the neighbouring parishes fhould be admitted to a right of voting; and laftly, that the duration of parliaments fhould be limited to three years.

Mr. Flood undertook to bring forward the difcuffion of these topics in the Houfe of Commons; and accordingly, the day following, he moved for leave to bring in a bill "for the more equal reprefentation "of the people in parliament." The motion was received by a great majority of the houfe with the ftrongest marks of difapprobation. Without entering into the confideration of the wifdom or folly of the plan propofed, it was urged that the houfe could not poffibly, without betraying its truft, and abdicating its authority, confent to receive propofitions tendered to them at the point of the bayonet, by a body of armed men. That however refpectable they might be in other points of view, yet to suffer them to befet the house of parliament, and to dictate to the legislature with arms in their hands, would be to eftablish a precedent fubverfive of the very existence of all order and

vernment.

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"affure him of their determination "to fupport the prefent conftitu"tion with their lives and for"tunes." The addrefs being fent up to the House of Lords, received their concurrence.

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On the report of these measures to the convention by Mr. Flood, it was agreed, that a counter-addrefs fhould be prefented to the king, in the name of the delegates of all the volunteers of Ireland, "to implore his majefty, that their hum"ble wish to have certain manifeft "perverfions in the parliamentary reprefentation of that kingdom remedied, might not be imputed to any fpirit of innovation, but "to a fober and laudable defire to uphold the conftitution, to con"firm the fatisfaction of their fellow-fubjects, and perpetuate the " cordial union of the two na"tions.'

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keeping

Thefe repeated defeats did not abate the ardour of the Irish reformers in the purfuit of their favourite object; but as all hope of obtaining the deliberate co-operation of parliament was at an end, they turned their applications to a quarter from whence experience had already taught them to look for more effectual exertions; as government had not yet ventured to queftion the legality of the volunteer affociations; the people at farge were called upon to provide themfelves with arms, and to array themfelves under that defcription. *Several unpopular acts of the new government, in fome of which parliament was alfo involved by the fhare it had in them, ferved greatly to increase the general difcontent of the nation. On the 7th day of June 7th.. June a meeting was held of the aggregate body of the citizens of Dublin. It was here refolved to prefent another petition to the king, and in the mean time to endeavour, by a circular addrefs, to ftimulate the body of the people to a general and vigorous exertion.

The petition, after enumerating their feveral grievances, and lamenting that his majesty's adminiftration fhould have taken an active part in all the measures of which they complained, ftates, "That this "was a circumftance the more extraordinary, as the first minifter of England had virtuously declared himself in favour of the principal measure which had been

"tocracy; that on that occafion "but one fourth of the people of

England exclaimed against their "Houfe of Commons, and the fovereign prudently diffolved a par"liament which had loft the confi"dence of a quarter of the na“tion, and declared his readiness "to adopt whatever he fhould col"lect to be the fenfe of his people; " and that they therefore looked up to him with the utmost confi"dence for the immediate diffolution of the parliament of Ireland, in compliance with the al"moft unanimous request of his "loyal fubjects of that kingdom."

In the addrefs, the complicated hardships they had fuffered from the abufe of power were detailed with great warmth and freedom; the continuance of thefe fufferings they attribute to the defects of their reprefentation in parliament; and they appeal to experience for the inefficacy of every means they had employed to obtain redress. They therefore call upon and conjure their fellow-fubjects to unite with them in the purfuit of fome more efficacious plan for the removal of the general calamity'; and with this view they propofe that five perfons fhould be elected from each county, city, and confiderable town, meet in Dublin in national congrefs.

to

But the most remarkable feature in this addrefs was, a propofition to admit the Roman catholic fubjects of that kingdom to a participation in the rights of fuffrage at the election of members of parliament. Though this measure was not only

confonant

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confonant to the general principles of the reform they meditated, but promised no fmall acceffion of ftrength to the common caufe, yet the fincerity of the Irish proteftants on this point, farther than as it ferved the prefent turn, has been much doubted.

In a former volume we had occafion to remark, as one of the confequences of the general calamity in which the late war had involved the country of Ireland, that the prejudices entertained againft the papifts in that kingdom appear ed, in fome degree, to be giving way to more liberal, wife, and equitable fentiments. The volunteers, at a very early period, expreffed their abhorrence of the unjuft and impolitic treatment of fo great a majority of their fellow-fubjects; they recommended their caufe to the attention of the legislature, and, in fome counties, even invited them to range themselves under the fame banners in the field. But the great political objects then in view being obtained, no other relief was granted to the catholics, than the repeal of a few of the most cruel and oppreffive claufes in the laws enacted against them *.

When the bufinefs of equal reprefentation began to be agitated, the cafe of the Roman catholics was again brought forward, and the delegates of the meeting at Dungannon, in the year 1783, were inftructed to confider of the best plan of admitting them to an equal participation in the benefits of the projected reformation. At the fubfequent meeting of the convention in Dublin, when that fubject was propofed for their confideration, a pretended letter was produced from the Earl of Kenmare, purporting to convey the general fentiments of the Roman catholics of Ireland, in which they were made to exprefs their perfect fatisfaction with what had been already done for them, and that they defired no more than peaceably to enjoy the privileges they had obtained. But though this letter was publicly disavowed, both by the refpectable perfon from whom it was faid to have come, and by a general affembly of the committee of the Irish catholics, who acknowledged themselves to have too great a refemblance to the reft of their species to be defirous of oppofing any thing that tended to their relief, and that they should

receive any indulgence the legiflature fhould be willing to grant them, yet, in the plan of reform digefted at this meeting, they were left precifely in the fame fituation as before.

But to return to the proceedings of the citizens of Dublin.-An application was made to the lord lieutenant to convey their petition to the throne. In anfwer to their requeft, he informed them, that though it was his duty to convey the papers they prefented, yet he found himself obliged to accompany them with his entire difapprobation; as they contained unjust and indecent reflections upon the laws and the parliament of Ireland, and as they tended to foment fatal diffenfions among the people.

The credulity of the Irish reformers was proof against all difapprobation. They could not be perfuaded, but that the English minifter would heartily concur in the fupport of meafures founded on principles which he had himself fo often and fo oftentatiously avowed. Accordingly, on the 8th July 8th. of July, a petition to the king was conveyed to Mr. Pitt, by the inhabitants of Belfaft, nearly of the fame tenor with that of the citizens of Dublin. In the month of September, Mr. Pitt informed them, in his anfwer, "That he had undoubtedly been, and ftill continued, a zealous friend to a re"form in parliament, but that he "muft beg leave to fay, that he

had been fo on grounds very dif"ferent from thofe adopted in their "petition. That what was there propofed, he confidered as tending to produce ftill greater evils "than any of thofe which the "friends of reform were defirous "to remedy."

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But the cause of reform received about this time a more fatal blow, from the difunion which broke out amongst the volunteers themselves, ou the fubject of admitting the Roman catholics to the rights of election. In an address presented by the Ulfter corps to their general, the Earl of Charlemont, after fome ftrong expreffions of their deteftation of aristocratic tyranny, they hint at the neceffity of calling in the aid of the catholics, as the moft just as well as effectual means of oppofing it with fuccefs. In answer to this address, the Earl of Charlemont lamented that, for the first time, he felt himself obliged to differ from them in fentiment. He was free from every illiberal prejudice against the catholics, and full of good will towards that very refpectable body; but he could not refrain from the moft ardent entreaties that they would defift from a pursuit that would fatally clog and impede the profecution of their favourite purpofe.

As this nobleman was very highly and very defervedly refpected by the whole nation, his opinion was eagerly embraced, both by the timid, whofe apprehenfions were alarmed by the boldness and extent of the project, and by a great number whofe prejudices against the catholics appear rather to have been diffembled than cured. In the month of October, the thanks of the corporation of the city of Dublin was voted him for his conduct on this occafion.

The meeting of a national congrefs, was a measure of too alarming a nature, not to attract the most ferious attention of government; and it appears to have been their refolution to take the most vigorous fteps for preventing it if poffible..

A few

A few days previous to that which was fixed for the election of delegates for the city of Dublin, the attorney-general addreffed a letter to the fheriffs, expreffing his very great furprise at having read a fummons, figned by them, calling a meeting for the purpofe in queftion. He obferved, that by this proceeding, they had been guilty of a moft outrageous breach of their duty; and that if they proceeded, they would be refponfible to the laws of their country, and he fhould hold himself bound to prosecute them in the court of King's Bench, for a conduct which he confidered fo highly criminal, that he could not overlook it. Thefe threats fucceeded fo far as to intimidate the fheriffs from attending the meeting in their official capacity; but the meeting was nevertheless held, delegates were chosen ; and in revenge for the attorney's letter, several strong refolutions were agreed to, relative to the right of affembling themfelves for the redrefs of grievances.

But government, having once fet their faces against the election and affembling of delegates, purfued a mode of conduct that had fufficient of refolution in it at leaft. From denouncing threats, they proceeded to actual punishments.

Henry Stephens Reiley, Efq. high fheriff for the county of Dublin, in confequence of his having called together and prefided at an affembly of freeholders, who met on the 19th of Auguft 1784,

Aug. 19th. for the purpose of choofing and inftructing their delegates, was the first object of minifterial profecution on this occafion. The attorney-general proceeded against him by attachment from the court of King's Bench. The af

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fembly, and the refolutions they came to on this occafion, figned by Mr.Reiley, in his character of sheriff for the county, were both declared to be illegal, and Mr. Reiley was fentenced by the court to pay a fine of five marks (31. 6s. 8d.) and to be imprifoned one week.

This mode of legal procefs, ex cept for the purpose of bringing perfons before the court, to receive the fentence of such court for contempt of and disobedience to its orders and directions, has fo feldom been reforted to, that even the legality of the process itself, on any other ground than the one above mentioned, has remained a matter of general doubt and uncertainty.

In the prefent cafe it met with much less oppofition than might have been expected. Clamours without doors, and debates within, on the fubject, there certainly were, but both too feeble and ill-concerted to promise any fuccefs.

It is probable too, that the apprehenfions that many perfons began to form of the delegates themfelves, whom they looked upon in fome measure as a new order rifing up in the ftate, might induce them to acquiefce in, if not to approve of, an extraordinary and unusual mode of proceeding on this occafion.

But government did not confine their profecutions to Mr. Reiley. Having once adopted a mode of proceeding, which fo effectually anfwered the end for which they defigned it, informations were moved for, and attachments granted againf the different magiftrates who called the meetings, and figned the refpective refolutions of the freeholders in the counties of Rofcommon and Leitrim. At the fame

time,