished.'' 



At a meeting of the Catholic 

 board in Dublin,' July 17th, Mr. 

 O'Gorman brought forward a mo- 

 tion for addressing the Spanish 

 Cortes to request their interference 

 in favour of the Catholics of 

 Ireland. After stating various in. 



