HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



95 



the connections some time since 

 formed, between Ireland anclFrance, 

 to ari>-e from the disappointment of 

 the catholics, alter the recal of earl 

 Fitzwilliam. The objections made, 

 on the score of the coronation oath, 

 he considered as perfectly inappli- 

 cable, lie then stated, at conbidcr- 

 ablc length, the advantages likely to 

 result from conciliating so great a 

 portion of the community, and con- 

 cluded by moving, "• that the petition 

 ** be referred to a committee of the 

 ** whole ho^se.'' 



Dr. Diiigpnan said, of the 'ix 

 peers and three baronets who 

 signed the petition, one of the for- 

 mer was an Englishman, and three 

 of the other peers had been created 

 during his present majesty's reign ; 

 and, on examination, it would be 

 found,that,afevv years backjthe whole 

 Roman catholic nobility of Ireland 

 did not exceed one, or two at the 

 most ; which shcAvcd how little 

 cause there was to complain of so 

 much allcdged degradation. There 

 ■was not a single Romish ecclesiastic 

 in the list of the petitioners ; the rea- 

 son of which, no doubt, was, that 

 they were to take the oath of 1773, 

 ■which disclaimed those injurious 

 doctrines. He then entered into a 

 long and diriii^e {iis(ir.i»ition on 

 the principles of liiat religion, as 

 laid down by the several councils 

 and highest authorities of that 

 church, upon which he concluded 

 that they could not be faithful sub- 

 jects to a protcstant monarchy, 

 and ought not to be trusted with 

 political power, and therefore op- 

 posed the motion. 



Mr. Grattan said, '•' that if the 

 reasoning of the learned Dr. wascor- 

 recl, it would be to pronounce 

 against his country three curses, viz. 

 eternal war with each other, — eter- 



nal war with England, — and eternal 

 peace with France. ThelearnedDr.'s 

 speech consisted of four parts, 1st, 

 invective uttered against the religion 

 of the catholics, 2d, invective against 

 the present generation, 3d, invective 

 against the past, and 4th, invective 

 against the future. Here the limits 

 of the creation interposed, and 

 stopped him." In defence of those 

 generations, and in support of the 

 harmless doctrines of the catholic 

 religion, he took a most extensive 

 and learned view of the whole sub- 

 ject, and concluded one of the most 

 brilliant and eioquent speeches ever 

 pronounced within the walls of 

 parliament, with declaring himself 

 to be p-:>rfcctly exhausted. The At- 

 torney General and Mr. Alexander 

 spoke shortly eacli against the mo- 

 tion, and, at three o'clock in the 

 morning, the debate was adjourned. 



When the question was resumed, 

 the next day, Mr. William Smith, 

 considered the question to have been 

 opposed principally upon the 

 grounds of prejudice, bigotry, and 

 assumption. Such a state of things as 

 existed in Ireland might be viewed 

 too near, as well as at too great a 

 distance, and it was not easy for 

 gentlemen, whose persons and fa- 

 milies might have been exposed to 

 all the horrors of insnrrestion, to 

 meet the decision of this subject 

 with j)erfect impartiality : for his 

 own part, upon the fullest conside- 

 ration, he must give his most cordial 

 support to the motion. 



i\Ir. Lee said, he was convinced 

 that the claims of the catholics 

 w ould, sooner or later, work their 

 way, and that when they did, there 

 was nothing would tend more to 

 consolidate the strength, unite the 

 attachment, an^ render impreg- 

 nable the security of those realms. 



Sir 



