course or correfpondence in them; or of any of the latter's favouring, abetting, or having been fo much as made acquainted with the defigns or proceedings of these rebels. And what," he faid, And what," he said, " he wondered at most of all was, that in all his researches, he had not met with any paffage in any of these papers, from which he could infer, that either their Holy Father the Pope, or any of his cardinals, bifhops, or other dignitaries of that church; or any of the Irish clergy, had either directly or indirectly, encouraged, aided, or approved of, the commencing or carrying on of that rebellion."

CHA P. XII.

A bill for naturalizing the Jews passes the commons.

ON account of the continued severity of the popery laws (fuch of them particularly as executed themselves, as all those relating to property do), great numbers of the inoffenfive natives had quitted Ireland, and carried their wealth and industry with them. And fuch was the mistaken policy of those days, that the protestant intereft of Ireland was not believed to have fuffered by this ruinous, though natural effect of these laws; on the contrary, it was confidently faid to be ftrengthened and increased, by the removal of fo many of its inteftine enemies out of the kingdom! But as the ftrength and profperity of a country are known and acknowledged to depend on the number and induftry of its inhabitants, an expedient was foon looked for, and found, by the great wisdom of the nation, to fupply the place of these self-exiled papists, by introducing foreign Jews, and providing a national fettlement for thofe devoted vagrants. And although this expedient was, for a while, excepted against by fome few over-fcrupulous perfons, as difcovering an inordinate and precipitate zeal in its authors for ftrengthening the proteftant intereft, by a measure

which feemed to bid defiance to a divine prophecy, and to fap the foundation of christianity itself; yet the Irish commons, in the feffion of 1747, brought heads of a bill into their house, "for naturalizing perfons profeffing the Jewish religion; which were committed, agreed to by the houfe, without any amendment, and prefented to his grace the lord lieutenant, to be by him tranfmitted into England." It is remarkable, that in the fellion immediately preceding, the fame bill was brought into the commons, and "carried through, without any debate ;" but it then mifcarried either here or in England; as it also did this fecond time; fo that it has not as yet had the honour of being paffed into a law among us. How aptly might each of these determined promoters of this hopeful bill, for ftrengthening the proteftant intereft of Ireland, have exclaimed in the words of the poet,

Flectere fi nequeo fuperos, Acheronta movebo!

The catholics addrefs the lord lieutenant.

WHEN the Duke of Bedford was lord lieutenant of Ireland, he was greatly alarmed by an unprecedented attack on parliament; and not without fome apprehenfion of danger to his own person. But this strange and dangerous outrage was foon appeafed, by the affistance

It was on this occafion, that Prime Serjeant Stannard, a real patriot, and an unprejudiced honourable gentleman, in his fpeech in the houfe of commons, contrafting the riotous conduct of the Lucasians (as they were then called after their chief), with the quiet and dutiful behaviour of the Roman catholics, in that and other dangerous conjunctures, gave the following honourable testimony in favour of these latter: "We have lived amicably and in harmony among ourselves, and without any material party distinctions, for feveral years past, till within these few months; and during the late wicked rebellion

affiftance of that part of the army which was then in the city, without any further ill confequence. But, as at the next meeting of the members of parliament, upon an enquiry into the authors and promoters of it, fome of the very perfons guilty in that respect, did, by their interest in both houses, endeavour to fix the odium of it on the obnoxious papifts (to which conscious untruth and calumny, the war then carrying on against France, gave fome kind of colour); the catholics thought it high time publicly to vindicate their characters from that, and every other vile fufpicion of difloyalty, by an addrefs to his grace the lord lieutenant; teftifying their warmeft gratitude for the lenity they experienced under his majesty's government, and their readiness to concur with the faithfullest and most zealous of his majesty's other fubjects, in oppofing, by every means in their power, all, both his foreign and domeftic enemies. Addreffes of this loyal tenor were fent to his grace from every confiderable part of the kingdom, and most graciously received by him."

CHAP.

bellion in Scotland, we had the comfort and fatisfaction to fee that all was quiet here. And to the honour of the Roman catholics be it remembered, that not a man of them moved tongue, pen, or fword, upon the then, or the present occafion; and I am glad to find, that they have a grateful and proper fense of the mildnefs and moderation of our government. For my part, while they behave with duty and allegiance to the prefent establishment, I fhall hold them as men in equal esteem with others, in every point but one; and while their private opinion interferes not with public tranquillity, I think their industry and allegiance ought to be encouraged."

There was a circumftance attending his grace's answer to the address of the Roman catholics of Dublin, which for its great humanity and condefcenfion, muft not be omitted. As if he now meant to clear the Roman catholics intirely from the above-mentioned foul afperfion, in the fame place in which it was lately caft upon them, he defired the then fpeaker, Mr. Ponsonby, while the house was fitting, to read aloud from the chair, his answer to that addrefs, which contained his full approbation of their past conduct, and an affurance of his future favour and protection, as long as they continued it.

CHA P. XIV.

The catholics of Ireland, preffed by penal laws, form an humble remonstrance to be prefented to his majefty.

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 several wealthy families were reduced to the fad alternative, either to quit their native country or to ftarve in it, which shews the falsehood and abfurdity of the common pretence, that these laws were originally framed and fince kept in force, meerly for the fuppreffion of the exercise of the popish religion, on a groundlefs fuppofition, as it now appears, that both its doctrine and practice are hoftile to the peace, order, and very being of this protestant 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 redress very proper to be now revived, which they seemed to have strangely 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 restraints 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 presented 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 denomi nation, it was then thought proper, to introduce this remonftrance

remonftrance to the throne, by first presenting a congratulatory address to his prefent moft gracious majesty, on his happy acceffion; which addrefs was accordingly drawn up, and after having been figned by all the moft confiderable Roman catholics of the kingdom, was laid before the Earl of Hallifax, lord lieutenant of Ireland, and by him tranfmitted 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 Catholics of Ireland.

Moft gracious Sovereign,

WE your majesty's dutiful and faithful subjects, the Roman catholics of the kingdom of Ireland, beg leave to lay at your majesty's feet this humble remonftrance 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 majesty's great and univerfal clemency, of your gracious and merciful regard to tender confciences, and from a consciousness of our own loyalty, affection and gratitude to your majesty'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 present 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 rise rather from private views of expediency and felf-intereft, 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, together with a promife of further favour and indulgence

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