BELFAST ROMAN CATHOLIC SOCIETY.

AT a meeting of the Roman Catholic inhabitants of the town of Belfast and its vicinity, held at Mr. Hugh Dowell's, on the 6th of April, 1792,

MR. JAMES MOONEY, IN THE CHAIR:

The declaration of the General Committee of the Catholics of Ireland being read paragraph by paragraph, the following resolutions were agreed to

Resolved unanimously, That the declaration is strictly con formable with our principles as Christians and Catholics, agreeable to the tenets of the faith we have maintained, and that we will ever adher to them.

Resolved unanimously, That we solemnly declare we have never harboured opinions inimical to the civil, religious, or political liberty of mankind; particularly of our fellow subjects of a different persuasion.

Resolved unanimously, That so far from entertaining the most distant thought of disturbing the tranquillity of the kingdom, by unsettling the landed property thereof, our highest ambition is, to participate in the constitution of our country; and we do most heartily concur in a solemn declaration, that we never will join in any attempt to overthrow the Protestant government of Ireland.

Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of this meeting be presented to the General Catholic Committee, for their steady, manly, and constitutional proceedings in their late application to the legislature;, and we entreat they may persevere until their efforts be crowned with success.

Resolved unanimously, That the sincerest and most grate ful thanks of this meeting be given to the virtuous and enlightened members of the legislature, who supported with their unrivaled abilities, the petition of three millions of his Majesty's faithful subjects, in order to restore them to their long lost rights; and to obtain for them a participation in the scale of government, with the minority of their fellow-subjects.

Resolved unanimously, That the warmest thanks of this meeting be given to William Todd Jones, and Theobald Wolfe Tone, Esqrs. for their laborious and unwearied exertions, to rescue the character of the unhappy Catholics from the asper sions of malevolent and bigoted partizans; and for their uniform tenor of conduct to restore the injured Catholic to the state that God and Nature designed him for,

Resolved unanimously, That "while memory holds her seat," we shall never forget the glorious and philanthropic effort our fellow-citizens made on the 28th of January last, in being the first Protestant body in the Kingdom, who evinced that they felt for the sufferings of their Catholic brethren, by presenting a petition in their behalf to the legislature; and they are hereby requested to accept of the warm effusions of hearts overflowing with gratitude for the same.

Resolved unanimously, That our chairman transmit a copy of the above resolutions to Edward Byrne, Esq. chairman of the Catholic Committee, Wm. Todd Jones, Esq. and Theobald Wolfe Tone, Esq.

Resolved unanimously, That the above resolutions be published twice in the Belfast newspapers, and National Journal. Resolved unanimously, That 5000 copies of the declara

tion of the General Catholic Committee of Ireland, with these

our resolutions, be printed in hand-bills.

JAS. MOONEY. ·

Mr. Mooney having left the chair, and Mr. Heyland having taken it,

Resolved, That the thanks of this meeting be given to Mr. Mooney, for his praiseworthy conduct in the chair.

CHARLES HEYLAND.

THE following is a copy of the letter from Edw. Byrne, Esq Chairman of the General Committee of the Roman Catholics of Ireland, to the Rev. S. Kelburn, as chairman of the meeting of the inhabitants of Belfast, held 28th January, 1792.

SIR,

IN compliance with the instructions of the General Committee of Roman Catholics, I inclose you a copy of the resolutions which passed at our meeting on this day.

I am directed to assure you, that we feel a deep sense of the obligations we owe to you, and your worthy fellow-citizens of Belfast, for the marks of kindness which we have, on former occasions, received from you, and particularly for the petition which you have lately determined to present to parliament in our behalf.

We hope this petition will have its due weight with the legislature; at all events, it will remain a lasting monument of your liberality and patriotism.--Indeed we are convinced that you long regretted, though you did not feel in your own persons the weight of the absurd prejudices which disturbed, and still continue to disturb, the harmony of social life, and to divide the people of Ireland into distinct, and almost hostile communities. We now, however, look with confidence for a melioration of national manners; and we hope your example will induce others to lay aside their animosities against us, and

to accept the friendship which we are ambitious to cultivate with our countrymen of every religious denomination.

Notwithstanding the calumnies which are daily propaga ted to our disadvantage, and the insidious arts which bad men employ to keep one part of Ireland in a state of sullen separation from the other, we venture to prognosticate the ap proach of that auspicious day, when the people of this country, moulded into one common mass by the compressing hand of the same protecting system, shall cease to have any other object in view than the public good and public happiness.

Among the various descriptions of men whom Providence has placed in the same country, there are features of moral distinction, as well as of moral resemblance, and yet the business of society is carried on under all the known varieties of temper, opinion, and ability: in the same manner we conceive that a difference of sentiment, with regard to religious doctrines and modes of worship, would not be likely to impair the strength and unity of the state. There is one point in which we all agree-the civil and political welfare of our country; and by this point do the Roman Catholics wish to Be connected with their countrymen, in a common bond of fellowship and constitutional right.

We feel no political insufficiency or defect which should exclude us, in any respect, from the bosom of our country, and we are happy to find that you view us in the same light. Resting on this proof of your liberality, we trust, however, that you will not charge us with any degeneracy of spirit, if, willing to gratify the prejudices, which are still to be found among many of our countrymen, we solicit admission into the constitution, on such terms as shall offer as little violence as possible, to the feelings of men, who think that every change is an hazardous experiment, and that every link taken from the chain of oppression is likely to produce anarchy instead of order, public tumult instead of public security.

The object of our present application is therefore a partial admission only to the rights of free subjects, but if our success should go beyond our expectations, we shall feel a more lively sense of gratitude to those, who with such a superiority to prejudice have declared us worthy of total emancipation.

If we have ventured to call the attention of our country to our serious and manifold grievances, it is not to kindle civil discord, but to strengthen the bonds of civil union, and to give to our Protestant brethren an opportunity of ennobling their own character and that of our common country, by a generous triumph over the jealousies and antipathies which have forced us from our natural rank in society.

Whatever may be our fate, whether we shall be received into the Constitution, or dismissed from its door with disdain, we shall ever retain a grateful remembrance of the patriotic exertions of you and your fellow-citizens in our favor, and we earnestly solicit a continuance of your friendship and patronage. You have set an example of true public spirit to Ireland, and to Europe at large-and we flatter ourselves that you could not have better evinced your love of liberty, than by the means which you have recommended for its conser. vation; a communication of its blessings to the Roman Catholics of this country.

I am further directed by the General Committee to inform you that, although our oath of allegiance contains in substance an explanation of our tenets and opinions, yet in deference to your advice, we have it under consideration to follow the example of several English Roman Catholics, by making a solemn declaration of our religious principles, as far as they are connected with civil and religious liberty; which we hope will give satisfaction to all, who like you, are open to convic tion founded on truth and reason.

I have the honor to be, with the greatest respect,