64] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Motions of Lord Donoughmore and Mr. Grattan, for taking into Con- 

 sideration the Catholic Claims — Reference to Conimiitecs in both 

 Houses of Petitions against the Orders in Council — Motions con- 

 cerning Captain Henry's Mission to the United States — Motion on 

 the Tellerships of the Exchequer — Mr. Brand's Motion respecting 

 Elections for Knights of the Shire. 



THE friends to the claims of the 

 Irish Catholics, notwithstand- 

 ing the several defeats of their efforts 

 in parliament, were determined not 

 to relinquish a contest, success in 

 which appeared to them of so 

 much public importance ; and a 

 great number of petitions on the 

 subject having poured in from the 

 catholics of the different counties 

 in Ireland, supported by those of 

 the protestant inhabitants in vari- 

 ous parts, as well as by other bo- 

 dies, it was thought expedient 

 again to bring the topic to discus- 

 sion in both houses of parliament. 



On April 21, the Earl of Do- 

 noughmore, in the House of Lords, 

 moved the *rder of the day for a 

 committee to take into considera- 

 tion the claims of the catholic body 

 for the removal of the disabilities 

 under which they labour. The 

 order having been read, his lord- 

 ship rose to speak. Before enter- 

 ing into the particulars of this de- 

 bate, however, we must observe, 

 that the necessity under which the 

 speakers lay of repeating arguments 

 so often already advanced on each 

 side, will excuse us from the task of 

 reporting more respecting it than 

 the matters by which it was pecu- 

 liarly distinguished. 



Lord Donoughmore began by 

 adverting to the petitions which 

 had previously been read, and their 

 object;^— the removal of unjust re- 

 strictions — the revival of suspend- 

 ed rights. He anticipated the ob- 

 jection, that the question was one 

 on which their lordships had twice 

 decided during the present session, 

 by observing, that in both those 

 instances it had been complicated 

 with other considerations of a 

 weighty nature. He then took a 

 view of what had been done in 

 Ireland from 1792 with res^ard to 

 the catholic petitions, and alluded 

 to the unfortunate scruples which 

 had prevented the completion of 

 the work of conciliation. This 

 topic leading him to the supposed 

 opinion of the Prince Regent on 

 the subject, he was called to order 

 by Lord Kenyon, as making use of 

 unparliamentary language. He, 

 however, vindicated the manner in 

 which he had introduced the Re- 

 gent's name, and lamented the 

 voluntary sacrifice of his Royal 

 Highness's avowed feelings, to 

 the assumed scruples, and political 

 religion, of his minister. In the 

 remainder of his speech, which 

 chiefly consisted in a spirited ampli- 

 fication of the idea last stated, the 



following 



