The catholics of Ireland, preffed by penal laws, form an humble remonftrance to be prefented to his majesty. THOUGH the exercise of the catholic religion at this time was connived at in this kingdom, the penal laws affecting the property of its profeffors, were fo frequently and rigorously executed, that feveral wealthy families were reduced to the fad alternative, either to quit their native country or to starve in it, which fhews the falfehood and abfurdity of the common pretence, that these laws were originally framed and fince kept in force, meerly for the fuppreffion of the exercife of the popish religion, on a groundless fuppofition, as it now appears, that both its doctrine and practice are hoftile to the peace, order, and very being of this proteftant government. "The Roman catholics of Ireland (faid an eminent member of the British commons on this occafion) enjoy the full and free exercise of their religion; it is against their property that the fword of law is raifed." In this fituation they at length began to recollect the capitulation of Limerick in 1691, heretofore mentioned, as a topic of redrefs very proper to be now reviyed, which they feemed to have ftrangely forgotten or overlooked for many years paft, and which nevertheless holds forth to them as full and as folemn an affurance of being exempted from all future penalties and reftraints on account of their religion, as the public faith of the nation, confirmed by an act of the Irish parliament, is capable of giving them. Upon this ground therefore, they formed an humble and dutiful remonftrance of their grievances relative to their property, with a view of having it prefented in due form, to his late majefty. But that good king happening to die at this juncture, to the great regret of all his fubjects of every denomination, it was then thought proper, to introduce this remonftrance remonftrance to the throne, by first presenting a congratulatory address to his prefent most gracious majesty, on his happy acceffion; which addrefs was accordingly drawn up, and after having been figned by all the most confiderable Roman catholics of the kingdom, was laid before the Earl of Hallifax, lord lieutenant of Ireland, and by him transmitted to his majefty, by whom it was graciously received. The remonftrance above-mentioned was conceived in the following words: To the KING's moft Excellent MAJESTY. The humble Petition and Remonftrance of the Roman Moft gracious Sovereign, WE your majesty's dutiful and faithful fubjects, the Roman catholics of the kingdom of Ireland, beg leave to lay at your majesty's feet this humble remonstrance of fome of thofe grievances and restraints under which we have long laboured without murmuring or complaint; and we presume to make this fubmiffive application, from a sense of your majefty's great and univerfal clemency, of your gracious and merciful regard to tender confciences, and from a confcioufnefs of our own loyalty, affection and gratitude to your majefty's perfon and government, as duties incumbent upon us, which it is our unalterable refolution to pay in all events during the remainder of our lives. And we are the more emboldened to prefent this our humble remonftrance, because it appeareth unto us, that the laws by which fuch grievances are occafioned, and fuch penalties inflicted upon us, have taken rife rather from private views of expediency and felf-interest, or from mistaken jealoufies and miftrufts, than from any truly public fpirited motives; inafmuch as they seem to have infringed certain privileges, rights and immunities, which had been freely and folemnly granted, toge ther with a promife of further favour and indulgence to to the Roman catholics of Ireland, upon the most valuable confiderations. For we most humbly offer it to your majesty's juft and generous confideration, that on the third day of October, 1691, the Roman catholic nobility and gentry of this kingdom, under the late king James, entered into articles of capitulation at Limerick, whereby, among other things, it was ftipulated and agreed, that "the Roman catholics of Ireland fhould enjoy fuch privilege in the exercise of their religion as they did enjoy in the reign of king Charles II. and that their majefties as foon as their affairs would permit them, would fummon a parliament in Ireland, and endeavour to procure the faid Roman catholics fuch further security in that particular, as might preserve them from any disturbance on account of their faid religion." Whereupon these noblemen and gentlemen laid down their arms, and immediately fubmitted to their majefties government; at the fame time that they had offers of powerful affiftance from France, which might, if accepted, have greatly obftructed the fuccefs of their majefties arms in the war then carrying on abroad against that kingdom. And although these articles were duly ratified and confirmed, firft by the commander in chief of their. majesties forces in Ireland in conjunction with the then lords juftices thereof, and afterwards by an act of the Irish parliament, in the ninth year of his majesty king William's reign, by which they became the public faith of the nation, plighted and engaged to thefe people in as full, firm and folemn manner, as ever public faith was plighted to any people; yet fo far were the Roman catholics of Ireland from receiving the juft benefit thereof; fo far from feeing any steps taken, or means used in the Irish parliament, to procure them fuch promised fecurity, as might preferve them from any difturbance on account of their religion, that on the contrary, feveral laws have been fince enacted in that parliament, by which the exercife of their religion is made penal, and themselves and their heirs for ever have forfeited those rights, immunities and titles to their eftates and properties, which in the reign of king Charles II: they were were by law intitled to, and enjoyed, in common with the rest of their fellow fubjects. And fuch is the evil tendency of these laws to create jealoufy and disgust between parents and their children, and especially, to ftifle in the breafts of the latter those pious fentiments of filial duty and obedience which reafon dictates, good policy requires, and which the almighty fo ftrictly enjoins, that in virtue of them, a fon, however undutiful or profligate in other refpects, fhall merely by the merit of conforming to the established religion, not only deprive his Roman catholic father of that free and full poffeffion of his eftate, that power to mortgage or otherwise dispose of it, as the exigencies of his affairs may require, but alfo fhall himself have full liberty to mortgage, fell or otherwife alienate that eftate from his family for ever; a liberty, moft gracious fovereign, the frequent ufe of which has entailed poverty and defpair on fome of the moft antient and opulent families in this kingdom, and brought many an aged parent's grey hairs with forrow to the grave. And although very few eftates at present remain in the hands of the Roman catholics of Ireland, and therefore little or no matter appears to be left for these laws to operate upon, nevertheless, we are fo far from being fecure in the poffeffion of perfonal property, so far from being preferved from any disturbance on account of our religion, even in that refpe&t, that new and forced conftructions have been of late years put upon thefe laws (for we cannot think that fuch conftructions were ever originally intended). by which, on the fole account of our religion, we are in many cafes, ftript of that perfonal property by difcoverers and informers; a fet of men, moft gracious fovereign, once generally, and juftly defpifed among us, but of late grown into fome repute, by the increase of their numbers and by the frequency, encouragement and fuccefs of their practices. These and many other cruel reftrictions (fuch as no christian people under heaven but ourselves are made liable to) are and have long been greatly detrimental, not only to us in particular, but alfo to the commerce, culture, culture, and every other improvement of this kingdom in general; and what is furely a melancholy confideration, are chiefly beneficial to the discoverers and informers before-mentioned; who, under colour of these laws, plunder indifcriminately, parents, brethren, kinfmen and friends, in defpite of all the ties of blood, of affection and confidence, in breach of the divine laws, of all former human laws, enacted in this or perhaps any other kingdom, for the fecurity of property, fince the creation of the world." The neceffity of continuing laws in their full forcefor fo great a number of years, which are attended with fuch fhameful and pernicious confequences, ought, we humbly conceive, to be extremely manifeft, preffing, and permanent; but fo far is this from being the cafe with refpect to thefe difqualifying laws, that even the pretended grounds for those jealoufies and mistrusts, which are faid to have given birth to them, have long fince difappeared; it being a well-known and undeniable truth, that your majefty's diftreffed, but faithful fubjects, the Roman catholics of Ireland, have neither the inclination nor the power to disturb your majefty's government; nor can (we humbly prefume) that only pretext now left for continuing them in force, viz. their tendency to make profelytes to the established religion, in any degree justify the manifold feverities and injuries occafioned by them. For, alas! moft gracious fovereign, there is but too much reafon to believe, that profelytes fo made are, for the most part, fuch in appearance only in order to become in reality, what all fincere chriftians condemn and deteft, undutiful children, unnatural brethren, or perfidious friends; and we fubmit it to your majesty's great wifdom and goodness, whether motives fo repugnant to the public intereft, and to all focial, moral, and religious duties, are fit to be confided in or longer encouraged. And because we are fenfible, moft gracious fovereign, that our profeffions of loyalty have been often cruelly mifrepresented, even by those who were thoroughly acquainted with the candour and uprightnefs of our dealings in all other refpects, we moft humbly offer it to your |