GENERAL HISTORY. 



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different times presented petitions 

 to the House for relief from the 

 laws remaining in force against 

 them, and are truly grateful for 

 the full and benign discussion 

 their petitions have received j and 

 that they again approacli the 

 House with perfect reliance on 

 its wisdom and humanity, hum- 

 bly praying that their case may 

 again be taken into consifleration, 

 and that there may be extended 

 to them the enjoyment, in common 

 with their fellow-subjects, of the 

 blessings of the constitution. 



After this petition had been 

 read, Mr. Gruitaii rose to make 

 his announced motion relative to 

 the petition from Ireland, which 

 he had presented. He said, his 

 hon. friend who had just address- 

 ed the House had argued the 

 question so justly and wisely, that 

 he had left him little to add on 

 the subject. He confined himself 

 chiefly to the particular matter of 

 the petition, which was signed by 

 above 900 persons, among whom 

 was a large portion of the Irish 

 nobility. The petitioneis had 

 made those declarations on the 

 part of the catholics which the 

 House had desired to have, and 

 had complied with the terms 

 which had been exacted from 

 them. He had a letter in his 

 hand, for the authenticity of 

 which he could vouch, directed 

 by the Pope to be written by 

 Cardinal Litta to Dr. Poynter, 

 touching the conditions with 

 which the legislature wished that 

 any concessions to the catholics 

 should be accompanied ; and the 

 forms of oaths which it permitted 

 were little different from tliose at 

 present taken by the catholics of 

 Ireland, to which was added his 

 Holiness" s permission that a list. 



made out by those to whom it ap- 

 pertained, of the candidates for a 

 bishopric, should be presented to 

 the King's ministers in order that 

 they might expunge the name of 

 any one whom they disliked or 

 suspected. He (Mr. Grattan) had 

 often been asked what plan he 

 brought for the granting of eman- 

 cipation ; where are your securi- 

 ties r He would now say. Here 

 are my terms ; they are the terms 

 on which you formerly wished to 

 grant it, and will you now refuse 

 what you so anxiously sought for? 

 The hon. gentleman pursued to 

 some length his leasoning upon 

 this topic ; and concluded with 

 moving "That this House will, 

 early in the next session of par- 

 liament, take into its most serious 

 consideration the state of the laws 

 affecting his Majesty's Roman-ca- 

 tholic subjects in Great Britain 

 and Ireland, with a view to such 

 a final and conciliatory adjustment 

 as may be conducive to the peace 

 and strength of the United King- 

 dom, to the stability of the Protes- 

 tant establishment, and to the ge- 

 neral satisfaction and concord of all 

 classes of his Majesty's subjects." 



Sir Henry Paruell then rose to 

 speak in the capacity of the pre- 

 senter of the other catholic peti- 

 tion, and said, that although when 

 first informed of the intended mo- 

 tion he was disj)osed to think it 

 not that which the circumstances 

 of the case recjuired, yet upon, 

 consulting several members on 

 the subject, and considering the 

 late period of the session, he was 

 induced to change lii.s opinion, 

 and willingly second the motion. 

 He then entered into considera- 

 tions of the policy of the repeal of 

 the penal code, which he consi- 

 dered as the principal cause of the 



[E!2] discon- 



