LETTER, IL. TO THE RIGHT REV. DOC- MY LORD, Having, in my former Letter, pledged myself to prove that no part of the Irish Catholics deferves fo litthe credit for sincerity and difintereft ednefs in the prefet humiliating deliberation, and urged by a hoftile viinifter and his Irish tools, as our le ding Nobility and Gentry, with the few ambitious upstarts whom they have lately feduced, I shall now un der the guidance of frict impa tiality, proceed to redeem the pledge. Form the battle of Aughrim, (the Anniverfary of which regulary re ceives a few * Irish victims to ap prefe the means of your loyal countrymen, who fell on that day, whilft in the act of what t ey called, their duty of civilizing our favage anceftors) down to the period of the Amer can war, the frith Catolics were the mott oppreffed race of ma the wor dve beheld. In country rich a fe tility of foil and tempera ture of climate in the number and capacioufnefs of its harbors, which fems to court the trade of both hemifpheres-abounding with the fineft fisheries in the univerfe; and, above all, with fix millions of brave hardy, faithful people, in a word, in nature's most favoured island, her own fons were enflaved and delivered over to a handful of cruel and unjust for ign taskmatters - were made their hewers of wood and drawers of water- comdemned by the brutalizing laws to beggary and ignorance, with their concomitant vices, whilft their name were ever mentioned in their own Senate, in their hiftories or publicat ons, except for the very pur pofe of adding infult to injury, by heaping on them the bafeft calumnies, and thus preparing them for new pers fecutions. During the arduous and important fruggle or American independences prty fpirit rn exceffively high thro out the empire-the enlightened Englih, led on by Lord Chatham, were violent in favour of the revolted colonies-for, in the very Senaté, he did not hesitate to avow his joy at the refiftance of America, and added In recording the occurrence of 1808. the future hiftorian will have to mention, to an aftonishing world, the wanton arreft on the Editor of the Kerry Difpatch and the death of the Rev. Mr Duane, parish priest of Mountrath, who was attacked in his bed, on the night of the 2th of July laft, by a body of orange yoemen, ho dined and fpent the evening together in honour of the battle of Aughrim. At midnight, this gentleman efcaped from his houfe without hat, coat, waistcoat, or ftockings, whilft the yoemen were in the act of forcing his door, and although they fred at leaft forty" four millions of flaves, beyond the fhots after him he fucceeded in fwimming across a river. In this fituation he remained all night in a potatoe field, and a putrid fever, fuppofed to have been caught in confequence, carried him off in a few days from his afflicted acquaintance. Is not this a fit fubject of enquiry for our vigo rous government. 3 N Atlantic, migh. prove dangerous inftruments in the hands of a defpotic British Minister."The King's friends, on the other hand, were no less anxious to put down what they were pleafed to term rebellion, and, in the fpirit of British Liberty, would have execute, on Tower Hill, Washington, Franklin and the other leaders, as rebels and traitors, had The great body of Diffenters, and In this Panic, the Minifter invited the leading Gentlemen of our Communion to an interview in which he pointed out the affectionate regard of his facred Majefty" for his beloved Catholic fubjects; promifed that in due time they should be compleatly emancipated, but that moment he could not enfure to grant more than the power of taking long leafes, leaft, forfooth, these conceffions fhould offend the Diffenters and alienate their affections from Government !!! The bait was fwallowed by the blind Catholic leaders, and according to promife, the power of taking long leafes was granted by the Legislature in 1779.-The Catholic flaves, who, for near a century before, could nt by law retain in his poffefhon even a horfe worth 51. because enthufiaftical loyal as well as greatful for this unexpected favour, and, in his phrenzy of love, for his being Sovereign, he forgot his own galling chains and wifhed fucce s to a defpotic Minifter in his unconititutional attack on the poor Yankees.-This was the first pretty dance the Irish Catholic was led by his wife and enlightened "Natural Representative," and the paramont one was to make him confider every profeffion and act of his diffenting brethren as infincere and dangerous.--At length the aufpicions day arrived, when the liberal Diffenters and Proteftants met at Dungannon, and gave the lie direct to the corrupt whispers of courtiers and our" Natural Reprefentives," whom, in defiance of common sense, the Minifter till held in leading rings-On that glorious occafion, the good genius of Erin, for the first time, directed our public councils, and the trumpet of harmony refounded throughout the land. This is what gave the death blow to the abominable fyftem of difunion, by which Ireland was diftracted for 700 years, and eftablished, for ever. that divine principal of brotherly love amonft Irishmen, which this moment glows in every breaft, fave thofe of pur.. chafed hireling and the "Affocia tin" of dupes.-Proteftants, Dif fenters, and Catholics, all feel that they have been moft cruelly treated by ftrangers who had long practifed Et on their credulity, and on the common altar of their country, they have already fworn eternal union. An imperial hiftory of the narrow pitifui fyftem of politics adopted, and acted upon by our Catholic "Leaders' fince the year 1778, wil fcarcely be credited in a few years hence That an ignorant, uncivilized rabble has been feduced for a fhort time by artful, and malicious Minifters, and led to commit the molt favage acts, is a melancholy truth we have often witneffed in our own hapless country, particularly in Armagh, and a thing not very much to be wondered at: but what is fixty-eight Lords, Barones and Gentlemen of education fhould, for the fpace of thirty fucceffive years, fhut their eyes against the moft convincing arguments, admitted by every individual in the land, except themselves; and join with the deadly and avowed enemies of their country, in promoting the favourite work of difunion, against the general wishes and interefts of their own body, and with the manifeft lofs of character and popularity on their part, is one of thofe political phenomena which never can he explained, except by men, who run counter to every priciple of plain good fenfe. Such, however, alas! has been the cafe, and I apprehend it is but too likely to con tinue fo. The "Leaders" by their conduct feemed to dread this union of Irishmen, even more than the Minister of the day, and, within the fphere of their activity out ran the very agent of Adminiftration, in exciting jealoufies and fufpicions in the atholic mind against their Pref. byterian brethren. Amongst their own tenantry, their dependants, and the Bishops and Prieft of their dift. rict, who were taught by long habit to look up to them with refpect, their conftant and favourite theme was, truft not the Diffenters-they are ftill your enemies: look to their hoftility against you for many years, and, if that does not convince you, take our word of honour for the truth of the charge, for we have it from the highest authority. Such is the language even to the prefent hour, and fuch their gratitude to their Prefbytaerian and Proteftant friends!!! Strange as this may appears to you, my Lord, who have not been on the fpot to watch the courfe of Catholic politics, fill I pledge my character for the truth of every word in this statement, which will be proved to your fatisfaction, by hundreds, provided you put yourfelf in the way of obtaining fair nformation on your arival in Dubin. to attend the univerfally reprobated difcuffion, which, to our great humiliation, is now fixed for the middle of next month. Afk the well known popular characters, who deteft the manœuvres of the defpicable "Affociatiors," that ufurp the rights of the entire bod, and they will inftantly corroborate my teftimony. Apply to the venerable Mentor of the Catholics, at the thunder of his eloquence I often faw the Caftle Lordling, and their penfioned and expectant group of Anti-Catholic Lawyers hides their diminished heads.Seek the fociety of that incomparable felf-taught orator (1 here pledge myfelf that he is unacquainted with the writer of these sheets) who has by patriotic exertions for promoting a cor. dial union between Irishmen of every religious perfuafion on the eve of being crowed with fuccefs. He will inform you and no man poffefs fuch information on the fubject) that the founders of the "Affociation "have Shortly after the clofe of the in whofe favour they preferred one petition or complaint, but were negociating jobs and penfions for themfelves, their brothers-in-law, and and nephews, This matter went on until 1791, when the afpect of affairs abroad, and the liberality of our Proteftant coun. trymen at home, determined us to bring the caufe of our oppreffed body before the grand Inqueit of the Nation But here a scene opens to our view which makes me referve the remainder of this painful report a future communication. for And now, my Lord, I cannot, confiftently with the principles of candor and refpect for your Lordfhip's great character, omit affuring you that your Letters in the Herald are confidered by the public if not evafive, at leaft unfatisfactory; and this muft apologize for my preffing totidem verbis, the decifive query, with which I clofed my former Let: ter, and to which the Irish Ca tholics confider you bound to give a prompt and explicit answer. Did you, or did you not in your communications with Meffrs. Grattan and Ponfonby propofe on the part of the Irish Church, to invest the King, under any circumstance, w th the right of a veto in the nomination of our Bifhops? If the latter, never did man exift whofe character for popularity in this country could dif. require a more distinct and open avowal of the whole, be the confequences what they may. But if unfortunately the former, (which I truft is not the cafe) how affume right you could not poffible have re received? For not a Catholic Layman except the " Junta" of ufurpers ever entertained the question at al. Not one of our thousands of inferior Priests, the ftock from which our Hierarchy must be taken-not even hierary incapacities, we have no hifitation in acquitting our guzzling fellow citizens, of the flightest intention of ripping up our Sreets, to demonftrate their mathematical eminence, give them found Dinner, Gold chains, and Judicial author. ty in our fixpenny courts of justice and to the Scotch or the devil, they leave all your books, your fpelling and reading. Cooks fhops are their Libraries, and knives and forks, their Mathematical inftruments. We have not heard of the Majors talents in the art of War, though the field for military enterprize has long been open for the exercife of British prowefs, his abilities for ar. raying paving ftones, and for the pofitions he fo repeatedly gives our fand and gravel have been much queftioned, for by a prevaling paffion he poffeffes for partial acumulations, he has fo raised certain districts that many of our Streets are spoiled and our public buildings irreparably ruined. The college has been fo encircled by the Majors movements, that its windows of the firft ftory in front are fo funk that a paffenger in the weft end of college green can dif cover little more of them than the Architraves, and the porch nearly choaked up with the rolling filth that a defcent of nearly four feet in twenty yards muft inevitably occa fion, it promifes to become a common water courfe in a few winters. An Aperture has been left open in front to receive the ftream on its regulated courfe, in the very foot way into the college. In his enthufiam for alteration the Major put the univerfity out of his confideration, fo that this immenfe and elegant ftructure dedicated to Proteftant li. rerature is actually placed in a ditch. |