BOOK participation in the liberties and franchises of our country becomes the primary and essential 1793. object of our ardent and common solicitation."

XIX.

As a proof of the sincerity and integrity of the public declaration made by them of their principles, the committee of Catholics, in an admirable address to the nation at large, state, as perfectly coincident with their own, the opinions of the famous Catholic universities of the Sorbonne, Douay, Louvaine, Alcala, Salamanca, and Valladolid, which had been formally consulted relative to the chief points now at issue, by the committee of English Catholics, at the express desire of the English minister, preparatory to the passing of the English Catholic Bill; -the university of Louvaine, in particular, expressing its amazement that such questions should, at the end of the eighteenth century, be proposed to any learned body, by the inhabitants of a kingdom that glories in the talents and discernment of its natives *.

The Queries transmitted to the Foreign Universities were as follow:

First, Has the pope or cardinals, or any body of men, or any individual of the church of Rome, any civil authority, power, jurisdiction, or pre-eminence whatever, in the realm of England?

Secondly, Can the pope or cardinals, or any body of men, or any individual of the church of Rome, absolve or dispense

1

XIX.

The English cabinet seemed, in consequence BOOK of the alarming and agitated state of the country, to be fully convinced that some decisive 1793. measures of redress must now be adopted in relation to the Catholics, and lord Westmoreland was instructed thus, in the course of his speech to the two houses at the opening of the present session, to express himself:-" I have it in particular command from his majesty to recommend it to you to apply yourselves to the consideration of such measures as may be the most likely to strengthen and cement a general union of sentiment among all classes and descriptions of his majesty's Catholic subjects in support of the established constitution. With this view his majesty trusts that the situation of his majesty's Catholic subjects will engage your serious attention, and in the consideration of this subject he relies on the wisdom and liberality of his parliament."

Early in March the expected Bill of Relief was brought into the house of commons by Mr.

with his majesty's subjects from their oath of allegiance on any pretence whatsoever?

Thirdly, Is there any principle in the tenets of the Catholic faith by which Catholics are justified in not keeping faith with heretics, or other persons differing from them in religious opinions, in any transaction either of a public or private nature?

It is scarcely necessary to say, that all the universities consulted answered decidedly, and some of them indignantly, in the negative, to all these queries.

BOOK Secretary Hobart, and, in its original form, it XIX. appeared well calculated to answer the purpose 1793. intended. The influence of the executive go

made to the Catholics :

vernment was in this instance no less laudably
than powerfully and seasonably exerted; but it
had strong obstacles to encounter in the bigotry
and prejudice of a great majority of the house.
"The inveteracy of some," says a writer well
informed on this subject,
66 was not to be over-
come even in the agonies of their despair. What-
ever could be saved to them from this wreck of
their monopoly they secured by exceptions from
the broad and liberal relief which the first form
of the bill held out *."

Concessions Some of these exceptions were admitted; others were rejected. The chief enacting clause, enabling the Catholics to exercise and enjoy all civil and military offices and places of trust or profit under the crown, was almost paralyzed by the subsequent restrictions,-that it should not be construed to extend to enable any Roman-catholic to sit or vote in either house of parliament, or to fill the office of lord-lieutenant or lord-chancellor, or judge in either of the three courts of Record or Admiralty, or keeper of the privy-seal, secretary of state, lieutenant or custos rotulorum of counties, or privy-coun

XIX.

sellor, or master in Chancery, or a general on BOOK the staff, or sheriff or sub-sheriff of any county, with a long catalogue of other disqualifications.

1793.

the lord

Fitzgibbon.

Mr. Foster, speaker of the house of commons, declared, on the second reading of the bill, that he considered it as the prelude and certain forerunner of the overthrow of the Protestant establishment. And the lord-chancellor Fitzgibbon, opposed by who was regarded as the head of the Anti-catho- chancellor lic party, declared, "that it was an absurd and wicked speculation to look to the total repeal of the Popery laws of that kingdom, or to endeavour to communicate the efficient power of the Protestants to the Catholics of Ireland. long (said his lordship) as the nature of man continues what it is, a zealous Catholic cannot possibly, or with good faith, exercise the powers of government in support of a Protestant estab lishment, or of the Protestant connection with Great Britain. If, therefore, I am the single man to raise my voice against such a project, I will resist it."

As

The opposition of the lord-chancellor was seconded with great vehemence by Dr. Agar, archbishop of Cashel, a prelate who had, on a former occasion, distinguished himself by the memorable declaration, "that the Roman-catholic religion was a religion of knaves and fools."

The bill at length, clogged with innumerable

XIX.

BOOK modifications and restrictions, passed with few dissentient voices into a law: and though it stop1793. ped far short of Catholic emancipation, and bore no relation to parliamentary reform, it was supposed to be all that the executive government could, at this time, without top violent an exertion, effect; and upon this account it was received with gratitude and satisfaction. Mr. Curran, an eminent advocate of the Irish bar, and an eloquent speaker in parliament, declared, in relation to the situation of the Catholics, "that had the petition passed over last year in contemptuous neglect by the Irish parliament been this year rejected by the throne, there remained only one other throne for misery to invoke. From that last and dreadful appeal the country had now been saved by the paternal benignity of the sovereign and father of his people."-As a farther concession to the reviving spirit of liberty in Ireland, a Libel Bill passed, similar to that of Mr. Fox in England; the power of the crown to grant pensions on the Irish establishment was limited to the sum of 80,000Z.; and certain descriptions of placemen and pensioners were excluded from the privilege of sitting in the house of commons. Also the king declared his acceptance of a limited sum fixed at 225,0007. for the expences of his civil list, in lieu of the hereditary revenues of the crown;