IRELAND. 
ligious, liberty.” Every member, on his admifiion into 
this fociety, pronounced and fubfcribed an oath, folemnly 
promifing, in the awful prefence of God, to ufe his exer¬ 
tions for the promotion of this plan. Whatever may 
have been thefentimeftts.generally prevalent in thisalTocia- 
tion, feme of its members certainly entertained projects of 
the moft dangerous nature, nothing lei's than the total lub- 
verlion of the government, and theereftion of a democra¬ 
tic commonwealth in its Head. To forward this treafon- 
able delig'n, they, after the example of the French, adopt¬ 
ed the plan of railing in Dublin national guards, who 
were to be diltinguilhed by a green uniform. The 9th 
of December, 1792, was appointed by the leaders of tliefe 
bands-for a general mufter; and they invited all the vo¬ 
lunteer companies of the metropolis to attend on this oc- 
cafion, to celebrate the triumph of liberty in France. The 
government, however, now conlidered it high time to in¬ 
terfere. A proclamation was iil'ued by the lord-lieute¬ 
nant, peremptorily forbidding all feditious alfemblies, and 
commanding the magiftrates to difperfe them by military 
force, if admonition (hould prove ineffectual. This me¬ 
nace intimidated the national guards, and the propofed 
mufter never took place; but, on the 14th of December, 
a kind of .counter-proclamation was framed by the heads 
of the fociety, exhorting the volunteers to refuine their 
arms for the maintenance of tranquillity againft foreign 
and domeftic foes, and adviling the proteftants of Ireland 
to choofe deputies for provincial aflemblies, preparatively 
to a general convention, which they declared neceflary for 
the forming of a common caufe with the catholics. 
That the catholics fliould take meafures to ameliorate 
their condition while the public mind was ltrongly agi¬ 
tated by a fpirit of reform, was perfeftly natural. A fe- 
icret committee for the management of their political con¬ 
cerns, had fubfifted in Dublin ever lince the year 1757. 
This body had, in its meetings in 1791, prepared a peti¬ 
tion to parliament; but r fearful of being fufpec'ted by go¬ 
vernment of revolutionary defigns or democratic princi¬ 
ples, fome refpeftable catholics declined to concur in this 
meafure, and at length, to the number of fixty-four, in¬ 
cluding the lords Kenmare and Fingal, they formally fe- 
ceded, and prefented an addrefs to the viceroy, aft’uring 
him of the rcfpeElful fubmificn of themfelves and the catholic 
body to government, and their rejignation to its wifdcm and hu¬ 
manity. The reft of the members perfevered in their ob¬ 
ject, and devifed the plan of a convention of delegates 
from the feveral towns and counties, to meet in Dublin, 
that they might be enabled to fubmit to government the 
collective fentiments of the whole catholic community. By 
this aflembly a petition to the king, reprel'enting the 
grievances of the penal ftatutes, and the long-tried pa¬ 
tience and loyalty of the Irilh catholics, was committed 
to five deputies, to be prefented to his majefty, who re¬ 
ceived it in a very gracious manner, and, at the enfuing 
meeting of the Irilh parliament, he recommended, through 
the lord-lieutenant, a ferious attention to the condi¬ 
tion of his catholic fubjefts. 
To weaken the oppofition in parliament to their claims, 
and to conciliate the proteftants, the catholics publilhed 
a difavowal of certain dangerous tenets imputed to them; 
and added the declarations of fome foreign catholic uni- 
verfities, given in anfwer-to queries propofed from Eng¬ 
land, when the granting of indulgences to catholics had 
been under confideration in that country. They abjured,- 
as deteftable and impious, the opinions, that princes, ex¬ 
communicated by the pope or any ecclefiaftical authority, 
may be murdered or depofed ; that actions in their own 
nature irnmoral, can be juftified under the pretence of 
their being committed for the good of the church, or in 
obedience to any ecclefiaftical power; that no faith is to 
be kept with heretics. They declared their difbelief of 
the competency of any power to abfolve them from their 
oaths of allegiance, or from any juft oaths or contrails; 
of any right to temporal jurifdiftion within this realm, 
direftly or indirectly belonging to the pope o-r any fo¬ 
SB9 
reign power; of the infallibility of the pope; and of any 
earthly power to forgive fins, without fincere repentance. 
They finally renounced all claims to lands forfeited by 
their anceftors, and all intention of fubverting the eccle¬ 
fiaftical eftabliftiment exifting in Ireland. But while the 
catholics, aided by many proteftants, were thus endea¬ 
vouring to influence the legiflature in their favour, other 
proteftants, fearful of the confequences of their admifiion 
to participate in the political authority, laboured as ftre- 
nuoufly to counteract their efforts; and the prefs teemed 
with controverfial writings on both fides, to the unhappy 
revival of religious animofities, the moft mifehievous of 
all. In the feftion of parliament which commenced in 
January 1792, fome new indulgences were neverthelels 
granted to the catholics; fuch as their admifiion to the 
praftice of the law, intermarriage with proteftants, and an 
unreftrained education ; but a mafs of difabilities ftill re¬ 
mained. Through the influence, as it is fuppofed, of Ed¬ 
mund Burke, whofe fon had been chofen by the Irilh ca¬ 
tholics for their agent, an aft was palled in 1793, by 
which the catholics were placed nearly in the fame poli¬ 
tical fituation with the proteftants, except tljat they were 
ftill excluded from feats in parliament and in the privy- 
council ; from holding the office of flieriff and fome other 
places under the crown, about thirty in number, fpecified 
in the aft; and that their voluntary contributions confti- 
tuted the foie maintenance of their clergy. Some other 
bills of a popular nature palled during the fame feffion, 
with the concurrence of adminiftration, into laws. By 
one of thele, certain dalles of placemen and penfioners 
were excluded from fitting in parliament, and the annual 
amount of penfions was reduced from j2o,oooi. to 8o,oool. 
A trade to India was granted under certain reftriftions; 
encouragement was given for the improvement of barren 
land; and the fum of 200,000k was voted for the fecurity 
of a loan to that amount by the bank to fome mercantile 
houfes, for the reftoration of commercial credit, which 
had received a rude (hock fince the commencement of the 
war againft France, efpecially in Dublin, where the ftreets 
were crowded with ftarving weavers. By their concilia¬ 
tory conduft, the miniftry procured without difficulty 
the palling of two afts of a coercive nature ; the one to 
prevent the importation or removal without licence of 
arms and ammunition ; the other to prevent the eleftion. 
or appointment of conventions or other unlawful aflem¬ 
blies, under pretence of preparing or prefenting public 
petitions or other addreftes to his majefty or parlia¬ 
ment. By this meafure the projeft formed by the-leaders 
of the United Irilh of a national convention to be held at 
Athlone was defeated. 
Early in the feffion, a fecret committee of the houfe of 
lords had bpbn appointed to enquire into the caufe of the 
difturbandes which had for fome time prevailed in various 
parts of the kingdom. Their report related chiefly to a " 
clafs of infurgents called Defenders, and to the proceed¬ 
ings of the United Irilhmen. It appeared that, in a pri¬ 
vate quarrel between two peafants, originated a feud, 
which as early as 1785 diftrafted part of the county of 
Armagh, and, having aflumed a religidus character, ex¬ 
tended in the fequel into feveral of the adjacent counties. 
Bands of prelbyterians difarmed and otherwife maltreated 
the catholics in the night, and difperfed at the dawn, 
whence they were denominated Peep-of-day Boys. The ca¬ 
tholics aflociated againft their adverl'aries under the title 
of Defenders, and fome frays with bloodfhed took'place be¬ 
tween the hoftile parties. The Defenders, who had long 
become the aggreifors, were guilty of many atrocious afts 
of murder and pillage; and, when the report concerning 
them was drawn up, they had extended their aflbeiations 
through the counties of Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monag¬ 
han, and the adjacent country. About the lame time 
all'o fome difturbances, though quickly fupprefled, were 
occafioned by unorganized mobs in fome parts of the 
fouth; but thefe infurgents belonged rather to the clafs 
of Right Boys than Defenders, as their efforts were pria- 
4 cipally 
